Post by The Predator on May 24, 2012 19:54:38 GMT -6
Familiar music plays as the lights come on the set of the popular web series "Fan's Wrestling Hour". A conference table sits on a raised platform in front of a scrim with the logos of various wrestling federations on it. A skinny, bespectacled man sits with a stack of papers in his hands to the left of a very large, friendly looking man who looks more than a little uncomfortable in a Vermani suit and tie. His humble, casual nature is readily apparent in the shoddy job he did shaving his face and combing his hair prior to the interview. The FCW Heavyweight Title Belt sits in front of him. The host clears his throat and begins.
"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back to the Fan's Wrestling Hour. As always, I am your host, Mike James Bryant, and man, do we have a treat to cap off this week's show!"
He is actually shaking visually with excitement.
"Folks, 48 hours ago, at 5 in the morning, I got a text message that said Dylan Schmeyer, the Predator himself, had signed a preliminary contract with United States Pro Wrestling. Now, for those new to pro wrestling, our more recent fans, The Predator hasn't wrestled in 6 and a half years; He retired following the shutdown of the legendary Fan's Championship Wrestling at what was thought to be the very peak of his career. He was considered by many to be the best singles wrestler alive at the time, and is to date a 3-time heavyweight champion across the circuit and the final FCW Heavyweight Titlist. When he retired, folks, he disappeared, he was gone, but now he is back."
He gestures almost reverently to The Predator, who waives meekly at the camera.
"The Predator returns, comes out of his lengthy retirement, and sends the wrestling world into shock. Folks, I am lucky enough to have him here tonight, to answer my questions, to illuminate these burning inquiries that have been burning up the message boards and water coolers for going on two days. Without further ado, ladies and gentleman, the champ himself!"
The Predator coughs. " Uh, thanks, Mike. You're too kind. Really. Chill out."
Bryant laughs. "Sorry, champ, its just an exciting thing. You are something of a romantic figure for us old school wrestling fans; The king who quit on top of his game. Nobody thought you were gonna come back. Why'd you do it?"
The Predator clears his throat.
"I retired initially because I felt I had very little left to prove, as far as my wrestling career went. I was a multiple time titlist in multiple organizations, I was riding something like a 25 match winning streak, and my final match in my swansong with FCW was one in which I beat two former champions to defend my title without a ton of resistance. My ego was full to bursting, man. I thought I was too big for wrestling and I left it to rest on my laurels and spend all my money in peace."
He smiles sadly.
"I drank a lot, got married, got divorced, hit rock bottom, and realized that everything positive in my identity was wrapped up in competition, in wrestling. So, I got myself sober, and started teaching underprivileged youth in Philadelphia what I know, helping them out, growing the sport, you know, getting to be around it. I got back into shape, and I gotta be honest, Mike, I'm just as good as I've ever been. I did some soul searching, and decided, what the hell, let's test my theory. Let's get back to competing against the best in the world, all my old FCW buddies, and the new blood kicking ass today. Let's see if I can't get my title back, add to my legend a bit."
Bryant laughs, and shuffles his papers excitedly.
"One last comeback, man, like Rocky! I gotta say, I'm psyched to see what you bring to the ring. When you were a younger man, you were a force of nature, the strongest, most brutal wrestler I've ever seen. But, you slowly evolved your style, and we've never seen you look better as you did in 2006. Tell us about that."
Predator nods his head as Bryant asks his question, and laughs at the conclusion of it.
"I was just a big athletic dude who wanted to wrestle like my big brother at the beginning, man. I was a football player in college, and when I didn't get drafted I tried bodybuilding, rugby, professional boxing, all that...My big brother was a world champion, and he invited me to come to his wrestling school to give me some direction. I was wrestling in FCW six months later."
He takes a drink of water from the glass in front of him.
"I wasn't quite ready...Lost a few matches I shouldn't have. But I learned from those particular instances, great matches with Cory Hatred, JRO, Vermilion Stryfe and the like. I got pretty seasoned pretty quick. I'd like to think my explosiveness and my strength is an important strength of mine, but I've worked for about a decade refining my ring skills and mat IQ. I'm very, very good at this wrestling thing. I'm just as good a technician and I am a bone breaker."
