Post by A.C. Smith on Sept 4, 2013 20:44:06 GMT -4
Our scene opens today in the New York City penthouse of A.C. Smith, and indeed, we see the Big Apple Asskicker sitting in his living room. He's not watching TV, or kicking back with a cold one, but sitting on his couch next to the self-made diorama of his father's files, which we first saw in the days leading up to Shockwave.
A closer look at Smith, made possible by the high-definition camera shooting him at the moment, shows he has not shaved in at least two or three days. His frame is as chiseled as it's ever been, but it's abundantly clear that Smith's daily routing since defeating Leon Roberts at Shockwave has been as follows: Sleep, eat, work out, and spend the rest of the day analyzing the contents of that manila folder he received from a man he'd never before conversed with.
Our Xtreme Champion had always held an open contempt for his father, who was believed to have abandoned his wife and newborn son in the early-1980's. However, he had instead been convicted of a series of robberies in Smith's neighborhood, ones that put him behind bars for more than two decades, and A.C. has been revealing the case files for days on end.
His brown eyes momentarily gaze up from the photos and documents, and they're glazed over, as if he hasn't been getting the sleep he needs to function on a daily basis. Instead of a bottle of Michelob Ultra, Smith uses his long arms to reach off-screen and grab a bottle of orange juice, which he gulps down in just a few seconds before throwing the plastic bottle off-screen.
At that moment, the camera shot zooms out, and we see Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch and Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker looking on from the doorway that leads to the dining room and kitchen. They know better than to judge their best friend, but it's clear they're more than a little concerned about his physical and mental well-being.
Bobby: “A.C., you wanna come to lunch with us?”
Stevie: “Yeah, we're headed to that new deli down the street. Reviews for it are awesome.”
No response from Smith, who is poring over the pieces of paper in front of him.
Bobby: “Yo, Ace! Anyone home in there?”
Stevie: “Hang on, I got this.”
Stevie kneels down at the table, whispering into Smith's ear.
Stevie: “Roxanne's naked in your bed.”
That gets Smith's attention, all right.
WHACK!!!
The back of Smith's left hand nails the left side of Stevie's face. Stevie grabs his head and backpedals quickly, realizing he'd probably gone just a wee bit too far.
Bobby: “Come on, man. Get away from this stuff for 15 minutes. It'll be here when you get back, and what you're doing just isn't healthy.”
Smith looks up at his friends with a sense of purpose behind his eyes.
A.C.: “Boys, I'm on the clock here. My dad's dying of cancer.”
Stevie: “He's not gonna die in the next hour.”
A.C.: “You know that for sure?”
A pause.
A.C.: “The more I look at this, the more I think he got 20 years of hard time on circumstantial evidence his public defender wasn't skilled enough to get thrown out. If this happened today, it'd get thrown out of court in an hour, but a jury of his peers convicted him beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I never got to know my dad. But I feel like I owe this to him, just to do something to clear his name while he can still find out about it, you know?”
Another pause, and this time, Bobby and Stevie shake their heads.
Bobby: “Well, we're trying that deli. You coming or not?”
A.C. shakes his head.
A.C.: “Can you pick something up for me?”
Stevie: “Let me guess. Pastrami on rye?”
Smith nods as he takes his wallet out from his jeans pocket. He goes into it and pulls out a $20 bill, handing it to Bobby.
A.C.: “I want change!”
Bobby: “Hey, we didn't say it was a CHEAP deli, just that it was new and we were gonna see it for the first time!”
Bobby and Stevie leave as Smith rolls his eyes. As he tilts his head back toward the table, though, the Big Apple Asskicker's eyebrows shoot up his forehead, and he immediately reaches for his iPhone, which had previously been offscreen. His thick fingers dial a number quickly, and he pulls the phone up to his ear.
A.C.: “Hey, Roxie? We've got something, and it's big!”
