Post by Admin on Aug 17, 2017 17:44:15 GMT -5
"You'd think I'd be content to quit while I'm ahead. The rat in the maze found the cheese – holy shit, stop the presses! If he's careful, he might get to savor it 'fore all hell breaks loose. My girl told me I need to enjoy my moment for what it is – I'm king of the world, top of the heap..."
There's a sheepish chuckle to accompany the near-lapse into singing.
"Guess what I'm tryna say is there won't be any pauses here. I don't coast, don't skate on thin ice. I fight.
Still got the same mission: this planned rebellion of mine has become the stuff of legend. It all stemmed from a song lyric, this image I wanted to convey. Now it's bigger 'cause people got behind it, found some kinda hope in what I was doin'. I know it's pointless. The sickness was here before the doors opened. Whether I'm holdin' the match or not, it's all gonna burn. Take a look around, the plague's already spread. The Lair's ground zero – diseased, rotting from the inside out, disgusting and cancerous. Every day it gets more rancid. Check the satellite view – looks like a bunch of maggots in a trash can. Teemin' with unnatural life, ready to explode an' spread that sickness around. Misery loves company – wait, no. Strike that. Reverse it. This company loves misery.
What started as a metaphor's become certainty. We need to burn the shit to the ground. We need to smoke out the vermin, push 'em to the edge an' beyond like lemmings off a cliff. I know. Proactive declarations, right? I think therefore I am. I fight, therefore... well, you can fill in that blank, can't ya?"
The sarcasm thickens.
"Now you've got an inkling of the demandin' work I've bitten off with my revolutionary ideals. Got too much invested in the cause to give up now. Is this my last will an' testament or my manifesto? Couldn't begin to tell you what tomorrow holds. I thought... I saw the news reports. Shae Messana's dead. Matthias Trench seems to've vanished. Motors hit the road. What happened to Bindy? We're like some dog-eared Agatha Christie story. Eight shows in an' we're all gathered in the parlor, waitin' for the lights to go out an' another one of us to get picked off – prob'ly me. Biggest target on my back. So here goes: self-destruct sequence initialized.
Right now, I'm an instrument of chaos an' I'm fine with that. Worn a lot of hats over the years – people like to affix labels, assign a category an' move on, y'know? Too slippery – they don't stick. Good guy. Bad guy. Loner. Ally. Failure. Fraud. Don't matter 'cause at the core I'm still me, still the guy who went out there 'gainst Evan Wolfe an' Shae. Learned a few tricks along the way. They say if you stare too long into the abyss, it stares back. Void nullified an' I wonder if there's still someone behind this exponential escalation. Someone wanted me to go home. Someone wanted me beat hurt. What's next? Someone wants me dead? Where's the line drawn? How? Indelible ink or in the sand? I need to know what kinda plans I should be making here.
See, Kei, I get it. Heard the whispers, saw what you did against Trench an' Motors. After the ladder, I'm lookin' forward to somethin' more mundane – no offense intended. Just a lot less bullshit in a straight fight. This makes sense on all the levels."
He chuckles.
"Y'know, provided it even happens. Seems like my fights get fucked up the most, don't they? Not bitchin', though. It is what it is an' I am who I am. Right now I'm more inclined to laugh at the irony of how I've made a name for myself on nothin' more'n the simple exploitation of my own weaknesses. I'm a sideshow act, Icarus after the crash – half-burnt roadkill at best. See, the fire I keep talkin' about, it's indiscriminate. It hurts me out too. The difference 'tween us is I've been burned before. I know what to expect. I know it only hurts for a little while an' with the salve of those voices screamin' my name, I'll heal quicker'n most – than you."
There's resignation now, accompanied by a soft sigh.
"I'll get back up. Always do. The label you've put on me'll be consumed an' I'll emerge changed but I'm not a phoenix. I know I'm not immortal. I... don't understand why I got that opportunity. Coulda easily been Daniels or Kei or... well... anyone. Don't get me wrong. I'm gonna take the fuckin' ball an' run – not home, fuck no – gonna run the play the way it was intended. Straight into enemy territory.
So, here's the deal: I want you to go back an' review those last few fights of mine. Want you to pay attention to how much things've changed. I want you to watch, Kei. Pay close attention. See me reject every box they tried to shove me into. Underdog. Victim. Wannabe. Contender.
Look in the mirror now an' I see somethin' else starin' back. Somethin' foreign: a victor, THE CHAMPION. I see acceptance. I see peace – feel calm.
You're the mystery, the kinda place they write myths about – Aokigahara, the Suicide Forest. Build it up into somethin' it's not. It's quiet. It's full of trees. Not haunted – you wanna experience real horror? Look in the mirror long enough to see your true face.
I spent months doin' that. No lie.
I know you. I've been watchin' since you slunk in fashionably late – a paranoid guy'll do that when he's already got his back against the wall. When the lights come back on this time, will we find you with blood on your hands? Or will you be the next body on the floor, our next whodunnit mystery to solve?
Fourteen wrestlers signed contracts. After Saturday, only seven'll remain. Sayounara, Kei. Been nice knowin' ya."
