Post by Alex Jones on Sept 23, 2011 2:41:25 GMT -6
“Humble...”
“That’s a new one...”
“No one has ever actually called me that...”
“Even when I have been....”
“I have had times of humility...”
“Respect...”
“And honor....”
“But most people don’t notice...”
“Don’t care...”
“Or just ignore it...”
“Maybe I’m making in roads....then again...”
“Maybe not....”
“Surprising....”
I pop my top on my first rock star of the day.
“After everything I said. All the verbal slaps, all the f-bombs, all the corporate “no no’s”. I got nothing. No reaction. No fines, they didn’t even censor the promo aside from the excessive swearing. So that’s the reaction Leonard?. You’re just going to ignore what I have to say?. In hopes I’ll what exactly?. Stop talking?. Shut up?. It’s wishful thinking Leo. See I have bitten my tongue while working here, I’ve been a good little employee never rocking the boat. I was a “company guy”. I sat here saying yes to things I didn’t want, I sat here allowing certain things to happen that I knew weren’t fair and were quite frankly bull**** because it was “Good for business”. I saw guys like Spike Kane, Brad Kane and Jake Conway walk out in a huff and tell NCW to go to hell and while I agreed with them in some ways I never voiced my support because I’m a “company guy”.....”
“And where has that gotten me?...”
“Where has being the good boy taken my career?...”
I chuckle....
“It has broken me. It made me hate this business it made me hate NCW and it made me hate myself and I am done. I am done letting others walk over me. I’m done being a “yes” man. I say what I want do what I want and I will let my star shine brighter than anyone else. Especially the corporate golden boy that Leonard Fox wishes he sired......”
“But as I stood there and heard the fallout from my words I knew that I still had more to say. Steve Awesome is Leonard Fox’s bitch. We all know this. But I look at the power structure of NCW and I know that it starts at the top. Hell I’ll admit that when Angel became GM I got a boost. But it was a boost I’d earned. I hear the whispers. I hear the bull****. If you don’t think I deserve to be in the main event, if you don’t think I deserve to be world champion after all I’ve done All I’d put up with and all the things I’ve done in the name of “good business” then I had one thing to say to you....”
My middle finger extends big and proud.
“**** you....”
“I’ve seen men with half my talent who have done nothing for this company become world champion and I watched my shots slip through my fingers because of injury and screw jobs.....See Chris Gardner doesn’t understand. He can give me respect and tell the world how big of an opportunity this is and even tell us all how he’s beaten Hal of famers aswell....”
“But Chris....”
I smirk as I walk around the ring that I’m in. An empty broken down ring in an empty warehouse as the sunlight shines through the musty old windows.
“What you have or haven’t been through means nothing to me. If you take out all the no shows and injuries you’ve had you’ve been in NCW what?...six minutes?. Truthfully until you mentioned it I’d forgotten you’d held the Honor title. I must have had a few beers, fallen asleep and slept right through your title reign. But you pointed out that you were the most successful Honor champion ever. That’s kind of like saying you’re the best bobsledder in Jamaica.....”
“The Honor title is one step up from the plastic replica belts kids by from K-Mart for 19.95....”
“I’ve been X-Division champion..not X champion...not that farce of a title that was melded with the Xtreme title, the real belt. The title that meant something. See you weren’t here for that. You can say all you want about who you’ve faced but if you look at the X-Division when I became champion and it was truly a golden age.....Angel, Xavier Williams, Brad Kane as the first champion we made that title mean almost as much as the world title...”
I smile fondly remembering it...
“You want to climb the ladder Chris, I admire that. You want to better yourself, you want to prove you belong. I’m all for that, but not this time....not right now.....You’re in my way Chris...and to do what I want to...I need you out of the way...I’m sorry but this is just business...”
“A revolution huh?...”
“I don’t want a revolution....”
“A revolution implies replacing on governing party with another...”
“I couldn’t give a ****....”
“I want anarchy....”
“I want them to realise that Leonard is nothing...”
“I want them to realise he is holding me back....”
“His decisions...”
“His view of the world....”
“He wants to stop me......he does not want me as champion....”
“Pity really...”
“This is not about you....”
I sigh deeply and close my eyes
“Roberto, you are a worthy champion. I won’t take anything away from you. I can’t. Of all the men I’ve had the honor of facing in NCW you
have made one of the biggest impressions on my life and who I am as a person because I was always a firm believer in not knowing the man until you face them but you were able to show just how good you were in your past actions....”
