Post by Cable Arcane on Jul 29, 2018 20:09:37 GMT
I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Steve Awesome versus Cable Arcane. One on One. Locked inside a Mixed Martial Arts Cage. Three rounds. Five minutes a piece. There won’t be any distractions. Any advantages. Just two men beating the hell out of each other until only one is left standing.
Finally Steve is going to have to put his money where his mouth is. Malo and Rob won’t be able to help. There won’t be a pack or gods to deal with. Just him and I.
I can’t fucking wait.
I’ve been doing two a days since the challenge was made. I enrolled in the best training camp money can buy. I’m making sure that Steve Awesome will not be ready for me once that door is closed. He will have no goddamn idea what hit him.
Chuck: Looking good, Cable.
My coach watches from the outside as I stuff my training partner and plant him flat on his back. I quickly move into the mount and begin to drive my elbows into his padded head. His shoulders go flat and the referee calls it.[/i]
Chuck: Looking damn good.
I’ve lost ten pounds since starting this camp. I’m in the best damn shape of my life. I feel like a goddamn juggernaut right now, ready to take Steve’s head off with a sharp right hook.
Chuck: Now I want to see escape from beneath a mount.
I lay down, my partner gets on top of me, pins me. Chuck nods and we start. I’m quick to block the blows coming in, working my legs free I grab him with an armbar and send him down to the mat, quickly wrenching on his elbow as again the ref calls it.
Chuck: Jesus. Good, good. I think you’re ready.
Cable: Again.
We repeat the move, I break free even quicker this time and lock him in a triangle.
Chuck: Okay. Perfect. Let’s take a fiver.
Cable: Again.
Chuck: Cable.
Cable: Again!
We set up again, the ref nods and this time I connect with a right hand directly to the face of my training partner. His nose breaks. Blood immediately starts to pour.
Chuck: Jesus! Okay, that’s enough. Terry go get that looked at and Cable, come here.
My training partner, Terry holds his nose as he walks off to the medic. Chuck meets me at the cage door.
Chuck: What the hell was that!?
Cable: I’m sorry, I…
Was I sorry?
Cable: I want to be ready.
Chuck: Cable, you’re more than ready. This guy, Steve Awesome? He hasn’t been training for this. He’s never set foot in an mma cage. If he lasts longer than thirty seconds with you it’ll be a miracle.
Cable: I don’t care. I don’t want there to be any excuses this time. Anything can happen in there, I could slip up and that son of a bitch could steal a win.
Chuck: Cable…
Chuck places his hand on my shoulder.
Chuck: You’re the hardest working son of a bitch I’ve ever seen. You don’t make mistakes. Steve Awesome is going to get his ass handed to him.
Cable: You’re goddamn right he is.
Chuck: Go grab a drink, cool down, I’m going to run Terry to the hospital get that thing straightened out.
Chuck left. It was just me in the gym now. I didn’t feel sorry for what I did and I thought that was strange. This whole thing with Steve has really awoken something in me. Something I haven’t felt since the Heir to the Throne. Since defeating Jayson Matthews for the World Championship. There was a hunger, an anger. I felt driven again. Working with Roberto, helping run this company, it’s distracted me, taken my focus away from the ring but Steve?
He’s got me focused again.
I don’t just want to beat him. I don’t just want to hurt him. I want to fucking embarrass him. I want him beaten to a fucking pulp in front of the entire world looking like a goddamn idiot for trying to step to me.
*Ring-ring*
Abby’s calling. God I miss her.
Abby: Hey babe.
Cable: Hey Abby.
Abby: How’s camp going?
Cable: I broke somebody's nose.
Abby: Jesus… Is he okay?
Cable: He’ll be fine.
She sounded understandably worried.
Abby: Steve’s really gotten in your head, huh?
Cable: Yeah… You could say that.
Abby: Look, you can get in there angry. You can’t fight him with raw emotion. That’s what he wants. He wants you blinded with anger, not thinking straight, that’s the only way he can win this thing, he knows that.
She’s right.
Abby: You’re the best in the world for a reason. You’re the first two time world champion for a reason. You step into that cage just looking to hurt him and all of that goes out the window.
Cable: I know.
Abby: Calm down. Focus. Have a plan. Steve isn’t going to be ready for that. Then beat his bitch ass.
I laugh, she’s amazing.
Cable: Thanks.
Abby: I love you.
Cable: I love you too.
Abby: I’ll see you at the show.
Cable: I can’t wait.
