Post by biggs on Jun 27, 2013 18:23:55 GMT -4
Test for the Best.
Four simple words, that when put together, name one of the most exciting events of the year in Action Packed Wrestling. Let’s break it down.
A test is an assessment of skill and knowledge, or it could also be viewed as a challenge to be overcome.
For is used as a function word to indicate an intended goal or purpose. In this case, to be the Best.
Speaking of the, it’s also a function word, used to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is a unique or a particular member of its class. Again, in this case, the Best.
And finally, the word best, which as the superlative of good, states that the best is the one excelling all others.
Simply stated, Test for the Best is the night where 10 competitors will receive an assessment of their skills, and try to overcome the challenge of three matches in one night, in order to be recognized as being above all others.
The bottom line is that no matter how you choose to define it, there can only be one best, and I intend that to be me.
Four simple words, that when put together, name one of the most exciting events of the year in Action Packed Wrestling. Let’s break it down.
A test is an assessment of skill and knowledge, or it could also be viewed as a challenge to be overcome.
For is used as a function word to indicate an intended goal or purpose. In this case, to be the Best.
Speaking of the, it’s also a function word, used to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is a unique or a particular member of its class. Again, in this case, the Best.
And finally, the word best, which as the superlative of good, states that the best is the one excelling all others.
Simply stated, Test for the Best is the night where 10 competitors will receive an assessment of their skills, and try to overcome the challenge of three matches in one night, in order to be recognized as being above all others.
The bottom line is that no matter how you choose to define it, there can only be one best, and I intend that to be me.
***
”Armando, could you please hand me my Sonic Screwdriver?”
”The blue one or the green one, amigo?”
”The green one. It’s the one with the actual screwdriver bits inside…”
“Sr. Guapo” Armando Asante grabs my screwdriver off the table, and hands it to me. I turn it right, tightening a screw on the new bookshelf that I’m building for my friend, Alice. Her birthday is the Saturday before Test for the Best, and while I’ll miss the party, I still wanted to make sure that I got her a good gift.
”Can I just interject by saying that it’s incredibly geeky what you’re doing right now, Biggs,” “Stunning” Stan Everdeen says nonchalantly, with his feet propped up on the couch. ”I mean you’re using your Sonic Screwdriver to put together a Tardis bookshelf for your Doctor Who loving girlfriend!”
I feel my eyebrows furrow a bit as I snap at Stan, ”How many times do I have to tell you guys, she’s not my girlfriend! She’s my friend, who just happens to be female. Nothing more, nothing less. I just saw this how-to video on Youtube to make this shelf, and thought it would be the perfect gift for her birthday. Excuse me for being thoughtful…”
I finish tightening the screw, and then press the button to make the screwdriver light up and make the sounds from the show, just for kicks and giggles.
”I don’t think Stan was meaning to offend you, mi amigo, it’s just that it’s a rather elaborate gift for a woman whom you claim to not be attracted to. Cuantos horas have you worked on this?”
”About six so far, with another hour or so to go. But considering how much she loves Doctor Who, and how much she loves to read, I just know that this is the best possible gift I could give her.”
”All of this for a woman who you don’t even want to go on a date with.”
”The fact that she’s a woman is irrelevant. She’s my friend.”
”We’re your friends too, Biggs, and you didn’t do anything this elaborate for us on our respective birthdays.”
”Sure I did. Stan, I bought you that rice cooker and recipe book, and Armando, I paid for an STD test for you. Individualized gifts that were perfect for you guys for where you were at on your respective birthdays.”
”And believe me, I’m most appreciative of the test, especially since it came back negative, but neither one of those took seven horas, amigo. We’ve seen how the two of you look at each other, we’ve seen how the rest of the world just seems to disappear around you two when you are together.”
”Unless Doctor Who is on, in which case, Doctor Who gets entrance into your little world. We’re just worried that after what happened between you and Ellie, maybe you’re being too cautious, taking things too slow,” Stan says, sitting up on the couch. ”I know we pick on you a lot for your friendship with Alice, but it’s because we don’t want to see you not go after a relationship with her just because you’re too afraid to.”
I’m silent as I focus on tightening the screws on the shelf. I understand where Armando and Stan are coming from, because they are my friends, and they do want what’s best for me. Granted, they’re also two of the biggest womanizers I’ve ever met, so I have been taking any and all romantic advice from them with a huge grain of salt. Still, their hearts are in the right place, and there is some truth to what they’re saying about me being afraid to take a chance on love again.
