Post by Jazmyn Rain on Jan 21, 2018 13:39:44 GMT -5
“The Hard Way”
Date: January 19, 2018
Jazmyn Rain has a night all to herself in Madrid where she’s deeply reflecting on the events of Homecoming. The room is well lit, which complements the dark night sky outside and the GCW Global Champion herself is looking quite elegant sporting a sparking red gown complemented by a silver bracelet on her right wrist. She soaks in the romantic Latin culture of the location that she’s in, easing her mind a little before she speaks her mind about the upcoming gauntlet match challenge that lies ahead for her.
Jazmyn Rain: Homecoming… what do I call it? A tragedy? No, I can’t call it a tragedy. Tragedy is too strong of a word. There’s only ONE loss I could ever call a tragedy and those that know me in GCW know exactly what which loss I am referring to there. I could call it an “injustice” considering that Jack Tillman had to have Olivia get involved and had to use the championship belt itself to cheat to win. But I don’t think “injustice” is strong enough to describe those events. So what is the best word or best phrase to describe those events then? Well, I think I can sum it up with this: what happened in my match against Jack Tillman for the Five Lakes Championship can best be summed up as “more of the same” and that’s a phrase that can be described in so many different scenarios. There’s so much talk about Jack Tillman being this special breed of technical wrestler but it took a shot with the belt to the skull to retain? How is THAT being a special breed? It’s more of the same. Many before him have won in such a fashion and many after him will do the same. Of course, it’s also “more of the same” when you consider this is the SECOND time he’s screwed me out of the Five Lakes Championship. But, in all honesty? It’s not even THAT moment that I am applying the phrase to. No, I’m going to apply it to many events in my career where such a thing has happened to me. Warning, what I’m about to talk about, isn’t pleasant. I’ve been screwed out of a championship COUNTLESS times it seems like. I mean, both of my tag team championships weren’t even lost in the ring. My partner got injured in the first one and my other partner went to management to relieve us of the titles because he refused to team with me.
But seriously… where this all began was five and a half years ago in Washington, D.C…
Jazmyn pauses and looks down on the floor, shaking her head for a bit before she looks up at the camera and continues.
Jazmyn Rain: It was my first world championship match ever and that was a match that I had won. Then of course, two idiots came down to cost me the match and while I bounced back to beat those two idiots for the second of my two tag team titles, that took a really hard toll on me. I didn’t react or respond to it the way I should have. My self-esteem issues early in my career were overwhelming and that seriously triggered them to the point where shortly after that, the drugs started happening.
Fast forward to March of 2016, the drugs being a distant thing in the past by this point, when I got screwed out of my first GCW Global Championship the way I was. Again, I admit it. I responded to that event horribly. I essentially had a mental breakdown. At least I was strong enough to prevent a relapse or something horrible like that, but that was one of the most devastating losses of my entire career. However, that loss did create the impetus that would eventually drive me to being stronger, better and the wrestler that I have become. It wouldn’t be the last time I’d be screwed out of a championship though. Last August, I fought for the GCW Global Championship as the challenger and I lost that due to a referee error. Now, I could have snapped again, but I didn’t. Heck, I even made peace with that referee and ultimately, I had a second chance at the title… albeit in an elimination chamber match… and on THAT opportunity last November, I came through against all odds, did it all the hard way and became Global Champion again. So while what happened at Homecoming is “more of the same” as far as the story of my career and championship matches are concerned, in recent years, I have developed quite the propensity to come back stronger than ever and going into Dissension, I find myself in a familiar situation.
A second chance at a championship I deeply desire at stake.
The odds completely against me.
And having to earn it the hard way…
Jazmyn pauses and chuckles for a bit, becoming quite familiar with the movie that she so happens to be starring in going into Dissension.