---
Time has passed. Bobby and Stevie are now sitting Indian-style on Smith's floor, while the effortlessly-gorgeous Roxanne lounges on the couch, looking stunning in a ratty t-shirt and gray sweat pants.
Smith, meanwhile, is standing up, and has re-assembled the diorama with several pieces of paper circled and arrows pointing in several different directions. It's more easily-comprehended than the assemblage of stuff A.C. had put together earlier, but not by much.
Smith, though, seems pleased with himself, and he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “OK, guys, what we know is that Andrew Charles Smith, Sr., was implicated in three armed robberies in my old neighborhood. To this day, he denies it, says he got a raw deal, but had never had the means to fight his convictions...until now.”
A.C. points to the bottom-right corner of the diagram, which is a picture of an older man with a weathered face and severe indentations on each side of his nose.
A.C.: “This is Jimmy Goldstein, the guy who described the robber to the local police officers. I actually knew him for a little while when I was a kid. Decent man, mostly kept to himself, retired early after working two jobs most of his life, and died when I was a teenager.”
Bobby: “Your point?”
A.C.: “I'm getting there. Anyway, what do you see in this picture along each side of his nose?”
Stevie: “...are those what I think they are?”
A.C.: “They're marks made by eye glasses. And big ones, too, the ones people would be legally-blind without.”
Roxanne: (smiling) “...was he WEARING glasses when he saw the sketch artist?”
A.C.: “Nope, and he wasn't in court, either. Tell me something, lady and gentlemen. When the star witness for the prosecution gives a description that could best be described as iffy, and when that is the biggest piece of the prosecution's case...well, you don't have much of a case, do you?”
The rest of the room catches on to what Smith is saying.
A.C.: “We've got more than enough here to go to the legal system and fight for justice for my dad. I never thought I'd say this, but it's true: My dad is innocent.”
Smith exhales, realizing that everything he'd ever believed about his old man couldn't have been further from the truth. Meanwhile, Bobby and Stevie begin a slow clap, while Roxanne rises, grabs Smith in a supportive hug, and begins whispering into his ear.
Roxanne: “I told you he wasn't a bad guy.”
A.C.: “And I couldn't be happier. Dinner tonight?”
Roxanne: “Wouldn't miss it.”
The two kiss, and Bobby and Stevie surround them in an awkward group hug. Everyone laughs, and our scene fades to black once again.
---
It's evening now. While Bobby and Stevie have gone home for the night, A.C. and Roxanne have returned from their dinner in the city. Roxanne is still in a stunning black dress, one she changed into before the couple went out of the town, and Smith has showered, shaved, and donned a blue button-down that tucks neatly into his black slacks.
The two exit the elevator and walk into the penthouse, and the second they do, Roxanne grabs Smith from behind, turning him around. The two share a long, passionate kiss, and they come up for air after several seconds.
Roxanne: “Give me a few minutes. I'll be in the bedroom.”
A.C.: “Take as long as you need.”
Roxanne lets a playful smile come onto her face as she walks down the hall. We hear the door to Smith's bedroom close, and a second or two after that, A.C. eyes the camera and takes a deep breath, composing himself before he opens his mouth to speak once again.
A.C.: “Evidence is a wonderful thing. It's the basis for what I once did as well as anyone in the New York Police Department for four years, and even now, it's coming in handy. With a little bit of luck, we'll be able to get an audience with someone, exonerate my dad, and get a pardon issued. It doesn't sound like much, but it's all we can do, and if that happens, I'll chalk it up as a win.
“Meanwhile, this week in Paris, I go out to face someone who appears to respect me and the way I do business. Shione Oshima made no secret of that, and I appreciate people who get where I'm coming from, but she also made several crucial mistakes. Most notably, she rambled on and on about how an upset is coming this week on Overdrive, but she didn't have the one thing she needed to back up those claims.
“Evidence.”
Smith lets out a slight chuckle before refocusing on the camera.
