VS. FINNEGAN WAKEFIELD [PROMO 1]

Posts : 5 Join date : 2022-04-19

Yes, Finn, this is reality.

I'm fighting for your APEX World Championship in a mere three days.

You must've been on cloud nine. That rivalry with Liz Karlson which could go down as the best of the year is one that you got to win definitively and for the first time in four years become a World Champion. Making your dreams come true is a feeling that is second to none. Especially after enduring everything you did to get to this point. An incomplete and unsatisfying ending to the OWA World Championship run that made you a legend, followed by a grand return and a tumultuous run to try to reach that peak again which was riddled with seemingly insurmountable obstacles that you were always able to overcome - you were on the path to becoming a legend once again, achieving feats that were not too far from the stories of folk heroes, and right when you were on the cusp of crowning yourself the World Champion once again...

Then you left.

To greener pastures? Maybe you could call it that. Maybe you outgrew OWA and had to find a new place to spread your wings and fly. You've got the proof of concept for it too. Walking in with your head high to defeat the reigning APEX Champion at the time and then double down on it and do it again in a triple threat. You tapped her out! Without any doubts, you took your spot back at the top of the mountain. One of the industry's hottest rising promotions with a roster as stacked as any other, and within a matter of weeks, Finnegan Wakefield broke down the walls and took the throne for himself.

That IS the narrative, correct? I mean, it has to be true. Because if it wasn't, then what would we say Finnegan? What COULD we say? There's only one thing you can say if that's the case.

You bitched out. You took your ball and went home. The keys to the kingdom were guarded by that one beast that you couldn't slay. The man known as Finnegan Wakefield who had fell giants and paved new land with the crown on his head, that great hero, that legend - even he had an enemy who was too much to handle.

These kinds of stories go back to the days of the Bible. Even thousands of years ago stories were told of the heroes who had met their match. David and Goliath, for example of course. That's one we all hear when we're three years old. Robin Hood, Rocky, Bravehart, The Karate Kid - and so many more, how many tales are there of the scrappy underdog who had to fight for everything he had, hitting a wall that he just couldn't seem to climb.

What happened at the end of the stories?

Did David see his scheduled combat against Goliath and skip town?

Did Rocky get his ass knocked out by Ivan Drago, say nah, and then leave to go box in the Chinese Boxing Association?

Did Macchio get his shit kicked in by that Asian kid and then drop out of the tournament to go fight somewhere else?

Of course the answer to all of those questions is no. Those men all had that one monster, that one demon on their back, and when that great antagonist in their life had them bloody, broken, and in tears on the ground, questioning everything about themselves... They got back up and they fought. Because they had no other choice. There wasn't the privilege of going somewhere else. It was do or die, then or never, and they did it. That's why those men are remembered as legends, fictional or not.

Pardon my confusion here, but given all of that, what I don't get is... Why are you regarded as such a great hero?

I could just be old-fashioned, but to me great men - call them legends, heroes, or whatever - but great men aren't defined by their best moments, they're defined by their worst. Anyone can act the part of a King when they wear the crown on their head. Or in your case, anyone can play the role of the unbeatable World Champion when they've got the belt strapped around their waist.

But what happens when the lights go down? What happens when the sun sets and you take that belt off. When you're at home at night, when that APEX World Championship is sitting on your night stand and you're sitting there looking at it, when you see your reflection in the gold... What do you think about?

Are you proud of yourself? I know you're happy with yourself - you get to be the World Champion of a rising company and represent it, getting to wrestle to your heart's content against anyone and everyone. I know that you used to chastise Liz Karlson for being a half-assed champion that only defends at the marquee events. That's the only reason you'd have the hubris to put this title on the line on a weekly show, against me of all people. You not only get to be the champion, but so far you have managed to deliver on each and every promise you've made here in APEX after two years of almost reaching the finish line just to get your feet swept out from under you at the very last second in OWA. You must be over the moon.

But again, I'm not asking if you're happy.

I'm asking if you're proud.

Because no matter how you spin it, you walked away from a fight you couldn't win, and whether or not you believe in running back unfinished business or settling scores that were left unsettled - the fact doesn't change... You can't call yourself THE World Champion because you're a man that's okay with backing down from a challenge. You're no hero. You're not the icon you think you are. You're a COWARD.

Darkane, Darkane, Darkane.

You can keep your head high and puff your chest out just to look me in the eye and lie to me and say that you're not scared of Darkane. But I know for a fact that with each time I say his name, your heart drops more and more, those beads of sweat start rolling down your face, and the flashbacks start coming in... What he did to you. How he broke you apart piece by piece. I know from experience that when you fight that man, even if you win, you're just lucky to survive. But you know what Finn? I've beat Darkane, and not just once, not just twice, but three times. Yeah sure, that was in the past, but the point I'm trying to make here is that the man that was such an impossible adversary for you to beat that you had to skip town and run off to another company...

That man is my bitch.

And come Saturday, you will be too Finn.

If I were you, I'd save your breath. I can damn near hear the entirety of what you're going to say in my head already. "You never won a World Championship in a company we've shared! You lose every big match you're in! You weren't full time! I was here day in, day out! Blood, sweat, and tears!" Blah, blah, blah, so on and so forth. You're so fucking generic, man. You're going to tell me that when we faced off two years ago for the Television Championship, you beat me. True, true.

But it's been the same story with you for years, Finn. You've been chasing that dragon for as long as I've known you. This goes all the way back to EAW. You've had that massive chip on your shoulder since then and that chip hasn't gotten any smaller over the years - in fact, it's grown just as big as your ego and your head, and I think all of those need to be cut down to size.

I'm not going to downplay your achievements as APEX World Champion. This company is full of the same talent that dominates the industry around the world, and you have indeed legitimately reached the top here.

That's not what I'm trying to argue.

What I'm telling you here is that as much as you want to run away from your problems like you did with Darkane, there's no running from me.

You're going to look up at me with that same fear in your eyes and realize that I'm a monster you just can't slay, no matter how hard you try.

You're going to run away again? Leave that belt in the ring and skip town to find a new promotion that you can call a safe space?

It's all the same to me, because whether I demolish you in the ring or whether I win by forfeit because you're too scared to show up for the match, the result will be the same.

That APEX World Championship that you covet so much...

Will be MINE.

» VS. FINNEGAN WAKEFIELD [PROMO 2]
» My Dynasty - INCEPTION Promo I
» Finnegan Wakefield | God Complex [ APEX on TNT 1 ]
» Apocalypse Now - APEX Promo I
» The real Higher Power. - vs Wakefield & Kamiya