Post by John Anthony on May 22, 2007 23:06:37 GMT -6
--> Weekly Role Play Session #1 <--
/*\ A "friendly" game of ball /*\
Daniel, Julia, and John Anthony sat at a square table beneath a simple balcony curtain as the afternoon sun blazed above. Cars whizzed by the little corner deli where the trio sat enjoying a rather mundane day. No sports to analyze, no odds to predict, no injuries to recuperate from. John felt as relaxed as possible considering he was sitting in a wooden chair with minimal cushioning. It was Julia’s idea to eat at such a low-strung deli in the middle of downtown. John had protested, but women always win these kind of arguments. She mentioned something about it “being good for him to get out of his normal environment for a change.” The three conversed on everything from the expansion of Bodog and how to get things rolling here in New Jersey concerning the new office, to how life had changed since leaving the gated palaces of Beverly Hills.
“Well if it isn’t the illustrious John Anthony.”
A voice from behind John called out as he turned his head to meet it. Raising his shades from his face, John tried to recognize the man standing before him but failed. John simply smiled, held out his hand, and replied; “That would be me.”
The unknown man shook John’s hand firmly. He stood tall, back straight, hair combed down. Dress slacks and a blazer adorned him as his other hand held firm a notepad with a rather fancy fountain tip pen attached. His face was clean shaven but intense. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead as he held his grip on John’s hand a moment too long. John slightly jerked his hand away and his smile became somewhat forced as his curiosity grew as to who this was.
“My name’s Jerry Thompson, reporter for the Dover Post in Delaware. It’s rather crisp out here, is it not?”
Ah, Delaware, site of the upcoming Super DVD event “Over in Dover.” No wonder this guy seemed so lost. The busy streets of Trenton, New Jersey were probably a new site for him. John replaced his shades, chuckled sarcastically, and invited the reporter to sit in the remaining unoccupied seat. Julia and Daniel sat with mixed expressions, both sipping at their drinks as the reporter pulled out his pad, twisted his pen open, and opened his mouth to speak.
“Whoa whoa there Mr. Thompson. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I haven’t agreed to an interview yet,” John stated.
“Oh, my apologies. It goes without saying that this is my first field report and I’m a bit anxious. Overzealous even. So if it’d be alright Mr. Anthony, I’d like to ask you a few questions regarding POW.”
“Fire away.”
“Ok, so how does it feel to be stuck on the “B”-Show?”
Daniel coughed on his drink upon hearing the arrogant question from Jerry. Julia couldn’t help but turn her head and stifle impending laughter, knowing that a question like that could incite a one-man riot from John. She turned back to see his expression and figured little mister reporter guy was lucky John was wearing shades, else he might scorch him alive with the flames in his eyes at that moment.
“Well I wouldn’t know Jerry -- it is alright if I call you by your first name, right? Good. The New England branch isn’t the “B”-Show. An expansion, yes, but not a second rate product. Mr. Lovejoy has put together a federation that, given time, will shine above the rest here in the northeast just as the Midwest branch does in their part of the country. We’re basically two parts of a whole. Now we might not be on the horizon of the single largest PPV event in wrestling history like POW: Midwest is, but that doesn’t make us anything less. When you have the talent our roster contains held firm by the abilities of our staff, calling us anything less than “A” quality is nothing short of an insult.”
Mr. Thompson gained a cocky smile. First time doing this? Yeah right. A ploy perhaps to trick his participant to slip up after the first curve ball. John had dealt with this type of press before and he’d verbally run this kid through the gauntlet if he had to. Jerry prepared to pitch his next question. This time he’d see how John fielded his knuckle-ball.
“Your teammate this weekend is nothing short of a comic book wannabe. Teamed up with you, a man who’s never fought a true battle against championship material, how do you think you’re going to fair against not one, but TWO main event superstars?”
