Vs The World (Part 2)
Apr 18, 2024 17:38:43 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Dave D-Flipz, and 1 more like this
Post by Spike Kane on Apr 18, 2024 17:38:43 GMT -5
What do you do when you’re fighting someone who has nothing to lose?
That might seem like a silly question to ask. I mean, I’m the X*Crown Champion and I made the bold claim that I would retire once I lost it. That would, I presume, make people think that I have everything to lose, right? Lose the title, lose your career.
I’m quite happy to do that.
I’m quite happy to finally ride off into the sunset and know that I did everything I could to leave my mark on this business. A business built on legends, stories, accolades, and triumphs. As a young kid making his way in this business, if you’d have told me then the things that I would go on to accomplish? Well, truth be told, I’d think you were fucking nuts. Because what I have done? It’s second to none. The longevity of my career, the amount of times I’ve reinvented myself and still come out on top? It’s just fucking funny.
Not bad for just a hardcore wrestler, huh?
This business has given so much to me over the years. I’ve been able to travel the world, to every single corner where the squared circle has fans, I went there. With a smile on my face. This little rebel raised kid from Belfast got to wrestle in the Tokyo Dome. Christ, I wrestled in an abandoned prison! Anywhere, and everywhere. I love this business. I tried doing other things, I tried being in a band, I tried being a property magnate, I tried being a journalist ... .it was just never the same, it never delivered that same reaction, that same high you get from the crowd.
I was born to be a professional wrestler.
I know I talk about evolving, but it is true. This game evolves constantly, now I know you’re probably fed up of hearing me talk on your TV, but you have to realise, this is my fucking moment. Nobody else's. This is for me. I get to be on the poster for the XHF Rumble. I get to be the face of the show, and boy I tell you it is long fucking overdue. It fills me with pride, just like holding the X*Crown Championship does, because it means so much, and has meant so much, to so many people over literal decades. I’m not going to sit here try to run down thirty nine other people - that might have been something I’d do in my older days, but really? I’m past that now. I don’t need to devote so much of my time to trashing other people.
I mean I could just post a bunch of memes I suppose.
…….naaaaah.
See, I am looking at this as a man with nothing to lose. Which means I’m at my most dangerous. It means I have everything to gain. I know there’s a lot of talk about how I don’t deserve this, about how I’m not as good as X person or Y champion. How I’ve never beaten certain people. Funny how many of you sound like Caffrey. Listen, I’ve made a career out of proving people wrong, especially people who tell me I can’t do something. I was told I’d never be world champion.
Ever.
I was told I would languish in the mid-card for eternity, and that I wouldn’t be remembered. I’ve had it said to me almost everywhere I’ve gone. I almost succeed out of spite, in fact it seems like I actually thrive on spite. Now, if Dylan, or Fox were holding the belt going into the Rumble, you know you’d be sick and tired of all the people blowing smoke up their asses and about how great they are, but when it comes to Spike Kane? Well the world only seems to have one answer.
Fuck Spike Kane.
I’ve been screaming fuck the world right back for my whole life. I’ve scrapped and fought for everything I have in my life, and the many things I’ve lost along the way. I’ve lost two sons, and a third hates my guts. My eldest daughter does too, but at least she never pretended otherwise - still, couldn’t make it without having to ride that “Kane” name so many people seem to hate so much.
You’re welcome.
I’ve given back to wrestling too, don’t get me wrong. As much as wrestling has given me, I’ve given right back. I’ve given my family, my blood, my body, my soul. My very life. Because I truly do love this, I’m good at it, and I enjoy being the God of Xtreme. Does that mean I’ll miss it if I come up short? Sure, not gonna deny it, but I’ve toyed with retirement and such too many times for this to be a game. I know a lot of people will think I’ve still got one foot out of here, a lot of people will probably try and tell you that I don’t have the dog in me anymore.
If that’s the case, why am I still adding to the legacy of the X*Crown?
Jason Long made the challenge, I couldn’t be happier - because even if the match in SCCW ended up being my final match? At least I’d be a part of another federations world title being added to the X*Crown. I’ve already mentioned two of the titles part of that legacy that mean so much to me. That is purely personal, it won’t mean the same to others, but it means a lot to me….which should tell you something. Go back, watch my promo’s, watch my matches - when I say I’m going to do something? I do it. So when I tell you I will retire when I lose the X*Crown championship?
You know that means I have every intention of walking out of the Rumble with my hand held high.
