Post by Cross Recoba on Jan 30, 2023 18:23:43 GMT -5
1
Jack Diamond had just gone through the curtain, the Denver crowd wowed by what had been a celebration of one year of Tap Out Wrestling and what a year it had been.
Many of the companies on the XHF Network could only dream of being able to put on Jack Diamond vs Jason Long on their shows, that Cross had had the luxury of doing twice was something that he still found almost mind-blowing but to add in Bobby Barrett as the Special Guest Referee this time was something didn’t need to be done, he just exercised the option.
For someone who was meant to be around the Network for a couple of months at most, Cross was looking down the barrel to March which would mark his third year being under the XHF banner and with his own company leading the charge. He’d even picked up a Network contract that had meant they’d gone in on Tap Out with him. It also meant that he was required to compete in another Network company at all times but there were worse things that could happen.
“What a match! It’s like they create magic every time they’re across the ring from one another!” Steve Morrison came across as enthusiastic calling the matches for Tap Out and it wasn’t an act, “and Bobby was straight down the middle!”
Morrison set down his headset, the Network having switched them to mute as Randy and Hawke took on the main-event. Cross kept his on for now, the curiosity as to where the Network commentators had holes in their announcing game was too strong but he only had half an ear on it for now.
“That he was but there’s no easy matches facing either of them. Look at the rankings, Poena’s going to want to get involved and there’s an inevitable match-up against Jason there at some point. Jackalope’s not quite there but he’s a win or two away from forcing himself into a title shot and then there’s the winner of our next Main Event. Sawyer wins, they’ll want their rematch immediately. If Merric does, he’s going to cause some awkward conversations for those of us who have to put these shows togeth-”
Cross’ words cut off in an instant as his expression changed from a picture of confidence to one that had been tinged by horror in a heartbeat. He looked at his announcing colleague and silently mouthed ‘oh, fuck’, rasing his hand up to apologize as he did so.
“Sorry, can you just repeat that last part?”
The voice on the other end of the line was one of the XHF crew, Cross’ couldn’t put a name to the owner but they had definitely spent a lot of time in New England.
“Are you still there, Cross?’ there became thah “One of the web guys, they got asked to put up Armand’s latest promo onto the website and skimmed through it. He has Dakota in his sights.”
“Did you say Dakota?”
“Ayuh…”
Cross felt his eyes widen, he caught the gaze of his Commentator and shook his head, he hoped it was convincing enough to stop any of the questions Steve might have.
“Define sights. Do you mean as in from a gun?”
The line went quiet, perhaps there wasn’t a page in the XHF employee manual that dealt with this and if it was it most likely was buried behind a much larger section entitled ‘The Perils of having Dino Bones on your roster’.
“I-uh, believe so.” the reply was unsure but Cross was hoping this was some misunderstanding, a casual worker roped in from the Denver outskirts to help out on one of the bigger shows of the XHF calendar.
“I need you to find it and cue it up, I’ll be right there.” his voice remained measured, or so he hoped. He’d had to deal with people with guns before but they’d normally been pointed at him and, to this point, he’d managed to outwit them but there was always a first.
2
There was no mistaking it, Armand had located Dakota and as sure as he said, and as unsure as New England was, that was a sniper scope trained on the only female End of Days winner.
Cross unconsciously patted his jacket for cigarettes that wouldn’t be there. He’d made that promise to his former partner a few years back and save for the occasional cigar, he’d kicked the habit. This was one of those times where he was sure she’d have excused the slip.
“Do you need to get to her? Head home to Vegas?” New England tried to sound like he was solving a problem but Recoba was certain that of the two of them, he was the second to remain unconvinced.
If it were Vegas he’d need to go to, that’d be a quick stop but she was still out on the East coast last time he checked and unless she’d moved this month, nothing had changed since they’d last talked.
“You think you could find a room in this arena and get hold of a couple of cameramen? Tell them that I’ll pay them four times above industry scale if they help me. If you can do that, I’ll get you a full-time job with Tap Out and a signing bonus of a grand plus relocation fees.”
The Tap Out owner knew the money before his first paycheck was going to come from his own pocket. He studied New England as he weighed up the offer, he was definitely younger than Cross and for all he knew, he was the AV Club leader at his newly-relocated High School but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
“Could I live at The Sands like you?”
The reply made Cross glad he’d mentioned nothing about what job title or progression he’d have. New England had raised the alarm and was now trying to negotiate when he’d have more leverage after the favor was completed.
“I wouldn’t recommend it. Besides, a hotel in Vegas on the Strip isn’t for the faint-hearted.”
New England considered this for a moment.
“But I’d be working with Laura? She’s a pro…”
A mental note was made to make sure he’d be well out of Laura Messier’s hair at all times.
“We can sort out the particulars if you can solve my problem.”
New England thought for a moment once more.
“There’s a press room that’s not likely to be used now, it’s smaller than the main one but whoever comes out with the X*Crown will have that. I can look at the production sheet and see who isn’t covering that. Give me twenty minutes?”
“I’ll add a hundred to that signing bonus for every minute you’re under.”
3
“Are you all set up?” Cross flashed a smile at the two cameramen as he asked.
