Post by The Ace on Jan 30, 2010 16:33:54 GMT -6
*The scene opens in a dark place with a single spotlight on The Ace, who we can see is stood behind a large metal chain-link wall not unlike one of those that will make up the Dragon's Den structure this Sunday. The Ace smirks before he speaks...*
I suppose this is what you meant Joe, I suppose me standing here in a darkened place with props to make a point suggests now that I'm beginning to take you a lot more seriously as an opponent than I did when I cut my second promo parodying you and your promo style, but the fact is I still don't and I never will. You're right, I don't care, I don't care enough not to make fun of you, I don't care enough not to pick on the obvious when it comes to you Joe - hell, it happens so often to me nowadays that I just thought I'd try it out and see if its as much fun as people like Rob Diamond seem to have on an almost daily basis - and it is. But there was another reason for my unoriginality Joe, I did it because I knew targeting the obvious in you would eventually ignite the same fire that has drawn you out of mediocrity just long enough to win the National Championship three times, and thusly force you to respond before the eleventh hour - and it has. I just find it tremendously ironic and ludicrously funny that you of all people would call into question whether I care about this match, when I'm not the one with the reputation for cutting piss poor last minuters or worse - no promos at all, every week...
*The Ace puts his hands on the cold steel in front of him and takes a moment to close his eyes and really feel it, before opening them again and speaking...*
Ahhhhhh...I guess I'm really getting the hang of this melodrama with inanimate object thing you got going on now eh? I suppose it shows you that I care about winning this match more now if I suddenly spend twenty minutes recalling my past links with this wall and its symbolism, huh? I suppose I should back track in my career and tell you how much success I've had in cages, cells and dens of all shapes, sizes and descriptions, I suppose I should tell you that my very first professional match was inside a steel structure and how ever since then, I've been whooping piddly asses inside steel for years - maybe that'll prove to you Joe that I care about the match as much as you apparently do. You see Joe, once again you entirely miss the point, as you so often do, its not so much the match I could care less about, it's the opponent...
It's you Joe, it's you I don't give a damn about.
Oh dear, I emphasised a point like Falcon again, how terribly unoriginal of me, I suppose it proves I'm running out of things to say again, perhaps I should instead talk some bollocks about how my opponent is a hedgehog since that's far more original and relevant isn't it Joe? I suppose spending two thirds of your promo talking about your past and men you've beaten even if those men are no longer around doesn't mean you've run out of fantastic counterpoint material on me either does it Joe?
No, Joe always has something to say - even if its complete twoddle
Twoddle is something you never seem to run out of Joe, so you're right, you'll always have material and I wont because quite honestly I've said all I needed to say in my first promo, you see unlike you I don't need to reflect on my past or worse, just make up material on woodland creatures to fill air-time rather than just be honest and admit I have no sensible rebuttal. I can admit when I've been beaten, even if its to lesser men. Hell, even Nelly Angel has beaten me in a big match situation when nobody thought I could lose, so what if you beat me Joe? Do you think anyone is going to care? Did they care when you beat Lance? I mean sure they were shocked and made fun of him for a while, but did they actually care? All that will happen if you beat me on Sunday is people like Angel, Rob, Fergus and Falcon will laugh for a while and shrug it off as 'haha, typical pathetic Ace' and I will move on despite their jokes and criticisms. I will move on, just like I did after my loss to Nelly, and just like Lance moved on after his loss to you...we'll still get opportunities at great matches because we won't let one loss cripple us....
*The Ace lets go of the steel*
As the old analogy goes, it could happen any given Sunday, any given Sunday you could beat me Joe, and if it does you'll be the only one who is unable to move beyond it. You'll still crow about it to any and every opponent that follows me and guess what? Nobody, aside from possibly your biggest supporter this Sunday, Fergus Callaghan will give a damn. I mean what exactly did beating the almighty Lance get you? Did it get you respect? Did it get you big matches and main events? Did it get people to sit up and stop taking you as the joke you are and always will be?
No.
Nothing's changed for you Joe, whereas Lance is still somewhere near the top facing the real competition and you Joe are stuck in the same place cradling the same title you've held twice before because you lack the ability to achieve higher, facing a man everybody still laughs at and nobody takes seriously anymore especially since I crumbled at the hands of Adam Knite, so you see in this match, you haven't come up to my level - no, I've simply dropped down to yours...
