March to Greatness
Aug 18, 2016 20:00:01 GMT -5
Post by Chandler Scott on Aug 18, 2016 20:00:01 GMT -5
McCarran International Airport
Las Vegas, NV
August 6, 2016
◉ OFF-CAM
“Excuse me, Mr. Chandler. Can I have your autograph?”
That’s the question that was asked of me as I was seated inside the terminal headed back to Tampa. The fan, who couldn’t have been any older than eleven, had rushed up to my seat as I was off daydreaming. Running up behind him was a woman.
“I’m sorry for my little brother running up to you like that,” she apologized. But I dismissed the apology with a quick wave of the hand.
“It’s fine, really. Besides, he’s got a DNA of FGA shir ont,” I said with a smirk. “Yeah, I can give you an autograph.” The boys face lit up as he held up the Vertigo program to me. After taking the program and marker in my hand, I was about to sign away when…
“Can I ask you a question?,” the young fan asked
“Sure, I don’t see why not.”
“Are you still a bad guy?”
The question caused me to raise an eyebrow. I looked up at his sister, who looked to be just as confused as I was. I look back down at the young fan.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re one of my favorite wrestlers. But my friends at school say I’m stupid for cheering a bad guy.”
I sighed. It’s a question that I’ve been wrestling with myself for the past few weeks. The Jimmy Page ordeal was over. Yet the fans were still cheered. With that being said, there was a part of me that still didn’t want to fully embrace them. There was a part of me that still had years worth of resentment built up towards them. These were the same fans that cheered Ben Hanson over me. The same Ben Hanson that left this company in its infancy for the brights lights. But when that company failed, he came crawling back here and was heralded as a hero while I was Public Enemy #1. These are the same fans who cheer Kevin Hardaway’s flip-flopping ass over me. A man who’s allegiances in the world of professional wrestling shift with the wind. But all he has to do is kiss a lil ass and the K-Hard Hero is back in their good graces. Me? I’m still a prick. These are the same fans who cheered on Sean Sands as he tried to break every single one of my records over in PWF. But on the other hand, why should I hold onto these grudges? What good was it going to do to continue to spite them? These fans would always cheer me over a guy like Page. But in the weeks that followed, the cheers have stayed. They’re ready to come along this ride with me. They don’t want to boo me as I make my trek back to the top of FGA. They want to cheer me on along the way. And as much as I’d try to hide in on camera, I want their support. I don’t want to be a Zero McHannon who lashes out at the fans, yet secretly wishes they were on his side. The last thing I want to be is anything like that man. After contemplating, I turned to the youngster.
“Am I a bad guy? I’ll tell you what. I’m a guy that stands up for what he believes in. I’m a guy that fights for his family. I’m a guy that doesn’t back down. I’m a guy that goes out there in that ring and wants to prove himself to be the very best. I’m not going to be the most well-liked guy around. And that’s fine. But if I can earn everyone’s respect, then that’s fine by me.”
The youngster curls up the side of his mouth before looking up with a smile.
“That seems like a pretty good guy to me.”
I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Yeah… yeah! I guess so.” The two of us share a chuckle. “Hey, what was your name again?”
“Ken!” he exclaims at the top of his lungs. I smile before scribbling away on the program. I then hand it back off to him.
“Alright, Ken, there you go.”
“Thanks, Mr. Chandler!”
“No problem, Ken. And hey, you cheer whoever you want, okay? The next time those punks at school give you trouble, you just give ‘em a Roaring Hammer for me, okay!”
“YEAH!”
“AHEM!” The sister cleared her throat. Apparently advising her little brother to punch kids in the face at school wasn’t the best idea. Who knew!
“... or you can just tell your teachers so that they can leave you alone. Deal?”
“Deal!” The two of us share a fist bump before he and his sister walk off.
