Post by Eli Goode on Sept 25, 2022 20:42:05 GMT -5
“I can feel the pressure mounting up inside of me. I can feel him on my shoulders. I’ve got it. I don’t need to worry about it anymore. Once he’s done for, I can move on to the next phase of my life. I can finally reach out to Katie. I can finally have her see that everything’s ok again. All it takes is a few seconds. That’s all it takes. A few seconds. I can feel the euphoria of winning take over my body. I need to get to the center. I need to make this a definitive win. Not a close one. I can’t have Stratford too close to the ropes. He could reach out. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let Stratford escape losing like that. I can’t.
And that’s when I feel it. I feel someone grab my foot. I feel a hand grab onto my ankle. I have to let go. Who’s doing this? Who’s costing me this win? I look around, and that’s when I see her. I see Demi Stratford smiling. She’s the one. She just took my victory away from me. The blood boils inside of me. That’s when I hear her. ‘Katie would be very proud of you. You’re killing it.’ I hear her taunt. I shouldn’t say anything back, but I can’t help myself. I stood up and shouted at her.
I call her a bitch. I nearly step out of the ring, but I focus myself. I need to stay in to beat Stephen, but I keep my focus on her. I told her that she made a mistake. That she’s going to regret what she just did. I threaten to break her arms, legs, and back. I threaten to break Stephen in half. I make her wish she never did anything to me. I want her to feel pain. But yet, all I feel is anger. I don’t even realize that Stratford is getting up. No, I just focus on Demi. I want her in the ring. I want an excuse to fight her too. That’s when it happens.
He grabs my lip. The pain is too much. I try to get him to break it up, but again, all I feel is pain. But that wasn’t all of it. The momentum of the push forces my head into the steel turnbuckle. More pain takes over me. I can’t see. I can barely hear the crowd. That’s when I feel the kick to my stomach and my head bounce off of Stratford’s shoulder. I fly into the air and onto my back.
Suddenly, time slows down. I hear the crowd disappear as the beating of my heart is the only thing I hear. I feel Stratford lift up my leg. I know what’s happening. I’m losing. I feel the slam of the referee’s hand off the mat. I can’t move. All the pain to my head is keeping me down. I’m angry. The second slam of the referee’s hand pulsates through my body. I should lift my shoulder up. I can lift my shoulder up. I try to move my shoulder but the pain takes over. I open my eyes and, as if it were in slow motion, the referee’s hand starts to fall to the mat. Come on Eli, move dammit move. I close my eyes, forcing my body to move.
I feel my shoulder lift off the mat. I did it. I broke the pin. I opened my eyes, but my body didn’t move. The referee’s hand slammed against the mat a third time. I… I lost. I see Stratford stand up in victory. Everything around me is muffled. I can’t hear Mr. Rad. I can’t hear the crowd. I can’t hear anything. I can just see Stratford being handed the Courage Championship. I… I failed you Katie. I failed to bring our family back together. I failed everyone that was cheering for me.
Rage fills my body, but the pain is too strong. I see medical officials run to my aid, but I don’t want them near me. I can’t tell them to get away. All I can do is grab my bottom lip. The pain from the stiletto is too much for me. Stratford knew what he was doing. He knew how to take advantage. I look over at Stratford, and I see him with Demi. I want to attack him, but the medical officials are taking me away from the ring. I need to get my revenge, but my head is too damaged. I feel people checking on my lip. I hear their muffled voices, but all I can think about is getting even with Stratford. Sure, he got the upperhand tonight, but he won’t get it again. No, he’s going to regret what he did to me. Demi is going to regret what she did to me. Pain is only short lived. Pain goes away with time. The physical pain will go away. That’s when I’ll strike.
Have your day in the sun Stephen. Have your moment of happiness. It won’t last. Nothing truly lasts.”
-----
On-Camera
Eli Goode sits across from Lenny Brasco. Eli keeps his eye contact directly on Lenny. Lenny sits up in his chair and takes a big gulp. He tries to put on a smile and looks over at the camera. A weak chuckle exits Lenny’s body trying to find some way to add some sort of levity to the situation.
“Oh ho, Eli, that was intense. Ha ha, tell how you really feel then? Not really, we all have a guess about that now. But it's really intriguing that you feel like that. Especially considering that Stephen Stratford is going to be your Multiplayer partner at EXP 31. Please, tell the audience what went through your mind when you were told about this.”
