Post by Adrien | Adam on Sept 14, 2017 1:15:15 GMT -5
FOR THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT SECTION OF THIS PIECE, CLICK HERE!
“The power an idiot has with a camera is astounding. Oh, I’m sorry, were you expecting Adrien?”
A rare moment in the career of Adrien Cochrane as the cameras open up and it is not him standing in front of the camera but the manager of the thirty-year-old wrestler.
“I don’t speak for Adrien often. He does a great job speaking about his matches without me. Young Adam Sanders might need me to cut most of his promos, but Adrien is capable himself. In fact, I’m sure Adrien will address you at some point before the match. But there are special circumstances where I grab the camera on behalf of my first client. See, I can be the asshole that Adrien deserves to have in his corner sometimes and say the things that he is much too polite to say. And I step in when impolite things need to be said.
“So let’s start off with this. Are you a fucking moron, Matthew? You complain about the videos Adrien submits. THAT’S HIS FUCKING JOB. You know, it would be a bit more obvious to you if you actually put in the same amount of effort that Adrien does in trying to put people in seats. It’s called WRESTLING PROMOS. Christ, as long as you’ve been doing this, I figured you would actually know what the hell they were. So yeah, let’s call Adrien a narcissist FOR DOING THAT THING HE’S REQUIRED TO DO IN HIS CONTRACT!”
Walker’s voice is raised a few decibels towards the end of the statement. The spiked hair of the forty-one-year-old manager completes the usual look along with his octopus t-shirt and a pair of baggy cargo shorts.
“But the biggest mistake you’ve ever made, Matthew Shields, was opening that stupid mouth of yours before doing any sort of research. You want to talk about philanthropy? Despite only being a rookie twelve years ago, Adrien spent an entire year away from the ring to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. He didn’t do the easy thing and sign autographs to give proceeds to victims that gets shuffled around through bureaucratic bullshit. He literally grabbed a toolbox and helped rebuild houses himself BY HAND. Don’t care about twelve year ago. Literally, inside of his home right now is a displaced family from Hurricane Irma. Thanks to their ties to Texas, Adrien and Stacy partnered with a handful of former KCW wrestlers to feed people at a shelter full of Hurricane Harvey victims in Katy, Texas. If anyone watching this has never heard of the place, it’s a bit west of Houston and was flooded badly by Harvey. And driving there wasn’t fun. Parts of I-10 was still closed near Vidor and Beaumont, and we had to play the ‘Do we think Adrien’s car can make that’ game with a few flooded backroads on the detour. And he wasn’t depending on the people who show up to something of his to raise funds. The money used to provide this food for these people, would you like to know where they come from? I handle a lot of Adrien’s finances, so I’ve got receipts. See?”
Walker holds up a few receipts for all the contributions Adrien made to help feed the people in this particular shelter.
“So instead of sitting in a nice air conditioned booth or some sort of table inside a fancy venue to sign autographs, Adrien went to the places where all these people are himself. His lessened social media presence has been due to all the hard work he’s been doing for the area. Hurricanes are a touchy subject for Adrien because of his history with them. He’s lived in the Gulf Coast his entire life. You’re billed from Dallas so I assume you know what the feeling is like the moment one pops up in the Gulf of Mexico. But go ahead, sign some autographs up in some safe place. Adrien spent an entire afternoon playing his guitar for displaced refugees to try to lighten their mood, and even obliged the fifth time some guy yelled for him to play Freebird. But don’t worry, you keep doing your ‘just enough work to say I did something’ humanitarian work. That makes you such a good person.
“And also, Adrien doesn’t actually need a hurricane for him to do good things. He’s been doing Make A Wish visits his entire career, increasing the moment he started dating Stacy because she likes doing them as well. It’s a weird thing for them to do together as a couple, but whatever floats their boat, I guess. He supports the St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Team Gleason to help those with diseases currently incurable. See those: those are SPECIFIC charities. You just said you cut a quarter million for the generic phrase ‘charities’ and thought it made you high and mighty. Yeah, well, Donald Trump cut a check too. Ask yourself if your name being in the same category as him makes you feel like you’re the bringer of hope and benevolence.
