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Date Posted: 22:04:42 02/11/03 Tue
Author: "The Natural" Matt Thornhill
Subject: Back to Basics, Part 4: Training Day

The scene opens in a rain-soaked field in Huntsville, Alabama. Heavy rains are falling on a group of objects that appear to have been an obstacle course at one time or another. Years of misuse and disrepair, along with the elements, have reduced them to piles of rusty scrap metal and rotting wood.

The camera crew from the airport several days earlier is here, and they are filming everything. True to his word, Matt Thornhill has granted them an interview. But where is Matt?

A quick pan of the camera finds him. Matt Thornhill is dressed in a pair of camo pants and a gray shirt that is soaked, either from the rain, sweat, or probably both. His back is covered in a mixture of dead grass and mud. His short, sandy brown hair has been shaven off to roughly a quarter inch long, and raindrops and sweat mingle with the mud and grass on his face. Thornhill is leaning up against a climbing wall out in the rain, with his hands on his knees, standing against the wall in almost a sitting fashion. He is very obviously exhausted, and apparently oblivious to the camera crew's presence at this remote field. The reporter, unwilling to step out into the cold rain, stands under a leaky pavilion, trying to keep the camera dry while getting the attention of Thornhill. Finally, an exhausted Thornhill looks up, sees the camera crew, and manages a weak smile and an audible groan while stiffly walking over to the pavilion.

Interviewer: Good afternoon, Mr. Thornhill. I'm Jeremy Kelly, Channel 19 News. Hopefully, I'm not interrupting you by coming now...

Thornhill: (Deep sigh, almost of relief) Oh no, not at all...I need a break, bigtime. I've been going at this for onwards of 10 hours, an--

Thornhill's sentence is cut off by a loud gasp from Jeremy.

TEN HOURS? That would mean you've been up since...four this morning? Is this an everyday training regimen for you?

Absolutely not. This is hell on earth for me...but I realize that to compete, sacrifices must be made. I've got to be at my absolute best, and that means pushing myself further than I have ever pushed myself before. As rough as all of this work I've done this morning has been, it will be all worth it once the results start coming in...in the ring. I cannot describe to you the physical fatigue...the absolute burn from almost every muscle in my body. The searing, sharp pain as muscle fibers are broken down with every movement I make. The burning sensation from every breath of air I breathe into my lungs. And the thought of having to wake up tomorrow morning to do it again..

But it's all worth it. I have a goal worthier and loftier than myself...

And what would that goal be?

Actually, it's two goals that really come together as one purpose. First, as long as I've known, first from my dad, and now from Joe, I've always been told and pushed to be my best. Not THE best, but MY best. If I'm giving 100%, the rest will take care of itself. I haven't been giving 100%. These two weeks I'm paying for it.

Secondly, I had a strange dream last night. Now, I'm not normally a person who experiences vivid dreams, but last night was clear as a bell. It was me...a slightly older version of me, but still...holding the CWF Heavyweight Title. The one prize that everyone hopes and dreams about...well, I dreamed about it.

Do you know what the first thought was that hit me? I can be the future of this company. Now, note the two words "can" and "future". I'm not there now, and never will be if I don't step it up.

The rain starts falling quite a bit harder, as it is now nearly impossible to see the building across the field from the pavilion. Joe Wilburn, Matt Thornhill's longtime mentor, father figure, friend, and trainer, is walking from the building out to where Thornhill and the camera crew are located. He is carrying a large, orange umbrella...the only way he is visible through all the rain.

What you see here is Phase 1 of my "Step It Up" program. Phase 2 will begin in China. Instead of sitting around, watching the Gyons, Mansons, and Carrigs of the CWF come out and save the day whenever there's trouble, I need to start showing up to rumble! I'm here to be a wrestler, not some Ebert & Roper pansy watching the action on a monitor in the back. Phase 1 is all me stepping it up within myself. Phase 2 is about stepping it up on the SINdicate. There are a few small roadblocks along the way, but I will start dealing with those in China.

Sorry to cut this short, but I've rested long enough. Just remember this: When I'm on top of my game, I'm a One Man Army. I'm on my way up as we speak. This training? What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger. And I ain't dead. Each time you see Matt Thornhill out in that ring, you're going to see a stronger Matt Thornhill. I WILL climb to the top, and I'm leaving the SINdicate in my wake. IT IS ONLY...NATURAL.

With that statement, Thornhill staggers back out into the sloppy field and walks over to where Joe is standing, awaiting more training orders. The camera fades out.

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