THE VIKING'S RAGE: Volume X: Anticipation.

[Viking Rage]

This Kickass Graphic Courtesy of PIG-E

an·tic·i·pa·tion [an-tis-uh-pey-shuhn] –noun

1. The act of anticipating or the state of being anticipated.
2. Realization in advance
3. Expectation or hope.

With that in mind, you know the line...

AND HERE WE GO!

After all this time, it finally comes down to this. All the hype, all the talk, it means nothing. It's about to happen. Has my moment come? I look around the crowded room, and I see the other guys sitting there beside me. Are they my friends? some of them. Are they my enemies? For the moment. We all have one common goal. One common objective, to win. Only one of us will achieve it. We all eagerly anticipate our moment to shine. As I take another look around the room I see people I didn't notice the first time. Legends who paved the way for myself and the rest of us. I nod respectfully at them and I go about my business. Time feels like it's standing still. I look at the clock and it seems like it's broken. I check my watch, and it's only been two minutes. I walk over to the little board and look it over, hoping to see my name, and sure enough, it's there. One hour to go. Anxiously, I walk over and get a drink. I'm sweating because I'm nervous. I notice the anticipation is getting the better of me. I start to think to myself what I'm going to do if my moment happens. I go over the plan again and again in my mind. Did they notice what I did? or did I get away with it? I walk over and start talking to one of them, they call him Shane. We strike up a conversation about wrestling. Things are civil, and we build our friendship a little more. "Mind if I go public with this?" he asks. I tell him to go ahead, and that I'd be honored to do it again any time he wishes. Talking is good, and besides he's one of my biggest supporters, and one of the few I call my friend. He's helping me through this.

I look down to check my watch again. In 45 minutes my life could change forever.
I start to pace around back and forth, and in the distance I can hear one of the guys telling anyone that will listen about how great he is. Then another joins him, and they have words back and forth about who's better. Thankfully one of the legends walks over and puts them in their place. Their bickering is over. What makes them so special? They're in the same position I'm in, and they've been here way longer than me. If they were so great, they'd already be where we're all trying to get. Enough about them, they're just in the way, like the rest of these guys. I know what I have to do. I have a plan, and I need to execute it perfectly in order to win this thing. I can hear the roar of the crowd. Whoever's out there must be putting on a hell of a show. I walk over and peek out the curtain to try and catch a glimpse of what's going on out there, but at the same time I don't want to be seen by the crowd, not yet, so I make sure they can't see me as I move the curtain to the side. I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I can't help myself. The anticipation is getting the better of me. Then suddenly, one of the guys comes up to me and asks me "What happens if we don't win?" "We lose" I reply jokingly and we share a laugh. He's not as confident as I thought he was. Lose? How could he even be thinking that way? We're not here to lose, at least I'm not. Thoughts of defeat will do you no good here. You'll just wind up hurting somebody, or yourself. Failure is not an option.


Time is standing still. Again, only a mere 15 minutes have passed. 30 minutes, and I can become a star. 30 minutes, and everything I've put into this could payoff. Now I know I'm one of the newer faces around here, and most of these people don't know me, especially the legends. Does that mean I want it less? Hell no. Does it make me less deserving? No. I know that if I want it, I'm gonna have to earn it, and I'm ready for that. Only one of us can reach that next level. There's only room at the top for one more. Whoever wants it the most, will do the most to earn it. Right now I'm just another face in the crowd, so to speak. I'm one of many. Maybe it's because I'm relatively unknown, but I feel like I'm under the radar. No one expects anything from me, and in a way, I'm fine with that, because I know what I'm capable of. No one has higher expectations of me than I do, not even the legends. I know this is a great opportunity, and I intend on doing whatever it takes to see it through. The nerves are getting the better of me, and I need to talk to someone. Just as I realize I need to talk, I see one of the road agents over by the curtain. I approach them, because I need to talk to someone. I start to tell him everything I'm thinking. I'm so nervous that I struggle to find the proper words over and over again. I tell him my plan hoping to hear what he thinks, and he tells me that I'm overthinking the whole thing, and that if I wish for my will to be done, I have to take control of the situation. He's right. This isn't about anyone else. not the legends, not the rest of the boys in the back. This is all about me, and my destiny.

20 minutes to go. Will it be my time to shine? Or will I fall flat, and fail to make an impression with anyone? Only time will tell. I start to reflect back to when it all began. I remember being a huge wrestling fan, and always imagining what it would be like to get into the business. I remember being a teenager, and all the torture I put my body through in those backyard matches. I remember the concussion I gave my best friend at the time when I DDT'd him as a spear counter onto a concrete floor, with only a thin layer of carpet underneath us. I felt so bad, but it was a reflex, a reaction. I didn't mean to hurt him, but I did. We ended the match at that point, and myself and the rest of the guys loaded him into my other friends car and took him home. We walked him into his house and over to his bed, then we left. I'm remembering all of this as if i'm reliving it. The images are so clear. Then it finally happens. Clarity, and an eerie calmness begin to take me over. The nervousness and doubt begin to make their exit from my body, and I begin to focus. I start to visualize things as I believe they will happen. I can see what I'm doing 3 and 4 moves ahead. My ring skills may not be the greatest, but I can certainly hold my own better than most expect.

