Post by A.C. Smith on Jul 10, 2013 13:10:27 GMT -4
Our scene opens today with Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch and Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker standing outside a closed door inside A.C. Smith's New York City penthouse. Both are leaning up against the white wall, and it's apparent that they've been there for quite a while.
We hear hard rock music blasting from the other side of the door, as well as the occasional grunt. Bobby and Stevie each take turns knocking on the door, but there's no chance either will be answered.
Bobby: “How long do you figure he's been in there?”
Stevie: “Three hours, maybe?”
Bobby: “You think he'd be a little less devastated than last year. I mean, the guy made the final four of Test for the Best, and it took all C.J. Gates had to beat him.”
Stevie: “Sure, but you know as well as I do that he expected more out of himself. And for PARKER to wind up winning the thing?”
Both Bobby and Stevie grimace at the mere mention of the tournament's winner.
Stevie: “It's OK, though. I sort of figured this would happen, so I called in some backup.”
Female voice: “And your backup just got here.”
The camera suddenly pans left, and we see Roxanne, who is carrying a small bag in her right hand with a Southwest Airlines tag on it. It's clear she's just gotten off the plane from Baltimore, and while she looks a bit weary from the travel, she's also smiling.
Bobby: “Roxie! How are ya?!”
Roxanne: “Eh. Same old, same old. What's the situation?”
Stevie: “Well, our buddy's been in that gym for three hours and won't come out. We've tried all the tricks, but it's pretty clear that he's not going to talk to us anytime soon.”
Roxanne: “Don't worry. I've got this.”
Undeterred by the eardrum-rattling music and Smith's apparent stubbornness, Roxanne opens the door to the Big Apple Asskicker's palacial home gym. We see Smith with his back to us, hammering away at a heavy bag with punches and kicks fueled by an immense frustration. He's caked in sweat, and he's already gone through one white t-shirt, which is soaked and on the floor behind him.
Roxanne evaluates the situation, and somehow, she's able to muster enough strength to raise her voice, something one of the most composed women we've ever met rarely does. And speaking of rare...
Roxanne: “ANDREW! CHARLES! SMITH!”
Smith stops dead in his tracks. We can count the number of people who know his full name on one hand, and as any man knows, when a woman uses your middle name, you're in BIG trouble.
Smith pulls out a remote from the right front pocket of his black gym shorts, and he pushes a button that mercifully stops the music. Slowly, he turns around, knowing the tongue-lashing he's about to receive from someone who knows him better than just about anyone.
Roxanne: “What the hell are you doing? You've got your buddies worried sick about you outside, and I'm scared you'll give yourself a heart attack.”
A.C.: “...I'm sorry. Wasn't my intention to make you upset. Just needed to take out some frustration, that's all.”
Roxanne: “Well, there are better ways to do that than killing yourself against an opponent that can't fight back.”
As he grabs a white towel to wipe the beads of sweat off his face and shirtless upper body, Smith can't help but chuckle. Roxanne, though, is far from amused.
Roxanne: “This needs to stop. You haven't called, you haven't texted. For the last week or so, you've been a total recluse. What's the big deal?”
A.C. takes a deep breath.
A.C.: “I just needed some time. That match against Gates was painful, in more ways than one.”
Roxanne: “Your work life shouldn't interfere with us. I've been worried sick about you. And if something was bothering you, you should know you can come to me with anything.”
Smith sits down on a padded bench against the wall and motions for Roxanne to walk over. She does, and she talks again as she sits next to the APW Xtreme Champion.
Roxanne: “I can understand a lot of things. But I never understood why you let what you do get to you so much. You've got a job you love, and you're damn good at it.”
A.C.: “I appreciate that, I do. But you've got to understand how much I wanted to win that tournament. Nobody else in the bracket was there last year, and after I beat Jair Hopkins, I was one of four wrestlers in one of the biggest companies on the planet who had a shot at winning it all. Then I ran into Gates, a guy I really respect, and I didn't get it done.
“Plus, let's not forget who wound up winning the tournament.”