I am Spike Kane. I am the God of Xtreme. A BANG! Bro. A Pillar of Violence.
InFamous.
Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.
That might seem like a silly question to ask. I mean, I’m the X*Crown Champion and I made the bold claim that I would retire once I lost it. That would, I presume, make people think that I have everything to lose, right? Lose the title, lose your career.
I’m quite happy to do that.
Nelly: Are you serious?
Spike: As a heart attack.
Nelly: So, you’re really saying that if you don’t come out of the Rumble as the X*Crown Champion that your wrestling career will be over?
Spike: That is correct. Listen, I’m old, I’ve been around the world time and time over. I’ve proven myself in every federation I’ve ever been in. I came back here to win the X*Crown championship, the one belt I’d never been able to capture, and now I sit here after what has to be one of the most fun runs I’ve gone on.
Nelly: But it wasn’t all fun was it?
Spike: As a heart attack.
Nelly: So, you’re really saying that if you don’t come out of the Rumble as the X*Crown Champion that your wrestling career will be over?
Spike: That is correct. Listen, I’m old, I’ve been around the world time and time over. I’ve proven myself in every federation I’ve ever been in. I came back here to win the X*Crown championship, the one belt I’d never been able to capture, and now I sit here after what has to be one of the most fun runs I’ve gone on.
Nelly: But it wasn’t all fun was it?
I’m quite happy to finally ride off into the sunset and know that I did everything I could to leave my mark on this business. A business built on legends, stories, accolades, and triumphs. As a young kid making his way in this business, if you’d have told me then the things that I would go on to accomplish? Well, truth be told, I’d think you were fucking nuts. Because what I have done? It’s second to none. The longevity of my career, the amount of times I’ve reinvented myself and still come out on top? It’s just fucking funny.
Not bad for just a hardcore wrestler, huh?
This business has given so much to me over the years. I’ve been able to travel the world, to every single corner where the squared circle has fans, I went there. With a smile on my face. This little rebel raised kid from Belfast got to wrestle in the Tokyo Dome. Christ, I wrestled in an abandoned prison! Anywhere, and everywhere. I love this business. I tried doing other things, I tried being in a band, I tried being a property magnate, I tried being a journalist ... .it was just never the same, it never delivered that same reaction, that same high you get from the crowd.
I was born to be a professional wrestler.
Spike: No, you’re right there. There were some rough times, and a few times there I thought about walking away. If it wasn’t for Steve, and the rest of the BANG! Bros, I’d have walked away a long time ago.
Nelly: That seems like a pretty shocking thing to say, what was going on?
Spike: Well, I came back during the Rumble, and a lot of people had a lot to say. For the most part they were quite narrow minded, and incredibly disrespectful. I get it though, I’m some old name they don’t know of. They have this little XHF Network universe they live in, and anything outside of it doesn’t exist. It’s a mindset most federations have, like IWF itself. There was one person I had an issue with though, with the things they said. Anthony Caffrey.
Nelly: Yet after returning at the Rumble, FIRESIDE would become your home, no?
Spike: Because I made a career out of proving people wrong. Caffrey said I needed to earn my chance at the X*Crown Championship. Like trying to win the Rumble, winning Call to Arms, and almost winning it at Night of Champions wasn’t good enough. So I decided I was going to do it right under his nose. So I signed up for FIRESIDE, and I started getting booked. As if I was a green rookie making his way into his first ever company. He books me in his little “rookie” division, and I captured the SPARK championship right away. It didn’t put me off, it didn’t give me a chip on my shoulder. I’ve done it time and time again, everywhere I go. Someone in power thinks they need to take me down a peg, so I start at the bottom and work my way up. Again, and again, over, and over. I did right in front of Anthony Caffrey’s face and you know what he did?
Nelly: There was a fallout, right?
Spike: Not quite yet, no. See, Caffrey came to me and told me that he was worried about the End of Days tournament and that the winner would take the X*Crown away from FIRESIDE. Essentially he didn’t believe Evan would retain the title and he offered me a deal. I drop the SPARK championship, and I get a shot at Evan and the X*Crown Championship. No disrespect to Evan at all, because I think the kid has genuine talent, but I’m not going to turn that down. I happily handed over the SPARK championship and did what I do best. I went out there put on a hell of a show, and I walked out with the X*Crown Championship I’d been hunting for, for so long.
Nelly: That must have felt quite vindicating, no?
