Post by Andrew Jacobsen on Mar 16, 2013 21:19:11 GMT -6
”There are some matches you never forget. Winning titles, stealing the show…and then there’s the match that makes you. The match that makes the world sit up and take notice of just who you are. For me, that match was December 13th, 2009. A Submission Match…versus the man that I’m going to be sharing the ring with this week. At the time, he was NCW’s hottest prospect and the next big thing. I was just a cocky rookie with delusions of grandeur. I went out there ready for a fight, and we gave that crowd a match they’ll NEVER forget.”
“We’ve crossed paths enough times between that night and tonight that there might be enough to fill an entire DVD of matches. Some you’ve won, some I’ve won…but damn if we don’t bring each other to our limits. Every time I step into the ring with you, I know that I’m going to have to do something new. That’s exciting. That’s…hell, that’s what I live for. Competition, innovation, the rush of the fight. There are other places out there…places where I could go and lord over the company as World Champion forever by beating back substandard contenders…but that’s not what I want out of my career. I want matches like this, I want CHALLENGES like this.”
“You fought fire with fire last week, Will. You have every right to be proud of that match. Verona cheats, and you’re the kind of man who’s not afraid to bend the rules to their breaking point when it means you’ll come away with the win. I honestly expected nothing less from you. I don’t think less of you for it, because it doesn’t change my opinion of you. You’re talented, you’re fully willing and capable when it comes to fighting dirty, and damn if you didn’t live down to my expectations.”
“But I get it. You’re gonna be angry. You just saw the World Championship get yanked out between your fingers. And you’ve got an old enemy in the ring, so why not beat the crap out of him? You bring that fire, Will. You bring all that anger and fury and you give me the match that I know only the Patriotic Paragon is capable of delivering. Call me a glutton for punishment. I know we can steal the show. Every single time we step into the ring with each other, we blow the rest of the matches on the show away. Time to upstage everyone else once again.”
“Sovereign’s coming down the tracks, and I’ve got my eyes locked on one thing: the Coliseum, and the main event at A Night To Remember. I don’t care who holds the title…but part of me hopes that it’s Verona. I want my chance against the man that cut short my dream. I want to redeem myself against a man who’s used every trick in the book to hold onto that World Title, from interference to weapons, all coupled with the talent that let him win it in the first place. I need this match. I need to come full circle.”
“Everything feels different now. The matches feel more important. The titles mean more, the shows are more exciting…it’s the season for greatness. It’s the season where memories are made and dreams are realized. The Hall of Fame is exploding with members, all of whom have earned that recognition. The next two months are the most important of my career. As far as I’m concerned, every match here is a chance to prove that I have what it takes to be the next Gladiator…the next World Champion. My story's not over, not by a long shot. This is Act Two. This is my road to redemption.”
“And it goes through Cambridge. Good luck, Will.”
We open on a room full of people in a convention center, the rows of humanity buzzing with anticipation. A table with a glass of water and a pitcher is set up at the front of the room, and a man wearing a T-shirt that reads “MegaCon 2013 Staff” walks up to the microphone resting on the desk, picking it up and tapping it.
”Test one two, testing…alright, ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over. Please give a huge round of applause for the one, the only, New Championship Wrestling’s North Star, Andrew Jacobsen!”
The crowd cheers as Andrew walks into the room from the back of the hall wearing a Green Lantern T-shirt, giving out high-fives and grinning ear-to-ear as he walks up the rows towards the front. He sits down at the desk, settling in, and repositions the mic with a grin.
”Wow. What a reception. Before I get started, I’d like to thank the folks here at MegaCon for inviting me to do this Q&A. It’s a huge honor to be here, and I’m happy to be able to, hopefully, answer some of your questions and maybe, just maybe, get a few laughs in along the way. Um…alright, who first…yeah, in the back with the arc reactor headband.”
A gentleman matching this description speaks up, calling from the back of the hall.
”What’s your favorite match you’ve had in NCW and why?”
Andrew chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.
”Not startin’ off easy, are you?”
This earns a chuckle from the crowd. Andrew takes a second before replying.
”Favorite match I’ve had…wow. Well, there’s so many to choose from. I mean, I’m obviously proud of the Warfare matches I’ve been in, my match with Rob Diamond for the X Division Title…I’m going to cheat a bit here and say two. First is the Submission Match with Will Washington from Collision back in December ’09, second is…I’m gonna go Washington again at A Night To Remember last year. Next question…yeah, Scarlet Witch, you’re up.”
A young woman in a Scarlet Witch costume stands up and speaks, trying to project her voice through the room.
”If you had the chance to wrestle any one person from wrestling history, who would you pick and why?”