Roxanne: “What, exactly, is your problem with Parker?”
A.C.: “How much time do you have?”
That breaks Roxanne, who finally lets her guard down a bit and flashes her million-dollar smile.
A.C.: “It got to me, that's all. And you're right, I shouldn't have let it affect our relationship. I'm sorry.”
Roxanne: “It's alright. Trust me, if I was all that concerned, you'd have seen me MUCH sooner. I figured you needed to let off some steam, but next time, can you just make sure you tell me first?”
A.C.: “Deal. Who told you?”
Roxanne: “Stevie. Say what you will about those two guys out there, but they're about the most loyal friends you could have. And given that they're probably still standing out there, you probably owe them an apology.”
A.C.: “Yeah, that's probably true. If you weren't here, what would I do?”
Smith tries putting his arm around Roxanne, but she is freaked out by the sweat still dripping from the Big Apple Asskicker's body.
Roxanne: “You owe THEM an apology, and you owe ME a shower before you try anything like that again!”
We hear laughter coming from the hallway. It's clear Bobby and Stevie have been listening to the entire conversation from the hallway, and we see Smith roll his brown eyes.
A.C.: “Screw an apology. I'm gonna kill 'em.”
Now it's Roxanne rolling her eyes, and she follows Smith out of the gym in hot pursuit, presumably to keep the peace. We hear the door open and shut, and our scene fades to black.
---
We fade back up, and we see Smith slide a clean pair of shorts on underneath a towel. He's in his bedroom, and it's clear that he's just gotten out of the shower. He hurls the towel into a nearby laundry basket and picks up a black APW t-shirt from his bed, putting that on before turning his attention to a nearby camera.
The Big Apple Asskicker appears to be substantially de-stressed, and looks much more comfortable with himself and his surroundings. He sits on his king-size bed, ruffling the freshly-made blue comforter and matching 400 thread count satin sheets, and after smoothing out some of the creases, Smith opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “As you saw, my loss in the Test for the Best semifinals was a tough one for me to take. More than almost anything in my 11-year wrestling career, I wanted to win that tournament and emerge as the #1 contender for Level-One's World Heavyweight Championship heading into Shockwave, and after my quarterfinal win over Jair Hopkins, one half of APW's Tag Team Champions, that title shot was in my crosshairs.
“However, it wasn't to be. C.J. Gates, a man I respect as much as anyone else in APW, was my semifinal opponent, and the two of us had another classic match. Unfortunately, he came out on the winning end, and the night only got worse when Aubrey Parker, who has no grasp of what it means to respect this business, wound up winning it in extremely cheap fashion.
“It took me a while to get over what happened. Make no mistake, I'm by no means content or happy with it, even over a week later, but I'm moving on because that's just about all I can do at this point. The only thing I know how to do is get back on the horse and keep moving forward, and I've got a great chance to do that this Thursday night in South Carolina against Nick Watson, the same man I beat for my Xtreme Championship way back in December of last year.”
Smith pauses, possibly reliving the memory of one of his biggest wins in APW to date.
A.C.: “I've held that title for going on seven months now, one of the longest Xtreme title reigns in APW history. And in doing so, I did something Nick Watson never did after winning it at One Night in Hell. I've given this title some prestige, some value, some respect in the wrestling world. I've defended it against all comers, including Hall of Famers like Michael Lively and Nathaniel Havok, and I have no designs on losing any momentum this week against a guy that did NOTHING for the belt the last time he held it.
“See, while I've been kicking ass and taking names like few others in this business ever have, Nick Watson's been AWOL. He left earlier this year, and just came back. I'm never one to underestimate anyone, far from it. When Nick Watson has been on his game, he's shown immense potential. The problem is, that potential has never come out against me, even when he's been on top of his game.
“I beat him for the Xtreme title in December, and even long before that, he was one of the guys I outlasted in the four-way ladder match to get into last year's Test for the Best bracket. When he won the title at One Night in Hell, he beat Evan Harrison, not me, and furthermore, he needed Sienna Harrison's help to do it. How, then, is he supposed to come off a layoff as long as he had, be just as good as he was before, and beat someone he's never shown he could beat even when he's on his best game?”
