Post by Chaos Stryke on Nov 11, 2012 0:50:42 GMT -4
We open to a shot of Logan Alexander sitting inside his office at his training school near Toronto. He’s wearing dark grey pants and has on a black shirt with small writing on the front left side of it. In small letters, the acronym A.M.D.T.C. is written in white. He’s leaning forward, reading over and filling out some paperwork there.
Sitting on the other side of the desk is a stranger not seen in APW before. The camera zooms in on the light skinned, blonde haired, well built man. He’s got a shirt identical to Logan’s and has on a matching pair of wrestling tights with the acronym. He sits back in his chair and watches Logan. He glances at the camera and smiles slightly. In the bottom corner of the feed, a file photo appears, along with the name ‘Phil Jackson, Independent Wrestler’ before he speaks.
“So looks like smooth sailing for you now, eh?”
Logan glances at him.
“What makes you say that?”
“You proved yourself against another impressive upstart and you’re the number one contender for the North American championship.”
Logan snorts and returns to his paperwork.
“Winning one match proves nothing. You know that by now. I have to win more consistently. I’m not going to start being satisfied until I can string together at least a few wins… even if I won the World title tomorrow. How long would I hold a title if I can’t go more than one or two weeks without losing? I don’t want to be a transitional champion and a champion that only won matches occasionally yet held onto the title regardless.”
Phil raises an eyebrow and regards Logan sceptically.
“Really? If you won the World title in APW you wouldn’t be happy?”
“Not now. I can’t carry that burden. If I beat Aubrey and got the North American title, I don’t know if I could represent it like she could. She’s proven she can compete at that level. I haven’t. I think this title shot I’ve got is one of the worst things that could happen to me right now…”
“Are you serious? Being a top contender is a bad thing?”
Logan sighs softly and looks up at Phil, setting his pen down.
“I’m not ready for it yet. I wasn’t expecting to be back in contention now after my showing at One Night in Hell. That title match was a snap decision by the GM. I wasn’t just going to throw a match, but I can’t say I really wanted the reward. Valo did. It was exactly what he wanted and he stepped up his performance as a result. I wanted to beat him, or just hold my own against him last week… In the ring, when I saw him react to the announcement, I knew I was getting his very best. I’m surprised that he didn’t beat me with that extra motivation.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
Logan looks a bit sceptical in return.
“You may not be completely self assured now, but that doesn’t mean that you’re incapable of performing at your best. I’ve watched you wrestle for years. You wrestle well even when you lose or you’re not at your best. Your ring style lets you do that. Valo might have underestimated your skill, but it’s a testament to your skill that you defeated him despite his superior conviction and motivation.”
“You might be right, but I can’t let that self assuredness go to my head. I may be able to hold my own against anyone, but being overconfident can get you beaten quickly. I need to get better. Once I’m on a more even keel, then I can see where I truly stand. On Asylum or Overdrive, competition is going to be several times greater. If I can’t cut it here, how will I manage there?”
“You tend to find a way.”
Logan lets out a breath and sits back.
“I’d better find myself first, that guy who’s ready to compete and give his best week in and out.”
“Well… don’t let everything else pass you by while you do. Your partner needs you. She still looks to you to help her out. So don’t forget about her.”
Phil’s reminder draws a nod from Logan.
“I won’t. We might be rivals for the title, but we’re still one of the better teams in APW. I think it’s time we go and show how good we can be… especially when we’ve got to face each other soon.”
The scene fades out on the pair.
We open to the exterior of a sports arena, presumably in Harrisburg for this week’s Meltdown. We can’t see the name from where the camera is. Night is falling and Logan stands facing the camera. He nods to the camera and gets going with little hesitation.
“This week, tag team wrestling is gearing up to take a more central place in APW. Since M&M arrived here, we’ve wanted to climb to the top of the rankings. We wanted a shot at the titles and have the opportunity to draw attention to them. Let’s face facts, the Tag titles have become forgotten. NobleHart are still the champions, but what value do the belts have?”
“Interestingly… it wasn’t until after Aubrey and I showed up and made our intentions clear that new tag teams started popping up all over APW. Actual teams and random drawings suddenly wanted in on it. One team actually got the top contender spot, but have been… partly shelved by some thoughtless individual. I suppose Young Mannie is the number one contender on his own… but this new tag tournament will probably un-muddy the waters.”
