Post by SalTal on Jun 16, 2012 12:23:24 GMT -4
Internet Explorer-*click*-Favorites-*click*-APW.com-*click*-Survive and Conquer-*click*-Sally Talfourd-*click*-Loading...
"Sally Talfourd presents ..."
is written across the screen, fades out, then
"In association with Action Packed Wrestling..."
is next to appear, holds, then fades out for
"Happy Endings T.V."
Which fades away to a shot of a the US Airways Arena again, but this time…this time it’s showtime! The place is packed out the front: A sea of people flooding the doors, eager to get to their seats (as if it would make the start of the show come a whole lot sooner). The night is dark, the lights are bright, and the excitement is electric! This fades away though to a shot of a more restrained, more demure place: The backstage. The APW trucks have been unloaded, the roadies are doing their last checks, and the megastars casually are making their way about.
[Shane] Look, it’s Sykes.
[Sally] Ooo! Hey Johnny!
We come to see Sally in the shot, looking around. Then we hear Shane point out, and Sally wave to, Mr. Sykes. She’s waving frantically, yelling loudly…but no response. Maybe he didn’t hear her. Maybe he didn’t want to hear her. But he just keeps on going. Who really knows.
[Shane] So, I guess Johnny heard what you had to say?
[Sally] You think? *Sally watches after him, then turns back to the camera with a shrug*[/b] Oh well. If I’d known he was going to be so emotional over all this, I’d have probably have sent him a box of tissues with a note warning him that I wasn’t going to be too nice. [/color]
Sally shrugs again, and Shane and her head off. Winding around the back corridors, dodging a cacophony of people, we get the pleasure of following the perfectly-curved Sally to a quicker area of the arena.
[Shane] What are you thinking?
[Sally] I’m thinking Sykes needs to learn something about APW. Maybe he needs to learn something about this whole business? That making friends and wrestling matches are two different things? But who cares what he’s thinking. If he’s still sore about it, he can do something about it. And if that’s what he’s thinking about – thinking about what I had to say about him? Then I guess my words worked. Because then he’s not thinking about the match, and he’s not thinking about what he needs to do. So, like, first win for me.
Sally isn’t one to try and go word-for-word against her opponent. What they have to say, what they do between their matches, what they think about her? That all means about as much to her as, say, the weather in Madagascar. Actually, weather in Madagascar is probably more important because that pretty good movie was set there, and since seeing it Sally’s always wanted to go. See the…wait! Stop. Get back on track. Here and now.,..here and now.
[Sally] But, just to reiterate anything I might have said: There’s something about me that makes me better. I’m not thinking about what my opponent has said. Not worried about what he’s saying of thinking about me. I’m more interested in the match. In planning out what I need to do for this match. On what I need to do to win everything here: Win the match, win the fans, win that shot at the Test for the Best tournament. This match is all about winning, and if I’m the only one who’s going to be thinking about that, then I’m going to be the only person who’s walking out of this as a winner.
Because this is one of those things that so many people overlook in a match. It’s the thinking. Think of it this way. You bring a body to the match, and it’s trained. It’s conditioned. It’s worked and tried and tested. Some people put so much effort into creating the perfect body, that they neglect something a little more important: The mind. That thing you use to think and plan and play out the match. And as much as you train your body, you need to train your mind. You have to think through the match. You have to think through your opponent’s actions. You have to think through your own. The person who thinks best goes the best. And if Sykes is thinking about anything other than the match…well, we know who is preparing themselves for the better.
[Shane] If you’re relying on your thinking Sally, I think you’re going to…
[Sally] Not another word, Shane! I’m a great thinker, thank-you very much! I’ve gone up against the best and won. I’ve won with less strength, with less weight, and with less everything. How do you think I’ve won all those times? Sykes, he’s won because he can match everyone strength-for-strength. I’ve only ever achieved anything here because I was able to own a match in my own mind. With some opponents, that’s been an easy thing. And for the sake of not embarrassing them, I won’t name them. But for the likes of other opponents, it’s been tough. The Level-One’s, the Bigg’s, the CJ Gates’ – It’s not always an easy thing to out-think and out-plan an opponent. But, eventually, I get there. I learn, I adapt, and I get better. I’ve learned from the years I’ve been here. I’ve learned what it takes to win here in APW. Sykes is undefeated, sure. But how many matches can you win in a handful of weeks? Three matches? What experience does that give the guy against me? He’s never had the chance to learn how to beat me. He’s going in blind. He’s not thinking about how to beat me, and he’s got nothing to think about anyway.
