Post by Ezra Gideon on Oct 2, 2023 18:58:23 GMT -5
Educating Daniel
“Our family is not perfect, but we're perfectly imperfect together.”
prior to my match against Jey Omega at the One year anniversary show
Daniel had wanted to talk to me during the show about my becoming his role model. I found this laughable, simply because I’m not role model material first and foremost. In my opinion he really just wanted to fuck with me and piss off his dad. All of this even after I had told him to talk to his mom and dad about what caused the rift between us. I’ve been doing this a long time and if I thought for a minute I was not aware of the game he was playing, he was sadly mistaken. My wife had told me to be nice to the kid and I would, it wasn’t like I was going to inflict violence on him. Well, as long as he didn’t act like Bert McElroy, Matt Knox’s protege.
I had gotten a couple of messages about this, not just from my wife but from other people. Men like Gabriel Baal.
Never pass up an opportunity like this my friend, this is golden.Think of the possibilities, you could mold this kid in your own image. You could even manipulate him against his parents. What an ace in the hole that would be.
The message from Whisper was less ominous of course.
We could train him at Hell’s Gate, you know?
I appreciated the suggestions that both of them had made. had to admit that both messages had value, I knew the gains that Gabriel was talking about. I had without shame turned people on their family, on many occasions. Whisper was also right, if I could convince him to finish his in-ring education there. That kid would come out as a force to be reckoned with. Whisper, Kat, and Kim were excellent teachers. I did my fair share of training as well, but I was very selective about which student that would be. As I was lost in my thought process, I heard a light tapping on the door. I looked up and saw two figures in the door frame. Daniel, and his father not too far behind him. Austin didn’t say anything, instead he shook his head in disgust and walked away. I waved him over.
Mac: Daniel, come on in and grab a chair.
He sauntered in, I had observed that about those in the entertainment industry, they all seemed to saunter. Almost like he was on the main stage of the rabbit. The confidence made me smile, but there was something there that reminded me of Toddy. That was something I could destroy easily and quickly if I chose to but that’s not what this visit was about. I waited for him to say something and it didn’t take long. He does like the sound of his own voice, but there was something more there. Not something malevolent, something deeper that was bothering him I think. I checked the time and it was coming up on match time, so I continued to wrap my fists, making sure the tape was tight.
Mac: Well, you gonna talk or you just like looking at me?
My statement surprised him and I could tell as he flinched and rocked back in his chair. He was annoyed by my statement and that made me chuckle.
Daniel: Well, that was rude.
His half hearted comment made me chuckle again.
Mac: Daniel if you have thin skin, this won’t work.
Now he was confused and it showed.
Mac: You told the world that you were looking for a role model. You have two of them at home who are the role model type. I’m an asshole, Daniel.
He stared at his feet, I knew he wanted to say something. Was he scared?
Mac: Daniel, I’m a hard man. I don’t play well with others as you may have noticed. You are as safe here as you are at home.
I paused for a moment.
Mac: Probably safer here, there’s no toddlers around.
That broke him and he laughed.
Daniel finally spoke up, I could tell the confidence was false as it is with most people when they come to me. I have a way of removing the fakeness that people generate for their own protection.
Daniel: What really happened?
Mac: In regards to?
Daniel rolled his eyes in response.
Daniel: Don’t be coy about you and Dad, there’s a reason he doesn’t like you anymore.
I knew what he was referring to, I just wanted him to ask the question. I wasn’t sure if he was actually ready for the truth but I’d lay it out for him.
Mac: Let me ask you a hypothetical question before I give you what your after. Okay?
He nodded in response but didn’t say anything.
Mac: Let’s say that you have a friend, and you’d been trying to help them. Then someone else comes in and starts telling that friend to not trust you, that only they could really be there for that friend. How would you feel?
The look he gave me was like a deer that was caught looking into the headlights of an oncoming car. I watched him struggle to respond but then he finally did.
Daniel: I’d be angry that it had been insinuated that I couldn’t be trusted.
I nodded to him, as someone tapped on the door. I opened the door and it was one of our producers.
Producer: 5 minutes Mac.
Mac: Thanks, Chief.
I looked back at Daniel and smiled.
Mac: Exactly.
While he thought about what I had said, I finished locking up my gear and looked over at him.
