Post by Vin Havoc on Apr 20, 2024 22:58:10 GMT -6
Vin Havoc finds himself pacing around, headphones on, as he tries to drown out the ticking of the various clocks and watches surrounding him in the Clockmaker’s Museum in London. But not even the harsh sounds of DMX right in his ears can drown out the thoughts.
Mom hasn’t responded to me in a hot second… Is she okay? I’ll drop everything and vacate this title if I need to fly back to see her. I swear if she doesn’t update me just because she doesn’t want to ruin my defense, I’ll-
Vin shakes his head, regaining his composure.
Relax. She’s a tough woman, she’ll be okay. She wants me to be here, so I’ll be here, and I’ll make her proud.
He walks towards a case of watches, noticing the different designs they’re adorned with. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a novelty “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” one. He sighs, running his hand through his buzz cut.
How worth it is this, though? I’ve put Clay in harm's way, letting ZERO torch his place of business for the past two decades down. I haven’t been able to be with Mom while she fights for her life. I dragged four other men on Rampage into my business with The House, and practically sent us all to death. When does the risk start to become too big for the reward?
Vin glances down at his Fighting Spirit Championship, held over his shoulder.
Legacy, he reminds himself.
It’s all about setting a legacy. Making all this bullshit worth it. So I can one day have the ability to take care of everybody I love for as long as they need me.
Vin rubs his sore neck and rolls his shoulder a bit. The scars from War Games are still prominent on his body, along with the wear and tear from his 20+ years of experience. He spins his head to look at all the clocks surrounding him, and he begins to speed-walk out of the room, hurrying to escape the ticking.
Everything comes to an end someday. But… I just got this. I can’t leave it so soon. I have to keep pushing. They need me to.
Vin finds himself unable to avoid the constant reminders of time, and as he enters a larger chamber of various antique watches and clocks in glass cases, he hangs his head low.
I can’t stop. Not even for a second. Each match, I only have 15 minutes. I can’t let the time run out.
I don’t want the time to run out.
I don’t want to go.
On that note, Vin’s whole demeanor shifts, and he suddenly swings his fist right into a glass case of clocks! Shattering the glass, he begins to violently throw the clocks onto the ground and against the wall. He even breaks one over his own head! Vin takes some deep breaths, and then whips out his phone, pressing record and filming himself selfie-style.
“Fuck time. That’s what I’ve got to say. I know everybody dies and everything goes away eventually, but… I’ve cheated death too many times to ever look it in the eyes and welcome it again. I’m going to hold onto the very little, very borrowed time I’ve got left with everything I have, because I refuse to let this beautiful championship’s first reign, the one that sets the bar, end on a fuckin’ whimper of 52 days and one defense. I have the opportunity to truly leave a mark, to truly create the most sought after championship in the industry, but I can’t do that if I’m letting the clock catch up to me. Whether that be the timer that runs out on us all, or the literal timer in all of my defenses of this bad boy. I’m not even gonna talk up that blaze of glory bullshit, because I simply am not coming to Wembley to lose. This is my first StrangleMania, the most hardcore show in the world of professional wrestling. This is easily the biggest match of my career.”
Vin stares the camera down, brows furrowed.
“I am NOT losing.”
He motions to the broken clocks all around him.
“Now I’m sure I don’t have much time before security comes in here and realizes I broke these for a fuckin’ wrestling promo, so let’s keep this short and sweet, shall we? First thing I wanna address are my distractions. If I’m to not let that iron man clock run out, I’m going to have to make sure I head into the match completely focused. I know it’s no secret that my head has been a bit of a mess lately, and so has my body. Sneak attacks from Cosmo Goldworthy, plus that War Games match two weeks ago, has left me with some pretty rough injuries, I won’t lie. I’ve got this headache like no other, and my neck might as well be made out of stone, it’s so damn stiff. Hell, even holding this championship here kind of hurts my shoulder. And then there’s my folks back in Brooklyn, holding down the fort, and trying to do their best to survive in this cold world. My mom could be… better, and my pal Clay is starting to refuse my checks, that honorable bastard. So yeah, one could say I’m a little distracted. But one thing you all should know about me by now is that the pain just makes me want to fight harder. To keep going until the wheels fall off. I’m going into the match with only one thing in my head come Monday, and that’s kicking not just one, but two asses.”
