Post by Steve Thunder on Jun 27, 2011 15:33:55 GMT -5
Anticipation; to be waiting – An entire year I waited to get back what was mine, an entire year the fans waited to see me return to the ring. Was it special? No it wasn’t. Did I achieve what I told everybody I would achieve? Hell yeah. Shane Borderland became a stepping stone, and this week I take back what I have been waiting for over a year for; The United States Championship. The Anticipation is coming to an end and soon enough reality will set in that this is fate and that is something Odin Balfore cannot fight. However, this could be a huge Anti-Climax for the now bigger picture of winning the World Championship on July 18th, only time will tell.
The scene opens.
The sun blazes down, gleaming off the camera, it’s almost hard to make out what we are headed toward until we hit a patch of shade. Huge twenty to thirty feet walls with a huge set of steel gates are directly infront of us. Behind the gates we can see a fairly sizable house, modern looking and very well kept. To the left of the gates is what looks like a toll booth, we move toward the gates; more specifically toward the booth.
Upon reaching the booth we are greeted by a well-built, and clearly physically fit young man. He asks for some I.D, which is flashed to him without a problem from behind the camera. He nods his head and the gates begin to slide behind the walls smoothly, allowing us entrance to the property grounds, and what a sight to behold.
Perfectly cut grass, professionally kept plants. Several gorgeous water features scattered around the grounds, and off in the far distance what appears to be a pool. The grounds look like something you would expect to see in magazines; the perfect life, kind of feel. By the pool we can see somebody lounging, a male figure, we move toward him under the presumption that he is who we are here to see.
Getting close to the man, moving past the expensive cars and over the perfectly cut grass as the smell of sunshine fills the air – warm, fresh air. We begin to clearly see who the man is, and as we reach him he signals for us to take a seat. The cameraman takes a look around.
Steve Thunder: Not what you expected?
The camera turns back to Thunder, a smile across his face.
Steve Thunder: Not everything in this world has to be so dark; so ominous, you know? Sometimes we live that side of our life purely for effect. There is a Bruce Wayne behind the mask of every great Batman in the world; a Clark Kent waiting to bust out of his shirt and take to the skies with his red cape flaring as he goes..
Thunder takes a sip from his drink.
Steve Thunder: Sure… in my first shoot back, I was overlooking the city as rain bounced all around me and a storm was brewing, but do you know what? Sometimes we do that shit just because it looks really, really cool to everybody else. Am I saying my message wasn’t true? No. What I am saying is that you shouldn’t be surprised when you walk into the life of a man in this business and he doesn’t live in a cave, sacrificing goats every full moon.
A brief pause.
Steve Thunder: Sometimes, being dark and ominous is the only way our message can be heard.
We all have hidden secrets; places in our hearts and in our minds that we won’t let even our closest confidants enter. Not one guy or gal in the back can look down the lens of a WCF camera and honestly say “I am the same guy all the year round” because nobody is. I have moments where the only thing I feel is emptiness, that the only way my pain can be felt is if I convey it through the lens. I also have moments like this one, at ease and just taking the day as it comes; enjoying the finer things in this world.
Thunder moves himself from his reclined position so that he is sitting upright, slightly closer to the camera. He pours himself another drink into his glass on the floor.
Steve Thunder: Has my life been the perfect story? Hell no it hasn’t. What it has been is one hell of a ride, and when I land in that grave with my body scared, blood dripping I’ll be able to say I experienced every god damn minute of life and made of it what I could. However, much to the dismay of Odin Balfore – that day will not be in our match on SLAM! Despite his belief that this match will be my end; that he will stop the come back before it truly begins. Mr Balfore, you need to pull your head from the sand and realise that underestimating me could prove to be the biggest mistake of your wrestling life.
Thunder shrugs his shoulders and leans himself back in the chair, the drink rested on his thigh. Perhaps trying to send the signal that he is relaxed about the upcoming match.
Steve Thunder: You have the impression that I have come back just to reclaim the United States Championship but in reality, you are mistaken. Would I like to hold that title again, of course I would, because that would mean I get to kick your ass at least one more time when you call in your rematch clause. I believe you said that I drag down the name of the United States Championship, possibly even the WCF as a whole… Let me remind you of a few little facts.
Thunder lets out a little laugh.
