Post by Donnie Harris on Nov 13, 2023 17:44:39 GMT -5
-Donnie wasn’t pleased with himself, especially having to resort to threatening the boss. It could have been career suicide, but, all things considered, he was right to get angry. After all, due to the oversight of the security company, the finish was fucked. And now, as a result, Donnie might as well be out of any and all title pictures.
He failed against BRADDOCK; his latest failure was against Damian Calaway. However, after the new card was released, Donnie could only scratch his head.
Alexandra Calaway: the next person to be placed in Donnie’s way.
While he did appreciate the challengers set in front of him, there was always some twist of fate to say no, some manipulation of possibility that gave Donnie the losing edge.
Long story short, something would always get in the way.
Maybe that was why Donnie was going from brother to sister in this case: to give him a chance to redeem himself, a change in the pattern; whatever it was, Ally Calaway got over on SYNN.
That shocked Donnie, but, then again, he was always looking to the better of SYNN, her being a valued rival, but he needed to give his head a shake; SYNN wasn’t that good, and neither was he.
For the weebs out there, it’s like how Zaraki limited himself because of Unohana. Without the right motivation, coaxing, whatever, the limiter would always remain.
This is something that Donnie did recognize, as hard as he trained. His body felt strong, having recovered quickly from Halloween: a sign of the fluke that gave Damian a chance to have his hand raised. However, Donnie couldn’t sit with that. For all the bullshit around the ring, for the fan that got lucky (and then his comeuppance from a trained fighter), Donnie knew that his anti-gimmick was the right move.
No weapons, no “play time”, none of this pre-match foreplay (for lack of a better way to put it): go in, kick ass, win, get out.
He had too much pride in himself to let the silliness of sports entertainment get in the way; he is a professional wrestler. That meant, in other words, strong style and shoot fighting. Sure, there was the formula to follow for maximum entertainment for the people in the crowd, but he wasn’t going to minimize the amount of time spent on it.
A match with a guy like Damian would have lasted half as long as it did, if not for the instruments strewn about the place. Matches with BRADDOCK took longer than necessary too, because it came down to the gimmick... again.
Donnie felt stuck in this pattern, which was why he planned on honing his body into a blunt object while his mind and spirit were sharpened blades, ready to cut through the bullshit at a moment’s notice. All would take time.
And some of that time was spent watching a few of Calaway’s matches, especially the one against SYNN.
Even though the match was a gimmick straight out of the movie Kickboxer (SYNNers was only kind of clever), it came down to a lot of different expressions of the same Jesus Christ that was almost as annoying as “Somebody call 911!” and a final hard collision in the center of the ring. SYNN stayed down; Ally got up. Alexandra Calaway was now a double-champ, one title each between the two OCW promotions.
Credit where credit is due, SYNN isn’t exactly, say, a Fanny, nor is Calaway, but, all things considered, Alexandra would be facing a much fresher Donnie Harris than vice versa.
Fast forward to the day of the show: Donnie was arriving in Dallas, checked in to his hotel and he got into the American Airlines Center. Fortunately enough, the ring was set up and ready for use, but he was the first wrestler to arrive.
Phone in hand, dressed to impress in a pair of jeans and a merch shirt, Donnie flipped on TikTok and started to record himself.-
)Donnie Harris(
Here I am in Dallas, standing in the middle of the ring of the American Airlines Center, and I have so much to make up for, for my fans and for my own reputation.
-Donnie moves through the ring, coming off the ropes in a jog, just to get a feel of the tension; since they’re freshly put up, the tension was high, which would loosen over time due to the matches prior to his own.-
)Donnie Harris(
Alexandra Calaway is the next person to face me, for those of you who haven’t checked the card: the pre-main event. I’m surprised that Britlyn gave me this opportunity, but I’ll be stupid to ignore such an obvious shot to make up for fucking up so frequently. I have to apologize to all the people who expect better of me. I’ll make it up to you, I promise, and I get that chance tonight.
-Donnie moves to the turnbuckle, leaning into the corner and taking a deep breath as he sinks into the cushioning.-
)Donnie Harris(
I hate that I’ve been letting myself down like this, so I can only imagine how people feel when they want to watch me succeed, and nothing was more obvious a failing than falling apart against BRADDOCK, but I also know that there is no forgiveness with what happened at Halloween Havok, and I get my redemption arc tonight. I face the next Calaway: a double champion between the promotions. That means if I beat her, I become the next double-champion between PWA and OCW.
-Donnie sighs a bit, slumping into the corner, flipping the image to show the entrance ramp.-
)Donnie Harris(
Only another few hours and I’ll be walking through the curtain, coming down to this ring, to do what’s expected of me.
