*PLEASE NOTE NEW RULES*
DEADLINE 1 - 1X 3,250 word limit RP, in whatever format you choose
FRIDAY 11TH JANUARY 2019 2359 GMT
DEADLINE 2 - 1x 750 word limit SHOOT rp, to be used in the show. This rp must be sent to the EMERGE PM box before the deadline of SUNDAY 13TH JANUARY 2019 2359 EST
The sure conviction that something is owed to you if you believe you are talented enough is the reason why so many people burn out of this business. Sometimes it takes years, but sometimes it takes just a couple of months. Personally, I have never taken my ambition for granted, because my goal has always been more than just personal glory. Becoming The Spirit Champion at Invasion: Washington during the Capital Shake-Up was the cherry on the sundae for me, because my goal is always to push my opponent to be the best version of themselves in that ring.
Something that I can take pride in knowing that I accomplished. Now there are some that believe I got lucky, that I won on a fluke, but that is just their perception of the ending of the match. Because if this was only about perception, I could have easily taken the easy way out. As I could have left with the fashionable perception that I was a dominant champion that retired without losing my title. I had fulfilled my personal goal of winning a championship despite it not being “THE” championship that I wanted. Who knows I may have even set myself up to get a Hall of Fame ring to go along with it, but my family knew before even I did that I desired something different.
They knew before that little run-in with Jennifer Helms in the backstage that I couldn’t leave without giving her, her fair and just rematch, because with the EMERGE championship vacant at the moment the Spirit championship would have been an afterthought to management while the scramble to put something together to determine Peyton’s replacement. Though it’s more than that as well because I want to stop the thought process of letting mobs like the Beauty Factory or hot shots like Tyler Jackson of getting whatever they want because they feel like some kind of success is owed to them. Let us look at the former Spirit Champion and her little “entourage” known as The Beauty Factory/Network…
What do you see? I see a group of people feeding off Jennifer Helms’ quick success, but the moment that she hit her first stumbling block their conviction that she’s the greatest thing since sliced bread changes slightly. They still feed her the platitudes she’s still great or even limitless, but with a twist that she was only defeated by me because the system under Vanilla Sky’s watch was rigged against her. That she only lost, because she didn’t have the proper time to mentally prepare for me… someone that she’s called a hack, has been, over the hill, and could even go as far as saying that I can’t fight my way out a wet paper sack.
Though I beat her, had my hand raised, and my name was enunciated as “The winner and NEW EMERGE Spirit champion, RYAN SINGER!” So now that they feel that sure conviction of privilege has been “stolen” from them, they congregate into a mob and rebel against anything that represents an institution. Luckily for the new administration, they don’t have to worry about that, because there is nothing institutional about it. Dexter Schmidt only cares about what makes his dick twitch and he’s going to bend over backward for women of EMERGE in the hopes of getting in their pants and to the guys that aren’t above kissing his ass to get what they crave.
You might think that I should have kept my opinions about the new regime to myself, but I couldn’t. I have never been one to shy away from telling people what I really think because it doesn’t matter if it’s Dexter Schmidt or Jennifer Helm’s entourage because they are all the same. They hide under the image of being seemingly progressive by including modern talent that fits their mold and then proceeds to create a very unstable environment for everyone that they deem unworthy. With my long career, I have seen it more than once, but one thing always remains the same and that’s is they are predictable and in this case, because I can read in-between the lines. Jenni Helms and even Tyler Jackson they are waiting to be compensated for dispatching me quickly as Spirit champion.
+ Away from the Keyboard +
Ryan looks up from his computer screen and anyone looking at him tell that he’s exhausted. The whirlwind of emotions that he’s felt since winning the Spirit championship has been taking its toll on him. Personally, he wondered if he was going to be rested enough in time for his title defense, but he had to power through as that’s what his family wishes for him. Though at the moment he wished that he wasn't cooped up on a passenger plane at the moment. Instead of returning home with his family after Invasion: Washington he decided that he was going to head up to Toronto for a few days before returning home in time for Christmas. With the blessing of the man that he handpicked to replace himself as the head trainer at the “Forever Young” Wrestling Academy, Woody Hoyt.
He should have taken all the downtime to relax before the first EMERGE of the New Year, but he decided that it was best to go back to the school. As he was finally able to talk to the students about how anything is possible as long as they believe in themselves no matter how long they are in the business or how old they become while wrestling. Belief in oneself is the one constant that you have to have if you want to be successful. He reaches down and picks up his glass that’s full of ice and you would think some kind of Scotch or something, but it’s just plain water. He takes a sip of it and he wishes the airline had a better selection of sodas, but he’s not on to be a beggar. He goes to turn his attention back to his computer after putting his drink back down into the cup holder, but the passenger to the right of him catches his attention.
