Powerbomb in Hard Rock
[FADE IN. Hard Rock Café in Nottingham, England. Karl “The Dragon” Brown is sitting at a table, facing the wall. He looks up at the memorabilia; a picture disc for Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast” and a signed acoustic guitar used by Donovan Leitch are the ones which stand out. Sitting opposite Karl, under a video screen, is a reporter, dressed casually, a small Dictaphone on the table between them]
Reporter: OK, thanks again for this interview Karl. I know you’re busy getting ready for your matches, but this is really big for the magazine.
Karl: Sure, no problem. What magazine was it for again?
Reporter: Powerbomb. I’ll send you a copy. We’re a small underground magazine, so you won’t find us in the shops, but hopefully this’ll get us enough interest to make the major chains stand up and take notice. Shall we begin?
Karl: Sure.
Reporter: Right. [The reporter presses a button on the Dictaphone, setting it down on the table before speaking. A little red light tells us it’s recording] OK, this is Robert Albright, reporting for Powerbomb magazine with an interview with Karl “The Dragon” Brown. Karl, you’re already being called a star. How does that make you feel?
Karl: It’s good to be noticed, but I’d have to question the star comment. I’ve only been wrestling professionally for a few months, after all. Yes, I rose to fame quickly in MCW, and hold a good spot in Empire Pro and the NWL, but to call me a star is premature. I do what I do best, which is wrestle and bring the fans in. I enjoy what I do, and whilst I may be popular right now, that doesn’t make me a star. If you look at the real stars of this business, you’ve got your Dan Ryan’s, your Maelstrom’s, the guys who’ve been doing this a while. Time will tell if I deserve to be called a star. Until then, I’m happy to just keep doing something I enjoy.
Robert: So, you see yourself still at a lower level than the fans do? Why is that?
Karl: What have I really done to be called a star? Yes, I’ve made it far in a few tournaments and had some great matches, but still, anyone can have a run of a few months where they get some great matches. Mayhem Mountain, for example, could have had any two guys in it, and it still would have been talked about a helluva lot. Benjamin and I did put on a show and a half, and I paid for some of the hits, but still, that one match is hardly the basis of an entire career. Yes, I’ve beaten the likes of Christian Sands and Lars Magellan, and had great matches with Dakota Smith and Adam Benjamin, but still, I’ve got a long way to go before I can be called a star. So, yeah, I suppose I do see myself on a lower level than others do, but that’s one thing about me. I don’t believe my own hype. I got hyped as the perfect fairy tale when I made it to the final of the MCW heavyweight championship tournament, and even believed it was possible for me to go all the way and win the title, but it never happened. If you start to believe your own hype, you leave yourself open, and it’ll hurt like hell when the hype gets torn away. I think I said something similar to some wrestling trainees the other day, as a matter of fact.
Robert: Yeah, one of your promos. How do you come up with the idea for those?
Karl: I don’t, really. People have said my promos are all for show, but they’re nothing of the sort. Most are done in forests or somewhere out in nature, and that’s because I enjoy being outdoors. I use Sherwood Forest quite a lot because I feel more peaceful there. And when I do the promos where I’ve been training, am training or am giving a talk or interview, those are to save time. I mean, I have to train a lot for some of these matches, and I don’t have as much time as I’d like to travel round to be outdoors for every promo. So, I sometimes double up time slots to get them done and still have some time where I can gather my thoughts before the big matches.
Robert: Speaking of big matches, you’re going up against Maelstrom at NWL Combat. He says you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, that you’re a victim of circumstance. How do you respond to that?
Karl: I know Maelstrom outside the ring is distracted, but I’ve also seen enough of him to know that he won’t let that interfere with things inside the ring. Does that make me a victim of circumstances? Not in my mind. What I see when I look at Maelstrom is another test of my skills. He doesn’t win often, but he’s just as beatable on any given night as any man he faces. I know a lot of people, myself included, think I don’t have much of a chance. But there’s always the possibility that I’ll catch a lucky break and pick up the win. Then, I’ll be a victim of good fortune. As far as being in the wrong place at the wrong time goes, I’m looking forward to facing him. I’ve been looking forward to facing him for a while, ever since I saw his name on the roster. I was quietly pleased when I saw him in Empire Pro too, but obviously that didn’t work out. But since he’s in the NWL, then I knew our paths would cross sooner or later. Far from being in the wrong place, I’m exactly where I want to be. He’s going to be one of the biggest tests I’ve ever faced in wrestling. Even if I lose, I know that as long as I do my best, as long as I give it everything I have, I can hold my head up high and know then how much more I have to advance.
