As the final day of preparation draws to a close, three men in the hardcore battle begin to look at things more and more seriously. Three men, out of four, will take their opponents to the brink of hell and back, busting all of hell, heaven, and earth open, and ending with a three count that will be heard around the world.
Ichabod, oddly enough, is doing some very innocent squats in one of the facilities weight rooms. As he finishes his last rep in his current set, he sets the bar down and grabs beer off the shelf. He pops the top as a satisfying hiss fills the room. Ichabod drinks it down before dropping the can in a wastebasket, catching his breath and wiping his lips.
Steve comes in and nods to Ichabod. He has just come from watching the latest promos from Ichabod's opponents, and he sits down on a bench to get Ichabod's response.
Well it seems that Adrean still thinks you are going to focus on Dark Angel for this match...
Ya know, Steve, I've already said this once before, but I started out thinking that Dark Angel was going to really be something. Anyone who gets on the bad side of Juggernut and myself is asking for it, but so far, he has only moaned and weeped over this and that. Wah wah, Dark Angel, get over it. You are supposed to be hardcore, remember? I can't even seriously consider him a part of this match anymore. You remember Battle Dome?
Sure, why?
Well you notice how when two top contenders would face off, the shows producers threw in these ninja guys just to try and split the focus of the match... but they never really played an important part? See, thats Dark Angel. He's only there for sh*ts and giggles, and like Adrean said, one punch will take him out. But see, I'm not going in there for an easy win. I don't want to knock Angel down and pin him while Jug and Adrean rip each other's heads off, thats not hardcore, thats not Ichabod. No, I'll just let him frolic and prance around like a fairy in there, and when I get tired of him, I'll Bitch Thump his ass and forget about it. F**k him.
Adrean also says this is your time to prove yourself.
Adrean says a lot, doesn't he? It doesn't really matter if I've proven myself to him or anyone else. I know I am good, possibly the best. Jug knows I'm good, and he knows that we both gave the other guy a run for his money. He's even said I should be the hardcore champion. The man himself, the champion, said that. What does that tell you? It tells you that the head of the competition knows for a fact that his position is in jeopardy whether he comes out and says that or not. I've proven myself to myself, and thats all that matters to me. If it takes a hunk of gold to prove that to you Adrean, then don't worry, I'll have it by the end of the week.
What I think is funny is that he thinks he and Jug are the best two contenders because of their one loss one draw records... isn't your record a little better than that?
Better? Well if you consider the fact that I, too, have several wins, one loss, and NO draws, then I guess you could say my record is better. But I dont' give two sh*ts about records around here. It doesn't prove a thing, because no matter how many wins you have in your column, there is always someone better than you. And Adrean knows I'm that somebody. The reason he wants to believe I'll busy myself with Dark Angel is a psychology thing... its called displacement. He knows I am his problem, and so he is displacing it onto Dark Angel... its the only way he can deal with it. So what is Jug saying?
Still gloating that he only lost to BG... he thinks he is the only one who could stand up to him. Funny, considering Sean Graves is the champion now.
Yeah you're right. You know, I've told the guy, I've shown the videos, and yet he still doesn't believe that I am more than a handful for BG. I put that guy in his place over and over, but Jug is just too blind to see it. Ya know I'm tired of hearing about his three month title reign, and I'm going to have to be the one to end it. It's sad really, that all this talk he spouts falls on deaf ears essentially. I've beaten BG, BG has beaten Jug, I have beaten Jug--win or lose I've beaten him-- its a simple formula in logic that his small mind just can't grasp. Its ok though, because after I win the hardcore belt, everyone including me will forget about him, and it won't matter what I've said.
As for the three of them together, I hope they realize that being in a four way match means I'll have my focus split all over the place. Every movement, every twitch, every sound, will alert me to action. I don't care if I have to run around in a circle handing each one a smack, kick, or punch apiece for the entire match, I will be ready for all three of them. And if anyone else interferes this time, my focus will be sharp enough to catch them in the act as well. Fighting one guy is a lot different from fighting three...fighting one guy gets all your focus on that one guy, but when you are ready to fight three you are ready to fight a crowd, and no matter how big that crowd gets, I won't be counted out without one hell of a fight.
I would the fools were married to their graves, because it seems to me that after tomorrow night they're going to be heading in that direction.
Ichabod and Steve stand up to continue the days closing preparations.
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