Still, I’m hesitant, because I know that Alice herself was just coming off of a divorce when we met. Even if I was ready to give it a shot, which I’m by no means sure if I am, or how close I even am to being ready, there would be no guarantees that she’d be anywhere near ready either. And I don’t want to risk the friendship we’ve built by making it all weird. I know that Stan and Armando wouldn’t understand, because for them, one night stands are the norm, not long term relationships.
And while I do love Alice, I’m not sure if it’s even a romantic love. Right now, I think it’s the kind of love that I would have for a sister, or a really good friend. And to be honest, thus far, a lot of our friendship has been based on a mutual interest in Doctor Who. But if Armando and Stan are seeing something between us, maybe there might just be.
”Earth to Biggs! Earth to Biggs! You’ve been real quiet man. Is everything all right?”
I snap back into things. ”Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking…”
”About Alice?”
”Well yeah, but also about how I’m happy with the way things are now. I’m not saying that I’m forever closed to the idea of us one day pursuing a romantic relationship, but for now, I’m more than happy having a really good friend to talk Doctor Who with.”
”Fair enough. Still, we reserve the right to pick on you mercilessly when she’s not around!”
”Si, mercilessly!”
”I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I say with a smile, continuing to work on the bookshelf.
***
”Just three more nights until Test for the Best.”
“Three more nights until I take on 9 other men and women for a chance to earn a shot at Level-One and the APW World Heavyweight Championship at Shockwave. Okay, 7 other men and 2 women, to be precise, and even then, at most, I’ll actually face four competitors if I happen to be in one of the two Triple Threat matches in the Quarter Finals.”
“This will be my third appearance in Test for the Best, and even though I’ve been at this point two times prior, the fact of the matter is that I have not won the tournament. I can’t predict what Sunday night will bring, none of us can. Looking at everyone still involved, the field is wide open.”
“With names like AC Smith, Jair Hopkins, the three members of the New Sindicate, Aubrey J. Parker, Christian Kane, and Logan Alexander; Nathanial Havok, the two members of the Meltdown roster, Jace Savage and Robina Hood; and the former Test for the Best winner, and my good friend, C.J. Gates, not to mention myself, and you have one of the most competitive and stacked fields I can remember seeing in some time. You have the classic mix of former world champions, those perennial contenders who just need that one final push to force their way to the top, and the up-and-coming Mega Stars just trying to make a name for themselves. Any one of the ten of us could potentially leave Orlando, Florida as the new #1 Contender for our brand’s top belt.”
“For those of you who have made it this far, I offer a simple congratulations. We have literally fought through the entire APW roster to get to where we are today. As the ten left standing, we truly are the best of the best in APW right now. But come Sunday, only one of us will have what it takes to win not one, not two, but three matches in one night.”
“And I know that going in, each and every one of us are telling ourselves that we have what it takes to win this tournament. We’ve all made it this far, haven’t we?”
“But it’s called Test for the Best, not Test for the Ten Best.”
“That being said, I’ve got one question for each and every one of you that I may potentially face this Sunday. It’s the same question many an actor has asked of their director, that being, what’s my motivation?”
“Now I’ve made it no mystery that my motivation is to win so that I can get another crack at Level-One. I know it’s not the most noble of causes, it’s not the most inspiring of means, but my motivation is good ol’ fashioned revenge. Am I proud of that fact? No. But will it help me to focus on what I’m truly fighting for this Sunday? Most certainly.”
“That being said, I’m going to take a crack at deciphering all of your motives. What is going to drive each of you as you try to make your way through the tournament? What is going to be that one thing that allows you to dig down extra deep, when by all other means you should be beat?”
“New Sindicate, I know that all three of you are fired up to have made it into the pay-per-view portion of the tournament. A lot of folks have been saying that Sunday, June 16th was the night that you arrived as a group. But as much as you all would like to stand around glad-handing each other, I know that you all realize that come this Sunday, your friendships, your allegiances, well, they won’t get you the shot at the title. In Test for the Best, it truly is every man and woman for themselves. Kane, that means you can’t rely on AJP and Logan Alexander to pull you up to their level. AJP and Logan, that means that you’re going to have to do what you did on Sunday, June 16th, and beat the holy living heck out of each other should your paths cross in the tournament. Considering the wide open format of this year’s tourney, and the fact that we have no idea who our first round opponents will be, I wouldn’t be surprised to see you three have to duke it out in the first round.”
