Overlooked (Rumble Promo #2)
Apr 6, 2020 12:09:56 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Dave D-Flipz, and 1 more like this
Post by Cross Recoba on Apr 6, 2020 12:09:56 GMT -5
There seems to be something to be said for being familiar to the audience enough that you’re not a complete unknown but not being overly familiar to the point of everyone knowing your life story. You see, I’m guessing the XHF Network has never seen such an influx in traffic such as it will have done over the last week or so. The worldwide pandemic would have driven the fans to the Network just to mine the archives but the flurry of videos from my fellow participants in the XHF Rumble would help push those numbers over the top and yet most don’t even acknowledge that I’m entering.
I’m not going to complain too loudly that the majority have decided that either I’m of little consequence or so far down the list I can be summed up with at best a throwaway line. After all, it seems like even our current X Crown Champion is more concerned with making sure he keeps his distance in Spain than he is with trying to keep hold of the prize everyone has their eye on. Perhaps he can hit up Mistress Discipline for some ring attire, I think we all agree - he could pull it off if he tried.
It can’t be easy though, being the Commissioner of SWAT. Just look at who’s involved apart from him, let’s just focus on one name that no-one seems to be giving the time of day. It’s almost as if the guy isn’t a threat at all, any guesses? I’m talking about Hayden Fucking Callahan!
Did I get the nomenclature right there? I figured that the fact you have said that phrase more times than almost anyone on the XHF Network has ever even mentioned your name must mean it’s right, right? But here’s the thing, Hayden, you’re your own worst enemy and you don’t even have the brains to figure it out!
Let’s take your Anzac Cup entry, when I saw what went down in Manchester I could scarcely believe my eyes. You picked him for a tag-partner? A man more likely to sell you down the river the MOMENT you outlive your usefulness? Do you think he’ll have your back in the Rumble? When I rewatched the two of you announcing your union I thought ‘Well, isn’t he the King of Bad Decisions!’.
What really cemented that thought though is that you don’t seem to think more than two seconds ahead of your current predicament. That’s why you agreed to team up with someone whose entire career has been built on unfulfilled promises and nearly moments, but then you went and really screwed the pooch when you decided that Sainovic needed to be put on blast! You realize you’ve still got to get to the Rumble, didn’t you? That Zoran controls what you do and who you face? I’m just passing this advice out as professional courtesy but you go ahead and carry on doing what you’re doing. I can just see it now.
You reach down and grab the legs of A Nother, sending them to the floor. You lean over the ropes and shout down ‘I’M HAYDEN FUCKING CALLAHAN’ and as you do so you find Zoran and your partner each with one of your legs in their arms as they toss you over the ropes to your demise and each and every person watching will nod to their friend and shrug as if to say ‘That’s Hayden Fucking Callahan…’.
For many, your typical bar was the refuge of a man running from something, or at the very least trying to escape. Lockdown was no different, Cross looked at his watch, the hands pointed to nearly eight in the morning. A lot had happened in the hours since he’d woken.
He’d be swamped soon, it was why he was glad that Chris Card had suggested an early morning catch-up. Catch-up would be too generous a word, Card had decided to pick an early-morning slot for a Saturday to give Cross an unsolicited tour around the yacht he had picked to be quarantined on. As he was shown around the increasingly ridiculous luxuries that his tag-partner had at his disposal he counted at least fourteen uses of the phrase “I can thank Steve Awesome for this.” In Cross’ mind, he had his own way of thanking Steve Awesome, it involved launching him over the top rope and, as a way to show gratitude, aiming for the sweet spot where there was little protection.
Cross found himself more irritable than normal. The root of his frustration was easy to trace, no budding psychologist was needed for a prognosis. Around two hours after he posted his last video to his YouTube Channel he received the news - XHF ANNOUNCE CHANGE OF VENUE FOR THE 2020 XHF RUMBLE.
Card had taken pains to explain how convenient it’d be for him to arrive and disembark from one place to the next. All the while the same thought made laps around Cross’ mind - “No return to the old country”. Instead, his XHF SuperShow debut would be made in ‘International Waters’, a place where no-one made history that was memorable, except Amelia Earhart...possibly.
His reflections were interrupted by the clanking of a dozen or so silver platters being carried into the bar. Cross had paid no mind to the setting of the tables around him, his familiar spot on the red Chesterfield unbothered by the staff who laid out the meals for those who were isolating within The Sands. What he couldn’t avoid would be the rush, two meters sounds a good distance until you experience it. In his periphery, he saw the residents file down to grab ‘the good bits’ for breakfast. The fact that they’d be replenished multiple times over the course of the hour went unnoticed to most but what couldn’t go unnoticed was the shadow that had appeared over him.
