=You're done, it's over between us.=The battle between me and Parker, everyone was looking forward to it, the bad blood that was shown between the two men could be felt all around the arena. People bought their tickets, many of them hanging on the edge of their seats, waiting for the show down between two rivals, two young champions, two warriors who at one point were a seemly unstoppable team known as Grad Slam. I stood there behind the curtain, blood pumping in my veins, heart slamming against my chest as I breathed the cold air and let out steam from my lips and nostrils. This was the one on one match that everyone knew from the longest time would finally arrive, Parker vs. Steel Angel round three. I had the momentum advantage, winning my last two matches back to back with one win involving me and Flex getting one up on Parker and his partner Storming Raven. Parker at that time had a legit excuse for his loss, he chooses his partner poorly as he didn't wish to team up with a man like Parker and wasn’t so keen on being a team player either. However this time around there would be no excuse for Parker to not lose to me, he's been hyping this up for weeks now, and the moment had come and now all that remains was the show down everyone was waiting so long for.
What did they get instead though? A one sided beat down with Parker being smacked around like a bitch.
The man hardly put much of a fight, he only managed to knock me down on the mat once and that was it, surely he didn't think that alone would have been enough to put me away. I would show him the error of his ways and I just let him have it.
First the uppercut to the jaw, the same jaw that Shark threw that superman punch bomb a week ago, parker no doubt is still feeling the effects of that because the moment my first made contact it spun him almost complete around and allowed me the chance to fling him across the ring with a german suplex.
I got a two count on that move alone, didn't really put much into the move really and yet I got a two count. Parker barely made it back to his feet only to take a high jump roundhouse right to the head which no doubt rung his bell pretty good because he fell faster than a tree being chopped down.
I smiled as he slowly gets to his feet, not just I'm enjoying the pain I'm giving him but at the fact that he looks pretty out of it. But then Parker suddenly rushes in and starts throwing wild strikes, sheer desperation from the former champion himself. None of his attacks really hit home, most of them glanced off my forearms and the ones that didn't missed me by inches. I was getting annoyed and so I grabbed one of Parker's arms and flung him towards the ropes, deciding to end this match right now, I sprung off the ropes and drove Parker's mug straight down with the Skyward Breakdown. One two three and he's done, he's out, it's over between us.
The reaction the crowd let out was as expected.
"This is bullshit! Clap clap clap clap clap."
"This is bullshit! Clap clap clap clap clap."
"This is bullshit! Clap clap clap clap clap."I can't help but nod my head as the ref raised my hand in victory, I looked down at the pathetic figure that is Parker and felt a great sense of disappointment.
Leaving the ring I nodded to the crowd, saying out loud:
Steel Angel
I agree!Indeed I do, this match IS BULLSHIT!
I mean you're going to tell me after all that smack talk, after all the crap that Parker threw at me, from blaming the loss of the titles on me, to attacking me like a pussy, to offering himself as an attack dummy all the while proclaiming to be the better man of the team between us, saying that he "carried" the weight of the team on his shoulders.
All that shit and finally when he and I would meet to settle things over.......this is the best he could offer me?
Just serve himself up as my personal attack dummy, put little to almost no effort into the match, has Parker finally gave up? Is he really throwing the towel? Well at this point I no longer care, if this is how Parker wants to be remembered then that is his issue not mine.
Fact is he can no longer say that he's the better man of the team, we clearly seen who truly is the more superior of the duo. I mean four matches and now I gain two clean victories over Parker, the latest one with me hardly breaking a sweat.
I wasn’t angry, mainly disappointed, the fans were hoping for a real show down between two former tag partners who hate each other more than anything else in the entire world. What they got instead was about two minutes worth of me breaking the Instant Impact and giving him an impact he won’t soon ever forget.
Parker.......what can I say about you that hasn’t already been said before? I know you were in a slump lately but I was fully expecting you to bring that same fire into your match with James Shark last week into our match at Isolation. But nope what I got instead was not Parker at his best but rather Parker at his absolute worst!
What kind of excuse you have now? Whatever it is don't even bother telling me or hell, don't even bother telling these fans or better yet don't bother saying anything at all! You were cleared to complete, you had no injuries of any sort that was mentioned nor announced prior to the match. You can't say it’s because of the effects of whatever it is you're ingesting in your lungs cuz lord knows you've been puffing that brain cell killing plant stuff for god knows how many years and it hasn’t effected your line of thinking in any way shape or form.
