Post by america on Dec 7, 2020 22:53:40 GMT -5
“This is how we win.”
Months ago in what could have been another lifetime, Zaigon Carter was giving America the plan. Their debut in APW was imminent and as someone who’d spent some time navigating the business prior and who had suffered greatly due to mistakes he made along the way, Zaigon was laying out a plan that he thought sure to carry them to victory. Six months later, both men would be former APW Champions and while America would still hold gold in the company, Zaigon Carter would already have departed. Of course, neither of them could know this yet. They could only trust that victory was in the preparation.
“We hit them fast. Call out the champs, talk unbelievable amounts of shit, generally rile up the crowd enough to get them talking. Sooner or later, someone will be dumb enough to talk themselves into a title match with one of us. Earlier the better. They’ll be more likely to underestimate us. Give us openings we couldn’t have otherwise. Even if they’re good, we only have to be better for a night.”
America followed. It wasn’t difficult. Being the best on a given night was what he’d had to do his whole life. Zaigon had all sorts of plans and ideas, but at the end of the day all he needed to do was get in there and win. He knew his part. Zaigon would take care of the rest. The big ideas. The big ambitions. That’s what a guy like him was best at, beyond all else. The two of them together…he knew they could change the whole shape of the place.
“Winning a title…that’s what this whole thing is about, America. This business is about walking out there and showing folks who you really are. Making your mark and letting them know that no matter what they think, you’re the best and you won’t let anything they do keep you from telling it. They’ll try and keep it from you. They’ll try and tell the world that the great are the ones who put in the work. That the best are the types who grind in and out each day and never get anywhere. But that’s not us, America. That’s never been us.”
It was an idea. Practiced and postured. We are great because we are great. We have nothing to prove because we are great. There was a degree to which America believed it. After all, he’d seen so many people put in about as much work as him and never come out with the same number of wins. But at the same time, he’d put so much time into it…the blood, sweat, and tears. If he needed to lay in some more to get where he needed to be, that was something he was prepared to do.
“They’ll try to deny us. Try to steal from us. Try all sorts of little plans and schemes to deny us what’s rightfully ours. But you know what we have to do to stop them?”
Zaigon smiled. America reflected it. After all…the answer was something he already knew well.
“Be great.”
Why am I still fighting?
It’s a question you have to ask yourself sometimes.
When I started in APW, I was in rough shape. Pa was in prison for beating Ma so bad she ain’t said a single word since. I had to leave college. A full ride, shot at Olympic qualifiers…all gone. My Ma needed me to provide, so goddamn if I wasn’t going to do it. Got into fighting and no matter what the grind was, I could do it because I knew what I was fighting for.
Then Zaigon Carter called me up. He gave me a lot of ideals and promises, but the biggest thing he gave me was that financial security. For all the games I played, all the lines I uttered when I got here, the whole gig was mercenary for me. Once again, I had bills and Zaigon was happy to foot them as long as he got a foot soldier out of it. I gave him my best and we worked well together.
Then Alpha Showdown happened. I had a moment…Zaigon wanted me to fight to save his title. He wouldn’t say it to me but I could tell that in the back of his mind, he expected me to sacrifice myself if it meant keeping the belt around his waist. I thought real hard about it. I thought about Ma. But I realized then that at some point this had become more than a job to me. I also realized that to keep my family safe, I had to be able to stand on my own two feet.
I had already held a title.
That was when I became a champion.
Now I’ve got all the money that I need to take care of my family. I’ve done all kinds of things in this business, running up the ways I can make new marks here. So what keeps me going? What drives me? I been asking myself and asking myself and honestly, it’s hard to find a single great answer. This is a tough business. It takes and it takes from you and when I lost my spot on the top of the mountain I had a real moment where I considered what my next steps had to look like.
Then I realized it.
I found my answer.
So my question to my opponents tonight is…what’s driving you?
A chance to chase lost glory?
The desire to reinvent yourselves?
The need to validate yourselves against so many criticisms?
I’ve faced both of you before. I know your desperation.
I know how hard you’ll push for a chance to be a champion just one more time.
You’ll risk your whole career on a gambled return.
You’ll turn yourself into a monster in a gambit for power.
And all of it…
All of it for nothing.
Because neither of you can beat me.
I told you before that I don’t underestimate my enemies and that’s true. I know just how hard you’ll fight and what you’ll bring to this match. I know how deep I have to dig to stop you. I know the games you’ll play and I know how to win them because I have won them before. I can see how you’re trying to find a new angle…to dig deeper and become a different, better person each time we lock up. You just fail to understand that the biggest thing getting in your way is yourselves.
You will always lose because you will always fear that loss.
For me…the only fight that matters is the one I can lose.
That’s why I’m still here.
That’s why I have to be the best.
Because when I stand on top of this mountain, the best in the world come to face me.
Because I need to know what it’s like to stand on the edge of defeat and push back.
Because beating people who are beneath me is meaningless.
Because.
Because.
Because.
Nothing in this fucking world means a thing until I get Damon Warrens’ blood on my hands!
I have fought and I have fought and I have fought.
I just keep winning.
You keep trying to take this belt from me and
I
Just
Keep
Winning.
You can’t stop me with broken toys.
You can’t stop me with former champs.
You can’t stop me with mystery monsters.
You can’t stop me with reinvented nightmares.
YOU
CAN’T
STOP
ME.
Keep giving me title defenses.
BRING THEM THE FUCK ON.
Give me my next challenger before 2020 lets out.
I want to end this year by shattering the last record this company can put in front of me.
Then when you have no more challengers.
When you have no more EXCUSES.
In 2021.
