Post by Mike Laszlo on Oct 6, 2013 17:02:51 GMT
The more I say it, the more that the following words are starting to leave a worse taste in my mouth.
I was SO DAMN CLOSE!
You see? Admitting that right there just gave me that taste in my mouth. It resembles the taste of puking a little but not actually projecting said vomit. You know what I’m talking about.
Once more I was oh so close to winning a match against a high profile opponent and again I failed. I took Spike Kane to his limit and yet still, he overcame all I had to throw at him, hit me with a Thunderstruck and went about winning the match as he said he was going to do.
Now I can sit here and I can tell you that it was an injury, or that I wasn’t focused due to some personal issues going on at the moment, but I don’t want to do that. I don’t have the need, the desire, to make excuses because that’s not what the bests do. That’s not what I do. For months on end I sat in the same position I’m currently in. I had the talent, I showed the talent in the center of that God damn ring but there was something missing. There was something that stopped me from going all out and taking the prize, seizing the brass ring, snatching and then abusing the opportunity presented to me by the booking committee, and to be as honest as I possibly can be…IT PISSES ME OFF!
So what’s a guy to do? What’s someone in my position supposed to do to rectify all of this wrong goings on in my career?
The answer is simple really. There is only one thing that can cure this angst inside me, this struggle within. It’s a one syllable, three letter word…WIN!
No longer do I sit at the side and make idle threats because apparently, I can’t pull them out of a heavyset woman’s ass let alone follow through with them. As I walk in the back looking dejected with each and every loss there’s those people who all say “It’ll be okay.” or “You’ll pull through this.” You know what?
I’M SICK OF IT!
I’m sick of the pats on the back;
I’m sick of the consolation prizes;
And above all else, I’m sick and tired of coming up short when it matters most.
Whether it’s in the ring or outside the ring in my personal life in the recent weeks, there’s been nothing I can do but fail. I lose a match; I go home and the people I care about are hurt because I can’t put them or myself in the right position to succeed and it hurts deep down inside. It eats away at every damn fiber of my being and it needs to stop, because if it doesn’t, I don’t know how much more I can take. The pain and suffering I go through inside because of the situations that I am causing, is so insurmountable that I can’t even put it in words. The lack of focus on business because of all of this personal crap is hurting my bottom line which in essence is affecting the very life I am trying to protect. I can’t do it all. I can’t make everything better with the swipe of a keystroke or a spoken word. I can’t just walk into a situation and say stop.
It’s time to take action.
====================
Title: The Talk
Location: Giant Arena, Pennsylvania
Time: Directly After My Match With Spike Kane
The music was loud and I slowly rolled out of the ring as Spike went on with his monologue after the match. The lights dimmed around the ring and focused solely on the man inside it. As they did so I pulled away from the referee who was “helping” me to the back, and both Alexis and myself headed through the curtain to the backstage area. I stepped through and got a nice little ovation for the technical skill of which I had displayed in the match with Spike and instead of standing there and acknowledging those who were applauding, I simply walked through it and ignored them, which probably didn’t sit to well, but to be honest, I didn’t care that very second. Alexis followed with a concerned look on her face as she thanked everyone for their applause and admirations. As I continued to walk forward, away from her, I put my hands on my hips and looked up at the ceiling. The rampart of thoughts soaring through the information highway in my brain were many and closely following one another, further confusing me. Alexis put a little pep in her step to catch up and stopped me by putting her hand on my shoulder.
Alexis Caffrey: It was a good match.
I was disgusted that I even allowed myself to be distracted by the outside stuff. I pulled away from the young lady which startled her as I had never really reacted in such a physically hostile manner.
Mike Laszlo: It wasn’t good. I didn’t win. I’m sick of losing.
I turned away and smacked some water bottles off the catering table in disgust.
Mike Laszlo: SON OF A BITCH!
She did her best to console me…it wasn’t working.
Alexis Caffrey: Mike, you’re in a funk. You’ll get out of it.
Mike Laszlo: No, no I won’t. As long as I allow this personal crap to get involved with the business end of things, it won’t be alright. As long as I allow all this crap going on with Raven weigh on my brain, it’s not going to be okay.
Alexis Caffrey: We’ll figure it…
Mike Laszlo: Please?
She was confused as to my one word request and what exactly it was referring to.
Alexis Caffrey: Please what babe?