*The Ace sighs*
Now, that isn't something I'm particularly proud to admit but it just so happens to be true, maybe I'm just rambling because I've run out of things to say to you Joe, but quite honestly, what more can I say to a man who debuted in this company at the same time as me and still hasn't been able to convince anybody of his true potential? It's taken just over two years for our paths to cross and if that doesn't prove how far I've dropped from where I once was in this company, I don't know what does. I don't know what's more painful to me, the fact that I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for competition these days or the fact that you've already held a belt I haven't three times over...
*The Ace shakes the steel wall with his hands and pushes his face against it...*
I feel trapped here, always on the outside looking in, I have to grin and bear it whilst men I could once upon a time say I was above in ability get the rewards instead of me. Men like Jimmy Zane are now fighting for the World title shots instead of me, and only because Zane beat me at my own game in Natural Selection months ago. So Joe, it seems before the stars of tomorrow are truly made, they have to go through me and like I've already said - here's your chance. Beat me on Sunday and you might become a main eventer, rather than what you are now, a National Champion who is only booked in big matches because of the reputations of his opponents rather than his own...
*The Ace hangs his head, almost as if he was ashamed of what he had allowed himself to become, what he had been reduced to, he shakes his head and without looking up at the camera resumes speaking...*
What happened to me? Once upon a time I would have made a big deal about this match, I would have said it was my match and cited my victory over men like Steve Awesome and my draws against Spike Kane in this match as the reasons why, but not now. Not today. Spike would be so disappointed in me, in fact he probably is - the last of his great students is on the brink of obscurity, no better than his worst. No better than Joe Everyman...maybe that's what this match is. A test. A test to see if I'm beyond my own salvation. A test to see which of us gets passed the torch from Spike's retirement as the next master of the Dragon's Den - but if that's true, then there's a lot more at stake here than the National Championship...
*The Ace finally looks up, his eyes grew darker with the focus and fire within them...*
Joe, if you don't believe having a reliable and solid work ethic when cutting your promos is important especially when you're supposed to represent this company as a Champion, then quite frankly you don't deserve the title you currently possess - and so the reason I chose you as a victim upon my return becomes clear, you were the most undeserving champion and you are by far the easiest target to take that undeserved glory from. I don't care if you're not smart enough to be intimidated by a man who has cracked skulls open on a whim, and I don't care if you want me to believe that it is because you are such a dedicated family man that you cut promos so late in the week, rather than the simple fact that your lazy and only really make an effort when somebody calls you out on all your magnificent bull****. Deny it or turn it around on me in your next promo if you even bother cutting one, it makes no difference...
It will change nothing.
You've said sorry for a lot of things lately Joe, but believe me sunshine, you haven't even begun to feel sorry yet, but you will when we step into the Den. You see Joe, I'm not surprised you've seen legacies die and careers never take off, hell if I was an Everyman, I'd have seen all that stuff too - every time I looked in the mirror in fact...
*The Ace laughs as the spotlight goes out, leaving us in darkness for a moment, eventually it comes back on and the steel cell wall has been replaced by a large sheet of glass. Behind the glass The Ace stands, poised and ready to strike with his sledgehammer in hand...*
Before you bury me Joe, be prepared to bury yourself. Look at me stood behind this glass, look at me long and hard and eventually you'll see yourself. Eventually as you stare beyond the glass you'll see the glass ceiling you've never been able to crack, for you see to do as you promise, to destroy me you must first be prepared to be destroyed...
*As the camera zooms in closer and closer to the glass, we realise that its not The Ace we're seeing reflected in the glass but rather a life size mannequin of Joe Everyman, and the reflection we thought we saw of The Ace and his sledgehammer is actually on the other side of the glass, looking in at Joe with us...*
One of us will break down the walls of mediocrity this Sunday, one of us will break the glass ceiling and unlike you Joe, I am coming prepared with not only my prior knowledge and experience but also the right set of tools to get the job done...
