Post by Jack Hammond on Mar 21, 2009 6:31:51 GMT -6
The heaving streets of New York City fades into view, flitting past the window of Jack Hammond’s car, all caught by his traditional dash-mounted camera. Hand resting on the wheel, nCw’s resident Hamster grins as he pootles along. There is, however, something else in shot, close the camera; a small box with a label attached to it that Hammond’s eyes fall upon before he looks at the camera.
“Before I begin, I’ve been challenged by my production staff to try to cut a serious promo for once. They say that I tend to mess about a little too much and that in order to make myself seem like a proper champion, I’ve got to restrain myself for doing the usual self-deprecating, snarky and jocular thing I usually do. In particular, they’ve told me to not poke fun at anyone in way, shape or form for the entirety of this promo, and if I do, I have to put a coin into this rather handy little ‘Hammo Swear Box’.”
Jack reaches for the box, tilting the label towards the camera, revealing that it does indeed read ‘Hammo Swear Box’. He arches an eyebrow as he repositions the box to give a clearer view.
“Now, I’m always up for a challenge, and I’ve been told that each and every penny I ‘donate’, will go straight to a charity of my choice, so it’s not such a bad situation to be in.”
He can’t help but crack a cheeky grin as he continues.
“I was given the offer to watch Ace’s latest promo, but with the rules that I had to put money in each time he made a comic book reference...and I didn’t want to end this promo completely broke, so...”
Hammond pauses, before deadpanning and reaching into his pocket, dropping a coin into the box with a clatter. He sighs before frowning to himself.
“...here goes.”
Jack cricks his neck, locking his fingers and cracking his knuckles, mock-limbering up before taking in a deep breath, a look of utter seriousness settling onto his face.
“Everyone has dreams. Whether it be a simple wish to be rich, to be loved, to have fame and glory, dreams can be the one thing that can drive a person to better themselves, to have the motivation to attain their goals and make their dream a reality. They can make us smile no matter the situation, allowing us to hold on to that thin sliver hope that one day our wish will and can be granted.”
Jack nods calmly to himself, a thin smile playing across his lips.
“I’ve been living in a dream these past couple of months. Holding something that I had only ever fantasized about; being the nCw World Champion. I am at the top of my game and being able to proclaim that I’m the best in this business, no matter how worried I am about my ego inflating, gives me a good feeling in my stomach. All I’d need to be truly ecstatic now is a hot tub filled with beer, my wife, Kiera Knightley and a ‘no clothes allowed’ rule, with a TV showing Age Of The Revolution getting dumped from a rather tall height into the Hudson to cap it all off.”
He pauses before sighing and reaching back into his pocket, another penny being donated to the box. Jack clears his throat before gesticulating with his free hand.
“Each and every time I walk out with the title around my waist, when I hear that crowd thundering in my ears, when I stand in the middle of that ring...I can’t help but wonder if I should pinch myself. Such a glorious sensation that you simply can’t get anywhere else, makes me ask if I really am awake.”
Jack smiles broadly, his chest swelling in pride before he catches himself and arches an eyebrow with a grimace.
“But come this Sunday, there’s every possibility that this dream will come to an end...that the rude awakening that’s coming my way will be at the hands of The Ace. I’ve no doubt that he’ll be looking to do anything to make sure he walks out with the gold firmly in his hands, just so long as he doesn’t try to placate me with yet more comic book analogies. I’ve every reason to believe that I will willingly submit if he starts nattering on about Superman and Batman again.”
Jack is already reaching for his pocket with an irritated sigh as he carries on.
“Nevertheless, I can at the very least be sure that this Sunday, there will be two men in the ring, fired up and looking to settle the score once and for all, both of them driven by their dreams and neither one of them will give an inch to the other. The only question is which of their dreams will be shattered?”
Hammond grins confidently as he reclines in his comforting seat, the honking New York traffic having brought him to halt for a while.
“Ace, perhaps you can comfort yourself with your almost endless reams of confidence and your amazing ability to pick apart every single word I say. Your tricks and your astounding knowledge of comic books withstanding, I do see you as a stand-up sort of guy; come post-Sovereign, I’d be more than happy to take up your offer of a drink and a chat, win or lose. I prefer to keep myself grounded, prepare myself for the possibility of defeat despite my hopes and dreams.”
Jack pauses.
“But there is a question you have to ask yourself, Ace; Are you ready to lose? If, by some stroke of luck, you fail once again to attain your dreams, will you be surprised? Will you throw another hissy fit and stalk off back to the batcav-I mean home?”
