State of the Arts: Into the New Year
Jan 18, 2019 23:13:36 GMT -5
Post by C.S.O. on Jan 18, 2019 23:13:36 GMT -5
Blog entry: January 15, 2019
It's been a while since I sat down to do one of these. I thought now would be a good time to do so.
The last month has been really busy for me in FGA and then we had a whole lot of shaking up done with the roster as well. There's a lot that I should probably address as I've been asked a lot of questions about things that I've been involved with in the last half of December and then some other general questions regarding where things are.
Since I've had some time over the last couple of weeks to absorb everything that has happened and reflect on it, I feel like I can actually sit down and discuss some of these events. It'll be easier to do so here than to try and cram it all into an on camera interview on Flashpoint or even during an Afterburn. With that, I guess I'll get right into it.
I've heard a lot of kind words from fans regarding the Frontier Lion's Cup and my performance within it. I suppose I should offer my thanks to everyone for their kind words in that regard. I can’t do so with true sincerity though. I still stand by my comments at the end of that night. I didn’t actually accomplish anything with that performance. I have earned nothing for my effort that night.
It was a real breakout showing for me in that I went from being a relatively unnoticed member of the roster in terms of singles competition to being the last person standing on the Flashpoint side of the brackets. I hadn't done anything of note as a singles competitor here in FGA up until my matches in the Lion's Cup.
Before my tournament qualifying match with Ashlyn, my last three singles matches were a loss to Dan Herrera, a loss to Evan Envi and a loss to Neon. I faced Dan back in 2017, a month and change before Ashlyn and I faced Dan and Peaches for the Tag titles for the first time. He hit me with Walking Papers and beat me clean, which injured me in the process. Evan's match was two weeks after the loss to Dan, and it was all downhill for me. It's a testament that I was able to hang in there that long against him. He picked me apart though. That match was never really in doubt though. I simply didn’t have enough in me to beat him there. I faced Neon in January of 2018 while she was the Fifteen champion and I thought that I was deserving of an opportunity against her for the title. She put me in my place in short order though. It wasn't a clean win for her... but it really doesn't matter. She put me down and got the three count that night. I ended up looking like some loudmouthed upstart who thought he was owed something, when in fact I was nothing. Those were three relatively high profile matches and all went badly for me.
Jump ahead ten months. I managed to edge out Ashlyn in a close fought match. I followed that by beating Johnny Karma cleanly in another really close match. I'm sure that one has shocked much of the FGA fanbase. You look at my shortfalls from a year prior and then look at the list of triumphs Karma had over the same period, or even his losses, which most of have been under questionable circumstances against the best the company had to offer, and there's no way I would be expected to win. But it happened. Then we reached Final Frontier and I built off that momentum. I beat Cassius Reed in the quarterfinals, then beat Ashley Sullivan in the semifinals. They weren't really big name opponents, but then no one really was in the Flashpoint final four. Reed had a reputation for winning tournaments and Ashley had been in several title matches recently, so they had recognized talent.
Then the tournament concluded with myself and Evan having yet another knock down drag out battle for supremacy. And like three of the prior four meetings between us, I came up short again.
It's tough making it through to the end of a competition like the Frontier Lion's Cup only to come up short at the very end. It certainly feels like a running theme in my singles career too. I've been a solid top tier competitor for years and I have plenty of second tier championships to my name. But there always seems to be a stumble for me when it comes to chasing a World championship or equivalent. So many title or number one contender match losses. This one hurt a lot more though. Losing to Evan for the third straight time and with these stakes... It seeds a lot of doubt for me going forward.
It's been about ten and a half years since I held a World championship and opportunities for me have been few and far between since. Interestingly, my last win over Evan was a little bit further back than that. Close to eleven years to the day. I wonder if I have enough left in me to get over those hurdles again.
So, the Lion's Cup was a mixed bag for me. It shows that I still have a lot to give and that I may have some more accomplishments I can add to my resume before I hang up my boots once and for all. On the other side of it, I am left with questions about whether I can deliver when I'm in the spotlight on my own. There's a lot I can still do, but are my best days behind me? Maybe 2019 will have some answers in that regard.