Smith shrugs.
A.C.: “That's not me being condescending or rude or anything like that. I respect Nick Watson and what he stands for outside the ring, which isn't something I can say about a lot of people in Action Packed Wrestling. He seems like a genuinely decent dude, and I hope that the time off he took helped him out with whatever he needed to straighten out.
“That said, I don't deal in generalities or speculation. I deal in facts and the cold, hard truth. The cold, hard truth, in this case, is that Nick Watson's never been good enough to beat me one-on-one, even when he was firing on all cylinders and even before I became known as one of the best Xtreme Champions in APW history. I'm not being mean when I say that, I'm merely being brutally honest.
“Maybe Nick Watson will be better for the hiatus he took in the long run. But having taken a couple of those myself, I can tell you that it takes a while to work off the ring rust. It doesn't happen instantly. It can take weeks, maybe even months, especially when you're going up against the best competition the wrestling world has to offer here in APW. It's certainly not going to happen in his first match on Overdrive since at least this past winter, coming against someone he's always struggled to hang with.
“Me? I'm coming into this match back on the horse, ready to do what I do better than just about anyone on Overdrive as of late. I'm the longest-reigning champion on APW's flagship brand, and that's no accident. I back down from nobody, and it's because I know I can hang with anyone in professional wrestling. Anyone who thinks I'm damaged goods heading into Thursday's match with Nick Watson, a guy I've shown I can beat multiple different ways? Well, they're dead wrong.”
There's that eye-roll again, complete with Smith shaking his head and smirking slightly.
A.C.: “Maybe my loss at Test for the Best was a shock to my system. But thanks to the best friends that anyone could ever ask for, I'm back to where I need to be. I'm ready for anything APW throws at me this Thursday night, and that includes the returning Nick Watson.
“When he showed up again, I was happy to see him back. I'm serious, when you've been around as long as I have and dispatched as many know-nothing charlatans as I have, it's refreshing to see someone who appears to have half a brain between his ears and a clue as to how to treat people. It looks like he's right again from a mental standpoint, and I wish him lots of luck going forward because I've been in his shoes before and know how tough it is to come back from such a long break.
“Unfortunately for him, his first Overdrive match back comes against an opponent he can't beat. That's not me being insulting, it's just the way it is. As someone that's taken a few breaks before, I know how difficult it is to come back, even against opponents one has beaten before. Nick Watson was up against it in the short term from the second he announced his comeback, but when the card came out and he was pitted against the Big Apple Asskicker? That's like asking someone who has trouble walking up a hill to climb Mount Everest. It's an unreasonable request, and deep down, Nick Watson knows that.”
Smith kips up off the bed and rises to his full 6'8” height.
A.C.: “Maybe Nick Watson will be better than he was before after a couple of weeks. Maybe down the line, he'll fulfill all the potential he showed us before his untimely exit. And maybe, just maybe, he'll make the leap we were all expecting him to make when he broke into APW last year.
“However, one thing's for sure. None of that is happening this week, not against an opponent he can't hang with in a one-on-one setting. His biggest win came in a match I was involved in, sure, but let's be reasonable and acknowledge that he pinned Evan Harrison only after Sienna Harrison bailed his ass out. This Thursday night, there'll be nobody else for him to focus on and nobody around to help when he gets into a tight spot, and history has shown that he doesn't fare well against me when that situation lines itself up.
“Nick Watson, you're in deep trouble this week, and you know it. Maybe you'll go on and do great things in your second run here in APW. But a matchup against me, someone you lost the Xtreme title to in one of your last matches of substance here? That's not exactly the launching pad you were hoping for. Instead of getting off to a running start, you'll be lucky to walk out of the arena intact after all is said and done.
“This week starts a new chapter in my APW career. Maybe I didn't win Test for the Best like I wanted to. But hey, there's always next year, and in terms of preparing for the 2014 tournament?
“Well, there's no time like the present.”
