| SAMPLE: Finding The Warrior From Within; #2 of a 2 part series from April of 2012 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 28 2012, 11:29 PM (161 Views) | |
| Nick Malone | Sep 28 2012, 11:29 PM Post #1 |
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Rookie
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Finding The Warrior From Within The sun had yet to rise in Detroit, but the hustle never slept. There I was, with my back to the canvas, listening to their sound again. I could see Sam’s smirk on his face after being proven right and celebrating with Kraus without even breaking a sweat. They walked to the back with confidence, swagger, and the belts. If everybody believed in the words Sam used, how could they ever lose? Sitting up off the canvas with my head beneath the folded arms, they see me as the afterthought that spoke too soon. I felt Thelonious London’s disapproval without him even saying a word. He just left the ring leaving me like the never-was he always imagined I would be to stew about what had just happened. Alone. There boo’s got louder as I refused to leave the ring. I refused to accept a fate that was given to me after the bell had already rung. I wildly tossed and tangled my body up in these blankets to break free. Kicking and screaming, is the way I’d choose to go in the arms of security personally escorting me from the premises. Their grip would only get tighter as I tried to squirm free. The fans would be throwing garbage at me, as I would plead my innocence. Nah-Nah-Nah-Nah. Nah-Nah-Nah-Nah. Heyyy-Hey-Hey…. Goodbye! Their delight in seeing my exit is the terrible shame that every wrestler fears. This is what I dream about most times when the thought of Ashtyn being pleasured by another man isn’t running through my head. It’s a dream you wish would never return but it always seeps into your mind when you start to believe the words they use to bring you down. When the curtains close, that’s it. Your dream is done, only to be revisited 24 hours later. It’s a look inside the inner depths of a man’s soul. It is how you deal with those doubts that define who you are when they judge the character in the end and not the deeds that will drag you down to their level. A few telephone rings later… Moaning and whispering wouldn’t be enough. The ringing would continue until someone picked up on the other end. It was nearly 4AM and some fool has the nerve to disturb my peace and rest. Nick Malone: One second… The phone keeps ringing on the nightstand next to the uncomfortable pullout-couch-bed. To save expenses, this was the lavished, cockroach infested, 20 dollar, honeymoon suite. The location was ideal enough that it was within walking distance of the Joe Louis Arena. To get the real Detroit feel, you needed to live amongst the trash. Nick Malone: I’ll get it. Blindly reaching back behind my head, my hand scatters on the nightstand to grab the phone dangling it between my fingers. I groggily clear my throat as I try to firmly plant my feet on the floor as I click on the button to talk. Nick Malone: Hello… Rubbing my eyes, I could barely even make out what remained in the room without any lights on. There was a TV that barely worked, a cracked coffee pot with coffee grounds still inside it, a table with a single wooden chair off to the side and ratty, 1970’s lookin’ curtains shielding my view from the rounds of cars that would pass the busy streets. ???: Wake up. Maybe it was the mind that barely worked as I tried to identify the voice. I was racking my brain as to whom it could be on the other end, trying to remember why anyone would be calling me this early in the morning. Nick Malone: Who is this? I could imagine his eyes rolling back around his head, pissed off as is that somebody wanted to be waken up at this ungodly hour of the day. ???: Your fairy godmother. Nick Malone: Really? Moving the phone back from my ear was a smart decision given the raised volume of the irate caller at how dumb Nick could be. ???: No, you dumb-mother-fucker. Nick Malone: God? ???: Trust me, if I was God, I would have stricken your ass with lightning bolts already. This is the hotel service giving you a 4AM wake up call. When did I ever want to get 4AM wake up calls? I guess there’s time to start a new tradition everyday. Nick Malone: Ok then. Thanks I suppose. Before clicking off the phone, I could hear his snide remarks on the other end and just shook my head before ending the conversation. ???: You’s a dumb mutha-fucka. [align=center]*Click*[/align] Stretching was at a necessary point to make sure all the joints were limber enough to still compete at their level. I wasn’t getting any younger and with all the bumps on my bump card, there was a serious doubt running through my head wondering how much longer I could really still continue to do this. The dream had manifested itself into real life. All of this motivated me to run faster, and lift past my limits. I saw all of them and marveled at how they were all younger, faster, and stronger from the last group of stars that came from the mold of FTW stars. They dominated with every intent to make sure you never existed. To them, you were always nothing. Nick Malone: This is the real me you see. I am a man that doesn’t feel any different from what’s transpired since Keyboard Carnage. This is without the swagger and bravado you saw when I was driving through those streets, a man that is truly devoured by his fears when the curtain is pulled back. Behind these eyes exists an anxiety that always fears the inevitable even if it hasn’t come just yet. It will always eat away at me until I achieve my redemption and you feel the same, exact, embarrassment I’ve dealt with for nearly the last two years whenever we’ve faced. This was the life of how a soon-to-be champion should live. The moans of the