Post by Chaos Stryke on Nov 1, 2012 13:01:08 GMT -4
A black and white video offers panning views of the interior of the Tokyo Dome during the One Night in Hell pay per view a few nights ago.
“One Night in Hell did not pan out for me… not even remotely as well as I might have hoped…”
We see a quick series of snapshots of the seven competitors from the North American championship match, followed by video Streets Wilson’s and Young Mannie’s eliminations.
“Fifth… out of a field of seven. That was the best I could do… Fifth.”
A clip of Logan being hit by Michael Lively’s Prelude, then Lively sliding out of the ring and holding onto Logan’s arm and leg, preventing him from reaching his feet before the ten count finished plays.
“I went to the ring and I did much of what I had intended. I never touched a weapon in that match. I put down four different competitors and one celebrity with the Stryke Force, reaffirming it as one of the best instant finishing moves in the business. On any other night, I could have pinned Williams, Shadow, Lively, or Mannie. Only Mannie didn’t get back up on Sunday though. I stepped into an environment that didn’t favour me and I made a mark… left an impression. I was able to hold my own. But it doesn’t offer any comfort in the end. It doesn’t make the hollow feeling from losing any better…”
“I’m sure I can look back through my career and find lots of blown calls… but the one from Sunday night I believe tops most of them. I got hit with Lively’s Prelude and then he actually resorted to physically holding me down… and the ref missed it. Actually THREE refs missed it. So… my big opportunity to win the North American championship ended like that. I wasn’t that beaten up. I wasn’t unable continue. I was the only person eliminated in the match who was on his feet by the time the ref finished the count. I could have gone through a few more people there. I wasn’t ready to give up when I was cheated out of my opportunity… but I can’t do anything about it… I’m not going to cry to the GM about what happened like Williams did after the steel cage match. I’m stuck with the fact that my opportunity is gone… Nothing will give that back.”
Clips of Aubrey Parker, during the match, play. Her part in Shadow’s elimination, trading signature moves with Krunk and knocking him from the stage, and Logan joining her to celebrate are shown.
“Instead… I’m going be proud of my partner. Aubrey Parker did what six people in that last person standing match didn’t think she could. She outlasted everyone. She helped put Shadow down and knocked out Williams for the third match in a row. And when she did and ended the match, I was back out there to celebrate with her on the stage. That shows how much I still had left at that point. I carried her on my shoulders for a while so she could celebrate her victory. I said to her before the match that if I couldn’t get the job done, I was counting on her to do it. And she did. She earned it. She deserves it…”
“Yet… that doesn’t remove that nagging doubt that if I hadn’t been cheated by Lively, I could be the one carrying the title now… I have nothing to base that on though. I might have won, but I might still have been eliminated without making the final four. I don’t know… and that’s what hurts the most… not knowing and never being able to. All I really wanted was a clean result, win or lose. If I was going to fail, I was going to give everything I had… but that didn’t happen. I was denied that. Mine was not a spectacular end that everyone else received win or lose… nor even a noteworthy one. Everyone else went out with a bang… I went with hardly more than a whimper… A truly forgettable moment that will now forever be etched in my mind…”
We shift to colour shot of Logan, sitting on a locker room bench, leaning forward, his elbows braced against his legs, holding his head in his hands, his gaze down towards the floor.
“I look at Aubrey… and I see her as being the opposite of everything I am now. Happy, excited, definitely in the best mood I’ve seen her in since we met up months ago. Her ring form isn’t perfect, but execution cannot be faulted, her record shows it. No one has beaten her directly. She is the champion of Meltdown. And she will carry that title well and for as long as she wants.”
“I… have none of that…”
“I have disappointment and regrets. No championship and nothing lined up for the future. I have nothing good to take out of my last match. So far, I’m a borderline talent here. I’ve looked good… but usually only in matches with Aubrey… When I agreed to accompany her to APW, it was as a guide for her… a teacher and trainer. But it seems I’m more reliant on her than the reverse. At the moment, I’m someone she can trust… that’s all I offer her… and that’s not enough.”
“I need to change that… I can’t have real success if I need to rely on her for everything. She’s the North American champion. She has her own concerns… she can’t get bogged carrying her partner through every outing.”
“Maybe… things have changed too much since I’ve been gone… Four years removed from my last true run of success, two years removed from action. I’ve got to adapt. I have to figure out how… That’s the problem though… how?”
