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17 February 2010 0500 Hours BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! To the sounds of the alarm clock, the reigning World Heavyweight Champion wakes in a motel room outside of Sacramento, California. The man known to the world as Josh Konnely sits up from the double bed, throwing the covers aside as the alarm lets him know that it is time to rise and meet the day, even before the sun itself has risen. BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! Josh wearily reaches around, struggling to find the alarm's OFF switch through blurry, sleep-filled eyes. He groans as his hand blindly finds its mark and turns the alarm clock off. He is wearing a sleeveless yellow Under Armour shirt and black sleep pants. The twenty-four year old World Champion pushes himself to his feet and crosses to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He emerges a couple of minutes later a sigh. His face and hair are wet, indicating that he washed his face and soaked his hair to help wake himself up. Konnely opens the door of a small refrigerator in the room, pulling out a quart of milk. He sits down at a table where a box of Wheaties, a bowl and a spoon await, having been prepped the night before. Josh tiredly pours the cereal into the bowl, and adds milk. He quickly puts the bottle of milk back into the fridge before sitting down at the table.
"Ah. Breakfast of Champions." Josh says aloud, thinking it to himself.
Josh gives a weak little smile as he begins to eat his breakfast.
"No better way to begin a day on which you've got a championship defense."
Konnely silently eats his bowl of cereal. Once he is done, he drinks the milk right from the bowl to empty it.
"Yeah, yeah. Never waste. That's how you do when you grew up poor."
Josh stands and pulls a sweat suit from the dresser, temporarily leaving the breakfast components sprawled on the table. The phone rings.
Konnely crosses to the room phone and picks it up.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, sir. This is the front desk with the 5:15 wakeup call you requested."
"Yessir, thank you. I am up and awake. Thank you very much."
"Not a problem, sir. Have a nice day."
Josh hangs up the phone with a sigh.
"Right, a nice day. On a day that begins with a four mile run at dawn and ends with a World Heavyweight Championship defense? Not too likely."
17 February 2010 0530 Hours Josh Konnely is now outside the suburban California motel, dressed in the all white sweatsuit that he had pulled from the dresser earlier. He begins to jog out the rural road. Dirt and rock surround the area for as far as the eye can see, with plateaus and mountains looming high above the horizons. Josh speaks as he jogs at a fair pace, his speech deliberately broken with pauses for breath control.
"Last time... I won the SFT Championship... I lost it a month later. I lost... because I got careless... and I got lazy. As champion... for the first time... I took it for granted. Thought I wouldn't... have to work at it.
After all... I was SFT World Heavyweight Champion.
The baddest man in the company.
Anyone who came after my title...
Would get hurt.
And hurting people was all I really cared about.
The championship was just a perk.
As long I got to inflict pain, the title didn't matter.
I ultimately let the championship slip away.
I let a lesser person beat me.
All I because I got lax.
As you can see... I will not make the same mistake again.
Dave Van Dam, you command respect.
You have my respect.
I respect you because of what you do.
Certainly not because you whine about being asked to put other people over.
But because when you step in that ring... you bring out the best in every opponent.
Just by being Dave Van Dam, you elevate everyone you face.
That includes your reigning World Heavyweight Champion...
Josh Konnely."
Josh continues to run, but is silent for several minutes as he focuses on his training.
"This is why I will not get lax in my training.
I have carried the SFT Championship for months.
With an iron fist I have ruled over the Towers.
An iron fist and a golden waist.
If anyone deserves to slack off and not completely try...
I'd be that guy.
But this is the legendary DVD.
The Immortal Icon.
Be Kind, Rewind. Does not apply.
It's he, it's he, it's DVD."
Konnely seems to tire of his quirky cadence, and falls silent again as he continues to run.
17 February 2010 0615 It is about forty-five minutes removed from when he began, and Josh Konnely is now returning back in the direction of the hotel, running back across the same stretch of road he was on earlier. The sweatsuit is soaked, true to its name, with sweat that has turned it a dark gray. Konnely is breathing hard and his skin is red, but he goes into a full sprint as he seeks to cover that final quarter mile.
"Dave... the end is in sight. That golden light is ahead. The end of the tunnel.
I will never quit.
Dave, I hope you're ready. I'm coming to fight.
I will fight all the way to the end.
I will never accept defeat.
But if it comes, it comes.
This is my ethos.
Old Man Van Dam, can you endure my pain?
You have nothing to lose, all to gain.
You are the legend.
You are the Hall of Famer.
God you are not... but legend you will always be.
That's what you've always said, isn't it?
All the way back to your wars with The ICON?"
Josh is sucking down air as he finishes his run back to the motel door. As he steps into the lobby, he remains standing as he catches his breath.
"Dave... as I said... I do respect you.
Lately, you have been a crybaby.
Still, that doesn't change your status... as the guy the fans come to see.
You have that status... because of what I said earlier. You bring the best out of everyone, and in the biggest spotlight you bring the best of yourself.
That is where we will be tonight.
Can you topple me? Or will the guy the fans come to see be broken... by the guy the fans come to HATE.
That question can only be answered in the ring.
The SFT has inserted DVD to face me.
Another plug-and-play challenger.
Dave, no one's asking you to lay down tonight.
They're all just asking that you SURVIVE.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go shower."
Josh heads toward the stairs, and the scene fades to black.
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