Eli glares at Lenny. He twiddles his thumbs and looks directly into the camera. He takes a deep breath and slowly releases it.
“I was frustrated. I’m still frustrated. Stephen Stratford did everything a person is not supposed to do, and Trent Steel expects me to be fine with teaming up with him? Trent Steel knows why I don’t want to team up with Stratford, but of course, he wants a ‘can enemies co-exist’ match. That’s dumb. That’s pathetic, and I would say all of this to Trent’s face if he were here right now. Trent can talk about all of the people he’s buried that hatchet with, but I know for a fact that if he was forced to team up with any of them, he’d want to tear the person that forced that match in half. He can sit in his office talking to stooges like you raving about how great of an idea this is, but it’s a horrible idea.”
“Whoa Eli, calm down. You’re starting to let your anger get the best of you. Your merch sales might take a dip if you’re not careful…”
Eli stands up from his chair and walks up to Lenny. He gets face-to-face with Lenny and glares daggers into Lenny’s eyes.
“Do you think I care about my F****NG merch sales, Brasco? Do you think I’m wrestling to sell merch? I don’t give a flying f*** about my merch. All I care about is respect, and Stratford doesn’t have mine. He gave my respect up by coming to my F****NG home! Now Trent expects me to play along like a good little dog. He’s…”
The camera feed cuts and static takes up the footage.
-----
Off-Camera
Eli sits away in the backstage area, away from Lenny Brasco. He rubs his hands together looking around the room. He hears footsteps approach him. He looks up and sees his dad walking towards him. His dad sits next to him and looks at all of the lights in the room. Eli refuses to look at his dad. After a few seconds of silence, his dad finally breaks the silence.
“So, that didn’t exactly go the way they planned it.”
“Let me guess, they were hoping for an easy interview to put on their website?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“It’s hard to give a decent interview when people are constantly asking about a person that inserted himself into your life. Like, how am I supposed to react when someone asks me about Stratford?”
Eli’s dad looks over at him. He sighs and pats his son on the shoulder.
“You’re supposed to act better than this son. I know that this situation isn’t your favorite, but you have to realize that you are better than this. Son, I experienced an anger you’re feeling. Someone I trusted turned his back on me once. He took everything that we, as a team, worked on and started changing it to his vision. At first, I didn’t have a problem with it. We had years of friendship behind us. He had my trust and respect.
Then one day, I was contacted by another friend. He told me that all the work that my friend had worked on for our business was stolen. Now, my friend didn’t physically go out and steal products, but he would see other people’s hard work and make an exact copy of it claiming that he originated it. At first, I was skeptical to believe my friend would do this, but then… Then I saw the evidence. Eli, I was mortified at the evidence. I felt betrayed, lied to… I felt rage.
I spoke to my friend about it, and he admitted to doing it. I told him to apologize for it, but he refused. He said that he would make the stuff slightly different. So, I left. I was filled with rage, and I publicly acknowledged everything my friend did. I showed the evidence and ended our friendship whilst doing that.”
“Great story dad, but what does that have to do with any of this?”
“The point I’m making is that anger will cause you to lash out. Do I regret calling my friend out? No, I don’t. Do I sometimes look back and wonder if I should’ve handled it differently? Maybe. I might have still been friends with him if I didn’t call him out the way I did. I might still be working with him. There are a lot of maybes in this world. I just want you to realize that lashing out isn’t the answer.”
Eli looks at his hand and twiddles with his thumbs. He takes a deep breath and rubs his face. He looks over at his dad.
“I just… I just wanna see Katie. That’s all I’ve wanted. Since this all began, I lost her. I don’t know if I’ll ever get her back, and I’m scared that Stratford did something to cause her pain. That’s why I’m angry. That’s why I want to hurt him.”
“I know, son, but you can’t let yourself be controlled by your anger. We’ve seen what happens when you do. Things… go wrong. Things fall apart around you. You remember Johnny Chaos. You don’t want that to happen again. You’ve just… gotta find that balance.”
Eli’s dad stands up and looks at his son. Eli gently lifts his head up.
“Everything’s gonna be alright. You just gotta believe that.”
