Post by Coda on Jan 20, 2017 3:44:59 GMT -5
WELCOME
TO THE TRENCH
(extended edition)
DATE: 07.16.16
LOCATION: The Trench @ Nashville, Tennesee
CAMERA STATUS: ON / OFF
Her visage traveled up and down its pale burgundy walls, finally taking in the sight of the two-story building situated firmly in Nashville, Tennessee. She's never really paid much mind to the architecture, the sweeping pillars, the modest sign near the sidewalk. 'The Trench,' it advertised in plain black letters. Looking through the glass panes, the establishment was an ordinary gym at face value, but like its name suggested, it hid something deeper just beneath the surface.
Clenching her fists loosely, Kenzie Rydell took a step towards the door and turned the metal handle. The uggs she wore slapping against the tiled floor directly contrasted the smell of dried sweat caked on some of the machines, a twinge of blood and passion just out of reach. Her nose twitched like a bunny would, even if she had been here what felt like a thousand times before. In reality, the number of times she truly made the trek over here from her apartment a few blocks away could fit on one hand.
Kenzie was so accustomed to her own habitat at the time, an immaculate gym on the other side of the city that she hadn't even considered spending time in her roommate's place of work. It felt exclusive. Part of that was marketing, part of that was just watching Spencer talk on the phone for what felt like hours about it. He used to go over each trivial piece of equipment, every scheduled moment and every employee's salary in frustrating detail, sitting on the couch with his larger than life personality on display while she tried her best to ignore it. Topics ranged from marketing shares, investors, talk about how much Matthew Enterprises would input their creative control over the process. It was Kenzie repellant, corporate jargon that went over her head.
The sound of thumping caught her attention, hazel eyes speckled with green darting towards the door to the west. With a deep inhale, she swung the door open wide and headed down the winding stairs towards the expansive basement. The noises got louder, rowdy obnoxious screams leaving drunken lips. Chanting, a mob mentality growing ever louder as she neared solid ground as their Thursday ritual reached a concerto. This was normal.
"Kenzie. What a surprise to see you here." The man smiled with genuine emotion hardly seen these days accompanied a hardy handshake. Kenzie reluctantly complied, a bit of trepidation written on her face. "Have you finally changed your mind? The show's going on right now, but I'm sure if I spoke to Spencer about it, we could fit you in next week."
"I'm sorry. I can't right now, Jenkins." Her gaze avoided his own, shyly glancing at the wall beyond him dressed in all sorts of stereotypical Nashville trinkets. "I've just been so busy lately, what with NGW and FFW. I'd rather not overwork myself too much, you know?" Fortunately, the shaved-headed man in the dark blazer kindly accepted the excuse with a soft nod of approval.
"Well, if you ever change your mind, we'll be here," Jenkins grinned, premature wrinkles right underneath those bagged eyes of his. Yet another reason Kenzie avoided the corporate side of things like the plague as much as possible. The obvious stress it's put on a guy like Jenkins must have been tremendous, she thought. He was only 33. That mere fact alone terrified her.
"So, you're here to watch the show then?" His one track mind knew no bounds, it seemed. Did he expect her to pay a ticket? Were there even any left? She mauled it over for less than a second.
"I need to talk to Spencer. Can you get me into his office?" His eyes lit up, looking almost disappointed. Still, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his smartphone. Kenzie half-listened as Jenkins asked her own roommate whether or not she was allowed in, going over all the logicists about whether or not she needed a ticket. She couldn't hear the other end of the conversation but watched as Jenkins tried to make a quick buck. With a sigh, the call ended.
"Come with me," he feigned a smile, heading down a short hallway. Kenzie's feet shuffled her forward, heart pounding in tandem to the beats of the thumping. As they neared a gate, the chants grew louder, the animalistic crowd gathered around a makeshift wrestling ring. This is where the budget went. The lights above, the flawless bleachers, everything looked top notch as two of Nashville's best young independent wrestlers battled it out with more vigor and more ferocity than Kenzie's ever seen within a wrestling ring. It was a different side of wrestling, one without pomp and circumstance where upcoming wrestlers from all over the area got their start, but to see the crowd's reactions, you wouldn't know it. The energy they rained down on the two after every bump, every moment, was tangible throughout the room, something that gave her chills. It felt intimate, more genuine somehow.
Following Jenkins, she managed to hear a voice.
