Post by Avery Miles III on Apr 27, 2016 15:05:03 GMT
004 * Glory
Scene 001 - Former Location of SoCal Grappling Arts Center - San Diego, CA - April 27th, 2016
*We open as Avery Miles III is standing inside of a half-empty, rundown building. It is eerily reminiscent of the location where Miles was trained early on in his career. As the camera pans the dimly lit area we see a half-broken wrestling ring and a single lawn chair sitting just outside of it. Impressions on the floor and wall of where equipment once was and broken pieces of glass and plastic are strewn along the floor in various places. Avery heads over towards the ring and rubs his hand along the edge of the mat. Only one ring rope is still hung, and the other two are not connected at the corners. Avery lowers his head as the place that he once trained at and matured in is but a shell of its former self. During the early days of Avery's training, the location was already deteriorating but nothing like this.*
Sometimes in memories, things are greater than they really are. Growing up in this gym, I felt like while it wasn't the most lavish or elaborate setup, it allowed me to mature, grow, and spread my wings as a talent. I took hard bumps and had plenty of bruises; each and every one helped to mold me into the athlete that I am. I started off as being a bit of an ass as my father and grandfather both had spent time in this gym training. My grandfather saw the opening, and my father trained here. I thought they would cater towards me and boy was I wrong. The Old Man wouldn't let me skate by on my name, and I am sure that my dad would've kicked my ass if I was allowed to just get by.
Fletcher Franklin George, but everyone called him The Old Man. He opened the wrestling school decades ago and my grandfather helped to train some of the first students through the doors. As The Old Man grew older, so did the gym; eventually giving way to additional teachers and even more students. In the 80's and 90's saw a boom of students waiting to get on the waiting list to get trained. Eventually Fletch's Wrestling School was renamed to the SoCal Grappling Arts Center to offer more legitimacy and better marketing. After a couple of those teachers decided to cut a bit more off of the top, it left The Old Man in a penny pinch and students going elsewhere. It was unfortunate. The Old Man was left giving free lessons and working his own body inside of the ring at an age that most people would have easily retired or been relaxing at home in a rocking chair. Not old Fletch. This was his life. He never had that one student that broke out. That student that have him the acclaim he so wanted. I was lucky enough to be his last student, and he saw something in me that I did not.
The Old Man passed away a couple of years after I moved onto touring Northern Mexico. We lost touch, but we reconnected just before his death. I told him how grateful I was for all of his training, and how we made me become a better athlete and a better man. After he died, the bank came in and sold off what they could of whatever equipment that was still halfway decent. Much of it had been leftover from the boom of the school, so by the time that I got there much of it was held together by duct tape and hopes. The Old Man wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, and neither would I. It has a rough feel to it, but at its core was the important part. The core is what made me learn to think about others and to learn respect. It is that same respect that I hold today for whatever opponent I face inside of the ring. I owe much of my own career to The Old Man.
*Avery closes his eyes and raises his head up*
The Old Man was like an extra father for me; in a world where some boys do not get one father, I was blessed and I learned to not take that for granted.
*A professional looking man enters the building with a clipboard and documents in hand. He is wearing an off-the-rack suit but has tried to remain fashionable on a budget. The man heads over towards Avery and watches his step carefully to zig and zag through the piles of glass, plastic, metal, and whatever else broken scraps are left lying on the cement floor*
Man: Mr. Miles, I have all of the paperwork. You were approved. I just need a couple of signatures here… and here.
*Avery takes the clipboard, documents, and the pen. He signs his name by each of the marks*
Man: And one final thing, we need your wife’s signature as well. Is she with you?
Avery: Alycia?
*The man looks at the paperwork*
Man: No, I am sorry. It looks like Zoe? Did we have a name mixup.
*In that moment, Avery’s heart drops. Just hearing her name brings up so many emotions. It takes everything to not dwell off into dark thoughts. WIth his pending marriage to Alycia coming up in June, he had thought that he had dealt with all of the death certificates and insurance papers that he could deal with. Apparently not. Avery was taking it upon himself to purchase and bring the school back. It was the place that not only trained him, but it was the scene of many “dates” between Zoe and Avery. She had not understood or liked him wrestling, but she offered up her support nonetheless. She would be there to cheer him on, and offer affection when things were hard and getting him down. Part of the reason to reopen the school was to do something to honor her, and what they had.*
Avery: Zoe passed away, before the holidays.
