Post by EZRA on Dec 10, 2022 7:09:30 GMT -5
Continued from Dave Rydell’s Promo
“I fully understand, bro. No hard feelings. Like you said, it’s not personal at all. Both of us want to have possession of this,” Ezra Wolf says as he places the Cross-Hemisphere Championship over his shoulder. “And Miss Vee stealing it earlier is the closest she’s getting to this belt ever again.”
“You’re right. We agree on that one hundred percent.” Dave Rydell says as he extends his hand. “May the best man win. BRO.”
Ezra smirks and returns the favor, firmly shaking hands with Dave.
“Trust me, Uncle Dave. He will.”
Ezra places both titles inside his bag after letting go of the handshake.
“See you at Horizons, bro.”
He shifts the bag onto his shoulder and exits the locker room as the scene fades.
We open to Ezra on the phone. He sits on the edge of his bed while still fully clothed with his unpacked suitcase sitting on the bed next to him.
“No-no. It’s okay. You’re not interrupting anything. I just got home from the airport, so I appreciate the update. Thank you.”
Ezra hangs up the phone and sets it on the bed. He then puts his head in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. He sits like that for a moment before Nora comes in. She stands in the doorway for a briefly before walking over and putting her hand on Ezra’s back. He looks up at her and puts his arm around her waist then rests his head against her thigh.
“Who was that, love?” she asks softly.
“Zeke’s mom. He’s still in the hospital.” Ezra says, looking up at her. “They’re keeping him on the mental health floor for now. They’ve run some assessments and evaluations. Kept him in restraints for the first 48 hours just to be safe since he was rather escalated when they brought him in.”
Nora stops rubbing his back and sits down on the bed next to him.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this match? I think you need a break, Ezra.”
He shakes his head ‘no’ and kneels down in front of Nora, holding her hands.
“I can’t back out now. Not with the momentum I’ve developed over the last month. Plus, Horizons is the last event of the year. One more match won’t hurt.”
“I understand that. Your head doesn’t seem into it though. I don’t want you getting hurt out there because you’re thinking about Zeke instead of your opponents.”
“I’ll be fine by the time the show comes around. While other people like Miss Vee can make up excuses to no-show a match, that’s not me. Zeke would be PISSED if he knew I backed out of this match because I was worried about him. I can’t do that. I won’t do that.”
Nora kisses him on the forehead and pulls him back up to his feet as she stands up.
“Promise me you won’t get hurt…?”
Ezra lets out a deep sigh with a smile.
“I can’t make that promise. Because shit can happen at a moment’s notice. The promise I can make is that I will go to into Chicago with that belt over my shoulder and do my best to make Zeke proud. And make YOU proud. I know there’s a lot on my plate right now. I also know that I can handle it. You’ll see.”
Suddenly, Ezra’s eyes light up.
“I have a great idea! Ezekiel will most likely still be in the hospital, how about you accompany me to the ring? You can come out onto the ramp then go to the back. I don’t want Miss Vee or her hoes getting any crazy ideas if you were at ringside. What do you think?”
A broad smile comes across her face as Nora nods excitedly.
“Hell yes! I think that is an awesome idea! Can I pick a special song for you to come out to? I’ve had an idea for one for a bit, but I know how much you like ‘Greatness or Death’. This could be a one-night thing.”
“Fuck yeah. What do you have in mind?”
Nora goes to grab her phone as a smile matching hers comes across Zeke’s face. He’s clearly in better spirits then he was earlier. We fade out as Nora comes back into the room.
Late 2010’s, Unnamed Medical Institution
“How’s he doing, Dr. Reynolds?” the doctor asked to his colleague. “Any changes since he broke his supposed fast?”
Judging by his name tag, this is the ‘Dr. Bernard’ that was previously mentioned in this story. The two men stand outside an observation window.
“Not much of a change. He started eating then subsequently he quit talking.”
“If he isn’t talking then how are his sessions with his psychiatrist going? Can’t be getting much progress if he won’t speak.”
Dr. Reynolds looks through some notes on his clipboard before answering.
“Fortunately, he still talks to her. Only her though. No amount of coaxing has altered these new behaviors.”
“You’re right. That is fortunate. That will help his mental scars. How are the physical ones that we saw upon his admission? Especially the one on his chest. What was it he carved? A name, yes?”
Again, Dr. Reynolds looks through his clipboard before answering his superior.
“Yes sir. He carved the word ‘SCARLET’ into his chest. They’re healing nicely though. He was found in time before he lost too much blood.”
“Who was it that found him and called emergency services?”
“His girlfriend, Odette. He was adamant that he didn’t harm himself and that his ‘girlfriend’ did it. But this 'Odette’ was nowhere near the scene. Police verified she was at work and returned home to find him in a state of peril.”