"And his opponent, making her way to the ring and hailing all the way from Seoul, South Korea... Coda," a man in the middle of the ring announced with an obnoxious shout, causing the crowd to cheer even louder than before. Kenzie couldn't stay long, slowly following Jenkins' footsteps as she watched the events of the main event unfold. Truth be told, Coda was the main event. The way she carried herself, the careless self-righteous smirk she gave to the whole crowd solidified it more than anything, and as Kenzie's hazel eyes flashed to the man she would be competing against, her heart pounded even quicker than the pulsing of the music.
The man was taller than Coda, more muscular than Coda. Compared to her lean and mean look, face plastered with subtle dark makeup and a bad attitude; the man looked like he could flatten her with just one well-placed kick. Thick dark stubble surrounded his mouth, his fists as big as catcher mitts. Across his black sleeveless tank top read the words 'The Carnivore' in red, bright, gory letters. Mr. Carnivore shot daggers at the woman, scoffing at the sight of her as she climbed over the bottom rope in another attempt to tease the crowd. Immature cat calls left the lips of the rowdy untelevised crowd, but Coda ignored them, satisfied with simply stepping towards her corner.
Carnivore let out an audible growl before the bell rung, watching with dark brown hues as Coda came running at him at top speed. Flying lariat. Kenzie was out of sight now, speaking with Spencer Walsh in his personal office. The flying lariat pushed Carnivore backward against the corner, but he didn't fall, not yet. The big man shot her an evil glare, but once again, Coda just smirked in return. Running back against the ropes, she hit a flying leg lariat, more successful than the first. It sent him crashing to the mat, but he was up in no time. The crowd booed Carnivore's actions, watching as he gripped her neck and picked her up for a scoop slam. Just as quickly, Coda made it to her feet again, and everyone in the small venue could hear her speak.
"Is that all you got? Come on. Be a man and actually hurt me." Awe left the crowd's lips, shocked at her powerful words towards the much bigger man. The truth is this match and every other show that happens under The Trench banner - whether that be here in Nashville or its original location in Houston - was an extension of Insurgency Wrestling. It was a feeding ground, an arena sponsored heavily by Matthews Enterprise with advertisements via LED displays and posters littering the walls.
Carnivore sprinted towards the lanky woman with a growl and tried for a deadly clothesline, only to be dodged with a duck. He kept on running, rebounding off the ropes, barreling back at her at full speed with fire in his eyes. Before Coda could dodge a second time, she was nailed with a stiff clothesline that sent her crashing to the ground. While he taunted to the rowdy crowd behind the steel barricade, Coda perched herself on her shoulder and chuckled. He wasn't happy after that. He thanked her by stomping on her abdomen, fury in his movement while the crowd rained down boos on the mass of humanity making a statement in the main event of the night.
The ruckus crowd watched as Coda caught his leg and dragon whipped her opponent to the ground. Getting back up to her feet using the momentum, she ran towards the ropes and came back with a senton, landing on her back right over Mr. Carnivore's broad chest. The crowd went crazy, hemming and hawing for their favorite wrestler.
Coda didn't waste any time whatsoever getting to the top rope, gesturing towards her opponent before jumping through the air with an incredible corkscrew shooting star press, only to be greeted by Carnivore's knees! She hunched over and cried out in pain while he used the ropes to make it to his feet. Lifting Coda up from a supine position to a powerbomb stance, he held her up like a crucifix for the crowd to see. It lasted a few seconds, walking towards the center of the ring, and before he could land the Black Tiger Bomb, Coda squirmed from his hold and fell back to her feet. Seething with anger, she readied herself and prepared to end the match with a—
CRACK!!
A thinner man smacked Coda in the back of the head with a black steel chair! Shock washed over the crowd, more specifically Kenzie herself as she walked out of the office. The star of the show flopped to the ground with a thud!
CRACK CRACK CRACK!!
Three more chair shots left her writhing in pain, and as the bell rang, everyone realized that the match was officially over.
"And the winner of this contest... by disqualification..." The announcer began, getting ready to announce Coda the winner via interference by this man Kenzie's never seen before, but before he could finish the announcement—
THWACK!!
The staff member buckled to the ground, and the man who brandished the chair reached down to grab the microphone from his hand. With a shit-eating grin, the crowd shared their feelings with him, louder than they've been the whole time. Kenzie shouts at the man from the bleachers now, frustrated that such a great match was ended so underhandedly.
"As you all should know, my name is Blake Napier," the man clutching to the steel chair in his other hand spoke. "Jack. Congratulations on a hell of a performance tonight in the main event. You sure gave this crowd their money's worth, hm? And best of all, you finally shut that nuance up for good. I call that a pretty successful night, don't you?"
