Post by Bruce "The Beast" Richards on Apr 22, 2007 22:58:23 GMT -5
(The Grant MacEwan gym is surprisingly full of people at this time on a Sunday evening; the people that made their new years resolutions haven't entirely abandoned their misguided attempts, and their last gasps turn what's normally a quiet place to exercise into a busy hub of red-faced people who are short of breath. Bruce Richards is at a bench press machine, gritting his teeth and sweating, while his manager Bill Fleming stands by, spotting him and giving him encouragement. Well, at least he SHOULD be giving him encouragement...)
BILL FLEMING: So, I want to take her out for dinner, right? So I make reservations for Culina, one of the fanciest restaurants in the city that's within the Fleming budget, and she calls me up the day before and I find out she's a vegetarian. So I want to impress this girl, right? So I get on the internet to find a good vegetarian place, right, and I find one that's supposed to be really good, and I call and they still have reservations! Thank god for the internet, I swear, or I would have been in the doghouse, seriously. That internet. It's not just for pornography and downloading illegal songs, heh! So anyhow, we finally go out to the restaurant, and she says to me, she says, "Wow, I've always wanted to go here!" So I know, you know, I know things are looking up for the old Fleminator--
BRUCE RICHARDS: (Through gritted teeth.) Bill. Not that I'm not happy that you've had a date. But it's not. Really motivating me to get through this set of reps.
BILL FLEMING: Pancakes, Bruce. Think about the pancakes.
BRUCE RICHARDS: (A small grin appears on his face.) I do love pancakes on a Sunday night.
BILL FLEMING: You love pancakes on ANY night.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Should a wrestler's manager really be bribing his client with dough fried in butter and bacon fat, though?
BILL FLEMING: Why not? It's not going to kill you or anything. It gets you motivated, and with all the exercise you get, you're not going to be house-sized any time soon. Plus, you don't eat pancakes every day, as much as you might like to.
BRUCE RICHARDS: That's why you're still my manager. You say the things I like to hear. Now, let's talk about Caliban for a bit.
BILL FLEMING: Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? REBEL's next week.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Fine then. Sensational Steven Shane? Chip Friendly? Any thoughts on those two?
BILL FLEMING: As much as I like you looking ahead into the future, Bruce, you're forgetting the match you have in TWO DAYS.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Not forgetting. I'm just...thinking about the more important matches, is all. I've said what I need to say about SB, and now it's time to focus on the future.
BILL FLEMING: Okay, that's how you're going to play it? Then I think it's time you take five.
BRUCE RICHARDS: But Bill! Pancakes!
BILL FLEMING: Pancakes can wait. It's time for me to put on my "serious manager" hat. (He pulls a black fedora out of his pocket, gives it a couple of flips and a dust-off and puts it on.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: I hate that hat.
BILL FLEMING: Because you know when I wear it, you're being stupid. I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but if you look too far ahead to the other matches, you're going to lose the motivation for this one.
BRUCE RICHARDS: I have plenty of motivation for Tuesday night.
BILL FLEMING: What, putting another notch in the win column? Extending that streak a little?
BRUCE RICHARDS: Those are both important.
BILL FLEMING: And yet you just said that the other matches you have coming up are more important? A special guest match in REBEL is more important than a match in the NAPW? A tag team tournament for another federation is more important than improving your standing here? That's crap, Bruce. I tell you all the time, the most important match you have is the next one coming up. You've got a match for the NAPW Heavyweight Title in your future. It's coming, I don't know when, although I've given you plenty of suggestions. But if you think that that match, whenever you decide to take it, is more important than any of the ones that come up before it, you're not in the moment. Simply Beautiful's in the moment, Bruce. He knows that this match against you is a big one for him. You're in the elite, Bruce; his words, and words that I've been wanting someone to acknowledge for a long time now. And if he can put you down, his reputation increases, while yours gets tarnished. He's hungrier for this match than you are.
BRUCE RICHARDS: (Shrugs.) He's probably right to be.
BILL FLEMING: Really? Because the last time I looked at the NAPW Top Ten, he was Number One. Which means that you aren't Number One. You're telling me he has more to gain by beating you than you do by beating him? (Shakes his head.) You're smart and you're good with numbers: that equation should be easy for you. You have at LEAST as much motivation as he does. You should want to beat him and you want to make it look GOOD. You should want to throw that supermodel-looking bastard around the ring so hard he looks like a rag doll. You should want to throw him over the top rope and into the third or fourth row. You should want to Chart Attack him so bad he bounces off the mat.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Well, I don't want to injure the guy. We've got a match three days later.
BILL FLEMING: That's the kind of stuff that's going to make you lose. If you're worried about hurting your tag team partner, then The Beast never comes out, because you're thinking too far ahead. One match at a time. Simply Beautiful's not a fragile Fabrege egg; he's a big boy who knows just how much it's going to hurt when he steps into that ring with you. He's worried about you smoking those cigars because they're hazardous to your health? What about stepping into the ring with The Beast? He's got his own health and well-being to worry about. You get in there and you do your job. Worrying about Simply Beautiful is not your job. It's his. Your job is to get the win.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Okay. You've made your point. I've seen the light. Can we keep going here?
