Mark Mania vs Aidan Collins

[Alex Smiley]

Reminder:

- Word limit for Group Stage matches is 1500.
- 1 RP per wrestler per match.
- Deadline: December 16, 2018, at 11:59PM Pacific.

[Mark Mania]

"AND HERE IS YOUR WINNER MARK MANIA!"

Mark rolled off the top of Rex Evans and was euphoric. It's 2018, it's the Extreme Tournament and he just secured the first victory of his group. The good feelings didn't last long as shortly after Aidan Collins defeated Sewaside cleanly to tie with Mark for the group. After seeing a few draws, he was hoping for the same from his group mates. An Experts reporter came up to Mark before the end of the show.

Reporter: So, Mark, in two weeks, you'll be going against Aidan Collins, winner of this will take a commanding lead in your group. What do you think?

Mark Mania: I'm ready. I feel fresh as a daisy. I've got two weeks to study everything about Aidan, I've got two weeks to find his strengths and his weaknesses. You know how the Patriots always seem to win when they come out of a bye week because they have that extra time to prepare for their opponent? Well, being from New England isn't all I have in common with the Patriots. So Aidan, get ready, because I'm coming for you.



December 9th, 2018
Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean

The plane was silent. No music, no movie, no TV show, just Mark and his thoughts. Rosa has been napping across the aisle from him without making a sound for nearly three hours. Mark looked out the window at the vast ocean below. It feels like he's been over the ocean for the entire flight. He couldn't help wondering if this was the right idea. If Smitty didn't want to talk to him, he didn't have to. If he wanted to be his own man, he could be. But Mark couldn't help himself. He had his plane, he had a week off, he had already been watching film on Aidan Collins for days, fuck it, let's go get him.

It wasn't a perfect plan. Show up to the arena, find Smitty, confront him, get answers. Shouldn't be that difficult.



December 13th, 2018
Somewhere across the US plains

Well, that didn't go how he expected.



December 14th, 2018
Peninsula Hotel, New York, NY

"Well there you go, you wasted almost a whole week flying back and forth to Japan to just get thrown out for beating up some nobody?"

"I mean, obviously that wasn't my plan."

Rosa stared at Mark as he was sitting at the conference table in his Hospitality Suite at the Peninsula.

"Why are you so obsessed with figuring out what Smitty is up to?"

"You don't get it Rosa, this was all before you were around. Our history goes so far beyond wrestling and The Experts, something isn't right, something doesn't add up."

"Quit trying to do math and prepare for this week! This is the biggest match of the tournament for you. You're both 1-0, either one of you wins to go up 2-0 and you're almost a shoe-in to make it to the finals. This is no time to be worrying about the past!"

"I know, I know" Mark said, standing up from the table and walking over to the wet bar. "Listen, I've spent a lot of time on those flights watching old matches and old promos of Aidan Collins, I understand what I'm up against, I'm not going to get worried about him."

"Oh so, a former multiple time World Champion..."

"In XWF, who's best export is James Raven who I handled easily at the Invitational"

"Well, he's got victories over two former True Expert's Sewaside and Black Death."

"Ok, let's be serious, the 'Sewaside' that was in the ring last week was nowhere near the Sewaside that was the True Expert Champion. The guy has lost a step over the years. And I don't know much about Black Death and Collins' relationship in XWF, but I remember Black Death in GCW after he won the True Expert title and the guy had a few flaws. He's an all time great, but get him at the right time he was very beatable."

"Easy to say when you're not facing him any time soon."

Mark pours himself a glass of whiskey with a smile on his face at Rosa's words. "I understand you think that I'm not paying enough attention to Aidan Collins, but believe me, I am. I'm capable of focusing on the bigger prize and still taking a little time out of my day to figure out why after over a decade, my long lost cousin, who for a while I thought was dead, decided to come out of retirement and try and win the True Expert Title he never lost."

"Mark, you're going to have this entire tournament to try and get answers, but just remember the only thing that matters is that True Expert Title. You're not wrestling anywhere else right now, you had a quick stint in EWC, were named wrestler of the week the first week you were there and then what, got bored? You can't let that happen here."

"You have absolutely nothing to worry about. For the past 18 years all I've wanted is that True Expert title. Sure, there were times where I thought I was out of the business and would just run Mania Enterprises without stepping in the ring myself. But The Experts itch kept calling. Crimson's Quest, the Siberian Prison, and now the Super6. I have always and will always love The Experts and I will always, ALWAYS chase the True Expert Championship."

Rosa looks pleased with the answer and walks out of the room scribbling something on her notepad. Mark mouths goodbye before taking a gulp of his whiskey.



