I hate that pissing alarm, does my head in... wait, did I just say I? Am I
My eyes shoot open, staring at the ceiling of my Luxor penthouse is a very welcoming sight after the tour and trips to California. I got on that plane right after Climax Control and headed back to Vegas right away. I missed this place. The look across my face as I lay in bed changes to a smile.
Did I just say I? Holy hell, I'm back in my own head again. This is unreal! I haven't been in my own head for what feels like years. I feel like I've been so tied down with other peoples stuff, I haven't chance to think about me, to be in my own head, to put me as number one. I don't know if you noticed, but I spend a lot of time putting others over in promos. Today, I feel liberated
I wipe the sleep out of my eyes, just staring up. I know others don't get it but I felt like it's been so long since I've slept in my own bed
I need to seize this day because days like this don't come along too often. I'm usually caught up in the drama of this whole mum thing or watching Despayre run around the room with his tag team title but now I need to step on out and have a time alone. Away from Shane looking in a mirror, away from Fantasia dragging Shane to the nearest bathroom to lower the health rating, away from Rage and his randomness of throwing things around and punching televisions, away from Kittie talking to people in her head, away from Despayre being crazy, away from Synn pulling his hair out over this mother thing. It's not that I'm not a team player but sometimes, you just need to prove to yourself you can step away and do something on your own. That you're not just known for being part of the best group in SCW. I need to call Synn and get the hell away
Picking up the phone on the nightstand, I quickly hit a speed dial button. After a few seconds of waiting...
"Hello Synn..." I say, my voice croaking more then I expected it to...
Ok, Synn wasn't best pleased at my choice to step away for a few days, but you know, had to be done. I had to take this opportunity to go do what I wanna, go be who I wanna. Being inside my own head is the way I wanted it, but well, it doesn't happen too often. So much has changed since the day I tried to pick Synn's pocket in Vegas, so much has changed since I tried to pick another easy mark. It's amazing how you can be a thieving bastard one day and have it change. I always did wonder why Synn and Shane just didn't beat the crap outta me that day, why they looked at the way I moved rather then the fact I was trying, and clearly failing, to steal someone wallet. I haven't been a slave to them since that day, but it was hard getting used to having friends rather then targets, but hell, I've come on leaps and bounds since those days, but even the best of us need time away. Maybe that would do Synn some good, since what's her name came back on the scene, pretty sure I've seen him turn more and more grey.
I sat up in bed, rolling a leg to the floor, feeling the warm carpet beneath my rested feet. I turned around , swinging my other leg out of bed and looking around. I glanced down at the chair across the room, seeing my tag team title resting on a chair.
World is my oyster today and seeing that handsome piece of gold makes me smile a lot and know today is a day to do what I want. I earned that piece of gold. I spent six plus months working towards one shot at it. Six plus months, so much effort went in to that after I won the heavyweight title, so much blood, sweat and tears went in to earning that title shot, the effort was immense. The tag titles were always the goal, but I got caught along the way of taking the heavyweight title, which was nice, then getting caught up with the Harkore Warriors, which is distracting, but I got there and got my goal, now I'm gonna go out and enjoy every damn second of it.
I stood up, balancing my weight on my feet and headed towards the tag title resting on the chair. I picked it up and stared at the gold, looking at my eyes in the reflection
Good morning baby! Yeah, I call it baby, so what? It's my baby, and I worked hard to bring it home. I will protect it, dunno who from because I'm hearing no one really wants to go for it. I keep wondering why others just don't wanna jump in and have a shot at it, but it's their loss. No one seems to want a shot at being remembered. Ah well
I move towards a laptop in standby mode, I couldn't be bothered to turn it off when I got in, and move the mouse pad, the screen lighting up like Christmas, instantly putting me on the SCW site.
So many new signings lately, don't have a clue what's going on there. Ok silly to say considering bombshells has Hot Stuff's fingerprints all over. Well, not yet I hope, give others a chance boss.
My eyes dart across the screen and stop upon the words "Huge main event announced". A couple of clicks reveals more information
Wow, that is a biggie main event. Teaming with Despayre and Bo Dreamwolf. I don't really know a whole lot about Bo, other than he seems way too nice for this game. I don't think I've ever met anyone with such polite manners in my life, very rare for a competitive business like ours, especially considering who his mentor is. I don't know Austin personally but from what Synn and Shane say about him, he's the opposite of Bo. I think I feel safe with Bo as a partner, for all his politeness, he is a former roulette champion, that one title that eludes me, and possibly has the potential to be one of the greatest technical wrestlers in the world. This could be fun really.
