Blurred Reality

[Petty]

The world needs saviors they say. Saviors are heroes. Sometimes they say saviors are villains. The lines of black and white oftentimes can blur. One mostly overlapping the other and, the person inside has a hard time separating the two. This is the case even now in 2016. Look at what is going on around us. The life you leave behind is only remembered by how you lived it. Some are content living a simplistic life. You know the type. Go to school, finish school. Go to college, get a degree and get a career in your chosen field. Maybe settle down, have some kids and watch the years pass you by as you age. Then, before long you come crashing into a mid-life crisis. Questioning everything about how you lived.


“I wonder what life would have been like if I did this….”

“I wonder what life would be like if I went for this job….”
​

“I wonder what would have happened if I didn’t do this….”


It becomes an endless cycle of torment. So many people have fallen for this trap. I have sat here and watched countless people I know and don’t know arrive at this same conclusion. The big what if. The big only if I did this conversation. This typically those who have hit that glass ceiling and don’t know how to breakthrough. Perhaps it’s motivated by fear. Maybe even driven by the darkness of the unknown. Those people tend to have a weak resolve. Much like you Cyrus Riddle. A man who is EXACTLY like me. The deep voice coming from seemingly nowhere but, everywhere. He comes into view perched into his cherry oak chair, relaxed as he sat at his desk. It’s 9:38 PM in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had flown back home First Class flight from the press conference that Dash had held. The man chuckled as he folded his hands calmly in front of him, his fingers interlocking as his elbows rested on his desk. He was still dressed in his sharp one thousand dollar suit. I mean, he’s the Franchise. He has to roll in style. Behind him, you can see two books that The Franchise had penned himself during his time away from the ring. Up until this year, Edward Beatty had felt he accomplished everything he has set out for. But, those questions begin to linger in his mind.


“I wonder am I really done with this business?”

“I wonder do I really feel satisfied with my achievements in life?”​

“Are there more things to do?”


The Franchise smiled as he allowed the thoughts to bounce around in his head. Then, he realized. He is the last of a dying breed. He has seen many come and many go. Often he has become disenchanted with the business. Feeling as if regardless of what he felt he has accomplished he didn’t have the respect. He felt like people forgot him since he went Hollywood. It’s not that his flame burned out. It just that he thrived for more money. But, that fire. That passion still burned within. Some people go until the fire becomes just embers, the moths flock to the flame no more. And, some people the fire burns into flames that never go out. That is his mid-life crisis. He feels as if this world owes him something. This business owes him.


“People like you Cyrus Riddle need people like me. People like me to show you the way. People like me to keep your pulse pumping. Now, me and you. We know each other. Not as friends. Not as a tag team. Not even have stepped through the same ropes to stare each other in the eyes as we lock up, changing the business forever. That will change on April 5th, 2016. My return to the ring since May of 2014. Your first time stepping into that ring with a god. I mean what you don’t seem to understand or perhaps you may know this. We are exactly alike Riddle. You see we both expect way more from ourselves. You haven’t seen me since the fall of 2012. I wouldn’t expect you to have followed me. And, if you did I’d be shocked. But, I’d be lying to you and the world if when I got the call that you signed that a smile crept across my face. See, in this world, all we have when we die is what people will remember us by. No matter how small or little it may seem to someone else. It could be the world to us. And, excellence is something we both strive to achieve. But, right now. We are each other’s next achievement. The Franchise Vs The Archetype. The Past Vs The Future. The Here Vs The Now. The American Vs The English Bastard. We both been at this a very long time Cyrus.”


“But, the difference is. The thing that separates us far away from each other: Is I refused to just be something people will forget. You see you may be content with how you’re living. But, I’m not. You have something I want. You stand in the way of something I need. It’s empty here Cyrus Riddle.”

The Franchise can be seen unfolding his hands and pointing to where his heart is, he left his hand there as his eyes narrowed, the coldness of his glare oozing from his aura. His voice deep and full of determination. Perhaps a lot of confidence. Not perhaps. No, he has plenty for himself, you’re momma, your cousin and yourself.

“My heart isn’t in Hollywood. Sure, I wanted to go make some money. But, my heart is here in this business. The rush I get from my music hitting and me coming down to that ring. The goosebumps from knowing that I can get any reaction I desire from the mere parting of my lips Riddle fills me with an indescribable sensation. Notice that I said YOU stand in my way. You can give me what I’m missing. This world needs people like me and you. We can decide to rip someone’s world apart if we both choose. But, see Rome wasn’t built in a day. The 1997 Chicago Bulls wasn’t built in a day. Not even the North Carolina Tar Heels wasn’t built in a day. This right here wasn’t built in a day. It’s been brewing now for five years. The Franchise wants to make this perfectly clear. I plan to ruin England’s Greatest Import. Make the value dwindle just a little. I can see them laughing. They are laughing at me. Laughing at me cause I didn’t finish the job back then. But, now it will be finished. I plan to erase your laughter. Why may you ask? Because here Cyrus. Here in my heart, something is missing. And, you awaken it again. How might you ask? I simply would put it like this. I hate everything about you. I hate that buzz cut that looks like a shaved Moose’s ass. I hate attire. I hate your accent. I just flat out don’t like you. Now, despite the fact I hate your English Muffin built ass. I have to give credit where credit is due. You have obtained a lot of accolades in this business that you should be proud of. You see Riddle, we are so much alike that it’s no wonder we are at this blurred line. This will forever change us professionally and personally. Make no mistake that I will do to you the same thing I did to your cousin Chris Michaels. I will without a shadow of a doubt give you the absolute best of me. I will kick your English ass just like I did your cousin. I just hope once that line stops being blurred and you don’t see the confusion and the lights of that arena you stare up at wakes you up, doing the same thing your cousin did: Quit. I am reminding you that your mid-life crisis has just begun. I hope you know that you are stepping into a ring with a man who is not the same man from five years ago. You’re stepping into the ring with a man who has realized his flame burns brighter than anyone he has seen come before him and after him. That you stepped into a ring with a God. That just means one thing for you, Cyrus Riddle:”

It’s Time to Be Franchised. ​