It

[Kurt]

APW Mayhem


It

May 20th, 2012
1 Hour, 15 Minutes to Mayhem

“You seem…different.”

Amy’s statement elicits a smile from Kurt Noble as he adjusts the collar of his pure white suit. His hands run through his new, sunnier hair before adjusting his sunglasses. In the background, Chris Hart scoffs at Noble as he looks at Noble’s reflection.

“You look like that douchebag that gets kicked off the first night of the Bachelorette,” Chris jests as he shakes his head. However, his remark does not diminish Noble’s grin in the slightest.

“You’re just jealous that you would look like an over-compensating high-school prom kid in this suit,” Noble retorts as he turns to face his confidants. “Decided I needed a fresh change, so I picked up a new suit, restyled my hair, the whole damn show. I like it.”

“That would make you the first,” Chris says with a smirk across his face. Amy begins to adjust Noble’s cuff links.

“Enough you two,” Amy lectures with a quick glance at both men. “I like it…but it doesn’t really fit your style. I really liked that navy suit with the white lining that you wore before Rasslemania-“

“Exactly why I picked this one up,” Noble interjects as Amy finished his cuffs. “Tonight just feels different from Rasslemania, so I needed something completely different. Rasslemania was about sorting about the past; tonight’s about building the future.”

Noble reaches over, and takes the Undisputed Championship in his hand. He smirks at it as it goes over his shoulder.

“Tonight’s about actually being the Undisputed Champion,” Noble finishes.

“At least for another night,” Chris corrects at his eyes switch to the belt. “I’m still waiting for my crack at you, old man. I’ve got money on you to beat CJ tonight. Just know that if you lose, you’re paying my bar tab.”

“Whatever you say Efron,” Noble says without missing a beat. Despite his confident grin, Amy fidgets to herself as she stares at him.

“Chris, could you give us a minute?”

“Seriously, do you two have to do this every time I’m around? I’m like your aphrodisiac.”

Chris shrugs as he begins to walk out, taking his beer with him as he goes. He leans it towards Noble.

“Might help you limber you up for the big performance. Oh, and the Main Event.”

“I’m good Chris, thanks,” Noble responds with a wave. Chris walks out as Amy turns to her husband.

“Everything okay?” asks Noble in the same tone as he used to speak to Chris.

“Well…I don’t know. I haven’t seen too much of you since the last Overdrive, and when you have, you seem…distant. I know you were pretty shaken up after the crowd riot, but I just wanted to make sure you’re not avoiding me like before-“

“Hold it right there,” Noble interjects as he places a finger on Amy’s lips. “Everything I’ve done in the last week, I’ve done it to get away from the past; not bring it back. I’ve needed to spend some time to myself to prepare for this match against CJ. It’s not just the physical training either; I have to be mentally ready for the changes that are about to happen. If I even doubt myself for a moment, and if I’m not at the absolute pinnacle of my game…I might as well hand CJ the Undisputed Championship back right now.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to…I don’t know, talk to him before the match starts? You two used to be best friends, and it’s just…it’s just weird seeing you now, acting like you’re enemies and-“

“It’s not an act, Amy.”

Amy’s lips purse as Noble’s grip tightens around the Undisputed Championship.

“This last year between CJ and I…it’s been like a drug addict realizing the shit he shoots into his system isn’t good for him. CJ and I were great one time, when I was back in the shadows, handling Rebel so he wouldn’t have to. When I started to realize I was more than that…CJ felt threatened. The strikes, the “oops” attacks against me…they’ve all been CJ’s doing. I’ve come to realize that living in his shadow isn’t the way I want to live my life. CJ thinks the gold changed me; it didn’t. CJ did.”

Noble faces himself in the mirror, nodding at his new appearance as he whips off his sunglasses.

“And now I’m the one being Batman while he plays Robin…and it’s eating him at his core. I could go into his locker-room, try to apologize for the mistakes he’s made, and you know what he would do? He would hit me before the match even begins. From Shockwave to Mayhem, I’ve learned that CJ cares about one person, and one person only:

“CJ Gates.”

Noble turns to Amy, and places a hand on her shoulder, which she grips tenderly.

“And that’s why CJ and I can’t reconcile…not until he changes. I’ve changed alright; for the better.”

Noble takes his cane and stares at his full image in front of the mirror, as Amy looks on in the background, fidgeting with the edge of her dress.

“All this change...it reminds me of something. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. So if you beat CJ…you’ll be the best in APW?”

“I don’t see how there could be any doubt left,” Noble replies in a cold tone.

