Post by Gabrielle Visconty on Feb 19, 2019 22:58:22 GMT -6
The sounds of the end of the Fatal Three Way match from Monday Night Brawl greet us as the image fades in. We see Gabrielle Visconty sitting silently on a couch in the middle of the living room of her mother and father's home, dvr remote clutched tightly in her hands. Gabi looks exhausted, yet she watches the battle unfold on the TV play out with intent.
Bennett: Oh hell yeah! He said he was going to bring the ladders and that son of a bitch delivered!
Carter: I think Darius is stuck in the X-Division rules mindset ...
Darius climbs through the ropes, picks up the ladder, and starts to slam it down onto Mike and Gabi repeatedly, and then rests the ladder in the corner. He then picks Gabi up to her feet and whips her into the ladder. Darius then picks Mike up to his feet and attempts to whip him into Gabi, but Mike reverses it and instead whips Darius at Gabi, but instead of Darius crashing into Gabi, he instead lunges forward and connects with the Hunter's Mark, spearing Gabi into the ladder and breaking it into two!
The crowd breaks out into a holy shit chant as Darius gets to his feet holding his head, but then Mike comes in from behind and lands a stiff discus clothesline to the back of Darius' neck, dropping him to the mat instantly!
Aiello: The Iron Strong Arm! Darius is out!
Mike pushes Darius out of the ring and then covers Gabi, hooking both legs;
1!
2!
3!
The image on the screen pauses. It's of Mike Strong standing up victorious. Gabi sighs and rewinds the video and begins watching it again.
In the kitchen of the house stands Gabrielle's mother: Cheri. She watches her daughter re-watch the end of the Brawl match again; for the fifth time. Cheri, with a concerned look upon her face, turns from watching Gabi and walks over to the kitchen table to take a seat next to her husband, Gabi's father: The “Pied Piper” Kirk Visconty. Cheri leans over and speaks to Kirk, her voice kept deliberately low, a slight French accent to her words.
”I don't think she's slept... You need to go speak to her. She's crushed.”
Kirk scoops a large spoonful of Fruit Loops into his mouth as he watches something on a tablet next to him. His ignoring of her requests set's Cheri's motherly instinct into over drive, and she slides her chair back noisily from the table and starts to walk away, heading out towards Gabi. She nearly gets a step away when Kirk's hand catches her by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. Cheri turns and glares back at Kirk, the fire in her eyes is a dead give away of where Gabi get's it from. Kirk looks up at her, munching on cereal while smirking, and it is easy to see where Gabi get's that from as well.
”Not yet... She will ask for help when she wants it. Dammit Cheri, the girl has done her best to distance herself from us since starting her career. She doesn't want to be in our shadow. She didn't come here to eat cereal and watch TV, she's trying to figure something out - Give her some time.”
Kirk replies through half a mouthful of cereal. He releases his hold on Cheri's wrist and Cheri flops back down in her chair, a defeated look in her eyes.
”Kirk, she's crushed. She was doing so well.”
”It's called a life lesson. Yes, she crushed, but she came here for a reason. She will ask for advice, but it will take time for her to do it.”
Cheri sighs as she looks over at the tablet to see what Kirk is watching.
”Mike Strong's promo? You plan on rubbing her nose in the that?”
Cheri replies sharply as she points at the tablet. Kirk chuckles a bit, nearly choking on the remains of his cereal. He shakes his head “no” as he replies.
”And to think, you were my manager at one time.”
Cheri playfully punches Kirk in the arm as he chuckles.
Out in the living room we hear the sounds of Gabi's match on Prime start near the end.
Everett: The FSW team is being surprisingly effective at isolating Carrie Samson. Terra looks impatient to do some damage here.
Amsler: I don't claim to be her biggest fan, but she's definitely going to have to get in there soon if she wants to win this match for team PRIME.
FSW looked like they had the match locked up, but Gabi's penchant for playing to the crowd was her undoing. She let Carrie recover enough to hit a dropkick to her back, shooting her forward. Gabi staggered, and as soon as she recovered her footing, she charged with a clothesline attempt that Carrie neatly bent back to avoid. Gabi tried to stop and attack on the way back, but Carrie rolled under the attack and tagged Terra who came in like a house on fire. She ran right past Gabi and leaped up with the help of the top rope to nail Hope in the face with a running knee strike. As Gabi rushed toward her she nailed an exploder suplex, and as Gabi was trying to scramble to her feet, Terra hooked her in for Magnitude 9 and planted her face-first! As she covered Gabi, Hope was recovering, but Carrie rushed in to nail a low dropkick to Hope before she could get back into the ring, resulting in a three-count and a win for team Prime!