Smith exits the bedroom, but leaves the door open. We hear him rejoining Roxanne, Bobby, and Stevie down the hall, and as they chatter away, our scene fades to black once again.
We hear hard rock music blasting from the other side of the door, as well as the occasional grunt. Bobby and Stevie each take turns knocking on the door, but there's no chance either will be answered.
Bobby: “How long do you figure he's been in there?”
Stevie: “Three hours, maybe?”
Bobby: “You think he'd be a little less devastated than last year. I mean, the guy made the final four of Test for the Best, and it took all C.J. Gates had to beat him.”
Stevie: “Sure, but you know as well as I do that he expected more out of himself. And for PARKER to wind up winning the thing?”
Both Bobby and Stevie grimace at the mere mention of the tournament's winner.
Stevie: “It's OK, though. I sort of figured this would happen, so I called in some backup.”
Female voice: “And your backup just got here.”
The camera suddenly pans left, and we see Roxanne, who is carrying a small bag in her right hand with a Southwest Airlines tag on it. It's clear she's just gotten off the plane from Baltimore, and while she looks a bit weary from the travel, she's also smiling.
Bobby: “Roxie! How are ya?!”
Roxanne: “Eh. Same old, same old. What's the situation?”
Stevie: “Well, our buddy's been in that gym for three hours and won't come out. We've tried all the tricks, but it's pretty clear that he's not going to talk to us anytime soon.”
Roxanne: “Don't worry. I've got this.”
Undeterred by the eardrum-rattling music and Smith's apparent stubbornness, Roxanne opens the door to the Big Apple Asskicker's palacial home gym. We see Smith with his back to us, hammering away at a heavy bag with punches and kicks fueled by an immense frustration. He's caked in sweat, and he's already gone through one white t-shirt, which is soaked and on the floor behind him.
Roxanne evaluates the situation, and somehow, she's able to muster enough strength to raise her voice, something one of the most composed women we've ever met rarely does. And speaking of rare...
Roxanne: “ANDREW! CHARLES! SMITH!”
Smith stops dead in his tracks. We can count the number of people who know his full name on one hand, and as any man knows, when a woman uses your middle name, you're in BIG trouble.
Smith pulls out a remote from the right front pocket of his black gym shorts, and he pushes a button that mercifully stops the music. Slowly, he turns around, knowing the tongue-lashing he's about to receive from someone who knows him better than just about anyone.
Roxanne: “What the hell are you doing? You've got your buddies worried sick about you outside, and I'm scared you'll give yourself a heart attack.”
A.C.: “...I'm sorry. Wasn't my intention to make you upset. Just needed to take out some frustration, that's all.”
Roxanne: “Well, there are better ways to do that than killing yourself against an opponent that can't fight back.”
As he grabs a white towel to wipe the beads of sweat off his face and shirtless upper body, Smith can't help but chuckle. Roxanne, though, is far from amused.
Roxanne: “This needs to stop. You haven't called, you haven't texted. For the last week or so, you've been a total recluse. What's the big deal?”
A.C. takes a deep breath.
A.C.: “I just needed some time. That match against Gates was painful, in more ways than one.”
Roxanne: “Your work life shouldn't interfere with us. I've been worried sick about you. And if something was bothering you, you should know you can come to me with anything.”
Smith sits down on a padded bench against the wall and motions for Roxanne to walk over. She does, and she talks again as she sits next to the APW Xtreme Champion.
Roxanne: “I can understand a lot of things. But I never understood why you let what you do get to you so much. You've got a job you love, and you're damn good at it.”
A.C.: “I appreciate that, I do. But you've got to understand how much I wanted to win that tournament. Nobody else in the bracket was there last year, and after I beat Jair Hopkins, I was one of four wrestlers in one of the biggest companies on the planet who had a shot at winning it all. Then I ran into Gates, a guy I really respect, and I didn't get it done.
“Plus, let's not forget who wound up winning the tournament.”
Roxanne: “What, exactly, is your problem with Parker?”
A.C.: “How much time do you have?”
That breaks Roxanne, who finally lets her guard down a bit and flashes her million-dollar smile.
