Post by Joe Ragnal on Nov 23, 2010 22:53:09 GMT -6
Lindsey: Joe? Everything okay?
It was late at night, and Joe was out on the balcony, looking up at the full moon. Lindsey had noticed he was still awake, and got out of bed, putting her robe on. As Joe heard her voice, he turned his head back to acknowledge her presence, only to turn back to the moonlight.
Joe: Just...doing a lot of thinking.
Lindsey: Well, you do have that title match coming up next week, and you're facing that Hugo kid-
Joe: He's not really a kid, Lindsey. The guy knows what he's doing, but why he needs a trainer or his uncle or whoever, I don't get.
Lindsey: That's funny. You used to have your brother and sister around all the time. You three had each other when you started wrestling. How's this any different?
Joe: Let's just say I'm not fond of trainers that kick around their students. But...that's not what has me upset. I just realized...it's November.
His girlfriend gives the Innovator a perplexed look, as if he had just shared some twisted secret.
Lindsey: Yeees, it is Joe, welcome to the present.
Joe: I hate November.
He sighs, resting his arms on the ledge of the balcony, not taking his eyes on the bright moon.
Joe: Just...so much garbage seems to come my way this time of year. Sure, there's Thanksgiving, turkey, there's also the opportunity to mess with the elections...
Lindsey: Right, you told me you voted for the write-ins as 'ham sandwich'.
Joe: When there's no politician you can decide with, why not. But really, I look back, and I can't help but remember that November's been such a sucky month for me in the past.
Lindsey: Well, we all have our months...
She approaches him, slowly wrapping her arms around his torso and nuzzling her head against his neck, smiling.
Lindsey: But you have me. You have custody of the kids back with you. It can't be all bad.
Joe: Well...
He grabs her hands, placing his over the back of her's and holding them tightly.
Joe: You love me, right?
Lindsey: More than anything.
Joe: Let's...let's speak hypothetically here, then. Let's say...let's say some guy beats the tar out of you and dehydrates you to the point you're temporarily paralyzed from the hip down.
Lindsey: Okay...
Joe: Let's say...let's say I never get justice on this guy. That everytime I get in contact with this man, I never get the prize I deserved, and I never get back at the sunnuvabitch for what he did to you?
Lindsey: Yeah...
Joe: If all that happened...you'd still love me, right? You wouldn't go off and ditch me for some other guy, right?
Lindsey: Joe...I don't know where this came from, but...of course I would.
Joe: Great. I just...I just needed to ask.
He turns around, smiling at her as he leans into her, kissing her lips.
Joe: You go back to bed, I'll be there in a bit, okay?
Lindsey: Sure thing.
Lindsey smiles back at him before turning towards the door back inside. After a few seconds of thought, Joe speaks up.
Joe: Hey, you watched GWC, right?
Lindsey: I did, but I started watching sometime after that whole Mr. OMA thing. Why, what's up?
Joe: We-...nothing to worry about. Just wondering is all.
Lindsey: Okay...
She stares at him, confused, before she goes back inside, which left Joe out in the night's chill, returning to his gaze at the moon, as well as his thoughts.
****
So here I am, a week before yet another title defense. The second one as X Champion. And here I am, remembering all the crap that I went through all those Novembers ago. Thinking back to all of it, I wish Green Day had renamed that one song of there's so I could sleep through the month. But obviously as a wrestler, and a champion, that's not happening anytime soon, is it.
The truth is, as much as I hate it, as bad as all the experiences I've gone through were, they've shaped me into the guy I am nowadays. Just like meeting Lindsey was.
A few months back, Lindsey was the one to tell me I've grown up. It made me realize just what I was doing wrong since I came back to wrestling; I was trying too hard to be what I was when I started wrestling solo, be that "kid" who was all about joking around with his opponents in the ring. But I evolved from that. I'm no longer the "kid" I was, I was no longer that guy that the opponents used weak remarks against like "the very image of Mountain Dew advertising". I've changed so much from that.
Don't get me wrong, my in-ring motto is still to have FUN, but I have to have an on/off switch. I can be like I am around the kids, but when I look at my opponents, insults like mocking their names gets old, especially when you want to move up in the world.
Everything that happened to me three years ago this month REALLY changed my life, like you'd never believe. It brought up everything years before it that also turned my world into something else. It made me remember why I was this goofball all the time, and when those events were brought back up, it helped me realize it can't be like that, especially when, you know...your girlfriend becomes confined to a wheelchair for weeks. I can't be a "kid" when a title or title opportunity is on the line. Just ask Brad Kane. It's that past that brought in a lot of respect between the both of us, marriage to his sister aside, and why we discuss that past so much when we're set face-to-face in any situation, like that Triple Threat a few months back or the tag match last week.
