Post by Teo Blaze on Apr 17, 2016 12:51:10 GMT -5
The scene opens on a nearly empty locker room, dim, flickering fluorescent lights casting a barely visible shadow over a cold tile floor. There is an almost imperceptible layer of steam, the heat from a hot shower filling the locker room with a humid, jungle-like mugginess that has subsided to a cool, moist tinge. Sure enough, from around the corner, approaching from the shower stalls, walks a competitor, in a pair of blue jeans, a white towel over one shoulder and the mask clutched in his right hand.
The camera cuts off just below his head, protecting his face from being exposed to it as he approaches a sink, laying the mask gingerly on one side and hanging the towel off the other. As it unfurls, the camera zooms in to where the white surface now reveals a thick red splotch of blood on one end.
The sound of a faucet turning on can be heard, despite the fact that Teo has barely finished his shower. The camera pans slowly back up, looking into the sink where the flowing water has been dyed pink.
Teo del Sol: …Going to have to get this restitched.
The injuries were becoming more frequent. Teo had been all too happy to compete in another ladder match, but so many special matches in such quick succession…though he was wont to admit it, the toll was beginning to take.
But then again, that was why he wore the mask, wasn’t it?
If the people could see the stitches, the scars, the tears across his flesh where the cold and unforgiving steel of the ladder had ripped him like a knife through butter…they might actually start worrying.
So long as he kept the mask on, so long as they never had to see, why as far as anyone knew, he was a superhero.
An audible chuckle can be heard over the splash of the faucet, and Teo slowly turns towards the other side of the locker room, where a bag lays open. He reaches in, rummaging a moment before grabbing a gauze pad and a thick roll of tape. With his other hand, he reaches in and pulls out his cell phone.
He walks slowly and purposefully back towards the mirror, the camera still concealing whatever he is doing as he gingerly covers up the deep wound. A million thoughts swirl about his head, as he reflects on the evening’s events. Never in a million years did he imagine that his People’s Title Reign would be given the blessing of Scarecrow. So many hours, so many nights had been spent trying to live up to the legacy that Scarecrow and the other champions had built, that Teo had given almost no thought to the notion that he might have a legacy of his own to build...
In the end, all he had ever wanted was for people to mention him as a good champion. But now pundits, fans, analysts… they were starting to throw around words like best, greatest…
Good he could do. Good was attainable. But great..?
Teo lets out a deep sigh as he turns the knob on the faucet, the running water slowing and stopping as he picks up the mask. The camera slowly pans up as he places it over his head, revealing the Teo del Sol the fans have come to know and love each and every week. He sighed and tried to collect his thoughts, as one by one they coalesce, finally though, one name stands out among the chaos.
Breanna.
Teo had had to cancel his visit this week. It tore him apart to do so, but Slam 350 had been such a crucial moment, such an important title defense that he had sequestered himself from everyone. No one had seen Teo over the past week, he had made sure of it. He could only hope she would understand.
She had been good to him, had stood by him even though he could never give enough time to their…relationship?
It was hard to call it that. Teo had to travel each and every day for WCF, and life was not so easy as just plucking her from everything that she had built and whisking her away to Mexico. There were internet calls, and cell phones, sure, but…
Teo pauses on that thought and glances down at the cell phone next to the sink. This was not a conversation he should be having with himself. This was a conversation, these were feelings that he should be sharing with her.
He reaches down to pick up the device, but the instant before he can place his hand around it, it shudders, buzzing with a sound that indicates a new message.
Teo pauses momentarily, broken of his stupor by the new information, then finally picks up the device.
It’s from Seth Lerch.
Teo stares in disbelief at the message. Mikey Extreme, the United States Champion. The second most important man in the entire company short of the world champion… what could be one of the most important matches of his career was being dropped into his lap.
A sudden rush of energy flows through the People’s Champion, any feelings of exhaustion or weariness melting away from him at the exciting news. A genuine smile comes across his face as he begins analyzing ways to take on Mikey, to tear him down and to wipe the smug grin off of his hateful face!
Training regimens, mental exercises, countless hours would have to be put in for sure, but this was an opportunity unlike anything he had received since he had faced Dune! And…
And…
The name echoes through his head again.
Breanna.
Teo pauses, freezing in place as he realizes the sudden choice that has been put in front of him.
He looks down at the cell phone in his hand, though the exact specifics are unclear, it is obvious that he is deep in thought.
