Post by Immanuel Taylor on Jul 8, 2011 19:08:17 GMT -5
Immanuel Taylor was not able to book a trainer for some one on one training. After his trial match fiasco, all available EUW-Asylum trainers simply refused to work with him. The polite ones told him this to his face, saying it in a very clear and respectful tone. The others simply ignore both Immanuel’s submitted requests and his existence altogether. Most of these trainers had become enraged once they found out that Immanuel had been hired after he accidentally crippled one of their co-trainers at Taylor’s trial match. To placate them, Chad Kennedy, who was the owner back then, gave them a salary rise and gave them the ability to refuse to train with a wrestler whom they thought to be dangerous. As such, none wanted any business to do with Immanuel.
Many of them saw him as a lunatic, others simply as a guy who doesn’t belong here. Their fears, of course, was strengthened after Immanuel’s much-publicized title theft. And thus, Immanuel the Thief had to spend his afternoon on the 7th of July alone in the Asylum-EUW Gymnasium with no breathing creature to work on his submissions with. Immanuel was able to obtain a life-sized dummy, which proved to have surprisingly flexible limbs, and found a corner in the busy gymnasium to spend some time with his life-sized doll.
The EUW-Asylum gymnasium was mostly frequented by EUW-Asylum employees, not wrestlers. Many of them in an endless (and doomed) battle against middle age weight gain. Immanuel, by a very sharp contrast, is the sole person in this room with a fit body. He is wearing his usual plain black wrestling gear and is in the process of practicing his Kimura Key Lock. Immanuel’s been attempting to fully lock in the maneuver but cannot do so, the life-sized doll’s thick wrist not being able to bend all the way through.
Immanuel had been practicing a variety of submission maneuvers, but his focus has been on the wrist lock. Out of all the submission maneuvers there is, Immanuel found the wrist lock to be the most imprisoning and punishing. And that is what Immanuel intended to go after when he squares off with Danny Tenfold three days from now at New York.
After the effects of welcoming a non-Hardcore match with a fellow non-Hardkore wrestler weaned off, Immanuel came to realize the danger that Danny Tenfold in of himself and separate of match stipulations presented. Immanuel is already knowledgeable of the facts surrounding Danny’s current situation, knew very sharply that Tenfold would be looking to rebound further after his loss to Cross at Retribution. That in of itself, coupled with Tenfold’s youth, was dangerous enough. Yet the clearest indication of danger that presented itself to Immanuel was Tenfold’s wrestling style. It was the exact opposite of Immanuel’s style, the High-Flying ying-yang of Immanuel’s submission-ground based offensive.
There was no need to brainstorm a strategy when it came to facing someone with Tenfold’s strategy. It was clearly and obviously there. Tenfold’s a high-flier, Immanuel’s a ground-based submissionist. Both present an obstacle to each other. Immanuel’s strategy from the get-go is to ground Tenfold and keep him down. Lock in a loadful of submission maneuvers, go for varieties of maneuvers and keep the pressure up. Don’t let go. No reprieves. Submission-based wrestling is very much like a straight-up boxing duel. You get the other guy on the ropes and you keep him there, you keep him cornered. You then work on him. You keep the offensive coming. You mangle his ears, target the ribs, go for the knees. And if he still doesn’t go down, if he still doesn’t tap, then you go ahead and bleed him out.
Immanuel is no fan of high fliers and is not very knowledgeable of such maneuvers anyhow. If Tenfold avoids or escapes a submission hold and manages to keep a respectable distance from Immanuel then he could maintain a solid, uninterrupted offensive. That’s what Immanuel saw as Tenfold’s primary weapon.
Both Taylor and Tenfold do share one thing in terms of physique and that is cardio and stamina. Immanuel found himself a bit confused at this aspect of Tenfold’s style when he initially read Tenfold’s folder, back when he first faced him in a triple threat that involved the monstrous Fallen One (Not to be confused with the equally monstrous Brett Cross, both men Immanuel having had the pleasure to painfully tango with).
What confused Immanuel about the stamina aspect of Tenfold’s style was how a high-flier, a competitor specializing in utilizing the ring structure as a springboard, could maintain a high stamina whilst remaining loyal to his high-flying style. Immanuel didn’t get it when he read it at first but he saw it firsthand in that triple threat. Tenfold’s dynamite. But this impressive combination did not and does not intimidate Immanuel, who has his own training in sustained stamina. Part of being a submissionist is harboring a reserve of patience and Immanuel, 41 years old, has the age and maturity to go along with his stoic-like persistence. He’ll keep the submissions coming, and if he’s unable to lock one in then he’ll keep going for it. If Immanuel cannot get Tenfold’s right leg, he’ll go for his left. If that is unavailable, then attention will go to the arms and wrists, the waist, or if he times it correctly then the head.
No. When it came to a strategy, Immanuel saw his crystal clear. The only thing that seemed to creep up on Immanuel was from his own wrestling style rather than strategy. As Taylor got up and picked the life-sized doll up with him, he couldn’t help but think about what he noticed when he re-watched his wrestling matches on the 5th, it being before yesterday.
Immanuel had noticed that, beginning with his first Hardcore match at Back 2 Roots, his wrestling style began to mutate. Discreetly, of course, but it’s there for the attentive watcher. What started as an orthodox technical and submissions style of wrestling has molded itself, through the experience of matches involving weaponry, into a more aggressive style. Immanuel is still an ardent submissionist yet he also found himself using submission maneuvers as his base, as both a launching pad and decisive finish, rather than his sole aggressive thrust and stance. Even in the discussion of submissions against Tenfold, Immanuel found himself occasionally stopping to look back at his previous wrestling matches and in doing so had sensed the aforementioned evolving pattern. What once consisted of an army of submission maneuvers with a suplex here and there now evolved into a cocktail of submission maneuvers, strings of suplexes, and the rare weapon shot.
