Post by Gavin Grimes on Jul 1, 2016 20:27:48 GMT -5
[Off Camera]
[Altered Reality]
[Las Vegas, NV]
[2:00 AM on July 1st, 2016]
Lying down in the center of the ring as my eyes are blinded by the lights above me, I can’t help but wonder how I got here. My jaw is sore and I can taste blood in my mouth and the only thing I can hear is a buzzing in my head. I weakly roll out of the ring and fall down on my hands and knees, staring down at the mat on the outside as I try to gather myself, when I can finally hear the fans booing and ‘Hair of the Dog’ is playing played of the PA system and my heart sinks. It can’t be… It didn’t happen, did it? I weakly get up onto my knees before picking myself up by using the commentary table to pull myself up. I stay balanced by leaning back onto the table and my eyes look into the ring and they see the unthinkable. Dirk is celebrating in the ring with my NGW Unified Championship in his hands… He… He beat me. This isn’t real, it can’t be real!
The moment ends when I sit up in my bed in a cold sweat. It was just a dream. I feel for Ash on the right side of the bed but she’s nowhere to be found. For some couples this might be weird but with my tendency to stay up late and sleep in, it’s not a surprise for me for her to be out of bed by now. I roll out of bed and put on a pair of basketball shorts and a tanktop before walking out to the living room and there’s still no Ash and I stop in my tracks as I look around the living room while I start to realize where I am. This isn’t mine and Ash’s apartment… This… This is my old apartment before I met Ashleigh. What is going on? I bend down with my hands on my knees and I take a deep breath before I grab the remote control to the TV and I turn it on and it’s the local Las Vegas news; the headline on the screen is ‘Dirk Bentley wins NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship’, which causes me to sit forward on the couch in shock.
Gavin Grimes: ”What the fuck?”
This can’t be right, no, it was a dream. Looking down at the carpet, I shake my head in disappointment. ‘How did this happen?’ Is a question that I keep asking myself. As I get lost in my own head, I can hear Dirk being interviewed by some reporter in the background.
Dirk Bentley: ”I’m gonna celebrate this victory the only way I know how… I’m going to drink whiskey, play some blackjack and bang my new fiancee.”
My eyes roll as I keep my eyes down to my feet when I hear the reporter introducing Dirk’s fiancee, Ashleigh Jericho. My eyes shoot back up to the television screen and standing next to Dirk is Ash and I’m in disbelief. Standing up from the couch with the remote dropping out of hand, I take a few steps towards the TV as I watch the woman that’s supposed to be my wife wrap her arms around Dirk and give him a kiss.
Ashleigh Jericho: ”I knew you’d prove all the doubters wrong, babe.”
Ash glances at the news camera and a big smile is on her face before she starts laughing and it’s as if she’s looking at me as she laughs. I frantically pick up the remote control and turn over the TV before I start to pace around the living room.
Gavin Grimes: ”This isn’t real, it CAN’T BE REAL!”
A loud knock is then heard at the front door of my apartment and it causes me to freeze in my tracks.
Gavin Grimes: ”Who is it?”
I stand there, waiting for a response but there is none. It feels like I’m standing here for an eternity and normally I wouldn’t be nervous but all of this is confusing, so fucking confusing. I finally make my way to the door and I open it to find my sister, Sophie, leaning back onto the wall and she’s completely pale. I kneel down and shake her and she’s barely conscious.
Gavin Grimes: ”Soph! Soph! What’s wrong? T-Talk to me!?”
Sophie can only muster up some gibberish before I pick her up from the ground and I see a used needle on the ground which makes me whisper under my breath.
Gavin Grimes: ”Goddamnit, Soph.”
I carry Sophie into the apartment before laying her down onto the couch and I see the needle marks on her arms. She continues to mumble to herself, something about our parents but I can’t quite understand it completely. I rub Sophie’s arm and try to encourage her.
Gavin Grimes: ”Everything is going to be alright, kiddo, I’ve got you now. We’re going to get through this… Through all of this! We’re going to figure it out.”
