Post by FPV on Oct 21, 2023 21:46:29 GMT -5
FPV RP #6 - The Shape Of Things To Come
No matter how long you've known someone, it's still always surreal to be looking at their gravestone for the first time.
I did not know the wrestler and promoter known as Smash for very long. We had only began speaking in the lead up to the premiere of Monday Night Melee, where he walked me through how the production would differ from Brawl and to give me ideas for what kind of matches he would have me work were I to be drafted to Melee after the next PPV. It was a relationship that lasted two weeks at the longest before his untimely passing. Yet despite us only knowing each other for a fortnight at most, I still felt the need to come to his final resting place and pay my respects.
Ramon stood by my side quietly observing the grave and noting Smash's epitaph. I did not say much, my mind back to wrestling first and foremost for the first time in ages. With Ramon's help, I was able to coordinate with the pumpkin spice suppliers that had been playing hardball previously, and the TPG Pumpkin Spice latte was able to flow freely into customer's cups just as scheduled. Not only that, but Ramon's extended family had finally ceased their constant contact with Ramon and I, something I was especially relived to have moved on from. It finally as I could focus on my wrestling career proper again.
Yet when I thought about my next event, the Cannabis Cup (I took a much needed cycle off to finally spend some quality time with Ramon,) all did not seem well. It didn't escape me that I was the only Guardian booked to compete at the Cannabis Cup, with no sign of either Jay Omega or Alex Richards. With the WGWF draft coming up right after the Cannabis Cup, I had to prepare for the likelihood of being drafted away from my stable, but it increasingly seemed like the two already had one foot out of the door. I did my best to remain cautiously optimistic, but I had every right to be nervous.
I couldn't think too hard on The Guardians though, as I was here to pay my respects to the recently departed. I reached to my side for the single rose I had brought with me and left it at the foot of the grave.
I did not know the wrestler and promoter known as Smash for very long. We had only began speaking in the lead up to the premiere of Monday Night Melee, where he walked me through how the production would differ from Brawl and to give me ideas for what kind of matches he would have me work were I to be drafted to Melee after the next PPV. It was a relationship that lasted two weeks at the longest before his untimely passing. Yet despite us only knowing each other for a fortnight at most, I still felt the need to come to his final resting place and pay my respects.
Ramon stood by my side quietly observing the grave and noting Smash's epitaph. I did not say much, my mind back to wrestling first and foremost for the first time in ages. With Ramon's help, I was able to coordinate with the pumpkin spice suppliers that had been playing hardball previously, and the TPG Pumpkin Spice latte was able to flow freely into customer's cups just as scheduled. Not only that, but Ramon's extended family had finally ceased their constant contact with Ramon and I, something I was especially relived to have moved on from. It finally as I could focus on my wrestling career proper again.
Yet when I thought about my next event, the Cannabis Cup (I took a much needed cycle off to finally spend some quality time with Ramon,) all did not seem well. It didn't escape me that I was the only Guardian booked to compete at the Cannabis Cup, with no sign of either Jay Omega or Alex Richards. With the WGWF draft coming up right after the Cannabis Cup, I had to prepare for the likelihood of being drafted away from my stable, but it increasingly seemed like the two already had one foot out of the door. I did my best to remain cautiously optimistic, but I had every right to be nervous.
I couldn't think too hard on The Guardians though, as I was here to pay my respects to the recently departed. I reached to my side for the single rose I had brought with me and left it at the foot of the grave.
FPV: I've only known Smash for a little bit, Ramon, but from the little I knew of him he'd probably think this would be a corny way to pay respects.
Ramon: Well I think it's very nice, for what's it's worth hun.
FPV: True. I suppose that's the problem with not truly getting to know him. If I knew a better way, I'd probably do that. Still, this will have to do.
Ramon smiled and nodded to me.
Ramon: Are you ready to go now, then?
I took one more look at the picture of Smash they chose to put on his grave, thinking back to what a profound impact his death had within WGWF as a whole.
FPV: Yeah, I'm ready.
With that, Ramon turned away from the grave and began our walk to our car. As we strolled passed many other similar grave markers within the cemetery, Ramon posed the following question to me.
Ramon: So what's the plan now? In WGWF, I mean.
FPV: WGWF? Well my first priority is my match. A win at the pay-per-view will make three wins in a row, and that'll be big. Once the cup is done, we gotta finally have our draft and my fate for the next year will be sealed.
Ramon: And what if you get drafted away from your weird friends, huh?
It took me just a moment to think of a diplomatic way to answer that question.
FPV: No matter what happens, I gotta be ready to be the best damn wrestler I can be. Whether it be on the original WGWF flagship show, or on the show that bears the name of the grave I just visited, I've gotta bring my absolute a-game and prove just why I was so successful in WCF and AW. I gotta make myself valuable to both brands. Then when I know what titles I'm shooting for, we go from there. That's as simple as it is.
