Post by The Ace on Oct 26, 2012 12:26:19 GMT -6
The scene opens with The Ace sat watching some old home movie, we cannot see what is going on as we are completely focused on The Ace who has a smile on his face, but from the screaming coming from the television set, we get the pretty good idea that Kathleen Conway is giving birth.
As the NCW camera swings to the television set, the handicam swings in the direction of the hurried footsteps as approaching as Jake Conway briskly enters the delivery room.
05/30/10
11:15 PM
~Jake: Oh Thank God, I didn't miss it!
Jake Conway hurries over to his wife and grabs her hand, almost having it torn off by the strength of her grip as she howls in pain.
Kathy: JAKE! YOU BASTARD! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!
Before Jake can respond, he is caught up in the flurry of activity as the doctors and nurses present all encourage her to push.
Kathy: I AM PUSHING DAMN YOU!
One of the doctors present, exclaims that he can see the head crowning, and invites Jake over to watch the miracle of life as it begins to emerge. Jake reluctantly at first, goes over...~
I remember being conflicted, part of me wanted to stay, continue to hold her hand through all of this, but another part of me was reminded about how four years prior to this moment, I had missed the birth of my first born child. Life doesn't often give you second chances, but when it does, I have learned that you really don't want to miss a second of them.
As I watched the baby emerge, my heart stood still, watching life emerge, covered in blood, it took me back to earlier in the night, the reason I had been late to all of this in the first place. I had a match for the World Championship against five other guys from another company. My pride had been wounded in NCW, losing the National Championship to Cross a few months prior to this had only been the start of my eventual exit from that company - losing to a 'vampire' on a PPV preshow the following month had ultimately been the final straw...[/color]
Jake Conway's recollections are interrupted as the NCW camera refocused on him as he relived the moment when he heard his second daughter's first cries to the world in which she had arrived.
~"Congratulations, Mr Conway, it's a girl!" came the voice of the doctor. The handicam focuses in on Jake Conway who has the widest smile on his face at the moment.
"Mike, I hope you're getting this..."
"Yes, I am Kathy, no sweat." ~
Ah Mike Kane, now there was the very defintion of a good friend if you ever needed one, away from all the pageantry, the theatre and the bright lights of this business we really weren't the blood enemies we were paid to be. In this room, in this moment, we weren't 'The Ace' and 'Spike Kane', pro-wrestling superstars, we were simply two friends, Jake and Mike, and whilst I had gone out there earlier in the night to try and win another World Title, Mike had really stepped up for me and seen my wife to the hospital and even promised to preserve this precious moment in case I had missed any of it.
I was glad I had not.
~"Congratulatons dude."
Jake Conway looked straight at the camera, his eyes glistening with the tears of joy through the smile spread across his face.
Jake: Thanks Mike. For everything.
"No problem, amigo..."~
The doctor then offered me a chance to cut the umbilical cord and I remember being very nervous about it all at first, such was the miracle of life that it began tethered to another life and in order for it to flourish, it had to be cut from the other life. There was some remarkably beautiful irony to the fact that we all readily accepted and rejoiced in the cutting of the physical bonds in life at the beginning, but in the end, we lamented losing the emotional ones...
The Ace stopped the video and halted his journey down memory lane for the moment as he rather unashamedly wiped a rogue tear from his eye, in perhaps what was a first for the NCW audience, they saw behind the curtain of kayfabe and saw the real emotion of a man, a husband and a father first, a wrestler second and if people like Xavier Cross or anybody else wanted to ridicule him as weak for being human, there was a middle finger they could swivel on.
The Ace is wearing his amber tinted shades and red 'Hall Of FameAcer' T-shirt, as he is sat backwards on a steel chair, with his arms folded across the top of it. The Ace shakes his head and sighs.