Man: Oh my, I am… I am so sorry. No need. I can handle that. I am so sorry for your loss.
Avery: It’s okay. This place is going to be dedicated to her memory. Is there anything else that I need to sign? Or are we all finished up here?
Man: Nope, all set. Just pending final approval but everything looks good here. I will get the final papers filed and I will be in touch. Mr. Miles… this all will soon be yours.
*With that, the man exits the building and heads out to his car. Avery walks around the ring just taking it all in. He heads into what was the locker room which has been gutted to the barebones with piping showing. Avery walks around just taking all of it in. He heads over to where his locker would have been and the metal bench still exists there. He has a seat and just imagines. Avery reaches his hands out to rub over the metal, and remembering something he looks down and remembers etching something into the metal bench with a cary key. It reads ‘AM3’*
Scene 002 - SoCal Grappling Arts Center - San Diego, CA - Summer 2011 - FLASHBACK
*A young Avery Miles III is entering his first day of training. He has no clue what to expect and has arrived in sneakers, a plain t-shirt, and a pair of jogging pants. He did not bring a bag or anything at all. He enters the gym as it looks somewhat rundown but is manageable. Immediately, the lack of people scare him off except for a couple of younger looking guys working on punching bags, an older man and a younger man inside of the ring, and what appeared to be an elderly man sitting in a lawn chair. Avery allows the door to close behind him with a loud ‘Bang!’*
Old Man: What in the…
Avery: Sorry.
Old Man: Who are you, Sally?
*Avery scratches his head*
Avery: Me? Well, umm…
Old Man: Spit it out, Sally!
Avery: I am Avery.
Old Man: Oh… the Miles boy. I knew your dad and pappi.
Avery: Uh huh.
Old Man: So you are here to train?
Avery: Yup!
Old Man: Grab a broom. Sweep the floor. Mop the showers. That is your start.
Avery: Excuse me?
Old Man: You heard me!
Avery: I am not a damn janitor!
Old Man: You here to train, right?
Avery: Yes!
Old Man: My gym. My rules.
Avery: Screw this, I am out!
*With that Avery storms out of the gym slamming the door behind him. The guys inside of the gym carry on with business as usual*
Scene 003 - The Miles Family Home - Indio, CA - April 27th, 2016
*Avery Miles III is sitting on the porch of his parents home, the same place he grew up. He is joined by his soon to be wife, Alycia Morgan. The two of them recently discovered that they are actually having twins, a boy and a girl. Quite excited, Alycia is spending some time in his hometown and getting to know his parents. Being just days away from another title match in his career, Avery tries to relax and enjoy the down time for a brief moment until he flies out to New York and pumps himself up. Coming off of a win where he became one-half of the NGW Tag Team Champions and the news of having twins, he is looking to continue his roll into VWS. Alycia sits next to him on the top stair as she leans her head on his shoulder. He pulls out his phone*
Now is a better time than ever to saw a few words. After today, we begin a full week long rollercoaster of dates, matches, and events. I have a few minutes so let’s go ahead and hit up my opponent at “Uprising” -
It looks like I am facing The B.R.A.T. Landon Dalmon. Let’s double check this again… beautiful? Sure. Rich? Okay. Athletic? Eh, golfers are “athletes” right? Talented? Everyone in America things that they have talent. So far here in VWS you have a loss, a tag team win, and a cheating win. And you earned yourself a title shot. Interesting.
I mean I have been there. I was spoiled. I felt entitled. I was trying to use my family's name in the area to skate by. But I learned very quickly about hard work. About putting time in. About respect. I owe much of that to one man. Maybe you did not have that hard training. Maybe you did not have that tough love. That doesn’t mean that you still don’t have a chance, Landon. I am sure that with some time, hard work, and some respect you could become a big player here in VWS… or anywhere honestly. I have hopes for you, no matter what you have done. A person can always change. I changed.