This Saturday in Anaheim, California, FGA produces its latest spectacle - Above & Beyond V. But more important than that, FGA is hosting the 2016 Frontier Lions Cup. It’s the last of the three major events of the year and I’ll go as far as to say it’s the toughest of the bunch. With Dynamic Duos, you get the luxury of having to rely on a tag team partner. With the Gold Rush Rumble, your chances of winning go up exponentially if you’re one of the last five to ten entrants. But with the Frontier Lions Cup, there’s no luck of the draw there. You have to shoulder the load all by yourself. It’s also the only tournament that is exclusive. Dynamic Duos? They’ll pull teams in off the street just to fill it up. Gold Rush Rumble? Essentially everyone that’s not in the World Title Match is thrown in there. But with the Frontier Lions Cup, it’s the only tournament FGA holds where you have to qualify just to get into. And that’s what eight of us have done thus far.
Everyone still left in this tournament has wrestled on the big stage before. We’ve had featured bouts. Main Events. Championship matches. You name it. But a night like this… is different. A night like this Saturday only comes around once a year. Not only could it turn someone’s year around, but a night like this could redefine one’s career. It adds to one’s legacy. It establishes you as one of the premiere athletes in the world’s premier wrestling organization. At the end of this journey is a guaranteed World Championship match. You can talk about wrestling for the fans. You can talk about doing this for the love of your craft. But the reality is that each and every single one of us gets in this ring day-after-day, month-after-month, and year-after-year to one day hold the FGA World Championship...
… and as I look out at the field, I see a few returnees. I see a few first-timers. But even those first-timers have been in a Gold Rush Rumble or Dynamic Duos… except for one. Within this field of eight is one glaring exception. He’s a man that’s never been in the Lions Cup, Rumble or Duos before. And that man… is yours truly. I know, I know. It must come as a shock to your system to hear that a man as decorated as myself has never been in any of these major events. But when you haven’t been in a tag team in years… and when you spend half the time holding the championship that everyone in these Rumbles and Lions Cups are fighting over, there’s no reason to enter? But don’t you worry. Even though I head into this latest Above & Beyond event without the World Championship, I will still be the envy of everyone in this tournament.
A.J. Fairchild. Sean Sands. Cordelia Stevenson. Tony Carmine. Those are the four names - some for the better, others for the worse - that are synonymous with the FLC. And soon a fifth name will be added. What will it take to win this tournament? It’s not about speed and agility. It’s not about size and strength. It’s about conditioning. Endurance. Having the stamina to go out there and wrestle successfully multiple times. Three rounds. One night. That’s the tall order that all eight of us have been tasked with. A 15 minute quarterfinals. A 30 minute semis. A 60 minute final round. That’s an hour and forty five minutes worth of ring time you’re potentially looking at. When you take that into account, the person who wins this tournament will have to have grit. This person will have to exemplify perseverance. I’ll even go so far as to say that the only person fit to win this tournament would be an Ironman. And when you think of the term “Ironman” when it comes to FGA, only one name springs to mind.
And that name is not Johnny Karma.
Oh sure, he’s one of a select few that has been in every Rumble. I’m pretty sure he’s got the record for cumulative eliminations. But there’s a reason why he calls himself the Ironman of the Gold Rush Rumble. Because when it comes to the Frontier Lions Cup? He consistently comes up short. 2013? Out in the Semifinals. 2014? Out in the Quarterfinals? 2015? The poor bastard didn’t even make it out of the qualifying round. The man has had nothing but years of diminishing returns. But what bothers Karma the most about these Above & Beyond events isn’t the Lions Cup. It’s last year’s pay per view. After Karma came up short, I gave him and the rest of the losers from the qualifiers a chance of a lifetime. A second chance, if you will. All they had to do was win a Battle Royal and they would be granted a shot at my then-World Championship. And after outlasting such world-beaters like Camellia Magna, Maurice Graham and Ochoshi the Hunter, Karma earned himself a title match... where once again choked.
Shocking, I know.
