Post by Smash INC on Jan 5, 2013 10:46:54 GMT -4
A new path.
That's what I called it, that's what I believed in. I've been wrestling for a long enough time now to understand that growth isn't always about being slow and steady, sometimes that is akin to stagnation. No, growth is sometimes a force that can deconstruct everything you have built up until then and then place the pieces back together in a new and strange order. It's true that my journey to Asylum was initially built on the idea that I would learn something new and I did just that. I learnt, gladly I might add that I wasn't the only one who had such a strong focus on elevating themselves in the ring. To consider wrestling as art would be to consider the best in the sport as the masters of the craft, I've always wanted to be that guy.
What's truly new about all this is that when something was presented to me that changed my view just enough to see things from another perspective. There are the few who become masters of the craft, but that in itself is a conscious effort to separate wrestling into an elite few versus the talented many. But what if there was something else that could be done? What if there was a conscious effort, a voice that shouted out the possibilities of everyone becoming a master of the craft?
My career has always been about trying to find the best so that I could face them and improve my own abilities. I wouldn't call that selfish but I would consider it logical, I'm as sure as ever that every wrestler wants to become as good as they can. But that was still a singular, it was about one person facing one variation of the best. It was enclosed and up to this point I hadn't really gathered enough to understand that the best wrestler was never just a single person. The concept of the best was and still is more important, I know that now.
What represented me was a drive to face the best and learn from it, to grow from it. Wrestling was my virtue, my pride and I was given that by challenging everything I could. It wasn't a wasted effort but it was a solo one, any progress made was only truly made by myself. What I failed to do was leave something behind for others to take on, something more than just replays of my matches. Because wrestling is about every single man and woman that goes to the ring, wrestling is about what happens at that moment and whether it does enough for the fans. Because there's a lot more to wrestling than what Keaton Saint does in the ring. As much as I am a wrestler, I am still twice the adolescent fan that I was many years ago. I believe in the sport, more than I believe in myself.
I don't need to make a resolution for the year, I follow my own resolution every day. To bear the world on my shoulders and say that it is indeed possible to bear it, to prove beyond a doubt that there is more we can give.
The new path is very much like the old path in some ways, I'm still walking it but for now I'm not alone in doing so. I've got the strength of Pillars around me, I've got a constant reminder that I'm not alone.
"So, er, what did you think of Christmas Chaos?" Keaton had answered his phone after letting it ring twice, for some unknown reason he was erring on the side of caution just to answer this call. He knew the voice on the other end and he knew to expect a call once he made it back to the UK, but something was awkward.
"It was good, granted you were played like a fool but there's always next time." John replied, oblivious to Keaton's existential crisis.
"Next time doesn't cut it, John."
"You say that, but with TJ as champion you've got an option there." John mused.
"I told you about the Pillars."
"I know, it's not about grabbing the titles or making a power play."
"Exactly, so don't be suggesting that I'm getting a boost just because an ally has some gold."
"Ally, hmm?"
"You have a problem with that?" Keaton asked.
"No, just thinking that you didn't say friend there."
"Ally suits it more."
"How so?"
"Because allies can be found in wrestling, friends are a different matter." Keaton surmised this because of how he had come to see an ally and a friend as different but equal entities. An ally would defend, a friend would provide.
"I'm distracting you anyhow, I meant to call about something."
"What's that?" This is what Keaton had been apprehensive about. Surely John knew by now that Keaton had decided against competing in Survive & Conquer, whether it was procrastination, doubt or a combination of both was a matter to be figured out later but Keaton held back from signing up. Whether John understood the reasons behind it would be a different matter.
"I've got you in." John spoke with a calm tone, almost stating himself in a very simplistic way as if instructing. The message was loud and clear though, there was only one thing that Keaton was getting in at this time of year.
"What?"
"I said I've got you in." John repeated.
"I bloody well heard that, but how?"
"I made a few calls, saw a man about a dog and then sealed the deal."
"That doesn't tell me anything."
"I made the right decision for you, even when you weren't willing to make it for yourself.
"That's a bit rich." Keaton scoffed.
"Maybe, but is it any less true?"
