Post by biggs on Oct 25, 2012 14:24:15 GMT -4
>CRACK!<
>SMACK!<
“Stunning” Stan Everdeen and myself have entered upon a rather sketchy shop in downtown Tokyo, and from the back, I hear screams of pain and agony, not to mention what sounds like whipping. A small, neebish man dressed in black pleather mans the counter in a small room that is all black. There's a pure black curtain right behind him that appears to lead to a hallway. When he sees us, he speaks very broken English.
”Can I help you?”
”One moment, please,” I politely tell the man, as I pull Stan aside. ”What the heck is this place, Stan? I don't think it's the massage parlor you told me it was!”
”Well, not exactly. When you told me that part of your training was to suffer as much as you could to get yourself numb to the pain you'll be facing inside the Elimination Chamber, well, this was the first place that came to mind!”
”So you thought a sex shop would be an appropriate place to bring me? Knowing my moral standards, knowing me as long as you have, you thought this would be appropriate!?”
Stan shrugs his shoulders. ”It's not a sex shop, it's a dominatrix shop! They're two very different things...”
”No they're not! They're the same darn thing! The guys that come here come to get their jollies off this sick, perverted behavior! You're lucky the sign was written in Japanese, because otherwise, I would have never come in here in the first place!” I turn to the shop keep, and politely nod, ”We'll be on our way, thank you...”
As I get ready to head out the door, Stan stops me. ”Actually, sir, I think I'm going to stay. I'll catch up with you later...”
”Fine, you pervert. I'll see you later.”
I head out of the shop, and almost immediately, my phone begins to ring. I look down to see that it's Ellie calling. She hasn't called me since Sweden. Considering we've already had everything taken care of from a legal standpoint in our divorce, I have no idea why she's calling. Still, it must be important if she's willing to pay the international fees.
”Hi Ellie, what's up?”
”What's up? Well, Gary, it's just that since Stockholm, I've been thinking. We really haven't had a chance to talk about things since you started on the European and Asian tour right after I filed for divorce. I was wondering if you would have time to talk.”
I plug my free ear with one of my fingers, to try and hear her better over the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
”I thought we'd already discussed everything that needs to be discussed. We settled out of court...”
”That's not what I'm calling about. I'm not happy with the way things ended between us. When I helped you back up the ramp after the tag match, it made me realize how much I care about you. Now I'm not saying that we should get back together, but I at least want to discuss the possibility of us being able to go forward as friends.”
I can't help but smile at the thought. ”I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. Listen, I can barely hear you, with all the racket that going on here in Tokyo. What if I send out my private jet to pick you up, and bring you here for dinner tomorrow night? I could even get you a ticket for the pay per view.”
I hear her giggle on the other end. ”I'd like that very much.”
”Okay, so it's a date. Well, not really a date, but you know what I mean!”
”Okay. Thanks. Bye!”
”Goodbye.”
I hang up my phone, and I can feel myself grinning from ear to ear. I know that I messed up my marriage, but the prospect of still having Ellie in my life, well, it's an opportunity that I can't pass up.
Depeche Mode's “Spacewalker” plays as the words FIRST CONTACT flash across the screen in big, bold blue letters. The music fades as the video transitions to Biggs, standing behind a chain-link fence in what appears to be an alley way. It's dark out, with the only light being the illumination of the shop signs and street lights, and even then, Biggs is far enough into the alley that he's barely visible. Biggs is dressed in a navy blue hoodie and blue jeans, and he has a dead serious look on his face as he begins to speak.
”Welcome ladies and gentlemen, one and all, to the absolute greatest wrestling web show the Internet has to offer, I speak of Biggs' First Contact! I am of course, your host, your guide, and otherwise really cool dude running this show, not to mention the next APW Undisputed Champion, Biggs!”
“Now many of you may be wondering why I'm standing out here like a vagrant, like a bum here in this alley in Tokyo, Japan, instead of enjoying the Tokyo nightlife, with all its bright lights, all its glitz, and all its inherent weirdness. It's quite simple really, I'm forcing myself to suffer, I'm forcing myself to feel discomfort. I'll be sleeping out here tonight, because in three short days, I will entering the most unforgiving, the most barbaric, the most brutal type of match that a professional wrestler can be involved in, and that is the Elimination Chamber! I'm putting myself through hell now, so that once I'm inside the Chamber, it will be like home. This is the kind of match that severely injures you, the kind that shortens your career. I know from experience that when you enter the Elimination Chamber, you don't leave the same man that you were before. It has a way of changing you. It has a way of making you question why you decided to enter it in the first place.”
“Five years ago, the last time I was in an Elimination Chamber Match, I was fighting for the CJMB Heavyweight Championship. I came up short in that match, and was so severely injured that I was forced to take six months off afterward. My shoulder was dislocated, and I required 15 stitches to close the gap in my forehead. And I endured this to come only in third place in that match. But at the time, I felt it was worth it, and I would still feel that way today. Just imagine how much more strongly I feel about getting the opportunity to compete for a title that I hold in much higher esteem, the richest prize our business has to offer, the APW Undisputed Championship!”
“This Sunday marks my first chance at winning the APW Undisputed Championship since December 18, 2011. That means it's been 312 days as of right now since I've gotten that opportunity, 315 by the day of the pay-per-view. I know that Undisputed Title Shots aren't given out like candy, I know that they are few and far between.”
