Post by Mike Laszlo on May 29, 2016 22:22:48 GMT
This is it.
I had just finished a hard workout, preparing for Night of the Immortals as is evident by the beads of sweat dripping off my forehead one after another forming a slight puddle below. I slowly gaze up at the camera in front of me, a smirk on my face, yet seriousness and cunning in my eyes.
I waited for this moment for an entire year. I made that decision the moment I sat atop the ladder as I was proclaimed the winner. The emotion hadn’t gotten to me. The moment itself didn’t get to me. I threw Rob Diamond off that ladder at Night of the Immortals II and in the process, knew I was going to main event Night of the Immortals III.
I point down in front of me.
I knew this was my moment.
I shake my head at what you’re inevitably thinking.
And it’s not what you think. This whole thing isn’t what you or Roberto may think. It really didn’t matter who the champion was...as long as it wasn’t me...this moment was destined. So then I was injured, and I knew I had to get back. I knew that when I got back I had to be better than any other time in my career. I picked up where I left off. I destroyed Rob Diamond not once, not twice, but three straight times, two officially. I watched while others threw themselves through the Roulette, putting their bodies through hell and I laughed. That was a path they were forced to take, whereas I had options, and I liked every single one of them.
I point down in front of me in multiple different spots, each signifying one of the supposed challengers that Roberto had defended against over the last few months.
I watched as all the rest jockeyed for position. From the likes of Jack Gaither and Warren Kane, to Rob Diamond and The Ace. Each fought hard and I did what I had to do to form the second part of the plan. It was time to get Roberto to drop his guard as much as possible. I helped him defeat Rob Diamond, and took every bit of pleasure stealing that opportunity from Rob.
Then…
I slam my fist into the palm of my hand.
It was time to strike. I saved Roberto again against Gaither, not that he’d really need it, but I did it anyway. I made it all look as cookie cutter as possible in our eyes. Beat down the opponent and throw him back into the ring. We shook hands in the center of that ring Roberto, and you never saw what was to come next...my knee...to your face.
I shrug my shoulders.
Some would see this as an act of betrayal and while I understand that point of view, it wasn’t that complicated. It was simply me, seeing an opening, and exploiting an opportunity…
I point into my chest.
MY opportunity.
I look to the side for a minute. You can tell the wheels are turning in my head. I then look forward again, continuing along.
Now some would look at my cash in of the Joker in the Pack, and then they’d look at the match I interrupted and they would ask…”Why?”.
Why would I pick this match?
Why would I take on The Ace and Verona? The two guys who have had my number time and time again each and every time we’ve faced one another.
The answer is quite simple.
I’m better now than I have EVER been before. I’m more skilled, more powerful, smarter than any other time I’ve faced either of these men before, and it’s time I show each of them how much I’ve come along.
I cross my hands in front of me and throw them out to the side.
No longer do I deem it necessary to pander to the crowd who’s cheers really don’t mean a damn thing. No longer do I look up to guys like Spike Kane, Angel, Jake, or Roberto...I look straight across that ring and I smile because I know that I am that damn good and there’s not another who can tell me any different.
I stand up from the chair and grab a towel behind me, quickly wiping down my face, and then moving to the rest of my body before tossing said towel to the side.
So while Roberto thinks he knows every single minute detail of what’s going on in his company, I’m proof that he doesn’t. While The Ace has his plan of destiny in mind, I’m here to tell you that not only am I a roadblock, I’m the tsunami that washes your dreams away. While the two of you fight over who the better man in a friendship is, I’m here to tell you that it’s neither of you...it’s me. So while you’re both on the mat, staring up at me in the corner, with the Imperial Title in my hands, held high over my head, I want these words to resonate in the back of yours...I told you so.
I walk off from the screen, slamming the door behind me as I exit the room before the scene fades to black.
========================================================
Title: Relax
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Time: 5:05 PM Local Time
It had been a week since The Garcia Twins had arrived at my house, and I was quickly going out of my mind. All day the twins and Alexis just kept going on and on. Anytime I wanted to use one of my own bathrooms, someone was in it. Anytime I wanted to go out to eat, I had to get everyone’s opinion. They wanted to go shopping, and wanted me to come with them. Enough was enough and I just needed to get away from it all for a while.
