with Steve Lenton & Justin Brooks vs. Iconic Mayhem and Erin Daniels
E-Pro TV #8
April 21st 2013
Ever since 2007 Tim Worthington has been struggling with depression, finding it hard to gain a contract with any promoter and problems getting his life on track. Seeing your wife and kids killed in a tragic car accident, believing you should have been with them in those final moments; that leaves a mark on a person..
Now here we are, over five years later, and Tim is finally in a position to get back to where he was. He used to be a World Champion, used to be the man to beat in this business. Now he wants to prove that he still belongs in a wrestling ring.
And where better to prove your worth than EXODUS Pro Wrestling.
Monday 8th April 2013
The Worthington Residence
Ocean Village, Southampton
Tim Worthington is mid conversation with his friend and former tag-team partner, “The People’s Choice” August Joyce. They’ve been catching up, having not seen each other in quite a while. The current topic? Tim’s recently announced match with Pat Gordon Jnr..
“You know how good Pat is, right?” August says with a cheeky smile and a jovial tone.
“Of course.” Tim nods before taking a sip from his bottle of Peroni. “He’s the damn UWL World Champion, you don’t get that belt by being average.”
Tim sets his bottle of beer down on the small wooden table in front of him before leaning back in his chair, looking out at the view from his tenth floor balcony.It may be cold and grey at the moment, but the outdoor heater he had installed last year is doing its job of keeping the friends warm. Tim always enjoys spending time on his balcony. The view, the sound of the water, even the squawking of the seagulls; it all helps to relax him.
August too takes a swig of his beer. “Yea, true.” He smiles. “Plus he beat yours truly in the Ultratitle last year.”
Tim smiles wickedly, leaving a deliberate pause before he responds. “No offence, August, but that’s not exactly difficult.”
“Hey, ass-hole, take that back!”
“Take that back?” Tim laughs. “What are you, twelve? Oh no, wait, you’re Canadian!”
Joyce raises an eyebrow. “Oh, racist, eh?”
Tim almost chokes on his beer as he stifles a laugh. “Why do you always do that?” He asks.
“Do what, eh?” Joyce responds.
“You exaggerate your accent when I take the mickey out of your nationality. You sound like one of the Moose from Brother Bear when you do that.”
“ You’ve seen Brother Bear? That your favourite movie?” August teases his friend.
Tim replies, deadpan. “My kids loved that film.”
August stops in his tracks and gets that sinking feeling you get when you realise you’ve just put your foot in it. Bringing up your friends dead kids? Not generally a good move.
“Ok, now I feel like an ass-hole.” August says as he sits back in his chair and puts his hands on his head.
“Don’t, it’s ok.”
Tim still thinks about Matthew and Emily on a daily basis, as well as his late wife Hannah. The image of the truck skidding on the wet road, piling into their stationary car as he watched on from the emergency phone at the side of the road, is one that will be with him til the grave.
“So, he says changing the subject, how come you invited me halfway around the world?” August asks. “ I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just to poke fun at me.”
“No, it wasn’t just that.” Tim smiles again, as if putting his sad thoughts to one side. “The Gordon match isn’t just a one off, I’m planning on making a full return to the ring.”
Tim’s tone changes, his whole body language adjusts as he begins to talk about wrestling again.
“I want to get back to where I was. I want to be the guy that people look at and say ‘he’s the best British wrestler of his generation’ and not ‘oh look, there’s that guy that used to be half decent.’ I want to be taken seriously again, not to be some ‘legend’ that gets wheeled out once or twice a year to try and help American companies get better buy rates for their product in the UK. I want to be respected, I want to hold championships. I want…” Tim pauses as he thinks carefully about his next words. “I want to start over.”
He takes another sip of his beer and looks out at the ocean.
“So I decided, I’m starting fresh and trying something different.”
“So no MWA this time?” August says, eyebrow raised.
Tim Worthington is a name synonymous with the MWA. Former World Champion; Hall of Famer. Every time Tim’s come back from injury or worse it’s always been to the MWA. But this time there’s something else about his plan, there’s a determination to do something different.
“No, I mean starting really fresh.” Tim explains.”Somewhere new. EXODUS.”
