Kill Or Be Killed

Fri Nov 27, 2020 1:48 am

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KILL OR BE KILLED
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“If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.” - T. Alan Armstrong

Unaired Footage
San Jose, California
November 16th, 2020

Project Honor. That is the company seriously trying to sign Mark Hunter to a long term contract. It's been over 8 months since the man has even stepped into a wrestling ring, let alone actually competed in a match. Still, you can't hide from your past, which is what Mark is most definitely still trying to do. After UCW went under for the final time, Mark moved on with his life, he moved on with his girlfriend, Jelena Martyn. That was the moment that he decided that he was giving up on the wrestling business. Although he had gained a lot, he had also lost a lot from it. There isn't a day that goes by when Mark doesn't think about the actions that cost his future brother-in-law his wrestling career, the piledriver delivered by Mark in a standard match that went terribly wrong. Despite Steve Martyn’s fantastic response and lack of blame, it continues to eat Mark up inside. Through all this, the wrestling business still calls out for a return. And when we say the wrestling business, we mean a fed with offices local to Mark Hunter’s home in California, Project Honor.

It was actually Steve Martyn who had contacted Mark about Project Honor opening up, but Mark completely dismissed it. After all the badgering, it seems that he might be changing his mind about the return. Steve is a real student of the game and has sent Mark a hell of a lot of information about the content that Project Honor was going to bring to the business. It wasn't anything like UCW was in the past, there would be no baggage, yet there was something about it holding him back. It wasn't like things were going to be completely new for him. Mark didn't have just himself to think about. He had to think about the woman he was in love with and her feelings about the decision. Many thoughts were flying throughout Mark’s head and he didn’t know which decision was the right one. Should he return to wrestling? Or should he keep the boots hanging up? Steve had reached out to Project Honor, they had offered a contract to Mark Hunter and had given him until the 24th of November to make a decision on whether or not he would sign with the company.

With all of the thoughts wandering through his head, dressed in black jeans and a blue poker t-shirt, Mark doesn't even realize that he’s outside a club named Supremes’, it’s a club owned by Jelena’s brother, Steve Martyn. There wasn't any hesitation to go inside and he makes his way through the crowd to reach the bar where he quickly sees a suited Steve himself standing there. Mark has a similar history to Steve, they are from the same town in England, they have very similar backgrounds, and they share the fact their last matches in the business were against each other. The difference being, Mark could return, but because of that match, Steve could not. If anyone could help him make a decision it would be Steve, Steve would not under any circumstance sugar coat anything.

“Well if it isn't the career ending bastard himself, Mark Hunter!” Steve opened with but in clear jest.

Mark stands there and grins before shaking Steve’s hand. As he takes a seat at the bar, Mark turns around looking at the crowd before slowly turning back to Steve.

“Nice little crowd you have here tonight. They must have heard that I was coming."

The two share another laugh as Steve grabs Mark a Bud Light from the cooler below him. Mark takes a seriously long sip before placing it back on the bar.

“You're either damn thirsty or there’s an issue rattling around that pea sized brain of yours.”

That was one thing Mark didn't like about Steve. He can always point out when something is bothering Mark, and always brings it up without any filter.

“I’ve been out of the business for almost eight months now and just when I thought I was going to be out of it for good, the phone starts ringing and then you tell me about Project Honor.”

“I thought you would be a little excited about the prospect.”

Mark isn't quite so sure excitement was the word that he would use. He doesn't answer right away and takes another long guzzle of beer.

“I'm not going to lie and say I don't miss wrestling. Some of the best moments in my life have come from wrestling. I met Jelena because of wrestling. I have made a great living from wrestling. Wrestling has been great to me, but still…”

Steve interrupts Mark, not giving him a chance to finish his sentence.

“You're still hung up about driving my skull into the mat and ending my career, aren't you?”

Mark nods his head.

“When are you going to realize that what happened that night was not your fault? You had no idea that was going to happen when you tried to beat me, you’ve done that damn piledriver a million and one times. Besides, my head and neck were a ticking time bomb, it was gonna happen at some point.”

Steve knows Mark hates talking about that moment, but he also knows that there is no chance that Mark would sign a contract without hearing it.

“It's time you let it go and move on with your life. Sure, you have been happy living here in San Jose full time, but can you honestly say that you wouldn't be even happier if you picked up your wrestling career?”

