Post by C.J. Gates on Mar 15, 2013 15:21:24 GMT -4
"Rasslemania.
"This is the moment that everybody works toward. This is the moment that everyone hopes to have at some point in their career. The spotlight is on them, the fans are energetic, the Pay-Per-View ratings are going to be through the roof. It's what this business is all about.
"Of course, I've never been in a match like this. Not that I've never competed at Rasslemania, but because I've never been given the task of a match with so much riding on it. A match that stems from a victory over Level One and is built on the fabric of Terry Marvin being a despicable human being.
"I've heard the news. I know that everyone wants me to destroy Terry Marvin because of what he's done. Because of his false retirement and his betrayal, everyone wants me to get some revenge, to punish Terry and make him wish that he had never pulled any of those stunts. So while this event typically has all eyes on everyone, it seems like more eyes are focusing in on me.
"But unlike some, I welcome that kind of attention.
"After all, some might call it pressure, but I just call it motivation. Some might see it as a bad omen, but I just see it as a chance to prove what I already know about Terry Marvin.
"That he's a fraud.
"He seems to laugh it off, shrug it off, and just go about his day. But the one thing he hasn't done is deny it. He hasn't denied it because he knows it's the truth. He knows that deep down he is a fraud.
"And Rasslemania will expose that to the world. To all of those eyes that are focused in on this years main event. All of those eyes that are watching me, willing me, hoping that I make Terry Marvin's life a living hell for those sixty minutes. Hoping that I embarrass Terry Marvin with a landslide score in the iron man match.
"I will do what I can. I will try my best to make sure that everyone - including myself - goes home happy. I will do my best to make sure that Terry Marvin is taught a lesson.
"I will do my best to make sure that I walk out of Toronto with the APW Undisputed title."[/color][/i]
Once upon a time there were two knights. One, Sir Gates, was a knight of honor and righteousness, known around the lands as the White Knight. The other, Sir Terry of Showtime, was a knight of deceit and trickery, a black knight through and through. Both of them were always looking to test their abilities against the best of the best, which often times made them bitter rivals. The two knights eventually became synonymous with their action packed kingdom, but it didn't happen overnight.
It all started two years ago when the two knights entered into the yearly melee with hopes of beating the field and being the last knight standing. After many hours of battle, the melee was eventually won by Sir Ryan the Ruckus, but both Sir Gates and Sir Terry gave valiant showings. They put themselves on the map with their performances, but it wasn't enough to keep Sir Terry around. Eventually he packed up his belongings, climbed on his horse and disappeared from the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Sir Gates stuck around and managed to make quite the name for himself. He fought all comers and walked away from those battles victorious. He won the annual jousting tournament and went on to be known as the best knight in the kingdom for many months. However, all good things come to an end, and eventually Sir Gates hit a rough patch, losing his spot as the best knight and being forced to fight his way back up from the bottom.
Perhaps by coincidence, it was around this time that Sir Terry of Showcase found his way back to the kingdom, determined to right the wrongs he made last time. He began to work his way toward being the best in the kingdom, and it was at this time when he and Sir Gates crossed paths, with Sir Gates managing to best Sir Terry in combat.
However, that battle didn't mean as much as some of the others would. The two also met in a qualification bout for the years annual jousting tournament, which Sir Terry won after Sir Gates fell victim to an old rivals tricks. Even though Sir Terry won by nefarious means, he still managed to go on to be known as the best knight in the kingdom.
"I am the greatest knight in all the lands!" Sir Terry would shout to anyone that passed, whether they wanted to hear it or not. "No one can stop me because no one deserves to stop me!"
"You didn't truly earn it," Sir Gates would remind him. "How good is it to win your first yearly joust in this kingdom if you didn't truly earn it." Sir Terry only shook his head and brushed the accusations aside.
It wasn't an easy ride for Sir Terry, as his biggest test came in the fall when he was forced into a melee against Sir Gates and four other knights. But even with the odds stacked against him, the best efforts of those five knights weren't enough to beat Sir Terry and end his reign.
"He's a beast," Sir Lester of Only stated time after time in reference to Sir Terry. "Only one man is better - me - but right now, I will let a fellow knight of the black shield have the glory!"
"He's a cancer," Sir Mark of Mania retorted. "He cheats. He doesn't listen to the rules and he cheats."
Meanwhile, Sir Gates never gave up and continued to fight. With his sights set on ending the reign of the black knight Sir Terry, Sir Gates was forced to go through his lackey Sir Lester. After a successful victory in combat, Sir Gates was able to secure an opportunity in hand to hand combat against Sir Terry. An opportunity that he did not want to waste.
With the bout on the horizon, the two knights butted heads at every possible moment. They would exchange words in the market as they passed each other, and even exchanged blows from time to time. One of the bigger moments came at the yearly melee where knights from all over the world traveled to the kingdom to fight. After many, many hours, Sir Terry managed to come out on top as the last knight standing, thought not without controversy. Some of the other knights felt that he had cheated, that he had screwed Sir Gates out of his rightful chance at victory.
"You didn't deserve to win!" Sir Gates proclaimed. "You shouldn't have won, and I should have advanced in your place!" Sir Terry simply laughed it off.