Jazmyn Rain: There IS a kicker though. Devlin Scott WAS about to give me a second chance against Tillman for free but as you all saw that night, I turned it down and told him to make me earn it. Now, I didn’t realize he’d have a gauntlet match in mind, but that’s not going to bother me. This is NOT going to be an easy fight for me, ESPECIALLY if I have to go bell to bell and if THAT is the case… well… even THAT isn’t unfamiliar to me because when I regained my GCW Global Championship in the chamber, I DID go bell to bell! I was one of the first two in and I made it all the way. So, what’s to say that I can’t do that again should that situation befell me? See, this is something that my four opponents need to realize. I am not the kind of person that just lies down and takes crap. There was a point in my early career where I had my own self-esteem issues, yes. Growing up, I was more of the passive pushover that would let anything and everything get the best of her and that is not the kind of person that I am. So on the surface, people are looking at names with reputations like KEG and Alan Envy, they look at former Five Lakes Champions like Joshua Goldstein and they look at a top, young prospect like Billy Danielson and the whispers I’m getting from the critics is two things: “stand aside and don’t bother” and “you should have taken the free rematch and now you’re about to lose it all”
Really! This never stops, does it?
It’s true, I COULD have taken the free rematch. But why should I? What is being GIVEN a second chance at Tillman going to prove? It’s just going to make it seem like I complained and got a second chance. I never wanted to be gifted a direct second chance. Heck no! I wanted to earn it and this weekend, that’s exactly what I am going to do whether my critics like it or not and now they think I’m stupid for passing up the free rematch? I’m sure my opponents would think so too, not naming names or anything. While I didn’t realize Devlin would book a gauntlet, I’m not backing down from it. Sure, maybe I don’t win the gauntlet, but that’s the furthest thing from my mind right now. Why take the freebie? Because Danielson is younger than me and probably is a more polished wrestler than I am because he started much younger than I did? Because Goldstein beat me before? Because Envy has a worldwide reputation? Because KEG is an NGW great that has been the Five Lakes Champion before? And suddenly, because of all of that, I have no chance at beating any of them?
BULLSHIT!
Pardon my language…
Jazmyn pauses to clear her throat before she continues.
Jazmyn Rain: And is all that the reason why I should stand aside and not even bother with this match? Listen, I may not have the reputation around here that a KEG or an Envy does. I may not be a former champion in NGW like Goldstein is, and I may not be as young as Danielson is, but why should ANY of that preclude me from winning this match? Why should I sit here and take it? Why should I accept being where I am right now? Again, that is NOT the person that I am. I won’t back down. I’ll face the numbers. I’ll go bell to bell if I have to, but the one thing that’s for damn sure is that there is NOBODY in NGW, whether it’s Tillman, whether it’s any of the four I am facing in the gauntlet, a critic of mine, or anyone on the roster that is going to deny me that Five Lakes Championship. NOBODY! I’m not going to sit here and deny that Danielson’s time will come, because it WILL come. He’s got a lot more years left in this business than I do most likely. I’m not going to say that KEG is over the hill, because that’d be damn disrespectful to the reputation that he’s built for himself around here but he’s been the Five Lakes Champion before and he has to earn his way back just like everyone else, which he will at some point no doubt, but NOT at MY expense. Yes, Envy has his global reputation, but that’s not going to get the job done Sunday night. If reputation meant a damn thing, I’d be a champion in NGW already. And Goldstein… gosh, this is so awkward knowing that I may have to face him… he’s the one wrestler in this match with just as much of a case for a shot at that title as I do considering the way Tillman robbed it from him and I KNOW how much it destroyed him for a while… and ya know… I don’t know WHAT to say about him really because I don’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings. I mean, he’s finding his way back and he’ll continue to do so, but at the end of the day, I can’t allow ANYONE, friend OR foe to stand in my way and I know he realizes and respects that.
The odds are against me, and it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier said than done, but deep within my spirit, I know what I have to do, and I know exactly what’s going to happen. Somehow, someway, I will find a way to pull through this gauntlet and become number one contender for the Five Lakes Championship again. I WILL get another chance at Tillman and an opportunity to right the wrong that happened at Homecoming and when I DO get that chance, I WILL become the NGW Five Lakes Champion. Yes, I’m doing this the hard way, and yes, I could have had the rematch for free, but I am willing to put it all on the line.
Are you four willing to do the same?
I don’t doubt that much.
But are you four willing to do so just as much as I am?
I don’t think so!
It’s a bold thing to say, I admit. But when I pull through in the main event this Sunday, it won’t seem so far fetched now, will it? It won’t… especially considering that I’m doing this just the way I’ve always done it throughout my career:
...the hard way!!!
Jazmyn collects herself for a bit after speaking her final words for the time being. She maintains her confidence and her vigor going into Dissension as she stands up to shut off the camera.
