Post by PANTHRO on Jul 5, 2014 22:59:37 GMT -6
||:||No One Said The Climb Was Easy.||:||
APRIL 13, 2013 ...San Diego, California in front of the amazing crowd that is the RIMAC Arena. The Big L was apart of a match, a very grueling and brutal and will testing match. On April 13, 2013 The Big L and The Big Bad Justin Brooks went into the RIMAC Arena, blind, and were given a chance to become CHAMPIONS. That night, The Big L and Johnny Cannon, who would have been a year ago tag team champions before Invincible...were beaten. And yeah, it stung knowing that Johnny Cannon and Abby Park won those belts, and yeah, it stung when it felt like I was the one who was the dead weight in the Johnny Cannon and Steve Lenton tag team combo; But since April 13, 2013 a lot, and The Big L means A LOT has changed over the past year and a half since he joined this place. The Big L has seen success, and he's seen failure, he's BEEN at the top of the mountain and fallen off of the it, and hittin' each rock goin' down. But you know something? What makes this match so much better, what makes it so damn EXCITIN' is the fact that The Big L gets to get into the ring with the Abby Park...and Johnny Cannon. Before they were known as Short Change Heroes, before all of that it was a bomb ass lil' mama and a stud of a English crumpet goin' into the unknown!
And that, ladies and gentlemen is how our stories are intertwined. Short Change Heroes, TROUBLE, we've gone into the unknown and we've REACHED into it grabbing GOLD!! We've come out on top in many occasions and we've faced the fiercest competition EXODUS has thrown our way, we've earned our spots as one of the best tag teams in EXODUS today!! But...we all know how this story plays out...there can only be...ONE. One team can grab those Tag Team Championships, one UNIT can become the best tag team in EXODUS, and that ONE UNIT IS TROUBLE!!! Now Abby Park, Johnny Cannon, you both were great as tag team champions, you both helped lay down a foundation for us. The Turks and YOU...you were two of the best tag teams I have had the honor of facin' since my time in this company.
I KNOW what it feels like to lose to you both. I KNOW what it feels like when you're so close to getting something. I KNOW what it's like to be in 2nd place and I KNOW FOR A FACT that The Big L gets tired of it. So you wanna make a comeback, you wanna go back to running this division, well welcome back. Me and Wulf Erikksen will personally lay down the mat, bend you both backwards and kick your ass straight back to singles competition!!! Because we know what we have to do in order to get our hands on Iwakuma and Chase. We're on a mission, and we're going to accomplish it: BEAT NINTH GATE!!! They got somethin' we want, they've got our belts, and it's gonna be a tough ass climb, but the shit me and Wulf have been through? It's a damn CAKEWALK.
So we're going to warn you, lay down the yellow tape, TROUBLE has one goal set, TROUBLE has one thing on our minds, and the one thing that don't trouble, TROUBLE...are the Short Change Heroes. We're ready for this fight, we're ready for the battle that will commence in Kobe, Japan; WE'VE BEEN READY SINCE THE JUMP!!! The Short Change Heroes want a slice of this ass-kick pie, then COME RIGHT ON DOWN!!! Don't be shy, eat your pie!!! Because KOBE, JAPAN, in front of the fine Japanese people in the Kobe Sambo Hall...we will unleash HELL!!! So...you're gonna learn exactly how much has changed since 2013!! Oh yeah...
Welcome Back.
I think I've fallen in love with Japan, maybe it's this calm and peaceful feeling I get. Maybe the giant amounts of food I've stuffed in my face or maybe, it's because of the crowd. The fans here...I love them, they appreciate me as much as I appreciate them. It's a mutual respect y'know? I'm a giant bronze foreigner coming to someone else's home, WRESTLING, performing for them and in return I get their love. It's a pretty even trade if you ask me, though I wish I could give them something more. I wish I could come to this beautiful country as one half of the tag team champions, but...yeah...we know how that story goes.
Victoria: So...I take it this dinner is to make up for missing our one-year anniversary?
Steve Lenton: I was busy.
Victoria: We had awhile to plan you know? But no, no, no you had to go dash off to Japan.
Steve Lenton: You sound pretty angry.
Victoria: You're lucky you're so damn cute or else I would've torn my ticket up and had a nice Saturday night back in San Diego.
This was nice, having such a nice dinner with the girl I've fallen over heels for. We never see each other like we use to due to the schedule. But it's JAPAN, I mean who would want to turn that down. Though I wouldn't mind having a nice dinner with her here and there. She takes it okay, she knows this is a tough sport, and she knows what I'm fighting for. Stacey...Stacey and Wulf...it felt good, y'know, it felt good to get my hands on Daisuke...but it's bittersweet. They have the belts still, and that's hanging over Wulf and my head. Victoria picked up her chopsticks and began to eat a bit, before looking up at me for a moment. I think I stopped talking...
Victoria: Stephen.
Steve Lenton: Huh? Yeah? What were you saying?
Victoria: ...How is Stacey?
Steve Lenton: Good, she's a little stiff, Wulf's looking after her, so she's in good hands.
