Case #1: The Space Schmuck
Jul 27, 2021 7:59:53 GMT -5
OZYMANDIAS, Brandon Hendrix, and 1 more like this
Post by Swindle Shelldrake on Jul 27, 2021 7:59:53 GMT -5
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Unaired Footage
July 16th, 2021
Sydney Super Dome, Australia
Unaired Footage
July 16th, 2021
Sydney Super Dome, Australia
The cheers and gasps of the crowd are still bouncing off the walls of the Sydney Super Dome, as well as the quaking rumbles of their feet. The Opportunity Knocks Rumble ticks over to the forty two minute mark just as TJ Thompson has been eliminated, footage playing of a cameraman shakily getting into position backstage. Through the deafening noise of the arena emerges the new comer of Proving Ground, the tall frame of Swindle Shelldrake hunching through the curtain with an icepack held to the back of his neck. A little short of breath after his first showing, but more hampered by frustration than fatigue as the camera is only ale to pick up a small muttered phrase from the Kraken as he walks past.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "....Fuck the Commonwealth...."
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Unaired Footage
July 27th, 2021
Queenstown, New Zealand
?: "That's not the starting result we like to see, Shelldrake...."
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "It was a rumble match, if you wanted to have your cake and eat it on day one then there's more than enough wannabe muscled-up adonis schmucks out there for you. Maybe you can chase their ambulance after they try to get spicy with jumping from a turnbuckle in front of a dozen people, give them a good deal with their broken ankles".
?: "I always wonder how you can be so blasé after a loss, especially one like that. And on your debut match no less. Might have been doable when the only people seeing you lose were a dozen people in a run-down gym against Johnny No Name.....Need I remind you that you were not our first choice of a client. There are several out there who would do some terrible things in the ring to have your spot right now. Many people that I have on the books. Waiting by the phone for a call from someone like me. So no, it was not just a rumble match. Like it or not, you are on the back foot of momentum regardless if you have the talent to deserve being there. It was a debut that would inspire indifference. Neither a destroying train wreck, but hardly something of note. What you need to understand is that you're in the big leagues now, Shell. No more rolling in to wherever will book you and circlejerk around with some local rookie for six minutes. Indifference isn't expected anymore. Indifference isn't good enough. One of those....'muscled-up adonis' types might have lost, but they would have left a visual impression. Something striking and awe-inspiring".
Swindle audibly sighs down the phone with a roll of his eyes before taking another inhale from his cigarette, tapping away the ash and watching it blow away with the light breeze as the other person keeps talking. Shelldrake taking a moment to watch a car pull away from the gas station instead of listening.
?: "I took a risk in choosing you, Shell. And as of right now, I don't have anything to show for it. All I can say was that you eliminated a walking joke of a rapper who nobody takes as a serious, genuine threat. All posing that John Blade is something is purely sarcastic, that's how far his joke of a career goes. Every potential target that would have placed you in the minds of both those watching lasted longer than you. They simply did better. I don't have the proof I need to say you were the correct investment of our time. So, for my benefit I'd appreciate it if you didn't mess around this time, otherwise my integrity will be pulled into question. A roster spot in the high clouds of Project: Honor isn't a right, it's a privilege. All it might have taken was a different mood on the day, and I could have instead shipped you off to Action Wrestling while....what was his name?....Cage? Tyson Cage? He might be standing where you are now, hahahaha".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Now that's getting a little absurd, even for someone as dramatic as you to suggest someone trigger happy on his twitter is better than me. I steered clear of that place even as a freelance".
