Post by Phil Atken on Dec 21, 2012 20:35:58 GMT -4
We once again return to the Atken War Room, the home of continuously playing video of Sally Talfourd based wrestling matches and other such flimflam. This time around, Atken's broad team of advisors appear to be elsewhere, leaving the man himself alone in the room. Atken stands directly in front of the big screen television, currently rolling the Michael Callahan/Sally Talfourd match from Mayhem earlier in the year. He peers down at the camera from his position standing stall at the head of the long conference table, dressed in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of lycra shorts (try not to think too hard about it).
Atken: Juxtaposition!
Atken slaps his hand off the table with a wide smile on his face.
Atken: There's nothing like a lovely piece of juxtaposition to prove a point. The ability to have a side by side comparison that validates what you've been saying all along, you just can't buy that can't of luck. Now, I've been in training most of the day... we leave this little Talfourd montage running throughout the day though, just in case we pick up on anything we may have missed. An opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship, that's not the time to slack off. That's the time to ramp it up. When you are mere days away for the biggest fight of your career, that's the time to put your life on hold, pull on the blinkers and live and breathe your opponent. Especially this match, a match that decides if we're all out of a job in a few weeks time. Now I'm sure you're asking yourself how I could be so dramatic with a declaration like that. Well, it's like I said at the start, juxtaposition. Could we pull up some footage of the delightful Ms. Talfourd's latest interview fellas?
The monitor behind Phil's feed changes from the Callahan/Talfourd bout to Sally Talfourd's latest Batman based interview.
Atken: Do you see this? Can you believe it? Can you actually believe the farce that Sally Talfourd is trying to treat this match as? You know, I've spoken until I was blue in the face about the real Sally Talfourd, the one who really doesn't care about the fans unless they're buying her autographed picture at ridiculously marked up rates, the Sally who would rather punch a fan asking for a photo at the airport than take a picture with them, I've spoke about that Sally time and time again, the Sally that the cameras don't follow. It's why I warned everyone about the Pillars, what the Pillars want to do and how the Pillars will KILL Asylum. People rolled their eyes at me, after all, to them, Sally is the hardest working wrestler in the business, she takes every match seriously, she partakes in intense training and she battled her way to where she is now, she'll be the first to tell you she has the scars to prove it. No seriously, she'll tell you, even if you don't want to know, she loves to tell everyone about 'em apropos of nothing. Narcissism 101 right there.
I suppose there may be an element of truth there, she's a scrapper, she bested five of Asylum's most talented, including myself to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Now though? Now that she's the champion? Now she's grabbing the APW Production crew, no doubt at a ridiculous cost just so she can record some weird superhero wish fulfillment instead of taking the battle for Asylum's soul god damn seriously. She would rather waste this company's money on a bloody vanity project than give this bout the respect that it fucking deserves...
Sorry, I try not to swear, that's not me, I'm much rather drive others into a rage than build myself into one. Raging is bad strategy, causes mistakes. I'm not that kind of guy, it's just... seeing someone be so wasteful, someone with so much power over our esteemed General Manager... it just makes me picture all the poor Asylum Megastars on the unemployment line by her hand, her and her lackeys, and it enrages me. The World Heavyweight Champion would rather play Batman than take her challenger seriously, I think that sums up The Four Pillars and their vision for a new Asylum in a neat little package with a lovely bow on top, doesn't it?
Still, Sally Talfourd must be looking to follow in her idol Mussolini's footsteps because that interview, it arrived on time and all the classics were there. Boy did I call that one. The Sally special right there, I don't know how she lives with herself giving the same interview for every opponent, where we get to hear how Sally will unquestionable win because she is Sally Talfourd and therefore a winner... the damn ego on the woman, if it had any gravitational pull, it would consume us all. I mean, I wonder if she just hopes that when entering a ring with a gentleman such as myself, she can make my knees quiver and I'll just drop down for her. I know she tried it with Bailey... hell Callahan too for that matter. The god complex, it's disturbing, it's disgusting... it's a god damn shame is what it is. If ever someone was begging to be knocked off their damn perch, it's Sally bloody Talfourd.
Phil stares up at the ceiling, taking a deep breathe as he does so. He heaves out a heavy sigh before continuing on, continuing to look at the ceiling tiles as he does so.
