04. Power of the Punch
Week after week, Alex escapes elimination with a wide margin, but as the numbers dwindle down, he finds himself losing ground. The latest episode of NXT is no exception.
Alex staggers into Mike's hotel room. He was able to keep his cool in front of the other contestants and even on the ride to the hotel, but he can't hold back any longer. "They hate me," he groans. "They fucking hate me." Trusting the bed will break his fall, he lets himself go. The sullen man covers his face, wanting to hide; he's so humiliated. "Nothing I do is good enough for these people."
Mike sets a shiny red briefcase on the table, places his title on top of it. Even in the presence of his tangible accomplishments he grimaces, feels like he's been sucker punched. There's a knot in the pit of his stomach that he hasn't been able to untangle since Matt Striker revealed the latest ranking order and ultimately, the rookie with the least amount of votes. Though he feels as frustrated as Alex looks, Mike knows he has an obligation to refrain from showing the emotion. Has to remain strong and positive for Alex's sake. "They don't hate you," he says, doing his best to console his downtrodden rookie.
Alex sits up dramatically. "Really?" His tone – sarcastic; the question – a blatant rip-off of one of Mike's in-ring catch phrases. "Fifth place, Mike. Fifth place!" He pauses, wide-eyed and confused. "I don't get it. What does Kaval have that I don't have? That midget dick busts my head open, leaving me with this ugly scar-" He grabs the back of his head, wincing as he recalls the pain he felt when it happened and the numerous times the stitches popped during matches. "He's sloppy and boring and people love him. Meanwhile, I actually have talent and…and fifth place! The only guy I beat tonight was that loser, Lucky." Alex gets up, his anger on display. "Mike, I almost lost to Lucky Cannon!"
"But you didn't, did you? You're still in the game which means anything can happen. Anything's possible. Besides, the voting was cast before tonight's episode so everything that happened out there tonight will go towards next week anyway. Remember, you won the Power of the Punch challenge tonight. And not only did you win, you slaughtered those punks. And because of it, you get to be on Raw with me next week. Not anyone else, just you. That's exposure and in this business there's nothing more powerful than that, especially on the most heavily promoted show in sports entertainment."
"You don't have to tell me that. I get it and I'm grateful that was the prize, but I don't understand why no one cares about talent anymore. They only care about the good guys." The phrase delivered with a pair of air quotes - Alex's sarcasm adequately emphasized. "The Cena's and the Rock's of the industry."
"Oh please, The Rock wasn't always the good guy. Hell, he still isn't and it's not like he didn't have to work hard to win over his fans. It took him years. And you know how he did that? By being himself, by not giving up. It's about dedication and being authentic and genuine and everything you said out there tonight was right on point - how you're not gonna change to cater to the WWE Universe. And nor should you. That's the mentality you need to hold onto if you're ever gonna be successful."
Alex scowls, stuck in his state of self-pity, but as he takes the time to really hear what his mentor is saying – what his friend is saying - the tension starts to melt away. "So, you like The Rock?"
Mike chortles, relieved to see his rookie starting to relax. "Don't you?"
"Of course. Are you kidding? A former football player hitting the big time? He's a huge inspiration."
"Yeah. For me too."
"I can see that," Alex says with a smirk. "You could be the next Rock."
"Thank you." Mike dramatically adjusts the knot in his tie; tries to disguise his humility, play up his vanity. "Y'know, I like to believe I have it in me to bridge the gap like he did. The way that guy owns a mic…" He loses himself for a moment, awash in admiration for the innovative entertainer who paved the way for someone like him. Hopes to leave an equally profound impression of his own so that one day he can inspire others to follow in his footsteps. "But I got years and years to go before I'm ever at that level. Wouldn't mind goin' up against him though. Can you imagine going one on one with the Great One? Fuck. Now that might actually be the one dream I have that doesn't have the smallest chance of coming true."
Alex chuckles. "Especially when he'd rather be off making movies."
"Right?!"
"You're not gonna disappear and become a big movie star, are you?"
Mike laughs exceptionally loud, almost snorts. "I have a better shot at having a 'Mania moment with The Rock than I do being in a movie!"
"No way. I can see it now, you could be the next Rock and the next Rocky!"
"Okay, okay. Let's get back on track." Mike doesn't usually interrupt a nice ego stroking, but he feels the tips of his ears starting to heat up, knows his cheeks must be bright red. "Listen, the fact of the matter is that when people see a guy with all the tools, y'know, the wrestling skills and the mic skills on top of a natural sense of humor, confidence, charisma, the striking good looks, the incredible physique, the athletic ability…You want me to continue?"
Alex dons a goofy smile, can't contain its perimeter, his tongue poking through his cheek. Visibly bashful, he looks to the ground.
Mike snickers, enjoys teasing his friend and embarrassing him in the same way he was just meant to feel, and for perhaps the first time in his life, he's not doing it out of malice or because he feels threatened. "When they see someone like you, I swear it's system overload. It's blinding and they freak out. Basically, these people are notorious for not knowing what they want and all you can do is hang in there and be yourself until they come around because one day they will, but if you let them get to you now and you start to doubt yourself, then that's when you implode and I promise you, if you let that happen, they'll eat you alive without a second thought."
"You believe in me that much?"
Mike hesitates, realizes he's never actually given his feelings towards Alex a proper name before. But belief, that sounds accurate.
In the beginning he really wanted his rookie to win, mainly, if not entirely, because of how it would affect him. But gradually, he's finding himself caring less and less about how a win would reflect on his mentoring skills or popularity status. He genuinely believes Alex should win based on his merits alone - even if he was someone else's rookie.
"I believe you have what it takes to go all the way and I'm gonna do everything in my power over the next three weeks to help you make that happen." Mike hops over to the table and grabs his red briefcase. "You see this? Not only am I the United States Champion but two weeks ago, I won this. I'm Mr. Money in the Bank!" He slaps the aluminum case enthusiastically. "No one ever thought this would happen except for one person. Me. See, when I say I'm gonna do something, I do it. And you need to start thinking that way, too. Because me believing in you means nothing if you don't believe in yourself. So, no more of this pouting crap, alright?"
A burst of motivation surges through Alex's system.
"Next week on Raw we're gonna show everyone why you're the next breakout star." Mike holds out his hand and Alex promptly grabs hold of it, shaking with a firm grip.