prostitute in the next room pretending to enjoy a meaningless orgasm to her higher-end client was enough of a wake-up call to get the hell out of Detroit. I still kept my mouth shut fearing somebody in the room to the left would spray shotgun bullets through the thinly, sheet-rocked walls. Digging my feet into my worn-out Nike’s by the wooden chair, the thoughts of Sam and I’s first encounter rushed into my head. Nick Malone: I was so naïve then. I was embarrassed at the time to be even in the same presence as this man a little over four to five years ago. I still am now to some degree, albeit for different reasons. This was a statement match for the relative unknown and he did like so many others had done over the years and that was to make a name at my expense. Only little did I know how much impact his life and career at the time would have on mine. Some time would pass where names like Nick Corvo and T.K. Williams would come and go. Legendary feuds that jolted excitement into the product featuring Ryan Matthews and Brandon Banks against I that were both very personal and very rewarding over the Inferno Championship and personal matters established FTW as a product that gave it a cult following. Meanwhile, Sam Horrey was on his way to winning 2 World Championships. Nick Malone: No matter what I did, he was the vastly superior force that exerted his will and continuously overshadowed everything I did. The fame and the fortune would go into his pocket while I did my hardest to carve out a legacy of violence and importance. I was the tree in the background to his star making performance. When FTW was bought over in 2009, there was still that new car smell attached to it. It didn’t smell like a daisy but everybody stood out in some fashion that grew the audience. It had come a long way from the first show in the Outbreak Dome in New York City back on October 21st, 2009. The Saints of Destiny were seen as the backup players to people like James Magnum, and Gabriella. Lynch, William Haze, and Harmony, then were considered to be the stars that were ready to take that next step and become the legends we all knew they would later become. Nick Malone: I still remember our first encounter back when this was your first chance to get your feet wet with some actual competition. The date was June 17th, 2010. You wanted to see if it was still worth your time to face a guy like me, Nick Malone. Secretly, you knew you couldn’t touch me in the ring then with how seasoned I was. I was more prepared than ever to extinguish the story of Sam Horrey. You still played up the same card you’ve kept in mint condition today that I was nothing more than the dirt on your boot and you choked. You lost with your shoulders to the mat and the referee counting three. Malone 1 – Horrey 1 Nick Malone: Even a few weeks later at the milestone edition of 50th episode of an FTW production, FTW Outbreak, I could see the anguish in your face at how you could allow this to happen. Again. You allowed Brandon Banks to succumb to the superior team of Code and I. I could see you an embarrassed Sam Horrey, deflect this loss like it didn’t mean anything to the Saints of Destiny. He didn’t get pinned or was made to submit after all but it stained you that I’m sure still affects you in some way today. I’m sure you vowed right then and there to never allow yourself to be dragged down to my level. Malone 2 – Horrey 1 Like any good warrior, he does his homework to strategize for the next fight. He learns from his prior mistakes to better himself no matter how insane the result seems on paper to conquer. Leaving the room, I put the keys into my jacket pocket and covered my head with the hood to remain unnoticed through the dense and smoggy, Detroit air. The luggage and all my possessions could be taken the moment I leave the premises but all I had was myself. All of those things were nothing more than a paper trail to write the tale of who I was but nobody cared enough to know whom I wanted to defeat most. What drove me to act this way? What motivated me to put this much effort into taking away the only “sure thing” Sam thought he couldn’t lose. Foot on the pavement, and I was ready to run. Nick Malone: I didn’t want to get to this point Sam. I didn’t want to make this match so personal but every time we face one another, we always bring out the best in each other. Your ignorance fuels me like nobody else can. Maybe it’s our New York state of minds that drives us to be the best. I never thought I could get to the depths of thinking where I never stood a chance. No matter how hard I pushed or trained, your words pierced through my confidence like a freshly cut slice of Swiss. Maybe it was time for a water break? The heavy exertion of oxygen being pushed out made it difficult to push past the third mile mark as sweat was running down my face. I didn’t want to give up because then I knew he would win. I continued to push myself to avoid the attention to avoid the respect given to me by those that didn’t believe it. As hollow as it would sound, there was no sincerity to their tone. The only one that I could see start to change in was Thelonious London. For the misunderstood monster that he looked every bit the part of, there was a gentle part of his soul that saw the beauty in tearing down the established wall that pretended to hate FTW for everything it stood for. His way to freedom would be to shatter the expectations set by those that didn’t know any better. As long as he would keep pushing himself, I had to keep going. There was no going back now. Nick Malone: I found it ironic that the next chapter of our saga came in the form of another tag match. Also 3 weeks later at episode 53 on July 8th, 2010. This time, it was you and the woman you just vanished against the Shockwave Fiyah Legend, William Haze and