The scene opens on the entrance to the DEFIANCE Medical Center as the sliding double doors come open and “The Pacific Blitzkrieg” KERRY KUROYAMA exits the building, dressed in black track pants and his newly pressed “Seattle’s BEAST” t-shirt. He’s already wearing a pensive expression as he strides out into the parking lot, but the sight of someone there waiting for him only a few paces away causes him to wince.

Kerry Kuroyama:
Jamie…

Naturally, seasoned backstage reporter JAMIE SAWYERS is there waiting with a microphone in hand, ready to get the scoop.

Jamie Sawyers:
Hello, Kerry! I take it you’re checking up on the hand?

Kerry briefly glances down to his right hand, where it’s clear he’s wearing a splint over the ring and pinky fingers.

Kerry Kuroyama:
Jamie, with observational skills like yours, I’m sure Favoured Saints Financial are happy to know you’re worth every dollar they pay you.

Jamie Sawyers:
...thanks, I guess? Anyway, care to give us an update?

Kuroyama nods, although it looks like he’d rather not.

Kerry Kuroyama:
According to Iris, I sustained a couple of metacarpal fractures last week. Expected recovery time is going to be another three to five weeks, during which time I’ll have to wear this clunky thing. Hoping to be back to a hundred percent by the time ACTS rolls around.

Jamie Sawyers:
Well, we wish you a speedy recovery on that front. Is there any animosity or ill-will held against the person who broke those fingers, Lindsay Troy?

Kerry holds up his right hand for a beat and analyzes the protective cover a moment as he carefully calculates his answer.

Kerry Kuroyama:
...no, not really. Inconvenient as it may be, I can’t honestly say this isn’t fair. I probably would have done the same, if it were my knee.

Jamie Sawyers:
What exactly was your intention when you chose to go for that leg?

Another wince spreads across Kerry’s face, as if the answer wasn’t obvious enough.

Kerry Kuroyama:
Is that a serious question, Jamie? I was doing what any sensible wrestler in that position would attempt to do: WIN the MATCH.

Jamie Sawyers:
Perhaps, but don’t you think that some might consider targeting a limb with a chronic injury to be a tad unsportsmanlike?

The Pacific Blitzkrieg shrugs.

Kerry Kuroyama:
Sure... some might carry that perception. Some others might say that when it comes to being the best in this sport, what separates the winners from the losers is the ability to find a way to get the job done. 

He tilts his head suggestively while snapping his fingers on the good hand.

Kerry Kuroyama:
And sometimes, the easiest and most effective way to do that is to spot a weakness and exploit it. No disrespect to Ms. Troy when I say that; being a former FIST, she’s familiar with the level of competition one can expect in the DEFIANCE ring. Credit to her for answering it. 

He turns his attention away from the reporter to look point blank into the camera.

Kerry Kuroyama:
Hopefully now, some of you are beginning to understand that whenever I am standing in the DEFIANCE ring, I am not pulling punches. When I make big claims, you damn well better expect big actions to follow them up. 

Slowly, he shakes his head from side to side.

Kerry Kuroyama:
I’m not out there to shuck and jive to the crowd. I’m not out there to sell t-shirts or books or hamburgers. I’m not out there to be anyone’s buddy. The kind of “sportsman” I am is the one who is out there to WRESTLE and WIN, and if anyone is all that interested in how much respect I show around this company, they can go out there and earn it by putting my shoulders to the mat, like she did.

He holds up the hand again, and gives it a small wave to the camera.

Kerry Kuroyama:
This? This is… an unforeseen consequence, which regrettably is going to hamper my technique in these next few weeks. Unhappy about that as I may be, I guess I’ll chalk this up as a lesson learned. Can’t lure the Queen out into the open without sacrificing a Pawn or two. Next time, maybe I’ll just keep dropping her on her head until she stops getting up. Can’t worry about the knee if she can’t feel from the neck down, after all.

Jamie Sawyers:
“Next time?”

Kerry Kuroyama:
Whenever, wherever, yes, Jamie, I imagine there will be a next time. She dealt me this setback last week, but I won’t let that turn me away from my goals. And as long as the two of us are in the hunt, my path to the FIST must inevitably go through Lindsay Troy. Along with many others. 

Jamie Sawyers:
So what’s your next move?

Kerry Kuroyama:
The obvious one, Jamie. I’m picking myself up from this shortcoming, and looking forward to regaining my momentum next week with another opportunity to prove myself against another former FIST.

Jamie Sawyers:
Naturally, you must be referring to your upcoming match with “Twists and Turns” OSCAR BURNS next week at DEFIANCE TV 159!

Kerry Kuroyama:
Like I said, Jamie… you’re worth every dollar they pay you.

Jamie Sawyers:
So wait, you’re not intending to wait until ACTS to allow your fingers to fully heal?

Kuroyama sternly shakes his head.

Kerry Kuroyama:
This is the main event of DEFIANCE TV, Jamie. I requested this very match-up weeks ago, as soon as the world first learned that Burns was going to be the next man in line to compete for Gage Blackwood’s FIST. This is a rare opportunity to showcase my talents and my resolve against the top contender in the federation right now, and I can’t let a couple of fingers keep me away from that. 

He holds up the splinted hand and analyzes it once more.

Kerry Kuroyama:
It’s not going to be easy without the full use of this hand… but as I’ve said in the past, I didn’t expect this path to be easy when I chose it upon my return to DEFIANCE. Challenges like this serve to remind me that in order to overcome the opposition, I must always be digging deep and thinking outside the box.

He flashes his determined eyes to the camera once more.

Kerry Kuroyama:
I want the world to know, Jamie, that while outdated fossils like SCOTT STEVENS are going out there and shitting the bed against mongoloids and performance artists, the Pacific Blitzkrieg is going into that ring next week with the intention of getting the WIN over one of this industry’s legitimate best.

He taps his chest, looking again at Sawyers.

Kerry Kuroyama:
And should the fates allow Oscar Burns to walk out of ACTS of DEFIANCE with that FIST, I want the world to remember who the last person was to get one over him in the ring. Because to become the best, they must witness me overcome the best the industry has ever produced. 

He leans in close and looks the reporter dead in the eye.

Kerry Kuroyama:
And eventually, I will overcome, Jamie… mark my words.

Kerry Kuroyama continues along his way through the parking lot, leaving Jamie Sawyers to quietly contemplate these words as the scene fades out.

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