We hang up. She’s absolutely right. I can’t just be angry. Rage isn’t going to win this for me. I need to focus, be prepared for anything. Most of all I need to be calm. Steve wants me out of control, that’s why he’s been trolling me. I have to be in complete control of my emotions, my body and then I can control this match. I head back inside the cage and start up a live stream.
”Sunday Night at Lineage Steve Awesome and I will face off one last time.”
I say as calmly as I can.
”I’ve been looking forward to this. Steve challenged me to an MMA cage match, the first ever in the history of IWF. I’ve made it something of a gimmick to be the first ever at things in this company. First ever two time world champion. That’s a huge accomplishment in this promotion, in any promotion. Hell, it’s two more championships than Steve Awesome has held in this company.”
Can’t hide the smarmy grin.
”I wonder Steve, is that what this whole beef between us is really about? Are you just jealous that as big as you were in NCW you’re just another guy in IWF? Are you jealous that men like me, Andrew Jacobsen and Joe Everyman have all been IWF World Champion and you haven’t even been A champion? Guys you used to mock from the lofty throne you had in NCW? Guys you would have considered jobbers who weren’t even worth your time of day?”
“Guys who have all done more than you in IWF?”
“I mean, I get it. There’s a reason most of the NCW elite have come and gone from IWF. Guys like Adam Knite, Alex Jones and JFk just couldn’t hack it against real competition. Adam, he liked to keep to tight grip on the main event. He liked to make sure only his buddies got the shots. Everyone knew it, we all saw it. Even as a fan watching from the outside I saw him try and keep Roberto and Andrew down.”
“You flourished in a promotion where the boss hand selected who the top guy was. You soared above everyone else with Adam watching your back, keeping the Face of the Franchise hot. But what happened when that company folded? What happened when Steve Awesome came to IWF? What happened when you were finally forced to rely on your own merits as a professional wrestle against some of the best talent this business has ever seen?”
“You FUCKING failed.”
The grin fades and I let that hang out there for a moment or two.
”You failed against Andrew. Against Spike. Against Dean. You failed to capture championship after championship. You racked up a losing record. Embarrassment after embarrassment until finally Steve Awesome, the brand, was so fucking tarnished not even the SyFy channel would give you a look.”
“That’s pretty fucking sad.”
“IWF was built on fair competition. Roberto Verona wanted a company where the guys who really wanted it got what they deserved. You work hard you get rewarded. There are not hand outs. There’s no hand selecting. If you want to be the top guy then you have to step into the ring and earn that right. You want to be a champion, any champion, you have to fight for it.”
“That’s why guys like Bob Pooler and Mike Laszlo are and have been champions. That’s why Dean Harper and Caleb Lockwood are the future of this company. That’s why Andrew Jacobsen is probably the best World Champion this company has ever had. They’re goddamn work horses. They don’t settle for what they have. They don’t rest on past successes. They are constantly working to improve, to get better, to be the best. They don’t just want to be a guy in this company they want to be THE guy.”
“Unlike you.”
“You don’t want to work for it. You don’t want to earn it. You want Roberto and I to just gift wrap you the World title simply because of who you used to be. Well Steve, it’s time for a wake up call buddy.”
“You aren’t shit in IWF.”
“You haven’t earned a single goddamn thing. And even when we did decide to give you a shot at a title you took it for granted. You stepped into that ring thinking being Steve Awesome was enough to secure a victory and you walked out looking like a goddamn idiot. You underestimate the talent that surrounds you. You still think Adam is pulling the fucking strings but he isn’t. There is no one looking out for you here. There is no one protecting you. You’re either good enough to be here or you’re not.”
“And you’re not.”
It feels good ripping him apart.
”That’s why you’re taking indy bookings, right Steve? That’s why you’re fighting in a fucking bingo hall for a “World” title, right Steve? That’s why you’ve got one foot out the door and one in another, right Steve? Because you know you don’t have what it takes to compete against the best wrestlers in the world. You can’t make it in IWF, you can’t compete, so you’ve already taken your ball somewhere else. A company full to the brim with IWF quitters.”
“How’s it feel being the best in a group of losers?”
“Do you feel accomplished? I sure fucking hope you do. I hope you feel so goddamn good beating guys who were made to look like fools in an IWF ring. I hope you’re so fucking proud of yourself beating up IWF jobbers. Quitters. Guys so fucking ball-less they couldn’t even hand their resignation into Berto and I face to face. They quit on Twitter or just didn’t say anything at all.”
