Post by Mike Laszlo on Mar 20, 2014 17:31:17 GMT
Most people don’t get the opportunity that presents itself in front of me at this very moment in time. Let’s look at the options shall we?
Option A is pretty cut and dry. Win the Imperial Championship in a Ladder Match.
Option B is definitely, “the hard way” as most people like to put it. In this scenario I would not become the Imperial Champion, on my very own birthday nonetheless, and I would then effectively be placed in the Roulette match.
Let’s talk about this Roulette Match shall we? Two men start, and every two minutes, another participant enters until all thirty have entered the ring. Elimination occurs when a competitor is thrown over the top rope with both and I repeat BOTH feet hitting the floor.
One in thirty is the chances to win. That equates to about a three percent chance of coming out of this thing as the victor, the man with his hand raised high and a trip to the main event of our grandioso Pay Per View event.
So why would I even care about this event?
Why would I care about thirty men who are pandering to you, the fans, for your support and your applause?
Why don’t I just take the easier of the two ways here and try my hardest to win the Imperial Championship in the Ladder Match?
Hey, a guy has to look at every possibility, especially when it comes to the unpredictability of the match that I am in. That same man, in this case me, thinks of every single opportunity laid out before him and smiles that he is as fortunate as he is.
With that said, the fire that burns deep down in my soul is strong. It’s hot enough to heat entire cities with its powerful beaming bursts. So if I were the other twenty-nine pieces of crap to enter this battle royal, I would hope to God that I become Imperial Champion.
You heard my intentions, and you could hear in my voice just how passionate, how fired up I was, just mentioning my name in the same sentence with that championship. The emotion poured from my tongue, each word sharper and more deliberate with venom than the last. So you have to ask yourself a question. All twenty-nine of you have to be wondering in the dark recesses of your empty heads, what happens if for some reason I DON’T win the Imperial Championship?
If I was this pissed off beforehand, and it meant so much to me before the match coming up, how am I going to feel if I have that gut feeling deep down inside that this is my final shot for a while?
Sorrow because I lost?
Happiness just because I have another opportunity?
Wrong, and well, WRONG!
I’m gonna be one pissed off son of a bitch!
I’m gonna be pissed off that I have to be in the Roulette match after a grueling ladder match. I’m gonna be pissed off that I didn’t walk away as champion. I’m gonna be pissed off that I have to walk down the aisle and into the ring, and I’m going to be pissed off that everyone else is still in it.
So one by one I’ll grab each and every one of your stupid asses and I will proceed to throw each and every person left standing over that top rope and too the floor in order to secure my spot in the main event, my spot to go one on one with the man known as champion, and earn what I would be forsaken at High Stakes.
Of course the easier way is better. Of course I can defeat Malaki and Ortega. I don’t have a single thought in my body that says otherwise. The unpredictability is what makes me realize that there isn’t just one opportunity. It makes me think of the other options; options that aren’t so grand in the whole scheme of things.
In the end, the world is what it is, and if need be I have no problem eliminating each and every one of you assholes until I am proclaimed the winner of the first ever Roulette Match. For your sakes, just hope I’m champion by the time that bell rings.
====================
Title: Right Direction
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Time: 12:12 PM Local Time
Mike Laszlo: You’re okay with this right?
She nods her head as we pull into the parking lot of a local psychiatrist’s office. After discussing options, I pushed for Alexis to see a therapist with me in the room so that I can understand exactly what it is she’s going through. I can’t help her unless I fully understand the things she went through.
Mike Laszlo: This will help in the long run. It will help me get it a little bit more so that I can help when you let me in.
Alexis nodded again. She looked out the passenger side window and said nothing. This had become her “mode” as of late. She wouldn’t speak unless it was absolutely required. We had our interactions and moments where she confided a little in me, but it just wasn’t enough to get a full grasp of the situation.
As I looked over and down at her hand, I could see it visibly trembling which caused me to place my hand upon her shoulder. She looked over at my hand and then up at me. Her brown eyes trembled almost as much as her hands as she gave me a “Do I really have to do this?” look.
Mike Laszlo: I’m not forcing you to do anything. If you want to we can turn around and go back home.
