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Thaddeus Duke · (10-19-2019)

Friday, October 18, 2019 | The Sam Roberts Show | New York City

"Welcome wrestling fans," says Sam Roberts at the conclusion of "My Name is Human." "My guest today, is perhaps the busiest man in professional wrestling," Sam jokes.

Thaddeus chuckles.

"He's the current reigning, defending XWF Television champion..."

"Not champion, actually," Thad interrupts.

"Right, right. Not champion.

"We'll go over that, your Illuminatus Nation business, your schooling, your new business venture with Royalty Wrestling League based out of the Bronx...

"My guest, really, needs no introduction, he's been here a dozen times. Thaddeus Duke. Thad, what's the haps?"

"Thanks for having me Sam, it's been a little while."

"So, first of all, your problems with the XWF and why you call yourself the Television not champion. I mean, Thad, its a big deal, being champion."

"It is," Thad agrees. "Or at least it should be. I didn't pay a lot of attention to who faced who or who challenged Lux when she held the strap. All I know is I have been facing people that are losing other titles and losing contender matches for other titles.

"It's not normal.

"It shouldn't be normal.

"Yet they look at it like its something that ought to be regular. They can sit there in their lazy stupidity with their lazy ass booking and kiss each others asses but that's not me.

"Sam, you know me. I speak my mind and I wear my heart on my sleeve. If I don't like something, I say it. If I don't like something, then I try and change it. If I can't change it, then I resist those that can. That's it. Pure and simple."

"Wow. And have any of them reached out to you to address your concerns?"

"Not a one. A three man ownership team, one of them my uncle. Neither of them will remove their head from their own ass long enough to catch a whiff of what stinks around that place.

"But then again, you can't really smell your own stench."

"Wow.

"Really? Things have deteriorated that much between you and XWF management?"

"No. Personally, I have no hard feelings nor do I hold any ill will toward any of them. I like them all.

"Professionally, we're at an impasse. They're neither budging nor caring so why should I?"

"So then... and I have to ask this...

"Are you leaving the XWF?"

Thaddeus sits quietly for a moment.

"That isn't my intentions. I intend to defend my Television not championship against Big D at Savage. I intend to enter Lethal Lottery. I intend to win Lethal Lottery and I intend to keep on climbing the ladder like my father did and like my uncle did and eventually lay claim to the Universal title."

"Maybe I should've used 'Lonely Road' at the beginning instead of your entrance music," Sam surmises aloud.

"No, because it isn't."

"There's others that think like you?"

"Of course there are. Follow my Twitter."

"That's at BetterThanU502 for those that, I don't know, live under a rock."

"I have a feeling in the coming weeks, you'll all be very aware of just how much unrest there is."

"So, shifting gears a little bit, I know you don't like to talk about your private life much when you come on the show, but I have to ask about this...

"Heading into Relentless, you took a trip to Memphis with your school friend Garrett. And, really, it's an admirable thing you did, agreeing to accompany him to the pride festival.

"But... Thad... I'm so sorry if I'm putting you on the spot..."

"No, its okay," Thad reassures him.

"You kissed Garrett at the parade."

"I dd, yeah. I don't regret it, either. Listen man, I'm an adrenaline junkie. Those alt-right types and the evangelist Christians, you know, they were just really pissing me off and I let them get to me. Before I knew it, it just happened. Like, if you're gonna hate, I'm gonna love. If you're gonna look down your nose and try to tear down my friend, I'll do whatever I have to do to make him okay again. I'll do whatever it takes to lift him up again. If that means I have to sacrifice in order to accomplish it, then I will. I'm not ashamed of what I did. I'm not embarrassed about it. I'd do it again in a second. No hesitation, no second thoughts."

"That leads me to a highly personal question: is Thaddeus Duke gay?"

Thad takes a drink of his Starbucks mocha.

"If I were, I don't think this is the venue in which I would come out. If there's one thing I learned with Garrett as my friend, it's that there's a journey you go on, of self discovery. And I will admit that 100% without a doubt I'm on that journey.

"I think that... I'm keeping an open mind.

"I can neither confirm nor deny anything yet."

"So then, it's parts unknown?" Sam jokes.

"Ha! I think it's more likely 'to be determined.'

"Further, I don't really think it's important. Important to me, certainly. To you? To XWF competitors? My fans? Should it be important to them? No. Who I choose to spend my personal time with does not concern anyone but me and that person... or people."

"If you were gay, don't you think that might open you up to ridicule by the XWF?"

Thaddeus nearly spits out his mocha.

"Seriously? The moment I start caring what those people think of me is the moment I retire from the game. They'll ridicule me regardless, as it is. Their opinion if me, personally or professionally, does not and should not affect my opinion of me.

"Dr. House was a good teacher."

"Are we breaching the wall here?"

