The FFW logo appears on the screen before “Focus” by Ariana Grande begins to play. Then we see the studio being set up, the glass table sat in the center being cleaned, two cups sat on opposite sides of the table. Next we see Zack Hudson tying his shoes and checking himself in the mirror before he heads out to the set as a producer puts a microphone on his shirt before sitting down. When he looks across, we next see the various women who make up FFW and Future Shock flash by in images from their careers until it finally stops on Kyle Kilmeade. Then we see clips of him in the corner for various clients during their matches before the show cuts into the studio. Zack looks up to see Kyle just sitting down at the table and making himself comfortable before he welcomes the viewers.
Zack: Hello, fans. I’m Zack Hudson, and you’re watching Focus here exclusively on FFW All Access. Thank you so much for joining me for today’s show, and I’m joined by a man who is very well known and has been involved with FFW for many many years. And that man is Kyle Kilmeade.
Zack reaches across to shake Kyle’s hand, but the manager looks at it and shakes his head at the idea.
Zack: Okay then.
Kyle: You want me to shake your hand? That’s not gonna happen. I know how these go, right? You want to start from the top and talk about how I grew up. I’ll give you the abridged version. My mother is a professional gold digger, has had about 7 husbands all of whom were rich so she could divorce them and collect money and live like a socialite. My father…not really a lot to talk about there. No brothers, no sisters. I grew up well because I lived with my mother and all her future husbands. I graduated from the University of Illinois, where I met Adam as he said when you had him on here. I backed into wrestling, it wasn’t something I grew up caring about. And here I am. You’re up to speed. Now I want to talk about something.
Zack takes a deep breath and encourages him to continue.
Zack: What would you like to talk about then? Go ahead.
Kyle: I don’t know if you realize it or not, but I always watch every show FFW produces. That even includes the shows where none of my talent is booked. And even if they are booked, I watch them back. And when I go out to the ring to do what I’m paid to do, there’s always some comments from you. Snide remarks. Insults often. You clearly don’t like me or my clients very much, Zack. Which is why I was very surprised to find out you actually wanted to have me on this show.
Zack: I try to bring in a diverse group of people from the company that I think our viewers would be interested to learn more about. You fall under that category. That’s why I invited you.
Kyle: Is that right? Well I guess I should be honored that you decided you could use me to help boost ratings for this show. I mean I’ve never seen one of the people I manage on here, so I was very surprised to get your email a while back to ask me to be here. Well I’m here now, so let’s talk a little shop, why don’t we?
Kyle leans forward in his seat a little as he looks across at Zack.
Kyle: Let me ask you a question. What the fuck do you know about what I do or my business? Let me guess, you think I just go to ringside for my talent’s matches and do what I do, right? Is that it? That’s all?
Zack: I never said that. I’m positive you do a lot.
Kyle: You got one right. I do a lot more than go to the ring with them. At least Claire gives me a modicum of credit. You though? Oh yeah, what was it? Wouldn’t believe me if my tongue came notarized? Wouldn’t trust me as far as you can throw me. All class and all of it low? Any of that sound familiar?
Zack: I think some of that was said about more than just you, but you’re clearly here with a chip on your shoulder. Get it off your chest.
Kyle: Actually no, there’s no chip there. But you asked me to be here. You want people to watch this? Well I’ll make sure word gets around. Let me tell you what i do for everyone who has hired me. It’s more than what you see at ringside. It’s handling travel. It’s making sure their hotels are in order and ready for them the moment they arrive. It’s sitting and watching footage with them and strategizing for their matches with whoever they are facing. It’s going to the gym with them and the trainers I’ve hired to help get them ready. It’s being there 24/7 for anything that comes up that they need, whether it’s a friendly voice in the middle of the night to talk to or something unexpected has popped up and they need help fixing it. I can keep going if you want, because that’s a very broad strokes explanation I just gave you.
Zack: I don’t think I’ve ever said that you weren’t a successful manager, Kyle.
