"The Only Saving Grace." - Battle for Hegemony.

[James Raymond]

[ JANUARY 29TH, 2018. – MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. ]

His first XHF event, Supremacy 2018.

His one and only chance to make a name for himself and he found himself being crushed underneath a throne by a large bear– his ribs still hurt the next day as he lazily rested in a nearby hotel and hoped to be cleared to get on the next flight back to England. However, even that seemed like an impossible task. He could barely walk with the current condition that he was in but too stubborn to find himself in a hospital to get checked up on in the case of those ribs being bruised – or worse, broken – just seated in a lone chair in the hotel room as he looked out the window and stared directly toward the XHF Network Arena.

James’ phone would soon ring, laid on the table right by his side as he glanced down onto the name, an old friend of his from back home in Coventry, Michael. He was hesitant to answer at first, there was sheer embarrassment after the events of last night’s antics in the main event. The phone continued to ring and ring and ring– but then it stopped, a missed call notification popped up but then Michael began to call once more. James knew he couldn’t get away from him, he couldn’t hide from anyone, he just had to face defeat head on and accept any embarrassment that comes along the way.

He picked up his phone and slid his finger across the screen, hitting the speaker button and placing the phone back down onto the table, taking in a deep breath quickly – whilst feeling the sharp pain run through his abdomen area – before finally speaking.

JAMES RAYMOND: What do you want?

MICHAEL: Ain’t taking the loss well, huh. Look brudda, I only called to see how you were. I caught glimpses of what happened when I woke up this morning and saw you in a bad state after all that shit happened– you ain’t hurt badly or anything, are you?

He was, but admitting that fault seemed more painful than how he’s suffering right now. After years of building up a reputation along the streets of Coventry as someone that could barely get hurt when danger creeped around the corner, it was hard to admit that he’s not even able to breathe properly because of a bear knocking over a ‘throne’ onto him.

JAMES RAYMOND: Nah, mate. I’m doing fine as it is. Kinda just gotta settle down for a bit because of some stupid doctor’s orders or whatever– is what it is, you know?

MICHAEL: You sure, brudda? I mean, you got into a fight with an actual bear in that ring– you could’ve died there, you know? But shit, if you’re saying you’re fine? I’ll let you be. Just let me know when you’re on your way back home, the boys are gonna wanna see you about this.

JAMES RAYMOND: Ha, what are they gonna say about that?

MICHAEL: They think you’re completely fuckin’ insane to begin with– but they also don’t agree with the fact you’re a wrestler now. They were thinking you were gonna be some kind of UFC fighter or some shit, you get me? They ain’t happy with you at all. Kinda bummed out actually. But it’s all good, just get home safe and me and you? I got these drinks on us.

JAMES RAYMOND: Uh- yeah, yeah absolutely. I’ll see you back home soon.

He hung up the phone from there.

That embarrassment crept in more, now coming to the understanding that all of the people he left behind back in Coventry see him as some fraud than how they used to see him along the streets back in the day– from a street fighter to a professional wrestler, they couldn’t understand the change in direction but he did. This, of course, was a passion of his. This was something that he’s always wanted to become, but then again, for some? The dream of being a professional wrestler was long gone when they grew out of that phase in life– but for James, he never did.

Those fights in the streets, in dimly lit alleyways, in the back of parks and playgrounds of where he lived, they all led him to this very moment. And if he was going to make a name for himself because of this, gaining the popularity needed to show that he can become someone coming from the background that he’s given himself throughout the years, then he can show that anyone can do it. For him, for all of his friends, and for her – his late sister, Cass. Someone that knew how much passion James put into coming this far, someone that knew how much this means to James right now to be coming out of a big event and getting so close, and someone that’s watching over him right now.

But, even then, he felt like he'd let everyone down.

[ JANUARY 10TH, 2023. – COVENTRY, ENGLAND. ]

Every year, this exact month, he reminds himself of how far he’s come since then.