A few moments pass as Teo simply stands, staring at the device in his hand. Finally, after a few moments, he presses a button, a speed dial, and raises it to his ear.
…
…
Teo del Sol:… Hector? It’s Teo. Clear my schedule for the week. We have got a lot of work to do.
The scene now changes to a very different locale. A sprawling urban city street, countless pedestrians and people from all classes walk, their heads tucked into important business documents or other important tasks. Street Vendors push and shove past one another, every few moments taking the opportunity to shove some kind of food, drink, or souvenir into any hapless tourist’s face.
The noise is almost all-encompassing, a cacophony of voices, footsteps, car horns, and everything in between that drowns out everything, and it all coalesces into one constant, unceasing murmur. A noise that swallows up every sound in the city, all fusing together into one indescribable blob of soundwaves that could shake down a building’s foundations if it were ever concentrated.
And as the camera pans slowly past the countless citizens, all on their way to important jobs, it pauses in front of a lone bench, on the sidewalk, where a man sits, legs crossed, reading a large newspaper which obscures his face. The headline advertises various things, including a special showing of a John Gable headed picture at the local arthouse cinema, a large, bikini-clad advertisement for “Whoop-Ass Beer”, and perhaps most importantly, this week’s upcoming Slam event.
The man slowly lowers the newspaper to reveal the masked face of Teo del Sol, who greets the camera with a smile.
Teo del Sol: Hello Mikey! How are things going?
Not the best I’d venture. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure that it feels really good to have gotten your belt back from Vengeance. Borderline over the moon with excitement that you are now a three-time United States Champion.
Of course, that also makes you a two-time United States Championship loser, but come on, if there’s one thing that WCF has demonstrated, it’s that past performance is not an indication of the future.
See, there’s the thing that people tend to get a little mixed up, when you get right down to it. Look around, each and every one of these people, they’re all so focused on making sure that they walk out a winner, that at the end of the day that they are given a promotion, a raise, maybe both.
All they see is that big prize, that gold watch with a brass ring combo. They walk into work each and every day and they get that laser focus, that drive, that boundless focus on getting to the end of that rainbow. It’s a powerful force Mikey, I’m sure you have to admit.
But see, here’s the thing that most people don’t actually consider Mikey. They’re so focused, so determined to have that title, that prestige, on putting their name in the history books that they forget that they’re only able to get there on the backs of others.
There is not a man, woman, or child out there who has a single accomplishment to their name that did not come at the expense of someone else. Heck, that’s the reason we call them accomplishments, Mikey!
And you, Mikey? Well I’m sorry but that’s the one you’re in. You look at me and I guarantee you that all you see is this big shiny gold belt around my waist. You look at the People’s Champion and you assume that he is defined by that label.
It’s the same as anyone else here. You see a dentist, you see a lawyer, you see a veterinarian… And that is all you see. You see a man or woman defined by the role that they play and you treat them accordingly.
It’s worrying, Mike. I recommend some bifocals or maybe even some trifocals man, because you are nothing more than a shortsighted fool sometimes! You walk up to an opponent and you have ‘em pegged, am I right? You can see right through them like you’re superman looking at a 34DD bikini, right?
Wrong.
Mikey, you my friend are a man suffering from the delusion that people are definable quantities. There is not a single man or woman in this entire city who you can put a label on that will show who they are.
I guarantee you that if you took any one of these people and followed ‘em home, that before they filed the restraining order that you wouldn’t even be able to recognize them! These are mothers, fathers, rich, poor, dreamers and schemers, but above all, they are PEOPLE, Mikey.
And quite frankly, when last we met, you my friend had me pegged. I’ve heard it before, and I have no doubt I’ll hear it again. Teo del Sol is a clown, a dancing bear in a funny hat who only gets the support he does because people feel sorry for him. His little aluminum prize is little more than confirmation that he will never amount to anything because he wastes his time trying to be an entertainer rather than an athlete.
Something like that, right?
Nuh-uh. I’m not letting it go down that way. Mikey, when you look at Teo del Sol, you are not just looking at an entertainer, you are looking at one of the hardest working men that this business has to offer.
I have NEVER taken a week off, have never taken a break. I once defended my title 4 times in 5 weeks! I guarantee you that Mikey Extreme will never be able to make a claim like that.
Heck, Mikey is so paranoid about losing his title that it’s practically a chastity belt by this point. Held down by lock and key and making sure that no one comes in and violates poor little Mikey’s precious innocence. Give me a break!