Spike: You bet your ass it did. I did what he said, I earned it. Working week in, and week out. I took offence to the part time schtick he was trying to pull when I had been wrestling longer and more often than anyone else in the business. Enter the IWF Rumble AND defend my Man of Steel championship on the same show? No sweat. You need me to wrestle multiple matches in one night? No problem, because I do everything I can for this business, I give everything I have to this business. From day one I’ve always put this business first, I’ve always tried to be better today than I was yesterday. No matter where I go, I get people who undermine me, people who underestimate me and simply expect me to fail.
Nelly: That seems like a pretty shocking thing to say, what was going on?
Spike: Well, I came back during the Rumble, and a lot of people had a lot to say. For the most part they were quite narrow minded, and incredibly disrespectful. I get it though, I’m some old name they don’t know of. They have this little XHF Network universe they live in, and anything outside of it doesn’t exist. It’s a mindset most federations have, like IWF itself. There was one person I had an issue with though, with the things they said. Anthony Caffrey.
Nelly: Yet after returning at the Rumble, FIRESIDE would become your home, no?
Spike: Because I made a career out of proving people wrong. Caffrey said I needed to earn my chance at the X*Crown Championship. Like trying to win the Rumble, winning Call to Arms, and almost winning it at Night of Champions wasn’t good enough. So I decided I was going to do it right under his nose. So I signed up for FIRESIDE, and I started getting booked. As if I was a green rookie making his way into his first ever company. He books me in his little “rookie” division, and I captured the SPARK championship right away. It didn’t put me off, it didn’t give me a chip on my shoulder. I’ve done it time and time again, everywhere I go. Someone in power thinks they need to take me down a peg, so I start at the bottom and work my way up. Again, and again, over, and over. I did right in front of Anthony Caffrey’s face and you know what he did?
Nelly: There was a fallout, right?
Spike: Not quite yet, no. See, Caffrey came to me and told me that he was worried about the End of Days tournament and that the winner would take the X*Crown away from FIRESIDE. Essentially he didn’t believe Evan would retain the title and he offered me a deal. I drop the SPARK championship, and I get a shot at Evan and the X*Crown Championship. No disrespect to Evan at all, because I think the kid has genuine talent, but I’m not going to turn that down. I happily handed over the SPARK championship and did what I do best. I went out there put on a hell of a show, and I walked out with the X*Crown Championship I’d been hunting for, for so long.
Nelly: That must have felt quite vindicating, no?
Spike: You bet your ass it did. I did what he said, I earned it. Working week in, and week out. I took offence to the part time schtick he was trying to pull when I had been wrestling longer and more often than anyone else in the business. Enter the IWF Rumble AND defend my Man of Steel championship on the same show? No sweat. You need me to wrestle multiple matches in one night? No problem, because I do everything I can for this business, I give everything I have to this business. From day one I’ve always put this business first, I’ve always tried to be better today than I was yesterday. No matter where I go, I get people who undermine me, people who underestimate me and simply expect me to fail.
I know I talk about evolving, but it is true. This game evolves constantly, now I know you’re probably fed up of hearing me talk on your TV, but you have to realise, this is my fucking moment. Nobody else's. This is for me. I get to be on the poster for the XHF Rumble. I get to be the face of the show, and boy I tell you it is long fucking overdue. It fills me with pride, just like holding the X*Crown Championship does, because it means so much, and has meant so much, to so many people over literal decades. I’m not going to sit here try to run down thirty nine other people - that might have been something I’d do in my older days, but really? I’m past that now. I don’t need to devote so much of my time to trashing other people.
I mean I could just post a bunch of memes I suppose.
…….naaaaah.
See, I am looking at this as a man with nothing to lose. Which means I’m at my most dangerous. It means I have everything to gain. I know there’s a lot of talk about how I don’t deserve this, about how I’m not as good as X person or Y champion. How I’ve never beaten certain people. Funny how many of you sound like Caffrey. Listen, I’ve made a career out of proving people wrong, especially people who tell me I can’t do something. I was told I’d never be world champion.
Ever.
I was told I would languish in the mid-card for eternity, and that I wouldn’t be remembered. I’ve had it said to me almost everywhere I’ve gone. I almost succeed out of spite, in fact it seems like I actually thrive on spite. Now, if Dylan, or Fox were holding the belt going into the Rumble, you know you’d be sick and tired of all the people blowing smoke up their asses and about how great they are, but when it comes to Spike Kane? Well the world only seems to have one answer.
Fuck Spike Kane.
