“You're a warrior or you're not.” - Royce Gracie
A New Era Has Begun
Out Of Reach.
Sun Princess Cruise, Post-Summer XXXTreme
/Scene Opens\
[Off-camera]
During Amber’s Match
The pulsing red light signalling Amber’s entrance and the first chords of 'Dust and Bone' by Syd Duran began to play as she made her way out to the ring. I stayed by the Gorilla position to watch her face Myra in her title versus title matchup. My own would be next but I wanted to watch my wife defend her title. I had treated it like a foregone conclusion, despite her attempts to deflect that level of confidence that I had in her. She is my world but this was her world title and so I began pacing before the entrances were even completed. I stopped once again as the bell was rang to start the match. I watched as Amber charged in and the two began trading blows. When Myra threw Amber outside of the ring, I laughed. “Bad business decision right there, Myra.”
“Atta girl! Fuck her up, Red!”, I said as Amber sent Myra into the Ultimate X structure face first. “Busted her open already.” I said as Amber threw Myra back into the ring. I continued to watch and smile until Myra rolled out of the way of the attempted knee from Amber. “Fuck!”, I exclaimed as Myra connects with a roundhouse kick and then locks in a cross arm breaker. I began pacing again but never took my eyes off the match. I watch as Myra counters the escape attempt by Amber with a small package. Then Myra hit the “Dream Crusher”, they had talked a lot about that move prior to the cruise and I felt Amber was ready for it. I yelled, “Yes” as she kicked out of the finisher! I was elated that she had escaped it but worried, I knew she would be in trouble. “Com’on Amber, you got this!” I growled. True to my wishes, Amber was back up and hit her own finisher, “Original Sin”! “Yes!” I exclaimed. She went for the cover and I watched in dismay as Myra kicked out at two.
I wasn’t alone, the fans reaction was also one of disbelief as a gasp was heard throughout the crowd. I watch along, seeing both women crash to the canvas and I shake my head in disbelief. “She’s exhausted, com’on Red, you got this.” The ref gets to a count of seven and Myra is back on her feet, “Shit”, I say as I stop pacing. I watch Myra try to climb to the top rope, but she can’t make it all the way. Then Amber is up and climbing up to the top. “Oh fuck me….that’s not really your game Red.” I feel my eyebrows arching, “Saw Dust?” Then she hits it off the top rope. Another collective gasp from the crowd. “Holy Balls….” I say with my voice trailing off. “YES!!!!” I exclaim as the ref counts three. I watch my wife celebrate as Myra rolls out of the ring. If it weren’t for the fact that Amber had just defended her title and taken Myra’s I might feel a little sorry for her. “High risk, high reward baby.” I said to Amber even though she wasn’t there yet. She had done it, beaten someone that many of the bombshells considered to be unbeatable.
When Amber finally makes her way to where I am, I grab her in a fierce hug, burying my face in her neck at first as I hoist her off the ground. Holding her head in my hands after I set her back on the ground, I kissed her firmly. My eyes are full of love and pride. “You kicked her ass Red. That was amazing to watch. Congratulations my love.”.
Present
Amber and I sat side by side on the balcony of that cruise ship, I don’t think you could have wiped the smile off our faces with industrial grade sandpaper. A goal realized, an achievement that had been accomplished by only a few “power couples” in this business. It was rare air we were sharing now. I had also accomplished a long term goal, I was now a triple crown champion in Sin City. A new era had begun in Sin City and they were oblivious to that simple fact. They were quick with their congratulations, never the wiser that Amber and I now ran this fucking place. I pushed that thought aside as I looked over at the love of my life, “Oblivion now runs this mother fucker.” I said to her half amused. “Fuck I love you.” was her only reply, her hungry eyes spoke things her voice wouldn’t as we made our way back into the cabin and I turned out the lights.