So while Hugo may think the past isn't worth bringing up, the truth is, it just has to come up at some point. The past grows you as a person, and the fans watching these matches, while they enjoy the entertainment in the ring, they want to see your character develop just as much. Your past is a backstory that has to be told at some point, just like I need to talk to Lindsey about my past loves.
By the way, Hugo. You may have been paying attention to me during our fight, but you should have paid more attention to Brad and Evan moreso. I think that explains why you were the weak link in the end. You might've been focused on the upcoming title match against me, but focus on the task at hand first before you focus on the future. Your trainer has taught you this before, hasn't he? Or did you miss out on THAT lesson as well.
Also, pay attention to your enemy's words more closely before you speak. You say my reputation is to be lazy, as well as a couch potato. If you've actually paid close attention to me these last few months, you'd see that's FAR from the truth.
I've been active. I've been going to bars to hang out with my friends. I've taken my boys to baseball games. I've been training with my best friend, who's more experiences with MMA and could whoop my butt in the sport. I've spent time in Victoria's Secret bored out of my mind while my belle and the tranny try on different bras. Very little, if ANY of my life SINCE my debut has focused on me being on the couch and eating potato chips. Brad was talking about my period where I was married to his sister, Freya. A time period I've brought up so much these last few months, and have grown out of.
Maybe I shouldn't focus so much on the history of older promotions. But the truth is, sometimes it needs to be done, especially when you deal with people from that same promotion. It just happens.
But I've been around for five years in this sport, Hugo. You're still learning. Yet you skip out on training sessions. BIG MISTAKE, regardless of what you're doing. The first thing about wrestling is you need to be DEDICATED. You can't skip training EVER. When I decided my future was this sport, I had to choose between wrestling or skateboarding. I chose wrestling, and haven't skated in years since then, and a promo I cut a while back at the skatepark shows how out of practice I was.
You're an X games legend, aren't you, Hugo? Congratulations. But now you want to be in the wrestling games. It's time to focus on that, and ditch that identity.
For this match, FUN is out the window. It's time to show why Joe Ragnal is still the first X Champion.
Let the REAL X games begin.[/color]
It was late at night, and Joe was out on the balcony, looking up at the full moon. Lindsey had noticed he was still awake, and got out of bed, putting her robe on. As Joe heard her voice, he turned his head back to acknowledge her presence, only to turn back to the moonlight.
Joe: Just...doing a lot of thinking.
Lindsey: Well, you do have that title match coming up next week, and you're facing that Hugo kid-
Joe: He's not really a kid, Lindsey. The guy knows what he's doing, but why he needs a trainer or his uncle or whoever, I don't get.
Lindsey: That's funny. You used to have your brother and sister around all the time. You three had each other when you started wrestling. How's this any different?
Joe: Let's just say I'm not fond of trainers that kick around their students. But...that's not what has me upset. I just realized...it's November.
His girlfriend gives the Innovator a perplexed look, as if he had just shared some twisted secret.
Lindsey: Yeees, it is Joe, welcome to the present.
Joe: I hate November.
He sighs, resting his arms on the ledge of the balcony, not taking his eyes on the bright moon.
Joe: Just...so much garbage seems to come my way this time of year. Sure, there's Thanksgiving, turkey, there's also the opportunity to mess with the elections...
Lindsey: Right, you told me you voted for the write-ins as 'ham sandwich'.
Joe: When there's no politician you can decide with, why not. But really, I look back, and I can't help but remember that November's been such a sucky month for me in the past.
Lindsey: Well, we all have our months...
She approaches him, slowly wrapping her arms around his torso and nuzzling her head against his neck, smiling.
Lindsey: But you have me. You have custody of the kids back with you. It can't be all bad.
Joe: Well...
He grabs her hands, placing his over the back of her's and holding them tightly.
Joe: You love me, right?
Lindsey: More than anything.
Joe: Let's...let's speak hypothetically here, then. Let's say...let's say some guy beats the tar out of you and dehydrates you to the point you're temporarily paralyzed from the hip down.
Lindsey: Okay...
Joe: Let's say...let's say I never get justice on this guy. That everytime I get in contact with this man, I never get the prize I deserved, and I never get back at the sunnuvabitch for what he did to you?
Lindsey: Yeah...
Joe: If all that happened...you'd still love me, right? You wouldn't go off and ditch me for some other guy, right?