Following his performance at the melee, Sir Terry looked like he was going to hang up his spurs for good, but instead he used that moment to mock the gallery and his fellow knights before knocking down an unprotected Sir Gates. This caused a lot of knights to show anger toward Sir Terry, calling for the best knight's title to be revoked. Sir Gates, meanwhile, wouldn't let that moment get to him, as he got right back up and got ready to fight another day against Sir Terry, even those Sir Terry kept getting the better of him in the end.
The last meeting between the two came in a dueling pairs match. Alongside Sir Gates was Sir Mark of Mania, while Sir Terry had Sir Lester by his side. The two sides battled valiantly, but in the end only one team could win, and once again Sir Terry got the best of Sir Gates.
"Fed up yet?" Squire Vince asked Sir Gates, who had just come in from training in the yard, his armor covered in mud.
"Never," Sir Gates said. "I know I can beat Sir Terry."
"Are you sure?" Squire Vince asked. "I don't mean to be a downer about it, but you haven't exactly had the best of luck against him. Ever. It seems like he has your number."
"I just need to keep working at it," Sir Gates said. "I just need to keep practicing, to keep getting better until I get my chance at Sir Terry. Then I will be able to prove to the world that I can beat him. He's not as good as he says he is. He cheats, he doesn't fight by the rules and he lies to everyone that will listen to him! I for one am sick of his antics! He must be stopped, he must be put in his place, and I know that I am the one to do it!"
"If you didn't, I'm sure no one would blame you."
"They're counting on me," Sir Gates would remind his squire. "There are people in this kingdom who are counting on me to defeat Sir Terry. I will not let them down, I refuse to let them down."
So Sir Gates kept practicing. He kept slaving away in the yard trying to get himself ready for the eventual bout. One day after training, his new found ally Sir Biggs came by to wish him well.
"Good luck against Sir Terry," Sir Biggs said. "I don't know how you're going to do it, he just seems impossible to beat. However I know that if anyone can, it's you."
"It's not impossible," Sir Gates replied. "I refuse to accept it as impossible."
"Yeah, but how?"
"Hard work and practice," Sir Gates said. "I've had to deal with him many a time and I'm sure that eventually, everything is going to click and all of my preparation is going to pay off. I know that one of these days, Sir Terry is going to show his true colors and I am going to ride a wave of good fortune to a victory over Sir Terry of Showtime!"
And so his mind was set. As the day drew closer, Sir Gates began to show that his hard work was paying off. With victories over Sir Evan the Envious and Sir Buckson of Gooch, Sir Gates showed that he wouldn't give up, no matter who was standing in front of him.
Now he finds himself on the eve of war with everyone looking to him to be the savior. Everyone is hoping that the White Knight Sir Gates can bring justice to the kingdom of action, hoping that he can end the reign of the tyrant Sir Terry.
"Fitting, isn't it Terry?
"Fitting how at one point, we each saw ourselves as a knight, and now we're waging a war for APW. Now, the two knights will do battle to determine which one of us is truly the best knight in this APW kingdom. And while I'm sure you see yourself as the king and ruler of the kingdom, let me remind you that you don't own APW.
"You simply try and destroy it.
"You've mocked everyone in APW, you've taken everything that APW has tried to do and thrown it in the garbage and it's time that someone stood up to you. It's time that someone stopped you and put you in your place. I'm aware that this is a chance for you to add another chapter to your epic tale, to make me a footnote, but this is also my chance to stand up to you for everything APW stands for. To stand up to you for each and every one of the APW fans.
"After all, it's no secret that ninety-five percent of the locker room wants your head on a stick. It's no shock that you are the true "Most Hated Man in APW" and after all of your little stunts, the task has fallen to me to get some revenge.
"I know it won't be easy, but matches like this, matches at Rasslemania, they never are. It takes a real competitor to survive a match of this magnitude, let alone an iron man match. But in the end it will all be worth it. To beat you as many times as I can is just the icing on the cake to me after all that you've done.
"It will give me plenty of time to show everyone that you do not deserve that Undisputed title."
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"They don't think I can do it," C.J. Gates says as Vincent James enters the board room. James closes the door and walks toward the table where Gates is sitting watching a television. On that television is a match involving Terry Marvin.
"Pardon?" James asks, confused.
"They don't think I can do it," Gates repeats, shaking his head. "Maybe one or two of them have faith in me, but for the most part, they don't think I have what it takes to beat Terry Marvin. To dethrone the champion and take his title."
James nods. "Well, I don't know if I can fully blame them. I mean, I'm not saying you don't have a chance, but their seeing things from a different side. You haven't exactly had success against Terry."
"No, but at least they can be consistent about it all," Gates says. "After that whole retirement debacle, everyone was calling for Marvin's head and wanted me to chop it off for them. Now that the time has come, they're all brushing me off like I have no chance."
"It will be there loss won't it? I mean, if they've bet any money on the match." Gates chuckles and shakes his head as James continues. "After all, you've had to deal with Terry a lot lately, I'd think you'd know him down pat."
"I do," Gates says. "Or at least, I know a lot of his mannerisms inside of the ring. Good enough to beat him if you ask me, but then again, no one is really asking me."
"I did see someone who didn't write you off, though," James adds pointing at Gates.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," James continues. "That chick, Aubrey Parker. She seems fed up with Terry Marvin and was pushing some sort of Team Gates agenda on twitter. I know it's probably small potatoes but it's something."
