Post by victor on Jun 16, 2008 18:54:16 GMT -4
Another night, another Overdrive and this was one that had huge implications for the remaining contestants in Test for the Best. Three of them would be on one team and you just knew that any one of them wouldn't complain if one of their opponents in one short week were to be injured. Of course, there was one among the remaining number that had a week off, but that was not something to be concerned with, at least not if you were a smart wrestler. A smart wrestler knew that talent and pure drive could readily overcome that inconvenience. Besides which, a smart wrestler knew that looking ahead to next week was only going to make him sloppy this week. Was Victor Brander a smart wrestler? Look, he claims to be one of the best thinking wrestlers in the business, let's put it like this, he had better be.
Anyway, the scene was laid in Thebes...no it wasn't, excuse the narrator, he has spent this year preparing for a production of Amphitryo. No, this scene was set at the end of an APW press conference in which the usual trash talking took place, Test for the Best announcements were made, the whole press conference thing. Everyone in the Test for the Best lineup was there, Kenny, Jeff, Twister(!), Sabur, Tara Jacobs, the usual suspects.
Anyway, the crowd had been dispersing when what should we see but Victor Brander here for some afters? After all, there is only so much you can say in two minutes or so and here was a man for the fans. He was wearing the usual fare, an APW t-shirt, this one with the faces of those that were in the tournament that would take place in one short week, a pair of jeans, his sportsbag was nowhere nearby so one would assume that it's either in his car ready to go or in the arena ready for a workout. He gave the crowd a smile as he walked through it, tagging the hands that were held out on the way. He didn't strike any fancy poses, this is a man that simply does not believe in flash, no, he walked towards the centre of the crowd where everyone could see him and took a wireless microphone out of his pocket. He flipped the switch and tested the microphone by tapping it a couple of times and yup, it was on.
Victor took a look at the cheering masses around him, gave a self assured wink and held the microphone to his lips, “Hello Little Rock Arrrrkansas! How are y'all doing today, ladies and gents? Are you ready for the most Action Packed two hours on television?” Victor pointed at the logo on his shirt as the fans roared that hell yes, they were, TNA has nothing on APW...can't even get a wedding to the I do's. “Damn right you are, APW's been around a while and you know what to expect from every star, whether they have been here two months or two days and you know what? We've not left a fan disappointed yet and I don't intend to start tonight. I'm the kind of guy that likes to cut to the chase, so let's get to it. You all know the card, Victor Daniels, new to this good federation, Austin Daniels, new to this federation and Doctor Phate, not as established as some but making one hell of an impact. Three of the combatants in next week's Test for the Best in one corner, switch to the other side of the ring? The Irish Hammer, Sabur, The Xtremist, Tony Blackwell and APW's first World Champion, back from a long time out, John Green.”
Victor waited for the pops and boos for the names died down a little, “Now first, a few words to my team mates. I am the Lone Wolf, I use that name for a reason, I don't like working in teams, I don't need three or four others at my back to make a name for myself in the business, I hope you are taking note, Sergeant Kenny Lambardo. At the same time, I am a professional, and for me, this week, this match is all that matters. We all want momentum going into next week, we all want to go into it with a win under our belts. After the match, all bets are off, but during the match, then is when we need to make sure that we pay attention to the card, it is a six man tag and that is how we need to keep it. We've already said that that is what we intend to do, I don't place my trust in future opponents easily, but I'm not going to derail this at my own cost during the match. My second point is that I don't need an edge going into the Pay Per View, I know certain of my partners might feel that they do, I didn't come in on the latest banana boat, if I'm not careful I am going to be laid out, I am a careful man, a thinking wrestler, I am not going to let that happen if I can help it.”
With them done, Victor turned full circle slowly, looking each and ever fan in the eye, “My partners are individually two talented men, if we work as a team, we will be one talented unit, and that is something that the other team, also individually talented men, will never be. One on one against any of my opponents, I would know that I am in for the fight of my life, three on three it's a stacked deck to use Austin's terminology and it is a deck stacked heavily in out favour. There is bad blood all around and not professional as in the case of Phate, Austin and myself, but personal, and that is a team that is never going to mix. In fact, if I recall correctly, the last time Tony Blackwell and Sabur were billed as part of the same team, Tony told Sabur not to turn up. And that is arrogance that will be punished, when you walk into a match as a tagteam and do not work as one, then the other team, either as a two or as a three, will take you out together one at a time, it is as simple as that. Tony, I know that you can hit me with any powerbomb that has been seen and probably many that haven't, in me you see the same with the back breaker, I know that no one hits harder than you, but then I also know just how deal with that, I make you fight my own style of wrestling. Of course, with two men in my corner, that adds another element to the match and that element is that we are working together to rip you limb from limb.”
