Tension, Pt. 2

[Tommy Knox]

//- Tension, Chapter 15, Pt. 2 -\\

Monday 07:47 AM [November 1st, 2011]
Brooklyn, New York

The morning isn’t so quiet in the gym today. The room is full of darkness except for the illuminated ring in the far center. Inside, we find Michael Salieri and Knoxville wrestling as adrenaline pumps life into the atmosphere. The two are tied up in the center of the ring competing for position and the upper hand before Knoxville is surprised with a knee to the stomach. Salieri then attempts to lift him in the air for a powerbomb as Knoxville slips out from his grasp and puts him on the mat with a dropkick from behind. Taking a few steps back, Knoxville grins as he looks down at Michael.

“I’m not goin’ out that easy.”

Salieri slowly climbs to his feet using the ropes as leverage to lift his big body. He turns around, looking Knoxville in the eyes and leans back against the ropes to relax.

“Good, I have a lot more for you to dodge. The week is still young Tommy. Even without the training from me, I’m sure you’d kick both of those idiot’s asses.”

“Oh, no doubt. I told you already, I’m done with both of those punks after the match, after I win.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself now.”

“Mike, seriously?”

“Well… yea. We both know that these two don’t concern you much at all. Why should they? You’re the mother fucker who’s going to wipe the mat with them. You’re the mother fucker who’s going to put them both down. You’re the mother fucker who’s going to get the win. It’s plain and simple. I can damn sure…”

“I’m the mother fucker who’s goin’ to the mother fuckin’ top! Fuck all these nobody little bitches! Hah…”

Knoxville laughs to himself as Michael stands across the ring shaking his head back and forth.

“What it is, is this. You’re the mother fucker who’s a complete retard.”

“Come on now, Mike. We have to have a little fun, at least I do. Trust me, I’m takin’ this trainin’ as serious as possible. I’m in this one hundred percent. I’m goin’ to have some fun though. Me bein’ uptight and serious all the time isn’t goin’ to push me to my highest level. I just gotta be me!

The back door of the gym slams as a loud echo sounds throughout the entire room. Plex storms to the ring with a pissed off look written all over his face. Tommy and Michael both turn their attention to him as the room fills with silence just before he opens his big, dumb, fucking mouth.

“What is this shit?! Michael, what the fuck are you doing here in the ring with Knox?

Michael slowly rubs his chin as he looks down at the old has been with a look of cockiness in his eye.

“What’s it to you? You know the deal, you know what happened. Just do yourself a favor and go hide in your office.”

“What fucking deal?! All I know is that you’re trying to replace me in this new business venture T has in front of him.” Plex replies.

Cracking a smile himself, Michael turns his neck to the side to pop it. “Look old man. No one is here to replace you. All I’m doing is helping train my client in the ring for his next match. Unlike you, I’m not my uncles little bitch. Now turn around and walk to that office over there.”

“Sorry Plex, I have to do what’s best for me.”

“I got this, Tommy.” Michael responds. “Plex, you’re finished. I’m managing Tommy’s career from now on, not my uncle. I’m goin’ to utilize this gym for as long as I please. If you have a problem with that, talk to my uncle. Tommy was your last hope at any sort of wrestling fame, give it up. I’m not going to let you use him like that. Get the fuck out of my sight and go find some nobody “jerky” to guide nowhere. You’re finished.”

Knoxville begins laughing as it appears that Michael’s words have hurt Plex’s feelings. He then runs to the ropes and hops over them, landing on the floor below. Without hesitation, Knoxville pulls his arm back as he clinches his fist. Plex tries to avoid a strike but fails as Knoxville cracks his fist across Plex’s jaw sending him to the floor.

“You got knocked the fuck out!!!”

Looking down on the action from the ring, Michael holds his head down as he shakes it back and forth once more. He then begins to slowly exit the ring, climbing his way to the floor.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Tommy. As soon as he wakes up my uncles going to be all over this. At least it was you and not me, I can protect you. Let’s get out of here before this old turd wakes up. I’ll deal with him tonight. Fuck him. I don’t care if this is his gym or not, he’s not going to keep us out of that ring. I’m going to make a champion out of you, Knox…"

Walking closer to the scene, Michael pats Knoxville on the back as the two walk away fading in the darkness.

Saturday 08:53 PM [November 5th, 2011]
Brooklyn, New York

“I told you my uncle would be all over this.” Michael says in a soft tone as he sits at a table with Knoxville looking down at his phone. “I take it that he’s finally back in town.”

The restaurant is packed, every table full and every seat with an ass. Tonight we find ourselves at Luigi’s, a small hole in the wall on the south side of Brooklyn. Across the table from him, Knoxville laughs to himself starring down at his plate of lasagna with a slight glaze over his bloodshot eyes.

