Post by C.J. Gates on Aug 24, 2010 0:03:55 GMT -4
(The scene opens up somewhere in the backstage area, more specifically in the locker room area. Presumably, the scene is in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, the arena that will showcase APW's next Pay-Per-View, Shockwave. The locker room door bursts open, and in walks the self-proclaimed "Texas Tornado", C.J. Gates, wearing street clothes and his cowboy hat. He storms into the ring, and behind him, stopping just inside the doorway, is his best friend Vincent James, who is also wearing street clothes. Gates has an angry look spread across his face, and paces around the locker room, shaking his head and muttering to himself. After a bit, his muttering becomes more audible as he stops pacing and turns to face James.)
C.J. Gates: Did you see that big ape? Manhandling me like that for no good reason! I was simply making him an offer that I thought he would be cool with!
Vincent James: It's the nature of the beast.
C.J. Gates: He had just beaten me! You'd think he'd be all for getting rid of Blade and then stomping a mud hole in my stomach two times over!
Vincent James: Maybe he's slow.
C.J. Gates: Maybe. And maybe that comment just pissed him right off. That's why I asked you to come to Shockwave, as my back-up. I don't want to get jumped by the Jolly Green Giant.
(James smiles.)
C.J. Gates: What?
Vincent James: Nothing, nothing.
C.J. Gates: Better not be nothing. I got a lot to think about this week. I have to figure out how I can capitalize on what I did last week by weakening him. Though it feels like my first two weeks when I had to face Coop back to back. One week I gotta take on the Green Giant, and now this week, I gotta take on the Green Giant again.
Vincent James: He's not exactly a giant.
C.J. Gates: Come on, Vin! I don't care if he's not a seven foot behemoth, or if you have to look way up at him. He IS taller than me.
Vincent James: Everyone is taller than you.
(Gates shoots James a dirty look.)
Vincent James: Just telling the truth.
C.J. Gates: Focus, man! I can't have you distracting my this week. This is THE week! This is THE week that I prove myself to the APW contingent in my match against John Green.
Vincent James: And Blade.
C.J. Gates: I don't blade, Vin. Any blood that comes from me is one hundred percent real. I don't fudge the numbers like some of the doofs out there.
(Gates looks to the ceiling.)
C.J. Gates: YOU HEAR THAT JOHNNY! REAL!
Vincent James: No, you idiot. I'm talking about APW wrestler Blade. He is also in your match this week, so don't forget about him.
C.J. Gates: Oh yeah, well, he didn't come out last week and call me fake. He didn't take everything that I stand for, scrunch it up into a ball and throw it into the garbage. He didn't run me down for three hours, mock me, compare me to garbage. That god damn Jolly Green Giant!
Vincent James: Man, he really got under your skin, didn't he?
C.J. Gates: What do you think? What would you do if someone basically said that you're nothing. That no one in the entire world would ever consider themselves a fan. That you are just some comic book character with super powers that can only be seen by a select few people wearing funky 3D glasses. How would YOU feel, Vinnie?
(There's silence as Gates stares accusingly at James, eyes wide.)
Vincent James: I'd hate it?
C.J. Gates: Damn right you would hate it. But I guess that's the sort of treatment one gets from delusional men who are still living in the past. Men who are still holding onto the hats they hung on their former glory on. It's pathetic, if you ask me, Vin, pathetic. He still considers himself an ace in the hole, even though his glory days were years ago. And now...now, he's tossing his hat into the ring for the tag team titles? Bullocks if you ask me.
Vincent James: Bullocks?
C.J. Gates: Trying something new. Did it take?
Vincent James: Not at all.
C.J. Gates: That's beside the point. If that Green Meanie thought that I was so fake, I wonder how he felt about the beating I still managed to lay on him. I didn't win, but I definitely made him realize I am more than just some drug induced hallucination. More than just some dream that the junkies can see and talk to. I am not a rumor, I am not a comedy sketch. I am the real deal.
