Post by A.C. Smith on Mar 8, 2014 2:49:50 GMT -4
Our scene opens today in the sprawling New York City penthouse of the Big Apple Asskicker, A.C. Smith. It hasn't changed much since we last saw it several months ago. Everything is in pristine condition, from the wall-to-wall carpeting everywhere but the kitchen to the sleek furniture in the living room to the state-of-the-art electrical appliances around the apartment.
We hear heavy footsteps coming from down the hall. However, these feet do not belong to the longest-reigning Xtreme Champion in the history of Action Packed Wrestling, but to two of his closest comrades: Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch and Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker.
The two appear to be checking around, making sure their friend's not-so-humble abode is in tip-top shape. After a few moments, though, the penthouse's doorbell rings, startling the two house-sitters.
Bobby: “Should we get it?”
A few seconds later, the doorbell rings again, leaving the two no choice but to walk through the dining room and kitchen toward the front door. Stevie reaches out and turns the knob before pulling the door back to reveal the lovely Roxanne, who has a worried look on her face.
Roxanne: “Hey, guys. What's going on?”
Stevie: “What do you mean?”
Roxanne: “A.C. He's not answering his phone, he's not texting, he's been in the wind for the last three days.”
Bobby: “He didn't tell you?”
Roxanne: “Tell me what?”
Stevie: “Well, when he challenged Evan to a match at RassleMania and said he wanted no outside influences, he meant it. We're not going to Toronto, and neither...”
Stevie doesn't say the words “are you.” He doesn't have to.
Roxanne: “Why would he just bolt? And why wouldn't he want us going with him when we've been there for him all this time?”
Bobby: “Because RassleMania's about something different than winning and losing.”
Roxanne: “What's it about, then?”
Bobby and Stevie looks at each other before the latter looks back at Smith's love interest.
Stevie: “Pride.”
That word echoes around A.C.'s loft, and our scene fades to black.
---
We fade back up on an outdoor ice rink. This is pond hockey at its finest, with two teams of five kids apiece each skating back and forth and enjoying Canada's national pastime in the thick of a very harsh, brutal winter. As the children dart every which way pursuing the puck, our camera zooms out, and we see a bundled-up A.C. Smith looking on.
The Big Apple Asskicker is no stranger to cold weather, but on this particularly bitter day, even the APW Xtreme Champion is feeling the freezing cold temperatures. His hands are inside the pockets of his bulky, tan winter coat, and his ears, forehead, and brown hair are covered by a matching ski hat, and we see his blue jeans are tucked inside steel-toed boots.
Smith inhales deeply and exhales a few seconds later, seeing his own breath before turning toward the camera. He nods, knowing this is the first time in six weeks his fans will have heard from him, and the camera zooms in slightly as he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “To the outside observer, I didn't need to come back for RassleMania X. I went out a winner at Survive and Conquer, where I teamed with C.J. Gates to dispatch two men I've known for the better part of a decade. But even after that, even after one of the greatest matches of my career, there was...unfinished business.”
We hear the puck clang off the post of one of the makeshift goals. After the puck has settled on the ice, Smith resumes speaking.
A.C.: “Evan Harrison and I will be forever linked. That's just a fact. I've seen every step of his development as a wrestler and as a man, from Evan Heir to Evan Harrison to Evan Envi. We've been best friends. We've been worst enemies. We've been teacher and student. And later this month, at Action Packed Wrestling's official curtain call, they've saved what could be the final match between us for the final night of a three-day-long extravaganza.
“When I challenged Evan to this match after our little rendezvous at Survive and Conquer, it was with one thing in mind. It wasn't glory, or shutting him up, or anything petty like that. This was purely out of the desire to see, after all this time, which one of us was best. There are very few unanswered questions I have left in my career. This one, though? That's one of them.”
A pause.
A.C.: “Every time we've tried to settle that score, things have happened. Aubrey Parker's butted in. Tyler Harrison's butted in. Bobby and Stevie have gotten involved. The political world has reared its ugly head. This time around, NONE of those factors will be in play.
“I left Bobby, Stevie, and Roxanne at home. I love those people. They're my best friends, and in Roxanne's case, the closest thing to a soul mate I'll probably ever find. But I need to go into RassleMania as one man, with one mindset and one goal.
“I need to concentrate on settling a score that should have been settled long ago. I need to put the finishing touches on one of this sport's greatest rivalries, one that's captivated fans and left them wondering the same thing I wondered at Survive and Conquer.
“I need to beat Evan Harrison. I need to do it cleanly, and in a manner that leaves no doubt as to who the better man is.”
