Post by Tornado Desencadenado on Mar 28, 2017 18:12:28 GMT -5
Tornado Desencadenado is standing in front of a simple brick wall. He’s dressed casually: a black and red AWE tee worn untucked over a pair of pleated khakis. Producing a smartphone, he moves it up into his line of sight and begins to speak:
“Last Massacre proved heart-breaking for Tornado Desencadenado. Not only did he suffer a loss at the hands of Tommy Stone, but he lost the title belt he'd strove to legitimate through hard work and perserverance. Quickly, the feelgood story of 2017 was destroyed in the puff of ceramic of Tommy Stone's shattered coffee mug. Destroyed, you say? Enter: Akragth. The enigmatic masked destroyer has left a confusing trail of destruction since his arrival at Executive Action. Here he goes up against the closest thing the Resilience Division has to a true blue good man. Will Akragth muddy and destroy what spine Tornado has left and drag him down to his level? Or can Tornado Desencadenado rise above?”
Tornado finishes reading this aloud from his cel. He holds the screen up to the viewer.
“That’s from the Alpha Wrestling Empire homepage. It’s how the company is promoting my upcoming match.”
He puts the phone in the back pocket of his chinos.
“I have an issue with the prose. Not with how it presents the facts, because whoever put that summary together got those right. I did lose to Tommy Stone at Massacre #10 when he cheap-shotted me with a mug of coffee- just like he hinted he would. He won, and because of that he’s the rightful holder of the Lagniappe Championship. I can’t argue with those details. But the rest…”
The Fundamental Elemental’s voice trails off. He looks apprehensive. His eyes dart down to his feet, and then back up to the camera.
“Is that how Alpha Wrestling really sees me? Or is that how they think I want to be seen? That’s not- it never was my goal to cast myself as a ‘true blue good man’. I’m nobody’s hero. I’m not someone trying to save Alpha Wrestling from the bad seeds, like Dom Dibona wants to do. I’m not Bindy Trent, who makes it her mission to bring out the best in people. And that’s no criticism of either person or the goals they’ve set for themselves. Honestly, I admire them for seeing wrestling as something of a higher calling. Dibona and Trent are all class, and this sport would be better off if we thought and acted like they do.”
Folding his arms across his broad chest, TD gets to his point.
“But that’s not me. I’m not Captain America. I’m just a wrestling fan who’s good enough at it to try and make a living doing it. And when I’m at my job I just want everyone to have to follow the rules like I do. That’s all most people hope for out in their lives, right? That everybody comes at you straight, and doesn’t try to screw you over.”
Pause for effect.
“Tommy Stone screwed me over at Massacre #10. I’m mad about it. Call me a sore loser if you want, but the truth is he cheated to beat me. Did he need to? Who knows? The fact is he did, and I’m still not over it. Now, I’m not going to start some kind of vendetta over what happened. You won’t see any backstage brawl between Stone and me where I deliver him some well-deserved payback. There’s no need; the Resilience Division isn’t so big I’ll have to wait long to be booked against him again. Tommy Stone will get his receipt, but it will be in the ring.”
A thought seems to dawn on the young man. Quickly, he brings up another topic relating to his last match.
“And, just to be clear, this isn’t about losing the Lagniappe Belt. Stone earned it by the rules I put forward, and it’s his to do with as he pleases. I have no claim to it anymore, and, to be blunt, that’s something of a relief. See, ever learning the belt might be valuable to a collector, I’ve had to fight the urge to renege on my promise to defend it in every match I was in. I, uh, was dreading taking part in the appraisal Sasha Sloan was going to set up for Massacre 11. If her expert said… depending on how much they estimated the belt to be worth, I would have been extremely tempted to sell it; just list the Lagniappe Title on eBay for some collector to buy, and pay back my family some of which I owe them for taking care of my bills when I’ve been pursuing this dream.”
TD’s face is flush with embarrassment when he makes this revelation. He shrugs dismissively.
“So don’t believe the hype. Despite what the AWE publicist wrote about my upcoming match, it is not a battle of ‘good versus evil’. And I say that because just like I’m no Superman, Akgrath’s no Doctor Doom. He’s just a man hiding his face while also trying to appear smarter and more important than he really is. Does this mean I expect an easy win this Sunday? No. For as little as I think of his shtick, Akgrath can still go in the ring. He’s strong, and experienced, and ruthless. I know Massacre 11 is going to be tough for me, but I believe I’m walking out the winner; not because my heart is ‘pure’, but because I have the power and speed to counter his game plan.”