“Still, any one of the three of you is a huge threat in this tournament, not just because of your skill, but also your allegiance with Terry Marvin. I know from personal experience that being in group where one of the guys holds the top belt, that everyone underneath them wants a shot at the leader, not because of any ill-will or anything like that, but because they want to see how they measure up against their leader. Each of you is a young lion or lioness, who wants to see if you can take down the big, bad Terry Marvin. That’s your motivation heading into the tourney, I’m sure of it.”
“Jair Hopkins, as the only person from Asylum, pardon me, Sunday Night Raab-A-Mania, to make the tourney that’s not affiliated with the New Sindicate, you no doubt feel like you have a lot to prove. In all honesty, when folks talk about the Dying Breed, they put Anthony Bailey on the pedestal, singling him from out of the group due to his run as the World Heavyweight Champion a while back. They claim that he is the star, and that had they been told at the beginning of the qualifiers that only one member of the Dying Breed would make it into the PPV portion of the tournament, a lot of money would have put good money on Bailey. But you know what, Jair, even though you’ve been quietly making a name for yourself in the Asylum, after what you’ve accomplished thus far in the tournament, nobody can doubt your skill and talent. Nobody can overlook you anymore.”
“The problem with that is that now that you have everyone’s attention, how are you going to respond? Are you going to crumple under the pressure, or are you going to rise to the occasion? I’ve seen a lot of people come from out of nowhere to have one big night, only to burn out soon after. And while I don’t think that you’re particularly in danger of that, I also know that the possibility is still there. You have put a target on yourself, Jair, whether you like it or not. You want to prove that you can take the pressure. I wish you the best of luck in the tournament.”
“Jace and Robina, I’ll be honest, I don’t watch Meltdown nearly as much as I should, but I also know that the fact that you qualified for Test for the Best means that you both deserve to be here. Folks may overlook you because you’re not on one of the two main rosters yet, but if you can string together three consecutive wins in one night, not only will you get a call-up, but you will become the #1 Contender as well. If that’s not motivation, I don’t know what is!”
“Nathaniel Havok, you’ve made your supposed motivation loud and clear since the first time we saw the League of Extraordinary Wrestlers. You think that you’re being held back by politics. You think that the reason that you’re not Main Eventing pay-per-views, that the reason that your name isn’t on the marquee is because other people are protecting their ‘spots.’ I’m going to tell you right now, Havok, that’s a load of garbage! As much as I hate to admit it, the reason why Terry Marvin and Level-One are in the spots that they are in is that despite their horrible attitudes, their elitist views, and all around jerk-baggery, they are two incredibly talented grapplers. Anyone who has gotten a shot at their respective titles has earned those shots, save for Stefan Raab, who abused his power to name himself #1 Contender. Otherwise, nobody has ‘leapfrogged’ anyone else. Nobody has curried Jeff’s favor to get a title match. The fact that you spout such crap, whining left and right, and yet still expect the fans to shower you with affection shows just how delusional you truly are, Havok.”
“And lest we forget, you did get your chance to headline, to be the top guy, winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Christmas Chaos two years ago, only to lose the title right back to Kash at Survive & Conquer. But I guess it’s just as easy for you to forget that fact as it is for the rest of us, considering how inconsequential of a title run you had.”
“And although I disagree with Envi and Delikado, at least I can understand where they’re coming from. Neither one has been a World’s Champion, neither one has headlined a pay-per-view. But you have, Havok. You had your chance, and you blew it. Plain and simple. And I’ll be honest, I like your chances of blowing it again in the tournament! But even after you lose, you’re going to go whining and complaining to your buddies, saying that whatever bracket you were put in was a conspiracy against you, that APW didn’t want you to win, so they made sure of it.”
“It’s all going to be a load of crap, but you will undoubtedly claim that until the day that you die. If you want to prove that you belong at the top of the card, Havok, it is simple, win Test for the Best. There’s no politics, there’s no B.S. Simply win, and you will prove that you deserve to be a top guy here in APW.”
