Post by The Soul Of Philly on Jan 5, 2013 13:25:12 GMT -4
Wednesday January 2nd, 2013. 4:37 PM
Thursday January 3rd, 2013. 4:15 AM
We open the scene inside of Philly’s Gym which, despite being a former warehouse, is packed wall to wall with people and we have New Year’s Resolutions to thank for that, we takes ourselves to the glass windows of the main office of Philly’s Gym, where inside we find Roger Gings and “The Soul of Philly” TJ talking. TJ is sitting behind his desk, looking through his paperwork while Roger leans against the wall, playing with the new TV TJ had put in the office. Roger makes his way to the glass walls and looks out into the gym.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings T, there’s a shit load of people.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I know.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings No, like, we may be pushing it in terms of fire safety capacity.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ It’s not a problem, by Friday, half of these people will be gone. By next Friday, whoever isn’t going to stick with their resolution will be gone too. They paid so I don’t care when they leave.
Roger turns around and looks at TJ confusingly.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings When did you stop caring?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ As soon as it hit midnight on New Year’s. As soon as those people resolved to work out and lose weight. Those people aren’t going to stick to it. They’re wasting their time and space for others who want to be here and have been here before the new year.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings True, but to hear you say you don’t care, was weird. How are the books looking?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Good, I think. To be honest, I don’t know if I’m doing this right.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Why not get someone who does know.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I did, he won’t be available to look at them until next week, looks like I waited til the last minute again.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Speaking of last minute, why did you wait until the last minute to even think about Survive and Conquer. You would have done a great job in there, maybe even win.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I don’t know.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings What’s not to know, TJ you’re a mountain, sure 99 people going against you just to eliminate you would have not worked, ever, but I think you could have taken 98 of them. And think about what it would have done for you win or lose.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Huh?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Be honest TJ, people don’t know you like they know Chris Strike, Sally Talfourd, or Keaton Saint. You’re the least recognizable of the Four Pillars.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s the point of me being a Pillar, to give guys like me a platform, to have Asylum be home for the best of the unknown.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings But TJ, do you see the opportunity you missed when you didn’t enter Survive and Conquer? Do you really?
TJ finally looks up from the books.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No Raj, I don’t.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ, you could have entered the biggest, literally and figuratively, event APW has to offer. Talents from all over the world, from almost every company, you would have been the biggest guy in there. People will tune in from all over, even if they don’t normally tune into APW, you could walk down, stand in the ring for a minute and leave and people would go “Who the hell was that big fucker from APW?” When was the last time that happened? Never.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ But then the whole point of me being a Pillar would be null.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings STOP WITH THE PILLAR THING FOR ONE MINUTE! Think about yourself. You’ve done this for 8 years and what global recognition do you have to show?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Some.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Wrong, compared to your fellow Pillars, you’re completely unknown. Do you know how they got their name? Doing Survive and Conquer. Doing Experts. DOING SOMETHING.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I’ve never been in this for fame. I did it for fun, because I always wanted to, because I bring joy to the fans.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ, sometimes your selflessness pisses me off to no end. You’re the only guy I know that goes on TV almost every week for 8 years and doesn’t do it to get himself known. Please, this year, do something for yourself. Go into an event for yourself. It’s too late for Survive and Conquer, but there’s other things this year, do something.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ So I guess that’s my appointed resolution?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Yeah, it is.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I can do that.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Now, don’t be these people, actually do it.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I will.
Just then Trey walks into the room.
Trey.Gings Hey guys, ah, when did we turn Philly’s Gym into a slaughterhouse. I’ve never seen so much livestock.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings That’s just rude.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ What’s up Trey.
Trey.Gings Oh, nothing, I was in the hood, decided to stop by.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Cool, need your help.
Trey.Gings With what? Personal training the hot chick on the elliptical?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No, more important. Look through these books and make sure nothing is missing.
Trey.Gings I can do that.
Trey walks over to the desk and sits in the seat as TJ gets out of it.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Alright, lock up when you’re done.
Trey.Gings Huh? You’re not helping.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I don’t know what the fuck I am doing.
