PROMO: A Loss Leads To A Challenge

[super_tigris 0]

The screen opens, the darkness disappearing, light intruding the camera lens. Backstage, ‘Iron’ Mike Cross stands next to Ben Hardy, empty, everything he had had at one point now gone. Mr. Kobe, his former mentor and guidance has left him, flying back to Japan having lost all faith in his young protégé. The Axis, defunct, has left the side of the man they pledged allegiance to. And most importantly, the SWF Cruiserweight Championship has now left his grasp.

 

“Words can’t describe the kind of up-and-down emotional ride you’re having,” Ben looks at the champion with a touch of empathy, “You win the Cruiserweight belt in your return, the team you assemble shows impressive debuts – one of them topping the former champion Zyon, and you attain one of the great wrestling minds – Mr. Kobe. But now, everything you had, the advantages, they’re gone. It seems like they’ve disappeared in an instant, and here you are, moments after your defeat – what do you have to say about the rollercoaster ride you’ve been on?”

 

“I don’t think there’s much to say,” a lengthy pause initiates an awkward moment between the two. “All my life I was turned down, never once gazed upon. I was always the little guy, stepped on constantly. And then after a hard defeat, I took time off, got my head together, and came back and won that belt. I had something of my own.”

 

“Certainly,” the Englishman attempts to show his interest.

 

“That belt made me feel important,” Mike’s face shows the lust he truly has for attention and importance, “It was an addiction – I felt the Midas-touch, and for the first time I held something over people. I had two prospects that were dedicated to that belt, a manager willing to sacrifice himself to ensure a win, and I had the respect I always wanted – whether it was true or not.” Turning, Mike looks around the corridor, the brick-like walls rising up and over him. “And now there’s a gap in my stomach, a hunger.”

 

“Many a man has spoken of that exact feeling – the emptiness of losing something you were dedicated to.”

 

“Dedicated,” the former Champ’s voice openly questions, “I defended it twice; I lost it in my second. I won a match that I had no reason to be in, and I won it by turning on family.”

 

“Was it really worth it?”

 

“It’s bitter sweet,” showing regret, Mike slumps, head hanging, “I would’ve done it again, I would’ve done it in an instant. And there’s a single reason – to be on top, whether I was meant to be or not, whether I deserved it or didn’t.”

 

“But what about Akira Kaibatsu?”

 

“What about him?”

 

“You’d have given up the greatest friend you ever had to be on top?”

 

“In a second.”

 

“You’re joking, right?”

 

“No.”

 

“…why?”

 

“Weren’t listening, were you,” questioning, Mike recalls his earlier point, “To taste the top again means everything. For years I was tainted with defeat, never better than the very man I turned on. Continually I would receive defeat at his hands. He was the first to come here, he won a major title before me, and he was the favorite – Akira Kaibatsu made me hungry to be the best, and now I have to be, I’m obsessed and addicted.”

 

“What does that mean for your future?”

 

“It means I’m the most dangerous man in this promotion,” Mike boldly states, finally picking his head up, “I’ve tasted what it feels like to be named the best, and now I have to have the real thing. I’ve tasted defeat, and it’s a long road back. It’s a road I’ve faced before, and it’s a road I’ll face again. And that road ends soon enough, soon enough. If Akira refuses to acknowledge my existence, then so be it. He’s not publicly responded to my actions, so it seems I’ll have to get his attention one way or another.”

 

“And how do you plan to do that?”

 

“The same way I did it before,” Mike’s face creases and curls into a sadistic smile, “I’ll call him out, and then I’ll beat him. And when I do, I’ll finally be able to forget all of this. It’s because of him that I’m in this place. He tapped out to JJ Johnson and threw me from the top the first time, and now he’s forced me into a situation that couldn’t have ended up in my favor – facing Zyon twice, and then having to face Tom Flesher. Props to him, he wore me down, and I don’t deserve to hold that belt, but I don’t blame him nor do I blame myself. If Akira Kaibatsu hadn’t submitted, I wouldn’t have had to. And so now, now it’s even.”

 

“Even?”

 

“We’ve both faced submission,” Mike claims, “We’ve both tasted the fall. It’s tied, you see. And I’ll never tap again; I’ll die before I submit. So, at Genesis VII, if Akira Kaibatsu has any dignity and any respect for me, he’ll show up ready to submit me. At Genesis VII, I officially challenge ‘The Divine Wind’ to a Submission Match.”

 

“You heard it here first – if Akira Kaibatsu accepts this challenge, he’ll face ‘Iron’ Mike Cross in a Submission Match at Genesis VII!”

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Someone change "Smarkdown" to "Lockdown"