The passenger, a woman, with shiny black hair that Ryan notices isn’t her natural hair color as from the looks of her roots it’s either a dirty blonde or a light auburn in nature. However, her current hair color perfectly contrasts with her aged and slightly pale skin tone. Ryan wants to turn away from her, but something about her has his attention locked on her. He just continues to stare at her as she is sitting in her seat with a book in her hand to herself busy on the flight. Ryan leans a little closer to get a better look at and he starts to recognize her a little bit. However, he’s having a hard time putting a name with the face. As he’s met so many people throughout his career that she could just be some nameless fan that he conversed with once maybe twice in his lifetime.
He is certain that he has seen her before, but where, when, and who was she? He starts to think that maybe he could finally put a name with the face if he could see more of her face. Seeing her only from her profile doesn’t really give him the full picture. He could be missing a mole or something that would be enough to trigger his memory. However, he didn’t want to intrude into her personal space as he definitely didn’t want to seem threatening or someone on too strong to her. However, he is taken by surprise when she without turning to face him says…
“Yes, Ryan is there something I can help you with?” The woman said, and he couldn’t believe it he did know the woman, but her name was still escaping him at the moment. However, the voice was so familiar that he was sure that he shouldn’t have forgotten it as he did. Silence reigned for a moment, almost long enough to where she starts to wonder if he had even heard her. As she finished the page that she was on, she placed her bookmark into the book and closed it. As she laid the book down on her lap she turned her head to look at Ryan and what he saw warranted a double take, because the moment that he saw her face… he knew he should have never forgotten it.
“Cordelia Stevens.” He said, more to himself than to her to re-register the name to the face. The face of the woman that was his first “true” love, the woman that ripped his heart out of his chest, but at the same time gave him the greatest gift in the word that was his eldest daughter, Stacy. He just continues to stare at the woman unable to believe that not only were they on the same flight but that they were seated next to one another. Cordelia though just seems to gaze over him for a moment with her dark, almost too-large eyes that seemed like they’d be more at home staring up from the deeps of some forgotten underwater trench than on a plane. She smiled at him, a little on the subtle side as she only revealed a hint of her teeth.
“You look good, Ryan.” She said a nervous chuck came over Ryan, as he really didn’t know what to say to her. It’s been a lot of time since they last spoke and even longer since they spoke in a friendly manner.
“Thanks… how’s Michael?” Ryan asked, even though he didn’t care about the prick that derailed his career, stole his girlfriend, and for the first eighteen years of his daughter’s life played his role as her father. Ryan wouldn’t trade his life with Brianna and his kids with her for anything, but still, he would have like to have been in Stacy’s life from the moment of her birth. He looked at her and tried to feign a smile, but was extremely difficult even though somehow she’s different in his eyes from the last time they saw one another. He doesn’t really consider that a bad thing, but it does make a little more nervous about conversing with her right now.
“He passed away last pancreatic cancer from what I heard,” Cordelia said, and the way that she said it caught him more than a little off guard. “If you are wondering, we divorced not long after Stacy revealed to the world that you were her father.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Ryan said as he wouldn’t wish that on anyone the divorce or his end. However, he couldn’t help, but feel a little elated that Stacy not being his daughter was enough to cause the end of their marriage.
“I can see the wheels spinning in there, Ryan, that wasn’t the reason. He couldn’t keep it in his pants.” Cordelia said, which again was more enough to make Ryan a little happy because he called it all the way back when they went public with their relationship that Michael was going to end up cheating on her. “Are you and that interview chick still married?”
“Her name is Brianna, and yes we are with three children of our own,” Ryan said, and Cordelia knew that she fucked up insulting Brianna, but she couldn’t help it. The last couple of years she has resented everything about her because she was the one that picked Ryan up and brought him back to life, she’s been the one that her own daughter has gone to for advice, and more than that she’s living the life that Cordelia thought she would have had.
“Right, Brianna… sorry, terrible with names. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to writing your memoirs.” Cordelia said, as from just what she could manage to read from the screen it seemed like Ryan was writing a book about his career.
“Not memoirs… not yet. Just a blog about an upcoming title defense.” Ryan said, and at that moment Cordelia’s mind is blown because she seriously didn’t expect Ryan to still be wrestling none the less a champion. At this moment, she just turns her attention back to her book, because she’s tired of making herself look like a fool. Ryan also turns his attention back to his computer and goes back to work after taking another sip of his water.