“Do you know what’s more important than just writing a nice little check when natural disasters hit? How you treat others, especially those you don’t necessarily need. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you said something about ass kissing and that bullshit, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Anyone with a big bank account can try to parade themselves around as a good person with money. Fuck money. Donating your TIME is more important. And treating people the way that makes the world a better place. THAT’S being a good person. You besmirch the name of anyone who doesn’t submit to your tyrannical rule in Redemption Wrestling. HOW DARE PEOPLE NOT LIKE BEING TOLD TO BOW TO YOU, AM I RIGHT?! THEY SHOULD BE HONORED TO BE ABLE TO KISS YOUR RING, BRO!!”
The sarcasm was evident in the last two sentences Walker spoke.
“Adrien Cochrane took on two proteges that he did not previously know. They were rookies in the business, one much more than the other, and asked for nothing in return. He let one of them live in his home rent-free until they felt like they could handle living out on their own. He trained them to the best of their ability so they could be the future of wrestling. Even to this day, they are welcomed to his home, free to eat his food and sleep in his guest room. When he thinks they need some outside training and more than just his take on how to do things in the ring, he arranges them to learn from the man who trained him over a decade ago at his camp in Missouri, Adrien taking care of all the costs. When one of them was kidnapped, he was a large part of getting him recovered. Who are they? Kenzie Rydell and Adam Sanders.”
Walker holds up a picture of the former couple, one wrestling in West Coast Genesis while the other one is in Empire Wrestling as part of the CWC.
“The next person was the son of the man who fired rookie Adrien from a wrestling company. When Adrien was in EXODUS Pro, this man and his father attempted to take over the company. His father was using the same business tactics that got him into power the first time he fire Adrien, trying to rid everyone on the roster that didn’t fit what he wanted. The son, being a sharp legal mind, was recruited to take care of the legal things, but after being pushed by the bodyguard of co-owner Nicholas Gray, he lost his father’s stake in the company and even was about to become an indentured servant to Gray. This man was attempting to put Adrien in the unemployment line and what does he do next? He speaks to Gray to spare him and allow him to work for him instead as his legal partner with a monthly salary, while he is free to continue using his practice outside of his work for Adrien. How much has Adrien used him? Four times...just to go over contracts for loopholes and language before signing them. Adrien doesn’t really need a lawyer often. Who is this man? Stephen Nair.”
Eddie Walker then holds up a picture of Stephen Nair, who makes occasional appearances on Twitter, but mostly just enjoys his freedom to continue his law career away from the spotlight.
“Oh, but what about that time that there was a young wrestler who had been placed in a bad situation because her boyfriend and tag team partner had gotten a little heated over the actions of another member of the roster. Due to the shortsightedness of her partner’s actions, he was suspended and unable to be a part of a match that would earn them a chance at the tag team titles that they had coveted for so long. Adrien, through no benefit of his own, stepped in. He told them that he would fill in for the suspended partner to get them into that tag team championship match. He gets them that championship opportunity and the tag team went on to win the titles. Adrien gained nothing for helping them and knew that going in, but did it anyway. The tag team he helped with that...you already know that answer because it happened right in front of you, it’s the Young Cubs. Do I actually need to show you a picture of them? No, you know what they look like. Don’t be a moron, Matthew; you’re better than that.
“Before I get to the last one, let’s hit a few quick, minor ones. These weren’t life altering, but they were definitely acts of kindness that was not required but just something he did because of the man has a bigger heart than most. Let’s called it a speed round. Was the person who ended a hot streak of his and the only pinfall he suffered throughout the entirety of 2016 but then he follows that up by attending her wedding and providing a gift for the occasion and becoming even friends with this opponent of his after their match. Aurora Graves. Then there was the guy who treated Adrien like absolute trash when Adrien kept him out of jail, tried to get him help for his addiction, let him live in his home, got him employed in wrestling only to be sold out by this guy because of money. Chris Marks. This past show was booked against Adrien when an almost simultaneous kick out and three count occurred. The official seemed confused about whether or not it was a legit pin, and when he could have used that doubt to continue the match and keep his winning streak this current year alive, he did the honest thing and told the official that it was a fair three count, even though it meant costing him the match. Who did he do that for? Johnny Maverick.”
