Post by Bryan Sweet on Jun 7, 2017 16:09:03 GMT
The scene opens in the first person as we walk into the kitchen of Bryan Sweet’s Newport Beach home to find him setting two empty glasses down on the counter. Looking up he smiles.
“Gavin, glad you could make it. I was concerned you were a little salty after the Annie bit but it’s good to see there were no hard feelings. No words, but no hard feelings. I asked you here because I sense a connection between us, sort of father son thing considering your real dad turned out to be a shit.”
He fills the glasses with ice.
“I don’t want this to break you, Gav. These feelings of inadequacy you’re experiencing, they’re normal. You just haven’t encountered them yet which in and of itself is a shame. At the risk of sounding old, that’s the problem with you kids today. You’re entitled. You’re propped up and when you run into that first bit of adversity you don’t know how to handle it.”
Bryan raises his hands with a chuckle.
“I know, Gavin Grimes has experienced more than his fair share of hardship, we all saw the musical. What you’re failing to realize is that while you’ve been weaving your little sob story you’ve achieved too much too soon. Titles, winning streaks, hell even your wife. I can sum it up for you in three words, you’re… not… ready. You’re the kid who dreams of driving a Maserati. He turns sixteen, gets his license and boom there’s a Maserati in the driveway. But that’s the worst thing for him. Too much power. He needs to start small and work his way up. Get comfortable behind the wheel of something more his speed and then slowly upgrade. Think I’m lying?”
He laughs while placing a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label down beside the glasses.
“Your wife, she’s beautiful but she’s damaged, yeah? No knock on her. You and I, we’re damaged too. The trick is getting your shit in check before finding the girl of your dreams. But you didn’t wait; you found her, strapped yourself in, put a ring on her finger and you’ve been riding the roller coaster ever since. Do I blame you? No. I’ve made the same mistake. I’ve tried to save the girl before saving myself and each time I’ve hurt them worse than I hurt myself. Life is about making mistakes and learning from them. You’ll learn from Ashleigh and whoever comes after her and whoever comes after that.”
He slow pours into one glass.
“What I’m trying to tell you Gav is that the difference between you and I is more than age, it’s experience. You haven’t experienced enough to step up to my level. Your career hasn’t seen enough adversity therefore you haven’t grown as a wrestler. And no Gavin, Avery Miles wasn’t adversity and neither was Ally. Those matches were trumped up gimmicks used to manufacture adversity where it didn’t exist. Adversity is what you’ll experience when you step in the ring with me and realize there’s nothing you can do. You’re not ready for the Maserati. You’re taking baby sips from a can of Schlitz and suddenly you think you can handle a real drink.”
He slides the drink towards the camera before filling his own glass.
“Be my guest. Take a sip and as you try to choke it down we’ll see that look in your eyes. The look of a man who’s bitten off more than he can chew. The brand of compete I bring to the ring is something you can’t swallow just yet. You can swish it around in your mouth and get a taste but you’ll need time before you’re ready to pound with one of the greatest of all time. So welcome to the elite kid. Take a look around. Someday all this will be yours. But not yet. First you need to understand the gap between us and find the resolve to conquer it. You may be the next Bryan Sweet but the original is still going strong and he has much to teach you. Tough love, Gav. Maybe that’s what your daddy was trying to show you all along. Don’t worry though, when it’s over I’ll throw in a hug so you know I still love you. It’s just that sometimes we need to tear down the ones we care about so they can build themselves back up. So keep a stiff upper lip, soon you’ll be worthy of drinking with the big boys. Until then…”
Bryan places a Nestle Quik drink-box on the counter.
“Stay in your lane.”
Bryan raises his drink and chugs it before placing the empty glass on the counter. As he lets out a satisfied sigh the scene slowly fades to black.
“Gavin, glad you could make it. I was concerned you were a little salty after the Annie bit but it’s good to see there were no hard feelings. No words, but no hard feelings. I asked you here because I sense a connection between us, sort of father son thing considering your real dad turned out to be a shit.”
He fills the glasses with ice.
“I don’t want this to break you, Gav. These feelings of inadequacy you’re experiencing, they’re normal. You just haven’t encountered them yet which in and of itself is a shame. At the risk of sounding old, that’s the problem with you kids today. You’re entitled. You’re propped up and when you run into that first bit of adversity you don’t know how to handle it.”
Bryan raises his hands with a chuckle.
“I know, Gavin Grimes has experienced more than his fair share of hardship, we all saw the musical. What you’re failing to realize is that while you’ve been weaving your little sob story you’ve achieved too much too soon. Titles, winning streaks, hell even your wife. I can sum it up for you in three words, you’re… not… ready. You’re the kid who dreams of driving a Maserati. He turns sixteen, gets his license and boom there’s a Maserati in the driveway. But that’s the worst thing for him. Too much power. He needs to start small and work his way up. Get comfortable behind the wheel of something more his speed and then slowly upgrade. Think I’m lying?”
He laughs while placing a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label down beside the glasses.
“Your wife, she’s beautiful but she’s damaged, yeah? No knock on her. You and I, we’re damaged too. The trick is getting your shit in check before finding the girl of your dreams. But you didn’t wait; you found her, strapped yourself in, put a ring on her finger and you’ve been riding the roller coaster ever since. Do I blame you? No. I’ve made the same mistake. I’ve tried to save the girl before saving myself and each time I’ve hurt them worse than I hurt myself. Life is about making mistakes and learning from them. You’ll learn from Ashleigh and whoever comes after her and whoever comes after that.”
He slow pours into one glass.
“What I’m trying to tell you Gav is that the difference between you and I is more than age, it’s experience. You haven’t experienced enough to step up to my level. Your career hasn’t seen enough adversity therefore you haven’t grown as a wrestler. And no Gavin, Avery Miles wasn’t adversity and neither was Ally. Those matches were trumped up gimmicks used to manufacture adversity where it didn’t exist. Adversity is what you’ll experience when you step in the ring with me and realize there’s nothing you can do. You’re not ready for the Maserati. You’re taking baby sips from a can of Schlitz and suddenly you think you can handle a real drink.”
He slides the drink towards the camera before filling his own glass.
“Be my guest. Take a sip and as you try to choke it down we’ll see that look in your eyes. The look of a man who’s bitten off more than he can chew. The brand of compete I bring to the ring is something you can’t swallow just yet. You can swish it around in your mouth and get a taste but you’ll need time before you’re ready to pound with one of the greatest of all time. So welcome to the elite kid. Take a look around. Someday all this will be yours. But not yet. First you need to understand the gap between us and find the resolve to conquer it. You may be the next Bryan Sweet but the original is still going strong and he has much to teach you. Tough love, Gav. Maybe that’s what your daddy was trying to show you all along. Don’t worry though, when it’s over I’ll throw in a hug so you know I still love you. It’s just that sometimes we need to tear down the ones we care about so they can build themselves back up. So keep a stiff upper lip, soon you’ll be worthy of drinking with the big boys. Until then…”
Bryan places a Nestle Quik drink-box on the counter.
“Stay in your lane.”
Bryan raises his drink and chugs it before placing the empty glass on the counter. As he lets out a satisfied sigh the scene slowly fades to black.