Post by C.J. Gates on May 1, 2013 10:39:56 GMT -4
"Another week, another title shot on the horizon.
"Maybe Kid Dynamo had a point when he talked about all my failures when it came to title matches. Maybe he had a point to prove that I haven't exactly grabbed the bull by the horns in these situations. Maybe I just don't have what it takes to succeed at that level. You know, I've now become that guy that can get to the spotlight, but can't get past it. Can't capitalize. Can't win a title to save my life.
"I've got another chance at that in a few weeks, but right now, I have to survive. I have to walk into a match, team with a man that I know hates me to take on two men who also hate me. Maybe they hate me less then Level One does, but they still hate me and they still hate the fact that I am in their title match.
"But what's done is done, and now, survival begins.
"I'm ready for the venom. I'm ready for everyone hunting me down and I'm ready to be more of a victim then the actual champion. I'm ready to be everything that I've always been, and maybe it's better this way. Maybe it's better to not have things change. That way, I'm not surprised by anything.
"It's going to be a war, and that definitely won't surprise me. I know that everyone is going to want to assert themselves as the lead dog in this battle, and I wouldn't be surprised if that came at the expense of others, or at the expense of wins. I'm sure that some might be willing to throw a potential victory out the window just to get themselves into that drivers seat.
"Not me, but some people. Maybe even Level One would do something like that. Get himself even more fared by throwing me through a table or thumbing me in the eye on a fake tag, something like that. Something that would fit his underhanded way of life. Something that, once again, would not surprise me in the slightest.
"It's tough to surprise me, after I've seen everything.
"After I've been the guinea pig for everything.
"Maybe all of that changes this week. Maybe everything will turn around.
"Or maybe I will simply survive."
"Congratulations," a familiar voice says through the phones speaker. "Wasn't exactly easy or pretty, but you managed to win and get into that World title match."
"Thanks Biggs," C.J. Gates says. "They did what they could to keep me out, so I guess at least I can assume they're afraid of me."
"That's true," Biggs responds. "I was more so saying that you might be one of the first people to have had an Undisputed title shot one Pay-Per-View, and a World title match the next."
Gates chuckles. "I guess I never thought of it that way." A bit of silence falls between the two before Gates speaks. "So how are you? Recovering nicely?"
"Oh, I've still got some bumps and bruises, but I'm doing alright," Biggs says. "Never easy going through that kind of match, especially against someone as brutal as Level One."
"I know all about that. At least, a match with Level One. Can't say I was every brutalized as much as you were though."
"On the plus side, I'm surviving, so that's always positive."
"Definitely is," Gates says as the door opens and in walks Vincent James. Gates nods to James. "Anyways, I'll talk to you later. Enjoy the well deserved rest and relaxation."
"Thanks, C.J. Catch you later." The two sides hang up.
"Biggs?" James asks.
Gates nods. "He just wanted to congratulate me on making it into the World title match."
"Barely," James says with a smirk.
"I didn't say it was glamorous or anything," Gates chuckles. "I just got in. And like I said last week, they never told me I had to win by pinfall, just that I had to win."
"So you could have cut a good chunk of that match had you just coaxed Callahan into hitting you with a chair."
"He's too smart for that," Gates says. "Besides, I'm sure the other two stooges were waiting in the wings to stop that from happening."
"There is always that," James begins. "But that doesn't really matter since, you know, you got the win and all. Now you've just got to look to the future."
"You've got that one right," Gates says. "Now that I have a direction, I've got to move forward with a purpose. I've got something to look forward to."
"And another title to hunt for."
"Yes, another title. And who knows, maybe that will mean another loss at a title shot."
"Give yourself some credit," James says.
"I always seem to come up short, though," Gates says. "Tag Team, Overdrive, Undisputed. It seems that I can get so close, but I can't get over that hump."
"You've just come up against some stiff competition. Kurt Noble, Terry Marvin, Delikado. It's not like you're fighting Branden Harvey and Mr. Dangerous for these titles."
