Post by Oh-Oh on Oct 15, 2020 8:16:08 GMT -5
We open backstage at End of Days Week 3, where Gordon Carlson and "The Iron Bear" Joe Ghaven have just walked through the curtain. The XHF medical staff rush over to Joe, wanting to ensure that he's alright after his encounter with a nurse shark just a few moments ago. Gordon sends words of encouragement his way, before the two men exchange a fist bump and Joe is whisked away by the medical staff for testing. Once Gordon is alone, he starts to pace back and forth, before he is stopped by a member of the Canadian wrestling media whom has obviously travelled to Thailand to cover the event.
While Gordon isn't usually one to draw attention to himself after a heated match, he seems willing to give some insights into his mentality at the current moment.
Reporter: "Gordon, what a hard fought battle out there tonight..."
Carlson: "The conditions aren't exactly what I'm used to, but as a professional I made due. Congratulations to the Purple Emperors, they were able to keep one of our men in the water for ten seconds. I was expecting the match to continue, as I was lead to believe it would be last man standing, so I was a little surprised when the referee called for the bell to signify the end of the match."
Reporter: "It's probably for the best.."
Gordon shoots the reporter a glare. He pauses, waiting for the reporter to finish his statement.
Reporter: "I just mean, going two on one against the likes of Radu and Anthony Caffrey is liable to take some years off of the lifespan of one's career."
Gordon smirked to himself, before setting the record straight.
Carlson: "It's a mirage. I received all of the intel I needed when I listened to Anthony Caffrey do exactly what I said he was going to do. The man defended his position at length by reminding everyone of all of the charitable work he does - which ought to be a selfless act. But when one discusses it as a means to convince someone of something - then is the act truly selfless?"
The question was rhetorical.
Carlson: "I could sit here and rehash the deflect and deny pieces of Caffrey's interview, but I'll save it for another day. Mark my words, I plan on lobbying for a rematch under regular wrestling rules in the near future."
Reporter: "Fair enough..."
Carlson: "What really surprised me though, was how Radu felt obligated to cover up for his partners sins, while looking to 'sell' the fact that all they were was 'confident' and not the egomaniacs I had described. I found it rather.... cute."
The reporter is about to interject, but Carlson follows it up.
Carlson: "It was like Radu felt compelled to rush to his damsel in distress, much like I had described in my previous interview. Slice it however you want lads, but you were both caught with your proverbial pants down. The context in which you both hung onto my every word and recycled it back to me was all of the proof I needed to corroborate my intuitions about the two of you. There wasn't one original or unique disposition from either of you - a major mishap in my eyes."
Gordon pauses and contemplates.
Carlson: "While Joe and I weren't able to get the job done this time, I can assure you that we walked away from this experience feeling inherently optimistic about our chances against the two of you in a rematch should you two become XHF Tag Team Champions."
Reporter: "What a match that would be. But as for your immediate future, can you shed some light onto what's next."
Carlson: "I'm on my way to collect another 'global pay day'. My fourth in the past three months, and I have one more coming my way after our match in the Philippines. Life is good, Life is full of opportunities. This recent string of opportunities as afforded me a multitude of options that I'll be weighing once my obligations are complete in regards to End of Days."
Reporter: "Multitude of options? Do you mind elaborating?"
Gordon pauses for a moment, before responding.
Carlson: "I do, actually. Now if you'll excuse me - I need to go check on "The Iron Bear".
Gordon walks toward the area where the medic escorted Joe Ghaven, as they look to close the bite wound he suffered at the hands of the Nurse Sharks.
[Cut.]
--
Present Day
Gordon's Hotel Room
Davao City, Mindanao Island, The Phillipines
--
Due to gruelling travel schedule over the past month, Gordon hasn't had a lot of downtime. If he's not travelling, he's training - if he's not training, he's doing media. As he heads into week four of End of Days, the Canadian grappler has finally found time to reflect on his journey while dedicating his mind, body and spirit to the goals that lay ahead.