“Well, then you’ll have done what you started out to do, right? You came into APW to prove you could roll with the best of the best, and if CJ’s the best…you’ll be done here, right? You can finally retire like we talked about. You can finally come home…”

Silence fills the room as Noble leans on his cane, running the other hand through his hair before he sighs.

“Yeah...that’s not gonna happen Amy.”

Amy’s eyes widen as he stares at Noble through the mirror, his eyes averting her own.

“Wha…what? B-but, we talk about this-“

“I know what we talked about,” Noble responds. “But that was then; this is now. Seeing CJ, a guy I trusted for months, reveal his true cowardice leads me to believe that there’s more work here than I ever imagined. If I beat CJ, and put myself at the real top of APW…only to leave the next second, you know what I am? I’m…I’m…Christ, I’d be CJ. I have to stand strong Amy. My place is here in APW.”

“And what about me?!” Amy blurts out as her cheeks begin to redden. “When do I get a turn to become the most important person in your life? You…you’ve changed so much because of CJ. What about how I’ve changed you? Do I mean nothing to you?”

A tear rolls down Amy’s cheek, but Noble does not turn to face her.

“Please don’t act like this…”

“You have changed Kurt, and not for the better,” Amy interrupts with a sniff. “You’ve fallen so far that I don’t know if you’ll ever come back to me. You’re obsessed with CJ, this company, this entire business! Every moment, every Pay-Per-View doesn’t have to be a crisis! If you keep making enemies out of people like CJ and I…people that really care about you…there won’t be anyone left. What am I not understanding Kurt? Why are you still here?”

Noble pauses as he taps his fingers against his cane.

“It’s…hard to explain…”

“Try. For me. Your wife.”

“It’s complex.”

“You won’t even give me that, will you?”

Noble sighs as he forms a mini-snarl. “I just…I’m not happy with how I would be leaving things. I feel like I’m supposed to be in spot that I haven’t reached yet. CJ Gates is standing in my way to it, but he’s not the only one. He’s just the first of many. I will not leave APW unresolved and unprotected Amy. I will defeat CJ Gates.”

Amy says nothing as she stares at Noble’s back.

“It’ll never end Kurt unless you just let go. CJ’s not your enemy; he’s just the enemy you created. I feel for him…because you’ve put me in the same position as you put him. You think we’re both pushing you to be the villain, but we’re not…but you won’t listen. I don’t ever want to give up on you Kurt, but please…stop this…for CJ. For me. For you.”

Amy reaches out to touch Noble’s back, but he steps away from her! Amy grasps nothing but air, before turning to the door. She stands in the doorway with her head down.

“I always believed in you…but not tonight. Goodbye Kurt.”

Amy steps out as Noble keeps his eyes focused on the floor. His cane shakes in his hand, before turning and smashing into the glass! The mirror cracks as the veins in Noble’s neck pulse! He stops for a moment, staring at his cracked reflection. However, a voice interrupts his mayhem.

“You hulking out in here kiddo, or was your reflection just makin’ fun of you?”

Noble’s eyes dart to the doorway, where Monkwood stands, leaning against the edge. Noble shakes his head as he throws his cane to the side.

“It’s not important.”

“You bet your exceedingly white ass it’s important!” Monkwood remarks as he looks down at the glass. “Seriously, tonight’s supposed to be the best night of your career! You ARE the man tonight! If something’s bothering you about your match, your old uncle Monkwood has a listening ear…”

Noble pauses, before turning to Monkwood, his breathing still tempered.

“You want to help me? Get me a camera.”

“Hey, anything you need to cool down a little before the match-“

“This isn’t to cool down,” Noble snaps at Monkwood.

“This is to get angrier.”

-
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***Streaming to you live from the Bell Center, Home of APW Mayhem***
APW Undisputed Champion Kurt Noble presents…
Nobledrive!

“August 28th, 2011. APW Shockwave.

“That’s the first time I ever locked eyes with you CJ. It’s the first time that you and I ever interacted as I saved you from being cheated out of a win by Biggs. It’s the first time I came to realize the kind of competitor you are. It’s the first time I had witnessed ‘greatness’ in an APW ring.

“It’s the first time I saw someone who really had ‘It.’”

“See, I’ve gotten to know you so much over the last year CJ, and at the risk of being conceited: I understand the kind of man you are. You’re a fantastic wrestler that has the ability to make any and all opponents look good. You single handedly turned Biggs into more of a star than he already was, even when you beat him three times in a row.

“You’re the kind of wrestler that leaves an impact. You’re instantly memorable when you step into the ring, even in a loss. You may not have ever defeated Jack Benevolence, but I guarantee you’ve left a dangerous impression on him in every Experts match you two wrestled in.

