Post by Old Line Jeff on Apr 25, 2023 1:30:08 GMT -5
“There’s something I want to get ahead of.”
Same Ronnie Long. Same porch, same leather vest and sweaty chest, same Georgia heat.
We’re continuing from last time, we just broke this up for the short attention span of modern youth. Or something.
“Big Billah, on being called out for ignoring his upcoming match, has a pretty obvious play to make there.”
“Play it off like I’m not worth taking seriously. Like the match isn’t important enough to take seriously. Hell, he might as well break out the B-word. Tell us all how uninteresting and beneath him and the Bastards this match is.”
Brief pause.
“If he thinks that, that’s his problem.”
A short chuckle under his breath.
“Cos right now, a lot of people are calling Frank Windsor the weak link of the Bastards. And I hate to sympathize with Frank Windsor, I really do. He is, in fact, the little bitch who can’t do anything without help. The little punk who needed his buddy to hand him a title belt because he couldn’t win one on his own.”
“But you know what Billy Fowler was doing while Windsor and Riot did their little swervity routine and explaining their master plan to the world?”
“He said three words.”
“And it got me thinking.”
Long flexes his fingers, popping the joints.
“When I ran with The Untouchables, I had this stigma attached to me. Jeff Andrews was, well, he was Jeff Andrews. He was always the spark that made everything happen, and he was a multitime World Champion. Then you had Heidi Christenson, and she was the one our enemies were genuinely afraid of. Believe me when I say this, the Bastards have nothing on what she could do if she decided to go off the leash. Kai Scott was the smart one - he didn’t have the title wins that Jeff and Heidi did, but he didn’t need to. And then there was me.”
“See, I wasn’t part of the Baltimore clique that Jeff and the others were, and I didn’t come up through the LBWF like they did. I started hanging out with Jeff when he was trying to kick an oxy habit he picked up after going through a bed o’ nails in a hardcore match with the man who founded the Untouchables, Mr. Dude, god rest his soul even though he’s still alive and well.. And people just saw me as this guy who only got into the group because I was buddies with Jeff.”
“I tried a bunch of different things to stand out. I won myself a World Title. That was more than Kai had at the time. But it didn’t change much. And when I was in Defiance I started carrying a shovel to the ring and hitting people with it. That’s where the whole Gravedigger thing came from. Remember Jay Stevens? Wrestled in NPW and here in W:UK a bit? Well, his Dad, Stephen Greer, well, Greer and I didn’t like each other and he could get mean on the mic. I started carrying a shovel because I was gonna be the one doing the burying.”
“Still didn’t get me out of their shadow.”
“And no, I’m not bitter. I will happily admit that the reason I couldn’t get out from their shadow was because Jeff Andrews, Heidi Christenson and Kai Scott were three of the best to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots.”
“But I came to NPW and W:UK and told them to stay away because I wanted to find my own voice.”
“And comparing that to Mr. Preach It Brother got me thinking…”
Ronnie strokes the side of his chin.
“What exactly has Billy Fowler done? Yeah, won a World Title. Big ups to my homie Big Billah. But who has been the driving force behind the Bastards doing anything?”
“Well, Rob Riot’s the smart one. And Frank Windsor’s the angry, driven one. Frank decides something needs to be done, Riot rolls with it and makes it happen… and there’s Billy Fowler in the background.”
“That World Title was around Billy Fowler’s waist because Rob Riot and Frank Windsor decided to put him in the position to go after it. Billy Fowler’s a prop for the Bastards. A big prop, a talented prop, but in the end… just a prop.”
Long sits up and shakes his vest, getting a bit of cool air before sitting back down.
“And that’s why he didn’t even say my name. Put back in the title scene, but on someone else’s terms and not the Bastards terms, he couldn’t even tell who I was. He just kissed Rob’s ass. And Frank’s ass. And Sean Bean’s ass. Just a giant empty shell to speak the same empty Bastards platitudes. He’s not a prop after all. He’s a mock-up. He’s a muppet. Billy, you’re a fucking muppet, mate!”
That last sentence was spoken in a horrendous mock-Bri’ish accent.
“The thing is, Billy…”
Ronnie stands up.
“I may not have won the World Title - yet - but I’m speaking for myself. I’m making myself matter. And what has Billy Fowler done for the sake of Billy Fowler?”
“Not. A. Damn. Thing.”
“I may have had my struggles here in W:UK. I may have - no, no may, I lost my way for a while there. But I’m still accomplishing what I came here to do.”
