Let's play with a touchy subject now shall we? The subject of death, don't worry, I'm leading to something here, not just rambling on, hell, I make things interesting with these moments, so let's talk about death. I'm not one really to worry about what's beyond the next door, I have my belief, as do others, but let's not go in to beliefs or we start a religious war going on again. I've been thinking of death a lot lately. I guess you could say I have a slight confession to make, and those that are good at reading between the lines, might guess what I'm trying to say, some that don't, may open their eyes and understand. Confession time, on the inside, the last month, I've felt like I've been breaking down, head, heart, just slowly breaking down. Recent events on many different levels have shown that life should not be taken for granted, that things can change at a moments notice. Take that other company that steals from SCW a lot, tragedy on screen with a heart attack, a man who was wrestling earlier, and a picture of health, just dropped. #GetWellJerry by the way, but it sets off a million thoughts rushing through the old mind. What if I dropped tomorrow, would I have told everyone that means something to me, what they mean? Has people who wanted to tell me something, I mean me, strip away what you see on your screens and just tell me, just be honest and tell me.... I may not be here tomorrow, others may not be here tomorrow. In a world full of disease and depression, the worst goodbyes, are the unexpected goodbyes, because you still expect to see that person forever. With my body slowly breaking down, maybe coming from the constant attacks I've suffered lately, from the not so healthy lifestyle I lived before I met Synn, from genetics, it's the reason why I test my own mortality. It's why I push the limits, I don't wanna be the guy who is remembered for dropping dead out of nowhere, I want to be the guy who goes out in a blaze of glory. I guess a year of fighting doesn't help, my I have to push my own mortality
A slight pause in thought and narration occurs.
I know people will sit and tell me to look at all the things I have and be glad of them, I have more than others, but here's the truth. Possessions are just possessions, it's the things money can't buy, those are the things that make life worth it. I got a call from Casey after the tweets of me doing something to push my limits to the max, he told me how pissed he'd be if I did this. I told him what I planned on doing, he was speechless for a while, then he went on to tell me about life, my life, how this would destroy Odette if things did go wrong. Maybe it's the years of traveling with Casey, or the fact that his stablemate is my soul mate, but Casey doesn't usually get concerned. I should have listened, but I didn't. I had to push my limits one more time. This time, one way or another, could be my last stunt. If this one doesn't kill me, than I gotta think of my future. I have to think of Odette, the life we could plan together, the life deep down, I crave for, but I don't wanna be the guy who just drops, I wanna be the guy who gave it his all, and his all took him out. I guess that's why, against people's advice, I did this....
Sitting in a dimly lit room, I look around at the people rushing around me, slight look of concern on some faces as they scurry around me. One of my closest stunt co-coordinators walk up to me, a worried look on his face.
"Gabriel, I'm not sure we should be doing this" He tells me, worry dripping from his voice.
I sigh
"I have to, I have to push the limits, I have to do this one" I reply
"This one is dangerous, it's new, it's never been seen before by anyone" He says slowly "We need so much more time to set this up. The idea is good, but I'm concerned about this one. Usually, I trust your judgement on this, but I won't lie, I think we're rushing it. Maybe we should sit back, look at this one again, and come back in a couple of weeks and start testing things out. We could have this one up and running in a couple of months"
I shake my head defiantly
"No, it's fine, I've checked this out" I reply firmly "I've checked it out from top to bottom I'm all good" I lied.
Ok, the truth is, I've been a bit reckless with this one, but know it can work. I mean what can go wrong with being locked in a basement, chained up, and have to escape in under three minutes before everything around you blows up? Again, my body is slowly breaking down, so gotta check my own mortality
"Are you sure?" He asks me concerned
"Yeah, very sure" I lied again
"So why isn't Odette here?" He asks me "Since you two have been together, she's always around for things like this"
"She doesn't know" I confess "I knew she would do everything possible to stop this one"
"And the other guys?" My stunt coordinator asks
"They don't know either" I say slowly "Same thing. Even Rage would show he has a heart buried under all that demonic shit. I don't need to tell you how mad this is. I don't need to tell you how stupid this is, or the millions of things that can go wrong"
"Maybe we should just scrap this one, do the lake of fire stunt" He says "We've worked on lake of fire for a couple of months. Casey was gonna do it with you, we've been talking to Casey for weeks about this, it would be a lot safer than this stunt"
I shake my head.
"I know you got my best interests at heart but I need to do this" I inform him.
