Post by The Ace on May 18, 2013 13:03:09 GMT -6
The scene has a cold open as we see The Ace stood in front of the camera without his trademark yellow shades or his trademark grin, but he does however have his black and white leather light up jacket on steadily blinking as he faces the camera and he is wearing his replica of the National Championship around his waist.
To outward appearances and to the untrained eye, they'd never know or even care why I felt like I didn't deserve to wear my real National Championship for my final promo, for this match against Adam Knite, to them this was every bit as good as the real National Championship. For all they knew this was the real National Championship. But I knew the truth. I knew it wasn't real. The real one was safely locked away in my trophy cabinet away from the ever grasping hands of a King who was not only my fiercest rival, but had routinely gone on to prove himself to be my undisputed superior in that ring. And I thanked my stars that is time he could not take it from me. The worst part of making such a,concession was that it didn't matter if I made it for the camera for the world or just to myself, I knew as well as Adam did just how true it was.
Maybe it was foolish pride or fool hardy ambition or maybe a little bit of both that was still driving me to compete, to still bring the fight to Adam, a fight I only had one last chance to win and until I did, part of me would always feel unaccomplished and unfulfilled. Part of me would always feel every bit the hollow meaningless and worthless replica of a Champion as this very belt I wore so long as I could not challenge the notion that Adam Knite was undoubtedly the better man between the pair of us.
It was still a little hard to digest, the fact that in a little over twenty four hours from now, I would be wrestling my final match inside an NCW ring. This was the end of a six year journey, and in some respects my journey had come full circle. Within weeks of my debut I was mixing it up with some of the biggest dogs in the industry and being only four years into my career at that point, I was still the relative rookie, the relative unknown so to burst onto the scene with little more than a sledgehammer and an unbridled ambition to succeed was such an adrenalin rush for me. I love being the bad guy, its so much fun, but ultimately the villain is only as good as his hero...and within months of my debut, the seed for our dynamic rivalry was laid.
Adam Knite would be the hero and prove it by trumping the villain at every turn. Everything has a natural end, even a grudge as deeply rooted and intense as this. Deep down I had always known that our issues would only be settled in an NCW ring, to settle them anywhere else would just feel wrong, a betrayal of who we each were and what we'd managed to build together - one of the definitive rivalries of this company, one I hoped would still be talked about long after both Kathy and I had retired. One I hoped would always be remembered as the great professional wrestling grudges.
The villain doesn't have a right to seek redemption, he doesn't deserve his storybook ending, that's the way we're all conditioned as children to accept the logical conclusion of any conflict, no matter how storied it is. The villain always has to fall to send the audience home happy, to send them home high-fiveing each other and saying "Man, that was awesome!" Those are the rules perpetuated by society and those are the rules that you as a hero are bound by Adam. Nobody wants to leave A Night To Remember with a bad taste in their mouths, nobody wants to see a tale of redemption from the villain's perspective. The people who crowned you King all those year's ago want to see you replicate that moment they all remember from four year's ago on this grand stage. The only difference this time is that there are no titles on the line, and after all we've been through, I think we both know that we don't need them to be in this match, it may be cliche to say but it also happens to be the truth.
The problem is of course that the villain operates entirely by his own logic and rules and you know me well enough by now Adam to know that I operate best when my preferred set of rules are in effect, and by that I mean when there are no rules at all. Of course that won't be the case on Sunday, there will be rules and you know as well as I do that I'm much too proud and that a potential victory over you means so much more to me that I dare not throw it all away by breaking them, by getting myself disqualified or counted out. You've proven yourself to this company and to me several times over, and I've never been able to return the favour. That bothers me Adam, that bothers me alot, this house you've built and you and your family have given me so much, you are the last great challenge I have in this company and if my legacy is capped by one final loss to you, at least I can say I was once again put on my back by one of the best of the best. Another win for you this week will change nothing...
A win for me this week will change everything.
I sit back in my study and rub my eyes, exhausted. I sigh. Between watching tapes of Zelda with Kathy and preparing to face my own demons on Sunday for the last time, sleep had been a luxury that had eluded me. In my more lucid moments it had occurred to me that maybe I was just killing myself for nothing. It wouldn't be the first time I'd blown a match with Adam all out of proportion. Each time it had cost me, at least professionally.
