Post by C.J. Gates on Jan 16, 2013 2:10:37 GMT -4
"It's time to make up for the past few weeks.
"After winning at Christmas Chaos, I managed to fall flat on my face in a loss to Michael Lively on the first Overdrive of the year. Not exactly the best way to start a year off, but there's a lot of room for improvement. There's a lot of room to grow from that one loss.
"Of course, I followed that loss up with an absence from Overdrive, probably the first time I've not been on Overdrive since I signed my contract. With Survive and Conquer coming up, I figured it was a great time to take a bit of a break, to rest up, relax and get ready for what is coming down the pipe.
"Was it the best choice? Probably not, because there are people that will find some way to turn it into something bigger than it really is. There will be people who poke fun at it, who mock me for it. After all, this is nearly the same roster that mocked me for choosing to involve myself in an eighty-six person match instead of defending my title.
"But it's a risk I'm willing to take to make sure that I can continue to put on a performance that these fans love, and a performance that I know does not go unnoticed. It's a risk I am going to take to make sure I can last in the Survive and Conquer match in a few weeks time.
"But first, I have to get by a few hurdles and jump through a few hoops.
"First I have to keep myself alive so that I make it to that match.
"First I need to take down a former friend, a former ally, and a former Undisputed champion.
"First up is Kurt Noble."
The scene opens up with booming laughter coming from Vincent James. The large, bald man is sitting behind the desk of C.J. Gates, listening to something through headphones attached to the computer. He continues to laugh as the door to the office opens and in steps the number one contender to the Undisputed championship, C.J. Gates. He pauses as he sees James and then loudly closes the door, grabbing the big mans attention, if only briefly. Gates takes a few steps forward and snaps his fingers in James' peripheral vision before pointing to his ears. James removes the headphones and places them around his neck.
"What are you listening to that's so funny?" Gates asks as he sits in the chair across the desk from James.
"Oh man, these guys," James begins before falling into laughter. "They're priceless."
"Is it some sort of morning show?" Gates asks, craning his neck to see the computer screen. "A comedy routine?"
James shakes his head. "It's this podcast about APW and it's wrestlers and some of the stuff they say, man it's priceless."
"Oh, I bet," Gates says, sitting back in his chair. "There are a lot of characters to talk about."
"You included."
Gates raises his eyebrows. "Oh? What did they say about me?"
"Just that you're the one guy that can wear that hat well," James says, motioning to the hat on Gates' head. "And that you're the poster boy for Hat Wearer's Quarterly or something like that."
James falls into laughter again, but Gates doesn't follow suit. Instead he shakes his head. "Sounds great," he says dryly, rolling his eyes.
"You had to hear it to get the full effect."
"I can only imagine."
James removes the headphones from around his neck and places them on the desktop. "So what have you been up to?"
"Just trying to get myself ready for the next few weeks," Gates says. "Have to make sure I'm prepared for Survive and Conquer, as well as all the potential matches I am going to be involved in leading up to then."
"Anything special on the horizon?" James asks. "Match wise, that is."
"Well, this week I get the, pleasure of fighting against Kurt Noble."
Now it is James' turn to raise his eyebrows. "Noble, huh?"
"Yep," Gates nods. "It should be fun, considering the history that he and I have between us. It definitely won't be one of those matches where the two of us can shake hands at the start and the end, that's for sure."
"Naturally. The dude enjoys beating up women, and that's not the sort of person you should ever shake hands with."
"I know that," Gates says. "It's just that last year at this time, he and I would have been able to speak backstage without the question about whether or not Noble was going to blast me in the face with some sort of weapon."
"It's hard to imagine," James says with a chuckle.
"Why's that?"
"As long as I've been here, Noble's been nothing more than venom personified," James says. "No matter what he does, he always seems to be attacking someone, cursing someone out, pissing in someone's Cheerio's. Name it and he's been doing it."
Gates nods. "It's true. There was a point where I thought he was the victim."
James laughs at the thought. "How could you, of all people, think that?"
"Because Terry Marvin was the one spearheading that campaign."
"I guess I can understand that much," James says. "But if it was after you guys last fought for the title, I'd assume you'd already know that it wasn't just some sort of lie being cooked up by The Real Show."