Andrew answers this one almost immediately, flashing a charming grin at the young woman, who blushes slightly.
”I’ve already wrestled most of my idols, to be honest. Lance Ryan, Adam Knite, Spike Kane…I’m going to say a guy that I never got a chance to go up against. Dave Holland. I feel like we could put on a hell of a match, and it’d be an honor to be able to say I wrestled one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. Plus, superkick-off. Maybe if I got to see the Magic Touch up close and personal I’d know what makes it tick. Next? Hmm…yeah, in the Angel getup.”
A young man dressed as former NCW wrestler Angel stands. His outfit is well-done, but the clear size difference is visible even from this range. He speaks, but his voice has a hard time carrying. One of the staff members walks over and hands him a microphone. He nods to him gratefully, and speaks into the mic, which is carried over the speakers up front.
”Do you have any stories from backstage that you can share with us? Any tales of the road, pranks pulled, so on?”
Jacobsen cracks a grin, nodding, and rubs the bridge of his nose. He takes a drink of water before speaking, the grin never wavering from his face.
”Actually, yeah. About August 2010, we were swinging back through Texas, and a couple of the guys went out to dinner to celebrate the three-year anniversary of NCW. It was me, Tempestad, Seth Evans, Chad Lights and Jason Dunn. I owed Chad dinner, and I guess Jason figured he’d tag along and try to score free food. Anyway, we go to this Mexican place in Dallas and Tempestad immediately hits it off with the waiter. Back-and-forth, rapid-fire Spanish like there’s no tomorrow. Jason’s bitching about it, talking himself up…y’know, being Jason. We order our food, and Temp tells Jason that he has to get his tacos with this topping called El Naga Jolokia.”
A few people chuckle in the crowd, and Andrew nods, taking another sip of water before continuing.
”None of us know what it is, but Tempestad insists it’s, like, the ultimate topping. So Jason goes along with it, and the food comes out. Dunn takes a bite of his taco, says it’s not bad…and then he pauses. He gets this look on his face. And he just BOLTS for the bathroom…”
The crowd laughs at the mental image, and Andrew lets them work out their amusement, chuckling a bit himself before resuming his story.
”…and I mean, he is BOOKING. Me, Chad, Seth, we’re all confused, and Temp tells us that El Naga Jolokia is another name for the ghost pepper, the hottest pepper on Earth. Basically, he decided that if Dunn was going to complain he was going to get back at him. Man, the prank wars over Jason Dunn could fill books. I could spend the entire panel going on about the ribs that got pulled on him, but judging by the hands that are shooting up it looks like I’ve got some more questions to field…alright, next?”
Fade to black.
“We’ve crossed paths enough times between that night and tonight that there might be enough to fill an entire DVD of matches. Some you’ve won, some I’ve won…but damn if we don’t bring each other to our limits. Every time I step into the ring with you, I know that I’m going to have to do something new. That’s exciting. That’s…hell, that’s what I live for. Competition, innovation, the rush of the fight. There are other places out there…places where I could go and lord over the company as World Champion forever by beating back substandard contenders…but that’s not what I want out of my career. I want matches like this, I want CHALLENGES like this.”
“You fought fire with fire last week, Will. You have every right to be proud of that match. Verona cheats, and you’re the kind of man who’s not afraid to bend the rules to their breaking point when it means you’ll come away with the win. I honestly expected nothing less from you. I don’t think less of you for it, because it doesn’t change my opinion of you. You’re talented, you’re fully willing and capable when it comes to fighting dirty, and damn if you didn’t live down to my expectations.”
“But I get it. You’re gonna be angry. You just saw the World Championship get yanked out between your fingers. And you’ve got an old enemy in the ring, so why not beat the crap out of him? You bring that fire, Will. You bring all that anger and fury and you give me the match that I know only the Patriotic Paragon is capable of delivering. Call me a glutton for punishment. I know we can steal the show. Every single time we step into the ring with each other, we blow the rest of the matches on the show away. Time to upstage everyone else once again.”
“Sovereign’s coming down the tracks, and I’ve got my eyes locked on one thing: the Coliseum, and the main event at A Night To Remember. I don’t care who holds the title…but part of me hopes that it’s Verona. I want my chance against the man that cut short my dream. I want to redeem myself against a man who’s used every trick in the book to hold onto that World Title, from interference to weapons, all coupled with the talent that let him win it in the first place. I need this match. I need to come full circle.”
“Everything feels different now. The matches feel more important. The titles mean more, the shows are more exciting…it’s the season for greatness. It’s the season where memories are made and dreams are realized. The Hall of Fame is exploding with members, all of whom have earned that recognition. The next two months are the most important of my career. As far as I’m concerned, every match here is a chance to prove that I have what it takes to be the next Gladiator…the next World Champion. My story's not over, not by a long shot. This is Act Two. This is my road to redemption.”
