Post by C.J. Gates on Oct 26, 2012 15:47:57 GMT -4
"Get angry, C.J. Get fucking pissed!"
C.J. Gates looks over the top of his computer monitor at Renshaw in the make shift conference room office. He stares at Renshaw for a few moments before looking back down at the computer.
"Don't just look at me," Renshaw continues. "Get your head in the game! You're going up against four dangerous men and you need to be ready for what they are going to throw your way."
"I'm ready," Gates says coolly.
"Are you?" Renshaw ask sharply. "You could have fooled me. All you've done the past few days is sit around, maybe hit up the gym, but nothing that shows me your ready for what those four men are going to throw your way."
"I've been studying," Gates answers. "I'm getting myself prepared for what is coming. Besides, there's five other men I need to worry about. Six if you're going to count the referee in all of this."
"The referee," Renshaw snorts. "No one cares about the referee."
"Don't they?" Gates asks, looking back up at Renshaw. "There's a reason why Azrael Goeren was added to ref this match, and it wasn't because he's good looking. He's got something up his sleeve and President Jeff knows it. He knows that this will bring in the fans because they will all want to see what kind of shenanigans Goeren will pull."
"But he doesn't matter! He's not your opponent!"
"I'd argue that Goeren does matter, especially considering how much he hates me and how much of a factor he's going to be in the decision."
"So you fought against him a few times," Renshaw says. "So what? It's not like you stole anything from him."
"No, but Goeren doesn't forget easily," Gates says. "After what happened between he and I over in CWC, and then here at Survive and Conquer, I can say with certainty that if the opportunity was there for Goeren to hit me, he definitely would, and he would smile while doing it."
"But that's a big if," Renshaw says. "You should really be focused on the four men in the match that actually matter."
"Five."
Renshaw shakes his head. "Only four of them are actually going to pose a threat." Gates goes to open his mouth but Renshaw speaks first. "And I'm not talking about your little pseudo alliance with Biggs."
"So you're talking about Chris Hart, then."
"Of course," Renshaw says. "Compared to the rest of the people in the match, he's nothing. He's not the same threat that Noble is. He doesn't pose the same danger that Level One does, and he definitely doesn't manipulate like Terry Marvin."
"He's still a threat," Gates chimes in. "And I'm going to treat him like one. The last thing I want is to ignore him and pay the price."
"Trust me, there's no price to pay there," Renshaw says with a smile. "If you focus on the other four and ignore him, it won't make a difference."
"And how can you be so sure?"
"Because he hasn't done anything," Renshaw says, taking a seat. "He's just been there. You know how you felt last week? How you felt like you were just there? That's his actuality. You've at least held the Undisputed title and shown flashes of brilliance."
"So has Hart," Gates says.
"Not in APW," Renshaw says. "He's done nothing in APW to warrant me caring about his involvement in this match."
"Which is fine for you," Gates says, returning to the computer. "But that's not how I roll. I'm not going to ignore him because he hasn't made a huge impact. It's times like that when people make those impacts and end up shocking everyone."
"The only thing I would find shocking," Renshaw begins, "is if Hart was able to do something on his own. Looking back at some of those tag team wins he and Noble have, Noble did all the work and then Hart picked up the pieces."
"Which could happen at One Night in Hell if they work together, and I can't sit back and watch that happen."
"Even if they did, they wouldn't have a chance."
"Wouldn't they?" Gates asks. "No one gave me a chance last year, and I managed to stun a lot of people. Fighting against Sally Talfourd, they didn't think I had it in me and I came out on top. Test for the Best was seen to be anyone else's coming out party except mine, and I changed that story." Gates shakes his head. "Even when I beat Biggs people weren't giving me a chance."
"So?"
"So?" Gates asks. "So that means that I am not going to sit back and not give someone the benefit of the doubt. It happened to me and I proved people wrong. I'm not going to let Chris prove me wrong."
"Instead you're going to worry about what he probably won't do?" Renshaw asks with a shake of his head.
Gates rolls his eyes. "Yes, exactly."
"And yet you're just sitting around playing on your computer."
"I told you I'm studying."
"Studying what?" Renshaw asks. "Your financial figures?"
"My opponents," Gates says, motioning to the far side of the office where a muted television stands against the wall. On the television is a replay of the tag team title of Noble-Hart defending against Gates and Keaton Saint.
"And what's this supposed to do?" Renshaw asks swiveling to face the television. "Reliving those glory days that are holding you back?"
"I'm trying to get a better sense on how the two of them work as a team," Gates says. "I mean, there's always the possibility that Noble is too bat shit right now to actually work with his friend, but if they do I want to make sure I am not going to get caught off guard. As you said, this is a big match and I am going to make sure I'm ready at every possible turn."
"But this," Renshaw says motioning to the television. "This is a far cry from what I was talking about. I was talking about the dangers they all impose."
"What these two are capable of together is a danger."
"It's not the danger though. You're stepping into a match from hell and you're worried about what they're going to do as a team?"
"As a team they could dominate," Gates begins.
"So what? Terry Marvin and Level One are probably going to work as a team. You and Biggs have decided to do the same. What makes those two so special?"
"Because they are a team," Gates reminds Renshaw. "No matter what the rest of us say, those two have been through a lot as a unit and would be capable of working together if the moment called for it. The real question is whether or not Hart will want to work with Noble after everything that has gone on."