Fade
A day in the life of a champion
The Bane Home, Las Vegas, NV
/Scene Opens\
[Off-camera]
“God damnit! I hate cliches!” I said in exasperation. Amber giggled at me, as it was her cliche that had caused my reaction. “With great power comes great responsibility”, I mockingly said as I rolled my eyes. This caused her to laugh harder, she could really be quite relentless when it came to teasing me. In all honesty, I didn’t mind the teasing or her persistence. I always over reacted to her teasing because first and foremost, it brought her joy. happy wife, happy life was the cliche that sprang to my mind as I winked at her. For the uneducated, my reaction was a direct reflection of my schedule that had been sent to me by the bosses. Appearances, signings, promotional tours for the company. It left very little time for us to be together. She had a separate schedule from mine to maximize the company exposure and create better buy rates for the super shows. We would both have to be leaving pretty soon, so we were enjoying the time together.
“How’s the kid doing up in the pacific northwest?” she asked in reference to my son, Jimmy. I smiled in response, they love to tease the shit out of each other and it made me smile. “He’s doing alright, had his first match and was able to catch up with Zephyr.” I said in response. She smiled, obviously remembering Zephyr. “You did good work with that one, Mac.” She said finally. I remembered it well, Zephyr had been misguided and corrupted by others. She had been a train wreck when I met her. I had been able to get her straightened out and back on track. She now had a girlfriend and a place to call home. Actually, I had given them my house in Baltimore as a wedding gift. I was secretly in hopes that they would sell the house. They hadn’t of course and that was fine too. Should they decide to come back to that area, the house would be there. Just as my support for her would always be there. She was a special girl with that “it” factor that so many sought to achieve in this business.
“Zephyr is a good kid, no doubt about that. I’ll be interested in seeing how her and Jimmy do in Seattle.” I said finally. “They’ll kick ass”, she said in response. Then she winked at me, “They’ll have to, we set the bar pretty high for the family.” That brought a huge smile to my face. We had done exactly that. Not only for the family but for this company. Amber had beaten a woman, many believed to be unstoppable. Many had thought that it was Myra’s destiny to become the next great champion of the Women’s Division. Where she would run roughshod over everyone for a long time to come. Everyone it would seem except for me and Amber.
As for me, I was one of the few people who believed I could beat Cross. I cherished that moment. The look of shock on the faces of fans and peers alike as I came away with both titles. “Yes ma’am, we certainly did that.” I said finally. From the hallway I could hear Julz, or more accurately the staccato of her heels clicking on the tile. “You two are gonna be late!” she said in an exasperated tone. A quick look at my watch and I realized she was right. I had an hour drive ahead of me, while Amber’s was closer. I slugged down the rest of my coffee which had gone cold by now. The bitterness of the liquid made me cringe, “Gods, I’ve had whiskey with less bite than that.” I said, amused more at myself than anything. The statement elicited the desired response as both women laughed at me. A quick kiss for my wife and a hug for my daughter and I grab the keys off the counter to head to my first real work day as Sin City World Heavyweight Champion.
Fade
The era of Oblivion has begun. It’s not the end of anything, only the beginning.The beginning of something amazing to be quite honest about it. How long has it been since you had a married couple holding the top prizes in this company? How long has it been since you’ve had dominant champions? No one like me has held this title in quite some time. Not since the golden era of Sin City to be more precise. Not since the epic wars that J2H waged on this roster. People like J2H think that previous champions were lackluster at best. I don’t necessarily agree with that but I respect his opinion. When you own the record for the longest title reign in this company’s history, yeah, I value that opinion. Why wouldn’t I? He and I are more alike than not. I’m sure that statement will rub some people the wrong way, and that’s okay, because I don’t give a fuck.
Mark Cross retired shortly after our match, if that doesn’t tell you anything, you’re an idiot. He explained his retirement away in as lame a way as he could. Typical Mark Cross, not so much of a dragon anymore is he? No, he barely qualifies as an iguana these days. I was told that the bar had been set so low by previous champions that anything I do with it would be better. I’ll simply pick it up off the ground and bash people in the face with it. How’s that? That’s something I do better than anyone in the world to be quite frank about it. To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan favorite or universally despised, the end result will be the same. Some would call it arrogance, I call it a mission statement. It doesn’t matter who you are, you step in that ring with me gunning for my title and I’ll put you down quicker than I would a rabid dog. All you have to do for proof of that is look at my track record in this company.
