WCF Exclusive: The Ultimate Series Episode 2: Manipulator
Jul 29, 2017 20:09:55 GMT -5
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Post by "Iron Heart" Ethan King on Jul 29, 2017 20:09:55 GMT -5
The Ultimate Series: Episode 2 - Manipulator
Starring Ethan King
Producer Note: All Episodes of 'The Ultimate Series' were filmed prior to the 29th of July, 2017.
Starring Ethan King
Producer Note: All Episodes of 'The Ultimate Series' were filmed prior to the 29th of July, 2017.
“Hey, welcome to Best Buy. How can I help you?”
I must admit, I feel almost awkward walking into one of the numerous Best Buy’s located throughout Chicago. It’s like walking back into that fucking warehouse in Mexico, like I’m preparing to film the fake Everest climb that we thought would be a huge success. Sure enough, it worked out exactly how we thought it would, and now here we are… all three of us. David, Steven and I, all competing for an opportunity to bring the World Title back to Everest.
But I’m getting off topic, the Best Buy employee, who surely is no more than twenty, is staring at me with his large, blue eyes. Eyes that look like he could be frightened into giving me anything I could’ve ever wanted, if I just took the time to intimidate him for a moment. His scrawny physique, his acne-riddled features and shaggy hair all culminated in an appearance that made him seem weak and timid. Like he could be easily manipulated. This thought makes me smile, as it reminds me exactly of my purpose of why I’m here, and what I aim to do.
“I’m looking for a Television. Grab me the largest one you can find, with the best display and sound quality.”
He looks confused for a moment, as though he doesn’t get that request very often during his day-to-day work. And why would he? Not many boast the resources that someone of my calibre possesses, especially when you factor in my partnership with Everest and my agent, Gavino Deltas.
“We don’t have our ‘best’ in stock yet. Do you want me to make an order?”
I wave my hand dismissively, as this is of little concern to me.
“No, don’t worry about it. Whatever you have, just get it out and prepare it for me as soon as possible.”
He nods, already entirely submissive as he begins to slink away. Before he does entirely, however, he turns back around, a quizzical expression upon his face.
“You’re buying it, right?”
Attempting not to get agitated, I offer him an appeased smile.
“Of course I am. Now hurry if you can, I have places to be.”
A few minutes later, and I’m near the counter of this shithole.
Okay, perhaps it’s not that terrible. I’ve come to terms with the rather odd smell, and the amount of greasy faced, oily haired men who seem to be working here, along with a similar looking female every now and again. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the employee I was talking to earlier, and with him, he brings along a large cardboard box with the utmost care. Looks like he’s good for something, at least. After bringing it to the counter, and heaving it up onto said counter, he glances over towards me.
“I tried my hardest. It’s an 85 inch Sony, 4K Ultra HDTV. Is it good enough for you?”
Honestly, none of the ‘specifications’ mean anything to me, thus I didn’t ask for any other details. I simply nod and smile as pleasantly as I can (which I’m assuming looks about as forced as John Rabid’s pitiful attempts to spite me over Twitter – which is pretty fucking forced if you ask me).
I walk up towards the man, and don’t even bother to ask for the price. I simply take out the card Gavino gave me when I asked him to make this gift purchase for me. After all, it was the least I could ask for, considering all the good I had done him since allowing him to become my agent. I wait for the man to work the damn counter like he should be, and once he has the purchase set up, I begin to go on auto-pilot as I make the required payment through Gavino’s card.
After doing so, I beckon for the employee, who follows me.
“What’s your name, friend?”
“John.”
I smile.
“You know where to find a sledgehammer, by any chance?”
“Did you really just spend over 3000 dollars on a TV?”
“Relax, Gavin. It was on sale. What else did you want me to do? I need to make a point.”
We’re standing in one of Gavino’s many apartments that he owns throughout Chicago. The TV is set up, and by using some type of extendable cord (Gavino figured it out, I treated myself to a cigarette) we now have the fine piece of technology working beautifully. The display is perfect, and it is showing a re-run of Sunday Night Slam from 2 weeks ago. The particular match being shown is the team of Everest, coming up against John Rabid, Andre Aquarius, Jason O’Neal, and the poor outlier in the whole equation, Taylor Wright.
The climax of the match is drawing near, David Sanchez and Taylor Wright are in the ring together and… yep, there we have it. Low blow to Wright, Sanchez picks up the pinfall. I pick up the remote, waiting for the exact shot I’m waiting for… and there it is.