Don’t let his recent title wins over Tony Carmine fool you. Karma is still the same mental midget that he’s always been. After spending months on end pissing and moaning into every camera about how much of a disgrace to the Pride Championship Tony was… when it was time for Karma to show and prove, the only thing shown and proven was that he wasn’t in Fujiko’s league. Some would blame his quick Title loss on the fact that he had his mind stuck on the New Kings. But intelligent people know the real reason why he gave up the belt so fast: Fujiko’s just flat out better than him in every way, shape and form.
But don’t worry Karma. All you have to do is sit tight, wait another two and a half years and I’m sure another Pride Championship will come your way, little buddy.
I’d tell you to stick to your day job of waging war against the New Kings. But you’re not even good at doing that. Like a politician that fails to galvanize the youth into voting, you’ve failed at rallying the troops. Sure, you’ve got Fujiko Mine by your side, but no one else is joining you in the trenches. Instead, they’d rather hop on Twitter and bitch and moan about The New Kings after every Vertigo.
Though it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you fail to instill confidence in anyone. Afterall, how are you going to protect FGA when you couldn’t even protect Cherry from getting her clocked cleaned by Cannon? How can you be the voice of FGA when you hide behind a protected Twitter account? How are you going to defeat an entity like the New Kings when it takes you 33 months to get over the hump? Do yourself a favor and quit while you’re already behind.
Speaking of quitting, Mark Storm should probably quit the 92 companies that he joined this week. Now Mark, when you first came to this company and you said that I was one of the people you wanted to face, I knew right then and there that you were a pretty smart guy. But it’s been your actions since then that have caused me to question your intelligence. You like to envision yourself as the Schizophrenic Prince of Wrestling. But if you ask me, you’re more like the Whore of Pro Wrestling. It seems like every week, there’s another random three letter acronym that has opened up shop and ten times out of ten, guess who signed his name on the dotted line? Mark Storm. Now I get it. You want to be well-versed in an array of styles. You feel like if you go to all these places, from across the US to England to Japan, you feel like it’ll make you a more well-rounded athlete. In theory, that makes sense. And you’re not the first guy in FGA to be signed to different companies. In fact, there are people on the roster right now that are signed to a handful of promotions. The difference between you and them is that with you, you couldn’t even count all the companies you’re in if you used both sets of fingers and toes.
So I have to ask… what exactly is your endgame here? Why are you doing this to yourself? For the rush? For the love of the game? No one’s denying your love for the art. And unlike a former sparkly Tag Champion here, you’re not a pretentious ass about it, so you get bonus points from me. But here’s the thing. This is the Frontier Lions Cup we’re talking about here. A shot at the richest prize in our spot is on the line. In this tournament, endurance is paramount. But you’re not going to have much left in the tank if you’re wrestling a dozen times before Saturday. But you know what? Why the hell should I care? Run yourself ragged. The only thing you have going for you is that you’re facing that washout Yun Goeun in the quarterfinals, because it damn sure isn’t that 4-7 record. Just do yourself a favor and try to show up on time. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you ended up cutting it close because you double booked yourself on the biggest night of your FGA career.
(Chandler cups his hand to his ear)
W-what’s that? Is that the Siren’s song I hear in the distance. No. It’s the collective sigh whenever Savannah Taylor appears on screen.
Was that harsh? Sure.
Now ask me if I care.
It wasn’t that long ago that you came into this company with pomp and circumstance. You had just finished off a successful run in EXODUS, which was capped off by a World Title win. But since relocating from the left coast to the best coast, you quickly realized that things were different out here. Month after month, you’ve faulted, folded and fallen flat on your face. Month after month, you’ve gone from someone that was initially viewed as a serious title threat to someone that would overpromise and underdeliver. Eight months later, you realize that the competition in FGA is just a little bit stiffer than it was out in the Bay.