“I appreciate what you are saying. I really do. It's not just me that I have to think about when making this decision. What about Jelena?”

“What about her? Through me and now you she understands wrestling. She would probably be even happier about it than you would.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she's in love with you. She’d do anything to see you happy. That's what love is all about, seeing the person you share your life with being as happy as you are. Besides, wasn't it you that once told me that she said you would be in the business for life because you are wrestling in everything you do? You have Jelena and always will. Without wrestling. What the fuck else does Mark Hunter have?”

The room goes quiet in Mark's head for a few seconds as he thinks about exactly what he was hearing. It was just now that he remembered when Jelena had said that. And for the first time in a while, he smiles thinking about actually wrestling again.

“I guess you’re right, snap neck.”

“There's no guessing about it. You were born to be a wrestler. It's your passion. Don’t let that one moment in one match continue to ruin something for you that you’ve loved all your damn life.”

Again, Mark doesn't respond. The thoughts in his head are keeping him from speaking. Numerous questions running through his head. How does Steve forgive him? Did Jelena really want him to go back? And one of the most important questions; did he still have what it takes to be one of the best in the business?

“There's nothing stopping you from signing with Project Honor and showing them that you are one of the absolute best. They aint stupid. Do you really think they would want to bring you in unless he knew you still had something to bring to the business? Also Project Honor has none of the double standards and backstage bullshit we dealt with in UCW.”

Mark takes a deep breath.

“We need to decide here and now. You said that wrestling was my passion. What the fuck does that actually mean?”

“That's your question to answer, signing the damn contract is the only chance you’ll have though.”

Now’s the moment Mark really knew exactly what he was going to do. He’s returning to the wrestling business. He’s unsure whether he can achieve greatness or whether he’ll fail miserably, but trying is the only way.

“It's weird. If you asked me a few months ago if I’d ever return to the wrestling world I would’ve laughed in your face.”

Steve nods at Mark as he heads towards the door, Mark stops and looks over his shoulder.

“Passion, uh?”

“You'll figure it out when you're ready. But do me and yourself a favour, piledrive someone in your first match back and get it out your fucking system.”

Mark doesn't really quite understand what Steve means, but he knows that when the time is right, it will come to him. With that, he heads out the bar to start a journey of many problems that will probably come upon signing with Project Honor.

"Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping… waiting... and though unwanted... unbidden... it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us... passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have?

It's the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion maybe we'd know some kind of peace... but we would be hollow... Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we'd be truly dead."

Unaired Footage
Stockton, California
November 24th, 2020

Mark tossed and turned in his small hotel room in Stockton. It was a nice room for the money, thirty nine dollars a night, with his visit to headquarters out the way and Project Honor contract now signed, Mark wanted to get back to how he used to live when wrestling meant more than the money.

With the very thin brown blankets up around his neck, Mark turned around in his bed to read the digital clock flashing. The red light made his eyes strain in the early hours of the morning. The clock displayed "01:52"...

"Ahhhhhhhhh..." Mark sighed, running his hands through his short hair as he tossed and turned again lying on the bed.

He closed his eyes, deep in thought again...

Where is the best place for a lost soul to go? Someone who wanders the earth, trying to pin point the exact moment life fell to pieces, fell to an obsidian fate no man bears speaking about?

Home.

Home is the beginning of all means and the end of a journey. To feel at one with himself, if a man really feels that. That place is home. Is wrestling Mark Hunter’s home?

Mark opened his eyes. Sitting up in bed, he looked over at the clock again. "02:12"

"Christ," he muttered.

He removed the blanket and walked over to the small Kitchen area of the room. He was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts, his bare feet making pitter, patter sounds as he slowly walked over tiled flooring. He picked up a glass from an overhead cupboard and poured himself a glass of orange juice, removing the container from a refrigerator that hummed a lot and loudly. As he was drinking his OJ, he noticed that his phone had moved a few inches. Checking it he realised that he had missed calls. The phone's face read; "JELENA - 2 MISSED CALLS - LAST 22:17".

It was too late to call now. Mark dismissed it and reminded himself to return the call at sunrise. With an half empty glass, Mark returned to bed, putting the glass beside the clock. Throwing the blanket back over his shoulders, he again closed his eyes. He hated being like this. Feeling so insomniatic that he couldn't get his mind to settle. There were a thousand and one questions running around his head.

He smiled to himself.