So again I asked you, what excuse do you have for that lackluster, panty waste bullshit of a performance at Isolation? Just goes to prove to you that what I said before is true: You're no warrior, you're a spineless puppet whose only success comes from either joining a large group of people or just showing up at the right place at the right time, you never bother to pay your dues or earn your way through traditional methods because you feel you're too good for that shit.
Well at some point all that cutting corners would finally catch up to you didn't it Parker? Like I said before you have no fucking excuse for what happen during our match, you should have been ready, you knew this match would come, you knew what is to be expected and then when crunch time came you folded like a cheap accordion.
I mean what happened did your balls drop? Oh that's right I forgot you never had any to start with.
Go ahead and try to dress up your embarrassment as much as you like, lie through your teeth, sugar coat however you wish. There's no way you can hope to bounce back after that beat down you received from me. Just watch the tapes and keep telling yourself about whose carrying whose weight around.
As for me, I got bigger fish to fry, Heavyweight Championship here I come.=You don't know Jack.=I'm standing outside just in front of Darren's penthouse, no matter how many times I come here I can never get used to just how big this place really is. I mean looking up at this place I could feel myself arching my back as I continue to gaze at the scale of the building, I nearly lose my footing though but Marley thankfully was right behind me as she placed a hand on my shoulder preventing me from falling backwards, I turn to her as she looks back at me.
Marley Isamu
What are you doing, aren't we going to go inside?Yuko Isamu
Yeah it's just.........I can never get over this place.Marley Isamu
What the penthouse?Yuko Isamu
Yes I mean why would someone like Darren need a home this big? Understand he's a trainer and all but he hardly ever uses the gym unless I'm in it and there's like several floors that I'm pretty sure are almost never used at all.Marley Isamu
Yuko.....let's just go inside please? It's really cold out here.Yuko didn't notice her shivering; the sky is really thick with clouds and wind currents been raging ever since they arrived. It's strange to think that he didn't even notice the cold, perhaps because his mind was occupied by other things, amazing how the mind can make you almost immune to the effects of the outside.
Yuko Isamu
Achoo!Well.......almost immune.
We finally went inside the penthouse and closed the door behind us, thankfully the inside is much warmer, Darren must have the furnace on or something because the moment we went inside it's like we jumped climates. I had to discard my jacket as I was starting to sweat a little and even Marley felt the need to remove her parka, exposing her sky blue leather shirt and black pants. We hung our jackets on the nearby hanger next to us and proceeded towards the thin hallway, dodging paintings of abstract figures that I can never make out, I almost never pay attention to them every time I enter the penthouse, not that I'm a fan of abstract art anyway.
Entering the elevator, I pushed for the lobby and leaned to the side as the soothing jazz coming from the speakers. I can't help but shake my head in amusement, why is they always play some kind of soothing jazz style music in elevators? Likely will never understand it nor will I ever care enough to know.
After about fifth teen minutes’ worth of watching the number on the screen as it counts up the floors, I hear the pleasant sound of the doors opening and Marley would be the first one out followed by me. I took a glance at her figure as we walked, her belly is starting to show the early signs of her pregnancy, sporting a nice round bump no more than a few inches wide. I still can't believe that I'm going to be a father, something I once considered when I was with...........sigh can't think about the old times Yuko, not now, not ever.
This is your life now, this is what is happening right now, cherish it Yuko, enjoy the moment you're given, because lord knows this child could become an ever greater athlete than you.
Just the tradition of the new generation prevailing over the old generation.
Odd of someone only 22 years of age to be thinking about but whatever Yuko is getting far too ahead of himself right now. The lobby is up ahead and BM can be seen playing with Kayls on the Xbox 360 in front of a huge 72 inch flat screen set that Darren likely bought recently as I never recalled seeing that set until now.
I knocked on the side of the wall to get their attention, BM turns and jumps up the moment he sees me.
BM
Hey Yuko, great for you show up mang.Yuko Isamu
It's become a new routine for me lately, seems every time the show is over Darren wants me to come back to his penthouse. I turn my head to the left and the right, then turned completely around before returning my gaze back to BM.
Yuko Isamu
Speaking of which......where the heck is Darren?BM
Dude didn't he call you?Yuko Isamu
About what?BM
*sighs* He must have forgotten to call you before he left.Yuko Isamu
I don't understand.BM
Darren's not here right now, he is gone on his honeymoon with the wife and they won’t be back till tomorrow afternoon is what he said. He was supposed to call you to let you know that there won't be any training today but it must have slipped his mind when he left.Yuko Isamu
Can't you call him?BM
Err......he......didn't take his phone with him.Yuko Isamu
What!?BM
I tried calling him earlier and found that he left his phone next to his counter on the living room three floors down from here. He's already left the city and won't be back till later tomorrow.Yuko Isamu
Great.......so I came all this way here for nothing.I sighed deeply, just another notch of disappointment added to the everlasting pile of crap that I've already had to endure this week. From that quick beat down at Isolation, to hearing the crowd voice their anger at being denied of what could had been a classic rivalry match between the two men to arriving here when he could have went straight home and took some much needed rest.