My eyes again dart across the screen to see the opponents
Ah, now this is interesting. Three men I have never faced before, a crook, a Brit and the heavyweight champion. I have links to all three. First heavyweight champion, a former thief and con man, and a Brit. Take a little from each and throw in some good looks and some magic and you have me. I guess I wanted a fresh challenge and I got it, because I have never faced this lot before. If nothing else it should be a challenge I can rise to. After all, winning that heavyweight championship first makes me the alpha around here.
I roll my shoulders back, looking out the window at the peeking sunshine creeping through the curtain and back down at the screen, looking at the side bar with the title "Meet out new bombshells". My lips curve to a smile
I would love to, especially her. I bet she would look good singing my name
My head jolts upwards, confusion crosses my face.
Strange thing to think but never mind. Think it's time to hit the coast or something, use this away time to my advantage, hit the coast and chill for a couple of days, especially as I have no idea if I'm even meant to be appearing in some challenge match, Synn really needs to get back to me on that because I have no clue what's going on but for now. Think it's time to hit the jet and head down somewhere new.
Gabriel stands up straight and the scene fades.
Yeah baby, this is where I need to be
The beautiful sunshine of Cancun, Mexico blasts down on my skin as I site on the pale sands of a beach, looking at the clear blue ocean in front of me.
This is beautiful, I mean seriously stunning, this is what I needed, ah a break away, chance to recharge, a chance to be inside my own head, a chance to look at these women in bikinis. Yikes, look at the arse on that one. I wonder if I bring the boss down here, if we can relocate to Cancun and have this lifestyle every day of the year, no burn out, just beauty.
I take a look down at the tag team title, through my tinted eyes, on my half uncovered legs, only wearing shorts.
What? Why wouldn't I bring my gold down to the beach and watch it sparkle in the sun. This title represents how far I've come, represents the hard work I've put in, the amount of hours I've spent busting my arse to get where I am.
I smile at it as a trickle of sweat runs down my naked upper body, slowly watching the sun toast my arms. I lower my sunglasses as I stare at two women walking past, women that would make any straight guy drop to his knees and thank god he was alive and male.
This is why we need to be here more. Instead of tours to Europe in the rain, a trip down here instead. Oh, this is heaven, but I know I should be focusing on my match, I know I should be focusing on me in the spotlight. When I say me, I mean me, Despayre and Bo. I should be focusing on getting us all to look good. I mean this is no small match, this is main event, this is where I need to showcase what I can do and stay in the main spotlight. Honestly, it's what should have happened a long time ago. Despayre and I have been chasing these titles for a while, only to get them and watch everyone else disappear and run away, split up and go solo. We need to take the chance to show we are huge competition and the people to actually beat here. Beat us and go far, but until then, peace baby.
Reaching to my side, I pick up a beer from a cooler, taking it out and popping the cap, staring at the clear blue ocean. A huge gulp quenches my thirst for a few seconds.
Sweating here like a pervert at a beauty contest
I shrug at the camera as it focuses on my upper body
What? I liked it
My attention gets diverted as two young women approach me.
"You're that wrestler!" One of them says excitedly
"Gabriel!" The other adds
Ah, so that's who I am! I forgot that!
"Yep, that's me" I say as calmly as I can, trying hard not to stare below the neck.
"You're a magician too" The first states
I nod at the woman, already knowing that I was about to be asked to do a trick.
Curse of the job
"Can you do a trick for us" The second asks me.
See?
"I can" I told her self assured
Now this is the thing you don't often see. As soon as any magician gets asked to randomly perform a trick, randomly do something to keep up popularity, inside the mind is a mad scramble to find something around us to comply with the request. Not every magician leaves the house with a zillion tricks up their sleeves. I only really carry a pack of cards and random things when I know I'm gonna be near the public long enough for them to get a trick out of me. Now let's be honest, I'm sitting on a beach right now, in shorts, with nothing else about, just me and a beer... beer! That's it
I picked the beer bottle up in front of me, and hold it in front of the two women.