“Which brings me to a source of contention with many of my opponents in the match, as well as many of the so-called experts on the Internet that say that I don't belong in this match. A common claim is that I'm only in this match for name value, that because I held the APW Undisputed Championship last year, that I'm getting in on my past accolades, not what I've accomplished lately. I've been called a has been, others have told me that I should have left my boots hanging instead of coming back after my concussion, people have said that I do not stand a chance of walking out of the Elimination Chamber as the new champion. It's been said that there are other people more deserving of my spot in the Chamber, that since I supposedly have no chance to win anyways, why not give one of the younger guys a chance?”
“The fact of the matter is that if my detractors are correct, their point will be proven on Sunday, and I won't last long in the Chamber at all. If they're right, I should be easy pickings for the likes of Level-One, Kurt Noble, C.J. Gates, and the APW Undisputed Champion, Terry Marvin. The only guy getting more flack than me is Chris Hart, and that's because he's the only guy in there who hasn't been the Undisputed Champion before. With a line up like that, if I truly am washed up, if my best days in the ring are truly behind me, then there's no way that I will last long inside the Elimination Chamber. I'll be in and out, without making much of an impact.”
“Of course, this viewpoint discounts several facts. First off, I'm only 27 years of age, hardly an old timer. In fact, it could be argued that I have yet to hit my prime! Also, would a has been be able to defeat Kurt Noble, and wrestle Terry Marvin to not one, but two draws? Sure, when I first returned, I got stuck in the kind of losing streak that would convince most competitors to hang it up for good. But I haven't given up, I haven't surrendered, I'm still going strong. I've made a career of taking advantage of any opportunity I've been given, and this Sunday is no different. Whether I deserved to be initially placed in the Chamber Match is a moot point at this time. I'm in the match, I've been given an opportunity at the title, and you can be darn sure that I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity that has been given to me!”
Biggs smirks a bit.
”This Sunday marks a golden opportunity for each and every man inside the Elimination Chamber. What other point in the year would five men get a shot at one time? It just doesn't happen outside the Elimination Chamber. I realize that I'm not the only guy who's hungry to succeed, I'm not the only guy who wants to take that title from Terry Marvin. This is quite possibly one of the most stacked lineups for this kind of match. Four former Undisputed Champions, the current Undisputed Champ, and a guy who at first could be described as a hanger-on, but after the last Overdrive, can now be described as a resilient son of a gun, well this is literally a match than any one of us can win!”
“Note that I didn't bring up the special guest referee Azrael Goeren. I don't know much about Goeren, and quite frankly, I don't care. If he does his job like he's supposed to, he'll be a non-factor in the match. I don't plan on messing with him, and if I leave him alone, he should leave me to do what I do best, and that is wrestle.”
“But onto my opponents for One Night in Hell, let me start with Chris Hart. Chris, I got to give it to you, coming back from the utter shellacking you received at the hands of Level-One in that Casket Match a month ago, well, that's impressive. Pardon the pun, but you've shown real heart by coming back, and being ready for this match. But let's be honest here, Chris, heart does not equal skill. Heart can only get you so far, in order to win a match like this, where you're the only guy who has not held the Undisputed Championship at some point, well, you're going to have to have the performance of your life! I can tell you from experience that winning the APW Undisputed Championship is not an easy thing. You don't get it by having the most sympathy points! You have to earn it.”
“Now you'd be the first to admit that your win-loss record in singles competition is less than enviable. And you probably can't count on your friend and co-Tag Team Champion Kurt Noble to have your back. After all, he's one loony dude. But more on him later. The bottom line, Chris Hart, is that you can have all the heart in the world, you can be the sentimental favorite, you can have every single person in the arena cheering you on, it doesn't mean jack squat once you find yourself trapped inside the unforgiving steel structure known as the Elimination Chamber! You think you felt pain in your Casket Match with Level-One? You think that you suffered during and after that match? Well, it's got nothing on the Chamber! And the fact that not only will your nemesis be in there, but four other guys trying to make sure that you don't leave as the champion, I'll be honest, Chris, as much as I like you, as much as I'm impressed by your comeback, I just don't see you being able to outlast five of the best wrestlers APW has to offer.”
“And that's exactly what Level-One, myself, C.J. Gates, Kurt Noble and Terry Marvin are, the best APW has to offer! We are the last five men to hold the championship, and I'll be honest, I don't like Terry's chances of walking out still the champ. Terry, when you beat Kurt Noble at Shockwave to gain the APW Undisputed Championship, it put a cap on the Year of Terry Marvin. When I was sidelined earlier this year, I got to see first hand just how much this really has been the year of Terry Marvin. From your Overdrive Title run, to winning Test for the Best, and capping it all off by defeating Kurt Noble, well, it's hard to have a much better nine months than that! Your year so far has undoubtedly been the most successful of anyone on the roster! But the key word is so far.”