And Johnny, I hope you realized that this week. I hope you realized that I am as fast as I said I am, as talented as I have always said I am, as smart as I said I am. I don't need to be on the cover of a Wheaties box. I don't need to have parties in my honor. If I want a party for this Texas Tornado...
Vincent James: By way of North Dakota...
C.J. Gates: I'll make one happen. I don't need one thrown in my honor, though. I don't need to be on the cover of the damn TV Guide magazine as some knock off character from a sit-com that no one in their right mind would dare watch. I am as real as real gets.
Vincent James: I know, I know, you don't have to tell me, man.
C.J. Gates: I know I don't have to tell you, but I am hoping that the Jolly Green Giant is listening, and hoping that he might realize how wrong he was last week. Hopefully it changes his perception of me as a joke, because I am anything but.
Don't get me wrong, John, I give you all the credit you deserve for your win this past week. I don't make excuses for what happened, because I will simply use it to grow and improve my own performances, my own strategies, for when we meet next. Which, oddly enough, is this week at Shockwave. Funny how that sort of thing works out, isn't it?
Though, if someone were to ask me whether or not I thought you had realized you were wrong, I'd probably say you did. Because I'm a true believer that everyone makes mistakes, and yours was simply doubting me last week. Sure, I don't have the legions of fans standing up to cheer my name, I don't have the flimsy home-made signs boasting my name, or telling me to fuck right off like others might. But I'm getting there. My star power isn't as high as I'd like it to be, but eventually, all you'll be see are my signs, my merchandise, my bling.
Eventually, with a few more matches under my belt, I will be as sought after as you once were, John, before you became some raging ball of anger. Some sorry excuse for a human being who spends all of his time telling those close to him to fuck off. I get it, man, you have an edge. You've got some sort of pent of rage that you just HAVE to let out somewhere. It's obvious. And I'd love to help you, I really would...
(Gates pauses.)
C.J. Gates: No, on second thought, forget that. I don't want to help you out. I don't care enough to help you out, because to me, you're just...not into it anymore. Have you ever thought that, John? Have you ever thought that you've just surpassed this business and are really just going through the motions because it's what you're used to doing? I've seen it before. You get frustrated easily, you get angry easily, you get annoyed at the slightest little twinge in your brain that doesn't stroke your ego, get you off, or make you desirable to all the women all over the world.
Though, if you're really keen on keeping things going, and actually continuing in a business that you really have no business being in, then so be it. We will soldier on to Shockwave, and nothing will change. Maybe you will get out some of that anger on a friend, or a hired hooker...but either way, we will still meet up inside of that ring, and we will still have all that rage of yours to deal with. I'm ready for it.
Because I'm ready for anything, John. I'm ready to adapt. Just look at last weeks match. You threw everything you could at me, but I managed to counter the momentum and begin my own stretch of momentum. Ultimately you won, and I applaud you for that. Hell, I would even go as far as to raise your arm in the air if I wasn't so sure you would beat me down for touching you.
Though maybe Vinnie was right. Maybe that's just the nature of the beast. The wound up. The angry. The rage-a-hol. The depressed. Maybe that is just the sort of thing you do, all while spouting off your four letter catch phrase. Maybe that's it.
I, on the other hand, am the exact opposite of that. I live on the higher side of things. I have a higher bankroll, I have a higher outlook, I have friends in higher places. I own helicopters that could fly higher than you could get on the best weed. I have had my name higher in lights than you have, and I am damn sure that I have done more with my career than you have. Since you keep flaunting your longevity and your title reigns around, maybe I would do the same thing.
Or maybe not. Because it's really not worth it. Yes, I have held titles in my past, and yes I have beaten some pretty tough competition to get them. I was even the god damn OWNER of a federation. The damn OWNER. And if it wasn't for the booking team - the team that was in place when I bought the place - we would still be open. And then I'd have merit and reason to make your life a living hell. That's not to say I don't have reason now, it just doesn't hold up as well because you don't care. Because to you, I am just another mouse in this house. I am just another rookie looking to get beaten back to the stone age. And I guess that was a fair assessment last week before we fought, but this week...well, I'd hope that this week things have changed, and you have a better outlook on things.
