Post by C.J. Gates on Dec 5, 2012 8:19:52 GMT -4
"You would think that people would listen to me by now.
"It's not like I'm some green thumbed rookie. I've been in this boat before. I was around back when Level One was making his miraculous plea to the masses that he was a changed man, all before turning his back on them. Lying to them just to feed his own ego.
"Needless to say, I was not surprised with what Terry Marvin did, but then again, I'm not surprised with anything that worm does. Never have been, never will be. Even when he was saving my life from a Kurt Noble decapitation, I knew there was something too it.
"I knew that a man who spends his time cheating his way to the top wouldn't just turn around and start acting entirely differently. I knew there was some underlying plan that would be revealed in a matter of time and even though I kept shouting that Terry Marvin shouldn't be trusted, even though I kept saying that he was lying to everyone, no one listened.
"But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, should I?
"Maybe I'll be able to take out some frustration this week, some anger at the way he treated everyone. Not just the personnel backstage, the ones who actually bought into his little scheme, but the fans, the people who paid good money to watch him lie his ass off.
"The people who thought he was going to save them.
"The ones he stabbed in the back. After all, I am what Terry Marvin claimed to be, what Level One has always wanted to be, and what both of them will never be in a million years. I am a hero. I am a man that stands up for what is right, even if it means I am going to get my ass handed to me on a silver platter. Because if I don't stand up to them, no one will.
"I am the White Knight of APW."
"You really stepped in it this time."
The voice catches C.J. Gates off guard as he opens the door to his office. Gates flicks on the switch to find Renshaw sitting behind his desk, leaned back and his feet up on the desk itself. Gates drops his gym bag on one of the black sofas and removes his jacket, placing it on top.
"Then again, maybe you just like pain," Renshaw suggests. "I knew a lot of women that were like that."
"How did you get in here?"
"You're asking me that?" Renshaw chuckles. "I thought you would have given up on trying to figure that out by now."
Gates shakes his head in response. "You don't need to be here."
"You mean, you don't want me here, because you don't want me to tell you about your mistakes."
"I didn't make any mistakes," Gates says as he drops into a chair across from Renshaw.
"You're right," Renshaw agrees. "You just ended up getting the shit beat out of you at the end of Overdrive for no reason what so ever."
"I didn't get beat up for no reason," Gates says. "I got beat up for helping Biggs."
"Which you didn't have to do."
"I couldn't just leave him out there."
"But you could have," Renshaw says. "There's no 'S' on your chest, you don't have to make it your business to save everyone from evil and make yourself out to be king shit."
"Maybe not," Gates starts, "but I couldn't sit back and just let the Sindicate do what they did. I couldn't just watch as they used their numbers and their underhanded tactics to attack an innocent man."
"Innocent!" Renshaw cries. "This is Biggs we're talking about, right?"
"They had him handcuffed to the ropes."
"Just like he handcuffed you."
Gates shakes his head in frustration. "This is different."
"Is it?" Renshaw asks before continuing. "It's not kosher, but I did some thinking and this could just be a huge trap. Level One and Terry Marvin join up, pretend to be against Biggs, attack him to lure you out and then the next week all three of them are against you, and you've once again been labelled the most gullible man in APW, falling for that crap."
"That's a bit of a stretch," Gates says. "That would be a huge stretch to think that they were all in cahoots."
"Would it?" Renshaw asks. "Just like it was a huge stretch to think that Level One and Terry Marvin joined back up."
"It's different!" Gates protests. "The two of them were working together at one point. Adding Biggs into that equation just wouldn't make sense given everything that happened in the lead up to One Night in Hell."
Renshaw shrugs. "Fine, suit yourself. But don't come crying to me if it happens and I say I told you so."
"I won't have to."
"True, I guess you would just run to that giant you've been toting around."
Gates cracks a smile. "Are you jealous?"
Renshaw shakes his head. "Jealous? God man, give your head a shake. If I was jealous, there wouldn't be a problem, believe me."
"You talk a big game," Gates states. "Always talking about how you're going to attack someone, but I wonder if you ever actually would."
"You want to test me?" Renshaw says with a smile. "I might not have gotten involved in your business AT Overdrive, but that could change. Maybe Biggs will get knocked out with a load cowboy hat. Maybe I'll set it up so he thinks you were behind it."