Mike Laszlo: Please stop acting as if there’s nothing wrong. Stop pretending. There’s clearly something wrong and it’s evident by my win-loss record in this damn company. I’m not used to this failure, and I don’t want to get used to it.
Alexis Caffrey: We’ll figure…
Mike Laszlo: I need a little time here. Do me a favor and just leave me alone for a minute?
Alexis Caffrey: What?
I could tell that those words scared the ever-living day lights out of her. Calmly I turned toward her and took a couple steps toward her placing my hands on her shoulders as she looked up at me, scared, innocent.
Mike Laszlo: Don’t worry, I’m not dumping you. I’m not even suggesting it. I love you more than anyone ever could love another. I just need a minute alone to figure a few things out. Could you please go to the locker room and start gathering our things? I’ll meet you there in a little bit.
I could tell my words were re-assuring. Her confidence took a slight hit there for all of a minute. A little more relaxed, yet still worried; she stands on her tip-toes and plants a kiss on my cheek.
Alexis Caffrey: Alright. Don’t over think it babe. Whatever you do…don’t regret it.
Mike Laszlo: I’ll be fine. I just need some time to clear my head.
Alexis Caffrey: Okay, I’ll see you in a little bit. I love you.
Mike Laszlo: I love you too.
She grabbed my hand and held on it til she could no longer and slowly let go as she headed down the hallway. I meanwhile turned in the opposite direction and grabbed one of the water bottles I had knocked from the table and untwisted the cap. I took a quick swig before pouring the cold refreshing liquid over top of my head allowing its contents to flow down my face before shaking my head from side to side. Throwing the bottle to the side I rub the excess water from my face and lean over on one of the production trunks lining the hall.
Mike Laszlo: I can’t believe I let that happen. Never in my life, even when my wife died, did I let my personal life ever affect my business in that ring. I can’t let this go on or I’ll never win another match again. For weeks now this weight has been on top of me. For almost a month now I’ve been trying to make things all better only to make them worse. I can’t go on living like this or things are going to end up a lot worse than they already are. But how; how can I fix this?
With a sigh I push myself off the crate and walk around a second before seemingly to the camera, coming up with an idea. This idea is not divulged though as I walk through the corridor back to my locker room.
====================
Actions speak louder than words.
At least that’s what everyone says right?
So I could stand here and tell Rob Diamond that he’s carried by Spike Kane in their Tag Team. I could say that he’s simply the loudmouth of the group who runs his mouth too much. I could say all of that, but I would be lying. I would be making these things up to make him look like an idiot, to embarrass him. That’s not what this week is about. Really, it wouldn’t matter who is standing across the ring from me because the mission is now and will always remain the same…win.
This week is a vindication of sorts for me. It’s a chance for me to erase some demons in my past. It’s an opportunity for me to move on from the slump that I’ve been entrenched in since day one here in the IWF.
If not for the history that this federation was divulged from, I would have no real legacy. If this was a fresh start, as everyone said, then quickly ignored, I would be a nobody.
That’s not what I am and that isn’t what I set out to be.
So this week, though it wouldn’t matter the opponent, the name across from me on the card in itself does matter. It’s Rob FREAKIN Diamond. It’s the other half of InFamous, a team that as a unit has run roughshod over the Tag Team Division. Together the two are one of the most formidable teams in the history of professional wrestling. If you don’t believe me…just ask them.
As individuals though, they’re completely beatable. I almost proved it last week and this week I plan on going out there and for the first time in a while, proving that the words I speak are indeed true. I want this match. More importantly, I want to win this match so bad that I can taste it.
I walked out there last week and I told the world I was going to win and then I failed. That failure weighs on me like a meteor dropped from space. I feel like I let everyone down. I lost and immediately I thought of how my girlfriend had to watch it firsthand. I looked out to the crowd as the lights dimmed and I saw the look in the eyes of some of the people who watched me walk away and do you know what those eyes felt like as they cast their gaze upon me? Laser beams projecting utter let down and failure.
I don’t want that feeling. I don’t want my girlfriend to experience that feeling again. I don’t want those gazes of doubt cast upon me again. I don’t want to stand in front of the world and apologize. I want the opposite.
I want the cheers.
I want admiration.
I want respect.
