Cross/Mason vs. Kai Morgan/Ravana

[Marcus Welsh]

Roleplay Window: Thursday, August 5th - Tuesday, August 10th. 6 days to post 1 rp PER team member. 1k word cap. 150 word overage buffer. Anything over results in a DQ. Match will air on the August 11th episode of Piledriver.

Please post your rps as a reply to this thread.

Winning team will face the winners of the Dolly Waters/H Malvado vs. Douglas Crane/Vic Vinegar match.

[anthony]

“Hunger. It’s one of those words that get overused in this industry, as I’ve been discovering in my young career. Everybody walks to chat that shit about how hard they had life. Problem is, when a man like me hears that bollocks, I can’t help but laugh.”

“What do they know about hunger…really?”

Aaryan Billingsley, the young British warhorse claiming the title “Ravana” presents his hometown of Dharavi, Mumbai. Just a quick view of these wretched conditions, and you can’t blame him for scoffing at those who spit stories about a hard knock life. Garbage and stagnant water serve as pavement on the roads. Makeshift lean-to shacks and decaying buildings are practically stacked on top or jammed against other buildings. Some carry water buckets, for many homes don’t have running water.

“People here grind hard just to survive. The City of Feast or Famine, mother called it. one of the worst ghettos on Earth. You either become a villain, a victim, or you manage to evolve from the mud.”

Amid the squalor and trash, there is plenty of life thriving somehow. Street vendors selling anything they can get their hands on at their stands. Laborers toil to fix buildings and bring goods to people that need them. Those lucky enough to have jobs or attend classes at university walk, ride bikes, or cram into buses to commute to the shining skyscrapers and modern amenities Mumbai gloats to the world while trying to ignore or conceal the ugly side of its progress.


Rav can’t help but smile, though. People in Dharavi somehow make it. He did. The big man lays down a few pound notes to a fruit vendor selling produce from a simple stand, and massive hands peel the rind off an orange.


“Ten years ago, I was just like most of these people; simply trying to make it. The odds were stacked against me from the start. As a child, I worked jobs meant for adults in factories and construction sites, making dog shit, but still doing my part to feed the family. Somehow still managed to hit the books. Every day I and the fam would bust our asses just to survive, with a slim hope we could beat the odds.”


“Eleven years old, I was adopted after my mother died by the Billingsley family from London. Tottenham was a vast upgrade from this place, but life still was difficult living with a working-class family from North London. Multiple jobs, having to move constantly. Like Mumbai, London’s an easy place to fail in, especially as a Hindi immigrant living in a blue-collar neighborhood. Drugs, crime, falling into the trap of poverty, and being in the system. But I wasn’t one of those lot that resorted to dirty deeds to put a quid in my wallet. No, I just did what I was doing before; busting my ass. The gym, the books, the shifts at every side gig I could get my hands on; I hit them all just as hard as any opponent I’ve faced in my young career.”

“The odds dictated I shouldn’t have survived, but look at me now. Living large, figuratively and literally!”

The 6’8’ mammoth’s sturdy frame stretches out the blue and yellow t-shirt bearing the logo of the college he attends when not slamming people around, the University of California. He went from gutter rat to rising wrestling star and scholar. Once peeled, that orange disappeared in seconds down his throat. The big man’s got a big appetite.

“When I saw the odds the bookies gave myself and Kai, I had to laugh. 13 to 1. May seem daunting to most, but then again, I’ve done well with worse. My entire life, I’ve made my mark defying odds, and that was by myself. All that labour paid off in spades; I was picked up off the bench by Tony Savage and shown the ropes of the industry. Tearing a path through Uprising, on a road to the Anarchy title, and making a name as a hardcore monster. Helping Tony return to the top in UGWC. Changing the way fans view rookies by approaching the industry like a sport instead of a sleazy sideshow. And doing it without the flash and the doing same shit different day dance everybody else seems to bop to. And that was by myself.”

“With a heavy hitter like Kai Morgan, a certified superstar whose name is practically a synonym for success in pro wrestling having my back, with the same goal and hunger for success as I, 13 to 1 odds looks like easy payday for us and the muckers willing to drop a few bills at the bookie cage on a chance.”

“That’s why I’m not worried about Anthony Cross and his resume. I’ve spent my whole life proving guys like him wrong, who think what they’ve done matters to a lad like me, that they can lord over me because they’ve already done what I’m doing. I’ve spent an entire lifetime proving the establishment wrong. Not worried about the unknown like Mike Mason; I’ve thrived under uncertain conditions my entire life, and this is just another variable I’ll figure out.”