I immediately pause the recording of the match, leaving it on that image of Rabid glaring at Everest while we celebrate our victory. There’s no-one but him there, standing bare without his Television Title to protect him, I beckon for Gavino to move out of the way. This is my time.
“See this, Johnny boy? This happened not too long ago, in a match where you once again failed to play the game the exact way you wanted it. A time where you thought you had it all worked out, where you thought you could achieve victory even with the odd stacked against you. After all, EVERYONE was calling it a five on three match, were they not? In my opinion, this match was absolutely fair and the better men happened to win on that day, but each to their own, am I right?
“This however, quite nicely manages to sum up your time here throughout the WCF, Rabid. You see, you’ve always been the one that most have considered the ‘next to go’ in terms of the World Championship, along with David Sanchez I suppose. Between you and him? It would be a neck and neck race to see who would come out on top and be the first to capture the elusive ultimate prize that we’re all searching for.
“But oddly enough, while David has been getting and his shots (and been getting screwed out of them, in some instances), you’ve just been sitting on the sidelines, exactly like how you are in this very image. You’re biding your time, waiting on the outside, hoping to scoot in and take the opportunity for yourself. But… you haven’t been able to do it. Every time you’ve attempted to do so, you’ve been shot down, haven’t you?
“For example, let’s take a look at how you spent your time during the latter half of 2016 in the WCF, shall we? You returned at WAR with Joey Flash, played second fiddle to him as you did everything in your power to help him win the whole damn thing. And then… you did… what exactly?
“You did pretty much nothing, save for trying to snag the Trios Titles off of Zero Tolerance. The same Trios Titles that myself and the rest of Everest dispatched of because in all honesty? We were just too good to even be seen stepping into the ring with any of the half-assed, half-brained teams that were thrown against us.
“Other then that? You were virtually irrelevant. You tried to sneak your way into winning the World Title, by getting yourself a match with Bates just before ONE. But like every other plan you’ve schemed, it ended up not working out in the end. Sure, you came close. But in the end? That’s all you achieved. You came ‘close’ to winning the World Championship. But in reality, all we remember? Is that at the end of the day, you didn’t come through in your first World Title match, and you ended up not being the one to bring home the gold. That? That was reserved for your Pantheon superior, that honour was reserved for someone who in a weird kind of way, ended up being the man you could never amount to, as even your friend/rival in Jared Holmes came closer to him than you ever could. Yes, Joey Flash did what you could not. And say what you want about how that match with Bates went down… you still didn’t come away with the championship in hand.
“But oh, I better not bring this up, should I? We know how you get whenever your failures get brought up, now don’t we? Throughout your time in the WCF, the only thing you seem to have reached great improvement on is the list of elaborate excuses you can create from thin air every time you are criticized, or any time your abilities are even slightly put into question. Most people would call this insecurity, but you would just call it the rest of us being ignorant, because that’s the way you roll, John. You try to make everyone else seem as though they’re idiotic and unknowing, but in reality? It’s just your own self-delusions that you always manage to conjure up, even when all evidence points to you just being totally incapable of achieving the very thing that you long for so desperately… and that’s the World Championship.
“Instead, you’re giving a consolation prize. That’s what you are handed, that’s what you are entrusted with… because that’s exactly where you work best. You aren’t competent enough to be the face of the federation, you aren’t the master manipulator nor the grand schemer that you seem to think you are. You’re just a solid worker who at his most basic level, is just another guy with the ambition of reaching something he simply isn’t cut out for.
“But you see, I think things have worked out for you quite well, haven’t they? I mean, look at where you are. The position you’re currently in right now?”
I point towards the television I purchased earlier that day.
“This, Rabid. This is where you work best. With the Television. With a camera pointed at you, because you? You’re a liar at heart. You’re an expert at using words, chaining them together to create complex diatribes and speeches that preach hate and disdain towards your opponents. This is your ultimate skill, and that is why you and the television fit together so perfectly. It is perhaps the very reason that you’ve found the most success in this clusterfuck of a division, a division where the most competition you’re going to get is a Trey Carter on a good day, a Kyle Kemp on the absolute best day, and a Udy at the fucking worst.
“This is all you serve for, now. While you continuously talk about me being a so-called ‘slave’ to the #BeachKrew, and Pantheon along with it, you’re merely a slave for the Television itself. You speak into a camera, you speak before men and women, and you attempt to make them believe in you and the countless words you speak. The endless rants and the dozens of lies you spill on a daily basis, all in the hope that it will all cut through and your grand plan will finally come together.
