Post by Aiden Reynolds on Mar 22, 2021 22:40:09 GMT -5
Getting Over (it)
There comes a time in life where whining about your past and always taking things personally gets old. You go from getting looks of understanding and empathy, to pity, and then finally, disdain. There is a time limit on grief.
And if you keep being angry, frustrated and selfish.
If you keep throwing tantrums like a child who got the wrong coloured bicycle for christmas…
Well, what can I say? You get typecast or stereotyped as a whiny child. As a problem. As a recluse. People have trouble getting to know you, then they misunderstand you. Any thoughts, any dreams, any relationships, they fall apart and break. And you’re left alone.
The cycle begins anew.
So, in the end you just need to learn how to get over it….and move on.
Trust again.
Team Work
Early 2019
I ain’t here to make friends, mate.
The words echoed in his ears. Alex had come to see him, to give him advice. And Aiden had blown him off like it was nothing. A guy like Alex, head trainer and owner of Wolfslair. A former World Champion and a guy who had everything that most people would want in life. A beautiful family, successful business and career...and Aiden had dismissed his advice like it was nothing. Had that been a mistake? Aiden had regrets, but he wasn’t ready to actually trust any of these people. The weeks started turning into months and Aiden still hadn’t made a connection with anyone. No matter how hard these people tried, they just couldn’t get through the exterior.
Alex had tried, Sonja had tried. Austin James Mercer, the guy who was looked at as “The Best” had tried. But no one could, not even visiting coach Elena DeDraca.
She was pale, long dark hair, black lipstick and had name recognition. And she was here due to a friendship with Alex, Sonja and Austin. She smiled as she joked and caught up with the Jones, Charlie Jones, Alex’s sister and another coach smiled when Elena walked in. She was there to impart knowledge, to help them all and to give them advice. This was something that happened often. Alex had many friends who were stars in the business, titans in the industry of professional wrestling.
Aiden had the chance to learn from the best and become a better athlete, a smarter athlete and a professional wrestler who could take on the best of the best.
But he wasn’t taking advantage of it. He wasn’t controlling his narrative.
Elena sat next to Alex and Sonja while all the trainees and members of the gym lined up and ran drills with Austin. Now, it was Aiden’s turn. He climbed up on the apron and cracked his knuckles with a sigh. Austin had earned his place in the gym. A six-foot-six prodigy. The Mercer family was known on the East Coast and Austin not only had the natural talent and ability, he also had work ethic. Aiden wasn’t a small guy, standing just over six-foot-one and trained hard to keep his body like granite.
But so did Austin.
Before Aiden could get in the ring, another kid stepped forward. He was new, maybe five eleven, a hundred and ninety pounds. He stood in front of the ring and Austin gave him a nod bringing him into the ring. They moved, the kid tried everything he could. But he landed hard and had the breath knocked out of him as he fell from the ring. Aiden sighed, he reached down pulling the kid to his feet, gave him a nod and smiled, “You’ll be right, mate.” Now it was Aiden’s turn.
He entered the ring looking right across at the top dog in Wolfslair, the former WWH Hellsgate Champion and someone who was in line to be the Honor World Champion, and someone who was exploding in SCW. He took a deep breath and whispered to himself fuck it. He held out his hand, Austin took it with a nod and they wrestled. Austin was bigger and stronger; Aiden, though, was faster and more technically sound. After ten minutes, Alex called for the bell. It was a draw. Aiden sighed heavily and everyone went their separate ways. It was time for Aiden to go back into his self-imposed seclusion.
His room where he would sit down, watch TV and play video games. Talk to no one and do nothing. Then a voice boomed out. The voice of Austin James Mercer. “Hey, Outback Jack!” Aiden stopped in his tracks; he was the only Australian member of Wolfslair, it was obvious who he was addressing. Aiden turned with a small smirk on his face. “We’re going out for a meal - you coming with us or not?”