[Shane] What are you thinking about then?
Sally has to stop and think about her own thinking for a moment. It’s a lot easier to think that to talk about thinking, right?
[Sally] Well, for starters, I’m thinking about the match. I’m thinking that he can match my speed, so I have to take that out of the equation. While I would usually try and win this on speed, I’m going to slow this down. Slow it right down. This match will go at a snail’s pace. That way, I don’t miss an opportunity to take advantage of a mistake. You see, people find it so hard to capitalise on my mistakes because I go so fast. Any mistake I might make is covered in a split second. The same would go for our friend Johnny. So I’m slowing this right down. I’m also thinking that this needs to be a mat-match. He is in his element jumping and flying, so I need to take him out of his element. I take him out of it and then he’s uncomfortable. He’s not so quick on his feet. He’s going to make a mistake. And that’s when I take advantage of his mistakes.
[Shane] That sounds a lot different to your other matches Sally. Usually you’re talking about going fast and wrestling hard?
[Sally] It is, it’s pretty different. But that’s the difference between being good and being great. Johnny is good, and he will do what is most familiar to him. He will do what he’s good at: High-flying and crazy stuff. Me? I’m great, and I’m going to be doing what I’m great at: Adapting. I’m already adapted to this match. I’ve adjusted myself, my thinking, to a point where I know what I need to do to win. I have to mix my things up, and then quickly get familiar with that. Familiar enough to make it seem like this is what I do every week. And, in a way, it is. I always have to adapt myself, change myself, modify myself. That’s what a truly great person does in this business. They don’t get caught in a rut.
[Shane] I think it’s fair to say you’ve been in a rut or two before?
[Sally] Oh of course! When I lost that world title two years ago, when I lost to CJ Gates this time last year, when I lost to Callahan a month ago – great examples of when I was in a rut. When I wasn’t thinking about the match at hand, about what I have to do to win, about how to be the best in the ring. All those times, I’m off thinking about this or that, stuff that doesn’t matter. Now though? Now my mind is as sharp as a tack! It’s exactly where it needs to be: Focused on the match, making sure I’m planning, making sure I’m logically working my way through all those possibilities. You can just…just tell when you’re in the zone. I’m not there just yet, but deep down I know I’m on the road to getting there. I’m feeling exactly how I felt right before my great run a couple years back. And I know exactly what I have to do to do it all over again.
[Shane] And what’s that?
Sally pushes herself off the wall she was just leaning on and gestures for Shane to follow her. After a short walk, they both come to the curtains to that hallowed ring out in the centre of the arena. She carefully parts the curtains, and brings Shane to focus in on it: The ropes. The mat. The posts and the steps. That place were everyone in the business wants to be in: An APW ring. There’s nothing bigger, nothing better, than being in *that* ring right there. Sally doesn’t get Shane to bring the picture back on her – a voiceover with the ring is more than enough.
[Sally] I have to go out to that ring each and every time and win. That’s what I have to do. You put one win after another, and soon you’re on a roll. Soon you’ve go the confidence and the momentum to get to the top. Last week, it was Chaz Dillinger. This week it’s Johnny Sykes. I beat two of the best that APW has, and then what? The field is smaller of people I have to beat to get to the top. Jason Kash…Johnny Knuckles…Michael Callahan…people who are consistently ranked among the best on Asylum. But that’s way, way ahead. For now, I have to focus on one thing: Going down into that ring and beating Johnny Sykes. I will wrestling him down to that mat, I will keep him within those ropes, and I will pin him to that apron. That’s what’s happening in my mind, Shane, and that’s what’s happening in the match. Nothing more, nothing less.
The camera pans back to Sally, but she hasn’t taken her eyes off the ring. There’s a glint to them, a sparkle (to use a cliché) that’s been missing for some time. She really wants this. She really wants this win. She really wants that Test for the Best shot. She really wants her old spot back. Yes, she lost it to people who were better than her. But now she wants it back. And that means getting better. She might believe that she’s great, but now it’s time to prove it. She did it last week against Chaz. She needs to do it this week against Sykes. No easy task, not by any means But in her mind, she’s up to it. Here’s hoping that what’s happening in her mind, though, is what comes to happen in that ring. The shot fades out on Sally staring down her supposed date with the ring tonight to
Sally Talfourd
written across the screen, which in turn fades away as the episode comes to a close.