There’s only one way to get each and every one of those things, and that’s to walk down to that ring, kick the crap out of Rob Diamond, beat him, and walk out of this Monday’s Sacrifice with a victory. I want to walk through the curtain Monday and not ignore those who praise me. To ignore them may have seemed cold at the time, but I guarantee you that if what was on my mind went through any of theirs, they would have done the same.
It’s time to be the Mike Laszlo who was the Rising Star. It’s time to fulfill the promise I displayed for the scouts. It’s time to make their words mean something. The time is now and I don’t have it to waste.
Rob, this Monday, I become infamous in my own right.
====================
Title: The Walk
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Time: 9:05 PM Eastern Time
It was a dark, rainy night and yet here I was getting ready to go outside when Alexis noticed me out of the corner of her eye.
Alexis Caffrey: Where are you going?
Mike Laszlo: Recon.
Alexis Caffrey: Recon? For what?
Mike Laszlo: I need to do something that puts my mind at ease. I can’t let this situation linger while I’m trying to have a match.
Alexis Caffrey: Well, I know I can’t talk you out of this…I’ve tried. Will you just be careful?
Mike Laszlo: Promise.
I opened the door and rushed to a navy blue Chevy Malibu sitting in my driveway where my Corvette use to be parked. It was my loaner from the Chevy dealership until my Corvette was restored to its original working condition after the incident two weeks ago. It was no matter though as this car worked out better for the situation at hand. I mean, come on, who would expect a black Corvette to be sitting outside some guys house down in the ghetto? This was much more believable, and it’s what I went with.
Dodging the rain drops I hopped in the car and headed off to an address I had obtained from a friend in law enforcement who owed me a favor. Gotta love those favors, right? As I headed toward the city from my house in the suburbs I couldn’t help but thing of the possible outcomes to this scenario.
Mike Laszlo: Well, this could end a few different ways. Some of them could be more sudden, others taking more time and putting more people I care about in danger. He could not be there, and I could find what I’m looking for. He could come back as I’m there and catch me in the act, and then anything goes. Whatever happens I need to be very careful. I gotta make sure that everything is put back in the exact place I got it from. If not, and he finds out I was there…this may not end so well for those I care about. This is make or break. It’s game time. Can’t choke…WON’T CHOKE!
Random thoughts popped through my head. Raven showing up at the restaurant, Alexis overreacting, losing match after match, Raven and Reynolds being shipped off to the hospital in the ambulance, my beat up car in the parking garage of Quicken Loans Arena; all of those went by one after another after another. Normally they would cause doubt in a man in my situation but instead, it did the exact opposite. It fueled me; motivated me to make sure this was done and done right. As I got into the Cleveland city limits, I pulled to the side of the road on a side street and plugged the address into my GPS system. Following the spoken directions I was able to find the house rather quickly. It wasn’t in the heart of Cleveland as first expected, but rather on the outskirts of the city, making it less detectable and less likely to be noticed by authorities. I pulled across the street from the apartment building and looked for the door, apartment numbers clearly marked above each door. I found the door I was looking for and noticed that there wasn’t a single light on outside or inside that could be noticed. Slowly, I pulled down the glove compartment door and grabbed a set of leather gloves, slowly sliding each on my hands as I watched for any suspicious activity. Heading up to the floor I peered around the corner and couldn’t see a single light on in the apartment.
I snuck up to the door and used knowledge gained as a teenager to pick the lock. I wasn’t always the clean cut by the rules guy that I am today…yes that was sarcasm.
Picking the lock I opened the door and got in. Quickly I cased the place out and saw that there was a back window that led to a fire escape. I had found my out in case of emergency. I quickly scoured through all the things on the desk and found a file with some photos of Raven meeting me at the restaurant. This guy really wanted her bad to be following her around now for the last few days. The last photo was of her sleeping in the hospital bed. Seeing that photo made my blood boil. I set the pictures back in the file as they were and placed it on the exact spot I had picked them up from on the desk. Then I saw a book, a ledger of sort. As I went through and flipped the pages, I had seen that he had logged every bit of information he could on her whereabouts and the scenario in which he could grab her. He was planning something and I had to find out what. I went to flip through the pages some more, but I heard footsteps coming from the walkway outside. Quickly I flipped the book closed and left for the back room. I opened the window and crawled out onto the fire escape, quickly pulling the window down as the front door had opened, ducking out of view. I listened as two men walked into the backroom.
Brian Sane: Tomorrow night. That’s when we get her.
