Post by Adrien | Adam on Dec 10, 2017 1:04:20 GMT -5
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“War never changes, huh? Alex Jones said it. I mean, so does Bethesda at the beginning of every Fallout video game. Never took Jones to be the type to quote a video game, but shows that sometimes there are things about my co-workers than none of us will ever know because all we ever see is what’s on the camera.”
Even a black leather jacket and charcoal colored knit cap couldn’t obscure the identity of the Dropkick King, sitting on a bench. There are lots of city lights and buildings behind him. A few headlights pass by him every few moments into the night. Underneath the jacket is a black Ramones t-shirt. The necklace Adrien is often seen wearing with an old looking key hangs from his neck, swaying in the gentle evening breeze.
“In a way, Alex’s point isn’t wrong. Big team battle between different factions with different ideals and a lot of strife with one another. And there is a faction that is doing this in the pledge to a king or a queen. Alex had some points there. But don’t worry, the Destroyers have said multiple times, they aren’t trying to turn our company into a monarchy. We can trust them. Absolutely.”
Adrien tilts his head a little bit before giving a weak grin.
“I’m not going to repeat the same things I’ve said over and over and over again. The horse is dead. I’m not going to continue beating it, even if that seems to make Matthew Shields happy. I’ve made my views on him and his squad perfectly clear. And I’ve got twelve opponents to talk about, and unlike Shields, I will actually acknowledge all of them. And the reason I will do that is that matches like these, anyone can step up and make a huge splash. Every single man and woman that steps into this ring has a chance to do something that could be a huge moment for their career. Especially when you consider what’s at stake, this could be the biggest match for someone’s career. Imagine if one of these young wrestlers who just got called up from West Coast Genesis end up with that free title shot in their back pocket?
“I think that makes the Midnight Horsemen the ones with the most to gain. Imagine what a championship opportunity can do for wrestlers like Billy Danielson, Scotty Latimer, and Ruby Lance. Mason Moore is an established competitor who has a championship and is a pretty big name himself. And I’m aware the others have had championships elsewhere, Billy especially. And don’t get me wrong, I like Ruby Lance. I like Scotty too. I haven’t had too many interactions with Danielson yet, and have yet to have any problems with Mason Moore. They are young and have talent. And I think any of them have the ability to take their game to another level and use this as a stepping stone to a career-altering championship run. I truly believe that is within the range of outcomes.”
Adrien raises a finger to emphasis his next point. The grin is gone at this point.
“But...there’s always a but, right? Taking things to the next level isn’t something that is given to you. It’s something you have to tap into yourself. It’s going to take them working as one unit to overcome the other twelve men and women in this match. The path to a victory isn’t on the shoulders of a single one of them...even if Mason’s is the largest in the entire company. It’s on all of them. You need the very best of Mason Moore, the very best of Billy Danielson, the very best of Scotty Latimer, and the very best of Ruby Lance. If a single one of them only gives this match around ninety percent effort, then that will doom the whole team. I think this is the team that can’t afford to have someone not putting their best foot forward more than the others because they work together probably more so than any of the other three teams. They do it across multiple companies even. There is a way for the Horsemen to win. Just as it will be for all of us in the end, it just will not be easy for them. I’m excited to see if they can do it.”
Cochrane lowers his head a little bit as he moves on to the next team. His eyes remain fixed on the camera, however.
“I’ve said enough about Matthew Shields already. I’m not going to spend too much time on Jack Tillman because I have two members of my team that are very motivated to take him out of the match, and I can imagine the Horsemen feel the same way. When you hold two championships, it’s a sign you are pretty good at wrestling, and you’ll never hear me question that about Jack Tillman. But the bad thing about two titles is that you have more people from different divisions pointing their guns at you. Might be the first time I’ve been in a match with a Heavyweight Champion, and there are more people I think will want to take out some other person and not the champion. Speaking of the said champion...honestly, I’ve spent a good portion of my last video talking about her. Like Shields, I think I’ve said enough about her. Everything from my last video is still relevant, honestly. As I said before, I’m not here to beat dead horses. I’ll let other people in our industry take care of that.
“And personally, I still think the glue to the Destroyers and the most important member is Coda. Individually, I think she’s one of the toughest competitors in the company. I wouldn’t be afraid to put her against anyone and say with confidence that she’s going to give that person a lot of problems. No exceptions. I do have one more thing I’m wondering about the Destroyers. They talk about the strength of their family and how they help one another all the time. Yet they talk down at the idea of anyone else doing so, making claims that it is insulting to anyone else to help one another. Just not understanding the logic behind that one.”
Adrien moves on to the final team. That grin reappears once more.