A.C.: “I didn't become one of the best Xtreme Champions in the history of Action Packed Wrestling by getting lucky. I earned every bit of my lofty reputation by never backing down from a challenge, regardless of the situation. When APW legends like Michael Lively and Nathaniel Havok wanted my title, I put it on the line and proved myself the old-fashioned way, by kicking their asses and leaving no doubt as to who the better man was.
“Non-title matches? For me, those are non-issues. I made the semifinals of this year's Test for the Best tournament, and did so the hard way after having to win that Second Chance Battle Royal for the second year in a row. I put forth one heck of a showing at Survive and Conquer, where I entered pretty early and lasted a hell of a lot longer than a bunch of wrestling legends did.
“If Shione Oshima thinks I'm approaching this match with anything less than my best effort, which she certainly implied earlier this week, she's got another thing coming. Just because I'm guaranteed to leave as the APW Xtreme Champion doesn't mean I won't be letting it all hang out Thursday night in Paris, and if she thinks she wants this more than I do? Well, then that's just plain stupidity talking.”
Smith rolls his eyes.
A.C.: “Shione got very, very philosophical in her speech the other day. She talked about the delicate dance I've been doing for all of 2013, establishing myself as the best Xtreme Champion of my era while also staying true to my core values of honor, integrity, and dignity. Again, the fact that she has a clue is to be respected, but her thinking that might hurt me at some juncture, including possibly this week? No. Just...no.
“See, her implication was that I'm underestimating her, that I don't see her coming. That has never, EVER, been an issue for me. Not when I first started wrestling 11 years ago, and not at any point since then, have I allowed myself to look down the road past my next opponent. It's just not in my DNA to do that. I have too much respect for this business and where I stand in it to allow that to happen, and if Oshima had done her research instead of spending part of last week in a police precinct, she'd know that.
“But instead, she allowed herself to get sidetracked. She allowed herself to get carried away, and the only reason she wasn't charged with assault or battery is because her victim retracted her statement. Me? I've used my time since Shockwave as wisely as humanly possible. I've found evidence that exonerates my father from the crimes he was wrongfully committed of, and I've stayed in tip-top shape, because I know that whenever I step into that ring, I'm getting my opponent's best shot.
“You don't get where I am without knowing that last fact. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Shione Oshima is going to throw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at me. I know how much she wants to beat me, and I know what she has to gain by doing so. If she beats me, suddenly everyone on APW's flagship brand will treat her as the next big thing, a huge threat that can't be ignored.
“Her problem, though, is that I'm never going to let that happen.”
Smith has stayed grounded in rationality, but his nostrils flare just a bit, accentuating that the Big Apple Asskicker means business.
A.C.: “While Shione Oshima's focus this week was on somehow getting out of jail, mine was on staying sharp, on many different levels. She thinks I don't expect her to be great. She thinks that, somehow, I'm overlooking her and what she brings to the table. And she thinks that, through the grace of everything holy, she'll be able to beat me this week because of that combination. Wrong, wrong, and DEAD wrong.
“Everyone in Action Packed Wrestling can beat anyone else from any other wrestling promotion in the world. That's why, when I didn't have to come back and when people were urging me not to, I signed my APW contract. I wanted to compete against the best in the world, and I wanted to show people that I could still be successful in doing so.
“There are wrestlers under contract to APW who would be undisputed champions anywhere else in the world, and that's not me blowing smoke. If I wanted to come back and run roughshod somewhere else, I could've done it very easily. But no, I came here because I wanted the challenge of going up against the best week after week, and in my year-plus as a member of the Overdrive brand and nine-month reign as APW Xtreme Champion, I think it's safe to assume I've passed that test with flying colors.
“Shione Oshima can think whatever she wants about how I'm approaching our little rendezvous in Paris. But for as much as she respects me for how I conduct myself, she knows nothing about what makes me tick.
“NOTHING.”
Smith pauses, letting that word echo around his New York City penthouse before squaring up with the camera one last time.
