Post by Michael Smart on May 1, 2014 10:15:57 GMT -6
Smiling at the camera, Daniel Smart is standing in the middle of the living room of his apartment in downtown Chicago. Wearing a light blue collar shirt and black jeans, his hair is slicked back with so much hair gel you can almost smell it. The apartment itself seems like it would look really nice, if only it was ever cleaned. There are DVDs and video games scattered all across the place while dirty plates and drinking glasses fill the living room table. The place is a stereotypical bachelor pad.
”Welcome to my humble abode. I am Daniel Smart. I know what you're thinking; couldn't I have cleaned up before shooting this video? I could have, but that would have been dishonest. This is the way my apartment looks every single day, why pretend that it's something different? Cleaning it up so I could project the illusion of a shiny apartment, like you would see in a catalogue, would be akin to lying. I'm not here to lie to you. I'm not here to pretend that I'm something I'm not. What you see is what you get, and what you see... is my home.”
Strolling across the apartment, Daniel raises his arms to present the apartment.
”This place is just like me. Messy, sure, but honest. Everything is out in the open, nothing is hidden away. If I had skeletons, they wouldn't be in my closet, they would be chilling on my couch. I leave it all out in the open, so you can trust me when I tell you that I believe in every word I'm about to say.”
After finishing his round around his living room, Daniel takes a few steps closer to the camera.
”The odds were stacked against me, and yet I overcame them. At Unstoppable, I went through not one, not two, but three men to advance to the finals. You could call it a miracle, you could call it a fluke, but what I call it is proof that I deserve to be in the main event of Best of the Best. Robert Garland couldn't stop me, Jackal couldn't stop me. Leo Banks, Matt Ward, Johnny B.... all of them good foes. All of them worthy opponents. None of them could stop me. People have taken notice, my name is on a lot of people's mouths at the moment.”
Pointing his finger at the camera, Daniel takes a quick aside.
”James Carson, Jacob Marx or whatever the hell you call yourself, don't think I haven't heard what you've been saying. I don't know what you want, but if you want to challenge me, feel free to do so. To quote an old friend of mine, I will not back down. You're gonna have to wait in line, though, as I have more urgent business to attend to.”
Daniel's positive demeanor fades away, his eyes glaring at the camera.
”After all the names I've dropped so far, we finally come to the most important one. Bryce Manning. The Architect, the Antichrist, but most importantly my opponent. Even after all the obstacles I've gone through, Manning will be my greatest challenge.”
There's a faint vibrating noise. Daniel digs his phone out of his pocket and stares at the screen.
”Unknown sender. “Five minutes”. Huh? Must be someone trolling.”
Daniel puts his phone back in his pocket and turns back to the camera.
”Now... Manning. Let's get the formalities out of the way: you're a great wrestler, I've got respect for your talent and so on. None of that changes the fact that you're an arrogant, self-centered douchebag. I've heard you go on and on about how much better you are than everyone else. I've seen you walk around like you own the damn place. I've felt the smugness radiating from your body, I've smelled the delusions of grandeur emanating from your skin. However, I can already taste it all... coming to an end.”
A sly grin spreads across Daniel's face.
”When you go around hyping yourself up, putting yourself on a pedestal, a timebomb starts ticking. Sure, you can brag all you want right now. You've beaten everyone in the tournament. You're in the main event of the first MSW supercard. You're at the top and everything is going your way. However, sooner or later, the timebomb goes off. Sooner or later, someone comes along to knock you off your pedestal. Oh, and you might have already guessed this, but that someone... is me.”
Daniel takes a seat on the armrest of his couch, keeping his eyes locked on the camera.
”I take offense to your claims about being in a league above everyone else in MSW. I had to scratch and claw my way through this tournament. I've literally bled, I've almost shed tears and I've certainly had to sweat to get where I am. If you claim to be in a whole league above that, you claim to be in a league above me. At Best of the Best, I will prove you wrong.”
Daniel raises a single finger, his right index finger, in the air.
”One time. All it takes is one time, all it takes is one defeat, and everything you've been saying is proven wrong. A normal man can lose, sure. No big deal, better luck next time. The Architect, on the other hand? If you want to be the foundation of the company or whatever, you have to win. If the Architect loses, the house he's built comes crashing down. Your mouth has written a cheque, and next week we'll see if you can cash it in.I'm not gonna pretend that it will be easy. This might just be the hardest thing I've done in my entire life. I've been training my ass off and I've been studying my tapes. A true master never stops learning, and I've certainly been learning a lot. I saw Drew Stevenson, one of the toughest men in professional wrestling, lose to Manning and I learned that being tough isn't enough. I watched Lance Peterson lose to Manning, and I learned that good technique isn't enough. I watched Luke Jackson lose to Manning, albeit with an assist from Matt Ward, and I learned that high flying might not be enough. I watched Peyton Von Licht lose to Manning, and I learned that even being a hero isn't enough.”
