The Perfect Picture [#1]

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H A Y D E N  C A L L A H A N | "The Perfect Picture"

vs Involved Party (#1) | T H E  X H F  R U M B L E

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Canary Wharf, London, England
1st of January, 2018

The opening scene begins with a flashback to over two years ago on New Year's Day, we find ourselves within the familiar apartment that belongs to Hayden Callahan but it seems very more empty than before. Boxes upon boxes filling the hallways and the words "FRAGILE" written with a black marker. Then the front door opens and we find Hayden himself walk into the home, a clean shaven Hayden with the just turned one year old Aubrey in his arms, sucking on her thumb with no expression on her face. Just behind Hayden is a younger woman, early twenties and her hair out like an mini afro. She walks past Hayden and looks around the apartment, smiling from ear to ear with enjoyment over what she sees around her. This is Danielle Lewis, the mother of Aubrey and then longtime girlfriend of Hayden.

Hayden Callahan: Someone's really enjoying their new place.

Danielle Lewis: This is amazing! This is perfect! It's just what I've imagined it to be!

Hayden Callahan: It's a nice view too.

Danielle Lewis: It's a stunning view! I love it so much!

Hayden walks closer to the large window that views the skyline of London City, pointing out to the towers upon towers for little Aubrey to see. A little smile with a giggle comes from her, she reaches out and taps on the window. For once, Hayden's smiling and laughing. During this time, his mental health was being affected greatly. This was the beginning of when his time within the ring was being cut short due to Danielle not being able to take care of Aubrey on her own with her workplace slotting her in for countless of hours. Of course, Hayden's life was in the ring and not being able to compete and doing what he loves is eating him up from inside. Danielle walks over to Hayden and picks up Aubrey from his arms, bringing her around the home as if showing Aubrey her new home. Hayden stands at the window and continues to look out past the skyline before he hears his phone ringing.

"INCOMING CALL - Dad."

Hayden is hesitant, he lets the phone ring a little bit longer before finally building up the courage to answer the call.

Hayden Callahan: Hey, dad.

Dad: David! How have thing's been? I've heard you've gotten your own place, thought I'd call and see how that is?

Hayden Callahan: It's... It's going good, dad, myself and Danielle are loving the place... We think it's perfect.

Dad: That's great to hear... Actually, David, there's something I want to tell you.

Hayden raises an eyebrow, not normally his dad would have something important to say.

Hayden Callahan: What's wrong, dad?

There's an audible sigh heard over the phone.

Dad: Now what I'm going to say might not be true, it could be a different person that might have been seen so don't get too heated when I say i--

Hayden Callahan: Dad, just tell me. Quit the bullshit.

Dad: Well uhm... Your brother, Matthew, thought he saw Danielle the other night on a street corner and she could have been selling hard drugs. Now, this might not be her, this was at night of course so he wasn't very clear to understand who it was but I just wanted to let you know. Maybe you could talk to her about it, see if it was her.

Hayden stays silent, he closes his eyes and pauses for a moment to think before speaking up again.

Hayden Callahan: Dad, she was with me the whole time. She never left the house at all at night, it couldn't have been her.

Dad: If you say so, David. Well, myself and your mother will be around there later to help unpack so we'll see you around.

Hayden Callahan: Yeah, dad, see you around.

Hayden hangs up and slides his phone back into his jacket pocket, he lets out a large deep breath over what he's just found out. Hayden continues to look out the window, the smile from before completely wiped from his face. Danielle walks back into the room, still smiling, she sees Hayden looking out the window and walks over to him. She places a hand on his shoulder and leans in close, kissing him on his cheek.

Danielle Lewis: What's wrong, babe?

Hayden Callahan: My dad rang me.

Danielle Lewis: Is there something after happening?

Hayden looks at Danielle, right into her eyes and for a moment he looked like he was about to say something but he holds it back before looking back out the window.

Danielle Lewis: David? What's after happening?

Hayden Callahan: Nothing, sweetheart. He called to tell me he and my mother would be over later to help us unpack is all, I promise you there's nothing wrong at all.

Danielle Lewis: You'd tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn't you?

Hayden Callahan: Of course, Dani, I'd tell you anything.

Danielle leans in again and kisses Hayden on the lips, rubbing his shoulder before walking away and out of the large room. Hayden stands there, motionless and emotionless, he doesn't know how to feel. He remembers Danielle going out for a night out with her friends a few nights ago but Hayden wouldn't have thought of Danielle to do such a thing... At least not with Aubrey. Hayden drops his head and then walks out of the room, in the same direction that Danielle went as the scene fades to black.