The image fades to black.
We open again to a scene in the Alexander home. The camera is focused on Logan, lying mostly on the couch in his living room. He has one arm across his face, his forearm covering his eyes. One leg hangs off the side of the couch, his foot on the floor. His other arm hangs down from the couch, his hand resting atop his cat lying there. The camera holds relatively still for a while, before shifting to a higher and closer vantage beside the couch. A familiar voice, one from a few weeks ago, speaks from near the camera.
“So… are you just going to spend your time lying there?”
“Do I have pressing demands that need to be taken care of?”
“You do have a match this week. Aubrey has tried to get in touch with you since you’ve been home. Diamond would probably appreciate more of your attention. And if that isn’t enough, I could get a list of chores together for you.”
Logan reply is short and dismissive.
“So… nothing pressing.”
Her reply is curious.
“Really?”
Logan frowns, but doesn’t shift otherwise.
“I can’t prepare for a match when I don’t know what I’m doing. Aubrey probably doesn’t really need me for anything important. The cat will survive. Chores can wait.”
“You know… I didn’t expect to see you moping around the house again.”
He sighs softly.
“I tend to mope when I publicly embarrass myself.”
“I thought you weren’t going to worry about work here once we got married.”
“I didn’t realize someone would convince me to get back in the ring after.”
“Liar.”
Logan shifts his arm up to his forehead and looks towards but not right at the camera.
“I knew at some point you’d go back. You did too. You just didn’t know when. Now here we are, and you’re suddenly brooding around the house every other week.”
“It’s what I’ve done for years, all right? When I get put in my place, I step back and think about what went wrong rather than trying to push ahead when I may do the same thing again.”
“And since when was this state your place?”
He looks away.
“Since I decided to let my arrogance call the shots…”
Silence stretches between them. She knows he’ll resume soon enough.
“I walked into that match anticipating I would go through the rest of the competition and win my first title in APW.
He shakes his head sadly.
“I haven’t risen to a challenge here yet, but suddenly I thought I was going to outlast seven people, or at least be one of the last two or three. Instead of fighting smart… I fought like I couldn’t lose… and Lively got one over on me. I’ve had a few days now, and if I’d been smart on Sunday I’d have slid out of the ring, landed on my feet, and beat the crap out of him on the floor. Instead, I took the harder path and lost.”
“I should have accomplished more. I should have been able to do better on Sunday night. I should have been able to outlast someone like Shadow or Williams or Lively… When I had to leave, I was still ready to continue. I had more left to give, but I squandered my chance… I was foolish and let my chance slip through my fingers. Now… I’m not a champion or a possible contender… I’m just another guy on the roster. I’m just… average…”
He closes his eyes and lets out a breath, seemingly deflating before the camera.
“Well… you know what that means?”
Logan glances towards her and the camera.
“What?”
“You’re at a starting point. Not a fresh start, but a place where you can improve yourself from. You have nothing to worry about, and nothing coming up to focus or prepare for, so you can deal with getting your things sorted out. You’re not in a title or contender’s match this week, but even if you were, just take your time. You don’t have to win either, you just need to find what works. Stop worrying about getting to the top. When you first got to APW, you said you would take your time. But once you got a title opportunity, you tried to position yourself as the inevitable winner without finding your footing here. This isn’t AWA or ACW. You settled in quickly in those places so you had quick success. Don’t expect that here.”
The camera moves closer and we see that Logan is listening attentively.
“You’re a teacher. You know you never stop learning. So learn more about what it takes to be successful here. Adjust your approach. Modify you tactics. Don’t just settle into what’s comfortable for you. And don’t expect the same methods to generate different results. You can do this.”
Logan continues to just stare and the scene fades out before he replies
The scene has shifted again and we find Logan sitting on a locker room bench, leaning forward, his elbows braced against his legs, holding his head in his hands, his gaze down towards the floor. The camera offers a wide view of the room and we can see that Logan is the only one there. He speaks softly, to himself, as the camera isn’t close enough to pick up his words. He slowly lets out a breath then lifts his head to look towards the camera. He looks tired, resigned, as he lowers his hands down, resting his forearms on his thighs while he remains bent forward.