I. We saw right through your hollow affection of love even though you were being played for a fool. We tried to convince you but you still took the noble honor of getting pinned to save your woman from getting the massacre she always deserved. Very brave of you Sam, but still, you were looking up at the lights. Malone 3 – Horrey 1 Watching the skyline of Detroit glisten to rise of sun brought about the promise of a new day. A new direction to take and while the hustle was already in motion, the motivation to take Sam Horrey and Brandon Kraus down still in full effect, never losing focus. Passing through the slums and watching the mothers and fathers leaving their homes to give their families a better life at the auto plants left the direction of a younger generation to fend for themselves. While the generation in charge had done nothing to progress or facilitate change, as usual, that task would be left for the youth of tomorrow to dig us out of a grave that was dug too deep for even Cedro Martinez to climb out of. Nick Malone: While those three straight victories were nice to set the tone, whenever it mattered you would always have your hand raised deflating my ego down a few notches. You gloated and took those Tag Titles that Yulia and I earned at Boiling Point towards the end of July in 2010. We clawed for those belts and made that division matter because we established the bench marks for what pro wrestling stood for. All Ryan and you turned out to be were transitions to another era of tag team greatness between Brandon Kraus and Ryan Corey. Ironically enough, those sheep follow your tune to the beat of your drum in the present setting. It makes me sick to see those talents go wasted for your own greed and supremacy. Malone 3 – Horrey 2 I could smell the stench of the coffee grounds being churned at the near by train stations and bus depots that would travel to nearby cities like East Lansing and Battlecreek. Nick Malone: In a bid to retain the gold you took from me, I was made the fool thinking a clown could be a serious asset. Falling victim to Ryan Matthews, I was given little help fighting a losing battle and even I could see the inherent flaws in my own design to guys that never knew what it was like to fight for their freedom. Yet, you even the score after 6 matches. Making us fairly comparable in singles and tag matches after that bout in August of 2010. Malone 3 – Horrey 3 Even when I won the most prestigious prize in this business, the World Heavyweight Title, it was treated as an afterthought. I was treated as the joke they knew couldn’t hold onto it and they were proven right after losing it to Dan Hayter. The Saints of Destiny from that point forward were officially done. I kept pushing on regardless to just get a feel for the city and how badly they wanted to see someone represent their city with the same blue-collar work ethic they clocked in with every day. Sam Horrey knew nothing of the meaning of hard work as he had already read the predetermined headline going into this match. This would be no walk in the park for the H.N.I.C. Just keep running till you can no longer go. Nick Malone: I couldn’t envision myself ever leaving FTW. For a company that I had given so much of my life and blood too, I couldn’t function. I couldn’t multitask the responsibilities to the road and manage to maintain my stability after being on the road for 8 plus years from company to company and maybe having a combined week of vacation time to recharge, I needed to take some time off to refocus and to gain my edge to what made me unique and dominate. I guess you had to do the same Sam just after Divine Destiny to end 2010. I came back seven months too soon thinking that it was the right time to come back. For those that would forget, our next confrontation between Sam and I didn’t happen until 11 months later in September of 2011 at Behind Enemy Lines. My fingers were twitching as I could see the veins start to pop up all up and down my forearms after remembering the formation of the Illuminati. The original formation didn’t even include Brandon Kraus but he was too busy defending the honor of the Inferno division to care about our squabbles at the time. Your laugh will never escape me. We were a team in total disarray that never stood a chance. Nick Malone: Your manipulation skills were always on point. You used my playbook and gave talents like Harmony and Ryan Corey and chance to believe and belong as long as they stayed under the flap of your wing. That proved to be beneficial as we picked up our intense hatred for one another and no matter how many times you tried to distance yourself from me, these were the matches you enjoyed dusting me off your shoulders. You took the lead for the first time since our first contest back in 2007-08. Malone 3 – Horrey 4 Without enough fuel in the body, the body starts to give out. The hyperventilation kicks up a few notches where you have to pull over and throw up. To give everything you got and still have it not be exactly where you envisioned it is a frustration that is normal. It’s a human release of giving everything you got and still coming up short in the end to the individual that has always been smug and brash without ever blinking an eye. Nick Malone: You feel powerless. He starts to be the reason why you can’t dream happy thoughts or keep a stable relationship. He is the problem for all the diseases, poverty, and corruption that could ever be imagined. The more he smirks, the more it eats away at you. The more he laughs, and flicks you away, the more you are bothered by his ignorance. Redemption is always fading away faster than an alley-oop into the hands of Blake Griffin when we seem to meet. He is the torchbearer for all of life’s problems. You can curse his name freely with the likes of Kevin Love, Kahn, and