Post by Tristan Ambrose on Sept 11, 2016 20:27:02 GMT -6
“Pele Kick!!!!”
...
Determination....
...
“Doomsday!!!!”
...
Desire...
...
“There’s Watson!!!!”
...
Disappointment...
...
He could feel it pouring out of him as once again, His failure was laid out for everybody to see at Breakthrough 50. It was his chance, the big moment to take title and rectify the wrongs that had happened to him over the past couple of months. But no.. Once again Ace Watson took the easy road, snuck in through the back door and retain his championship, no not by being the model champion that he claims to be, but by being a coward. Tristan had Jamo beat, just like he had Ace beat all those months ago, once again, he was screwed out of the championship..
Things used to be simple, Back in the old days, when someone earned a one on one shot at the champion it didn’t come with another challenger on top of it, they didn't have to jump over roadblock after roadblock after roadblock, only to fail in the end because the other challenger wasn't up to par... Because the other challenger wasn't good enough to be in that match in the first place....
But it was over...
It was done.
There wasn’t anything Tristan could do about the outcome.. That Doomsday was suppose to grant him, no, reward him the championship that should have been his since June, not secure Ace’s reign as champion, but that’s how it went.. That is exactly what happened, and he just wanted to get the hell out of the building. Tristan rolled out of the ring, soon met by Alexander and Arthur, his manager just as upset at the ending of the match, while his protege seemed content with the ending, But Tristan didn’t care. All three just walked to the back, Tristan with his head held high. He did his part tonight, hell, he had been doing his part the every match since he signed a VOW contract back in February. Winning the right matches, earning his shot... It was only when management didn’t seem to care for all the things he sacrificed to get here? Like they don’t even matter.... Like Tristan doesn’t matter...
Entering the locker room, Tristan wasted no time peeling the gloves off of his hands, slowly but surely slipping out of his gear, debating on whether to shower now or just wait till he got back to the hotel room, something he did quite often. Tilting his head, he decided that he would just wait, even if he was the first match on the show, even if he was forced to attend on the grounds of termination, Ryan Omega never said anything about “after” the match. A loophole that Tristan was fully going to use.
“Let’s just get the hell outta here..”
“Come on dude, can’t we just watch the show? I know tonight didn’t go your way, but there will be other chances.”
“We can’t leave anyways Tristan, I gotta go discuss the next show.. Just hold tight, it won’t take long, then we can get the hell outta here.”
Tristan sighed, He knew this is part of the job he assigned Alexander to do, but he sure knew the wrong time to pull that card, Tristan was so done with this night, and he just wanted to go to fucking sleep.. But no.. Alexander quickly departed the room leaving Tristan no choice in the matter. Going over and taking a seat on the bench, he found himself being joined by Arthur.
A thick silence between the two lingered in the air, one of them too aggravated to speak, the other too nervous. Tristan wasn’t oblivious, he knew Arthur didn’t necessarily agree with the way Tristan had been handling business. Was it the nice guy, happy go lucky way of doing things? No, but it was how Tristan got shit done.
“You got something you wanna say to me?”
“I.. uhh...”
“Well?”
Arthur sighed, the young man conflicted with interests and emotions, he knew Tristan meant well, but he didn’t like how much his attitude had changed since his loss to Ace at Fate of the Gods, maybe it was because he had never had a match in his young career, maybe it was just due to his youth in general, but he didn’t understand why the championship meant so much to Tristan.. He was like an addict who needed his fix of gold in order to function, and with each loss he seemed to slip further down the spiral..
“Hey, umm.. can I ask you something?”
..
“What’s on your mind?”
Arthur licked his bottom lip, a nervous habit of his since he was in middle school, as he tapped his index fingers together, focusing on the detail in the carpet, trying to think about how to phrase his next sentence.
“Why does it matter so much to you?”
“What?”
“The ZG Title... Why does it matter so much that you have it?”
Tristan looked down at the carpet now too, he could tell the younger man to mind his own business, but to be fair, he was just a young rookie asking question to his mentor, and this was a good lesson to learn young..
“It isn’t just about being Zero-Gravity Champion kid, it’s about being champion in general.”
“But why does that matter?”
“... Because I was top of the world.. Elsewhere. World Heavyweight Champion, and I beat one of the best wrestlers in the world to do it.. And ever since I came to VOW, I have had this nagging feeling that I needed to get back to the top... I need to be champion, Because if I do that, then I will be relevant.”
“But aren't you relevant? My uncle sought you out for a reason.. He could have picked any other wrestler, but he picked you.”
