Post by A.C. Smith on Jan 18, 2014 14:15:20 GMT -4
Our scene opens today in a familiar scene, but one we haven't laid eyes on in three months: The home gym of A.C. Smith's lavish New York City penthouse. We first lay eyes upon Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch and Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker, both of whom are shaking their heads and rolling their eyes as metal clangs off-screen.
The camera pans right, and we see the Big Apple Asskicker himself training up a storm on an elliptical device. Wearing only a white tank top and black gym shorts, A.C. Smith's muscles bulge with each repetition as he first works his biceps, then triceps, then forearms while straining against the programmed resistance of the machine.
Sweat drips down Smith's forehead, ultimately falling to the hardwood floor as A.C. continues his workout. Oblivious to his friends, Smith finishes one final set before briefly dropping to his back on the bench to catch his breath.
Bobby: “You know we love you, right, A.C.?”
A.C.: (exhaling knowingly) “Here we go.”
Stevie: “You're out of your damn mind. It's tough enough to do Survive and Conquer, probably the toughest match in the world to win, and you're ADDING to it with this stupid tag match?”
Bobby: “Think about it. Assume you make it past Group One, which is tough enough as it is...”
A.C.: (with an edge in his voice) “There's no assuming to be done. I WILL make it out of Group One, Rex Evans, Jack Benevolence, and everyone else be damned.”
Stevie: “Right. When you do that, wouldn't you want to save your energy for the four-way? Why waste yourself going against two guys you've fought nine thousand times apiece? It's suicide.”
A.C.: “No, boys. There was no way I WASN'T doing things this way.”
Smith sits up, grabbing a white towel with his long left arm and wiping himself down as he continues.
A.C.: “I've never allowed myself to operate under the standard way of doing business. A lesser man may well have refused to wrestle in this tag match alongside C.J. Gates, but that's not me.”
Smith puts the towel down and picks up a clear, plastic water bottle, guzzling some of it before moving on.
A.C.: “For a year and a half, APW was my life. I've always eaten, slept, and breathed this business, and for about 18 months, nobody embodied Action Packed Wrestling more than I did. I went out there every single night, and regardless of the outcome, I gave those fans everything I had. That approach led to me becoming one of the best damn APW Xtreme Champions in history. That approach made me one of the few guys wrestling fans could rely on to uphold the standards of the wrestling business we all should swear by.
“So when the opportunity came up to steal the show one more time, in front of a worldwide audience at Survive and Conquer? You're damn right I wasn't going to let it pass me by. I heard Evan and Logan had issued a challenge, and I dipped into my Rolodex. C.J. Gates was going to be there with his gear. I'd always gotten along with him, we'd always respected each other, so I asked him if he wanted in, and God bless him, he jumped all over it. The four of us know each other really well, and we all know we're going to have the best tag match anyone in this industry can muster.
“So no, boys, I COULDN'T have just sat on the sidelines and let this opportunity pass me by. Is that a good enough explanation for you?”
At this point, Bobby and Stevie know fighting with A.C. is a lost cause. However, their prayers for backup are answered with the clacking of high heels off-screen, and for the first time in three months, when the camera pans left, we see the beautiful Roxanne, clad in a flowing silver dress and matching shoes.
A.C.: “Hey Roxie. You look great.”
Roxanne: “Thanks. How's he doing, guys?”
Bobby: “We're not getting through to him. Any chance you can help?”
Roxanne: “Nope.”
Stevie: (doing a double-take) “Wha...what? Why not?”
Roxanne: “Because I've learned that there's no changing A.C.'s mind after he's made a decision.”
Smith smiles proudly, giving Bobby and Stevie smug looks as they grumble to themselves.
A.C.: “Safe to assume we're still on for dinner?”
Roxanne: “Nah, I'm just wearing all this for my health. Of COURSE we're still on. Are you going to go shower, or should I warn the staff at Luger's that they'll be waiting on a greased pig this evening?”
