Nobody's Stepping Stone

[D.J]

OOC: Here is my RP for Total Recall! Hope you guys like it. Went for something a little different. Feedback welcome! -DJ

Surely this would be the Miz' moment of glory. Surely he would defeat Dean Ambrose and put a stop to the Reign of Terror that had been brought on by The Shield. Surely this would be Mike Mizanin's match to return to the top tier of this company, the highest tier their was. Well.. he did not do any of those things... and don't call me Shirly. The harsh reality was again Mike Mizanin AKA The Miz fell short of his goal of regaining the EBWF Championship losing to Dean Ambrose in the center of the ring 1..2..3. Often times this would lead to a Superstar falling to the bottom of the barrel, but luckily for Miz the solution to getting yet another opportunity began this week on Total Recall. I of course am referring to the King of the Ring Tournament. The winner, as always, would become the number one contender to the EBWF Championship. The Miz' quest to be King would begin with a bit of an unknown as far the EBWF was concerned in Jay Briscoe. One would have to believe Miz would have plenty to say going into this first round match-up.

The scene opened up to the EBWF logo. We were in a warehouse of sorts, a dingy building that as the camera panned around, had dripping pipes, dirty floors, the whole nine yards. However, in the center of this room was a wrestling ring, and inside the wrestling ring sat the former EBWF Grand Slam Champion, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin" He sat on the edge of the ring near the ropes with his legs hanging off the apron. He looked very pensive. He wore a pair of black basketball shorts and a white Under Armor tanktop. His hair was wet and sweat trickled down his cheek. He looked a little out of breath but was still able to speak with great clarity.

The Miz: Glitz and glamour, fancy suits, limos, private jets. People think that's what I'm about. They think that's all that it means to be The Miz. I've heard all the criticisms, and honestly I've brought a lot of them on myself. When you make your personal life public, people begin to lose the sense for what kind of worker you are, when it comes to your profession. I don't like to have regrets, but if I had any, it would be that many people have lost sight of just how good I am in HERE.. because of the things I do and say out THERE.

The Miz pointed towards the door.

The Miz: I like to have fun, I like to enjoy my life, because I have the best life in the world. I'm very lucky and fortunate. However, I take my job very seriously, I take what I do VERY seriously, I take being the best VERY seriously. So this past Sunday Night at Death Before Dishonor, when I fell short once again of becoming the EBWF Champion, no party, no night club, no hook up, was going to make me OK with it.

The Miz looked ticked off.

The Miz: See that's what I can't stand. People have me pegged as a guy who could lose a match, but then forget all about it as soon as it ends. They have me pegged a guy who is care free about what happens in his career, as long as there's a cold beer or a hot chick waiting for him after every defeat. Granted I've had my share of both, and I'm not complaining about it, but you couldn't be more wrong if you think that defeats don't get to me. If you think defeats don't DRIVE me, if you think defeats don't eat away at me. I've given the speech before with each defeat, that it was going to awaken a new Miz, a more focused Miz.. but the truth is, I'm always the same Miz. I give it the same effort every time, I'm just as focused EVERY time, is it always enough? No. But I couldn't care about each and every time I step into the ring more than I do. I respect this business, I respect what people go through to get to the point that I'm at. I respect the people that work and work to never even come close to the level I've reached here. People like Jay Briscoe.

The Miz wiped the sweat from underneath his nose.

