Vanity [CROSS X*CROWN 1]
Sept 21, 2023 15:13:25 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Dave D-Flipz, and 3 more like this
Post by Cross Recoba on Sept 21, 2023 15:13:25 GMT -5
[September 8th 2023]
[Lansky Ballroom, The Sands, Las Vegas, Nevada]
The gathered men admired the view the revamped Tap Out hospitality boxes afforded them. Those who peered down saw the fanmade ‘Jason Long’ banner adorning the frontage of the box, but all could appreciate the open-faced view allowing the atmosphere to enter as opposed to staid and divorced sky boxes.
“This isn’t looking to compete with GUNS, Wrestle: UK or even Hardkore World.” The men turned around to see Cross Recoba standing in the glass doorway that would serve as the private bar, “What you’ve put your money into is the home of professional wrestling on the XHF Network.”
A notable absence from the assembled crowd was chief investor, Bob Butler.
“The location, the venue itself, the ambience…it all builds to being the only word in Professional Wrestling. We save money by owning the venue, by not touring we minimize travel expenditure and reduce labor costs. Moreover, by the time our first event happens…I’ll be the XHF X*Crown Champion! The paragon of wrestling fronted by the XHF Box Office Smash with the top title on the Network!” Cross’ words were delivered as if he were the General sending his troops to war.
Mutterings of agreement began between the guests, save for one lone voice.
“Does that mean you’ll start wrestling for Tap Out Wrestling then?”
[September 21st 2023]
[The Sands, Las Vegas, Nevada]
Cross sat in the study of his Penthouse. On a table, the HKW Heavyweight title lay next to the HCW Diamond championship, a bottle of still water resided on the arm of the chair.
“I’ll open this up, Fox, by simply saying ‘thank you’.” The impassive expression gave way to a polite smile, “Thank you for affording me the same level of hypocrisy in your words, that you’ve given every other person you’ve faced in the last eleven months.”
A snort of laughter to punctuate the point.
“Only Bloodied Fox could talk about how badly he's had it whilst responding to a challenge from a private jet. Only he could look at my victory against Brendan and, with no sense of irony, say I didn’t really do it by myself, but we can get into that in time.”
Some of us don’t act like we’re afraid of public speaking.
“But that’s been the defining part of the reborn Fox, hasn’t it? You’ve not become single-minded, only one-eyed in your views. You’ve become so focused on how you were wronged that you’re blind as to how badly history will look upon you and this reign.”
I’m not Death Trap, I don’t care enough to save you.
“You can argue you’ve made adjustments to get where you are but what I see is that the spontaneity that made you such a threat has just been replaced by a fear that means you can’t afford to take chances…”
Cross took a sip of water, the enforced alcohol ban a pledge to the levity of the match.
“But, that’s why you’re the first-ever XHF X*Crown Trios Champion and I’m not.”
There was no mistake in what I just said.
“For all your proclamations that I couldn’t have beaten Harding without help from Hayley Grimes, when was the last time you had a match that didn’t require King Submaxiswear and SEIRIOS to get involved? Your reign has seen butterfly knives and tranquilizer darts, a no contest, and a huge dash of luck and yet the way you talk, you think you’re doing this off your own steam.”
Private jet for Fox, the adopted Nepo baby.
“But, when you look at Fox, that’s what you get, isn’t it? Great in a group, but flounders on his own. Has the temerity to tell Lady Discipline that she didn’t win the FIRESIDE title and yet overlook the fact that in NLW you did nothing, that in GUNS you didn’t capture any titles. That in AWF you did well running on anger until you had nowhere left to point it. You beat Seth Dillinger, immediately lost the Prestige title to Keith Williams and never managed to get it back. You cannot function without feeling there’s some form of ‘entourage’ around you. You replaced Seth and Ryan with Brendan, Nemo, and a host of other people who are so noteworthy that if it wasn’t for video evidence, you’d doubt their existence!”
Cross screwed the cap back on the bottle before he started to pass it from hand to hand.
“I’ll be frank, Fox, I challenged you because I’m bored of your reign and you look weak. It was great that you finally won the Rumble but now every match is like watching a spoiled child take his ball and go home when his team are losing. In this case, the hands on the ball are a velvet glove and an iron fist. It’s tiresome, Fox, it’s honestly so undeniably played out it’s untrue. You might think that you’ve finally got the team in place to thrive but the truth is that you’ve just created some Lovecraftian Bastards or ReVenants homage. The worst part for you though? YOU’RE NOT EVEN IN CHARGE!”
Go on, tell me how you’re the master of your own destiny.
“The only reason you have the title in the first place is that Submaxiswear and SEIRIOS invaded the Rumble, tossed me out, tried to end Zoran’s career and threw out Death Trap whilst you directed. Who did they go for first? Me! Do you go for the weak link first or take out the strongest whilst surprise is on your side?”