Date: January 19, 2018
Jazmyn Rain has a night all to herself in Madrid where she’s deeply reflecting on the events of Homecoming. The room is well lit, which complements the dark night sky outside and the GCW Global Champion herself is looking quite elegant sporting a sparking red gown complemented by a silver bracelet on her right wrist. She soaks in the romantic Latin culture of the location that she’s in, easing her mind a little before she speaks her mind about the upcoming gauntlet match challenge that lies ahead for her.
Jazmyn Rain: Homecoming… what do I call it? A tragedy? No, I can’t call it a tragedy. Tragedy is too strong of a word. There’s only ONE loss I could ever call a tragedy and those that know me in GCW know exactly what which loss I am referring to there. I could call it an “injustice” considering that Jack Tillman had to have Olivia get involved and had to use the championship belt itself to cheat to win. But I don’t think “injustice” is strong enough to describe those events. So what is the best word or best phrase to describe those events then? Well, I think I can sum it up with this: what happened in my match against Jack Tillman for the Five Lakes Championship can best be summed up as “more of the same” and that’s a phrase that can be described in so many different scenarios. There’s so much talk about Jack Tillman being this special breed of technical wrestler but it took a shot with the belt to the skull to retain? How is THAT being a special breed? It’s more of the same. Many before him have won in such a fashion and many after him will do the same. Of course, it’s also “more of the same” when you consider this is the SECOND time he’s screwed me out of the Five Lakes Championship. But, in all honesty? It’s not even THAT moment that I am applying the phrase to. No, I’m going to apply it to many events in my career where such a thing has happened to me. Warning, what I’m about to talk about, isn’t pleasant. I’ve been screwed out of a championship COUNTLESS times it seems like. I mean, both of my tag team championships weren’t even lost in the ring. My partner got injured in the first one and my other partner went to management to relieve us of the titles because he refused to team with me.
But seriously… where this all began was five and a half years ago in Washington, D.C…
Jazmyn pauses and looks down on the floor, shaking her head for a bit before she looks up at the camera and continues.
Jazmyn Rain: It was my first world championship match ever and that was a match that I had won. Then of course, two idiots came down to cost me the match and while I bounced back to beat those two idiots for the second of my two tag team titles, that took a really hard toll on me. I didn’t react or respond to it the way I should have. My self-esteem issues early in my career were overwhelming and that seriously triggered them to the point where shortly after that, the drugs started happening.
Fast forward to March of 2016, the drugs being a distant thing in the past by this point, when I got screwed out of my first GCW Global Championship the way I was. Again, I admit it. I responded to that event horribly. I essentially had a mental breakdown. At least I was strong enough to prevent a relapse or something horrible like that, but that was one of the most devastating losses of my entire career. However, that loss did create the impetus that would eventually drive me to being stronger, better and the wrestler that I have become. It wouldn’t be the last time I’d be screwed out of a championship though. Last August, I fought for the GCW Global Championship as the challenger and I lost that due to a referee error. Now, I could have snapped again, but I didn’t. Heck, I even made peace with that referee and ultimately, I had a second chance at the title… albeit in an elimination chamber match… and on THAT opportunity last November, I came through against all odds, did it all the hard way and became Global Champion again. So while what happened at Homecoming is “more of the same” as far as the story of my career and championship matches are concerned, in recent years, I have developed quite the propensity to come back stronger than ever and going into Dissension, I find myself in a familiar situation.
A second chance at a championship I deeply desire at stake.
The odds completely against me.
And having to earn it the hard way…
Jazmyn pauses and chuckles for a bit, becoming quite familiar with the movie that she so happens to be starring in going into Dissension.
