Post by Frank Venable on Jan 26, 2020 22:05:00 GMT -5
FPV RP #15 - Ready to Die
I awoke in a hotel room somewhere in Ohio. The first rays of the morning were beginning to splash over Ramon and I's faces as we laid next to each other.
Some hours ago, I was taking part in a contract signing for what was supposed to be a one on one match with Odin Balfore for the AW World Title. Instead, the inhuman beast himself Walter got involved, with his handler Nikki Venus goading Camilla Gonzalez into inserting Walter into our match, a tactic that proved successful. Though I escaped mostly unscathed, AW commentator Billy wasn't so lucky, and was almost choked to death on live television. This match at Revolution 3 had suddenly become much more personal, and I was going to need to be on my A game against these two giants.
I was the first one to get up out of bed. My arm, which had been draped over Ramon most of the night, came off of him as I stood up and walked to the window. It was going to be a bright day today, the first of a very busy week for me. Two world title matches on the same day, combined with extensive promo work for both matches, meant that this was almost certainly going to be all the time would get to spend with the PepsiCo CEO. I figured it would be for the best, having a relationship like this with another man was both unexpected and uncharted waters for me, and I was content to take this as slow as possible to make sure it felt like the right thing to do.
The next few moments were spent getting dressed in the business attire I had been expected to wear as the owner of TPG, an attire that had fallen by the wayside slightly since my climb to the main event picture in AW (a climb that coincided with the blossoming of my relationship with Ramon.) As I finished getting dressed, the accented voice of the man I had spent the night with began to stir.
I awoke in a hotel room somewhere in Ohio. The first rays of the morning were beginning to splash over Ramon and I's faces as we laid next to each other.
Some hours ago, I was taking part in a contract signing for what was supposed to be a one on one match with Odin Balfore for the AW World Title. Instead, the inhuman beast himself Walter got involved, with his handler Nikki Venus goading Camilla Gonzalez into inserting Walter into our match, a tactic that proved successful. Though I escaped mostly unscathed, AW commentator Billy wasn't so lucky, and was almost choked to death on live television. This match at Revolution 3 had suddenly become much more personal, and I was going to need to be on my A game against these two giants.
I was the first one to get up out of bed. My arm, which had been draped over Ramon most of the night, came off of him as I stood up and walked to the window. It was going to be a bright day today, the first of a very busy week for me. Two world title matches on the same day, combined with extensive promo work for both matches, meant that this was almost certainly going to be all the time would get to spend with the PepsiCo CEO. I figured it would be for the best, having a relationship like this with another man was both unexpected and uncharted waters for me, and I was content to take this as slow as possible to make sure it felt like the right thing to do.
The next few moments were spent getting dressed in the business attire I had been expected to wear as the owner of TPG, an attire that had fallen by the wayside slightly since my climb to the main event picture in AW (a climb that coincided with the blossoming of my relationship with Ramon.) As I finished getting dressed, the accented voice of the man I had spent the night with began to stir.
Ramon: You're leaving?
FPV: Yes. Business to attend to. Might not see me for a week, I'm afraid.
Ramon responded with a chuckle as he slowly began to rise.
Ramon: I understand. You are a busy man, as well as a mad man. It'll be even sweeter the next time we meet.
I smiled at Ramon as I finished gathering my bags.
FPV: It will be, Ramon. I'll have my phone on me if anything comes up, but for the most part I'll be away. The next time you'll see me, I should have two belts thrown over my shoulders like the champion I am.
Ramon: Indeed...my champion...
I laughed once more, blew Ramon a small kiss as he went back to sleep, and exited the room to check out.
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Washington D.C. Capitol of the country, and about as American as a city can be. Nothing screamed 'Merica like a good ole' BBQ, so my first order of business once I was in the city was to take a colleague and friend to the best BBQ place I could find in D.C.
