Smitty vs La Hormiga Verde

[Alex Smiley]

Reminder:

- Word limit for Group Stage matches is 1500.
- 1 RP per wrestler per match.
- Deadline: December 30, 2018, at 11:59PM Pacific.

[LHV]

"Wow, that hurt." LHV mentions to himself in a fashion that did not feature any colour in the text whatsoever, clutching the back of his neck as he approaches the backstage area. How he got to Japan in one piece, perhaps the world will never know. If he's going to leave Japan in one piece, that's something that's to be determined but as of right this second it isn't looking likely. He just got the ever loving piss beat out of him by an enraged and on his game MDK. At least now he's in the nice, quiet, secluded backstage area-

There are a lot of reporters and cameramen here. LHV takes a quick look around to try and figure out why they're here, before managing to put two and two together. This must be a post-match press conference. He's never done one of those before, but he read about them online. They're pretty big in Japan. It's where people go to talk about their matches directly after their matches. Seemed pretty pointless, considering they would be wasting much of the material that could have filled up many of the words they could use to write for their next match, but it was a concept he was always interested in learning more about. You see, as an ant that is on his pilgrimage away from the colony, he is always collecting information to-

"<Do you have time for a few questions?>" asks one of the reporters, in fluent Japanese due to the reporter being, unsurprisingly, Japanese. "Could you answer some questions for us please?" they also reiterated in slightly less good but still beyond passable English.

"<Absolutely.>" Verde replies in perfect Japanese. Albeit, it was one word, so maybe he- "<Japanese will be fine. Neck is kind of hurting right about now, but no need to rush myself to a doctor or anything. Will need to lay down later, however I always have time to answer questions. It is like a test on my knowledge, which is always welcome.>"

The reporter and most of the room are clearly taken aback. "<Sir, your Japanese is immaculate. Where did you learn it?>" he finally manages to ask.

"<Japan.>" replies Verde.

The room goes silent. Just for a bit. Not a very long time. But long enough for it to be slightly awkward.

"<Right.>" the reporter finally breaks it. "<So you just wrestled your first match since the closure of TFWF in a losing effort against MDK, how are you feeling right now?>"

"<Relived. And beaten up.>" he replied. This was completely true. MDK had beat him up. "<Knew that MDK wasn't going to be an easy fight, obviously knew MDK from back in TFWF. Not personally, but knew of him. Tried my best anyway. No excuses. He was the better man. Wish him well for the rest of the tournament. Hoping that I didn't do anything to upset him, because he seemed to snap on me towards the end. But I am fine. Still hold lot of respect for him. Those elbows implied that there may be some differences that may need to be ironed out, so maybe we can have a rematch in the future. But for now, just relieved it wasn't anything more than what it was. Wish him well.>"

A lovely trainee who was there the entire time has ran over to give LHV an ice pack, which the ant immediately places onto his neck. "<Thanks.>" he is sure to add on as he awaits the next question, but not before adding on "<Oh, please make sure that none of that gets mistranslated to him. Don't want to cause more trouble and not sure if he speaks Japanese.>"

"<So with a zero-one start, the pressure is already on. How will this affect you for the rest of the competition?>" asks another reporter.

"<Poorly.>" Verde answers, very truthfully and absolutely not understanding the question.

The reporter doesn't have much to go on, so he tries to push for more answers. "<Well, yes... but you aren't eliminated yet, so what will you be doing in your remaining performances against Smitty and Michael Thunder?>"

Verde scratches his head in confusion with his free non-icepack holding hand. He hadn't put that much thought into it. "<Hadn't put that much thought into it yet. Big thing was getting here. Didn't have lot of time to get ready, just wanted to get here and wrestle MDK. And rather that formulate a plan, spent time so far hoping that I didn't let down my fans around the world with my performance. Didn't give them a lot to go on so far. Big plan right now is bounce back.>"

Verde then cuts himself off there. "<Realising now that big plan of bouncing back is against Smitty. First ever True Expert Champion Smitty. Probably gonna have to come up with more of a plan to deal with him than that. Will think on it. Ask me again later. Next question for now please.>"

"<Whatever happened to your former tag team partner in TFWF, Johnny Ratson?>" asks a reporter from the back. The whole room goes silent and turns to face him. Security rush in and quickly and quietly escorts him from the building. The whole crowd erupts into cheers.