If I had heard anymore, I may have crashed through the window and tore his face off. I thought better of it and slowly crept down the fire escape and headed to my car. I drove off back to my house. I had to get this guy, and now he had given up a time and place. It was perfect. Now I needed to come through when it mattered most. It was time for action. It was time to come through for the first time in a long time. Time…to succeed.
====================
Rob, the time is ticking away. Not the time to your demise because I’m not going to go out and promise that. The time for me to make an impact; the time for me to show that I’m more than talk; that’s the time ticking away.
For weeks on end I went out and I told the world how good I am, only to come up a little short when the moments mattered most. I had shot after shot after shot to become champion around here and each time I let everyone down. I had a shot to be Heavyweight Champion, what was the result?
Failure.
I had my chance to then become the face of this company. I had a chance to become Imperial Champion and you know what I did with that opportunity?
I squandered it.
Then there was last month at Extreme Endurance, and I was on the verge again of doing something nobody else in this company has done, beat Ryan Blade for the Man of Steel Title…result?
Failure.
Then there was last week when I took on the current face of the company. I took on the God of Xtreme and I took him to limits he may never see again. I proved that I could hang in there when the going got tough. However, what was the final outcome?
FAILURE!
I can’t handle it anymore Rob. I can’t look people in the eye right now because all I see is glares of disgust. Daggers of failure that with each hit cut deeper and deeper into my being. The next one could be the one that finally ends it all. That dagger is in your hands Rob. You have the opportunity to kill all that I have come to be. The dagger you have is the one meant for my heart, the kill-shot if you will.
This is the promise I give to you Rob Diamond, member of InFamous, Tag Team Champion, I guarantee you that I will be bringing my best efforts forward Monday night. I will bring every trick and skill that I have ever learned to Sacrifice, and I will use each and every one of them in an attempt to score a redeeming win over you.
Monday, I look to avenge a loss to you from the past.
Monday, I look to vindicate for the first time in a while the words I speak.
Monday, I prove to the world that I don’t just spout off at the mouth then showoff in the ring no matter the result.
On Sacrifice I plan on taking that dagger in your hand aimed at my heart, turning it on you, and stabbing you right in the gut with it.
You want to win Rob.
I must win.
I’ll see you on Monday night, with my best.
I was SO DAMN CLOSE!
You see? Admitting that right there just gave me that taste in my mouth. It resembles the taste of puking a little but not actually projecting said vomit. You know what I’m talking about.
Once more I was oh so close to winning a match against a high profile opponent and again I failed. I took Spike Kane to his limit and yet still, he overcame all I had to throw at him, hit me with a Thunderstruck and went about winning the match as he said he was going to do.
Now I can sit here and I can tell you that it was an injury, or that I wasn’t focused due to some personal issues going on at the moment, but I don’t want to do that. I don’t have the need, the desire, to make excuses because that’s not what the bests do. That’s not what I do. For months on end I sat in the same position I’m currently in. I had the talent, I showed the talent in the center of that God damn ring but there was something missing. There was something that stopped me from going all out and taking the prize, seizing the brass ring, snatching and then abusing the opportunity presented to me by the booking committee, and to be as honest as I possibly can be…IT PISSES ME OFF!
So what’s a guy to do? What’s someone in my position supposed to do to rectify all of this wrong goings on in my career?
The answer is simple really. There is only one thing that can cure this angst inside me, this struggle within. It’s a one syllable, three letter word…WIN!
No longer do I sit at the side and make idle threats because apparently, I can’t pull them out of a heavyset woman’s ass let alone follow through with them. As I walk in the back looking dejected with each and every loss there’s those people who all say “It’ll be okay.” or “You’ll pull through this.” You know what?
I’M SICK OF IT!
I’m sick of the pats on the back;
I’m sick of the consolation prizes;
And above all else, I’m sick and tired of coming up short when it matters most.
Whether it’s in the ring or outside the ring in my personal life in the recent weeks, there’s been nothing I can do but fail. I lose a match; I go home and the people I care about are hurt because I can’t put them or myself in the right position to succeed and it hurts deep down inside. It eats away at every damn fiber of my being and it needs to stop, because if it doesn’t, I don’t know how much more I can take. The pain and suffering I go through inside because of the situations that I am causing, is so insurmountable that I can’t even put it in words. The lack of focus on business because of all of this personal crap is hurting my bottom line which in essence is affecting the very life I am trying to protect. I can’t do it all. I can’t make everything better with the swipe of a keystroke or a spoken word. I can’t just walk into a situation and say stop.