Submaxiswear doesn’t strike me as particularly dumb either…just his name.
“They’re the only reason you hold that title and calling the shots isn’t the man from the United Kingdom! You’re just a pawn and it’s all so boring now. It’s creatively bankrupt if we’re being truthful. It’s as creatively bankrupt as you calling Awesome ‘Steve Van Damme’, I could match that by calling you Seth Dillinger 0.1 but I’ll refrain.”
Because it’d be as creatively bankrupt as talking about change while standing next to an opening cocoon.
“But you’re still too blind to see just how stagnant you really are. Is the X*Crown and a win against Zoran enough? What about Marty? You lost against him and isn’t he from that same ‘minor league’ you accuse me of belonging to? What do you have without that belt except the same chip on your shoulder and a weakened hand in whatever agreement you’ve got with Submaxiswear, Fox? What will keep you going then?”
It’s a long time for GUNS Season 5.
“What drives you when we take away ‘The Illuminati’ or whatever two-minute brainstorming session produced your group’s name? Who is Bloodied Fox when he hasn’t got the X*Crown or his entourage? Just another divorced guy with a chip on his shoulder? You’re weak, Fox, and you know it. You lose in the Diamond Mine and you’re just another guy who came to Vegas and bet the house only to fail. Me?”
Recoba’s hand reached for the HCW Diamond title.
“If I lose, what stops me from just cashing this in at the nadir of the End of Days show? Get you or whoever beats you when you’re weary and walk out with the X*Crown. What about you though?”
Marriage counselling might be where I’d put my efforts but I’m single and want your title.
“You seem to think you’ve served me some form of curveball by putting the match in the Diamond Club. You might think that putting it on Jack Diamond’s show gives you an edge, that I’d spend my time worrying about how the Ace of Spades might cost me for the drawn-out contract renewals. But, when you’ve got the crushing inevitability that Submaxiswear and SEIRIOS will be delivering their well-rehearsed ‘Save the Fox’ play, Jack’s the least of my worries and the venue you chose might be the biggest of yours.”
Cross’ hand left the automatic X*Crown shot and joined with its opposite number as he leant forward towards the camera.
“The Diamond Club might be owned by Jack but it’s still in Las Vegas. It’s still in the city where every month I bring the best night of wrestling on the Network to the Nevada crowds. It’s still where I’ve created jobs and wealth! It’s still where I see the same regular faces in the crowd month-to-month. It’s still in a venue where I took my ‘small-time vanity project’ this Summer and gave the regular patrons match-after-match of wall-to-wall entertainment! You want to moan about your last defense being in hostile territory and then you literally put your match against me in my own backyard!” A grin formed on the face of the HKW Heavyweight Champion as he spoke.
“For all your sneering and looking down your nose at me, Fox, you sure are a mamaluke! But then, at least when I beat you, and believe me - I will beat you, you can cling onto the fact that the crowd were against you, that Vegas is just some cesspit for wrestling and it was engineered against you. What will you blame then - the crowd? That I beat you by a fluke because you’re the almighty Bloodied Fox? Maybe the slot machines paid out too much before the match and disrupted your preparation?”
I’ll throw my hands up and freely admit that your ability to find fault even in victory is unmatched on the Network.
“Fox, what you seem only too happy to overlook is that I’ve done the one thing that you’ve never been able to do. I’ve managed to step out from Chris Card’s shadow and prove myself where you haven’t. The win against Zoran? The Rumble win? The X*Crown defences? You couldn’t do that without help, without a team around you and yet here I stand without anyone with the HKW Heavyweight title.”
Yes, I know, Fox, it’s minor league.
“GUNS? You never even bothered to go for the title. NLW? Failing to beat Seth Dillinger once more only reinforced that with no support system, without someone to steer, you just stall out at your natural peak.”
And when the inability to drop a grudge is your superpower but you lack the rich, dead parents, doesn’t that just make you the poor version of the ultimate entitled white guy?
“When that bell rings, Fox, you can talk about levels but the difference is that you’ve plateaued and I continue to climb!”
The lone voice echoed with the question: ‘Does that mean you’ll start wrestling for Tap Out Wrestling then?’ Cross thought on the words for a moment before answering.
“I’ve always said that, unless I had an unavoidable reason, I wouldn’t appear on my own show in a competitive capacity. If I wanted a vanity project, I’d have wrestled on the first show and not stopped. I’m not prepared to go out in front of the fans who give us money and enter a no-win proposition. If I win, then what does it say about the standard of Tap Out…and if I lose, I’ve just dented my own value.”
There was a silence in the investors in attendance for a moment, Recoba’s heart let out a singular heavy beat.
Then the chatter resumed.
