WWF Superstars, May 31, 1997

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HARLEM HEAT PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW

The lights come up in the brilliant and splendiforous set of the Casino. Vincer Kaden walks out with a smile on his face, walking over to a slot machine and plopping a coin into it. Kaden blows on his hand... pulls the handle... and steps back, almost daring the machine to defy him.

Through the windows of the machine, the different pictures roll by. The first window stops.... TRIPLE BAR..... the second window... TRIPLE BAR.... and finally... TRIPLE BAR!!! The lights over the machine start spinning around and bells and whistles indicate his victory. Seconds later, tokens burst out of the bottom and start bouncing around on the ground like metallic rain.

Vincer picks up a few of the tokens and tosses them out into the crowd as souveneirs. He picks up the microphone that has been set for him.

Vincer: Welcome once again to.... the Casino. I'm your host, Vincer Kaden. I've personally asked for my next guests, since there is a lot of controversy surrounding them. They are former champions in the.... tag team division. They are... HARLEM HEAT!

'Turn This Mutha Out' starts to play and the lights in the casino blink on and off to it. Booker T comes out wearing his black leather jacket with the flames on it. Stevie doesn't have on his jacket, but is wearing sunglasses. Steve runs around the roulette wheel and gives it a hard spin, laughing. Booker steps up to Vincer.

Stevie runs over and starts messing around with the blackjack table. Booker angrily motions for him to 'cut it' and do the interview. Stevie steps up, glaring at Booker.

Vincer: Gentlemen... thank you for coming to the Casino.

Booker: Yeah man... das cool.

Vincer: Tonight... it's the return of Shawn Michaels... the man that YOU TWO hurt about a MONTH ago.

Stevie: Sucka's back... but not for LONG! We gonna give REPEAT PERFORMANCE and bust him up, but GOOD!

Booker: Naw we AIN'T neither! We gonna win... but we ain't gotta hurt Michaels OR Diesel. What they HELL they ever do to YOU?

Stevie: Don't you START with me, MAN! Yo listened to me befo' when we punked him... and yo had BEST listen to me TONIGHT!

Vincer: Gentlemen... please. As I see it... if you are to succeed here tonight, you will have to work as a unit. But it seems that the ODDS are against that.

Booker: Me and my brutha have talked. An' we good now. We got little disagreements now and then... but we ready. We won the tag titles at Royal Rumble with no help... and we don't need no help tonight.

Stevie: Brutha's right THERE, SUCKA! We only need... ME... HIM... and THIS!

Stevie pulls one of the Casino's folding chairs up from behind the card table and holds it over his head. Booker tries to get him to put it down... but Stevie yanks it away from him.

Booker: YO MAN! We ain't needin' THAT! We beat the Hart Foundation.. FAIR, man! Stevie, brutha... you in the TOURNAMENT, man! YO did that... on your OWN! Put down the damn chair!

Stevie: Naw man. It's like THIS! I'm bringin' the chair. I don't know WHAT you talkin' 'bout. Yo maybe OLDER... but yo DUMBER! Diesel's gonna be MAD... and he's gonna be TRUCKIN'.... I got the SPEEDIN' TICKET RIGHT HERE!!

Stevie smacks the chair along the ground, then holds it up like a bat. Booker looks away, aggravated.

Vincer: Gentlemen... I wish you the best of luck. But we all know, that you make your OWN luck in this business... or in ANY business.

Stevie: SUCKA... I'm gonna be needin' luck to get this wussy-ass BRUTHA of mine goin' again. We ain't winnin' NOTHIN' unless he gets his act togetha!

Booker: (getting up in Stevie's face) 'WUSSY-ASS'???? What the HELL you talkin' about?! Man... don't START this. Don't GO there! This AIN'T the time! It's the HEAT, man! We back! First time since WrestleMania! And we got to get it DONE!

Stevie: FOOL! We GETTIN' it done! Least I AM!!

Stevie walks out, cracking the chair across the craps table, then taking it with him. Booker looks to Vincer' who's wincing at the site of the busted crap table.

Booker: Yo man... sorry 'bout the table!

Vincer: (sighs) If I wager on Stevie Ray hitting someone with that chair tonight, I'll win enough to buy a NEW ONE!

Booker rushes off to calm Stevie down.

Vincer: That's all for the Casino this week. Do come back!

TAPED FOOTAGE

We are shown the main lobby of the hospital where Shawn Michaels is recovering from his injuries, and the camera walks into an elevator. A moment later the screen dissolves into a view of the elevator doors opening, in a different wing from where Shawn was last time. Walking down the halls, it appears to be a normal wing, where patients are recovering from minor illnesses or surgery.

Coming to a nurses station, the camera shows hands flipping through a stack of papers with names and room numbers, and stops when it finds "SHAWN MICHAELS - ROOM 524". Then it shows hallways again, and finally comes to a door. A hand opens the door, and we see the inside of a room that normally would have 2 beds, but one is filled to overflowing with flowers, balloons, cards, and other such items sent by fans and friends. On the second bed, Shawn is asleep, with the bandages removed from his head and neck, and most of the IV's and tubes gone as well. The camera moves in slowly, and shows that aside from some nasty-looking bruising and some minor scarring, Shawn's neck and head don't look that badly damaged.

