I was definitely a long way from home. Me and image consultant Geoff Matthens decided that we would try and get some positive support on my side as we decided to travel to Hamilton Scotland. We looked around the town for something to do...Geoff for some reason was weirdly happy.
Geoff Matthens: Ah, good old Scotland! Can you feel it?
Griffin Hawkins: Feel what?
Geoff Matthens: The fresh foreign air. This is the land of opportunity!
Griffin Hawkins: I think you got that confused with New York...
Geoff Matthens: But still, this may work out great!
Griffin Hawkins: Alright, what the hell is with you? You're acting like Mary Poppins.
Geoff Matthens: You're facing Stephen Callaway...and you're pretty much a man without a country here. So I'm gonna help you turn this around.
Griffin Hawkins: And how are you gonna do that?
Geoff Matthens: There are many activities here in Scotland to do. Once the Country men see you dabbling in their pastimes, they won't think you're such a bad guy and they'll cheer you! You'll have the support of the entire country of Scotland!
Griffin Hawkins: It sounds like you want me to suck up to them...
Geoff Matthens: I wouldn't call it that...its more like showing the people of this country that you are one of them.
Griffin Hawkins: Well, part of my heritage is Scottish..
Geoff Matthens: See? Now we're getting somewhere! And with this support, Callaway has NO chance whatsoever of beating you for the title.
Griffin Hawkins: Well, alright..so what do I gotta do?...
Geoff Matthens: I hope you got your drinking shoes on...
And so we were on our way to the favorite watering hole of this town, The Libertine. I had not yet been to this bar, so I hoped to make a good first impression. We went into the bar and almost immediately everybody looked in our direction.
Griffin Hawkins: Uhh...whats up Scottish dudes?!
Nothing but cold stares. I felt really uncomfortable as I looked to Geoff.
Griffin Hawkins: Tough crowd...
Geoff Matthens: They haven't gotten to know you..now come on.
We make our way to the bar.
Griffin Hawkins: Barkeep...one pint please!
I hope that's how they say it here. The man slides me a tall glass of beer as I sit at the bar. Course one of the patrons next to me seems to be giving me the stink eye, he was heavyset, bald, and had a red beard.
Griffin Hawkins: Uhh...hi?
Angus McDuffy: Look at this wee prick thinking he's better than all of us..
Griffin Hawkins: Whoa whoa, I never said I was better than anybody here..
Angus McDuffy: You think you're better than Stephen Callaway?
Griffin Hawkins: Well, I'd have to beat him in the ring to find out..
Angus McDuffy: He is gonna beat ya..he's gonna take your title, and he's gonna send ya back home a broken man.
Griffin Hawkins: Well, I guess I worn out my welcome...I best be going now..
I go to leave, but this massive man stops me, shoving me.
Angus McDuffy: We're not done..
Griffin Hawkins: Look man, I...
he shoves me again...I refuse to take it and shove him back, right into another nearby patron, spilling his beer. He gets the wrong idea and the two begin fighting. A few of their buddies try jumping in and it turns into a donnybrook. Quickly, me and Geoff rush out, not wanting to be part of this wild brawl.
Griffin Hawkins: Well...I just endeared myself to this great country by starting a bar fight.
Geoff Matthens: Okay maybe we went about this the wrong way..
Griffin Hawkins: Dude, we don't gotta do this. If they boo me, fine...but I'm gonna go out there and fight Callaway until I am no longer standing. Fans may not like in this land, but I will do whatever I can to earn their respect.
Geoff Matthens: You sure this is what you want?
Griffin Hawkins: I've won most popular so many times I'm not worried about missing one week. Come on, let's head back to the hotel and go over the plan for the match.
I knew I was going into the Lion's Den. I was fighting an entire country along with Stephen Callaway, this was not gonna be easy...but if I won, I'd get a lot of people's respect.
--------------------------------------------
Cameras come to what looks to be an open field...something told me they weren't used to being in a place like this...but I had a point to prove. I arrived on a white horse, a kilt, and a familiar white and blue makeup pattern. The Roulette Title around my waist. I begin speaking in...possibly the worst fake Scottish Accent you ever heard as me and my horse went back and forth.