The plate of food in front of Billy was about as large as you'd expect from a guy like him. Ribs, chicken, sausages, the whole nine yards. Any other day the rotund AW Commentator would probably eat all this food with not a care in the world and a smile on his face. But today was different. Billy ate his food slowly, and every now and then put his hand over his throat, as if he was in pain. It concerned me a bit as I sat across from him, eating my own, much more modest plate of food.
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Washington D.C. Capitol of the country, and about as American as a city can be. Nothing screamed 'Merica like a good ole' BBQ, so my first order of business once I was in the city was to take a colleague and friend to the best BBQ place I could find in D.C.
The plate of food in front of Billy was about as large as you'd expect from a guy like him. Ribs, chicken, sausages, the whole nine yards. Any other day the rotund AW Commentator would probably eat all this food with not a care in the world and a smile on his face. But today was different. Billy ate his food slowly, and every now and then put his hand over his throat, as if he was in pain. It concerned me a bit as I sat across from him, eating my own, much more modest plate of food.
FPV: Everything okay there?
Billy: I'm fine, just...shitfire, I'm still feeling that son of a whore's choke a day later.
FPV: Take your time, hopefully after a while the pain'll fade.
Billy: I sure has hell hope so, I got a pay-per-view to call on Sunday.
FPV: I know, and the last thing AW needs is one of their only two commentators getting his trachea destroyed by a cowardly animal like Walter.
Billy: Amen.
He went back to his food, and this time he seemed to enjoy it a bit more, every bite a bit more vivacious than the last. It was at once an intense sight yet also a welcome one, as I started eating my own food once again.
FPV: Y'know...Billy, I'mma make you a guarantee right here.
Billy: *midchew* Hmm?
FPV: When that match is going on, and Walter, Odin and I are in that ring, fighting for that World Title, I'mma make damn sure that Walter doesn't come even a FOOT near you. He or Nikki Venus gets to you, I'mma make a bee line right for you and take whatever punishment he means for you and then some. I don't care if it kills me, I'd rather that oaf take out an actual member of the roster than a commentator trying to do his job. That's my promise to you.
Billy eyed me for a moment, then laughed after swallowing his food. It was the kind of hearty laugh you hear from big men like him, and it helped ease my worries that the attack had damaged him mentally. I knew firsthand how destructive Walter could be, and was glad to see Billy relax a bit.
Billy: Well shitfire, that's a guarantee I can get behind. Thank ya, Frank. I know I'm supposed to be impartial in these things, but just know I'll be rootin' for you behind that desk on Sunday.
FPV: That's all I ask for, Billy.
He nodded, took another rib, and ate.
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Some time later, I found myself sitting on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, taking in the entirety of what D.C. had to offer. The cheap sunglasses I wore surprisingly did very well to maintain general anonymity at the memorial. Taking my phone out, I went to go live and deliver a promo for AW, but as I hit record, I realized the excellent shot I had accidentally composed of myself with the statue of Lincoln in the background, a symbol of righteousness from a bygone era. I couldn't help but smile.
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Some time later, I found myself sitting on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, taking in the entirety of what D.C. had to offer. The cheap sunglasses I wore surprisingly did very well to maintain general anonymity at the memorial. Taking my phone out, I went to go live and deliver a promo for AW, but as I hit record, I realized the excellent shot I had accidentally composed of myself with the statue of Lincoln in the background, a symbol of righteousness from a bygone era. I couldn't help but smile.
FPV: Damn. What a sight. I look at ole' Abe there and I think of many things. Equality, leadership, and of course...justice.
Walter, the time has finally come to bring you to justice once...and...for...all.
You spoke a big game after Turmoil, calling yourself the cancer of Action Wrestling. You made it sound like Action Wrestling was going to go through The Era of Walter, just as we had gone through The Era of Lockhart just months prior. And people believed you, people were scared out of their minds that you would reign over the federation with an iron fist. At least, that was the vibe at the Clash after Turmoil, Walter, Monster of the Year, Wrestler of the Year, Action Wrestling World Champion.
But you weren't going to have a long and fruitful reign as champion. You were never going to be a FDR or a Lincoln or even a JFK. You were Action Wrestling's answer to William Henry Harrison. Cut down a month into office with the Pneumonia. How anticlimactic.
