Post by A.C. Smith on Aug 24, 2012 23:59:04 GMT -4
Our scene opens today in one of the few parts of A.C. Smith's luxury penthouse we're not intimately familiar with: His bedroom. There's very little extravagance about it; it's your basic bedroom with a queen-size bed, a dresser, and a decent-sized closet.
The Big Apple Asskicker himself then walks into the shot, carrying an black suitcase momentarily before dropping it down on the bed. He pulls out his black iPhone, pushes a few buttons, and rock music starts playing, specifically, “Behind Blue Eyes,” by The Who.
As Smith goes back and forth from his suitcase to his dresser, retrieving boxers, socks, t-shirts, and shorts, the song's lyrics kick in, and we hear Smith humming along.
No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
However, before the first verse can continue, the song stops, and Smith's phone rings. A.C. throws the clothes he has in his hands into his suitcase, and he picks up the phone.
A.C.: “Hello?...Yes, this is him...They WHAT?...They're WHERE?!...Okay, okay...Listen, give me 10 minutes, and I'll be on my way...You do ANYTHING, and trust me, you'll pay for it.”
Smith hangs up his phone, shaking his head all the while as he goes to the dresser and angrily throws a last batch of clothes into the suitcase. He closes the zipper, grabs it, and stomps off the screen as our scene fades to black.
When we come back, we see Smith pulling his red Lamborghini Diablo into valet parking under a sign that says, “John F. Kennedy International Airport.” The car stops violently, and Smith steps out, his suitcase in one hand and his keys in the other. Silently, he flips the keys to the valet attendent, and as he does, we can see a hint of rage on his face.
He walks in, and immediately veers left towards the security office. The cameras follow him, and we see Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch, Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker, and several security guards yelling and screaming at one another. However, as Smith walks through the door, the room stops.
A.C.: “Let's all calm down. Now, I want someone to tell me why my two best friends are here and not waiting for their plane to Los Angeles.”
Several guards leave, leaving a man in a suit and tie to explain the situation.
Man: “These two men caused a disturbance going through security. When that happens, our protocol is...”
Bobby: “A DISTURBANCE?!”
Stevie: “The only disturbance there was was when your stooges cuffed us!”
A.C.: “Guys. Cut it out. Mr., uh...”
Man: “Jones. Lawrence Jones.”
A.C.: “Mr. Jones, what exactly happened?”
Jones: “We got word that someone was making a terroristic threat, and we acted on it.”
A.C.: “...a terroristic threat?”
Now, Smith's interest is piqued. As a former cop, he knows prejudice when he sees it, and we can see the wheels turning in his head as he awaits Mr. Jones's response.
Jones: “Mr. Smith, are you aware of our policy? As TSA agents, we reserve the right to investigate anything we see as a possible threat to the security of airline passengers.”
A.C.: “So we've now gone from 'someone making a terroristic threat,' to 'we have the right to investigate a possible threat.' I used to be a cop. I know exactly what kind of tactics some forms of law enforcement use to meet quotas, get publicity, get raises. Tell me, do you know who these people are?”
Jones: “That's of no consequence. They made a threat to national security...”
Smith rolls his eyes and starts laughing.
Jones: “I fail to see the humor.”
A.C.: “Then you can't look in a mirror. We've gone from 'terroristic threat' to 'investigation to a possible threat' to 'threat to national security.' I know exactly what happened here. You wanted the positive press that comes from a big-time bust. You wanted an interview with Anderson Cooper. You wanted a raise. And I have no problem with someone wanting the best for themselves. But when you use my two best friends in the world as pawns to get there, you're making a huge mistake.
Tell me, what exactly DID they say?”
Jones: “That's classified information.”
A.C.: “So let me get this straight. You're holding Bobby and Stevie because of some threat they may or may not have made. And you can't even tell me what this threat is? If you can't tell ME what they said, how can you tell a reporter, fellow agents, your boss? You have no credibility, and if you can't back up your claims with hard evidence, you're putting your own ass on the line.”
Jones: “For someone that's not a lawyer, you're awfully vocal in defending these two gentlemen. I have half an intention of holding you here WITH them.”