Gates sighs. "I know, and really, I'm probably worrying too much about everything. It's just, it's one of those things. It weighs on me, and I know that everyone else will pick up on it and throw it in my face."
"So you've got to get used to it."
"And you'd think I would be by now," Gates says. "It's happened often enough, you would think it would just roll off my back. Apparently not."
"Is it because of your losses?" James asks. "You've done well recently, but when you lose, does it weigh on your mind?"
"Probably. It goes back to what I said earlier. For every one step I seem to take forward, two more back follow it. I just can't seem to get any traction going."
"Well then turn it around this week," James says. "Take this chance to show those other three that you mean business and get something going heading into Mayhem. Don't make this years Mayhem like last years. Don't end up losing because you had other things on your mind."
"Last year was different," Gates says. "Part of me thought there was still a sensible, civil person inside the skin of Kurt Noble." Gates shakes his head. "But I was wrong and I think that aided the downfall I went on. But this time, that won't happen."
"No?"
"Nope," Gates responds. "The three men I'm facing off with, I don't care about them. At all. All of them have pissed me off at one point, all of them have aggravated me at some point, so it's not like I'm suddenly going to have a heart and hope that a civil person comes out of one of them. They're all too far gone."
"And Noble wasn't?"
"Why are we even worrying about Noble?" Gates asks. "He's no longer around and if I want to move on, I shouldn't worry about the past."
James chuckles. "You not worried about the past, rich."
"I don't worry about it to get me all worked up," Gates says. "I worry about it only when it pertains to the match, and that's usually just with a specific person. But there is no Noble in this match, this week or at Mayhem."
"I guess you've got a point," James says.
"But I need to make it to Mayhem. So I can't worry about the past and what happened with Noble, not when I need to be worrying about my opponents. And I need to be worrying about this weeks tag team match. Or I just won't survive."
"Fair."
"I need to be worried about teaming with Level One, or I won't make it to Mayhem. I need to keep my head on a swivel and watch out for everyone. After all, I'm more or less alone."
"You're alone?" James asks, looking around the room.
"Not here, in the ring," Gates says. "Biggs is still back in America, and there's no one else willing to stand beside me. Everyone wants to look out for themselves, so it's almost like I'm looking at a battle against three men where it's only me. Especially this week."
"I'm sure you'll survive," James says. "No one's been able to keep you down yet, right?"
Gates cracks a smile. "That's true."
"Do don't worry about what might happen with them, and just stay focused on you and what you are capable of doing."
"I'll try," Gates says. "I'm going to try and focus on the future and everything that lays ahead."
"And not on your mother."
Gates looks over at James, shocked. "What? What are you on about?"
"Come on, C.J., you can't tell me that what happened the other day hasn't weighed on your mind. It's not everyday that two Russians in suits come in here looking for you."
"Oh, right, that." Gates shakes his head. "It didn't seem as important as winning that match."
"I think the one guy was packing."
"Wouldn't shock me, but I didn't want to lose focus."
"So what, you're going to just keep going and forget about them until after Mayhem."
"It's my mom's problem, not mine," Gates says shaking his head. "I've got to worry about an American, a Canadian and a Cuban knocking down my door before I can even begin to think about those two Russians."
"Even if they sent this?" James walks forward and drops an envelope on the desk. Gates reaches forward and picks the envelope up.
"They sent this?" Gates asks and James simply nods in response. Gates opens the envelope and pulls out a piece of paper. He unfolds it and reads it over before lowering it. "They didn't."
"Apparently they did," James says.
"Why?" Gates asks, dropping the piece of paper. "Why did you give this to me?"
"So you knew."
Gates sighs. "This is just like last year with the rest of my family.
"This could be a shit storm."
"For me, this week will be like walking into the jaws of a waiting lion.
