Post by A.C. Smith on Jun 13, 2015 20:09:12 GMT -4
“It took a lot to get the itch back. But once it came back, I knew there was only one way to scratch it.”
We fade up from black to see a sight we saw plenty of times in Action Packed Wrestling’s heyday: The Big Apple Asskicker, A.C. Smith, sitting in the home gym of his New York City penthouse, drenched in sweat. He’s slouched over with a while towel resting on his broad, muscular shoulders, with perspiration running down his forehead and past his bare chest.
Smith is no spring chicken anymore. Now 34 and semi-retired from professional wrestling, he’s assumed a different role in the business as a mentor to one of Sin City Wrestling’s brightest young stars. However, he’s recently come back to the East Coast, and judging by his physique, his training regimen hasn’t gotten any easier.
A.C. turns his head to the camera, and his brown eyes lock into the lens as he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “I was pretty happily semi-retired. I’ve taken some pride in mentoring Alejandro Escobar, who’s done OK for himself out in Vegas. I sure didn’t need the money, and I’m not using this weekend as any sort of a springboard to anything bigger or for another chance at the spotlight.
“When I heard Johnny Rebel was going to be running things at an Action Packed Wrestling reunion show, I got curious. I had a lot of fun in APW. I was the longest-reigning APW Xtreme Champion in company history. I wrestled some of my best matches here, against guys like Terry Marvin, Level-One, and Evan Harrison.
“Some might say that I should leave those times in the past. Those people are wrong. I’m not as young as I was a few years ago, but I can still go with the best of them. I still work out just as hard as I ever did, I’m still in tremendous shape, and I can still take a beating and keep on ticking.
“This weekend in Charlotte, I get Streets Wilson. He won a couple of titles here in APW’s heyday, and there was even a time where he held the belt I still keep as one of the most valuable trophies of my career, the Xtreme title. But that’s about the only similarity between us.
“In fact, we couldn’t be much more different if we TRIED.”
Smith takes a deep sigh, and we hear the air go in and out of his lungs as the Big Apple Asskicker’s 6’8”, 275-pound frame expands and contracts.
A.C.: “He’s a convict who will snap at the slightest provocation. I’m a former cop, the kind of cop who would have stopped at nothing to throw his ass in jail in a past life. Streets Wilson probably thinks he’s tougher than me. He isn’t. I’ve guzzled people like him all my life in the name of protecting things that are important to me.
“At one point in life, that important thing was New York City. At another, it was my status as one of the most popular professional wrestlers in the world. Then, it was the Action Packed Wrestling Xtreme Championship. Finally, it was my father’s good name, which we thankfully restored a few weeks before he died.
“You go through what I’ve been through, and toughness isn’t an issue. You go through what I went through, and snapping back to ‘professional wrestler’ mode is as easy as pie. It’s like putting on an old pair of jeans. After a few seconds, it’s like you were born to wear them.
“I was born to be a professional wrestler. I was born to be an ambassador for this business, the kind of guy people could easily rally behind when they pay their money to sit in that arena. Streets Wilson? I don’t know what he was born to do. Neither does he. Everywhere he goes, drama and carnage tend to follow. And I have very little tolerance for people like that.”
There it is. The glare. A.C. Smith has always been known for his razor-sharp focus, both in and out of the ring, and that hasn’t gone away despite his hiatus from active competition.
Smith’s brown eyes, never blinking, never wavering, once again lock on to the camera lens. His nostrils flare, and one message is made instantly clear: This man is all-business.
A.C.: “If he thinks he’s going to scare me with his antics, he’s dead wrong. I know exactly what Streets Wilson is. He isn’t a dangerous man. He isn’t a killer. He’s a PUNK.”
Smith pauses, letting that last word echo around the spacious home gym before continuing.
A.C.: “He’s like so many others I’ve dealt with over the years. People like him look really tough and really scary…right up until someone hits them in the mouth. I’ve thrived on that for more than a decade, and I’ve stayed several steps ahead of pond scum like Streets Wilson BECAUSE I can think, adjust, and find ways to stay in control.
“Streets Wilson has a history of looking awfully tough when you see him outside of the ring. Whenever he’s buying drugs, or in a situation where deadly weapons are involved, or in his element, he looks like the baddest man on the planet.
“This weekend in Charlotte, though, Streets Wilson won’t BE in that element. The ring is my turf, my sanctuary, the place where order is restored. He may think he’s got the upper hand because of how tough he thinks he is. He couldn’t POSSIBLY be more wrong.
“Streets Wilson goes through life looking for people to take advantage of, and people like that piss me off.”
Smith rises to his full 6’8” height, standing up and shaking out his long legs while also loosening up his arms and back.
A.C.: “I’m not as young as I once was. But I’m just as dangerous as I’ve ever been, as Streets Wilson and the rest of the wrestling world will find out this weekend in Charlotte. I have nothing left to prove, nor do I have anything to lose, really. I’m very satisfied with my legacy in this business, and nothing that happens at this reunion show is going to change that.
“I came back because I had an itch I needed to scratch. When you’ve been at the top of professional wrestling for more than a decade, the need for the rush doesn’t just go away. I had an opportunity to step in an APW ring one more time, and unfortunately for Streets Wilson, I took it.
“Streets, you’re in my house. And if you think for one second I’m intimidated by you, you’re dead wrong. I hit as hard as I’ve ever hit. I move as well as I’ve ever moved. And when all the dust settles in Charlotte, our match will tell a very familiar story, one of good triumphing over evil and A.C. Smith standing as tall as he’s ever stood.”
Satisfied that he’s made his point, Smith walks past the camera and out of the shot. We hear a door open behind the camera, and an instant after we hear it slam shut, our scene fades to black.