"It seems like too much work," Gates chuckles. "You'd be more likely to pay off those Sindicate bitches to do it then to do it yourself."
"So you admit I'm resourceful."
"If resourceful means crazy, then yes." The two men remain silent before Gates speaks. "Perhaps we should start talking about you not coming around anymore."
"What?" Renshaw sighs. "Again? How many times do we have to go through this song and dance. You and I both know that as much as I might push your buttons, you need me around to keep you sane."
"To keep me sane?" Gates asks. "You're driving me-"
"Toward your goal, and don't forget that."
"But you haven't really helped have you?"
"For the last time, I've kept your head in the game," Renshaw reasons. "I've made sure you're paying attention to the important stuff and not the fluff around the edges. So keep that in mind and don't keep trying to push me out. That's the fluff. That's the stuff you shouldn't be worried about. Let me ask, do you want to get back to the top."
"Of course I do."
"Then don't argue with my methods," Renshaw says. "Open yourself up and accept-"
"I'm not cheating."
"I never said that. I just said to open yourself up. Though, it's funny."
"What is?" Gates asks.
"How you were going on for weeks about being stuck in a rut, stuck in the same old song and dance, and yet, you sit here and ask me the same questions week in and week out."
"Because you keep giving me the same answer," Gates says. "You keep telling me to attack people, to take them out of action."
"And you keep professing that you won't," Renshaw shoots back. "That doesn't change the fact that you're stuck doing the same thing time after time after time. You want to get out of the rut? You want to make something of the opportunities set out before you? Do something different."
"Like what?" Gates asks. "Knock someone-"
"No!" Renshaw shouts as he stands up. "Forget about that. Don't keep harping on the same things over and over again. When I said to do something different, I mean do something. Anything. Walk through that door and just have an adventure."
Renshaw walks over to the window and looks down at the street below. "Go out there and do something fun," Renshaw says. "Shake this weight off of your shoulders. You think the entirety of APW is waving their flags for you to find them? Do you think there's some kind of bat signal, and you have to sit here waiting for it?"
"No."
"Then don't sit here like you are."
"I'm not," Gates says. "I never said I was. When I'm in here, I'm taking care of business ventures. I'm handling some opportunities that don't pertain to the wrestling. That, or I'm studying my opponents."
"Well, maybe you need to stop all of that, and just take a vacation." Gates shoots Renshaw a look, and Renshaw rolls his eyes. "Not a vacation from APW or from wrestling, but a vacation all the same. Relax. Don't worry so much."
"Don't worry?" Gates asks. "With Level One right around the corner?"
"So much," Renshaw repeats. "Worry, of course you should worry, but don't make it everything that you're about. Relax a bit and I'm sure you'll find it just as good when you step into that ring at Christmas Chaos."
"You might be right," Gates says.
"Might be?" Renshaw asks, turning around. "I think I am. Have I led you astray yet?"
"You really haven't led me anywhere, you've just tried to mold my mind."
"Better than nothing," Renshaw chuckles. "But we'll see how it all boils down come Christmas Chaos. All you have to do is not get brained before you get there."
"I won't," Gates sighs. "You've got to stop harping on that."
"I will once Overdrive is done, because something's not sitting well with me right now, and I can't put my finger on it."
"Maybe you're worrying for nothing," Gates says.
"Maybe, but I don't think so," Renshaw says. "There's trouble brewing, and since you won't nip it in the bud, you're going to have to keep your eyes open so that you can avoid it."
"I'm always paying attention. How else do you think I'm always aware of bullshit that people are trying to pass as the truth?"
"Because it's blatantly obvious?"
"No, because I'm paying attention."
"Hopefully that holds true this week."
"Terry Marvin and Level One against C.J. Gates and Biggs.
"This is one of those matches that makes people tingle with excitement. One of those moments that has certain individuals glued to their television sets. Everyone will want to see how this match turns out, and not for the same reasons as other weeks. Not for the same purposes as any past meetings might have conjured up.
"This match is going to be a big insight into what Christmas Chaos might hold. Before it was a match of two men that were seen as inferior trying to climb out of the pit, but now, everyone can see how even the playing field is. How challenging things will be for Marvin and Level One. Especially at Christmas Chaos when Marvin defends his title against Biggs and I battle Level One for the right to be know as the number one contender.
