Old Business
28 May 2020
ON-Camera
The cameras catch up to Kris standing in the middle of a six-sided ring. However, the space around him does not look like the Sin City Wrestling ring being set up inside the Gold Ring Casino. Instead, he is surrounded by gym equipment, standing in a ring with the varied shades of blue and black that both Jet City and PRIDE wrestling had made their signature. Throughout his time back the gym had slowly gotten more and more put together, but today it appears polished and ready for a potential opening whenever the world allows for it.
I have spent all of my time here talking about moving forward. I know it might not always look like that, but it’s true. It’s not as simple as just putting one foot in front of the other though. Otherwise anyone moving forward would look a lot like they were just running away from whatever is behind them. That is why I have always done my best to make sure that there is never anything behind me that I am running away from. Anybody that I lost to, I tried to get a rematch with so that I could fix that mistake. Any time I embarrassed myself, like my first time in the Roulette Division, I came back to do something miraculous and wipe the smudge off my record. I didn’t climb to the top of the company by blowing off my past and making excuses. I did it by fixing those mistakes, righting those missteps, and succeeding everywhere that I had previously failed. By the time I became the face of this company, there was nothing that anybody could say to dispute my place.
The camera seems to float around the top of the ring in a circle around Kris. He does not move with it, allowing it to circle him. He did not have the typical condescending smirk on his face as he usually would in this type of environment.
I worked so hard to get to this point, and I know that I should be focused ahead of me, on this match with Griffin Hawkins at Into The Void, but I’m not quite there yet. Since I have been back I keep finding myself looking backwards, instead of forward. I keep hanging on to the past, and my place in it, and it has caused me to stagnate in place for a month. I want to move forward. The problem is, there is some old business holding me back. Before I can get there, I want to talk about Climax Control. I want to talk about Jack Washington. I want to talk about how right Griffin Hawkins was in his interview backstage. I don’t think I can move forward without clearing the air a little bit.
Kris looks almost physically pained by the admissions that he is about to make, never one to be very humble.
Griffin Hawkins thinks I act like a spoiled child that doesn’t feel loved enough.
Viewers can tell that it might sting him a little to admit, but he presses on anyways, not letting it slow him down.
He says the business has changed without me… I think he said it has ‘evolved’ in my absence. I’m a little spotty on the details because I had just gone out and won another match, but we will get to that.
Even the joke at Griffin’s expense does little to improve Kris’ mood. There was obviously something weighing on him that he was not willing to carry into such an important match. He was running out of time to unload all of the baggage. It was best to do it like ripping off a band-aid.
Apparently this roster is younger, hungrier, and more exciting than it ever has been before. People like The Jacks: Washington and Russow, Finn Whelan, and Mark Cross are supposedly the up and comers set to lead SCW to new heights!
The forced excitement is not very hard for viewers to see through. No matter how hard everyone had tried to sell him on that idea, it had never rang true to his ears. They were just names of people that had promise, but had lacked follow through thus far to make it as far as Kris had. He was not impressed by those that were considered longshots or underdogs. He had always been one himself, until the miracle happened. Until he forced people into acceptance, but that was another time.
I mean, when I left there was just Sin City... but now there is Underground. Now there is GRIME. Now SCW is bigger than ever before. I took my ball and went home, but SCW exploded in the last two years.
Again, he tries to cover up the fact that the criticism bothers him. Instead of fighting against it, he flips the viewers expectations on their heads and goes the other way with it.
He makes a compelling argument.
Kris shrugs his shoulders. It was new ground to admit that maybe someone else was right, but he was steering into it.
SCW was good before me, and SCW will be good long after me.
It was true. His phone had not exactly been ringing off the hook while he was away. In fact, the first time that anyone had actually come calling, Kris showed up almost immediately. He was not an original member from way back when the company was founded. By the time he arrived Sin City was already a success. While he was gone, it had only grown. It only made sense what the future would hold, with or without him.
On the surface, it seems like something that should offend me. I bet fans at home were sitting there thinking that I would get mad, or be offended. If I was truly the petulant child that Griffin has made me out to be, that would be exactly how I would react. However, he is allowed to feel however he would like to feel about my actions. I’m not here to tell people how to live their lives.
