Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2016 14:20:44 GMT -5
Open to Journeyman Phillips in the RW 'promo room'.
"I don't stand here today with gold around my waist. That may surprise you, it certainly surprised me, but I've said it before and I'll say it again; not everything goes your way in this business. Even a dog like Matthew Shields has its day. But I know how to take defeat and use it to my advantage. What spurs me on now is the belief, no.. the knowledge, that had I won that match I would be here with that belt. That title was in Shield's hands the minute he pinned me to the mat. He knew it, I knew it, everyone knew it. Good luck to him, good luck to his reign. Years from now when this company disappears into the ether his legacy will be a mere footnote on this story. Which is more that can be said for Noah McKnight, who spent the majority of that lacklustre main event on his back!
"I've never seen one man encounter so many pinfalls in such a short space of time. So this weekend I intend to make him feel right at home, with his broken body firmly planted to that canvas. Guys like Noah McKnight don't get anywhere in this business. They fight for all the wrong reasons, scratching away at an itch that will never go away. The demons that haunt him won't be cured by winning matches, or by winning titles. If he even achieves that feat. He won't find what he's searching for in that ring. He's no less deplorable than the morons that go out there and "fight for the fans". Champions don't fight for the fans, for their loved ones or the departed. They fight for themselves.
"I told the fans I fought for them. I pandered to their pathetic needs for thirty years, told them what they wanted to hear. I played the game, I saw the desperation in their empty lives, I became their hero. I sold my soul for cheap pops and few extra bucks at the merch tables. I'm done preaching to the converted. They will come no matter what you do or say. They will cheer for the liars and spin doctors that feed their hollow minds, instead of getting behind the ones that deserve it. Call me an iconoclast, call me an asshole, but until you've been beyond the mat or laced up a pair of boots for three decades you don't deserve my respect. True champions do this for themselves and themselves alone. Matthew Shield's one true quality is his insatiable quest for personal success. He doesn't care what the fans think of him. And that's why he's the one with the belt, and the Noah McKnight's of this world will spend the majority of their days staring up the bright lights. This story has been told before. The educated amongst you might know the legend of Heracles and Antaeus, the giant wrestler, whose strength was incredible so long as he stood firmly on the earth. But when he was held, rootless, in midair, by Heracles, he perished easily. There's something in that. McKnight will shine when he's facing the Dick Devereux's of this world - the nothingmen. But when elevated beyond his comfort zone, when he's feet aren't firmly planted at the bottom of the ladder, he too will perish. He choked in the main event, and he'll choke again here. I am the most reverred name in this company, the most bankable, and recognisable face on the roster. To get in the ring with me will be like lifting McKnight in midair, out of his depth, as he disappears from sight and memory.
"The journey goes on, my friends. Mark my words."
End Scene.
