Again?
“The more inhuman we became the more we understood each other as humans.”
― Cameron Conaway, Caged: Memoirs of a Cage-Fighting Poet
An Interview With The Champ.
Somewhere in Vegas
/Scene Opens\
[Off-camera]
One of the things I had come to despise as a part of being a champion is the schedule. It goes with the territory but Amber and I got to see less and less of each other. She was off doing a radio interview and I was meeting an internet reporter to do the same. I watched as the steam rolled off the top of my coffee cup as I added sugar and a little creamer to it. I stirred it and lifted it up for my first sip. I caught a glance of the wouldbe interviewer over the rim of the mediocre coffee I was consuming. It took all my restraint to not spew coffee everywhere, I looked at this kid and he could be the troll’s little brother. By little, I mean younger, not smaller. Down to the self confident smirk he wore as he approached the table. He didn’t wait for an invitation, he simply spun the chair around backwards and plopped himself down. I continued to sip my coffee, ignoring his presence. I really don’t like rude people, especially from the younger generation. A much taller and muscular man made his way to the table. “Good morning Mr. Bane, has my associate introduced himself?” I look up and smile at the taller man, “No, he just made himself at home.”, I replied, gesturing to the younger man.
Without warning the taller man slapped him in the back of the head, “Maurice, we discussed this. You should always introduce yourself and ask to join someone we are interviewing. It’s common courtesy for God's sake!” Maurice rubbed the back of his head and glared at the taller man, “Josh, I told you before not to do that again, I’ll go wait in the van.” Without another word, Maurice hightailed it out of the small cafe to the van that I supposed was waiting outside. “Let me guess…” I began and Josh finished the thought for me, “yes he’s the owner's nephew.”. I shook my head in disgust, “I wish you luck with that one Josh, that’s going to be an uphill battle for you and his uncle. Please have a seat.” I said to him and gestured to the empty chair that Maurice had previously occupied. He spun the chair back around and sat down with a notebook and pen in hand. I gestured to the coffee cup still upside down in front of him, “Caraffee is full if you’d like some.”. He nodded his appreciation, turning the cup over and filling it. “Thank you sir” he finally replied after taking his first sip of black coffee.
“I’ll have to remember this place, that coffee is pretty good.”, he said as he looked up from his notebook. I smiled and nodded, “That’s the reason I chose this place. These small mom and pop operations are the best. It almost reminds me of home.” He nodded, “So you really are from Texas?” he asked. I smiled my slow easy going smile, “Yes, my family has been in that part of Texas since before the alamo. Some seven or eight generations ago I think it was.” He nodded in acceptance of that jotting a few notes down. “What about you Josh?”I asked and he smiled. “No sir, my family is from a small town in Connecticut, I doubt you ever heard of Enfield.” he said with a smile. “Can’t say that I have, honestly.” I replied in kind. “Do you have a preference on what you’re called?” I asked him, “Joshua, Josh?”. He smiled again, a genuine smile. “Josh is fine, sir.” I returned his genuine smile with one of my own, “Call me Mac, Josh, save the sir stuff for the suits.”, he nodded and smiled again. “Thanks Mac, I appreciate that and again I apologize for Maurice.”. I forestall with any apologies, “Never apologize for the actions of another man, Josh.
He took that in and nodded his head as if in acceptance of what I said, “That’s fair and may be the best advice I’ve ever heard.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, “What exactly is a glitter death match?”. I shook my head in disgust, “What a terrible first question to ask in an interview.”, no longer able to contain himself he begins to laugh. I wink at him and chuckle, “Don't even get me started on that match”. “Next question.” I said with a smile. “Thank you for humoring me and playing along.”, he said. We both take a sip of coffee and he starts the question kinda easy. “Your match with Mark Cross, that was an amazing match. Have you had enough time to really digest the enormity of what you’ve accomplished?” I smiled, “Not bad Josh, not bad at all.” I flag down a waitress and she brings me an ashtray. “You smoke?”, he nods and digs out his own pack and we each light a cigarette. “Yes, going into that match, I was a serious underdog. Rightfully so, Mark is an incredible athlete and someone that many considered unbeatable. For me, anyway. He had beaten me twice in tag team matches and had all the momentum in the world.”