"A right that Level One doesn't really need, but a right that I'm sure he's salivating over just so he and Marvin can play tradesies over the title after Christmas Chaos, if the two of them win. Let Marvin lose the title to Level One, get it back in a rematch, then lose it to Level One again and then get a rematch for a chance to win it back.
"It's something I wouldn't put past them.
"But something that would come between them.
"Eventually they will be split, because egos like theirs don't stay together too long. Men like them who command as much attention that they crave, something is going to give. Whether it's Level One's year long quest to return to Undisputed title stardom, or Terry Marvin's need to be shoved down everyone's throats, something is going to snap and one of them is going to drop the other one like a bad habit.
"But before all of that, this match also has one thing that previous examples did not. This match will feature one element that others didn't, save for a few samples.
"This match will have trust.
"Poke holes in it all you want, but there will hopefully be no question about whether or not Biggs and I can co-exist. There should be no reason to think that one of us is going to double cross the other. Not after last week. Not after the past few weeks. And with Biggs putting everything he had into trusting Terry Marvin, and for Terry Marvin to dump all over it, he's going to be more interested in what we can do as a team to get back at what Marvin did to him.
"Though I can't speak one hundred percent on that topic. There's always the thought that Biggs still doesn't care to work with me, that he only wants to do so when it benefits him. And since this will benefit both of us, it's hard to see him being one hundred percent on board.
"But I can hold out hope.
"Just like I always hold out hope that these matches are going to prove something, that these encounters are going to let the likes of Marvin and Lester know that I mean business. Hell, even if I beat Level One at Christmas Chaos he won't see me as a legitimate threat. He'll call me lucky, say he pulled a hamstring, anything to try and devalue what I have done. But I always hold out hope.
"And besides, at the very least I can take this opportunity to take out frustrations, to show them that while they might not see me as a threat, they should see me as someone who isn't going to give up. Someone who is going to come at them with everything that I have, and someone that is going to make sure that their lives are hell. I might not have the size that Lester does, but I can still make sure that each and every person in my way gets what they have coming to them.
"After all, I did that with Biggs, didn't I? Last year, when he and I were at each others necks, I took every bit of punishment he could give me, and I gave out just as much. I made sure that he got what was coming to him, up until the accident that took him out of action. When Sally Talfourd was trying to kill me, I fought back.
"Not like anyone cares.
"And I don't say that because no one listens, I say that because no matter what I say, Level One and Marvin will brush it off. They will comment about how I always go back to those points in my career, those moments when I was at the peak, when they were so far away. But it's not like anything changes. In both of those moments, I was being pushed to the limit, but I kept pushing back. I never backed away from a challenge, and I never let myself get mentally beaten. I always made sure that I gave them what they gave me.
"Just like I've been doing now. With Kurt Noble, with Biggs, with Level One, with Delikado, with everyone that I have had arguments with, I have made sure to never back down. Hell, some people, after being handcuffed to the ropes and blasted in the head with a briefcase, some people would just hang their head and admit that they are broken, but not me.
"I'm doing everything but. I'm wanting to get into the ring with those two. I desire a chance to make them pay for what they did to me. Whether or not I'm successful is a whole different ball game, but at the very least, they will know that they can't break me unless they kill me. Something I think they already know is One Night in Hell is any indication. But they failed then and they will fail now.
"Right boys?
"Truly, I should be more annoyed at you for playing me like a fool, Terry, but since I could smell a rat from jump street, I know better. Sure, you buttered me up, or tried to, and you tried to save me, but in the end, your true colors shone through just like I said they would. You're true character popped up to say hello just before the final chapter. The villain inside of you just couldn't keep the act going much longer.
"I know you don't care about it's ramifications, or about anything that is taking place in the fall out. All you and Lester can do is sit back, watch how twitter blew up at the thought of what you two did, and drink your patron through a straw. You smile, you laugh, and you flip off the fans who you never really cared about. You watch replays of Overdrive just to get yourselves jazzed up for the next round of interviews. You're doing everything that everyone thought you would do, and you're doing it in the way I knew you would.