He paused, biting his bottom lip before letting out a small sigh and giving Austin a nod. “Yeah, where’re we going?”
Austin laughed and looked over at Alicia Lukas, who was shocked, Johanna Krieger, who was annoyed, and Charlie Jones, who was impressed, before answering. “Outback Steakhouse.”
He groaned and laughed to himself before nodding and pointing to Austin in the classic aye, you got me look. He threw a towel over his shoulder and moved through the gym. If he was going to be social and actually get to know these people, he was going to need to have a shower. But, as he walked out the side door something stopped him, was that…crying?
There leaning against the wall was the same kid from before, tears welling up in his eyes, snot in his nose. Aiden looked around, there was no one else, he went to step the other way before hearing a whimper. His arms dropped, his head went up looking into the sky. Shit. He pivoted back the other way and sighed. “Oi mate, you alright?” The kid was startled, straightening up and swallowing hard to hide the tears.
His voice quivered, but he tried to hide his sadness and disappointment. “Yeah, I’m...I’m good. I just...that was hard. I didn’t realise it was this hard.”
Aiden let out a small groan before reaching out and tapping the kid on the shoulder. “Look, this is a hard job. You train and hope to get better, you go do shows and can get screwed over. But, trust in Wolfslair, trust Alex, Sonja and all the others. They’ll give you a better start than I bloody got.” He smiled warmly, the kid looked Aiden dead in the eye and smiled slowly, like weight and doubt had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Thanks...I needed that.” Aiden gave him a nod and a fist bump, but then he felt someone watching. The kid grabbed his bag and backed away looking behind Aiden. He turned to come face to face with Sonja Jones. She folded her arms over her chest and laughed.
“How much of that did ya see?”
Sonya giggled to herself “Enough…” There was an awkward few seconds, Aiden had no idea what to say before clearing his throat. Thankfully Sonja broke the silence “Don’t worry, I won’t stooge you out, pup. But, good to see you becoming one of us…” She smiled, Aiden sighed and laughed. Sonja went to turn away from him, but stopped mid-step. “Oh before I forget, Alex got an e-mail. You’ve been booked for a company…”
Aiden looked up and adjusted his bag. “Which one?”
“DIVISION.”
The Biggest Challenge.
And we’re back at it again, grainy cell phone footage as Dickie Watson has again forgotten to wipe the camera lens on his phone. The pleb. He opens the door to Aiden’s apartment, whistling a tune as he does.
“Hey Aiden?...Where are you?”
He steps in, going over the apartment. The usual half cleaned kitchen, energy drink cans sitting next to beer bottles, chinese takeout boxes and pizza boxes all stacked up. Dickie laughs to himself and moves towards the hallway.
“Oi mate, where are ya?”
“I’m down ‘ere mate, near the shitter.”
Dickie stops in his tracks and sighs.
“All right, I’ll wait down here then. Did you eat too much again?”
There is an audible sigh and a thud on the wall.
“I said I’m NEAR the shitter, not IN the shitter, ya gronk.”
Dickie continues his way down the hallway and then stops in his tracks, finding Aiden painting his toilet door. There is a moment of silence, as if the cogs are turning in Dickie’s head, as if he is trying to understand just what in the fuck his tag team partner and friend is doing.
“Aiden, what...whatcha doin?”
Aiden moves the brush upwards going from a crouching position standing all the way up, finishing a few smaller details. He smiles and stands back admiring his work. Dickie moves the cellphone up and it reveals Aiden has painted his toilet door to look like the infamous TARDIS from Doctor Who. But, it isn’t the trademark deep blue no, it’s green.
“Uh….a TARDIS?”
“Yeah mate...”
“But...why is it green?”
Aiden turns, still not noticing that Dickie is again filming him like some kind of guerilla documentarian wannabe, like those idiots from VICE.
“Well, see, on the off chance someone sees me apartment, or we film somethin’, I don’t want to get sued.”