“Good choice.” August nods, getting why his friend would want to do this. But then he looks a little confused. “And how do I come into this?”
“18 months ago you picked me up and got me back on my feet, and I owe you for that.” Tim points his bottle at his friend as he speaks. “ I’m going to need that level of motivation again, so I wanted to ask you to become my manager.”
“Manager?” Joyce scoffs. “What the hell would I know about being a manager?”
Tim smiles. “Probably not as much as you should.”
“Harsh!” August exclaims. “But probably true.”
“You worked under Zhen for a long time, you should have learned a lot. You probably did and you just don’t realise.” Tim says, hoping that he’s right. “But at the end of the day you’ve been a good friend and seeing as you’re out of work I figured you could do with this opportunity.”
August smiles. “Thanks, bud.” He holds his bottle out to his friend to say thank you. “I would be delighted to accept. And, as your manager, you can stop drinking beer right now.”
He leans in and swipes the bottle right out of Tims hand.
“Hey!” Tim complains. “No fair!”
“No fair?” August chuckles. “What are you, twelve? Oh no, wait, you’re British.”
“Dude!” Tim exclaims with a furrowed brow and a tone of surprise.
“Get used to it, bitch.” August says with a smile. “ I’m your manager now, I call the shots. And when I say call the shots I mean call for shots! Let’s go out and celebrate. Who’s with me?”
August raises his arm in the air, looking for a high five.
“You realise we’re the only ones here, right?”
“Shut up, poozer, let’s go.”
~fade
Friday 12th April 2013
The RIMAC Arena
San Diego, California
Tim Worthington is stood outside the RIMAC Arena in San Diego, just one of the stops on his tour of the city he’ll be calling his second home since his signing with EXODUS Pro-Wrestling. It’s an overcast morning on the UC San Diego campus and Tim is sporting a smart three piece grey suit, crisp white shirt and black tie. His jacket it open, gently moving in the breeze and revealing his waistcoat underneath. He looks into the camera for a few quiet moments before he begins to speak.
TW: As I sat and watched Invincible this past weekend I knew I’d made the right decision. The decision to join EXODUS Pro and mix with some of the best talent in professional wrestling today. And some of those great talents are coming together on April 21st to put on one hell of a match.
Tim looks over his shoulder briefly at the arena behind him.
TW: 6 man tag at the RIMAC. Yours truly, Steve Lenton and Justin Brooks all on the same side? Who could bet against this trio? Well I expect Morganti, Donovan and Daniels would.
He begins to walk off to the left of the screen, the camera following him as he starts walking towards the doors of the arena.
TW: Guys, I’ve been here all of two minutes so I don’t know what your deal is; although frankly it doesn’t really matter. What matters is your in-ring ability, which I know you have in spades. Because, let’s face it, if you didn’t you wouldn’t be in this company. What I do know is that you all came up short at Invincible. You’ll be looking to bounce back and get a win against three of the best. You’ll need that classic quality; bouncebackability.
Tim walks through the doors of the building where a cleaner is mopping the floor in the background. It’s still early in the morning and no-one else is around. He continues to walk, the camera following his every move.
TW: But let me tell you, I’m kind of an expert when it comes to bouncebackability. When I got thrown off the top of a 25 foot cage… I bounced back and won a world title. When I was forced to stop wrestling in the UK I came to the US and won back my career. When my wife and children were killed, right in front of my eyes, I overcame my demons and I’m back where I belong… the squared circle.
By now he’s reached the main arena and points to the centre, where a wrestling ring is standing.
TW: Now I’m not saying this has happened overnight; far from it. It’s taken five long years for me to be in the position I am now. And three of those years were spent in a drunken depression. I pushed away my friends, kept myself away from everything that was good. That was until one man took it upon himself to shake me out of it, get me back on my feet and sober me up. That man is responsible for me being here.
He walks down the steps towards the ring as he continues.