Now I know just how touchy you ExPro alumni get whenever someone infers you’re not up to snuff. Whenever you guys are challenged, you quickly cling to your titles from out west like a life vest. But maybe there’s some truth afterall. At least when it comes to you. Maybe you’re just not cut out to compete with the big dogs of FGA. Because simply put, if you knew better, you’d do better. Let’s be honest. You’ve failed to seize the moment. You’ve failed to make an impact. You continuously got outclassed by Annie and Izzy. Now I don’t know what magic was lost when you went from your last place of employment to here. But do yourself a favor. Look back at all those matches from out yonder. See what it was that made you a record-setting champion. See what it was that made you a threat to everyone on the roster. And when you find it, harness it out here. You're better than you've shown thus far.
Now I could continue giving my thoughts on the rest of the field. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about my own Quarterfinals Match. And what a match it is, or so the story goes. When you think back on the history of this tournament, you wouldn’t be able to find another Quarterfinals Match, let alone a Finals match, that has more buzz than this one. On one side of the ring, you have a man that’s a record setter. On one side of the ring, you have a man that’s divisive. On one side of the ring, you have a man that’s tenacious.
And on the other side of the ring, you’ve got some guy named Dom Harter.
Everyone says that this is a match for the ages. Everyone keeps saying that this is a Dream Match. To that I say this: Who is this supposed to be a Dream Match for? Because if I’m you, Dom, this match is nothing but a goddamn nightmare. Standing across the ring from you is a man that’s stronger than you, faster than you, more agile, more intelligent and more dominant. If you want to trade fists, I can knock you out. If you want to bring it to the ground, I’ll tap you out. If you want to go hold for hold, I’ll wrestle circles around you.
Of course, you’ll laugh that off like you always do. After all, you’re Dom Harter, Mr. Too Cool For School. You’re the greatest man to compete in this company, isn’t that right? You’re the most decorated man this company has ever known. If we were to let you tell it, you were the glue of The Murder, the greatest faction this company has ever seen. You’re the men who made people quake in their boots at the mere mention of your name. You’re the men who sent shivers up the spines of men once they saw their name opposite yours on the cards. If we were to let you tell it, you and your fellow Crows left an indelible mark on this company. But anyone with any knowledge of history knows just how full of shit that is.
Greatest faction? Sure, I’ll give you that. Though it’s not exactly hard to stand out when there’s never really been another faction worth mentioning. I mean who else is in the conversation, Team Nox? My point exactly. But I wouldn’t exactly be bragging about beating up Alistair Mangold, Chris Tryon and Pat Gordon Jr - a man famous for being so dumb that he signed up to the wrong company. There’s no denying that you’re pretty decorated. Two Gold Rush Rumbles and a Dynamic Duos to boot. Impressive. Of course, I’m sure you’ll gloss over the fact that you miraculously entered last in every Rumble you participated in. I’m also sure that you’ll conveniently leave you the fact that you and Malcolm only had to get through two rounds of Duos, since the other semifinal match ended in a Draw.
Dom Harter, always with the loopholes.
This isn’t a match to see who the best man in FGA history is. That debate was settled well over a year ago when I made these people forget everything Jimmy Page did. That debate was settled when I made these people forget what Chris Q did. That debate was settled when I made everything you’ve accomplished pale in comparison. I don’t think that I’m better than you, Dom. I already know I am. The difference between you and me is simple. You? You have moments of brilliance? Me? I have sustained excellence. It’s how I was able to come back to this company after a year elsewhere and still perform at the highest level. It’s the reason why since 2014, there’s only one person in this company that can say they hold a pinfall or submission over me. It’s the reason why I was able to do in one World Championship reign what you couldn’t do with your two Heavyweight, Pride, and Tag Title reigns combined.
With all that being said, I know just how driven you are. I know you desperately want this Cup to complete your legacy. And when Dom Harter is a desperate man, he'll do anything. Unfortunately for you, I didn't come back to take a backseat to you or anyone else. I came back to retake my place at the top of FGA. On Saturday night, I'm going to run through this tournament like foreign water through a tourist. And Dom, it all starts with you in the Quarterfinals.