+On the Computer Screen+
The one percenter’s objective is coated in the same kind of ideology, but they are more about flashing cash than running in packs. They try to get normal viewers to perceive them as untouchable entities, because of their money, looks, and finally on their talent. The one percenters like Tyler Jackson haven’t been snuffed out, because anytime someone starts to create any kind of momentum, they flash their cash to buy insurance or suck up to management to get advantages so their convictions are shattered by guys like me. It’s tactics like that that has led this business to lose some of the greatest talents through the years. I will attempt, before I came back I was one of them, because of another one-percenter by the name of, Michael Stevens.
Back then I was younger, naïve maybe, but mostly I was careless. This time I know better than to be careless because I have the gold around my waist. Some could call what I’ve said about the new management team as careless, but I call that a calculated gamble. So Tyler and even you Jenny, I hope we have a fair triple threat match for the title, but know this… I’m not going down without a fight and hope after I retain my title that you both rebound. There are a lot of situations you can find yourself in, while still clawing trying to reach (Tyler) or reclaim (Jenni) your stop at the top, but there is nothing remotely close to guaranteed success in this business. I have no illusions that this will be an easy battle to overcome, but I will fight, I will scrap, and I will risk it all to continue to reign as the Spirit champion. I will see this fight through.
+ Back on the plane +
Ryan happy with what he wrote pushes the submit button to post it up on his official website.
x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
A couple days later, after Christmas, the scene opens up within the condo that Ryan shares with his wife, but more than that it opens up in the room that they have a set up as a little mini gym. Ryan is currently in the room as the camera films he is punching away at a heavy bag, but this is a special heavy bag to Ryan. As it’s just something that he hasn’t been able to get rid of it even though it’s seen better days. The base of the bag looks to be being held together with duct tape.
[ Smack ]
Ryan strikes the bag right in the center of a faded U.S.M.C logo. Other people might have replaced this bag by now, because of the shape it’s in, but Ryan can’t bring himself to do that, because when he starts to anxious he likes to pound on it, because it’s the last piece of his father that he left and when he was a child his father was the one that helped him through his anxieties.
[ Smack ]
Ryan continues to punch at the bag for several more minutes. Most of the strikes coming from straight forward jabs with an even rhythm and force behind each blow to the bag. However, the longer than Ryan keeps going the strikes become faster and hitting harder. He doesn’t plan on trying to just proud Jenni and Tyler into defeat as with his years of experience he knows that isn’t going to be enough to help him keep his title.
[ Smack ]
All of the sudden Ryan changes up his strikes to land an uppercut, but the moment that blows lands on the bag it splits open. Sand starts to pour out of the bag as the leather of the hole. Ryan quickly places his hand on the bag to slow the leak, but a good deal is still hitting the floor. He ends up wrapping his arms around the bag and lifting it up so that he can unclasp it from the ceiling. Once he has the bag placed down on the floor of the room he places his hands on hips. He’s breathing heavily through his frustration, frustration that he added another hole to dad’s heavy bag, but also his frustration that he doesn’t have a straight-up title defense against the former champion in her rematch.
“One mistake… that’s all it takes… and I lose everything.” Ryan says, but it’s more to himself than to the camera that is filming him at the moment. He grabs a hold of his right hand with his left one and raises it up to where he can bite the athletic tape on his wrist. He then flips it around to do the same to his left wrist before he starts to unravel the tape. As he removes the tape from his wrist he looks at the camera and smirks a little bit.
“Jenni, Tyler… if you are watching this I know what you are thinking.” Ryan continued to just smirk. “You’re thinking that you have top of the art and more importantly new equipment that you work out with. Be it at Ante-Up or whatever gym that you visit and you are thinking how I can hope to retain my title when I’m using equipment that’s falling apart.”
It was a valid point that someone could have because that’s their opinion. However, one could argue that newer isn’t always better either. “That’s fine because that just goes to show your characters. Every piece of equipment in this room I treat with respect and love because without it would be standing here as the current Spirit champion. Just as I respect the machines and equipment I use while I’m on the road whether they are new or old.”
“I respect everyone because everyone that steps in that ring is just as capable as everyone else, but like I said…” Ryan pauses, for a moment. “Upon seeing the equipment I’m using you wrote it off, you wrote me off because you have no respect for the generations that came before you. The both of you are just concern about yourselves… which is fine, but when this old guy that beat Jenni at Invasion: Washington on a fluke, retains his title hopefully I’ll have taught you both a bit of humility.”
Ryan tosses the tape from his wrists into the trash can that's placed near the door of the room as the scene fades out.
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