" You know what I like about you TLA? Itโs rare you say something that people immediately push back against. Whether itโs in good faith and simply a joke, or itโs something you really mean just covered up by a comedic undertone. But this time, I can tell itโs the latter. You want to win the Grand Rampage, itโs one of the few things youโve yet to do in your career, and given how this current season has gone for youโ it would do a lot of good. It would most certainly put you in a position to finish the season strong and offer you another chance at creating history at Pain For Pride. And as much as I would like to see you get that moment, Iโm afraid itโs going to have to wait until next year. I say that with full respect, TLA, you know me, weโre amigos of a few weeks ago, we might as well be hermanos the way we both bleed blue for Showdown. It wasnโt that long ago that you were running things on this brand. Defending the Answers World Championship, main eventing marquee events. You were the top dog for sure, and you made sure everyone knew it. Everyone respected you, not out of fear, but because they acknowledged the hard work and dedication you put in. Fast forward two years later, and now youโre not the top dog anymore, and much as Iโd like to be humble and passiveโ I think an argument can be made that if anyone is these days, itโs me. Following the same formula and path you laid out years prior, I find myself closer to the top than anyone not named Chef Viz. But the difference is, even if what I say is true, there will still be people who refute this claim and throw their own opinions into the mix because Iโve yet to give them a reason to view me in that light. And even if they wonโt admit it aloud, it shows in their actions and words. This entire week people have showered you with praise, TLA, and itโs much deserved but when it comes to me they act as if what Iโm saying is foreign. The idea that someone can want something more than them scares them. It truly bends them out of shape. It even happened to you. Youโve been in this company long enough to see people rise and fall. Youโve seen people accomplish their dreams, and youโve witnessed the castles that they built collapse on themselves. Youโve seen it all. Youโve experienced it all. So I ask, when you look at me, TLA, what do you see? Do you see the same 18-year-old kid who had the weight of the world on his shoulders giving it his all to try and succeed in a profession that was dog eat dog, or do you see the 31-year-old man, who has fought tooth and nail every single second of every single day to get back to a position where he isnโt seen as an underrated underdog, but instead a darkhorse?
See as much as Iโd like to laugh with you and find humility in myself, I donโt feel as if Iโm capable of that at this current moment. I donโt think itโs possible for me to stare across the ring from you and acknowledge everything youโve done and not feel as if Iโm lacking within myself. Not to compare, but that realization has set in. Youโve won every World Championship this company has, and I havenโt won one. Youโre a Hall of Famer. Youโre a legend in this profession. Youโre widely considered one of the greatest elitists in EAW History. And then on the other hand there's me, a man who has amassed four championship reigns in 15 years. Sure an argument can be made that I wasnโt present for eight of those years, but all that does is soften the blow slightly. The emphasis that I place on this match and what it means to me isnโt something that i take lightly, but I can understand why someone like you would be inclined to do so. Itโs easy to forget how it feels to be the one chasing when youโve already done everything there is to do. Your legacy is secured. Your legend has been immortalized. You have been immortalized. But you forget the journey it took to get where you are. And truthfully, I hope the same never happens to me. So I donโt care if you donโt feel like stepping down from me, I wouldnโt expect anything less. But donโt for one-second think that just because youโve been here and been as successful as you are, Iโm supposed to step down from you. I said it before, and I donโt know who was listening and who wasnโt but Iโm more than willing to die behind my dreams and goals, I donโt know too many others that was willing to make that sacrifice. So when I say that I want this more than anyone else, donโt take it as disrespect. Donโt take it as a slight. Donโt take it with a negative connotationโ just know that I mean everything that Iโve said.
Jack Ripley.
โWe do the things we do to survive.โ I used to tell myself that often. I said it so much that Pandora began to pick up on it and begin saying it herself. And in the end, it always rang true at least to her. Me on the other hand? Itโs hard not to feel remorse for doing bad things to good people. No matter what my intentions were, it took everything in me to bottle up my feelings and not act on the emotions I felt. Taking the easy route is just thatโ easy, but itโs not substantial by a long shot. Cheating doesnโt build a legacy. Taking the easy way doesnโt build a legacy. What you did at Road To Redemption 2020 in the Extreme Elimination Chamber, that is how you build a legacy. You beat Jamie OโHara clean as a whistle and you won your first World Championship in a match that no one expected you to win. And funny enough, I was there. I got to watch you have that moment in the back, hell I was in the matchโ you kicked me in the face and sent me packing. But what I remember the most is how infectious your emotions were after having the biggest win of your career. I knew I wanted to experience the same. I knew I had to reach those same heights. And somewhere along the way, the lines got blurred and my patient wore thin, and I did what I had to. And every single day, I regret it. But you donโt have to worry about things like that. You donโt have to worry about people omitting your victories and your biggest moments, because you did things the right way. I envy you, Jack I do. But I donโt even carry that mindset that you have. In a profession where anything is possible, you treat the idea of success as impractical, as if you havenโt been inducted into the Hall of Fame. You act as if you arenโt one of the most accomplished elitists in this company. You act as if you arenโt Jack Ripley. I was once where you are, and I know how dark that road is. I know how tempting it can be to just say screw itโ but the fact that you havenโt left yet, and you still show up to work every day means you havenโt given up on yourself yet. And that means something. Youโre in the process of rebuilding yourself up itโs a delicate process that is filled with feelings of anger, sorrow, sadness, and uncertainty, but the thing that should keep you going is to know and understand that itโs only temporary. When I was at my lowest, you didnโt give me any room to feel sorry for myself. You didnโt allow me to feel sorry for myself. And in a way, I respected that. Sure you were an asshole, but thatโs what I needed you to be. I needed you to push me to want to be better. So I ask you, Jack, do you want to be known as the worst Hall of Famer in EAW? Are you content with people only valuing you slightly above the likes of Terry Chambers? Because if youโre content with where you are, I ask, why do you still do this? Why do you still put yourself in a position to fail? You have all the skill and talent in the world to be more than what you are now, itโs simply just a matter of pushing yourself to do i. And thatโs what Iโm doing for myself, every hour of every day when I get in front of this camera, I bear my soul to my peers and the world and let them know what winning the Grand Rampage means to me. Itโs not about accolades and accomplishments itโs about atoning and documentation of just how far Iโve come. So in two years, five years, ten years from now Jack when you rewatch these videos, what do you want your story to have been? I guess only time will tell.
Mia Santoro.
You honestly were better off just not speaking. Between you and Luis De La Rosa, I canโt tell who cares less about this match. At least Luis has managed to keep a certain mystique about him. You on the other hand? You did the same thing everyone else does when they get into a match with people they have absolutely no business being in the ring with. You called out a bunch of names and said a bunch of nothing to garner a little attention and clout. Do you feel happy about that? Was it everything you hoped it would be? This could very well be your first and last Main Event at an FPV and all you had to say was โ the rest of you donโt matter to meโ? Really? With a shot at Pain For Pride on the line, you used your lifeline to attempt to speak only to Donovan Duke? Interesting tactic. But it still isnโt impressive in the slightest. You addressed one person out of twenty-eight others, and even in addressing that one person, you still didnโt manage to get your point across nor did you manage to say anything of value. What was the point of you even turning on that camera? What was the point of uploading that video online? What is even going through your head right now? Instead of wasting time and uploading uninspired think-pieces, why not use this time and effort to formulate a strategy on how to not be the first person eliminated come Sunday? That would be a much more responsible use of your time. "