He nods at me slowly
"If you say so" He says turning around and addressing the people around him "Ok people, Gabriel is hell bent on doing this so listen up. We chain him up, then we leave, lock the basement door, chain it shut. Gabriel than has three minutes to break the chains and get out before the explosives go off and take down the house and levelling the basement so let's get cracking"
I lean against a wall where shackles are already screwed in tightly. A man puts my feet in the shackles, locking me in to place, before moving up and chaining my hands to the wall.
"Are you really sure?" My stunt coordinator asks once more.
I nod slowly
He rolls his eyes at me as he checks the shackles attached. He steps back and rests a hand on my shoulder
"See you upstairs in about five" He says to me before turning around to the work force "Alright everyone time to go upstairs and get at a safe distance. Gabriel, as soon as you hear the beep, you have three minutes to come join us, or you're buying the beer"
I smile at him as the room starts to empty out. He looks at me concerned one more time.
"Good luck" He says to me as he starts to walk up the stairs
I think he has the same feeling about this as I do, but if I get out of here, I will be amazing.
I listen to the chains being bolted on the basement hatch, followed by two firm strikes on top of the wooden door, indicating to me that the locks are firmly in place. I wiggle my arms about shaking my arms in to position as I wait for the bleep. The bleep sounds and I start to struggle, but easily slip my arm out of the left shackle. I put my left hand on the right shackle, tugging at the metal when a huge explosion is heard above me.
Fuck, that was not three minutes
I struggle faster, freeing my right hand and reaching down to the floor, grabbing at my ankles, but something falls from the ceiling, crashing down over my back and sending me to the floor. In the distance, I can hear shouting. Pain shoots down my legs as more bricks fall down on me, smoke starting to fill the room. I spit out blood, feeling my lungs filling up as a brick crashes against my back
I can't say I didn't see this coming because I did, when I left for this stunt, I kissed Odette, I told her I loved her more than life itself. I told her that I would never leave her for as long as I could breathe, I told her she is my world. I will not die without her knowing these things, and now she knows. Bet you're impressed with the "as long as I'm still breathing" thing, eh? Truth is, sometimes, we have to hide behind a mask to say what we really feel, or to protect someone you love. That was me masking the fact that I might not make it back
Smoke starts to fill the room, causing me to cough, blood dripping from my lip.
I guess this is where the story of Gabriel ends. It's been a fun ride
The ceiling collapsed above my head, wood and brick bouncing off my head, pain shooting through my body.... then... light!
Light? What the fuck? Oh damn, I'm in heaven
Looking around, I see nothing, just a bright white light surrounding me, washing over me.
"Hello Gabriel" a voice says out of the light.
I look around but nothing but white light meets me.
"Is this heaven?" I ask "Cause Synn's gonna be pissed if there really is a God and heaven."
"This is what you want it to be" The voice tells me "Funny story about this whole heaven and hell stuff Gabriel, everything is about what you believe. If you believe there's a heaven and you live on, than that's what happens when you step through the gates, if you believe those gates are there. If you believe life ends and it's like a switch turning off and in to darkness, life over, than that's what happens. It's not like we can go back and tell people what the after life is all about, everyone's different."
"So my non belief in heaven puts me in eternal light?" I ask
"Oh, you think you're dead right now?" The voice says with a chuckle "Oh that's cute"
"So if I'm not, why am I here talking to a powerful lightbulb?" I ask with a smile.
"Well, I'm here to clear your head a bit. See, I know what runs through your mind, I know what you think about, I know why you do what you do" the voice says
"Who are ya?" I ask "Dr Phil?"
"No" The voice says behind me "I'm you"
I turn around to see myself, now referred to as Gabriel, standing in front of me, like a mirror image. He walks up to me, the sound of his boot crunching on a hard floor beneath him as he reaches out, putting his hand on my shoulder. I raise my eyebrows while looking at him.
"It's nice to finally meet the new you" Gabriel tells me
"New me?" I reply
"Well, new us" He replies "Look at the difference between us now. I'm the old you, with the hopes, and dreams and you're the one who now has them dreams. Kudos to us"
"I'm confused" I reply "Why am I here?"
"Because I needed to talk to you and well, this is the easiest way to do so." Gabriel tells me "Things aren't as rosy as they seem, are they? Now bare in mind, before you answer me, remember who I am"
"Things are fine" I lied
"Lies, all lies, nothing but lies, why are you even bothering lying to me? I'm you!" Gabriel says walking around me "Now I know it's hard to sit there with your inner demons and the shit that's dragged us down over the years, but you got the dreams now, we got the dreams. Remember what we wanted out of life?"