The fact that you call yourself the United States Champion is borderline insanity, although I guess given that you yourself are loopier than Toucan Sam, that hardly seems surprising. Mikey Extreme is the perfect example of a champion who is so obsessed with keeping that strap around his waist that he probably starts to break down in tears like Olive Oyl whenever he realizes that he has a match to face off in!
“Halp me! Halp me Somebody!”
Now I’m not one to come across as hurtful, if I were I would point out that Mikey Extreme looks kind of like if Ted Nugent and Charles Manson got thrown in that machine from the fly and then filled with Red Bull and Amphetamines…but I am not hurtful!
But frankly Mikey, I cannot abide that kind of behavior from someone who hopes to hold one of the most important belts in this company, the keystone man!
It’s pathetic, it’s depressing. It’s pathessing!
You have spent so much time being proud of being champion that you have never really given the thought necessary to your opponents.
Do you know why Vengeance was able to beat you Mikey? It’s not hard.
It’s because when all you are focused on is keeping that belt for yourself, that is when a champion is at his weakest.
When you’re on top of that mountain and you see a man flying towards you like a hurricane.
When you see that fire, that passion, that burning desire in another man’s eyes.
You have to be able to match it!
You have to reach down, deep inside, and light that fire one more time! You have to walk into every match knowing that you can lose!
That, Mikey! That is your biggest weakness! When Teo del Sol walks into that ring, when I put this, the most valuable prize in all of wrestling, the WCF People’s Championship on the line! I walk in knowing that any match could be the one that takes it all away!
Mikey, when you step through those ropes, the thought has not even entered your little mind that you might lose, that some young upstart might be able to pull off the miracle and rip this belt away from you!
I’m not going to kick you when you’re down because you lost the title to Vengeance, frankly I’m glad, because it was the best thing that could have happened to Mikey Extreme! You needed a shock to the system, an alarm clock going off in your ears to bring you back down to planet earth!
Mikey, do you know how sad it is that you had to have someone else light that fire back in you? That when the chips were down and the eyes of the world were upon you, that you took the victory for granted?
When you lost that title, Vengeance was pouncing on you like a hungry wolf on a fattened calf! You let yourself grow soft, grow happy with the role you were in, you forgot that anyone! Anywhere! On any night! Can pull off a miracle.
I had hoped Mikey, I had hoped that when you were forced to climb that mountain again, to take down the man who embarrassed you, who exposed you in front of the entire world! That you would keep that fire.
But I already see it coming back. I already see that ego creeping back in, Mikey.
So now it falls to me.
Here’s the moral of the story, Mikey: I’m not in this match because I want your title belt. I’m not here because I want to prove to the world that Teo del Sol is the next United States Champion!
As far as I’m concerned, the reason that Teo del Sol is in this match is because the world needs to know, the world wants to see if Mikey Extreme has that fire back.
That passion.
That drive.
And Mikey, I promise. I swear on every power that I have available, that I am going to make you prove it. I have no doubt that if I am walking into the ring with THAT Mikey Extreme, that man that went after Vengeance and avenged the loss that was handed to him, that when that bell rings that Teo del Sol will be shaking the hand of a true champion.
But frankly Mikey, I don’t think that is where you are right now. I think that Mikey Extreme only puts forth the effort he’s capable of when he’s forced. That he only turns into that caged animal when he gets something out of it.
Mikey Extreme has no interest in the People’s Championship, has no respect for these people. Mikey is about Mikey, and nobody else, so that’s all he’s going to bring to this match.
But Teo del Sol?
I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but I’m not above saying it again. When Teo del Sol walks through those ropes, he is not fighting for himself.
I do not fight because I seek glory, because I seek fame or fortune.
Teo del Sol fights to right the wrongs plaguing this world of ours! I am the light in the darkness, the hope at the bottom of the Pandora’s box that plagues WCF!
The People need a hero, they need someone who will stand up in that ring and fight for each and every one of them, who carries out their will and who pours each and every ounce of his being into making sure that when that bell rings, that the right thing has been done!
This week, when we step through those ropes, above all else Mikey! I want you to know the following. What I do to you, it’s not about titles. It’s not about pride, it’s not about taking away that precious symbol you cling to like it’s the last flotation ring on the titanic.
This week is about setting right what you have wronged. This week is about showing the world that you don’t have that fire back yet, but more importantly?
