Post by EZRA on Nov 4, 2023 1:30:08 GMT -5
As the bell rang signifying his 4th successful defense of the Conquest Championship, Ezra Wolf got to his feet while Glenn Burke retrieved the title from ringside. A range of emotions overcame him while he stood on the turnbuckle with the title held high. He felt elation as he looked over the audience who were going crazy with cheers for both competitors after that battle. Ezra also felt a bit of disappointment as his current journey with the Conquest Championship was almost over. Whether he won his next match or not, it would be the end of that story.
Ezra raised his arms up once again as the crowd continued their frenzied tone. He stepped down, gave a nod to Avenger, then rolled out of the ring. He headed up the ramp and through the curtain as the scene switches from behind Ezra to in front as he passes through the Gorilla Position. The competitors for the next match were on deck and he was almost starstruck as he came through the curtain. Four people that could indisputably be labeled as the Mount Rushmore of UGWC.
Lucy. S-E-B. Donny. Deimos.
The four paid him no mind. Even though he could feel the heat of Donny’s stare on his back as he passed through. Ezra had stated multiple times lately that he agreed with Donny and was interested in being allies. Donny, on the other hand, didn’t seem to feel the same way. Also, defeating somebody in the ring usually didn’t make them want to be your friend or ally.
Usually.
Fighting in the ring was pretty much how Uncle Dave and Ezra had met. He had considered stopping by Dave’s locker room before his big match this evening. He had decided against it because he knew how focused Dave would need to be to triumph over Zaniac and he didn’t want to disturb him. There’d be time after the show to talk. No matter the outcome. He had faith in Uncle Dave, but he’d also tangled with Zaniac on multiple occasions. It was hard to tell who would be standing tall after that battle. As he walked the corridor towards his locker room, he made a mental note to give Dave a call once the show was over.
-----
-----
“The last time we crossed paths in singles action, you talked a lot about Ezekiel.”
The scene opens to Ezra Wolf seated on the ground his legs straight out in front of him. His eyes are closed as he leans forward, gripping the tops of his feet to stretch out his back.
“You said ‘The sins of the mentor must be visited upon the mentee; I shall have no regrets’. That’s all well and good, bro. It’s not a bad thing to live life without regrets. Except…”
Ezra bends his right knee so the bottom off his right foot is up against the side of his left knee.
“You lost that match, Phrixie. I know that tone sounds disrespectful. And most people would see it that way. You’d be wrong though. Just like I think that Donny is right in his motives to fight for change around here, I agree with you as well. You two want to be agents of change while struggling to gain any ground around here.”
He switches so now his left leg is in the figure four stretch.
“The last time we fought, you talked about a ‘brash and undisciplined youth’ taking gold from you. That was a reference to Ezekiel, but it resonated with me too, my dude. I took the same title from you that you’re itching to take from me at Keeper of the Keys. Like you mentioned back in April, my first reign as Conquest Champion was at your expense. That reign didn’t last long. But I’ll be damned if I come this far just to lose to someone I’ve beaten, bro.”
Ezra gets up and puts his feet about shoulder-width apart. He tilts his head back and extends his arms out into an upper back stretch.
“A lot of folks out here say the same thing about me. ‘He works harder than anybody but he’s not ready for the big time yet’ is what just about everyone has said in one way or another. Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re not. I’m one win away from my first World Title opportunity. One win away from a shot at immortality. People like you, Deimos, are already on their way to immortality. Listen to the way Zaniac talked about you last week. He spoke with almost a bit of reverence. THAT is how you show respect to your opponent. Not by talking about how much better you are than them or how they don’t stand a chance against you.”
He grabs his water bottle and takes a short swig before placing it back down next to his feet.
“While I’m optimistic about our match, I’m not overlooking you. Just like I didn’t overlook Donny, Vengy, or Alan. I’ve evolved in the last 6 months. In a lot of ways. And next week, I’ll show you firsthand, my dude.”