Daniel pauses for a moment to let everything sink in.
”If that's the case, then what, exactly, is enough? I have to learn from all of the men I mentioned. I need to be heroic like Peyton? Well, the fans seem to have accepted me as their hero, and their cheers and chants will give me strength. I need quick like Jackson? No problem, my Knee-DS will catch you out of nowhere. I need to be technical like Peterson? My father has been training me since junior high, proper technique is embedded in my skull. I need to be tough like Stevenson? Well, I might not be as physically tough as he is, mentally I'm as tough as they come.”
Reaching over to the living room table cluttered with garbage, Daniel digs out a remote controller, turning his TV on. Clips of Daniel climbing over fences and jumping between rooftops play on the screen.
”These clips show what I've been doing for the past year. Parkour has been my primary training mechanism for wrestling. Parkour allows me to see the world differently from others. Where others see obstacles, I can see paths. Not only that, but it has also forced me to think fast in dangerous situations and most importantly of all, it has exposed me to danger so many times... I've grown immune to it”
Turning the TV off, Daniel throws the remote on his couch and gets back on his feet.
”I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't fear death. What I fear is inaction. What I fear is a life spent never truly living. I'd rather die trying to achieve greatness than live a life, content in mediocrity. At the supercard, one of us will truly deserve to be called the Best of the Best. I intend to be that man. I believe that one moment of greatness, one moment where I can rightfully be called the best, will justify everything I had to sacrifice to attain it. I believe that one moment of greatness will justify every consequence that falls upon me after it. Beating you at Best of the Best is the only thing I want. If I do that...”
Daniel is interrupted by his phone vibrating again. Visibly annoyed, Daniel digs his phone out of his pocket.
”'Knock knock'? What the hell is this?”
At that very moment, Daniel is startled by the sound of knocking. Someone is banging on his door as hard as they can. Forgetting the camera, Daniel slowly sneaks to the door and opens it up. Once Daniel sees who is behind the door, he takes a step back in surprise.
”Long time no see, cousin.”
”Welcome to my humble abode. I am Daniel Smart. I know what you're thinking; couldn't I have cleaned up before shooting this video? I could have, but that would have been dishonest. This is the way my apartment looks every single day, why pretend that it's something different? Cleaning it up so I could project the illusion of a shiny apartment, like you would see in a catalogue, would be akin to lying. I'm not here to lie to you. I'm not here to pretend that I'm something I'm not. What you see is what you get, and what you see... is my home.”
Strolling across the apartment, Daniel raises his arms to present the apartment.
”This place is just like me. Messy, sure, but honest. Everything is out in the open, nothing is hidden away. If I had skeletons, they wouldn't be in my closet, they would be chilling on my couch. I leave it all out in the open, so you can trust me when I tell you that I believe in every word I'm about to say.”
After finishing his round around his living room, Daniel takes a few steps closer to the camera.
”The odds were stacked against me, and yet I overcame them. At Unstoppable, I went through not one, not two, but three men to advance to the finals. You could call it a miracle, you could call it a fluke, but what I call it is proof that I deserve to be in the main event of Best of the Best. Robert Garland couldn't stop me, Jackal couldn't stop me. Leo Banks, Matt Ward, Johnny B.... all of them good foes. All of them worthy opponents. None of them could stop me. People have taken notice, my name is on a lot of people's mouths at the moment.”
Pointing his finger at the camera, Daniel takes a quick aside.
”James Carson, Jacob Marx or whatever the hell you call yourself, don't think I haven't heard what you've been saying. I don't know what you want, but if you want to challenge me, feel free to do so. To quote an old friend of mine, I will not back down. You're gonna have to wait in line, though, as I have more urgent business to attend to.”
Daniel's positive demeanor fades away, his eyes glaring at the camera.
”After all the names I've dropped so far, we finally come to the most important one. Bryce Manning. The Architect, the Antichrist, but most importantly my opponent. Even after all the obstacles I've gone through, Manning will be my greatest challenge.”
