"A Better Tomorrow..."

Begins today! Hello, my fans and fans of Visionaries of Wrestling. Maxwell Soloke here! It’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me since the Fate of the Gods pre-show. I’d like to apologize right now for that. I’m sorry to have been gone so long.

Per usual, fit of depression after losses. But, hey! I’m back up and still confident as ever. Slowly melding back into the company’s style again. And, I promise you, I’ll get back to tip-top shape again. I’m really at the bottom now. Two losses straight, even though I hadn’t exactly been pinned either time. Though, two losses is still two losses. Especially on a Pay Per View. So much for going on a PPV streak, right guys?

But, yeah. I’m at Rock Bottom in terms of the company. But you know what? That’s okay! From this day forward, I’m going to look up positively. I’m going to set smaller goals and ambitions for myself. Like getting a win for you guys! Who knows, maybe I’ll cross swords with Datura again!

And speaking of. Datura, if you’re actually watching this right now, good show. You stole another one, but I’m not judging or condemning you for that. Am I annoyed? Kind of. Do I still respect it? Kind of. Anything goes in matches like that and you took full advantage. Well done. I would love to see what would happen if we ever got a one-on-one match down the line, though. Probably not anytime soon, though. You’d probably hit more than just the company rust off me.

So! Today, though! I’m going to regale you the tale of what happened post Fate. It all started right after my match…

--- Fate of the Gods II ---

“The winner of this match: DATURA!”

For the second event in a row to the dismay of the Disaster, Jesse Heisenberg roared that to the crowd. Two events straight, she hit the Lady Death belly-to-belly to send Soloke out of the match to capitalize on the one he had down. Last time, it was Patrick Jones. This time, it was Craig Anderson. Datura celebrated her win in her own way before heading to the back. Talon left on her own two feet with a bit of a limp in her step. Craig needed a bit more assistance leaving back to the back after the beatdown he had.

Max merely lingered for a moment. His ambitions were crushed completely this time around. His hopes of a win. Gone. His hopes of writing the wrongs of Breakthrough 46. Gone. His hopes of streaking Pay Per Views or even taking his first victory in his first match on VOW’s Grand Stage.

Gone.

He lingered for a moment with his back against the ring apron. He had already regained his breath; his well being was fine. His mentality was what was hurting right now. A cameraman kept his camera on Soloke’s devastated face for a moment at the demand of those in the back before they moved off the shot. Right after, he crouched down for a moment and asked: “Hey, kid, are you okay?”

Max snapped out of his post-match daze to the question before looking up at the lenses. He took a moment to shake it off before getting up. “... Yeah. Yeah, I’m… I’m okay.”

At that point, Max walked around the ring to pick up his attire. His rainbow-trimmed fedora was placed over his eyes and his coat was put lazily over his shoulders. As he walked on towards the back, the performance cane he took to the ring for his regular entrance was left dragging far behind him. The main show was about to start and he wasn’t needed anymore.

On his way back to the showers, he passed by the other wrestlers as they got prepared for their matches. But, none of the wrestlers he passed gave him even a glance. No one really knew him, and he didn’t care to get acquainted. For now he was just a lone wolf.

A lone wolf without a single win since his return.

Upon getting to the showers, he looked around for a moment to see if anyone was around. Seeing that no one else was around, he stripped off his wrestling gear and took a rinse to wash away everything from the match prior; both the sweat and the thoughts as well.

Look where you are now, then. Pre-show and you still can’t even show up properly. Well… you didn’t come here to lose and quit. You did that last time and left many people very disappointed and anxious for your return. Now you can’t even get those same supporters a damn win! Come on, we can’t keep them disappointed.

Breakthrough 47 and 48 are in home territory! You’re finally going back to Ohio after so long, Max! You’d better win… AT LEAST one of your matches.

Quest for the Case seems interesting. Who knows… maybe if you ACTUALLY win a match, you MIGHT weasel your way into a qualifying match next week!

… Probably not, but hey… look up. There is literally no lower that you can go in this company as a wrestler. Keep looking up that ladder, Max… there is a brass ring at the top of it with your name on it, even if it’s just a shot at exposure.

Something to get noticed again.

The roar of the audience was deafening, even as far back as the showers. Fate of the Gods was starting for real now. The Eye-For-An-Eye Championship was up first.

Max wasn’t going to bother staying if he didn’t have to. No one was stopping him. He turned off the water and threw on his usual outing gear of loose-fitting jeans and a Panic! At The Disco shirt before departing the arena.

