Post by Mark Mania on Mar 6, 2013 14:24:33 GMT -4
“You did what!?” Rosa yelled as she came storming into my office at Mania Enterprises.
I knew this was going to happen. For the past few weeks I’ve been having meetings with President Jeff about purchasing the Meltdown brand and running it myself. I visited Meltdown a few times to evaluate the talent and now, two days ago, I revealed to the world that I had purchased APW Meltdown. However, I did not tell Rosa about this despite the fact that she’s been beating down the door to get information on what this big business deal I was doing was. It was only a matter of time before I had to face her and explain myself.
“I couldn’t tell you.” I offered, knowing it wouldn’t be enough. She stormed up to me.
“You couldn’t tell me? Who the fuck was I going to tell? What could I have done to ruin anything?”
“You were being followed. You were being monitored, I couldn’t let Evan know about this until it was too late for him to do anything.”
“So, instead of trying to protect me, you let him continue to follow me so that he wouldn’t pay attention to the bigger thing you had going on?”
I was taken aback by this. I didn’t think of it that way. I never wanted to use anyone, that wasn’t the plan.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You were protecting your own interests instead of protecting me.”
“You’ve always said you don’t need protecting!” I defended myself with.
“That’s not the point, Mark! You could’ve told me, the secret would’ve been safe.”
“There are certain risks I can’t take. Purchasing Meltdown was the biggest acquisition for Mania Enterprises for nearly a decade. I couldn’t allow anything to get in the way. Rosa, you shouldn’t be upset by this, you should be ecstatic. Mania Enterprises is going to grow and become a power house, just like I’ve been trying to do for so long.”
She looked at me, defeated. She couldn’t argue with the point, but she sure as shit wasn’t happy with it.
“I just thought that maybe you and I had developed enough trust that you’d be able to tell me anything.”
“Well, in the future, I’ll do my best to let you know about things. But sometimes it’s bigger than just you and I. Sometimes we need to worry about the company as a whole.”
“You are the company as a whole.”
I smile, “Not anymore.”
Mania Enterprises Press Conference
Wednesday March 6th, 2013
Mania Enterprises, Boston, MA
Mark Mania walks onto a stage up to a podium on the steps of Mania Enterprises. The crowd is full of reporters and cameramen from various news and wrestling media. There are at least ten microphones on the podium in front of Mark’s face. He looks down at everyone and offers a big smile.
Mark Mania: Thank you all for joining me this morning. I’d like to offer a quick statement on Mania Enterprises most recent purchase and then I will open the floor up to questions.
Mark fixes his tie on his suit and clears his throat.
Mark Mania: Three weeks ago, President Jeff and I had a conference call over the phone about starting preliminary talks of Mania Enterprises purchasing the Meltdown brand. I explained to Jeff about the history that Mania has of running federations and my own personal experience in the front office of many successful wrestling federations. At this time, Jeff and I decided to begin the negotiations and we then met prior to APW Overdrive to discuss more details.
Mark pauses and takes a deep breath and looks over his notes.
Mark Mania: Following that meeting, I requested the ability to attend a Meltdown event and have the meetings include lawyers to hammer out the details. It was at this time that I noticed the potential inability of GM’s Duvall and Sienna. President Jeff and I then came to an agreement that stated I would be able to evaluate the front office staff of Meltdown prior to RassleMania and make any personnel decisions I saw necessary.
Mark looks towards the crowd and smiles.
Mark Mania: Which brings us to Monday night, when Jeff and myself were in Quebec City, Quebec to announce the purchase of Meltdown by Mania Enterprises. The purchase is pending approval of the Board of Directors but neither President Jeff or myself expect any difficulties in approval. The sale will go into effect immediately following RassleMania. Accordingly, at that time, APW Meltdown will then be known as “Mania Meltdown”!
The collected media claps politely.
Mark Mania: At this point, I’d like to open the floor up to questions, try and keep them about this deal please.
Dozens of hands raise.
