Promo: Fear and Loathing on Long Island

[Guest TheBostonStrangler]

THE HILTON AT LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

AUGUST 5, 2002

1:32 AM

 

The Boston Strangler disgustedly changes the channel, with the image of Bernie Williams rounding the bases after his game-winning HR lingering for a moment before being replaced by Ron Popeil and his latest incredible invention. Strangler quickly flips through the channels, passing on incredible action like the Scotland Sheepherding Semifinals on ESPN2, the latest made-for-TV movie featuring Ice Cube and Steve Guttenberg, and Mr. T and the Dixie Chicks on the Country Music Network. Strangler finally smashes his thumb against the power button, throwing the room into darkness. As the lingering glow from the TV fades into the night, Strangler turns to look at the clock on his bedside table. As he reads the harsh red LED display, his eyes fall on a small black rectangle next to the clock. Strangler stares at it for a moment, then grabs it. He pushes up to his feet with a groan, holding his lower back, and walks over to the television before inserting the cassette into the VCR above the bed. As the tape growls in the VCR, Strangler falls backwards onto the bed, grabs the remote from his side, and presses play, staring at the screen with the look of a man sentenced to death. The TV suddenly comes alive, filling the blackened room with the lights and noises of Ground Zero 2002.

 

"(Mark) My, what a Pay Per View! How can this get any better?! Oh yeah, we're just moments away from the highly anticipated Streetfight for the SWF Intercontinental Television Title! Pitting Erek Taylor against the Boston Strangler!!"

 

Strangler quickly presses down on the fast forward button, skipping through entrances and opening festivities. At a seemingly random point, he jabs down on the play button, triggering the tape once again.

 

Strangler grabs Erek by the wrist and whips him into the intersection again- OOOOH!!! But Erek counters the whip and sends Strangler there, just as a nearby sedan comes speeding by!! The driver of the sedan brakes at the sudden scene of Strangler, but the brakes are not strong enough and the vehicle hits Strangler!! Strangler rolls up to the top of the hood from the impact, and lies there as the driver opens the door.

 

"(Mark) YES!!! LISTEN TO THIS CROWD!! THEY LOVE IT!! STRANGLER GOT WHAT HE DESERVED!!"

 

"(Riley) Stupid Seattle bitch!! You hit the Strangler!!! SOMEBODY GET CHRIS WILSON ON THE LINE!!"

 

Erek moves forward and shoves the driver aside, who tries to tend to the M7 behemoth. The High Flying Prince jumps on top of the car's hood and walks up the windshield before mounting himself on Strangler's chest. With oncoming traffic honking at its loudest, Erek rains down a hefty load of hard rights while also snapping on a choke hold to amplify the damage! After a good exchange of punches, Erek hooks Strangler's leg up for the cover:

 

 

 

ONE!!!

 

 

 

 

TWO!!!

 

 

 

 

 

THREE! OOOOOOHHHH!!!!!

 

Here comes the response!! The crowds are in disbelief!! Strangler pops his shoulder forward and the referee stops the count. Erek Taylor is appalled!! He can't believe it as well!!

 

"(Riley) YES!! Strangler is the toughest of them all!! He still kicked out after he got hit by a car!!"

 

 

Strangler grins slightly before the grin collapses into itself, leaving nothing but the hard, ungiving stare that defines the Boston Strangler. He clicks down on the fast forward button again, cycling through corkscrew moonsaults, police brutality, and chokeslams. Finally, Strangler sees what he’s looking for, and presses play. The videotape queues up as Strangler stares at the screen, his eyes flicking from one corner of the screen to the other.

 

Strangler reaches forward and grabs a chunk of Erek's hair!! He pulls the ICTV Champion in and quickly tries to set up the reverse DDT drop- but Erek quickly fights back, driving an elbow into Strangler's face to release the grip before leaping into the air and twisting around to deliver a heel kick across Strangler's face!! Strangler drops to the ground and Erek crawls away.

 

"(Riley) What is he doing? Why is he running?"