I turn my head, watching myself walk around me.
"Love, happiness, the perfect little family. A life where I don't feel irrelevant, used and taken for granted" I reply with a shrug
"And there's our problem" He says "We list the good things that we have now, then list a bunch of crap"
"Oh come on!" I say louder than my talking tone "Look at our history, everyone we've got close to, we've been pissed on relationship wise. I end up with people with problems, I help them, I put everything in to helping them and I usually get the 'I found someone new' bullshit without a thank you. If we look at history, I'm going to be cynical with things"
"I admit, it's been a struggle for us to get where we are" He says looking at his finger nails.
"Struggle is putting it lightly. For years, we put up with peoples crap, for years people pissed over us from great heights, for years, we were taken for granted. Telling me you wouldn't analyze everything?"
"Well of course I do, I'm you" Gabriel says with a roll of his eyes "But you see, you have to see this. I mean if I do, you should. People are different. Because you're not hearing the words you wanna hear, doesn't mean you can be reckless and piss away what could be a good future. You will hear those words if your patient enough."
"It's a terrible waste" I reply
"Well not everyone are like you, well me, us" Gabriel tells me "You don't wanna waste time with so much, we don't wanna waste time. I mean why wait when the feelings are there? I get that, because in years time, you don't wanna hear the words 'We should have done this sooner' because it's what you've been thinking all along but patience can bring you greater things."
I stare at myself, watching Gabriel smile at me
"Everything comes in time. Everything we've ever taken, has lead us to here, everything. We took the shit, to find the right balance in life. Every minute we've been hurt, kicked down, pissed on from great heights by uncaring arseholes is worth it now cause this path we're on, it's the right one." Gabriel says, resting his hand on my shoulder "That's why I'm here. You being all reckless, trying this stunt before it was ready was about going out in a blaze of glory. You knew it wasn't right, you knew you was not walking out of there in one piece. You knew that, because you're scared your heart or your head is gonna give up on you before you know what you wanna know?"
I shake my head
"I'm not scared. I had to push myself in case I dropped" I say to myself calmly
"No, you did it because you're an idiot" Gabriel says
"You mean we're idiots?" A smirk back
"No, in this case, just you" Gabriel replies "Do not fear the future, fact is, anything could happen to anyone out of nothing. Cause you feel like shit, doesn't mean you're gonna just drop dead. So the stunt gave you a rush of life. It's not just your life anymore, is it? You have an amazing woman now, someone you can truly say you love. This is the right path for you"
"I know but..."
"Not buts" he says cutting me off "No buts about this. You and that lady are made for each other, someone put you together for a reason, a good reason. Someday, she's gonna see that with you, she will be treated like a queen. Patience my boy, patience. You know you've wanted to be with that woman since the day you met her. You know exactly how you left and I wouldn't be surprised if she felt it too. The more you got to know each other, you know the more she meant to you and more you wanted to someday look in her eyes and tell her those three words. You know you did"
"I did" I reply "The moment she stumbled across my path, I felt it. I felt how different she was from the rest. I felt it so much and I feel it more every day, she has this amazing effect on me that makes me smile. I knew one day I wanted a shot to look her in the eyes, away from the world and tell her that she is the world to me. I'd gladly give up anything to hold her close and say all the things that have jumped around my mind since that day"
A smile crosses my face
"Well do yourself a solid here" Gabriel tells me "No more risky stunts without properly looking in to things. One balls up like that one, and you'll never get to do so many other things with her that you want. You'll never get the words you wanna hear, you'll never get to do so much. It's time to stop thinking of just us now buddy boy, it's not just us, it's us and that gorgeous woman you do all you can, to make her smile. She's fitting in perfectly with the family of Sins, you do not let her go, you hear me?"
"I hear ya" I reply through smiling lips.
"You know, she's looking at you right now, smiling, wondering what is going on in your head" Gabriel says
"She is?" I ask
"Yeah, just open up your eyes and see"
My eyes fly open to see the beautiful Odette Ryder, laying next to me, her head on my arm, her pretty eyes looking up at me as she runs her nails over my chest. I breath slightly heavier, causing her to lower her eyebrows.
"Are you ok?" She asks me, her sweet Australian accent filling the air.