“What about this ‘Scarlet’? Do the police know of her whereabouts?”
“No sir. And when we contacted Ezekiel’s family, they stated that no one has seen her in quite some time.”
Dr. Bernard takes Dr. Reynolds clipboard and flips through it briefly before handing it back.
“Get him a new psychiatrist. Make sure they’re qualified to participate in sessions with him, but also make sure it’s a male. See how he does. If he decides to continue being non-verbal then we’ll have to re-think his current treatment program.”
“Yes sir. I’ll take care of this right away.”
The scene opens up inside the United Center the day before Horizons. Everything is set up and in its place in accordance with the demands of The Consortium. Standing in the center of the ring in this empty arena is Ezra Wolf. He had decided to head to Chicago early to get in the right mindset before his big title defense. Ezra stands leaning forward against the ropes, arms hanging loosely over them.
“This match was supposed to take place at Keeper of the Keys before Miss Vee developed a case of the sniffles and took her ball and went home. Instead, myself and Uncle Dave tore the fuckin’ house down in New Orleans while she sat on her ass. Horizons is supposed to be our Super Bowl. I’d say I’m a bit pissed off knowing that instead of some big rematch between myself and Uncle Dave, Miss Vee weaseled her way back in just to try and get some spotlight on herself.”
A clearly frustrated Ezra pushes himself off the ropes and begins pacing inside the ring.
“The worst thing about her is that she attempts to sound so confident in her abilities in this ring, yet she fails again and again and AGAIN. She gets a handful of wins against scabs or legends who have fallen from grace and suddenly she’s god’s gift to wrestling. You beat the lesser of two Rydells, bro. Congratulations. He beat you just last month in that match that YOU lost for us. Now you’re even so sit down and shut up. You can’t get it done in the ring and your logic is to film yourself getting fucked by a bunch of concubines? Like that is supposed to make you seem like a threat! You act like some rising star when in reality, your star has been fading since our first match.”
Ezra stops pacing and looks directly into the camera.
“You’re a delusional bitch. Plain and simple. If you think you stand any chance in winning tomorrow, you’re certifiably insane, Vespertine. That’s right. I used your real name because I’m just about done humoring you and your ego. Call in sick tomorrow, bro. Don’t show up. Tuck your tail and run just like you did the last time this match was scheduled. Because tomorrow, I’m going to hurt you. I’m going to make you wish that you never showed up to UGWC in the first place. I used to think it was a funny coincidence that we debuted here on the same date. Not anymore. Now it’s just a shining example of two separate paths. Blue pill versus red pill. Two separate forks in the road. Because as I make my way towards a legendary career, you will simply stay at the fuckin’ bottom where you belong. And if I don’t end you tomorrow, I know Uncle Dave is in a certain kind of mood and he’s looking to do the same thing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He takes few slow and deep breaths to calm down his anger a bit. Ezra then moves towards the corner and takes a seat as the camera pans around to be in front of him.
“And now that brings me to my other opponent. Uncle Dave. Before you get upset about the words that are about to come out of my mouth, remember what you said last Monday in the locker room after Synergy. Until the night after Horizons, we’re enemies. Just keep that in mind, my dude.”
A slight smile crosses his face, and he scratches his eyebrow, almost stalling like he is hesitant to speak his mind.
“I could go on some rant of biblical proportions in the vein of Jules Winnfield. Quoting passages from the Book of Ezekiel, yelling about great vengeance and furious anger and being my brother’s keeper. That’s not necessary though, dude. Because when it comes down to it, there’s one simple thing to remember. I’m better than you. I proved it at Keeper of the Keys. And I’ll prove again it in just under 24 hours. Nothing personal, right? I’m going to feel HATE tomorrow, right? That’s what you said last week. Well, whatever you bring tomorrow it better be more than what you brought on November 7th. I beat you straight up. One on one. No tricks. Which makes me wonder what exactly you think will be different about tomorrow.”
Ezra gets back to his feet and stares directly into the camera once again.
“You’re going to feel more than hate. You both will feel more than hate. More than friendly competition. More than any pain you’ve felt from me thus far. Tomorrow I will prove that I have a death grip on the Cross-Hemisphere Championship! And I’ll be damned if two people I’ve already beaten are going to change that! This match isn’t the end of my journey. It’s just the beginning, my dudes.”
He exits the ring and walks towards the ramp, turning slightly to offer one last message.
“See you kids tomorrow.”
Backstage at Horizons, right before the Triple Threat
Ezra Wolf sits on his knees with the Cross-Hemisphere Championship hugged to his chest.
“In good times and bad,” he whispers “in sickness and in health. Till death do we part.”
The scene begins to fade as he is told to get to his position for his entrance.
