Post by Andrew Jacobsen on Jul 3, 2017 3:22:39 GMT
I want to take a minute, before I start talking about my match this week, to thank you. Yes, you. Watching at home. I want to thank each and every one of the IWF fans all over the world. Without you guys, none of this matters. Without you, we have no venue to do the crazy, death-defying things we do. You're the glue that keeps us all together, the fuel that keeps the motor of the Imperial Wrestling Federation running, and without you, there'd be no way that this kid from Minneapolis would be able to live his dream the way I've been able to. Thank you for seven and a half amazing years, and here's to so many more. I love you all...or, since we're in Paris this week, je vous aime tous.
This might seem like an odd time for an aside like that, but the truth is, it couldn't be more timely. James Gilmore is a man who has reinvented himself on the road of division and hate. When he made mistakes, instead of owning up to them, he doubled down. And he's made sure to try to drag everyone around him down to his level. He's accused me of moral failings because I wasn't part of the contingent that pulled Spike Kane off of him. Why wasn't I? Because I was in the back, in a locker room without a television, preparing for my match. I don't usually spend all of my time glued to a monitor. Trust me, if I'd known about what was happening when it happened, I would have been down there like a shot. I wasn't. That's on me. But James...you've done plenty since then to burn up any goodwill you would have had with me.
You've talked about making IWF great again. What does great mean to you? Because from where I'm standing, to you, great means you and you alone. People who walk like you, talk like you, act like you and look like you. That's what great means in your eyes. I happen to take a different view on what greatness is. Greatness is found in all different types. It's found in women like Astrid Hall, who stand tall and fight for justice and honor. It's found in men like Jayson Matthews, who pulled himself up from the lowest rungs of this industry to stand here today as a champion. It's found in men like Dre Cutler, who fight for every moment they get and throw their heart into everything they do. It's found in Gabriela Luna, who refused to take the rejection of formal teachers to heart and carved out her own niche in this industry through talent and force of will. It's found in people like Pandora Freeman, who believe with all their heart that hope and love have an indispensable place in this world. Greatness is everywhere, you just have to look for it.
I don't have your aspirations, James. I don't think I'd make a particularly good mayor. I don't think I'm qualified. I don't have a campaign manager, or an agenda, or a snappy slogan. What I do have is the woman I love, one of the strongest people I know, helping keep me sane. I know what I'm good at, and what I'm good at is getting into that ring and putting everything I've learned to work. And I remember our last match. You're no slouch in that ring. You've built yourself into a competitor, James, and the dedication it takes to do that is not to be underestimated. But if you think you're going to steamroll over me because of this newfound attitude...I promise, you've got another thing coming.
I've said that I don't question your heart before, James. Now I do. I question whether you have one. I question how a man can live a life filled with so much hate and still trick himself into thinking he's a good person. You say you're a patriot, James. You have to remember that IWF isn't just about the United States. We're in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, China, all over the world and back. We're a global company. If you ignore where we go and who we touch in favor of burrowing into where you've been, you shut out the people that make this all worth fighting for.
James, you've staked your position on hate. Me? I take a different tack. I believe in a thing called love. I believe that love makes the world worth living in. Love for your family, love for strangers, love for everyone in between. At the end of the day, no matter your gender, no matter the color of your skin, no matter the faith you follow, whether you're gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, pansexual, asexual, none of the above makes you any less worthy of being cared for and loved, platonic or otherwise. Those people out there give us love, and I want to give it back to them as much as I can, for as long as I can. They give to me, and I give to them, and we stand together, because that's what love does. It unites. It makes us strong. And their love conquers your hate, ten times out of ten.
So get ready, James, 'cause it's not just me you're getting in the ring with. It's millions of people all across the world, united, shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand. We hear your hate, and we reject it. We rise above. We don't buckle, we stand tall. We stand proud. And we. Stand. Unbreakable.
We open atop the Eiffel Tower, Andrew and Danielle walking hand in hand. Andrew smiles as they look out over the glittering Parisian skyline, lights glittering along the banks of the Seine as the city bustles with life below them. Danielle grins up at him, squeezing his hand. "I'm glad you could put work away for a little bit to do this. Glad WE could." she corrects herself with a grin, and Andrew smiles back down at her.
"Yeah...it's beautiful up here. Never really got the chance to appreciate it." Andrew looks over at Danielle, his own sly grin spreading across his face. "I guess I have a hard time appreciating beauty when I see it sometimes." Danielle rolls her eyes, lightly slugging him in the shoulder, and Andrew sells it with an expression of mock agony. "Oh! Oh, my shoulder. I don't know if I'll be able to wrestle. I'll be bedridden for a week. Call management, I need to cancel on my match."