Jim Cramer: Mr. Mania, Jim Cramer from Wrestling Pro Magazine, based off of your evaluation last week do you expect either of the General Managers of Meltdown to remain in their position after RassleMania.
Mark Mania: At this time it’s too early to tell. Last week was the first official evaluation and while I saw certain things that disappointed and shocked me, my decision will not be made until Meltdown is securely in my hands.
Phil Despoto: Mr. Mania, Phil Despoto from the Boston Globe, does your purchase of APW’s Meltdown have anything to do with the fact that Evan Envi is related to GM Sienna?
Mark laughs.
Mark Mania: Despite what people may think, I do not obsess over Evan Envi as he obsesses over me. Mr. Envi’s affiliation with the Meltdown brand never came into play. This is a smart business decision for myself and for Mania Enterprises. I wouldn’t complicate it by bringing in personal grudges.
Mary Kelley: Hello, Mr. Mania, Mark Kelley from WRKO News Radio, with the purchase of Meltdown, it will mark the first time that Mania Enterprises has fully taken over a brand since Total Chaos Wrestling in 2002. Do you believe that you and your staff are up to the challenge of running a federation again?
Mark Mania: Well, I’m glad you’ve done your research. Yes, I’m completely confident in the abilities of Mania Enterprises to run a successful federation. While it has been sometime since we’ve been exclusively the owners of a federation, do not forget that we were managing partners in World Legendary Wrestling, Xtreme Championship Wrestling, and Ultimate World Wrestling Federation. All of which, while closed now, were revolutionary at the time, and I expect to make Meltdown the same.
Mark runs his hand through his hair.
Mark Mania: Alright, we’ve got time for just a few more questions.
Joey Del Zotto: Mr. Mania, Joey Del Zotto from Wrestling Weekly Magazine, who are you going to be defending your Overdrive title against at RassleMania?
Mark Mania: Like I said, I’d like to keep this just to questions about the purchase of Meltdown, but no decision has been made on that front.
Frank McCarten: Mr. Mania, Wrestling Monthly Magazine, are you worried about facing Undisputed Champion Terry Marvin tomorrow? Are you too distracted by business to pay attention to your wrestling duties?
Mark makes a face at the man.
Mark Mania: Again, I’d like to keep it to Mania Enterprises questions. I will assure you that I am going to be doing my due diligence before facing Terry Marvin. Terry is known as the best in the business today. He’s the Undisputed Champion, Survive & Conquer winner, and he’ll be headlining RassleMania this year. I believe it will be a great opportunity for myself to go up against him and show that in the incredibly unlikely event I ever lose my Overdrive title that I’ll be able to make the jump to the Undisputed Title division.
Mark waves out to the crowd.
Mark Mania: Alright, that’s all the time we have for questions. I suggest everyone tune in to APW Overdrive on Thursday and APW Meltdown next Monday for any more news on this momentous occasion. Thanks for coming out!
Mark waves again and exits off the stage.
As I lay on the couch in my office, I start to contemplate if I actually have been focusing too much on the Mania Enterprises acquisition and not enough on facing Terry Marvin this week. Obviously with RassleMania coming up and the fact that I don’t have an opponent yet, I’ve been a little distracted. There’s also been all these other events pulling at my heart strings, the loss to Johnny Knuckles at that charity event is weighing on me, and preparation for the Clash of the Titans is annoying as hell. Maybe, just maybe, I have been a little too preoccupied to think about Terry Marvin.
He’s already jumped to Twitter to try and start a war of words, a war that he would be bringing a knife to a gun fight, but who has time to check Twitter constantly? I’ve already got Evan Envi spouting off about knowing things I don’t and him wanting his title shot. It’s all a bit pathetic. See, even in my own head I distract myself from Terry. I can’t allow that to happen.
This will mark the first time that Terry and I have been in a one on one match. Obviously I want to put my heart and soul into it. Obviously I want to prove to him and to the APW faithful that I can beat the Undisputed Champion. Someday, no matter how much I don’t want it to happen, I will lose the Overdrive Title. At that time, I won’t let myself get down. I won’t feel bad about myself. I’ll focus all of my energy on my next goal. That goal will be the title that Terry Marvin is holding right now.
