Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2017 22:28:22 GMT -5
It hurt. Images of that match, that move I had practiced over and over...it hurt. Every time I closed my eyes, I'm haunted by that sound of my shoulder colliding first with the canvas. “Ouch,” I'd exclaim. But there was no one around to hear me. That was just the physical pain. Of course the mental anguish of losing yet another big match to cloud my vision going into Phenomenon. Big match after big match and always being just a bit short every single time. I try to be positive, to find the glass half full, to believe in the heart of the ring...but let's be honest, the more I keep failing myself, the more I fail not just in the eyes of our fans, but I fail to be their hero, the very beating heart of Pride Pro Wrestling...
“It'd be super easy to just give up, cave in to my demons and the taunts of my peers and just, walk away. Maybe they were all right, I'm just a fan, I'm not cut out to be someone special in this business. How many more times can I 'almost win' before everyone loses the faith they placed...”
“No. Don't talk like that, Sammy. You worked so hard to get here, to this point. You proved the doubters wrong when you showed your heart to keep fighting. Win, lose, you're an inspiration...plus, you can't let Erron Wilder be right about you, yes...?”
“I suppose not. I just...want to WIN. I'm tired of being the walking, talking, participation trophy of Pride...the fans, even the company, they all call me the beating heart! I...want, no, I NEED, to prove that true! And what better time to do precisely that, than at Phenomenon, and for the Pride Pro Wrestling Television Championship?!”
**THUD**
It was the sound of Sammy's body as he rolled onto the floor from the couch in his apartment. A thud that reminded him all too well of Ignition 4, and the grave fall he suffered that cost him his chance at opportunity against the Pride Pro Wrestling Champion. His eyes shot open, albeit with a wince, as he shot his hand over to his shoulder and lightly clutching it.
“Ow! That still hurt...”
Sammy replied to himself, gently massaging his shoulder as he pushed himself up to his knees, then to his feet.
“I know my career hasn't been impressive in terms of the statistics, but there's one thing I've realized. It's that you only truly 'lose' when you fail to get back up!”
He looked down at the floor for a moment, then back up.
“See, I could have laid there for a while. My shoulder is still hurting after slipping off those ropes, and I landed right on the same spot. No one would have blamed me, right? But...I would have. I would have blamed myself, because I knew that, in my heart, it wasn't the end. Just like the triple threat match at Ignition three, yeah I was sad I 'lost'. But I didn't 'lose', really, did I? Our new boss certainly agrees. And now here I am, ready to square up with Holly Rhodes one more time. Who knows what could have happened if I had just given up...I certainly wouldn't be given this last opportunity, I'm pretty sure of that!”
Sammy cracks a half smile, gradually shifting it into 'Serious Sammy Face', it was time to address his opponent, Holly Rhodes, directly.
“What can I say? You won in our first contest, you became the first Television champ. That's an accomplishment no one can take from you, at least I wouldn't anyway. On paper, you've got to be favored with at least twelve to one odds I bet. Those are statistics, I can't refute.....
But! What I can say, is this time, we're not at Ignition. We're not in a three-way dance! Holly, this time you're face-to-face with the beating heart of Pride – the heart that never stops beating – and this time, you have to find a way to stop that very heart if you want to keep that esteemed title you cling to preciously around your waist! Some might say I'm your biggest challenge to your title reign to-date. But I'm not naive. I know what the stats say...all I'm going to say is be ready.
Because, Holly? If this is MY last shot...you better believe, I'm coming into Phenomenon to go to war!”
“It'd be super easy to just give up, cave in to my demons and the taunts of my peers and just, walk away. Maybe they were all right, I'm just a fan, I'm not cut out to be someone special in this business. How many more times can I 'almost win' before everyone loses the faith they placed...”
“No. Don't talk like that, Sammy. You worked so hard to get here, to this point. You proved the doubters wrong when you showed your heart to keep fighting. Win, lose, you're an inspiration...plus, you can't let Erron Wilder be right about you, yes...?”
“I suppose not. I just...want to WIN. I'm tired of being the walking, talking, participation trophy of Pride...the fans, even the company, they all call me the beating heart! I...want, no, I NEED, to prove that true! And what better time to do precisely that, than at Phenomenon, and for the Pride Pro Wrestling Television Championship?!”
**THUD**
It was the sound of Sammy's body as he rolled onto the floor from the couch in his apartment. A thud that reminded him all too well of Ignition 4, and the grave fall he suffered that cost him his chance at opportunity against the Pride Pro Wrestling Champion. His eyes shot open, albeit with a wince, as he shot his hand over to his shoulder and lightly clutching it.
“Ow! That still hurt...”
Sammy replied to himself, gently massaging his shoulder as he pushed himself up to his knees, then to his feet.
“I know my career hasn't been impressive in terms of the statistics, but there's one thing I've realized. It's that you only truly 'lose' when you fail to get back up!”
He looked down at the floor for a moment, then back up.
“See, I could have laid there for a while. My shoulder is still hurting after slipping off those ropes, and I landed right on the same spot. No one would have blamed me, right? But...I would have. I would have blamed myself, because I knew that, in my heart, it wasn't the end. Just like the triple threat match at Ignition three, yeah I was sad I 'lost'. But I didn't 'lose', really, did I? Our new boss certainly agrees. And now here I am, ready to square up with Holly Rhodes one more time. Who knows what could have happened if I had just given up...I certainly wouldn't be given this last opportunity, I'm pretty sure of that!”
Sammy cracks a half smile, gradually shifting it into 'Serious Sammy Face', it was time to address his opponent, Holly Rhodes, directly.
“What can I say? You won in our first contest, you became the first Television champ. That's an accomplishment no one can take from you, at least I wouldn't anyway. On paper, you've got to be favored with at least twelve to one odds I bet. Those are statistics, I can't refute.....
But! What I can say, is this time, we're not at Ignition. We're not in a three-way dance! Holly, this time you're face-to-face with the beating heart of Pride – the heart that never stops beating – and this time, you have to find a way to stop that very heart if you want to keep that esteemed title you cling to preciously around your waist! Some might say I'm your biggest challenge to your title reign to-date. But I'm not naive. I know what the stats say...all I'm going to say is be ready.
Because, Holly? If this is MY last shot...you better believe, I'm coming into Phenomenon to go to war!”