That you see me not for the crazy person you claimed I was, but for the opportunist. Not for the death defying daredevil, but for the risk taker. And yes John, I consider those two very different things. I made reference to myself as a Texas Tornado, not because I pick up women and houses and throw them around, but because I have speed, I have quickness, and when I get really pissed off, I will end up leaving damage and destruction in my wake.
You can bank on that.
I never said you are a epic failure, Johnny, I just said you have been a failure since the early days of your APW career. Is that a correct assumption? Maybe not, given the fact that you beat me last week. In fact, I'll take back that comment, because you beat me. I'm not saying that beating me is as top notch as winning the Heavyweight title, but I will say that it's not easy to hand me a loss. I'm not crazy, because someone who was crazy wouldn't be able to recognize that...isn't that right, Johnny?
But back to the topic at hand.
Is it fair for us to bring up your hypocritical nature? You blast through me about having a gimmick, and giving myself a nickname, and then you go and do the exact same thing. A little bit of gimmickry yourself, even if it is just a description. If you want to give your own analysis to it, are you truly silent? Not really. You might let your actions do the talking for you, but in the end, you're still reciting a novel to me each and every time you come out. Now, if you would act out the whole thing, then we could sing a different tune. But, unfortunately, you just don't possess those acting skills, do you? Of course not. Because if you did, then there would be a better opportunity of us calling you fake. Of the entire roster calling YOU a fake, a fraud, a god damn cartoon character.
But we don't. And why is that? No, it's not because you couldn't act your way out of a paper bag, it's because we know better. We all know that anyone who steps into that ring and actually fights is a real person. They might have a nickname, they might have a name for their finishers and their signatures, but they are still real people, with real families, working a real job to provide real food for their real kids.
Do you see what I'm getting at, Johnathan?
Vincent James: You probably just pissed him off with that one.
C.J. Gates: By calling him real?
Vincent James: No, by calling him Johnathan.
C.J. Gates: How so?
Vincent James: Because it's been my experience that people who call themselves John, don't want to be called anything other than John.
C.J. Gates: But I called him Johnny...
Vincent James: Well he probably will hate you for that, too.
C.J. Gates: Gah! Stop distracting me, Vinnie! This is serious business! John Green already thinks I'm fake, and now you're making things into a mockery. Not cool, man! Not cool!
But where was I?...Oh, right, back to John and his quest to get back on top of the federation. Back to where he ONCE stood. I guess I should look at it all in a different light, John. Maybe take your decision to join up in the tag ranks as a bit of a sign of weakness. You know you can't get back to the Main Event title picture, so you have to go about it in a different route. And that route includes fighting teams that really have no business being here.
Fair enough. I understand completely. You don't have the same 'umph' that you used to, but you still want to have a nice piece of flashy gold to cover your belly. You want to feel important without facing the ultimate defeat at the hands of Level One. That's cool, man, at least you've realized your ceiling and aren't going to try above it. I watched one legend in my old federation who kept trying to nip at the heels of the World champ. But every time he did, he got knocked further and further down the ladder, until he was slumming with the tag division...
Sounds like someone else I know of. A former world champion who has been knocked down a few pegs, and now sits with his eyes on a smaller prize. Maybe you realize you can't beat any of the champions, and figure that your only chance is to attack those that don't belong.
But ripping apart or almost non-existent tag division should probably be saved for the future, if I ever find myself in that predicament.
Right now, it's all about you John. All about you, me and Blade at Shockwave. Forget about Level One and Sally. Forget about Crazy Joe. Forget about Shaun Kilgore. Forget about everyone else, OUR match will steal the show. And you want to know why, boys? You want to know why we are going to make headlines?