“The simple fact of the matter is, Kai and I are the team to watch in this Mixer. Kai’s got the skills, the experience, and the leadership, and I’ve got the speed, power, and intelligence to take that Margarita cup as our personal pint glass.”

“Plus, we’re hungry. Very, very hungry. And a margarita is a great way to wash down some tag straps for dinner!”

Another orange is peeled with his gargantuan mitts, and he tears into like like a tiger chewing on flesh.

“Don’t bother telling Kai and I the odds. We’re starving. It’s all you can eat mode, and Anthony and Mike, don’t get in our path to the buffet table.”

“Take it from a lad from these slums; you might just end up being an item on the menu!”

[Outcast]

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the most Marvelous of them all? Clearly, it is I, the man with the twinkle in his eye. The man who laughs at Lebron James when he cries. The man who makes women swoon and say "oh my". The man who's so hot, he makes your brain fry. The rest of the scrubs in the mix can't beat me, no matter how hard they try.

The Marvelous One is in one of his favorite spots, his bathroom mirror. He is nude, except for a short white towel that is tied around his waist. He looks at himself in the mirror, examining his face for any blemishes, but of course, there are none. TM1 picks up his ivory-handled hairbrush from his marble counter and begins brushing his hair.

OCW is having their selves a little key party, but I got Who’re’s dream of being stuck in a sausage fest. Then again looking at some of the women in this thing, I’d prefer to dance with Thumbelina and the four sisters down on Palmer drive. I’ll admit there are a few sevens and eights in the tournament, but those are few and far between.

Then again, anything truly resembling talent is few and far between in this tournament. First Kai Morgan, when I read your name, I thought you were a girl. Then when is saw your height and weight, I still thought you were a girl. Then when I saw a picture of you, well, I thought you were a girl who started taking male hormones, you know gender fluidity and all that.

Then I saw a highlight reel of you, and if those were the highlights, I’d hate to see the low lights. Do you really think your underdeveloped teenager-looking body will be able to take my colossus-like frame down to the mat for some ground and pound? I bet ground and pound is your boyfriend's nickname for your butt cheeks. I bet you’ve taken it strong style a few times for sure… not that there is anything wrong with that, don’t try and cancel me bro.

The Titan puts the brush down and then begins to fill the sink with cold water, placing a washcloth into the sink. After turning the water off, he rubs his face with the cloth, wetting it like a girl’s panties when they see The Marvelous One. The Big Natty Daddy then begins to apply shaving cream to his face with a brush made from horsehair.


Now, your partner, Ravana… first off, your name is stupid. What is this, OCW’s Margarita Mix, or Gandhi Two, hunger strike boogaloo? I’ll admit you’re a pretty big fella, but also, a fart smella. Trust me, I’ve been to India before, the whole place just smells like one giant protein fart. And you don’t even eat cows, how do you get protein farts with insufficient protein?

Ravana… wait, I can’t call you that, it just sounds so dumb. Aaryan, you might hit like some spicy curry, but bro, I’m clutch like Steph Curry. And just like Steph did when he put Golden State on his back and carried them to the NBA championship, I’m going to do the same with Anthony Cross.

TM1 finishes covering his face with the cream and rinses the brush off in the sink. The Mecca of Manhood then picks up a shiny straight razor and begins to slowly, and smoothly shave his beautiful face. With a smooth, final stroke the Bod God finishes shaving his face and then rinses his razor off. The Titan drains the sink and washes his face off with cold water to close his pores. TM1 then applies a clear facial mask to tighten his skin and places whitening trays in his teeth. The tightness of his face and whitening trays impairs his speech a bit, but it is the price of beauty.

Aaryan, you nicknamed yourself after a demon, ooh, how spooky. Well, big man, I’m going to exercise you and cast you right out of this tournament. Kai, you call yourself a truther, isn’t that just slang for “an Alex Jones mark”? I’m going to bounce you out of this tournament faster than Alex Jones gets bounced from any social media platform.

The Modern-Day Adonis pulls the whitening trays from his mouth and places them into the sink. The water is turned back on again, and Triple M rinses his mouth out. 3M smiles in the mirror and admires his beautiful white teeth.

Let me ask you something Truther, are you a lizard person? Why is your hometown Detroit and not Bohemian Grove?

As for you Aaryan, whenever you are ready to stop bulking and start cutting, you can purchase my Marvelous Muscle app to find out how to get those abs to come in.