“Truth is Verona, you’re a beast. I got in the ring with you and hit you with everything but in the end it just wasn’t enough. I made mistakes and you capitalised on them like a real champion should. And like a real champion you look at every challenge as a moment to prove how worthy you really are. The respect I have for you is boundless and in another time and place I’d call you a friend....”
“But we both know what’s coming. We both know that in the end there can only be a winner and a loser. The winner stays National Champion and can lay claim to being the best. The loser, well the loser goes back to trying to figure out what to do. But with Road to the gold next month it won’t be that hard to figure out what the loser is going to do eh Roberto?.....”
I laugh to myself and smile.
“But with that situation ahead it may be easy to get sidetracked and may be easy to not even look at the bigger picture. But in the end I wanted to make the National title to big to ignore. I wanted it to be the most meaningful belt in NCW. I wanted to be able to walk out to the ring and hold the National title in the air and have the crowd know that to be National Champion was to be the best. Not the “second best” because it is the “second tier” title....but the best.......”
“When I lost the title to you Roberto I thought I was going to feel broken. But truthfully I was proud. I was proud because someone had earned it fairly. Someone had beaten me and on the night in question had been better than me. But you were only better than me ON THAT NIGHT. Nothing is saying you can’t beat myself and Christian. Nothing at all, in fact most people believe you will run through us and go on to your next challenge. But you know better. I know you do. I know that you will not take me lightly. I know that when you see me you see the guy who gave you the fight of your life. And I know that deep down part of you is scared....”
“Part of you is scared that the day after battlegrounds you will no longer be National Champion. You’re scared that your title reign will be a part of the “35 day club”. Men who have held titles for one month and failed to have defended them.”
I smile and laugh a little
“Only once in my career has that happened to me, my second X-Division title reign. Truth be told I won the title to overtake Rob Diamond as the man to have longest total number of days as champion. But either way i know what that feels like. And it’s not something you’re worthy of. But if that’s what has to happen then that’s what I have to do. I just ask that you not hold what I have to do against me....after all Roberto..this isn’t personal..it’s just business....”
“That’s a new one...”
“No one has ever actually called me that...”
“Even when I have been....”
“I have had times of humility...”
“Respect...”
“And honor....”
“But most people don’t notice...”
“Don’t care...”
“Or just ignore it...”
“Maybe I’m making in roads....then again...”
“Maybe not....”
“Surprising....”
I pop my top on my first rock star of the day.
“After everything I said. All the verbal slaps, all the f-bombs, all the corporate “no no’s”. I got nothing. No reaction. No fines, they didn’t even censor the promo aside from the excessive swearing. So that’s the reaction Leonard?. You’re just going to ignore what I have to say?. In hopes I’ll what exactly?. Stop talking?. Shut up?. It’s wishful thinking Leo. See I have bitten my tongue while working here, I’ve been a good little employee never rocking the boat. I was a “company guy”. I sat here saying yes to things I didn’t want, I sat here allowing certain things to happen that I knew weren’t fair and were quite frankly bull**** because it was “Good for business”. I saw guys like Spike Kane, Brad Kane and Jake Conway walk out in a huff and tell NCW to go to hell and while I agreed with them in some ways I never voiced my support because I’m a “company guy”.....”
“And where has that gotten me?...”
“Where has being the good boy taken my career?...”
I chuckle....
“It has broken me. It made me hate this business it made me hate NCW and it made me hate myself and I am done. I am done letting others walk over me. I’m done being a “yes” man. I say what I want do what I want and I will let my star shine brighter than anyone else. Especially the corporate golden boy that Leonard Fox wishes he sired......”
“But as I stood there and heard the fallout from my words I knew that I still had more to say. Steve Awesome is Leonard Fox’s bitch. We all know this. But I look at the power structure of NCW and I know that it starts at the top. Hell I’ll admit that when Angel became GM I got a boost. But it was a boost I’d earned. I hear the whispers. I hear the bull****. If you don’t think I deserve to be in the main event, if you don’t think I deserve to be world champion after all I’ve done All I’d put up with and all the things I’ve done in the name of “good business” then I had one thing to say to you....”
My middle finger extends big and proud.
“**** you....”