-Donnie flips the camera image back around to show him seated on the canvas in the ring, the OCW logo next to his head on the turnbuckle pad.-
)Donnie Harris(
I have a job to do tonight, but it will not be the “job” everyone expects. I’m not here to lose. I’m not here to give up after a bad night; there will be no worse night than Halloween, all because of some nosy jabroni. My work is far from done, because I am being given a shot at Alexandra Calaway’s Anarchy title. Then again, with the shakeup, who knows what it will be by the end of the night, but it hardly means I’m going to relax. I don’t relax; I can’t afford to relax. If I relax, it means I’m content, and I am FAR from content with where I am. I’m not ready or willing to say I’m content with anything right now. Hell, even with BRADDOCK, I wasn’t relaxing. As close as I got, I kept training and training and fighting and training. With a busted body, I couldn’t afford to stop, and I didn’t. I might have suffered as a result, but no one can deny the effort I put in to reach those heights, and I am still touching those heights. My name is still in the same conversation as Alexandra Calaway, BRADDOCK, Colossus, Toxicita, etc. No one can say that I don’t belong in the OCW main event picture.
-Donnie pulls himself up, flipping himself onto the top turnbuckle, still sitting down, but now on the top rope.-
)Donnie Harris(
But it’s not something I can relax about. It’s not something I can take my time with, because I can easily lose that place if I can’t pay off. If I’m not earning my keep, I won’t be kept around. It’s no different in any sport, whether a singular effort like combat sports or a team effort like baseball, football, whatever. It’s time for me to regain and emphasize my focus anew.
-Donnie yawns, hooking his feet into the second rope and leaning back, stretching; his joints popping is barely audible in the background.-
)Donnie Harris(
But...
-Donnie straightens up, taking another deep, long breath.-
)Donnie Harris(
The time has come for me to get back onto the horse, and it starts with Ally Calaway. SYNN couldn’t beat you, but I will. SYNN couldn’t keep up with you; I will. My rival fell down and couldn’t get up in time, but there will be nothing keeping me down, not even you. Damian got lucky. Your brother, Alexandra, got lucky; you will not be as fortunate. I will make sure that I make up for and redeem myself for that loss a couple weeks ago. Sorry, Ally, but...
-Donnie slides off the top rope, moving back into the ring, before exiting the ring towards the ramp.-
)Donnie Harris(
You’ve been thrown to an extremely hungry wolf, and I am not going to be sorry for bleeding you out as I eat you alive.
-Donnie ends the recording and posts his promo.-
He failed against BRADDOCK; his latest failure was against Damian Calaway. However, after the new card was released, Donnie could only scratch his head.
Alexandra Calaway: the next person to be placed in Donnie’s way.
While he did appreciate the challengers set in front of him, there was always some twist of fate to say no, some manipulation of possibility that gave Donnie the losing edge.
Long story short, something would always get in the way.
Maybe that was why Donnie was going from brother to sister in this case: to give him a chance to redeem himself, a change in the pattern; whatever it was, Ally Calaway got over on SYNN.
That shocked Donnie, but, then again, he was always looking to the better of SYNN, her being a valued rival, but he needed to give his head a shake; SYNN wasn’t that good, and neither was he.
For the weebs out there, it’s like how Zaraki limited himself because of Unohana. Without the right motivation, coaxing, whatever, the limiter would always remain.
This is something that Donnie did recognize, as hard as he trained. His body felt strong, having recovered quickly from Halloween: a sign of the fluke that gave Damian a chance to have his hand raised. However, Donnie couldn’t sit with that. For all the bullshit around the ring, for the fan that got lucky (and then his comeuppance from a trained fighter), Donnie knew that his anti-gimmick was the right move.
No weapons, no “play time”, none of this pre-match foreplay (for lack of a better way to put it): go in, kick ass, win, get out.
He had too much pride in himself to let the silliness of sports entertainment get in the way; he is a professional wrestler. That meant, in other words, strong style and shoot fighting. Sure, there was the formula to follow for maximum entertainment for the people in the crowd, but he wasn’t going to minimize the amount of time spent on it.
A match with a guy like Damian would have lasted half as long as it did, if not for the instruments strewn about the place. Matches with BRADDOCK took longer than necessary too, because it came down to the gimmick... again.
Donnie felt stuck in this pattern, which was why he planned on honing his body into a blunt object while his mind and spirit were sharpened blades, ready to cut through the bullshit at a moment’s notice. All would take time.
And some of that time was spent watching a few of Calaway’s matches, especially the one against SYNN.
