Something In The Air

[Storm]

SOMETHING IN THE AIR

Diaries of a Knucklehead

22/04/2022
03:04

Dear Knuckleheads

There's a change in the tide and I can feel it coming. 

There's something in the air...

I'm nervous but I'm excited.

Everybody else doesn't want to admit it but I know that there's something round the corner that nobody is truly prepared for. You can see it in me every time I've been in the ring since I've been back, I've become a different animal. There's a fire inside me that has awoken, one that I thought was extinguished, never to return. But the fire keeps burning, and as long as it does no one is safe.

My little girl keeps asking me why I put myself through it. I come home, battered and bruised, looking like a different man from the last time she saw me. This is the wicked ways of my world, I tell her... I tell her that despite all of that, it's because I love it sweetie, and if you love something, no matter how many times you fall down, no matter how many times you lose and it feels as though the whole world is against you, you get yourself back up - and you keep going. She tells me she doesn't like my scars but for me, they serve as a reminder of everything I've done since the beginning of my career and how far I've come. They're medals of honour in the line of battle, one's I wear proudly. 


Even those battles where I lose, I can't help but break a smile sometimes, despite the fact I hate losing, more than anything in the world. As much as it hurts, both physically and emotionally, you get yourself back up and you keep going because this is what you love, and that beacon of hope, that opportunity to turn it all around, is only a reach away! The tides change, the journey is a roller-coaster, there's blood, sweat and tears but that's what we all do it for, it's our bread and butter. I will keep getting up, no matter what. 

I'm a fighter, this is everything I know and it's who I am. I've been kicked down, stepped on and humiliated. I've also been the champion, the best in the world, the benchmark. I've been through it all and I can't lie to you, I've been itching to go through it again.

It's like an addiction, this thing that we do and I can't get enough of it. I decided to come back to the industry after a year out of baking off and wondering whether my time would come again... wondering became tedious and I needed to know whether I could still truly go, with the best of the bests. And now here I am, a few nights away from a destiny. 

From



xox.

"I'm not the same man I once was."

His expressions were vacant as words left his mouth, eyes cold and calculated. Looking through a fire, Storm was in deep contemplation, in a reflective mood as the moon shone brightly in the night sky. He was alone, with Gregory Murphy elsewhere possibly running errands or something, this was a moment of solitude for Storm, one that he needed before his big encounter against Tamika Strader. 

"I don't smoke or drink, not like I used to. I barely even go out like that anymore. My kid's growing up faster than I could've ever imagined. I don't go out and enjoy the luxuries of this world like any other normal individual would in my position. I love professional wrestling and devote my life to it, and being the best version of me I can be."

He paused, allowing himself time to think before continuing.

"Opportunities in the past have been squandered, thrown away and dismissed... distant memories of a past life. I've been reborn since then, repackaged, rebooted and ready to go again."

Chuckling to himself, Storm chucked a piece of wood onto the fire which caused it to raise ferociously.

"Before, when I started here in OCW, I was the young prospect. I was reckless back then, with the sole intention of beating the living day lights out of whoever was standing across from me. I was the man with all the talent and potential in the world, but somehow just couldn't finesse the finishing touches... who had the task of fulfilling that potential, and exceeding the expectations that were set. I was young and hungry, wanting to impress everybody. This business that we're in, it's a cruel cold one that can chew you up and spit you out, trampling all over you afterwards- if you let it.

That's just the wicked ways of our world and I found out very quickly that if you wanted to amount to anything in this profession, you'd have give your life for it, be prepared to die in that ring. Some people can manage it, they're either born for it or they work hard enough to get there, but then you have others, who just haven't got what it takes. There's guys and gals who have waltzed into this company, done their thing and before you know it, they're gone and forgotten about - becoming just another name that floated about, that could've been something.

When it comes to Your Hero and Mine, that's exactly the perception people had during my early stints here, with matches against Itsumade and Bob Grenier, being significant milestones in my career at that point. Over time, that's exactly what I did, match after match, year after year, putting in the work and ensuring that your name isn't gonna get knocked down the card. I managed to make a name for myself elsewhere, main-eventing shows all over the world across several different promotions."