You had an entire month to prepare for Odin, Walter. An. Entire. Month. Actually, you had even longer than a month, because we all knew Odin would be getting his shot when Clash made the jump to CBS. You had SO MUCH TIME to get ready for the All Father and I don't know what you did during that time but it's obvious you didn't do the necessary prep because Odin demolished you in almost no time at all. You didn't even look like a challenge to him, just a minor inconvenience at best. What a joke.
After that, not only did you have the gall to decree, nay, DEMAND that you be inserted into this World Title match via no merit of your own, but you even went as far as to choke out Billy, a simple commentator, in order to goad Camilla into giving you what you wanted. Not only are you a vile piece of filth, but you're also a coward, having to resort to such underhanded tactics to get into this match in the first place. I'm in this match because I EARNED MY SHOT in an actual match on Clash. I beat both Dandy Devito, the second longest reigning champ in history, and Addy A, the last Trinity Wrestling World Champion, to get here. You and your handler Nikki whined and cried foul about a loss that could only be described as legitimate and detrimental to your credibility.
You don't scare me at all Walter. You didn't scare me when you had everyone else terrified of your presence, and you DAMN well don't scare me after the events of the past month has shown how pathetic you really are. When most people prepared to face off against you, they thought to themselves "God what do I do, what do I do?" I was the one that finally knew what to do. I put you on blast for the whole world to see. #PutDownTheMongrel was the first thing in AW to put you on the defensive. That night I faced you, a chant was born. F. P. V. F! P! V! OVER. AND OVER AGAIN. The crowd was on my side that night and every night since then, and they're support gives me a strength that you could never understand and that an evil man like you will NEVER know.
I'm not like you Walter. I do my homework every. Single. Time. I was prepared to be the one to face Odin on CBS, and that type of preparation is going to come mighty handy now that I'm finally going to face him at Revolution. I can only pray that you've done the same and that you won't repeat the same mistakes as last time. Otherwise the Revolution 3 main event is going to be "The Odin and Frank Show with special Guest Walter." I'm ready for everything, if you thought I was an annoying cockroach that refused to die last time then you're going to hate me now. Every single bit of offense you throw my way, I'll be ready for it. It took you two chokeslams to down me last time, and if you even have a HOPE of getting me this time then you're going to have to be ready to spam that Culling like you're life depended on it. You want to choke me out? I'mma slither out like a snake and make you ever regret the first time you put your hands around someone's throat. Every time you put me down I'm just going to come back over and over again, stronger and stronger every time.
This Sunday is going to be the first time AW fans see you for the man that you truly are, a coward who has to belittle those smaller than him to get what he wants. Your aura of fear has been permanently and irrevocably broken, Walter. The fans no longer see you as a monster. They see you as the flawed man that you are. And you can make all the grandstanding you want about culling herds and evolution, but the fact is that you've always been just that, Walter. A flawed, flawed human being and nothing more.
This Sunday, I finish the job Odin started and finally put you down for good. Maybe then your victims will finally know a modicum of peace, you barbarian.
I'll see you on the 26th.
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In comparison to the Ohio hotel room, my hotel room in D.C. was a bit more...presidential, shall we say. Full room service already included, photos of important American landmarks scattered throughout the halls, incredible service all across the board, this hotel was a marked improvement over last week's. I was sitting at the end of my bed, a freshly poured glass of whiskey in my hand, when the phone rang. I picked it up and answered.
In comparison to the Ohio hotel room, my hotel room in D.C. was a bit more...presidential, shall we say. Full room service already included, photos of important American landmarks scattered throughout the halls, incredible service all across the board, this hotel was a marked improvement over last week's. I was sitting at the end of my bed, a freshly poured glass of whiskey in my hand, when the phone rang. I picked it up and answered.
FPV: Hello?
Receptionist: This is reception, your guest is on his way up now.
FPV: Excellent. Thank you.