"It's no secret that the three men that I am going to be fighting amongst don't want me there. It's no shocker that they would rather me be toiling in the opener against Buckson Gooch or forced to put up or shut up against Evan Envi. Anywhere, as long as it's no where near them. Unfortunately, I did what I do best last week and I overcame the odds and found a way into the World Heavyweight title match at Mayhem.
"This week, however, there is no title and instead, it's a simple tag team match. A simple tag team match that pits enemies against enemies teamed with enemies. A match that has been described as a strange bedfellows match because of those very same points. But I'm used to it. I've been here before. I've had to team with Terry Marvin en route to our Rasslemania meeting. I've had to work alongside people I despise because that's the way things have been booked.
"And this week is no different.
"Right Lester?
"I guess the only person you could team me with that wouldn't be so strange would be Michael Callahan. At least with he and I, the hatred is based on the fact that I can't beat him. Even though I was awarded the victory last week, I won't come out and say that I won. I won't claim to have solved the rubix cubes that is Michael Callahan.
"There's no point in any of that because I only won thanks to Delikado's interference going wrong. I only won because Level One wasn't able to hide his assistance from the referee. I only won because I stuck out what could have kept most men down, because I held out and kept on battling, long enough for everything to work out the way it did. Not that I planned it that way, though. I would have loved to have gotten the win on my own accord, but, unfortunately, the efforts of everyone involved to keep me out of Mayhem was enough to give me that chance.
"So maybe I should thank them. Perhaps I should thank Delikado for screwing up and hitting me. Perhaps I should thank Level One for not being able to hold my leg down long enough. Maybe I should thank Michael Callahan for not beating me as soundly as he has in the past. Maybe I should praise the heavens in thanks that luck was finally on my side for once, that I wasn't getting taken down for the sake of being taken down.
"Or, I could do none of the above and keep my head in the game. Keep myself focused on what is at hand, and keep myself zoned in on the fact that I didn't pin Callahan. Sure, it might have eventually gone that route, and I could have managed to keep him down long enough, but, the fact is that I didn't, and right now I need to keep that in mind.
"But the title match isn't until Mayhem, so it's not dire. All I have to worry about now, is keeping my wits about me so that I don't fall victim to some underhanded tactics, or so I don't get jumped by the three of them working together to eliminate one enemy, one tick that each one of them can lay claim to having beat in the past year.
"Basically, I need to make sure I don't get fucked over.
"Considering who my partner is, it won't be easy, but it will be doable. At least I have the history on my side, so I know when Level One is going to turn into a monster and attack people for the sake of looking big and scary. I know when I am going to get taken down just because he needs to stroke his own ego. I know all about that, just like he knows it about me. And out of the other three in this match, Level One, my partner, is the one I know the most about.
"But we're partners this week so I have to have some amount of trust in him. I have to be able to keep our indifferences apart long enough to actually work with him, as hard as that is to say. Though, luckily, nothing is truly riding on this match. It's not like last week when I had something I really wanted. It's not like other weeks where there is a small stipulation. It's simply a tag team match that pits some of Overdrive's best against each other.
"The only thing that will do, however is make the inevitable attack that much easier to swallow. Because it's going to happen. Level One wouldn't pass up a chance to screw me over, not when he has a say in it. It's just a matter of when and how.
"Knowing him, he will wait until the moment arises. After all, this is still Level One, and he is still the man who has to win every match. He is still the man that demands a victory for taking a dump. Plain and simple. So I know that if he feels a sense of danger, he won't risk having to go it alone because he dumped me ringside.
"Though it doesn't matter when it will happen, because it will happen.
"He's not the only degenerate in the match though. Looking across the ring, I'll be able to spot two more, two men who have done their own bit to ruffle my feathers.
"Delikado and I have had our paths cross once of twice, and it ended in his favor more often then it did mine. Each time that it favored him, the Overdrive title was on the line while when I came out with the win, it was just for bragging rights. Not exactly ideal, but it's at least a win, right? It at least gives me confidence that I can beat him.
