Post by Storm on Aug 7, 2010 18:56:36 GMT -5
Dressed as he typically is in a white suit, white cowboy hat and boots, and burnt orange shirt, Daniel Boneham Stanton paces back in forth in the catering area backstage. Despite the locale lending itself to taking it easy with both wrestlers and crew members alike while grabbing a drink or a bite to eat, Stanton is anything but relaxed; in fact, the man seems outright agitated. The retired wrestler is refusing to make eye contact with anyone and can’t seem to stand still as he continues to pace around the room like a caged animal.
Shaking his head, he mutters something unintelligible to himself and comes to a stop by a table covered in paper cups. Taking one that looks to be some sort of Gatorade, Stanton lifts the cup to his lips when his phone begins to violently vibrate in his pocket. Flustered, he shakes his head and almost slams the cup back down before answering the call.
“Yello!” he answers as he takes a step back from the plastic table and turns toward a wall. “Hey, Becca girl, good to hear from ya.”
Stanton genuinely smiles as he hears his sister’s voice, his foul mood brightened somewhat by the call. The smile quickly fades as he grimaces when he hears why she’s calling.
“Storm? Nah, he ain’t with me,” he says as he waits for the reply from the other side of the line and rolls his eyes.
“No, I’m sure everything with the big oaf’s fine, he’s somewhere doin’ an interview for the show tonight,” Stanton states before his eyes narrow and he adds, “Everything’s fine with you, right? He didn’t do nothin’ to upset you, did he?”
Stanton absentmindedly closes the gap to the wall with a few quick strides and lifts his free arm up, placing his palm on the wall while he leans against it.
“Alright, good,” Stanton says with relief while backing up from the wall. “He was pissed off pretty good about not winnin’ the championship match last week, wanted to make sure he didn’t take It out on you.”
Suddenly, a flurry of inaudible sounds come from the cell phone and DBS removes the it from the side of his face and winces. When Rebecca’s voice has died down, he reels the phone back in.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry sis. But I mean, you know damn well how he is and how he gets…no, no…ok…ok, I’ll drop it,” Stanton says, struggling to get a word in edgewise. As Rebecca yammers in his ear some more, his expression softens. Stanton turns his waist as he looks from side to side to make sure no one’s looking, then he presses the phone tightly to his cheek and cups his free hand over the mouthpiece.
“To tell it like it is, the big guy threw me for a loop the other day at his new apartment – he was actin’ like a buzzard that landed the wrong way on a cactus,” he said, nodding his head sagely before cocking his head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘what does that mean?’ I mean, I don’t know…the guy just hasn’t seemed like himself for about a week now.”
Stanton relaxes his arm, removing his hand from his mouth, and hurriedly walks toward a door marked “EXIT” as he continues his conversation. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Becca…he’s a tough son of a gun,” Stanton says as he raises his arm to push the door open, but before he does he freezes mid-motion.
“No, you shouldn’t come here,” he remarks sternly before wincing, realizing how harsh that sounded. “No, what I meant was I’m sure Storm’ll be fine and he just needs to straighten things out with himself. That boy’s tough as a mama coyote protectin’ her cubs.”
The door pushes open as Stanton moves again, and he steps out into the orange light of the setting Tennessee sun.
“Do I sound worried?” he asks, squinting into the distance.
-----
“Alex Avice here, backstage with Storm - a man who despite coming up just short at Return of the Kingdom could very well have been the most impressive man out there. Tonight Storm faces relative newcomer Johnny Noble in what many consider to be the young star's first test here in Kingdom of Pride. Storm, how do you feel about tonight’s match up? Avice ask and extends his microphone out to the man standing next to him.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” says Storm, shaking his head. “It’s a match I need to win,” he says unethusiastically, silently adding to himself that he needed to win last Sunday as well.
Avice of course is not privy to Storm’s thoughts. Instead, he can simply observe what he sees: one of the largest and most dangerous men he’s ever met standing before him in his ring gear but seemingly not ready for his match up tonight. His mouth running faster than his mind can keep up, the Mouth of Pride decides to voice his observations.
“Are you not ready for the match, Storm?” he asks sheepishly before quickly adding, “Or are you maybe not taking Johnny Noble seriously?[/color]
Storm lets the question hang for a moment before replying, “ I’m taking Johnny Noble very seriously. But,” he continues with newfound vigor “I am not taking the match seriously.”
Avice blinks at Storm and does a double take, trying to work out the contradictions in his statement.
“I’m not quite sure I follow you,” Avice finally says. “Could you elaborate for me and the rest of the Kingdom of Pride viewers?”
Storm crosses his arms derisively and offers Avice a contemptuous glance. “What I mean is that I don’t give a damn about this match because it means nothing. It’s a waste of my time against some rookie when I should be getting another shot – a fair shot! – at Chris Hart, he snarls and uncrosses his arms. “Still,” he continues and clenches a fist in front of him, “This particular rookie happens to be the brother of one of the owners of this fine promotion. What better time to make an example of someone?”
“To be fair, Storm, striking out at Johnny to get to his brother Kurt doesn’t really seem like it will be that effective,” Avice counters as he uncomfortably eyes Storm’s trembling fist. ”The two aren’t even that close.
“Nothing to bring a family together like a tragedy, then,” Storm says coldly as he lets his arm drop to his side. He tenses is muscles and rolls his shoulders before making a show of cracking his neck. “To be perfectly honest, Alex, I don’t really care if its Noble’s brother or just someone him and Sterling sign the check for,” he states as he locks his gaze with the camera. “I Just want them to know that NO ONE is safe until I get what I deserve.”
