Post by Tatiana on Jan 30, 2022 5:49:04 GMT -5
We stand at the brink of Revolution.
We fight
We thrive
We fail
We survive
Maybe… But hoping he wasn’t crazy wouldn’t help me to retain the Television Title. To be real, this was the most literal David vs Goliath booking one could make in any federation. And my last match against a big man was the famous fight against Holden Ross, which led to a bad concussion and me being thrown into the third row of the crowd.
Something big men seem to enjoy doing to me lately.
“Odin Balfore…”
I broke the quiet silence as I stood out here in the cold night beneath the Washington Monument. It was an impressive obelisk sat at the foot of the more famous pool. This had been the setting for some of the country’s most famous moments, as well as some of it’s most favorite pop culture moments… Though mine was important to me, this wasn’t nearly as important as MLK’s speech given here during the most divisive period in the history of this country. Nor was it going to be remembered as fondly as the scene in Forrest Gump where he runs into the embrace of his long lost childhood love.
Nope… It was just me and a few members of the AW production team out here in the wind and snow to shoot a vignette for what was undoubtedly a huge moment in my career.
“You are all things big, bad, and dangerous. You lumber about like a lost giant speaking in veiled threats couched in sympathetic terms. You speak about breaking me in half, only to give apologies. You demean and degrade my efforts as useless, and then wish me the best for my future”
He was bi-polar at best
Crazy as a honey badger at worst.
“You try to assure all that you’re a monster, a devil who is capable of terrible things. But at the same time, a broken, torn man being pulled down a torrent against his will… So which one is it?”
My tone was stern and serious. Unlike my opponent, I was here to speak in frank terms. I wasn’t going to try to pretend to be something other than what I am. And I didn’t need veiled threats of death and destruction to intimidate my opponents. Surely he knew what I was capable of, and though he was many times my size and might… He was also a slow, and sometimes predictable giant with considerable flaws in his approach.
“Pft… It doesn’t even matter, does it?” Apparently not “Nobody can reach you these days in your paranoid dissociation. Maybe it’s all you have left to cling onto? Maybe this break with reality is a way for you to cope with the man you’ve become over the past several months? Or maybe it’s an intimidation tactic?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes
Even if it did have some effect, I wasn’t going to sell it as such.
Last thing I need is him thinking he’s in my head.
“Again… It doesn’t matter. You intimidate only to immediately vacillate between two sides of a single coin. Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde.”
Only a fool would think that Odin Balfore was a babbling demoniac, or some broken man falling down the rabbit hole of psychosis. And I didn’t believe it for a second. In fact, I personally felt that this whole thing was a fabrication of his… A tactic to make his opponents believe that he was more dangerous than he is.
There was something to be said about psychological warfare. If you can get in your opponent's head before a big match, then you’ve already done a third of the work before the bell ever rings. I know he’s dangerous, I know he’s powerful, and that he can beat anyone on this roster… Hell, I’ve been in the ring with him, and won my first championship away from him. But I also know his limitations, and how to beat a man of his size.
“So what is it, Odin? Are you going to break my body as some sacrifice to your so-called gods? Or are you going to be the great sportsman who will do it the right way? Do you require blood as a sacrifice to the voices in your head, or will your deviant distractions open the door for your downfall?”
He had not been a pillar of strength as of late. In fact his poor luck in the ring might be the cause for this mental break. But none of that was my concern, nor was it any of my business. The fact of the matter is that I have to do whatever was necessary to hold onto my championship in a match against somebody who was either very wry, or totally deluded.
The one advantage I had was that I didn’t need a pin or submission to retain the TV Title. The pressure was on him to come through and make his point. I had to play it smart and pick my spots. I had to wear him down, take those legs away from him and keep him frustrated with my speed and agility.
That was something I was very good at…
“Washington DC is the seat of liberty in the land of the free. Political exasperations aside… This is hallowed ground. And much like the USA… You can be assured of one thing”
Especially so close to the Lincoln Memorial
“United you stand… Divided you will fall”
It was poetic at best
Cliché at worst
