Post by biggs on Jun 11, 2013 21:44:42 GMT -4
I’m dizzy. So incredibly, horribly dizzy.
The world around me is a blur, all I can make out in terms of sound is a loud buzz, and I have no idea where I’m at. I reach out to my side, and feel a soft mat supporting me. I see a person laid out next to me, but I can’t really make them out. They look like a big blob of misshapen flesh. My vision of the person next to me is so nebulous that I don’t know who it is at all.
Where am I? Who is this strange person next to me? Why am I here next to a strange person?
Finally, after a few moments, I come to the realization that I am on the arena floor in Cowboys Stadium, and that Nathaniel Havok is beside me. The back of my head is throbbing in pain. I reach up to rub it, but I’m having trouble actually touching my head. I honestly can’t recall how we ended up on the arena floor, but by the time I get my wits about me, I hear the voices of 100,000 strong counting out 1! 2! 3! Once Delikado’s music hits, I realize that Amy Zing and I have just lost the match.
A few moments later, I find myself in the trainer’s room. It’s probably one of the fanciest trainer rooms I’ve ever been in, and that’s saying something, because I’ve seen my fair share of them over my almost 10 year career in wrestling. It would be just about perfect if it weren’t for the fact that it was plastered with the Dallas Cowboy logo all over the place. Even the jar where the cotton swabs are kept has the Cowboys logo! I guess if I was a Cowboys fan, I’d be down for it, but I’m not, and their logo is so much more prevalent in the design of the rooms that it borders on obnoxious.
Still, I don’t have too much time to think about how much I hate the Cowboys, as the doctor is doing the ImPACT tests following my tag team match. For those not in the know, ImPACT stands for Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing. The acronym feels forced. Still, due to my history of concussions, I have received an ImPACT test after all three of my matches thus far. But the trainer seems to be more concerned this time, especially due to the shot my melon took on the arena floor.
”I know that you’ve taken this test before, Biggs, so I’m not going to give you too many instructions,” the trainer says. Thankfully he’s not wearing Cowboys gear. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit surprised that they didn’t require him to put the logo on his white jacket. I sit in front of the computer used for testing, and begin to answer questions about my height, weight, medical history and the like.
”Do I really have to do this, Doc? You guys already know everything I’ve entered. Can’t we just skip this part?” Doing this same 20-minute test that past few weeks has left me quite irritated.
”You already know that answer to that question, no. This is one of the ways we measure the severity of the concussion. If, for some reason, you can’t remember your information, or take longer than normal to enter it, that could be a red flag that indicates a possible concussion.”
”Fine, fine…”
I click through all the menus, finishing the first part quickly. After that, I have to fill out another questionnaire, this time asking me to rate concussion symptoms I’ve on a 7-point scale. I lie and click “0” all the way through.
”Listen, Doc, you know that this is just as big a waste of your time as it is mine! I’m fine!”
”And you know, Biggs, that APW take the safety of its wrestlers very seriously. This was one of the conditions your doctor mandated in order for you to be able to return to in-ring competition. For your first three months back, you would have to take the ImPACT test following each match. It’s either this, or you can sit on the sidelines for another three months. Take your pick…” The air of annoyance is evident in his voice. Admittedly, I’m whining like a little child, but I find the whole test childish, and I’m just ready to move on from it.
Next up are the Neurocognitive Tests, which include a word matching game, color matching, pattern recognition, and the like.
”I don’t need to remind you that each of these tests is random, and that even though you’ve done them before, they will be different than they were the first two times…” The doctor is obviously cutting me off at the pass, trying to prevent any whining. I just shake my head, and get right to work. The one test that I always have a problem on is the one where they present the words red, green, and blue, but sometimes the color of the type is different from the word. The instructions say to only click on the screen when the word and color of the type are the same, but I have poor impulse control. The last time I took this test, I almost failed because of this part. And I’ve got to be honest, I feel a bit more worried about it this time, because I’m still feeling a bit discombobulated following my spill to the floor. Not that I’m going to share that info with the trainer.
Still, I make my way through all the tests, and once I submit it, it’s not long before the results are displayed on the screen. The trainer moves his glasses up his nose as he reads the data, and before long, he lets me know the results. ”Well, you did better on the color test this week than you did last week, but worse on the X’s and O’s symbol match. Still, you’ve passed the test.”
”See, I told you it was a waste of time!”