"Sure that flies out the window during a tag team match because everything changes. Some people act differently, and if they don't, there are still two people to keep tabs on instead of the normal one that we all have to worry about. And when you're thinking about Delikado, nothing is ever the same or normal. Nothing is ever as cut and dry as it appears.
"I guess the same can be said for Callahan, if Asylum is anything to take from. After he snapped and starting hitting home runs, you could never really peg him down for anything. That is, when he was in that crazed state. Luckily for me, I never saw him at that point, but I'm sure it's still there. I'm sure that we're all just on the verge of watching Callahan tee off on someone's head, making someone his new home run derby.
"Which is why I need to come out of this match as a survivor.
"A feat that won't be easy with the instability that I'm surrounded with. Whether that's Level One needing to be the top dog at all costs possible, Callahan's potential to fly off the rails and Delikado's downright psychotic nature, there is instability everywhere, and I am right in the middle of it.
"Really, when you break it down and when you put a gun to my head, a win this week isn't the ultimate prize. Sure, everyone fights to win, but I'm not hellbent on it. I'm still going to work my ass off, I'm still going to carry my weight, but at the same time, I won't be as keen to throw my body into the line of fire just to get a win, especially if it means that it will jeopardize my chance at the World Heavyweight title.
"And that is something I am not going to let happen.
"Even if the three of them don't want to recognize me as an actual competitor, I still don't want to let it get the better of me. I won't let them bully me into it and I won't let them distract me from the goal at hand.
"Survival before a win.
"Plain and simple.
"I guess it helps that I don't trust them, and that I never will. It helps that they're so off the wall. It helps that I have dealt with all of this before.
"Lester, don't think for a minute that you have the mental edge on me. Don't think that I am just going to let you take the reigns of this team and do all the work because you're Level One. I am going to pull my weight, and I am going to do what I can, within reason, to get the job done. And really, if you want to have a chance at winning, which I know you do since you're Level One, you are going to have to put up with me for the duration of the match.
"That is, unless you want to destroy me to get me out of the way. Unless you want to make sure I don't make it to Mayhem, but if that's your end game, then you're going to lose, and you're not going to have much momentum going into the Pay-Per-View.
"It will be hard, sure, especially given our history, for you to trust me. But humor me. Give it a shot. Try, at the very least, to put those difference aside just for one night.
"I know, it was a good joke, wasn't it?
"Honestly, Lester, I might not want to win before I survive, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to sit back and let the others run roughshod. I am still going to wrestle, but when it jeopardizes my well being, well, that's when I start to re-think everything.
"The one thing I won't re-think, is whether Callahan and I are on the same page. Sure, Overdrive was a moment when he and I stood tall, but that doesn't mean that it's us versus them. To me, it's still very much me versus everyone else.
"Though, I appreciate what you did last week, Michael. You might not have saved me from getting my head bashed in, but you also didn't turn around and slug me in the face after we cleared the ring. There's probably some bit of decency in you, but it's not one that I am going to wait to find out. There aren't many people I can trust, and you definitely haven't made it into that category.
"Neither has Delikado. Perhaps I should admire your work, Deli, and perhaps I should admire what you managed to do when you retained your title over me. Barely. But it's the little things I can't get over. You know, the whole incident when you brought my mom into your business. The times you cheated to win and blatantly lied about it. The fact that you barely held on to your belt and claimed you were the best Overdrive champion ever.
"Newsflash. The best Overdrive champion ever is the one man I can trust right now.
"Not that it matters since he is far away, but the fact still stands. You aren't what you claim to be, and your definitely no Pope. But that's just the way a crazy bat-shit mind like yours would work. You don't see the logic, and all you see is the end game. All you see is the success of it all.
"You, Callahan, Level One. You are all worried about winning.
"So at least one of you will be disappointed this week, and who knows, all of you might be disappointed.
"But not me. Because even if I lose, as long as I survive, then everything will be alright in my books. Everything will be just fine. If I can make it to Mayhem, well, that's all I'm really worried about.
"So boys, I hope your all ready for what is to come this week.
