Post by MERCENARY on Jan 6, 2020 4:24:49 GMT -6
Gene Ross Styles: "Ello and Cheery-O to my marks and martyrs out there in the audience tonight. My guest this week was a specialist of the tag team and trios divisions for over twenty years. As a member of The Terror Squad he rough and tumbled his way across countless states and in more than three countries striking gold over twelve times along the way. He is a traditionalist. He is a purist. He is a hard-headed, hard-hitting, hard-line legend and I am proud to be able to bring him to you now. Please welcome: Malevolent Maxx the original Mayhem. Maxx, welcome to show."
Maxx: "Gene."
Styles: "Sir, I am not pluming smoke when I say that I'm stoked to have you as a guest. No conversation about pure tag team wrestling would be complete without talking about The Terror Squad.
The Ultimate Fear David Dread. The Nightmare Curtis Monroe. And nowhere near last or least: Malevolent Maxx Mayhem. Maximum Mayhem himself. Tag team and trios champs in Japan, Mexico, and Great Britain. Not to mention a list of companies in the States, including the now defunct, but much respected, IIW. Three time IIW champions with the second longest title reign in the companies esteemed history."
Maxx: "Appreciate it. I relish every moment I spent in and out of the ring with those two guys. They were my co-conspirators between the ropes and my constant companions out on the road. A crew like that are hard to come by and they are always in my better thoughts."
Styles: "You had one hell of a run that came to an abrupt halt in 2012 when you were forced to retire from in-ring action due to injury. For those who are not familiar can you recount the circumstances that caused you to leave the active roster?"
Maxx shot Gene Ross and stone stare that caused him to retreat in his seat before his eyes reflected signs of a deeply buried sadness.
Maxx: "I was drop-kicked off the apron and fell out onto the steel ring barrier. I landed wrong and it popped my hip out of joint. I wasn't aware of my injury at first and tried to stand up on it. Nobody communicated to my opponent that I might be in trouble so he jumped off the top turnbuckle and hit me with a cross-body. My instincts kicked in and I tried to cushion his landing. The impact aggravated my injury. I had a compound fracture of my femur and tore my quadriceps. It took several surgeries, a couple of plates, and several screws to get me walking again. I still walk with a limp and have to use a cane to get around. But the worst of it was that they told me then, and they've told me again several times over the years, that my career was over and that I wouldn't ever wrestle again."
Styles: "That is a rough one. Remembering how serious you were about your career, how has it been adjusting to life outside of the ring?"
Maxx: "It took a long time to get used to the idea that I was done. Opening my school, The Fear Factory in Chicago, helped me a lot. It helps to teach students the right way to do things in the ring. It seems like these day that there is a 'dojo' or 'fight academy' opening up on every damn corner. They spit out 'combat athletes' like they are coming off of an assembly line. There is no respect for the old ways of doing things. No respect for those willing to really pay their dues. Everybody thinks they can become famous fighting in some cage or ring. People seem to think what we do is easy. I take great pride in teaching people the right way to do things. I don't graduate every student who gives me a check that clears. I have very high standards. I teach my students how to handle themselves in that ring and I teach them the consequences of what can happen when you don't."
Styles: "And truly if there is anyone who has felt the full impact of those consequences it would be you. Your injury was not the first loss of your career that you were forced to live through. Several years prior to that your partner Curtis Monroe also landed wrong when he was power-bombed out of the ring through a table, a move that resulted in permanent paralysis and brought an end to his career. Can you tell my listeners how Nightmare is doing and how he has coped with such a serious and life-changing injury?"
Maxx shot him another steely glance before offering his stiff and rehearsed response.
Maxx: "Curtis Monroe is one of the toughest bastards than I have ever known. He lived like a champion in and out of the ring and he still does to this day. Curtis has a strong family and support structure. The Nightmare is a survivor. He is not the kind of man that would allow one man's mistake to break him."
Styles: "Which brings me to the biggest question I have gotten from listeners via the internet, and a point that I myself am the most confused about: How can you, with all that was done to your close friend and partner, be okay with your namesake now being in a stable with the very man that made the mistake that put him out of the business?"
Maxx: "It's very simple. It's called the business Gene. I want my best student to succeed. Lacey Savage is a manager who knows how to grow a team. Malice is an old school type of talent whose attitude and values are very much like my own. I really believe Damage Inc is on a title track. Their victory at Wrestlefest is a great example that they are headed in the right direction. The more Mayhem succeeds the more his reputation grows. That brings in students to the school who want to follow in his footsteps. It's the way this business works and I am a business man."
Styles: "So it doesn't bother you that Mayhem, your blue-chip student, is now a member of Damage Inc, the team that you were in the ring with the night that Curtis Monroe was injured by The Mercenary? You are okay with the guy who is using your ring-name being in a stable with the man who paralyzed your friend?"