Within minutes there was a knock at my door. I lept up to open it, revealing old friend and former WCF interviewer Hank Brown on the other end. The year after WCF's closing seemed to have been kind to him, he had grown a very fashionable beard, and he seemed to have lost some weight. In short, he looked much better than the last time I had seen him.
FPV: Hank! C'mon in, care for a drink?
Hank Brown: Thank you, and no thanks, I'm trying to get a bit cleaner, you know?
FPV: Of course, of course. There's a chair over there, have a seat.
He did just that, sitting down in the one chair in the room while I refilled my drink.
FPV: I was glad to hear you'd be visiting for Revolution, Hank. Coming to see how the professional wrestling landscape has been since your retirement?
Hank Brown: Yup. Retirement is great, I get to enjoy the product as nothing more than a fan and distinguished alumnus without having to worry about some crazy maniac trying to attack me at every turn. Thank god I'm not that poor Nate Burleson or Jenna Bauer, god forbid.
FPV: God forbid, indeed. I tried retirement for a little bit there, didn't take too well to it.
Hank Brown: I can see that, you madman. Who gave you the bright idea of doing two World Title matches in one night, cities apart?
All I could give him in response was a laugh.
FPV: What can I say, I'm drawn to championship gold, haha.
Hank Brown: Not only that, but you're trying to get the AW Title of the goddamn All Father. God, FPV vs. Odin Balfore, now THAT's a matchup that brings back memories.
FPV: Doesn't it? I still remember the first time I fought against him...
Hank Brown: Revenge 2012, in a WAR Placement match, that ended when you both pinned each other.
FPV: Ah, so you DO remember, hehe.
Hank Brown: How could I forget? You showed so much heart against Odin, a lot more than a lot of guys outside of your own tag team partner Corey ever showed.
FPV: I guess that's one thing that hasn't changed at all. If anything, I've got more heart these days than I ever have. These fans, man. They chant my name for five minutes without stopping. Just "FPV!" chants for days. I've even been told by production the chants mess up the timing of Clash sometimes. Can you imagine?!
Hank Brown: I mean, you were always over with the people, but having seen you the past few months...it's crazy.
FPV: It's because of those fans I have everything I do. They drive me to do better each and every time I'm out there in the ring. They give me power I never had in WCF, not even during my most popular runs. That's the strength that'll get me past Odin tonight and get that AW Title back on my shoulder. The power of the people.
I took a drink of my whiskey, Hank looking at me with a smile, a bit of reverence and (hopefully) respect. Throughout my run in WCF, I was one of the few to go out of my way to treat him with any sense of respect at all. Hopefully he knew that and would treat me with the same respect.
Hank Brown: Well I'll be one of the people cheering you on, Frank. You're one of the good ones. Always have been, and always will.
I smiled at my old friend, made all the more warmer by how well both of us were now doing in our lives post-WCF.
FPV: Thank you Hank.
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An empty arena. The ring already constructed for Revolution 3, the entire room was devoid of life except for two people. Me, and the single camera person recording the promo. A spotlight shun down on me as I looked up to the camera, focused wholly on the task at hand.
An empty arena. The ring already constructed for Revolution 3, the entire room was devoid of life except for two people. Me, and the single camera person recording the promo. A spotlight shun down on me as I looked up to the camera, focused wholly on the task at hand.
FPV: Action Wrestling. I want to make one thing clear to you, right here, right now. I am a man on a mission. That mission is a simple one. Become only the second man in company history to hold the Action Wrestling World Championship.
It's incredible, isn't it? All my career, Roy Speede was in my shadows trying to catch up to my accomplishments in WCF, and now here I am doing the exact same thing to him, trying to catch up with the precedent he's set. Nevertheless, that is the goal, the AW World Title.Yet there are two big obstacles I must overcome for this mission. Walter, who you all know my feelings on by now...and Odin Balfore.
Odin, this isn't the first time we've faced off. Far from it, in fact. When we squared off against each other in WCF, you were the experienced and dominating veteran and I was the plucky young kid looking to make something out of himself in this industry. And even though our match at Revenge ended inconclusively, it was pretty obvious to many that you were the victor. The next month at WAR, you took me on in the eponymous match, beat me within an inch of my life after I had already been in a World title match right before, nothing more than a toy to show off your power.