A.C.: “Rest assured that my focus is NOT lacking, folks. This week in Europe, I kick off the road to One Night in Hell not with a whimper, but with a bang. Shione Oshima thinks she knows me. She thinks I'm somehow confusing her with a pushover, which is something that doesn't exist in Action Packed Wrestling, and, though she didn't exactly say it in these terms, she thinks my ignorance is going to be my downfall.
“I'm many things. Ignorant is not one of them. I know that Shione Oshima is a major threat, and I know for a fact that she's going to put up one hell of a fight on Thursday night with the whole world watching to see if she can beat me. The question is, with all that pressure, and with the fact that she's not off my radar but square in my crosshairs, can she beat me?
“I'm not going to answer that question for her like she tried to do with me. However, here's what I WILL say. It's not a hypothetical, and it's not an extrapolation. Instead, it's the truth. I've danced a lot of dances over the years against wrestlers of all shapes, sizes, and mindsets. Some have wanted to twist me into a pretzel. Others wanted to beat me to a bloody pulp. They all had different motivations, different things that made them do what they did, but in the end, one thing they all had in common was that, while they may have started the fight, it was ME who ultimately finished it.
“Shione Oshima thanked me for the match on Thursday night. Again, that's gracious, but it's also premature. It almost seems like she's counting on beating me and using the result of a match that hasn't even started yet as a springboard to greater things. That's a very dangerous way to think, and ultimately, it's going to be her downfall.
“I don't hate Oshima, and I have no reason to. But this Thursday night on Overdrive, she's in way over her head. She's not getting a distracted A.C. Smith, or an A.C. Smith who intends on half-assing it from bell to bell. Instead, Shione Oshima is locking up with an A.C. Smith who is at the peak of his powers, a guy looking to continue one of the best years a champion has ever had here in APW, and a man who has never, EVER, been done in by looking too far down the road.
“Shione Oshima, I respect you, as I respect anyone with the guts to lock up with me in the squared circle. But you have NO idea what you're in for, and that's a real shame.”
Smith shrugs, walking down the hall Roxanne strutted down moments earlier. We hear him open the door to his bedroom, and it shuts behind him as our scene fades to black.[/font]
A closer look at Smith, made possible by the high-definition camera shooting him at the moment, shows he has not shaved in at least two or three days. His frame is as chiseled as it's ever been, but it's abundantly clear that Smith's daily routing since defeating Leon Roberts at Shockwave has been as follows: Sleep, eat, work out, and spend the rest of the day analyzing the contents of that manila folder he received from a man he'd never before conversed with.
Our Xtreme Champion had always held an open contempt for his father, who was believed to have abandoned his wife and newborn son in the early-1980's. However, he had instead been convicted of a series of robberies in Smith's neighborhood, ones that put him behind bars for more than two decades, and A.C. has been revealing the case files for days on end.
His brown eyes momentarily gaze up from the photos and documents, and they're glazed over, as if he hasn't been getting the sleep he needs to function on a daily basis. Instead of a bottle of Michelob Ultra, Smith uses his long arms to reach off-screen and grab a bottle of orange juice, which he gulps down in just a few seconds before throwing the plastic bottle off-screen.
At that moment, the camera shot zooms out, and we see Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch and Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker looking on from the doorway that leads to the dining room and kitchen. They know better than to judge their best friend, but it's clear they're more than a little concerned about his physical and mental well-being.
Bobby: “A.C., you wanna come to lunch with us?”
Stevie: “Yeah, we're headed to that new deli down the street. Reviews for it are awesome.”
No response from Smith, who is poring over the pieces of paper in front of him.
Bobby: “Yo, Ace! Anyone home in there?”
Stevie: “Hang on, I got this.”
Stevie kneels down at the table, whispering into Smith's ear.
Stevie: “Roxanne's naked in your bed.”
That gets Smith's attention, all right.
WHACK!!!