Vin chuckles to himself.
“Yeah, that’s right, it’s a triple threat. And it’s against two of the best competitors Rampage has to offer. Two people who I know will take me to my limit here, because they already have in the past. A man who I respect very much in Mercenary, and a man I respect very little in Cosmo Goldworthy. Although, I will say, Cosmo? You’ve certainly made me rethink my previous statements about your fighting spirit, and your heart. You outlasted me in War Games. You eliminated me to get this championship shot. So yeah, I’ve gotta respect that at least a bit. You took one hell of a beating, and still kept going.”
He waves his hand and bows his slightly in respect, before looking back into the camera solemnly.
“And speaking of War Games, I wanna apologize to the rest of my team. Especially you, Mike, since I know you’ll be watching this. I let all of you down. I was supposed to show how good of a captain I was, how I could represent the Best of Rampage. But I couldn’t last all the way through. I thought sacrificing myself to buy Jason some time would pay off, but I dragged all of you into a truly unwinnable fight. That Beast… he was something else. And if JoJo Rush ever finds himself on Rampage again? I’ll be waiting. But despite The House winning, I’d say Cosmo also failed in his claim to prove that he’s a better captain than I am. Because he also not only failed to last until the end, he got pinned by Jason when Jason’s hands were TIED BEHIND HIS DAMN BACK! All because of miscommunication. If there’s one thing I pride myself on about my captaining skills in that match… it would be that we were at least all on the same page. And we ain’t the ones who were supposedly in a faction together.”
Vin shrugs and picks up a broken alarm clock, tossing it in the air a few times as he reflects.
“Cosmo… I may be a broken man, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. You can tell me all you want about how you’re the next big thing, and I’m just a hypothetical scenario, but when it comes down to it?”
He holds up his championship.
“I beat you for this. And I’m going to do it again. Even with you attacking me before the match, I beat you. You and The House attacked Jason before War Games, and he pinned you. You attacked me last week on Rampage before I could even get a sentence out… and at StrangleMania, I’m going to beat you. You’ve gotta learn, Cosmo, this strategy never pays off for you. It just pisses me off even more.”
Vin glares with absolute venom coming off of his words.
“One of your biggest moves, the Gold Mine, I’ve consistently kicked out of. And in War Games, I took your absolute biggest move, and now? I know how to scout it. So thanks. Since this is a triple threat, by the way, let’s look at how your last triple threat went.”
He grins.
“Oh yeah, you lost. In fact, you’ve consistently been losing on Brawl lately. Now, you are a Rampage star, so Rampage is what matters… and who was the last person to beat you on Rampage? Me. I like to think that loss caused you to try extra hard on Rampage as a way to make up for it, and so you’ve been floundering on Brawl because you’ve lost your focus there. But you decided to take it easy on Rampage after War Games, beating Cassie Wolfe… Oh I’m so scared, you beat the Rampage wrestler with the most losses right now. If I had been cleared, I would’ve wrestled my ass off. And Merc sure as hell didn’t take it easy, that crazy bastard. But I’ll get to him later.”
Vin sighs and gives a very “look, kid” sort of look.
“Listen, it’s just gonna be a slaughter in there. Mike and I love each other, we both hate you, and we’ve both beaten you. To be honest, I’m thinking of just suggesting a 5 minute truce with Mike, just so we can kick your ass and make sure you don’t have a chance of winning.”
He laughs.
“Now, I haven’t ever beaten Mercenary, currently 0-2 against him. That’s why I wanted him 1v1 at StrangleMania, because to truly earn this championship and prove why I should have it, I need to beat the best. I’ve already beaten Cosmo, but I have yet to beat Mercenary and that’s what I set out to do. But… you don’t always get what you want in this world, and Cosmo managed to earn another shot at me. But I’m no stranger to multi-man matches… I won my first gold here in the EWC in a multi-person iron man match. I wasn’t the sole winner… but that’s changing this time. Last time we faced off, Merc, you said you have no doubt that I’d be a champion… well! Here I am! Holding gold… while you aren’t. And I still stand by my claims last time we faced that you simply can’t take the punishment that I can take… but in Mexico, you followed my advice, didn’t you? You changed. You hardened and never gave up. You matched my every move, and did smart things like stapling yourself shut so you didn’t bleed out, or using wire cutters to get out of the barbed wire. So maybe that’s the true difference between us. We both don’t know when to quit, but it’s not like I’ve been the bastion of self preservation throughout my career.”