"Normal run of the mill beer" I tell them.
Well, it's the truth
I take a sip to prove that point.
"Now watch closely" I tell them.
I balance the beer on my left palm, looking at it. I put my fingers on the top of the bottle, just my fore and middle finger of my right hand and shake the beer slightly. I look at the two women's faces as the beer starts to ice from bottom to top. The look of amazement on peoples face always throws self satisfaction my way.
Here comes the how question
"How did you do that?" One of the two ask
Do I know people, or do I know people?
"Magic" I quickly throw back "But look closely"
I clap my hands together, "squashing" the bottle between my palms and pulling my hands apart, making the bottle disappear. The gasps say it all from the two women.
"Also magic" I said before they can even ask.
See, this is why I got in to magic, but now, time to focus on the match
Pulling out a wallet and flipping it open, Sxxxy Shane Boswell's ID is clearly seen.
I need to hire one of those boats... Well, Shane is gonna hire one of those boats. Thanks buddy!
I stand up and smile at the two women, picking up the beer cooler and walking away as the camera focuses on one of the boats out at sea.
Ah, the ocean, can't help but love it
The sun sets on my beautiful vision, the Mexican sky slowly fading darker and darker. I stare in to the water from a boat I hired thanks to Shane's cash.
He really shouldn't leave that thing just laying around in his back pocket. I don't do it out of malice anymore, I just love watching him and Synn head of their pockets to come up empty, it's just brilliant to see their looks on their faces. Anyway, must focus on this match
The waves crash alongside my boat, causing a great, relaxing sound around the steady boat. I look at the camera pointed at me, I know I gotta talk about the upcoming match, promotion is everything. I pull the SCW tag team title over my shoulder and speak
"Hello SCW and welcome to Cancun, I am the one and only Gabriel. I'm right here in Mexico relaxing for a couple of days, I felt I had to because Sunday is gonna be one hell of a big match. So this is the part where I get to talk about my opponents. Let's start with you Bobby Cage"
My mind starts to wander, see, I don't plan what I have to say until I do it, unlike other stars. I add realism to my world of deceit and illusion.
"Bobby, we've never had the pleasure of meeting in the ring. If I can be honest with you, I never expected we would, I mean we're on two very different paths in SCW, very different, so I never expected our paths to cross at anytime, but here we are. Congratulations on this main event Bobby, congratulations on breaking from the pack and getting noticed enough to step up. I applaud your hard work to get this far. You know with people like you, proud convicts, proud of the past, people don't get too far in this business. They never seem to break the pack for some unknown reasons, but you have. This is no bullshit for you, is it? This is your life, this is your existence. I know what that's like, for I used to be the same, I was a petty crook. I was a guy who used to pick pockets and use illusions to steal, to cheat. I see where the prison background can come in handy in the wrestling world, hell, people base their whole persona's on cheating but Bobby, sadly for you, all that convict history, those prison riots, those 'kill or be killed moments' won't help you against me."
I have to pause for a second, just to catch my breath
"I'm sure there was a lot of pressure in the joint, but it's nothing like this Bobby. Do you know what you can earn by putting on a good show on Sunday? You have the world watching you Bobby, you have a chance to have everyone take notice of you, the chance to be known for more then your criminal past. Ex cons don't get many opportunities like this Bobby, but here's the thing, here's the kicker. I've been here and done this before. I've been the one who has been involved in many main events, I'm the one who sells out Vegas shows without getting out of bed, I'm the one who can handle all this. I'll be straight up and honest with ya Bobby. No one expects you to win, no one expects you to do well here, they just want you to put on a good show, so go for it, put on a good show, but don't kid yourself that you can win this match, don't expect too much from yourself in this match, just enjoy it while you can."
I stop myself from laughing as much as I can, but a smile breaks out on my face.
"Moving on to you Johnny. I actually like you, you go out there every week, head held high and regardless of what happens, you always come out of it earning more and more respect. You are like marmite, I agree, I hate marmite, but I actually find you entertaining. Sadly, you like pissing people off, cause I got a tweet from Rage telling me to kick your arse, was the first clue you had your promo showing. I know it's not difficult to piss Rage off, trust me, but I'm pretty sure he'll agree with your nickname for Nick Jones."
Again a smile crosses my face.