Danielle rolls her eyes, smirking. "Oh, so you'll be laid up in bed in Paris for a week with your girlfriend? Please. They're gonna catch you on that right away. Nice try, though. I appreciate the effort." she pats his shoulder, and Andrew sighs dramatically.
He walks towards the railing of the observation platform, chuckling to himself. "Am I really that transparent?" Danielle just nods, and Andrew rolls his eyes, leaning against the rail and cradling his head in his hand. "Dammit. I thought I was smooth. It turns out I'm just a massive dork who can't talk to a pretty girl to save my life. Oh well, at least I'm good at my job."
Danielle grins, tapping his stomach with a knuckle. "And you have abs I could grate cheese on. So you're good at your job and you're pretty. Two things going for you. Besides, you can talk to pretty girls. You were able to talk me into sticking around all this time, weren't you?" Andrew pauses, shrugging as he nods his concession, and Danielle silently fist-pumps in triumph. "See? You talk to me, I talk to you, I talk you out of stupid things. If you'd done that more, you would've been Imperial Champion three years ago."
Andrew shakes his head. "Three years ago, I was nursing a neck injury from Jack Hammer. Point taken, though." he looks out at the skyline again. "Man. This is why they call it the City of Lights, isn't it? It's like a thousand constellations out there..."
Danielle shrugs. "Well, it's actually because Paris was a hub of the Enlightenment. Lights doesn't mean street lamps." She's about to speak again, but she's interrupted as a pair of Japanese girls run over, unable to contain themselves as they see Andrew. Danielle chuckles, taking a step to the side as Andrew turns to face the two.
One of the girls speaks up in halting English, as if unsure of her words. "You are Andrew Jacobsen, yes? Pro wrestler?" Andrew nods with a smile, and the two squeal with joy for a moment before turning back to face him. "Could we please have picture with you? Big fans. Saw you once, Sumo Hall. Very fun!"
Andrew chuckles, nodding to them as he slips into slightly-accented Japanese. "Hai, mochiron desu." The two girls gasp and grin at his response, and Andrew looks up to Danielle. "Dani, hate to do this, but could you grab this for them?" Danielle rolls her eyes, nodding with a smile, and Andrew addresses the two again. "Danielle wa watashitachi no tame ni shashin o toru koto ga dekimasu. Keikaku no yĆ ni kikoeru?" The two nod eagerly, and Andrew moves to pose with the girls.
They throw up peace signs, and Andrew just smiles, an arm around each girl's shoulders as he puts up two peace signs of his own. Danielle takes the lead girl's phone and gets a few pictures, nodding as she hands it back to the girl. As she takes the phone back, the girl smiles broadly. "Th-thank you! Thank you so much! Arigato gozaimasu!" Andrew nods, smiling, and tosses the two a quick salute. They enthusiastically respond before heading back towards the other side of the platform, excitedly chattering among themselves.
Andrew sighs, a grin on his face, and turns back to Danielle, who can't keep a smile from her face. "So much for being off the job, eh?" Andrew puts his hands up, having the decency to look somewhat ashamed as he does, and she shakes her head, waving him off. "It's okay. Besides, I know you wouldn't pass up the opportunity to have a cute Japanese girl on each arm."
He groans, shaking his head. "Come on, Dani. You know me. I have a hard time saying no to the fans." She nods, sighing, and Andrew takes her hand again. Danielle turns back to face him, and Andrew looks down into her eyes with a smile. "Besides, you've got nothing to be worried over. I love you, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Danielle rolls her eyes, and the two lean in, sharing a tender, loving kiss.
As they break the kiss, Danielle grins. "I just kissed my boyfriend on the Eiffel Tower. That's, like, bucket list stuff."
Andrew grins at her, nodding. "Trust me, it's kind of surreal over here too. Any ideas on an encore?"
Danielle shrugs, playing coy as she cradles her chin with two fingers and taps the corner of her mouth. "Hmm. Well, you could take me to a fancy Parisian restaurant...but I don't know if we're dressed for it..."
Andrew smiles. "Compromise: I take you to a tasty Parisian restaurant, and neither of us has to get dressed up. Delicious and comfortable. What do you say?"