A.C.: “I'm showering, I'm showering. I'll be out in 10 minutes.”
Smith jogs out of the gym, and as we hear a door close, Roxanne transfers her attention to Bobby and Stevie.
Roxanne: “Guys, A.C. could really use your support here. His dad...well, his dad wound up meaning a lot to him.”
Bobby: “We get that, Roxie. But this could be suicide. That 80-man shitstorm is about the one thing in this sport he hasn't won yet.”
Stevie: “We're just worried he's compromising his own chances for an organization that'll be fully out of business after RassleMania X. That's all.”
Roxanne slowly nods, acknowledging that the duo's intentions are good.
Roxanne: “He needs to do this. I'm not asking you to agree with him. Just support the guy. Besides...if anyone can win this match and Survive and Conquer in one night, A.C. can. That guy's been through hell these past few weeks. By comparison, this is a walk in the park.”
We hear the water in Smith's shower turn on with a good amount of force. Bobby, Stevie, and Roxanne look at each other uncomfortably as our scene fades to black.
---
“I know I don't have to wrestle in this match. But I want to. And that's why C.J. Gates and I WILL be successful.”
We fade back up, and Smith is alone in his home gym. He's sitting on the bench of his elliptical, gazing at the camera with his trademark focus and intensity. The Big Apple Asskicker flares his nostrils twice, and after taking a deep breath, he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “You see, unlike Logan Alexander, who seemed to be in his usual, perpetual state of wishy-washiness, I never once doubted how much I wanted this match. I have nothing to prove, nor did I need some kind of self-realization or anything like that. Simply put, I saw the chance to be a part of something special, something that may not ever happen again, and I took advantage of it.
“Way back when I joined Action Packed Wrestling in the spring of 2012, I stated that I did so for the dream matches I hadn't had yet. But when Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander, a couple of people I'd known for years, came into APW, I knew our paths would cross. Yet, with a couple of rare instances, they didn't. Logan did his thing on Asylum, and Evan and I had one match at Shockwave in 2012, but otherwise, we kept our distance from one another.
“But now, APW is down to what are, likely, its final two shows. As one of the organization's most consistent performers and one of the few guys APW fans could consistently rely on to do the right thing, it's my job to play a part in a match that will steal the show and make those who paid their hard-earned money to see the show happy they did so. And the chance to lock up one more time with Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander? Well, that made the decision that much easier.”
A slight smile graces Smith's face for just a moment, but it vanishes by the time the Big Apple Asskicker refocuses on the camera.
A.C.: “When I looked for a tag team partner, I had a very specific set of criteria. That person needed to share my vision of what APW was and what it meant to the wrestling business. That person had to be someone trustworthy, someone who wouldn't stab me in the back to advance himself. That made C.J. Gates a natural fit, and I couldn't be more excited to have him as a partner.
“The two of us have had several really good matches over the past two years. Sometimes I've won. Sometimes he's won. But regardless of the outcome, regardless of who had their hand raised, one thing was clear: We respected one another and knew what we were getting when we stepped into the ring to do battle. C.J.'s a great wrestler, a good guy, and he figures to be one hell of a tag team partner. I have no doubt our team will be a well-oiled machine at Survive and Conquer, and I know he'll be on his game.
“Evan and Logan, though? There's a really strange combination if ever there was one. Neither guy likes me. Neither guy's a big fan of C.J. Gates. But beyond that, I'm not sure they'd agree on anything at all. Hell, they may wind up coming to blows over what to order for lunch the day of Survive and Conquer!”
Smith rolls his brown eyes knowingly, indicating how well he knows both Evan and Logan.
A.C.: “The fact that they don't really get along has always been odd to me, because they're so alike in so many ways. Both guys are excellent wrestlers. When both guys are thinking clearly, they're great hands and easy to work with as partners; trust me, I know that for a fact. But for all the talent they have, and for all the accolades they've achieved, for both guys...something's missing.