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Do you know who I want to be?

I want to be Hayden Callahan!

I want to be the future, I want to be one of the greats, I want to be a success story… I want my legacy to go down in history!

...

I’ve now painted the perfect picture for you all. I’ve told you time and time again, day by day, every single waking hour that these days live for… You’re looking at the very best. I’ve fucking ploughed through Ultra Kira and I’ve sent Colin Trentwood six feet under and into his own grave. I know what you might be thinking, these are two names that nobody cares about or even knows about. That’s the point. I’ve been mistreated badly, I’ve been given these bunch of nobodies and they can barely last longer than five whole minutes with me in the ring. SWAT… I’ve told you this before, but do you see me like I am a fucking joke?

I’m pretty sure you do, and believe me I do not appreciate that in the slightest.

But I am glad to know that there is someone out there that knows my talent, I guess you could say, they have the same mindset as mine. They know talent when they see it. Anthony Caffrey. He sees true talent. You see, very recently... Mr Anthony Caffrey approached me with an offer, for the Anzac Cup. He wanted a partner for it, one he could rely upon and one he knows can share the same in-ring talent as he does. Of course, I accepted. Now, if this was the Anzac Cup, Anthony… I would be signing the high praises for you, my soon to be partner... But it’s not, is it? It’s the XHF Rumble. It’s what I told you I was going to win, it’s what I told you would lead me to win that XHF X*Crown Championship. Don’t you remember this? When you asked me who I wanted to be?

I said I wanted to be Hayden fuckin’ Callahan.

I said I wanted to be the future of not only SWAT but the entire XHF Network combined, and that’s where The Rumble is going to take me. When you look back at past Rumble winners, it’s built or rebuilt careers. Take a look at Scorpion in 2003, it built his career to be what it is today. A better example could be Spike Kane in 2006 or Reckless Jack in 2007, and how could I forget about the first-ever Rumble there was before it was branded with the XHF logo… “The Revolutionary Redneck” himself… Rage, all the way back in 2001. Now, if you’re expecting the same old sob story that everyone has and probably will be going into this match where they talk about looking up to their idols and wanting to be one of the greats, to be etched into the history books with some legends to the game… Coming from me? Not a fucking chance. 

Remember… I said I wanted to be Hayden fuckin’ Callahan.

And that’s who I intend to be going into this, Anthony, I intend to be “The Best” and not best in your standards… Best to my standards. Better than best. More like a fucking God Tier. Knowing this “reputation” of yours for having an ego the size of the Comcast Technology Center, I’m expecting you to come biting back with some facts that we all know about. The three hundred and nine-day reign as AXW Undisputed Champion; longest in the companies’ history. An “undefeated” streak that lasted from your debut to your last AXW match but you did tap out in that one hour in the desert you brought up. See, we hear all about the good in you, Anthony -- So how about we hear the bad about you?

You know… the part of your career you’d rather hide from before you tucked your tail between your legs and ran over to SWAT?

After losing the Undisputed Championship to Vincent Draven, you made it a promise to keep be kept that you’ll never lose again… and then you lost to Chris Card, actually, you tapped out. Your tenure in Ascension Wrestling Federation was… different for you than your time in AXW. Unstoppable, unbeatable and very much untouchable in England but weak, vulnerable and delusional. Anthony, how could someone like you be making claims that you’ll go through the entire year of 2020 undefeated when you barely made it through Aiden Merric in your first match of this year. You didn’t even win the SWAT Rumble when you had the chance, and to be frank, you won’t win the XHF Rumble either. Because when Hayden Callahan’s in the Rumble… your chances are fucked.

And it doesn’t go with just you, Anthony, it goes for everyone else in this match.

You’ve got members of SWAT in this Rumble, and members of AWF and J-ROK. Members of MCCW and hell, we’ve some unbranded names in this. I’ve been told that it’s the best of the best their brands have, some even are champions. But here is the thing, it doesn’t matter what brand you are in or who you even are or what you have done in your time whether that being former X*Crown Champions or World Champions, it fucking doesn’t matter. I could walk into AWF one night and leave a trail of destruction everywhere I step. I could head straight for Japan and roll right through J-ROK. I can go to the heart of people getting second chances on their careers, Master Class Championship Wrestling, and run through their entire roster with ease. But no, I went for the one where no eyes were laid the most on, and I went with the easiest roster there could ever be.