Even though the match was a gimmick straight out of the movie Kickboxer (SYNNers was only kind of clever), it came down to a lot of different expressions of the same Jesus Christ that was almost as annoying as “Somebody call 911!” and a final hard collision in the center of the ring. SYNN stayed down; Ally got up. Alexandra Calaway was now a double-champ, one title each between the two OCW promotions.
Credit where credit is due, SYNN isn’t exactly, say, a Fanny, nor is Calaway, but, all things considered, Alexandra would be facing a much fresher Donnie Harris than vice versa.
Fast forward to the day of the show: Donnie was arriving in Dallas, checked in to his hotel and he got into the American Airlines Center. Fortunately enough, the ring was set up and ready for use, but he was the first wrestler to arrive.
Phone in hand, dressed to impress in a pair of jeans and a merch shirt, Donnie flipped on TikTok and started to record himself.-
)Donnie Harris(
Here I am in Dallas, standing in the middle of the ring of the American Airlines Center, and I have so much to make up for, for my fans and for my own reputation.
-Donnie moves through the ring, coming off the ropes in a jog, just to get a feel of the tension; since they’re freshly put up, the tension was high, which would loosen over time due to the matches prior to his own.-
)Donnie Harris(
Alexandra Calaway is the next person to face me, for those of you who haven’t checked the card: the pre-main event. I’m surprised that Britlyn gave me this opportunity, but I’ll be stupid to ignore such an obvious shot to make up for fucking up so frequently. I have to apologize to all the people who expect better of me. I’ll make it up to you, I promise, and I get that chance tonight.
-Donnie moves to the turnbuckle, leaning into the corner and taking a deep breath as he sinks into the cushioning.-
)Donnie Harris(
I hate that I’ve been letting myself down like this, so I can only imagine how people feel when they want to watch me succeed, and nothing was more obvious a failing than falling apart against BRADDOCK, but I also know that there is no forgiveness with what happened at Halloween Havok, and I get my redemption arc tonight. I face the next Calaway: a double champion between the promotions. That means if I beat her, I become the next double-champion between PWA and OCW.
-Donnie sighs a bit, slumping into the corner, flipping the image to show the entrance ramp.-
)Donnie Harris(
Only another few hours and I’ll be walking through the curtain, coming down to this ring, to do what’s expected of me.
-Donnie flips the camera image back around to show him seated on the canvas in the ring, the OCW logo next to his head on the turnbuckle pad.-
)Donnie Harris(
I have a job to do tonight, but it will not be the “job” everyone expects. I’m not here to lose. I’m not here to give up after a bad night; there will be no worse night than Halloween, all because of some nosy jabroni. My work is far from done, because I am being given a shot at Alexandra Calaway’s Anarchy title. Then again, with the shakeup, who knows what it will be by the end of the night, but it hardly means I’m going to relax. I don’t relax; I can’t afford to relax. If I relax, it means I’m content, and I am FAR from content with where I am. I’m not ready or willing to say I’m content with anything right now. Hell, even with BRADDOCK, I wasn’t relaxing. As close as I got, I kept training and training and fighting and training. With a busted body, I couldn’t afford to stop, and I didn’t. I might have suffered as a result, but no one can deny the effort I put in to reach those heights, and I am still touching those heights. My name is still in the same conversation as Alexandra Calaway, BRADDOCK, Colossus, Toxicita, etc. No one can say that I don’t belong in the OCW main event picture.
-Donnie pulls himself up, flipping himself onto the top turnbuckle, still sitting down, but now on the top rope.-
)Donnie Harris(
But it’s not something I can relax about. It’s not something I can take my time with, because I can easily lose that place if I can’t pay off. If I’m not earning my keep, I won’t be kept around. It’s no different in any sport, whether a singular effort like combat sports or a team effort like baseball, football, whatever. It’s time for me to regain and emphasize my focus anew.
-Donnie yawns, hooking his feet into the second rope and leaning back, stretching; his joints popping is barely audible in the background.-
)Donnie Harris(
But...
-Donnie straightens up, taking another deep, long breath.-
)Donnie Harris(
The time has come for me to get back onto the horse, and it starts with Ally Calaway. SYNN couldn’t beat you, but I will. SYNN couldn’t keep up with you; I will. My rival fell down and couldn’t get up in time, but there will be nothing keeping me down, not even you. Damian got lucky. Your brother, Alexandra, got lucky; you will not be as fortunate. I will make sure that I make up for and redeem myself for that loss a couple weeks ago. Sorry, Ally, but...
-Donnie slides off the top rope, moving back into the ring, before exiting the ring towards the ramp.-
)Donnie Harris(
You’ve been thrown to an extremely hungry wolf, and I am not going to be sorry for bleeding you out as I eat you alive.
-Donnie ends the recording and posts his promo.-