Post by Kyle Travis on Nov 4, 2014 6:53:07 GMT -6
::Kyle Travis stands in front an open metal drum. He seems to be staring into it, even though it is empty and not doing anything.::
::Slowly, Travis raises his left hand. In it he holds the banner of the UWA and the banner of Ragnarok. He looks at them for a moment, staring down at his hand. He lifts the banners and drops them into the drum.::
::Placing his hands on his hips, Travis turns away from the drum and takes a few steps away. He runs his hands over his head and then turns back to the metal drum.::
“I don’t know which is more surprising to me; the fact that the next Mayhem is not entirely dominated by the chosen elite of the UWA, or that I am actually on the show. It really is a toss up between the two. I expected it to be all the chosen ones showcased while the rest of us waited at home.”
“Now, I am sure that you would nothing more to hit that ring and beat up Jeszika Gautier for ending the title reign of your best friend forever in the whole wide world, Aerynn Donnelly, at Fearless and then doing the dastardly deed of keeping the hold locked on, because that is just so evil and sinister.”
::“The Canadian Legend” brings his hands up towards his face and wiggles his fingers in the cliché scary gesture.::
“Ooooo, so evil.”
::Travis lowers his hands and throws his head back in a mock laugh.::
“Ha!”
::“The Canadian Legend” smirks a bit as he lowers his head.::
“Everyone is talking about how Jeszika kept the hold locked on after the match like it is the worst thing they have ever seen in the history of wrestling. The fact of the matter is that it is very easy to understand why she didn’t let go. It’s called revenge. It is revenge mixed with a bit of anger and rage.”
“Everyone knows Jeszika is emotionally unstable. This is a woman who stole someone else’s name and acts like it is just a coincidence that there happen to be two women with the same name, from the same town, who both got into wrestling and use the same moves. Clearly, that is just a coincidence and it totally makes sense.”
“And let us not forget that she spent a few weeks wanting to destroy me, and then after I beat her, she got bored with destroying me.”
“We all saw her rip Broderick Montgomery III’s heart out of his chest and stomp on it by berating him on a worldwide live pay-per-view after marrying him in Las Vegas, which she stated she only did to stop him sleeping with women. And then, we all saw as she became an emotional wreck after Broderick was abducted by the Children of Nephilim, despite everything she said about him. And yet, everyone acted like she was this tragic heroine torn from her love or something cliché. Now that she keeps a hold on after the match ends, everyone is acting like it’s a terrible action.”
“She’s simply emotionally unstable, that’s all there is to it.”
“She wanted revenge. Just like Aerynn will now want revenge and her title back. And more than likely just like you now want revenge because Jeszika beat Aerynn. But what you fail to realize is that Aerynn’s losing may actually be a good thing. And it is a good thing, because it is change and things here need to change.”
::Travis slides his hands through his hair, over the back of his head, around and under his ears and then finally brings them together under his chin, pressing his palms together. He pulls his hands apart and sighs.::
“If there is one thing I keep talking about, it is that things need to change here Pauly. Whether you like it or not, titles change hands. Nearly every person to become the first champion here has lost their title with the exception of the Television Championship, and even that can change. But, for better or worse, change is needed for evolution to something better. Without it, things stagnate and when they stagnate, they die, and I would rather not see UWA die.”
“A week ago, I had Sang Réal at my side and now I stand alone in my crusade to see change happen here. That is fine. I have no issue being the voice of the voiceless, I will speak up for those that will not stand up and speak up for themselves as they sit at home for weeks or months at a time because the entire show needs to be filled with the chosen elite of the UWA waiting and hoping to get their chance to be on a Mayhem or in a random pay-per-view filler match. I did not come here to sit on my ass for weeks at a time. I came to wrestle. I came to be a champion here and to continue to build upon my legacy.”
“And yet, Pauly, how can I or anyone here expect to be able to accomplish anything when the same people are on every single show and pay-per-view?”
“That’s what it really comes down to with me, Pauly, is that if we only see opportunity go to the same people, why the hell are any of us going to bother working that hard to get nothing if we know everything we do is just going to get ignored and we will never be on television or get a match? Every Mayhem it seems K.I.S.S., Vince Jones, Jeszika Gautier, Silver Baron, Aerynn Donnelly and Joshua McBride are in a match or doing something and only a few lucky names are drawn from a hat to get on the show.”