 

"(Mark) I'm no psychic, you fool!"

 

Erek crawls towards the Smarkstron, and with that, he takes a look around. Strangler is once again on the hunt, and out of desperation, Erek starts to climb. Strangler climbs after the Prince, successfully grabbing one of Erek's shoes. Strangler tries to pull Erek down but the ICTV Champion uses his free leg to kick Strangler off. Strangler doesn't discourage, climbing after the High Flying Prince again.

 

"(Mark) My god, he just goes higher and higher."

 

"(Riley) I can see it now. Strangler, the man to end Erek's career!"

 

Erek reaches halfway, trying to get away from the Boston Strangler, who continues his pursuit. Suddenly, an explosion of cheers. The camera goes to the entrance way, where two figures go up to Strangler and pulls the giant down!

 

"(Mark) WHAT THE? IT'S LDP AND TOD DEKINDES!! LDP AND TOD DEKINDES!! X FORCE 9 IS HERE!!"

 

"(Riley) NOOOOO!!!"

 

LDP and Tod pulls Strangler back down to the ground, leading him away from his pursuit and pummeling him back with joint right hands!! The two XF9ers back Strangler up to one of the wrecked cars that serves as decorations for the set. They continue their assault but Strangler bursts through like a caged animal, decking them both with a double clothesline. LDP staggers to his feet, and Strangler quickly slaps on a chokehold!!

 

"(Mark) CHOKESLAM!! CHOKESLAM!!"

 

But Tod denies the attempt, lunging forward and driving a forearm across Strangler's leg! Strangler loses his balance for a bit, but manages to regain it, only to get doubled over with a kick to the gut from LDP! LDP steps forward, and wraps his arm around Strangler's head. Strangler's former rival quickly hooks the arms of the behemoth, and hoists him into the air. The arena explodes and LDP drives Strangler into the concrete with a double armed DDT!! CLOGGER!!! LONGDOGGER CLOGGER!!!

 

"(Riley) NOO! THIS ISN'T FAIR!!!"

 

Tod and LDP drag Strangler to the top of the wrecked car. They mount themselves on each side, delivering hard rights to the face of the Boston Strangler. The fans are so into the beating that they don't even notice that Erek Taylor has climbed to the top of the Smarkstron!!

 

"(Mark) Oh my god, he won't!"

 

"(Riley) He will!"

 

LDP and Tod hold on to Strangler. The fans watch on, and Erek Taylor leaps off the Smarkstron!!!! Time slows down drastically, and everyone has their eyes pasted to the scene. Erek Taylor flies off the Smarkstron, and in the air, twists and turns, until he heads down....

 

 

down 30 feet....

 

 

down 20 feet.....

 

 

 

down 10 feet.......

 

 

CRAAASSSHHHHH!!!!!!

 

....AND COMPLETES A TWISTING MOONSAULT ON THE BOSTON STRANGLER FROM THE TOP OF THE SMARKSTRON!!! THE ARENA EXPLODES AS LDP AND TOD KEEPS EREK LYING ON TOP OF THE BOSTON STRANGLER!!!

 

"(Mark) OH MY GOD!!! DOWNFALL FROM THE SMARKSTRON!!! EREK TAYLOR IS CRAZY!!!"

 

"(Riley) I'm at a loss of words."

 

The referee rushes in to check on the two combatants, but LDP quickly diverts the official's attention to the pin they laid in front of him. LDP and Tod backs away as Erek lies on top of Strangler:

 

 

 

 

ONE!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

TWO!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

THREE!!!!!!

 

***DING DING DING!!!***

 

And the arena explodes!! "Downfall" begins to boom out of the speakers, and everyone, fan or not, are in disbelief!!

 

"(Funyon) The winner of this matchup... and STILL SWF ICTV CHAMPION!!! EREK!!! TAYLOR!!!!!!!!"

