Post by The Bradley Clan on Mar 27, 2016 9:24:33 GMT -5
Mike Bradley is out on the town with his wife Jessica and his son Andrew, playing at a local playground. He gives his son a few pushes on the swing, and it looks like he's having the time of his life.
"Whee!"
Mike can't help but smile from ear to ear. Jessica embraces him.
"It's so good for things to be normal for the first time in a long time, honey. You're healthy, I'm healthy, Andrew just celebrated his fourth birthday, you're back in the ring... it feels good. It feels like a huge weight has been taken off our shoulders."
"Tell me about it. I know that means I'm going to be traveling again but whenever you guys want, I'll bring you to a show. I love performing for my fans, but especially for my two biggest ones."
"Aww, honey! I love you."
"I love you too, dear."
They share a kiss, but at that moment Mike gets a text message. It's from GZWA.
Mike clicks on the link and scans over the match card. To his chagrin, he sees that he's in a tag team match, paired with the man who tried to derail his comeback back in December, Tyler Breeze. Jessica has a glance at the card as well, and both their hearts sink. Mike lets out a sigh and Jessica scoffs.
"Who do they think they are, pairing you with a guy who nearly took your head off? Is this some sort of sick joke by The Machine to keep you out of the World Title hunt? Or to punish you for seeking additional opportunities?"
"Whatever it is, honey, I'm not happy about it. I would rather fight this match single-handed than have to deal with that punk breathing down my neck."
Mike has to show restraint from breaking out into an expletive-laden tirade with children - including his own four-year-old son - present. Andrew hops off the swing and looks at his father's phone.
"Daddy, who's Tyler Breeze?"
Mike lets out a brief chuckle and pats Andrew on the shoulder.
"Andrew, Tyler Breeze is a bad, bad man who tried to hurt Daddy while he was recovering from his heart transplant. And now GZWA wants us to work together in a match."
"That's stupid!"
Mike and Jessica laugh a little bit.
"Man, it really does say something when my four-year-old son can see a bad booking decision and my employer can't! Wow... maybe they should hire you, Andrew."
"Maybe."
Mike's mind races for a little bit, then he gets an idea. An awful idea. A wonderful, awful idea.
"Jess, would you and Andrew go play on the see-saw for a bit? I gotta make a phone call."
"Sure, come on, Andrew!"
"Yay!"
Mike smiles as his wife and son go over to the see-saw. Then he makes his call.
"Hey!... Not too bad, how's it going with you?... Good to hear. Listen, I know what you've said about wrestling again, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor. Kind of a two-fold favor, actually... Yeah, you guessed it, Nikki and Tyler. Gotta deal with them somehow. I don't know if you've heard the news, but I've actually been paired up with Tyler in a tag team match on Primetime on April 4th. So I was wondering if maybe you'd like to help me throw a wrench in that... Philadelphia... Oh, come on, I know you're in fighting shape... Would it make you feel better if I bought your ticket?... Awesome... What's that? Oh, remember Rocky Romero and Mei Long? Yeah, I'm surprised they're still together as well. They're in one corner, and then there's SM Raye, that punkass who eliminated me in the Riot Match, he's paired with Ry Drake... couple of rookies, yeah, I know. And then there's Sting. Fucking fossil. He's worn out his welcome. He's hanging on for way too long. I thought he was done with that neck injury but I guess not. And he's paired with Ryan Kendrick... Yes, that Ryan Kendrick, the Straight-Edge Juggalo. I don't know what that is, really, it sounds kind of like a Prius with a gun rack. All I know is, there's a lot of turnover in this company, but even when I'm sidelined with a condition that nearly killed me, they still can't get rid of me, and if I can convince you to stick around, they won't be able to get rid of us either. So you down?... Great. I'll see you there. When you arrive, I'll tell you how we're going to deal with Tyler and Nikki, and then we're gonna take this match and send The Machine a message that we are not to be... er, sorry, there's a bunch of parents and kids here, I can't say it. But you know the drill. We're back in business, and we're gonna rage against The Machine harder than the band!... See you there."
He hangs up the phone and looks at the camera.
And if you don't know... now you know.
He winks and goes back to play with Jessica and Andrew.
