Post by Pax Stormcrow on Nov 19, 2024 5:36:35 GMT
The vlog opens on Pax sitting on the balcony of his hotel room. His spot has a great view of the Dallas skyline and close at hand is the American Airlines center. Pax is dressed in the ‘Seventh Generation Wrestler’s t-shirt and drinking something from a mug.
“What up Neechie’s, it’s ya boi! We out here in Dallas, baby and staring down Survival of the Fittest. They done changed up the usual format, probably cause they were scared of the potential team up of me, Una, and Nate on one side facing off against anyone else. Ya’ll know that’d end too quickly. Gotta give these folks a chance and boy do they need the chance.”
Pax chuckles and shakes his head.
“I ain’t gotta say nothing for Charlotte and Nate. They gonna kill it easy. So we just gonna dive right into my match. What a match it is, right? A Four Way scramble they callin it. Person to get the final fall wins. Honestly I’m hype. Management knows if this was something about going the distance I’d take it easy. Especially against these opponents. So they trying to set something up so someone could sneak in a win.”
Pax looks around and then smirks before leaning in.
“What’s that? Ya think I’m being too much by saying this is management’s call? Why ya think Berto inserted himself in this match? He already knows he can’t trust anyone else to handle business so he stepped up himself. And to be fair, the one time me and Verona squared up, he came out with the win. Ended up becoming the Heir to the Throne that year. Say what you want about the man, and there is plenty to say, but he can hold it down in the ring. I can say that without a doubt, he’s the biggest threat coming into this match. But how warmed up are you really Berto? You ain’t been wrestling. I’m sure you still train. You take this business seriously, I know that. I also know that you want nothing better than to step back between these ropes as a full time competitor. You want it so bad. Because like me, you live for this shit. It’s what gives you purpose. You want nothing more than to compete. Which really makes me wonder why you’ve sidelined me all these months. Because I want to fucking compete. I don’t want a fucking break. I want to be out here, week in and week out doing what I love. What you love. So please explain to me why you got me treading water.”
Pax shakes his head.
“Training is all well and good, and you can believe that I am keeping up on that. But it ain’t nothing like actually coming out here in front of the fans and doing what needs doing it. But that’s fine. I’ve asked to be booked more. I’ve sent you emails. Guess I’m just gonna have to beat it into you and show you that I am the fighting champion that you looking for. I’m sure as fuck better then any of your little bootlickers.
But really, what I want to know is why? Berto why the hell you grabbin your boot licker and coming for me? Look I’ve had issue with ya for a long time but as much of an asshole as you are, you’ve run the business fair. I even got the beef with Chaney for a bit. Mans lost, couldn’t handle it, and started messing shit up. I get it. I mean ya had your goons put me through something like 7 tables in Joker in the Pack, but I did back Chaney in that match so like, I understand why. Rude of ya though. We could have squared up ourselves. This whole Legion thing is wild. Cause Berto, I know you can handle business in the ring. You’ve proved it time and again. What’s up with the faceless mooks? Ya gettin old? Tired? I really hope not. Dallas done already had to deal with a disappointment from an old man passed his prime this month in a combat sport. But let’s get to your little fools golden boy.”
Pax laughs and runs his hand through his hair to push it back from his face.
“Hey, what up Caleb. You actually gonna be able to fucking perform or will the presence of Berto’s boot be to much for you to handle? You gonna just but your mouth on that live on pay per view? We all know why you are here. It’s cause you are Berto’s little lackey. That’s it. That’s the only reason. You ain’t earned shit. You had ample opportunity to prove that you earned this spot for something other than a bit of hawk tuah, but ya sure ain’t done that. All you’ve done is talk about how you belong here. But this business is about show, don’t tell. Not even your boss thinks that you can get the job done. You got him going ‘if ya want something done right…’ already. Can’t say that I blame him. Ya won Joker in the Pack a year and a half ago and haven’t managed to do a damn thing since. It’s a shame really.”