Robert: Yeah, about that. Could you explain your philosophy a little? It’s not really common, and a lot of people, myself included, have trouble working out what you mean.
Karl: Sure. I know that in this business, losing is a reality. There’s always going to be a winner and loser. And I know that I’m just as likely to lose as anyone else. Losing doesn’t phase me as much as it does others because I know there are going to be times when I fail. And when you’re going up against someone with the skills of someone like Maelstrom, as well as the experience, then you’ve got to expect to lose. I use the matches not as a means to win popularity, but as a means to test my own skills. I know, for example, if I can give Maelstrom a match which no-one knows which way it’s going to go, and then I can go out the next night and do it again and again, I know at what level I can class myself at, and how much further I have to go to the next level. If you remember my match at Empire Pro’s Black Dawn PPV, you’ll remember I went into that saying that the IC title was a symbol of how far I’d progressed. For others, those titles are symbols of what they are, but for me, each title is a symbol of how far I’ve progressed, and how far I have to go before I reach the next level. In the NWL, the titles are set at different levels. The TV was the first decided, then the IC, and soon, the Worlds will be decided, and it’s done in that order because that’s seen as the order of importance. So, for example, people can see Jarod Poe at the top of the TV championship level, working towards the IC strap. People look at the WLS participants and see the five of us as the top guys in the NWL based on what we’ve done so far. Right now, I see myself working towards a high level, towards the Worlds Title. If I fail to win it this time, I can take a step back, and start working towards the level I need to win that title. Then, I can start working towards holding onto that strap. I use the titles as a physical measure of my own level. The matches I have are also indicators of what level I am and how far I have to go before I can reach the next level. I want to surpass myself, and to do that, I’ve set myself goals. As I accomplish each goal, I set another one, slightly higher. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, to use an old cliché, but at the same time I don’t want to be able to swallow it in one gulp every time. By making goals to work towards, I can keep progressing at a steady rate. But like I said, I know that I’ll lose along the way, and my path will become blocked. It’s working your way around those blocks and obstacles that makes us better people, that makes us stronger, so why should I really be too worried about one loss?
Robert: Fair point. Maelstrom also said it could come down to the Dragon’s Bite against Mortal Sin. How do you see it?
Karl: If it comes down to finishers, then it’s too close to call. Mortal Sin is a powerful submission move, but it can be countered, as The Watcher showed us. The Dragon’s Bite can be countered in several ways too, which is why I adapt how I set it up, to try and take away some of those. In a battle of the finishers, though, I’d have to go with Mortal Sin, much like any sane person would.
Robert: So you’re saying you expect to lose this week?
Karl: I’m not planning on losing, but I expect it as a reality, yes.
Robert: OK. One last question. Where do you see yourself going from here on out?
Karl: [a slight pause, as Karl thinks for a minute, sighing slightly] I can see myself staying around in this business, but I can’t really say where I’ll be. Will I hold a title? Who knows? A lot of people see a world’s title in my future, but until it happens, I can’t really comment. I don’t make promises I can’t keep, and I can’t keep a promise that I’ll hold a title or go on to bigger and better things in my career. All I can say is that I’m going to give it my all, that I’m going to keep trying, keep doing what I do best, and see where things go from here.
Robert: [stopping the tape] OK. Thanks for the interview, Karl. I take it the camera here is what you meant by doubling up time slots?
Karl: Yeah. I’m taking the rest of the day off to train, so I thought I’d do both in one go. Besides, you guys could use the advertising, right?
Robert: [laughing] True, true. Thanks again, Karl.
Karl: Any time. [Robert picks up the Dictaphone, shaking Karl’s hand before leaving. Karl turns to face the camera] Maelstrom. I’m going to enjoy this match, win or lose. Don’t worry, you’ll get my best. See you at Combat.
[FADE OUT]