Post by Evan De Parker on Jan 19, 2014 14:40:03 GMT -4
Time Unknown
Location Unknown
”To say that my time in APW ended on a sour note might be a bit of an understatement, yeah? I mean, like-- how do I start to describe my final moments?
Alright, it was like this; my General Manager was out to get me and my best friend. Toward the end of everything, he openly admitted that. And for weeks, maybe months at that point, I’d been waging war against the Black Hand. For the most part it was just me and Jenny against them. Sure, we had help sometimes, and we couldn’t be more thankful for it, but we just couldn’t depend on others, y’know?
Things were rough, man.
I lost the Overdrive Title in a Ladder Match at Shockwave. The stipulation put in place was that if Tommy Knox beat me, no matter how it got done, then I was banned from appearing in APW ever again. That’s the summary. That’s… the black-and-white version.
I knew I’d be back one day. I vowed it. And though I didn’t think it’d be under these conditions… I’m ready. More than any North American, or Overdrive Title, or main event match before January 26th in Action Packed Wrestling, I’m ready for a fight, gentlemen.
We’re ready.”
January 3, 2014
Henderson, Nevada
”Are you sure this is something you really wanna do?”
Jenny Knite looked up at her best friend, her tag team partner, and her confidant, Evan Envi, with skepticism. He was bouncing his cell phone back and forth from palm to palm, gazing off into the distance, though seemed to acknowledge her question with a short nod.
”You doubt me?”
”It’s not you I’m worried about. Ev, how are we supposed to trust this guy? You don’t exactly have the smoothest relationship.”
”It’ll be fine.”
”And when’s the last time he wrestled? The summer?”
The two were seated in the large, open living room of Evan’s Henderson home-- Jenny, situated cross-legged on a temporarily misplaced futon, across from Evan, who reclined in a La-Z Boy, or some similar brand. The former “King of Overdrive” turned and settled his gaze on Jenny with a subtle, but warm smirk. He gestured toward her, as if implying that she should already know what he’s preparing to say.
”It’s like riding a bike. It’s something you never forget, especially when you’ve been doing it as long as Logan. Besides, I figured you, someone missing time because of a concussion, would have a little more empathy.”
There was silence between them for a few seconds and Jenny rubbed her temple with a palm, addressing Evan in a considerably softer tone than before.
”Why are you doing this anyway?”
”Hm?”
”The hell do you have to prove? You stomped Smith the last two or three times you’ve met in the ring, and CJ Gates? Gates? What does he even do now?! He’s probably fat, dude.”
”It’s not that complicated. I’ve never beat Gates, and I want to. Smith can’t seem to accept the fact that I’m better than him, and I want him to… alright?”
”Fine. But then we have Logan Alexander: someone unfit to carry your weight. Why didn’t you just ask me? I’m cleared to wrestle the day of Survive & Conquer! We--”
Evan raised a hand to silence her and shook his head.
”This has to happen, and it’s something I want. If Logan didn’t want to give this a shot, and if this was going to go as horribly as everybody assumes it’s gonna go, then he wouldn’t have agreed to come out of a self-imposed semi-retirement for one more match, would he?”
He paused to give Jenny an uneasy look, pushing himself upwards from his seat.
”And besides… don’t wanna take any risks with you. We already agreed on February, so why can’t we stick to that?”
”Because we agreed to it before I knew you’d be requesting the services of elderly men!”
”See, it’s when you say things like that. That’s why you don’t get invited to places for stuff.”
She folded her arms in dissatisfaction, remaining stationary momentarily as Evan guided himself out of the room, toward the narrow hallway that Jenny knew only led toward the back patio. She was on her feet within a few seconds, following idly. She watched as he walked with the mildest of limps… He walked with an arm lightly hugged around his ribs, shouldering open the screen door that took him to the outside. She caught it with her fingertips before it closed in her face, and even paused a few feet away, sighing and speaking to her quietly.
”Contrary to popular belief, I know what I’m doing.”
”Oh yeah? You know… you really, truly are spoiled in this business. And you don’t even know it.”
”Hah. How do you figure?”
