Post by Cyrus Rinaldi on Sept 15, 2024 0:00:27 GMT -5
Cyrus Rinaldi is in the locker room after Under Pressure has ended. He’s still in his wrestling gear, sitting in a chair and leaning back. He’s spent physically because of how hard the bout against Daron Smythe was, but also emotionally because of how enraged he was that the ref did not see his foot on the rope as Daron pinned him for the win. The TWN Championship is draped on his shoulder. He doesn’t speak slowly, but he doesn’t have his characteristic quick-talking cadence either.
Cyrus Rinaldi: Smythe, I’m not gonna sit here and deny what everyone saw with their own two eyes. The ref counted my shoulders to the mat for the three count and you retained the World Heavyweight Championship, and despite the fact that I had my foot on the rope, the referee didn’t see it.
That’s the way it goes in this sport sometimes. Things don’t always go the way they should go or the way you want them to go, and frankly, if the boot had been on the other foot, I'd have taken the victory any way I could, just like you did tonight. That’s why I’m not going to sit here and bitch and moan and cry about it. I pleaded my case to the ref, and he made his decision. That's where it ends.
However, I want you to know that the result of our match doesn’t change one thing that I think about you. I don’t respect you anymore than I did before and I didn’t gain any appreciation for you as a man or a wrestler.
He hocks a loogie onto the floor, sits up, and leans in. He holds the TWN Championship in his hands.
Cyrus Rinaldi: Now, I know that I’m probably going to go to the back of the line. If that’s the way it is, then so be it.
He looks down at this belt.
Cyrus Rinaldi: I’m still the TWN Champion and I still have obligations that I have to fulfill as the TWN Champion. There are still a host of potential challengers out there. I’m going to defend the TWN Championship against those challengers until someone is able to take it from me.
He holds the belt up.
Cyrus Rinaldi: That’s right, Daron. Despite your bias against this belt- a belt that you yourself once tried to win- I am going to defend it like my life depends on it.
He drapes the title over his shoulder and leans back in the chair.
Cyrus Rinaldi: But I’ll be back, Smythe, and I hope that the next time we stand across a ring from each other in a one-on-one match, you’re still the champion. I want to be the man who takes the World Heavyweight Championship off of you.
But even if you aren’t the champion when that day comes, I’ll still have something to fight for: righting a wrong and eliminating you from this sport and this business for good.
You can tell everyone your life story until you’re blue in the face. You can tell everyone about your struggles. I don’t give a shit about any of that. Other people may find your story to be inspirational. I don’t. All that little story did for me was reinforce just how pathetic you really are.
I’ve been through adversity, too, including what happened tonight, but I’m not discouraged by the fact that the referee fucked up. No, I’m going to come back to the top of the mountain. I’m going to meet you there, and then I’m going to push you off.
And the fall will be so great that when you hit the ground below, you’re not going to get up. You’re going to be done. You’re going to be incapacitated. You may even be dead.
He sits up and leans forward again.
Cyrus Rinaldi: Yes, you beat me, but don’t get comfortable. Your time with me isn’t over. I’m going to be the biggest fucking problem you’ve ever had. Forget about your whore of an ex-girlfriend. Forget about your Daddy issues. Forget about all the people you’ve ever feuded with, in UWL or anywhere else.
He gets his face right into the camera.
Cyrus Rinaldi: None of them will compare to the problem that I am going to be for you.
He stares into the camera intensely as the scene fades to black.