She looked at me for a second and then over to the front doors of the office. She swiveled her head slowly, looking back and forth between me and the doors a few times before looking straight ahead and taking a deep breath. It wasn’t a sigh, but more of a confidence building breath.
Slowly she reached for the handle which made me smirk a little. I knew that her first step was opening up and making things more understandable.
Mike Laszlo: Hey.
Before she could open the door she turned to me, focusing her attention on me.
Mike Laszlo: I’m proud of you for doing this. I’ll be there the whole time, and if at any moment you feel uncomfortable, we’ll end this.
She nodded, doing her best to politely smile. All I got was a half-smile of sorts as she turned toward the door and stepped out of the car. I got out and rushed to her side, taking hold of her hand which she willingly squeezed back as we headed toward the front door. We stopped in front of it and again she took a really deep breath, closing her eyes, doing her best to keep her composure. I felt the grip in her hand tighten which caused me to turn toward her and take hold of her other hand.
Mike Laszlo: Are you ready?
Her breathing started to escalate as she almost in a frantic like state nodded. We pushed through the doors and walked up to the receptionist’s desk. As I put my arms up on the counter Alexis shied away and stood behind me, grasping my arm, entangling hers around mine. She could perform in front of thousands of people because it’s something she had to do I assume, but one on one interaction in an environment like this still had its undesirable effects.
Receptionist: Hello and welcome to Dr. Goldman’s office. How can I help you?
Mike Laszlo: We had an appointment with him.
Receptionist: Name or names?
Mike Laszlo: Michael Laszlo and Alexis Caffrey.
She looked over her computer screen and nodded.
Receptionist: He’ll be with you in just a moment. He’s finishing up another session. If you two would have a seat in the lounge, we’ll call you in.
Mike Laszlo: Thank you.
We walked into the lounge area and I could tell she was nervous as soon as we sat down. We sat on a rather nice leather couch for a doctor’s office, though I guess as high priced as they are, they can afford it, right Dr. Griffiths? Anyway, we sat there and almost immediately, she stuck to me like white on rice. We didn’t have to wait long before our name was called. Slowly we got up and walked over to the middle aged man in a well-tailored suit.
Dr. Goldman: Welcome. My name is Doctor Goldman. Follow me.
He led us down a little corridor that led to his office with his name plastered over the distorted glass in bold black block letters. He sat in a chair as the two of us sat on another luxurious couch. He rested his left leg angled with his ankle touching his right knee as he grabbed a pad of paper.
Dr. Goldman: We talked on the phone Mike and you let me in on some of the mental history here. You told me a little about Alexis’ childhood that gave a little insight. Then you explained what she told you about the incident that occurred a couple of weeks ago.
He turned his head toward Alexis, a subtle shift, but still noticeable. He then softened his voice as well to not startle her.
Dr. Goldman: Of which I am happy to see you’ve made it out of safely.
She shot him a half smile, but that’s all that anyone has gotten since it happened. He then started telling us how this was going to go down.
Dr. Goldman: Now although I’ve heard about it from you Mike. I would like Alexis to try and articulate the events for me so that I can hear them from her perspective.
I nodded in agreement and turned toward her as she nervously glanced up at me. She started shaking her head slowly. I had to reassure her that it was for the best. I had to let her know that this is how we make this better, by getting it all out there. I had to do it though in a way that would spook her, a way that would let her know it’s safe. I don’t want to demean it and treat her like a child, but in essence, that’s about where the mind is as far as fragility.
Mike Laszlo: It’s okay. Just tell him like you told me. Like I said, if at any time you don’t feel comfortable, we can go. This will make it easier in the end.
She sat there silent for a moment, her eyes glancing between the good doctor and myself before turning and facing forward. There was a stutter in her voice and a shake in her hands showing just how nervous she was. Persevering though, she closed her eyes, gathered herself and slowly asked him…
Alexis Caffrey: W-wh-where do we begin?
The scene fades, a smile on the doctor’s face as I watch on.
====================
I don’t think you all get what is going on right now. There’s a pressure building within me to perform at a higher level than ever before. Monday night live on Pay Per View, be it in the Ladder Match or in the Roulette Match, I am setting my goals as they possibly can be. I will win one of those matches. I will make the night mine and outshine EVERYBODY!