This time I wasn't even motivated by the fact that Adam had teamed up with Curtis to do a number on me, normally that would have been enough, but as I sit here and let my eyes wonder to all manner of antique furniture that completed the interior decor of this room, my little private Heaven, a place where I could be alone with my thoughts, I realise the irony that all I have amassed over the last six years wouldn't have been possible without the Knite-Fox consortium. I couldn't live the life I do if Kelly and Adam hadn't given me my opportunities and taken a fresh face and made me a star.
The truth of the matter was Jake Conway owed a great deal to Adam Knite. I wouldn't have insisted that he induct me into the NCW Hall Of Fame if I didn't feel grateful. Jake Conway probably should just step up and shake his hand and say thanks for everything.
The problem is there was a part of me that felt I owed him nothing except maybe a shot to the face. Part of me felt that everything I had ever achieved I did not because of him, but rather in spite of him. There was nothing Adam Knite enjoyed more than taking sheer unadulterated delight in holding The Ace back. A lot of people, Andrew Jacobsen in particular, had made me aware of the disconnect between my in ring persona and who I was in my private life and it wasn't until matches like this that I really felt incredibly polarized by my own opinion. If I could master my own internal conflict about Adam, maybe I'd finally have the key to beating him.
There was nothing on the line in this match except my personal sense of pride, that's why this was so important to me. They say pride goes before the fall and if that was true, I hoped the fall in question was the fall of a King. The fall of A Knite. If I had a choice in any of this, that's how I'd choose to remember my time in NCW...
It was then that it dawned on me that there was little point to chasing even the most impossible dream if it wasn't memorable when you finally awoke, when the wild ride you dreamt about was finally over. I had been chasing this particular dream for six years now, the ride was soon going to be over. It was soon going to be time to wake up, I just hoped that when I did I was left with something to remember...
I've achieved everything else I've wanted to achieve in this business, except this, except pinning your shoulders to the mat or finally giving you the receipt I've kept in my back pocket for the last four years and making you - the undisputed King of NCW - tap out. Just imagine it Adam, imagine it if one of the final memories the masses will have of you in this company is that awkward moment when you're forced to tap out like a little bitch to me. You may laugh and say that it'll never happen, and maybe you're right, maybe it never will, still the thought of it excites me. I'm sure Kelly has already told you that you've got this, that you have nothing to worry about, but in my experience when you have nothing to worry about, that's when you should worry the most.
Never say never as the old saying goes.
Anything can and often does happen in this business.
Yes, I know I'm full of tired old cliches and probably something a little browner according to you, but I figured you'd enjoy the reprieve from the puns and I thought given that over the last six years you yourself have worn the tired old 'King' cliche to the ground that you might beg my indulgence for a moment and allow me a little leeway here. You see nobody has made me more aware of my personal breaking point over the years than you. I've felt the pressure of a match against you, more than once and I've cracked under that very same pressure more than once, so I really can't engage you in the typical "My cock is bigger than yours" pissing contests that these affairs typically degenerate into, the only thing I can do is say that if I must break once again by your hand, whatever doesn't kill me will only make me stronger and that's exactly what you've done for me over the years Adam.
You've made me a better wrestler.
A better husband.
A better father.
A better person.
A stronger person.
And the only way I know how to thank you is by planting your self-righteous, condescending, arrogant smug little face into the canvas. I'm sorry Adam I've never been good with thank yous or goodbyes so I will offer NCW neither, and I've definitely never been good enough against you. Everybody knows a King lives long. And I have no doubt that you will Adam...
I just intend to live that little bit longer.
Sure Adam Knite trumping The Ace again will be a memorable moment, but I don't intend to leave NCW with just another memorable moment, I intend to leave NCW with A Night To Remember, and that Knite is you Adam. When you are brought to your knees before me everybody will remember May 19th, 2013 as the night when...
The King of NCW was finally humbled.
You can't go wrong with An Ace and a King, its a winning combination, and its a hand you've held for far too long now as you've sat across the poker table from me and knowing you and your record against me as well as I do, I stand here and look you in the eye and once again I'm not afraid to call your bluff...
One last time.
The Ace then suddenly turns his back to the camera and presents us with the shimmering yellow diamond which outlines the four Aces on the back of his jacket, he outstretches his arms as if offering himself up for one last sacrifice to The King Of NCW and as he does so the entire kingdom is plunged into darkness and after a few moments even the shimmering yellow lights fade leaving the following message on screen.