He winces, muttering a curse and drops another coin into the ‘Swearbox’.
“Would all the tricks in the world be able to allow you to fool yourself into thinking that there was no way you could have possibly lost...that Lady Luck has abandoned you once again?”
He holds up his hands disarmingly.
“Perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I couldn’t say for sure how I’d react if it turns out to be me having to bow out, but a part of me is ready.”
Jack frowns quietly, pausing for moment, lost in his own thoughts.
“It has been bothering me for a while now...what if I need to wake up for once and accept what everyone’s been saying about me? That I need to lose this title in order to save myself from the pressure and the stress and let someone else carry this burden.”
He glances at the camera, arching an eyebrow.
“Are you that man, Ace? Will you carry this company to ever greater heights, that under your lead we can rid the menace that is The Revolution? Can you promise me and put my mind at ease? Please?”
Jack manages to hold his serious expression before cracking that confident grin of his.
“Because then I will have no qualms about giving you the fight of your life, the fans the spectacle of they desire, and the eventual winner of the Coliseum Match someone he truly deserves to face in a month’s time."
The traffic seems to be back on the move momentarily, Hammond moving on along with it before he smirks with a quiet chuckle.
“...of course, I’d like that man to be me. Silly as it may seem, but I’ve got this odd hankering to beat a man who spends as much time as I do in cars just reading comics and imagining that he’s Batman.”
Jack smiles unapologetically as he slips another coin into the box before pausing and letting his mind wander.
“...that said, what man hasn’t imagined being the caped crusader?”
He sighs, being silent for a moment, the traffic snarling up again, allowing his eyes to drift upwards to the skyscrapers towering towards the sky. A more genuine, gentle smile crosses his face.
“To stay in a dream or to realise a dream...and both of us can’t afford to wake up.”
Jack gazes up towards the heavens with a grin, nodding to himself as the scene begins to fade to black.
Suddenly, a loud honking from behind makes Hammond sit bolt upright in his seat, bringing him back down to earth with a surprised yell. He coughs and blinks before looking over his shoulder, blushing. As Jack turns back and sets off again, his eyes fall upon the ‘Hammo Swear Box’ and he sighs.
“Well, I think I did pretty well, considering...looks like my charity to euthanize Adam Knite still has a ways to go.”
Jack smirks to himself, driving along for a few moments before sighing again and reaching into his pocket, the scene finally allowed to fade to black.
“Before I begin, I’ve been challenged by my production staff to try to cut a serious promo for once. They say that I tend to mess about a little too much and that in order to make myself seem like a proper champion, I’ve got to restrain myself for doing the usual self-deprecating, snarky and jocular thing I usually do. In particular, they’ve told me to not poke fun at anyone in way, shape or form for the entirety of this promo, and if I do, I have to put a coin into this rather handy little ‘Hammo Swear Box’.”
Jack reaches for the box, tilting the label towards the camera, revealing that it does indeed read ‘Hammo Swear Box’. He arches an eyebrow as he repositions the box to give a clearer view.
“Now, I’m always up for a challenge, and I’ve been told that each and every penny I ‘donate’, will go straight to a charity of my choice, so it’s not such a bad situation to be in.”
He can’t help but crack a cheeky grin as he continues.
“I was given the offer to watch Ace’s latest promo, but with the rules that I had to put money in each time he made a comic book reference...and I didn’t want to end this promo completely broke, so...”
Hammond pauses, before deadpanning and reaching into his pocket, dropping a coin into the box with a clatter. He sighs before frowning to himself.
“...here goes.”
Jack cricks his neck, locking his fingers and cracking his knuckles, mock-limbering up before taking in a deep breath, a look of utter seriousness settling onto his face.
“Everyone has dreams. Whether it be a simple wish to be rich, to be loved, to have fame and glory, dreams can be the one thing that can drive a person to better themselves, to have the motivation to attain their goals and make their dream a reality. They can make us smile no matter the situation, allowing us to hold on to that thin sliver hope that one day our wish will and can be granted.”
Jack nods calmly to himself, a thin smile playing across his lips.
“I’ve been living in a dream these past couple of months. Holding something that I had only ever fantasized about; being the nCw World Champion. I am at the top of my game and being able to proclaim that I’m the best in this business, no matter how worried I am about my ego inflating, gives me a good feeling in my stomach. All I’d need to be truly ecstatic now is a hot tub filled with beer, my wife, Kiera Knightley and a ‘no clothes allowed’ rule, with a TV showing Age Of The Revolution getting dumped from a rather tall height into the Hudson to cap it all off.”
