You Two Again

[J-Hop]

"I know ... you're tired ... of fighting, of fighting
With nobody but us, ... nobody, nobody"

-----------------

I feel your pain, Connor and Gabriel...

You’ve both stepped up to the plate and each time, you talked and talked, explained how you two were going to dethrone us or put us down, neither time did your strategy worked. Neither time you two faced us, did it ever go the way you wanted it to go. You both ended up with L’s on your team record and learned something new each time.

It’s been fun, but dammit, I’m tired of you rabid Chihuahuas steadily biting on our pant legs.

You can’t, you won’t...

You both have the talent to be great. You have the bloodline of greatness. Your fathers were champions. I didn’t have it. I wasn’t born into this life. I had no options where I’m from. It seemed at first sight, I could kick someone’s ass and not get locked up for it. You two grew up with them spoons in ya’ mouth. Money to spend, expensive, lavish taste. Ya’ll never had to “struggle” to get somewhere. Second-generation, it was a fact that you two would be something great, like the past, like your fathers.

Yeah...

You’re good but you’re still finding that glitter isn’t always gold. Being second-generation superstars doesn’t mean instant success and glory. You’ve felt the highs and you’re feeling the lows. You know, you discuss it probably every night before you two go to sleep.

“How does one stop “The Dying Breed” momentum and beat them?”

You can’t look at the past bouts, the time we faltered to that of the once known team of “M&M” when they beat us for that gold, you can’t go back and find those flaws because it doesn’t exist. Things have changed, moves have been made, adjustments have been made. It’s even harder to break through unless you possess the key card, which none of you have.

I mean, if you feel otherwise, go ahead and spend your nights staring at old ‘game tape’ and come to that ring looking to strike and repeat what you saw. Each time me and Bailey team up in that ring, it’s always different, never the same shit.

You gain yet another opportunity to take us out. Another chance to fix your mistakes and come prepared. Will the outcome be any different?



Lahaina, hi -- sep.8.13

Sitting backstage in our locker room, I was just not too long ago finished with my match against Mr. Enigma. Sitting beside Anthony Bailey as our eyes were glued to the flatscreen, we were in complete awe at what we just witnessed.

“Did that son of a bitch just call me and you out?”

Anthony nodded.

“Yep, pretty much!”

“It’s sad when your best excuse to losing your “fire” is to blame it on someone else. I’m sorry to see him have to depart. I’m sorry for hearing he has been ‘concussed’ for the past two months but after all, this is the life you chose. This was your reason for packing up and moving away from home to go work on being a professional athlete. Injuries come with the game. It was never meant, but to come out with some bologne like that is just straight garbage!”

Shaking my head, I looked on in disgust at the close-up facial shot of Logan Alexander. To have to listen to this garbage, this sour explanation, it makes the decency of respect I had for him wash off like paint.

“It’s bad enough knowing that Mr. Enigma had to be helped out of that ring after our match. Now for this asshole to deliver his shots in his ‘farewell address’, pretty lame. I had respect for the guy, it’s gone now. If he and his ‘sidekick Collie’ wasn’t such jerks, he wouldn’t have suffered those hellacious shots. He can’t admit to being defeated by me. Sure, he may have not been in the ring, but he knew the rules of the match. He took a break from action and it cost him.”

“Losers just have a hard time admitting things. You just have to laugh at the ignorance and move on.”

I nodded as I took the recently used white cloth and dried off my face yet again with it as sweat was running down.

“We’ve done all we can to prove to everyone who we are and what we are about. People just love to hate and envy. I finally grabbed a single achievement and damn if people aren’t still bitching. Just look at the crap posted on Twitter already. They can’t stand our success, Anthony. We’ve done all we can and they’re still unappreciative.”

“...I can just imagine the explosion and breakdown on Twitter when you go out there and beat Terry Marvin tonight. Everyone is going to go friggin’ berzerk!”

Anthony gives off that trademark grin as he checks his watch.

“Definitely! I should go get myself ready. I’ll talk to you later, Jair!”

With our patented handshake, Anthony walked towards the door to exit.

“Alright man! I’ll see you back here with that World title in your possession!”

As Anthony closed the door behind him. I let out a long exhale as my eyes paid attention to the screen again, seeing Logan make his way back to the back, looking dejected and pissed.


brooklyn, ny -- sep.16.13

“Those motherfuckers ARE going to PAYYY!!!”

Putting every bit of vile, angry spirit into the middle and end, his face matched those words. We stood outside of what, at one point was a “state-of-the-art” facility. Now it was just a large pile of junk and burned equipment. Almost the look of a burned down warehouse. Me and Ramirez stood side to side, just staring at what barely is left.

“I promise you, I’ll find some info. I did a lot of run-around’s yesterday when I arrived back in town. Still no one leaking information. No “Snitchers” at all.”

He nodded his head almost too quickly, as if blowing off anything I was saying.

“Don’t even worry about it homie. No one’s gonna’ say shit about what happened. I know SOMEONE had to see this massive fire. It’s alright though, I just gotta move tha’ fuck on, feel me?”

In a case and moment where I would just roll along and nod my head, I instead shook it, not agreeing to “feel” anything.

“Juan, that was your “baby”! Now someone brave enough was able to come into this area and set shit on fire. Cost you millions in damage. You’re going to just move on?”

With shocked, blinking eyes, I looked at Juan, waiting for an answer. He threw his arms up in the air before dropping them down quickly to his side again.

“What you want me to do? Risk my freedom with gaining a third strike? Three strikes and I’m out, homie. There won’t be no reverse. As much as this shit hurts, I just gotta’ let it roll off me like sweat.”

It was hard to hear him say that but I had to let it be and not press the issue any further than it already was.

