Post by Teo Blaze on Nov 19, 2023 14:13:20 GMT -5
November 2022 Monday Night Clash
“Quiet, you passed out from the adrenaline rush. That was a hell of a match.”
Teo looks around, the fluorescent hum of the white light obscuring his vision, blurry, barely able to make out the silhouetted doctor’s face.
“Did I win?”
“That’s not- hey!”
Teo leans up in the bed, but quickly is overcome with a rush of dizziness and practically has to catch himself from falling out.
“You can’t sit up that quickly. Look, you just took a hard loss, but don’t worry about it. You went farther than anyone expected someone from Cruiserclash to get. Isn’t that something to be proud of?”
Teo tries to speak, tries to respond, but as his heart rate spikes, his vision blurs again.
“That’s right, Mr. Blaze, be proud of what you’ve done here tonight. Nobody believed you could beat Downfall anyway...”
=================
“What do you believe in?”
The voice that comes through is thoughtful, pensive, but far from calm. The words hang in the air, the question lingering for a moment in time before the voice continues.
“It’s not a difficult question, Downfall, or at least, you would think. After all, belief is something intrinsic, inherent even. We all have it in ourselves.
So what. Do you. Believe in?”
Teo knows that no answer will come in the darkness, but it’s a thought he’s turned over in his mind for nearly a year.
“You may have thought I’d forgotten, not that I give a damn what you think. Forgotten that almost exactly one year ago, we were face to face in the ring, and you eliminated me from Turmoil.
Now, I want to say that I’m not one to hold a grudge, but I think Corey Black can tell you different.
So yeah. The moment that I saw your name come up in this bracket, I knew. I knew in my heart of hearts that I was going to get my hands on you again, to take every bit of your rambling, incoherent philosophizing and stuff it back down your throat!
Screw friendly competition, I’m making this fucking personal! We have unsettled business and I’m going to wring every bit of joy I can out of it, do you understand that?! I let you get into my head last year and I’ve been watching, waiting for another chance to exorcize that mistake! To avenge that failure! You do not get to step on me again!”
Teo’s nostrils are flaring, the usual calmness that tinges his demeanor giving way to a torrent of emotion, as though the words had been bursting to get out him. With some noticeable effort, however, he collects himself, containing it at least for the moment.
“It had to be you, Downfall. Do you understand that? Even if I went all the way to the end of Turmoil, broke my back and put down everyone who stood against me, it wouldn’t mean a god damned thing if I didn’t right that wrong!
You are a parasite, Downfall! A greedy, consuming, emotionless thing that inevitably destroys every good thing he comes into contact with and I need- no, I will be the one that puts you down! Everything you’ve touched, every friendship, every ally, every accomplishment has fallen away, leaving you to move onto the next meal, the next thing that you can wring a little bit of meaning out of. You’re a destroyer!
And I see that now.
But God damn it all! It would be so easy to stand here and call you out for every failing, every knife you’ve stabbed in the back, to speak about the disgraceful way you strangled the life out of a division you were supposed to represent, how you lied through your teeth about being the standard bearer of a championship that you killed.
But you’ve shown time and time again that you don’t care. Friends? Championships? Fans? They’re all things that you can use up and throw away when they no longer interest you. Your grand design, your journey has led you here, a trail of destruction in your wake.
And what are we left with? Who stands before me one year later, blocking my path to the top of the mountain? Who is the unlucky son of a bitch who has no idea that I’ve been counting the days, the hours, the minutes until I get another shot at his throat!?
You, Downfall.
It had to be you.”
A smile cracks its way across Teo’s face, brushing the hair free from his forehead, he inhales deeply, struggling more than usual to keep himself calm.
“Since the day I walked in this door, I have had to hear from pieces of shit like you how I was wasting my potential. That I am bigger than my brand, a big fish in a small pond. ‘Low standards’ I believe you called it last year.
No matter how many championships I win, no matter how many times I shock the world, no matter how many records I shatter, people just want to throw it back in my face.
Because it’s a comfort to them. They need me to be lesser. They need me to be that guy who wastes his potential. They need to believe that if they really wanted to, they could have done everything I have.
‘He may be the most decorated champion in company history, and hold more records than anyone on the roster, and hell, he may even be the greatest name in the history of Cruiserclash, but it’s just Cruiserclash, isn’t it?’
Just Cruiserclash. The B-show. The losers. The washouts. That is how you think of that brand. That is what you need that brand to be. An underclass to the greatness that is Clash. A way to deny everything that we’ve accomplished. And you, Downfall- you are a champion of that narrative. You, and every other name on that Clash roster.”