*The Ace raises the sledgehammer and drives it trough the glass, shattering it completely and also knocking the head off the mannequin of Joe. The camera focuses in on the head as it rolls beyond the spotlight into the obscurity of darkness, before the camera fades predictably to black because now The Ace really had run out of things to say and yes he was still that unoriginal...*
I suppose this is what you meant Joe, I suppose me standing here in a darkened place with props to make a point suggests now that I'm beginning to take you a lot more seriously as an opponent than I did when I cut my second promo parodying you and your promo style, but the fact is I still don't and I never will. You're right, I don't care, I don't care enough not to make fun of you, I don't care enough not to pick on the obvious when it comes to you Joe - hell, it happens so often to me nowadays that I just thought I'd try it out and see if its as much fun as people like Rob Diamond seem to have on an almost daily basis - and it is. But there was another reason for my unoriginality Joe, I did it because I knew targeting the obvious in you would eventually ignite the same fire that has drawn you out of mediocrity just long enough to win the National Championship three times, and thusly force you to respond before the eleventh hour - and it has. I just find it tremendously ironic and ludicrously funny that you of all people would call into question whether I care about this match, when I'm not the one with the reputation for cutting piss poor last minuters or worse - no promos at all, every week...
*The Ace puts his hands on the cold steel in front of him and takes a moment to close his eyes and really feel it, before opening them again and speaking...*
Ahhhhhh...I guess I'm really getting the hang of this melodrama with inanimate object thing you got going on now eh? I suppose it shows you that I care about winning this match more now if I suddenly spend twenty minutes recalling my past links with this wall and its symbolism, huh? I suppose I should back track in my career and tell you how much success I've had in cages, cells and dens of all shapes, sizes and descriptions, I suppose I should tell you that my very first professional match was inside a steel structure and how ever since then, I've been whooping piddly asses inside steel for years - maybe that'll prove to you Joe that I care about the match as much as you apparently do. You see Joe, once again you entirely miss the point, as you so often do, its not so much the match I could care less about, it's the opponent...
It's you Joe, it's you I don't give a damn about.
Oh dear, I emphasised a point like Falcon again, how terribly unoriginal of me, I suppose it proves I'm running out of things to say again, perhaps I should instead talk some bollocks about how my opponent is a hedgehog since that's far more original and relevant isn't it Joe? I suppose spending two thirds of your promo talking about your past and men you've beaten even if those men are no longer around doesn't mean you've run out of fantastic counterpoint material on me either does it Joe?
No, Joe always has something to say - even if its complete twoddle
Twoddle is something you never seem to run out of Joe, so you're right, you'll always have material and I wont because quite honestly I've said all I needed to say in my first promo, you see unlike you I don't need to reflect on my past or worse, just make up material on woodland creatures to fill air-time rather than just be honest and admit I have no sensible rebuttal. I can admit when I've been beaten, even if its to lesser men. Hell, even Nelly Angel has beaten me in a big match situation when nobody thought I could lose, so what if you beat me Joe? Do you think anyone is going to care? Did they care when you beat Lance? I mean sure they were shocked and made fun of him for a while, but did they actually care? All that will happen if you beat me on Sunday is people like Angel, Rob, Fergus and Falcon will laugh for a while and shrug it off as 'haha, typical pathetic Ace' and I will move on despite their jokes and criticisms. I will move on, just like I did after my loss to Nelly, and just like Lance moved on after his loss to you...we'll still get opportunities at great matches because we won't let one loss cripple us....
*The Ace lets go of the steel*
As the old analogy goes, it could happen any given Sunday, any given Sunday you could beat me Joe, and if it does you'll be the only one who is unable to move beyond it. You'll still crow about it to any and every opponent that follows me and guess what? Nobody, aside from possibly your biggest supporter this Sunday, Fergus Callaghan will give a damn. I mean what exactly did beating the almighty Lance get you? Did it get you respect? Did it get you big matches and main events? Did it get people to sit up and stop taking you as the joke you are and always will be?
No.
Nothing's changed for you Joe, whereas Lance is still somewhere near the top facing the real competition and you Joe are stuck in the same place cradling the same title you've held twice before because you lack the ability to achieve higher, facing a man everybody still laughs at and nobody takes seriously anymore especially since I crumbled at the hands of Adam Knite, so you see in this match, you haven't come up to my level - no, I've simply dropped down to yours...