*Avery wraps his arm around Alycia as he rubs her shoulder and arm. She smiles and snuggles closer into him*
It looks like I am getting a big shot here in Valentine Wrestling Syndicate; a shot that I felt like I have earned. But can Landon Dalmon say the same? I mean, he did “win” the chance to fight me for the Velocity Championship… but is cheating really the way anyone wants to go about it? I mean, I like to earn things not steal them. But I guess we all don’t have the same sort of respect and drive to achieve greatness. Success is not something that one can steal, it has to be earned. Winning your match is a false sense of any success, and anyone can see that. What real glory comes of a cheap win like that? We both were part of “March Madness” not too long ago and we know how that turned out… I might have not walked away the winner but I was part of the final two. If I can remember correctly, you were the first to attack me trying to get a leg up and instead of you not even in the final three. Seems like your underhanded tactics did not work, but here we are.
Glory is defined as “high renown or honor won by notable achievements”. Renown or honor. What honor is there in cheating to earn a spot in a match? To cheat your way to an achievement? Can you even call using those sort of tactics part of the achievement process? Win or loss, I go out there and give it my all. Look at last week… I fought Alex Jones and when I thought that he went down with an injury I wanted to make sure that he was okay. I guess fool me once, right? But that is because so many people in this sport don’t have the respect. They don’t have the respect for their opponent, for the sport, or for themselves. I might have losses on my record, but I don’t have the weight on my shoulders of not giving it my all or resorting to cheating to win. We all saw that your legs were on the ropes, Landon. If you want to try and win that way, I am going to be aware of it. I will watch my back, and I will make sure that you do not do the same thing to me. Nor will I let my guard down and allow to be taken advantage of. This is my career because it is something that I love… something that I enjoy… and something that I truly respect. At its purest form, wrestling is an artform. For someone to use a shortcut to try and achieve glory, are they really achieving that glory? Or a false sense of empowerment that everyone can see through? Win or loss, Landon; I will come out of this match knowing that I gave it everything I had and I did my very best. But you? You have the decision to make. Do you just let your talent speak for itself? Or do you use your own methods to pull off a cheap win, steal the title, and become a forgettable champion that no one respects? It is up to you to decide what sort of glory you want to lend to the Velocity Championship.
Avery Miles III
Scene 001 - Former Location of SoCal Grappling Arts Center - San Diego, CA - April 27th, 2016
*We open as Avery Miles III is standing inside of a half-empty, rundown building. It is eerily reminiscent of the location where Miles was trained early on in his career. As the camera pans the dimly lit area we see a half-broken wrestling ring and a single lawn chair sitting just outside of it. Impressions on the floor and wall of where equipment once was and broken pieces of glass and plastic are strewn along the floor in various places. Avery heads over towards the ring and rubs his hand along the edge of the mat. Only one ring rope is still hung, and the other two are not connected at the corners. Avery lowers his head as the place that he once trained at and matured in is but a shell of its former self. During the early days of Avery's training, the location was already deteriorating but nothing like this.*
Sometimes in memories, things are greater than they really are. Growing up in this gym, I felt like while it wasn't the most lavish or elaborate setup, it allowed me to mature, grow, and spread my wings as a talent. I took hard bumps and had plenty of bruises; each and every one helped to mold me into the athlete that I am. I started off as being a bit of an ass as my father and grandfather both had spent time in this gym training. My grandfather saw the opening, and my father trained here. I thought they would cater towards me and boy was I wrong. The Old Man wouldn't let me skate by on my name, and I am sure that my dad would've kicked my ass if I was allowed to just get by.
Fletcher Franklin George, but everyone called him The Old Man. He opened the wrestling school decades ago and my grandfather helped to train some of the first students through the doors. As The Old Man grew older, so did the gym; eventually giving way to additional teachers and even more students. In the 80's and 90's saw a boom of students waiting to get on the waiting list to get trained. Eventually Fletch's Wrestling School was renamed to the SoCal Grappling Arts Center to offer more legitimacy and better marketing. After a couple of those teachers decided to cut a bit more off of the top, it left The Old Man in a penny pinch and students going elsewhere. It was unfortunate. The Old Man was left giving free lessons and working his own body inside of the ring at an age that most people would have easily retired or been relaxing at home in a rocking chair. Not old Fletch. This was his life. He never had that one student that broke out. That student that have him the acclaim he so wanted. I was lucky enough to be his last student, and he saw something in me that I did not.