I know that he believes no one else is on his level and that it embarrasses him when people try and claim to be, but with enough work, with enough time, I can be on his level. It’s been a long time since I’ve been known as an “elite” talent, but I know that I have it in me.
Will I win this match tomorrow? I’m not totally sure. But I know that I will turn a few heads and surprise some people. I know that when the rubber meets the road, Mark Mania can do some impressive fucking things.
“Are you ready for this?” Rosa’s voice startles me as I was nodding off in my office.
“Wha-what?” I groggily offer back.
“This is a big match you have tomorrow, are you up for it?”
I look at her, surprised that she’s willing to help even after I had ‘betrayed’ her, “I’m getting there.” I say, then pause for a moment. “I have to say, I’m surprised to see you here.”
Rosa looks at me up and down. She shrugs her shoulders and says, “I don’t have much of a choice. I may not be happy with your choice, but my job is still to be your assistant and be by your side.”
“I want you to know, I wanted to tell you, it bothered me that I couldn’t, but for the sake of the deal, I wanted to –“
“Let’s not do this again.” Rosa said as she cut me off. “You need to focus on Terry. Let the lawyers work out the Meltdown deal, you need to be completely ready for dealing with the Undisputed Champion. He’s probably the best in the business right now and you have a chance to show the world that you can be in that conversation.”
She had a point. “You’re right, this is my first time facing him one on one. I’m not going to blow this chance.”
“Let’s not treat this like it’s something you don’t deserve. You’ve been in matches with Terry Marvin constantly these last few weeks. Don’t let his accomplishments recently intimidate you. He’s just a man. He’s been on a pretty good streak, but so have you. Don’t worry that you and Evan lost to him and CJ last week, that had nothing to do with you and everything to do with Evan.”
“I know it did.”
“Do you? Because I don’t want you sitting around treating Terry Marvin like he’s some sort of royalty. He’s just like any other wrestler. Under a year ago he was holding that Overdrive title. All that’s happened is he’s hit a streak and he’s riding it. You have the same potential to do that. Terry may be the best right now, but he’s not the best ever, not even close.”
I think about this for a second. It certainly makes sense. I’ve seen a lot of guys come and go that claim to be the best of all time. I’ve seen stars rise and promptly fall. There’s no reason why this couldn’t be my time. “You’re right. There’s no denying it. I can’t put Terry on any sort of pedestal. This isn’t some big honor, this is two men, with a lot of skill, and a lot of accolades going up against each other.”
“Exactly.”
“So I’m not an idiot?”
“Not this time.”
“You’ll be surprised to know how much I’m actually looking forward to this. I’ve spent many a month’s watching from afar as you dominate all those that you face in APW. Kurt Noble, Biggs, the Elimination Chamber, and the list goes on. All this time, I just watched, slightly interested by what I was seeing, slightly jealous, I’ll admit. But finally, after all these months, after I’ve put away guys like Delikado, Azrael Goeren, and Evan Envi, we’ll be facing off, one on one.”
“After seeing each other in tag team matches a few times this past month, I figured it was only a matter of time before we could lose the partners and just go for it. There’s something intriguing about title versus title matches. I know that neither of our titles are on the line, but you can’t deny that in terms of accolades, we currently have the biggest two on Overdrive. We’ve spent the last five plus months with marks on our back. Someone always wanting a piece of us. Sure, it’s more difficult for you because you’re holding the bigger title, but, I still know the pain.”
“You and I are the longest tenured champions currently in APW. You’re closing in on being the longest reigning Undisputed Champion and I’m closing in on longest reigning Overdrive Champion. We’ve been examples of excellence and of consistency. We’ve faced any challenge that the APW had for us and we’ve walked away unscathed. Now, while I’ve had losses thrown in the mix in between defending my title, I know when I need to step up.”