Smith's nostrils flare. We see a bit of mucus running to his mustache line, and the Big Apple Asskicker quickly brushes the back of his right hand to his face before the stream gets to his upper lip.
A.C.: “I've been in this business a long time, about 12 years now. When you stay around as long as I have, you figure out what's important and what isn't. Titles are great. I'll always treasure the fact that I'm the longest-reigning APW Xtreme Champion in history, a list that includes several Hall of Famers and a bunch of other great wrestlers. But this match at RassleMania X? Any Xtreme Championship defense pales in comparison.
“It's the biggest stage in my sport. It's the final night of Action Packed Wrestling's long, storied history. There was no way I was staying home, and there was no way I was wrestling my last match under the APW banner with anyone other than the man I challenged that night in Germany.”
Smith takes a deep, reflective breath. Once again, we see the air discharged from his lungs when he exhales, and he nods ever so slightly before refocusing on the camera.
A.C.: “There are a lot of similarities between Evan Harrison and myself. Both of us are extremely hungry. We work our asses off every time we set foot in the squared circle, and we're dedicated to giving our fans the greatest shows money can buy.
“The biggest difference between Evan and myself, though, is why I have devoted every ounce of myself to beating him at RassleMania X. I've stayed true to my beliefs for my entire career, a system of busting your ass, leaving everything you have in the ring every single night, and bringing honor, integrity, and dignity to a sport that desperately needs it.
“Evan Harrison? By comparison, he's still a kid, with his wandering eyes and ever-changing philosophies on who's to blame for him never reaching his ridiculously-lofty potential. Sometimes it's my fault. Sometimes it's the fault of the fans who made him a star. Sometimes it's the fault of some other Megastar who had the gall to get into his head. But there's one constant in all of this: That person, the one who's to blame for Evan Harrison never becoming king of the wrestling world? It's never Evan Harrison.”
Smith shakes his head.
A.C.: “As long as I've known him, which is a long, long time, Evan Harrison has never done the one thing every champion must do at some point in time. He's never taken a good, long look in a mirror and said to himself, 'Self, what have I been doing wrong, and how can I make myself better for it in the long run?'
“The great ones can realize what's going wrong, know how to correct it, and make the necessary adjustments in order to get to that next level. The greats, not just in wrestling, but in any sport, have backup plans good enough to pull things out when things get rough, to succeed with their B-games and C-games when others are putting their A-games on display.
“I made a career out of that. I am a six-time World Champion, the longest-reigning Xtreme Champion in the proud history of Action Packed Wrestling, and one of the most popular wrestlers on the planet. None of that is an accident. I've worked my ass off every day and every night to make myself the best I can be, and that includes acknowledging the times when I was far from that.
“Later this month here in Toronto, I can assure you that I WILL be at my best. I have spent the last month or so since Survive and Conquer studying Evan Harrison, taking notes, preparing for everything that man could possibly throw at me. I can't tell you what he's been doing since accepting my challenge, but I can guarantee you this: He hasn't been working NEARLY as hard as I have, because it's just not in his nature to do it.
“That attribute is what separates me from everyone else in this business. I've put this on display many times over the years. I have used this difference to headline shows all over the world, to build the greatest fanbase a man could ever ask for...and to end careers.”
Smith has been very philosophical ever since we joined him here in the Great White North, but at this point, we see his nostrils flare. His facial disposition becomes much more intense, and when he speaks again, he does so in a measured, deliberate tone.
A.C.: “Need a little refresher course? Okay. Quade deSade was the best AWA No Limits Champion in history. I destroyed him in my first month in that company, and he never won another title. Jeff Christiansen was a Hall of Famer. I powerbombed him through a table, and he's still burrowing through the ground someplace along with Brian Williams, who I put through the ring. While they're in wrestling hell, maybe they can chat with Tyler Harrison, Mike Voland, Snake, Kyle Travis, Michael Lively, and Nathaniel Havok, all of whom vowed to stop me and were never the same after I ran them over.
“A lot of these names mean nothing to those associated with APW. But they mean a whole hell of a lot to one person. That one person, of course, is Evan Harrison, who was around for ALL of this and saw a whole mess of people write checks with their mouths that their asses couldn't cash. He knows damn well what I can do when I lock myself on a target, and in this case, the man in my crosshairs is a man I've known longer than just about anyone in this business.
“Evan Harrison WANTS to beat me at RassleMania X. Evan Harrison would like nothing more than to end his APW career with the boldest of exclamation points, by vanquishing his longtime rival in front of one of the biggest audiences to ever see a wrestling event. Evan Harrison may very well be planning his victory parade down the streets of Ocean City, planning on throwing out the first pitch at a home game at Camden Yards, planning on leaving Toronto as some sort of a hero.