“You weren’t lying when you described yourself as overzealous were you Jerry? First off, Combat Soldier isn’t a wannabe. If that guy wanted a comic book made of himself it’d outsell The Amazing Spider-man even though they’re doing a “Back in Black” story arc on the heels of Spider-man 3. The guy breathes, eats, and sleeps with one thing on his mind: combat. Having him on my team gives us a bottomless bag of tricks that we can utilize against our opponents this weekend. And speaking of our opponents; I like how you called them both main event material. Now I spent a lot of time over the last two weeks putting Mick Cormac over only to have him show up in a drunken stupor and embarrass me in front of thousands. I rolled him up for a quick count just to save my own face from having to compete against such a disgraceful sight. The fans lost out on that one, and I’m not going to make the same mistake twice in a row. Now don’t get me wrong… JR Zevon is a worthy champion and I’m honored to be fighting in a promotion that straps the belt around those who deserve to be wearing it, but that doesn’t change anything. This weekend Combat and I have a chance to pull off a huge victory before heading into the city of Dover. Notice how I didn’t insult your hometown my calling it “B”-rate either.”
Bam! And John swings for the fences, knocking the ball just past the second baseman for an easy single. With the hometown down by one in the bottom of the ninth, all he needed to do was drive it home for the victory. Jerry furrowed his brow and popped his neck. He was impressed, but hardly contempt. Flipping the page of his notepad, Jerry prepared his corkscrew pitch.
“With Supermania three taking place this very week, hardly anyone will pay attention to the Road to Over in Dover this weekend. After the botch fest of a show you guys pulled out last week, you’ll be lucky if the arena is a quarter full for your Super DVD event. How will the poor attendance and lackluster reception to yourself affect your match mentality?”
Daniel choked on his drink again.
“You’re doubting not only our advertising campaigns and management, but your own city as well Jerry. Sure the spectacle of the evening is Supermania three, and it rightfully should be! A card chock full of dream matches, title unifications, and rivalries that have built up for ages! If wrestling fans aren’t excited to see the likes of Tito Capaci, Jay T. Nitro, Kaleb Shadix, FDCM, and Shawn Stevens step into the ring then they need to re-evaluate themselves. But let me assure you that this won’t dampen the effort any of us put into our show this weekend. So it might get lost under the shadow of POW’s crowning glory, but it’ll still be a good product. We’re not prancing along towards Dover… no… we’re coming headstrong into your city to show them what wrestling is all about and what this company is capable of. That stadium won’t be a quarter full, it won’t be half full, it will be jam-packed. Stuffed to capacity, standing room only, sell your mother for a ticket full. And why? Because POW: New England is coming to Dover, Delaware with a full head of steam. And at the forefront of that train will be Combat Soldier and myself, straight off of our victories over Victor and Zevon. In the tag team match this weekend we’re going to give everyone a taste of things to come. A small glimpse of the mayhem that will go down at Over in Dover. So I want you to do this Jerry: close your little notepad, twist your pretty pen shut, get up from this table and hitch a flight back to town, turn in your report, and put the following quote on the page:
‘Straight from the lips of the illustrious John Anthony: ‘Tune in to the Road To… this weekend. Fresh off the success of Supermania 3, myself and Combat Soldier assure you a tag team match that will leave you on the edge of your seat. A match that will leave you begging for more. When the two of us enter the ring against Victor and Zevon, we’ll leave subtleties at the curtain as well roll into that ring ready for the fight of our lives. And then, when the match is over and you’ve gotten an appetizer sized portion of what POW: New England is all about, go buy tickets to Over in Dover. Pack that arena to the roof and get ready for the main course. Because once I win this weekend, I’ll turn my sights on whoever stands between me and the top of the mountain. And of course, you can put your money on that.’ “
John clasped his hands in excitement. Home-run, outta the park for the hometown victory. Jerry’s feathers looked ruffled to say the least as he slapped his notepad shut and stood up. John was ready to jump in that ring right now. After last week he had a thirst that could only be quenched by the sounds of cheers from the crowd, from the adrenaline of battling in the squared circle. Hopefully Combat Soldier would be just as thirsty.