"It's time to go big or go home."
"Maybe Kid Dynamo had a point when he talked about all my failures when it came to title matches. Maybe he had a point to prove that I haven't exactly grabbed the bull by the horns in these situations. Maybe I just don't have what it takes to succeed at that level. You know, I've now become that guy that can get to the spotlight, but can't get past it. Can't capitalize. Can't win a title to save my life.
"I've got another chance at that in a few weeks, but right now, I have to survive. I have to walk into a match, team with a man that I know hates me to take on two men who also hate me. Maybe they hate me less then Level One does, but they still hate me and they still hate the fact that I am in their title match.
"But what's done is done, and now, survival begins.
"I'm ready for the venom. I'm ready for everyone hunting me down and I'm ready to be more of a victim then the actual champion. I'm ready to be everything that I've always been, and maybe it's better this way. Maybe it's better to not have things change. That way, I'm not surprised by anything.
"It's going to be a war, and that definitely won't surprise me. I know that everyone is going to want to assert themselves as the lead dog in this battle, and I wouldn't be surprised if that came at the expense of others, or at the expense of wins. I'm sure that some might be willing to throw a potential victory out the window just to get themselves into that drivers seat.
"Not me, but some people. Maybe even Level One would do something like that. Get himself even more fared by throwing me through a table or thumbing me in the eye on a fake tag, something like that. Something that would fit his underhanded way of life. Something that, once again, would not surprise me in the slightest.
"It's tough to surprise me, after I've seen everything.
"After I've been the guinea pig for everything.
"Maybe all of that changes this week. Maybe everything will turn around.
"Or maybe I will simply survive."
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"Congratulations," a familiar voice says through the phones speaker. "Wasn't exactly easy or pretty, but you managed to win and get into that World title match."
"Thanks Biggs," C.J. Gates says. "They did what they could to keep me out, so I guess at least I can assume they're afraid of me."
"That's true," Biggs responds. "I was more so saying that you might be one of the first people to have had an Undisputed title shot one Pay-Per-View, and a World title match the next."
Gates chuckles. "I guess I never thought of it that way." A bit of silence falls between the two before Gates speaks. "So how are you? Recovering nicely?"
"Oh, I've still got some bumps and bruises, but I'm doing alright," Biggs says. "Never easy going through that kind of match, especially against someone as brutal as Level One."
"I know all about that. At least, a match with Level One. Can't say I was every brutalized as much as you were though."
"On the plus side, I'm surviving, so that's always positive."
"Definitely is," Gates says as the door opens and in walks Vincent James. Gates nods to James. "Anyways, I'll talk to you later. Enjoy the well deserved rest and relaxation."
"Thanks, C.J. Catch you later." The two sides hang up.
"Biggs?" James asks.
Gates nods. "He just wanted to congratulate me on making it into the World title match."
"Barely," James says with a smirk.
"I didn't say it was glamorous or anything," Gates chuckles. "I just got in. And like I said last week, they never told me I had to win by pinfall, just that I had to win."
"So you could have cut a good chunk of that match had you just coaxed Callahan into hitting you with a chair."
"He's too smart for that," Gates says. "Besides, I'm sure the other two stooges were waiting in the wings to stop that from happening."
"There is always that," James begins. "But that doesn't really matter since, you know, you got the win and all. Now you've just got to look to the future."
"You've got that one right," Gates says. "Now that I have a direction, I've got to move forward with a purpose. I've got something to look forward to."
"And another title to hunt for."
"Yes, another title. And who knows, maybe that will mean another loss at a title shot."
"Give yourself some credit," James says.
"I always seem to come up short, though," Gates says. "Tag Team, Overdrive, Undisputed. It seems that I can get so close, but I can't get over that hump."
"You've just come up against some stiff competition. Kurt Noble, Terry Marvin, Delikado. It's not like you're fighting Branden Harvey and Mr. Dangerous for these titles."
