Barrels of Insecurities
Jun 7, 2024 22:46:17 GMT -5
Ezra Gideon, lajohnnystylez, and 1 more like this
Post by "Venom" Xavier Lux on Jun 7, 2024 22:46:17 GMT -5
A young Xavier is at a garage sale with his mother, and while she looks for things moms look for in these places, he works his way over to where there are some toys. There he finds an old game cartridge and smiles from ear to ear.
The Classic Donkey Kong. He has always loved video games, ever since he could play them. He will spend hours in front of his NES, playing his favorite titles and exploring fantasy worlds. He enjoyed the thrill of Contra, the challenge of Tetris, and the science in Mega Man. He used them to escape from his own reality, where he felt insecure, lonely, and angry. But mostly, he felt sad. His mom had to work two jobs to support them, so she was always gone. His father, if you know Xavier’s story, you know he was non-existent until Xavier graduated from wrestling school.
Xavier also had a Gameboy, and that’s what this cartridge was for. He had never played DK before but heard of its legendary status as one of the first and most popular arcade games eeeeever. It had Mario before Mario was Mario and simply known as “jump-man”. He takes it to his mom where he begs her to buy it and she reluctantly does, after all, it’s not expensive and she loves to spoil him whenever she can, which is rare as she barely makes ends meet. Once they get “home”, a single bedroom apartment in a large building complex, Xavier goes into the bedroom and takes out his Gameboy, then goes out to his balcony and flops on a green beanbag. He pops the game in and turns it on. He is greeted by a simple title screen, showing a large gorilla holding a blonde woman on top of a construction site, while Mario, err, jump-man, is trying to rescue her. He is about to hit start when his mom yells at him from the kitchen.
“You want some Oreos and milk Xavi?”
His favorite snack to go with a ‘new’ game? Hell yeah.
“Yes please!”
Xavier selects the first level and presses start and as soon as he does the Gameboy transforms into a larger screen, full of color, and that of an iPhone 15.
“Here you go honey.”
Xavier looks up, but he is not a kid anymore but his current self. The female is not his mom but some assistant with a headset on offering him a glass of his favorite whiskey. He is wearing a navy-blue suit with a light gray collared shirt, unbuttoned down to just above the mid-section. He is sitting on a director’s style chair, right leg crossed over his left to show off his shiny black loafers. Across from him is a woman dressed very casually, also with a headset, looking over some papers. Xavier blinks rapidly then looks back down at his phone and sees the Donkey Kong game app paused.
“You’re ready Xavier?”
Xavier looks back up and nods as he takes a sip of whiskey.
“Okay, you know the drill, when you’re ready, go for it.”
Xavier nods again, takes another sip, takes a deep breath to get in character, then smirks.
“Surprise Edward Nigma! I know my name was probably the last one you had in your bingo card, but who were you going to face? Damage? You laughed at his challenge. Peter Vaughn? Do you really want that drama in your life? John Cable? Been there and done that, taming the beast once is more than enough.”
“And I would know, I’ve done it myself.”
He winks.
“So as much fun as you probably had beating them up, I’m sure you’d rather face new challengers that might cause you to feel something. Which means your options were: Synn, J-Mont and myself. Look I don’t know much about Synn, and you seem to have a liking for her, so deep down inside you probably don’t want to sever that relationship, by doing what we all know you can do: destroy her.”
“If I’m honest, J-Mont is the money match, the marquee match, the one that will fill all the seats, get all the pay-per-view buy-rates, drive in all the sponsors. Yes, that’s the one match everyone wants to see.”
“But not me.”
“The ‘former friends turned bitter enemies’ is a stale story that we see time after time, with almost always the result going the same predictable route… I really don’t want to see J Mont cut long-winded promos while flaunting how much money he has while you cut long-winded promos from a dungeon somewhere while arguing with yourself about…” *ahem*
(in a voice too deep to understand) “Look, they are laughing at us again!”
(in a kiddie voice) ‘No they are not!’
“Yes, they are!”
‘No, they’re not, stop it meanie!‘
“I’m not a meanie, I’m a monster! ARGH!”
