Pride, Honor, and Excellence

[ChrisMadison]

FGA Video Diary: Series 2 - Volume #9
February 13th, 2017
New York City, New York

[•REC]

"Pride, Honor, and Excellence..."

Chris let the words that smoothly rolled off of the tip of his tongue resonate for a moment. He leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on a gold metal railing in front of him. He leaned forward slightly and looked over the balcony he was sitting on, down towards the wide open, carpeted, ballroom floor. To his right, spotlights shined down on a large stage, helping illuminate the empty venue.

"This right here, this is where it all began..."

Once again, Chris took a moment to let his words set in.

"Nearly four years ago, a tournament to crown the first ever FGA Pride Champion culminated in this very building. FGA camera crews filmed the super show for those who weren't privileged to witness history live. Malcolm Drake and Kevin Hardaway each wanted to etch their names into FGA lore but it was Kevin Hardaway who picked up the decisive two-oh victory. Since then, there have been fifteen title changes, thirteen different title holders. Of those thirteen different Pride Champions, only four have successfully defended that championship on more than one occasion: Kevin Hardaway, Chandler Scott, Riley Owens, and Tony Carmine. This championship is in desperate need of an overhaul; a fresh face that'll help it soar to new heights."

Chris sat back in the red upholstered seat, bringing his feet up onto the balcony ledge in front of him, folding his knees upwards towards his chest.

"I'm not trying to take anything away from Molly Reid. But everything I've been work towards over the last year and a half has been building up to Grapple Kingdom. That Pride Championship validates all of the hard work I've put in since returning to the ring after a dismal first run in FGA. I think the absolute world of Molly Reid. She has the talent to become a MAJOR player in this industry for years to come. I just happen to think that much more of myself and what I'm capable of doing with my back against the wall."

"No one can stand here in front of a camera and discredit Molly's body of work in FGA with any conviction. She has fought tooth and nail since debuting against Mark Storm just over a year ago. If you dissect her FGA career you couldn't pinpoint a single easy match. The girl is truly battle tested! That championship she carries is proof that dedication and hard works pays off! She is the living embodiment of you reap what you sow."

"I'm not going to sit here and try to hype myself up by comparing the people she's faced to me. She's competed with the best and beaten some of the best. The real question she needs to ask herself is has she faced anyone as motivated as me? I have never hidden my agenda. From when I first stepped into a FGA ring with Tommy Knox by my side to my comeback tour, it's always been about pushing myself and proving that there is t a single obstacle in this industry that I can't hurdle. With Knox, we were much more brash and in-your-face. We wanted to force feed the Black Hand down the throats of the FGA fans, giving them an alternative when it comes to tag team wrestling. In just mere months we were challenging and defeating the tag team champions. A technicality and injuries prevented us from earning those straps that should have been ours. This second run has been more of a personal journey though. No one to watch my back; just these two fists and a never-say-die fighting spirit. Don't believe me? Think I'm full of shit? Take a look at my body of work over the last year and a half!"

"Wrestler's are overly confident by nature. It's a product of our competitive spirit. I know for a fact that Molly is looking at this title match and seeing no other outcome than her walking out of Vancouver, still, the FGA Pride Champion. But that would mean that she accomplished a feat that only two other people in this industry could claim over the last eighteen months. Only one of which can say he stood toe to toe with Chris Madison, took no shortcuts, and walked out the better man. Plenty have stepped up and thought, just like Molly, that they had what it took to keep me down and out. Only Annie Zellor and Matt Meyhu can truthfully state that they've beaten Chris Madison."

"Let that sink in for a minute..."

Chris readjusted himself, swinging his legs off of the ledge and bouncing up to his feet. He grabbed the metal railing and looked over the balcony, soaking in the iconic Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom.

"But if you listen to the way Molly speaks, you'd think she's the one who barely knows what losing feels like. Leading up to this match at Grapple Kingdom there has been a lot of talk about respect. I've claimed to respect Molly Reid and she's claimed to respect Chris Madison. Only we really know how sincere that sentiment truly is. Red flags raised for her when I questioned her integrity. I saw her friends trying to tempt her to do each other's dirty work and then witnessed her, wether accidentally or intentionally, grab a hold of Dom Harter's trunks while trying to pin him. It'd be a damn shame if Molly poured her blood, sweat, and tears into proving her critics wrong, just to reinforce their claims by taking shortcuts."

"Maybe I was out of line for questioning her..."

"Maybe I should have just kept my opinion to myself..."

"Either way I have no problem owning it. I want to be wrong about Molly but I still have my doubts. And could you fault me? Twice I've had opportunities to win championship gold in FGA, and twice I've been robbed. Laurel Ann Hardy went ballistic during our tag team title match, taking out a referee and getting her team disqualified; losing but keeping those straps around their waists. Annie Zellor took advantage of poor positioning by the official, hitting me with a low blow to set up her Rough 'n' Tumble II, eliminating me from the tournament that ended up crowning Cordy Stevenson the new FGA World Champion. I've had shit luck when it's comes to title matches in FGA. So pardon me if I'm expecting the field to end up tilted in Molly's favor at some point throughout the match..."

"...that's just been my luck."

Madison couldn't help but pause for a second and chuckle.

"But just as my skepticism could be taken as disrespect, so can her cockiness! Simply acknowledging my abilities and past accomplishments is not a sign of holding me in high regard. Acknowledging that I'm fully capable of taking that title away from you, ending your fairytale title run would be showing me that respect that you've claimed to have. There's no foregone conclusion as to how our match plays out at Grapple Kingdom. We both want that championship belt. We both feel like we need this win to solidify ourselves amongst the elite in FGA. But hearing you speak, it seems like I don't stand a chance. I might as well just do myself a favor and keep myself in the locker room. Save myself the pain and anguish of defeat."

"Regardless of the outcome, whoever is carrying the FGA Pride Championship out of Vancouver saturday night, respect will be undeniably earned! At Final Frontier we both excelled in matches inspired by Pride Rules; mine a submissions only, yours a no disqualification. We bested our opponents and made it perfectly clear to the committee that the best move for the company would be to put us against each other with the FGA Pride Championship on the line. By the time we're through their won't be a person inside that arena sitting in their seat!"

"That belt deserves a champion who can carry it while exhibiting the very characteristics the division was created to showcase: pride, honor, and excellence. Maybe Molly Reid is the kind of champion that can do exactly that. She holds her head high and honestly believes that there isn't a single person on this roster that can beat her one on one. But it's easy to be that confident when you average a title defense every seventy days! I can be the fighting champion this division desperately needs to revitalize it. That strap deserves it. Those fans deserve it. This organization deserves it. FGA used to be synonymous with the art of Wrestling. Grapple Kingdom can be the start of re-establishing that perception..."

"Molly, we're going to give those fans that fill the Rogers Arena a Pride Rules match they'll never forget. I just hope you truly know what you've gotten yourself into. I'm always ready to go to war, to lay down the ultimate sacrifice. Are you?"

Madison stares into the camera lens for a moment, almost as if to give Molly a chance to respond before the feed cuts out and fades to static.