Post by robriot on Oct 8, 2021 6:54:20 GMT -5
There’s already a deep, pained expression of regret on Rob Riot’s face as he approaches the ice plunge bath in his new Canadian apartment. It had been his first luxury purchase for the new place. Going back and forth from England to Canada between every NPW event had begun to take its toll on his body - but, then again, everything takes its toll on your body when you’ve taken as many bumps as Rob Riot has. The new crash pad in Vancouver will solve the fatigue problems for now, but for any other physical problem, you need an ice bath.
“Ugh. I didn’t have to do this when I was in my twenties.”
Holding his breath and wincing a little, Riot sinks into the ice bath up to his chest and closes his eyes, trying to ignore the cold burn of the ice against his skin. It’ll pass in a moment, as all things do, and the wear and tear of the epic encounter between the Bastards and the Marsupials of Mayhem will begin to heal. Unfortunately for him, his concentration is shattered by an electronic beep long before that process begins.
Cursing the day that the mobile phone was invented, Riot picks up his device and looks at the screen.
One new message from NPW Alerts.
All it takes is two thumb taps to open it up and read the contents, which he does. He looks at the screen for a long time, scrolling up and down the message. He seems to think of putting the phone back down, but he changes his mind. Instead, he flips the camera to face him and hits the ‘record’ button.
"So, another trios match. Only this time, I don't get to tag up with my friends. Somebody thinks I should make some new ones instead. No offence to my temporary tag buddies, but that doesn't appeal to me. Two friends are all I need, and I've already got them. It strikes me that Gus Arnold wants to find out whether this faction warfare can be sorted out with one man from each camp before the whole thing blows up and takes the entire promotion with it. That's a smart move."
Looking uncomfortable for a moment, Riot grimaces and shifts his position in the ice bath. As he comes partially out of the bath, you can see rich, purple bruises on his skin.
"Now nobody in NPW has been unlucky enough to find this out yet, but I'm actually pretty good on my own. If Keith Williams, Donzig, and Steve Awesome think they'll get a lesser Rob Riot because he doesn't have Frank Windsor and Billy Fowler with him in the ring, they're in for a shock. I was a multi-time world champion long before I was a Bastard, and I'll be a world champion again. I'd say that this was the right time to prove that, but it isn't. We have personal business to handle, and I'm not just talking about my three opponents. I'm talking about Kid Koala."
He raises one hand and one finger, tapping the side of his head.
"I think you let me inside your head before we faced off, my little furry foe, and I think you took a step into my mind too. I enjoyed our frank exchanges. Hell, I even enjoyed the fire we threw at each other in the ring. Our business didn't get settled, but it will. We have more to throw at each other, but to get there, we have to throw a whole world of pain at three lesser stags who seem determined to catch our scent. I don’t need you to like me, Koala. I don’t even need you to tolerate me. I just need you to focus on the three men standing across the ring from us for as long as it takes to despatch them, and we can pick up right where we left off. And then there’s - ah, thank you!”
A white-gloved hand appears from the left-hand side of the phone camera’s view, handing Riot a whisky on the rocks. The hand disappears from view, and Riot raises the glass to the screen as if it were a toast before sipping from it.
"And then there's Jay Stevens. I don't know much about you, kid, and I'm sorry about that. I'm told you're really good. I'm told you've got a ton of potential. I'm going to need you to take all of that potential for the future and drag it back here into the present because we've got a fight on our hands. A fight with three guys I've had my eyes on for a very long time. Let's start with you, Steve Awesome."
Riot sets the drink down so he can give Awesome his full attention.
"You're a respected fighter around here - a champion, in fact. Well done on finally making it to the promised land. I feel like you and I have drifted in the same circles for years. Wherever I've gone, I've seen you. Hell, I even think you might have had a cup of coffee in Riot Star Wrestling once. And you know what I used to think? I thought, 'damn, Steve Awesome doesn't have it.' I saw a guy who didn't know how to make the best of himself and kept coming up short. Then I went away and came back, and boy did you surprise me when I came to NPW. You're not the same Steve Awesome I remember; you're a whole different animal. I looked at you again, and this time I thought, 'damn, Steve Awesome got good.' So well done."
Riot offers the camera a thumbs up. He’s probably being sincere.
"As the big man once said, though, look at the adjective. I said, 'good,' not 'great.' You turned yourself into a star of professional wrestling, but you're still a red dwarf compared to the stellar giant that I am. And as for you, Keith Williams? As for you, Donzig? Two guys who cross my path so often that I can no longer ignore the coincidence? Two men who might as well walk around with giant neon signs saying "PLEASE COME AND BEAT ME TO A PULP, ROB" floating above their heads? You want to know what I have to say to you?"