Tristan looked at Arthur, a slight smirk appeared on his face, before shaking his head.. This kid had something, Tristan saw it. But he was to nice.. Nice people get eaten in this business, They get beaten, disappointed. Tristan would know, he came it and tried to be nice, respect everyone, and play by the rules, look at his classic with Ace back in February.
“Maybe your uncle just has bad taste..”
“Well... I think he made a good choice.”
...
“Thanks kid..”
Alexander came through the door, looking over at his two companions. Both looked up, noticing the look on Alexander’s face, Tristan knew that whatever he was told, it wasn’t going to be the best of news... But for now, Tristan didn’t wanna hear it, he just wanted to get to the hotel and sleep off his disappointment, because regardless of what Arthur tried to make him think.. No one cares about your career if you don’t obtain success. From the time to get to the parking lot to drive back to the hotel, it was silent.
Tristan had a lot to think about.. Even tho this wasn't the one on one match that he had earned, there was little to no chance that he was going to be given another championship match.. He was going to once again be forced to earn his shot. Was it fair, no, but he was gonna roll with the punches. He could whine or bitch about losing, but honestly what was that going to get him. Alexander slowly approached the hotel, and Tristan was eager to get inside and get some sleep.
Tristan didn’t even bother to grab his bags, electing to leave them in the vehicle, they’d be there in the morning.. Shaking both their hands, he got out of the vehicle, and made his way to the already paid for room. Shutting the door, he made his way to the bathroom, taking off his clothes as he went, till he was down to his boxers.
Looking around, he saw the traditional bath-shower combo, sighing as he turned on the hot water, mixed with some cold. Tossing his last piece of clothing to the countertop he pulled the diverter up, looking as the water started to fall from the shower head, he stook his hand out to test the water, he quickly stepped in, wanting to get this night over as soon as possible. All his thoughts quickly went away as the hot water hit his neck.
No longer did he think about his failure tonight, Nor his failures against Datura..... At Fate of the Gods.....
Nothing.. He simply thought about better days, and sadly even tho they were his most successful days, he recalled the more violent times in his career.. The thumbtacks, barbed wire.. He remembered those days.. Coming to VOW he made his own vow, to leave that style behind. Over the last year he had been relying on his wrestling abilities rather than his ability to take pain and risk his body for success.. It worked at first, he beat Ace, he earned his spot on the biggest pay per view of the year, but it was all for naught.. He didn’t want to admit it, but being a purist wasn’t cutting it. He wasn’t cutting it. Only issue, Zero-Gravity wasn’t a division for violence.. He needed to take a risk. He needed to go “all-in”. As he quickly soaped himself down, he made a mental decision.
He was going to leave the Zero-Gravity Division... Leave it for Arthur who was just starting his career, who hadn’t even debuted yet. As the water cleansed his body of the sweat and shame, it came to him, clear as day.. He was going to the I4NI Title.. The rest of the shower he imagined bring that title to prominence, holding it with honor, with pride.. Taking far past what Tyler Storm did with it, or even Tyron.. He was going to surpass them all.. Shutting off the water, he stepped out of the tub.. Clearing the window with his hand, he stared at himself as the window slowly started to fog up again.. Nodding he grabbed one of the towels the hotel provided, drying himself. Gathering his clothes, he dropped them all by the bed, slipping under the blankets resting himself on the pillow, tossing all the unnecessary ones off the bed. He felt his eyes getting heavy, he hope that he wouldn’t have a nightmare like last week, and let himself fall into the night’s embrace..
::
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Tristan’s sleep was disturbed, the room was still dark, but the focusing on the closed drapes, he could see the light coming fighting to come through them. Again the knocking happened, only this time it was much louder. Tristan angerly through the covers off of his body, almost bolting to the door to answer naked, but at the last second stopping himself, throwing on his boxers before opening the door to reveal Arthur about to knock again...
"What?"
"Oh, Morning."
....
"Did you need something?"
"Oh! I was wondering if we could train today, Alexander said I needed to fine tune my skills, he said it was important that we do it this week."
Tristan stared at the rookie, angered that the best sleep he'd gotten in a few months was ruined by his impatience and selfishness nature...
"Yeah, sure... one sec."
Going over to his discarded pants, he picked them up, digging in and getting his wallet, pulling out a ten dollar bill. Going back over to Arthur he placed it in his hands. Arthur looked down at the ten, before looking up confused.
"What's this fo-"
"You wanna workout?
"Yeah bu-"
"Run and get me a coffee from across the street, pick one up for yourself. Then run back up here, By then I'll be ready to hit the gym."
"But.. Alright."
