The Interstate Love Song Chronicles - V
Jul 5, 2021 22:05:15 GMT -5
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Post by Maggie Lockheart on Jul 5, 2021 22:05:15 GMT -5
::: 6/10 Studios Presents :::
The Interstate Love Song Chronicles - V
"I should've known what I'd be doing to myself."
Kansas City, Missouri. Arrowhead Stadium. In the four year career of Magdalena Marie Lockheart she could count on one hand the number of times she had wrestled in a venue so insanely massive. At full capacity the home of the NFL franchise the Kansas City Chiefs could pack a little more than 76,000 people. In the post-pandemic era and with the popularity of Revo1 Wrestling, it wouldn't surprise her at all to see that 'capacity crowd' on hand.
Maggie stood at the grand entrance to the building. It wouldn't be long now. She could see the posters showcasing the likes of Damien Carter and The Cowgirls from Hell. There were a lot of Revo stars being shown that had earned their places of respect among the fans and the locker room alike; the ones that have paved the roads that both Maggie and her opponent will enjoy the benefit of walking on as they work toward defining their own legacies. But Maggie had the Revolution1 Horrorcore Championship over one shoulder, and the Level Up Final Boss Championship gold over the other. She wasn't concerned as much about how she would continue to flesh out her Legacy... but what someone like Angelo would be willing to do to cement his.
She let out a deep sigh. Perhaps someday her face would be on one of the Revo1 posters. Perhaps there was much, much more to the story of wanting to travel around the country for one of the United State's top promotions while also getting to actually visit the cities she was fighting in and the fans that she was fighting for.
Perhaps, she thought, that she should set her sights a little higher. No, wait. That wasn't the plan. The plan was to stay low to the ground. Stay quiet. Coast under the radar for a bit. The plan was to get to know her adversaries, their ins-and-outs... it's a whole lot easier to break clocks when you know what makes them tick... though, then again, she wasn't really planning on breaking anyone. What impressed her the most so far was the amount of passion that she saw from her newfound colleagues from the bottom to the top of the roster. There wasn't anyone in Revolution1 that didn't seem like they didn't want to dominate their entire competition.
And now? She knew she had placed a target on her back. She wasn't fond of any hardcore stipulation-style matches, but she also knew that she couldn't avoid them forever. A part of her knew that when push came to shove that she could handle it, because she had done so before. But a part of her wondered if the Horrorcore title was a more dangerous championship to hold than a World or even an International strap. The only issue Maggie really had was that she knew that her pride meant more to her than the risk of a potential reinjury. If the show in Kansas City was going to be her last, then at the very least there'd be 76,000 fans that would watch her go down swinging.
Just as she was set to make her way in, she was approached from either side by Eddie and Tommy, two guys who have been working on the Revo1 ring crew with her since she had signed up. She had come to appreciate their company quite a bit, actually. Something about the way these guys conducted themselves and handled their business always came off to her like they were more grounded... more real.
Eddie placed his arm on her shoulder as the three of them all looked up at the massive banner of the World Heavyweight Champion hanging high from the ceiling.
"That one was a bitch to put up, I tell ya. Took Tommy-boy and I all of, what, forty-five minutes to hang?"
Of course, in an arena such as this, the vaulted ceilings looked like they went up for hundreds of feet. Maggie wasn't the biggest fan of heights herself, so at the very least she could appreciate their effort.
Tommy nodded his head. "It looks good though."
"It does." Maggie said as she glanced over at Tommy. "Damn good."
"I gotta give the front office some credit, they really know how to come in and make a place look like they had been there forever. Like they own the building or something." Ed added.
The last few places that Maggie had worked, that was pretty much the scenario. She was very much used to the old-converted-warehouses and the smaller venues rented for long periods of time.
"It really is all in how you present yourself, isn't it?" Maggie asked rhetorically. "One day, you're standing down here, looking up. The next, the 60 foot tall version of your face is the one looking down, if you're good enough."
Eddie snickered.
"Oh, Tommy and I put up quite a few versions of your lovely face around."
"Uh-huh." Tommy pointed out to the sides of the entrance where the smaller, regular-sized posters were. "Got ones with you and Angelo right over there."
"Angelo, hmm?" Maggie grabbed her rolling luggage and began to walk over to one of her posters while the boys followed. "Guy got a last name? Or is that his last name?"
They explained that it was unclear. A lot of the folks who knew him... or at least knew of him... kind of just called him Angelo.
