Guessing Games

[J-Hop]

WHO • AM • I

As one would expect, feedback.

It seems that most don’t even know who the hell I am. I could take fire to that gas, but you know what? I’ll just let it be. Why? I’ll explain in a bit.

See what happens when you try to be nice to people? You get responses from skanks’ with purple-dyed hair who think they are the legit ‘shiznit’. It’s okay, folks like myself understand. You just want to be noticed.

Oh by the way, Hiiiiiii Robina!!

Again, I can’t let the haters take me off my balance. Haters are going to hate. I have a feeling I mentioned that before. It probably won’t be the last it is heard. This type of environment, this type of chaos and warfare, you can’t be nice. You have to be down right fucking gritty. You have to be ferocious, fight with animalistic instincts, all just to get to the next round and you stillll have to fight one more round to hopefully claim the crown and be considered ‘the best to defeat the test’.

Again, the word experience versus inexperience. It’s one of those deals where to some it matters and to others, it really all depends on who makes the less mistakes. Even veterans, experienced individuals make the dumbest mistakes as they then find themselves as losers in an upset.

I come back to the beginning. People wondering just who I am? If I were given a ‘golden ticket’, if I cheated to make my way in. Nah, if you don’t know, don’t be lazy, go check Action Packed-On-Demand. Look in the threads of the beginning to Test For The Best and you will understand how I got into here. For those who are extra, extra lazy ... it’s called working your ass off. That’s how I got here. You don’t know who I am by now, then ...

you’re screwed.

Don’t even worry about who I am, you’ll know when you’re on your back, trying to kick out after getting stomped on and can’t recover. You’ll know who I am then.


JUNE 28TH 2013 -- ORLANDO, FL | HIGHTOWER HOTEL | 7:36 PM

“This life can make me so confused but it's alright
Living day by day I feel so used. That ain't right
I just wanna run and hide...”

It was the calm before the storm. Friday night, damn near a week down here in Orlando and it has been great. The beautiful scenery, clear water and the warm/breezy atmosphere it held. Friday night, I needed some time to myself as Bailey and Williams had their own rooms, spacious rooms. It damn near looked like Master Bedrooms with all of the features it held, even a porch to chill out and look at the city at night and it’s lights.

For me, it was a need for what most would call mental and physical relaxation, a date with the huge spa-like tub. Sitting in a tub full of suds, the only bit of noise came from the television.

“Relaxation, at its finest!”

I needed this because I knew that after tomorrow media press session and the stages of hell that is going to take place Sunday night, my body and brains would be beat to nothing but grains.

Trying to continually tell myself this is nothing ... it’s a damn lie. This is one of the more prestigious events in APW besides “Survive and Conquer”. Being a conqueror of this event would seriously boast me to new heights. Those that wonder where I come from out of the blue, they’ll finally have to toss that shitty line out and find something more original at me like “Dayum, I ain’t no he was that good!”

Development, it’s an awesome thing. It can go fast and it can go slow, all depends.

I just felt as if I could sit here all night in this damn tub and go to sleep, but I’d only end up worse than I already am.

[ Cell Phone Rings... ]

“And if you don’t know,
Now you know (you know, you know)...”

The ringtone reciting partial of Biggie’s line off of “Juicy” as I was forced to wipe my hands free of soap and grab the phone that sat on the little table, that sat right next to the tub, I looked at it as it was Bailey.

“Yo Ant, what’s up?”

“Dude, go turn on the television and tune to ESPN. SportsCenter is about to show that piece they did on you earlier this week. Hurry up!”

“Man, I’m in the tub though...”

“Well, it’s about to come on!” He said, sounding overly-excited.

“Aight man, I’ll interrupt my moment of body therapy. Thanks for letting me know!”

“Alright, Peace!”

“Peace!”

And from relaxation to having to scurry out of a warm bath, healing these bruises and tortured bones. Having to escape and go to the television. Only makes me wish I had the “Do Not Disturb” feature on.

ten minutes later...

In the high quality robe that hangs in the closet, sealed up tight, it had the initials “HH”, a doube “H” cross-interacting with each other in silk white. Sitting on the edge of the bed as I flicked to the channel, 570 as it was only a few minutes left before it went off. I took a deep sigh as I really didn’t want to watch this, two days before showtime. With all that has gone this week, I truly forgot that I did this a few days before leaving the rehab facility, when Jonathan Coachman had come there to do a short piece.

Stuart Scott: Now we take you to a special that was done by our own Jonathan Coachman, who went to visit one of pro-wrestling’s brightest name. The classic case of “From Nothing to Something”. A product of Brooklyn, who is he? Watch and you’ll find out!

