Getting Familiar
Sept 15, 2016 3:14:38 GMT -5
Post by Strike on Sept 15, 2016 3:14:38 GMT -5
OFF-CAMERA
September 1, 2016
Littleton, Colorado
“You realize what in the bloody hell you’re walking into, aren’t you?”
The words out of the brunette with the British accent and the scowl on her face equally matched the stare she currently gave Chris Strike as they overlooked two stacks of papers laid out on a mahogany desk, all of them containing a lot of fine print and things that the brunette was very hesitant to assist the “War Machine” in signing and accepting it. On both of those stacks of paper, the large “Frontier Grappling Arts” logo is at the very top. But how exactly did these particular pieces of paper just so happen to appear inside of the small office that was within the home of Chris Strike?
Well, if you are to believe Chris Strike...it involved a lot of rumors about wanting to beat up Chandler Scott, for starters. Everything else just kind of steamrolled from there, with those rumors growing into an actual conversation with FGA staff, figures being agreed on and these particular contracts having been faxed right on over to him.
“Mena, I’m fully aware of what I’m doing here.”
Chris Strike’s long time agent in Mena Robertson, however, does not quite seem to believe the words that are coming out of her client’s mouth. Especially given the fact she was not made aware of any of this until a call from her client 24 hours ago, explaining that he’d gone ahead and practically done her job for her in this set of affairs.
It wasn’t just the jetlag that had her this cranky right now...
“How? How in the world could you possibly even fathom what you’re walking into?!” Her voice was nearly shouting at this point, as she emphasized her point further by pointing to the FGA logo. “If there has anybody who has been critical of this company - and in public, at that - it’s you! What’s to say you’re not the next person that they’re going to fuck over?”
Crossing his arms, Chris Strike’s response is immediate. “If every promoter in wrestling held a grudge over things other people say about them, pro wrestling would cease to exist,” he stated, slowly exhaling before looking Mena dead in the eye, pointing right back to the FGA logo in one of the stacks of paper.. “Look, I know this is a risk. But this company houses two people that are on my list, Mena. Two names that aren’t anywhere else, two names on this fucking list that I am going to complete before December 18th, come hell or high water!”
The list, as he called it, was nothing physical that was written on a wall or on some dry erase board on his fridge...but rather, it was simply all of the names in professional wrestling that he wanted to square off against during the course of 2016 before his retirement match against his first student at the end of the year. For Chris Strike, that list has already taken him all over the globe and back so far into it and now, it was simply a matter of settling the final stops before the end of his fifteen plus year journey into this strange world of professional wrestling.
“So, while I know that I jumped the gun on this and negotiated terms - quite nicely, if you ask me...hell, you’d have been proud hearing me tell them how...” The look shot back at him from his agent was enough to bring Chris Strike immediately back on topic. “Sorry. Not the point. What I’m trying to say is that this was not something I could pass up.”
The scowl and the intense stare remain on Mena’s face, until she finally speaks up. “OK...who the hell are these names? And if neither of them are ‘Chandler Scott’ and one of them so happens to be ‘Zero McHannon,’ I will literally fucking k-”
“Chandler is one,” Strike stated, immediately interrupting his agent from going into another rant. “The deal was going to get done with his name regardless, but there was one name that we agreed on...and really, the one name that caused me to move in on this as fast as I did.”
“Who is it?” Mena asked.
“Cordelia Stevenson.”
“...Cordelia Stevenson? But why?” The follow-up question was followed by another comment from the agent. “I would have figured you’d want the rubber match against Johnny Cannon after he nearly kicked your skull off in Mexico.”
Strike blinked, the instant flashbacks from the rematch against Johnny Cannon in HELL - while he held the FGA Championship, in fact - coming to mind along with the fact the score was now 1-1 between them, the first match having been one where Chris Strike had defeated him during his first reign as EXODUS Pro World champion, just right before that company began going to all hell and then some.
“Cannon might still be an option - we have to see how this first match goes. But that said, it’s just an hour’s drive to it rather than having to fly cross-country or anything,” Strike commented. “Besides, I do have my own reasons for wanting Cordy first and foremost. She’s been on the list of people I’ve wanted to fight for a while.”