Tristan looked at the teen, as he looked somber, before nodding and walking down the hallway. He didn't mean to be so hard on the kid, but if he didn't push him, then who would. This business isn't easy, you don't just wake up one day and decide, hey I wanna be a wrestler. He needed to learn, and when he wasn't learning, then... then he would have a friend. But for now, he needed this, just like he was going to need the tough love he was going to be put through today... He shut his door, going back to the bed to retrieve his phone. He quickly shot Alexander a text, asking him to meet them at the gym with his bag so he could get his gym clothes.
Putting on his clothes from last night, he looked at his phone, hopping on Twitter and sent Ace the congrats that he earned. He had to be fair, if the roles were reversed, he would have done the exact same thing. He would have snuck the win, but he wasn't the champion. Hearing the distant stomping from down the hall, he could only assume that it was Arthur.
He's actually fucking running....
Tristan let him keep the change, and also tossed him a towel, as he was sweating from the jog. Taking the elevator down, Tristan took out his phone, dialing up Alexander, he needed backup on how well the kid's training was coming along, 3 months isn't a long time to learn and to be frank, he didn't exactly know if the kid was retaining any of the information that Tristan had been trying to teach him over the past few months, clicking the green call button, he waited as the dial tone assaulted in his eardrum.
"Hello?"
"Hey are you out by the lobby?"
"Yes I am, though training is gonna have to be moved to a later time if you want me to drag my ass outta bed every morning to watch you fucks spar."
"Alex you are the one that told him that he needed to train at this hour..."
"Yeah, with you. I'm two hundred and forty pounds, fuck do I need to get up to watch for.
"Why did you say it in the first place?"
"Well see... I didn't know how you would react, but the kid's ma-"
"Stop... don't care about details, we'll see you in the car."
Tristan and Arthur both exited the elevator, making their way to the front door. Tristan held the door for the younger man, both of them spotting Alex in Tristan's car which, funny enough, Alex drove more than he did. Tristan really didn't like driving all that much after fighting, and with Arthur not really knowing the roads, they felt better with Alex driving. Heading to the gym, Tristan slipped in his headphones and started listening to Metallica, as the new tracks from their latest album seemed to be getting him in the mood for training. As they pulled up, Tristan exited and didn't talk with the other two, noticing that Arthur also had a pair of what looked like Beats on his head, connected to his phone.
The kid is learning...
After heading in and getting changed, the workout began. Today was cardio, something Tristan learned was both the worst and the best way to enhance your cardio, something the kid would learn after his first fight. Tristan felt the tension in his muscles already, and he hadn't even started yet.
For twenty minutes, he watched Arthur's workout as he ran, noting that the kid was in pretty good shape for his age. He had decent arms, and a solid looking eight pack, looks may only be part of the battle, but it was a battle that he was winning. Tristan started slowing down on the machine, slowly coming towards a stop as he bent over and felt that all to familiar burn.. Looking up, he saw Arthur finish his last pull-up on the bar, noting how at that age Tristan himself couldn't do more than five, Arthur had just done a full set...
"Art... get in the ring."
Was it a wrestling ring? Okay no, it was a boxing ring. But the principle was still the same, twenty by twenty canvas. Walking over and slowly getting into the ring, he went and slumped into the corner. Arthur knew the drill, run the ropes, twenty times back and forth, no stopping. It was an old exercise that Jake told him about back when he was in NEW. He hand't heard from him in a while, but all the lessons and stories they shared stayed with him. Getting up, he quickly advanced and took Arthur down with a hip toss.
"Get up.."
Arthur did, right into a side headlock takedown...
"Every second in this ring is a war, from bell to bell.."
"Yes Sir...."
For the next twenty minutes, Tristan dominated the rookie... Headlocks, body slams, forearms, suplexes.. Arthur was on the mat, to say he felt like shit would be an understatement. Tristan moved around the ring, he had let the anger of last night get the better of him, and he took it out on Arthur...
"Alex.. get me that chair.."
...
"Tristan.."
"NOW!"
"Wha.. Why do you... need that."
The young rookie said in between breaths, rising to his knees as Tristan raised the chair, going for the headshot.. He was about to swing down when an unknown force pulled the chair out of his grip.. a force that turned out to be Alexander. He tossed the chair out of the ring as Tristan turned around to face him. Tristan wasn't going to really clock the shit out of his rookie, but a lesson that you never run.. That you take your ass whippings like a man, but Alexander didn't see it that way.
"You can't!"
"Why exactly can't I?
"I've been trying to tell you all fucking day, Arthur is debuting next week!"
"WHAT?"
...
