Post by FINN WHELAN on Jul 27, 2022 23:15:10 GMT -5
EXPECT EVERYTHING [2]
NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS
••••••
“You’re gonna make me recognize who you are, right? That’s what you said. I remember when I played that card – Tommy Kelly had the audacity to make it known that he wasn’t paying attention to jack and shit, and he paid the price for it over a year ago. I wouldn’t think you’re that feckless, and to be perfectly honest, after the what I saw at Hostile Intent, you’re a calculating kind of guy.”
The scene has changed, just a bit. Instead of Finn’s home, where he’s clearly the most comfortable, the man is now seated on a restaurant pier within the Jack London Square. The breeze of the ocean wafts across the wind, fluffing his hair. He’s not alone, either. His roommate, the always callous Kayla Richards, sits across from him, sunglasses on her face and her lips pursed.
“I feel like Dillinger is kind of like this space, you know?” Kayla’s British accent makes everything sound just a bit more harsh. “Trendy. A nice picturesque spot, but at the end of the day…about as blasé as this supposedly Cajun-spiced gumbo.”
“I could go that route. Talk about him like he’s lesser than me already, but you know I’m not going to do that.” Finn looked at her, his light Irish-lilt giving away his immigrant attitude. “What I am going to do is recognize the legacy that sits before me…”
“Legacy, hm?”
“I’m not Bloodied Fox, or Maverick, or hell, even any one of the people that graced the halls of Ascension. I was around during its legacy, always watching, always interested in what’s going on. I paid attention. You all dominated, and it was clear to the rest of the world that that was the place to be in the XHF…at the time, anyway. People gravitated toward it, toward you. And look what you raised yourself to be, Seth. X*Crown Champion, Prestige Champion, championships you won over and over again…and while the first time is so sweet, the second and third times…become a little bit more tarnished.”
Finn pulls his sunglasses off his face, setting them on his head and leaning back in his chair.
“There’s a legacy in maintaining championship runs. My time was cut off short, so I’m not going to be a hypocrite here, but it’s more about the longevity of those runs rather than the number of times you were defeated and rallied yourself above once more. So, more power to all of us for being able to be in that spot again and again, but wouldn’t it absolutely suck if you lose something so quickly that you also so quickly obtained…”
He shrugs his shoulders.
“I can’t say that the treatment you received upon your arrival in NLW was any different than mine…except your one and only match garnered you a championship. But me? I came back, faced someone that has been chomping at the bit to get back in the ring for the opportunities she feels she deserves, and I defeated her hook, line and sinker to get to be here. So you’ll have to forgive me for not being able to break your one match record, but in terms of longevity…
We’ve both earned our place. Your name is synonymous with XHF, and mine? When I came back, I got a pop from the crowd because they know exactly how entertaining I’ve been, so spare me the bullshit of my heart not being in this. I don’t enter in for lackluster reasons, and if all you’ve gotten is that lol I’m bored, let me fuck right on off, take a look at the rest of the shit I’ve done. But wait…”
He holds up a hand.
“Let me guess, you’re going to talk about how it doesn’t fuckin’ matter because it wasn’t within the XHF. This is just as fucking trite as the I dunno who you are people try to sling as an insult. You google searched, maybe look through the NLW Archives. Maybe check out other places, expand your horizons, because if you’re going to go down the narrow road of nothing else matters like a preppy Metallica ripoff, then perhaps you’re not as bonafide as you might seem. It’s the amount you travel, that accolades you gain that show everyone in the company you’re in that you can be versatile, that you can represent yourself to the best of your ability wherever you go.
And let’s face it. I’ve been doing that since 2018. Every company I’ve walked into I’ve been either a champion of, or been a sliver from getting it. Here? I’m not underestima– yes you are. I’m a Deathmatch Competitor. I’m a man who instilled a permanent concussion because he had his hand stabbed with an ice pick in a match. I’m someone who throws tacks in the ring, gets slammed into them, and gets back up. Maybe learn who the fuck you’re facing, eh? I’m the type to send you back to vegetable status and not give a fuck about it. And you?
X*Crown Champion – congratulations, I’ve beaten some of them too. A whole list of accolades in a defunct company that you hold onto with your every breath for relevance because you don’t have anything else to cling on to. And for some, that might save you. That might make it important, but if you can’t even figure out who I am besides off of reading off a scorecard printout that gives you my stats and accolades, then maybe you shouldn’t be the champion.
Champions should know everything about the people they face.
They should be prepared.
They should expect everything that’s thrown at them.
So, congratulations on winning your first match back to the wrestling world. Congratulations for your title. It’s sad that in your second, you’re faced with the real possibility of losing your championship.
I’m comin’ for blood, Seth. And I’m coming for gold.
Make sure you don’t underestimate the relentless.”
