Post by Old Line Jeff on Mar 12, 2023 4:47:50 GMT -5
After the ‘War Room’, Ronnie had booked a flight back to the UK.
Coincidentally, Daeriq Damien preferred aisle seats to window seats. It gave his bad arm more room. Plus, even if he was far from being in fighting shape, he was still tall. He booked the seat next to Ronnie’s.
Ronnie still didn’t trust him. Sure, he’s seemingly being honest now. And as far as Queen of Sorrow went, Ronnie didn’t know enough about her to make any judgments there. Plus there was that thing where Gus Arnold had gotten mad at Jeff Andrews and deleted the A*P tapes, not realizing that there weren’t any backups. He couldn’t even get any footage of her wrestling.
“So what do you think’s going to happen?”
“Nothing’s going to happen for a long time, and then it’s all going to happen at the same time. You know how these things go.”
Ronnie nodded. At least what Daeriq was saying recently rang true. Really, his worry wasn’t that Daeriq was being dishonest now, so much that Daeriq could choose to start being dishonest again at the drop of a hat, and letting him back in could be dangerous.
Once the plane was in the air and things had calmed down, Ronnie spoke again.
“I’ve got a doctor’s appointment in Belfast. Cleared it with Mr. Blood that this guy is approved. I’m not saying the Bastards had anything to do with that doctor in London canceling me for the Elimination chamber, but…”
“I’ve heard stranger stories. So. Battle royal, huh?”
“Yeah. Lotta people that I’ve never heard of in it.”
“Open invitational, but fewer people than expected bit.” Daeriq pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. “Let’s see here. Dakota Jennings… she’s XHF royalty. Wishing you’d paid more attention to the bigger picture yet?”
“Hell no.”
Both men chuckled.
“Kirsty Mascara.”
“She’s been around W:UK for a while and hasn’t really gotten anywhere. Not a big deal.”
“Preston Andre Reese.”
“...Yeah. Cocky and rich. High Roller’s Club member.”
“And there you have two excellent reasons to try and clothesline his head off. Just because I don’t think he’s the mastermind doesn’t mean I don’t want you to beat Wesley Crane up for stealing the Glucks from me.”
“Can I, maybe, finish this business with The Bastards first?”
“You’re never gonna finish that. You and Rob Riot are the kind of guys who’ll hate each other twenty years from now and drop whatever you’re doing to grab each other’s throats. And I actually think it is good for you, you know. You lost a step after Neo-Nichiren retired.”
It was the first time he’d heard that name in years, and it still made Ronnie grind his teeth. “Don’t mention him. Ever again. Please. Who else?”
“Sinn-clair Godfrey.” Daeriq said the name slowly, as if savoring it.
“Yeah, there’s trouble I don’t need.”
“Agreed. So then. Both halves of Neo Neon Bushido. Takaru Matsui and Oni.”
“I hate fighting martial artists. And big guys have a battle royal advantage. Together, they’re going to be trouble. But tell me this. Who in this thing do you think is going to be real trouble? Who do you think I’d have to worry about the most?”
Daeriq frowned as he read the paper. “Let’s see. Rage and Cage are both in. Esmerelda Von Krauss is in. The biggest name I see in this thing though, is Kalmin Watts.”
Ronnie made a noise in the back of his throat.
“He’s the British Television Champion.”
“Yeah, I just find his views on intergender competition repugnant. I’m surprised he’s even agreed to be in the match considering we’ve got - lemme see that.” Ronnie took the piece of paper. “Dakota, Kirsty, Sinclair and Esmerelda. Four women in the match.”
“Five. Random McConologue is a woman. And hey, not that she knows it, but her style is straight out of the Heidi Christenson playbook. Tons of submissions, roundhouse kicks, and no punches. Buncha suplexes instead of lucha though.”
“The problem with holds in battle royals is that they can’t lead to eliminations. The other problem is if you make a submissionist angry enough in a battle royal, they can hook you and just hang on until the cows come home. I’ve seen it.”
“Yeah. Still.” Daeriq took the paper back. “I really want you to put aside your feelings about someone’s behind the scenes opinions and consider Watts by far the biggest threat in this match. He’s power-technical. Or maybe technical-power.”
“You were technical-power.”
“And the only time we ever wrestled each other I beat you so my point stands.” Daeriq’s smile could’ve been called ‘shit-eating’ without fears of inaccuracy, but where he might have forced the issue only a month ago he let it go. “Also. Aside from the fact that that thing about submissions applies to him too, he’s also got a good gorilla press, and in battle royals that’s a good weapon to have and a bad one to face. Anyway, views on intergender stuff aside, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. And don’t forget you worked for Gus Arnold and he flat out banned it in NPW.”
“Mmm.” Ronnie nodded. “So he’s the main threat as a singles wrestler. Then there’s Neon Bushido, Rage and Cage-”
“The New Untouchables are in it too. They may not have done much, but they are a distant corner of the Jefferverse.”
“Jefferverse.” It brought a chuckle. “I’ve been good at countering cruiserweight stuff since day one, and I can tank a few superkicks.”
“Yeah. Then the last few. Devon D’Andre’s another High Roller goon, treat him accordingly. I couldn’t find a drop of information about the promotion Ai Moe is from, let alone anything about him. Her them it. The Sheik’s a hardcore wrestler so watch out for fireballs. Tarrasque is big so don’t take him lightly but he doesn’t seem to do much. Aaand that’s pretty much it. I don’t know how bad the rust will be, but honestly, this match is yours to lose.”
“Andre Reese is the High Roller guy, not D’Andre. I think. Either way, I’ve never known a guy named Andre anything who wasn’t trying too hard.”