Before any of that gets sorted out though, first the fallout for the second night of Final Frontier will have to be dealt with.
What a mess that turned out to be. Hadley Herrera put the Polychromatic Lion Attack Squad back to the front of the line for another title match on that night. I thought it was another grossly unfair move by Hadley. I'd qualified for the Lion's Cup before that match was formally announced and when I heard about it I was pissed. It felt like I was being put in a position where I had to choose between building a reputation and standing for myself as a singles competitor or continuing to build upon the incredible run that Ashlyn and I have had as a team here in FGA. What was I supposed to put first? Myself or Ashlyn?
Ashlyn and I immediately went to upper management in FGA to complain about that situation. They wouldn't call off the match. Clearly Ashlyn didn't leave it at that. While I prepared for the Final Frontier weekend and the possibility of two to four matches for myself, she pressed the situation regarding Hadley. I think it was a harder push than I would have gone for, but then I'm not Ashlyn either. Even with the situation before her, she had unwavering confidence in us. I don't know how she did it, but she got the match changed so it was our titles versus Hadley's job.
Ashlyn gave me her blessing to go for broke in the Lion's Cup, but after I came up short, I was worried that we'd made a mistake and were going to have nothing by the end of night two. We'd given Dan and Peaches further incentive to give us all they had and I was well short of being at my best there for the match. It was a recipe for disaster for us.
Before we went out there for that match though, Ashlyn told me that she had this one for us. It was very personal for her. I think that is something that no one really took into consideration for this match. Peaches was ready that night to claim the World Tag Team championships again. We looked like we were easy pickings and that the safe bet was on us losing the titles there in New York. Ashlyn and I don't care much for the odds though and she carried us through that match regardless of what was expected. Then we eventually caught Dan in the C3A and had Peaches out of the equation. It was bad enough out there that Hadley ended up coming out to throw in the figurative towel for them to end the match.
There at that moment with the match ended, I felt the usual rush of winning a big match, of being able to say 'and still...' once again.
But... it didn't last very long.
I looked back over before I left the ring and saw Hadley, who we'd just forced to give up her job, there checking on her brother, who we'd just brutalized in front of her. I felt no joy at that... I'd never wanted things to escalate to that point between us, where we'd be fighting to remove from office the person that selected me to join the Flashpoint brand in 2017 and signed on Ashlyn a few months later. It really felt pointless to have things come to an end like that between us. Hadley had a blind spot where her family was concerned. I stand by that assessment of her. I do feel that Ashlyn's and my adversarial relationship with Dan and Peaches influenced her choices in dealing with us. Or maybe she just didn't expect us to take such offence at her actions. Beyond that, she seemed to be a suitable general manager for the Flashpoint brand.
Given a chance to do things differently... I'd like to think that I'd be willing to find a more reasonable resolution to the situation. Quite simply though, if it came down to another choice between her and us, there would be no real choice in the matter. I'd pick us every single time with no hesitation.
But that doesn't mean I won't have any regrets about the end result.
I just hope we don't end up in a similar, or worse, situation with the next Flashpoint GM. Otherwise, everything we just endured will have been for nothing.
So, that was all the really big news for me to end 2018. I won three out of four during Final Frontier. Lost the Frontier Lion's Cup. Still half of the FGA World Tag Team champions. Got my boss fired.
Kicking off January led us to the year end awards. I was glad to hear that Ashlyn and I were named the Tag Team of the Year. That was definitely a big honour for me. I've never been part of a team this successful. I’ve had three tenures being one half of a tag team championship run in other companies, but nothing close to this. Not even remotely. Eighteen months and we're still going strong. Considering that we teamed up on a whim for the 2017 Dynamic Duos tournament and have done so much of note since then is incredible to me.
I do feel that us winning that award this year was essentially guaranteed. I do not see any other teams in FGA from over the past year that hold a candle to us in regards to what we've done in the ring. To hear that the voting was close really bothers me. Considering that the team hinted at as number two in voting was Pendragon, who are a fine tandem in the ring and did a fine job as United States Tag Team champions, that the voting was close tells me that it was more about how popular and 'feel good' our opposition was rather than about what they actually accomplished as a team. Base the voting on what we each did as a team here in FGA and it should be a landslide for us.
