One More Time for the Cameras. The Final Bobby/ AWF RP

[Bobby Barratt]

Bobby Barratt: So here we are. End of the road, eh?

The scene cuts in and Bobby Barratt sits in front of an AWF backdrop. It looks like it's one of those talking head segments. Likely for some kind of upcoming AWF "Best of" collection.

Bobby Barratt: It's a time we never thought would get here. AWF made money on top of money at times, it went from strength to fucking strength and let's be honest....At times it was often despite my best efforts. Though I was always there to help but arses in seats at times, I was also one of the most openly Anti-AWF people there could have been. Me, Jack, Mav even casting it all the way back to Chaos Kid, and the masked fella, what's his name? I forget. We tore that place down time after time.

Bobby smiles to himself. Briefly recounting some of the Icons' shenanigans from way back when. The smile quickly fades to a solemn expression as the gravity of the situation sets in.

Bobby Barratt: I rode in here with the sun on my back, my boys by my side and the only woman I ever truly loved on my arm. We came here for a job when our old place shut up shop and Felix took us in... In fact he was pretty fucking enthusiastic about the fact. Unfortunately in came Alexander Horton. One of the biggest pains in my arse I've ever not been allowed to beat the shit out of. A real prized prick who's probably sitting at home looking smug as fuck as he closes the door on the place that myself, my friends and countless other greats of the XHF have been honoured to call home at some point over the last few years. No real reason, he's just a selfish prick who wanted the last laugh.

Bobby stares off camera. The type of stare that you'd swear he saw something a thousand miles away to focus on. He snaps back to reality, shaking off whatever caught his attention.

Bobby Barratt: So when the paperwork landed on my desk. The winding down order for the Ascension Wrestling Federation, I had to read that shit two or three times before it really sank in. The fact that a fed that had been a fucking linchpin of the XHF for years was having to call it a day was nothing short of monumental. I knew if they were holding one last show, I had to be involved. I thought about calling the boys, having one last Icon moment in AWF, but for once it felt like it was time to stand alone. Jack's making a killing in the Casino game now. Wrestling is in his rear view mirror and I'm happy for the guy. Mav.... Well let's be fair...He's a loose cannon, I don't need to call him. He'll be there for sure. One thing's for certain. Come Clash of the Icons, each and every man, woman or beast that shows up that night is going to give EVERY. DAMN. DROP of blood, sweat and tears to send that place out on a fucking high! Clash of the Icons is going to be the biggest and best show possible to say goodbye to the AWF in ways only the XHF can do so!

---

We come back and Bobby is sitting in his gym. The walls adorned with pictures of his accolades, title belts that have long since been brought back from the Diamond Lounge. Bobby has his own wall of fame now. Pictures of his AWF tenure, his countless clashes with hall of famers, legends, champions and everything in between. Posters of pay per views accompanied by framed pictures of highlights of his career. Memories of times long gone. Bobby drops down from the pull up bar, sweat running down his face and out of breath. He takes a second to compose himself.

Bobby Barratt: Well here we are. Last training session before the big night. After today I'll take time to rest up.

Bobby rolls his shoulder and stretches out his neck.

Bobby Barratt: Steele touched on it himself. These days the body doesn't recover like it used to. More days off between fights and workouts. Less nights out partying. Father Time catches us all, right?

Bobby dabs off his head with a towel before tossing it aside.

Bobby Barratt: So here it is. Three. Fucking. Legends of AWF and the XHF in general. All Hall of Famers in our own right. MGK, the man with the longest tenure of the three of us. Sporadic as it may be, he's been here since the days of the OG XHF. Pre Network. He's one of the guys that people were licking their lips to see fight against me. Fun fact, there was actually supposed to be a match between us at Clash of the Icons years ago. It just never materialised. The dirt sheets were going wild for it once it started to leak, Twitter polls had us head and head. No one could pick between the Prodigal Icon and the Undisputed Icon! People are already buzzing over what shape MGK shows up in come Clash of the Icons. Trash has been talked about MGK's liberal use of recreational drugs over the years but the fact is that people know I've been down that road. A few different decisions and I'd likely have ended up in the same way. If I hadn't had my Icon boys around me to pull me back from the fucking ledge any time I had a meltdown.... I may well have been mentioned in the "if only" category MGK often unjustly gets put into. Think about it. About the fact that Mav and Jack were there when Jenny died, they were there any time I had a childish tantrum about losing another title or when I was on whatever ego trip I felt like being on that week. They were there when I needed them and I owe them my fucking life.