We fade up from black to see a sight we saw plenty of times in Action Packed Wrestling’s heyday: The Big Apple Asskicker, A.C. Smith, sitting in the home gym of his New York City penthouse, drenched in sweat. He’s slouched over with a while towel resting on his broad, muscular shoulders, with perspiration running down his forehead and past his bare chest.
Smith is no spring chicken anymore. Now 34 and semi-retired from professional wrestling, he’s assumed a different role in the business as a mentor to one of Sin City Wrestling’s brightest young stars. However, he’s recently come back to the East Coast, and judging by his physique, his training regimen hasn’t gotten any easier.
A.C. turns his head to the camera, and his brown eyes lock into the lens as he opens his mouth to speak.
A.C.: “I was pretty happily semi-retired. I’ve taken some pride in mentoring Alejandro Escobar, who’s done OK for himself out in Vegas. I sure didn’t need the money, and I’m not using this weekend as any sort of a springboard to anything bigger or for another chance at the spotlight.
“When I heard Johnny Rebel was going to be running things at an Action Packed Wrestling reunion show, I got curious. I had a lot of fun in APW. I was the longest-reigning APW Xtreme Champion in company history. I wrestled some of my best matches here, against guys like Terry Marvin, Level-One, and Evan Harrison.
“Some might say that I should leave those times in the past. Those people are wrong. I’m not as young as I was a few years ago, but I can still go with the best of them. I still work out just as hard as I ever did, I’m still in tremendous shape, and I can still take a beating and keep on ticking.
“This weekend in Charlotte, I get Streets Wilson. He won a couple of titles here in APW’s heyday, and there was even a time where he held the belt I still keep as one of the most valuable trophies of my career, the Xtreme title. But that’s about the only similarity between us.
“In fact, we couldn’t be much more different if we TRIED.”
Smith takes a deep sigh, and we hear the air go in and out of his lungs as the Big Apple Asskicker’s 6’8”, 275-pound frame expands and contracts.
A.C.: “He’s a convict who will snap at the slightest provocation. I’m a former cop, the kind of cop who would have stopped at nothing to throw his ass in jail in a past life. Streets Wilson probably thinks he’s tougher than me. He isn’t. I’ve guzzled people like him all my life in the name of protecting things that are important to me.
“At one point in life, that important thing was New York City. At another, it was my status as one of the most popular professional wrestlers in the world. Then, it was the Action Packed Wrestling Xtreme Championship. Finally, it was my father’s good name, which we thankfully restored a few weeks before he died.
“You go through what I’ve been through, and toughness isn’t an issue. You go through what I went through, and snapping back to ‘professional wrestler’ mode is as easy as pie. It’s like putting on an old pair of jeans. After a few seconds, it’s like you were born to wear them.
“I was born to be a professional wrestler. I was born to be an ambassador for this business, the kind of guy people could easily rally behind when they pay their money to sit in that arena. Streets Wilson? I don’t know what he was born to do. Neither does he. Everywhere he goes, drama and carnage tend to follow. And I have very little tolerance for people like that.”
There it is. The glare. A.C. Smith has always been known for his razor-sharp focus, both in and out of the ring, and that hasn’t gone away despite his hiatus from active competition.
Smith’s brown eyes, never blinking, never wavering, once again lock on to the camera lens. His nostrils flare, and one message is made instantly clear: This man is all-business.
A.C.: “If he thinks he’s going to scare me with his antics, he’s dead wrong. I know exactly what Streets Wilson is. He isn’t a dangerous man. He isn’t a killer. He’s a PUNK.”
Smith pauses, letting that last word echo around the spacious home gym before continuing.
A.C.: “He’s like so many others I’ve dealt with over the years. People like him look really tough and really scary…right up until someone hits them in the mouth. I’ve thrived on that for more than a decade, and I’ve stayed several steps ahead of pond scum like Streets Wilson BECAUSE I can think, adjust, and find ways to stay in control.
“Streets Wilson has a history of looking awfully tough when you see him outside of the ring. Whenever he’s buying drugs, or in a situation where deadly weapons are involved, or in his element, he looks like the baddest man on the planet.
“This weekend in Charlotte, though, Streets Wilson won’t BE in that element. The ring is my turf, my sanctuary, the place where order is restored. He may think he’s got the upper hand because of how tough he thinks he is. He couldn’t POSSIBLY be more wrong.
“Streets Wilson goes through life looking for people to take advantage of, and people like that piss me off.”
Smith rises to his full 6’8” height, standing up and shaking out his long legs while also loosening up his arms and back.
A.C.: “I’m not as young as I once was. But I’m just as dangerous as I’ve ever been, as Streets Wilson and the rest of the wrestling world will find out this weekend in Charlotte. I have nothing left to prove, nor do I have anything to lose, really. I’m very satisfied with my legacy in this business, and nothing that happens at this reunion show is going to change that.
“I came back because I had an itch I needed to scratch. When you’ve been at the top of professional wrestling for more than a decade, the need for the rush doesn’t just go away. I had an opportunity to step in an APW ring one more time, and unfortunately for Streets Wilson, I took it.
“Streets, you’re in my house. And if you think for one second I’m intimidated by you, you’re dead wrong. I hit as hard as I’ve ever hit. I move as well as I’ve ever moved. And when all the dust settles in Charlotte, our match will tell a very familiar story, one of good triumphing over evil and A.C. Smith standing as tall as he’s ever stood.”
Satisfied that he’s made his point, Smith walks past the camera and out of the shot. We hear a door open behind the camera, and an instant after we hear it slam shut, our scene fades to black.
