Post by Johnny Rebel on Jan 12, 2012 16:08:40 GMT -4
Note: This is the character development of a storyline I currently have going on in Phoenix Wrestling; I'm posting it here because it directly correlates with Survive and Conquer. Currently, Rebel is scheduled to face the newly crowned member of PW's HOF William Bateman, the leader of Empire (which includes S&C entrants BAD ASS and Seth Black).
Hope you enjoy!
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An APW Locker Room after Last Thursday’s Overdrive
January 5th, 2012
[/i]
The main event of APW Overdrive was supposed to be Johnny Rebel against the APW Undisputed Champion C.J. Gates. Rebel had come up winless in his two previous singles matches against Gates. Rebel was ready to break through the glass ceiling and saw a golden opportunity when CWC Heavyweight Champion Azrael Goeren laid out Gates. Rebel draped himself over the lifeless Gates but as the referee began his count a gang from Phoenix Wrestling pulled him out of the ring. They continued their assault on both Rebel and Gates until being chased away by APW’s Kurt Noble. However, the damage was one and Rebel was left a bloody mess.
“This is out of control!” The words leave Rebel’s mouth like a dart leaving the hand of drunken sailor. “The one place that I thought I didn’t have to watch my back for Empire scum and yet they still get away with whatever they want!”
Somewhere in an APW locker room, “Simply Put” Johnny Rebel is struggling to gain composure. After being bumrushed for what seems the hundredth time inside the ring by Seth Black and his group of cronies, Rebel is ready to explode. In a fit of rage, Rebel flings a trash can through the air which leaves nothing but a trail of raining copy paper that hide Sarah’s silhouette off in the distance. She presses forward to break the silence but quickly changes course as Rebel continues his assault on the locker room by pounding his fists in to a set of closed lockers.
“This was supposed to be my place of refuge! For months I’ve had to ward off Kurt Noble and C.J. Gates in the APW without the threat of being sideswiped by baseball bats and cattle prods! How in the world am I supposed to fight off the entire world by myself?”
The adrenaline high that Rebel’s been running off of for the past thirty minutes is slowly beginning to fade as he slumps down in the corner. He quickly buries his head in the palms of his hands. The current APW Overdrive champion has just been the subject of one of the most vicious beatings he’s ever received at the hands of PW’s elite: Seth Black, BAD ASS and Juan Ramirez. Where was he supposed to turn now? His teammates from CWC Supremacy hated his guts and wouldn’t be caught dead defending Rebel—besides Biggs had thrown in the towel and was now retired. The supposed new “Cabinet” that Nick Stevenson formed at Revelations was dormant. It was just Rebel against the world… until the subtle touch of Sarah brought him crashing back down to earth.
“It’s going to be alright…” Sarah whispered, placing her hand on Rebel’s houlder and crouching down next to him.
What else was she supposed to say? Sarah knew that Rebel was going to have a challenging time escaping the mess that he’s created alone. He was dealing with three that the best this sport had to offer; all the while trying to defend APW’s home turf from invaders wanting to take the top spot for Survive and Conquer. While she wasn’t exactly dripping with encouragement, her presence besides Rebel was all he needed.
“How are we going to get ourselves out of this one?” Rebel uttered but Sarah immediately officered her rebuttal.
“Sweetheart,” she says, “I’m not sure why you’re using the term us here. I wasn’t the one running my mouth on all of the social media websites. For weeks now you have been inviting any and everyone to show up here. I’ve been trying to warn you that the more feathers you ruffle the harder it’s going to be when the shoe finally drops and these guys take you up on your offers…”
“Let me guess,” Rebel answers, “The shoe finally dropped?"
“I think so… “ Sarah says while nodding her head in agreement with Rebel’s question. “Take a look at the people you have put in your crosshairs the best few weeks: Jack Benevolence, Dan Ryan from EFK’s Dreams and Nightmares, C.J. Gates and Kurt Noble in APW, Paradox McSweeney at the rest of Team SCW from CWC’s Supremacy to just name a few. That’s not even the beginning of the mess you’ve made while in Phoenix Wrestling. Between Empire and Juan Ramirez—you are really fighting an uphill battle.”
“Thanks for that reminder, babe…” Rebel says while playfully tapping Sarah across the face.
Sarah wasn’t in the mood for laughter at Rebel’s expense. She begins scolding him: “There isn’t anybody to blame but yourself. It’s like trying to get rid of a bat flying around in your house with a baseball bat. You can’t run in swinging without a target without taking out everything else in between. You’re probably going to hit a little bit of everything but eventually those angry hornets are going to come attacking!”