I realize that I’m not trying to encourage Sophie but I’m trying to encourage myself. I don’t know how I got here or what’s going on but I will figure this out. I stand up and sprint into my room and begin to go through everything. I rip apart my drawers, I pull down all of the clothes from my closet and I look under my bed for clues. Nothing! I stand up and throw off the mattress from off of the box spring and sitting on top of the box spring is an expandable baton… That same expandable baton that Dirk used on Ashleigh. I hesitate as I go to grab it before finally grasping it and examining it. I flick my wrist and the baton expands out and suddenly I’m in mine and Ashleigh’s locker room where Dirk attacked her. I look around the locker room and I don’t see anyone until my eyes find the back of a man in a cowboy hat… It’s Dirk. I’m ending this now…
Gavin Grimes: ”I’m getting my life back.”
I whispered under my breath as I make my way to Dirk and I club him in the back of the head and he falls lifelessly to the ground. I take the expandable baton and I begin to swing it at his head and torso over and over again until there’s blood on all over my hands and body. Suddenly there’s body armor covering my entire body and I spin around in shock as my hands travel around my entire body, finding armor everywhere. I then look at the bloody baton with a confused look before looking down at the ground where I beat down Dirk Bentley but he’s… He’s not there but it’s Ash instead and she’s covered in blood. What have I done? I drop to my hands and knees and I wrap my hands around her.
Gavin Grimes: ”Ash, I’m sorry, babe… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do this to you. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Tears start to stream down my face as I hold onto the love of my life who’s unresponsive. Suddenly I can hear a sickening laugh behind me that sounds like Dirk and as I turn around he’s standing there, taking a swing at my face with the expandable baton when…
I sit up in bed covered in sweat and I immediately look to my right and Ashleigh is lying there asleep. Her arms are wrapped around her pillow as she snores adorably while drooling onto her pillow. As my eyes scan over Ash, my racing heart begins to slow down as I realize that this is real… This is my life. All I want to do is wake Ash up and hold her tight while telling her how much she means to me. But she looks so beautiful and peaceful and I can’t wake her up. I roll out of bed before putting on a pair of black pants and a white tank top and I walk out to the living room. I pace around the living room, trying to figure out what just happened and why all of that was in my head. Shaking my head, I walk over to the corner of the living room and grab my tripod that I usually use in the living room to record my promos. With all of my recording equipment, I exit the apartment and make my way up onto the rooftop of my apartment building. I set up the tripod to where the camera will be looking at me while also looking over the city of Vegas. I hit record on the camera before taking a few steps back into it’s view.
[On Camera]
[No Easy Fix]
[Las Vegas, NV]
[2:45 AM on July 1st, 2016]
The camera feed opens up with a view of Vegas and it’s obvious that the recording is from the top of a building. After a few seconds, Gavin Grimes walks into the picture. He looks focused but also angry, the most intense he’s seemed in months. His eyes stare daggers into the camera as he stands there.
Gavin Grimes: ”Fuck off, Dirk Bentley. You’re an idiot if you think that I’m going to let you win in MY city. You’ve come out here and said two times already, ‘Thanks for the history lesson, Gavin.’ You might not care about how it all started for me, Dirk, but my NGW fans do. Because when I speak, people listen and they’re interested. I’ve shown the world what makes me who I am and why I represent this city.”
Gavin raises his arms up before pointing at all of the bright lights of Vegas, a city that never sleeps.
Gavin Grimes: ”I’ve wrestled in Portland more than anywhere else and it helped kick start my career. I’ve toured in New Zealand with NGW and became the face of the company and its Unified Champion. But I’ve never had the opportunity to wrestle in Las Vegas, the place that I call home, the place that went from being a scared kid who lost everything to becoming a confident man who, through dedication and hardwork, gained everything that he could ever want out of this life. I am Las Vegas as much as I am New Generation Wrestling and I’m not going to let you become the next Jessica Sears on me. I refuse to lose MY championship to Dirk Bentley in MY company in MY city. To take away the NGW Unified Championship from me, you’re going to have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. Jacob Daniels said over in IPW about how he will scrap and claw and do whatever it takes to keep his championship. That’s the difference between IPW’s Heavyweight Champion and NGW’s Unified Champion… He’s not willing to put it all on the line for his belt and his company.”
