Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2015 17:58:40 GMT -6
RIGHT AFTER DEMENTED
The show had long since come to an end, the make shift arena long since emptied, and yet in the temporary structure being called the locker room Matthew sat, head in his hands, face to the floor. So engulfed in the thought process that was overtaking him, Matthew failed to hear the door of the temporary structure open.
Nancy: What happened to you?
MC: Not now.
Nancy: Yes now, there is no better time than now.
MC: I really don’t want to talk right now, would rather be alone to think.
Nancy: To think? To fucking think? Since when does Matthew Carter have to think? Since when do you do anything that requires you to do more than just react? Since when do you let someone dictate to you how it’s going to be? You are a shell of the man that I fell in love with in High school.
Nancy moved forward and lifted Matthew’s head from his hands.
Nancy: Are you fucking crying? Jesus Christ have your balls been cut off too?
MC: Not now Nancy.
Nancy: Then when Matthew? When you are out of the NEW? When you have been run out of the god damn industry because you forgot what made you great?
Nancy hauls back and slaps the taste out of Matthew’s mouth.
Nancy: Now suck it up and stop being a fucking bleeding vagina!
Nancy just stands there starring at Matthew, a shell of the man he used to be.
Nancy: Your like a god damn dog, you’ve been house broken and all the great things you had in you are gone. Maybe you should take some time Matthew and figure out who you are again. Because that man you used to be was amazing, what sits there now is just fucking crap, total utter crap!
Nancy turned and left the room, slamming the temporary structure door so hard it fell off. Matthew just sat there, hand on his cheek where she had slapped it, never moving, never talking, barely breathing and barely blinking.
APRIL 13TH
Franklin scurried across the foyer and pulled the door open.
Nancy: This better be good!
Franklin: I didn’t know who else to call. NEW made me come and get him, he refused to leave the arena after demented, even after they tore it all down around him. I got him home but he’s just been sitting in the trophy room in his chair. I haven’t seen him get up to do anything other than use the bathroom. He’s not eating, and barely drinking any water. I’m worried.
Nancy: Oh god dammit.
Nancy pushed past Franklin and made her way down the hall. She stopped at the trophy room door and kicked it open. There in the chair Matthew sat, his eyes fixated on a picture of Himself, Roger, and Al on the wall.
Nancy: You have to be kidding me. Did you think this is what I meant when I talked to you after the show?
MC: Shut up!
Nancy was moving forward and immediately came to a stop.
Nancy: Excuse me?
MC: Was there something confusing about what I said?
Nancy: You want to really go there with me?
MC: Look at that photo.
Matthew points at the photo of himself, Roger and Al. Nancy looks at it then back at Matthew.
Nancy: And?
MC: Look at the lies that it represents, I didn’t see it then, didn’t want to see it. I was young, and being trained by my big brother and hanging out with his best friend. Now I see the lies, see the reality of what it all meant and was.
Nancy: What are you talking about?
MC: I’m finally awake from the terrible dream that has been haunting me. Hell you can say I’m alive again, more alive than I ever was. My eyes are open, wider and more focused than they ever have been, and for the first time in my life I see the reality of everything around me.
Nancy: You have me confused.
MC: All my life was spent trying to live up to some expectation, trying to strive to be something that I was not meant to be. I was so focused on being better than Roger, that I never realized that I was better than him. Where I thought I was striving to be great, to live up to the expectations, the reality was Roger was just stringing me along, trying to keep me where he felt I belonged.
Nancy: You don’t really believe that!
MC: I know it, through every fiber of my body I know it to be true. But it’s ok, I have come to grips with it, with what it means to me and the rest of the world. See Shit heads like Al think they know me, think they have me pegged. ‘Call me the younger brother of Roger Wright,’ as if that defines me. I don’t know what gives me more pleasure, the idea of them being wrong, or the shock that I will see in their faces when they realize their folly.
I’ve been thinking about it at length, thinking about the beginning of this whole thing. It wasn’t about the gold, the titles, or hell my name in lights. It was about doing something I loved, going out there and proving to that man in the ring I was better than him. Somewhere along the line I forgot about that, got caught up in wanting the fans to love me, wanting the men in the back to look up to me. All I did was fail, turned my name into mud, destroyed any chance at a legacy that I could have had.
