Post by The Ace on Apr 5, 2013 19:35:19 GMT -6
The scene opens on the following news footage.
After the report covering President Obama's second inauguration from a few months ago, Kelly Clarkson takes the podium and a few moments into her performance, the visuals slowly transition to the stars and stripes of the American flag as her performance continues over them. Slowly we move upwards, taking time to savour the majesty of the patriotic symbol, and eventually we see that the flag is draped over the shoulders of a man with long blonde hair, which hangs loosely, obscuring some of the fifty stars from view. As Kelly's rendition of "My Country 'Tis Of Thee" concludes and there is much cheering, whistling and clapping...all of it is halted rather abruptly as the man draped in this nation's glorious flag turns around to face the camera and greet an expectant viewing public with his trademark grin. As The Ace turns, he makes a dramatic display, swooshing the flag around him as if were his cape. and we see that whilst most of his body is covered in the red, white and blue, a fitting compliment hangs around his waist in the polished gold of the NCW National Championship.
What a lovely, lovely voice...wouldn't you agree, Will? That's the kind of performance that stirs the soul, tugs at the heart and ignites the blood of patriots everywhere, is it not Will? are you fired up now Will? Are you inspired to kick my ass from ring-post to ring-post this Sunday, or are you offended that a smug British bastard like me is somehow making a mockery of your great country? Do you consider this sacrilege Will? Are you looking to defend this flag on Sunday Will? To truly fulfill your potential this time?
Or is the Patriotic Paragon really just another moniker to sell a few T-shirts? This is not the first time that the stars and stripes have aligned for you is it Will? So many times in this company's history, you've looked and even sounded like you were on the cusp of finally seizing your destiny, of finally being able to live the real American Dream. Isn't that every erstwhile patriot's life long ambition? In 2010, you had a good year, your star was on the rise. Fate having the twisted sense of humour that she does decided that she would make you a star overnight by having you pin a Star in name only.
You became a Gladiator that night in the Coliseum, you were the name on everybody's lips at least for a while, before two veterans in Gib and Angel would eclipse you and send you barreling back down the line, but you wouldn't go quietly, at least not at first. You kept yourself somewhat on the scene several months later by being the sole survivor in the annual Warfare match. Now a lesser man than me might insinuate that you had your best chances at Superstardom when I wasn't in this company. That you were free, primed and even ready to take my spot...only you didn't, and my question is why?
What stopped you? Certainly not me, hell I bundled myself and Kathy into the back of a limousine and walked out on the company for an entire year after losing to quite literally a sucker on the pre-show of that Pay Per View on the night that you hit your peak three years ago. So what happened? What happened to the man who doesn't believe in the odds, insists that they mean nothing and yet strives to overcome them. Why couldn't you overcome the odds in that triple threat match? Better yet, why was it you that got your piddly ass pinned? Or was last week the definitive proof to the world that Washington can only beat two guys when they're both greener than grass? Was what the world saw last week yet another uncomfortable truth?
The truth that whilst you might be able to beat men who are bigger than you in stature with relative ease, you struggle with men who are bigger than you in reputation. It is said that life seldom offers you second chances, yet how many chances have you had Will? In fact Roberto Verona is offering you yet another chance at Sovereign next week, and yet somehow he is the problem in this company? The sad fact of the matter is if it isn't broken, don't fix it, and this company wasn't broken until all you Ronnie-Come-Revolutionaries started popping up all over the place like perennial weeds, each with your own selfish agendas. As much as we all want to blame Kelly's menstrual cycle or Adam's virility for the closure of this company, one too many games of Revolution Roulette is what broke this company at its core. How delightfully ironic!
You are part of the very problem that you yearn to solve. It is said that no good deed ever goes unpunished, and there is no more definitive proof of this than what is happening to this company right now. All these spins of the same tired old wheel have left this once great company with no other recourse but to limp on in its final days before it dies, I hope all you self-proclaimed saviours are happy. If these are the fruits of your best efforts, I'd hate to see your worst.
Say what you want about Verona, but at least he had the good sense to realise the impotency of his cause before it was too late, and then he teamed up with the lovely Kelly Knite and she did what she does best, put some lead back into the pencils of the men most important to her...and now he stands before you as your longest reigning World Champion, and perhaps that's why you all hate him. By all means continue to hate him, it only fuels him.