“Not a fresh start… but a starting point. I’m back to picking up the pieces this week. I had a colossal failure last week, so now I have to try and rebound. I’m really not sure what I’m going to do. I was outlasted by four people. The finalists have a rematch this week. Three and four are gone to Overdrive. If that makes me the default number three on Meltdown… then it’s a big drop in quality from the top two, given my recent performances.”
“I can’t sit here and say I’m anything noteworthy. I’m in the slot right before the main event… but that’s just because I happen to be the next guy in line by elimination. Look at my opponent… he’s a ‘new’ guy with a hot streak. He’s got more credibility than I do now. I’ll figure out how to deal with that though. Either I’ll fix it or I won’t be in this spot anymore.”
He drops his gaze again looking down at the floor while he seemingly considers the implications of his last sentence. He lifts his gaze to the camera again.
“Tuhoa Valo, the Finnish Phenom, has grand plans for APW. He’s off to a great start as well. Beaten two rookies in his debut, then knocked off two slightly more established wrestlers in one on one matches. It’s nothing to brag about, but we all do it from time to time. He’s going to clean up American wrestling and was going to start with APW. I don’t know about the former, but I didn’t think the latter sounded half bad.”
“I’m always up for raising the bar. Lord know need a reminder every so often. Sometimes that’s what stragglers need to pick things up. ‘This is the standard. This is what you have to deal with, so get used to it or get out.’ I can relate to now cause that’s where I am. I don’t measure up to the standard, so I get used to being like this, or I do something about it. I don’t want to remain like this or walking away so that gives me one option.”
“I face Valo’s judgment this week and see if I can prove myself or not. Can I show I deserve to be here? Can I prove I am someone here on Meltdown? Or am I going to continue my decline and disappear into the shadow of my partner? I don’t think of myself as someone who rolls over and just accepts things as inevitable. My only choice is to fight and see where the chips fall.”
Logan pushes himself up, looking at the camera with something resembling determination in his expression.
“Looking at Valo, he’s got height, size, power, and momentum advantages against me. In the past I’ve been able to handle such shortcomings on my end, so in theory I should be able to do the same now. I just can’t take it for granted. He’s put down a collection of lesser competitors and I’d rather not get added to them.”
“He’s got a potent offence of suplexes and submissions. It’s a strategy I can relate to, punish the opponent and slap on holds to wear them down further or attack any injured areas. Valo doesn’t come across as a strong submission wrestler though. He seems like more of a high impact competitor from watching his matches. You see lots of powerful jarring blows and all leading towards Commence Destruction, which is another overly fancy twisting neck breaker variation. If I’ve got my wits about me, I know I can get out of that move… might even be able to turn it into a Stryke Force if I’m on the ball.”
He paces slowly along the length of the bench, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze downward as he thinks about this week’s match.
“To have a chance to get back on the right foot here, I need to keep focused, take my time, and not let Valo dictate the pace or build up too much momentum. None of his opponents have been able to slow him down once he got going. He’s got a nasty streak inside him too, as he’s looking to break his opposition in the ring. I’ve already been broken far too many times over my career and I’d rather not add something else to the list.”
“I can’t risk underestimating him. He’s new here to APW… but the way he and those around him fret about that mask and his identity, it just gives me the impression that he’s someone a whole lot better than the ‘rookie’ you’d expect to be stepping into the ring with. I may be stepping into the ring with someone better than I am, so I cannot afford to be sloppy.”
He stops pacing and shakes his head. He looks over at the camera again, and we can see there is uncertainty in his expression.
“I’ve got a lot to do now. I have to figure out how to pick myself up and get back on the right track. I don’t want to lose, but I’m starting from scratch again, so it’s possible I just won’t have enough this week… I know I can take punishment though. At One Night in Hell, I took a lot and wasn’t ever knocked out. I know we only needing three seconds instead of ten, but that works both ways. I’ve got to put this whole thing together and find myself in the ring again. It has to start this week against you Valo.”
“I know you’re looking to run through me like the rest of your competition, but I’m going to do my best to make you work for this win or deny you entirely. One month ago, I managed to snap three undefeated streaks in one match, so I am capable. I’m just not declaring victory prematurely. You’re probably entirely capable of beating me. Maybe if I was at my best it would be a different story, but that’s not where we are now.”
“We’re both on different trajectories, but we’re going to collide on Monday. This match may not let me start to rise, but it should be enough to help me stop my fall. So bring your best, and let’s find out who comes out on top.”
