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What I have here is the contract for Xander Payne versus Solomon Stane at Shock Value.
This is just a piece of paper with a bunch of lawyer jargon, but it bears a lot of significance to a lot of people. It beckons opportunity because the second that I put pen to paper, it falls into the palm of my hands. I remember being at the negotiation table, making the executives work to give me what I believed I deserved, and the contract that I ended up signing, would become the precursor to the career I have had. It was an important document, it wasn’t a declaration or charter of rights, but if it wasn’t for that contract, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am in right now. That is how important these documents can be, and what I have here is identical to every other one that I’ve sanctioned throughout my career. I sign this and this match becomes official. I sign this, and the wonderful people of Ottawa get to see the EAW Hardcore Championship on the line, in addition to Xander Payne in action. I sign this, and someone gets electrocuted in a chair half an hour away from Parliament. But, you see, this contract is more than a formality. It’s more than a legality. It’s more than simply making this match official because when I sign this contract, that means that I am stepping back into that squared circle, once more. Once more, will I put my mental and physical state at risk? Once more, will I tango with the Grim Reaper himself? Once more, will I go against the promises that I’ve made to myself? If I sign this contract, it’s not going to be for the spotlight, hell, the spot on the Shock Value card, hell, the opportunity to become EAW Hardcore Championship, hell, to be in the same ring as Solomon Stane, it’s going to be for Maximus and for Historia. I have struggled with this premonition, one that never really irked me up until earlier last year, and that was I believed that if I continued to throw myself into the purview of this unforgiving business, it would be at the detriment of my relationship with my wife and children. I never really grasped it until there was this week, sometime after my injury, when I was in and out of rehab, and I had these recurring nightmares. The nightmares that would have you waking up in a cold sweat, goosebumps, and a pounding heartbeat. They were a glimpse into a future, where if I persisted, they would’ve been pushing me around for a wheelchair, and I don’t know if I can live with myself if that’s the type of father and husband I would be. I wouldn’t even wish that on my worst enemy, but here we go again, back to the schedule of another match, but the situation has changed. This time, we’re not going to war in defense of my family, this is what they want. This is what my kids want. They want to see their father inside of that ring, and seeing how I wasn’t present for them much growing up, the least I could do is grant them that wish. Even if it inches me closer to living those nightmares, this is what I need to do. No second guessing. No hesitation whatsoever. I need to do this. I am one hundred percent heading into Shock Value to put a smile on my children’s faces, but the more that I have refamiliarized myself with this environment since the summer, there are some voices in my head that are telling me that an opportunity calls for me to do even greater things, and it’s got to do a whole lot with the fact that the Voltage locker room is full of petulant children who need someone to blame. Trust me, I already have my hands full as it is, so being the handyman to everyone’s daddy issues would be overkill, but I figure that as I fulfill these wishes, and while this body can still go in that ring, I get some work done here in Elite Answers Wrestling, and these recent months have shown me that there are plenty things for me to do and plenty people to talk to, and the first thing is on my mind right now that I am sick and tired of being taken for granted.
Isn’t that why Solomon Stane wants me at Shock Value?