”I respectfully disagree with you. I know that you feel like the 20-minute time frame this test takes isn’t useful at all, but if we do end up seeing something out of the ordinary, we will be able to more effectively treat your concussion. They didn’t have this back in 2005 when you suffered your first concussion, and you came back to the ring far too early from that if memory serves me correctly.”
”I know, I know. I’m just sick and tired of feeling like I’m being babied. Y’know? None of the other guys on the roster have to go through these tests, or if they do, it’s only every once and a while. People are questioning my toughness, my fortitude, and I’m sick of it. Just last week, I found a bag of tampons placed next to my bag in the locker room. It’s humiliating!”
”I’ve got to be frank with you, you seem to be of two minds on this issue. On your web show two weeks ago, didn’t you say that dealing with concussions isn’t a matter of toughness that you can’t fight your way through a concussion the same way that you fight through a hurt leg or a bruised shoulder?”
I sit there, realizing just how much like a hypocrite I sound. ”Yeah, I did…”
”And now, you’re getting angry over the fact that we’re trying to ensure that you don’t have another concussion, and you’re getting bent out of shape over a practical joke. I know that right now, you view me as an enemy, because I have the authority to prevent you from competing in the ring. But I’m not the enemy, Biggs, I’m an ally.”
”I know, I know. I’m sorry. I’m just agitated. We lost the match, my first loss since coming back. I just took it out on you, I guess. Plus, it’s Level-One’s darn fault that I’m stuck doing these darn things week in and week out!” At this point, I’m just telling the trainer what I think he wants to hear. Truth be told, I am sick of all these tests, I’m sick of dealing with all the drama that comes with having suffered three major concussions in my career thus far, two of them within a year and half of each other. Maybe I’m just sick of all this concussion business, because I can’t help but remember that these concussions are one of the big reasons my ex-wife left me. Okay, they’re only one part of a larger problem, but they are what brought those problems to the forefront. Still, I can’t help but think of Ellie anytime I take these ImPACT tests. And as much as I would like to say that it doesn’t hurt anymore, it still does every now and then. It hurts more than any injury I’ve ever sustained in the ring. Sometimes, I wish I could get another concussion, with the hopes of erasing these painful memories. But I know that it doesn’t work that way….
Depeche Mode’s “Spacewalker” plays as the words FIRST CONTACT flash across the starry background in bold, blue letters. The video transitions to Biggs sitting in a Café in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. He’s dressed in khaki pants and a light blue shirt, with his signature shades.
”Ladies and gents, boys and girls, children of all ages, I welcome you to the single best wrestling web show on the entire internet, I welcome you to First Contact! There’s a lot to talk about this week, so I’m going to get right down to it. We are two-and-a-half weeks away from Test for the Best, and I’ve got to be honest, it’s one of my favorite events on the APW calendar, each and every year! After all, it was Test for the Best two years ago where I defeated Level-One to win the APW Undisputed Championship! But my personal history with the event aside, the fact of the matter is that in the Test for the Best Tournament itself, each and every match can’t help but have a big match feel to it! Back when I was in my first Test for the Best, all the way back in 2009, I had only been in APW for a little over two months, and it was a huge honor just to be a part of the tournament that year. The next year, I may have lost to Sally Talfourd in the first round, but even then, it was still a big deal just to be in the field of eight vying for the title of The Best!”
“This year, I’m striving to make it to my third Test for the Best Tournament, and if I am able to qualify this Thursday night, I’ll tell you what, it’ll be just as big of an honor to be in this year’s field as it was in 2009. As it stands, I am one of eight Overdrive Mega Stars remaining. After Thursday night, that number will be reduced to four.”
“AC Smith versus Amy Zing…”
“Johnny Rebel versus yours truly…”
“Tommy Knox versus Nathaniel Havok…”
“And C.J. Gates versus Delikado…”
“Each and every one of these matches has huge ramifications for everyone involved, because if you win, you’re in. You lose, and you’re left watching Test for the Best from the back. For the eight of us left, we are all still in the hunt for an APW World Heavyweight Championship shot, something that I know none of us will take lightly. We’re still over two weeks away from the pay-per-view, but I know that this week’s Overdrive already has a pay-per-view feeling to it! It’s Test for the Best, baby, how can it not!?”
Biggs is obviously getting pumped up just talking about Test for the Best.