Maxx: "It's like this: I don't have any love for Michael Mercer. He'll always be the man that you are talking about. He can never undo what he did. But if he deserves any credit at all it is to say that at least, behind the scenes, he has tried to make things right by Curtis and his family."
Styles: "His lack of success this past year must at least bring you a little sense of satisfaction."
Maxx: "The man you people have been seeing this past year is not the guy that I knew. It is not the guy that I know that man to be. But he's not going to feel guilty forever. He knows who he wants to be. He knows how to make it happen. He's getting frustrated, and that frustration is what will make him dangerous going forward."
Styles: "Dangerous or careless?"
Maxx: "It's really the same difference. He won't be able to help himself. I think the pity party is pretty much over with. He knows what he needs to do for himself, for Dalilah, and for everyone else who goes along for the ride. Mayhem is part of that stable, so there again that kind of growth will be of great benefit to him in the long run. People eventually get what they deserve. Even a man like Mercenary."
Styles: "It's just hard for me to understand how you can be okay with Mayhem being associated with the men who did so much damage, no pun intended, to your career. Though the most glaring example, the end of the Nightmare's career was not the only bad result that came out of that injury. You and David were never the same after you lost your third member. As this broadcast is happening the man known as David Dread is doing several years for assault and battery and you yourself had all of your fight robbed from you by an injury. It just seems strange to me that you are able to just forgive and forget all in the name of business."
Maxx: "It is very obvious that you don't understand. You who think that the war is won by brute force alone. I have enacted more massacres in my mind than most will ever do with weapons in their hands. I have forgotten more about how to battle than a man like you will ever know. A weak fool with a strong opinion is still weak. A coward with a big voice is still a small man. And you Gene, you've got yourself one great big f**king voice and you like to use it a lot."
Styles: "AND on that lovely note I'm sorry to say that we are all out of time. I would like to thank my guest: Mister Malevolence Maximum Mayhem for being such a great guest. And as I'm sure our guest would agree dear listeners: In this life there are no disqualifications, so you best grow eyes in the back of your head. I'm Gene Ross Styles, and that's the bell. Goodnight everybody."
Maxx: "Appreciate it. I relish every moment I spent in and out of the ring with those two guys. They were my co-conspirators between the ropes and my constant companions out on the road. A crew like that are hard to come by and they are always in my better thoughts."
Styles: "You had one hell of a run that came to an abrupt halt in 2012 when you were forced to retire from in-ring action due to injury. For those who are not familiar can you recount the circumstances that caused you to leave the active roster?"
Maxx shot Gene Ross and stone stare that caused him to retreat in his seat before his eyes reflected signs of a deeply buried sadness.
Maxx: "I was drop-kicked off the apron and fell out onto the steel ring barrier. I landed wrong and it popped my hip out of joint. I wasn't aware of my injury at first and tried to stand up on it. Nobody communicated to my opponent that I might be in trouble so he jumped off the top turnbuckle and hit me with a cross-body. My instincts kicked in and I tried to cushion his landing. The impact aggravated my injury. I had a compound fracture of my femur and tore my quadriceps. It took several surgeries, a couple of plates, and several screws to get me walking again. I still walk with a limp and have to use a cane to get around. But the worst of it was that they told me then, and they've told me again several times over the years, that my career was over and that I wouldn't ever wrestle again."
Styles: "That is a rough one. Remembering how serious you were about your career, how has it been adjusting to life outside of the ring?"
Maxx: "It took a long time to get used to the idea that I was done. Opening my school, The Fear Factory in Chicago, helped me a lot. It helps to teach students the right way to do things in the ring. It seems like these day that there is a 'dojo' or 'fight academy' opening up on every damn corner. They spit out 'combat athletes' like they are coming off of an assembly line. There is no respect for the old ways of doing things. No respect for those willing to really pay their dues. Everybody thinks they can become famous fighting in some cage or ring. People seem to think what we do is easy. I take great pride in teaching people the right way to do things. I don't graduate every student who gives me a check that clears. I have very high standards. I teach my students how to handle themselves in that ring and I teach them the consequences of what can happen when you don't."
Styles: "And truly if there is anyone who has felt the full impact of those consequences it would be you. Your injury was not the first loss of your career that you were forced to live through. Several years prior to that your partner Curtis Monroe also landed wrong when he was power-bombed out of the ring through a table, a move that resulted in permanent paralysis and brought an end to his career. Can you tell my listeners how Nightmare is doing and how he has coped with such a serious and life-changing injury?"
Maxx shot him another steely glance before offering his stiff and rehearsed response.
Maxx: "Curtis Monroe is one of the toughest bastards than I have ever known. He lived like a champion in and out of the ring and he still does to this day. Curtis has a strong family and support structure. The Nightmare is a survivor. He is not the kind of man that would allow one man's mistake to break him."