I have a worry in my gut about the personal things happening in my life at this moment, but there is no feeling, no emotion, no person standing alive, or ghost floating that’s dead that will stop me from achieving my goal of being the absolute best that this company has to offer.
At High Stakes when I step in that ring, I’m looking to perform better than I ever have before because in the end, that’s what it is going to take to win. I don’t care which one of you stands between me and greatness because that is the ultimate goal. I know that I’m better than Malaki Toala, Davey Ortega, Spike Kane, Xander Famularo, and the rest of this locker room and honestly I don’t give a rat’s ass whose feelings I hurt, because in the end, it is the truth.
I’m not going out there to put on a show for you fans. I’m not going out there to put on a classic match for the rest of the locker room to watch from various points in the arena. I’m not doing it for you fans, for the boys in the back, for anyone else…but myself.
There’s no more pandering because in all honesty, that’s over-rated. You people are going to cheer who you want to cheer and boo who you want to boo regardless of their so-called alignment.
I could go out there at the Pay Per View and beat the hell out of Davey Ortega and do you know what you’ll probably be doing? You won’t be booing me for laying waste to the company’s golden goose, you’ll be cheering me. You’re probably shaking your head right now in agreement, using words like face or heel, or hero or villain. The days of that crap are long gone boys and girls. This is no longer a battle of good versus evil, it’s a battle of two or more guys who want to beat the hell out of each other and prove once and for all that they are the superior being.
So you will cheer me when I’m slamming a ladder down on Ortega’s face because like me, you all see that he’s nothing but a paper, transition champion. You’ll see that he hides behind his injuries and doesn’t show his face around here because the target was now square on his back just as I told him it would be.
You’ll cheer me because I’m the real thing. I’m the one who tells it like it is no matter who likes it or not. I expose the flaws of others and take those flaws and put them to my advantage and at High Stakes, whether it’s the two men in the ladder match or the twenty-nine others in the Roulette, I will do the same damn thing.
One way or another, I will be the headline of this show, and that is the absolute truth.
Option A is pretty cut and dry. Win the Imperial Championship in a Ladder Match.
Option B is definitely, “the hard way” as most people like to put it. In this scenario I would not become the Imperial Champion, on my very own birthday nonetheless, and I would then effectively be placed in the Roulette match.
Let’s talk about this Roulette Match shall we? Two men start, and every two minutes, another participant enters until all thirty have entered the ring. Elimination occurs when a competitor is thrown over the top rope with both and I repeat BOTH feet hitting the floor.
One in thirty is the chances to win. That equates to about a three percent chance of coming out of this thing as the victor, the man with his hand raised high and a trip to the main event of our grandioso Pay Per View event.
So why would I even care about this event?
Why would I care about thirty men who are pandering to you, the fans, for your support and your applause?
Why don’t I just take the easier of the two ways here and try my hardest to win the Imperial Championship in the Ladder Match?
Hey, a guy has to look at every possibility, especially when it comes to the unpredictability of the match that I am in. That same man, in this case me, thinks of every single opportunity laid out before him and smiles that he is as fortunate as he is.
With that said, the fire that burns deep down in my soul is strong. It’s hot enough to heat entire cities with its powerful beaming bursts. So if I were the other twenty-nine pieces of crap to enter this battle royal, I would hope to God that I become Imperial Champion.
You heard my intentions, and you could hear in my voice just how passionate, how fired up I was, just mentioning my name in the same sentence with that championship. The emotion poured from my tongue, each word sharper and more deliberate with venom than the last. So you have to ask yourself a question. All twenty-nine of you have to be wondering in the dark recesses of your empty heads, what happens if for some reason I DON’T win the Imperial Championship?
If I was this pissed off beforehand, and it meant so much to me before the match coming up, how am I going to feel if I have that gut feeling deep down inside that this is my final shot for a while?
Sorrow because I lost?
Happiness just because I have another opportunity?
Wrong, and well, WRONG!
I’m gonna be one pissed off son of a bitch!