"Sons of SCW! I am Griffin Hawkins...the Roulette Champion! The Bravest of Warriors! And as I enter the the next battle...I see a whole army of country men here in defiance of tyranny...looking to count on their hometown hero to bring home Roulette Gold to Scotland! They are counting on him to fight for them, to proclaim victory at any cost even if it is at the cost of his own life...Stephen Callaway, a man who so desperately wants gold...and will die for it! He faces me, Griffin Hawkins, a man who is willing to sacrifice it all just so his name can go down in history as the best champion of all time..."
I almost felt like Mel Gibson...only I wasn't racist...
"Stephen Callaway! At last we meet in the ring! It's nice to meet a Scot...though I question why aren't you dressed like a Scot....a true Scot wears a Kilt in battle, you just choose to wear short shorts..kinda makes me wonder what kinda man are you..but no matter! You and me...we fight, one of us will die, one of us will live...but more importantly one of us will go on to hold the Roulette Title as we leave Scotland. Though part of me questions why you're in this match in the first place, the last chance you had at a title..you blew it. Part of me believes that the General Managers feel sorry for you knowing that we're headed to your hometown...and you got NOTHING to show for it...so you get another chance at a title..."
It sounded harsh...but I felt it was true.
"But I'll give you one thing Stephen, you are a hell of an athlete, but you allow your ego to get the best of you..you talk as if you're seven feet tall, and you could consume the roster with fireballs from your eyes and bolts of lightning from your arse..you spoke before about how you're a multi time world champion, a former tag team champion...yet you cannot repeat the same success here. Yes...you'll get the occasional victory here and there, but have you beaten anyone on the level of Griffin Hawkins? No you haven't..in fact, the last title match you had, you failed to reach up and claim your new title...and now you get gift wrapped another chance, which will just be another chance for you to fall..for I am marching into war and I will NOT leave this land until I am victorious."
I continue to trot on the horse.
"I realize going in that I'm not just fighting you...I am fighting an entire country as you are the hometown boy...as I look at it you got the homefield advantage, but does it mean you will win? No...see, it does not bother me if I get booed. If the fans want to cheer someone or boo someone, it's their right as a paying customer...I'm not gonna be like that daft pansy Teddy Warren Steele and demand that the fans respect me....I am going in and whether they cheer me, or boo me, I will go onto the battlefield as Champion and fight with every last breath in this old body just to see you go down."
I already knew either way I'd get booed.
"The one thing you always do Stephen is talk and talk and talk about the past. What you did here, what you did there, where you've been and what you're gonna do. You talk about how you were this big name in some company..and now you want to repeat your success here. Let me tell you the truth lad, no one cares about what you did before. You were a World Champion? That's real nice kid...but so was I, so is Austin James Mercer, so is Alex Jones, so is a lot of members of the roster, but do you see us bringing it up a million times in one promo? You may have been good in another company, but this is a whole new federation where you start new and you gotta earn your way, you don't go through a couple of mere mortals just to hold some championship a wee baby could win. You fought for your chances at the World Title, and the Internet Title, and you choked. This will be the third chance you had at a major title..and what happens then?....you lose. You lose like you've lost every major chance that's come your way. For I...am someone that you're not going to just go through like nothing."
I can feel the horse pick up steam a little.
"I question your place in this match Stephen...why are you here? What makes you a worthy contender for the Roulette Championship? Who have you beaten? I've beaten the likes of Alex Jones, Mark Cross, Teddy Warren Steele, Travis Levitt and many many others to put my coveted title on the map as I trod through this land! As my Scottish heritage flows through my veins, I will prove once again that I am a worthy champion when I go through you. You have the entire country of Scotland behind you as you go into battle against The Jukebox Hero...you lose...no big deal, at least you can say that you tried your best and you were in the ring with one of the greatest of all time."
I can feel the vigor burning within me.
"I realize I'm gonna be hated Stephen...and that's alright. There were many Scottish heroes of the past who weren't liked...yet they went out and fought for their country. People here look up to you...and they see you as a God who will strike down upon thee and bring home the gold where they believe it belongs. But the truth is, I am coming here to Scotland to fight you on whatever match the Roulette Wheel lands on...and as I look at the people who spit and scorn me for fighting their hometown boy, I will raise my title in the air, I will look at them and tell them that they can take our lives...but they'll never take...my title!"
I really wish they was a crowd here. I raise my title in the air, screaming the war cry.
"Alba Gu Brath!"
...I have no idea what that means, but it sounds badass. I ride away on my horse as the camera crew pack everything away.
