[POST-SHOW EXCLUSIVE] Turmoil 286: Verde's Valiant Victory!

[Shianne Lovelace]

Verde is standing back in catering, by himself. Deaver was passed out back in their locker room, tired after the impromptu bout with The Wrestling Club. Verde lets out a sight and stretches a little, he felt good but something didn't feel right. Not physically, no, mentally. That match had been like a fever dream to him, he felt as though he hardly remembered a second of it. Many things had been swirling in his mind over the last week or even before that, the appearance of Kassidy Hayes into his life was unexpected and was a great cause for concern. A great deal of looking in on himself from an outside viewpoint soon followed that interaction.

 

Verde: ...

 

He was going to say something aloud, he knew he was. It was right on the tip of his tongue when it vanished from his vocal cords and the thought disappeared from his mind. Not like there was anyone around to hear him, he'd just be rambling to himself like an idiot. Or like Deaver. Another sigh, as he grabbed a plate and began sifting through the dishes looking for something that might take his fancy. He'd always been a foodie, and it helped calm him down even if it wasn't the most healthy of coping methods.

 

Finally, he stops upon a pasta dish. He wasn't quite sure what it was meant to be exactly, but the familiar smell of pasta was enough to catch his attention. It looked hastily thrown together and barely cooked properly, but he had come to expect that from whoever was making OCW's catering. OCW takes all stops to afford the best wrestlers, and cheaps out on everything else. It was just the way things were. He shrugged, throwing the weird pasta dish onto his plate before taking some steps back to sit down on an equipment box.

 

Sitting with the plate on his lap and a fork in his hand, he slowly began to eat. The eerie silence of the backstage area meant he was left with nobody to chat with but his own mentality. It was either that or acknowledging the tinnitus that comes with being in quiet spaces, which would've been far more irritating. The question that kept popping up in his mind was the same one Kassidy had forced him to ask himself last week: "Do you believe?"

 

It seemed like such an inconsequential statement, in reality, but the complexity of the answer was far more than he could've ever anticipated. He enjoyed what he was doing with Deaver, but did he truly "BELIEVE"? He was unsure, and the fact was he'd been unsure ever since the beginning. A few months back, it wasn't meant to be anything like this, and the fact that they'd even gotten a tag title shot was far more than he'd anticipated heading into it.

 

He stabbed the pasta with his fork, twirling before slurping it down. It was a little undercooked. Whoever made it clearly wasn't making pasta on the regular. Disappointing.

 

Back into his mind, he pondered more on the complexity of the questions he was asking himself. Believing in something was a key factor to living anymore, but what was he supposed to believe in? He knew he believed in himself, to some extent. Though ever since the heart and soul faded he felt as though he were a husk, going through the motions trying to find his next big breakout moment. There were glimpses of that with Deaver, for sure, and that spurred him to keep going.

 

But were those glimpses enough to truly "believe" in?

 

Verde: I don't know.

 

He had been snapped out of his own thoughtful daze by his own monotonous voice. For someone who just claimed victory over one of the most prolific tandems in the company, he sounded less than enthused. It was shocking to him as much as it would've been anyone else. For one, this was technically a victory over John Carter - finally some small amount of payback for way back when. He hadn't forgotten, and he never would. The way John cast him aside still hurt to think about, and he often wondered if Joe would do the same one day.

 

Once again, back into his mind. The last few months had been a ride, and up until last week, he felt good about it. Ups and downs and ups, until Kassidy Hayes appeared and threw a wrench into the entire grand mechanism of his mind. Joe was unaware, to his knowledge, as he didn't discuss it with the Wilkes-Barre Believer, nor did he intend to. It was entirely his own issue to grapple with.

 

But the question remained: Would he be able to find the answers he wanted, or would he find the ones others wanted?

 

Looking down, he noticed the plate was empty. He didn't feel full, but he also wasn't about to indulge on undercooked pasta. He could wait until he got home to make himself a proper victory dinner. Cooking soothed his mind, to some extent. Cooking and a good cup of coffee. Standing up, he tossed his paper plate in the garbage, before putting the facecover back on and heading back towards the locker room.

 

Verde: Somebody better file a complaint about that damn pasta...

 

The cameras fade. To the outside viewer, this was probably the most boring five minutes of watching someone eat ever. OCW eating ASMR content, surely to top the list of WhereCulture's top 10 most absurd OCW broadcasting decisions in the last week. Hopefully an Aaron would host it.