“You know, if the mystery person in Team AA is also an A-name, then you guys should really try out some sort of roadside assistance gig. I mean, as it stands now, people can either go the battery route or the alcoholics anonymous route. Just a suggestion.
“Due to this mystery person, however, it’s a bit harder to figure out what to think about this ragtag team of Avery Miles III, Alex Jones, and Daisy Rose. That fourth member, depending on his or her identity, could make them the most dangerous team or the weakest team in the entire match. If I see someone like Hixx coming out there, your team will go down a few notches in my eyes. Of course, you could also blow my mind if you get some sort of legendary outsider with Hall of Fame credentials. Expect that to make everyone in the ring stop fighting and drop the jaw. Although, it would really suck if that surprise got spoiled with this person being one of the first entrants to the match. Anti-climatic isn’t your goal, I presume though, so I’m expecting someone dangerous, that’s for sure.
“There is one thing I better mention before I go though. I watched Alex and Avery speak about the match. Alex goes through each team pretty well, but when it came to the Guardians...he only mentions me. Avery mentions that I can get the job done, but seems to have his doubts about the rest of my team. And I’m going to extend the warning I’m about to give to everyone in the match: do not underestimate the abilities of Jazmyn Rain, Joshua Goldstein, or Jessica Nitoh. I don’t even want you underestimating the abilities of Honey, even if she isn’t in this match. These four individuals came to me because they trusted me. Remember that all four members came to me. They believe in me. And let me tell you something, I believe in them. I am PROUD to have every single one of them stand beside me. If I am removed from this match and I have at least one of them still in there, I have complete and total faith that the remaining member or members of the Guardians will take care of business. I’ve spent a lot of time with these wonderful people, and I’ve spent time with all of them prior to them becoming Guardians, in all honesty. Having people like this, in my eyes, is more valuable than gold. Winning this match will mean the world to every single one of them. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that they get this win.
“In a match like this, you live as a team or you die as a team. And I would bet all the gold in the world that my squad will emerge victorious. That is how much I believe in them.”
As Adrien’s last sentence bears his favorite verb, he nods his head. His voice trembled a bit while he spoke of his teammates. But he regains his composure for one last smile before the camera fades.
It won't take you long to get
When you feel like you're soaring
So write it all and don't forget,
You gotta tell us your story
Shout out to the friends back home
Shout out to the hearts you've known
You gave them nothing but the best, yeah
And you can tell them your story
“War never changes, huh? Alex Jones said it. I mean, so does Bethesda at the beginning of every Fallout video game. Never took Jones to be the type to quote a video game, but shows that sometimes there are things about my co-workers than none of us will ever know because all we ever see is what’s on the camera.”
Even a black leather jacket and charcoal colored knit cap couldn’t obscure the identity of the Dropkick King, sitting on a bench. There are lots of city lights and buildings behind him. A few headlights pass by him every few moments into the night. Underneath the jacket is a black Ramones t-shirt. The necklace Adrien is often seen wearing with an old looking key hangs from his neck, swaying in the gentle evening breeze.
“In a way, Alex’s point isn’t wrong. Big team battle between different factions with different ideals and a lot of strife with one another. And there is a faction that is doing this in the pledge to a king or a queen. Alex had some points there. But don’t worry, the Destroyers have said multiple times, they aren’t trying to turn our company into a monarchy. We can trust them. Absolutely.”
Adrien tilts his head a little bit before giving a weak grin.
“I’m not going to repeat the same things I’ve said over and over and over again. The horse is dead. I’m not going to continue beating it, even if that seems to make Matthew Shields happy. I’ve made my views on him and his squad perfectly clear. And I’ve got twelve opponents to talk about, and unlike Shields, I will actually acknowledge all of them. And the reason I will do that is that matches like these, anyone can step up and make a huge splash. Every single man and woman that steps into this ring has a chance to do something that could be a huge moment for their career. Especially when you consider what’s at stake, this could be the biggest match for someone’s career. Imagine if one of these young wrestlers who just got called up from West Coast Genesis end up with that free title shot in their back pocket?
“I think that makes the Midnight Horsemen the ones with the most to gain. Imagine what a championship opportunity can do for wrestlers like Billy Danielson, Scotty Latimer, and Ruby Lance. Mason Moore is an established competitor who has a championship and is a pretty big name himself. And I’m aware the others have had championships elsewhere, Billy especially. And don’t get me wrong, I like Ruby Lance. I like Scotty too. I haven’t had too many interactions with Danielson yet, and have yet to have any problems with Mason Moore. They are young and have talent. And I think any of them have the ability to take their game to another level and use this as a stepping stone to a career-altering championship run. I truly believe that is within the range of outcomes.”
Adrien raises a finger to emphasis his next point. The grin is gone at this point.