"It's something," Gates begins, "and at least it shows me that someone else not named Biggs or Mark Mania has my back. Or at least doesn't have Marvin's back."
Silence falls between the two friends before James finally breaks it. "You think you're ready?"
"What do you think?" Gates asks, heavy with sarcasm.
"I know you said that you can beat him," James says, "but I thought I'd ask. I mean, you're looking at film of Terry, so I'd assume you're not one hundred percent, but then again, you do like to be over prepared."
"It never hurts," Gates adds. "You never know when you might miss something that could prove crucial. And when you're going into battle against a son of a bitch like Terry Marvin. Besides, I need to make sure I'm over prepared."
"Need to? How come?"
"Because I have to prove everyone wrong," Gates says with a smile. "Everyone who has lost faith in me, I need to show them that I do have what it takes to not only beat Terry Marvin and make him wish he had never pulled those stunts against APW, but I also have what it takes to be the APW Undisputed champion yet again."
"It won't be easy," James reminds Gates.
"It never is. When you face someone who cheats as often as Marvin does, who turns a blind eye to the rules every day, who has the friends that Marvin does, the difficulty begins to pile up. But let me ask you, Vinnie, when have I ever let that get me down?"
James smiles and chuckles. "Never."
"Exactly," Gates says with a smile. "Never. No matter what kind of person I'm stepping into the ring with, I'm never thinking I'm at a true disadvantage. Sure, those thoughts are there, about the cheating and the interference, but I don't worry about them until they start to show their ugly heads."
"Which is a good strategy, unless they catch you off guard."
"Possibly," Gates says, "but I'm always getting caught off guard. Chair shots, quick roll ups, handcuffs. It seems like whenever someone attacks me, they do it under the cover of surprise just to try and catch me off guard. But I'm not going to give Marvin that satisfaction."
"No?"
"No. I'm going to do what should have been done to Terry months ago, back at One Night in Hell. I am going to do what very few have seemed capable of doing to the Real Show.
"I am going to end his syndication."
"Well, Terry, here we are. "What started last year as a simple face to face meeting back on April 12 has blossomed into an APW Undisputed title shot at Rasslemania. What started as a simple match became a battle quietly raging behind the scenes. A battle that eventually became a war after you decided to put yourself before the federation.
"Not that I'm surprised. After all, that's the kind of person you are. That's the kind of personality you have. If everyone isn't looking at you, you are going to do what you need to do to grab that attention. You are going to do what you need to do to make sure that everyone is praising you for all that you've done.
"So one can only wonder what you're going to do for Rasslemania, since everyone's attention isn't on you. Sure, you're the Undisputed champion, but that doesn't mean they're watching you to see if you can retain the title and continue the Year of Showtime. No, everyone is looking at me to see if I can end your reign of terror. Everyone is looking to me to stop you dead in your tracks, to make sure that the Real Show doesn't get to continue his streak.
"But what cards do you have left to play, Terry? You already faked retirement just to make sure that people knew that you existed. You told everyone that you were hanging up your boots because you'd done everything you could in APW, only to turn around and make everyone out to be a fool. You turned around and gave everyone the middle finger.
"Then you turned your back on APW to side with CRW, who I am sure you are just going to betray sooner rather than later. But really, I don't know if we can count that as an attention grabber, since I don't think anyone cared that you turned your back on us. At least, anyone not named Evan Envi, but his reasons are understandable. No one cared because, well, no one really cared about anything you did since you pulled the rug out from under them.
"You've claimed that you want respect, that no one in APW is giving you any sort of consideration, yet you have done nothing to really earn it. You've staged picket lines outside of APW events with your new found buddies in CRW, yet are still fulfilling your obligations in APW. And if you wanted respect, there are things you could do to earn it, rather then to lose whatever bit of it you had left. I mean, I think Evan Envi might have been the last man not named Lester Only who could put up with you, and you gave CRW his head on a silver platter.
"But we should respect you?
"It seems more like a situation that comes straight from the pages of Machiavelli. You know, that age old question of whether it's better to be loved or feared? Only in this case, replace love with respected and feared with hated. You want to be respected, but you're doing everything in your power to make people hate you while trying to achieve it. And then, when your demands aren't met, when no one respects you or loves you or whatever, that's when you throw one of your classic Terry Marvin tantrums that everyone has seen many times before.
"Sure, maybe that Machiavelli comparison doesn't truly sum up the situation, but I know that even you can see where I'm coming from, Terry. Even you should be able to understand that I am simply trying to show you that whatever you are trying to do, you're going about it all wrong. Of course, that might be your intended goal, and if that's the case, then keep doing what you're doing.
"Keep alienating yourself from the APW faithful and keep driving knives into the back of everyone who was actually able to put up with you. Keep pushing yourself farther and farther away until you end you disappearing into obscurity, disappearing into a place where nobody knows your name let along respects you for everything you accomplished here.
"I mean, it all works out well for me, because the more people you piss off, the more people have my back. Maybe not when it comes to our colleagues, since they never seem to think I can do anything other than beat the newcomers and the rookies, but when it comes to the fans, that's when it will matter. And at Rasslemania, I can already tell that everyone in the arena, everyone who paid to buy a ticket will have done so to watch you get beaten. They will have done so to watch you lose your title, your spot at the top of the pyramid, and to watch you get what you coming to you. To get the beating that you should have received as a child.