“Yeah, but, why green?”
“Piss, mate.”
Dickie stutters. Aiden smirks, seeing his friend is either confused or about to ask a question.
“Toilet mate, TARDIS is blue, piss is yellow...so...green.”
There is more silence. Dickie sighs heavily, the sound of utter disappointment.
“It looks all right, but…that's a horrible color..”
Aiden shakes his head with a smile, looking back at it.
“I mean, I guess I coulda painted it brown….” Aiden raises an eyebrow and shrugs before realising Dickie is filming. Again. He shakes his head and leans in close - there is a small discussion that isn’t audible to the cell phone. Dickie laughs and steps back before turning and moving back towards the lounge room. He sits down and waits as Aiden emerges a moment later, wiping his hands on a towel to get rid of the excess paint. He moves around and sits down on the opposite chair with a sigh.
“Well, it seems as if it’s time to do my usual shit talkin before a Proving Ground event. And while me esteemed colleague, Mr. Dimitri Romanov Alexi Watson is getting ready for his big match against Ele-”
“Wait, wait, wait. Did you just give me initials that spelled out...D.R.A.W?”
“Mate, first off: don’t interrupt me when I’m on a bloody roll, and second off: why are you pointin’ out the clever shit I do? Are you worried the people who will be watching this aren’t smart enough to get me fuckin’ neuanced jokes? Should I just do the obvious fuckin’ sight gags only?”
“Well, yeah, I mean...”
Dickie pauses seeing the annoyed expression on Aiden’s face that can only be described as “deadpan”.
“As I was sayin’, Dickie here has one of the biggest matches in his career as he goes over to enemy territory and Fallout’s first ever solo Pay-Per-View. One they needed a Proving Ground roster member to make matter. He will be challenging for the Legacy Championship, the title that I failed to win. And not only will Dickie be in the Main Event, but he’s facin’ his own sister, a woman who has name recognition. Elena DeDraca. And while I will be cheerin’ him on, obviously, cause I ain’t Switzerland, I’m part of the Allied Forces-”
“Aiden, did you just, in a roundabout way, call my sister a Nazi?”
He sighs and shakes his head.
“Mate, please, I keep getting momentum and you’re kind of stopping it faster than being eliminated first in a Legacy Chamber match. And also, no, it was an analogy, calling people Nazis is your brother’s gimmick…”
Dickie tries to hold in laughter, but his chuckling under his breath causes the phone to shake. Aiden furrows his brow looking more annoyed than anything else. Dickie clears his throat and Aiden nods in appreciation.
“I feel like we, meaning The Commonwealth, are in an amazing position here. See, after me loss, I rebounded back with two wins. One being against that Ozymandias monster and the other in a tag match against the two top champions on Proving Ground. Well, one top champion in Indy Darling, and the other being a snivellin’ little pissant keeping the belt warm for me, or Dickie. And there’s a warnin’ for you, Marky Mark and His Tiny Bunch: one of us will be comin to collect and save that damn title.”
“But, before that, well, I get to face Betsy Granger. A true WHOAvian.”
“A WHOAvian?”
“Fuckin eh, mate, have ya seen her? Ya look and go WHOA...James is a lucky bloke.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake…”
“Now, I like the Legacy lads; sure they can be a bit on the dickish side, but shit, so can I. James and Shawn are the tag champs and incredibly talented. And with them came Betsy. And she is just as talented as them, which means on Proving Ground, we really do have a melting pot of talent. Just those five names. James Raven, Shawn Warstein, Betsy Granger, Dickie Watson and of course...me. That’s an amazing amount of talent, any of whom could be the face of not just the Proving Ground brand, but also Project: Honor as a whole.”
“Kinda begs the question why we’re stuck with a lame duck as the “top” guy eh?”