 

 

Strangler stops the tape, with a shot of Erek Taylor being helped up by LDP and Tod, and stares at the three men on the screen, paused forever in celebration. Strangler stares into space in the direction of the television, but with his unfocused eyes staring at something only he can see. Abruptly, Strangler pounds down on the rewind button, sending the tape scuttling backwards. Strangler starts the tape at the final location again, watching Taylor climb the SmarksTron™ again and again deep into the night….

 

 

THE GIME GYM, LONG ISLAND, NY

AUGUST 5, 2002

12:59 PM

 

Strangler is lying on the floor of the gym, staring at the ceiling….then the wall in front of him….then the ceiling….then wall…ceiling….wall….as he snaps off sit-up after sit-up. Grunting quietly with each exertion, he rhythmically strains forward before relaxing. As he continues the routine, Strangler can be heard whispering under his breath “Not needed….not needed….not needed…”

 

A hospital in Seattle, emergency room area. Half the SWF roster is find themselves a comfortable seat in the waiting room. In the one corner calmly sits Chris Wilson, leaning forward without a shirt on, ice on his back, ribs taped a bandage across the whole of his forehead. He’s actually looks somewhat happy, looking over at his partner in crime.

 

“Strangler, you’ll have another shot, I’m telling you. X Force 9 will pay for what they did to you. Don’t worry.”

 

Strangler sighs. “I don’t care about the future, he beat me tonight! Goddamn Erek Taylor.” The Boston native grabs a magazine and rips down through the entire book. “I’m going to tear him apart!”

 

Wilson smiles and pats Strangler on the knee. “That’s the spirit, my boy. Everyone’s going to fall before us. Look at what happened to the Carnival and Clan’s combined efforts. Failure.”

 

“Yeah, lot of help I was tonight…”

 

Wilson looks at Strangler, frowning. “Strangler, you were in a street fight right before Wargames. You would have been on that team under any other circumstances.”

 

“I don’t know, Wilson, I’d have still liked to help.”

 

Wilson stands, grimacing in pain as his back straightens. “Look at it this way, my friend: It wasn’t needed.”

 

Strangler smashes his fists into the ground as he strains upward, letting loose with a scream as he jumps from a sitting position to his feet. The two or three other occupants of the gym stare over at the giant who goes storming out through the gym door, muttering under his breath all the way.

 

 

 

DOMINO’S PIZZA, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

AUGUST 5, 2001

6:40 PM

 

The pizzeria is strangely empty, occupied by only two men, who sit in booths at the opposite end of the restaurant. Strangler is hunched over a large pepperoni pizza, slowly taking a bite out of a piping hot slice as he stares maliciously at the seatback in front of him. Strangler grinds his teeth together, mashing the pizza into tiny, miniscule pieces as he broods. Strangler spits a piece of something that looks suspiciously like a pebble out, and begins to mumble to himself again under his breath. “Everything gone wrong…everything gone wrong…”

 

"(Mark) WHAT THE? IT'S LDP AND TOD DEKINDES!! LDP AND TOD DEKINDES!! X FORCE 9 IS HERE!!"

 

...

 

“Strangler, you’ll have another shot, I’m telling you”

 

...

 

CLOGGER!!! LONGDOGGER CLOGGER!!!

 

…

 

“Strangler, X Force 9 will pay…”

 

…

 

"(Mark) Oh my god, he won't!"

 

"(Riley) He will!"

 

…

 

“Goddamn Erek Taylor!”

 

…

 

Erek Taylor flies off the Smarkstron…

 

…

 

“I’m going to tear him apart!”

 

…

 

down 30 feet…

 

…

 

“That’s the spirit, my boy!”

 

…

 

down 20 feet.....

 

 

 

down 10 feet.......

 

…

 

“Strangler, everyone’s going to fall before us!”

 

…

 

CRAAASSSHHHHH!!!!!!

 

....AND COMPLETES A TWISTING MOONSAULT ON THE BOSTON STRANGLER FROM THE TOP OF THE SMARKSTRON!!! THE ARENA EXPLODES AS LDP AND TOD KEEPS EREK LYING ON TOP OF THE BOSTON STRANGLER!!!

