Post by biggs on Feb 13, 2013 20:47:17 GMT -4
”It still smells like rotten bananas. Even from this distance...” “Stunning” Stan Everdeen says, as he holds his nose. We're in my backyard, on the porch, hosing down the Billion Dollar Briefcase that I had to dumpster dive to obtain. The sky is grey, the sun nowhere to be seen on this overcast Seattle Wednesday. The briefcase itself is sopping wet, the brown leather warping and peeling. The briefcase doesn't just smell like rotten bananas, it's beginning to resemble them as well! Luckily, I had the foresight to remove the contract from the briefcase before attempting to clean it.
”Listen, man, I got to take this with me to Charlottetown with me tomorrow night, and I'm sure as heck not flying with it smelling like death!”
”But it doesn't smell like death, it smells like rotten bananas Why didn't you try cleaning it earlier?”
I smack Stan on the chest. ”Don't be such a smart alec! That's my job! Also, I've been rinsing this off all week. And it still stinks to high heaven. Although now that I think about it, it's kind of appropriate, considering who it actually belongs to, that being Level-One.”
”Has anyone ever told you that you have a funny way of verbalizing your thoughts? And why keep wasting your time on cleaning the briefcase? Why not just buy a new one?”
”I do get that a lot, but the fact is that if I go out to buy a new briefcase, than it ceases to be Level-One's briefcase, and it's just my briefcase with his contract..”
”So you're not going to try and cash in the contract yourself?” Stan asks quizzically.
”Heavens no. I didn't earn it. And despite the fact that Level-One was stupid enough to throw this thing away in a false sign of loyalty to Terry Marvin, I have no right to use it myself.”
”Then why did you go through all the trouble of searching through the dumpster for it?”
”Because knowing Level-One as well as I do, I knew he would change his mind at some point, and try to get it back. Simply put, I now have something he wants, which gives me leverage over him. And heading into RassleMania, that can only help my cause.”
”Makes sense.”
After a few more minutes of hosing the briefcase down, Stan and I go to inspect it, and unfortunately, the smell has somehow gotten worse! Stan begins to wretch like he's about to throw up, and his face has an almost greenish tint to it. Before long, he vomits.
”GROSS MAN! C'MON! THIS IS MY PORCH!” I grab the hose and begin to spray the puke, directing it off the porch and into the grass. Stan heads into the house, and I can see him get several glasses of water, chugging them quickly to try and get the taste of the vomit out of his mouth. However, he's drinking so quickly that he causes himself to throw up again. I shake my head as I pull the collar of my shirt over my face, using it as a makeshift air filter before grabbing the briefcase and throwing into the garbage can. ”Alright, alright! We'll just go buy another briefcase! But first you're going to clean my kitchen sink!”
Depeche Mode's “Spacewalker” plays as the words FIRST CONTACT flash across the starry background in big, bold blue letters. The video transitions to a replay of the finish to the Steel Cage Match for the Overdrive Championship between Biggs and Shadow from Shockwave '09.
The video pauses, and the camera zooms out to show Biggs seated in front of a big screen television, watching the tape. He's clad in a 49ers T-Shirt and red shades.
”Welcome, everyone, to Biggs' First Contact. Seeing the end of that match again bring back a flood of memories about my opponent for this week, a man whom I have quite the history with, none other than the man who my feud with put both of us on the map here in APW, the man they call Shadow!”
“Shadow, it would be very easy for me to spend this entire web-show waxing nostalgic about our epic rivalry, one that won the Feud of the Year award at the 2009 APW End of Year Awards. It had everything you would want from a wrestling rivalry. A clear cut good guy, a clear cut bad guy. Back and forth momentum changes, title changes as well! We hated each other, Shadow, and there's no doubt that a feud like that should have elevated the both of us to bigger and better things here in APW. Granted, that did happen with me, but not so much with you, because shortly after you and I closed out 2009 with a Two-Out-of-Three Falls Match that can't be classified as anything other than epic, you just kind of disappeared for a while. And at the time, I was grateful that I wouldn't have to put up with you anymore, but in hindsight, it's hard to not ask what if?”