Mac: If you want to continue this conversation we can do so later. I’ve got to go teach Omega a lesson.
Before he could answer, I was out the door and on my way to the gorilla position.
Fade.
After the bloody and brutal affair that was my match against Omega, I had stopped by and the trainer had patched me up. I entered my dressing room and to my surprise, Daniel was still there, waiting. They had rinsed the majority of the blood away, but there were still traces of it on my skin. I took a fresh towel and wiped away what remained. The cooling down process from a match like that takes longer than one might think. It looks great on television but the toll on the human body is huge. Daniel’s wild eyed reaction to my appearance was amusing to me.
Daniel: Are you okay? I can come back later…
I held up my hands to forestall any further commentary on my well being.
Mac: For as long as I can remember, this is the way I am after a match. I’m fine really, but thank you for your concern. Are you certain you want to wrestle versus, I dunno, being a lawyer or a doctor?
He nodded his head in agreement, whether it was muscle memory or where his heart really was, well only he could say for certain.
Daniel: It's not so much of carrying on the family name in this business as much as it is carving my own path.
That response surprised me more than a little to be honest. I never viewed him as a leader, but maybe there was hope for this kid after all. Maybe there was more to the twitter troll than people could believe. I certainly hoped so.
Mac: I hope so. You can’t ever replicate what someone else has done in this business. Hell outside of it for that matter. Life is trial and error, mostly trial by fire.
He nodded along as I spoke, I wasn’t sure if it was respect that kept his attention or his wanting someone to teach him something.
Daniel: What about you and Dad? You left me with a hypothetical story but you never did answer the question. It has to be something deeper, something more tangible.
I chuckled softly and shook my head in dismay.
Mac: Sometimes, things are exactly the way they appear, Daniel. See, I’m an asshole, kid. The level of asshole that people get, depends largely on how they treat me. If that makes sense to you at all.
I had piqued his curiosity, that much was obvious by the dumbfounded look on his face.
Mac: There was a time when I was trying to help your dad. See, I like Austin, I’ve defended him and his love of juice boxes to everyone, and I’ve also used it as a weapon against him. Your Uncle Jason for example.
I paused there as he rolled his eyes.
Mac: Your mom though, I mean I get it, we had a match against each other coming up and she didn’t want him to place any trust in anyone outside of his own family. She painted me as the villain before the match even occurred. So, I decided to one up her and be that guy.
Daniel: I’m confused, that guy?
It was my turn to roll my eyes and laugh.
Mac: That guy that destroys everything in his path.
He looked a bit more at ease now but still wary.
Mac: The manipulation of your mom is what started all of this. She’s manipulated your dad into believing that she’s the only one that can fix anything. That you boys are too dumb to fix your own shit. It’s almost like she hates you both.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the statement. He recovered from the surprise almost as quickly as it appeared. There was a lot of Toddy in this kid, he’d been raised by a master after all. A master in the arts of manipulation.
Mac: You see I grew up with a parent a lot like her. He was so adamant that he was the only one that could protect everyone that he gave my mother stockholm syndrome. It eventually led to her taking her own life. That’s the reason I stepped in and was trying to help your dad.
Whether he would believe what I said and run with it was another thing altogether.
Fade
I’ve had quite the run in WGWF recently, It’s been a while since I’ve been pinned in a WGWF sanctioned match hasn’t it? Even when Bam and I lost the duos titles, it wasn’t me that got pinned. I’ve only been pinned once in this company that I remember clearly and that was my debut with JMont. I have a 20 year old ledger that sits on my desk at home, where I record the names of every person I’ve defeated in my career. The names range from Icon’s, Legends and all the way to jobbers. They all have an entry, with notes. The more recent names are guys like…
Chris Chaos
Jey Omega
Kraken
Spencer Adams
Mike Mason(not to be confused with Milk Mason)
Before that, I beat JMont twice but somehow I still don’t have a world title match. You know who does?
Enigma, and yes he has an entry in that book as well.
Go figure.
They all have one single thing in common, they couldn’t overcome me. Don’t feel bad kids, no one in IIW could either. I’m sure everyone remembers the IIW tournament for the International title right? Yeah, winning that made me happy, almost as happy as when the doors shut and I was still an undefeated champion. JMont wishes he could say the same. The people I faced in that tournament?