Steve Thunder: So, since you clearly haven’t done your homework on me let me enlighten your numbskull. My record in WCF stood at 8 and 0, I walked through competition like it was not there. I beat one of the greatest names ever to enter the ring here when I beat Gravedigger, or Hector Rodriguez as he was going by behind the mask. The only person to beat me one on one was the Hall of Famer, and WCF Legend, Slickie T. That is a man for whom I have infinite respect; he has proven time and time again why he was the greatest. The privilege was mine for stepping into the same ring as him, and you know what? I came within a hair of beating him, this “rookie” as you seem to envision me, Odin, almost beat a man who you could not even stand in the same ring with…
Slickie T. A true sportsman; a true professional. Given the opportunity I would jump back in the ring with that man, he gave me the fight of my WCF career and to this day I still believe if I pushed harder then I could have taken him. Maybe one day I will get the opportunity to wrestle him again. Balfore underestimates me without truly knowing me. He has tarnished me with the same brush he has used on everybody else, he needs to realise that I am a different breed of athlete and wrestler. He can brush my ability under the carpet, but there will be no mistaking it when I walk out of SLAM! with the title he likes to call his own.
Thunder slides down the chair, and as he sits on the edge he pushes himself to his feet and begins to walk, signalling for the camera to follow; which he does.
Steve Thunder: You see… I live a life without worry these days. Your empty threats and broken promises don’t scare me. You expected me to show up, huddled in a corner with a black jacket on sobbing to myself with razorblade cuts up my arms – instead what I am giving you is an insight to my real life. While your fragile mind comprehends the stupidity of underestimating me, I will be celebrating your mistakes. I’m not awaiting rainy nights just so that I can seem all dark and ominous; regardless of what the weatherman says I can still make it pretty clear that I intend to kick your ass.
The gleam of the sun shines into the lens of the camera, momentarily causing a loss of vision as the bright light shines at us.
Steve Thunder: You seem to play the card of “I’m big and scary and you should fear me”, but Odin, what do you do when that card trick doesn’t work? I don’t give a damn how many GMs you’ve been employed to protect, or how many asses you’ve had to scrub along the way, it really isn’t my concern. The only thing I actually care about is your ability inside the ring, and guess what? I gotta say, I’m not impressed.
Thunder stops walking, turning back to the camera.
Steve Thunder: Are you big? Sure. Are you strong? Sure. What have you done that proves you have in-ring ability? Nothing. You beat up on Shane Borderland, but what does that prove? Nothing, cos the guys a waster. You beat him, but guess what, I beat him faster. I have yet to see you beat anybody that’s really notable. I think the WCF wants to push you as this big, mean monster so they throw you in against nobodies who you couldn’t lose to if you tried!
Thunder laughs.
Steve Thunder: And you think you have the right to tell me that I am a nothing in WCF anymore? You think you have a right to tell me things have changed and that I won’t be given the title just because it used to be mine?
Part of me believes that Odin maybe right. Part of me thinks that I should have to work my way to the top like everybody else. Another part of me, a big part, believes that until somebody beats me for that title then it will always belong to me. If I hadn’t taken my leave, then who’s to say that Odin would ever have captured it in the first place? The road that championship has travelled down in my absence may never have come to pass if I never left, because I would have fought off all comers; just like I always did!
He pauses; almost waiting for an answer.
Steve Thunder: Wake the fuck up, Balfore! I will TAKE that title back, because it IS mine. I never lost it, and in my world and probably the world and eyes of many people, if you don’t lose something then it still belongs to you! You can try to convince yourself all you like that you’re the big bad dog and I’m stepping into your yard and whatever else bullshit you wanna spew from your mouth, but in reality, you’re on my land and I’m about to send you packing so you never want to come back.
Thunder turns and walks on.
Steve Thunder: Odin, I’m going to push you beyond your wildest dreams. You think you’re in for an easy ride? I suggest you re-think your game plan. I have fought bigger; and I have beat stronger. To me you’re nothing but a name. I told you from the day I came back that you were nothing, NOTHING, more than a stepping stone to me. Shane was the first victim, and you will be the second, and then I will continue on the path I set for myself which is to capture the World Championship. As much as I applaud D-Day, that doesn’t mean I won’t destroy him and everybody else in that match to take that title.
Thunder grins as he turns his head back briefly to face the camera.
Steve Thunder: Fortunately for Donald, that match is a while away, so he gets to shine the title for a bit longer. I just hope he remembers what I said before, he never “overcame” me, and anybody who was around at the time would be lying to themselves if they said I wasn’t a big part of the competition around here; the same way I am now. Perhaps, Odin, you should watch a few clips of me before judging my ability. Do you believe I showcased my ability against Borderland? That would be a mistake on your behalf. He was no competition for me, just like I told you he wouldn’t be. Watch my match with Slickie T and ask yourself if you could have come as close as I did to beating the Legend, could you have pushed him that far? Not in a million tries.