“Something about her skillset? I never really got the big hype behind her...she’s been nothing more than a shadow to people who actually have been World champions, at this point...just with better social media presence and showing off her body at any given chance,” Mena replied, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ear. “A lot similar to Leander Apollo...and hell, you might not like this, but very much like Lyn Dallins throughout his career until you got injured a few years ago.”
Strike rolled his eyes. “You do realize she’s got singles accolades on her side too, right?”
“A tournament here, a battle royale or rumble of some sort there...those are the recognizable ones, but what else from there?” Mena asked, once again making a point to dismiss any accolades. “She’s not like you, who’s actually pulled the trigger on solo championship wins and made reigns out of them. I could understand if she was a few years more experienced and with some more gold to her resume but...I just don’t think Cordelia Stevenson is worth your time.”
“See, this is why it’s a good thing you don’t get to quite determine how I manage my time,” Chris replied, his response a little bit sharper. “Cordy’s still a youngling when it comes to this business and all, but there’s something about her that I can admire, even if she is a shady bitch from time to time.”
“...And what in the world would that be?”
“Passion.”
------------------------
[ON-CAMERA]
“Considering the headaches you’ve been dealing with lately, I’m sure this match probably came to you as both a surprise and a reprieve, Cordelia.”
The camera shot is just outside of the doors of the 1STBANK Center, the orange 1STBANK logo brightly shining through the cloudy skies in Broomfield, Colorado and the roar of cars rushing up and down through Interstate 36, which Chris Strike can oversee from his position as he stands with his hands in his pockets, wearing a War Machine ice hockey jersey, black jeans and a pair of Nike Air Jordan 6 Brazil shoes to accompany it all.
“Instead of having to deal with the rabble and nonsense out of the usual suspects of the world - and the tag team named that too, sure - instead, we get to see Saint Sexy herself lace up the boots to go toe-to-toe against the War Machine in an absolute dream match. Something that FGA made it clear to me and the wrestling world that they wanted to sign off on and broadcast, a ‘Special Attraction’ fitting of the very name. Something that you and I both talked about for a while, Cordy but something that never really seemed to come to fruition until now…
See, this building here behind me? Been here to see shows, been here to see hockey, but I haven’t gotten to wrestle in it just yet. Done it quite a few times over at Pepsi Center just down the interstate, but never here...so I actually have to thank Frontier Grappling Arts for taking quite a bit of smack I’ve talked about them like champs over the years and for making this one happen. I know I’m a guest and that some people in your roster might not be looking too kindly at an outsider coming in out of the blue and getting a match of this magnitude, but if there is one thing you should know to expect from both Chris Strike and Cordelia Stevenson...it’s the fact that we are show stealers.
When we go out there, we perform above and beyond any and all standards set out. Hell, I’d argue this is part of the reason why Cordy Stevenson became an attraction throughout professional wrestling and while your name has been made throughout the land as a tag team specialist...I’m aware that you can go, regardless of the match type. Again, there’s a reason why we are doing this right here in Broomfield, Colorado at Vertigo. But for me, that’s just one of a few reasons, Cordelia...”
Chris Strike removed his hands from his pockets, taking a moment to breathe in the Rocky Mountain air, feeling himself right at home with the elevated altitude. While born and initially raised in Brazil, his move to the state of Colorado since age thirteen made him into a native who made damn sure to come home at any given opportunity when he was not traveling all over in other to apply his craft. Not to mention, the excitement of performing in a new arena and yet, in front of an audience that was very familiar with his work...and the concept of ‘getting familiar’ brought a smile to his face as he continued on.
“I don’t have a lot of time left in professional wrestling. December 18 is the endgame and in making that decision, I always wondered what exactly was I going to do until the time comes to hang up the boots for good. I grappled with the decision of just keeping it quiet, sticking to my commitments with SVW and HELL, then once it was all over...hey, that was the end. Hell of a career, a few good matches out of the way, no regrets. But at the same time, professional wrestling has grown in such a way that I always kept wondering ‘what if,’ Cordelia. What if I could go to a completely different company, work out the details for a night and wrestle against somebody in a match that fans didn’t think they were ever going to be able to see, something that was only imagined in their wildest dreams?