To outward appearances and to the untrained eye, they'd never know or even care why I felt like I didn't deserve to wear my real National Championship for my final promo, for this match against Adam Knite, to them this was every bit as good as the real National Championship. For all they knew this was the real National Championship. But I knew the truth. I knew it wasn't real. The real one was safely locked away in my trophy cabinet away from the ever grasping hands of a King who was not only my fiercest rival, but had routinely gone on to prove himself to be my undisputed superior in that ring. And I thanked my stars that is time he could not take it from me. The worst part of making such a,concession was that it didn't matter if I made it for the camera for the world or just to myself, I knew as well as Adam did just how true it was.
Maybe it was foolish pride or fool hardy ambition or maybe a little bit of both that was still driving me to compete, to still bring the fight to Adam, a fight I only had one last chance to win and until I did, part of me would always feel unaccomplished and unfulfilled. Part of me would always feel every bit the hollow meaningless and worthless replica of a Champion as this very belt I wore so long as I could not challenge the notion that Adam Knite was undoubtedly the better man between the pair of us.
It was still a little hard to digest, the fact that in a little over twenty four hours from now, I would be wrestling my final match inside an NCW ring. This was the end of a six year journey, and in some respects my journey had come full circle. Within weeks of my debut I was mixing it up with some of the biggest dogs in the industry and being only four years into my career at that point, I was still the relative rookie, the relative unknown so to burst onto the scene with little more than a sledgehammer and an unbridled ambition to succeed was such an adrenalin rush for me. I love being the bad guy, its so much fun, but ultimately the villain is only as good as his hero...and within months of my debut, the seed for our dynamic rivalry was laid.
Adam Knite would be the hero and prove it by trumping the villain at every turn. Everything has a natural end, even a grudge as deeply rooted and intense as this. Deep down I had always known that our issues would only be settled in an NCW ring, to settle them anywhere else would just feel wrong, a betrayal of who we each were and what we'd managed to build together - one of the definitive rivalries of this company, one I hoped would still be talked about long after both Kathy and I had retired. One I hoped would always be remembered as the great professional wrestling grudges.
The villain doesn't have a right to seek redemption, he doesn't deserve his storybook ending, that's the way we're all conditioned as children to accept the logical conclusion of any conflict, no matter how storied it is. The villain always has to fall to send the audience home happy, to send them home high-fiveing each other and saying "Man, that was awesome!" Those are the rules perpetuated by society and those are the rules that you as a hero are bound by Adam. Nobody wants to leave A Night To Remember with a bad taste in their mouths, nobody wants to see a tale of redemption from the villain's perspective. The people who crowned you King all those year's ago want to see you replicate that moment they all remember from four year's ago on this grand stage. The only difference this time is that there are no titles on the line, and after all we've been through, I think we both know that we don't need them to be in this match, it may be cliche to say but it also happens to be the truth.
The problem is of course that the villain operates entirely by his own logic and rules and you know me well enough by now Adam to know that I operate best when my preferred set of rules are in effect, and by that I mean when there are no rules at all. Of course that won't be the case on Sunday, there will be rules and you know as well as I do that I'm much too proud and that a potential victory over you means so much more to me that I dare not throw it all away by breaking them, by getting myself disqualified or counted out. You've proven yourself to this company and to me several times over, and I've never been able to return the favour. That bothers me Adam, that bothers me alot, this house you've built and you and your family have given me so much, you are the last great challenge I have in this company and if my legacy is capped by one final loss to you, at least I can say I was once again put on my back by one of the best of the best. Another win for you this week will change nothing...
A win for me this week will change everything.
I sit back in my study and rub my eyes, exhausted. I sigh. Between watching tapes of Zelda with Kathy and preparing to face my own demons on Sunday for the last time, sleep had been a luxury that had eluded me. In my more lucid moments it had occurred to me that maybe I was just killing myself for nothing. It wouldn't be the first time I'd blown a match with Adam all out of proportion. Each time it had cost me, at least professionally.