Eli’s dad turns away and walks over to Lenny. Eli’s dad greets him and the two have a small conversation that Eli cannot hear. Eli looks over at them and sees his dad wave for him to come over. Eli takes a deep breath. He stands up and walks back over to Lenny.
-----
On-Camera
Lenny Brasco sits across from Eli Goode, but this time a bit further away. Lenny smiles as he looks over to Eli.
“Hello again Eli. I’m seeing that everything is a bit calmer now?”
“Yes, um… after speaking with my agent, I was able to get some perspective about somethings, and I think I, uh, I’m a bit calmer now. You know, when emotions are high it’s hard to see clearly. All a person can see is red, and that’s what was happening. All I was seeing was red. So, I apologize for my outburst.”
“It’s quite alright. Now, we already know how you feel about your partner, Stephen Stratford, but what about your opponents? What are your thoughts on them?”
“Well, I’ll start with Buster. Buster and I have a respect for each other. At least, I hope we do. We’ve had talks with each other about some secret stuff that never came to light, but I have a lot of respect for him. With Dollface, it’s… It’s hard not to have respect for the hard work she’s put into this company. You know, she debuted in May, and now she’s in a Wisdom Championship match. She’s done the work to get to this moment, and she’s earned it. Now, do I respect some of her tactics? That’s another story entirely.
Dollface has used too many dirty tactics to fully earn my respect. You see, many people know that I like the idea of hard work. Buster has, no pun intended, busted his ass to win the Wisdom Championship. He’s defended it more times than I defended my Courage Championship. Overall, I think Buster is the one I have the most respect for. Dollface is going to need to do something in this match to earn my respect, if she even wants it.”
“You talk about respect a lot. What is it about respect that means so much to you?”
“Well, respect is an important virtue where I’m from. Though I don’t always agree with everything from where I’m from, I can at least agree that respect is important. The only way people can care about you is when you have their respect. I’ve earned the respect of the crowd. Buster earned my respect, and because of that, I’m going to make sure that the match is even when we’re in the ring against each other.”
“What about when Buster is in the ring with Stephen?”
“That, uh, that’s something I can’t promise. Stephen… He doesn’t have my respect. Everyone knows this. He did something that invaded my privacy, and I can’t respect a man that does that. Even if he says that he’s just trying to help me. I can’t respect a man that wants to cause any type of harm to a family.”
“Would you ever want to do that to Stephen?”
“Uh, there, uh, there was a time I would’ve retaliated in kind. Not anymore though, discipline is something that I’ve developed over time. Being in my thirties has helped me organize what I want out of life. Respect is something I want to give people, but if this is how you’re going to treat me and my family, you will not have my respect.”
“So, how do you think you and Stephen will co-exist?”
“We’ll co-exist to the best of our ability. Though I may not respect him, I know when a job needs to get done. We need to win our match, and it won’t help if I just disagree with him the entire time. It won’t help if I just bash him during the match. That’ll hinder us more than it will help us. So, we’ll co-exist when the bell rings. I’ll make sure we win. I’ll make sure that the Courage Championship division is the best division in LevelUp. Then, I’ll prepare myself for another match against Stephen Stratford. I know it’s not confirmed, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get another match for the Courage Championship. Stephen used dirty tactics to take the title away from me, and I’m not going to let that stand.”
“Wow, you’re really dedicated yourself to the Courage title and making sure you can represent that title.”
“Someone has to. Other than Buster, Larry and Stephen don’t fully embody what those titles mean. I embody what courage means. So, we’re going to have our Multiplayer match, and we’re going to win. This is nothing against Buster or Dollface, but Stephen has proven how good he is in the ring, when he’s not using underhanded tactics. When we win, I’m going to set my sights on the Courage Championship so I can be the one walking into the TriForce Championship match. When I win that match, I’ll have my third Final Boss Championship match, and you know what they say. The third time’s the charm.”
“Well, that’s a massive statement even when we’re many shows away from TriForce Heroes. Is there anything you’d like to plug before this interview is over?”
“Lenny, all I have left to say is that I’m going to be the one getting the victory in the Multiplayer Match. It’s because I’m simply… That Damn Goode.”
Eli takes his microphone off and walks out of the interview. Lenny tries to stop him, but is unable to get his full attention. Lenny looks at the camera and smiles.