He remembered a former wrestler, a former UCW World Champion who had no history with Mark other than a polite nod to each other, once calling himself "A Man With a Thousand Trademarks." Right now, Mark was a man with a thousand questions. Ain't life a bitch he thought, closing his eyes...

Could he emotionally handle how much Jelena meant to him?

Mark remembered the first time he met Jelena. He and Steve Martyn had just competed in a brutal street fight and both men were a bloody mess, however despite the fact they had brutalized each other, they had an unspoken respect and were sitting together in a trainers room, both receiving stitches for open head wounds. It’s into this scene that Jelena Martyn had walked in to check on the health of her older brother, all Mark and Jelena shared was a glance as Jelena had called them both “sick bastards”, they didn’t really know who the other was.

Later that same night Mark had turned around and properly observed the bar he was at. It was dark, the colour blue was dominant. To his right, sitting alone in a corner was a pretty blonde staring into a half empty glass of Jack Daniels. Mark sighed silently, grabbing his glass. For some reason he was drawn to this girl. He had to make a connection. He knew she was Steve’s sister. He stood over her, but her eyes never left the bottle.

"Excuse me," he said, her eyes slowly rising, "is this seat taken?"

She looked at him, her eyes were filled with tears, but were hidden by a thinly rimmed pair of glasses.

"Sorry," she said, "I'm not here for a pick up."

Her voice was shaky, like an uncontrollable wave in the ocean. Mark realised that maybe he was drawn for a totally different reason.

"No, I'm sorry," Mark said, still taking a seat, "I'm here on my own and was just wondering..."

She looked up at him, as he sat opposite.

"Jelena," she said, offering her name.

"Mark," replied the straight shooter.

The rest of the night, the two practically chatted all evening. It was basically all of an introduction of sorts. Mark told her of his traveling lifestyle, his career, the fact he'll never be remembered as a true legend of his sport, his problems, and she understood it all due to who her brother was. She was just as willing to exchange comments on her life. Her alcoholic ex boyfriend and his abusive phone call just twenty minutes ago, Jeremy, his two meth using sons, and the crappy job she had been stuck with till Steve made her manager of his club.

For this evening, nothing else happened. It was over. To Jelena's fairness, she proposed the idea of swapping numbers and Mark headily handed his over. She left the bar first, although Mark had offered her companionship on her journey home. As she left though, Mark began to realise that they were both alike, both lost ships at night...

Mark stirred one more time. It was hard to believe, the room was still dark and he again didn't feel tired. He strained his eyes at the clock, "03:16". It was just over an hour of sleep. He pushed himself up on his arms before falling down back on the mattress. He may not have been tired, but he didn't have much energy either. He closed his eyes, hoping that sooner or later, the moment of euphoria would come.

Aired Footage
Stockton, California
November 24th, 2020

On the edge of the bed - the unmade, unkempt bed – sits Mark Hunter. The Straight Shooter, his chest bare except for a light silver chain necklace around his neck. Mark leans forward with his hands resting on his jean-covered knees. His eyes look straight forward into the camera.

“Friday of December the fourth in Greensboro, North Carolina. You’re going to witness the official debut of yours truly in Project Honor. It’s a moment that’s going to be ground breaking and it’ll certainly be a moment that makes history for the entire company. All you people using your welfare and social security checks to be in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex are gonna be lucky enough to witness this history making moment.”

Mark smirks.

“You know what? I just forgot, most of you are going to play dumb and pretend that you don’t know who I am. You’re going to pretend that you’ve not heard of yours truly and haven’t heard of the amazing things I’m able to accomplish. That’s the game you’re going to play and it’s a game that I’ll play along with just for the sake of making you all look bad in the end. So, without further ado, Project Honor, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mark Hunter and I happen to be called The Straight Shooter. I need you to be aware that in this business, I live by a kill or be killed mentality. You’ll either have to take me out for my words, my beliefs, and my actions. Or you’ll suffer as I kill your career trajectory by simply being better than you and not dying.”

“And those words alone probably upset some of you just a little bit. Hell, there’s also a good chance those very words are upsetting for the roster of talent I’m about to be working with going forward. To which I say this, fellow members of the roster. Let my words get under your skin. Let my words bug you. Let my words make you feel some type of way, because that’s half the battle in this business. If I can get under your skin by just having something to say that you don’t like. Then that means I’m a huge step ahead of you. It means that I can warp you from a mental standpoint, I can beat you down emotionally and then make things that much easier for me when it comes to physically destroying you. To be honest when I look at the people on this roster, I don’t see that exactly being an issue. I can truly say that I believe ninety five percent of the roster isn’t even in my league and therefore that ninety five percent of the roster will end up being my personal bitches at some point or another.”