A.C.: “It got to me, that's all. And you're right, I shouldn't have let it affect our relationship. I'm sorry.”
Roxanne: “It's alright. Trust me, if I was all that concerned, you'd have seen me MUCH sooner. I figured you needed to let off some steam, but next time, can you just make sure you tell me first?”
A.C.: “Deal. Who told you?”
Roxanne: “Stevie. Say what you will about those two guys out there, but they're about the most loyal friends you could have. And given that they're probably still standing out there, you probably owe them an apology.”
A.C.: “Yeah, that's probably true. If you weren't here, what would I do?”
Smith tries putting his arm around Roxanne, but she is freaked out by the sweat still dripping from the Big Apple Asskicker's body.
Roxanne: “You owe THEM an apology, and you owe ME a shower before you try anything like that again!”
We hear laughter coming from the hallway. It's clear Bobby and Stevie have been listening to the entire conversation from the hallway, and we see Smith roll his brown eyes.
A.C.: “Screw an apology. I'm gonna kill 'em.”
Now it's Roxanne rolling her eyes, and she follows Smith out of the gym in hot pursuit, presumably to keep the peace. We hear the door open and shut, and our scene fades to black.
---
We fade back up, and we see Smith slide a clean pair of shorts on underneath a towel. He's in his bedroom, and it's clear that he's just gotten out of the shower. He hurls the towel into a nearby laundry basket and picks up a black APW t-shirt from his bed, putting that on before turning his attention to a nearby camera.
The Big Apple Asskicker appears to be substantially de-stressed, and looks much more comfortable with himself and his surroundings. He sits on his king-size bed, ruffling the freshly-made blue comforter and matching 400 thread count satin sheets, and after smoothing out some of the creases, Smith opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “As you saw, my loss in the Test for the Best semifinals was a tough one for me to take. More than almost anything in my 11-year wrestling career, I wanted to win that tournament and emerge as the #1 contender for Level-One's World Heavyweight Championship heading into Shockwave, and after my quarterfinal win over Jair Hopkins, one half of APW's Tag Team Champions, that title shot was in my crosshairs.
“However, it wasn't to be. C.J. Gates, a man I respect as much as anyone else in APW, was my semifinal opponent, and the two of us had another classic match. Unfortunately, he came out on the winning end, and the night only got worse when Aubrey Parker, who has no grasp of what it means to respect this business, wound up winning it in extremely cheap fashion.
“It took me a while to get over what happened. Make no mistake, I'm by no means content or happy with it, even over a week later, but I'm moving on because that's just about all I can do at this point. The only thing I know how to do is get back on the horse and keep moving forward, and I've got a great chance to do that this Thursday night in South Carolina against Nick Watson, the same man I beat for my Xtreme Championship way back in December of last year.”
Smith pauses, possibly reliving the memory of one of his biggest wins in APW to date.
A.C.: “I've held that title for going on seven months now, one of the longest Xtreme title reigns in APW history. And in doing so, I did something Nick Watson never did after winning it at One Night in Hell. I've given this title some prestige, some value, some respect in the wrestling world. I've defended it against all comers, including Hall of Famers like Michael Lively and Nathaniel Havok, and I have no designs on losing any momentum this week against a guy that did NOTHING for the belt the last time he held it.
“See, while I've been kicking ass and taking names like few others in this business ever have, Nick Watson's been AWOL. He left earlier this year, and just came back. I'm never one to underestimate anyone, far from it. When Nick Watson has been on his game, he's shown immense potential. The problem is, that potential has never come out against me, even when he's been on top of his game.
“I beat him for the Xtreme title in December, and even long before that, he was one of the guys I outlasted in the four-way ladder match to get into last year's Test for the Best bracket. When he won the title at One Night in Hell, he beat Evan Harrison, not me, and furthermore, he needed Sienna Harrison's help to do it. How, then, is he supposed to come off a layoff as long as he had, be just as good as he was before, and beat someone he's never shown he could beat even when he's on his best game?”
Smith shrugs.