Pax shakes his head and lets out a heavy sigh.
“We’ve done beaten into the ground about all the wasted promise you have. About how the rules had to change cause of people like you holding onto their championship opportunities cause you are scared to actually get in the ring and fight. I know ya think ya got under my skin by trying to jump Charlotte in that match we had. Cause I guess defending my partner from getting jumped is not what I’m supposed to do? Ya cheated and so I decided to whoop your ass. That’s what that was. You step face to face with Charlotte and she’s kickin your ass any day of the week and twice on sundays. She done already beat Serenity and she’s the one pulling all the weight in your little pairing. She’d have no issue showing your ass the floor. Truth is Caleb, the only reason you're in this match is from a gift, and I hope you got yourself a gift receipt cause after Survival of the Fittest you are gonna wanna return that from the ass kicking I’m about to hand out to you.”
Pax leans back in his chair as he pushes his hair back from his face.
“Which finally brings us to Bryce De Jäger. The guy who actually had a match to earn his spot into this match. Except wait, how’d that match go? Right, right. Rob Diamond was fulfilling this feds long standing tradition of getting kidnapped by some version of the white devil and you got a count out victory. So ya, you also didn’t earn shit. Something you’re abundantly familiar with huh? Rich South African white guy. Hey Bryce, what did your family do between the years of 1948 to 1994? Emerald mines perhaps? Asking for the UN. Even your big victory ya didn’t earn. Ya just managed to survive it. Which might be worth something if it didn’t involve running like the scared little boy that you clearly are.”
He leans closer towards the camera, staring into the lens as he points two fingers at it.
“The truth is Bryce, you don’t deserve to be in the ring with me. You ain’t proved that you can hang at the top of the card. The only thing you got going for you over Caleb is that you still have some promise that you haven’t squandered and you don’t need to bulk purchase mouthwash to get the taste of fine Italian leather out of your mouth. You’re gonna talk that good shit, cause that’s what you always do. Gonna blow a whole bunch of smoke up your ass. Truth is, it’s not entirely undeserved. You are a skilled technician. Some would say a savant and they wouldn’t even be wrong to say that. But I know a thing or two about buying into your own hype. About having more skill and talent then experience in knowing how to apply it. I know how quickly and how far you can go when you fall down off that pedestal. See I was a savant once too. The next best thing. Then, like 99% of savants do when they actually have to hit the ground and do the real work? I failed. I failed a lot. But I learned my lessons. I ate that bitterness and thrived on it. I turned around and made something of myself. Something more then just hype and raw ability. And now I’m gonna teach you what you could become. Ain’t even gonna charge ya for it. Cause Bryce you are about to step into the ring with the best god damn technician this company has ever seen.”
Pax smirks at the camera before reaching under the desk to lift his championship belt up into view.
“Ya’ll bout to step into the ring with the champ and you are damn sure gonna find that out real quick once that bell rings. I know the deck is stacked against me. Got my boss in the ring with me and two little assholes and they all want nothing more than to watch me fail. I gotta defend my championship in a match where the last decision is the only one that matters. But truth is, I welcome it. I’ve demanded nothing but competition since I won this belt. To bad I got this to deal with, but it is what it is. Honestly thank god Verona did insert himself into this match cause at least that’ll give me something resembling competition. Cause Caleb and Bryce? Ya’ll have not impressed. You gonna have to step it up way harder then ya have been in hopes of taking my belt off my very well defined waist. Im hoping for the man that ain’t been close to a full time wrestler in over 2 years for hopes of having something resembling competition. Ya’ll gonna have to team up on me to have any hope of taking me out, which I am fully expecting ya to do.”
Pax rests his belt on his shoulder and gives it a few pats.