“I fully understand, bro. No hard feelings. Like you said, it’s not personal at all. Both of us want to have possession of this,” Ezra Wolf says as he places the Cross-Hemisphere Championship over his shoulder. “And Miss Vee stealing it earlier is the closest she’s getting to this belt ever again.”
“You’re right. We agree on that one hundred percent.” Dave Rydell says as he extends his hand. “May the best man win. BRO.”
Ezra smirks and returns the favor, firmly shaking hands with Dave.
“Trust me, Uncle Dave. He will.”
Ezra places both titles inside his bag after letting go of the handshake.
“See you at Horizons, bro.”
He shifts the bag onto his shoulder and exits the locker room as the scene fades.
We open to Ezra on the phone. He sits on the edge of his bed while still fully clothed with his unpacked suitcase sitting on the bed next to him.
“No-no. It’s okay. You’re not interrupting anything. I just got home from the airport, so I appreciate the update. Thank you.”
Ezra hangs up the phone and sets it on the bed. He then puts his head in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. He sits like that for a moment before Nora comes in. She stands in the doorway for a briefly before walking over and putting her hand on Ezra’s back. He looks up at her and puts his arm around her waist then rests his head against her thigh.
“Who was that, love?” she asks softly.
“Zeke’s mom. He’s still in the hospital.” Ezra says, looking up at her. “They’re keeping him on the mental health floor for now. They’ve run some assessments and evaluations. Kept him in restraints for the first 48 hours just to be safe since he was rather escalated when they brought him in.”
Nora stops rubbing his back and sits down on the bed next to him.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this match? I think you need a break, Ezra.”
He shakes his head ‘no’ and kneels down in front of Nora, holding her hands.
“I can’t back out now. Not with the momentum I’ve developed over the last month. Plus, Horizons is the last event of the year. One more match won’t hurt.”
“I understand that. Your head doesn’t seem into it though. I don’t want you getting hurt out there because you’re thinking about Zeke instead of your opponents.”
“I’ll be fine by the time the show comes around. While other people like Miss Vee can make up excuses to no-show a match, that’s not me. Zeke would be PISSED if he knew I backed out of this match because I was worried about him. I can’t do that. I won’t do that.”
Nora kisses him on the forehead and pulls him back up to his feet as she stands up.
“Promise me you won’t get hurt…?”
Ezra lets out a deep sigh with a smile.
“I can’t make that promise. Because shit can happen at a moment’s notice. The promise I can make is that I will go to into Chicago with that belt over my shoulder and do my best to make Zeke proud. And make YOU proud. I know there’s a lot on my plate right now. I also know that I can handle it. You’ll see.”
Suddenly, Ezra’s eyes light up.
“I have a great idea! Ezekiel will most likely still be in the hospital, how about you accompany me to the ring? You can come out onto the ramp then go to the back. I don’t want Miss Vee or her hoes getting any crazy ideas if you were at ringside. What do you think?”
A broad smile comes across her face as Nora nods excitedly.
“Hell yes! I think that is an awesome idea! Can I pick a special song for you to come out to? I’ve had an idea for one for a bit, but I know how much you like ‘Greatness or Death’. This could be a one-night thing.”
“Fuck yeah. What do you have in mind?”
Nora goes to grab her phone as a smile matching hers comes across Zeke’s face. He’s clearly in better spirits then he was earlier. We fade out as Nora comes back into the room.
“Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.” ― Cormac McCarthy
Late 2010’s, Unnamed Medical Institution
“How’s he doing, Dr. Reynolds?” the doctor asked to his colleague. “Any changes since he broke his supposed fast?”
Judging by his name tag, this is the ‘Dr. Bernard’ that was previously mentioned in this story. The two men stand outside an observation window.
“Not much of a change. He started eating then subsequently he quit talking.”
“If he isn’t talking then how are his sessions with his psychiatrist going? Can’t be getting much progress if he won’t speak.”
Dr. Reynolds looks through some notes on his clipboard before answering.
“Fortunately, he still talks to her. Only her though. No amount of coaxing has altered these new behaviors.”
“You’re right. That is fortunate. That will help his mental scars. How are the physical ones that we saw upon his admission? Especially the one on his chest. What was it he carved? A name, yes?”
Again, Dr. Reynolds looks through his clipboard before answering his superior.
“Yes sir. He carved the word ‘SCARLET’ into his chest. They’re healing nicely though. He was found in time before he lost too much blood.”
“Who was it that found him and called emergency services?”
“His girlfriend, Odette. He was adamant that he didn’t harm himself and that his ‘girlfriend’ did it. But this 'Odette’ was nowhere near the scene. Police verified she was at work and returned home to find him in a state of peril.”
