NOTHING [Gold Rush #2]
May 29, 2020 22:52:24 GMT -5
Post by Admin on May 29, 2020 22:52:24 GMT -5
It's an empty room. Nothing on the plain white walls. Nothing on the bare concrete floor. It's too bright, almost oppressively so as the stark three walls fill the screen, end to end. A door opens in the far wall, one that was almost invisible before that dark square appeared in the blinding white. Max Ironside walks through, crossing the room with a metal folding chair in his hand. He takes his time to unfold it, turning it around and straddling it so that his arms dangle over the dented backrest. He doesn't bother to hide his bad hand. Doesn't seem ashamed whatsoever as his blue eyes meet the camera, unflinching.
Max Ironside
No distractions, Priscilla. No games. No musical interludes or clever jokes – just me being sincere. I know that's not expected or even really welcome but I can't bring myself to make light of things this time. So kudos to you, I guess. You got under my skin. That's what you wanted though, wasn't it? To crawl inside my ear, burrow deep into my head and lay some poisonous eggs…
He breaks off, shaking his head with a look of disgust.
Max Ironside
And now I have images of spiders crawling around in my skull. So that's fun.
Rolling his eyes, he sighs. In the pause, the microphone picks up something clearly said in the background.
Rayna
Trashy dumpster fire, should just do us all a favor and walk into oncoming traffic.
Max pretends not to hear it although there's a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Max Ironside
Everyone has a ritual in this business. We all have things we do to prepare, the ways we have to trick ourselves into downplaying the reality of the situation at hand. I don't want to even guess what Miss Kelly is doing now, if she's even preparing herself for our inevitable confrontation or-
Rayna
She inevitably needs to get punched in the face. Repeatedly.
This time Max lets that smile grow, nodding.
Max Ironside
I debating staying silent, keeping my cards close to my vest on this one. I debated hanging the vacancy sign in the hopes that I could let my actions in the ring speak for themselves. Had nearly convinced myself that it was a viable option, too. I slept on it, though. Thought long and hard and-
Again, that grumbling off camera cuts though as Max takes a breath. It's clear that his wife isn't impressed in the least.
Rayna
Like not even with a fist. I can use the taser in my purse.
Max Ironside
If she doesn't wrestle me, if she sends Prince Albert out to face me… yeah. Go for it. If she can't bring herself to even give me, give the fans or the company or THE DAMN GOLD the respect it deserves to show up and fight fairly, then why should we stay above-board? I'm sick to death of being the doormat. Of only getting so close only to have the carpet yanked out from under me.
Rayna
Yanno? Like punch and zap! Bam, the bitch goes down.
He nods, clearly liking the sound of that.
Max Ironside
I've had people tell me I'm in this business for the wrong reasons, that chasing a dream to prove that I'm as able as anyone else is stupid. I've been called a 'short bus reject'. I've been called slurs that I'm not going to repeat here. I've been passed over by promotions. My own father, my own flesh and blood laughed in my face when I told him that I was going to Phoenix, that I'd quit my dead-end, minimum wage job to go train to be a professional wrestler. He gave me six months to give up, to come crawling back looking for a handout. I haven't been back to Battle Creek since. It's been eleven years since I graduated from Wild Ones. I'm still reaching. I'm still trying. And for what? I've wrestled every week since this company opened its doors. The only thing she's done is bow out and let someone else do the dirty work. You know what I call that? It isn't being smart. It isn't about having good business sense. It's being lazy. It's called being a coward.
Rayna
I swear to God, Max, if she tries anything stupid, I'm going to rip her cheap extensions out and feed them to her.
Max Ironside
The fact that she made it this far without really lifting a finger irks me more than I want to admit – I'm sure you can tell. I fought Raging Dead. I fought Athena. I fought The Best Friends. While you're over there madly refreshing the website to see where you landed in the rankings, I was preparing myself. I was nursing wounds. I was finding a way to adapt, to make sure I learned from every blip and yip and flaw out there so that next time my game is even tighter. While you stood on the apron and watched Prince Albert run roughshod last week, while you clapped and soaked up the glory, none of it was meant for you. You were a DECORATION. You were largely ornamental and you think you've earned the right to compare yourself to me? To belittle my dedication? To act like I'm nothing and nobody? No. Hell no. This isn't going to be another Defiant Wrestling. This isn't going to be another Aidan Carlisle situation, where I let someone tear me down until I'm nothing more than a grain of sand to be brushed aside lightly.
He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tries to calm himself.
Rayna
She's got nothing on you, Love. You're going to do great.
Max Ironside
I don't want to live my life waiting on validation from someone else. I don't need their adoration, their praise and applause. I don't need someone like Booker T to look me in the eyes like an equal and tell me I earned this moment only to have the crowd echo him. Don't get me wrong – I loved it. It made me feel a hell of a lot better about the whole thing. It still didn't serve to sweeten what I've got to choke down now as I go back and try to properly scout my opponent only to realize just how LITTLE she's done the entire time she's been employed here. I know how that sounds. Quality over quantity, right? That's the party line. That's what matters. Seventeen two-star matches aren't better than three four-stars, right? Of course not. That's silly to even think that exposure matters. That effort counts for much more than cementing myself as a contender in their eyes while you go door-to-door, town-to-town trying to collect power through sheer manipulation. That's not how this works, Priscilla. Not at all.
Rayna
You've got this, Max. Don't ever doubt that for one second.
Max Ironside
Heart and soul. Blood. Sweat. Tears. Ten damn years of my life, I've given to this business. I never expected a clap-back. I never obsessed over my name in lights, my face on a poster, my name coming from someone else's lips. I always saw that as shallow, as so damned insecure. I am not the sum of what you think of me, of what some asshole behind a keyboard wants to write about one of my matches when they weren't there in the heat of the moment, there between the ropes living and breathing. I earned my stripes the hard way. With effort. With hard work. With passion. With every last ounce of myself and their praise… it's secondary right now. It's not what I want.
He lifts his good hand up to his face, rubbing it across his lips as he stalls, trying to rein in that anger.
Max Ironside
I've kept my mouth shut long enough. I've turned the other cheek so many times I could be deified at this point – at the very least canonized. I am not the sum of what you think of me, Priscilla. I am not a joke. I am your downfall. I am the windshield and you are the bug, coming in oblivious at terminal velocity. You have ten, maybe twenty seconds to reconsider every last disgusting choice you've made in your life, every last mistake before you're completely obliterated. I want you to ask yourself if it was worth it. I want that to be the thing weighing on your mind when you step between the ropes with me in just a few hours.
He stares into the camera for a good twenty seconds, saying nothing. His blue eyes are intense, almost incandescent glowing with anger.
Max Ironside
I can answer that… for myself. For me. I don't even have to think about it, either. Yes. A thousand times yes. And the more you try to brush me aside, the more you try to slap me down, the harder I come back. The more determined I become. I've heard tens of thousands of noes in my career. I've been laughed at. Had doors slammed in my face. I've been denied too many times. It ends here. Tonight. I'm taking what I've earned, Priscilla. And you? You'll get what you deserve...
He closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When he speaks again, his voice is calm, perfectly level as he finishes off with one word only.
Max Ironside
Nothing.