The silence is momentary. It's broken by A.C., Bobby, and Stevie laughing their heads off, and Bobby actually falls off his chair and starts rolling on the ground.
A.C.: “So much for the whole, 'innocent until proven guilty,' concept! Leave it to Larry...”
Jones: “Lawrence.”
A.C.: “...Larry Jones to take the law into his own hands and decide who gets to fly and who doesn't!”
Jones: “I'm doing my job to the best of my ability. And I pride myself on carrying myself with dignity and class.”
A.C.: “See, that's where I take exception. And I'm not the only one.”
We hear the door open behind the four men at the table, and Jones's eyes grow substantially in size. A large, suited man walks in, with his arms crossed and a disapproving look on his face.
Jones: “Mr., Mr. Henderson!”
Mr. Henderson: “Lawrence, what are these men doing here?”
Jones: “We...we though they may pose a security threat.”
Mr. Henderson: “We've checked their bags. Nothing unusual. The two men that were originally detained went through the body screening without a problem. The reason they're here is because of a joke made as they were walking away from security.”
A.C.: “Thank God SOMEONE told me why they're here.”
Mr. Henderson: “Well, they won't be here for long. Those two men are free to go, with my personal apologies.”
Lawrence's eyebrows go up his forehead. Bobby and Stevie high-five each other and give disparaging looks behind Lawrence's back as they walk out the door.
Mr. Henderson: “Lawrence, go to my office immediately. We need to talk.”
Lawrence rises to his feet, his shoulders sunken and the wind clearly out of his sails. Once he leaves the room, A.C. smiles.
A.C.: “You've come a long way, Gene.”
Mr. Henderson: “Least I could do for an old partner. Got out of homicide about five or six years ago. No regrets; easier and safer behind a desk, plus the money's still pretty good.”
A.C.: “No argument here.”
We may as well see a lightbulb go on over Smith's head.
A.C.: “Hey. My plane doesn't leave for another hour or so. Do you mind if I stay in this room for a few minutes? Just had an idea.”
Mr. Henderson: “No problem. Travel safe, OK?”
A.C. and his old partner embrace quickly before Gene walks out the door. A slight smile creeps its way onto Smith's face, and he sits down before opening his mouth to speak as his eyes refocus onto the camera in front of him.
A.C.: “Funny how things work out, I guess. Here I am, having just sprung my buddies from the clink, and I'm standing in the main security office of John F. Kennedy International Airport. It may not seem like much, but it's very, very fitting.
See, unlike my opponent this week at Shockwave, I'm as secure of who I am as anyone on God's green earth. I know who I am, I know what I can do, and I know exactly what those around me can comfortably expect. Meanwhile, Evan Harrison?”
Smith shrugs his shoulders.
A.C.: “First of all, I still refuse to call him Evan Envi. It's nothing more than a cheap facade doomed to collapse around him like a flimsy house of cards. Anyone expecting me to back off a position I've held since Evan came into APW several months ago? Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not happening.
Anyway, ever since Evan moved over to Overdrive, he's been struggling. Not just in the ring, but in his head. This is a guy that's been ear-marked for success, tabbed by a bunch of respected people in this industry as, quite possibly, a future Undisputed Champion. But what a lot of people don't want to admit is that, up until now, Evan Harrison has been a major, MAJOR disappointment on Overdrive.”
Smith pauses for effect, anticipating some sort of backlash from those watching around the world. When he's satisfied that his words have sunk in, A.C. continues.
A.C.: “Evan's had a ton of chances to make an impact. But he hasn't capitalized on ANY of them. He had a shot at Kurt Noble. He lost. He was in a three-way last week. He lost to Michael Harris after I got into his head. He has zero momentum going into Shockwave, going up against an opponent that has always given him absolute fits where 99 percent of wrestlers around the world couldn't.
Meanwhile, in the last month, I didn't just notch two fantastic wins. I knocked Biggs out COLD, doing to a surefire APW Hall of Famer what a bunch of wrestling legends tried and failed to do for years. And I also pinned Steve Stryker, our own Xtreme Champion, who himself has made quite a name for himself since coming over from Meltdown, something Evan Harrison has yet to do despite putting a ton of pressure on himself to do it.