Balfore is a bold as brass, big bastard and I’m sure when he sets his mind to it he could really give me a run for my money. I just don’t think his head is in the game. He is looking right by me and straight to Ultimate Showdown; big mistake. He doesn’t see that I pose a threat, or at least he doesn’t want to admit it to anybody. How do I know? Because it’s exactly what I do; you cannot let your opponent know that you see them as a viable threat, you must make them feel inadequate and that’s just what Balfore is trying to do. If not for the fact I know I’m the better athlete, I may have actually doubted myself.
Thunder steps inside his home, walks over to the sofa and sits down on it.
Steve Thunder: You see, Balfore, the difference between us is that I have many, many gears in my engine. I can speed things up, I can slow things down, I can be dark or I can be exactly how I’ve been today. Your engine has one gear and that gear is straight ahead. You don’t know how to change your game and that will be your biggest downfall against me, and against anybody else who’s worth shit in this industry.
Thunder lies back on the sofa, almost as though the cameraman is his shrink all of a sudden.
Steve Thunder: I met an interesting person last week on SLAM! Kaylyn J. Evans. Such a fire behind her eyes, almost hatred. It took me a few minutes for her to lower her inhibitions just a little bit and let me find out just a bit about her. It would certainly seem she’s the hot dish in WCF right now.
From behind the camera we hear some muffled speech.
Steve Thunder: I agree, she is very hot, but despite being hot she can actually hold her own in the ring from what I have seen. In reality, I think I probably fear what Miss Evans may do to me than what Odin THINKS he’s going to do to me…
Thunder pauses for a moment.
Steve Thunder: Strange, at however many feet tall you are, Balfore, you still don’t worry me as much as a woman. You may want to work on that instead of playing with your Badger or whatever the hell it is.
Thunder sits up, looking right at the camera.
Steve Thunder: Regardless of the empty threats, and pointless bullshit we both spew at one another, we will only know when we get in that ring what’s going to happen. I have literally no more to say about you, Odin. Just that I hope you’re ready… I hope you don’t foolishly enter the ring believing you’re in for a pushover… I hope you bring everything you’ve got and leave nothing behind…
A brief pause.
Steve Thunder: … Because that’s exactly what I intend to do.
That quickly and that abruptly, Thunder gets up from the sofa and walks away from the camera and to another room of his home. We don’t want to intrude, so we walk right back out of the door we came in.
Fade.
.:: On a Steel Horse I Ride ::.
The scene opens.
The sun blazes down, gleaming off the camera, it’s almost hard to make out what we are headed toward until we hit a patch of shade. Huge twenty to thirty feet walls with a huge set of steel gates are directly infront of us. Behind the gates we can see a fairly sizable house, modern looking and very well kept. To the left of the gates is what looks like a toll booth, we move toward the gates; more specifically toward the booth.
Upon reaching the booth we are greeted by a well-built, and clearly physically fit young man. He asks for some I.D, which is flashed to him without a problem from behind the camera. He nods his head and the gates begin to slide behind the walls smoothly, allowing us entrance to the property grounds, and what a sight to behold.
Perfectly cut grass, professionally kept plants. Several gorgeous water features scattered around the grounds, and off in the far distance what appears to be a pool. The grounds look like something you would expect to see in magazines; the perfect life, kind of feel. By the pool we can see somebody lounging, a male figure, we move toward him under the presumption that he is who we are here to see.
Getting close to the man, moving past the expensive cars and over the perfectly cut grass as the smell of sunshine fills the air – warm, fresh air. We begin to clearly see who the man is, and as we reach him he signals for us to take a seat. The cameraman takes a look around.
Steve Thunder: Not what you expected?
The camera turns back to Thunder, a smile across his face.
Steve Thunder: Not everything in this world has to be so dark; so ominous, you know? Sometimes we live that side of our life purely for effect. There is a Bruce Wayne behind the mask of every great Batman in the world; a Clark Kent waiting to bust out of his shirt and take to the skies with his red cape flaring as he goes..
Thunder takes a sip from his drink.
Steve Thunder: Sure… in my first shoot back, I was overlooking the city as rain bounced all around me and a storm was brewing, but do you know what? Sometimes we do that shit just because it looks really, really cool to everybody else. Am I saying my message wasn’t true? No. What I am saying is that you shouldn’t be surprised when you walk into the life of a man in this business and he doesn’t live in a cave, sacrificing goats every full moon.