I smiled remembering the match itself.
“I’m just one of those people though, the bigger the prize, the harder I come for my opponent. Title versus title...doesn’t get much bigger than that.” I said finally. He nodded along as I told the story, jotting down notes. Another sip of coffee and another drag from my smoke. “What is the toughest part of being a top champion?” he asked in earnest. Taking one last drag from my smoke, I crush it out in the ashtray. “This.” I said flatly and without much emotion. “This?”, he echoed but with the note of a question. “Yeah” I said again, flatley and without emotion. “Not the interview itself.” I began to explain. “The schedule, the grind. Running to this thing or that signing. When you’re married, it makes it hard on both. While I’m conducting this interview, she’s conducting a radio interview across town.” I finally finished my cup of coffee and refilled it. Between setting the caraffee back down and grabbing the sugar, “It goes with the territory though and we both know that. We make the most of the time we do get to spin together. It’s all just part of what we do and who we are.”
Fade
What in the actual fuck, Candace!
Glitter
Fucking
Death Match
And yes ladies in gentlemen, she’s so very serious about this bullshit it makes me want to puke. This is not the type of match that you should be putting someone like Augustino in. He’s a nice kid but he is ill equipped in a match of this nature. Putting glitter on things involved in a deathmatch is like putting lipstick on a pig. I absolutely mauled that kid in a regular match a few weeks ago and now you want to involve weapons. Did he do something to make you angry? Is it PMS? Is it me? Are you mad because I didn’t make the announcement with you?
Fuck it.
It doesn’t matter.
Augustino, I would tell you I feel sorry for you. That would be a lie, and I refuse to be anything but honest and transparent as the SCW Champion. Fake is not something I do, I leave that to the Crystal and Hayden’s of the world. You and I have had this dance before but not on this level, certainly not on this platform. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a deathmatch before but this is not for the faint of heart. It’s certainly not for people with a weak stomach. I don’t know what your “friend” was thinking but this seems like a set up to me. Punishment for some slight, real or imagined on her part. When I say this, I don’t mean for me but for you. Just the disparity in size and experience is enough to explain exactly how this match will end. I’ll spell it out for you though. No rules, weapons everywhere you look. Everything is legal, and I do mean everything. If I considered you my peer or even my equal Augustino, I might be concerned, but I don’t, and I’m not. Matches like this are career altering things. Matches like this can shave years off of your career. So, that being said, I’m going to offer you something that I’ve never offered anyone in this industry before.
A way out of it.
When it’s time for the match to begin, all you have to do is bring a white towel with you. The referee rings the bell and you throw in the towel. I don’t dislike you Augustino, you are a game competitor and I do have some small amount of respect for you. That’s due mostly to your past as a champion. I don’t want to hurt you, young man, but if you decide not to do as I ask, I will leave you laying in a pool of your own blood. If you do as I’ve asked then you get to go back to the back unscathed. No harm, no foul. All your teeth will still be in your mouth and no injuries, no visits to the emergency room or emergency dental work. I’ll say it again for those in the back. If you don’t do as I’ve asked then I’ll hurt you Augustino. I’ll hurt you in ways that would make others fucking cringe. This is not personal, this is just who I am. Maybe one day you’ll understand that.
