Post by Stuart Slane on Jan 30, 2021 21:07:16 GMT -5
Who Bows to Who?
“How angry are you with me, Howard?”
“I’m talking about the stunt with the trophy. Involving Your People was an escalation, not on the level of turning one of them into a vegetable ala James Nightingale, but of course I’d never stoop so low and you’d never allow me to make it to Revolution alive if I had.”
“Still, it was provocative enough. We all saw all unhinged you became when Sam Kidsgrove played the part of gossipy fishwife and brought up the details of your troubled marriage. I shared that rage, as he did the same thing to me. So my invoking your wife on the premise of ‘helping", well that's clearly poking the bear."
“it's not the only reason you’re mad, though, correct? The real affront isn’t so much that I violated your privacy, it’s that I did it because I felt it was necessary to motivate you; that I thought you weren’t prepared for what’s waiting for you at Revolution.”
“Can you blame me? Ash Blake had you pegged: you fight best as an underdog. When you’re expected to win, when you feel like the odds are in your favor, you slip up. See your match against her and Wesley where you lost a chance to fight for the World Title. See your match against Odin Balfore where you lost the United States Title. Both of those outcomes seemed like forgone conclusions. Yet you failed.”
“Even the two times we faced, when you won, circumstances could be construed as being against you. You outlasted nine of the company’s best to become US Champion, with me as your final obstacle; and then defended the belt in a triple threat against myself and Sam, where we both made it clear you were our target.”
“But at Revolution, Howard, there’s no way anyone could look at the two of us and think you’re David and I’m Goliath.”
“You eliminated me at Clash 100. You hurt me so bad at Turmoil I passed out. Cormack MacNeil broke my face and nearly shattered my spine when we fought our Last Man Standing Match, and I still was able to get up from that and beat him. Against you, I got put to sleep like a child.”
“As if that wasn’t proof enough of your superiority there is the fact that I, Professional Wrestling’s Last Honest Man, admitted it before we fought at Turmoil. And despite your recent losses it’s still true. While similar in design, we are not the same. To paraphrase your own words, Howard: I’m the prototype, you’re the final factory model that goes on to dominate the market.”
“We’re both award worthy; it’s just that yours carried far more weight.”
“That’s why I made you a replacement trophy for the one that was ‘lost’. You deserve it, Howard, just as you deserve to have a fire lit under you. It was a deliberate attempt to insult you; to let you know, that I know, a complacent Howard Black is easy pickings, and that I will capitalize on it at Revolution if you let me.”
“Of course, complacency isn’t my only concern about you, Howard: I’m worried you might have gone soft between now and the last time we faced.”
“It’s time to talk about January 6th, Howard.”
“During your remarkable run in Action you cast yourself as the voice of the angry common man. The pissed off populist: Howie P. Short, Every Man a King.”
“Then Wednesday happened.”
“It affected you greatly, obviously. Understandably. The invasion of the Capitol Building by an irate portion of the electorate was a perfect symbol of the past four years politically. It was a culmination of what brought the previous administration impossibly to power in the first place, and despite the surprise those in authority should have seen it coming.”
“And you looked at those men and women you felt you represented as they stormed Congress, and conflated their righteous yet impotent rage with your own, and you felt ashamed.”
“You watched the havoc they wreaked with their communal tantrum and thought about the damage you yourself had caused to Your True People, correct? You thought about the wedge you helped facilitate between Elizabeth and Adelaide at Clash 100 when you pushed the former to eliminate the latter. You thought about the liberties you took in your match against Spencer in order to get your win back from him and to move on in the Wrestler of the Year tournament. And of course, you thought about your wife and son, and how your single minded pursuit of your legacy was hurting them both, and how much of a f-f-fuckup you were because damn it if you weren’t proving Kidsgrove right.”
“These realizations led to doubt, reflection, and to an epiphany about your time in Action.”
“It was not worth it.”
“And, to your credit, you tried to do the right thing. You tried to course correct. Real talk, Howard: your speech of contrition in regards to your selfish acts and misplaced sense of persecution was genuinely moving. Your vow to become a better United States Champion was inspiring, even to me. And I hate your guts.”
“But you know you saw nothing worthy in your Road to Damascus moment?”
“The Wrestling Gods.”
“They don’t care about contrition, Howard. They have no interest in personal growth, or social responsibility.”
“All that matters to the Wrestling Gods, Howard, is winning and losing.”
“Domination and victimization.”
“Blood. And. Teeth.”
“Action Wrestling’s lowercase wrestling god, Odin Balfore, understood that; it’s why he beat you. You let him know you were a victim when you announced to the world you didn’t have it in you to be angry anymore. I don’t know how mad Balfore was going into your title match, but he was certainly savvy enough to recognize the wind had left your sails, and he capitalized on it. Now, finally, after nearly a year of futility here in Action, he once again has reason for the bass in his voice.”
“Nice job, Howard.”
“Odin isn’t the only one, of course, who follows the scripture of the Wrestling Gods; who will do whatever it takes to win. Corey Black might very well be their high priest, the way he has comported himself the past twenty odd years. Ash Blake as well. She’s been telling us this since the start, though clearly her methods have become much more severe.”
“Most importantly, Howard, Circe understood, and got me to smarten up.”
“Circe Cicero, My Friend. The only one, yes, but it’s due to her there is one category in which I have you beat, because right now, Howard you have no one.”
“Crow is taking care of his wife and expectant child.”
“Kaz Mazy, a literal space cadet, is lost in the ether.”
“Spencer Adams still nurses a grudge.”
“Your family is estranged.”
“That ‘Lost Boy’ sobriquet has become almost too on the nose.”
“Still, I don’t feel sorry for you, Howard. You made your bed, now lie in it. Spend the last few months of your career in Action Wrestling the way I did my first: suffering; trying to undo the largest stain on my legacy while also protecting the legacy of the sport; trying to be the Boy Scout I never was when I wore that uniform. Or even better, do what Carter Shaw heavily hinted at, and hitch your wagon to Philidor. Give up your principles. Lose the Twitter red rose and accept an employer matched 401K. You selling out after you lose at Revolution would make me so very happy.”
“But I don’t want you broken yet, Howard. It means nothing if I beat a man who’s already resigned to his fate. You’re hurt, and reeling, I know; but you must rally before we face. You must BE PREPARED. That was the final, most important reason I did what I did with your wife. It was a means to make you understand that at Revolution all bets are off. The last time we fought, I tried to break your arm so you could not compete in the finals of Wrestler of the Year, and outshine me once again.”
“Now, Howard, the stakes are even higher. There may be no title, but I have said everything rides on this match for me. I cannot lose. I will not lose. I will do whatever it takes to finally beat you, and you need to understand that.”
“Because if you do not come at me with your best Sunday, they’ll be shipping you home in a box."
"Scout's Honor."