Ezra picks up his water bottle and heads down a trail at a jogging pace while the scene fades.
-----
-----
It’d been about two weeks since Roxy Malone had dug up an extra layer of dirt regarding the whole story between Ezra and his former trainer, mentor, and partner. It’d been just over two months since the truth was revealed about the lie that Ezra had been fed for years. And it’d been about three months since Ezra last found himself inside Zeke’s office. The last time he was here, he was seated behind the desk talking to Ezekiel about Konrad and preparing himself for the triple threat versus Zaniac and Lucy. Zeke been a bit amped up due to Zane’s remarks about pastures and such. Amped up enough that he challenged Zane to a match.
And now, a few months later and so much had changed. He had to rebuild the bridge that Ezekiel burned down. But that bitch was most definitely still under construction. And it could be torn back down at a moment’s notice. Ezra just needed a few more answers and Ezekiel was the only one who could deliver them.
“Thanks for coming over, kid.” Ezekiel says as he enters the room. He’s dressed in some workout gear instead of his usual suit with a towel in hand. His forehead is dry which shows he’s on his way out. He tosses the towel onto the desk before taking a seat behind it. “I see things are going good for you right now. Didn’t bring the belt with you?”
Ezra let out a sigh.
“Cut the shit, dude. Looks like you’re in a hurry anyways,” he says as he gestures towards the towel. “and I have a plane to catch. You know why I’m here. Where’s the rest of the footage?”
“Can’t help you with that, kid. I told you that on the phone.”
“Listen, you condescending prick. I looked into that rumor Roxy mentioned. About you paying somebody off to get the footage blacked out. Hindsight is a bitch, ain’t it. You regret the shit you pulled and tried to brainwash me into thinking somebody else did the damage. So where is the footage, bro.”
Ezekiel slaps his hands together like he’s cleaning them off them places them palms down on the desk.
“My hands are clean of this, Ezra. You saw the first Avengers movie, right? Everybody did. That bit where Loki tells the dude that the Tesseract has been taken somewhere that not even Loki knows. Genius move. I did have it blacked out. That part was right. But not because of any regrets. I was faced with potential lawsuits. Especially after I parted ways with Mickey. And I couldn’t tell you where it is.”
Ezra slams his hands down on the desk and rises to his feet.
“I’m not playing anymore games, dude. Who do I have to talk to? Some attorney douchebag?”
“I could give you his card,” Ezekiel says with a smirk. He digs into one of his desk drawers. “It’s in here somewhere. Ah. Here we go.”
He pulls his hand from the drawer but instead of a business card, he’s holding a joint. Ezra promptly slaps it out of his hand then pulls him up by his shirt. He slams him into the wall then throws him to the opposite side where he lands on a couch.
The smirk on Ezekiel’s face returns as this is exactly what he thought would happen. He adjusts his shirt and stands up. He reaches over the desk and back into the drawer, this time actually retrieving the card.
“Okay, okay, okay!” he says, backing up from a fuming Ezra. “Here. For real. That’s the attorney that helped me out.”
Ezekiel extends his arm out a bit with his index and middle finger clamped on a corner of the card. Ezra snatches it from his hand and looks it over. He flips it to inspect the back before looking back at Zeke.
“He better have it. Consider this me asking nicely, bro.”
Ezra heads towards the door but stops at the last minute.
“Ya know, I thought you’d make this more difficult. Put up more of a fight.”
“I don’t want to fight you. I know I fucked up. I have my reasons.”
“Elaborate on that.” Ezra says, leaning up against the doorframe.
“You needed a reason to come back here. And I gave you one. Zane Scott.”
“That’s bullshit. There could’ve been other people to focus on, bro.”
“That doesn’t matter. I gave you a reason and it worked. Look at all the success you’ve had here. You’re so close to getting a shot at the big belt.”
“And I did that WITHOUT you. You’re a fuckin’ liar. Just stay out of my way. And quit asking Anthony about me.”
“Alright. You got it.”
