CHAMPION!

“God damn it!”

--The haunting sound of rampant flesh beating against the ground suffocated my thoughts as I crouched down nervously, praying that the fortress walls would hold strong. With every passing second, their roars grew louder and my knees grew weaker. It was a vicious cycle… and one I could do little to prevent.--

--Quickly gazing around the room, I desperately searched for something to aid my cause. My eyelids fluttered demonically, urgently examining every nook and cranny of a room I was so familiar with. However, despite owning almost anything that money could buy, nothing cared to offer a helping hand in my hour of need. --

--I was very much on my own.--

“Ok, Hart,” I mumbled, urging each word out wearily, in an attempt to re-assure myself. “You can do this by yourself. Keep strong. You can do it.”
Beads of sweat crept up onto my brow, hanging precariously; poised to fall to the ground at any moment. The pungent taste of unavoidable consequence soured my tongue and forced my nose upwards. Still though, I couldn’t give up, I had to press on. Creeping forward dexterously and crawling carefully along the chilled marble floor even placing one hand in front of the other seemed like an enormous task. Every fibre within my body seemed to lock tightly, binding me in unbreakable shell of fear and rendering my senses completely useless.--

“Keep going,” I cried. “Not much further now…”

--The large, brown mahogany door seemed like nothing more than a blip on the horizon, but in actual fact, it was only a few feet away. The intensity of the situation shrouded my judgement and left me bumbling onwards like a human cabbage.--

Need to get a grip.

--The final few yards were by far the worst. The door stood proudly, almost taunting me to reach out and grab it with both hands. Struggling to bring myself back to a vertical base, I threw out my left arm and clung onto the copper handle as if my life depended on it. Dragging my feet up and exhaling deeply, my mind began predicting how the next few moments of my existence would unfold. Kaleidoscope like snapshots subconsciously predicted images of a blacked out Frank Hart lying in a puddle of his own bodily fluids in the doorway.--

“No,” I fought back, rebuking the predictions and grasping at fate by the throat. “This is my time to shine and I won’t be stopped.”

Puffing my chest outward and wiping the sweat from my forehand, I turned the copper handle confident and stared out at the sea of people that swarmed around the mansion. Hundreds of microphones, cameras and notepads waved in my direction as the crowd jostled for position.

“Mr. Hart! Can we have a quick word, please?”

“Mr. Hart, I’m from ESPN!”

Sporting a gloomy facial expression and questioning why celebrities had to answer to the press, I toyed with the idea of erecting a new steel fence around the estate. However, the infernal pests would still find a way in… like vermin burrowing their way to the next meal; reporters would always get to the story.

“Press conference at 3 o’clock, boys and girls. Go home to your families for the time being or I’ll see to it that Officer Dibble leads you out of my gate personally.”

And with that, the rats began to flee in their droves. Nattering to one another in a rather disgruntled manner, they scurried through the main gates of the estate in the same erratic vain that they had arrived.

“Why do I put up with this shit?”

That’s when I remembered… IM A SUPERSTAR....JWF'S HERO

Blinding lights shower the room in illuminated glory, bathing everyone in a sea of anxiety. The masses had assembled just as followers of Jesus had all those centuries ago; and so they waited for the second coming of the modern day Messiah to arrive.

“This better be worth my time,” babbled a local reporter, dressed in a scruffy suit and chomping on a day old Mars bar. “I turned down a perfectly good kidnapping to cover this story.”

“The Owens girl? Yeah, I turned that story down too; just heard from a guy over there that police have found a body though. Just my luck. Could have been interesting,” added a stubbly middle-aged fellow to his right.
Suddenly, their interest was turned on its head.

An explosion of camera flashes erupted with the arrival of a familiar figure. Strolling forwards towards the large wooden desk at the front of the room was none other than a casually dressed Frank Hart sporting a large grin.

“Frank Hart will now take your questions. One at a time, please. Raise your hand before speaking. You will be prompted.”

The little rodents began to squeak once again, irritating me with their sheer presence alone. Rocking back into the comfy leather recliner, I’m knocked over by a barrage of questions. It’s just a job to them. They’re paid to obtain answers.

To me though, it’s nothing more than a game. My answers fly back on auto-pilot.

“Yeah, obviously I’m really happy to be back in the wrestling game. The JWF has some great wrestlers and cant wait to enter the chamber.”

God, that answer is robotic, Frank. What happened to the King of creativity, eh? Well, I suppose you’ve not got much to work with here. Reporters are more machine than anything else. They’re brainwashing you… bringing you down to their level.

The battle rages on as my conscience reasons with the forces of logic.

“My favourite cheese? Oh, it’s got to be Edam. Next question, please.”

C’mon Hart, do something off the cuff. You need to make the headline news. This isn’t how you used to do press conferences, was it?
Suddenly, one question in particular takes me out of auto-pilot. A question with character and backbone.

“Your booked against some of JWF'S best for the world title. Will your former friendship with Joe play a part in the match?” inquires a young, blue eyed reporter with an unusual passion for knowledge. I can almost taste his desire… he wants the big scoop. He wants the big quote.

Here goes…
“Human nature controls everything, my young friend. There’s no doubt that my past with Joe will play a factor in this match. I can’t control what’s gone before me… and some would argue I can’t even control what lies ahead. However, I’m of the belief that the cards dealt to me by fate include yet another surge to the top of the JWF Mountain, and the only way I can see this happening is by going through Joe and Steven, and Von Vicious, and the invasion folks. As much as I respect all of them both as an individual and as a competitors, sacrifices have to be made. Which I prove last night, when me and Joe stole the show”

Gasping as if some kind of new law had been laid out before their very eyes, the rats scribbled down my utterances, proclaiming it as their new Gospel. The young reporter flashes a gigantic smile my way; it’s the biggest break of his career and he’s damn thankful.

“No more questions. Thanks.”

Rising from the chair and carefully ambling out, the crowd is left gagging for more. They hang on my every word, treating each with delicacy and respect. Cuddling my sentences like new-born infants, the reporters treasure the moments they have left with the raw material. I’m just a piece of meat to them…

But damn do they love me.

Exiting the room through the black door on my right, I find myself presented with a large yellow corridor. Familiar wrestling names line the walls and are accompanied by pictures of some of the JWF’s fonder memories.

And so, I walk on, following the Yellow pathway that will take me to The End and beyond…

"I’m pitted inside a chamber! And Joe looks like We’ve got a history that dates back since I came here and I can’t underline just how much admiration I’ve had for Joe over the years. For almost half a decade now, Joe proved himself to be one of the greatest competitors that the entire industry can brag to offer. He’s been in there with the best and he’s beaten them too.

I’m not going to sit here and tell the world about how I’m going to run through this match in thirty seconds flat. This one will be a slog. This’ll be a war. However, I’m ready to go down into the trenches and get dirty. I’m ready to wrestle for an hour, if needs be.

Such is my determination and desire to once again to bare the flag for this company, I'll walk on water if I have to.

The balance of power is slowly shifting once more. This is my destniy can’t stop it and neither can Joe, or von, The path has already been laid out and now it’s time to walk it.

My date with the Wizard is already booked. And bout time I take what I should have had a long time ago!

fACE IT! None of you cats have the HEART like I do to take this title, sunday night! Tlak bout my ego, make eatting disorder jokes, nothing will stop me from becoming king of the JWF! Hear that Joe...nothing!"