● #flobrostyle, bitch [flobros vs. gosch & bauer]

[Thadd 2 Badd]

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September 29th, 2016 ● Woodbridge, New Jersey ● Thadd Blazevich's Childhood Home

“This is so ridiculous. You’re literally going to die.”

It’s a fairly warm, late autumn day in New Jersey. Azalea Eysseric has her arms folded across her chest and her sunglass-covered eyes turned towards the roof of her boyfriend’s modest home. Her boyfriend, Thadd Blazevich, is currently poised right on the edge, staring down into the swimming pool. Thadd’s ride-or-die best friends, Crosby Carter and Carsyn Carabetta, are also watching. Crosby is using Carsyn’s fancy iPhone to film whatever it is that is about to happen, and Carysn is shooting a dirty look towards Azalea. If Azalea notices, she pays no attention. She thinks Carsyn is a cunt and that Thadd is better off without C4 in his life. Thadd’s younger sister and Crosby’s younger brother, Emilia and Logan, are also present. Emilia is chewing on her bottom lip, trying not to look concerned and beside her sits Logan, and he’s rubbing her back. Clearly he’s trying to reassure her that everything is going to be okay.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Az,” Thadd shouts and gives his girlfriend a sarcastic thumbs up.

“I just don’t think you need to practice a shooting star press off of a roof.”

Carsyn is now done with the conversation. “Well, they don’t have a trampoline or training gym so shut the fuck up and just let him try it. This is how they practice.”

Pursing her lips, Azalea clamps her mouth shut. The last time she argued with Carsyn, Thadd ripped her a new one and stopped speaking to her for nearly two weeks. She learned early on in their relationship to keep her feelings about Crosby and Carsyn to herself.

“It’s filming bro, do the fucking thing,” Crosby yells out.

Thadd grins and carefully backs up a little bit. They had marked the specific spot on the roof they jump from. Hundreds of times he had jumped off his grandmother’s roof into the swimming pool and every single time had been amazing. There was nothing like the adrenaline he got from trying a new move and having it be successful. Much like his bro, Thadd wasn’t afraid of anything. They both had made quite the name for themselves on the backyard scene thanks to their willingness to try absolutely anything.

“Dude this gonna be sick!”

“More like a disaster,” Azalea mumbles to herself.

Thadd eyes the swimming pool, hesitates for only a fraction of a second, before taking off. Right as he’s about to launch himself in the air, his foot slips just a bit. Thanks to a brief rain shower right before they decided to try the shooting star press stunt, the roof is a bit wet. Apparently, Thadd hadn’t mopped up all the excess water. Unable to stop himself, Thadd decides to go for it. Everyone watches in horror as their bro misses the swimming pool. The moment Thadd hits the concrete, he knows he’s fucked. His left side feels like it’s crushed and Emilia’s screams of horror pierce the air. The pain blinds him. His ears start pounding, drowning out the noise around him. Crosby is the first to reach him, Carsyn second. Their faces are the last thing he sees before he passes out.

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March 3rd, 2018 ● Woodbridge, New Jersey ● Flo Bros Shitty Apartment

“After passing out, I don’t remember anything. I woke up in the hospital and everyone was asleep in my room.”

It was late, but Thadd couldn’t sleep. In a couple of days he would be making his debut for The Factory, the first legitimate wrestling company to ever give him a chance. His restless energy had caused him to toss and turn in bed, disrupting Athena who had been sleeping peacefully next to him. Athena, bless her, had been the perfect companion for Thadd the past few months. She was kind and patient, very supportive and kind of nurturing. Thadd had never had a girlfriend who was attentive towards his needs first. He always dated alpha bitch types who expected him to cater to their every whim. That wasn’t Thadd, and it would never be Thadd. Even though Athena had a tendency to be clingy, Thadd found himself able to deal with that a lot better than he was able to deal with Azalea’s personality.

“How often do you watch this?”

The two of them were sitting in the small kitchen of the apartment Thadd, Crosby, and Carsyn now shared. Athena had made a cup of tea for herself and seeing the video of Thadd’s injury for the first time had disturbed her to no end. It gave her flashbacks to her own injury, the one that she was still allowing to halt her career.

“Honestly?” Thadd asked and peered over at her. Athena gave him an encouraging nod. “Daily.”

Athena looked slightly taken aback. She had never once watched a video of her back injury and couldn’t fathom seeing something like that on a daily basis. “But why?”

Thadd shrugged. “It puts things in perspective, I guess. I gave up division one football to follow my bro and chase his dream, and it kinda became my dream too. Wrestling is fun. It’s a lot of fucking fun, ‘Thena. I don’t wanna sound gay like GoschStyle, but I live for this shit and what we do in our matches. I accepted long ago that I’ll never be some technical genius in the ring, but Cros and I work harder than anyone. We’ve found what suits us and we’re pretty great. The Flo Bros are gunna run The Factory.”