Vin stares at the clocks. All broken…
“That’s gonna be different this time. I’ve got too much to fight for. I want to hold onto this for as long as I can, and to do that, I HAVE to change my in-ring strategy. I HAVE to work smarter, not harder. And Mike… I’ve gotta say, I’m disappointed in you. You earned not one, but two Undisputed Championship matches off of beating me, and you still couldn’t get the job done. And as sole US Champion, you couldn’t get in a single defense, whereas I have one right here.”
He holds his championship up, proudly.
“You’re dealing with a massive head injury, and while you weren’t technically eliminated by anyone in War Games, you did have to be medically removed from the match. And who’s to thank for that? ZERO. A man I’ve beaten twice now. It took everything for you to beat him, and I’ve been able to walk away from every bout with him. Otherwise you’ve beaten Lavender, and Jason & Justin in a triple threat. Lavender is a big win, as I’ve only drawn with her 1v1. And considering Cosmo is facing her later on the show, he might be a little distracted from this match, too busy worrying about defending the title he’s already got than to focus on winning a new one. But there’s also the chance, since she’s coming off a loss to you, he’s gonna target you in particular to send a message to her. ‘Hey look, I beat the guy who beat you.’ So maybe if I ever find a time in the match to take a back seat and let Cosmo do some work for me… I might. Nothing personal, just part of working smarter. And as for the triple threat you’ve won, that’s definitely good momentum to have heading into another triple threat… but that was elimination, and you only scored one fall. In this iron man match, there’s no elimination, and it’s very likely, based on past matches, that it’s going to take a lot more than just one fall in this match for you to win. And those past 15 minute iron man matches? I’ve won all three I’ve been in. I’ve got that advantage of knowing exactly how to pace myself in these bouts.”
Vin grabs one of the few not broken alarm clocks and sets it to 15 minutes from now.
“15 minutes you two have with me. 15 minutes of fame. Use it wisely, because it’s the only time you’ve got left before I end you to protect what’s mine…”
He takes one last glance at his championship. He nods and slaps his chest, gripping his cross.
“And build my legacy of Fighting Spirit.”
Mom hasn’t responded to me in a hot second… Is she okay? I’ll drop everything and vacate this title if I need to fly back to see her. I swear if she doesn’t update me just because she doesn’t want to ruin my defense, I’ll-
Vin shakes his head, regaining his composure.
Relax. She’s a tough woman, she’ll be okay. She wants me to be here, so I’ll be here, and I’ll make her proud.
He walks towards a case of watches, noticing the different designs they’re adorned with. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a novelty “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” one. He sighs, running his hand through his buzz cut.
How worth it is this, though? I’ve put Clay in harm's way, letting ZERO torch his place of business for the past two decades down. I haven’t been able to be with Mom while she fights for her life. I dragged four other men on Rampage into my business with The House, and practically sent us all to death. When does the risk start to become too big for the reward?
Vin glances down at his Fighting Spirit Championship, held over his shoulder.
Legacy, he reminds himself.
It’s all about setting a legacy. Making all this bullshit worth it. So I can one day have the ability to take care of everybody I love for as long as they need me.
Vin rubs his sore neck and rolls his shoulder a bit. The scars from War Games are still prominent on his body, along with the wear and tear from his 20+ years of experience. He spins his head to look at all the clocks surrounding him, and he begins to speed-walk out of the room, hurrying to escape the ticking.
Everything comes to an end someday. But… I just got this. I can’t leave it so soon. I have to keep pushing. They need me to.
Vin finds himself unable to avoid the constant reminders of time, and as he enters a larger chamber of various antique watches and clocks in glass cases, he hangs his head low.
I can’t stop. Not even for a second. Each match, I only have 15 minutes. I can’t let the time run out.
I don’t want the time to run out.
I don’t want to go.
On that note, Vin’s whole demeanor shifts, and he suddenly swings his fist right into a glass case of clocks! Shattering the glass, he begins to violently throw the clocks onto the ground and against the wall. He even breaks one over his own head! Vin takes some deep breaths, and then whips out his phone, pressing record and filming himself selfie-style.
