Post by TFP on Oct 21, 2008 16:36:14 GMT -4
The wrestling arena is empty, quiet and pretty bland looking. Everything you see is lifeless and not as exciting as you thought it would be to go to a wrestling event. But maybe that's because there are no superstars in the ring, no attendance holding up signs and cheering for the action that should be going on. Maybe it's because the arena is still waiting a day or two until Conflict airs on television once again for thousands of people at home. Maybe it's something, or maybe it's nothing. But you can always get something from nothing, and somebody from nobody. And of an arena filled with nobody, comes somebody and somebody else.
Jesse James and Gary Jones.
The two walk down the steps that goes to the front row, then Jesse hops the barricade, landing on his feet and looking around the quiet and empty arena. This place would be filled with thousands of people that are about to make you deaf by busting your ear-drums with every shrieking scream that comes from them. But not today; it's Sunday. People are using the day for leisure, not to work and other things that it is used for. Overall, most people should be having a pretty fun day. Jesse, on the other hand, is deciding to speak his thoughts with Gary Jones, FWA interviewer.
“Jesse James, for two straight weeks you've went on Conflict and made yourself an impact, something that people like myself and the wrestling audience would have never believed you would have made. Most of the people see you as a shadow of the Feature Presentation, a carbon-copy, even. Since he's your mentor and has trained you for years prior to joining any big-time wrestling federation, you've learned a lot of the skills he has in his arsenal, bringing them into the ring. Without a doubt, they must be aiding you to your past two victories, giving you two wins in a row without defeat. Now this week you're facing the brother of the man you faced and defeated on the last Conflict, you even had an encounter with the man, known as William Rodney Mercy. Now William, you've heard a lot about him and have even probably watcehd him as a wrestling fan. There's no doubt that he's talented, that is something nobody can deny, not even you. So going into Conflict, what is your plan when going up against him?”
“I'm not scared, I'm not intimidated and I'm not afraid. If I was any of the three, then would I have done what I did on Conflict? Would I have walked to that ring, confronted him and superkicked him in the jaw? Would I have challenged him and signed that contract that some will refer to as my execution papers? I didn't do that to make a name for myself, to push myself up the FWA ladder or even show people how arrogant I really am. I did it because I'm sick of the way William has been acting lately. The William Rodney Mercy that I remember was a guy who didn't bide time to accept challenges, nor was he the kind of guy to sign a contract to make these big matches happen; he was a guy that wrestled the matches he wanted when he wanted to. He wouldn't run to the management and request that a potential five-star ratings match be booked on the next pay per view with his opponent of choice. He would just drag out a random guy from the backstage locker-room, throw him in the ring, stare him straight in the eyes and say "this is your big moment, kid, get ready for it because now you're going to be fighting among the best in the business," and he would leave it at that. Now William isn't like that anymore; he doesn't show the intensity, he doesn't show the pride and he doesn't show the dedication or motivation like he used to. If he sees himself on a pay per view match, he now expects his opponent to be among the likes of guys like Ryan Cain and the reward of the match isn't only a six-figure number for Mercy, but probably a chance to be main-eventing every single event he demands. It's time that Mercy is slapped back into reality. This isn't UFC, he's not going to be getting paid like Frank Mir or Mirko Cro Cop or even given the attention that they have. He can keep dreaming, though, because it's pretty funny to see him wishing for things that will never be.”
“I don't assume that there's any mutual hate between you two, but it's all because of you wanting to bring Mercy back to his former self? I can understand where you're coming from, but myself personally have never seen a change in William's attitude in my long run in the wrestling industry. I've interviewed him during his brief run in British Wrestling Alliance about two years ago and he seemed as normal as he does now. Everybody has a price and while I can understand your point of him wanting to wrestle the big guys on pay per views, what makes you think he has lost everything he was noted for during his glory days that you say are no more?”
“Simple. William's last few opponents have been nobody but guys that have stood at the top of various wrestling promotions in the circuit. He's wanting them in the ring when it is convenient to him, not for them. They're usually busy with something else, but William insists and nags that they accept his challenge when he slams it down on the table. Mercy had opportunities before this, Gary, we all know that. Where was Mercy three or four years ago at the peek of his and their careers? Where was Mercy then? Why didn't he propose any sort of challenge around that time of his career instead of waiting until now? He had all of this time to do what he should have, but he drags it out and sets it to a later date. Some of these challenges he throws out there aren't going to happen anymore because quite frankly, the people on the other end of the table are sick of his crap and know he had a chance to do this a very long time ago. I want Mercy to know that it's time to move on and look at the future. Face younger superstars who are about to climb to the mountain top because these younger stars have a lot to give and a lot to learn. I'm an example of that, Gary. I've learned a fair bit in the wrestling ring against some prominent veterans, but I didn't learn as much as I wanted to. So since Mercy was flat out of luck on Conflict last week, I figured why not? If Ryan Cain wasn't going to show up, which we were all aware of, why not somebody else? Then I slapped myself in the forehead because I didn't have a V-8 this morning. Afterwards, I decided that I would be bold enough to wrestle Mercy. You could call it a disappointing match-to-be, but I call it a dream-match. William, whether he's lost it or not, is a guy that I've wanted to face off against since I saw the man wrestle. What an honor it would be to break his neck, eh?”
