Post by america on Dec 7, 2020 0:00:39 GMT -5
We need to start this right.
It’s important to understand what this match means, after all.
America Jackson has become THE Champion of APW.
A triple crown champion, having held the World, North American, and Tag Team Titles.
The undisputed best American Champion, having beaten Lex Collins’ length record by defeating the man himself before shooting far past Road Dawg’s defense record months ago.
But what about other champions?
Man Made Gods made it 154 days as tag team champions. The longest title reign of any kind in APW history…until America Jackson beat it this past week.
Eli Beazley got through 6 Junior Title defenses, an incredible feat…which America Jackson will tie upon retaining his title this week.
Anything another champion has done in APW, America Jackson has done it or exceeded it.
His reign is THE reign.
The Champion to beat isn’t his partner, though Damon Warrens remains one of the only worthy men in this company and will surely conquer the pretend monster that is Corey Bull come Metal. America Jackson has all the respect in the world for Damon Warrens, but the fact remains that as good as Damon Warrens is…he remains the second best wrestler here.
So who does America get to make history against?
Derek Wellings and Jason Ryan…oh, I’m sorry, THE BANE…
Riley breaks into a snicker, having to force down a laugh before regaining his composure.
I’m sorry. I just cannot imagine a world in which Jason Ryan as cartoon boogeyman is halfway scary when you know that under it all he’s still just…perpetual choke artist Jason Ryan. The man pulled his best booga booga spooky scary act on fucking murder island and he still couldn’t walk away with the Hardcore Title. The fact that he tripped over his shoes once and managed to score a win over one of the best world champions in this company’s history remains a grave injustice which will not be replicated with the American Title.
America Jackson is not afraid of Jason Ryan.
America Jackson has faced Jason Ryan.
America Jackson has beaten Jason Ryan.
America Jackson will beat Jason Ryan again.
Meanwhile Derek Wellings…
I told you, you should have walked away.
I’m sure you’ll have your line about how your loss wasn’t a real one and how you still haven’t been pinned or forced to submit. Frustratingly, in a triple threat match you may still slip out of this without America Jackson pinning your shoulders to the mat. Regardless, the facts are clear.
Derek Wellings walked into a title match on his first day with the company and he choked.
You had so much to say about how you deserved the opportunity and how your past achievements had prepared you for what was going to happen, yet when the time came to step into that ring and show what you had, you couldn’t get it done. You took a loss by disqualification because you couldn’t stand the fact that America Jackson had you dead to rights.
I suppose it worked out for you. After all, here you are getting another title shot without having done a thing to prove you deserve it. It’s appropriate to see you and Jason Ryan in the same match. It’s like you can have a glimpse into your future. Two men trying to convince themselves they’re only has beens instead of never was cases, somehow constantly falling upward into underserved title shots only to choke and fail again and again.
How are you going to rebuild from this Derek? You’re going to go 0-2 in your first matches here, walk on out there, and expect that people will take you seriously? I mean sure, you’re facing the gold standard in this company but the resume doesn’t grade you on quality of competition. This isn’t a place where close counts.
You either get the job done or you don’t.
You can’t.
Either of you.
No matter how many ways you try to shake things up, you’ll always be the same.
The Bane is still Jason Ryan at heart.
Derek Wellings is still stuck in the past.
Both stuck as footnotes in other people’s stories.
You’ll move on from this loss, I’m sure. Maybe you can have a best of a million series against each other so you can trade wins and talk a big game about being equals and pretend that the epics you think you’re having against each other matter beyond your own little world. Whatever keeps you occupied while the real best in the world face bigger and better challenges than the likes of you.
America is a busy man.
He has more records to break and new ones to be set.
He has the challenge of Bonnie Blue and whoever her dance partner is for the tag titles.
He has the inevitable clash to determine the best in the company, at the end of which…
He has a World Title to reclaim.
Then
America was in the middle of a heater.
