Post by kaster on Jan 1, 2024 5:56:07 GMT
The camera weaves through a sea of people inside the nightclub. Most of them are dancing to some techno-rave song, while others stay to the side and drink the night away. It’s almost the new year and everyone wants to celebrate! Strobe lights frantically zoom around the club, washing the entire room in shades of blue and purple. The shot travels across the dance floor until it arrives at the VIP area. A muscly bouncer steps aside, allowing further access. Once inside the special room, the camera finally settles on Charlie Van Ruth and Tyson Everest. The duo are busy enjoying some drinks at the table. As they laugh together, Tyson is the first to notice the camera. He snaps at Charlie to grab his attention before pointing towards the camera. Charlie quickly nods his head and motions for Everest to exit the frame. Once he’s by himself, Van Ruth raises a glass in celebration.
“2024 is going to be my year.”
Off-camera, Tyson pipes up.
“Our year.”
“Our year, our year, yeah…”
“Aight, I’m gonna hit the dance floor. See you in a bit?”
“If you aren’t passed out by then, sure.”
“Man, get outta here with that…”
Charlie waves good-bye to his partner before looking back at the camera.
“So I guess we’re here to talk about Odyssey, right? First show of the new year! Listen, I’m not going to try and talk for half an hour. I’m a little drunk, I’m having fun, I don’t want to ramble on and on like some of these guys normally do. Nick Danger? I respect the hell out of the guy, but he’s too bullheaded for his own good. Former TV champ, third generation star, mentored by the legendary James Gilmore, the man has all of that going for him. And yet… he can never seem to get the job done, can he?”
He takes a sip out of his drink, hesitates and then immediately downs the rest of the glass.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat the shit we already know. Nick has the potential to be one of the very best in the company. Everyone knows this. You don’t get as far as he does without having at least some talent. Problem is, he just can’t get past that glass ceiling. I want him to succeed, but he won’t get the chance against me. We took that loss at Survival of the Fittest. Total bullshit, man. We had it in the bag, right? That fucking… enough about that. It’s in the past and I shouldn’t be bitter about it. I am, but that’s not what we’re here for. That’s not Nick’s fault. But all those hard feelings are about to be his problem on Tuesday. I hope he knows that, because this is not a walk in the park for him. He’ll fight with every bit of fire he’s got and I’ll be ready to fight back twice as hard. I used to think that I couldn’t hold my own against guys like Nick Danger, at least not one-on-one. I threw away those fears a long time ago. Tyson has already been on a roll. He beat Terrella and HIJOU pretty convincingly. It’s my turn now.”
The alcohol seems to hit Van Ruth in a hurry. He takes a moment to catch his breath.
“Sometimes I think, Nick, about why guys like you get all these chances. But I don’t think you’ve been given them. You made those chances yourself. I can respect that. I need to start making my own chances too. I hear Odyssey is the place to be… Nick Knight is the man to beat. Having that Invictus title… or the TV title… the tag titles are supposed to be where we’re headed, but damn if the champs are ever going to defend them against us. Terrella and the Widow have seemingly split apart. Are we doing something wrong here? I don’t know. It’s not anything personal against you, Nick. In fact, I’d be lying if I wasn’t more angry with myself than anyone else. All that time away… it has to pay off for us, right? We can’t afford to lose any more momentum. Not until we finally get what we want. My shoulder, Tyson’s knee, that wasn’t all for everyone to forget about. This place has eaten me up, Nick. I could sit here and drink to forget about the problems, but they won’t go away unless I do something about it. I could call up my parents, get a giant loan and be filthy fucking rich. That isn’t going to help me get all that time in the hospital back. It isn’t going to help me wipe those smug smirks off the faces of our prick champions. It can’t help me kick your ass any better. I have to rely on myself in order to get it done. That’s been the case for a lot of my life. You’ve had to rely on yourself, too. I will take you to your limit in San Jose. Not because you deserve it, but I need to start this year off hot. If we’re going to fight for the tag team championships one day, I have to prove that I can be on that level. You have shown people that you are capable of being there, Nick. But me? I don’t think everyone is sure. Let me remind you, though. Three letters. One for each second that you’ll be on your back. Don’t underestimate me, Danger, or you’re going to fall short of the mark once again. You are looking at a new year and a new C…V…R. Cheers to a good match, Nick.”