“And it is not just all about me. It is not that I hate this company. I don’t hate the people that work here or that run it. I hate the direction I see it going. I hate the idea of a company just promoting the same damn people over and over again while they never seem to want to attempt to build new stars. I hate how this company goes on about how proud its champions are, yet it seems like you have to hold them at gunpoint to get them to defend their titles, or make an official match and the only that wants to defend her title seemingly gets ignored. I do not hate the UWA. I hate the direction it seems to be going in because it did not work for NEW or for ECWC or for so many other companies I have seen.”
“I hate what the UWA seems to be becoming when I truly believe in what it could be.”
“Half the people on the roster barely work more than once or twice every two months and that hardly pays the bills. How can they get their names out there if they never get to wrestle? Yes, you can put a name on a t-shirt or a hat, but if no one knows who that person is, then why the hell would they buy the merchandise? No one is going to buy a UWA Kaylyn James Evans t-shirt if no one watching knows who in the hell Kaylyn James Evans is.”
“When was the last time you saw Kaylyn James Evans, one of the best women in the game today, in a match? I do not think she’s wrestled since around Tragic Engagement. We saw the Knights return to become Avalon and since then, only one of them wrestled once, just once since their return. Do you really think Miako Adachi is cool with maybe wrestling only every pay-per-view while she serves as nothing more than a background extra for McBride’s ramblings? I doubt even she is that loyal.”
“I could name others. Look at people like Katarina O’Hara and Nathaniel Caraway, who maybe had one or two matches before they left because I am pretty sure they left. When was the last time Sentinel had a match? Even when you consider the fact he was injured, in theory we should have at least heard an update, unless he just decided to up and leave.”
“But that is nothing in comparison to the tag teams in this company. The only teams that get showcased on a consistent basis are K.I.S.S. and the Sin City Knights, and even then, they are only showcased in singles competition. I have to wonder exactly how loyal Bene Elohim are to Joshua McBride when you consider that they seem to have one match every two months and then show up on pay-per-view, only to lose. You can count the number of matches the Cornbread Mafia have had on one hand. Sooner or later, one or more of those teams is going to get fed up and walk away. UWA clearly does not care about the tag team division. Raising Hell proved that one in one clear statement, and nearly every Mayhem confirms it.”
“Tag team matches are almost treated like a special attraction. The division has such potential to explode, but UWA barely seems to want to do anything with it. There are four tag teams here not wearing a title. This company has enough Knights to fill a clown car. All those wrestlers the company seems to have no interest in using could easily be thrown together in a tag team match, like Skylar and Craven or, I don’t know, Bob Brooks and Katarina O’Hara as they both like photography, or Katarina and Nathaniel Caraway was they seem to have a thing going on, if they are even still around.”
“How many young talents can UWA afford to lose? How long does the UWA think these people are willing to stick around with the knowledge that they may not get on Mayhem more that once every two months while other promotions may be offering them the chance to actually wrestle?”
“I sort of think the reason you barely hear from half the people here before a show is, because unless they are among the chosen elites, they are fairly confident that they are not going to be on Monday Night Mayhem so why bother looking at the upcoming card, and then someone tells them that they are wrestling that week, and they scramble to throw up some video going on about how they will win and whatnot. And, even if they win, they know that it won’t get them anywhere in UWA. Pretty sure that is why Lacey Roberts just stole my bit. She knows she more than likely won’t be on Mayhem, so she sees who has anything out and copies me as I am usually early to get something up and on air.”
“The issue I have is that the UWA is still young. It needs to establish new stars, not build up only a select few and let the others wallow at the bottom of the ladder, hoping to maybe be noticed. What happens if any of those elite get injured? UWA has not built a replacement. Worse is what happens if those who are ignored beat those among the elite. What does it mean if K.I.S.S., who are on every Mayhem and pay-per-view loses the UWA Tag Team Championships to a team like Sang Réal who wrestle maybe all of once every two months, or to Bene Elohim, who only get one token Mayhem match every few months and a pay-per-view appearance? What happens if Vince Jones loses his championship to one of those wrestlers that gets one match every three weeks?”
“Where are the tournaments, the battle royals or even the matches to determine who should be number one contender to a title? Where is the attempt to make the championships in the UWA mean something? Even at this early stage, the titles should mean everything and yet they hardly seem to mean anything.”
::Slowly, Travis slides his left hand over his face. He looks upwards.::
“I quote the late, great author Doctor Seuss in his book The Lorax, “unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”. The fact of the matter is that no one seems to care. The fact of the matter is that it seems most of the people here are happy with how things are and that’s not good. “It is for those reasons that the UWA needs to change. It has to change. Unfortunately, the only real way to make change happens is with violence. More change has come through force of arms than power of words. Change is violent, but it is necessary.”
““Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” I keep thinking about those words. Things need to change here. Things need to get better. But they won’t because no one seems to care.”
::There is a malevolent look in the eyes of “the Once and Future King” as he looks back down.::
“But I care. I care about making a change for a better here in the UWA. I want to see change come to the UWA. The thing about it is, maybe I forgot who I am. Maybe I forgot what I have done. Yes, I talk about it Pauly, but talking about it is not the same as doing it. The difference is the will to do what one must. I have that will Pauly. I definitely have that will because I have always believed in the old Machiavellian ideal of the ends justify the means and my means are never pretty.”
“The things I do may be considered evil Pauly. I have no doubt about that. But they are necessary evil. But the thing is that I forgot that I really do not care how my actions are viewed. I have never cared about how my actions are viewed. But I do care about being ignored. And too long my words have been ignored. For too long, my accomplishments, my legacy ignored. I am tired of it.”
“Everyone talks about the chosen ones. They ask when Sin City Knights will get a rematch at K.I.S.S. They talk about Jeszika keeping the hold on after the match. They talk about Joshua, like he even still matters. They talk about what is next for Aerynn Donnelly now that she has lost her title. Meanwhile, I allegedly destroy the boss’ car, and it get a mention, but ultimately no one seems to care.”
“No more will I be ignored or cast aside. I have worked too hard and too long to be treated like that. The time for talk is over Pauly. The time for words is over. This is no longer about talking about change. This is revolution, and it will be as brutal and violent as I can make it. If it has to be a one man revolution, then so be it. I will tear it down brick by brick and rebuild from the rubble.”
::Travis reaches down on the other side of the drum, picking up a bottle of light fluid. Turning it over, he squeezes the bottle and empties it into the open drum and all over the Ragnarok and UWA banners. Travis tosses the empty bottle behind him.::
“So I make this offer to all those who are tired of waiting for their turn. I make this offer to anyone tired of sitting at home week after week, waiting for their chance to get on Monday Night Mayhem, get their one token match and get to sit at home for months again. I make this offer to join this cause, because I spare no one. It all burns and we are going to see what rises from the ashes.”
::Reaching into his pocket, Travis pulls out a lighter and drops it. Immediately, the banners catch fire. Travis stares into the flames.::
“Challenge and learn.”
::The scene fades as Travis walks away from the fire.::
::Slowly, Travis raises his left hand. In it he holds the banner of the UWA and the banner of Ragnarok. He looks at them for a moment, staring down at his hand. He lifts the banners and drops them into the drum.::
::Placing his hands on his hips, Travis turns away from the drum and takes a few steps away. He runs his hands over his head and then turns back to the metal drum.::
“I don’t know which is more surprising to me; the fact that the next Mayhem is not entirely dominated by the chosen elite of the UWA, or that I am actually on the show. It really is a toss up between the two. I expected it to be all the chosen ones showcased while the rest of us waited at home.”
“Now, I am sure that you would nothing more to hit that ring and beat up Jeszika Gautier for ending the title reign of your best friend forever in the whole wide world, Aerynn Donnelly, at Fearless and then doing the dastardly deed of keeping the hold locked on, because that is just so evil and sinister.”
::“The Canadian Legend” brings his hands up towards his face and wiggles his fingers in the cliché scary gesture.::
“Ooooo, so evil.”
::Travis lowers his hands and throws his head back in a mock laugh.::
“Ha!”
::“The Canadian Legend” smirks a bit as he lowers his head.::
“Everyone is talking about how Jeszika kept the hold locked on after the match like it is the worst thing they have ever seen in the history of wrestling. The fact of the matter is that it is very easy to understand why she didn’t let go. It’s called revenge. It is revenge mixed with a bit of anger and rage.”
“Everyone knows Jeszika is emotionally unstable. This is a woman who stole someone else’s name and acts like it is just a coincidence that there happen to be two women with the same name, from the same town, who both got into wrestling and use the same moves. Clearly, that is just a coincidence and it totally makes sense.”
“And let us not forget that she spent a few weeks wanting to destroy me, and then after I beat her, she got bored with destroying me.”
“We all saw her rip Broderick Montgomery III’s heart out of his chest and stomp on it by berating him on a worldwide live pay-per-view after marrying him in Las Vegas, which she stated she only did to stop him sleeping with women. And then, we all saw as she became an emotional wreck after Broderick was abducted by the Children of Nephilim, despite everything she said about him. And yet, everyone acted like she was this tragic heroine torn from her love or something cliché. Now that she keeps a hold on after the match ends, everyone is acting like it’s a terrible action.”