36 straight wins, most of them pinfalls. He was going to be finishing the season as one of the top competitors for the school. There were talks of Olympic trials in his future. He was leaving it all out on the mat but it was starting to get repetitive. The wins felt obligatory. His victories felt assured before he even stepped out there. On some level the challenge he’d faced when he first started at a Collegiate level felt long behind him.
He was in the middle of a training session with a senior, Clark Priest. He had gone 3-0 against Clark over the last year. This skirmish felt like any of those matches. He was going to shut him down and pin him yet again. He could feel it. The flow was the same, the story remained as it had been, everything was in place…
Yet Clark snuck a pin and America got his shoulder up a second too late.
It wasn’t on the record. It would never show up as a result. But in this one mock match, Clark had managed to pin him. America was shocked. It had been so long since anyone had managed to do it. He shook Clark’s hand. Clark gave him a wry smile as they shook.
“Didn’t think I could do it, huh?” Clark asked. America gave a small shrug in acknowledgement. Clark nodded. “Probably couldn’t have if you took me serious. Getting cocky like that…complacent…even someone who ain’t got the skill you do can catch you napping.”
“I don’t know about…”
“Don’t give me that shit.” Clark said. “I’m gonna keep at it through college because hey, fuck it, you know? I have fun, I get laid, I got a scholarship. I’ll take it. But you? You’re gonna go to places way beyond what any of us are gonna see. You just gotta keep your head about it.”
“You think?” America asked, only half sincerely.
“If we can get that passive farmboy attitude out of you, yeah!” Clark laughed. “We’ve all got our moments of greatness, Jackson.
“But you…you’re gonna live greatness.”
I know how I must seem.
The confidence.
From a distance, it could look like arrogance. After all, I’ve been caught in spots like this before. My first loss in this company was when Sarah Lacklan tapped out Masada Jubei. My second came when my tag partner submitted. Third came when I couldn’t catch my opponent from escaping a cage. Any time it comes to a match like this where I can lose it without being pinned or submitted, I feel a little edge on my shoulder. After all, neither of you had to be better’n me. You just need to be better than each other for three good seconds.
I trust in myself though.
It may look like it, but I don’t take any match lightly. Whether a challenger is a long running veteran or a hot rookie, I take them serious in the prep and in the fight. After all, when I wasn’t all that long in the business, one Steven Osbourne didn’t see me as the fight of his life and he got humbled so badly for it that I walked out with his title and he walked out of this company not long after. Shame, honestly. Man was a hell of a champion and put up a hell of a fight. I’m a little upset because the only way to beat his record number of reigns is to drop this belt once or twice and that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
When I faced Jason Ryan last time, I came at him full strength. When I faced Derek Wellings a week ago you got all of me too, even if you took a chump way out of it. I know I can beat either of you one on one sure as I know I can beat you in this match as well. If I gotta be as good as the both of you combined…well, I can handle that.
I had my moment of hubris and I lost the World Title for it.
I thought I could go two defenses in a night and just…shrug them off. I thought Andrew Barnes didn’t have what it took to sneak it past me even after facing Lex Collins. I’m still sure I could beat him on almost any other night, but he’s gone to the wind after dropping the belt and I’m still here, pining for a return match I’ll never get. All because I let my ego get in the way of being the champion I should have been.
So no matter how much I know it…no matter how I feel in my bones the distance between us, I’m not going to let you boys have an opening to take advantage of. While everyone seems to be losing their way to title shots in this company, that’s not the kind of man that I am. When I step in the ring with Damon Warrens, World Title on the line, I want him to know I got there by being the absolute best in the company. When I beat him for that title, I don’t want any doubt over who deserved it more.
So no losses.
No attacks.
No shortcuts.
My road back to the title has to be paved with me being the absolute best.
I won’t slip.
I won’t falter.
I won’t give you an inch.
As much as either of you might need this win to legitimize all the tough talk you’ve failed to back up in this company, I need this victory for so much more. I need to be THE best champion in this company’s history. I need people to look at this title and look at the World and start to question which title really is the top one in this company. I need my greatness to be so unquestionable that the only question when Damon and I lock up is “How did it take so long?”
I am THE APW Champion.