“Whatever, it’s all said and done. Tell him you had nothin’ to do with it. I’ll take all the blame. Your uncle can’t do but so much more to me, he’s already ruined my life. I wish I never even signed with the son of a bitch when TcW was still runnin’.”

“Is it that bad?”

“You have no idea, man. He’s the root of all my problems. It all started with Tony. We’ll get to this another time. I want to talk about tomorrow night.”

“Me too. I’ve been looking forward to this match all week. Don’t get me wrong. You have always had talent and been kicking ass in APW lately. I’m just ready to see what you unleash on those morons after you’ve been training with me for a week. Tomorrow night is the one chance we get to prove to my uncle, APW and the world that you’re championship material.”

“No offense Mike, I don’t need you by my side to kick ass in the ring. It’s just what I do. I need you around to make sure I don’t get in any sorts of trouble and to keep your uncle off my case.”

“As long as you can stay clean, you’ll be just fine. Don’t worry yourself with my uncle. I’ll handle him, even if I have to throw a larger cut from “Fillie’s” his way.”

“Speaking of which, let’s fuckin’ go to “Fillie’s” tonight!”

“You truly are a burnout. Do you seriously think I’m going to take you to see some tits and ass tonight when you have a big match tomorrow night?”

“No but it was worth a shot. We’ll get there next week. This is what I need. Back when I was on top of my game, I was always partyin’ and havin’ fun. The more fun I had outside the ring, the more dangerous I was in the ring.”

“You sure about that? I saw you hit rock bottom in the dying days of TcW. That’s about the time it all rolled downhill from there.”

“Like I said earlier, we’ll get to this story another time. There’s a lot of shit that you don’t know involving my career and your uncle. I sort of trust you now, but I’m not one hundred percent. When I truly can trust you, I will let you in on all the details about me and your dirty fuckin’ uncle.”

“Fair enough. Since that about wraps it up, let me know what’s going through your mind right now. What is your game plan for tomorrow night? Are you ready to step to the next level?”

Knoxville grins as he looks down at his half eaten piece of lasagna. He then grabs his glass of wine and drinks every last drop, signaling to the waiter for another bottle. He thinks to himself for a brief moment without a single emotion of his face. As Michael looks on, he rubs his face for a second before pushing the plate to the side and looking up at him in the eyes.

“How many times do we have to go down this road? Honestly, I sick of dealin’ with these two fuckin’ jokes each and every week. I need somethin’ new. I need better competition. What I really need is this. I need APW to quit with the bookin’ that catches nobodies’ attention. Nobody cares to see me kick Manhattan’s and Morrison’s teeth in, again. We need somethin’ fresh. I guess the only way for me to get that is to put these two little babies to sleep. I could understand if they wanted to throw me in a bra and panties match with Sally, I can dig that. Everyone would die to see that. But seriously, no one cares to see the three of us go at it once more in the ring. I for one am tired of the déjà vu with these punks. They stood in my way at One Night In Hell and did nothin’ but coast off the hard works of the rest of us who actually got our hands dirty. It’s fuckin’ time to take out the trash brotha’.”

“Tomorrow night these two little fairies get my undivided attention. Manhattan, he and I have a score to settle once and for all. Just because he’s tripped onto the scene with a horseshoe up his ass, he thinks he can seriously outperform me in that ring? Get a fuckin’ grip on reality, son. It’s not goin’ to happen. Not now, not ever. I’m back, one hundred percent whether he or anyone else likes it. I’m not goin’ anywhere but back to the top. If I have to make an example out of him, consider it already done. The guy’s still green to the business and thinks he has it all figured out. It’s time to check his ass back into reality. Once that’s all wrapped up, I still have to deal with Morrison’s childish antics. He’s been an itch on my back since I came back to APW. Although we haven’t really feuded, he keeps findin’ himself in matches with me that don’t concern him one bit. I mean, this whole love triangle with “Goldie” is just a little ridiculous. Wouldn’t you agree? The makeup and whole act he puts on just gives me the creeps. Between you and me, the guy looks like a fuckin’ pedofile. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but “Goldie” isn’t goin’ around his waist as long as I’m in APW. Right now, Kash has her all tied up. After I wipe the mat with these two fucks, maybe everyone will see just who got fucked out of One Night In Hell.”

“Call it what you want, tell it how you see it. This sport we call wrestling is a bitch. When you think you’re on top of the world, everything is ripped out from under you only to leave you falling back to the bottom. I’ve made my mistakes along the way and let the actions of a few others cloud my perspective on this sport. It all ends here, tomorrow night, in long Island. I don’t know what’s runnin’ through both of their heads but I know what’s flowin’ through mine. I didn’t come this far only to get knocked back by two jokes like Manhattan and Morrison. We’ll see who shows up. I sure as fuck can guarantee you I’ll be there. After it’s all said and done though…”

“I just hope these bitches aren’t lettin’ their months write checks that their asses can’t cash.”