Post by kaster on Aug 19, 2024 4:41:25 GMT
The television springs to life with static. As the image becomes more clear, it shows a replay of last week’s Sacrifice. Allen Chaney and Caleb Cannin come face-to-face in the ring… but the match is thrown out due to Roberto Verona and the returning Jason Hathaway.
The screen shows the handshake between J-TV and Verona, giving Cannin the opportunity to attack Chaney. He pushes the victim right into the hands of Hathaway, who promptly delivers a brutal Famemaker.
A pan away from the still image of J-TV kneeing Chaney in the face reveals Caleb Cannin, sitting in a folding chair. He wields a remote and waves it at the screen. His eyes dart over to his right, gesturing to something out of the shot.
The camera pans out slowly to reveal J-TV sitting in a chair next to Cannin, a bucket of popcorn nestled in his lap, and the image on the monitor reflecting off of his sunglasses. Jason looks over, swallowing down a mouthful of popcorn and gesturing towards the screen.
J-TV sets the popcorn bucket down in front of him and pulls a second remote from his jacket, twice as big with a comically long antenna sticking out of it. He points it at the monitor and changes the channel. After a quick bit of static, an snippet of last week’s Sacrifice episode plays, with TDH winning over Billie Parris and Phillip Deforrest.
Caleb chuckles at J-TV’s comment before taking a handful of popcorn out of his bucket. He munches on the popcorn as he readies up his thoughts on their opponents.
Jason pauses the video and skips frame-by-frame until it’s a still image of Nate Harris. He practically seethes as he takes a handful of popcorn and tosses it as the screen.
A soft buzzing sound is heard, and Jason reaches into his pocket for his phone. The light of his screen glows on his face for a minute as he appears to read a text. Whatever it says gives him one hell of a grin.
There’s a brief pause, as Jason puts his phone down and looks over at Cannin.
A raise of the eyebrow and a rubbing of the chin indicates that Caleb is in deep thought about this one.
Taking control of the TV with his own remote, Caleb changes the channel back to the beatdown of Chaney. He fast-forwards slightly until the screen lands on the image of Verona raising the hands of this newly formed team.
His hand grips the remote tightly.
Taking a single piece of popcorn, he flicks it up into the air and lets it land into his open mouth. He chews on it as he gives that maniacal smirk.
For the briefest of moments, Jason looks less than pleased at Caleb. His smile settles into a flat expression as he watches Cannin munch away at his popcorn. Closing his eyes and clearing his throat, he graciously chooses to ignore the half-compliment and looks forward at the image of Verona raising their hands up.
J-TV shrugs, the snarky grin returning to his lips as he reaches forward with his remote and zooms in on Allen Chaney with his head half buried in the ring mat. Beautiful, a work of fine art. His new phone wallpaper, maybe.
Jason cups his hand next to his mouth, as though telling a secret.
Cackling, Jason uncrosses his legs and leans forward with a grin.
That prompts a good chuckle out of Cannin. He politely claps, supporting his tag partner’s trash talk.
Caleb pats Jason on the shoulder and points back and forth between the two of them.
Jason smirks, dramatically waving a hand in the air as he gestures out into the room around them.
Cannin responds with his own smirk.
“Wait… here comes the good part.”
The screen shows the handshake between J-TV and Verona, giving Cannin the opportunity to attack Chaney. He pushes the victim right into the hands of Hathaway, who promptly delivers a brutal Famemaker.
“Pause. Boom.”
A pan away from the still image of J-TV kneeing Chaney in the face reveals Caleb Cannin, sitting in a folding chair. He wields a remote and waves it at the screen. His eyes dart over to his right, gesturing to something out of the shot.
“Do you see that? That’s what we can do when we’re given the chance to… express ourselves.”
The camera pans out slowly to reveal J-TV sitting in a chair next to Cannin, a bucket of popcorn nestled in his lap, and the image on the monitor reflecting off of his sunglasses. Jason looks over, swallowing down a mouthful of popcorn and gesturing towards the screen.
“Stellar performance by us, really. I mean, do you know how tough it is to carry somebody like Allen Chaney to something even remotely entertaining? The only thing funny about ‘The Comedian’ is how he manages to shoehorn his way onto every show when guys like us have more charisma in our pinky toes.”
J-TV sets the popcorn bucket down in front of him and pulls a second remote from his jacket, twice as big with a comically long antenna sticking out of it. He points it at the monitor and changes the channel. After a quick bit of static, an snippet of last week’s Sacrifice episode plays, with TDH winning over Billie Parris and Phillip Deforrest.
“And then there’s these two numpties. I almost feel bad for them.”
“Feel bad? Please. If anything, we’re doing them a favor. They get to have the most significant TV time they’ve ever gotten and we get to beat down on a pair of absolute buffoons. Aren’t these guys supposed to be stuck on Coliseum? They should be grateful they get to step into the ring with two bonafide stars.”