"The real question," Renshaw says, ignoring Gates, "is what you're going to do when you're faced with the pain and the punishment. Truthfully, I don't care what Frick and Frack do together. What I'm worried about, and what you should be worried about, is whether or not you're going to be able to withstand their punishment, and if you can dish it out in return."
Gates chuckles and smirks. "I've been through enough bullshit and pain to know that I'll be able to handle whatever is thrown my way at One Night in Hell?"
"Are you sure?" Renshaw asks.
"A year and a half ago I was nearly killed when Sally Talfourd attempted to crush me between two cars," Gates says in response. "During the fall of last year, I was receiving daily beatings at the hands of Biggs. In the new year, I had to put up with Johnny Rebel and Blade. Since then I've seem to become the whipping boy around here, with Level One, Terry Marvin, Stan Everdeen, Biggs and Kurt Noble taking their cracks on me."
Gates chuckles and shakes his head. "You want to know if I'm in the right mind frame? If I can handle pain. Trust me, I think the past two years has prepared me for any kind of pain someone can throw my way."
"Sure, you can recall them, but do you really remember them?"
"I've got the permanent reminders," Gates says as he removes his cowboy hat and rests it on the table top. He runs a finger along his hair line. "I've got the scars to remind me of everything that has happened to me, of everything that everyone has put me through."
Renshaw nods his head in silence as he rises from his seat, walks over to the television and turns it off. "Seems like you're well on your way to that mind frame, and since you're obviously not watching that, then what are you looking at over there?"
"I'm re-living."
"Re-living? What are you re-living?"
"I'm re-living the exact moment when this chamber went from being about everyone else to being my personal business," Gates says. He turns the computer monitor around which is showing, on repeat and muted, the ending from Overdrive two weeks ago.
"That is what I've been watching," Gates answers, leaning back in the chair and looking right at Renshaw. "You wanted me to be more into this match, you wanted me to grow a pair so that I could give it my all, so I am. The only way to do that is to watch this clip, to watch the pain that Kurt Noble put me through for no reason at all, and remember all the anger that I have toward that bastard."
"And what about everyone else?" Renshaw asks. "Are you just going to settle for making Noble's life hell, or are you going to have some of that anger left over for the others?"
"There will be more left over," Gates responds. "Like I said last time, for the most part, they've all wronged me in some way, so they're all going to be getting some payback in return. The only one that hasn't..."
"Is Chris Hart."
Gates nods. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to be ready for him, I just mean that he hasn't done anything to anger me. Yet. But the week is still young."
Renshaw looks long and hard at Gates. "Where the hell was this attitude before? Where was this type of C.J. Gates back when you were fighting for the Overdrive title?"
"My world hadn't been Noble'd yet," Gates says with a laugh. "Besides, the Undisputed title brings out a whole different character then the Overdrive title."
"A whole different monster, would you say?" Renshaw responds with a slight smirk.
Again, Gates smiles. "Exactly. The best part is that none of them think I have the ability. I've played the nice guy role for so long, they don't really know what I'm capable of. Well, with Biggs being the exception. I'd list Noble too, though a little birdie tells me he's not really going to bother remembering what kind of hell he and I took each other through at Rasslemania."
"I'm sure none of them will care," Renshaw responds, retaking his seat.
"You're probably right on that one," Gates says. "Which is sad, because if they did, they might actually learn something."
"About you?"
Gates nods. "They would be ready. Instead, they're all sitting back, worrying about someone else. Marvin, Level One and Noble think they have this match in the bag while Biggs and Hart are just trying to survive."
"And let me guess. You're going to razzle dazzle right into the spotlight."
"If by razzle dazzle you mean shock and awe, then yes, because while they are all paying attention to someone else, I'm going to pick up the pieces."
"But didn't you just say that was Hart's role?"
"I said that it could be, if someone doesn't get in his face and stop him," Gates reminds his colleague. "Don't get me wrong though, I'm not mailing this in. Not by a long shot. Just because I'm going to pick up the pieces doesn't mean that I'm not going to take the fight to them whenever I can."
"You sound ready," Renshaw says. "But the real test will be on Sunday when you step into the chamber. You never know how things will unfold. You could have the task of last the entire duration, or you could be the last one in the chamber."
"Oh, I've thought about all the possibilities, but in the end, they didn't really matter," Gates says. "The outcomes were all similar. There was pain dealt out at every moment, there was blood shed, and at the end of it, there was one man standing tall, holding that Undisputed championship.
"Me."
"A year ago, I was getting ready for a ladder match against Biggs. I was on top of the world, on top of my game and was entrenched in one of the best winning streaks. No one seemed capable of beating me, I seemed unbeatable, unstoppable, untouchable. I say seemed because everyone is capable of beating anyone, it's just that then, it seemed like everything was clicking in my favor. Every time someone came close to beating me, I managed to give it a little extra and pull out the victory. I put everything I had into every match, and every time I got knocked down I always got right back up. And during this time, I seemed to be etching my name deeper into APW lore, making it so that I would never be forgotten for what I did.
"Return to the present, a year later, and I am just that. Forgotten. I no longer seem important, but it's not the fans that think that, it's not them that have forgotten about all that I did, it's my colleagues. The men I have to share the ring with and, more specifically, the men I have to share the chamber with. If you ask them about last year, about my title reign and all that I did, everyone that I beat, you'd be hard pressed to get an answer that wasn't dripping in sarcasm.