Syndicate Wrestling and Tradition.

But guess what, they didn’t want to show up for this Rumble… There is about… Three or four people from there in the Rumble? Yeah, when Zoran was saying that the roster was making themselves look like shit, he wasn’t fucking kidding. I am not even appalled by the sight, the ones who entered are still the literal shit that’s stuck to the sole of SWAT’s shoe. Timeless? Of all the people who signed up, fucking Timeless?! The guy who walks around calling himself “Sir Wins-A-Lot” is doing this Rumble? When was the last time that man was ever fucking relevant? He’s not been anything since Chianti, he hasn’t been anything good since the 2019 Anzac Cup. The only good feature about Alex Turner is that big breasted, small-brained bitch you have with you every fucking time I see you.

Trust me when I say that having a prostitute as your sidekick isn’t a personality trait, Alex.

And who else do we have? Psychotic Goth? I’m sorry but what the fuck is that name? I’ve seen some goths, dated some too but they’ve never looked like you… They’ve never acted like you… They’re nowhere near something like you. No, none of them talks in this “ancient dialect” that sometimes changes from English to Latin, and what makes more sense? “Demonically roaring” in this so-called ancient dialect that you seem to always speak. I am shocked to my core, Goth, I am quivering in my boots. My lord, you are the stuff of nightmares and would even be considered as the new horror icon like Jason Voorhees or Freddie Kreuger.

I hope you can tell how fucking sarcastic I am right now, you dumb piece of shit.

Then there’s you… The X*Crown Champion himself. Zoran Sainovic. How the fuck did anyone let you, at your age, still fucking wrestle and TAKE the biggest prize the XHF has right now… It’s fucking ridiculous! When everyone watched you take the X*Crown Championship from Maverick at Supremacy, they thought they were watching a new era… New beginnings, if you insist to call it that… But all we got is what I’ve said before. You handing people, who don’t come close to getting an X*Crown Championship shot, matches so they can prove they’re worth something and a little spoiler for you fat bastards.

They’re not worth shit.

Radu Matei… Frostbite… Marty Donovan… Paul Soutter… All of these names you’ve beaten as X*Crown Champion and yet I don’t see a name that’s actually WORTH SOMETHING fighting for the most prestigious prize in wrestling today. Zoran, I wish I could call you a bad champion but I can’t, you’ve held the prize for this long without losing it - a fact I’m very much not surprised about - and you’ve defended it at every show since winning it. But you want to know how I feel about your reign as champion? Do you want to know a small similarity to your reign that I’ve noticed?

Imagine the X*Crown is the IWGP Heavyweight Championship… You’ve gone and fucking Scott Norton’d the belt.

What does that mean? Well, you’ve defended the title against people I’d consider to be classed as “enhancement talent” or simply known as “jobbers”. Now you’re no Scott Norton, you’re Vince fucking Russo. You’ve won that title and now we’re getting flashbacks to twenty fucking years ago, my friend. You’re putting yourself over with the “enhancement talent” of your roster to keep your reign lasting until the next global event and to raise your title defences. I wouldn’t be surprised if you win against Soutter and let’s be real, you’ll still defend and win it just before the Rumble itself.

You can tell me I’m wrong but I can assure you, I’m very far from it, Zoran.

Now I know you’ll speak up in that thick German accent and tone of yours, Mr “Ze Kommissar”, and you’ll berate me like I’m nothing and treat me like shit when it’s all said and done but at this moment, I really do not give a fuck. Because, Zoran, you know WHO the fuck I am… You know WHAT the fuck I want… And you know WHAT I’ll fucking do to you when you come too close to me. Zoran, I’m not here for the fun and games of it, I’m here to win. I’m here to become one with the history books, etch a new chapter into the pages… My chapter. 

This isn’t about you, Zoran, it’s about me. It’s about what I want. It’s about what belongs to me.

There isn’t any bad blood between me and you, there’s never been an altercation or anything of the sort. You just have what I want, and that’s the X*Crown Championship. I want the recognition I deserve, I want the spotlight to be shunned on someone that matters, on someone that truly deserves it and NOT on someone that treats the championship that binds a network together like it’s a fucking joke.

I want to be the XHF X*Crown Champion.

I want to be the next era of wrestling.

I want to be Hayden Callahan-

Scratch that, let me rephrase…

I am Hayden fucking Callahan!

...

The next X*Crown Champion.

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