Post by Michael Smart on Mar 31, 2014 13:12:15 GMT -6
As the pale young intern adjusts the microphone in front of him, Daniel Smart takes the opportunity to pop open the top button of his collar shirt. The air conditioning in the small recording studio doesn't appear to work. The studio is musty and dank. Daniel wipes a few drops of sweat off his forehead as the radio DJ starts talking.
”What's up, Chicago, it's Jeremy Bull!”
Jeremy Bull is a local shock jock in Chicago. He became popular in the nineties by taking on timely subjects in an irreverent manner. Ever since then, his fame has declined greatly. However, as a huge wrestling fan, he was more than willing to give Daniel some airtime. After a long time away from the spotlight, Daniel was willing to take all the publicity he could get.
”Now, there's a lot of you fellow wrestling fans listening to this show right now, and many of you know my guest this morning, but few of you will know what he's been up to lately. Ladies and germs, I am joined by none other than independent pro wrestler, Daniel Smart!”
”Pleased to be here, Jeremy.”
”Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking; Daniel Smart? That guy's a manager, not a wrestler! He's the funny guy in a suit, he's the guy standing at ringside watching the action! But just a few weeks ago, Daniel had his first wrestling match.”
”My first match in a long while, Jeremy. I was actually a wrestler for a while a few years back.”
”Right, but after that, you managed your cousin Michael Smart for years, I think that's what you're most known for. What changed that? Why did you choose to step into the ring?”
”Long story short, Michael disappeared about a year ago. He does stuff like that sometimes, so I'm not worried, but it did leave me without a job. At the same time, I thought back on all the great moments I'd been part of with Michael, all the great matches he'd been in, all the titles he'd won. When he vanished, I realized that I wanted to do all those things. I wasn't satisfied with being on the sidelines anymore. I wanted to be in the spotlight myself.”
”I see. So, you're making your big wrestling comeback on Missouri State Wrestling. Now, why them? After being on national TV, why wrestle in front of a dozen inbred hillbillies for fifty bucks a night?”
Daniel furrows his brow, not amused.
”Our crowds are a bit bigger than that, Jeremy. Our fans are great, they're a rowdy bunch not afraid to tell you how they feel. To answer your question, I think MSW is a place where I can get some experience without the pressure of being on nationwide television. At the same time, there's also some great competitors to be found in the company, some of them would even give my cousin a run for his money.”
”Your first match in the company was against the infamous Robert “Badger” Garland. Now, he's one scary guy. Setting people on fire, making people bleed, beating people up in bathrooms... he's done a lot of crazy stuff over the years, yet he was the first guy you had to face. I caught a clip of that match on Youtube. Thanks to some messy interference, you managed to knee Garland in the face and pick up the pinfall.”
”Yeah. He had some back-up and managed to bust me open, but thanks to some help from Frank Washington and my patented Knee-DS, I got the win.”
”I've heard some people on Twitter calling that move The Knee That Beat Robert Garland, think you're going to start using that name?”
”Heh, I'll think about it.”
”On the next episode, you are facing a man by the name of Jackal. The first thing I found out about him is that he's from Detroit. Think there's going to be something of a Chicago-Detroit rivalry between the two of you? You know, Bears against Lions, Blackhawks against Red Wings?”
”Well, the Blackhawks went over, so I like my odds.”
”I looked up some clips of this guy, some highlights videos, and this guy seems to be just as nuts as Garland, if not worse. He's jumped off cages into barbed wire or whatever, he's gotten hurt and kept coming back, I mean how do you prepare for a match like that?”
”When you face an opponent like Jackal, a smart man would be scared. I guess I don't live up to my name, then, because I'm not afraid. Jackal doesn't seem to fear death, but unfortunately for him, neither do I. I'd rather die in a blaze of glory than have a long life, too scared to truly live. I am willing to take risks if need be, I'm willing to get hurt to get the job done, I'm willing to put my life on the line for a chance at immortality.”
”Hurt yourself? That sounds stupid to me! You're supposed to hurt the other guy, you gain nothing by beating yourself up! I was a big fan of Michael Smart because he lived up to the nickname of “The Paralyzer”! He didn't take risks, but his opponents were at risk of being crippled by some of his moves!”
Biting his lip, Daniel takes a moment before responding.
”I'm not willing to cripple anyone else. I'll take a risk to get the big fat W, but I'll only hurt others as much as I need to. No more, no less. I love my cousin, but he had a tendency to take things too far.”
Bull scoffs at Daniel's words.
”Too far? Who knew that a blood relative of the great Michael Smart could be a huge pussy? Your cousin didn't win titles by hugging his opponents if they got a little boo-boo. When he got into the ring, he knew the guy opposite him was an enemy. He maimed people. He was a sadist. You? You're a masochist. He always wanted to be on top, so I guess you were always the bottom.”
Daniel glares at Bull.
”I don't need to take this. I'm not going to have a middle-aged has-been shock jock call me a pussy for having morals. I'm going to beat Jackal, I'm going to win the Best of the Best tournament, but I'm going to do it in my own way. I don't care what my cousin would have wanted. He was wrong. I can beat anyone, but I'll do it in a clean fight. You're not going to see me cripple Jackal, but you're going to see me prove that I am the better man.”