Because that is what I do. I don't let myself become a let down. I rise to the occasion and I make sure that I put on a show no one would forget. To sum it up, I go big, or I go home, and I'm not at all ready to just go home. I'm going to go big. For every slam you guys hit, I'll hit two. For every knee that hits my gut, I'll deliver a shin to your head. For every move you make, I'll make a better one. That is how one-up-man-ship works, boys, and that is what I'm going to do.
And then, when everyone figures the match is at a draw, and all three of us have gone through our grueling match, I will climb to that turnbuckle, and then I will do what I do best. I will light the world on fire, and I will be the reason all the flash bulbs go off all around the arena. It's what I do best, and it's what I will do this week. You can count on that.
I might not have gotten the upper hand on you, John, but I saw what I needed to see. I saw what you are capable of. How you operate when faced with certain situations. So now when we meet inside the ring, I'll be ready. I'll be ready for when you want to hit me with a power move, and I'll be ready to counter. Basically, I'm a student of the game, and you just gave out your cheat sheets. Luckily I know how to use them, and I will use them to the fullest.
All the Chuck Palahniuk books in the world won't save you this time, John, there's just no way. You can regurgitate his style, and speak as if you know what you're talking about, but it just doesn't work that way. You can try and flash your mind, but it will just make you look pathetic and sad. No one cares if you can read a thesaurus, memorize a few words and spout them out on command. This is wrestling, not the math-letes or the English-bowl.
In closing, John, to answer a question you posed, why should one be flashy. To quote you exactly, 'why be flashy and shit like that'. Well, it's simple. It bothers you. It throws you off your game, it annoys you. And if I can pump any more anger into you, give you any more rage to eat for lunch, then so be it. It will be a pleasure to watch you fall to Earth at Shockwave. To watch your try to reach the top of the world, but fail horrible as it moves out of your reach.
(Gates lets out a long sigh as he smiles and nods his head.)
C.J. Gates: Boy that felt great.
Vincent James: What about Blade?
C.J. Gates: What about him?
Vincent James: Well you spent the whole time all over John Green's nuts that you forgot all about Blade.
C.J. Gates: Oh right, right, fine.
Blade, where do I begin? You seem like an upstanding citizen of the country. You don't spout off useless information, you don't try and mimic writing styles, and you definitely don't try and pass off this entire situation as fake. Though, I'll be honest, you don't exactly intimidate me. You don't....wow me. I know, it's odd to hear it coming from another guy, but from what I've seen from you over the past few weeks, you haven't really impressed me.
But I welcome you to try. I welcome you to give it your best, and show me something that I've missed. Show me that little flash that I thought I didn't see. Because, really, you seem to be a throw in. Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe I'm still riding the high from my rant against John. I just....I just want to see you do something that will make me stand back and say 'hmm, this guy really is more than a name'.
Like I said, you're a throw in. You needed a match, and since John and I weren't - at the time - really fighting for anything other than a win, you were added in. So prove me wrong. Prove to me that you are more than just a throw in. That you actually belong in this ring with me and John, and that you actually deserve this win.
Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if John and I beat the crap out of each other, and you waltzed in and pick up the pieces. But, still, that wouldn't show me that you belong. That would just show me that you are just smarter than John and I combined. Which, I guess, might be even better than belonging in the match. Because then you could spend the rest of the year boasting your brains.
So Blade...show me something I've missed. Show me that you are one of the APW's finest. Show me that you are more than just a name, a location, and a finishing move. Show me some substance.
Or, even better. We could turn the tables on the Jolly Green Giant. Last week, when I asked him to help take you out, I thought he would based on recent events. But now I see that the correct method is for us to take HIM out, and then battle it out for the victory. How does that sound, Blade?
(Again, Gates lets out a long sigh.)
C.J. Gates: There, how was that?
Vincent James: Better.
C.J. Gates: Good. But man, I can't wait until I get a second shot at John. It's almost like the stars have aligned to allow me for a night of redemption. A night to make up for the loss that I suffered last week. It was hard fought, John and I fought to the end. But in that end, I lost. I will not make that mistake again. I will NOT lose this match.