The Old Man passed away a couple of years after I moved onto touring Northern Mexico. We lost touch, but we reconnected just before his death. I told him how grateful I was for all of his training, and how we made me become a better athlete and a better man. After he died, the bank came in and sold off what they could of whatever equipment that was still halfway decent. Much of it had been leftover from the boom of the school, so by the time that I got there much of it was held together by duct tape and hopes. The Old Man wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, and neither would I. It has a rough feel to it, but at its core was the important part. The core is what made me learn to think about others and to learn respect. It is that same respect that I hold today for whatever opponent I face inside of the ring. I owe much of my own career to The Old Man.
*Avery closes his eyes and raises his head up*
The Old Man was like an extra father for me; in a world where some boys do not get one father, I was blessed and I learned to not take that for granted.
*A professional looking man enters the building with a clipboard and documents in hand. He is wearing an off-the-rack suit but has tried to remain fashionable on a budget. The man heads over towards Avery and watches his step carefully to zig and zag through the piles of glass, plastic, metal, and whatever else broken scraps are left lying on the cement floor*
Man: Mr. Miles, I have all of the paperwork. You were approved. I just need a couple of signatures here… and here.
*Avery takes the clipboard, documents, and the pen. He signs his name by each of the marks*
Man: And one final thing, we need your wife’s signature as well. Is she with you?
Avery: Alycia?
*The man looks at the paperwork*
Man: No, I am sorry. It looks like Zoe? Did we have a name mixup.
*In that moment, Avery’s heart drops. Just hearing her name brings up so many emotions. It takes everything to not dwell off into dark thoughts. WIth his pending marriage to Alycia coming up in June, he had thought that he had dealt with all of the death certificates and insurance papers that he could deal with. Apparently not. Avery was taking it upon himself to purchase and bring the school back. It was the place that not only trained him, but it was the scene of many “dates” between Zoe and Avery. She had not understood or liked him wrestling, but she offered up her support nonetheless. She would be there to cheer him on, and offer affection when things were hard and getting him down. Part of the reason to reopen the school was to do something to honor her, and what they had.*
Avery: Zoe passed away, before the holidays.
Man: Oh my, I am… I am so sorry. No need. I can handle that. I am so sorry for your loss.
Avery: It’s okay. This place is going to be dedicated to her memory. Is there anything else that I need to sign? Or are we all finished up here?
Man: Nope, all set. Just pending final approval but everything looks good here. I will get the final papers filed and I will be in touch. Mr. Miles… this all will soon be yours.
*With that, the man exits the building and heads out to his car. Avery walks around the ring just taking it all in. He heads into what was the locker room which has been gutted to the barebones with piping showing. Avery walks around just taking all of it in. He heads over to where his locker would have been and the metal bench still exists there. He has a seat and just imagines. Avery reaches his hands out to rub over the metal, and remembering something he looks down and remembers etching something into the metal bench with a cary key. It reads ‘AM3’*
Scene 002 - SoCal Grappling Arts Center - San Diego, CA - Summer 2011 - FLASHBACK
*A young Avery Miles III is entering his first day of training. He has no clue what to expect and has arrived in sneakers, a plain t-shirt, and a pair of jogging pants. He did not bring a bag or anything at all. He enters the gym as it looks somewhat rundown but is manageable. Immediately, the lack of people scare him off except for a couple of younger looking guys working on punching bags, an older man and a younger man inside of the ring, and what appeared to be an elderly man sitting in a lawn chair. Avery allows the door to close behind him with a loud ‘Bang!’*
Old Man: What in the…
Avery: Sorry.
Old Man: Who are you, Sally?
*Avery scratches his head*
Avery: Me? Well, umm…
Old Man: Spit it out, Sally!
Avery: I am Avery.
Old Man: Oh… the Miles boy. I knew your dad and pappi.
Avery: Uh huh.
Old Man: So you are here to train?
Avery: Yup!
Old Man: Grab a broom. Sweep the floor. Mop the showers. That is your start.
Avery: Excuse me?
Old Man: You heard me!
Avery: I am not a damn janitor!