“You’re the kind of man that commands respect. Even your opponents that speak against you respect you. Guys like L1 and Rebel can throw out every excuse in the book: it was a fluke, you cheated, you’re Jeff’s favorite, you stole their homework, the whole nine yards going into a first down. Despite all of this, deep down: They respect you.

“’Simply Put,’ as our old friend says: You have ‘It.’

“That is the one aspect of that I don’t understand about you CJ.

“Having ‘It’ isn’t just a combination of all of things: It’s embodying something special, something that very few men on this Earth even are capable of possessing. It’s appearing superhuman in everything you do, even the losses. It’s not just being the best CJ: it’s dominating the best.

“It’s that special something that has allowed you to rise over Johnny Rebel, Blade, Level-One, Sally Talfourd, Terry Marvin, John Dionysus, Biggs…even me. Having ‘It’ isn’t something you’re born with: You attain it. You gamble everything you have to attain ‘It.’”

“And it is the reason I have put everything I have into defeating you.

“When I defeated you at Rasslemania, I felt like I had risen to the level of Greatness that I had been searching for. It added an extra ‘umph’ to my step, and gave me the confidence I needed to push through men like Michael Harris and John Dionysus. I felt invincible. I felt indestructible. I felt like I was on the top of the Goddamn world.

“Except I wasn’t; because you still are.

“Even in defeating you, I haven’t risen to the top of APW; I haven’t attained what I’ve really been searching for. Something inside me felt empty when Overdrive went off the air, like I was only walking to a more upbeat tune while still walking in your shadow.

“And it’s not just you, either. I felt hollow listening to local reviews of Overdrive. Commentators and fans alike went on and on and on about how great and entertaining Terry Marvin had become, about how he elevated to APW to an entire new level. They went on and on and on about how the Sindicate was the new driving force of APW. Even after my Rasslemania victory, they went on and on and on about how you would be back in the title hunt, like I was some kind of Goddamn placeholder for you to simply take a break, and then come back to the Undisputed Championship. It hurt, CJ.

“And then it killed me when I heard the following message on an Overdrive review:

Kurt Noble is great and everything, but CJ is something special. He really has it.

“I have fallen from a 15 foot steel cage onto the ring mats below.

“I have had a steel railroad spike drilled into my cheek.

“I have been tossed through three tables, resulting in permanent damage in my leg.

“I have even been hit with every finisher you are capable of CJ.

“But nothing has ever hurt me as deeply as hearing my fear confirmed by an APW: You have ‘It.’ I don’t.

“But how?

“I’ve rattled my brain wondering how you have been elevated to a status I never have. You are the ‘Poster Child’ of APW, even as I sit here with the APW Undisputed Championship. Even when I touch this belt with MY name on it, I feel your presence. I feel you watching me as I fight with my wife, like a puppet setting fire to my strings in the background. Even in destroying the trademarks that I’ve built my career on, I didn’t feel like I was any closer to reaching ‘It’ status.

“I hear the cheers when I step out to wrestle. My autograph signings are larger than they’ve ever been. My paycheck is the largest is my entire career. My old merchandise sold more than any other in APW.

“But it’s still not good enough…because I don’t have ‘It.’

“And this is where we after nine months of being co-workers CJ. I still, to this day, envy you because you have ‘It.’ I can never, ever step away from this business until I have ‘It.’ Tonight, in what I hope will be my first ever APW title defense, I still don’t have ‘It.’”

“Not yet, anyway.

“I told you that having ‘It” was something you attained, but I never said how…but it’s something I’ve learned from watching you for months. Even in moments where I felt you showed cowardice, where you didn’t defend APW to the fullest, you were still loved and adored. You were still the best. You secured ‘It’ by beating the best, demolishing them to the point that your status was unquestionable. The mere image of you posing with the APW Undisputed Championship after beating Biggs in HIS ladder match proved it. As much as I want to lie to myself…you are the best in APW CJ.

“That is what brings us to Mayhem:

“It.’

“I took your Undisputed Championship at Rasslemania: Now I mean to take your status in APW. It’s not enough for me to be ‘great;’ I mean to take the symbol of the best away from you. On the last Nobledrive, I told you that I wanted to be nothing like you CJ.

“I lied. Because I want what you have:

“It.’