“But, I like Betsy, she’s an incredible competitor, she tries hard and she will be a force in Project: Honor. Right now she’s one win, one draw. But in the short time she’s been here she’s made an impact. And since comin’ back to wrestling after her football career, she’s been pretty damn awesome. Over in XHF, she’s been the Phoenix Champion, she’s been all over Twitter entertaining the masses while, also, somehow, following Jason Long in Twitter suspensions. And now, well now, she gets to step in the ring with Aiden Fuckin’ Reynolds.”
“It should be a great match, it should be one you all tune in to.”
“And this might be a little weird for everyone, I mean normally, even if I respect and like people, I still make jokes about their interests or what they’re into. Shit, I like Indy Darling and I started alotta shit with him.”
He pauses for a moment, suddenly Dickie clears his throat and speaks up.
“What about her time-travelling Doctor Who stuff?”
“Her what? Wait, she can time travel? Can we go back to a time when Project Honor was startin’? We can warn management about certain troublemakin’ saviors.”
“Nah, we tried that, same result…”
“But uh….mate...what’s Doctor Who?”
“.....what?”
There is a pause. Dickie lowers the phone and leans in, he and Aiden talk away from the phone and the microphone. Dickie then sighs and pulls up the phone as Aiden hums and grabs his laptop, opening up google and doing some “research”.
“Oi, what the shit kinda show is this? What the hell is that?”
“That is a Sonic Screwdriver.”
“It’s a fuckin vibrator.”
“No, it’s a Sonic Screwdriver. It’s also been called a sonic probe; it’s a tool The Doctor uses.”
“Oh, I bet he fuckin’ does…”
Dickie shakes his head and sighs heavily.
“Actually, the last Doctor was female.”
Aiden’s eyes open wide and he smirks; we hear an audible oh no from behind the phone.
“Alright, now we’re talk-....wait, what the fuck is a Dalek? An alien race, in a fuckin’ talking trashcan? This show is nuts, mate! Oh hey...it has religious messages...the Weeping Angels hmmm, all right, I’ll bite….”
“AIDEN, NO!”
Suddenly, Aiden throws the laptop across the room and shuffles himself on the couch, falling over the back of it with a crash. Dickie stops moving as there is an eerie silence. Then there is a hand, it rises from behind the couch, then a head full of short brown hair, spiked up in a fauxhawk, followed by Aiden’s eyes as he breathes deep.
“What the crap was that Dickie? WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT? AND WHY ARE YA STILL FILMIN’ THIS?”
Dickie laughs; this time he can’t hide it, he can’t keep it in, he begins wheezing before letting out a sigh and keeping the phone trained on Aiden who looks around and carefully sits back in his seat.
“This is the kind of stuff Betsy is into? Good god. But, with that bein’ said, her outside interests and hobbies don’t really have a bearin’ on the match eh?. Look Bets, darl, I’ll level with ya. I do like an’ respect you, I think you’ll go far here like ya have in other places and you’re a great talent but, the sad fact is only one of us can WIN this match. Only one of us can move on and keep the momentum goin’. I have stumbled once, ONCE in the company. I choked in the biggest match of my career after bein’ basically un-fuckin-beatable before that. I have had to deal with opponents constantly accusing me of being Dickie’s bitch and riding coattails.”
“Notice, I didn’t say anything of the sort about you and the Legacy lads? You know why? It’s lazy and stupid. And despite outward appearances, despite the fact I like to have a little fun and make people laugh…”
“And despite my accent making everything sound like overt sarcasm and this haircut…”
“I’m not stupid”
“I have a great record in this company and since I walked in here, I have been one of the best, and I’m not going to slow down, I’m not going to stop. I have goals here, just like you. I want you to do well, I want you to have success, Darl’, but not against me. You’re a Top Sheila, and I know you’ll be a challenge. But if I want to earn my shots, if I want to face Indy or Mark and impress the bosses, well, I gotta keep winning. So, you and me are gonna dance come Proving Ground Thirteen. And even though I’m your opponent, I’m also a good sport...so, I’m going to wish you luck Bets...you’re gonna need it.”
