Be Free (Proving Grounds 10/9/2020)

(Black screen)

For far too long, I have stood in my own shadow.  Blocked by the other guy, hidden away as not to be seen...or heard.  But a few months ago, that all changed.  I grew strong.  I grew powerful.  I learned to fight...I learned to take control...and I learned exactly what I needed to do...to free myself.

(Our scene opens and we see a brown haired, bearded man...dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans, sitting at a solid oak table.  Besides him, the table, and three papers placed on the table, the room is empty.  But despite the minimalistic nature, it seems pretty full as the room isn’t too big.  With solid wood floors and a beige paint job on the wall, it all looks rather plain)

I choose this room so that I can discuss myself...introduce myself formally...without any distractions, items to pull your gaze of the man who stands before you.  I’m not a narcissistic man, I just want you to see me...for me.

(Caliban clasps his hands together, placing them on the table)

My name is Caliban.  And without going too deep into it at this current time...I am what many would consider...a Dissociative Identity.  I consider myself the main identity as I am the one in complete control, but many doctors tend to disagree.  But what do they know, right?

(Caliban smirks)

I come to Project: Honor, in search of a place to spread my wings.  I come to Project Honor in search of a place where I can make a name for myself...instead of trying to correct the mistakes of HIS past...of Christian DeMarco’s...past.

(The smirk fades away)

As many in the wrestling world know...young Christian DeMarco signed his name on the dotted line for a federation that I will not name...and he has done nothing but flop around like a dying fish.  Wrought with anxiety, wrought with depression, he has tied himself up with string after string...making it nearly impossible to pull himself out of the whole he dug.  And when the time came and he was at his weakest...when he convinced himself to quit the drinking...quit the medication...I...came...back.  I found it within myself to dig US out of the hole HE dug.  I found it within myself to correct the sinking ship.  But still...there...in that place...they will always look at me, as Christian DeMarco.  They will never see Caliban.  They will never understand the methods I had to enact to get our name back in the mouths of millions.  They will never understand what I had to do to not be labeled as a jobber…

...a peon…

...a nobody…

...useless…

(Caliban’s focus shifts to the table)

But those around me...those who DO stand by my side...they know who I am.  They understand I am Caliban.  They understand that the person once known as Christian DeMarco...is gone.  Forgotten.  Alice and Kayden, two of my closest friends...my followers...they understand why I am here.  They understand the ideas that I present.  My personal mission to come to a place where strings don’t hold me down, so that I can spread my own message.

(He looks back up at the camera, the look on his face is one of concern)

For far too long, I have watched wrestler after wrestler...athlete after athlete...be pulled down by the strings of their past...of their present...and of their future.  They worry too much about the gold and the wins...and they don’t even stop short of selling their souls to pile them up.  They twist themselves into little balls of thread, being consumed by these strings...until they burn out...phase out...die out.

(Caliban pauses for a moment)

Many times we have all watched talented individuals come roaring in, getting win after win after win...then they accomplish that main goal of earning gold around their waste.  What then?  What becomes of their mission?  They did what they set out to do and now with their goal being accomplished...they become...complacent.  They all get to a point where they don’t set themselves up for more goals and they become confused.  They lose the title...lose their drive...lose themselves.  And then...they just vanish.

(A smile forms on Caliban’s face, highlighting a missing tooth)

That’s where I come in.  I am here to help people shed their strings.  I am here to help people break free from the things that hold them down...hold them into an uncompromising position.  Like last week.  That security guard was held down by society.  He was held down by the strings of how people would look at him if he wanted to accomplish his dreams.  He was held down by the strings of how his peers would scoff at him for wanting to sing.  

Was he any good?  I don’t know.  

Will he accomplish what his heart desires?  I’m not too sure.

But will he continue to be held down by the strings that his security bosses and everyone around him wanted to tie him down with?  NO...HE...WON’T.

And that is what I plan on doing here, within the walls of Project: Honor.  I want to help people break free from the molds they think they have to stick to.  This shouldn’t be about need.  You don’t need money...you don’t need fame.  We all can get by in this business without any of that.  It should be all about what our heart wants...what we want.  And too many of us can’t see that.  And then to make matters worse, they get the idea of need and want confused.  They cross their streams.  You don’t always need something.  It’s a matter of when we look at something and our brain cries out that we NEED it...but...ask your heart...do you WANT it?

(The smile fades as Caliban becomes more serious)

Even that word NEED is a string that holds us down...keeps us tied to something or somewhere that we don’t belong.  Like I said moments ago, you don’t need money...you don’t need fame...but you may WANT money...you may want fame.  And those two are different ideas.  Don’t let these strings hold you away from doing what you want!