Bobby ponders this point. He opened himself up way more than he intended to here. A rare moment of self reflection and vulnerability beneath the tough guy bravado we are used to seeing from Bobby.

Bobby Barratt: Then onto Jackson Steele... Commissioner of the AWF. It's funny how life turns out right? Thinking about it, there couldn't have been two guys in this match that I could have drawn more of a parallel with. We are both former AWF Champions. Twice each in fact if you count the new Prestige version I held. We both won End of Days one after another while also winning a title match the same night. Jackson Steele beat me to retain the AWF Championship on my first attempt, myself and Jack defeated the GUNS for the XHF Tag Team Championships. Then onto being Commissioner. Him for the AWF and me for the XHF. It's uncanny how many parallels you can draw between our careers. It's as if we've had this constant game of one upsmanship or "anything you can do" playing out. The one thing I have to say though is that now? It's not hate. It's not vengeance, spite or wanting after accolades. Now it's nothing but respect to the two of you. That's what I'm hoping for this week. I'm hoping that we can meet in that ring, shake hands or give each other a respectful nod and then unleash hell. For ourselves, for the fans that paid our wages for so many years, for the annals of history. People are going to talk about this contest for YEARS! The first and last time that Bobby Barratt, Jackson Steele and MGK met and tore strips off one another not for a title, but to give people a fucking SHOW! We may be half way down the card and not in that headline slot that we were used to a couple years back, but those slots are for the boys that carried the company since we left. Since our bodies burnt out, broke down and betrayed us. It happens. This business spits you out eventually. It doesn't matter how good you are.

Bobby grabs a bottle of water, taking a sip as he ponders his next point.

I mean shit, I won't lie, this one's probably one of the scariest matches I've ever had. Why? Because I know I can't move like I did. I know I'm not as fast or as mean as I used to be. But this may well be the last time anyone ever sees me in a Wrestling capacity. I want to leave a mark, put on a show and have people talking about me. Cement that place in history and preserve the legacy. That's why come Clash of the Icons, you can make damn sure I'm not going to half arse this for the sake of a paycheck. I haven't had a need for money for a while. I've been taking Mongo's money for years! What's motivated me for a long time is the idea of having some kid in ten years tell people that he wanted to be a Wrestler when he saw me. That's going to be my legacy on the game now. Leaving the business in a better place than I found it. It took so fucking long for me to pull my head out of my arse and work that out. That it wasn't about me making all the money, hogging the limelight and stepping on anyone that opposed me. That's not what I wanted when I watched Summerslam 92 from Wembley with stars in my eyes. It's time I got back to that. I'm not going to throw on some old gear or a fancy entrance to make myself feel any younger than I am. That's a daft move and Steele's doing it for little more than a nostalgia pop, but if that's what gets him out of bed, I just hope he washes that gear, it's going to stink!

Bobby laughs to himself. A silly joke that gives us a view that the old Bobby is still in there somewhere. Careless. Not aged by experience or years.

Bobby Barratt: So I've gone way off track here. It's fine. I wanted to get here and see what I said. Just shoot from the hip and see how I felt. Steele, MGK, you've promised your best for Clash of the Icons. I'm pledging that I'll leave my body in that ring for you guys as a sign of mutual respect. If this is the last time we lace up the boots and step between the ropes, then we're damn sure going to make it count! So AWF, the fans, Felix Ziko, Terry Bradshaw, hell even Copycat.... Thank you. Thanks for the memories, the years, the experiences, for putting food on my table for so long. Come on now, say it with me for what's probably the last time.....

Bobby Barratt: ICON OUT!

[CUT FEED]