"By looking down on everyone. Sure, seems like a general statement since you're the Undisputed champion, but it's true. The only things of importance that came from this little charade were that now you've got your bodyguard back in your pocket, you're getting your ego stroked by everyone with two hands and a mouth, and you did so at the expense of Biggs.
"And maybe that's where I lose points in this world. Maybe being so clean cut and being so stuck to my morals, maybe that holds me back from really jumping into the spotlight. But unlike the two of you, I'm alright with that. I'm okay with being seen as the hero, the REAL hero of APW, fighting against people like you, Terry. Fighting against people who can't flat out admit when they can't beat someone fair and square. And in the great wheel of the world, it's great to know that you wouldn't be where you are right now without the help of the man you screwed over.
"I'll leave that as some food for thought for you, Terry, because as much of an asshole as you are, there are bigger fish to fry, bigger egos to pop.
"Like you, Lester.
"It was a cute move to send your entourage to distract me and try and get my head out of the game, and an even cuter move to come down and attack Chris Hart for God knows why. It's not like your move actually did anything to change the tide of the match, you just wanted to have your face appear in yet another moment of television. But that's fine, because it's about time you realized that with your age creeping up and with younger, better talent coming in, people are going to start forgetting all about Level One.
"Better get that face time in now. Better make sure that you are not forgotten somewhere down the road because even all of your accomplishments aren't going to keep you relevant in a few months. Look at Pence Weatherlight. He did so much, was so big, but where is he now? Or Bryan Payne? Hell, even your buddy Ryan Ruckus? Sure the names are remembered, but to most people, their legacy and what they did isn't. Everything that summed up everything about them, forgotten in the blink of an eye.
"But I'm sure we could go into more detail about all of that later, because right now, it's all about one thing - momentum. It's all about gaining the edge going into Christmas Chaos and making sure that I am going to be on the path to success. Because, ultimately, that is what will happen. Here and there, I am going to come out on top, whether you like it or not.
"Because I am not just some everyday piece of trash that people can crumple up and throw away. I'm anything but. I'm a man that will take you to your limits and then some. I am a man that takes no shit from anyone. I am C.J. motherfucking Gates.
"It's time to go big or go home."
"It's not like I'm some green thumbed rookie. I've been in this boat before. I was around back when Level One was making his miraculous plea to the masses that he was a changed man, all before turning his back on them. Lying to them just to feed his own ego.
"Needless to say, I was not surprised with what Terry Marvin did, but then again, I'm not surprised with anything that worm does. Never have been, never will be. Even when he was saving my life from a Kurt Noble decapitation, I knew there was something too it.
"I knew that a man who spends his time cheating his way to the top wouldn't just turn around and start acting entirely differently. I knew there was some underlying plan that would be revealed in a matter of time and even though I kept shouting that Terry Marvin shouldn't be trusted, even though I kept saying that he was lying to everyone, no one listened.
"But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, should I?
"Maybe I'll be able to take out some frustration this week, some anger at the way he treated everyone. Not just the personnel backstage, the ones who actually bought into his little scheme, but the fans, the people who paid good money to watch him lie his ass off.
"The people who thought he was going to save them.
"The ones he stabbed in the back. After all, I am what Terry Marvin claimed to be, what Level One has always wanted to be, and what both of them will never be in a million years. I am a hero. I am a man that stands up for what is right, even if it means I am going to get my ass handed to me on a silver platter. Because if I don't stand up to them, no one will.
"I am the White Knight of APW."
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"You really stepped in it this time."
The voice catches C.J. Gates off guard as he opens the door to his office. Gates flicks on the switch to find Renshaw sitting behind his desk, leaned back and his feet up on the desk itself. Gates drops his gym bag on one of the black sofas and removes his jacket, placing it on top.
"Then again, maybe you just like pain," Renshaw suggests. "I knew a lot of women that were like that."
"How did you get in here?"
"You're asking me that?" Renshaw chuckles. "I thought you would have given up on trying to figure that out by now."
Gates shakes his head in response. "You don't need to be here."
"You mean, you don't want me here, because you don't want me to tell you about your mistakes."
"I didn't make any mistakes," Gates says as he drops into a chair across from Renshaw.