Joe Maddon. The same thing happened at Ground Zero in 2011 as I felt the brunt of the Daishi. Malone 3 – Horrey 5 When you push yourself this far, you expect nothing less than the maximum effort. It’s what the people of Detroit prides themselves on after all. When your legs can barely move after running 10 miles you deserve to sit down and reflect of what’s driven you to this point of no return. Nick Malone: After 164 episodes Sam, with the way you boast, I would have expected the score to be a little more lopsided. I’m scared of what is going to happen to us when Outbreak is settled. We’ll each go our separate ways, obviously disappointed while the other will be holding onto the belts you claimed were secured away in the hands of the Illuminati. The seasonal air in the middle of April made it unseasonably warm in Detroit to shed the jackets and reveal the progress of what hard work will sculpt with the human body. Breathing easier, the stress and intensity has been brought down as a view of the Joe Louis Arena comes over my shoulder. Nick Malone: When I think about it. I fear being forgotten. I fear being a cliff note in the history books to your otherwise dominant reign. I could go on to blame you for all my faults but in looking it over, I was always just one move too late to put you away. You are a world-class athlete that should get the respect for being the one to dominate yesterday’s generation, including I. I will give you your respect for that but as a person, you are the same slime that you claim me to be. That’s why we are so alike Sam. I at least can live with myself for who I am, while you try to represent this label for everything you are not. Honorable. Honest. Good-natured. A revolutionary. Nick Malone: Don’t try to deny it that your greatest fear is being revealed to be a liar, a con-artist, and most importantly, a failure for what you’ve preached. All of this built up fear that you’ve put onto my shoulders is more hollowed than your bravado. All of it will only hold me back from accomplishing what you can try to deny but will ultimately happen come Outbreak in Detroit Rock City. You’re walking into a world that is now uncommon to you but is best served cold. You expect to face a man that is weak, humbled, and defeated. I feel sorry for you. You’re walking into my Tiger pit in front of a sold out audience to witness your greatest defeat. Feeling re-energized, it’s the strength of seeing a man’s physical power doing the talking for him. Thelonious London is the next force to rock this generation of FTW. I know he can find the skill of a warrior inside him to fight with his life to succeed. While we are giving it our all, they are resting back on their laurels, expecting the expected but dealing with the reality of loss that will start the crumble of the dynasty that is the Illuminati. Filled with false promise and no hope. It’s time to put their Lights Out. Nick Malone: You can thank Thelonious London for awakening inside me an identity that you buried Sam. Watching this monster go to work reminded me of what happens when you go to battle with a knife in a gunfight. His power alone will rattle the very core of your ideals and force you to tuck tail and run for the hills. We are banding together for the fire we’ve generated together. For Kraus, he is in no state to deal with this group of individuals fighting for a united cause after being put through the battle of his life with Billy Jackson and barely keeping his Inferno championship. Maybe after Kraus sees you for the loser you truly are, that’ll shake his senses a bit and make him weak enough to taste the drip of alcohol. At least it’ll never tell him that his time is coming to his face. Maybe he’ll start realizing it after his 6th or 7th beer of the night. Lightweight. I like my chances going for the gold. Although it was a match that was given to London and I, you know I’m going to make the most of that opportunity. I’ll gladly take any opportunity to ruin Sam Horrey’s career. Nick Malone: You two don’t deserve those belts you hold together. Both of you have bigger fish to fry in the future which is why it’s meaningless to hold a monopoly over the company you claim to hate. It’s not like you hold a house on Park Avenue either. With the way Eden Black has dominated FTW, Sam, you’d be lucky to last 5 minutes with her wrath. You hold a golden opportunity that isn’t so sure. When that chip falls through, you’ll be left a broken man. Welcome to the real world Sam. A dictator’s fall is near and Outbreak is the first stop on the fall of Sam Horrey. I did write the playbook after all. A smirk appears across my face, as I am ready to take no prisoners with my brother in arms. It’s only a matter of time before the wings are spread and ready to fly with those Tag Titles. Nick Malone: We’ve got nothing to lose and with our backs against the wall, freeing FTW from your tyranny from holding those belts will be our primary goal. You’ve left me to regain my focus and establish the new era of dominance and destiny. The zone is our territory marked with our thrones all decorated for us to sit down atop the mountain of FTW. We fight for ourselves. We will take the reigns and dictate the direction of where the change is supposed to properly go from here with what you’ve shamefully neglected. The greatest defeat Sam is being forgotten. You will come to learn that defeat on outbreak. Then who will you have to blame for your own failures from Thelonious and I? It is so close, I could taste it although it was still hours away. The aim was on the primary target with it being locked on the heads of the hunted. So calm, so cool and collected I stood, firing away an invisible set of bullets from my fingers. Nick Malone: Head-shot. Thanks Tara! |
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10:49 AM Jul 11