The only loss I've had in that time period? To an Overdrive Champion in Delikado. But I've put that one bump in the road behind me, and I'm as focused as ever going into a huge match on Sunday night in Los Angeles. I can tell you that, if you buy a ticket to Shockwave or buy the pay-per-view from the comfort of your couch, you'll see the Big Apple Asskicker put it all on the line the same way I have since arriving in Action Packed Wrestling in the spring.
Evan Harrison? Who the hell knows what he's going to do? He doesn't even have any idea who he IS at this point.”
Smith rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
A.C.: “A while back, I asked my opponent this weekend what the difference was between Evan Harrison and Evan Envi. Evan responded by saying that Evan Harrison lost. At the time, it was a fair statement, as he'd been running roughshod over the rest of the Meltdown brand. The problem is, since then, what's the only thing he's been doing? Losing.
Talk about your basic identity crisis. Evan doesn't know if he's supposed to be Evan Harrison or this Evan Envi creation, and when you don't even know who you are, it takes everything else that goes on top of that foundation and blows it up.
Maybe Evan would be able to rest on his laurels, do a couple of moves from memory, and beat some people on the APW roster. But here's his problem, and it's something that deserves noting since everyone here seems to be anointing Evan as the next coming of Jesus Christ in wrestling gear. Evan Harrison has dominated a lot of guys. Evan Harrison holds the upper hand on just about anyone he's ever been rivals with. But me? The two of us are pretty much dead-even.
I give him a lot of problems, and have since he broke into mainstream wrestling back in the AWA years and years ago. Oddly, it never seemed to really bother him until last year, when he started blaming others for his own shortcomings. Right. Because I did SO much to hold him down over the years.”
We see some emotion creep its way onto Smith's face, a mix of sadness, anger, and confusion. The Big Apple Asskicker shakes his head, and opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “All I ever did for Evan Harrison was take him under my wing and teach him everything it took to wrestle on the biggest stages possible. Maybe he'd been in the business before meeting me, but he was an athletic, lightning-quick lump of clay that needed molding. Like a lot of kids entering the business, he was raw, but once I started working with him, giving him the feedback he needed to hear, he took his skills to another level entirely.
Then, when ACW was beginning to crumble, he betrayed me. He suddenly got this idea into his head that I'd been maneuvering to keep myself above him. It was a stupid thought then, and it's still dumb now.
The only reasons Evan Harrison has never been a world champion have nothing to do with me or anyone else holding him down. The reason he's never gotten to the top of the mountain, one I've scaled six times and counting, are much simpler than that.
Evan Harrison...has never been ready.”
Another pause, and a slow nod by Smith before he continues.
A.C.: “I said it, and I mean it. When I first met him in AWA six or so years ago, Evan was a work in progress. But while he wasn't ready then, as a guy still learning his way through the business, you could see that he was someone to watch. Fine and dandy.
But then, when we went to ACW, I saw a change in him, and it wasn't pretty. The woman he didn't want to talk about, Jess Parker? She ruined him. She put thoughts in his head that should have never been there, and Evan should have never listened to someone who got backstage a few times and suddenly thought she knew everything about a business she should've never been associated with.
Evan didn't want to acknowledge her when I asked about her a few months ago because doing so would have been admitting failure. He would've admitted what everyone around him already knew, that he was thinking with his little head instead of his big one. But because he let himself get corrupted, and because he had delusions of grandeur that he never should've had, simply breaking up with her before coming to APW wasn't enough.
But instead of putting his mind where it was when he was a true blue-chip prospect in AWA, he created Evan Envi, the personality that turns me off as much as anything ever has. In the process, once he started doing the one thing Evan Envi was created to avoid, losing, he became even more screwed-up than he was before. Now, all his signals are crossed, he has no idea what to do, and he's on a collision course with one of the few guys around that knows how to beat him.
Not a fun situation for Evan, is it?”
Smith allows himself a light chuckle before refocusing his eyes on the camera lens.
A.C.: “For some reason, I'm considered the underdog heading into Shockwave. But as incorrect as that assumption may be, it doesn't bother me. People said the same thing about me before Test for the Best, an event that, by the way, Evan Harrison didn't qualify for. All I did was give Terry Marvin the kind of fight that even Kurt Noble may not be able to muster.