A brief pause.
Steve Thunder: Sometimes, being dark and ominous is the only way our message can be heard.
We all have hidden secrets; places in our hearts and in our minds that we won’t let even our closest confidants enter. Not one guy or gal in the back can look down the lens of a WCF camera and honestly say “I am the same guy all the year round” because nobody is. I have moments where the only thing I feel is emptiness, that the only way my pain can be felt is if I convey it through the lens. I also have moments like this one, at ease and just taking the day as it comes; enjoying the finer things in this world.
Thunder moves himself from his reclined position so that he is sitting upright, slightly closer to the camera. He pours himself another drink into his glass on the floor.
Steve Thunder: Has my life been the perfect story? Hell no it hasn’t. What it has been is one hell of a ride, and when I land in that grave with my body scared, blood dripping I’ll be able to say I experienced every god damn minute of life and made of it what I could. However, much to the dismay of Odin Balfore – that day will not be in our match on SLAM! Despite his belief that this match will be my end; that he will stop the come back before it truly begins. Mr Balfore, you need to pull your head from the sand and realise that underestimating me could prove to be the biggest mistake of your wrestling life.
Thunder shrugs his shoulders and leans himself back in the chair, the drink rested on his thigh. Perhaps trying to send the signal that he is relaxed about the upcoming match.
Steve Thunder: You have the impression that I have come back just to reclaim the United States Championship but in reality, you are mistaken. Would I like to hold that title again, of course I would, because that would mean I get to kick your ass at least one more time when you call in your rematch clause. I believe you said that I drag down the name of the United States Championship, possibly even the WCF as a whole… Let me remind you of a few little facts.
Thunder lets out a little laugh.
Steve Thunder: So, since you clearly haven’t done your homework on me let me enlighten your numbskull. My record in WCF stood at 8 and 0, I walked through competition like it was not there. I beat one of the greatest names ever to enter the ring here when I beat Gravedigger, or Hector Rodriguez as he was going by behind the mask. The only person to beat me one on one was the Hall of Famer, and WCF Legend, Slickie T. That is a man for whom I have infinite respect; he has proven time and time again why he was the greatest. The privilege was mine for stepping into the same ring as him, and you know what? I came within a hair of beating him, this “rookie” as you seem to envision me, Odin, almost beat a man who you could not even stand in the same ring with…
Slickie T. A true sportsman; a true professional. Given the opportunity I would jump back in the ring with that man, he gave me the fight of my WCF career and to this day I still believe if I pushed harder then I could have taken him. Maybe one day I will get the opportunity to wrestle him again. Balfore underestimates me without truly knowing me. He has tarnished me with the same brush he has used on everybody else, he needs to realise that I am a different breed of athlete and wrestler. He can brush my ability under the carpet, but there will be no mistaking it when I walk out of SLAM! with the title he likes to call his own.
Thunder slides down the chair, and as he sits on the edge he pushes himself to his feet and begins to walk, signalling for the camera to follow; which he does.
Steve Thunder: You see… I live a life without worry these days. Your empty threats and broken promises don’t scare me. You expected me to show up, huddled in a corner with a black jacket on sobbing to myself with razorblade cuts up my arms – instead what I am giving you is an insight to my real life. While your fragile mind comprehends the stupidity of underestimating me, I will be celebrating your mistakes. I’m not awaiting rainy nights just so that I can seem all dark and ominous; regardless of what the weatherman says I can still make it pretty clear that I intend to kick your ass.
The gleam of the sun shines into the lens of the camera, momentarily causing a loss of vision as the bright light shines at us.
Steve Thunder: You seem to play the card of “I’m big and scary and you should fear me”, but Odin, what do you do when that card trick doesn’t work? I don’t give a damn how many GMs you’ve been employed to protect, or how many asses you’ve had to scrub along the way, it really isn’t my concern. The only thing I actually care about is your ability inside the ring, and guess what? I gotta say, I’m not impressed.
Thunder stops walking, turning back to the camera.
Steve Thunder: Are you big? Sure. Are you strong? Sure. What have you done that proves you have in-ring ability? Nothing. You beat up on Shane Borderland, but what does that prove? Nothing, cos the guys a waster. You beat him, but guess what, I beat him faster. I have yet to see you beat anybody that’s really notable. I think the WCF wants to push you as this big, mean monster so they throw you in against nobodies who you couldn’t lose to if you tried!
Thunder laughs.