Gordon begins to thumb through the XHF online content, and settles on a video for the announcement of the End of Days finale card. Gordon listens, but his full attention isn't fixated on his tablet. The tablet is playing the content, but Gordon is over to the darkside of his hotel room, fixing himself his morning coffee. That is until the competitors are announced for the X*Crown Championship match. As the respective representative are named, one is of particular strong interest.
The man that Gordon defeated at Overheated, the man that won the Call to Arms tournament.
Gordon took a moment to himself, and started to rationalize what that said about him, and his position within the X*Crown rankings. After a final four finish at Night of Champions, and a victory over one of the top contenders in the upcoming X*Crown match - putting two and two together seemed to reason that Gordon was on the cusp of another opportunity. What if Hyperion were to win the match, as so many people have predicted? What would that mean? Surely, that would cement him as the number one contender to the championship, wouldn't it?
Gordon let the information linger in his mind for a few moments. We can feel his sense of urgency start to escalate, as there is now so much more riding on his upcoming match against the Revenants. A victory over arguably the best team in the AWF would firmly entrench Gordon and Joe as the number two contenders to the XHF Tag Team Championships, with an opportunity for a traditional tag team match on the docket.
The next video to which Gordon watches, is a recently released number by one of his opponents on Sunday. The gist of the video was that the Revenants weren't overly bothered by Gordon and Joe, and felt that unless they were competing for 1st place, there was no desire to compete at all. While that is one way to look at it, it also begged the question as to whether or not The Revenants were planning to show up for the match at all? Their heads were in different places, as there were other opportunities afoot on the card for them.
The golden rule of looking past your opponents was one sin that Gordon didn't want to commit, even if it hadn't bitten Anthony Caffrey on the hand after he released his predictions for the End of Days tournament. Instead, Gordon saw things through a different lens. If the Revenants didn't 'care' - then that should make them inherently more dangerous. Perhaps they were more willing to throw caution to the wind, take higher risks and leave the cards wherever they landed. If they had no regard for themselves, and their future - then how could they have any sort of regret should our tag team match turn into a brawl.
As much as it would be nice to head home, and back to familiar surroundings - there was still a future XHF Tag Team Championship match hanging in the balance, and perhaps one more crack at the Purple Emperors.
That in itself was worth riding this out.
Gordon turned off his tablet, picked up his phone and dialed his tag team partner.
"Joe, it's me."
[...]
"Let's go over some ideas for this match."
[...]
"It could make, or break us."
[...]
[Cut.]
While Gordon isn't usually one to draw attention to himself after a heated match, he seems willing to give some insights into his mentality at the current moment.
Reporter: "Gordon, what a hard fought battle out there tonight..."
Carlson: "The conditions aren't exactly what I'm used to, but as a professional I made due. Congratulations to the Purple Emperors, they were able to keep one of our men in the water for ten seconds. I was expecting the match to continue, as I was lead to believe it would be last man standing, so I was a little surprised when the referee called for the bell to signify the end of the match."
Reporter: "It's probably for the best.."
Gordon shoots the reporter a glare. He pauses, waiting for the reporter to finish his statement.
Reporter: "I just mean, going two on one against the likes of Radu and Anthony Caffrey is liable to take some years off of the lifespan of one's career."
Gordon smirked to himself, before setting the record straight.
Carlson: "It's a mirage. I received all of the intel I needed when I listened to Anthony Caffrey do exactly what I said he was going to do. The man defended his position at length by reminding everyone of all of the charitable work he does - which ought to be a selfless act. But when one discusses it as a means to convince someone of something - then is the act truly selfless?"
The question was rhetorical.
Carlson: "I could sit here and rehash the deflect and deny pieces of Caffrey's interview, but I'll save it for another day. Mark my words, I plan on lobbying for a rematch under regular wrestling rules in the near future."
Reporter: "Fair enough..."
Carlson: "What really surprised me though, was how Radu felt obligated to cover up for his partners sins, while looking to 'sell' the fact that all they were was 'confident' and not the egomaniacs I had described. I found it rather.... cute."
The reporter is about to interject, but Carlson follows it up.