"Aidan, you may have seen me in Japan and thought to yourself, 'oh thank god, look at this guy flying out to Japan, not a care in the world about little ole Aidan...' let me reassure you, you've been on the forefront of my mind this whole time. And the second that the bells rings you'll find out exactly why. The only thing in the world that matters to me is that True Expert title and this week, you're the only thing in my way of that goal. You're off facing Tony the Spider bumbling and grumbling in another ring with another company and not focused on the main prize."

"I've seen you talk about how winning on the international stage with all these different federations presented was the last thing that you feel you need to do. But does it really matter to you if it's here or somewhere else? I'm sure there's some second tier interfederation nonsense going on that you could win and feel better about yourself. You talk about your history in The Experts in Sibera. EVERYONE was in Siberia man. It's not like we were all in Vietnam together, we slept a few nights in a cold cell and then wrestled. Where were you at Fuerza? Hell, where were you at The Invitational? You don't care about The Experts, you just care about accolades."

"I read through your bio, I saw that list of accolades, half of them seem made up. Have you ever been e-mailing with someone and they respond with one sentence but you go to print it out and it's three pages because their title is so goddamn long? 'Coordinator of Janitorial Affairs', 'Senior Customer Phone Answering Manager', 'Director of Mopping Shit', it never ends! That's how it feels when I hear you talk about yourself. Listen, we get it, a decade ago when company URL's had 'angelfire' in them, you were the bomb. You think I don't know that life? My first 10 companies I was with had fucking 'angelfire' in them. You've got to let it go man. The only thing that matters is this weekend.  The only accolade you'll have next week is, 'ALMOST beat Mark Mania.'"

"I know you're riding high after your victory against Sewaside, but you know as well as I do that he's not who you thought would be your biggest challenge. I read the internet, I know that when you first got our schedule you probably circled Rex on your calendar. So here you are, one week in and you realize you were wrong. One week in and you realize that I'm the one standing in front of you that's going to be your biggest problem."

"Let me tell you something Aidan. I'm going to be a lot more than a problem. It's pretty clear that Rex and Sewaside weren't prepared coming in to Week 1. We got an advantage by getting points early and now if we weren't facing each other maybe it would just be another week. But it's you and me. One of us is moving on and one of us is going home. And since we're already in New York and you used to call this home, let's just call it day. Because if you try and challenge me, it's not just going to be a homecoming... you're going to have to have someone call the Bronx Woodlawn Cemetery to dig another hole."

[Aidan Collins]

"I walk through the heart of the Hell and call it home..."
-Inspectah Deck





"When you look down this street, what do you see?"

The camera opens up to Aidan Collins, who stands on the street corner outside of DeWitt Clinton Park. Behind him, brownstone buildings clash with the blue skies behind them, slicing the frame behind Aidan in a horizontal fashion.

"This is where I'm from," Aidan proclaims proudly, extending his arms out to show off the city block. "Hell's Kitchen. Catchy name, isn't it?"

Aidan turns his head and briefly views the place he grew up in with fondness. He turns back around, seemingly invigorated by being back home.

"I know what you're thinking..." Aidan concedes. "This is a very nice area...and I agree, even if it challenges my tough image. For the most part, the Upper West Side is currently a pleasant place to live and work. If anything, it's overly nice. If it wasn't for my wrestling career taking off, my family probably would have been gentrified out of here a decade ago by Wall Street financiers and artsy types with rich parents."

Aidan begins to slowly walk down the city block, the camera following him as he speaks.

"The reality is that this neighborhood has gone through a complete transformation over the past few decades. I was born right around the time that the Javits Center was completed. Many people consider that building project to represent the start of Hell's Kitchen's rejuvenation... Before then, things weren't so nice, to say the least."

Aidan refers to a period when Hell's Kitchen was known as a hotbed of crime, virtually run by the Westies gang. He takes a breath to reset before continuing.

"When I look down this street," Aidan explains, referencing the opening line of this promo, "I see over a century of history for the Collins family. To be precise, five generations of Collins have called this place home, can you believe it?

"Sometimes, if I close my eyes here, I can feel the historical spirit of the neighborhood," Aidan croons. "My patriarchal ancestor John Collins sailed over from Ireland during the famine to build a life here. He worked in construction, assembling the skeletons of skyscrapers fifty stories in the air without the assurance of a harness. It wasn't a glamorous position, but it allowed him to keep a roof over his family's head... In fact, the tenements he raised his 6 children in were built on the land that I stand on right now, more or less.

"The opportunities for my ancestors were very limited, but the Collins are survivors. John Collins earned extra spending money by bareknuckle boxing in pubs...and his son, my great grandfather, Rocko, found work through the infamous Tammany Hall..."

Aidan Collins refers to the corrupt political machine that ran New York City for many decades.