 

"(Mark) OH MY GOD!!! DOWNFALL FROM THE SMARKSTRON!!!

 

…

 

“Look at what happened…”

 

…

 

LDP and Tod backs away as Erek lies on top of Strangler:

 

 

 

 

ONE!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

TWO!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

THREE!!!!!!

 

***DING DING DING!!!***

 

And the arena explodes!! "Downfall" begins to boom out of the speakers, and everyone, fan or not, are in disbelief!!

 

"(Funyon) The winner of this matchup... and STILL SWF ICTV CHAMPION!!! EREK!!! TAYLOR!!!!!!!!"

 

…

 

“Failure.”

 

 

Strangler droops his head even more, staring directly at his pizza. He slowly continues to eat as “I Want to Conquer the World” by Bad Religion comes on, playing with a tinny, small sound. The music fills the empty, quiet restaurant as Strangler stares down at the grease condensing on his pepperoni before leaning forward and taking another bite in a sad, melancholy fashion.

 

 

THE HILTON AT LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

AUGUST 6, 2002

12:21 AM

 

Strangler is once again lying on his bed, staring at the television, remote control in hand. The set of Ground Zero is prominent in the background as Strangler and Erek are doing battle for the 20th time that night. Strangler sits back and lets the show wash over him like a wave, as his thoughts roam free in the darkened room.

 

 

(Taylor…that bitch beat me. HE BEAT ME. ME! How? With a cheap shot, a crappy attempt at one-upmanship, a way to break a gentleman’s agreement. I may not be the greatest guy, but I know that there are lines, and Taylor crossed one at Ground Zero…)

 

"What is he doing? Why is he running?"

 

(And now Wilson…he has no confidence in me. And why should he? I’ve lost five matches in a row! I haven’t been pulling my wait…and sooner or later, Wilson is gonna make me pay. Wilson doesn’t bring losers along. That’s why he got me in the first place: so I could win. And now I’m not…and there’s only one person to blame for this: EREK TAYLOR. He cost me my title shot against Thoth. He cheated to beat me at Ground Zero. And now he and his XF9 buddies have decided to torture me…and they want to get rid of me. They want to split me from Wilson. They’re like wolves…they want to separate me from the pack, and then gang up on me. Well it’s not gonna work.)

 

Strangler is once again on the hunt…

 

(I’ve gotta go on the offensive. Taylor won’t give me that rematch. I need that rematch. NEED it. Without it, I’m just the odd man out in the Magnificent Seven, the loser, the guy who can’t cut it. And I’m not…I’m a winner. I have everything it takes to succeed…but Taylor is keeping me from it. And he’s the key…getting to Erek is the key. But how do I do it? How can I get past Taylor if he won’t agree to fight me? That yellow bastard!)

 

 

Strangler’s concentration is broken by a cheer from the television. He looks up, and sees Taylor shaking him loose from his leg and continuing his climb up the Smarktron.

 

 

Strangler doesn't discourage, climbing after the High Flying Prince again.

 

"(Mark) My god, he just goes higher and higher."

 

"(Riley) I can see it now. Strangler, the man to end Erek's career!"

 

Erek reaches halfway, trying to get away from the Boston Strangler, who continues his pursuit. Suddenly, an explosion of cheers. The camera goes to the entrance way, where two figures go up to Strangler and pulls the giant down!

 

"(Mark) WHAT THE? IT'S LDP AND TOD DEKINDES!! LDP AND TOD DEKINDES!! X FOR…

 

 

Strangler’s eyes suddenly shoot open as he lunges desperately for the remote. He slams down on the rewind button. After only a few seconds, Strangler hits play, queuing the video from before.

 

 

Strangler doesn't discourage, climbing after the High Flying Prince again.

 

"(Mark) My god, he just goes higher and higher."

 

"(Riley) I can see it now. Strangler, the man to end Erek's career!"

