Post by Andrew Jacobsen on Apr 20, 2013 19:20:39 GMT -6
A.C. Douglas. Who are you?
I’m serious. Who are you? What have you done? I’m asking because I want to know who the man is I’ve been tasked with wrestling here. After all, this tournament we find ourselves in is supposed to set up a big match at A Night To Remember. Someone big is coming back for one last match on that night…and whoever wins this tournament, whoever proves themselves worthy…they get the honor of closing things out with them. I don’t know who it is, but I want to be that man. I want to close my NCW career on a high note. If I can’t be challenging for a title, this is the sort of match that I want. Ultimately, the competition is going to be its own reward.
So, A.C., who are you? What drives you? What makes you the kind of guy that can hold his own on the biggest show, the last show NCW ever holds? In that last moment, before the lights go out and Jimmy Turner sweeps up for the last time, what about you makes you uniquely qualified to be one of those people? Is it being Todd Williams’ tag partner for a cup of coffee? Is it…well, that’s all I got. You attached yourself to a success, and you scored some success that way.
On your own, what are you? You’re the less talented half of a team that met with as much success as Hexx’s career as a lounge singer. Is that a harsh assessment? Oh, yeah. Iit’s harsh. But I’m not in a mood to be charitable. Sovereign? Second-to-last pay-per-view this company ever holds, and I can’t get a match. I’ve been breaking myself for three and a half years, and…and it just eats me that after three months someone like you got a shot at main-eventing A Night To Remember while I got shut out in the cold.
I know this isn’t the kind of behavior that people expect of me. And I’d be ashamed of myself in any other circumstance. But this, between how things have happened and how the future’s shaping up, is just…it’s the perfect storm. You’re the right kind of person to get me riled up like this. You have a chance here. Prove you’re more than a flavor of the week. Prove that A.C. Douglas really is the successful person that he wants us all to believe he is. Make me respect you, and make the audience take notice of you. This is a business that gives credit on the basis of one thing only, and that's what names you've beaten. You want to be respected? How about knocking off a Triple Crown Champion?
Am I getting repetitive yet? I should be, because I’m just trying to get the message across.
If I have to wind you up so you snap out of this narcissistic haze you
seem to walk around in and pay attention to what I’m saying, I’m
completely fine with that. This isn’t like taking on Josh Stevens. I’m a different kind of athlete. I run faster, I hit harder, I fight longer, and I bull through more pain than anyone you’ve ever locked up with before. I’ve wrestled the greatest this industry has ever produced and I’ve beaten them. I’ve overcome odds you didn’t know existed. I’m the man that you can look up to when it seems all the heroes have gone away. And I’m proud of being that person.
I’m not you, A.C. I could never be you. Because being you would mean taking this egocentric view of the world, one that requires completely disregarding everyone you ever step into the ring against as an inherently inferior individual. I take things on a case-by-case basis. I’ve looked at your career, what little I can look at. I’ve studied how you address people, how you handle yourself as a wrestler…you’ve got raw talent, but it’s unpolished. Unfocused. And with your arrogance, it’ll be hard to see you become more than another “what if?” in the long history of wrestling.
What if you hadn't gotten the start that you had? What if you'd struck out on your own? What if things weren't coming to an end just as you were getting started? Don’t leave people asking those questions. Leave them stunned. Frankly, the thing that works against you the most is that you're green. You haven't had a chance to establish yourself, so people will see you as getting opportunities you haven't earned yet. Even I'm not immune. And if you had been consistently performing at the level the opportunities you've been afforded would indicate, then nobody would protest. But you haven't. That doesn't mean you can't. It just means you've got a ways to go.
The idea that tenure is the only thing that lets you get these chances, though...it's something I've disliked since the first day I signed with this company. I believe in opportunity by merit. If you can prove that you deserve this shot, then there's nothing I can do. But you have to beat me to prove yourself. You have to beat some of the most talented and hungry talent NCW has. Can you do that? Can you shock the world? You can't talk your way through a match. You've got to fight. So fight with all you've got.
I think that you’ve got potential. You can’t get on the NCW roster without having at least that potential to become a great wrestler. The trick is living up to that potential. Not everyone does. I haven’t lived up to what I feel I can do in the ring. Do better than I have. I want you to prove that you’re as great as you think you are. Right now, the way you are…I don’t think you can. And it’s not just you. It’s me. It’s my need to ensure my spot at A Night To Remember. You could always prove me wrong. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t see myself with my hand raised at the end of things. Prove me wrong. I dare you.