“I’ve seen men with half my talent who have done nothing for this company become world champion and I watched my shots slip through my fingers because of injury and screw jobs.....See Chris Gardner doesn’t understand. He can give me respect and tell the world how big of an opportunity this is and even tell us all how he’s beaten Hal of famers aswell....”
“But Chris....”
I smirk as I walk around the ring that I’m in. An empty broken down ring in an empty warehouse as the sunlight shines through the musty old windows.
“What you have or haven’t been through means nothing to me. If you take out all the no shows and injuries you’ve had you’ve been in NCW what?...six minutes?. Truthfully until you mentioned it I’d forgotten you’d held the Honor title. I must have had a few beers, fallen asleep and slept right through your title reign. But you pointed out that you were the most successful Honor champion ever. That’s kind of like saying you’re the best bobsledder in Jamaica.....”
“The Honor title is one step up from the plastic replica belts kids by from K-Mart for 19.95....”
“I’ve been X-Division champion..not X champion...not that farce of a title that was melded with the Xtreme title, the real belt. The title that meant something. See you weren’t here for that. You can say all you want about who you’ve faced but if you look at the X-Division when I became champion and it was truly a golden age.....Angel, Xavier Williams, Brad Kane as the first champion we made that title mean almost as much as the world title...”
I smile fondly remembering it...
“You want to climb the ladder Chris, I admire that. You want to better yourself, you want to prove you belong. I’m all for that, but not this time....not right now.....You’re in my way Chris...and to do what I want to...I need you out of the way...I’m sorry but this is just business...”
“A revolution huh?...”
“I don’t want a revolution....”
“A revolution implies replacing on governing party with another...”
“I couldn’t give a ****....”
“I want anarchy....”
“I want them to realise that Leonard is nothing...”
“I want them to realise he is holding me back....”
“His decisions...”
“His view of the world....”
“He wants to stop me......he does not want me as champion....”
“Pity really...”
“This is not about you....”
I sigh deeply and close my eyes
“Roberto, you are a worthy champion. I won’t take anything away from you. I can’t. Of all the men I’ve had the honor of facing in NCW you
have made one of the biggest impressions on my life and who I am as a person because I was always a firm believer in not knowing the man until you face them but you were able to show just how good you were in your past actions....”
“Truth is Verona, you’re a beast. I got in the ring with you and hit you with everything but in the end it just wasn’t enough. I made mistakes and you capitalised on them like a real champion should. And like a real champion you look at every challenge as a moment to prove how worthy you really are. The respect I have for you is boundless and in another time and place I’d call you a friend....”
“But we both know what’s coming. We both know that in the end there can only be a winner and a loser. The winner stays National Champion and can lay claim to being the best. The loser, well the loser goes back to trying to figure out what to do. But with Road to the gold next month it won’t be that hard to figure out what the loser is going to do eh Roberto?.....”
I laugh to myself and smile.
“But with that situation ahead it may be easy to get sidetracked and may be easy to not even look at the bigger picture. But in the end I wanted to make the National title to big to ignore. I wanted it to be the most meaningful belt in NCW. I wanted to be able to walk out to the ring and hold the National title in the air and have the crowd know that to be National Champion was to be the best. Not the “second best” because it is the “second tier” title....but the best.......”
“When I lost the title to you Roberto I thought I was going to feel broken. But truthfully I was proud. I was proud because someone had earned it fairly. Someone had beaten me and on the night in question had been better than me. But you were only better than me ON THAT NIGHT. Nothing is saying you can’t beat myself and Christian. Nothing at all, in fact most people believe you will run through us and go on to your next challenge. But you know better. I know you do. I know that you will not take me lightly. I know that when you see me you see the guy who gave you the fight of your life. And I know that deep down part of you is scared....”
“Part of you is scared that the day after battlegrounds you will no longer be National Champion. You’re scared that your title reign will be a part of the “35 day club”. Men who have held titles for one month and failed to have defended them.”
I smile and laugh a little
“Only once in my career has that happened to me, my second X-Division title reign. Truth be told I won the title to overtake Rob Diamond as the man to have longest total number of days as champion. But either way i know what that feels like. And it’s not something you’re worthy of. But if that’s what has to happen then that’s what I have to do. I just ask that you not hold what I have to do against me....after all Roberto..this isn’t personal..it’s just business....”