A sudden noise is heard, as of the door opening, and the camera darts about wildly, finally coming to rest on the closet, then jumping inside and leaving the door open just enough to see outside. Voices are heard, one of them Sarah D's, the other is not very familiar. Footsteps approach the closet, and the door swings open to reveal the Bodyguard, wearing an all-black sweatsuit, and a black ski mask covering his face.

The Bodyguard: Ok, time for you to go. But you can leave the camera, since we probably want to check that tape out anyway. Just give it to me, and consider yourself lucky I'm in a good mood.

The Bodyguard's hand moves and covers the lens, and you can hear thumping and shuffling as the cameraperson climbs out of the closet and leaves. Then you hear voices again.

Bodyguard: Ok, let me get out of here with this and I'll leave you alone in here for a while and watch the door some more.

Sarah D: No, why don't you leave the camera.

Bodyguard: Are you sure?

Sarah D: Yes, I'm sure. I'd like to have a permanent record of what I say in here, so I can refer back to it if I need to. Besides, nobody will have a copy of this tape unless I give it to them, so what's the harm?

Bodyguard: Ok, it's your decision. I'll be outside the door if you need anything.

The camera is set down on a table nearby, showing Shawn in the bed, and the focus is adjusted. Then the sounds of a chair being pulled up are heard, and a moment later Sarah D comes into the picture, obviously sitting in a chair next to Shawn's bedside. She sits quietly for a moment, then slowly reaches out a hand and brushed away a lock of hair that has fallen into Shawn's face.

Sarah: Oh Shawn.. I'm so sorry for what happened. I really thought I was doing the best thing, honestly I did. I didn't want to see you hurt, and that's why I arranged for the match the way it was set up.. because it would have been you and the Giant, and nobody else. I didn't know the Heat would be hiding under the ring to attack you.

Sarah looks at Shawn's face, and slowly caresses his cheek.

Sarah: Instead you end up in the hospital, and then everything else seems to be going badly as well.. and it seems that no matter how hard I try, things are crumbling around me. First you get hurt, then the Network starts to fragment, leading to outright betrayal by Luxury.. and the tension just seems to be getting worse and worse.. I'm so confused..

Sarah looks down, tears welling in her eyes. She doesn't see Shawn's eyes flicker, then open and look around for a moment before they rest on her. He takes a breath and tries to speak, but ends up coughing, which startles Sarah, making her jump in surprise and look at him.

Sarah: Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up! I'll go..

Sarah starts to stand, but before she can Shawn reaches out a hand and grabs her wrist, and makes her sit down again.

Shawn (voice somewhat hoarse and quieter than normal): Uh-uh.. I've been awake since you came in here and kicked out that cameradude.. I heard what you said, and I think you need to keep talking, lady. Then you're gonna let me talk to you. Does that sound ok to you?

Sarah looks uncertain for a moment, but then nods and settles in the chair.

Shawn: Ok then. Start talking.. what's on your mind?

Sarah: It's just.. everythng seems to be going bad.. the Network is falling apart, people I've tried to help are getting hurt, and it doesn't seem like there's anything I can do!! I am just so confused.. I'm not sure if I can handle the leadership of the Network anymore, and even if I was sure, I don't know how much support I have from the members any..

Shawn: Whoa, now stop right there.. you've done a great job of leading the Network so far, and you've been through similar situations before and come out okay. This is no different. Don't start doubting yourelf because things look dark.

Sarah: But what about you getting hurt and..

Shawn: Hold it. I think you need to listen for a moment. My getting hurt was NOT your fault. There is no way you or me could have known that the Heat would pull a cowardly stunt like that, and there's no reason for you to blame yourself for it. That's only going to get you more down. So right here and right now, you're going to stop blaming yourself for me, you got it?

Sarah D looks down at her knees, and nods slightly. Shawn puts his hand under her chin and gently pushes her head up so he can look at her face.

Shawn: Now, about this problem with trust. You know that the people in the Network trust you. You've done good by them, and always tried to do the best. But sometimes life doesn't work out the way we plan. You think I was planning on being caged in this room for weeks? No. It happened because it happened, and that's all that you can say. Now you have to move on and keep doing your best for the future. Don't go thinking that you can solve everything because it AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! You know that too, right?

Sarah nods to him again, a little more confidently this time.

Shawn: Ok then. Stop beating yourself up about it. If there's anything I really don't like seeing, it's a pretty lady blaming herself for things she doesn't need to blame herself for.

Sarah looks down shyly and blushes slightly.

Shawn: I can understand your being frustrated, hell, I'd be frustrated too. And it's ok to let it out, but don't let it rule you. If you need to talk to someone, you can talk to me, got it? You're my manager, and I'm not about to let you sink into despair if I can help it.

Sarah looks at Shawn, and smiles, wiping tears from her eyes.

Sarah: Thanks.. I really needed to talk to someone who wasn't involved..

Shawn: Anytime, lady. Now is there anything else you would like to talk about while you're here? Diesel and the crew aren't due to be here for a few hours, and I'm sure they'd like to see you too, but we can't just sit here staring at each other for the whole time.

Shawn chuckles, and Sarah chuckles back, then gets a small, nervous grin on her face.

Sarah: Well, there is something else I'd like to discuss, but I think that the camera should be turned off for that.

Shawn: Oh really? Well then, turn it off and let's talk.. I'm all ears.

Sarah reaches her arm over the camera, presumably towards a switch.

Sarah: I think you'll really like what I have in mind..

There is a click, and the screen goes black.