Post by Dean Wolf on Sept 15, 2019 22:24:09 GMT -5
As the video for Dean Wolf’s interview with Troy Butler begins, a disclaimer pops up.
We fade to a shot of Troy Butler and Dean Wolf, who are sitting in a studio.
Troy Butler: This is Troy Butler coming to you from the APW Studios in San Diego, where right now, I’ll be conducting an AlphaProWrestling.net exclusive interview with the Hardcore Champion, Dean Wolf. Thanks for being here, Wolf. First off, how are you feeling after your brutal war against Spartan for the Hardcore Title?
Dean Wolf: Well, I still feel like shit, but I took two weeks off and that’s long enough. No wrestler is ever 100% healthy and I’m not about to sit out for an indefinite period of time because I’m hurt. I have a job to do and I’ve got bills to pay, and most importantly, I’ve got a reputation to uphold and a title to defend.
Troy Butler: After the match with Spartan at Ascension, you were answering questions in the post-Ascension press conference when you were ambushed your next challenger, Big Bad Bodacious, and his men. You were put through a table and knocked out cold. Between the hardcore match with Spartan and the beating by Bodacious and his men, do you think that maybe you should wait until your Hardcore Title defense against Bodacious at Supremacy before stepping back into the ring?
Dean Wolf: Absolutely not. I’m hurt but I ain’t dead. I told you just a second ago. Two weeks was enough. I don’t need any more time off. All I need is to get in that ring and practice my craft like no one else does. What’s Bodacious doing this week? He’s not booked on the card for Metal this Monday. He’ll be doing nothing but gaining ring rust while I’m in the ring preparing for him by kicking Jaice Wilds and Masuda Jubei’s asses.
Troy Butler: Speaking of Wilds and Jubei, this match on Monday, in which you partner with Charmaine DaGawd, will be the first time that you’ve stepped into the ring with either of them. Jubei is, of course, the APW World Champion while Jaice Wilds is the “Extreme Aerialist.”
Dean Wolf: Pfft.
Troy Butler: You don’t agree?
Dean Wolf: I don’t agree with any moniker that Jaice invents for himself. Here’s a moniker for him: “Extremely Dumb Fuck.” Here’s a guy that I probably like the least out of everybody on the APW roster. I certainly respect him the least. I mean, there’s a lot people in APW that I don’t like, but at least I can respect their abilities. Jaice Wilds? Fuck him. My loathing towards him is so strong that I can’t find any ounce of respect for him.
Troy Butler: Why’s that?
Dean Wolf: He’s the biggest idiot on the APW roster. He must not keep up with what goes on in APW because if he did, then he wouldn’t be selling me short like he did on social media a few weeks ago. I don’t know if you saw this, Troy, but in a comment he made to Spartan, he said that he knew Spartan was going to beat me in the Hardcore Title Match at Ascension.
Well, Jaice, how did that work out for you? Did Spartan beat me? I distinctly remember having my hand raised and the Hardcore Title being handed to me for a second time. That’s right. I’m now a two-time Hardcore Champion. The first time I won it, I beat half the APW roster, which included you and your partner, the World Champ. I won it by pinning a man that people consider the greatest hardcore wrestler there has ever been. The second time I won it, I was German suplexed into an ambulance windshield. I was launched through two sections of seats in the Allstate Arena. I was hit with every weapon imaginable. I was powerbomb on the apron. Sparto hit me in the nuts more times than I can count. I was dropped on concrete. I almost had a fucking staple put through my eye. I took all of that and still had the strength to hit ol’ Sparto with The Kill and get my title back.
Still, you don’t give me the credit I deserve. I’ve heard you say I’ll be a main eventer in this promotion but I’ve never heard you say that I’ll be a world champion one day. No, you give that distinction to the guy I just beat to get this title back.
You don’t seem to think that I’m as good as I know I am. You don’t think that I’m good as I have proven over these last few months. You know what? I don’t think YOU’RE as good as you think you are. I think you walk around here thinking you’re shit don’t stink, thinking you’re the best wrestler in APW. I hear you call yourself a legend. Legend? Maybe in every other Tom, Dick, and Harry promotion you’ve been in, you’re considered a legend, but here in APW, you ain’t shit.