"And truly, what they think means a lot more to me then what the guys and girls in the back think. The fact that the fans have my back, that is what is going to get me over the proverbial hump. Trust me, even though I despise you, I know you are a talented individual. I know that when you stop trying to cheat anyway you can inside of that ring, your talent speaks for itself. I know that when you're not relying on being lucky, you actually are able to put on a good performance. But that is why the fans having my back is going to be so important. Having them cheering me on is going to be what I need to beat you.
"I guess you saw that coming, though, since everything you did for these past few weeks was in an effort to tear me down, to make the fans hate me. You tried to spin everything on me, to make me look like the fraud and the villain when in fact, those two roles were taken by you.
"Who knows, maybe you're the only one in the back that thinks I have a chance to beat you. After all, I defeated your bodyguard at Christmas Chaos in a match that no one thought I had any business winning. I defeated Level One fair and square when no one thought that I could. So maybe you did all of that to try and discredit me, knowing that if you wanted any chance to retain your title, you would have to do so with at least some of the fans having your back.
"But people don't love you like that, Terry.
"No matter what you could have done, short of pinning some sort of crime on me, the fans wouldn't have forgotten everything that you did. And they certainly wouldn't have forgotten the truths that I was telling them, the honesty that I was giving them about everything you stand for.
"They wouldn't have believed you were anything but the fraud that you are.
"Test for the Best? You never would have won it if it wasn't for Stan Everdeen interfering in our match and eliminating me from the running. Or, at the very least, we wouldn't know what the outcome would be.
"That Undisputed title? Without Amy Noble, who knows what would have happened. Without her appearing to drive Noble over the edge, to low blow him, who knows if you would have escaped Shockwave as the new champion.
"Survive and Conquer? You definitely would not have won that if you didn't get lucky. And who knows, maybe that is just your game. Maybe you are just the sort of guy who needs all the luck in the world to get by, to actually have a chance at winning.
"Sure, luck is part of this profession, but you seem to have an obscene amount of it. You seem to be swimming in luck, which is why I have to wonder if that luck is just hiding the fact that you are an extreme fake, a fraud, a liar, and a con artist. A man who doesn't really deserve all the accolades he has been getting.
"And we already know my stance on that, don't we?
"It's not all bad though, Terry. Because while I was sitting back and realizing that you are a fraud, I began to realize that you and I, we're really not that different. No, I'm not talking about our personalities and our views on the world, I'm talking about our paths in APW.
"See, everyone enjoys promoting your successes. Everyone enjoys boasting about the fact that you won Test for the Best, that you've held the Undisputed title for seven months, that you won Survive and Conquer, that you are a former Overdrive champion. And really, Terry, only two of those things are accolades I can't claim to have achieved. But the rest? It's right on par with the year I had in 2011.
"Back in that year, I won Test for the Best, and I did so without any questions hanging over my head. Sure, Johnny Rebel was a bit hurt at the fact that he wasn't able to cash in on his potential, but I beat him fair and square. Just like I beat Sally Talfourd and Shane Borderland in that same night to go on to win that tournament.
"But yours means something a bit more special since you went on to win the Undisputed title at Shockwave, a feat that rarely happens since most Test for the Best winners are unable to capitalize. But you know something, Terry, there is one other man to have done what you did. There is one other wrestler that won the title at Shockwave, and he was the first one to do it. You know who that is?
"Me.
"Though maybe you don't care about that. After all, Sally Talfourd couldn't do it, I did, but you're probably more concerned with the wins you came into at One Night in Hell and Christmas Chaos. The all important defenses of your title. Defenses that I had when I was the champion. Sure, you're probably going to tell me that mine don't matter, and you might be right. I didn't defend in an elimination chamber match, but I did have to put up with Biggs who used every underhanded trick in the book to try and best me. Twice. And this was before he came into concussion problems, before he got caught up with his wife wanting to divorce him. Back when Biggs would sell his soul for another run with the Undisputed title.
"So you see, Terry, we really aren't that different.
"Of course, while you think these similarities are just coincidence, I don't know if I can chalk it up to that. If anything, it looks like you are following in my footsteps, spending the past year doing pretty much the same things that I did the year prior. Sure, you threw in a Survive and Conquer win, but for the most part, every feat you accomplished between Test for the Best and now, I accomplished the year prior.
"But that is where you are going to buck the trend, isn't it? Since last year, I was unable to beat Kurt Noble to retain the title, you are going to change the trend and beat me to retain. Or at least, you hope you will be able to but I'm not going to let you win this match that easily.
"See, Terry, for all that I've done in APW and for APW, I still have one goal to accomplish. I still have one accomplishment that I want to add to my resume.
"A win at Rasslemania.
"This is my third one and I have yet to come out with the victory. You can think that I am destined to fail once again, but I'm not going to settle for that. I'm not going to let this years match escape me. I am going to come out on top, I am going to end this Rasslemania drought I seem to be having, and I am going to take the Undisputed title away from you.
"Because this is my moment, Terry.
"Just like it was my moment at Christmas Chaos in 2011 when I beat Biggs in our iron man match, I am going to beat you.
"This is my chance to show the world just how much of a fraud you are.
"This is my opportunity to avenge that tainted loss back in the Test for the Best qualifying match.
"And this time, no one will be around to gift you a win.