“Congratulations.”
“Steve Awesome is the Face of the Fuckwads.”
“Well Steve I’m going to do you a favor Sunday Night. I’m going to beat you so goddamn bad that you’ll have a medical reason to never set foot in MY ring again. That way no one can judge you when you turn up on someone else’s network fighting in the main event. You can just say IWF won’t clear you. I’m going to do that for you Steve. I’m going to give you the out you need to never come back to the IWF. And I’m going to do it with a goddamn smile as I break your mother fucking jaw.”
My smirk returns, the confidence builds, this will be the last time IWF has to suffer the presence of Steve Awesome.
”After Sunday Night I don’t ever want to see you in my ring or my company again. Are we clear? I don’t want this company affiliated with a lazy egomaniac who can’t understand that being the best means actually fucking improving. I don’t want to waste spots on a card on a guy who can’t be bothered to actually try. I don’t want my talented roster forced to step into the ring with a guy who doesn’t give a damn.”
“Everyone in this company, good, bad, face, heel, angel or devil is fighting for the same thing. They want IWF to be the best goddamn promotion on the face of the planet. And it is. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that IWF is the pinnacle of this sport. That’s why other company’s are trying to latch themselves onto us, offering us a special place on their little network. They know how big we are. They know how good we are. They can’t compete with us so they offer us free publicity. The thing is, we don’t need them. They need us. They want us. And that’s the company you’ll be working for in the future Steve. A company who desperately needs IWF and our talent to actually matter.”
“Have fun.”
“Enjoy being the Best in the Bingo Hall.”
“Me? I’m going to enjoy being the BEST IN THE WORLD! Like I’ve been since my first day in this company. I’m going to enjoy facing the absolute best talent this business has to offer. I’m going to enjoy taking on the Ethan King’s, the Warren Kane’s, the Nighthawk’s and Bancroft’s while you tangle with the Kole Kaos’ and Nelly Angels. I’m going to enjoy facing actual competition, guys I don’t know if I can beat but want to find out while you? You just do what you’ve always done. Get by on your name and hope the boss protects you.”
“But there will not be any protection Sunday Night, Steve. I promise you that.”
”No sleep. No rest. Do whatever it takes to be the best.”
Steve Awesome versus Cable Arcane. One on One. Locked inside a Mixed Martial Arts Cage. Three rounds. Five minutes a piece. There won’t be any distractions. Any advantages. Just two men beating the hell out of each other until only one is left standing.
Finally Steve is going to have to put his money where his mouth is. Malo and Rob won’t be able to help. There won’t be a pack or gods to deal with. Just him and I.
I can’t fucking wait.
I’ve been doing two a days since the challenge was made. I enrolled in the best training camp money can buy. I’m making sure that Steve Awesome will not be ready for me once that door is closed. He will have no goddamn idea what hit him.
Chuck: Looking good, Cable.
My coach watches from the outside as I stuff my training partner and plant him flat on his back. I quickly move into the mount and begin to drive my elbows into his padded head. His shoulders go flat and the referee calls it.[/i]
Chuck: Looking damn good.
I’ve lost ten pounds since starting this camp. I’m in the best damn shape of my life. I feel like a goddamn juggernaut right now, ready to take Steve’s head off with a sharp right hook.
Chuck: Now I want to see escape from beneath a mount.
I lay down, my partner gets on top of me, pins me. Chuck nods and we start. I’m quick to block the blows coming in, working my legs free I grab him with an armbar and send him down to the mat, quickly wrenching on his elbow as again the ref calls it.
Chuck: Jesus. Good, good. I think you’re ready.
Cable: Again.
We repeat the move, I break free even quicker this time and lock him in a triangle.
Chuck: Okay. Perfect. Let’s take a fiver.
Cable: Again.
Chuck: Cable.
Cable: Again!
We set up again, the ref nods and this time I connect with a right hand directly to the face of my training partner. His nose breaks. Blood immediately starts to pour.
Chuck: Jesus! Okay, that’s enough. Terry go get that looked at and Cable, come here.
My training partner, Terry holds his nose as he walks off to the medic. Chuck meets me at the cage door.
Chuck: What the hell was that!?
Cable: I’m sorry, I…
Was I sorry?
Cable: I want to be ready.
Chuck: Cable, you’re more than ready. This guy, Steve Awesome? He hasn’t been training for this. He’s never set foot in an mma cage. If he lasts longer than thirty seconds with you it’ll be a miracle.