"<You're wrestling in Japan, wearing gear representing the United States of America and still carry around the long defunct TFWF European Championship. Do you actually have any idea what you're doing?>" asks a reporter with just an ounce of snark from somewhere near the front, getting things back on track.

"<Not really.>" Verde replies almost immediately, meaning everyone in the room didn't have to wait as long for an answer as they figured they would there. "<Wanted to represent as much of the world as possible after winning European championship. Already know that I'm far from the best. But wanted to prove to anyone that even the littlest ant can be a true expert. Wherever they may be from, be it Europe, Asia, America or an ant hill like me. Truly love this sport and this planet, and it is an honour to once again be doing this for the people who came out here tonight. And once again, I hope that I didn't disappoint them.>"

The reporter doesn't necessarily feel told, but he does feel slightly bad for questioning the integrity of this pure boy, so he slinks back down into his seat as he writes down the answer he was just given.

"<Any words for Smitty?>" one reporter asks him. This has just about cracked 1000 words now so I should probably start taking this one home, so that feels like a good question to do it with.

"<Yes, but I'm going to do them in English if that's alright, so that perhaps he can hear them whenever he can. I apologise if some of it gets lost in translation to you all.>" Verde begins, before looking down the lens of the nearest camera. It's almost unsettling, seeing him look dead on with his mask.

"Smitty, we're in similar boats. Which is something that is weird to say, considering how different we are as individuals and species, and how much more you've done than I have in your career compared to mine. But we've both not done this for a very long time, and we're both starting our tournaments off with a loss because of it. And the key thing is, while that is rough, that is okay. We can both turn things around with a win here. It is not over until it is over."

He holds up a single finger. "But only one of us is going to, because we can't both win. And while I hold a huge amount of respect for everything you have done for this industry, I want you to know that I will do everything that I can to ensure that it will be my hand raised by the end of the contest. Don't want to let my fans down. Don't want to let the people of the world down. Not formulated plan on how to do that just yet, but will go back to the drawing board until I figured out one."

"And at the end of the day, plans won't matter when only takes one good punch anyway." He alludes to his finishing manoeuvre, the United States of Smash. A very powerful punch that can knock out even the hardest of opponents. It's named after the hit series My Hero Academia! Verde's never heard of it.

"Let the best man win. If that man is you, no regrets. Lots of respect to you.  Will fight my final match against Michael Thunder just as hard to try earn a victory. But I do not want to get eliminated early. So I will not stop until my body does. Good luck!"

"<Thank you.>" Verde takes a quick bow to the reporters, and leaves. Wow, these post-match conferences are fun!

[Smitty]

[Fade in. A Mania Enterprises logo on top of a black backdrop sits behind a stool in an empty room. Not for long as the man we all came to see walks up parks himself on the stool. Smitty is wearing a Patriots jersey and hair back in a pony tail. He looks directly into the camera enthusiastically.]

Ladies and gentlemen it is a privilege and an honor to get to sit here today and say thank you to every single one of my competitors in the Extreme Tournament that has helped shaped The Experts into what is today. For me to have the chance to step back into the ring and have even just a shot to win back the True Expert championship is a feat I couldn't dream of. There are legends of this game sacrificing their bodies and pouring out their blood out all over the world and I can't help but smile because something I helped start almost two decades ago has flourished into the global leader of wrestling. Thank you for giving me this chance to go toe to toe against all of you that have kept this alive. Because this moment right here, this is my moment that you all have given me. THANK YOU!!!

Here we are now so many great names in one tournament. Where do I begin there is so many of you. You have guys like "Level  One" Lester Only, Sewaside, and  Doug E. Fresh that came along and wrote their own chapters in the evolution of the True Expert Championship. Georgie Nickels put her mark in the belt. And I hate to say it but I've got to give the devil its due. Jack Benevolence. It's no secret lengths you are willing to go in order to remain True Expert champion and keep your paws on the gold. You spent longer time as champion than anyone else ever has.

Michael Thunder you can mark that one down in your accolades. If I didn't tap out when I did I might have been hurt to the point where my arm would have put me at a serious disadvantage going forward. Cherish the moment, I give you the credit you deserve for it because I am man enough to say you beat me and you had my number on that night. But I can do better. I will do better. The odds are heavily stacked against me in making it out of the group stage now so if I have any hope of being called the True Expert again I will have to be at my very best from here on out. I've been wounded before Thunder.