“Are you Cross Recoba?” The voice belonged to a woman whose idea of social distancing only applied to which families were acceptable to be seen with.
He looked up, craning his neck and smiled.
“Yes, are you lost?” Cross didn’t recognise the woman.
“Oh! That’s fantastic! My girls are big fans! Look!” she pointed to the queue, “Emily and Charlotte ALWAYS watch Ascension and love you! Can you come say hi?”
The girls looked to be around eight-years-old, why they’d be allowed to watch the AWF was beyond him. Internally he blamed LGBTKO, she probably crowed about how progressive they were. They were dressed with identical hairstyles, dresses, and shoes.
“Emily is the one with the smile, she’s the happy one.” The woman wittered on. “But Charlotte goes on forever and ever, and ever, about how exciting you are to watch when you wrestle!”
Cross smiled weakly.
“I’m pretty busy, I’m sure your husband can tell you what I do.” He tried to sound apologetic but being popular with kids was not a demographic he wanted any part of.
“Well, if you get the chance…” Her offer trailed off into the ether as Cross let himself back into his thoughts.
SWAT, it seems, is a beacon for all those who make no sense or have no purpose. It’s like a Last Chance Saloon for people who’ve washed out, or been run out, from every possible avenue they could take in the XHF Network. Just look at Timeless, even overlooking the fact that he comes across as a third-rate Sam Beckett, is a guy who can’t even see beyond the walled garden that he occupies in Syndicate Wrestling and Tradition! How do you think that’s going to work out for you? You’ve slammed anyone who would possibly want to make an alliance with you and now you’re going to walk into this match knowing that each and every person who you share a locker-room with is going to be making sure you won’t be the guy to make sure the X Crown stays with SWAT! And if you do? I’d bet a large sum on you reign being one of the shortest seen. What’s that old saying? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?
The worst part is that he isn’t even the most tragic entrant for SWAT, that title is reserved for none other than Psychotic Goth. I can only imagine the time spent coming up with that ring name, although when you’re too busy trying to invoke Caesar crossing the Tiber and brushing up on your ancient Greek I appreciate that you might not have a wrestling name as top of your to-do list that day. Then again, when your delivery is like watching a group of cows trying to deliver a production of Macbeth who’s to say where your priorities lie?
You did leave me thinking though, where are you planning on getting these gothic hordes? Have you borrowed Alex Turner’s watch and you really meant Visigoths? Are you hoping that this boat has the world’s largest Hot Topic? These are all questions that people need answers to because the plain and simple fact is that when it comes to how you’ll fare inside of that ring in just over a week or so, you’re going to be found out and quickly.
As the elevator opened Cross stepped through the opening doors, he’d get more of a workout by taking the stairs the rest of the way to the penthouse. He’d not been on a floor for the paying public for a while and noticed the upholstery and decor had seen some investment. An orange hexagon pattern was a bold move for a carpet, although given the state of some of the guests on a Saturday night the design choices might not have been focusing on the aesthetic in the traditional sense.
He swiftly hit the door to the stairs and started a brisk jog to take down the many flights he had ahead of him. In his head, he ran down the outsiders in the rumble as he ascended.
Poptron...non-descript, pretty much got one move which came from the top turnbuckle so good luck with that.
Two flights of stairs went by the by.
Ed Zepp...could touch the floor and still reach into the ring, with luck he’d avoid having to deal with the man. Leave it to someone else to sort out that potential banana skin.
Cross had found a solid rhythm now, no stair skipped.
Kentucky Tarzan...storied family history. Cross had seen the Brennan Devlin vs Madman Szalinski match on his first proper show for 4CW and it had left him cold. File under “Wait and See”.
Breaking into a sprint as he treated the stairs like tires.
Lizette Miracle... Based purely on what he’d seen she could butcher the English language if she did the same in the ring he’d be in trouble. The Vegas line didn’t reflect this.
The final push, he saw the Vegas morning vista in all of its glory as he reached the rarefied air of the penthouse suites.
Abdul bin Hussain...well, if the guy got cleared to not only leave his country but somehow get flight clearance than he’d achieved more than Cross thought he should have.
Cross reached the door to his penthouse suite and exhaled. Of all the things that had changed, there was still a constant - he hated cardio.
Here’s the score, Network Fans, here is how I see the match. I’ll be coming in off a win over the current AWF United States Champion, Vincent Draven, and then I’ll follow that up with whatever Prestige 51 has to throw at me! Maybe by then, I might have actually gotten the attention of some of the so-called ‘name players’ in this match.