“What if you had stayed, Shadow? There's no doubt in my mind that our careers would have been even more intertwined than they already are. After all, I would have never reached the heights I have here in APW if it weren't for you pushing me to be better each and every week. I would have never broken out of the rut I was when I first started here in APW had I not had a target like you, somebody whom I could strive to beat on my way to bigger and better things. You were just so gosh darn relentless, I had no choice but to keep improving my game week in and week out, just to stay that one step ahead of you!”
“Now in hindsight, I have a lot to be ashamed of from that feud. The ways that I badgered and hounded you on, calling you a coward for not fighting me, when there wasn't even any reason for being on your radar. The way that I essentially stole victory in that Steel Cage Match. The fact that I set your best friend at the time on fire. The fact is, Shadow, I did you wrong, early and often. And though I apologized for all of that a few weeks ago when we teamed up to take on Level-One and Evan Envi, I completely understand why you would have second thoughts about liking me or trusting me. Like I said a few weeks ago, I never expect us to be all buddy-buddy, because there's simply too much history between us.”
“I extended the olive branch, and at the time, you didn't accept it, but I don't begrudge you one bit. Because for all the talk I've made about being a changed man, for all words I've said about trying to become a better person, the fact of the matter is that up until our tag match a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't given you any reason to respect me, let alone trust me.”
“And even though we came out on the losing end of that contest, I can't help but think that that match was a good first step for us into reconciling our past. I know that things will take time, I suspect you may never be able to fully trust me. Again, I don't blame you. But after that tag match, Shadow, I can say without a shadow of a doubt, pardon the pun, that my respect for you as a competitor grew. Because even though you had every right to hate me, even though I wouldn't have blamed you for hopping off the apron and walking up that ramp, leaving me to fend for myself with those two jackals, you stuck by my side, wrestled a good match, and almost defeated Level-One.”
“Seeing as how I'm on a collision course with Lester Only at RassleMania IX, I couldn't help but appreciate seeing you lay that Big Boot into the side of his skull. I liked how you didn't back down from Level-One, even though he's held in such high regard in these parts, if not for his attitude, which is quite crappy, but for his ability in the ring. You stood toe-to-toe with a man who is often called the greatest Mega Star in APW history, and you stood your ground. I can't help but have respect for that.”
“I also can't help but have respect for how dangerous of a competitor you are, Shadow, because even though you may not be the most technical of wrestlers, your skill lies in using your size and power advantage to overwhelm your foes. You may be more comfortable throwing a punch than applying a wrist-lock, but for me to somehow claim that I'm a better wrestler than you is not only inaccurate, but dangerous.”
“It would be dangerous for me to go into our match tomorrow night thinking that I'm somehow above you. It would be dangerous for me to believe that just because you haven't won the Undisputed Championship, just because you haven't Main Evented pay-per-views here in APW, that I'm somehow beyond you. While our respective careers have taken extremely divergent paths since our feud through the summer and fall of 2009, one fact has stuck with me throughout my APW career, Shadow, and it's this: I would not be the wrestler I am today without you.”
“But just because I owe my initial success here in APW to our rivalry, Shadow, and just because I wronged you so many times in the past, doesn't mean I owe you our match tomorrow night. You're looking at our match as your chance for redemption. You're looking at it as a way to vindicate yourself for walking away all those years ago. But here's the thing, Shadow, just as you're not responsible for my successes, I'm not responsible for your failures.”
“Like I said earlier, Shadow, I have nothing but respect for you now, but the idea that you can somehow erase all the self-doubt and shame you experienced when you walked away from APW at the beginning of 2010 by defeating me tomorrow night, well, that's just putting way too much importance on me. Yes, we have a history. Yes, I have gone on to bigger and better things over the course of my career, while you've largely remained in place, but to imply that I only had the success that I did because you walked away, or to say that you could have had the same success that I did had you stayed, well, it's just a case of should have, would have, could have.”
“Shadow, you're better than that. You don't need to mope, and whine, and cry about what could have been. Instead, you should focus on what you can become, and that is one of the most dominant big men in APW history. Granted, you have a lot of catching up to do with Level-One in that department, but I digress. The fact is, Shadow, you have all the tools necessary to be one of the top guys here in APW. You have been blessed with the size and strength that few can hope to have. You can brawl with the best of them. What's holding you back, at least in my eyes, is the one thing you consider to be your strength, and that's your anger.”