Because for all the heavy talking people tend to do in this sport, be it on the microphone or with a Tweet, there aren’t a whole lot of people who are willing to leave their comfort zones…
But I’m here, Cordelia. I’m here because spending the last year of my professional life sitting in one place and wondering ‘what if’ would have driven me insane and at the end of the day, I have a goddamned competitive streak in me. Instead of wondering if I’m capable of defeating somebody in this industry, I decided to go chase those answers. I am here in FGA because I need to know if I can beat Cordelia Stevenson one-on-one before I call it a career. Just like in November, I’m coming in to this company’s anniversary to find out if I am more than a match for the Ace of Frontier Grappling Arts in Chandler Scott.”
There is a certain pause as the match in November comes to mind, but before even that bridge was crossed, there was Vertigo. There was present day in mid-September, in his own home state, where he’d face somebody most people would happily attach the name ‘Saint’ next to an adjective that described Cordelia Stevenson in every way as a woman. A woman who prior to the announcement of this match and over the last few weeks had been saying certain things that Chris Strike had paid particular attention to and that he felt were worthy of bringing into the light.
“Now lately, I know you’ve been dealing with the Usual Suspects and with RubyWay over the FGA Tag Team Championships that you and Dan Herrera are holding. Hell, you make it a point of mocking Ruby Tyler at any given turn for using the White Lion Wrestling tag straps as their way into a title match with your team...and in the process, you are beyond adamant on telling us all about the other fifteen teams they beat in this really nasally, whiny voice. Thus, not only have you been throwing shade at RubyWay with that schtick but in turn, you’ve come through in the clutch with disrespecting anyone else who went to try and fight for those titles, to make them mean something…
I was one of those people, Cordelia. Any lesser man or woman subject to hearing you act like a bitch about all of this and throwing shade at them would have launched off on a social media rant that would make the softest-bodied organism in all of professional wrestling - better known as Zero McHannon - try to sue them for copyright infringement. But don’t worry about me, chica. I know you enough at this point to know that you were so laser-focused on making sure people know what the ‘Status Quo’ looks like in the tag team division that the minor details just casually slipped through your fingers like those two FGA Championship chances you had over the years.
...Sorry, minor mic drop there, had to be done. You can consider us even for the comment you made about Magdalena a while back during the semifinals of the tag team tournament you all had.
Back to the main point, you’ve shown just as much by winning the Lion’s Cup and the Gold Rush Rumble over the past two years. You continue to show the ability is there with each match you have with the barn busters and show stealers that have made you a crowd favorite. But you have no singles championship gold in FGA to show for it and while I do believe you have what it takes to do it, believing in someone and actually knowing that they are capable of pulling it off is a completely different story. So, the other reason I came to FGA was to put that much to test as well, Cordy. I want to see if you really are as good as I believe you are up close and personal. I want to see if this passion that you show every time you pick up a microphone or with every move in your arsenal inside of the ring actually has something behind it or if it’s just nothing but hype. And if you are that fucking good and if you are that fucking passionate, then quite frankly, that just makes me want to whoop your ass even further!”
The cameraman begins to close-up on the “War Machine,” as just the set of doors of the 1STBANK Center become seen on the frame rather than most of the building structure like before, as Chris Strike takes a couple of steps forward, his eyes never averting from the camera.
“This is a dream match for a reason, Cordy. People want to see something great and they will want to see something decisive out of it all...and with that, I can guarantee you that I will fucking fight you tooth and nail in order to seize victory. Because like any competitor, I want to prove that I am better than whoever it is across from me. Even if it’s somebody that I consider a friend. At Vertigo, testing to see if you’re the genuine article and then beating your ass in the center of that ring is the priority, Cordelia Stevenson.
You see, unlike a couple of the chuckleheads in this company who run their mouths and act like they’re God’s gift to wrestling...I already know the fundamental truth. I already have gotten familiar with you, Cordelia Stevenson. And when this War Machine rolls on to Vertigo for the first time, in front of FGA cameras and in front of a sold-out 1STBANK Center...we are going to steal the show, Cordelia Stevenson!