“There are some people that are known to step up to the plate during the important games. David Ortiz in 2004 for example. Every game of the post season he was a danger with a bat in his hands. If it was the bottom of the last inning and David Ortiz was coming up to bat, everyone knew the game was over. It’s called being clutch. It’s the most sought after attribute in an athlete. It’s not something you can learn, not something you can coach, it’s something that you’re born with.”
“You and I, Terry, we’re clutch performers. When the stage is the grandest and the lights are the brightest, we’re there in the spotlight. We take all the pressure upon ourselves and we use it. We know what we’re capable of and we know when the pressure is on us, we can prove to be even more capable. Now, this isn’t the big stage. This is Overdrive, we’re at Overdrive every single week.”
“This may be the final Overdrive before RassleMania, but does that really make it any more special? Hell, we’re not even in the main event of Overdrive, a travesty in itself. But to outsiders looking in, you wouldn’t assume that this was the most pressure filled situation. No one should be thinking that we have to get ourselves up for this. No one would believe that this is something we’ve both been looking forward to.”
“The Overdrive Title for a long time has been a secondary title to the Undisputed Championship, there’s no denying that. But it’s also been a gateway to the Undisputed Title. Four of the last six Overdrive Champions have at one time been the Undisputed Champion. Pence Weatherlight, Biggs, Kurt Noble, and Terry Marvin. The two that haven’t? Current Overdrive GM Johnny Rebel, and resident joke, Delikado. So the odds are pretty good that when I move on from this title, when someone finally pries it from my arms, I’ll be coming to challenge the Undisputed Champion. Whether that’s you or CJ Gates, I don’t really care.”
“All I care about is that right now I have a chance to beat the Undisputed Champion. I have the chance to show everyone in APW that I belong at the top. It’s been a long time since I’ve been at the top, I know that. Maybe some things have changed since I’ve been there, maybe I’m too old or too beat up. But god damn it, I’m not going give up without trying my ass off. Thomas Edison said that the worst thing about people is their ability to give up. He said the key to success was trying one more time.”
“So when I got knocked from being one of the few on top in 2010, I knew I had to try one more time. When I failed to make it into the Test for the Best, I knew I had to try one more time. When I lost to Delikado and he won the Overdrive title, I knew I had to try one more time. When Delikado won the Championship Scramble match, I knew I had to try one more time. And now, when I have a chance to go up against the Undisputed Champion, I’m going to try one…more…time.”
“Now a lot of people have been wondering if I’m paying enough attention to Terry Marvin. People worried about where my minds at. I’ve got Evan Envi hiring people to follow around my assistant and threaten her. I’ve got a multi-million dollar company about to purchase the Meltdown brand, and I’ve got the information over my head that eventually I need to pick an opponent for RassleMania. How on earth could I have time to focus on Terry Marvin?”
“Because I’m not a fucking idiot. We live in a despicable world sometimes. People are so busy on their iPhones and their iPads and their Facebook, that they claim they can’t concentrate on all of their responsibilities. It’s pathetic. Put down the phone for a second and look into the real world. You’re not really busy. You’re just busy, pretending to be busy. Posting on your twitter every thirty seconds about what kind of sandwich you ate and what it looked like when you shat it out. Nobody cares. You know why I can have the world on my shoulders and still have time for a little more weight? Because I’m focused.”
“I don’t let problems get me down. I don’t let distractions get in my way. I’m a business-owning professional wrestler. By definition of a wrestler I should be a big strong oaf with no common sense. Yet, I own an incredibly successful business. You know why? Because I’m not a fucking idiot. It doesn’t take much to be smart. A little hard work and a little common sense. You know what I do when I have spare time, which I rarely do? I listen to lectures from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Brown. Not about business, not about wrestling, but about a series of things, American History, Astronomy, whatever. Because I know that knowledge is power. They say that history repeats itself and those that don’t study it are doomed to be destroyed by it.”
“The fact of the matter is this Terry. The history of Undisputed Champions is laced with former Overdrive Champions, so you better learn that history because I’m going to make damn sure it repeats itself.”