"And why? How come? Is it jealousy?Are those men envious of what I had and how I dominated APW from Mayhem to Rasslemania? Are they angry that it wasn't them? That they didn't get to bask in that glory? Are they bitter? Confused as to how I managed to do it? Disappointed?
"It's hard to say, though I can assure you that the reason they will give is that they weren't here. Level One, Chris Hart, Terry Marvin, Kurt Noble. They were all MIA, unsigned or new to APW, and that will be their only reason for why I dominated for so long. For why I won the Undisputed title. 'It wasn't us' they'll say. 'We didn't lose to you' they'll bitch. The only one who can't claim that, who can't say that, is Biggs although he has an entirely different perspective on how everything went down. To him I was dominant, I was lucky. Fortunate.
"Bullshit.
"I was more than lucky, I was skilled. I was more than fortunate and I earned everything that was given to me. Yet people can't accept that and people still say that there should be an asterisk beside it because Terry Marvin couldn't handle things last year. Because Level One had taken a hiatus. Because Kurt Noble was too busy playing around with Johnny Rebel.
"Everyone seems to have an excuse for why I shouldn't have had the success that I did and all of them are different because none of them hold any water. None of them are true. They can make them up all they want, and they can spread rumors about me, but none of it is going to change the fact that I was the only person who actually wanted to defend APW. I was the only one who truly cared. Others claimed it, but none of them did a damn thing when the villains sauntered through those doors. And now, each of the five men that I have to fight against in the chamber are trying to find some way to tear me down, but failing so hard to do so.
"Level One's insults only make me laugh.
"Terry Marvin's cheating only makes me wonder how he can accept the Undisputed title he currently holds.
"Biggs' willingness to stab people in the back only makes me want to fend him off one more time.
"Chris Hart's affinity for taking all of the glory without any of the work makes me question his true abilities, and I want to test him.
"Kurt Noble attacking me to break my spirit only increases my desire to enter this chamber.
"Any attempts they were trying to make to keep me out of this match, to make me think twice, they didn't work. Some of them were more active then others, but each of them has done something to make me want to be in this match that much more. After all, this is a chance for me to prove myself to them, to the doubters, to those that think I can't successfully compete in a big match, and to those that think my Undisputed title win was a fluke.
"Will it matter? Well, if history has told me anything, it won't. No matter what I do in the elimination chamber, half of the participants are still going to mock me and poke fun at me for no real reason. They are going to make me seem like a no talent hack just because I'm not them. The weakest reasons that only go so far as to reveal who the weak really are.
"I mean, as I sit here I can't help but hear Level One call me out for having fans. He calls me the asshole in this equation because people are actually cheering me. One can only wonder why he would go to that length when two years ago he was begging for the fans to cheer for him. He was on his knees pleading with the fans to have his back against Sally Talfourd and Ryan Ruckus. Yet somehow, I'm the bad guy because I'm the one defending this federation from pieces of shit like Lester. Something just doesn't add up here, does it? Not that Lester will admit it because, after all, he's more concerned with his own little vendetta than he is with anything else. He's more worried trying to peak his head out of Terry Marvin's shadow then he is about telling the actual truth.
"But then again, he's one of the ones that is claiming foul because he wasn't here. Because unforeseen circumstances took him away from APW right after he was beaten by Biggs for the title. Convenient, no? I guess I should just suck it up and accept his label of fake for me. I've only ever claimed to fight every challenge that comes my way, give it my all, and I've never turned around and run away with my tail between my legs after suffering a loss.
"But Level One did, and not a single soul looks at him as anything but a legend.
"Just like they see Kurt Noble as a legend. Just like the name Kurt Noble makes people stand in awe. When he waltzed into APW back in 2011, everyone was ecstatic, and I can say that I was one of those people. But at the time, I was gaining an ally. I was gaining a friend that I could fight alongside, who could help me battle against some of the shit around APW. But a year later, all of that has changed. Noble is no longer noble, he's become something that no one can believe in, and his desire for revenge has outweighed everything that he once stood for.
"Now he's in salvage mode. He is trying to salvage his own sanity by gaining that revenge, and taking out everyone that stands in his way. He's turned into everything he fought against and why? Because Terry Marvin pushed his buttons? Or is it just that we're all seeing his true colors for the first time, and his good guy attitude was always just a plot to get everyone on his side.
"To get me on his side. At the end of it all, I feel like a pawn in Noble's game. I feel like he used me to get to where he is. Beating me at Rasslemania was one thing, using me as a pawn is an entirely different one. And then after what he did a few weeks ago? That's something that I can't forget, and it's not because I've been watching it on replay. It's just one of those moments that sticks with you, and stays in your mind forever. The type of incident that boils your blood and look for payback.
"Kurt Noble thinks he just took out his frustrations on me because I stopped him from ending Level One's chances, but what he really did is woke the beast. What he really did is piss me off.
"Just like Terry Marvin. Sure, he might not have beat my head in with a steel chair, and he might have saved me from having my skull caved in, but he hasn't done anything to endear himself to me. He might have won over the fans because he's playing the good to Noble's growing evil, but that's about all he's done. He's still a piece of trash, he's still the sort of man who would stab his own grandmother in the back. He claims that he's the best Undisputed champion that APW has seen, yet he seems to forget that he only won because Amy Noble made sure Kurt didn't win.