”Now before I discuss my match with Johnny Rebel this week, I wanted to take a brief moment to size up the rest of the matches that will determine the brackets I look to be running in Orlando!”
“Starting off Overdrive is the highly anticipated contest between Amy Zing and AC Smith. And despite the fact that AC lost in his qualifying match two weeks ago, he won the Second Chance Battle Royale, securing a match with Amy Zing. Having teamed with Amy Zing last week, I can say that beyond a shadow of a doubt, she’s the real deal. And yet even though she can go in the ring, she’s being overlooked. She’s being labeled the dark horse, the long shot. And to be honest, going against AC, those claims may be warranted. After all, AC is the guy who gave me the single most one-sided butt whupping I’ve ever received in my career. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the heck out of both competitors, but while I’m rooting for Amy, I can’t bet against AC Smith. I think Smith will win this one to move on, but in either case, you’re getting a quality competitor moving on.”
“Tommy Knox versus Nathaniel Havok, I’ll be honest, doesn’t really care who wins this match. Both guys are jerks. The only advantage Knox has over Havok, at least in regards to me, is that I haven’t had to interact with him. And while I’m on the topic, Havok, if you’re watching this, how dare you call me a hypocrite last week, saying that my nickname of The Spaceman was a gimmick, or at least as gimmicky as you were at one point. Sure, I made my entrance to APW in a flying saucer, but it was just a prop! It’s not like I’m going around, claiming to be an alien. I’m from Seattle, Washington, gosh darn it! But you, Havok, you lived this whole ‘Enforcer of Sorrow’ gimmick, painting your nails, painting your face, even if all you had to do was run out to the store to get a carton of milk! But hey, at least it’ll be easy for you to pick your Halloween costume this year. Your choices are either the pot or the kettle. Still, my personal issues with Havok aside, he has had more success in APW than Knox, and all other things equal, you have to factor in big match experience with these Test for the Best matchups. I think Havok unfortunately makes it to the pay-per-view.”
“In C.J. Gates versus Delikado, I think everyone already knows both whom I’m rooting for in this contest and who I think is going to win. The answer to both questions is C.J. Gates!”
“The fact is this, it really doesn’t matter who makes it to the Test for the Best pay-per-view from Overdrive, from Asylum, or from Meltdown. Only one person is going to win the Tournament, only one person can truly be called The Best. And I’m telling you all right now, that’s going to be me! I don’t care who I have to fight through, I don’t care if I have to face my very best friend in the business right now, I am going to do whatever it takes to ensure that at the end of Test for the Best, my hand is raised in victory not once, not twice, but three times!”
“I know that this will not be an easy task. It’s hard enough to win one match on any given night here in APW, let alone three! But ever since I was sidelined following my Hell-in-a-Cell Match at RassleMania IX, there has been one thing on my mind, and one thing alone, and that is getting back at Level-One! And considering that he’s the APW World Heavyweight Champion, my best shot at this is by winning the Test for the Best Tournament, and moving on to Shockwave to challenge Level-One himself!”
At this point, Biggs takes off his signature shades, and glares directly into the camera.
“Everybody in APW will say that they have what it takes to win Test for the Best, that a shot at either the World Heavyweight or Undisputed Championship is the only motivation they need to carry them through this tournament. But for me, it’s about more than championship glory, it’s also about good ol’ fashioned revenge. So Lester, enjoy your time as champ. I hope you value that title as you should, because soon and very soon, it will no longer be yours! You took two months of my career from me, Lester, so I have no choice but to take your title. Get ready…”
Biggs slides his shades back on, and shrugs his shoulders.
”Of course, all of this talk would be for naught if I can’t put my opponent away this Thursday, Johnny Rebel! You know, it’s kind of funny, but so far this tournament, my matches have seemed to be blasts from the past! After all, I dispatched Shadow two weeks ago, and now, I’m taking on a guy who I share a very similar history with.”
“After all, Rebel, we’re both multi-time Overdrive Champions. We’re both former General Managers of Overdrive. And we’re both favorites in this tournament if we can make it to the pay-per-view.”
“But not only do we share similar histories, we have a shared history between us! You won your first APW title off of me, defeating me for my Overdrive Championship. We teamed in CWC Ascension, and won the whole darn thing! Heck, we’ve been friends, enemies, hesitant allies, you name it! To say that we know each other very well would be an understatement.”