”I mean… without A.C. and Logan, I don’t know if you’d even be here. How many times did Smith pull you out of the unemployment line? Twice now? And Logan literally took you under his wing when he never had to. And no matter how much you badmouth them, and use them, they still work with you. They still get in that ring with you and put on five-star matches. You’re spoiled, dorkus. And soon you’re not gonna have anyone to watch your back in these high-profile situations. How are you even gonna function without a cheerleader out there at Survive & Conquer?”
Evan smirked a little, though Jenny couldn’t see it.
”Turns out we do have somebody watching our back. She’ll be in our corner.”
Jenny folded her arms once again. This time, it was her smirk that may as well have been non-existent in regards to Evan. She felt that she didn’t need to ask, but she did anyway.
”Who?”
January 19, 2014
Henderson, Nevada
”On January 24th, I depart from Reno-Tahoe International Airport to Munich, Germany for Action Packed Wrestling’s penultimate event, Survive and Conquer. If you’d asked me about a month ago if I’d be holding this little stub in my hand with the anticipation of an APW match weighing on my mind, I’d have probably scoffed at you.
Unlike Smith, Gates, and even my own partner, I’ve remained active and more importantly, hungry since the autumn. I’m still fighting the best this business has ever bred, and I’ve still got my eye on my… first... World Heavyweight Championship. Unlike the other three, I’m in a position where I can’t AFFORD to fly out of Munich without the ‘W’. It means I lost to a underachiever who’s been lost in his glory days since before he even had glory days, and to APW’s spoiled gatekeeper… a pompous, vanilla ‘professional Plan B’ that never had to work for anything as long as I’ve known him.
A.C. and C.J. You’re perfect for each other. You’re two of the most complacent athletes I ever had the ‘pleasure’ of working with.
Smith, you’re one of the best big men in this business. Without hesitation, I’d say you’re one of the best wrestlers I’ve ever faced out there period, and I will NOT knock somebody for grabbing a championship and holding onto it and making it mean something. You did that with the Xtreme Title, and for nearly a year after winning it… you went on… and you beat some of the most mediocre names in wrestling today. Meanwhile, you held onto taking people like Level One to the limit and almost beating Terry Marvin.
You didn’t make your championship the most talked-about title in professional wrestling. I DID!
You didn’t hold victories over World Champions in APW. I did.
You didn’t take what you learned in APW and evolve. You… have never evolved. You criticize me, even to this very day, because I created Evan Envi, never asking me why I did it. You never cared what Evan Envi meant to Evan Harrison. You just wanted to point a finger and shout ’WRONG!’ at something. And when you realized that Evan Envi was exponentially better than you? Ohhooo… then you really got pissed off. You wouldn’t even SAY ‘Envi’. You literally pretend that Evan Envi doesn’t exist.
And if it were so simple, maybe you would’ve really been something in this company, but I was always there to remind you where you should’ve been. And really, you should thank me for it, because you proved time and time again that the Xtreme Division, a division which remained stagnant in your reign, was about as much as you were willing to take. Go ahead, though. Tell everyone how people like me DRAGGED that title through the mud. Tell everyone about how you’re the six-foot-seven, two hundred and seventy-five pound BIG APPLE ASSKICKER. Tell ‘em about my partner’s back injury. Please. Recycle your oh-so-clever ‘spineless’ joke. I know you’re proud.
Tell them something they don’t know, officer! Tell them about how you can BEAT me and Logan Alexander in 2014. You CAN’T!
CJ Gates! CJ Gates knows-- or knew-- how to get it done out in the ring against me, Smith. I could never beat Gates, and that was just one of the dozens of reasons that I hated him. And in not being able to defeat CJ Gates, I grew more frustrated with myself, y’know? Because I’m better than him.
CJ Gates-- he never had to work hard to get a World Championship match. CJ Gates, since 2012, can’t have possibly given a damn about this business because if he DID, then I would have felt something whenever he opened his mouth to bore us through one of us monologues. But… I didn’t. Did you, Smith?