Jazmyn Rain: There IS a kicker though. Devlin Scott WAS about to give me a second chance against Tillman for free but as you all saw that night, I turned it down and told him to make me earn it. Now, I didn’t realize he’d have a gauntlet match in mind, but that’s not going to bother me. This is NOT going to be an easy fight for me, ESPECIALLY if I have to go bell to bell and if THAT is the case… well… even THAT isn’t unfamiliar to me because when I regained my GCW Global Championship in the chamber, I DID go bell to bell! I was one of the first two in and I made it all the way. So, what’s to say that I can’t do that again should that situation befell me? See, this is something that my four opponents need to realize. I am not the kind of person that just lies down and takes crap. There was a point in my early career where I had my own self-esteem issues, yes. Growing up, I was more of the passive pushover that would let anything and everything get the best of her and that is not the kind of person that I am. So on the surface, people are looking at names with reputations like KEG and Alan Envy, they look at former Five Lakes Champions like Joshua Goldstein and they look at a top, young prospect like Billy Danielson and the whispers I’m getting from the critics is two things: “stand aside and don’t bother” and “you should have taken the free rematch and now you’re about to lose it all”
Really! This never stops, does it?
It’s true, I COULD have taken the free rematch. But why should I? What is being GIVEN a second chance at Tillman going to prove? It’s just going to make it seem like I complained and got a second chance. I never wanted to be gifted a direct second chance. Heck no! I wanted to earn it and this weekend, that’s exactly what I am going to do whether my critics like it or not and now they think I’m stupid for passing up the free rematch? I’m sure my opponents would think so too, not naming names or anything. While I didn’t realize Devlin would book a gauntlet, I’m not backing down from it. Sure, maybe I don’t win the gauntlet, but that’s the furthest thing from my mind right now. Why take the freebie? Because Danielson is younger than me and probably is a more polished wrestler than I am because he started much younger than I did? Because Goldstein beat me before? Because Envy has a worldwide reputation? Because KEG is an NGW great that has been the Five Lakes Champion before? And suddenly, because of all of that, I have no chance at beating any of them?
BULLSHIT!
Pardon my language…
Jazmyn pauses to clear her throat before she continues.
Jazmyn Rain: And is all that the reason why I should stand aside and not even bother with this match? Listen, I may not have the reputation around here that a KEG or an Envy does. I may not be a former champion in NGW like Goldstein is, and I may not be as young as Danielson is, but why should ANY of that preclude me from winning this match? Why should I sit here and take it? Why should I accept being where I am right now? Again, that is NOT the person that I am. I won’t back down. I’ll face the numbers. I’ll go bell to bell if I have to, but the one thing that’s for damn sure is that there is NOBODY in NGW, whether it’s Tillman, whether it’s any of the four I am facing in the gauntlet, a critic of mine, or anyone on the roster that is going to deny me that Five Lakes Championship. NOBODY! I’m not going to sit here and deny that Danielson’s time will come, because it WILL come. He’s got a lot more years left in this business than I do most likely. I’m not going to say that KEG is over the hill, because that’d be damn disrespectful to the reputation that he’s built for himself around here but he’s been the Five Lakes Champion before and he has to earn his way back just like everyone else, which he will at some point no doubt, but NOT at MY expense. Yes, Envy has his global reputation, but that’s not going to get the job done Sunday night. If reputation meant a damn thing, I’d be a champion in NGW already. And Goldstein… gosh, this is so awkward knowing that I may have to face him… he’s the one wrestler in this match with just as much of a case for a shot at that title as I do considering the way Tillman robbed it from him and I KNOW how much it destroyed him for a while… and ya know… I don’t know WHAT to say about him really because I don’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings. I mean, he’s finding his way back and he’ll continue to do so, but at the end of the day, I can’t allow ANYONE, friend OR foe to stand in my way and I know he realizes and respects that.
The odds are against me, and it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier said than done, but deep within my spirit, I know what I have to do, and I know exactly what’s going to happen. Somehow, someway, I will find a way to pull through this gauntlet and become number one contender for the Five Lakes Championship again. I WILL get another chance at Tillman and an opportunity to right the wrong that happened at Homecoming and when I DO get that chance, I WILL become the NGW Five Lakes Champion. Yes, I’m doing this the hard way, and yes, I could have had the rematch for free, but I am willing to put it all on the line.
Are you four willing to do the same?
I don’t doubt that much.
But are you four willing to do so just as much as I am?
I don’t think so!
It’s a bold thing to say, I admit. But when I pull through in the main event this Sunday, it won’t seem so far fetched now, will it? It won’t… especially considering that I’m doing this just the way I’ve always done it throughout my career:
...the hard way!!!
Jazmyn collects herself for a bit after speaking her final words for the time being. She maintains her confidence and her vigor going into Dissension as she stands up to shut off the camera.