“But I still think you’re going to whine about it…”
“Onto you, A.C. Smith, you have the same motivation as Nathaniel Havok, in so much that you’re a rising star in APW, and you want to take the next step to the top. There’s no doubt, AC, that you have put together an excellent reign as the APW Extreme Champion. And my personal feelings for the division aside, you have taken on each and every comer, and you have dispatched them.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you want to do the same thing this Sunday night. You want Sunday, June 30th to be the night that A.C. Smith steamrolled through three matches, and officially put the rest of APW on notice! If there’s one guy in this tournament that can just run roughshod over everybody else, it’s you. Nobody else can match you for size and strength. On paper, you’ve got to be one of the favorites.”
“Still, on paper isn’t good enough for you, A.C., and I respect that. You want to fight for your reputation. You want to earn it. Just like you want to earn the #1 Contendership. As the guy who gave me the single most embarrassing loss of my career, I know just how dangerous you can be in the tournament, A.C. You’ve got the size and strength that none of the rest of us can match. You fought your way back into the tournament by winning a Battle Royale, and then you defeated Amy Zing to get to where you are now. You know the sting of defeat in this tournament, and I know that you don’t want to feel it again. You’re going to bring it all this Sunday, A.C., and I look forward to seeing you in the ring.”
“And finally, we come to my good friend, C.J. Gates. Your motivation is that you want to make history by becoming the first person to win Test for the Best for the second time! And not just that, but you want to go onto Shockwave and win the title for a second time as well. I was on the losing end of your first Shockwave Title Match, so I know what you’re capable of. And actually, now that I think about it, I’ve been on the losing end a lot against you. If I may amend my earlier motivation, I would like to add that I want to meet you in the tournament, and finally defeat you one-on-one! It hasn’t happened yet!”
“But I digress. C.J., you’ve had a spectacular career here in APW. You’re a perennial at the top of the card, together we’ve headlined numerous pay-per-views. Well, good buddy, if you and I end up meeting in the tournament, let’s headline one more time! I don’t care if it’s the first round, the second, or the finals, if you and I meet in the tournament, we will bring the house down like we always do!”
“If for some reason I’m not able to win Test for the Best, you’re the guy I’m rooting for. I know that you feel the same towards me. Either way, best of luck, partner!”
“Going back to my motivation, I lied when I said that I only one motivation, and then two with the amendment. I have another motivation, and that is proving to myself, and to the world, that I’ve still got what it takes to be the Best.”
“I know that with the numerous concussions I’ve suffered over the years, I’m probably closer to the end of my career than the beginning, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to just lie down and let it happen to me! I don’t care what the doctors say, I don’t care about any of the naysayers that think that I’m washed up or should retire to preserve my health. My health is just fine! When I started wrestling 10 years ago, I had one goal, and that was to make a legacy for myself! When it’s all said and done, I want to be known as one of the all-time greats in this business! I know that’s an egotistical stance, I know it’s selfish, but it’s the truth. And while I may have chilled out a bit in terms to the extremes to which I would go to craft said legacy, the fact remains that Test for the Best only comes once a year. That means that from June 30, 2013, until whenever Test for the Best 2014 is, if I can win this tournament, I will be known as the Test for the Best winner! And if I can parlay my success in the tournament into success in my title match, well, then I’ll truly be able to be called The Best!”
“I am fully aware of the uphill battle I face. Can I wrestle three matches in one night, while avoiding another concussion? Especially considering that my head will be targeted! At this rate, I might as well shave my head and get a bulls-eye tattooed on top, because you’re all going to go after it anyways!”
“I will have to fight three, potentially four, top shelf competitors? Do I still have the endurance? Will my body hold up? I know that my spirit is will, but is my flesh too weak?”
“The answer to the first two questions is yes! And the answer to the third is heck no!”
“Even if my body fails me, even if I suffer another concussion in the first round, it would take an act from God himself to force me to withdraw from the tournament! The only way I’m exiting early is if one of you is somehow able to beat me down to such a bloody pulp that I can’t move anymore! So long as my lungs draw air, so long as my heart is beating, until I have my hand raised in the third, and final match, I will not give up! I will not give in! I will fight with everything I have, and more! Because if I win Test for the Best, I will have proved not just to myself, but to everyone, that I am the Best!”
“We all have strong motivations heading into Test for the Best this Sunday. Not a single one of us left in the field of ten will be satisfied with anything less than winning the Tournament. Not a single one of us wants to be anything less than the Best. Question is, which one of us has the skills, the desire, and the drive to win three matches in one night?”
“Will it be a member of the New Sindicate, trying to test themselves against their leader, Terry Marvin?”