"I'm not sure." Keaton replied, that was the truth he knew. Survive & Conquer required, no, demanded someone to be ready for it. Winning the match asked for something more but even daring to take part was like signing your reputation away. It was a match that could make a mockery out of any wrestler who wasn't prepared for the challenge and a legend out of those who could overcome it. Terry Marvin was one who proved himself last year and in many respects Keaton knew that it all began at that point.
"Trust me on this, you need to be in this match or you'll be kicking yourself for years to come."
"I wasn't even sure I could be ready for it John."
"You better make yourself ready then." John said flatly.
"Don't order me about."
"I'm just telling you what you need to hear, unless you want some other reasons?"
"I know the other reasons."
"Then you can tell me."
"Survive & Conquer summarises my existence in APW, it brought me here and it gave me a purpose when I needed a proper match to come back to." Keaton let his mind wander back to the beginning of 2011, where he fought against the so-called Free Agency, it was a lifetime ago in wrestling terms but he still remembered it.
"There's more."
"I've got a duty as a wrestler and as a Pillar, a true effort to show that Asylum isn't a red-headed stepchild and has the talent and the tenacity to go above the expectations of everyone else." Keaton wondered if that sentence summarised what people thought the Pillars were, some sort of group dedicated to Asylum rather than wrestling as a whole. Time would tell in the end, but that was the future.
"More." John demanded, although his tone remained calm.
"With that many people in the match, I've got a good chance of finding out who attacked me before I came to Asylum." Keaton sighed, no progress had been made since that Overdrive and it was beginning to grate on him. "If I do, I've got the perfect chance to find out why."
"More, go on."
"That's all I've got." Keaton thought for a few moments and agreed with himself internally, there wasn't really anything he could add to it.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe it's more obvious to me than it is to you."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a reason you need to be in this."
"And you're not going to tell me."
"I'm not, you have to work it out for yourself."
"How nice of you."
"Just don't." John breathed deeply, a sign of his aggravation. "Consider what your match on Asylum is about and work from there."
"Don't worry about me."
"Worry isn't my strong suit, this is just a friend looking out for another. " John paused. "I'll talk to you after Asylum, you've got things to do and so have I."
"John, I..." Keaton spoke before realising that the call had ended. He was in Survive & Conquer, but how? It was a question that would continue to play on his mind, but for the immediate future there was the tag match to look towards. Slade Craven may be a roadbump but he still had spikes, as for Stefan Raab he wasn't to be underestimated. Keaton wondered how many of the same thoughts would be going through TJ's head at that point, but that thought passed as Keaton was left with another.
What was going to connect everything together?
I've fought against Slade Craven enough times now that I wonder what would happen if this would be the last encounter we would ever have. I had those same thoughts right before the last time I faced him and I can easily recount them for you right now.
Keaton Saint taking on Slade Craven in any match is proof of what professional wrestling is all about as a sport. I've had the better of some matches in my time but these ones always seem to bring up something special for all involved. When I face Slade Craven it's like putting on some old socks, they're comfortable and you just know how they wear since you've had them for so long. That works both ways, I'm accustomed to how Slade wrestles and I'm sure he knows enough about me now that out typical routine tends to end abruptly. We are connected in a way that seems to bring out something new from both of us, the old stuff definitely won't work but perhaps a suplex at this moment or submission at this point makes the difference.
And that is what it's all about, making enough of a difference to ensure our path to victory. What's more important is that the matches have made us both better. We've had the opportunity to outsmart each other and learn in the comfort of a match against someone we know. I've learnt so much from Slade that I can't document it all without a stack of paper and a litre of ink. People, fans of the sport especially tend to ignore matches that don't feature the kind of hatred that showed up when I fought Terry Marvin last year. That ignorance is something that we all should fight against because I can easily say that my matches with Slade Craven have been just as important as the battles I had with that accursed Terry Marvin. It's easy to say that, it's harder to say it and show that you mean it but I do. I mean every word.
It doesn't change the fact that I'm going to do everything in my power to beat Slade Craven and his wannabe übermensch of a partner. I'm not fantastic on my German but I do remember bits and pieces, what's more important is what happens in the ring and I am a superman at that.