The back of Smith's left hand nails the left side of Stevie's face. Stevie grabs his head and backpedals quickly, realizing he'd probably gone just a wee bit too far.
Bobby: “Come on, man. Get away from this stuff for 15 minutes. It'll be here when you get back, and what you're doing just isn't healthy.”
Smith looks up at his friends with a sense of purpose behind his eyes.
A.C.: “Boys, I'm on the clock here. My dad's dying of cancer.”
Stevie: “He's not gonna die in the next hour.”
A.C.: “You know that for sure?”
A pause.
A.C.: “The more I look at this, the more I think he got 20 years of hard time on circumstantial evidence his public defender wasn't skilled enough to get thrown out. If this happened today, it'd get thrown out of court in an hour, but a jury of his peers convicted him beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I never got to know my dad. But I feel like I owe this to him, just to do something to clear his name while he can still find out about it, you know?”
Another pause, and this time, Bobby and Stevie shake their heads.
Bobby: “Well, we're trying that deli. You coming or not?”
A.C. shakes his head.
A.C.: “Can you pick something up for me?”
Stevie: “Let me guess. Pastrami on rye?”
Smith nods as he takes his wallet out from his jeans pocket. He goes into it and pulls out a $20 bill, handing it to Bobby.
A.C.: “I want change!”
Bobby: “Hey, we didn't say it was a CHEAP deli, just that it was new and we were gonna see it for the first time!”
Bobby and Stevie leave as Smith rolls his eyes. As he tilts his head back toward the table, though, the Big Apple Asskicker's eyebrows shoot up his forehead, and he immediately reaches for his iPhone, which had previously been offscreen. His thick fingers dial a number quickly, and he pulls the phone up to his ear.
A.C.: “Hey, Roxie? We've got something, and it's big!”
---
Time has passed. Bobby and Stevie are now sitting Indian-style on Smith's floor, while the effortlessly-gorgeous Roxanne lounges on the couch, looking stunning in a ratty t-shirt and gray sweat pants.
Smith, meanwhile, is standing up, and has re-assembled the diorama with several pieces of paper circled and arrows pointing in several different directions. It's more easily-comprehended than the assemblage of stuff A.C. had put together earlier, but not by much.
Smith, though, seems pleased with himself, and he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “OK, guys, what we know is that Andrew Charles Smith, Sr., was implicated in three armed robberies in my old neighborhood. To this day, he denies it, says he got a raw deal, but had never had the means to fight his convictions...until now.”
A.C. points to the bottom-right corner of the diagram, which is a picture of an older man with a weathered face and severe indentations on each side of his nose.
A.C.: “This is Jimmy Goldstein, the guy who described the robber to the local police officers. I actually knew him for a little while when I was a kid. Decent man, mostly kept to himself, retired early after working two jobs most of his life, and died when I was a teenager.”
Bobby: “Your point?”
A.C.: “I'm getting there. Anyway, what do you see in this picture along each side of his nose?”
Stevie: “...are those what I think they are?”
A.C.: “They're marks made by eye glasses. And big ones, too, the ones people would be legally-blind without.”
Roxanne: (smiling) “...was he WEARING glasses when he saw the sketch artist?”
A.C.: “Nope, and he wasn't in court, either. Tell me something, lady and gentlemen. When the star witness for the prosecution gives a description that could best be described as iffy, and when that is the biggest piece of the prosecution's case...well, you don't have much of a case, do you?”
The rest of the room catches on to what Smith is saying.
A.C.: “We've got more than enough here to go to the legal system and fight for justice for my dad. I never thought I'd say this, but it's true: My dad is innocent.”
Smith exhales, realizing that everything he'd ever believed about his old man couldn't have been further from the truth. Meanwhile, Bobby and Stevie begin a slow clap, while Roxanne rises, grabs Smith in a supportive hug, and begins whispering into his ear.
Roxanne: “I told you he wasn't a bad guy.”
A.C.: “And I couldn't be happier. Dinner tonight?”
