Post by Kyle Kemp on Mar 7, 2021 23:03:36 GMT -5
A constant buzz pulses through Kyle Kemp’s ears as he closes his eyes as he sits on the floor backstage after the grueling BattleBowl match. He is taking a few deep breaths as he replays the end in his mind. He had it. He fucking had it. Spencer was right there for the taking and one mistake ruined their entire plan.
Kemp can still see Spencer moving out of the way. He can see that slight side step and the flash of Dandy standing on that ring apron. He couldn’t stop himself. He wanted to but he just couldn’t. Physics didn’t allow it and he eliminated Dandy. It threw him off his game and unfortunately he knows what happens when you aren’t focused on Spencer Adams. He capitalizes on your mental weakness.
He opens his eyes and sees Chase Jackson standing over him. Chase tosses a water bottle into his waiting hands.
That was rough…
You’re telling me. I should have had it. I should have won it!
I truly thought you had it. I thought we would be celebrating right now.
But we aren’t. Instead…
Kemp waves his hands around him.
I’m out here on the damn floor and the rest of the guys are upset in the locker room.
Chase grinds his teeth and lets out a sigh.
You aren’t wrong.
Kemps eyes dart up to Chase, trying to get a read on him.
I take it there is some tension back there.
I’d be lying if I said no.
Shit.
Chase takes a seat next to Kemp who takes a drink of his water before continuing.
Has Dandy said anything yet?
Nope. He hasn’t said a word.
Well I don’t love that. How pissed at me is he?
I honestly don’t know. He has literally not said a word since he walked through the curtain.
My concern is that this one mistake is going to cause him to spiral. That he is going to get in his own head and think that this was me exerting my dominance over him.
Were you?
Hell no! I was trying to get it down to just me and him. I wanted us to be able to bring this win back to us. I wanted that last spot Chase. I needed it!
No you don’t.
Kemp shakes his head.
You and I both have been in the Havoc Rumble. We both know how huge it is to come in towards the end. This would’ve given me the best chance to win.
Yeah but you don’t need it. You can win it without going in last. You have us!
Kemp exhales a huge breath.
I do. I just hope I have all of you after what happened tonight. Do you know what the worst part is? I feel like I let Wesley down.
There’s no way he feels that way!
He might. I promised I was going to get to Ash Blake. I promised revenge. This was the best way to get there.
Both men sit in silence as an aide for Action Wrestling walks up.
Hey guys! I have the assignments for next week. Here is the packet for your match next week.
He hands a folder to Kemp who is standing up. Kemp flips through the packet and a smile crosses his face. Chase takes notice.
What is it?
We just got back in the game.
Chase leans over and looks over Kemps shoulder. He sees what Kemp sees and he smiles as well.
Well I’ll be damned. Looks like this is the easiest route.
All I have to do is beat Howard Black....
Chase and Kemp start walking down the hall, talking about how he is going to do just that.
Who’s really at a crossroads now Howard? Did you realize it’s you when Spencer tossed your ass over the top rope at BattleBowl? I know you are dense but you had to realize that the irony of your ranting about each person’s situation last week was just thrown back into your face. You brought up our situations from your ivory tower of judgement like you usually do and thought you could pass your opinions like they were something anyone cared about. What you fail to realize is that no one cares about what you have to say. Well no one but Lissie Hope.
The sheer infatuation you two have with each other is actually quite fitting. You are both two narcissistic people who have to have the center of the world revolves around them. You both play up the things that happen in your life like they don’t happen to anyone else. Deaths, divorce, struggles with your job. It’s all the end of the damn world to you but to the rest of us we call that life!
And your life is in shambles. We all know that because you tell us week after week. Just last week you had to make sure we knew you had a broken body, home and marriage. Talk about being over dramatic! Half the guys in the locker room are dealing with stuff similar to you but you don’t see it. You just keep letting us know that it’s YOU who is having the most problems.
Well this week you do have the most problems Howard. For the first time you are going to face me in a one on one match and I’m here to tell you that it’s going to be ugly. I have years of pent up annoyance and rage to take out on your self absorbed ass! That spot in the Elimination Chamber is mine!
While the others went back to the compound Kemp made a detour on the way back to his hometown of Chicago. It is the day after Battlefield and Kemp watches the cloud of his breath Way from his mouth. It is early in the morning and he is standing outside of an enormous apartment building. He looks up at it and the memories all come rushing back.