Connecting The Dots Part 1
Mixon INC - Port Arthur, Texas
/Scene Opens\
[Off-camera]
It was yet another necessary trip to Port Arthur, so here I sat in the office of the President and CEO of Mixon’s with Thomas Mixon. The man who had offered me roughly one hundred and thirty percent markup on what the land I own is actually worth. Instead of talking about that, he wanted to talk about ancient history. His latest was beguiling me of the tale about he and my mother’s first date when they were freshmen in highschool, my initial thought was, why in the actual fuck do you think I would care about yours and my mother’s love life. I smiled and laughed along with him in all the appropriate spots. Fortune decided to shine on me just as he was reaching the end of the tale, his phone buzzed from the front desk. “Mister Mixon, Mr. Delgado is on line two.”, he smiled and pressed the button to respond. “Tell him I’ll be just a moment, please.”, “Of course sir.” was the response. He looked at me and frowned, “I’m sorry Mac, I really do have to take this call.”. I returned the smile and nodded, “Of course, you’re very busy, I’ll see my way out.”. We shook hands and then I made my way to the office door.
Closing the door behind me I say to myself, “There is something rotten in Denmark.” as I make my way to the men’s room so I can wash his filth off my hands. I entered the bathroom and began washing my hands, mask firmly in place, because you can simply never be too careful. I’m not sure if it was the time I just wasted with a man who has literally hated my family for nearly five decades or the perfumed soap in the dispenser, but anger was rising, to the point that I could feel the vein in my forehead throb. I heard the door open and soon a man stood at the basin next to me, washing his hands. Casual conversation is never advisable but this slick looking kid that seems to wear a permanent smirk on his face, well, I guess he just couldn’t resist. “Known the old man for long?”, he asked almost too casually. I shook my head, “No, not really, you work for him?”. He shook his head, “No, I’m his youngest son, actually.”, I didn’t respond but listened to what he was saying as he continued. “Do not trust my father, Mr. Bane.” he said to me as I dried my hands. “Thanks for the warning, Mr. Mixon.”, I said as carefully as I could. He blanched at being called that. A chink in the old man’s armor or does he even care about his own flesh and blood. “He’s measuring you with every meeting, he’s trying to figure out how to hurt you most. He’s an apex predator in the most cerebral way.” He said as I made my way to the door. I looked back over at him, “you have a name, kid?” I said to him as I reached for the door handle. “Joseph” he replied as he reached for paper towels from the dispenser. “Thank you for the warning Joseph, you can call me Mac.” I finished as I pulled the door open and left him standing there with a slight smile on his face.
As I walked towards the elevator, I pulled out my phone and did a quick search for Joseph Mixon. It came up blank. he’s either a liar or he has no digital footprint at all. I thought to myself, grunting, I pressed the down button for the elevator.
Fade
Now then, having laid out your way out of this mess Augustino. Let me tell you what happens if you should beat me. If for some reason that God should smile his light down upon you. If, the unthinkable should happen.
That’s a big fucking “IF” by the way.
If you do, then my next title defense will be against you. After I’m done trashing Alex Jones that is. For you though, I can’t just trash you and call it good now can I? Well, I could but I won’t. You do have some qualities about you that make this match….what’s the word I’m looking for here? Not Intriguing...no...that’s not the right word. Interesting?...no that’s not right either…..
Entertaining!
Yes, that's it.
Entertaining, indeed.
A former champion in his own right ladies and gentlemen. A former Roulette and Internet Champion. A five time motorcycle champion. A man of many talents and despite what I’ve said recently, I do have respect for the man. The transition from motor sports to wrestling alone. That is worthy of respect. He is in every match that he is booked for, never taking shortcuts in order to win matches and always competitive. Augustino is well liked in the locker room and loved by our fans. What is there not to like about this fella? He is literally a poster child for what a professional should be. Now the last time we faced off, he tried to make light of my status as a cowboy. The reason for the beating he received was about respect. I’ve said throughout my entire career that the words spoken to me have consequences. You got a good dose of that the last time we were in the ring together. That doesn’t mean I don’t like you. That means I want you to understand. You obviously didn’t have a clear understanding of exactly what and who you were stepping into the ring against. I hope that you have a much more clear idea now. If you don’t then the beating you received last time will be nothing compared to what you will experience in a deathmatch with me.
My offer still stands, you can either throw in the towel.
Or.
Become just another statistic on my way to my first title defense.
You’re really not big enough for this ride, kid.
