The Struggle: Act III "One Minute Closer"

[Thomas Uriel Bates]

The Struggle: Act III “One Minute Closer”

Scene I “Nothing in My Way”
Prudential Center – Newark, New Jersey

This had been a long week. Intense training, and deep thoughts, the road leading up to Revenge was no walk in the park. He had been to Staten Island at night, shouting at the moon. He had been in the abandoned village of Feltville speaking to ghosts and combating demons. He had been fighting with the two wolves in a never-ending battle for his soul. It has been a long week.

Now here we are, the end of our journey. The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, home of the New Jersey Devils Hockey team. You can fit almost twenty thousand people in The Rock, which made it suitable for WCF Revenge.

Tickets were sold out, and why wouldn’t they be? A packed card, returning legends, titles defended, and bitter rivalries settled. This was shaping up to be one of the biggest shows of the year, and Thomas Uriel Bates highlighted it.

Which is one of the many reasons he came here early. Some of the ring crew, and of course security had already arrived, but Bates was one of the first wrestlers to walk through the doors on this big night. He was able to walk the entire arena in solitude long before any cameraman thought to begin filming.

When the WCF Television Champion walks in, or when any WCF Champion walks in, you start filming. They may say nothing, or they may do or say something worthwhile. At any moment they could start flipping chairs around, busting down doors, finding their opponents and getting an early start, or sometimes just have something to say about what will soon happen.

Thankfully for the WCF ring crew, Bates was here to think. He was also here to shoot his mandatory promotional video for an upcoming match. He had already been filmed by WCF Cameras talking about two of his opponents, but Thomas Uriel Bates was in two matches and had four separate opponents for this week. The two that had been given the least attention, even less than Brent Alpine, was none other than BioWalker. Bates was here to talk about them. Now that the Cameras had caught up as he sat in the nosebleed section of the arena, it was time to address them.

Thomas Uriel Bates: Tonight I will go up once again for the WCF World Championship. I face “The Shine” Brent Alpine, and my former friend Gemini Battle. Together we headline one of the biggest shows of the year for WCF. We will go down in WCF history for what happens tonight.

WCF Revenge is shaping up to be one of the best shows of the year. And why not? We have a classic Seth Lerch gumbo of a match, Big Train or Captain WCF becomes Tomohawk’s partner and Tag Team Champion, Teddy Blaze and Night Rider duke it out for the Internet Championship, four great new rookies going for the newly minted Alpha Title, Adam Young and Freezer Burn in what looks like Freezer Burn’s last match before retirement. Zombie McMorris defends his Hardcore title against names such as Doc Henry and Oblivion, as well as some fresher faces that have shown great talents. Psychopomp takes the fight to Kevin Bishop for the People’s title. Sarah Twilight makes her return in a six man tag-team match with some interesting individuals. Henry Spearman and my friend Mikey eXtreme fight to determine who enters War at Number One. And me? Well not only do I end the show with a World Title match, but I start it by defending my title against BioWalker.
BioWalker, the team of Tyler Walker and BioHazard, veterans of the WCF though they had never achieved much in this company, except for BioHazard being the first Television Champion that is. The team that comes out pretending to be werewolves and toxic waste, spewing all kinds of disgusting liquids in the ring, and being no more than your generic attention gathering low card show opener.

Dedicated show openers, I should say. Both of them have been here for some time now. BioHazard himself held this very title before anyone else. Both of them may be no more than show openers, sideshow attractions, and generic jobbers to feed new upcoming stars and wrestlers needing a break, but make no mistake both of them are legends.

I have only faced them once, at War. I took out both of them, and let Gemini Battle pin them both to eliminate them from the match. Now Seth may be putting me against them in order to make sure I can focus more on the Main Event, but knowing Seth he may be trying to take me out before then. He may truly believe that Biohazard and Tyler Walker deserve a shot at the Television Championship.

They really deserve it too. Last week at Slam they defeated… well they showed up. The week before, they… were not there. At Ultimate Showdown Biohazard, lost to Bad News Benson. The week before, well, they weren’t there again. Okay, so Biohazard and Tyler Walker are not exactly here week after week, but when they do find the time to make it to an event, they put on a really, well disgusting show.

What is it with the toxic ooze, Biohazard? I hope you’re mixing chemicals in your mouth, because if you’re not, you need to see a doctor. Seriously, go get it checked out, it could be a kidney issue. Of course, does that really matter to werewolves of the toxic sewers?

Enough of that. Deep down I’m certain that Biohazard wants this belt again, and that Tyler Walker wants to finally hold a belt as well. So they’re going to come down to the ring and try to take it from me. They’re going to try to stop me on perhaps one of the most important nights of my life. Nothing will stand in my way.

Bates turns from the camera and walks away. He goes to find solitude as he prepares for the match, and now that he has fulfilled his contractual duties, perhaps he will finally find it.

Scene II “One More Minute”
Prudential Center – Newark, New Jersey

One minute to show time. One minute to bursting through the curtains and running down BioWalker, then it’s one minute closer to facing Gemini Battle and Brent Alpine. One minute closer.

“Gonna Make You Sweat” by C&C Music Factor continues to play loudly as Thomas Uriel Bates waits patiently to make his entrance. Through the slits in the curtain he can see Biohazard spitting ooze as Tyler Walker flexes his muscles in front of him. He sees the hugging, perhaps a bit too long. They walk to the ring, and Bates loses sight of them. He can only assume that they’re continuing to do what they normally do.

This won’t take long. Tyler Walker is going to try to do some powerhouse moves, but find that he cannot match the strength of the Mountain of WCF. Biohazard is going to try bouncing around the ring and spewing his toxic waste all over the disgusted fans. He’s going to be too busy showboating to see the Bates’ Boot sending him to the moon. They won’t know what hit them, and it’s sad really.

They have always been the jokes of this company. Never taken seriously, never really considered for any awards or titles. They bathe in the cheers from the fans, not realizing that even they don’t take them seriously. They are a sideshow attraction. Something to get the fans laughing and energetic before the real show begins.

Bates took pity on them. Biohazard himself had been with the company for about sixteen years, and yet he was still opening shows. He’s remembered for his ooze, and for his unique friendship with Tyler Walker. That’s it. No long title reign, no memorable feuds. Every time it looks like Biohazard may be stepping up to the plate, the mask is removed and some random member of the roster is revealed. It is sad.

By contrast, when Bates had his first match, it was against Gemini Battle and another newcomer by the name of Mister Amazing. He threw Gemini into the crowd, and sent Mister Amazing to retirement with the Bates’ Boot. His second match, he faced Dan van Slade, Jay Omega, and Zombie McMorris. Though Bates would not win that match, he made an incredible showing that shocked the world. Here he was now, facing Gemini Battle and Brent Alpine for the WCF World Championship. Bates was on his way to the top of the ladder, but sadly Biohazard and Tyler Walker haven’t even climbed on yet.

He could hear his own music now. “Midnight Rider” by the Allman Brothers Band. One of his favorite songs, and a fitting anthem for him at this time. He’s got to run to keep from hidin’, and he’s bound to keep on ridin’. You can run, or you can hide. He chose to ride. He’s got one more silver dollar, but he’s not gonna let ‘em catch him, no. They’re not gonna catch Thomas Uriel Bates.

One minute closer.