“I get it… I understand.”
Rebel mumbled his concession but there wasn’t any way he was ready to give up. He knew this wasn’t over and not by a longshot. This had always been Rebel’s plan in the wrestling business: throw everything and see what would stick. He didn’t get to this point in his life by ducking challengers and keeping his mouth shut. He’s single-handedly the man responsible for a large chunk of the entrants in APW’s Survive and Conquer; it seemed like almost half of the competitors specifically mentioned getting a crack at Rebel as their reasoning for throwing their names in the hat. Simply put? Survival was the name of the game.
“I guess the question is where do we go from here?” Rebel asks while rubbing a towel across his bloodied forehead from the attack earlier.
“You have to be ready, I guess… “ Sarah answers. “They are always going to be out there and ready to strike at any moment.”
“That’s it?” Rebel says. “I’m supposed to just ride out the storm knowing that they could strike at any moment? This ends tonight! I’m not giving them the pleasure of knowing that we’re always watching our back and sleeping with one eye open. Sarah, if we don’t do something to end all this then we’re going to drive ourselves crazy!”
“Why do you keep saying we?” Sarah argues. “This isn’t a we problem, Johnny! This is a you problem and until you recognize that then I can’t help you.”
Rebel knew that she was right but wasn’t ready to go at this alone. How could he be so selfish? He has dragged in her in to this mess when all she ever wanted was to handle his paperwork and book his travel; that’s what a secretary was supposed to do right? He hadn’t meant to get her involved but unfortunately, he had put her in harm’s way simply by being associated with her. After a few moments of silence and no response from Rebel, she chimes in: “What am I supposed to do here, Johnny?”
“Something! Do anything!” Rebel blurts out in excitement.
Rebel’s Hotel Room
January 11th, 2012
[/i]2:15am
“Ring… ring… ring.”
Rebel’s awakened at the sound of his phone ringing uncontrollably on the nightstand next to his bed. He fumbles around for a few seconds before finally getting the device in his hands. He flips it open and manages to mumble out a semi-coherent greeting… “Hello?”
“Johnny… “ the tone of Sarah’s voice causes Rebel to snap out of his sleep-induced haze a little faster than usual. He could tell something was different in her disposition; something was wrong.
“What’s going on, Sarah?” He quizzes her.
“I think… I think there is someone outside my hotel room…” she said. This wasn’t the first time that she had called Rebel and cried wolf at a potential intruder. It wasn’t common for Sarah to travel with him to events but Rebel felt a little uneasy at leaving her behind knowing that PW was lurking about. He wanted to keep her close but not in the same hotel to help protect her from some of the ugly side of the business. The benefit of their relationship was that Rebel kept her safe and offered her a lifestyle financially that otherwise she couldn’t afford and she kept his priorities in order.
“Come on, Sarah… it’s got to be at least two in the morning and I’ve got William Bateman tomorrow evening. I’ve got to get some sleep!” Rebel mumbles.
“Johnny! I’m serious! I think there is somebody outside of my window!”
“What am I supposed to do about it cross town? Go make sure that your door is deadbolted and that the windows are shut and you won’t have anything to worry about. Nobody even knows that you’re around.”
Sarah breathes a deep breath and pleads with Rebel, “Would you please just come over and check things out for me?”
“Sarah,” Rebel tries to console her, “If there is really somebody outside your window than they will be long gone by the time I get over there. If you’re really worried than call the front desk and have them send somebody from security over to take a peek.”
The two had spent a countless amount of hours together over the past few months… perhaps more so than Rebel had ever spent with anyone else. It was almost at a sickening level of just how quickly the two could finish one another’s sentences. He could see her body language in his head by the tone of her voice and he knew that she wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
“I just thought that when I agreed to travel on the road with you that you would, you know, take care of me, Johnny.” Sarah said playing the guilt card.
Rebel didn’t let a whole lot of things get under his skin but that was the trump card Sarah had over him. He couldn’t have cared less about forced tag-team partners over the years but he would never let Sarah feel unwanted. She had willingly sacrificed everything to maintain her working relationship with Rebel and he couldn’t reward her by abandoning her when she needed him.
“Don’t do that Sarah!” Rebel says with an anger that’s beginning to build. “You know that I’ve been there for you whenever you have needed me! This is just another desperate plea for attention!”
The tension is building but is about to come to a head as tears well up in Sarah’s eyes. She blurts out, “I would have expected this from anybody but you… I thought I meant more to you than that. I guess I’ll never be anything more than the girl that you depend on to clean up the messes in your life! You know what, Johnny? Don’t come crying to me when William Batemen and the rest of Empire bash in your skull. I don’t want my desperate pleas for attention to take up anymore of your time.”