“I just feel bad for Dallas. Back to back weeks of having to watch some assholes with an overinflated sense of self worth and a former badass competitor too far removed from competition to actually put up a fight. Least they got me to liven the place up. So don’t worry Dallas. I’ll make sure to leave ya way more satisfied. Ya boi walking in and walking out as your Men’s World Champion.”
He thumps his fist into his chest and smiles at the camera as he flashes his peace sign.
“Peace Out.”
~_~
Pax closes down his laptop after posting his vlog and the links to it across his social media. He lifts his arms above his head, sighing softly as he stretches out the kinks from having been sitting for the recording session. He reached across the desk to pick up his phone to check on his notifications and to see if Una had wrapped up her training sesh. He figured maybe they could get a bite to eat, maybe check out something around town. However, as soon as he picked up his phone, the screen lit up with an incoming call. He looked at the caller id and let out a breath.
“Fuck.”
His finger tapped on the green phone icon and lifted his phone to his ear..
“Mr. Stormcrow! So wonderful to see you in such high spirits. Your video log was in it’s usual fiery form.”
“I… I just posted it.”
“Of course, of course. But we keep close tabs on our assets. But you of course know that. I wanted to call and see if you had discussed the business opportunities that we had offered to your associates. It has been some time.”
Pax stands up and runs his fingers through his hair.
“Well, no. I haven’t had a chance too. It’s been a busy time of year for us. We’ve been busy with training and stuff. Didn’t want to distract them.”
“Don’t take too long. They are splendid opportunities and we can not keep them open for very long you know. These are life changing contracts.”
“Ya I know, but…”
“We need to know that you are for the company, Mr. Stormcrow. You are ascendent right now, and we are of course pleased with your results. But if things should happen where we become less then pleased? Well, we would still need to know that you are a useful asset. We would hate if there was a repeat of last time.”
Pax felt his grip tightening on the phone and the hard plastic case that protected it creaked in protest.
“Ya ain’t gotta worry about that.”
“See that we do not. I do wish you good luck. I will not keep you any longer though. Miss Shimizu has just finished with her training after all. Take care, Mr. Stormcrow. We will be watching you. With interest.”
The line went dead and Pax found himself staring down at his phone in his hand as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
“What up Neechie’s, it’s ya boi! We out here in Dallas, baby and staring down Survival of the Fittest. They done changed up the usual format, probably cause they were scared of the potential team up of me, Una, and Nate on one side facing off against anyone else. Ya’ll know that’d end too quickly. Gotta give these folks a chance and boy do they need the chance.”
Pax chuckles and shakes his head.
“I ain’t gotta say nothing for Charlotte and Nate. They gonna kill it easy. So we just gonna dive right into my match. What a match it is, right? A Four Way scramble they callin it. Person to get the final fall wins. Honestly I’m hype. Management knows if this was something about going the distance I’d take it easy. Especially against these opponents. So they trying to set something up so someone could sneak in a win.”
Pax looks around and then smirks before leaning in.
“What’s that? Ya think I’m being too much by saying this is management’s call? Why ya think Berto inserted himself in this match? He already knows he can’t trust anyone else to handle business so he stepped up himself. And to be fair, the one time me and Verona squared up, he came out with the win. Ended up becoming the Heir to the Throne that year. Say what you want about the man, and there is plenty to say, but he can hold it down in the ring. I can say that without a doubt, he’s the biggest threat coming into this match. But how warmed up are you really Berto? You ain’t been wrestling. I’m sure you still train. You take this business seriously, I know that. I also know that you want nothing better than to step back between these ropes as a full time competitor. You want it so bad. Because like me, you live for this shit. It’s what gives you purpose. You want nothing more than to compete. Which really makes me wonder why you’ve sidelined me all these months. Because I want to fucking compete. I don’t want a fucking break. I want to be out here, week in and week out doing what I love. What you love. So please explain to me why you got me treading water.”
Pax shakes his head.