“I’ll let you take in the view for a few more minutes, then you’ll get a chance to see what we stand to make at ground level.”
[Lansky Ballroom, The Sands, Las Vegas, Nevada]
The gathered men admired the view the revamped Tap Out hospitality boxes afforded them. Those who peered down saw the fanmade ‘Jason Long’ banner adorning the frontage of the box, but all could appreciate the open-faced view allowing the atmosphere to enter as opposed to staid and divorced sky boxes.
“This isn’t looking to compete with GUNS, Wrestle: UK or even Hardkore World.” The men turned around to see Cross Recoba standing in the glass doorway that would serve as the private bar, “What you’ve put your money into is the home of professional wrestling on the XHF Network.”
A notable absence from the assembled crowd was chief investor, Bob Butler.
“The location, the venue itself, the ambience…it all builds to being the only word in Professional Wrestling. We save money by owning the venue, by not touring we minimize travel expenditure and reduce labor costs. Moreover, by the time our first event happens…I’ll be the XHF X*Crown Champion! The paragon of wrestling fronted by the XHF Box Office Smash with the top title on the Network!” Cross’ words were delivered as if he were the General sending his troops to war.
Mutterings of agreement began between the guests, save for one lone voice.
“Does that mean you’ll start wrestling for Tap Out Wrestling then?”
*****
[September 21st 2023]
[The Sands, Las Vegas, Nevada]
Cross sat in the study of his Penthouse. On a table, the HKW Heavyweight title lay next to the HCW Diamond championship, a bottle of still water resided on the arm of the chair.
“I’ll open this up, Fox, by simply saying ‘thank you’.” The impassive expression gave way to a polite smile, “Thank you for affording me the same level of hypocrisy in your words, that you’ve given every other person you’ve faced in the last eleven months.”
A snort of laughter to punctuate the point.
“Only Bloodied Fox could talk about how badly he's had it whilst responding to a challenge from a private jet. Only he could look at my victory against Brendan and, with no sense of irony, say I didn’t really do it by myself, but we can get into that in time.”
Some of us don’t act like we’re afraid of public speaking.
“But that’s been the defining part of the reborn Fox, hasn’t it? You’ve not become single-minded, only one-eyed in your views. You’ve become so focused on how you were wronged that you’re blind as to how badly history will look upon you and this reign.”
I’m not Death Trap, I don’t care enough to save you.
“You can argue you’ve made adjustments to get where you are but what I see is that the spontaneity that made you such a threat has just been replaced by a fear that means you can’t afford to take chances…”
Cross took a sip of water, the enforced alcohol ban a pledge to the levity of the match.
“But, that’s why you’re the first-ever XHF X*Crown Trios Champion and I’m not.”
There was no mistake in what I just said.
“For all your proclamations that I couldn’t have beaten Harding without help from Hayley Grimes, when was the last time you had a match that didn’t require King Submaxiswear and SEIRIOS to get involved? Your reign has seen butterfly knives and tranquilizer darts, a no contest, and a huge dash of luck and yet the way you talk, you think you’re doing this off your own steam.”
Private jet for Fox, the adopted Nepo baby.
“But, when you look at Fox, that’s what you get, isn’t it? Great in a group, but flounders on his own. Has the temerity to tell Lady Discipline that she didn’t win the FIRESIDE title and yet overlook the fact that in NLW you did nothing, that in GUNS you didn’t capture any titles. That in AWF you did well running on anger until you had nowhere left to point it. You beat Seth Dillinger, immediately lost the Prestige title to Keith Williams and never managed to get it back. You cannot function without feeling there’s some form of ‘entourage’ around you. You replaced Seth and Ryan with Brendan, Nemo, and a host of other people who are so noteworthy that if it wasn’t for video evidence, you’d doubt their existence!”
Cross screwed the cap back on the bottle before he started to pass it from hand to hand.
“I’ll be frank, Fox, I challenged you because I’m bored of your reign and you look weak. It was great that you finally won the Rumble but now every match is like watching a spoiled child take his ball and go home when his team are losing. In this case, the hands on the ball are a velvet glove and an iron fist. It’s tiresome, Fox, it’s honestly so undeniably played out it’s untrue. You might think that you’ve finally got the team in place to thrive but the truth is that you’ve just created some Lovecraftian Bastards or ReVenants homage. The worst part for you though? YOU’RE NOT EVEN IN CHARGE!”
Go on, tell me how you’re the master of your own destiny.
“The only reason you have the title in the first place is that Submaxiswear and SEIRIOS invaded the Rumble, tossed me out, tried to end Zoran’s career and threw out Death Trap whilst you directed. Who did they go for first? Me! Do you go for the weak link first or take out the strongest whilst surprise is on your side?”