Walker takes a deep breath before going on to the last one.
“But I think I saved the best one for last. This person was a bassist for a pop punk band in the late nineties. Was maybe a slightly below average musician. Alcohol and drugs amongst some of the other band members caused a huge rift and ended the band, leaving this man not knowing what the heck he was going to do for the rest of his life. But in the suburban area of St. Bernard Parish, a young musician-slash-wrestler, decided that a recording studio was needed to serve that area and began going about starting that business. He was a fan of this bassist’s old band and trusted that man’s experience to help with the start up of the project, helping select good equipment and all sorts of things like that. Since this bassist wasn’t the one dealing with all the drug problems, a lot of his contacts in the industry weren’t quite burned even though he didn’t have any musicians to play with him, so Adrien hired him on as a music manager for a band that Adrien was in. Finally, he had a career again so he could help provide for his girlfriend who was trying to go to school to become a teacher. He got paid to basically tell Adrien what stage to go play guitar on and be a part of his new recording studio. Adrien became a beacon of hope for this man.
“Adrien wasn’t just a business partner to this man, but a friend who became invaluable to this man. He made Adrien his best man in his wedding and his godfather to his son. To Adrien, this man’s family was his family, spending so many nights hosting them at his house for dinner, almost three times a week. He’s even read bedtime stories to this man’s son because he likes the silly voices Adrien can do. And when Adrien’s ex-wife, who was also his wrestling manager, left him because that girl was a bit of a bitch...sorry, impolite...when Adrien’s ex-wife left him and vacated the role of Adrien’s wrestling manager, this man sprung into action. For the longest time, Adrien was the only client he had while he had to learn a completely new business and how it worked. After a couple of years, Adrien finally encouraged him to start taking on new clients, starting with Rayven Hardy. A former wrestler promoter even named this man as the best manager in wrestling right now.
“Figure it out yet? That man who was once worried about how he was going to keep his wife from dropping out of school so they could both get retail jobs until Adrien presented him with a new career path...that man was me.”
Walker begins feeling a little emotional bringing up his past publicly for the first time. He nods his head before wiping his eyes and continuing.
“See, you might try to paint Adrien as some sort of fake hypocrite who is selfish and egotistical. You can try to defame him all you want, but anyone that has spent any time with him whatsoever thinks your claims are absolutely laughable. And you can throw out numbers about what you’ve given to faceless charities all you want. You can talk about what Adrien doesn’t say on social media. Nothing disputes your claims more than the lives he’s changed. I’ve stood by and watched him make so many people in his life a higher priority than himself. Do you know what every single person I just mentioned have in common, Matthew? Every single one of these life changing moments and acts of kindness came before a single one of these people were actual friends of Adrien’s. And he’s never cared what anyone can do for him, that doesn’t matter to him. This isn’t like your recruitment of Jack Tillman, who you think will turn the Destroyers into the next level. Even Coda is around because she is useful to you as an ally. He’s done all of these things and never once thought about what it did for him. Adrien believes...yes, I’m using his big word right here...that the world would be a better place if more people did what he can do for all the people I went over. And wouldn’t it?
“So you can talk about how you’re secretly a better person than Adrien. Fact is, Adrien is over here building bridges to make everyone around him better than they were before he came into their lives. You, Matthew Shields, are taking every bridge you have around you and burning it down.”
You told me, "Yes,"
You held me high
And I believed when you told that lie
I played soldier, you played king
And struck me down, when I kissed that ring
You lost that right, to hold that crown
I built you up, but you let me down
So when you fall, I'll take my turn
And fan the flames
As your blazes burn
“The power an idiot has with a camera is astounding. Oh, I’m sorry, were you expecting Adrien?”