There comes a time in life where whining about your past and always taking things personally gets old. You go from getting looks of understanding and empathy, to pity, and then finally, disdain. There is a time limit on grief.
And if you keep being angry, frustrated and selfish.
If you keep throwing tantrums like a child who got the wrong coloured bicycle for christmas…
Well, what can I say? You get typecast or stereotyped as a whiny child. As a problem. As a recluse. People have trouble getting to know you, then they misunderstand you. Any thoughts, any dreams, any relationships, they fall apart and break. And you’re left alone.
The cycle begins anew.
So, in the end you just need to learn how to get over it….and move on.
Trust again.
Team Work
Early 2019
I ain’t here to make friends, mate.
The words echoed in his ears. Alex had come to see him, to give him advice. And Aiden had blown him off like it was nothing. A guy like Alex, head trainer and owner of Wolfslair. A former World Champion and a guy who had everything that most people would want in life. A beautiful family, successful business and career...and Aiden had dismissed his advice like it was nothing. Had that been a mistake? Aiden had regrets, but he wasn’t ready to actually trust any of these people. The weeks started turning into months and Aiden still hadn’t made a connection with anyone. No matter how hard these people tried, they just couldn’t get through the exterior.
Alex had tried, Sonja had tried. Austin James Mercer, the guy who was looked at as “The Best” had tried. But no one could, not even visiting coach Elena DeDraca.
She was pale, long dark hair, black lipstick and had name recognition. And she was here due to a friendship with Alex, Sonja and Austin. She smiled as she joked and caught up with the Jones, Charlie Jones, Alex’s sister and another coach smiled when Elena walked in. She was there to impart knowledge, to help them all and to give them advice. This was something that happened often. Alex had many friends who were stars in the business, titans in the industry of professional wrestling.
Aiden had the chance to learn from the best and become a better athlete, a smarter athlete and a professional wrestler who could take on the best of the best.
But he wasn’t taking advantage of it. He wasn’t controlling his narrative.
Elena sat next to Alex and Sonja while all the trainees and members of the gym lined up and ran drills with Austin. Now, it was Aiden’s turn. He climbed up on the apron and cracked his knuckles with a sigh. Austin had earned his place in the gym. A six-foot-six prodigy. The Mercer family was known on the East Coast and Austin not only had the natural talent and ability, he also had work ethic. Aiden wasn’t a small guy, standing just over six-foot-one and trained hard to keep his body like granite.
But so did Austin.
Before Aiden could get in the ring, another kid stepped forward. He was new, maybe five eleven, a hundred and ninety pounds. He stood in front of the ring and Austin gave him a nod bringing him into the ring. They moved, the kid tried everything he could. But he landed hard and had the breath knocked out of him as he fell from the ring. Aiden sighed, he reached down pulling the kid to his feet, gave him a nod and smiled, “You’ll be right, mate.” Now it was Aiden’s turn.
He entered the ring looking right across at the top dog in Wolfslair, the former WWH Hellsgate Champion and someone who was in line to be the Honor World Champion, and someone who was exploding in SCW. He took a deep breath and whispered to himself fuck it. He held out his hand, Austin took it with a nod and they wrestled. Austin was bigger and stronger; Aiden, though, was faster and more technically sound. After ten minutes, Alex called for the bell. It was a draw. Aiden sighed heavily and everyone went their separate ways. It was time for Aiden to go back into his self-imposed seclusion.
His room where he would sit down, watch TV and play video games. Talk to no one and do nothing. Then a voice boomed out. The voice of Austin James Mercer. “Hey, Outback Jack!” Aiden stopped in his tracks; he was the only Australian member of Wolfslair, it was obvious who he was addressing. Aiden turned with a small smirk on his face. “We’re going out for a meal - you coming with us or not?”
He paused, biting his bottom lip before letting out a small sigh and giving Austin a nod. “Yeah, where’re we going?”