Cable: I don’t care. I don’t want there to be any excuses this time. Anything can happen in there, I could slip up and that son of a bitch could steal a win.
Chuck: Cable…
Chuck places his hand on my shoulder.
Chuck: You’re the hardest working son of a bitch I’ve ever seen. You don’t make mistakes. Steve Awesome is going to get his ass handed to him.
Cable: You’re goddamn right he is.
Chuck: Go grab a drink, cool down, I’m going to run Terry to the hospital get that thing straightened out.
Chuck left. It was just me in the gym now. I didn’t feel sorry for what I did and I thought that was strange. This whole thing with Steve has really awoken something in me. Something I haven’t felt since the Heir to the Throne. Since defeating Jayson Matthews for the World Championship. There was a hunger, an anger. I felt driven again. Working with Roberto, helping run this company, it’s distracted me, taken my focus away from the ring but Steve?
He’s got me focused again.
I don’t just want to beat him. I don’t just want to hurt him. I want to fucking embarrass him. I want him beaten to a fucking pulp in front of the entire world looking like a goddamn idiot for trying to step to me.
*Ring-ring*
Abby’s calling. God I miss her.
Abby: Hey babe.
Cable: Hey Abby.
Abby: How’s camp going?
Cable: I broke somebody's nose.
Abby: Jesus… Is he okay?
Cable: He’ll be fine.
She sounded understandably worried.
Abby: Steve’s really gotten in your head, huh?
Cable: Yeah… You could say that.
Abby: Look, you can get in there angry. You can’t fight him with raw emotion. That’s what he wants. He wants you blinded with anger, not thinking straight, that’s the only way he can win this thing, he knows that.
She’s right.
Abby: You’re the best in the world for a reason. You’re the first two time world champion for a reason. You step into that cage just looking to hurt him and all of that goes out the window.
Cable: I know.
Abby: Calm down. Focus. Have a plan. Steve isn’t going to be ready for that. Then beat his bitch ass.
I laugh, she’s amazing.
Cable: Thanks.
Abby: I love you.
Cable: I love you too.
Abby: I’ll see you at the show.
Cable: I can’t wait.
We hang up. She’s absolutely right. I can’t just be angry. Rage isn’t going to win this for me. I need to focus, be prepared for anything. Most of all I need to be calm. Steve wants me out of control, that’s why he’s been trolling me. I have to be in complete control of my emotions, my body and then I can control this match. I head back inside the cage and start up a live stream.
”Sunday Night at Lineage Steve Awesome and I will face off one last time.”
I say as calmly as I can.
”I’ve been looking forward to this. Steve challenged me to an MMA cage match, the first ever in the history of IWF. I’ve made it something of a gimmick to be the first ever at things in this company. First ever two time world champion. That’s a huge accomplishment in this promotion, in any promotion. Hell, it’s two more championships than Steve Awesome has held in this company.”
Can’t hide the smarmy grin.
”I wonder Steve, is that what this whole beef between us is really about? Are you just jealous that as big as you were in NCW you’re just another guy in IWF? Are you jealous that men like me, Andrew Jacobsen and Joe Everyman have all been IWF World Champion and you haven’t even been A champion? Guys you used to mock from the lofty throne you had in NCW? Guys you would have considered jobbers who weren’t even worth your time of day?”
“Guys who have all done more than you in IWF?”
“I mean, I get it. There’s a reason most of the NCW elite have come and gone from IWF. Guys like Adam Knite, Alex Jones and JFk just couldn’t hack it against real competition. Adam, he liked to keep to tight grip on the main event. He liked to make sure only his buddies got the shots. Everyone knew it, we all saw it. Even as a fan watching from the outside I saw him try and keep Roberto and Andrew down.”
“You flourished in a promotion where the boss hand selected who the top guy was. You soared above everyone else with Adam watching your back, keeping the Face of the Franchise hot. But what happened when that company folded? What happened when Steve Awesome came to IWF? What happened when you were finally forced to rely on your own merits as a professional wrestle against some of the best talent this business has ever seen?”
“You FUCKING failed.”
The grin fades and I let that hang out there for a moment or two.
”You failed against Andrew. Against Spike. Against Dean. You failed to capture championship after championship. You racked up a losing record. Embarrassment after embarrassment until finally Steve Awesome, the brand, was so fucking tarnished not even the SyFy channel would give you a look.”
“That’s pretty fucking sad.”