A rare moment in the career of Adrien Cochrane as the cameras open up and it is not him standing in front of the camera but the manager of the thirty-year-old wrestler.
“I don’t speak for Adrien often. He does a great job speaking about his matches without me. Young Adam Sanders might need me to cut most of his promos, but Adrien is capable himself. In fact, I’m sure Adrien will address you at some point before the match. But there are special circumstances where I grab the camera on behalf of my first client. See, I can be the asshole that Adrien deserves to have in his corner sometimes and say the things that he is much too polite to say. And I step in when impolite things need to be said.
“So let’s start off with this. Are you a fucking moron, Matthew? You complain about the videos Adrien submits. THAT’S HIS FUCKING JOB. You know, it would be a bit more obvious to you if you actually put in the same amount of effort that Adrien does in trying to put people in seats. It’s called WRESTLING PROMOS. Christ, as long as you’ve been doing this, I figured you would actually know what the hell they were. So yeah, let’s call Adrien a narcissist FOR DOING THAT THING HE’S REQUIRED TO DO IN HIS CONTRACT!”
Walker’s voice is raised a few decibels towards the end of the statement. The spiked hair of the forty-one-year-old manager completes the usual look along with his octopus t-shirt and a pair of baggy cargo shorts.
“But the biggest mistake you’ve ever made, Matthew Shields, was opening that stupid mouth of yours before doing any sort of research. You want to talk about philanthropy? Despite only being a rookie twelve years ago, Adrien spent an entire year away from the ring to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. He didn’t do the easy thing and sign autographs to give proceeds to victims that gets shuffled around through bureaucratic bullshit. He literally grabbed a toolbox and helped rebuild houses himself BY HAND. Don’t care about twelve year ago. Literally, inside of his home right now is a displaced family from Hurricane Irma. Thanks to their ties to Texas, Adrien and Stacy partnered with a handful of former KCW wrestlers to feed people at a shelter full of Hurricane Harvey victims in Katy, Texas. If anyone watching this has never heard of the place, it’s a bit west of Houston and was flooded badly by Harvey. And driving there wasn’t fun. Parts of I-10 was still closed near Vidor and Beaumont, and we had to play the ‘Do we think Adrien’s car can make that’ game with a few flooded backroads on the detour. And he wasn’t depending on the people who show up to something of his to raise funds. The money used to provide this food for these people, would you like to know where they come from? I handle a lot of Adrien’s finances, so I’ve got receipts. See?”
Walker holds up a few receipts for all the contributions Adrien made to help feed the people in this particular shelter.
“So instead of sitting in a nice air conditioned booth or some sort of table inside a fancy venue to sign autographs, Adrien went to the places where all these people are himself. His lessened social media presence has been due to all the hard work he’s been doing for the area. Hurricanes are a touchy subject for Adrien because of his history with them. He’s lived in the Gulf Coast his entire life. You’re billed from Dallas so I assume you know what the feeling is like the moment one pops up in the Gulf of Mexico. But go ahead, sign some autographs up in some safe place. Adrien spent an entire afternoon playing his guitar for displaced refugees to try to lighten their mood, and even obliged the fifth time some guy yelled for him to play Freebird. But don’t worry, you keep doing your ‘just enough work to say I did something’ humanitarian work. That makes you such a good person.
“And also, Adrien doesn’t actually need a hurricane for him to do good things. He’s been doing Make A Wish visits his entire career, increasing the moment he started dating Stacy because she likes doing them as well. It’s a weird thing for them to do together as a couple, but whatever floats their boat, I guess. He supports the St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Team Gleason to help those with diseases currently incurable. See those: those are SPECIFIC charities. You just said you cut a quarter million for the generic phrase ‘charities’ and thought it made you high and mighty. Yeah, well, Donald Trump cut a check too. Ask yourself if your name being in the same category as him makes you feel like you’re the bringer of hope and benevolence.
