Post by The Soul Of Philly on Aug 10, 2012 0:42:35 GMT -4
August 2nd, 2012
Prologue
If there is one thing I don’t love about my career choice, is the fact that on any given night, in any given match, against any given opponent, with any given move, any given body part of mine can be hurt for any given amount of time. Holy hell, that’s a lot of “any given”’s. Maybe if I focus on the amount of times I say “any given”, my ankle won’t….OOOOHHHH…nevermind, it’ll still hurt like a fucker.
If there is one thing I don’t love about my career choice, is the fact that on any given night, in any given match, against any given opponent, with any given move, any given body part of mine can be hurt for any given amount of time. Holy hell, that’s a lot of “any given”’s. Maybe if I focus on the amount of times I say “any given”, my ankle won’t….OOOOHHHH…nevermind, it’ll still hurt like a fucker.
We open the scene inside of the living room of the house belonging to “The Soul of Philly” TJ. We see TJ sitting on the couch in a blue shirt with the Nike logo on it and white shorts, flipping through the channels, looking for something in the middle of the day. He flips past the Maury and Springer reruns, past the Judge Joe Brown and Judge Judy reruns, and past The View and The Chew and decides to watch ESPN’s First Take, as Stephen A. Smith, a former Philadelphia Sports writer, and Skip Bayless, a former lobotomy patient, discuss the happenings of the Olympics. TJ grabs a couch pillow or two and puts them on the coffee table in front of him and puts his right ankle on top of them, the same ankle Julius Farquhar attacked last week, forcing TJ into a walking boot for the time being.
TJ begins to doze off, the lack of mobility leaving him a mound of unmotivated man, just as TJ is about to fade into a nap, a knock of his door is heard, waking TJ from his almost-sleep
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ COME IN!
TJ decides rather than be a good homeowner and answering the door, juts screams to the other end of the door to enter. Enter in TJ’s two friends, Roger Gings and Trey Gings. Raj is wearing a green And-One shirt and black shorts with green Nike mid-top shoes. Trey, the younger of the two, walks in wearing a black tight t-shirt, a backpack, beige khaki shorts, high black socks and grey Air Jordans. Trey hops over the back of TJ’s couch right next to him while Raj sits down in the recliner to the left of the couch.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings We wake you from your nap sleeping beauty?
Trey.Gings Damn it, I was gonna say that!
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Nah, I’m good, just doctor said stay off the ankle for a week or so, which means, nothing until Tuesday. I forgot how bad TV was during the mid-day.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Hows the ankle?
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Could be worse. It was too swollen to get an actually diagnosis on it, even on Tuesday.
Trey.Gings That fucking sucks.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Yea, could be broken, I dunno, haven’t really tried to walk on it much, ask me if I wanted crutches said no, a cane would do.
Raj and Trey look at TJ with confused faces.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ What? You didn’t see Jules told me to get a cane, so I did. Helpful advice. Doesn’t bother me as much as crutches.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Hey, it’s your body.
Trey.Gings It’s dumb, but it’s your’s.
TJ backhands Trey who sells it like he just got shot.
Trey.Gings AHHHH! MY EYE! YOU HIT ME IN THE EYE WITH YOUR MONGALOID FINGERS!
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Stop your bitching.
Trey stops selling minus holding his hand over his eye. TJ laughs and then turns his attention to Raj.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ You bring your camera?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Yea, it’s in Trey’s bag.
TJ reaches for Trey’s bag, but Trey grabs it quickly before TJ.
Trey.Gings No. Not until you say you’re sorry.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Seriously? How old are you?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Say you’re sorry.
TJ quickly turns to Roger and gives him a “WTF” look.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ What?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Say you’re sorry.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Fine, fuck you guys. I’m sorry.
TJ turns to see Trey holding the camera up to TJ, unbeknownst to him the red recording light is on.
Trey.Gings Got it!
Trey tosses the camera to Roger.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Care to explain?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Oh, no reason. Ok, let’s do this…
We fade to black for a short second and flip to the view of the camera as we see TJ sitting on the couch with Trey next to him smiling. TJ’s walking boot is in the shot.