“Last Massacre proved heart-breaking for Tornado Desencadenado. Not only did he suffer a loss at the hands of Tommy Stone, but he lost the title belt he'd strove to legitimate through hard work and perserverance. Quickly, the feelgood story of 2017 was destroyed in the puff of ceramic of Tommy Stone's shattered coffee mug. Destroyed, you say? Enter: Akragth. The enigmatic masked destroyer has left a confusing trail of destruction since his arrival at Executive Action. Here he goes up against the closest thing the Resilience Division has to a true blue good man. Will Akragth muddy and destroy what spine Tornado has left and drag him down to his level? Or can Tornado Desencadenado rise above?”
Tornado finishes reading this aloud from his cel. He holds the screen up to the viewer.
“That’s from the Alpha Wrestling Empire homepage. It’s how the company is promoting my upcoming match.”
He puts the phone in the back pocket of his chinos.
“I have an issue with the prose. Not with how it presents the facts, because whoever put that summary together got those right. I did lose to Tommy Stone at Massacre #10 when he cheap-shotted me with a mug of coffee- just like he hinted he would. He won, and because of that he’s the rightful holder of the Lagniappe Championship. I can’t argue with those details. But the rest…”
The Fundamental Elemental’s voice trails off. He looks apprehensive. His eyes dart down to his feet, and then back up to the camera.
“Is that how Alpha Wrestling really sees me? Or is that how they think I want to be seen? That’s not- it never was my goal to cast myself as a ‘true blue good man’. I’m nobody’s hero. I’m not someone trying to save Alpha Wrestling from the bad seeds, like Dom Dibona wants to do. I’m not Bindy Trent, who makes it her mission to bring out the best in people. And that’s no criticism of either person or the goals they’ve set for themselves. Honestly, I admire them for seeing wrestling as something of a higher calling. Dibona and Trent are all class, and this sport would be better off if we thought and acted like they do.”
Folding his arms across his broad chest, TD gets to his point.
“But that’s not me. I’m not Captain America. I’m just a wrestling fan who’s good enough at it to try and make a living doing it. And when I’m at my job I just want everyone to have to follow the rules like I do. That’s all most people hope for out in their lives, right? That everybody comes at you straight, and doesn’t try to screw you over.”
Pause for effect.
“Tommy Stone screwed me over at Massacre #10. I’m mad about it. Call me a sore loser if you want, but the truth is he cheated to beat me. Did he need to? Who knows? The fact is he did, and I’m still not over it. Now, I’m not going to start some kind of vendetta over what happened. You won’t see any backstage brawl between Stone and me where I deliver him some well-deserved payback. There’s no need; the Resilience Division isn’t so big I’ll have to wait long to be booked against him again. Tommy Stone will get his receipt, but it will be in the ring.”
A thought seems to dawn on the young man. Quickly, he brings up another topic relating to his last match.
“And, just to be clear, this isn’t about losing the Lagniappe Belt. Stone earned it by the rules I put forward, and it’s his to do with as he pleases. I have no claim to it anymore, and, to be blunt, that’s something of a relief. See, ever learning the belt might be valuable to a collector, I’ve had to fight the urge to renege on my promise to defend it in every match I was in. I, uh, was dreading taking part in the appraisal Sasha Sloan was going to set up for Massacre 11. If her expert said… depending on how much they estimated the belt to be worth, I would have been extremely tempted to sell it; just list the Lagniappe Title on eBay for some collector to buy, and pay back my family some of which I owe them for taking care of my bills when I’ve been pursuing this dream.”
TD’s face is flush with embarrassment when he makes this revelation. He shrugs dismissively.
“So don’t believe the hype. Despite what the AWE publicist wrote about my upcoming match, it is not a battle of ‘good versus evil’. And I say that because just like I’m no Superman, Akgrath’s no Doctor Doom. He’s just a man hiding his face while also trying to appear smarter and more important than he really is. Does this mean I expect an easy win this Sunday? No. For as little as I think of his shtick, Akgrath can still go in the ring. He’s strong, and experienced, and ruthless. I know Massacre 11 is going to be tough for me, but I believe I’m walking out the winner; not because my heart is ‘pure’, but because I have the power and speed to counter his game plan.”