“I'll start with Logan, because he's already addressed me this week. In one of my past Salutes to Cinema, I compared Logan Alexander to Fredo Corleone. He's excellent in a middle-management role when someone's guiding him. But when his head gets polluted with trivial nonsense, and when he gets too big for his britches, he comes crashing down in a heap, pointing fingers and wondering what the hell happened.
“For a while, I couldn't beat Logan, and I'll be the first to say that. He beat me from pillar to post several times when we first met so many years ago in the old AWA, and he never let me forget it. But one night, everything changed. It was in ACW in early-2011, when I beat him for that federation's United States Championship. I bring that up because that's the night Logan claims to have suffered a massive back injury, one he blames me for to this day and blamed me for in his latest rambling diatribe.
“He did suffer a major injury, but it was to his pride, not his back. The only thing it had to do with his back at all was the fact that the injury was a sudden loss of spine. Everything he knew, or thought he knew, was null and void. I'd adjusted, I'd gotten on his level, and he couldn't handle it. He left ACW in very bitter fashion, and he dropped off the face of the earth for quite a while.
“This match will be our first against one another since that night, one that changed Logan's career forever. As good as he can be, and as sharp as he is as a wrestler, he's never grabbed the brass ring. He's always come up short when the brightest lights were turned on. Me? I have everything Logan Alexander ever wanted. I have the support of the greatest fans in the world. I've won six World championships. I've been headlining shows for more than a decade in venues around the world...and all those facts drive Logan Alexander CRAZY, as evidenced by him trying to bash my Xtreme Championship title reign when NOTHING he's ever done in APW can measure up to that.
“He'd kill for my resume, for my following consisting of the greatest fans in the world, for my sense of self-satisfaction. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he wishes he could be me, and the fact that he doesn't have my list of accomplishments DESTROYS him. Jealousy is a terrible thing, and it's consumed Logan Alexander for three years. On January 29th, he's going to come face-to-face with the man he's blamed for all of his misfortunes, when in fact all of his problems can be traced back to another person: Himself.”
Smith pauses, letting the last word echo around his home gym before moving on.
A.C.: “Evan Harrison is another guy who has trouble blaming himself for anything. I've known Evan for as long as I've known anyone in this business. At times, he's been one of my closest friends. At others, he's been my worst enemy. For better or for worse, we're going to go down in history linked as rivals, because we tend to bring out the best, and the worst, in each other.
“But like Logan Alexander, nothing is EVER his fault. He can be so self-absorbed thinking he's God's gift to wrestling, and I've known him long enough to realize that, as good as he is, he's no present from the almighty. To this day, he claims I held him down when we tag-teamed in ACW, which couldn't be further from the truth. When he was with me, he was as good as he's ever been. I mentored him, gave him the best advice he'd ever hear, and I warned him about a certain hair-dresser named Aubrey J. Parker, who wound up almost destroying him emotionally over the course of a VERY destructive relationship.
“I've never been able to call him Evan Envi. To me, he always has been, and always will be, Evan Harrison, a kid with as much talent as anyone in professional wrestling but no idea how to use it for his own benefit. Had he channeled everything he's able to do, he'd have won nine thousand world titles by now. Yet, during an APW stint where every match he had seemed to be must-see TV, he won the Undisputed and World Heavyweight titles...zero times.
“Undoubtedly, he'll find some reason for this to NOT be his fault. He had some success, sure. He had a great reign as APW's Overdrive Champion, but he promised so much more every time he opened his mouth. He can try to say I never won a World title here, but I'd be delighted to stack my career up with his any day of the week. His accomplishments don't measure up to mine. They never have, and if he doesn't get out of his own way, they never will.
“I was APW's Co-Champion of the Year in 2013, and I got there by knowing more about this sport than just about anyone else. Every week last year, I walked into the building as the APW Xtreme Champion, and I never once left without it. I made the semifinals of Test for the Best. I dispatched two APW Hall of Famers and several of Overdrive's top MegaStars.
