AS59: Sam Smith vs. Mikey Stormrage (non title)

[a0161613]

The current Elite X champion has advocated that WZCW has no-one good enough to face him for the championship and has demanded some competition. Vance Bateman heard the plea of Smith and has given him a singles match against a former champion Mikey Stormrage, who is looking for his first singles win. Although he has been on a bit of a losing streak, Stormrage is still a tough competitor and a match between the two should prove to be very interesting.

Deadline is 11:59pm Central Time, Tuesday 5th February. Extensions as per thread.​

 

[The Crock]

A set of car headlights pierce through the darkness, revealing a white sheet of snowflakes cascading out of the sky. Sam Smith sits behind the wheel, easing the car to a stop at the foot of a narrow dirt road, leading up to a lone house sitting atop a hill. Sam looks at the house for what seems like ages, refusing to budge an inch. He nervously taps his steering wheel before slowly creeping along the dirt path and parking his car in the driveway of the house.

Smith pulls the key out of the ignition and anxiously places it into his pocket. He takes a deep breath and steps out of the car, never once removing his gaze from the front door of the house. He takes a few steps toward the house before hesitating and half-turning back to the car. White puffs of air cloud his face, as the nerves have made him rapidly huff and puff for air.

Sam takes one last look at his car and finally bounds up the stairs to the door and loudly knocks on the door. He waits for a few moments, until a couple of lights spark on inside the house and a familiar face opens the door. A tired Scott Smith -- Sam's older brother -- stares back at Sam; a a palpable tension emanating from between the two men.

Scott: "What are you doing here, Sam?"

Sam swallows and slowly musters a reply.

Sam: "I-I-I'm here to see my father."

The elder Smith shakes his head as he slides out from the house and shuts the door behind him, standing in between it and Sam.

Scott: "At this hour? It's past midnight, Sam. Are you on a bender, or something?"

Sam: "No. I've been driving for a few hours, it's not a short ride up into the middle of nowhere. What are you doing here anyway? Wife kick you out? Just let me in the house."

Scott scoffs.

Scott: "You know, you have some nerve. You go months without so much as a phone call -- hell, it's been almost two years since you've spoken to dad -- and you just expect me to let you ride on into the house?

The last time I saw you was when I sprung you out of the hospital after you took one pill too many -- yet, here you are trying to act as if nothing happened. You're a coward, Sam."

Scott reaches forward and shoves his brother.

Sam: "Stop it, Scott."

Scott: "WHY?!"

Scott continues pushing Sam, who stumbles down the porch stairs.

Sam: "Scott, I'm not here to get into this with you. Let it go! I came to see dad."

Scott plunges forward and tackles Sam to the ground. Sam covers up, refusing to retaliate, as his brother starts swinging and throwing punches at him.

Through labored breathing Scott continues his rant.

Scott: "Maybe if you came to see him more often or -- I don't know -- called him once every two freaking years, you'd know I was living with him!"

Scott finally stops attacking his brother and sits cross-legged on the snowy grass next to him. His demeanor completely changes -- the elder Smith begins choking up.

Scott: "You know, Sam, no matter what kind of stupid stuff you get into, you're still my brother. I do whatever I can to protect you, but I can't keep you from going in that house."

Sam: "What do you mean?"

Scott looks up into the sky, letting out a deep breath.

Scott: "I didn't have the heart to call you, but he's not doing well. He had a stroke, Sam. He's out of it. He's convinced I'm his brother, he doesn't know what year it is -- he doesn't remember his kids, his grandkids, anything."

Sam stands up off the ground and begins pacing back and forth, struggling to muster up the slightest of sounds. His brother shoots to his feet and reaches over to hug him, but Sam sends him back to the ground with a vicious haymaker.

Sam: "Go to hell, Scott. You want to try to hold this above my head?! Don't bother telling him I was here."

Sam storms off to his car and races off into the night, leaving his brother behind.

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The scene re-opens at a WZCW house show, with Sam Smith standing dead in the center of the ring.

Sam: "I'm standing in front of you people today as THE top wrestler in the company. Not even Showtime Cougar can say he stands above me. I took the belt that lies around my waist right now -- the Elite X Championship -- and made it mean something again. Yet, here I am once more, faced with another opponent who shouldn't be in the ring with me."

The crowd boo, as Smith goes on.

Sam: "What has Mikey Stormrage done to earn an opportunity to face the best this company has to offer? I can't think of anything. The fact that I have to face him -- Drake Callahan's sloppy seconds -- is yet another slap to my face from a company in which Rush and I are the only two men with enough balls to speak the truth, and see past the hypocrisy surrounding us. For God's sake, I have to face Stormrage this week, then one of four people I've already beaten -- like Celeste Crimson, whom I've beaten multiple times -- at the PPV, while Rush has to face Matt Tastic. It's ridiculous. Asinine."