People said the same thing about me heading into my match against Biggs. I destroyed him in a way nobody had ever seen him demolished before. People said the same thing about me before my match with Steve Stryker, and I responded with another limb-from-limb beatdown. Being called an underdog has never had a negative effect on my psyche. All it does is make me work that much harder to prove my doubters wrong, which is what I've been doing for a decade now.
Meanwhile, Evan Harrison? He's been a favorite in most of his matches since moving to the Overdrive brand. And he's largely been a disappointment. This Sunday night, his streak of letdowns continues, because at this point, he simply has no idea how to stop it. His career is in a downward spiral due to a series of extremely bad decisions, and it's not going to get any better given the situation he got himself into leading up to Shockwave.”
A.C. stands up, rising to his full 6'8” height and stretching his legs out.
A.C.: “Unlike Evan Harrison, I'm not speculating here. I'm not speaking in generalities, I'm not making excuses, and I'm not putting up a facade of lies and half-truths. What I'm dealing with is the cold, honest truth, and in this situation, the facts are not kind to my opponent.
There have been times where Evan Harrison's beaten me. I readily acknowledge that, and if Evan says I'm being facetious, he's wrong. The difference going into Shockwave is that those wins happened when Evan was thinking clearly, when he had momentum, when he was actually the blue-chip prospect so many people claim he is now.
When I say I've seen Evan better than he is right now, I'm not kidding. When that man is thinking straight, he truly is one of the most fun people to watch in this business. But he's not now, he hasn't been ever since he created the Evan Envi identity, and you can see that in his more recent performances. That's not an insult, it's not a low blow, it's nothing short of the facts, and there's nothing Evan can do to change that.
Shockwave comes at a pretty good time for me. And it couldn't come at much of a worse time for Evan Harrison. This Sunday, the two of us do battle like we have so many times over the years. Sometimes, I've won. Sometimes, he's won. But the way things are shaking out, there's no logical way that Evan Harrison, thinking and behaving the way that he is, has the upper hand over me going to Los Angeles for our match. And if he thinks he does?
Well, then he's in for the rudest awakening possible.”
Smith looks around, satisfied with his monologue. He walks towards the door, opening it and walking through the doorway to the rest of the airport as the scene fades to black.
The Big Apple Asskicker himself then walks into the shot, carrying an black suitcase momentarily before dropping it down on the bed. He pulls out his black iPhone, pushes a few buttons, and rock music starts playing, specifically, “Behind Blue Eyes,” by The Who.
As Smith goes back and forth from his suitcase to his dresser, retrieving boxers, socks, t-shirts, and shorts, the song's lyrics kick in, and we hear Smith humming along.
No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
However, before the first verse can continue, the song stops, and Smith's phone rings. A.C. throws the clothes he has in his hands into his suitcase, and he picks up the phone.
A.C.: “Hello?...Yes, this is him...They WHAT?...They're WHERE?!...Okay, okay...Listen, give me 10 minutes, and I'll be on my way...You do ANYTHING, and trust me, you'll pay for it.”
Smith hangs up his phone, shaking his head all the while as he goes to the dresser and angrily throws a last batch of clothes into the suitcase. He closes the zipper, grabs it, and stomps off the screen as our scene fades to black.
When we come back, we see Smith pulling his red Lamborghini Diablo into valet parking under a sign that says, “John F. Kennedy International Airport.” The car stops violently, and Smith steps out, his suitcase in one hand and his keys in the other. Silently, he flips the keys to the valet attendent, and as he does, we can see a hint of rage on his face.
He walks in, and immediately veers left towards the security office. The cameras follow him, and we see Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch, Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker, and several security guards yelling and screaming at one another. However, as Smith walks through the door, the room stops.
A.C.: “Let's all calm down. Now, I want someone to tell me why my two best friends are here and not waiting for their plane to Los Angeles.”
Several guards leave, leaving a man in a suit and tie to explain the situation.
Man: “These two men caused a disturbance going through security. When that happens, our protocol is...”
Bobby: “A DISTURBANCE?!”
Stevie: “The only disturbance there was was when your stooges cuffed us!”
A.C.: “Guys. Cut it out. Mr., uh...”