Maybe you’re beef with me is born out of jealousy. I mean, look what happened when you debuted in APW. You sat next to two fucking announcers the entire match, and then out of nowhere, you take your fucking bandana off and start attacking men and women who actually fought the whole match. People who bled and sweat and went through hell to have the distinction of becoming the first Hardcore Champion. You thought you were hot shit because of your big grand reveal until I stood up and told you to suck me dick. Then I put you in a Stretch Muffler and let everybody take turns stomping on your stupid head. I made you look like a fool in your debut and you deserved it. I embarrassed you, and to add insult to injury, I won the match and the title.
I heard you say I came out of left field when I won the title. Maybe in your mind I did, and I’ll admit that I underperformed a lot before coming to APW but it wasn’t because I wasn’t good enough. It was because I halted my career with dumb mistakes; but I always knew that I had that fucking shit in me. I knew I had what it took to pin ZMAC. I knew I could outlast the best that APW had to offer. Hell, if you paid attention, you might have known that I had it in me. This isn’t the first Hardcore Title I’ve ever held. You know what the first one was? The WCF Hardcore Title. You know who I beat for that? Stephen Singh, a guy who deserves to call himself a legend. Shit, go back even further than that. Go watch War XIV, the night where I broke through and made everyone pay attention to me. Came out of left field? No, son. I came out of left field a long time ago. That night in AC, I was crossing home plate.
Yet you still underestimate me. You treat my accomplishments like flukes. Have you not learned anything since AC? Have you not learned that I’m as good as I say I am? Not only am I as good as I say I am, but I’m going to continue to climb the ladder of success in APW until I get to that World Title. I will be the first APW Hardcore Champion to win the APW World Championship.
Now whether it’s against your partner or somebody else remains to be seen, but let me tell you, if it is Masuda Jubei, you damn well know that I’m going to win that title.
Troy Butler: So you’re setting your sights on The Master?
Dean Wolf: I don’t know any masters. I certainly don’t have a master, but if you’re referring to Jubei, then yeah, I’m setting my sights on him. Hell, I set my sights on him even before Alpha Showdown. On Talk Metal a week or two before Showdown, I said that I was going to have my eye on whoever became the first person to become the World Champion because I was going to come after them while still defending this Hardcore Championship. It would be an honor to step into the ring with Masuda Jubei if I get that opportunity, but it would also be a very gratifying experience because I plan on beating Masuda Jubei for that World Title.
You see, I have a very unique perspective on the type of person that Masuda Jubei is. You know why? It’s because there was a time when I was like Allen Anderson and Leon Dread and Tsukiko and all these other people who follow Jubei around and sniff his ass. I was the apprentice to Bernard Core. I was his right hand man. I was his Dean of Discipline in the Core Institute. Bernard Core was like Jubei in that he thought he was a savior of some kind, except his main priority wasn’t to save a wrestling promotion or the entire sport of wrestling. He was trying to save American education and America herself. Regardless, he was similar to Jubei in that he thought he was some messiah that came down on high to deliver us all from some kind of evil.
The reason I bought into Bernard Core’s bullshit was because he saved my life and got me off of pills and booze. I was grateful for that, but I came to learn that he didn’t save me for my own sake. No, he was doing it for his sake. He needed someone to be his enforcer. He needed someone to get their hands dirty so that he wouldn’t have to get his hands dirty himself. I was grateful that this man helped me but all he did was take advantage of my gratitude and manipulated my mind. He feigned respect for me when all he really did was treat me like a common underling, a subordinate, a piece of shit. That’s where he went wrong and I finally had to separate myself from him and disavow all the beliefs that he put in my brain. Just like Jubei, Bernard Core was a demagogue. He used me to get what he wanted just like Jubei uses his people to get what he wants.
You’ve got Dani Applegate talking to Jubei about the four levels of dictatorship. I saw Bernard Core go through all four of those levels, all the way to delusion, and those delusions caught up to him. He got so caught up in the idea that he was America’s savior that he failed to win the WCF United States Championship from Mikey eXtreme. He failed to win the Sixth Dimension Championship. This man could have been the greatest wrestler in the world, but he was so wrapped up in his own bullshit that it was his downfall in the end. He was so desperate to be seen as a paradox of virtue that he took shortcuts to try and achieve that status and it backfired on him.
Masuda Jubei may have already achieved World Champion status, but he’s on a path where the only destination is the same as Bernard Core’s was: downfall. Jubei thinks APW needs to be saved and I people like me need to bow down to him and thank him for everything he’s done for APW.
He looks at the camera.
Let me tell you something, Jubei. I no longer bow down to any man. I no longer deify human beings. I no longer hold anybody up on a pedestal except for myself because I am all that I need to get by and be the best in this business.