"I'm fine beautiful" I tell her, leaning in to kiss her on her forehead.
Odette smiles at me, pulling herself closer and moving her arm up chest, over my shoulder and around my neck, brushing her lips over my chest.
Ok, time to get rid of a myth here and now, seems like the right time, considering I have a half naked Aussie lady on my half naked self. I know this might come as a massive surprise considering a lot of people in the wrestling world are falling pregnant all over the place, but many wrestlers in the limelight, like champions, do not get as much alone time as people think. Champions work like dogs most of the time. We film promos, we get appearances set up for where ever we go. Example, if I wanted to take Odette off to say, Switzerland, we would have to tell the office, the office will then go and set some promotional thing up in Switzerland. St Lucia wasn't all dinners on the beach, and falling in love. Odette and I work most of the time for SCW hours at a time, that's without things like the gym, with other stuff. I know you see a lot of SCW stars out drinking all the time, or doing crazy stuff, but they wouldn't get the chance if they were champions. I love every second I'm with Odette, but it never seems long enough.
"What was you dreaming about?" She asks me.
Time to wear the mask again, do you know how she'd feel if she knows I saw my own death and had a chat with me
"Nothing much" I said "Just a lot of stuff that was crazy"
Odette shakes her head, her hair falling over her face. I run my fingers across her forehead, moving the hair from her face.
"It's a sexy look baby, but I love those eyes" I tell her.
I lean in, kissing her softly on her full lips, my hand moving up her body under the covers and rolling round her back with my fingers and pulling her closer, rolling to my side and pressing my body against hers. I move my hand up to run my fingers through her hair. She pulls her head away, smiling at me.
"I love you" She whispers in my ear.
"I love you too" I whisper back.
"How much?" She replies, biting her lip with a a cheeky, devilish smile on her face
"More than you could ever imagine" I say, stroking her cheek "Always gonna feel that way."
"Really?" Odette says with a beautiful smile
"Really" I reply "But I do warn you, someday in the distance future, I think another young lady might come along, that I'm gonna love this much too"
Odette pulls her head back in shock, but I continue
"What?" Odette says stunned by my last comment
"She's gonna be so beautiful, and have these amazing eyes, be kind, caring, one of the most perfect girls in the world"
"Gabriel..." Odette says, her voice breaking slightly
"And she's gonna run over to you, put her arms around you and call you mummy" I say with a smile.
Odette breathes a sigh of relief and moves towards me, kissing me firmly on the lips, her hands moving across my back as she pulls herself against me, breathing hard with passion. She pulls away from me, looking at my smile, before hitting me playfully on the arm
"Don't do that to me" She says seriously "I was scared that..."
I put my finger on her lip, stopping her from saying any more
"I'm never leaving you babe" I tell her while moving my hand to her cheek "I love you, you're stuck with me now. I've never felt like that about anyone before. You really are all I've ever dreamed of"
Odette bites her lip and moves in closer, kissing me on the neck and looks up at me winking. I smile, moving down to place my lips on hers, but an alarm goes off behind Odette. She quickly pecks me on the lips and rolls over to switch it off. I put my arm over her, snuggling up to her from behind and kissing her on the shoulder.
"Come on baby" She starts "Time to go to work"
Bollocks, I was hoping she wasn't gonna say that.
The camera starts to turn to darkness as Odette puts a foot out of the bed, pulling me with her
Ok, moving on, and all. Let's talk a little about future colliding with present and past and yes, I feel the urge to bring this up again as a nice introduction to what you're about to see. Here's my past. I've been with the Sins for years now, although Despayre and I got off to a very rocky start when I learned about him, we just seemed to click. Ok, yes, I thought he was a little nut case, maybe I was too stuck up to see what a kind hearted guy he really is, but there's my past. I've been up and down the roads of America with these guys, on and off jet planes, seeing the world. That is my wrestling past. Let's just a few years on, to the present. I have this gorgeous woman in my life, a woman I will love to death, a woman that if any harm came to her, I would gladly serve prison time for murdering anyone that upset her. Now there's a reason I'm mentioning past and present. To have a good future, you need to take the past, add it to the present and make a great future. Now quickly, once again, I am going to dispel this stupid rumor of Odette leaving NXT for the Sins. It's not gonna happen, I love Odette with all my heart but when she and I got together, it was never about us leaving our stables for the other, it was about falling in love. For me, it was about seeing her and knowing right away I wanted to be with her. No stable swapping, I will always be a Sin, she will always be NXT. Between her, Spike, Casey and Vixen at least, NXT is strong. They don't need me to jump ship, and they won't be losing Odette. Now, these stables have impacted our future though. We've both felt the need to fit in with each others groups to stop the rumors, hell, most of NXT and The Sins have a good friendly alliance. For years I've known Casey, I've shared a beer or seven with Jamie Staggs, I went partying with Giani and Spike and I simply got on well from the European tour.