Veni, Vidi, Ego Imperaturum...
I came, I saw, I Reigned Supreme...
Las Vegas, NV
August 6, 2016
◉ OFF-CAM
“Excuse me, Mr. Chandler. Can I have your autograph?”
That’s the question that was asked of me as I was seated inside the terminal headed back to Tampa. The fan, who couldn’t have been any older than eleven, had rushed up to my seat as I was off daydreaming. Running up behind him was a woman.
“I’m sorry for my little brother running up to you like that,” she apologized. But I dismissed the apology with a quick wave of the hand.
“It’s fine, really. Besides, he’s got a DNA of FGA shir ont,” I said with a smirk. “Yeah, I can give you an autograph.” The boys face lit up as he held up the Vertigo program to me. After taking the program and marker in my hand, I was about to sign away when…
“Can I ask you a question?,” the young fan asked
“Sure, I don’t see why not.”
“Are you still a bad guy?”
The question caused me to raise an eyebrow. I looked up at his sister, who looked to be just as confused as I was. I look back down at the young fan.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re one of my favorite wrestlers. But my friends at school say I’m stupid for cheering a bad guy.”
I sighed. It’s a question that I’ve been wrestling with myself for the past few weeks. The Jimmy Page ordeal was over. Yet the fans were still cheered. With that being said, there was a part of me that still didn’t want to fully embrace them. There was a part of me that still had years worth of resentment built up towards them. These were the same fans that cheered Ben Hanson over me. The same Ben Hanson that left this company in its infancy for the brights lights. But when that company failed, he came crawling back here and was heralded as a hero while I was Public Enemy #1. These are the same fans who cheer Kevin Hardaway’s flip-flopping ass over me. A man who’s allegiances in the world of professional wrestling shift with the wind. But all he has to do is kiss a lil ass and the K-Hard Hero is back in their good graces. Me? I’m still a prick. These are the same fans who cheered on Sean Sands as he tried to break every single one of my records over in PWF. But on the other hand, why should I hold onto these grudges? What good was it going to do to continue to spite them? These fans would always cheer me over a guy like Page. But in the weeks that followed, the cheers have stayed. They’re ready to come along this ride with me. They don’t want to boo me as I make my trek back to the top of FGA. They want to cheer me on along the way. And as much as I’d try to hide in on camera, I want their support. I don’t want to be a Zero McHannon who lashes out at the fans, yet secretly wishes they were on his side. The last thing I want to be is anything like that man. After contemplating, I turned to the youngster.
“Am I a bad guy? I’ll tell you what. I’m a guy that stands up for what he believes in. I’m a guy that fights for his family. I’m a guy that doesn’t back down. I’m a guy that goes out there in that ring and wants to prove himself to be the very best. I’m not going to be the most well-liked guy around. And that’s fine. But if I can earn everyone’s respect, then that’s fine by me.”
The youngster curls up the side of his mouth before looking up with a smile.
“That seems like a pretty good guy to me.”
I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Yeah… yeah! I guess so.” The two of us share a chuckle. “Hey, what was your name again?”
“Ken!” he exclaims at the top of his lungs. I smile before scribbling away on the program. I then hand it back off to him.
“Alright, Ken, there you go.”
“Thanks, Mr. Chandler!”
“No problem, Ken. And hey, you cheer whoever you want, okay? The next time those punks at school give you trouble, you just give ‘em a Roaring Hammer for me, okay!”
“YEAH!”
“AHEM!” The sister cleared her throat. Apparently advising her little brother to punch kids in the face at school wasn’t the best idea. Who knew!
“... or you can just tell your teachers so that they can leave you alone. Deal?”
“Deal!” The two of us share a fist bump before he and his sister walk off.