“FINE!” Rebel replies while creating an awkward silence. However, it doesn’t last long as Sarah lets out a loud shriek. “What just happened?”
“I have no doubt that there is somebody out there, Johnny! I’m not just going to sit here while someone is parading outside of my house!” Sarah says as she hangs up the phone. Johnny frantically tries to hit the redial button in an effort to get her back on the line but she doesn’t answer.
Rebel really only had two options here: he could go roll over and go back to sleep or he could go put Sarah’s fears at ease. He knew that if he didn’t go check things out he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep which made the decision a little easier. He hops out of bed and begins his journey over to the hotel where Sarah is spending the night. He could only think about the conversation the two just completed. What if somebody really was outside and they had done something to hurt her? How could he ever forgive himself if that happened? He wouldn’t be able to handle it. As much as he wouldn’t acknowledge it publically… he cared deeply for Sarah; she was the only thing that he had left after everything else had been ripped from him. Losing her would send him a tailspain that he’d never recover from.
As Rebel turns the corner to the hotel room where Sarah is staying his heart sinks in to the pit of his stomach. The red and blue flashing from a lone police vehicle overpower his sight and cause him to stomp the gas pedal down to the floor and speed through. He comes spinning in to a parking spot and kicks the door open. The sole police officer at the scene stops him from rushing through the door but Sarah can only whisper: “It’s OK.”
Sarah was on the ground with both legs tucked underneath her while refusing to make eye contact with the former International champion. Rebel doesn’t even need to ask what happened, as he already knows that somebody had put the pieces together. Empire had somehow discovered that Sarah was accompanying Rebel during this leg of the journey and knew she was alone. She stretched out her arms and handed him a brick that had gone through the main window at the front of her hotel room as Rebel rips through the rubber band that connected the brick and a note. He reads it allowed:
Upon finishing the note, he slams the brick on the ground and balls up the note in his clinched fist. He crouches down to put his arm around Sarah who simply reaches up and grabs him around the neck. Empire and Juan Ramirez had declared war on Rebel. It was one thing to continue the sneak attacks and bully beatdowns but to attack Sarah was something that would draw out a new Johnny Rebel that we have yet to see in his return to professional wrestling.
There was no turning back.
Hope you enjoy!
---
An APW Locker Room after Last Thursday’s Overdrive
January 5th, 2012
[/i]
The main event of APW Overdrive was supposed to be Johnny Rebel against the APW Undisputed Champion C.J. Gates. Rebel had come up winless in his two previous singles matches against Gates. Rebel was ready to break through the glass ceiling and saw a golden opportunity when CWC Heavyweight Champion Azrael Goeren laid out Gates. Rebel draped himself over the lifeless Gates but as the referee began his count a gang from Phoenix Wrestling pulled him out of the ring. They continued their assault on both Rebel and Gates until being chased away by APW’s Kurt Noble. However, the damage was one and Rebel was left a bloody mess.
“This is out of control!” The words leave Rebel’s mouth like a dart leaving the hand of drunken sailor. “The one place that I thought I didn’t have to watch my back for Empire scum and yet they still get away with whatever they want!”
Somewhere in an APW locker room, “Simply Put” Johnny Rebel is struggling to gain composure. After being bumrushed for what seems the hundredth time inside the ring by Seth Black and his group of cronies, Rebel is ready to explode. In a fit of rage, Rebel flings a trash can through the air which leaves nothing but a trail of raining copy paper that hide Sarah’s silhouette off in the distance. She presses forward to break the silence but quickly changes course as Rebel continues his assault on the locker room by pounding his fists in to a set of closed lockers.
“This was supposed to be my place of refuge! For months I’ve had to ward off Kurt Noble and C.J. Gates in the APW without the threat of being sideswiped by baseball bats and cattle prods! How in the world am I supposed to fight off the entire world by myself?”
The adrenaline high that Rebel’s been running off of for the past thirty minutes is slowly beginning to fade as he slumps down in the corner. He quickly buries his head in the palms of his hands. The current APW Overdrive champion has just been the subject of one of the most vicious beatings he’s ever received at the hands of PW’s elite: Seth Black, BAD ASS and Juan Ramirez. Where was he supposed to turn now? His teammates from CWC Supremacy hated his guts and wouldn’t be caught dead defending Rebel—besides Biggs had thrown in the towel and was now retired. The supposed new “Cabinet” that Nick Stevenson formed at Revelations was dormant. It was just Rebel against the world… until the subtle touch of Sarah brought him crashing back down to earth.