I’m glad that I was able to stop Smith Jones from continuing on as a motivational speaker. All it was doing was making him look like a con artist, but you, Jubei? You’re a bigger con artist then Smith Jones ever was. You pass yourself off as a good man when all you really are is a shady criminal who uses other people. Well, I’m not gonna bow down to you. You call yourself a locker room leader but I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You’re not my fucking leader. I didn’t choose you. I lead myself. This is a very individualistic sport. This roster is not one big team. Everybody here looks out for themselves. Most wrestlers would stab each other in the back if they had the chance, and you, Mr. Honorable, are no different. You’d stab anyone in the back if it meant furthering your own interests.
You think you need to put people in line? I’m not Nyeo Son. I don’t need to be put in line. I walk on my own line. You can see that I’m not succumbing to the machinations of Irina Ivanova. I know she may be a common enemy of ours, but that doesn’t make us allies. You want to take over APW and overthrow Irina that way this can be your personal playground and you can have a totalitarian hold on this promotion. I, on the other hand, would like to see Irina Ivanova out of power so that there’s more freedom for the people that fight in the squared circle. I’d like to see someone in her current position that actually respects the wrestlers and doesn’t laugh at their misfortune while she flaunts her position in this organization. I want someone that doesn’t look down on the wrestlers like peasants. I want someone who appreciates what we do in that ring.
You’re not looking to do any good for anybody. The only person you’re looking to do any good for is yourself. Well, I’m not letting you become the dictator of this place. This is wrestling. This is a sport. This is my job. This is my livelihood. This is my passion. This is what I love to do. This is not the personal playground of The Masuda Corporation. Maybe you can buy off Dread or Anderson or Tsukiko or anybody else, but you cannot buy me off. As long as I am here, I am going to be in your way. I’m going to stop you from corrupting APW. Wrestling is corrupt enough. APW can be something different. I won’t let you disable it while it’s just starting to get its feet on the ground. This is going to be a place where people can freely compete against each other and where the best, THE BEST, get the opportunities. This is going to be a place where the hungriest in the locker room can get in that ring and try to make something of themselves.
There will be no man or woman treating the wrestlers like marionette puppets.
The wrestlers themselves will be the masters of their fates.
The wrestlers themselves will be the captains of their souls.
This week on Metal, I’m going to kill two birds with one stone. One bird has made the mistake of downgrading my talent. The other bird has made the mistake of thinking he’s going to have absolute power in APW. The stone is going to be The Kill, and it’s going to knock both of these birds out of the sky and right on to their backs. Enjoy the view from the sky, dickheads, because after Monday, you’re going to be looking up at it and realizing that you’ll never fly that high again.
He stares hard into the camera.
Troy Butler: Strong words from the champ. Thanks for your time, Wolf.
The screen fades to black.
A few hours later, Wolf is back on Long Island, driving home from the airport.
Well, that was a nice little diversion. I really wasn’t looking forward to getting on a plane with all the fucking pain I’m in, but I did get to spend some time in San Diego, so it was worth it.
That’s funny. I’m looking at the bright side for once. I don’t remember the last time that happened.
He turns into his apartment complex’s parking lot.
Life seems to be pretty good right now. That shit Bodacious pulled after Ascension pissed me off, but that’s the wrestling business. Everything else, though, apologizing to people, getting all that guilt off of my chest, finally doing well in my career and not doing anything to sideline it, it’s all pointing me in the right direction. Not everything is perfect. My dad still hates me, but nothing’s ever 100% perfect. Sometimes you just have to let some shit go. You just have to move on. There’s other people to apologize to. There’s other things to make right. I just need to move on.
He pulls into an open parking space and puts his car in park.
Normally, I’d be suspicious when things start going well, but I’m not going to be like that this time. I’m going to hold out hope that maybe I can get myself out of this darkness I’ve lived in for half my life. Maybe this wall I’ve built up around myself can come down. Maybe I can start anew, like an upgrade. Yeah. A new version of Wolf. Wolf 2.0.
He laughs at how stupid that sounds. He shakes his head and gets out of the car. He grabs his bag from the trunk and heads to his apartment building.
Parked diagonally from Wolf’s car, in a row of cars on the other side of the parking lot, sits a tan, broken down 2001 Honda Accord. The driver lifts his seat in an upright position and stares at Wolf scornfully through the windshield as the champ walks away.
Chris Swenson: I hope you enjoyed your trip, Dan. It’s going to be hard to take another one when you’re bedridden for the rest of your life.
