Standards and Practices #2: Same Plan as Always

[Smash INC]

Keaton Saint in...
Standards and Practices #2: Same Plan as Always

Scheduled Chaos

Mayhem 2013 was scheduled for May 19th but as the Asylum broadcast from Uruguay proved, Mayhem was already here. It was a fact of life for any APW wrestler who had etched their name into the Asylum brand. Overdrive had their own issues, Meltdown was always a melting pot of the upcoming and the deranged but even on those brands there was a certain element of order. Asylum was chaotic, moreso than any part of any wrestling promotion that had been formed throughout history. It was a place where a man could achieve his dream of becoming the pinnacle wrestler of the brand before losing that status in the space of two weeks. More important was that this could happen and nobody would bat an eyelid, because that sort of thing is to be expected from Asylum.

The unexpected ALWAYS happened here.

Keaton Saint watched as Phil Atken achieved a victory against Christian Kane and was struck by the thought that even if Mark Morrison's 'Return of the Mack' began to play during Atken's victory, it wouldn't sound out of place. To see the man that he had beaten just prior to Rasslemania bounce back as if nothing was holding him down was a revelation as well as a warning. Keaton knew to some extent that he had caught Atken unaware during their title match a few weeks ago, Keaton would never be in a situation quite like that again and perhaps that would give Phil Atken the upper hand. It was a sobering thought and one that struck Keaton as an important piece of knowledge to hold within himself. It wouldn't be the only time he was struck that night.

Wrestling Young Mannie was always going to be a difficult match, much like Phil Atken taking on Christian Kane this wasn't just about what happened in the ring. Mannie was on the up, Keaton knew he had to prove that regardless of his loss at Rasslemania it was still within him to achieve a victory. Had the match gone by without any of those unexpected intrusions then perhaps Keaton would have been able to understand where he stood following the biggest event of the year. With those intrusions and the match being ruled a No Contest, there was no answer for Keaton's questions.

Asylum was home to the unexpected, it just wasn't always a welcome guest.

For Keaton, there was an apology from him to TJ. Keaton made the assumption that it was acknowledged as TJ nodded ever so slightly whilst maintaining a fierce eye contact on the retreating Mannie and his 'victorious' allies. The match may go down in history as one without a winner but Keaton knew to some level that Mannie had taken the gold that night, his victory wasn't a recorded one but it was felt throughout the night. It was surely a factor in how TJ approached the main event. TJ gave that everything he had available, Terry Marvin just had something extra and that gave him an important victory. But somewhere down the line it had to be believed that the victory really belonged to Young Mannie, Keaton pushed himself to believe that even in spite of the overwhelming signs of his jealousy and contempt for Terry Marvin. The fact that Keaton was willing to assign what would count as a standout victory by Terry Marvin to the machinations of someone else was telling of his mindset as a whole. Keaton was an honest man but he was struggling to face a truth that might attack the thoughts he had maintained over a year about Terry Marvin.

Was Terry Marvin already in his head again? Was he playing mind games in the chaotic realm of Asylum? Did he figure out how to control the chaos for his own ends?

More questions without an answer, but Reginald Schmidt would bring up another issue. Keaton knew that he had some sort of claim to a title match down the line, but he had no realisation that he was essentially still a top contender despite the big trade between Overdrive and Asylum.

The unexpected may always happen on Asylum, but that announcement came as a genuine surprise.

For Schmidt to turn around and say that he was still in the running, despite a loss at Rasslemania and a match without a result earlier in the night made Keaton feel as if fate was dealing him a crooked hand. This was the sort of thing that served as the backdrop to an evil genie tale, perhaps a story about a monkey's paw. Keaton had a chance to become a champion again, but the cost of that was lack of preparation and the potential to fail. Terry Marvin was right about being cemented as a legend in APW, Phil Atken had already proven himself earlier in the night and yet Keaton felt like a thief. TJ was the man in the main event, a champion in his own right and a man who COULD have beaten Terry Marvin had he not been so eager to help Keaton.

Mannie wasn't out to end Keaton's career, his aim was to send a message and he would have done that even without TJ coming out to try and stop him. The help was welcome, but Keaton knew that TJ might have damned himself to a lesser result just by using energy to try and save a man who was already beaten. Mannie sent his message, whatever happened beyond that didn't matter because he succeeded. TJ's path that night might have been different if he had some more energy in him to face Terry Marvin. Keaton wondered if anything would have changed had TJ overcome the challenge of the Undisputed Champion.

It was another thought without a true answer, another question left in the void as Asylum proved to be a brand and a show full of possibilities but no solid proof. TJ could beat Terry Marvin, Keaton believed that one in full. Whether he would do in time was another matter, a tag match in Paraguay could prove to answer that one. Asylum was the land of the uncertain, held by the hand of the Undisputed Champion who was a man that Keaton felt untold amounts of emotion towards. Keaton felt in part that he was just trying to recollect the events of Asylum so that he knew what had to be done when he reached that moment. The truth was that the moment he was waiting for might not be HIS moment at all. Keaton already felt like a thief just by having the support of someone like TJ, someone who was already reaching a stage where Keaton would be a hindrance rather than a help. Mayhem was shaping up to be another of those moments, the possibility that Phil Atken could help break Terry Marvin down just for Keaton to come in and claim the Undisputed Championship dwelled on his mind. Keaton knew there was only one way to make sure that Mayhem belonged to him.

When that time came, he had to defeat both men completely.

