Post by COULSON on May 19, 2023 14:39:46 GMT
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"Are ya makin' the right choice?"
The words echo in the man's head. He's been stuck on the thought since he got off the plane. He was stuck on it when he went to the gym. He was stuck on it when he had dinner with Jason Long. He was stuck on it when he agreed to show up.
"Just go to work. The way you always done."
He looks at himself in the mirror. He hangs over the sink and tries to read the expression on the man's face staring back at him. It's confidence. Determination. Drive.
"You know what you're fighting for."
He thinks to himself. He turns the pearl knobs on the basin. He clasps his hands together and pushes them into the steady stream of water that now rushes from the faucet. He splashes the water on his face. It all goes dark.
"Are you making the right choice?"
The words echo but it wasn’t his voice.
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The next day The Man is placed in a dark room with a camera and a crew standing behind it. He sits on a black folding chair in the room's center. An IPW logo is plastered on the wall behind him. The construction of the set for DISCOVERY is happening downstairs but it's barely audible. The Man has thought about this moment for a long time. A member of the crew hits a button on the camera and signals to The Man that it's rolling.
"Go time."
He thinks to himself as he stretches backwards into the chair with a smile.
- JIMI COULSON -
"I've thought for a good long time 'bout how I'd start this off…"
He leans forward.
- JIMI COULSON -
"Guess I missed it a whole lot. So, what else can I say other than how damned good it feels to be sitting here talking to you all once again."
The smile wanes slightly.
- JIMI COULSON -
"But you gotta understand that some of the things that went down, some of the things that happened, it changed me a bit. So, yeah, I had to take a bit of time off. I had to step back and take stock. It happens to all of us. There are things that happen to all of us that we just need to take a bit of time to work things out. Look at this company for example. Taking a break is a good thing. Absence, as they say, makes the heart grow fonder. I’ve missed all of you, and I can only hope that you missed me too. It’s definitely made my heart grow fonder for a fight. As much as I’ve missed entertaining the people, I’ve missed the thrill of a fight just a little bit more. I’m sure that you’d understand.”
The man flashes a charming smile and reclines back in the chair.
- JIMI COULSON -
“When I sat down with Jason Long and we discussed the terms of my agreement, I made it clear to him what I want and specifically who I want in the ring. I also made it clear that I wasn’t demanding it outright, I am willing to work for it. So I got my ropers on and I got ‘em tied up real tight like, and I’m ready to go to work, I’m ready to dance. Even though sometimes the odds don’t get put in your favor, and things don’t work out the way you wanted ‘em to, you just put your head down and you go to work. This Sunday I will do just that. Because this Sunday I make the walk, the walk that I have missed oh so very much, down to that IPW ring, that I have missed oh so very much, and I climb into the ring with not one, not two, but three other talented pro wrestlers who are just as driven, and just as hungry, as I am. The difference between C, Roxie, Bea and myself is that I know without a shadow of a doubt what I want. I’m not here to boost my career, I’m not here to get a start, I’m not here chasing some vague opportunity, I know what I want.”
The Man sits forward in the chair and brings his hands together. A serious set of eyes staring deep into the camera.
- JIMI COULSON -
“I want the IPW National Openweight Championship. I want Alastor Touchdown. It should be no secret to anybody. That is on what and on whom my sights are set. Now, one could argue that put me in a bit of a compromised position, but like I said, it ain’t a secret, and as far as I’m concerned? It only makes me that much more determined to get that second fall this Sunday. Because that score that needs settling between me and my former partner? Well, that just runs a little bit deeper than pro wrestling, so I’m gonna fight like Hell to make sure that I get my hands on him and ain’t nobody…”
The Man inches forward on the seat of the chair. He cocks his head slightly and widens his eyes with a look of steely determination.
- JIMI COULSON -
“Ain’t. Nobody.”
The emphasis hangs heavy in the air.
- JIMI COULSON -
“Gonna stop that from happening. Certainly not some greener than goose shit pretty girl that seems like she only just left hiptoss and armdrag class like Bea Havertz. Being rich and pretty and British don’t impress me none. I never really liked the British to tell you the truth. A lot of em, not all em mind you, are so pretentious and up their own asses that they simply can’t fathom anyone being better than them. Speaking of pretention, that brings me to the next name, or rather letter on the list. “C”. I mean, really? Are you really that far up your own ass that you lost all the other letters to your name, son? You might be a talented pro wrestler ‘n all, and I’m sure you’ll say that you heard it all before and you’ll write me off as some white trash cowboy, but how’s about you go write off some poetry in a dark corner somewhere you little freak!”
With a smile, The Man leans back in his chair with a half hearted laugh.
- JIMI COULSON -
“And speaking of freaks, Roxie Gearheat, my third and final opponent for Sunday, and what a freak she is. But, in saying that, at least she seems genuine? Yeah. Genuine. See, my problem with people like C or Havertz is that they always seem to be pretending to be something they’re not. Whether it’s pretending to be a pro wrestler over being some cashed up diva who couldn’t cut it as a model, or making themselves out to be mysterious, deep and introspective when it just comes across as trying too hard, at least I can look at Roxie and matches she’s had and say “Yeah. She’s fucked up”. That’s the kind of stuff I can appreciate, because that’s how I am. That’s part of the reason why I left in the first place. What The Jamrockers became just wasn’t who I was anymore and I couldn’t stomach bein’ apart of it no more. So I left. I left and I did a lot of reflecting and a lot of thinking and now that I know what I want? I’ll stop at nothing until I get it.”
He looks at the ground and shakes his head before looking back up.
- JIMI COULSON -
“Cause, y’see, I’ve been away too damn long. Now, I’ve gone and made sure that my skills are still sharp and I got my wits about me and I know I ain’t lost a step. I’ve been away too damn long to fail. I’ve been away too damn long to let any of these punks, as talented as they may be, take this shot away from me. I know what the rules of the dance are on Sunday. I’ll stop at nothing to make sure I secure that second fall. That’s all I care about. I need to take that second fall, and I need to stand across the ring from Al. I won’t let Roxie stop me. I won’t Bea stop me. I won’t let C stop me. I can’t let them stop me. I know that they’re talented. All of ‘em. I know they’re motivated. But like I said, I’m fightin’ for something more than pro wrestling, and for something more than a leather strap with a gold plate.”
The Man stands, the camera pans to catch him in the shot from below. He looks down at the camera with one last charming smirk.
- JIMI COULSON -
“I’m fightin’ for redemption and that’s something that no one will be able to take from me. Not even God.”
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