It might have been five years since he showed the world who he was on such a large stage but it feels like he’s back at stage one, he’s back at the beginning once again and with nothing much proven since that day almost five years ago. All of the accomplishments that he achieved were back in that same year, all of the good that he did was back in that time period, that nine month period where he seemed to have been a rising star upon the network with a World Championship reign to his name (albeit, a short reign) and all of the momentum he could ever be given– but that was all gone, all of it was gone within an instant.

He tried and tried and tried some more for years on end, he made sure every attempt was going to come up without empty hands at the end but nothing emerged, even with an excursion to Japan and now fighting there for a living? He hasn’t gained a thing. The chance of something to come up, whether it’s a chance to become a champion or to even represent at a global event, he’d always take it within a heartbeat. Was it desperation that kicked in within the past couple of months? Was he finally coming to his senses? Has the months, if not years, of wait finally made him push himself to get back on that main stage once again?

Or maybe that the imposter syndrome has truly kicked in– he’s spent months, if not years, beginning to doubt his legitimacy to get to the top of the mountain. He spent time after time asking himself if he deserved the position that he’s been given throughout his life for the past five years. If this was the last chance that he’d have to show the world what he can achieve, then he’ll have to make it count. However, it’s hard to achieve it with a team of misfits that are more intent on just killing one another, maiming for sport, and doing whatever they’d like rather than focusing on the goal in hand. James understands the task at hand, having to be the saving grace in this team and trying to make sure that survival is at hand here.

Poena seems to be the only one who knows what is at stake here rather than the other two, he seems to be ready to fight a good fight– unlike the others who have all shared their motives of slicing and dicing, maiming and torturing the competition, breaking and bending the rules as much as they possibly can. The Sheik only wants blood on his hands, much like Armand von Krauss, and the two would go hand in hand in that kind of combat but failure is imminent with them. In elimination styled rules, they’d be gone within an instant if they stepped out of line one time. That would leave things to be two against four, the numbers advantage going against an already star-studded dream team in the making.

This is what he’s worked so hard to fight for, he’s not going to allow them to take away his chance at getting right back up onto that main stage and fight for a chance at redemption– a chance at career resurgence that’ll save himself from all of the doubts that have ran rampant through his head for years. He finds himself seated inside of his local private gym and hands clasped together, just staring at himself in a mirrored wall. All he could think about was what lay ahead of him this weekend, what could be and what might not be dependent on if he and his team wins. There was pressure applied onto him, he was suffering with defeat before it even came, and that was never a good sign.

Acceptance was something that he’d have in mind for the future, for when he’d feel like he’s finally made it again, but this was acceptance of being the nearly man– someone who could never accomplish the same as those around him, someone that – after all of the hard work put in to rebuilding himself from the ground up and allowing himself to change overtime – wouldn’t see the good in the things he’s done for himself, this what he’s had to live with for years. He’s got one more chance to get back at the world and allow himself to show his worth.

By any means necessary, it seems.

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For the longest time, I’ve had to stand in the shadows of so many before me.

It hasn’t been a fun experience going through that period in my life, I’ve always fallen victim to being the end of a joke or finding myself in situations that I’ve gone too far in to get myself out of them, and there’s nobody to blame for those moments but myself. Though I've learned to live and forget about the past because none of it quite matters anymore, I cannot dwell upon myself and drown myself in what I've done in the past, because there’s time to move on with life and get over things. For the past five years, I’ve drowned myself in the failure of what I was and what I became. There’s so many that would much rather remember a reign that went on for sixteen days rather than the fact that I had beaten someone who knocked down the longest reigning champion at the time, was a former XHF X*Crown Champion, and has ultimately gained XHF Legend status throughout the years back then.