"Terry, it's time to go big or go home."
"This is the moment that everybody works toward. This is the moment that everyone hopes to have at some point in their career. The spotlight is on them, the fans are energetic, the Pay-Per-View ratings are going to be through the roof. It's what this business is all about.
"Of course, I've never been in a match like this. Not that I've never competed at Rasslemania, but because I've never been given the task of a match with so much riding on it. A match that stems from a victory over Level One and is built on the fabric of Terry Marvin being a despicable human being.
"I've heard the news. I know that everyone wants me to destroy Terry Marvin because of what he's done. Because of his false retirement and his betrayal, everyone wants me to get some revenge, to punish Terry and make him wish that he had never pulled any of those stunts. So while this event typically has all eyes on everyone, it seems like more eyes are focusing in on me.
"But unlike some, I welcome that kind of attention.
"After all, some might call it pressure, but I just call it motivation. Some might see it as a bad omen, but I just see it as a chance to prove what I already know about Terry Marvin.
"That he's a fraud.
"He seems to laugh it off, shrug it off, and just go about his day. But the one thing he hasn't done is deny it. He hasn't denied it because he knows it's the truth. He knows that deep down he is a fraud.
"And Rasslemania will expose that to the world. To all of those eyes that are focused in on this years main event. All of those eyes that are watching me, willing me, hoping that I make Terry Marvin's life a living hell for those sixty minutes. Hoping that I embarrass Terry Marvin with a landslide score in the iron man match.
"I will do what I can. I will try my best to make sure that everyone - including myself - goes home happy. I will do my best to make sure that Terry Marvin is taught a lesson.
"I will do my best to make sure that I walk out of Toronto with the APW Undisputed title."[/color][/i]
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Once upon a time there were two knights. One, Sir Gates, was a knight of honor and righteousness, known around the lands as the White Knight. The other, Sir Terry of Showtime, was a knight of deceit and trickery, a black knight through and through. Both of them were always looking to test their abilities against the best of the best, which often times made them bitter rivals. The two knights eventually became synonymous with their action packed kingdom, but it didn't happen overnight.
It all started two years ago when the two knights entered into the yearly melee with hopes of beating the field and being the last knight standing. After many hours of battle, the melee was eventually won by Sir Ryan the Ruckus, but both Sir Gates and Sir Terry gave valiant showings. They put themselves on the map with their performances, but it wasn't enough to keep Sir Terry around. Eventually he packed up his belongings, climbed on his horse and disappeared from the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Sir Gates stuck around and managed to make quite the name for himself. He fought all comers and walked away from those battles victorious. He won the annual jousting tournament and went on to be known as the best knight in the kingdom for many months. However, all good things come to an end, and eventually Sir Gates hit a rough patch, losing his spot as the best knight and being forced to fight his way back up from the bottom.
Perhaps by coincidence, it was around this time that Sir Terry of Showcase found his way back to the kingdom, determined to right the wrongs he made last time. He began to work his way toward being the best in the kingdom, and it was at this time when he and Sir Gates crossed paths, with Sir Gates managing to best Sir Terry in combat.
However, that battle didn't mean as much as some of the others would. The two also met in a qualification bout for the years annual jousting tournament, which Sir Terry won after Sir Gates fell victim to an old rivals tricks. Even though Sir Terry won by nefarious means, he still managed to go on to be known as the best knight in the kingdom.
"I am the greatest knight in all the lands!" Sir Terry would shout to anyone that passed, whether they wanted to hear it or not. "No one can stop me because no one deserves to stop me!"
"You didn't truly earn it," Sir Gates would remind him. "How good is it to win your first yearly joust in this kingdom if you didn't truly earn it." Sir Terry only shook his head and brushed the accusations aside.
It wasn't an easy ride for Sir Terry, as his biggest test came in the fall when he was forced into a melee against Sir Gates and four other knights. But even with the odds stacked against him, the best efforts of those five knights weren't enough to beat Sir Terry and end his reign.
"He's a beast," Sir Lester of Only stated time after time in reference to Sir Terry. "Only one man is better - me - but right now, I will let a fellow knight of the black shield have the glory!"
"He's a cancer," Sir Mark of Mania retorted. "He cheats. He doesn't listen to the rules and he cheats."
Meanwhile, Sir Gates never gave up and continued to fight. With his sights set on ending the reign of the black knight Sir Terry, Sir Gates was forced to go through his lackey Sir Lester. After a successful victory in combat, Sir Gates was able to secure an opportunity in hand to hand combat against Sir Terry. An opportunity that he did not want to waste.
With the bout on the horizon, the two knights butted heads at every possible moment. They would exchange words in the market as they passed each other, and even exchanged blows from time to time. One of the bigger moments came at the yearly melee where knights from all over the world traveled to the kingdom to fight. After many, many hours, Sir Terry managed to come out on top as the last knight standing, thought not without controversy. Some of the other knights felt that he had cheated, that he had screwed Sir Gates out of his rightful chance at victory.
"You didn't deserve to win!" Sir Gates proclaimed. "You shouldn't have won, and I should have advanced in your place!" Sir Terry simply laughed it off.