No, when I watched CJ Gates last year, what I saw was an unnecessarily smug human being that only seemed to realize his own limitations when he was standing across the ring from somebody that was EQUALLY as overrated, Lester Only. Only difference was, Level One was interesting to watch at least once a month, whereas Gates actually made me question the price of our tickets.
I don’t like CJ Gates because I don’t think CJ deserved shot after shot after shot when people like Logan and myself never even got one. Never even got an opportunity! Hell-- I was never even invited to QUALIFY for a Test for the Best tournament, but CJ was given a World Title shot in the middle of the damned tournament! And I’m sitting in the back, hands at my sides, looking like an IDIOT, because I’m hearing that there’s gonna be some ‘surprise’ World Title match and I think-- like some dumbass-- that they’re gonna give it to somebody that hasn’t already blown it a dozen times.
But. Nah.
Instead, I watched Gates take from me. I watched his journey from the top, to higher, and pretended I cared, because I didn’t wanna be a bad sport. I liked my job. I liked performing in APW.
But I don’t. I don’t care. For as good as CJ is in that ring, and I know he is, because he BEAT me… all that talent… and I don’t care, because he doesn’t make me feel anything. He’s just a good wrestler in a silly hat with a catchphrase. I’m able to hype myself up for this contest ‘cause I know Logan would love the opportunity to defeat the unknown, and I would love the chance to beat a man I’ve never beaten. It’s human, and that desire is what drives us. But Smith, I don’t FEEL anything, so why’d you bring him?
He doesn’t have the history we have. He doesn’t have as much to prove here in this ring as we have to prove. He doesn’t belong here, and I plan on making that abundantly clear next Sunday. The three of us; you, me, Logan… we’ve put each other through pain in this business, and outside of this business that’s unimaginable to some of these men. Even Gates. I’m… I want him to feel just a fraction of it, y’know? And he’s gonna put on a great match, I’m sure, but I’m gonna hurt him. Logan can wrestle him. But I’m gonna hurt him. Because he doesn’t belong there.
Then I’m gonna wrestle you, and I’m gonna hurt you in a different way… by showing you how much better I really am… and I know you’re gonna deny it, and twist it, and make it seem like I’ve wronged you just by being better, but it’s not gonna get to me. And you already know that those games don’t work on Logan.
History’s written by the victors, Smith. That means you don’t get a pen.
You can throw your accolades and your empty World Title reigns in my face, but I have something that you don’t have, and something that you can’t take from me… I have a future, Smith. I don’t know about your mysterious ‘following’ and I don’t care to look into it, but I have friends in this business. Real, honest-to-God friends. Even Gates has that. And respect… and people that care… and my name? No matter how YOU feel about my name, it holds weight in this business.
And in the grand scheme, A.C. Smith, you don’t mean a damned thing. If you took your head out of your ass, not only would you realize that, but maybe you’d beat Logan and I.
So boys. After next Sunday, I’ll continue being a growing power in this business, and I’m gonna do it with the first person that ever gave me a chance. I’m gonna do this with Logan, because that’s the only way this feels right. We’re gonna put you down, especially you, CJ, and then you can both finally… go home…”
January 19, 2014
Las Vegas, Nevada
”How are you supposed to expect to work with him if you can’t even hold a conversation with him?”
”We’ve got nothing to talk about.”
”Bullshit. There’s plenty.”
”It’s not that simp--”
Aubrey J. Parker slammed her cell phone, which was already connecting toward a call which the screen clearly and simply displayed as ”LOGAN”, into Evan’s hand. The two were standing outside in the warm, but breezy Vegas streets, several hundreds of feets away from humanity, and perhaps seconds away from privacy. On the sidewalk, cars and buses hurled past them, and as the wind blew Parker’s dark hair in every which way, one thing that never seemed to become obscured was the small, coy smile wedged on her face. She guided Evan’s phone-wielding hand up toward his ear and Evan sighed as a tired voice responded on the other end.
”Yes?”
And Evan said the only thing that came to mind.
”Survive and Conquer. We, um… we’ll have company.”
For seconds there was silence on the other end, before finally, after an eternity, a weakly amused,
”Good.”
Location Unknown
”To say that my time in APW ended on a sour note might be a bit of an understatement, yeah? I mean, like-- how do I start to describe my final moments?