Back out in the kitchen Cheri "humphs" as she looks at Kirk. About that time we hear the frustrated voice of Gabi from the living room.
”Where in the hell did I go wrong?”
Almost as if on queue, Kirk smiles arrogantly at Cheri. He slides his chair back and stands up, picking up the tablet off the table.
”Now it's time.”
He tells her confidently. Cheri shakes her head as Kirk turns from her. She playfully grabs his spoon and scoops a spoonful of his Fruit Loops into her mouth. Kirk looks back at her, offering a “hurt” expression, and chuckles as he turns his attention to his daughter.
”God, these suck.”
Cheri replies before spitting the cereal back into the bowl.
Kirk walks out into the living room to find Gabi leaning back into the couch, her arms folded across her chest with a distraught look on her face. She stares disgustingly at the TV as her father comes into the her view, the image of Terra Walker pinning her paused on the screen. He sits down next to her, setting the tablet on the coffee table in front of them. The two look at each other for a moment, both of them saying nothing. Gabi then starts to speak.
”What happ...”
”You got cocky.”
Kirk replies as he grins at her. Gabi's expression hardens a bit. She looks like she is about to snap when Kirk cuts her off again.
”Those wins and that belt went straight to your head. You became ungrateful and disrespectful... Sloppy.”
”What? Dad, I busted my ass for tha...”
Kirk holds his hand up, stopping her once again.
”You 'busted' your ass, past tense, and then you got sloppy. You did everything right when you walked into the EWC. You started 'paying your dues' and earned some respect the right way. Then you started winning and, well, as your mom likes to say, the 'Mini-Kirk' came out.”
Gabi frowns a bit, more lost than angry. Kirk nods to her slightly.
”I don't understand... Where did I go wrong?”
Kirk gabs the tablet and taps up a video, then hands it over to her.
”Your early promos. Scan thru them if you like, but I can tell you what you will see. You will see a young woman excited to be in the Pros. You will see a young woman who is putting in work at the gym and working to be the best. You were bright eyed and blown away by it all. You had made it to the big time!”
Gabi starts scanning through the collection of promos and matches.
”Dad, you saved them all?”
”Yep. But, back to the point I was making. Your first couple matches you put out good promos, and put up even better fights. Yeah, you got tossed rather quickly at Stablewars, but that was due to your rookie nerves. Scan over that match... Look at your eyes, you looked like a deer caught in headlights. Then your match against Melody Malone. You looked great! You put up a hell of a fight, but you were out classed. You were facing someone that had the ring experience that you lacked. Then, you fought Robina. This is where you came into your own. You looked better than you should of. Hell, even your mom was blown away at how good you looked. And when you put her down for the '3', it was electric. Look at your expression after the win, it will tell you all you wanted to know. But, it was at that very moment that you started to believe in yourself a little too much. Your promos got sloppy as well as your ring work. You got that win over Joe because he was already beat. You knew that and that is why you were so pissed. But you were the TV Champion, just like your dad. The first belt I ever won, and you did the exact same thing, but only quicker.”
Gabi looks up from the tablet to her father, trying to read his motives.
”Then Mini-Kirk got completely out of control. You were the champ and no one else was worthy. Watch some of those promos, your acting like a spoiled brat who thinks the world should bow at her feet. Then you made the biggest mistake of your young career... You spread yourself too thin. The matches that followed were all dismal failures. Not dismissing your opponents skills, but you were not doing the basics to get ready; I can see it in your promos and matches. You got cocky, and you lost your focus.”
Gabi scans through matches and promos for a couple minutes, pausing at certain images, sighing deeply.
”Click that last file, the one marked 'Idjit'.”
Gabi frowns, but clicks it anyway. “Iron” Mike Strong's promo comes on. Gabi grimaces, as if being forced to watch a boring TV show.
”Don't watch it as Gabi Vee... Watch it as Gabrielle Visconty.”
Gabi rolls her eyes a bit and continues watching it. She pauses at a few parts and rewinds, watching again. Her head slowly begins to sink low as the reality of it starts to set in. Kirk pats his daughter on the arm lightly. He smirks as he realizes that he has gotten the point across.