Austin Ramsey
Kim Pain
Enigma
I know Austin Ramsey won’t acknowledge it, because I kicked his ass all over the arena. He was my first round opponent. Of course that’s no surprise to anyone, he doesn’t really show up when he knows he’s facing me. Every opponent I had up until the finals was a member of this roster. That includes my first round opponent, and sister in heart, Kimberly Pain. She and I had an epic battle, one that will be remembered for a long time. Enigma? Yeah, an instant classic. They all had the same outcome.
I won.
These are all people who have a place in the book of mac. A book that records every victory I’ve had in this business.
That was then and this is now though. Kim and I have both evolved as fighters, but the one thing that remains the same is the respect we have for each other. We don’t really like fighting each other, we’d rather fight other people together. That’s for another day though, this is now and we have to prepare for what will be yet another epic battle. Another sibling fight and another knock down, drag out, kickin’ each other's asses all over the place kind of thing. There’s a problem that has to be addressed though.
Houston we have a problem.
A big problem.
For the past year, I’ve busted my balls for this company, without a complaint. I’ve taken on every single person they’ve put in front of me and beat the vast majority of them. Enigma shows up, a guy who hasn’t proven shit and he gets a title match? I don’t know what you’re smoking but you need to step away from the crack pipe slowly.They will try to rationalize it or justify it with, “Mac you’re in the cup.”
So.
Fucking.
What.
Do you even know how many title matches I’ve had in this company? One and that was for the tag team titles. No world title shots, no IC title shots, no TV title shots. Where’s the respect for one of the guys that helped build this damn place? A guy who earned his stripes a long time ago. I helped recruit top talent to come here, I’ve supported the decisions of management along the way, even defending them to people. Never a singles title opportunity for one of the most decorated individuals on the roster. A now 6 time hall of famer, thank you SCW for realizing what you had and awarding them with a hall of fame induction. That’s right, my wife Amber and I are being inducted into the SCW Hall of Fame. The first time a married couple has ever achieved that honor. What has WGWF done for me?
I’m in the Cannabis Cup, to prove I belong in the Main Event?
Fuck you. That guy you’re giving a world title shot to? Yeah, I already beat him. Hell I beat JMont twice in a row and somehow he was still in the conversation and managed to win that title. Every single member of Mecca that he’s trying to bring in here I’ve already beaten. I’d have been less angry if you’d given a title shot to Sonya fucking Bensen. At least she's proven herself here, many times over. I can’t stand that bitch for the record.
Don’t do that.
What makes this even worse is that I now have to face my family, in order to progress through this cluster fuck. That family member is someone who’s so much like me in every way, except one. She has better coping mechanisms than I do when it comes to frustration and anger. She’s not the one that you have to worry about going out and crippling your new number one contender so he can’t compete. The biggest thing I’ve already proven to the world on every stage imaginable is that…
I’m that guy.
I’m the guy that will wreck your shit regardless of who you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a friend, ally, enemy or yes even family. So Kim, you know what’s coming already, we’ve done this dance before and no it’s not your fault. Nothing I do in the ring when we meet will be because of anger, or because you have a receipt coming. This will be clean, no shenanigans or bullshit. It will be just two warriors laying it on the line, that’s who we have always been and always will be. Sorry baby sister, this won’t go the way you want it to. I know you want a title shot, but you already have a title to defend. You will not continue your legacy at the cost of mine. This is just business at this point. You’d be smarter to stay home and make fat babies with Cy. Just like I said last week and I’ll continue to say it until I’m given what I’ve earned. All roads to the world title have to travel through my territory. Unless a person has a death wish, they’ll stay far away. If you do enter my area, just know that you’ll never be the same afterwards. I’m not someone who claims to be unbeatable. That’s never been who I am, and yes you are more than capable of beating me.
This is the way.
Survival, It’s always the question in matches that involve me. Unlike a lot of people you’ll face, my mantra has always been, “Beat me if you can, survive if I let you.”. That sounded way cooler twenty years ago, but it doesn’t change the facts around who I am or what I am. People think I’ve changed, but the truth of the matter is, I’ve always been an asshole. How big of an asshole I am depends largely on the person I’m dealing with. Kim knows it better than most. The real question is will she act accordingly?