"And so does everyone else. Everyone seems to be cool with the fact that he didn't earn the title, yet if that was anyone else, if that was me in his situation, people would be questioning me at every possible moment. Maybe that's because Marvin is more of a smooth talker, or maybe it's just the hypocrisy that is going on right now. Either way it doesn't make me see Terry Marvin as an unstoppable force.
"Sure, he beat me in that Test for the Best qualifier, but that was an aided victory. What he forgets, and I'm sure it's the same thing everyone forgets, is that I have beaten Marvin one on one. I have beaten him, I've pinned him, and yet nobody really cares about that. Nobody gives me any credit for that, because they choose not to believe it. Even if I were to shout it from the rooftops, they would still just laugh it off.
"It's nothing new. It's the sort of reaction I'm used to getting from people. It's the sort of thing that is normal when you're dealing with an Undisputed champion who didn't earn the title.
"Which is where I'd place Chris Hart in all of this, since he hasn't earned the right to be in the match. If he wins at One Night in Hell, he would have earned it in that instance, but he wouldn't have paid the dues necessary to have actually earned it. He would have been the classic story of a man that fell into the luck of being the Undisputed champion. Of course, of everyone in this match, Chris Hart seems the least likely to win the title. If anything, it seems more like Hart is here to give Noble some sort of back up. It seems like he is just here to watch out for his buddy, to make sure that he doesn't spiral anymore out of control. And if Hart does win, it would have been because of what Noble has done. It would have been because someone else did all the work and let Hart pick up the pieces.
"I respect what Hart has done, but I think that right now he is in over his head. I think that at this moment he is still caught up playing second fiddle to Noble, at least as far as APW goes. And while I'm sure he has put up a lot of tough wins in the past, here, he's done nothing to really get my attention, aside from being beaten in that casket match by Level One.
"He hasn't won matches, he hasn't beaten big name talent. He made one return, one night, with one hell of a good momentum on his side, but other than that he's just...there. He is what I was feeling before. He is just that filler, that well known commodity that everyone is looking to to hopefully win. After all it would make a great story.
"I should know.
"I was there. I built up a similar reputation as a fan favorite and went on to win big match after big match, something that everyone seems to be trying to forget.
"Biggs knows that what I'm saying is true, because as much as he likes to make fun and joke, he knows that everything that happened last year was not because of luck. It was skill. It was all thanks to the fans backing me. Sure, I had his number, but that doesn't mean that the matches weren't hard fought. That doesn't mean that Biggs didn't give me everything that he had before ultimately falling short. But he did, and that's what made my Undisputed title win that much more validating. Knowing that I had taken a man like Biggs to the end and back again, that was my sign that I didn't just luck into the title. Because I didn't need to have a woman low blow my opponent, I knew that I had earned it.
"Now Biggs wants to hide behind the facade of teaming with me so that he can extract some sort of revenge at the end of the match. So that he can beat me for the title, something he couldn't do in the three times he tried. To Biggs my question is this: What's changed? What is different now that wasn't different back then? Has the concussion given him some sort of super powers? Obviously not, because I beat him at Test for the Best. Unless he's going to come out and tell me that he was only luring me into a false sense of security.
"Just more bullshit.
"But that's nothing new for Biggs. Just like his claim of being the most honest man in APW, he's just accustomed to spilling out lies. I mean, the most honest man because he admits to cheating? That in itself is an oxymoron, but it's something that Biggs has never really learned. I tried teaching it to him, but he still hasn't come to terms with it. Maybe he never will. Maybe it's one of those cases where he can't change his spots. Whatever the reason, I have to be careful of him. I have to make sure that he doesn't go back on his word, and I have to make sure that he doesn't try anything to gain an advantage over me.
"I have to make sure that Biggs doesn't do anything to stand between me and winning this match. Because that is what I'm aiming to do. In the past, in a match like this, I would just be looking to put on a good display. I would only be looking to give the fans something to cheer for, but now I'm doing more than that. I'm giving the fans something to cheer for by standing up to the other five men in the match. I'm making sure that they have a good match, but I'm also going to do what I can to win. I'm going to fight as hard as I can, I'm going to dish out all the punishment that I can, and I can going to do all that I can to win this match, beat these five men, and walk away with the APW Undisputed title around my waist one more time.
"But winning this match won't be easy that's for sure, but matches like this never are. When you put six of the top talents in one company, into an unforgiving structure and give them a bastard of a referee to work with, fireworks are bound to take flight. It's going to make walking out with a victory a near impossibility. But in the end, it's all worth it, because hopefully, whoever wins this match can say that they have definitely earned it. Hopefully I can say that I have earned it, just like I can say that I eventually earned my first Undisputed title one hundred percent.
"Something that Marvin is probably hoping for so that his reign can actually be earned and not handed to him. Not that he cares to share it with the class, but I'm sure it's floating around inside his head. Myself, I am going to do everything that I can to make sure that I regain the Undisputed title and return to the heights that I was at this time last year.
"To return to being the leader of this federation.
"The Shooting Star.
"The Firestarter.
"The North Dakota Cowboy.
"The White Knight.
"C.J. Gates.
"It's time to go big or go home."
C.J. Gates looks over the top of his computer monitor at Renshaw in the make shift conference room office. He stares at Renshaw for a few moments before looking back down at the computer.
"Don't just look at me," Renshaw continues. "Get your head in the game! You're going up against four dangerous men and you need to be ready for what they are going to throw your way."