Vincent James: Bold statement.
C.J. Gates: Yeah. Worst case, if I sense John is going to tear the place up, I'll throw Blade into his path and let Blade take the loss.
Vincent James: Such the team player.
C.J. Gates: You know me. Go big or go home.
(James shakes his head as the scene fades to black.)
C.J. Gates: Did you see that big ape? Manhandling me like that for no good reason! I was simply making him an offer that I thought he would be cool with!
Vincent James: It's the nature of the beast.
C.J. Gates: He had just beaten me! You'd think he'd be all for getting rid of Blade and then stomping a mud hole in my stomach two times over!
Vincent James: Maybe he's slow.
C.J. Gates: Maybe. And maybe that comment just pissed him right off. That's why I asked you to come to Shockwave, as my back-up. I don't want to get jumped by the Jolly Green Giant.
(James smiles.)
C.J. Gates: What?
Vincent James: Nothing, nothing.
C.J. Gates: Better not be nothing. I got a lot to think about this week. I have to figure out how I can capitalize on what I did last week by weakening him. Though it feels like my first two weeks when I had to face Coop back to back. One week I gotta take on the Green Giant, and now this week, I gotta take on the Green Giant again.
Vincent James: He's not exactly a giant.
C.J. Gates: Come on, Vin! I don't care if he's not a seven foot behemoth, or if you have to look way up at him. He IS taller than me.
Vincent James: Everyone is taller than you.
(Gates shoots James a dirty look.)
Vincent James: Just telling the truth.
C.J. Gates: Focus, man! I can't have you distracting my this week. This is THE week! This is THE week that I prove myself to the APW contingent in my match against John Green.
Vincent James: And Blade.
C.J. Gates: I don't blade, Vin. Any blood that comes from me is one hundred percent real. I don't fudge the numbers like some of the doofs out there.
(Gates looks to the ceiling.)
C.J. Gates: YOU HEAR THAT JOHNNY! REAL!
Vincent James: No, you idiot. I'm talking about APW wrestler Blade. He is also in your match this week, so don't forget about him.
C.J. Gates: Oh yeah, well, he didn't come out last week and call me fake. He didn't take everything that I stand for, scrunch it up into a ball and throw it into the garbage. He didn't run me down for three hours, mock me, compare me to garbage. That god damn Jolly Green Giant!
Vincent James: Man, he really got under your skin, didn't he?
C.J. Gates: What do you think? What would you do if someone basically said that you're nothing. That no one in the entire world would ever consider themselves a fan. That you are just some comic book character with super powers that can only be seen by a select few people wearing funky 3D glasses. How would YOU feel, Vinnie?
(There's silence as Gates stares accusingly at James, eyes wide.)
Vincent James: I'd hate it?
C.J. Gates: Damn right you would hate it. But I guess that's the sort of treatment one gets from delusional men who are still living in the past. Men who are still holding onto the hats they hung on their former glory on. It's pathetic, if you ask me, Vin, pathetic. He still considers himself an ace in the hole, even though his glory days were years ago. And now...now, he's tossing his hat into the ring for the tag team titles? Bullocks if you ask me.
Vincent James: Bullocks?
C.J. Gates: Trying something new. Did it take?
Vincent James: Not at all.
C.J. Gates: That's beside the point. If that Green Meanie thought that I was so fake, I wonder how he felt about the beating I still managed to lay on him. I didn't win, but I definitely made him realize I am more than just some drug induced hallucination. More than just some dream that the junkies can see and talk to. I am not a rumor, I am not a comedy sketch. I am the real deal.
And Johnny, I hope you realized that this week. I hope you realized that I am as fast as I said I am, as talented as I have always said I am, as smart as I said I am. I don't need to be on the cover of a Wheaties box. I don't need to have parties in my honor. If I want a party for this Texas Tornado...
Vincent James: By way of North Dakota...