The time to fight them was already upon him, Asylum in Paraguay held a future and an opportunity.

Keaton could not be certain of the future beyond the fact that Asylum was bi-weekly on a Sunday and that it fit the definition of scheduled chaos.

A new horizon beckoned for Keaton, for TJ and everyone on the Asylum brand.

If it was as chaotic as Keaton believed, then Terry Marvin would not be in control.

This could only be a good thing.

==========

Same Plan as Always

Ask anyone about this match and they'll tell you that I'm supposed to be glad about the outcome. Some would say it's rare to be in a tag team match with someone you trust when your opponents are the definition of an 'odd couple' pairing. There's a truth to that because most people in this sport aren't gifted a chance like this, but I gave it some more thought and I'm reminded of a couple of months back in Manchester. I've paired with TJ before against an odd couple and we won that match, Slade Craven and Stefan Raab proved to be capable opponents but for us to win that match set a precedent I do not want to drop here.

A lot has changed from that point, TJ and myself have grown and improved thanks to the experiences we've had but the changes haven't all been positive. It shouldn't really need saying but losing a title is a hard thing to deal with, losing the World Heavyweight Championship at the biggest event of the year is something very few wrestlers can bounce back from. It takes time to rebound from something as life-changing as that moment, but time is a luxury I don't have. I lost that luxury much like I lost my chance to fight Michael Callahan again when the big trade happened. Gone was an opponent I was already mentally preparing to face again, replaced with the Devil of Professional Wrestling itself in the form of Terry Marvin.

Maybe calling him that is a bit strong but I've never forgotten what happened last year, those memories are as vivid as anything I know. They're still strong enough to make me wary of anything to do with Terry Marvin, when Reginald Schmidt announced that Phil Atken would be facing the 'Real Show' at Mayhem I felt a strange sense of relief. I felt that relief because I'm still very much aware of the kind of character Terry Marvin is, his is a constant pressure that forces the best or the absolute worst out of people and considering how recent events have gone I am more aware of what that kind of pressure could do to me. Atken facing Marvin at Mayhem would have given me time to consider things coming out of Rasslemania, a night where I both cemented myself in one respect and reminded myself of the constant struggle in another.

Had Mayhem just been about Atken taking on Marvin then maybe I would have a different set of thoughts about the next few weeks, maybe even the next few months. You see, I knew right after losing to Callahan that I wanted to face him again but that chance was taken away because of the big trade. To face Terry Marvin is a challenge, not just because of the kind of opponent and wrestler that he is, but also because I have not forgotten what happened last year. The spectre of that still hangs over me like a poisonous mist. I'm still not sure if I want to face Terry Marvin, because I know I don't respect him. I'm still facing the idea that I might not be able to give it my all at Mayhem because of this, the chance to become the Undisputed Champion is littered with the memories of what Terry Marvin did and just how much I want to get him back for that. The fans may have cheered when my name was added to that match, I might have smiled along with it as well.

The truth is I'm more worried than anyone about the match because I might go into it with the wrong intentions, I might back away from being a Pillar and go into it wanting to break Terry Marvin apart.

This tag match is so much more important than I first considered, precisely for these reasons. It's not just about the Pillars taking on the championship odd couple but it's about my own desire to wrestle, it's about my own belief being pushed against the history I have against Marvin and Atken. It's not just about how I face up to that but how TJ approaches this as well, it may well be a tag team match but he knows just as well as I do that he's facing three champions in this. Atken and Marvin are a direct foe, I'm his indirect competition because I'm still so focused on trying to prove myself against Terry Marvin.

Whatever happens in Paraguay, I need to know where I stand.

That's the big factor going into this.

Beating the odd couple of Raab and Craven a couple of months back was important for setting a standard, but in Paraguay the stakes are higher, the wrestlers involved are of a higher calibre and the end result of this match goes out further than the one in Manchester did.

Because that's what the Pillars are all about, the conscious effort to go forth and provide the best wrestling possible. The message hasn't changed, the approach has become more cohesive over time and the core of it remains from the inception. When I wrestle, I wrestle with every ounce of being that I have regardless of any doubts I have away from it. When TJ wrestles he does it as the embodiment of the goddamn SOUL of a city. As Pillars we set an open standard, a challenge to anyone opposed or aligned with us to improve upon their own wrestling. Even when it comes down to facing against a man who I border on despising, the challenge is the same. Show me your best because when that bell rings I won't hold back for a second.

For me, it's the same plan as always. The bell rings and the Patron Saint of Wrestling takes up his patron. Wrestling is always about the challenge, for myself and for others.

There's so much pushing and pulling at me going into this, there are so many considerations and factors to take in. I have to approach this as a match to evaluate Atken and Marvin, I have to be able to give TJ the outing he deserves to prove himself against some of the best on Asylum. Beyond that, I have to hold back the anger and understand that the history I've had with Terry Marvin doesn't determine my future. I've seen glimpses of what happens when a man loses himself to those emotions, I've felt before what it means to watch a great man become a great monster. They say you have to look into an abyss long enough for the abyss to look into you, I'm the sort of person who wouldn't dare put myself in a position to see it. I know too many wrestlers who have lost themselves within it.

I am Keaton Saint, I march onwards and if I have to be a shining light I bloody well will be.

It has to be the same plan as always, no matter what changes in wrestling there has to be an unchanging force. That force is me, the Unbreakable Pillar.

There is one thing I have absolutely no doubt about. When the bell rings to signal the start of the match...

Keaton Saint WILL carry on.