Post by Kelly James on Apr 5, 2024 22:06:42 GMT -5
Hey, Kelly. It’s your intrusive thoughts. You weren’t thinking of actually trying to win that Elimination Chamber thing, were you? C’monnnn, really?! Take a look at some of the folks in there! You know you won’t beat ‘em, right? Probably can’t, if we’re really being honest. You’re used to that, though, right? You’re used to having somebody you’re just not good enough to best… Or have we forgotten about ol’ Johnny Rocket, already? Nah, we know you didn’t. Listen, we don’t have to deal with the disappointment again. Just being in the match is basically like being in second place, right? You can be fine with second place, atleast you finished the race at all! Just give up the delusions of grandeur now, it’ll make it a lot easier. Trust us on this one, Kelly. It’ll be better for everybody.
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”His name was Johnny Rocket.”
Kelly James frowned a bit as she spoke, as if recalling a not quite pleasant memory. On the surface, she appeared calm, even with possibly the biggest match of her career at Damnation and a Day coming up in just a few short days.
”His real name was Johnny Rickette, but he insisted everybody call him ‘Johnny Rocket.’ It was a dumb name, I’ve never wavered on that, but, well… We didn’t really have much choice. The guy could drive, and when you win as much as he did, you kinda earn the right to choose what people call you. He was obnoxious as all hell about it, but otherwise… He was alright, I guess. The problem is, if I’m bein’ completely honest, that the ‘Johnny Rocket’ name bugged the hell out of me, because it was a glowin’ sign that he was better than me. He was the wall I could never break through, before any of this here in CPW was even an inklin’ of a thought in my mind. No matter how fast I drove, I could barely ever catch him. Even when I did catch him, no matter what line I took, I couldn’t ever pass him. It drove me crazy, to the point I got reckless and started failin’ to even finish the race more often than not. I used to lie awake all night, thinkin’ what I could possibly do to beat him. What could I do to finally be better than him? What could I do to finally shut Johnny Rocket up, and bring lil’ Johnny Rickette back to the forefront?
Well, nothin’ I tried ever worked. I never found the answer, and I never will. Johnny died about two years back, now. Didn’t even go out in a blaze of glory or nothin’, like you’d expect from the fabled ‘Johnny Rocket.’ This thing is, though… When I found out, I was sad, but not like I should be. I wasn’t sad to find out that I’d never see him again, when he had been such a drivin’ force in my life for so long. Sure, we weren’t exactly friends, but he was the reason for my obsession with gettin’ better, which is somethin’, I guess. But no, I wasn’t upset about that. My dumb, sociopathic ass was upset because it meant I’d never get to beat him… I’d never get to prove I was better. I’d forever be second place, at best, to fuckin’ Johnny Rocket. That’s what upset me then, and it honestly still does, to this day. Not the most well adjusted of reasons, yeah? Well, I never claimed I was all that well, anyway.”
She paused for a moment, the calm look in her eyes seeming to give away for a moment while she appeared to be looking at something far off, that only she could see. After a few moments, she shook her head.
”Why am I tellin’ you all this? What does some dude from my past have to do with anythin’, today? Well, if I’m bein’ completely honest, it’s because when I look at several faces that will be in that chamber with me on Sunday, all I see is Johnny. Joe Summers, Nightmare, Disturbed… Hell, even Francisco Lopez. They’re all a bunch of fuckin’ Johnny Rockets, to me. I see them as the guy I couldn’t beat, the one I’ll be chasin’ damn near to my own grave. I see them as a wall that I’m not sure how to even begin climbin’, especially in a settin’ like this. They’re guys that, in one way or another, have already proven they can get the best of me, or have the kind of track record that shows they sure as hell can. No offense to Miss Daisy, but I take her about as seriously as she takes herself, and we’ve seen her idea of effort in that ring. Practically trippin’ into a title isn’t gonna change that. Just bein’ honest, you see.
The point is that the lot of you represent to me somethin’ I couldn’t overcome, and somethin’ that still drives me crazy to this day. I don’t want to be second place. If I’m not leadin’ the pack, I’m not happy. That’s the truth of it, and it always has been. Joe Summers can say he respects me, and I actually appreciate that, I really do… But respect isn’t winnin’ me the race, and respect sure isn’t gettin’ my title back. I gotta do that my way, with or without respect. Do I know how, yet? Hell no, I still gotta figure that shit out. You better believe I’m not about to rest until I do, though, so the rest of you better be on top of your game, because it’s gonna take a hell of a lot to stop me, now. I got to feel what it was like to actually be the best somewhere, and now all of you Johnny Rockets think you’re gonna pass me by? I’m not livin’ that anymore, that’s for damn sure. I don’t care what it takes, and I mean that. You’re gonna have to break me to stop me from takin’ that title back, and I damn well dare you to try.