TW: He’s also responsible for me realising that I wasted the part of my career where I should have been at my peak. And it’s that realisation that drives me, that motivates me. I’m training harder than ever, I’m in probably the best shape of my life. My determination, commitment, passion and ambition… all higher than they’ve ever been. I could have taken a big pay day with my former employers, guaranteed opportunities for minimal effort. But that’s not what I’m about. I’m about proving my worth. I’m about starting anew. I’m about becoming the best professional wrestler ever to come out of the UK.
Tim has reached the ring and turns, looking back at where he just came from. There is a huge EXODUS banner hanging from the walls.
TW: That’s why I chose EXODUS Pro.
He looks back at the camera before climbing the steps and getting into the ring. He looks around for a moment before turning back to the camera.
TW: So here I am, ready to prove myself against the best. The likes of Jimmy Riley, Christian Kane, Jerry Matthews, Heather Halliwell, Fiona Rourke. Hell, I could go on, there’s such a plethora of talent in EXODUS.
Tim leans on the top rope, looking out of the ring at the camera. He holds up his right hand with three fingers raised.
TW: But there’s three people who come first. The team of Iconic Mayhem and Erin Daniels, my first opponents in this ring. Erin, I honestly have no problems with you; with the possible exception of the company you keep. I mean, really, Morganti and Donovan? I think you can do better. And it’s a shame for you that you didn’t get better partners for this match, because let’s face it, they’re going to come up short when compared with Brooks & Lenton.
Tim smiles cheekily as he moves away from the ropes, looking around the arena once more. Behind him two figures are seen approaching the ring. The two men, both larger and more muscular than Tim, begin to climb the steps behind him and step into the ring, flanking him as he looks into the camera. From here we can now see them clearly as Steve Lenton and Justin Brooks.
TW: Now just look at what you see in this ring. Three of the best. How can Daniels and Iconic Mayhem look to compete with the three of us. Just look at these guys. The power, the athleticism. And me, the technical ability and experience. That’s quite the combination. Pure electricity.
Worthington smiles as the camera closes in on him.
TW: And you know what happens when you play with electricity… you get one hell of a shock!!
He turns his back on the camera and shakes the hands of his partners before motioning for them to leave the ring. The three men step out, talking shop as the video comes to a close.
~fade
———
“Aaaand, we’re clear.”
August Joyce pulls the camera off his shoulder and places it on the ring apron. Worthington walks around the ring and joins his friend while Brooks and Lenton are heading out of the arena.
“You know I’m pretty sure you can get smaller cameras than that these days.” Tim jests as he points at the camera.
August nods as he looks at the beast of a camera before him. “I am well aware of that. But at such short notice this was the best I could do; I borrowed it from the UCSD media guys, it’s their old one.” He turns his attentions back to Tim. “Anyway, nice work, how does it feel to record your first promo in…. forever?”
“It feels pretty good, thanks. And it was good to catch up with Steve and Justin, they seem like good guys.”
“Yea, they do.” August agrees before holding up a finger to indicate he just remembered something. “Did you hear what Justin was saying about Iwakuma showing up at his house?”
Tim nods. “Yea, I did, scary shit. Those Legion bastards are… well, I think bastards sums it up nicely actually.”
“How come you didn’t mention them just now?” August furrows his brow as he asks, not sure why his friend would ignore the biggest issue in EXODUS right now.
Tim sighs as he turns and leans back on the ring apron.
“Look, this Legion shit is… we’ll it’s difficult. I’ve just got here, let’s not go upsetting the apple cart, alright?”
“Bu..But…” August begins, confusion evident in his tone. “…the whole point of coming to EXODUS was to upset the damn apple cart!”
“Not like that, August.” Tim explains. “You know me, if a decent guy like Justin or Steve is in real need I’ll be the first one to come to the ring and help. But I don’t want to be making any ill-considered comments and creating powerful enemies. I came here to wrestle, not to be a part of a war. I don’t want to get to the point where I’ve been here five minutes and find myself in a hospital bed next to Jon Collins.”
“What if the war comes looking for you?” There’s a hint of concern in Augusts’ voice, possibly more for his own safety. “These guys are pretty effing serious.”
Tim takes a moment to respond, considering all the possibilities that come with being a part of the EXODUS roster. He takes a deep breath and looks at his friend.
“If they come, they come.”
~end
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