Post by darkdisciple on Sept 5, 2012 14:46:33 GMT -5
Can you believe this!?
I throw the magazine on the desk in front of Sir Cunningham. Wrestling Insider's headline in bright red bold text, standing out like a bullet wound.
APOSTLE KRIED CHEATING TO WIN???
Sir Cunningham sighed and rolled his eyes as he picked up the flopping mess of paper.
Tabloids, gossip, trash. Everyone knows The Insider is a piece of crap.
He flips through it as I continue.
That's not important! I care about this! I'm trying to go out there, and not just do my job, not just prove that being a good wrestler is far more entertaining than what these... these idiots are doing on the camera. People who can't tell a back-drop from a side-slam, but have already named both of Ms. Biguns' breasts in their minds. And God-forbid I try to actually wrestle in a wrestling company, and try to stay out of all the politics that shouldn't concern me, no, Billy ain't got the brain to leave me alone. And as if him forcing me to Step Up! wasn't enough, he still can't leave me alone. Now he's sending that lard-headed walking muscle to ruin every single one of my matches for everyone in the building.
Titan is secretly your older brother who is attacking you so that you win all your matches... and you have a deal with Bill Adams to help him take over MPW in exchange for the Step Up! title...
I blink a few times before I realize he is reading out of the magazine. He chuckles to himself and turns the page.
Nobody is going to take this seriously Kried.
Look, you might not think this is going to change how people see me, but it will. Who watches wrestling? Major demographics, tell me.
*sigh* Male, 18-35, blue collar, typically white, though that's changing...
And the other major one?
Um... Female, 65 and over, retired...
In other words, the same people who read tabloid magazines.
Kried... you're really worried about what my auld Grandmother thinks of you?
My point is... I don't want this to keep happening. It's not good for me, it's not good for you, and I don't enjoy it. I'm not one of those guys who says a win is a win. I hate that I've won the past to matches by disqualification, and now who knows what those two have done to David Alexander. It's not fair to anyone.
And I would like nothing more than to reschedule all of those matches, but I just can't. I've already allowed far too many delays in this tournament as it is. I can assure you though. Next Step Up! Bill Adams will not be in the arena. I have already checked with the board, and Adams will be far too busy with other matters come Friday night.
What 'other matters'?
That, is nothing you need to concern yourself with. So here's what you should do...
He holds up the magazine, then strikes a match and lights the paper. He drops the flaming tabloid into the metal rubbage bin and wipes his hands disdainfully on his handkerchief.
Forget about the paparazzi, forget about the rumors, forget about Bill Adams, and get ready to face Christian Carter. Whether we like how you got here or not, you are in the finals of the tournament, so now you need to prove you belong in the top four of Step Up! Show me, and everyone else, why you were the German War Machine, why you were half of the famous Devil Dogs, why you were a Champion in the past, and why you think you should be a champion again. That is the Apostle Kried that the fans want. And that is what they deserve. If Bill Adams keeps that Apostle Kried from showing his face, it means he's got you exactly where he wants you...
Sir Cunningham looks at the various articles on his desk, one of them, a roster of Step Up! with far more information than even I realized MPW had about me written upon it. He stares at it a bit before he continues.
Here's a challenge for you Kried. I want you to get into that ring, and I want you to make me proud to be a pure wrestling fan. If you can manage that... well... I may have a vitally important task for you. One I think you will find extremely appealing. Now if you'll excuse me... there are... personal... matters that require my attention, and I believe you have a good deal of work ahead of you. Good luck Mr. Kried. See you on Friday.
I took my leave of Sir Cunningham, and found myself walking out of MPW HQ with far more questions than I had gotten answers. But what he had said about me not being the same man who had dominated in the past was dead on. I had gotten lazy. I had taken on too many things at once. I hadn't taken myself to the extreme in far too long. Hadn't pushed myself the way I used to. I had been falling into routine, and if there was one thing I wasn't it was someone who enjoyed a boring routine. Christian Carter was good, and unless I planned on relying on Bill Adams, which wasn't likely, I needed to step up my game in a big way. Something radical... like a 16 on 1 handicap match... that could work. I knew Pablo would love a chance to watch 16 of his best students get beaten up by me. Yeah, that would work for a warm up, I could figure out where to go from their. Make it up as I went. Improvise. All things I needed to improve on anyways.
I headed into the lobby, where I was stopped by a young, freckled, red-headed girl. Too young in case you were wondering. Mid-teens at the most. Her accent was very British,if I had to guess Lancashire, though I was no expert.
'Scuse me mistah, dost tha know wha' Sah Cunningham be?