“M&M haven’t been in tag action for a while, but I’d be hard pressed to say that we’ve lost ground from where we were. Our last showing was impressive, even if we had the win swept out from under us. Since then, Aubrey has only improved. I’ve stumbled, but still hold steady. I’m here to give the real star someone to partner with.”
He smirks slightly after his self depreciating comment.
“We’ll see if there are any other Meltdown teams in this field that give us trouble and maybe we’ll see firsthand what some of the competitors from Asylum and Overdrive are like. I’d like to believe we’ll be in those matches later on, but there’s no sense getting ahead of ourselves. The last few weeks reminded me that surprises happen when you’re overly confident. Simply put, we’re out to secure two wins and a spot in the match slated for Christmas Chaos. If it’s a top contender match or Tag title match or regular tag match doesn’t matter to me. Whatever’s on the line, I want to be part of it. I’m sure Aubrey feels the same. So that brings us to Amber and Sophie, the Storm sisters, collectively known as Storm Front.”
“Allow me to welcome you to Action Packed Wrestling. I’ll warn you that you’re facing a stiff challenge for your debut. You’re facing the best competition available on Meltdown. You’re standing across the ring from the top wrestler and her number one contender. That puts us in the one-two position here. On top of that, we’ve shown in our time here that we are a solidly supportive team. We’ve beaten the team that were the top tag contenders during our debut match and followed that with another win the next week. We’ve had one tag match since, coming up just short against the former North American champion and his general purpose companion in a triple threat match. In between those matches and this one, Aubrey has been on the fast track to super stardom beating everyone in her path. I haven’t been up to that level, but I’ve proven a challenge for most of my opponents.”
“You two have been given one great opportunity here. If you win, it will be an impressive feat. I don’t want to come off as condescending but you two are relative unknowns, so no one’s expecting you two to win this week. There is nothing available about the two of you that makes either of you seem like a potential threat, or suggests you’re a strong tag pairing even if you’re family. I’ve seen plenty of examples of siblings as bitter rivals in this business. There’s nothing that hints at either of you being experienced either. Taking all of these together doesn’t make for good chances against us.”
He shrugs slightly to the camera.
“But I’ll give you two the benefit of the doubt. I’m not going to treat the two like you’re fresh out of wrestling school or think that this match is an easy win for us. I’m going to assume that you two are well versed in your disciplines. Amber is a high risk, high impact style wrestler. She’ll have agility, balance and fighting spirit. She’s giving up a lot of weight to me, but she’s going to know how to hit and bring someone like me down to her size. Sophie is a mat based submission wrestler. She’s going to be crisply executing everything she does. She won’t be fazed by a bigger opponent, she’s going to try and bring me down, keep me down, and break me down. They match up fairly evenly with Aubrey on paper. The question is going to come down to experience though.”
“I pride myself on being a ring general. I bring experience to the ring. I can make reasonable assumptions about what to expect from you two on Monday, but I’ll be on my guard because you two are unknowns. Aubrey and I will be ready to adapt though. We’ve both done quite well against unknown opponents thus far, and Aubrey has triumphed over many known competitors. We can hold our own alone and we’ve proven to be a formidable pairing. There’s not much we don’t feel we can handle. I’m used to fighting above my weight class, beyond my talent ability, and past my level of experience. I’m never that shaken by my opponents, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the two of you can do. Aubrey’s ready to show you why she’s the best here. I’m ready to take things up a notch myself. Together, we’re looking to make a mark on APW… and we’re still holding a grudge for being denied our opportunity over a month ago. We haven’t forgotten and we’re going to make the most of this tournament to get what we want.”
“We know what it takes to succeed. We both know how to make it happen too. This will be a great learning experience for you and it’s another opportunity for us to restate our desire and commitment to it. Don’t expect us to go easy on you. We’ll take what you can dish out and give it right back. We’re not going to take it easy because this looks like a freebie. We’re here to make a statement, and we can only do that by putting both of you down on Monday. Nothing less will do.”
He looks intently at the camera, but glances past the camera and into the distance at the sound of a rumbling, possibly an oncoming storm. He refocuses on the camera.
“I’ve weathered many different storms in the ring over my career. I’m not that concerned about facing another, no matter how big it turns out to be. I’ve got a goal to accomplish and a great partner by my side so bring all the fury you possess down upon us. We’re going to break though this storm, ride out the rough seas and continue on to our promised land.”