Victor threw the microphone from one hand to the other and kept that arm raised instead as he continued to look at the crowd, “Tony, I hope for your sake that you are better working with a team than you were last time around because you are not going to leave in full working order if you are not. Now I am not making over-exaggerated threats like John Green's, no, this is the simple truth, one wrestler, however talented, will not defeat three. You, like John Green, have had two chances to be where we are and you have failed both times. You have to think that those in a tournament, when this is done, will be the second to fifth ranked members of the roster in terms of World Championship contention. How frustrating is it for you, Tony, that you have been here longer than any of us and you simply don't match up? Tony, bring your in your face smashcore style, and I will show you what true wrestling is about.”
Victor rolled his shoulders one by one, stretching them out, “Then there is Sabur, the Irish Hammer, the Genetic Powerhouse that Scott Steiner wishes he could be without steroids, one of the most dangerous men in this industry...and someone that can't keep one identity for more than two weeks. And why have you changed, Sabur? You have changed for a very simple reason, you let people get into your head. You were funny, you used that, opponents didn't take you seriously for it and they soon learned what a mistake that was, and then someone made you believe it was holding you back. You then took another tone and that same someone picked holes in that again and now you have been reborn once more, no this time you haven't been reborn, this time you have found your heart and you have found that it is black. I wish you luck with that because the simple thing there is that you are focussing so much on your persona that your wrestling is slipping, and that is exactly what that girl wanted, that is exactly what other stars will use, you have to admit it, you can hear her laughing from here. Sabur, I know that you are strong, I respect that, I know that if you get hold of any one of us for any length of time, you are going to maul us, your problem is your team are at your back. We have two people watching ours, partially looking for a chance to stab it after the bell, but from bell to bell we are one unit and that will overcome any strength in your favour.”
Victor gave his self assured wink to the camera, “Sabur, I hope that you don't get blindsided, I really hope you don't, because you deserve a break, but you will not be getting it in this match. You are not going to be able to take down three men by yourself and that is effectively what you are going to try and do, that is what each of the three of you are trying to do. You are looking to put yourselves above the other, I do not think that you can put your differences aside for one match. Now I may have read my partners wrong, but that is what we intend to do, we are professionals, there are reasons that we are among the top in the business and that is pretty high on the scale. That is something that you lack and it is something that you cannot succeed without, Sabur, you turned aside a team mate, that is something that both of your partners lack, especially John Green.”
Victor's eyes took a hardened edge as he focussed on the third of his opponents, “Yes John, you have talent, you were the first APW World Champion and not a man here or anywhere can take that away from you, you have talent...but because you were once, once at the top of the mountain, you believe that you have the right to stay there. You tell the boss that you were going to unleash your rage on him if you didn't get a title shot because in your little world, you are all that matters in it. You are the egotistical mania that will do whatever he can to keep those more talented than him below him, not by wrestling them as it should be done, but through any political backstab you can muster. I will tell you something now, John, I am about the wrestling, I am about the fans and to be frank, I represent true talent. You can tell yourself that you are the best thing going since whoever last claimed that, you can tell yourself that your opponents are nothing, and in fact please do because that is your fatal flaw. I am a talented wrestler, I know that my opponents are talented wrestlers, that is why we were all hired. The moment that you forget that, the moment that to you, no one else deserves to be in the arena, that is when you sign your own career's death warrant. Because John, you make impossible promises, you make statements that you cannot back up, you get sloppy and we, Doctor Phate, Austin Daniels and I, are going to give you that wakeup call, as a team. We are going to show you just why you are at the mid card, because while you were the first World Champion, that was while we were not here. You mock the fact that I build up to the Sharpshooter, but for over a decade it was one of the most feared submission finishers in the business. It wasn't a rest point, it wasn't a move that wasted a couple of minutes, it was a move that tore at two badly abused areas, that was because it was applied by people who knew how to actually wrestle. I am someone that is going to bring that talent back to professional wrestling and you are going to be just one of the first to experience how dangerous true wrestling talent really is.”