We shall see.
Fade.
“Our family is not perfect, but we're perfectly imperfect together.”
Role Model?
prior to my match against Jey Omega at the One year anniversary show
Daniel had wanted to talk to me during the show about my becoming his role model. I found this laughable, simply because I’m not role model material first and foremost. In my opinion he really just wanted to fuck with me and piss off his dad. All of this even after I had told him to talk to his mom and dad about what caused the rift between us. I’ve been doing this a long time and if I thought for a minute I was not aware of the game he was playing, he was sadly mistaken. My wife had told me to be nice to the kid and I would, it wasn’t like I was going to inflict violence on him. Well, as long as he didn’t act like Bert McElroy, Matt Knox’s protege.
I had gotten a couple of messages about this, not just from my wife but from other people. Men like Gabriel Baal.
Never pass up an opportunity like this my friend, this is golden.Think of the possibilities, you could mold this kid in your own image. You could even manipulate him against his parents. What an ace in the hole that would be.
The message from Whisper was less ominous of course.
We could train him at Hell’s Gate, you know?
I appreciated the suggestions that both of them had made. had to admit that both messages had value, I knew the gains that Gabriel was talking about. I had without shame turned people on their family, on many occasions. Whisper was also right, if I could convince him to finish his in-ring education there. That kid would come out as a force to be reckoned with. Whisper, Kat, and Kim were excellent teachers. I did my fair share of training as well, but I was very selective about which student that would be. As I was lost in my thought process, I heard a light tapping on the door. I looked up and saw two figures in the door frame. Daniel, and his father not too far behind him. Austin didn’t say anything, instead he shook his head in disgust and walked away. I waved him over.
Mac: Daniel, come on in and grab a chair.
He sauntered in, I had observed that about those in the entertainment industry, they all seemed to saunter. Almost like he was on the main stage of the rabbit. The confidence made me smile, but there was something there that reminded me of Toddy. That was something I could destroy easily and quickly if I chose to but that’s not what this visit was about. I waited for him to say something and it didn’t take long. He does like the sound of his own voice, but there was something more there. Not something malevolent, something deeper that was bothering him I think. I checked the time and it was coming up on match time, so I continued to wrap my fists, making sure the tape was tight.
Mac: Well, you gonna talk or you just like looking at me?
My statement surprised him and I could tell as he flinched and rocked back in his chair. He was annoyed by my statement and that made me chuckle.
Daniel: Well, that was rude.
His half hearted comment made me chuckle again.
Mac: Daniel if you have thin skin, this won’t work.
Now he was confused and it showed.
Mac: You told the world that you were looking for a role model. You have two of them at home who are the role model type. I’m an asshole, Daniel.
He stared at his feet, I knew he wanted to say something. Was he scared?
Mac: Daniel, I’m a hard man. I don’t play well with others as you may have noticed. You are as safe here as you are at home.
I paused for a moment.
Mac: Probably safer here, there’s no toddlers around.
That broke him and he laughed.
Daniel finally spoke up, I could tell the confidence was false as it is with most people when they come to me. I have a way of removing the fakeness that people generate for their own protection.
Daniel: What really happened?
Mac: In regards to?
Daniel rolled his eyes in response.
Daniel: Don’t be coy about you and Dad, there’s a reason he doesn’t like you anymore.
I knew what he was referring to, I just wanted him to ask the question. I wasn’t sure if he was actually ready for the truth but I’d lay it out for him.
Mac: Let me ask you a hypothetical question before I give you what your after. Okay?
He nodded in response but didn’t say anything.
Mac: Let’s say that you have a friend, and you’d been trying to help them. Then someone else comes in and starts telling that friend to not trust you, that only they could really be there for that friend. How would you feel?
The look he gave me was like a deer that was caught looking into the headlights of an oncoming car. I watched him struggle to respond but then he finally did.
Daniel: I’d be angry that it had been insinuated that I couldn’t be trusted.
I nodded to him, as someone tapped on the door. I opened the door and it was one of our producers.
Producer: 5 minutes Mac.
Mac: Thanks, Chief.
I looked back at Daniel and smiled.
Mac: Exactly.
While he thought about what I had said, I finished locking up my gear and looked over at him.
Mac: If you want to continue this conversation we can do so later. I’ve got to go teach Omega a lesson.