I knew this was going to happen. For the past few weeks I’ve been having meetings with President Jeff about purchasing the Meltdown brand and running it myself. I visited Meltdown a few times to evaluate the talent and now, two days ago, I revealed to the world that I had purchased APW Meltdown. However, I did not tell Rosa about this despite the fact that she’s been beating down the door to get information on what this big business deal I was doing was. It was only a matter of time before I had to face her and explain myself.
“I couldn’t tell you.” I offered, knowing it wouldn’t be enough. She stormed up to me.
“You couldn’t tell me? Who the fuck was I going to tell? What could I have done to ruin anything?”
“You were being followed. You were being monitored, I couldn’t let Evan know about this until it was too late for him to do anything.”
“So, instead of trying to protect me, you let him continue to follow me so that he wouldn’t pay attention to the bigger thing you had going on?”
I was taken aback by this. I didn’t think of it that way. I never wanted to use anyone, that wasn’t the plan.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You were protecting your own interests instead of protecting me.”
“You’ve always said you don’t need protecting!” I defended myself with.
“That’s not the point, Mark! You could’ve told me, the secret would’ve been safe.”
“There are certain risks I can’t take. Purchasing Meltdown was the biggest acquisition for Mania Enterprises for nearly a decade. I couldn’t allow anything to get in the way. Rosa, you shouldn’t be upset by this, you should be ecstatic. Mania Enterprises is going to grow and become a power house, just like I’ve been trying to do for so long.”
She looked at me, defeated. She couldn’t argue with the point, but she sure as shit wasn’t happy with it.
“I just thought that maybe you and I had developed enough trust that you’d be able to tell me anything.”
“Well, in the future, I’ll do my best to let you know about things. But sometimes it’s bigger than just you and I. Sometimes we need to worry about the company as a whole.”
“You are the company as a whole.”
I smile, “Not anymore.”
Mania Enterprises Press Conference
Wednesday March 6th, 2013
Mania Enterprises, Boston, MA
Mark Mania walks onto a stage up to a podium on the steps of Mania Enterprises. The crowd is full of reporters and cameramen from various news and wrestling media. There are at least ten microphones on the podium in front of Mark’s face. He looks down at everyone and offers a big smile.
Mark Mania: Thank you all for joining me this morning. I’d like to offer a quick statement on Mania Enterprises most recent purchase and then I will open the floor up to questions.
Mark fixes his tie on his suit and clears his throat.
Mark Mania: Three weeks ago, President Jeff and I had a conference call over the phone about starting preliminary talks of Mania Enterprises purchasing the Meltdown brand. I explained to Jeff about the history that Mania has of running federations and my own personal experience in the front office of many successful wrestling federations. At this time, Jeff and I decided to begin the negotiations and we then met prior to APW Overdrive to discuss more details.
Mark pauses and takes a deep breath and looks over his notes.
Mark Mania: Following that meeting, I requested the ability to attend a Meltdown event and have the meetings include lawyers to hammer out the details. It was at this time that I noticed the potential inability of GM’s Duvall and Sienna. President Jeff and I then came to an agreement that stated I would be able to evaluate the front office staff of Meltdown prior to RassleMania and make any personnel decisions I saw necessary.
Mark looks towards the crowd and smiles.
Mark Mania: Which brings us to Monday night, when Jeff and myself were in Quebec City, Quebec to announce the purchase of Meltdown by Mania Enterprises. The purchase is pending approval of the Board of Directors but neither President Jeff or myself expect any difficulties in approval. The sale will go into effect immediately following RassleMania. Accordingly, at that time, APW Meltdown will then be known as “Mania Meltdown”!
The collected media claps politely.
Mark Mania: At this point, I’d like to open the floor up to questions, try and keep them about this deal please.
Dozens of hands raise.
Jim Cramer: Mr. Mania, Jim Cramer from Wrestling Pro Magazine, based off of your evaluation last week do you expect either of the General Managers of Meltdown to remain in their position after RassleMania.