Man: “Jones. Lawrence Jones.”
A.C.: “Mr. Jones, what exactly happened?”
Jones: “We got word that someone was making a terroristic threat, and we acted on it.”
A.C.: “...a terroristic threat?”
Now, Smith's interest is piqued. As a former cop, he knows prejudice when he sees it, and we can see the wheels turning in his head as he awaits Mr. Jones's response.
Jones: “Mr. Smith, are you aware of our policy? As TSA agents, we reserve the right to investigate anything we see as a possible threat to the security of airline passengers.”
A.C.: “So we've now gone from 'someone making a terroristic threat,' to 'we have the right to investigate a possible threat.' I used to be a cop. I know exactly what kind of tactics some forms of law enforcement use to meet quotas, get publicity, get raises. Tell me, do you know who these people are?”
Jones: “That's of no consequence. They made a threat to national security...”
Smith rolls his eyes and starts laughing.
Jones: “I fail to see the humor.”
A.C.: “Then you can't look in a mirror. We've gone from 'terroristic threat' to 'investigation to a possible threat' to 'threat to national security.' I know exactly what happened here. You wanted the positive press that comes from a big-time bust. You wanted an interview with Anderson Cooper. You wanted a raise. And I have no problem with someone wanting the best for themselves. But when you use my two best friends in the world as pawns to get there, you're making a huge mistake.
Tell me, what exactly DID they say?”
Jones: “That's classified information.”
A.C.: “So let me get this straight. You're holding Bobby and Stevie because of some threat they may or may not have made. And you can't even tell me what this threat is? If you can't tell ME what they said, how can you tell a reporter, fellow agents, your boss? You have no credibility, and if you can't back up your claims with hard evidence, you're putting your own ass on the line.”
Jones: “For someone that's not a lawyer, you're awfully vocal in defending these two gentlemen. I have half an intention of holding you here WITH them.”
The silence is momentary. It's broken by A.C., Bobby, and Stevie laughing their heads off, and Bobby actually falls off his chair and starts rolling on the ground.
A.C.: “So much for the whole, 'innocent until proven guilty,' concept! Leave it to Larry...”
Jones: “Lawrence.”
A.C.: “...Larry Jones to take the law into his own hands and decide who gets to fly and who doesn't!”
Jones: “I'm doing my job to the best of my ability. And I pride myself on carrying myself with dignity and class.”
A.C.: “See, that's where I take exception. And I'm not the only one.”
We hear the door open behind the four men at the table, and Jones's eyes grow substantially in size. A large, suited man walks in, with his arms crossed and a disapproving look on his face.
Jones: “Mr., Mr. Henderson!”
Mr. Henderson: “Lawrence, what are these men doing here?”
Jones: “We...we though they may pose a security threat.”
Mr. Henderson: “We've checked their bags. Nothing unusual. The two men that were originally detained went through the body screening without a problem. The reason they're here is because of a joke made as they were walking away from security.”
A.C.: “Thank God SOMEONE told me why they're here.”
Mr. Henderson: “Well, they won't be here for long. Those two men are free to go, with my personal apologies.”
Lawrence's eyebrows go up his forehead. Bobby and Stevie high-five each other and give disparaging looks behind Lawrence's back as they walk out the door.
Mr. Henderson: “Lawrence, go to my office immediately. We need to talk.”
Lawrence rises to his feet, his shoulders sunken and the wind clearly out of his sails. Once he leaves the room, A.C. smiles.
A.C.: “You've come a long way, Gene.”
Mr. Henderson: “Least I could do for an old partner. Got out of homicide about five or six years ago. No regrets; easier and safer behind a desk, plus the money's still pretty good.”
A.C.: “No argument here.”
We may as well see a lightbulb go on over Smith's head.
A.C.: “Hey. My plane doesn't leave for another hour or so. Do you mind if I stay in this room for a few minutes? Just had an idea.”
Mr. Henderson: “No problem. Travel safe, OK?”
A.C. and his old partner embrace quickly before Gene walks out the door. A slight smile creeps its way onto Smith's face, and he sits down before opening his mouth to speak as his eyes refocus onto the camera in front of him.
