Post by Teo Blaze on Feb 11, 2024 12:55:17 GMT -5
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
The rhythmic pounding of blows striking the worn leather echoes in a dimly lit gymnasium, scoring the otherwise empty hall with a dull repetitive sound, intermingled with heavy breathing and gasps.
Teo stands before a well-marked punching bag, the thudding blows of left and rights from his taped fists blasting like cannon shots as he bobs, weaves, and throws hook after hook.
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
*BUUUUUZZZZZ*
Teo’s arms drop limply as the timer echoes through the gymnasium, the adrenaline all but spent as he staggers forward, propping himself up on the bag. With heavy breathing, his eyes wander down, at the pink coming through the white tape wrapped around his knuckles.
And he smiles.
“You know, they say it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
Teo’s eyes wander over to the visible impacts in the punching bag before taking a deep breath.
“And ever since I walked in the door, the one thing I’ve heard over and over again is how Teo Blaze is ‘just’ a Cruiserweight. How he could never break through the ceiling on the main roster, how I was hiding away on Cruiserclash.
And you know what I did? I just fought harder.
I pushed myself again and again to the heights of excellence, proving that it's not about the weight class, but about the determination and skill within.
And yet there has been one thing that has eluded me. For all of my records, for all the praise and respect that I have earned through blood, sweat, and tears, I have never tasted gold on Monday Night Clash.
I have come within inches of every single belt on the show, but every time it has been yanked away from me!
And I know in my heart of hearts that they did not all work harder than me, they did not push themselves harder than me! There is not a name on that roster who can claim that they have poured more of themselves into Action Wrestling than Teo Blaze!
And yet there it is. That little twist of fate that has haunted my career. That little bit of luck that never seems to come my way when it really matters. Every time that Teo Blaze comes within a split second of holding aloft the World Title- it slips away.
One second stands between me and history time and time again.
And that? That hardens a man.
No matter how badly I want to avoid it, no matter how hard I tell myself that I can find refuge in friendships, in the smiles of fans- I feel it.
And now? I have a chance at the World Championship, to dethrone a man who I have been chasing for months! A man who has denied me the very thing that I crave more than anything else! To stand atop the world- to shut the mouth of anyone who ever doubted that Teo Blaze, even for one second, could be the greatest in the world!"
Teo's voice carries a raw intensity, his eyes ablaze with a mixture of determination and frustration. The years of setbacks, near misses, and heartaches carried through in each word, his expression hardening even as the smile refuses to fade.
"But mark my words," he continues, his tone unwavering, "I refuse to let history repeat itself. This time will be different. This time, I will not be denied. I will seize that championship belt, not just for myself, but for every person who has ever doubted me. For every setback, every obstacle, every moment of doubt—I will overcome."
Teo turns, running a hand through his hair, sweeping the sweat-drenched strands from his eyes- though his signature red lenses are nowhere to be seen, his eyes practically burn with a fiery heat as he stares through the viewer.
“But to even have that chance, I have to go through not one, but two other hopeful contenders…
Well, hopeful may describe Tatiana, Hopeless is a better fit for Roman Gunn- the man who can barely string a sentence together without provoking a fit of mocking laughter from anyone within earshot. An empty-headed buffoon naturally gifted with enough physical prowess to overcome the fact that he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing in the ring.
Roman Gunn, the buffoon, the dunce, the moron that he is, came to the ring and stuck his nose in my business. With a microphone in his hand, he lobbed what could barely be called coherent insults my way
This is insanity, surely? A man like him, a perennial joke who has proven time and time again that the only opponents he is capable of beating are either washed out cans or rank amateurs walks to the ring and assumes that because he is physically bigger than Teo Blaze that he must have picked an easy mark.”
The grin has sharpened now, as it always does when Teo is considering a particularly vicious outcome-
“At least he’ll have a funny story for the obituary.”
Teo's words cut like a knife, his disdain for Roman Gunn palpable in every syllable. He paces the gym floor, his movements fluid yet charged with an electric intensity that crackles in the air.
“Roman, let me explain something to you- the only reason that you are not a stain on the ring mat, the only reason I haven’t taken the time to personally drive a blazing knee through that water balloon you alledgedly call a brain is because you do not matter. You are an annoyance, a nuisance, and you should consider yourself the luckiest idiot walking that you have never stood between me and that World Championship.