Jason pauses the video and skips frame-by-frame until it’s a still image of Nate Harris. He practically seethes as he takes a handful of popcorn and tosses it as the screen.
“Why’d they have to lose to him, too? God, that belt looks awful on him. At least carry yourself with a little bit of class if you’re gonna pretend to be something you aren’t.”
“You know, Caleb, We musta pissed quite a few people off last week. Verona is hiring a limo for us, with full security detail. It’s funny, you’d think people who fanboy over somebody calling himself a comedian would appreciate the humor of some big dumb sack of oats falling face first on the mat. That’s classic slapstick.”
There’s a brief pause, as Jason puts his phone down and looks over at Cannin.
“Have you ever actually seen the dude laugh?”
A raise of the eyebrow and a rubbing of the chin indicates that Caleb is in deep thought about this one.
“You know what, J? I don’t think I have. He just seems to be a sad, bitter man every time I hear him talk. The day I find him funny is that day you might have to throw me in a mental institution. As for the limos… just another perk for, well, guys like us. Do you think Allen Chaney has ever been in a limo? Hell, he probably hasn’t been in a car made in the past two decades! And I know for sure that those two douchebags that we call opponents haven’t even sniffed the seat of a limousine.”
“That. That is what this place needs. It needs us. Our talent, our charisma, our starpower. When this company has guys like Nate Harris running around as champion or even-”
His hand grips the remote tightly.
“-Warren Kidd as the crown jewel of the federation, I worry. These are guys who don’t have the effect that we do. When we show up to arenas, they sell out. When we are on a card, we are the highlight. When we team up like we did last week… it’s talked about endlessly.”
“I know we’re familiar with each other’s work. You know, I’ve been tuning into J-TV since the beginning! And I thought nobody could actually get to the heights I reached as Television Champion… but you had a great shot at it!”
For the briefest of moments, Jason looks less than pleased at Caleb. His smile settles into a flat expression as he watches Cannin munch away at his popcorn. Closing his eyes and clearing his throat, he graciously chooses to ignore the half-compliment and looks forward at the image of Verona raising their hands up.
“Nate’s only a champion because I lost focus. I proved when I put Madjinn down for the three that I can beat anybody on the damned roster on any given week. So let me break it down for the kids at home, yeah? You got J-TV, the most explosive rookie that ever stepped foot in an IWF ring. You got Caleb Cannin, knocking down pins like a pro-bowler with his namesake for an arm.”
J-TV shrugs, the snarky grin returning to his lips as he reaches forward with his remote and zooms in on Allen Chaney with his head half buried in the ring mat. Beautiful, a work of fine art. His new phone wallpaper, maybe.
“I punch those numbers into a calculator and I get the worst thing that’s ever happened to anybody who wants to get in our way. This week, that’s Billie n’ Phillie from the rent-a-jabroni down the road. If that albino Shrek lookin’ moron Allen wants to try and step up next, I hope he brings somebody who can carry his considerable dead weight.”
Jason cups his hand next to his mouth, as though telling a secret.
“I don’t recommend Serenity Holmes. She’s a lousy tag-partner, take it from me.”
“And if he wants a taste of the good life? Wants to know what it feels like to get what he wants without getting royally fucked by life? He can try and get a contact high while we’re stomping him the hell out.”
That prompts a good chuckle out of Cannin. He politely claps, supporting his tag partner’s trash talk.
“Very good, J. And it’s all on point. Sometimes, I don’t even think Chaney is mad that there’s so-called injustice around here. I think he’s jealous. He’s jealous because he doesn’t have the talent that we have. He could never have the support of Roberto Verona because he would crumble instantly. But with us? We shine. We are unstoppable You know why? Because you’re taking two of the very best. Not some performance center pansies like Bill and Phil. You’re talking about the throwback, the undisputed king of TV, Jason Hathaway! Combine that with myself, the Legionary, the Future, Caleb Cannin and you have one of the best teams to ever grace this business. Because we have that X-factor that no other team has. We have what I would like to call a modern day influence. Cameras, phones and spotlights all gravitate towards us. We pop up on a screen and thousands of eyes are glued to that screen. We are living the life that people could only dream of. Some people want to be us, others want to beat us. Either way, you just can’t reach our type of success.”
Caleb pats Jason on the shoulder and points back and forth between the two of them.
“We are aligned with Verona for a reason. We’re the golden boys, man. I can feel it. Do you feel it?”
Jason smirks, dramatically waving a hand in the air as he gestures out into the room around them.
“I’ll tell you what I feel, Caleb; I feel the waves. And this time, it’s going to be more than just the Television– Gladiator whatever title. The entire IWF is going to catch these waves. And it’s never gonna be the same after we’ve had our way with it.”
Cannin responds with his own smirk.
"And that's the influence, baby. Catch the wave... and see the vision."
Both men turn to look at the camera with confident, smug grins. They take their remotes and hit the power button, causing the camera to cut right into pure static.
Well howdy there pardner.