Alright, it was like this; my General Manager was out to get me and my best friend. Toward the end of everything, he openly admitted that. And for weeks, maybe months at that point, I’d been waging war against the Black Hand. For the most part it was just me and Jenny against them. Sure, we had help sometimes, and we couldn’t be more thankful for it, but we just couldn’t depend on others, y’know?
Things were rough, man.
I lost the Overdrive Title in a Ladder Match at Shockwave. The stipulation put in place was that if Tommy Knox beat me, no matter how it got done, then I was banned from appearing in APW ever again. That’s the summary. That’s… the black-and-white version.
I knew I’d be back one day. I vowed it. And though I didn’t think it’d be under these conditions… I’m ready. More than any North American, or Overdrive Title, or main event match before January 26th in Action Packed Wrestling, I’m ready for a fight, gentlemen.
We’re ready.”
But
I’M COMING FOR CLOSURE
I’M COMING FOR CLOSURE
January 3, 2014
Henderson, Nevada
”Are you sure this is something you really wanna do?”
Jenny Knite looked up at her best friend, her tag team partner, and her confidant, Evan Envi, with skepticism. He was bouncing his cell phone back and forth from palm to palm, gazing off into the distance, though seemed to acknowledge her question with a short nod.
”You doubt me?”
”It’s not you I’m worried about. Ev, how are we supposed to trust this guy? You don’t exactly have the smoothest relationship.”
”It’ll be fine.”
”And when’s the last time he wrestled? The summer?”
The two were seated in the large, open living room of Evan’s Henderson home-- Jenny, situated cross-legged on a temporarily misplaced futon, across from Evan, who reclined in a La-Z Boy, or some similar brand. The former “King of Overdrive” turned and settled his gaze on Jenny with a subtle, but warm smirk. He gestured toward her, as if implying that she should already know what he’s preparing to say.
”It’s like riding a bike. It’s something you never forget, especially when you’ve been doing it as long as Logan. Besides, I figured you, someone missing time because of a concussion, would have a little more empathy.”
There was silence between them for a few seconds and Jenny rubbed her temple with a palm, addressing Evan in a considerably softer tone than before.
”Why are you doing this anyway?”
”Hm?”
”The hell do you have to prove? You stomped Smith the last two or three times you’ve met in the ring, and CJ Gates? Gates? What does he even do now?! He’s probably fat, dude.”
”It’s not that complicated. I’ve never beat Gates, and I want to. Smith can’t seem to accept the fact that I’m better than him, and I want him to… alright?”
”Fine. But then we have Logan Alexander: someone unfit to carry your weight. Why didn’t you just ask me? I’m cleared to wrestle the day of Survive & Conquer! We--”
Evan raised a hand to silence her and shook his head.
”This has to happen, and it’s something I want. If Logan didn’t want to give this a shot, and if this was going to go as horribly as everybody assumes it’s gonna go, then he wouldn’t have agreed to come out of a self-imposed semi-retirement for one more match, would he?”
He paused to give Jenny an uneasy look, pushing himself upwards from his seat.
”And besides… don’t wanna take any risks with you. We already agreed on February, so why can’t we stick to that?”
”Because we agreed to it before I knew you’d be requesting the services of elderly men!”
”See, it’s when you say things like that. That’s why you don’t get invited to places for stuff.”
She folded her arms in dissatisfaction, remaining stationary momentarily as Evan guided himself out of the room, toward the narrow hallway that Jenny knew only led toward the back patio. She was on her feet within a few seconds, following idly. She watched as he walked with the mildest of limps… He walked with an arm lightly hugged around his ribs, shouldering open the screen door that took him to the outside. She caught it with her fingertips before it closed in her face, and even paused a few feet away, sighing and speaking to her quietly.
”Contrary to popular belief, I know what I’m doing.”
”Oh yeah? You know… you really, truly are spoiled in this business. And you don’t even know it.”
”Hah. How do you figure?”