Trey.Gings Hey everyone and welcome to…
TJ muzzles Trey with his right hand, effectively shutting him up as he looks at him.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ What are you doing?
Trey.Gings Well, Noble-Hart have their own little thing and that raft rider has one too, so why not you?
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Because I don’t need any “little thing” to set me apart from them, I’m six feet eleven inches tall and 285 pounds, I stand out NATURALLY. Now, if you will let me be…
Trey throws his hands up in surrender as he gets up and heads into the kitchen.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Ah, where to start? Many, many topics to tackle today. There’s my ankle, which as you can see, is in a walking boot for the time being. Thanks to Julius Farquhar, but that’s for another day, August 26th to be exact. But let me say this, I will be cleared to wrestle come Asylum, which brings me to the main topic of Jair Hopkins. J-Hop, you’re a helluva fighter. I mean that. See there is something we both do that we can respect: we beat people. Plain and simple, we make sure there is no doubt about who was the better man in each match. Both of us have been on this wave of momentum since we’ve came into APW, we both had a down slip, but since then, we’ve been like a pair of eyes when your ex makes a comment about you now: rolling.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Really?
Raj’s voice from behind the camera causes TJ to shrug his shoulder at his comparison.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Either way we are very similar. You see, there’s a lot of qualities we share in our lives. For example, we are positive products of our environments. Both us of, come from hard environments; you from Brooklyn and I from Philly. Two settings that molded us to what we are to this day. You know, I get this vibe that you were the guy that, like me, everyone was cool with. But unlike me, you weren’t that guy because you were big as shit. You see, I was cool with everyone because they feared me, they respected you. I grew up the way I was because I was an asset for people, that I could do their dirty work much easier than they could. You were cool because that’s who you were. That’s just me though, that’s what I get from you, the way you carry yourself, your swagger, that’s the read I get from you. I respect it. You’re a good guy; you don’t expect respect unless you give it. You live by that’s you. You like me, trained locally and have your mentor be a part of your success just as much as me. You are a man of loyalty. That’s you. And like me, you have put people on the shelf. I’m put Young Kiz and Matthew Turner on the shelf, you did the same to El Insecto Del Negro and Mike Foxx. You put them on the shelf to show your superiority. You did it because like me, have an air of confidence that you are better than your opponent. That’s you.
TJ brings his finger up and tilts his head to give off a “hold it right there” vibe.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ I’m not gonna just take it easy on you. Hell, I plan on beating you senseless, it’s just what I do. I did it to Wolves, I did it to Jules just last week, I beat people worse than they’ve ever been beaten. I’ve pushed Julius to a point that he has never been to. I wasn’t playing with you when I said that I want you to have no excuses for a loss. I said it not because I think you’re like that, no, because the world is. Your fans will behind you on Sunday and if you lose, some of them will try to make up excuses because you won’t. The media will say something about why you didn’t win if you are defeated, because you won’t. Someone on the internet will come up with something to give you a reason why you lost, but you won’t take it, because that’s not you. You won’t accept defeat, because that’s not you.
Trey comes back in a with a Yuengling bottle, and sits down next to TJ.
Trey.Gings What about his buddy? The champ?
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Look, that’s irrelevant to this match. Anthony won’t be in his corner, on the apron, in the ring, wearing the stripes or even selling popcorn. But Trey does bring up a good point, your relation with the champ fuels you, makes you want to succeed in the ring be like him. Have gold like him. Be recognized, like him. But no where have I seen you say that you WANT to be better than Anthony. Look, I’ve been around this business for some time, you don’t make friends here, you make a name. You spend too much time making friends and you won’t have enough to make yourself memorable. Sure, there’s exceptions to that rule, but it’s the rule. And I take from experience I had a buddy, we were the best tag team around, no one beat us, we found similar success, but neither of us were really pushed by the other to be better. Then some punk kid from Harlem walked into my ring and was an asshole, you wanna know what we did? We battled each other all over the world in a lot of companies, we pushed each other to heights that I don’t think either of us thought were possible. The moral of the story is friends are nice, but it’s rivals, competition, that brings the best outta you and as far as your relation with Anthony, that’s not you.