This Saturday in Anaheim, California, FGA produces its latest spectacle - Above & Beyond V. But more important than that, FGA is hosting the 2016 Frontier Lions Cup. It’s the last of the three major events of the year and I’ll go as far as to say it’s the toughest of the bunch. With Dynamic Duos, you get the luxury of having to rely on a tag team partner. With the Gold Rush Rumble, your chances of winning go up exponentially if you’re one of the last five to ten entrants. But with the Frontier Lions Cup, there’s no luck of the draw there. You have to shoulder the load all by yourself. It’s also the only tournament that is exclusive. Dynamic Duos? They’ll pull teams in off the street just to fill it up. Gold Rush Rumble? Essentially everyone that’s not in the World Title Match is thrown in there. But with the Frontier Lions Cup, it’s the only tournament FGA holds where you have to qualify just to get into. And that’s what eight of us have done thus far.
Everyone still left in this tournament has wrestled on the big stage before. We’ve had featured bouts. Main Events. Championship matches. You name it. But a night like this… is different. A night like this Saturday only comes around once a year. Not only could it turn someone’s year around, but a night like this could redefine one’s career. It adds to one’s legacy. It establishes you as one of the premiere athletes in the world’s premier wrestling organization. At the end of this journey is a guaranteed World Championship match. You can talk about wrestling for the fans. You can talk about doing this for the love of your craft. But the reality is that each and every single one of us gets in this ring day-after-day, month-after-month, and year-after-year to one day hold the FGA World Championship...
… and as I look out at the field, I see a few returnees. I see a few first-timers. But even those first-timers have been in a Gold Rush Rumble or Dynamic Duos… except for one. Within this field of eight is one glaring exception. He’s a man that’s never been in the Lions Cup, Rumble or Duos before. And that man… is yours truly. I know, I know. It must come as a shock to your system to hear that a man as decorated as myself has never been in any of these major events. But when you haven’t been in a tag team in years… and when you spend half the time holding the championship that everyone in these Rumbles and Lions Cups are fighting over, there’s no reason to enter? But don’t you worry. Even though I head into this latest Above & Beyond event without the World Championship, I will still be the envy of everyone in this tournament.
A.J. Fairchild. Sean Sands. Cordelia Stevenson. Tony Carmine. Those are the four names - some for the better, others for the worse - that are synonymous with the FLC. And soon a fifth name will be added. What will it take to win this tournament? It’s not about speed and agility. It’s not about size and strength. It’s about conditioning. Endurance. Having the stamina to go out there and wrestle successfully multiple times. Three rounds. One night. That’s the tall order that all eight of us have been tasked with. A 15 minute quarterfinals. A 30 minute semis. A 60 minute final round. That’s an hour and forty five minutes worth of ring time you’re potentially looking at. When you take that into account, the person who wins this tournament will have to have grit. This person will have to exemplify perseverance. I’ll even go so far as to say that the only person fit to win this tournament would be an Ironman. And when you think of the term “Ironman” when it comes to FGA, only one name springs to mind.
And that name is not Johnny Karma.
Oh sure, he’s one of a select few that has been in every Rumble. I’m pretty sure he’s got the record for cumulative eliminations. But there’s a reason why he calls himself the Ironman of the Gold Rush Rumble. Because when it comes to the Frontier Lions Cup? He consistently comes up short. 2013? Out in the Semifinals. 2014? Out in the Quarterfinals? 2015? The poor bastard didn’t even make it out of the qualifying round. The man has had nothing but years of diminishing returns. But what bothers Karma the most about these Above & Beyond events isn’t the Lions Cup. It’s last year’s pay per view. After Karma came up short, I gave him and the rest of the losers from the qualifiers a chance of a lifetime. A second chance, if you will. All they had to do was win a Battle Royal and they would be granted a shot at my then-World Championship. And after outlasting such world-beaters like Camellia Magna, Maurice Graham and Ochoshi the Hunter, Karma earned himself a title match... where once again choked.
Shocking, I know.