“You know that you're going up against the odds, Terry. You've been trying to position yourself as a fan favorite, as a guy that the crowd can get behind. My question is why, Terry? Why do you care what the people think about you? The fact that you're Undisputed Champion should be reason enough for them to respect you. Not like you, but respect you. And I would wager to say that respect is much more important than adulation. What it tells me, Terry, is that you are more concerned about the perception of who you are, rather than being who you are. And you know Terry, that I've called many people out on this before, like Pence, Kurt Noble, Level-One, and now you. It's pointless, Terry, to give a darn what the crowd thinks of you, because like was saying about Chris, once you're in the Chamber, it comes down to your skill. Granted, the title around your waist proves that you do have what it takes to get it done in the ring, but there's no doubt in my mind that you're giving yourself an unnecessary distraction by trying to play up to crowd. They all know you're a heartless bastard, all of us in the back know you're a heartless bastard, so why don't you just be yourself, and be that heartless bastard inside the Elimination Chamber. You're going to have to be in order to win. Because like I said on Overdrive, by trying to win the crowd, you're going to have to watch how you act. You're going to have to hold back, and if there's one thing you cannot afford to do inside the Chamber, that is to hold back! You hold back, Terry, and you're going to lose, plain and simple.”
“But even if you do go all out, Terry, even if you let your true colors show, as you should, the fact is that this match does not favor you in the slightest. As the current reigning and defending APW Undisputed Champion, everyone inside the Chamber will be gunning for you. Level-One said as much, C.J. said the same, and right now, I'm telling you that you're my biggest target as well. And considering your recent actions with Kurt Noble's wife, Amy, I'd imagine he's looking to take you out as well. The fact is, whoever eliminates you from the match will get instant credibility, even more than they have going into the match! Because you can bet whoever pins you, even if they don't end up winning the match, their name will certainly be in the discussion for who faces the Champion at Christmas Chaos. You've got a target on your back, Terry, one that makes it to where you have nowhere to hide in this match. I know you're good, Terry. You wouldn't be undisputed Champion if you weren't. But are truly great, Terry? Can you withstand the onslaught of five other men who are trying to win your title? In all the times that APW has run the Elimination Chamber match, there has yet to be a successful title defense, Terry, and I have my doubts that you'll be able to be the first. When you say the odds are against you, you are not speaking in hyperbole. You are speaking in fact.”
“And the fact is, Terry Marvin, you are not leaving the Elimination Chamber still the APW Undisputed Champion, you will be leaving it as a defeated, broken man!”
“Speaking of defeated, broken men, this brings me to Kurt Noble. Kurt, it's a well known fact that I have your number. You have yet to defeat me in a one-on-one context, and you couldn't get the job done on Viewer's Choice night where the fans decided it would be fun to team us with our opponent's soon to be ex-spouse. Everyone's been talking about how you've snapped, how you've become a wild man, and how you've become a monster that we should all fear inside that Chamber. I'll be blunt, Kurt, I don't fear you. I can't! The effects this business has taken on your body are well documented. You have the bum knee that has limited your in-ring capabilities. You've never been the kind of guy to win matches because of your superior athletic ability and conditioning, you've won through smart wrestling and taking calculated risks. You've won with your brain, despite your body. By becoming, for lack of a better term, a raging beast, you neglect your greatest strength, your best asset, your brain. Take that away from you, Kurt Noble, which you've willingly given up, and you're nothing more than a wild animal in the cage that needs to be put down, Old Yeller style! If there's anyone in this match who's beaten up and washed up, and who's career has seen better days, it would be you, Kurt! You can come into the match with all the unbridled rage you want, you can come in with a complete disregard for anything, including yourself, but that's not a strength, Kurt, it's a weakness, one that I will gladly exploit inside the Chamber.”
“You will make a mistake, Kurt. When you're as out of control as you are, there's no possible way that you won't. And one mistake is all you need to make to ensure a short stay in the Elimination Chamber.”
“And if I may take a moment to talk to you man to man, Kurt, not as competitors, but as men, well, I just have to say that the way you have treated Amy Noble is nothing short of shameful. You have shown yourself to be a man lacking character, lacking any sort of integrity. I may be a bad man, but at least I'm honest about it. You, on the other hand, have let yourself go so completely that there's no possible way that you can redeem yourself, even if you somehow end up winning this match!”
“You're lost in more ways than one, Kurt, and this will get proven inside the Chamber.”
Biggs pauses for a bit, taking a drink of water before continuing.
“Level-One, what else is there to be said about you other than the fact that you're making the same mistakes heading into the Chamber as you did the last time we faced one another. You've been one of my most vocal critics, saying that I don't belong in this match. You've been saying that I don't have it anymore. Well, Lester, if that's the way you truly feel about me, then I'm a-ok with humbling you inside that chamber! Because, Lester, once again, you're overlooking me! You aren't taking me seriously, and quite frankly, I welcome that. You're going to be more focused on taking out Kurt Noble, C.J. Gates, and your pal, Terry Marvin. And while you're distracted with them, maybe I'll just come up right behind you, roll you up in a Small Package, and send you on your way out of the Chamber in the most humiliating way imaginable!”
“I get that this is your first title shot since Test for the Best 2011, where I defeated you for the APW Undisputed Championship. I know that you're hungrier for this opportunity than a Hungry Hungry Hippo. This is the longest you've had to wait between title opportunities your entire APW career. Since it's been a year and half, you're no doubt going to pull out all the stops inside the Chamber to ensure that you walk away with the title! But you know what, Lester, you're not the only one!”
“You are not entitled to become the champion, Lester. It's isn't your destiny! It isn't yours for the taking! The fact is that whoever leaves Tokyo as the Undisputed Champ will have to earn it, Lester, even you. You are not the sure thing that you think you are. You are not a shoe in to win this title, Level-One.”