Mark Mania: At this time it’s too early to tell. Last week was the first official evaluation and while I saw certain things that disappointed and shocked me, my decision will not be made until Meltdown is securely in my hands.
Phil Despoto: Mr. Mania, Phil Despoto from the Boston Globe, does your purchase of APW’s Meltdown have anything to do with the fact that Evan Envi is related to GM Sienna?
Mark laughs.
Mark Mania: Despite what people may think, I do not obsess over Evan Envi as he obsesses over me. Mr. Envi’s affiliation with the Meltdown brand never came into play. This is a smart business decision for myself and for Mania Enterprises. I wouldn’t complicate it by bringing in personal grudges.
Mary Kelley: Hello, Mr. Mania, Mark Kelley from WRKO News Radio, with the purchase of Meltdown, it will mark the first time that Mania Enterprises has fully taken over a brand since Total Chaos Wrestling in 2002. Do you believe that you and your staff are up to the challenge of running a federation again?
Mark Mania: Well, I’m glad you’ve done your research. Yes, I’m completely confident in the abilities of Mania Enterprises to run a successful federation. While it has been sometime since we’ve been exclusively the owners of a federation, do not forget that we were managing partners in World Legendary Wrestling, Xtreme Championship Wrestling, and Ultimate World Wrestling Federation. All of which, while closed now, were revolutionary at the time, and I expect to make Meltdown the same.
Mark runs his hand through his hair.
Mark Mania: Alright, we’ve got time for just a few more questions.
Joey Del Zotto: Mr. Mania, Joey Del Zotto from Wrestling Weekly Magazine, who are you going to be defending your Overdrive title against at RassleMania?
Mark Mania: Like I said, I’d like to keep this just to questions about the purchase of Meltdown, but no decision has been made on that front.
Frank McCarten: Mr. Mania, Wrestling Monthly Magazine, are you worried about facing Undisputed Champion Terry Marvin tomorrow? Are you too distracted by business to pay attention to your wrestling duties?
Mark makes a face at the man.
Mark Mania: Again, I’d like to keep it to Mania Enterprises questions. I will assure you that I am going to be doing my due diligence before facing Terry Marvin. Terry is known as the best in the business today. He’s the Undisputed Champion, Survive & Conquer winner, and he’ll be headlining RassleMania this year. I believe it will be a great opportunity for myself to go up against him and show that in the incredibly unlikely event I ever lose my Overdrive title that I’ll be able to make the jump to the Undisputed Title division.
Mark waves out to the crowd.
Mark Mania: Alright, that’s all the time we have for questions. I suggest everyone tune in to APW Overdrive on Thursday and APW Meltdown next Monday for any more news on this momentous occasion. Thanks for coming out!
Mark waves again and exits off the stage.
As I lay on the couch in my office, I start to contemplate if I actually have been focusing too much on the Mania Enterprises acquisition and not enough on facing Terry Marvin this week. Obviously with RassleMania coming up and the fact that I don’t have an opponent yet, I’ve been a little distracted. There’s also been all these other events pulling at my heart strings, the loss to Johnny Knuckles at that charity event is weighing on me, and preparation for the Clash of the Titans is annoying as hell. Maybe, just maybe, I have been a little too preoccupied to think about Terry Marvin.
He’s already jumped to Twitter to try and start a war of words, a war that he would be bringing a knife to a gun fight, but who has time to check Twitter constantly? I’ve already got Evan Envi spouting off about knowing things I don’t and him wanting his title shot. It’s all a bit pathetic. See, even in my own head I distract myself from Terry. I can’t allow that to happen.
This will mark the first time that Terry and I have been in a one on one match. Obviously I want to put my heart and soul into it. Obviously I want to prove to him and to the APW faithful that I can beat the Undisputed Champion. Someday, no matter how much I don’t want it to happen, I will lose the Overdrive Title. At that time, I won’t let myself get down. I won’t feel bad about myself. I’ll focus all of my energy on my next goal. That goal will be the title that Terry Marvin is holding right now.
