Post by Thespian on Aug 25, 2022 13:36:05 GMT -5
I-
“The following contest is scheduled for one fall… and it is for the NLW Southern States Championship!--”
“– the Seventh Circle of Hell… and it is for the NLW World Championship!--”
I can’t…
“--The Irish Kiss!--”
“--His throat is already damaged, how can this be fair!--”
… breathe.
“--Here is your winner via submission… and NEW NLW Southern States Champion–”
“--The Thespian has been eliminated!--”
… I can’t breathe…
Please… these rags… my throat… Whiskey… blood… drowning…
…please, somebody…
… help…
… up…
… wake up!
“THEO, WAKE UP!” Idrissa’s voice breaks through the darkening nightmare as Theo’s eyes finally snap wide open. The wrestler springs to an upright position and begins to grip at his head… feeling over his mouth… his throat. Relief slowly begins to set in as his hands find nothing where they grasp except the flesh that should be there. “Are… you okay? You were writhing in your sleep… you weren’t breathing.”
Theo is still gasping for air for a while longer before his body finally catches up to him. With a swallow, he glances over to his partner-in-crime and raises his hands to sign:
[“I… I had a nightmare about the last PPVs. Tommy Kelly beat me by suffocating the mask. Nathan Cage eliminated me by re-opening my throat.”]
“Those are in the past, though, Theo. You need to be looking ahead. They are not your opponents anymore; Trixie Mars is.”
[“I know, I know. But… I’m afraid. Afraid of losing after coming this far. Afraid of cocking it up. These are the emotions I started to feel against Tommy Kelly. Doubt. Anxiety. I beat everyone leading up to this point, but this is where things matter for real, Idrissa. The Pay Per Views. The money matches. The stakes. The only PPV I’ve won was Homecoming, and I had to go back to my roots to pull out that win. I’m going to cock it up again. I’m going to choke. People online are right, I am just a choke artist. I’m going to lose. I can’t breathe. I–”]
Idrissa gives Theo a light slap across the face. Nothing painful, but enough to snap him out of the mental cycle.
[“-... Thanks.”]
“You’re welcome, and you’re going to be fine. Have you had some bad luck in the past? Yes. But you can’t let those matches define you. Trixie is nothing compared to what you’ve faced to get here. You’ve taken down TWO X*Crown Champions and lived to tell the tale. You survived arguably the hardest bracket of the tournament to get here. What has she done? Who has she beaten? Cheez? Beau? Bugz? Scott Hampton, for fucks sake, you beat him when you returned! She had it easy while you scraped by for every single win that you’ve gotten. She is nothing, and you’re going to beat her, okay? There’s nothing else to it.”
[“Thanks, Idi. I… I get what you’re saying, I do. It’s just been a bad mental week leading up to Collision Course.”]
“Well… if you need some time to recuperate for a bit… Why don’t you let me work on some of your promotional material going into the event? I actually had something small I was brewing that I wanted to run by you anyway!”
[“And what would that be?”]
Idrissa just smiles to his companion…
“Good evening to you all watching at home! My name is the Interpreter and I am here to run down the Tale of the Tape for the main event of Collision Course; the G1 Finals!”
Idrissa stands before the camera as two long monitors flank his sides.
“Undefeated to this point, both wrestlers will give it their all and put everything on the line for one of the grandest honors in Next Level Wrestling: to become the challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship at Homecoming! Who are our finalists, you ask? Well, if you know me, then you know my associate… theeeeee THEEEEEEEEEEESPIAAAAAAAN!”
He gestures towards the monitor on his left, which shows off a full-sized image of the wrestler in question.
“And his opponent, who has been making waves since her arrival in NLW with her debut in the G1… TRIXIEEEEEEEEEEEEE MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS!”
He gestures to the opposite monitor, where the image of the Emerald Underdog loads in. He recomposes himself between the two.
“Now, let’s see the stats between the two!”
With the snap of his fingers, the heights, weights, wrestling styles, and finishers of both wrestlers appear over their lower bodies.
“While both competitors are nearly neck-and-neck in the height department, Thespian has more than enough weight to throw around to put Trixie at a physical disadvantage. Though, do not let that fool you. Both competitors have proven that it’s not the biggest or heaviest dog in the fight that wins… but the most cunning and skillful; and when it comes to skill, Trixie might have the edge.”
With another snap, both monitors begin to play highlights from both finalists’ matches.
“As you have seen, Trixie uses her nimbleness to trip her opponents up and wear them down for her grand finales, be it that devastating armbar, the Needle, or the spectacular leap of faith in the Mars Landing. High flyer and technical wizard, is there anything Trixie cannot do?
“But the Thespian, on the other hand, comes in with his own speed going into his strikes. What he lacks in formal wrestling training, he more than makes up for in precise hits that aim to whittle an opponent down before he can either screw with them mentally by using their own finisher against them via Masks of the Theater, or physically with his Comedic Tragedy knee strike!