"I know I should have," Gates says with a shake of his head. "But I also couldn't let myself get taken in by Terry Marvin. There's only so much one can follow before they get blindsided by the shepherd and I wasn't about to fall into that trap this time around."
"So instead you decided to defend the insane grandfather."
Gates chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you can put it like that."
"Probably not one of your better ideas," James admits. "But I guess, in the end, it all worked out because you managed to go on to win the number one contender spot."
"Yeah," Gates says. "Though there was that moment when Noble knocked me out, tied me in the ring ropes and tried to decapitate me with a steel chair."
James stares across the desk at Gates before shaking his head. "Before or after you defended him?"
"Before. Literally, like, right after I mentioned that. He came out and cleared the ring before tying me in the ropes and trying to kill me. Luckily I was saved by Biggs and Terry Marvin, but still."
"So I guess it's safe for me to assume that you're looking to get some sort of revenge on him for all of this, aren't you?"
"Somewhat," Gates admits. "I mean, because of that there is some unfinished business between he and I. At least to me. I'm sure he's moved beyond it, but that's because he's prefers to attack women, get tainted wins, and call out his former best friend rather than look at the facts."
"Speaking of," James says. "Was that Doug E. Fresh I saw last week?"
Gates nods. "Trust me, it surprised me to."
"I thought those two hated each other."
"I guess Noble's hatred for Hart and Amy is more than whatever he felt for Doug."
"Weird," James says with a shake of his head. "Wasn't it like, two weeks ago that he and Doug were fighting in a Hell in a Cell match?"
"Yep."
"Weird."
"That's what I've been saying since I saw that," Gates says. "But no one's going to call him on it."
"Until you, that is," James says with a wink.
"I guess so, yeah. But it's not like Noble is going to suddenly realize what I'm saying is true, you know? He's going to just brush it off and focus on something else rather than address the elephant in the room."
"Typical, right?"
"Exactly," Gates chuckles. "Whatever, though. I've got other things on my mind than his new found friendship with Doug or whatever the hell he's going to claim it to be. I'm more focused on what Noble is going to do in that ring then what he's going to do outside of it."
"You think you can take him?"
"If you're asking whether or not I can handle him and hold my own in the match, then yes. One hundred times yes. If you're wondering whether or not I can win, well, that's something that we're all going to have to wait and see about."
"Then here," James adds. "Do you want to take him? Do you want to win."
"Of course," Gates says quickly. "I'd be a fool not to. There's bragging rights attached, there's motivation, there's everything that someone would need going into Survive and Conquer, and it's all available at the expense of Kurt Noble, one of the former poster boys for APW. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't keep up to it and he eventually cracked."
"You almost cracked yourself, though."
"I guess."
"You were talking to your dead relatives."
"Fine, I'll give you that one," Gates says after a bit of silence. "But I didn't crack to his levels, because I know what it means to be the gate keeper of APW. To be the one man that can sort through the murk, the man that can try and weed out the evil that resides within."
"Which is what you did at Christmas Chaos, isn't it."
"That was one step, yeah," Gates says. "Beating Level One was an awesome feat, but that is just the beginning. There's still many others to worry about, guys like Noble, like Marvin, hell, even guys like Evan Envi. Guys who think they are owed the world even though they haven't earned it."
"I don't know if I'd go that far," James says. "They've probably earned some sort of success given what they've all done."
"Possibly, but not as much as they're getting," Gates admits. "Like, Lively, he's considering himself to be the next coming of Christ, while Terry Marvin thinks he's the best thing going because he's got the title around his waist. It's the small things like that, the things that I just can't stand because half the time, they are in over their head."
"But you aren't, right?"
"Nope. I'm at least willing to admit when I've been bested."
"Like two weeks ago when you lost to Lively?" James asks. "You were bested then?"
Gates pauses. "I probably didn't put out the best performance I could that night, because that was a winnable match. But at that moment, on that night, I wasn't at the point that I needed to be to pick up that win."
"You know you can say that Lively was the better man that night, you don't have to beat around the bush."
"I wouldn't say I'm beating around the bush," Gates says before quickly changing topic. "But that was two weeks ago. This week, I'm focused on one man and one man only. I'm worried about Kurt Noble and everything that crazy bastard is going to bring with him."