C.J. Gates: I'll make one happen. I don't need one thrown in my honor, though. I don't need to be on the cover of the damn TV Guide magazine as some knock off character from a sit-com that no one in their right mind would dare watch. I am as real as real gets.
Vincent James: I know, I know, you don't have to tell me, man.
C.J. Gates: I know I don't have to tell you, but I am hoping that the Jolly Green Giant is listening, and hoping that he might realize how wrong he was last week. Hopefully it changes his perception of me as a joke, because I am anything but.
Don't get me wrong, John, I give you all the credit you deserve for your win this past week. I don't make excuses for what happened, because I will simply use it to grow and improve my own performances, my own strategies, for when we meet next. Which, oddly enough, is this week at Shockwave. Funny how that sort of thing works out, isn't it?
Though, if someone were to ask me whether or not I thought you had realized you were wrong, I'd probably say you did. Because I'm a true believer that everyone makes mistakes, and yours was simply doubting me last week. Sure, I don't have the legions of fans standing up to cheer my name, I don't have the flimsy home-made signs boasting my name, or telling me to fuck right off like others might. But I'm getting there. My star power isn't as high as I'd like it to be, but eventually, all you'll be see are my signs, my merchandise, my bling.
Eventually, with a few more matches under my belt, I will be as sought after as you once were, John, before you became some raging ball of anger. Some sorry excuse for a human being who spends all of his time telling those close to him to fuck off. I get it, man, you have an edge. You've got some sort of pent of rage that you just HAVE to let out somewhere. It's obvious. And I'd love to help you, I really would...
(Gates pauses.)
C.J. Gates: No, on second thought, forget that. I don't want to help you out. I don't care enough to help you out, because to me, you're just...not into it anymore. Have you ever thought that, John? Have you ever thought that you've just surpassed this business and are really just going through the motions because it's what you're used to doing? I've seen it before. You get frustrated easily, you get angry easily, you get annoyed at the slightest little twinge in your brain that doesn't stroke your ego, get you off, or make you desirable to all the women all over the world.
Though, if you're really keen on keeping things going, and actually continuing in a business that you really have no business being in, then so be it. We will soldier on to Shockwave, and nothing will change. Maybe you will get out some of that anger on a friend, or a hired hooker...but either way, we will still meet up inside of that ring, and we will still have all that rage of yours to deal with. I'm ready for it.
Because I'm ready for anything, John. I'm ready to adapt. Just look at last weeks match. You threw everything you could at me, but I managed to counter the momentum and begin my own stretch of momentum. Ultimately you won, and I applaud you for that. Hell, I would even go as far as to raise your arm in the air if I wasn't so sure you would beat me down for touching you.
Though maybe Vinnie was right. Maybe that's just the nature of the beast. The wound up. The angry. The rage-a-hol. The depressed. Maybe that is just the sort of thing you do, all while spouting off your four letter catch phrase. Maybe that's it.
I, on the other hand, am the exact opposite of that. I live on the higher side of things. I have a higher bankroll, I have a higher outlook, I have friends in higher places. I own helicopters that could fly higher than you could get on the best weed. I have had my name higher in lights than you have, and I am damn sure that I have done more with my career than you have. Since you keep flaunting your longevity and your title reigns around, maybe I would do the same thing.
Or maybe not. Because it's really not worth it. Yes, I have held titles in my past, and yes I have beaten some pretty tough competition to get them. I was even the god damn OWNER of a federation. The damn OWNER. And if it wasn't for the booking team - the team that was in place when I bought the place - we would still be open. And then I'd have merit and reason to make your life a living hell. That's not to say I don't have reason now, it just doesn't hold up as well because you don't care. Because to you, I am just another mouse in this house. I am just another rookie looking to get beaten back to the stone age. And I guess that was a fair assessment last week before we fought, but this week...well, I'd hope that this week things have changed, and you have a better outlook on things.
