Two Legacies
The feed starts in a training ring in the Stryke Dojo. David Stryker is sitting in the corner of ring, leaning against the turnbuckles. He’s wearing black jeans and a white tank top underneath an unbuttoned Dodgers jersey. He starts speaking in a calm, slow manner, but you still hear that bit of disdain in his voice.
„I’ve spent a little too much time in this company talking about respect. But tonight, I want to pick a little different topic. Why don’t we have a chat… About legacy.“
He lets those words hang in the air for a bit.
„And most importantly, how one decides to treat theirs. The one they inherit. If they honor it, or misuse it.“
His facial expression hardens.
„I want to talk… about KD Feigel.“
A brief pause again.
„On paper, him against me is the perfect match-up. A second generation superstar against a third generation superstar. Sons of former, or in my case even current, World Champions. We should be equals, a perfect match like I said… But we’re very, very different.“
David cracks his knuckles.
„I made it here to AWS because I picked it as the best place to start and grow as a wrestler. I don’t wrestle anywhere else. I never asked my father to put a good word for me in any of the other promotions where he is. I never asked him to consider me for the promotion he owns.
I honor the legacy of my father. Of his father. Of the men who trained me, and of the fallen friends of our family. I do that in every move I perform in that ring. But let me make one thing absolutely clear.“
He leans forward and speaks up.
„Since day one, I do everything to carve my own legacy! From up-and-comers like Jason Knight to 30 year veterans like Jamal Payne, I beat them by myself. I am walking towards the final of the Gold Rush tournament because of my own skills and nothing else.“
He takes another second, leans back again, then talks in a calmer tone again.
„All that’s what makes me different, what makes me BETTER than KD Feigel. I’m not even talking about the fact that he’s on every show of the company his father happens to own and run. Or at least not that much…“
He smirks.
„What really makes me sick is hearing the things he says. He’s parading himself with two different tag belts, represents this company as one of its champions, but all he can talk about is his tag team partner. I get it, man, Vin Halsted is a great wrestler, former World champ, all that stuff. I see it every time he gets in the ring, and I hear it every time KD Feigel opens his mouth and talks for five minutes about his awesome uncle Vin carried him to those titles.“
David scoffs.
„That’s the difference between us, KD. We had the same starting line – sons of World champions, with all the wisdom and experience of professional wrestling given to us as a birthright. I chose to walk my own path, get successful on my own terms. Add more shine to the Stryker family name while creating a legacy of my own. You could have done the same. Maybe by now, you would have been a World Champion too. Maybe you would have been the wrestler people think about when they hear the name Feigel, instead of your dad.“
He shakes his head.
„But you chose to be babysat through your career instead. That’s not chaos, Kid. That’s not the dominance you’re blabbering about. That’s taking the easy way. When we meet on Monday… I won’t allow you any easy way out.“
With David staring down the camera, the feed fades to black.