“His problem? I won't let that happen. Because while he WANTS to win...I NEED to win.”
Smith looks squarely into the camera lens. While this will eventually be seen by a worldwide audience of wrestling fans, at this point, he's talking to an audience of one.
A.C.: “Evan, the best you ever were was when you listened to me. Ever since you decided you wanted to go a different direction, you've allowed yourself to fall into so many traps that a man of your ability never should. You think you're God's gift to wrestling, but you're nowhere near mentally ready to accept that kind of responsibility.
“I've never made those kinds of claims about myself. All I have ever promised to myself, to my fans, to EVERYONE, is that I will always give EVERYTHING I have from bell to bell. And when all the chips are down, when all the eyes of the wrestling world are watching me, that approach, more often than not, has worked wonders. It's why I have the following I have, why I have the reputation I have as one of the most clutch performers in APW history, and why I am as confident as can be heading into RassleMania X.
“Evan, you know what you're getting when you step into that ring with me later this month, and you know EXACTLY how deadly I can be when I'm going after something I want. Ask your brother, if he ever gets time off from whatever rocket scientist job he has now. Ask any of the other guys I mentioned, if you can find them in whatever rabbit holes they're hiding in. They'll all tell you the same thing: When I'm faced with a climactic, winner-take-all battle...I. DO. NOT. LOSE.
“You may WANT to win. But I NEED to win. I need to teach you the lesson that you were always too stubborn to learn. I need to show you that the way you've done business for so long, the reprehensible way you've conducted yourself, doesn't pay. And I need to prove, once and for all, that I'm BETTER than the man I've been linked to for almost 10 long years.
“Evan, I'll see you in a few weeks. Until then, I leave you with these words: Be ready. Be ready for the biggest match of your life. Be ready for the kind of fight you grew up dreaming about. Be ready for the whole world to watch as two men, born to be rivals, duke it out once again, in one historic last dance for all the marbles.
“And Evan...be ready to see ME standing tall when it's over.”
Smith finally blinks for the first time in what seems like an eternity. Air comes out of his flared nostrils, and the Big Apple Asskicker's face is beet-red, half from the cold and half from the fire that burns beneath him.
Carefully, A.C. walks away from the camera, trudging through the snow and out of the shot. We hear a puck land in a net, and as we observe one group of children celebrating wildly, our scene fades to black.
We hear heavy footsteps coming from down the hall. However, these feet do not belong to the longest-reigning Xtreme Champion in the history of Action Packed Wrestling, but to two of his closest comrades: Bobby the Bavarian Man-Bitch and Stevie the Slovakian Slobberknocker.
The two appear to be checking around, making sure their friend's not-so-humble abode is in tip-top shape. After a few moments, though, the penthouse's doorbell rings, startling the two house-sitters.
Bobby: “Should we get it?”
A few seconds later, the doorbell rings again, leaving the two no choice but to walk through the dining room and kitchen toward the front door. Stevie reaches out and turns the knob before pulling the door back to reveal the lovely Roxanne, who has a worried look on her face.
Roxanne: “Hey, guys. What's going on?”
Stevie: “What do you mean?”
Roxanne: “A.C. He's not answering his phone, he's not texting, he's been in the wind for the last three days.”
Bobby: “He didn't tell you?”
Roxanne: “Tell me what?”
Stevie: “Well, when he challenged Evan to a match at RassleMania and said he wanted no outside influences, he meant it. We're not going to Toronto, and neither...”
Stevie doesn't say the words “are you.” He doesn't have to.
Roxanne: “Why would he just bolt? And why wouldn't he want us going with him when we've been there for him all this time?”
Bobby: “Because RassleMania's about something different than winning and losing.”
Roxanne: “What's it about, then?”
Bobby and Stevie looks at each other before the latter looks back at Smith's love interest.
Stevie: “Pride.”
That word echoes around A.C.'s loft, and our scene fades to black.
---
We fade back up on an outdoor ice rink. This is pond hockey at its finest, with two teams of five kids apiece each skating back and forth and enjoying Canada's national pastime in the thick of a very harsh, brutal winter. As the children dart every which way pursuing the puck, our camera zooms out, and we see a bundled-up A.C. Smith looking on.
The Big Apple Asskicker is no stranger to cold weather, but on this particularly bitter day, even the APW Xtreme Champion is feeling the freezing cold temperatures. His hands are inside the pockets of his bulky, tan winter coat, and his ears, forehead, and brown hair are covered by a matching ski hat, and we see his blue jeans are tucked inside steel-toed boots.