Nelly: So you finally won the X*Crown Championship, and your first defence is against the End of Days winner, right? Steve Awesome himself.
Spike: Right? What a head fuck. You gotta remember, up until this point I’d only ever beat Steve once one on one, in over twenty years.
Nelly: His promo was quite a thing.
Spike: Yeah, it was brutal. Steve went for the throat in the way only Steve could. I can’t lie about it, it hurt. It genuinely hurt, because Steve knew me better than anyone else except maybe Rob. He brought up everything he could, and opened any wounds that he could to throw me off, to put me off my game and ensure that he got hold of the belt. Now, we know we didn’t win that night, but he sure didn’t give up the ghost.
Nelly: Was that where the problems in FIRESIDE started?
Spike: It’s where things really escalated yeah.
Nelly: Can you tell us what happened?
Spike: I mean, it’s not news. Caffrey once again didn’t back his own roster, didn’t back his own talent and was busy telling everyone that I would lose. That I didn’t have what it takes to beat Steve Awesome, to keep the X*Crown within FIRESIDE. So, I decided that I didn’t want to work for Anthony Caffrey anymore. Like a professional, like a gentleman I went to him and gave him my working notice. I’d complete my duties, I’d wrestle for the shows I was booked for, but after that I was gone.
Nelly: He wasn’t happy about it was he?
Spike: No man, he flew off the handle. Ranted and raved about everything he’d done to elevate me - as if I ever needed the help of a fuckwit like Anthony Caffrey. Said I’d be black balled and everything else, it was a dumpster fire, and if I’m honest? I’m just glad it happened when it did, so that it didn’t happen at a time where I actually needed him, or his company. He didn’t seem to understand I was doing him a favour. I was doing FIRESIDE a favour, but hey, I did what I was supposed to do. I acted like a professional, I went out there against his chosen hand and knew full well I wouldn’t be walking out with the X*Crown.
Nelly: Are you saying you lost because of politics?
Spike: It wouldn’t be the first time, would it? Not 100% no, but you know as well as I do that Anthony Caffrey would do anything to stop the X*Crown leaving FIRESIDE. So once that drama was done, I left. What happened?
Nelly: They closed their doors, right?
Spike: FIRESIDE’s closed!
Spike: Right? What a head fuck. You gotta remember, up until this point I’d only ever beat Steve once one on one, in over twenty years.
Nelly: His promo was quite a thing.
Spike: Yeah, it was brutal. Steve went for the throat in the way only Steve could. I can’t lie about it, it hurt. It genuinely hurt, because Steve knew me better than anyone else except maybe Rob. He brought up everything he could, and opened any wounds that he could to throw me off, to put me off my game and ensure that he got hold of the belt. Now, we know we didn’t win that night, but he sure didn’t give up the ghost.
Nelly: Was that where the problems in FIRESIDE started?
Spike: It’s where things really escalated yeah.
Nelly: Can you tell us what happened?
Spike: I mean, it’s not news. Caffrey once again didn’t back his own roster, didn’t back his own talent and was busy telling everyone that I would lose. That I didn’t have what it takes to beat Steve Awesome, to keep the X*Crown within FIRESIDE. So, I decided that I didn’t want to work for Anthony Caffrey anymore. Like a professional, like a gentleman I went to him and gave him my working notice. I’d complete my duties, I’d wrestle for the shows I was booked for, but after that I was gone.
Nelly: He wasn’t happy about it was he?
Spike: No man, he flew off the handle. Ranted and raved about everything he’d done to elevate me - as if I ever needed the help of a fuckwit like Anthony Caffrey. Said I’d be black balled and everything else, it was a dumpster fire, and if I’m honest? I’m just glad it happened when it did, so that it didn’t happen at a time where I actually needed him, or his company. He didn’t seem to understand I was doing him a favour. I was doing FIRESIDE a favour, but hey, I did what I was supposed to do. I acted like a professional, I went out there against his chosen hand and knew full well I wouldn’t be walking out with the X*Crown.
Nelly: Are you saying you lost because of politics?
Spike: It wouldn’t be the first time, would it? Not 100% no, but you know as well as I do that Anthony Caffrey would do anything to stop the X*Crown leaving FIRESIDE. So once that drama was done, I left. What happened?
Nelly: They closed their doors, right?
Spike: FIRESIDE’s closed!
I’ve been screaming fuck the world right back for my whole life. I’ve scrapped and fought for everything I have in my life, and the many things I’ve lost along the way. I’ve lost two sons, and a third hates my guts. My eldest daughter does too, but at least she never pretended otherwise - still, couldn’t make it without having to ride that “Kane” name so many people seem to hate so much.