/*\ A "friendly" game of ball /*\
Daniel, Julia, and John Anthony sat at a square table beneath a simple balcony curtain as the afternoon sun blazed above. Cars whizzed by the little corner deli where the trio sat enjoying a rather mundane day. No sports to analyze, no odds to predict, no injuries to recuperate from. John felt as relaxed as possible considering he was sitting in a wooden chair with minimal cushioning. It was Julia’s idea to eat at such a low-strung deli in the middle of downtown. John had protested, but women always win these kind of arguments. She mentioned something about it “being good for him to get out of his normal environment for a change.” The three conversed on everything from the expansion of Bodog and how to get things rolling here in New Jersey concerning the new office, to how life had changed since leaving the gated palaces of Beverly Hills.
“Well if it isn’t the illustrious John Anthony.”
A voice from behind John called out as he turned his head to meet it. Raising his shades from his face, John tried to recognize the man standing before him but failed. John simply smiled, held out his hand, and replied; “That would be me.”
The unknown man shook John’s hand firmly. He stood tall, back straight, hair combed down. Dress slacks and a blazer adorned him as his other hand held firm a notepad with a rather fancy fountain tip pen attached. His face was clean shaven but intense. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead as he held his grip on John’s hand a moment too long. John slightly jerked his hand away and his smile became somewhat forced as his curiosity grew as to who this was.
“My name’s Jerry Thompson, reporter for the Dover Post in Delaware. It’s rather crisp out here, is it not?”
Ah, Delaware, site of the upcoming Super DVD event “Over in Dover.” No wonder this guy seemed so lost. The busy streets of Trenton, New Jersey were probably a new site for him. John replaced his shades, chuckled sarcastically, and invited the reporter to sit in the remaining unoccupied seat. Julia and Daniel sat with mixed expressions, both sipping at their drinks as the reporter pulled out his pad, twisted his pen open, and opened his mouth to speak.
“Whoa whoa there Mr. Thompson. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I haven’t agreed to an interview yet,” John stated.
“Oh, my apologies. It goes without saying that this is my first field report and I’m a bit anxious. Overzealous even. So if it’d be alright Mr. Anthony, I’d like to ask you a few questions regarding POW.”
“Fire away.”
“Ok, so how does it feel to be stuck on the “B”-Show?”
Daniel coughed on his drink upon hearing the arrogant question from Jerry. Julia couldn’t help but turn her head and stifle impending laughter, knowing that a question like that could incite a one-man riot from John. She turned back to see his expression and figured little mister reporter guy was lucky John was wearing shades, else he might scorch him alive with the flames in his eyes at that moment.
“Well I wouldn’t know Jerry -- it is alright if I call you by your first name, right? Good. The New England branch isn’t the “B”-Show. An expansion, yes, but not a second rate product. Mr. Lovejoy has put together a federation that, given time, will shine above the rest here in the northeast just as the Midwest branch does in their part of the country. We’re basically two parts of a whole. Now we might not be on the horizon of the single largest PPV event in wrestling history like POW: Midwest is, but that doesn’t make us anything less. When you have the talent our roster contains held firm by the abilities of our staff, calling us anything less than “A” quality is nothing short of an insult.”
Mr. Thompson gained a cocky smile. First time doing this? Yeah right. A ploy perhaps to trick his participant to slip up after the first curve ball. John had dealt with this type of press before and he’d verbally run this kid through the gauntlet if he had to. Jerry prepared to pitch his next question. This time he’d see how John fielded his knuckle-ball.
“Your teammate this weekend is nothing short of a comic book wannabe. Teamed up with you, a man who’s never fought a true battle against championship material, how do you think you’re going to fair against not one, but TWO main event superstars?”