Victor began to walk through the crowd towards the arena, “I'm going to steal something from Austin' terminology here, when you play poker, which hand wins? Ace, King, Queen or Three Sevens? One team of three will beat three lots of one and that is just the way this business works.” Victor turned to face the fans, throwing off his shirt into the crowd, “Boys, I'll see you at Overdrive.” he slipped the mic into his pocket and walked into the confines of the arena, leaving the scene to fade to black.
Anyway, the scene was laid in Thebes...no it wasn't, excuse the narrator, he has spent this year preparing for a production of Amphitryo. No, this scene was set at the end of an APW press conference in which the usual trash talking took place, Test for the Best announcements were made, the whole press conference thing. Everyone in the Test for the Best lineup was there, Kenny, Jeff, Twister(!), Sabur, Tara Jacobs, the usual suspects.
Anyway, the crowd had been dispersing when what should we see but Victor Brander here for some afters? After all, there is only so much you can say in two minutes or so and here was a man for the fans. He was wearing the usual fare, an APW t-shirt, this one with the faces of those that were in the tournament that would take place in one short week, a pair of jeans, his sportsbag was nowhere nearby so one would assume that it's either in his car ready to go or in the arena ready for a workout. He gave the crowd a smile as he walked through it, tagging the hands that were held out on the way. He didn't strike any fancy poses, this is a man that simply does not believe in flash, no, he walked towards the centre of the crowd where everyone could see him and took a wireless microphone out of his pocket. He flipped the switch and tested the microphone by tapping it a couple of times and yup, it was on.
Victor took a look at the cheering masses around him, gave a self assured wink and held the microphone to his lips, “Hello Little Rock Arrrrkansas! How are y'all doing today, ladies and gents? Are you ready for the most Action Packed two hours on television?” Victor pointed at the logo on his shirt as the fans roared that hell yes, they were, TNA has nothing on APW...can't even get a wedding to the I do's. “Damn right you are, APW's been around a while and you know what to expect from every star, whether they have been here two months or two days and you know what? We've not left a fan disappointed yet and I don't intend to start tonight. I'm the kind of guy that likes to cut to the chase, so let's get to it. You all know the card, Victor Daniels, new to this good federation, Austin Daniels, new to this federation and Doctor Phate, not as established as some but making one hell of an impact. Three of the combatants in next week's Test for the Best in one corner, switch to the other side of the ring? The Irish Hammer, Sabur, The Xtremist, Tony Blackwell and APW's first World Champion, back from a long time out, John Green.”
Victor waited for the pops and boos for the names died down a little, “Now first, a few words to my team mates. I am the Lone Wolf, I use that name for a reason, I don't like working in teams, I don't need three or four others at my back to make a name for myself in the business, I hope you are taking note, Sergeant Kenny Lambardo. At the same time, I am a professional, and for me, this week, this match is all that matters. We all want momentum going into next week, we all want to go into it with a win under our belts. After the match, all bets are off, but during the match, then is when we need to make sure that we pay attention to the card, it is a six man tag and that is how we need to keep it. We've already said that that is what we intend to do, I don't place my trust in future opponents easily, but I'm not going to derail this at my own cost during the match. My second point is that I don't need an edge going into the Pay Per View, I know certain of my partners might feel that they do, I didn't come in on the latest banana boat, if I'm not careful I am going to be laid out, I am a careful man, a thinking wrestler, I am not going to let that happen if I can help it.”
With them done, Victor turned full circle slowly, looking each and ever fan in the eye, “My partners are individually two talented men, if we work as a team, we will be one talented unit, and that is something that the other team, also individually talented men, will never be. One on one against any of my opponents, I would know that I am in for the fight of my life, three on three it's a stacked deck to use Austin's terminology and it is a deck stacked heavily in out favour. There is bad blood all around and not professional as in the case of Phate, Austin and myself, but personal, and that is a team that is never going to mix. In fact, if I recall correctly, the last time Tony Blackwell and Sabur were billed as part of the same team, Tony told Sabur not to turn up. And that is arrogance that will be punished, when you walk into a match as a tagteam and do not work as one, then the other team, either as a two or as a three, will take you out together one at a time, it is as simple as that. Tony, I know that you can hit me with any powerbomb that has been seen and probably many that haven't, in me you see the same with the back breaker, I know that no one hits harder than you, but then I also know just how deal with that, I make you fight my own style of wrestling. Of course, with two men in my corner, that adds another element to the match and that element is that we are working together to rip you limb from limb.”