“IWF was built on fair competition. Roberto Verona wanted a company where the guys who really wanted it got what they deserved. You work hard you get rewarded. There are not hand outs. There’s no hand selecting. If you want to be the top guy then you have to step into the ring and earn that right. You want to be a champion, any champion, you have to fight for it.”
“That’s why guys like Bob Pooler and Mike Laszlo are and have been champions. That’s why Dean Harper and Caleb Lockwood are the future of this company. That’s why Andrew Jacobsen is probably the best World Champion this company has ever had. They’re goddamn work horses. They don’t settle for what they have. They don’t rest on past successes. They are constantly working to improve, to get better, to be the best. They don’t just want to be a guy in this company they want to be THE guy.”
“Unlike you.”
“You don’t want to work for it. You don’t want to earn it. You want Roberto and I to just gift wrap you the World title simply because of who you used to be. Well Steve, it’s time for a wake up call buddy.”
“You aren’t shit in IWF.”
“You haven’t earned a single goddamn thing. And even when we did decide to give you a shot at a title you took it for granted. You stepped into that ring thinking being Steve Awesome was enough to secure a victory and you walked out looking like a goddamn idiot. You underestimate the talent that surrounds you. You still think Adam is pulling the fucking strings but he isn’t. There is no one looking out for you here. There is no one protecting you. You’re either good enough to be here or you’re not.”
“And you’re not.”
It feels good ripping him apart.
”That’s why you’re taking indy bookings, right Steve? That’s why you’re fighting in a fucking bingo hall for a “World” title, right Steve? That’s why you’ve got one foot out the door and one in another, right Steve? Because you know you don’t have what it takes to compete against the best wrestlers in the world. You can’t make it in IWF, you can’t compete, so you’ve already taken your ball somewhere else. A company full to the brim with IWF quitters.”
“How’s it feel being the best in a group of losers?”
“Do you feel accomplished? I sure fucking hope you do. I hope you feel so goddamn good beating guys who were made to look like fools in an IWF ring. I hope you’re so fucking proud of yourself beating up IWF jobbers. Quitters. Guys so fucking ball-less they couldn’t even hand their resignation into Berto and I face to face. They quit on Twitter or just didn’t say anything at all.”
“Congratulations.”
“Steve Awesome is the Face of the Fuckwads.”
“Well Steve I’m going to do you a favor Sunday Night. I’m going to beat you so goddamn bad that you’ll have a medical reason to never set foot in MY ring again. That way no one can judge you when you turn up on someone else’s network fighting in the main event. You can just say IWF won’t clear you. I’m going to do that for you Steve. I’m going to give you the out you need to never come back to the IWF. And I’m going to do it with a goddamn smile as I break your mother fucking jaw.”
My smirk returns, the confidence builds, this will be the last time IWF has to suffer the presence of Steve Awesome.
”After Sunday Night I don’t ever want to see you in my ring or my company again. Are we clear? I don’t want this company affiliated with a lazy egomaniac who can’t understand that being the best means actually fucking improving. I don’t want to waste spots on a card on a guy who can’t be bothered to actually try. I don’t want my talented roster forced to step into the ring with a guy who doesn’t give a damn.”
“Everyone in this company, good, bad, face, heel, angel or devil is fighting for the same thing. They want IWF to be the best goddamn promotion on the face of the planet. And it is. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that IWF is the pinnacle of this sport. That’s why other company’s are trying to latch themselves onto us, offering us a special place on their little network. They know how big we are. They know how good we are. They can’t compete with us so they offer us free publicity. The thing is, we don’t need them. They need us. They want us. And that’s the company you’ll be working for in the future Steve. A company who desperately needs IWF and our talent to actually matter.”
“Have fun.”
“Enjoy being the Best in the Bingo Hall.”
“Me? I’m going to enjoy being the BEST IN THE WORLD! Like I’ve been since my first day in this company. I’m going to enjoy facing the absolute best talent this business has to offer. I’m going to enjoy taking on the Ethan King’s, the Warren Kane’s, the Nighthawk’s and Bancroft’s while you tangle with the Kole Kaos’ and Nelly Angels. I’m going to enjoy facing actual competition, guys I don’t know if I can beat but want to find out while you? You just do what you’ve always done. Get by on your name and hope the boss protects you.”
“But there will not be any protection Sunday Night, Steve. I promise you that.”
”No sleep. No rest. Do whatever it takes to be the best.”
Well howdy there pardner.