This interview was recorded before the events of Action Wrestling’s XIII event.
We fade to a shot of Troy Butler and Dean Wolf, who are sitting in a studio.
Troy Butler: This is Troy Butler coming to you from the APW Studios in San Diego, where right now, I’ll be conducting an AlphaProWrestling.net exclusive interview with the Hardcore Champion, Dean Wolf. Thanks for being here, Wolf. First off, how are you feeling after your brutal war against Spartan for the Hardcore Title?
Dean Wolf: Well, I still feel like shit, but I took two weeks off and that’s long enough. No wrestler is ever 100% healthy and I’m not about to sit out for an indefinite period of time because I’m hurt. I have a job to do and I’ve got bills to pay, and most importantly, I’ve got a reputation to uphold and a title to defend.
Troy Butler: After the match with Spartan at Ascension, you were answering questions in the post-Ascension press conference when you were ambushed your next challenger, Big Bad Bodacious, and his men. You were put through a table and knocked out cold. Between the hardcore match with Spartan and the beating by Bodacious and his men, do you think that maybe you should wait until your Hardcore Title defense against Bodacious at Supremacy before stepping back into the ring?
Dean Wolf: Absolutely not. I’m hurt but I ain’t dead. I told you just a second ago. Two weeks was enough. I don’t need any more time off. All I need is to get in that ring and practice my craft like no one else does. What’s Bodacious doing this week? He’s not booked on the card for Metal this Monday. He’ll be doing nothing but gaining ring rust while I’m in the ring preparing for him by kicking Jaice Wilds and Masuda Jubei’s asses.
Troy Butler: Speaking of Wilds and Jubei, this match on Monday, in which you partner with Charmaine DaGawd, will be the first time that you’ve stepped into the ring with either of them. Jubei is, of course, the APW World Champion while Jaice Wilds is the “Extreme Aerialist.”
Dean Wolf: Pfft.
Troy Butler: You don’t agree?
Dean Wolf: I don’t agree with any moniker that Jaice invents for himself. Here’s a moniker for him: “Extremely Dumb Fuck.” Here’s a guy that I probably like the least out of everybody on the APW roster. I certainly respect him the least. I mean, there’s a lot people in APW that I don’t like, but at least I can respect their abilities. Jaice Wilds? Fuck him. My loathing towards him is so strong that I can’t find any ounce of respect for him.
Troy Butler: Why’s that?
Dean Wolf: He’s the biggest idiot on the APW roster. He must not keep up with what goes on in APW because if he did, then he wouldn’t be selling me short like he did on social media a few weeks ago. I don’t know if you saw this, Troy, but in a comment he made to Spartan, he said that he knew Spartan was going to beat me in the Hardcore Title Match at Ascension.
Well, Jaice, how did that work out for you? Did Spartan beat me? I distinctly remember having my hand raised and the Hardcore Title being handed to me for a second time. That’s right. I’m now a two-time Hardcore Champion. The first time I won it, I beat half the APW roster, which included you and your partner, the World Champ. I won it by pinning a man that people consider the greatest hardcore wrestler there has ever been. The second time I won it, I was German suplexed into an ambulance windshield. I was launched through two sections of seats in the Allstate Arena. I was hit with every weapon imaginable. I was powerbomb on the apron. Sparto hit me in the nuts more times than I can count. I was dropped on concrete. I almost had a fucking staple put through my eye. I took all of that and still had the strength to hit ol’ Sparto with The Kill and get my title back.
Still, you don’t give me the credit I deserve. I’ve heard you say I’ll be a main eventer in this promotion but I’ve never heard you say that I’ll be a world champion one day. No, you give that distinction to the guy I just beat to get this title back.
You don’t seem to think that I’m as good as I know I am. You don’t think that I’m good as I have proven over these last few months. You know what? I don’t think YOU’RE as good as you think you are. I think you walk around here thinking you’re shit don’t stink, thinking you’re the best wrestler in APW. I hear you call yourself a legend. Legend? Maybe in every other Tom, Dick, and Harry promotion you’ve been in, you’re considered a legend, but here in APW, you ain’t shit.
Maybe you’re beef with me is born out of jealousy. I mean, look what happened when you debuted in APW. You sat next to two fucking announcers the entire match, and then out of nowhere, you take your fucking bandana off and start attacking men and women who actually fought the whole match. People who bled and sweat and went through hell to have the distinction of becoming the first Hardcore Champion. You thought you were hot shit because of your big grand reveal until I stood up and told you to suck me dick. Then I put you in a Stretch Muffler and let everybody take turns stomping on your stupid head. I made you look like a fool in your debut and you deserved it. I embarrassed you, and to add insult to injury, I won the match and the title.