Stefan Raab is many things. A celebrity of German television, a Eurovision savant and of course a surprisingly good wrestler. All of this would set Raab up as being a jack-of-all-trades leading into this match but what tends to be forgotten about jacks is that they're not the best card. There are queens, kings and aces that overshadow the jack, proving that being at the peak does more than just being good. That's kind of the point really, although maybe there are two points to this match if we face each other properly.
The first is simple, your celebrity and your Eurovision prowess won't save you from a maximum capacity crowd shouting obscenities and 'who are ya' throughout the match. I'm about to wrestle in my home country as we inch closer to Survive & Conquer, you're about to walk into a minefield where every step you take is done with the knowledge that it could blow you into pieces. I never really thought about the home advantage but I'm willing to bet it will be decisive in this one. As for the second point, what this match comes down to is whether you can beat me and TJ. I've beaten Slade before, that might just put me ahead enough to say that I could effectively counter him. So you can't rely on Slade to beat me unless something has really changed in the last few weeks. As for TJ, his title defines him as a better man and it proves what he is capable of. You're a jack, maybe you're paired with another jack but you're facing off against a full house. The deck is indeed stacked against you.
Of course, stacked is a subjective term. In my corner is a man who I have faith in and a man who represents professional wrestling in a way I've always wanted to see. Saint and TJ is a progressive march against the stagnation of not giving it everything in a match. As for you and Slade, it's not been too long since you two were comparing measurements and trying to show the other who had done more in wrestling. You never did compare who GAVE more to the sport, maybe that's why you might say the deck is stacked but maybe that's why you're going to lose this. I'm in a team, you two are not.
Perhaps that will ignite your desire to get one over on the cheeky Brit who dares to say you can't beat him, perhaps it'll push Slade to do something that goes beyond everything I've known him to do. Perhaps this match will be more than just a tag team match that brings in the new year.
But this match WILL be a sign, it will be a symbol. It WILL prove that the Pillars weren't wrong when they said wrestling can be better. At Asylum, we will be at our best.
That's what I called it, that's what I believed in. I've been wrestling for a long enough time now to understand that growth isn't always about being slow and steady, sometimes that is akin to stagnation. No, growth is sometimes a force that can deconstruct everything you have built up until then and then place the pieces back together in a new and strange order. It's true that my journey to Asylum was initially built on the idea that I would learn something new and I did just that. I learnt, gladly I might add that I wasn't the only one who had such a strong focus on elevating themselves in the ring. To consider wrestling as art would be to consider the best in the sport as the masters of the craft, I've always wanted to be that guy.
What's truly new about all this is that when something was presented to me that changed my view just enough to see things from another perspective. There are the few who become masters of the craft, but that in itself is a conscious effort to separate wrestling into an elite few versus the talented many. But what if there was something else that could be done? What if there was a conscious effort, a voice that shouted out the possibilities of everyone becoming a master of the craft?
My career has always been about trying to find the best so that I could face them and improve my own abilities. I wouldn't call that selfish but I would consider it logical, I'm as sure as ever that every wrestler wants to become as good as they can. But that was still a singular, it was about one person facing one variation of the best. It was enclosed and up to this point I hadn't really gathered enough to understand that the best wrestler was never just a single person. The concept of the best was and still is more important, I know that now.
What represented me was a drive to face the best and learn from it, to grow from it. Wrestling was my virtue, my pride and I was given that by challenging everything I could. It wasn't a wasted effort but it was a solo one, any progress made was only truly made by myself. What I failed to do was leave something behind for others to take on, something more than just replays of my matches. Because wrestling is about every single man and woman that goes to the ring, wrestling is about what happens at that moment and whether it does enough for the fans. Because there's a lot more to wrestling than what Keaton Saint does in the ring. As much as I am a wrestler, I am still twice the adolescent fan that I was many years ago. I believe in the sport, more than I believe in myself.
I don't need to make a resolution for the year, I follow my own resolution every day. To bear the world on my shoulders and say that it is indeed possible to bear it, to prove beyond a doubt that there is more we can give.