“I know you well enough to know that there’s not a rule that you’re not willing to break. You know me well enough to know that if you try to pull a fast one on me, I’ll pull one right back on you! I know you well enough to know that you’re going to try to dictate the pace of this match, trying to keep me grounded, try to slow me down. You know me well enough to know that I’m going to try to keep the tempo fast, keep the tempo high, and wear you out that way. We both know that neither one of us is going to give up this match without first giving the fight of our lives!”
“Because despite the fact that we are now on the opposite side of this whole fan favorite, bad guy dynamic, even though I shouldn’t respect you for the way that you carry yourself outside of the ring, in between the ropes, I have nothing but the utmost respect for what you are capable of. There was a time when Johnny Rebel versus Biggs would headline an APW pay-per-view event, and yet, we find ourselves against one another just trying to make it to the Test for the Best pay-per-view! I know the fans don’t expect anything less than an all-out epic contest, and I also know that neither one of us expect anything less from each other!”
“Your style may not be a refined as mine. It’s certainly not as fast. But if it’s one thing, it is effective! You wouldn’t be held in as high a regard as you are if it wasn’t! You have done what every great in this business has done, and that is to find a way to accentuate your strengths in such a way that they mask your weaknesses. You are great at beating people up. Plain and simple. You don’t pretend to be a mat technician, you don’t try to be a high flyer! You have found what works for you, and you’ve stuck with it, honing yourself into one of the premiere brawlers in this sport today.”
“Of course, they also say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and what are you, J-Reb, if not an old salty dog? You’ve always prided yourself in your no nonsense, hardnosed approach inside the ring, but even you must realize that you’re closer to the end of your career than the beginning. You’re set in your ways. You don’t innovate the way that you used to. And quite frankly, it’s far too easy to envision you as a grumpy old man, sitting on your porch, telling those pesky kids to get off your darn lawn! And I know that you’re going to keep on scrapping, that you’re going to keep on fighting, even if your body is telling you that it’s probably time to hang up the boots once and for all. After all, I don’t think you took the job as Overdrive GM just for the power it gave you. I think you legitimately needed a rest from in-ring competition. And sure, so did I, but mine was due to injury, not being a broken down old man. And old man who can still throw a punch with the best of them, but an old man none-the-less.”
“But they say that contrasts make matches, and let’s be honest here, J-Reb, you and I are as different as can be when it comes to in-ring style. I use speed and finesse, while you rely on power and toughness. And yet despite our radically different styles, throughout our time in APW, every time we have met in the ring, we have been so evenly matched. You know that the odds-makers in Vegas hate this matchup! But I love it, Johnny Rebel, because if I can defeat you just to make it into the Test for the Best Tournament, than I’ve got to feel confident heading into the rest of the tourney.”
“The fact is, this Thursday Night, Rebel, only one of us will move on to Test for the Best.”
“You or me, not both.”
“Both of us feel like we have a lot to prove, for you, it’s that you’re not too old and worn down to still be a top star in APW. For me, it’s showing that my concussion at RassleMania will not slow me down. In a perfect world, this match would be on the pay-per-view, but it’s not. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to give a pay-per-view worthy performance!”
“I’m doing this for me, J-Reb. I’m doing it for the fans. I know that everyone hates the fact that Level-One is the APW World Heavyweight Champion. And I’ll be honest, I don’t think they’d like it much better if you were champ. But I know that they’d think it was just OUT OF THIS WORLD if Biggs was the APW World Heavyweight Champion! I don’t want to disappoint them, I don’t want to disappoint myself, so on Overdrive this week, Johnny, I hate to say it, but you lose. There’s no other way that our match can end that would be satisfactory.”
“After all, Test for the Best only comes around once a year. There are eight of us still alive on Overdrive, and after Thursday, there will only be four. Eventually, it’ll be down to one, and I fully intend on being that one! C.J., Amy, AC, I wish the three of you all the best. The rest of you can go stew yourselves. It simply doesn’t matter who makes it to the pay-per-view, because on Sunday, June 30th, I will leave Orlando, Florida as the winner of Test for the Best 2013! And then I’m going to go onto Shockwave, where I will defeat Level-One to not only put him back in his place, but to become the new APW World Heavyweight Champion!”
“I need to get back to Level-One, there’s no other option.”
“I must get back to Level-One.”
“I must prove once and forever more that I am quite simply OUT OF THIS WORLD!”