"And you're focused on winning," James says with a smile.
"If I happen to win, then great. But if not I'm not going to cry about it. I'm going to do what I can, I'm going to bring everything that I have and I am going to try my damndest to pull out a victory but I'm not going all in on it."
"You just want revenge."
"I'd love revenge," Gates says with a smile. "If it happens to come my way. One thing I will do is push Noble to his limit. I'm going to make sure he understands what it means to go big or go home."
"It's moments like these that never get old.
"Moments when I get that opportunity to put someones foot in their mouth, moments when I get the chance to prove someone wrong once and for all, when I get to unleash some frustration and anger on them for everything that they have done. Sure, it seems like everyone falls into those categories, but in this case, it's more personal than in some of the others.
"It's more personal, because Kurt Noble made it personal. He made it personal and we never really got a chance to have at it and put it all to rest. I mean, the last time he and I butted heads, at least we were able to solve our issues then, to make sure that there were no questions. But this time? This time Kurt Noble left without saying goodbye.
"And not in the physical sense, but in the mental sense. When he attacked me prior to One Night in Hell, back when Terry Marvin was trying to make everyone see the light, he was slowly slipping into some sort of insanity. That much everyone can see. But ever since then he's gotten worse. Ever since then, he's no longer the same Kurt Noble.
"Which probably works for him, since just like everyone else that has taken the trip he's currently on, the fans began to hate. The fans loathe him. Not that he really cares right now, what with he's so hellbent on taking out Chris Hart, but he knows it's true, and he knows that they have been fed up with him since the beginning of the summer.
"He knows that I've been fed up with him since the beginning of the summer. But the clincher to me? The moment when I knew that no longer was the same Kurt Noble residing in APW? When he was standing in the ring with Doug E. Fresh last week, and he didn't have the urge to bash that smug prophet's face in. Given their history, given what happened over at Visionary Wrestling, one would assume that Noble would want to rip Fresh's head off.
"But right now, the man is possessed by something that isn't Fresh, something that he wants more than anything. More than his own wife even. And after what he did to her, I know without a doubt that Noble is going to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I know that there is no reasoning with him, there is no pleading with him. I can't look to him and try and make him remember the glory days, when he and I used to have each others backs, when we were fighting against the oppression and the evil. When we were fighting against the very being that he has become.
"There's no reasoning with him because he doesn't care about any of that. If he was willing to hit his own wife with a Noble Neckbreaker, then all bets are off. All kindnesses that once existed are no longer. Instead, he and I can step into the ring this week and battle it out. I can step into the ring seeking the revenge that I wanted to get on him at One Night in Hell, but revenge that never came.
"And while I know Kurt will think himself higher than others will, and while I know that he is going to see me as a small termite in his grand scheme, it's only a matter of time before I prove him wrong. But that's what I do best, is it not? Prove people wrong? I've done it my entire career and Kurt should be the sort of person to realize that. He should be the one guy to expect it from me since he has witnessed it a few times first hand. Or, at the very least, heard of me talk about the many times when I was counted out.
"Such as this week.
"I'd be a bit naive to assume that people are actually picking me to win because of my talent. I'd be stupid to assume that people are looking at me as the Noble slayer. Instead I can hear them saying "I want C.J. to win because I hate Kurt Noble, but I just can't bet against the better man". I hear it all, but I'm used to it. I'm used to having to fight out of someones shadows, having to overcome what everyone says I'm not capable of doing.
"But just as a reminder to everyone that doubts me and to Kurt Noble himself, don't count me out just yet. Last time that happened, I went on to beat Level One to become the number one contender for the Undisputed title. I overcame the odds at Christmas Chaos, so it's quite possible that I could overcome the odds at Overdrive.
"I can't let that win over Level One cloud my own judgement however. I need to make sure that I'm still on my toes, that I'm still paying attention to everything that is going on. After all I'd be stupid not to. With the way Noble has been, taking my attention off of him is going to be like taking my eyes off of death itself. The moment I do, that's when he will strike with whatever he can get his hands on.
"But what might be more important is that I can't start letting myself think that I can beat everyone all the time. Sure, I'd love to be able to think that way, but doing so would only make my head bigger than it should be. I don't keep myself grounded to play on the sympathies of the fans or of other wrestlers, I do it because it's the truth, because I like to make sure I'm one hundred percent on what is coming down the pipe.
