As the show returned from commercial, the house lights dimmed and the camera immediately cut to the video on the 'Tron, which simply showed a set of double doors at the end of a hallway. After lingering on the scene, the click of the door opening broke the silence.
"I started out like everyone else...
As the door swung open, the camera zoomed in on the torso of the man that came through the doorway. He wore a white t-shirt, with no distinguishing markings on the front.
"....just an indy kid from Ohio with dreams of making it big. I had some early matches in a few unknown companies, with nothing notable to report. Then I met a guy named Paul..."
While the man continued to walk, the shirt on his chest shifted from white to black, with the letters 'I-C-W' in bold red letters displayed prominently on the front.
"He apparently saw more in me than I did, because he signed me while I was still pretty green. I learned what I needed to when I was with him. The ins and outs of the backstage, the interplay between fighters, any basics that I needed to survive. Even won a title or two after a while. And from there, my name started getting around."
The shirt's color stayed the same, but the lettering shifted to the familiar razor blade backround, while the letters now spelled out 'EEW' in a purple and barbed wire print. Underneath the symbol, the word 'Speed' was spelled out in smaller yellow letters.
"I was recruited by a developmental show run by what was, at the time, the upper echelon of the biz. I remember those days fondly, and it helped me refine my style down to what it's been since. I looked up to the guys there, and it gave me plenty of standards to look up to. After that, I had a name, and that meant I had a few good jobs."
The shirt shifted back to white, and the design changed to a green spray painted symbol with the letters EWA displayed prominently. After a moment or two, the shirt went back to black, and in clean green lettering, the word Evolution was shown, but had been hastily crossed out with a black marker.
"I was plenty of things then. A Good Guy. A Boxer, A Champion. Hell, I was even one of the last bastions of an old company for a while. And then, I landed here."
With each stated role, the shirt shifted once again, from the classic white and black bullseye design, to the black shirt with the design of a silhouetted boxer punching a walrus above the letters FTW, to a plain shirt with a plastic title belt wrapped around the bottom, to a black and red football jersey with the ICW letters displayed above the number 67. It finally rested on a WWF shirt, the kind the cameramen around the ring were prone to wear.
"But then it happened. I started flaking out on matches, and I stopped showing up at arenas. I couldn't explain it, but the fire was gone, and I felt it would be better to just....fade away."
The WWF shirt began to gradually rip, before it deteriorated entirely moments before the lights cut out.
"But then I started thinking. Why stop now? It's not like I'm gonna have more fun doing something else right? So I started training. And I got my form back. Then I got a new T-Shirt."
The lights in the video flipped back on, revealing a pristine white shirt with a large, blue, 8-Bit version of the WWF logo.
"So where will I go from here? Damned if I know. But hey, it's not like the past is gonna change, right?"
The camera moved to the side and panned behind the man, revealing the words 'Bit by Bit' in the same 8-Bit style as the logo on the front. The man reached another set of double doors, and passed through the frame just as the doors came to a close.
Back in the arena, the lights switched back to full, and a new song began to play.....
(Cont. in Kross Vs. Brody Robinson)
"I started out like everyone else...
As the door swung open, the camera zoomed in on the torso of the man that came through the doorway. He wore a white t-shirt, with no distinguishing markings on the front.
"....just an indy kid from Ohio with dreams of making it big. I had some early matches in a few unknown companies, with nothing notable to report. Then I met a guy named Paul..."
While the man continued to walk, the shirt on his chest shifted from white to black, with the letters 'I-C-W' in bold red letters displayed prominently on the front.
"He apparently saw more in me than I did, because he signed me while I was still pretty green. I learned what I needed to when I was with him. The ins and outs of the backstage, the interplay between fighters, any basics that I needed to survive. Even won a title or two after a while. And from there, my name started getting around."
The shirt's color stayed the same, but the lettering shifted to the familiar razor blade backround, while the letters now spelled out 'EEW' in a purple and barbed wire print. Underneath the symbol, the word 'Speed' was spelled out in smaller yellow letters.
"I was recruited by a developmental show run by what was, at the time, the upper echelon of the biz. I remember those days fondly, and it helped me refine my style down to what it's been since. I looked up to the guys there, and it gave me plenty of standards to look up to. After that, I had a name, and that meant I had a few good jobs."
The shirt shifted back to white, and the design changed to a green spray painted symbol with the letters EWA displayed prominently. After a moment or two, the shirt went back to black, and in clean green lettering, the word Evolution was shown, but had been hastily crossed out with a black marker.
"I was plenty of things then. A Good Guy. A Boxer, A Champion. Hell, I was even one of the last bastions of an old company for a while. And then, I landed here."
With each stated role, the shirt shifted once again, from the classic white and black bullseye design, to the black shirt with the design of a silhouetted boxer punching a walrus above the letters FTW, to a plain shirt with a plastic title belt wrapped around the bottom, to a black and red football jersey with the ICW letters displayed above the number 67. It finally rested on a WWF shirt, the kind the cameramen around the ring were prone to wear.
"But then it happened. I started flaking out on matches, and I stopped showing up at arenas. I couldn't explain it, but the fire was gone, and I felt it would be better to just....fade away."
The WWF shirt began to gradually rip, before it deteriorated entirely moments before the lights cut out.
"But then I started thinking. Why stop now? It's not like I'm gonna have more fun doing something else right? So I started training. And I got my form back. Then I got a new T-Shirt."
The lights in the video flipped back on, revealing a pristine white shirt with a large, blue, 8-Bit version of the WWF logo.
"So where will I go from here? Damned if I know. But hey, it's not like the past is gonna change, right?"
The camera moved to the side and panned behind the man, revealing the words 'Bit by Bit' in the same 8-Bit style as the logo on the front. The man reached another set of double doors, and passed through the frame just as the doors came to a close.
Back in the arena, the lights switched back to full, and a new song began to play.....
(Cont. in Kross Vs. Brody Robinson)