Here you are Cross, a man who holds multiple victories over men like Adam Knite, a two time NCW National Champion and you still talk like some green gilled rookie, more importantly than that you still talk to me like I'm an idiot. Believe it or not Cross, I am a man of my word - I told you I wouldn't insult the memories of your dear departed wife and I have not - all I said was that I'd hate for you to share her fate. I know the difference between those statements is subtle, but trust me sunshine, it is there - the fact that any or all of it just went completely over your bloated sense of ego and almost robotic sense of "Must Insult Ace To Keep Title." is frankly more your problem than it is mine, Xavier.
If you don't want to respect me, fine. I got along just fine without your respect before now, and I'll get along just fine without it after Sunday, regardless of whether I happen to walk out with my second National Championship or not. Whether you want to admit it or not Xavier, this match is more important to you than it is to me, you've already built it up in your head as a "Must Win Scenario", because something inside your head still tells you that losing to a man like me still has some shame attached to it within the eyes of this company. Maybe in 2010 when I was on my way out it it did, but not today.
You've always prided yourself Cross on being one of the boys, doing what ever they do to keep your 'cool' status, I've never been a part of that social circle in the back, maybe because back in 2010 I was the one being insulted, it was the 'cool' thing to do back then in the very typical schoolyard sort of way that the backstage environment sometimes devolves into. But the sad fact is, this isn't 2010, and most of them have moved on from that, and I have evolved into a far better and more rounded competitor and human being even if you refuse to see it Xavier.
By all means, keep walking around here with your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears stringing together whatever passes as a 'match winning' ramble in your head, physically X, you are here with all of us in 2012, but emotionally I can see now that you're still stuck in 2010. I suppose I understand that, because I understand grief. We all react differently to it, for some of us our wife and the mother of our children dies tragically at the end of February, and by the end of May the same year, we've already dusted ourselves off with a brand new valet and gotten ourselves right back into the National Championship hunt, right Cross?
It would probably be quite amusing if it wasn't all so desperately sad. I may not be much of a threat in your eyes Cross, and that's fine, I'm not going to get all bent out of shape and make claims that 'I am' and 'You'll see', because the fact is I don't need to, you'll see a lot of things when you choose to open your eyes and look at me Xavier, I mean really look at me, you'll see that though I am many things I am not a man to whip out my ten inch Spade simply to take a piss on your dear departed wife's grave, because frankly I do not need to.
You've already done a pretty good job of that yourself, if not by hooking up with Natalie before Cari's body was even cold in the ground, then by allowing a man like Charlie Velez to dessicrate your late wife's tombstone on National Television - and all for what, the National Title? You were fighting for your second National Championship back then, just as you are now...and now you finally have it...
Perhaps for that, it is you, not I who deserves the standing ovation.
Congratulations, good sir, you've fought, clawed and scratched youir way right back to the very same spot I left you in two years ago. You were a rising star then, and you're still a rising star now, and that isn't just my opinion, no, evidently it's this company's aswell - and perhaps that is what irks you most about me Xavier - you still insist on seeing me as a worthless joke, not worthy of your time, effort of fear, but this company sees me as a Legend. A status I cemented only a couple of weeks ago by being a finalist in the Legends half of the Road To The Gold tournament, and whilst it may be true that I was indeed not good enough to win the whole damn thing, the fact remains that I proved myself to be better than you by virtue of making it as far as I did. The fact that I stumbled at the penultimate hurdle is really neither here nor there, especially when you consider that I dusted myself off and went on to defeat the man who eliminated you to earn the shot that I have at you this Sunday.
A shot at a prize that is of little consolation to me, but even less of a consolation to you, isn't it Xavier? You may not believe in fate sunshine, but even you have to admit that there are times when it has the most macabre sense of humour.
May 30th, 2010 - the day Charlie Velez brought you to your knees, weeping as he rejoiced in death. By a curious quirk of fate, on that day I too was brought to my knees as I rejoiced in life, and thus the circle of life is complete. On that day, my second daughter - Domino Opportunity Conway was born - so you see Xavier. I'm no stranger to making opportunities myself, the only difference is, I have more fun.