Logan nods to the camera, touches two fingers to his temple then moves them away in a slight wave before moving past the camera. The camera turns spotting storm clouds that are heading this way, and watching Logan walk off towards them before the scene fades to black.
Sitting on the other side of the desk is a stranger not seen in APW before. The camera zooms in on the light skinned, blonde haired, well built man. He’s got a shirt identical to Logan’s and has on a matching pair of wrestling tights with the acronym. He sits back in his chair and watches Logan. He glances at the camera and smiles slightly. In the bottom corner of the feed, a file photo appears, along with the name ‘Phil Jackson, Independent Wrestler’ before he speaks.
“So looks like smooth sailing for you now, eh?”
Logan glances at him.
“What makes you say that?”
“You proved yourself against another impressive upstart and you’re the number one contender for the North American championship.”
Logan snorts and returns to his paperwork.
“Winning one match proves nothing. You know that by now. I have to win more consistently. I’m not going to start being satisfied until I can string together at least a few wins… even if I won the World title tomorrow. How long would I hold a title if I can’t go more than one or two weeks without losing? I don’t want to be a transitional champion and a champion that only won matches occasionally yet held onto the title regardless.”
Phil raises an eyebrow and regards Logan sceptically.
“Really? If you won the World title in APW you wouldn’t be happy?”
“Not now. I can’t carry that burden. If I beat Aubrey and got the North American title, I don’t know if I could represent it like she could. She’s proven she can compete at that level. I haven’t. I think this title shot I’ve got is one of the worst things that could happen to me right now…”
“Are you serious? Being a top contender is a bad thing?”
Logan sighs softly and looks up at Phil, setting his pen down.
“I’m not ready for it yet. I wasn’t expecting to be back in contention now after my showing at One Night in Hell. That title match was a snap decision by the GM. I wasn’t just going to throw a match, but I can’t say I really wanted the reward. Valo did. It was exactly what he wanted and he stepped up his performance as a result. I wanted to beat him, or just hold my own against him last week… In the ring, when I saw him react to the announcement, I knew I was getting his very best. I’m surprised that he didn’t beat me with that extra motivation.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
Logan looks a bit sceptical in return.
“You may not be completely self assured now, but that doesn’t mean that you’re incapable of performing at your best. I’ve watched you wrestle for years. You wrestle well even when you lose or you’re not at your best. Your ring style lets you do that. Valo might have underestimated your skill, but it’s a testament to your skill that you defeated him despite his superior conviction and motivation.”
“You might be right, but I can’t let that self assuredness go to my head. I may be able to hold my own against anyone, but being overconfident can get you beaten quickly. I need to get better. Once I’m on a more even keel, then I can see where I truly stand. On Asylum or Overdrive, competition is going to be several times greater. If I can’t cut it here, how will I manage there?”
“You tend to find a way.”
Logan lets out a breath and sits back.
“I’d better find myself first, that guy who’s ready to compete and give his best week in and out.”
“Well… don’t let everything else pass you by while you do. Your partner needs you. She still looks to you to help her out. So don’t forget about her.”
Phil’s reminder draws a nod from Logan.
“I won’t. We might be rivals for the title, but we’re still one of the better teams in APW. I think it’s time we go and show how good we can be… especially when we’ve got to face each other soon.”
The scene fades out on the pair.
We open to the exterior of a sports arena, presumably in Harrisburg for this week’s Meltdown. We can’t see the name from where the camera is. Night is falling and Logan stands facing the camera. He nods to the camera and gets going with little hesitation.
“This week, tag team wrestling is gearing up to take a more central place in APW. Since M&M arrived here, we’ve wanted to climb to the top of the rankings. We wanted a shot at the titles and have the opportunity to draw attention to them. Let’s face facts, the Tag titles have become forgotten. NobleHart are still the champions, but what value do the belts have?”
“Interestingly… it wasn’t until after Aubrey and I showed up and made our intentions clear that new tag teams started popping up all over APW. Actual teams and random drawings suddenly wanted in on it. One team actually got the top contender spot, but have been… partly shelved by some thoughtless individual. I suppose Young Mannie is the number one contender on his own… but this new tag tournament will probably un-muddy the waters.”
“M&M haven’t been in tag action for a while, but I’d be hard pressed to say that we’ve lost ground from where we were. Our last showing was impressive, even if we had the win swept out from under us. Since then, Aubrey has only improved. I’ve stumbled, but still hold steady. I’m here to give the real star someone to partner with.”