“Spacewalker” plays again as First Contact fades to black as the APW logo and copyright flash across the bottom of the screen.
The world around me is a blur, all I can make out in terms of sound is a loud buzz, and I have no idea where I’m at. I reach out to my side, and feel a soft mat supporting me. I see a person laid out next to me, but I can’t really make them out. They look like a big blob of misshapen flesh. My vision of the person next to me is so nebulous that I don’t know who it is at all.
Where am I? Who is this strange person next to me? Why am I here next to a strange person?
Finally, after a few moments, I come to the realization that I am on the arena floor in Cowboys Stadium, and that Nathaniel Havok is beside me. The back of my head is throbbing in pain. I reach up to rub it, but I’m having trouble actually touching my head. I honestly can’t recall how we ended up on the arena floor, but by the time I get my wits about me, I hear the voices of 100,000 strong counting out 1! 2! 3! Once Delikado’s music hits, I realize that Amy Zing and I have just lost the match.
*~*~*
A few moments later, I find myself in the trainer’s room. It’s probably one of the fanciest trainer rooms I’ve ever been in, and that’s saying something, because I’ve seen my fair share of them over my almost 10 year career in wrestling. It would be just about perfect if it weren’t for the fact that it was plastered with the Dallas Cowboy logo all over the place. Even the jar where the cotton swabs are kept has the Cowboys logo! I guess if I was a Cowboys fan, I’d be down for it, but I’m not, and their logo is so much more prevalent in the design of the rooms that it borders on obnoxious.
Still, I don’t have too much time to think about how much I hate the Cowboys, as the doctor is doing the ImPACT tests following my tag team match. For those not in the know, ImPACT stands for Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing. The acronym feels forced. Still, due to my history of concussions, I have received an ImPACT test after all three of my matches thus far. But the trainer seems to be more concerned this time, especially due to the shot my melon took on the arena floor.
”I know that you’ve taken this test before, Biggs, so I’m not going to give you too many instructions,” the trainer says. Thankfully he’s not wearing Cowboys gear. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit surprised that they didn’t require him to put the logo on his white jacket. I sit in front of the computer used for testing, and begin to answer questions about my height, weight, medical history and the like.
”Do I really have to do this, Doc? You guys already know everything I’ve entered. Can’t we just skip this part?” Doing this same 20-minute test that past few weeks has left me quite irritated.
”You already know that answer to that question, no. This is one of the ways we measure the severity of the concussion. If, for some reason, you can’t remember your information, or take longer than normal to enter it, that could be a red flag that indicates a possible concussion.”
”Fine, fine…”
I click through all the menus, finishing the first part quickly. After that, I have to fill out another questionnaire, this time asking me to rate concussion symptoms I’ve on a 7-point scale. I lie and click “0” all the way through.
”Listen, Doc, you know that this is just as big a waste of your time as it is mine! I’m fine!”
”And you know, Biggs, that APW take the safety of its wrestlers very seriously. This was one of the conditions your doctor mandated in order for you to be able to return to in-ring competition. For your first three months back, you would have to take the ImPACT test following each match. It’s either this, or you can sit on the sidelines for another three months. Take your pick…” The air of annoyance is evident in his voice. Admittedly, I’m whining like a little child, but I find the whole test childish, and I’m just ready to move on from it.
Next up are the Neurocognitive Tests, which include a word matching game, color matching, pattern recognition, and the like.
”I don’t need to remind you that each of these tests is random, and that even though you’ve done them before, they will be different than they were the first two times…” The doctor is obviously cutting me off at the pass, trying to prevent any whining. I just shake my head, and get right to work. The one test that I always have a problem on is the one where they present the words red, green, and blue, but sometimes the color of the type is different from the word. The instructions say to only click on the screen when the word and color of the type are the same, but I have poor impulse control. The last time I took this test, I almost failed because of this part. And I’ve got to be honest, I feel a bit more worried about it this time, because I’m still feeling a bit discombobulated following my spill to the floor. Not that I’m going to share that info with the trainer.
Still, I make my way through all the tests, and once I submit it, it’s not long before the results are displayed on the screen. The trainer moves his glasses up his nose as he reads the data, and before long, he lets me know the results. ”Well, you did better on the color test this week than you did last week, but worse on the X’s and O’s symbol match. Still, you’ve passed the test.”
”See, I told you it was a waste of time!”