“It’s going to be alright…” Sarah whispered, placing her hand on Rebel’s houlder and crouching down next to him.
What else was she supposed to say? Sarah knew that Rebel was going to have a challenging time escaping the mess that he’s created alone. He was dealing with three that the best this sport had to offer; all the while trying to defend APW’s home turf from invaders wanting to take the top spot for Survive and Conquer. While she wasn’t exactly dripping with encouragement, her presence besides Rebel was all he needed.
“How are we going to get ourselves out of this one?” Rebel uttered but Sarah immediately officered her rebuttal.
“Sweetheart,” she says, “I’m not sure why you’re using the term us here. I wasn’t the one running my mouth on all of the social media websites. For weeks now you have been inviting any and everyone to show up here. I’ve been trying to warn you that the more feathers you ruffle the harder it’s going to be when the shoe finally drops and these guys take you up on your offers…”
“Let me guess,” Rebel answers, “The shoe finally dropped?"
“I think so… “ Sarah says while nodding her head in agreement with Rebel’s question. “Take a look at the people you have put in your crosshairs the best few weeks: Jack Benevolence, Dan Ryan from EFK’s Dreams and Nightmares, C.J. Gates and Kurt Noble in APW, Paradox McSweeney at the rest of Team SCW from CWC’s Supremacy to just name a few. That’s not even the beginning of the mess you’ve made while in Phoenix Wrestling. Between Empire and Juan Ramirez—you are really fighting an uphill battle.”
“Thanks for that reminder, babe…” Rebel says while playfully tapping Sarah across the face.
Sarah wasn’t in the mood for laughter at Rebel’s expense. She begins scolding him: “There isn’t anybody to blame but yourself. It’s like trying to get rid of a bat flying around in your house with a baseball bat. You can’t run in swinging without a target without taking out everything else in between. You’re probably going to hit a little bit of everything but eventually those angry hornets are going to come attacking!”
“I get it… I understand.”
Rebel mumbled his concession but there wasn’t any way he was ready to give up. He knew this wasn’t over and not by a longshot. This had always been Rebel’s plan in the wrestling business: throw everything and see what would stick. He didn’t get to this point in his life by ducking challengers and keeping his mouth shut. He’s single-handedly the man responsible for a large chunk of the entrants in APW’s Survive and Conquer; it seemed like almost half of the competitors specifically mentioned getting a crack at Rebel as their reasoning for throwing their names in the hat. Simply put? Survival was the name of the game.
“I guess the question is where do we go from here?” Rebel asks while rubbing a towel across his bloodied forehead from the attack earlier.
“You have to be ready, I guess… “ Sarah answers. “They are always going to be out there and ready to strike at any moment.”
“That’s it?” Rebel says. “I’m supposed to just ride out the storm knowing that they could strike at any moment? This ends tonight! I’m not giving them the pleasure of knowing that we’re always watching our back and sleeping with one eye open. Sarah, if we don’t do something to end all this then we’re going to drive ourselves crazy!”
“Why do you keep saying we?” Sarah argues. “This isn’t a we problem, Johnny! This is a you problem and until you recognize that then I can’t help you.”
Rebel knew that she was right but wasn’t ready to go at this alone. How could he be so selfish? He has dragged in her in to this mess when all she ever wanted was to handle his paperwork and book his travel; that’s what a secretary was supposed to do right? He hadn’t meant to get her involved but unfortunately, he had put her in harm’s way simply by being associated with her. After a few moments of silence and no response from Rebel, she chimes in: “What am I supposed to do here, Johnny?”
“Something! Do anything!” Rebel blurts out in excitement.
-----
Rebel’s Hotel Room
January 11th, 2012
[/i]2:15am
“Ring… ring… ring.”
Rebel’s awakened at the sound of his phone ringing uncontrollably on the nightstand next to his bed. He fumbles around for a few seconds before finally getting the device in his hands. He flips it open and manages to mumble out a semi-coherent greeting… “Hello?”
“Johnny… “ the tone of Sarah’s voice causes Rebel to snap out of his sleep-induced haze a little faster than usual. He could tell something was different in her disposition; something was wrong.
“What’s going on, Sarah?” He quizzes her.
“I think… I think there is someone outside my hotel room…” she said. This wasn’t the first time that she had called Rebel and cried wolf at a potential intruder. It wasn’t common for Sarah to travel with him to events but Rebel felt a little uneasy at leaving her behind knowing that PW was lurking about. He wanted to keep her close but not in the same hotel to help protect her from some of the ugly side of the business. The benefit of their relationship was that Rebel kept her safe and offered her a lifestyle financially that otherwise she couldn’t afford and she kept his priorities in order.