"I'm ready," Gates says coolly.
"Are you?" Renshaw ask sharply. "You could have fooled me. All you've done the past few days is sit around, maybe hit up the gym, but nothing that shows me your ready for what those four men are going to throw your way."
"I've been studying," Gates answers. "I'm getting myself prepared for what is coming. Besides, there's five other men I need to worry about. Six if you're going to count the referee in all of this."
"The referee," Renshaw snorts. "No one cares about the referee."
"Don't they?" Gates asks, looking back up at Renshaw. "There's a reason why Azrael Goeren was added to ref this match, and it wasn't because he's good looking. He's got something up his sleeve and President Jeff knows it. He knows that this will bring in the fans because they will all want to see what kind of shenanigans Goeren will pull."
"But he doesn't matter! He's not your opponent!"
"I'd argue that Goeren does matter, especially considering how much he hates me and how much of a factor he's going to be in the decision."
"So you fought against him a few times," Renshaw says. "So what? It's not like you stole anything from him."
"No, but Goeren doesn't forget easily," Gates says. "After what happened between he and I over in CWC, and then here at Survive and Conquer, I can say with certainty that if the opportunity was there for Goeren to hit me, he definitely would, and he would smile while doing it."
"But that's a big if," Renshaw says. "You should really be focused on the four men in the match that actually matter."
"Five."
Renshaw shakes his head. "Only four of them are actually going to pose a threat." Gates goes to open his mouth but Renshaw speaks first. "And I'm not talking about your little pseudo alliance with Biggs."
"So you're talking about Chris Hart, then."
"Of course," Renshaw says. "Compared to the rest of the people in the match, he's nothing. He's not the same threat that Noble is. He doesn't pose the same danger that Level One does, and he definitely doesn't manipulate like Terry Marvin."
"He's still a threat," Gates chimes in. "And I'm going to treat him like one. The last thing I want is to ignore him and pay the price."
"Trust me, there's no price to pay there," Renshaw says with a smile. "If you focus on the other four and ignore him, it won't make a difference."
"And how can you be so sure?"
"Because he hasn't done anything," Renshaw says, taking a seat. "He's just been there. You know how you felt last week? How you felt like you were just there? That's his actuality. You've at least held the Undisputed title and shown flashes of brilliance."
"So has Hart," Gates says.
"Not in APW," Renshaw says. "He's done nothing in APW to warrant me caring about his involvement in this match."
"Which is fine for you," Gates says, returning to the computer. "But that's not how I roll. I'm not going to ignore him because he hasn't made a huge impact. It's times like that when people make those impacts and end up shocking everyone."
"The only thing I would find shocking," Renshaw begins, "is if Hart was able to do something on his own. Looking back at some of those tag team wins he and Noble have, Noble did all the work and then Hart picked up the pieces."
"Which could happen at One Night in Hell if they work together, and I can't sit back and watch that happen."
"Even if they did, they wouldn't have a chance."
"Wouldn't they?" Gates asks. "No one gave me a chance last year, and I managed to stun a lot of people. Fighting against Sally Talfourd, they didn't think I had it in me and I came out on top. Test for the Best was seen to be anyone else's coming out party except mine, and I changed that story." Gates shakes his head. "Even when I beat Biggs people weren't giving me a chance."
"So?"
"So?" Gates asks. "So that means that I am not going to sit back and not give someone the benefit of the doubt. It happened to me and I proved people wrong. I'm not going to let Chris prove me wrong."
"Instead you're going to worry about what he probably won't do?" Renshaw asks with a shake of his head.
Gates rolls his eyes. "Yes, exactly."
"And yet you're just sitting around playing on your computer."
"I told you I'm studying."
"Studying what?" Renshaw asks. "Your financial figures?"
"My opponents," Gates says, motioning to the far side of the office where a muted television stands against the wall. On the television is a replay of the tag team title of Noble-Hart defending against Gates and Keaton Saint.
"And what's this supposed to do?" Renshaw asks swiveling to face the television. "Reliving those glory days that are holding you back?"
"I'm trying to get a better sense on how the two of them work as a team," Gates says. "I mean, there's always the possibility that Noble is too bat shit right now to actually work with his friend, but if they do I want to make sure I am not going to get caught off guard. As you said, this is a big match and I am going to make sure I'm ready at every possible turn."
"But this," Renshaw says motioning to the television. "This is a far cry from what I was talking about. I was talking about the dangers they all impose."
"What these two are capable of together is a danger."
"It's not the danger though. You're stepping into a match from hell and you're worried about what they're going to do as a team?"
"As a team they could dominate," Gates begins.
"So what? Terry Marvin and Level One are probably going to work as a team. You and Biggs have decided to do the same. What makes those two so special?"
"Because they are a team," Gates reminds Renshaw. "No matter what the rest of us say, those two have been through a lot as a unit and would be capable of working together if the moment called for it. The real question is whether or not Hart will want to work with Noble after everything that has gone on."
"The real question," Renshaw says, ignoring Gates, "is what you're going to do when you're faced with the pain and the punishment. Truthfully, I don't care what Frick and Frack do together. What I'm worried about, and what you should be worried about, is whether or not you're going to be able to withstand their punishment, and if you can dish it out in return."
Gates chuckles and smirks. "I've been through enough bullshit and pain to know that I'll be able to handle whatever is thrown my way at One Night in Hell?"