Gates sighs. "I know, and really, I'm probably worrying too much about everything. It's just, it's one of those things. It weighs on me, and I know that everyone else will pick up on it and throw it in my face."
"So you've got to get used to it."
"And you'd think I would be by now," Gates says. "It's happened often enough, you would think it would just roll off my back. Apparently not."
"Is it because of your losses?" James asks. "You've done well recently, but when you lose, does it weigh on your mind?"
"Probably. It goes back to what I said earlier. For every one step I seem to take forward, two more back follow it. I just can't seem to get any traction going."
"Well then turn it around this week," James says. "Take this chance to show those other three that you mean business and get something going heading into Mayhem. Don't make this years Mayhem like last years. Don't end up losing because you had other things on your mind."
"Last year was different," Gates says. "Part of me thought there was still a sensible, civil person inside the skin of Kurt Noble." Gates shakes his head. "But I was wrong and I think that aided the downfall I went on. But this time, that won't happen."
"No?"
"Nope," Gates responds. "The three men I'm facing off with, I don't care about them. At all. All of them have pissed me off at one point, all of them have aggravated me at some point, so it's not like I'm suddenly going to have a heart and hope that a civil person comes out of one of them. They're all too far gone."
"And Noble wasn't?"
"Why are we even worrying about Noble?" Gates asks. "He's no longer around and if I want to move on, I shouldn't worry about the past."
James chuckles. "You not worried about the past, rich."
"I don't worry about it to get me all worked up," Gates says. "I worry about it only when it pertains to the match, and that's usually just with a specific person. But there is no Noble in this match, this week or at Mayhem."
"I guess you've got a point," James says.
"But I need to make it to Mayhem. So I can't worry about the past and what happened with Noble, not when I need to be worrying about my opponents. And I need to be worrying about this weeks tag team match. Or I just won't survive."
"Fair."
"I need to be worried about teaming with Level One, or I won't make it to Mayhem. I need to keep my head on a swivel and watch out for everyone. After all, I'm more or less alone."
"You're alone?" James asks, looking around the room.
"Not here, in the ring," Gates says. "Biggs is still back in America, and there's no one else willing to stand beside me. Everyone wants to look out for themselves, so it's almost like I'm looking at a battle against three men where it's only me. Especially this week."
"I'm sure you'll survive," James says. "No one's been able to keep you down yet, right?"
Gates cracks a smile. "That's true."
"Do don't worry about what might happen with them, and just stay focused on you and what you are capable of doing."
"I'll try," Gates says. "I'm going to try and focus on the future and everything that lays ahead."
"And not on your mother."
Gates looks over at James, shocked. "What? What are you on about?"
"Come on, C.J., you can't tell me that what happened the other day hasn't weighed on your mind. It's not everyday that two Russians in suits come in here looking for you."
"Oh, right, that." Gates shakes his head. "It didn't seem as important as winning that match."
"I think the one guy was packing."
"Wouldn't shock me, but I didn't want to lose focus."
"So what, you're going to just keep going and forget about them until after Mayhem."
"It's my mom's problem, not mine," Gates says shaking his head. "I've got to worry about an American, a Canadian and a Cuban knocking down my door before I can even begin to think about those two Russians."
"Even if they sent this?" James walks forward and drops an envelope on the desk. Gates reaches forward and picks the envelope up.
"They sent this?" Gates asks and James simply nods in response. Gates opens the envelope and pulls out a piece of paper. He unfolds it and reads it over before lowering it. "They didn't."
"Apparently they did," James says.
"Why?" Gates asks, dropping the piece of paper. "Why did you give this to me?"
"So you knew."
Gates sighs. "This is just like last year with the rest of my family.
"This could be a shit storm."
------------------------------------------------
"For me, this week will be like walking into the jaws of a waiting lion.
"It's no secret that the three men that I am going to be fighting amongst don't want me there. It's no shocker that they would rather me be toiling in the opener against Buckson Gooch or forced to put up or shut up against Evan Envi. Anywhere, as long as it's no where near them. Unfortunately, I did what I do best last week and I overcame the odds and found a way into the World Heavyweight title match at Mayhem.