“This whole time you've been palling around with Terry Marvin, you've been playing the second fiddle. You've let yourself become content in that role. And now, only now that you've gotten a title opportunity, you claim that you're the one who made Terry Marvin the man he is today? Correct me if I'm wrong, Lester, but earlier this year, when Terry was tearing up the Overdrive Title division, you were still aligned with Johnny Rebel. You had nothing to do with the success Terry had earlier this year. And again, correct me if I'm wrong, but Terry Marvin won Test for the Best by himself as well! It's not like he was tagging you in and out during his three matches that night! The thing is, Lester, you've always hated to see anyone besides yourself have success. It tears you up, it eats you up inside that you aren't the top guy, and rather then do something about it, rather then go out there and steal the show every night, you were content to be the top guy's side kick.”
“That's right, the all mighty Level-One, the man who dominated the main event scene like none other here in APW for the better part of two years, the two time Experts Champion, the four time Undisputed Champion, is Terry Marvin's side kick! The Robin to his Batman, the Tonto to his Lone Ranger. How the mighty have fallen, Level-One. You're no longer the unbeatable goliath you once were. I proved that a year and a half ago at Test for the Best, and you've done nothing but help to build that perception. Now my words here may very well come back to bite me in the butt when we find ourselves face to face in the Chamber, but then again, Lester, so will yours about me!”
“You're a heck of a competitor, Lester, but you've also grown soft. Well, soft by your standards, but still, the fact remains you are not the same Level-One who headlined three RassleMania's in a row. You are not the same Level-One who walked into the Elimination Chamber two years ago to defend the APW Undisputed Championship. You lost that match, Level-One. What makes you think you can win this one?”
“Finally, this brings me to C.J. Gates. Ceej, what is there to say between us that hasn't already been said. You're the only man in this match that I have absolutely no leverage over. Last year at this time, you were making a habit of defeating me in big time matches. You are the man responsible for putting me out of action for the better part of eight months. If there's anyone in this match that I should be worried about, it's you.”
“And there will be some that say that's why I tried to form alliance with you for this Sunday. And they're right, to a certain extent. Because, C.J., the main reason I formed an alliance with you is this, that when I win the APW Undisputed Championship, I want it to be by pinning you, or making you submit. You, C.J. That's why you can trust my word when I say that I will not stab you in the back, I will not try to eliminate you any earlier before it comes down to just you and me. In fact, I'll do everything I can to keep you in the match. If somebody locks on a submission hold which you have no chance of escape from, I'll kick them in the back of the head! You get pinned, I'll break the count! This is a marriage of convenience, C.J. Gates, nothing more, nothing less. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. That's all this is, C.J., and I know that you know that. But you also know that when I give somebody my word, it actually means something, because as much as I lie, cheat, and steal, I don't hide that fact, which makes me the most honest man in APW. When I gave you my word that I would help you if you helped me, I meant it. You realize just as well as I do that the best shot either one of us has at winning the whole shebang is helping each other to make the final two. For all their posturing, all their puffing up of their chests, you know that Terry Marvin and Level-One have the same game plan. Kurt Noble and Chris Hart are the Tag Team Champions, so you know that they can work together as a team. And when it does come down to just you and me, we'll find out once and for all, who the better man truly is. You have my word, C.J., you have my word.”
“Azrael Goeren.”
“Chris Hart.”
“Kurt Noble.”
“Level-One.”
“Terry Marvin.”
“C.J. Gates.”
“Biggs.”
“The APW Undisputed Championship.”
“The Elimination Chamber.”
“Gentlemen, we have the ingredients for the biggest match in APW History! I know that each and every one of you will be bringing your best, and in Azrael's case, his best zebra shirt, but I also know that whoever walks away from this match the victor will undoubtedly be able to put the biggest feather in his cap following a match of such grand proportions! Gentlemen, we are all of us going into war. It will scar us. It will hurt us. It will change each of our lives forever! And yet, for one of us, we will emerge with the grandest prize in our industry, the one belt that says we are the best of the absolute best, the APW Undisputed Championship!”
“When each of us steps inside that Chamber, we are preparing ourselves to endure the kind of pain and suffering that none of us can even imagine. But let me ask all of you this, who in this match has gone through more pain and suffering than me? Sure, Chris was out of action for a month following his casket match, but I was out for eight months following my concussion! And yes, Kurt Noble is facing a divorce right now, but so am I! I'm used to pain, I'm used to suffering. I'll be at home in the Chamber...”
Biggs squeezes the chain link fence with his hand, so tightly that it draws blood in the palm of his hand. He heeds not attention to it as he continues to speak.
”I am ready for whatever the Chamber has to dish out to me. I am ready for whatever you guys have planned for me. I welcome the pain, I welcome the agony, because once it's over, I will feel nothing but immense pleasure in claiming my second APW Undisputed Championship. It will be worth anything and everything that gets thrown at me inside the Chamber. Chris Hart, Kurt Noble, Level-One, Terry Marvin, and C.J. Gates, I invite each and every one of you to just try and stop me!”
“I know I'll be doing everything I can to be that man, just as I know that each of you will be doing the same, but in the end, I will bring each and every one of you crashing down to Earth. Whether it takes the Spaced Out, whether it takes the UFO Frog Splash, or maybe even the Sharp Shooter, the fact is that I will become the next APW Undisputed Champion, because I am quite simply, OUT OF THIS WORLD!”
First Contact comes to a close with Biggs pulling his hood up and grabbing a cardboard box, laying it on the ground as a makeshift bed. “Spacewalker” plays as the APW logo and copyright flash across the bottom of the screen.