Following his performance at the melee, Sir Terry looked like he was going to hang up his spurs for good, but instead he used that moment to mock the gallery and his fellow knights before knocking down an unprotected Sir Gates. This caused a lot of knights to show anger toward Sir Terry, calling for the best knight's title to be revoked. Sir Gates, meanwhile, wouldn't let that moment get to him, as he got right back up and got ready to fight another day against Sir Terry, even those Sir Terry kept getting the better of him in the end.
The last meeting between the two came in a dueling pairs match. Alongside Sir Gates was Sir Mark of Mania, while Sir Terry had Sir Lester by his side. The two sides battled valiantly, but in the end only one team could win, and once again Sir Terry got the best of Sir Gates.
"Fed up yet?" Squire Vince asked Sir Gates, who had just come in from training in the yard, his armor covered in mud.
"Never," Sir Gates said. "I know I can beat Sir Terry."
"Are you sure?" Squire Vince asked. "I don't mean to be a downer about it, but you haven't exactly had the best of luck against him. Ever. It seems like he has your number."
"I just need to keep working at it," Sir Gates said. "I just need to keep practicing, to keep getting better until I get my chance at Sir Terry. Then I will be able to prove to the world that I can beat him. He's not as good as he says he is. He cheats, he doesn't fight by the rules and he lies to everyone that will listen to him! I for one am sick of his antics! He must be stopped, he must be put in his place, and I know that I am the one to do it!"
"If you didn't, I'm sure no one would blame you."
"They're counting on me," Sir Gates would remind his squire. "There are people in this kingdom who are counting on me to defeat Sir Terry. I will not let them down, I refuse to let them down."
So Sir Gates kept practicing. He kept slaving away in the yard trying to get himself ready for the eventual bout. One day after training, his new found ally Sir Biggs came by to wish him well.
"Good luck against Sir Terry," Sir Biggs said. "I don't know how you're going to do it, he just seems impossible to beat. However I know that if anyone can, it's you."
"It's not impossible," Sir Gates replied. "I refuse to accept it as impossible."
"Yeah, but how?"
"Hard work and practice," Sir Gates said. "I've had to deal with him many a time and I'm sure that eventually, everything is going to click and all of my preparation is going to pay off. I know that one of these days, Sir Terry is going to show his true colors and I am going to ride a wave of good fortune to a victory over Sir Terry of Showtime!"
And so his mind was set. As the day drew closer, Sir Gates began to show that his hard work was paying off. With victories over Sir Evan the Envious and Sir Buckson of Gooch, Sir Gates showed that he wouldn't give up, no matter who was standing in front of him.
Now he finds himself on the eve of war with everyone looking to him to be the savior. Everyone is hoping that the White Knight Sir Gates can bring justice to the kingdom of action, hoping that he can end the reign of the tyrant Sir Terry.
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"Fitting, isn't it Terry?
"Fitting how at one point, we each saw ourselves as a knight, and now we're waging a war for APW. Now, the two knights will do battle to determine which one of us is truly the best knight in this APW kingdom. And while I'm sure you see yourself as the king and ruler of the kingdom, let me remind you that you don't own APW.
"You simply try and destroy it.
"You've mocked everyone in APW, you've taken everything that APW has tried to do and thrown it in the garbage and it's time that someone stood up to you. It's time that someone stopped you and put you in your place. I'm aware that this is a chance for you to add another chapter to your epic tale, to make me a footnote, but this is also my chance to stand up to you for everything APW stands for. To stand up to you for each and every one of the APW fans.
"After all, it's no secret that ninety-five percent of the locker room wants your head on a stick. It's no shock that you are the true "Most Hated Man in APW" and after all of your little stunts, the task has fallen to me to get some revenge.
"I know it won't be easy, but matches like this, matches at Rasslemania, they never are. It takes a real competitor to survive a match of this magnitude, let alone an iron man match. But in the end it will all be worth it. To beat you as many times as I can is just the icing on the cake to me after all that you've done.
"It will give me plenty of time to show everyone that you do not deserve that Undisputed title."
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"They don't think I can do it," C.J. Gates says as Vincent James enters the board room. James closes the door and walks toward the table where Gates is sitting watching a television. On that television is a match involving Terry Marvin.
"Pardon?" James asks, confused.
"They don't think I can do it," Gates repeats, shaking his head. "Maybe one or two of them have faith in me, but for the most part, they don't think I have what it takes to beat Terry Marvin. To dethrone the champion and take his title."
James nods. "Well, I don't know if I can fully blame them. I mean, I'm not saying you don't have a chance, but their seeing things from a different side. You haven't exactly had success against Terry."
"No, but at least they can be consistent about it all," Gates says. "After that whole retirement debacle, everyone was calling for Marvin's head and wanted me to chop it off for them. Now that the time has come, they're all brushing me off like I have no chance."
"It will be there loss won't it? I mean, if they've bet any money on the match." Gates chuckles and shakes his head as James continues. "After all, you've had to deal with Terry a lot lately, I'd think you'd know him down pat."
"I do," Gates says. "Or at least, I know a lot of his mannerisms inside of the ring. Good enough to beat him if you ask me, but then again, no one is really asking me."
"I did see someone who didn't write you off, though," James adds pointing at Gates.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," James continues. "That chick, Aubrey Parker. She seems fed up with Terry Marvin and was pushing some sort of Team Gates agenda on twitter. I know it's probably small potatoes but it's something."