“What about this ‘Scarlet’? Do the police know of her whereabouts?”
“No sir. And when we contacted Ezekiel’s family, they stated that no one has seen her in quite some time.”
Dr. Bernard takes Dr. Reynolds clipboard and flips through it briefly before handing it back.
“Get him a new psychiatrist. Make sure they’re qualified to participate in sessions with him, but also make sure it’s a male. See how he does. If he decides to continue being non-verbal then we’ll have to re-think his current treatment program.”
“Yes sir. I’ll take care of this right away.”
“The worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance.” —Jim Rohn
The scene opens up inside the United Center the day before Horizons. Everything is set up and in its place in accordance with the demands of The Consortium. Standing in the center of the ring in this empty arena is Ezra Wolf. He had decided to head to Chicago early to get in the right mindset before his big title defense. Ezra stands leaning forward against the ropes, arms hanging loosely over them.
“This match was supposed to take place at Keeper of the Keys before Miss Vee developed a case of the sniffles and took her ball and went home. Instead, myself and Uncle Dave tore the fuckin’ house down in New Orleans while she sat on her ass. Horizons is supposed to be our Super Bowl. I’d say I’m a bit pissed off knowing that instead of some big rematch between myself and Uncle Dave, Miss Vee weaseled her way back in just to try and get some spotlight on herself.”
A clearly frustrated Ezra pushes himself off the ropes and begins pacing inside the ring.
“The worst thing about her is that she attempts to sound so confident in her abilities in this ring, yet she fails again and again and AGAIN. She gets a handful of wins against scabs or legends who have fallen from grace and suddenly she’s god’s gift to wrestling. You beat the lesser of two Rydells, bro. Congratulations. He beat you just last month in that match that YOU lost for us. Now you’re even so sit down and shut up. You can’t get it done in the ring and your logic is to film yourself getting fucked by a bunch of concubines? Like that is supposed to make you seem like a threat! You act like some rising star when in reality, your star has been fading since our first match.”
Ezra stops pacing and looks directly into the camera.
“You’re a delusional bitch. Plain and simple. If you think you stand any chance in winning tomorrow, you’re certifiably insane, Vespertine. That’s right. I used your real name because I’m just about done humoring you and your ego. Call in sick tomorrow, bro. Don’t show up. Tuck your tail and run just like you did the last time this match was scheduled. Because tomorrow, I’m going to hurt you. I’m going to make you wish that you never showed up to UGWC in the first place. I used to think it was a funny coincidence that we debuted here on the same date. Not anymore. Now it’s just a shining example of two separate paths. Blue pill versus red pill. Two separate forks in the road. Because as I make my way towards a legendary career, you will simply stay at the fuckin’ bottom where you belong. And if I don’t end you tomorrow, I know Uncle Dave is in a certain kind of mood and he’s looking to do the same thing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He takes few slow and deep breaths to calm down his anger a bit. Ezra then moves towards the corner and takes a seat as the camera pans around to be in front of him.
“And now that brings me to my other opponent. Uncle Dave. Before you get upset about the words that are about to come out of my mouth, remember what you said last Monday in the locker room after Synergy. Until the night after Horizons, we’re enemies. Just keep that in mind, my dude.”
A slight smile crosses his face, and he scratches his eyebrow, almost stalling like he is hesitant to speak his mind.
“I could go on some rant of biblical proportions in the vein of Jules Winnfield. Quoting passages from the Book of Ezekiel, yelling about great vengeance and furious anger and being my brother’s keeper. That’s not necessary though, dude. Because when it comes down to it, there’s one simple thing to remember. I’m better than you. I proved it at Keeper of the Keys. And I’ll prove again it in just under 24 hours. Nothing personal, right? I’m going to feel HATE tomorrow, right? That’s what you said last week. Well, whatever you bring tomorrow it better be more than what you brought on November 7th. I beat you straight up. One on one. No tricks. Which makes me wonder what exactly you think will be different about tomorrow.”
Ezra gets back to his feet and stares directly into the camera once again.
“You’re going to feel more than hate. You both will feel more than hate. More than friendly competition. More than any pain you’ve felt from me thus far. Tomorrow I will prove that I have a death grip on the Cross-Hemisphere Championship! And I’ll be damned if two people I’ve already beaten are going to change that! This match isn’t the end of my journey. It’s just the beginning, my dudes.”
He exits the ring and walks towards the ramp, turning slightly to offer one last message.
“See you kids tomorrow.”
Backstage at Horizons, right before the Triple Threat
Ezra Wolf sits on his knees with the Cross-Hemisphere Championship hugged to his chest.
“In good times and bad,” he whispers “in sickness and in health. Till death do we part.”
The scene begins to fade as he is told to get to his position for his entrance.