I Hate

“I Hate”
* * *

The camera opens upon a stadium, unlike the usual fare. This stadium is much smaller, only hundreds occupying seats surrounding the centre stage, and small platform with a circle drawn upon it. In the circle, two men, giants by stature, grasp and tangle, each attempting to throw the other to the mat, whilst the crowd, energetic in support, scream encouragement. No taunting. No misguided strikes aimed at soft spots. Just two men, watched by hundreds, trying to throw each other to the ground. Finally, one succeeds, lifting another clear from the mat and swinging him backwards, thrown with tremendous force, Titan rolling on top and pinning shoulders to the mat. A bell rings.

Announcer
Ο νικητής είναι ο ΤΙΤΑΝ! The winner is TITAN!

A chorus of cheers erupts at Titan recomposes himself and raises his arms in a subdued celebration. A couple of trainers come over and offer the mountain a small towel and a quick drink, as in the corner another monster of a man emerges, taking his place in the circle opposite Titan, preparing for another match. The camera slides back momentarily, and into the corner of the frame steps Titan’s partner in Blackout, Eddie Hayes, with a smile on his face.

Eddie Hayes
That’s the fourth match in the last hour that Titan has won. We’ve come back to his homeland, in this extended break before the upcoming show, to give him a chance to refine his wrestling talent, to work on his power game amongst other men just as powerful as he is. Four have stepped into that circle with him, and in the traditional Greco-Roman style, he has dispatched them all. A fifth challenger enters, now, He goes by the name Hyperion. Yes, even here, even in a noble sport, the American influence of nicknames and characters has pervaded and real wrestlers like a bit of pageantry. This man, this Hyperion, has chosen his name to taunt Titan – Hyperion being a figure of Greek mythology, a titan in his own right, known as the father of the sun, moon and stars. If defeated here, in this place, he will surrender his name to my friend. That is the price of this contest, the price of all contests in this arena. Once a name is lost, a man must wrestle under his own name. Think of it as the Mexican traditional of Luchas de Apuestas. Instead of a mask, or hair, each wrestler here offers his name. Some, like Titan’s, come with high honour, and a worth a lot. Tonight, Titan has collected two names; in English, they’re translations would be Son of God and The Mountain. The other two had no names to offer. Now he wants Hyperion.

Behind Hayes, the fight is getting ready to begin, with quick check-ups being conducted on the health of the wrestlers about to go at it. Hyperion eyes Titan with aggression, but Titan returns the glare only with a blank stare; neither angry, or upset, but just presenting a surface of calm. Hyperion feeds off this energy and readapts his approach, striking the same level of calmness as Titan, as the opening bell approaches.

Eddie Hayes
Hyperion has chosen his name in honour of the titan, and his historical significance. It is said that Hyperion, the titan, was the first to truly gain an understanding of the movement of the sun, moon and stars. The way their movement affected the seasons of the earth, tides, that sort of thing. I’m not really a stickler for mythology. But Hyperion has chosen his name well. He is swift, for a bit man, and he understands the movement of the human body. He is undefeated, having claimed twelve names from close to thirty fights. He is a valuable target. He is what Titan wants. To learn from, to understand, and to take from him the thing that is most precious – his name. It is a lesson Titan must learn before we return and he faces Maxwell Lord and Miseria. That strength alone will not lead him to victory, but being able to control the motion of his opponent, with such elegance as Hyperion displays. This will be a challenge, even for him.

The bell rings and the wrestling match begins, with both men shifting into holds, as Titan tries for a quick gutwrench, only to have it blocked by Hyperion. Hyperion swivels out of the hold and into a headlock, spinning and throwing Titan down to the ground, but the strength of Titan allows him to keep shoulders off the mat and avoid the pin. Back on his feet, Titan moves in again, but Hyperion slides aside and drags Titan over with his arms, and Titan bounces back to his feet, watching. He waits, this time, for Hyperion’s movement, sensing the feint and dodging right, sliding into a double underhook that throws Hyperion to the ground. Again, no pin is achieved. Two men grapple again, each feeling their way around, trying to throw the other, but neither succeeding. After a minute, the bell rings. The first round is over, neither standing victorious.

Eddie Hayes
Titan is a fast learner. He adapts, and I’m confident he’ll come through and win this match, just like I’m confident that the skills he’s put into practice will prove the difference in his match against Maxwell Lord and Miseria. But what is different here, the fundamental difference between why Titan will wrestle tonight and fight at Pure Hate, is the motivation he feels. Here, he wrestles for pride. In the WWG ring, he is not fighting for himself. Not pride, or honour, or any of those noble things he cherishes within this circle. He fights for me. He fights because I ask him too. Some might think that this relationship is one-sided, that I use Titan for my own purposes and he gains nothing in return – and that’s true, he has little to gain. But Titan is a man of honour. Titan is my friend. Titan would go to the ends of the earth for me, he would sacrifice it all… and I would do the same for him. He understands that the fight I have chosen is one worth fighting. And he is dedicated one hundred per cent to my cause. And with a giant like him, at one hundred per cent… the damage he can do is astronomical. Not even the father of the sun, moon and stars can withstand that power.