Needless to say, the crowd didn't agree with him.
"Oh, what's that? You're not happy about the way this match ended?" His words were condescending as ever, strutting back and forth with both his hands full. "You're upset that you put all your hard money into this only to have it taken away from you by me, Blake Napier? Well, ain't that just pathetic?!"
"So what are you gonna do about it then, huh? 'Cause let's be honest. It's not like Insurgency Wrestling's even paying attention. It's not like Matthews Enterprise is going to lift a single finger, and we all know the owner of this great establishment is too chickenshit to do anything about it either, so why don't you all just get out of here and—"
"Kenzie Rydell," he suddenly remarked, eyes centered right at her. She didn't know what to do, eyes furiously boring into the man as he continued his onslaught of words with all the power in his hands. "Enjoy the show, sweetheart? Did you love it when I took down the 'fan favorite' just because I can? Clearly, if you came all this way from Spencer's ivory tower just to witness Jack and I victimize your heroes, surely you have an opinion, hm?"
Kenzie stood up amongst the civilians, everyone's eyes firmly on her. The crowd hadn't even realized she was among them, too absorbed into what was going on in the ring to notice the people surrounding them on the bleachers. With a gesture, he ordered Kenzie down to the ring, and while the crowd let out a roar of approval, Kenzie shuffled past the people and slowly made her way down the stairs. Hoping the barricade, she was handed a microphone and asked to step into the ring, standing face to face with the two men that brutalized Coda right in front of her face. Thankfully, the fan favorite herself was carted away by EMT's who wanted to make sure the blow to her head didn't leave too much damage.
"So let's hear it. What does NGW's resident drunk have to say?"
Kenzie glared at him, furious beyond belief about what he just said. The crowd around her fell away, and the only three people in the world stood herself, Blake and Mr. Carnivore himself, Jack. Heat pounded at the back of her neck from all the lights, sweat dripping down her back and making her T-shirt stick to her skin.
"You're a worthless piece of shit, you realize that?" Those were the first words Kenzie Rydell said in this ring, the fact that they weren't televised not lost on her. "You attacked the number one contender for your Nashville Championship, and for what? Coda officially won. Do you honestly think you've gained anything?"
"You're stupider than you act on Twitter, aren't you?" The Nashville Champion smirked, proud of the crowd reaction he was garnering. "Your friend Coda was taken away by medical personnel, Kenzie. Probably has a severe concussion right about now. Don't you think that benefits me? If she's even allowed in my ring next week, she'll be easy pickings but should she get put on the shelf? Well, that's one less thing for me to worry about, isn't it?"
"You have one more thing to worry about right in front of you," Kenzie snapped back at him, frustration in her fiery hazel eyes, preparing her stance. "Are you going to keep jabbering about how 'great' you are, or are you going to fight for once?"
"Fight? Fight who? You don't have a contract written out. You don't work here," he reprimanded. "You lie a single finger on me, that's assault. I could have you arrested for that, have you locked behind bars!"
"Then I guess I'll have to check with Jenkins so I can get a one night only contract for next week," she proclaimed, the crowd bursting into cheers all around her. "And who knows? Maybe you'll learn a thing or two from an actual professional."
"I know how to hold my liquor, Ms. Rydell. I don't need any lessons from you." The cheap heat showered him like acid rain. "Make it happen, and you've got your match. Just don't expect me to put my title up for grabs against a part-timer who's sole purpose in professional wrestling is helping her friends."
"It's not about Coda," Kenzie retorted with aggression coating her every syllable. "It's about—"
Kenzie's eyes flickered towards the entrance ramp to find a hurt Coda running to the ring with a black steel chair of her own. She slid underneath the ropes and popped back to her feet, swinging wildly at Blake Napier and Jack Carnivore. Her savage hardcore tendencies brought to the forefront, she knocked them out cold! The crowd cheered as she brutalized the champion and his lackey but suddenly became surprised when her eyes met Kenzie's.
As Kenzie looked at the local independent wrestler with sympathy, she didn't see it coming.
CRACK!!!!
"Do not fight my battles," Coda snarled as she stood above Kenzie's fallen body in the middle of the ring, the crowd split in their reactions. "I can fight these two inbred mouthbreathers alone. You focus on other matters that concern you."
With everyone in the ring around her knocked out cold, the crowd watched in awe as the show came to a close.
__________