The Miz: Jay Briscoe, I don't know much about you, I don't know what makes you tick, I don't know what your hopes and dreams are.. but I can make some very educated guesses. You want to make a name for yourself, you want to become more than that guy who faced The Miz in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament, then disappeared back to Ring of Honor and every other American Legion Wrestling company on planet earth for the rest of his life. Jay I respect the position you are in, but I gotta tell ya, I'm NOBODIES stepping stone. I'm not the guy that the upstart rookie upstages on his rise to stardom. If you are going to avoid the fate that so many guys like you have met, you are going to have to do it at the expense of someone else. Because I just WON'T REST until I'm The King of the Ring. I will drop every ounce of sweat in my body, bleed every ounce of blood in my veins, I WILL be the King of the Ring, and there's nobody that's going to keep that from happening. Especially not some snot nosed new kid like you. I've said this before and I'll say it again, you may think the chance to face and defeat me, is the chance of a lifetime.. maybe would be so.. if you had a CHANCE to defeat me. Again Jay, I don't know what your hopes and dreams are here.. but I do know that I will not be the first chapter of the "How I Made It" story that you tell wide eyed aspiring wrestlers someday in a place like this.

The Miz looked around at the room he inhabited.

The Miz: The King of the Ring tournament comes once a year. I heard some guy say that it's where stars are born, and it's where the dynamic of the whole company can change. For me that sounds perfect, and you may be confused at that. I've headlined Pay Per Views held the World Title at Wrestlemania, held pretty much every title there is to hold.. so why would I want things to change? The answer to this is simple. All I've done over the past year or so, is talk about all the things I've done in the past. How I've won this title, or that title, the change that NEEDS to occur is that I stop talking about how I've done these things.. and START doing them again. That CHANGE begins with this tournament, it begins with JAY BRISCOE. I may not know you personally Jay, but I know your type. You will come in here this week, and in order to hide your own insecurities about stepping into the ring with me, you will act like you're not impressed. You will say that your talents exceed mine, and that you've just never gotten the recognition you deserved because you're a little rough around the edges. You will be the classic "I think I'm better than I am, so I'll blame other people for why I've been at the bottom of the barrel my whole professional life," persona. You will be that washed basketball player who criticizes NBA players. The High School Football Coach who second guesses NFL Coaches because he never made it there himself. That's how all you Ring of Honor guys seem to me. The "Minor Leaguers" who think they can do it better than the guys in the Majors. Well here's your chance Jay. It's easy to talk a big game about a guy, until your standing across the ring from him. Until you grapple with him for the first time. I'm sure you and all your Indy buddies have said all sorts of things about me, about AJ, about Edge, and John, and Punk.. but now that your here in the big leagues it's time to put that hating aside and prove that you can back all that stuff up. Those who can do Jay, those who can't hate on those who can. There's a reason for everything in this business. There's a reason that some guys have had success and other guys have not. I don't know you Jay, but the reason why nobodies heard about you, and the reason why you're an unknown is the reason why anyone else is an unknown or unheard of.. that reason Jay.. and I don't mean to sound so obvious.. but that reason is because you're just not that good brahhh.

The Miz smirked at a lighter moment in an otherwise serious promo.

The Miz: But you did get here, you did get a contract. You got to have your big moment where you signed on the line. Probably went out to celebrate, it's a nice day for any of us, signing that first deal with a major company like the EBWF. I just feel sorry for you that your first match has to be against me. It seems that every time I suffer a major set back in my career, EBWF is nice enough to put an upstart rookie on a silver platter for me to take out my frustrations on. This time that rookie just happens to be you, Briscoe. Even worse, you drew me in THIS King of the Ring Tournament. Trust me.. NOBODY ENVIES YOU right now, which is fine, because nobodies ever envied you. Even the guys back in Ring of Honor who would give their left testicle to be in your shoes, to be under contract in the EBWF, are looking at this match, and saying to themselves.. "well maybe performing here and in Japan taking thumbtacks and barbed wire shots to the face for 14 bucks an hour and a Dominos gift card isn't too bad after all.. I mean at least there's garlic crust!" It's not a fair fight, it's not a good situation, it's not an ideal way to try and get your career started here. When you signed on the line that day, you may have thought you were the lucky one, the guy out of all your little buddies that "made it" but come tomorrow night, you are going to realize that you being the "lucky one" couldn't be further from the truth. You'll realize that you actually drew the short straw, a straw even shorter than your stay in EBWF will be.