I heard you say I came out of left field when I won the title. Maybe in your mind I did, and I’ll admit that I underperformed a lot before coming to APW but it wasn’t because I wasn’t good enough. It was because I halted my career with dumb mistakes; but I always knew that I had that fucking shit in me. I knew I had what it took to pin ZMAC. I knew I could outlast the best that APW had to offer. Hell, if you paid attention, you might have known that I had it in me. This isn’t the first Hardcore Title I’ve ever held. You know what the first one was? The WCF Hardcore Title. You know who I beat for that? Stephen Singh, a guy who deserves to call himself a legend. Shit, go back even further than that. Go watch War XIV, the night where I broke through and made everyone pay attention to me. Came out of left field? No, son. I came out of left field a long time ago. That night in AC, I was crossing home plate.
Yet you still underestimate me. You treat my accomplishments like flukes. Have you not learned anything since AC? Have you not learned that I’m as good as I say I am? Not only am I as good as I say I am, but I’m going to continue to climb the ladder of success in APW until I get to that World Title. I will be the first APW Hardcore Champion to win the APW World Championship.
Now whether it’s against your partner or somebody else remains to be seen, but let me tell you, if it is Masuda Jubei, you damn well know that I’m going to win that title.
Troy Butler: So you’re setting your sights on The Master?
Dean Wolf: I don’t know any masters. I certainly don’t have a master, but if you’re referring to Jubei, then yeah, I’m setting my sights on him. Hell, I set my sights on him even before Alpha Showdown. On Talk Metal a week or two before Showdown, I said that I was going to have my eye on whoever became the first person to become the World Champion because I was going to come after them while still defending this Hardcore Championship. It would be an honor to step into the ring with Masuda Jubei if I get that opportunity, but it would also be a very gratifying experience because I plan on beating Masuda Jubei for that World Title.
You see, I have a very unique perspective on the type of person that Masuda Jubei is. You know why? It’s because there was a time when I was like Allen Anderson and Leon Dread and Tsukiko and all these other people who follow Jubei around and sniff his ass. I was the apprentice to Bernard Core. I was his right hand man. I was his Dean of Discipline in the Core Institute. Bernard Core was like Jubei in that he thought he was a savior of some kind, except his main priority wasn’t to save a wrestling promotion or the entire sport of wrestling. He was trying to save American education and America herself. Regardless, he was similar to Jubei in that he thought he was some messiah that came down on high to deliver us all from some kind of evil.
The reason I bought into Bernard Core’s bullshit was because he saved my life and got me off of pills and booze. I was grateful for that, but I came to learn that he didn’t save me for my own sake. No, he was doing it for his sake. He needed someone to be his enforcer. He needed someone to get their hands dirty so that he wouldn’t have to get his hands dirty himself. I was grateful that this man helped me but all he did was take advantage of my gratitude and manipulated my mind. He feigned respect for me when all he really did was treat me like a common underling, a subordinate, a piece of shit. That’s where he went wrong and I finally had to separate myself from him and disavow all the beliefs that he put in my brain. Just like Jubei, Bernard Core was a demagogue. He used me to get what he wanted just like Jubei uses his people to get what he wants.
You’ve got Dani Applegate talking to Jubei about the four levels of dictatorship. I saw Bernard Core go through all four of those levels, all the way to delusion, and those delusions caught up to him. He got so caught up in the idea that he was America’s savior that he failed to win the WCF United States Championship from Mikey eXtreme. He failed to win the Sixth Dimension Championship. This man could have been the greatest wrestler in the world, but he was so wrapped up in his own bullshit that it was his downfall in the end. He was so desperate to be seen as a paradox of virtue that he took shortcuts to try and achieve that status and it backfired on him.
Masuda Jubei may have already achieved World Champion status, but he’s on a path where the only destination is the same as Bernard Core’s was: downfall. Jubei thinks APW needs to be saved and I people like me need to bow down to him and thank him for everything he’s done for APW.
He looks at the camera.
Let me tell you something, Jubei. I no longer bow down to any man. I no longer deify human beings. I no longer hold anybody up on a pedestal except for myself because I am all that I need to get by and be the best in this business.