Yeah, I actually just came from there, he' down that way... I pointed down the hall I had just came from. you turn right, then you'll see a big set of stairs right in the middle of the room. You walk up those, and his is the second door to the right, it has his name on it.
She seemed pleased, she repeated the directions back perfectly... I think, then started to walk away, before stopping and turning back.
Than' ye... umm... sorry 'bout this, bit of a 'abit o' mine. 'Ere ye go.
She tosses an object at me, then quickly dashed down the hall. I picked the item off the floor. It was my wallet. Somehow, she had gotten her hands on it. Probably while I was giving her directions. I expected the worst, but was relieved to find all the money still nestled inside of it. Whoever that girl was, she had some shady abilities. I hoped Sir Cunningham could handle her. Somehow, I doubted it.
She had manage to get my mind back on my own two sisters, I hadn't heard from them in a while, Kami had declared radio silence over something I had said, couldn't remember what it was, but she had taken it the wrong way. I wondered if Tina was still watching all of my matches. Sometimes, I wished she wouldn't. Sir Cunningham was trying to make Step Up! at least a somewhat professional, and classic show, but from what I had seen of the entire industry, most wrestlers didn't lend themselves well to being kid friendly. I didn't have a problem with it, I'd rather parents warn each other about our shows than have all the guys try to be something they're not. It took a special kind of wrestler to put up with a Family Friendly style, and MPW didn't have them, nor the desire. I had wrapped my mind around that some time ago, but it was good to remind myself every so often. It meant I had to be myself too. And unfortunately for everyone else, who I was... was a teddy bear outside of the ring, and a polar bear inside of the ring... when I forgot to put on tanner anyways.
Christian Carter and I had already qualified for the next round, this match didn't really mean much more than who would fight who later. But it was going to be a match I planned on going all out on. I hoped Carter would do the same. I would rather lose a good match than win a squash. Nobody improved with a squash. And I didn't care as much about the short term as I did the long term.
Which wasn't to say I couldn't win, heck, winning the Step Up! title wasn't out of the question. I was a young gun, with a fantastic background in European competition. I was the golden child, I was supposed to be the greatest German Wrestler since Alex Wright... which granted, wasn't going to be all that hard, but hey, when you come from a nation as bored about wrestling as Germany is, you just need to make one new fan at a time. And I planned on doing just that...
I throw the magazine on the desk in front of Sir Cunningham. Wrestling Insider's headline in bright red bold text, standing out like a bullet wound.
APOSTLE KRIED CHEATING TO WIN???
Sir Cunningham sighed and rolled his eyes as he picked up the flopping mess of paper.
Tabloids, gossip, trash. Everyone knows The Insider is a piece of crap.
He flips through it as I continue.
That's not important! I care about this! I'm trying to go out there, and not just do my job, not just prove that being a good wrestler is far more entertaining than what these... these idiots are doing on the camera. People who can't tell a back-drop from a side-slam, but have already named both of Ms. Biguns' breasts in their minds. And God-forbid I try to actually wrestle in a wrestling company, and try to stay out of all the politics that shouldn't concern me, no, Billy ain't got the brain to leave me alone. And as if him forcing me to Step Up! wasn't enough, he still can't leave me alone. Now he's sending that lard-headed walking muscle to ruin every single one of my matches for everyone in the building.
Titan is secretly your older brother who is attacking you so that you win all your matches... and you have a deal with Bill Adams to help him take over MPW in exchange for the Step Up! title...
I blink a few times before I realize he is reading out of the magazine. He chuckles to himself and turns the page.
Nobody is going to take this seriously Kried.
Look, you might not think this is going to change how people see me, but it will. Who watches wrestling? Major demographics, tell me.
*sigh* Male, 18-35, blue collar, typically white, though that's changing...
And the other major one?
Um... Female, 65 and over, retired...
In other words, the same people who read tabloid magazines.
Kried... you're really worried about what my auld Grandmother thinks of you?
My point is... I don't want this to keep happening. It's not good for me, it's not good for you, and I don't enjoy it. I'm not one of those guys who says a win is a win. I hate that I've won the past to matches by disqualification, and now who knows what those two have done to David Alexander. It's not fair to anyone.
And I would like nothing more than to reschedule all of those matches, but I just can't. I've already allowed far too many delays in this tournament as it is. I can assure you though. Next Step Up! Bill Adams will not be in the arena. I have already checked with the board, and Adams will be far too busy with other matters come Friday night.
What 'other matters'?
That, is nothing you need to concern yourself with. So here's what you should do...