“Do you know what’s more important than just writing a nice little check when natural disasters hit? How you treat others, especially those you don’t necessarily need. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you said something about ass kissing and that bullshit, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Anyone with a big bank account can try to parade themselves around as a good person with money. Fuck money. Donating your TIME is more important. And treating people the way that makes the world a better place. THAT’S being a good person. You besmirch the name of anyone who doesn’t submit to your tyrannical rule in Redemption Wrestling. HOW DARE PEOPLE NOT LIKE BEING TOLD TO BOW TO YOU, AM I RIGHT?! THEY SHOULD BE HONORED TO BE ABLE TO KISS YOUR RING, BRO!!”
The sarcasm was evident in the last two sentences Walker spoke.
“Adrien Cochrane took on two proteges that he did not previously know. They were rookies in the business, one much more than the other, and asked for nothing in return. He let one of them live in his home rent-free until they felt like they could handle living out on their own. He trained them to the best of their ability so they could be the future of wrestling. Even to this day, they are welcomed to his home, free to eat his food and sleep in his guest room. When he thinks they need some outside training and more than just his take on how to do things in the ring, he arranges them to learn from the man who trained him over a decade ago at his camp in Missouri, Adrien taking care of all the costs. When one of them was kidnapped, he was a large part of getting him recovered. Who are they? Kenzie Rydell and Adam Sanders.”
Walker holds up a picture of the former couple, one wrestling in West Coast Genesis while the other one is in Empire Wrestling as part of the CWC.
“The next person was the son of the man who fired rookie Adrien from a wrestling company. When Adrien was in EXODUS Pro, this man and his father attempted to take over the company. His father was using the same business tactics that got him into power the first time he fire Adrien, trying to rid everyone on the roster that didn’t fit what he wanted. The son, being a sharp legal mind, was recruited to take care of the legal things, but after being pushed by the bodyguard of co-owner Nicholas Gray, he lost his father’s stake in the company and even was about to become an indentured servant to Gray. This man was attempting to put Adrien in the unemployment line and what does he do next? He speaks to Gray to spare him and allow him to work for him instead as his legal partner with a monthly salary, while he is free to continue using his practice outside of his work for Adrien. How much has Adrien used him? Four times...just to go over contracts for loopholes and language before signing them. Adrien doesn’t really need a lawyer often. Who is this man? Stephen Nair.”
Eddie Walker then holds up a picture of Stephen Nair, who makes occasional appearances on Twitter, but mostly just enjoys his freedom to continue his law career away from the spotlight.
“Oh, but what about that time that there was a young wrestler who had been placed in a bad situation because her boyfriend and tag team partner had gotten a little heated over the actions of another member of the roster. Due to the shortsightedness of her partner’s actions, he was suspended and unable to be a part of a match that would earn them a chance at the tag team titles that they had coveted for so long. Adrien, through no benefit of his own, stepped in. He told them that he would fill in for the suspended partner to get them into that tag team championship match. He gets them that championship opportunity and the tag team went on to win the titles. Adrien gained nothing for helping them and knew that going in, but did it anyway. The tag team he helped with that...you already know that answer because it happened right in front of you, it’s the Young Cubs. Do I actually need to show you a picture of them? No, you know what they look like. Don’t be a moron, Matthew; you’re better than that.
“Before I get to the last one, let’s hit a few quick, minor ones. These weren’t life altering, but they were definitely acts of kindness that was not required but just something he did because of the man has a bigger heart than most. Let’s called it a speed round. Was the person who ended a hot streak of his and the only pinfall he suffered throughout the entirety of 2016 but then he follows that up by attending her wedding and providing a gift for the occasion and becoming even friends with this opponent of his after their match. Aurora Graves. Then there was the guy who treated Adrien like absolute trash when Adrien kept him out of jail, tried to get him help for his addiction, let him live in his home, got him employed in wrestling only to be sold out by this guy because of money. Chris Marks. This past show was booked against Adrien when an almost simultaneous kick out and three count occurred. The official seemed confused about whether or not it was a legit pin, and when he could have used that doubt to continue the match and keep his winning streak this current year alive, he did the honest thing and told the official that it was a fair three count, even though it meant costing him the match. Who did he do that for? Johnny Maverick.”
