You Can't MODify A Dissenter

[Gregor Winter]

Gregor Winter sits on the balcony of his office overlooking of the rows of oil palms the make the MOD Compound. The big man is dressed in a pair of black shorts and a gray t-shirt still showing sweat stains from his morning of training. A pitcher of ice water and a copy of The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud sits on the ratan table at his side. He pulls his sunglasses off of his face and tosses them on the table before turning towards the camera and speaking.

Since returning to IWF my goal has been to MODify my opponents, and make them realize that there is a better way of doing things. That is easy to do when you are facing a man like John Blade who has so much potential, but he also has far too many faults to ever realize it on his own. I sincerely tried to help him see the errors of his ways, but sadly I failed and he continues to be the laughingstock of professional wrestling.

Winter takes a sip from his water.

The Ministry teaches that there is nothing more important than learned from ones failures. What I learned from my failure to MODify John Blade that sometimes trying to MODify someone is a fools errand. That I need to do a better job of picking exactly who would make a good member of MOD, and someone that will always be a dissenter.

When I look at my opponent this week I see a man that is the perfect example of a dissenter. He has been successful in his career and will never open himself up for any kind of MODification, even if it would help him reach an even higher level in his career. I know that he longs to be IWF World Champion, and we could help him reach that goal, but sadly he will never allow us to give him the aid that he needs to beat a man like Angel Blake.

Making Matt Knox a member of the MOD is not purely altruistic I must admit. You must understand that we are an organization of give and take. Every single member brings something to the table that will help MODify other members. The years of experience that Matt Knox has in combat sports would help to elevate so many of our members. I’m not ashamed to admit that having him here on the compound would even benefit me as I try to obtain my goal of once again becoming IWF World Television Champion.

Gregor shakes his head.

The more that I think about the possibilities the more that my heart breaks. Imagine a world where the MOD controls every single championship in IWF. I can close my eyes and see Matt Knox with the World Championship around his waist with me standing at his side wearing the Television Champion. I see the Tag Team Championships draped over our shoulders, and a very special woman with us draped in gold. It’s a beautiful dream, but when I open my eyes I’m forced to face reality.

The reality is that Matt Knox is the kind of man that is so hung up on what he has done in the past that he’s unwilling to think about the future. When he returned to IWF a few weeks ago he didn’t talk about what his plans are now that he’s returned, no he just talked shit about the men from his past. He is a dissenter because he refuses to be MODified by the MOD, or anyone else, because he’s unable to see that the world is changing. He was retired for a little over one hundred days and he returned to an IWF that is a totally different place. Men that were glorified jobbers when he left have elevated themselves into title contention, and brand new talent has entered the mix. Caleb Cannin hadn’t even signed with IWF when you left, and now he’s the goddamned Television Champion.

“The Modern Day Viking” lets out a long sigh.

I know this is a waste of my time, because I know Matt Knox is a dissenter, but here is my sales pitch. Matt you are not in need of a total MODification like John Blade, because you are one hell of a professional wrestler. I would go as far as saying that you are one of the few men in this company that I see as being my equal, but that doesn’t mean that you are above the need for MODification. No, it just means that you are close for fulfilling all of your dreams.

Gregor holds up his hand with his thumb and pointer finger less than an inch apart.

The first thing that you need to do Matt is forget about the past and focus on the now. What happened six months, a year, or even two years ago no longer matters. You are never going to be able to reach a higher level unless you unload all of that baggage, and that doesn’t mean going around trying to beat up everyone that has ever pissed you off. I would highly recommend that you find a good therapist and do some serious work on yourself.

If you are truly going to be the most successful version of you, you really need to stop looking at the map and watch where you’re walking. Yes it is always good to have goals, but not if you are so laser focused on them that you lose track of what’s happening around you. Right now you’re allowing Nick Knight to rent space inside of your head for free, and that is really holding you back. If you don’t believe me, rewatch that match with JC and see exactly how lucky you were that Angel and Wraith struck when they did because you’re ass was about to tap out.

Which brings me to my next piece of advice, check your ego at the door. I’ve heard that you’ve been going around saying that anyone else that steps inside of the ring with you will not be as lucky as JC. We all know that is total bullshit because Keeton had you dead to rights in the center of the ring, and you were the one that truly got lucky. I don’t know, maybe that lit a fire under your ass but all the bragging is really not a good look.

Now the thing about MODification is that you have to replace all of the bad habits with good. The program is all about self discovery and self improvement, not just giving up bad habits. The journey that you must walk, Matt begins with you learning to focus on the here and now.

The big man slams the rest of his water and pours himself another glass from the pitcher.

I know that it can be hard to only live in the present, the human brain is built to always dream of something bigger. You need to fight that instinct though, because I promise you that you will get hurt if you don’t, and I really don’t want to hurt you Matt. I honestly consider you to be my equal, which is not something that I can say about too many people in IWF. I respect you as a family man, and the last thing I want to do is take away your ability to put food on your table; but if you do not show me the respect that I deserve I will cripple you without a second thought.

I’m sorry if I sound cold and callous, but for six years of my life I lived every single day in a kill of be killed world. Since I founded the MOD I have worked hard to MODify my thinking, but the teachings of the Corps are embedded deep into me. That is why I beg of you Matt, please forget everything else when you are inside of that ring with me. I really don’t want to have to beg your children for forgiveness when I snap their daddy’s neck in half just because he was too busy thinking about Nick Knight.

Gregor runs his hands over his well groomed hair.

Matt, I know that you will never fit in as a part of MOD, but I think that you have it in you to reach for a higher level. One thing that the past few months has shown me is that you can teach an old dog new tricks if they’ll just open their minds. I guarantee you that Friday night is going to be an experience unlike any you’ve ever had in the past. The only question is, will it be one that moves you one step closer to your goal of becoming IWF World Champion, or will it be one that sends you one step closer to the end of your career.

The scene fades to black