“Will it be Jair Hopkins, a man who has finally flown out from beneath the radar?”
“Will it be Jace Savage or Robina Hood, who are fighting the odds as the true underdogs of this tournament?”
“Will it be Nathaniel Havok, a man whose warped worldview convinces him that he deserves victory and glory simply because he has not tasted it as much as he would like?”
“Will it be A.C. Smith, the no-nonsense, no funny business brawler who has dominated the Extreme Division like nobody else in APW history?”
“Will it be the man who has won it all before, one of the stalwarts of APW, none other than C.J. Gates!?”
“Or will it be me?”
“At the end of the night, I intend to be able to say four simple words, I am the Best...”
”Just three more nights until Test for the Best.”
“Three more nights until I take on 9 other men and women for a chance to earn a shot at Level-One and the APW World Heavyweight Championship at Shockwave. Okay, 7 other men and 2 women, to be precise, and even then, at most, I’ll actually face four competitors if I happen to be in one of the two Triple Threat matches in the Quarter Finals.”
“This will be my third appearance in Test for the Best, and even though I’ve been at this point two times prior, the fact of the matter is that I have not won the tournament. I can’t predict what Sunday night will bring, none of us can. Looking at everyone still involved, the field is wide open.”
“With names like AC Smith, Jair Hopkins, the three members of the New Sindicate, Aubrey J. Parker, Christian Kane, and Logan Alexander; Nathanial Havok, the two members of the Meltdown roster, Jace Savage and Robina Hood; and the former Test for the Best winner, and my good friend, C.J. Gates, not to mention myself, and you have one of the most competitive and stacked fields I can remember seeing in some time. You have the classic mix of former world champions, those perennial contenders who just need that one final push to force their way to the top, and the up-and-coming Mega Stars just trying to make a name for themselves. Any one of the ten of us could potentially leave Orlando, Florida as the new #1 Contender for our brand’s top belt.”
“For those of you who have made it this far, I offer a simple congratulations. We have literally fought through the entire APW roster to get to where we are today. As the ten left standing, we truly are the best of the best in APW right now. But come Sunday, only one of us will have what it takes to win not one, not two, but three matches in one night.”
“And I know that going in, each and every one of us are telling ourselves that we have what it takes to win this tournament. We’ve all made it this far, haven’t we?”
“But it’s called Test for the Best, not Test for the Ten Best.”
“That being said, I’ve got one question for each and every one of you that I may potentially face this Sunday. It’s the same question many an actor has asked of their director, that being, what’s my motivation?”
“Now I’ve made it no mystery that my motivation is to win so that I can get another crack at Level-One. I know it’s not the most noble of causes, it’s not the most inspiring of means, but my motivation is good ol’ fashioned revenge. Am I proud of that fact? No. But will it help me to focus on what I’m truly fighting for this Sunday? Most certainly.”
“That being said, I’m going to take a crack at deciphering all of your motives. What is going to drive each of you as you try to make your way through the tournament? What is going to be that one thing that allows you to dig down extra deep, when by all other means you should be beat?”
“New Sindicate, I know that all three of you are fired up to have made it into the pay-per-view portion of the tournament. A lot of folks have been saying that Sunday, June 16th was the night that you arrived as a group. But as much as you all would like to stand around glad-handing each other, I know that you all realize that come this Sunday, your friendships, your allegiances, well, they won’t get you the shot at the title. In Test for the Best, it truly is every man and woman for themselves. Kane, that means you can’t rely on AJP and Logan Alexander to pull you up to their level. AJP and Logan, that means that you’re going to have to do what you did on Sunday, June 16th, and beat the holy living heck out of each other should your paths cross in the tournament. Considering the wide open format of this year’s tourney, and the fact that we have no idea who our first round opponents will be, I wouldn’t be surprised to see you three have to duke it out in the first round.”
“Still, any one of the three of you is a huge threat in this tournament, not just because of your skill, but also your allegiance with Terry Marvin. I know from personal experience that being in group where one of the guys holds the top belt, that everyone underneath them wants a shot at the leader, not because of any ill-will or anything like that, but because they want to see how they measure up against their leader. Each of you is a young lion or lioness, who wants to see if you can take down the big, bad Terry Marvin. That’s your motivation heading into the tourney, I’m sure of it.”
