---Austin Gunn---
I’ve been thinking long and hard about the words that go here in this little teaser for my first round King of the Ring match. Considering the ramifications of what I say and how I say it. Lingering on the possibility of what could come to be at King of the Ring if I’m able to overcome the mountain I find myself facing on Warfare. I have done a lot of mental gymnastics to get around the subject at hand and to avoid what already is by focusing on what might be.
Austin pacified his stress by rubbing his forehead with both hands. The camo Gunn Club bandana came loose in his hands. He gazed down at it with a smile.
---Austin Gunn---
Some people will tell you that it’s the folly of a new wrestler to look past the opponent standing in the ring with them and focus on something they deem more important. And, while that could be true, more than a few up starts have surprised a canny veteran by being focused on getting to where they want to go. Some people will look at my youthful exuberance and write me off as just another jokester. And, I am that. I do make jokes. I do make light of every situation. I do like to have fun. But that doesn’t mean I don’t also want to win. It doesn’t mean I’m so consumed with goofing off that I can win a match.
He rolled the headband over in his hands so that the Gunn Club logo was facing him. A faint smile crossed his face as he stared at it. Slowly he turned his hand out and showed it to the camera.
---Austin Gunn---
It’s here. This is my focus and my determination. It’s the source of my wisdom. It’s the source of my charisma. This logo represents everything that I am and everything that I will one day come to be. But, it’s also so much more than just me. This logo represents the future of the wrestling industry. Colten and I are primed to become two of the best athletes this industry has ever seen. To grow into titans of this industry like our father before us. But, it also represents a deep and rich history in the world of professional wrestling. Sure, our father is here in spirit. He’s in this logo. His heart and soul went into building the Gunn name and family legacy.
Austin put the headband back on his head with little effort.
---Austin Gunn---
The history of Billy Gunn is one of the motivating factors going into King of the Ring. Eighteen years. That’s how long it has been since a member of the Gunn Club was the reigning King of the Ring. And, maybe the Universe has forgotten about that era of its history. But I haven’t. Colten hasn’t. I still remember every moment of that match. Sitting at ringside, only nine years old, I remember. The elation at my father becoming the King of the Ring. The pride I felt. When people ask me why I chose to get into professional wrestling, that’s one of the key moments I point to. My father struggled and fought the odds. He battled his way up the bracket and he emerged the King. And while with time the people have forgotten, it’s still etched into the history of the EBWF and it will be forever.
Austin stepped up on the bumper of the Jeep and pushed himself up onto the hood.
---Austin Gunn---
Winning the King of the Ring tournament is important to me. Maybe it’s one of the most important things I’ll ever do in my wrestling career. But in order to do it, I’m going to have to battle against the odds. And, that all starts this Monday at Warfare. My first taste of real singles action is against another long enduring name of the Wrestling industry and a former EBWF World Champion. It’s easy to see why I might be avoiding thinking about it. The Big Red Machine has made a name for himself by being intimidating, powerful and unrelenting. Even now in the twilight of his career he’s a threat to anyone who gets in the ring with him. And while I want to avoid the unpleasant thoughts that come with preparing for such a foe, I won’t win if I don’t face up to it. It’s the Big Red elephant in the room.
He patted the Gunn Club logo on the hood of the Jeep and smiled.
---Austin Gunn---
How fortuitus that I am a member of the Gunn Club. You see, our history isn’t just tied to our father. It’s also tied to all the men and women who helped build our father’s legacy. The people he’s worked with, for and against on his road to becoming a wrestling legend. Many of those men and women have found a home at one time or another in the EBWF. Many of them owe some measure of loyalty to our father. And so when presented with a Big Red challenge to face, I decided it was best to reach out to those men and women. To learn something from their combined experiences. To peer into their years of industry experience for some flaw or weakness that I can exploit against Kane. It lead to frustration when no one could produce the silver bullet.
He shook his head.
---Austin Gunn---
No magic secret to success. No urn that I could use to seize control of the beast. No exorcism to drive the demon from the shell of a man. There wasn’t a gimmick or trick in a anyone’s playbook that could guarantee me success. They all had the same advice, possibly taken from the same source. Put your head down, train hard, and be the better man. It’s not a Smoking Gunn pointing to the downfall of Kane and his Coalition. But it is, it was, actionable. Something I could use. And so, since the King of the Ring bracket was first debuted, I’ve spent my time wisely. I’ve prepared the best way I know how. Among giants.