Austin laughed and looked over at Alicia Lukas, who was shocked, Johanna Krieger, who was annoyed, and Charlie Jones, who was impressed, before answering. “Outback Steakhouse.”
He groaned and laughed to himself before nodding and pointing to Austin in the classic aye, you got me look. He threw a towel over his shoulder and moved through the gym. If he was going to be social and actually get to know these people, he was going to need to have a shower. But, as he walked out the side door something stopped him, was that…crying?
There leaning against the wall was the same kid from before, tears welling up in his eyes, snot in his nose. Aiden looked around, there was no one else, he went to step the other way before hearing a whimper. His arms dropped, his head went up looking into the sky. Shit. He pivoted back the other way and sighed. “Oi mate, you alright?” The kid was startled, straightening up and swallowing hard to hide the tears.
His voice quivered, but he tried to hide his sadness and disappointment. “Yeah, I’m...I’m good. I just...that was hard. I didn’t realise it was this hard.”
Aiden let out a small groan before reaching out and tapping the kid on the shoulder. “Look, this is a hard job. You train and hope to get better, you go do shows and can get screwed over. But, trust in Wolfslair, trust Alex, Sonja and all the others. They’ll give you a better start than I bloody got.” He smiled warmly, the kid looked Aiden dead in the eye and smiled slowly, like weight and doubt had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Thanks...I needed that.” Aiden gave him a nod and a fist bump, but then he felt someone watching. The kid grabbed his bag and backed away looking behind Aiden. He turned to come face to face with Sonja Jones. She folded her arms over her chest and laughed.
“How much of that did ya see?”
Sonya giggled to herself “Enough…” There was an awkward few seconds, Aiden had no idea what to say before clearing his throat. Thankfully Sonja broke the silence “Don’t worry, I won’t stooge you out, pup. But, good to see you becoming one of us…” She smiled, Aiden sighed and laughed. Sonja went to turn away from him, but stopped mid-step. “Oh before I forget, Alex got an e-mail. You’ve been booked for a company…”
Aiden looked up and adjusted his bag. “Which one?”
“DIVISION.”
The Biggest Challenge.
And we’re back at it again, grainy cell phone footage as Dickie Watson has again forgotten to wipe the camera lens on his phone. The pleb. He opens the door to Aiden’s apartment, whistling a tune as he does.
“Hey Aiden?...Where are you?”
He steps in, going over the apartment. The usual half cleaned kitchen, energy drink cans sitting next to beer bottles, chinese takeout boxes and pizza boxes all stacked up. Dickie laughs to himself and moves towards the hallway.
“Oi mate, where are ya?”
“I’m down ‘ere mate, near the shitter.”
Dickie stops in his tracks and sighs.
“All right, I’ll wait down here then. Did you eat too much again?”
There is an audible sigh and a thud on the wall.
“I said I’m NEAR the shitter, not IN the shitter, ya gronk.”
Dickie continues his way down the hallway and then stops in his tracks, finding Aiden painting his toilet door. There is a moment of silence, as if the cogs are turning in Dickie’s head, as if he is trying to understand just what in the fuck his tag team partner and friend is doing.
“Aiden, what...whatcha doin?”
Aiden moves the brush upwards going from a crouching position standing all the way up, finishing a few smaller details. He smiles and stands back admiring his work. Dickie moves the cellphone up and it reveals Aiden has painted his toilet door to look like the infamous TARDIS from Doctor Who. But, it isn’t the trademark deep blue no, it’s green.
“Uh….a TARDIS?”
“Yeah mate...”
“But...why is it green?”
Aiden turns, still not noticing that Dickie is again filming him like some kind of guerilla documentarian wannabe, like those idiots from VICE.
“Well, see, on the off chance someone sees me apartment, or we film somethin’, I don’t want to get sued.”
“Yeah, but, why green?”
“Piss, mate.”