This was his home for the majority of his run with WCF except for the brief time he lived in Omaha. Here is where the memories are. The cameras follow him into the building. The looks from the front desk workers is priceless. They haven’t seen Kyle Kemp in over a year and many thought he would never come back. Some thought he had sold the condo that sits empty but that is far from the case. Kemp nods to the shocked workers and uses a fob to call for the elevator. He turns and smiles.
I bet you all are wondering what I’m doing here. I’m here to prove a point.
The elevator doors open and Kemp steps inside. He scans his fob once more and chooses the 38th floor.
What point is that? That point is that you cannot outrun your past. The point is that everything you have done makes you who you are today. That’s something I embrace. That is what makes me a better man than I once was. I’m open about my mistakes. I’m open about the past. I was a fuck up and I’ll admit that.
What drives me nuts is someone that won’t embrace their past.
Why won’t you embrace your past Howard?
Kemp smirks as the elevator doors open and he walks into his condo. He flips a couple light switches and walks right through the space, disregarding the covered furniture as he walks up to the door to a side room and turns around.
I truly do want to know Howard. Why are you so against your time in WCF? We have heard you talk, tweet and rant about how WCF means nothing to you. How your time there doesn’t matter but is that really the truth? Or do you not want to reminisce on your past failures?
I’ll never forget when I got to WCF. I was a giant douche who thought I would come in and run the place. I thought my athletic gifts were enough to carry me to victory. Hell I’ll be the first to admit that I thought it was going to be easy. When I realized it wasn’t I was shocked. The losses piled up early and I was forced to reevaluate my skills. I was forced to work.
There was more to being a success than claiming I was better than everyone else.
And while I figured that out I watched the rest of the card. I was forced to hear about this guy named Howard Black. The lost boy from Nebraska. I laughed when I first heard of you Howard. I expected some hick to walk out the curtain but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I saw a star in the making. I saw a guy that had the entire crowd behind him and I felt pangs of jealousy as I watched your matches. I wanted to be you. I wanted to be considered the prospect you were.
Instead I was a laughingstock. I was the kid that gambled his way out of baseball and caught shit because I was too cocky and getting beat at wrestling. I was well on my way to being a complete failure. Howard was on his way to being one of the all time greats. He was going to be World Champion.
Why wouldn’t you want to remember that Howard?
Is it because you never reached those heights? Is it because you went from blue chip prospect to a cautionary tale of what could’ve been?
Look at how far you fell Howard. You weren’t even invited to wrestle at The Final One. That means your impact in WCF was so minimal that you couldn’t even be filler at the retirement show. How sad is that? Maybe that’s why you want to block all of that out. I don’t feel the same way….
Kemp turns and opens the door. Inside the room are various trophies, championship belts and mementos from all of his athletic stops. He walks up to a baseball jersey on the wall and simply points at it.
Hell I even kept the jersey from my last minor league baseball game. Who does that? I do. I do that. Why? Because that being my last game changed my life forever. I’m not proud of why I stopped wearing that jersey but it’s me!
Kemp begins to walk around the room and point at various things.
That People’s Title was my first championship in wrestling! I kept it.
That Tag Team Title belt was my first one. To me it shows growth to where I was able to successfully be part of a team.
Over there is the Hardcore Title that I only held for a few days!
There’s a #BeachKrew t-shirt. How can I forget that? They may have been douchebags but they helped make me the wrestler I am today.
All of these things happened in WCF. I’m proud of my past. I can look at these things without regret. I can stand amongst these past mementos and not feel like a failure. Why can’t you do the same? Why can’t you accept your past?
You claim it’s because you want to be remembered for what you do in Action Wrestling which is funny. Because your Action Wrestling career is going exactly like your WCF career. A lot of hype. A lot of promise. A failure in the end. Some people may look at this chance to be in the Elimination Chamber as a way for you to earn your way to that World Title reign we have been promised for so long but the fact is that is not going to happen. I will not be your stepping stone.
In fact you are going to be mine! I have earned this chance. I’ve waited for this chance. My past has made me this wrestler that stands before you and I’m going to take this opportunity and run with it. I have too. I will be in the Elimination Chamber. I promise you! I have scratched and clawed to be here. Look around this room and you can see that. I am going to give it everything I have. The World Title sits on the shoulder of Ash Blake and that means I have too. I have to do this for Wesley. That moment is in my past and it has followed me for months. I won't be able to shake it until I make sure she gets what she deserves. You see Howard. You are standing in the way of something you cannot even understand and you never will.
That's what happens when you ignore the past.
That's what happens when you ignore the past.