"You're right," Renshaw agrees. "You just ended up getting the shit beat out of you at the end of Overdrive for no reason what so ever."
"I didn't get beat up for no reason," Gates says. "I got beat up for helping Biggs."
"Which you didn't have to do."
"I couldn't just leave him out there."
"But you could have," Renshaw says. "There's no 'S' on your chest, you don't have to make it your business to save everyone from evil and make yourself out to be king shit."
"Maybe not," Gates starts, "but I couldn't sit back and just let the Sindicate do what they did. I couldn't just watch as they used their numbers and their underhanded tactics to attack an innocent man."
"Innocent!" Renshaw cries. "This is Biggs we're talking about, right?"
"They had him handcuffed to the ropes."
"Just like he handcuffed you."
Gates shakes his head in frustration. "This is different."
"Is it?" Renshaw asks before continuing. "It's not kosher, but I did some thinking and this could just be a huge trap. Level One and Terry Marvin join up, pretend to be against Biggs, attack him to lure you out and then the next week all three of them are against you, and you've once again been labelled the most gullible man in APW, falling for that crap."
"That's a bit of a stretch," Gates says. "That would be a huge stretch to think that they were all in cahoots."
"Would it?" Renshaw asks. "Just like it was a huge stretch to think that Level One and Terry Marvin joined back up."
"It's different!" Gates protests. "The two of them were working together at one point. Adding Biggs into that equation just wouldn't make sense given everything that happened in the lead up to One Night in Hell."
Renshaw shrugs. "Fine, suit yourself. But don't come crying to me if it happens and I say I told you so."
"I won't have to."
"True, I guess you would just run to that giant you've been toting around."
Gates cracks a smile. "Are you jealous?"
Renshaw shakes his head. "Jealous? God man, give your head a shake. If I was jealous, there wouldn't be a problem, believe me."
"You talk a big game," Gates states. "Always talking about how you're going to attack someone, but I wonder if you ever actually would."
"You want to test me?" Renshaw says with a smile. "I might not have gotten involved in your business AT Overdrive, but that could change. Maybe Biggs will get knocked out with a load cowboy hat. Maybe I'll set it up so he thinks you were behind it."
"It seems like too much work," Gates chuckles. "You'd be more likely to pay off those Sindicate bitches to do it then to do it yourself."
"So you admit I'm resourceful."
"If resourceful means crazy, then yes." The two men remain silent before Gates speaks. "Perhaps we should start talking about you not coming around anymore."
"What?" Renshaw sighs. "Again? How many times do we have to go through this song and dance. You and I both know that as much as I might push your buttons, you need me around to keep you sane."
"To keep me sane?" Gates asks. "You're driving me-"
"Toward your goal, and don't forget that."
"But you haven't really helped have you?"
"For the last time, I've kept your head in the game," Renshaw reasons. "I've made sure you're paying attention to the important stuff and not the fluff around the edges. So keep that in mind and don't keep trying to push me out. That's the fluff. That's the stuff you shouldn't be worried about. Let me ask, do you want to get back to the top."
"Of course I do."
"Then don't argue with my methods," Renshaw says. "Open yourself up and accept-"
"I'm not cheating."
"I never said that. I just said to open yourself up. Though, it's funny."
"What is?" Gates asks.
"How you were going on for weeks about being stuck in a rut, stuck in the same old song and dance, and yet, you sit here and ask me the same questions week in and week out."
"Because you keep giving me the same answer," Gates says. "You keep telling me to attack people, to take them out of action."
"And you keep professing that you won't," Renshaw shoots back. "That doesn't change the fact that you're stuck doing the same thing time after time after time. You want to get out of the rut? You want to make something of the opportunities set out before you? Do something different."
"Like what?" Gates asks. "Knock someone-"
"No!" Renshaw shouts as he stands up. "Forget about that. Don't keep harping on the same things over and over again. When I said to do something different, I mean do something. Anything. Walk through that door and just have an adventure."
Renshaw walks over to the window and looks down at the street below. "Go out there and do something fun," Renshaw says. "Shake this weight off of your shoulders. You think the entirety of APW is waving their flags for you to find them? Do you think there's some kind of bat signal, and you have to sit here waiting for it?"
"No."
"Then don't sit here like you are."