It’s time to take action.
====================
Title: The Talk
Location: Giant Arena, Pennsylvania
Time: Directly After My Match With Spike Kane
The music was loud and I slowly rolled out of the ring as Spike went on with his monologue after the match. The lights dimmed around the ring and focused solely on the man inside it. As they did so I pulled away from the referee who was “helping” me to the back, and both Alexis and myself headed through the curtain to the backstage area. I stepped through and got a nice little ovation for the technical skill of which I had displayed in the match with Spike and instead of standing there and acknowledging those who were applauding, I simply walked through it and ignored them, which probably didn’t sit to well, but to be honest, I didn’t care that very second. Alexis followed with a concerned look on her face as she thanked everyone for their applause and admirations. As I continued to walk forward, away from her, I put my hands on my hips and looked up at the ceiling. The rampart of thoughts soaring through the information highway in my brain were many and closely following one another, further confusing me. Alexis put a little pep in her step to catch up and stopped me by putting her hand on my shoulder.
Alexis Caffrey: It was a good match.
I was disgusted that I even allowed myself to be distracted by the outside stuff. I pulled away from the young lady which startled her as I had never really reacted in such a physically hostile manner.
Mike Laszlo: It wasn’t good. I didn’t win. I’m sick of losing.
I turned away and smacked some water bottles off the catering table in disgust.
Mike Laszlo: SON OF A BITCH!
She did her best to console me…it wasn’t working.
Alexis Caffrey: Mike, you’re in a funk. You’ll get out of it.
Mike Laszlo: No, no I won’t. As long as I allow this personal crap to get involved with the business end of things, it won’t be alright. As long as I allow all this crap going on with Raven weigh on my brain, it’s not going to be okay.
Alexis Caffrey: We’ll figure it…
Mike Laszlo: Please?
She was confused as to my one word request and what exactly it was referring to.
Alexis Caffrey: Please what babe?
Mike Laszlo: Please stop acting as if there’s nothing wrong. Stop pretending. There’s clearly something wrong and it’s evident by my win-loss record in this damn company. I’m not used to this failure, and I don’t want to get used to it.
Alexis Caffrey: We’ll figure…
Mike Laszlo: I need a little time here. Do me a favor and just leave me alone for a minute?
Alexis Caffrey: What?
I could tell that those words scared the ever-living day lights out of her. Calmly I turned toward her and took a couple steps toward her placing my hands on her shoulders as she looked up at me, scared, innocent.
Mike Laszlo: Don’t worry, I’m not dumping you. I’m not even suggesting it. I love you more than anyone ever could love another. I just need a minute alone to figure a few things out. Could you please go to the locker room and start gathering our things? I’ll meet you there in a little bit.
I could tell my words were re-assuring. Her confidence took a slight hit there for all of a minute. A little more relaxed, yet still worried; she stands on her tip-toes and plants a kiss on my cheek.
Alexis Caffrey: Alright. Don’t over think it babe. Whatever you do…don’t regret it.
Mike Laszlo: I’ll be fine. I just need some time to clear my head.
Alexis Caffrey: Okay, I’ll see you in a little bit. I love you.
Mike Laszlo: I love you too.
She grabbed my hand and held on it til she could no longer and slowly let go as she headed down the hallway. I meanwhile turned in the opposite direction and grabbed one of the water bottles I had knocked from the table and untwisted the cap. I took a quick swig before pouring the cold refreshing liquid over top of my head allowing its contents to flow down my face before shaking my head from side to side. Throwing the bottle to the side I rub the excess water from my face and lean over on one of the production trunks lining the hall.
Mike Laszlo: I can’t believe I let that happen. Never in my life, even when my wife died, did I let my personal life ever affect my business in that ring. I can’t let this go on or I’ll never win another match again. For weeks now this weight has been on top of me. For almost a month now I’ve been trying to make things all better only to make them worse. I can’t go on living like this or things are going to end up a lot worse than they already are. But how; how can I fix this?
With a sigh I push myself off the crate and walk around a second before seemingly to the camera, coming up with an idea. This idea is not divulged though as I walk through the corridor back to my locker room.
====================
Actions speak louder than words.
At least that’s what everyone says right?