He still looks uncertain, but he seems more resolved and determined to face this challenge. With a nod to the camera he moves out of the shot and the scene fades to black.
“One Night in Hell did not pan out for me… not even remotely as well as I might have hoped…”
We see a quick series of snapshots of the seven competitors from the North American championship match, followed by video Streets Wilson’s and Young Mannie’s eliminations.
“Fifth… out of a field of seven. That was the best I could do… Fifth.”
A clip of Logan being hit by Michael Lively’s Prelude, then Lively sliding out of the ring and holding onto Logan’s arm and leg, preventing him from reaching his feet before the ten count finished plays.
“I went to the ring and I did much of what I had intended. I never touched a weapon in that match. I put down four different competitors and one celebrity with the Stryke Force, reaffirming it as one of the best instant finishing moves in the business. On any other night, I could have pinned Williams, Shadow, Lively, or Mannie. Only Mannie didn’t get back up on Sunday though. I stepped into an environment that didn’t favour me and I made a mark… left an impression. I was able to hold my own. But it doesn’t offer any comfort in the end. It doesn’t make the hollow feeling from losing any better…”
“I’m sure I can look back through my career and find lots of blown calls… but the one from Sunday night I believe tops most of them. I got hit with Lively’s Prelude and then he actually resorted to physically holding me down… and the ref missed it. Actually THREE refs missed it. So… my big opportunity to win the North American championship ended like that. I wasn’t that beaten up. I wasn’t unable continue. I was the only person eliminated in the match who was on his feet by the time the ref finished the count. I could have gone through a few more people there. I wasn’t ready to give up when I was cheated out of my opportunity… but I can’t do anything about it… I’m not going to cry to the GM about what happened like Williams did after the steel cage match. I’m stuck with the fact that my opportunity is gone… Nothing will give that back.”
Clips of Aubrey Parker, during the match, play. Her part in Shadow’s elimination, trading signature moves with Krunk and knocking him from the stage, and Logan joining her to celebrate are shown.
“Instead… I’m going be proud of my partner. Aubrey Parker did what six people in that last person standing match didn’t think she could. She outlasted everyone. She helped put Shadow down and knocked out Williams for the third match in a row. And when she did and ended the match, I was back out there to celebrate with her on the stage. That shows how much I still had left at that point. I carried her on my shoulders for a while so she could celebrate her victory. I said to her before the match that if I couldn’t get the job done, I was counting on her to do it. And she did. She earned it. She deserves it…”
“Yet… that doesn’t remove that nagging doubt that if I hadn’t been cheated by Lively, I could be the one carrying the title now… I have nothing to base that on though. I might have won, but I might still have been eliminated without making the final four. I don’t know… and that’s what hurts the most… not knowing and never being able to. All I really wanted was a clean result, win or lose. If I was going to fail, I was going to give everything I had… but that didn’t happen. I was denied that. Mine was not a spectacular end that everyone else received win or lose… nor even a noteworthy one. Everyone else went out with a bang… I went with hardly more than a whimper… A truly forgettable moment that will now forever be etched in my mind…”
We shift to colour shot of Logan, sitting on a locker room bench, leaning forward, his elbows braced against his legs, holding his head in his hands, his gaze down towards the floor.
“I look at Aubrey… and I see her as being the opposite of everything I am now. Happy, excited, definitely in the best mood I’ve seen her in since we met up months ago. Her ring form isn’t perfect, but execution cannot be faulted, her record shows it. No one has beaten her directly. She is the champion of Meltdown. And she will carry that title well and for as long as she wants.”
“I… have none of that…”
“I have disappointment and regrets. No championship and nothing lined up for the future. I have nothing good to take out of my last match. So far, I’m a borderline talent here. I’ve looked good… but usually only in matches with Aubrey… When I agreed to accompany her to APW, it was as a guide for her… a teacher and trainer. But it seems I’m more reliant on her than the reverse. At the moment, I’m someone she can trust… that’s all I offer her… and that’s not enough.”
“I need to change that… I can’t have real success if I need to rely on her for everything. She’s the North American champion. She has her own concerns… she can’t get bogged carrying her partner through every outing.”
“Maybe… things have changed too much since I’ve been gone… Four years removed from my last true run of success, two years removed from action. I’ve got to adapt. I have to figure out how… That’s the problem though… how?”
The image fades to black.