"Sounds like your agent has a plan here Johnny, a plan of all dominance, you becoming a grand slam champion. Starting at the bottom, yeah, you could probably handle Kennedy, Casey Williams or Aleksei Koji, whoever comes out of Sunday with the roulette championship, but that's where it stops. Is your agent stupid enough to believe you and a partner can beat Sinful Obsession? Really? Last week, I left an open challenge out there for the next supercard. I know you have no interest in the titles, just the fame that comes with them, and more so the money, and trust me, the money is good. The offers to put extra money in your pocket for just posing with the title and saying you use some half arsed product you wouldn't usually go anywhere near, is amazing. You know, I've made a quarter of a mil extra since winning this thing over my shoulder. That should be motivation enough for you. Questioning my nationality though, will not help you beat me in this match, but yes, really am English, born in Bermonsey, south London, moved to the Isle Of Dogs at a young age, would you like me to name the boozers on the island when I was growing up? Leather pants come in handy in England, rain just rolls right off them, considering it pisses down in England a lot."
The thought of Johnny's YMCA comment flashes through my mind.
"I loved the Village People crack Johnny, creative stuff. Don't worry young man, there's no need to be down, I said young man.... Ah screw it, I'm not gonna give the lyrics to YMCA here. Johnny, I look forward to your challenge, I look forward to being in the ring with The True Brit himself, but this one is going my way."
I tilt my head up and clear my mind of Johnny Brown and focus towards Nick Jones.
"Nick Jones, Mr Ego of SCW, finally a chance to get in the ring with you. Been something I've wanted to do for a while. Been something I've needed for a while. Look at that record you have, very impressive, best record in Sin City Wrestling, I like that Nick. See, that's what attracts me to you, that's what tempts me to get in the ring with you, and now I got the chance. I'm a great believer in taking opportunities when they're in front of me Nick, which is something we seem to have in common. We're not too different when you think about it. Only difference is you are driven by the ego, and I am driven by greed but there's one thing we have in common that feeds your ego and feeds my greed."
I point at the tag team title belt.
"Gold Nick, gold. See these respective titles we are in possession of, they drive us forward to feed those vices we both have. When I had that heavyweight title that you now have in your possession, my greed was uncontrollable, I wanted it all, I got it all but like all great rises, the fall is bound to happen. I read people well Nick and you, you don't think you'll ever fall and while I commend you on your historic run with that title belt, your fall is right around the corner, in fact, it starts on Sunday, it begins at Climax Control. It's a downward spiral from there and you know the eyes of SCW are firmly on you. Rage wants that title, Blaque Hart wants that title, Jordan Williams wants that title, Bo just wants to kick your arse and it seems to me Johnny Brown has his eyes firmly set on that title. Hell, it wasn't so long ago Bobby Cage said he wants that heavyweight title. The pressure will start to show"
I breathe deeply, letting more thoughts of Nick Jones enter my head
"Can you really handle the tag team champions and three other men with desires to beat you and get your gold? Can you really trust Brown and Cage? They want your title Nick, they want what I've had, they wanna see you fall from the top and tumble down that mountain faster then a landslide. I'm sure they'll be pretty happy to engineer your downfall from within the garrison walls. You've only got two eyes Nick, how the hell are you meant to stop us all from slowly picking you apart. How are you gonna deal with this Nick. Ego vs Pressure is not a pretty battle and an unwinnable one. I've been hoping someday I would be in the same ring as you Nick, I feel the need to test myself again and well, why not doing against the man with the perfect singles record. I love a challenge and well Nick, this one might be a bit of an ego boost, but you are the ultimate challenge, you are the man to beat. If anyone wants any credibility around here, they have to beat you and Nick, I'm gonna be the one that pins you. I'm gonna be the one that claims that credibility, I will be the one to stand up and gets noticed."
I think that's enough about Nick, if I say too much, his ego will blow up and he'll never get out of his hotel room door
"So Bobby Cage, Johnny Brown, Nick Jones, Climax Control can't come soon enough for me, cause I'm ready, I'm more then ready, I was born to main event and I was born to take on and beat the best. Come Sunday, you three are gonna wish you never got put in this match."
I stand up, looking down the camera.
"Believe that!"
The camera fades out to the beautiful Cancun backdrop, the sun setting behind my back and the gentle waves running slowly up the pale beach shore line