This week is about reminding you that you are not the King you think you are.
With that, Teo turns and hands the newspaper to a passing pedestrian and walks into the crowd.
The scene has shifted to a moonlit night in Mexico. All throughout El Gimnasio del Sol, an eerie silence has fallen over the usual festivities. The gym has closed early for the night, and the lights have dimmed in all but one corner of the empty building, where a rhythmic thudding can be heard.
The camera slowly moves towards the sound, and as it comes into focus, the People’s champion can be seen. Teo del Sol stands before a punching bag, a bag which has a glossy photo of Mikey Extreme taped to the front of it. He slams roundhouse kicks into it repeatedly, each and every blow echoing with a sickening smack throughout the gymnasium, grunts of effort coming forth from the People’s champion as each blow lands home.
Beads of sweat fly off of him with each shot, and heavy breathing can be felt as he determinedly pushes himself to kick harder, faster.
He switches legs, each and with every shot, a possible scenario flashes through his mind. He imagines landing a roundhouse across Mikey’s Jaw, imagines Mikey hitting him with a powerbomb, imagines being trapped in an armbar and being forced to choose between tapping out or losing the limb forever…
And with each flash, the blows become harder. The grunts a little louder as Teo forces himself to fight through the exhaustion, to push himself past his limits. He had said enough to guarantee that Mikey would be a worthy opponent, had tried to work the US Champion into a frenzy…
If he was going to face off against the Champion, he wanted to make sure it counted.
Finally, the rhythm is broken by the sound of an alarm ringing throughout the empty gymnasium, signaling that the exercise had come to an end. Teo doubles over, his hands on his knees and his breathing labored, before slowly walking to a chair where a water bottle waits. He throws his head back and squeezes the cool liquid into his mouth, relishing the momentary lapse in difficulty.
As he breathes, awaiting the next bell, suddenly a strange sound answers the silence. He turns towards the door, where the very distinct noise of someone knocking can be heard. Confusing, considering the closed sign, but perhaps a new applicant?
Teo shrugs his shoulders and slowly walks towards the front door.
Teo del Sol: The Gimnasio is closed friend!
Teo talks as he slowly undoes the lock, figuring he can at least give his visitor the chance to talk face to face.
As the chain clatters to the ground and he opens the door, he is taken aback by the face waiting on the other side.
Breanna.
Teo freezes in place, not quite sure what to say, the very last person in the world he expected now standing across from him in the cool Mexican night.
A moment hangs in time, seeming to last almost an eternity, before she finally speaks.
Breanna: Teo…We need to talk.
The camera cuts off just below his head, protecting his face from being exposed to it as he approaches a sink, laying the mask gingerly on one side and hanging the towel off the other. As it unfurls, the camera zooms in to where the white surface now reveals a thick red splotch of blood on one end.
The sound of a faucet turning on can be heard, despite the fact that Teo has barely finished his shower. The camera pans slowly back up, looking into the sink where the flowing water has been dyed pink.
Teo del Sol: …Going to have to get this restitched.
The injuries were becoming more frequent. Teo had been all too happy to compete in another ladder match, but so many special matches in such quick succession…though he was wont to admit it, the toll was beginning to take.
But then again, that was why he wore the mask, wasn’t it?
If the people could see the stitches, the scars, the tears across his flesh where the cold and unforgiving steel of the ladder had ripped him like a knife through butter…they might actually start worrying.
So long as he kept the mask on, so long as they never had to see, why as far as anyone knew, he was a superhero.
An audible chuckle can be heard over the splash of the faucet, and Teo slowly turns towards the other side of the locker room, where a bag lays open. He reaches in, rummaging a moment before grabbing a gauze pad and a thick roll of tape. With his other hand, he reaches in and pulls out his cell phone.
He walks slowly and purposefully back towards the mirror, the camera still concealing whatever he is doing as he gingerly covers up the deep wound. A million thoughts swirl about his head, as he reflects on the evening’s events. Never in a million years did he imagine that his People’s Title Reign would be given the blessing of Scarecrow. So many hours, so many nights had been spent trying to live up to the legacy that Scarecrow and the other champions had built, that Teo had given almost no thought to the notion that he might have a legacy of his own to build...
In the end, all he had ever wanted was for people to mention him as a good champion. But now pundits, fans, analysts… they were starting to throw around words like best, greatest…
Good he could do. Good was attainable. But great..?