"Are you sure?" Renshaw asks.
"A year and a half ago I was nearly killed when Sally Talfourd attempted to crush me between two cars," Gates says in response. "During the fall of last year, I was receiving daily beatings at the hands of Biggs. In the new year, I had to put up with Johnny Rebel and Blade. Since then I've seem to become the whipping boy around here, with Level One, Terry Marvin, Stan Everdeen, Biggs and Kurt Noble taking their cracks on me."
Gates chuckles and shakes his head. "You want to know if I'm in the right mind frame? If I can handle pain. Trust me, I think the past two years has prepared me for any kind of pain someone can throw my way."
"Sure, you can recall them, but do you really remember them?"
"I've got the permanent reminders," Gates says as he removes his cowboy hat and rests it on the table top. He runs a finger along his hair line. "I've got the scars to remind me of everything that has happened to me, of everything that everyone has put me through."
Renshaw nods his head in silence as he rises from his seat, walks over to the television and turns it off. "Seems like you're well on your way to that mind frame, and since you're obviously not watching that, then what are you looking at over there?"
"I'm re-living."
"Re-living? What are you re-living?"
"I'm re-living the exact moment when this chamber went from being about everyone else to being my personal business," Gates says. He turns the computer monitor around which is showing, on repeat and muted, the ending from Overdrive two weeks ago.
Noble looks at Gates with fury in his eyes as the two argue heatedly. Gates screams at Kurt, and Kurt slumps his shoulders like a wounded puppy. Just as Gates drops his guard, Kurt springs to life with a kick to the gut and a NOBLE NECKBREAKER!
Noble picks up the chair and repeatedly smashes it against Gate’s head. He then ties Gates into the ropes and screams at him as he readies the Chair. He comes running full speed at Gates.
Noble picks up the chair and repeatedly smashes it against Gate’s head. He then ties Gates into the ropes and screams at him as he readies the Chair. He comes running full speed at Gates.
"That is what I've been watching," Gates answers, leaning back in the chair and looking right at Renshaw. "You wanted me to be more into this match, you wanted me to grow a pair so that I could give it my all, so I am. The only way to do that is to watch this clip, to watch the pain that Kurt Noble put me through for no reason at all, and remember all the anger that I have toward that bastard."
"And what about everyone else?" Renshaw asks. "Are you just going to settle for making Noble's life hell, or are you going to have some of that anger left over for the others?"
"There will be more left over," Gates responds. "Like I said last time, for the most part, they've all wronged me in some way, so they're all going to be getting some payback in return. The only one that hasn't..."
"Is Chris Hart."
Gates nods. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to be ready for him, I just mean that he hasn't done anything to anger me. Yet. But the week is still young."
Renshaw looks long and hard at Gates. "Where the hell was this attitude before? Where was this type of C.J. Gates back when you were fighting for the Overdrive title?"
"My world hadn't been Noble'd yet," Gates says with a laugh. "Besides, the Undisputed title brings out a whole different character then the Overdrive title."
"A whole different monster, would you say?" Renshaw responds with a slight smirk.
Again, Gates smiles. "Exactly. The best part is that none of them think I have the ability. I've played the nice guy role for so long, they don't really know what I'm capable of. Well, with Biggs being the exception. I'd list Noble too, though a little birdie tells me he's not really going to bother remembering what kind of hell he and I took each other through at Rasslemania."
"I'm sure none of them will care," Renshaw responds, retaking his seat.
"You're probably right on that one," Gates says. "Which is sad, because if they did, they might actually learn something."
"About you?"
Gates nods. "They would be ready. Instead, they're all sitting back, worrying about someone else. Marvin, Level One and Noble think they have this match in the bag while Biggs and Hart are just trying to survive."
"And let me guess. You're going to razzle dazzle right into the spotlight."
"If by razzle dazzle you mean shock and awe, then yes, because while they are all paying attention to someone else, I'm going to pick up the pieces."
"But didn't you just say that was Hart's role?"
"I said that it could be, if someone doesn't get in his face and stop him," Gates reminds his colleague. "Don't get me wrong though, I'm not mailing this in. Not by a long shot. Just because I'm going to pick up the pieces doesn't mean that I'm not going to take the fight to them whenever I can."
"You sound ready," Renshaw says. "But the real test will be on Sunday when you step into the chamber. You never know how things will unfold. You could have the task of last the entire duration, or you could be the last one in the chamber."
"Oh, I've thought about all the possibilities, but in the end, they didn't really matter," Gates says. "The outcomes were all similar. There was pain dealt out at every moment, there was blood shed, and at the end of it, there was one man standing tall, holding that Undisputed championship.
"Me."
------------------------------------------
"A year ago, I was getting ready for a ladder match against Biggs. I was on top of the world, on top of my game and was entrenched in one of the best winning streaks. No one seemed capable of beating me, I seemed unbeatable, unstoppable, untouchable. I say seemed because everyone is capable of beating anyone, it's just that then, it seemed like everything was clicking in my favor. Every time someone came close to beating me, I managed to give it a little extra and pull out the victory. I put everything I had into every match, and every time I got knocked down I always got right back up. And during this time, I seemed to be etching my name deeper into APW lore, making it so that I would never be forgotten for what I did.