“You hold onto the past perhaps a bit too tightly. You focus too much on what could have been. There are times, and I say this with nothing but respect, but there are times when you come off as sounding bitter and resentful. That's not the kind of anger you want to be driving you, Shadow, not at all.”
“The kind of anger you want to be motivated by is a righteous anger, the kind that you showed when we fought all those years ago. Not once did I hear you complain back then about how I wronged you. Not once did you claim that I screwed you out of the title. You merely took your lumps, and came back even stronger than before. There's no doubt in my mind, Shadow, that if you could rekindle that kind of anger, well, you could be one of the big time players here in APW!”
“But in order to do that, Shadow, tomorrow night, you have to get through me. And you know as well as anybody that I don't make that easy to do. After all, I'm not a 3-time Overdrive Champion, and former Undisputed Champion for nothing! I'm simply too fast, too smart, and too motivated to let you have your way with me! You remember how fiercely we fought, how skilled I was three years ago. Well since then, I've only gotten better! Just because I respect you now doesn't mean I'm going to hold anything back! It doesn't mean I'm going to not exploit any advantage I may find, whether be it utilizing a well timed counter, focusing on a weakness of yours, or if push comes to shove, cheating. I may be a 'good guy,' per se, but I will admit, some of my old tendencies haven't fully left. I'm not going to hold anything back just because of the respect I now have for you. If anything, I'm going to go all out even more!”
“I can guarantee you that I'm placing as much importance on our match tomorrow night as I am my match with Level-One at RassleMania IX! To overlook you tomorrow night would mean overlooking that devastating Big Boot. To overlook you tomorrow night would mean overlooking The Eclipse, a move I've felt many a time in the past. I know better than that, Shadow.”
“Even though you've placed so much importance on this match in your mind, even though you've hyped it up much more than you probably should have, I've got to admit, there's a part of me that's just as jazzed for this match as you are! Not because I get to prove once and for all that I'm superior to you. Not because I get to put the past to bed. No, it's because I respect you, Shadow, and it's simply more fun to wrestle against somebody you respect than you don't. Because I know that tomorrow night, both of us will be putting our best foot forward, both of us will be giving it everything we've got, just for the chance to have our arm raised at the end of the contest.”
“Tomorrow night, Shadow, you feel that you must win to vindicate yourself. I feel that I must win to gain momentum for my upcoming match at RassleMania. When both guys go into a match with a must win attitude, great things happen. Tomorrow night, Shadow, I expect us to write another chapter in our storied history, and I expect it to be the greatest yet! Because even though there are not titles on the line, even though neither one of us have a personal vendetta against the other, tomorrow night in that ring, we're fighting for respect. Respect from each other, respect from the fans, and in your case, Shadow, respect for yourself. Because ultimately, Shadow, I don't think that you respect yourself enough. The fact that you're so caught up in the past speaks to that.”
“But regardless, tomorrow night, Shadow, it's on like Donkey Kong! And you'll get to experience again first hand why I am quite simply OUT OF THIS WORLD!”
“Spacewalker” begins to play again as the screen fades to black.
”Listen, man, I got to take this with me to Charlottetown with me tomorrow night, and I'm sure as heck not flying with it smelling like death!”
”But it doesn't smell like death, it smells like rotten bananas Why didn't you try cleaning it earlier?”
I smack Stan on the chest. ”Don't be such a smart alec! That's my job! Also, I've been rinsing this off all week. And it still stinks to high heaven. Although now that I think about it, it's kind of appropriate, considering who it actually belongs to, that being Level-One.”
”Has anyone ever told you that you have a funny way of verbalizing your thoughts? And why keep wasting your time on cleaning the briefcase? Why not just buy a new one?”
”I do get that a lot, but the fact is that if I go out to buy a new briefcase, than it ceases to be Level-One's briefcase, and it's just my briefcase with his contract..”
”So you're not going to try and cash in the contract yourself?” Stan asks quizzically.
”Heavens no. I didn't earn it. And despite the fact that Level-One was stupid enough to throw this thing away in a false sign of loyalty to Terry Marvin, I have no right to use it myself.”
”Then why did you go through all the trouble of searching through the dumpster for it?”
