A Tale of Two Egos - APEX 04/02/22

Rather telling that you would hone in such a minute comment, is it not, Wakefield? Here I was, singing your praises, telling the people how good you are, and you hear one unintentionally backhanded comment about your love life and you just can’t avoid letting it get under your skin. Eso es muy lindo, amigo. You care that much about being compared to your woman that you must blow it so out of proportion? Perhaps you were not worthy of my initial compliments since you are so quick to jump on me for something so tiny! Perhaps I have spoken in broad strokes but you are much too hypercritical! This is not about you or your woman! This is about honor! About competition! There is no need to be so prickly. I’m a good man with a good heart and it hurts me to see how easy it is to test yours.

I would expect better from a competitor of your caliber. Someone who is usually so laser-focused on victory should not concern himself with lovers’ quarrels. Trust me, as a man who has had many a woman in his life, they are not worth making such a fuss over. Do you ever stop and wonder if perhaps the reason they cannot keep her name out of their mouths? Knowing that it gets your panties in a bunch? Consider that some food for thought — not me though, I promise. One conversation with her and I think that our scheduled match would become a lot more… personal, unfortunately. But I am a good man! I wouldn’t dare. I’m much more concerned with doing the important thing here.

Beating you.

You see, I don’t need to tell you how much of a threat I am. I’ve travelled far and wide and everywhere I have gone my talents have spoken for themselves. Aerial Ace was not a name I gave myself! El Pavo Real was not a persona that I took for my own! They were bestowed upon me for my talent and grace, my skill and my charm, my greatness in and out of the ring. I’m sure you did not go around calling yourself the Technical Assassin and yet here you are, known as such, and rightfully so. You are the most capable submission expert this sport has ever seen and the distance between you and second place is not a close one at all. I do not care about Arata Asakura or Hiroto Kamiya or anyone else who has an issue with you. In fact, I’d much rather they didn’t get involved. I would not want my win against you tainted by some kind of distraction or interference on my behalf. I’ve never once been caught cheating and I do not intend to start now.

You may have come into this thinking this is just a match for you, and that I’m putting myself on a pedestal with you where I don’t belong, but you are sorely mistaken if you believe for one moment that I’m below you. You will see soon enough that I am much more than your equal, Wakefield. I’m going to show you that I’m better than you. I may not be the most technically proficient mastermind or the most brutal striker in APEX but I am the craftiest and the most capable. I told you before about how when I was but a boy I could not fly as high as the other little chicos I trained with but that was a long time ago. The name ‘El Pavo Real’ may mean Peacock in your native tongue but the Aerial Ace has learned to soar like an eagle and I will have soaring through APEX all the way to the tippy top of the mountain by the time my career is through. You can watch me from below, if you like, because I do not see you beating me when I still have so much to prove between those ropes.

Mexico was my home and it molded me into the megastar I needed to be. I rose to the top there, I’ll rise to the top here. I have no reason to believe that logic isn’t sound just because I did not win the Next Level Championship. It only proves that I am destined for bigger and better things. Being the first Next Level Champion of APEX would have been good… but I was raised to be great.

Beating a great of this industry like you, Finnegan Wakefield, is exactly the first step I need to take towards reaching my one true desire: Winning the APEX World Championship. Then I will not need to speak of my greatness. It will simply be staring the people right in the face every time they lay their eyes upon me.

If it’s my leg you want then it’s my leg you get… but I promise you will not receive it in the way that you think you will. Let’s just hope that when the tables are turned your own legs are not as fragile as your ego.

And for her sake, I hope your ego isn’t compensating for something.

Adiós, amigo. Say hello to the lights for me when I’ve left you looking up at them.