Post by Eli Buchanan on Nov 19, 2023 23:52:19 GMT -5
“Greetings, everyone, and welcome to 'Buck U Tonight' I’m Laura Heeley, filling in. Mike Radcliff is off this evening. Tonight, we have a special guest in the studio with us: former multiple time world champion, and our network’s owner and CEO, Eli Buchanan. Great to have you in the studio with us this evening, Eli.”
Eli Buchanan reached out and shook Laura’s hand politely and offered her a charming smile.
“Great to be here, Laura, and thank you for stepping in to fill in for Mike on such short notice. I think I speak for everyone here at the Buck U Network, when I say we all wish him a speedy recovery.”
“Amen to that,” Laura said, solemnly, before continuing. “So the reason why you're here this evening is in regards to your recent participation in the 'Last Man Standing' series. How’s that been going so far for you?”
Eli sat back and smiled.
“Oh absolutely smashing! I have been having such a wonderful time since I arrived at the LMS Compound. Everyone working there has been so wonderful to me, and I couldn’t ask for a better team to be on than the Red Team.
Laura quickly reviewed her notes and arched an eyebrow at Eli.
“Don’t you mean the Blue Team, Eli?”
From behind the cameras, a couple of people snickered. Eli was clearly ‘distracted’ and not paying close attention. However, if Eli was flustered, he didn’t show it.
“Yes, silly me, I’m on the Blue Team. You know me, Laura, I’ve spent so many years wearing red it sort of gets stuck in my head sometimes.”
Both of them laughed, but it was clear by the smirk on her face that Laura wasn’t buying his answer but was professional enough to move on.
“Speaking of the BLUE Team, you have been one of the outstanding members of the team, especially with a few defections to the other team, as well as individuals having to step away for personal reasons. Care to comment on that?
Eli threw his hands in the air and shrugged, laughing the whole time.
“Shit happens, Laura. Some people simply aren’t cut out for competitions like Last Man Standing, or let their petty natures blind them. At the end of the day though it won’t matter which team I’m on, or who I’m teaming with, because at the end of the day, there can only be one winner. I have been an absolute competition beast since day one and have proven myself everytime one of our competitions has occurred. As far as I’m concerned, everyone else needs to step up their game if they even stand a chance of keeping up with me.”
Laura offered him a look of surprise.
“Sounds like you’re being pretty cocky, don’t you think?”
“It’s not cocky if you can back it. I have been successful in nearly everything I have put my hands to, whether it’s acting, wrestling, being the master of Hotel California, or even running a multimillion dollar media empire, so why should LMS be any different?”
Laura looked down briefly to review her notes, before continuing. Eli must have felt his wife staring at him because he behaved himself much better than he had a few minutes before.
“Okay,” Laura continued, “I want to talk a bit more about one of your teammates here in a few minutes, but before we get there, I want to talk about a recent wrestling match you were a part of at a charity event for the Orlando Children’s Hospital against The Sumatran Kid.
“Yes, an absolutely charming young man. I have high hopes for him someday. A future world champion, mark my words.”
“Well, it was recently graded as one of the worst matches of the entire show by several wrestling news outlets and podcasts, including our very own ‘Captain Fizz and the Masked Guy Show’. What do you have to say to that?”
Eli’s face twitched for just a second. It would be easily missed by most people, but those behind the cameras noticed and looked worried. Laura had gone off script now, which meant trouble for someone soon.
“Laura,” Eli said, in a charming tone, “Why do these wrestling match scores even matter? If some of the other competitors in this competition want to put on great matches for the children, underestimating their rookie opponents, or taking it a little easier on them so as not to bruise their egos, so be it. Me, I don’t worry about stuff like that. The Samatran Kid is a fine young man, but he simply wasn’t in my league. How was he going to learn to be a better wrestler, if I took it easy on him so a bunch of children could cheer him? As those children sadly know, life isn’t always easy. You learn a lot of hard lessons in life, and you either adapt and move forward, or you don’t and risk never rising to your potential. I will be the first to admit I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but guess what, I’ve learned from them. When I started out learning in Japan, I was lucky if I got ant offense against the men I competed with and I got the absolute shit kicked out of me on a nightly basis. Do you think any of those men gave a shit what some third rate reporter thought of their matches? No, and neither do I
There was an awkward moment of silence as Eli and Laura stared at one another. It was hard to tell whether there was any true tension between the two since they were grinning at one another but Laura almost certainly had struck a nerve. In the end, Laura blinked first and looked back at her notes.
“Okay, I want to backtrack now and speak about one of your teammates in particular: Penelope.”