“And while all this was going on, what was the man who calls himself the Mega Mega Star doing? He was telling himself how good he was when, in truth, what he wound up doing didn't measure up. As good as he was, he could have been so much better if he'd kept his head on straight. But he didn't, and somehow, he'll find some way that it wasn't his fault.”
Smith's gotten angry. His face is red, his nostrils are flaring, and he has to make an effort to keep his white teeth from grinding together.
A.C.: “Those two have so much in common. Unfortunately for them, one of those defining characteristics is ego. Neither can stand to be second-best. Evan and Logan might work together well enough at first. They've got more than enough motivation to do well, but what happens when Gates and I dig down like we all know we will? What happens when a roadblock pops up in the form of APW's two most dominant fan favorites on Overdrive over the past two years?
“Those two don't respond well to adversity. One of them creates back injuries to mask a lack of testicular fortitude, the other finds people to blame not named Evan Harrison, or Evan Envi, or whatever the hell he's going by this week. Not to mention that these are two guys who don't have a track record of getting along with each other in the first place!
“C.J. Gates and I don't have any such issues. We're professionals in every sense of the word. Our resumes, our accomplishments, and our demeanors are not in question. When we go out there in Munich on January 29th, with the support of a capacity crowd behind us, everyone in attendance will know they're going to get 100 percent from us from bell to bell. We're two champions, two guys who know what they want and know how to get it.
“Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander? Well, those two are a MUCH different story.”
Smith stands, rising to his full 6'8” height.
A.C.: “They don't like us. Fine and dandy. But how are they going to co-exist when they've NEVER been able to? How will they handle adversity when they've NEVER been able to? And when all the smoke clears, how will they POSSIBLY be able to beat C.J. Gates and myself when, in similar situations against high-quality opposition, they've NEVER been able to capitalize?
“Evan and Logan have lots of questions to answer. Those answers exist, and can be found with a lot of self-reflection. Unfortunately for those guys, I know them too well to expect them to do that. They'll deny, they'll rationalize, and they'll find some way to blame other people. Instead, when C.J. Gates and I emerge victorious over Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander, there'll only be two people to blame.
“Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander.”
Smith shakes his head, storming off and slamming the door to his home gym behind him as our scene fades to black.
The camera pans right, and we see the Big Apple Asskicker himself training up a storm on an elliptical device. Wearing only a white tank top and black gym shorts, A.C. Smith's muscles bulge with each repetition as he first works his biceps, then triceps, then forearms while straining against the programmed resistance of the machine.
Sweat drips down Smith's forehead, ultimately falling to the hardwood floor as A.C. continues his workout. Oblivious to his friends, Smith finishes one final set before briefly dropping to his back on the bench to catch his breath.
Bobby: “You know we love you, right, A.C.?”
A.C.: (exhaling knowingly) “Here we go.”
Stevie: “You're out of your damn mind. It's tough enough to do Survive and Conquer, probably the toughest match in the world to win, and you're ADDING to it with this stupid tag match?”
Bobby: “Think about it. Assume you make it past Group One, which is tough enough as it is...”
A.C.: (with an edge in his voice) “There's no assuming to be done. I WILL make it out of Group One, Rex Evans, Jack Benevolence, and everyone else be damned.”
Stevie: “Right. When you do that, wouldn't you want to save your energy for the four-way? Why waste yourself going against two guys you've fought nine thousand times apiece? It's suicide.”
A.C.: “No, boys. There was no way I WASN'T doing things this way.”
Smith sits up, grabbing a white towel with his long left arm and wiping himself down as he continues.
A.C.: “I've never allowed myself to operate under the standard way of doing business. A lesser man may well have refused to wrestle in this tag match alongside C.J. Gates, but that's not me.”
Smith puts the towel down and picks up a clear, plastic water bottle, guzzling some of it before moving on.
A.C.: “For a year and a half, APW was my life. I've always eaten, slept, and breathed this business, and for about 18 months, nobody embodied Action Packed Wrestling more than I did. I went out there every single night, and regardless of the outcome, I gave those fans everything I had. That approach led to me becoming one of the best damn APW Xtreme Champions in history. That approach made me one of the few guys wrestling fans could rely on to uphold the standards of the wrestling business we all should swear by.