10 minutes left. 10 minutes between myself and immortality. 10 minutes until I have my chance to become a legend. I start to stretch and prepare for the match. As I'm warming up I start to talk to another one of the boys, listen to what he thinks, and find out what he has planned for the match. He tells me he's a threat, and I believe him, but he's more known than me, so he has a better chance. I have a surprise for him though, he'll find out soon enough. I want to make a name for myself, I want to be known. I will be known. Tonight I make myself a star. Tonight I will shine. I take one last look through the curtain, and see that the match has begun. My time approaches. One by one, we head out to the ring, and the numbers start to build. Only 3 people left. I take a deep breath, and prepare for the inevitable.

Finally, my moment has arrived. I hear my entrance theme and step out from behind the curtain. As I approach the ring, the anticipation begins to fade. It's time to make an impression, and what better way to do it, than to win the Royal Rumble.

Thanks to all who read and respond. Until next time I raise my horn to you.

[Roadkill]

Wow, man. This not only address some of the happenings in LOP NXT, but it was really good. Your pro must be helping you at least a little bit, because you improved by leaps and bounds with this column. If you continue to listen to your pro, I think you could be a real threat in this competition. Read ya later, man.

[Shane]

Damn fine outing. It shows that the goods are there; you just need to keep refining each sentence and each word.

That damned old clock that is pictured and then portrayed in your words transcends wrestling. The clock is relevant for each of us. I've said it before, if you keep improving your craft while writing from your passion, you will do serious things here.

I'm not the bright-eyed optimist I once was...and I can't say I'm half as excited as some of the Rookies seem to be, but I do remember a time in my life that I possessed the type of anticipation that is in this piece. I suppose I'm babbling now, but I hate to see personal pieces get a nod and a "read you next time" so I'm willing to say too much to make up for those who say too little.

Peace.

[Pringle]

Your best column so far, hands down. Your other stuff has been good as well, but this went that extra step for me. I liked the voice and the double meaning to the column. Keep up this kind of writing for the NXT and, as Roady already pointed out, you will do yourself justice in the LOPNXT competition.

Good work, man. Very Well done.

[Super Chrisss]

Not bad at all. My only complaint is the way the column was spaced. Some paragraphs were too long, others were too short. Try playing around with that next time.

Great job with the time/clock, definitely added to the suspense. Keep up this quality and you should go far in the competition.

[Zuma]

VR - I like this a bunch. Excellent narration - your first paragraph really connects the reader to writer, and that's what it's all about. You sort of struggled in the middle with keeping my attention, but it was brave of you to continue this through the whole column, and that be it... someone without as much confidence in their ability might have moved towards less 1st person, but you stuck with it. I'm not sure what your other stuff has been like, so it's hard to judge this against what might have been in the past. It's much better than I expected considering what you gave for the first post for NXT though, and it makes me want to see how you would do with a more conventional style column.

[Viking Rage]

Roadkill: Yeah, Monkey helped with this one a little. I contacted him after the pros were revealed, and informed him that this was going to be posted the following day. I asked him to look it over and he agreed. He had some suggestions, and the results speak for themselves.

Shane Thanks for the kind words bro. You know me. You know that I want to continue to improve. I want to kick ass at this. I really want to turn some heads during this tourney. You know me somewhat. You know the drive I approach this with. After this thing is over, win or lose, I'm determined to come out of his better than I was when we started.


Pringle: Thanks Pringle. It sounds kinda tacky, but in all honesty, this column wrote itself. I sat here and typed what I felt, and then I got the idea about the "Royal Rumble" as a way to express it differently than I have before. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Super Chrisss: Yeah, I'm still working out the kinks as far as the spacing issues. Thank you for droppig by, hope to see you again. That clock was so symbolic. Originally I just wanted one to illustrate the time factor of the column, but by the time I was done, it meant so much more...

Zuma I'm glad to see that you gave my stuff a read. I have to admit, being ranked so low in the pros poll bothered me in a way. I wanted to prove to you and every other pro that I'm better than 17th. This is by far my best work, and the one I'm most proud of.I know I have the disadvantage of not being too known, but as I said before, I want to show what I can do. I take this seriously. I want to kick ass at this. I'm here to stay, and looking to improve with each and every outing. Besides, I saw your post in the pros thread about how San Francisco has the most MPers, and since I'm originally from San Jose, I felt I had to represent the bay area. Hope to see you again in my next outing.