There’s so many who’d rather remember me for being in a team with the likes of Anthony Caffrey, Jason Long, Kira Izumi– all thinking that I was their pet, I was just a side piece, a person who’d just stand there and believe that I had nothing to show for all of those moments and I’d rather be someone who could just stand by the side, let the others do their thing, and just pick up the pieces when told to. I was never that kind of a man to begin with but the beliefs of others, it made everyone see things differently. If it wasn’t for myself absolutely fucking slapping up Caffrey in the first place, he’d have never been in the shape he did going into The Classic that year. If it wasn’t for me pushing Jason to get back into the fight, give it one more shot, and do something rather than sulk and believe that he couldn't do it– he’d have never won those XHF Tag Team Championships again. If it wasn’t for me trying to keep the shape of purity in J-ROK, then Kira would’ve fucked the whole system up and that company would’ve died within an instant.

Rather than seeing the underappreciated rights I’ve done, they’d rather point out the overused wrongs. I’m sure someone like Dylan Black would rather see those failures and use them against me– he’s done it before so what’s stopping him now? I’m sure he’s not too happy with the fact that he never got the call up to be a representing star unlike I did but hey, he still made it on the GUNS side of things. Instead of being a whining bitch, Dylan, you could’ve been somewhat respectful to me. You could’ve just been civil about this sort of thing but you never chose that, you never chose to just take things in and think to yourself for just a moment, maybe you did get the call from Kira about being a representative but you were too late to answer. So desperate to get back into the main scene that you went to GUNS to take that role, what does that prove to anyone, Dylan?

I can tell you what it does prove – nothing. You spent too much time trying to be a big name for J-ROK that you were signing up for things, left and right, and hoping to God that you can be another global champion that would put the company back on the map again. That’s all you want to do, that’s all you’ve been doing for the past year or two, and it hurts you that someone is taking that spotlight from you. You’re jealous that I answered the call before you could and it shows with your desperation to try and prove what I am, trying to prove Kira wrong for choosing me to be the representative, but are you really fighting for J-ROK? Maybe you’re just fighting so you can get your hands on Zoran. The super frenemies colliding, that’s a dream of yours in your head, ain’t it? However, I don’t believe that people would like to see that dream come to life, Dylan.

I believe that people have grown tired of you getting the spotlight every so often when it’s called upon you.

The story of Dylan Black has gone it’s course, the rags to riches story has done it’s deed, it’s created you to being the biggest star that there is but what room is there for someone like you in the current age? Again, your story has come and gone. The emotion? Gone. The celebrations? Gone. You’ve done it, you did what you needed to do, but that’s all that there is left to say about the story, Dylan. It’s time to move on from that same story you’ve been telling for the past year and a half. After all, what else is there to tell about your rising-from-the-ashes story?

If there’s anyone that does have a bit of a story to tell, it’s Raiden Ishimori – gone through the same sad state of affairs as what I did, had the chance to show off on the biggest stage of them all and came close but never got to hold the crown. Became bigger names coming out of those nights but what do we have now? Sure, Raiden is happy as he is right now holding the Tag Team Championships over in Sin City but he’s being given another chance after all of these years. You speak about the fact that I faced you a little over two years ago, back in the tail-end of 2020, but I hadn’t a clue that was you and I had no way of telling it either. You were under a mask at the time and I wasn’t paying attention to when you possibly unmasked either, so your burning hatred for me and Jason succeeding in the Sakura Tag League? It makes no sense whatsoever. Your hatred for me shouldn’t exist because of a grudge you seemed to have built up under that mask back then, it should build up to go against you because you tried to hide who you were–

Afraid of admitting defeat like a man back then and rather just stay within the shadows.

And you speak about the shadows that I’ve stepped into? Refer to the previous point spoken earlier. I might’ve stepped into people’s shadows but I came out of them being the successor, I came out of them helping those, I came out of those shadows with some sort of impact put into them. The shadows that you stepped into, Raiden? They never helped you at all, you just bide your time hiding in those shadows until you saw fit to finally show yourself off to the world again, and what good did it give you? What did it prove to be in those shadows of your own? You never helped yourself out until only recently. You were someone, Raiden, you were one of the biggest names that just seemed to have come out of nowhere but you collapsed and crumbled– you’re nothing like what you once were and going into hiding has done you zero favours in the process.