"It's something," Gates begins, "and at least it shows me that someone else not named Biggs or Mark Mania has my back. Or at least doesn't have Marvin's back."
Silence falls between the two friends before James finally breaks it. "You think you're ready?"
"What do you think?" Gates asks, heavy with sarcasm.
"I know you said that you can beat him," James says, "but I thought I'd ask. I mean, you're looking at film of Terry, so I'd assume you're not one hundred percent, but then again, you do like to be over prepared."
"It never hurts," Gates adds. "You never know when you might miss something that could prove crucial. And when you're going into battle against a son of a bitch like Terry Marvin. Besides, I need to make sure I'm over prepared."
"Need to? How come?"
"Because I have to prove everyone wrong," Gates says with a smile. "Everyone who has lost faith in me, I need to show them that I do have what it takes to not only beat Terry Marvin and make him wish he had never pulled those stunts against APW, but I also have what it takes to be the APW Undisputed champion yet again."
"It won't be easy," James reminds Gates.
"It never is. When you face someone who cheats as often as Marvin does, who turns a blind eye to the rules every day, who has the friends that Marvin does, the difficulty begins to pile up. But let me ask you, Vinnie, when have I ever let that get me down?"
James smiles and chuckles. "Never."
"Exactly," Gates says with a smile. "Never. No matter what kind of person I'm stepping into the ring with, I'm never thinking I'm at a true disadvantage. Sure, those thoughts are there, about the cheating and the interference, but I don't worry about them until they start to show their ugly heads."
"Which is a good strategy, unless they catch you off guard."
"Possibly," Gates says, "but I'm always getting caught off guard. Chair shots, quick roll ups, handcuffs. It seems like whenever someone attacks me, they do it under the cover of surprise just to try and catch me off guard. But I'm not going to give Marvin that satisfaction."
"No?"
"No. I'm going to do what should have been done to Terry months ago, back at One Night in Hell. I am going to do what very few have seemed capable of doing to the Real Show.
"I am going to end his syndication."
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"Well, Terry, here we are. "What started last year as a simple face to face meeting back on April 12 has blossomed into an APW Undisputed title shot at Rasslemania. What started as a simple match became a battle quietly raging behind the scenes. A battle that eventually became a war after you decided to put yourself before the federation.
"Not that I'm surprised. After all, that's the kind of person you are. That's the kind of personality you have. If everyone isn't looking at you, you are going to do what you need to do to grab that attention. You are going to do what you need to do to make sure that everyone is praising you for all that you've done.
"So one can only wonder what you're going to do for Rasslemania, since everyone's attention isn't on you. Sure, you're the Undisputed champion, but that doesn't mean they're watching you to see if you can retain the title and continue the Year of Showtime. No, everyone is looking at me to see if I can end your reign of terror. Everyone is looking to me to stop you dead in your tracks, to make sure that the Real Show doesn't get to continue his streak.
"But what cards do you have left to play, Terry? You already faked retirement just to make sure that people knew that you existed. You told everyone that you were hanging up your boots because you'd done everything you could in APW, only to turn around and make everyone out to be a fool. You turned around and gave everyone the middle finger.
"Then you turned your back on APW to side with CRW, who I am sure you are just going to betray sooner rather than later. But really, I don't know if we can count that as an attention grabber, since I don't think anyone cared that you turned your back on us. At least, anyone not named Evan Envi, but his reasons are understandable. No one cared because, well, no one really cared about anything you did since you pulled the rug out from under them.
"You've claimed that you want respect, that no one in APW is giving you any sort of consideration, yet you have done nothing to really earn it. You've staged picket lines outside of APW events with your new found buddies in CRW, yet are still fulfilling your obligations in APW. And if you wanted respect, there are things you could do to earn it, rather then to lose whatever bit of it you had left. I mean, I think Evan Envi might have been the last man not named Lester Only who could put up with you, and you gave CRW his head on a silver platter.
"But we should respect you?
"It seems more like a situation that comes straight from the pages of Machiavelli. You know, that age old question of whether it's better to be loved or feared? Only in this case, replace love with respected and feared with hated. You want to be respected, but you're doing everything in your power to make people hate you while trying to achieve it. And then, when your demands aren't met, when no one respects you or loves you or whatever, that's when you throw one of your classic Terry Marvin tantrums that everyone has seen many times before.
"Sure, maybe that Machiavelli comparison doesn't truly sum up the situation, but I know that even you can see where I'm coming from, Terry. Even you should be able to understand that I am simply trying to show you that whatever you are trying to do, you're going about it all wrong. Of course, that might be your intended goal, and if that's the case, then keep doing what you're doing.
"Keep alienating yourself from the APW faithful and keep driving knives into the back of everyone who was actually able to put up with you. Keep pushing yourself farther and farther away until you end you disappearing into obscurity, disappearing into a place where nobody knows your name let along respects you for everything you accomplished here.
"I mean, it all works out well for me, because the more people you piss off, the more people have my back. Maybe not when it comes to our colleagues, since they never seem to think I can do anything other than beat the newcomers and the rookies, but when it comes to the fans, that's when it will matter. And at Rasslemania, I can already tell that everyone in the arena, everyone who paid to buy a ticket will have done so to watch you get beaten. They will have done so to watch you lose your title, your spot at the top of the pyramid, and to watch you get what you coming to you. To get the beating that you should have received as a child.