And there isn’t a damned thing that the rest of FGA can do about it...”
Fade to black.
September 1, 2016
Littleton, Colorado
“You realize what in the bloody hell you’re walking into, aren’t you?”
The words out of the brunette with the British accent and the scowl on her face equally matched the stare she currently gave Chris Strike as they overlooked two stacks of papers laid out on a mahogany desk, all of them containing a lot of fine print and things that the brunette was very hesitant to assist the “War Machine” in signing and accepting it. On both of those stacks of paper, the large “Frontier Grappling Arts” logo is at the very top. But how exactly did these particular pieces of paper just so happen to appear inside of the small office that was within the home of Chris Strike?
Well, if you are to believe Chris Strike...it involved a lot of rumors about wanting to beat up Chandler Scott, for starters. Everything else just kind of steamrolled from there, with those rumors growing into an actual conversation with FGA staff, figures being agreed on and these particular contracts having been faxed right on over to him.
“Mena, I’m fully aware of what I’m doing here.”
Chris Strike’s long time agent in Mena Robertson, however, does not quite seem to believe the words that are coming out of her client’s mouth. Especially given the fact she was not made aware of any of this until a call from her client 24 hours ago, explaining that he’d gone ahead and practically done her job for her in this set of affairs.
It wasn’t just the jetlag that had her this cranky right now...
“How? How in the world could you possibly even fathom what you’re walking into?!” Her voice was nearly shouting at this point, as she emphasized her point further by pointing to the FGA logo. “If there has anybody who has been critical of this company - and in public, at that - it’s you! What’s to say you’re not the next person that they’re going to fuck over?”
Crossing his arms, Chris Strike’s response is immediate. “If every promoter in wrestling held a grudge over things other people say about them, pro wrestling would cease to exist,” he stated, slowly exhaling before looking Mena dead in the eye, pointing right back to the FGA logo in one of the stacks of paper.. “Look, I know this is a risk. But this company houses two people that are on my list, Mena. Two names that aren’t anywhere else, two names on this fucking list that I am going to complete before December 18th, come hell or high water!”
The list, as he called it, was nothing physical that was written on a wall or on some dry erase board on his fridge...but rather, it was simply all of the names in professional wrestling that he wanted to square off against during the course of 2016 before his retirement match against his first student at the end of the year. For Chris Strike, that list has already taken him all over the globe and back so far into it and now, it was simply a matter of settling the final stops before the end of his fifteen plus year journey into this strange world of professional wrestling.
“So, while I know that I jumped the gun on this and negotiated terms - quite nicely, if you ask me...hell, you’d have been proud hearing me tell them how...” The look shot back at him from his agent was enough to bring Chris Strike immediately back on topic. “Sorry. Not the point. What I’m trying to say is that this was not something I could pass up.”
The scowl and the intense stare remain on Mena’s face, until she finally speaks up. “OK...who the hell are these names? And if neither of them are ‘Chandler Scott’ and one of them so happens to be ‘Zero McHannon,’ I will literally fucking k-”
“Chandler is one,” Strike stated, immediately interrupting his agent from going into another rant. “The deal was going to get done with his name regardless, but there was one name that we agreed on...and really, the one name that caused me to move in on this as fast as I did.”
“Who is it?” Mena asked.
“Cordelia Stevenson.”
“...Cordelia Stevenson? But why?” The follow-up question was followed by another comment from the agent. “I would have figured you’d want the rubber match against Johnny Cannon after he nearly kicked your skull off in Mexico.”
Strike blinked, the instant flashbacks from the rematch against Johnny Cannon in HELL - while he held the FGA Championship, in fact - coming to mind along with the fact the score was now 1-1 between them, the first match having been one where Chris Strike had defeated him during his first reign as EXODUS Pro World champion, just right before that company began going to all hell and then some.
“Cannon might still be an option - we have to see how this first match goes. But that said, it’s just an hour’s drive to it rather than having to fly cross-country or anything,” Strike commented. “Besides, I do have my own reasons for wanting Cordy first and foremost. She’s been on the list of people I’ve wanted to fight for a while.”