?: "Absurdity or not, the point stands. Even against those you or I see as jokes, we are never truly in the objective mind. We see future stars where they're not; our gaze passes over the unassuming face that one day comes to rule the world. Until I see that star you are simply the guy that happens to be getting the trial run so far. So, I ask again. Don't mess this up again. Just as you said for the rumble, mightier men have fallen to less".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Yeah yeah yeah, definitely for you, 'boss'.....Look, I never claimed I'd be winning world championships right out of the gate. You gave me the chance because I am something different. What's the bet that everyone else with your job goes out there and looks only for some meathead who looks good, can't wrestle to save his life and strap a mouthpiece to? They look for one trait that is of godly proportions, and the rest be damned. You could have left me to roll around the independents for the rest of my career if you wanted that one trait. But you didn't.....A battle royal is one thing, where everyone else lost out just as much as I did. More to lose than what was expected of me. If I get pinned or tapped out, then I'll entertain your grievances, but until then, it's my way. Again, you didn't sign up for a dummy to follow your beck and call when you gave me the nod".
"My place here will be earned, even if I think I already belong here. A single elimination it might have been, but that is more than some and more than enough of a foothold to get my fingers into Project: Honor. My your own logic you should be calling for someone like Ace Sky to be booted off and handed his pink slip instead of me. A real wrestling schmuck".
?: "It's a little insulting that a wrestler with my backing would have their singles debut against such a little insect of a man. But then again, it falls to you all the same. A better debut would have netted you a stronger opponent".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Look. This is a mismatch plain and simple. You know it, and I know it. But, it's not without opportunity. The rumble was against everyone's odds to begin with. But here, it'll all be in my favour...."
?:"You said that about the Rumble and now look where you are".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Fuck sake.....As I was saying, this is where his weakness gets exposed. The man speaks like he's trying to justify his own lifestyle to a a wife and kids that are all sick of his early mid-life crisis of free and floaty burning man vibes. Two decades ago he would have been a prospect to hone and nurture into something great. Someone your boys might have even endorsed into the big leagues. But the man is thirty-eight and talks like a broken Speak & Spell. Should be wising up with all his spiritual wisdom and not killing himself with shooting star presses for all the four minutes he'll last in a match. I was built to deny the single-minded machines of this industry, Roland. All focused on their pretty little style and niche, trying to fine tune themselves to fitting a square peg into a round hole. This guy is so far up his own arse about his high-flying and his shamanism and his zen that he can really see the moon and the stars up there. Anyone who wrestles like him is either too stupid to see sense, or has never wrestled and actual opponent in the ring. Someone that actually moves and says 'no, what you're going is stupid. I'm going to move out of the way'. What the hell does residing in the 'Interdimensional Universes within our Galaxies' actually mean? What is it supposed to mean?"
Roland: "I wouldn't have the foggiest idea, Shell...."
Roland is audibly already checked out of the conversation.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "The in-ring side isn't a problem, but this space shaman schmuck shit is something else. He's as high as a kite both physically and figuratively. It's a shame that he's only just discovered what weed is. I feel for him, I really do, but he's lost out on all that time to actually live a life and achieve something in pro wrestling. I can only hope that he's cognisant enough to see how little me beating him will do to either of us. He's a tiny little step on the staircase. Hardly even that to be honest. I'll get to play with my food and give him the message that he doesn't belong in Project: Honor. Not like he has the career longevity left to improve either. Can't teach an old dog new tricks. He clearly hasn't been in Project: Honor long enough to really get the message that he's been washed for longer than he cares to admit. He's someone that crumbles a little if the road isn't smooth sailing right? Even better, the poor man will see that all the athleticism he can hold onto doesn't mean shit".
Roland: "Ok, then I'd better see that you beat him when I read the highlights. It's the anniversary show remember, so more eyeballs than usual. You're on the broadcast too unlike your friend Crowley, so do yourself a favour and don't look like an amateur again. You can talk a real big game, and I like that. The confidence is good, it's part of why I chose you. But I like it a hell of a lot less if I see that win column sitting empty. That not only makes you look like an idiot...or a 'schmuck' in your words, it makes me look bad for even suggesting that your name could be something. The longer it takes you to dispatch with the dweebs at the bottom of the barrel, the longer it'll take for you to face Watson and Reynolds again. To get that revenge. So sort yourself out, and get me my results. We'll talk later".