“But...there’s always a but, right? Taking things to the next level isn’t something that is given to you. It’s something you have to tap into yourself. It’s going to take them working as one unit to overcome the other twelve men and women in this match. The path to a victory isn’t on the shoulders of a single one of them...even if Mason’s is the largest in the entire company. It’s on all of them. You need the very best of Mason Moore, the very best of Billy Danielson, the very best of Scotty Latimer, and the very best of Ruby Lance. If a single one of them only gives this match around ninety percent effort, then that will doom the whole team. I think this is the team that can’t afford to have someone not putting their best foot forward more than the others because they work together probably more so than any of the other three teams. They do it across multiple companies even. There is a way for the Horsemen to win. Just as it will be for all of us in the end, it just will not be easy for them. I’m excited to see if they can do it.”
Cochrane lowers his head a little bit as he moves on to the next team. His eyes remain fixed on the camera, however.
“I’ve said enough about Matthew Shields already. I’m not going to spend too much time on Jack Tillman because I have two members of my team that are very motivated to take him out of the match, and I can imagine the Horsemen feel the same way. When you hold two championships, it’s a sign you are pretty good at wrestling, and you’ll never hear me question that about Jack Tillman. But the bad thing about two titles is that you have more people from different divisions pointing their guns at you. Might be the first time I’ve been in a match with a Heavyweight Champion, and there are more people I think will want to take out some other person and not the champion. Speaking of the said champion...honestly, I’ve spent a good portion of my last video talking about her. Like Shields, I think I’ve said enough about her. Everything from my last video is still relevant, honestly. As I said before, I’m not here to beat dead horses. I’ll let other people in our industry take care of that.
“And personally, I still think the glue to the Destroyers and the most important member is Coda. Individually, I think she’s one of the toughest competitors in the company. I wouldn’t be afraid to put her against anyone and say with confidence that she’s going to give that person a lot of problems. No exceptions. I do have one more thing I’m wondering about the Destroyers. They talk about the strength of their family and how they help one another all the time. Yet they talk down at the idea of anyone else doing so, making claims that it is insulting to anyone else to help one another. Just not understanding the logic behind that one.”
Adrien moves on to the final team. That grin reappears once more.
“You know, if the mystery person in Team AA is also an A-name, then you guys should really try out some sort of roadside assistance gig. I mean, as it stands now, people can either go the battery route or the alcoholics anonymous route. Just a suggestion.
“Due to this mystery person, however, it’s a bit harder to figure out what to think about this ragtag team of Avery Miles III, Alex Jones, and Daisy Rose. That fourth member, depending on his or her identity, could make them the most dangerous team or the weakest team in the entire match. If I see someone like Hixx coming out there, your team will go down a few notches in my eyes. Of course, you could also blow my mind if you get some sort of legendary outsider with Hall of Fame credentials. Expect that to make everyone in the ring stop fighting and drop the jaw. Although, it would really suck if that surprise got spoiled with this person being one of the first entrants to the match. Anti-climatic isn’t your goal, I presume though, so I’m expecting someone dangerous, that’s for sure.
“There is one thing I better mention before I go though. I watched Alex and Avery speak about the match. Alex goes through each team pretty well, but when it came to the Guardians...he only mentions me. Avery mentions that I can get the job done, but seems to have his doubts about the rest of my team. And I’m going to extend the warning I’m about to give to everyone in the match: do not underestimate the abilities of Jazmyn Rain, Joshua Goldstein, or Jessica Nitoh. I don’t even want you underestimating the abilities of Honey, even if she isn’t in this match. These four individuals came to me because they trusted me. Remember that all four members came to me. They believe in me. And let me tell you something, I believe in them. I am PROUD to have every single one of them stand beside me. If I am removed from this match and I have at least one of them still in there, I have complete and total faith that the remaining member or members of the Guardians will take care of business. I’ve spent a lot of time with these wonderful people, and I’ve spent time with all of them prior to them becoming Guardians, in all honesty. Having people like this, in my eyes, is more valuable than gold. Winning this match will mean the world to every single one of them. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that they get this win.
“In a match like this, you live as a team or you die as a team. And I would bet all the gold in the world that my squad will emerge victorious. That is how much I believe in them.”
As Adrien’s last sentence bears his favorite verb, he nods his head. His voice trembled a bit while he spoke of his teammates. But he regains his composure for one last smile before the camera fades.
You'll never be far, I'm keeping you near
Inside of my heart, you're here
Go on, it's gotta be time
You're starting to shine
'Cause what you got is
Gold, I know, you're gold
Oh, I know, I know
I don't need the stars in the night, I found my treasure
All I need is you by my side, so shine forever
Gold, I know, you're gold
Oh, I know, you're gold