A.C.: “Funny how things work out, I guess. Here I am, having just sprung my buddies from the clink, and I'm standing in the main security office of John F. Kennedy International Airport. It may not seem like much, but it's very, very fitting.
See, unlike my opponent this week at Shockwave, I'm as secure of who I am as anyone on God's green earth. I know who I am, I know what I can do, and I know exactly what those around me can comfortably expect. Meanwhile, Evan Harrison?”
Smith shrugs his shoulders.
A.C.: “First of all, I still refuse to call him Evan Envi. It's nothing more than a cheap facade doomed to collapse around him like a flimsy house of cards. Anyone expecting me to back off a position I've held since Evan came into APW several months ago? Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not happening.
Anyway, ever since Evan moved over to Overdrive, he's been struggling. Not just in the ring, but in his head. This is a guy that's been ear-marked for success, tabbed by a bunch of respected people in this industry as, quite possibly, a future Undisputed Champion. But what a lot of people don't want to admit is that, up until now, Evan Harrison has been a major, MAJOR disappointment on Overdrive.”
Smith pauses for effect, anticipating some sort of backlash from those watching around the world. When he's satisfied that his words have sunk in, A.C. continues.
A.C.: “Evan's had a ton of chances to make an impact. But he hasn't capitalized on ANY of them. He had a shot at Kurt Noble. He lost. He was in a three-way last week. He lost to Michael Harris after I got into his head. He has zero momentum going into Shockwave, going up against an opponent that has always given him absolute fits where 99 percent of wrestlers around the world couldn't.
Meanwhile, in the last month, I didn't just notch two fantastic wins. I knocked Biggs out COLD, doing to a surefire APW Hall of Famer what a bunch of wrestling legends tried and failed to do for years. And I also pinned Steve Stryker, our own Xtreme Champion, who himself has made quite a name for himself since coming over from Meltdown, something Evan Harrison has yet to do despite putting a ton of pressure on himself to do it.
The only loss I've had in that time period? To an Overdrive Champion in Delikado. But I've put that one bump in the road behind me, and I'm as focused as ever going into a huge match on Sunday night in Los Angeles. I can tell you that, if you buy a ticket to Shockwave or buy the pay-per-view from the comfort of your couch, you'll see the Big Apple Asskicker put it all on the line the same way I have since arriving in Action Packed Wrestling in the spring.
Evan Harrison? Who the hell knows what he's going to do? He doesn't even have any idea who he IS at this point.”
Smith rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
A.C.: “A while back, I asked my opponent this weekend what the difference was between Evan Harrison and Evan Envi. Evan responded by saying that Evan Harrison lost. At the time, it was a fair statement, as he'd been running roughshod over the rest of the Meltdown brand. The problem is, since then, what's the only thing he's been doing? Losing.
Talk about your basic identity crisis. Evan doesn't know if he's supposed to be Evan Harrison or this Evan Envi creation, and when you don't even know who you are, it takes everything else that goes on top of that foundation and blows it up.
Maybe Evan would be able to rest on his laurels, do a couple of moves from memory, and beat some people on the APW roster. But here's his problem, and it's something that deserves noting since everyone here seems to be anointing Evan as the next coming of Jesus Christ in wrestling gear. Evan Harrison has dominated a lot of guys. Evan Harrison holds the upper hand on just about anyone he's ever been rivals with. But me? The two of us are pretty much dead-even.
I give him a lot of problems, and have since he broke into mainstream wrestling back in the AWA years and years ago. Oddly, it never seemed to really bother him until last year, when he started blaming others for his own shortcomings. Right. Because I did SO much to hold him down over the years.”
We see some emotion creep its way onto Smith's face, a mix of sadness, anger, and confusion. The Big Apple Asskicker shakes his head, and opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “All I ever did for Evan Harrison was take him under my wing and teach him everything it took to wrestle on the biggest stages possible. Maybe he'd been in the business before meeting me, but he was an athletic, lightning-quick lump of clay that needed molding. Like a lot of kids entering the business, he was raw, but once I started working with him, giving him the feedback he needed to hear, he took his skills to another level entirely.
Then, when ACW was beginning to crumble, he betrayed me. He suddenly got this idea into his head that I'd been maneuvering to keep myself above him. It was a stupid thought then, and it's still dumb now.