BM
Why don't you guys just crash here tonight? Me and Kayls got the whole place to ourselves.Yuko Isamu
*To Marley* What do you think baby doll?Marley Isamu
I say we stay, I don't wanna go back into that cold air tonight, I just want to sit down and relax.Kayls
Yeah the news cast said that tonight is going to be very chilly, even said there's a fine chance of hail.Yuko Isamu
Ah what the hell we'll crash here then.BM
Cool then take a seat over here, we've just got done playing a round.I took Marley by the hand and guided her around the large leather sofa they got sitting just a few feet from the TV. set. I plopped down with Marley edging her tiny frame next to me; I took a moment to look at the screen with narrowed eyes.
Yuko Isamu
So........what are you guys playing?BM then reaches over the counter where there is already a stack of games; he carefully pulls one from the pile and hands it over to me. I snatched the display cover and took a glance at it.
Yuko Isamu
Interesting.BM
Wanna join in? Four people can play.Marley Isamu
Looks like fun, I wanna play.Yuko Isamu
Suppose I'll join in as well, where are the controllers?Kayls being closer to the TV. stands up and pulls on the glass doors beneath the set, she takes out two fresh 360 controllers and hands em to me and Marley. I take mine and push the center button as it flashes on to show that I'm connected and Marley has some trouble getting hers to work until I snatch the controller and reinserted the battery pack before handing it back to her. She thanks me with a peck on the cheek as we start a new round of the game.
*five hours and 73 episodes of You don't know Jack later*Yuko is seen sitting on his chair in front of his laptop; the room is pitch black with the only light is the screen in front of him. Marley is already sound asleep, having been dozing off for the past fifth teen or so minutes. Yuko can feel the need to sleep weighing heavy on him but he fights off the temptation to collapse in front of his keyboard as he surfs the internet, he looks up at the IWF site and sees that the new match card had already been made. Logging in he takes a look at the location, taking a moment to muse at where the next show would be taking place.
Yuko Isamu
*just above a whisper* Looks like we're going back to good old California this week. That's great, just means I won't have to travel so far from my home. This time I will head straight over there and not to Darren's penthouse!I kept my voice low so as to not disturb Marley who is bundled up in the bed sheets, even with the furnace circulating through most of the floors in the penthouse there are certain areas where it's cold. Already I could feel my body tingling as the air flows around the room and hits me on all sides, making me shiver in my chair. I ignored it though and pressed on, knowing that soon enough I'll be forced to retire to the bed before my body says fuck you and decides to shut off for the night.
Making my way past the match card I can see who I will face next, the name makes my eyebrows narrow as I take a closer glance.
Jack Savage
[vs.] Steel Angel
Jack Savage.........
Yuko Isamu
Great....first I played a game with Jack, now I get to fight a guy named Jack.Funny how life likes to throw in a curve ball at you like that.
=I got this one on lockdown.=Many days have passed before we all arrived at the Honda Center where the show will take place in. Darren is to the left of me, beaming like the mouse that eat the cheese cake, to the right is Marley hanging on my arm and behind me are BM with his standard cameraman attire consisting of short sleeve button shirt with a tie and gray jeans with the chain hanging from the left pocket. Kayls is dressed in a white shirt and a brown skirt that goes to her knees and long socks. Darren's been spending the last half hour or so talking my ear off as we make our way towards the locker rooms.
Darren De Jean
So alright here's what I've got for your next training session, I was thinking a gauntlet style match kinda like the one that Flex had last week. I mean every time I look at those newbies as they try the moves that they saw just only two minuites ago they fail and it straight up depresses me. I mean come on now these kids are just out of fucking collage for god's sake! This ain't hard, just follow the directions and that's it but nnoooooo they end up fucking up every simple move like they are just now learning how to walk on their own two feet like it's preschool all over again. It's unacceptable! One hundred percent UNFUCKING ACCEPTABLE!! Which is why Wednesday this week, you're going to be taking these kids to the school of hard knocks, you're gonna knock these damn lessons into their little mushed heads! I'd do it myself but why waist such a perfect chance for you to sharpen your skills? After all you've be-???
Excuse me Mr. Yuko sir?I turn around and this is what stood in front of me.