A.C.: “That's not me being condescending or rude or anything like that. I respect Nick Watson and what he stands for outside the ring, which isn't something I can say about a lot of people in Action Packed Wrestling. He seems like a genuinely decent dude, and I hope that the time off he took helped him out with whatever he needed to straighten out.
“That said, I don't deal in generalities or speculation. I deal in facts and the cold, hard truth. The cold, hard truth, in this case, is that Nick Watson's never been good enough to beat me one-on-one, even when he was firing on all cylinders and even before I became known as one of the best Xtreme Champions in APW history. I'm not being mean when I say that, I'm merely being brutally honest.
“Maybe Nick Watson will be better for the hiatus he took in the long run. But having taken a couple of those myself, I can tell you that it takes a while to work off the ring rust. It doesn't happen instantly. It can take weeks, maybe even months, especially when you're going up against the best competition the wrestling world has to offer here in APW. It's certainly not going to happen in his first match on Overdrive since at least this past winter, coming against someone he's always struggled to hang with.
“Me? I'm coming into this match back on the horse, ready to do what I do better than just about anyone on Overdrive as of late. I'm the longest-reigning champion on APW's flagship brand, and that's no accident. I back down from nobody, and it's because I know I can hang with anyone in professional wrestling. Anyone who thinks I'm damaged goods heading into Thursday's match with Nick Watson, a guy I've shown I can beat multiple different ways? Well, they're dead wrong.”
There's that eye-roll again, complete with Smith shaking his head and smirking slightly.
A.C.: “Maybe my loss at Test for the Best was a shock to my system. But thanks to the best friends that anyone could ever ask for, I'm back to where I need to be. I'm ready for anything APW throws at me this Thursday night, and that includes the returning Nick Watson.
“When he showed up again, I was happy to see him back. I'm serious, when you've been around as long as I have and dispatched as many know-nothing charlatans as I have, it's refreshing to see someone who appears to have half a brain between his ears and a clue as to how to treat people. It looks like he's right again from a mental standpoint, and I wish him lots of luck going forward because I've been in his shoes before and know how tough it is to come back from such a long break.
“Unfortunately for him, his first Overdrive match back comes against an opponent he can't beat. That's not me being insulting, it's just the way it is. As someone that's taken a few breaks before, I know how difficult it is to come back, even against opponents one has beaten before. Nick Watson was up against it in the short term from the second he announced his comeback, but when the card came out and he was pitted against the Big Apple Asskicker? That's like asking someone who has trouble walking up a hill to climb Mount Everest. It's an unreasonable request, and deep down, Nick Watson knows that.”
Smith kips up off the bed and rises to his full 6'8” height.
A.C.: “Maybe Nick Watson will be better than he was before after a couple of weeks. Maybe down the line, he'll fulfill all the potential he showed us before his untimely exit. And maybe, just maybe, he'll make the leap we were all expecting him to make when he broke into APW last year.
“However, one thing's for sure. None of that is happening this week, not against an opponent he can't hang with in a one-on-one setting. His biggest win came in a match I was involved in, sure, but let's be reasonable and acknowledge that he pinned Evan Harrison only after Sienna Harrison bailed his ass out. This Thursday night, there'll be nobody else for him to focus on and nobody around to help when he gets into a tight spot, and history has shown that he doesn't fare well against me when that situation lines itself up.
“Nick Watson, you're in deep trouble this week, and you know it. Maybe you'll go on and do great things in your second run here in APW. But a matchup against me, someone you lost the Xtreme title to in one of your last matches of substance here? That's not exactly the launching pad you were hoping for. Instead of getting off to a running start, you'll be lucky to walk out of the arena intact after all is said and done.
“This week starts a new chapter in my APW career. Maybe I didn't win Test for the Best like I wanted to. But hey, there's always next year, and in terms of preparing for the 2014 tournament?
“Well, there's no time like the present.”
Smith exits the bedroom, but leaves the door open. We hear him rejoining Roxanne, Bobby, and Stevie down the hall, and as they chatter away, our scene fades to black once again.