Teo spits on the ground, the words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“And you just don’t get it. You do not understand true loyalty, truly believing in something. Seeing the value in something other than your own fleeting desires. What it means to stand by someone or something that needs truly needs you through anything!
That is why you keep ending up alone, Downfall. Why every friendship you’ve ever had inevitably ends in tragedy or disconnection. Why you never found true happiness in that Hardcore title you claimed to care so much about.
I say it again, a fucking parasite!”
The word echoes in the darkness as Teo’s breath leaves him, his expression wild, his mind racing, his heart pounding in his chest.
“So what have you done in your big pond, Downfall? You were so damned high and mighty, so proud of yourself. You’ve touted and whipped out your accomplishments in every single promo, pushed this narrative of unstoppability, of being the endboss of Action Wrestling. But what has it gotten you? You’ve glimpsed the top of the mountain, carved out a legacy that anyone would be proud of, and what do you have to show for it?
That question, I have thought about it every single day since our last meeting! I’ve thought about it since the day we met in that diner!
What is it that Downfall believes in!?
And you know what!?”
With a deep exhale, Teo collects himself.
“I think I have it figured out.”
=================
The scene has changed, allowing a momentary reprieve from the darkness. Teo now stands in front of a large Turmoil 2022 poster, giving a thumbs up and signature smile with the Cruiserweight Chamiponship over his shoulder.
“Hey, thanks for doing this short notice, champ.” The photographer quips, holding up a comically large lensed camera.
“My pleasure. And after all, someone has to represent the purple brand!”
“Yeah sure, hey, would you mind signing a few autographs? I know you have to get back to training, but-”
“No no, it’s my pleasure. These fans are the reason we keep the lights on, after all.”
“Ha! I knew I could count on you, Teo. I’m glad you don’t take yourself as seriously as the rest of these Clash guys.”
“Yeah I- wait, what?”
“Come on! They’re waiting for you!”
“Right, but what did you-”
Teo’s voice is cut off by a throng of shouting fans, all wearing 2Gents T-shirts and holding out autograph books. He lets the thought slip from his mind…for now.
=================
“Hunger.”
The flashback abruptly ends, finding the viewer back in the darkness with Teo, the cheering of the fans giving way to a crushing silence.
“That’s what Downfall believes in. I see it written plainly on your expression, in your words, and every time you pick up a microphone. The ideal to which you subscribe, the god to which you bow is that fundamental aspect of being- hunger.
It is the basic aspect of survival. Every creature, from the smallest insect to the greatest apex predator is driven by it, pushed to their limits by it. It eats away at us, gnaws at us, our desire to consume, to make ourselves whole.
Many are blessed to have never felt true hunger. To have been sated either by virtue of the circumstances of their birth or through the sweat of their brow. They have never felt the crushing emptiness that it produces.
But that’s hardly all it is, right Downfall?
As fundamental of a force as it is, if used just right, if weaponized, then hunger can become something more. It can override our instincts, our morals, our beliefs. A good man who gives into hunger quickly becomes a glutton, who will gladly sacrifice anyone around him in the name of satisfying the endless need to be full. To be satisfied, and in turn to be whole.
It defines us as a species, as humans, but it also defines us in this sport.
And you have let it define you, Downfall.
Not a hunger for food, of course, but a hunger for validation. For purpose. For glory. For companionship. The precise motives shift and change, but the hunger is a constant force. You let it define every aspect of your being, and you use it to motivate you.
Downfall cannot exist without a goal to chase, without a mountain to climb, without prey to hunt. He always has to be looking for something greater, something to prove to himself.
It’s a powerful force, and many people have stumbled trying to prove they’re hungrier than Downfall. But that tactic is misinformed- Downfall has weaponized his hunger year after year, crafted himself and destroyed those around him to make more.
When Downfall claimed that he would be retiring the Hardcore championship, people were shocked- why would someone at the top of his game, dominating a division, able to stamp his name in history and redefine a title that has meant so much to this company’s history kill the very thing that he had sworn to represent?
It didn’t take long to figure it out.
His hunger means more to him than any championship, any tournament, any friendship- because he has relied on it so long that he’s forgotten how to live without it. That championship, that comfortable coasting…it flew in the face of everything he told himself he was. He’d gotten the very thing that so many of us wanted and it was driving him mad.”
Teo inhales deeply, really turning the idea over in his head, considering the idea carefully.
“And you know what? That’s just really kind of fuckin’ depressing when you get right down to it!”
Teo lets out a wicked bout of cackling laughter, a vicious sound which turns over itself in the darkness, doubling over and over as he lets it echo, inhaling deeply before he quickly regains composure.