Roxanne: “Wouldn't miss it.”
The two kiss, and Bobby and Stevie surround them in an awkward group hug. Everyone laughs, and our scene fades to black once again.
---
It's evening now. While Bobby and Stevie have gone home for the night, A.C. and Roxanne have returned from their dinner in the city. Roxanne is still in a stunning black dress, one she changed into before the couple went out of the town, and Smith has showered, shaved, and donned a blue button-down that tucks neatly into his black slacks.
The two exit the elevator and walk into the penthouse, and the second they do, Roxanne grabs Smith from behind, turning him around. The two share a long, passionate kiss, and they come up for air after several seconds.
Roxanne: “Give me a few minutes. I'll be in the bedroom.”
A.C.: “Take as long as you need.”
Roxanne lets a playful smile come onto her face as she walks down the hall. We hear the door to Smith's bedroom close, and a second or two after that, A.C. eyes the camera and takes a deep breath, composing himself before he opens his mouth to speak once again.
A.C.: “Evidence is a wonderful thing. It's the basis for what I once did as well as anyone in the New York Police Department for four years, and even now, it's coming in handy. With a little bit of luck, we'll be able to get an audience with someone, exonerate my dad, and get a pardon issued. It doesn't sound like much, but it's all we can do, and if that happens, I'll chalk it up as a win.
“Meanwhile, this week in Paris, I go out to face someone who appears to respect me and the way I do business. Shione Oshima made no secret of that, and I appreciate people who get where I'm coming from, but she also made several crucial mistakes. Most notably, she rambled on and on about how an upset is coming this week on Overdrive, but she didn't have the one thing she needed to back up those claims.
“Evidence.”
Smith lets out a slight chuckle before refocusing on the camera.
A.C.: “I didn't become one of the best Xtreme Champions in the history of Action Packed Wrestling by getting lucky. I earned every bit of my lofty reputation by never backing down from a challenge, regardless of the situation. When APW legends like Michael Lively and Nathaniel Havok wanted my title, I put it on the line and proved myself the old-fashioned way, by kicking their asses and leaving no doubt as to who the better man was.
“Non-title matches? For me, those are non-issues. I made the semifinals of this year's Test for the Best tournament, and did so the hard way after having to win that Second Chance Battle Royal for the second year in a row. I put forth one heck of a showing at Survive and Conquer, where I entered pretty early and lasted a hell of a lot longer than a bunch of wrestling legends did.
“If Shione Oshima thinks I'm approaching this match with anything less than my best effort, which she certainly implied earlier this week, she's got another thing coming. Just because I'm guaranteed to leave as the APW Xtreme Champion doesn't mean I won't be letting it all hang out Thursday night in Paris, and if she thinks she wants this more than I do? Well, then that's just plain stupidity talking.”
Smith rolls his eyes.
A.C.: “Shione got very, very philosophical in her speech the other day. She talked about the delicate dance I've been doing for all of 2013, establishing myself as the best Xtreme Champion of my era while also staying true to my core values of honor, integrity, and dignity. Again, the fact that she has a clue is to be respected, but her thinking that might hurt me at some juncture, including possibly this week? No. Just...no.
“See, her implication was that I'm underestimating her, that I don't see her coming. That has never, EVER, been an issue for me. Not when I first started wrestling 11 years ago, and not at any point since then, have I allowed myself to look down the road past my next opponent. It's just not in my DNA to do that. I have too much respect for this business and where I stand in it to allow that to happen, and if Oshima had done her research instead of spending part of last week in a police precinct, she'd know that.
“But instead, she allowed herself to get sidetracked. She allowed herself to get carried away, and the only reason she wasn't charged with assault or battery is because her victim retracted her statement. Me? I've used my time since Shockwave as wisely as humanly possible. I've found evidence that exonerates my father from the crimes he was wrongfully committed of, and I've stayed in tip-top shape, because I know that whenever I step into that ring, I'm getting my opponent's best shot.