”Because knowing Level-One as well as I do, I knew he would change his mind at some point, and try to get it back. Simply put, I now have something he wants, which gives me leverage over him. And heading into RassleMania, that can only help my cause.”
”Makes sense.”
After a few more minutes of hosing the briefcase down, Stan and I go to inspect it, and unfortunately, the smell has somehow gotten worse! Stan begins to wretch like he's about to throw up, and his face has an almost greenish tint to it. Before long, he vomits.
”GROSS MAN! C'MON! THIS IS MY PORCH!” I grab the hose and begin to spray the puke, directing it off the porch and into the grass. Stan heads into the house, and I can see him get several glasses of water, chugging them quickly to try and get the taste of the vomit out of his mouth. However, he's drinking so quickly that he causes himself to throw up again. I shake my head as I pull the collar of my shirt over my face, using it as a makeshift air filter before grabbing the briefcase and throwing into the garbage can. ”Alright, alright! We'll just go buy another briefcase! But first you're going to clean my kitchen sink!”
***
Depeche Mode's “Spacewalker” plays as the words FIRST CONTACT flash across the starry background in big, bold blue letters. The video transitions to a replay of the finish to the Steel Cage Match for the Overdrive Championship between Biggs and Shadow from Shockwave '09.
Biggs' trademark smirk can be seen on his bloody face as he begins to make his way up the cage once more! The fans start chanting for Shadow again, and he makes his way up to his feet as Biggs slowly ascends the cage! Shadow starts climbing up himself, and the two reach the top almost at the same time! Biggs and Shadow straddle the top of the cage, and begin to trade punches again! After a few blows, Shadow gets the advantage, and rams Biggs' head off the top of the cage repeatedly!
Harvey: I think whoever gets the better of this exchange stands a good chance of winning this match!
Chase: I hope it's Biggs!
Each time Shadow rams Biggs head into the top of the cage, it's more vicious than the last! When Biggs is sufficiently dazed, Shadow takes a chance, and gets to a standing position on top of the cage! They're positioned on the center of the cage, so he can't use the support cable to keep his balance, but nonetheless, he manages to pull Biggs up to a standing position! Shadow then carefully lifts Biggs up in position for The Eclipse on top of the cage! The fans are going crazy!
Chase: No! Don't do it, Shadow! You'll kill him!
Harvey: Shadow's looking to put the exclamation point on this match up by giving Biggs the Eclipse from the top of the cage! That's over a 10 foot drop to the ring!
Before Shadow can pull the move off, Biggs starts driving his knees into the back of Shadow, and hits with such force on the last blow that he slips free of the hold, and knocks Shadow back down into the ring! Biggs, however, falls all the way down to the arena floor, landing on his side! DING! DING! DING!
Ferrari: Here is your winner, and the new APW Overdrive Champion, Biggs!
“Spaceman” begins to play as Biggs rolls around on the floor in pain.
Harvey: I think whoever gets the better of this exchange stands a good chance of winning this match!
Chase: I hope it's Biggs!
Each time Shadow rams Biggs head into the top of the cage, it's more vicious than the last! When Biggs is sufficiently dazed, Shadow takes a chance, and gets to a standing position on top of the cage! They're positioned on the center of the cage, so he can't use the support cable to keep his balance, but nonetheless, he manages to pull Biggs up to a standing position! Shadow then carefully lifts Biggs up in position for The Eclipse on top of the cage! The fans are going crazy!
Chase: No! Don't do it, Shadow! You'll kill him!
Harvey: Shadow's looking to put the exclamation point on this match up by giving Biggs the Eclipse from the top of the cage! That's over a 10 foot drop to the ring!
Before Shadow can pull the move off, Biggs starts driving his knees into the back of Shadow, and hits with such force on the last blow that he slips free of the hold, and knocks Shadow back down into the ring! Biggs, however, falls all the way down to the arena floor, landing on his side! DING! DING! DING!
Ferrari: Here is your winner, and the new APW Overdrive Champion, Biggs!
“Spaceman” begins to play as Biggs rolls around on the floor in pain.
The video pauses, and the camera zooms out to show Biggs seated in front of a big screen television, watching the tape. He's clad in a 49ers T-Shirt and red shades.