"I'm not," Gates says. "I never said I was. When I'm in here, I'm taking care of business ventures. I'm handling some opportunities that don't pertain to the wrestling. That, or I'm studying my opponents."
"Well, maybe you need to stop all of that, and just take a vacation." Gates shoots Renshaw a look, and Renshaw rolls his eyes. "Not a vacation from APW or from wrestling, but a vacation all the same. Relax. Don't worry so much."
"Don't worry?" Gates asks. "With Level One right around the corner?"
"So much," Renshaw repeats. "Worry, of course you should worry, but don't make it everything that you're about. Relax a bit and I'm sure you'll find it just as good when you step into that ring at Christmas Chaos."
"You might be right," Gates says.
"Might be?" Renshaw asks, turning around. "I think I am. Have I led you astray yet?"
"You really haven't led me anywhere, you've just tried to mold my mind."
"Better than nothing," Renshaw chuckles. "But we'll see how it all boils down come Christmas Chaos. All you have to do is not get brained before you get there."
"I won't," Gates sighs. "You've got to stop harping on that."
"I will once Overdrive is done, because something's not sitting well with me right now, and I can't put my finger on it."
"Maybe you're worrying for nothing," Gates says.
"Maybe, but I don't think so," Renshaw says. "There's trouble brewing, and since you won't nip it in the bud, you're going to have to keep your eyes open so that you can avoid it."
"I'm always paying attention. How else do you think I'm always aware of bullshit that people are trying to pass as the truth?"
"Because it's blatantly obvious?"
"No, because I'm paying attention."
"Hopefully that holds true this week."
-------------------------------------------------------
"Terry Marvin and Level One against C.J. Gates and Biggs.
"This is one of those matches that makes people tingle with excitement. One of those moments that has certain individuals glued to their television sets. Everyone will want to see how this match turns out, and not for the same reasons as other weeks. Not for the same purposes as any past meetings might have conjured up.
"This match is going to be a big insight into what Christmas Chaos might hold. Before it was a match of two men that were seen as inferior trying to climb out of the pit, but now, everyone can see how even the playing field is. How challenging things will be for Marvin and Level One. Especially at Christmas Chaos when Marvin defends his title against Biggs and I battle Level One for the right to be know as the number one contender.
"A right that Level One doesn't really need, but a right that I'm sure he's salivating over just so he and Marvin can play tradesies over the title after Christmas Chaos, if the two of them win. Let Marvin lose the title to Level One, get it back in a rematch, then lose it to Level One again and then get a rematch for a chance to win it back.
"It's something I wouldn't put past them.
"But something that would come between them.
"Eventually they will be split, because egos like theirs don't stay together too long. Men like them who command as much attention that they crave, something is going to give. Whether it's Level One's year long quest to return to Undisputed title stardom, or Terry Marvin's need to be shoved down everyone's throats, something is going to snap and one of them is going to drop the other one like a bad habit.
"But before all of that, this match also has one thing that previous examples did not. This match will feature one element that others didn't, save for a few samples.
"This match will have trust.
"Poke holes in it all you want, but there will hopefully be no question about whether or not Biggs and I can co-exist. There should be no reason to think that one of us is going to double cross the other. Not after last week. Not after the past few weeks. And with Biggs putting everything he had into trusting Terry Marvin, and for Terry Marvin to dump all over it, he's going to be more interested in what we can do as a team to get back at what Marvin did to him.
"Though I can't speak one hundred percent on that topic. There's always the thought that Biggs still doesn't care to work with me, that he only wants to do so when it benefits him. And since this will benefit both of us, it's hard to see him being one hundred percent on board.
"But I can hold out hope.
"Just like I always hold out hope that these matches are going to prove something, that these encounters are going to let the likes of Marvin and Lester know that I mean business. Hell, even if I beat Level One at Christmas Chaos he won't see me as a legitimate threat. He'll call me lucky, say he pulled a hamstring, anything to try and devalue what I have done. But I always hold out hope.
"And besides, at the very least I can take this opportunity to take out frustrations, to show them that while they might not see me as a threat, they should see me as someone who isn't going to give up. Someone who is going to come at them with everything that I have, and someone that is going to make sure that their lives are hell. I might not have the size that Lester does, but I can still make sure that each and every person in my way gets what they have coming to them.