I am the Ace of this company.
Nothing else matters.
It’s important to understand what this match means, after all.
America Jackson has become THE Champion of APW.
A triple crown champion, having held the World, North American, and Tag Team Titles.
The undisputed best American Champion, having beaten Lex Collins’ length record by defeating the man himself before shooting far past Road Dawg’s defense record months ago.
But what about other champions?
Man Made Gods made it 154 days as tag team champions. The longest title reign of any kind in APW history…until America Jackson beat it this past week.
Eli Beazley got through 6 Junior Title defenses, an incredible feat…which America Jackson will tie upon retaining his title this week.
Anything another champion has done in APW, America Jackson has done it or exceeded it.
His reign is THE reign.
The Champion to beat isn’t his partner, though Damon Warrens remains one of the only worthy men in this company and will surely conquer the pretend monster that is Corey Bull come Metal. America Jackson has all the respect in the world for Damon Warrens, but the fact remains that as good as Damon Warrens is…he remains the second best wrestler here.
So who does America get to make history against?
Derek Wellings and Jason Ryan…oh, I’m sorry, THE BANE…
Riley breaks into a snicker, having to force down a laugh before regaining his composure.
I’m sorry. I just cannot imagine a world in which Jason Ryan as cartoon boogeyman is halfway scary when you know that under it all he’s still just…perpetual choke artist Jason Ryan. The man pulled his best booga booga spooky scary act on fucking murder island and he still couldn’t walk away with the Hardcore Title. The fact that he tripped over his shoes once and managed to score a win over one of the best world champions in this company’s history remains a grave injustice which will not be replicated with the American Title.
America Jackson is not afraid of Jason Ryan.
America Jackson has faced Jason Ryan.
America Jackson has beaten Jason Ryan.
America Jackson will beat Jason Ryan again.
Meanwhile Derek Wellings…
I told you, you should have walked away.
I’m sure you’ll have your line about how your loss wasn’t a real one and how you still haven’t been pinned or forced to submit. Frustratingly, in a triple threat match you may still slip out of this without America Jackson pinning your shoulders to the mat. Regardless, the facts are clear.
Derek Wellings walked into a title match on his first day with the company and he choked.
You had so much to say about how you deserved the opportunity and how your past achievements had prepared you for what was going to happen, yet when the time came to step into that ring and show what you had, you couldn’t get it done. You took a loss by disqualification because you couldn’t stand the fact that America Jackson had you dead to rights.
I suppose it worked out for you. After all, here you are getting another title shot without having done a thing to prove you deserve it. It’s appropriate to see you and Jason Ryan in the same match. It’s like you can have a glimpse into your future. Two men trying to convince themselves they’re only has beens instead of never was cases, somehow constantly falling upward into underserved title shots only to choke and fail again and again.
How are you going to rebuild from this Derek? You’re going to go 0-2 in your first matches here, walk on out there, and expect that people will take you seriously? I mean sure, you’re facing the gold standard in this company but the resume doesn’t grade you on quality of competition. This isn’t a place where close counts.
You either get the job done or you don’t.
You can’t.
Either of you.
No matter how many ways you try to shake things up, you’ll always be the same.
The Bane is still Jason Ryan at heart.
Derek Wellings is still stuck in the past.
Both stuck as footnotes in other people’s stories.
You’ll move on from this loss, I’m sure. Maybe you can have a best of a million series against each other so you can trade wins and talk a big game about being equals and pretend that the epics you think you’re having against each other matter beyond your own little world. Whatever keeps you occupied while the real best in the world face bigger and better challenges than the likes of you.
America is a busy man.
He has more records to break and new ones to be set.
He has the challenge of Bonnie Blue and whoever her dance partner is for the tag titles.
He has the inevitable clash to determine the best in the company, at the end of which…
He has a World Title to reclaim.
Then
America was in the middle of a heater.
36 straight wins, most of them pinfalls. He was going to be finishing the season as one of the top competitors for the school. There were talks of Olympic trials in his future. He was leaving it all out on the mat but it was starting to get repetitive. The wins felt obligatory. His victories felt assured before he even stepped out there. On some level the challenge he’d faced when he first started at a Collegiate level felt long behind him.