Carlson: "It was like Radu felt compelled to rush to his damsel in distress, much like I had described in my previous interview. Slice it however you want lads, but you were both caught with your proverbial pants down. The context in which you both hung onto my every word and recycled it back to me was all of the proof I needed to corroborate my intuitions about the two of you. There wasn't one original or unique disposition from either of you - a major mishap in my eyes."
Gordon pauses and contemplates.
Carlson: "While Joe and I weren't able to get the job done this time, I can assure you that we walked away from this experience feeling inherently optimistic about our chances against the two of you in a rematch should you two become XHF Tag Team Champions."
Reporter: "What a match that would be. But as for your immediate future, can you shed some light onto what's next."
Carlson: "I'm on my way to collect another 'global pay day'. My fourth in the past three months, and I have one more coming my way after our match in the Philippines. Life is good, Life is full of opportunities. This recent string of opportunities as afforded me a multitude of options that I'll be weighing once my obligations are complete in regards to End of Days."
Reporter: "Multitude of options? Do you mind elaborating?"
Gordon pauses for a moment, before responding.
Carlson: "I do, actually. Now if you'll excuse me - I need to go check on "The Iron Bear".
Gordon walks toward the area where the medic escorted Joe Ghaven, as they look to close the bite wound he suffered at the hands of the Nurse Sharks.
[Cut.]
--
Present Day
Gordon's Hotel Room
Davao City, Mindanao Island, The Phillipines
--
Due to gruelling travel schedule over the past month, Gordon hasn't had a lot of downtime. If he's not travelling, he's training - if he's not training, he's doing media. As he heads into week four of End of Days, the Canadian grappler has finally found time to reflect on his journey while dedicating his mind, body and spirit to the goals that lay ahead.
Gordon begins to thumb through the XHF online content, and settles on a video for the announcement of the End of Days finale card. Gordon listens, but his full attention isn't fixated on his tablet. The tablet is playing the content, but Gordon is over to the darkside of his hotel room, fixing himself his morning coffee. That is until the competitors are announced for the X*Crown Championship match. As the respective representative are named, one is of particular strong interest.
The man that Gordon defeated at Overheated, the man that won the Call to Arms tournament.
Gordon took a moment to himself, and started to rationalize what that said about him, and his position within the X*Crown rankings. After a final four finish at Night of Champions, and a victory over one of the top contenders in the upcoming X*Crown match - putting two and two together seemed to reason that Gordon was on the cusp of another opportunity. What if Hyperion were to win the match, as so many people have predicted? What would that mean? Surely, that would cement him as the number one contender to the championship, wouldn't it?
Gordon let the information linger in his mind for a few moments. We can feel his sense of urgency start to escalate, as there is now so much more riding on his upcoming match against the Revenants. A victory over arguably the best team in the AWF would firmly entrench Gordon and Joe as the number two contenders to the XHF Tag Team Championships, with an opportunity for a traditional tag team match on the docket.
The next video to which Gordon watches, is a recently released number by one of his opponents on Sunday. The gist of the video was that the Revenants weren't overly bothered by Gordon and Joe, and felt that unless they were competing for 1st place, there was no desire to compete at all. While that is one way to look at it, it also begged the question as to whether or not The Revenants were planning to show up for the match at all? Their heads were in different places, as there were other opportunities afoot on the card for them.
The golden rule of looking past your opponents was one sin that Gordon didn't want to commit, even if it hadn't bitten Anthony Caffrey on the hand after he released his predictions for the End of Days tournament. Instead, Gordon saw things through a different lens. If the Revenants didn't 'care' - then that should make them inherently more dangerous. Perhaps they were more willing to throw caution to the wind, take higher risks and leave the cards wherever they landed. If they had no regard for themselves, and their future - then how could they have any sort of regret should our tag team match turn into a brawl.
As much as it would be nice to head home, and back to familiar surroundings - there was still a future XHF Tag Team Championship match hanging in the balance, and perhaps one more crack at the Purple Emperors.
That in itself was worth riding this out.
Gordon turned off his tablet, picked up his phone and dialed his tag team partner.
"Joe, it's me."
[...]
"Let's go over some ideas for this match."
[...]
"It could make, or break us."
[...]
[Cut.]