Walker takes a deep breath before going on to the last one.
“But I think I saved the best one for last. This person was a bassist for a pop punk band in the late nineties. Was maybe a slightly below average musician. Alcohol and drugs amongst some of the other band members caused a huge rift and ended the band, leaving this man not knowing what the heck he was going to do for the rest of his life. But in the suburban area of St. Bernard Parish, a young musician-slash-wrestler, decided that a recording studio was needed to serve that area and began going about starting that business. He was a fan of this bassist’s old band and trusted that man’s experience to help with the start up of the project, helping select good equipment and all sorts of things like that. Since this bassist wasn’t the one dealing with all the drug problems, a lot of his contacts in the industry weren’t quite burned even though he didn’t have any musicians to play with him, so Adrien hired him on as a music manager for a band that Adrien was in. Finally, he had a career again so he could help provide for his girlfriend who was trying to go to school to become a teacher. He got paid to basically tell Adrien what stage to go play guitar on and be a part of his new recording studio. Adrien became a beacon of hope for this man.
“Adrien wasn’t just a business partner to this man, but a friend who became invaluable to this man. He made Adrien his best man in his wedding and his godfather to his son. To Adrien, this man’s family was his family, spending so many nights hosting them at his house for dinner, almost three times a week. He’s even read bedtime stories to this man’s son because he likes the silly voices Adrien can do. And when Adrien’s ex-wife, who was also his wrestling manager, left him because that girl was a bit of a bitch...sorry, impolite...when Adrien’s ex-wife left him and vacated the role of Adrien’s wrestling manager, this man sprung into action. For the longest time, Adrien was the only client he had while he had to learn a completely new business and how it worked. After a couple of years, Adrien finally encouraged him to start taking on new clients, starting with Rayven Hardy. A former wrestler promoter even named this man as the best manager in wrestling right now.
“Figure it out yet? That man who was once worried about how he was going to keep his wife from dropping out of school so they could both get retail jobs until Adrien presented him with a new career path...that man was me.”
Walker begins feeling a little emotional bringing up his past publicly for the first time. He nods his head before wiping his eyes and continuing.
“See, you might try to paint Adrien as some sort of fake hypocrite who is selfish and egotistical. You can try to defame him all you want, but anyone that has spent any time with him whatsoever thinks your claims are absolutely laughable. And you can throw out numbers about what you’ve given to faceless charities all you want. You can talk about what Adrien doesn’t say on social media. Nothing disputes your claims more than the lives he’s changed. I’ve stood by and watched him make so many people in his life a higher priority than himself. Do you know what every single person I just mentioned have in common, Matthew? Every single one of these life changing moments and acts of kindness came before a single one of these people were actual friends of Adrien’s. And he’s never cared what anyone can do for him, that doesn’t matter to him. This isn’t like your recruitment of Jack Tillman, who you think will turn the Destroyers into the next level. Even Coda is around because she is useful to you as an ally. He’s done all of these things and never once thought about what it did for him. Adrien believes...yes, I’m using his big word right here...that the world would be a better place if more people did what he can do for all the people I went over. And wouldn’t it?
“So you can talk about how you’re secretly a better person than Adrien. Fact is, Adrien is over here building bridges to make everyone around him better than they were before he came into their lives. You, Matthew Shields, are taking every bridge you have around you and burning it down.”
And you were there at the turn
Waiting to let me know
We're building it up
To break it back down
We're building it up
To burn it down
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground
When you fall, I'll take my turn
And fan the flames
As your blazes burn
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground
When you fall, I'll take my turn
And fan the flames
As your blazes burn
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground
