Post by Micheal Graves on Jan 24, 2019 13:24:37 GMT -8
The scene opens in a semi lush office inside of the office building of Iconic Sports Management, the working headquarters of Iconic Pro Wrestling. On one side of the desk sat IPW General Manager, Tapioca Joe, and on the other suspended IPW Icon, Micheal Graves.
Tap: “Micheal, before we get down to business, I would like to apologize. I know that you requested a face to face with Joshua Samson, but he just wasn’t able to make it today. A more important meeting needed his attention. With that being said, I would like to assure you that as the General Manager I have full authority in negotiating your potential return to IPW.”
An annoyed look falls across Micheal face.
Micheal Graves: “Pfffffft, whatever man. We shouldn’t even be talking about a return to action. Everybody knows that my suspension was uncalled for, and if I had attacked ANYONE other than…”
Tap holds his palm up toward Micheal signaling for him to pipe down. In a calm voice, Tap interjects.
Tap: “Micheal, it troubles me that you still don’t fully understand why you were suspended from active competition. Your suspension had nothing to do with the fact that you attacked Astrid, and everything to do with the fact that you created an unsafe work environment for your fellow Icons.”
Micheal huffs, puffs, and squirms in his seat the entire time Joe speaks. It’s obvious that he doesn’t want to listen to any of this.
Micheal Graves: “Listen man, that’s some bullshit and you know it! This is a wrestling promotion, yeah?”
Tap: “It is, yes.”
Micheal Graves: “Well you could’ve fooled me! Any other promotion would have saw what I did and rushed to book a rematch. They’d have billed that shit as a grudge match, maybe even booked it as an extreme match or put us in a cage, SOMETHING to raise the stakes and draw all the money we possibly could’ve.”
Tap: “While I appreciate your thoughts on the…”
Micheal Graves: “Shut up Joe, I didn’t say I was finished!”
The retired veteran wrestler takes a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. He manages to go a good job of keeping himself in line, but you can tell that Micheal’s attitude is beginning to get on his last nerve.
Micheal Graves: “You guys though, you all didn’t seem to give a good God**** about taking advantage of the hype surrounding what went down between Astrid and myself. Now what I find funny about the whole situation is the fact that after the show went off the air, it was just another day at the office. Then, once Astrid started running off at the mouth, cryin’ about how I hadn’t been properly punished for that unprovoked attack, that’s when Samson finally spoke up to me about it. We spoke about the incident and I could tell that he understood that it was just part of the business. At the end of our conversation he fined me and while I thought it was kinda odd to be fined for attacking a competitor after the match, I accepted that the disciplinary action that he was taking was reasonable. So, that right there should have been the end of this story, but no, Astrid continued to whine and cry. She even threatened to seek legal action against me, not realizing that my contract stipulated that any and all lawsuits brought against me while an employee of IPW would be defended by IPW’s lawyers, and if I lost and had to pay, the company would have been covering the bill.”
Tap: “No offense intended but what does all of this have to do with anything?”
Micheal Graves: “Everything… Nothing… I don’t know. I’d just like to hear why I was screwed out of my opportunity to become the first ever IPW Heavyweight Champion and forced to sit at home for the past three months. Was it because Samson was protecting his boo from me, or was he protecting his company from a hefty legal battle?”
Tap: “You attacked Astrid after the match. Now, I’ll admit that you’re right. Typically actions like those do not require management to step in and take any disciplinary action against an Icon. However, the savagery of the attack along with the complete disregard for the health and safety of a co-worker was enough for us to get involved. It’s not like you cracked someone in the back with a steel chair, Micheal. Astrid was lucky to walk away with just a concussion. You could have easily ended her career or worse her life with your actions.”
Micheal Graves: “Oh okay, so what you’re saying is that y’all a bunch of pussies around here?”
Tapioca Joe stares a hole through Micheal as he rest his arms on his desk, interlocks his fingers, and leans forward. He lets out an irritated
before responding.
Tap: “Here’s the deal: none of that stuff matters right now. Who did this, why did they do that, woe is me, how wronged I was. I don’t care about that going forward and you shouldn’t either. What you should be concerned with is what you need to do if you want to return from suspension.”
Micheal squirms in his chair as he fights the urge to smart off Joe.
Micheal Graves: “Okay… Fine… Say your piece.”
Tap: “The days of old school wrestling, the days where we made our bones in, are long gone, Micheal. It’s all big business, profit margins, and executives in stuffy suits. And although IPW is in its infant stages, it’s no different. Although I don’t expect you to stop being you, Micheal, there has to be a certain “toning” down of being the Dark Warrior. Be more embracing of your stature as elder statesmen amongst this very young roster.”
Micheal Graves: “So let me get this straight, you want me here for my name, and you want me here for whatever experience that I can offer to your roster, but you don’t want me here to stand out as a featured act? What’s the matter Joe, are you guys worried that these old bones will bury your roster?”
Tap: “I’m just the messenger, Micheal. If anyone knows how hard it can be coming to grips with the sport passing you by it’s me. But once you begin to accept the new role offered to you, the easier things will become.”
Micheal squirms in his chair once again. He doesn’t like what he’s hearing. Plenty of people have tried to write him off in the past. That seems to happen more often than not once you reach your forties, but Micheal refuses to believe that his best days are behind him. It is for that reason that he does what he does next.
Micheal Graves: “We’re done here!”
Micheal stands up, knocking the chair over in the process and storms out of the office before Tap can even muster the words to try and calm him. Deeply exhaling, Tap reaches over and picks up the receiver from its phone base. Pressing a button, he waits until the unheard voice picks up down the line.