Everyone wants to take advantage of my kindness. The British Invasion gleefully disrespected my children in front of everyone at a convention center because they assumed that I wouldn’t have done anything to them. Limmy Monaghan had no problem with screwing me over because, in his head, I was weak and undeserving of his undivided support. There's a recurring theme in those assumptions, and that’s the fact that people are underestimating me. They believed they could get whatever they wanted out of me. They believed they could gain tough guy points, that they could bolster their stock, that they could use me as a springboard to the pinnacle of this very industry, but they were wrong. They thought they could easily exploit me, my wife, and my children, and get any scots-free, and I have shown them all personally in the best way I know how, that I don’t play more. I’m nobody’s bitch. Solomon Stane is a conglomeration of all that I have been through since my return, but funny enough, I don’t even think that I have seen this level of unauthentic edge lord bullshit disguised as threats before. See, Solomon Stane isn’t in this to advocate for my children. Solomon Stane is only in this for himself. Solomon Stane could’ve picked everyone, but his finger landed on me, and it’s because he believes he’s got an easy target to make an example out of to cement himself as a credible champion. Solomon Stane wants the Xander Payne rub, but I don’t know if he’s got the memo yet, but the last person who got my stimulus package turned himself into a self-checkout kiosk. Hell, the last person who tried to be a tough guy at my expense, spent his New Year’s eve overnight in my backyard. Hell, I had the last trio that put my kids in the butt end of a joke confused about whether or not they were a real faction or enhancement talents on retainer. Solomon Stane, with media executives and sponsors watching, used all of the relevance amassed from beating Ryan Adams, from being in the King of Elite finals, of being EAW Hardcore Champion, to stand smack dab in the middle of that ring, and beg me to come out of retirement. This wasn’t one instance, no, this was week after week, after week. Solomon Stane even had my name in his mouth while he still had unfinished business with Roberto De La Rosa. Solomon Stane is obsessed with me, and that’s quite a damn shame because I see all of that potential, much more considering his past couple of all-star months, and there’s so many question marks as to why he needs to pull these stunts at this point in his career. Solomon Stane had proved himself already. He’s beaten legends. He’s basked in the spotlight. Stane is statistically better off than he was, two, to three years ago, yet he feels like he needs to do this. He feels like he needs to come from a position of desperation, and that’s just pathetic. Things like that are exactly why I should have no reason to face Solomon Stane. Hell, after how long I was retired for a record-breaking two weeks, I should be using my position as an EAW Hall of Famer, as a former EAW World Heavyweight Champion to demand a better opponent, but I don’t. I don’t, mostly because of my kids, but because there are a plethora of lessons to be learned here. The first one, and this is going to hurt right in the inner core of your soul, and it’s the fact that when we strip everything away, this Solomon Stane is no different than who he was three years ago. I already know that one of the biggest factors in why Solomon Stane is obsessed with having this match is because he needs the validation that he’s progressed. He needs the validation that he’s bettered himself, and the best way he can do that is to vanquish the one person that he’s never been able to defeat in his career. Back when he defaulted to threatening his opponents to bleed, he couldn’t beat me. Back when he first found guidance in the bible with Kirk Redwood, he couldn’t beat me. And, just a couple of months ago back in November, he couldn’t beat me. But, the way I see it, the way that he has been moving and acting, this has nothing to do with rectifying past mistakes, because this is the same old shit. Same garbage in a new font. You can’t fool me. This is the same Solomon Stane from 2021. I hear the same grandiose threats, with the same exaggerated bass. I hear the same jargon but from the dress code of a rejected metal artist. I see the same non-threatening nose scrunching and snarling that’s supposed to haunt my nightmares but with a new hair and makeup stylist on the payroll. The fact that he has been on all of these stages and is your current EAW Hardcore Champion should be a testament to the fact that Solomon Stane has risen above mediocrity, but all he’s done is get lucky. All he’s been doing is barely scraping by, and after years of throwing generic antagonist shit at the brick wall, he’s managed to get his shtick stick to the wall. Solomon Stane has managed to trick people into thinking that he can’t hack anything more than bouncing the night shift at a strip club. He has done this through all of these not-so-intimidating words and tactics. Hell, he’s managed to use a whole entire established religion to get himself there, and that level of deception is something that I can commend. But, let’s be honest, the bar is in hale because I’ve been trying to pick Solomon Stane apart for what makes him good, and what makes him deserving of the position that he is in right now, and it isn’t the fact that he’s worked hard on improving his game, more so, the fact that he’s worked hard on fooling the whole world.
He can’t fool me.
And that’s why I need to sign this contract. Solomon Stane believes he can include me in his plan to pull the wool over the eyes of the EAW Universe. He believes he can use me as a precursor to success, and even worse, he is exploiting the innocence of my children to do exactly that. He wants to threaten my ability to be there for my kids and make me beg and regret. And for that, Shock Value, I am going to make an example out of him. I am going to take that EAW Hardcore Championship away from him. I am going to electrocute the bejesus out of him. I am going to take everything away from him. He is going to be the last person to think they can take advantage and exploit me. Because when I stand there, in Victor, continuing to the one person he could never outperform, and crowning myself with the only thing that makes him relevant, it will be phase number one, that Xander Payne isn’t to be fucked.
And if I got to wave Solomon Stane’s severed head over my shoulders to do it, so be it.