”Welcome, everyone, to Biggs' First Contact. Seeing the end of that match again bring back a flood of memories about my opponent for this week, a man whom I have quite the history with, none other than the man who my feud with put both of us on the map here in APW, the man they call Shadow!”
“Shadow, it would be very easy for me to spend this entire web-show waxing nostalgic about our epic rivalry, one that won the Feud of the Year award at the 2009 APW End of Year Awards. It had everything you would want from a wrestling rivalry. A clear cut good guy, a clear cut bad guy. Back and forth momentum changes, title changes as well! We hated each other, Shadow, and there's no doubt that a feud like that should have elevated the both of us to bigger and better things here in APW. Granted, that did happen with me, but not so much with you, because shortly after you and I closed out 2009 with a Two-Out-of-Three Falls Match that can't be classified as anything other than epic, you just kind of disappeared for a while. And at the time, I was grateful that I wouldn't have to put up with you anymore, but in hindsight, it's hard to not ask what if?”
“What if you had stayed, Shadow? There's no doubt in my mind that our careers would have been even more intertwined than they already are. After all, I would have never reached the heights I have here in APW if it weren't for you pushing me to be better each and every week. I would have never broken out of the rut I was when I first started here in APW had I not had a target like you, somebody whom I could strive to beat on my way to bigger and better things. You were just so gosh darn relentless, I had no choice but to keep improving my game week in and week out, just to stay that one step ahead of you!”
“Now in hindsight, I have a lot to be ashamed of from that feud. The ways that I badgered and hounded you on, calling you a coward for not fighting me, when there wasn't even any reason for being on your radar. The way that I essentially stole victory in that Steel Cage Match. The fact that I set your best friend at the time on fire. The fact is, Shadow, I did you wrong, early and often. And though I apologized for all of that a few weeks ago when we teamed up to take on Level-One and Evan Envi, I completely understand why you would have second thoughts about liking me or trusting me. Like I said a few weeks ago, I never expect us to be all buddy-buddy, because there's simply too much history between us.”
“I extended the olive branch, and at the time, you didn't accept it, but I don't begrudge you one bit. Because for all the talk I've made about being a changed man, for all words I've said about trying to become a better person, the fact of the matter is that up until our tag match a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't given you any reason to respect me, let alone trust me.”
“And even though we came out on the losing end of that contest, I can't help but think that that match was a good first step for us into reconciling our past. I know that things will take time, I suspect you may never be able to fully trust me. Again, I don't blame you. But after that tag match, Shadow, I can say without a shadow of a doubt, pardon the pun, that my respect for you as a competitor grew. Because even though you had every right to hate me, even though I wouldn't have blamed you for hopping off the apron and walking up that ramp, leaving me to fend for myself with those two jackals, you stuck by my side, wrestled a good match, and almost defeated Level-One.”
“Seeing as how I'm on a collision course with Lester Only at RassleMania IX, I couldn't help but appreciate seeing you lay that Big Boot into the side of his skull. I liked how you didn't back down from Level-One, even though he's held in such high regard in these parts, if not for his attitude, which is quite crappy, but for his ability in the ring. You stood toe-to-toe with a man who is often called the greatest Mega Star in APW history, and you stood your ground. I can't help but have respect for that.”
“I also can't help but have respect for how dangerous of a competitor you are, Shadow, because even though you may not be the most technical of wrestlers, your skill lies in using your size and power advantage to overwhelm your foes. You may be more comfortable throwing a punch than applying a wrist-lock, but for me to somehow claim that I'm a better wrestler than you is not only inaccurate, but dangerous.”
“It would be dangerous for me to go into our match tomorrow night thinking that I'm somehow above you. It would be dangerous for me to believe that just because you haven't won the Undisputed Championship, just because you haven't Main Evented pay-per-views here in APW, that I'm somehow beyond you. While our respective careers have taken extremely divergent paths since our feud through the summer and fall of 2009, one fact has stuck with me throughout my APW career, Shadow, and it's this: I would not be the wrestler I am today without you.”
“But just because I owe my initial success here in APW to our rivalry, Shadow, and just because I wronged you so many times in the past, doesn't mean I owe you our match tomorrow night. You're looking at our match as your chance for redemption. You're looking at it as a way to vindicate yourself for walking away all those years ago. But here's the thing, Shadow, just as you're not responsible for my successes, I'm not responsible for your failures.”