“I will NEVER be like you, Dirk. I will never resort to this bullshit that you’ve had to do to get to this place. I will ALWAYS do things the right way, whether I’m the face of NGW or not. Do I have flaws? Do I talk a lot of shit? Sure. But when it comes down to it at the end of the day, I come out to the ring and I win cleanly. I don’t need to play mind games, I don’t need to cheat to win, I simply get in the ring and I OUT DO YOU! I can do that because I’m willing to risk it all. Do you have it in you, Dirk? Can you put everything, your career, YOUR LIFE… On the line to beat me? Because that’s what it’s going to take and I don’t think you want it as badly as I do. Your whole narrative over the last month and a half is to prove that you’re not a joke anymore. Your goal in doing that was not only to assault Ash, but it is to beat me for my championship. So you beat Corey, who’s now seen as the seven foot bitch of NGW, but you still haven’t proved yourself to be relevant. To do so, you need to beat the greatest champion in NGW’s history. No man or woman has had the start or consistency that I’ve had in NGW. Not Bronx, not Kingsley, not Carmine and DEFINITELY not Deadeye. CJ has been out of action since February and he STILL has more L’s in the loss column than I do in NGW. That’s right, seven months later and I still have one loss thanks to the idiot that is Kenzie Rydell.”
Gavin rolls his eyes and scoffs.
Gavin Grimes: ”But let’s cut to the chase, Dirk. I got here because of hard work and dedication, not because of anything else. If this just so happened to ‘land’ in my lap, then how come I’ve been unstoppable? But you, you got here through being ‘controversial.’ I mean, I have to commend you on it, because you stepped in line ahead of everyone else because… Well… There really wasn’t anyone else to step up. Do you really think that I’ve been dodging a match with you this entire time though?”
Gavin bursts into laughter as he claps his hands.
Gavin Grimes: ”Sure, I’ve accepted challenges from people who’ve come at me time and time again. But you want to know why people challenge me, Dirk? Because I’m the NGW Unified Heavyweight Champion, because I’m relevant, because I AM THE GUY TO BEAT. Not Ashleigh Grimes, not Dean Judas, not Corey Bull and most definitely not you! It’s me! Gray Malone challenged me before he challenged Ash and I threw her a bone and let her have that match because it didn’t really matter to me because it’s Gray Malone. But why would I seek you out, Dirk? I’m the NGW Unified Champion, I don’t NEED to seek anyone out. I have nothing to prove to anyone because my eleven wins and one loss record along with being the top champion says all there needs to be said.”
“My dominance over Team IPW says all there needs to be said. Everyone says I need to do this or that, everyone says that I need to defend my championship against Ash to legitimize myself but it’s the other way around. Ashleigh needs to beat me to legitimize herself here in NGW. You can talk about everything she did in Inferno, I really don’t give a damn, it doesn’t matter here in NGW. What she’s done here in this company PALES in comparison to what I’ve done. So keep bringing her up like it’s a crutch for me, because I’m just going to keep on laughing in your face about it since I’m the guy to beat. I am the unquestioned leader and champion of NGW.”
Gavin gives a cocky smirk and before he shrugs.
Gavin Grimes: “Then of course we have your favorite thing to bring up which is what you did to Ash. You only attacked Ashleigh because you knew if you got this match with me, you needed something to brag about, something to piss me off and get me off of my game. You needed something that would make me emotional which would make me have a fatal misstep against you. You NEEDED that but you’re not going to get it. Am I angry? Yeah, I am but if you knew me better, you would know that I’m always angry before any match. There’s a fire, a rage that burns inside of me, inside of my DNA that was passed down to me to those people I used to call parents, and my only outlet is the ring. And if you’re really naive enough to think that I’m not ready because I took one day off to get married to Ash, which I spent that morning studying tape of you by the way, then you’re a fool.”
“I could say some dumb crap like, ‘Oh, you wasted a day on getting engaged to Summer.’ But am I? No, because it’s stupid as hell. I’ve been preparing for this match the moment you stuck that taser stick into Corey’s chest and pulled out what some thought was an ‘upset.’ But unlike Corey Bull and everyone else in the world who don’t or didn’t take you seriously, I do take you seriously. It doesn’t matter who my opponent is, it could be Eric Steel for like the fourth time, I would take him as seriously as I did the first time. That’s just how I operate and that’s why I’m so damn successful. I don’t take a night off, even when I desperately want to. I’m always preparing, thinking about the next step. Every possible outcome, every possible move that could happen in that ring, it has been processed here, in my head.”