"Such as Kurt Noble.
"I know that I could beat you Kurt. I do. I know that if I put everything that I have into a match I can walk out with the victory, with my head held high, and with another name on the hit list. I do. But I won't stand here before you and promise that I am going to pick up a victory. I can't stand here and harp on you for being anything but what you are: a talented wrestler. You might not be sound of mind, but you are still the man who went to the finals of the Extreme Tournament. You are still the man that went to the finals of the Ascension tournament. You are still the man that beat me at Rasslemania for the Undisputed title.
"And things like that don't go forgotten. Moments like those aren't just thrown away because I don't want to remember them. If anything moments like those are added together to show me what I am really fighting against, gathered together to prove that you are as bad as they come.
"They also work together to show me that I need to give it everything I have this week and Kurt, you can bet that I am going to give it just that. You can bet that I am going to do what I need to do inside of that ring to get the job done. Like I said, there is unfinished business between us. There are matters that still need to be settled since you decided to attack me a few months back. You decided to bash my head in after I tried to defend you. You tried to kill me after I tried to get everyone to understand that you weren't the monster they were painting you out to be.
"Which I was wrong about.
"But even though I was wrong then, Kurt, I won't be wrong this week. I won't mistake one of your ploys or tricks for anything but what it really is. I won't hope that you'll turn the other cheek and give me that Noble smile that everything will be alright, because I know that it's not possible. I know that there is no way in Hell that you walk out to that ring anything but hellbent on destruction. Hellbent on proving to anyone that will watch and listen that Chris Hart is going to die at Survive and Conquer.
"Then again, maybe you'll just be sidetracked, waiting for Chris Hart to respond to your challenge, waiting for him to give you the thumbs up so the two of you can finally do what we've been expecting you to do since you turned your back on him. Though I'm not going to rest on you being sidetracked because I have to make sure that I'm ready for anything.
"Not like we're strangers to one another or anything, but I still leave room for any possibility that you've begun to act a bit different than you used to, that you're doing a whole lot of things now that you wouldn't have dreamed of doing, even when you were beginning to fall into your own madness. Sure, you're a bit more psychotic, a bit more full of yourself then you were, but you're not going to catch me off guard. You're not going to catch my napping because I am going to be prepared.
"Because preparation is my middle name.
"Of course there's nothing at stake right now, is there? There's no momentum riding on this match, there's no title shot to worry about, there's no title on the line. There's nothing. Nothing except pride, and not because I feel like I ought to beat you, but because I want to show you that the way you treated me, the way you tried to kill me, that should have never happened.
"And you know it.
"Don't deny it, because I know you do. You know that the only reason you got the jump on me, was because I was trying to look out for you. But now that you've burned what little bit of a bridge remained between us, you're going to get the full force of what this North Dakota Cowboy has in store for you.
"Forget about Rasslemania, forget about Mayhem, because I am going to show you that I've done a lot of work to improve myself since then. Just like you changing from a positive man to a negative one, I've added to my arsenal, I've begun to climb back to the top. Hell, I'm more relevant now then I was the last time we met, because at this moment, I am not riding your shadow. I am not playing second banana to your show.
"Instead I am the man. I am the one that is protecting APW from everything evil. I am the one that is making sure people like you don't take over. And while I can't promise success, I can't guarantee victory, I can tell you that you will either be put in your place, or you will be shown that people aren't just going to accept your shit for what it's worth.
"I guess, in a way, you can consider this me showing you that your little game last week? There's no place for it here. You may have wanted to send your message, but on Overdrive, there's no place for it. Write a letter, go to his house, but keep it out of the ring.
"Keep it out of my ring.
"Mainly because no one really cares. Sure, the people you need to take notice are, but the rest, the rest just see you as a despicable human being. And if I wasn't making sure I was prepared, if we weren't wrestling this week, I'd say you're a despicable human being too.
"You live for a time when you're the only one left standing.
"You attack innocent people.
"You willingly attack women.
"And you smile while doing it.
"Unfortunately for you, you've come face to face with someone who looks down on people who do that.
"You've come face to face with the White Knight of APW.
"With the North Dakota Cowboy.
