Post by tirri on Oct 21, 2022 13:29:08 GMT -5
“Whoa. Talk about being put on a spot. I feel like I’m on America’s Got Talent or something”
Donny Mason stands on stage at the Velvet Rabbit, dressed casually in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. With a mic on hand he looks down at the judges of WSOW’s fourth event, knowing full well that the joke he used mostly to calm his own nerves did not land at all. Taking a deep breath he continues.
“Who would I want to fight? Now, that question is easier than you’d think. And not the answer you’d think. I got two names in my mind. One out of curiosity and bragging rights, and the other for closure and payback. And neither is really likely to happen as things stand.”
The young Englishman surveys his surroundings and takes another deep breath. This was different to cutting a promo on camera or in the middle of the ring. He felt more… exposed.
“The first name… is Luther Thunder.”
He paused to wait for a reaction from the small crowd that had gathered, but there was little. He wasn’t surprised as said name only rings a bell for a particular subset of fans.
“For those who don’t know him, he is a multi-time world champion, a true veteran of this business. From promotions like Elite Wrestling Champions. Sex and Violence Wrestling. Southern Rebellion Wrestling. Chasing Glory Wrestling. Uprising and many others. And the reason why I specifically want to fight him is because… he was my fathers big rival. They existed in the same promotions for years. And Pops? Never could beat him. Their last encounter came just last year at Uprising’s Solstice. Luther Thunder was a measuring stick for Pops. And I would LOVE a chance to take a swing at ol’ Thunderthighs to see if I can do what Pops couldn’t. If I truly am better than he ever was. And to see first hand just HOW good Luther was. But alas, last I checked he is all but retired from the business and even if he was active, Time is one rival nobody can beat so even if I got him in the ring in the near future, it wouldn’t be the Luther Thunder of prime, but a shadow of his former glory. So all that remains is what ifs.”
As Donny finishes his prepared speech about Luther, something seems to change in him. His face tenses up, the look on his eyes darkens and his voice turns cold. A very uncharacteristic vibe from the normally cheery and upbeat young man.
“That leads me to the second person. A man who was once like a brother to me. A man I risked my life for. Robert McAlroy. Bert”
Donny grinds his teeth almost subconsciously. It’s clear even for the untrained eye that he is wrestling with some very intense emotions.
“I’m not sure how many here have been keeping up with Level Up Wrestling. But Bert and myself go back a while. When he and Nao, his wife, were stalked by a crazy clown, he sought refuge in Pops’ house. The house I was still living in at the time. We bonded. When Nao was kidnapped by some pretty dangerous people, and I mean “arm yourself with a 9mm minimum when dealing with them”-level of dangerous… I didn’t hesitate for a second when Bert asked me for help. He was the brother I never had. But then…”
A pause as Donny takes a deep breath and tries to force himself to relax… unsuccessfully.
“Then things changed. Bert changed. He fulfilled his dream. He won the LevelUp Final Boss championship. And he let Johnny Shi…Hitmaker get into his ear. And suddenly he felt he was above me. Above Pops. Above our mutual friends. He was basking in the glory of his success and when I tried to call him? All I got was his new secretary, courtesy of Shitmaker.”
The young Englishman takes a deep breath, his eyes wandering into the crowd to see the one person who kept him sane through his recent ordeal… his rock and his anchor Shay, who was seated not too far from the stage. She offered him a smile and he felt a bit more at ease, enough to continue.
“But something bothered Bert. See… the night he was crowned Final Boss… the world champion… He also lost. To me. And Pops. See, he and Nao held the LevelUp tag team championships. And on that night me and Pops beat them for them. And while I didn’t know it at the time… that loss ate away at Bert. Gnawed at him. See, he had rationalized that blemish in his record by saying me and Pops played dirty. In his eyes, we crossed a line when we went after Nao’s achilles heel. Yes. Me and Pops repeatedly went for Nao’s head with our respective finishers, The Boot and Dambuster Boot. But we broke no rules. And Bert did nothing to stop us. And the day after the show? We BOTH tried to make amends. Nao accepted. And seemingly so did Bert.”
Another pause and a deep breath. The tension in the usually so easy-going man was only growing.