The Miz stood up inside the ring. Moments later a door swung open and a young looking man walked in to the warehouse where Miz was cutting this promo. He was dressed similarly to Miz. Only in blue shorts and a gray tank top. He entered the ring.

The Miz: This is Brian. Brian say Hi to all the Mizfits.

Brian looked into the camera, he wasn't prepared to be in Miz' segment, still he improvised nicely.

Brian: Hi Mizfits.

The Miz smiled.

The Miz: Nice..

Brian laughed at Miz poking fun at him.

Brian: Thanks.

The Miz: Anyways you all may be wondering why I have Brian here. I'll explain. You see Brian is an Indy wrestler. He hustles from promotion to promotion wrestling whenever and wherever he can to make a few bucks and to hopefully make it to the big show someday in the EBWF. That sound about right?

Brian nodded

Brian: Yeah I mean, it's not too bad though I mean I re..

The Miz held two hands up.

The Miz: Whoa whoa.. Hugh Downs.. less is more.

Brian nodded and smiled again, Miz was smiling too.

The Miz: So I invited Brian here today for a workout, a little sparring session. If it goes well, who knows, maybe Brian will be the next EBWF star to be born, and he'll have me to thank for it. Just like Jay Briscoe will have me to thank for the opposite occurring on Total Recall. You see back when I was on Tough Enough I remember what a thrill it was to work with some guys that were already where I wanted to be. So I found it in my gigantic heart to do the same for you today Brian.

Brian: Thanks man, even though I feel like I get to work with some of the best wrestlers in the world already, every day.

The Miz: Cute.

Brian got serious.

Brian: I mean it, you know there are guys that wrestle on the Indy scene that are better than half the guys in the EBWF.

The Miz smiled and chuckled a little, when he saw Brian was serious he stopped laughing and seemed to switch into another persona entirely.. The fact that Brian meant this, seemed to drive him crazy.

The Miz: Better than who? Better than me, Brian? You probably think Jay Briscoe is better than me don't you? You think he's going to score a big win for the guys that "never got the chance" to show how good they are. Is that what you think is going to happen.. BRIAN?

Brian was taken aback by Miz outburst.

Brian: No, hey man, I didn't mean anyth..

Miz cut in, mocking him.

The Miz: No hey man.. I didn't mean anything.. let's go.. you came for the workout.. let's workout. You can show me how good you Indy guys are. You can show me how you guys are better than the guys here in the EBWF.

Brian: Miz I didn..

The Miz: Let's go..
There was a fire in The Miz' eyes as he got in a wrestling stance. Brian obviously had struck a nerve and now the youngster looked a little intimidated by how mad Miz seemed. The two locked up, and before any wrestling could take place. Mike delivered a vicious right hand to Brian which knocked him to the ground. Miz then straddled him and began delivering blow after blow to the young aspiring wrestler. Screaming out with each blow

The Miz: Oh yeah! You're a star Brian! "I face the best guys in the world every day in the Nobody Gives a Shit Wrestling Federation" You can bring this back as a souvenir!

Miz got off of Brian, and delivered three vicious kicks to Brians ribs. Brian's face was bloody and he was coughing trying to gasp for air. Miz looked right into the camera.

The Miz: I don't care how many matches you've won, I don't care what continent the match was on, I don't care how hardcore it was, I don't care how well you THINK you know me from watching me on TV. You are NOT ready for this match, you are NOT ready for The Miz. You may think you're ready for the big time.. but it will take you about as long as this guy to realize that you are WAY over your head. It will take you about as long as this guy to agree whole heartedly with me when I tell you that I'm the Miz and I'm...

The Miz got right down in Brians ear and yelled.

AWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Miz delivered one more sickening kick to Brian's ribs. Brian grunted in pain, as The Miz stuck his hand on the camera lens and the scene faded out to static.