Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
Time to restore order; vs. Laura Seton - Battlelines XII
Topic Started: May 15 2016, 02:32 PM (24 Views)
Grady Smith
Member Avatar
10-time World Champion
Saturday, May 14, 2016
10:45 PM





“So you think you’re ready for this?”

“I have to be, now.”

The image of two figures sitting at a dressed dining room table fills the screen. It’s a scene that we’ve seen before, just not in this manner. Sitting at the head of the table is the returning legend, Grady Smith. Sitting to his immediate left is his wife, Janelle Smith. Some of you may also know her as Mom Robertson. In front of Grady, a glass of whisky, neat. In front of Janelle is a coffee mug, but most likely tea. The dim light over the table reflects off the faces of the two figures, but not much else can be seen in the scene.

“I still don’t think it’s a great idea.”

“You didn’t think it was a great idea back in ‘97, either, and look how that turned out.”

“You also weren’t 42 years old back then with two knee surgeries.”

“I did look pretty good two weeks ago at Battlelines, though.”

Jenelle leans in to kiss her husband.

“You always look good to me, especially in those tights of yours. Where you won’t look good to me is if you end up in the hospital again.”

“That won’t happen again.”

“How do you know?”

“I won’t let it.”

“So you let it happen then?”

”Why does she always have to have a rational comeback to everything?”

“I got this.”

Janelle smirks. “You got this… At least let Cal come with you Monday night to the show… Just in case.”

“So you want to send the nearly 50 year old to come protect the 42 year old?”

Janelle knew that, even though her brother Cal was probably the toughest person she knew -- even Grady would admit that Cal was tougher -- it didn’t really make sense to have Calvin Walker, who’s workouts nowadays included things that had the number twelve in common; a dozen donuts, 12 ounces of Miller High Life. At least Grady, while he hadn’t wrestled full time in over a decade, had continued his routine of going to the gym a few times a week and still sparred with some of the local high school kids when they would come in for enhanced training.

“At least it’s a second set of eyes, in case Haven and Kage get it in their head to try and jump you once again. ‘For Martin’s sake’, as they’ll probably claim.”

“I can’t worry about them, especially when I’m in the ring against Laura Monday night.”

“I can’t believe how far she’s come along from when we were watching her back before you first retired.”

“I know, right? I’m really looking forward to getting in the ring against her. I tried looking back through all of my tapes to see if we ever competed against each other back then. Couldn’t find anything.”

“I thought you sent all of that stuff to Martin a few months ago?”

“You don’t think I kept copies of all that?”

“Doesn’t surprise me that you did. When are you driving out?”

“Tomorrow morning. Figure it’s about a five hour drive, but I’ll stop off in Albany quick for breakfast. Give me time to focus in on the task at hand before checking into the hotel. Get a quick workout in, then an early night in before Monday. Sure you don’t want to come? I could use the company in the car…” Grady leans down and kisses his wife’s hand. “... I hear the room has a jacuzzi tub…”

Janelle smiles. “Are you trying to sweet talk me again, Mr. Wrestling Man?”

“Oh mon amour. Permettez- moi de vous montrer combien Je t'aime…”

“Are you speaking to me in French again?”

Continuing to kiss his wife’s hand… “It is the language of love…”

“Just because it worked nearly 20 years ago…”

Janelle reaches behind her and grabs the leathered cowboy hat that Grady can be seen wearing to the ring all the time. She places the hat on his head.

“But you have more important things to focus on, my love.”

“Monday night is for fighting, my dear. But tonight… it is only Saturday night. Plenty of time for other things…”




Sunday, May 15, 2016
8:30 AM





Grady always loved the travel on the road. Not only because he got to drive around in his new toy -- the stunning 2016 Infiniti QX80 -- but going from city to city, state to state, it gave Grady a chance to do something he always imagined doing as a child, but probably never figured would happen: see the world. So while, for most people, Sunday was a day of rest, Grady didn’t mind spending the morning on the road, traveling to the next event. This, to him, was his church.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that he decided to take the Sunday morning drive from his summer home in Cortland out to Battlelines in Boston. Wearing a long sleeve t-shirt with the SUNY Cortland logo on the front, Grady cruised down Interstate 88 listening to songs that would probably, at some point, end up being another entrance theme for him to used. But the music motivated him. It allowed him to focus thoughts on whatever the topic rolling around in his head was at the moment.