He holds up the magazine, then strikes a match and lights the paper. He drops the flaming tabloid into the metal rubbage bin and wipes his hands disdainfully on his handkerchief.
Forget about the paparazzi, forget about the rumors, forget about Bill Adams, and get ready to face Christian Carter. Whether we like how you got here or not, you are in the finals of the tournament, so now you need to prove you belong in the top four of Step Up! Show me, and everyone else, why you were the German War Machine, why you were half of the famous Devil Dogs, why you were a Champion in the past, and why you think you should be a champion again. That is the Apostle Kried that the fans want. And that is what they deserve. If Bill Adams keeps that Apostle Kried from showing his face, it means he's got you exactly where he wants you...
Sir Cunningham looks at the various articles on his desk, one of them, a roster of Step Up! with far more information than even I realized MPW had about me written upon it. He stares at it a bit before he continues.
Here's a challenge for you Kried. I want you to get into that ring, and I want you to make me proud to be a pure wrestling fan. If you can manage that... well... I may have a vitally important task for you. One I think you will find extremely appealing. Now if you'll excuse me... there are... personal... matters that require my attention, and I believe you have a good deal of work ahead of you. Good luck Mr. Kried. See you on Friday.
I took my leave of Sir Cunningham, and found myself walking out of MPW HQ with far more questions than I had gotten answers. But what he had said about me not being the same man who had dominated in the past was dead on. I had gotten lazy. I had taken on too many things at once. I hadn't taken myself to the extreme in far too long. Hadn't pushed myself the way I used to. I had been falling into routine, and if there was one thing I wasn't it was someone who enjoyed a boring routine. Christian Carter was good, and unless I planned on relying on Bill Adams, which wasn't likely, I needed to step up my game in a big way. Something radical... like a 16 on 1 handicap match... that could work. I knew Pablo would love a chance to watch 16 of his best students get beaten up by me. Yeah, that would work for a warm up, I could figure out where to go from their. Make it up as I went. Improvise. All things I needed to improve on anyways.
I headed into the lobby, where I was stopped by a young, freckled, red-headed girl. Too young in case you were wondering. Mid-teens at the most. Her accent was very British,if I had to guess Lancashire, though I was no expert.
'Scuse me mistah, dost tha know wha' Sah Cunningham be?
Yeah, I actually just came from there, he' down that way... I pointed down the hall I had just came from. you turn right, then you'll see a big set of stairs right in the middle of the room. You walk up those, and his is the second door to the right, it has his name on it.
She seemed pleased, she repeated the directions back perfectly... I think, then started to walk away, before stopping and turning back.
Than' ye... umm... sorry 'bout this, bit of a 'abit o' mine. 'Ere ye go.
She tosses an object at me, then quickly dashed down the hall. I picked the item off the floor. It was my wallet. Somehow, she had gotten her hands on it. Probably while I was giving her directions. I expected the worst, but was relieved to find all the money still nestled inside of it. Whoever that girl was, she had some shady abilities. I hoped Sir Cunningham could handle her. Somehow, I doubted it.
She had manage to get my mind back on my own two sisters, I hadn't heard from them in a while, Kami had declared radio silence over something I had said, couldn't remember what it was, but she had taken it the wrong way. I wondered if Tina was still watching all of my matches. Sometimes, I wished she wouldn't. Sir Cunningham was trying to make Step Up! at least a somewhat professional, and classic show, but from what I had seen of the entire industry, most wrestlers didn't lend themselves well to being kid friendly. I didn't have a problem with it, I'd rather parents warn each other about our shows than have all the guys try to be something they're not. It took a special kind of wrestler to put up with a Family Friendly style, and MPW didn't have them, nor the desire. I had wrapped my mind around that some time ago, but it was good to remind myself every so often. It meant I had to be myself too. And unfortunately for everyone else, who I was... was a teddy bear outside of the ring, and a polar bear inside of the ring... when I forgot to put on tanner anyways.
Christian Carter and I had already qualified for the next round, this match didn't really mean much more than who would fight who later. But it was going to be a match I planned on going all out on. I hoped Carter would do the same. I would rather lose a good match than win a squash. Nobody improved with a squash. And I didn't care as much about the short term as I did the long term.
Which wasn't to say I couldn't win, heck, winning the Step Up! title wasn't out of the question. I was a young gun, with a fantastic background in European competition. I was the golden child, I was supposed to be the greatest German Wrestler since Alex Wright... which granted, wasn't going to be all that hard, but hey, when you come from a nation as bored about wrestling as Germany is, you just need to make one new fan at a time. And I planned on doing just that...
