Christie Zane Sits Down With Bronson Box
Posted by Christie Zane on 16 May 2024
Click here for my exclusive sit down interview with one of the most complicated, volatile individuals in the history of DEFIANCE Wrestling. World Champion, FIST of DEFIANCE, Hall of Famer... even if the latter seems to be an accolade he's not especially fond of. The Original DEFIANT had a lot to say about the struggles that took him away from DEFIANCE, his friendship with Edward White, a few blunt comments about an old recently returned rival, and of course... his actions at the conclusion of DEFtv, the brutal assault on Gage Blackwood.
Christie Zane is seated in one of two chairs positioned in the smaller of several studio spaces nestled inside the WrestlePlex. Itself located in the sweltering city of New Orleans. Dressed in a black skirt and DEFIANCE red blouse, the blond is still an absolute knockout even after all these years. She’s been defined as ditsy her whole career. It’s never bothered her. What has bothered her is how many interviews have been handed to Jamie Sawyers since the WrestleUTA castaway came barging to DEF. When Lance Warner headed out to replace Angus Skaaland at color she was sure the head interviewer position was hers.
The Favoured Saints group clearly had other ideas.
Why had she instead of Jamie snagged this particular interview then, you may ask?
Because HE asked for her personally.
And very few have the bollocks to tell this particular interviewee no.
A random stagehand sidles up to DEF’s longest tenured backstage interviewer and mutters “he’s here, Christie.”
The doors to the studio swing open and in walks two of the widest and meanest men in DEFIANCE Wrestling. The BRAZEN Champion Felton Bigsby is dressed in a burnt orange and black tracksuit with the title slung over his shoulder. He steps into the room first, turning and holding the door for the man who’s statement was heard about the world at the conclusion of DEFtv this last week.
Christie Zane stands at her chair, holding out a hand for a shake that is immediately reciprocated by the approaching Bombastic Bronson Box.
Her petite hand is swallowed up in his giant battle scarred catcher's mitt of a hand.
Dressed in the new black and gray pinstripe three piece suit he was wearing at television, the two exchange pleasantries before getting started.
Bronson Box:
Ms. Zane.
She’s interviewed the man a hundred times over the years. She’s no longer as intimidated as she was when DEFIANCE first started.
But he’s still somethin’ isn’t he? An awkward air of politeness and professionalism surrounds the man but underneath it all you can tell there’s someone… screaming.
Christie Zane:
Bronson, I appreciate the opportunity. You sure do have the world talking again.
The Wargod clearly loves to hear that. She motions to the chair behind him. We see Felton Bigsby post up behind the camera a few paces away. He continues to scan the room, clearly the one watching Bronson’s back this morning for this interview.
You never can be too careful here in DEFIANCE.
The two old acquaintances take their seats. That same stagehand gives a silent countdown from behind the camera.
Christie Zane:
Sorry, we only have the studio blocked off ‘til lunch. Gotta get right into it. Ready?
Bronson nods to the affirmative as he sits back, crosses his legs and interlaces his fingers in front of him. Christie starts things off to camera.
Christie Zane:
This morning, DEFIANCE fans, I sit down with a man that needs no introduction. Especially not after the violent way he reintroduced himself at the conclusion on DEFtv.
She turns to and faces her interview.
Christie Zane:
Bronson Box. You requested this time, presumably to explain yourself after what some say…
He immediately interrupts.
Christie sighs quietly to herself.
Bronson Box:
No ma’am I did not. I requested this interview to talk about the most precious thing in the world to me, the closest thing I have in this world to a legacy… DEFIANCE Wrestling itself. I requested this interview to talk about people like Dr. Iris Davine who has stitched up and set and glued back together each and every one of us back there at one point or another as she’s done dutifully since the very first show this company put on. I requested this interview to talk about dedicated souls like Dave Felcher, like Brian Slater, like Wyatt Bronson. Voices like the Darren’s Quimbey and Keebler, voices like yours Ms. Zane…
Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise at that.
Christie Zane:
Me? How so?
Bronson Box:
I requested you do this interview because you’re an original DEFIANT. You’re day one, just like Edward and myself. And there’s nobody else I’d dare talk to about somethin’ as dear to both of us as this, our home, DEFIANCE. Jamie Sawyers doesn't respect this place, but you do. You’ve always given these hallowed halls due deference and because of that I respect you a great deal, Ms. Zane.
Christie Zane:
I appreciate those kind words but… you say you want to talk about how much you love and care for DEFIANCE. Gage Blackwood also loves DEFIANCE, that’s undeniable. The two of you were coming off a huge win at DEFCON, so why…
The Wargod steps out in front of that one yet again.
Bronson Box:
No. Correction. There was nothing big about it. It was a win like any other over two young lads I helped train who could, quite honestly, keep better company. Like my dear friend Felton there standing off camera with his freshly won BRAZEN championship. He’s chosen better company… once a Blood Diamond, always a Blood Diamond. Aye, boy’o? No. Gage Blackwood is a selfish, deluded wee prick. All Gage Blackwood loves is himself.