I’m glad that I was able to stop Smith Jones from continuing on as a motivational speaker. All it was doing was making him look like a con artist, but you, Jubei? You’re a bigger con artist then Smith Jones ever was. You pass yourself off as a good man when all you really are is a shady criminal who uses other people. Well, I’m not gonna bow down to you. You call yourself a locker room leader but I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You’re not my fucking leader. I didn’t choose you. I lead myself. This is a very individualistic sport. This roster is not one big team. Everybody here looks out for themselves. Most wrestlers would stab each other in the back if they had the chance, and you, Mr. Honorable, are no different. You’d stab anyone in the back if it meant furthering your own interests.
You think you need to put people in line? I’m not Nyeo Son. I don’t need to be put in line. I walk on my own line. You can see that I’m not succumbing to the machinations of Irina Ivanova. I know she may be a common enemy of ours, but that doesn’t make us allies. You want to take over APW and overthrow Irina that way this can be your personal playground and you can have a totalitarian hold on this promotion. I, on the other hand, would like to see Irina Ivanova out of power so that there’s more freedom for the people that fight in the squared circle. I’d like to see someone in her current position that actually respects the wrestlers and doesn’t laugh at their misfortune while she flaunts her position in this organization. I want someone that doesn’t look down on the wrestlers like peasants. I want someone who appreciates what we do in that ring.
You’re not looking to do any good for anybody. The only person you’re looking to do any good for is yourself. Well, I’m not letting you become the dictator of this place. This is wrestling. This is a sport. This is my job. This is my livelihood. This is my passion. This is what I love to do. This is not the personal playground of The Masuda Corporation. Maybe you can buy off Dread or Anderson or Tsukiko or anybody else, but you cannot buy me off. As long as I am here, I am going to be in your way. I’m going to stop you from corrupting APW. Wrestling is corrupt enough. APW can be something different. I won’t let you disable it while it’s just starting to get its feet on the ground. This is going to be a place where people can freely compete against each other and where the best, THE BEST, get the opportunities. This is going to be a place where the hungriest in the locker room can get in that ring and try to make something of themselves.
There will be no man or woman treating the wrestlers like marionette puppets.
The wrestlers themselves will be the masters of their fates.
The wrestlers themselves will be the captains of their souls.
This week on Metal, I’m going to kill two birds with one stone. One bird has made the mistake of downgrading my talent. The other bird has made the mistake of thinking he’s going to have absolute power in APW. The stone is going to be The Kill, and it’s going to knock both of these birds out of the sky and right on to their backs. Enjoy the view from the sky, dickheads, because after Monday, you’re going to be looking up at it and realizing that you’ll never fly that high again.
He stares hard into the camera.
Troy Butler: Strong words from the champ. Thanks for your time, Wolf.
The screen fades to black.
A few hours later, Wolf is back on Long Island, driving home from the airport.
Well, that was a nice little diversion. I really wasn’t looking forward to getting on a plane with all the fucking pain I’m in, but I did get to spend some time in San Diego, so it was worth it.
That’s funny. I’m looking at the bright side for once. I don’t remember the last time that happened.
He turns into his apartment complex’s parking lot.
Life seems to be pretty good right now. That shit Bodacious pulled after Ascension pissed me off, but that’s the wrestling business. Everything else, though, apologizing to people, getting all that guilt off of my chest, finally doing well in my career and not doing anything to sideline it, it’s all pointing me in the right direction. Not everything is perfect. My dad still hates me, but nothing’s ever 100% perfect. Sometimes you just have to let some shit go. You just have to move on. There’s other people to apologize to. There’s other things to make right. I just need to move on.
He pulls into an open parking space and puts his car in park.
Normally, I’d be suspicious when things start going well, but I’m not going to be like that this time. I’m going to hold out hope that maybe I can get myself out of this darkness I’ve lived in for half my life. Maybe this wall I’ve built up around myself can come down. Maybe I can start anew, like an upgrade. Yeah. A new version of Wolf. Wolf 2.0.
He laughs at how stupid that sounds. He shakes his head and gets out of the car. He grabs his bag from the trunk and heads to his apartment building.
Parked diagonally from Wolf’s car, in a row of cars on the other side of the parking lot, sits a tan, broken down 2001 Honda Accord. The driver lifts his seat in an upright position and stares at Wolf scornfully through the windshield as the champ walks away.
Chris Swenson: I hope you enjoyed your trip, Dan. It’s going to be hard to take another one when you’re bedridden for the rest of your life.