"After all, I did that with Biggs, didn't I? Last year, when he and I were at each others necks, I took every bit of punishment he could give me, and I gave out just as much. I made sure that he got what was coming to him, up until the accident that took him out of action. When Sally Talfourd was trying to kill me, I fought back.
"Not like anyone cares.
"And I don't say that because no one listens, I say that because no matter what I say, Level One and Marvin will brush it off. They will comment about how I always go back to those points in my career, those moments when I was at the peak, when they were so far away. But it's not like anything changes. In both of those moments, I was being pushed to the limit, but I kept pushing back. I never backed away from a challenge, and I never let myself get mentally beaten. I always made sure that I gave them what they gave me.
"Just like I've been doing now. With Kurt Noble, with Biggs, with Level One, with Delikado, with everyone that I have had arguments with, I have made sure to never back down. Hell, some people, after being handcuffed to the ropes and blasted in the head with a briefcase, some people would just hang their head and admit that they are broken, but not me.
"I'm doing everything but. I'm wanting to get into the ring with those two. I desire a chance to make them pay for what they did to me. Whether or not I'm successful is a whole different ball game, but at the very least, they will know that they can't break me unless they kill me. Something I think they already know is One Night in Hell is any indication. But they failed then and they will fail now.
"Right boys?
"Truly, I should be more annoyed at you for playing me like a fool, Terry, but since I could smell a rat from jump street, I know better. Sure, you buttered me up, or tried to, and you tried to save me, but in the end, your true colors shone through just like I said they would. You're true character popped up to say hello just before the final chapter. The villain inside of you just couldn't keep the act going much longer.
"I know you don't care about it's ramifications, or about anything that is taking place in the fall out. All you and Lester can do is sit back, watch how twitter blew up at the thought of what you two did, and drink your patron through a straw. You smile, you laugh, and you flip off the fans who you never really cared about. You watch replays of Overdrive just to get yourselves jazzed up for the next round of interviews. You're doing everything that everyone thought you would do, and you're doing it in the way I knew you would.
"By looking down on everyone. Sure, seems like a general statement since you're the Undisputed champion, but it's true. The only things of importance that came from this little charade were that now you've got your bodyguard back in your pocket, you're getting your ego stroked by everyone with two hands and a mouth, and you did so at the expense of Biggs.
"And maybe that's where I lose points in this world. Maybe being so clean cut and being so stuck to my morals, maybe that holds me back from really jumping into the spotlight. But unlike the two of you, I'm alright with that. I'm okay with being seen as the hero, the REAL hero of APW, fighting against people like you, Terry. Fighting against people who can't flat out admit when they can't beat someone fair and square. And in the great wheel of the world, it's great to know that you wouldn't be where you are right now without the help of the man you screwed over.
"I'll leave that as some food for thought for you, Terry, because as much of an asshole as you are, there are bigger fish to fry, bigger egos to pop.
"Like you, Lester.
"It was a cute move to send your entourage to distract me and try and get my head out of the game, and an even cuter move to come down and attack Chris Hart for God knows why. It's not like your move actually did anything to change the tide of the match, you just wanted to have your face appear in yet another moment of television. But that's fine, because it's about time you realized that with your age creeping up and with younger, better talent coming in, people are going to start forgetting all about Level One.
"Better get that face time in now. Better make sure that you are not forgotten somewhere down the road because even all of your accomplishments aren't going to keep you relevant in a few months. Look at Pence Weatherlight. He did so much, was so big, but where is he now? Or Bryan Payne? Hell, even your buddy Ryan Ruckus? Sure the names are remembered, but to most people, their legacy and what they did isn't. Everything that summed up everything about them, forgotten in the blink of an eye.
"But I'm sure we could go into more detail about all of that later, because right now, it's all about one thing - momentum. It's all about gaining the edge going into Christmas Chaos and making sure that I am going to be on the path to success. Because, ultimately, that is what will happen. Here and there, I am going to come out on top, whether you like it or not.
"Because I am not just some everyday piece of trash that people can crumple up and throw away. I'm anything but. I'm a man that will take you to your limits and then some. I am a man that takes no shit from anyone. I am C.J. motherfucking Gates.
"It's time to go big or go home."