“Training is all well and good, and you can believe that I am keeping up on that. But it ain’t nothing like actually coming out here in front of the fans and doing what needs doing it. But that’s fine. I’ve asked to be booked more. I’ve sent you emails. Guess I’m just gonna have to beat it into you and show you that I am the fighting champion that you looking for. I’m sure as fuck better then any of your little bootlickers.
But really, what I want to know is why? Berto why the hell you grabbin your boot licker and coming for me? Look I’ve had issue with ya for a long time but as much of an asshole as you are, you’ve run the business fair. I even got the beef with Chaney for a bit. Mans lost, couldn’t handle it, and started messing shit up. I get it. I mean ya had your goons put me through something like 7 tables in Joker in the Pack, but I did back Chaney in that match so like, I understand why. Rude of ya though. We could have squared up ourselves. This whole Legion thing is wild. Cause Berto, I know you can handle business in the ring. You’ve proved it time and again. What’s up with the faceless mooks? Ya gettin old? Tired? I really hope not. Dallas done already had to deal with a disappointment from an old man passed his prime this month in a combat sport. But let’s get to your little fools golden boy.”
Pax laughs and runs his hand through his hair to push it back from his face.
“Hey, what up Caleb. You actually gonna be able to fucking perform or will the presence of Berto’s boot be to much for you to handle? You gonna just but your mouth on that live on pay per view? We all know why you are here. It’s cause you are Berto’s little lackey. That’s it. That’s the only reason. You ain’t earned shit. You had ample opportunity to prove that you earned this spot for something other than a bit of hawk tuah, but ya sure ain’t done that. All you’ve done is talk about how you belong here. But this business is about show, don’t tell. Not even your boss thinks that you can get the job done. You got him going ‘if ya want something done right…’ already. Can’t say that I blame him. Ya won Joker in the Pack a year and a half ago and haven’t managed to do a damn thing since. It’s a shame really.”
Pax shakes his head and lets out a heavy sigh.
“We’ve done beaten into the ground about all the wasted promise you have. About how the rules had to change cause of people like you holding onto their championship opportunities cause you are scared to actually get in the ring and fight. I know ya think ya got under my skin by trying to jump Charlotte in that match we had. Cause I guess defending my partner from getting jumped is not what I’m supposed to do? Ya cheated and so I decided to whoop your ass. That’s what that was. You step face to face with Charlotte and she’s kickin your ass any day of the week and twice on sundays. She done already beat Serenity and she’s the one pulling all the weight in your little pairing. She’d have no issue showing your ass the floor. Truth is Caleb, the only reason you're in this match is from a gift, and I hope you got yourself a gift receipt cause after Survival of the Fittest you are gonna wanna return that from the ass kicking I’m about to hand out to you.”
Pax leans back in his chair as he pushes his hair back from his face.
“Which finally brings us to Bryce De Jäger. The guy who actually had a match to earn his spot into this match. Except wait, how’d that match go? Right, right. Rob Diamond was fulfilling this feds long standing tradition of getting kidnapped by some version of the white devil and you got a count out victory. So ya, you also didn’t earn shit. Something you’re abundantly familiar with huh? Rich South African white guy. Hey Bryce, what did your family do between the years of 1948 to 1994? Emerald mines perhaps? Asking for the UN. Even your big victory ya didn’t earn. Ya just managed to survive it. Which might be worth something if it didn’t involve running like the scared little boy that you clearly are.”
He leans closer towards the camera, staring into the lens as he points two fingers at it.