Old Man: You here to train, right?
Avery: Yes!
Old Man: My gym. My rules.
Avery: Screw this, I am out!
*With that Avery storms out of the gym slamming the door behind him. The guys inside of the gym carry on with business as usual*
Scene 003 - The Miles Family Home - Indio, CA - April 27th, 2016
*Avery Miles III is sitting on the porch of his parents home, the same place he grew up. He is joined by his soon to be wife, Alycia Morgan. The two of them recently discovered that they are actually having twins, a boy and a girl. Quite excited, Alycia is spending some time in his hometown and getting to know his parents. Being just days away from another title match in his career, Avery tries to relax and enjoy the down time for a brief moment until he flies out to New York and pumps himself up. Coming off of a win where he became one-half of the NGW Tag Team Champions and the news of having twins, he is looking to continue his roll into VWS. Alycia sits next to him on the top stair as she leans her head on his shoulder. He pulls out his phone*
Now is a better time than ever to saw a few words. After today, we begin a full week long rollercoaster of dates, matches, and events. I have a few minutes so let’s go ahead and hit up my opponent at “Uprising” -
It looks like I am facing The B.R.A.T. Landon Dalmon. Let’s double check this again… beautiful? Sure. Rich? Okay. Athletic? Eh, golfers are “athletes” right? Talented? Everyone in America things that they have talent. So far here in VWS you have a loss, a tag team win, and a cheating win. And you earned yourself a title shot. Interesting.
I mean I have been there. I was spoiled. I felt entitled. I was trying to use my family's name in the area to skate by. But I learned very quickly about hard work. About putting time in. About respect. I owe much of that to one man. Maybe you did not have that hard training. Maybe you did not have that tough love. That doesn’t mean that you still don’t have a chance, Landon. I am sure that with some time, hard work, and some respect you could become a big player here in VWS… or anywhere honestly. I have hopes for you, no matter what you have done. A person can always change. I changed.
*Avery wraps his arm around Alycia as he rubs her shoulder and arm. She smiles and snuggles closer into him*
It looks like I am getting a big shot here in Valentine Wrestling Syndicate; a shot that I felt like I have earned. But can Landon Dalmon say the same? I mean, he did “win” the chance to fight me for the Velocity Championship… but is cheating really the way anyone wants to go about it? I mean, I like to earn things not steal them. But I guess we all don’t have the same sort of respect and drive to achieve greatness. Success is not something that one can steal, it has to be earned. Winning your match is a false sense of any success, and anyone can see that. What real glory comes of a cheap win like that? We both were part of “March Madness” not too long ago and we know how that turned out… I might have not walked away the winner but I was part of the final two. If I can remember correctly, you were the first to attack me trying to get a leg up and instead of you not even in the final three. Seems like your underhanded tactics did not work, but here we are.
Glory is defined as “high renown or honor won by notable achievements”. Renown or honor. What honor is there in cheating to earn a spot in a match? To cheat your way to an achievement? Can you even call using those sort of tactics part of the achievement process? Win or loss, I go out there and give it my all. Look at last week… I fought Alex Jones and when I thought that he went down with an injury I wanted to make sure that he was okay. I guess fool me once, right? But that is because so many people in this sport don’t have the respect. They don’t have the respect for their opponent, for the sport, or for themselves. I might have losses on my record, but I don’t have the weight on my shoulders of not giving it my all or resorting to cheating to win. We all saw that your legs were on the ropes, Landon. If you want to try and win that way, I am going to be aware of it. I will watch my back, and I will make sure that you do not do the same thing to me. Nor will I let my guard down and allow to be taken advantage of. This is my career because it is something that I love… something that I enjoy… and something that I truly respect. At its purest form, wrestling is an artform. For someone to use a shortcut to try and achieve glory, are they really achieving that glory? Or a false sense of empowerment that everyone can see through? Win or loss, Landon; I will come out of this match knowing that I gave it everything I had and I did my very best. But you? You have the decision to make. Do you just let your talent speak for itself? Or do you use your own methods to pull off a cheap win, steal the title, and become a forgettable champion that no one respects? It is up to you to decide what sort of glory you want to lend to the Velocity Championship.
Avery Miles III
