- Event: Complacency
Last week, I continued my momentum and got the victory over Steve Solex. I guess you could call it a revenge match from earlier on in the year after he was able to beat me. It was a win that I needed desperately for more than one reason. Of course, the training at the Five Time was the hopes that I was keeping myself alive in the LBI and praying that Alex Redding would stumble up and that Rick Dickulous would pull off the win. That’s all you had to do Rick…was get ONE fucking victory over Redding. Of course…that would have spelled the ending for me anyways, since Redding owned the tie breaker over me..but a tie in the group would have felt better…even if he was still advancing. One loss can absolutely KILL you in this tournament and that’s exactly what happened to me when Alex Redding beat me week one. That’s when it all ended for me…even though I didn’t know it…
Now…fast forward to this week, and I get a chance to beat that revenge into Rick Dickulous for not getting the job done. It’s nothing personal, Rick…just planning on exacting some payback on making this look worse for me…but don’t get yourself down so much. There is a plan in place…I ALWAYS have a plan in place. Those that have known me long enough know that I always have a backup set in place just in case I have to set it into motion. In this case, I just continue to press on. There is more than one way to skin a cat..and there is more opportunities to be had then to gain it in the LBI. Sure..I would have had an easier time if I won my group stage and moved on closer back to the HOW World Championship, but that is no longer an option for me. Now…I take the potential long road..and by taking this road, I’m fully aware that I’m going to have to work much harder than ever before but I couldn’t be more than thankful than to take this harder road for an opportunity at continual redemption and I plan on exacting my redemption…by any means necessary, but more importantly…by instinct alone and by the only instinct I know how to…basic instinct. It’s all I have left in this business and I will prove that’s all I need to get back to the top…one way or another.
This week, Rick, you will find out what happens when you go down this long road with Brian Hollywood. But more importantly, you will learn why you never count Brian Hollywood out. I’m always looking to reinvent myself and keep myself fresh and that is what I intend to do when we lock up this Saturday night. You will come to find out that there is a lot more that you don’t know about Brian Hollywood than you already do. You see, with my new style in play, I’m only going to leave you guessing even further on what I’m going to do, rather than what you might have already know for me doing in the past…but the past is the past and this is the present and I can’t think of any better time than the present to continue to show what I can do to keep people guessing and I will do just that come time for Refueled. I already have my eyes set on obtaining more HOW Championship gold and I intend to put that further to the test when you and I lock up on Saturday, Rick. You’ve had an up and down time in HOW already and something tells me you’re still trying to figure everything out and that’s why I can’t argue for a better opponent as I only continue to strive to get better in my new style I have in play. It’s far more than a gritty style I used to implore, Rick, and you will see that more in play as we lock up and do battle. The question is though, Rick, how badly do you want it? I’ve gotten my focus back to where it needs to be and now that I’ve applied my sights and my concentration on my wrestling, that will just continue to make me more dangerous. I’ve been putting in work day and night at the Five Time and while it has definitely been exhausting, it’s proven to be working as I got victories over Buck Yates and Steve Solex. You will be the trifecta that puts the glue officially together, Rick. As I grow more comfortable in my new style, it will only make me more dangerous as the timeline moves forward. I may not be on the March to Glory card yet…but you will find that I will make sure to find a way onto the card. I won’t be left in the cold anymore from this point forward. That fucking ended after ICONIC. It was a fucking terrible feeling and one, in which position I used to be at the top, that felt like a sword to the heart with being on the outside looking in. I can’t afford to be looking from the outside any further…not at this stage in my career when it could end at any moment.
Things are very fragile for me at this point in my career and with my back continuing to be against the wall, I’m only going to be training that much harder. I have to…I NEED to! I can’t afford to be an afterthought anymore. There may be some people that are content with that…people like Scott Stevens and Darin Zion..but I’m not one of those people. I’m definitely not Stevens or Zion. It was just back to the drawing board for me…not into reclusion. That is a place you will NEVER fucking find Brian Hollywood. Trust me…I’ve been a lot of things..but a recluse and an outsider is NOT one of them! I may feel like an outsider in today’s HOW…but that doesn’t translate Brian Hollywood being on the outside looking in. Oh fucking hell no it doesn’t!