We open again to a scene in the Alexander home. The camera is focused on Logan, lying mostly on the couch in his living room. He has one arm across his face, his forearm covering his eyes. One leg hangs off the side of the couch, his foot on the floor. His other arm hangs down from the couch, his hand resting atop his cat lying there. The camera holds relatively still for a while, before shifting to a higher and closer vantage beside the couch. A familiar voice, one from a few weeks ago, speaks from near the camera.
“So… are you just going to spend your time lying there?”
“Do I have pressing demands that need to be taken care of?”
“You do have a match this week. Aubrey has tried to get in touch with you since you’ve been home. Diamond would probably appreciate more of your attention. And if that isn’t enough, I could get a list of chores together for you.”
Logan reply is short and dismissive.
“So… nothing pressing.”
Her reply is curious.
“Really?”
Logan frowns, but doesn’t shift otherwise.
“I can’t prepare for a match when I don’t know what I’m doing. Aubrey probably doesn’t really need me for anything important. The cat will survive. Chores can wait.”
“You know… I didn’t expect to see you moping around the house again.”
He sighs softly.
“I tend to mope when I publicly embarrass myself.”
“I thought you weren’t going to worry about work here once we got married.”
“I didn’t realize someone would convince me to get back in the ring after.”
“Liar.”
Logan shifts his arm up to his forehead and looks towards but not right at the camera.
“I knew at some point you’d go back. You did too. You just didn’t know when. Now here we are, and you’re suddenly brooding around the house every other week.”
“It’s what I’ve done for years, all right? When I get put in my place, I step back and think about what went wrong rather than trying to push ahead when I may do the same thing again.”
“And since when was this state your place?”
He looks away.
“Since I decided to let my arrogance call the shots…”
Silence stretches between them. She knows he’ll resume soon enough.
“I walked into that match anticipating I would go through the rest of the competition and win my first title in APW.
He shakes his head sadly.
“I haven’t risen to a challenge here yet, but suddenly I thought I was going to outlast seven people, or at least be one of the last two or three. Instead of fighting smart… I fought like I couldn’t lose… and Lively got one over on me. I’ve had a few days now, and if I’d been smart on Sunday I’d have slid out of the ring, landed on my feet, and beat the crap out of him on the floor. Instead, I took the harder path and lost.”
“I should have accomplished more. I should have been able to do better on Sunday night. I should have been able to outlast someone like Shadow or Williams or Lively… When I had to leave, I was still ready to continue. I had more left to give, but I squandered my chance… I was foolish and let my chance slip through my fingers. Now… I’m not a champion or a possible contender… I’m just another guy on the roster. I’m just… average…”
He closes his eyes and lets out a breath, seemingly deflating before the camera.
“Well… you know what that means?”
Logan glances towards her and the camera.
“What?”
“You’re at a starting point. Not a fresh start, but a place where you can improve yourself from. You have nothing to worry about, and nothing coming up to focus or prepare for, so you can deal with getting your things sorted out. You’re not in a title or contender’s match this week, but even if you were, just take your time. You don’t have to win either, you just need to find what works. Stop worrying about getting to the top. When you first got to APW, you said you would take your time. But once you got a title opportunity, you tried to position yourself as the inevitable winner without finding your footing here. This isn’t AWA or ACW. You settled in quickly in those places so you had quick success. Don’t expect that here.”
The camera moves closer and we see that Logan is listening attentively.
“You’re a teacher. You know you never stop learning. So learn more about what it takes to be successful here. Adjust your approach. Modify you tactics. Don’t just settle into what’s comfortable for you. And don’t expect the same methods to generate different results. You can do this.”
Logan continues to just stare and the scene fades out before he replies
The scene has shifted again and we find Logan sitting on a locker room bench, leaning forward, his elbows braced against his legs, holding his head in his hands, his gaze down towards the floor. The camera offers a wide view of the room and we can see that Logan is the only one there. He speaks softly, to himself, as the camera isn’t close enough to pick up his words. He slowly lets out a breath then lifts his head to look towards the camera. He looks tired, resigned, as he lowers his hands down, resting his forearms on his thighs while he remains bent forward.
“Not a fresh start… but a starting point. I’m back to picking up the pieces this week. I had a colossal failure last week, so now I have to try and rebound. I’m really not sure what I’m going to do. I was outlasted by four people. The finalists have a rematch this week. Three and four are gone to Overdrive. If that makes me the default number three on Meltdown… then it’s a big drop in quality from the top two, given my recent performances.”