I was dressed in workout gear as it was time to go for a run, but I needed a change of scenery from it all, and headed out the door before I was stopped by Alexis.
Alexis Caffrey: Where are you going?
Mike Laszlo: For a run.
Alexis Caffrey: With the keys?
Mike Laszlo: Yeah, I’m going to head down to the Metroparks. I need a change of scenery.
Alexis Caffrey: From me?
I smiled as I leaned over and kissed her.
Mike Laszlo: No...not you...all of it. I’ll be back in a little bit.
Alexis Caffrey: Okay...don’t be long?
Mike Laszlo: My normal. I’ll see you when I get back.
She pulled me down toward her by my shoulder and kissed me again before I headed out the door. Getting in the car, I took the twenty minute drive to the Metropark parking area, pulling in and getting out. I grabbed my MP3 player (I hate anything Apple related) and started stretching before going toward the trails. I got to the edge of the parking lot and looked from side to side before closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath.
It was so satisfying.
It was so...so peaceful.
Opening my eyes again, I looked from side to side and nodded.
Mike Laszlo: Here we go.
I headed off into the woods. The previous couple of days were rather hot, near 90 degrees fahrenheit, a rarity in this part of the country. We finally started to get back to somewhat normal, and the breeze combined with the shade from the trees was of great assistance in the cooling factor.
With each step I took I couldn’t help but think of the many different things going on in my personal life that just so happened to bleed into my personal life. My recovery from a knee injury that kept me out of action for five months. My return, and the subsequent second match that made me tell myself “I’m Back”, and now the part where a plan comes to fruition.
We had been doing media all week long, on the phone, and soon to be in person at Soldier Field, and the surrounding areas of Chicago. The multitude of questions, the advertisements, all the meetings, and all the preparation bombarding me day after day, and now was finally the time to unwind before the brutality began again.
It had been quite a bit of time as I unravelled each thought in my head from the next and I stopped for a moment, now deep in the woods on the laid out trail. I doubled over to catch my breath, my hands above my head.
I stood up and looked around before looking straight ahead with a smile on my face. Two words passed through my brain and I couldn’t help but speak them out loud.
Mike Laszlo: Just relax.
========================================================
The scene comes to and you see me sitting in a seat at Soldier Field in Chicago. We had just arrived, the cluster of myself, Alexis, and both Garcia Twins, each of us with a bit of media to do before the big event. I had a break between a radio interview, and a podcast, and decided to sit alone in the upper deck of the stadium, looking down on all the workers and the hundreds of people employed by both the company and the stadium who were setting up all the different events, and most importantly the biggest event of them all...Night of the Immortals.
It’s interesting what we’ve all come to isn’t it guys?
I turn to the camera.
Years ago, The Ace was the vaunted veteran, doing all he needed to do to get ahead, while teaching us “young guys” the lessons we needed to learn in order to get better. There was Roberto Verona, the fast rising star of NCW, the man who would go on to become one of the greatest champions that company and this have ever known. Then there was me. The guy who started slow in NCW. The guy who would get up against the glass ceiling that at that time was Roberto, but could never quite breakthrough to win the title from him.
I slice my hand through the air as if wiping the slate free. The sun glimmered off my sunglasses as I looked over into the camera.
Then NCW died and the IWF was born from it’s ashes. The Ace was around, but quickly decided that the home life was for him at the time, and meanwhile Roberto was busy running things, which for a time may have prohibited him from doing what he does best...getting in that ring and punching someone in the face until he decides he doesn’t want to anymore. It was in that time that I continued to develop. I won the Heir to the Throne. I made Angel TAP OUT at Survival of the Fittest two years ago and I became the Imperial Champion. Where were either of you?
A slight chuckle emanates from my body.
One of you was up in the ivory tower while the other was at home making love to his wife. While the two of you were content with being who you were, I continued to get better week in and week out.
I nodded a bit sarcastically.
Now things didn’t go as planned, and I lost that title to Alex Jones a few months later, but it became yet another lesson that had to be learned...another lesson I had to teach myself to get to the level of which I wanted to get, a level at the time, you two were already on.
I shook my head.