He gives the audience a big, tongue-in-cheek wink.
“You’ll find that out next time.”
Riot shuts off the camera and hits ‘reply,’ thus sending the video back to NPW for release.
“Ugh. I didn’t have to do this when I was in my twenties.”
Holding his breath and wincing a little, Riot sinks into the ice bath up to his chest and closes his eyes, trying to ignore the cold burn of the ice against his skin. It’ll pass in a moment, as all things do, and the wear and tear of the epic encounter between the Bastards and the Marsupials of Mayhem will begin to heal. Unfortunately for him, his concentration is shattered by an electronic beep long before that process begins.
Cursing the day that the mobile phone was invented, Riot picks up his device and looks at the screen.
One new message from NPW Alerts.
All it takes is two thumb taps to open it up and read the contents, which he does. He looks at the screen for a long time, scrolling up and down the message. He seems to think of putting the phone back down, but he changes his mind. Instead, he flips the camera to face him and hits the ‘record’ button.
"So, another trios match. Only this time, I don't get to tag up with my friends. Somebody thinks I should make some new ones instead. No offence to my temporary tag buddies, but that doesn't appeal to me. Two friends are all I need, and I've already got them. It strikes me that Gus Arnold wants to find out whether this faction warfare can be sorted out with one man from each camp before the whole thing blows up and takes the entire promotion with it. That's a smart move."
Looking uncomfortable for a moment, Riot grimaces and shifts his position in the ice bath. As he comes partially out of the bath, you can see rich, purple bruises on his skin.
"Now nobody in NPW has been unlucky enough to find this out yet, but I'm actually pretty good on my own. If Keith Williams, Donzig, and Steve Awesome think they'll get a lesser Rob Riot because he doesn't have Frank Windsor and Billy Fowler with him in the ring, they're in for a shock. I was a multi-time world champion long before I was a Bastard, and I'll be a world champion again. I'd say that this was the right time to prove that, but it isn't. We have personal business to handle, and I'm not just talking about my three opponents. I'm talking about Kid Koala."
He raises one hand and one finger, tapping the side of his head.
"I think you let me inside your head before we faced off, my little furry foe, and I think you took a step into my mind too. I enjoyed our frank exchanges. Hell, I even enjoyed the fire we threw at each other in the ring. Our business didn't get settled, but it will. We have more to throw at each other, but to get there, we have to throw a whole world of pain at three lesser stags who seem determined to catch our scent. I don’t need you to like me, Koala. I don’t even need you to tolerate me. I just need you to focus on the three men standing across the ring from us for as long as it takes to despatch them, and we can pick up right where we left off. And then there’s - ah, thank you!”
A white-gloved hand appears from the left-hand side of the phone camera’s view, handing Riot a whisky on the rocks. The hand disappears from view, and Riot raises the glass to the screen as if it were a toast before sipping from it.
"And then there's Jay Stevens. I don't know much about you, kid, and I'm sorry about that. I'm told you're really good. I'm told you've got a ton of potential. I'm going to need you to take all of that potential for the future and drag it back here into the present because we've got a fight on our hands. A fight with three guys I've had my eyes on for a very long time. Let's start with you, Steve Awesome."
Riot sets the drink down so he can give Awesome his full attention.
"You're a respected fighter around here - a champion, in fact. Well done on finally making it to the promised land. I feel like you and I have drifted in the same circles for years. Wherever I've gone, I've seen you. Hell, I even think you might have had a cup of coffee in Riot Star Wrestling once. And you know what I used to think? I thought, 'damn, Steve Awesome doesn't have it.' I saw a guy who didn't know how to make the best of himself and kept coming up short. Then I went away and came back, and boy did you surprise me when I came to NPW. You're not the same Steve Awesome I remember; you're a whole different animal. I looked at you again, and this time I thought, 'damn, Steve Awesome got good.' So well done."
Riot offers the camera a thumbs up. He’s probably being sincere.
"As the big man once said, though, look at the adjective. I said, 'good,' not 'great.' You turned yourself into a star of professional wrestling, but you're still a red dwarf compared to the stellar giant that I am. And as for you, Keith Williams? As for you, Donzig? Two guys who cross my path so often that I can no longer ignore the coincidence? Two men who might as well walk around with giant neon signs saying "PLEASE COME AND BEAT ME TO A PULP, ROB" floating above their heads? You want to know what I have to say to you?"
He gives the audience a big, tongue-in-cheek wink.
“You’ll find that out next time.”
Riot shuts off the camera and hits ‘reply,’ thus sending the video back to NPW for release.