"Sally Talfourd presents ..."
is written across the screen, fades out, then
"In association with Action Packed Wrestling..."
is next to appear, holds, then fades out for
"Happy Endings T.V."
Which fades away to a shot of a the US Airways Arena again, but this time…this time it’s showtime! The place is packed out the front: A sea of people flooding the doors, eager to get to their seats (as if it would make the start of the show come a whole lot sooner). The night is dark, the lights are bright, and the excitement is electric! This fades away though to a shot of a more restrained, more demure place: The backstage. The APW trucks have been unloaded, the roadies are doing their last checks, and the megastars casually are making their way about.
[Shane] Look, it’s Sykes.
[Sally] Ooo! Hey Johnny!
We come to see Sally in the shot, looking around. Then we hear Shane point out, and Sally wave to, Mr. Sykes. She’s waving frantically, yelling loudly…but no response. Maybe he didn’t hear her. Maybe he didn’t want to hear her. But he just keeps on going. Who really knows.
[Shane] So, I guess Johnny heard what you had to say?
[Sally] You think? *Sally watches after him, then turns back to the camera with a shrug*[/b] Oh well. If I’d known he was going to be so emotional over all this, I’d have probably have sent him a box of tissues with a note warning him that I wasn’t going to be too nice. [/color]
Sally shrugs again, and Shane and her head off. Winding around the back corridors, dodging a cacophony of people, we get the pleasure of following the perfectly-curved Sally to a quicker area of the arena.
[Shane] What are you thinking?
[Sally] I’m thinking Sykes needs to learn something about APW. Maybe he needs to learn something about this whole business? That making friends and wrestling matches are two different things? But who cares what he’s thinking. If he’s still sore about it, he can do something about it. And if that’s what he’s thinking about – thinking about what I had to say about him? Then I guess my words worked. Because then he’s not thinking about the match, and he’s not thinking about what he needs to do. So, like, first win for me.
Sally isn’t one to try and go word-for-word against her opponent. What they have to say, what they do between their matches, what they think about her? That all means about as much to her as, say, the weather in Madagascar. Actually, weather in Madagascar is probably more important because that pretty good movie was set there, and since seeing it Sally’s always wanted to go. See the…wait! Stop. Get back on track. Here and now.,..here and now.
[Sally] But, just to reiterate anything I might have said: There’s something about me that makes me better. I’m not thinking about what my opponent has said. Not worried about what he’s saying of thinking about me. I’m more interested in the match. In planning out what I need to do for this match. On what I need to do to win everything here: Win the match, win the fans, win that shot at the Test for the Best tournament. This match is all about winning, and if I’m the only one who’s going to be thinking about that, then I’m going to be the only person who’s walking out of this as a winner.
Because this is one of those things that so many people overlook in a match. It’s the thinking. Think of it this way. You bring a body to the match, and it’s trained. It’s conditioned. It’s worked and tried and tested. Some people put so much effort into creating the perfect body, that they neglect something a little more important: The mind. That thing you use to think and plan and play out the match. And as much as you train your body, you need to train your mind. You have to think through the match. You have to think through your opponent’s actions. You have to think through your own. The person who thinks best goes the best. And if Sykes is thinking about anything other than the match…well, we know who is preparing themselves for the better.
[Shane] If you’re relying on your thinking Sally, I think you’re going to…
[Sally] Not another word, Shane! I’m a great thinker, thank-you very much! I’ve gone up against the best and won. I’ve won with less strength, with less weight, and with less everything. How do you think I’ve won all those times? Sykes, he’s won because he can match everyone strength-for-strength. I’ve only ever achieved anything here because I was able to own a match in my own mind. With some opponents, that’s been an easy thing. And for the sake of not embarrassing them, I won’t name them. But for the likes of other opponents, it’s been tough. The Level-One’s, the Bigg’s, the CJ Gates’ – It’s not always an easy thing to out-think and out-plan an opponent. But, eventually, I get there. I learn, I adapt, and I get better. I’ve learned from the years I’ve been here. I’ve learned what it takes to win here in APW. Sykes is undefeated, sure. But how many matches can you win in a handful of weeks? Three matches? What experience does that give the guy against me? He’s never had the chance to learn how to beat me. He’s going in blind. He’s not thinking about how to beat me, and he’s got nothing to think about anyway.