Ramon: So nothing you can't handle then, love?
Ramon got closer to me as we walked, fully wrapping his arm around mine in a very casual yet intimate embrace. It took m y focus away from the ring and back to the issues Ramon's family had with me for a few months. All because his ex-wife found his ring shopping on their joint account.
I still resented her for taking away that surprise from me, even if all the other issues with her were now resolved. I would've wanted to give Ramon a true, honest-to-god reaction to his proposal. Now the best I could give him would be a reaction of joyful faux-shock. And with Ramon being this close to me and speaking about me as highly as he did, I knew he would go for that proposal sooner rather than later. Perhaps he was saving it for my birthday in early November? Or maybe Christmas? Either way, I had make sure when the time came, I could give Ramon all the love he would want from his future husband. To that end, I just smiled to Ramon and said...
I still resented her for taking away that surprise from me, even if all the other issues with her were now resolved. I would've wanted to give Ramon a true, honest-to-god reaction to his proposal. Now the best I could give him would be a reaction of joyful faux-shock. And with Ramon being this close to me and speaking about me as highly as he did, I knew he would go for that proposal sooner rather than later. Perhaps he was saving it for my birthday in early November? Or maybe Christmas? Either way, I had make sure when the time came, I could give Ramon all the love he would want from his future husband. To that end, I just smiled to Ramon and said...
FPV: Of course love. There's nothing I can't handle.
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My somber mourning suit now replaced with my usual red and white suit (with stripes this time for flair), I paced back in forth in front of the WGWF interview backdrop, camera trained right on my every move. My goal with this triple threat match was as clear in my mind as anything. Now it was just time to let the WGWF fans in on what exactly that was.
My somber mourning suit now replaced with my usual red and white suit (with stripes this time for flair), I paced back in forth in front of the WGWF interview backdrop, camera trained right on my every move. My goal with this triple threat match was as clear in my mind as anything. Now it was just time to let the WGWF fans in on what exactly that was.
FPV: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends beyond the binary, I may have been known in the past to be a little hyperbolic in what I say. I have said things in the past that stretched the boundaries of believability, just to make an exaggerated point crystal clear. But make no mistake about this, I am hundred percent serious when I say that this triple threat match at the Cannabis Cup is the most important match in my career in WGWF so far.
"Now why is that, Frank?" you may ask. "It just seems like any other throwaway triple threat match to me." And if you don't read between the lines and see the deeper meaning of things you might think that. But you'd be wrong, DEAD wrong. Cause if I haven't made it clear to all the fans yet, they'll know for sure after this pay-per-view that Frank Patrick Venable is a man of ambition and drive. I'm not here to hang out in catering and collect a paycheck. If I wanted that I'd just stay in the office over at TPG, No, I've got ambitions and goals, and right now the #1 goal for me is to become the next World Champion crowned in WGWF.
And if you look at the landscape now, the time is ripe to do just that. As after this show, WGWF is going into it's first ever brand split. Monday Night Brawl, Monday Night Smash, two rosters chomping at the bit to one-up the other show. And with any brand split comes to equal World Titles to fight for. I've got dreams of being World Champion once again, whether that be with the WGWF World title that Per Vaughn has found in his clutches once again, or what becomes of Enigma's newly won Entity World Championship, I WILL become the next World Champion in WGWF.
But I have unfinished business to attend to before I can do that. Namely, this triple threat match. Two other people that I'm sure would love to do the exact things I'm saying I'm gonna do tonight. Brooke Blakely and Chris Chaos. Two people looking to jump up to that next level in WGWF and either continue his legacy in Chris' case, or to establish herself in the scene like Brooke. Can either of them accomplish their? Sure, I see them doing both of those things within due time.
This match, though? This match is going to be nothing but F. P. V.
The odds may be stacked against me, they always are in Triple Threat matches. But this is the kind of competitive environment I thrive in. two out of my three AW World Title victories came in triple threat matches. And hell, one of my two WCF World Title wins came in a Fatal 4 Way match. So if that's how I perform whilst under the pressure of capturing World Title gold, then y'all shouldn't be surprised when I come out at the Cannabis Cup with both barrels fully loaded!
See someone like Brooke Blakely could benefit so much from a win here this week. A win against not only a legend of WCF and AW, but a legend of XWF as well? That's put a strap on her all the way to Pluto, I'd bet. It's a nice thought to smile at. But at her current level, and at her current ability level, it ain't gonna happen. Not any time soon, anyways. Lemme explain.
Brooke is the person in the match with the least experience, having come into WGWF a little bit before me, but without any of the previous accolades that I do. She came on in from a smaller promotion looking to make it in the big time, trying to fast track herself to greatness like so many young prodigies before her. And she had a hot start looking at the match she had on my debut show Summer Madness, getting a pinfall win over Nick Danger. That's a win that got her a spot in that coveted Cannabis Cup in the first place.
Or it would have.