“She’s simply emotionally unstable, that’s all there is to it.”
“She wanted revenge. Just like Aerynn will now want revenge and her title back. And more than likely just like you now want revenge because Jeszika beat Aerynn. But what you fail to realize is that Aerynn’s losing may actually be a good thing. And it is a good thing, because it is change and things here need to change.”
::Travis slides his hands through his hair, over the back of his head, around and under his ears and then finally brings them together under his chin, pressing his palms together. He pulls his hands apart and sighs.::
“If there is one thing I keep talking about, it is that things need to change here Pauly. Whether you like it or not, titles change hands. Nearly every person to become the first champion here has lost their title with the exception of the Television Championship, and even that can change. But, for better or worse, change is needed for evolution to something better. Without it, things stagnate and when they stagnate, they die, and I would rather not see UWA die.”
“A week ago, I had Sang Réal at my side and now I stand alone in my crusade to see change happen here. That is fine. I have no issue being the voice of the voiceless, I will speak up for those that will not stand up and speak up for themselves as they sit at home for weeks or months at a time because the entire show needs to be filled with the chosen elite of the UWA waiting and hoping to get their chance to be on a Mayhem or in a random pay-per-view filler match. I did not come here to sit on my ass for weeks at a time. I came to wrestle. I came to be a champion here and to continue to build upon my legacy.”
“And yet, Pauly, how can I or anyone here expect to be able to accomplish anything when the same people are on every single show and pay-per-view?”
“That’s what it really comes down to with me, Pauly, is that if we only see opportunity go to the same people, why the hell are any of us going to bother working that hard to get nothing if we know everything we do is just going to get ignored and we will never be on television or get a match? Every Mayhem it seems K.I.S.S., Vince Jones, Jeszika Gautier, Silver Baron, Aerynn Donnelly and Joshua McBride are in a match or doing something and only a few lucky names are drawn from a hat to get on the show.”
“And it is not just all about me. It is not that I hate this company. I don’t hate the people that work here or that run it. I hate the direction I see it going. I hate the idea of a company just promoting the same damn people over and over again while they never seem to want to attempt to build new stars. I hate how this company goes on about how proud its champions are, yet it seems like you have to hold them at gunpoint to get them to defend their titles, or make an official match and the only that wants to defend her title seemingly gets ignored. I do not hate the UWA. I hate the direction it seems to be going in because it did not work for NEW or for ECWC or for so many other companies I have seen.”
“I hate what the UWA seems to be becoming when I truly believe in what it could be.”
“Half the people on the roster barely work more than once or twice every two months and that hardly pays the bills. How can they get their names out there if they never get to wrestle? Yes, you can put a name on a t-shirt or a hat, but if no one knows who that person is, then why the hell would they buy the merchandise? No one is going to buy a UWA Kaylyn James Evans t-shirt if no one watching knows who in the hell Kaylyn James Evans is.”
“When was the last time you saw Kaylyn James Evans, one of the best women in the game today, in a match? I do not think she’s wrestled since around Tragic Engagement. We saw the Knights return to become Avalon and since then, only one of them wrestled once, just once since their return. Do you really think Miako Adachi is cool with maybe wrestling only every pay-per-view while she serves as nothing more than a background extra for McBride’s ramblings? I doubt even she is that loyal.”
“I could name others. Look at people like Katarina O’Hara and Nathaniel Caraway, who maybe had one or two matches before they left because I am pretty sure they left. When was the last time Sentinel had a match? Even when you consider the fact he was injured, in theory we should have at least heard an update, unless he just decided to up and leave.”
“But that is nothing in comparison to the tag teams in this company. The only teams that get showcased on a consistent basis are K.I.S.S. and the Sin City Knights, and even then, they are only showcased in singles competition. I have to wonder exactly how loyal Bene Elohim are to Joshua McBride when you consider that they seem to have one match every two months and then show up on pay-per-view, only to lose. You can count the number of matches the Cornbread Mafia have had on one hand. Sooner or later, one or more of those teams is going to get fed up and walk away. UWA clearly does not care about the tag team division. Raising Hell proved that one in one clear statement, and nearly every Mayhem confirms it.”
“Tag team matches are almost treated like a special attraction. The division has such potential to explode, but UWA barely seems to want to do anything with it. There are four tag teams here not wearing a title. This company has enough Knights to fill a clown car. All those wrestlers the company seems to have no interest in using could easily be thrown together in a tag team match, like Skylar and Craven or, I don’t know, Bob Brooks and Katarina O’Hara as they both like photography, or Katarina and Nathaniel Caraway was they seem to have a thing going on, if they are even still around.”