"Rocko Collins, now that was a character. He told his wife that he was a mailman, but the reality was that he was taking envelopes to do the bidding of Prohibition rum runners and extortionists... One time, the man came home with a broken nose and half of a fucking ear! That's not the type of injury a mailman incurs!"

Aidan chuckles.

"If gangs hadn't been broken up in the 50s by the feds, my grandfather would have probably ended up doing jobs for Mickey Spillane rather than becoming a fireman... To be truthful, I don't know if he was better off. When the Bronx was burning in the seventies, he was in the belly of the beast, fighting fires in the darkness and turning his lungs black breathing soot. I guess that didn't disparage his son; my father ended up becoming a fireman as well...until 9/11 injuries took him off the job."

Aidan pauses. September Eleventh has always been a difficult subject for him to talk about, so he moves past the topic and continues.

"The reason why I've brought you here to discuss my family's history is because the Collins have been grinding it out in New York City for over a century. Undeniably, that history has shaped my DNA and helped form the man that I am today. Those lived experiences of my ancestors—of burning buildings, barroom brawls and breaking laws—have been passed onto me...and no amount of money or fame is going to change that."

Now in a full stride, the self-declared King Infinity rattles on.

"I'm a street kid at heart," Aidan confesses candidly. "I'm grimy. I'm gritty. I don't mind getting dirt and blood under my finger nails if it means I get the job done. As a teenager, I would ride on the top of subway cars for a cheap thrill. Now, I get my kicks putting my wellbeing on the line in human cockfights."

Aidan crosses the street, barely looking both ways.

"I know Mark Mania has mentioned that he's from Boston, primarily as a way to get cheap heat while competing here..." Aidan says, referring to his opponent for the first time. "From the way he acts, I can tell Mark is from the suburbs, and it's not something that he could convince me of otherwise. His connection to Boston seemingly appears to be solely through the fact that he follows Boston sports teams and references them to annoy others... His connection to Boston is superficial. He's a poser."

Aidan speaks with open disparagement.

"The fact is that Mark and I are not cut from the same cloth. I'm from a long line of fighters and rule breakers; a family that's willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Mark likes to drone on about his company like he's the monopoly man. It's very clear that this sorry sack of shit is trying to win the role of wrestling's token rich guy.

"What the fuck is Mania Enterprises anyway? The man comes out and expects us to roll out the red carpet because he has a business, without ever describing what Mania Enterprises does. I couldn't tell you whether the company holds investments domestically or manufactures dildos in a Cambodian sweatshop."

Aidan rolls his eyes, seriously doubting that Mania Enterprise is profitable.

"This motherfucker thinks he's Jeff Bezos because he read "Corporations for Dummies". In reality, he's such a dipshit that he probably pronounces Warren Buffet's last name the same way he pronounces the type of restaurant he eats endless Chow Mein at..."

Aidan lights up as his next line comes to him.

"To be fair, though, I guess it's easier to pretend that he's a successful businessman than a successful wrestler," Aidan says harshly.

"From the best I can tell, all Mark Mania has done in his career is finish in second place. Dude has two decades worth of experience working with the Experts, but all he has to show for it is a participation t-shirt he drew for himself in crayon at Mania Enterprises. I'm sure he'd be happy to pull up a chair and speak at length about all of the great wrestlers that he's lost to in his career, but what I think he fails to realize is that society doesn't celebrate the supporting cast. Society supports stars...and I'm not talking about the kind of stars Mark Mania has seen at the end of every big match he's had in his career."

Aidan smiles, as his natural tendency to be an instigator has now taken over.

"While Mark has a track record of fucking up every Experts opportunity he's been handed, I've been at the forefront of every company that I've competed in. I'm talking about being World Champion in XWF, WGWF, ECWF, and WWH... I don't have a 'more successful cousin'. I don't have a long list of wrestlers who have beaten me in the past that I need to get even with... Like every Collins before me, I do whatever it takes to succeed.

"What I'm saying is that Aidan Collins leads the pack while Mark Mania hangs from the nuts of those better than him."

Aidan stops walking to speak directly into the lens of the camera.

"Marky Mark..." Aidan says with a stern tone, addressing his opponent directly. "When we get in that ring, I'm not going out there to correct wrongs. I'm not trying to make up for a career of failure by beating past legends who are out of their prime like you are... I will be fighting for my home. I be fighting for my family. I will be fighting for my legacy."

"When you come to New York to square up with King Infinity, you aren't just facing Aidan Collins. You're facing the entirety of my family's history and the entirety of New York City.

"They call this the city never sleeps, but I'm about to put your chances of being True Expert to bed. This is New York, the place where stars are born... and the where Boston posers are knocked the fuck out.

"Truth Until Death."