It’s ok though, these assholes like Al have written me off, so much so that they don’t know what I can do anymore. Instead are filled with some false sense of self happiness at the idea of facing me. So much so they think they can go to dysfunctional family reunions and in the end simply write me off. But that’s not my concern, my worry is me, and what I have going for me, and that’s showing the world why I am here.
Nancy stepped back a bit and stared at Matthew.
Nancy: Are you feeling ok?
MC: Never better. I mean it’s like waking up from a terrible dream. I mean for a while there I felt like maybe I was underwater trying to look at the world without goggles on. But now, it’s like my vision is clear as a day.
Nancy: Have you read the card?
MC: what card?
Nancy: For Ignite?
MC: Haven’t given it much thought. Let me guess, Jesse has me facing off against the newest member of the NEW?
Nancy: Al.
MC: Envy?
Nancy: Yes.
MC: Hot damn, this day just keeps getting better. Don’t give me that look, there couldn’t be a better chance to have a good time than this week.
Nancy: Wait a second.
MC: What?
Nancy: If you didn’t know you were facing Al, how in the hell did you know that he had some dysfunctional family reunion?
MC: Franklin. That man has been so obsessively concerned about me that he spent many nights in here just chatting away my ear about the ongoing in the NEW. Told me about the idiots that pissed Kronin off, and Al’s family reunion, amongst other things.
Nancy: You are so full of shit!
MC: Full of shit? Man it’s amazing the lengths people will go to try and prove themselves right. I bet you would sell your kids out if you thought it meant for a moment you could be right and just have that feeling to hold over someone else.
Nancy: Excuse me?
MC: I didn’t stutter and you shouldn’t pretend like I did. How about from this point on you just sit there quietly until you have a thought worth letting out. Now where was I…That’s right, holding that feeling of being right over people. That’s the feeling that Al Envy needs, see he feeds on it, needs to be told he right, told how great he is, it’s like fucking crack to him. Hell to half the god damn roster to be honest.
But this isn’t about them, apparently it’s about Al and me. Which actually makes me smile a bit on the inside. I know that sounds weird baby, but when you think about it, it makes a lot of god damn sense. For the longest time I looked up to Al, hell he showed me so many things, so many things that made me a great wrestler, and in a way we are alike.
Nancy: Oh please do tell.
MC: We are both chasing the shadow of Roger Wright.
Nancy’s eyes went wide as she stared at Matthew.
MC: I know it’s a bit confusing when you just ponder it for a moment, but when you think about it, its reality. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shortly after that photo. Roger went on to win the NEW world title, in a match designed by Al, a match that he thought only he could win. Man was Al ever wrong, and Roger won Al’s specialty match, going on to have one of the greatest title runs in history. Al, well he was just a victim during that title run.
Al was so jealous of Roger, he turned on him, while they were tag champions, much like Roger and myself now. Of course my hatred for Roger was already put forth before we won the titles, Al let that hatred fester and it exploded into a brilliant loss to Roger at Tension in Texas. See ever since Roger won that title at Justice, Al has been chasing his shadow, living in it as I have. Sure Al has had some great success, but that loss has defined him, held him back, just like my being the younger brother of Roger has held me back.
Nancy: Christ he is the longest reigning TA champion.
MC: And that means what? Look you can polish a turd, but at the end of the day, it’s still a god damn turd. Al is king of the second class champions, congratulations, his best friend is king of the first class champions. Who would you rather be?
Nancy: Noted.
MC: See Al is a professional turd shiner, he makes things look so pretty that you don’t even realize that what he is showing you is just a turd. But then that is his magic, the trick that he does so well. There’s a reason people call him the show stealer, and it’s not because he steals the show by being the best, he steals the show by making you think what he has done is important, and kudo’s to him for finding a way to make his pathetic career look like it means something.