>SMACK!<
“Stunning” Stan Everdeen and myself have entered upon a rather sketchy shop in downtown Tokyo, and from the back, I hear screams of pain and agony, not to mention what sounds like whipping. A small, neebish man dressed in black pleather mans the counter in a small room that is all black. There's a pure black curtain right behind him that appears to lead to a hallway. When he sees us, he speaks very broken English.
”Can I help you?”
”One moment, please,” I politely tell the man, as I pull Stan aside. ”What the heck is this place, Stan? I don't think it's the massage parlor you told me it was!”
”Well, not exactly. When you told me that part of your training was to suffer as much as you could to get yourself numb to the pain you'll be facing inside the Elimination Chamber, well, this was the first place that came to mind!”
”So you thought a sex shop would be an appropriate place to bring me? Knowing my moral standards, knowing me as long as you have, you thought this would be appropriate!?”
Stan shrugs his shoulders. ”It's not a sex shop, it's a dominatrix shop! They're two very different things...”
”No they're not! They're the same darn thing! The guys that come here come to get their jollies off this sick, perverted behavior! You're lucky the sign was written in Japanese, because otherwise, I would have never come in here in the first place!” I turn to the shop keep, and politely nod, ”We'll be on our way, thank you...”
As I get ready to head out the door, Stan stops me. ”Actually, sir, I think I'm going to stay. I'll catch up with you later...”
”Fine, you pervert. I'll see you later.”
I head out of the shop, and almost immediately, my phone begins to ring. I look down to see that it's Ellie calling. She hasn't called me since Sweden. Considering we've already had everything taken care of from a legal standpoint in our divorce, I have no idea why she's calling. Still, it must be important if she's willing to pay the international fees.
”Hi Ellie, what's up?”
”What's up? Well, Gary, it's just that since Stockholm, I've been thinking. We really haven't had a chance to talk about things since you started on the European and Asian tour right after I filed for divorce. I was wondering if you would have time to talk.”
I plug my free ear with one of my fingers, to try and hear her better over the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
”I thought we'd already discussed everything that needs to be discussed. We settled out of court...”
”That's not what I'm calling about. I'm not happy with the way things ended between us. When I helped you back up the ramp after the tag match, it made me realize how much I care about you. Now I'm not saying that we should get back together, but I at least want to discuss the possibility of us being able to go forward as friends.”
I can't help but smile at the thought. ”I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. Listen, I can barely hear you, with all the racket that going on here in Tokyo. What if I send out my private jet to pick you up, and bring you here for dinner tomorrow night? I could even get you a ticket for the pay per view.”
I hear her giggle on the other end. ”I'd like that very much.”
”Okay, so it's a date. Well, not really a date, but you know what I mean!”
”Okay. Thanks. Bye!”
”Goodbye.”
I hang up my phone, and I can feel myself grinning from ear to ear. I know that I messed up my marriage, but the prospect of still having Ellie in my life, well, it's an opportunity that I can't pass up.
***
Depeche Mode's “Spacewalker” plays as the words FIRST CONTACT flash across the screen in big, bold blue letters. The music fades as the video transitions to Biggs, standing behind a chain-link fence in what appears to be an alley way. It's dark out, with the only light being the illumination of the shop signs and street lights, and even then, Biggs is far enough into the alley that he's barely visible. Biggs is dressed in a navy blue hoodie and blue jeans, and he has a dead serious look on his face as he begins to speak.
”Welcome ladies and gentlemen, one and all, to the absolute greatest wrestling web show the Internet has to offer, I speak of Biggs' First Contact! I am of course, your host, your guide, and otherwise really cool dude running this show, not to mention the next APW Undisputed Champion, Biggs!”
“Now many of you may be wondering why I'm standing out here like a vagrant, like a bum here in this alley in Tokyo, Japan, instead of enjoying the Tokyo nightlife, with all its bright lights, all its glitz, and all its inherent weirdness. It's quite simple really, I'm forcing myself to suffer, I'm forcing myself to feel discomfort. I'll be sleeping out here tonight, because in three short days, I will entering the most unforgiving, the most barbaric, the most brutal type of match that a professional wrestler can be involved in, and that is the Elimination Chamber! I'm putting myself through hell now, so that once I'm inside the Chamber, it will be like home. This is the kind of match that severely injures you, the kind that shortens your career. I know from experience that when you enter the Elimination Chamber, you don't leave the same man that you were before. It has a way of changing you. It has a way of making you question why you decided to enter it in the first place.”
“Five years ago, the last time I was in an Elimination Chamber Match, I was fighting for the CJMB Heavyweight Championship. I came up short in that match, and was so severely injured that I was forced to take six months off afterward. My shoulder was dislocated, and I required 15 stitches to close the gap in my forehead. And I endured this to come only in third place in that match. But at the time, I felt it was worth it, and I would still feel that way today. Just imagine how much more strongly I feel about getting the opportunity to compete for a title that I hold in much higher esteem, the richest prize our business has to offer, the APW Undisputed Championship!”
“This Sunday marks my first chance at winning the APW Undisputed Championship since December 18, 2011. That means it's been 312 days as of right now since I've gotten that opportunity, 315 by the day of the pay-per-view. I know that Undisputed Title Shots aren't given out like candy, I know that they are few and far between.”