And you blew it. You have gone from an annoyance to a target. Something that cannot be ignored if I want that shot at Gerard Angelo.
So be it.
You think you can waltz into my world, Roman, and insult me without consequence? You think you can mock me, belittle me, and get away with it? Well, think again. Because I'm done playing nice!"
The intensity in Teo's voice is palpable, his anger simmering just beneath the surface as he clenches his fists, the muscles in his jaw working overtime.
"You want to talk about picking easy marks, Roman? Let's talk about you. Let's talk about how you've coasted through your career on sheer brute force, without an ounce of intelligence or strategy to back it up!"
Teo takes a step closer to the camera, his breath coming in short, sharp bursts as he leans in, his eyes burning with a fierce determination.
"You want to make a name for yourself, Roman? You want to prove that you're more than just a mindless brute?
Teo Blaze is not the name to try that shit out on.
Teo Blaze is the name that makes you wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat.
You have fucked up, Roman, and it is too late to take it back."
Teo pauses, as though the last words have stirred something within him, as his eyes give a pensive look about the room, he speaks.
“But Roman, the least I can say for you is I feel like you know why you’re here.
Tatiana on the other hand?
That’s almost a sadder story. What comes after happily ever after?
We all know that Tatiana climbed the mountain, dethroned Jill Park. It was a fairy tale ending…but then the story kept going. And it just. Couldn’t. Last.
Now losing a title match, gods know that I have felt that pain before, but that’s not it. Tatiana will never admit it- but winning that World Championship changed her. She had gotten so used to playing the underdog, to being the one that everyone counted out, she never learned how to fight on top.
Winning the World Championship was the greatest thing that ever happened to her until it wasn’t.
Because without the chase, what is Tatiana Jolee? Who is she if not the underdog?
And the doubts began to set in- the same self-sabotage, the same shaken confidence that had pushed her so much before- because she forgot why she was fighting in the first place. I listened to her speak before the Cell, when she was one of the favorites to win, and every word out of her mouth swapped between self-pity and unearned confidence. Platitudes about how she wanted to fight, to earn her legacy- but nothing more than empty phrases so stock that Tatiana Jolee could have just been replaced with the name ‘opponent’.
That’s a far fall from someone who claimed she would become the next big thing.
Tatiana- you are not here because you earned it. You didn’t even ask for it. You are here because management doesn’t have faith in me. You are here because Brady Bolt is hoping that you can still be the Tatiana Jolee who poured her everything into this championship.
And who knows, maybe you do have it in the tank to be that again one day.
But it won’t come from being handed contender matches. God knows I’ve learned that lesson the hard way again and again.
When I walked into that ring and laid my challenge down for Gerard Angelo, I made it clear that I will focus on nothing else, I will not sleep, I will not dream without seeing that Championship around my waist!
I feel a fire in my belly roaring like you can only imagine! I see it every time I close my eyes!”
Teo punctuates his statement with a scintillating smack into the leather, echoing like a gunshot.
“As smart as you claim to be, Tatiana, you’re too dense to see that you’ve allowed yourself to become comfortable. That winning that title made something click in your mind that your spot is safe, that your legacy is secure, and that as long as people like Brady Bolt are willing to hand you contender’s matches, that you are always one win away from that World Championship.
Well guess what?
"That's not how it works in my world," Teo continues, his voice rising with fervor. "In my world, you have to fight tooth and nail for every opportunity, every chance at glory. And if you're not willing to put in the work, if you're not willing to sacrifice everything for your dreams, then you don't deserve to hold that championship belt!
And you know it."
Teo's words hang in the air like a challenge, daring Tatiana to prove him wrong, but his motions, his gait, all show that he expects only silence.
“So this is what it takes. This is what stands between me and the match I have been denied for nearly five years.
An overconfident musclebound moron who thinks that he has found an easy mark, and a former champion going through the motions, softened by success and unable to put into words what she even wants anymore.”
Teo exhales, letting the smile finally falter only slightly.
“I see the top of the mountain. I ache to reach that summit. It is everything to me. Confidence? Comfort? That will never get you there.
But I am willing to do whatever it takes to make that climb, even if I have to cut the ropes of the strugglers who have stalled.”
With that, Teo turns, resetting the timer and beginning another round as the scene fades.