"Return to the present, a year later, and I am just that. Forgotten. I no longer seem important, but it's not the fans that think that, it's not them that have forgotten about all that I did, it's my colleagues. The men I have to share the ring with and, more specifically, the men I have to share the chamber with. If you ask them about last year, about my title reign and all that I did, everyone that I beat, you'd be hard pressed to get an answer that wasn't dripping in sarcasm.
"And why? How come? Is it jealousy?Are those men envious of what I had and how I dominated APW from Mayhem to Rasslemania? Are they angry that it wasn't them? That they didn't get to bask in that glory? Are they bitter? Confused as to how I managed to do it? Disappointed?
"It's hard to say, though I can assure you that the reason they will give is that they weren't here. Level One, Chris Hart, Terry Marvin, Kurt Noble. They were all MIA, unsigned or new to APW, and that will be their only reason for why I dominated for so long. For why I won the Undisputed title. 'It wasn't us' they'll say. 'We didn't lose to you' they'll bitch. The only one who can't claim that, who can't say that, is Biggs although he has an entirely different perspective on how everything went down. To him I was dominant, I was lucky. Fortunate.
"Bullshit.
"I was more than lucky, I was skilled. I was more than fortunate and I earned everything that was given to me. Yet people can't accept that and people still say that there should be an asterisk beside it because Terry Marvin couldn't handle things last year. Because Level One had taken a hiatus. Because Kurt Noble was too busy playing around with Johnny Rebel.
"Everyone seems to have an excuse for why I shouldn't have had the success that I did and all of them are different because none of them hold any water. None of them are true. They can make them up all they want, and they can spread rumors about me, but none of it is going to change the fact that I was the only person who actually wanted to defend APW. I was the only one who truly cared. Others claimed it, but none of them did a damn thing when the villains sauntered through those doors. And now, each of the five men that I have to fight against in the chamber are trying to find some way to tear me down, but failing so hard to do so.
"Level One's insults only make me laugh.
"Terry Marvin's cheating only makes me wonder how he can accept the Undisputed title he currently holds.
"Biggs' willingness to stab people in the back only makes me want to fend him off one more time.
"Chris Hart's affinity for taking all of the glory without any of the work makes me question his true abilities, and I want to test him.
"Kurt Noble attacking me to break my spirit only increases my desire to enter this chamber.
"Any attempts they were trying to make to keep me out of this match, to make me think twice, they didn't work. Some of them were more active then others, but each of them has done something to make me want to be in this match that much more. After all, this is a chance for me to prove myself to them, to the doubters, to those that think I can't successfully compete in a big match, and to those that think my Undisputed title win was a fluke.
"Will it matter? Well, if history has told me anything, it won't. No matter what I do in the elimination chamber, half of the participants are still going to mock me and poke fun at me for no real reason. They are going to make me seem like a no talent hack just because I'm not them. The weakest reasons that only go so far as to reveal who the weak really are.
"I mean, as I sit here I can't help but hear Level One call me out for having fans. He calls me the asshole in this equation because people are actually cheering me. One can only wonder why he would go to that length when two years ago he was begging for the fans to cheer for him. He was on his knees pleading with the fans to have his back against Sally Talfourd and Ryan Ruckus. Yet somehow, I'm the bad guy because I'm the one defending this federation from pieces of shit like Lester. Something just doesn't add up here, does it? Not that Lester will admit it because, after all, he's more concerned with his own little vendetta than he is with anything else. He's more worried trying to peak his head out of Terry Marvin's shadow then he is about telling the actual truth.
"But then again, he's one of the ones that is claiming foul because he wasn't here. Because unforeseen circumstances took him away from APW right after he was beaten by Biggs for the title. Convenient, no? I guess I should just suck it up and accept his label of fake for me. I've only ever claimed to fight every challenge that comes my way, give it my all, and I've never turned around and run away with my tail between my legs after suffering a loss.
"But Level One did, and not a single soul looks at him as anything but a legend.
"Just like they see Kurt Noble as a legend. Just like the name Kurt Noble makes people stand in awe. When he waltzed into APW back in 2011, everyone was ecstatic, and I can say that I was one of those people. But at the time, I was gaining an ally. I was gaining a friend that I could fight alongside, who could help me battle against some of the shit around APW. But a year later, all of that has changed. Noble is no longer noble, he's become something that no one can believe in, and his desire for revenge has outweighed everything that he once stood for.
"Now he's in salvage mode. He is trying to salvage his own sanity by gaining that revenge, and taking out everyone that stands in his way. He's turned into everything he fought against and why? Because Terry Marvin pushed his buttons? Or is it just that we're all seeing his true colors for the first time, and his good guy attitude was always just a plot to get everyone on his side.
"To get me on his side. At the end of it all, I feel like a pawn in Noble's game. I feel like he used me to get to where he is. Beating me at Rasslemania was one thing, using me as a pawn is an entirely different one. And then after what he did a few weeks ago? That's something that I can't forget, and it's not because I've been watching it on replay. It's just one of those moments that sticks with you, and stays in your mind forever. The type of incident that boils your blood and look for payback.
"Kurt Noble thinks he just took out his frustrations on me because I stopped him from ending Level One's chances, but what he really did is woke the beast. What he really did is piss me off.
"Just like Terry Marvin. Sure, he might not have beat my head in with a steel chair, and he might have saved me from having my skull caved in, but he hasn't done anything to endear himself to me. He might have won over the fans because he's playing the good to Noble's growing evil, but that's about all he's done. He's still a piece of trash, he's still the sort of man who would stab his own grandmother in the back. He claims that he's the best Undisputed champion that APW has seen, yet he seems to forget that he only won because Amy Noble made sure Kurt didn't win.
