Promo - "Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder"

[Sly 0]

Sunday, May 28, 2000 - 7:30 PM

On tour with the ICW, somewhere…

 

Tonight, in front of a crowd of a few thousand, the ICW has put together another seemingly passable card. It’s the final show in this leg of the tour, so management has decided to give the tour a send off with a bang. It’s been a great night so far, and Markus Cirillo is undoubtedly very pleased… and very high. You see, the ICW is a very popular independent federation, led by a trio of friends Markus Cirillo (also known as Crow), Adam Van Dam, and Dante Crane. Unfortunately, the federation also has a disease on tour with it. Drug use has become very rampant in the locker room and with the owners, especially Adam and Markus. On this particular night, they’ve managed to get their hands on their drug of choice… heroin. While any clear minded individual might realize that this is neither the time nor the place to indulge in such activities. They hardly seem to care, though.

 

“Here’s to another great tour, Adam,” Markus says as he begins to tie down the rubber strap on his arm.

 

“Same to you, mate.”

 

“Fuckin’ a, can you give me a hand here?”

 

As pleasant as this little scene may be, it’s not the purpose of our story at all. The purpose of our story is…

 

“Oh… I’m not interrupting anything am I?” The shy voice of a then young Austin Sly protrudes from off camera. “I can come back later if you want.”

 

“No, come on in mate! Have a seat right here and help me tie this on.” Markus bolsters.

 

“Oh… okay.”

 

“Look, Austin, I know this may seem odd to you, but we’ve all taken quite a liking to you here… tighter, kid.”

 

“Thanks, Crow,” replies the then twenty two year old. “I’m glad that you have given me such an opportunity here.”

 

“Don’t worry about it…” Crow replies, flipping the end of his syringe a couple of times, “we… mmmp… we love to give people, such as yourself, a chance to make their mark. How old are you anyways?”

 

“Today I turned twenty two, believe it or not.”

 

“What? Today!” Crow yells in an overly excited manner. “Well happy birthday! This calls for a celebration!”

 

“That’s nice of you… but I think you’re doing enough celebrating for the both of us.”

 

“No, not this kind of celebration. Now I know that you’re still young and pretty green… but you’ve got a good attitude, and like I said, we do like you quite a bit back here. So here’s what I’m going to do for you, since it’s your birthday and all, you get to be in the main event!”

 

“I… what? Main event?!” Austin replies, quite ecstatic. “But… I have no place in the main event.”

 

“Now don’t argue with me when I’m trying to be generous! You’re going to do fine! Now you just go get ready, and I’ll get in contact with Hangover Man and let him know that you’re going to be taking a shot at his title tonight.”

 

“But… Hangover Man?” Austin gulps. “Okay… I put my trust in you, Crow.”

 

“It’s going to be great, Austin!” Crow yells as the young man turns to make his way out of the room. “You okay over the Adam?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just soaking it all in, mate.” says the smiling Van Dam.

 

That night was the biggest night in Austin’s career. Having only been traveling with the ICW for less than a year, he felt a little odd going into the match that night, and while he knew that management was behind him completely, there was a sinking suspicion that the locker room might have quite the opposite feelings. Hangover Man was a veteran in the ring and had been touring with the company since the beginning, and while he’s quite bitter towards the preferential treatment that the young man is receiving, he’s a professional. The match is winding down, and Hangover Man is in trouble. Austin has led a strong rally, and the crowd is helping to fuel him. With a burst of energy, Austin duck under a clothesline and launches himself to the top rope! He comes flying off, looking to nail a possibly match ending hurricanrana, but as Austin tries to twist Hangover Man down… something goes wrong. The weight of the man comes toppling down too fast, and Austin doesn’t tuck the landing just right, landing him on his neck with a sickening thud. Hangover Man rolls over for the pin, but it doesn’t matter now. Austin isn’t getting back up anytime soon… he’s out of it.

 

After the match, the once hopeful youngster is carted out of the ring on a stretcher and right into an ambulance. Alongside the emergency personnel is ICW co-owner and operator Markus Cirillo.

 

“Austin, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have booked you in that match!” Crow says, obviously quite disturbed. “I knew you were too green, but I just wanted to do something special. I was just trying to help you out!”

 

“Calm down, Markus. He’s out of it… he can’t even hear you.” Dante Crane stops his frantic friend in the hall. “Nobody knew this was going to happen. It’s no ones fault. He’s going to be okay.”

 

Our scene fades with Dante Crane draping his arm around Crow’s shoulders, comforting him slightly through the glow of flashing red and blue ambulance lights. This wasn’t just any night for the ICW or for Austin Sly. In many ways, this was both a beginning and an end. This was the night that Austin lost his innocence. His trust. No one ever informed him that Crow was one of the first people on the scene to help him after the match. No one ever told him that Crow chased after his stretcher, trying to be a comfort and support to the man. No one ever let Austin know that his friend stayed all night in the waiting room, finally leaving only after receiving notice of Austin’s condition, almost missing his ride back home. By the time Austin had recovered, ICW was on it’s way down, taking Adam and Markus along with it. Their heroin habits had turned into full blown addictions that would eventually take one of their lives. Austin had turned cold. His slow rise to the top was forced to peak too early, costing him valuable time in his young career and giving him the sole reward of an aching neck for the rest of his life. Slowly, his determination built. Not a good determination, though. A determination for revenge.

 

This is how a violent streak forms.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

Pretty sweet. Nice job, Sly.

[Sly 0]

Ignore the fact that I mistitled this.

[Angel_Grace_Blue 0]

NO, NOT AVD!

 

Uh, yeah. Good promo. Word.

[Toxxic 0]

I too like this. And it just shows that when it comes down to it, Crowe is at fault for everything.