He pauses before sighing and reaching back into his pocket, another penny being donated to the box. Jack clears his throat before gesticulating with his free hand.
“Each and every time I walk out with the title around my waist, when I hear that crowd thundering in my ears, when I stand in the middle of that ring...I can’t help but wonder if I should pinch myself. Such a glorious sensation that you simply can’t get anywhere else, makes me ask if I really am awake.”
Jack smiles broadly, his chest swelling in pride before he catches himself and arches an eyebrow with a grimace.
“But come this Sunday, there’s every possibility that this dream will come to an end...that the rude awakening that’s coming my way will be at the hands of The Ace. I’ve no doubt that he’ll be looking to do anything to make sure he walks out with the gold firmly in his hands, just so long as he doesn’t try to placate me with yet more comic book analogies. I’ve every reason to believe that I will willingly submit if he starts nattering on about Superman and Batman again.”
Jack is already reaching for his pocket with an irritated sigh as he carries on.
“Nevertheless, I can at the very least be sure that this Sunday, there will be two men in the ring, fired up and looking to settle the score once and for all, both of them driven by their dreams and neither one of them will give an inch to the other. The only question is which of their dreams will be shattered?”
Hammond grins confidently as he reclines in his comforting seat, the honking New York traffic having brought him to halt for a while.
“Ace, perhaps you can comfort yourself with your almost endless reams of confidence and your amazing ability to pick apart every single word I say. Your tricks and your astounding knowledge of comic books withstanding, I do see you as a stand-up sort of guy; come post-Sovereign, I’d be more than happy to take up your offer of a drink and a chat, win or lose. I prefer to keep myself grounded, prepare myself for the possibility of defeat despite my hopes and dreams.”
Jack pauses.
“But there is a question you have to ask yourself, Ace; Are you ready to lose? If, by some stroke of luck, you fail once again to attain your dreams, will you be surprised? Will you throw another hissy fit and stalk off back to the batcav-I mean home?”
He winces, muttering a curse and drops another coin into the ‘Swearbox’.
“Would all the tricks in the world be able to allow you to fool yourself into thinking that there was no way you could have possibly lost...that Lady Luck has abandoned you once again?”
He holds up his hands disarmingly.
“Perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I couldn’t say for sure how I’d react if it turns out to be me having to bow out, but a part of me is ready.”
Jack frowns quietly, pausing for moment, lost in his own thoughts.
“It has been bothering me for a while now...what if I need to wake up for once and accept what everyone’s been saying about me? That I need to lose this title in order to save myself from the pressure and the stress and let someone else carry this burden.”
He glances at the camera, arching an eyebrow.
“Are you that man, Ace? Will you carry this company to ever greater heights, that under your lead we can rid the menace that is The Revolution? Can you promise me and put my mind at ease? Please?”
Jack manages to hold his serious expression before cracking that confident grin of his.
“Because then I will have no qualms about giving you the fight of your life, the fans the spectacle of they desire, and the eventual winner of the Coliseum Match someone he truly deserves to face in a month’s time."
The traffic seems to be back on the move momentarily, Hammond moving on along with it before he smirks with a quiet chuckle.
“...of course, I’d like that man to be me. Silly as it may seem, but I’ve got this odd hankering to beat a man who spends as much time as I do in cars just reading comics and imagining that he’s Batman.”
Jack smiles unapologetically as he slips another coin into the box before pausing and letting his mind wander.
“...that said, what man hasn’t imagined being the caped crusader?”
He sighs, being silent for a moment, the traffic snarling up again, allowing his eyes to drift upwards to the skyscrapers towering towards the sky. A more genuine, gentle smile crosses his face.
“To stay in a dream or to realise a dream...and both of us can’t afford to wake up.”
Jack gazes up towards the heavens with a grin, nodding to himself as the scene begins to fade to black.
Suddenly, a loud honking from behind makes Hammond sit bolt upright in his seat, bringing him back down to earth with a surprised yell. He coughs and blinks before looking over his shoulder, blushing. As Jack turns back and sets off again, his eyes fall upon the ‘Hammo Swear Box’ and he sighs.
“Well, I think I did pretty well, considering...looks like my charity to euthanize Adam Knite still has a ways to go.”
Jack smirks to himself, driving along for a few moments before sighing again and reaching into his pocket, the scene finally allowed to fade to black.