Sam pauses and collects his thoughts, while the crowd continues to shower him with boos.

Sam: "That's not why I'm here, though. I'm here today to expose my opponent this week, Mikey Stormrage."

Smith turns toward the tron, leaning against the ropes as he goes on.

Sam: "Mikey, I want you to hear my every word, loud and clear. You are the biggest coward on the roster, Stormrage. You know, I honestly wonder how you can go to sleep at night with all that blood on your hands.

At Unscripted, you stood idly by as the New Church dismantled James Howard. As a matter of fact, it's your fault they snapped his neck, Mikey. You were his partner, you were supposed to defend him, you were tag team champions together -- yet, you did nothing but watch as the New Church took his livelihood from him and destroyed him. He has a family, Mikey! He has people to feed! ...and now, he can't."

A sinister grin crosses Smith's face.

Sam: "Back at Ascension 44, the Sons of Destiny dismantled me, with Austin Reynolds standing on the ramp watching. They tried to do to me what the New Church did to Howard. I laid awake in my bed after that night, and often thought of what Reynolds had going through his mind -- after all, he could have stopped the attack -- but soon, I realized he didn't care.

Howard has those same thoughts swirling around his head. Sure, your little crusade against the New Church has been nice, but he can see right through that. You're using his injury as a way to shoot yourself up the card; first a match against Callahan, now one against me, and then a match against Grand Mystique at the PPV -- boy, you sure seem to be concerned about your partner, Mikey."

The crowd begins a feeble Stormrage chant, but Smith powers through it.

Sam: "Just stop faking it, Stormrage. Admit it, you're glad Howard's gone -- you're glad the spotlight's firmly focused on you now.

You disgust me, Stormrage. You're just another 'false prophet,' a golden boy to the masses -- like Tastic, like Reynolds was, like Showtime -- but deep down inside, you're a monster. At Ascension 59, I'm going to expose you in front of all these people. I'll humiliate you.

I'll see you then, Mikey."

Smith drops the mic in the ring and trots up the ramp, basking in the storm of boos coming his way from the fans.

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Hours after his altercation with his brother, Sam Smith rushes toward Chelsea Shaw's house, still covered in grass and dirt from the fight with his brother, and pounds on the door.

Chelsea opens the door, alarmed at the sight of Sam.

Chelsea: "Sam, you're not supp--"

Sam interrupts her.

Sam: "Did you know?! Did Scott tell you?!"

Chelsea: "Tell me what, Sam?"

Sam: "About my old man?"

Chelsea purses her lips, and reaches her hand out to Sam's shoulder.

Chelsea: "Sam, I'm so sorry."

Sam brushes her hand off and begins walking away.

Sam: "You owed it to me to tell me about him. Goodbye, Chelsea."

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]xwAxA7ARz5o[/YOUTUBE]

♪As the war between light and darkness continues
Heroes and villains become harder to identify
Kindred spirits separated at birth
Fighting for their place in time to be solidified
The clock ticks faster and faster
While time runs a marathon in this babylon
But see, the end is only the beginning
The beginning of the calm before the storm.♪

The music hummed from the radio as I sat alone in my room. The faint glow of the television was the only light in the room. The images replayed over and over.

Howard slides into the ring and helps Stormrage up to his feet, almost in tears as the referee hands them the tag team championships. Howard is very excited to hold onto these belts and hugs his partner as Saxton slowly pulls Saboteur out of the ring. Saxton and Howard catch eyes and both men nod to each other as a sign of respect. The crowd continues clapping and cheers for both teams as Saxton heads up with the ramp with a limp Saboteur whilst Howard helps Stormrage to his feet. Saxton and Saboteur thank the fans for the support as the head up the ramp and through the curtain. Howard and Stormrage hold up the tag team titles in victory and a smile on their face... but Howard's face turns from a smile into concern as he pushes Stormrage out of the way as two attackers slide into the ring and double-team Howard. It is Derek Jacobs and Mason Westhoff of the New Church leading the assault.

The attackers are teaming up on Howard with shot after shot without anything he can do. Stormrage tries to help but from another point in the crowd, The Grand Mystique appears and holds him back! Westhoff taunts him from inside the ring. The dastardly duo continue the beatdown on Howard before lifting him up and whipping him across the ring; Westhoff hits a spear on Howard with great impact. GM is forcing Mikey to watch. Jacobs immediately grabs Howard by the throat and hits Payday, slamming him into the ground. Westhoff signals for Jacobs to end this, setting up a powerbomb. Westhoff goes to the top rope; the Final Judgement connects on Howard who lands very, very awkwardly on his neck, bouncing off the canvas. Howard is not moving from that shot. The New Church look over to see what they have done as the crowd boos heavily with their faces telling that they took care of Howard too well. The Grand Mystique launches Mikey into the ring steps just as Saboteur and Saxton re-emerge from the ramp, sprinting as fast as they can to help out Howard. the New Church trio flee the ring through the crowd whence they came as Saboteur, Saxton and later Stormrage enters the ring. Mikey looks over Howard and things aren't looking too well. Saboteur and Saxton look to help but Stormrage doesn't want their help as trainers and medical personnel look over the fallen Howard. One of them holds up an X sign and a stretcher comes down the ramp.