And yet, on both of those occasions, I was never truly beaten by you. I pinned you the exact same moment you pinned me, and you didn't eliminate me from WAR. Through all the punishment, all the pain, I pushed through just close enough to avoid defeat at your hands.
That was 2012 FPV. 2020 FPV won't have to work as hard to make sure Odin doesn't beat him.
Eight years can do a lot to a wrestler. They grow in prowess, in strength, in charisma. I've worked hard throughout these past 8 years, from being just a fan favorite and not much else to being in talks as one of the greatest to ever grace our sport. Not to say that you aren't as well, to do so would just be blindly incorrect. But eight years can do a lot to a wrestler. They can be the years you shine bright as the brightest star or lose the luster you worked so hard to create.
You definitely belong in the latter category, Odin.
You and I both arrived in AW at the same time in Havoc Rumble, and have been on somewhat similar career trajectories. My path to World title gold was something to behold, while yours...wasn't.
We both formed tag teams very soon after the Havoc Rumble. I joined your old foe Corey Black as the Man Made Gods, and at this point what more needs to be said about us? You joined up with Noble Savage to form the Savage Gods, and honestly the less said about you two the better. Corey and I became the hottest team in the division before singles dominance called both of us. You and Noble fizzled out like a defective roman candle, it was honestly a sad site.
You lost so much momentum coming out of the Savage Gods that you had to contend with facing people like Beau Blaze on pay-per-views, and you didn't get a shot at Gold until the Execution Chamber match. And I'll give you this Odin, you came SO. CLOSE. To getting the win that night. We could all see you have the win in the palm of your hands. It was THAT match that made the sentence "Odin Balfore, Action Wrestling World Champion" sound like it could become a possibility.
And then you let it all slip away with a trip to Dick...Kick...City.
Dandy holding you off just long enough to kick you in the balls to retain his belt is the biggest neutering of a legend I've ever seen in this business. You hit all that offense on Dandy that couldn't fully put him down, but a few low blows from a man who spent the entire chamber match getting beat up by other people, and suddenly you're done? What happened to the Odin Balfore of old who would take such desperation, laugh at it and show a poor soul Ragnarok? What happened to him?! My guess is he died along with WCF, never to fully return.
Wrestle Season comes and goes, I got added to the Turmoil tournament at the end of the year and showed everyone why I deserved to be a World Champion against KOS and Kidsgrove before taking the title itself in an amazing match with Lissie Hope. Meanwhile, you lurked in the shadows and played mind games because you knew you had a guaranteed shot in January. You knew you didn't have to exert yourself whatsoever whilst guys like me were going balls to the wall week after week in this tournament. I put on five star classics while you waited in the back to make your inevitable fake run-in. What kind of shit was that? The old Odin would've been right there in the thick of it with the rest of us, fighting through every round of the tournament with dominance.
I had to put in work for my World Title. You collected a paycheck for doing nothing then swooped in for the title on an exhausted and unprepared Walter. We are wrestlers that are on two completely different wavelengths in 2020. 2020 Odin is a shell of his former self. 2020 FPV is in the absolute fucking prime of his career.
I know how hard you hit Odin. I know how hard Walter hits, too. Any lesser man than I would look at the challenge in front of him and throw their hands in the air asking "what do I do?!" Not me. I know exactly what I need to do.
WIN.
Neither of you scare me in the slightest. I am a Man Without Fear. I walk into this Triple Threat Match knowing damn well I'm going to be taken to my limit. I will hurt all over, I will be sore in every joint, my head will feel split open, and I will be ready to die at any moment.
And it will all be worth it, because once it's all over, I know for a fact that for the second time, Frank Patrick Venable will be THE PEOPLE'S ACTION WRESTLING CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.
I'll see you on Sunday, Odin. I hope for the sake of your legacy you bring your best.