Early October. Mid-afternoon. On a Sunday no less.
Usually on a day like this (a Sunday) you would find this guy somewhere... Anywhere in the world wherever SCW was holding it's Climax Control show. Sometimes you have to make exceptions though. This is one of those exceptions.
Today we find Blade Alexander somewhere in the modest-sized Atlantic Canadian city of Moncton, New Brunswick. For those really in the know we're near the corners of Elmwood and Morton Avenue. In the background you can see a Shoppers Drug Mart, in the foreground stands Blade Alexander.
“You know it's funny... When I first heard about this battle royal I thought it would be pretty fun. Open invitation, 20 guys, classic stuff. Then the winner gets a shot at the ACW Championship.”
“I'm not even a member of ACW, but I thought it sounds fun. Guys in my line of work rarely pass up the opportunity to wrestle in their home towns. I know... If you take a look at my birth certificate or listen to where SCW announces me from it says Halifax. I was born there, but this city is where I grew up. This is my home.”
He looks around thoughtfully.
“In fact, I live right over there...”
He gestures to the right of the camera which turns, but all we can see is the strip mall, specifically the Halloween Alley store behind the cameraman.
“Well not right there, that's a store... But back behind there is a graveyard and near there are apartment buildings. I live in one of those. This city is my home. This neighbourhood is my home. To say I know more about Moncton than about any other person in this battle royal is an understatement.”
“So I was thrilled at the prospect of having this match and asked SCW if I could get the time to do so. Being that we're all part of the NWA they said sure.”
“Then fate stepped in.”
“Instead of that ACW title match the winner was going to get something different. Seems like the people in charge of ACW want to start the holiday season off early in 2012 and are giving away ACW's World Title shot to whomever can win this battle royal.”
“That changes everything. Now I'm not just doing this for fun. Now I'm not going to the Coliseum to have some fun and wrestle in front of some friends and family, now it takes on a whole new meaning. Just like that the fun is over and this is going to be the most important night in my career.”
As the breeze picks up a bit he shoves his hands into the pockets on his grey Mount Allison hoodie.
“It's been a pretty hard summer for Moncton. That's probably something none of the other people involved in this thing could tell you. Pretty early on the year we were hit with a transit strike. Imagine, one of the fastest growing cities in Canada with no city buses. It's been a giant pain in the ass. Then tragically some kid threw himself in front of the train just down the street. Violent crime has taken an upturn and just last month a girl not much older than I am was abducted on the busiest street in the city only to have her body found about a week later. This city has been hurting lately.”
“It might seem a bit melodramatic to make the comparison, but so has wrestling lately. We're getting over-run by self-absorbed prim a-donnas who want to use wrestling as a stepping stone to some other sort of fame. They don't care about this sport, they just care about money and fame.”
“And what sort of role models do they have to look up to? NWA World Champion Mike Sloan? From his point of view I'm sure he cuts one hell of a roll, but let's just take one more look at how he came by his new found title...”
[Sloan moves and hits the diamond cutter in mid-air. The champion's head bounces off the canvas like a super-ball and covering Staggs the entire crowd counts with the referee.]
Referee & Crowd: ONE! TWO!!
Victoria: Hold on! Staggs's leg is under the bottom rope and...
Referee & Crowd: THREE!!!
Referee: Ring the bell!
[Ding! Ding! Ding!]
“But wait, it doesn't stop there. It's not enough that the count clearly shouldn't have been made...”
Mr. Batee: Listen little lady, I don't know what you're talking about, the man counted one two three and you are looking at the new NWA World Heavyweight champion.
BRJ: Ladies and gentlemen, your winner of the bout and NEW NWA Heavyweight champion of the WORLD Mike Sloan!!!
“Was the error made right by the head of the board of NWA who was ringside and watched the whole thing unfold? No. Not only did he do nothing about it, he swept it entirely under the rug.”
“But then again why would he do anything? He got what he wanted. He got the NWA World Title off of Spike Staggs, an SCW guy, and got it onto someone else. This Mr. Batee would rather see anyone as NWA World Champion than see someone from SCW because to him we're just an unwanted stepchild. He's no different than these people flooding into wrestling just looking for fame. He brings SCW into the fold because we have the most popular weekly wrestling show. He brings us in because we're gaining recognition as a global brand, and he even has one of our guys carry around the NWA World Title for as long as us to tour the world, but as soon as we come back to North America it's thanks but they don't need us anymore.”
“Spike blows it off as no big deal, but maybe it's because he knows he wasn't ever really good enough to carry the title in the first place, but personally... Forgiveness has never been a strong Alexander family trait. We're more likely to hold a bloody grudge until we've settled it in some barbaric manner like a barbed wire ropes match or dog collar match or something.”
“So Batee and his golden goose Sloan think they've pulled a fast one over on everybody, but leaving the scene of the crash they've toppled right over a ledge. Usually when someone steals something they try for a clean getaway, but in their case they've left a huge loophole just big enough for someone more than skilled enough and more than hungry enough to step on through and upset everyone's plans.”
“This isn't going to be the nice smooth ride everyone's hoping for. When ACW and the NWA put their heads together I'm sure they thought this would be a good idea. Have a crazy event that's turned into a career making phenomenon turn into an opportunity for some upstart to make their presence known on a grander NWA scale, but what they've ended up with is giving an opportunity to the best young wrestler in the world today with more than a little chip on his shoulder to put their best laid plans to the cinder.”
“I know in any other city I'd get lost in the shuffle. People wouldn't notice me and truth be told I wouldn't even be in the match. Under any other circumstance Mike Sloan would walk into the building and the people would go nuts, but not this time. Not in MY city! Everybody knows what you did Sloan! You might get a heroes celebration in New York City, but here in Moncton we know how you got that belt. Trust me, that crown don't make you a prince.”
“On October 28, right here in Moncton in front of my family and friends I'm taking advantage of the opportunity I've been given. You put 19 other men and women in front of me and it wont make a difference. All the costumes in the world wont make a difference. A fresh Mike Sloan couldn't beat Blade Alexander on his worst night! On October 28 in front of an arena full of my family and friends I'm going in the underdog that no one but those people saw coming and I'm leaving the NWA World Champion. I'm going to give this city and this business something to look up to again. They want a new era in the NWA it starts here. It starts in Moncton. It starts in ACW.”
“15 years of work means nothing to me. I've been working towards this my whole LIFE. Before I even got into this sport my dad chased that title around the world. He won all kinds of World titles in all kinds of places but never got his hands on the ten pounds of gold that now rests around the waist of Mike Sloan. And now you think with him sitting front row ringside that I'm going to let anyone toss me over the top rope? You think with him sitting there, all his dreams, all his passion for this business passed down through his blood, his DNA to me that I'm going to let someone else come out on top and win that battle royal? And you really think that with him watching ringside in my home town, you think with my mother who died 12 years ago and never got to see a real World Champion looking down from above, you really think I'm going to fall short of winning the NWA World Championship? Mike Sloan, Kia Kennedy, anyone else opportunistic enough to claim a spot in this battle royal you think you're going to have to do anything short of kill me for anyone else to walk out of Moncton as the World Champion then you're sadly mistaken.”
“Just a few short weeks from now I'm walking back into my home town, into the Coliseum for a chance at the NWA World Championship and I can guarantee everyone one thing... That NWA World Championship is staying right here for a long, long time.”
Fade.
