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 Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:36 pm
A lone figure strolled out from behind the set, a bare-chested man with tan skin and shaggy black hair that hung in front of his eyes. His wide chest had been chiseled into form by countless hours of training, hard work that had manifested into muscles that gave him an imposing physique. If his stature didn’t startle people, the tribal tattoos that sprawled down his arms, all the way to his taped-up wrists, certainly would have. Five o’clock shadow clung to his cheeks, which had been parted and dimpled by the bright smile the rebellious looking man sported as he walked out down the ramp, reaching out to touch fans and stopping to fist-bump with a few lucky spectators. Picking up the microphone that had been left on the ring apron for him, Salem leaped gracefully from the floor to the bottom rope, spring-boarding overtop the cables and landing nimbly in the ring.
”Heh. Sorry, folks…management wouldn’t let me do the pyro, again.” Salem said, apologizing for the lack of music and fire from his otherwise tame entrance.
As a few fans booed in the crowd, Salem shrugged his shoulders and pouted.
”Look, I can’t do anything about it. They said something about not wanting MSG to burn down like some other promotion’s venues. Maybe WWE should put Kane on the nicotine patch.”
Smiling a little at the few chuckles he’d managed to draw, Salem nodded his head.
”So…getting right to the point – there’s been a big stir in the WWFG since I last came out here. For those who’ve checked out the WWFG Twitter page…”
Salem paused, putting on a cheesy grin as he approached the nearest turnbuckle and leaned over, pointing to a random fan in the audience.
”…and I suggest you do…” he said, teasing the fan (or the page) before addressing the crowd once again with his eyes. ”…you already know that there’s been a big stir about the most must-see rookie to join WWFG’s roster. Now I’ll tell ya, when I heard about all the talk about me, I was flattered. I was hoping for fan mail, praise from my peers, maybe a couple phone numbers from the ladies in the back...”
Glancing towards the stage, Salem licked his thumb and wiped it across his eyebrows, trying his best to look charming, but clearly doing so in jest.
”Oh, uhm…call me, Claire.” he said boldly to scattered hoots and cat calls.
Showing off his impressive leaping abilities, Salem jumped from the dusty canvas of the mat to the top rung of the corner, landing on his feet to stand out toward the crowd, his posture beaming authority while his eyes commanded attention with their fierce disposition.
”…Until I logged-on and saw they weren’t talking about me!” Salem said firmly, spreading his arms open sympathetically as fans jeered in the stands.
”I know!” he shouted back, settling down on the turnbuckle, Indian-style. ”In fact, it was this guy named Justin Spectacular, talking about how good he was. So…I challenged him to a TLC match with my managerial contract on the line, and he accepted.”
As the Garden started to rile with cheers, Salem quickly cut down the crowd with an upheld hand.
”Wait, wait, waaaait… he said, trying to calm the masses. ”My manager’s already in the main event tonight, and I can’t steal the show from him. You guys gotta wait until next week.”
Turning to the camera, Salem smiled and lifted his free hand, bent into a thumbs-up.
”But maybe someone watching this will decide to make it the main event.” he added, winking to someone on the other side of the camera.
”Anyway…” Salem continued, standing up on the turnbuckle before flipping off the post and onto the center of the squared circle to the tune of applause. After smiling a bit from the reaction, Salem bowed his head into the mic as though he were about to pray.
”I’m out here for something more serious than fools and their empty claims…I’m out here to address the future of the tag team division.”
After a brief pause, Salem continued.
”See, it’s my goal to claim every belt in this business, and I damn well mean to do it. But as good as I am, I can’t win the tag team titles on my own…so, I’m looking for a partner. He must be strong, committed, enjoy drinking beer and talking about football…and be hungry to win the tag team titles.”
Raising his head, Salem gestured towards the stage with his open hand.
”So, let’s see our lucky contestants! Who will be the first to seize this golden opportunity? Tag team partner number one, come on down!”
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:59 pm
For the first few moments, there was no response from the stage, almost as if no-one was willing to take Salem up on his offer. But before the crowd could descend into boredom, the quick drums and guitar of Dropkick Murphys' "Surrender" hit the sound system, and the crowd immediately perked up, with a scattered cheer flowing through the arena.
"I was at my weakest state,
And you kept me pushing on;
You gave me something to believe in
And it keeps me standing strong!"
Not one to leave a screaming crowd waiting, Brody Robinson jogged out onto the stage, looking like he'd just walked in off the street. His read hoodie hung loose on his torso and the bottoms of his blue jeans dragged lazily an inch or two behind his sneakers. Stopping himself at the edge of the ramp, he looked out at the crowd, arms crossed with a huge smile on his face. It had been a while, but here he was, back at Madison Square Garden. If there was one place he missed on his hiatus, it was here. But these people, and presumably Salem, didn't come here to see him stand around and glare at the crowd like an idiot. Stepping forward, Brody stuck to the left edge of the ramp, doing his best to hit every outstretched hand as he passed.
As he reached the ring, Brody quickened his step a bit, slid himself in under the bottom rope, and pushed himself back to his feet. He looked over at Salem for a moment, before giving him a goofy grin and a thumbs up. Moving himself towards the announcers tables, he motioned for a mic and one was quickly thrown in his direction. Grabbing it out of mid-air, Brody ran to the nearest corner and jumped to the second rope.
"HELLO, NEW YORK!"
His cheap pop was a success, and the crowd burst into cheers for their city. Stepping off of the ropes, he finally turned back to Salem.
"Sorry about that. It has been way too long since I've had that chance."
He had to stop for a moment, as the aftershock from his blatant pandering made it's way through the crowd.
Now, I watched that whole Twitter debacle go down, and there were alot of things said that probably didn't need to be. With these promises of beatdowns or taking titles, it made it awkward for a guy like me who, when I was in your guys position, was simply cool with having a cool theme song and having my name out there. Hell, I lost my first match, but I was just happy to have the job. But this is getting off topic."
Brody took a moment to scratch his chin before continuing.
"But as I was watching you in the back, I noticed you said something about empty claims. Now, for a guy who just debuted here, this seems oddly hypocritical to me. From my perspective, neither you or this Justin kid has enough behind his name to back up any of these claims of being the 'future' or getting every title."
He stopped himself long enough to make sarcastic air quotes, electing a few laughs from the crowd.
"I see that kinda dime-a-dozen arrogance everywhere. And honestly, most of my career has been taking guys like that. But, despite my war on overbearing pride, I have to say something intrigues me about you. I'm not sure what it is. Whether it be this goofball routine you seem to be putting on or how everyone here seems to respond to you, it seems like you're a bit different than the tatted-up rage cases that are usually in your position."
Another small pop from the crowd for Salem. Brody even joined in, giving the man a sincere round of applause.
"So here I am, out of my element for one reason and one reason only. I'm offering my services to you, as a tag partner, but also as an adviser. I may not be able to get you into any fancy clubs with my name, but I know the ins and outs of this business."
Brody took another pause, rubbing the back of his neck while thinking up his next words.
"I just don't want to see another bright star hit every pitfall on his way through the biz. There's my offer. Take it or leave it."
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:38 pm
Slowly, a smile formed over Salem's face. Uncharacteristically, Salem didn't speak out on the bold comments issued by his would-be compatriot...rather, he simply raised his right hand, fingers balled into a fist, which he offered for Brody to bump in a gesture of good will.
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