Teo lets out a deep sigh as he turns the knob on the faucet, the running water slowing and stopping as he picks up the mask. The camera slowly pans up as he places it over his head, revealing the Teo del Sol the fans have come to know and love each and every week. He sighed and tried to collect his thoughts, as one by one they coalesce, finally though, one name stands out among the chaos.
Breanna.
Teo had had to cancel his visit this week. It tore him apart to do so, but Slam 350 had been such a crucial moment, such an important title defense that he had sequestered himself from everyone. No one had seen Teo over the past week, he had made sure of it. He could only hope she would understand.
She had been good to him, had stood by him even though he could never give enough time to their…relationship?
It was hard to call it that. Teo had to travel each and every day for WCF, and life was not so easy as just plucking her from everything that she had built and whisking her away to Mexico. There were internet calls, and cell phones, sure, but…
Teo pauses on that thought and glances down at the cell phone next to the sink. This was not a conversation he should be having with himself. This was a conversation, these were feelings that he should be sharing with her.
He reaches down to pick up the device, but the instant before he can place his hand around it, it shudders, buzzing with a sound that indicates a new message.
Teo pauses momentarily, broken of his stupor by the new information, then finally picks up the device.
It’s from Seth Lerch.
CONGRATULATIONS! BIG WIN! THINK YOU CAN DOUBLE DOWN? TEO DEL SOL VS MIKEY EXTREME! CHAMP VS CHAMP! THE CROWD’LL EAT IT UP AND WHO KNOWS, MAYBE THIS COULD OPEN SOME DOORS FOR YOU? TRAIN HARD CHAMP, YOU’LL NEED IT!
A sudden rush of energy flows through the People’s Champion, any feelings of exhaustion or weariness melting away from him at the exciting news. A genuine smile comes across his face as he begins analyzing ways to take on Mikey, to tear him down and to wipe the smug grin off of his hateful face!
Training regimens, mental exercises, countless hours would have to be put in for sure, but this was an opportunity unlike anything he had received since he had faced Dune! And…
And…
The name echoes through his head again.
Breanna.
Teo pauses, freezing in place as he realizes the sudden choice that has been put in front of him.
He looks down at the cell phone in his hand, though the exact specifics are unclear, it is obvious that he is deep in thought.
A few moments pass as Teo simply stands, staring at the device in his hand. Finally, after a few moments, he presses a button, a speed dial, and raises it to his ear.
…
…
Teo del Sol:… Hector? It’s Teo. Clear my schedule for the week. We have got a lot of work to do.
Part 2: Wounded Animals
The noise is almost all-encompassing, a cacophony of voices, footsteps, car horns, and everything in between that drowns out everything, and it all coalesces into one constant, unceasing murmur. A noise that swallows up every sound in the city, all fusing together into one indescribable blob of soundwaves that could shake down a building’s foundations if it were ever concentrated.
And as the camera pans slowly past the countless citizens, all on their way to important jobs, it pauses in front of a lone bench, on the sidewalk, where a man sits, legs crossed, reading a large newspaper which obscures his face. The headline advertises various things, including a special showing of a John Gable headed picture at the local arthouse cinema, a large, bikini-clad advertisement for “Whoop-Ass Beer”, and perhaps most importantly, this week’s upcoming Slam event.
The man slowly lowers the newspaper to reveal the masked face of Teo del Sol, who greets the camera with a smile.
Teo del Sol: Hello Mikey! How are things going?
Not the best I’d venture. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure that it feels really good to have gotten your belt back from Vengeance. Borderline over the moon with excitement that you are now a three-time United States Champion.
Of course, that also makes you a two-time United States Championship loser, but come on, if there’s one thing that WCF has demonstrated, it’s that past performance is not an indication of the future.
See, there’s the thing that people tend to get a little mixed up, when you get right down to it. Look around, each and every one of these people, they’re all so focused on making sure that they walk out a winner, that at the end of the day that they are given a promotion, a raise, maybe both.
All they see is that big prize, that gold watch with a brass ring combo. They walk into work each and every day and they get that laser focus, that drive, that boundless focus on getting to the end of that rainbow. It’s a powerful force Mikey, I’m sure you have to admit.
But see, here’s the thing that most people don’t actually consider Mikey. They’re so focused, so determined to have that title, that prestige, on putting their name in the history books that they forget that they’re only able to get there on the backs of others.