“Which brings me to a source of contention with many of my opponents in the match, as well as many of the so-called experts on the Internet that say that I don't belong in this match. A common claim is that I'm only in this match for name value, that because I held the APW Undisputed Championship last year, that I'm getting in on my past accolades, not what I've accomplished lately. I've been called a has been, others have told me that I should have left my boots hanging instead of coming back after my concussion, people have said that I do not stand a chance of walking out of the Elimination Chamber as the new champion. It's been said that there are other people more deserving of my spot in the Chamber, that since I supposedly have no chance to win anyways, why not give one of the younger guys a chance?”
“The fact of the matter is that if my detractors are correct, their point will be proven on Sunday, and I won't last long in the Chamber at all. If they're right, I should be easy pickings for the likes of Level-One, Kurt Noble, C.J. Gates, and the APW Undisputed Champion, Terry Marvin. The only guy getting more flack than me is Chris Hart, and that's because he's the only guy in there who hasn't been the Undisputed Champion before. With a line up like that, if I truly am washed up, if my best days in the ring are truly behind me, then there's no way that I will last long inside the Elimination Chamber. I'll be in and out, without making much of an impact.”
“Of course, this viewpoint discounts several facts. First off, I'm only 27 years of age, hardly an old timer. In fact, it could be argued that I have yet to hit my prime! Also, would a has been be able to defeat Kurt Noble, and wrestle Terry Marvin to not one, but two draws? Sure, when I first returned, I got stuck in the kind of losing streak that would convince most competitors to hang it up for good. But I haven't given up, I haven't surrendered, I'm still going strong. I've made a career of taking advantage of any opportunity I've been given, and this Sunday is no different. Whether I deserved to be initially placed in the Chamber Match is a moot point at this time. I'm in the match, I've been given an opportunity at the title, and you can be darn sure that I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity that has been given to me!”
Biggs smirks a bit.
”This Sunday marks a golden opportunity for each and every man inside the Elimination Chamber. What other point in the year would five men get a shot at one time? It just doesn't happen outside the Elimination Chamber. I realize that I'm not the only guy who's hungry to succeed, I'm not the only guy who wants to take that title from Terry Marvin. This is quite possibly one of the most stacked lineups for this kind of match. Four former Undisputed Champions, the current Undisputed Champ, and a guy who at first could be described as a hanger-on, but after the last Overdrive, can now be described as a resilient son of a gun, well this is literally a match than any one of us can win!”
“Note that I didn't bring up the special guest referee Azrael Goeren. I don't know much about Goeren, and quite frankly, I don't care. If he does his job like he's supposed to, he'll be a non-factor in the match. I don't plan on messing with him, and if I leave him alone, he should leave me to do what I do best, and that is wrestle.”
“But onto my opponents for One Night in Hell, let me start with Chris Hart. Chris, I got to give it to you, coming back from the utter shellacking you received at the hands of Level-One in that Casket Match a month ago, well, that's impressive. Pardon the pun, but you've shown real heart by coming back, and being ready for this match. But let's be honest here, Chris, heart does not equal skill. Heart can only get you so far, in order to win a match like this, where you're the only guy who has not held the Undisputed Championship at some point, well, you're going to have to have the performance of your life! I can tell you from experience that winning the APW Undisputed Championship is not an easy thing. You don't get it by having the most sympathy points! You have to earn it.”
“Now you'd be the first to admit that your win-loss record in singles competition is less than enviable. And you probably can't count on your friend and co-Tag Team Champion Kurt Noble to have your back. After all, he's one loony dude. But more on him later. The bottom line, Chris Hart, is that you can have all the heart in the world, you can be the sentimental favorite, you can have every single person in the arena cheering you on, it doesn't mean jack squat once you find yourself trapped inside the unforgiving steel structure known as the Elimination Chamber! You think you felt pain in your Casket Match with Level-One? You think that you suffered during and after that match? Well, it's got nothing on the Chamber! And the fact that not only will your nemesis be in there, but four other guys trying to make sure that you don't leave as the champion, I'll be honest, Chris, as much as I like you, as much as I'm impressed by your comeback, I just don't see you being able to outlast five of the best wrestlers APW has to offer.”
“And that's exactly what Level-One, myself, C.J. Gates, Kurt Noble and Terry Marvin are, the best APW has to offer! We are the last five men to hold the championship, and I'll be honest, I don't like Terry's chances of walking out still the champ. Terry, when you beat Kurt Noble at Shockwave to gain the APW Undisputed Championship, it put a cap on the Year of Terry Marvin. When I was sidelined earlier this year, I got to see first hand just how much this really has been the year of Terry Marvin. From your Overdrive Title run, to winning Test for the Best, and capping it all off by defeating Kurt Noble, well, it's hard to have a much better nine months than that! Your year so far has undoubtedly been the most successful of anyone on the roster! But the key word is so far.”
“You know that you're going up against the odds, Terry. You've been trying to position yourself as a fan favorite, as a guy that the crowd can get behind. My question is why, Terry? Why do you care what the people think about you? The fact that you're Undisputed Champion should be reason enough for them to respect you. Not like you, but respect you. And I would wager to say that respect is much more important than adulation. What it tells me, Terry, is that you are more concerned about the perception of who you are, rather than being who you are. And you know Terry, that I've called many people out on this before, like Pence, Kurt Noble, Level-One, and now you. It's pointless, Terry, to give a darn what the crowd thinks of you, because like was saying about Chris, once you're in the Chamber, it comes down to your skill. Granted, the title around your waist proves that you do have what it takes to get it done in the ring, but there's no doubt in my mind that you're giving yourself an unnecessary distraction by trying to play up to crowd. They all know you're a heartless bastard, all of us in the back know you're a heartless bastard, so why don't you just be yourself, and be that heartless bastard inside the Elimination Chamber. You're going to have to be in order to win. Because like I said on Overdrive, by trying to win the crowd, you're going to have to watch how you act. You're going to have to hold back, and if there's one thing you cannot afford to do inside the Chamber, that is to hold back! You hold back, Terry, and you're going to lose, plain and simple.”