Victoria: Mm.
Steve Lenton: Kind of makes me angry y'know? It's not just that it's...
I place my fork and knife down, not really that interested in finishing this steak. I scan the air quickly, looking for a way to express what I felt.
Steve Lenton: Stacey...is precious, to me...and immensely to Wulf. I'm his partner, I'm suppose to be there for him through thick and thin, and just like that...e-e-everyone says that there was nothing I could do about it; But I could have, I could have and it gets you a lil' uh...a lil' SICK, because you let down a friend and now someone he loves was hurt bad by the guy we hate the most...
Victoria: Stephen, I saw it and--
Steve Lenton: Yeah, and I know...and I can't--I just can't risk it...I couldn't risk sending you here because Daisuke and looking to hurt--
Victoria: Stephen, I've been with you since you came back...I'm not going anywhere. Now I appreciate it love, I appreciate that you care so much about me, but...I know you will be there, and I know that you wouldn't let anything happen to me. I have that much confident in you.
I stay quiet for a moment and then blink, looking back down at my plate.
Steve Lenton: I--
Her hand touches mine, she strokes it with love.
Victoria: Stop.
Steve Lenton: ...Promise me if they do show up...you get as far away as possible.
Victoria: Like a jet.
Steve Lenton: ...I love you.
Victoria: And I love you too. ..now finish your steak, this meal is expensive even by your standards.
Steve Lenton: Excuse me?
Victoria: Let me reiterate what I mean: You eat everything out of a paper bag.
Steve Lenton: Not everything.
Victoria: Everything.
I chuckle some and then continue on this steak. Still, it doesn't ease my mind. Daisuke and Kameron are still in EXODUS and if they would go to the lengths of hurting the people that we cared about...then I''m going to worry. But for now...I had to enjoy my moments with the woman I loved. Victoria was strong, she was determined, and most of all she wouldn't back down...because I'm not going to back down from this fight. I'm not going to let them hurt anyone else.
They better watch their backs.
Meriken Park stood behind me, along with Kobe Port Tower. I stood there, dressed in yet another stylish suit, lookin' like a straight model from GQ...but I was ALL...BUSINESS, because I had BUSINESS to take care of this show. My face, solemn, focused, showing no signs that I was shaken by this match or Ninth Gate.
Steve Lenton: Kobe, Japan the location of EXODUS Pro Wrestling!! The Big L stands before you, ready for whatever's about to happen in the new few days. The Big L last EXODUS, went into his match with Daisuke Iwakuma and told him straight up, we're going to END this!! We're going to make sure we put a stop to this tyranny, to this blatant bullshit and that we were going to run them out of EXODUS for GOOD!! The Big L put his foot up Daisuke's ass, and now he needs Kameron to match the set! But no, no, no EXODUS puts The Big L and Wulf Erikksen into some tag team competition. They put us up against former tag team champions in their own right; They put us in the ring...with Short Change Heroes. Short Change Heroes, Abby Park, Johnny Cannon two EXODUS mainstays who have BLAZED a trail here in this company. The Big L has faced Johnny Cannon many times, he knows Johnny Cannon's personality, he knows Johnny Cannon lives for this moment; And The Big L also knows that Johnny Cannon isn't about losing.
Abby Park, the hot lil' Seoul mama, teamin' up with Cannon, ready to saddle back up and make another impact in the tag team division. The Big L remembers, last year, going into a ladder match for the EXODUS Pro Tag Team Championships. He remembers going into that match and he remembers that defeat. He thinks back again, last year, in front of a rowdy crowd. The Big L...out on Cloud 9 winning the International Championship...only for Johnny Cannon to dethrone him and take the belt. The Big L remembers all of this, he remembers just being INCHES away from greatness, inches away from being a household name in this company, INCHES away from cementing his history in this company and Abby Park and Johnny Cannon have on many occasions taken that from The Big L.
I begin to pace a bit, keep my eyes focused on the camera lens, this suit looked nice, I would have hated to burst out of it because the adrenaline pours out of me could have flood this entire prefecture.
Steve Lenton: Well, you both are in such a giving mood, always givin' The Big L something, so The Big L is going to give you something back. Something that's been sitting there for a year now, something really close to me: MY FOOT!!! BECAUSE IN KOBE, JAPAN, IN FRONT OF THESE AMAZING PEOPLE, THE BIG L AND WULF ERIKKSEN ARE GOING TO SHOW YOU WHAT'S CHANGED IN THIS DIVISION!!! In Kobe, Japan we're going to show you BOTH why we held onto those belts for so long. IN KOBE, JAPAN LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BIG L and WULF...ERIKKSEN are going to show Ninth Gate, when you fuck with TROUBLE you best be ready for the storm that's about to hit you!!! Because The Big L, will not cannot allow Short Change Heroes or NINTH GATE...to get the best of us both again. So show me what you got, and we'll show YOU what WE'VE GOT!!!
I walk off quickly leaving the camera to gaze at beautiful Kobe...and then.
Fade. Static. End.