Atken: In a weird way though, I get it. You see, I seem to attract competitors who look down upon me, people who would rather make jokes, people who would rather participate in some kind of fantasy tales than take me seriously, I mean if you look at me, what is there to take serious. That's exactly the problem, they look at me, they look at my body, the look at my floppy hair, they don't look at what I do in the ring, they don't understand the negativity I have overcome to get where I am now. Instead, they'd rather do their little acts, their party pieces, some light relief for the guys watching because a match with Phil Atken, that's just as good as a night off, is it not? That's certainly what they thought.
I went up against Johnny Knuckles and rather than view me as he threat, he decided to put on a little Braveheart play, just the most adorable thing full of the most lawsuit inducing xenophobia that I may have ever bore witness to, the only thing that saddens me is I didn't have Saul on staff back then. Anthony Bailey, well, man, I guess he fancied himself as a talented actor with the way he spent his time before One Night in Hell, god know how much of him own money he plowed into that rings of hell spectacle. Johnny Rebel? Instead of studying his opponents, he... how do I explain this... wrote same Chamber Games Fan Fiction and posted it on the internet. For the kicker, now Sally fancies herself as the Dark Kight, protector of the sanctity of Asylum. Yet I bested Knuckles, I outlasted Bailey and Rebel in the Chamber, hell just for kicks, I pinned Bailey slap bang in the middle of the ring four weeks ago for having the audacity to ignore me.
The video feed behind Phil changes once more, this time showing the Extreme Elimination Chamber from One Night in Hell.
Atken: See, as much as you may protest that you're ready for me Sally, all evidence to date points to the contrary, there's no tables this time, no weapons, no four other men, just you, me and the ring. To that end, you're just the same as all of those who came before you, ready to slap me down without a thought. The fact that you have appointed yourself the guardian of Asylum without the briefest moment of self introspection certainly shows that perhaps you lack the wiles that you claim to have. Just like those who came before you and I'm talking heavy hitters here Sally, just like those guys, the talk, it doesn't match the eyes. The mouth says confidence, the eyes say arrogance. I like arrogance, I can defeat arrogance. Still, I can't help myself from talking shop Ms. Sally, so lets delve in, shall we.
Phil slaps himself on the wrist a few times, mumbling about not giving away any more secrets.
Atken: Sals, I'm sure it must make you squirm on that throne of yours to realise that I have a deep understanding about your game, deeper than you would like. You like to keep things very much on the surface, throw out a smile, stand in front of the fans, tell 'em this wins for them, like the previous ten weren't, it's an angle that works for you, clearly it must, the mindless sheep, they do love their Sally Talfourd merchandise. I see through you but it must be of concern that you just can't seem to penetrate me. You just haven't managed to solve that jigsaw puzzle of how I ended up standing across the ring from you.
The video behind Phil now changes to the Rasslemania bout between Phil Atken and Julius Farquhar, we see Phil being dumped in the bathtub full of tea, screaming in agony.
Atken: Let me spell it out for you, although I doubt it will penetrate that sphere of hype you've built up around yourself. I always try and drop the knowledge but people, they never want to listen. You see Sally, I can't help but be offended how off handed you described my journey to this defining moment. To dismiss my battles with Julius Farquhar as a mere dispute over tea, to call it comedic, that... that pisses me off. I don't know if you've ever been dumped into a bath full of scalding hot tea Sally, I don't know if you've ever been able to smell your own flesh cooking, to have spent days in hospital recovering from the burns. You may have your battle scars but my body is a living breathing scar from that match. People laughed Sally, people found it very amusing to watch a man being burnt to a crisp, to see a man scream out in agony but I can assure you, I didn't consider the pain and suffering a laugh riot, I didn't considering my hospital a comedic tour de force and above everything else, I didn't see the funny side in the two months on the shelf that match cost me.
Once again, the feed cuts, this time to Phil Atken interviewing Johnny Knuckles on Atken's Asylum.
Atken: Two months of my career, two months of my wrestling income Sally, that's what that match cost me. To make ends meet, I agreed to host my own chat show. I was relegated to being an in-ring whipping boy with a microphone, I was powerless to stop those who wanted to attack me for just asking questions.
I needed the money Sally, we don't all get those front page article in APW magazine, we don't all get a fawning fan base ready to lap up a damn thong with our picture on it, so I returned to the ring, I returned to the ring earlier than I should have because I needed to support myself. It was then I realised my purpose in wrestling, it was then I realised that there are many others like myself, others who have to work through the pain, others who have been put through sick and twisted matches for the personal amusement of our crooked General Manager, big Reggie himself. It was then that I drew the line, it was then I realised that I had to save Asylum and its Megastars from themselves. I found my calling Sally, I found it, it was to be the voice for those who weren't wise enough to speak for themselves.