“So… how’s that been working for you?
“By the looks of things, you’re still in the exact same place you started. You’re still the same John Rabid, spouting out the same nonsensical bullshit. Day in, day out. It’s the only thing you’re good at, and you’ve been doing it since day one. You’ve been building up this dominance that Pantheon was meant to have asserted over the WCF for so long (remember The Paragon during the Trios Tournament? Now that was some good fun, wasn’t it?) and yet here you are, with a broken unit that has about three or so active members still in it. There has been no dominance, there has been no reckoning, there has been no Prophecy that has been fulfilled. Remember that #FuccboiGenocide you and the rest of you #BeachKrew scrubs were continuously going on about? Well that’s gone out the fucking window, now hasn’t it? Along with your combined chances of ever being a successful stable filled with consistent, active wrestlers who can actually stick around long enough to have a reasonable impact within the WCF.
“That’s all you do, John. For all your criticism of me and being a supposed ‘cheerleader’, you’re the one who can be seen tagging onto every little idea and every other man that seems to have a bit of promise to him. You never acted on your apathy towards Jared, you allowed Joey Flash to reign in ‘your spot’ for numerous months, you’ve ridden the cocks of both #BeachKrew and Pantheon at several stages throughout your career, and all you’ve gotten out of it? A couple of uninspiring tag team title reigns, and a good reign with a mid-card belt that just about sums up your peak potential in this federation. Congratufuckinglations, Mister Rabid. You sure have shown everyone exactly why you’re considered one of the ‘top talents’ the WCF has to offer, now haven’t you?
“Let’s take a look at just one of the major lies you’ve spewed in recent memory, just for some fun, why don’t we? Roughly two weeks ago, when Everest faced you and your mismatched team in a four on four match, you had a few words to say to me. Naturally, of course, everything you said was basically a half truth, along with a lot of stuff you decided to just add in to come off as though you actually had some leverage in this little dynamic between the two of us. Just for your benefit, I’m going to take a minute to debunk all the bullshit you had to say.
“First off, you said you killed Ethan King. A funny statement, considering you’re talking about a guy that literally beat you for the Tag Team Championships, helped found a new stable that ended up taking home the Trios Cup, and guaranteed himself a spot in the Ultimate Showdown match, along with his two founding stablemates. Now, for a guy that’s supposedly dead and ineffective, wouldn’t you say that that’s quite a solid resume he’s managed to accumulate in just a few months? This isn’t to mention the fact that I’ve beat several World Champions within this span of time, AND that throughout all of this I have still managed to remain unpinned during my tenure with this company. If you factor all of that in… which you usually don’t, considering that ninety-nine percent of the time you’re a fucking imbecile who fails to show even a modicum of intelligence, even with all your elaborate little tirades you launch against your competition each week… you’d realize that I, Ethan King, have proven myself within recent months to easily be one of the top five wrestlers currently competing within this federation. I know it’s hard for you to comprehend, and a little hard for you to swallow… but lately? I’ve been on a path of dominance, I literally haven’t lost a match in months. And my last two losses? One was a DQ, and one was in a cluster-fuck that I didn’t even decide to put my time and effort into for, because who cares about being the Trilogy Cup Wildcard… right? Oh wait… you did at one point? Damn, your achievements just keep stacking up, don’t they?