*ahem* “Who wants to see that week-in and a week-out leading up to the match? Oh! and the match… We all know what’s going to happen: The man of 1001 cheats will try to find a way to use them all to take your Smash championship while you try to win the match out right by using brute force, sheer will and pandering to the fans, begging them to please like the man on the inside even though you know they’re scare shitless of you because you look like something that escaped from Stephen King’s sick asshole.”
“Believe me when I tell you, the match you want is against me. Because I will give you that rare type of ‘wrestling’ match. It will be technical, it will be fast paced, and it can too, be brutal if you wish because I’m hardcore like a muthafucka… and guess what? When I win, we get to do it all over again at the pay-per-view! You get to have, back-to-back, the best matches of your life… and even if you beat me once, whether in the non-title match or at the title match at War-Games, you’ll walk away knowing, that you just beat a damn good wrestler and a though son of a bitch… and while you may not do it publicly, when you are all alone in your grandma’s basement or whatever, getting ready to argue with your feelings again, or at the gym, ready for another hard grueling session for your 10 followers in social media, you will stop for a second or two, and think: “Thank you Venom, THAT was wrestling.”
Xavier finishes the rest of his drink before the assistant coming over to take his glass to refill. The woman across from him finishes writing some notes and then smiles at him.
“Okay, that was great, just no cursing alright?”
Xavier is about to retort but she cuts him off.
“No, stop, yes, I’ve met you and that was barely anything, I know, just keep it clean. So, take a break while they check it in the edit room and then we’ll do another.”
“Whatever.”
Xavier grabs his phone, unlocks it and pushes play on the game. We’re transported once again to his childhood, where he finds the game to be fun and addictive. He quickly learns the patterns of the barrels and the timing of the jumps. He dodges, climbs, and jumps his way to the top of the first level, where he sees the blonde with no name, but he calls her Lexi, after a girl on the 8th grade he has a crush on. Who knew that as a professional wrestler, he would meet another Lexi, and… well, that’s a story for another day. DK grabs Lexi and takes her to the next level. This one more difficult with more platforms, ladders, and gaps plus fireballs and springs, but it is on this level where Xavier notices something strange. The barrels that DK is throwing have labels on them. Each one has a word that describe something that Xavier is insecure about. He sees the words ‘rejection’, ‘loneliness’, ‘ugliness’, and more. He pauses the game and looks up, we’re back to present time and he looks around nervously, but nobody has noticed him freaking out. He wonders what the hell is going on, and why are all these childhood feelings reemerging. The assistant brings him another drink and this one he gulps right away.
“Another!”
She looks at him perplexed but does as asked, while Xavier goes back to the game and plays on, ignoring the labels and focusing on beating the level. Each time he get hits, he feels like DK is mocking him, reminding him of his flaws and fears. The kid Xavier wipes a tear away as he chews on an Oreo. He wants to quit, but he also wants to beat the game. He wants to prove himself to DK, that he can overcome his insecurities. The 3rd level is even harder, with more barrels and more obstacles. The labels on the barrels are about his adult self now. He sees ‘Too old’, ‘Not good enough’, ‘Retire’, ‘No Skill’, ‘Page’s Pet’ and, ‘J-Mont’s Bitch’.
“FUCK YOU!”
He stands up and throws the phone on the chair. The woman across from him looks at him like he just lost his damn mind.
“What did you just say to me?!”
“No, not you, sorry, I uh, the game, it’s messing with me. Sorry, I need a break.”
He grabs his phone and walks out of the studio, heading outside where we see it’s nighttime somewhere. He calms down, unlocks his phone, and plays on despite feeling like the game was reading his mind, exposing his deepest insecurities. He feels angry yet scared, a man and a child at the same time. He wants to smash the game, but also beat it. He wants to show the game that he was not defined by his childhood insecurities and that he achieved his goals and dreams as an adult. He starts the fourth and final level, the hardest of all. The barrels of insecurities were also the most hurtful and cruel. He sees ‘cringe’, ‘lame’, ‘worthless’, ‘jobber’ ‘useless’, ‘pathetic’, and more. He feels like the game is torturing him, crushing his spirit and his will. He feels hopeless and helpless, his mom comes out to the balcony.
