Post by defunctlies on Sept 24, 2008 5:51:26 GMT -6
The scene opens on a shot of the skyline of Miami with the sun coming up, framing the high-rise buildings in imposing silhouettes. Jack Hammond's voice comes over the shot.
"There comes a time in your life where you talk about something before it happens. You try to figure out what you'd do if it ever happened and how you'd handle it, and you try to think up every possible thing that could go wrong and what you can do to make things go right, and you always come away with the 'perfect' outcome. Now, the situation could be something simple, like how you're going to deal with the traffic on your way to work, or perhaps even a day at the beach. It could even be for something extraordinary, like handling yourself in a fight or if there was something like a natural disaster. You make contingencies and plans in your head so that if it were to ever happen, you'd know what to do in the unlikely event it were ever to happen."
The scene shifts to a little later in the morning, down on a fairly empty street, barely any traffic or pedestrians, shops just opening their shutters.
"And when those situations arise, no matter what you think you're ready for, there's always an unknown factor, or something you won't expect. A wrench, just waiting to be shoved into the works. Then the whole world tips upside down, you can't think fast enough to react and your plan goes out the window. You panic, and scramble to try to get things back on your side, but naturally, it never does."
A car rolls into view down one end of the street, a dark blue '67 Mustang, a couple of white stripes running from the nose to the tail standing out against the sullen colours of the early morning.
"In my case, this has happened a lot. When I was in the fatal four-way for the Xtreme Title, I'd try to think of any and all ways to come out on top...and I lost focus and got pinned. When I entered and stumbled at the first hurdle of the X-Division and Road To The Gold Tournaments. When I failed to beat Jackhammer. Each time I've walked away with a loss, the plans I'd try to make had fallen down around my ears and I'd tried to turn it back around only to end up flat on my back, wondering what the hell had just happened."
The Mustang's engine growls quietly as it stays under the rev limiter, just creeping along the street.
"I've been accused of many things in my career in nCw. 'Losing focus'. 'Lack of talent'. Both very fair titles that have been laid at my feet and things that I won't deny. But perhaps I've been...thinking too much. I know it sounds a little ridiculous; I seem as big an intellectual as I am an opera singer. But when I first came here, I didn't care much about strategy. Thern I faced people who I thought could flatten me in mere seconds if I didn't least try to come up with a way to give myself an advantage. And then I caught myself wondering what I could do if they pulled a certain move, or what I could do if they tried a certain strategy against me."
The car pulls up, revving once before sputtering out. The driver exits the car, and pauses for a second, looking over the Mustang with a quiet smile. Hammond looks at the camera and nods.
"In the run up to this match against AJ Pheonix this Sunday at Road To The Gold, I've become quite familiar with this problem. It rattles around my head and sets me off on a path that makes me lose focus on the task at hand by...thinking about the task at hand. It sounds fairly ridiculous I know, and it sounds like a pretty odd cop out if I blame my losses on 'thinking too much', but perhaps that's the case."
Jack shrugs and moves around to lean on the bonnet of his Mustang.
"And now I come to the biggest test of my career so far; an X-Division Title Match, and just saying that sends my mind into a tizzy, playing through moves that haven't even happened yet. And can I see myself getting my hand raised at the end of it?"
He pauses for a second and smirks.
"Sure...but I could also think about Keira Knightely and my Mindy in a Jacuzzi covered in raspberry jelly with Led Zepplin playing just off to one side; it doesn't mean that it will happen."
He grins confidently.
"So that's why I'm trying not to think about this match. That's why I'm not going to spending the next few nights, just staring at the ceiling, rattling off a list of strategies or where my right big toe will be pointing if AJ tries to run at me from the left rear corner of the ring traveling exactly 15 mph. Oh sure, I'm not going to be relaxing by a pool and drinking margaritas and sunning myself; I think we may see the fastest ever X-Division Title defense with me getting pinned on my nicely tanned yet hungover arse within 10 seconds."
Jack nods to himself, looking confidently at the camera.
"The only strategy I've got coming into this match can be summed up in one word; 'win'."
He pauses again for a second, sighing.
"I think about my opponent, AJ Pheonix, and I do tell myself not to worry. Sure, I have beaten him before, but don't worry, I'm not going to harp on about them...he seems to be quite capable of doing that himself, what with him mentioning my name and his first match here on just about every promo he cut in nCw up until he decided to pitch up camp with The Corporate Empire."
