My music hits, and the crowd erupts. I stand on the entrance way staring at my former best friend, who lowers the microphone from his mouth. I watch him angrily, steel chair in hand. He looks at me with confusion, but his eyes match my rage. He puts the microphone back up to his lips and speaks, ‘Why are you out here?” I don’t answer him and walk down the ramp with purpose, he backs up as far as he can go. Back against the ropes, the rage that were in his eyes change to fear as I meet him face to face in the ring.
I grip the steel chair harder and harder, as I reminisce on his betrayal from last week. I back away from him slowly, and set the chair down open with aggression as my eyes don’t leave his. I sit down, and put my head down and rub my beard on the left side of my face. I hold the mic up close, but nothing comes out. I see him in the corner of my eye laughing. “That’s right. Your farewell speech, because you don’t have what it takes anymore” I look up at him and can’t help but laugh.
“I have proved myself over and over again. Time and time again.”
“Oh, yeah? Really? Cause the losing streak you are on says otherwise. Be honest with yourself, you are nothing more but a loser.”
“Loser? I am a 6 time World Heavyweight Champion, 4 time US Champion, 5 time Intercontinental Champion, and a 3 time Tag Team Champion...with you.” He smiles.
“That was in the past my friend. I’m talking about the now, and now you haven’t done anything but lose. You are washed up.” I smile as he continues. “The only reason these fans were chanting your name last night was because they thought you were retiring afterwards.” I look around at a crowd who are quiet, soaking in every word we say. “After you’re little sob fest on twitter, I mean you don’t even believe in yourself anymore. You, still get on all the posters. The advertisements. On all the merchandise. And for what? Losing. I AM A WINNER! You have overshadowed me for years, but it’s about time I took my moment!”
The crowd cheers, “See, see? Around here, it’s not about good or bad. Being good or bad. Good guys. Bad guys. It’s about who speaks the truth, and they turned on you awhile ago because you have changed.”
“I have changed?” He snaps the chair from under me and I fall on my ass. I smile and just sit there, He throws the chair out the ring. I get up, and we meet face to face once again. “So, you turned on me over jealousy?”
“Jealousy? No, have you been listening? In this business, and you know this better than anyone, you gotta make your time. You can’t just bide for it and hope it comes for you. Now, I am sick of waiting. Now, THIS IS MY SHOW! So, make your retirement speech. Leave, and have these people forget about you in 3 weeks. You changed because you thought you deserved respect. Somewhere, down the line you forgot how life worked. Just because you are old doesn’t mean you are given respect. You gotta earn it, and that’s why people have turned on you. That’s why no one gives a rats ass about your over-hyped self anymore. It was about time, my friend, someone gave you a reality check.” He drops the mic and walks away.
“Reality? Is that what you want? FIne, I overshadowed you because I am simply better than you. I am on all the covers, the merchandise, everything because I am the definition of what this company represents. I am a high-flyer! A brawler! A wrestler! And I can hold my own against the strongest! So you wanna talk about reality, I AM YOUR REALITY! You wouldn’t be nothing if it weren’t for me. WIthout my guidance, my mind, worth ethic, my moves which you stole… you wouldn’t even be in the very same ring as me.”
I get in his face and the crowd cheers, some cheer for him. Some for me. I back away, “I need to prove myself, still? Fine, that means I’m not going anywhere. And since you wanna take my moments and you wanna take my spotlight, you are gonna have to EARN it! Because you out of all people should know, what the fuck I’m capable of.” I drop my mic and we mouth a couple of angry words at each other.
I feel a hard forearm strike to the back of my neck. I fall to the ground, the crowd gasps with confusion. I feel stomps on my ribs, from both sides. I try to at least get to my knees but i'm kicked back down. I cough trying to gasp for air. I look up and see my former friend getting kicked down too. I get a swift kick to the back of the head that bounces off the mat from the precision. I cover my head and roll over trying my best to guess where the other kicks are going to hit next.
Fist drop down on my arm that is guarding my head and face from future shots. I feel a torso hover over me sideways, a hammerifst comes raining down on my gut. I try to cover my ribs and get caught with a stomp to the face followed by hammerfists that connect right on the nose. I, horribly, put my hands up trying to guard them. I open my eyes as I roll on my side when the force on top of me is released. I see my former friend thrown out the ring through the middle rope. I see a man uncover the announce table, exposing the hard top. I try to get up, but I am surprisingly helped up. But of course, not for my helping. I am met with a hard knee strike, that knocks me down. I am held up by two others, by holding my now limp arms.
The two drag me and force me to fall hard on the outside. They drag me closer to the announce table, I feel the danger. I see one of the attackers standing on the other announce table gloating. I am lifted by a strong full-nelson hold and turned viciously around. I am lifted on one of their shoulder by the help of two others, is it a powerslam? I am thrown in the air, I try to grab it likes it is going to catch my fall. I see the other standing on the other announce table jump off, floating with his legs out in my direction. He meets me with a leg drop through the table. I scream in agony, which is muffled by a thigh that rests on my face for a long one second.