The only reasons Evan Harrison has never been a world champion have nothing to do with me or anyone else holding him down. The reason he's never gotten to the top of the mountain, one I've scaled six times and counting, are much simpler than that.
Evan Harrison...has never been ready.”
Another pause, and a slow nod by Smith before he continues.
A.C.: “I said it, and I mean it. When I first met him in AWA six or so years ago, Evan was a work in progress. But while he wasn't ready then, as a guy still learning his way through the business, you could see that he was someone to watch. Fine and dandy.
But then, when we went to ACW, I saw a change in him, and it wasn't pretty. The woman he didn't want to talk about, Jess Parker? She ruined him. She put thoughts in his head that should have never been there, and Evan should have never listened to someone who got backstage a few times and suddenly thought she knew everything about a business she should've never been associated with.
Evan didn't want to acknowledge her when I asked about her a few months ago because doing so would have been admitting failure. He would've admitted what everyone around him already knew, that he was thinking with his little head instead of his big one. But because he let himself get corrupted, and because he had delusions of grandeur that he never should've had, simply breaking up with her before coming to APW wasn't enough.
But instead of putting his mind where it was when he was a true blue-chip prospect in AWA, he created Evan Envi, the personality that turns me off as much as anything ever has. In the process, once he started doing the one thing Evan Envi was created to avoid, losing, he became even more screwed-up than he was before. Now, all his signals are crossed, he has no idea what to do, and he's on a collision course with one of the few guys around that knows how to beat him.
Not a fun situation for Evan, is it?”
Smith allows himself a light chuckle before refocusing his eyes on the camera lens.
A.C.: “For some reason, I'm considered the underdog heading into Shockwave. But as incorrect as that assumption may be, it doesn't bother me. People said the same thing about me before Test for the Best, an event that, by the way, Evan Harrison didn't qualify for. All I did was give Terry Marvin the kind of fight that even Kurt Noble may not be able to muster.
People said the same thing about me heading into my match against Biggs. I destroyed him in a way nobody had ever seen him demolished before. People said the same thing about me before my match with Steve Stryker, and I responded with another limb-from-limb beatdown. Being called an underdog has never had a negative effect on my psyche. All it does is make me work that much harder to prove my doubters wrong, which is what I've been doing for a decade now.
Meanwhile, Evan Harrison? He's been a favorite in most of his matches since moving to the Overdrive brand. And he's largely been a disappointment. This Sunday night, his streak of letdowns continues, because at this point, he simply has no idea how to stop it. His career is in a downward spiral due to a series of extremely bad decisions, and it's not going to get any better given the situation he got himself into leading up to Shockwave.”
A.C. stands up, rising to his full 6'8” height and stretching his legs out.
A.C.: “Unlike Evan Harrison, I'm not speculating here. I'm not speaking in generalities, I'm not making excuses, and I'm not putting up a facade of lies and half-truths. What I'm dealing with is the cold, honest truth, and in this situation, the facts are not kind to my opponent.
There have been times where Evan Harrison's beaten me. I readily acknowledge that, and if Evan says I'm being facetious, he's wrong. The difference going into Shockwave is that those wins happened when Evan was thinking clearly, when he had momentum, when he was actually the blue-chip prospect so many people claim he is now.
When I say I've seen Evan better than he is right now, I'm not kidding. When that man is thinking straight, he truly is one of the most fun people to watch in this business. But he's not now, he hasn't been ever since he created the Evan Envi identity, and you can see that in his more recent performances. That's not an insult, it's not a low blow, it's nothing short of the facts, and there's nothing Evan can do to change that.
Shockwave comes at a pretty good time for me. And it couldn't come at much of a worse time for Evan Harrison. This Sunday, the two of us do battle like we have so many times over the years. Sometimes, I've won. Sometimes, he's won. But the way things are shaking out, there's no logical way that Evan Harrison, thinking and behaving the way that he is, has the upper hand over me going to Los Angeles for our match. And if he thinks he does?
Well, then he's in for the rudest awakening possible.”
Smith looks around, satisfied with his monologue. He walks towards the door, opening it and walking through the doorway to the rest of the airport as the scene fades to black.