The bell rings, and the second round of the match begins, with Titan and Hyperion locking up instantly. Hyperion looks to slither out but Titan quickly readjusts, anticipating the movement. He locks in his gutwrench. Hyperion anticipates the lift and goes to block, but Titan doesn’t lift, shifting his grip instead and throwing Hyperion over belly-to-back, refusing to release the hold and brings him up, into the gutwrench suplex, and scoring the pin. The announcer congratulates Titan on his win, as Hyperion regains his footing, looking furious. Trainers come over and hand the men fresh towels and drinks, and Titan begins his cooldown routine.

Eddie Hayes
Five-nil for the night. Three new names. Titan has fought for his honour and his pride, and he has won. Now his dedication returns to me, to our cause as Blackout, and what we hope to achieve. And Pure Hate brings us one step closer to our goals. With a chance to upstage two superstars at once, Titan will propel himself further up the totem pole as far as competitors go.

Titan approaches Eddie, who gives him a quick pat on the back. Titan sees the camera and quickly, briefly speaks.

Titan
Tonight I wrestle for me, Pure Hate I wrestle for Eddie.

Eddie Hayes
Thanks, big guy. We’ve covered that. What we haven’t covered is why we’ll fight. And this is it. You can go, get yourself freshened up. We’ve got a plane to catch.

Titan backs away, after giving Eddie a quick smile.

Eddie Hayes
Why do I fight? Why do I get Titan to fight for me? It’s a simple reason, really. The simplest reason anyone has for fighting, and it’s this: I hate.

I hate everything that this company I’m now a part of stands for. I hate the bosses at the top, Frederick Kavanagh and his lapdog Licious. I hate the monster that they call the champion, nothing but a barbarian who has foregone all pretence. I hate those monsters that continue to live under that pretence that they are thoughtful, intelligent, and not batshit mental cases. I hate those men that come to every show and fight for nothing but their own personal glory, their own selfish reasons, hoping to accomplish a championship victory just for the sake of it. I hate what has become of a company I used to watch years ago, with superstars fighting for reasons and causes, with dedication.

I hate everyone who has ever looked down on another person just because they were weaker, physically or mentally, or because they had a different skin colour or sexual orientation. I hate the prejudice and discrimination faced by another who is a little bit different that the white Caucasian male with brown hair and blue eyes. I hate the politicians in power who do nothing to combat the terrifying tyranny of the modern world that they have created with their billion dollar empires and the puppetmasters they obey. I hate what the world has become in the face of what it could be.

I hate thinking and feeling this way. I hate that this is my life, that this is my fight, but it’s a fight someone has to make, a stand that has to be made.

I hate Miseria. I hate his involvement in a match where he did not belong, regardless of the outcome. I hate that Titan was robbed of his victory, just because a nutjob in a mask had some vendetta against another. I hate that this man has refused to comment on what he’s done, content to just sit in the rafters oblivious to all that is going on in the world around him. I hate that Titan has to fight him, and Maxwell Lord, at the same time. I hate that this match is even happening.

I hate Maxwell Lord. I hate the smug self-satisfaction he posseses, that desire to advance his own career at the expense of everyone else. I hate the look on his face. I hate how quick he was to celebrate his unearned victory. I hate that Titan must face him again, instead of stepping over him, towards the target we’ve always had.

I hate.

I hate.

I hate.

Blackout has been founded on hate, not the dark hatred of envy, but the constant persecution of the different and the strange. That WWG, a company once loved, has turned to monster after monster, **** after ****, hoping to fill seats with people content to watch this psychopathic or sociopathic “men” beat the hell out of each other in the name of entertainment. Here, in this stadium tonight, not a single drop of blood was shed. And many will be talking about this night to come, Titan’s legend rises, Hyperion’s legend falls, and tomorrow there will be a new dawn.

At Pure Hate, Titan will step into the ring on my behalf, he will represent Blackout, he will represent me, and he will represent the complete hatred we feel about the world that we live in today. There is not a more powerful motivator in this world that hatred, and fuelling from that, you’ll see a different side of Titan, a Titan that has acknowledged that his wrestling style is not going to prove victorious in the long run, that to become the force we need to be, we need to let the hate in, we need to answer violence with violence, no matter how gruesome it is. At the end of the day, we hope to achieve one thing, and one thing only. To make you hate. To make you feel the hatred that we feel towards each and every member of that roster. To make Miseria and Maxwell Lord be the first to truly suffer at the hands of this new giant. And you know what I think, what I feel about being forced into this course of action? The answer is simple.

I hate.

Fade to black.