Lindsey: Joe...I don't know where this came from, but...of course I would.
Joe: Great. I just...I just needed to ask.
He turns around, smiling at her as he leans into her, kissing her lips.
Joe: You go back to bed, I'll be there in a bit, okay?
Lindsey: Sure thing.
Lindsey smiles back at him before turning towards the door back inside. After a few seconds of thought, Joe speaks up.
Joe: Hey, you watched GWC, right?
Lindsey: I did, but I started watching sometime after that whole Mr. OMA thing. Why, what's up?
Joe: We-...nothing to worry about. Just wondering is all.
Lindsey: Okay...
She stares at him, confused, before she goes back inside, which left Joe out in the night's chill, returning to his gaze at the moon, as well as his thoughts.
****
So here I am, a week before yet another title defense. The second one as X Champion. And here I am, remembering all the crap that I went through all those Novembers ago. Thinking back to all of it, I wish Green Day had renamed that one song of there's so I could sleep through the month. But obviously as a wrestler, and a champion, that's not happening anytime soon, is it.
The truth is, as much as I hate it, as bad as all the experiences I've gone through were, they've shaped me into the guy I am nowadays. Just like meeting Lindsey was.
A few months back, Lindsey was the one to tell me I've grown up. It made me realize just what I was doing wrong since I came back to wrestling; I was trying too hard to be what I was when I started wrestling solo, be that "kid" who was all about joking around with his opponents in the ring. But I evolved from that. I'm no longer the "kid" I was, I was no longer that guy that the opponents used weak remarks against like "the very image of Mountain Dew advertising". I've changed so much from that.
Don't get me wrong, my in-ring motto is still to have FUN, but I have to have an on/off switch. I can be like I am around the kids, but when I look at my opponents, insults like mocking their names gets old, especially when you want to move up in the world.
Everything that happened to me three years ago this month REALLY changed my life, like you'd never believe. It brought up everything years before it that also turned my world into something else. It made me remember why I was this goofball all the time, and when those events were brought back up, it helped me realize it can't be like that, especially when, you know...your girlfriend becomes confined to a wheelchair for weeks. I can't be a "kid" when a title or title opportunity is on the line. Just ask Brad Kane. It's that past that brought in a lot of respect between the both of us, marriage to his sister aside, and why we discuss that past so much when we're set face-to-face in any situation, like that Triple Threat a few months back or the tag match last week.
So while Hugo may think the past isn't worth bringing up, the truth is, it just has to come up at some point. The past grows you as a person, and the fans watching these matches, while they enjoy the entertainment in the ring, they want to see your character develop just as much. Your past is a backstory that has to be told at some point, just like I need to talk to Lindsey about my past loves.
By the way, Hugo. You may have been paying attention to me during our fight, but you should have paid more attention to Brad and Evan moreso. I think that explains why you were the weak link in the end. You might've been focused on the upcoming title match against me, but focus on the task at hand first before you focus on the future. Your trainer has taught you this before, hasn't he? Or did you miss out on THAT lesson as well.
Also, pay attention to your enemy's words more closely before you speak. You say my reputation is to be lazy, as well as a couch potato. If you've actually paid close attention to me these last few months, you'd see that's FAR from the truth.
I've been active. I've been going to bars to hang out with my friends. I've taken my boys to baseball games. I've been training with my best friend, who's more experiences with MMA and could whoop my butt in the sport. I've spent time in Victoria's Secret bored out of my mind while my belle and the tranny try on different bras. Very little, if ANY of my life SINCE my debut has focused on me being on the couch and eating potato chips. Brad was talking about my period where I was married to his sister, Freya. A time period I've brought up so much these last few months, and have grown out of.
Maybe I shouldn't focus so much on the history of older promotions. But the truth is, sometimes it needs to be done, especially when you deal with people from that same promotion. It just happens.
But I've been around for five years in this sport, Hugo. You're still learning. Yet you skip out on training sessions. BIG MISTAKE, regardless of what you're doing. The first thing about wrestling is you need to be DEDICATED. You can't skip training EVER. When I decided my future was this sport, I had to choose between wrestling or skateboarding. I chose wrestling, and haven't skated in years since then, and a promo I cut a while back at the skatepark shows how out of practice I was.
You're an X games legend, aren't you, Hugo? Congratulations. But now you want to be in the wrestling games. It's time to focus on that, and ditch that identity.
For this match, FUN is out the window. It's time to show why Joe Ragnal is still the first X Champion.
Let the REAL X games begin.[/color]