He was in the middle of a training session with a senior, Clark Priest. He had gone 3-0 against Clark over the last year. This skirmish felt like any of those matches. He was going to shut him down and pin him yet again. He could feel it. The flow was the same, the story remained as it had been, everything was in place…
Yet Clark snuck a pin and America got his shoulder up a second too late.
It wasn’t on the record. It would never show up as a result. But in this one mock match, Clark had managed to pin him. America was shocked. It had been so long since anyone had managed to do it. He shook Clark’s hand. Clark gave him a wry smile as they shook.
“Didn’t think I could do it, huh?” Clark asked. America gave a small shrug in acknowledgement. Clark nodded. “Probably couldn’t have if you took me serious. Getting cocky like that…complacent…even someone who ain’t got the skill you do can catch you napping.”
“I don’t know about…”
“Don’t give me that shit.” Clark said. “I’m gonna keep at it through college because hey, fuck it, you know? I have fun, I get laid, I got a scholarship. I’ll take it. But you? You’re gonna go to places way beyond what any of us are gonna see. You just gotta keep your head about it.”
“You think?” America asked, only half sincerely.
“If we can get that passive farmboy attitude out of you, yeah!” Clark laughed. “We’ve all got our moments of greatness, Jackson.
“But you…you’re gonna live greatness.”
I know how I must seem.
The confidence.
From a distance, it could look like arrogance. After all, I’ve been caught in spots like this before. My first loss in this company was when Sarah Lacklan tapped out Masada Jubei. My second came when my tag partner submitted. Third came when I couldn’t catch my opponent from escaping a cage. Any time it comes to a match like this where I can lose it without being pinned or submitted, I feel a little edge on my shoulder. After all, neither of you had to be better’n me. You just need to be better than each other for three good seconds.
I trust in myself though.
It may look like it, but I don’t take any match lightly. Whether a challenger is a long running veteran or a hot rookie, I take them serious in the prep and in the fight. After all, when I wasn’t all that long in the business, one Steven Osbourne didn’t see me as the fight of his life and he got humbled so badly for it that I walked out with his title and he walked out of this company not long after. Shame, honestly. Man was a hell of a champion and put up a hell of a fight. I’m a little upset because the only way to beat his record number of reigns is to drop this belt once or twice and that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
When I faced Jason Ryan last time, I came at him full strength. When I faced Derek Wellings a week ago you got all of me too, even if you took a chump way out of it. I know I can beat either of you one on one sure as I know I can beat you in this match as well. If I gotta be as good as the both of you combined…well, I can handle that.
I had my moment of hubris and I lost the World Title for it.
I thought I could go two defenses in a night and just…shrug them off. I thought Andrew Barnes didn’t have what it took to sneak it past me even after facing Lex Collins. I’m still sure I could beat him on almost any other night, but he’s gone to the wind after dropping the belt and I’m still here, pining for a return match I’ll never get. All because I let my ego get in the way of being the champion I should have been.
So no matter how much I know it…no matter how I feel in my bones the distance between us, I’m not going to let you boys have an opening to take advantage of. While everyone seems to be losing their way to title shots in this company, that’s not the kind of man that I am. When I step in the ring with Damon Warrens, World Title on the line, I want him to know I got there by being the absolute best in the company. When I beat him for that title, I don’t want any doubt over who deserved it more.
So no losses.
No attacks.
No shortcuts.
My road back to the title has to be paved with me being the absolute best.
I won’t slip.
I won’t falter.
I won’t give you an inch.
As much as either of you might need this win to legitimize all the tough talk you’ve failed to back up in this company, I need this victory for so much more. I need to be THE best champion in this company’s history. I need people to look at this title and look at the World and start to question which title really is the top one in this company. I need my greatness to be so unquestionable that the only question when Damon and I lock up is “How did it take so long?”
I am THE APW Champion.
I am the Ace of this company.
Nothing else matters.