You’ll hear ‘Turn to Stone’ hit over the speakers and then, fans, then you can allow yourself to be captivated as I work every grey area, every nook and cranny of the wrestling game that I know to make sure that I go the distance and come back to American soil with the XHF X Crown Title firmly in my possession!
In a normal match, people would see me rabbit punch an opponent in the throat and they’d frown upon it, I’d still do it, but someone somewhere would probably mutter ‘poor form, Cross, poor form’. In the Rumble, it’s something that should be part of everyone’s survival guide. Same with low blows, eye gouges, and boot rakes - all tools I’ll be using to make sure that when the night is over, the only name on everyone’s lips!
I’m Bradshaw and Ziko’s signing of the decade and it’s only just begun! My only regret was not signing a shorter contract because my stock is going to go through the roof after all this is said and done. I’m not a nearly man trying to atone for last year’s mistakes, I’m not a guy who has held the belt and now when he wants it back he has lost his hunger to succeed and most importantly, I’m not one of the schmucks who just seem happy to be in the match in the first place!
Here’s the reality, XHF fans, I am going into that match with one aim and that’s to be the last one left standing, I don’t care how I get there, I don’t care how big the reputation is of the guys I have to go through, and I don’t care about what they did on the third Tuesday of last August!
When April 26th swings around I’ll be ready and waiting because that’ll be the night the Box Office Smash goes Global!
Pushing open the door to the suite he saw he had several messages that had been slid under the door. He’d receive maybe two notes in a week that were handwritten but three was enough to make him furrow his brow. Perhaps the isolation was getting to others as well, but still - why travel so high in the building when an email, a text, or a voicemail would have done the same thing. He picked them up and flicked through them:
A flyer for group yoga before breakfast each day, that could keep the shredder in working order.
“moordraoB gniteeM moordraoB - lA”
“ FYI - Old woman in Room 217 keeps on bathing with the room door ajar.” Odd, he could have sworn that she was in room 237, he’d send someone female down to talk to her if he had to.
He looked down onto the Strip and thought that somewhere a photographer would have killed for the shot. He saw maybe half a dozen people milling about and getting on with their morning. He wondered how many years it must have been since it looked so deserted, a lone car passed the window as his phone sent a notification through.
XHF NETWORK: WHAT HAS MICHAEL STORM GOT TO SAY?!?
He glanced down at the message and mentally filed it to be watched the next time he needed the can. He needed to focus on what he could control and the way Storm had come out swinging for anyone he could think of, Cross wasn’t going to lose sleep over someone who’d put a target on his back for half of the entrants.
Switching to an app on his phone he turned on the TV and scrolled down to watch SWAT’s Riot in Manchester, the morning was only going to get longer.
I’m not going to complain too loudly that the majority have decided that either I’m of little consequence or so far down the list I can be summed up with at best a throwaway line. After all, it seems like even our current X Crown Champion is more concerned with making sure he keeps his distance in Spain than he is with trying to keep hold of the prize everyone has their eye on. Perhaps he can hit up Mistress Discipline for some ring attire, I think we all agree - he could pull it off if he tried.
It can’t be easy though, being the Commissioner of SWAT. Just look at who’s involved apart from him, let’s just focus on one name that no-one seems to be giving the time of day. It’s almost as if the guy isn’t a threat at all, any guesses? I’m talking about Hayden Fucking Callahan!
Did I get the nomenclature right there? I figured that the fact you have said that phrase more times than almost anyone on the XHF Network has ever even mentioned your name must mean it’s right, right? But here’s the thing, Hayden, you’re your own worst enemy and you don’t even have the brains to figure it out!
Let’s take your Anzac Cup entry, when I saw what went down in Manchester I could scarcely believe my eyes. You picked him for a tag-partner? A man more likely to sell you down the river the MOMENT you outlive your usefulness? Do you think he’ll have your back in the Rumble? When I rewatched the two of you announcing your union I thought ‘Well, isn’t he the King of Bad Decisions!’.
What really cemented that thought though is that you don’t seem to think more than two seconds ahead of your current predicament. That’s why you agreed to team up with someone whose entire career has been built on unfulfilled promises and nearly moments, but then you went and really screwed the pooch when you decided that Sainovic needed to be put on blast! You realize you’ve still got to get to the Rumble, didn’t you? That Zoran controls what you do and who you face? I’m just passing this advice out as professional courtesy but you go ahead and carry on doing what you’re doing. I can just see it now.
You reach down and grab the legs of A Nother, sending them to the floor. You lean over the ropes and shout down ‘I’M HAYDEN FUCKING CALLAHAN’ and as you do so you find Zoran and your partner each with one of your legs in their arms as they toss you over the ropes to your demise and each and every person watching will nod to their friend and shrug as if to say ‘That’s Hayden Fucking Callahan…’.