“Like I said earlier, Shadow, I have nothing but respect for you now, but the idea that you can somehow erase all the self-doubt and shame you experienced when you walked away from APW at the beginning of 2010 by defeating me tomorrow night, well, that's just putting way too much importance on me. Yes, we have a history. Yes, I have gone on to bigger and better things over the course of my career, while you've largely remained in place, but to imply that I only had the success that I did because you walked away, or to say that you could have had the same success that I did had you stayed, well, it's just a case of should have, would have, could have.”
“Shadow, you're better than that. You don't need to mope, and whine, and cry about what could have been. Instead, you should focus on what you can become, and that is one of the most dominant big men in APW history. Granted, you have a lot of catching up to do with Level-One in that department, but I digress. The fact is, Shadow, you have all the tools necessary to be one of the top guys here in APW. You have been blessed with the size and strength that few can hope to have. You can brawl with the best of them. What's holding you back, at least in my eyes, is the one thing you consider to be your strength, and that's your anger.”
“You hold onto the past perhaps a bit too tightly. You focus too much on what could have been. There are times, and I say this with nothing but respect, but there are times when you come off as sounding bitter and resentful. That's not the kind of anger you want to be driving you, Shadow, not at all.”
“The kind of anger you want to be motivated by is a righteous anger, the kind that you showed when we fought all those years ago. Not once did I hear you complain back then about how I wronged you. Not once did you claim that I screwed you out of the title. You merely took your lumps, and came back even stronger than before. There's no doubt in my mind, Shadow, that if you could rekindle that kind of anger, well, you could be one of the big time players here in APW!”
“But in order to do that, Shadow, tomorrow night, you have to get through me. And you know as well as anybody that I don't make that easy to do. After all, I'm not a 3-time Overdrive Champion, and former Undisputed Champion for nothing! I'm simply too fast, too smart, and too motivated to let you have your way with me! You remember how fiercely we fought, how skilled I was three years ago. Well since then, I've only gotten better! Just because I respect you now doesn't mean I'm going to hold anything back! It doesn't mean I'm going to not exploit any advantage I may find, whether be it utilizing a well timed counter, focusing on a weakness of yours, or if push comes to shove, cheating. I may be a 'good guy,' per se, but I will admit, some of my old tendencies haven't fully left. I'm not going to hold anything back just because of the respect I now have for you. If anything, I'm going to go all out even more!”
“I can guarantee you that I'm placing as much importance on our match tomorrow night as I am my match with Level-One at RassleMania IX! To overlook you tomorrow night would mean overlooking that devastating Big Boot. To overlook you tomorrow night would mean overlooking The Eclipse, a move I've felt many a time in the past. I know better than that, Shadow.”
“Even though you've placed so much importance on this match in your mind, even though you've hyped it up much more than you probably should have, I've got to admit, there's a part of me that's just as jazzed for this match as you are! Not because I get to prove once and for all that I'm superior to you. Not because I get to put the past to bed. No, it's because I respect you, Shadow, and it's simply more fun to wrestle against somebody you respect than you don't. Because I know that tomorrow night, both of us will be putting our best foot forward, both of us will be giving it everything we've got, just for the chance to have our arm raised at the end of the contest.”
“Tomorrow night, Shadow, you feel that you must win to vindicate yourself. I feel that I must win to gain momentum for my upcoming match at RassleMania. When both guys go into a match with a must win attitude, great things happen. Tomorrow night, Shadow, I expect us to write another chapter in our storied history, and I expect it to be the greatest yet! Because even though there are not titles on the line, even though neither one of us have a personal vendetta against the other, tomorrow night in that ring, we're fighting for respect. Respect from each other, respect from the fans, and in your case, Shadow, respect for yourself. Because ultimately, Shadow, I don't think that you respect yourself enough. The fact that you're so caught up in the past speaks to that.”
“But regardless, tomorrow night, Shadow, it's on like Donkey Kong! And you'll get to experience again first hand why I am quite simply OUT OF THIS WORLD!”
“Spacewalker” begins to play again as the screen fades to black.