“And I thought that was that. A few months later Bert broke his neck and we all thought his career was done and dusted. Until six months later when he showed up at a LevelUp PPV… working against me. See, I was facing Buster Gloves for the LevelUp Wisdom title in a lumberjack match. And there was Bert, on team Buster. I felt betrayed. And who wouldn’t be? This was the guy I was willing to die for. But guess what? That was just the beginning.”
Donny starts to pace back and forth as he is reaching the crescendo of his story.
“Bert made a miraculous return to LevelUp. Set his sights on the Final Boss title again. And started calling me out. I wanted to be the bigger man. I thought we had gotten past the match. I didn’t want to fight him because he was family. Despite working with my opponent. Despite verbally lashing at me regularly. I wanted to be the bigger man and not fight him. And then…”
A sigh, deeper than any of the previous ones as Donny looks into the distance, grimacing.
“Then he jumped me from behind, nearly caved in my skull with a steel chair and sent me home for two months with a concussion. And best of all? Before I was cleared to wrestle again… he lost his shot at the Final Boss title, took his ball and went home. So I was never able to get even. I was never able to get closure. He laid me out for two months and then fled like a coward.”
Donny stares down each of the judges with fire in his eyes.
“So if there is one person above all, even more than Luther, that I want to fight… it’s Robert McAlroy. More than almost anything currently in this business, I want his scrawny ass in that ring so I can mete out some well deserved justice. So I can put the cocky loudmouth in his place and give him a lesson his daddy never gave him. See, I’m a very chill guy. I’ve been raised to turn the other cheek, to live and let live, to be the bigger man. But Bert went too far. He took the goodwill Pops and I showed him and spat it back on our faces. I promised to help him save Nao no matter what… and he stabbed me in the back. That is unforgivable. If it had been any other person in this business, with the possible exceptions of Shay and Pops… I wouldn’t have cared. But Bert was more than just anybody.”
The big man finally seems to relax, taking a few moments to regain his composure before addressing each judge with a stare and a nod.
“You asked me a question. I hope my response was satisfactory. The prompt allowed for fictional and dead people. I coulda gone to any number of choices if I wanted to just give an entertaining answer and elicit a few laughs. But I wanted to be real. Wanted to get this stuff off my chest. Give you people some perspective. My name is Donny Mason… Thank you for your time”
Donny drops the mic and walks off the stage, nodding to Shay as he makes his way out the room and into the night.
Donny Mason stands on stage at the Velvet Rabbit, dressed casually in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. With a mic on hand he looks down at the judges of WSOW’s fourth event, knowing full well that the joke he used mostly to calm his own nerves did not land at all. Taking a deep breath he continues.
“Who would I want to fight? Now, that question is easier than you’d think. And not the answer you’d think. I got two names in my mind. One out of curiosity and bragging rights, and the other for closure and payback. And neither is really likely to happen as things stand.”
The young Englishman surveys his surroundings and takes another deep breath. This was different to cutting a promo on camera or in the middle of the ring. He felt more… exposed.
“The first name… is Luther Thunder.”
He paused to wait for a reaction from the small crowd that had gathered, but there was little. He wasn’t surprised as said name only rings a bell for a particular subset of fans.
“For those who don’t know him, he is a multi-time world champion, a true veteran of this business. From promotions like Elite Wrestling Champions. Sex and Violence Wrestling. Southern Rebellion Wrestling. Chasing Glory Wrestling. Uprising and many others. And the reason why I specifically want to fight him is because… he was my fathers big rival. They existed in the same promotions for years. And Pops? Never could beat him. Their last encounter came just last year at Uprising’s Solstice. Luther Thunder was a measuring stick for Pops. And I would LOVE a chance to take a swing at ol’ Thunderthighs to see if I can do what Pops couldn’t. If I truly am better than he ever was. And to see first hand just HOW good Luther was. But alas, last I checked he is all but retired from the business and even if he was active, Time is one rival nobody can beat so even if I got him in the ring in the near future, it wouldn’t be the Luther Thunder of prime, but a shadow of his former glory. So all that remains is what ifs.”
As Donny finishes his prepared speech about Luther, something seems to change in him. His face tenses up, the look on his eyes darkens and his voice turns cold. A very uncharacteristic vibe from the normally cheery and upbeat young man.
“That leads me to the second person. A man who was once like a brother to me. A man I risked my life for. Robert McAlroy. Bert”
Donny grinds his teeth almost subconsciously. It’s clear even for the untrained eye that he is wrestling with some very intense emotions.