Because let’s be frank, Al has never achieved the things he thought he would when he came to the NEW. Sure he’s in the hall of fame, but that’s because Al can talk his way into damn near anything. How else can you possibly explain his being in the Hall of Fame? Let’s be frank, and when I say frank I mean honest. Al is a solid performer, an above average talker, but at the end of the day he’s a highway salesman, getting you to by the elixir of everlasting life, you know the one I’m talking about, the one that doesn’t exist.
Nancy: Ok I get it, you don’t like Al.
MC: Oh my god, no! I love Al, I have never seen someone with such mediocore skills achieve so much in my life. Hell if he had Roger’s talent, he’d be god damn president of the United States right now. But alas Al fell victim to the same thing I did, and that was the aura that was Roger. See When Roger was done with Al, Al basically vanished. Sure he had that stint in the CRU, and he was ok there, but he never went anywhere. I mean he won some mid-level titles, and I think was handed the World title, yeah I said handed.
But that brings us back to what I said earlier, mid-level title. Al is the king of mid-level titles, but then I guess it’s better to be the second best. Or like I say, the best loser! Because that is what Al is at the end of the day, he’s the best of the guys who just weren’t great.
Nancy: Jesus.
MC: No, Matthew.
Nancy: What happened to you?
MC: I was lost babe.
The two embrace in a long hug, Nancy pulling back and smiling at Matthew. She mouthed the words I’ve missed you and then the two kiss. Matthew pulls her in, her head on his shoulder as Franklin steps into the doorway.
Franklin: Bad news.
MC: Well out with it.
Franklin: Roger is the special guest Ref of your match.
A long smile came over Matthew’s face as he pulled away from Nancy. The two locked eyes and they both smiled wide.
MC: Christmas comes early. I picked the perfect time to answer the wakeup call didn’t I babe?
Nancy nodded and the two embraced again. Franklin’s face filled with a look of disturbance as he turned and left the room. Matthew and Nancy embraced for along moment and then released.
Nancy: It’s good to have you back.
MC: It’s good to be back. Too bad no one else in the NEW will be happy to have me back. But fuck them, I don’t do this for them. Now let’s get some dinner and talk about the future, the bright bright future that is before us.
The show had long since come to an end, the make shift arena long since emptied, and yet in the temporary structure being called the locker room Matthew sat, head in his hands, face to the floor. So engulfed in the thought process that was overtaking him, Matthew failed to hear the door of the temporary structure open.
Nancy: What happened to you?
MC: Not now.
Nancy: Yes now, there is no better time than now.
MC: I really don’t want to talk right now, would rather be alone to think.
Nancy: To think? To fucking think? Since when does Matthew Carter have to think? Since when do you do anything that requires you to do more than just react? Since when do you let someone dictate to you how it’s going to be? You are a shell of the man that I fell in love with in High school.
Nancy moved forward and lifted Matthew’s head from his hands.
Nancy: Are you fucking crying? Jesus Christ have your balls been cut off too?
MC: Not now Nancy.
Nancy: Then when Matthew? When you are out of the NEW? When you have been run out of the god damn industry because you forgot what made you great?
Nancy hauls back and slaps the taste out of Matthew’s mouth.
Nancy: Now suck it up and stop being a fucking bleeding vagina!
Nancy just stands there starring at Matthew, a shell of the man he used to be.
Nancy: Your like a god damn dog, you’ve been house broken and all the great things you had in you are gone. Maybe you should take some time Matthew and figure out who you are again. Because that man you used to be was amazing, what sits there now is just fucking crap, total utter crap!
Nancy turned and left the room, slamming the temporary structure door so hard it fell off. Matthew just sat there, hand on his cheek where she had slapped it, never moving, never talking, barely breathing and barely blinking.
APRIL 13TH
Franklin scurried across the foyer and pulled the door open.
Nancy: This better be good!
Franklin: I didn’t know who else to call. NEW made me come and get him, he refused to leave the arena after demented, even after they tore it all down around him. I got him home but he’s just been sitting in the trophy room in his chair. I haven’t seen him get up to do anything other than use the bathroom. He’s not eating, and barely drinking any water. I’m worried.
Nancy: Oh god dammit.