With a confident look on his face, Gavin taps the side of his head with his index finger.
Gavin Grimes: ”And how about you bringing up me defending my championship after what you did to Ashleigh. How many times are you going to beat that drum? You keep mentioning that as if I feel bad about it or as if she’s mad at me for it. First of all, two of my friends, Maddux and Persephone, looked after her. Secondly? When she was conscious, she told me I did the right thing. But hey, you can keep bringing that up and keep showing JUST how much I CARE about my NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship. I care so much about the NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship that I let my then fiancee who’s now my wife, go on her own to the hospital with all of those injuries.”
“If anything, you’re just hammering home the point that I will not let you take this NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship from me, just like I wouldn’t let Kenzie Rydell take it from me either. I also enjoy that you think that ‘if’ you beat me, it’ll ruin my ‘legacy.’ First of all, what does that say about you then? It says you’re still a joke and you even believe that notion if you think a single loss against you could destroy everything that I’ve built up over the last nine months.”
He laughs and shakes his head.
Gavin Grimes: “Dirk, you think that you can magically fix all of your screw ups from the last few years in the span of a month by a few actions. You think that by proposing to a woman you've been married to for ten years, that you've made chase you for the last decade, is going to fix your screw up? Nope. You think that by beating Corey Bull and earning a shot against me is going to reverse all of your previous failures? Nope. Things only change through hard work and determination. Things only change when you TRULY WANT THEM TO CHANGE. All you've been trying to do this whole time is look for that quick fix. But news flash, a quick fix isn't going to help you beat me. Like I've said before, an old dog doesn't learn new tricks.”
“You can bring me the fight of your life and it still won't matter because it still won't be good enough against me. Because the difference between you and I is that I've been bringing the FIGHT of my life every time I step in the ring, every time I go to train, every time I study tape of my opponents. I've been fighting my ENTIRE life, Dirk. I'm not like you, I'm not someone who gives up on what he wants. We’ve seen you give up on your team with Corey, we've seen you give up on your chase for Emma Dylan and most recently, we’ve seen you give up on yourself when you tried to kill yourself; I'm not even saying that to joke around or poke fun at you, I'm just simply speaking the truth.”
“But when it comes to me, I don't give up on Ash, I don't give up on my career and most of all, I've never given up on myself, no matter how bleak my life has looked at times. I've never given up, I've never given in and at City of Sin, I'm not going to let you be the man to put me down. Bring everything you've got, Dirk, because I'm bringing you the fight of my life.”
Gavin confidently nods at the camera before walking away from the view of the camera. Eventually you can hear him messing with the camera and the scene cuts out.
[End]
[Altered Reality]
[Las Vegas, NV]
[2:00 AM on July 1st, 2016]
Lying down in the center of the ring as my eyes are blinded by the lights above me, I can’t help but wonder how I got here. My jaw is sore and I can taste blood in my mouth and the only thing I can hear is a buzzing in my head. I weakly roll out of the ring and fall down on my hands and knees, staring down at the mat on the outside as I try to gather myself, when I can finally hear the fans booing and ‘Hair of the Dog’ is playing played of the PA system and my heart sinks. It can’t be… It didn’t happen, did it? I weakly get up onto my knees before picking myself up by using the commentary table to pull myself up. I stay balanced by leaning back onto the table and my eyes look into the ring and they see the unthinkable. Dirk is celebrating in the ring with my NGW Unified Championship in his hands… He… He beat me. This isn’t real, it can’t be real!
The moment ends when I sit up in my bed in a cold sweat. It was just a dream. I feel for Ash on the right side of the bed but she’s nowhere to be found. For some couples this might be weird but with my tendency to stay up late and sleep in, it’s not a surprise for me for her to be out of bed by now. I roll out of bed and put on a pair of basketball shorts and a tanktop before walking out to the living room and there’s still no Ash and I stop in my tracks as I look around the living room while I start to realize where I am. This isn’t mine and Ash’s apartment… This… This is my old apartment before I met Ashleigh. What is going on? I bend down with my hands on my knees and I take a deep breath before I grab the remote control to the TV and I turn it on and it’s the local Las Vegas news; the headline on the screen is ‘Dirk Bentley wins NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship’, which causes me to sit forward on the couch in shock.