“I’m not sure how many here have been keeping up with Level Up Wrestling. But Bert and myself go back a while. When he and Nao, his wife, were stalked by a crazy clown, he sought refuge in Pops’ house. The house I was still living in at the time. We bonded. When Nao was kidnapped by some pretty dangerous people, and I mean “arm yourself with a 9mm minimum when dealing with them”-level of dangerous… I didn’t hesitate for a second when Bert asked me for help. He was the brother I never had. But then…”
A pause as Donny takes a deep breath and tries to force himself to relax… unsuccessfully.
“Then things changed. Bert changed. He fulfilled his dream. He won the LevelUp Final Boss championship. And he let Johnny Shi…Hitmaker get into his ear. And suddenly he felt he was above me. Above Pops. Above our mutual friends. He was basking in the glory of his success and when I tried to call him? All I got was his new secretary, courtesy of Shitmaker.”
The young Englishman takes a deep breath, his eyes wandering into the crowd to see the one person who kept him sane through his recent ordeal… his rock and his anchor Shay, who was seated not too far from the stage. She offered him a smile and he felt a bit more at ease, enough to continue.
“But something bothered Bert. See… the night he was crowned Final Boss… the world champion… He also lost. To me. And Pops. See, he and Nao held the LevelUp tag team championships. And on that night me and Pops beat them for them. And while I didn’t know it at the time… that loss ate away at Bert. Gnawed at him. See, he had rationalized that blemish in his record by saying me and Pops played dirty. In his eyes, we crossed a line when we went after Nao’s achilles heel. Yes. Me and Pops repeatedly went for Nao’s head with our respective finishers, The Boot and Dambuster Boot. But we broke no rules. And Bert did nothing to stop us. And the day after the show? We BOTH tried to make amends. Nao accepted. And seemingly so did Bert.”
Another pause and a deep breath. The tension in the usually so easy-going man was only growing.
“And I thought that was that. A few months later Bert broke his neck and we all thought his career was done and dusted. Until six months later when he showed up at a LevelUp PPV… working against me. See, I was facing Buster Gloves for the LevelUp Wisdom title in a lumberjack match. And there was Bert, on team Buster. I felt betrayed. And who wouldn’t be? This was the guy I was willing to die for. But guess what? That was just the beginning.”
Donny starts to pace back and forth as he is reaching the crescendo of his story.
“Bert made a miraculous return to LevelUp. Set his sights on the Final Boss title again. And started calling me out. I wanted to be the bigger man. I thought we had gotten past the match. I didn’t want to fight him because he was family. Despite working with my opponent. Despite verbally lashing at me regularly. I wanted to be the bigger man and not fight him. And then…”
A sigh, deeper than any of the previous ones as Donny looks into the distance, grimacing.
“Then he jumped me from behind, nearly caved in my skull with a steel chair and sent me home for two months with a concussion. And best of all? Before I was cleared to wrestle again… he lost his shot at the Final Boss title, took his ball and went home. So I was never able to get even. I was never able to get closure. He laid me out for two months and then fled like a coward.”
Donny stares down each of the judges with fire in his eyes.
“So if there is one person above all, even more than Luther, that I want to fight… it’s Robert McAlroy. More than almost anything currently in this business, I want his scrawny ass in that ring so I can mete out some well deserved justice. So I can put the cocky loudmouth in his place and give him a lesson his daddy never gave him. See, I’m a very chill guy. I’ve been raised to turn the other cheek, to live and let live, to be the bigger man. But Bert went too far. He took the goodwill Pops and I showed him and spat it back on our faces. I promised to help him save Nao no matter what… and he stabbed me in the back. That is unforgivable. If it had been any other person in this business, with the possible exceptions of Shay and Pops… I wouldn’t have cared. But Bert was more than just anybody.”
The big man finally seems to relax, taking a few moments to regain his composure before addressing each judge with a stare and a nod.
“You asked me a question. I hope my response was satisfactory. The prompt allowed for fictional and dead people. I coulda gone to any number of choices if I wanted to just give an entertaining answer and elicit a few laughs. But I wanted to be real. Wanted to get this stuff off my chest. Give you people some perspective. My name is Donny Mason… Thank you for your time”
Donny drops the mic and walks off the stage, nodding to Shay as he makes his way out the room and into the night.