TJ winces as he lifts his right leg up and leans into the camera.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ So am I going to do that for you Jair? Am I going to bring the best outta you before you’re big title match? Am I going to beat you, but in defeat, show you your true potential? And likewise, can you bring the best outta me? Can you get me in the right place before my match with Julius? Can you beat me? Can you beat greatness in its truest form? Can you beat your nightmares in their physical forms? Can you beat, “THE SOOOOOOOUUUUUULLLLL OF PHILLY”? I don’t think you can. Because you’re too busy being nice and to beat me, you gotta be willing to get mean. You gotta be willing to get ruthless. And that’s just not you.
TJ begins to doze off, the lack of mobility leaving him a mound of unmotivated man, just as TJ is about to fade into a nap, a knock of his door is heard, waking TJ from his almost-sleep
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ COME IN!
TJ decides rather than be a good homeowner and answering the door, juts screams to the other end of the door to enter. Enter in TJ’s two friends, Roger Gings and Trey Gings. Raj is wearing a green And-One shirt and black shorts with green Nike mid-top shoes. Trey, the younger of the two, walks in wearing a black tight t-shirt, a backpack, beige khaki shorts, high black socks and grey Air Jordans. Trey hops over the back of TJ’s couch right next to him while Raj sits down in the recliner to the left of the couch.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings We wake you from your nap sleeping beauty?
Trey.Gings Damn it, I was gonna say that!
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Nah, I’m good, just doctor said stay off the ankle for a week or so, which means, nothing until Tuesday. I forgot how bad TV was during the mid-day.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Hows the ankle?
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Could be worse. It was too swollen to get an actually diagnosis on it, even on Tuesday.
Trey.Gings That fucking sucks.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Yea, could be broken, I dunno, haven’t really tried to walk on it much, ask me if I wanted crutches said no, a cane would do.
Raj and Trey look at TJ with confused faces.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ What? You didn’t see Jules told me to get a cane, so I did. Helpful advice. Doesn’t bother me as much as crutches.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Hey, it’s your body.
Trey.Gings It’s dumb, but it’s your’s.
TJ backhands Trey who sells it like he just got shot.
Trey.Gings AHHHH! MY EYE! YOU HIT ME IN THE EYE WITH YOUR MONGALOID FINGERS!
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Stop your bitching.
Trey stops selling minus holding his hand over his eye. TJ laughs and then turns his attention to Raj.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ You bring your camera?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Yea, it’s in Trey’s bag.
TJ reaches for Trey’s bag, but Trey grabs it quickly before TJ.
Trey.Gings No. Not until you say you’re sorry.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Seriously? How old are you?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Say you’re sorry.
TJ quickly turns to Roger and gives him a “WTF” look.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ What?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Say you’re sorry.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Fine, fuck you guys. I’m sorry.
TJ turns to see Trey holding the camera up to TJ, unbeknownst to him the red recording light is on.
Trey.Gings Got it!
Trey tosses the camera to Roger.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Care to explain?
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Oh, no reason. Ok, let’s do this…
We fade to black for a short second and flip to the view of the camera as we see TJ sitting on the couch with Trey next to him smiling. TJ’s walking boot is in the shot.
Trey.Gings Hey everyone and welcome to…
TJ muzzles Trey with his right hand, effectively shutting him up as he looks at him.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ What are you doing?
Trey.Gings Well, Noble-Hart have their own little thing and that raft rider has one too, so why not you?
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Because I don’t need any “little thing” to set me apart from them, I’m six feet eleven inches tall and 285 pounds, I stand out NATURALLY. Now, if you will let me be…
Trey throws his hands up in surrender as he gets up and heads into the kitchen.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Ah, where to start? Many, many topics to tackle today. There’s my ankle, which as you can see, is in a walking boot for the time being. Thanks to Julius Farquhar, but that’s for another day, August 26th to be exact. But let me say this, I will be cleared to wrestle come Asylum, which brings me to the main topic of Jair Hopkins. J-Hop, you’re a helluva fighter. I mean that. See there is something we both do that we can respect: we beat people. Plain and simple, we make sure there is no doubt about who was the better man in each match. Both of us have been on this wave of momentum since we’ve came into APW, we both had a down slip, but since then, we’ve been like a pair of eyes when your ex makes a comment about you now: rolling.