I didn’t bitch, I didn’t moan, I got right back on the damn horse. I went into this very event last year and I made it my life’s goal to become the Joker in the Pack. I made it my life’s goal to have a choice, rather than be forced into what some would deem insurmountable odds.
Then I got hurt.
Yet I remained undeterred.
I scratched, clawed, and rehabilitated myself. I continued...as I have all along...to make myself BETTER!
I look to the side and throw my hand up in front of me as if to throw another idea in the air.
I came back and I showed the world that I’m better than ever before. I knew that I had a plan to execute. I had a level I had to get back to and surpass in order to carry out said plans...and not only did I get to that level...I exceeded it.
I pointed into the camera.
While the two of you bickered over who could get whose panties in a bunch, while the two of you showered self-respect onto one another, I was proving I was back, and I am...and I’m here for one reason and one reason only...to become the Imperial Champion once again.
It just so happens that I have to go through the two of you to do it.
I stand up from my seat in front of the camera.
So I made my mark, and clarified my intentions. No longer was I to be the other guy. No longer was I to look up at the likes of you, but rather straight ahead because I had made it to that level of which I had dreamed all those years ago.
I throw my hand out to the side, pointing to my left, the direction of the stage, and subsequently the locker rooms we would be dressing in. My voice elevated both in volume and in ferocity of tone.
It all goes back to what I’ve been talking about all along, and though you two are toward the top, you now see at Night of the Immortals that I have passed the two of you by. All along I’ve told each member of this roster at different times that they should never be content with where they are. They should always strive for better. Well it’s proven here. While you two and the rest continue to rest on your history, and your current skillset, I continue to get better.
I continue to work harder.
I continue to get BETTER than both of you and everyone else.
And at the end of the day, it sure as hell will be worth it at Night of the Immortals.
It will be worth it when I ascend that turnbuckle in front of seventy-plus thousand people at Soldier Field and hold that title over my head, announced the winner, and ONLY...TWO TIME...IMPERIAL...CHAMPION!!!
I point into the camera with both index fingers.
I know the two of you will bring your “A” game, but as you’ve grown content...your “A” Game...has been surpassed by mine.
I point into my chest.
And it’s about time you see it firsthand.
I walk down the steps, leaving the view of the stage being built behind me.
I had just finished a hard workout, preparing for Night of the Immortals as is evident by the beads of sweat dripping off my forehead one after another forming a slight puddle below. I slowly gaze up at the camera in front of me, a smirk on my face, yet seriousness and cunning in my eyes.
I waited for this moment for an entire year. I made that decision the moment I sat atop the ladder as I was proclaimed the winner. The emotion hadn’t gotten to me. The moment itself didn’t get to me. I threw Rob Diamond off that ladder at Night of the Immortals II and in the process, knew I was going to main event Night of the Immortals III.
I point down in front of me.
I knew this was my moment.
I shake my head at what you’re inevitably thinking.
And it’s not what you think. This whole thing isn’t what you or Roberto may think. It really didn’t matter who the champion was...as long as it wasn’t me...this moment was destined. So then I was injured, and I knew I had to get back. I knew that when I got back I had to be better than any other time in my career. I picked up where I left off. I destroyed Rob Diamond not once, not twice, but three straight times, two officially. I watched while others threw themselves through the Roulette, putting their bodies through hell and I laughed. That was a path they were forced to take, whereas I had options, and I liked every single one of them.
I point down in front of me in multiple different spots, each signifying one of the supposed challengers that Roberto had defended against over the last few months.
I watched as all the rest jockeyed for position. From the likes of Jack Gaither and Warren Kane, to Rob Diamond and The Ace. Each fought hard and I did what I had to do to form the second part of the plan. It was time to get Roberto to drop his guard as much as possible. I helped him defeat Rob Diamond, and took every bit of pleasure stealing that opportunity from Rob.
Then…
I slam my fist into the palm of my hand.
It was time to strike. I saved Roberto again against Gaither, not that he’d really need it, but I did it anyway. I made it all look as cookie cutter as possible in our eyes. Beat down the opponent and throw him back into the ring. We shook hands in the center of that ring Roberto, and you never saw what was to come next...my knee...to your face.
I shrug my shoulders.
Some would see this as an act of betrayal and while I understand that point of view, it wasn’t that complicated. It was simply me, seeing an opening, and exploiting an opportunity…
I point into my chest.
