AS18: Wasabi Toyota vs. Tucker Graham

[Phoenix]

After a classic tag encounter last week, the competitors of POT and Steele & Graham will face off in single matches this week and hopefully produce another classic. Will Steele and Graham's determination get them going places as the Tag Champions show that their individual skill is just as powerful as when in a team?


Deadline is Tuesday 27th July 23:59 EST

 

[The Bearded One]

The scene opens up with Leon Kensworth backstage at Ascension 17 who appears to be waiting for somebody. The curtain opens and Tucker Graham walks to the backstage area. He is limping and holding his head after the DDT he just received to lose the match against The Pride of Toyota. He looks like he’s angry with himself. Kensworth quickly approaches him.

Tucker! Tucker! Can I get a word with you?

Graham looks at him and shakes his head.

Nah man. Not right now. I just got my ass beat. I don’t feel like talking. Sorry man.

Is there any time I can get an interview?

Just give me a call in a few days if you want. My number is 783-…

The scene fades out as Graham is giving Kensworth his number.

-----4 DAYS LATER-----

The scene opens up and Tucker Graham is lying on his couch in his apartment. He is wearing a white shirt and gym shorts, even though it appears he hasn’t left his apartment since getting home from Ascension a few days before. This is Grahams first time to be able to relax with his mind clear since before losing the match at Ascension. Graham is enjoying the peace and quiet until…

Riiiiiiiiiing….Riiiiiiiiiiiing….Riiiiiiiii…

Graham picks up the phone next to the couch before the third ring and answers with phone on speakerphone.

Hello?

A familiar voice is on the other side of the line.

Hey Tucker! This is Leon….ummmm Kensworth.

Graham lets out a chuckle.

I figured that out Leon. Whats up?

Not much, as usual. Just wanting to call to see how you were doing after Ascension?

To be honest, man, I was devastated. I did the one thing, THE ONE THING, that I didn’t want to do. I felt that I let Alexander down. I’m the one who got pinned; I’m the one who didn’t hold up my end of the bargain. Alex did everything he could out there to win the match. I did too, don’t get me wrong. But Alex didn’t lose the match, I did. And I felt terrible about it. Alex has proven that he is capable of winning matches and I’m the one that brought him down.

There is a couple seconds of silence before Kensworth continues.

So what have you been doing?

Nothing. Nothing at all. I’ve just been moping around the house. I’ve been too depressed to go out. I know, I know. That goes against everything I’ve ever said. But I just felt terrible about myself and I didn’t want to go out and party because I thought it was best for me to just stay home and think about my life. To think if this is the right life for me. To think if I was cut out to be a wrestler. And I started convincing myself that I wasn’t.

Graham pauses for a second as he stands up and begins pacing around his apartment.

But then something great happened. Something I never saw coming.

And that would be?

Last night I got a phone call and I was hesitant to answer it, but I’m glad I did. When I answered, the person on the other side said “Hey Tucker. This is Alexander Steele”. At that moment, I felt the worst I have ever felt. I thought he was going to tear me a new one. I thought he was going to tell me how badly I let him down. But he didn’t. No, in fact it was just the opposite.

He told me last night in that phone call that he was impressed with my performance. I didn’t expect this at all and thought it was a joke. But he was serious. We talked about the match for a little while. We talked about what went right, and, of course, about what went wrong. Then he asked me the question that made me forget all the doubts I about my future as a wrestler.

He asked, “Tucker, would you like to form a tag team and become the next tag team champions?”

Graham now has that big smile we are so used to seeing.

I told him yes without hesitation. We decided that I should fly out tomorrow to meet him so we can begin training as a tag team. That’s when I realized something.

And…

Graham brushed his hair out of his face as he excitedly walks around his apartment with no real direction whatsoever.

Me and Alex were two singles wrestlers wrestling in a tag match at Ascension. And we took the tag team champions to the limit. You see the difference?

Not really…

We weren’t a team Leo. We were just two guys going up against the best TEAM in WZCW. And we still gave them all that they could handle. We still pushed them as far as any other established team has ever pushed them. Just think of what we are going to be able to do once we take the from just tag partners to that of tag TEAM partners. We have already proven that we work well together, now we just to get on the same page. Once me and Alex get on the same page and become a team, then I know we are going to be the next World Tag Team Champions.

Did you notice that Kravinoff? WORLD Tag Team Champions. I do respect the division. But you and Mr. Toyota better respect us because we are the new faces of this division. And Kravinoff, you will learn to respect us after Alexander beats you on Meltdown.

That’s all fine and good Tucker. But this week you are in singles action against Wasabi Toyota.

Graham gives this comment a little nod of the head before speaking.

I know Leon. And it’s a shame because I like this guy. He a great person who is trying to make up for all the bad things he’s done. But Toyota is still doing something wrong. He is keeping me from being completely happy. He is partially responsible for holding me back from achieving my dream of holding gold in this company. He is standing in my way of being completely happy so he must go down.

And I know that I will take him down. I am a new and rejuvenated Tucker Graham. Alexander Steele has breathed new life into me. I feel like a new man. And I know Mr. Toyota is like, what, 12 times my size?

Kensworth lets out a chuckle.

Something like that.