Athena nodded in agreement. From having just seen Crosby compete in the time she’d been with Thadd, she knew that The Factory was tailor made for the bros. It’s lack of structure favored Thadd and Crosby, and the hardcore element was right up their alley. Neither had ever competed in a stereotypical wrestling match. No rules and weapons were all they really knew. “It definitely seems to be the type of place that doesn’t favor traditional wrestlers. Someone like Graham Gosch is bound to struggle because he’s all about technical wrestling. Like the fact he posted on your social that he hopes you wrestle better than you talk. Does he even know that he signed up for?”

Thadd scoffed. "I think he's just skirt chasing. He probably has some caveman mentality that makes him think his babe is gunna need him. But she's probably a lot fucking tougher than he is. I know chicks, and they're badass. Cars does shit that Cros and I couldn't even attempt, let alone pull off. There's no doubt that Nora is of a similar mentality. Badass chicks know how to ruin a dude. Nora is gunna find herself held down by GoschGay who's dumber than a box of rocks."

Athena shrugged. "But underestimating him isn't going to do you any favors, babe. That's exactly what Graham is doing to you." She flashed Thadd an amused smile. "For someone who prides himself on being intelligent, he's showing just how ignorant he is by assuming a lack of wrestling skill is going to hold you two back."

"I know for a fact it won't hold us back." Thadd spoke with such conviction. "I've watched Cros jump off the roof of a barn, bust his own skull open, and still finish and win a match. The dude is tough as fuck and can take a disgusting amount of damage. Plus that fat fuck Graham is probably slow as shit. How will someone who can't move all that quick catch either of us, especially when Cros will climb shit just to get away from him? Neither Graham or Nora claim to be high-fliers so all we have to do is stay outta reach and we are fucking gold. So much for gay GoschStyle."

Thadd sat back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. His eyes were full of passion and fire that Athena hadn't experienced from him yet, and she was totally here for it. Wrestling was Thadd's life and she couldn't wait to see him compete on Monday night.

"I can't wait to see both of you working together. I love that your first match back is with Crosby."

"He's been my bro since I was six years old and I can promise you 'Thena that our bond is tighter than Graham and Nora's. We know how to work as a team and neither of us has a loner type of mentality. There is no Thadd without Crosby and vice versa. And we have something that GoschGay and Nora don't have."

A smirk from Athena. "Carsyn?"

Thadd beamed. "All the focus in the world won't help you when there's an obvious numbers advantage. The Flo Bros can come at you from any angle. Graham's basic AF style and Nora's sick submissions are pretty useless when the bros are quicker and have the experience in this type of atmosphere. We've been doing this shit for a long time and in more dangerous conditions than whatever GoschGay experienced in Lions Road, and we aren't rookies. There is no advantage for them. Dissect this shit on paper and they have no fucking chance. Hashtag FloBroStyle."

"And you're back to a hundred percent. That's the best part."

If Thadd's smile faltered at that, Athena didn't give off the impression that she'd noticed. She got up to rinse out her teacup and kissed Thadd on the way to the sink.

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March 5th, 2018 ● Summit, New Jersey ● Equinox

"Dude, relax. You act like I cancel clients on a daily basis. It's one person and she's chill AF. I even gave her tickets to the show tonight."

For the past twenty minutes, Thadd had been trying to leave work. He'd already discarded his ugly, shit gray personal trainer shirt for Equinox and changed into his gear. His boss, some douche in business casual who's name Thadd couldn't recall, looked extremely exasperated.

"Look, we are pretty relaxed here but cancelling appointments is where we draw the line. Did you even bother to reschedule Mrs. Duhamel?"

Thadd rolled his eyes and placed his gym bag across his shoulders. "It's all good dude. Marge will get her workout in and won't send in a negative customer survey thing. She wouldn't do that to me anyway. My freaking clients love me."

The douche couldn't argue that. Thadd was by far their best and most popular trainer. It probably had something to do with the fact he was basically God's gift to the gym. Satisfied he had made his point, Thadd spun on his heels and headed out. Crosby and Carsyn were on their way to get him. Athena would be at The Factory as soon as she got off work. As Thadd stepped outside, the gravity of his in-ring return hit him like a ton of bricks.

Was he ready?

Would this go well?

He couldn't predict that.

His phone rang. It was Azalea. He'd been ignoring her, but at the moment his uncertainty was getting to him and he reluctantly answered.

"Yo."

"Shocked you answered since apparently you no longer text."

"I've been busy. What's up?"

"Honestly, I just wanted to call and wish you good luck." Her voice actually sounded sincere. "Everyone has to start somewhere and I really hope you're ready. I can't believe they cleared you to compete."

Thadd was glad she couldn't see his face. "I'm fucking gold, babe. Thanks for reaching out."

"Well you're my boyfriend. I love you."

Those were words she rarely said. Thadd felt his resolve crack just a tiny bit. "I love you too."

"Fuck them up tonight. Nothing annoys me more than the fact Graham socials like an ignorant kid with a learning disability."

Thadd laughed. "Don't worry babe. Cros and I got this."

The conversation continued until Crosby and Carsyn pulled up in Crosby's banged up vehicle. It was time to get the show on the road and prove to everyone that the Flo Bros would be the standout stars of The Factory.