“You heard it here first, everyone! Storm feels he’s entitled to a shot against Chris Hart and the Valiant Title, and it seems that he’s going to find a way to let everyone know it. Thanks for your time, Storm," Avice says, turning to Storm to offer his hand. Storm has already started walking away though, his hand glued to the exact spot on his jaw where Chris Hart hit him with a Superkick before putting him down with the Legacy Bomb.
Shaking his head, he mutters something unintelligible to himself and comes to a stop by a table covered in paper cups. Taking one that looks to be some sort of Gatorade, Stanton lifts the cup to his lips when his phone begins to violently vibrate in his pocket. Flustered, he shakes his head and almost slams the cup back down before answering the call.
“Yello!” he answers as he takes a step back from the plastic table and turns toward a wall. “Hey, Becca girl, good to hear from ya.”
Stanton genuinely smiles as he hears his sister’s voice, his foul mood brightened somewhat by the call. The smile quickly fades as he grimaces when he hears why she’s calling.
“Storm? Nah, he ain’t with me,” he says as he waits for the reply from the other side of the line and rolls his eyes.
“No, I’m sure everything with the big oaf’s fine, he’s somewhere doin’ an interview for the show tonight,” Stanton states before his eyes narrow and he adds, “Everything’s fine with you, right? He didn’t do nothin’ to upset you, did he?”
Stanton absentmindedly closes the gap to the wall with a few quick strides and lifts his free arm up, placing his palm on the wall while he leans against it.
“Alright, good,” Stanton says with relief while backing up from the wall. “He was pissed off pretty good about not winnin’ the championship match last week, wanted to make sure he didn’t take It out on you.”
Suddenly, a flurry of inaudible sounds come from the cell phone and DBS removes the it from the side of his face and winces. When Rebecca’s voice has died down, he reels the phone back in.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry sis. But I mean, you know damn well how he is and how he gets…no, no…ok…ok, I’ll drop it,” Stanton says, struggling to get a word in edgewise. As Rebecca yammers in his ear some more, his expression softens. Stanton turns his waist as he looks from side to side to make sure no one’s looking, then he presses the phone tightly to his cheek and cups his free hand over the mouthpiece.
“To tell it like it is, the big guy threw me for a loop the other day at his new apartment – he was actin’ like a buzzard that landed the wrong way on a cactus,” he said, nodding his head sagely before cocking his head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘what does that mean?’ I mean, I don’t know…the guy just hasn’t seemed like himself for about a week now.”
Stanton relaxes his arm, removing his hand from his mouth, and hurriedly walks toward a door marked “EXIT” as he continues his conversation. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Becca…he’s a tough son of a gun,” Stanton says as he raises his arm to push the door open, but before he does he freezes mid-motion.
“No, you shouldn’t come here,” he remarks sternly before wincing, realizing how harsh that sounded. “No, what I meant was I’m sure Storm’ll be fine and he just needs to straighten things out with himself. That boy’s tough as a mama coyote protectin’ her cubs.”
The door pushes open as Stanton moves again, and he steps out into the orange light of the setting Tennessee sun.
“Do I sound worried?” he asks, squinting into the distance.
-----
“Alex Avice here, backstage with Storm - a man who despite coming up just short at Return of the Kingdom could very well have been the most impressive man out there. Tonight Storm faces relative newcomer Johnny Noble in what many consider to be the young star's first test here in Kingdom of Pride. Storm, how do you feel about tonight’s match up? Avice ask and extends his microphone out to the man standing next to him.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” says Storm, shaking his head. “It’s a match I need to win,” he says unethusiastically, silently adding to himself that he needed to win last Sunday as well.
Avice of course is not privy to Storm’s thoughts. Instead, he can simply observe what he sees: one of the largest and most dangerous men he’s ever met standing before him in his ring gear but seemingly not ready for his match up tonight. His mouth running faster than his mind can keep up, the Mouth of Pride decides to voice his observations.
“Are you not ready for the match, Storm?” he asks sheepishly before quickly adding, “Or are you maybe not taking Johnny Noble seriously?[/color]
Storm lets the question hang for a moment before replying, “ I’m taking Johnny Noble very seriously. But,” he continues with newfound vigor “I am not taking the match seriously.”
Avice blinks at Storm and does a double take, trying to work out the contradictions in his statement.
“I’m not quite sure I follow you,” Avice finally says. “Could you elaborate for me and the rest of the Kingdom of Pride viewers?”
Storm crosses his arms derisively and offers Avice a contemptuous glance. “What I mean is that I don’t give a damn about this match because it means nothing. It’s a waste of my time against some rookie when I should be getting another shot – a fair shot! – at Chris Hart, he snarls and uncrosses his arms. “Still,” he continues and clenches a fist in front of him, “This particular rookie happens to be the brother of one of the owners of this fine promotion. What better time to make an example of someone?”
“To be fair, Storm, striking out at Johnny to get to his brother Kurt doesn’t really seem like it will be that effective,” Avice counters as he uncomfortably eyes Storm’s trembling fist. ”The two aren’t even that close.
“Nothing to bring a family together like a tragedy, then,” Storm says coldly as he lets his arm drop to his side. He tenses is muscles and rolls his shoulders before making a show of cracking his neck. “To be perfectly honest, Alex, I don’t really care if its Noble’s brother or just someone him and Sterling sign the check for,” he states as he locks his gaze with the camera. “I Just want them to know that NO ONE is safe until I get what I deserve.”
“You heard it here first, everyone! Storm feels he’s entitled to a shot against Chris Hart and the Valiant Title, and it seems that he’s going to find a way to let everyone know it. Thanks for your time, Storm," Avice says, turning to Storm to offer his hand. Storm has already started walking away though, his hand glued to the exact spot on his jaw where Chris Hart hit him with a Superkick before putting him down with the Legacy Bomb.