There's a faint vibrating noise. Daniel digs his phone out of his pocket and stares at the screen.
”Unknown sender. “Five minutes”. Huh? Must be someone trolling.”
Daniel puts his phone back in his pocket and turns back to the camera.
”Now... Manning. Let's get the formalities out of the way: you're a great wrestler, I've got respect for your talent and so on. None of that changes the fact that you're an arrogant, self-centered douchebag. I've heard you go on and on about how much better you are than everyone else. I've seen you walk around like you own the damn place. I've felt the smugness radiating from your body, I've smelled the delusions of grandeur emanating from your skin. However, I can already taste it all... coming to an end.”
A sly grin spreads across Daniel's face.
”When you go around hyping yourself up, putting yourself on a pedestal, a timebomb starts ticking. Sure, you can brag all you want right now. You've beaten everyone in the tournament. You're in the main event of the first MSW supercard. You're at the top and everything is going your way. However, sooner or later, the timebomb goes off. Sooner or later, someone comes along to knock you off your pedestal. Oh, and you might have already guessed this, but that someone... is me.”
Daniel takes a seat on the armrest of his couch, keeping his eyes locked on the camera.
”I take offense to your claims about being in a league above everyone else in MSW. I had to scratch and claw my way through this tournament. I've literally bled, I've almost shed tears and I've certainly had to sweat to get where I am. If you claim to be in a whole league above that, you claim to be in a league above me. At Best of the Best, I will prove you wrong.”
Daniel raises a single finger, his right index finger, in the air.
”One time. All it takes is one time, all it takes is one defeat, and everything you've been saying is proven wrong. A normal man can lose, sure. No big deal, better luck next time. The Architect, on the other hand? If you want to be the foundation of the company or whatever, you have to win. If the Architect loses, the house he's built comes crashing down. Your mouth has written a cheque, and next week we'll see if you can cash it in.I'm not gonna pretend that it will be easy. This might just be the hardest thing I've done in my entire life. I've been training my ass off and I've been studying my tapes. A true master never stops learning, and I've certainly been learning a lot. I saw Drew Stevenson, one of the toughest men in professional wrestling, lose to Manning and I learned that being tough isn't enough. I watched Lance Peterson lose to Manning, and I learned that good technique isn't enough. I watched Luke Jackson lose to Manning, albeit with an assist from Matt Ward, and I learned that high flying might not be enough. I watched Peyton Von Licht lose to Manning, and I learned that even being a hero isn't enough.”
Daniel pauses for a moment to let everything sink in.
”If that's the case, then what, exactly, is enough? I have to learn from all of the men I mentioned. I need to be heroic like Peyton? Well, the fans seem to have accepted me as their hero, and their cheers and chants will give me strength. I need quick like Jackson? No problem, my Knee-DS will catch you out of nowhere. I need to be technical like Peterson? My father has been training me since junior high, proper technique is embedded in my skull. I need to be tough like Stevenson? Well, I might not be as physically tough as he is, mentally I'm as tough as they come.”
Reaching over to the living room table cluttered with garbage, Daniel digs out a remote controller, turning his TV on. Clips of Daniel climbing over fences and jumping between rooftops play on the screen.
”These clips show what I've been doing for the past year. Parkour has been my primary training mechanism for wrestling. Parkour allows me to see the world differently from others. Where others see obstacles, I can see paths. Not only that, but it has also forced me to think fast in dangerous situations and most importantly of all, it has exposed me to danger so many times... I've grown immune to it”
Turning the TV off, Daniel throws the remote on his couch and gets back on his feet.
”I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't fear death. What I fear is inaction. What I fear is a life spent never truly living. I'd rather die trying to achieve greatness than live a life, content in mediocrity. At the supercard, one of us will truly deserve to be called the Best of the Best. I intend to be that man. I believe that one moment of greatness, one moment where I can rightfully be called the best, will justify everything I had to sacrifice to attain it. I believe that one moment of greatness will justify every consequence that falls upon me after it. Beating you at Best of the Best is the only thing I want. If I do that...”
Daniel is interrupted by his phone vibrating again. Visibly annoyed, Daniel digs his phone out of his pocket.
”'Knock knock'? What the hell is this?”
At that very moment, Daniel is startled by the sound of knocking. Someone is banging on his door as hard as they can. Forgetting the camera, Daniel slowly sneaks to the door and opens it up. Once Daniel sees who is behind the door, he takes a step back in surprise.
”Long time no see, cousin.”
TO BE CONTINUED