Victor threw the microphone from one hand to the other and kept that arm raised instead as he continued to look at the crowd, “Tony, I hope for your sake that you are better working with a team than you were last time around because you are not going to leave in full working order if you are not. Now I am not making over-exaggerated threats like John Green's, no, this is the simple truth, one wrestler, however talented, will not defeat three. You, like John Green, have had two chances to be where we are and you have failed both times. You have to think that those in a tournament, when this is done, will be the second to fifth ranked members of the roster in terms of World Championship contention. How frustrating is it for you, Tony, that you have been here longer than any of us and you simply don't match up? Tony, bring your in your face smashcore style, and I will show you what true wrestling is about.”
Victor rolled his shoulders one by one, stretching them out, “Then there is Sabur, the Irish Hammer, the Genetic Powerhouse that Scott Steiner wishes he could be without steroids, one of the most dangerous men in this industry...and someone that can't keep one identity for more than two weeks. And why have you changed, Sabur? You have changed for a very simple reason, you let people get into your head. You were funny, you used that, opponents didn't take you seriously for it and they soon learned what a mistake that was, and then someone made you believe it was holding you back. You then took another tone and that same someone picked holes in that again and now you have been reborn once more, no this time you haven't been reborn, this time you have found your heart and you have found that it is black. I wish you luck with that because the simple thing there is that you are focussing so much on your persona that your wrestling is slipping, and that is exactly what that girl wanted, that is exactly what other stars will use, you have to admit it, you can hear her laughing from here. Sabur, I know that you are strong, I respect that, I know that if you get hold of any one of us for any length of time, you are going to maul us, your problem is your team are at your back. We have two people watching ours, partially looking for a chance to stab it after the bell, but from bell to bell we are one unit and that will overcome any strength in your favour.”
Victor gave his self assured wink to the camera, “Sabur, I hope that you don't get blindsided, I really hope you don't, because you deserve a break, but you will not be getting it in this match. You are not going to be able to take down three men by yourself and that is effectively what you are going to try and do, that is what each of the three of you are trying to do. You are looking to put yourselves above the other, I do not think that you can put your differences aside for one match. Now I may have read my partners wrong, but that is what we intend to do, we are professionals, there are reasons that we are among the top in the business and that is pretty high on the scale. That is something that you lack and it is something that you cannot succeed without, Sabur, you turned aside a team mate, that is something that both of your partners lack, especially John Green.”
Victor's eyes took a hardened edge as he focussed on the third of his opponents, “Yes John, you have talent, you were the first APW World Champion and not a man here or anywhere can take that away from you, you have talent...but because you were once, once at the top of the mountain, you believe that you have the right to stay there. You tell the boss that you were going to unleash your rage on him if you didn't get a title shot because in your little world, you are all that matters in it. You are the egotistical mania that will do whatever he can to keep those more talented than him below him, not by wrestling them as it should be done, but through any political backstab you can muster. I will tell you something now, John, I am about the wrestling, I am about the fans and to be frank, I represent true talent. You can tell yourself that you are the best thing going since whoever last claimed that, you can tell yourself that your opponents are nothing, and in fact please do because that is your fatal flaw. I am a talented wrestler, I know that my opponents are talented wrestlers, that is why we were all hired. The moment that you forget that, the moment that to you, no one else deserves to be in the arena, that is when you sign your own career's death warrant. Because John, you make impossible promises, you make statements that you cannot back up, you get sloppy and we, Doctor Phate, Austin Daniels and I, are going to give you that wakeup call, as a team. We are going to show you just why you are at the mid card, because while you were the first World Champion, that was while we were not here. You mock the fact that I build up to the Sharpshooter, but for over a decade it was one of the most feared submission finishers in the business. It wasn't a rest point, it wasn't a move that wasted a couple of minutes, it was a move that tore at two badly abused areas, that was because it was applied by people who knew how to actually wrestle. I am someone that is going to bring that talent back to professional wrestling and you are going to be just one of the first to experience how dangerous true wrestling talent really is.”
Victor began to walk through the crowd towards the arena, “I'm going to steal something from Austin' terminology here, when you play poker, which hand wins? Ace, King, Queen or Three Sevens? One team of three will beat three lots of one and that is just the way this business works.” Victor turned to face the fans, throwing off his shirt into the crowd, “Boys, I'll see you at Overdrive.” he slipped the mic into his pocket and walked into the confines of the arena, leaving the scene to fade to black.