"Surely I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I saw the announcement the other day that you'll be appearing in a show called 'Bad Date'? What's going on there?"

"I wear many hats Sam, and for any normal man it'd be exhausting. In 'Bad Date' I'll be playing the role of Sam Watterson, the outrageously handsome, outgoing, and overall just ridiculously charming neighbor to the star of the show, Adi Gold."

"Did PR come up with that description of Sam Watterson or did you ad lib that one?"

"I may have taken some liberties."

”Is this a regular role? One off appearance? Recurring role?”

”Ummmmm… I’m not really allowed to say a whole lot. I’m new to the acting game so like… they usually send out their more seasoned actors and actresses to discuss the show. I’m just kinda there. So like, I’m not sure what I can and can not tell you about it.”

”Big D says it’ll flop.”

”Big D is a flop.”

”Harsh words.”

”He ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”

”You gonna live mic us in a little while?”

”Who else do you know that cuts promos on their competition… and I use that word loosely… on your show?”

”Good point.

“So Thad, word is you’re now invested financially in an upstart company out of the Bronx called Royalty Wrestling League. Care to comment?”

”Absolutely. It’s a young company that invests heavily into the future of the business. Guys and girls that may one day end up on programs like the XWF...”

”So you’re saying the competition is inferior?”

”No. Not at all. Sam, don’t put words in my mouth. All I’m saying is its a different type of competition. The competitors that I have met are every bit as talented as XWF guys and girls, every bit as ready for the big stage. Those in RWL are just less experienced. But I promise, it’ll be a great show.”

”You have a spot on the board of directors?”

”I’m the chairman of the competition committee. I oversee booking on a weekly basis among numerous other things.”

”And you don’t see this a conflict of interest? I mean, being a competitor and champion in the XWF.”

”Pffft,” Thad scoffs. ”I wear numerous hats and this is just another venture I want to try my hand at. I mean, you have people like Sarah Lacklan plugging other companies, wearing their titles.

“What difference does it make if I want to help another company grow too?”

”Well, its no secret the animosity you have toward XWF management. This could be seen by some, maybe even them, as a way to dig in your claws. A way to fire a shot across the bow, for lack of a better phrase.”

”Again, my issues are with management as a whole. Not the people behind the masks. My issues with their styles are really, very easy to remedy, too. So, it’s not like I can’t be an effective XWF champion and competitor while simultaneously helping someone else grow.

“Professional wrestling is a big business. There’s room for more than one major player.”

”What if they don’t like it?”

”...tough.”

”Okay, let’s switch gears back to the Television not Championship.

“Thaddeus, being the champion is a big deal. You lead the Savage brand now and still you’re not happy. Explain that, will you?”

”It’s time to rant.”

”Should we have the sensors ready?”

”Fuck your sensors Sam. I’ll pay any fines you get.”

”Thaddeus Duke.

“Leader of Savage.

“XWF Television champion. You now have the mic.”

Thaddeus takes a breath to gather his thoughts. He waits a moment, takes a long drink of bottled water and tosses the bottle.

It should be a big deal. It should have been a proud, crowning moment becoming the XWF TV champ and as a result, the leader of the Savage brand. But when even management treats the title I possess as an afterthought, then why the fuck should I treat it any different? Why should I treat it like something other than ten pounds of tin and leather when XWF management, from Lane to Raven, to Atticus Black treat it even less than that?

The fact is, XWF management has robbed me of any value associated with being a champion. They think I should be so happy and so honored that they recognize my talents and put me in a position to even win it in the first place but when you constantly take a giant shit on the title and render it worthless, save your hyperbole. Big D, I apologize in advance, not only will you have to google that word, but you’ll also have to figure out how to spell it. Anyway, that’s exactly what it is and I move to rename the Television title. I nominate rebranding the mother fucker as the Hyperbole Championship because it is a championship in name, but in name only. Their own actions and their own booking abilities have rendered the TV title completely fucking worthless. It isn’t worth the tin its forged from or the leather its attached to yet Big D in his infinite wisdom... hyperbole again… paid off someone for 100 thousand dollars for another loss, excuse me, another shot at the TV title. Big D paid so much money, not for a championship, but for a SHOT at a championship that, not only will he not win, but management has already rendered useless and pointless.

Daniel, you shoulda gave me a call, sent me a text or simply hit me up on Twitter because I might have sold the thing to you for 5 bucks and a bag of Cheetos. But since you want to lose and lose and lose and lose and management sees fit to still allow you to challenge for the belt, fuck you. You can earn it. Theoretically anyway.

You won’t.

Big D bet the house but he forgets: as Fuzz pointed out, the house always wins. The dumb bitch put his fortune on black only to forget that I am Double Zero- the most unique of the bunch. Big D watches a guy play the high limit slots and watches him hit the Vegas progressive and leave. Big D sits down, max bets his entire fortune on the same machine.