Another cut, this time to Knuckles and Atken going toe to toe at Shockwave.
Atken: My battles with Johnny Knuckles, they tested that belief, they put it through the paces, after all I was standing across for a man who had time and time again proven that it mattered not to put his body on the line. It all lead to that moment where I had to unfortunately save Knuckles from himself by burying him under a stack of televisions, as I stood there and saw his lifeless body, as I walked away as the medic rushed down... it reminded me what I had forgotten in the heat of the moment... that's not what wrestling is. That's not what it should be. These matches that we're put in, they make us monsters, they make us injure our fellow man and these people, they have families, wives, girlfriend, children and we think nothing of it. I was the voice in this company to say enough, I was the voice in this company to try and put an end to the abuse and I'm treated as an evil conspirator. People start spreading the word that I'm an evil mastermind because I could give two shits what those blood thirsty loons in our crowd care about, that I care more about my fellow Megastars than I do the t-shirt buying sheeple.
A final cut, to the Brawl between Jason Kash, Atken, Knuckles, Callahan, GI and the Four Pillars at the last Asylum.
Atken: I thought I was always going to stand alone in that belief, I thought that others would be afraid to question authority but the formation of the Four Pillars, it make some waves. Some discontent with the show began to show with the troops Sally, some people were willing to listen to me. They saw what you wanted to do, they saw what Reginald wanted to do and they did not like it. They did not like it one bit. To endorse the Pillars, that's to endorse everything that has lead up to this point. It's why I can't let you succeed, it's why I've had to call in the troops. It's not just me Sally, the company is turning on you, they are starting to see the real you, hell, Jason Kash called me last night to answer my call to arms.
The video feeds goes dark.
Atken: So Sally, if you consider that soft, if you consider that comedic, if you think that my motivations are somehow beneath your egotistical crowing... then I look forward to Sunday night. I look forward to seeing what this soft dandy does to you. I am quivering in anticipation to stand over your body, my lily-white arms outstretched, the World Heavyweight Championship in my giant mitts. This may be a joke, a jape, to you. You may even consider facing me beneath you. Every single minute I have worked for APW has accumulated to bring me to this point. To stand across from you in front of a passionate Madison Square Garden crowd on the 23rd of December and to shape Asylum's future. If that's nothing more than a meaningless skit to you well...
To paraphrase a wise man: I've worked for one year for you pigs and you want to break those walls down, you want to destroy me?
Well you go to hell.
Atken: Juxtaposition!
Atken slaps his hand off the table with a wide smile on his face.
Atken: There's nothing like a lovely piece of juxtaposition to prove a point. The ability to have a side by side comparison that validates what you've been saying all along, you just can't buy that can't of luck. Now, I've been in training most of the day... we leave this little Talfourd montage running throughout the day though, just in case we pick up on anything we may have missed. An opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship, that's not the time to slack off. That's the time to ramp it up. When you are mere days away for the biggest fight of your career, that's the time to put your life on hold, pull on the blinkers and live and breathe your opponent. Especially this match, a match that decides if we're all out of a job in a few weeks time. Now I'm sure you're asking yourself how I could be so dramatic with a declaration like that. Well, it's like I said at the start, juxtaposition. Could we pull up some footage of the delightful Ms. Talfourd's latest interview fellas?
The monitor behind Phil's feed changes from the Callahan/Talfourd bout to Sally Talfourd's latest Batman based interview.
Atken: Do you see this? Can you believe it? Can you actually believe the farce that Sally Talfourd is trying to treat this match as? You know, I've spoken until I was blue in the face about the real Sally Talfourd, the one who really doesn't care about the fans unless they're buying her autographed picture at ridiculously marked up rates, the Sally who would rather punch a fan asking for a photo at the airport than take a picture with them, I've spoke about that Sally time and time again, the Sally that the cameras don't follow. It's why I warned everyone about the Pillars, what the Pillars want to do and how the Pillars will KILL Asylum. People rolled their eyes at me, after all, to them, Sally is the hardest working wrestler in the business, she takes every match seriously, she partakes in intense training and she battled her way to where she is now, she'll be the first to tell you she has the scars to prove it. No seriously, she'll tell you, even if you don't want to know, she loves to tell everyone about 'em apropos of nothing. Narcissism 101 right there.