That you see me not for the crazy person you claimed I was, but for the opportunist. Not for the death defying daredevil, but for the risk taker. And yes John, I consider those two very different things. I made reference to myself as a Texas Tornado, not because I pick up women and houses and throw them around, but because I have speed, I have quickness, and when I get really pissed off, I will end up leaving damage and destruction in my wake.
You can bank on that.
I never said you are a epic failure, Johnny, I just said you have been a failure since the early days of your APW career. Is that a correct assumption? Maybe not, given the fact that you beat me last week. In fact, I'll take back that comment, because you beat me. I'm not saying that beating me is as top notch as winning the Heavyweight title, but I will say that it's not easy to hand me a loss. I'm not crazy, because someone who was crazy wouldn't be able to recognize that...isn't that right, Johnny?
But back to the topic at hand.
Is it fair for us to bring up your hypocritical nature? You blast through me about having a gimmick, and giving myself a nickname, and then you go and do the exact same thing. A little bit of gimmickry yourself, even if it is just a description. If you want to give your own analysis to it, are you truly silent? Not really. You might let your actions do the talking for you, but in the end, you're still reciting a novel to me each and every time you come out. Now, if you would act out the whole thing, then we could sing a different tune. But, unfortunately, you just don't possess those acting skills, do you? Of course not. Because if you did, then there would be a better opportunity of us calling you fake. Of the entire roster calling YOU a fake, a fraud, a god damn cartoon character.
But we don't. And why is that? No, it's not because you couldn't act your way out of a paper bag, it's because we know better. We all know that anyone who steps into that ring and actually fights is a real person. They might have a nickname, they might have a name for their finishers and their signatures, but they are still real people, with real families, working a real job to provide real food for their real kids.
Do you see what I'm getting at, Johnathan?
Vincent James: You probably just pissed him off with that one.
C.J. Gates: By calling him real?
Vincent James: No, by calling him Johnathan.
C.J. Gates: How so?
Vincent James: Because it's been my experience that people who call themselves John, don't want to be called anything other than John.
C.J. Gates: But I called him Johnny...
Vincent James: Well he probably will hate you for that, too.
C.J. Gates: Gah! Stop distracting me, Vinnie! This is serious business! John Green already thinks I'm fake, and now you're making things into a mockery. Not cool, man! Not cool!
But where was I?...Oh, right, back to John and his quest to get back on top of the federation. Back to where he ONCE stood. I guess I should look at it all in a different light, John. Maybe take your decision to join up in the tag ranks as a bit of a sign of weakness. You know you can't get back to the Main Event title picture, so you have to go about it in a different route. And that route includes fighting teams that really have no business being here.
Fair enough. I understand completely. You don't have the same 'umph' that you used to, but you still want to have a nice piece of flashy gold to cover your belly. You want to feel important without facing the ultimate defeat at the hands of Level One. That's cool, man, at least you've realized your ceiling and aren't going to try above it. I watched one legend in my old federation who kept trying to nip at the heels of the World champ. But every time he did, he got knocked further and further down the ladder, until he was slumming with the tag division...
Sounds like someone else I know of. A former world champion who has been knocked down a few pegs, and now sits with his eyes on a smaller prize. Maybe you realize you can't beat any of the champions, and figure that your only chance is to attack those that don't belong.
But ripping apart or almost non-existent tag division should probably be saved for the future, if I ever find myself in that predicament.
Right now, it's all about you John. All about you, me and Blade at Shockwave. Forget about Level One and Sally. Forget about Crazy Joe. Forget about Shaun Kilgore. Forget about everyone else, OUR match will steal the show. And you want to know why, boys? You want to know why we are going to make headlines?
Because that is what I do. I don't let myself become a let down. I rise to the occasion and I make sure that I put on a show no one would forget. To sum it up, I go big, or I go home, and I'm not at all ready to just go home. I'm going to go big. For every slam you guys hit, I'll hit two. For every knee that hits my gut, I'll deliver a shin to your head. For every move you make, I'll make a better one. That is how one-up-man-ship works, boys, and that is what I'm going to do.