I know that he believes no one else is on his level and that it embarrasses him when people try and claim to be, but with enough work, with enough time, I can be on his level. It’s been a long time since I’ve been known as an “elite” talent, but I know that I have it in me.
Will I win this match tomorrow? I’m not totally sure. But I know that I will turn a few heads and surprise some people. I know that when the rubber meets the road, Mark Mania can do some impressive fucking things.
“Are you ready for this?” Rosa’s voice startles me as I was nodding off in my office.
“Wha-what?” I groggily offer back.
“This is a big match you have tomorrow, are you up for it?”
I look at her, surprised that she’s willing to help even after I had ‘betrayed’ her, “I’m getting there.” I say, then pause for a moment. “I have to say, I’m surprised to see you here.”
Rosa looks at me up and down. She shrugs her shoulders and says, “I don’t have much of a choice. I may not be happy with your choice, but my job is still to be your assistant and be by your side.”
“I want you to know, I wanted to tell you, it bothered me that I couldn’t, but for the sake of the deal, I wanted to –“
“Let’s not do this again.” Rosa said as she cut me off. “You need to focus on Terry. Let the lawyers work out the Meltdown deal, you need to be completely ready for dealing with the Undisputed Champion. He’s probably the best in the business right now and you have a chance to show the world that you can be in that conversation.”
She had a point. “You’re right, this is my first time facing him one on one. I’m not going to blow this chance.”
“Let’s not treat this like it’s something you don’t deserve. You’ve been in matches with Terry Marvin constantly these last few weeks. Don’t let his accomplishments recently intimidate you. He’s just a man. He’s been on a pretty good streak, but so have you. Don’t worry that you and Evan lost to him and CJ last week, that had nothing to do with you and everything to do with Evan.”
“I know it did.”
“Do you? Because I don’t want you sitting around treating Terry Marvin like he’s some sort of royalty. He’s just like any other wrestler. Under a year ago he was holding that Overdrive title. All that’s happened is he’s hit a streak and he’s riding it. You have the same potential to do that. Terry may be the best right now, but he’s not the best ever, not even close.”
I think about this for a second. It certainly makes sense. I’ve seen a lot of guys come and go that claim to be the best of all time. I’ve seen stars rise and promptly fall. There’s no reason why this couldn’t be my time. “You’re right. There’s no denying it. I can’t put Terry on any sort of pedestal. This isn’t some big honor, this is two men, with a lot of skill, and a lot of accolades going up against each other.”
“Exactly.”
“So I’m not an idiot?”
“Not this time.”
“You’ll be surprised to know how much I’m actually looking forward to this. I’ve spent many a month’s watching from afar as you dominate all those that you face in APW. Kurt Noble, Biggs, the Elimination Chamber, and the list goes on. All this time, I just watched, slightly interested by what I was seeing, slightly jealous, I’ll admit. But finally, after all these months, after I’ve put away guys like Delikado, Azrael Goeren, and Evan Envi, we’ll be facing off, one on one.”
“After seeing each other in tag team matches a few times this past month, I figured it was only a matter of time before we could lose the partners and just go for it. There’s something intriguing about title versus title matches. I know that neither of our titles are on the line, but you can’t deny that in terms of accolades, we currently have the biggest two on Overdrive. We’ve spent the last five plus months with marks on our back. Someone always wanting a piece of us. Sure, it’s more difficult for you because you’re holding the bigger title, but, I still know the pain.”
“You and I are the longest tenured champions currently in APW. You’re closing in on being the longest reigning Undisputed Champion and I’m closing in on longest reigning Overdrive Champion. We’ve been examples of excellence and of consistency. We’ve faced any challenge that the APW had for us and we’ve walked away unscathed. Now, while I’ve had losses thrown in the mix in between defending my title, I know when I need to step up.”