Submaxiswear doesn’t strike me as particularly dumb either…just his name.
“They’re the only reason you hold that title and calling the shots isn’t the man from the United Kingdom! You’re just a pawn and it’s all so boring now. It’s creatively bankrupt if we’re being truthful. It’s as creatively bankrupt as you calling Awesome ‘Steve Van Damme’, I could match that by calling you Seth Dillinger 0.1 but I’ll refrain.”
Because it’d be as creatively bankrupt as talking about change while standing next to an opening cocoon.
“But you’re still too blind to see just how stagnant you really are. Is the X*Crown and a win against Zoran enough? What about Marty? You lost against him and isn’t he from that same ‘minor league’ you accuse me of belonging to? What do you have without that belt except the same chip on your shoulder and a weakened hand in whatever agreement you’ve got with Submaxiswear, Fox? What will keep you going then?”
It’s a long time for GUNS Season 5.
“What drives you when we take away ‘The Illuminati’ or whatever two-minute brainstorming session produced your group’s name? Who is Bloodied Fox when he hasn’t got the X*Crown or his entourage? Just another divorced guy with a chip on his shoulder? You’re weak, Fox, and you know it. You lose in the Diamond Mine and you’re just another guy who came to Vegas and bet the house only to fail. Me?”
Recoba’s hand reached for the HCW Diamond title.
“If I lose, what stops me from just cashing this in at the nadir of the End of Days show? Get you or whoever beats you when you’re weary and walk out with the X*Crown. What about you though?”
Marriage counselling might be where I’d put my efforts but I’m single and want your title.
“You seem to think you’ve served me some form of curveball by putting the match in the Diamond Club. You might think that putting it on Jack Diamond’s show gives you an edge, that I’d spend my time worrying about how the Ace of Spades might cost me for the drawn-out contract renewals. But, when you’ve got the crushing inevitability that Submaxiswear and SEIRIOS will be delivering their well-rehearsed ‘Save the Fox’ play, Jack’s the least of my worries and the venue you chose might be the biggest of yours.”
Cross’ hand left the automatic X*Crown shot and joined with its opposite number as he leant forward towards the camera.
“The Diamond Club might be owned by Jack but it’s still in Las Vegas. It’s still in the city where every month I bring the best night of wrestling on the Network to the Nevada crowds. It’s still where I’ve created jobs and wealth! It’s still where I see the same regular faces in the crowd month-to-month. It’s still in a venue where I took my ‘small-time vanity project’ this Summer and gave the regular patrons match-after-match of wall-to-wall entertainment! You want to moan about your last defense being in hostile territory and then you literally put your match against me in my own backyard!” A grin formed on the face of the HKW Heavyweight Champion as he spoke.
“For all your sneering and looking down your nose at me, Fox, you sure are a mamaluke! But then, at least when I beat you, and believe me - I will beat you, you can cling onto the fact that the crowd were against you, that Vegas is just some cesspit for wrestling and it was engineered against you. What will you blame then - the crowd? That I beat you by a fluke because you’re the almighty Bloodied Fox? Maybe the slot machines paid out too much before the match and disrupted your preparation?”
I’ll throw my hands up and freely admit that your ability to find fault even in victory is unmatched on the Network.
“Fox, what you seem only too happy to overlook is that I’ve done the one thing that you’ve never been able to do. I’ve managed to step out from Chris Card’s shadow and prove myself where you haven’t. The win against Zoran? The Rumble win? The X*Crown defences? You couldn’t do that without help, without a team around you and yet here I stand without anyone with the HKW Heavyweight title.”
Yes, I know, Fox, it’s minor league.
“GUNS? You never even bothered to go for the title. NLW? Failing to beat Seth Dillinger once more only reinforced that with no support system, without someone to steer, you just stall out at your natural peak.”
And when the inability to drop a grudge is your superpower but you lack the rich, dead parents, doesn’t that just make you the poor version of the ultimate entitled white guy?
“When that bell rings, Fox, you can talk about levels but the difference is that you’ve plateaued and I continue to climb!”
******
The lone voice echoed with the question: ‘Does that mean you’ll start wrestling for Tap Out Wrestling then?’ Cross thought on the words for a moment before answering.
“I’ve always said that, unless I had an unavoidable reason, I wouldn’t appear on my own show in a competitive capacity. If I wanted a vanity project, I’d have wrestled on the first show and not stopped. I’m not prepared to go out in front of the fans who give us money and enter a no-win proposition. If I win, then what does it say about the standard of Tap Out…and if I lose, I’ve just dented my own value.”
There was a silence in the investors in attendance for a moment, Recoba’s heart let out a singular heavy beat.
Then the chatter resumed.
“I’ll let you take in the view for a few more minutes, then you’ll get a chance to see what we stand to make at ground level.”
******