“Well, that was Eli Goode ahead of his match against Buster Gloves and Dollface. This is going to be an intense match, but not as intense as the savings you’ll be getting when you go to our shop and pick up the newest Eli Goode shirt. Thank you so much for watching the interview, and I hope you all have a great shopping day.”
The camera cuts to black ending the video and the interview.
And that’s when I feel it. I feel someone grab my foot. I feel a hand grab onto my ankle. I have to let go. Who’s doing this? Who’s costing me this win? I look around, and that’s when I see her. I see Demi Stratford smiling. She’s the one. She just took my victory away from me. The blood boils inside of me. That’s when I hear her. ‘Katie would be very proud of you. You’re killing it.’ I hear her taunt. I shouldn’t say anything back, but I can’t help myself. I stood up and shouted at her.
I call her a bitch. I nearly step out of the ring, but I focus myself. I need to stay in to beat Stephen, but I keep my focus on her. I told her that she made a mistake. That she’s going to regret what she just did. I threaten to break her arms, legs, and back. I threaten to break Stephen in half. I make her wish she never did anything to me. I want her to feel pain. But yet, all I feel is anger. I don’t even realize that Stratford is getting up. No, I just focus on Demi. I want her in the ring. I want an excuse to fight her too. That’s when it happens.
He grabs my lip. The pain is too much. I try to get him to break it up, but again, all I feel is pain. But that wasn’t all of it. The momentum of the push forces my head into the steel turnbuckle. More pain takes over me. I can’t see. I can barely hear the crowd. That’s when I feel the kick to my stomach and my head bounce off of Stratford’s shoulder. I fly into the air and onto my back.
Suddenly, time slows down. I hear the crowd disappear as the beating of my heart is the only thing I hear. I feel Stratford lift up my leg. I know what’s happening. I’m losing. I feel the slam of the referee’s hand off the mat. I can’t move. All the pain to my head is keeping me down. I’m angry. The second slam of the referee’s hand pulsates through my body. I should lift my shoulder up. I can lift my shoulder up. I try to move my shoulder but the pain takes over. I open my eyes and, as if it were in slow motion, the referee’s hand starts to fall to the mat. Come on Eli, move dammit move. I close my eyes, forcing my body to move.
I feel my shoulder lift off the mat. I did it. I broke the pin. I opened my eyes, but my body didn’t move. The referee’s hand slammed against the mat a third time. I… I lost. I see Stratford stand up in victory. Everything around me is muffled. I can’t hear Mr. Rad. I can’t hear the crowd. I can’t hear anything. I can just see Stratford being handed the Courage Championship. I… I failed you Katie. I failed to bring our family back together. I failed everyone that was cheering for me.
Rage fills my body, but the pain is too strong. I see medical officials run to my aid, but I don’t want them near me. I can’t tell them to get away. All I can do is grab my bottom lip. The pain from the stiletto is too much for me. Stratford knew what he was doing. He knew how to take advantage. I look over at Stratford, and I see him with Demi. I want to attack him, but the medical officials are taking me away from the ring. I need to get my revenge, but my head is too damaged. I feel people checking on my lip. I hear their muffled voices, but all I can think about is getting even with Stratford. Sure, he got the upperhand tonight, but he won’t get it again. No, he’s going to regret what he did to me. Demi is going to regret what she did to me. Pain is only short lived. Pain goes away with time. The physical pain will go away. That’s when I’ll strike.
Have your day in the sun Stephen. Have your moment of happiness. It won’t last. Nothing truly lasts.”
-----
On-Camera
Eli Goode sits across from Lenny Brasco. Eli keeps his eye contact directly on Lenny. Lenny sits up in his chair and takes a big gulp. He tries to put on a smile and looks over at the camera. A weak chuckle exits Lenny’s body trying to find some way to add some sort of levity to the situation.
“Oh ho, Eli, that was intense. Ha ha, tell how you really feel then? Not really, we all have a guess about that now. But it's really intriguing that you feel like that. Especially considering that Stephen Stratford is going to be your Multiplayer partner at EXP 31. Please, tell the audience what went through your mind when you were told about this.”
Eli glares at Lenny. He twiddles his thumbs and looks directly into the camera. He takes a deep breath and slowly releases it.