"This week, however, there is no title and instead, it's a simple tag team match. A simple tag team match that pits enemies against enemies teamed with enemies. A match that has been described as a strange bedfellows match because of those very same points. But I'm used to it. I've been here before. I've had to team with Terry Marvin en route to our Rasslemania meeting. I've had to work alongside people I despise because that's the way things have been booked.
"And this week is no different.
"Right Lester?
"I guess the only person you could team me with that wouldn't be so strange would be Michael Callahan. At least with he and I, the hatred is based on the fact that I can't beat him. Even though I was awarded the victory last week, I won't come out and say that I won. I won't claim to have solved the rubix cubes that is Michael Callahan.
"There's no point in any of that because I only won thanks to Delikado's interference going wrong. I only won because Level One wasn't able to hide his assistance from the referee. I only won because I stuck out what could have kept most men down, because I held out and kept on battling, long enough for everything to work out the way it did. Not that I planned it that way, though. I would have loved to have gotten the win on my own accord, but, unfortunately, the efforts of everyone involved to keep me out of Mayhem was enough to give me that chance.
"So maybe I should thank them. Perhaps I should thank Delikado for screwing up and hitting me. Perhaps I should thank Level One for not being able to hold my leg down long enough. Maybe I should thank Michael Callahan for not beating me as soundly as he has in the past. Maybe I should praise the heavens in thanks that luck was finally on my side for once, that I wasn't getting taken down for the sake of being taken down.
"Or, I could do none of the above and keep my head in the game. Keep myself focused on what is at hand, and keep myself zoned in on the fact that I didn't pin Callahan. Sure, it might have eventually gone that route, and I could have managed to keep him down long enough, but, the fact is that I didn't, and right now I need to keep that in mind.
"But the title match isn't until Mayhem, so it's not dire. All I have to worry about now, is keeping my wits about me so that I don't fall victim to some underhanded tactics, or so I don't get jumped by the three of them working together to eliminate one enemy, one tick that each one of them can lay claim to having beat in the past year.
"Basically, I need to make sure I don't get fucked over.
"Considering who my partner is, it won't be easy, but it will be doable. At least I have the history on my side, so I know when Level One is going to turn into a monster and attack people for the sake of looking big and scary. I know when I am going to get taken down just because he needs to stroke his own ego. I know all about that, just like he knows it about me. And out of the other three in this match, Level One, my partner, is the one I know the most about.
"But we're partners this week so I have to have some amount of trust in him. I have to be able to keep our indifferences apart long enough to actually work with him, as hard as that is to say. Though, luckily, nothing is truly riding on this match. It's not like last week when I had something I really wanted. It's not like other weeks where there is a small stipulation. It's simply a tag team match that pits some of Overdrive's best against each other.
"The only thing that will do, however is make the inevitable attack that much easier to swallow. Because it's going to happen. Level One wouldn't pass up a chance to screw me over, not when he has a say in it. It's just a matter of when and how.
"Knowing him, he will wait until the moment arises. After all, this is still Level One, and he is still the man who has to win every match. He is still the man that demands a victory for taking a dump. Plain and simple. So I know that if he feels a sense of danger, he won't risk having to go it alone because he dumped me ringside.
"Though it doesn't matter when it will happen, because it will happen.
"He's not the only degenerate in the match though. Looking across the ring, I'll be able to spot two more, two men who have done their own bit to ruffle my feathers.
"Delikado and I have had our paths cross once of twice, and it ended in his favor more often then it did mine. Each time that it favored him, the Overdrive title was on the line while when I came out with the win, it was just for bragging rights. Not exactly ideal, but it's at least a win, right? It at least gives me confidence that I can beat him.
"Sure that flies out the window during a tag team match because everything changes. Some people act differently, and if they don't, there are still two people to keep tabs on instead of the normal one that we all have to worry about. And when you're thinking about Delikado, nothing is ever the same or normal. Nothing is ever as cut and dry as it appears.