For many, your typical bar was the refuge of a man running from something, or at the very least trying to escape. Lockdown was no different, Cross looked at his watch, the hands pointed to nearly eight in the morning. A lot had happened in the hours since he’d woken.
He’d be swamped soon, it was why he was glad that Chris Card had suggested an early morning catch-up. Catch-up would be too generous a word, Card had decided to pick an early-morning slot for a Saturday to give Cross an unsolicited tour around the yacht he had picked to be quarantined on. As he was shown around the increasingly ridiculous luxuries that his tag-partner had at his disposal he counted at least fourteen uses of the phrase “I can thank Steve Awesome for this.” In Cross’ mind, he had his own way of thanking Steve Awesome, it involved launching him over the top rope and, as a way to show gratitude, aiming for the sweet spot where there was little protection.
Cross found himself more irritable than normal. The root of his frustration was easy to trace, no budding psychologist was needed for a prognosis. Around two hours after he posted his last video to his YouTube Channel he received the news - XHF ANNOUNCE CHANGE OF VENUE FOR THE 2020 XHF RUMBLE.
Card had taken pains to explain how convenient it’d be for him to arrive and disembark from one place to the next. All the while the same thought made laps around Cross’ mind - “No return to the old country”. Instead, his XHF SuperShow debut would be made in ‘International Waters’, a place where no-one made history that was memorable, except Amelia Earhart...possibly.
His reflections were interrupted by the clanking of a dozen or so silver platters being carried into the bar. Cross had paid no mind to the setting of the tables around him, his familiar spot on the red Chesterfield unbothered by the staff who laid out the meals for those who were isolating within The Sands. What he couldn’t avoid would be the rush, two meters sounds a good distance until you experience it. In his periphery, he saw the residents file down to grab ‘the good bits’ for breakfast. The fact that they’d be replenished multiple times over the course of the hour went unnoticed to most but what couldn’t go unnoticed was the shadow that had appeared over him.
“Are you Cross Recoba?” The voice belonged to a woman whose idea of social distancing only applied to which families were acceptable to be seen with.
He looked up, craning his neck and smiled.
“Yes, are you lost?” Cross didn’t recognise the woman.
“Oh! That’s fantastic! My girls are big fans! Look!” she pointed to the queue, “Emily and Charlotte ALWAYS watch Ascension and love you! Can you come say hi?”
The girls looked to be around eight-years-old, why they’d be allowed to watch the AWF was beyond him. Internally he blamed LGBTKO, she probably crowed about how progressive they were. They were dressed with identical hairstyles, dresses, and shoes.
“Emily is the one with the smile, she’s the happy one.” The woman wittered on. “But Charlotte goes on forever and ever, and ever, about how exciting you are to watch when you wrestle!”
Cross smiled weakly.
“I’m pretty busy, I’m sure your husband can tell you what I do.” He tried to sound apologetic but being popular with kids was not a demographic he wanted any part of.
“Well, if you get the chance…” Her offer trailed off into the ether as Cross let himself back into his thoughts.
SWAT, it seems, is a beacon for all those who make no sense or have no purpose. It’s like a Last Chance Saloon for people who’ve washed out, or been run out, from every possible avenue they could take in the XHF Network. Just look at Timeless, even overlooking the fact that he comes across as a third-rate Sam Beckett, is a guy who can’t even see beyond the walled garden that he occupies in Syndicate Wrestling and Tradition! How do you think that’s going to work out for you? You’ve slammed anyone who would possibly want to make an alliance with you and now you’re going to walk into this match knowing that each and every person who you share a locker-room with is going to be making sure you won’t be the guy to make sure the X Crown stays with SWAT! And if you do? I’d bet a large sum on you reign being one of the shortest seen. What’s that old saying? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?
The worst part is that he isn’t even the most tragic entrant for SWAT, that title is reserved for none other than Psychotic Goth. I can only imagine the time spent coming up with that ring name, although when you’re too busy trying to invoke Caesar crossing the Tiber and brushing up on your ancient Greek I appreciate that you might not have a wrestling name as top of your to-do list that day. Then again, when your delivery is like watching a group of cows trying to deliver a production of Macbeth who’s to say where your priorities lie?
You did leave me thinking though, where are you planning on getting these gothic hordes? Have you borrowed Alex Turner’s watch and you really meant Visigoths? Are you hoping that this boat has the world’s largest Hot Topic? These are all questions that people need answers to because the plain and simple fact is that when it comes to how you’ll fare inside of that ring in just over a week or so, you’re going to be found out and quickly.