”I mean… without A.C. and Logan, I don’t know if you’d even be here. How many times did Smith pull you out of the unemployment line? Twice now? And Logan literally took you under his wing when he never had to. And no matter how much you badmouth them, and use them, they still work with you. They still get in that ring with you and put on five-star matches. You’re spoiled, dorkus. And soon you’re not gonna have anyone to watch your back in these high-profile situations. How are you even gonna function without a cheerleader out there at Survive & Conquer?”
Evan smirked a little, though Jenny couldn’t see it.
”Turns out we do have somebody watching our back. She’ll be in our corner.”
Jenny folded her arms once again. This time, it was her smirk that may as well have been non-existent in regards to Evan. She felt that she didn’t need to ask, but she did anyway.
”Who?”
You seem to be doing fine
WELL, I’VE NEVER RECOVERED
WELL, I’VE NEVER RECOVERED
January 19, 2014
Henderson, Nevada
”On January 24th, I depart from Reno-Tahoe International Airport to Munich, Germany for Action Packed Wrestling’s penultimate event, Survive and Conquer. If you’d asked me about a month ago if I’d be holding this little stub in my hand with the anticipation of an APW match weighing on my mind, I’d have probably scoffed at you.
Unlike Smith, Gates, and even my own partner, I’ve remained active and more importantly, hungry since the autumn. I’m still fighting the best this business has ever bred, and I’ve still got my eye on my… first... World Heavyweight Championship. Unlike the other three, I’m in a position where I can’t AFFORD to fly out of Munich without the ‘W’. It means I lost to a underachiever who’s been lost in his glory days since before he even had glory days, and to APW’s spoiled gatekeeper… a pompous, vanilla ‘professional Plan B’ that never had to work for anything as long as I’ve known him.
A.C. and C.J. You’re perfect for each other. You’re two of the most complacent athletes I ever had the ‘pleasure’ of working with.
Smith, you’re one of the best big men in this business. Without hesitation, I’d say you’re one of the best wrestlers I’ve ever faced out there period, and I will NOT knock somebody for grabbing a championship and holding onto it and making it mean something. You did that with the Xtreme Title, and for nearly a year after winning it… you went on… and you beat some of the most mediocre names in wrestling today. Meanwhile, you held onto taking people like Level One to the limit and almost beating Terry Marvin.
You didn’t make your championship the most talked-about title in professional wrestling. I DID!
You didn’t hold victories over World Champions in APW. I did.
You didn’t take what you learned in APW and evolve. You… have never evolved. You criticize me, even to this very day, because I created Evan Envi, never asking me why I did it. You never cared what Evan Envi meant to Evan Harrison. You just wanted to point a finger and shout ’WRONG!’ at something. And when you realized that Evan Envi was exponentially better than you? Ohhooo… then you really got pissed off. You wouldn’t even SAY ‘Envi’. You literally pretend that Evan Envi doesn’t exist.
And if it were so simple, maybe you would’ve really been something in this company, but I was always there to remind you where you should’ve been. And really, you should thank me for it, because you proved time and time again that the Xtreme Division, a division which remained stagnant in your reign, was about as much as you were willing to take. Go ahead, though. Tell everyone how people like me DRAGGED that title through the mud. Tell everyone about how you’re the six-foot-seven, two hundred and seventy-five pound BIG APPLE ASSKICKER. Tell ‘em about my partner’s back injury. Please. Recycle your oh-so-clever ‘spineless’ joke. I know you’re proud.
Tell them something they don’t know, officer! Tell them about how you can BEAT me and Logan Alexander in 2014. You CAN’T!
CJ Gates! CJ Gates knows-- or knew-- how to get it done out in the ring against me, Smith. I could never beat Gates, and that was just one of the dozens of reasons that I hated him. And in not being able to defeat CJ Gates, I grew more frustrated with myself, y’know? Because I’m better than him.
CJ Gates-- he never had to work hard to get a World Championship match. CJ Gates, since 2012, can’t have possibly given a damn about this business because if he DID, then I would have felt something whenever he opened his mouth to bore us through one of us monologues. But… I didn’t. Did you, Smith?