Gavin Grimes: ”What the fuck?”
This can’t be right, no, it was a dream. Looking down at the carpet, I shake my head in disappointment. ‘How did this happen?’ Is a question that I keep asking myself. As I get lost in my own head, I can hear Dirk being interviewed by some reporter in the background.
Dirk Bentley: ”I’m gonna celebrate this victory the only way I know how… I’m going to drink whiskey, play some blackjack and bang my new fiancee.”
My eyes roll as I keep my eyes down to my feet when I hear the reporter introducing Dirk’s fiancee, Ashleigh Jericho. My eyes shoot back up to the television screen and standing next to Dirk is Ash and I’m in disbelief. Standing up from the couch with the remote dropping out of hand, I take a few steps towards the TV as I watch the woman that’s supposed to be my wife wrap her arms around Dirk and give him a kiss.
Ashleigh Jericho: ”I knew you’d prove all the doubters wrong, babe.”
Ash glances at the news camera and a big smile is on her face before she starts laughing and it’s as if she’s looking at me as she laughs. I frantically pick up the remote control and turn over the TV before I start to pace around the living room.
Gavin Grimes: ”This isn’t real, it CAN’T BE REAL!”
A loud knock is then heard at the front door of my apartment and it causes me to freeze in my tracks.
Gavin Grimes: ”Who is it?”
I stand there, waiting for a response but there is none. It feels like I’m standing here for an eternity and normally I wouldn’t be nervous but all of this is confusing, so fucking confusing. I finally make my way to the door and I open it to find my sister, Sophie, leaning back onto the wall and she’s completely pale. I kneel down and shake her and she’s barely conscious.
Gavin Grimes: ”Soph! Soph! What’s wrong? T-Talk to me!?”
Sophie can only muster up some gibberish before I pick her up from the ground and I see a used needle on the ground which makes me whisper under my breath.
Gavin Grimes: ”Goddamnit, Soph.”
I carry Sophie into the apartment before laying her down onto the couch and I see the needle marks on her arms. She continues to mumble to herself, something about our parents but I can’t quite understand it completely. I rub Sophie’s arm and try to encourage her.
Gavin Grimes: ”Everything is going to be alright, kiddo, I’ve got you now. We’re going to get through this… Through all of this! We’re going to figure it out.”
I realize that I’m not trying to encourage Sophie but I’m trying to encourage myself. I don’t know how I got here or what’s going on but I will figure this out. I stand up and sprint into my room and begin to go through everything. I rip apart my drawers, I pull down all of the clothes from my closet and I look under my bed for clues. Nothing! I stand up and throw off the mattress from off of the box spring and sitting on top of the box spring is an expandable baton… That same expandable baton that Dirk used on Ashleigh. I hesitate as I go to grab it before finally grasping it and examining it. I flick my wrist and the baton expands out and suddenly I’m in mine and Ashleigh’s locker room where Dirk attacked her. I look around the locker room and I don’t see anyone until my eyes find the back of a man in a cowboy hat… It’s Dirk. I’m ending this now…
Gavin Grimes: ”I’m getting my life back.”
I whispered under my breath as I make my way to Dirk and I club him in the back of the head and he falls lifelessly to the ground. I take the expandable baton and I begin to swing it at his head and torso over and over again until there’s blood on all over my hands and body. Suddenly there’s body armor covering my entire body and I spin around in shock as my hands travel around my entire body, finding armor everywhere. I then look at the bloody baton with a confused look before looking down at the ground where I beat down Dirk Bentley but he’s… He’s not there but it’s Ash instead and she’s covered in blood. What have I done? I drop to my hands and knees and I wrap my hands around her.
Gavin Grimes: ”Ash, I’m sorry, babe… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do this to you. I’m so fucking sorry.”