(Caliban takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly)

Take me for example.  I walk into Project: Honor and most people think I need to make a name for myself.  Wrong.  I want to separate myself from the old persona of Christian DeMarco.  I want to help my fellow athletes separate themselves from what Management and the fans make them think they NEED to do...when instead they should be more honed in on finding a way to get what they WANT.  It’s all a matter of perspective.  You should be more inclined to do things for yourself...instead of others.  Which...brings me to my first Project Honor match.

(Caliban pauses again)

The higher-ups have found it in their heart to place me in the middle of a fatal-four-way Rookie Showcase.  With an influx of talent making its way into the halls of Project Honor, the Management is beaming with confidence in their product and belief in their people.  Hell, two bodies since I signed on the dotted line and thirteen total new faces within the halls...certainly means the world to this growing company.  This rookie showcase?  All of us joined within four days of each other.

Slayer.

Walker.

Darling.

It’s beautiful to see so many people, reaching for that brass ring.  Trying to make a name for themselves.  Trying to stand a step above the other rookies.  But do they do it out of a want...or do they find themselves within the need category that I spoke of earlier?  

(Caliban grabs one of the papers and holds it up to reveal a picture of Alex Slayer)

Let’s start with Alex Slayer.  The Rated R Reaper...the Gawd Damned Man...the Strong Arm Alchemist.  So many nicknames, almost as if he is trying too hard.  Almost as if he is confused about who he REALLY is.  But after all...born in Japan, currently from Canada, working in the United States...the man seems to have his ties to everywhere.  With at least three strings pulling him in completely different directions, I understand how he could be having an identity crisis.  Reading his Project Honor spreadsheet is just as ridiculous.

(He begins to read off the back of the photo)

His own bio shows off his need to feel bigger...to feel better.  In a place where management has asked us to provide them with a maximum of three finishers to better market them...Alex couldn’t even stop at three...he couldn’t stop at six...he needed TEN finishers to be marketed.  A simple task, asked by management...and he couldn’t even follow that rule.  Who the hell needs that many Yamato’s anyway?  Just have one...call it a day and be done with that shit.  Instead he needs to flash eight different types of Yamatos like he is trying to make up for something.  What gives, Alex?  Are you that indecisive?  Or is it just some sort of oppositional defiant disorder that you find the need to stick it to management before you even step into the ring?

But what do we expect from someone who claims he doesn’t like talking about his past...but in his own bio, goes on to tell us so much about himself.

Poor mixed race child.

An absent father.

An infamous wrestling mother.

Seems like the ‘woe is me’ card.  The pity vote will not save you in Project: Honor, Alex.  Have you not watched?  Have you not paid any attention? Within these walls, they could care less if you were some albino hatched from an egg...you have to earn your fans.

But Mr. Caliban...he trained with his Mommy at the Dragon’s Lair dojo.  He did so well at Pro Wrestling Nova.  He’s this...he’s that...he’s everything…

No...one...cares.

What has he done in Project: Honor?  Alex, what have you done under the Project: Honor heading?  When it comes to this beautiful little society, you have done just as much as I have...nothing.  And this match?  This match is for us to prove to each other, prove to the other two men, prove to management and the fans...just how far we are willing to go for the betterment of this company.  This is our opportunity to make our inaugural Project Honor mark.

Rumor has it that you consider yourself a self-made man and this is your chance to prove to the rest of us before you, that this is true.  Otherwise I will just have to call you for what you seem to already be...a hypocrite.  Can’t be a self made man when your Mommy is the one who got your foot in the door.

(Caliban crumbles the picture up and throws it over his right shoulder.  Without hesitation, he holds up a second picture.  This one is of Nat Walker)

Interestingly enough...next in our match...is Mr. Nat Walker.  It seems that Nat and I grew up less than two hours from each other.  A nice trip along one-sixty-nine and with a few turns here and there, anyone can travel from Amboy to Apple Valley.  But I think that is where the similarities end.  Alex himself has stated that he just wants to be the center of attention.  But the question is...why?  Why do you need to be seen by so many?  Why do you want all eyes on you?  Twice he has uprooted his life in a quest for something he felt he NEEDED.

Amboy to Minnesota.

Minnesota to California.

All for a few fans, all for a little attention.  Why, Nat?  You see, this is your string.  While it hasn’t tied you down to a specific location...it has tied you down to the idea that you need recognition.  Another man who is so confused that he needs three nicknames:

The Star.

The Center of Attention.

All Eyes On Me.

Listen, Nathaniel.  You have such potential, but it seems so wasted.  Instead of needing the spotlight...why don’t you try to gracefully go out and just have fun?  Why not revel in the idea that you have the chance to climb the Project: Honor ladder on your own?  Instead, it seems you just keep worrying about...and needing...distraction after distraction after distraction.  

That spotlight?  It will burn you.

Those fans you want cheering your name?  They will distract you.

The idea of becoming the next big star?  It will only pull you away from the true motivation that can drive you.