Before he could answer, I was out the door and on my way to the gorilla position.
Fade.
Role Model Part 2
After the bloody and brutal affair that was my match against Omega, I had stopped by and the trainer had patched me up. I entered my dressing room and to my surprise, Daniel was still there, waiting. They had rinsed the majority of the blood away, but there were still traces of it on my skin. I took a fresh towel and wiped away what remained. The cooling down process from a match like that takes longer than one might think. It looks great on television but the toll on the human body is huge. Daniel’s wild eyed reaction to my appearance was amusing to me.
Daniel: Are you okay? I can come back later…
I held up my hands to forestall any further commentary on my well being.
Mac: For as long as I can remember, this is the way I am after a match. I’m fine really, but thank you for your concern. Are you certain you want to wrestle versus, I dunno, being a lawyer or a doctor?
He nodded his head in agreement, whether it was muscle memory or where his heart really was, well only he could say for certain.
Daniel: It's not so much of carrying on the family name in this business as much as it is carving my own path.
That response surprised me more than a little to be honest. I never viewed him as a leader, but maybe there was hope for this kid after all. Maybe there was more to the twitter troll than people could believe. I certainly hoped so.
Mac: I hope so. You can’t ever replicate what someone else has done in this business. Hell outside of it for that matter. Life is trial and error, mostly trial by fire.
He nodded along as I spoke, I wasn’t sure if it was respect that kept his attention or his wanting someone to teach him something.
Daniel: What about you and Dad? You left me with a hypothetical story but you never did answer the question. It has to be something deeper, something more tangible.
I chuckled softly and shook my head in dismay.
Mac: Sometimes, things are exactly the way they appear, Daniel. See, I’m an asshole, kid. The level of asshole that people get, depends largely on how they treat me. If that makes sense to you at all.
I had piqued his curiosity, that much was obvious by the dumbfounded look on his face.
Mac: There was a time when I was trying to help your dad. See, I like Austin, I’ve defended him and his love of juice boxes to everyone, and I’ve also used it as a weapon against him. Your Uncle Jason for example.
I paused there as he rolled his eyes.
Mac: Your mom though, I mean I get it, we had a match against each other coming up and she didn’t want him to place any trust in anyone outside of his own family. She painted me as the villain before the match even occurred. So, I decided to one up her and be that guy.
Daniel: I’m confused, that guy?
It was my turn to roll my eyes and laugh.
Mac: That guy that destroys everything in his path.
He looked a bit more at ease now but still wary.
Mac: The manipulation of your mom is what started all of this. She’s manipulated your dad into believing that she’s the only one that can fix anything. That you boys are too dumb to fix your own shit. It’s almost like she hates you both.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the statement. He recovered from the surprise almost as quickly as it appeared. There was a lot of Toddy in this kid, he’d been raised by a master after all. A master in the arts of manipulation.
Mac: You see I grew up with a parent a lot like her. He was so adamant that he was the only one that could protect everyone that he gave my mother stockholm syndrome. It eventually led to her taking her own life. That’s the reason I stepped in and was trying to help your dad.
Whether he would believe what I said and run with it was another thing altogether.
Fade
The Book Of Mac
I’ve had quite the run in WGWF recently, It’s been a while since I’ve been pinned in a WGWF sanctioned match hasn’t it? Even when Bam and I lost the duos titles, it wasn’t me that got pinned. I’ve only been pinned once in this company that I remember clearly and that was my debut with JMont. I have a 20 year old ledger that sits on my desk at home, where I record the names of every person I’ve defeated in my career. The names range from Icon’s, Legends and all the way to jobbers. They all have an entry, with notes. The more recent names are guys like…
Chris Chaos
Jey Omega
Kraken
Spencer Adams
Mike Mason(not to be confused with Milk Mason)
Before that, I beat JMont twice but somehow I still don’t have a world title match. You know who does?
Enigma, and yes he has an entry in that book as well.
Go figure.
They all have one single thing in common, they couldn’t overcome me. Don’t feel bad kids, no one in IIW could either. I’m sure everyone remembers the IIW tournament for the International title right? Yeah, winning that made me happy, almost as happy as when the doors shut and I was still an undefeated champion. JMont wishes he could say the same. The people I faced in that tournament?