There’s nothing left for you to do, Raiden. You couldn’t save yourself back then, the point of saving yourself now has been drained. All of the hope that you have left is now gone, who’s going to sit back here and think that a Raiden Ishimori comeback story is going to be a memorable one? Handed chance after chance back then, it doesn’t change that the years have passed. The same could have been said for me but I never held grudges on anyone, I never focused on what others have done, I focused on what was ahead of me and what was ahead of me was the top of the mountain. If you could tap into that same mindset, Raiden? Then maybe you might have come into this not sounding ridiculous but you’ve – and I cannot put this to you in any other way – fucked this all up for yourself and there’s nobody to blame but yourself.

Steve Awesome is a name that I’ve heard one too many times throughout the years and I never seemed to have bought into what kind of a man he is – or was, per se – but to this day, I still haven’t been able to understand it. The man has a history of making things seem like it’s all about him, an understandable feat that everyone seems to populate under as well, but something doesn’t sit right with me about you, Steve. For someone that’s sitting at the top of his own little complex, you don’t seem to have the brains for it and whilst you’ve been doing it for years at this rate, you’ve wrestled just about anyone and everyone as it is– it seems like it doesn’t take long to outsmart you. After all, you’re trapping yourself in your own small bubble and just sitting there letting it take the hits, and that’s all that’s saved you throughout the years, Steve. Your continuous attempts to keep yourself stuck in your little fantasy world has saved you time and time before but when you’ve snapped back into the real world? You’re a lost child with no clue on what to do.

The bane of everyone’s existence. There’s no way for anyone to trust you and I’m sure two of the three don't trust you either in this situation– because what have you got to show for yourself? You’ve trapped yourself back into your own bubble with nowhere to go, backed into a corner for once now that you’ve got no REIGN to protect you and to fall back onto, so what awaits you now if you can’t have one more showdown with Zoran? I’m assuming you’re in this for the same reason as what Dylan is here for, to have that one last fight with Zoran for the crown, but again– you’re only in this for yourself, aren’t you? It seems like none of you have any kind of coordination. And I can’t go to Copycat and believe that he’s got some either, can I? Is it worth my time trying to make any sense of what comes out of that man’s mouth? The only notable thing that came from him was Terry Bradshaw and that was... something. But that’s the thing with that whole team, there’s zero coordination at all coming from them.

And whilst my team isn’t the best either? It’s got some redeeming qualities – partly. However, I focus on bringing this team across the finishing line, no matter how much it takes to do it. If I have to be the saving grace for this team, then I’ll be exactly that. I can be the saviour of this team because I am doing everything in my fucking right to get back onto that main stage and fight like my damn life depends on it. I waited five years to do it and I will not wait another five more. I'm done waiting for the chance and I won’t let anyone either hold me back or stop me from getting there. I have sought after supremacy for so long, so what makes any of you believe that you can take that away from me?

I won’t need violence to solidify who I am, I won’t need death to cheat my way to victory, I just need patience.

The kind of patience that it takes to rip and tear into those that stand across from me, the kind of patience that it takes before I find that weak spot to snap your arms off of your body, the kind of patience that it takes to let me digest all of the pain that you feel– because it fuels my hunger to continue. And what will feed me along the way is bodies, bodies, bodies. All of them laid out and broken, torn to fuckin’ shreds, blood all over my hands. No need to cheat, no need for violence, no need for weapons or whatever there is to get your hands on– just using my bare hands to fuck anyone up. I’ve learned throughout the years what it’ll take to get there and I plan on executing everyone in sight. So, come and get the smoke if you wanna try and stop me from reaching heaven because it won’t work out for any of you and you’ll be putting yourselves at a bigger risk than ever before– or in better terms for everyone to understand?

Fuck around and find out.

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