The scene opens with Mallory Powell sitting backstage with Mad Dog. The 2 are in plushy chairs and the room is furnished with plants and framed BBW posters on the wall behind them. Mad Dog looks unusually, almost comically, well-groomed wearing a button down shirt and slacks with his hair actually pulled back into a neat ponytail. Reading glasses adorn his face, completing the professional look, although the nice clothes are a stark contrast to the scars on his forehead and hands.
Mallory looks slightly uncomfortable in her chair, knowing Mad Dog's volatile tendencies and history of violence towards staff members. Mad Dog, however, is the picture of professional confidence.
"T-Today I will be interviewing a very special guest - the returning M-Mad Dog!" begins Mallory, motioning to her guest.
"Thank you! It's great to be here in BBW after such a long absence from the wrestling industry." replies Mad Dog.
"Wh-which brings me to my first question! Everyone wants to know, Mad Dog, just where have you been for these past 6 years? And why did you return?" continues Mallory, asking Mad Dog the burning question.
Mad Dog crosses his legs and is silent for a moment.
"I left the wrestling business in 2009. The last few years of my career were a dark time for me. It's obvious to anyone watching me at that time that I was in a self-destructive state and couldn't continue doing what I was doing. I was disgusted with the wrestling business. I was disgusted with myself. I was a hateful, nihilistic black hole and I couldn't continue at that pace."
Mad Dog is silent for another moment as he collects his thoughts.
"So I left. I cancelled all my bookings. I dropped everything and left. I didn't know what to do with myself. So I decided to travel. I didn't have a destination or a goal. I just went. I ended up backpacking across Europe. Of course, still being a hateful black hole, trouble followed me. I got into a lot of fights, which is not surprising if you know me at all. I ended up taking a tour of jails across Europe AND Asia. It was fine for a while. I'd saved up enough money from wrestling to bail myself out. But after a while, and a lot of nights in jail, the funds dried up."
"Wh-what did you do then?" asks Mallory.
"I stayed in jail. I'd made my way across Asia at this point, wondering with no purpose or direction until it found me. I got arrested at a bar in Osaka - fighting, public drunk, resisting arrest. So this time, with no funds, I stayed in jail. For a few weeks anyway. They told me I'd been bailed out."
"But, who b-bailed you out in Japan?" asks Mallory.
"An older Japanese man named Master Watanabe bailed me out. Master Watanabe knew of me from TV, he'd seen my matches. He also happened to own the oldest pro wrestling dojo in Osaka. He explained to me that I had potential but my own self-destructive tendencies had been holding me back the entire time. He offered to bail me out on the condition that he train me - starting from the bottom as a young boy. Needless to say, I was pissed at the thought of starting from the bottom again, but what was I going to do? Stay in jail? So I went to live at the dojo."
"A-and what was that like?" probes Mallory.
"I hated it at first!" Mad Dog laughs. "I felt like it was completely beneath me. I'd main evented pay per views in America, but here I was cooking, cleaning the dojo, and doing laundry for Japanese midcarders! But the training... the training was unreal. I have a confession to make, Mallory, something that I've never told anyone before. Before I was trained in Japan, I'd never been trained to wrestle. I started in backyards with barbed wire and flaming tables. Until I'd been to Japan, I'd gotten by completely on toughness and bad attitude - self trained."
Mallory looked taken aback that this high profile performer had been wrestling for years with no training.
"Over time, I began to enjoy my stay at the dojo. I learned respect, humility. I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I didn't have to hurt myself anymore. Most importantly, I learned how to wrestle. How to REALLY wrestle. Master Watanabe taught me the Japanese strong style, and I picked it up quickly. Eventually, I mixed what I knew from my years in deathmatches with my newly-learned pure strong style into a style I like to call... DEATH STYLE."
Mallory's eyes light up at this revelation.
"S-so why have you returned to wrestling, Mad Dog?"
"I returned to show the world what I've learned. To show the world that Mad Dog can do more than deathmatches. I've never been a world champion, but now I know that I am championship-calibre. Last week, my old rival Shadow and I went to war in my return, and I bloodied and defeated him with my deathmatch techniques. Tonight, I'm facing Cartwright, and I'm going to WRESTLE him. No weapons. I'm going to go out there, show my wrestling skills, and beat him cleanly."