Tell me Xavier, how does it feel to cling so desperately to a title that has become so obviously entwined with the less than wonderful moments of your wife's life - specifically her last? She may indeed want you to continue wrestling and if that's what you love to do, more power to you my friend, but do you really think she would want you to keep clinging and keep fighting for a title that only serves to remind you of her death, of all the times you've failed her and let her down?
Surely there are memories of happier times to be found tucked within the precious pages of family photo albums rather than in the ten pounds of leather and gold that reminds you each time you look at it "Hey I won this when my first love died" or "Hey, I fought for this and failed when Velez took a sledgehammer to my wife's tombstone..."?
Having such a chokingly pungent noose around your career and your life cannot be healthy Cross, but by all means tell me I am wrong, because apparently that's the only thing you enjoy doing more than trying to run me into the ground with bad jokes and the cliche threats of a man much too frightened to admit that he may very well be out of his depth come Sunday. You will not indulge me by acknowledging that I'm not the same man you fought two years ago, and I will not indulge you by being dragged into some pointless mud-slinging contest just because you happened to call my wife ugly or take a pot shot at my father. Sorry my friend, the National Championship may only be worth that much to you...
But it is worth so much more to me.
We rejoin the scene from earlier, only this time Jake is joined by his wife Kathy as they watch the last few moments of this treasured memory play out. She has he head on his shoulder and he has an arm around her waist as they both smile.
~The shot is a lovely one of Kathy cradling her newborn as the tiny miracle is wrapped up in a blanket in her arms, and Jake is leant into the side as the couple smile and look directly at the camera at Mike's direction...
"Anything you want to say, dude..."
Jake: World Championships be damned!
And I still feel that way, today. If I had to amend that statement for the here and now, I'd say the same about the National Championship. In life there are many moments people can take away from you, but there are many more they cannot...
Guess which ones I live for...[/color]
Jake and Kathy share a kiss on the handicam and the beauty of that moment is mirrored on the NCW camera as it freezes before fading to black.
As the NCW camera swings to the television set, the handicam swings in the direction of the hurried footsteps as approaching as Jake Conway briskly enters the delivery room.
05/30/10
11:15 PM
~Jake: Oh Thank God, I didn't miss it!
Jake Conway hurries over to his wife and grabs her hand, almost having it torn off by the strength of her grip as she howls in pain.
Kathy: JAKE! YOU BASTARD! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!
Before Jake can respond, he is caught up in the flurry of activity as the doctors and nurses present all encourage her to push.
Kathy: I AM PUSHING DAMN YOU!
One of the doctors present, exclaims that he can see the head crowning, and invites Jake over to watch the miracle of life as it begins to emerge. Jake reluctantly at first, goes over...~
I remember being conflicted, part of me wanted to stay, continue to hold her hand through all of this, but another part of me was reminded about how four years prior to this moment, I had missed the birth of my first born child. Life doesn't often give you second chances, but when it does, I have learned that you really don't want to miss a second of them.
As I watched the baby emerge, my heart stood still, watching life emerge, covered in blood, it took me back to earlier in the night, the reason I had been late to all of this in the first place. I had a match for the World Championship against five other guys from another company. My pride had been wounded in NCW, losing the National Championship to Cross a few months prior to this had only been the start of my eventual exit from that company - losing to a 'vampire' on a PPV preshow the following month had ultimately been the final straw...[/color]
Jake Conway's recollections are interrupted as the NCW camera refocused on him as he relived the moment when he heard his second daughter's first cries to the world in which she had arrived.
~"Congratulations, Mr Conway, it's a girl!" came the voice of the doctor. The handicam focuses in on Jake Conway who has the widest smile on his face at the moment.
"Mike, I hope you're getting this..."