I suppose there may be an element of truth there, she's a scrapper, she bested five of Asylum's most talented, including myself to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Now though? Now that she's the champion? Now she's grabbing the APW Production crew, no doubt at a ridiculous cost just so she can record some weird superhero wish fulfillment instead of taking the battle for Asylum's soul god damn seriously. She would rather waste this company's money on a bloody vanity project than give this bout the respect that it fucking deserves...
Sorry, I try not to swear, that's not me, I'm much rather drive others into a rage than build myself into one. Raging is bad strategy, causes mistakes. I'm not that kind of guy, it's just... seeing someone be so wasteful, someone with so much power over our esteemed General Manager... it just makes me picture all the poor Asylum Megastars on the unemployment line by her hand, her and her lackeys, and it enrages me. The World Heavyweight Champion would rather play Batman than take her challenger seriously, I think that sums up The Four Pillars and their vision for a new Asylum in a neat little package with a lovely bow on top, doesn't it?
Still, Sally Talfourd must be looking to follow in her idol Mussolini's footsteps because that interview, it arrived on time and all the classics were there. Boy did I call that one. The Sally special right there, I don't know how she lives with herself giving the same interview for every opponent, where we get to hear how Sally will unquestionable win because she is Sally Talfourd and therefore a winner... the damn ego on the woman, if it had any gravitational pull, it would consume us all. I mean, I wonder if she just hopes that when entering a ring with a gentleman such as myself, she can make my knees quiver and I'll just drop down for her. I know she tried it with Bailey... hell Callahan too for that matter. The god complex, it's disturbing, it's disgusting... it's a god damn shame is what it is. If ever someone was begging to be knocked off their damn perch, it's Sally bloody Talfourd.
Phil stares up at the ceiling, taking a deep breathe as he does so. He heaves out a heavy sigh before continuing on, continuing to look at the ceiling tiles as he does so.
Atken: In a weird way though, I get it. You see, I seem to attract competitors who look down upon me, people who would rather make jokes, people who would rather participate in some kind of fantasy tales than take me seriously, I mean if you look at me, what is there to take serious. That's exactly the problem, they look at me, they look at my body, the look at my floppy hair, they don't look at what I do in the ring, they don't understand the negativity I have overcome to get where I am now. Instead, they'd rather do their little acts, their party pieces, some light relief for the guys watching because a match with Phil Atken, that's just as good as a night off, is it not? That's certainly what they thought.
I went up against Johnny Knuckles and rather than view me as he threat, he decided to put on a little Braveheart play, just the most adorable thing full of the most lawsuit inducing xenophobia that I may have ever bore witness to, the only thing that saddens me is I didn't have Saul on staff back then. Anthony Bailey, well, man, I guess he fancied himself as a talented actor with the way he spent his time before One Night in Hell, god know how much of him own money he plowed into that rings of hell spectacle. Johnny Rebel? Instead of studying his opponents, he... how do I explain this... wrote same Chamber Games Fan Fiction and posted it on the internet. For the kicker, now Sally fancies herself as the Dark Kight, protector of the sanctity of Asylum. Yet I bested Knuckles, I outlasted Bailey and Rebel in the Chamber, hell just for kicks, I pinned Bailey slap bang in the middle of the ring four weeks ago for having the audacity to ignore me.
The video feed behind Phil changes once more, this time showing the Extreme Elimination Chamber from One Night in Hell.
Atken: See, as much as you may protest that you're ready for me Sally, all evidence to date points to the contrary, there's no tables this time, no weapons, no four other men, just you, me and the ring. To that end, you're just the same as all of those who came before you, ready to slap me down without a thought. The fact that you have appointed yourself the guardian of Asylum without the briefest moment of self introspection certainly shows that perhaps you lack the wiles that you claim to have. Just like those who came before you and I'm talking heavy hitters here Sally, just like those guys, the talk, it doesn't match the eyes. The mouth says confidence, the eyes say arrogance. I like arrogance, I can defeat arrogance. Still, I can't help myself from talking shop Ms. Sally, so lets delve in, shall we.
Phil slaps himself on the wrist a few times, mumbling about not giving away any more secrets.
Atken: Sals, I'm sure it must make you squirm on that throne of yours to realise that I have a deep understanding about your game, deeper than you would like. You like to keep things very much on the surface, throw out a smile, stand in front of the fans, tell 'em this wins for them, like the previous ten weren't, it's an angle that works for you, clearly it must, the mindless sheep, they do love their Sally Talfourd merchandise. I see through you but it must be of concern that you just can't seem to penetrate me. You just haven't managed to solve that jigsaw puzzle of how I ended up standing across the ring from you.
