The Fillers

[chrismadison]

June 20th, 2017
Pride of Puroresu Crown: Night Ten
Backstage locker room

Chris Madison sat on a steel folding chair, hunched over, with a team of NJFC's medical personnel huddled around him. He and Jason Cashe just fought in an all out war that was spoiled when the Dogs of War interfered, attacking both competitors. Mitsuo Shimada, Devin Hearst, and Jack Tillman ambushed Mitsuo's biggest threats in pool B, giving him a leg up on the competition. The medical team ran Chris through a series of tests, making sure he hadn't suffered any significant injuries. Chris waved them off, aggravated by their presence alone.

"I'm fine. Just leave me be", Chris growled as rose to his feet.

NJFC's medical team huffed as they began to file out of the locker room one by one. Madison reached across his abdomen and clutched his ribs as the last person walked out through the doorway. Chris gingerly tiptoed back to the steel chair and dropped down, grimacing as he made impact with the cold, hard, steel.

"Shimada... That's two that I owe you now. You couldn't help yourself could you? Jason Cashe and I were tearing it up out there, putting on a match that was worth way more than the price of admission and you just had to ruin it. You and your little lap dogs are really startin' to show just how sad and pathetic you are. Fear has taken over. Even though you'll never admit it, deep down, you know you could never compare to guys like myself or Jason Cashe. You've become desperate. So desperate for the GPC World Heavyweight Championship that you'd disgrace the sanctity of this tournament just to push your ongoin' agenda. Well guess what Shimada, I'm not goin' anywhere. If you think that you're just goin' to run the table and make it to the finals of this tournament without havin' to pay a price for what you've done, you're sadly mistaken."

"At the end of this thing, on the final night of the round robin portion of this tournament, you and I are goin' to stand toe to toe. We're goin' to finish what was started the second you jumped me from behind after my match with Owen Gonsalves. All those inadequacies that you feel when you see me standin' in the spotlight and gettin' recognition on your home turf are goin' to sting so much more after I destroy you and punch my ticket to a GPC World Heavyweight Championship match against whomever fights their way out of pool A. You're goin' to have to sit on the sidelines and watch your worst nightmare come to fruition; Chris Madison, the NEXT GPC World Heavyweight CHAMPION!"

Chris exhaled through his nose and pierced the camera lens with an intense stare. His eyes broke off to the side and he chuckled before collecting himself.

"But before we dance Shimada, before I end the hypocrisy that is your NJFC career, I have a few more bodies to lay waste to: Kyo Natsumi, Shiro Ibushi, and Hiroyoshi Suzuki. You guys are the crop of talent that the Global Puroresu Crown Committee is hopin' succeeds. Their stance on the 'gaijin' this company employs isn't a secret. They despise us. They hate that we're here, dismantling the 'homegrown' talent with ease. Up to this point, amongst the three of you, you've mustered a whopping two victories. TWO... And there lays the problem with the recent actions of the GPC Committee. You three, along with Akio Tanaka, Asuka Yoshiro, and Ken Hideyoshi, epitomize what's wrong with capping this roster. I'm sure if given the freedom to do it, James Peterson could have dug up six wrestlers from across the entire globe that would have put up better fights than these sons of Japan."

"The GPC Committee wants the wrestling industry to take their World Heavyweight Championship seriously. They want it to be held in high regard. But by capping the roster, sacrificing talent for homegrown athletes, you're handicapping yourself. You're putting out a watered down product that'll never stand on even footing as the elite wrestling promotions out there today. I get wanting' to appeal to the fanbase, but at the end of the day, they're wrestlin' fans and their passion for this sport outweighs the desire to watch someone solely based on where their from."

"By the time this tournament is through, Natsumi, Ibushi, and Suzuki will be nothing more than footnotes. They'll be forgotten and NJFC will move forward without them. They're not essential to the success of this company; they're not cogs in the machine. They're fillers, and they've served their purpose. Even your savior, as vocal as he's been, chose a pair of 'gaijin' to help him fight his battles instead of looking to his own kind. He could have surrounded himself with the best this country has to offer, instead he chose talent over nationalism."

"My only wish is that the GPC Committee watches as I make it my personal mission to brutalize the three of you. I'm not simply looking to pick up wins to add points to the standings. I'm going to physically break you down, rip you apart, and ship you off to obscurity where you belong! They're the ones to blame for the anguish that you're about to endure. They're responsible for the abrupt endings of your pathetic careers. They foolishly whispered in your ears, convincin' you that you guys could make a run in the Pride of Puroresu Crown tournament, convincing you that it's your cross to bear. The false hope that was installed in you three was irresponsible and reckless."

"It's my time now. The era of mayhem is going to take control and steer NJFC into the forefront of the wrestlin' world. Don't be a fool and stand in my way. Heed my warnings or it may cost you your careers!"

Chris turns his head away from the camera, looking down at the puddle of sweat that has accumulated between his feet as the feed fades to black.