Post by Andrew Jacobsen on Apr 27, 2013 10:52:36 GMT -6
I should probably know what’s coming. The same routine I heard from AC Douglas, the same routine I’ve heard from Alex Jones, the same ***damn routine I have heard ever since Battlegrounds. Let me guess, Jimmy. You’re going to talk about how much of a failure I am. You’re going to talk about how I didn’t deserve to be World Champion, how I’m a disgrace to the title, how I was a stepping stone. I’ve heard it all before, and I’ve heard it from MUCH better men than you, so save your breath.
I’ve wanted a match like this for a while now. No, not a match with you, Jimmy. You’re not that special. No, I’m concerned with that title you wear around your waist. I’m not going to be World Champion again, not in NCW. But I can still do something that only one other man has done and only one other man has the opportunity to do. If I get what I want…if I get a title match with you at A Night To Remember…I can become a Grand Slam Champion.
Do you know what that means to me, Jimmy? It’s inviolate. It’s something that nobody else can tear down, no matter how hard they try. Unlike others, I’ll freely admit that you’ve won your title and defended it. You did earn that. And nobody can take that away from you, no matter how desperately they want to. My question to them is…why would you want to?
What do you get from downplaying your opponent’s achievements? If you win, you beat someone who you said was a chump. You were proven right. Congratulations. Now why should I respect that? If you lose, you talked a big game and you got shown up. It’s a lose-lose situation. If anything, you should be talking up what your opponents have done. James, you’ve beaten a man that I have NEVER been able to claim a pinfall victory over. You’ve been X Champion for almost two months now, and you’ve defeated the men that ended both of my reigns as X Division Champion to retain that title. Well done.
I still know I can beat you.
You beat Alex Jones. Twice, I might add. You beat Paul Star. But I’m not either of those men. I’m a completely different animal. They’re high-flyers first and foremost. You’re not used to going hold-for-hold with someone like me. I honestly don’t know if you can. This is what I do, this is who I am. This wasn’t my second choice for a career. Wrestling is what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid, watching my dad go out there in front of thousands of fans and give them the time of their lives. I’ve trained and studied and worked my ass off to get here, and before the door closes on the first chapter of my legacy I want to add that final exclamation point. That means I have to beat you. I have to beat you here and now, and I have to beat you at A Night To Remember. Tall order. But nothing’s too tall for me.
No match is too difficult, no opponent too great a challenge. Not here, not now. I’ve got my back against the proverbial wall here. I gave three and a half years of my life to this company, sacrificing everything I was asked to in order to make it successful. I’ve been mocked, beaten and ridiculed. I’ve had my entire family dragged out for humiliation like I was on a twisted episode of Jerry Springer. I’ve been called a man-purse and had people think that was an actual insult, for the love of God. But I’ve persisted through all of that. What’s one more month? What’s a few more opponents? Against everything that I’ve been through, it’s not going to break me. Not even close.
Despite all that, James, I do want to wish you good luck. I’m not a poor sport. I honestly do want this to be a clean athletic contest. That's all I ever want out of my opponents: their best effort and a little respect. I don't think that's too much to ask of anyone, do you? Clearly, it's a mindblowing concept for some people, but I don't find it all that extraordinary.
You might not share my opinions. You're entitled to your own. But I want you to know that if you disrespect me, it you take me lightly...if you look at me as anything less than a threat to pin your shoulders to the mat or make you submit, I will exploit that overconfidence for all it's worth and I will cut you down. Fair warning. Good luck. And who knows?
We might be seeing each other again real soon.
I’ve wanted a match like this for a while now. No, not a match with you, Jimmy. You’re not that special. No, I’m concerned with that title you wear around your waist. I’m not going to be World Champion again, not in NCW. But I can still do something that only one other man has done and only one other man has the opportunity to do. If I get what I want…if I get a title match with you at A Night To Remember…I can become a Grand Slam Champion.
Do you know what that means to me, Jimmy? It’s inviolate. It’s something that nobody else can tear down, no matter how hard they try. Unlike others, I’ll freely admit that you’ve won your title and defended it. You did earn that. And nobody can take that away from you, no matter how desperately they want to. My question to them is…why would you want to?
What do you get from downplaying your opponent’s achievements? If you win, you beat someone who you said was a chump. You were proven right. Congratulations. Now why should I respect that? If you lose, you talked a big game and you got shown up. It’s a lose-lose situation. If anything, you should be talking up what your opponents have done. James, you’ve beaten a man that I have NEVER been able to claim a pinfall victory over. You’ve been X Champion for almost two months now, and you’ve defeated the men that ended both of my reigns as X Division Champion to retain that title. Well done.
I still know I can beat you.
You beat Alex Jones. Twice, I might add. You beat Paul Star. But I’m not either of those men. I’m a completely different animal. They’re high-flyers first and foremost. You’re not used to going hold-for-hold with someone like me. I honestly don’t know if you can. This is what I do, this is who I am. This wasn’t my second choice for a career. Wrestling is what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid, watching my dad go out there in front of thousands of fans and give them the time of their lives. I’ve trained and studied and worked my ass off to get here, and before the door closes on the first chapter of my legacy I want to add that final exclamation point. That means I have to beat you. I have to beat you here and now, and I have to beat you at A Night To Remember. Tall order. But nothing’s too tall for me.
No match is too difficult, no opponent too great a challenge. Not here, not now. I’ve got my back against the proverbial wall here. I gave three and a half years of my life to this company, sacrificing everything I was asked to in order to make it successful. I’ve been mocked, beaten and ridiculed. I’ve had my entire family dragged out for humiliation like I was on a twisted episode of Jerry Springer. I’ve been called a man-purse and had people think that was an actual insult, for the love of God. But I’ve persisted through all of that. What’s one more month? What’s a few more opponents? Against everything that I’ve been through, it’s not going to break me. Not even close.
Despite all that, James, I do want to wish you good luck. I’m not a poor sport. I honestly do want this to be a clean athletic contest. That's all I ever want out of my opponents: their best effort and a little respect. I don't think that's too much to ask of anyone, do you? Clearly, it's a mindblowing concept for some people, but I don't find it all that extraordinary.
You might not share my opinions. You're entitled to your own. But I want you to know that if you disrespect me, it you take me lightly...if you look at me as anything less than a threat to pin your shoulders to the mat or make you submit, I will exploit that overconfidence for all it's worth and I will cut you down. Fair warning. Good luck. And who knows?
We might be seeing each other again real soon.