There is not a man, woman, or child out there who has a single accomplishment to their name that did not come at the expense of someone else. Heck, that’s the reason we call them accomplishments, Mikey!
And you, Mikey? Well I’m sorry but that’s the one you’re in. You look at me and I guarantee you that all you see is this big shiny gold belt around my waist. You look at the People’s Champion and you assume that he is defined by that label.
It’s the same as anyone else here. You see a dentist, you see a lawyer, you see a veterinarian… And that is all you see. You see a man or woman defined by the role that they play and you treat them accordingly.
It’s worrying, Mike. I recommend some bifocals or maybe even some trifocals man, because you are nothing more than a shortsighted fool sometimes! You walk up to an opponent and you have ‘em pegged, am I right? You can see right through them like you’re superman looking at a 34DD bikini, right?
Wrong.
Mikey, you my friend are a man suffering from the delusion that people are definable quantities. There is not a single man or woman in this entire city who you can put a label on that will show who they are.
I guarantee you that if you took any one of these people and followed ‘em home, that before they filed the restraining order that you wouldn’t even be able to recognize them! These are mothers, fathers, rich, poor, dreamers and schemers, but above all, they are PEOPLE, Mikey.
And quite frankly, when last we met, you my friend had me pegged. I’ve heard it before, and I have no doubt I’ll hear it again. Teo del Sol is a clown, a dancing bear in a funny hat who only gets the support he does because people feel sorry for him. His little aluminum prize is little more than confirmation that he will never amount to anything because he wastes his time trying to be an entertainer rather than an athlete.
Something like that, right?
Nuh-uh. I’m not letting it go down that way. Mikey, when you look at Teo del Sol, you are not just looking at an entertainer, you are looking at one of the hardest working men that this business has to offer.
I have NEVER taken a week off, have never taken a break. I once defended my title 4 times in 5 weeks! I guarantee you that Mikey Extreme will never be able to make a claim like that.
Heck, Mikey is so paranoid about losing his title that it’s practically a chastity belt by this point. Held down by lock and key and making sure that no one comes in and violates poor little Mikey’s precious innocence. Give me a break!
The fact that you call yourself the United States Champion is borderline insanity, although I guess given that you yourself are loopier than Toucan Sam, that hardly seems surprising. Mikey Extreme is the perfect example of a champion who is so obsessed with keeping that strap around his waist that he probably starts to break down in tears like Olive Oyl whenever he realizes that he has a match to face off in!
“Halp me! Halp me Somebody!”
Now I’m not one to come across as hurtful, if I were I would point out that Mikey Extreme looks kind of like if Ted Nugent and Charles Manson got thrown in that machine from the fly and then filled with Red Bull and Amphetamines…but I am not hurtful!
But frankly Mikey, I cannot abide that kind of behavior from someone who hopes to hold one of the most important belts in this company, the keystone man!
It’s pathetic, it’s depressing. It’s pathessing!
You have spent so much time being proud of being champion that you have never really given the thought necessary to your opponents.
Do you know why Vengeance was able to beat you Mikey? It’s not hard.
It’s because when all you are focused on is keeping that belt for yourself, that is when a champion is at his weakest.
When you’re on top of that mountain and you see a man flying towards you like a hurricane.
When you see that fire, that passion, that burning desire in another man’s eyes.
You have to be able to match it!
You have to reach down, deep inside, and light that fire one more time! You have to walk into every match knowing that you can lose!
That, Mikey! That is your biggest weakness! When Teo del Sol walks into that ring, when I put this, the most valuable prize in all of wrestling, the WCF People’s Championship on the line! I walk in knowing that any match could be the one that takes it all away!
Mikey, when you step through those ropes, the thought has not even entered your little mind that you might lose, that some young upstart might be able to pull off the miracle and rip this belt away from you!
I’m not going to kick you when you’re down because you lost the title to Vengeance, frankly I’m glad, because it was the best thing that could have happened to Mikey Extreme! You needed a shock to the system, an alarm clock going off in your ears to bring you back down to planet earth!
Mikey, do you know how sad it is that you had to have someone else light that fire back in you? That when the chips were down and the eyes of the world were upon you, that you took the victory for granted?
When you lost that title, Vengeance was pouncing on you like a hungry wolf on a fattened calf! You let yourself grow soft, grow happy with the role you were in, you forgot that anyone! Anywhere! On any night! Can pull off a miracle.