“What about here?”
Eli tried to act casual but there was a level of tension to his voice. Laura clearly noticed it and went on the attack.
“Have you talked to her about Last Man Standing at all?”
“Oh maybe in passing, the two of us live such busy lives. She recently got married, it was a beautiful ceremony, and I run this network and Hotel California, and we both compete for different wrestling companies. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I find it interesting that two individuals once thick as thieves, such as yourselves, wouldn’t be in league with one another somehow to insure one of you walked out of Last Man Standing as the winner. In many ways, you’re responsible for her career trajectory. She was a young rookie trying to find her way in the business and you, and some associates, brought her into the fold and molded her into your own image. Some would even accuse you, not me of course, but some would say that it’s because of you that the woman once known as ‘Positive Penny’ has become one of the most dark and twisted individuals in the wrestling industry today. Those same people might even suggest that the student has now surpassed the teacher, and while you’ve lost a step and haven’t held a world title in a couple of years, Pennelope’s career has skyrocketed and sum are even suggesting she is one of the favourites to win LMS. Would you care to comment?”
There was an audible gasp from behind the camera. Once again Eli’s face twitched but this time the charming smile didn’t return.
“Are you suggesting I’m somehow jealous of Penelope’s success? That is absolutely absurd. I couldn’t be more proud of her, because her success is my success. You’re absolutely right, I did have a hand in shaping, because like I do now with The Sumatran Kid, I saw something special in Penelope before pretty much anyone else, and I think I’m safe in saying that I have been more than paid back in the investment I made with her, unlike some students I’ve had. I’m not jealous of her. How can I be jealous of her? What absurd nonsense is this. I am absolutely proud of her and what she’s done. So if anything, I don’t want to interview in her success, or lack thereof, in LMS. I’m letting her do her thing, and I’m over here doing my thing. If she wants to come talk to me about the competition, she knows where to find me and my door is always open to her. Until then, this is a moot point as far as I’m concerned, and like this interview, I’m done talking about it.
With that, Eli stood up and removed his microphone before storming off the stage. Laura watched him leave without blinking an eye. In fact she turned to the camera and smiled.
“As always, we thank Eli Buchanan for taking time out of his busy schedule to come talk with us. And if you want to learn more about 'Last Man Standing' there will be more information about it on our website. Now please stay tuned to the Buck U Network, coming up next is ‘The Adventures of Wandering Jack’. Until next time, my name is Laura Heeley. Have a great night, everyone.”
Eli Buchanan reached out and shook Laura’s hand politely and offered her a charming smile.
“Great to be here, Laura, and thank you for stepping in to fill in for Mike on such short notice. I think I speak for everyone here at the Buck U Network, when I say we all wish him a speedy recovery.”
“Amen to that,” Laura said, solemnly, before continuing. “So the reason why you're here this evening is in regards to your recent participation in the 'Last Man Standing' series. How’s that been going so far for you?”
Eli sat back and smiled.
“Oh absolutely smashing! I have been having such a wonderful time since I arrived at the LMS Compound. Everyone working there has been so wonderful to me, and I couldn’t ask for a better team to be on than the Red Team.
Laura quickly reviewed her notes and arched an eyebrow at Eli.
“Don’t you mean the Blue Team, Eli?”
From behind the cameras, a couple of people snickered. Eli was clearly ‘distracted’ and not paying close attention. However, if Eli was flustered, he didn’t show it.
“Yes, silly me, I’m on the Blue Team. You know me, Laura, I’ve spent so many years wearing red it sort of gets stuck in my head sometimes.”
Both of them laughed, but it was clear by the smirk on her face that Laura wasn’t buying his answer but was professional enough to move on.
“Speaking of the BLUE Team, you have been one of the outstanding members of the team, especially with a few defections to the other team, as well as individuals having to step away for personal reasons. Care to comment on that?
Eli threw his hands in the air and shrugged, laughing the whole time.
“Shit happens, Laura. Some people simply aren’t cut out for competitions like Last Man Standing, or let their petty natures blind them. At the end of the day though it won’t matter which team I’m on, or who I’m teaming with, because at the end of the day, there can only be one winner. I have been an absolute competition beast since day one and have proven myself everytime one of our competitions has occurred. As far as I’m concerned, everyone else needs to step up their game if they even stand a chance of keeping up with me.”
Laura offered him a look of surprise.
“Sounds like you’re being pretty cocky, don’t you think?”
“It’s not cocky if you can back it. I have been successful in nearly everything I have put my hands to, whether it’s acting, wrestling, being the master of Hotel California, or even running a multimillion dollar media empire, so why should LMS be any different?”