“Fuck time. That’s what I’ve got to say. I know everybody dies and everything goes away eventually, but… I’ve cheated death too many times to ever look it in the eyes and welcome it again. I’m going to hold onto the very little, very borrowed time I’ve got left with everything I have, because I refuse to let this beautiful championship’s first reign, the one that sets the bar, end on a fuckin’ whimper of 52 days and one defense. I have the opportunity to truly leave a mark, to truly create the most sought after championship in the industry, but I can’t do that if I’m letting the clock catch up to me. Whether that be the timer that runs out on us all, or the literal timer in all of my defenses of this bad boy. I’m not even gonna talk up that blaze of glory bullshit, because I simply am not coming to Wembley to lose. This is my first StrangleMania, the most hardcore show in the world of professional wrestling. This is easily the biggest match of my career.”
Vin stares the camera down, brows furrowed.
“I am NOT losing.”
He motions to the broken clocks all around him.
“Now I’m sure I don’t have much time before security comes in here and realizes I broke these for a fuckin’ wrestling promo, so let’s keep this short and sweet, shall we? First thing I wanna address are my distractions. If I’m to not let that iron man clock run out, I’m going to have to make sure I head into the match completely focused. I know it’s no secret that my head has been a bit of a mess lately, and so has my body. Sneak attacks from Cosmo Goldworthy, plus that War Games match two weeks ago, has left me with some pretty rough injuries, I won’t lie. I’ve got this headache like no other, and my neck might as well be made out of stone, it’s so damn stiff. Hell, even holding this championship here kind of hurts my shoulder. And then there’s my folks back in Brooklyn, holding down the fort, and trying to do their best to survive in this cold world. My mom could be… better, and my pal Clay is starting to refuse my checks, that honorable bastard. So yeah, one could say I’m a little distracted. But one thing you all should know about me by now is that the pain just makes me want to fight harder. To keep going until the wheels fall off. I’m going into the match with only one thing in my head come Monday, and that’s kicking not just one, but two asses.”
Vin chuckles to himself.
“Yeah, that’s right, it’s a triple threat. And it’s against two of the best competitors Rampage has to offer. Two people who I know will take me to my limit here, because they already have in the past. A man who I respect very much in Mercenary, and a man I respect very little in Cosmo Goldworthy. Although, I will say, Cosmo? You’ve certainly made me rethink my previous statements about your fighting spirit, and your heart. You outlasted me in War Games. You eliminated me to get this championship shot. So yeah, I’ve gotta respect that at least a bit. You took one hell of a beating, and still kept going.”
He waves his hand and bows his slightly in respect, before looking back into the camera solemnly.
“And speaking of War Games, I wanna apologize to the rest of my team. Especially you, Mike, since I know you’ll be watching this. I let all of you down. I was supposed to show how good of a captain I was, how I could represent the Best of Rampage. But I couldn’t last all the way through. I thought sacrificing myself to buy Jason some time would pay off, but I dragged all of you into a truly unwinnable fight. That Beast… he was something else. And if JoJo Rush ever finds himself on Rampage again? I’ll be waiting. But despite The House winning, I’d say Cosmo also failed in his claim to prove that he’s a better captain than I am. Because he also not only failed to last until the end, he got pinned by Jason when Jason’s hands were TIED BEHIND HIS DAMN BACK! All because of miscommunication. If there’s one thing I pride myself on about my captaining skills in that match… it would be that we were at least all on the same page. And we ain’t the ones who were supposedly in a faction together.”
Vin shrugs and picks up a broken alarm clock, tossing it in the air a few times as he reflects.
“Cosmo… I may be a broken man, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. You can tell me all you want about how you’re the next big thing, and I’m just a hypothetical scenario, but when it comes down to it?”
He holds up his championship.
“I beat you for this. And I’m going to do it again. Even with you attacking me before the match, I beat you. You and The House attacked Jason before War Games, and he pinned you. You attacked me last week on Rampage before I could even get a sentence out… and at StrangleMania, I’m going to beat you. You’ve gotta learn, Cosmo, this strategy never pays off for you. It just pisses me off even more.”
Vin glares with absolute venom coming off of his words.