Jack shrugs.
"I suppose you could say that I've had quite the impact on his career. Now I'm not trying to preen my ego here; I start doing that and next you'll be seeing my next promo coming from a gym, watching me just all sweaty and muscly in a tight t-shirt...not that it wouldn't be nice to see a spike in the demographic watching my promo because of it."
He coughs and waves his arms as if to try to dispel the imagery.
"When he was in XHF, he was a big name. He held titles like I change shirts and he was expected to do great things when he came over to nCw, and so far he's captured the X-Division belt in a matter of mere months. I predict that within a year's time, he will have held or be holding the World Title. He's got talent and athleticism coming off of him in waves, he exudes confidence and is never afraid to speak his mind."
Jack pauses.
"And yet, when he lost to some short bloke, he couldn't stop coming back to it, constantly mentioning me as if I were some big shot. And I'm just not."
He shrugs.
"I don't know, maybe I'm doing it again where I try to read between the lines and see things that aren't even there and I've got him read completely wrong for the delusional, egotistical prat he is who can't seem to stop talking about how I 'got lucky' and blaming 'distraction' on his loss last week when he was paired up with the nCw World Champ and facing a newbie who talks to cars and some short bloke who likes the shiney thing around his waist."
He smirks to himself and holds up his hands disarmingly.
"But I'm not here to toss names into his face. I'm not here to harp on about what's gone on in the past. I'm not even here to make some snide remarks about the rather fragile state of The Corporate Empire since the timely return of JFK. I'm just going to leave AJ with a little message."
Jack folds his arms and smiles at the camera.
"AJ, I know how bad you want to keep that title. I know how badly you think you need to win this match and redeem yourself. I know how you think I'm just going to slip up like I have done so many times. But as you probably saw for yourself last week, I've changed. I'm not worrying about the 'what-if's' or 'could-be's'. As sure as sure can be, I'm not aiming to disappoint you and give you only half of a challenge."
Hammond's glare hardens, his expression becoming serious.
"I will push you for all you've got, and I guarantee that if you don't push back, you will not be walking away with that title on Sunday. You need to realise how much I want this, how much I want to be something more."
Jack grins confidently, leaning forward slightly.
"So good luck, AJ. I don't expect to be disappointed."
The scene fades out on Jack Hammond's smiling face.
"There comes a time in your life where you talk about something before it happens. You try to figure out what you'd do if it ever happened and how you'd handle it, and you try to think up every possible thing that could go wrong and what you can do to make things go right, and you always come away with the 'perfect' outcome. Now, the situation could be something simple, like how you're going to deal with the traffic on your way to work, or perhaps even a day at the beach. It could even be for something extraordinary, like handling yourself in a fight or if there was something like a natural disaster. You make contingencies and plans in your head so that if it were to ever happen, you'd know what to do in the unlikely event it were ever to happen."
The scene shifts to a little later in the morning, down on a fairly empty street, barely any traffic or pedestrians, shops just opening their shutters.
"And when those situations arise, no matter what you think you're ready for, there's always an unknown factor, or something you won't expect. A wrench, just waiting to be shoved into the works. Then the whole world tips upside down, you can't think fast enough to react and your plan goes out the window. You panic, and scramble to try to get things back on your side, but naturally, it never does."
A car rolls into view down one end of the street, a dark blue '67 Mustang, a couple of white stripes running from the nose to the tail standing out against the sullen colours of the early morning.
"In my case, this has happened a lot. When I was in the fatal four-way for the Xtreme Title, I'd try to think of any and all ways to come out on top...and I lost focus and got pinned. When I entered and stumbled at the first hurdle of the X-Division and Road To The Gold Tournaments. When I failed to beat Jackhammer. Each time I've walked away with a loss, the plans I'd try to make had fallen down around my ears and I'd tried to turn it back around only to end up flat on my back, wondering what the hell had just happened."
The Mustang's engine growls quietly as it stays under the rev limiter, just creeping along the street.
"I've been accused of many things in my career in nCw. 'Losing focus'. 'Lack of talent'. Both very fair titles that have been laid at my feet and things that I won't deny. But perhaps I've been...thinking too much. I know it sounds a little ridiculous; I seem as big an intellectual as I am an opera singer. But when I first came here, I didn't care much about strategy. Thern I faced people who I thought could flatten me in mere seconds if I didn't least try to come up with a way to give myself an advantage. And then I caught myself wondering what I could do if they pulled a certain move, or what I could do if they tried a certain strategy against me."