”I respectfully disagree with you. I know that you feel like the 20-minute time frame this test takes isn’t useful at all, but if we do end up seeing something out of the ordinary, we will be able to more effectively treat your concussion. They didn’t have this back in 2005 when you suffered your first concussion, and you came back to the ring far too early from that if memory serves me correctly.”
”I know, I know. I’m just sick and tired of feeling like I’m being babied. Y’know? None of the other guys on the roster have to go through these tests, or if they do, it’s only every once and a while. People are questioning my toughness, my fortitude, and I’m sick of it. Just last week, I found a bag of tampons placed next to my bag in the locker room. It’s humiliating!”
”I’ve got to be frank with you, you seem to be of two minds on this issue. On your web show two weeks ago, didn’t you say that dealing with concussions isn’t a matter of toughness that you can’t fight your way through a concussion the same way that you fight through a hurt leg or a bruised shoulder?”
I sit there, realizing just how much like a hypocrite I sound. ”Yeah, I did…”
”And now, you’re getting angry over the fact that we’re trying to ensure that you don’t have another concussion, and you’re getting bent out of shape over a practical joke. I know that right now, you view me as an enemy, because I have the authority to prevent you from competing in the ring. But I’m not the enemy, Biggs, I’m an ally.”
”I know, I know. I’m sorry. I’m just agitated. We lost the match, my first loss since coming back. I just took it out on you, I guess. Plus, it’s Level-One’s darn fault that I’m stuck doing these darn things week in and week out!” At this point, I’m just telling the trainer what I think he wants to hear. Truth be told, I am sick of all these tests, I’m sick of dealing with all the drama that comes with having suffered three major concussions in my career thus far, two of them within a year and half of each other. Maybe I’m just sick of all this concussion business, because I can’t help but remember that these concussions are one of the big reasons my ex-wife left me. Okay, they’re only one part of a larger problem, but they are what brought those problems to the forefront. Still, I can’t help but think of Ellie anytime I take these ImPACT tests. And as much as I would like to say that it doesn’t hurt anymore, it still does every now and then. It hurts more than any injury I’ve ever sustained in the ring. Sometimes, I wish I could get another concussion, with the hopes of erasing these painful memories. But I know that it doesn’t work that way….
***
Depeche Mode’s “Spacewalker” plays as the words FIRST CONTACT flash across the starry background in bold, blue letters. The video transitions to Biggs sitting in a Café in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. He’s dressed in khaki pants and a light blue shirt, with his signature shades.
”Ladies and gents, boys and girls, children of all ages, I welcome you to the single best wrestling web show on the entire internet, I welcome you to First Contact! There’s a lot to talk about this week, so I’m going to get right down to it. We are two-and-a-half weeks away from Test for the Best, and I’ve got to be honest, it’s one of my favorite events on the APW calendar, each and every year! After all, it was Test for the Best two years ago where I defeated Level-One to win the APW Undisputed Championship! But my personal history with the event aside, the fact of the matter is that in the Test for the Best Tournament itself, each and every match can’t help but have a big match feel to it! Back when I was in my first Test for the Best, all the way back in 2009, I had only been in APW for a little over two months, and it was a huge honor just to be a part of the tournament that year. The next year, I may have lost to Sally Talfourd in the first round, but even then, it was still a big deal just to be in the field of eight vying for the title of The Best!”
“This year, I’m striving to make it to my third Test for the Best Tournament, and if I am able to qualify this Thursday night, I’ll tell you what, it’ll be just as big of an honor to be in this year’s field as it was in 2009. As it stands, I am one of eight Overdrive Mega Stars remaining. After Thursday night, that number will be reduced to four.”
“AC Smith versus Amy Zing…”
“Johnny Rebel versus yours truly…”
“Tommy Knox versus Nathaniel Havok…”
“And C.J. Gates versus Delikado…”
“Each and every one of these matches has huge ramifications for everyone involved, because if you win, you’re in. You lose, and you’re left watching Test for the Best from the back. For the eight of us left, we are all still in the hunt for an APW World Heavyweight Championship shot, something that I know none of us will take lightly. We’re still over two weeks away from the pay-per-view, but I know that this week’s Overdrive already has a pay-per-view feeling to it! It’s Test for the Best, baby, how can it not!?”
Biggs is obviously getting pumped up just talking about Test for the Best.
”Now before I discuss my match with Johnny Rebel this week, I wanted to take a brief moment to size up the rest of the matches that will determine the brackets I look to be running in Orlando!”