“So when the opportunity came up to steal the show one more time, in front of a worldwide audience at Survive and Conquer? You're damn right I wasn't going to let it pass me by. I heard Evan and Logan had issued a challenge, and I dipped into my Rolodex. C.J. Gates was going to be there with his gear. I'd always gotten along with him, we'd always respected each other, so I asked him if he wanted in, and God bless him, he jumped all over it. The four of us know each other really well, and we all know we're going to have the best tag match anyone in this industry can muster.
“So no, boys, I COULDN'T have just sat on the sidelines and let this opportunity pass me by. Is that a good enough explanation for you?”
At this point, Bobby and Stevie know fighting with A.C. is a lost cause. However, their prayers for backup are answered with the clacking of high heels off-screen, and for the first time in three months, when the camera pans left, we see the beautiful Roxanne, clad in a flowing silver dress and matching shoes.
A.C.: “Hey Roxie. You look great.”
Roxanne: “Thanks. How's he doing, guys?”
Bobby: “We're not getting through to him. Any chance you can help?”
Roxanne: “Nope.”
Stevie: (doing a double-take) “Wha...what? Why not?”
Roxanne: “Because I've learned that there's no changing A.C.'s mind after he's made a decision.”
Smith smiles proudly, giving Bobby and Stevie smug looks as they grumble to themselves.
A.C.: “Safe to assume we're still on for dinner?”
Roxanne: “Nah, I'm just wearing all this for my health. Of COURSE we're still on. Are you going to go shower, or should I warn the staff at Luger's that they'll be waiting on a greased pig this evening?”
A.C.: “I'm showering, I'm showering. I'll be out in 10 minutes.”
Smith jogs out of the gym, and as we hear a door close, Roxanne transfers her attention to Bobby and Stevie.
Roxanne: “Guys, A.C. could really use your support here. His dad...well, his dad wound up meaning a lot to him.”
Bobby: “We get that, Roxie. But this could be suicide. That 80-man shitstorm is about the one thing in this sport he hasn't won yet.”
Stevie: “We're just worried he's compromising his own chances for an organization that'll be fully out of business after RassleMania X. That's all.”
Roxanne slowly nods, acknowledging that the duo's intentions are good.
Roxanne: “He needs to do this. I'm not asking you to agree with him. Just support the guy. Besides...if anyone can win this match and Survive and Conquer in one night, A.C. can. That guy's been through hell these past few weeks. By comparison, this is a walk in the park.”
We hear the water in Smith's shower turn on with a good amount of force. Bobby, Stevie, and Roxanne look at each other uncomfortably as our scene fades to black.
---
“I know I don't have to wrestle in this match. But I want to. And that's why C.J. Gates and I WILL be successful.”
We fade back up, and Smith is alone in his home gym. He's sitting on the bench of his elliptical, gazing at the camera with his trademark focus and intensity. The Big Apple Asskicker flares his nostrils twice, and after taking a deep breath, he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “You see, unlike Logan Alexander, who seemed to be in his usual, perpetual state of wishy-washiness, I never once doubted how much I wanted this match. I have nothing to prove, nor did I need some kind of self-realization or anything like that. Simply put, I saw the chance to be a part of something special, something that may not ever happen again, and I took advantage of it.
“Way back when I joined Action Packed Wrestling in the spring of 2012, I stated that I did so for the dream matches I hadn't had yet. But when Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander, a couple of people I'd known for years, came into APW, I knew our paths would cross. Yet, with a couple of rare instances, they didn't. Logan did his thing on Asylum, and Evan and I had one match at Shockwave in 2012, but otherwise, we kept our distance from one another.
“But now, APW is down to what are, likely, its final two shows. As one of the organization's most consistent performers and one of the few guys APW fans could consistently rely on to do the right thing, it's my job to play a part in a match that will steal the show and make those who paid their hard-earned money to see the show happy they did so. And the chance to lock up one more time with Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander? Well, that made the decision that much easier.”