The phone beeps as the call ends, cutting off Shelldrake from making some witty retort to have the last word. Shelldrake letting out a long sigh before taking a drag from his cigarette, sliding the phone into his pocket. The scene ending as he finally kicks off from the wall and walks towards his car.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "What a dickhead......"
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Unaired Footage
July 27th, 2021
Queenstown, New Zealand
The scene transitions to the evening hours of Queenstown, New Zealand. The dimming sun makes the sky look a little overcast in the final moments of the soft sunset. The street lamps fire up and start beaming down onto the streets. The garish neon lights of the run down independent gas station flicker in a state of middling neglect and disrepair as the camera pans down to see the tall figure leaning against the wall. A small wisp of smoke trails from the cigarette perched between his fingers, his other hand is held up to his ear for a phone call. His hand is obstructing the name of whoever is on the other side, but in this footage their voice can be heard. A stern and repulsively corporate-sounding voice with a mix of parroting whatever he might be told to say, along with his own tones of disappointment.
?: "That's not the starting result we like to see, Shelldrake...."
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "It was a rumble match, if you wanted to have your cake and eat it on day one then there's more than enough wannabe muscled-up adonis schmucks out there for you. Maybe you can chase their ambulance after they try to get spicy with jumping from a turnbuckle in front of a dozen people, give them a good deal with their broken ankles".
?: "I always wonder how you can be so blasé after a loss, especially one like that. And on your debut match no less. Might have been doable when the only people seeing you lose were a dozen people in a run-down gym against Johnny No Name.....Need I remind you that you were not our first choice of a client. There are several out there who would do some terrible things in the ring to have your spot right now. Many people that I have on the books. Waiting by the phone for a call from someone like me. So no, it was not just a rumble match. Like it or not, you are on the back foot of momentum regardless if you have the talent to deserve being there. It was a debut that would inspire indifference. Neither a destroying train wreck, but hardly something of note. What you need to understand is that you're in the big leagues now, Shell. No more rolling in to wherever will book you and circlejerk around with some local rookie for six minutes. Indifference isn't expected anymore. Indifference isn't good enough. One of those....'muscled-up adonis' types might have lost, but they would have left a visual impression. Something striking and awe-inspiring".
Swindle audibly sighs down the phone with a roll of his eyes before taking another inhale from his cigarette, tapping away the ash and watching it blow away with the light breeze as the other person keeps talking. Shelldrake taking a moment to watch a car pull away from the gas station instead of listening.
?: "I took a risk in choosing you, Shell. And as of right now, I don't have anything to show for it. All I can say was that you eliminated a walking joke of a rapper who nobody takes as a serious, genuine threat. All posing that John Blade is something is purely sarcastic, that's how far his joke of a career goes. Every potential target that would have placed you in the minds of both those watching lasted longer than you. They simply did better. I don't have the proof I need to say you were the correct investment of our time. So, for my benefit I'd appreciate it if you didn't mess around this time, otherwise my integrity will be pulled into question. A roster spot in the high clouds of Project: Honor isn't a right, it's a privilege. All it might have taken was a different mood on the day, and I could have instead shipped you off to Action Wrestling while....what was his name?....Cage? Tyson Cage? He might be standing where you are now, hahahaha".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Now that's getting a little absurd, even for someone as dramatic as you to suggest someone trigger happy on his twitter is better than me. I steered clear of that place even as a freelance".
?: "Absurdity or not, the point stands. Even against those you or I see as jokes, we are never truly in the objective mind. We see future stars where they're not; our gaze passes over the unassuming face that one day comes to rule the world. Until I see that star you are simply the guy that happens to be getting the trial run so far. So, I ask again. Don't mess this up again. Just as you said for the rumble, mightier men have fallen to less".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Yeah yeah yeah, definitely for you, 'boss'.....Look, I never claimed I'd be winning world championships right out of the gate. You gave me the chance because I am something different. What's the bet that everyone else with your job goes out there and looks only for some meathead who looks good, can't wrestle to save his life and strap a mouthpiece to? They look for one trait that is of godly proportions, and the rest be damned. You could have left me to roll around the independents for the rest of my career if you wanted that one trait. But you didn't.....A battle royal is one thing, where everyone else lost out just as much as I did. More to lose than what was expected of me. If I get pinned or tapped out, then I'll entertain your grievances, but until then, it's my way. Again, you didn't sign up for a dummy to follow your beck and call when you gave me the nod".