“Just about, Mr. Recoba. Can you just move a little more towards the center mic for me?.”
Cross obliged and looked back to the cameraman who had lifted his hand up to count down from five.
The recording light came on…showtime.
“Armand, I can’t tell you how great it was to hear that you, like me, had wanted this match for sometime. Sadly, that was the only time I think we can agree”
Recoba lifted his arms from behind him to rest on his lap, the miseducation of Armand von Krauss was in session.
“Where do we even begin, von Krauss. Perhaps with the fact that for all your protestations that Isabella was never yours, never a true von Krauss, she truly was her father’s daughter. The stunts, the whole showmanship of what she’d try and pull was completely taken from the Kharnival, your carnival at that. But the other thing that she had in common with you? She never truly completed her homework.”
Cross let the comparison stand for a few moments.
“You might know what I do outside the ring, away from Tap Out and far removed from Hardkore World and Wrestle:UK. Maybe you know why I got given the nickname of ‘The Hammer’ or perhaps you’ve overheard Mongo referring to me as a sociopath and who knows, perhaps he has similar words for you but I suspect that the terms ‘Walter Mitty’ and ‘fantasist’ might be the leading epithets he uses…”
The HKW star was keen to keep his words even and measured, he’d debated whether calling the man with your ex-girlfriend in his crosshairs a fantasist was the best course of action but whilst he’d grown up in Illinois, he received an MBA education inside the walls of The Sands Hotel and Casino.
“You nearly cost me the Tap Out Wrestling 10 Main Event, Poena isn’t the most even-keeled person at the best of times but having to explain to our doctors why he returned from Battle for Hegemony raving about some lunatic and Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned wasn’t how I intended to spend an afternoon…”
It had been a long night and Cross could feel its weight bearing down on him. He ran a hand through his hair and suppressed a sigh.
“But, like everything that comes out your mouth - it didn’t quite ring true. Much like your claims of coming out victorious with your team. Perhaps that’s why I’m here tonight having to address you via video rather than in person. How does a flight in that ship of yours feel when you know that you really wanted to be facing off against Zoran, Raymond, Poena, and The Sheik tonight but you blew it in that eight-man tag…like you always blow it when you get put against anyone outside of your immediate sphere.”
The adrenaline was thankfully kicking in as he spoke.
“You’re the very definition of all talk and no trousers, Armand. You spent more time waxing lyrical about how you influenced the history of the Roman Empire than you did on the match at hand and for our match in Los Angeles, you’ve managed to do the same.”
A smile was breaking across the face of the Cicero native.
“Make no mistake, Dakota and I still talk, we’re still close but we’ve not been an item since before Ascension Wrestling stopped existing. Equally, it’s not like there’s a replacement no matter how many journalists try to make Laura Messier and I a bonafide couple. The issue though is that you’re not trying to check your sources, not bound by any code to make sure you information is right and, Armand, it shows. You’ve kind of gone for the no research, all cards on the table strategy and this close to the show? I know you’ve either run out of time or the drive to try and come up with another plan.”
Cross shook his head, the disappointment of a match he was looking forward to being treated with nothing but disdain and laziness by his opponent.
“So, whilst you’re currently being watched by the Network faithful you need to ask yourself this. If you’re so smart you’ve lived through the death of endless civilizations, was it by avoiding attracting the wrong kind of attention? So, this threat of yours doesn’t really work on yet another level. You’ve shown that you know where they live, you’ve told people your motive, and you’ve even gone ahead and given the potential weapon for murder away. But, you know what - I absolutely buy that you’ve had the cunning to outlast thousands of years of upheaval and change, it’s just that it’s January and you’re tired and Esmerelda’s birthday falls between Christmas and Valentine’s Day…”
A smirk grew across the face of Recoba, he’d thought this match was a potential banana skin but unless the elaborate plan was to fake out Cross that Armand was somewhere between a houseplant and the head of a Mickey Mouse costume for intelligence, he could feel his confidence in the result of the match growing.
“When that bell rings, Armand, you’ll find out why people welcome the challenge of facing you for the X*Crown title but only one person challenged me. You’re going to find out just why I’ve managed to pull off scalp after scalp after scalp. You’ve got one card to play but the face is up and pointing to the sky - you’re going to try and make things violent, turn it into the kind of barbaric freakshow you made your name in. That’s your Puncher’s Chance and don’t even think there’s another angle you can take in the match. I was looking forward to this match to showcase my eligibility to get back into challenging for the X*Crown, that I can take down a familiar face on those big XHF events but the more I researched you and the video you put out today? Beating you isn’t going to raise my position one inch…”
Again, Recoba lets the words hang.
“What it will do though is make sure that the next time Wrestle: UK and HKW have a crossover show, they might want to consider giving me a bigger challenge than a guy who managed to make Riot Star Wrestling more of an irrelevance than when he purchased it. Wrestle: UK might want to put up someone with a fighting chance to deliver glory back to them rather than a man whose greatest achievement on the XHF Network so far has been to give the fans Tarrasque and for HKW? This win will mean that the next time they look for someone to represent them on the bigger stage of the XHF events? They’ll look no further than me, the XHF Box Office Smash!”
*****