Smith inhales deeply and exhales a few seconds later, seeing his own breath before turning toward the camera. He nods, knowing this is the first time in six weeks his fans will have heard from him, and the camera zooms in slightly as he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “To the outside observer, I didn't need to come back for RassleMania X. I went out a winner at Survive and Conquer, where I teamed with C.J. Gates to dispatch two men I've known for the better part of a decade. But even after that, even after one of the greatest matches of my career, there was...unfinished business.”
We hear the puck clang off the post of one of the makeshift goals. After the puck has settled on the ice, Smith resumes speaking.
A.C.: “Evan Harrison and I will be forever linked. That's just a fact. I've seen every step of his development as a wrestler and as a man, from Evan Heir to Evan Harrison to Evan Envi. We've been best friends. We've been worst enemies. We've been teacher and student. And later this month, at Action Packed Wrestling's official curtain call, they've saved what could be the final match between us for the final night of a three-day-long extravaganza.
“When I challenged Evan to this match after our little rendezvous at Survive and Conquer, it was with one thing in mind. It wasn't glory, or shutting him up, or anything petty like that. This was purely out of the desire to see, after all this time, which one of us was best. There are very few unanswered questions I have left in my career. This one, though? That's one of them.”
A pause.
A.C.: “Every time we've tried to settle that score, things have happened. Aubrey Parker's butted in. Tyler Harrison's butted in. Bobby and Stevie have gotten involved. The political world has reared its ugly head. This time around, NONE of those factors will be in play.
“I left Bobby, Stevie, and Roxanne at home. I love those people. They're my best friends, and in Roxanne's case, the closest thing to a soul mate I'll probably ever find. But I need to go into RassleMania as one man, with one mindset and one goal.
“I need to concentrate on settling a score that should have been settled long ago. I need to put the finishing touches on one of this sport's greatest rivalries, one that's captivated fans and left them wondering the same thing I wondered at Survive and Conquer.
“I need to beat Evan Harrison. I need to do it cleanly, and in a manner that leaves no doubt as to who the better man is.”
Smith's nostrils flare. We see a bit of mucus running to his mustache line, and the Big Apple Asskicker quickly brushes the back of his right hand to his face before the stream gets to his upper lip.
A.C.: “I've been in this business a long time, about 12 years now. When you stay around as long as I have, you figure out what's important and what isn't. Titles are great. I'll always treasure the fact that I'm the longest-reigning APW Xtreme Champion in history, a list that includes several Hall of Famers and a bunch of other great wrestlers. But this match at RassleMania X? Any Xtreme Championship defense pales in comparison.
“It's the biggest stage in my sport. It's the final night of Action Packed Wrestling's long, storied history. There was no way I was staying home, and there was no way I was wrestling my last match under the APW banner with anyone other than the man I challenged that night in Germany.”
Smith takes a deep, reflective breath. Once again, we see the air discharged from his lungs when he exhales, and he nods ever so slightly before refocusing on the camera.
A.C.: “There are a lot of similarities between Evan Harrison and myself. Both of us are extremely hungry. We work our asses off every time we set foot in the squared circle, and we're dedicated to giving our fans the greatest shows money can buy.
“The biggest difference between Evan and myself, though, is why I have devoted every ounce of myself to beating him at RassleMania X. I've stayed true to my beliefs for my entire career, a system of busting your ass, leaving everything you have in the ring every single night, and bringing honor, integrity, and dignity to a sport that desperately needs it.
“Evan Harrison? By comparison, he's still a kid, with his wandering eyes and ever-changing philosophies on who's to blame for him never reaching his ridiculously-lofty potential. Sometimes it's my fault. Sometimes it's the fault of the fans who made him a star. Sometimes it's the fault of some other Megastar who had the gall to get into his head. But there's one constant in all of this: That person, the one who's to blame for Evan Harrison never becoming king of the wrestling world? It's never Evan Harrison.”
Smith shakes his head.
A.C.: “As long as I've known him, which is a long, long time, Evan Harrison has never done the one thing every champion must do at some point in time. He's never taken a good, long look in a mirror and said to himself, 'Self, what have I been doing wrong, and how can I make myself better for it in the long run?'
“The great ones can realize what's going wrong, know how to correct it, and make the necessary adjustments in order to get to that next level. The greats, not just in wrestling, but in any sport, have backup plans good enough to pull things out when things get rough, to succeed with their B-games and C-games when others are putting their A-games on display.