The self-righteous smirk finally starts to cut through his otherwise calm demeanor. It was a clear sign that the ‘but’ of it all was coming. Kris was not the type of person to cut himself down without a catch, and everyone should have expected that it was coming.
I am here to tell people that “good” wouldn’t be good enough for me if I was an SCW fan. I have always felt like everyone was entitled to a little something more than that. None of us are here because we are good. We are here because we are some of the greatest at what it is that we do. We are here to elevate what happens out there in the ring. Just about anyone can step out there and have a good fight with minimal training. I think we should be setting the bar a little higher though. I think SCW needs someone that can step out there and do something miraculous every time they step into the ring. I think people want to see the best of the best, and nobody wants to settle for a roster full of “good” competitors.
He laughs, and shakes his head, trying to find the right words to drive his point home. He takes a step towards the camera, actually looking up directly into the lens for once.
It would be one thing if that was just an empty insult, but it’s not. I brought the receipts with me.
He raises his hand, and starts to list off his competition, first with just an index finger in the air.
Mark Cross? You mean a guy that is only still champion right now because Ben Jordan thinks two championships are better than one? The guy that got carried by Evie through Blast from the Past? The one that has been a literal ghost since the tournament ended?
He raises his middle finger next.
What about Russow? The guy fell on his face on his first night as champion. And I know people are going to cite that he ended the record breaking reign of Griffin Hawkins, but let’s be honest Griffin has dropped more matches in recent weeks than he has won.
His ring finger pops up as he struggles not to let his amusement get him off track.
And who embarrassed the new champion on coronation night? None other than Jack Washington. The guy who promised to break me, because I am weak. The guy who wanted to hurt me. The guy who wants to achieve everything that I have, but faster, just out of spite. He got so hype off of winning the Jack-Off a few weeks ago that he said he was going to put me back on the shelf.
Kris looks down, and then pats at his upper body to make sure that he is still standing there in one piece.
Unless I missed something, I think I made it out unscathed. To be honest, he’s probably feeling it a little more than I am.
Kris taps twice on the solid knee brace strapped to his left leg. It had been a little under a week since he had driven into Jack Washington’s throat with a SmackShot just for mentioning trying to put him back on the injured reserve.
Someone like Jack Washington might be good for SCW, but on Climax Control he stepped into the ring with an SCW great and got put in his place. He talked about chewing me up and spitting me out, but one SmackShot later he is asleep on the canvas and my hand is being raised in the air. Griffin came out parroting all the same things that Jack said leading into that match, and spouted off his list of names, but where did all that talk get Jack Washington? Is that the road that Griffin really wants to go down?
Kris raises a pinkie now, getting back to his list of people that Griffin had suggested were somehow better than he was.
Finn Whelan was the best name to come out of Griffin’s mouth. He’s a person that I can at least respect for what he has done in this business. At least I can credit Finn with pushing me to shake off the rest of the ring rust. When I was preparing for that match I wasn’t just trying to get back to where I was before I left. I was pushing myself to sharpen, and evolve. Then when we stepped into the ring together, like so many others before him, he came up short.
Kris gives the camera an over-exaggerated shrug while rolling his eyes. He drops both of his hands to the side, and shakes his head. He was far from impressed by any name that had been thrown at him.
Yet these are the people that have been rising through the ranks while I was sitting at home. That is the list Griffin rambled off, a week after losing all momentum heading into our match. That is what he had to say, moments after I walked away victorious over someone who had said the exact same thing. If I were him, I wouldn’t proudly be floating the names of subpar newcomers to make my point either. All of these so-called replacements for me just seem to keep piling up at my feet.
This time he is not able to stop himself from laughing. He makes a kicking motion at the imaginary pile of bodies in front of him as he tries to collect himself. Once he does, he looks up at the camera a little more seriously.
Everyone keeps telling me to stop thinking about the past, and worrying about my legacy here. Maybe that’s true, but maybe everyone else needs to start worrying about when they started accepting all of the mediocrity that I am surrounded by as ‘good enough’. It would be one thing if I was coming out to the ring and losing match-after-match.