Kyle: I am very successful, and I think that’s what eats at you at ringside, isn’t it? Because those who can do and those who can’t talk about those who can. You can sit in that booth a couple nights every other week, talk about me or my clients and you just go home or back to the hotel every night. There’s no repercussions because that’s your job, right? You’re supposed to share what you think and how you feel, and that’s what I’m doing. You don’t like me? I can live with that, because I guarantee you I make more money in a month than you do in six. I fly private while you sit in coach. But that’s how you make it even, isn’t it? You sit there and shoot your mouth off about me or those I manage, and there’s no repercussions for you.
Zack: That’s what I’m paid to do, Kyle. I’m told to share my opinions as well as talking about what I see in the ring.
Kyle: That’s a big difference. You say what you think, and you get away with it. I say what I think and I get nailed for it every so often. Now I’m not complaining about that, because it’s the nature of the beast. And I have excellent medical care available to me any time of the day. But the thing is no one ever holds you accountable. No one ever grabs you around the neck and chokes you. No one ever kicks you in the jaw for what you say. And honestly, if anyone deserves it as much as you think I do, it’s you. So I’m going to give you the chance to do what it seems like you’ve been wanting to do for a long time right here.
Kyle stood up from his seat and leaned over the table in front of Zack.
Kyle: I’m going to give you a free shot. You can hit me right in the mouth. Go ahead.
Zack leans back in his chair and takes a deep breath.
Kyle: But i’m going to give you a fair warning. You see who that is standing right over there?
He points towards someone off camera, to which Zack looks that way back with a nod of his head.
Kyle: Take your shot, but make it a good one. Put everything you got into it, Zack. Because I promise you…I swear to God the one that follows won’t come from me, but you won’t get up anytime soon from it. So go ahead. Do it.
Zack sits silent and looks at Kyle, not offering to take him up on his offer.
Kyle: That’s what I thought. You’ll run your mouth but you’re not going to follow through on it when the opportunity presents itself. That makes you even lower than you accuse me of being. At least I take my shots.
The manager stands back up and adjusts his tie before taking a seat in his chair again.
Zack: I didn’t ask you here to argue with you, much less fight with you, Kyle. I asked you here to let you tell your story to everyone watching who might feel the way I do and give them and me better insight into who you are.
Kyle: Them? I can buy that. But you? How long have you and I been here in FFW? And how many times have you approached me anywhere before this interview? Not once. That’s why you had to get my email from whoever, because you don’t have my number. We’ve been in the same arenas for years now, you never stopped to ask me a thing. It wasn’t until you needed guests for this show, now suddenly you want to hear my story and understand me better? These people watching? I can understand that from them, they don’t have access to me. But from you? You can go fuck yourself. If you had made any effort to find out anything about me before this show when it benefitted you, it’d be different. But you didn’t. Instead you sat in that booth two nights a week and shot your mouth off about me and about my clients. None of which you know either because as I said earlier, I haven’t seen one of them on here with you. Do you think there’s a reason for that, Zack?
Zack: I don’t have their personal contact details, that’s why. Most of the guests on here that I’ve had, I don’t know them personally, Kyle. So I always have to see about getting their information to contact them.
Kyle: That’s a you problem and not a me problem. And unless I asked them to do it, I’m pretty sure none of them would come on here and sit across from you either. Now if they want to, I certainly won’t stop them. But as you’re learning, words have meaning. And the way you portray people can come back to haunt you. So I’m going to give you a glimpse into what I deal with. See, sometimes I say things that get me attacked. It’s happened for years, probably won’t stop. But from this point forward, your words are going to have that same weight on you. Because the next time I hear you demean or insult my clients or myself in that booth, well…
That brought a smirk to Kyle’s face.
Kyle: I’m gonna change your life.
Zack remained silent at that as Kyle got back to his feet.
Kyle: Good interview. Let’s do it again sometime.
He says with a grin before pulling the microphone off his lapel and walking off set, leaving Zack to sit quietly, clearly not happy as Focus fades off the air on FFW All Access.