Johnny Rocket may have been gone from this Earth for quite some time, now, but come Damnation and a Day, well… I have the chance to finally bury him for good, in my mind. Rest In Peace, Johnny, because it’s about time everybody, everywhere, finally recognize the name Kelly James.”
The calm look had now completely evaporated, replaced by a fire in her eyes that seemed to burn through the darkness, even as the scene faded out.
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Hey, intrusive thoughts? It’s Kelly. Go fuck yourselves.
————————————————
”His name was Johnny Rocket.”
Kelly James frowned a bit as she spoke, as if recalling a not quite pleasant memory. On the surface, she appeared calm, even with possibly the biggest match of her career at Damnation and a Day coming up in just a few short days.
”His real name was Johnny Rickette, but he insisted everybody call him ‘Johnny Rocket.’ It was a dumb name, I’ve never wavered on that, but, well… We didn’t really have much choice. The guy could drive, and when you win as much as he did, you kinda earn the right to choose what people call you. He was obnoxious as all hell about it, but otherwise… He was alright, I guess. The problem is, if I’m bein’ completely honest, that the ‘Johnny Rocket’ name bugged the hell out of me, because it was a glowin’ sign that he was better than me. He was the wall I could never break through, before any of this here in CPW was even an inklin’ of a thought in my mind. No matter how fast I drove, I could barely ever catch him. Even when I did catch him, no matter what line I took, I couldn’t ever pass him. It drove me crazy, to the point I got reckless and started failin’ to even finish the race more often than not. I used to lie awake all night, thinkin’ what I could possibly do to beat him. What could I do to finally be better than him? What could I do to finally shut Johnny Rocket up, and bring lil’ Johnny Rickette back to the forefront?
Well, nothin’ I tried ever worked. I never found the answer, and I never will. Johnny died about two years back, now. Didn’t even go out in a blaze of glory or nothin’, like you’d expect from the fabled ‘Johnny Rocket.’ This thing is, though… When I found out, I was sad, but not like I should be. I wasn’t sad to find out that I’d never see him again, when he had been such a drivin’ force in my life for so long. Sure, we weren’t exactly friends, but he was the reason for my obsession with gettin’ better, which is somethin’, I guess. But no, I wasn’t upset about that. My dumb, sociopathic ass was upset because it meant I’d never get to beat him… I’d never get to prove I was better. I’d forever be second place, at best, to fuckin’ Johnny Rocket. That’s what upset me then, and it honestly still does, to this day. Not the most well adjusted of reasons, yeah? Well, I never claimed I was all that well, anyway.”
She paused for a moment, the calm look in her eyes seeming to give away for a moment while she appeared to be looking at something far off, that only she could see. After a few moments, she shook her head.
”Why am I tellin’ you all this? What does some dude from my past have to do with anythin’, today? Well, if I’m bein’ completely honest, it’s because when I look at several faces that will be in that chamber with me on Sunday, all I see is Johnny. Joe Summers, Nightmare, Disturbed… Hell, even Francisco Lopez. They’re all a bunch of fuckin’ Johnny Rockets, to me. I see them as the guy I couldn’t beat, the one I’ll be chasin’ damn near to my own grave. I see them as a wall that I’m not sure how to even begin climbin’, especially in a settin’ like this. They’re guys that, in one way or another, have already proven they can get the best of me, or have the kind of track record that shows they sure as hell can. No offense to Miss Daisy, but I take her about as seriously as she takes herself, and we’ve seen her idea of effort in that ring. Practically trippin’ into a title isn’t gonna change that. Just bein’ honest, you see.
The point is that the lot of you represent to me somethin’ I couldn’t overcome, and somethin’ that still drives me crazy to this day. I don’t want to be second place. If I’m not leadin’ the pack, I’m not happy. That’s the truth of it, and it always has been. Joe Summers can say he respects me, and I actually appreciate that, I really do… But respect isn’t winnin’ me the race, and respect sure isn’t gettin’ my title back. I gotta do that my way, with or without respect. Do I know how, yet? Hell no, I still gotta figure that shit out. You better believe I’m not about to rest until I do, though, so the rest of you better be on top of your game, because it’s gonna take a hell of a lot to stop me, now. I got to feel what it was like to actually be the best somewhere, and now all of you Johnny Rockets think you’re gonna pass me by? I’m not livin’ that anymore, that’s for damn sure. I don’t care what it takes, and I mean that. You’re gonna have to break me to stop me from takin’ that title back, and I damn well dare you to try.
Johnny Rocket may have been gone from this Earth for quite some time, now, but come Damnation and a Day, well… I have the chance to finally bury him for good, in my mind. Rest In Peace, Johnny, because it’s about time everybody, everywhere, finally recognize the name Kelly James.”
The calm look had now completely evaporated, replaced by a fire in her eyes that seemed to burn through the darkness, even as the scene faded out.
————————————————
Hey, intrusive thoughts? It’s Kelly. Go fuck yourselves.