See, Brooke followed up that win at the Pay-per-view by...allowing both herself and her opponent the next show to be taken out by an unknown assailant. How triumphant. But you're real fortunate one Brooke, way more fortunate than that doomed Fortunate Ones stable. You got a second shot at Sticky Icky Cup glory with that Battle Royale the last show, a match with two designated winners so you're odds of winning doubled! Yet even with a Steiner-math defying win structure, you couldn't find the heart or the drive to cash in your one out of four chance at winning. Now you come to me expecting to definitively beat a wrestling machine with such a bad showing? Be realistic, Brooke.
The sad fact of the matter is that you just cannot match with the experience of the entire WGWF roster. You came to this promotion the big fish in the small pond that was places like OCW and Thunder Pro. But here in the WGWF, you're a guppy in the Pacific Ocean. You got a lot to learn and a lot more miles to put on your body before you'll be ready for the level I expect myself to work at. I carry myself like a big deal because in the grand scheme of things, I know I am. We are not the same.
Do I see you potentially see you reaching my level at some point? It's not an impossibility. Maybe secure a TV or IC title reign under your belt and you can be there one day. But I'm already at that level. I can come in to a company and jump straight into their world title picture. I know because I've done it before, and I can do it again! I'm sorry Brooke, but in this instance experience just trumps all.
Now if we want to talk experience, then we talk about a man like Chris Chaos. XWF transplant and legend, you wouldn't know that about him because he thinks he's above having a roster entry on the WGWF website, but all I had to do was watch one Chris Chaos promo and here him go on and on about himself and everything he's accomplished to know just what kind of person this guy is, and your type is one of my least favorites. The man who made it big somewhere else and expects to be treated like royalty.
Ever since you came in to this federation Chris, you've been demanding respect left right and center just based on how you did in XWF. Well good to you on that, that kind of experience ain't something I can take away. But any respect you wanna get from me, you're gonna have to start winning fucking matches in the present day for me to give you that Chris.
See you've started your WGWF career now with two losses, one to John Cable and one to Mac Bane. Two pretty high profile losses too. Now it's not impossible to dig yourself out of a hole like this John, I should know. I also started my WGWF on the wrong foot with a few losses. But you know the difference between me and you, Chris? I stuck with it. I kept clawing away at this fed. Every week I could take a booking, I took it, just to give the front office something to pay attention to. And what did my hard work amount to? Wins. I just now took my first full cycle off, and that was after two very well earned victories.
But you? You lose a match, then run away ashamed. Ashamed you couldn't get the job done like you used to back in XWF. It took you one full month to take a booking after your loss to Cable, and it's been one month since your loss to Mac and we've once again had no sight nor sound from you for a full month. Why is that, Chris? Are you spending that month rewatching your old matches from XWF to figure what was different back then? Figuring out what your X factor was to make you think you're as big a deal as you think you are? Or do you spend these months away planning out the bullshit you're gonna try to peddle to the WGWF faithful on why they should give a damn about you?
Chris, stop flapping your gums and start throwing some fists for god's sake.
I don't expect you to care about my runs in WCF or AW, and that's fair. We're all a part of the WGWF banner now. But don't expect me to care about your past accolades either, especially with the two performances you've given in past two months. Performances like the ones you put on against Cable and Mac would make you an EMBARESSMENT to the WGWF World Title scene.
See when it really comes down to it, Blake and Chris, I've got one vital on my side that neither of you do. Momentum. It's easy for me to stand here tonight and claim with 100% confidence that I'm going to be the next big thing in this company, because I've got the Ws to prove it. Unlike someone like Brooke, with only one win to her name and a whole lot of unrealized potential, and DEFINETELY unlike Chris Chaos and his massively underserved bravado. I'm ahead of yall and yall got a lot of ground to make up if you think I'm gonna let y'all beat me at the Cannabis Cup.
Just look at where we are on the card, yall. Fourth to last match on the card for night 2. At that point in the card I can just TASTE that main event scene and know that's where I belong. With the Vaughns and the Jmonts and the Chris Pages of the federation. That's a spot I've been in before in my past promotions and brother, if I gotta be the member of The Guardians to take that top spot and put our group on the map with these fans, then by god I'll do it. Not like I haven't already before.
But if y'all want to meet my ambitions? Then y'all gotta put in the work. Cause I'm damn sure not letting my chance slip by against people just riding the wave right now. These fans just don't deserve Brooke Blakely as their WGWF World Champion, or any title right now as a matter of fact. And to have a sensitive blowhard like Chris Chaos win the title after two high profile losses, it'll make the WGWF World Title look like the Geek title when you put it up against any other World Title in the industry today.
But having a guy like Frank Patrick Venable, veteran of the business, two time WCG Grand Slam Champion, and the first Three-time AW World Champion, holding the top prize in the World's Greatest Wrestling Federation? Well that kind of thing just feels right, don't you think?