“Someday there might be a time where I don’t view you as a lying piece of shit. But for the indefinite future, you’re a lying piece of shit.”
Ezra turns away from Ezekiel and heads down the hallway as the scene fades.
Ezra raised his arms up once again as the crowd continued their frenzied tone. He stepped down, gave a nod to Avenger, then rolled out of the ring. He headed up the ramp and through the curtain as the scene switches from behind Ezra to in front as he passes through the Gorilla Position. The competitors for the next match were on deck and he was almost starstruck as he came through the curtain. Four people that could indisputably be labeled as the Mount Rushmore of UGWC.
Lucy. S-E-B. Donny. Deimos.
The four paid him no mind. Even though he could feel the heat of Donny’s stare on his back as he passed through. Ezra had stated multiple times lately that he agreed with Donny and was interested in being allies. Donny, on the other hand, didn’t seem to feel the same way. Also, defeating somebody in the ring usually didn’t make them want to be your friend or ally.
Usually.
Fighting in the ring was pretty much how Uncle Dave and Ezra had met. He had considered stopping by Dave’s locker room before his big match this evening. He had decided against it because he knew how focused Dave would need to be to triumph over Zaniac and he didn’t want to disturb him. There’d be time after the show to talk. No matter the outcome. He had faith in Uncle Dave, but he’d also tangled with Zaniac on multiple occasions. It was hard to tell who would be standing tall after that battle. As he walked the corridor towards his locker room, he made a mental note to give Dave a call once the show was over.
-----
“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” - Buddha
-----
“The last time we crossed paths in singles action, you talked a lot about Ezekiel.”
The scene opens to Ezra Wolf seated on the ground his legs straight out in front of him. His eyes are closed as he leans forward, gripping the tops of his feet to stretch out his back.
“You said ‘The sins of the mentor must be visited upon the mentee; I shall have no regrets’. That’s all well and good, bro. It’s not a bad thing to live life without regrets. Except…”
Ezra bends his right knee so the bottom off his right foot is up against the side of his left knee.
“You lost that match, Phrixie. I know that tone sounds disrespectful. And most people would see it that way. You’d be wrong though. Just like I think that Donny is right in his motives to fight for change around here, I agree with you as well. You two want to be agents of change while struggling to gain any ground around here.”
He switches so now his left leg is in the figure four stretch.
“The last time we fought, you talked about a ‘brash and undisciplined youth’ taking gold from you. That was a reference to Ezekiel, but it resonated with me too, my dude. I took the same title from you that you’re itching to take from me at Keeper of the Keys. Like you mentioned back in April, my first reign as Conquest Champion was at your expense. That reign didn’t last long. But I’ll be damned if I come this far just to lose to someone I’ve beaten, bro.”
Ezra gets up and puts his feet about shoulder-width apart. He tilts his head back and extends his arms out into an upper back stretch.
“A lot of folks out here say the same thing about me. ‘He works harder than anybody but he’s not ready for the big time yet’ is what just about everyone has said in one way or another. Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re not. I’m one win away from my first World Title opportunity. One win away from a shot at immortality. People like you, Deimos, are already on their way to immortality. Listen to the way Zaniac talked about you last week. He spoke with almost a bit of reverence. THAT is how you show respect to your opponent. Not by talking about how much better you are than them or how they don’t stand a chance against you.”
He grabs his water bottle and takes a short swig before placing it back down next to his feet.
“While I’m optimistic about our match, I’m not overlooking you. Just like I didn’t overlook Donny, Vengy, or Alan. I’ve evolved in the last 6 months. In a lot of ways. And next week, I’ll show you firsthand, my dude.”
Ezra picks up his water bottle and heads down a trail at a jogging pace while the scene fades.