In particular, Immanuel found himself embedded to an unusual dependency on the Brainbuster maneuver. He had used it twice in the barbaric hardcore fatal four way at Back 2 Roots and nearly got the win with it. He had attempted to use it against Church and had found himself the victim of a crushing counter maneuver. And Immanuel used it again against Roy Viper at the triple threat match on the last edition of Vengeance. What Taylor saw in the Brainbuster was both feasibility and effectiveness. What he saw in his plethora of submission maneuvers was sustained efficiency that required both patience and an eye for opportunity.
Immanuel, however, did not like the Brainbuster. He saw it at first as too brutal, it being a maneuver that can indeed live up to its name if done with an extra thrust to it, but now treated it as a necessary evil. Similar to acrid-tasting medicine, the brainbuster felt unnatural to perform but came with its benefits. It cost him his match against Tyreke Bell but it would have sealed it had Immanuel been able to pull off the maneuver on the steel fence.
Immanuel immediately stopped himself as he was going for a chickenwing crossface on the live-size doll. Yes, he looks ridiculous and creepy but that wasn’t the reason. Immanuel’s thought pattern stopped at a place in which he did not want to indulge in this close to his match with Tenfold. Immanuel had already formulated what to do with the stolen title belt, he’s already synchronized the entire event in his head and is thus free to focus on his match with Tenfold.
Immanuel saw no room for improvement in that aspect today. He’s already spent a good portion of his afternoon working on his submissions and occasionally remarking on how more he found himself attracted to the brain buster. With that already done, Immanuel realized all he is doing right now is humping a life-sized doll in a room full of highly paid CEOs. A couple left due to it. Immanuel now did the same thing and made his way to the general locker-room. He checked the Hardkore Title, which is nestled in the locker safely, and proceeded to take a quick shower and dress up. He carefully took out his Ruger LC9 and quickly shoved it into the back of his jeans before making his way out.
Immanuel was out of the Asylum-EUW Headquarters by 4:39 PM. San Francisco, as usual, flowed with life and as such Immanuel found himself not wanting to immediately crawl back into his hotel room at The Hotel Tropicana. Immanuel stood there for a while, walking around the block before ultimately heading over to the Mission Dolores. He passed by it and went to the rear, finding himself in front of the obscure little café he frequented a considerable time ago.
As soon as Immanuel approached the front door, he could see that the place was full. Immanuel entered nonetheless and hoped to find, if he’s lucky, a small little table at the corner where he could sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee and today’s edition of the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Hey! Jonathan!”
Nadine the waitress, whose everlasting joy made her a noticeable presence in any scenario, was holding two trays. She brought them over to the ordering table, a young couple, before making her way to the standing Immanuel.
“Hey, long time no see. How’s everything?”
“Good” Immanuel said in a rather dull manner. He’s already trying to find a way to end the conversation so he can leave.
“I’m sorry about all of this, we’re full today. I’m telling you, this is the first time I had to shoo people away from the café. It’s crazy!”
“Ok”
“So…um…you wanna wait? I can reserve the next available table for you”
“No. No, that wouldn’t be necessary. I’ll come another time.”
Just as Immanuel went to leave, Nadine suddenly let out another energetic call to him.
“Hey! Before you, I almost forgot about this but your friend came by the café a while ago. He was asking about you. Did you finally get to see him?”
Immanuel’s eyes were focused on a salt shaker placed at a nearby occupied table when he heard this piece of information. He rarely makes eye contact with people. His eyes widened a bit and his heart raced but he was able to keep a calm exterior. He slowly turned his head and eyed Nadine, whose smile stayed strong and constant. Immanuel went to say something but stuttered and had to stop.
“Are you ok?”
“Yes” Immanuel blurted out. He regained control by now. “This man, did you manage to get a name from him?”
“Umm…no, I didn’t. But I remember how he looked like. He looked European, you know? I mean, not as white as you, hehe, but he’s definitely got that look. He was clothed in this really heavy black suit from his neck all the way to his feet. He kinda looked like a Count or something, you know?”
Immanuel’s eyes were glaring at the naïve Nadine, her thin arms on her thin waist and her face, whose beauty derives from its naturalness rather than the application of cosmetics, glowing brightly. Immanuel stood there, looking a bit wooden.
“Did you get a name?” Immanuel said, sounding too aggressive.
“No. He looked a bit….umm…I dunno, it kinda felt like he was interrogating me rather than talking with me, you know? He was easygoing, though. I do remember he had a picture of you, a recent one. But other than that, I can’t help you much. You look….tense. Is everything ok?”
“Yes” Immanuel said, this time calmly and clearly. “I…umm….would appreciate it if you could…”
“You want me to tell him I told you about him if I see him again?”
“No. I’d appreciate if you could do the opposite. If you see him again, then just tell him you never saw me or that I never came back here.” Immanuel paused as Nadine looked perplexed. “I want to make it a surprise when I run into him. I think I know where he stays when he usually comes here.”
“Umm…ok”
“Thank you” Immanuel said with an expression that was too stone-faced. He turned around and walked out of the crowded café. He made his way to the right of the Mission Dolores, walking past it and moving forward with a steady pace. Immanuel had managed to carry the conversation with Nadine decently without letting her on to anything. The only exception was the fact that he had been feigning ignorance. He knew who she was talking about when she began describing. For Immanuel Taylor knew exactly who Vitali Khodorkovsky is and, more importantly, knew that he was following him.