The new path is very much like the old path in some ways, I'm still walking it but for now I'm not alone in doing so. I've got the strength of Pillars around me, I've got a constant reminder that I'm not alone.
Keaton Saint in
Raising the Flag #1: The Charge
The Charge
Raising the Flag #1: The Charge
The Charge
"So, er, what did you think of Christmas Chaos?" Keaton had answered his phone after letting it ring twice, for some unknown reason he was erring on the side of caution just to answer this call. He knew the voice on the other end and he knew to expect a call once he made it back to the UK, but something was awkward.
"It was good, granted you were played like a fool but there's always next time." John replied, oblivious to Keaton's existential crisis.
"Next time doesn't cut it, John."
"You say that, but with TJ as champion you've got an option there." John mused.
"I told you about the Pillars."
"I know, it's not about grabbing the titles or making a power play."
"Exactly, so don't be suggesting that I'm getting a boost just because an ally has some gold."
"Ally, hmm?"
"You have a problem with that?" Keaton asked.
"No, just thinking that you didn't say friend there."
"Ally suits it more."
"How so?"
"Because allies can be found in wrestling, friends are a different matter." Keaton surmised this because of how he had come to see an ally and a friend as different but equal entities. An ally would defend, a friend would provide.
"I'm distracting you anyhow, I meant to call about something."
"What's that?" This is what Keaton had been apprehensive about. Surely John knew by now that Keaton had decided against competing in Survive & Conquer, whether it was procrastination, doubt or a combination of both was a matter to be figured out later but Keaton held back from signing up. Whether John understood the reasons behind it would be a different matter.
"I've got you in." John spoke with a calm tone, almost stating himself in a very simplistic way as if instructing. The message was loud and clear though, there was only one thing that Keaton was getting in at this time of year.
"What?"
"I said I've got you in." John repeated.
"I bloody well heard that, but how?"
"I made a few calls, saw a man about a dog and then sealed the deal."
"That doesn't tell me anything."
"I made the right decision for you, even when you weren't willing to make it for yourself.
"That's a bit rich." Keaton scoffed.
"Maybe, but is it any less true?"
"I'm not sure." Keaton replied, that was the truth he knew. Survive & Conquer required, no, demanded someone to be ready for it. Winning the match asked for something more but even daring to take part was like signing your reputation away. It was a match that could make a mockery out of any wrestler who wasn't prepared for the challenge and a legend out of those who could overcome it. Terry Marvin was one who proved himself last year and in many respects Keaton knew that it all began at that point.
"Trust me on this, you need to be in this match or you'll be kicking yourself for years to come."
"I wasn't even sure I could be ready for it John."
"You better make yourself ready then." John said flatly.
"Don't order me about."
"I'm just telling you what you need to hear, unless you want some other reasons?"
"I know the other reasons."
"Then you can tell me."
"Survive & Conquer summarises my existence in APW, it brought me here and it gave me a purpose when I needed a proper match to come back to." Keaton let his mind wander back to the beginning of 2011, where he fought against the so-called Free Agency, it was a lifetime ago in wrestling terms but he still remembered it.
"There's more."
"I've got a duty as a wrestler and as a Pillar, a true effort to show that Asylum isn't a red-headed stepchild and has the talent and the tenacity to go above the expectations of everyone else." Keaton wondered if that sentence summarised what people thought the Pillars were, some sort of group dedicated to Asylum rather than wrestling as a whole. Time would tell in the end, but that was the future.
"More." John demanded, although his tone remained calm.
"With that many people in the match, I've got a good chance of finding out who attacked me before I came to Asylum." Keaton sighed, no progress had been made since that Overdrive and it was beginning to grate on him. "If I do, I've got the perfect chance to find out why."
"More, go on."
"That's all I've got." Keaton thought for a few moments and agreed with himself internally, there wasn't really anything he could add to it.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe it's more obvious to me than it is to you."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a reason you need to be in this."
"And you're not going to tell me."
"I'm not, you have to work it out for yourself."
"How nice of you."
"Just don't." John breathed deeply, a sign of his aggravation. "Consider what your match on Asylum is about and work from there."
"Don't worry about me."