“Something about her skillset? I never really got the big hype behind her...she’s been nothing more than a shadow to people who actually have been World champions, at this point...just with better social media presence and showing off her body at any given chance,” Mena replied, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ear. “A lot similar to Leander Apollo...and hell, you might not like this, but very much like Lyn Dallins throughout his career until you got injured a few years ago.”
Strike rolled his eyes. “You do realize she’s got singles accolades on her side too, right?”
“A tournament here, a battle royale or rumble of some sort there...those are the recognizable ones, but what else from there?” Mena asked, once again making a point to dismiss any accolades. “She’s not like you, who’s actually pulled the trigger on solo championship wins and made reigns out of them. I could understand if she was a few years more experienced and with some more gold to her resume but...I just don’t think Cordelia Stevenson is worth your time.”
“See, this is why it’s a good thing you don’t get to quite determine how I manage my time,” Chris replied, his response a little bit sharper. “Cordy’s still a youngling when it comes to this business and all, but there’s something about her that I can admire, even if she is a shady bitch from time to time.”
“...And what in the world would that be?”
“Passion.”
------------------------
[ON-CAMERA]
“Considering the headaches you’ve been dealing with lately, I’m sure this match probably came to you as both a surprise and a reprieve, Cordelia.”
The camera shot is just outside of the doors of the 1STBANK Center, the orange 1STBANK logo brightly shining through the cloudy skies in Broomfield, Colorado and the roar of cars rushing up and down through Interstate 36, which Chris Strike can oversee from his position as he stands with his hands in his pockets, wearing a War Machine ice hockey jersey, black jeans and a pair of Nike Air Jordan 6 Brazil shoes to accompany it all.
“Instead of having to deal with the rabble and nonsense out of the usual suspects of the world - and the tag team named that too, sure - instead, we get to see Saint Sexy herself lace up the boots to go toe-to-toe against the War Machine in an absolute dream match. Something that FGA made it clear to me and the wrestling world that they wanted to sign off on and broadcast, a ‘Special Attraction’ fitting of the very name. Something that you and I both talked about for a while, Cordy but something that never really seemed to come to fruition until now…
See, this building here behind me? Been here to see shows, been here to see hockey, but I haven’t gotten to wrestle in it just yet. Done it quite a few times over at Pepsi Center just down the interstate, but never here...so I actually have to thank Frontier Grappling Arts for taking quite a bit of smack I’ve talked about them like champs over the years and for making this one happen. I know I’m a guest and that some people in your roster might not be looking too kindly at an outsider coming in out of the blue and getting a match of this magnitude, but if there is one thing you should know to expect from both Chris Strike and Cordelia Stevenson...it’s the fact that we are show stealers.
When we go out there, we perform above and beyond any and all standards set out. Hell, I’d argue this is part of the reason why Cordy Stevenson became an attraction throughout professional wrestling and while your name has been made throughout the land as a tag team specialist...I’m aware that you can go, regardless of the match type. Again, there’s a reason why we are doing this right here in Broomfield, Colorado at Vertigo. But for me, that’s just one of a few reasons, Cordelia...”
Chris Strike removed his hands from his pockets, taking a moment to breathe in the Rocky Mountain air, feeling himself right at home with the elevated altitude. While born and initially raised in Brazil, his move to the state of Colorado since age thirteen made him into a native who made damn sure to come home at any given opportunity when he was not traveling all over in other to apply his craft. Not to mention, the excitement of performing in a new arena and yet, in front of an audience that was very familiar with his work...and the concept of ‘getting familiar’ brought a smile to his face as he continued on.
“I don’t have a lot of time left in professional wrestling. December 18 is the endgame and in making that decision, I always wondered what exactly was I going to do until the time comes to hang up the boots for good. I grappled with the decision of just keeping it quiet, sticking to my commitments with SVW and HELL, then once it was all over...hey, that was the end. Hell of a career, a few good matches out of the way, no regrets. But at the same time, professional wrestling has grown in such a way that I always kept wondering ‘what if,’ Cordelia. What if I could go to a completely different company, work out the details for a night and wrestle against somebody in a match that fans didn’t think they were ever going to be able to see, something that was only imagined in their wildest dreams?