“Jair Hopkins, as the only person from Asylum, pardon me, Sunday Night Raab-A-Mania, to make the tourney that’s not affiliated with the New Sindicate, you no doubt feel like you have a lot to prove. In all honesty, when folks talk about the Dying Breed, they put Anthony Bailey on the pedestal, singling him from out of the group due to his run as the World Heavyweight Champion a while back. They claim that he is the star, and that had they been told at the beginning of the qualifiers that only one member of the Dying Breed would make it into the PPV portion of the tournament, a lot of money would have put good money on Bailey. But you know what, Jair, even though you’ve been quietly making a name for yourself in the Asylum, after what you’ve accomplished thus far in the tournament, nobody can doubt your skill and talent. Nobody can overlook you anymore.”
“The problem with that is that now that you have everyone’s attention, how are you going to respond? Are you going to crumple under the pressure, or are you going to rise to the occasion? I’ve seen a lot of people come from out of nowhere to have one big night, only to burn out soon after. And while I don’t think that you’re particularly in danger of that, I also know that the possibility is still there. You have put a target on yourself, Jair, whether you like it or not. You want to prove that you can take the pressure. I wish you the best of luck in the tournament.”
“Jace and Robina, I’ll be honest, I don’t watch Meltdown nearly as much as I should, but I also know that the fact that you qualified for Test for the Best means that you both deserve to be here. Folks may overlook you because you’re not on one of the two main rosters yet, but if you can string together three consecutive wins in one night, not only will you get a call-up, but you will become the #1 Contender as well. If that’s not motivation, I don’t know what is!”
“Nathaniel Havok, you’ve made your supposed motivation loud and clear since the first time we saw the League of Extraordinary Wrestlers. You think that you’re being held back by politics. You think that the reason that you’re not Main Eventing pay-per-views, that the reason that your name isn’t on the marquee is because other people are protecting their ‘spots.’ I’m going to tell you right now, Havok, that’s a load of garbage! As much as I hate to admit it, the reason why Terry Marvin and Level-One are in the spots that they are in is that despite their horrible attitudes, their elitist views, and all around jerk-baggery, they are two incredibly talented grapplers. Anyone who has gotten a shot at their respective titles has earned those shots, save for Stefan Raab, who abused his power to name himself #1 Contender. Otherwise, nobody has ‘leapfrogged’ anyone else. Nobody has curried Jeff’s favor to get a title match. The fact that you spout such crap, whining left and right, and yet still expect the fans to shower you with affection shows just how delusional you truly are, Havok.”
“And lest we forget, you did get your chance to headline, to be the top guy, winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Christmas Chaos two years ago, only to lose the title right back to Kash at Survive & Conquer. But I guess it’s just as easy for you to forget that fact as it is for the rest of us, considering how inconsequential of a title run you had.”
“And although I disagree with Envi and Delikado, at least I can understand where they’re coming from. Neither one has been a World’s Champion, neither one has headlined a pay-per-view. But you have, Havok. You had your chance, and you blew it. Plain and simple. And I’ll be honest, I like your chances of blowing it again in the tournament! But even after you lose, you’re going to go whining and complaining to your buddies, saying that whatever bracket you were put in was a conspiracy against you, that APW didn’t want you to win, so they made sure of it.”
“It’s all going to be a load of crap, but you will undoubtedly claim that until the day that you die. If you want to prove that you belong at the top of the card, Havok, it is simple, win Test for the Best. There’s no politics, there’s no B.S. Simply win, and you will prove that you deserve to be a top guy here in APW.”
“But I still think you’re going to whine about it…”
“Onto you, A.C. Smith, you have the same motivation as Nathaniel Havok, in so much that you’re a rising star in APW, and you want to take the next step to the top. There’s no doubt, AC, that you have put together an excellent reign as the APW Extreme Champion. And my personal feelings for the division aside, you have taken on each and every comer, and you have dispatched them.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you want to do the same thing this Sunday night. You want Sunday, June 30th to be the night that A.C. Smith steamrolled through three matches, and officially put the rest of APW on notice! If there’s one guy in this tournament that can just run roughshod over everybody else, it’s you. Nobody else can match you for size and strength. On paper, you’ve got to be one of the favorites.”