The confidence that he had lost earlier is not back in full force.
I’m not.
The smile on his face now feels a lot more genuine than the forced enthusiasm he was trying to muster up earlier, showing the audience that the cockiness was just muted, not gone.
I’m consistently going out there and proving that even though I am still getting back into the swing of things, I am still head and shoulders better than all of the generic copies of me that Mark and Christian have attempted to replace me with. Or better yet, maybe someone should ask them if they just want their company to be thought of as ‘good’. Let’s see if they are happy with maxing out around the upper middle.
It was a question that everyone already knew the answer to, the goal of every company was to offer something better than all of their competitors. Kris’ words had become louder, and faster as he went like he was building up a head of steam. His calm and collected attitude deteriorates in a split second as he throws out his counter offer.
Or maybe everyone should open their eyes and consider the fact that I am back because they still think that I am the best option to lead this company. Maybe I miraculously rose to the top of this company despite all of the opposition because I am every bit as great as I say that I am. Maybe you should all consider that I am not a child yelling for attention, but more of the light at the end of a tunnel of mediocrity that you could see if you would just open your damn eyes.
Knowing that most people were not going to see it his way, he lets out a defeated sigh, and rolls his eyes disappointedly.
...but what do I know?
Another shrug.
I’m just the guy that it seems everyone wants to be, with the resume that everyone wishes that they had.
The words carry the same confidence as before, but they come out more matter-of-fact than his previous tone.
You would think that people would want to listen to what I have to say. Maybe the type of people in this locker room are just the kind of people that need it beaten into them before they finally get it.
The alternative did not seem like such a bad idea. All of this time spent trying to get Griffin’s attention, or wait for Into The Void to arrive was starting to bore him. The chances that everyone was going to suddenly agree with Kris were slim, but once the match started, none of it would matter. He would be able to show everyone that he was right, and they would have to accept it. With that thought, all of the anger seemed to fade away. The smirk comes back to his face.
Maybe I am looking forward to Into The Void...
The camera lingers on him for a second, catching a chuckle and a wide smile before it cuts to black.
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Hopeless
Jet City South - San Diego
28 May 2020
OFF-Camera
Kris had known that there was a fight brewing in Jet City. Coby had been angry headed into Underground after saying Kris embarrassed him the week before by hijacking a camera crew. It had been made worse by Kris inserting himself into his friend’s match with John Blade. When Coby had stopped showing up to their normal training hours, Kris was smart enough to know that it was not a coincidence. Still, when Kris heard the back entrance of the building slam shut, creating a booming echo throughout the entire space, he could not help himself from making the situation worse.
Kris: It’s fun to slam doors when you’re mad!
His voice comes out in a sarcastic sing-songy manner. It was loud enough that Coby was going to be able to locate Kris inside the large space. Kris had not broken his routine, still focused on the swinging bag in front of him. There was a cross drawn at his feet, and every time the bag moves around him, Kris pivots, first diagonally to dodge as the bag closes in on him. He punches the bag away, changing its trajectory. When it rebounds faster he repeats the process, shifting his feet to two different squares created by the cross and avoiding contact before sending it in a new direction. Coby uses the sounds to track Kris through the building, finally finding him and wrapping both hands around the bag to stop it from moving.
Coby: Are you trying to start a fight with me, because I am close to taking you up on it?
Kris had prepared for frustration, but Coby was much more than that now. There was real, genuine rage on his face, which was new territory for Kris. He had never been more than a mild annoyance to Coby, despite trying to push the envelope on several occasions.
Kris: You can’t get all bent out of shape just because I gave you a little help in your match. I know you had it under control, I just really wanted to boot that guy in the dome meat. Can’t stand him. Never could. It wasn’t like I was saying you needed help or anything.
Coby rolls his eyes and shoves the bag towards Kris. He does all he can to avoid it, but has to brace himself and just absorb the contact. The bag hits him in the center of the sternum, knocking the air out of his lungs.
Coby: You’re such an idiot….
Kris struggles to force air back into his lungs, suddenly not finding what he had done to Coby just a week before comical anymore. He steps away from the equipment, and puts his hands on his thighs, leaning forward in an attempt to force more air into his lungs. It was getting easier to breathe, albeit slowly.