Gary looks around the arena, away from Jesse, then widens his eyes in a sort of way that has him creeped out and worried. Either Jesse is one of those psycho fans that would love to make any sort of life-altering change to his hero, or he's making a sarcastic joke. Hopefully, for William's sake, it's the latter.
“Uh, yeah, I guess so...? Not only do you get a chance to face him at the pay per view in the future, but you also get an opportunity this week. Two times in your career, you're going to be able to square off in the ring one-on-one with Mercy. Nobody could ask for better booking, especially you. Jesse, with the opportunities that you've been given lately, you must be incredibly grateful for every single one of them that have come your way. You defeated a former FWA Women's Champion, the brother of a wrestling legend and now you're on your way to face that wrestling legend this week. Where do you see yourself if you overcome Mercy twice? Once? Never?”
“Oh yes, I am happy for what FWA is giving me. I couldn't ask for better opponents. Hell, I don't think that I could even get better opponents in the wrestling circuit. A lot of big names and talent come here to FWA to wrestle against new-comers or even old-timers. Veterans to rookies, they wrestle one another and even grow to enjoy it, win or lose. If I defeat Mercy twice, I could really see myself up at the top of the federation at a quick pace and becoming a possible contender to the World title. I don't really like to flatter myself, but if I am as successful as I hope I am, I could very well be Fans Wrestling Alliance Superstar of 2008. It's going to be tough, especially with other people gunning for that spot like Ramirez, but I can respect and enjoy fair competition like that. I wouldn't even be surprised if "Superstar of 2008" had to be decided by the outcome of a possible Ramirez versus Jesse James Miller match. If I were to defeat Mercy once, I still see myself going up the ladder, but not with a huge aurora of vibe and hype like I could with two victories. But that could change, y'know. Depending on if the challenges gets more difficult afterwards, defeating all or most of them can really have a confidence boost and allow me to do better. Bah, I dunno... I'm still learning, I'm still young. Now if I never defeat Mercy, then I wouldn't have much of anything to be happy about. But either way, it's still a brush with a pro-wrestling icon, can't be much better than that, really.”
Jesse shrugs his shoulders, then looks down to the ring. In that very ring, in the next few months, he's going to make himself into something to be proud of. He turned into a serious wrestling superstar a few days shy of the New Year and self-proclaimed himself to be FWA's Happy New Year, and the Man of 2008. So far he looks to be proving what he said as true, but how far can he take it? Is he really that determined to take FWA to a new level, something that it never seen or expected that somebody like Jesse could take it? Some say it's doubtful, some say it's insane, but there's a lot of things in this world that people never expected to happen and it did.
Jesse James and Gary Jones.
The two walk down the steps that goes to the front row, then Jesse hops the barricade, landing on his feet and looking around the quiet and empty arena. This place would be filled with thousands of people that are about to make you deaf by busting your ear-drums with every shrieking scream that comes from them. But not today; it's Sunday. People are using the day for leisure, not to work and other things that it is used for. Overall, most people should be having a pretty fun day. Jesse, on the other hand, is deciding to speak his thoughts with Gary Jones, FWA interviewer.
“Jesse James, for two straight weeks you've went on Conflict and made yourself an impact, something that people like myself and the wrestling audience would have never believed you would have made. Most of the people see you as a shadow of the Feature Presentation, a carbon-copy, even. Since he's your mentor and has trained you for years prior to joining any big-time wrestling federation, you've learned a lot of the skills he has in his arsenal, bringing them into the ring. Without a doubt, they must be aiding you to your past two victories, giving you two wins in a row without defeat. Now this week you're facing the brother of the man you faced and defeated on the last Conflict, you even had an encounter with the man, known as William Rodney Mercy. Now William, you've heard a lot about him and have even probably watcehd him as a wrestling fan. There's no doubt that he's talented, that is something nobody can deny, not even you. So going into Conflict, what is your plan when going up against him?”
“I'm not scared, I'm not intimidated and I'm not afraid. If I was any of the three, then would I have done what I did on Conflict? Would I have walked to that ring, confronted him and superkicked him in the jaw? Would I have challenged him and signed that contract that some will refer to as my execution papers? I didn't do that to make a name for myself, to push myself up the FWA ladder or even show people how arrogant I really am. I did it because I'm sick of the way William has been acting lately. The William Rodney Mercy that I remember was a guy who didn't bide time to accept challenges, nor was he the kind of guy to sign a contract to make these big matches happen; he was a guy that wrestled the matches he wanted when he wanted to. He wouldn't run to the management and request that a potential five-star ratings match be booked on the next pay per view with his opponent of choice. He would just drag out a random guy from the backstage locker-room, throw him in the ring, stare him straight in the eyes and say "this is your big moment, kid, get ready for it because now you're going to be fighting among the best in the business," and he would leave it at that. Now William isn't like that anymore; he doesn't show the intensity, he doesn't show the pride and he doesn't show the dedication or motivation like he used to. If he sees himself on a pay per view match, he now expects his opponent to be among the likes of guys like Ryan Cain and the reward of the match isn't only a six-figure number for Mercy, but probably a chance to be main-eventing every single event he demands. It's time that Mercy is slapped back into reality. This isn't UFC, he's not going to be getting paid like Frank Mir or Mirko Cro Cop or even given the attention that they have. He can keep dreaming, though, because it's pretty funny to see him wishing for things that will never be.”
