In recent weeks people have asked me what It is I am doing in APEX. They wonder if I’ve gotten soft if what people have done to me is starting to show me that I don’t belong in this era any longer and that my name has been written out way before I’ve started. These are words I’ve only now begun to hear. And while it is true my run isn’t what I believed it to be that doesn’t mean I am a relic of my past. Haha no no it just means I’ve given these people a little less credit than needed. I’ve let them have their way for far too long and because of that, I’m paying the toll for my miscalculation. You see I can admit to my mistake because going forward you are going to be seeing less and less of those from here on out. You see looking at the talent here now is the one thing I can do in terms of examining the skills and assets each is going to be able to provide to me for as long as I am in this business. And I see a lot of hunger, a lot of people willing to do whatever is needed in order to be at the top of the class of the people around them. It’s a tale as old as time and it’s something that is usually unrewarded to those who fizzle out and lose what made their name great in the first place. I say this because this hunger can become a thing that poisons and drags the person down as soon as they become complacent and feel their need to be great falter. And let me tell you I see that happening now more than ever. A sense of complacency not just amongst the runt but also the champions. They’ve made it to the top of the mountain. However, that’s the thing about winning a belt, people don’t know you’re supposed to keep building. Make that peak you’re at into a bigger height than when you got there. No, they see it as their duty to fight and keep the spot, keeping at a plateau, keeping it flat so that when people get there the “top” of the company starts to become overcrowded. Now don’t get me wrong I love fighting champions like everyone else because in it it makes everyone seem special. It's a great deception that if ran right could do the dirty work of establishing a higher peak for you. But if done wrong it has all the capability of letting those who don’t deserve it start to overrun the mountain and become the talent that swarms around a rotting fruit like flies. I’ve seen it only work a handful of a time, and the times it didn’t it created an entitlement amongst talents that lead those mid-players on the up and up when they were not ready. And when they crashed and burned not only did they burn and fizzle out, but it made people wonder at the true strength of a roster if a supposed top talent crashed and burned like them. So you have to play your cards in a way that makes people believe they have a chance but at the same time starts to make the peak of the business something only suitable for true talent.
I could say that I have done this in the past, so I will. I have done this in the past and I continue to do it with titles I’ve held in countless companies. I’ve held them to a point where those who salivated over the opportunity cannibalized those around them so that they could have a chance. And when the time came, there was talent bred to lead and bred to be top contenders in any company. I know the capabilities of being a true champion, a champion that can not only act as a measuring stick for the talent this company needs but also as a gate to help keep away those from the top before their even ready. Because as much as people want to talk and hype themselves up no one is ready to be a top talent in the infancy of their careers. I wasn’t but you know what did was instead of letting my mouth run, I showed up and showed people why the ceiling they used for potential was my floor. I was able to do so much and more and because of that people confused my confidence for unfound arrogance. And I can see why because when it comes to reflecting on where they come from and how far they’ve gotten in their career they can’t seem to plot or navigate a path in which their careers will ever be comparable to mine. They talk and talk and try to detract from my accomplishments because they are unable to reach the fucking bare minimum of who I am as a wrestler, let alone become the face of a company that they're not ready for. I mean if you think I’m wrong I want you to look at the current champion and my opponent. Finnegan Wakefield is APEX’s champion, a man with as many accolades as letters in his name and he carries all of that with him from company to company. Not because he wants to ride the coattails of the companies he won his titles from but so he can show the current company he is with what he has to offer. His accolades are his resume and he is the one people are going to want to put the title on as quickly as they can. I can realize this but the younger talent do not want to recognize that which is a folly of their own fucking ego. Because let me ask you if you’re going to have a champion that you want to put your promotion on the map are you going to give it to someone like me and Finnegan or someone like a Harvey Kennedy? You’re going to give it to a recognizable name and no one is going to fault you for it. Because you’re smart, you know what is best for business and until your talent pool gets to the same level as your champ you are smart to try and keep it on them for as long as you can. It’s a smart decision. But you know what isn’t one, is putting Finnegan against the likes of me.
Now Finn I will give you your due respect. I’ve seen your matches in the past and have seen how fast you can humiliate your opponent. It’s as if you’re giving them an option of whether they want to leave the match with their reputation or ego intact. And it is that ruthlessness is something I’ve always admired because it’s not something you have to dig deep for, it’s just something you do and it’s a part of you from the start. But the only thing I have a problem with you Finn, is you keep giving opportunities to those unworthy of your time. I know you see this hypocritical coming from me because you see me as someone unworthy of your time but be honest am I truly unworthy? Because let’s be modest with each other for once because I need you to realize that out of everyone on this roster I am someone who can help you solidify your position here. Like any win against Aren Mstislav is something that can catapult you to a height that is unimaginable. And while You’ve done almost everything, I know reaching that height is something you can not get tired of. I mean it’s euphoric being able to lord over all the people below you because at that point you’ve reached a place that only you are going to get to. I mean you could point at my loss to Sabertooth and Senn as me losing my grip in an era that doesn’t want me. But to do that would be discounting their abilities wouldn’t it Finn. You wouldn’t want to discount the skillset and abilities of Senn and Sabertooth, comparing them to the talent here now do you? Because that’s the thing we also need to be honest with each other don’t we Finn. The talent here are on a level of its own and even then that level is below us. It’s a level we’ve been at before and it’s one that we were tired of and so we broke out. So it makes me feel a certain way when you want to be a fighting champion but instead of showing these talents that they are not worthy of your time and instead choosing your first opponent to either be me, Chris, or Senn, you decide to open it up to these others that are not even worth the screentime we keep giving them every single week. You wanted to give it to them and all I can ask is why? Why continue to dilute your skill against fodder that cannot hold a candle to your abilities, why continue to give hope to a generation that has none? Is this so you can continue to break their spirits? Because if so I can co-sign on that. But knowing your “virtuous” nature I know that isn’t true. You truly see them as equal to you don’t you.
No that’s not smart on your part Wakefield. That’s not a smart decision at all because now how are you going to even think to get ahead in APEX, how are you going to become the face of this company? It’s not possible if you keep playing with the children's table. Because these people are not going to be able to hone your skills, their just going to be the people you obliterate. And that title deserves better than what it’s going to go through with you. It deserves to be held by a person of my mindset, a person who can bring it the prestige it needs, while also building the peak it needs to be held upon. When I’m champion I’ll show you what I mean. You’ll see a landscape ran by a tyrant they’ll say, but that’s so they can offset their own lack of talent to put blame on an entity that is going to show them once and for all what it means to be a champion. Finn we don’t have to do this, you could just give me that title while you’ve had it. But if you want to refuse then I might as well show you what I mean when I say to build the peak. Because after our match, win or lose, you’re going to be given a fight that all others will pale in comparison. And once that happens and you haven’t changed your tune of being a person that weeds out the weaklings from the crop, then your reign will be overrun by runts, the sickest of the herd. And with a stain will come and pollute and otherwise hopeful reign that should have shot APEX up into the stratosphere. And once that happens, I know I will be in contact again. They’ll reach out to me to cull the weak, they’ll reach out to put into place a better regime, and they’ll reach out to the man they know will propel their promotion to the very top of the list. Because if there’s one thing they know, it’s to always bet on Aren to give them a great story. It’s to always bet on Aren to be the one to manufacture talent into people they want. And it’s Aren that will always put the title prestige on his back so that it can see the light of day for once. We’re going to look back on this as the start of APEX’s bright future or a sudden decline. Believe that Finnegan.
by MinaAizawa Thu Oct 13, 2022 3:46 am
Subject: A Smart Decision? 