This is just a piece of paper with a bunch of lawyer jargon, but it bears a lot of significance to a lot of people. It beckons opportunity because the second that I put pen to paper, it falls into the palm of my hands. I remember being at the negotiation table, making the executives work to give me what I believed I deserved, and the contract that I ended up signing, would become the precursor to the career I have had. It was an important document, it wasn’t a declaration or charter of rights, but if it wasn’t for that contract, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am in right now. That is how important these documents can be, and what I have here is identical to every other one that I’ve sanctioned throughout my career. I sign this and this match becomes official. I sign this, and the wonderful people of Ottawa get to see the EAW Hardcore Championship on the line, in addition to Xander Payne in action. I sign this, and someone gets electrocuted in a chair half an hour away from Parliament. But, you see, this contract is more than a formality. It’s more than a legality. It’s more than simply making this match official because when I sign this contract, that means that I am stepping back into that squared circle, once more. Once more, will I put my mental and physical state at risk? Once more, will I tango with the Grim Reaper himself? Once more, will I go against the promises that I’ve made to myself? If I sign this contract, it’s not going to be for the spotlight, hell, the spot on the Shock Value card, hell, the opportunity to become EAW Hardcore Championship, hell, to be in the same ring as Solomon Stane, it’s going to be for Maximus and for Historia. I have struggled with this premonition, one that never really irked me up until earlier last year, and that was I believed that if I continued to throw myself into the purview of this unforgiving business, it would be at the detriment of my relationship with my wife and children. I never really grasped it until there was this week, sometime after my injury, when I was in and out of rehab, and I had these recurring nightmares. The nightmares that would have you waking up in a cold sweat, goosebumps, and a pounding heartbeat. They were a glimpse into a future, where if I persisted, they would’ve been pushing me around for a wheelchair, and I don’t know if I can live with myself if that’s the type of father and husband I would be. I wouldn’t even wish that on my worst enemy, but here we go again, back to the schedule of another match, but the situation has changed. This time, we’re not going to war in defense of my family, this is what they want. This is what my kids want. They want to see their father inside of that ring, and seeing how I wasn’t present for them much growing up, the least I could do is grant them that wish. Even if it inches me closer to living those nightmares, this is what I need to do. No second guessing. No hesitation whatsoever. I need to do this. I am one hundred percent heading into Shock Value to put a smile on my children’s faces, but the more that I have refamiliarized myself with this environment since the summer, there are some voices in my head that are telling me that an opportunity calls for me to do even greater things, and it’s got to do a whole lot with the fact that the Voltage locker room is full of petulant children who need someone to blame. Trust me, I already have my hands full as it is, so being the handyman to everyone’s daddy issues would be overkill, but I figure that as I fulfill these wishes, and while this body can still go in that ring, I get some work done here in Elite Answers Wrestling, and these recent months have shown me that there are plenty things for me to do and plenty people to talk to, and the first thing is on my mind right now that I am sick and tired of being taken for granted.
Isn’t that why Solomon Stane wants me at Shock Value?