It just reminds me about how we lost the 2017 Tag Team of the Year to the 'feel good' team back then of Dan and Peaches, despite the fact that we had a vastly better year in the ring than they did. Sure they held the World Tag Team titles for about five months, but Ashlyn and I beat them clean for those titles on top of claiming Dynamic Duos that year and going through a level of competition that they didn’t face until we challenged them. Then we beat them and Smart Style to close the year. Yet they were somehow the best team that year. Please.
And now, with 2018 in the books, Ashlyn and I have cemented our place in FGA history. As a team we have set some new standards for the rest of the tag team division to try and catch up with. We have been champions for over eight months now. As of the last time I checked, we are over two hundred and fifty days into our reign, which is a new record for the tag team division. With our victory over the Polychromatic Lion Attack Squad at Final Frontier, we are also the first team to notch four successful title defenses in a single reign. It's also worth noting that we haven't lost any of those title matches by count our or disqualification either, so we didn't take the easy way out to retain our titles. Every defense was by pinfall or submission. We're even the first wrestlers to carry these belts for a calendar year as well. Between our two reigns we have spent over three hundred and sixty six days as champions.
When we talk about being the best tag team in FGA history, we aren't just saying so for the sake of a soundbite. We have the accomplishments to back up that claim.
I'm sure we'll have someone step up to try and prove us wrong though. Considering the draft was recently completed there have been a few notable shake-ups for us to keep in mind going forward.
The tag division on Flashpoint was initially gutted. Triple T and Vince Steel have moved on. Smart Style, our true rivals and closest thing to an equal to the Chaotics, have been split up with Mark Bisley being shipped off. Then the other two Herreras had their bags packed for them. I suppose that's a good change for Dan and Peaches though. Considering that the two of them are oh for four against Ashlyn and I and were beaten cleanly every single time, moving to Vertigo is about the only chance they have for any sort of upward movement as a team. Course, they also have to earn their way now.
With a change like that, it almost feels like clear sailing for Ashlyn and I to carry these titles for another long stretch. But our next likely contenders were drafted back this way to end the spectacle. Pendragon are now on Flashpoint.
Yeah, there's a dream match that most people have been looking for over the past six months. It's something even Ashlyn and I have thought about on occasion. We were considering requesting a champions versus champions match with Neal and Lowri for Final Frontier several months back before we got bogged down by a bunch of Herreras. We even thought about trying to get such a match to be title for title. Now it seems like that really wouldn't have gone over well. Instead, we've got Pendragon licking their wounds from their first team loss in some time and they aren't likely to be getting a rematch for the belts they lost... So, you can imagine just where their attention is going to turn. You can be sure that our attention is already on them.
The Polychromatic Lion Attack Squad tried to step up twice. The Dogs of War tried to step up. Triple A tried to step up. We fully expect Pendragon to step up next. We welcome the attempt. Ashlyn and I don't have to prove anything right now, but we're quite happy to keep doing so, because we can. It's what we live for and have been doing for much of the last year and a half. We’re well aware that Chaotics versus Pendragon isn't a matter of if. It's a matter of when… and we look forward to it.
The only thing that might change the equation though, is what last year's Dynamic Duos winners might be considering with their shot as well. It's been months since they won and there hasn't been a peep about who Fujiko and Izzy might challenge. At the moment, neither of them have anything tying them directly to Vertigo either, so it might not take much to have them switch brands to try and knock off the top team in FGA. Course, they might decide that Silk and Cyanide are their prefered choice instead. We'll continue watching and waiting on that situation. Might lead to everyone getting some version of Fujiko Mine versus Logan Alexander, like it was subtly hinted at on Final Frontier's second night. Who knows?
So… I think that covers just about everything of note that I feel like addressing here today.
Situations are uncertain. Things are in flux, especially on Flashpoint. I have no idea what the immediate future will have in store for me and Ashlyn either. Things are chaotic. Maybe it’s a sign that 2019 will be one that’s open for endless possibilities.