*The Ace sighs*
Now, that isn't something I'm particularly proud to admit but it just so happens to be true, maybe I'm just rambling because I've run out of things to say to you Joe, but quite honestly, what more can I say to a man who debuted in this company at the same time as me and still hasn't been able to convince anybody of his true potential? It's taken just over two years for our paths to cross and if that doesn't prove how far I've dropped from where I once was in this company, I don't know what does. I don't know what's more painful to me, the fact that I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for competition these days or the fact that you've already held a belt I haven't three times over...
*The Ace shakes the steel wall with his hands and pushes his face against it...*
I feel trapped here, always on the outside looking in, I have to grin and bear it whilst men I could once upon a time say I was above in ability get the rewards instead of me. Men like Jimmy Zane are now fighting for the World title shots instead of me, and only because Zane beat me at my own game in Natural Selection months ago. So Joe, it seems before the stars of tomorrow are truly made, they have to go through me and like I've already said - here's your chance. Beat me on Sunday and you might become a main eventer, rather than what you are now, a National Champion who is only booked in big matches because of the reputations of his opponents rather than his own...
*The Ace hangs his head, almost as if he was ashamed of what he had allowed himself to become, what he had been reduced to, he shakes his head and without looking up at the camera resumes speaking...*
What happened to me? Once upon a time I would have made a big deal about this match, I would have said it was my match and cited my victory over men like Steve Awesome and my draws against Spike Kane in this match as the reasons why, but not now. Not today. Spike would be so disappointed in me, in fact he probably is - the last of his great students is on the brink of obscurity, no better than his worst. No better than Joe Everyman...maybe that's what this match is. A test. A test to see if I'm beyond my own salvation. A test to see which of us gets passed the torch from Spike's retirement as the next master of the Dragon's Den - but if that's true, then there's a lot more at stake here than the National Championship...
*The Ace finally looks up, his eyes grew darker with the focus and fire within them...*
Joe, if you don't believe having a reliable and solid work ethic when cutting your promos is important especially when you're supposed to represent this company as a Champion, then quite frankly you don't deserve the title you currently possess - and so the reason I chose you as a victim upon my return becomes clear, you were the most undeserving champion and you are by far the easiest target to take that undeserved glory from. I don't care if you're not smart enough to be intimidated by a man who has cracked skulls open on a whim, and I don't care if you want me to believe that it is because you are such a dedicated family man that you cut promos so late in the week, rather than the simple fact that your lazy and only really make an effort when somebody calls you out on all your magnificent bull****. Deny it or turn it around on me in your next promo if you even bother cutting one, it makes no difference...
It will change nothing.
You've said sorry for a lot of things lately Joe, but believe me sunshine, you haven't even begun to feel sorry yet, but you will when we step into the Den. You see Joe, I'm not surprised you've seen legacies die and careers never take off, hell if I was an Everyman, I'd have seen all that stuff too - every time I looked in the mirror in fact...
*The Ace laughs as the spotlight goes out, leaving us in darkness for a moment, eventually it comes back on and the steel cell wall has been replaced by a large sheet of glass. Behind the glass The Ace stands, poised and ready to strike with his sledgehammer in hand...*
Before you bury me Joe, be prepared to bury yourself. Look at me stood behind this glass, look at me long and hard and eventually you'll see yourself. Eventually as you stare beyond the glass you'll see the glass ceiling you've never been able to crack, for you see to do as you promise, to destroy me you must first be prepared to be destroyed...
*As the camera zooms in closer and closer to the glass, we realise that its not The Ace we're seeing reflected in the glass but rather a life size mannequin of Joe Everyman, and the reflection we thought we saw of The Ace and his sledgehammer is actually on the other side of the glass, looking in at Joe with us...*
One of us will break down the walls of mediocrity this Sunday, one of us will break the glass ceiling and unlike you Joe, I am coming prepared with not only my prior knowledge and experience but also the right set of tools to get the job done...
*The Ace raises the sledgehammer and drives it trough the glass, shattering it completely and also knocking the head off the mannequin of Joe. The camera focuses in on the head as it rolls beyond the spotlight into the obscurity of darkness, before the camera fades predictably to black because now The Ace really had run out of things to say and yes he was still that unoriginal...*