“How many young talents can UWA afford to lose? How long does the UWA think these people are willing to stick around with the knowledge that they may not get on Mayhem more that once every two months while other promotions may be offering them the chance to actually wrestle?”
“I sort of think the reason you barely hear from half the people here before a show is, because unless they are among the chosen elites, they are fairly confident that they are not going to be on Monday Night Mayhem so why bother looking at the upcoming card, and then someone tells them that they are wrestling that week, and they scramble to throw up some video going on about how they will win and whatnot. And, even if they win, they know that it won’t get them anywhere in UWA. Pretty sure that is why Lacey Roberts just stole my bit. She knows she more than likely won’t be on Mayhem, so she sees who has anything out and copies me as I am usually early to get something up and on air.”
“The issue I have is that the UWA is still young. It needs to establish new stars, not build up only a select few and let the others wallow at the bottom of the ladder, hoping to maybe be noticed. What happens if any of those elite get injured? UWA has not built a replacement. Worse is what happens if those who are ignored beat those among the elite. What does it mean if K.I.S.S., who are on every Mayhem and pay-per-view loses the UWA Tag Team Championships to a team like Sang Réal who wrestle maybe all of once every two months, or to Bene Elohim, who only get one token Mayhem match every few months and a pay-per-view appearance? What happens if Vince Jones loses his championship to one of those wrestlers that gets one match every three weeks?”
“Where are the tournaments, the battle royals or even the matches to determine who should be number one contender to a title? Where is the attempt to make the championships in the UWA mean something? Even at this early stage, the titles should mean everything and yet they hardly seem to mean anything.”
::Slowly, Travis slides his left hand over his face. He looks upwards.::
“I quote the late, great author Doctor Seuss in his book The Lorax, “unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”. The fact of the matter is that no one seems to care. The fact of the matter is that it seems most of the people here are happy with how things are and that’s not good. “It is for those reasons that the UWA needs to change. It has to change. Unfortunately, the only real way to make change happens is with violence. More change has come through force of arms than power of words. Change is violent, but it is necessary.”
““Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” I keep thinking about those words. Things need to change here. Things need to get better. But they won’t because no one seems to care.”
::There is a malevolent look in the eyes of “the Once and Future King” as he looks back down.::
“But I care. I care about making a change for a better here in the UWA. I want to see change come to the UWA. The thing about it is, maybe I forgot who I am. Maybe I forgot what I have done. Yes, I talk about it Pauly, but talking about it is not the same as doing it. The difference is the will to do what one must. I have that will Pauly. I definitely have that will because I have always believed in the old Machiavellian ideal of the ends justify the means and my means are never pretty.”
“The things I do may be considered evil Pauly. I have no doubt about that. But they are necessary evil. But the thing is that I forgot that I really do not care how my actions are viewed. I have never cared about how my actions are viewed. But I do care about being ignored. And too long my words have been ignored. For too long, my accomplishments, my legacy ignored. I am tired of it.”
“Everyone talks about the chosen ones. They ask when Sin City Knights will get a rematch at K.I.S.S. They talk about Jeszika keeping the hold on after the match. They talk about Joshua, like he even still matters. They talk about what is next for Aerynn Donnelly now that she has lost her title. Meanwhile, I allegedly destroy the boss’ car, and it get a mention, but ultimately no one seems to care.”
“No more will I be ignored or cast aside. I have worked too hard and too long to be treated like that. The time for talk is over Pauly. The time for words is over. This is no longer about talking about change. This is revolution, and it will be as brutal and violent as I can make it. If it has to be a one man revolution, then so be it. I will tear it down brick by brick and rebuild from the rubble.”
::Travis reaches down on the other side of the drum, picking up a bottle of light fluid. Turning it over, he squeezes the bottle and empties it into the open drum and all over the Ragnarok and UWA banners. Travis tosses the empty bottle behind him.::
“So I make this offer to all those who are tired of waiting for their turn. I make this offer to anyone tired of sitting at home week after week, waiting for their chance to get on Monday Night Mayhem, get their one token match and get to sit at home for months again. I make this offer to join this cause, because I spare no one. It all burns and we are going to see what rises from the ashes.”
::Reaching into his pocket, Travis pulls out a lighter and drops it. Immediately, the banners catch fire. Travis stares into the flames.::
“Challenge and learn.”
::The scene fades as Travis walks away from the fire.::