“It’s going to be a close match, and well worth sending off Collision Course with the bang. But, you tell me, who do you think is going to win this match?--”
Static abruptly takes over the feed…
“The following contest is scheduled for one fall… and it is for the NLW Southern States Championship!--”
“– the Seventh Circle of Hell… and it is for the NLW World Championship!--”
I can’t…
“--The Irish Kiss!--”
“--His throat is already damaged, how can this be fair!--”
… breathe.
“--Here is your winner via submission… and NEW NLW Southern States Champion–”
“--The Thespian has been eliminated!--”
… I can’t breathe…
Please… these rags… my throat… Whiskey… blood… drowning…
…please, somebody…
… help…
… up…
… wake up!
“THEO, WAKE UP!” Idrissa’s voice breaks through the darkening nightmare as Theo’s eyes finally snap wide open. The wrestler springs to an upright position and begins to grip at his head… feeling over his mouth… his throat. Relief slowly begins to set in as his hands find nothing where they grasp except the flesh that should be there. “Are… you okay? You were writhing in your sleep… you weren’t breathing.”
Theo is still gasping for air for a while longer before his body finally catches up to him. With a swallow, he glances over to his partner-in-crime and raises his hands to sign:
[“I… I had a nightmare about the last PPVs. Tommy Kelly beat me by suffocating the mask. Nathan Cage eliminated me by re-opening my throat.”]
“Those are in the past, though, Theo. You need to be looking ahead. They are not your opponents anymore; Trixie Mars is.”
[“I know, I know. But… I’m afraid. Afraid of losing after coming this far. Afraid of cocking it up. These are the emotions I started to feel against Tommy Kelly. Doubt. Anxiety. I beat everyone leading up to this point, but this is where things matter for real, Idrissa. The Pay Per Views. The money matches. The stakes. The only PPV I’ve won was Homecoming, and I had to go back to my roots to pull out that win. I’m going to cock it up again. I’m going to choke. People online are right, I am just a choke artist. I’m going to lose. I can’t breathe. I–”]
Idrissa gives Theo a light slap across the face. Nothing painful, but enough to snap him out of the mental cycle.
[“-... Thanks.”]
“You’re welcome, and you’re going to be fine. Have you had some bad luck in the past? Yes. But you can’t let those matches define you. Trixie is nothing compared to what you’ve faced to get here. You’ve taken down TWO X*Crown Champions and lived to tell the tale. You survived arguably the hardest bracket of the tournament to get here. What has she done? Who has she beaten? Cheez? Beau? Bugz? Scott Hampton, for fucks sake, you beat him when you returned! She had it easy while you scraped by for every single win that you’ve gotten. She is nothing, and you’re going to beat her, okay? There’s nothing else to it.”
[“Thanks, Idi. I… I get what you’re saying, I do. It’s just been a bad mental week leading up to Collision Course.”]
“Well… if you need some time to recuperate for a bit… Why don’t you let me work on some of your promotional material going into the event? I actually had something small I was brewing that I wanted to run by you anyway!”
[“And what would that be?”]
Idrissa just smiles to his companion…
“Good evening to you all watching at home! My name is the Interpreter and I am here to run down the Tale of the Tape for the main event of Collision Course; the G1 Finals!”
Idrissa stands before the camera as two long monitors flank his sides.
“Undefeated to this point, both wrestlers will give it their all and put everything on the line for one of the grandest honors in Next Level Wrestling: to become the challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship at Homecoming! Who are our finalists, you ask? Well, if you know me, then you know my associate… theeeeee THEEEEEEEEEEESPIAAAAAAAN!”
He gestures towards the monitor on his left, which shows off a full-sized image of the wrestler in question.
“And his opponent, who has been making waves since her arrival in NLW with her debut in the G1… TRIXIEEEEEEEEEEEEE MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS!”
He gestures to the opposite monitor, where the image of the Emerald Underdog loads in. He recomposes himself between the two.
“Now, let’s see the stats between the two!”
With the snap of his fingers, the heights, weights, wrestling styles, and finishers of both wrestlers appear over their lower bodies.
“While both competitors are nearly neck-and-neck in the height department, Thespian has more than enough weight to throw around to put Trixie at a physical disadvantage. Though, do not let that fool you. Both competitors have proven that it’s not the biggest or heaviest dog in the fight that wins… but the most cunning and skillful; and when it comes to skill, Trixie might have the edge.”
With another snap, both monitors begin to play highlights from both finalists’ matches.
“As you have seen, Trixie uses her nimbleness to trip her opponents up and wear them down for her grand finales, be it that devastating armbar, the Needle, or the spectacular leap of faith in the Mars Landing. High flyer and technical wizard, is there anything Trixie cannot do?
“But the Thespian, on the other hand, comes in with his own speed going into his strikes. What he lacks in formal wrestling training, he more than makes up for in precise hits that aim to whittle an opponent down before he can either screw with them mentally by using their own finisher against them via Masks of the Theater, or physically with his Comedic Tragedy knee strike!
“It’s going to be a close match, and well worth sending off Collision Course with the bang. But, you tell me, who do you think is going to win this match?--”
Static abruptly takes over the feed…