As he pours himself another drink, somebody steps into frame. The person wears a blistering white fur coat. His hair is bundled up into dreadlocks that sway back and forth as he moves in.
“Charlie Van Ruth? Ohhh shit! What’s up, bro?”
“Hey, uh… do I know you?”
“Nah, you probably haven’t heard of me yet. I see you all over social media though! You and your boy are a thousand percent crazy! Mind if I get a pic?”
The man pulls out his phone, which has a bejeweled case. He quickly snaps a selfie, posing alongside the confused Van Ruth.
“How did you get in here? Who are you?”
“That’s goin’ to be fire… oh! My bad, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Cash. I’ve been wrestlin’ in the California indie circuit. You should stop by when you got the time. I heard y’all been looking to sign some free agents next year. You want my number?”
“I- I’m not the guy who can get you a contract. I’m just trying to enjoy myself, man. This isn’t a place for you to come in and promote yourself.”
Cash nods, though there is a tad bit of frustration on his face. He shrugs it off and smiles at Charlie.
“I got you, bro! You wanna enjoy the new year. In fact, here’s something so that I didn’t waste your time.”
He pulls out a hefty wad of dollar bills. Van Ruth widens his eyes at Cash’s cash, only to be more shocked when a cut is handed right to him.
“If you’re ever back around Cali, lemme know! I’ll get you front-row seats to see me do my thing. Or just let the money talk. Whatever you wanna do. See you later, Charlie V!”
As Cash exits the room, Van Ruth simply stares at the wad of bills he’s been handed. It was a strange interaction, yet Charlie cannot shake the undeniable charm of Cash. There was something alluring about him, a swagger which he could not truly identify. He takes a closer look at one of the bills. His family had a few bad runs with counterfeits. This might be one of those bad runs. Instead, though, he finds a phone number scrawled in pen. It’s not just money… it’s a business card.
“What do we have here, huh?”
Charlie perks up to find Tyson, walking back in after his dance session. He’s breathing heavy, but his focus remains on Van Ruth and the money.
“Some guy came in. Called himself Cash. He gave me a bunch of, well, cash. He tried to promote himself and then… left.”
“Huh, musta been some weird influencer or something. I mean, we got a camera right there. He probably saw it come in. Dude thinks it’s free publicity.”
“Who knows? You want to get more drinks?”
“Hell yeah! I like how you're thinkin', Charles. Let’s go hit the bar up.”
The two get up and exit the room, though the camera does catch Van Ruth pocketing one of the bills before it cuts out altogether.
“2024 is going to be my year.”
Off-camera, Tyson pipes up.
“Our year.”
“Our year, our year, yeah…”
“Aight, I’m gonna hit the dance floor. See you in a bit?”
“If you aren’t passed out by then, sure.”
“Man, get outta here with that…”
Charlie waves good-bye to his partner before looking back at the camera.
“So I guess we’re here to talk about Odyssey, right? First show of the new year! Listen, I’m not going to try and talk for half an hour. I’m a little drunk, I’m having fun, I don’t want to ramble on and on like some of these guys normally do. Nick Danger? I respect the hell out of the guy, but he’s too bullheaded for his own good. Former TV champ, third generation star, mentored by the legendary James Gilmore, the man has all of that going for him. And yet… he can never seem to get the job done, can he?”
He takes a sip out of his drink, hesitates and then immediately downs the rest of the glass.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat the shit we already know. Nick has the potential to be one of the very best in the company. Everyone knows this. You don’t get as far as he does without having at least some talent. Problem is, he just can’t get past that glass ceiling. I want him to succeed, but he won’t get the chance against me. We took that loss at Survival of the Fittest. Total bullshit, man. We had it in the bag, right? That fucking… enough about that. It’s in the past and I shouldn’t be bitter about it. I am, but that’s not what we’re here for. That’s not Nick’s fault. But all those hard feelings are about to be his problem on Tuesday. I hope he knows that, because this is not a walk in the park for him. He’ll fight with every bit of fire he’s got and I’ll be ready to fight back twice as hard. I used to think that I couldn’t hold my own against guys like Nick Danger, at least not one-on-one. I threw away those fears a long time ago. Tyson has already been on a roll. He beat Terrella and HIJOU pretty convincingly. It’s my turn now.”