Danielle shrugs, a smile on her face. "How can I say no?" she plants another kiss on Andrew, grinning, and takes him by the hand again. "Come on, let's go. I hear good places can get packed, and you're not suplexing us a path to a table. Again." She begins to drag Andrew along, and Andrew lets out a slight groan of protest but lets her pull him along, watching after her with a starstruck expression as we fade into the glowing skyline of the Parisian night.
This might seem like an odd time for an aside like that, but the truth is, it couldn't be more timely. James Gilmore is a man who has reinvented himself on the road of division and hate. When he made mistakes, instead of owning up to them, he doubled down. And he's made sure to try to drag everyone around him down to his level. He's accused me of moral failings because I wasn't part of the contingent that pulled Spike Kane off of him. Why wasn't I? Because I was in the back, in a locker room without a television, preparing for my match. I don't usually spend all of my time glued to a monitor. Trust me, if I'd known about what was happening when it happened, I would have been down there like a shot. I wasn't. That's on me. But James...you've done plenty since then to burn up any goodwill you would have had with me.
You've talked about making IWF great again. What does great mean to you? Because from where I'm standing, to you, great means you and you alone. People who walk like you, talk like you, act like you and look like you. That's what great means in your eyes. I happen to take a different view on what greatness is. Greatness is found in all different types. It's found in women like Astrid Hall, who stand tall and fight for justice and honor. It's found in men like Jayson Matthews, who pulled himself up from the lowest rungs of this industry to stand here today as a champion. It's found in men like Dre Cutler, who fight for every moment they get and throw their heart into everything they do. It's found in Gabriela Luna, who refused to take the rejection of formal teachers to heart and carved out her own niche in this industry through talent and force of will. It's found in people like Pandora Freeman, who believe with all their heart that hope and love have an indispensable place in this world. Greatness is everywhere, you just have to look for it.
I don't have your aspirations, James. I don't think I'd make a particularly good mayor. I don't think I'm qualified. I don't have a campaign manager, or an agenda, or a snappy slogan. What I do have is the woman I love, one of the strongest people I know, helping keep me sane. I know what I'm good at, and what I'm good at is getting into that ring and putting everything I've learned to work. And I remember our last match. You're no slouch in that ring. You've built yourself into a competitor, James, and the dedication it takes to do that is not to be underestimated. But if you think you're going to steamroll over me because of this newfound attitude...I promise, you've got another thing coming.
I've said that I don't question your heart before, James. Now I do. I question whether you have one. I question how a man can live a life filled with so much hate and still trick himself into thinking he's a good person. You say you're a patriot, James. You have to remember that IWF isn't just about the United States. We're in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, China, all over the world and back. We're a global company. If you ignore where we go and who we touch in favor of burrowing into where you've been, you shut out the people that make this all worth fighting for.
James, you've staked your position on hate. Me? I take a different tack. I believe in a thing called love. I believe that love makes the world worth living in. Love for your family, love for strangers, love for everyone in between. At the end of the day, no matter your gender, no matter the color of your skin, no matter the faith you follow, whether you're gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, pansexual, asexual, none of the above makes you any less worthy of being cared for and loved, platonic or otherwise. Those people out there give us love, and I want to give it back to them as much as I can, for as long as I can. They give to me, and I give to them, and we stand together, because that's what love does. It unites. It makes us strong. And their love conquers your hate, ten times out of ten.
So get ready, James, 'cause it's not just me you're getting in the ring with. It's millions of people all across the world, united, shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand. We hear your hate, and we reject it. We rise above. We don't buckle, we stand tall. We stand proud. And we. Stand. Unbreakable.
We open atop the Eiffel Tower, Andrew and Danielle walking hand in hand. Andrew smiles as they look out over the glittering Parisian skyline, lights glittering along the banks of the Seine as the city bustles with life below them. Danielle grins up at him, squeezing his hand. "I'm glad you could put work away for a little bit to do this. Glad WE could." she corrects herself with a grin, and Andrew smiles back down at her.
"Yeah...it's beautiful up here. Never really got the chance to appreciate it." Andrew looks over at Danielle, his own sly grin spreading across his face. "I guess I have a hard time appreciating beauty when I see it sometimes." Danielle rolls her eyes, lightly slugging him in the shoulder, and Andrew sells it with an expression of mock agony. "Oh! Oh, my shoulder. I don't know if I'll be able to wrestle. I'll be bedridden for a week. Call management, I need to cancel on my match."
