Post by Will Washington on Feb 23, 2013 22:00:16 GMT -6
"What does it take to be champion?"
"This is the question that I've asked myself every day since I was a kid. I watched wrestling every week and dreamed one day of being like all of my heroes. When you're a child, it feels like you can do anything and everything. No dream is too big, no person too small. When you get older, your goals change and you start to worry about other things and forget the ones that used to be important to you."
"... dreams die. We move on."
"Through all I've done and everywhere I've been, I always knew in the back of my mind that one day I'd be 'the guy'. I'd be the one who everyone looked up to to lead. The guy that forced you to stand up and listen to what he had to say. When the opportunity finally came for me to live out that childhood dream, I grabbed hold and swore I'd never let it go."
"... but then, I did."
"Despite everything I'd planned to do and achieve, somewhere along the way I got lost. I never stopped caring, but I cared less than I did before. People started to doubt me, and I got the reputation of being a flake.... of being a chokejob artist. The same labels that everyone wants to thrust upon me, even today. Maybe I earned them, and maybe I didn't. I don't care what you think of me. All I care about is that I can look myself in the mirror everyday and tell myself without a shadow of a doubt that I'm doing everything that I can to be all that I can. And now, I am."
"I sat back and toed the company line as I saw this place getting further and further away from what it should be. We've become a company based solely around the accomplishments of Roberto Verona, and whoever else the Foxes and Famularos deem 'worthy' of being at the top. Nepotism became our mission statement, and you had to sell out simply to get a glimmer of hope for the future. Think about all the guys that have left in the last few years. Guys like Falcon, Angel, and Spike saw what I see, and they all abandoned ship, realizing that they were fighting a losing battle."
"... but in reality, they never fought at all."
"That's where I separate from those legends. They've done all they could do, and they got tired of playing the games. Me? My will won't be broken that way. It takes a lot more than some shady backdoor dealings from Team Verona to keep me down. The cream always rises to the top, and I too, am rising. Despite all the roadblocks... despite all the politics... you couldn't keep me away for long."
"Now it feels like I'm only a few breathes away from finally getting my shot, and they're still trying to avoid me at all costs. Kelly stole victory away from me over Verona, and then he made sure I couldn't cleanly put Xander away last week. Our World Champion has resorted to sneak attacks to protect his protector?"
"Now the realization is slowly setting in for Roberto & Crew that I'm not the same animal they've been dealing with for the last few months. They thought the same old politics and scare tactics they used on people like Mike Laszlo would work on me... and now? They're doing their best to come up with a new gameplan. They see now that I've beaten both the champion and his pitbull, so what's the best way to hold me back?"
"Saddle me with a tag team partner."
"I'm sure to the world it seems like Nathan Webb would be the perfect partner for me to team up with. We've got a shared background in the military, we're both sick and tired of Roberto Verona, and we're both legitimate badasses. Match made in heaven, right?"
"While Webb and I may be fighting for a similar goal, there's one big difference: I'm fighting for me. Nathan's been harping for months about bucking the system and being some sort of revolutionary. He wants his own version of change, and I want mine. Even more importantly than that, he wants to be World Champion... and I NEED to be World Champion. Every thing Webb says is all well and good, but at the end of the day, I don't know if he's man enough to get the job down. I know I am."
"It's not a lack of respect, Nathan. There are few guys in the business who I respect more than you. The fact of the matter is that I know exactly who I am and what I can do, and I don't trust you the same way I trust myself. That's why I can't let you be the one who gets Verona.... that's why I can't let you pass me by. You're my partner for one night only, and after that? You're just like Roberto and Xander. You're a hindrance to my ultimate goal... a hindrance to change. If I have to deal with you like I deal with them, I will. But I'm not going to double-cross you this weekend.... and I'm not going to stab you in the back. Unlike our opponents this weekend, I have enough respect for you to do that right in front of your face."
"... don't say I didn't warn you."
"... Verona either."
"I keep telling you that I'm coming for you, Roberto, and yet... you seem to want to wish it away. Like maybe if you close your eyes I'll disappear and you can go back to lording over NCW with the help of our boss and your minions. Unfortunately for you, it's not that easy."
"So you've resorted to pretending I'm not a threat. You're trying to break my spirit by questioning me? Like people haven't been doing that every day since 2010? It hasn't worked before, and it won't work now. Because as much as people of your ilk would like to tear me down and send me crying from NCW, it won't happen. You may not believe in me, but god knows I believe in myself. And I believe that come hell or high water, I will be the man to eventually save that title from you, Verona. Whether it's at Crossroads, Sovereign, A Night to Remember, or on a random Trauma in July... I will beat you, and I will be champion."
"In the past two weeks, I've beaten both Verona and Xander. Sunday? I do it again with Webb as my partner. Soon enough, the voices demanding change will be too loud for even Kelly Fox to ignore. And then.... I will deliver on a promise I made to myself many years ago, and I deliver on the change I promised to all those willing to fight for it."
"Roberto.... Xander.... Your fight as only just begun."
"So when you step into the ring with me again on Collision, you boys had better learn from past mistakes. Because god knows I have. Two years ago you could call me a choke artist and you may have been right. I learned and I grew. You'd be stupid or incredibly egotistacal not to do the same."
"... but then again, pride always comes before the fall."
"... and when the World Champion and his 'unbeatable' partner fall? It's a long way down."
"So what does it take to be a champion? Ask me in a few weeks. But I can tell you this...."