Laura looked down briefly to review her notes, before continuing. Eli must have felt his wife staring at him because he behaved himself much better than he had a few minutes before.
“Okay,” Laura continued, “I want to talk a bit more about one of your teammates here in a few minutes, but before we get there, I want to talk about a recent wrestling match you were a part of at a charity event for the Orlando Children’s Hospital against The Sumatran Kid.
“Yes, an absolutely charming young man. I have high hopes for him someday. A future world champion, mark my words.”
“Well, it was recently graded as one of the worst matches of the entire show by several wrestling news outlets and podcasts, including our very own ‘Captain Fizz and the Masked Guy Show’. What do you have to say to that?”
Eli’s face twitched for just a second. It would be easily missed by most people, but those behind the cameras noticed and looked worried. Laura had gone off script now, which meant trouble for someone soon.
“Laura,” Eli said, in a charming tone, “Why do these wrestling match scores even matter? If some of the other competitors in this competition want to put on great matches for the children, underestimating their rookie opponents, or taking it a little easier on them so as not to bruise their egos, so be it. Me, I don’t worry about stuff like that. The Samatran Kid is a fine young man, but he simply wasn’t in my league. How was he going to learn to be a better wrestler, if I took it easy on him so a bunch of children could cheer him? As those children sadly know, life isn’t always easy. You learn a lot of hard lessons in life, and you either adapt and move forward, or you don’t and risk never rising to your potential. I will be the first to admit I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but guess what, I’ve learned from them. When I started out learning in Japan, I was lucky if I got ant offense against the men I competed with and I got the absolute shit kicked out of me on a nightly basis. Do you think any of those men gave a shit what some third rate reporter thought of their matches? No, and neither do I
There was an awkward moment of silence as Eli and Laura stared at one another. It was hard to tell whether there was any true tension between the two since they were grinning at one another but Laura almost certainly had struck a nerve. In the end, Laura blinked first and looked back at her notes.
“Okay, I want to backtrack now and speak about one of your teammates in particular: Penelope.”
“What about here?”
Eli tried to act casual but there was a level of tension to his voice. Laura clearly noticed it and went on the attack.
“Have you talked to her about Last Man Standing at all?”
“Oh maybe in passing, the two of us live such busy lives. She recently got married, it was a beautiful ceremony, and I run this network and Hotel California, and we both compete for different wrestling companies. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I find it interesting that two individuals once thick as thieves, such as yourselves, wouldn’t be in league with one another somehow to insure one of you walked out of Last Man Standing as the winner. In many ways, you’re responsible for her career trajectory. She was a young rookie trying to find her way in the business and you, and some associates, brought her into the fold and molded her into your own image. Some would even accuse you, not me of course, but some would say that it’s because of you that the woman once known as ‘Positive Penny’ has become one of the most dark and twisted individuals in the wrestling industry today. Those same people might even suggest that the student has now surpassed the teacher, and while you’ve lost a step and haven’t held a world title in a couple of years, Pennelope’s career has skyrocketed and sum are even suggesting she is one of the favourites to win LMS. Would you care to comment?”
There was an audible gasp from behind the camera. Once again Eli’s face twitched but this time the charming smile didn’t return.
“Are you suggesting I’m somehow jealous of Penelope’s success? That is absolutely absurd. I couldn’t be more proud of her, because her success is my success. You’re absolutely right, I did have a hand in shaping, because like I do now with The Sumatran Kid, I saw something special in Penelope before pretty much anyone else, and I think I’m safe in saying that I have been more than paid back in the investment I made with her, unlike some students I’ve had. I’m not jealous of her. How can I be jealous of her? What absurd nonsense is this. I am absolutely proud of her and what she’s done. So if anything, I don’t want to interview in her success, or lack thereof, in LMS. I’m letting her do her thing, and I’m over here doing my thing. If she wants to come talk to me about the competition, she knows where to find me and my door is always open to her. Until then, this is a moot point as far as I’m concerned, and like this interview, I’m done talking about it.
With that, Eli stood up and removed his microphone before storming off the stage. Laura watched him leave without blinking an eye. In fact she turned to the camera and smiled.
“As always, we thank Eli Buchanan for taking time out of his busy schedule to come talk with us. And if you want to learn more about 'Last Man Standing' there will be more information about it on our website. Now please stay tuned to the Buck U Network, coming up next is ‘The Adventures of Wandering Jack’. Until next time, my name is Laura Heeley. Have a great night, everyone.”