I’m gonna be pissed off that I have to be in the Roulette match after a grueling ladder match. I’m gonna be pissed off that I didn’t walk away as champion. I’m gonna be pissed off that I have to walk down the aisle and into the ring, and I’m going to be pissed off that everyone else is still in it.
So one by one I’ll grab each and every one of your stupid asses and I will proceed to throw each and every person left standing over that top rope and too the floor in order to secure my spot in the main event, my spot to go one on one with the man known as champion, and earn what I would be forsaken at High Stakes.
Of course the easier way is better. Of course I can defeat Malaki and Ortega. I don’t have a single thought in my body that says otherwise. The unpredictability is what makes me realize that there isn’t just one opportunity. It makes me think of the other options; options that aren’t so grand in the whole scheme of things.
In the end, the world is what it is, and if need be I have no problem eliminating each and every one of you assholes until I am proclaimed the winner of the first ever Roulette Match. For your sakes, just hope I’m champion by the time that bell rings.
====================
Title: Right Direction
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Time: 12:12 PM Local Time
Mike Laszlo: You’re okay with this right?
She nods her head as we pull into the parking lot of a local psychiatrist’s office. After discussing options, I pushed for Alexis to see a therapist with me in the room so that I can understand exactly what it is she’s going through. I can’t help her unless I fully understand the things she went through.
Mike Laszlo: This will help in the long run. It will help me get it a little bit more so that I can help when you let me in.
Alexis nodded again. She looked out the passenger side window and said nothing. This had become her “mode” as of late. She wouldn’t speak unless it was absolutely required. We had our interactions and moments where she confided a little in me, but it just wasn’t enough to get a full grasp of the situation.
As I looked over and down at her hand, I could see it visibly trembling which caused me to place my hand upon her shoulder. She looked over at my hand and then up at me. Her brown eyes trembled almost as much as her hands as she gave me a “Do I really have to do this?” look.
Mike Laszlo: I’m not forcing you to do anything. If you want to we can turn around and go back home.
She looked at me for a second and then over to the front doors of the office. She swiveled her head slowly, looking back and forth between me and the doors a few times before looking straight ahead and taking a deep breath. It wasn’t a sigh, but more of a confidence building breath.
Slowly she reached for the handle which made me smirk a little. I knew that her first step was opening up and making things more understandable.
Mike Laszlo: Hey.
Before she could open the door she turned to me, focusing her attention on me.
Mike Laszlo: I’m proud of you for doing this. I’ll be there the whole time, and if at any moment you feel uncomfortable, we’ll end this.
She nodded, doing her best to politely smile. All I got was a half-smile of sorts as she turned toward the door and stepped out of the car. I got out and rushed to her side, taking hold of her hand which she willingly squeezed back as we headed toward the front door. We stopped in front of it and again she took a really deep breath, closing her eyes, doing her best to keep her composure. I felt the grip in her hand tighten which caused me to turn toward her and take hold of her other hand.
Mike Laszlo: Are you ready?
Her breathing started to escalate as she almost in a frantic like state nodded. We pushed through the doors and walked up to the receptionist’s desk. As I put my arms up on the counter Alexis shied away and stood behind me, grasping my arm, entangling hers around mine. She could perform in front of thousands of people because it’s something she had to do I assume, but one on one interaction in an environment like this still had its undesirable effects.
Receptionist: Hello and welcome to Dr. Goldman’s office. How can I help you?
Mike Laszlo: We had an appointment with him.
Receptionist: Name or names?
Mike Laszlo: Michael Laszlo and Alexis Caffrey.
She looked over her computer screen and nodded.
Receptionist: He’ll be with you in just a moment. He’s finishing up another session. If you two would have a seat in the lounge, we’ll call you in.
Mike Laszlo: Thank you.
We walked into the lounge area and I could tell she was nervous as soon as we sat down. We sat on a rather nice leather couch for a doctor’s office, though I guess as high priced as they are, they can afford it, right Dr. Griffiths? Anyway, we sat there and almost immediately, she stuck to me like white on rice. We didn’t have to wait long before our name was called. Slowly we got up and walked over to the middle aged man in a well-tailored suit.