 

Erek reaches halfway, trying to get away from the Boston Strangler, who continues his pursu…

 

(That’s it…I’ve got it…Taylor, you have NO idea what you’ve just gotten yourself into…)

 

 

For the first time, a smile crosses Strangler’s face. He practically leaps off the bed, causing the floor beneath him to tremor as he grabs the VCR in both hands, fumbling for the eject button. The tape slowly slips out of the VCR before Strangler wraps his meaty paw around it, yanking it clear out of the VCR. Strangler, still smiling from ear to ear, walks to the balcony door before sliding it open and stepping into the cool night air. Strangler steps to the edge, and looks out from the 13th floor, admiring the starry night sky. Strangler looks down to the courtyard below before reaching out and dropping the tape. Strangler quickly loses track of the tape, and turns as a loud CRACK! echoes through the night sky, followed quickly by a loud yell. “DAMN, YO! I SWEAR, WHOEVER THREW DAT, I GONNA WRECK YO SHIT! Now someone push my chair! Please? C’mon!!!”

 

As the screams continue from the courtyard, Strangler is blissfully unaware, closing the door behind him before crashing down onto the bed. Strangler lies down, staring at the ceiling as he thinks to himself.

 

(That’s how it’s gonna have to be…it’s not gonna be pretty, but Taylor’s gonna learn what happens when you mess with the Boston Strangler. It’s just the way things go sometimes. I will do whatever, WHATEVER, it takes to beat Taylor. And if I can’t do it this time…then I’ll pay the piper. But if this is what it takes to stop Taylor from coming between me and Wilson, to stop Taylor from DESTROYING MY LIFE, then I’ll do it. Taylor, you better say your prayers, because there’s a big, angry, pissed off devil that’s looking for you…and you ain’t gonna see me coming.)

 

Strangler leans back even further, reclining against the pillow. As he begins to close his eyes, the silence washing over him, one thought rattles around in his mind…

 

(What will it take?)

[Guest Beingz0wningj00]

Thugg's shit is gonna be wrecked, yo!

[Guest Rabbi_wilson13]

That was a sweet-ass promo. Shows off the fact Strangler is paranoid and he evolves another reason to destroy Erek, even if its in his head. I love that. Very good.

 

And a cameo by Thugg? Your safe hitting him, since he's got the broken neck and can't fight and everything. Cooool.

[Guest AnnieEclectic]

Heh.

 

That was damn good, and I love the way you weave Strangler's thoughts plus the replay of the match. Verrrry good. Damn, don't ever go back to the HC division because well, you scare me...

 

-Annie

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Paranoia!

 

This is really the sort of thing I was hoping to see. Strangler obsessing over the end of the match...more direction...actually, I feel kinda bad that Storm is your third tag match in a row, because I feel like this stuff needs solo action to work best. But then again, you did draw Erek in there, so rock.

 

Not sure what you're 'ripping off', though. But this IS bat country.

[Guest Longdogger_Pete]

CLOGGER!!! LONGDOGGER CLOGGER!!!

 

Muwahahaha.

[Guest ErekT2k]

Ah, memories......

[Guest Kibagami]

Character development for the big crazy man = teh roq.

 

Good stuff, man.

 

S.

[Guest Perfect_Bo]

Fuck you Strangler for making my state sooo bad... Boston is worst... Fuck you for dissin my state... Oh, by the way... Great Promo...

[Guest chirs3]

Finally got around to reading this, and I'm glad I did. Taylor/Strangler kicks. Excellent promo.

[Guest HVilleThugg]

And after a whole day of TBS shilling this, I finally got aroudn to reading it. Good shit yo...nice character devel, and confirming that this angle is more than just about the ICTV title.

 

But, if you ever drop a cassette on my head again, I'll kill you. Meh...I'll just hold you down..

 

Da "booking TBS in a bikini/mud wrestling match" H

[Guest Longdogger_Pete]

Dude, hasn't he already been held down enough? I mean, come on! He's lost five straight!

 

...going on six