"Yes, I am Kathy, no sweat." ~
Ah Mike Kane, now there was the very defintion of a good friend if you ever needed one, away from all the pageantry, the theatre and the bright lights of this business we really weren't the blood enemies we were paid to be. In this room, in this moment, we weren't 'The Ace' and 'Spike Kane', pro-wrestling superstars, we were simply two friends, Jake and Mike, and whilst I had gone out there earlier in the night to try and win another World Title, Mike had really stepped up for me and seen my wife to the hospital and even promised to preserve this precious moment in case I had missed any of it.
I was glad I had not.
~"Congratulatons dude."
Jake Conway looked straight at the camera, his eyes glistening with the tears of joy through the smile spread across his face.
Jake: Thanks Mike. For everything.
"No problem, amigo..."~
The doctor then offered me a chance to cut the umbilical cord and I remember being very nervous about it all at first, such was the miracle of life that it began tethered to another life and in order for it to flourish, it had to be cut from the other life. There was some remarkably beautiful irony to the fact that we all readily accepted and rejoiced in the cutting of the physical bonds in life at the beginning, but in the end, we lamented losing the emotional ones...
The Ace stopped the video and halted his journey down memory lane for the moment as he rather unashamedly wiped a rogue tear from his eye, in perhaps what was a first for the NCW audience, they saw behind the curtain of kayfabe and saw the real emotion of a man, a husband and a father first, a wrestler second and if people like Xavier Cross or anybody else wanted to ridicule him as weak for being human, there was a middle finger they could swivel on.
The Ace is wearing his amber tinted shades and red 'Hall Of FameAcer' T-shirt, as he is sat backwards on a steel chair, with his arms folded across the top of it. The Ace shakes his head and sighs.
Here you are Cross, a man who holds multiple victories over men like Adam Knite, a two time NCW National Champion and you still talk like some green gilled rookie, more importantly than that you still talk to me like I'm an idiot. Believe it or not Cross, I am a man of my word - I told you I wouldn't insult the memories of your dear departed wife and I have not - all I said was that I'd hate for you to share her fate. I know the difference between those statements is subtle, but trust me sunshine, it is there - the fact that any or all of it just went completely over your bloated sense of ego and almost robotic sense of "Must Insult Ace To Keep Title." is frankly more your problem than it is mine, Xavier.
If you don't want to respect me, fine. I got along just fine without your respect before now, and I'll get along just fine without it after Sunday, regardless of whether I happen to walk out with my second National Championship or not. Whether you want to admit it or not Xavier, this match is more important to you than it is to me, you've already built it up in your head as a "Must Win Scenario", because something inside your head still tells you that losing to a man like me still has some shame attached to it within the eyes of this company. Maybe in 2010 when I was on my way out it it did, but not today.
You've always prided yourself Cross on being one of the boys, doing what ever they do to keep your 'cool' status, I've never been a part of that social circle in the back, maybe because back in 2010 I was the one being insulted, it was the 'cool' thing to do back then in the very typical schoolyard sort of way that the backstage environment sometimes devolves into. But the sad fact is, this isn't 2010, and most of them have moved on from that, and I have evolved into a far better and more rounded competitor and human being even if you refuse to see it Xavier.
By all means, keep walking around here with your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears stringing together whatever passes as a 'match winning' ramble in your head, physically X, you are here with all of us in 2012, but emotionally I can see now that you're still stuck in 2010. I suppose I understand that, because I understand grief. We all react differently to it, for some of us our wife and the mother of our children dies tragically at the end of February, and by the end of May the same year, we've already dusted ourselves off with a brand new valet and gotten ourselves right back into the National Championship hunt, right Cross?
It would probably be quite amusing if it wasn't all so desperately sad. I may not be much of a threat in your eyes Cross, and that's fine, I'm not going to get all bent out of shape and make claims that 'I am' and 'You'll see', because the fact is I don't need to, you'll see a lot of things when you choose to open your eyes and look at me Xavier, I mean really look at me, you'll see that though I am many things I am not a man to whip out my ten inch Spade simply to take a piss on your dear departed wife's grave, because frankly I do not need to.