And then, when everyone figures the match is at a draw, and all three of us have gone through our grueling match, I will climb to that turnbuckle, and then I will do what I do best. I will light the world on fire, and I will be the reason all the flash bulbs go off all around the arena. It's what I do best, and it's what I will do this week. You can count on that.
I might not have gotten the upper hand on you, John, but I saw what I needed to see. I saw what you are capable of. How you operate when faced with certain situations. So now when we meet inside the ring, I'll be ready. I'll be ready for when you want to hit me with a power move, and I'll be ready to counter. Basically, I'm a student of the game, and you just gave out your cheat sheets. Luckily I know how to use them, and I will use them to the fullest.
All the Chuck Palahniuk books in the world won't save you this time, John, there's just no way. You can regurgitate his style, and speak as if you know what you're talking about, but it just doesn't work that way. You can try and flash your mind, but it will just make you look pathetic and sad. No one cares if you can read a thesaurus, memorize a few words and spout them out on command. This is wrestling, not the math-letes or the English-bowl.
In closing, John, to answer a question you posed, why should one be flashy. To quote you exactly, 'why be flashy and shit like that'. Well, it's simple. It bothers you. It throws you off your game, it annoys you. And if I can pump any more anger into you, give you any more rage to eat for lunch, then so be it. It will be a pleasure to watch you fall to Earth at Shockwave. To watch your try to reach the top of the world, but fail horrible as it moves out of your reach.
(Gates lets out a long sigh as he smiles and nods his head.)
C.J. Gates: Boy that felt great.
Vincent James: What about Blade?
C.J. Gates: What about him?
Vincent James: Well you spent the whole time all over John Green's nuts that you forgot all about Blade.
C.J. Gates: Oh right, right, fine.
Blade, where do I begin? You seem like an upstanding citizen of the country. You don't spout off useless information, you don't try and mimic writing styles, and you definitely don't try and pass off this entire situation as fake. Though, I'll be honest, you don't exactly intimidate me. You don't....wow me. I know, it's odd to hear it coming from another guy, but from what I've seen from you over the past few weeks, you haven't really impressed me.
But I welcome you to try. I welcome you to give it your best, and show me something that I've missed. Show me that little flash that I thought I didn't see. Because, really, you seem to be a throw in. Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe I'm still riding the high from my rant against John. I just....I just want to see you do something that will make me stand back and say 'hmm, this guy really is more than a name'.
Like I said, you're a throw in. You needed a match, and since John and I weren't - at the time - really fighting for anything other than a win, you were added in. So prove me wrong. Prove to me that you are more than just a throw in. That you actually belong in this ring with me and John, and that you actually deserve this win.
Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if John and I beat the crap out of each other, and you waltzed in and pick up the pieces. But, still, that wouldn't show me that you belong. That would just show me that you are just smarter than John and I combined. Which, I guess, might be even better than belonging in the match. Because then you could spend the rest of the year boasting your brains.
So Blade...show me something I've missed. Show me that you are one of the APW's finest. Show me that you are more than just a name, a location, and a finishing move. Show me some substance.
Or, even better. We could turn the tables on the Jolly Green Giant. Last week, when I asked him to help take you out, I thought he would based on recent events. But now I see that the correct method is for us to take HIM out, and then battle it out for the victory. How does that sound, Blade?
(Again, Gates lets out a long sigh.)
C.J. Gates: There, how was that?
Vincent James: Better.
C.J. Gates: Good. But man, I can't wait until I get a second shot at John. It's almost like the stars have aligned to allow me for a night of redemption. A night to make up for the loss that I suffered last week. It was hard fought, John and I fought to the end. But in that end, I lost. I will not make that mistake again. I will NOT lose this match.
Vincent James: Bold statement.
C.J. Gates: Yeah. Worst case, if I sense John is going to tear the place up, I'll throw Blade into his path and let Blade take the loss.
Vincent James: Such the team player.
C.J. Gates: You know me. Go big or go home.
(James shakes his head as the scene fades to black.)