Steve Thunder: And you think you have the right to tell me that I am a nothing in WCF anymore? You think you have a right to tell me things have changed and that I won’t be given the title just because it used to be mine?
Part of me believes that Odin maybe right. Part of me thinks that I should have to work my way to the top like everybody else. Another part of me, a big part, believes that until somebody beats me for that title then it will always belong to me. If I hadn’t taken my leave, then who’s to say that Odin would ever have captured it in the first place? The road that championship has travelled down in my absence may never have come to pass if I never left, because I would have fought off all comers; just like I always did!
He pauses; almost waiting for an answer.
Steve Thunder: Wake the fuck up, Balfore! I will TAKE that title back, because it IS mine. I never lost it, and in my world and probably the world and eyes of many people, if you don’t lose something then it still belongs to you! You can try to convince yourself all you like that you’re the big bad dog and I’m stepping into your yard and whatever else bullshit you wanna spew from your mouth, but in reality, you’re on my land and I’m about to send you packing so you never want to come back.
Thunder turns and walks on.
Steve Thunder: Odin, I’m going to push you beyond your wildest dreams. You think you’re in for an easy ride? I suggest you re-think your game plan. I have fought bigger; and I have beat stronger. To me you’re nothing but a name. I told you from the day I came back that you were nothing, NOTHING, more than a stepping stone to me. Shane was the first victim, and you will be the second, and then I will continue on the path I set for myself which is to capture the World Championship. As much as I applaud D-Day, that doesn’t mean I won’t destroy him and everybody else in that match to take that title.
Thunder grins as he turns his head back briefly to face the camera.
Steve Thunder: Fortunately for Donald, that match is a while away, so he gets to shine the title for a bit longer. I just hope he remembers what I said before, he never “overcame” me, and anybody who was around at the time would be lying to themselves if they said I wasn’t a big part of the competition around here; the same way I am now. Perhaps, Odin, you should watch a few clips of me before judging my ability. Do you believe I showcased my ability against Borderland? That would be a mistake on your behalf. He was no competition for me, just like I told you he wouldn’t be. Watch my match with Slickie T and ask yourself if you could have come as close as I did to beating the Legend, could you have pushed him that far? Not in a million tries.
Balfore is a bold as brass, big bastard and I’m sure when he sets his mind to it he could really give me a run for my money. I just don’t think his head is in the game. He is looking right by me and straight to Ultimate Showdown; big mistake. He doesn’t see that I pose a threat, or at least he doesn’t want to admit it to anybody. How do I know? Because it’s exactly what I do; you cannot let your opponent know that you see them as a viable threat, you must make them feel inadequate and that’s just what Balfore is trying to do. If not for the fact I know I’m the better athlete, I may have actually doubted myself.
Thunder steps inside his home, walks over to the sofa and sits down on it.
Steve Thunder: You see, Balfore, the difference between us is that I have many, many gears in my engine. I can speed things up, I can slow things down, I can be dark or I can be exactly how I’ve been today. Your engine has one gear and that gear is straight ahead. You don’t know how to change your game and that will be your biggest downfall against me, and against anybody else who’s worth shit in this industry.
Thunder lies back on the sofa, almost as though the cameraman is his shrink all of a sudden.
Steve Thunder: I met an interesting person last week on SLAM! Kaylyn J. Evans. Such a fire behind her eyes, almost hatred. It took me a few minutes for her to lower her inhibitions just a little bit and let me find out just a bit about her. It would certainly seem she’s the hot dish in WCF right now.
From behind the camera we hear some muffled speech.
Steve Thunder: I agree, she is very hot, but despite being hot she can actually hold her own in the ring from what I have seen. In reality, I think I probably fear what Miss Evans may do to me than what Odin THINKS he’s going to do to me…
Thunder pauses for a moment.
Steve Thunder: Strange, at however many feet tall you are, Balfore, you still don’t worry me as much as a woman. You may want to work on that instead of playing with your Badger or whatever the hell it is.
Thunder sits up, looking right at the camera.
Steve Thunder: Regardless of the empty threats, and pointless bullshit we both spew at one another, we will only know when we get in that ring what’s going to happen. I have literally no more to say about you, Odin. Just that I hope you’re ready… I hope you don’t foolishly enter the ring believing you’re in for a pushover… I hope you bring everything you’ve got and leave nothing behind…
A brief pause.
Steve Thunder: … Because that’s exactly what I intend to do.
That quickly and that abruptly, Thunder gets up from the sofa and walks away from the camera and to another room of his home. We don’t want to intrude, so we walk right back out of the door we came in.
Fade.
