Be Prepared (Hook RP)

[Ben M]

It was Saturday, and Hook had just landed in Louisville, Kentucky. One day later, he would be wrestling on EBWF’s August pay-per-view, Gateway to Glory, against Christian Cage in the first ever EBWF “Fight Pit” match. The stipulations of this match made it closer to an MMA fight than a traditional pro wrestling match; there would be no ropes, but the ring would be surrounded by a steel cage, and the cage would be surrounded by raised platforms. There would be no pinfalls, and the only way to win was by submission or knockout. The concept was similar to the “Lion’s Den” match made famous by Ken Shamrock. Although Hook did not have an MMA background, his wrestling style was that of a “shoot” wrestler, and since he won most of his matches by submission or knockout anyway, the match seemed like a good fit. It was probably the biggest match of his career to date, so while Hook was excited, he was also feeling the pressure. Being booked on the big show wasn’t enough for Hook... he needed to win.

The next day, Hook arrived at the KFC Yum Center early to shoot his promo for the match. By the time he and Christian opened the show, there would be 22,000 fans in attendance. And as excited as Hook would be when he felt the atmosphere in the arena, when he heard the fans chanting his name, there was a part of him that preferred the peace and quiet. Hook was actually quite an introverted person, which was one of the reasons why he didn’t talk much, or make many posts on social media. He preferred to do his talking in the ring. Still, he also understood that if he was serious about becoming one of EBWF’s top stars, he needed to be able to talk the talk as well as walk the walk. So after making some notes on what he wanted to say, and practising it to make sure he didn’t sound too “robotic”, the camera started rolling and Hook began to speak.

Hook: I’ve only been a professional wrestler for less than two years, and in that time, I’ve had a lot of praise for what I can do in the ring. And while a lot of wrestlers are afraid to say this, because they’re worried it will sound conceited and turn people against them, let me make one thing clear – I know I’m a damn good wrestler, with a lot of potential. I also know I have a lot to learn, and a long way to go if I’m going to become the EBWF World Champion, which is my goal. So as much as I appreciate the praise, I’ll listen to my critics too. I’m always looking for ways to improve, in order to be the best professional wrestler I can be. But here’s the thing, I don’t seem to get a lot of criticism for my wrestling. The main thing people criticise me for is “not talking enough” Honestly, if I had a dollar for every time someone had made a comment about my father doing all my talking for me, I’d be rich enough to never have to work another day in my life. And that’s the sort of criticism I don’t really care about. It doesn’t affect me, because I’m far more concerned with what I do in the ring that what I say in front of the cameras. But when I’ve got something to say, I’ll say it. And what’s funny is, because I don’t talk much, when I do speak, people seem to take notice.

Hook paused for a moment, smirking, then continued speaking.

Hook: That’s certainly how I caught the attention of Christian Cage. We wrestled each other back in April, and I said something that pissed him off. Truth be told, I can’t remember exactly what I said, but I know it was something to along the lines of how I don’t respect him because of what he did to Alexa Bliss. And I stand by that. I don’t respect any man that puts his hands on a woman with the intention of hurting her... that’s not the way I was raised. But if memory serves me correctly, when I mentioned Alexa Bliss, it was mainly to try and flirt with me. Which reminds me – Alexa, I’m still single, so if you’re interested, hit me up! Seriously though, Christian, I wasn’t trying to be controversial or anything like that. I was just telling you what I thought, and I don’t regret it. You said I was out of line, and that was your justification for attacking me, twice... well, that and the fact that you didn’t think I’d “paid my dues”. I watched that back recently, to remind myself what you’d said, and my favourite part was your advice. Do you remember what you said, Christian? You told me to “never come back”.

Hook started laughing, and it took him a minute or so to compose himself before he could continue.

Hook: Alright Uncle Scar, I’ll run away and never return. Except I will, because Pride Rock is mine! Seriously man, for a guy who calls himself Captain Charisma, you’d think you’d be able to come up with something more original than ripping off the Lion King. What advice are you going to give me next? Be prepared? Because if so, Scar... sorry, Christian... if you think I need to be prepared, my advice to you would be to make sure you’re prepared for our match tonight. Because even though you’ve been in this business for a lot longer than I have, you’ve never wrestled in a match like a Fight Pit match. I know you haven’t; that’s why I picked it. And while it’s my first Fight Pit match too, it’s a concept that’s far more suited to me than it is to you. And when I’m done with you Christian, maybe the nickname “Scar” that I’ve just given you will stick. Because I promise you, I’m going to make damn sure that you don’t walk out of our match unscathed.

There was a look of fury in Hook’s eyes by this point. It was clear that he was done joking around, and wanted to be serious now.

Hook: In our first singles match, Christian – that match back in April, when all of this started – you got yourself disqualified on purpose, then attacked me. A few weeks later, you attacked me again, and tried to hit me with a Con-Chair-To. And you can pretend that it was because of what I said about you and Alexa Bliss, or because you don’t think I’ve paid my dues, but I know the real reason Christian... you got yourself disqualified because you were afraid of me. You’ve seen what I can do in the ring, and how quickly I can put my opponents away. You know that I’m a better wrestler than you; you know I’m stronger, faster, and tougher. You were worried that if you tried to outwrestle me, you’d be humiliated, so you resorted to cheap shots instead. You’ve continued to do that these past few months, but the cheapest shot of all was when you attacked my father. You can talk about the sins of the father and try to justify what you did, but you and I both know it was the actions of a scumbag and a coward. As soon as you hit Taz with that con-chair-to, I lost all interest in taking you on in a “traditional wrestling match”. It was clear that the only way you and I could settle this was with a fight. So that’s why it will be the Fight Pit tonight, Christian. You’ll be in the cage with me, and there will be no way to escape. You’ll have to either knock me out or make me tap if you want to beat me, and I’ve never tapped out in my entire career. So I’m pretty sure if you actually show up tonight, you’ll try and win via knockout instead. You’ll probably bring a couple of chairs into the ring with you. That’s not really in the spirit of the Fight Pit, but go ahead. I don’t care. Because the more weapons there are in that ring, the more objects I’ve got to hurt you with. The more chance I’ve got of making you bleed. Tonight isn’t just about winning for me, Christian. I want to hurt you. So I won’t be using Redrum until I’m satisfied that you’ve paid for your sins, Christian. My father always says “beat me if you can, survive if I let you”. Tonight, that’s my motto. And honestly, Christian? The way I’m feeling right now, I’m not sure I’m going to let you survive.

Hook grinned, then shut the camera off. He almost wished he had waited until later in the day to shoot that, because now he was fired up. But he was sure that fire would come back once he was in the ring... and Christian Cage was sure to get burned.