"My place here will be earned, even if I think I already belong here. A single elimination it might have been, but that is more than some and more than enough of a foothold to get my fingers into Project: Honor. My your own logic you should be calling for someone like Ace Sky to be booted off and handed his pink slip instead of me. A real wrestling schmuck".
?: "It's a little insulting that a wrestler with my backing would have their singles debut against such a little insect of a man. But then again, it falls to you all the same. A better debut would have netted you a stronger opponent".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Look. This is a mismatch plain and simple. You know it, and I know it. But, it's not without opportunity. The rumble was against everyone's odds to begin with. But here, it'll all be in my favour...."
?:"You said that about the Rumble and now look where you are".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Fuck sake.....As I was saying, this is where his weakness gets exposed. The man speaks like he's trying to justify his own lifestyle to a a wife and kids that are all sick of his early mid-life crisis of free and floaty burning man vibes. Two decades ago he would have been a prospect to hone and nurture into something great. Someone your boys might have even endorsed into the big leagues. But the man is thirty-eight and talks like a broken Speak & Spell. Should be wising up with all his spiritual wisdom and not killing himself with shooting star presses for all the four minutes he'll last in a match. I was built to deny the single-minded machines of this industry, Roland. All focused on their pretty little style and niche, trying to fine tune themselves to fitting a square peg into a round hole. This guy is so far up his own arse about his high-flying and his shamanism and his zen that he can really see the moon and the stars up there. Anyone who wrestles like him is either too stupid to see sense, or has never wrestled and actual opponent in the ring. Someone that actually moves and says 'no, what you're going is stupid. I'm going to move out of the way'. What the hell does residing in the 'Interdimensional Universes within our Galaxies' actually mean? What is it supposed to mean?"
Roland: "I wouldn't have the foggiest idea, Shell...."
Roland is audibly already checked out of the conversation.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "The in-ring side isn't a problem, but this space shaman schmuck shit is something else. He's as high as a kite both physically and figuratively. It's a shame that he's only just discovered what weed is. I feel for him, I really do, but he's lost out on all that time to actually live a life and achieve something in pro wrestling. I can only hope that he's cognisant enough to see how little me beating him will do to either of us. He's a tiny little step on the staircase. Hardly even that to be honest. I'll get to play with my food and give him the message that he doesn't belong in Project: Honor. Not like he has the career longevity left to improve either. Can't teach an old dog new tricks. He clearly hasn't been in Project: Honor long enough to really get the message that he's been washed for longer than he cares to admit. He's someone that crumbles a little if the road isn't smooth sailing right? Even better, the poor man will see that all the athleticism he can hold onto doesn't mean shit".
Roland: "Ok, then I'd better see that you beat him when I read the highlights. It's the anniversary show remember, so more eyeballs than usual. You're on the broadcast too unlike your friend Crowley, so do yourself a favour and don't look like an amateur again. You can talk a real big game, and I like that. The confidence is good, it's part of why I chose you. But I like it a hell of a lot less if I see that win column sitting empty. That not only makes you look like an idiot...or a 'schmuck' in your words, it makes me look bad for even suggesting that your name could be something. The longer it takes you to dispatch with the dweebs at the bottom of the barrel, the longer it'll take for you to face Watson and Reynolds again. To get that revenge. So sort yourself out, and get me my results. We'll talk later".
The phone beeps as the call ends, cutting off Shelldrake from making some witty retort to have the last word. Shelldrake letting out a long sigh before taking a drag from his cigarette, sliding the phone into his pocket. The scene ending as he finally kicks off from the wall and walks towards his car.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "What a dickhead......"
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