Mark takes an obvious deep breath before going on.

“As a matter of fact folks, the very first person that’s going to be made into my own personal bitch has already been decided. It’s a certain someone I literally have no problem calling a bitch. Let’s face it, he’s so damn desperate to be everyone's favourite, he’s a suck up to the people already, so it’s extremely fitting to call him one. And in case it just isn’t sinking in yet, I am talking about the one and the only Indy Darling.”

Mark pauses for a moment to allow his words to sink in.

“Trust me, I know there’s a lot of you likely to have confused expressions on your ugly mugs right now. Hearing that name is gonna create a response of: “Who in the blue hell is Indy Darling?” And you’ve got every reason in the world to ask yourself that question. On the few occasions that he’s actually competed in Project Honor, not once did he ever have a breakout moment, not once did he ever do something in the ring that made you go wow, let alone did he ever have a match that was eye popping. Never once has Indy made you pay attention to him. He kind of just signed a contract, came in, and since then has been non-existent to most of you. Even whilst picking up the title with a fluke all he’s managed to do is devalue its importance.”

The expression on Mark’s face now exudes arrogance.

“Sure, some of you might say I’m judging Indy a little too harshly. You’ll be quick to point out how he’s also quite new to the company and it is going to take some time to find his footing. For me, anyone producing comments like that is just making excuses for Mr. Darling. Not to mention they’re probably the type of person that has a million and one excuses for why they themselves aren’t successful in life. I on the other hand refuse to be like the average joe. I refuse to be like Indy Darling. I most certainly did not sign my name to a contract with Project Honor just to be another person on the roster. I didn’t decide to come to Project Honor for the pathetic paycheck. I am never going to be someone that’s alright with not having to do much. Oh no, I’ve come to Project Honor with all intentions of being the single greatest star this promotion has ever or will ever see. That means I'm here to defeat all the so called stars that exist now. I’m here to win championship upon championship. I plan on laying waste to every single person that gets put in front of me. That includes you, Indy. Simply put, you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time and I’d be lying if I said I felt the least bit sorry for you.”

The arrogance is still evident as Mark continues his verbal barrage.

“Mr. Darling, I already know you don’t come close to understanding what you are up against. You’re not gonna do the proper research. You won’t bother pulling your head out of your own ass long enough to see that you’re up against someone so far out of your league it’s farcical. This is all I have ever wanted to do since I was the age of about five. This is all I have done since the age of seventeen. Wrestling and fighting is NOT a way to support myself. It’s NOT a way to support family. I don’t live pay check to pay check. No, wrestling and fighting is a lifestyle and it’s in my damn blood. Your self indulgent and audience based offense will not stand up to my brutal ability to throw you around the ring like a little kid.”

“Indy, I think the writing should already be on the wall. You’ve fluked a title but your record is awful and on top of that, your matches here in Project Honor haven’t been impressive in the slightest. I on the other hand don’t have to worry about that. I never have to suffer being unimpressive and I certainly never fluke a win by the skin of my teeth. I don’t have to worry about what could happen if losing becomes a habit, because it never comes down to that. I always win decisively and IF I get knocked down once, I bounce back up quicker than people can forget who Indy Darling is. In every sense of the word and the meaning Indy, you are outmatched. Like I said before, it isn’t meant to sound so blunt, but you simply don’t measure up against someone like me. You’re not on the level that I’m at as a wrestler, as a man, or as a human being in general. Simply put when you get in the ring with me. You’re gonna get your ass beat, and then in a few weeks after you’ve been found out, when you’ve been released and you’re standing in that unemployment line, you’ll be thinking about how Mark Hunter is the one to blame because I’ll start the downward spiral you can’t pull out of.”

Mark appears to relax a little as he’s coming to the end.

“Two out of three falls means I get double the chance to show what I can do when we meet at Proving Grounds, that night you’re going to find out the same thing so many others before you in countless other promotions have found out… Mark Hunter is not just good enough...he’s better than you.”

Mark chuckles a little after stealing Indy’s phrase, the scene fades away.