"Kurt, it's time to go big or go home."
"After winning at Christmas Chaos, I managed to fall flat on my face in a loss to Michael Lively on the first Overdrive of the year. Not exactly the best way to start a year off, but there's a lot of room for improvement. There's a lot of room to grow from that one loss.
"Of course, I followed that loss up with an absence from Overdrive, probably the first time I've not been on Overdrive since I signed my contract. With Survive and Conquer coming up, I figured it was a great time to take a bit of a break, to rest up, relax and get ready for what is coming down the pipe.
"Was it the best choice? Probably not, because there are people that will find some way to turn it into something bigger than it really is. There will be people who poke fun at it, who mock me for it. After all, this is nearly the same roster that mocked me for choosing to involve myself in an eighty-six person match instead of defending my title.
"But it's a risk I'm willing to take to make sure that I can continue to put on a performance that these fans love, and a performance that I know does not go unnoticed. It's a risk I am going to take to make sure I can last in the Survive and Conquer match in a few weeks time.
"But first, I have to get by a few hurdles and jump through a few hoops.
"First I have to keep myself alive so that I make it to that match.
"First I need to take down a former friend, a former ally, and a former Undisputed champion.
"First up is Kurt Noble."
------------------------------------------
The scene opens up with booming laughter coming from Vincent James. The large, bald man is sitting behind the desk of C.J. Gates, listening to something through headphones attached to the computer. He continues to laugh as the door to the office opens and in steps the number one contender to the Undisputed championship, C.J. Gates. He pauses as he sees James and then loudly closes the door, grabbing the big mans attention, if only briefly. Gates takes a few steps forward and snaps his fingers in James' peripheral vision before pointing to his ears. James removes the headphones and places them around his neck.
"What are you listening to that's so funny?" Gates asks as he sits in the chair across the desk from James.
"Oh man, these guys," James begins before falling into laughter. "They're priceless."
"Is it some sort of morning show?" Gates asks, craning his neck to see the computer screen. "A comedy routine?"
James shakes his head. "It's this podcast about APW and it's wrestlers and some of the stuff they say, man it's priceless."
"Oh, I bet," Gates says, sitting back in his chair. "There are a lot of characters to talk about."
"You included."
Gates raises his eyebrows. "Oh? What did they say about me?"
"Just that you're the one guy that can wear that hat well," James says, motioning to the hat on Gates' head. "And that you're the poster boy for Hat Wearer's Quarterly or something like that."
James falls into laughter again, but Gates doesn't follow suit. Instead he shakes his head. "Sounds great," he says dryly, rolling his eyes.
"You had to hear it to get the full effect."
"I can only imagine."
James removes the headphones from around his neck and places them on the desktop. "So what have you been up to?"
"Just trying to get myself ready for the next few weeks," Gates says. "Have to make sure I'm prepared for Survive and Conquer, as well as all the potential matches I am going to be involved in leading up to then."
"Anything special on the horizon?" James asks. "Match wise, that is."
"Well, this week I get the, pleasure of fighting against Kurt Noble."
Now it is James' turn to raise his eyebrows. "Noble, huh?"
"Yep," Gates nods. "It should be fun, considering the history that he and I have between us. It definitely won't be one of those matches where the two of us can shake hands at the start and the end, that's for sure."
"Naturally. The dude enjoys beating up women, and that's not the sort of person you should ever shake hands with."
"I know that," Gates says. "It's just that last year at this time, he and I would have been able to speak backstage without the question about whether or not Noble was going to blast me in the face with some sort of weapon."
"It's hard to imagine," James says with a chuckle.
"Why's that?"
"As long as I've been here, Noble's been nothing more than venom personified," James says. "No matter what he does, he always seems to be attacking someone, cursing someone out, pissing in someone's Cheerio's. Name it and he's been doing it."
Gates nods. "It's true. There was a point where I thought he was the victim."
James laughs at the thought. "How could you, of all people, think that?"
"Because Terry Marvin was the one spearheading that campaign."
"I guess I can understand that much," James says. "But if it was after you guys last fought for the title, I'd assume you'd already know that it wasn't just some sort of lie being cooked up by The Real Show."