“I want what you’ve had for the last year of your time in APW. I want to be on a level that you’ve always competed at. I’m tired of feeling that even though I have the Undisputed Championship, there’s a sense of doubt in what I’m capable. I’ve continued to pay attention to commentaries on APW, which lead me to see the statistics for the likelihood for each of our victories. Allow me to share them with you CJ:

“CJ Gates: 12.5%
“Kurt Noble: 87.5%

“The only thing that driver me crazier than that 12.5% is that fucking 87.5%

“Honestly CJ…it’s not even that someone out there believes you can win this match. I’m not egotistical enough to believe that I’m always going to secure 100% of everyone’s predictions. What bothers me is seeing someone say ‘Kurt Noble is going to defeat CJ Gates.’

“Asterisk.

“Even as I’m a landslide favorite to win Mayhem, I feel like you’re STILL in the background. Statistics lie, so let’s see what APW REALLY believes from the people predicting my victory:

… Gates can easily sneak out the win

Another super close match, that could go either way.

I am going to pick Noble, just a gut feeling…

“You see what I’m talking about CJ? As ‘good’ as I am, as much some people might actually believe in, they still haven’t forgotten about you clawing in the back of their minds. I may have knocked you out of the spotlight, but to APW, you are still capable of cranking out this win. Why?

“Because you have It. You can never be underestimated because of it, even when you’re the underdog. You can never be counted out because you spent so much time on top. Even when things go south, you look strong. I’ve had so many sleepless nights thinking about the bad things I’ve done, but you still are the knight in white armor. You are APW as far as the crowd is concerned.

“That is what’s really on the line tonight. Not our greatness. Not out pride. Not the APW Undisputed Championship.

“Action Packed Wrestling is on the line…with the winner receiving It.

“Whoever walks out tonight will be the unequivocal leader of APW. It’s taken me a long time to realize that’s what we’ve really been fighting over. It was never about the gold, or even mistreating one another; It’s because we both want to stand atop APW. That is the source of all this Mayhem.

“And THAT is why I will do everything in my power to defeat you CJ Gates…because APW needs IT.

“But I had to ask myself: I beat you once at Rasslemania, and still felt like a shinier version of myself before Rasslemania. I acquire big win after big win, but things stayed the same for me. I couldn’t figure it out.

“And then we had our final confrontation. We called each other horrible names, and accused each other of doing the most horrible things. We’re each manipulative, foolish, arrogant, and selfish. We are each other’s villain.

“All we had to do was look into a mirror to see it. All we had to do was look at one another to see that it was true. You and I have done bad things CJ.

“So I told myself that it was time for a change…so I destroyed my old life. I’m assuming you’ve seen, or at least heard about my last Nobledrive. My logos, catchphrases, my perspectives, they’re all gone. I’ve cleaned myself up, and realized what I have to do to truly put you down for good.

“Yet, I feel the exact same.

“Even if I defeat you tonight, I’ll have done it as the ‘old’ Kurt Noble. A simple change of clothes doesn’t change a man. Rewording the same old shit doesn’t change the message. I need to know that if I beat you and acquire ‘It,’ I’ve done it as a new man; one that APW can truly accept as their shield and symbol. I stared at myself in the mirror and wondered: What am I supposed to do? Then it hit me.

“This is what needs to change.”

The camera zooms back slightly as Noble brings his cane into view. He twirls it around his fingers, his eyes locked on message written alongside it: “The Wrestler.”

“This is the reminder of my old life. Even if you and I stand side by side CJ, and they view us as great wrestlers, as no doubt APW does…I’ll always be the one that needs help to even walk. You’ll be the hat-twirling cowboy that moves at the speed of light. When I see this cane, I think of you CJ: It dictates the pace in which I move. I’ve used it to get to this point, leaning against it when I was weak. I have three words for it, and for you.

“I am done.”

Noble raises the wooden cane, placing his hands one foot apart. A vein begins to pulse in his neck as his fingers push against the cane…and after a few moments, it snaps in half!!! Noble’s breathing has become heavier, and he throws the two pieces to the side

“This is what I’m willing to do to defeat you CJ: Putting myself in pain by standing on my own two feet. No one and nothing else will help me defeat you. If you ever see this video, you’ll probably think to yourself ‘Well herp derp, why’d he done do that?’ When you do that, you’ll have solidified the point I’ve made for weeks now: You don’t understand sacrifice. You don’t understand putting aside the people and the things you love for something greater.

“After 9 months CJ, I’ve learned that you only understand…well, you.

“But let me entertain you, and the rest of the Nobledrive Nation: Walking without my cane will put me in serious pain constantly. My leg will have to strengthen, because if it doesn’t, I may end up losing the ability to walk. My muscles will be more strained when I wrestle, which you, CJ, see as an advantage. That Is my final gift to you CJ: My pain.