He paused, allowing a smile to plant over his lips as he thought about his career highlights, the highs and the lows that he had endured, everything that made him who he was today. 

"During those times, I often reminded myself of my humble beginnings here. I looked back at those times with great fondness but there was still an emptiness because I knew there was still that missing piece of the jigsaw I couldn't quite put together. That one stain that was hanging over me, nagging me like the itch on your back that you can't get rid of. Championship success and glory.

When it all comes down to it, that's what it's all about. I know what you're thinking Tamika... why has it taken me this long to fulfil a journey that started all the way back in 2014, well the answer is pretty simple Tamika. Everything happens for a reason and those past failures and disappointments were supposed to happen, as they've led me up to this moment between you and I."

There it was, his signature smirk upon his lips, rubbing his hands together simultaneously. 

"This is the way it was supposed to happen and my crowning moment will finally come at Technical Difficulties. I was the naïve angry little boy who wasn't ready to carry a title and elevate it's status... but now, I'm the man on the tip of everybody's tongue, the hero that this company needs, the man that people know - is going to lead this promotion to the next level. I'm not hiding away from the responsibility, I'm stepping up and staking my claim for the mountain tops. I'm not the boy who could've had it all, I'm the man who's about it to take it all, rocking the foundations and reshaping it in my own image! 

This is who I am, who I've become and I don't think Tamika Strader is quite ready for the showdown that's going to happen on Sunday. Instead, she's sold herself on the belief that her time is now and that a title change only a month into her reign, is inconceivable.

Tamika Strader wants to believe that I'm not ready for this opportunity, she wants to believe that I'm not ready for her this Sunday... this is as ready as I've ever been Tamika, I'm in the form of my life right now and I'm not easing up. Don't believe naïve enough to believe that this is going to go down the way you think it is, you may think your time is now - and if it is, well then it's coming to an end at Technical Difficulties. 

Sunday marks a monumental milestone and the stakes are higher than they've ever been, the world will be watching. In the past, maybe I would've agreed with you - maybe I would've slipped up and squandered it again, but we're not living in the past anymore, Tamika. We're talking about the now and right now, I'm one of the best wrestlers in the world, period. It doesn't matter the occasion, it doesn't matter who's in front of me - I'm doing everything it takes and rising to the occasion, every single damn time.

You've had it plain sailing for far too long - it's about time someone knocks you off of your pedestal. I know for a damn fact, you're going to have a long and storied career here in OCW, you've already started off with a bang. The Strader name will live on and you will continue to grow on the legacy that was already set by your predecessors. 

But as long as I'm in the picture, as long your in my way, I promise you, there won't be nothing but misery and pain waiting for you.  I'm the immovable object, the itch you can't get rid of, the pain in your ass not letting you have a moment of peace! As long as we're in the same ring together, it will always be MY time... you'll slowly learn that fact... and at Technical Difficulties, you will acknowledge it.

This is your first singles championship defence and it will be your last. Considering you've been a tag team wrestler for most of your career, it really is commendable how far you've come and how you've managed to grow as a competitor. I rate that, you stepped out of your comfort zone and decided to pave your own path. But that inexperience in singles competition, something I have been doing my whole career - that's going to catch up with you. You're not just going up against some knock-off enhancement talent, you're up against one of the best in the world!"

Storm's expressions changed once again, with his eyes fixated on the fire - you could see the pain in his eyes and he glared into it.

"There's a lot of hurt and misery in me, a lot of pain that's been instilled these last few months. Every time I've stepped inside the ring since I've been back here in OCW, I've carried that pain and hurt with me, allowing it to fuel me, to propel onto greener and better pastures. In a way, I'm transferring that pain and misery onto my opponents, it's like fucking therapy to me.

There's nothing quite like a good old fashioned ass whooping to fix your mental state, I'll you that much. But that hurt and pain, that all stems from everything I could've been here, everything I could've accomplished... sometimes, you just gotta let it go but I've been finding it harder and harder as the opportunity gets closer and closer. I'm only an arm's reach away. No one's going to take this moment away from me... "

He got to his feet, his eyes fixated on the camera as the scene gradually faded to black.