”That is who you need to be again. Not some ungrateful jackass laughing at her opponents, but the wrestler Mike's girls see when they watch you. Do you see the way they are watching you, how excited they are? Hell, even Hope's step daughter is a fan.”
Gabi closes the video and shuts her eyes. Kirk brushes her pink hair from the side of her face, exposing the bruises of the business on her jaw. She looks embarrassed at herself as she sets the tablet on the coffee table in front of her. She offers an uneasy smile to her father.
”What is wrong with your TV title?”
Kirk asks her sternly. Gabi, a little shocked at her father's words, slowly looks down at the title lying on the floor at her feet; face down. She picks it up, flipping it over in her hands. Gabi traces her fingers across the lettering as she seems to suddenly remember what that belt means to her.
”That belt isn't yours to keep. It wasn't given to you by Bob or Joe. You won it, like it or not. And for as long as it is in your possession, I would suggest you represent it with all you are. Not just for the Visconty name, or yourself, but for the EWC and the fans that are buying your overpriced merchandise.”
Kirk chuckles at his words, attempting to lighten the sting of what Gabi is starting to figure out. Cheri walks up behind Gabi, resting her hands on her daughter's shoulders. Gabi flinches in pain slightly, and her mother, as one would expect a mother to do, recoils as she realizes she has caused her daughter some pain.
”Oh! Sweetie, I am so sorry!”
”It's okay. My back and shoulders still hurt from the chair and ladder shots I took.”
”Do you want some aspirin?”
Gabi shakes her head slightly without looking at her mother. She stares silently at the TV Title in her lap.
”No.”
Gabi looks over to her father, and it is easy to see the weariness in her eyes.
”Can I stay here a couple days? I need to sort some things out... Away from it all.”
”Get rid of that pink hair and you can stay as long as you need.”
”You can stay as long as you want.”
Cheri interjects quickly. Gabi smiles at her parents as she painfully gets up off the couch. She drapes the TV Title over her shoulder, patting it softly.
”I am going to go lay down for a bit... I'm a little jet lagged.”
”Sure thing, Champ.”
Gabi bends over and hugs her father. Her expression shows every bump and bruise she has taken the last few weeks as her father hugs her back.
”Ow... Ow, Dad.”
Kirk lets her go, catching her hands as she tries to pull away.
”Walk it off.”
Gabi smirks at her father as she starts to walk off slowly towards the back of the home. Cheri slips over behind Kirk and wraps her arms around his neck to whisper in his ear.
”God, she is so much like you.”
Bennett: Oh hell yeah! He said he was going to bring the ladders and that son of a bitch delivered!
Carter: I think Darius is stuck in the X-Division rules mindset ...
Darius climbs through the ropes, picks up the ladder, and starts to slam it down onto Mike and Gabi repeatedly, and then rests the ladder in the corner. He then picks Gabi up to her feet and whips her into the ladder. Darius then picks Mike up to his feet and attempts to whip him into Gabi, but Mike reverses it and instead whips Darius at Gabi, but instead of Darius crashing into Gabi, he instead lunges forward and connects with the Hunter's Mark, spearing Gabi into the ladder and breaking it into two!
The crowd breaks out into a holy shit chant as Darius gets to his feet holding his head, but then Mike comes in from behind and lands a stiff discus clothesline to the back of Darius' neck, dropping him to the mat instantly!
Aiello: The Iron Strong Arm! Darius is out!
Mike pushes Darius out of the ring and then covers Gabi, hooking both legs;
1!
2!
3!
The image on the screen pauses. It's of Mike Strong standing up victorious. Gabi sighs and rewinds the video and begins watching it again.
In the kitchen of the house stands Gabrielle's mother: Cheri. She watches her daughter re-watch the end of the Brawl match again; for the fifth time. Cheri, with a concerned look upon her face, turns from watching Gabi and walks over to the kitchen table to take a seat next to her husband, Gabi's father: The “Pied Piper” Kirk Visconty. Cheri leans over and speaks to Kirk, her voice kept deliberately low, a slight French accent to her words.
”I don't think she's slept... You need to go speak to her. She's crushed.”
Kirk scoops a large spoonful of Fruit Loops into his mouth as he watches something on a tablet next to him. His ignoring of her requests set's Cheri's motherly instinct into over drive, and she slides her chair back noisily from the table and starts to walk away, heading out towards Gabi. She nearly gets a step away when Kirk's hand catches her by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. Cheri turns and glares back at Kirk, the fire in her eyes is a dead give away of where Gabi get's it from. Kirk looks up at her, munching on cereal while smirking, and it is easy to see where Gabi get's that from as well.
”Not yet... She will ask for help when she wants it. Dammit Cheri, the girl has done her best to distance herself from us since starting her career. She doesn't want to be in our shadow. She didn't come here to eat cereal and watch TV, she's trying to figure something out - Give her some time.”
Kirk replies through half a mouthful of cereal. He releases his hold on Cheri's wrist and Cheri flops back down in her chair, a defeated look in her eyes.
”Kirk, she's crushed. She was doing so well.”
”It's called a life lesson. Yes, she crushed, but she came here for a reason. She will ask for advice, but it will take time for her to do it.”
Cheri sighs as she looks over at the tablet to see what Kirk is watching.
”Mike Strong's promo? You plan on rubbing her nose in the that?”
Cheri replies sharply as she points at the tablet. Kirk chuckles a bit, nearly choking on the remains of his cereal. He shakes his head “no” as he replies.
”And to think, you were my manager at one time.”
Cheri playfully punches Kirk in the arm as he chuckles.
Out in the living room we hear the sounds of Gabi's match on Prime start near the end.
Everett: The FSW team is being surprisingly effective at isolating Carrie Samson. Terra looks impatient to do some damage here.
Amsler: I don't claim to be her biggest fan, but she's definitely going to have to get in there soon if she wants to win this match for team PRIME.
FSW looked like they had the match locked up, but Gabi's penchant for playing to the crowd was her undoing. She let Carrie recover enough to hit a dropkick to her back, shooting her forward. Gabi staggered, and as soon as she recovered her footing, she charged with a clothesline attempt that Carrie neatly bent back to avoid. Gabi tried to stop and attack on the way back, but Carrie rolled under the attack and tagged Terra who came in like a house on fire. She ran right past Gabi and leaped up with the help of the top rope to nail Hope in the face with a running knee strike. As Gabi rushed toward her she nailed an exploder suplex, and as Gabi was trying to scramble to her feet, Terra hooked her in for Magnitude 9 and planted her face-first! As she covered Gabi, Hope was recovering, but Carrie rushed in to nail a low dropkick to Hope before she could get back into the ring, resulting in a three-count and a win for team Prime!
Back out in the kitchen Cheri "humphs" as she looks at Kirk. About that time we hear the frustrated voice of Gabi from the living room.
”Where in the hell did I go wrong?”
Almost as if on queue, Kirk smiles arrogantly at Cheri. He slides his chair back and stands up, picking up the tablet off the table.
”Now it's time.”
He tells her confidently. Cheri shakes her head as Kirk turns from her. She playfully grabs his spoon and scoops a spoonful of his Fruit Loops into her mouth. Kirk looks back at her, offering a “hurt” expression, and chuckles as he turns his attention to his daughter.
”God, these suck.”
Cheri replies before spitting the cereal back into the bowl.
Kirk walks out into the living room to find Gabi leaning back into the couch, her arms folded across her chest with a distraught look on her face. She stares disgustingly at the TV as her father comes into the her view, the image of Terra Walker pinning her paused on the screen. He sits down next to her, setting the tablet on the coffee table in front of them. The two look at each other for a moment, both of them saying nothing. Gabi then starts to speak.
”What happ...”
”You got cocky.”
Kirk replies as he grins at her. Gabi's expression hardens a bit. She looks like she is about to snap when Kirk cuts her off again.
”Those wins and that belt went straight to your head. You became ungrateful and disrespectful... Sloppy.”
”What? Dad, I busted my ass for tha...”
Kirk holds his hand up, stopping her once again.
”You 'busted' your ass, past tense, and then you got sloppy. You did everything right when you walked into the EWC. You started 'paying your dues' and earned some respect the right way. Then you started winning and, well, as your mom likes to say, the 'Mini-Kirk' came out.”
Gabi frowns a bit, more lost than angry. Kirk nods to her slightly.
”I don't understand... Where did I go wrong?”
Kirk gabs the tablet and taps up a video, then hands it over to her.
”Your early promos. Scan thru them if you like, but I can tell you what you will see. You will see a young woman excited to be in the Pros. You will see a young woman who is putting in work at the gym and working to be the best. You were bright eyed and blown away by it all. You had made it to the big time!”
Gabi starts scanning through the collection of promos and matches.
”Dad, you saved them all?”
