Post by Jess Fowler on Mar 23, 2020 4:05:27 GMT
I remember listening to stories as a kid. All kinds of stories, everything I could get my hands on. Grand quests to save the world, small stories of love and kindess, battle and loss and everything in between. But one thing I remembered...was the idea that no matter what, there's always something more. There's good in this world, and it's worth fighting for. That's been the watchword for everything I am and everything I've done that's ever been worth anything. And that's the song I've got in my heart as I walk into the Roulette. There's something good in the world. There's something better than what we think we've got.
We're never stuck with the meanest of our graces. We can always be better. Even those who get written off as nothing and worthless deserve a second chance. But there comes a time when you have to realize that even the best of intentions can't sort out some corruption. Some people are just awful. Some people are just rotten deep in their bones, and even if they could be better, they won't. They actively reject it. Steve Awesome is that kind of champion. He brings clouds with him, and he flouts every bit of decency in the world. IWF can be better. It will be. And if I'm the one that gets us there, so be it.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't want this. I want to feel the joy of knowing I can be the best. I want to have that electricity in my veins again. But I can't pretend that it'll be easy. That it's just something I'm owed, or that's going to happen because I want it. Nothing good happens just because we want it. Most of the time, we have to work at it. We have to work our asses off to get anywhere in life. I'm no stranger to putting the hours in. And that's all this is for me. Something else I have to pour my heart and soul into. Because it's important. Because it matters.
I know how many people want the same thing. Not for the same reasons. Most of them want it for the extra zeroes in their paycheck. Some of them want it because they want another line on their resume. Rarely is it about being the champion because of what being a champion represents to those watching. It's all about what it can do for them. That's only part of the equation. We have a duty beyond ourselves. To be stronger. To be more. To be better than we were the day before.
I walked away once. I could walk away again right now. Hell, there are some who would argue I should walk away right now. But even if I could, I shouldn't. That's a fine line, and a distinction most people don't recognize. You can always walk away. You can always decide it's not important enough to keep going, that the clouds overhead are just too thick and you'll never see the daybreak to lift your spirits again. But the important thing isn't just knowing that the clouds will pass. It's knowing when you're the one who can make them pass. Not everyone can. Not everyone who can will. So if you can, and you think you might? Do it. Stand up and make a difference. It's what I had to do. And it's what I have to do.
I wish it was easier. I wish I could trust someone else to do it. But I've learned that I don't want to leave things to chance. It's not that there aren't good people here. It's that the more good people we have fighting the good fight, the better odds we have of actually getting what we need to have happen to go. I'm not here because I'm the only one. I'm here because I know I'm one of the only ones.
Nobody's perfect. First lesson we all need to learn. I used to believe I was better than the best. That I could do no wrong. And then I did wrong. Over, and over, and over again. I lost the plot. I fell. And I had to pick myself out of the hole each time. Honestly, even if it was awful at the time, and even though I wish I hadn't made some of the mistakes I did? I wouldn't trade those lessons away. Some things we just have to learn, and sometimes we have to suffer to learn it.
Night of the Immortals needs a better option. I've seen what happens when bad meets evil, and it led to some of the darkest times in this company's history. We need better. We need to have something that we can count on. And though I know how hard you will all fight, I just...I can't sit back and trust that that will be enough. We're going to do this right. We're going to do all we can. Stack the deck. I don't want to spin the wheel. I want to break the wheel. I want to take the chance out of it. I want to make it certain that we leave IWF better than it was before. So come on. Bring your best, Bring your absolute, unparalleled best. You should know by now what I'm bringing. And may the truly best man win.
See you out there, boys. Good luck. We're going to need it.
We're never stuck with the meanest of our graces. We can always be better. Even those who get written off as nothing and worthless deserve a second chance. But there comes a time when you have to realize that even the best of intentions can't sort out some corruption. Some people are just awful. Some people are just rotten deep in their bones, and even if they could be better, they won't. They actively reject it. Steve Awesome is that kind of champion. He brings clouds with him, and he flouts every bit of decency in the world. IWF can be better. It will be. And if I'm the one that gets us there, so be it.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't want this. I want to feel the joy of knowing I can be the best. I want to have that electricity in my veins again. But I can't pretend that it'll be easy. That it's just something I'm owed, or that's going to happen because I want it. Nothing good happens just because we want it. Most of the time, we have to work at it. We have to work our asses off to get anywhere in life. I'm no stranger to putting the hours in. And that's all this is for me. Something else I have to pour my heart and soul into. Because it's important. Because it matters.
I know how many people want the same thing. Not for the same reasons. Most of them want it for the extra zeroes in their paycheck. Some of them want it because they want another line on their resume. Rarely is it about being the champion because of what being a champion represents to those watching. It's all about what it can do for them. That's only part of the equation. We have a duty beyond ourselves. To be stronger. To be more. To be better than we were the day before.
I walked away once. I could walk away again right now. Hell, there are some who would argue I should walk away right now. But even if I could, I shouldn't. That's a fine line, and a distinction most people don't recognize. You can always walk away. You can always decide it's not important enough to keep going, that the clouds overhead are just too thick and you'll never see the daybreak to lift your spirits again. But the important thing isn't just knowing that the clouds will pass. It's knowing when you're the one who can make them pass. Not everyone can. Not everyone who can will. So if you can, and you think you might? Do it. Stand up and make a difference. It's what I had to do. And it's what I have to do.
I wish it was easier. I wish I could trust someone else to do it. But I've learned that I don't want to leave things to chance. It's not that there aren't good people here. It's that the more good people we have fighting the good fight, the better odds we have of actually getting what we need to have happen to go. I'm not here because I'm the only one. I'm here because I know I'm one of the only ones.
Nobody's perfect. First lesson we all need to learn. I used to believe I was better than the best. That I could do no wrong. And then I did wrong. Over, and over, and over again. I lost the plot. I fell. And I had to pick myself out of the hole each time. Honestly, even if it was awful at the time, and even though I wish I hadn't made some of the mistakes I did? I wouldn't trade those lessons away. Some things we just have to learn, and sometimes we have to suffer to learn it.
Night of the Immortals needs a better option. I've seen what happens when bad meets evil, and it led to some of the darkest times in this company's history. We need better. We need to have something that we can count on. And though I know how hard you will all fight, I just...I can't sit back and trust that that will be enough. We're going to do this right. We're going to do all we can. Stack the deck. I don't want to spin the wheel. I want to break the wheel. I want to take the chance out of it. I want to make it certain that we leave IWF better than it was before. So come on. Bring your best, Bring your absolute, unparalleled best. You should know by now what I'm bringing. And may the truly best man win.
See you out there, boys. Good luck. We're going to need it.
Well howdy there pardner.