Kris: Jesus! You’re still mad... about the camera thing?
Coby takes a step forward, balling up his fists. It was like Kris was toying with him.
Coby: Why do you always have to go digging up stuff from the past that is better off being forgotten?
The picture finally snapped together for Kris. It had been the old promo of Griffin’s that he had posted. The one showing that his opponent had been through his own fair share of less-than-flattering days in this business.
Kris: I don’t see why you’re all bent out of shape, it was eight years ago.
Coby tries to advance on Kris, but the Grand Slam Champion holds up his hands in a gesture to tell him to just wait. Coby instead turns and hits the bag that Kris had been working against. It nearly sends the entire apparatus to the ground when the bag attempts to rebound.
Coby: Nevermind...
Having regained most of his capacity to breathe, Kris was not about to let the argument slip away from him after having to take a free shot over it. As Coby turned to leave, Kris did the only thing that he could do to get his historically non-confrontational friend to actually say what was on his mind.
Kris: You’re quick to point the finger of blame, but can’t even get all the words out before you explode about it. Really contradicts the whole zen thing that you try to sell to everyone.
It was a cheap shot, and even Kris knew it, but it was enough to get Coby to stop in his tracks. Unwittingly, Kris had just made his point for him. Coby spins around, his tone less hostile, but more accusatory than it had been previously.
Coby: You never really stop to think about how the things you say mess with people do you? It’s all just white noise to you. Everyone just has to play your game one way or another, right? Whether they want to or not?
Kris did not see the problem with it. Especially because it looked like most people were ignoring him these days anyways.
Kris: It’s not like Parker is even still mad about any of that. I talked to him before I even brought it up. Yeah, what Griffin said about him was shitty. None of it was true though. It was all just Griffin trying to piss him off because of who Parker worked for.
Coby could not believe that Kris was missing the point by that much.
Coby: You don’t even remember being there do you? Because I do.
The question catches Kris by surprise, and his face scrunches up as he tries to reach back to the memories that far back in his mind. He shakes his head, realizing that it is all a hazy, drug-filled, mistake-riddled blackout. Honestly, he had not even been the one to remember it originally, just thought of it as useful for his situation.
Kris: Pretty sure that was before you would have been part of the gym man. I don’t even think I was up and going in the business back then.
Coby rolls his eyes, having a much clearer memory of the night than Kris did, and probably for good reason.
Coby: I was there. I bought a ticket and went with friends. It was actually the first time that I met Parker, and tried to convince him to train me. I actually got to go back into the locker rooms where we stumbled across an addict that was clearly in no shape to be in public. It was you. Smacked out at a show you had no business being at. Of course, because of that, Parker blew me off, and tried to tell me to go to school.
Kris interrupts his friend, the memories of a much younger Coby always popping up started to come back to him. Both Parker and Kris’ brother Jason had refused to train Coby unless he was also going to school. All of the founding members of Jet City had been dealt serious injuries throughout their careers. They were not about to let a bright young student get away with not having a back-up plan. Still, he was at a loss for what all the anger was about.
Kris: So you think he was shitty because of Griffin? You been holding a grudge about it?
Coby shakes his head.
Coby: It’s not even that. You want to bring up what Griffin said, how about how that shit weighed on Parker? How about how he felt like he was representing an entire community by going out and fighting someone that had a bunch of black stereotypes to toss his way in a promo? Then add in the fact that he lost that match, all because he was taking care of some inconsiderate idiot backstage instead of paying attention to what he needed to be doing.
Kris was once again lost.
Kris: ...so now it’s my fault Griffin said that shit? I guess everyone really does hate Kris.
Coby lets the joke pass by without even acknowledging it.
Coby: I don’t even care about Griffin. That was then. This was now. It’s not my fight. The thing that I am mad about is how you constantly screw people over, and you’ve only ever cared about yourself. You screwed Parker when there were people like me there hoping that he could put Griffin in his place for saying all that shit, and now you have the audacity to try and use it against him when you know that’s not the person he is. You drove away basically all of Jet City. You’ve managed to agitate everyone in SCW, and have now decided that you are just allowed to pop in and do it in Underground at my expense. Even Mikah stopped showing up around SCW to annoy people once you came back. It’s like you work overtime to be a pain in every single ass you come across. You ever stop to think that maybe it is you that is the problem?