"I know I should have," Gates says with a shake of his head. "But I also couldn't let myself get taken in by Terry Marvin. There's only so much one can follow before they get blindsided by the shepherd and I wasn't about to fall into that trap this time around."
"So instead you decided to defend the insane grandfather."
Gates chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you can put it like that."
"Probably not one of your better ideas," James admits. "But I guess, in the end, it all worked out because you managed to go on to win the number one contender spot."
"Yeah," Gates says. "Though there was that moment when Noble knocked me out, tied me in the ring ropes and tried to decapitate me with a steel chair."
James stares across the desk at Gates before shaking his head. "Before or after you defended him?"
"Before. Literally, like, right after I mentioned that. He came out and cleared the ring before tying me in the ropes and trying to kill me. Luckily I was saved by Biggs and Terry Marvin, but still."
"So I guess it's safe for me to assume that you're looking to get some sort of revenge on him for all of this, aren't you?"
"Somewhat," Gates admits. "I mean, because of that there is some unfinished business between he and I. At least to me. I'm sure he's moved beyond it, but that's because he's prefers to attack women, get tainted wins, and call out his former best friend rather than look at the facts."
"Speaking of," James says. "Was that Doug E. Fresh I saw last week?"
Gates nods. "Trust me, it surprised me to."
"I thought those two hated each other."
"I guess Noble's hatred for Hart and Amy is more than whatever he felt for Doug."
"Weird," James says with a shake of his head. "Wasn't it like, two weeks ago that he and Doug were fighting in a Hell in a Cell match?"
"Yep."
"Weird."
"That's what I've been saying since I saw that," Gates says. "But no one's going to call him on it."
"Until you, that is," James says with a wink.
"I guess so, yeah. But it's not like Noble is going to suddenly realize what I'm saying is true, you know? He's going to just brush it off and focus on something else rather than address the elephant in the room."
"Typical, right?"
"Exactly," Gates chuckles. "Whatever, though. I've got other things on my mind than his new found friendship with Doug or whatever the hell he's going to claim it to be. I'm more focused on what Noble is going to do in that ring then what he's going to do outside of it."
"You think you can take him?"
"If you're asking whether or not I can handle him and hold my own in the match, then yes. One hundred times yes. If you're wondering whether or not I can win, well, that's something that we're all going to have to wait and see about."
"Then here," James adds. "Do you want to take him? Do you want to win."
"Of course," Gates says quickly. "I'd be a fool not to. There's bragging rights attached, there's motivation, there's everything that someone would need going into Survive and Conquer, and it's all available at the expense of Kurt Noble, one of the former poster boys for APW. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't keep up to it and he eventually cracked."
"You almost cracked yourself, though."
"I guess."
"You were talking to your dead relatives."
"Fine, I'll give you that one," Gates says after a bit of silence. "But I didn't crack to his levels, because I know what it means to be the gate keeper of APW. To be the one man that can sort through the murk, the man that can try and weed out the evil that resides within."
"Which is what you did at Christmas Chaos, isn't it."
"That was one step, yeah," Gates says. "Beating Level One was an awesome feat, but that is just the beginning. There's still many others to worry about, guys like Noble, like Marvin, hell, even guys like Evan Envi. Guys who think they are owed the world even though they haven't earned it."
"I don't know if I'd go that far," James says. "They've probably earned some sort of success given what they've all done."
"Possibly, but not as much as they're getting," Gates admits. "Like, Lively, he's considering himself to be the next coming of Christ, while Terry Marvin thinks he's the best thing going because he's got the title around his waist. It's the small things like that, the things that I just can't stand because half the time, they are in over their head."
"But you aren't, right?"
"Nope. I'm at least willing to admit when I've been bested."
"Like two weeks ago when you lost to Lively?" James asks. "You were bested then?"
Gates pauses. "I probably didn't put out the best performance I could that night, because that was a winnable match. But at that moment, on that night, I wasn't at the point that I needed to be to pick up that win."
"You know you can say that Lively was the better man that night, you don't have to beat around the bush."
"I wouldn't say I'm beating around the bush," Gates says before quickly changing topic. "But that was two weeks ago. This week, I'm focused on one man and one man only. I'm worried about Kurt Noble and everything that crazy bastard is going to bring with him."
"And you're focused on winning," James says with a smile.