So I could stand here and tell Rob Diamond that he’s carried by Spike Kane in their Tag Team. I could say that he’s simply the loudmouth of the group who runs his mouth too much. I could say all of that, but I would be lying. I would be making these things up to make him look like an idiot, to embarrass him. That’s not what this week is about. Really, it wouldn’t matter who is standing across the ring from me because the mission is now and will always remain the same…win.
This week is a vindication of sorts for me. It’s a chance for me to erase some demons in my past. It’s an opportunity for me to move on from the slump that I’ve been entrenched in since day one here in the IWF.
If not for the history that this federation was divulged from, I would have no real legacy. If this was a fresh start, as everyone said, then quickly ignored, I would be a nobody.
That’s not what I am and that isn’t what I set out to be.
So this week, though it wouldn’t matter the opponent, the name across from me on the card in itself does matter. It’s Rob FREAKIN Diamond. It’s the other half of InFamous, a team that as a unit has run roughshod over the Tag Team Division. Together the two are one of the most formidable teams in the history of professional wrestling. If you don’t believe me…just ask them.
As individuals though, they’re completely beatable. I almost proved it last week and this week I plan on going out there and for the first time in a while, proving that the words I speak are indeed true. I want this match. More importantly, I want to win this match so bad that I can taste it.
I walked out there last week and I told the world I was going to win and then I failed. That failure weighs on me like a meteor dropped from space. I feel like I let everyone down. I lost and immediately I thought of how my girlfriend had to watch it firsthand. I looked out to the crowd as the lights dimmed and I saw the look in the eyes of some of the people who watched me walk away and do you know what those eyes felt like as they cast their gaze upon me? Laser beams projecting utter let down and failure.
I don’t want that feeling. I don’t want my girlfriend to experience that feeling again. I don’t want those gazes of doubt cast upon me again. I don’t want to stand in front of the world and apologize. I want the opposite.
I want the cheers.
I want admiration.
I want respect.
There’s only one way to get each and every one of those things, and that’s to walk down to that ring, kick the crap out of Rob Diamond, beat him, and walk out of this Monday’s Sacrifice with a victory. I want to walk through the curtain Monday and not ignore those who praise me. To ignore them may have seemed cold at the time, but I guarantee you that if what was on my mind went through any of theirs, they would have done the same.
It’s time to be the Mike Laszlo who was the Rising Star. It’s time to fulfill the promise I displayed for the scouts. It’s time to make their words mean something. The time is now and I don’t have it to waste.
Rob, this Monday, I become infamous in my own right.
====================
Title: The Walk
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Time: 9:05 PM Eastern Time
It was a dark, rainy night and yet here I was getting ready to go outside when Alexis noticed me out of the corner of her eye.
Alexis Caffrey: Where are you going?
Mike Laszlo: Recon.
Alexis Caffrey: Recon? For what?
Mike Laszlo: I need to do something that puts my mind at ease. I can’t let this situation linger while I’m trying to have a match.
Alexis Caffrey: Well, I know I can’t talk you out of this…I’ve tried. Will you just be careful?
Mike Laszlo: Promise.
I opened the door and rushed to a navy blue Chevy Malibu sitting in my driveway where my Corvette use to be parked. It was my loaner from the Chevy dealership until my Corvette was restored to its original working condition after the incident two weeks ago. It was no matter though as this car worked out better for the situation at hand. I mean, come on, who would expect a black Corvette to be sitting outside some guys house down in the ghetto? This was much more believable, and it’s what I went with.
Dodging the rain drops I hopped in the car and headed off to an address I had obtained from a friend in law enforcement who owed me a favor. Gotta love those favors, right? As I headed toward the city from my house in the suburbs I couldn’t help but thing of the possible outcomes to this scenario.
Mike Laszlo: Well, this could end a few different ways. Some of them could be more sudden, others taking more time and putting more people I care about in danger. He could not be there, and I could find what I’m looking for. He could come back as I’m there and catch me in the act, and then anything goes. Whatever happens I need to be very careful. I gotta make sure that everything is put back in the exact place I got it from. If not, and he finds out I was there…this may not end so well for those I care about. This is make or break. It’s game time. Can’t choke…WON’T CHOKE!