The video behind Phil now changes to the Rasslemania bout between Phil Atken and Julius Farquhar, we see Phil being dumped in the bathtub full of tea, screaming in agony.
Atken: Let me spell it out for you, although I doubt it will penetrate that sphere of hype you've built up around yourself. I always try and drop the knowledge but people, they never want to listen. You see Sally, I can't help but be offended how off handed you described my journey to this defining moment. To dismiss my battles with Julius Farquhar as a mere dispute over tea, to call it comedic, that... that pisses me off. I don't know if you've ever been dumped into a bath full of scalding hot tea Sally, I don't know if you've ever been able to smell your own flesh cooking, to have spent days in hospital recovering from the burns. You may have your battle scars but my body is a living breathing scar from that match. People laughed Sally, people found it very amusing to watch a man being burnt to a crisp, to see a man scream out in agony but I can assure you, I didn't consider the pain and suffering a laugh riot, I didn't considering my hospital a comedic tour de force and above everything else, I didn't see the funny side in the two months on the shelf that match cost me.
Once again, the feed cuts, this time to Phil Atken interviewing Johnny Knuckles on Atken's Asylum.
Atken: Two months of my career, two months of my wrestling income Sally, that's what that match cost me. To make ends meet, I agreed to host my own chat show. I was relegated to being an in-ring whipping boy with a microphone, I was powerless to stop those who wanted to attack me for just asking questions.
I needed the money Sally, we don't all get those front page article in APW magazine, we don't all get a fawning fan base ready to lap up a damn thong with our picture on it, so I returned to the ring, I returned to the ring earlier than I should have because I needed to support myself. It was then I realised my purpose in wrestling, it was then I realised that there are many others like myself, others who have to work through the pain, others who have been put through sick and twisted matches for the personal amusement of our crooked General Manager, big Reggie himself. It was then that I drew the line, it was then I realised that I had to save Asylum and its Megastars from themselves. I found my calling Sally, I found it, it was to be the voice for those who weren't wise enough to speak for themselves.
Another cut, this time to Knuckles and Atken going toe to toe at Shockwave.
Atken: My battles with Johnny Knuckles, they tested that belief, they put it through the paces, after all I was standing across for a man who had time and time again proven that it mattered not to put his body on the line. It all lead to that moment where I had to unfortunately save Knuckles from himself by burying him under a stack of televisions, as I stood there and saw his lifeless body, as I walked away as the medic rushed down... it reminded me what I had forgotten in the heat of the moment... that's not what wrestling is. That's not what it should be. These matches that we're put in, they make us monsters, they make us injure our fellow man and these people, they have families, wives, girlfriend, children and we think nothing of it. I was the voice in this company to say enough, I was the voice in this company to try and put an end to the abuse and I'm treated as an evil conspirator. People start spreading the word that I'm an evil mastermind because I could give two shits what those blood thirsty loons in our crowd care about, that I care more about my fellow Megastars than I do the t-shirt buying sheeple.
A final cut, to the Brawl between Jason Kash, Atken, Knuckles, Callahan, GI and the Four Pillars at the last Asylum.
Atken: I thought I was always going to stand alone in that belief, I thought that others would be afraid to question authority but the formation of the Four Pillars, it make some waves. Some discontent with the show began to show with the troops Sally, some people were willing to listen to me. They saw what you wanted to do, they saw what Reginald wanted to do and they did not like it. They did not like it one bit. To endorse the Pillars, that's to endorse everything that has lead up to this point. It's why I can't let you succeed, it's why I've had to call in the troops. It's not just me Sally, the company is turning on you, they are starting to see the real you, hell, Jason Kash called me last night to answer my call to arms.
The video feeds goes dark.
Atken: So Sally, if you consider that soft, if you consider that comedic, if you think that my motivations are somehow beneath your egotistical crowing... then I look forward to Sunday night. I look forward to seeing what this soft dandy does to you. I am quivering in anticipation to stand over your body, my lily-white arms outstretched, the World Heavyweight Championship in my giant mitts. This may be a joke, a jape, to you. You may even consider facing me beneath you. Every single minute I have worked for APW has accumulated to bring me to this point. To stand across from you in front of a passionate Madison Square Garden crowd on the 23rd of December and to shape Asylum's future. If that's nothing more than a meaningless skit to you well...
To paraphrase a wise man: I've worked for one year for you pigs and you want to break those walls down, you want to destroy me?
Well you go to hell.
