Post by Zack Fantana on Sept 24, 2016 5:51:42 GMT
"Ah, the prodigal son returns."
Rico dropped his target mitts onto the mat and nodded for one of his trainees to step in for him.
"I figured you would have been been swallowed by your own celebrity now. Hell, I thought I'd never see you again."
Zack Fantana shrugged as he took a seat on the bench.
"Ah, you know I'd never big-time you like that, Rico."
"You'd big-time your own dying grandmother if it meant a shot at gold."
Rico didn't need a reply. Zack's smile had said it all.
"I saw your last fight. I know I called you out in August but--"
"It's all good, Rico. It's the kick in the ass I needed at the time."
"I know you didn't end up winning the strap, but it has to feel good to be back. You satisfied?"
"You know I don't like that word."
"You fight again in two days, no? What the fuck are you doing here? Go see a show or something. Take all that shit off your mind."
"I already tried that. I'm afraid I prefer the dim lights of Rico's Gym to the bright lights over Broadway."
"There's just something in the air here, huh?"
"Yeah, I think it's asbestos."
"Hey, Sal's been working out in this gym for nearly fifty years and it hasn't affected him much."
Zack looked over to the 1973 New Jersey Golden Gloves winner smiling stupidly in the corner, blissfully unaware of the goings-on around him.
"If that's your big celebrity endorsement, you better hope my career in EOW works out. Jesus Christ, Rico."
"Who've you got this week?"
"A tag match versus Trixie and Cyrus Riddle."
Rico winced at the mention of Riddle's name.
"Oof. You've got this. Just stay away from that guardrail this time, hey?"
"Better tell Worldstar to lose your number. You might be the world's worst hype man. Get Sal over here. At least he'll give me a smile before he pisses all over my confidence."
"Hey, it's like you said earlier. You needed that kick in the ass. What you don't need is a yes man telling you everything you do is gold, because it's not. As great as it was that you responded from that savage attack on the railing from Riddle, you let him right back into the fight whenever you miscalculated that springboard 450."
"Hey, you asked for no hesitation."
"You're right, but there's a difference between fighting unafraid and fighting stupid. You're blurring the lines, my friend."
Zack's mouth opened with the intent to interject but he soon found himself nodding his head.
"What have you got on Trixie?"
"She's driven to win but her words, her appearance - it's all being micro-managed to the finest detail. Someone's in her ear trying to control her. That means she'll be second-guessing herself all night and that hesitation we just talked about is going to be her downfall.
That's without even getting into the complete betrayal of her trust by Cyrus Riddle. On Livewire #1, it appeared they'd created a pact but Riddle totally hung her out to dry by the end of the night. If it wasn't enough that it he was backing Carlisle instead of her in their fight, he also literally allowed Trixie to get kidnapped under his watch. It doesn't get more egregious than that. There has to be zero trust in that partnership.
Me, on the other hand? Everybody knows I look out for my own. Not that Candice needs it. She likes to play nice and all, but I can tell she's got a chip on her shoulder and I know for a fact she can throw a wicked knee."
Zack looked down at his bruised thigh as Rico furrowed his brow.
"Luckily she caught me more on the thigh than the groin."
"You know what? I don't even want to know. You got this then?"
"The match? Is there any doubt? Sure, I got tossed out of the battle royal. I'll own up to it. But what cost me the fight was not Cyrus Riddle and it wasn't Dick Devereaux either. Despite his claims, Dick could never dig that grave alone. What cost me my chance at a championship on Livewire #1 was timing, pure and simple. I drew the last match and I paid dearly for it. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again. And the next time I get a crack at a title, I'm not going home without it."
Rico dropped his target mitts onto the mat and nodded for one of his trainees to step in for him.
"I figured you would have been been swallowed by your own celebrity now. Hell, I thought I'd never see you again."
Zack Fantana shrugged as he took a seat on the bench.
"Ah, you know I'd never big-time you like that, Rico."
"You'd big-time your own dying grandmother if it meant a shot at gold."
Rico didn't need a reply. Zack's smile had said it all.
"I saw your last fight. I know I called you out in August but--"
"It's all good, Rico. It's the kick in the ass I needed at the time."
"I know you didn't end up winning the strap, but it has to feel good to be back. You satisfied?"
"You know I don't like that word."
"You fight again in two days, no? What the fuck are you doing here? Go see a show or something. Take all that shit off your mind."
"I already tried that. I'm afraid I prefer the dim lights of Rico's Gym to the bright lights over Broadway."
"There's just something in the air here, huh?"
"Yeah, I think it's asbestos."
"Hey, Sal's been working out in this gym for nearly fifty years and it hasn't affected him much."
Zack looked over to the 1973 New Jersey Golden Gloves winner smiling stupidly in the corner, blissfully unaware of the goings-on around him.
"If that's your big celebrity endorsement, you better hope my career in EOW works out. Jesus Christ, Rico."
"Who've you got this week?"
"A tag match versus Trixie and Cyrus Riddle."
Rico winced at the mention of Riddle's name.
"Oof. You've got this. Just stay away from that guardrail this time, hey?"
"Better tell Worldstar to lose your number. You might be the world's worst hype man. Get Sal over here. At least he'll give me a smile before he pisses all over my confidence."
"Hey, it's like you said earlier. You needed that kick in the ass. What you don't need is a yes man telling you everything you do is gold, because it's not. As great as it was that you responded from that savage attack on the railing from Riddle, you let him right back into the fight whenever you miscalculated that springboard 450."
"Hey, you asked for no hesitation."
"You're right, but there's a difference between fighting unafraid and fighting stupid. You're blurring the lines, my friend."
Zack's mouth opened with the intent to interject but he soon found himself nodding his head.
"What have you got on Trixie?"
"She's driven to win but her words, her appearance - it's all being micro-managed to the finest detail. Someone's in her ear trying to control her. That means she'll be second-guessing herself all night and that hesitation we just talked about is going to be her downfall.
That's without even getting into the complete betrayal of her trust by Cyrus Riddle. On Livewire #1, it appeared they'd created a pact but Riddle totally hung her out to dry by the end of the night. If it wasn't enough that it he was backing Carlisle instead of her in their fight, he also literally allowed Trixie to get kidnapped under his watch. It doesn't get more egregious than that. There has to be zero trust in that partnership.
Me, on the other hand? Everybody knows I look out for my own. Not that Candice needs it. She likes to play nice and all, but I can tell she's got a chip on her shoulder and I know for a fact she can throw a wicked knee."
Zack looked down at his bruised thigh as Rico furrowed his brow.
"Luckily she caught me more on the thigh than the groin."
"You know what? I don't even want to know. You got this then?"
"The match? Is there any doubt? Sure, I got tossed out of the battle royal. I'll own up to it. But what cost me the fight was not Cyrus Riddle and it wasn't Dick Devereaux either. Despite his claims, Dick could never dig that grave alone. What cost me my chance at a championship on Livewire #1 was timing, pure and simple. I drew the last match and I paid dearly for it. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again. And the next time I get a crack at a title, I'm not going home without it."