A slight smile graces Smith's face for just a moment, but it vanishes by the time the Big Apple Asskicker refocuses on the camera.
A.C.: “When I looked for a tag team partner, I had a very specific set of criteria. That person needed to share my vision of what APW was and what it meant to the wrestling business. That person had to be someone trustworthy, someone who wouldn't stab me in the back to advance himself. That made C.J. Gates a natural fit, and I couldn't be more excited to have him as a partner.
“The two of us have had several really good matches over the past two years. Sometimes I've won. Sometimes he's won. But regardless of the outcome, regardless of who had their hand raised, one thing was clear: We respected one another and knew what we were getting when we stepped into the ring to do battle. C.J.'s a great wrestler, a good guy, and he figures to be one hell of a tag team partner. I have no doubt our team will be a well-oiled machine at Survive and Conquer, and I know he'll be on his game.
“Evan and Logan, though? There's a really strange combination if ever there was one. Neither guy likes me. Neither guy's a big fan of C.J. Gates. But beyond that, I'm not sure they'd agree on anything at all. Hell, they may wind up coming to blows over what to order for lunch the day of Survive and Conquer!”
Smith rolls his brown eyes knowingly, indicating how well he knows both Evan and Logan.
A.C.: “The fact that they don't really get along has always been odd to me, because they're so alike in so many ways. Both guys are excellent wrestlers. When both guys are thinking clearly, they're great hands and easy to work with as partners; trust me, I know that for a fact. But for all the talent they have, and for all the accolades they've achieved, for both guys...something's missing.
“I'll start with Logan, because he's already addressed me this week. In one of my past Salutes to Cinema, I compared Logan Alexander to Fredo Corleone. He's excellent in a middle-management role when someone's guiding him. But when his head gets polluted with trivial nonsense, and when he gets too big for his britches, he comes crashing down in a heap, pointing fingers and wondering what the hell happened.
“For a while, I couldn't beat Logan, and I'll be the first to say that. He beat me from pillar to post several times when we first met so many years ago in the old AWA, and he never let me forget it. But one night, everything changed. It was in ACW in early-2011, when I beat him for that federation's United States Championship. I bring that up because that's the night Logan claims to have suffered a massive back injury, one he blames me for to this day and blamed me for in his latest rambling diatribe.
“He did suffer a major injury, but it was to his pride, not his back. The only thing it had to do with his back at all was the fact that the injury was a sudden loss of spine. Everything he knew, or thought he knew, was null and void. I'd adjusted, I'd gotten on his level, and he couldn't handle it. He left ACW in very bitter fashion, and he dropped off the face of the earth for quite a while.
“This match will be our first against one another since that night, one that changed Logan's career forever. As good as he can be, and as sharp as he is as a wrestler, he's never grabbed the brass ring. He's always come up short when the brightest lights were turned on. Me? I have everything Logan Alexander ever wanted. I have the support of the greatest fans in the world. I've won six World championships. I've been headlining shows for more than a decade in venues around the world...and all those facts drive Logan Alexander CRAZY, as evidenced by him trying to bash my Xtreme Championship title reign when NOTHING he's ever done in APW can measure up to that.
“He'd kill for my resume, for my following consisting of the greatest fans in the world, for my sense of self-satisfaction. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he wishes he could be me, and the fact that he doesn't have my list of accomplishments DESTROYS him. Jealousy is a terrible thing, and it's consumed Logan Alexander for three years. On January 29th, he's going to come face-to-face with the man he's blamed for all of his misfortunes, when in fact all of his problems can be traced back to another person: Himself.”
Smith pauses, letting the last word echo around his home gym before moving on.
A.C.: “Evan Harrison is another guy who has trouble blaming himself for anything. I've known Evan for as long as I've known anyone in this business. At times, he's been one of my closest friends. At others, he's been my worst enemy. For better or for worse, we're going to go down in history linked as rivals, because we tend to bring out the best, and the worst, in each other.