Don’t let his recent title wins over Tony Carmine fool you. Karma is still the same mental midget that he’s always been. After spending months on end pissing and moaning into every camera about how much of a disgrace to the Pride Championship Tony was… when it was time for Karma to show and prove, the only thing shown and proven was that he wasn’t in Fujiko’s league. Some would blame his quick Title loss on the fact that he had his mind stuck on the New Kings. But intelligent people know the real reason why he gave up the belt so fast: Fujiko’s just flat out better than him in every way, shape and form.
But don’t worry Karma. All you have to do is sit tight, wait another two and a half years and I’m sure another Pride Championship will come your way, little buddy.
I’d tell you to stick to your day job of waging war against the New Kings. But you’re not even good at doing that. Like a politician that fails to galvanize the youth into voting, you’ve failed at rallying the troops. Sure, you’ve got Fujiko Mine by your side, but no one else is joining you in the trenches. Instead, they’d rather hop on Twitter and bitch and moan about The New Kings after every Vertigo.
Though it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you fail to instill confidence in anyone. Afterall, how are you going to protect FGA when you couldn’t even protect Cherry from getting her clocked cleaned by Cannon? How can you be the voice of FGA when you hide behind a protected Twitter account? How are you going to defeat an entity like the New Kings when it takes you 33 months to get over the hump? Do yourself a favor and quit while you’re already behind.
Speaking of quitting, Mark Storm should probably quit the 92 companies that he joined this week. Now Mark, when you first came to this company and you said that I was one of the people you wanted to face, I knew right then and there that you were a pretty smart guy. But it’s been your actions since then that have caused me to question your intelligence. You like to envision yourself as the Schizophrenic Prince of Wrestling. But if you ask me, you’re more like the Whore of Pro Wrestling. It seems like every week, there’s another random three letter acronym that has opened up shop and ten times out of ten, guess who signed his name on the dotted line? Mark Storm. Now I get it. You want to be well-versed in an array of styles. You feel like if you go to all these places, from across the US to England to Japan, you feel like it’ll make you a more well-rounded athlete. In theory, that makes sense. And you’re not the first guy in FGA to be signed to different companies. In fact, there are people on the roster right now that are signed to a handful of promotions. The difference between you and them is that with you, you couldn’t even count all the companies you’re in if you used both sets of fingers and toes.
So I have to ask… what exactly is your endgame here? Why are you doing this to yourself? For the rush? For the love of the game? No one’s denying your love for the art. And unlike a former sparkly Tag Champion here, you’re not a pretentious ass about it, so you get bonus points from me. But here’s the thing. This is the Frontier Lions Cup we’re talking about here. A shot at the richest prize in our spot is on the line. In this tournament, endurance is paramount. But you’re not going to have much left in the tank if you’re wrestling a dozen times before Saturday. But you know what? Why the hell should I care? Run yourself ragged. The only thing you have going for you is that you’re facing that washout Yun Goeun in the quarterfinals, because it damn sure isn’t that 4-7 record. Just do yourself a favor and try to show up on time. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you ended up cutting it close because you double booked yourself on the biggest night of your FGA career.
(Chandler cups his hand to his ear)
W-what’s that? Is that the Siren’s song I hear in the distance. No. It’s the collective sigh whenever Savannah Taylor appears on screen.
Was that harsh? Sure.
Now ask me if I care.
It wasn’t that long ago that you came into this company with pomp and circumstance. You had just finished off a successful run in EXODUS, which was capped off by a World Title win. But since relocating from the left coast to the best coast, you quickly realized that things were different out here. Month after month, you’ve faulted, folded and fallen flat on your face. Month after month, you’ve gone from someone that was initially viewed as a serious title threat to someone that would overpromise and underdeliver. Eight months later, you realize that the competition in FGA is just a little bit stiffer than it was out in the Bay.