Let me just take a minute here to address my cousin, Mark Mania. Mark... I owe you a big apology. If I had known you were gonna show up in Japan I would have answered. I just wanted to surprise you by showing up in the tournament and winning my opening match. That plan failed miserably. Anyways once you're done being pissed at me let's talk. It's still the Mania brand over everything. I know you have your hands full in your group and worrying about me probably doesn't help you, but what the hell have you got worry about me for anyways? We are a long ways away from the idea of you and me meeting face to face in the Super Six. Are you in cahoots with anyone I don't know about? Planning something big you don't want me to mess up? I know you want more than anything to be True Expert Mark. You are without a doubt one of the names that helped turn The Experts into what it is today. Between the other stars in this tournament, the current champ Benevolence's secure hold on the gold, whatever Eternal Circle's got planned and the emergence of the One Ring Circus anyone's going to need a fucking army to stand up to these guys. Our Mania army may not be what it once was but if you need me I'll be there to crack some fucking sculls near or far.

There are many greats but to be the greatest of all time you have to win big and you to keep winning on the biggest stages. I am grateful that I still get talked about or even mentioned for my contributions to this game. Part of the reason I'm here is that this was a tournament to crown the greatest there is today. There are too many great names in it for me to mention all of you without just reading off a list of all of its participants. For those I had not come across before, I did a little research and came to grasp the fact that there is a lot of talent out there that I don't even know about. There are some tough sons of bitches. Some of these guys' lives have taken them enormously different paths to gather here and that is the category I believe my opponent for this week falls under. La Hormiga Verde. Ant-Man himself. You really think you're a part of an ant community, what the fuck?  To think if it wasn't for our match coming up at the Tokyo Dome I would have never heard of you. That is a sad thought being you are a highly entertaining individual and one thing that I could tell about you is that you can definitely fight. Regardless of how you got to where you are today you definitely not someone to take lightly. Just because you took the loss from MDK I'm not sleeping on you Verde. I saw the match, you had your chances.

To bring the True Expert Championship back home where it belongs would be everything to me. Nothing would make me happier. While this is true for everyone else in this war I'm actually good enough to make it happen. La Hormiga Verde you're standing between me and my ultimate goal. Things didn't go my way for my first match and I am going to have to be a lot better against you if I want to take two points from you. I'm not making excuses for what happened last week, I give nothing but respect to Thunder, but I am saying I can perform at a much higher level than you saw out of me in that match. I am putting that in my rear view and against you Verde one of us is walking out of the Tokyo Dome with two losses, and it ain't gonna be me!

Verde you're carrying around some jewelry I see from an old defunct promotion you were in. Seems to me more than a few people are doing similar things carrying their gold they currently defend in their respective companies. Verde hold that old belt tight because as long as you have to go through me to get the only belt that matters your old piece of tin is all you're ever going to have. I know you're willing to do everything in your power to bring the True Expert Championship to the hive, or whatever the fuck you are trying to accomplish, but you are going to find out what happens when you go up against the very best. There's some knowledge you can bring back to the fuckin' hive. As a matter of fact don't stop there. Tell everyone you see after you lost this week to me that Smitty is back and he won't stop until he has what it his. Put the fucking word out.

Here is the thing Ant-Man. Anything I have done before doesn't matter. Being True Expert champion almost twenty years ago doesn't mean a damn thing here in the present. Twenty nineteen is fast approaching and it's time for me to put a new chapter in my legacy.  I am ecstatic just to have the shot. Verde my match with you is all about me showing not just to you but to everyone watching that I am every bit the threat I say I am to win the whole thing. Did you hear how loud the Tokyo Dome got for me? I'll never forget the feeling of those people cheering me on that night. It reminded me of how good it feels to have your arm raised in the air over your opponent. To have two guys go into the ring and give everything they have in their bodies but only one can triumph. The old me went down in history for doing it. Verde you get to meet the newest edition of me and the hunger to be called the True Expert again has never been stronger for me. You are going to learn the lesson there is just nothing you can do to save yourself when you go up against a superior opponent. Verde you can try your best to honor your hive but there is nothing you can do stop your shoulders from getting pinned to the mat. YOU LIVE IN MY SHADOW!

[Fade out.]