“I made a career out of that. I am a six-time World Champion, the longest-reigning Xtreme Champion in the proud history of Action Packed Wrestling, and one of the most popular wrestlers on the planet. None of that is an accident. I've worked my ass off every day and every night to make myself the best I can be, and that includes acknowledging the times when I was far from that.
“Later this month here in Toronto, I can assure you that I WILL be at my best. I have spent the last month or so since Survive and Conquer studying Evan Harrison, taking notes, preparing for everything that man could possibly throw at me. I can't tell you what he's been doing since accepting my challenge, but I can guarantee you this: He hasn't been working NEARLY as hard as I have, because it's just not in his nature to do it.
“That attribute is what separates me from everyone else in this business. I've put this on display many times over the years. I have used this difference to headline shows all over the world, to build the greatest fanbase a man could ever ask for...and to end careers.”
Smith has been very philosophical ever since we joined him here in the Great White North, but at this point, we see his nostrils flare. His facial disposition becomes much more intense, and when he speaks again, he does so in a measured, deliberate tone.
A.C.: “Need a little refresher course? Okay. Quade deSade was the best AWA No Limits Champion in history. I destroyed him in my first month in that company, and he never won another title. Jeff Christiansen was a Hall of Famer. I powerbombed him through a table, and he's still burrowing through the ground someplace along with Brian Williams, who I put through the ring. While they're in wrestling hell, maybe they can chat with Tyler Harrison, Mike Voland, Snake, Kyle Travis, Michael Lively, and Nathaniel Havok, all of whom vowed to stop me and were never the same after I ran them over.
“A lot of these names mean nothing to those associated with APW. But they mean a whole hell of a lot to one person. That one person, of course, is Evan Harrison, who was around for ALL of this and saw a whole mess of people write checks with their mouths that their asses couldn't cash. He knows damn well what I can do when I lock myself on a target, and in this case, the man in my crosshairs is a man I've known longer than just about anyone in this business.
“Evan Harrison WANTS to beat me at RassleMania X. Evan Harrison would like nothing more than to end his APW career with the boldest of exclamation points, by vanquishing his longtime rival in front of one of the biggest audiences to ever see a wrestling event. Evan Harrison may very well be planning his victory parade down the streets of Ocean City, planning on throwing out the first pitch at a home game at Camden Yards, planning on leaving Toronto as some sort of a hero.
“His problem? I won't let that happen. Because while he WANTS to win...I NEED to win.”
Smith looks squarely into the camera lens. While this will eventually be seen by a worldwide audience of wrestling fans, at this point, he's talking to an audience of one.
A.C.: “Evan, the best you ever were was when you listened to me. Ever since you decided you wanted to go a different direction, you've allowed yourself to fall into so many traps that a man of your ability never should. You think you're God's gift to wrestling, but you're nowhere near mentally ready to accept that kind of responsibility.
“I've never made those kinds of claims about myself. All I have ever promised to myself, to my fans, to EVERYONE, is that I will always give EVERYTHING I have from bell to bell. And when all the chips are down, when all the eyes of the wrestling world are watching me, that approach, more often than not, has worked wonders. It's why I have the following I have, why I have the reputation I have as one of the most clutch performers in APW history, and why I am as confident as can be heading into RassleMania X.
“Evan, you know what you're getting when you step into that ring with me later this month, and you know EXACTLY how deadly I can be when I'm going after something I want. Ask your brother, if he ever gets time off from whatever rocket scientist job he has now. Ask any of the other guys I mentioned, if you can find them in whatever rabbit holes they're hiding in. They'll all tell you the same thing: When I'm faced with a climactic, winner-take-all battle...I. DO. NOT. LOSE.
“You may WANT to win. But I NEED to win. I need to teach you the lesson that you were always too stubborn to learn. I need to show you that the way you've done business for so long, the reprehensible way you've conducted yourself, doesn't pay. And I need to prove, once and for all, that I'm BETTER than the man I've been linked to for almost 10 long years.
“Evan, I'll see you in a few weeks. Until then, I leave you with these words: Be ready. Be ready for the biggest match of your life. Be ready for the kind of fight you grew up dreaming about. Be ready for the whole world to watch as two men, born to be rivals, duke it out once again, in one historic last dance for all the marbles.
“And Evan...be ready to see ME standing tall when it's over.”
Smith finally blinks for the first time in what seems like an eternity. Air comes out of his flared nostrils, and the Big Apple Asskicker's face is beet-red, half from the cold and half from the fire that burns beneath him.
Carefully, A.C. walks away from the camera, trudging through the snow and out of the shot. We hear a puck land in a net, and as we observe one group of children celebrating wildly, our scene fades to black.