".... it all begins with a dream."
"This is the question that I've asked myself every day since I was a kid. I watched wrestling every week and dreamed one day of being like all of my heroes. When you're a child, it feels like you can do anything and everything. No dream is too big, no person too small. When you get older, your goals change and you start to worry about other things and forget the ones that used to be important to you."
"... dreams die. We move on."
"Through all I've done and everywhere I've been, I always knew in the back of my mind that one day I'd be 'the guy'. I'd be the one who everyone looked up to to lead. The guy that forced you to stand up and listen to what he had to say. When the opportunity finally came for me to live out that childhood dream, I grabbed hold and swore I'd never let it go."
"... but then, I did."
"Despite everything I'd planned to do and achieve, somewhere along the way I got lost. I never stopped caring, but I cared less than I did before. People started to doubt me, and I got the reputation of being a flake.... of being a chokejob artist. The same labels that everyone wants to thrust upon me, even today. Maybe I earned them, and maybe I didn't. I don't care what you think of me. All I care about is that I can look myself in the mirror everyday and tell myself without a shadow of a doubt that I'm doing everything that I can to be all that I can. And now, I am."
"I sat back and toed the company line as I saw this place getting further and further away from what it should be. We've become a company based solely around the accomplishments of Roberto Verona, and whoever else the Foxes and Famularos deem 'worthy' of being at the top. Nepotism became our mission statement, and you had to sell out simply to get a glimmer of hope for the future. Think about all the guys that have left in the last few years. Guys like Falcon, Angel, and Spike saw what I see, and they all abandoned ship, realizing that they were fighting a losing battle."
"... but in reality, they never fought at all."
"That's where I separate from those legends. They've done all they could do, and they got tired of playing the games. Me? My will won't be broken that way. It takes a lot more than some shady backdoor dealings from Team Verona to keep me down. The cream always rises to the top, and I too, am rising. Despite all the roadblocks... despite all the politics... you couldn't keep me away for long."
"Now it feels like I'm only a few breathes away from finally getting my shot, and they're still trying to avoid me at all costs. Kelly stole victory away from me over Verona, and then he made sure I couldn't cleanly put Xander away last week. Our World Champion has resorted to sneak attacks to protect his protector?"
"Now the realization is slowly setting in for Roberto & Crew that I'm not the same animal they've been dealing with for the last few months. They thought the same old politics and scare tactics they used on people like Mike Laszlo would work on me... and now? They're doing their best to come up with a new gameplan. They see now that I've beaten both the champion and his pitbull, so what's the best way to hold me back?"
"Saddle me with a tag team partner."
"I'm sure to the world it seems like Nathan Webb would be the perfect partner for me to team up with. We've got a shared background in the military, we're both sick and tired of Roberto Verona, and we're both legitimate badasses. Match made in heaven, right?"
"While Webb and I may be fighting for a similar goal, there's one big difference: I'm fighting for me. Nathan's been harping for months about bucking the system and being some sort of revolutionary. He wants his own version of change, and I want mine. Even more importantly than that, he wants to be World Champion... and I NEED to be World Champion. Every thing Webb says is all well and good, but at the end of the day, I don't know if he's man enough to get the job down. I know I am."
"It's not a lack of respect, Nathan. There are few guys in the business who I respect more than you. The fact of the matter is that I know exactly who I am and what I can do, and I don't trust you the same way I trust myself. That's why I can't let you be the one who gets Verona.... that's why I can't let you pass me by. You're my partner for one night only, and after that? You're just like Roberto and Xander. You're a hindrance to my ultimate goal... a hindrance to change. If I have to deal with you like I deal with them, I will. But I'm not going to double-cross you this weekend.... and I'm not going to stab you in the back. Unlike our opponents this weekend, I have enough respect for you to do that right in front of your face."
"... don't say I didn't warn you."
"... Verona either."
"I keep telling you that I'm coming for you, Roberto, and yet... you seem to want to wish it away. Like maybe if you close your eyes I'll disappear and you can go back to lording over NCW with the help of our boss and your minions. Unfortunately for you, it's not that easy."
"So you've resorted to pretending I'm not a threat. You're trying to break my spirit by questioning me? Like people haven't been doing that every day since 2010? It hasn't worked before, and it won't work now. Because as much as people of your ilk would like to tear me down and send me crying from NCW, it won't happen. You may not believe in me, but god knows I believe in myself. And I believe that come hell or high water, I will be the man to eventually save that title from you, Verona. Whether it's at Crossroads, Sovereign, A Night to Remember, or on a random Trauma in July... I will beat you, and I will be champion."
"In the past two weeks, I've beaten both Verona and Xander. Sunday? I do it again with Webb as my partner. Soon enough, the voices demanding change will be too loud for even Kelly Fox to ignore. And then.... I will deliver on a promise I made to myself many years ago, and I deliver on the change I promised to all those willing to fight for it."
"Roberto.... Xander.... Your fight as only just begun."
"So when you step into the ring with me again on Collision, you boys had better learn from past mistakes. Because god knows I have. Two years ago you could call me a choke artist and you may have been right. I learned and I grew. You'd be stupid or incredibly egotistacal not to do the same."
"... but then again, pride always comes before the fall."
"... and when the World Champion and his 'unbeatable' partner fall? It's a long way down."
"So what does it take to be a champion? Ask me in a few weeks. But I can tell you this...."
".... it all begins with a dream."