A slight pause....
Now with my love for Odette, I'm fine with NXT, but Odette has felt the need to fit in with the Sins, because of me. This is why I'm banging on about past, present and future. If we can get a healthy mix of past and present, the future will go very smoothly. I know Odette's mind, she worries around the Sins a bit. To be fair, can you blame her? We have an angry giant, a man who spend most of his time in front of a mirror, a woman who spends most of her time on her knees in front of the man looking in the mirror while he looks in the mirror, a woman who speaks to three or four different alter egos in her head, a guy that could cut you down with one stare, a magician, a borderline psycho with a child's mind and a teddy bear! We're hardly conventional, are we? Bringing in a sweet, innocent, young lady in to the mix may not fit the group, for being too normal, but she is my girlfriend and she's stepped up to this to try and make it work, make it right for us. She feels the need to be accepted. This today, is a big breakthrough I hope...
Hotel room, finally alone with my beautiful girlfriend. Odette and I sit on a sofa in front of a switched off television set. Television was not on my mind. Odette puts her arms around my neck, just staring in to my eyes
She's not her normal self, I can see that. Ah, must be the ol' boyfriend radar kicking in
"What's wrong gorgeous?" I ask her, my arms moving around her waist.
"Oh nothing" She says quietly "This whole Brooklyn thing, just thrown me off a little"
Yeah, that whole thing was odd. I would love to give you my view on it, but well, let's just say, I don't wanna go on Twitter and see more crap about this. Already feels old, but kudos to Brooklyn, she loves the attention, and she got it
"I understand" I tell Odette softly "I get the whole getting ready for a match, and then something blindsides you like this. I mean if one of my opponents came out and said they were pregnant..."
Odette taps me playfully on the back.
"If they did" She starts "it would be a miracle"
What? There was a pregnant dude in that Arnie film, which name escapes me right now.
"I just don't know what to do" Odette says sadly
Gotta take her mind off this
I pull her closely and wink
"I got something you can do" I tell her
Odette bites her lip, looking up at me with a smile
"And what's that?" She asks, already knowing the answer
"Me" I reply with a wink.
"I saw that coming, but still bit" She replies with a shake of her head.
"It's because you love me" I reply confidently
"I do" She says "When I figure out why, or what magic you used on me, I might have some questions"
We smile at each other
"Someone's feeling cheeky" I reply
I raise my eyebrows but Odette pulls me down, kissing me firmly on the lips. An overwhelming feeling of love shoots through my body. Her hand moves down my back as her breathing gets faster. A voice behind them stops them...
"Go team Gabriel!"
Odette pulls away from the kiss as we both spring to our feet and I glance over her shoulder to see Despayre and Angel standing behind us.
"Team Gabriel?" I ask slowly
Odette turns around to face Despayre, who is clutching Angel in one hand and a brown paper covered flat package in his other hand. Odette takes my hands and pulls them over her shoulders, and I wrap my arms around her upper body, leaning back against me.
"How'd he get in here?" Odette whispers
"If he wasn't such a great wrestler, he'd make a great cat burglar" I reply
"Yeah" Despayre says with a shrug "Angel said you guys were playing tonsil hockey and I wanted Gabriel to win this one. Angel said yesterday, Odette won"
Odette looks at me, her mouth open and her eyes wide, but I smile and kiss her on the cheek.
"Congrats on your win" I whisper in her ear
"It was a close match" She whispers back with a wink.
I look up at Despayre and Angel
"I'm English, she's Australian, we know nothing about hockey, you're the Canadian here" I remind Despayre
"Yes" Despayre says with a nod "That's why Angel says you practice so much, to learn"
Well that and the fact that I really love kissing Odette
"Oh, we'll keep practicing" I tell Despayre.
Odette drops her arm from holding my hand, pinching my leg, causing me to jump slightly. I give Odette a playful squeeze, as she moves her arm back up to my hands, placing her fingers on mine.