As the elevator opened Cross stepped through the opening doors, he’d get more of a workout by taking the stairs the rest of the way to the penthouse. He’d not been on a floor for the paying public for a while and noticed the upholstery and decor had seen some investment. An orange hexagon pattern was a bold move for a carpet, although given the state of some of the guests on a Saturday night the design choices might not have been focusing on the aesthetic in the traditional sense.
He swiftly hit the door to the stairs and started a brisk jog to take down the many flights he had ahead of him. In his head, he ran down the outsiders in the rumble as he ascended.
Poptron...non-descript, pretty much got one move which came from the top turnbuckle so good luck with that.
Two flights of stairs went by the by.
Ed Zepp...could touch the floor and still reach into the ring, with luck he’d avoid having to deal with the man. Leave it to someone else to sort out that potential banana skin.
Cross had found a solid rhythm now, no stair skipped.
Kentucky Tarzan...storied family history. Cross had seen the Brennan Devlin vs Madman Szalinski match on his first proper show for 4CW and it had left him cold. File under “Wait and See”.
Breaking into a sprint as he treated the stairs like tires.
Lizette Miracle... Based purely on what he’d seen she could butcher the English language if she did the same in the ring he’d be in trouble. The Vegas line didn’t reflect this.
The final push, he saw the Vegas morning vista in all of its glory as he reached the rarefied air of the penthouse suites.
Abdul bin Hussain...well, if the guy got cleared to not only leave his country but somehow get flight clearance than he’d achieved more than Cross thought he should have.
Cross reached the door to his penthouse suite and exhaled. Of all the things that had changed, there was still a constant - he hated cardio.
Here’s the score, Network Fans, here is how I see the match. I’ll be coming in off a win over the current AWF United States Champion, Vincent Draven, and then I’ll follow that up with whatever Prestige 51 has to throw at me! Maybe by then, I might have actually gotten the attention of some of the so-called ‘name players’ in this match.
You’ll hear ‘Turn to Stone’ hit over the speakers and then, fans, then you can allow yourself to be captivated as I work every grey area, every nook and cranny of the wrestling game that I know to make sure that I go the distance and come back to American soil with the XHF X Crown Title firmly in my possession!
In a normal match, people would see me rabbit punch an opponent in the throat and they’d frown upon it, I’d still do it, but someone somewhere would probably mutter ‘poor form, Cross, poor form’. In the Rumble, it’s something that should be part of everyone’s survival guide. Same with low blows, eye gouges, and boot rakes - all tools I’ll be using to make sure that when the night is over, the only name on everyone’s lips!
I’m Bradshaw and Ziko’s signing of the decade and it’s only just begun! My only regret was not signing a shorter contract because my stock is going to go through the roof after all this is said and done. I’m not a nearly man trying to atone for last year’s mistakes, I’m not a guy who has held the belt and now when he wants it back he has lost his hunger to succeed and most importantly, I’m not one of the schmucks who just seem happy to be in the match in the first place!
Here’s the reality, XHF fans, I am going into that match with one aim and that’s to be the last one left standing, I don’t care how I get there, I don’t care how big the reputation is of the guys I have to go through, and I don’t care about what they did on the third Tuesday of last August!
When April 26th swings around I’ll be ready and waiting because that’ll be the night the Box Office Smash goes Global!
Pushing open the door to the suite he saw he had several messages that had been slid under the door. He’d receive maybe two notes in a week that were handwritten but three was enough to make him furrow his brow. Perhaps the isolation was getting to others as well, but still - why travel so high in the building when an email, a text, or a voicemail would have done the same thing. He picked them up and flicked through them:
A flyer for group yoga before breakfast each day, that could keep the shredder in working order.
“moordraoB gniteeM moordraoB - lA”
“ FYI - Old woman in Room 217 keeps on bathing with the room door ajar.” Odd, he could have sworn that she was in room 237, he’d send someone female down to talk to her if he had to.
He looked down onto the Strip and thought that somewhere a photographer would have killed for the shot. He saw maybe half a dozen people milling about and getting on with their morning. He wondered how many years it must have been since it looked so deserted, a lone car passed the window as his phone sent a notification through.
XHF NETWORK: WHAT HAS MICHAEL STORM GOT TO SAY?!?
He glanced down at the message and mentally filed it to be watched the next time he needed the can. He needed to focus on what he could control and the way Storm had come out swinging for anyone he could think of, Cross wasn’t going to lose sleep over someone who’d put a target on his back for half of the entrants.
Switching to an app on his phone he turned on the TV and scrolled down to watch SWAT’s Riot in Manchester, the morning was only going to get longer.