"If I happen to win, then great. But if not I'm not going to cry about it. I'm going to do what I can, I'm going to bring everything that I have and I am going to try my damndest to pull out a victory but I'm not going all in on it."
"You just want revenge."
"I'd love revenge," Gates says with a smile. "If it happens to come my way. One thing I will do is push Noble to his limit. I'm going to make sure he understands what it means to go big or go home."
------------------------------------------
"It's moments like these that never get old.
"Moments when I get that opportunity to put someones foot in their mouth, moments when I get the chance to prove someone wrong once and for all, when I get to unleash some frustration and anger on them for everything that they have done. Sure, it seems like everyone falls into those categories, but in this case, it's more personal than in some of the others.
"It's more personal, because Kurt Noble made it personal. He made it personal and we never really got a chance to have at it and put it all to rest. I mean, the last time he and I butted heads, at least we were able to solve our issues then, to make sure that there were no questions. But this time? This time Kurt Noble left without saying goodbye.
"And not in the physical sense, but in the mental sense. When he attacked me prior to One Night in Hell, back when Terry Marvin was trying to make everyone see the light, he was slowly slipping into some sort of insanity. That much everyone can see. But ever since then he's gotten worse. Ever since then, he's no longer the same Kurt Noble.
"Which probably works for him, since just like everyone else that has taken the trip he's currently on, the fans began to hate. The fans loathe him. Not that he really cares right now, what with he's so hellbent on taking out Chris Hart, but he knows it's true, and he knows that they have been fed up with him since the beginning of the summer.
"He knows that I've been fed up with him since the beginning of the summer. But the clincher to me? The moment when I knew that no longer was the same Kurt Noble residing in APW? When he was standing in the ring with Doug E. Fresh last week, and he didn't have the urge to bash that smug prophet's face in. Given their history, given what happened over at Visionary Wrestling, one would assume that Noble would want to rip Fresh's head off.
"But right now, the man is possessed by something that isn't Fresh, something that he wants more than anything. More than his own wife even. And after what he did to her, I know without a doubt that Noble is going to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I know that there is no reasoning with him, there is no pleading with him. I can't look to him and try and make him remember the glory days, when he and I used to have each others backs, when we were fighting against the oppression and the evil. When we were fighting against the very being that he has become.
"There's no reasoning with him because he doesn't care about any of that. If he was willing to hit his own wife with a Noble Neckbreaker, then all bets are off. All kindnesses that once existed are no longer. Instead, he and I can step into the ring this week and battle it out. I can step into the ring seeking the revenge that I wanted to get on him at One Night in Hell, but revenge that never came.
"And while I know Kurt will think himself higher than others will, and while I know that he is going to see me as a small termite in his grand scheme, it's only a matter of time before I prove him wrong. But that's what I do best, is it not? Prove people wrong? I've done it my entire career and Kurt should be the sort of person to realize that. He should be the one guy to expect it from me since he has witnessed it a few times first hand. Or, at the very least, heard of me talk about the many times when I was counted out.
"Such as this week.
"I'd be a bit naive to assume that people are actually picking me to win because of my talent. I'd be stupid to assume that people are looking at me as the Noble slayer. Instead I can hear them saying "I want C.J. to win because I hate Kurt Noble, but I just can't bet against the better man". I hear it all, but I'm used to it. I'm used to having to fight out of someones shadows, having to overcome what everyone says I'm not capable of doing.
"But just as a reminder to everyone that doubts me and to Kurt Noble himself, don't count me out just yet. Last time that happened, I went on to beat Level One to become the number one contender for the Undisputed title. I overcame the odds at Christmas Chaos, so it's quite possible that I could overcome the odds at Overdrive.
"I can't let that win over Level One cloud my own judgement however. I need to make sure that I'm still on my toes, that I'm still paying attention to everything that is going on. After all I'd be stupid not to. With the way Noble has been, taking my attention off of him is going to be like taking my eyes off of death itself. The moment I do, that's when he will strike with whatever he can get his hands on.
"But what might be more important is that I can't start letting myself think that I can beat everyone all the time. Sure, I'd love to be able to think that way, but doing so would only make my head bigger than it should be. I don't keep myself grounded to play on the sympathies of the fans or of other wrestlers, I do it because it's the truth, because I like to make sure I'm one hundred percent on what is coming down the pipe.