Tears start to stream down my face as I hold onto the love of my life who’s unresponsive. Suddenly I can hear a sickening laugh behind me that sounds like Dirk and as I turn around he’s standing there, taking a swing at my face with the expandable baton when…
I sit up in bed covered in sweat and I immediately look to my right and Ashleigh is lying there asleep. Her arms are wrapped around her pillow as she snores adorably while drooling onto her pillow. As my eyes scan over Ash, my racing heart begins to slow down as I realize that this is real… This is my life. All I want to do is wake Ash up and hold her tight while telling her how much she means to me. But she looks so beautiful and peaceful and I can’t wake her up. I roll out of bed before putting on a pair of black pants and a white tank top and I walk out to the living room. I pace around the living room, trying to figure out what just happened and why all of that was in my head. Shaking my head, I walk over to the corner of the living room and grab my tripod that I usually use in the living room to record my promos. With all of my recording equipment, I exit the apartment and make my way up onto the rooftop of my apartment building. I set up the tripod to where the camera will be looking at me while also looking over the city of Vegas. I hit record on the camera before taking a few steps back into it’s view.
[On Camera]
[No Easy Fix]
[Las Vegas, NV]
[2:45 AM on July 1st, 2016]
The camera feed opens up with a view of Vegas and it’s obvious that the recording is from the top of a building. After a few seconds, Gavin Grimes walks into the picture. He looks focused but also angry, the most intense he’s seemed in months. His eyes stare daggers into the camera as he stands there.
Gavin Grimes: ”Fuck off, Dirk Bentley. You’re an idiot if you think that I’m going to let you win in MY city. You’ve come out here and said two times already, ‘Thanks for the history lesson, Gavin.’ You might not care about how it all started for me, Dirk, but my NGW fans do. Because when I speak, people listen and they’re interested. I’ve shown the world what makes me who I am and why I represent this city.”
Gavin raises his arms up before pointing at all of the bright lights of Vegas, a city that never sleeps.
Gavin Grimes: ”I’ve wrestled in Portland more than anywhere else and it helped kick start my career. I’ve toured in New Zealand with NGW and became the face of the company and its Unified Champion. But I’ve never had the opportunity to wrestle in Las Vegas, the place that I call home, the place that went from being a scared kid who lost everything to becoming a confident man who, through dedication and hardwork, gained everything that he could ever want out of this life. I am Las Vegas as much as I am New Generation Wrestling and I’m not going to let you become the next Jessica Sears on me. I refuse to lose MY championship to Dirk Bentley in MY company in MY city. To take away the NGW Unified Championship from me, you’re going to have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. Jacob Daniels said over in IPW about how he will scrap and claw and do whatever it takes to keep his championship. That’s the difference between IPW’s Heavyweight Champion and NGW’s Unified Champion… He’s not willing to put it all on the line for his belt and his company.”
“I will NEVER be like you, Dirk. I will never resort to this bullshit that you’ve had to do to get to this place. I will ALWAYS do things the right way, whether I’m the face of NGW or not. Do I have flaws? Do I talk a lot of shit? Sure. But when it comes down to it at the end of the day, I come out to the ring and I win cleanly. I don’t need to play mind games, I don’t need to cheat to win, I simply get in the ring and I OUT DO YOU! I can do that because I’m willing to risk it all. Do you have it in you, Dirk? Can you put everything, your career, YOUR LIFE… On the line to beat me? Because that’s what it’s going to take and I don’t think you want it as badly as I do. Your whole narrative over the last month and a half is to prove that you’re not a joke anymore. Your goal in doing that was not only to assault Ash, but it is to beat me for my championship. So you beat Corey, who’s now seen as the seven foot bitch of NGW, but you still haven’t proved yourself to be relevant. To do so, you need to beat the greatest champion in NGW’s history. No man or woman has had the start or consistency that I’ve had in NGW. Not Bronx, not Kingsley, not Carmine and DEFINITELY not Deadeye. CJ has been out of action since February and he STILL has more L’s in the loss column than I do in NGW. That’s right, seven months later and I still have one loss thanks to the idiot that is Kenzie Rydell.”
Gavin rolls his eyes and scoffs.
Gavin Grimes: ”But let’s cut to the chase, Dirk. I got here because of hard work and dedication, not because of anything else. If this just so happened to ‘land’ in my lap, then how come I’ve been unstoppable? But you, you got here through being ‘controversial.’ I mean, I have to commend you on it, because you stepped in line ahead of everyone else because… Well… There really wasn’t anyone else to step up. Do you really think that I’ve been dodging a match with you this entire time though?”
Gavin bursts into laughter as he claps his hands.