Dickie stutters. Aiden smirks, seeing his friend is either confused or about to ask a question.
“Toilet mate, TARDIS is blue, piss is yellow...so...green.”
There is more silence. Dickie sighs heavily, the sound of utter disappointment.
“It looks all right, but…that's a horrible color..”
Aiden shakes his head with a smile, looking back at it.
“I mean, I guess I coulda painted it brown….” Aiden raises an eyebrow and shrugs before realising Dickie is filming. Again. He shakes his head and leans in close - there is a small discussion that isn’t audible to the cell phone. Dickie laughs and steps back before turning and moving back towards the lounge room. He sits down and waits as Aiden emerges a moment later, wiping his hands on a towel to get rid of the excess paint. He moves around and sits down on the opposite chair with a sigh.
“Well, it seems as if it’s time to do my usual shit talkin before a Proving Ground event. And while me esteemed colleague, Mr. Dimitri Romanov Alexi Watson is getting ready for his big match against Ele-”
“Wait, wait, wait. Did you just give me initials that spelled out...D.R.A.W?”
“Mate, first off: don’t interrupt me when I’m on a bloody roll, and second off: why are you pointin’ out the clever shit I do? Are you worried the people who will be watching this aren’t smart enough to get me fuckin’ neuanced jokes? Should I just do the obvious fuckin’ sight gags only?”
“Well, yeah, I mean...”
Dickie pauses seeing the annoyed expression on Aiden’s face that can only be described as “deadpan”.
“As I was sayin’, Dickie here has one of the biggest matches in his career as he goes over to enemy territory and Fallout’s first ever solo Pay-Per-View. One they needed a Proving Ground roster member to make matter. He will be challenging for the Legacy Championship, the title that I failed to win. And not only will Dickie be in the Main Event, but he’s facin’ his own sister, a woman who has name recognition. Elena DeDraca. And while I will be cheerin’ him on, obviously, cause I ain’t Switzerland, I’m part of the Allied Forces-”
“Aiden, did you just, in a roundabout way, call my sister a Nazi?”
He sighs and shakes his head.
“Mate, please, I keep getting momentum and you’re kind of stopping it faster than being eliminated first in a Legacy Chamber match. And also, no, it was an analogy, calling people Nazis is your brother’s gimmick…”
Dickie tries to hold in laughter, but his chuckling under his breath causes the phone to shake. Aiden furrows his brow looking more annoyed than anything else. Dickie clears his throat and Aiden nods in appreciation.
“I feel like we, meaning The Commonwealth, are in an amazing position here. See, after me loss, I rebounded back with two wins. One being against that Ozymandias monster and the other in a tag match against the two top champions on Proving Ground. Well, one top champion in Indy Darling, and the other being a snivellin’ little pissant keeping the belt warm for me, or Dickie. And there’s a warnin’ for you, Marky Mark and His Tiny Bunch: one of us will be comin to collect and save that damn title.”
“But, before that, well, I get to face Betsy Granger. A true WHOAvian.”
“A WHOAvian?”
“Fuckin eh, mate, have ya seen her? Ya look and go WHOA...James is a lucky bloke.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake…”
“Now, I like the Legacy lads; sure they can be a bit on the dickish side, but shit, so can I. James and Shawn are the tag champs and incredibly talented. And with them came Betsy. And she is just as talented as them, which means on Proving Ground, we really do have a melting pot of talent. Just those five names. James Raven, Shawn Warstein, Betsy Granger, Dickie Watson and of course...me. That’s an amazing amount of talent, any of whom could be the face of not just the Proving Ground brand, but also Project: Honor as a whole.”
“Kinda begs the question why we’re stuck with a lame duck as the “top” guy eh?”
