🎙️ POST-MATCH INTERVIEWS: LARRY MERCHANT IN THE MIX
Larry Merchant walks into the back with a microphone, ready to bring his signature unfiltered, critical style to the new champion and the former titleholder.
PART 1: LARRY MERCHANT WITH THE NEW CHAMPION, BOOKER T
Booker T is walking down the hall, holding the Heavyweight Division Belt over his shoulder, but his expression is defensive rather than celebratory.
Larry Merchant:
“Booker… you are holding the belt, but the consensus from the experts at ringside is that this was a thoroughly underwhelming, two-star performance. You spent most of the match on the defensive, you were grounded by a slower opponent, and you won the most important title of your career because a man stumbled on the outside and couldn’t beat a clock.
Do you truly feel like a world champion tonight, or do you feel like a man who simply inherited a title through a mathematical technicality?”
Booker T: (Glares at Merchant, clutching the belt tighter)
“Inherited? Tell me you didn’t just say that, sucka! You sit out there with your microphone talking about stars and talking about clocks, but you ain’t the one who had to go toe-to-toe with the Deadman! I took his best shots. I took the power game. I hit the Scissors Kick, and when the opportunity presented itself on the outside, I was the one with the ring awareness to get back inside the square circle!
A win is a win, Larry! I am a five-time… and now a brand new Heavyweight Division Champion! If Undertaker wants to sit on the outside and count the lights, that’s his business. Can you dig that, sucka?!”
PART 2: LARRY MERCHANT WITH THE UNDERTAKER
Merchant finds The Undertaker in the trainer’s room, having his shoulder evaluated by medical staff. The former champion looks completely disgusted.
Larry Merchant:
“Undertaker… a very uncharacteristic night for you. You dictated a very slow, methodical pace, but you let a championship slip through your fingers because of a complete lack of awareness on the arena floor.
Some are saying your age and the physical toll of your style caught up to you tonight… that you simply ran out of gas trying to get back into the ring. Is the Deadman starting to lose a step when the fight goes to the floor?”
The Undertaker: (Pushes the trainer away, standing up and towering over Merchant with a pitch-black stare)
“Run out of gas? Merchant, you’re lucky I don’t take that microphone and shove it down your throat. I didn’t run out of gas. My shoulder hit the steel, the nerve went dead, and the referee’s count was fast.
Booker T didn’t beat me tonight. The clock beat me. He can run around the back celebrating with that belt all he wants, but he knows the reality. He knows he didn’t pin me, and he knows he didn’t make me tap. This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”