“There are some people that are known to step up to the plate during the important games. David Ortiz in 2004 for example. Every game of the post season he was a danger with a bat in his hands. If it was the bottom of the last inning and David Ortiz was coming up to bat, everyone knew the game was over. It’s called being clutch. It’s the most sought after attribute in an athlete. It’s not something you can learn, not something you can coach, it’s something that you’re born with.”
“You and I, Terry, we’re clutch performers. When the stage is the grandest and the lights are the brightest, we’re there in the spotlight. We take all the pressure upon ourselves and we use it. We know what we’re capable of and we know when the pressure is on us, we can prove to be even more capable. Now, this isn’t the big stage. This is Overdrive, we’re at Overdrive every single week.”
“This may be the final Overdrive before RassleMania, but does that really make it any more special? Hell, we’re not even in the main event of Overdrive, a travesty in itself. But to outsiders looking in, you wouldn’t assume that this was the most pressure filled situation. No one should be thinking that we have to get ourselves up for this. No one would believe that this is something we’ve both been looking forward to.”
“The Overdrive Title for a long time has been a secondary title to the Undisputed Championship, there’s no denying that. But it’s also been a gateway to the Undisputed Title. Four of the last six Overdrive Champions have at one time been the Undisputed Champion. Pence Weatherlight, Biggs, Kurt Noble, and Terry Marvin. The two that haven’t? Current Overdrive GM Johnny Rebel, and resident joke, Delikado. So the odds are pretty good that when I move on from this title, when someone finally pries it from my arms, I’ll be coming to challenge the Undisputed Champion. Whether that’s you or CJ Gates, I don’t really care.”
“All I care about is that right now I have a chance to beat the Undisputed Champion. I have the chance to show everyone in APW that I belong at the top. It’s been a long time since I’ve been at the top, I know that. Maybe some things have changed since I’ve been there, maybe I’m too old or too beat up. But god damn it, I’m not going give up without trying my ass off. Thomas Edison said that the worst thing about people is their ability to give up. He said the key to success was trying one more time.”
“So when I got knocked from being one of the few on top in 2010, I knew I had to try one more time. When I failed to make it into the Test for the Best, I knew I had to try one more time. When I lost to Delikado and he won the Overdrive title, I knew I had to try one more time. When Delikado won the Championship Scramble match, I knew I had to try one more time. And now, when I have a chance to go up against the Undisputed Champion, I’m going to try one…more…time.”
“Now a lot of people have been wondering if I’m paying enough attention to Terry Marvin. People worried about where my minds at. I’ve got Evan Envi hiring people to follow around my assistant and threaten her. I’ve got a multi-million dollar company about to purchase the Meltdown brand, and I’ve got the information over my head that eventually I need to pick an opponent for RassleMania. How on earth could I have time to focus on Terry Marvin?”
“Because I’m not a fucking idiot. We live in a despicable world sometimes. People are so busy on their iPhones and their iPads and their Facebook, that they claim they can’t concentrate on all of their responsibilities. It’s pathetic. Put down the phone for a second and look into the real world. You’re not really busy. You’re just busy, pretending to be busy. Posting on your twitter every thirty seconds about what kind of sandwich you ate and what it looked like when you shat it out. Nobody cares. You know why I can have the world on my shoulders and still have time for a little more weight? Because I’m focused.”
“I don’t let problems get me down. I don’t let distractions get in my way. I’m a business-owning professional wrestler. By definition of a wrestler I should be a big strong oaf with no common sense. Yet, I own an incredibly successful business. You know why? Because I’m not a fucking idiot. It doesn’t take much to be smart. A little hard work and a little common sense. You know what I do when I have spare time, which I rarely do? I listen to lectures from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Brown. Not about business, not about wrestling, but about a series of things, American History, Astronomy, whatever. Because I know that knowledge is power. They say that history repeats itself and those that don’t study it are doomed to be destroyed by it.”
“The fact of the matter is this Terry. The history of Undisputed Champions is laced with former Overdrive Champions, so you better learn that history because I’m going to make damn sure it repeats itself.”