Danielle rolls her eyes, smirking. "Oh, so you'll be laid up in bed in Paris for a week with your girlfriend? Please. They're gonna catch you on that right away. Nice try, though. I appreciate the effort." she pats his shoulder, and Andrew sighs dramatically.
He walks towards the railing of the observation platform, chuckling to himself. "Am I really that transparent?" Danielle just nods, and Andrew rolls his eyes, leaning against the rail and cradling his head in his hand. "Dammit. I thought I was smooth. It turns out I'm just a massive dork who can't talk to a pretty girl to save my life. Oh well, at least I'm good at my job."
Danielle grins, tapping his stomach with a knuckle. "And you have abs I could grate cheese on. So you're good at your job and you're pretty. Two things going for you. Besides, you can talk to pretty girls. You were able to talk me into sticking around all this time, weren't you?" Andrew pauses, shrugging as he nods his concession, and Danielle silently fist-pumps in triumph. "See? You talk to me, I talk to you, I talk you out of stupid things. If you'd done that more, you would've been Imperial Champion three years ago."
Andrew shakes his head. "Three years ago, I was nursing a neck injury from Jack Hammer. Point taken, though." he looks out at the skyline again. "Man. This is why they call it the City of Lights, isn't it? It's like a thousand constellations out there..."
Danielle shrugs. "Well, it's actually because Paris was a hub of the Enlightenment. Lights doesn't mean street lamps." She's about to speak again, but she's interrupted as a pair of Japanese girls run over, unable to contain themselves as they see Andrew. Danielle chuckles, taking a step to the side as Andrew turns to face the two.
One of the girls speaks up in halting English, as if unsure of her words. "You are Andrew Jacobsen, yes? Pro wrestler?" Andrew nods with a smile, and the two squeal with joy for a moment before turning back to face him. "Could we please have picture with you? Big fans. Saw you once, Sumo Hall. Very fun!"
Andrew chuckles, nodding to them as he slips into slightly-accented Japanese. "Hai, mochiron desu." The two girls gasp and grin at his response, and Andrew looks up to Danielle. "Dani, hate to do this, but could you grab this for them?" Danielle rolls her eyes, nodding with a smile, and Andrew addresses the two again. "Danielle wa watashitachi no tame ni shashin o toru koto ga dekimasu. Keikaku no yĆ ni kikoeru?" The two nod eagerly, and Andrew moves to pose with the girls.
They throw up peace signs, and Andrew just smiles, an arm around each girl's shoulders as he puts up two peace signs of his own. Danielle takes the lead girl's phone and gets a few pictures, nodding as she hands it back to the girl. As she takes the phone back, the girl smiles broadly. "Th-thank you! Thank you so much! Arigato gozaimasu!" Andrew nods, smiling, and tosses the two a quick salute. They enthusiastically respond before heading back towards the other side of the platform, excitedly chattering among themselves.
Andrew sighs, a grin on his face, and turns back to Danielle, who can't keep a smile from her face. "So much for being off the job, eh?" Andrew puts his hands up, having the decency to look somewhat ashamed as he does, and she shakes her head, waving him off. "It's okay. Besides, I know you wouldn't pass up the opportunity to have a cute Japanese girl on each arm."
He groans, shaking his head. "Come on, Dani. You know me. I have a hard time saying no to the fans." She nods, sighing, and Andrew takes her hand again. Danielle turns back to face him, and Andrew looks down into her eyes with a smile. "Besides, you've got nothing to be worried over. I love you, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Danielle rolls her eyes, and the two lean in, sharing a tender, loving kiss.
As they break the kiss, Danielle grins. "I just kissed my boyfriend on the Eiffel Tower. That's, like, bucket list stuff."
Andrew grins at her, nodding. "Trust me, it's kind of surreal over here too. Any ideas on an encore?"
Danielle shrugs, playing coy as she cradles her chin with two fingers and taps the corner of her mouth. "Hmm. Well, you could take me to a fancy Parisian restaurant...but I don't know if we're dressed for it..."
Andrew smiles. "Compromise: I take you to a tasty Parisian restaurant, and neither of us has to get dressed up. Delicious and comfortable. What do you say?"
Danielle shrugs, a smile on her face. "How can I say no?" she plants another kiss on Andrew, grinning, and takes him by the hand again. "Come on, let's go. I hear good places can get packed, and you're not suplexing us a path to a table. Again." She begins to drag Andrew along, and Andrew lets out a slight groan of protest but lets her pull him along, watching after her with a starstruck expression as we fade into the glowing skyline of the Parisian night.
Well howdy there pardner.