“Are you okay honey?”
“NOT NOW ‘MA!”
“EXCUSE ME?”
He gets an ass whooping.
While his father is white, his mom is black, and her blackness came out with a fury. Xavier knows he deserves it, but it also helps play the game clearer now, under his bed, late at night when his mom thinks he is sleeping. Xavier reaches the top of the fourth level, where he sees Lexi waiting for him. He also sees DK, but he isn’t really DK anymore, but a red-haired bully from his childhood. Xavier pauses the game, and we’re back to reality.
“That’s who he reminds me of.”
He un-pauses the game, and the bully is now a harrier, uglier if possible, Enigma look-alike. He is holding a huge barrel with the label ‘weak link’ and throws it at him. Xavier, not jump-man or Mario anymore, jumps it like a pro. Another barrel, ‘lazy’, another, ‘cast-off’, and one final one, ‘mediocre’, which Xavier crushes with a power-up hammer, and then he looks at Lexi, and feels a surge of hope. He realizes she was not his 8th grade crush or another Lexi in the world of pro-wrestling, but a symbol of his desire. His desire as a kid to be happy, to be loved, to be accepted, to be smart, to be worthy, to be hopeful, to be useful, to be heroic. As an adult, some of those changed by the idea remained the same. Especially to be worthy of the Smash championship. He jumps, rescuing her and watches with that same huge smile, as DK, flips over and falls all the way down. The game ends and Xavier let’s out a loud ‘YES!!’.
“XAVIER!!!”
Xavier covers his mouth, but it wasn’t his mom that called for him but the lady inside the studio. Xavier puts his phone away and heads back inside. The woman notices he’s all happy now.
“Better?”
“Lots.”
“Great, whenever you’re ready, go.”
Xavier sips his drink, takes a deep breath just like before, a small pause, and ‘goes’.
“Let me give you your flowers Enigma, sort of.”
“You’re, the G.O.A.T., arguably.”
“You’re a god? Perhaps, I’m not a religious man but do believe in one God and you’re not it.”
“You’re the best. In WGWF? I’m sure Cholo would have something to say about that, you two have yet to wrestle but you’re driving on parallel lanes, so we may never see that day. I know what you’re about to say, ‘he’s only the World Champion because you allowed it’. You made a choice, not his fault, but we’ll just say you’re 1A and he’s 1B to feed that fragile ego of yours.”
“You’re not invincible but are almost unbeatable. Only 1 wrestler has done it in over a year if not more. Kudos to Mac, and to you, as that is impressive. No shade here.”
“You’re a machine? Well, the thing about machines is that they last for a long time, sure, but not forever, sooner or later they rust up or break down altogether. But for now, sure, you seem to be a well-oiled machine that no one seems to be able to stop.”
“But you’re also bored, tired, disgruntled, and annoyed.”
“You have a championship that you love dearly and that means so much to you, and yet you feel it, nor you get the respect it deserves.”
“I get that, which is why instead of continuing to run my mouth like all your other challengers are, I decided to do something different. As soon as it was clear that you weren’t going to choose an opponent, but instead, ask the challengers to impress you, I went to see General Manager Johnathan Barrows and asked him for a match with you. A non-title match of course, not only because you obviously aren’t just handing them out, but because the only way I can impress you is by standing across the ring from you and punching you right in the mouth. Repeatedly, until you bleed. Look I could have been disrespectful here and said slap the taste out of your mouth, but as much of an asshole as I am, I give the devil his due.”
“Plus, I’m also not stupid.”
“You may be as likeable as a stop sign, but you have my respect.”
“Yes, you are all the things I said before, and you may even be a monster, but you are not a god and even if you were, I’m stepping up to show the whole world that you too can bleed.”