“And it goes through Cambridge. Good luck, Will.”
We open on a room full of people in a convention center, the rows of humanity buzzing with anticipation. A table with a glass of water and a pitcher is set up at the front of the room, and a man wearing a T-shirt that reads “MegaCon 2013 Staff” walks up to the microphone resting on the desk, picking it up and tapping it.
”Test one two, testing…alright, ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over. Please give a huge round of applause for the one, the only, New Championship Wrestling’s North Star, Andrew Jacobsen!”
The crowd cheers as Andrew walks into the room from the back of the hall wearing a Green Lantern T-shirt, giving out high-fives and grinning ear-to-ear as he walks up the rows towards the front. He sits down at the desk, settling in, and repositions the mic with a grin.
”Wow. What a reception. Before I get started, I’d like to thank the folks here at MegaCon for inviting me to do this Q&A. It’s a huge honor to be here, and I’m happy to be able to, hopefully, answer some of your questions and maybe, just maybe, get a few laughs in along the way. Um…alright, who first…yeah, in the back with the arc reactor headband.”
A gentleman matching this description speaks up, calling from the back of the hall.
”What’s your favorite match you’ve had in NCW and why?”
Andrew chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.
”Not startin’ off easy, are you?”
This earns a chuckle from the crowd. Andrew takes a second before replying.
”Favorite match I’ve had…wow. Well, there’s so many to choose from. I mean, I’m obviously proud of the Warfare matches I’ve been in, my match with Rob Diamond for the X Division Title…I’m going to cheat a bit here and say two. First is the Submission Match with Will Washington from Collision back in December ’09, second is…I’m gonna go Washington again at A Night To Remember last year. Next question…yeah, Scarlet Witch, you’re up.”
A young woman in a Scarlet Witch costume stands up and speaks, trying to project her voice through the room.
”If you had the chance to wrestle any one person from wrestling history, who would you pick and why?”
Andrew answers this one almost immediately, flashing a charming grin at the young woman, who blushes slightly.
”I’ve already wrestled most of my idols, to be honest. Lance Ryan, Adam Knite, Spike Kane…I’m going to say a guy that I never got a chance to go up against. Dave Holland. I feel like we could put on a hell of a match, and it’d be an honor to be able to say I wrestled one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. Plus, superkick-off. Maybe if I got to see the Magic Touch up close and personal I’d know what makes it tick. Next? Hmm…yeah, in the Angel getup.”
A young man dressed as former NCW wrestler Angel stands. His outfit is well-done, but the clear size difference is visible even from this range. He speaks, but his voice has a hard time carrying. One of the staff members walks over and hands him a microphone. He nods to him gratefully, and speaks into the mic, which is carried over the speakers up front.
”Do you have any stories from backstage that you can share with us? Any tales of the road, pranks pulled, so on?”
Jacobsen cracks a grin, nodding, and rubs the bridge of his nose. He takes a drink of water before speaking, the grin never wavering from his face.
”Actually, yeah. About August 2010, we were swinging back through Texas, and a couple of the guys went out to dinner to celebrate the three-year anniversary of NCW. It was me, Tempestad, Seth Evans, Chad Lights and Jason Dunn. I owed Chad dinner, and I guess Jason figured he’d tag along and try to score free food. Anyway, we go to this Mexican place in Dallas and Tempestad immediately hits it off with the waiter. Back-and-forth, rapid-fire Spanish like there’s no tomorrow. Jason’s bitching about it, talking himself up…y’know, being Jason. We order our food, and Temp tells Jason that he has to get his tacos with this topping called El Naga Jolokia.”
A few people chuckle in the crowd, and Andrew nods, taking another sip of water before continuing.
”None of us know what it is, but Tempestad insists it’s, like, the ultimate topping. So Jason goes along with it, and the food comes out. Dunn takes a bite of his taco, says it’s not bad…and then he pauses. He gets this look on his face. And he just BOLTS for the bathroom…”
The crowd laughs at the mental image, and Andrew lets them work out their amusement, chuckling a bit himself before resuming his story.
”…and I mean, he is BOOKING. Me, Chad, Seth, we’re all confused, and Temp tells us that El Naga Jolokia is another name for the ghost pepper, the hottest pepper on Earth. Basically, he decided that if Dunn was going to complain he was going to get back at him. Man, the prank wars over Jason Dunn could fill books. I could spend the entire panel going on about the ribs that got pulled on him, but judging by the hands that are shooting up it looks like I’ve got some more questions to field…alright, next?”
Fade to black.