Tap: “Graves reacted exactly as I told you he would, Joshua. Guys like him, like me, aren’t just in the sport to do a job. This is life to him and trust me when I tell you that we haven’t heard the last of this.”
The scene closes.
General Manager Tapioca Joe
Tap: “Micheal, before we get down to business, I would like to apologize. I know that you requested a face to face with Joshua Samson, but he just wasn’t able to make it today. A more important meeting needed his attention. With that being said, I would like to assure you that as the General Manager I have full authority in negotiating your potential return to IPW.”
An annoyed look falls across Micheal face.
Micheal Graves: “Pfffffft, whatever man. We shouldn’t even be talking about a return to action. Everybody knows that my suspension was uncalled for, and if I had attacked ANYONE other than…”
Tap holds his palm up toward Micheal signaling for him to pipe down. In a calm voice, Tap interjects.
Tap: “Micheal, it troubles me that you still don’t fully understand why you were suspended from active competition. Your suspension had nothing to do with the fact that you attacked Astrid, and everything to do with the fact that you created an unsafe work environment for your fellow Icons.”
Micheal huffs, puffs, and squirms in his seat the entire time Joe speaks. It’s obvious that he doesn’t want to listen to any of this.
Micheal Graves: “Listen man, that’s some bullshit and you know it! This is a wrestling promotion, yeah?”
Tap: “It is, yes.”
Micheal Graves: “Well you could’ve fooled me! Any other promotion would have saw what I did and rushed to book a rematch. They’d have billed that shit as a grudge match, maybe even booked it as an extreme match or put us in a cage, SOMETHING to raise the stakes and draw all the money we possibly could’ve.”
Tap: “While I appreciate your thoughts on the…”
Micheal Graves: “Shut up Joe, I didn’t say I was finished!”
The retired veteran wrestler takes a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. He manages to go a good job of keeping himself in line, but you can tell that Micheal’s attitude is beginning to get on his last nerve.
Micheal Graves: “You guys though, you all didn’t seem to give a good God**** about taking advantage of the hype surrounding what went down between Astrid and myself. Now what I find funny about the whole situation is the fact that after the show went off the air, it was just another day at the office. Then, once Astrid started running off at the mouth, cryin’ about how I hadn’t been properly punished for that unprovoked attack, that’s when Samson finally spoke up to me about it. We spoke about the incident and I could tell that he understood that it was just part of the business. At the end of our conversation he fined me and while I thought it was kinda odd to be fined for attacking a competitor after the match, I accepted that the disciplinary action that he was taking was reasonable. So, that right there should have been the end of this story, but no, Astrid continued to whine and cry. She even threatened to seek legal action against me, not realizing that my contract stipulated that any and all lawsuits brought against me while an employee of IPW would be defended by IPW’s lawyers, and if I lost and had to pay, the company would have been covering the bill.”
Tap: “No offense intended but what does all of this have to do with anything?”
Micheal Graves: “Everything… Nothing… I don’t know. I’d just like to hear why I was screwed out of my opportunity to become the first ever IPW Heavyweight Champion and forced to sit at home for the past three months. Was it because Samson was protecting his boo from me, or was he protecting his company from a hefty legal battle?”
Tap: “You attacked Astrid after the match. Now, I’ll admit that you’re right. Typically actions like those do not require management to step in and take any disciplinary action against an Icon. However, the savagery of the attack along with the complete disregard for the health and safety of a co-worker was enough for us to get involved. It’s not like you cracked someone in the back with a steel chair, Micheal. Astrid was lucky to walk away with just a concussion. You could have easily ended her career or worse her life with your actions.”
Micheal Graves: “Oh okay, so what you’re saying is that y’all a bunch of pussies around here?”
Tapioca Joe stares a hole through Micheal as he rest his arms on his desk, interlocks his fingers, and leans forward. He lets out an irritated
before responding.Tap: “Here’s the deal: none of that stuff matters right now. Who did this, why did they do that, woe is me, how wronged I was. I don’t care about that going forward and you shouldn’t either. What you should be concerned with is what you need to do if you want to return from suspension.”
Micheal squirms in his chair as he fights the urge to smart off Joe.
Micheal Graves: “Okay… Fine… Say your piece.”
Tap: “The days of old school wrestling, the days where we made our bones in, are long gone, Micheal. It’s all big business, profit margins, and executives in stuffy suits. And although IPW is in its infant stages, it’s no different. Although I don’t expect you to stop being you, Micheal, there has to be a certain “toning” down of being the Dark Warrior. Be more embracing of your stature as elder statesmen amongst this very young roster.”
Micheal Graves: “So let me get this straight, you want me here for my name, and you want me here for whatever experience that I can offer to your roster, but you don’t want me here to stand out as a featured act? What’s the matter Joe, are you guys worried that these old bones will bury your roster?”
Tap: “I’m just the messenger, Micheal. If anyone knows how hard it can be coming to grips with the sport passing you by it’s me. But once you begin to accept the new role offered to you, the easier things will become.”
Micheal squirms in his chair once again. He doesn’t like what he’s hearing. Plenty of people have tried to write him off in the past. That seems to happen more often than not once you reach your forties, but Micheal refuses to believe that his best days are behind him. It is for that reason that he does what he does next.
Micheal Graves: “We’re done here!”
Micheal stands up, knocking the chair over in the process and storms out of the office before Tap can even muster the words to try and calm him. Deeply exhaling, Tap reaches over and picks up the receiver from its phone base. Pressing a button, he waits until the unheard voice picks up down the line.
Tap: “Graves reacted exactly as I told you he would, Joshua. Guys like him, like me, aren’t just in the sport to do a job. This is life to him and trust me when I tell you that we haven’t heard the last of this.”
The scene closes.
General Manager Tapioca Joe