Dr. Goldman: Welcome. My name is Doctor Goldman. Follow me.
He led us down a little corridor that led to his office with his name plastered over the distorted glass in bold black block letters. He sat in a chair as the two of us sat on another luxurious couch. He rested his left leg angled with his ankle touching his right knee as he grabbed a pad of paper.
Dr. Goldman: We talked on the phone Mike and you let me in on some of the mental history here. You told me a little about Alexis’ childhood that gave a little insight. Then you explained what she told you about the incident that occurred a couple of weeks ago.
He turned his head toward Alexis, a subtle shift, but still noticeable. He then softened his voice as well to not startle her.
Dr. Goldman: Of which I am happy to see you’ve made it out of safely.
She shot him a half smile, but that’s all that anyone has gotten since it happened. He then started telling us how this was going to go down.
Dr. Goldman: Now although I’ve heard about it from you Mike. I would like Alexis to try and articulate the events for me so that I can hear them from her perspective.
I nodded in agreement and turned toward her as she nervously glanced up at me. She started shaking her head slowly. I had to reassure her that it was for the best. I had to let her know that this is how we make this better, by getting it all out there. I had to do it though in a way that would spook her, a way that would let her know it’s safe. I don’t want to demean it and treat her like a child, but in essence, that’s about where the mind is as far as fragility.
Mike Laszlo: It’s okay. Just tell him like you told me. Like I said, if at any time you don’t feel comfortable, we can go. This will make it easier in the end.
She sat there silent for a moment, her eyes glancing between the good doctor and myself before turning and facing forward. There was a stutter in her voice and a shake in her hands showing just how nervous she was. Persevering though, she closed her eyes, gathered herself and slowly asked him…
Alexis Caffrey: W-wh-where do we begin?
The scene fades, a smile on the doctor’s face as I watch on.
====================
I don’t think you all get what is going on right now. There’s a pressure building within me to perform at a higher level than ever before. Monday night live on Pay Per View, be it in the Ladder Match or in the Roulette Match, I am setting my goals as they possibly can be. I will win one of those matches. I will make the night mine and outshine EVERYBODY!
I have a worry in my gut about the personal things happening in my life at this moment, but there is no feeling, no emotion, no person standing alive, or ghost floating that’s dead that will stop me from achieving my goal of being the absolute best that this company has to offer.
At High Stakes when I step in that ring, I’m looking to perform better than I ever have before because in the end, that’s what it is going to take to win. I don’t care which one of you stands between me and greatness because that is the ultimate goal. I know that I’m better than Malaki Toala, Davey Ortega, Spike Kane, Xander Famularo, and the rest of this locker room and honestly I don’t give a rat’s ass whose feelings I hurt, because in the end, it is the truth.
I’m not going out there to put on a show for you fans. I’m not going out there to put on a classic match for the rest of the locker room to watch from various points in the arena. I’m not doing it for you fans, for the boys in the back, for anyone else…but myself.
There’s no more pandering because in all honesty, that’s over-rated. You people are going to cheer who you want to cheer and boo who you want to boo regardless of their so-called alignment.
I could go out there at the Pay Per View and beat the hell out of Davey Ortega and do you know what you’ll probably be doing? You won’t be booing me for laying waste to the company’s golden goose, you’ll be cheering me. You’re probably shaking your head right now in agreement, using words like face or heel, or hero or villain. The days of that crap are long gone boys and girls. This is no longer a battle of good versus evil, it’s a battle of two or more guys who want to beat the hell out of each other and prove once and for all that they are the superior being.
So you will cheer me when I’m slamming a ladder down on Ortega’s face because like me, you all see that he’s nothing but a paper, transition champion. You’ll see that he hides behind his injuries and doesn’t show his face around here because the target was now square on his back just as I told him it would be.
You’ll cheer me because I’m the real thing. I’m the one who tells it like it is no matter who likes it or not. I expose the flaws of others and take those flaws and put them to my advantage and at High Stakes, whether it’s the two men in the ladder match or the twenty-nine others in the Roulette, I will do the same damn thing.
One way or another, I will be the headline of this show, and that is the absolute truth.
Well howdy there pardner.