But then I'm only Bertie's bitch, what do I know, right Will? I hope that really isn't your first, best and only line of defense Will, because if it is I've heard it all before and now it is just tiresome. Speaking of tiresome, you know I really have to wonder what kind of excuses you will make if you lose this week? Biased officiating, perhaps? You don't want me to have any advantage like I don't want you to have any excuses Will. I had enough of you blaming me for your failures this time last year when I tapped out to Ricky Johnson in the Coliseum. If only I had held on. Why didn't you break it up Will? Why didn't you save your chances?
Oh that's right, because we've already firmly established that you are incapable of saving anything, even yourself. As I've said already, you've had your chances and squandered them all no matter which way you spin it, there will be no more. Sovereign will be your second chance, but also your last. And that is a reality you have to face whatever happens this Sunday.
Now I've asked a lot of questions of you in this promo, but really who can blame me when your name itself sounds like an unfinished question...
Will Washington?
And it sums you up rather well don't you think?
Will Washington overcome the nefarious scheming of Bertie and his side kick this Sunday?
Will Washington achieve the seemingly impossible and trump a stacked deck of Aces?
Or Will Washington fall foul of the Invincible Italian once again?
Find out next time...
Same Bat Time.
Same Bat Channel!
The Ace chuckles.
See Will, I don't blame you for coveting Batman's belt, we all do, we all think we can save the world with it, but here's the problem. No matter how much we want to be, we can't all be Batman, and you Will certainly cannot, not when you've spent your career being Captain America...and we all know Captain America is a man out of time. A man on ice. I'm not a hero Will, I never can be. What I am is a villain, a thug, a mercenary contracted to break you.
I wonder what will break first, your spirit or your body? And when it does, what lies will you tell sweet sweet Kristen? Better still what lies do you think she'll indulge with a smile and a practiced apathy, a mask of bright eyes, warm smile and words of consolation uttered not because she necessarily believes them herself but because she loves you enough to lie to you to make you feel better. I've heard these same words every time I lost a big time match from my wife Kathy, every time I lost to better men like Falcon or Adam Knite.
Men who routinely proved themselves to be the bane of my professional existence in NCW.
And now in the twilight of this great company, I endeavour to be yours.
The question is what Will Washington do about it?
Jason Conway had decided to return home to Miami, his brother Richard had opted to stay with Jake for a while as they found any excuse over the next few days to party and celebrate Jake's long overdue induction into the NCW Hall Of Fame this past weekend. Jason wished he could have stayed, but he still found it incredibly difficult to accept the loss of the love of his life. His only recourse thus far had been to try and occupy himself with his work, and unfortunately these days work entailed listening to this red haired idiot over-analyse every damn facet of his life. How this was supposed to help his grief, he was still none the wiser.
Psychologist: From what you have told me about your brothers and yourself thus far, it seems pretty obvious to me that you all have unresolved anger issues and somewhat violent tendencies that you're not afraid to act upon. Indeed you have admitted yourself that it is one of the reasons you became an officer of the law, to act upon certain feelings with more leeway and more control than perhaps any other profession allows. This explains why you and Richard both became cops, but it doesn't explain why Jake would choose a career so radically different.
Jason: What does it matter? He's not the one being interrogated here...
Psychologist: Is that what you feel this is, an interrogation?
Jason: Pretty much.
Psychologist: Fascinating.
Jason: There you go again, listen Dr Spock, what does why I do my job have to do with anything? How is this supposed to help me come to terms with the senseless murder of the most important person in my world?
Psychologist: Murder? Nobody was charged with murder?
Jason: Yeah, a travesty of justice if ever there was one. Thanks in no small part to my dear brother Jake.
Psychologist: Because he wouldn't testify?
Jason: Yes.
Psychologist: Didn't he explain to you that he was only protecting his family?
Jason: I am his damn family! I know the truth anyway, my brother didn't testify because he doesn't believe in justice. Not anymore. Not since what happened with Louise...
Psychologist: Who is Louise?
Jason: She was his best friend who he witnessed being raped twenty-three years ago. The bastard who did it was never convicted because DNA evidence was in its infancy compared to today. That is why he feels such loyalty to his wife because he still feels responsible for failing to protect his best friend when she needed him most. He will not allow himself to be made helpless ever again. I don't agree with him, but I understand, maybe he has a point. Maybe there is no sense of justice in this world. Maybe there are no happy ending. Maybe the best we can hope for out of life are endings that we can live with...and mine was taken from me...