MY opportunity.
I look to the side for a minute. You can tell the wheels are turning in my head. I then look forward again, continuing along.
Now some would look at my cash in of the Joker in the Pack, and then they’d look at the match I interrupted and they would ask…”Why?”.
Why would I pick this match?
Why would I take on The Ace and Verona? The two guys who have had my number time and time again each and every time we’ve faced one another.
The answer is quite simple.
I’m better now than I have EVER been before. I’m more skilled, more powerful, smarter than any other time I’ve faced either of these men before, and it’s time I show each of them how much I’ve come along.
I cross my hands in front of me and throw them out to the side.
No longer do I deem it necessary to pander to the crowd who’s cheers really don’t mean a damn thing. No longer do I look up to guys like Spike Kane, Angel, Jake, or Roberto...I look straight across that ring and I smile because I know that I am that damn good and there’s not another who can tell me any different.
I stand up from the chair and grab a towel behind me, quickly wiping down my face, and then moving to the rest of my body before tossing said towel to the side.
So while Roberto thinks he knows every single minute detail of what’s going on in his company, I’m proof that he doesn’t. While The Ace has his plan of destiny in mind, I’m here to tell you that not only am I a roadblock, I’m the tsunami that washes your dreams away. While the two of you fight over who the better man in a friendship is, I’m here to tell you that it’s neither of you...it’s me. So while you’re both on the mat, staring up at me in the corner, with the Imperial Title in my hands, held high over my head, I want these words to resonate in the back of yours...I told you so.
I walk off from the screen, slamming the door behind me as I exit the room before the scene fades to black.
========================================================
Title: Relax
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Time: 5:05 PM Local Time
It had been a week since The Garcia Twins had arrived at my house, and I was quickly going out of my mind. All day the twins and Alexis just kept going on and on. Anytime I wanted to use one of my own bathrooms, someone was in it. Anytime I wanted to go out to eat, I had to get everyone’s opinion. They wanted to go shopping, and wanted me to come with them. Enough was enough and I just needed to get away from it all for a while.
I was dressed in workout gear as it was time to go for a run, but I needed a change of scenery from it all, and headed out the door before I was stopped by Alexis.
Alexis Caffrey: Where are you going?
Mike Laszlo: For a run.
Alexis Caffrey: With the keys?
Mike Laszlo: Yeah, I’m going to head down to the Metroparks. I need a change of scenery.
Alexis Caffrey: From me?
I smiled as I leaned over and kissed her.
Mike Laszlo: No...not you...all of it. I’ll be back in a little bit.
Alexis Caffrey: Okay...don’t be long?
Mike Laszlo: My normal. I’ll see you when I get back.
She pulled me down toward her by my shoulder and kissed me again before I headed out the door. Getting in the car, I took the twenty minute drive to the Metropark parking area, pulling in and getting out. I grabbed my MP3 player (I hate anything Apple related) and started stretching before going toward the trails. I got to the edge of the parking lot and looked from side to side before closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath.
It was so satisfying.
It was so...so peaceful.
Opening my eyes again, I looked from side to side and nodded.
Mike Laszlo: Here we go.
I headed off into the woods. The previous couple of days were rather hot, near 90 degrees fahrenheit, a rarity in this part of the country. We finally started to get back to somewhat normal, and the breeze combined with the shade from the trees was of great assistance in the cooling factor.
With each step I took I couldn’t help but think of the many different things going on in my personal life that just so happened to bleed into my personal life. My recovery from a knee injury that kept me out of action for five months. My return, and the subsequent second match that made me tell myself “I’m Back”, and now the part where a plan comes to fruition.
We had been doing media all week long, on the phone, and soon to be in person at Soldier Field, and the surrounding areas of Chicago. The multitude of questions, the advertisements, all the meetings, and all the preparation bombarding me day after day, and now was finally the time to unwind before the brutality began again.
It had been quite a bit of time as I unravelled each thought in my head from the next and I stopped for a moment, now deep in the woods on the laid out trail. I doubled over to catch my breath, my hands above my head.
I stood up and looked around before looking straight ahead with a smile on my face. Two words passed through my brain and I couldn’t help but speak them out loud.
Mike Laszlo: Just relax.