Coby had been hanging onto a lot of those feelings for a long time, and now that it was all out in the air, he felt exhausted by having carried it around for so long.
Kris: I mean it certainly could be that I-
Coby explodes, even if it is just for a second.
Coby: WHO ANSWERS THAT QUESTION?
Coby’s eyes close, and he lets out a deep breath that he had been unaware that he was holding in. He was too angry for this to be any kind of productive conversation. He should have waited until after he had cooled off. At least now that he was realizing his mistake, he could try and fix it. Kris seems more surprised by the explosion than anything else, and sits in stunned silence, just watching his friend sort through his emotions. When he starts to speak again, his voice is more level.
Coby: Man, just forget about it. I have my own stuff to worry about this weekend, and a partner that actually has my back. You just handle your stuff. I don’t need this right now.
Coby shoulder checks Kris as he finally forces his way past him. Kris turns to watch him head out the front door of the new Jet City South that they had built together, but does not try to go after him to continue fighting. He would have to let him cool off. Plus, he was right, there were bigger fish to fry at the moment.
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New Business
29 May 2020
ON-Camera
The feed comes to life in an office. The high-backed chair sitting behind the desk is facing the other way looking towards the wall to the back of the room. Someone had clearly taken great care in crafting the room. Three columns of bookshelves had been built into the wall itself, and backlit individually. Viewers can look easily from shelf to shelf at the pictures, books, and championships each contained. It does not take long for the viewers to deduce whose office they are in. Two pictures on a middle shelf to the right of the shelf shows Kris Ryans with both Kali Fox and his wife Heather. On each of the corner shelves sits one of the championships of Sin City Wrestling, all with Kris’ name on the bottom plates, with the exception of Jet City’s tag straps. He lets out a heavy sigh, the first indication to the fans that he is there at all, still completely obscured by the back of the chair.
Sorry for the lack of bells and whistles everyone….
He stops and laughs, finding something funny in his last line. His hands come up from the sides of the chair, motioning to the wall in front of him.
I usually try so hard to keep you people out of my personal space. I typically do these things from a gym, or while moving from place to place. I don’t really welcome people into my bubble, because that never really ends well.
He drops an arm, but uses the other to wave at the air, getting rid of the idea that got him off track. He had not allowed people into his office to throw himself a pity party. It was what was in front of him that was important, not his feelings about it. After all, the scattered pictures on the shelves seemed to pepper in all of the members of the Jet City family, and nearly all of them had turned their back on him at this point. That was not what he wanted to share with the audience though.
I wanted to talk about our history for just a second.
Kris stands from the chair, and runs his fingers along the top edge of the SCW Internet Championship. It was roughly waist height on the wall, just barely visible to the camera, and directly across from the Roulette Championship in the other corner. Both of Jet City’s tag team championships sit across from a second Roulette Championship and the SCW World Heavyweight Championship that he had won on the same night.
Usually people only want to talk about the good stuff, but that is awfully dishonest. I’m certainly guilty of it. I have been talking about my status as a Grand Slam Champion since coming back, even though every single one of my opponents has tried to say it doesn’t matter. They’re right...
Instead of sitting back down in his chair, Kris moves around to the front of the desk and leans against it, squared up to the camera.
...anyone can be wrong from time to time...
He does not look like himself. For once there is no grandiose posturing. There is no self-indulgent behavior that led people to sour on him in his return. He had stepped in front of the camera to tell the truth, as he sees it, for once in his life.
Take for instance, these promos we do. We set up a camera and say things leading into these kinds of matches in an attempt to gain a mental edge over our opponents. We poke and prod at our adversary’s perceived faults to get under their skin, and get them off their game.The problem is, the things we say on the way in don’t always hold up years later.
He laughs, and then corrects his statement to be a little bit more accurate.
Shit, a couple of years would actually be nice. In some cases, they don’t even hold up for the walk to the locker room after the match. People promise victory, only to get beaten. Sometimes people promise to maim, injure, or outright murder people in the middle of the ring, and fail to gain any momentum.