“Still, on paper isn’t good enough for you, A.C., and I respect that. You want to fight for your reputation. You want to earn it. Just like you want to earn the #1 Contendership. As the guy who gave me the single most embarrassing loss of my career, I know just how dangerous you can be in the tournament, A.C. You’ve got the size and strength that none of the rest of us can match. You fought your way back into the tournament by winning a Battle Royale, and then you defeated Amy Zing to get to where you are now. You know the sting of defeat in this tournament, and I know that you don’t want to feel it again. You’re going to bring it all this Sunday, A.C., and I look forward to seeing you in the ring.”
“And finally, we come to my good friend, C.J. Gates. Your motivation is that you want to make history by becoming the first person to win Test for the Best for the second time! And not just that, but you want to go onto Shockwave and win the title for a second time as well. I was on the losing end of your first Shockwave Title Match, so I know what you’re capable of. And actually, now that I think about it, I’ve been on the losing end a lot against you. If I may amend my earlier motivation, I would like to add that I want to meet you in the tournament, and finally defeat you one-on-one! It hasn’t happened yet!”
“But I digress. C.J., you’ve had a spectacular career here in APW. You’re a perennial at the top of the card, together we’ve headlined numerous pay-per-views. Well, good buddy, if you and I end up meeting in the tournament, let’s headline one more time! I don’t care if it’s the first round, the second, or the finals, if you and I meet in the tournament, we will bring the house down like we always do!”
“If for some reason I’m not able to win Test for the Best, you’re the guy I’m rooting for. I know that you feel the same towards me. Either way, best of luck, partner!”
“Going back to my motivation, I lied when I said that I only one motivation, and then two with the amendment. I have another motivation, and that is proving to myself, and to the world, that I’ve still got what it takes to be the Best.”
“I know that with the numerous concussions I’ve suffered over the years, I’m probably closer to the end of my career than the beginning, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to just lie down and let it happen to me! I don’t care what the doctors say, I don’t care about any of the naysayers that think that I’m washed up or should retire to preserve my health. My health is just fine! When I started wrestling 10 years ago, I had one goal, and that was to make a legacy for myself! When it’s all said and done, I want to be known as one of the all-time greats in this business! I know that’s an egotistical stance, I know it’s selfish, but it’s the truth. And while I may have chilled out a bit in terms to the extremes to which I would go to craft said legacy, the fact remains that Test for the Best only comes once a year. That means that from June 30, 2013, until whenever Test for the Best 2014 is, if I can win this tournament, I will be known as the Test for the Best winner! And if I can parlay my success in the tournament into success in my title match, well, then I’ll truly be able to be called The Best!”
“I am fully aware of the uphill battle I face. Can I wrestle three matches in one night, while avoiding another concussion? Especially considering that my head will be targeted! At this rate, I might as well shave my head and get a bulls-eye tattooed on top, because you’re all going to go after it anyways!”
“I will have to fight three, potentially four, top shelf competitors? Do I still have the endurance? Will my body hold up? I know that my spirit is will, but is my flesh too weak?”
“The answer to the first two questions is yes! And the answer to the third is heck no!”
“Even if my body fails me, even if I suffer another concussion in the first round, it would take an act from God himself to force me to withdraw from the tournament! The only way I’m exiting early is if one of you is somehow able to beat me down to such a bloody pulp that I can’t move anymore! So long as my lungs draw air, so long as my heart is beating, until I have my hand raised in the third, and final match, I will not give up! I will not give in! I will fight with everything I have, and more! Because if I win Test for the Best, I will have proved not just to myself, but to everyone, that I am the Best!”
“We all have strong motivations heading into Test for the Best this Sunday. Not a single one of us left in the field of ten will be satisfied with anything less than winning the Tournament. Not a single one of us wants to be anything less than the Best. Question is, which one of us has the skills, the desire, and the drive to win three matches in one night?”
“Will it be a member of the New Sindicate, trying to test themselves against their leader, Terry Marvin?”
“Will it be Jair Hopkins, a man who has finally flown out from beneath the radar?”
“Will it be Jace Savage or Robina Hood, who are fighting the odds as the true underdogs of this tournament?”
“Will it be Nathaniel Havok, a man whose warped worldview convinces him that he deserves victory and glory simply because he has not tasted it as much as he would like?”
“Will it be A.C. Smith, the no-nonsense, no funny business brawler who has dominated the Extreme Division like nobody else in APW history?”
“Will it be the man who has won it all before, one of the stalwarts of APW, none other than C.J. Gates!?”
“Or will it be me?”
“At the end of the night, I intend to be able to say four simple words, I am the Best...”