“I will tell you the one thing you are not, and that is an enigma. You are not as complex as you think you are, and in fact, are one of the easiest wrestlers to figure out. I could go for the low-hanging fruit and talk about your routine gym inspirational tweets that maybe motivate the marks, the weak minded, the indiscipline and the lazy. Anyone who is trying to be anything in life, let alone wrestling, who is truly capable of greatness, isn’t swiping up on their phone looking for the answer. I could also talk about how boring you are, but anyone with two braincells can see that. I could go on a heelish rant or monologue that only makes a few marks on social media giggle about it, but I am not guy, plus like I said, low hanging fruit. You are very articulate; you have a great vocabulary and speak in ways that scholars from centuries past would be proud of…It’s a dying art and I’m sure it has it’s following in today’s world, but it does not make you an enigma.”
“You’re not hard to understand, well, maybe when you’re screaming your lines, but you’re not hard to explain, I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far. You’re not mysterious, because for someone to be mysterious people have to care about that mystery around them, and again, aside from a handful of nerds, nobody cares. You are not inscrutable, I could easily hire a private investigator and find out everything about you, but why waste my money when I simply don’t care? I don’t care to analyze you, comprehend you, and many other words and synonyms that are covered in the dictionaries across the world.”
“But if you are not an enigma, then what are you?”
“You’re fragile, you’re insecure, you are desperate for attention and, alation… You want to be adored, but at the same time afraid of putting a blemish on the idea of you, of what you want people to think you are.”
“At the most basic of levels man, what you simply are is an unfortunate reject.”
“You think so highly of yourself, yet J Mont had no problem in giving you your release when you asked… Why would he not fight to keep the Smash champion in his ranks but instead go with the likes of Sonya Benson and a dude name Rocco?”
“Because as much as people hate those two and other’s J Mont associates himself with, and J Mont himself, he couldn’t get people to react to you…Both in his crew, fans and even his enemies. It’s not that people hate or love you Enigma, is that they, like me, and J Mont, are indifferent to you.”
“You’re vanilla.”
“You’re inconsequential.”
“The only thing I find interesting about you is the gold around your waist.”
“So after I beat you for the 1, 2, 3… I will gladly do it all over again, for that title you hold so dearly.”
“Impress you?”
“Nah man, I’m here to Smash you.”
Xavier stands, looks down at his phone and smirks at the end game screen.
The Classic Donkey Kong. He has always loved video games, ever since he could play them. He will spend hours in front of his NES, playing his favorite titles and exploring fantasy worlds. He enjoyed the thrill of Contra, the challenge of Tetris, and the science in Mega Man. He used them to escape from his own reality, where he felt insecure, lonely, and angry. But mostly, he felt sad. His mom had to work two jobs to support them, so she was always gone. His father, if you know Xavier’s story, you know he was non-existent until Xavier graduated from wrestling school.
Xavier also had a Gameboy, and that’s what this cartridge was for. He had never played DK before but heard of its legendary status as one of the first and most popular arcade games eeeeever. It had Mario before Mario was Mario and simply known as “jump-man”. He takes it to his mom where he begs her to buy it and she reluctantly does, after all, it’s not expensive and she loves to spoil him whenever she can, which is rare as she barely makes ends meet. Once they get “home”, a single bedroom apartment in a large building complex, Xavier goes into the bedroom and takes out his Gameboy, then goes out to his balcony and flops on a green beanbag. He pops the game in and turns it on. He is greeted by a simple title screen, showing a large gorilla holding a blonde woman on top of a construction site, while Mario, err, jump-man, is trying to rescue her. He is about to hit start when his mom yells at him from the kitchen.
“You want some Oreos and milk Xavi?”
His favorite snack to go with a ‘new’ game? Hell yeah.
“Yes please!”
Xavier selects the first level and presses start and as soon as he does the Gameboy transforms into a larger screen, full of color, and that of an iPhone 15.
“Here you go honey.”