He smirks slightly after his self depreciating comment.
“We’ll see if there are any other Meltdown teams in this field that give us trouble and maybe we’ll see firsthand what some of the competitors from Asylum and Overdrive are like. I’d like to believe we’ll be in those matches later on, but there’s no sense getting ahead of ourselves. The last few weeks reminded me that surprises happen when you’re overly confident. Simply put, we’re out to secure two wins and a spot in the match slated for Christmas Chaos. If it’s a top contender match or Tag title match or regular tag match doesn’t matter to me. Whatever’s on the line, I want to be part of it. I’m sure Aubrey feels the same. So that brings us to Amber and Sophie, the Storm sisters, collectively known as Storm Front.”
“Allow me to welcome you to Action Packed Wrestling. I’ll warn you that you’re facing a stiff challenge for your debut. You’re facing the best competition available on Meltdown. You’re standing across the ring from the top wrestler and her number one contender. That puts us in the one-two position here. On top of that, we’ve shown in our time here that we are a solidly supportive team. We’ve beaten the team that were the top tag contenders during our debut match and followed that with another win the next week. We’ve had one tag match since, coming up just short against the former North American champion and his general purpose companion in a triple threat match. In between those matches and this one, Aubrey has been on the fast track to super stardom beating everyone in her path. I haven’t been up to that level, but I’ve proven a challenge for most of my opponents.”
“You two have been given one great opportunity here. If you win, it will be an impressive feat. I don’t want to come off as condescending but you two are relative unknowns, so no one’s expecting you two to win this week. There is nothing available about the two of you that makes either of you seem like a potential threat, or suggests you’re a strong tag pairing even if you’re family. I’ve seen plenty of examples of siblings as bitter rivals in this business. There’s nothing that hints at either of you being experienced either. Taking all of these together doesn’t make for good chances against us.”
He shrugs slightly to the camera.
“But I’ll give you two the benefit of the doubt. I’m not going to treat the two like you’re fresh out of wrestling school or think that this match is an easy win for us. I’m going to assume that you two are well versed in your disciplines. Amber is a high risk, high impact style wrestler. She’ll have agility, balance and fighting spirit. She’s giving up a lot of weight to me, but she’s going to know how to hit and bring someone like me down to her size. Sophie is a mat based submission wrestler. She’s going to be crisply executing everything she does. She won’t be fazed by a bigger opponent, she’s going to try and bring me down, keep me down, and break me down. They match up fairly evenly with Aubrey on paper. The question is going to come down to experience though.”
“I pride myself on being a ring general. I bring experience to the ring. I can make reasonable assumptions about what to expect from you two on Monday, but I’ll be on my guard because you two are unknowns. Aubrey and I will be ready to adapt though. We’ve both done quite well against unknown opponents thus far, and Aubrey has triumphed over many known competitors. We can hold our own alone and we’ve proven to be a formidable pairing. There’s not much we don’t feel we can handle. I’m used to fighting above my weight class, beyond my talent ability, and past my level of experience. I’m never that shaken by my opponents, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the two of you can do. Aubrey’s ready to show you why she’s the best here. I’m ready to take things up a notch myself. Together, we’re looking to make a mark on APW… and we’re still holding a grudge for being denied our opportunity over a month ago. We haven’t forgotten and we’re going to make the most of this tournament to get what we want.”
“We know what it takes to succeed. We both know how to make it happen too. This will be a great learning experience for you and it’s another opportunity for us to restate our desire and commitment to it. Don’t expect us to go easy on you. We’ll take what you can dish out and give it right back. We’re not going to take it easy because this looks like a freebie. We’re here to make a statement, and we can only do that by putting both of you down on Monday. Nothing less will do.”
He looks intently at the camera, but glances past the camera and into the distance at the sound of a rumbling, possibly an oncoming storm. He refocuses on the camera.
“I’ve weathered many different storms in the ring over my career. I’m not that concerned about facing another, no matter how big it turns out to be. I’ve got a goal to accomplish and a great partner by my side so bring all the fury you possess down upon us. We’re going to break though this storm, ride out the rough seas and continue on to our promised land.”
Logan nods to the camera, touches two fingers to his temple then moves them away in a slight wave before moving past the camera. The camera turns spotting storm clouds that are heading this way, and watching Logan walk off towards them before the scene fades to black.