“Come on, Sarah… it’s got to be at least two in the morning and I’ve got William Bateman tomorrow evening. I’ve got to get some sleep!” Rebel mumbles.
“Johnny! I’m serious! I think there is somebody outside of my window!”
“What am I supposed to do about it cross town? Go make sure that your door is deadbolted and that the windows are shut and you won’t have anything to worry about. Nobody even knows that you’re around.”
Sarah breathes a deep breath and pleads with Rebel, “Would you please just come over and check things out for me?”
“Sarah,” Rebel tries to console her, “If there is really somebody outside your window than they will be long gone by the time I get over there. If you’re really worried than call the front desk and have them send somebody from security over to take a peek.”
The two had spent a countless amount of hours together over the past few months… perhaps more so than Rebel had ever spent with anyone else. It was almost at a sickening level of just how quickly the two could finish one another’s sentences. He could see her body language in his head by the tone of her voice and he knew that she wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
“I just thought that when I agreed to travel on the road with you that you would, you know, take care of me, Johnny.” Sarah said playing the guilt card.
Rebel didn’t let a whole lot of things get under his skin but that was the trump card Sarah had over him. He couldn’t have cared less about forced tag-team partners over the years but he would never let Sarah feel unwanted. She had willingly sacrificed everything to maintain her working relationship with Rebel and he couldn’t reward her by abandoning her when she needed him.
“Don’t do that Sarah!” Rebel says with an anger that’s beginning to build. “You know that I’ve been there for you whenever you have needed me! This is just another desperate plea for attention!”
The tension is building but is about to come to a head as tears well up in Sarah’s eyes. She blurts out, “I would have expected this from anybody but you… I thought I meant more to you than that. I guess I’ll never be anything more than the girl that you depend on to clean up the messes in your life! You know what, Johnny? Don’t come crying to me when William Batemen and the rest of Empire bash in your skull. I don’t want my desperate pleas for attention to take up anymore of your time.”
“FINE!” Rebel replies while creating an awkward silence. However, it doesn’t last long as Sarah lets out a loud shriek. “What just happened?”
“I have no doubt that there is somebody out there, Johnny! I’m not just going to sit here while someone is parading outside of my house!” Sarah says as she hangs up the phone. Johnny frantically tries to hit the redial button in an effort to get her back on the line but she doesn’t answer.
Rebel really only had two options here: he could go roll over and go back to sleep or he could go put Sarah’s fears at ease. He knew that if he didn’t go check things out he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep which made the decision a little easier. He hops out of bed and begins his journey over to the hotel where Sarah is spending the night. He could only think about the conversation the two just completed. What if somebody really was outside and they had done something to hurt her? How could he ever forgive himself if that happened? He wouldn’t be able to handle it. As much as he wouldn’t acknowledge it publically… he cared deeply for Sarah; she was the only thing that he had left after everything else had been ripped from him. Losing her would send him a tailspain that he’d never recover from.
As Rebel turns the corner to the hotel room where Sarah is staying his heart sinks in to the pit of his stomach. The red and blue flashing from a lone police vehicle overpower his sight and cause him to stomp the gas pedal down to the floor and speed through. He comes spinning in to a parking spot and kicks the door open. The sole police officer at the scene stops him from rushing through the door but Sarah can only whisper: “It’s OK.”
Sarah was on the ground with both legs tucked underneath her while refusing to make eye contact with the former International champion. Rebel doesn’t even need to ask what happened, as he already knows that somebody had put the pieces together. Empire had somehow discovered that Sarah was accompanying Rebel during this leg of the journey and knew she was alone. She stretched out her arms and handed him a brick that had gone through the main window at the front of her hotel room as Rebel rips through the rubber band that connected the brick and a note. He reads it allowed:
“We’re coming for you. Don’t think you can hide because we will find you wherever you are!
Love,
Empire and Juan Ramirez”
Love,
Empire and Juan Ramirez”
Upon finishing the note, he slams the brick on the ground and balls up the note in his clinched fist. He crouches down to put his arm around Sarah who simply reaches up and grabs him around the neck. Empire and Juan Ramirez had declared war on Rebel. It was one thing to continue the sneak attacks and bully beatdowns but to attack Sarah was something that would draw out a new Johnny Rebel that we have yet to see in his return to professional wrestling.
There was no turning back.