So this week, it’s quite simple for me, Rick. Can you say the same thing? Can you honestly be content with yourself? Just what exactly do YOU have planned moving forward? Why do I ask that question, you ask? Let me tell you why…again, you can’t become complacent in this fucking company. You can’t become complacent in High Octane Wrestling because if you do, you will get fucking left behind. Take it from a man who fucking KNOWS what that feels like. I’ve had a nine year history here in HOW and I know what happens when you think you’re comfortable enough and you don’t feel like you have to work as hard as you did. Look at me…I lost the HOW World Championship…I lost everything because I got complacent. NEVER. FUCKING. AGAIN! I will use my anger and my new style to stay the course and to use that as a focus magnet. I know what I want in HOW and I will get it by any means necessary. It’s because you can’t stay complacent in this company..not now, not EVER! You never know when that strike will come and it can come OUT OF NOWHERE! Call it a basic instinct but that’s from my view and you won’t see it coming Rick. Not from me. You won’t see the basic instinct coming because you feel like you have nowhere to go from here. I do, though, because I know it’s not over with the LBI. That is something you will learn in time, Rick. You will find out that it’s never truly over. The machine is always going…it has to in order to maintain itself and as I learned, it stops for no man…no matter how much that man may have thought of the machine.
I will work to earn the respect back from the machine…a machine I neglected because I had gotten…complacent. Mark my words, Rick…I will get that spot back no matter how much I have to pour into this company. That’s how you survive here in HOW and I will teach you that lesson come time for Refueled…I can promise you that, Rick. The LBI may be over for me…but the trek is NOT over from here. The trek just continues and the spot at the top remains in my front view. HOW may seem like a crowded field right now, but that’s just because we’ve got the talent, practically from top to bottom, that can argue every single one of its stars can be a top guy here. Some of us already have…and yet there are those other ones that have already been close. That’s the machine for you and it just goes to show you why the trek is never over and that it is just a matter of getting refocused and moving onto the next one. It’s something you can’t ever take your eyes off of because it’s in constant movement and that’s what I have come to learn…but at a deeper level than I’ve ever known. So I will continue to explore that deeper level as I make my way out of the deep caves of complacency to earn my chance at getting back to the top..by any means necessary because where I’m at now…even though my shot at the LBI is over..is not a satisfying place for me and I will continue to work harder and harder in order to find another opening into March to Glory…because I always find a way. That way continues through the Five Time and eventually onto this Saturday at Refueled where the journey simply…continues…..
==============================
Five Time Academy
Sunday, February 23, 2020
7:00 AM
The grind is never over..not for Brian Hollywood who woke up at the crack ass of dawn in order to continue his training. It wasn’t even twenty four hours removed from Refueled and Brian Hollywood was already up and about continuing his grind. It was the grind that kept him going. It was this newfound investment, if you will, that Hollywood continued to go all in for. The gain of it all outweighed all the risk and all Hollywood wanted to do was to get back on top of the company he loved more than anything else. This was that grind…being here in the early morning hours because the finish line was all about the mileage you put in on becoming one of the greatest and top wrestlers of High Octane Wrestling. It was the golden ticket in being called a proud wrestler of High Octane and it was this missing ingredient Hollywood had been missing all this time and it couldn’t have been more apparent for him at this stage of his career. Hollywood wanted to leave a lasting legacy in HOW and this final chapter for him was that missing link to it all. It was the grind that he realized people like Mike Best and Max Kael possessed that he didn’t. Was this the answer to achieving that goal? Could Hollywood really take this whole thing to the bank and achieve the biggest thing missing from his career? Who knows because…
SMAAAAAAAAACK!!!!
Hollywood immediately is knocked down to the mat as the echo of the hit radiates through the entire Five Time Academy as Hollywood is knocked back to reality and out of thought as he shakes it off and shouts out in protest.
Brian Hollywood: “What the actual fuck was that?!”
Alan Ventura: “It’s called wake the fuck up jackass! What? Did you actually expect this to get any easier? Just because you got two victories in your pocket doesn’t make you King Kong Bundy dickhead!”