Bryant nods excitedly, and almost jumps onto his next question. " You were talking about being excited to wrestle with all your former allies and rivals again. How does it feel to be wrestling on the same card as names like Matt Hawk again?"
Predator smiles, very wide. "It feels tremendous, Mike. I've had the pleasure in my career to face the best in the business, and it warms my heart to see many of those names on the roster for my new home. Fans have been talking about a rematch between myself and Mr. Hawk for some time; Beating him is what set me on the road to my first and only title shot. Fans want to see me and guys like this mix it up again. Not to mention, all these fantasy matches, they can actually happen now. How many times, on forums and such across America have wrestling nuts asked each other, "Who would win, The Predator or X,Y,Z superstar?", and because of the amount of talent we've got signing up at United States Pro Wrestling, we can finally answer these questions. I can't tell you how excited I am to challenge myself against the best and give the enthusiasts the slobber-knocking brawls they want to see. My personal goal is to achieve more, to win more titles, to push myself to new limits, but I would strongly like to take care of the people while I do it; Lets make the big matches, the popular ones, the ones that the public has been salivating for years for."
Bryant nods, grinning like a little boy. "Wow, having you back is gonna be great, champ. We have one last question before we're out of time; Mr. Max Prophet, the legend himself, has mentioned you as a traitor. Do you want to respond."
The Predator snorts in response. "The Idol can think what he wants. His school, his team offered nothing to me. Those guys were all about advancing themselves; Everybody they brought aboard were just hired goons in the end. I wanted to make my own way and win my own laurels. In the end, I did alright without their help, and I've got a record of 7-2 against Idol U graduates, so they must not be teaching anything there that I didn't pick up myself at some point. At the end of the day, I respect the man and his associates for being legends and pioneers, but I did my talking in the ring, and time and time again, I won the argument. Case closed."
Bryant nods and chuckles. "There you have it, folks. The Predator, Mr. Schmeyer, the Hunter and the Killer, the Champion Emeritus, back from retirement to take one last shot at cementing his own considerable legend against his fellow luminaries of the trade, and a whole slew of future greats just making to take the plunge. Truly an exciting time to be a wrestling fan. Thank you, and good night."
----
The Predator walks off stage to his waiting manager, taking off his suit jacket and loosening his tie as he does.
John excitedly shakes his hand. "You're a class act, Pred, you know that? You were never this chill 6 years ago."
"Talking shit is a waste of stamina. I'd rather use it to win matches."
"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back to the Fan's Wrestling Hour. As always, I am your host, Mike James Bryant, and man, do we have a treat to cap off this week's show!"
He is actually shaking visually with excitement.
"Folks, 48 hours ago, at 5 in the morning, I got a text message that said Dylan Schmeyer, the Predator himself, had signed a preliminary contract with United States Pro Wrestling. Now, for those new to pro wrestling, our more recent fans, The Predator hasn't wrestled in 6 and a half years; He retired following the shutdown of the legendary Fan's Championship Wrestling at what was thought to be the very peak of his career. He was considered by many to be the best singles wrestler alive at the time, and is to date a 3-time heavyweight champion across the circuit and the final FCW Heavyweight Titlist. When he retired, folks, he disappeared, he was gone, but now he is back."
He gestures almost reverently to The Predator, who waives meekly at the camera.
"The Predator returns, comes out of his lengthy retirement, and sends the wrestling world into shock. Folks, I am lucky enough to have him here tonight, to answer my questions, to illuminate these burning inquiries that have been burning up the message boards and water coolers for going on two days. Without further ado, ladies and gentleman, the champ himself!"
The Predator coughs. " Uh, thanks, Mike. You're too kind. Really. Chill out."
Bryant laughs. "Sorry, champ, its just an exciting thing. You are something of a romantic figure for us old school wrestling fans; The king who quit on top of his game. Nobody thought you were gonna come back. Why'd you do it?"
The Predator clears his throat.
"I retired initially because I felt I had very little left to prove, as far as my wrestling career went. I was a multiple time titlist in multiple organizations, I was riding something like a 25 match winning streak, and my final match in my swansong with FCW was one in which I beat two former champions to defend my title without a ton of resistance. My ego was full to bursting, man. I thought I was too big for wrestling and I left it to rest on my laurels and spend all my money in peace."