As the plane flies towards Ireland, the conversation drifts away from things that are relevant.
Coincidentally, Daeriq Damien preferred aisle seats to window seats. It gave his bad arm more room. Plus, even if he was far from being in fighting shape, he was still tall. He booked the seat next to Ronnie’s.
Ronnie still didn’t trust him. Sure, he’s seemingly being honest now. And as far as Queen of Sorrow went, Ronnie didn’t know enough about her to make any judgments there. Plus there was that thing where Gus Arnold had gotten mad at Jeff Andrews and deleted the A*P tapes, not realizing that there weren’t any backups. He couldn’t even get any footage of her wrestling.
“So what do you think’s going to happen?”
“Nothing’s going to happen for a long time, and then it’s all going to happen at the same time. You know how these things go.”
Ronnie nodded. At least what Daeriq was saying recently rang true. Really, his worry wasn’t that Daeriq was being dishonest now, so much that Daeriq could choose to start being dishonest again at the drop of a hat, and letting him back in could be dangerous.
Once the plane was in the air and things had calmed down, Ronnie spoke again.
“I’ve got a doctor’s appointment in Belfast. Cleared it with Mr. Blood that this guy is approved. I’m not saying the Bastards had anything to do with that doctor in London canceling me for the Elimination chamber, but…”
“I’ve heard stranger stories. So. Battle royal, huh?”
“Yeah. Lotta people that I’ve never heard of in it.”
“Open invitational, but fewer people than expected bit.” Daeriq pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. “Let’s see here. Dakota Jennings… she’s XHF royalty. Wishing you’d paid more attention to the bigger picture yet?”
“Hell no.”
Both men chuckled.
“Kirsty Mascara.”
“She’s been around W:UK for a while and hasn’t really gotten anywhere. Not a big deal.”
“Preston Andre Reese.”
“...Yeah. Cocky and rich. High Roller’s Club member.”
“And there you have two excellent reasons to try and clothesline his head off. Just because I don’t think he’s the mastermind doesn’t mean I don’t want you to beat Wesley Crane up for stealing the Glucks from me.”
“Can I, maybe, finish this business with The Bastards first?”
“You’re never gonna finish that. You and Rob Riot are the kind of guys who’ll hate each other twenty years from now and drop whatever you’re doing to grab each other’s throats. And I actually think it is good for you, you know. You lost a step after Neo-Nichiren retired.”
It was the first time he’d heard that name in years, and it still made Ronnie grind his teeth. “Don’t mention him. Ever again. Please. Who else?”
“Sinn-clair Godfrey.” Daeriq said the name slowly, as if savoring it.
“Yeah, there’s trouble I don’t need.”
“Agreed. So then. Both halves of Neo Neon Bushido. Takaru Matsui and Oni.”
“I hate fighting martial artists. And big guys have a battle royal advantage. Together, they’re going to be trouble. But tell me this. Who in this thing do you think is going to be real trouble? Who do you think I’d have to worry about the most?”
Daeriq frowned as he read the paper. “Let’s see. Rage and Cage are both in. Esmerelda Von Krauss is in. The biggest name I see in this thing though, is Kalmin Watts.”
Ronnie made a noise in the back of his throat.
“He’s the British Television Champion.”
“Yeah, I just find his views on intergender competition repugnant. I’m surprised he’s even agreed to be in the match considering we’ve got - lemme see that.” Ronnie took the piece of paper. “Dakota, Kirsty, Sinclair and Esmerelda. Four women in the match.”
“Five. Random McConologue is a woman. And hey, not that she knows it, but her style is straight out of the Heidi Christenson playbook. Tons of submissions, roundhouse kicks, and no punches. Buncha suplexes instead of lucha though.”
“The problem with holds in battle royals is that they can’t lead to eliminations. The other problem is if you make a submissionist angry enough in a battle royal, they can hook you and just hang on until the cows come home. I’ve seen it.”
“Yeah. Still.” Daeriq took the paper back. “I really want you to put aside your feelings about someone’s behind the scenes opinions and consider Watts by far the biggest threat in this match. He’s power-technical. Or maybe technical-power.”
“You were technical-power.”
“And the only time we ever wrestled each other I beat you so my point stands.” Daeriq’s smile could’ve been called ‘shit-eating’ without fears of inaccuracy, but where he might have forced the issue only a month ago he let it go. “Also. Aside from the fact that that thing about submissions applies to him too, he’s also got a good gorilla press, and in battle royals that’s a good weapon to have and a bad one to face. Anyway, views on intergender stuff aside, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. And don’t forget you worked for Gus Arnold and he flat out banned it in NPW.”
“Mmm.” Ronnie nodded. “So he’s the main threat as a singles wrestler. Then there’s Neon Bushido, Rage and Cage-”
“The New Untouchables are in it too. They may not have done much, but they are a distant corner of the Jefferverse.”
“Jefferverse.” It brought a chuckle. “I’ve been good at countering cruiserweight stuff since day one, and I can tank a few superkicks.”
“Yeah. Then the last few. Devon D’Andre’s another High Roller goon, treat him accordingly. I couldn’t find a drop of information about the promotion Ai Moe is from, let alone anything about him. Her them it. The Sheik’s a hardcore wrestler so watch out for fireballs. Tarrasque is big so don’t take him lightly but he doesn’t seem to do much. Aaand that’s pretty much it. I don’t know how bad the rust will be, but honestly, this match is yours to lose.”
“Andre Reese is the High Roller guy, not D’Andre. I think. Either way, I’ve never known a guy named Andre anything who wasn’t trying too hard.”
As the plane flies towards Ireland, the conversation drifts away from things that are relevant.