“But, I like Betsy, she’s an incredible competitor, she tries hard and she will be a force in Project: Honor. Right now she’s one win, one draw. But in the short time she’s been here she’s made an impact. And since comin’ back to wrestling after her football career, she’s been pretty damn awesome. Over in XHF, she’s been the Phoenix Champion, she’s been all over Twitter entertaining the masses while, also, somehow, following Jason Long in Twitter suspensions. And now, well now, she gets to step in the ring with Aiden Fuckin’ Reynolds.”
“It should be a great match, it should be one you all tune in to.”
“And this might be a little weird for everyone, I mean normally, even if I respect and like people, I still make jokes about their interests or what they’re into. Shit, I like Indy Darling and I started alotta shit with him.”
He pauses for a moment, suddenly Dickie clears his throat and speaks up.
“What about her time-travelling Doctor Who stuff?”
“Her what? Wait, she can time travel? Can we go back to a time when Project Honor was startin’? We can warn management about certain troublemakin’ saviors.”
“Nah, we tried that, same result…”
“But uh….mate...what’s Doctor Who?”
“.....what?”
There is a pause. Dickie lowers the phone and leans in, he and Aiden talk away from the phone and the microphone. Dickie then sighs and pulls up the phone as Aiden hums and grabs his laptop, opening up google and doing some “research”.
“Oi, what the shit kinda show is this? What the hell is that?”
“That is a Sonic Screwdriver.”
“It’s a fuckin vibrator.”
“No, it’s a Sonic Screwdriver. It’s also been called a sonic probe; it’s a tool The Doctor uses.”
“Oh, I bet he fuckin’ does…”
Dickie shakes his head and sighs heavily.
“Actually, the last Doctor was female.”
Aiden’s eyes open wide and he smirks; we hear an audible oh no from behind the phone.
“Alright, now we’re talk-....wait, what the fuck is a Dalek? An alien race, in a fuckin’ talking trashcan? This show is nuts, mate! Oh hey...it has religious messages...the Weeping Angels hmmm, all right, I’ll bite….”
“AIDEN, NO!”
Suddenly, Aiden throws the laptop across the room and shuffles himself on the couch, falling over the back of it with a crash. Dickie stops moving as there is an eerie silence. Then there is a hand, it rises from behind the couch, then a head full of short brown hair, spiked up in a fauxhawk, followed by Aiden’s eyes as he breathes deep.
“What the crap was that Dickie? WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT? AND WHY ARE YA STILL FILMIN’ THIS?”
Dickie laughs; this time he can’t hide it, he can’t keep it in, he begins wheezing before letting out a sigh and keeping the phone trained on Aiden who looks around and carefully sits back in his seat.
“This is the kind of stuff Betsy is into? Good god. But, with that bein’ said, her outside interests and hobbies don’t really have a bearin’ on the match eh?. Look Bets, darl, I’ll level with ya. I do like an’ respect you, I think you’ll go far here like ya have in other places and you’re a great talent but, the sad fact is only one of us can WIN this match. Only one of us can move on and keep the momentum goin’. I have stumbled once, ONCE in the company. I choked in the biggest match of my career after bein’ basically un-fuckin-beatable before that. I have had to deal with opponents constantly accusing me of being Dickie’s bitch and riding coattails.”
“Notice, I didn’t say anything of the sort about you and the Legacy lads? You know why? It’s lazy and stupid. And despite outward appearances, despite the fact I like to have a little fun and make people laugh…”
“And despite my accent making everything sound like overt sarcasm and this haircut…”
“I’m not stupid”
“I have a great record in this company and since I walked in here, I have been one of the best, and I’m not going to slow down, I’m not going to stop. I have goals here, just like you. I want you to do well, I want you to have success, Darl’, but not against me. You’re a Top Sheila, and I know you’ll be a challenge. But if I want to earn my shots, if I want to face Indy or Mark and impress the bosses, well, I gotta keep winning. So, you and me are gonna dance come Proving Ground Thirteen. And even though I’m your opponent, I’m also a good sport...so, I’m going to wish you luck Bets...you’re gonna need it.”