“But like Logan Alexander, nothing is EVER his fault. He can be so self-absorbed thinking he's God's gift to wrestling, and I've known him long enough to realize that, as good as he is, he's no present from the almighty. To this day, he claims I held him down when we tag-teamed in ACW, which couldn't be further from the truth. When he was with me, he was as good as he's ever been. I mentored him, gave him the best advice he'd ever hear, and I warned him about a certain hair-dresser named Aubrey J. Parker, who wound up almost destroying him emotionally over the course of a VERY destructive relationship.
“I've never been able to call him Evan Envi. To me, he always has been, and always will be, Evan Harrison, a kid with as much talent as anyone in professional wrestling but no idea how to use it for his own benefit. Had he channeled everything he's able to do, he'd have won nine thousand world titles by now. Yet, during an APW stint where every match he had seemed to be must-see TV, he won the Undisputed and World Heavyweight titles...zero times.
“Undoubtedly, he'll find some reason for this to NOT be his fault. He had some success, sure. He had a great reign as APW's Overdrive Champion, but he promised so much more every time he opened his mouth. He can try to say I never won a World title here, but I'd be delighted to stack my career up with his any day of the week. His accomplishments don't measure up to mine. They never have, and if he doesn't get out of his own way, they never will.
“I was APW's Co-Champion of the Year in 2013, and I got there by knowing more about this sport than just about anyone else. Every week last year, I walked into the building as the APW Xtreme Champion, and I never once left without it. I made the semifinals of Test for the Best. I dispatched two APW Hall of Famers and several of Overdrive's top MegaStars.
“And while all this was going on, what was the man who calls himself the Mega Mega Star doing? He was telling himself how good he was when, in truth, what he wound up doing didn't measure up. As good as he was, he could have been so much better if he'd kept his head on straight. But he didn't, and somehow, he'll find some way that it wasn't his fault.”
Smith's gotten angry. His face is red, his nostrils are flaring, and he has to make an effort to keep his white teeth from grinding together.
A.C.: “Those two have so much in common. Unfortunately for them, one of those defining characteristics is ego. Neither can stand to be second-best. Evan and Logan might work together well enough at first. They've got more than enough motivation to do well, but what happens when Gates and I dig down like we all know we will? What happens when a roadblock pops up in the form of APW's two most dominant fan favorites on Overdrive over the past two years?
“Those two don't respond well to adversity. One of them creates back injuries to mask a lack of testicular fortitude, the other finds people to blame not named Evan Harrison, or Evan Envi, or whatever the hell he's going by this week. Not to mention that these are two guys who don't have a track record of getting along with each other in the first place!
“C.J. Gates and I don't have any such issues. We're professionals in every sense of the word. Our resumes, our accomplishments, and our demeanors are not in question. When we go out there in Munich on January 29th, with the support of a capacity crowd behind us, everyone in attendance will know they're going to get 100 percent from us from bell to bell. We're two champions, two guys who know what they want and know how to get it.
“Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander? Well, those two are a MUCH different story.”
Smith stands, rising to his full 6'8” height.
A.C.: “They don't like us. Fine and dandy. But how are they going to co-exist when they've NEVER been able to? How will they handle adversity when they've NEVER been able to? And when all the smoke clears, how will they POSSIBLY be able to beat C.J. Gates and myself when, in similar situations against high-quality opposition, they've NEVER been able to capitalize?
“Evan and Logan have lots of questions to answer. Those answers exist, and can be found with a lot of self-reflection. Unfortunately for those guys, I know them too well to expect them to do that. They'll deny, they'll rationalize, and they'll find some way to blame other people. Instead, when C.J. Gates and I emerge victorious over Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander, there'll only be two people to blame.
“Evan Harrison and Logan Alexander.”
Smith shakes his head, storming off and slamming the door to his home gym behind him as our scene fades to black.