It is a definite jab at Jack Washington and all of the agony he had promised but failed to deliver on during their match on Climax Control. Kris does not linger on it, staging focused on his current opponent.
In the case of Griffin Hawkins, he said some really horrible things leading up to a match almost eight years ago, and has been trying to say that he is not the same person as he was back then. He is quick to brush it off as just a product of the time and what the company brought out in the people that are there. He is quick to say that he has grown as a person, and is better now. As terrible as his words were, and as hard as this is going to be to believe, I have no reason to doubt him. After all, he was not the only one stepping into a match and trying to gain an edge.
Kris raises his hand and runs his fingers through his hair, trying to pull back memories of that time.
People would say things like, “Griffin Hawkins is a face that you are only going to see in the background of something important.” “He isn’t a main event.” “He’s lucky to have a spot on the roster at all.” Even while the guy was showing up and busting ass. I remember Parker saying, ”calling Griffin Hawkins is insignificant would be an insult to truly insignificant people. He doesn’t deserve to be any higher than a curtain-jerking show opener.” Some people, like those that they worked for back then were more open about it. They would just hit you with ”Griffin Hawkins cannot lead a company anywhere but into the ground.”
Kris shakes his head. It was harsh, and not necessarily his own thoughts, but it was also a part of weird way that history had tangled the two of them.
I can see how a guy would lash out and try to say some attention grabbing shit in order to change the narrative about himself. I can understand trying to gain an edge, no matter what the cost is. When everyone is against you, sometimes you have to shock them in order to get your point across. Is it unsavory? Sure. But look where Griffin is now. Look at the person that he has become since then. He broke through like nobody thought that he could, and became a better person in the process. It is almost enough to make me want to cheer him on. Maybe I would be in his corner under different circumstances. The problem is, I am the one standing across from him this time.
...and this is the part where I am supposed to make those types of bold claims though, right? This is where I am supposed to say something about how Griffin doesn’t stand a chance. I’m supposed to close this thing out by making it seem like my hand being raised at the end of this thing is already a foregone conclusion.
I mean, it usually works out that way, doesn’t it? I have a knack for really making people look lackluster when I am the measuring stick that they are up against. To me, that doesn’t feel like building myself up, that is just the truth. Is it hard to hear for some people? Absolutely. Is it difficult for some of the people on the roster to stomach? Of course it is. The fact of the matter is that despite how much everyone wants to be, they aren't as good as I am. They haven't accomplished as much. They aren't going anywhere in Sin City Wrestling that I haven't already been.
It’s not like I’m unbeatable though. Not by any means. Honestly, if Griffin manages to pull this thing out at Into the Void, I wouldn't be surprised. If at the end of the match, Griffin cues up a Shot In The Dark and my shoulders are pinned to the ground, I am sure that nobody watching would be surprised. Look what Bill Barnhart was able to accomplish just a few weeks ago. Nobody saw that coming, and it acted as a catapult for that guy’s career. Those things happen, and there is no reason to think that if Bill got the job done, that Griffin couldn’t. I am not some unstoppable force, nor an immovable object. I’m not the biggest man on the roster by far. I am not the heaviest man by even more than that. What I am, is unpredictable.
That is why I have been so successful in this company, and in this business. I’m not someone that you can plan for. I’m not someone that follows a script. Inside that ring, I don’t have a gameplan that you can pick apart, I’m just there trying to survive until I find an opening to exploit. I’m not some technical wrestling genius, but I am a cannonball that can cave in the side of your face in a split second. Don’t believe me? Go ask John Blade about it, that is if his brains have been unscrambled in the last few days. Jack Washington thought that I was too injury prone, and too washed up to be able to keep up with him, but all it took was one SmackShot and my music was blasting through the PA system. I pick my spot, and after I hit it, nobody leaves the ring the same person that they walked in. Everyone doubts me on the way in, but understands on the way out. The things I do inside the ring are miraculous. There’s no other way to describe it. I’m one of a kind. An original, but not unbeatable. Not by a long shot.