Daniel stands up and storms out of the studio, slamming the door behind him as he does. He walks down the stairs and steps out onto the Chicago streets, taking a long walk back to his apartment. Daniel knows that he can win. The Knee-DS, The Knee That Beat Robert Garland... soon enough, it will be known as The Knee That Won The Title.
”What's up, Chicago, it's Jeremy Bull!”
Jeremy Bull is a local shock jock in Chicago. He became popular in the nineties by taking on timely subjects in an irreverent manner. Ever since then, his fame has declined greatly. However, as a huge wrestling fan, he was more than willing to give Daniel some airtime. After a long time away from the spotlight, Daniel was willing to take all the publicity he could get.
”Now, there's a lot of you fellow wrestling fans listening to this show right now, and many of you know my guest this morning, but few of you will know what he's been up to lately. Ladies and germs, I am joined by none other than independent pro wrestler, Daniel Smart!”
”Pleased to be here, Jeremy.”
”Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking; Daniel Smart? That guy's a manager, not a wrestler! He's the funny guy in a suit, he's the guy standing at ringside watching the action! But just a few weeks ago, Daniel had his first wrestling match.”
”My first match in a long while, Jeremy. I was actually a wrestler for a while a few years back.”
”Right, but after that, you managed your cousin Michael Smart for years, I think that's what you're most known for. What changed that? Why did you choose to step into the ring?”
”Long story short, Michael disappeared about a year ago. He does stuff like that sometimes, so I'm not worried, but it did leave me without a job. At the same time, I thought back on all the great moments I'd been part of with Michael, all the great matches he'd been in, all the titles he'd won. When he vanished, I realized that I wanted to do all those things. I wasn't satisfied with being on the sidelines anymore. I wanted to be in the spotlight myself.”
”I see. So, you're making your big wrestling comeback on Missouri State Wrestling. Now, why them? After being on national TV, why wrestle in front of a dozen inbred hillbillies for fifty bucks a night?”
Daniel furrows his brow, not amused.
”Our crowds are a bit bigger than that, Jeremy. Our fans are great, they're a rowdy bunch not afraid to tell you how they feel. To answer your question, I think MSW is a place where I can get some experience without the pressure of being on nationwide television. At the same time, there's also some great competitors to be found in the company, some of them would even give my cousin a run for his money.”
”Your first match in the company was against the infamous Robert “Badger” Garland. Now, he's one scary guy. Setting people on fire, making people bleed, beating people up in bathrooms... he's done a lot of crazy stuff over the years, yet he was the first guy you had to face. I caught a clip of that match on Youtube. Thanks to some messy interference, you managed to knee Garland in the face and pick up the pinfall.”
”Yeah. He had some back-up and managed to bust me open, but thanks to some help from Frank Washington and my patented Knee-DS, I got the win.”
”I've heard some people on Twitter calling that move The Knee That Beat Robert Garland, think you're going to start using that name?”
”Heh, I'll think about it.”
”On the next episode, you are facing a man by the name of Jackal. The first thing I found out about him is that he's from Detroit. Think there's going to be something of a Chicago-Detroit rivalry between the two of you? You know, Bears against Lions, Blackhawks against Red Wings?”
”Well, the Blackhawks went over, so I like my odds.”
”I looked up some clips of this guy, some highlights videos, and this guy seems to be just as nuts as Garland, if not worse. He's jumped off cages into barbed wire or whatever, he's gotten hurt and kept coming back, I mean how do you prepare for a match like that?”
”When you face an opponent like Jackal, a smart man would be scared. I guess I don't live up to my name, then, because I'm not afraid. Jackal doesn't seem to fear death, but unfortunately for him, neither do I. I'd rather die in a blaze of glory than have a long life, too scared to truly live. I am willing to take risks if need be, I'm willing to get hurt to get the job done, I'm willing to put my life on the line for a chance at immortality.”
”Hurt yourself? That sounds stupid to me! You're supposed to hurt the other guy, you gain nothing by beating yourself up! I was a big fan of Michael Smart because he lived up to the nickname of “The Paralyzer”! He didn't take risks, but his opponents were at risk of being crippled by some of his moves!”
Biting his lip, Daniel takes a moment before responding.
”I'm not willing to cripple anyone else. I'll take a risk to get the big fat W, but I'll only hurt others as much as I need to. No more, no less. I love my cousin, but he had a tendency to take things too far.”
Bull scoffs at Daniel's words.
”Too far? Who knew that a blood relative of the great Michael Smart could be a huge pussy? Your cousin didn't win titles by hugging his opponents if they got a little boo-boo. When he got into the ring, he knew the guy opposite him was an enemy. He maimed people. He was a sadist. You? You're a masochist. He always wanted to be on top, so I guess you were always the bottom.”
Daniel glares at Bull.
”I don't need to take this. I'm not going to have a middle-aged has-been shock jock call me a pussy for having morals. I'm going to beat Jackal, I'm going to win the Best of the Best tournament, but I'm going to do it in my own way. I don't care what my cousin would have wanted. He was wrong. I can beat anyone, but I'll do it in a clean fight. You're not going to see me cripple Jackal, but you're going to see me prove that I am the better man.”
Daniel stands up and storms out of the studio, slamming the door behind him as he does. He walks down the stairs and steps out onto the Chicago streets, taking a long walk back to his apartment. Daniel knows that he can win. The Knee-DS, The Knee That Beat Robert Garland... soon enough, it will be known as The Knee That Won The Title.
