Honeymoon Period - APEX 05/08/22

Almost an entire week has gone by and my phone still has not stopped ringing. My social media is blowing up. My emails? Filling up by the day. From the moment I shook hands with the man they call ‘The Remarkable One’ I knew that my future would be filled with success. Marketing opportunities, brand deals, and I am even hearing rumblings backstage that I will be receiving a lucrative new contract offer from the higher ups now that Arturo Cabello and José Legado are officially a package deal.

I wish I could say that I’m surprised… but just look at me. Who wouldn’t want a piece of this pie? From the moment I stepped foot in APEX I showed the people of the United States what I’m capable of and the reviews for El Pavo Real have fittingly come in with flying colors just as I knew they would. I am the belle of the ball right now and I have José Legado to thank for that just as much as myself. It was his masterminding that led me to this moment, after all. When I saw he had arrived here in APEX I could not believe that Alec Fernandes was going to be his first choice for a client. A washed up, has-been older timer like Fernandes was so far below him that I knew it must have been as a favor to our chairman. Of course, once he and I got to talking at Emmanuelle’s dinner event I found out that my assumption was correct. José Legado sees nothing in Alec Fernandes and believe me when I tell you that he could not have been more insulted that Alec would dare to turn him down. Me, though? Oh, he loved me. We arranged a deal of our own and when we saw Alec fell flat on his face yet again we just knew what he was going to propose when he showed up the next week.

So we came up with a plan… and it came together perfectly.

José Legado and I? We are the perfect pairing. The dream team. Together we will be unstoppable. With his coaching, his mind for the business, and my natural talent and finesse, there’s no one who can stand in our way… least of all this “C” that I will be standing across the ring from this Sunday.

What kind of name is “C”, anyway? So far I have yet to C anything at all that could make me think that I will not walk out with the victory. He’s a rather handsome man, of course. If anyone would be a good judge of that it would be Arturo Cabello… but I hope that there is substance beyond those weary eyes and I am not just going to be crossing paths with another Finnegan Wakefield. My guess, though? That’s exactly what you are. I hear the chatter backstage about how you’re referred to as “The Purifier” and as a proud Mexican man I hear a name like that and immediately know where I must stand. There is nothing to purify here, amigo. Arturo Cabello is as pure of heart as they come. Everything that I have done has been for the good of this great art form and the ultimate good will be when I am standing tall as the APEX World Champion. If you’re willing to stand in the way of that? Well, then your moniker will simply ring untrue. You might have the technical ability and the good looks but you are no El Pavo Real. You are not tougher, smarter, stronger, nor are you as talented as I am. If that isn’t enough? José will always be by my side to make sure any attempt you make to undercut my inevitable success is met with the most precise of counters.

And that name? El Pavo Real? They call me that because I was born to fly, to fly high above the rest of the world as I chase the glory that only I can capture. The only thing you will be capturing this Sunday, “C”, is your first defeat on APEX grounds.

I would make that a promise… but to crush the hopes of a young up-and-comer so brutally in his first match would ruin your career here before it has even begun. What I’ll do instead is promise you this: You will not walk out of our match the same man as you were when you walked in. You will be humbled, you will be beaten, and — most importantly of all — you will be outmatched in every way imaginable. Why? Because that’s what Arturo Cabello does. It matters not who I’m in the ring with. No one compares. Not Emmanuelle. Not Finnegan Wakefield. Not Alec Fernandes. Not Hiroto Kamiya. I am the star. You want to test that? Well then be my guest.

I don’t see you being the first, Mr. Purifier… at least, not the first to prove me wrong. The first to fall to the dream team, however? Absolutely.

Make the most of your honeymoon period here, amigo. It’s not going to last much longer.