MD38 - Big Dave vs. Austin Reynolds

[Phoenix]

One of Karnage's challengers at Redemption Austin Reynolds will take on his buddy and partner, the EurAsian Champion, Big Dave. Both men have been on impressive form of late and neither will look to back down with the pay per view drawing near. But with Karnage lerking nearby, will Austin be keeping watch of his back going into this match?

Deadline is Monday 5th April 23:59 EST

 

[a0161613]

Austin’s sweat-soaked forehead rises up slowly as he fights up from the reverse hammerlock which has grounded him face-first on the grimy blue canvas.

Austin: “Arrrrgh”

A fierce grimace and grumbling yell signals a fightback. Austin kicks at the leg behind him which releases the hold. He then turns and faces the sparring partner opposite him. Austin hits an arm drag and then shoots for a single leg takedown before swiftly applying a stiff leg lock, which forces the young man to quit.

Austin kips up and turns around to grab towel from the turnbuckle. He is ignorant to the young man who has just spent the last five minutes putting him through his paces and is now is considerable pain.

“Happy?” Austin’s throws the towel down to Dominic who has been studiously looking on from ringside.

Dominic: “Depends. Have you learnt your lesson yet?”

“Dom, I get it OK. I f**ked up.”

“Damn right you did and now you have to go to Redemption and face two challengers when that title shot was yours to lose.”

“You can’t make me feel any worse than I already do about that.”

“But I can try right?” Dominic throws the towels back and Austin hops over the top rope and walks to the changing room.

Twenty minutes later and Austin is just about finished getting changed and Dominic is waiting in Austin’s Nissan 350Z in the car park. Austin gets in and in seconds they are roaring out of the car park.

“I need to tell you something about the meeting I had with Bateman. He...”

“You told me everything. He thinks I’m great.” Austin leans out the window casually, controlling the car with a couple of fingers on the base of the wheel.

“Yeah but...”

“But what.....”

“I didn’t tell you that he was equally......generous with his praise of Beckford and Karnage.”

They roar up to some traffic lights and Austin has to hit the brakes just to stop in time.

“Why the hell are you telling me this now?”

“You need to go and prove to Bateman this week that you are the future. You are the man to lead this company and thrive at the top with the Elite X title around your waist. I know it and I need to show Bateman exactly how good you are.”

A beep from the developing line of traffic behind them prompts Austin to put his foot down and lay a track of burnt rubber beneath the wheels

“OK.....OK I’ll go and do just that.”

“And you are facing Big Dave this week.”

Austin smirks with only half an eye on the road.

“That boring prick?”

“Boring?”

“Yeah I mean Big Dave is hardly a name that equals ratings is it?”

Dominic tries to conceal his smirk. He needs to motivate Austin and focus him on the upcoming task in hand.

“Well, that boring prick is EurAsian champ so don’t underestimate him, OK?”

“The guy has got so lucky. He has been enveloped inside the protective embryo of a tag team, a dysfunctional stable that was designed to hold everyone back apart from Ricky at its’ head.”

“And he thought that when that fell apart, when his tag partner broke his neck, that he knew what suffering was? That he saw it first-hand and knew what it meant to endure pain and torment? He will have to figure out that he has no one to take the bullet for him now and that I am going to come at him hard and fast.”

Austin seems to be channelling verbal diarrhoea but his driving has certainly calmed down. Dominic is happy to let him carry on while that continues.

“He probably forgot what it was like to take pain because everything has been going so well for him, well he is going to get a very swift reminder. I beat his tag partner and I will do the double. It’ll be a great warm up for Redemption.”

Dominic is clearly impressed that Austin’s focussed on his big debut on Meltdown.

“Don’t forget that he has worked with Karnage in the rWO, so don’t be surprised to see him scout you or at least try and cost you the win.”

“Yeah, between him and Beckford, I say bring it on. I don’t need muscle and I don’t need any henchmen to do my handiwork for me. The ratings say I am great. I know it, you know it, the management know it......Did you see the breakdown for my match last week?”

Dom chuckles. If nothing else, Austin could make his friend laugh.

“No.”

“It’s true. I AM THE RATINGS WINNER!!”

They both laugh loudly as they roar down the highway.

 

[Phoenix]

The room is dark except for a beam of light coming down from the ceiling, the sound of foot steps beat across the floor until Big Dave appears in the light with his EurAsian Championship Belt around his waist. He stands in the light not paying attention to the camera direction or anything around him, he just stands in silence until

Did you hear that?

You can hear it can’t you?

It’s wonderful isn’t it?

The sound of steel meeting human flesh, multiple times, it’s invigorating. The smell of revenge is greater than a dish best served cold, but it is the sight of watching it that makes it greater. The saliva building in my mouth, the taste is like no other. I knew Showtime could feel the contact of every impact I made and how touching it felt when I stared into his eyes. You can never know how truly you affect someone unless you stimulate all their senses into a state that they cannot compute with it all at once. That’s what Showtime will personally feel come Redemption, the thoughts of what he saw me do to Trevor Steel will haunt him until I release him and he gets to experience that first hand.

Dave slowly turns towards the light

And then, there’s Austin Reynolds. A man I can’t decide whether to respect him for having similar characteristics to myself, like exposing Steel for what he really is, or to despise him for being a somewhat minor version of my opponent at Redemption. The ratings, the glitz, the glamour, it’s all he sees and all he knows. So I have returned to this place which brings me closer to what’s inside your mind, what truly lies there.


Listen…


…this is the sound that Austin hates the most, silence. You give him this true sound of what he experiences every night before he sleeps, I’m not surprised he’s an insomniac by now. That’s what makes myself different to Austin, is that I can cope with the silence because it brings out what is truly within you. If Austin was in this place right now, he would be going insane, begging for lights, cameras and agents to go with his studio audience, the people that he thinks he draws in. If the ratings meant so much to me, I would be exactly where you are, having nothing but promises I can’t fulfil. Embrace what I managed Austin, be a success without living in a state of mind that is beyond your own reality. Awaken from within and realise the potential like I did, you may have a chance against Karnage at Redemption, let alone myself on Meltdown.



But just think about what happens when the referee slams his hand down for a third time as I cover your beaten and bruised body. The silence…deafening isn’t it?

Dave walks out of the light back into darkness as his footsteps pace out into the distance as the light starts to flicker, eventually going out.
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