Interviewer
I was wondering if you would like to take a few moments to answer a question or two?She had a camera man stationed behind her; I breathed a sigh of relief. Her timing could not have been any more perfect, I was starting to think that Darren wouldn’t ever shut his mouth.
Darren De Jean
Sorry little lady but my boy here is getting ready for his match tonight an-Yuko Isamu
Of course I can take some time off my busy schedule to lend you my attention.Darren gives me a dark look; I brushed him off and turned my body towards the woman who has a mic in her hand.
Interviewer
Great thanks alot I'll be sure to make this quick.She gives the signal for the man to start rolling the footage as she moves closer to Yuko.
Interviewer
Hello IWF we're here with the Steel Angel and Steel I must say your match last week with Parker was quite the beat down. Your thoughts?Yuko Isamu
Well I know the crowd was very upset and I share their emotion, after all it was supposed to be an epic match between two bitter rivals, two men who have done so much for IWF, we've both won titles, we've both defeated powerful men and woman this company could offer. Yet when it came time to put or shut up, Parker didn't put up however I made damn sure to shut his ass up!Interviewer
Well tonight you'll be taking on Jack Savage, a man who has been on a tear ever since his return to IWF a few weeks ago. What do you have to say for your opponent?Yuko Isamu
Well for one thing I hope for his sake he can last alot longer in that ring with me than my poor excuse for a former tag partner did! Because right now I don't have time to be dealing with weaklings, I demand better competition; I demand a chance to rise to the top as I have done in the past. That of course means becoming champion once more.Interviewer
Alright one last question today Steel, rumor has it that Griffin Hawkins is planning on picking you to be his guest for his show later today. Your thoughts on this?Yuko Isamu
I'm sure the former Heavyweight champion has alot to say to me and vice versa, you'll just have to tune in to find out what me and him have to say because I'm not going to spoil anything here and now. There's a time and a place for everything and right now it's not the time nor the place for me to speak about such things.Interviewer
Well I thank you for your time Steel and wish you the best of luck in your match against Jack Savage.Yuko Isamu
I never need luck, my foe sure might though, he'll need all the luck if he has any hope of surviving my wrath!I then walk from the set and the woman smiles at the camera as she continues to talk to the audience, meanwhile I walk towards the locker but then Darren pulls me towards him and whispers with a hint of anger in his voice.
Darren De Jean
You didn't need to cock block like that, I had everything under control.I sighed and answered back, my voice calm.
Yuko Isamu
Darren just remember one thing: You're my trainer, not my mouth piece. I can speak for myself.He reluctantly lets go of my shoulder but keeps his glare on me, I ignore it as we make our way towards the door that has my name on it, we head inside and slam the door behind us, Marley being the last one in as she peaks out to make sure no one is within hearing distance before shutting the door.
Jack Savage, whenever I hear your name and see you in that ring all I can think about is missed opportunities. Every title shot you've been given, you failed to earn, even when if it's a number one contender shot you still fail.
I don't know what to say aside from the fact that you're allergic to success.
Heck last week was your best chance yet, you had the champ all tired out, on his last legs, poor guy already had to go through three others before you stepped in. You gave him hell alright but when it came time to seal the deal you just couldn’t quite do it.
So far that's always been your calling card hasn’t it Jack? You talk about your talents; how you're loaded with money and of course your achievements back at UECW. Well you've been in this company for quite some time and so you should know by now that all your past accolades don't count for shit in this company. I've beaten plenty of guys who all ride on past achievements from their old federations prior to joining this one. Sure I've once talked about what I've done back in DW but I never just stick to it so that it holds me back. I would use it as a motivation to outdo myself here and for the most part I've pretty much done that while you have done............well nothing.
You've yet to win a single belt in your time here and yet you still have the decency to brag.....because?
Because you're rich?
News flash Jack: Money doesn’t buy success, I mean Remington tried that and look how he ended up.
The issue with you Jack is that you don't want to let go of your past pride because it's all you have left, your methods have left a path of broken bodies but no actual championships to reflect it.
If it isn't broke don't fix it right?
Well your method of success is clearly broke but rather than fix it you continue to use that same method only to have it break even more. Until all your credibility has completely vanished.
Then what? You become nothing more than a mere afterthought.
Well I'm going to show you Jack that fighters are not just born, they are made.
Because you see I'm a fighter; I've earned my titles through the sweat of my brow and the passion in my heart.
Something you'll never understand and thus you'll continue to be void of success.
Because you won’t bring yourself to change your methods and let go of your pride.
I'll show you just how flawed your line of thinking truly is.
Bow down block head.