"Worry isn't my strong suit, this is just a friend looking out for another. " John paused. "I'll talk to you after Asylum, you've got things to do and so have I."
"John, I..." Keaton spoke before realising that the call had ended. He was in Survive & Conquer, but how? It was a question that would continue to play on his mind, but for the immediate future there was the tag match to look towards. Slade Craven may be a roadbump but he still had spikes, as for Stefan Raab he wasn't to be underestimated. Keaton wondered how many of the same thoughts would be going through TJ's head at that point, but that thought passed as Keaton was left with another.
What was going to connect everything together?
==========
Jacks and Aces
Jacks and Aces
I've fought against Slade Craven enough times now that I wonder what would happen if this would be the last encounter we would ever have. I had those same thoughts right before the last time I faced him and I can easily recount them for you right now.
Keaton Saint taking on Slade Craven in any match is proof of what professional wrestling is all about as a sport. I've had the better of some matches in my time but these ones always seem to bring up something special for all involved. When I face Slade Craven it's like putting on some old socks, they're comfortable and you just know how they wear since you've had them for so long. That works both ways, I'm accustomed to how Slade wrestles and I'm sure he knows enough about me now that out typical routine tends to end abruptly. We are connected in a way that seems to bring out something new from both of us, the old stuff definitely won't work but perhaps a suplex at this moment or submission at this point makes the difference.
And that is what it's all about, making enough of a difference to ensure our path to victory. What's more important is that the matches have made us both better. We've had the opportunity to outsmart each other and learn in the comfort of a match against someone we know. I've learnt so much from Slade that I can't document it all without a stack of paper and a litre of ink. People, fans of the sport especially tend to ignore matches that don't feature the kind of hatred that showed up when I fought Terry Marvin last year. That ignorance is something that we all should fight against because I can easily say that my matches with Slade Craven have been just as important as the battles I had with that accursed Terry Marvin. It's easy to say that, it's harder to say it and show that you mean it but I do. I mean every word.
It doesn't change the fact that I'm going to do everything in my power to beat Slade Craven and his wannabe übermensch of a partner. I'm not fantastic on my German but I do remember bits and pieces, what's more important is what happens in the ring and I am a superman at that.
Stefan Raab is many things. A celebrity of German television, a Eurovision savant and of course a surprisingly good wrestler. All of this would set Raab up as being a jack-of-all-trades leading into this match but what tends to be forgotten about jacks is that they're not the best card. There are queens, kings and aces that overshadow the jack, proving that being at the peak does more than just being good. That's kind of the point really, although maybe there are two points to this match if we face each other properly.
The first is simple, your celebrity and your Eurovision prowess won't save you from a maximum capacity crowd shouting obscenities and 'who are ya' throughout the match. I'm about to wrestle in my home country as we inch closer to Survive & Conquer, you're about to walk into a minefield where every step you take is done with the knowledge that it could blow you into pieces. I never really thought about the home advantage but I'm willing to bet it will be decisive in this one. As for the second point, what this match comes down to is whether you can beat me and TJ. I've beaten Slade before, that might just put me ahead enough to say that I could effectively counter him. So you can't rely on Slade to beat me unless something has really changed in the last few weeks. As for TJ, his title defines him as a better man and it proves what he is capable of. You're a jack, maybe you're paired with another jack but you're facing off against a full house. The deck is indeed stacked against you.
Of course, stacked is a subjective term. In my corner is a man who I have faith in and a man who represents professional wrestling in a way I've always wanted to see. Saint and TJ is a progressive march against the stagnation of not giving it everything in a match. As for you and Slade, it's not been too long since you two were comparing measurements and trying to show the other who had done more in wrestling. You never did compare who GAVE more to the sport, maybe that's why you might say the deck is stacked but maybe that's why you're going to lose this. I'm in a team, you two are not.
Perhaps that will ignite your desire to get one over on the cheeky Brit who dares to say you can't beat him, perhaps it'll push Slade to do something that goes beyond everything I've known him to do. Perhaps this match will be more than just a tag team match that brings in the new year.
But this match WILL be a sign, it will be a symbol. It WILL prove that the Pillars weren't wrong when they said wrestling can be better. At Asylum, we will be at our best.