“You sad, pathetic, bastard of a human being! You fucking. Moron! Downfall, you’ve sold your fucking soul and don’t even realize it! You’ve dedicated your life, your being, to a never ending chase for something that even if you catch it, won’t bring you an ounce of joy!
All your accomplishments, all of your accolades, every thing you’ve done, and when you look in the mirror, all you can see, all that rings in your ears is the hollow realization that it has not brought you an ounce of joy.
And Downfall, listen to what I’m about to say very carefully, because it’s the only bit of kindness that I am going to show you.
Downfall is the fucking problem with Downfall.
Every fan, every roster member, every name on that roster would kill to have a fraction of your luck. You’ve won the proverbial lottery and you’ve done things that nobody else can lay claim to!
And not a single iota of it has brought you any joy. Even as you brag about your accomplishments, it’s in service of that chase, of that hunt. You’ve laid yourself at the altar of natural selection, woven a narrative for yourself that you have to always be improving, always being better.
And all you have to show for it at the end of the day is being a miserable prick who everyone he’s ever met regrets having spent five minutes with.
And you have the arrogance, the condescension, the fucking balls to try and talk down to me? To look me in the eye and say that you have it all figured out?
You look down on Cruiserclash, on my home! On my people, and tell us that we are beneath you!? That we are a small pond!?
You would dash the hopes and dreams of everyone who has stayed loyal to Cruiserclash, who actually has something that they can fucking believe in! All in the name of your precious narrative! All to put yourself on that pedestal just a little bit longer!?
And you know what? Methinks that you protest a bit too much.
Do I perhaps sense a bit of envy?
Do you know in your heart of hearts that even as your forked tongue belittles our home, that even as you dismiss anyone who doesn’t dedicate themselves to a life of self-imposed aggression, that maybe you feel something missing from that hollow shell you call a life?!”
Teo’s voice is a roar now, the viciousness of his words accompanied by an emotional torrent of anger.
“And yet people fall for it again and again! They see you as some kind of unstoppable force, a deity that looks down on those around him and simply turns away all challengers effortlessly! You tear down those around you, you wring all meaning out of everything you touch because you feel this need to validate the fact that you will never! Be! Happy!
And you want to do it to Turmoil?! To the World Championship?! What do you want, Downfall!? What! Do! You! Believe! In!?”
Teo pauses, his breathing heavy, the adrenaline flowing through his veins like a torrent, practically shaking where he stands!
“This is not just about beating you Downfall, on righting a wrong like Corey Black, on carrying the hopes of my home on my back! This is about making you realize that you do not get to keep tearing down everything you touch!
You pride yourself on being hungry. On being unsatisfied. On never being able to find an ounce of joy in life! I will prove to you just how misguided you have become!
You are a fucking cancer, Downfall, a thing that consumes from the host while providing nothing! A blight that genuinely cares for nothing, for nobody except itself! Who will gladly destroy its own home because it believes that it is stronger for it!
Your madness ends with me! You are hopelessness, but Teo Blaze is hope! You think that you’re better because you throw off personal connections? That you’re stronger alone?!
Bullshit! You’re a fucking coward! It takes nothing to believe in nothing! It takes nothing to serve yourself! It takes nothing to make yourself endlessly hungry by throwing off anything that could give your life a little bit of value!
But to believe in something bigger than yourself!? To stake your hopes and dreams on a friendship, on a show, on a division? To put yourself at risk and open yourself to heartbreak? To trust? To actually be willing to give a part of yourself away that you might not get back!?
That is true courage. That is true strength. And That is what I believe in.”
Teo inhales deeply, letting the adrenaline pass, letting his breathing return to normal.
“The Turmoil final is on the line. A chance that so many have told me I would never have. That you have told me I don’t deserve.
And you know what? Maybe you’re right. On my own, I shouldn't be here.
But I’m not alone.
I carry with me every single voice in that arena. Every man, woman, and child who dares to hope beyond hope. Who would stake a bit of themselves believing that I can do the impossible!
And I will have them with me with every cheer! Every chant! Every sparkle in the eye of a fan who wants more than anything for there to be something more.
You will have nothing but your hunger.
Nothing but that desire to consume something new.
But hunger cannot swallow hope.
Hunger can change a man, Downfall.
But hope can change the world.
And the world is ready for change. They believe. They want Teo Blaze to go into Turmoil and to finally put an end to anyone who believes that Cruiserclash is a small pond.
And I will be damned if I let you take that away from them, you sad son of a bitch.”
And with those words, Teo falls silent, but in the darkness, a sound echoes from somewhere-the roar of a crowd of millions, the voice of hope.