Austin stood up and walked over the windshield into the driver’s seat.
---Austin Gunn---
To plant myself here. In the driver’s seat of destiny. I ran the ropes with the likes of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Men who had a hand in making my father’s illustrious career what it was. A combined twenty-five title reigns in the EBWF between the two of them. And, they were leading me around the ring and teaching me things I would need to become the King of the Ring. You want to talk about a learning experience. I can’t express how much I gained from just a few sessions in the ring with them. But, there’s someone else. Someone not just with ties to the Gunn Club but with my enemy. A man my father told me to go see. You might know him as Pac, 1-2-3, or Syxx but he’s got a considerable history with Kane. It was a long phone conversation with Syxx that delivered me my most incite into the Demon. How he moved. What he was capable of. How he thought. Syxx had it all. Intimate understanding of the threat I was facing. And he unloaded his arsenal.
Austin started the Jeep. The rumble of the engine forced him to get louder. He stood up in the seat, leaning on the windshield to be slightly closer to the camera.
---Austin Gunn---
Kane may be stronger than I am. He may be more experienced. He may even be tougher than I am. It’s a lot. He’s a lot of things to a lot of people. Kane, you may even be out there listening, in fact I hope you are because I have a message. A message that needs to resonate and settle into that thick skull of yours. For everything you are. A threat, a monster, a machine, a demon. Everything you have over me. Strength, power, toughness, height, weight. Everything you’ve accomplished. World titles, tag titles, countless accolades. There is something you will NEVER be. Something you will NEVER have. An accomplishment that will NEVER be yours. And that, is King of the Ring. The Gunn Club is dedicated to making sure that’s as forever certain as death and taxes.
Austin stood up on the dash and used the windshield to brace his legs.
---Austin Gunn---
You need proof? Well, let’s you and I dig into some shared history you have with the Gunn Club. Our story is set in another place, in another time. It stars another Gunn. Back then it was Daddy Gunn who insured that you wouldn’t wear a crown. Remember? It was 1999. Four years before my father’s EBWF King of the Ring victory. The setting was inside the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and at the center a ring much like the one we’ll be in Monday. Oh, but this wasn’t an EBWF show. It was something else entirely. A different wrestling promotion with different values. However, the stakes were the same as those we now face. King of the Ring. Billy Gunn and Kane in the semifinals in front of twenty thousand fans. You had toppled Test, a big man in his own right to walk past the first round. You had devoured fellow giant the Big Show in the quarterfinals. And here you were facing Daddy Gun, one on one. He was the lovable goofball that pointed to his butt and had lips on his tights. The fans thought you would walk away with it. The corporate goons thought you were the best bet. Everyone knew you were too strong, too tough, and too violent to be beat. But, he beat you. Got that memory? He beat you and went on to become the King. Oh yeah, you remember. You remember alright, and Kane, I hope that failure is burned into that crispy little skull of yours. I hope it’s something you’ll never forget, never let go of.
Austin took a deep breath and moved slowly sat back down in the driver’s seat. He pulled his seatbelt across his chest and latched it. The camera moved to the driver’s side and peered over the door at Austin.
---Austin Gunn---
Never forget. Because my dad sealed your hopes for a crown away over two decades ago. And now, here I am preparing myself to do the same exact thing. To seal away your hopes at becoming the King of the Ring. Your friends in the Coalition think you’ve got this in the bag. The EBWF Universe thinks you’re the sure winner. The suits at EBWF think you’re the best bet. And, more importantly, I know you think that you’ve got an easy victory against Austin Gunn. You think that you’re too tough, too strong, too experienced for Austin Gunn to beat. Unfortunately for you, nothing could ever be further from the truth. This is a task we’re bread for. Keeping the demon at bay is something of a family legacy. A tale my father told to me and one I will teach to my sons when the time comes. It’s a banner to be carried forward into the future for all time. So that the Gunn Club can continue to keep you in your place. 1999, 2021, 2043. It doesn’t matter if you wait three, four, five centuries to return to this ring. There will always be a Gunn waiting to keep you from becoming King of the Ring. Always. You want proof? Show up Monday! Need more convincing? Ask Paul London. You’re future hopes at King of the Ring are bleak.
Austin put the Jeep in drive and pulled away from the camera quickly, leaving a cloud of burnt rubber in his wake.