Xavier looks up, but he is not a kid anymore but his current self. The female is not his mom but some assistant with a headset on offering him a glass of his favorite whiskey. He is wearing a navy-blue suit with a light gray collared shirt, unbuttoned down to just above the mid-section. He is sitting on a director’s style chair, right leg crossed over his left to show off his shiny black loafers. Across from him is a woman dressed very casually, also with a headset, looking over some papers. Xavier blinks rapidly then looks back down at his phone and sees the Donkey Kong game app paused.
“You’re ready Xavier?”
Xavier looks back up and nods as he takes a sip of whiskey.
“Okay, you know the drill, when you’re ready, go for it.”
Xavier nods again, takes another sip, takes a deep breath to get in character, then smirks.
“Surprise Edward Nigma! I know my name was probably the last one you had in your bingo card, but who were you going to face? Damage? You laughed at his challenge. Peter Vaughn? Do you really want that drama in your life? John Cable? Been there and done that, taming the beast once is more than enough.”
“And I would know, I’ve done it myself.”
He winks.
“So as much fun as you probably had beating them up, I’m sure you’d rather face new challengers that might cause you to feel something. Which means your options were: Synn, J-Mont and myself. Look I don’t know much about Synn, and you seem to have a liking for her, so deep down inside you probably don’t want to sever that relationship, by doing what we all know you can do: destroy her.”
“If I’m honest, J-Mont is the money match, the marquee match, the one that will fill all the seats, get all the pay-per-view buy-rates, drive in all the sponsors. Yes, that’s the one match everyone wants to see.”
“But not me.”
“The ‘former friends turned bitter enemies’ is a stale story that we see time after time, with almost always the result going the same predictable route… I really don’t want to see J Mont cut long-winded promos while flaunting how much money he has while you cut long-winded promos from a dungeon somewhere while arguing with yourself about…” *ahem*
(in a voice too deep to understand) “Look, they are laughing at us again!”
(in a kiddie voice) ‘No they are not!’
“Yes, they are!”
‘No, they’re not, stop it meanie!‘
“I’m not a meanie, I’m a monster! ARGH!”
*ahem* “Who wants to see that week-in and a week-out leading up to the match? Oh! and the match… We all know what’s going to happen: The man of 1001 cheats will try to find a way to use them all to take your Smash championship while you try to win the match out right by using brute force, sheer will and pandering to the fans, begging them to please like the man on the inside even though you know they’re scare shitless of you because you look like something that escaped from Stephen King’s sick asshole.”
“Believe me when I tell you, the match you want is against me. Because I will give you that rare type of ‘wrestling’ match. It will be technical, it will be fast paced, and it can too, be brutal if you wish because I’m hardcore like a muthafucka… and guess what? When I win, we get to do it all over again at the pay-per-view! You get to have, back-to-back, the best matches of your life… and even if you beat me once, whether in the non-title match or at the title match at War-Games, you’ll walk away knowing, that you just beat a damn good wrestler and a though son of a bitch… and while you may not do it publicly, when you are all alone in your grandma’s basement or whatever, getting ready to argue with your feelings again, or at the gym, ready for another hard grueling session for your 10 followers in social media, you will stop for a second or two, and think: “Thank you Venom, THAT was wrestling.”
Xavier finishes the rest of his drink before the assistant coming over to take his glass to refill. The woman across from him finishes writing some notes and then smiles at him.
“Okay, that was great, just no cursing alright?”
Xavier is about to retort but she cuts him off.
“No, stop, yes, I’ve met you and that was barely anything, I know, just keep it clean. So, take a break while they check it in the edit room and then we’ll do another.”
“Whatever.”
Xavier grabs his phone, unlocks it and pushes play on the game. We’re transported once again to his childhood, where he finds the game to be fun and addictive. He quickly learns the patterns of the barrels and the timing of the jumps. He dodges, climbs, and jumps his way to the top of the first level, where he sees the blonde with no name, but he calls her Lexi, after a girl on the 8th grade he has a crush on. Who knew that as a professional wrestler, he would meet another Lexi, and… well, that’s a story for another day. DK grabs Lexi and takes her to the next level. This one more difficult with more platforms, ladders, and gaps plus fireballs and springs, but it is on this level where Xavier notices something strange. The barrels that DK is throwing have labels on them. Each one has a word that describe something that Xavier is insecure about. He sees the words ‘rejection’, ‘loneliness’, ‘ugliness’, and more. He pauses the game and looks up, we’re back to present time and he looks around nervously, but nobody has noticed him freaking out. He wonders what the hell is going on, and why are all these childhood feelings reemerging. The assistant brings him another drink and this one he gulps right away.