"What? Against who?"
"Gwendolyn Massey... and Constance Chapin... with you as his partner.."
"You're fucking joking Alex... Tell me you're not fucking serious!"
"I tried to talk them out of this fight, but they think Arthur getting paid for not wrestling is bad business."
"Alex... I don't do fucking tag team matches!"
"Omega wouldn't budge sir..."
"That piece of shit! God he's still a little bitch because I beat him all those years ago.. Never in all my life have I seen a more embarrassing-"
In all the confusion, Arthur rolled up Tristan, and by Alexander doing a count, pinning Tristan in this skirmish. Tristan looks dead at the two of them as they have sort of a mock celebration. Alexander falls onto the mat laughing, before getting up and raising Arthur's hand in "victory".
"What you think that's fucking funny? HUH! Like I couldn't fire you both right now, and just laugh my ass off about it?! Wouldn't that be fucking hysterical?!"
Tristan mad dogs both of them, but he can't hold his anger in for long and accepts Arthur's handshake. He's learning, don't take your eye of your opponent. Never pass up an opportunity. Tristan patted the visibly beaten youngster on the shoulder.
"You are gonna go places kid."
"Yeah, how do you know, I'm just some nineteen year old."
"Hey, don't let anyone tell you that your youth is a curse, at age 19 I passed my bar exams in Chicago to be come a lawyer. By age 25 I had my own firm, and never once did I let people tell me I was too young to be interested in that kinda stuff. Because who the fuck are they to sit there and judge me?"
"You're a lawyer?"
"Better. He's our lawyer."
"So, how did you get into managing?"
"Oh me and Tristan go way back, and when he needed a smart manager to watch his back, it was very simple to make the transition. I now have a partner in law that has about forty-five percent say so, so I allow him to watch over things while I'm on the road."
"So way back.. Did you give him legal advice or something?"
"You can say that.. But that is a story for another time...
::
"Constance... Gwendolyn... I will be the first to admit, you are mighty impressive.. Your, match was very interesting to say the least. But I can not help but wonder Gwen.. can you trust Constance? I mean after all you did take her championship, the title that she worked very hard to get... extremely hard to retain.. You took that from her, you robbed her of her title.. So can you trust one hundred percent that she is on your side?"
"And what about you Constance? How to you truly know she won't feed you to the wolves to secure a better grip on that Xcel belt... That she won't leave you in the dust to make sure that she has once less problem lurking over her shoulder? Is your back really being protected, or is she waiting, plotting, scheming to stick a knife so deep into your back it makes last weeks disappointment look like a cake walk.."
"Now you can say whatever you want about this match, I'm not focused, Arthur's to inexperience and that his youth is gonna cost him this week? But let me ask you just three simple questions, What happens to you, and your amazing careers, If this young rookie that I'm training comes in and beats you, not only in his first match in VOW, but his first match ever! What does that do to you? And hell if beating a jobber gets Jamo a championship match, I think one of use deserves a Xcel Title match if that's how things work here in VOW.. No, that only works when it benefits one of Omega's chosen right..."
"I don't matter anymore, Jamo, Ace... they are all in the past... I'm no longer going to burden myself with the approval of others, from now on, everything I do, rather it look like it or not, is going to benefit me.. Beating you two, that is going to benefit me, it's going to benefit me a lot.. In fact, It doesn't even matter if the kid collects the pinfall, because everything that he is, he is because I got him there, he is an extension of myself, My work laid out on the table... ready for all to see."
"I don't know girls.. Some might say this is an unwinnable situation for me, but I'm not too sure I believe the bullshit that you are selling.. Your talented, you are both main event talents, and trust me when I tell you.. I will not go quietly into the night once again.. will not get pushed around by the management that plays favorites.. Soon... very soon a revolution will run through VOW.. "
"And it is going to destroy this false world you all built, and a new dawn will shine through."
"So you can hold on to this false alliance.. I'll break it.. You can even hate each other, me and Arthur are a unit, we are on the same page, on a book you haven't read. I don't want your fame... I don't want your title, I don't even want you to be honest... But I will go through you if that is what it takes... I'll bloody you, break you, and smile as I do it... Understand, from this point going forward?
"And it is going to destroy this false world you all built, and a new dawn will shine through."
"So you can hold on to this false alliance.. I'll break it.. You can even hate each other, me and Arthur are a unit, we are on the same page, on a book you haven't read. I don't want your fame... I don't want your title, I don't even want you to be honest... But I will go through you if that is what it takes... I'll bloody you, break you, and smile as I do it... Understand, from this point going forward?
"It's a new dawn."