Roger lets out a loud laugh as TJ smiles. They wave goodbye as Trey sighs and looks through the books as the scene fades.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings T, there’s a shit load of people.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I know.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings No, like, we may be pushing it in terms of fire safety capacity.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ It’s not a problem, by Friday, half of these people will be gone. By next Friday, whoever isn’t going to stick with their resolution will be gone too. They paid so I don’t care when they leave.
Roger turns around and looks at TJ confusingly.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings When did you stop caring?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ As soon as it hit midnight on New Year’s. As soon as those people resolved to work out and lose weight. Those people aren’t going to stick to it. They’re wasting their time and space for others who want to be here and have been here before the new year.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings True, but to hear you say you don’t care, was weird. How are the books looking?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Good, I think. To be honest, I don’t know if I’m doing this right.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Why not get someone who does know.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I did, he won’t be available to look at them until next week, looks like I waited til the last minute again.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Speaking of last minute, why did you wait until the last minute to even think about Survive and Conquer. You would have done a great job in there, maybe even win.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I don’t know.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings What’s not to know, TJ you’re a mountain, sure 99 people going against you just to eliminate you would have not worked, ever, but I think you could have taken 98 of them. And think about what it would have done for you win or lose.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Huh?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Be honest TJ, people don’t know you like they know Chris Strike, Sally Talfourd, or Keaton Saint. You’re the least recognizable of the Four Pillars.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s the point of me being a Pillar, to give guys like me a platform, to have Asylum be home for the best of the unknown.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings But TJ, do you see the opportunity you missed when you didn’t enter Survive and Conquer? Do you really?
TJ finally looks up from the books.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No Raj, I don’t.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ, you could have entered the biggest, literally and figuratively, event APW has to offer. Talents from all over the world, from almost every company, you would have been the biggest guy in there. People will tune in from all over, even if they don’t normally tune into APW, you could walk down, stand in the ring for a minute and leave and people would go “Who the hell was that big fucker from APW?” When was the last time that happened? Never.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ But then the whole point of me being a Pillar would be null.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings STOP WITH THE PILLAR THING FOR ONE MINUTE! Think about yourself. You’ve done this for 8 years and what global recognition do you have to show?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Some.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Wrong, compared to your fellow Pillars, you’re completely unknown. Do you know how they got their name? Doing Survive and Conquer. Doing Experts. DOING SOMETHING.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I’ve never been in this for fame. I did it for fun, because I always wanted to, because I bring joy to the fans.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings TJ, sometimes your selflessness pisses me off to no end. You’re the only guy I know that goes on TV almost every week for 8 years and doesn’t do it to get himself known. Please, this year, do something for yourself. Go into an event for yourself. It’s too late for Survive and Conquer, but there’s other things this year, do something.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ So I guess that’s my appointed resolution?
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Yeah, it is.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I can do that.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings Now, don’t be these people, actually do it.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I will.
Just then Trey walks into the room.
Trey.Gings Hey guys, ah, when did we turn Philly’s Gym into a slaughterhouse. I’ve never seen so much livestock.
Roger.“Raj”.Gings That’s just rude.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ What’s up Trey.
Trey.Gings Oh, nothing, I was in the hood, decided to stop by.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Cool, need your help.
Trey.Gings With what? Personal training the hot chick on the elliptical?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No, more important. Look through these books and make sure nothing is missing.
Trey.Gings I can do that.
Trey walks over to the desk and sits in the seat as TJ gets out of it.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Alright, lock up when you’re done.
Trey.Gings Huh? You’re not helping.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ I don’t know what the fuck I am doing.
Roger lets out a loud laugh as TJ smiles. They wave goodbye as Trey sighs and looks through the books as the scene fades.
Thursday January 3rd, 2013. 4:15 AM
We open the scene with TJ inside an empty Philly’s gym before opening hours. He is finishing up his work out with a stretch as he sees the camera crew.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Hey, sorry about, I wanted to get a work out before all the resolution people came in. I have my own gym and I have to workout before hours to get one in at all. Thanks for meeting me, I’ll try to keep it short, let ya get home and go back to sleep.
TJ jumps up from his stretch and smiles.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Oooh, hold on, gotta grab something real quick.