“Another!”
She looks at him perplexed but does as asked, while Xavier goes back to the game and plays on, ignoring the labels and focusing on beating the level. Each time he get hits, he feels like DK is mocking him, reminding him of his flaws and fears. The kid Xavier wipes a tear away as he chews on an Oreo. He wants to quit, but he also wants to beat the game. He wants to prove himself to DK, that he can overcome his insecurities. The 3rd level is even harder, with more barrels and more obstacles. The labels on the barrels are about his adult self now. He sees ‘Too old’, ‘Not good enough’, ‘Retire’, ‘No Skill’, ‘Page’s Pet’ and, ‘J-Mont’s Bitch’.
“FUCK YOU!”
He stands up and throws the phone on the chair. The woman across from him looks at him like he just lost his damn mind.
“What did you just say to me?!”
“No, not you, sorry, I uh, the game, it’s messing with me. Sorry, I need a break.”
He grabs his phone and walks out of the studio, heading outside where we see it’s nighttime somewhere. He calms down, unlocks his phone, and plays on despite feeling like the game was reading his mind, exposing his deepest insecurities. He feels angry yet scared, a man and a child at the same time. He wants to smash the game, but also beat it. He wants to show the game that he was not defined by his childhood insecurities and that he achieved his goals and dreams as an adult. He starts the fourth and final level, the hardest of all. The barrels of insecurities were also the most hurtful and cruel. He sees ‘cringe’, ‘lame’, ‘worthless’, ‘jobber’ ‘useless’, ‘pathetic’, and more. He feels like the game is torturing him, crushing his spirit and his will. He feels hopeless and helpless, his mom comes out to the balcony.
“Are you okay honey?”
“NOT NOW ‘MA!”
“EXCUSE ME?”
He gets an ass whooping.
While his father is white, his mom is black, and her blackness came out with a fury. Xavier knows he deserves it, but it also helps play the game clearer now, under his bed, late at night when his mom thinks he is sleeping. Xavier reaches the top of the fourth level, where he sees Lexi waiting for him. He also sees DK, but he isn’t really DK anymore, but a red-haired bully from his childhood. Xavier pauses the game, and we’re back to reality.
“That’s who he reminds me of.”
He un-pauses the game, and the bully is now a harrier, uglier if possible, Enigma look-alike. He is holding a huge barrel with the label ‘weak link’ and throws it at him. Xavier, not jump-man or Mario anymore, jumps it like a pro. Another barrel, ‘lazy’, another, ‘cast-off’, and one final one, ‘mediocre’, which Xavier crushes with a power-up hammer, and then he looks at Lexi, and feels a surge of hope. He realizes she was not his 8th grade crush or another Lexi in the world of pro-wrestling, but a symbol of his desire. His desire as a kid to be happy, to be loved, to be accepted, to be smart, to be worthy, to be hopeful, to be useful, to be heroic. As an adult, some of those changed by the idea remained the same. Especially to be worthy of the Smash championship. He jumps, rescuing her and watches with that same huge smile, as DK, flips over and falls all the way down. The game ends and Xavier let’s out a loud ‘YES!!’.
“XAVIER!!!”
Xavier covers his mouth, but it wasn’t his mom that called for him but the lady inside the studio. Xavier puts his phone away and heads back inside. The woman notices he’s all happy now.
“Better?”
“Lots.”
“Great, whenever you’re ready, go.”
Xavier sips his drink, takes a deep breath just like before, a small pause, and ‘goes’.
“Let me give you your flowers Enigma, sort of.”
“You’re, the G.O.A.T., arguably.”
“You’re a god? Perhaps, I’m not a religious man but do believe in one God and you’re not it.”