Nancy pushed past Franklin and made her way down the hall. She stopped at the trophy room door and kicked it open. There in the chair Matthew sat, his eyes fixated on a picture of Himself, Roger, and Al on the wall.
Nancy: You have to be kidding me. Did you think this is what I meant when I talked to you after the show?
MC: Shut up!
Nancy was moving forward and immediately came to a stop.
Nancy: Excuse me?
MC: Was there something confusing about what I said?
Nancy: You want to really go there with me?
MC: Look at that photo.
Matthew points at the photo of himself, Roger and Al. Nancy looks at it then back at Matthew.
Nancy: And?
MC: Look at the lies that it represents, I didn’t see it then, didn’t want to see it. I was young, and being trained by my big brother and hanging out with his best friend. Now I see the lies, see the reality of what it all meant and was.
Nancy: What are you talking about?
MC: I’m finally awake from the terrible dream that has been haunting me. Hell you can say I’m alive again, more alive than I ever was. My eyes are open, wider and more focused than they ever have been, and for the first time in my life I see the reality of everything around me.
Nancy: You have me confused.
MC: All my life was spent trying to live up to some expectation, trying to strive to be something that I was not meant to be. I was so focused on being better than Roger, that I never realized that I was better than him. Where I thought I was striving to be great, to live up to the expectations, the reality was Roger was just stringing me along, trying to keep me where he felt I belonged.
Nancy: You don’t really believe that!
MC: I know it, through every fiber of my body I know it to be true. But it’s ok, I have come to grips with it, with what it means to me and the rest of the world. See Shit heads like Al think they know me, think they have me pegged. ‘Call me the younger brother of Roger Wright,’ as if that defines me. I don’t know what gives me more pleasure, the idea of them being wrong, or the shock that I will see in their faces when they realize their folly.
I’ve been thinking about it at length, thinking about the beginning of this whole thing. It wasn’t about the gold, the titles, or hell my name in lights. It was about doing something I loved, going out there and proving to that man in the ring I was better than him. Somewhere along the line I forgot about that, got caught up in wanting the fans to love me, wanting the men in the back to look up to me. All I did was fail, turned my name into mud, destroyed any chance at a legacy that I could have had.
It’s ok though, these assholes like Al have written me off, so much so that they don’t know what I can do anymore. Instead are filled with some false sense of self happiness at the idea of facing me. So much so they think they can go to dysfunctional family reunions and in the end simply write me off. But that’s not my concern, my worry is me, and what I have going for me, and that’s showing the world why I am here.
Nancy stepped back a bit and stared at Matthew.
Nancy: Are you feeling ok?
MC: Never better. I mean it’s like waking up from a terrible dream. I mean for a while there I felt like maybe I was underwater trying to look at the world without goggles on. But now, it’s like my vision is clear as a day.
Nancy: Have you read the card?
MC: what card?
Nancy: For Ignite?
MC: Haven’t given it much thought. Let me guess, Jesse has me facing off against the newest member of the NEW?
Nancy: Al.
MC: Envy?
Nancy: Yes.
MC: Hot damn, this day just keeps getting better. Don’t give me that look, there couldn’t be a better chance to have a good time than this week.
Nancy: Wait a second.
MC: What?
Nancy: If you didn’t know you were facing Al, how in the hell did you know that he had some dysfunctional family reunion?
MC: Franklin. That man has been so obsessively concerned about me that he spent many nights in here just chatting away my ear about the ongoing in the NEW. Told me about the idiots that pissed Kronin off, and Al’s family reunion, amongst other things.
Nancy: You are so full of shit!
MC: Full of shit? Man it’s amazing the lengths people will go to try and prove themselves right. I bet you would sell your kids out if you thought it meant for a moment you could be right and just have that feeling to hold over someone else.
Nancy: Excuse me?
MC: I didn’t stutter and you shouldn’t pretend like I did. How about from this point on you just sit there quietly until you have a thought worth letting out. Now where was I…That’s right, holding that feeling of being right over people. That’s the feeling that Al Envy needs, see he feeds on it, needs to be told he right, told how great he is, it’s like fucking crack to him. Hell to half the god damn roster to be honest.
