Lethal Lottery VIII: Heavyweight Championship Garth Black vs Mikey Stormrage

[Dave]

It has been only one PPV cycle since Garth Black managed to win his first ever Heavyweight Championship crown. But since then, WZCW has begun to shape around the new Champion. He has put down his marker with some great performances over the last few weeks. However, he now finds himself up against the former Champion in a rematch for his beloved Championship.

Mikey Stormrage has found himself involved with Eve Taylor, on the other hand, a person who was able to best Garth Black only a few weeks ago. Can Eve give Mikey the inspiration to beat the Champion and claim back the Heavyweight Championship once and for all? Or is Garth Black's mission for equality in WZCW heading to Kingdom Come as Heavyweight Champion? The Lethal Lottery will tell is all.


RP deadline is Monday the 17th of October at 23:59

Extensions unavailable.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

"Do you think if we jumped we would feel it when we hit the ground?"

I stopped looking out the window and looked over at Eve, who appeared to be suffering the effects of multiple flights in the span of just a few days. She looked back, her eyes heavy.

"As tired as I feel, I'm tempted to jump because it means I would get to rest."

I shook my head and smiled, putting my arm around Eve's shoulders.

"You rest, I'm going to see where the stewardess is so I can get some peanuts."

As I got up from my seat and went in search of food, I thought about everything that Eve had sacrificed to get to where she was. She was one of, if not the top model in the world. She overcame the longest of odds to get to that point. Then she gave it all away, the glory and the fame and the money, in an attempt to become a professional wrestler. The odds she overcame were far greater than anything I feel I had faced in life. Far greater than anything that Garth Black would whine about having to overcome. Far greater even than the challenge that I faced in my attempt to get my World Title back.

"Can I help you sir?"

The voice of the stewardess took me out of my train of thought.

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could get some peanuts or something to snack on? Maybe a bottled water too? Actually make that two bottled waters."

"Just a second sir."

The stewardess disappeared behind a curtain and a few moments later returned with two bottled waters and a bag of peanuts for me. I walked back to my seat.

"Hey Eve, I got some..."

I stopped as I realized that Eve was fast asleep. She had been in Milan just the day before, and now we were on our way to Phoenix for Lethal Lottery. Eve was considered by many to be a favorite to win the Lottery this year. She was on a roll, with big wins over myself and Garth Black while we held the gold. In fact, were it not for me losing my head on Ascension, she would have been on a nice undefeated streak headed into the match. For the first time in a long time, I felt bad for the loss. I felt bad after every loss, but this was different. It was something I never felt with James Howard, something I never felt with Matt Tastic. This was something I hadn't felt in years. I cared about her career and costing her wins. I cared about Eve's well being. I just legit cared for everything about her. Could it be that I was in love with Eve?

Attention passengers, please fasten your seat belts as we are about to make our descent into Phoenix.

The voice of the pilot over the loud speaker took my mind off my feelings for Eve quickly. Instead of waking Eve, I reached over and buckled her seat belt for her. I had a nice chance to get a view down Eve's shirt, but I uncharacteristically looked away. Maybe I did have deep feelings for her.

After a bumpy landing Eve awoke.

"Are we there?"

Eve spoke while yawning.

I nodded my head.

"Just got here Sleeping Beauty."

Eve smiled that smile that only she could, and my heart melted.

We made our way off the plane, stopping here and there to sign the odd autograph and pose for the random picture as we made our way through the terminal to our awaiting taxi. Once we got outside, I instantly felt the infamous Phoenix heat. Neither Eve or myself were ready for it. Even in mid October, it was scorching.

"Oh my God! It's like standing on the sun!"

"This city should not exist. It is a monument to man's arrogance."