“Next on the list, you stated that you ended The Pride… but if we’re looking objectively at this… wasn’t The Pride pretty much just a one-man show, anyway? Realistically, Griffin bounced almost immediately upon arrival, and Eddie Felt never had the determination or drive that I had to reach the top. We literally needed to pull in a replacement third member just to round off our Trios Team for that year… and even then I still managed to carry us against three certified legends to ensure we weren’t bounced out of the tournament… like a certain Pantheon team was in 2017 when they failed to outlast The Three Kings. Do you remember that, Rabid? Of course you don’t. You have selective memory, I’ll be getting to that in a moment. But back to the point… you stated that YOU killed The Pride? Let’s be real, Rabid. You did nothing but set the stage for my eventual rise through the ranks of the WCF. You thought you were cutting me off from something that was of complete importance to me? Do you realize how redundant that is? Jared’s whole purpose of capturing myself and Felt was literally to desensitise us, was it not? That’s definitely what he did to me, to the point that I didn’t even give a fuck about The Pride anymore. Hey guys, look! It’s John Rabid, once again ignoring important facts and details, while he makes himself look like a complete and utter fool by forgetting his own plan with his own partner in crime. Look, we all know the real reason the remnants of The Pride were captured following the Mexico Incident, was because the group of you didn’t want a threat rising up so that you could eventually assert yourselves as the top force in the company. And sure, you half succeeded, you’ve kept Felt out of commission… but me? I’m still here, better than I ever have been before, and now look at what you’ve created. You’ve created a monster that is currently one of the best of the best, and that? That spells disaster for you and the plan you’ve seemingly forgotten about, especially considering what you said next…
“Judging from what you said (and this links back to your selective memory) you seem to think that it was a joint effort between you and Jared that turned me into what I am now? Sorry, but I seem to forget the part where I had to listen to you drone on about complete and utter crap for hours on end. See? Here you are once again, taking credit for things you never even fucking did in the first place. It seems to be a recurring theme with you, I hear it tends to happen to those who are incapable of achieving things on their own, and instead require a whole support system to make certain they at least achieve a slight amount of success. But I digress. Once again, you thought you’d be smart and make out as though you were the one behind my abduction, but that? That was all Jared. He told me so himself, it had been his plan from the very beginning. He saw my capabilities as a potential asset to your little clan. And guess what? He was right. I did have potential, and now I’ve unlocked it… except now I’m on the opposite side. Now I’m the one standing before Pantheon, alongside some of the best talent the WCF has to offer today. And that? That’s a deadly proposition for Pantheon, which has been slowly dying out and fading away into irrelevance since Everest was created.
“I must admit, I’m disappointed in you man. For someone who has always talked such a big game, and seems to consider himself such an intimidating and dangerous force, you only manage to be a complete disappointment. You have so many holes that mostly come down to idiotic mistakes and random assumptions that only serve to make you look like you’re fucking retard. At this point, it seems like it’s time you strap on your helmet and hope for the fucking best – that’s pretty much your only chance for any sort of success at this rate, my friend.
“But yes, continue to do what you do best. Continue to try and patronize me on twitter, only to come out with a statement that is entirely incorrect, continue to humiliate yourself and prove that you’re nothing but the immature, oblivious asshole that you accuse me of being of, because John… this is what entertains me. I enjoy the fact that you consistently, without fail, run your mouth to no end. I enjoy the tangents you go on, and the immediate failure that follows up after them. I love poking holes in every word you speak, countering every move you make, and watching your abomination of a career go straight down the fucking toilet. Congratulations are once again in order for you, as you have successfully resigned yourself to a fate of being a perennial underachiever who does far less than what he was always expected to accomplish. You’ve done all you can, and now you’ve hit your absolute best, and that is the Television Title.
“And as I said, it’s just right for someone like yourself. You’ve spread your lies far and wide, you continue to try and deceive those who are already far too aware and knowledgeable for you to influence. And thus… that is why you run the TV division. Because your tricks? They only work upon those that are less capable than you yourself.
“Your time has come, Rabid. It’s time to be exposed for what you really are, just as I’ve exposed those who have allied themselves with Pantheon in the past. You and Andre are next on the list, and with Ultimate Showdown right around the corner…
“Your time at the forefront of this federation, has most certainly come to an end. With Everest now prepared to take over entirely, just as we planned? You’ll have nothing left but to go back to your lair, to craft together another carefully detailed blueprint, only to fuck it up right at the time of execution.
“And speaking of executions… Gavin. Where’s my sledgehammer?”
I shoot a sidelong glance to my right, over to Gavino who I earlier pushed out of the camera shot. He sighs, and begrudgingly hands me over the sledgehammer that I left over on the other side of the room. He mutters something about wasting money, and how I’m ungrateful and all the usual complaints about me. I smile and nod, in appreciation of his support, before glancing back to the camera with a grin.
“Prepare to suffer defeat once more, Rabid. This is the third time I’ll watch you reluctantly accept your failure.”
I reel back with the sledgehammer, as I take a large pace forward to help myself gather momentum. As I do so, I start to bring the hammer forward, picking up speed as I swing it straight towards the massive television screen, aiming it right towards Rabid’s face which is still showing on the HD display.
The impact of the sledgehammer’s blow immediately cracks the screen and sends the entire TV toppling backward. It lands a mighty thud upon the wooden floor, to which I hear Gavino take in a deep sigh. I chuckle to myself, before looking directly back at the camera, except now? The smile is replaced with a scowl.
“Good. Day.”