Random thoughts popped through my head. Raven showing up at the restaurant, Alexis overreacting, losing match after match, Raven and Reynolds being shipped off to the hospital in the ambulance, my beat up car in the parking garage of Quicken Loans Arena; all of those went by one after another after another. Normally they would cause doubt in a man in my situation but instead, it did the exact opposite. It fueled me; motivated me to make sure this was done and done right. As I got into the Cleveland city limits, I pulled to the side of the road on a side street and plugged the address into my GPS system. Following the spoken directions I was able to find the house rather quickly. It wasn’t in the heart of Cleveland as first expected, but rather on the outskirts of the city, making it less detectable and less likely to be noticed by authorities. I pulled across the street from the apartment building and looked for the door, apartment numbers clearly marked above each door. I found the door I was looking for and noticed that there wasn’t a single light on outside or inside that could be noticed. Slowly, I pulled down the glove compartment door and grabbed a set of leather gloves, slowly sliding each on my hands as I watched for any suspicious activity. Heading up to the floor I peered around the corner and couldn’t see a single light on in the apartment.
I snuck up to the door and used knowledge gained as a teenager to pick the lock. I wasn’t always the clean cut by the rules guy that I am today…yes that was sarcasm.
Picking the lock I opened the door and got in. Quickly I cased the place out and saw that there was a back window that led to a fire escape. I had found my out in case of emergency. I quickly scoured through all the things on the desk and found a file with some photos of Raven meeting me at the restaurant. This guy really wanted her bad to be following her around now for the last few days. The last photo was of her sleeping in the hospital bed. Seeing that photo made my blood boil. I set the pictures back in the file as they were and placed it on the exact spot I had picked them up from on the desk. Then I saw a book, a ledger of sort. As I went through and flipped the pages, I had seen that he had logged every bit of information he could on her whereabouts and the scenario in which he could grab her. He was planning something and I had to find out what. I went to flip through the pages some more, but I heard footsteps coming from the walkway outside. Quickly I flipped the book closed and left for the back room. I opened the window and crawled out onto the fire escape, quickly pulling the window down as the front door had opened, ducking out of view. I listened as two men walked into the backroom.
Brian Sane: Tomorrow night. That’s when we get her.
If I had heard anymore, I may have crashed through the window and tore his face off. I thought better of it and slowly crept down the fire escape and headed to my car. I drove off back to my house. I had to get this guy, and now he had given up a time and place. It was perfect. Now I needed to come through when it mattered most. It was time for action. It was time to come through for the first time in a long time. Time…to succeed.
====================
Rob, the time is ticking away. Not the time to your demise because I’m not going to go out and promise that. The time for me to make an impact; the time for me to show that I’m more than talk; that’s the time ticking away.
For weeks on end I went out and I told the world how good I am, only to come up a little short when the moments mattered most. I had shot after shot after shot to become champion around here and each time I let everyone down. I had a shot to be Heavyweight Champion, what was the result?
Failure.
I had my chance to then become the face of this company. I had a chance to become Imperial Champion and you know what I did with that opportunity?
I squandered it.
Then there was last month at Extreme Endurance, and I was on the verge again of doing something nobody else in this company has done, beat Ryan Blade for the Man of Steel Title…result?
Failure.
Then there was last week when I took on the current face of the company. I took on the God of Xtreme and I took him to limits he may never see again. I proved that I could hang in there when the going got tough. However, what was the final outcome?
FAILURE!
I can’t handle it anymore Rob. I can’t look people in the eye right now because all I see is glares of disgust. Daggers of failure that with each hit cut deeper and deeper into my being. The next one could be the one that finally ends it all. That dagger is in your hands Rob. You have the opportunity to kill all that I have come to be. The dagger you have is the one meant for my heart, the kill-shot if you will.
This is the promise I give to you Rob Diamond, member of InFamous, Tag Team Champion, I guarantee you that I will be bringing my best efforts forward Monday night. I will bring every trick and skill that I have ever learned to Sacrifice, and I will use each and every one of them in an attempt to score a redeeming win over you.
Monday, I look to avenge a loss to you from the past.
Monday, I look to vindicate for the first time in a while the words I speak.
Monday, I prove to the world that I don’t just spout off at the mouth then showoff in the ring no matter the result.
On Sacrifice I plan on taking that dagger in your hand aimed at my heart, turning it on you, and stabbing you right in the gut with it.
You want to win Rob.
I must win.
I’ll see you on Monday night, with my best.
Well howdy there pardner.