The car pulls up, revving once before sputtering out. The driver exits the car, and pauses for a second, looking over the Mustang with a quiet smile. Hammond looks at the camera and nods.
"In the run up to this match against AJ Pheonix this Sunday at Road To The Gold, I've become quite familiar with this problem. It rattles around my head and sets me off on a path that makes me lose focus on the task at hand by...thinking about the task at hand. It sounds fairly ridiculous I know, and it sounds like a pretty odd cop out if I blame my losses on 'thinking too much', but perhaps that's the case."
Jack shrugs and moves around to lean on the bonnet of his Mustang.
"And now I come to the biggest test of my career so far; an X-Division Title Match, and just saying that sends my mind into a tizzy, playing through moves that haven't even happened yet. And can I see myself getting my hand raised at the end of it?"
He pauses for a second and smirks.
"Sure...but I could also think about Keira Knightely and my Mindy in a Jacuzzi covered in raspberry jelly with Led Zepplin playing just off to one side; it doesn't mean that it will happen."
He grins confidently.
"So that's why I'm trying not to think about this match. That's why I'm not going to spending the next few nights, just staring at the ceiling, rattling off a list of strategies or where my right big toe will be pointing if AJ tries to run at me from the left rear corner of the ring traveling exactly 15 mph. Oh sure, I'm not going to be relaxing by a pool and drinking margaritas and sunning myself; I think we may see the fastest ever X-Division Title defense with me getting pinned on my nicely tanned yet hungover arse within 10 seconds."
Jack nods to himself, looking confidently at the camera.
"The only strategy I've got coming into this match can be summed up in one word; 'win'."
He pauses again for a second, sighing.
"I think about my opponent, AJ Pheonix, and I do tell myself not to worry. Sure, I have beaten him before, but don't worry, I'm not going to harp on about them...he seems to be quite capable of doing that himself, what with him mentioning my name and his first match here on just about every promo he cut in nCw up until he decided to pitch up camp with The Corporate Empire."
Jack shrugs.
"I suppose you could say that I've had quite the impact on his career. Now I'm not trying to preen my ego here; I start doing that and next you'll be seeing my next promo coming from a gym, watching me just all sweaty and muscly in a tight t-shirt...not that it wouldn't be nice to see a spike in the demographic watching my promo because of it."
He coughs and waves his arms as if to try to dispel the imagery.
"When he was in XHF, he was a big name. He held titles like I change shirts and he was expected to do great things when he came over to nCw, and so far he's captured the X-Division belt in a matter of mere months. I predict that within a year's time, he will have held or be holding the World Title. He's got talent and athleticism coming off of him in waves, he exudes confidence and is never afraid to speak his mind."
Jack pauses.
"And yet, when he lost to some short bloke, he couldn't stop coming back to it, constantly mentioning me as if I were some big shot. And I'm just not."
He shrugs.
"I don't know, maybe I'm doing it again where I try to read between the lines and see things that aren't even there and I've got him read completely wrong for the delusional, egotistical prat he is who can't seem to stop talking about how I 'got lucky' and blaming 'distraction' on his loss last week when he was paired up with the nCw World Champ and facing a newbie who talks to cars and some short bloke who likes the shiney thing around his waist."
He smirks to himself and holds up his hands disarmingly.
"But I'm not here to toss names into his face. I'm not here to harp on about what's gone on in the past. I'm not even here to make some snide remarks about the rather fragile state of The Corporate Empire since the timely return of JFK. I'm just going to leave AJ with a little message."
Jack folds his arms and smiles at the camera.
"AJ, I know how bad you want to keep that title. I know how badly you think you need to win this match and redeem yourself. I know how you think I'm just going to slip up like I have done so many times. But as you probably saw for yourself last week, I've changed. I'm not worrying about the 'what-if's' or 'could-be's'. As sure as sure can be, I'm not aiming to disappoint you and give you only half of a challenge."
Hammond's glare hardens, his expression becoming serious.
"I will push you for all you've got, and I guarantee that if you don't push back, you will not be walking away with that title on Sunday. You need to realise how much I want this, how much I want to be something more."
Jack grins confidently, leaning forward slightly.
"So good luck, AJ. I don't expect to be disappointed."
The scene fades out on Jack Hammond's smiling face.