“You weren’t lying when you described yourself as overzealous were you Jerry? First off, Combat Soldier isn’t a wannabe. If that guy wanted a comic book made of himself it’d outsell The Amazing Spider-man even though they’re doing a “Back in Black” story arc on the heels of Spider-man 3. The guy breathes, eats, and sleeps with one thing on his mind: combat. Having him on my team gives us a bottomless bag of tricks that we can utilize against our opponents this weekend. And speaking of our opponents; I like how you called them both main event material. Now I spent a lot of time over the last two weeks putting Mick Cormac over only to have him show up in a drunken stupor and embarrass me in front of thousands. I rolled him up for a quick count just to save my own face from having to compete against such a disgraceful sight. The fans lost out on that one, and I’m not going to make the same mistake twice in a row. Now don’t get me wrong… JR Zevon is a worthy champion and I’m honored to be fighting in a promotion that straps the belt around those who deserve to be wearing it, but that doesn’t change anything. This weekend Combat and I have a chance to pull off a huge victory before heading into the city of Dover. Notice how I didn’t insult your hometown my calling it “B”-rate either.”
Bam! And John swings for the fences, knocking the ball just past the second baseman for an easy single. With the hometown down by one in the bottom of the ninth, all he needed to do was drive it home for the victory. Jerry furrowed his brow and popped his neck. He was impressed, but hardly contempt. Flipping the page of his notepad, Jerry prepared his corkscrew pitch.
“With Supermania three taking place this very week, hardly anyone will pay attention to the Road to Over in Dover this weekend. After the botch fest of a show you guys pulled out last week, you’ll be lucky if the arena is a quarter full for your Super DVD event. How will the poor attendance and lackluster reception to yourself affect your match mentality?”
Daniel choked on his drink again.
“You’re doubting not only our advertising campaigns and management, but your own city as well Jerry. Sure the spectacle of the evening is Supermania three, and it rightfully should be! A card chock full of dream matches, title unifications, and rivalries that have built up for ages! If wrestling fans aren’t excited to see the likes of Tito Capaci, Jay T. Nitro, Kaleb Shadix, FDCM, and Shawn Stevens step into the ring then they need to re-evaluate themselves. But let me assure you that this won’t dampen the effort any of us put into our show this weekend. So it might get lost under the shadow of POW’s crowning glory, but it’ll still be a good product. We’re not prancing along towards Dover… no… we’re coming headstrong into your city to show them what wrestling is all about and what this company is capable of. That stadium won’t be a quarter full, it won’t be half full, it will be jam-packed. Stuffed to capacity, standing room only, sell your mother for a ticket full. And why? Because POW: New England is coming to Dover, Delaware with a full head of steam. And at the forefront of that train will be Combat Soldier and myself, straight off of our victories over Victor and Zevon. In the tag team match this weekend we’re going to give everyone a taste of things to come. A small glimpse of the mayhem that will go down at Over in Dover. So I want you to do this Jerry: close your little notepad, twist your pretty pen shut, get up from this table and hitch a flight back to town, turn in your report, and put the following quote on the page:
‘Straight from the lips of the illustrious John Anthony: ‘Tune in to the Road To… this weekend. Fresh off the success of Supermania 3, myself and Combat Soldier assure you a tag team match that will leave you on the edge of your seat. A match that will leave you begging for more. When the two of us enter the ring against Victor and Zevon, we’ll leave subtleties at the curtain as well roll into that ring ready for the fight of our lives. And then, when the match is over and you’ve gotten an appetizer sized portion of what POW: New England is all about, go buy tickets to Over in Dover. Pack that arena to the roof and get ready for the main course. Because once I win this weekend, I’ll turn my sights on whoever stands between me and the top of the mountain. And of course, you can put your money on that.’ “
John clasped his hands in excitement. Home-run, outta the park for the hometown victory. Jerry’s feathers looked ruffled to say the least as he slapped his notepad shut and stood up. John was ready to jump in that ring right now. After last week he had a thirst that could only be quenched by the sounds of cheers from the crowd, from the adrenaline of battling in the squared circle. Hopefully Combat Soldier would be just as thirsty.