So he has the size and strength on me. So what? I have something he doesn’t have. And that’s the drive and determination to reach my dream. Mr. Toyota is getting fat and happy at Sal’s Pizza knowing that he has reached the pinnacle of this division. But I’m still hungry. I’m hungry to make up for losing the match at the last Ascension. I’m hungry to show the world I belong here. And above all else, I’m hungry to become one half of the next tag team champions.

At the next Ascension, I will beat Wasabi Toyota and will move one step closer to getting my hunger quenched. I’ll be one step closer to becoming completely happy. And it will move me and Alexander one step closer to becoming the new tag TEAM Champions.

Graham finally stops walking around his house and leans on the back of his couch.

Alright, Tucker. It’s been great talking to as always. I’ll see you at the next Ascension.

Okay man. I’ll see you then.

There is a click on the other side of the line indicating that Kensworth has hung up. Graham hangs his phone up before walking around his apartment once again gathering everything he is going to need to train with Alexander Steele.

 

[gd]

We see an old, run down building on in the heart of Downtown Chicago. As we get closer, the words Pecker’s Soup Kitchen are clearly visible on the side of the building. Inside, Pecker’s is bustling with motion. The smell of tomato soup and mold permeates throughout the building. Wasabi Toyota is behind the front counter, wearing an apron and an oversized chef’s hat, serving healthy portions of soup and bread to the needy. Becky Serra approaches from the left, microphone in hand.

Hello Becky, how are you on this beautiful morning?

Just fine. You sure seem to be in a cheery mood today, why’s that?

Why’s that, Becky? It’s a fine summer evening, I’m here helping out those less fortunate than me, and Hunter and I are coming off another huge win. What’s not to like?

Ah, yes. What are your thoughts on that victory over Reckless Youth last week?

Like I said Becky, it was big for us. Steele and Graham are no joke, but we were able to defeat them handily. Ever since the Pride have come together, we haven’t been stopped. Every single tag team in the ‘Z today has tried, and every one has fallen. We’re unstoppable as a unit.

But this week you face Tucker Graham in one on one action, your first singles match in WZCW. Thoughts?

It may be my first singles match, Becky, but it’s not like I don’t have experience fighting alone. Harkening all the was back to my days as a Junior Sumo Champion in Matsumato, I knew how to go at it alone. When I came over to America on a whaling boat, I was all alone. I was alone when I was able to fight my way out of the Yazuka. In fact, this is actually the first time in my life that I’ve had the luxury of being supported by others in a positive manner. It’s fantastic.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve become spoiled. No, in fact, it’s only made me stronger. I have all of the confidence in the world now that I can succeed on my own and I’ll prove to all that believe in me this week again Graham.

Speaking of Graham, any further thoughts on your opponent this week?

I want to like Graham, I really do, but he has such a distorted view of reality. He’s an idealist, unable, or perhaps unwilling, to see the problems in this world. His motto of “do whatever you want” is just not a reasonable one. When I came over to America, I did whatever I wanted while working for the Yazuka. That lead nothing to pain an heartache for not only my victims but myself as well. I still haven’t recovered.

So that is why I get so riled up when Graham starts spewing his bullshit everywhere. Look at these people surrounding you, Becky. Notice the hopelessness that fills their faces, their ragged clothes, their sense of despair. No doubt many of them are in this position because they chose to do whatever they felt like in the spur of the moment, neglecting to consider the consequences. It just makes me so angry, so frustrated, that someone can go around preaching such a false message out of ignorance. Such a person much be stopped, certainly you agree, Becky?

Err, I don’t know. Tucker seems like a pretty nice guy to me.

Indeed, he appears nice and harmless on the surface, but his attitude couldn’t be anymore dangerous. Let me give you an example. Look at Chuck over there.

He used to be the top up and coming attorney at Greenburg and Goldstein, the top law firm on the East Coast. Chuck was on well his way to making 7 figures a year. However, one day he decided he didn’t feel like being a lawyer anymore, be wanted to dance in music videos. Obviously, being that Chuck is an average looking white man with no rhythm, he’s yet to find success. Four years of searching and he’s yet to get anywhere in the vicinity of Beyonce’s junky trunk.

What would Tucker Graham have to say about this? I’m sure he’d just pass it off as no big deal and tell Chuck to keep chasing his dream. What about Chuck’s wife Mindy and their two children. Do they look too happy?

The fact that there’s a man in this world so delusional that he wouldn’t find a problem with this and instead encourage a guy like Chuck to keep up this hopeless charade gets my blood boiling like no other. I’m all for doing your own thing, but I’m also a realist. When I want to make a difference I actually go out and do something, like spend a few hours of my free time working at “Pecker’s”. No doubt Tucker Graham is out partying somewhere, unconcerned with the problems that surround him.

Graham is part of the problem, not the solution. I’m going to show him that this week on Ascension, just like Hunter and I did last week. I know that he’s a small man that is hopelessly overmatched here, but as much as I want to, I can’t hold anything back. Graham needs to learn what he’s doing is wrong, that’s he’s hurting people with his message. Personally, I can’t stand it anymore. I’m on the verge of losing control already. I’ll have to spend all weak holding in my frustration, my anger, my disgust, until I can unleash it on Tucker Graham giving him the beating of a lifetime.

Now if you’ll excuse me Becky, I have some homeless people to nourish.