The alcohol seems to hit Van Ruth in a hurry. He takes a moment to catch his breath.
“Sometimes I think, Nick, about why guys like you get all these chances. But I don’t think you’ve been given them. You made those chances yourself. I can respect that. I need to start making my own chances too. I hear Odyssey is the place to be… Nick Knight is the man to beat. Having that Invictus title… or the TV title… the tag titles are supposed to be where we’re headed, but damn if the champs are ever going to defend them against us. Terrella and the Widow have seemingly split apart. Are we doing something wrong here? I don’t know. It’s not anything personal against you, Nick. In fact, I’d be lying if I wasn’t more angry with myself than anyone else. All that time away… it has to pay off for us, right? We can’t afford to lose any more momentum. Not until we finally get what we want. My shoulder, Tyson’s knee, that wasn’t all for everyone to forget about. This place has eaten me up, Nick. I could sit here and drink to forget about the problems, but they won’t go away unless I do something about it. I could call up my parents, get a giant loan and be filthy fucking rich. That isn’t going to help me get all that time in the hospital back. It isn’t going to help me wipe those smug smirks off the faces of our prick champions. It can’t help me kick your ass any better. I have to rely on myself in order to get it done. That’s been the case for a lot of my life. You’ve had to rely on yourself, too. I will take you to your limit in San Jose. Not because you deserve it, but I need to start this year off hot. If we’re going to fight for the tag team championships one day, I have to prove that I can be on that level. You have shown people that you are capable of being there, Nick. But me? I don’t think everyone is sure. Let me remind you, though. Three letters. One for each second that you’ll be on your back. Don’t underestimate me, Danger, or you’re going to fall short of the mark once again. You are looking at a new year and a new C…V…R. Cheers to a good match, Nick.”
As he pours himself another drink, somebody steps into frame. The person wears a blistering white fur coat. His hair is bundled up into dreadlocks that sway back and forth as he moves in.
“Charlie Van Ruth? Ohhh shit! What’s up, bro?”
“Hey, uh… do I know you?”
“Nah, you probably haven’t heard of me yet. I see you all over social media though! You and your boy are a thousand percent crazy! Mind if I get a pic?”
The man pulls out his phone, which has a bejeweled case. He quickly snaps a selfie, posing alongside the confused Van Ruth.
“How did you get in here? Who are you?”
“That’s goin’ to be fire… oh! My bad, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Cash. I’ve been wrestlin’ in the California indie circuit. You should stop by when you got the time. I heard y’all been looking to sign some free agents next year. You want my number?”
“I- I’m not the guy who can get you a contract. I’m just trying to enjoy myself, man. This isn’t a place for you to come in and promote yourself.”
Cash nods, though there is a tad bit of frustration on his face. He shrugs it off and smiles at Charlie.
“I got you, bro! You wanna enjoy the new year. In fact, here’s something so that I didn’t waste your time.”
He pulls out a hefty wad of dollar bills. Van Ruth widens his eyes at Cash’s cash, only to be more shocked when a cut is handed right to him.
“If you’re ever back around Cali, lemme know! I’ll get you front-row seats to see me do my thing. Or just let the money talk. Whatever you wanna do. See you later, Charlie V!”
As Cash exits the room, Van Ruth simply stares at the wad of bills he’s been handed. It was a strange interaction, yet Charlie cannot shake the undeniable charm of Cash. There was something alluring about him, a swagger which he could not truly identify. He takes a closer look at one of the bills. His family had a few bad runs with counterfeits. This might be one of those bad runs. Instead, though, he finds a phone number scrawled in pen. It’s not just money… it’s a business card.
“What do we have here, huh?”
Charlie perks up to find Tyson, walking back in after his dance session. He’s breathing heavy, but his focus remains on Van Ruth and the money.
“Some guy came in. Called himself Cash. He gave me a bunch of, well, cash. He tried to promote himself and then… left.”
“Huh, musta been some weird influencer or something. I mean, we got a camera right there. He probably saw it come in. Dude thinks it’s free publicity.”
“Who knows? You want to get more drinks?”
“Hell yeah! I like how you're thinkin', Charles. Let’s go hit the bar up.”
The two get up and exit the room, though the camera does catch Van Ruth pocketing one of the bills before it cuts out altogether.
Well howdy there pardner.