This time I wasn't even motivated by the fact that Adam had teamed up with Curtis to do a number on me, normally that would have been enough, but as I sit here and let my eyes wonder to all manner of antique furniture that completed the interior decor of this room, my little private Heaven, a place where I could be alone with my thoughts, I realise the irony that all I have amassed over the last six years wouldn't have been possible without the Knite-Fox consortium. I couldn't live the life I do if Kelly and Adam hadn't given me my opportunities and taken a fresh face and made me a star.
The truth of the matter was Jake Conway owed a great deal to Adam Knite. I wouldn't have insisted that he induct me into the NCW Hall Of Fame if I didn't feel grateful. Jake Conway probably should just step up and shake his hand and say thanks for everything.
The problem is there was a part of me that felt I owed him nothing except maybe a shot to the face. Part of me felt that everything I had ever achieved I did not because of him, but rather in spite of him. There was nothing Adam Knite enjoyed more than taking sheer unadulterated delight in holding The Ace back. A lot of people, Andrew Jacobsen in particular, had made me aware of the disconnect between my in ring persona and who I was in my private life and it wasn't until matches like this that I really felt incredibly polarized by my own opinion. If I could master my own internal conflict about Adam, maybe I'd finally have the key to beating him.
There was nothing on the line in this match except my personal sense of pride, that's why this was so important to me. They say pride goes before the fall and if that was true, I hoped the fall in question was the fall of a King. The fall of A Knite. If I had a choice in any of this, that's how I'd choose to remember my time in NCW...
It was then that it dawned on me that there was little point to chasing even the most impossible dream if it wasn't memorable when you finally awoke, when the wild ride you dreamt about was finally over. I had been chasing this particular dream for six years now, the ride was soon going to be over. It was soon going to be time to wake up, I just hoped that when I did I was left with something to remember...
I've achieved everything else I've wanted to achieve in this business, except this, except pinning your shoulders to the mat or finally giving you the receipt I've kept in my back pocket for the last four years and making you - the undisputed King of NCW - tap out. Just imagine it Adam, imagine it if one of the final memories the masses will have of you in this company is that awkward moment when you're forced to tap out like a little bitch to me. You may laugh and say that it'll never happen, and maybe you're right, maybe it never will, still the thought of it excites me. I'm sure Kelly has already told you that you've got this, that you have nothing to worry about, but in my experience when you have nothing to worry about, that's when you should worry the most.
Never say never as the old saying goes.
Anything can and often does happen in this business.
Yes, I know I'm full of tired old cliches and probably something a little browner according to you, but I figured you'd enjoy the reprieve from the puns and I thought given that over the last six years you yourself have worn the tired old 'King' cliche to the ground that you might beg my indulgence for a moment and allow me a little leeway here. You see nobody has made me more aware of my personal breaking point over the years than you. I've felt the pressure of a match against you, more than once and I've cracked under that very same pressure more than once, so I really can't engage you in the typical "My cock is bigger than yours" pissing contests that these affairs typically degenerate into, the only thing I can do is say that if I must break once again by your hand, whatever doesn't kill me will only make me stronger and that's exactly what you've done for me over the years Adam.
You've made me a better wrestler.
A better husband.
A better father.
A better person.
A stronger person.
And the only way I know how to thank you is by planting your self-righteous, condescending, arrogant smug little face into the canvas. I'm sorry Adam I've never been good with thank yous or goodbyes so I will offer NCW neither, and I've definitely never been good enough against you. Everybody knows a King lives long. And I have no doubt that you will Adam...
I just intend to live that little bit longer.
Sure Adam Knite trumping The Ace again will be a memorable moment, but I don't intend to leave NCW with just another memorable moment, I intend to leave NCW with A Night To Remember, and that Knite is you Adam. When you are brought to your knees before me everybody will remember May 19th, 2013 as the night when...
The King of NCW was finally humbled.
You can't go wrong with An Ace and a King, its a winning combination, and its a hand you've held for far too long now as you've sat across the poker table from me and knowing you and your record against me as well as I do, I stand here and look you in the eye and once again I'm not afraid to call your bluff...
One last time.
The Ace then suddenly turns his back to the camera and presents us with the shimmering yellow diamond which outlines the four Aces on the back of his jacket, he outstretches his arms as if offering himself up for one last sacrifice to The King Of NCW and as he does so the entire kingdom is plunged into darkness and after a few moments even the shimmering yellow lights fade leaving the following message on screen.
A. Knite To Remember
2007-2013
2007-2013
