Post by Andrew Jacobsen on Jun 19, 2017 4:54:03 GMT
There was a time I would have been ecstatic for this opportunity.
There was a time I know this would have made a lot of people very happy. It might still make a lot of people very happy. But I can’t help remember. I can’t help remember every single time Jake Conway has made my life hell. I can’t help but think of how he trumpets that he’s no hero, how he’s sworn that he’s not that kind of man, reveled in playing the villain…and then I think of what he did last week. He charged down and peeled Cyrus Daniels off me. He put himself on the line to get me out of the fire.
If he was truly the villain he’s said he was, he would have left me to burn. He would have taken the easy way out and walked into Bloody Assizes with me on one leg. But that’s not who he wants to be. He wants the Imperial Title fairly. How am I supposed to wrap my head around that? This man who has swindled and cheated me out of championships, driven himself like a knife into my side, wants to do things the right way…I don’t know whether to be suspicious or celebratory. Maybe both?
I’ve always said you sold yourself short, Jake. I knew you had something good in you somewhere. I’m glad we found it. Now…we’ve got this match to make the most of ourselves. We’ve got this chance to make good on an opportunity we’ve been dangling in front of a certain young lady’s face for years. I know you’re going to do everything you can to make it worth it for her, and I promise you I’ll do the exact same. I’ve let down enough people for a couple lifetimes. I don’t want to start now.
Jayson and Bob…guys, we’re going to have to start doing a frequent flyer’s club. I know you two are tangled up with each other, and I know I’ve been down the road you’re on right now before with a respected friend. Your minds are on your side of the ring, not in the middle of it. You’re good men, but this isn’t the fight you want to be fighting right now. You need closure between the two of you, and that’s the kind of closure you only get by lacing up your boots and actually having a winner. Here and now’s not the place for that, but…it’s certainly a place to prime yourselves. Make use of it.
We can’t neglect any opportunity to test ourselves in this business, especially in IWF, and especially if you want to call yourself champion. Champions are tested harder and longer than anyone else on the roster. We’re expected to live and fight at a higher standard than anyone else. No nights off, no margin for error. Simple as that. One mistake, and you’re not a champion anymore. One mistake, and everything you’ve worked to gain…falls away. Being better isn’t just a prerequisite, it’s an absolute necessity. I’ve bled and worked too hard to forget that.
We can be better. We have to be better. Not just in the ring, but out of it. People act like our responsibilities begin and end between these ropes. We stand on a platform before the world, elevated so they can see us. We need to use it to be more, to be better than we were yesterday. People look up to us. People take inspiration and guidance from athletes. We become our words and deeds, in a way that we have little control over. Jake and I both know the baggage we carry from what we do, Jake more than I do. All we can do is ensure that words and deeds are ones we can live with.
We four men, no matter my reservations, represent something else. We represent something new, something bold in IWF. We represent men who were never supposed to make it. I was too straight-laced. Bob was too laid-back. Jayson was never “good enough”, or dedicated enough, or whatever excuse they’re making this week. And Jake…it just wasn’t meant to be. Aces high was never in the plans for the powers that be. And here we are, main eventing Sacrifice. Champions. Challengers. Standing tall and proud. Standing defiant. Standing true.
Cyrus didn’t do the job. Spike didn’t do the job. We send a message here by refusing to bow. We send a message that there is something greater than greed and malice. We send the message to those who would see those better things snuffed out from this world. We remind them of the simple truth that they can’t win. We don’t give up. We don’t give in. The light doesn’t retreat from the darkness, it pushes it back. We are better. We are stronger. Gentlemen, simply put?
We’re unbreakable. See you out there.
There was a time I know this would have made a lot of people very happy. It might still make a lot of people very happy. But I can’t help remember. I can’t help remember every single time Jake Conway has made my life hell. I can’t help but think of how he trumpets that he’s no hero, how he’s sworn that he’s not that kind of man, reveled in playing the villain…and then I think of what he did last week. He charged down and peeled Cyrus Daniels off me. He put himself on the line to get me out of the fire.
If he was truly the villain he’s said he was, he would have left me to burn. He would have taken the easy way out and walked into Bloody Assizes with me on one leg. But that’s not who he wants to be. He wants the Imperial Title fairly. How am I supposed to wrap my head around that? This man who has swindled and cheated me out of championships, driven himself like a knife into my side, wants to do things the right way…I don’t know whether to be suspicious or celebratory. Maybe both?
I’ve always said you sold yourself short, Jake. I knew you had something good in you somewhere. I’m glad we found it. Now…we’ve got this match to make the most of ourselves. We’ve got this chance to make good on an opportunity we’ve been dangling in front of a certain young lady’s face for years. I know you’re going to do everything you can to make it worth it for her, and I promise you I’ll do the exact same. I’ve let down enough people for a couple lifetimes. I don’t want to start now.
Jayson and Bob…guys, we’re going to have to start doing a frequent flyer’s club. I know you two are tangled up with each other, and I know I’ve been down the road you’re on right now before with a respected friend. Your minds are on your side of the ring, not in the middle of it. You’re good men, but this isn’t the fight you want to be fighting right now. You need closure between the two of you, and that’s the kind of closure you only get by lacing up your boots and actually having a winner. Here and now’s not the place for that, but…it’s certainly a place to prime yourselves. Make use of it.
We can’t neglect any opportunity to test ourselves in this business, especially in IWF, and especially if you want to call yourself champion. Champions are tested harder and longer than anyone else on the roster. We’re expected to live and fight at a higher standard than anyone else. No nights off, no margin for error. Simple as that. One mistake, and you’re not a champion anymore. One mistake, and everything you’ve worked to gain…falls away. Being better isn’t just a prerequisite, it’s an absolute necessity. I’ve bled and worked too hard to forget that.
We can be better. We have to be better. Not just in the ring, but out of it. People act like our responsibilities begin and end between these ropes. We stand on a platform before the world, elevated so they can see us. We need to use it to be more, to be better than we were yesterday. People look up to us. People take inspiration and guidance from athletes. We become our words and deeds, in a way that we have little control over. Jake and I both know the baggage we carry from what we do, Jake more than I do. All we can do is ensure that words and deeds are ones we can live with.
We four men, no matter my reservations, represent something else. We represent something new, something bold in IWF. We represent men who were never supposed to make it. I was too straight-laced. Bob was too laid-back. Jayson was never “good enough”, or dedicated enough, or whatever excuse they’re making this week. And Jake…it just wasn’t meant to be. Aces high was never in the plans for the powers that be. And here we are, main eventing Sacrifice. Champions. Challengers. Standing tall and proud. Standing defiant. Standing true.
Cyrus didn’t do the job. Spike didn’t do the job. We send a message here by refusing to bow. We send a message that there is something greater than greed and malice. We send the message to those who would see those better things snuffed out from this world. We remind them of the simple truth that they can’t win. We don’t give up. We don’t give in. The light doesn’t retreat from the darkness, it pushes it back. We are better. We are stronger. Gentlemen, simply put?
We’re unbreakable. See you out there.
Well howdy there pardner.