TJ runs up to his office and a minute later he’s back down with something, his newly won Tap Out Championship.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s better, I can’t talk without all of me here right? See, this is mine, it’s a part of me. That’s what holding a title should be like. It shouldn’t be an accessory, it should be something that you need to feel complete and I do. This is me. The Tap Out Championship. The Soul of Philly TJ. They go hand in hand now. You talk about one; you’re talking about the other. And it’s gonna be like that for a long time, unlike people who talk about how they’re gonna hold onto the title for a long time, I have the ability to do that. I have the size, the strength, and the will not to lose this title.
He throws the title over his shoulder, the strap barely reaching his waist.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Little on my ain’t it? Anyways, this week, I find myself teaming with a Pillar, Keaton Saint, a man who was defeated in the gauntlet. A man who I have respect for and I trust in when it comes to this tag team match. See, that’s the thing about tag team matches, you gotta be able to trust your partner just as long as the match is. Which is why by default we should have no problem with our opponents. I mean me and Saint, we share the same ideals when it comes to wrestling. You give it your all; you give the fans everything you can to make the ticket they paid for worth it. We both know that the other is capable of handling themselves in the ring. I know Saint is able to wrestle circles around whoever is in the ring and he knows I am able to tear down anyone’s defense with relentless offence. We don’t need to cover for the other’s flaw because the other can do it themselves.
TJ grabs a towel and wipes his face clean of sweat.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ The same cannot be said of our opponents, see just two weeks ago, a day before I won this lovely Tap Out Championship at Christmas Chaos, our opponents were facing each other in a match. Before that, they were fighting each other on Asylum in Cleveland. Tell me how two guys who just fought each other, each holding a win over the other, are gonna work together to beat two guys who share the same ideals as one another? Please, I’ll wait.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Couldn’t think of anything because they aren’t going to work together. I’ll break it down for you. See, Slade Craven, whether a recovering one or not, is a mad man. Super-Man leaps over tall buildings in a bound, Slade Craven leaps off tall buildings in a straitjacket. He’s a interesting character, and I like him, good guy, it’s a shame that he drew Raab as his partner in a tag match against two Pillars. I feel for the guy, I had to have Raab as a partner waaaaaay back when we were both on Meltdown, and we lost. It’s hard to trust a guy that you want to kick in the balls. Oh wait, Slade you did that already. And we come back to the trust thing, I trust a guy once who kicked me in the balls, only once, and it ended terribly.
TJ stops and smiles.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ And then we have Raab, who, to be quite honest, keeps on surprising me. Just when I think he’s terrible, he shows he’s got some semblance of talent! I kid, Raab’s got talent, it’s a shame he spends more time running his fingers along his key board on Twitter than running in the gym. See, as much as I trash Raab, he’s proven he’s got the ability to win, which means, at any time, he could beat me. As unlikely that is to happen, it doesn’t mean it won’t. I know that, been around long enough to know that. But for all the good Raab does in the ring, out of the ring undoes it all, making respect for Raab become something more suited for Aesop’s fables than APW. He overcompensates for his wrestling ability by belittling everyone else. Not only does he make a team with Yarmouth, but he calls it off and then blames Yarmouth for all the failure. This, everyone, is not how you be a team player. You take just as much as blame as your partner.
TJ pauses for a moment to take a drink of water.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ But you see, the thing that pushed it over the edge for me, to the point of no return, was when he decided to burn not his one flag, not two flags, but three flags. See, that’s low. Kicking a man in the balls is low, but burning flags, is beeeeeyyyyond low. See, for that, I plan on eventually putting you in the hospital. I plan on forcing you to breath out of a tube. And if we’re all lucky, I’ll render you paralyzed from the neck down. See because that’s the ultimate sign of disrespect. So come Asylum, Raab, and through by product, Slade, you’re not gonna see greatness in its truest form. You’re not gonna see your own nightmares in their physical forms. You’ll see much worse. I intend on making a statement not only as the Tap Out Champion, not only as “THE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLL OF PHILLY”, but as a man who is proud of his country and a man of respect.
TJ walks away with his Tap Out Championship belt over his shoulder as the scene fades to black.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Hey, sorry about, I wanted to get a work out before all the resolution people came in. I have my own gym and I have to workout before hours to get one in at all. Thanks for meeting me, I’ll try to keep it short, let ya get home and go back to sleep.