Christie Zane:
Since you brought it up, how long has this reunion with your dear old friend Edward White been in the works?
Boxer sighs.
Bronson Box:
When I came back last year I was feelin’ around in the dark, Ms. Zane. Like I told that wretch out in the ring last week, the only thing I lied about was bein’ his fookin’ friend… everythin’ I shared with him about what I went through? My depression? Leavin’ this place with irons still in the fookin’ fire? Things left undone that haunted me? All true.
His bloodshot brown eyes narrow as he smiles.
Bronson Box:
I simply failed to fill him in on the fact that skinnin’ him alive in front of the world, live on DEFIANCE television just happened to be one of those undone things.
Christie Zane:
And your relationship with The Socialite?
Bronson Box:
Edward White is my best friend. That has been the case, uninterrupted, for many years now. I was one of the few people in Ed’s life that didn’t drop him like a hot fookin’ rock when he was unjustly sent to prison. Somethin’, if you know my history as I know you do Ms. Zane, I relate to QUITE well havin’ spent a considerable time behind bars myself. I lost a great swath of my youth to a crooked justice system, I can only FATHOM what my friend went through losin’ nearly ten bloody years of his PRIME to a place like that. It’s heartbreakin’. When we both found ourselves headed back here we decided to keep one another at arms length until an opportunity ripe enough presented itself.
Christie Zane:
So why the pretense of teaming with Gage in the first place? A team that led to two beleaguered losses against the likes of Dr. Ned Reform and the new FIST of DEFIANCE himself, Malak Garland. Was the charade worth it in the end, Bronson?
The Wargod takes a nice healthy beat. The silence sits between interviewer and interviewee for a minute before he finds the right words.
Bronson Box:
What we do here involves so much theater, Ms. Zane. To rise above the dim and make an impact that lasts, it’s very very difficult. It’s truly threadin’ the needle. It’s what separates us from the dregs of the rest of the fight world. I didn’t walk back through the door and clobber the little runt straight off because any unoriginal meathead off the street can do that. Look no further than the recent return of Dan Ryan for an example of that very notion. Now I’m sure since I mentioned his bloody name he’ll lean over and ask that witch Troy for a whopper about my facial hair or somethin’ havin’ to do with the fookin’ circus or somethin’. Same shite japes they been makin’ at my expense fer’ nigh on a decade. Unoriginal prick’s too dense to come up with new material. Like I said… meathead.
Christie raises an eyebrow at the clear shot across the bow of the recently returned former FIST. Not to mention one of Boxer’s fiercest rivals. A rivalry some say built the FIST into the sought after prize it is today. Some historians claim there would be no FIST of DEFIANCE without Bronson Box versus Dan Ryan.
Bronson Box:
My instincts and those of my comrades allow us to turn a simple, well deserved beatin’ into somethin’ our Faithful will walk away with and hold as a dear, core memory for the rest of their lives. DEFIANCE used to do that every bloody week, Christie. Everyone holdin’ on white knuckle tight as the train barrels nearly out of control. Will she skip the tracks? How far can we push it all? Will we survive when all is said and done? Admittedly not a great work environment for a bank or a fookin’ hospital maternity ward but for a wrestling company attempting to rise above the din of this quite overcrowded professional wrestling landscape? Well…
He pauses for emphasis. He sniffs, shakes his head and shrugs.
Bronson Box:
That’s the nectar of the gods, Ms. Zane. That’s the gift of fookin’ fire for a place like this.
Christie Zane:
And what about those two men I just mentioned? Ned Reform and Malak Garland.
Bronson Box:
You heard Edward. The doors of The Black Pelican are always open to absolutely anyone who wants to sit down at the bar, bend an elbow and find some common ground like gentleman. Ned swindled himself a win in what was technically a tag team match, good for him. If the good Doctor ever wants to run things back with the ACE, he’s a smart cookie… he knows where to find me.
Christie Zane:
You’re saying you’re willing to sit down and find common ground with the provocateur Malak Garland? After the vicious mauling you received at his and his cohorts hands inside the WARCHAMBER? He had you in a similar state to the one you had Gage Blackwood in this last week. If not worse. You’re telling me Bronson Box can forgive and forget a beating that brutal to his person? To his legacy? To a man like Malak?
Boxer can’t help but grin preemptively.
Bronson Box:
If he’s amicable? Which, let's be honest, we both know he’s usually not. So we’ll all just have to wait and see together now won’t we, Ms. Zane? This business can lead to such strange bedfellows. I can tell you this, if Gage pulls himself together with eyes set on Mr. Garland’s title he’ll be very sorely disappointed. I’d rather see Malak hold the blasted thing until we’re all bones than let Gage Blackwood get his hands on the FIST ever again. So long as I breathe he’ll never even get close enough to even smell the stink of the fookin’ leather.
Boxer’s bloodshot brown eyes snap to camera.