”Yep. But, back to the point I was making. Your first couple matches you put out good promos, and put up even better fights. Yeah, you got tossed rather quickly at Stablewars, but that was due to your rookie nerves. Scan over that match... Look at your eyes, you looked like a deer caught in headlights. Then your match against Melody Malone. You looked great! You put up a hell of a fight, but you were out classed. You were facing someone that had the ring experience that you lacked. Then, you fought Robina. This is where you came into your own. You looked better than you should of. Hell, even your mom was blown away at how good you looked. And when you put her down for the '3', it was electric. Look at your expression after the win, it will tell you all you wanted to know. But, it was at that very moment that you started to believe in yourself a little too much. Your promos got sloppy as well as your ring work. You got that win over Joe because he was already beat. You knew that and that is why you were so pissed. But you were the TV Champion, just like your dad. The first belt I ever won, and you did the exact same thing, but only quicker.”
Gabi looks up from the tablet to her father, trying to read his motives.
”Then Mini-Kirk got completely out of control. You were the champ and no one else was worthy. Watch some of those promos, your acting like a spoiled brat who thinks the world should bow at her feet. Then you made the biggest mistake of your young career... You spread yourself too thin. The matches that followed were all dismal failures. Not dismissing your opponents skills, but you were not doing the basics to get ready; I can see it in your promos and matches. You got cocky, and you lost your focus.”
Gabi scans through matches and promos for a couple minutes, pausing at certain images, sighing deeply.
”Click that last file, the one marked 'Idjit'.”
Gabi frowns, but clicks it anyway. “Iron” Mike Strong's promo comes on. Gabi grimaces, as if being forced to watch a boring TV show.
”Don't watch it as Gabi Vee... Watch it as Gabrielle Visconty.”
Gabi rolls her eyes a bit and continues watching it. She pauses at a few parts and rewinds, watching again. Her head slowly begins to sink low as the reality of it starts to set in. Kirk pats his daughter on the arm lightly. He smirks as he realizes that he has gotten the point across.
”That is who you need to be again. Not some ungrateful jackass laughing at her opponents, but the wrestler Mike's girls see when they watch you. Do you see the way they are watching you, how excited they are? Hell, even Hope's step daughter is a fan.”
Gabi closes the video and shuts her eyes. Kirk brushes her pink hair from the side of her face, exposing the bruises of the business on her jaw. She looks embarrassed at herself as she sets the tablet on the coffee table in front of her. She offers an uneasy smile to her father.
”What is wrong with your TV title?”
Kirk asks her sternly. Gabi, a little shocked at her father's words, slowly looks down at the title lying on the floor at her feet; face down. She picks it up, flipping it over in her hands. Gabi traces her fingers across the lettering as she seems to suddenly remember what that belt means to her.
”That belt isn't yours to keep. It wasn't given to you by Bob or Joe. You won it, like it or not. And for as long as it is in your possession, I would suggest you represent it with all you are. Not just for the Visconty name, or yourself, but for the EWC and the fans that are buying your overpriced merchandise.”
Kirk chuckles at his words, attempting to lighten the sting of what Gabi is starting to figure out. Cheri walks up behind Gabi, resting her hands on her daughter's shoulders. Gabi flinches in pain slightly, and her mother, as one would expect a mother to do, recoils as she realizes she has caused her daughter some pain.
”Oh! Sweetie, I am so sorry!”
”It's okay. My back and shoulders still hurt from the chair and ladder shots I took.”
”Do you want some aspirin?”
Gabi shakes her head slightly without looking at her mother. She stares silently at the TV Title in her lap.
”No.”
Gabi looks over to her father, and it is easy to see the weariness in her eyes.
”Can I stay here a couple days? I need to sort some things out... Away from it all.”
”Get rid of that pink hair and you can stay as long as you need.”
”You can stay as long as you want.”
Cheri interjects quickly. Gabi smiles at her parents as she painfully gets up off the couch. She drapes the TV Title over her shoulder, patting it softly.
”I am going to go lay down for a bit... I'm a little jet lagged.”
”Sure thing, Champ.”
Gabi bends over and hugs her father. Her expression shows every bump and bruise she has taken the last few weeks as her father hugs her back.
”Ow... Ow, Dad.”
Kirk lets her go, catching her hands as she tries to pull away.
”Walk it off.”
Gabi smirks at her father as she starts to walk off slowly towards the back of the home. Cheri slips over behind Kirk and wraps her arms around his neck to whisper in his ear.
”God, she is so much like you.”