"And so does everyone else. Everyone seems to be cool with the fact that he didn't earn the title, yet if that was anyone else, if that was me in his situation, people would be questioning me at every possible moment. Maybe that's because Marvin is more of a smooth talker, or maybe it's just the hypocrisy that is going on right now. Either way it doesn't make me see Terry Marvin as an unstoppable force.
"Sure, he beat me in that Test for the Best qualifier, but that was an aided victory. What he forgets, and I'm sure it's the same thing everyone forgets, is that I have beaten Marvin one on one. I have beaten him, I've pinned him, and yet nobody really cares about that. Nobody gives me any credit for that, because they choose not to believe it. Even if I were to shout it from the rooftops, they would still just laugh it off.
"It's nothing new. It's the sort of reaction I'm used to getting from people. It's the sort of thing that is normal when you're dealing with an Undisputed champion who didn't earn the title.
"Which is where I'd place Chris Hart in all of this, since he hasn't earned the right to be in the match. If he wins at One Night in Hell, he would have earned it in that instance, but he wouldn't have paid the dues necessary to have actually earned it. He would have been the classic story of a man that fell into the luck of being the Undisputed champion. Of course, of everyone in this match, Chris Hart seems the least likely to win the title. If anything, it seems more like Hart is here to give Noble some sort of back up. It seems like he is just here to watch out for his buddy, to make sure that he doesn't spiral anymore out of control. And if Hart does win, it would have been because of what Noble has done. It would have been because someone else did all the work and let Hart pick up the pieces.
"I respect what Hart has done, but I think that right now he is in over his head. I think that at this moment he is still caught up playing second fiddle to Noble, at least as far as APW goes. And while I'm sure he has put up a lot of tough wins in the past, here, he's done nothing to really get my attention, aside from being beaten in that casket match by Level One.
"He hasn't won matches, he hasn't beaten big name talent. He made one return, one night, with one hell of a good momentum on his side, but other than that he's just...there. He is what I was feeling before. He is just that filler, that well known commodity that everyone is looking to to hopefully win. After all it would make a great story.
"I should know.
"I was there. I built up a similar reputation as a fan favorite and went on to win big match after big match, something that everyone seems to be trying to forget.
"Biggs knows that what I'm saying is true, because as much as he likes to make fun and joke, he knows that everything that happened last year was not because of luck. It was skill. It was all thanks to the fans backing me. Sure, I had his number, but that doesn't mean that the matches weren't hard fought. That doesn't mean that Biggs didn't give me everything that he had before ultimately falling short. But he did, and that's what made my Undisputed title win that much more validating. Knowing that I had taken a man like Biggs to the end and back again, that was my sign that I didn't just luck into the title. Because I didn't need to have a woman low blow my opponent, I knew that I had earned it.
"Now Biggs wants to hide behind the facade of teaming with me so that he can extract some sort of revenge at the end of the match. So that he can beat me for the title, something he couldn't do in the three times he tried. To Biggs my question is this: What's changed? What is different now that wasn't different back then? Has the concussion given him some sort of super powers? Obviously not, because I beat him at Test for the Best. Unless he's going to come out and tell me that he was only luring me into a false sense of security.
"Just more bullshit.
"But that's nothing new for Biggs. Just like his claim of being the most honest man in APW, he's just accustomed to spilling out lies. I mean, the most honest man because he admits to cheating? That in itself is an oxymoron, but it's something that Biggs has never really learned. I tried teaching it to him, but he still hasn't come to terms with it. Maybe he never will. Maybe it's one of those cases where he can't change his spots. Whatever the reason, I have to be careful of him. I have to make sure that he doesn't go back on his word, and I have to make sure that he doesn't try anything to gain an advantage over me.
"I have to make sure that Biggs doesn't do anything to stand between me and winning this match. Because that is what I'm aiming to do. In the past, in a match like this, I would just be looking to put on a good display. I would only be looking to give the fans something to cheer for, but now I'm doing more than that. I'm giving the fans something to cheer for by standing up to the other five men in the match. I'm making sure that they have a good match, but I'm also going to do what I can to win. I'm going to fight as hard as I can, I'm going to dish out all the punishment that I can, and I can going to do all that I can to win this match, beat these five men, and walk away with the APW Undisputed title around my waist one more time.
"But winning this match won't be easy that's for sure, but matches like this never are. When you put six of the top talents in one company, into an unforgiving structure and give them a bastard of a referee to work with, fireworks are bound to take flight. It's going to make walking out with a victory a near impossibility. But in the end, it's all worth it, because hopefully, whoever wins this match can say that they have definitely earned it. Hopefully I can say that I have earned it, just like I can say that I eventually earned my first Undisputed title one hundred percent.
"Something that Marvin is probably hoping for so that his reign can actually be earned and not handed to him. Not that he cares to share it with the class, but I'm sure it's floating around inside his head. Myself, I am going to do everything that I can to make sure that I regain the Undisputed title and return to the heights that I was at this time last year.
"To return to being the leader of this federation.
"The Shooting Star.
"The Firestarter.
"The North Dakota Cowboy.
"The White Knight.
"C.J. Gates.
"It's time to go big or go home."