The song currently on: “Still Counting” by Volbeat

“So my first match back is against Laura Seton. Certainly not messing around with a warm up match, although I do appreciate Joe’s attempt last week.”

“I certainly didn’t ask to be put in such a high profile match coming back into this business. The rationale for my return has been, and still is, much more personal. Rationale that I don’t need to go over at this moment in time.”

“But I’m not back to coast through here until the time is right to correct many of the wrongs that currently plague the EWA. While the contract says I can show up anytime, anywhere, against anyone, that certainly doesn’t mean I’m just going to sit back and hold out until I get everything I want. Sounds too much like what I'm here to put an end to… “

“Which brings us to Laura Seton. It’s good to see the success that has come to you recently. EWA World Heavyweight Champion, which you would still be should a few childish individuals not attempt to get their way each and every week.”

“But I’ve had my eye on you ever since we were in the Warriors Trial a few months ago. You really impressed a lot of people that night, myself included. Yes, you won the actual Warriors Trial match, lasting in the ring almost an hour, the eliminations, that was all good. But what people quickly forget about that night is the thing that I focused on more than the Warriors Trial. You fought two matches that night. Yeah, people congratulate you on the win, but I want to congratulate you on the loss.”

“That loss to Martin in the first match that night really showed me the Laura Seton that is here competing in the EWA. Yes, you lost. You weren’t able to capture the EWA Network Title from Martin. But the way you handled the loss was impressive. You didn’t whine, you didn’t complain. You exited the ring and you focused on the next task at hand, which was the Warriors Trial later on that evening.”

“Now, most people, considering the way that they lost, having almost won the match thirty seconds earlier, would have lost their focus on the bigger picture sitting in front of them. But not you… you managed to stay focused, and went on to accomplish what you needed to accomplish.”

“Why do I bring up the loss? Is that just something that us old fellers do as we wax poetic on the camera? Nah, there’s an actual point here.”

“Just like you, there’s a bigger picture here for Grady Smith. That bigger picture will come to fruition when it’s time. But don’t believe for a second that I’m going to lose focus and look past you. That big picture happens in the future, and I know that, and I’ve accepted that.”

“Standing in front of me right now, though, is Twenty Minutes of Terror. And to someone who might not have the experience that I do, it really might be something to consider. But do you really think I’m terrified to step into the ring with you, Laura? Is a man that has fought the matches that I have terrified of a basic singles match?”

“Now, this has nothing to do with the fact that you’re a woman. Male, female, I don’t really care. Everyone that steps into the ring against me is going to get the same Grady Smith, regardless of gender or status within the EWA.”

“The larger question at hand, Laura, is now that you've stepped up your game to the big time, can you handle the pressure? Can you continue to compete at such a high level against the best the world has to offer? It's something that you have struggled with in the past. It's one thing to get to the top of the mountain… it's a completely different task to stay at the top.”

“This is called putting doubt into your mind, because the second you start to doubt yourself, mark my words Laura… “

“You. Are. Going. To. Lose.”

“It's why I brought up the match with Martin a few months ago. You had the win against him, then for one moment, you doubted yourself, and you lost. At the asylum, you had a shot at winning the title in Mexico. But a split second of doubt, and you lost.”

“And once… once I place that single moment of doubt in your head again Monday night at Battlelines, you'll learn that the Grady Smith that showed up two weeks ago and worked for over an hour to defeat Team Gates… it's the same Grady Smith that dominated this industry over a decade ago, and it's the same Grady Smith you're going to lose to on Monday night.”

“No more marks. No more ‘Dead Wrong’.”

“It’s just Grady Smith. Starting the journey to fix the EWA. And the first stop on that journey is to show everyone just what I am capable of.”

“It's time that the natural order of the wrestling world is restored. Because in a universe full of kings, there can only be on God...”

“Sorry that you're the first one up.”


There's quite a lengthy pause from Grady to emphasize those words; to let the words sink in and be realized by anyone listening.

“Oh, I love this song! Probably one of the most pure classics from A Tribe Called Quest. ‘We on Award Tour with Grady Smith my man, Going in each and every place with a mic in my hand, New York, N.J., Boston, V.A….’”

Fade to black.

  • 10-time circuit World Heavyweight Champion
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · The Warrior's Den · Next Topic »
Add Reply