After the report covering President Obama's second inauguration from a few months ago, Kelly Clarkson takes the podium and a few moments into her performance, the visuals slowly transition to the stars and stripes of the American flag as her performance continues over them. Slowly we move upwards, taking time to savour the majesty of the patriotic symbol, and eventually we see that the flag is draped over the shoulders of a man with long blonde hair, which hangs loosely, obscuring some of the fifty stars from view. As Kelly's rendition of "My Country 'Tis Of Thee" concludes and there is much cheering, whistling and clapping...all of it is halted rather abruptly as the man draped in this nation's glorious flag turns around to face the camera and greet an expectant viewing public with his trademark grin. As The Ace turns, he makes a dramatic display, swooshing the flag around him as if were his cape. and we see that whilst most of his body is covered in the red, white and blue, a fitting compliment hangs around his waist in the polished gold of the NCW National Championship.
What a lovely, lovely voice...wouldn't you agree, Will? That's the kind of performance that stirs the soul, tugs at the heart and ignites the blood of patriots everywhere, is it not Will? are you fired up now Will? Are you inspired to kick my ass from ring-post to ring-post this Sunday, or are you offended that a smug British bastard like me is somehow making a mockery of your great country? Do you consider this sacrilege Will? Are you looking to defend this flag on Sunday Will? To truly fulfill your potential this time?
Or is the Patriotic Paragon really just another moniker to sell a few T-shirts? This is not the first time that the stars and stripes have aligned for you is it Will? So many times in this company's history, you've looked and even sounded like you were on the cusp of finally seizing your destiny, of finally being able to live the real American Dream. Isn't that every erstwhile patriot's life long ambition? In 2010, you had a good year, your star was on the rise. Fate having the twisted sense of humour that she does decided that she would make you a star overnight by having you pin a Star in name only.
You became a Gladiator that night in the Coliseum, you were the name on everybody's lips at least for a while, before two veterans in Gib and Angel would eclipse you and send you barreling back down the line, but you wouldn't go quietly, at least not at first. You kept yourself somewhat on the scene several months later by being the sole survivor in the annual Warfare match. Now a lesser man than me might insinuate that you had your best chances at Superstardom when I wasn't in this company. That you were free, primed and even ready to take my spot...only you didn't, and my question is why?
What stopped you? Certainly not me, hell I bundled myself and Kathy into the back of a limousine and walked out on the company for an entire year after losing to quite literally a sucker on the pre-show of that Pay Per View on the night that you hit your peak three years ago. So what happened? What happened to the man who doesn't believe in the odds, insists that they mean nothing and yet strives to overcome them. Why couldn't you overcome the odds in that triple threat match? Better yet, why was it you that got your piddly ass pinned? Or was last week the definitive proof to the world that Washington can only beat two guys when they're both greener than grass? Was what the world saw last week yet another uncomfortable truth?
The truth that whilst you might be able to beat men who are bigger than you in stature with relative ease, you struggle with men who are bigger than you in reputation. It is said that life seldom offers you second chances, yet how many chances have you had Will? In fact Roberto Verona is offering you yet another chance at Sovereign next week, and yet somehow he is the problem in this company? The sad fact of the matter is if it isn't broken, don't fix it, and this company wasn't broken until all you Ronnie-Come-Revolutionaries started popping up all over the place like perennial weeds, each with your own selfish agendas. As much as we all want to blame Kelly's menstrual cycle or Adam's virility for the closure of this company, one too many games of Revolution Roulette is what broke this company at its core. How delightfully ironic!
You are part of the very problem that you yearn to solve. It is said that no good deed ever goes unpunished, and there is no more definitive proof of this than what is happening to this company right now. All these spins of the same tired old wheel have left this once great company with no other recourse but to limp on in its final days before it dies, I hope all you self-proclaimed saviours are happy. If these are the fruits of your best efforts, I'd hate to see your worst.
Say what you want about Verona, but at least he had the good sense to realise the impotency of his cause before it was too late, and then he teamed up with the lovely Kelly Knite and she did what she does best, put some lead back into the pencils of the men most important to her...and now he stands before you as your longest reigning World Champion, and perhaps that's why you all hate him. By all means continue to hate him, it only fuels him.
