(Reporter): Jeremy Branson…Joelle Jones with KOIN, CBS 6…what can you tell us about your match last night? We saw a different Jeremy Branson in the ring than we normally do.
Jeremy extends the handle on his luggage and starts pulling it behind him as he walks into the terminal, the crew following behind his every step. One thing he learned at the academy was not to get caught if you didn’t want to. The media folk will follow you, but if you stay on the move...the engagement isn't as long as if you just stood there and accepted the intrusion.
(Jeremy): Different how?
(Joelle Jones): More aggressive for one thing, its not your normal style to get yourself disqualified. Maniac commented that he “pushed” you, just as he did Matt Miller. What was the motivation for your actions?
Matt was his motivation. He thought if he could take Maniac out before Helloween Harvest he could derail this proposed match between he and Maniac. He thought that if he beat Maniac, he’d humble him enough to back off a little a rethink his mission to go after them all.
(Jeremy): It doesn’t surprise me he’s trying to take credit for my performance, he did the same with Matt about Art of War. Look, I had a lot on my mind, and I lost my cool. He suckered me into playing his little game and it got me disqualified, that’s all there is to it.
That was a lie. He wasn’t about to admit outright that Maniac had pushed more of his buttons than Sean does in one of his gaming live streams. The sight of him made him angry. That stupid smile on his face as if he liked the pain, he liked the taste of his own blood, he liked bringing people down to his level.
(Joelle Jones): What are your thoughts on his protégé, Erica Martinez? Did you see the CBS exclusive on her last night?
(Jeremy): I saw it. Erica’s a sick woman, she needs serious mental help. What she’s doing right now to Hans and Vanessa is disgusting and she needs to stop or be stopped.
(Joelle Jones): What has Hans or his wife Vanessa said about the situation?
(Jeremy): I haven’t spoken to Hans about it. That’s a very personal matter and I don’t have that sort of relationship with him for him to confide in me about his feelings, and I don’t want to speculate on what those are.
(Joelle Jones): What is his mood, his behavior around the others? Have you, yourself witnessed him being inappropriate with any of the trainees, wrestlers or staff? Are you aware of anyone else who may have come forward about being sexually assaulted by him?
Jeremy, who had been keeping a steady pace up until that point stopped dead in his tracks and turned to the reporter.
(Jeremy): Look, Hans is one of the best superstars in the modern era of this sport, and the epitome of a stand-up guy. These harassment or assault claims are complete bullshit and everybody knows it. You’re out here perpetuating a bunch of lies, and feeding into the hysteria Maniac and Erica are trying to cause. What you need to be asking is why is Erica lying, what kind of help is she getting because clearly the bitch is crazy and needs real professional support.
(Joelle Jones): I understand that given her attacks on you, you might have a biased opinion about her. Was it not Erica Martinez that outed you on Havoc months ago?
No this bitch didn’t! She’s one of those goddamn reporters…Ms. Instigator! He tried to remain calm and not let his frustration show on his face. Luckily his sunglasses did a great job at hiding what would otherwise be very clear from his eyes.
(Jeremy): My opinion has nothing to do with her “outing” me, or her physically attacking me like she did last night. It’s just a fact that she a lunatic. Why don’t you go ask her why she broke into Hans’ house, attacked his maid and tried to burn the place down, or better yet…what kind of person goes to some fertility clinic and steals semen to try and get herself pregnant?
Jeremy is pissed off at this point and continues walking kicking the pace up a notch as the reporter continues to follow.
(Joelle Jones): Then can you share your thoughts on Butch Parker? Would you consider him a “lunatic” as well for going to a rival promotion and invading their show and initiating an unprovoked attack on another wrestler?
(Jeremy): No, I don’t consider Butch a “lunatic” and he’s my boss, not my friend. Like Hans, I don’t know what he’s thinking or feeling about his personal affairs. I know that the Rhodes…at least Brandi as most people have seen on social media….has harassed Butch and Wisdom for months. Didn’t she hire someone to take his picture while he was in the hospital or something? Whatever the matter is…Butch and Wisdom didn’t start this, and they have a right to defend themselves.
(Joelle Jones): Are you calling illegal trespassing on WWE property and assault, “self-defense”?
Jeremy didn’t answer, luckily he had already done flight precheck and walked straight through to head into the boarding area. He knew they wouldn’t or even couldn’t pass beyond that point and he just kept walking without looking back. What an awful interview, probably the worst he’d ever had. Normally he’d get a question about a match or some small thing going on, but this reporter was desperately digging her damn heels in for some inside scoop. She wanted some little tidbit of information to turn into a ball that she could run with and he wasn’t about to play that game. The interaction had managed to really upset him. He just wanted to get on the plane and tune everything out for a few hours. He had a few minutes left before boarding and he texted Matt while he still had time.
“Morning babe, I’m at the airport. Got spotted by the media and had the worst interview ever, I’ll tell you about it later if they don’t post it beforehand, probably edit it up to make it look like they want anyway. I miss you…we have to book our flight together next time for sure. This is one part of the job or being a “celebrity” I hate, you’d probably have told her to piss off or something. Anyway…I wish you were here. I’ll let you know when I land, maybe we can get together tonight if you’re not too tired. XOXO”
The flight began to board and he was in the first group having booked 1st Class, twice the cost, but ten times the comfort. He could stretch his legs out and had privacy. It was a short 2.5 hour flight back to Los Angeles but it didn’t matter, it was worth every penny still. Hours later after he landed, got home and unloaded, he crashed on the couch taking a nap while browsing Youtube videos. His phone pinged and woke him up. Sean was texting him to see if he wanted to join him and Sarah on a hike tomorrow to Vasquez Rocks. He wanted to show her the famous rock feature there that’s been in like a million movies and shows, especially Star Trek several times.
He wanted to reply back right away, but didn’t. Now the awkwardness set in. He’d hung out with Sean and Michelle before, but now there was Matt to consider. Nobody knew they were together, and while he didn’t for a moment think it would be an issue for their friends…he wasn’t sure either he or Matt were ready for others to know. They were still, discovering who they were if that made any sense. He reopened Sean’s text and replied.
“I’ll get back to you later, I might already have plans for tomorrow.”
He wanted to put a message out to the Fanverse but to be completely honest, he was still a bit ticked off about that reporter from the morning and just rather not engage work at the moment. He needed a good work, a good sweat, and a damn good meal, everything else would have to wait. With the rest of the afternoon a head of him he pulled himself off the couch and got to it as the scene faded to black.
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