Because for all the heavy talking people tend to do in this sport, be it on the microphone or with a Tweet, there aren’t a whole lot of people who are willing to leave their comfort zones…
But I’m here, Cordelia. I’m here because spending the last year of my professional life sitting in one place and wondering ‘what if’ would have driven me insane and at the end of the day, I have a goddamned competitive streak in me. Instead of wondering if I’m capable of defeating somebody in this industry, I decided to go chase those answers. I am here in FGA because I need to know if I can beat Cordelia Stevenson one-on-one before I call it a career. Just like in November, I’m coming in to this company’s anniversary to find out if I am more than a match for the Ace of Frontier Grappling Arts in Chandler Scott.”
There is a certain pause as the match in November comes to mind, but before even that bridge was crossed, there was Vertigo. There was present day in mid-September, in his own home state, where he’d face somebody most people would happily attach the name ‘Saint’ next to an adjective that described Cordelia Stevenson in every way as a woman. A woman who prior to the announcement of this match and over the last few weeks had been saying certain things that Chris Strike had paid particular attention to and that he felt were worthy of bringing into the light.
“Now lately, I know you’ve been dealing with the Usual Suspects and with RubyWay over the FGA Tag Team Championships that you and Dan Herrera are holding. Hell, you make it a point of mocking Ruby Tyler at any given turn for using the White Lion Wrestling tag straps as their way into a title match with your team...and in the process, you are beyond adamant on telling us all about the other fifteen teams they beat in this really nasally, whiny voice. Thus, not only have you been throwing shade at RubyWay with that schtick but in turn, you’ve come through in the clutch with disrespecting anyone else who went to try and fight for those titles, to make them mean something…
I was one of those people, Cordelia. Any lesser man or woman subject to hearing you act like a bitch about all of this and throwing shade at them would have launched off on a social media rant that would make the softest-bodied organism in all of professional wrestling - better known as Zero McHannon - try to sue them for copyright infringement. But don’t worry about me, chica. I know you enough at this point to know that you were so laser-focused on making sure people know what the ‘Status Quo’ looks like in the tag team division that the minor details just casually slipped through your fingers like those two FGA Championship chances you had over the years.
...Sorry, minor mic drop there, had to be done. You can consider us even for the comment you made about Magdalena a while back during the semifinals of the tag team tournament you all had.
Back to the main point, you’ve shown just as much by winning the Lion’s Cup and the Gold Rush Rumble over the past two years. You continue to show the ability is there with each match you have with the barn busters and show stealers that have made you a crowd favorite. But you have no singles championship gold in FGA to show for it and while I do believe you have what it takes to do it, believing in someone and actually knowing that they are capable of pulling it off is a completely different story. So, the other reason I came to FGA was to put that much to test as well, Cordy. I want to see if you really are as good as I believe you are up close and personal. I want to see if this passion that you show every time you pick up a microphone or with every move in your arsenal inside of the ring actually has something behind it or if it’s just nothing but hype. And if you are that fucking good and if you are that fucking passionate, then quite frankly, that just makes me want to whoop your ass even further!”
The cameraman begins to close-up on the “War Machine,” as just the set of doors of the 1STBANK Center become seen on the frame rather than most of the building structure like before, as Chris Strike takes a couple of steps forward, his eyes never averting from the camera.
“This is a dream match for a reason, Cordy. People want to see something great and they will want to see something decisive out of it all...and with that, I can guarantee you that I will fucking fight you tooth and nail in order to seize victory. Because like any competitor, I want to prove that I am better than whoever it is across from me. Even if it’s somebody that I consider a friend. At Vertigo, testing to see if you’re the genuine article and then beating your ass in the center of that ring is the priority, Cordelia Stevenson.
You see, unlike a couple of the chuckleheads in this company who run their mouths and act like they’re God’s gift to wrestling...I already know the fundamental truth. I already have gotten familiar with you, Cordelia Stevenson. And when this War Machine rolls on to Vertigo for the first time, in front of FGA cameras and in front of a sold-out 1STBANK Center...we are going to steal the show, Cordelia Stevenson!
And there isn’t a damned thing that the rest of FGA can do about it...”
Fade to black.