Mad Dog looks into the camera before turning to smile at Mallory.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for my match."
Mad Dog stands up and walks off-set as the camera fades to black.
Mallory looks slightly uncomfortable in her chair, knowing Mad Dog's volatile tendencies and history of violence towards staff members. Mad Dog, however, is the picture of professional confidence.
"T-Today I will be interviewing a very special guest - the returning M-Mad Dog!" begins Mallory, motioning to her guest.
"Thank you! It's great to be here in BBW after such a long absence from the wrestling industry." replies Mad Dog.
"Wh-which brings me to my first question! Everyone wants to know, Mad Dog, just where have you been for these past 6 years? And why did you return?" continues Mallory, asking Mad Dog the burning question.
Mad Dog crosses his legs and is silent for a moment.
"I left the wrestling business in 2009. The last few years of my career were a dark time for me. It's obvious to anyone watching me at that time that I was in a self-destructive state and couldn't continue doing what I was doing. I was disgusted with the wrestling business. I was disgusted with myself. I was a hateful, nihilistic black hole and I couldn't continue at that pace."
Mad Dog is silent for another moment as he collects his thoughts.
"So I left. I cancelled all my bookings. I dropped everything and left. I didn't know what to do with myself. So I decided to travel. I didn't have a destination or a goal. I just went. I ended up backpacking across Europe. Of course, still being a hateful black hole, trouble followed me. I got into a lot of fights, which is not surprising if you know me at all. I ended up taking a tour of jails across Europe AND Asia. It was fine for a while. I'd saved up enough money from wrestling to bail myself out. But after a while, and a lot of nights in jail, the funds dried up."
"Wh-what did you do then?" asks Mallory.
"I stayed in jail. I'd made my way across Asia at this point, wondering with no purpose or direction until it found me. I got arrested at a bar in Osaka - fighting, public drunk, resisting arrest. So this time, with no funds, I stayed in jail. For a few weeks anyway. They told me I'd been bailed out."
"But, who b-bailed you out in Japan?" asks Mallory.
"An older Japanese man named Master Watanabe bailed me out. Master Watanabe knew of me from TV, he'd seen my matches. He also happened to own the oldest pro wrestling dojo in Osaka. He explained to me that I had potential but my own self-destructive tendencies had been holding me back the entire time. He offered to bail me out on the condition that he train me - starting from the bottom as a young boy. Needless to say, I was pissed at the thought of starting from the bottom again, but what was I going to do? Stay in jail? So I went to live at the dojo."
"A-and what was that like?" probes Mallory.
"I hated it at first!" Mad Dog laughs. "I felt like it was completely beneath me. I'd main evented pay per views in America, but here I was cooking, cleaning the dojo, and doing laundry for Japanese midcarders! But the training... the training was unreal. I have a confession to make, Mallory, something that I've never told anyone before. Before I was trained in Japan, I'd never been trained to wrestle. I started in backyards with barbed wire and flaming tables. Until I'd been to Japan, I'd gotten by completely on toughness and bad attitude - self trained."
Mallory looked taken aback that this high profile performer had been wrestling for years with no training.
"Over time, I began to enjoy my stay at the dojo. I learned respect, humility. I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I didn't have to hurt myself anymore. Most importantly, I learned how to wrestle. How to REALLY wrestle. Master Watanabe taught me the Japanese strong style, and I picked it up quickly. Eventually, I mixed what I knew from my years in deathmatches with my newly-learned pure strong style into a style I like to call... DEATH STYLE."
Mallory's eyes light up at this revelation.
"S-so why have you returned to wrestling, Mad Dog?"
"I returned to show the world what I've learned. To show the world that Mad Dog can do more than deathmatches. I've never been a world champion, but now I know that I am championship-calibre. Last week, my old rival Shadow and I went to war in my return, and I bloodied and defeated him with my deathmatch techniques. Tonight, I'm facing Cartwright, and I'm going to WRESTLE him. No weapons. I'm going to go out there, show my wrestling skills, and beat him cleanly."
Mad Dog looks into the camera before turning to smile at Mallory.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for my match."
Mad Dog stands up and walks off-set as the camera fades to black.