“But even if you do go all out, Terry, even if you let your true colors show, as you should, the fact is that this match does not favor you in the slightest. As the current reigning and defending APW Undisputed Champion, everyone inside the Chamber will be gunning for you. Level-One said as much, C.J. said the same, and right now, I'm telling you that you're my biggest target as well. And considering your recent actions with Kurt Noble's wife, Amy, I'd imagine he's looking to take you out as well. The fact is, whoever eliminates you from the match will get instant credibility, even more than they have going into the match! Because you can bet whoever pins you, even if they don't end up winning the match, their name will certainly be in the discussion for who faces the Champion at Christmas Chaos. You've got a target on your back, Terry, one that makes it to where you have nowhere to hide in this match. I know you're good, Terry. You wouldn't be undisputed Champion if you weren't. But are truly great, Terry? Can you withstand the onslaught of five other men who are trying to win your title? In all the times that APW has run the Elimination Chamber match, there has yet to be a successful title defense, Terry, and I have my doubts that you'll be able to be the first. When you say the odds are against you, you are not speaking in hyperbole. You are speaking in fact.”
“And the fact is, Terry Marvin, you are not leaving the Elimination Chamber still the APW Undisputed Champion, you will be leaving it as a defeated, broken man!”
“Speaking of defeated, broken men, this brings me to Kurt Noble. Kurt, it's a well known fact that I have your number. You have yet to defeat me in a one-on-one context, and you couldn't get the job done on Viewer's Choice night where the fans decided it would be fun to team us with our opponent's soon to be ex-spouse. Everyone's been talking about how you've snapped, how you've become a wild man, and how you've become a monster that we should all fear inside that Chamber. I'll be blunt, Kurt, I don't fear you. I can't! The effects this business has taken on your body are well documented. You have the bum knee that has limited your in-ring capabilities. You've never been the kind of guy to win matches because of your superior athletic ability and conditioning, you've won through smart wrestling and taking calculated risks. You've won with your brain, despite your body. By becoming, for lack of a better term, a raging beast, you neglect your greatest strength, your best asset, your brain. Take that away from you, Kurt Noble, which you've willingly given up, and you're nothing more than a wild animal in the cage that needs to be put down, Old Yeller style! If there's anyone in this match who's beaten up and washed up, and who's career has seen better days, it would be you, Kurt! You can come into the match with all the unbridled rage you want, you can come in with a complete disregard for anything, including yourself, but that's not a strength, Kurt, it's a weakness, one that I will gladly exploit inside the Chamber.”
“You will make a mistake, Kurt. When you're as out of control as you are, there's no possible way that you won't. And one mistake is all you need to make to ensure a short stay in the Elimination Chamber.”
“And if I may take a moment to talk to you man to man, Kurt, not as competitors, but as men, well, I just have to say that the way you have treated Amy Noble is nothing short of shameful. You have shown yourself to be a man lacking character, lacking any sort of integrity. I may be a bad man, but at least I'm honest about it. You, on the other hand, have let yourself go so completely that there's no possible way that you can redeem yourself, even if you somehow end up winning this match!”
“You're lost in more ways than one, Kurt, and this will get proven inside the Chamber.”
Biggs pauses for a bit, taking a drink of water before continuing.
“Level-One, what else is there to be said about you other than the fact that you're making the same mistakes heading into the Chamber as you did the last time we faced one another. You've been one of my most vocal critics, saying that I don't belong in this match. You've been saying that I don't have it anymore. Well, Lester, if that's the way you truly feel about me, then I'm a-ok with humbling you inside that chamber! Because, Lester, once again, you're overlooking me! You aren't taking me seriously, and quite frankly, I welcome that. You're going to be more focused on taking out Kurt Noble, C.J. Gates, and your pal, Terry Marvin. And while you're distracted with them, maybe I'll just come up right behind you, roll you up in a Small Package, and send you on your way out of the Chamber in the most humiliating way imaginable!”
“I get that this is your first title shot since Test for the Best 2011, where I defeated you for the APW Undisputed Championship. I know that you're hungrier for this opportunity than a Hungry Hungry Hippo. This is the longest you've had to wait between title opportunities your entire APW career. Since it's been a year and half, you're no doubt going to pull out all the stops inside the Chamber to ensure that you walk away with the title! But you know what, Lester, you're not the only one!”
“You are not entitled to become the champion, Lester. It's isn't your destiny! It isn't yours for the taking! The fact is that whoever leaves Tokyo as the Undisputed Champ will have to earn it, Lester, even you. You are not the sure thing that you think you are. You are not a shoe in to win this title, Level-One.”