“I was frustrated. I’m still frustrated. Stephen Stratford did everything a person is not supposed to do, and Trent Steel expects me to be fine with teaming up with him? Trent Steel knows why I don’t want to team up with Stratford, but of course, he wants a ‘can enemies co-exist’ match. That’s dumb. That’s pathetic, and I would say all of this to Trent’s face if he were here right now. Trent can talk about all of the people he’s buried that hatchet with, but I know for a fact that if he was forced to team up with any of them, he’d want to tear the person that forced that match in half. He can sit in his office talking to stooges like you raving about how great of an idea this is, but it’s a horrible idea.”
“Whoa Eli, calm down. You’re starting to let your anger get the best of you. Your merch sales might take a dip if you’re not careful…”
Eli stands up from his chair and walks up to Lenny. He gets face-to-face with Lenny and glares daggers into Lenny’s eyes.
“Do you think I care about my F****NG merch sales, Brasco? Do you think I’m wrestling to sell merch? I don’t give a flying f*** about my merch. All I care about is respect, and Stratford doesn’t have mine. He gave my respect up by coming to my F****NG home! Now Trent expects me to play along like a good little dog. He’s…”
The camera feed cuts and static takes up the footage.
-----
Off-Camera
Eli sits away in the backstage area, away from Lenny Brasco. He rubs his hands together looking around the room. He hears footsteps approach him. He looks up and sees his dad walking towards him. His dad sits next to him and looks at all of the lights in the room. Eli refuses to look at his dad. After a few seconds of silence, his dad finally breaks the silence.
“So, that didn’t exactly go the way they planned it.”
“Let me guess, they were hoping for an easy interview to put on their website?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“It’s hard to give a decent interview when people are constantly asking about a person that inserted himself into your life. Like, how am I supposed to react when someone asks me about Stratford?”
Eli’s dad looks over at him. He sighs and pats his son on the shoulder.
“You’re supposed to act better than this son. I know that this situation isn’t your favorite, but you have to realize that you are better than this. Son, I experienced an anger you’re feeling. Someone I trusted turned his back on me once. He took everything that we, as a team, worked on and started changing it to his vision. At first, I didn’t have a problem with it. We had years of friendship behind us. He had my trust and respect.
Then one day, I was contacted by another friend. He told me that all the work that my friend had worked on for our business was stolen. Now, my friend didn’t physically go out and steal products, but he would see other people’s hard work and make an exact copy of it claiming that he originated it. At first, I was skeptical to believe my friend would do this, but then… Then I saw the evidence. Eli, I was mortified at the evidence. I felt betrayed, lied to… I felt rage.
I spoke to my friend about it, and he admitted to doing it. I told him to apologize for it, but he refused. He said that he would make the stuff slightly different. So, I left. I was filled with rage, and I publicly acknowledged everything my friend did. I showed the evidence and ended our friendship whilst doing that.”
“Great story dad, but what does that have to do with any of this?”
“The point I’m making is that anger will cause you to lash out. Do I regret calling my friend out? No, I don’t. Do I sometimes look back and wonder if I should’ve handled it differently? Maybe. I might have still been friends with him if I didn’t call him out the way I did. I might still be working with him. There are a lot of maybes in this world. I just want you to realize that lashing out isn’t the answer.”
Eli looks at his hand and twiddles with his thumbs. He takes a deep breath and rubs his face. He looks over at his dad.
“I just… I just wanna see Katie. That’s all I’ve wanted. Since this all began, I lost her. I don’t know if I’ll ever get her back, and I’m scared that Stratford did something to cause her pain. That’s why I’m angry. That’s why I want to hurt him.”
“I know, son, but you can’t let yourself be controlled by your anger. We’ve seen what happens when you do. Things… go wrong. Things fall apart around you. You remember Johnny Chaos. You don’t want that to happen again. You’ve just… gotta find that balance.”
Eli’s dad stands up and looks at his son. Eli gently lifts his head up.
“Everything’s gonna be alright. You just gotta believe that.”
Eli’s dad turns away and walks over to Lenny. Eli’s dad greets him and the two have a small conversation that Eli cannot hear. Eli looks over at them and sees his dad wave for him to come over. Eli takes a deep breath. He stands up and walks back over to Lenny.
-----
On-Camera
Lenny Brasco sits across from Eli Goode, but this time a bit further away. Lenny smiles as he looks over to Eli.