TM1 peels his facial mask off and discards it into the trash. The Mecca of Manhood then dabs his face off with a wet cloth. Triple M pulls a pair of tweezers from a cabinet and begins examining his nose for any unsightly hairs. The Marvelous One sticks the tweezers into his nose and yanks out a long, dark hair. TM1 holds the hair in the tweezers so that the hair can be focused on.

Kai and Aaryan, you two are like this nose hair, unsightly and unwanted. I will pluck you from the face of the Margarita Mix and dispose of you where you belong, in the trash. Only trash would be associated with demons and Alex Jones, and only trash would come out to the terrible music you two come out to.
I can’t even understand what Aaryan’s music said, and Kai’s music made me wish I was deaf. You’re both trash, and I can’t wait to toss you in the bin and send you to the landfill where you belong.

Because the Margarita Mix is not where you belong. For this is a place for those who are Marvelous, and you two… simply are not marvelous, but you will find out first hand what a marvelous man looks like.

Triple M disposes the hair into a wastebasket with a grotesque look on his face. TM1 lays the tweezers down on the counter and turns back to the mirror. For a moment The Bod God stares into the mirror at his marvelous face. The Big Natty Daddy leans forward and kisses his reflection in the mirror. The Mecca of Manhood leans back and stares at his reflection.

Pure perfection, you are… simply marvelous.

[kaimorgan]

SUPRISING, YET INEVITABLE

We go over to an empty backstage area. It’s difficult to tell exactly where it is, but it looks backstage, so go with it! Kai Morgan is seen leaning on an equipment crate, in his Green Order jacket and ring gear! The camera shoots him straight down the middle as he speaks!

Kai Morgan: I’ll be frank, when I found out that I wasn’t gonna be entering this tournament with my tag team partner I was a bit disappointed. I mean, when my name came out of that hat in the drawing, I was 100% confident that the next one to get called would be “Ciela Luiz”. Because that’s just how it is when you have a true tag team partner. Your names become almost synonymous with one another, and it feels unnatural or flat out wrong when they aren’t uttered in the same breath.

Kai moves away from the equipment box as the camera backs away! His tone becomes a bit more serious.

Kai Morgan: But those are the pitfalls of a Lethal Lotto...and while I can sit here and cry about it all day and night, that’s not how Kai Morgan operates...Aristotle said that the best endings are “surprising, yet inevitable”. That you shouldn’t expect for whatever happens to happen...but when looking back you should realize that they couldn’t have gone any other way.

In all honesty, that’s how I feel about my partner in this thing, Ravana! He may not have been my first choice, but the first choice and the best choice can sometimes be drastically different! I’ll admit that tag team wrestling takes cohesion and knowing your partner, but sometimes those things don’t mean shit when you're faced with powerhouses like Mike Mason and Anthony Cross! Don’t get me wrong, those things are important, but when you’re facing off against opponents like those, you’re gonna need a secret third ingredient. Ravana...IS that ingredient!

Kai begins to chuckle as he remembers something.

Kai Morgan: Besides, another part of succeeding in something like this...is knowing your enemy. I’ll admit, I don’t know jack shit about Mike Mason, which may or may not be very telling, that’s for you to decide. However, I do know quite a bit about Anthony Cross. Let me see if I recall...oh, yes! February 5th, 2021...IBW Collision Episode 155…”Enforcer” Anthony Cross vs. Kai Morgan! How’d that one end again? Oh right! I hit you with my then terribly named finisher and laid you out for the 1! 2! 3!

And now, you’re under contract with Zion Wrestling, which means you work for me! So I guess this makes for TWO separate times where Kai Morgan has made Anthony Cross his bitch...and with someone with Ravana by my side, and someone like Mike Mason on yours...it looks as though I’m about to hit a three-peat!

But in the meantime, Ravana and I are gonna be hitting up the training center, making sure we’re completely in sync ahead of driving a hole straight through this thing. We implore you to do the same, otherwise next Wednesday is going to be a very short night!

And that’s the truth...because as we all know...Kai Never Lies…

Kai walks away from the camera with a cheshire grin as we fade to black.

[enforcer]

*Scene*

::”Enforcer” Anthony Cross is sitting in the bar of the Times Square Margaritaville Resort in New York City. He is playing a acoustic guitar singing Margaritaville.::

“Enforcer” Anthony Cross

Nibblin' on sponge cake

Watchin' the sun bake

All of those tourists covered with oil

Strummin' my six-string

On my front porch swing

Smell those shrimp they're beginnin' to boil

Chorus:

Wastin' away again in Margaritaville

Searching for my lost shaker of salt

Some people claim that there's a woman to blame

But I know it's nobody's fault

I don't know the reason

I stayed here all season

Nothin' to show but this brand new tattoo

But it's a real beauty

A Mexican cutie

How it got here I haven't a clue

::The audience claps as Anthony motions to the bartender to make him another margarita. He sets the guitar down.::


“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Man, I am killing it into this Margarita Mix. There is no way anyone else has drunk more margaritas than I have.