“Starting off Overdrive is the highly anticipated contest between Amy Zing and AC Smith. And despite the fact that AC lost in his qualifying match two weeks ago, he won the Second Chance Battle Royale, securing a match with Amy Zing. Having teamed with Amy Zing last week, I can say that beyond a shadow of a doubt, she’s the real deal. And yet even though she can go in the ring, she’s being overlooked. She’s being labeled the dark horse, the long shot. And to be honest, going against AC, those claims may be warranted. After all, AC is the guy who gave me the single most one-sided butt whupping I’ve ever received in my career. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the heck out of both competitors, but while I’m rooting for Amy, I can’t bet against AC Smith. I think Smith will win this one to move on, but in either case, you’re getting a quality competitor moving on.”
“Tommy Knox versus Nathaniel Havok, I’ll be honest, doesn’t really care who wins this match. Both guys are jerks. The only advantage Knox has over Havok, at least in regards to me, is that I haven’t had to interact with him. And while I’m on the topic, Havok, if you’re watching this, how dare you call me a hypocrite last week, saying that my nickname of The Spaceman was a gimmick, or at least as gimmicky as you were at one point. Sure, I made my entrance to APW in a flying saucer, but it was just a prop! It’s not like I’m going around, claiming to be an alien. I’m from Seattle, Washington, gosh darn it! But you, Havok, you lived this whole ‘Enforcer of Sorrow’ gimmick, painting your nails, painting your face, even if all you had to do was run out to the store to get a carton of milk! But hey, at least it’ll be easy for you to pick your Halloween costume this year. Your choices are either the pot or the kettle. Still, my personal issues with Havok aside, he has had more success in APW than Knox, and all other things equal, you have to factor in big match experience with these Test for the Best matchups. I think Havok unfortunately makes it to the pay-per-view.”
“In C.J. Gates versus Delikado, I think everyone already knows both whom I’m rooting for in this contest and who I think is going to win. The answer to both questions is C.J. Gates!”
“The fact is this, it really doesn’t matter who makes it to the Test for the Best pay-per-view from Overdrive, from Asylum, or from Meltdown. Only one person is going to win the Tournament, only one person can truly be called The Best. And I’m telling you all right now, that’s going to be me! I don’t care who I have to fight through, I don’t care if I have to face my very best friend in the business right now, I am going to do whatever it takes to ensure that at the end of Test for the Best, my hand is raised in victory not once, not twice, but three times!”
“I know that this will not be an easy task. It’s hard enough to win one match on any given night here in APW, let alone three! But ever since I was sidelined following my Hell-in-a-Cell Match at RassleMania IX, there has been one thing on my mind, and one thing alone, and that is getting back at Level-One! And considering that he’s the APW World Heavyweight Champion, my best shot at this is by winning the Test for the Best Tournament, and moving on to Shockwave to challenge Level-One himself!”
At this point, Biggs takes off his signature shades, and glares directly into the camera.
“Everybody in APW will say that they have what it takes to win Test for the Best, that a shot at either the World Heavyweight or Undisputed Championship is the only motivation they need to carry them through this tournament. But for me, it’s about more than championship glory, it’s also about good ol’ fashioned revenge. So Lester, enjoy your time as champ. I hope you value that title as you should, because soon and very soon, it will no longer be yours! You took two months of my career from me, Lester, so I have no choice but to take your title. Get ready…”
Biggs slides his shades back on, and shrugs his shoulders.
”Of course, all of this talk would be for naught if I can’t put my opponent away this Thursday, Johnny Rebel! You know, it’s kind of funny, but so far this tournament, my matches have seemed to be blasts from the past! After all, I dispatched Shadow two weeks ago, and now, I’m taking on a guy who I share a very similar history with.”
“After all, Rebel, we’re both multi-time Overdrive Champions. We’re both former General Managers of Overdrive. And we’re both favorites in this tournament if we can make it to the pay-per-view.”
“But not only do we share similar histories, we have a shared history between us! You won your first APW title off of me, defeating me for my Overdrive Championship. We teamed in CWC Ascension, and won the whole darn thing! Heck, we’ve been friends, enemies, hesitant allies, you name it! To say that we know each other very well would be an understatement.”