Now I know just how touchy you ExPro alumni get whenever someone infers you’re not up to snuff. Whenever you guys are challenged, you quickly cling to your titles from out west like a life vest. But maybe there’s some truth afterall. At least when it comes to you. Maybe you’re just not cut out to compete with the big dogs of FGA. Because simply put, if you knew better, you’d do better. Let’s be honest. You’ve failed to seize the moment. You’ve failed to make an impact. You continuously got outclassed by Annie and Izzy. Now I don’t know what magic was lost when you went from your last place of employment to here. But do yourself a favor. Look back at all those matches from out yonder. See what it was that made you a record-setting champion. See what it was that made you a threat to everyone on the roster. And when you find it, harness it out here. You're better than you've shown thus far.
Now I could continue giving my thoughts on the rest of the field. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about my own Quarterfinals Match. And what a match it is, or so the story goes. When you think back on the history of this tournament, you wouldn’t be able to find another Quarterfinals Match, let alone a Finals match, that has more buzz than this one. On one side of the ring, you have a man that’s a record setter. On one side of the ring, you have a man that’s divisive. On one side of the ring, you have a man that’s tenacious.
And on the other side of the ring, you’ve got some guy named Dom Harter.
Everyone says that this is a match for the ages. Everyone keeps saying that this is a Dream Match. To that I say this: Who is this supposed to be a Dream Match for? Because if I’m you, Dom, this match is nothing but a goddamn nightmare. Standing across the ring from you is a man that’s stronger than you, faster than you, more agile, more intelligent and more dominant. If you want to trade fists, I can knock you out. If you want to bring it to the ground, I’ll tap you out. If you want to go hold for hold, I’ll wrestle circles around you.
Of course, you’ll laugh that off like you always do. After all, you’re Dom Harter, Mr. Too Cool For School. You’re the greatest man to compete in this company, isn’t that right? You’re the most decorated man this company has ever known. If we were to let you tell it, you were the glue of The Murder, the greatest faction this company has ever seen. You’re the men who made people quake in their boots at the mere mention of your name. You’re the men who sent shivers up the spines of men once they saw their name opposite yours on the cards. If we were to let you tell it, you and your fellow Crows left an indelible mark on this company. But anyone with any knowledge of history knows just how full of shit that is.
Greatest faction? Sure, I’ll give you that. Though it’s not exactly hard to stand out when there’s never really been another faction worth mentioning. I mean who else is in the conversation, Team Nox? My point exactly. But I wouldn’t exactly be bragging about beating up Alistair Mangold, Chris Tryon and Pat Gordon Jr - a man famous for being so dumb that he signed up to the wrong company. There’s no denying that you’re pretty decorated. Two Gold Rush Rumbles and a Dynamic Duos to boot. Impressive. Of course, I’m sure you’ll gloss over the fact that you miraculously entered last in every Rumble you participated in. I’m also sure that you’ll conveniently leave you the fact that you and Malcolm only had to get through two rounds of Duos, since the other semifinal match ended in a Draw.
Dom Harter, always with the loopholes.
This isn’t a match to see who the best man in FGA history is. That debate was settled well over a year ago when I made these people forget everything Jimmy Page did. That debate was settled when I made these people forget what Chris Q did. That debate was settled when I made everything you’ve accomplished pale in comparison. I don’t think that I’m better than you, Dom. I already know I am. The difference between you and me is simple. You? You have moments of brilliance? Me? I have sustained excellence. It’s how I was able to come back to this company after a year elsewhere and still perform at the highest level. It’s the reason why since 2014, there’s only one person in this company that can say they hold a pinfall or submission over me. It’s the reason why I was able to do in one World Championship reign what you couldn’t do with your two Heavyweight, Pride, and Tag Title reigns combined.
With all that being said, I know just how driven you are. I know you desperately want this Cup to complete your legacy. And when Dom Harter is a desperate man, he'll do anything. Unfortunately for you, I didn't come back to take a backseat to you or anyone else. I came back to retake my place at the top of FGA. On Saturday night, I'm going to run through this tournament like foreign water through a tourist. And Dom, it all starts with you in the Quarterfinals.
Veni, Vidi, Ego Imperaturum...
I came, I saw, I Reigned Supreme...