It really is the little things like that, that make you feel wanted
"I got you guys something" Despayre says stepping forward "A house warming present. I hope you like it, every house should have one"
Odette looks at me and smiles at Despayre.
"Open it, open it" Despayre says excitedly.
He pushes the brown paper covered package in to Odette's hands. I lean over Odette's shoulder and look up at Despayre.
"Did you wrap this yourself?" I ask
"Me and Angel" Despayre replies proudly "He held down the corners and I put the tape on. Shane and Synn wanted to help, but did you see the way Shane's Christmas presents were wrapped?"
A smile crosses my face.
"Looked like a five year old had a go at them" I reply quickly
"Angel says that's too generous" Despayre says as he looks up from his little friend.
A smile crosses my face as Odette rips away at the paper to show a collage of pictures of Despayre and Angel in a frame. One with a Angel's face up close to the camera and Despayre faded in to the background, one with Angel sitting on a window ledge with Tokyo in the background, one with Despayre with his thumbs up, another with Angel seemingly pushing Despayre out of the picture and the main picture of Despayre with Angel sitting on his lap. Odette and I smile widely.
"It's beautiful" Odette says with a wide smile on her face. "Thank you"
Despayre smiles widely.
"It was Angel's idea" Despayre says with a wide grin "He said you'd like it"
"It's perfect" I reply "Thank you Despy, thank you Angel"
"Group hug!" Despayre yells out
He jumps towards Odette, wrapping his arms around her, effectively sandwiching her in between himself and me. Odette puts her arm around Despayre as he hugs tightly. Odette looks back at me and I free my arms, moving them past her to reach Despayre's shoulders. After a few seconds, Despayre lifts his head, looking around, breaking off the hug.
"I hear him!" Despayre yells out "He's close by!"
Odette looks at me strangely
"Godzilla" I whisper to her
An alarm goes off somewhere in the hotel, not too far away.
"I got him!" Despayre yells out!
Despayre charges out of the room, knocking Odette and I to the sofa behind us. I put my arm around Odette's shoulder as we look to the door curiously
"He hugged me...." She says sounding surprised
I lean in and kiss Odette on the forehead as she looks at the gift just given, a smile creeping across her face.
"He did" I say "We'll call that progress and acceptance, shall we?"
Get it now? Looks like my past and my present are getting along just fine. I think that means one hell of a good future
The scene fades as Odette and I look at the gift given to us.
Sitting looking in a reflection pool in Japan, I stare deep in to the water, looking at my own imagine in the moonlight. I run my finger through the waves, watching the water ripple and part, watching my face disappear under the cool, dark water, for just a few seconds before calmness runs over the wet liquid
"And here we go again, time to talk, time to sit here and ramble on about so many different things, but the time to talk is running out, the time to sit and listen should be set to pass. I mentioned a lot in promo number one but not, it's time to talk about my opponents directly. Time is one thing that will always go forward, we do not travel back and for certain people, their time is coming to an end. Their time is running out. Before this gets turned on me, we're not talking about me in the slightest, we are talk about time on said group, The Dream Chaserz. It's no secret that James Huntington-Hawkes III was left out of many things, it was like he wasn't even there. I saw all the rest in the ring when I came out in India and played the numbers game, no James. Carly Athens, gone in a week, DJ Williams... well, the mighty DJ also high tailed it away from the Dream Chaserz, Brooklyn Carter pregnant. Congrats Brooklyn, really, I mean that, but I think that makes you boys another short. I guess the wheels fell off and no one wanted to put them back on. Two remaining members for now, two that sit opposite me, two that I will meet come Sunday. I will talk about you two later"
I run my hand through the water again, causing more waves to be created under my hands.