What happens when you start losing and the spotlight falls off of you?  What happens when you become boring and old and the fans stop cheering your name?  What happens when the talk of becoming the next big star...fades out?  Then what.  You will strive to get it all back?  You will kick and bite and claw your way back until you become relevant again?  Or will you just fall to the wayside like the rest of these flash-in-the-pan wrestlers, tied down by their need to be famous.

Go ask Kyle Anderson how daunting that quest to climb back up is.  Just last week we all watched as he battled Red Riot and Daniel Horror, only to get his ass handed to him...again.  His quest failed.  The task was too great.  And now?  His name sits in the former talent section of the Project: Honor website.  Just like Jason Terrance...Tommy O’Connor...and on...and on...and on...and on…

That need you want to scratch, Nat?  It never goes away.  And when you keep losing, when you keep failing at scratching it...it only gets worse.  And then when you feel that it just can’t get any worse...it stops.  Why?  Because deep inside you know you have failed.  Your strings will have tied you up and laid you to waste.  Another wrestler bent and broken...put through the ringer by the same system they fought so hard to overcome.  Don’t keep reaching for the spotlight, Nat.  Because the hard you reach...the farther it’s going to move away.  And then in an instant...it will turn off.  No warning.  No call out to Mr. Walker.  Just...off.  Shows over.

(Caliban crumbles the Nat Walker picture up and throws it over his left shoulder.  A smile slides onto his face as he holds up the third and final picture.  It is of the last opponent in the match, Indy Walker)

Finally we have someone with ONE nickname...Everyone’s Favorite.  While I can argue that it seems a little egotistical, but when you keep getting handed off to new people over your entire life...I guess you hope to be SOMEONE’S favorite.  And this, Indy, this is your string.  You’re tied down by your father’s death, you’re tied down by your mother’s refusal of you.  Yeah, she may have taken you in when she was forced to...but never forget...she chose her career over you.

Kind of disturbing, if you ask me.  She’s so disapproving of the life you chose to live, although it seems she was one of the major reasons you CHOSE that path.  Some could say that by denying you and pushing you to your father, she set you on the track to become what you are today.  Who knows, if she was actually a REAL mother...you might have found your way into politics instead.

Anyway...even your own trainer refused to train you, until he got the dollar signs in his eyes.  He had nothing to gain training a broke young kid...but someone flashed money in his face and he heard the angels sing from the heavens.

Cha-Ching!

Cha-Ching!

What did anyone expect from a former mid-carder?  What did anyone expect from someone whose best years had them being a ‘legendary’ mid-carder?

But honestly...who Dr. Miyagi is...who your mother wants to be...is NOT who YOU are.  You are being you, regardless of who has directed you.  That, I am happy to see.  With as many strings holding you down, trying to control you, trying to make you something that you aren’t...I can see that you try to fight them.  I see you push away the hate, the disdain your own mother feels for you...and you do your best to be ‘Indy Darling’.

I understand what it feels to be hated.

I understand what it feels like to be shunned.

I understand you, Indy.

Ignore them all.  Listen to that crowd.  Listen to the cheers...the people calling your name.  But there is something you need to remember…

(Caliban leans forward in his chair)

We are not some independent wrestling federation.  We are not a bunch of bears, led out for you to wrestle for a crowd’s entertainment.  We are Project: Honor.  All these little side acts you’ve been dealing with, is nothing compared to what this place will bring you.  I haven’t even been in a match yet and I can see the talent this place has.  Besides the people who hold the Gold...we have people like MYOJIN, Caden Young, and Kasey Winterborn.  So again, I stress to you Indy...don’t be too comfortable.  Don’t like the strings of your past wrestling accomplishments...the strings of your formerly famous trainer...pull you into complacency.  This is...heh...a different animal.  Just because you get likes on some social media...just because you get someone to watch your little videos...JUST BECAUSE YOU SAY YOU ARE EVERYONE’S FAVORITE...means nothing.

Come out to that ring.

Stare me, Nat, and Alex, in the face.

Prove you are who you say you are.

Prove that you are Everyone’s Favorite.

You want to put us on notice?  You’re trying to stress to everyone that they can’t stop some sort of revolution?

Bring it, Mr. Darling.  Because all I see is someone with mommy-issues and money, who is so tied down by life and things he feels he needs to do...that he has blinded himself to what he has been signed up for.  If you consider yourself a revolution...consider me the resistance.  You seek to revolt...I seek to rebel for the sake of opening people's eyes.  We don’t need more strings tied to us, for the world to dance us around like their little muppets, Indy.

Stop dancing for Mr. Miyagi.

Stop dancing for your mother.

Stop trying to be Everyone’s Favorite and be Indy’s Favorite.  There’s your revolution.  There’s the idea that will stick it to everyone who has ever doubted you.

Be the resistance.

Be without strings.

Be like me.

Be free.

(Caliban crumbles up the picture of Indy and throws it at the camera.  Right before it hits, we lose the scene)