“I know you well enough to know that there’s not a rule that you’re not willing to break. You know me well enough to know that if you try to pull a fast one on me, I’ll pull one right back on you! I know you well enough to know that you’re going to try to dictate the pace of this match, trying to keep me grounded, try to slow me down. You know me well enough to know that I’m going to try to keep the tempo fast, keep the tempo high, and wear you out that way. We both know that neither one of us is going to give up this match without first giving the fight of our lives!”
“Because despite the fact that we are now on the opposite side of this whole fan favorite, bad guy dynamic, even though I shouldn’t respect you for the way that you carry yourself outside of the ring, in between the ropes, I have nothing but the utmost respect for what you are capable of. There was a time when Johnny Rebel versus Biggs would headline an APW pay-per-view event, and yet, we find ourselves against one another just trying to make it to the Test for the Best pay-per-view! I know the fans don’t expect anything less than an all-out epic contest, and I also know that neither one of us expect anything less from each other!”
“Your style may not be a refined as mine. It’s certainly not as fast. But if it’s one thing, it is effective! You wouldn’t be held in as high a regard as you are if it wasn’t! You have done what every great in this business has done, and that is to find a way to accentuate your strengths in such a way that they mask your weaknesses. You are great at beating people up. Plain and simple. You don’t pretend to be a mat technician, you don’t try to be a high flyer! You have found what works for you, and you’ve stuck with it, honing yourself into one of the premiere brawlers in this sport today.”
“Of course, they also say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and what are you, J-Reb, if not an old salty dog? You’ve always prided yourself in your no nonsense, hardnosed approach inside the ring, but even you must realize that you’re closer to the end of your career than the beginning. You’re set in your ways. You don’t innovate the way that you used to. And quite frankly, it’s far too easy to envision you as a grumpy old man, sitting on your porch, telling those pesky kids to get off your darn lawn! And I know that you’re going to keep on scrapping, that you’re going to keep on fighting, even if your body is telling you that it’s probably time to hang up the boots once and for all. After all, I don’t think you took the job as Overdrive GM just for the power it gave you. I think you legitimately needed a rest from in-ring competition. And sure, so did I, but mine was due to injury, not being a broken down old man. And old man who can still throw a punch with the best of them, but an old man none-the-less.”
“But they say that contrasts make matches, and let’s be honest here, J-Reb, you and I are as different as can be when it comes to in-ring style. I use speed and finesse, while you rely on power and toughness. And yet despite our radically different styles, throughout our time in APW, every time we have met in the ring, we have been so evenly matched. You know that the odds-makers in Vegas hate this matchup! But I love it, Johnny Rebel, because if I can defeat you just to make it into the Test for the Best Tournament, than I’ve got to feel confident heading into the rest of the tourney.”
“The fact is, this Thursday Night, Rebel, only one of us will move on to Test for the Best.”
“You or me, not both.”
“Both of us feel like we have a lot to prove, for you, it’s that you’re not too old and worn down to still be a top star in APW. For me, it’s showing that my concussion at RassleMania will not slow me down. In a perfect world, this match would be on the pay-per-view, but it’s not. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to give a pay-per-view worthy performance!”
“I’m doing this for me, J-Reb. I’m doing it for the fans. I know that everyone hates the fact that Level-One is the APW World Heavyweight Champion. And I’ll be honest, I don’t think they’d like it much better if you were champ. But I know that they’d think it was just OUT OF THIS WORLD if Biggs was the APW World Heavyweight Champion! I don’t want to disappoint them, I don’t want to disappoint myself, so on Overdrive this week, Johnny, I hate to say it, but you lose. There’s no other way that our match can end that would be satisfactory.”
“After all, Test for the Best only comes around once a year. There are eight of us still alive on Overdrive, and after Thursday, there will only be four. Eventually, it’ll be down to one, and I fully intend on being that one! C.J., Amy, AC, I wish the three of you all the best. The rest of you can go stew yourselves. It simply doesn’t matter who makes it to the pay-per-view, because on Sunday, June 30th, I will leave Orlando, Florida as the winner of Test for the Best 2013! And then I’m going to go onto Shockwave, where I will defeat Level-One to not only put him back in his place, but to become the new APW World Heavyweight Champion!”
“I need to get back to Level-One, there’s no other option.”
“I must get back to Level-One.”
“I must prove once and forever more that I am quite simply OUT OF THIS WORLD!”
“Spacewalker” plays again as First Contact fades to black as the APW logo and copyright flash across the bottom of the screen.
