Post by Zack Fantana on Mar 31, 2017 2:18:10 GMT -5
"I can't believe it, folks. It seems as though Dominic Lawson has finally had his come-to-Jesus moment. It only took him 18 years to realize his career trajectory is a little off its mark, but he's seen the light. Honestly though, who would have thought that day drinking and taking any shortcut at the ready wouldn't have been the recipe for a successful professional wrestling career?
Funny how you notice all these new things about yourself when you start looking in the mirror instead of searching for answers at the bottle of a bottle, isn't it, Dom?"
Sitting on a wooden bench, Zack Fantana briefly peruses through a pamphlet in his hands before continuing.
"I've got to say that I'm curious as to what prompted this sudden change of heart. Couldn't have been the recent string of losses, because as everybody knows, you've made a career off of dusting yourself off. To be honest, I've racked my brain trying to come up with an answer. Thought, 'Dom's Irish. Possibly Catholic, too. Maybe he joined AA.' But that was just me being optimistic. You don't seem to be that self-aware of your issue and as a guy who likes to cut corners, I figure the twelve step program is about eleven steps too long for you."
A middle aged man with a lampshade mustache and an inexplicably steamy pair of glasses plods towards Zack, speaking in a hushed voice.
"No, no, that's too judgmental. Guideline number four, remember?"
The man points to Fantana's right, where a whiteboard sits with words scrawled across it in a series of bullet points. Among those are "Time your message carefully", "Avoid talking to people when they're intoxicated", "Focus on consequences", and of course guideline number four, "Avoid lecturing".
Zack doesn't even bother feigning interest in the whiteboard.
"Get the FUCK out of my shot, LARRY."
With a huff, Larry pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
"Read the literature, Mr. Fantana."
Larry marches out of frame, as Zack lifts the pamphlet up to his nose, revealing the heading "How to talk to a friend with a drinking problem" written on the outside.
"How about that? He's right. It's right there - guideline number four."
Fantana drops the pamphlet onto his lap.
"You may have guessed by now, but my second thought was that AWE had placed you into rehab, so I came to the Keystone Treatment Center to see if you were in detox. Apparently not, unless you checked in under a pseudonym. I asked for 'The Law' and the receptionist gave me a phone number to the SFPD, but let's not get into that right now. Clearly you haven't given up your drinking just yet. You're stubborn, Dom. I get it. That's actually something I used to admire about you.
Used to. These days, you sound almost resigned to defeat, but if you think that I feel sorry for you, think again."
Zack glances down to the pamphlet in his hands, doing a double take to the camera and then back to the literature.
"Oh, this? Is this what gave you that impression? Yeah, I didn't really read all of this. It's mostly just here as a prop. I never really know what to do with my hands during these things."
He sets the literature down, then stands up, tossing his hat on and placing his hands on his hips briefly before reconsidering.
"I'm looking out for number one, just like anyone else in this business.
You think I'm content with how my career has been going lately? Far from it. The truth is that you and I have a lot more in common than you think. We were both eliminated in the Alpha Cup tournament by 'Country Fine' James Radford and we both failed to take the Resilience Championship off of Dare Clemmens. I call these my failures, but they way you talk, someone may believe that they're your achievements. Did I actually catch you bragging about taking Dare Clemmens to the limit a few weeks ago? That's what you're hanging your hat on these days? You're farther gone than I thought.
I may not have had the greatest go of it lately, but do you think I'm living and dying on the outcome of my Resilience title match with Dare Clemmens? I've already moved on. That happened two weeks ago. You're still hung up on something that happened two months ago, acting as if you review your highlight reel long enough, you'll find a wormhole back to January so you can do it all over again.
Look, Dom, I don't really know how your career fell through the cracks. Contrary to popular opinion, you do have the talent. A guy such as yourself doesn't stick around this business as long as you have without talent. No, I think that what you lack is motivation. You like to talk about how desperate you are as a fighter, but I think your dirty little secret is that The Law isn't desperate enough.
You've become complacent. You let yourself off the hook too often for taking shortcuts. Play that number one contender highlight back one more time. Did you really need American Tommy to get the job done? I don't think you did, but it sure was easier, right?
Look, I don't know what your game is with American Tommy. I don't know if he's your 'little' in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program or why you're training him, but I know I can't trust a guy who changes his tune as often as you do.
Do you actually expect me to believe that you turned over a new leaf?
Dominic, you are an addict."
Fantana pauses.
"How do I say this?"
He looks over the pamphlet again, finally settling on the right terminology.
"You have an addictive personality. Suffice to say, a wholesale change in the way you conduct your business is going to be a process for you. It's not as easy as flipping a switch. In your near two decade long career, you've developed habits and, just like in life, I think you'll find that inside that ring, old habits die hard."