Austin Ramsey
Kim Pain
Enigma
I know Austin Ramsey won’t acknowledge it, because I kicked his ass all over the arena. He was my first round opponent. Of course that’s no surprise to anyone, he doesn’t really show up when he knows he’s facing me. Every opponent I had up until the finals was a member of this roster. That includes my first round opponent, and sister in heart, Kimberly Pain. She and I had an epic battle, one that will be remembered for a long time. Enigma? Yeah, an instant classic. They all had the same outcome.
I won.
These are all people who have a place in the book of mac. A book that records every victory I’ve had in this business.
That was then and this is now though. Kim and I have both evolved as fighters, but the one thing that remains the same is the respect we have for each other. We don’t really like fighting each other, we’d rather fight other people together. That’s for another day though, this is now and we have to prepare for what will be yet another epic battle. Another sibling fight and another knock down, drag out, kickin’ each other's asses all over the place kind of thing. There’s a problem that has to be addressed though.
Houston we have a problem.
A big problem.
For the past year, I’ve busted my balls for this company, without a complaint. I’ve taken on every single person they’ve put in front of me and beat the vast majority of them. Enigma shows up, a guy who hasn’t proven shit and he gets a title match? I don’t know what you’re smoking but you need to step away from the crack pipe slowly.They will try to rationalize it or justify it with, “Mac you’re in the cup.”
So.
Fucking.
What.
Do you even know how many title matches I’ve had in this company? One and that was for the tag team titles. No world title shots, no IC title shots, no TV title shots. Where’s the respect for one of the guys that helped build this damn place? A guy who earned his stripes a long time ago. I helped recruit top talent to come here, I’ve supported the decisions of management along the way, even defending them to people. Never a singles title opportunity for one of the most decorated individuals on the roster. A now 6 time hall of famer, thank you SCW for realizing what you had and awarding them with a hall of fame induction. That’s right, my wife Amber and I are being inducted into the SCW Hall of Fame. The first time a married couple has ever achieved that honor. What has WGWF done for me?
I’m in the Cannabis Cup, to prove I belong in the Main Event?
Fuck you. That guy you’re giving a world title shot to? Yeah, I already beat him. Hell I beat JMont twice in a row and somehow he was still in the conversation and managed to win that title. Every single member of Mecca that he’s trying to bring in here I’ve already beaten. I’d have been less angry if you’d given a title shot to Sonya fucking Bensen. At least she's proven herself here, many times over. I can’t stand that bitch for the record.
Don’t do that.
What makes this even worse is that I now have to face my family, in order to progress through this cluster fuck. That family member is someone who’s so much like me in every way, except one. She has better coping mechanisms than I do when it comes to frustration and anger. She’s not the one that you have to worry about going out and crippling your new number one contender so he can’t compete. The biggest thing I’ve already proven to the world on every stage imaginable is that…
I’m that guy.
I’m the guy that will wreck your shit regardless of who you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a friend, ally, enemy or yes even family. So Kim, you know what’s coming already, we’ve done this dance before and no it’s not your fault. Nothing I do in the ring when we meet will be because of anger, or because you have a receipt coming. This will be clean, no shenanigans or bullshit. It will be just two warriors laying it on the line, that’s who we have always been and always will be. Sorry baby sister, this won’t go the way you want it to. I know you want a title shot, but you already have a title to defend. You will not continue your legacy at the cost of mine. This is just business at this point. You’d be smarter to stay home and make fat babies with Cy. Just like I said last week and I’ll continue to say it until I’m given what I’ve earned. All roads to the world title have to travel through my territory. Unless a person has a death wish, they’ll stay far away. If you do enter my area, just know that you’ll never be the same afterwards. I’m not someone who claims to be unbeatable. That’s never been who I am, and yes you are more than capable of beating me.
This is the way.
Survival, It’s always the question in matches that involve me. Unlike a lot of people you’ll face, my mantra has always been, “Beat me if you can, survive if I let you.”. That sounded way cooler twenty years ago, but it doesn’t change the facts around who I am or what I am. People think I’ve changed, but the truth of the matter is, I’ve always been an asshole. How big of an asshole I am depends largely on the person I’m dealing with. Kim knows it better than most. The real question is will she act accordingly?
We shall see.
Fade.