TJ jumps up from his stretch and smiles.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Oooh, hold on, gotta grab something real quick.
TJ runs up to his office and a minute later he’s back down with something, his newly won Tap Out Championship.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ That’s better, I can’t talk without all of me here right? See, this is mine, it’s a part of me. That’s what holding a title should be like. It shouldn’t be an accessory, it should be something that you need to feel complete and I do. This is me. The Tap Out Championship. The Soul of Philly TJ. They go hand in hand now. You talk about one; you’re talking about the other. And it’s gonna be like that for a long time, unlike people who talk about how they’re gonna hold onto the title for a long time, I have the ability to do that. I have the size, the strength, and the will not to lose this title.
He throws the title over his shoulder, the strap barely reaching his waist.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Little on my ain’t it? Anyways, this week, I find myself teaming with a Pillar, Keaton Saint, a man who was defeated in the gauntlet. A man who I have respect for and I trust in when it comes to this tag team match. See, that’s the thing about tag team matches, you gotta be able to trust your partner just as long as the match is. Which is why by default we should have no problem with our opponents. I mean me and Saint, we share the same ideals when it comes to wrestling. You give it your all; you give the fans everything you can to make the ticket they paid for worth it. We both know that the other is capable of handling themselves in the ring. I know Saint is able to wrestle circles around whoever is in the ring and he knows I am able to tear down anyone’s defense with relentless offence. We don’t need to cover for the other’s flaw because the other can do it themselves.
TJ grabs a towel and wipes his face clean of sweat.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ The same cannot be said of our opponents, see just two weeks ago, a day before I won this lovely Tap Out Championship at Christmas Chaos, our opponents were facing each other in a match. Before that, they were fighting each other on Asylum in Cleveland. Tell me how two guys who just fought each other, each holding a win over the other, are gonna work together to beat two guys who share the same ideals as one another? Please, I’ll wait.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Couldn’t think of anything because they aren’t going to work together. I’ll break it down for you. See, Slade Craven, whether a recovering one or not, is a mad man. Super-Man leaps over tall buildings in a bound, Slade Craven leaps off tall buildings in a straitjacket. He’s a interesting character, and I like him, good guy, it’s a shame that he drew Raab as his partner in a tag match against two Pillars. I feel for the guy, I had to have Raab as a partner waaaaaay back when we were both on Meltdown, and we lost. It’s hard to trust a guy that you want to kick in the balls. Oh wait, Slade you did that already. And we come back to the trust thing, I trust a guy once who kicked me in the balls, only once, and it ended terribly.
TJ stops and smiles.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ And then we have Raab, who, to be quite honest, keeps on surprising me. Just when I think he’s terrible, he shows he’s got some semblance of talent! I kid, Raab’s got talent, it’s a shame he spends more time running his fingers along his key board on Twitter than running in the gym. See, as much as I trash Raab, he’s proven he’s got the ability to win, which means, at any time, he could beat me. As unlikely that is to happen, it doesn’t mean it won’t. I know that, been around long enough to know that. But for all the good Raab does in the ring, out of the ring undoes it all, making respect for Raab become something more suited for Aesop’s fables than APW. He overcompensates for his wrestling ability by belittling everyone else. Not only does he make a team with Yarmouth, but he calls it off and then blames Yarmouth for all the failure. This, everyone, is not how you be a team player. You take just as much as blame as your partner.
TJ pauses for a moment to take a drink of water.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ But you see, the thing that pushed it over the edge for me, to the point of no return, was when he decided to burn not his one flag, not two flags, but three flags. See, that’s low. Kicking a man in the balls is low, but burning flags, is beeeeeyyyyond low. See, for that, I plan on eventually putting you in the hospital. I plan on forcing you to breath out of a tube. And if we’re all lucky, I’ll render you paralyzed from the neck down. See because that’s the ultimate sign of disrespect. So come Asylum, Raab, and through by product, Slade, you’re not gonna see greatness in its truest form. You’re not gonna see your own nightmares in their physical forms. You’ll see much worse. I intend on making a statement not only as the Tap Out Champion, not only as “THE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLL OF PHILLY”, but as a man who is proud of his country and a man of respect.
TJ walks away with his Tap Out Championship belt over his shoulder as the scene fades to black.