"Real hot-head though," Tommy warned her. "Guy's been in the business for a long time. Over twenty years I think. Rumor has it he'd do just about anything to get his face on that big poster."
Of course Tommy meant that he'd do anything to win Revo1's biggest prize, and prove to not just the other wrestlers but to the world that he was the best of the best. Maggie pursed her lips because as a world-tier champion herself, she knew how dangerous someone like that could be. It also didn't help that potentially knocking off the Horrorcore champion would be like a stepping stone towards his real goal.
"Ahh well, you know what they say," she replied. "Can't let him get it that easily."
If there's one thing she's learned in her travels so far, it's that...
Angelo isn't the only one in Revolution1 that means business.
Maggie, now dressed and ready for action, stood backstage in front of a Revolution1 backdrop. She had the Horrorcore Championship strapped around her waist, and a smirk on her painted lips.
"Rumor has it that Revolution1 is currently looking for my next challenger. In the meantime, I get to fight Angelo. According to my research, he's a rather unhinged man who will stop at nothing to finally overcome the biggest hurdle that has been plaguing him throughout his long-tenured career. Angelo wants to win a Revo1 World championship so that he can prove beyond the shadow of any doubt that he is the best wrestler in this locker room. He wants to live the life of a world champion, cash the checks of a world champion, provide for his son and his daughter in ways that only a world champion could."
"Of that much, he has been truly, unequivocally, passionate."
"But - Angelo admits that he's been a choke artist. He admits that when the lights are at their brightest, and on big stages like the one here in Kansas city, that he allows his passion to overtake his years of training and his experience with better judgement. He falls into narrow-sightedness. He falls into the pitfalls of self-doubt. Something tells me that there's a bit more to Angelo than what Angelo is willing to admit outwardly. Something tells me that the real reason why he wants to be a world champion is so that he can prove to himself that he's the best."
"And I've got to be honest, speaking to you now Angelo, that I understand every thought and every feeling that you've gone through except it hasn't taken me nearly as long to learn how to shoulder the responsibility of being 'that guy' or whatever. I realize that signing up to fight for these championships is great and all but it's a real double-edged sword when you win them. But unlike you I don't feel that same fear or have second thoughts when it comes to shouldering the burden. You can't scream and holler and yell that you "want to be the best" and "nothing else will do" when you're afraid what might happen if you'd win. To me, that's just you being a little bit of a hypocrite, if I'm being honest."
"I told Jessie Lee, and I told the world that it scares me to the core to fight in hardcore matches, that I didn't know what I would do if I won the Horrorcore championship... and I didn't lie. But I also said that the only thing that scares me more is backing down from the challenge. You see, you say WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OR DIE in your loudest big-boy voice but titles don't make you the man that you think they do. I have always reached for a higher goal than that, Angelo - I've always wanted to be the type of fighter who elevates the championships that she wins!"
"Which means I fight every fight like it's a world championship match... which means I refuse to back down from whatever challenges that might come my way! And do you know what? That was the key... that was always the key. You get used to the bright lights, they start to look a bit dimmer. You get used to the big stage... you don't mind 76,000 sets of eyes watching your potential successes or your most horrific failures. It's like you have to fight every fight like it's your last because, you never know, it just might be. It means that even without the Horrorcore Championship on the line tonight, you're still going to get the very best out of me!"
Maggie rips the championship belt off of her waist and holds it up to the camera.
"I AM the Revolution1 HORRORCORE CHAMPION - and yes, the paychecks are coming in a bit fatter but don't think for one fucking second that I haven't put in the work to earn that, too. And don't think for one second that just because you SHOUT that that makes what you're saying any more important than what everyone else in the back is saying, too. Because when I look around, I haven't seen a soul that doesn't want to be at the top of this mountain... that also isn't willing to sell that same very soul to get there. So let's be honest with each other... You don't think that I'm special, and neither do I... but you need to hop off of that high-horse and step back to reality."
"Because between the two of us, I'm the one who has let her actions speak louder than your words ever could. I don't NEED to SCREAM to ANYONE that I'M championship material. I just hold up my title belt and I tell you, and everyone else in that locker room to come take it if they can. And if they do? Great. If they don't, then I always wish them the best of luck next time. Let's go out there in a few moments and see which one of these might apply to you."
"But should this fight get nasty and personal, and you happen to get hurt in the process? Oops. That's never my intention, surely. However, sometimes that's just what it comes down to."
"And if I does, then I'm fine with it, cause I know it'll be on you. I'll quietly lean down and whisper in your ear: I'm sorry, but... Look at what you just made me do."