“Yeah, I told Kash about the incident. He was not happy, one bit. This was his and Knuckle’s spot. It was like his second home. He was devastated when I told him the news.”

Juan nodded his head, not even able to speak in a sense. I bit the bottom of my lip because I know that in the past, I was not a fan of the Kash/Ramirez relation, I didn’t like the bond. I considered it almost like theft, being we were the only ones coming here at the time. Being we were feuding, to see them come and train at the same place we called home, it really made the taste even sour. That was until I finally realized things.

“I know I’ve been a dick to the two. At the time we were back and forth and to see them come here and make it their home, it pissed me off. To know you affiliated yourself with them, invite them, accept their huge funds and be all “smiles” with them, it pissed me off. Guess you can call it being jealous but I thought he was trying to take advantage of your knowledge and equipment ... but I was wrong on my suspicions.”

Juan began to crack a smile as he shook his head.

“Jealous, homie? You really think I’d give them secrets to take you and your squad down? Hell naw! I don’t sell out! Jason Kash and I go back further than you would think. He’d come here and although training for his opponent, he would always comment about how you were evolving every day. He is family, but I would never sell out to give anyone the advantage. I thought you would know better.”

Talk about feeling like a soft-shell crust right now. To know all of it and the reasons, I really felt immature of my actions, but it was all about the future and not the past.

“Yeah, well I know now. Fact is, we’re going to get baby back up.”

Juan looked at me weird.

“This “We” thing again...”

“Well Kash already stated he’ll help out. If I can get some donations and some help from Ant and Will, we can get a new place and get things started back up.”

Juan’s eyes blinked.

“Bruh, you know how I feel about hand-outs. I don’t want ya’ll spending ya’ll earned cash on my losses.”

I nodded my head.

“Yeah, but it’s our loss too. We came here to get better in progression and feel better about ourselves. We’re a family after all, right? We try to look out for each other, right?”

Juan semi-nodded.

“Yeahhh...”

“Alright then. I’ll stay in touch with you and let you know the status. Also, before I forget. Stay in tune, Kash said he was going to call you and talk to you about something.”

Juan nodded again.

“Yeah, alright! Peace, kid.”

With my two fingers up, I deliver it visually as I started walking.

“Peace!”

=========================================

Location: Quezon City, Phillipines (The Sulô Riviera Hotel)
Time: 5:00 PM PHT

Hey Unforgiven!

Give yourselves a round of applause for attacking a man already down and out. I know ya’ll hungry, but DAYUM! You gotta’ feast on my partner like that? As much as I want to smack the shit out of you two, I understand the logic. I understand the reasoning. I understand the timing.

You don’t want to be the “forgotten ones”.

Great way to show it. Thankfully both my self and “NewGen Rising” was there to run you both off. Zachariah and Sentinel, you will not get away. No one gets away without paying at the cash register. As much as I want to just hang my size 10 up ya’lls ass, I have to save my strength for “Sang Un-Real”. It’s come to my attention that the fans love seeing Anthony and I slap two second-generation ‘scums’ around the ring, silly. They enjoy every bit of it. As tired as I am of seeing them, I’m not going to bicker. I’m not going to blow a fuse and yell on Twitter about how “exhausted” I am of having to go team up to take out two “talentless” individuals. I’m not going to yell to the ‘Twitterverse’ about how WE deserve better in competition or telling everyone that we aren’t going to show up for the match.

Nah...

Every match is that important. Every team, every talent is important. When I was coming up, which wasn’t long ago. I was in the boat of Sang Real and some other folks. Everyone thought that because I was friends with Anthony Bailey that I would have the road “easy”. Never. The same way Sang Real is working their way up, it was the same way I came up. I took some hard-ass bruises, some disturbing falls but it’s all about getting back up, standing your ground and remaining humbled. Even with the success I’m gaining right now, I’m steady humble. I’m still hungry, but humble.

Sang Real, just because of their lineage doesn’t mean “instant success”. They have to work like everyone else. Sometimes, shit doesn’t go like wanted. Lack of communication, missed opportunities, etcetera can lead to alot of frustration, even boiling points. It’s all about surviving and continuing to push the issue that you deserve every chance at gold. It’s all about pushing through the brick walls they put up in front of you. Deep down, beyond the name, beyond the history, the labels as ‘second-generation’, both Gabriel and Connor are established in the company. Sure they are not liked by most. They are arrogant as hell and have no class to which most view them. They have signs of the “IT” ingredient but fails to put it in action.

I can’t count how many encounters we have had but each time, there comes a certain point in the match where we always encounter the two at a boiling point. They resort to their dirty, yet semi-successful tricks. This allows us to be more aware, more keen to their tricks. One second of being unfocused and it will be your ass. They are an opportunistic team, they jump on those moments whenever possible.

If they can remain focus, be consistent and not get easily frustrated, they have a chance. They have a shot to finally claim what they’ve been after since their last company closed doors. These tag titles are their goals. Not any singles titles ... No, they want THESE APW World Tag titles. They want to feel the rush of gold through their veins. They want to be popular. The only thing keeping them alive is their little “name”. It’s the only reason they exist and is constantly in the picture.

They’ve had chance after chance after chance. Instead of being called “Sang Real”, they should change their name to “Chances” because it’s obvious they are getting the ticket every time while all the other teams are sitting with slanted grins, a crook neck and a reason to be angry. If you beat us this week then congratulations, you’ve earned yet another shot at us only it will be for these titles. Right now, you just stand opposite of us, hoping and praying for another opportunity at gold against us.

It’s safe to say, you’ll need more than hope. You need to pray like MC Hammer did when all his shit got repossessed.

It’s going to be another long outing, fellas. Get your ‘at-bats’ ready for these knuckle ball strikes..