That never works.

Big D goes all in at a Texas Hold ‘Em table holding unsuited 2, 3. I’m holding pocket aces and playing with the houses money.

I apologize in advance again for this but... You got to KNOWWWW WHEN TO HOLD ‘EM! KNOW WHEN TO FOOOLLLLD ‘EM! KNOW WHEN TO WALLLLKK AWAY! KNOW WHEN TO RUN!

This is that moment, Daniel. This is the moment you fold your hand and leave. This is the moment you realize that all of your self proclaimed addiction to winning titles is better spent in the Federweight and Heavymetalweight territories because as long as I’m the TV champ, you won’t have a shot, not a legitimate shot at becoming champ.

Big D says Bad Date is gonna flop and he may well actually be correct because no one, NO ONE, knows more about flopping than Big D. He’s flopped at being a challenger no less than 3 different times and his solitary reign as Xtreme champion lasted from the moment he won it in a match against Mastermind and Peter Gilmour, two habitual losers, to the moment he had to defend it against Fuzz.

Are you understanding what the fuck I’m saying?

Big D loses his Universal title match, wins his contenders match turned title match against two glorified idiots with no actual talent, loses to me, loses his title and is so happy to lose that he paid 100 grand to lose to me again. And contrary to his belief, Mastermind interfering in our first match, doesn’t actually mean you had a real shot at beating me. The fact that you allowed a nothing burger junior (because he’s tiny) like Mastermind to distract you enough to cause you to lose means you were gonna lose anyway. No one lets Mastermind interference to be effective enough to cause them to lose, except you.

I’m active on the twitter. I have friends from all over the industry and I like to keep people abreast of what I’m doing. Flying here, landing there, meeting here. Surely, that’s easy to follow. Somehow, Big D is afraid my flight might get cancelled.

Think about that.

This guy is the biggest fucking idiot that just can’t stop throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. First I’m science fiction and then I don’t know how old I am and now my flight might get cancelled because I’m on my way to Honolulu for Savage ABOARD MY OWN FUCKING PLANE! The only way my flight gets cancelled is if I allow it. You can’t fix stupid, folks, and just like last time, Big D expects me to do his homework for him.

Back to Big Daniel and his addiction to championships. I mean, its shallow and a bit stupid, but I get it. You gotta back up your claims right? You gotta do something to rationalize being a total fucking loser, right? So, Daniel dresses up as a woman, which whatever, I fucking french kissed a dude so who am I to judge? But he goes to this meeting meant for drug addicts because you know, its totally the same thing… I mean, there’s nothing like marginalizing real people with real life threatening conditions just to explain why you suck. And that is what he’s doing, make no mistake about that. Drug addicts are losers by default and so is Daniel. That’s where the similarity is. Drug addicts are losers because they stop at nothing to get their next fix. They rob and hurt people they love. Daniel just keeps losing title matches so he conjures up this stupid addiction bullshit to cover for the fact that he’s really just a shit human being. He’s so insecure in his humanity that he feels totally worthless unless he has a championship and I have to tell you, Danny, you proved it with your rather short run as Xtreme champion… with or without a title, you are still a shit human being.

I don’t need a title to validate myself. Holding titles doesn’t tell me that I’m good at what I do. Being good at what I do tells me that. Holding titles doesn’t tell me my fans and my peers respect what I bring to the table, the fact that my fans go fucking nuts when my music hits and you paid a hundred grand to face me again tells me what I need to know.

Buying title matches wont make you a champion, Daniel. Losing title matches, like you always do, won’t make you a champion. Why is it hard for you not to make up excuses? There’s no shame in you losing to a superior talent- and I am that, no doubt. You literally have an excuse for all your losses. “If Mastermind didn’t interfere… if Robert Main wasn’t referee...” If Big D would have learned how to overcome odds, if Big D had learned not how to irritate 30 people every time he opens his mouth, maybe… just MAYBE, we wouldn’t even have to have this conversation. Just MAYBE, Big D would be a champion right now instead of a total brain dead loser that can’t help but regurgitate the same word salad over and over.

I've never needed excuses for when I lost. Sometimes, you just don't got it, sometimes they're just better than you Big D.

Big D fact check: he claims I have denied Mastermind’s involvement in our match awhile back when I have repeatedly made mention of that very fact. I even attacked Mastermind at Relentless for sticking his nose in my business. What I HAVE said, though, is that if you weren’t man enough to stop Mastermind from beating you up, you had no real shot at actually beating me.

You're all out of excuses and I'm all out of fucks to give...

This leads to the final question, Big D. When Savage is over, and you said yourself that you’re relieved its a cage match, so when Savage is over and you lose again. And you will... What excuse will you use then? What excuse will you use once I prove without a doubt that I’m better than you?

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