"Such as Kurt Noble.
"I know that I could beat you Kurt. I do. I know that if I put everything that I have into a match I can walk out with the victory, with my head held high, and with another name on the hit list. I do. But I won't stand here before you and promise that I am going to pick up a victory. I can't stand here and harp on you for being anything but what you are: a talented wrestler. You might not be sound of mind, but you are still the man who went to the finals of the Extreme Tournament. You are still the man that went to the finals of the Ascension tournament. You are still the man that beat me at Rasslemania for the Undisputed title.
"And things like that don't go forgotten. Moments like those aren't just thrown away because I don't want to remember them. If anything moments like those are added together to show me what I am really fighting against, gathered together to prove that you are as bad as they come.
"They also work together to show me that I need to give it everything I have this week and Kurt, you can bet that I am going to give it just that. You can bet that I am going to do what I need to do inside of that ring to get the job done. Like I said, there is unfinished business between us. There are matters that still need to be settled since you decided to attack me a few months back. You decided to bash my head in after I tried to defend you. You tried to kill me after I tried to get everyone to understand that you weren't the monster they were painting you out to be.
"Which I was wrong about.
"But even though I was wrong then, Kurt, I won't be wrong this week. I won't mistake one of your ploys or tricks for anything but what it really is. I won't hope that you'll turn the other cheek and give me that Noble smile that everything will be alright, because I know that it's not possible. I know that there is no way in Hell that you walk out to that ring anything but hellbent on destruction. Hellbent on proving to anyone that will watch and listen that Chris Hart is going to die at Survive and Conquer.
"Then again, maybe you'll just be sidetracked, waiting for Chris Hart to respond to your challenge, waiting for him to give you the thumbs up so the two of you can finally do what we've been expecting you to do since you turned your back on him. Though I'm not going to rest on you being sidetracked because I have to make sure that I'm ready for anything.
"Not like we're strangers to one another or anything, but I still leave room for any possibility that you've begun to act a bit different than you used to, that you're doing a whole lot of things now that you wouldn't have dreamed of doing, even when you were beginning to fall into your own madness. Sure, you're a bit more psychotic, a bit more full of yourself then you were, but you're not going to catch me off guard. You're not going to catch my napping because I am going to be prepared.
"Because preparation is my middle name.
"Of course there's nothing at stake right now, is there? There's no momentum riding on this match, there's no title shot to worry about, there's no title on the line. There's nothing. Nothing except pride, and not because I feel like I ought to beat you, but because I want to show you that the way you treated me, the way you tried to kill me, that should have never happened.
"And you know it.
"Don't deny it, because I know you do. You know that the only reason you got the jump on me, was because I was trying to look out for you. But now that you've burned what little bit of a bridge remained between us, you're going to get the full force of what this North Dakota Cowboy has in store for you.
"Forget about Rasslemania, forget about Mayhem, because I am going to show you that I've done a lot of work to improve myself since then. Just like you changing from a positive man to a negative one, I've added to my arsenal, I've begun to climb back to the top. Hell, I'm more relevant now then I was the last time we met, because at this moment, I am not riding your shadow. I am not playing second banana to your show.
"Instead I am the man. I am the one that is protecting APW from everything evil. I am the one that is making sure people like you don't take over. And while I can't promise success, I can't guarantee victory, I can tell you that you will either be put in your place, or you will be shown that people aren't just going to accept your shit for what it's worth.
"I guess, in a way, you can consider this me showing you that your little game last week? There's no place for it here. You may have wanted to send your message, but on Overdrive, there's no place for it. Write a letter, go to his house, but keep it out of the ring.
"Keep it out of my ring.
"Mainly because no one really cares. Sure, the people you need to take notice are, but the rest, the rest just see you as a despicable human being. And if I wasn't making sure I was prepared, if we weren't wrestling this week, I'd say you're a despicable human being too.
"You live for a time when you're the only one left standing.
"You attack innocent people.
"You willingly attack women.
"And you smile while doing it.
"Unfortunately for you, you've come face to face with someone who looks down on people who do that.
"You've come face to face with the White Knight of APW.
"With the North Dakota Cowboy.
"Kurt, it's time to go big or go home."