“Because in giving this to you…I’m giving myself so much more.

“Winning now becomes more important because I have to work harder for it. The more effort I put out, the better my showing becomes. The better the show becomes, the more the crowd gets behind me. The more the crowd gets behind me… the more they accept that I, not you, have ‘It’.

“Brilliant, I know.

“Because that’s how you acquire ‘It’: Doing something incredible. See, you and I have both done incredible things here in APW CJ, but my leg has always been the difference between us: You looked strong, while I looked strong *enough*. I’ve never been held quite on the same level as you despite one-upping you in nearly every conquest we’ve been on together.

You make it to Siberia in the Extreme Tournament? I finaled.

“You help get Team APW to the Supremacy Finals? I was the survivor.

“You make it to the top ten of the Survive and Conquer? I make it to the top three.

“You quarter CWC Acension? I make it to the semi-finals.

“Yet, you’re still *better* than me. Tonight…I aim to change that opinion. Yet, I’m not going to change your opinion of this match. I know how you think CJ. You’re going to target my bad leg in an attempt to slow me down so you can outpace me. You’ll take out my bad arm so I can’t get you grounded. You’ll try and knock my stamina out of me with high-risk moves. You’ll step on me until I can’t get up…and then you’ll fly down from your Goddamn pedestal with the Gatecrasher. That’s how you plan to beat me.

“But I hope you remember the past when you stand up on that top turnbuckle, looking down at me like you have since you first laid eyes on me. I hope you remember Shockwave, Supremacy, Survive and Conquer, the Extreme Tournament, every Overdrive we’ve wrestled on together…and especially Rasslemania. Think about them before you jump.

“Because if you don’t…you will crash.

“You cannot beat me the old way, the way you did on November 3rd, 2011, in Laramie, Wyoming. I’ve shed all my mistakes, all my failures, everything I’ve done wrong across the last nine months. I burned all to the ground so I would have the strength to face you one on one. I suggest you do the same, because if you don’t fight to me…no, fight to hurt me, I’m going to get right back up. I’m going to use my fuel, my rage, everything I am to push myself back up to face you. That is the difference between November 3rd and now. I fight to my finish.

“Because APW needs me to…more than it needs you.

“If you refuse to change, if you refuse to adapt, if you refuse to face the man that you helped you create with your selfishness, your cowardice, your arrogance, your friendship, your guidance, your direction, and above all else, your wrestling…

“You will not walk out of Mayhem as the Undisputed Champion…or with It.

“When you remove all that bullshit between us, all the events, all the attacks, Johnny Rebel, Blade, Keaton Saint, GIW, PW, President Jeff, everything…you’re left with two variables.

“You.

“And me.

“That’s how it started.

“That’s how it ends.

“This journey you and I are on…it’s almost over. Make no mistake: From tonight onward, you and I will always be rivals, always at each other’s throats in order to fight for what we believe in. This may not be the last time we ever step in the ring together, but it is the last time we face off with a mutual respect of each other. Despite everything you’ve done to me, all the Hell you’ve put me through…

“I will respect you tonight…because you are my equal.

“Because I cannot underestimate you.

“Because you have ‘It’.

“And I want ‘It’.

“And when I take ‘It’ from you, I’ll have learned everything I can from you…and I’ll ascend to an even higher level than I am on now. I’ll be the ‘Poster Child,’ the ‘Golden Boy,’ everything you’ve been for the last 9 months.

“But I won’t be you…because this where we divide.

“So, APW, if you take away anything from tonight…take this message to heart:

“I will never stop fighting for you. I will use every method of attack that I can contrive. I will change everything about who I am to fit what you need. I will protect you from men like Terry Marvin, Johnny Rebel, Level-One, and CJ Gates. I will hold nothing back. I will be your White Knight.

“And I ask one thing of you in return: When I finally acquire ‘It’…despite my great wrestling accomplishments, don’t think of me as the next Level-One.

“Despite my aggressive attitude, *don’t* think of me as the next Sally Talfourd.

“Despite whatever cunning I may show, don’t think of me as the next Biggs.

“And despite whatever steps I take from tonight…don’t think of me as the next CJ Gates.

“Because I am not…I am the one, the only…Kurt Noble.

“So, CJ…after all these months, I leave you with one piece of advice; ironically, it’s the same advice you have given me every week we’ve ever faced. It’s advice that only you can appreciate.

“You can go big, or you can go home.

“Tonight, on May 20th, for APW Mayhem…I go big AND I go home…to my home…right here in APW.

“And I’m taking *It* with me…

“Whether you like it or not.