“The truth is Bryce, you don’t deserve to be in the ring with me. You ain’t proved that you can hang at the top of the card. The only thing you got going for you over Caleb is that you still have some promise that you haven’t squandered and you don’t need to bulk purchase mouthwash to get the taste of fine Italian leather out of your mouth. You’re gonna talk that good shit, cause that’s what you always do. Gonna blow a whole bunch of smoke up your ass. Truth is, it’s not entirely undeserved. You are a skilled technician. Some would say a savant and they wouldn’t even be wrong to say that. But I know a thing or two about buying into your own hype. About having more skill and talent then experience in knowing how to apply it. I know how quickly and how far you can go when you fall down off that pedestal. See I was a savant once too. The next best thing. Then, like 99% of savants do when they actually have to hit the ground and do the real work? I failed. I failed a lot. But I learned my lessons. I ate that bitterness and thrived on it. I turned around and made something of myself. Something more then just hype and raw ability. And now I’m gonna teach you what you could become. Ain’t even gonna charge ya for it. Cause Bryce you are about to step into the ring with the best god damn technician this company has ever seen.”
Pax smirks at the camera before reaching under the desk to lift his championship belt up into view.
“Ya’ll bout to step into the ring with the champ and you are damn sure gonna find that out real quick once that bell rings. I know the deck is stacked against me. Got my boss in the ring with me and two little assholes and they all want nothing more than to watch me fail. I gotta defend my championship in a match where the last decision is the only one that matters. But truth is, I welcome it. I’ve demanded nothing but competition since I won this belt. To bad I got this to deal with, but it is what it is. Honestly thank god Verona did insert himself into this match cause at least that’ll give me something resembling competition. Cause Caleb and Bryce? Ya’ll have not impressed. You gonna have to step it up way harder then ya have been in hopes of taking my belt off my very well defined waist. Im hoping for the man that ain’t been close to a full time wrestler in over 2 years for hopes of having something resembling competition. Ya’ll gonna have to team up on me to have any hope of taking me out, which I am fully expecting ya to do.”
Pax rests his belt on his shoulder and gives it a few pats.
“I just feel bad for Dallas. Back to back weeks of having to watch some assholes with an overinflated sense of self worth and a former badass competitor too far removed from competition to actually put up a fight. Least they got me to liven the place up. So don’t worry Dallas. I’ll make sure to leave ya way more satisfied. Ya boi walking in and walking out as your Men’s World Champion.”
He thumps his fist into his chest and smiles at the camera as he flashes his peace sign.
“Peace Out.”
~_~
Pax closes down his laptop after posting his vlog and the links to it across his social media. He lifts his arms above his head, sighing softly as he stretches out the kinks from having been sitting for the recording session. He reached across the desk to pick up his phone to check on his notifications and to see if Una had wrapped up her training sesh. He figured maybe they could get a bite to eat, maybe check out something around town. However, as soon as he picked up his phone, the screen lit up with an incoming call. He looked at the caller id and let out a breath.
“Fuck.”
His finger tapped on the green phone icon and lifted his phone to his ear..
“Mr. Stormcrow! So wonderful to see you in such high spirits. Your video log was in it’s usual fiery form.”
“I… I just posted it.”
“Of course, of course. But we keep close tabs on our assets. But you of course know that. I wanted to call and see if you had discussed the business opportunities that we had offered to your associates. It has been some time.”
Pax stands up and runs his fingers through his hair.
“Well, no. I haven’t had a chance too. It’s been a busy time of year for us. We’ve been busy with training and stuff. Didn’t want to distract them.”
“Don’t take too long. They are splendid opportunities and we can not keep them open for very long you know. These are life changing contracts.”
“Ya I know, but…”
“We need to know that you are for the company, Mr. Stormcrow. You are ascendent right now, and we are of course pleased with your results. But if things should happen where we become less then pleased? Well, we would still need to know that you are a useful asset. We would hate if there was a repeat of last time.”
Pax felt his grip tightening on the phone and the hard plastic case that protected it creaked in protest.
“Ya ain’t gotta worry about that.”
“See that we do not. I do wish you good luck. I will not keep you any longer though. Miss Shimizu has just finished with her training after all. Take care, Mr. Stormcrow. We will be watching you. With interest.”
The line went dead and Pax found himself staring down at his phone in his hand as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Well howdy there pardner.