We took a couple more pictures while we waited for our taxi. As I snapped some pics for fans with Eve, I saw the smile in her face that could only come from enjoying being photographed for a living. There was a part of me that wondered if she missed that life. It caused me to think back to my own life before wrestling and all the things I had given up to get to this point. I lost both my parents within a year of each other, both before World Title matches. I lost my only real girlfriend because of the grueling schedule I kept. Did Eve have a boyfriend? No, she would have mentioned that. In fact I didn't know much about Eve's love life. I just knew I had this new found feeling that I wanted to be a part of it.

Our taxi pulled up and I loaded Eve and my bags into the trunk and climbed in.

"Where you headed?"

I pulled out my phone and got the address.

"340 North 3rd Street"

"The Downtown Sheraton?"

"Yeah."

The cabbie pulled the car into drive and took off.

"So are you ready for your big match with Black?"

I sighed. I was unsure deep down.

"I'm not sure. I've never beaten Black. I've beaten the best this company has to offer. Titus, Ty Burna, Constantine, Matt Tastic, you name a name and I have beaten them. But Garth...never. Yeah he had help last time. Whoever those masked goons were, they really turned the tide of that match, but the fact remains that Garth walked out of that match with the championship held high."

"So? That night it was you battling with your best friend and Black. you showed how big of a man you really are when you refused to take out Tastic when you had a chance. That speaks volumes to your character."

"I appreciate that, but having character doesn't win you titles. Garth Black took something from me, he took something I sacrificed everything for, and I want it back. I'm just not sure if I can get it."

"Mikey, I have faith in you. You are the very best wrestler in this company. You have five titles on your mantle to prove it. You can beat Black. He is nothing but a fraud. He calls for equality, but he didn't give you a fair chance when he called in outside help to beat you. You can do this."

"You think so?"

"I know so!"

I smiled at Eve, my heart pumping with newfound confidence.

"Thanks."

"Garth Black took something from you that you sacrificed everything for, you said that yourself. I've seen you battle against the odds before. Constantine literally beat the teeth out of your mouth, but you overcame. You overcame the loss of your mother. You can do this. Don't let those sacrifices be in vein."

"You're right. I need to have faith in myself. This is me and Garth straight up, one on one. No Matt Tastic, no Hell in a Cell, no armed thugs. I know the thought of my succeeding makes a lot of people nauseous, but fuck 'em. It's just me in the fight of my life for the thing I hold dearest to my heart, the WZCW World Heavyweight Championship. Until I get it back, i am nothing. I am not complete, I am not a man."

Eve smiled at me, but it wasn't a full smile. It looked like something was on her mind, but she was afraid to say it. Before I could answer, our taxi arrived at the hotel and we checked in. We went to our rooms, promising to meet up again at the arena tomorrow.

I got to my room and threw my bag onto the floor. I sat around, my mind racing as to what could have upset Eve.

I went to take a shower to try to ease my mind.

My thoughts were still completely focused on what it could be that was causing Eve to look distressed. Suddenly it hit me. I grabbed a towel and ran down the hall. I wasn't sure which room was Eve's, so I banged on each door on the floor.

"Eve!"

No answer from that room.

"Eve!"

Again no answer.

"Eve!"

Eventually I heard a door open from behind me, and there was Eve. I ran to her, wrapped in only my towel, still dripping wet.

"I'm sorry. I know back in the car I said that the World Title was the thing that was dearest to me, but it isn't. It took a lot of thinking, but I realized, I don't need the title to be happy. I don't need it to be complete. It's you!"

"What do you mean?"

"You are what I need to be happy. There is something missing in my life, but it isn't some belt. It's love, and Eve I love you. I have ever since our failed date back in Edmonton. I know this is sudden and probably stupid. I know it isn't the type of thing to spring on you just a day before the biggest match of your life, but damn it I had to do it. I love you Eve Taylor."

I looked at Eve, who didn't say anything. She simply walked away and closed the door to her room behind her. I slumped against the wall, my eyes closed. I blew it.