Guess there is really only one way to find out for sure.
I’ll see you all when we get there.
LA
It's been a while since I sat down to do one of these. I thought now would be a good time to do so.
The last month has been really busy for me in FGA and then we had a whole lot of shaking up done with the roster as well. There's a lot that I should probably address as I've been asked a lot of questions about things that I've been involved with in the last half of December and then some other general questions regarding where things are.
Since I've had some time over the last couple of weeks to absorb everything that has happened and reflect on it, I feel like I can actually sit down and discuss some of these events. It'll be easier to do so here than to try and cram it all into an on camera interview on Flashpoint or even during an Afterburn. With that, I guess I'll get right into it.
I've heard a lot of kind words from fans regarding the Frontier Lion's Cup and my performance within it. I suppose I should offer my thanks to everyone for their kind words in that regard. I can’t do so with true sincerity though. I still stand by my comments at the end of that night. I didn’t actually accomplish anything with that performance. I have earned nothing for my effort that night.
It was a real breakout showing for me in that I went from being a relatively unnoticed member of the roster in terms of singles competition to being the last person standing on the Flashpoint side of the brackets. I hadn't done anything of note as a singles competitor here in FGA up until my matches in the Lion's Cup.
Before my tournament qualifying match with Ashlyn, my last three singles matches were a loss to Dan Herrera, a loss to Evan Envi and a loss to Neon. I faced Dan back in 2017, a month and change before Ashlyn and I faced Dan and Peaches for the Tag titles for the first time. He hit me with Walking Papers and beat me clean, which injured me in the process. Evan's match was two weeks after the loss to Dan, and it was all downhill for me. It's a testament that I was able to hang in there that long against him. He picked me apart though. That match was never really in doubt though. I simply didn’t have enough in me to beat him there. I faced Neon in January of 2018 while she was the Fifteen champion and I thought that I was deserving of an opportunity against her for the title. She put me in my place in short order though. It wasn't a clean win for her... but it really doesn't matter. She put me down and got the three count that night. I ended up looking like some loudmouthed upstart who thought he was owed something, when in fact I was nothing. Those were three relatively high profile matches and all went badly for me.
Jump ahead ten months. I managed to edge out Ashlyn in a close fought match. I followed that by beating Johnny Karma cleanly in another really close match. I'm sure that one has shocked much of the FGA fanbase. You look at my shortfalls from a year prior and then look at the list of triumphs Karma had over the same period, or even his losses, which most of have been under questionable circumstances against the best the company had to offer, and there's no way I would be expected to win. But it happened. Then we reached Final Frontier and I built off that momentum. I beat Cassius Reed in the quarterfinals, then beat Ashley Sullivan in the semifinals. They weren't really big name opponents, but then no one really was in the Flashpoint final four. Reed had a reputation for winning tournaments and Ashley had been in several title matches recently, so they had recognized talent.
Then the tournament concluded with myself and Evan having yet another knock down drag out battle for supremacy. And like three of the prior four meetings between us, I came up short again.
It's tough making it through to the end of a competition like the Frontier Lion's Cup only to come up short at the very end. It certainly feels like a running theme in my singles career too. I've been a solid top tier competitor for years and I have plenty of second tier championships to my name. But there always seems to be a stumble for me when it comes to chasing a World championship or equivalent. So many title or number one contender match losses. This one hurt a lot more though. Losing to Evan for the third straight time and with these stakes... It seeds a lot of doubt for me going forward.
It's been about ten and a half years since I held a World championship and opportunities for me have been few and far between since. Interestingly, my last win over Evan was a little bit further back than that. Close to eleven years to the day. I wonder if I have enough left in me to get over those hurdles again.
So, the Lion's Cup was a mixed bag for me. It shows that I still have a lot to give and that I may have some more accomplishments I can add to my resume before I hang up my boots once and for all. On the other side of it, I am left with questions about whether I can deliver when I'm in the spotlight on my own. There's a lot I can still do, but are my best days behind me? Maybe 2019 will have some answers in that regard.
Before any of that gets sorted out though, first the fallout for the second night of Final Frontier will have to be dealt with.