You've already done a pretty good job of that yourself, if not by hooking up with Natalie before Cari's body was even cold in the ground, then by allowing a man like Charlie Velez to dessicrate your late wife's tombstone on National Television - and all for what, the National Title? You were fighting for your second National Championship back then, just as you are now...and now you finally have it...
Perhaps for that, it is you, not I who deserves the standing ovation.
Congratulations, good sir, you've fought, clawed and scratched youir way right back to the very same spot I left you in two years ago. You were a rising star then, and you're still a rising star now, and that isn't just my opinion, no, evidently it's this company's aswell - and perhaps that is what irks you most about me Xavier - you still insist on seeing me as a worthless joke, not worthy of your time, effort of fear, but this company sees me as a Legend. A status I cemented only a couple of weeks ago by being a finalist in the Legends half of the Road To The Gold tournament, and whilst it may be true that I was indeed not good enough to win the whole damn thing, the fact remains that I proved myself to be better than you by virtue of making it as far as I did. The fact that I stumbled at the penultimate hurdle is really neither here nor there, especially when you consider that I dusted myself off and went on to defeat the man who eliminated you to earn the shot that I have at you this Sunday.
A shot at a prize that is of little consolation to me, but even less of a consolation to you, isn't it Xavier? You may not believe in fate sunshine, but even you have to admit that there are times when it has the most macabre sense of humour.
May 30th, 2010 - the day Charlie Velez brought you to your knees, weeping as he rejoiced in death. By a curious quirk of fate, on that day I too was brought to my knees as I rejoiced in life, and thus the circle of life is complete. On that day, my second daughter - Domino Opportunity Conway was born - so you see Xavier. I'm no stranger to making opportunities myself, the only difference is, I have more fun.
Tell me Xavier, how does it feel to cling so desperately to a title that has become so obviously entwined with the less than wonderful moments of your wife's life - specifically her last? She may indeed want you to continue wrestling and if that's what you love to do, more power to you my friend, but do you really think she would want you to keep clinging and keep fighting for a title that only serves to remind you of her death, of all the times you've failed her and let her down?
Surely there are memories of happier times to be found tucked within the precious pages of family photo albums rather than in the ten pounds of leather and gold that reminds you each time you look at it "Hey I won this when my first love died" or "Hey, I fought for this and failed when Velez took a sledgehammer to my wife's tombstone..."?
Having such a chokingly pungent noose around your career and your life cannot be healthy Cross, but by all means tell me I am wrong, because apparently that's the only thing you enjoy doing more than trying to run me into the ground with bad jokes and the cliche threats of a man much too frightened to admit that he may very well be out of his depth come Sunday. You will not indulge me by acknowledging that I'm not the same man you fought two years ago, and I will not indulge you by being dragged into some pointless mud-slinging contest just because you happened to call my wife ugly or take a pot shot at my father. Sorry my friend, the National Championship may only be worth that much to you...
But it is worth so much more to me.
We rejoin the scene from earlier, only this time Jake is joined by his wife Kathy as they watch the last few moments of this treasured memory play out. She has he head on his shoulder and he has an arm around her waist as they both smile.
~The shot is a lovely one of Kathy cradling her newborn as the tiny miracle is wrapped up in a blanket in her arms, and Jake is leant into the side as the couple smile and look directly at the camera at Mike's direction...
"Anything you want to say, dude..."
Jake: World Championships be damned!
And I still feel that way, today. If I had to amend that statement for the here and now, I'd say the same about the National Championship. In life there are many moments people can take away from you, but there are many more they cannot...
Guess which ones I live for...[/color]
Jake and Kathy share a kiss on the handicam and the beauty of that moment is mirrored on the NCW camera as it freezes before fading to black.
In Memory of Cari Cross.