But this isn’t about them, apparently it’s about Al and me. Which actually makes me smile a bit on the inside. I know that sounds weird baby, but when you think about it, it makes a lot of god damn sense. For the longest time I looked up to Al, hell he showed me so many things, so many things that made me a great wrestler, and in a way we are alike.
Nancy: Oh please do tell.
MC: We are both chasing the shadow of Roger Wright.
Nancy’s eyes went wide as she stared at Matthew.
MC: I know it’s a bit confusing when you just ponder it for a moment, but when you think about it, its reality. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shortly after that photo. Roger went on to win the NEW world title, in a match designed by Al, a match that he thought only he could win. Man was Al ever wrong, and Roger won Al’s specialty match, going on to have one of the greatest title runs in history. Al, well he was just a victim during that title run.
Al was so jealous of Roger, he turned on him, while they were tag champions, much like Roger and myself now. Of course my hatred for Roger was already put forth before we won the titles, Al let that hatred fester and it exploded into a brilliant loss to Roger at Tension in Texas. See ever since Roger won that title at Justice, Al has been chasing his shadow, living in it as I have. Sure Al has had some great success, but that loss has defined him, held him back, just like my being the younger brother of Roger has held me back.
Nancy: Christ he is the longest reigning TA champion.
MC: And that means what? Look you can polish a turd, but at the end of the day, it’s still a god damn turd. Al is king of the second class champions, congratulations, his best friend is king of the first class champions. Who would you rather be?
Nancy: Noted.
MC: See Al is a professional turd shiner, he makes things look so pretty that you don’t even realize that what he is showing you is just a turd. But then that is his magic, the trick that he does so well. There’s a reason people call him the show stealer, and it’s not because he steals the show by being the best, he steals the show by making you think what he has done is important, and kudo’s to him for finding a way to make his pathetic career look like it means something.
Because let’s be frank, Al has never achieved the things he thought he would when he came to the NEW. Sure he’s in the hall of fame, but that’s because Al can talk his way into damn near anything. How else can you possibly explain his being in the Hall of Fame? Let’s be frank, and when I say frank I mean honest. Al is a solid performer, an above average talker, but at the end of the day he’s a highway salesman, getting you to by the elixir of everlasting life, you know the one I’m talking about, the one that doesn’t exist.
Nancy: Ok I get it, you don’t like Al.
MC: Oh my god, no! I love Al, I have never seen someone with such mediocore skills achieve so much in my life. Hell if he had Roger’s talent, he’d be god damn president of the United States right now. But alas Al fell victim to the same thing I did, and that was the aura that was Roger. See When Roger was done with Al, Al basically vanished. Sure he had that stint in the CRU, and he was ok there, but he never went anywhere. I mean he won some mid-level titles, and I think was handed the World title, yeah I said handed.
But that brings us back to what I said earlier, mid-level title. Al is the king of mid-level titles, but then I guess it’s better to be the second best. Or like I say, the best loser! Because that is what Al is at the end of the day, he’s the best of the guys who just weren’t great.
Nancy: Jesus.
MC: No, Matthew.
Nancy: What happened to you?
MC: I was lost babe.
The two embrace in a long hug, Nancy pulling back and smiling at Matthew. She mouthed the words I’ve missed you and then the two kiss. Matthew pulls her in, her head on his shoulder as Franklin steps into the doorway.
Franklin: Bad news.
MC: Well out with it.
Franklin: Roger is the special guest Ref of your match.
A long smile came over Matthew’s face as he pulled away from Nancy. The two locked eyes and they both smiled wide.
MC: Christmas comes early. I picked the perfect time to answer the wakeup call didn’t I babe?
Nancy nodded and the two embraced again. Franklin’s face filled with a look of disturbance as he turned and left the room. Matthew and Nancy embraced for along moment and then released.
Nancy: It’s good to have you back.
MC: It’s good to be back. Too bad no one else in the NEW will be happy to have me back. But fuck them, I don’t do this for them. Now let’s get some dinner and talk about the future, the bright bright future that is before us.