"I guess the same can be said for Callahan, if Asylum is anything to take from. After he snapped and starting hitting home runs, you could never really peg him down for anything. That is, when he was in that crazed state. Luckily for me, I never saw him at that point, but I'm sure it's still there. I'm sure that we're all just on the verge of watching Callahan tee off on someone's head, making someone his new home run derby.
"Which is why I need to come out of this match as a survivor.
"A feat that won't be easy with the instability that I'm surrounded with. Whether that's Level One needing to be the top dog at all costs possible, Callahan's potential to fly off the rails and Delikado's downright psychotic nature, there is instability everywhere, and I am right in the middle of it.
"Really, when you break it down and when you put a gun to my head, a win this week isn't the ultimate prize. Sure, everyone fights to win, but I'm not hellbent on it. I'm still going to work my ass off, I'm still going to carry my weight, but at the same time, I won't be as keen to throw my body into the line of fire just to get a win, especially if it means that it will jeopardize my chance at the World Heavyweight title.
"And that is something I am not going to let happen.
"Even if the three of them don't want to recognize me as an actual competitor, I still don't want to let it get the better of me. I won't let them bully me into it and I won't let them distract me from the goal at hand.
"Survival before a win.
"Plain and simple.
"I guess it helps that I don't trust them, and that I never will. It helps that they're so off the wall. It helps that I have dealt with all of this before.
"Lester, don't think for a minute that you have the mental edge on me. Don't think that I am just going to let you take the reigns of this team and do all the work because you're Level One. I am going to pull my weight, and I am going to do what I can, within reason, to get the job done. And really, if you want to have a chance at winning, which I know you do since you're Level One, you are going to have to put up with me for the duration of the match.
"That is, unless you want to destroy me to get me out of the way. Unless you want to make sure I don't make it to Mayhem, but if that's your end game, then you're going to lose, and you're not going to have much momentum going into the Pay-Per-View.
"It will be hard, sure, especially given our history, for you to trust me. But humor me. Give it a shot. Try, at the very least, to put those difference aside just for one night.
"I know, it was a good joke, wasn't it?
"Honestly, Lester, I might not want to win before I survive, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to sit back and let the others run roughshod. I am still going to wrestle, but when it jeopardizes my well being, well, that's when I start to re-think everything.
"The one thing I won't re-think, is whether Callahan and I are on the same page. Sure, Overdrive was a moment when he and I stood tall, but that doesn't mean that it's us versus them. To me, it's still very much me versus everyone else.
"Though, I appreciate what you did last week, Michael. You might not have saved me from getting my head bashed in, but you also didn't turn around and slug me in the face after we cleared the ring. There's probably some bit of decency in you, but it's not one that I am going to wait to find out. There aren't many people I can trust, and you definitely haven't made it into that category.
"Neither has Delikado. Perhaps I should admire your work, Deli, and perhaps I should admire what you managed to do when you retained your title over me. Barely. But it's the little things I can't get over. You know, the whole incident when you brought my mom into your business. The times you cheated to win and blatantly lied about it. The fact that you barely held on to your belt and claimed you were the best Overdrive champion ever.
"Newsflash. The best Overdrive champion ever is the one man I can trust right now.
"Not that it matters since he is far away, but the fact still stands. You aren't what you claim to be, and your definitely no Pope. But that's just the way a crazy bat-shit mind like yours would work. You don't see the logic, and all you see is the end game. All you see is the success of it all.
"You, Callahan, Level One. You are all worried about winning.
"So at least one of you will be disappointed this week, and who knows, all of you might be disappointed.
"But not me. Because even if I lose, as long as I survive, then everything will be alright in my books. Everything will be just fine. If I can make it to Mayhem, well, that's all I'm really worried about.
"So boys, I hope your all ready for what is to come this week.
"It's time to go big or go home."