"Life has a way of throwing curveballs. We never know what's gonna happen, and yes, you did just hear an Englishman use a baseball term, but it's true. We never know what's gonna happen one day to the next, we never know where things may lead, what is around the corner. Take the high number of pregnancies in SCW, bet no one saw that coming. The strange alignments, no one saw that coming either, the squabbling on Twitter.... ok, people saw that coming, but most in this business, sort of catches you out of nowhere. I'm not one of these grizzled old veterans that have seen it all, done it all, but I am wise enough to see things in front of my eyes, I am wise enough to never be surprised at the actions or stupidity of others. I never fail to see private lives bleeding in to wrestling worlds.... Private lives, god damn most of my opponents have had them lately. Take the silent one himself, Aleksei Koji"
I flick the water from my fingers
"Aleksei was the one I was slightly concerned about, the one I thought may be a difference maker here, one who could surprise us all, but Aleksei's gone on the missing list, just disappeared. I know he had some issues with big scary twins and all but this has shocked and saddened me. It's shocked me because Aleksei has never let SCW down, he shows no matter what, saddened because of I know he could have been the difference maker but alas, no Aleksei to be seen. Where for art thou Aleksei? I looked forward to hearing what you have to say, it's not often that we cross paths around here, so I had my ear to the ground, looking forward to everything you had to say, but nothing. A lot would see that as disrespect Aleksei but I don't. Mystery is fun, hell, I live my life by mystery, but Aleksei, it's time to speak up, come out, come out where ever you are."
I put my hands together, staring in to the reflecting water, just gazing upon myself for a few seconds
"Are you worried Casey? I would be."
I let out a long breath, slowly making the water in front of me move.
"But look at you Casey, you're like facing two men anyway. You're like facing a whole army of men when you start getting angry. I watched your promo in detail Casey. I watched from start to finish, more than once because well, I like your work, I like your attitude towards SCW. I like the fact that week in, week out, you'll go out there and fight, win or lose, you'll get out there and kick some arse, but you're also an example of personal life bleeding in to your job. I'm glad you're getting married and all, I'm glad you're setting up your future, like I am. I'm happy for ya, but you know you gotta focus on me. You know what I'm like in the ring Casey. I know you can probably say the same for me and Odette, but we know what's our time and what's fighting time. You gotta focus your attention this way"
I puts his finger up to the camera in 'Pause' fashion
"Also, glad you're being a mentor in a way to this Ben Jordan kid, seen his work, he's good, but again, focus needs to be on me and this"
Opening my jacket, I show the SCW Tag Team championship belt
"All about this man, mentoring, marriage, needs to stop at the curtain my friend, it needs to stop there and you need to look towards that ring, you need to look towards that cage, you need to know minutes later, Despayre and I will be there fighting to keep this"
I point at the title belt
"Fight we shall, fight till the end. I don't expect protection from ya big man, I don't expect you to help me keep this title where it is, I expect you to come at it, I expect you to try and kick my arse and take it from me. I'm not stupid at all. When I agreed to put you in the match, I did it knowing it was more competition and well, I love some competition."
I put my thumb and forefinger on my chin, the look of thought crosses my face
"I wish I could answer your question about how many time we've been in the ring together Casey from those AWA days. It's been a lot, I mean you was my first proper wrestling match, up until today, there's been a lot of meetings between the two of us, hate to remind you of this but if memory serves, you haven't beaten me yet. I don't mean that as a knock but well, I don't lose many. In the ring, you know me second best to Despayre, I can't argue that or deny it. You do know me better than most, but that just pushes me Casey, pushes me to show you something new, something different, that can't be good. I mean knowing I might have added to this arsenal is bad for my opponents."
A smile crosses my face as I think about Casey comment about Odette
"I think my baby will be happy with either of us winning, but you know me, not giving up without a fight Casey, not giving this belt up without a struggle. I appreciate you seem to think I'm the heart of the team but actually, I'm not. Despayre is a wild one, did you know, no one, NO ONE has EVER beaten him before? Tag match, single match, against multiple opponents, he has never been pinned or made to quit in over three years. Impressive stuff, but I'm cool with the fact you, and many others see me as the main man, I am the right hand, Despayre is the left hand. While everyone watches the right hand, no one sees what the left hand is doing. Keep an eye on both Casey"
The wind blows across me, blowing the hair in to my eyes. I run my hand up and flick it out of my face.
"We go from the known to the unknown with you Anthony King"
I curl my lip downwards as I stare in to the water
"I think you've found yourself in a really bad situation through no fault of your own. Instantly coming in to the Dream Chaserz was mistake number one. I mean, did you even know what your so called leader was doing? The war he was trying to start? You guys are like chalk and cheese, complete opposites of each other. You're cool, laid back, only start shooting at people when you feel threatened, and there's Sean who would happily take a cannon to anyone. I don't get it. You're a young guy with the world at your feet, cards played right and you could move on to be a top guy but already, you shot yourself in the foot by coming in with those guy. There's no communication there, no chance of them ever working well. You became another square peg trying to fit in another round hole."