You’re welcome.
I’ve given back to wrestling too, don’t get me wrong. As much as wrestling has given me, I’ve given right back. I’ve given my family, my blood, my body, my soul. My very life. Because I truly do love this, I’m good at it, and I enjoy being the God of Xtreme. Does that mean I’ll miss it if I come up short? Sure, not gonna deny it, but I’ve toyed with retirement and such too many times for this to be a game. I know a lot of people will think I’ve still got one foot out of here, a lot of people will probably try and tell you that I don’t have the dog in me anymore.
If that’s the case, why am I still adding to the legacy of the X*Crown?
Nelly: Once you left though, you had some small runs in NLW and TapOut, as well as a run in IPW with PRICE in Chaos Theory, but really the crux of your work post FIRESIDE was really as part of either the BANG! Bros, or as part of the Pillars of Violence.
Spike: Yeah, I uhh….I joined NLW to work with an old friend, who ironically left that same day. Talk about timing, right? I think the fiasco with Caffrey really put a downer on things for me. Like, I did what I was here to do, right? I got that X*Crown, anything else is just a bonus. I wanted to just work with people. Integrate myself with this next generation. I wanted to be a part of their stories, the way people had intertwined with mine over the years.
Nelly: This included both an X*Crown match against El Rey, and a Junior Heavyweight Championship match (though I use the term match loosely) against yours truly.
Spike: Which was honestly some of the funnest matches I’ve had since being back, solo, anyway. I got to help the rise of El Rey, played a part in his story, and we got to have a lot of fun. I know I may have rubbed some people the wrong way, who thought I was just out for myself, but hey I guess that is the character I portray on TV, right? So if they buy into it, I guess I’m doing something right.
Nelly: That being said, I’m sure you went on record to say this quite recently, but outside of all that, you’d say your time with the BANG! Bros was your best time in wrestling?
Spike: Honestly…..the only piece missing for me was Rob, and we got to reunite for the tribute show. So that was fantastic, but yeah you can bet your ass. If it wasn’t for Rob, EC, and Kanyon? I’d have left this business behind a long time ago.
Nelly: So, let’s switch tracks a little, and talk about the BANG! Bros, if it’s not too sore of a subject.
Spike: Phew….boy, well… Let’s get into it.
Spike: Yeah, I uhh….I joined NLW to work with an old friend, who ironically left that same day. Talk about timing, right? I think the fiasco with Caffrey really put a downer on things for me. Like, I did what I was here to do, right? I got that X*Crown, anything else is just a bonus. I wanted to just work with people. Integrate myself with this next generation. I wanted to be a part of their stories, the way people had intertwined with mine over the years.
Nelly: This included both an X*Crown match against El Rey, and a Junior Heavyweight Championship match (though I use the term match loosely) against yours truly.
Spike: Which was honestly some of the funnest matches I’ve had since being back, solo, anyway. I got to help the rise of El Rey, played a part in his story, and we got to have a lot of fun. I know I may have rubbed some people the wrong way, who thought I was just out for myself, but hey I guess that is the character I portray on TV, right? So if they buy into it, I guess I’m doing something right.
Nelly: That being said, I’m sure you went on record to say this quite recently, but outside of all that, you’d say your time with the BANG! Bros was your best time in wrestling?
Spike: Honestly…..the only piece missing for me was Rob, and we got to reunite for the tribute show. So that was fantastic, but yeah you can bet your ass. If it wasn’t for Rob, EC, and Kanyon? I’d have left this business behind a long time ago.
Nelly: So, let’s switch tracks a little, and talk about the BANG! Bros, if it’s not too sore of a subject.
Spike: Phew….boy, well… Let’s get into it.
Jason Long made the challenge, I couldn’t be happier - because even if the match in SCCW ended up being my final match? At least I’d be a part of another federations world title being added to the X*Crown. I’ve already mentioned two of the titles part of that legacy that mean so much to me. That is purely personal, it won’t mean the same to others, but it means a lot to me….which should tell you something. Go back, watch my promo’s, watch my matches - when I say I’m going to do something? I do it. So when I tell you I will retire when I lose the X*Crown championship?
You know that means I have every intention of walking out of the Rumble with my hand held high.
I am Spike Kane. I am the God of Xtreme. A BANG! Bro. A Pillar of Violence.
InFamous.
Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.