“You’re the best. In WGWF? I’m sure Cholo would have something to say about that, you two have yet to wrestle but you’re driving on parallel lanes, so we may never see that day. I know what you’re about to say, ‘he’s only the World Champion because you allowed it’. You made a choice, not his fault, but we’ll just say you’re 1A and he’s 1B to feed that fragile ego of yours.”
“You’re not invincible but are almost unbeatable. Only 1 wrestler has done it in over a year if not more. Kudos to Mac, and to you, as that is impressive. No shade here.”
“You’re a machine? Well, the thing about machines is that they last for a long time, sure, but not forever, sooner or later they rust up or break down altogether. But for now, sure, you seem to be a well-oiled machine that no one seems to be able to stop.”
“But you’re also bored, tired, disgruntled, and annoyed.”
“You have a championship that you love dearly and that means so much to you, and yet you feel it, nor you get the respect it deserves.”
“I get that, which is why instead of continuing to run my mouth like all your other challengers are, I decided to do something different. As soon as it was clear that you weren’t going to choose an opponent, but instead, ask the challengers to impress you, I went to see General Manager Johnathan Barrows and asked him for a match with you. A non-title match of course, not only because you obviously aren’t just handing them out, but because the only way I can impress you is by standing across the ring from you and punching you right in the mouth. Repeatedly, until you bleed. Look I could have been disrespectful here and said slap the taste out of your mouth, but as much of an asshole as I am, I give the devil his due.”
“Plus, I’m also not stupid.”
“You may be as likeable as a stop sign, but you have my respect.”
“Yes, you are all the things I said before, and you may even be a monster, but you are not a god and even if you were, I’m stepping up to show the whole world that you too can bleed.”
“I will tell you the one thing you are not, and that is an enigma. You are not as complex as you think you are, and in fact, are one of the easiest wrestlers to figure out. I could go for the low-hanging fruit and talk about your routine gym inspirational tweets that maybe motivate the marks, the weak minded, the indiscipline and the lazy. Anyone who is trying to be anything in life, let alone wrestling, who is truly capable of greatness, isn’t swiping up on their phone looking for the answer. I could also talk about how boring you are, but anyone with two braincells can see that. I could go on a heelish rant or monologue that only makes a few marks on social media giggle about it, but I am not guy, plus like I said, low hanging fruit. You are very articulate; you have a great vocabulary and speak in ways that scholars from centuries past would be proud of…It’s a dying art and I’m sure it has it’s following in today’s world, but it does not make you an enigma.”
“You’re not hard to understand, well, maybe when you’re screaming your lines, but you’re not hard to explain, I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far. You’re not mysterious, because for someone to be mysterious people have to care about that mystery around them, and again, aside from a handful of nerds, nobody cares. You are not inscrutable, I could easily hire a private investigator and find out everything about you, but why waste my money when I simply don’t care? I don’t care to analyze you, comprehend you, and many other words and synonyms that are covered in the dictionaries across the world.”
“But if you are not an enigma, then what are you?”
“You’re fragile, you’re insecure, you are desperate for attention and, alation… You want to be adored, but at the same time afraid of putting a blemish on the idea of you, of what you want people to think you are.”
“At the most basic of levels man, what you simply are is an unfortunate reject.”
“You think so highly of yourself, yet J Mont had no problem in giving you your release when you asked… Why would he not fight to keep the Smash champion in his ranks but instead go with the likes of Sonya Benson and a dude name Rocco?”
“Because as much as people hate those two and other’s J Mont associates himself with, and J Mont himself, he couldn’t get people to react to you…Both in his crew, fans and even his enemies. It’s not that people hate or love you Enigma, is that they, like me, and J Mont, are indifferent to you.”
“You’re vanilla.”
“You’re inconsequential.”
“The only thing I find interesting about you is the gold around your waist.”
“So after I beat you for the 1, 2, 3… I will gladly do it all over again, for that title you hold so dearly.”
“Impress you?”
“Nah man, I’m here to Smash you.”
Xavier stands, looks down at his phone and smirks at the end game screen.