Bartender:Isn’t the Margarita Mix a wrestling tournament?



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:No, it is a drinking game that I am kicking ass in.



Bartender:You sure there, boss?


“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Yeah, I’ll show you.



::Anthony takes his phone out of his pants pocket. He starts typing and scrolling on his phone.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:I am on the OCW website right now. Here it is, the Margarita Mix, right here.



::As Anthony looks at his phone and his eyes widen and his jaw drops. The bartender begins to chuckle.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:A tag team tournament? What the hell? This is outrageous.



::Anthony pauses to regain his composure.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Alright, ok. This is all good because we all know that when I step into the ring I am pure gold.



Bartender:This is true.



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Well it appears that I was just looking for a reason to have a drink or two. Now that all that fun of entering the Margarita Mix has subsided and I am focused on business.



Bartender:You sure that is a good idea?


“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:It is a great idea, barkeep.



::Anthony stumbles a few feet and he holds on to the bar itself.::



Bartender:You sure about that, boss?



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Hell yeah, man. Damn!



Bartender:I’m going to get you an Uber, man.

11 Hours Later

::Anthony wakes up on his couch of his Central Park West high rise apartment. He sits up and looks around his living room and sees the sun beaming into his apartment through the sliding glass door leading to his balcony. He stands up and yawns.::

“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:So it seems I got a bit overzealous when I mistakenly thought that Margarita Mix was a drinking game.



::Anthony shrugs his shoulders.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Innocent mistake. But this tournament is determined by doing the thing I do better than most. That of course stepping into a wrestling ring. An OCW wrestling ring despite their desire not to take applications. Does that count as a life hack? Regardless...that is neither here nor there. The bottom line is I have hit the promised land.



::Anthony walks into the kitchen and sees his wife has their Breville Barista Express Espresso maker on. He goes over to a kitchen cabinet and opens the door. He pulls out an espresso cup and sets the cup on the kitchen counter.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Now that I have arrived at the doorstep of utopia I see before me I am in a tag team match with a man who refers to himself as the marvelous one. I can’t say that I don't hate this guy’s confidence. If I am going to be randomly put together to team up with someone then dammit I want that person to be confident because if they aren’t confident in themselves then they don’t have any skill to be proud of. It seems as though Mike has talent in spades that matches his confidence. Welcome, Mike, it is going to be a pleasure to team up with you.



::Anthony sets his cup into the Espresso machine and the espresso proceeds to drip into his cup.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:Mike and I aren’t going to be stepping into the ring against a couple chumps. One of our opponents is the British big man, Ravana. I have to admit, Aaryan, you are without a doubt a physical specimen. You got the size and look to go very far in this tournament. Combine with the intelligence that comes with being even considered to be the CFO for OCW much less be the chosen one. Anyone with a half an ounce of common sense knows if I even attempt to tear him down it would be meant with eye rolls and scoffs. But it seems as though he has gotten me all figured out just because I have done a thing or two in this business. Sure, I do very much like to be able to brag because if I am able to brag then I am doing something right when I step into the ring.



::Anthony picks up the cup and takes a sip of espresso. He sets the cup down onto the kitchen table.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:But I wouldn’t expect anything less from my opposition because that is just the typical kind of thing that is done in this business. Are you merely typical, Aaryan? Seems that way but hey do you, man. I expected more from your partner though. Your partner is as he admitted familiar with me because I work for him in Zion Wrestling. I believe if I heard correctly he said I would be his bitch twice. Harsh, Kai. That hurts my heart.



::Anthony walks over to the kitchen table and lifts up the Zion Youtube title belt.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:If I were such a bitch why am I a champion in your company? I know you are just trying to put yourself over, Kai, but like I said I expected more from you because as you have pointed out you are a “talker” and that is the best you can come up with? Very disappointing, Kai, but that is what happens when you meet someone you considered a legend.



::Anthony sets the Youtube title belt back down onto the table. He walks over to his balcony sliding door and looks out onto Central Park.::



“Enforcer” Anthony Cross:You two boys will no doubt do whatever it takes to win. Our match. What a wicked world that drives a man to sin. I just do it better though.



::Anthony walks over to the kitchen table and grabs his espresso cup as the screen fades to black.::