“I can’t sit here and say I’m anything noteworthy. I’m in the slot right before the main event… but that’s just because I happen to be the next guy in line by elimination. Look at my opponent… he’s a ‘new’ guy with a hot streak. He’s got more credibility than I do now. I’ll figure out how to deal with that though. Either I’ll fix it or I won’t be in this spot anymore.”
He drops his gaze again looking down at the floor while he seemingly considers the implications of his last sentence. He lifts his gaze to the camera again.
“Tuhoa Valo, the Finnish Phenom, has grand plans for APW. He’s off to a great start as well. Beaten two rookies in his debut, then knocked off two slightly more established wrestlers in one on one matches. It’s nothing to brag about, but we all do it from time to time. He’s going to clean up American wrestling and was going to start with APW. I don’t know about the former, but I didn’t think the latter sounded half bad.”
“I’m always up for raising the bar. Lord know need a reminder every so often. Sometimes that’s what stragglers need to pick things up. ‘This is the standard. This is what you have to deal with, so get used to it or get out.’ I can relate to now cause that’s where I am. I don’t measure up to the standard, so I get used to being like this, or I do something about it. I don’t want to remain like this or walking away so that gives me one option.”
“I face Valo’s judgment this week and see if I can prove myself or not. Can I show I deserve to be here? Can I prove I am someone here on Meltdown? Or am I going to continue my decline and disappear into the shadow of my partner? I don’t think of myself as someone who rolls over and just accepts things as inevitable. My only choice is to fight and see where the chips fall.”
Logan pushes himself up, looking at the camera with something resembling determination in his expression.
“Looking at Valo, he’s got height, size, power, and momentum advantages against me. In the past I’ve been able to handle such shortcomings on my end, so in theory I should be able to do the same now. I just can’t take it for granted. He’s put down a collection of lesser competitors and I’d rather not get added to them.”
“He’s got a potent offence of suplexes and submissions. It’s a strategy I can relate to, punish the opponent and slap on holds to wear them down further or attack any injured areas. Valo doesn’t come across as a strong submission wrestler though. He seems like more of a high impact competitor from watching his matches. You see lots of powerful jarring blows and all leading towards Commence Destruction, which is another overly fancy twisting neck breaker variation. If I’ve got my wits about me, I know I can get out of that move… might even be able to turn it into a Stryke Force if I’m on the ball.”
He paces slowly along the length of the bench, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze downward as he thinks about this week’s match.
“To have a chance to get back on the right foot here, I need to keep focused, take my time, and not let Valo dictate the pace or build up too much momentum. None of his opponents have been able to slow him down once he got going. He’s got a nasty streak inside him too, as he’s looking to break his opposition in the ring. I’ve already been broken far too many times over my career and I’d rather not add something else to the list.”
“I can’t risk underestimating him. He’s new here to APW… but the way he and those around him fret about that mask and his identity, it just gives me the impression that he’s someone a whole lot better than the ‘rookie’ you’d expect to be stepping into the ring with. I may be stepping into the ring with someone better than I am, so I cannot afford to be sloppy.”
He stops pacing and shakes his head. He looks over at the camera again, and we can see there is uncertainty in his expression.
“I’ve got a lot to do now. I have to figure out how to pick myself up and get back on the right track. I don’t want to lose, but I’m starting from scratch again, so it’s possible I just won’t have enough this week… I know I can take punishment though. At One Night in Hell, I took a lot and wasn’t ever knocked out. I know we only needing three seconds instead of ten, but that works both ways. I’ve got to put this whole thing together and find myself in the ring again. It has to start this week against you Valo.”
“I know you’re looking to run through me like the rest of your competition, but I’m going to do my best to make you work for this win or deny you entirely. One month ago, I managed to snap three undefeated streaks in one match, so I am capable. I’m just not declaring victory prematurely. You’re probably entirely capable of beating me. Maybe if I was at my best it would be a different story, but that’s not where we are now.”
“We’re both on different trajectories, but we’re going to collide on Monday. This match may not let me start to rise, but it should be enough to help me stop my fall. So bring your best, and let’s find out who comes out on top.”
He still looks uncertain, but he seems more resolved and determined to face this challenge. With a nod to the camera he moves out of the shot and the scene fades to black.