Outside of the arena, people were still in line getting last minute tickets into the show as the line continued to span far from the arena. A couple of fans noticed Max quickly and started to holler him over in the line. Max stepped over quietly to a few girls who looked very excited to see him, despite his exhausted visage.

“Max! We’re sorry we missed your match! How did it go? Did you kick their butts?” They were the blonde type. Very energetic and sweet, though a little ditzy. In their hands were already programs with one of them digging for a pen for an autograph.

Max looked them in the eyes for a moment and broke a small smile. “... I gave them Hell. That’s all I can say.”

Whether they understood what he meant or not, they cheered for him. A couple more fans started to notice him while they waited in line. A mere attempt at escaping to his hotel turned into an abrupt Meet-N-Greet. But, he didn’t mind. The smiling faces slowly picked up his mood as he moved from fan to fan, answering their questions.

“I heard you lost the pre-show…”

“Yeah, Datura got the win again, but it wasn’t over me!”

“Do you have any plans going forward from here, then?”

“I’m going home. Hopefully the next show is going to be better.”

“Any championship pursuits?”

“At this point? I think it would be better if I took it a peg back. Heatstroke is coming up. I’m going to build up some momentum before I start looking forward again.”

“Any long term goals?”

“Yeah. Main eventing Fate of the Gods next year. I’ve got my grand entrance planned and everything. I’ve just got a year to claw there. Wish me luck and all that.”

Those were a couple of the questions fans asked as they went inside. Once the line finally dwindled to nothing, he finally saw it fit to leave…

… Only to be stopped by one more thing. As he circled around the arena to find the parking lot, he saw a little kid wailing out beside a taller brunette.

“BUT I WANNA GO!!”

“Listen, brat… your mother didn’t pay me neither enough to buy you tickets for… whatever this is, let alone enough for it. We’re getting dinner and that’s it. Got it?”

A babysitter and a cold one at that. Max frowned for a moment before looking through his pockets. He pulled out a jet black leather wallet and looked through the folds for a moment.

… It’s… enough. Not going to be eating fancy hotel food tonight, though… or until this next paycheck. Wonder how McDonald’s is doing.

It didn’t take him too long on account for him sprinting back and forth. He quickly made it back to the two. To the boy, he left him with two relatively good seats; compliments of the man on the corner selling tickets he wasn’t using for a bit steeper of a price. To the brunette in charge of the child, he slipped her a fifty and spoke to her softly. “Treat yourself and him to something good tonight.”

The boy looked completely starstruck before running up to the Disaster and giving him a tight hug on the hip. “Thank you, Mister! Come on, Becky! We’re missing it, we’re missing it!!”

Even the babysitter looked down at the money for a moment before back up to the young adult. “Why exactly?”

“I’m trying to pick myself back up after losing a match, and making people smile seems to do just that. So, take the money you were going to spend on dinner, buy yourself some snacks and a soda, and enjoy your night on the phone, because truth be told, it’s not like you weren’t going to do that in the first place. And, when you’re done, you can very happily enjoy that fifty bucks another night. Seeya.”

Without another word to the dumbfounded woman, Soloke departed for his hotel room. Tomorrow would be another day.

--- The Plane to Toledo, Ohio ---

U.S. Airways had nice feature about their airplanes: Wi-Fi. Max planned to enjoy every second of it while up in the air. It was a couple days removed from Fate of the Gods as the majority of the roster flew off on the same plane. Casanova English and Constance Chapin retained their World and Xcel Championships respectively. Meanwhile, Tyron Bickerton and Ace Watson managed to scrape gold out of the event by becoming the new I4NI Champion and 0G Champion.

So with one event passing, the next one was already booked and ready to go. Breakthrough 47. Max’s opponent was returning Visionary, Alex Kincaid. Per usual, he began to maul over the man’s profile.

January 14th? He’s a day off my birthday! As well as multiple years…

Back on track, though… six-five and two hundred fifty pounds? Man’s tall and maybe a little lanky? Still, that height advantage poses a real threat. That’s easily a reach advantage if anything else. But, maybe a bit of a take away in the speed department… right?

Seems to like a good neutral game… take him off his feet and he should be a goner. But… another former World Champion… I’d better be careful. In fact… how’s about a small message out to him.

Max moved from the VOW Profiles to the camera app on his phone. He shook off any moodiness or blankness from his face before looking into the lenses with a warm smile…

--- … And Things Come Back Full Circle. ---


((OOC: This is currently still a work in progress as my time has been strapped due to a move and complications upon arrival at my destination. If I cannot come back in time to finish, then at least this is on record, on time.))