-----
“We need the skeletons of other stories to understand our own, sometimes.” – Lauren Groff
-----
It’d been about two weeks since Roxy Malone had dug up an extra layer of dirt regarding the whole story between Ezra and his former trainer, mentor, and partner. It’d been just over two months since the truth was revealed about the lie that Ezra had been fed for years. And it’d been about three months since Ezra last found himself inside Zeke’s office. The last time he was here, he was seated behind the desk talking to Ezekiel about Konrad and preparing himself for the triple threat versus Zaniac and Lucy. Zeke been a bit amped up due to Zane’s remarks about pastures and such. Amped up enough that he challenged Zane to a match.
And now, a few months later and so much had changed. He had to rebuild the bridge that Ezekiel burned down. But that bitch was most definitely still under construction. And it could be torn back down at a moment’s notice. Ezra just needed a few more answers and Ezekiel was the only one who could deliver them.
“Thanks for coming over, kid.” Ezekiel says as he enters the room. He’s dressed in some workout gear instead of his usual suit with a towel in hand. His forehead is dry which shows he’s on his way out. He tosses the towel onto the desk before taking a seat behind it. “I see things are going good for you right now. Didn’t bring the belt with you?”
Ezra let out a sigh.
“Cut the shit, dude. Looks like you’re in a hurry anyways,” he says as he gestures towards the towel. “and I have a plane to catch. You know why I’m here. Where’s the rest of the footage?”
“Can’t help you with that, kid. I told you that on the phone.”
“Listen, you condescending prick. I looked into that rumor Roxy mentioned. About you paying somebody off to get the footage blacked out. Hindsight is a bitch, ain’t it. You regret the shit you pulled and tried to brainwash me into thinking somebody else did the damage. So where is the footage, bro.”
Ezekiel slaps his hands together like he’s cleaning them off them places them palms down on the desk.
“My hands are clean of this, Ezra. You saw the first Avengers movie, right? Everybody did. That bit where Loki tells the dude that the Tesseract has been taken somewhere that not even Loki knows. Genius move. I did have it blacked out. That part was right. But not because of any regrets. I was faced with potential lawsuits. Especially after I parted ways with Mickey. And I couldn’t tell you where it is.”
Ezra slams his hands down on the desk and rises to his feet.
“I’m not playing anymore games, dude. Who do I have to talk to? Some attorney douchebag?”
“I could give you his card,” Ezekiel says with a smirk. He digs into one of his desk drawers. “It’s in here somewhere. Ah. Here we go.”
He pulls his hand from the drawer but instead of a business card, he’s holding a joint. Ezra promptly slaps it out of his hand then pulls him up by his shirt. He slams him into the wall then throws him to the opposite side where he lands on a couch.
The smirk on Ezekiel’s face returns as this is exactly what he thought would happen. He adjusts his shirt and stands up. He reaches over the desk and back into the drawer, this time actually retrieving the card.
“Okay, okay, okay!” he says, backing up from a fuming Ezra. “Here. For real. That’s the attorney that helped me out.”
Ezekiel extends his arm out a bit with his index and middle finger clamped on a corner of the card. Ezra snatches it from his hand and looks it over. He flips it to inspect the back before looking back at Zeke.
“He better have it. Consider this me asking nicely, bro.”
Ezra heads towards the door but stops at the last minute.
“Ya know, I thought you’d make this more difficult. Put up more of a fight.”
“I don’t want to fight you. I know I fucked up. I have my reasons.”
“Elaborate on that.” Ezra says, leaning up against the doorframe.
“You needed a reason to come back here. And I gave you one. Zane Scott.”
“That’s bullshit. There could’ve been other people to focus on, bro.”
“That doesn’t matter. I gave you a reason and it worked. Look at all the success you’ve had here. You’re so close to getting a shot at the big belt.”
“And I did that WITHOUT you. You’re a fuckin’ liar. Just stay out of my way. And quit asking Anthony about me.”
“Alright. You got it.”
“Someday there might be a time where I don’t view you as a lying piece of shit. But for the indefinite future, you’re a lying piece of shit.”
Ezra turns away from Ezekiel and heads down the hallway as the scene fades.