Bronson Box:
Wherever you’ve crawled to lick your wounds do you hear me, boy’o? Your career, Gage Blackwood? It’s officially on permanent pause. Any hopes and dreams of bein’ the FIST again, of bein’ a leader, of bein’ an elder to the men and women in that locker room? That all ended the second I planted my Spike directly in the center of your pointy little skull out there in my ring. Me and mine are goin’ to follow you and yours around like the fookin’ PLAGUE, lad. Everyone and everythin’ you touch becomes a target from here on out, Gage… please please remember that.
The very ominous threat to camera causes the intrepid interviewer to lose herself for a moment. Bronson turns back and meets her gaze.
Bronson Box:
Ms. Zane? Am I makin’ you uncomfortable?
She clears her throat and sits up straight.
Christie Zane:
No, no… it’s just that… well…
She hesitates justifiably. This is Bronson Box after all.
Bronson Box:
I’d never lay hands on anyone in this room no matter how fervently I may disagree with what they say, if that’s your worry. I’m not the regrettable wild animal I was a decade ago. Please speak freely, Ms. Zane.
After a beat she relaxes her shoulders and sighs in such a way as to almost say “I’m taking off my impartial interviewer's hat now.”
Christie Zane:
What about those of us that don’t want to come to work and hang on white knuckle tight to a runaway train, to use your analogy? What’s so wrong with people putting on a polite, professional face even if it’s all ultimately pretense? How exactly is this violent, brutal version of DEFIANCE you and Edward White want to take us “back to” any better?
Boxer uncrosses his legs and leans forward with his elbows resting on his knees.
Bronson Box:
How is the sun hittin’ your face better than a pissin’ heat lamp? How is a cool breeze on a hot day better than a wee oscillatin’ fan in the corner of a room? How is the love and companionship of livin’ breathin’ human beings better than sittin’ behind a keyboard with nothin’ but the luxury of distance and anonymity to keep ye’ company? Professional wrestling lives and breathes in authenticity, Ms. Zane. There are literally hundreds of wrestling promotions operatin’ on this blasted planet at one time. This industry is CHOKED with banal pricks that think they’re the pinnacle for one preposterous reason or another. Prime this and Ultimate that… [he spits derisively] bollocks.
Christie Zane:
And the only way in your mind for DEFIANCE to stand out is the senseless brutality we saw against Gage Blackwood? When the likes of Eric Dane, Kelly Evans, Edward White and Je… umm well, when OTHER more volatile personalities, some of whom remaining forever and justifiably nameless each ran the promotion DEFIANCE itself, its roster, its staff and most importantly its fans often suffered for it.
Bronson Box:
Suffered how? A bad reputation? A bad reputation in this particular line of work means you’re on peoples lips and in their ears. That means clicks, that means views, that means we have their attention even if they’re just tunin’ in to watch us fail, they’re tuning in. That obese prick Dex Joy wrestlin’ any loser that ambles down the ramp, mister fair and square… boring, that’s what I call it. Mister all smiles, mister everyone together. There was NOTHING special about Dex Joy’s title reign, Ms. Zane. In fact in my mind it epitomizes my point. His entire reign, his entire GIMMICK is a clichéd platitudinous bore that only serves to boost his ego and reduce DEFIANCE itself to a face in the proverbial crowd. And he’s fookin’ applauded for it. Faithful indeed. The fans here in DEFIANCE are all in desperate need of reeducation. They’ve forgotten themselves, Ms. Zane. Ed and I aim to help them remember.
Christie is about to open her mouth but Boxer puts up a hand.
Bronson Box:
Speakin’ of. You haven’t used the term “Faithful” thus far this entire interview. You’ve said fans, the people. But not “Faithful.” Tell me why, praytell.
She’s taken aback by the forwardness of the interruption but also the content of the question, she really honestly hadn’t thought about it. The words are out of her mouth before she even realizes she's said them.
Christie Zane:
You’ve seemed to take umbrage with people co-opting your catchphrase over the years. I suppose out of… well, respect?
Respect? Good lord Christie. She’s startled by her own quick admission.
Boxer just faintly smiles and nods his head.
Bronson Box:
You’re one of us, Ms. Zane. Through and through. One of the good ones still left clingin’ on for dear life to this blasted lifeboat. The Blood Diamonds take care of and VALUE their own.
He reaches in his coat pocket and produces a business card depicting a black bird over a larger red diamond. Below it we see the address and phone number of, presumably, the new Black Pelican club down in the French Quarter.
Bronson Box:
Even if the Favoured Saints group don’t.
Christie doesn't know what to think. She feels sick to her stomach with how good it feels to be acknowledged by anyone, even someone like Box, after everything she's gone through with Sawyers taking her spot, sometimes with being left off shows altogether with little to no explanation from those in charge.
Forgotten is an awful way to feel.
She passes her thumb over the embossed logo on the face of the card. She then again clears her throat and collects herself.
Christie Zane:
Bronson, thank you again for your time.
The Wargod nods sincerely.
Bronson Box:
No. Thank you, Ms. Zane.
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