“You don't get where I am without knowing that last fact. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Shione Oshima is going to throw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at me. I know how much she wants to beat me, and I know what she has to gain by doing so. If she beats me, suddenly everyone on APW's flagship brand will treat her as the next big thing, a huge threat that can't be ignored.
“Her problem, though, is that I'm never going to let that happen.”
Smith has stayed grounded in rationality, but his nostrils flare just a bit, accentuating that the Big Apple Asskicker means business.
A.C.: “While Shione Oshima's focus this week was on somehow getting out of jail, mine was on staying sharp, on many different levels. She thinks I don't expect her to be great. She thinks that, somehow, I'm overlooking her and what she brings to the table. And she thinks that, through the grace of everything holy, she'll be able to beat me this week because of that combination. Wrong, wrong, and DEAD wrong.
“Everyone in Action Packed Wrestling can beat anyone else from any other wrestling promotion in the world. That's why, when I didn't have to come back and when people were urging me not to, I signed my APW contract. I wanted to compete against the best in the world, and I wanted to show people that I could still be successful in doing so.
“There are wrestlers under contract to APW who would be undisputed champions anywhere else in the world, and that's not me blowing smoke. If I wanted to come back and run roughshod somewhere else, I could've done it very easily. But no, I came here because I wanted the challenge of going up against the best week after week, and in my year-plus as a member of the Overdrive brand and nine-month reign as APW Xtreme Champion, I think it's safe to assume I've passed that test with flying colors.
“Shione Oshima can think whatever she wants about how I'm approaching our little rendezvous in Paris. But for as much as she respects me for how I conduct myself, she knows nothing about what makes me tick.
“NOTHING.”
Smith pauses, letting that word echo around his New York City penthouse before squaring up with the camera one last time.
A.C.: “Rest assured that my focus is NOT lacking, folks. This week in Europe, I kick off the road to One Night in Hell not with a whimper, but with a bang. Shione Oshima thinks she knows me. She thinks I'm somehow confusing her with a pushover, which is something that doesn't exist in Action Packed Wrestling, and, though she didn't exactly say it in these terms, she thinks my ignorance is going to be my downfall.
“I'm many things. Ignorant is not one of them. I know that Shione Oshima is a major threat, and I know for a fact that she's going to put up one hell of a fight on Thursday night with the whole world watching to see if she can beat me. The question is, with all that pressure, and with the fact that she's not off my radar but square in my crosshairs, can she beat me?
“I'm not going to answer that question for her like she tried to do with me. However, here's what I WILL say. It's not a hypothetical, and it's not an extrapolation. Instead, it's the truth. I've danced a lot of dances over the years against wrestlers of all shapes, sizes, and mindsets. Some have wanted to twist me into a pretzel. Others wanted to beat me to a bloody pulp. They all had different motivations, different things that made them do what they did, but in the end, one thing they all had in common was that, while they may have started the fight, it was ME who ultimately finished it.
“Shione Oshima thanked me for the match on Thursday night. Again, that's gracious, but it's also premature. It almost seems like she's counting on beating me and using the result of a match that hasn't even started yet as a springboard to greater things. That's a very dangerous way to think, and ultimately, it's going to be her downfall.
“I don't hate Oshima, and I have no reason to. But this Thursday night on Overdrive, she's in way over her head. She's not getting a distracted A.C. Smith, or an A.C. Smith who intends on half-assing it from bell to bell. Instead, Shione Oshima is locking up with an A.C. Smith who is at the peak of his powers, a guy looking to continue one of the best years a champion has ever had here in APW, and a man who has never, EVER, been done in by looking too far down the road.
“Shione Oshima, I respect you, as I respect anyone with the guts to lock up with me in the squared circle. But you have NO idea what you're in for, and that's a real shame.”
Smith shrugs, walking down the hall Roxanne strutted down moments earlier. We hear him open the door to his bedroom, and it shuts behind him as our scene fades to black.[/font]