BILL FLEMING: Keep pumping that iron, Bruce. Pancakes wait for no man. So, anyways, where was I? Oh, right, the restaurant. Well, it turns out that even though she'd never eaten there before, she'd always wanted to try their fried okra and chickpeas...
(Bruce starts pressing the weight as we zoom out and fade to black.)
(Edited for formatting only.)
BILL FLEMING: So, I want to take her out for dinner, right? So I make reservations for Culina, one of the fanciest restaurants in the city that's within the Fleming budget, and she calls me up the day before and I find out she's a vegetarian. So I want to impress this girl, right? So I get on the internet to find a good vegetarian place, right, and I find one that's supposed to be really good, and I call and they still have reservations! Thank god for the internet, I swear, or I would have been in the doghouse, seriously. That internet. It's not just for pornography and downloading illegal songs, heh! So anyhow, we finally go out to the restaurant, and she says to me, she says, "Wow, I've always wanted to go here!" So I know, you know, I know things are looking up for the old Fleminator--
BRUCE RICHARDS: (Through gritted teeth.) Bill. Not that I'm not happy that you've had a date. But it's not. Really motivating me to get through this set of reps.
BILL FLEMING: Pancakes, Bruce. Think about the pancakes.
BRUCE RICHARDS: (A small grin appears on his face.) I do love pancakes on a Sunday night.
BILL FLEMING: You love pancakes on ANY night.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Should a wrestler's manager really be bribing his client with dough fried in butter and bacon fat, though?
BILL FLEMING: Why not? It's not going to kill you or anything. It gets you motivated, and with all the exercise you get, you're not going to be house-sized any time soon. Plus, you don't eat pancakes every day, as much as you might like to.
BRUCE RICHARDS: That's why you're still my manager. You say the things I like to hear. Now, let's talk about Caliban for a bit.
BILL FLEMING: Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? REBEL's next week.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Fine then. Sensational Steven Shane? Chip Friendly? Any thoughts on those two?
BILL FLEMING: As much as I like you looking ahead into the future, Bruce, you're forgetting the match you have in TWO DAYS.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Not forgetting. I'm just...thinking about the more important matches, is all. I've said what I need to say about SB, and now it's time to focus on the future.
BILL FLEMING: Okay, that's how you're going to play it? Then I think it's time you take five.
BRUCE RICHARDS: But Bill! Pancakes!
BILL FLEMING: Pancakes can wait. It's time for me to put on my "serious manager" hat. (He pulls a black fedora out of his pocket, gives it a couple of flips and a dust-off and puts it on.)
BRUCE RICHARDS: I hate that hat.
BILL FLEMING: Because you know when I wear it, you're being stupid. I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but if you look too far ahead to the other matches, you're going to lose the motivation for this one.
BRUCE RICHARDS: I have plenty of motivation for Tuesday night.
BILL FLEMING: What, putting another notch in the win column? Extending that streak a little?
BRUCE RICHARDS: Those are both important.
BILL FLEMING: And yet you just said that the other matches you have coming up are more important? A special guest match in REBEL is more important than a match in the NAPW? A tag team tournament for another federation is more important than improving your standing here? That's crap, Bruce. I tell you all the time, the most important match you have is the next one coming up. You've got a match for the NAPW Heavyweight Title in your future. It's coming, I don't know when, although I've given you plenty of suggestions. But if you think that that match, whenever you decide to take it, is more important than any of the ones that come up before it, you're not in the moment. Simply Beautiful's in the moment, Bruce. He knows that this match against you is a big one for him. You're in the elite, Bruce; his words, and words that I've been wanting someone to acknowledge for a long time now. And if he can put you down, his reputation increases, while yours gets tarnished. He's hungrier for this match than you are.
BRUCE RICHARDS: (Shrugs.) He's probably right to be.
BILL FLEMING: Really? Because the last time I looked at the NAPW Top Ten, he was Number One. Which means that you aren't Number One. You're telling me he has more to gain by beating you than you do by beating him? (Shakes his head.) You're smart and you're good with numbers: that equation should be easy for you. You have at LEAST as much motivation as he does. You should want to beat him and you want to make it look GOOD. You should want to throw that supermodel-looking bastard around the ring so hard he looks like a rag doll. You should want to throw him over the top rope and into the third or fourth row. You should want to Chart Attack him so bad he bounces off the mat.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Well, I don't want to injure the guy. We've got a match three days later.
BILL FLEMING: That's the kind of stuff that's going to make you lose. If you're worried about hurting your tag team partner, then The Beast never comes out, because you're thinking too far ahead. One match at a time. Simply Beautiful's not a fragile Fabrege egg; he's a big boy who knows just how much it's going to hurt when he steps into that ring with you. He's worried about you smoking those cigars because they're hazardous to your health? What about stepping into the ring with The Beast? He's got his own health and well-being to worry about. You get in there and you do your job. Worrying about Simply Beautiful is not your job. It's his. Your job is to get the win.
BRUCE RICHARDS: Okay. You've made your point. I've seen the light. Can we keep going here?
BILL FLEMING: Keep pumping that iron, Bruce. Pancakes wait for no man. So, anyways, where was I? Oh, right, the restaurant. Well, it turns out that even though she'd never eaten there before, she'd always wanted to try their fried okra and chickpeas...
(Bruce starts pressing the weight as we zoom out and fade to black.)
(Edited for formatting only.)