No, when I watched CJ Gates last year, what I saw was an unnecessarily smug human being that only seemed to realize his own limitations when he was standing across the ring from somebody that was EQUALLY as overrated, Lester Only. Only difference was, Level One was interesting to watch at least once a month, whereas Gates actually made me question the price of our tickets.
I don’t like CJ Gates because I don’t think CJ deserved shot after shot after shot when people like Logan and myself never even got one. Never even got an opportunity! Hell-- I was never even invited to QUALIFY for a Test for the Best tournament, but CJ was given a World Title shot in the middle of the damned tournament! And I’m sitting in the back, hands at my sides, looking like an IDIOT, because I’m hearing that there’s gonna be some ‘surprise’ World Title match and I think-- like some dumbass-- that they’re gonna give it to somebody that hasn’t already blown it a dozen times.
But. Nah.
Instead, I watched Gates take from me. I watched his journey from the top, to higher, and pretended I cared, because I didn’t wanna be a bad sport. I liked my job. I liked performing in APW.
But I don’t. I don’t care. For as good as CJ is in that ring, and I know he is, because he BEAT me… all that talent… and I don’t care, because he doesn’t make me feel anything. He’s just a good wrestler in a silly hat with a catchphrase. I’m able to hype myself up for this contest ‘cause I know Logan would love the opportunity to defeat the unknown, and I would love the chance to beat a man I’ve never beaten. It’s human, and that desire is what drives us. But Smith, I don’t FEEL anything, so why’d you bring him?
He doesn’t have the history we have. He doesn’t have as much to prove here in this ring as we have to prove. He doesn’t belong here, and I plan on making that abundantly clear next Sunday. The three of us; you, me, Logan… we’ve put each other through pain in this business, and outside of this business that’s unimaginable to some of these men. Even Gates. I’m… I want him to feel just a fraction of it, y’know? And he’s gonna put on a great match, I’m sure, but I’m gonna hurt him. Logan can wrestle him. But I’m gonna hurt him. Because he doesn’t belong there.
Then I’m gonna wrestle you, and I’m gonna hurt you in a different way… by showing you how much better I really am… and I know you’re gonna deny it, and twist it, and make it seem like I’ve wronged you just by being better, but it’s not gonna get to me. And you already know that those games don’t work on Logan.
History’s written by the victors, Smith. That means you don’t get a pen.
You can throw your accolades and your empty World Title reigns in my face, but I have something that you don’t have, and something that you can’t take from me… I have a future, Smith. I don’t know about your mysterious ‘following’ and I don’t care to look into it, but I have friends in this business. Real, honest-to-God friends. Even Gates has that. And respect… and people that care… and my name? No matter how YOU feel about my name, it holds weight in this business.
And in the grand scheme, A.C. Smith, you don’t mean a damned thing. If you took your head out of your ass, not only would you realize that, but maybe you’d beat Logan and I.
So boys. After next Sunday, I’ll continue being a growing power in this business, and I’m gonna do it with the first person that ever gave me a chance. I’m gonna do this with Logan, because that’s the only way this feels right. We’re gonna put you down, especially you, CJ, and then you can both finally… go home…”
I just
HATE TO BE THE BAD GUY
HATE TO BE THE BAD GUY
January 19, 2014
Las Vegas, Nevada
”How are you supposed to expect to work with him if you can’t even hold a conversation with him?”
”We’ve got nothing to talk about.”
”Bullshit. There’s plenty.”
”It’s not that simp--”
Aubrey J. Parker slammed her cell phone, which was already connecting toward a call which the screen clearly and simply displayed as ”LOGAN”, into Evan’s hand. The two were standing outside in the warm, but breezy Vegas streets, several hundreds of feets away from humanity, and perhaps seconds away from privacy. On the sidewalk, cars and buses hurled past them, and as the wind blew Parker’s dark hair in every which way, one thing that never seemed to become obscured was the small, coy smile wedged on her face. She guided Evan’s phone-wielding hand up toward his ear and Evan sighed as a tired voice responded on the other end.
”Yes?”
And Evan said the only thing that came to mind.
”Survive and Conquer. We, um… we’ll have company.”
For seconds there was silence on the other end, before finally, after an eternity, a weakly amused,
”Good.”