Kris seems satisfied with the critique of himself. It isn't common that any superstar, let alone one as self serving as Kris would do anything to show weakness. His eyes move away from the camera and towards the shelves on the wall and the championships that rest on them. Kris thinks back through all of his championship reigns, but not for the successes that he had in winning them, or defending them. Instead, he replays each defeat: Despayre taking the Internet Championship from him, Jet City losing their belts in under a minute, Crimson busting his face open to take the Roulette Championship, and even failing to end Fenris’ reign before he took his two year sabbatical. He lets it sink in that he is unstoppable, and feels his focus sharpen, knowing that he is not without his own boundaries.
I am showing up to Into The Void hoping to add another win to an already storied career. I plan on walking out feeling like I am on top of the world. I like Griffin Hawkins. He and my wife are good friends. He is someone that has earned my respect over the last eight years where everyone told him that he was never going to amount to anything. He may have started out as a shitty person, but maybe getting a little reminder every now and again will help him to keep moving forward. A reality check from time to time keeps you humble.
If I am honest though, I don't care about the end result as much as I do about sending a message. We all know that Griffin Hawkins has eyes on the SCW World Heavyweight Championship. It was what he was after eight years ago when I was getting started in this business and he was saying things to be ashamed of. It is the only thing that he feels like he has yet to accomplish here. He wants to be the guy that the entire company has to look up at. All these years and he is still trying to prove all of the naysayers wrong. The problem is, unlike most of the people that he has come up against in this company, I have already been to the top. I have already done the thing that he wants most. Even worse, his biggest claim to fame in this company is breaking my Roulette record.
He says the words again for extra emphasis, pausing between them to make sure that they each have time to sink into the viewers’ minds.
MY. Record.
Kris taps his chest three times in the center of the chest, his words now picking up a little momentum.
Meaning I had already been there, and done that. The difference between the two of us is that after losing the Roulette Championship, I went on to win the SCW World Heavyweight Championship. And then I went on to hold it not until someone beat me, but until I had to walk away due to injury.
Kris had picked himself apart all week in an attempt to explain everything that Griffin had simply written off as a tantrum, but now it was Kris’ turn to really open up about what nobody was saying about his opponent.
Under all of the talk about me not being the same, or the company evolving, there is one simple truth. Griffin Hawkins wants to use me as a stepping stone to doing the things that I have already accomplished. He wants to catapult himself to the top of the contenders list, whether Ben Jordan or Mark Cross comes out of Into the Void with the biggest prize in SCW. The truth is, as soon as I came out to the ring and challenged him, his eyes lit up. He saw someone that nobody can deny is a star in this company. He saw someone with an indisputable record in this company. He saw someone that carried this company. Regardless of anything he says about me, he knows that I am one of the single best to ever step into an SCW ring. That was why it was a no brainer that he would accept. I am his best chance to take that step to the main event.
Come time for Into The Void, my message to Griffin and the rest of this roster will be perfectly clear. People don’t get to just pass me up on their way to the top of this company. I might not be carrying around the title, but take a look at how just being in this match has already helped Griffin. We are talking about a guy that lost at Blaze of Glory, and again on Climax Control. The highlight of his month was me coming out and throwing him a bone. He may not have made it onto the card otherwise.
The Grand Slam Champion snaps his fingers.
...and just like that he is a win away from being considered a real contender.
Kris holds his arms out to his side, allowing himself to bask in his praise of himself.
Such is the power of the miracle.
The whole thing seems over-the-top, but such is Kris’ nature. The important thing was that he appeared to be back to feeling more like himself.
I’m sorry to tell these young and hungry newcomers, if you want to be considered one of the best, you need to go through me. Unfortunately for most of you, that’s too high of a bar to expect you to be able to clear.
He circles back around to the task at hand, leaving the rest of the roster for another time and place.
We’ll see which side of the fence Griffin lands on soon enough. I hope he knows what he is getting into when he steps through those ropes. I hope he has prepared himself for what is going to be waiting for him in this match. I hope he realizes everything that he has to lose if I walk away victorious. If not, he has a week to figure it all out. As for all you couch surfers out there, you are going to have to wait another week to find out.
With that, the camera cuts to black.
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