========================================================
The scene comes to and you see me sitting in a seat at Soldier Field in Chicago. We had just arrived, the cluster of myself, Alexis, and both Garcia Twins, each of us with a bit of media to do before the big event. I had a break between a radio interview, and a podcast, and decided to sit alone in the upper deck of the stadium, looking down on all the workers and the hundreds of people employed by both the company and the stadium who were setting up all the different events, and most importantly the biggest event of them all...Night of the Immortals.
It’s interesting what we’ve all come to isn’t it guys?
I turn to the camera.
Years ago, The Ace was the vaunted veteran, doing all he needed to do to get ahead, while teaching us “young guys” the lessons we needed to learn in order to get better. There was Roberto Verona, the fast rising star of NCW, the man who would go on to become one of the greatest champions that company and this have ever known. Then there was me. The guy who started slow in NCW. The guy who would get up against the glass ceiling that at that time was Roberto, but could never quite breakthrough to win the title from him.
I slice my hand through the air as if wiping the slate free. The sun glimmered off my sunglasses as I looked over into the camera.
Then NCW died and the IWF was born from it’s ashes. The Ace was around, but quickly decided that the home life was for him at the time, and meanwhile Roberto was busy running things, which for a time may have prohibited him from doing what he does best...getting in that ring and punching someone in the face until he decides he doesn’t want to anymore. It was in that time that I continued to develop. I won the Heir to the Throne. I made Angel TAP OUT at Survival of the Fittest two years ago and I became the Imperial Champion. Where were either of you?
A slight chuckle emanates from my body.
One of you was up in the ivory tower while the other was at home making love to his wife. While the two of you were content with being who you were, I continued to get better week in and week out.
I nodded a bit sarcastically.
Now things didn’t go as planned, and I lost that title to Alex Jones a few months later, but it became yet another lesson that had to be learned...another lesson I had to teach myself to get to the level of which I wanted to get, a level at the time, you two were already on.
I shook my head.
I didn’t bitch, I didn’t moan, I got right back on the damn horse. I went into this very event last year and I made it my life’s goal to become the Joker in the Pack. I made it my life’s goal to have a choice, rather than be forced into what some would deem insurmountable odds.
Then I got hurt.
Yet I remained undeterred.
I scratched, clawed, and rehabilitated myself. I continued...as I have all along...to make myself BETTER!
I look to the side and throw my hand up in front of me as if to throw another idea in the air.
I came back and I showed the world that I’m better than ever before. I knew that I had a plan to execute. I had a level I had to get back to and surpass in order to carry out said plans...and not only did I get to that level...I exceeded it.
I pointed into the camera.
While the two of you bickered over who could get whose panties in a bunch, while the two of you showered self-respect onto one another, I was proving I was back, and I am...and I’m here for one reason and one reason only...to become the Imperial Champion once again.
It just so happens that I have to go through the two of you to do it.
I stand up from my seat in front of the camera.
So I made my mark, and clarified my intentions. No longer was I to be the other guy. No longer was I to look up at the likes of you, but rather straight ahead because I had made it to that level of which I had dreamed all those years ago.
I throw my hand out to the side, pointing to my left, the direction of the stage, and subsequently the locker rooms we would be dressing in. My voice elevated both in volume and in ferocity of tone.
It all goes back to what I’ve been talking about all along, and though you two are toward the top, you now see at Night of the Immortals that I have passed the two of you by. All along I’ve told each member of this roster at different times that they should never be content with where they are. They should always strive for better. Well it’s proven here. While you two and the rest continue to rest on your history, and your current skillset, I continue to get better.
I continue to work harder.
I continue to get BETTER than both of you and everyone else.
And at the end of the day, it sure as hell will be worth it at Night of the Immortals.
It will be worth it when I ascend that turnbuckle in front of seventy-plus thousand people at Soldier Field and hold that title over my head, announced the winner, and ONLY...TWO TIME...IMPERIAL...CHAMPION!!!
I point into the camera with both index fingers.
I know the two of you will bring your “A” game, but as you’ve grown content...your “A” Game...has been surpassed by mine.
I point into my chest.
And it’s about time you see it firsthand.
I walk down the steps, leaving the view of the stage being built behind me.
Well howdy there pardner.