[ SportsCenter music transitioned to a black and white screen with images of the slum projects of Brooklyn, the violent nature, the craziness that is within the city. A picture then is shown of a kid with his mother, kind of old, scarred quite a bit but the focus is unharmed. They then show a picture of the present, him doing a dropkick inside of a ring. It then transitions to the interview. ]

Jonathan Coachman: Jair ... “The Great” ... Hopkins. Good to see you!

Jair Hopkins: Good to see you too, Coach. Never imagined myself getting to sit down with Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman. Thank You!

Jonathan Coachman: No, Thank You for making yourself available. So let’s get right into it. Who is that?

[ Coachman hands Hopkins that picture of him as a kid standing beside his mother. Hopkins doesn’t answers immediately, instead he looks and reflects, shaking his head with a smile. ]

Jair Hopkins: A young ‘J-Hop’ learning the ropes of the life on the outside. Moms’ was always insightful. She told me everything there was to know about life. She lived both sides of it. I had no father, so pretty much she was the ‘one-woman band’.

[ Coachman hands him another picture as Hopkins is seen doing a wrestling manuever, a dropkick. ]

Jair Hopkins: That is me, starting from the bottom. If I told you about five years ago that I’d be in the wrestling industry, making money and pleasing fans on a daily basis, would you believe me? Would you believe a kid from out of the ghetto? Brooklyn? A kid who worked days and night as a teen on the corner selling to the desperate? Who dropped out of school just to help support his single-handed mother?

[ Jonathan shook his head. ]

Jair Hopkins: Exactly. I didn’t believe in myself either that I would make it to be anything other than a corner selling fool who probably wouldn’t even make it to the age of twenty.

Jonathan Coachman: Which brings to mind, the name Juan Ramirez. He was huge in his role of helping you?

Jair Hopkins: Oh most definitely, the man saw a kid, on his knees and he out of nowhere just hopped in to sight and helped me to stand. He took me off the streets and for two years, he took me under his wing and taught me the art of wrestling with the man who trained him to be a wrestler. So he deserves all the credit I’m getting right now.

Jonathan Coachman: Let me ask, that night that stands infamous in your head. The single reason why you’re in this place. Jair, what happened? As the news came out early that morning. Some said you died, others said you were this and that. It was surely a story within a few minutes. Only one person knows and that is you.

[ Hopkins sighs as he shakes his head. ]

Jair Hopkins: It was a wild night. I have nightmares to this day, damn near every night. In this industry, you know about it, you know that you are loved and hated in a heartbeat. I do all I can to give the fans happiness. Some people just enjoy soaking one with hate-filled words. With all of that, the “traveling road” life, it really just got to me. I never meant to overdose on those anti-depressants. I was only suppose to take one as told. I took damn near the whole bottle, the next I know, I was in some hospital in Brazil. I’ve learned my lesson and with this rehab, I’ve learned alot on how to just let it all die, don’t let it distract me. Some great stuff and I thank those and everyone who sent me gifts, flowers and cards. Really meant a lot!

Jonathan Coachman: I got four words for you. You tell me what it means to you.

[ Hopkins nods. ]

Jonathan Coachman: Test ... For ... The ... Best

Jair Hopkins: Anytime you can stand out amongst a field of extremely talented individuals, fighting, surviving to be “the one” left standing at the end of the night, it means a lot. I’m only in my second year. I’ve accomplished so much so far, so fast. Test For the Best is a goal I’m looking to finally achieve. Last year, I only got through as a qualifier and lost. This go round, I’ve somehow taken down two so far when no one expected it. I feel like I’m destined, man. Truly blessed and destined to be where I stand. Days away from the fight of my life.

Jonathan Coachman: With all of this success thus far, it seems odd most of the roster barely or not even know who you are. What do you think it will take to finally be noticed in APW?

Jair Hopkins: Stay on this path to success. I can’t really worry about who knows me or don’t. All I can say is they will find out soon enough. Seeing this kid, come in with no goals, just trying to make it only to find success and make it this far, notoriety will come. Most are sarcastic because the fact that myself, my boys Anthony Bailey and William D. Williams are a trio and they see me as Bailey’s shadow. But it’s all talk, they just want to find something to do.

Jonathan Coachman: That brings me right into the next question. Those two men, you are called “The Dying Breed”. Tell me the story behind that.

Jair Hopkins: Man, me and Ant hit it off on my first show. Backstage we chatted it up, had so much in common and we shared the same goals. Having William enter the scene and be apart of the group was huge. Consider us like N.W.A, not that hardcore, but the brotherhood. We stick together. Dying Breed we are because these days, people like to do things the fast way, get by however they can without going through the whole process. Us three, we follow those rules of playing by the rules and beating you with them. We never look for the easy way out. And those kind of personalities are a rare breed. The Dying Breed is who we are. Some don’t like us because we do things the ‘old-fashioned’ way. We all do for each other, we never leave anyone hanging.