Alan Ventura, a trainer at the Five Time Academy, wasn’t your average wrestling trainer. No…he wasn’t a Mick from Rocky, either. In fact, he was the very trainer a guy like the Five Time Academy was known for employing. He was a gritty, hard-assed trainer who didn’t believe in the petty bullshit most wrestlers go through when they win a couple matches. He believed in a philosophy of being great and it was becoming great and how to do it that he was known for. Mike Best doesn’t hire normal trainers for his Academy and Hollywood should have known better when he came to train here. Ventura was very knowledgeable when it came to the deep and vast realms of the wrestling world and Mike recognized his talents in seeing what he sees. Of course, Hollywood should have seen that coming as well…he should know in all his time chasing Mike Best around in HOW and his grudge against him that he should have known better in the guys Mike hangs around as well as entrusting people to help run his gym. Hollywood sighs as he gets back to his feet and continues to protest.
Brian Hollywood: “How about you go the fuck easier on me?! I woke my ass up to be here early, who else does that this early…especially the night after a wrestling match?!”
Alan shakes his head as he sighs before punching Hollywood back to the ground as his response to his defiance. Ventura didn’t give a fuck about Hollywood’s feelings. Instead, he points directly at a shaken Hollywood on the mat as he gets serious.
Alan Ventura: “Awake now, douche bag? Good! I didn’t get my ass up out of bed to hear your whining ass this morning! Now let me explain something important to you, Hollywood…who else do you think thought about bringing their asses here at the butt fuck ass of dawn following a grueling wrestling match the night before? I’ll give you three guesses and two of them don’t count! You think you’re the only one who has thought about doing this?! You can’t be great overnight. I don’t care if you’re a former two time HOW World Champion or if you ate dog shit for breakfast…you have to want that grind and you have to be able to WANT to maintain that grind..understand, Goldielocks?”
Hollywood collectively holds in a grunt as you can see Hollywood grind his mouth tight you can visibly notice Hollywood is holding his anger back. Hollywood shakes his head before finally nodding and getting back to his feet. He retakes his stance in striking mode as he locks eyes with Alan, not saying a word as he pounces back and forth.
Alan Ventura: “THERE! Right fucking THERE! You see?! Now you’re finally not wasting my time this morning and you are onto SOMETHING! First fucking lesson this morning is that you can’t let your emotions get the best of you. Second fucking lesson dirtbeat, you can’t let your thoughts dominate your training and your drive! It’s in those moments that you have to FOCUS! You ever realize that you’ve lost a titanic sized load of matches because you weren’t focused properly or you let some fly fuck in your head drive your anger the wrong way?! For a guy that’s used to getting into people’s heads and being a strategist, you sure fucking blowed at it when you were driven the wrong way!”
Hollywood was definitely getting an ears worth from Ventura this morning and he was getting shit on HARD! Hollywood wasn’t used to this kind of training…but he was beginning to realize how hard Mike Best and Max Kael, for example, were hard cases to crack in the ring and how disciplined they were. Hollywood was starting to see just how hard training at the Five Time Academy was going to be…even though he didn’t realize initially how tough it was going to be when he first walked through those doors. His nerves were high when he walked in because he thought he knew what he was going to get..but he didn’t realize the intensity of what he was going to get was multiplied ten fucking fold. Finally, Hollywood starts to circle Alan as he starts to throw out a few punches. Alan dodges with ease as Hollywood finally speaks, but not out of anger this time.
Brian Hollywood: “So tell me then…what do I have to do in order to channel this properly? All I see Mike and Max do is trash people hardcore in the ring and they use the same strategies I use…and even though I lose, they can implore the same strategies and WIN. HOW?! What am I doing fucking wrong?!”
Alan Ventura: “Do you seriously think I’m going to tell you that, fuckhead?! I’m not just going to give you those answers…you are going to have to discover that on your own! NOTHING here is free at the Five Time Academy and you have to EARN everything I’m going to give to you…all of the knowledge and all of the intuition I will bestow on you has to come from your HEART and your drive..your WILL to want this…PROPERLY!”