“Hello again Eli. I’m seeing that everything is a bit calmer now?”
“Yes, um… after speaking with my agent, I was able to get some perspective about somethings, and I think I, uh, I’m a bit calmer now. You know, when emotions are high it’s hard to see clearly. All a person can see is red, and that’s what was happening. All I was seeing was red. So, I apologize for my outburst.”
“It’s quite alright. Now, we already know how you feel about your partner, Stephen Stratford, but what about your opponents? What are your thoughts on them?”
“Well, I’ll start with Buster. Buster and I have a respect for each other. At least, I hope we do. We’ve had talks with each other about some secret stuff that never came to light, but I have a lot of respect for him. With Dollface, it’s… It’s hard not to have respect for the hard work she’s put into this company. You know, she debuted in May, and now she’s in a Wisdom Championship match. She’s done the work to get to this moment, and she’s earned it. Now, do I respect some of her tactics? That’s another story entirely.
Dollface has used too many dirty tactics to fully earn my respect. You see, many people know that I like the idea of hard work. Buster has, no pun intended, busted his ass to win the Wisdom Championship. He’s defended it more times than I defended my Courage Championship. Overall, I think Buster is the one I have the most respect for. Dollface is going to need to do something in this match to earn my respect, if she even wants it.”
“You talk about respect a lot. What is it about respect that means so much to you?”
“Well, respect is an important virtue where I’m from. Though I don’t always agree with everything from where I’m from, I can at least agree that respect is important. The only way people can care about you is when you have their respect. I’ve earned the respect of the crowd. Buster earned my respect, and because of that, I’m going to make sure that the match is even when we’re in the ring against each other.”
“What about when Buster is in the ring with Stephen?”
“That, uh, that’s something I can’t promise. Stephen… He doesn’t have my respect. Everyone knows this. He did something that invaded my privacy, and I can’t respect a man that does that. Even if he says that he’s just trying to help me. I can’t respect a man that wants to cause any type of harm to a family.”
“Would you ever want to do that to Stephen?”
“Uh, there, uh, there was a time I would’ve retaliated in kind. Not anymore though, discipline is something that I’ve developed over time. Being in my thirties has helped me organize what I want out of life. Respect is something I want to give people, but if this is how you’re going to treat me and my family, you will not have my respect.”
“So, how do you think you and Stephen will co-exist?”
“We’ll co-exist to the best of our ability. Though I may not respect him, I know when a job needs to get done. We need to win our match, and it won’t help if I just disagree with him the entire time. It won’t help if I just bash him during the match. That’ll hinder us more than it will help us. So, we’ll co-exist when the bell rings. I’ll make sure we win. I’ll make sure that the Courage Championship division is the best division in LevelUp. Then, I’ll prepare myself for another match against Stephen Stratford. I know it’s not confirmed, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get another match for the Courage Championship. Stephen used dirty tactics to take the title away from me, and I’m not going to let that stand.”
“Wow, you’re really dedicated yourself to the Courage title and making sure you can represent that title.”
“Someone has to. Other than Buster, Larry and Stephen don’t fully embody what those titles mean. I embody what courage means. So, we’re going to have our Multiplayer match, and we’re going to win. This is nothing against Buster or Dollface, but Stephen has proven how good he is in the ring, when he’s not using underhanded tactics. When we win, I’m going to set my sights on the Courage Championship so I can be the one walking into the TriForce Championship match. When I win that match, I’ll have my third Final Boss Championship match, and you know what they say. The third time’s the charm.”
“Well, that’s a massive statement even when we’re many shows away from TriForce Heroes. Is there anything you’d like to plug before this interview is over?”
“Lenny, all I have left to say is that I’m going to be the one getting the victory in the Multiplayer Match. It’s because I’m simply… That Damn Goode.”
Eli takes his microphone off and walks out of the interview. Lenny tries to stop him, but is unable to get his full attention. Lenny looks at the camera and smiles.
“Well, that was Eli Goode ahead of his match against Buster Gloves and Dollface. This is going to be an intense match, but not as intense as the savings you’ll be getting when you go to our shop and pick up the newest Eli Goode shirt. Thank you so much for watching the interview, and I hope you all have a great shopping day.”
The camera cuts to black ending the video and the interview.