Roger .“Raj”.Gings Really?
Raj’s voice from behind the camera causes TJ to shrug his shoulder at his comparison.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Either way we are very similar. You see, there’s a lot of qualities we share in our lives. For example, we are positive products of our environments. Both us of, come from hard environments; you from Brooklyn and I from Philly. Two settings that molded us to what we are to this day. You know, I get this vibe that you were the guy that, like me, everyone was cool with. But unlike me, you weren’t that guy because you were big as shit. You see, I was cool with everyone because they feared me, they respected you. I grew up the way I was because I was an asset for people, that I could do their dirty work much easier than they could. You were cool because that’s who you were. That’s just me though, that’s what I get from you, the way you carry yourself, your swagger, that’s the read I get from you. I respect it. You’re a good guy; you don’t expect respect unless you give it. You live by that’s you. You like me, trained locally and have your mentor be a part of your success just as much as me. You are a man of loyalty. That’s you. And like me, you have put people on the shelf. I’m put Young Kiz and Matthew Turner on the shelf, you did the same to El Insecto Del Negro and Mike Foxx. You put them on the shelf to show your superiority. You did it because like me, have an air of confidence that you are better than your opponent. That’s you.
TJ brings his finger up and tilts his head to give off a “hold it right there” vibe.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ I’m not gonna just take it easy on you. Hell, I plan on beating you senseless, it’s just what I do. I did it to Wolves, I did it to Jules just last week, I beat people worse than they’ve ever been beaten. I’ve pushed Julius to a point that he has never been to. I wasn’t playing with you when I said that I want you to have no excuses for a loss. I said it not because I think you’re like that, no, because the world is. Your fans will behind you on Sunday and if you lose, some of them will try to make up excuses because you won’t. The media will say something about why you didn’t win if you are defeated, because you won’t. Someone on the internet will come up with something to give you a reason why you lost, but you won’t take it, because that’s not you. You won’t accept defeat, because that’s not you.
Trey comes back in a with a Yuengling bottle, and sits down next to TJ.
Trey.Gings What about his buddy? The champ?
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ Look, that’s irrelevant to this match. Anthony won’t be in his corner, on the apron, in the ring, wearing the stripes or even selling popcorn. But Trey does bring up a good point, your relation with the champ fuels you, makes you want to succeed in the ring be like him. Have gold like him. Be recognized, like him. But no where have I seen you say that you WANT to be better than Anthony. Look, I’ve been around this business for some time, you don’t make friends here, you make a name. You spend too much time making friends and you won’t have enough to make yourself memorable. Sure, there’s exceptions to that rule, but it’s the rule. And I take from experience I had a buddy, we were the best tag team around, no one beat us, we found similar success, but neither of us were really pushed by the other to be better. Then some punk kid from Harlem walked into my ring and was an asshole, you wanna know what we did? We battled each other all over the world in a lot of companies, we pushed each other to heights that I don’t think either of us thought were possible. The moral of the story is friends are nice, but it’s rivals, competition, that brings the best outta you and as far as your relation with Anthony, that’s not you.
TJ winces as he lifts his right leg up and leans into the camera.
The.Soul.of.Philly TJ So am I going to do that for you Jair? Am I going to bring the best outta you before you’re big title match? Am I going to beat you, but in defeat, show you your true potential? And likewise, can you bring the best outta me? Can you get me in the right place before my match with Julius? Can you beat me? Can you beat greatness in its truest form? Can you beat your nightmares in their physical forms? Can you beat, “THE SOOOOOOOUUUUUULLLLL OF PHILLY”? I don’t think you can. Because you’re too busy being nice and to beat me, you gotta be willing to get mean. You gotta be willing to get ruthless. And that’s just not you.