"And truly, what they think means a lot more to me then what the guys and girls in the back think. The fact that the fans have my back, that is what is going to get me over the proverbial hump. Trust me, even though I despise you, I know you are a talented individual. I know that when you stop trying to cheat anyway you can inside of that ring, your talent speaks for itself. I know that when you're not relying on being lucky, you actually are able to put on a good performance. But that is why the fans having my back is going to be so important. Having them cheering me on is going to be what I need to beat you.
"I guess you saw that coming, though, since everything you did for these past few weeks was in an effort to tear me down, to make the fans hate me. You tried to spin everything on me, to make me look like the fraud and the villain when in fact, those two roles were taken by you.
"Who knows, maybe you're the only one in the back that thinks I have a chance to beat you. After all, I defeated your bodyguard at Christmas Chaos in a match that no one thought I had any business winning. I defeated Level One fair and square when no one thought that I could. So maybe you did all of that to try and discredit me, knowing that if you wanted any chance to retain your title, you would have to do so with at least some of the fans having your back.
"But people don't love you like that, Terry.
"No matter what you could have done, short of pinning some sort of crime on me, the fans wouldn't have forgotten everything that you did. And they certainly wouldn't have forgotten the truths that I was telling them, the honesty that I was giving them about everything you stand for.
"They wouldn't have believed you were anything but the fraud that you are.
"Test for the Best? You never would have won it if it wasn't for Stan Everdeen interfering in our match and eliminating me from the running. Or, at the very least, we wouldn't know what the outcome would be.
"That Undisputed title? Without Amy Noble, who knows what would have happened. Without her appearing to drive Noble over the edge, to low blow him, who knows if you would have escaped Shockwave as the new champion.
"Survive and Conquer? You definitely would not have won that if you didn't get lucky. And who knows, maybe that is just your game. Maybe you are just the sort of guy who needs all the luck in the world to get by, to actually have a chance at winning.
"Sure, luck is part of this profession, but you seem to have an obscene amount of it. You seem to be swimming in luck, which is why I have to wonder if that luck is just hiding the fact that you are an extreme fake, a fraud, a liar, and a con artist. A man who doesn't really deserve all the accolades he has been getting.
"And we already know my stance on that, don't we?
"It's not all bad though, Terry. Because while I was sitting back and realizing that you are a fraud, I began to realize that you and I, we're really not that different. No, I'm not talking about our personalities and our views on the world, I'm talking about our paths in APW.
"See, everyone enjoys promoting your successes. Everyone enjoys boasting about the fact that you won Test for the Best, that you've held the Undisputed title for seven months, that you won Survive and Conquer, that you are a former Overdrive champion. And really, Terry, only two of those things are accolades I can't claim to have achieved. But the rest? It's right on par with the year I had in 2011.
"Back in that year, I won Test for the Best, and I did so without any questions hanging over my head. Sure, Johnny Rebel was a bit hurt at the fact that he wasn't able to cash in on his potential, but I beat him fair and square. Just like I beat Sally Talfourd and Shane Borderland in that same night to go on to win that tournament.
"But yours means something a bit more special since you went on to win the Undisputed title at Shockwave, a feat that rarely happens since most Test for the Best winners are unable to capitalize. But you know something, Terry, there is one other man to have done what you did. There is one other wrestler that won the title at Shockwave, and he was the first one to do it. You know who that is?
"Me.
"Though maybe you don't care about that. After all, Sally Talfourd couldn't do it, I did, but you're probably more concerned with the wins you came into at One Night in Hell and Christmas Chaos. The all important defenses of your title. Defenses that I had when I was the champion. Sure, you're probably going to tell me that mine don't matter, and you might be right. I didn't defend in an elimination chamber match, but I did have to put up with Biggs who used every underhanded trick in the book to try and best me. Twice. And this was before he came into concussion problems, before he got caught up with his wife wanting to divorce him. Back when Biggs would sell his soul for another run with the Undisputed title.
"So you see, Terry, we really aren't that different.
"Of course, while you think these similarities are just coincidence, I don't know if I can chalk it up to that. If anything, it looks like you are following in my footsteps, spending the past year doing pretty much the same things that I did the year prior. Sure, you threw in a Survive and Conquer win, but for the most part, every feat you accomplished between Test for the Best and now, I accomplished the year prior.
"But that is where you are going to buck the trend, isn't it? Since last year, I was unable to beat Kurt Noble to retain the title, you are going to change the trend and beat me to retain. Or at least, you hope you will be able to but I'm not going to let you win this match that easily.
"See, Terry, for all that I've done in APW and for APW, I still have one goal to accomplish. I still have one accomplishment that I want to add to my resume.
"A win at Rasslemania.
"This is my third one and I have yet to come out with the victory. You can think that I am destined to fail once again, but I'm not going to settle for that. I'm not going to let this years match escape me. I am going to come out on top, I am going to end this Rasslemania drought I seem to be having, and I am going to take the Undisputed title away from you.
"Because this is my moment, Terry.
"Just like it was my moment at Christmas Chaos in 2011 when I beat Biggs in our iron man match, I am going to beat you.
"This is my chance to show the world just how much of a fraud you are.
"This is my opportunity to avenge that tainted loss back in the Test for the Best qualifying match.
"And this time, no one will be around to gift you a win.
"Terry, it's time to go big or go home."