I stood there for what felt like hours, until suddenly, I felt skin pressing against mine, and lips pressed to my face. I was being kissed deeply. I opened my eyes, and there was Eve, tears in her eyes as she leaned back in to kiss me. I felt my towel fall to the ground as I wrapped my arms around Eve, but I didn't care. I had Eve in my embrace and I wasn't going to let go. She pulled me back into her room, kicking the door closed behind her as we passionately kissed.

In the end, if I won my title back or not, it didn't matter because I would be happy, because Eve Taylor was mine.

 

[Tastycles]

A waiting room in an unassuming office building. A table littered with out of date magazines that have been read and reread a thousand times. A painting of a setting sun over a boat yard hangs on the wall, and beneath it on a battered green leather sofa sits Garth Black. His expression as lifeless as the dull grey wallpaper behind him. Picking at a loose layer of leather on the sofa, he seemed detached from his surroundings, as though he was there in body, but not in spirit. To the right of the painting was a Scott’s Porridge Oats promotional clock. The second hand was absent, broken, but yet the ticking sound of the clock still permeated the silence of the room. Tick. Tick. Tick. Beneath the clock, a closed door with the letters DR. JANE FRANCIS MD PSYCHIATRIST embossed on a brass plaque.

The door opened, and appearing in its doorway was Dr. Jane Francis. Dr. Francis was a younger than expected woman with shoulder length hair and deep brown eyes that gave very little away. She dressed conservatively, but where her pencil skirt finished, it revealed a glimpse of the tattooed skin beneath. Garth looked her up and down, but still his face remained expressionless. She beckoned him into her office, and he followed her lead.

The room was in much better condition than the waiting lobby, but it was still not particularly decorative. The walls were adorned with bookcases full of the works of Psychiatrists from over the ages. Or at least Garth thought they were probably psychiatrists – they all had German names. In the centre of the room were two chairs, separated by a small table that was home to a small box of tissues. With the exception of the bookcases and the slightly weeping rubber plant in the corner, they were the only furnishing in the room. Dr. Francis beckoned for Garth to sit in the chair with its back to the door, and he acquiesced. She took her seat opposite.

A tense pause. Looking into her eyes for some reaction, Garth remained stoic. Dr. Francis had all the time in the world and she looked back into his. A ten-ton polar bear couldn’t break this ice, total radio silence maintained by all parties. Who would blink first? Who would show their hand? Eventually Dr. Francis began to talk.

Dr. Francis: So tell me how you came to be in this office?

Black's expression finally changed. An arid desert of apathy was succumbing to a flash flood of frustration and despair. Black didn't want it to be this way, he thought he was past it, but that clearly was not the case. He sat staring at her for a few seconds but it seemed in his mind like a hundred thousand years. After several abortive attempts, he finally began to speak.

Garth Black: I should be on top of the world. I should be ecstatic with my lot, I should be delighted with the situation I find myself in. It's one of the great storylines isn't it - the triumph over adversity. Every single fibre of my being was focussed on erasing the injustices that befell me. My work held me back, held me down for years and I finally beat them and now I just feel...

Directionless. I feel like I've been a runaway locomotive for the past year. Ever since I beat Hunnicutt at Kingdom Come I've been gathering momentum. Moving forward. The train's been getting faster and faster, and poor saps are getting caught in the cow-catcher on the front.

Then a couple of months ago it happened, the fattest cow of all caught in the catcher, Mikey Stormrage. And then I was reaching the top of the mountain when the train, just...kind...of... ran out of steam.

As soon as he said the last few words, his speech also ran out of steam. Dr. Francis allowed him space to decide if he was to continue, but instead he sat still before moving the palm of his hand to his face.

After a few seconds he composed himself. He wanted to continue, but he didn't really know what to say. He felt he had cleared his chest, but he still felt consumed by emptiness. Eventually he continued, free forming words as they came from his mouth.