He smiles sadly.
"I drank a lot, got married, got divorced, hit rock bottom, and realized that everything positive in my identity was wrapped up in competition, in wrestling. So, I got myself sober, and started teaching underprivileged youth in Philadelphia what I know, helping them out, growing the sport, you know, getting to be around it. I got back into shape, and I gotta be honest, Mike, I'm just as good as I've ever been. I did some soul searching, and decided, what the hell, let's test my theory. Let's get back to competing against the best in the world, all my old FCW buddies, and the new blood kicking ass today. Let's see if I can't get my title back, add to my legend a bit."
Bryant laughs, and shuffles his papers excitedly.
"One last comeback, man, like Rocky! I gotta say, I'm psyched to see what you bring to the ring. When you were a younger man, you were a force of nature, the strongest, most brutal wrestler I've ever seen. But, you slowly evolved your style, and we've never seen you look better as you did in 2006. Tell us about that."
Predator nods his head as Bryant asks his question, and laughs at the conclusion of it.
"I was just a big athletic dude who wanted to wrestle like my big brother at the beginning, man. I was a football player in college, and when I didn't get drafted I tried bodybuilding, rugby, professional boxing, all that...My big brother was a world champion, and he invited me to come to his wrestling school to give me some direction. I was wrestling in FCW six months later."
He takes a drink of water from the glass in front of him.
"I wasn't quite ready...Lost a few matches I shouldn't have. But I learned from those particular instances, great matches with Cory Hatred, JRO, Vermilion Stryfe and the like. I got pretty seasoned pretty quick. I'd like to think my explosiveness and my strength is an important strength of mine, but I've worked for about a decade refining my ring skills and mat IQ. I'm very, very good at this wrestling thing. I'm just as good a technician and I am a bone breaker."
Bryant nods excitedly, and almost jumps onto his next question. " You were talking about being excited to wrestle with all your former allies and rivals again. How does it feel to be wrestling on the same card as names like Matt Hawk again?"
Predator smiles, very wide. "It feels tremendous, Mike. I've had the pleasure in my career to face the best in the business, and it warms my heart to see many of those names on the roster for my new home. Fans have been talking about a rematch between myself and Mr. Hawk for some time; Beating him is what set me on the road to my first and only title shot. Fans want to see me and guys like this mix it up again. Not to mention, all these fantasy matches, they can actually happen now. How many times, on forums and such across America have wrestling nuts asked each other, "Who would win, The Predator or X,Y,Z superstar?", and because of the amount of talent we've got signing up at United States Pro Wrestling, we can finally answer these questions. I can't tell you how excited I am to challenge myself against the best and give the enthusiasts the slobber-knocking brawls they want to see. My personal goal is to achieve more, to win more titles, to push myself to new limits, but I would strongly like to take care of the people while I do it; Lets make the big matches, the popular ones, the ones that the public has been salivating for years for."
Bryant nods, grinning like a little boy. "Wow, having you back is gonna be great, champ. We have one last question before we're out of time; Mr. Max Prophet, the legend himself, has mentioned you as a traitor. Do you want to respond."
The Predator snorts in response. "The Idol can think what he wants. His school, his team offered nothing to me. Those guys were all about advancing themselves; Everybody they brought aboard were just hired goons in the end. I wanted to make my own way and win my own laurels. In the end, I did alright without their help, and I've got a record of 7-2 against Idol U graduates, so they must not be teaching anything there that I didn't pick up myself at some point. At the end of the day, I respect the man and his associates for being legends and pioneers, but I did my talking in the ring, and time and time again, I won the argument. Case closed."
Bryant nods and chuckles. "There you have it, folks. The Predator, Mr. Schmeyer, the Hunter and the Killer, the Champion Emeritus, back from retirement to take one last shot at cementing his own considerable legend against his fellow luminaries of the trade, and a whole slew of future greats just making to take the plunge. Truly an exciting time to be a wrestling fan. Thank you, and good night."
----
The Predator walks off stage to his waiting manager, taking off his suit jacket and loosening his tie as he does.
John excitedly shakes his hand. "You're a class act, Pred, you know that? You were never this chill 6 years ago."
"Talking shit is a waste of stamina. I'd rather use it to win matches."