“To make sure that never again will I be a Billy Fowler.”
End.
Same Ronnie Long. Same porch, same leather vest and sweaty chest, same Georgia heat.
We’re continuing from last time, we just broke this up for the short attention span of modern youth. Or something.
“Big Billah, on being called out for ignoring his upcoming match, has a pretty obvious play to make there.”
“Play it off like I’m not worth taking seriously. Like the match isn’t important enough to take seriously. Hell, he might as well break out the B-word. Tell us all how uninteresting and beneath him and the Bastards this match is.”
Brief pause.
“If he thinks that, that’s his problem.”
A short chuckle under his breath.
“Cos right now, a lot of people are calling Frank Windsor the weak link of the Bastards. And I hate to sympathize with Frank Windsor, I really do. He is, in fact, the little bitch who can’t do anything without help. The little punk who needed his buddy to hand him a title belt because he couldn’t win one on his own.”
“But you know what Billy Fowler was doing while Windsor and Riot did their little swervity routine and explaining their master plan to the world?”
“He said three words.”
“And it got me thinking.”
Long flexes his fingers, popping the joints.
“When I ran with The Untouchables, I had this stigma attached to me. Jeff Andrews was, well, he was Jeff Andrews. He was always the spark that made everything happen, and he was a multitime World Champion. Then you had Heidi Christenson, and she was the one our enemies were genuinely afraid of. Believe me when I say this, the Bastards have nothing on what she could do if she decided to go off the leash. Kai Scott was the smart one - he didn’t have the title wins that Jeff and Heidi did, but he didn’t need to. And then there was me.”
“See, I wasn’t part of the Baltimore clique that Jeff and the others were, and I didn’t come up through the LBWF like they did. I started hanging out with Jeff when he was trying to kick an oxy habit he picked up after going through a bed o’ nails in a hardcore match with the man who founded the Untouchables, Mr. Dude, god rest his soul even though he’s still alive and well.. And people just saw me as this guy who only got into the group because I was buddies with Jeff.”
“I tried a bunch of different things to stand out. I won myself a World Title. That was more than Kai had at the time. But it didn’t change much. And when I was in Defiance I started carrying a shovel to the ring and hitting people with it. That’s where the whole Gravedigger thing came from. Remember Jay Stevens? Wrestled in NPW and here in W:UK a bit? Well, his Dad, Stephen Greer, well, Greer and I didn’t like each other and he could get mean on the mic. I started carrying a shovel because I was gonna be the one doing the burying.”
“Still didn’t get me out of their shadow.”
“And no, I’m not bitter. I will happily admit that the reason I couldn’t get out from their shadow was because Jeff Andrews, Heidi Christenson and Kai Scott were three of the best to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots.”
“But I came to NPW and W:UK and told them to stay away because I wanted to find my own voice.”
“And comparing that to Mr. Preach It Brother got me thinking…”
Ronnie strokes the side of his chin.
“What exactly has Billy Fowler done? Yeah, won a World Title. Big ups to my homie Big Billah. But who has been the driving force behind the Bastards doing anything?”
“Well, Rob Riot’s the smart one. And Frank Windsor’s the angry, driven one. Frank decides something needs to be done, Riot rolls with it and makes it happen… and there’s Billy Fowler in the background.”
“That World Title was around Billy Fowler’s waist because Rob Riot and Frank Windsor decided to put him in the position to go after it. Billy Fowler’s a prop for the Bastards. A big prop, a talented prop, but in the end… just a prop.”
Long sits up and shakes his vest, getting a bit of cool air before sitting back down.
“And that’s why he didn’t even say my name. Put back in the title scene, but on someone else’s terms and not the Bastards terms, he couldn’t even tell who I was. He just kissed Rob’s ass. And Frank’s ass. And Sean Bean’s ass. Just a giant empty shell to speak the same empty Bastards platitudes. He’s not a prop after all. He’s a mock-up. He’s a muppet. Billy, you’re a fucking muppet, mate!”
That last sentence was spoken in a horrendous mock-Bri’ish accent.
“The thing is, Billy…”
Ronnie stands up.
“I may not have won the World Title - yet - but I’m speaking for myself. I’m making myself matter. And what has Billy Fowler done for the sake of Billy Fowler?”
“Not. A. Damn. Thing.”
“I may have had my struggles here in W:UK. I may have - no, no may, I lost my way for a while there. But I’m still accomplishing what I came here to do.”
“To make sure that never again will I be a Billy Fowler.”
End.