The first time I was here, they put me in the Roulette division, a division that I dominated. I walked through all the so called hardcore wrestlers like a hot knife through butter. I defeated the champion in a way that left no doubt who the very best in the ring was at that time. I left for a bit, I came back and participated in the tourney and you know the rest of that. I didn’t win it but according to the hardware I own now, that doesn’t matter that much does it? After the tourney I obliterated O’Malley and took his internet title away. I kicked his ass so thoroughly that he hasn’t stepped foot in a Sin City wrestling ring since. That brings us to today. What I said on Climax Control, still holds true. They will line up the so-called contenders and I’ll send them back to the back. Whether they’ll be under their own power when they go will depend largely on my mood that night, and the level of brutality that the fans clamor for.
As for what’s next? That’s really simple, I’ll continue to grind it out and get ready for the next show and my first opponent as world champion. I’ll go out there each and every week like this title is on the line. That’s the amount of respect I have for this company and those that I fight each week. Regardless of who you are, know this. You will get my very best each week. I will fight everyone on this fucking roster if I have to. All to give this belt back the prestige it deserves. It’s all about making this title relevant again. Simply by being held by a man, instead of a pretender. This title has relevance again, because I hold it. You all saw how we were ranked as the number three company in the world recently. That didn’t happen because of Mark Cross. That happened because I beat the unbeatable. I achieved things that were said to be out of my reach. I made this strap mean something again for the first time in a long time. A lot of people didn’t think that Mark and I deserved to even be the main event. We proved them wrong as we not only tore the house down, we set an example of what a super show main event should be. It’s all about setting that example. Setting the bar if you will. Now we move on to the present and my next opponent. A former racing champion, Roulette Champion and Internet Champion. That’s who I face this week.
You take a look at the match itself, Augustino gets to face me, one on one. If he wins, then at that point he will be getting a title shot. I’ve got nothing personal against Augistino, he certainly seems to be a good human. All around good athlete, and very competitive. If personality and drive were all it took my man, you’d already be a world champion in my opinion. You’ve got that and heart in huge quantities. That’s not all it takes though. It takes talent. You don’t lack talent but you’re not honing your skills to a fine razor sharp edge like you need to. To take on the likes of me, you’ve got to have that edge man. You simply don’t have that right now. When people look at you, there’s no fear factor involved that you might take their spot. That you might take their title. Thing is kid, I’ve already faced you on my way to a title win in this company. The first time was the Roulette division. Granted that was a multi man match and a bit of a cluster fuck. So, having faced you before and knowing what I know about you, what makes you think I would even hesitate to face you? It honestly didn’t matter to me if the title was on the line or not, it wouldn’t change the outcome.
I go into this match with the mindset that it is on the line, and nothing but a victory is acceptable to me. For you, this is an opportunity to really shine. A chance to shine brighter than you ever have in this business. A win over me will make you relevant, it will make you main event caliber. Despite your wins over Caleb Storm in the internet division, you haven’t quite lived up to your billing. No, before this match, you were languishing in Roulette matches at the bottom of the card. The people love you, there’s no doubt about that. You’re popular in the locker room but then again so was Mark Cross. All of that and five bucks will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. That won’t win you a match against me, you better hope that I trip over the ring ropes as I enter the ring and knock myself out. That’s your one and only chance against me, kid. I take no one litely, more importantly than that, I take my role and responsibilities as champion even more seriously. I’ll not allow you to tarnish the beginning of what will be a long title reign. How long it will be is yet to be determined but it won’t be you that ends it. I don’t say this to be mean or disrespectful, to earn the shot against me, you have to be a warrior. You’re either a warrior or you’re not. I don’t think you are, but hey, go nuts and prove me wrong. I’ll leave you with this Auggie, two men have scored pinfall victories over me in one on one matches. Fenris and David Shepherd.
You are neither of those men, you lack their killer instinct and until you develop that more fully….
Well, you’ll always be where you are right now. Main Event fodder.