Of course Alan was going to say that…Hollywood sighed as he should have known better. Nothing at the Five Time Academy was going to come easy. This wasn’t your normal wrestling school…hell basic wrestlers who were just getting into the business were picking things up better than Hollywood…and he was the only fucking veteran at the Five Time. Hollywood looks around as he sees the intensity in the room in other rings more fluently than he was doing. Hollywood sighs as he tries to keep the frustration at bay. Frustration wasn’t going to get him anywhere and he knew this. He knew the road was a long one…and he knew he had to change up what he was doing in the past if he wanted to get better. Perhaps that’s why he was starting to open up his ears and his mind and be able to be submissive from Alan…it was the only way he was truly going to learn. It was something Hollywood had to be able to adapt to and he knew he had a long ways to go.
Alan Ventura: “Now…I want you to try and grapple me. I want you to come behind me and try and attempt a back suplex.”
Brian Hollywood: “Seriously?! I know how to do a fucking su–“
Hollywood stops as Alan looks at him stupidly. Hollywood was starting to see that he was wasting Alan’s time. Hollywood all of a sudden doesn’t say a word and just nods at Alan as he attempts to do exactly as Alan has instructed. Hollywood grapples Alan from behind and attempts a simple suplex, but is quickly surprised by Alan’s swiftness as Alan flips him over his shoulder hard and counters with a suplex of his own practically throwing Hollywood across the ring. Hollywood was already beat up for the morning as he realized this training…even for simple grappling, was going to be a lot tougher than Hollywood imagined. But here at the Five Time Academy, nothing was as it seemed as Hollywood takes a deep breath before getting back to his feet as he wanted to continue the grind no matter how beat up or how much torture he went through this morning. Alan nods at him as he gestures Hollywood to come back at him again. Hollywood was taken down again…and again…and again…it was going to be a long morning as the intensity and training continued as Hollywood was finding the grind was going to be tougher but if he wanted it hard enough…he would have to grind hard as the scene slowly fades to black…
=======================
It was a long week at the Five Time Academy. I got my ass handed to me…hard. But I was beginning to understand what I was going to have to go through if I wanted the grind hard enough. It simply amazes me how much more respect I have for guys like Mike Best and Max Kael after this week…and that is something very hard to admit from myself. But I know if I want this bad enough…I would be willing to go through whatever in discovering my own way for myself.
I know I still have a long way to go…this road isn’t a short one. It’s a long one. I’m already exhausted and we’re only a couple days away from Refueled. I know how Mike and Max continue to get better. I’m starting to understand the stamina and the will to continue night in and night out. It’s something that I also want for myself. I would like nothing more than to be more like them. I can’t believe I was missing this big piece to my wrestling style and it’s a style that isn’t taught easily. It’s a style that you have to find for yourself. I know I can be like Mike and Max..but I have to find my own style that fits Brian Hollywood. That’s why I’m hoping to continue this in the efforts of finding the grind I need to work my way back to the top of the mountain again. So the work for that grind continues this week on Refueled when I take on Rick Dickulous.
Rick, this week we put what I’ve learned this week at the Five Time to the test. I like to think I’ve gotten better. I know I have a lot more to learn…but I’m going to take what I learned this week and apply it in our match in the hopes of finding what clicks well with me and what doesn’t. Much to my similar approach against Steve Solex, I’m going to continue to apply my newly found style against you in the hopes of fine tuning what works and what doesn’t work. This is a constant work in progress and I’m starting to realize that we are all fine tuning ourselves week in and week out. We have to in order to get better…that’s what MAKES us better and I hope that what I’ve discovered at the Five Time this week helps me notch another win in my re-rise in the win column. I will continue that drive and that momentum in getting better and better. That’s why this week I will simply continue with the basics but not just your ordinary basics…oh no..because that’s another thing that I learned…
This week on Refueled, I will take what I’ve learned and apply them the best way I know how to but it will be a basic instinct…MY basic instinct that gets it done. For too long have I risked in guessing what my opponent will do next or just wing the next move. That ended last week against Solex and it will only continue this week against you, Rick, when I just press on with basic instinct…
This week, Rick, we find out just how much more I learned and it will be something that I have to WANT. I will continue my grind and I will continue to keep my eyes open because in HOW…you have to do that to succeed and I will reinvent my succession…one way or another…this week, Rick, a win by me will just be another…
Basic Instinct!