“This whole time you've been palling around with Terry Marvin, you've been playing the second fiddle. You've let yourself become content in that role. And now, only now that you've gotten a title opportunity, you claim that you're the one who made Terry Marvin the man he is today? Correct me if I'm wrong, Lester, but earlier this year, when Terry was tearing up the Overdrive Title division, you were still aligned with Johnny Rebel. You had nothing to do with the success Terry had earlier this year. And again, correct me if I'm wrong, but Terry Marvin won Test for the Best by himself as well! It's not like he was tagging you in and out during his three matches that night! The thing is, Lester, you've always hated to see anyone besides yourself have success. It tears you up, it eats you up inside that you aren't the top guy, and rather then do something about it, rather then go out there and steal the show every night, you were content to be the top guy's side kick.”
“That's right, the all mighty Level-One, the man who dominated the main event scene like none other here in APW for the better part of two years, the two time Experts Champion, the four time Undisputed Champion, is Terry Marvin's side kick! The Robin to his Batman, the Tonto to his Lone Ranger. How the mighty have fallen, Level-One. You're no longer the unbeatable goliath you once were. I proved that a year and a half ago at Test for the Best, and you've done nothing but help to build that perception. Now my words here may very well come back to bite me in the butt when we find ourselves face to face in the Chamber, but then again, Lester, so will yours about me!”
“You're a heck of a competitor, Lester, but you've also grown soft. Well, soft by your standards, but still, the fact remains you are not the same Level-One who headlined three RassleMania's in a row. You are not the same Level-One who walked into the Elimination Chamber two years ago to defend the APW Undisputed Championship. You lost that match, Level-One. What makes you think you can win this one?”
“Finally, this brings me to C.J. Gates. Ceej, what is there to say between us that hasn't already been said. You're the only man in this match that I have absolutely no leverage over. Last year at this time, you were making a habit of defeating me in big time matches. You are the man responsible for putting me out of action for the better part of eight months. If there's anyone in this match that I should be worried about, it's you.”
“And there will be some that say that's why I tried to form alliance with you for this Sunday. And they're right, to a certain extent. Because, C.J., the main reason I formed an alliance with you is this, that when I win the APW Undisputed Championship, I want it to be by pinning you, or making you submit. You, C.J. That's why you can trust my word when I say that I will not stab you in the back, I will not try to eliminate you any earlier before it comes down to just you and me. In fact, I'll do everything I can to keep you in the match. If somebody locks on a submission hold which you have no chance of escape from, I'll kick them in the back of the head! You get pinned, I'll break the count! This is a marriage of convenience, C.J. Gates, nothing more, nothing less. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. That's all this is, C.J., and I know that you know that. But you also know that when I give somebody my word, it actually means something, because as much as I lie, cheat, and steal, I don't hide that fact, which makes me the most honest man in APW. When I gave you my word that I would help you if you helped me, I meant it. You realize just as well as I do that the best shot either one of us has at winning the whole shebang is helping each other to make the final two. For all their posturing, all their puffing up of their chests, you know that Terry Marvin and Level-One have the same game plan. Kurt Noble and Chris Hart are the Tag Team Champions, so you know that they can work together as a team. And when it does come down to just you and me, we'll find out once and for all, who the better man truly is. You have my word, C.J., you have my word.”
“Azrael Goeren.”
“Chris Hart.”
“Kurt Noble.”
“Level-One.”
“Terry Marvin.”
“C.J. Gates.”
“Biggs.”
“The APW Undisputed Championship.”
“The Elimination Chamber.”
“Gentlemen, we have the ingredients for the biggest match in APW History! I know that each and every one of you will be bringing your best, and in Azrael's case, his best zebra shirt, but I also know that whoever walks away from this match the victor will undoubtedly be able to put the biggest feather in his cap following a match of such grand proportions! Gentlemen, we are all of us going into war. It will scar us. It will hurt us. It will change each of our lives forever! And yet, for one of us, we will emerge with the grandest prize in our industry, the one belt that says we are the best of the absolute best, the APW Undisputed Championship!”
“When each of us steps inside that Chamber, we are preparing ourselves to endure the kind of pain and suffering that none of us can even imagine. But let me ask all of you this, who in this match has gone through more pain and suffering than me? Sure, Chris was out of action for a month following his casket match, but I was out for eight months following my concussion! And yes, Kurt Noble is facing a divorce right now, but so am I! I'm used to pain, I'm used to suffering. I'll be at home in the Chamber...”
Biggs squeezes the chain link fence with his hand, so tightly that it draws blood in the palm of his hand. He heeds not attention to it as he continues to speak.
”I am ready for whatever the Chamber has to dish out to me. I am ready for whatever you guys have planned for me. I welcome the pain, I welcome the agony, because once it's over, I will feel nothing but immense pleasure in claiming my second APW Undisputed Championship. It will be worth anything and everything that gets thrown at me inside the Chamber. Chris Hart, Kurt Noble, Level-One, Terry Marvin, and C.J. Gates, I invite each and every one of you to just try and stop me!”
“I know I'll be doing everything I can to be that man, just as I know that each of you will be doing the same, but in the end, I will bring each and every one of you crashing down to Earth. Whether it takes the Spaced Out, whether it takes the UFO Frog Splash, or maybe even the Sharp Shooter, the fact is that I will become the next APW Undisputed Champion, because I am quite simply, OUT OF THIS WORLD!”
First Contact comes to a close with Biggs pulling his hood up and grabbing a cardboard box, laying it on the ground as a makeshift bed. “Spacewalker” plays as the APW logo and copyright flash across the bottom of the screen.