Garth Black: You know, when I was a kid I never really got much for Christmas or my Birthday. I remember one year I got an IOU because my dad took the money from my Birthday card to pay the gas bill.

But one year, I guess I must have been about 7 or 8, we were pretty flush with money. Unusually. I really wanted this Lego Petrol Station so much. I asked for it, and asked for it and asked for it, you know? My poor mother probably heard more about the Lego Petrol Station than she did about anything else.

Eventually, she said to me that if I was good, I could have it for Christmas. So I worked. I worked hard. I raked the garden, I hoovered the living room, I dusted the top of the bookcases, which for a child that age may as well be scaling Everest. I did everything.

My brother, he was jealous that I was getting the praise so he used to undermine me. He'd kick the pile of leaves I raked all over the garden, he'd spill crisps on the living room floor, he'd hide the stepladder and duster so I couldn't get up the bookcase.

My dad was indifferent too, but my mum, as good as her word, got me the Lego petrol station for Christmas.

When the day came, I was so excited. I ran downstairs, opened it up and built the whole thing in about 35 minutes. I'd done it. I'd worked for it, I'd got it and I'd built it. All of the hopes and desires I'd had up to that point in my life were fulfilled. And you know what I did next?

Dr. Francis: No?

Garth Black: I put it on the shelf in my bedroom. I've moved it with me everywhere I've gone, but it's been gathering dust on bedroom shelves for 30 years.

Dr. Francis looked at Black and gave him time to speak his mind. It became clear that he didn't have anything else to add so she began to speak.

Dr. Francis: It's natural for people who have had to put in an almighty effort to reach a pinnacle to feel directionless when they get there. I know that you have found yourself on top after a struggle, but it's hard to know where to go from here.

Garth Black: I feel like I'm on top of the world, but all I can see from the top is a vast expanse of emptiness. I know I still have challenges, I know I still have things to overcome, and that the greater powers won't relent in their quest to keep me down, but ultimately I just feel empty.

We have a show coming up, and there's all this buzz about the Hollow Ones. These guys are coming to take over. But they needn't bother, because the World Champion feels like he's the hollowest guy in the world.

Dr. Francis: You've spoken lots about hollowness and emptiness. What do you feel could fill that hole?

Garth sighed. He had to compose himself before continuing.

Garth Black: I...

I...

I don't really know. I guess that's why I've come here. I mean I look at Mikey and I see a guy who was in over his head. I mean, in his own way he had to fight adversity to get to the top, but he shouldn't really have been there. But when he was there he made the most of it. He started making moves on Eve Taylor and now they seem to be happy.

I know I managed to bury the hatchet with Phoenix last week and beat them both, but winning at a wrestling match doesn't mean you're winning at life.

Dr. Francis: Are you jealous of them?

Garth Black: I guess I am. I was distracted enough by it to let Eve beat me the other week. Look, I have no doubt I'm better than him, and I've proven it a thousand times. I will win the fight, but at least he knows what he's fighting for.

Dr. Francis: And what do you think you might be fighting for?

Garth Black: I don't know. Myself, I guess. I thought I was fighting for the little guy, but I got to the top and nothing has changed. The same old people are front and centre and I still get spoken of as being liked by only a few.

Listen, I don't feel as dejected as I once did. I don't feel like I'll go back to the substances and I feel a lot better for getting this off my chest, but it's not easy.

Dr. Francis: I understand and appreciate that. We can build on it next session.

Garth Black: Thanks a lot for today, I feel like we're getting somewhere.

They awkwardly shook hands as Garth made good his escape from the office with an air of renewed optimism. He got back to his flat and went to the bedroom. He pulled the Lego Petrol Station off the shelf and dusted it off with a cloth in his hand. The dust was thick, and he soon realised that the only way he could clean it would be to take it apart. He did so, meticulously cleaning as he went. When he had finally finished, he sat at the desk in his room. He looked at the photograph of his mother on the desk and laid down the first brick.

Rebuilding.