Zack tips his hat.
"Bottoms up."
He clenches the pamphlet in his fist before the feed cuts out.
Funny how you notice all these new things about yourself when you start looking in the mirror instead of searching for answers at the bottle of a bottle, isn't it, Dom?"
Sitting on a wooden bench, Zack Fantana briefly peruses through a pamphlet in his hands before continuing.
"I've got to say that I'm curious as to what prompted this sudden change of heart. Couldn't have been the recent string of losses, because as everybody knows, you've made a career off of dusting yourself off. To be honest, I've racked my brain trying to come up with an answer. Thought, 'Dom's Irish. Possibly Catholic, too. Maybe he joined AA.' But that was just me being optimistic. You don't seem to be that self-aware of your issue and as a guy who likes to cut corners, I figure the twelve step program is about eleven steps too long for you."
A middle aged man with a lampshade mustache and an inexplicably steamy pair of glasses plods towards Zack, speaking in a hushed voice.
"No, no, that's too judgmental. Guideline number four, remember?"
The man points to Fantana's right, where a whiteboard sits with words scrawled across it in a series of bullet points. Among those are "Time your message carefully", "Avoid talking to people when they're intoxicated", "Focus on consequences", and of course guideline number four, "Avoid lecturing".
Zack doesn't even bother feigning interest in the whiteboard.
"Get the FUCK out of my shot, LARRY."
With a huff, Larry pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
"Read the literature, Mr. Fantana."
Larry marches out of frame, as Zack lifts the pamphlet up to his nose, revealing the heading "How to talk to a friend with a drinking problem" written on the outside.
"How about that? He's right. It's right there - guideline number four."
Fantana drops the pamphlet onto his lap.
"You may have guessed by now, but my second thought was that AWE had placed you into rehab, so I came to the Keystone Treatment Center to see if you were in detox. Apparently not, unless you checked in under a pseudonym. I asked for 'The Law' and the receptionist gave me a phone number to the SFPD, but let's not get into that right now. Clearly you haven't given up your drinking just yet. You're stubborn, Dom. I get it. That's actually something I used to admire about you.
Used to. These days, you sound almost resigned to defeat, but if you think that I feel sorry for you, think again."
Zack glances down to the pamphlet in his hands, doing a double take to the camera and then back to the literature.
"Oh, this? Is this what gave you that impression? Yeah, I didn't really read all of this. It's mostly just here as a prop. I never really know what to do with my hands during these things."
He sets the literature down, then stands up, tossing his hat on and placing his hands on his hips briefly before reconsidering.
"I'm looking out for number one, just like anyone else in this business.
You think I'm content with how my career has been going lately? Far from it. The truth is that you and I have a lot more in common than you think. We were both eliminated in the Alpha Cup tournament by 'Country Fine' James Radford and we both failed to take the Resilience Championship off of Dare Clemmens. I call these my failures, but they way you talk, someone may believe that they're your achievements. Did I actually catch you bragging about taking Dare Clemmens to the limit a few weeks ago? That's what you're hanging your hat on these days? You're farther gone than I thought.
I may not have had the greatest go of it lately, but do you think I'm living and dying on the outcome of my Resilience title match with Dare Clemmens? I've already moved on. That happened two weeks ago. You're still hung up on something that happened two months ago, acting as if you review your highlight reel long enough, you'll find a wormhole back to January so you can do it all over again.
Look, Dom, I don't really know how your career fell through the cracks. Contrary to popular opinion, you do have the talent. A guy such as yourself doesn't stick around this business as long as you have without talent. No, I think that what you lack is motivation. You like to talk about how desperate you are as a fighter, but I think your dirty little secret is that The Law isn't desperate enough.
You've become complacent. You let yourself off the hook too often for taking shortcuts. Play that number one contender highlight back one more time. Did you really need American Tommy to get the job done? I don't think you did, but it sure was easier, right?
Look, I don't know what your game is with American Tommy. I don't know if he's your 'little' in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program or why you're training him, but I know I can't trust a guy who changes his tune as often as you do.
Do you actually expect me to believe that you turned over a new leaf?
Dominic, you are an addict."
Fantana pauses.
"How do I say this?"
He looks over the pamphlet again, finally settling on the right terminology.
"You have an addictive personality. Suffice to say, a wholesale change in the way you conduct your business is going to be a process for you. It's not as easy as flipping a switch. In your near two decade long career, you've developed habits and, just like in life, I think you'll find that inside that ring, old habits die hard."
Zack tips his hat.
"Bottoms up."
He clenches the pamphlet in his fist before the feed cuts out.