“I don't assume that there's any mutual hate between you two, but it's all because of you wanting to bring Mercy back to his former self? I can understand where you're coming from, but myself personally have never seen a change in William's attitude in my long run in the wrestling industry. I've interviewed him during his brief run in British Wrestling Alliance about two years ago and he seemed as normal as he does now. Everybody has a price and while I can understand your point of him wanting to wrestle the big guys on pay per views, what makes you think he has lost everything he was noted for during his glory days that you say are no more?”
“Simple. William's last few opponents have been nobody but guys that have stood at the top of various wrestling promotions in the circuit. He's wanting them in the ring when it is convenient to him, not for them. They're usually busy with something else, but William insists and nags that they accept his challenge when he slams it down on the table. Mercy had opportunities before this, Gary, we all know that. Where was Mercy three or four years ago at the peek of his and their careers? Where was Mercy then? Why didn't he propose any sort of challenge around that time of his career instead of waiting until now? He had all of this time to do what he should have, but he drags it out and sets it to a later date. Some of these challenges he throws out there aren't going to happen anymore because quite frankly, the people on the other end of the table are sick of his crap and know he had a chance to do this a very long time ago. I want Mercy to know that it's time to move on and look at the future. Face younger superstars who are about to climb to the mountain top because these younger stars have a lot to give and a lot to learn. I'm an example of that, Gary. I've learned a fair bit in the wrestling ring against some prominent veterans, but I didn't learn as much as I wanted to. So since Mercy was flat out of luck on Conflict last week, I figured why not? If Ryan Cain wasn't going to show up, which we were all aware of, why not somebody else? Then I slapped myself in the forehead because I didn't have a V-8 this morning. Afterwards, I decided that I would be bold enough to wrestle Mercy. You could call it a disappointing match-to-be, but I call it a dream-match. William, whether he's lost it or not, is a guy that I've wanted to face off against since I saw the man wrestle. What an honor it would be to break his neck, eh?”
Gary looks around the arena, away from Jesse, then widens his eyes in a sort of way that has him creeped out and worried. Either Jesse is one of those psycho fans that would love to make any sort of life-altering change to his hero, or he's making a sarcastic joke. Hopefully, for William's sake, it's the latter.
“Uh, yeah, I guess so...? Not only do you get a chance to face him at the pay per view in the future, but you also get an opportunity this week. Two times in your career, you're going to be able to square off in the ring one-on-one with Mercy. Nobody could ask for better booking, especially you. Jesse, with the opportunities that you've been given lately, you must be incredibly grateful for every single one of them that have come your way. You defeated a former FWA Women's Champion, the brother of a wrestling legend and now you're on your way to face that wrestling legend this week. Where do you see yourself if you overcome Mercy twice? Once? Never?”
“Oh yes, I am happy for what FWA is giving me. I couldn't ask for better opponents. Hell, I don't think that I could even get better opponents in the wrestling circuit. A lot of big names and talent come here to FWA to wrestle against new-comers or even old-timers. Veterans to rookies, they wrestle one another and even grow to enjoy it, win or lose. If I defeat Mercy twice, I could really see myself up at the top of the federation at a quick pace and becoming a possible contender to the World title. I don't really like to flatter myself, but if I am as successful as I hope I am, I could very well be Fans Wrestling Alliance Superstar of 2008. It's going to be tough, especially with other people gunning for that spot like Ramirez, but I can respect and enjoy fair competition like that. I wouldn't even be surprised if "Superstar of 2008" had to be decided by the outcome of a possible Ramirez versus Jesse James Miller match. If I were to defeat Mercy once, I still see myself going up the ladder, but not with a huge aurora of vibe and hype like I could with two victories. But that could change, y'know. Depending on if the challenges gets more difficult afterwards, defeating all or most of them can really have a confidence boost and allow me to do better. Bah, I dunno... I'm still learning, I'm still young. Now if I never defeat Mercy, then I wouldn't have much of anything to be happy about. But either way, it's still a brush with a pro-wrestling icon, can't be much better than that, really.”
Jesse shrugs his shoulders, then looks down to the ring. In that very ring, in the next few months, he's going to make himself into something to be proud of. He turned into a serious wrestling superstar a few days shy of the New Year and self-proclaimed himself to be FWA's Happy New Year, and the Man of 2008. So far he looks to be proving what he said as true, but how far can he take it? Is he really that determined to take FWA to a new level, something that it never seen or expected that somebody like Jesse could take it? Some say it's doubtful, some say it's insane, but there's a lot of things in this world that people never expected to happen and it did.