What a mess that turned out to be. Hadley Herrera put the Polychromatic Lion Attack Squad back to the front of the line for another title match on that night. I thought it was another grossly unfair move by Hadley. I'd qualified for the Lion's Cup before that match was formally announced and when I heard about it I was pissed. It felt like I was being put in a position where I had to choose between building a reputation and standing for myself as a singles competitor or continuing to build upon the incredible run that Ashlyn and I have had as a team here in FGA. What was I supposed to put first? Myself or Ashlyn?
Ashlyn and I immediately went to upper management in FGA to complain about that situation. They wouldn't call off the match. Clearly Ashlyn didn't leave it at that. While I prepared for the Final Frontier weekend and the possibility of two to four matches for myself, she pressed the situation regarding Hadley. I think it was a harder push than I would have gone for, but then I'm not Ashlyn either. Even with the situation before her, she had unwavering confidence in us. I don't know how she did it, but she got the match changed so it was our titles versus Hadley's job.
Ashlyn gave me her blessing to go for broke in the Lion's Cup, but after I came up short, I was worried that we'd made a mistake and were going to have nothing by the end of night two. We'd given Dan and Peaches further incentive to give us all they had and I was well short of being at my best there for the match. It was a recipe for disaster for us.
Before we went out there for that match though, Ashlyn told me that she had this one for us. It was very personal for her. I think that is something that no one really took into consideration for this match. Peaches was ready that night to claim the World Tag Team championships again. We looked like we were easy pickings and that the safe bet was on us losing the titles there in New York. Ashlyn and I don't care much for the odds though and she carried us through that match regardless of what was expected. Then we eventually caught Dan in the C3A and had Peaches out of the equation. It was bad enough out there that Hadley ended up coming out to throw in the figurative towel for them to end the match.
There at that moment with the match ended, I felt the usual rush of winning a big match, of being able to say 'and still...' once again.
But... it didn't last very long.
I looked back over before I left the ring and saw Hadley, who we'd just forced to give up her job, there checking on her brother, who we'd just brutalized in front of her. I felt no joy at that... I'd never wanted things to escalate to that point between us, where we'd be fighting to remove from office the person that selected me to join the Flashpoint brand in 2017 and signed on Ashlyn a few months later. It really felt pointless to have things come to an end like that between us. Hadley had a blind spot where her family was concerned. I stand by that assessment of her. I do feel that Ashlyn's and my adversarial relationship with Dan and Peaches influenced her choices in dealing with us. Or maybe she just didn't expect us to take such offence at her actions. Beyond that, she seemed to be a suitable general manager for the Flashpoint brand.
Given a chance to do things differently... I'd like to think that I'd be willing to find a more reasonable resolution to the situation. Quite simply though, if it came down to another choice between her and us, there would be no real choice in the matter. I'd pick us every single time with no hesitation.
But that doesn't mean I won't have any regrets about the end result.
I just hope we don't end up in a similar, or worse, situation with the next Flashpoint GM. Otherwise, everything we just endured will have been for nothing.
So, that was all the really big news for me to end 2018. I won three out of four during Final Frontier. Lost the Frontier Lion's Cup. Still half of the FGA World Tag Team champions. Got my boss fired.
Kicking off January led us to the year end awards. I was glad to hear that Ashlyn and I were named the Tag Team of the Year. That was definitely a big honour for me. I've never been part of a team this successful. I’ve had three tenures being one half of a tag team championship run in other companies, but nothing close to this. Not even remotely. Eighteen months and we're still going strong. Considering that we teamed up on a whim for the 2017 Dynamic Duos tournament and have done so much of note since then is incredible to me.
I do feel that us winning that award this year was essentially guaranteed. I do not see any other teams in FGA from over the past year that hold a candle to us in regards to what we've done in the ring. To hear that the voting was close really bothers me. Considering that the team hinted at as number two in voting was Pendragon, who are a fine tandem in the ring and did a fine job as United States Tag Team champions, that the voting was close tells me that it was more about how popular and 'feel good' our opposition was rather than about what they actually accomplished as a team. Base the voting on what we each did as a team here in FGA and it should be a landslide for us.