"I promised vengeance for that day." I pressed the next chapter button.

Grand Mystique turns back around only to come face to face with an irate Stormrage, who unloads with a huge bomb that staggers the big man, forcing him to drop the chair. Mikey then grabs GM and slams his face hard into the ring apron and without letting go slams him onto the anounce table and then back onto the apron again, before rolling his opponent into the ring.

Mikey goes to follow but much like Saboteur just minutes before, something catches his eye. He bends down and picks up the chair that GM has only just dropped. As Mikey slides back into the ring so armed, GM is now in full begging off mode.

However, just as Mikey is in his backswing, his aim is switched by the return of Jacobs and Westhoff to the ring, with the former taking the full force of the chair right between the eyes!

"A small measure of revenge was exacted. I still hunger for more." I press the button to go to the next chapter.

Callahan pulls and rips at the turnbuckle, bursting it open as the referee steps in to try and prevent him from doing further damage. Drake starts yelling at the ref and actually shoves him into Stormrage. Mikey shoves the ref out of the way in order to attack Drake. Callahan though is faster than Mikey and ducks him, before firing off a dropkick into the corner. Mikey’s head cracks off the exposed turnbuckle and Callahan rolls him up with a schoolboy, imitating his earlier pin attempt: 1...2...3! Immediately, Drake bails out of the ring as Mikey’s head pops up, a rage across his face.

I rub the knot on my head. It isn't as painful as the separated jaw I suffered early in my career at the hands of Steven Holmes, but it was a nagging pain. The tape ends and the screen glows a bright white, revealing the contents of my wall. Taped onto the wall are pictures of Westhoff and Jacobs. Bible scriptures are plastered around them. In the middle of it all is a large picture of Grand Mystique. The picture of Jacobs has a large X through it, one member down. A few darts are sticking out of the walls, though most are well off the intended target.

I stand and begin to pace around the room. "It still isn't enough, why isn't it enough? I have to have this. I have to, to prove to myself, to everyone in the locker room, to my fans, that I can hang on my own. That I'm not just a sidekick. All I hear is Strikeforce this, Strikeforce that. Strikeforce is gone!"

My phone rings to let me know I've gotten a text. I walk over and check my phone. It is from my mom.

Michael you haven't returned my calls all week. I know you are wrapped up in your revenge quest or whatever it is, but you have gone down this road before. Just remember to ask yourself, What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?

The message didn't have the impact she had hoped. Instead of thinking of the road I was walking down again I thought of my opponent, Sam Smith. He turned his back on the fans, and for what? A history making Elite X title win? I knew for a fact that just because you make history winning titles in this company it doesn't guarantee you respect. No, he sold out the fans to become an afterthought. A sidekick to a man who was nothing more than a relic. He can go out and talk about wanting respect, but sell outs and sidekicks don't get respect, I'd been there.

I threw my phone onto my bed. I continued to walk around my room, before I eventually stopped at my bookcase and took out a book.

When I was a teenager I had gotten big into Eastern religion and had picked up a lot of books on Buddhism. I thumbed through the pages that I had placed sticky notes in for future reference. I finally found the page I was looking for.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.​

I thought the quote from The Buddha over. "I have already been burned. The only way to change a world built on violence is violence. I'm so far down this road I can't turn back."

I walked over and grabbed my phone from my bed and began to text my mom back.

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you this week mom. My mind has been everywhere. I honestly don't know where I am emotionally, but I have to see this through to the end. It isn't who I am, and even though it has driven me down another dark road, I have faith in myself that I can walk the line between the light and dark. Walking that line will help me win this week. I know I can beat Smith. He and I are honestly a lot alike. Both of us have had good but not great careers, both have history making title victories, and both of us are nothing more than a sidekick to a bigger star. The difference is I'm in the process of establishing myself on my own, I am still climbing the ladder. Smith got as high as he could and is now trying to ride someone elses coattails to the top. He had better hope when Rush is walking around backstage this week that he doesn't stop short, or Smith will be able to taste what Rush had for breakfast because his nose is so far up Rush's ass. The odds are against me right now, and everywhere I turn people are trying to turn me to the darkside. Luke Skywalker was able to resist the temptation, I know I can too. Right now I am down, but I can get back up, and when I do it will be the greatest comeback since Lazarus.