[Shane] What are you thinking about then?
Sally has to stop and think about her own thinking for a moment. It’s a lot easier to think that to talk about thinking, right?
[Sally] Well, for starters, I’m thinking about the match. I’m thinking that he can match my speed, so I have to take that out of the equation. While I would usually try and win this on speed, I’m going to slow this down. Slow it right down. This match will go at a snail’s pace. That way, I don’t miss an opportunity to take advantage of a mistake. You see, people find it so hard to capitalise on my mistakes because I go so fast. Any mistake I might make is covered in a split second. The same would go for our friend Johnny. So I’m slowing this right down. I’m also thinking that this needs to be a mat-match. He is in his element jumping and flying, so I need to take him out of his element. I take him out of it and then he’s uncomfortable. He’s not so quick on his feet. He’s going to make a mistake. And that’s when I take advantage of his mistakes.
[Shane] That sounds a lot different to your other matches Sally. Usually you’re talking about going fast and wrestling hard?
[Sally] It is, it’s pretty different. But that’s the difference between being good and being great. Johnny is good, and he will do what is most familiar to him. He will do what he’s good at: High-flying and crazy stuff. Me? I’m great, and I’m going to be doing what I’m great at: Adapting. I’m already adapted to this match. I’ve adjusted myself, my thinking, to a point where I know what I need to do to win. I have to mix my things up, and then quickly get familiar with that. Familiar enough to make it seem like this is what I do every week. And, in a way, it is. I always have to adapt myself, change myself, modify myself. That’s what a truly great person does in this business. They don’t get caught in a rut.
[Shane] I think it’s fair to say you’ve been in a rut or two before?
[Sally] Oh of course! When I lost that world title two years ago, when I lost to CJ Gates this time last year, when I lost to Callahan a month ago – great examples of when I was in a rut. When I wasn’t thinking about the match at hand, about what I have to do to win, about how to be the best in the ring. All those times, I’m off thinking about this or that, stuff that doesn’t matter. Now though? Now my mind is as sharp as a tack! It’s exactly where it needs to be: Focused on the match, making sure I’m planning, making sure I’m logically working my way through all those possibilities. You can just…just tell when you’re in the zone. I’m not there just yet, but deep down I know I’m on the road to getting there. I’m feeling exactly how I felt right before my great run a couple years back. And I know exactly what I have to do to do it all over again.
[Shane] And what’s that?
Sally pushes herself off the wall she was just leaning on and gestures for Shane to follow her. After a short walk, they both come to the curtains to that hallowed ring out in the centre of the arena. She carefully parts the curtains, and brings Shane to focus in on it: The ropes. The mat. The posts and the steps. That place were everyone in the business wants to be in: An APW ring. There’s nothing bigger, nothing better, than being in *that* ring right there. Sally doesn’t get Shane to bring the picture back on her – a voiceover with the ring is more than enough.
[Sally] I have to go out to that ring each and every time and win. That’s what I have to do. You put one win after another, and soon you’re on a roll. Soon you’ve go the confidence and the momentum to get to the top. Last week, it was Chaz Dillinger. This week it’s Johnny Sykes. I beat two of the best that APW has, and then what? The field is smaller of people I have to beat to get to the top. Jason Kash…Johnny Knuckles…Michael Callahan…people who are consistently ranked among the best on Asylum. But that’s way, way ahead. For now, I have to focus on one thing: Going down into that ring and beating Johnny Sykes. I will wrestling him down to that mat, I will keep him within those ropes, and I will pin him to that apron. That’s what’s happening in my mind, Shane, and that’s what’s happening in the match. Nothing more, nothing less.
The camera pans back to Sally, but she hasn’t taken her eyes off the ring. There’s a glint to them, a sparkle (to use a cliché) that’s been missing for some time. She really wants this. She really wants this win. She really wants that Test for the Best shot. She really wants her old spot back. Yes, she lost it to people who were better than her. But now she wants it back. And that means getting better. She might believe that she’s great, but now it’s time to prove it. She did it last week against Chaz. She needs to do it this week against Sykes. No easy task, not by any means But in her mind, she’s up to it. Here’s hoping that what’s happening in her mind, though, is what comes to happen in that ring. The shot fades out on Sally staring down her supposed date with the ring tonight to
Sally Talfourd
written across the screen, which in turn fades away as the episode comes to a close.