It just reminds me about how we lost the 2017 Tag Team of the Year to the 'feel good' team back then of Dan and Peaches, despite the fact that we had a vastly better year in the ring than they did. Sure they held the World Tag Team titles for about five months, but Ashlyn and I beat them clean for those titles on top of claiming Dynamic Duos that year and going through a level of competition that they didn’t face until we challenged them. Then we beat them and Smart Style to close the year. Yet they were somehow the best team that year. Please.
And now, with 2018 in the books, Ashlyn and I have cemented our place in FGA history. As a team we have set some new standards for the rest of the tag team division to try and catch up with. We have been champions for over eight months now. As of the last time I checked, we are over two hundred and fifty days into our reign, which is a new record for the tag team division. With our victory over the Polychromatic Lion Attack Squad at Final Frontier, we are also the first team to notch four successful title defenses in a single reign. It's also worth noting that we haven't lost any of those title matches by count our or disqualification either, so we didn't take the easy way out to retain our titles. Every defense was by pinfall or submission. We're even the first wrestlers to carry these belts for a calendar year as well. Between our two reigns we have spent over three hundred and sixty six days as champions.
When we talk about being the best tag team in FGA history, we aren't just saying so for the sake of a soundbite. We have the accomplishments to back up that claim.
I'm sure we'll have someone step up to try and prove us wrong though. Considering the draft was recently completed there have been a few notable shake-ups for us to keep in mind going forward.
The tag division on Flashpoint was initially gutted. Triple T and Vince Steel have moved on. Smart Style, our true rivals and closest thing to an equal to the Chaotics, have been split up with Mark Bisley being shipped off. Then the other two Herreras had their bags packed for them. I suppose that's a good change for Dan and Peaches though. Considering that the two of them are oh for four against Ashlyn and I and were beaten cleanly every single time, moving to Vertigo is about the only chance they have for any sort of upward movement as a team. Course, they also have to earn their way now.
With a change like that, it almost feels like clear sailing for Ashlyn and I to carry these titles for another long stretch. But our next likely contenders were drafted back this way to end the spectacle. Pendragon are now on Flashpoint.
Yeah, there's a dream match that most people have been looking for over the past six months. It's something even Ashlyn and I have thought about on occasion. We were considering requesting a champions versus champions match with Neal and Lowri for Final Frontier several months back before we got bogged down by a bunch of Herreras. We even thought about trying to get such a match to be title for title. Now it seems like that really wouldn't have gone over well. Instead, we've got Pendragon licking their wounds from their first team loss in some time and they aren't likely to be getting a rematch for the belts they lost... So, you can imagine just where their attention is going to turn. You can be sure that our attention is already on them.
The Polychromatic Lion Attack Squad tried to step up twice. The Dogs of War tried to step up. Triple A tried to step up. We fully expect Pendragon to step up next. We welcome the attempt. Ashlyn and I don't have to prove anything right now, but we're quite happy to keep doing so, because we can. It's what we live for and have been doing for much of the last year and a half. We’re well aware that Chaotics versus Pendragon isn't a matter of if. It's a matter of when… and we look forward to it.
The only thing that might change the equation though, is what last year's Dynamic Duos winners might be considering with their shot as well. It's been months since they won and there hasn't been a peep about who Fujiko and Izzy might challenge. At the moment, neither of them have anything tying them directly to Vertigo either, so it might not take much to have them switch brands to try and knock off the top team in FGA. Course, they might decide that Silk and Cyanide are their prefered choice instead. We'll continue watching and waiting on that situation. Might lead to everyone getting some version of Fujiko Mine versus Logan Alexander, like it was subtly hinted at on Final Frontier's second night. Who knows?
So… I think that covers just about everything of note that I feel like addressing here today.
Situations are uncertain. Things are in flux, especially on Flashpoint. I have no idea what the immediate future will have in store for me and Ashlyn either. Things are chaotic. Maybe it’s a sign that 2019 will be one that’s open for endless possibilities.
Guess there is really only one way to find out for sure.
I’ll see you all when we get there.
LA