Styles: "Which brings me to the biggest question I have gotten from listeners via the internet, and a point that I myself am the most confused about: How can you, with all that was done to your close friend and partner, be okay with your namesake now being in a stable with the very man that made the mistake that put him out of the business?"
Maxx: "It's very simple. It's called the business Gene. I want my best student to succeed. Lacey Savage is a manager who knows how to grow a team. Malice is an old school type of talent whose attitude and values are very much like my own. I really believe Damage Inc is on a title track. Their victory at Wrestlefest is a great example that they are headed in the right direction. The more Mayhem succeeds the more his reputation grows. That brings in students to the school who want to follow in his footsteps. It's the way this business works and I am a business man."
Styles: "So it doesn't bother you that Mayhem, your blue-chip student, is now a member of Damage Inc, the team that you were in the ring with the night that Curtis Monroe was injured by The Mercenary? You are okay with the guy who is using your ring-name being in a stable with the man who paralyzed your friend?"
Maxx: "It's like this: I don't have any love for Michael Mercer. He'll always be the man that you are talking about. He can never undo what he did. But if he deserves any credit at all it is to say that at least, behind the scenes, he has tried to make things right by Curtis and his family."
Styles: "His lack of success this past year must at least bring you a little sense of satisfaction."
Maxx: "The man you people have been seeing this past year is not the guy that I knew. It is not the guy that I know that man to be. But he's not going to feel guilty forever. He knows who he wants to be. He knows how to make it happen. He's getting frustrated, and that frustration is what will make him dangerous going forward."
Styles: "Dangerous or careless?"
Maxx: "It's really the same difference. He won't be able to help himself. I think the pity party is pretty much over with. He knows what he needs to do for himself, for Dalilah, and for everyone else who goes along for the ride. Mayhem is part of that stable, so there again that kind of growth will be of great benefit to him in the long run. People eventually get what they deserve. Even a man like Mercenary."
Styles: "It's just hard for me to understand how you can be okay with Mayhem being associated with the men who did so much damage, no pun intended, to your career. Though the most glaring example, the end of the Nightmare's career was not the only bad result that came out of that injury. You and David were never the same after you lost your third member. As this broadcast is happening the man known as David Dread is doing several years for assault and battery and you yourself had all of your fight robbed from you by an injury. It just seems strange to me that you are able to just forgive and forget all in the name of business."
Maxx: "It is very obvious that you don't understand. You who think that the war is won by brute force alone. I have enacted more massacres in my mind than most will ever do with weapons in their hands. I have forgotten more about how to battle than a man like you will ever know. A weak fool with a strong opinion is still weak. A coward with a big voice is still a small man. And you Gene, you've got yourself one great big f**king voice and you like to use it a lot."
Styles: "AND on that lovely note I'm sorry to say that we are all out of time. I would like to thank my guest: Mister Malevolence Maximum Mayhem for being such a great guest. And as I'm sure our guest would agree dear listeners: In this life there are no disqualifications, so you best grow eyes in the back of your head. I'm Gene Ross Styles, and that's the bell. Goodnight everybody."
The producer cut off the BROADCASTING light as the two men in the room sat in a tense silence. Maxx stood up slowly and placed his headset down on the console. Gradually a cold grin stretched across his weathered features.
Maxx: "Thanks for having me Gene. I really enjoyed it."
Pulling on his leather overcoat Maxx turned towards the exit with a pronounced limp, his weight resting on a length of thick black cane the head of which was the face of a snarling pit bull cast in solid silver. Gene Ross watched him go, his hands gripping hard the arms of his chair. Before leaving Maxx paused at the door and turned back to look at Gene one final time.
Maxx: "Be sure you keep watching kid. I think you'll have a lot more to talk about real soon."
With that he turned and walked away, his cane echoing in the empty hallway.
Gene Ross leaned back and rubbed his eyes. He exhaled hard before lighting up a cigarette and taking a deep drag.
Styles: "Bleedin damn Wrestlers.... Bloody Hell."
Maxx: "Thanks for having me Gene. I really enjoyed it."
Pulling on his leather overcoat Maxx turned towards the exit with a pronounced limp, his weight resting on a length of thick black cane the head of which was the face of a snarling pit bull cast in solid silver. Gene Ross watched him go, his hands gripping hard the arms of his chair. Before leaving Maxx paused at the door and turned back to look at Gene one final time.
Maxx: "Be sure you keep watching kid. I think you'll have a lot more to talk about real soon."
With that he turned and walked away, his cane echoing in the empty hallway.
Gene Ross leaned back and rubbed his eyes. He exhaled hard before lighting up a cigarette and taking a deep drag.
Styles: "Bleedin damn Wrestlers.... Bloody Hell."