I’m serious. Who are you? What have you done? I’m asking because I want to know who the man is I’ve been tasked with wrestling here. After all, this tournament we find ourselves in is supposed to set up a big match at A Night To Remember. Someone big is coming back for one last match on that night…and whoever wins this tournament, whoever proves themselves worthy…they get the honor of closing things out with them. I don’t know who it is, but I want to be that man. I want to close my NCW career on a high note. If I can’t be challenging for a title, this is the sort of match that I want. Ultimately, the competition is going to be its own reward.
So, A.C., who are you? What drives you? What makes you the kind of guy that can hold his own on the biggest show, the last show NCW ever holds? In that last moment, before the lights go out and Jimmy Turner sweeps up for the last time, what about you makes you uniquely qualified to be one of those people? Is it being Todd Williams’ tag partner for a cup of coffee? Is it…well, that’s all I got. You attached yourself to a success, and you scored some success that way.
On your own, what are you? You’re the less talented half of a team that met with as much success as Hexx’s career as a lounge singer. Is that a harsh assessment? Oh, yeah. Iit’s harsh. But I’m not in a mood to be charitable. Sovereign? Second-to-last pay-per-view this company ever holds, and I can’t get a match. I’ve been breaking myself for three and a half years, and…and it just eats me that after three months someone like you got a shot at main-eventing A Night To Remember while I got shut out in the cold.
I know this isn’t the kind of behavior that people expect of me. And I’d be ashamed of myself in any other circumstance. But this, between how things have happened and how the future’s shaping up, is just…it’s the perfect storm. You’re the right kind of person to get me riled up like this. You have a chance here. Prove you’re more than a flavor of the week. Prove that A.C. Douglas really is the successful person that he wants us all to believe he is. Make me respect you, and make the audience take notice of you. This is a business that gives credit on the basis of one thing only, and that's what names you've beaten. You want to be respected? How about knocking off a Triple Crown Champion?
Am I getting repetitive yet? I should be, because I’m just trying to get the message across.
If I have to wind you up so you snap out of this narcissistic haze you
seem to walk around in and pay attention to what I’m saying, I’m
completely fine with that. This isn’t like taking on Josh Stevens. I’m a different kind of athlete. I run faster, I hit harder, I fight longer, and I bull through more pain than anyone you’ve ever locked up with before. I’ve wrestled the greatest this industry has ever produced and I’ve beaten them. I’ve overcome odds you didn’t know existed. I’m the man that you can look up to when it seems all the heroes have gone away. And I’m proud of being that person.
I’m not you, A.C. I could never be you. Because being you would mean taking this egocentric view of the world, one that requires completely disregarding everyone you ever step into the ring against as an inherently inferior individual. I take things on a case-by-case basis. I’ve looked at your career, what little I can look at. I’ve studied how you address people, how you handle yourself as a wrestler…you’ve got raw talent, but it’s unpolished. Unfocused. And with your arrogance, it’ll be hard to see you become more than another “what if?” in the long history of wrestling.
What if you hadn't gotten the start that you had? What if you'd struck out on your own? What if things weren't coming to an end just as you were getting started? Don’t leave people asking those questions. Leave them stunned. Frankly, the thing that works against you the most is that you're green. You haven't had a chance to establish yourself, so people will see you as getting opportunities you haven't earned yet. Even I'm not immune. And if you had been consistently performing at the level the opportunities you've been afforded would indicate, then nobody would protest. But you haven't. That doesn't mean you can't. It just means you've got a ways to go.
The idea that tenure is the only thing that lets you get these chances, though...it's something I've disliked since the first day I signed with this company. I believe in opportunity by merit. If you can prove that you deserve this shot, then there's nothing I can do. But you have to beat me to prove yourself. You have to beat some of the most talented and hungry talent NCW has. Can you do that? Can you shock the world? You can't talk your way through a match. You've got to fight. So fight with all you've got.
I think that you’ve got potential. You can’t get on the NCW roster without having at least that potential to become a great wrestler. The trick is living up to that potential. Not everyone does. I haven’t lived up to what I feel I can do in the ring. Do better than I have. I want you to prove that you’re as great as you think you are. Right now, the way you are…I don’t think you can. And it’s not just you. It’s me. It’s my need to ensure my spot at A Night To Remember. You could always prove me wrong. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t see myself with my hand raised at the end of things. Prove me wrong. I dare you.