Everyone wants to take advantage of my kindness. The British Invasion gleefully disrespected my children in front of everyone at a convention center because they assumed that I wouldn’t have done anything to them. Limmy Monaghan had no problem with screwing me over because, in his head, I was weak and undeserving of his undivided support. There's a recurring theme in those assumptions, and that’s the fact that people are underestimating me. They believed they could get whatever they wanted out of me. They believed they could gain tough guy points, that they could bolster their stock, that they could use me as a springboard to the pinnacle of this very industry, but they were wrong. They thought they could easily exploit me, my wife, and my children, and get any scots-free, and I have shown them all personally in the best way I know how, that I don’t play more. I’m nobody’s bitch. Solomon Stane is a conglomeration of all that I have been through since my return, but funny enough, I don’t even think that I have seen this level of unauthentic edge lord bullshit disguised as threats before. See, Solomon Stane isn’t in this to advocate for my children. Solomon Stane is only in this for himself. Solomon Stane could’ve picked everyone, but his finger landed on me, and it’s because he believes he’s got an easy target to make an example out of to cement himself as a credible champion. Solomon Stane wants the Xander Payne rub, but I don’t know if he’s got the memo yet, but the last person who got my stimulus package turned himself into a self-checkout kiosk. Hell, the last person who tried to be a tough guy at my expense, spent his New Year’s eve overnight in my backyard. Hell, I had the last trio that put my kids in the butt end of a joke confused about whether or not they were a real faction or enhancement talents on retainer. Solomon Stane, with media executives and sponsors watching, used all of the relevance amassed from beating Ryan Adams, from being in the King of Elite finals, of being EAW Hardcore Champion, to stand smack dab in the middle of that ring, and beg me to come out of retirement. This wasn’t one instance, no, this was week after week, after week. Solomon Stane even had my name in his mouth while he still had unfinished business with Roberto De La Rosa. Solomon Stane is obsessed with me, and that’s quite a damn shame because I see all of that potential, much more considering his past couple of all-star months, and there’s so many question marks as to why he needs to pull these stunts at this point in his career. Solomon Stane had proved himself already. He’s beaten legends. He’s basked in the spotlight. Stane is statistically better off than he was, two, to three years ago, yet he feels like he needs to do this. He feels like he needs to come from a position of desperation, and that’s just pathetic. Things like that are exactly why I should have no reason to face Solomon Stane. Hell, after how long I was retired for a record-breaking two weeks, I should be using my position as an EAW Hall of Famer, as a former EAW World Heavyweight Champion to demand a better opponent, but I don’t. I don’t, mostly because of my kids, but because there are a plethora of lessons to be learned here. The first one, and this is going to hurt right in the inner core of your soul, and it’s the fact that when we strip everything away, this Solomon Stane is no different than who he was three years ago. I already know that one of the biggest factors in why Solomon Stane is obsessed with having this match is because he needs the validation that he’s progressed. He needs the validation that he’s bettered himself, and the best way he can do that is to vanquish the one person that he’s never been able to defeat in his career. Back when he defaulted to threatening his opponents to bleed, he couldn’t beat me. Back when he first found guidance in the bible with Kirk Redwood, he couldn’t beat me. And, just a couple of months ago back in November, he couldn’t beat me. But, the way I see it, the way that he has been moving and acting, this has nothing to do with rectifying past mistakes, because this is the same old shit. Same garbage in a new font. You can’t fool me. This is the same Solomon Stane from 2021. I hear the same grandiose threats, with the same exaggerated bass. I hear the same jargon but from the dress code of a rejected metal artist. I see the same non-threatening nose scrunching and snarling that’s supposed to haunt my nightmares but with a new hair and makeup stylist on the payroll. The fact that he has been on all of these stages and is your current EAW Hardcore Champion should be a testament to the fact that Solomon Stane has risen above mediocrity, but all he’s done is get lucky. All he’s been doing is barely scraping by, and after years of throwing generic antagonist shit at the brick wall, he’s managed to get his shtick stick to the wall. Solomon Stane has managed to trick people into thinking that he can’t hack anything more than bouncing the night shift at a strip club. He has done this through all of these not-so-intimidating words and tactics. Hell, he’s managed to use a whole entire established religion to get himself there, and that level of deception is something that I can commend. But, let’s be honest, the bar is in hale because I’ve been trying to pick Solomon Stane apart for what makes him good, and what makes him deserving of the position that he is in right now, and it isn’t the fact that he’s worked hard on improving his game, more so, the fact that he’s worked hard on fooling the whole world.
He can’t fool me.
And that’s why I need to sign this contract. Solomon Stane believes he can include me in his plan to pull the wool over the eyes of the EAW Universe. He believes he can use me as a precursor to success, and even worse, he is exploiting the innocence of my children to do exactly that. He wants to threaten my ability to be there for my kids and make me beg and regret. And for that, Shock Value, I am going to make an example out of him. I am going to take that EAW Hardcore Championship away from him. I am going to electrocute the bejesus out of him. I am going to take everything away from him. He is going to be the last person to think they can take advantage and exploit me. Because when I stand there, in Victor, continuing to the one person he could never outperform, and crowning myself with the only thing that makes him relevant, it will be phase number one, that Xander Payne isn’t to be fucked.
And if I got to wave Solomon Stane’s severed head over my shoulders to do it, so be it.