Jonathan Coachman: That is a family!

Jair Hopkins: Damn straight! They’ve had my back plenty of times. Without them right now, I’m not sure where I’d be in mind. I’d probably be back to a lost soul, searching for chances. Notoriety will come when it’s ready, I’m not rushing it. I admire it. I like being considered an “upset” Coach, short, sturdy, light, I am that “underdog”.

Jonathan Coachman: Well Jair, thank you for the time man. Truly appreciate it and you got my respect. Good luck this Sunday!

[ The two shake hands as all goes to a commercial break. ]

As it went to a break, I was quick to cut the television off as I just sat there on the edge of the bed, muscles tensed up, veins showing in the back of my neck as I shook my head.

“No such thing as good luck, it’s all about survival!”

“Difficulty, my brethren, is the nurse of greatness.”
-William Cullen Bryant

These folks keep saying this same damn phrase... “There’s No One To Save You, Jair!”

(scratches head)

I got State Farm for that, you know ... the silly-ass jingle. “Like A Good Neighbor... blah, blah, blah ... blah!!”

I’ve come so damn far, I’ve made it into something I probably had no business making. I had no business beating Jason Kash and Reaver. You know when you’re the only one from your group, the only one from your show brand in an event where there is multiple Meltdown and Overdrive superstars, you know that you are destined to defy odds and obtain greatness. There’s simply no way around that.

For Robina, she only hopes to be on this level, not just in T4TB, but overall level. She’s got a little beef cooking over in Meltdown. I keep an eye on Meltdown ... a lot. That’s the brand that brought me in, told me some words that I’ll look back on a day, years from now and see how far I’ve come. Raw talent that has developed. Getting drafted off of Meltdown to Asylum, I will never forget moments like that. As one of many drop-outs from High School, no Diploma, no walking across the stage. The feeling of graduating from something felt remarkable. I achieved something.

To this day, I look back in that red scrapbook at all my moments. Moments that were close losses and moments that were winners. I never forget where I come from. Most do, I don’t. You want to say you don’t know who I am. That’s cool.

I don’t want you to know who I am.

Like soldiers, stealth is sometimes healthy. Stealth kills are the ones you never expect but work so hard to achieve. Now some, they know who I am, they’ve seen me in the ring before, some on multiple occasions. They can tell you how far Jair Hopkins has come. They can tell you how well Jair Hopkins has progressed both in-ring and in life, general. I don’t need the approval of others to tell me I’m a superstar or I’m the “Next Best Thing”. I don’t need the hype, I just want the next objective.

Test For The Best. This is the final draw.

Whoever wins the quarterfinals, move to the semi’s and from there, is the finals. Three, huge rounds that will require loads of stamina and replenishable goods, like Gatorade. Gatorade is good and all but my answer for quenching my thirst is taking down walls, odds, non-believers.

Guys like CJ Gates, a former winner of this tournament, A.C Smith, consistent as I’ve ever seen. Those guys, they give me a slight shudder of both worry and anticipation. Getting these little jitters at the fact I might be a random choice to one of them as their opponents and with that brings the anticipation, the thoughts of toppling down their hopes like chopping down a tree.

I’m not just a tag team wrestler, for those who haven’t paid attention. I’ve won plenty of times on my own. Sure I loss some easy ones but shit happens, right? After all, nothing in APW is easy to take down. Some may lack self-motivation and even then they are still somewhat tough.

I find it hard to like The New Sindicate, I mean I respect their grind but it’s the way they go about it that turns me off. With all their talent, the skill level and experience, it’s hard to see them going the easy way out whenever they see a clear moment. I’ve had my battles with Aubrey, Logan and Kane. Aubrey is tough as nails, psycho like Michael Meyers, but in all, she has the superior athleticism to do it all. Logan, he is somewhat the glue to that group. We’ve fought and even with his shark-like spear to my ribs, he couldn’t put me down. He was more amazed that I showed up against him and Aubs’. Christian Kane, the same can go for him, all the talent, the moves. I won’t go as far as the looks, that ain’t my route. But he has the tools to succeed the right way, yet he just choose to follow the leader(s).

I admit, I don’t catch a lot of Overdrive with my busy-ass schedule but when I do, seeing the good guys like Gates, Biggs and fellow others do the right thing, it gives me a smile. They are the true examples that you can achieve greatness without the shortcuts. That is what I try and model myself after. The good guys. People can’t simply see me for being the tail-end of Anthony Bailey. We are all individuals with equal goals. The reason you despise us is because we can translate success better than those who care to be envious. We do more, travel together, have that “family” bond. How many groups, stables have the word “family” linked in with their group. Not many. Only a few and TDB is one of the few.