- Messages
- 380
- Points
- 93
10/11/23
I owe no one an apology, but I acknowledge I’m a bit late to this party.Truth is, I’ve been going things in my head over for the past two days… this camera has been up and I’ve hit record multiple times… but the words have been difficult to come by.
The same tired, boring, charges have been levied against me by Sheridan Muller. Inconsistent, lacking in passion… all of this coming off of a performance at Territorial Invasion where I managed to step above all of the dysfunction, chaos and, inadequate leadership to nearly carry Team Showdown to victory. There’s nothing to be proud of in nearly’s… something already addressed by me in the aftermath, but it still counts for something. Claiming a lack of consistency when I’ve only suffered one singles loss this season, less than you… that’s… bold— I’m going to stop there, though— partly out of pride, I said long ago that I’m no longer going to respond to these accusations, but also because it’s so very obvious to see that this is a lose-lose situation. Ignoring it allows it to continue maturating, but it’s the better alternative to going along with it, continuing to reject and deny, only to be accused of settling for mediocrity. Until you can find some real dirt to throw on my name, unless you find something that really gets under my skin that causes legitimate unsettlement, it’s best that this is left here. There’s no sense in wasting time that could be put to far better use.
Really, Sheridan, at least to me, is the least interesting variable in this whole equation. Everyone knows what she wants and the briefcase that she holds is how she’s going to get it. Everything else between that is quite irrelevant. All of this letdown that she speaks of, the sense of underwhelming that Season 17 has brought her, all of that can change in just mere seconds, everyone is aware of that. Adam Lucas is the champion, I am his challenger, Sheridan, the ubiquitous constant lurking over everything, but then there’s Viz. And how he fits into all of this doesn’t feel very natural. He’s tied to Sheridan and they have their own little game going on about— whatever it is they can’t quite agree on, but his presence in this match and the upper echelon of Showdown, at the moment, it all feels forced. In fact— this career malaise has been going on for quite a while. When he decided to end it with SOSA Henderson… there was a belief that he was being held back by dead weight, but five months later SOSA is thriving on Dynasty, and Viz can’t get it going. He fell to me at Pain For Pride, couldn’t defeat Cy Henderson at Midsummer Massacre, and failed at Territorial Invasion. People speak of me failing upwards and coasting by on nothing but name recognition, but if any of that is true, Viz is, at the moment, putting me to shame in that regard. This isn’t feigned ignorance to try and strengthen a quivering point, Viz has done nothing to show or prove that he deserves to be mixing it up at the top of the Showdown card. He holds nothing of tangible value, nor as grabbed onto any opportunities, and there have been plenty of chances for him. I remember in the lead up to Pain For Pride I was— I can admit this now, there was trepidation associated with how I viewed him. He was an intimidating presence, and I had to battle and exorcise demons from past events, those two things combined totaled up to what was an incredibly daunting task. The solution I found was to force myself to whittle Viz down until he was nothing more than just any other competitor. Peel the aura, pare away the accolades, carve out the name and any recognition of what he’s supposed to be until he appears completely ordinary. Whether or not that’s actually what led me to victory, I’ll never be able to say for certain, but it is interesting to me that ever since that match it seems as if he’s now doing that to himself. It’s impossible to look at him and see him as the same man that was once in such command of everything. There’s been regression in every facet. One might think I take great enjoyment in seeing it, but really I don’t. No matter who it is, no matter my history with them, the decay of a career is always hard to look at. It’s a reminder that it can happen to anyone, and often times is out of ones control entirely.
Of course, with this match, this dynamic… and the general condition that Showdown finds itself in at the moment, it wouldn’t be wise to assume anything about how Saturday night is going to go. There’s an obvious conflict between my partner and I, and while he’s already had it out and said what he thinks needs to be said about me, I’m gonna save that part of this for when it really matters. What I can tell him now, what I can assure him, is that I will not be the reason that this breaks down. Territorial Invasion proved that I am more than capable of fitting within a team by the rules, and last season on Dynasty I showed that if a victory is up for grabs, I’m willing to put direct differences aside to achieve it. Don’t let a false reputation or pre-conceived notions lead you astray, don’t overcomplicate this in an attempt to get one over on me. I know things like that are in contrast to the character you present yourself as, but that’s why this has all been put together and I also know that desire Adam, it lives within you. It’s a fight, it’s a struggle to not act on it, and God help you if you do.
I put my hand to my heart, Adam. As far as Showdown goes, there’s nothing dubious happening on my end, I have no motive other than victory. Everything else aside, I hope we can at least see eye to eye on that.
As long as we do, you can trust me.
…
Probably.