But then I'm only Bertie's bitch, what do I know, right Will? I hope that really isn't your first, best and only line of defense Will, because if it is I've heard it all before and now it is just tiresome. Speaking of tiresome, you know I really have to wonder what kind of excuses you will make if you lose this week? Biased officiating, perhaps? You don't want me to have any advantage like I don't want you to have any excuses Will. I had enough of you blaming me for your failures this time last year when I tapped out to Ricky Johnson in the Coliseum. If only I had held on. Why didn't you break it up Will? Why didn't you save your chances?
Oh that's right, because we've already firmly established that you are incapable of saving anything, even yourself. As I've said already, you've had your chances and squandered them all no matter which way you spin it, there will be no more. Sovereign will be your second chance, but also your last. And that is a reality you have to face whatever happens this Sunday.
Now I've asked a lot of questions of you in this promo, but really who can blame me when your name itself sounds like an unfinished question...
Will Washington?
And it sums you up rather well don't you think?
Will Washington overcome the nefarious scheming of Bertie and his side kick this Sunday?
Will Washington achieve the seemingly impossible and trump a stacked deck of Aces?
Or Will Washington fall foul of the Invincible Italian once again?
Find out next time...
Same Bat Time.
Same Bat Channel!
The Ace chuckles.
See Will, I don't blame you for coveting Batman's belt, we all do, we all think we can save the world with it, but here's the problem. No matter how much we want to be, we can't all be Batman, and you Will certainly cannot, not when you've spent your career being Captain America...and we all know Captain America is a man out of time. A man on ice. I'm not a hero Will, I never can be. What I am is a villain, a thug, a mercenary contracted to break you.
I wonder what will break first, your spirit or your body? And when it does, what lies will you tell sweet sweet Kristen? Better still what lies do you think she'll indulge with a smile and a practiced apathy, a mask of bright eyes, warm smile and words of consolation uttered not because she necessarily believes them herself but because she loves you enough to lie to you to make you feel better. I've heard these same words every time I lost a big time match from my wife Kathy, every time I lost to better men like Falcon or Adam Knite.
Men who routinely proved themselves to be the bane of my professional existence in NCW.
And now in the twilight of this great company, I endeavour to be yours.
The question is what Will Washington do about it?
Jason Conway had decided to return home to Miami, his brother Richard had opted to stay with Jake for a while as they found any excuse over the next few days to party and celebrate Jake's long overdue induction into the NCW Hall Of Fame this past weekend. Jason wished he could have stayed, but he still found it incredibly difficult to accept the loss of the love of his life. His only recourse thus far had been to try and occupy himself with his work, and unfortunately these days work entailed listening to this red haired idiot over-analyse every damn facet of his life. How this was supposed to help his grief, he was still none the wiser.
Psychologist: From what you have told me about your brothers and yourself thus far, it seems pretty obvious to me that you all have unresolved anger issues and somewhat violent tendencies that you're not afraid to act upon. Indeed you have admitted yourself that it is one of the reasons you became an officer of the law, to act upon certain feelings with more leeway and more control than perhaps any other profession allows. This explains why you and Richard both became cops, but it doesn't explain why Jake would choose a career so radically different.
Jason: What does it matter? He's not the one being interrogated here...
Psychologist: Is that what you feel this is, an interrogation?
Jason: Pretty much.
Psychologist: Fascinating.
Jason: There you go again, listen Dr Spock, what does why I do my job have to do with anything? How is this supposed to help me come to terms with the senseless murder of the most important person in my world?
Psychologist: Murder? Nobody was charged with murder?
Jason: Yeah, a travesty of justice if ever there was one. Thanks in no small part to my dear brother Jake.
Psychologist: Because he wouldn't testify?
Jason: Yes.
Psychologist: Didn't he explain to you that he was only protecting his family?
Jason: I am his damn family! I know the truth anyway, my brother didn't testify because he doesn't believe in justice. Not anymore. Not since what happened with Louise...
Psychologist: Who is Louise?
Jason: She was his best friend who he witnessed being raped twenty-three years ago. The bastard who did it was never convicted because DNA evidence was in its infancy compared to today. That is why he feels such loyalty to his wife because he still feels responsible for failing to protect his best friend when she needed him most. He will not allow himself to be made helpless ever again. I don't agree with him, but I understand, maybe he has a point. Maybe there is no sense of justice in this world. Maybe there are no happy ending. Maybe the best we can hope for out of life are endings that we can live with...and mine was taken from me...