I look up
"I hear you got high regards in your losing match against Giani, I watched the match and thought you could be someone, someone with the right attitude, someone who has been unlucky in SCW so far, but you end up with the group that could be called Career Suicide if they wanted an accurate description. I don't mean that in a harsh way, but group attacks do not elevate people around here, being different does, and you coulda been that good kinda different. Unlike others here, your colorful past could have been an advantage here, it could have shown your no punk, coulda shown you was legit tough, but while you're in the position you're in right now, it damages who you are"
I sigh
"It pains me Anthony that you've done so little homework on Despayre and I. I don't think one little loss will make us run. Ok, it might make me wonder what the hell went wrong, it might make me wonder how I lost to you guys but running is not something I do. You sadly have no clue who we really are, as I said, you found yourself in a situation you had nothing to do with. It was always between me and Sean, but here's my advice to you, brush up on your opponents properly before deciding who will run and who won't. Sit there and work out why I'm so successful or why the Seven Deadly Sins work as a stable and has done for years. Then I want you to go look at yourself in the mirror and choose your next move wisely. Once Despayre and I are done with you, you will need to choose your next career step wisely, because you won't have tag team titles to fall back on"
A smile crosses my face.
"Now you're gonna hear some words I never thought I'd say. Sean Williams, I'm proud of you. Not for the bullshit of respect and digs in the promo, which I will respond to shortly, but yes Sean, I am proud of you"
I lay my hands out flat in front of me
"Credit where it's due. It takes a big man to admit failure. It takes a big man to admit that something you tried to put your soul in, has failed miserably. To admit that you was selfish, and put yourself before the group, well, you deserve credit for that, big credit. Sadly, admitting that could be a little downfall for you. I mean could you imagine what Anthony must have been thinking when you admitted you're selfish and put things together for your own means"
I pull my hands back to my side
"You confuse me Sean. I mean you knew by attacking me, you would lose Synn. It was a given, it was always gonna happen, so why leave yourself in a position to lose the man you love. Yeah, don't give me the hate bullshit cause I don't buy that Sean. Was it to try and show some macho bullshit, like an alpha male thing? Was it jealousy that I got to work with him every day while you were all over the place. Is this something to make him take notice of you Sean? I mean look back, you had the option of telling me you didn't want to be saved, that you wanted me out of your business, but you brought down a bunch of never was's to get at me. Justify it in teaching me a lesson, but what did you teach me really? You taught me you can insult women by insulting my girlfriend, you taught me that the best you had against me was calling me gay, you taught me that you're great when you got numbers on your side, but it's not really a lesson I need to learn. Did I really need to learn about your immaturity?"
Another pausing finger motion
"Don't confuse this for hate, I'm just airing thing out so you can look back at this and learn from the mistakes you made this time round so where ever you end up next, you can learn from them and maybe we will all get the old Sean back"
A sincere look passes my face
"This will settle the score Sean, it's not about who's in the match, this is a big match, scores will be settled. I think you're looking at the whole Synn thing wrong. Look at it like this. If Synn went out and beat up your brother for no reason, how would you feel? Could you honestly look in your man's eyes knowing he harmed your family? Yet you act surprised when he stepped up and voiced his opinions. Synn has shown a lot of restraint in this matter, because I'm pretty sure if someone beat up my family, regardless of who they are, I'd try and rip their heads off their shoulders and spit down their necks. Didn't this little fact cross your mind? I know if it was the other way around, Synn woulda turned his back on me. If I attacked you in the same situation, because you wanted to make me a better person, Synn would have ruined me. "
I nod with the last line
"He'd have flipped on me, he held great restraint when it comes to you, because you know when it comes down to it, Synn could rip your head off, put you in the hospital for years. We both know the man and his temper."
I raise my eyebrows
"But I am gonna make your wish come true though. Everyone knows win or lose, you're off after this but I'm gonna give you one more chance. You want me one on one, you can have me one on one in Australia. You really wanna act the tough guy, go kiss some arse and get that release held off for one more match. Fuck being in a cage when we can use the whole of Australia to fight in. Whatcha say Sean? Man enough to try and go one on one with me. Then you can say it's done, than you can say things have been settled. No Sins, no Dream Chaserz.... whatcha say?"
I beckon the camera closer to me.
"You can all make no mistakes about this one. I am walking out of Violent Conduct, a champion..."
I look deep in the camera.
"This is where I say my line that you stole Sean, ready?"
I pause for a second
"Believe that!"
The scene fades out.