“One of your biggest moves, the Gold Mine, I’ve consistently kicked out of. And in War Games, I took your absolute biggest move, and now? I know how to scout it. So thanks. Since this is a triple threat, by the way, let’s look at how your last triple threat went.”
He grins.
“Oh yeah, you lost. In fact, you’ve consistently been losing on Brawl lately. Now, you are a Rampage star, so Rampage is what matters… and who was the last person to beat you on Rampage? Me. I like to think that loss caused you to try extra hard on Rampage as a way to make up for it, and so you’ve been floundering on Brawl because you’ve lost your focus there. But you decided to take it easy on Rampage after War Games, beating Cassie Wolfe… Oh I’m so scared, you beat the Rampage wrestler with the most losses right now. If I had been cleared, I would’ve wrestled my ass off. And Merc sure as hell didn’t take it easy, that crazy bastard. But I’ll get to him later.”
Vin sighs and gives a very “look, kid” sort of look.
“Listen, it’s just gonna be a slaughter in there. Mike and I love each other, we both hate you, and we’ve both beaten you. To be honest, I’m thinking of just suggesting a 5 minute truce with Mike, just so we can kick your ass and make sure you don’t have a chance of winning.”
He laughs.
“Now, I haven’t ever beaten Mercenary, currently 0-2 against him. That’s why I wanted him 1v1 at StrangleMania, because to truly earn this championship and prove why I should have it, I need to beat the best. I’ve already beaten Cosmo, but I have yet to beat Mercenary and that’s what I set out to do. But… you don’t always get what you want in this world, and Cosmo managed to earn another shot at me. But I’m no stranger to multi-man matches… I won my first gold here in the EWC in a multi-person iron man match. I wasn’t the sole winner… but that’s changing this time. Last time we faced off, Merc, you said you have no doubt that I’d be a champion… well! Here I am! Holding gold… while you aren’t. And I still stand by my claims last time we faced that you simply can’t take the punishment that I can take… but in Mexico, you followed my advice, didn’t you? You changed. You hardened and never gave up. You matched my every move, and did smart things like stapling yourself shut so you didn’t bleed out, or using wire cutters to get out of the barbed wire. So maybe that’s the true difference between us. We both don’t know when to quit, but it’s not like I’ve been the bastion of self preservation throughout my career.”
Vin stares at the clocks. All broken…
“That’s gonna be different this time. I’ve got too much to fight for. I want to hold onto this for as long as I can, and to do that, I HAVE to change my in-ring strategy. I HAVE to work smarter, not harder. And Mike… I’ve gotta say, I’m disappointed in you. You earned not one, but two Undisputed Championship matches off of beating me, and you still couldn’t get the job done. And as sole US Champion, you couldn’t get in a single defense, whereas I have one right here.”
He holds his championship up, proudly.
“You’re dealing with a massive head injury, and while you weren’t technically eliminated by anyone in War Games, you did have to be medically removed from the match. And who’s to thank for that? ZERO. A man I’ve beaten twice now. It took everything for you to beat him, and I’ve been able to walk away from every bout with him. Otherwise you’ve beaten Lavender, and Jason & Justin in a triple threat. Lavender is a big win, as I’ve only drawn with her 1v1. And considering Cosmo is facing her later on the show, he might be a little distracted from this match, too busy worrying about defending the title he’s already got than to focus on winning a new one. But there’s also the chance, since she’s coming off a loss to you, he’s gonna target you in particular to send a message to her. ‘Hey look, I beat the guy who beat you.’ So maybe if I ever find a time in the match to take a back seat and let Cosmo do some work for me… I might. Nothing personal, just part of working smarter. And as for the triple threat you’ve won, that’s definitely good momentum to have heading into another triple threat… but that was elimination, and you only scored one fall. In this iron man match, there’s no elimination, and it’s very likely, based on past matches, that it’s going to take a lot more than just one fall in this match for you to win. And those past 15 minute iron man matches? I’ve won all three I’ve been in. I’ve got that advantage of knowing exactly how to pace myself in these bouts.”
Vin grabs one of the few not broken alarm clocks and sets it to 15 minutes from now.
“15 minutes you two have with me. 15 minutes of fame. Use it wisely, because it’s the only time you’ve got left before I end you to protect what’s mine…”
He takes one last glance at his championship. He nods and slaps his chest, gripping his cross.
“And build my legacy of Fighting Spirit.”