I had hoped Mikey, I had hoped that when you were forced to climb that mountain again, to take down the man who embarrassed you, who exposed you in front of the entire world! That you would keep that fire.
But I already see it coming back. I already see that ego creeping back in, Mikey.
So now it falls to me.
Here’s the moral of the story, Mikey: I’m not in this match because I want your title belt. I’m not here because I want to prove to the world that Teo del Sol is the next United States Champion!
As far as I’m concerned, the reason that Teo del Sol is in this match is because the world needs to know, the world wants to see if Mikey Extreme has that fire back.
That passion.
That drive.
And Mikey, I promise. I swear on every power that I have available, that I am going to make you prove it. I have no doubt that if I am walking into the ring with THAT Mikey Extreme, that man that went after Vengeance and avenged the loss that was handed to him, that when that bell rings that Teo del Sol will be shaking the hand of a true champion.
But frankly Mikey, I don’t think that is where you are right now. I think that Mikey Extreme only puts forth the effort he’s capable of when he’s forced. That he only turns into that caged animal when he gets something out of it.
Mikey Extreme has no interest in the People’s Championship, has no respect for these people. Mikey is about Mikey, and nobody else, so that’s all he’s going to bring to this match.
But Teo del Sol?
I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but I’m not above saying it again. When Teo del Sol walks through those ropes, he is not fighting for himself.
I do not fight because I seek glory, because I seek fame or fortune.
Teo del Sol fights to right the wrongs plaguing this world of ours! I am the light in the darkness, the hope at the bottom of the Pandora’s box that plagues WCF!
The People need a hero, they need someone who will stand up in that ring and fight for each and every one of them, who carries out their will and who pours each and every ounce of his being into making sure that when that bell rings, that the right thing has been done!
This week, when we step through those ropes, above all else Mikey! I want you to know the following. What I do to you, it’s not about titles. It’s not about pride, it’s not about taking away that precious symbol you cling to like it’s the last flotation ring on the titanic.
This week is about setting right what you have wronged. This week is about showing the world that you don’t have that fire back yet, but more importantly?
This week is about reminding you that you are not the King you think you are.
With that, Teo turns and hands the newspaper to a passing pedestrian and walks into the crowd.
Epilogue:
The camera slowly moves towards the sound, and as it comes into focus, the People’s champion can be seen. Teo del Sol stands before a punching bag, a bag which has a glossy photo of Mikey Extreme taped to the front of it. He slams roundhouse kicks into it repeatedly, each and every blow echoing with a sickening smack throughout the gymnasium, grunts of effort coming forth from the People’s champion as each blow lands home.
Beads of sweat fly off of him with each shot, and heavy breathing can be felt as he determinedly pushes himself to kick harder, faster.
He switches legs, each and with every shot, a possible scenario flashes through his mind. He imagines landing a roundhouse across Mikey’s Jaw, imagines Mikey hitting him with a powerbomb, imagines being trapped in an armbar and being forced to choose between tapping out or losing the limb forever…
And with each flash, the blows become harder. The grunts a little louder as Teo forces himself to fight through the exhaustion, to push himself past his limits. He had said enough to guarantee that Mikey would be a worthy opponent, had tried to work the US Champion into a frenzy…
If he was going to face off against the Champion, he wanted to make sure it counted.
Finally, the rhythm is broken by the sound of an alarm ringing throughout the empty gymnasium, signaling that the exercise had come to an end. Teo doubles over, his hands on his knees and his breathing labored, before slowly walking to a chair where a water bottle waits. He throws his head back and squeezes the cool liquid into his mouth, relishing the momentary lapse in difficulty.
As he breathes, awaiting the next bell, suddenly a strange sound answers the silence. He turns towards the door, where the very distinct noise of someone knocking can be heard. Confusing, considering the closed sign, but perhaps a new applicant?
Teo shrugs his shoulders and slowly walks towards the front door.
Teo del Sol: The Gimnasio is closed friend!
Teo talks as he slowly undoes the lock, figuring he can at least give his visitor the chance to talk face to face.
As the chain clatters to the ground and he opens the door, he is taken aback by the face waiting on the other side.
Breanna.
Teo freezes in place, not quite sure what to say, the very last person in the world he expected now standing across from him in the cool Mexican night.
A moment hangs in time, seeming to last almost an eternity, before she finally speaks.
Breanna: Teo…We need to talk.