GIVE ME DAMON WARRENS.
Months ago in what could have been another lifetime, Zaigon Carter was giving America the plan. Their debut in APW was imminent and as someone who’d spent some time navigating the business prior and who had suffered greatly due to mistakes he made along the way, Zaigon was laying out a plan that he thought sure to carry them to victory. Six months later, both men would be former APW Champions and while America would still hold gold in the company, Zaigon Carter would already have departed. Of course, neither of them could know this yet. They could only trust that victory was in the preparation.
“We hit them fast. Call out the champs, talk unbelievable amounts of shit, generally rile up the crowd enough to get them talking. Sooner or later, someone will be dumb enough to talk themselves into a title match with one of us. Earlier the better. They’ll be more likely to underestimate us. Give us openings we couldn’t have otherwise. Even if they’re good, we only have to be better for a night.”
America followed. It wasn’t difficult. Being the best on a given night was what he’d had to do his whole life. Zaigon had all sorts of plans and ideas, but at the end of the day all he needed to do was get in there and win. He knew his part. Zaigon would take care of the rest. The big ideas. The big ambitions. That’s what a guy like him was best at, beyond all else. The two of them together…he knew they could change the whole shape of the place.
“Winning a title…that’s what this whole thing is about, America. This business is about walking out there and showing folks who you really are. Making your mark and letting them know that no matter what they think, you’re the best and you won’t let anything they do keep you from telling it. They’ll try and keep it from you. They’ll try and tell the world that the great are the ones who put in the work. That the best are the types who grind in and out each day and never get anywhere. But that’s not us, America. That’s never been us.”
It was an idea. Practiced and postured. We are great because we are great. We have nothing to prove because we are great. There was a degree to which America believed it. After all, he’d seen so many people put in about as much work as him and never come out with the same number of wins. But at the same time, he’d put so much time into it…the blood, sweat, and tears. If he needed to lay in some more to get where he needed to be, that was something he was prepared to do.
“They’ll try to deny us. Try to steal from us. Try all sorts of little plans and schemes to deny us what’s rightfully ours. But you know what we have to do to stop them?”
Zaigon smiled. America reflected it. After all…the answer was something he already knew well.
“Be great.”
Why am I still fighting?
It’s a question you have to ask yourself sometimes.
When I started in APW, I was in rough shape. Pa was in prison for beating Ma so bad she ain’t said a single word since. I had to leave college. A full ride, shot at Olympic qualifiers…all gone. My Ma needed me to provide, so goddamn if I wasn’t going to do it. Got into fighting and no matter what the grind was, I could do it because I knew what I was fighting for.
Then Zaigon Carter called me up. He gave me a lot of ideals and promises, but the biggest thing he gave me was that financial security. For all the games I played, all the lines I uttered when I got here, the whole gig was mercenary for me. Once again, I had bills and Zaigon was happy to foot them as long as he got a foot soldier out of it. I gave him my best and we worked well together.
Then Alpha Showdown happened. I had a moment…Zaigon wanted me to fight to save his title. He wouldn’t say it to me but I could tell that in the back of his mind, he expected me to sacrifice myself if it meant keeping the belt around his waist. I thought real hard about it. I thought about Ma. But I realized then that at some point this had become more than a job to me. I also realized that to keep my family safe, I had to be able to stand on my own two feet.
I had already held a title.
That was when I became a champion.
Now I’ve got all the money that I need to take care of my family. I’ve done all kinds of things in this business, running up the ways I can make new marks here. So what keeps me going? What drives me? I been asking myself and asking myself and honestly, it’s hard to find a single great answer. This is a tough business. It takes and it takes from you and when I lost my spot on the top of the mountain I had a real moment where I considered what my next steps had to look like.
Then I realized it.
I found my answer.
So my question to my opponents tonight is…what’s driving you?
A chance to chase lost glory?
The desire to reinvent yourselves?
The need to validate yourselves against so many criticisms?
I’ve faced both of you before. I know your desperation.
I know how hard you’ll push for a chance to be a champion just one more time.
You’ll risk your whole career on a gambled return.
You’ll turn yourself into a monster in a gambit for power.
And all of it…
All of it for nothing.
Because neither of you can beat me.
I told you before that I don’t underestimate my enemies and that’s true. I know just how hard you’ll fight and what you’ll bring to this match. I know how deep I have to dig to stop you. I know the games you’ll play and I know how to win them because I have won them before. I can see how you’re trying to find a new angle…to dig deeper and become a different, better person each time we lock up. You just fail to understand that the biggest thing getting in your way is yourselves.
You will always lose because you will always fear that loss.
For me…the only fight that matters is the one I can lose.
That’s why I’m still here.
That’s why I have to be the best.
Because when I stand on top of this mountain, the best in the world come to face me.
Because I need to know what it’s like to stand on the edge of defeat and push back.
Because beating people who are beneath me is meaningless.
Because.
Because.
Because.
Nothing in this fucking world means a thing until I get Damon Warrens’ blood on my hands!
I have fought and I have fought and I have fought.
I just keep winning.
You keep trying to take this belt from me and
I
Just
Keep
Winning.
You can’t stop me with broken toys.
You can’t stop me with former champs.
You can’t stop me with mystery monsters.
You can’t stop me with reinvented nightmares.
YOU
CAN’T
STOP
ME.
Keep giving me title defenses.
BRING THEM THE FUCK ON.
Give me my next challenger before 2020 lets out.
I want to end this year by shattering the last record this company can put in front of me.
Then when you have no more challengers.
When you have no more EXCUSES.
In 2021.
GIVE ME DAMON WARRENS.