Gavin Grimes: ”Sure, I’ve accepted challenges from people who’ve come at me time and time again. But you want to know why people challenge me, Dirk? Because I’m the NGW Unified Heavyweight Champion, because I’m relevant, because I AM THE GUY TO BEAT. Not Ashleigh Grimes, not Dean Judas, not Corey Bull and most definitely not you! It’s me! Gray Malone challenged me before he challenged Ash and I threw her a bone and let her have that match because it didn’t really matter to me because it’s Gray Malone. But why would I seek you out, Dirk? I’m the NGW Unified Champion, I don’t NEED to seek anyone out. I have nothing to prove to anyone because my eleven wins and one loss record along with being the top champion says all there needs to be said.”
“My dominance over Team IPW says all there needs to be said. Everyone says I need to do this or that, everyone says that I need to defend my championship against Ash to legitimize myself but it’s the other way around. Ashleigh needs to beat me to legitimize herself here in NGW. You can talk about everything she did in Inferno, I really don’t give a damn, it doesn’t matter here in NGW. What she’s done here in this company PALES in comparison to what I’ve done. So keep bringing her up like it’s a crutch for me, because I’m just going to keep on laughing in your face about it since I’m the guy to beat. I am the unquestioned leader and champion of NGW.”
Gavin gives a cocky smirk and before he shrugs.
Gavin Grimes: “Then of course we have your favorite thing to bring up which is what you did to Ash. You only attacked Ashleigh because you knew if you got this match with me, you needed something to brag about, something to piss me off and get me off of my game. You needed something that would make me emotional which would make me have a fatal misstep against you. You NEEDED that but you’re not going to get it. Am I angry? Yeah, I am but if you knew me better, you would know that I’m always angry before any match. There’s a fire, a rage that burns inside of me, inside of my DNA that was passed down to me to those people I used to call parents, and my only outlet is the ring. And if you’re really naive enough to think that I’m not ready because I took one day off to get married to Ash, which I spent that morning studying tape of you by the way, then you’re a fool.”
“I could say some dumb crap like, ‘Oh, you wasted a day on getting engaged to Summer.’ But am I? No, because it’s stupid as hell. I’ve been preparing for this match the moment you stuck that taser stick into Corey’s chest and pulled out what some thought was an ‘upset.’ But unlike Corey Bull and everyone else in the world who don’t or didn’t take you seriously, I do take you seriously. It doesn’t matter who my opponent is, it could be Eric Steel for like the fourth time, I would take him as seriously as I did the first time. That’s just how I operate and that’s why I’m so damn successful. I don’t take a night off, even when I desperately want to. I’m always preparing, thinking about the next step. Every possible outcome, every possible move that could happen in that ring, it has been processed here, in my head.”
With a confident look on his face, Gavin taps the side of his head with his index finger.
Gavin Grimes: ”And how about you bringing up me defending my championship after what you did to Ashleigh. How many times are you going to beat that drum? You keep mentioning that as if I feel bad about it or as if she’s mad at me for it. First of all, two of my friends, Maddux and Persephone, looked after her. Secondly? When she was conscious, she told me I did the right thing. But hey, you can keep bringing that up and keep showing JUST how much I CARE about my NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship. I care so much about the NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship that I let my then fiancee who’s now my wife, go on her own to the hospital with all of those injuries.”
“If anything, you’re just hammering home the point that I will not let you take this NGW Unified Heavyweight Championship from me, just like I wouldn’t let Kenzie Rydell take it from me either. I also enjoy that you think that ‘if’ you beat me, it’ll ruin my ‘legacy.’ First of all, what does that say about you then? It says you’re still a joke and you even believe that notion if you think a single loss against you could destroy everything that I’ve built up over the last nine months.”
He laughs and shakes his head.
Gavin Grimes: “Dirk, you think that you can magically fix all of your screw ups from the last few years in the span of a month by a few actions. You think that by proposing to a woman you've been married to for ten years, that you've made chase you for the last decade, is going to fix your screw up? Nope. You think that by beating Corey Bull and earning a shot against me is going to reverse all of your previous failures? Nope. Things only change through hard work and determination. Things only change when you TRULY WANT THEM TO CHANGE. All you've been trying to do this whole time is look for that quick fix. But news flash, a quick fix isn't going to help you beat me. Like I've said before, an old dog doesn't learn new tricks.”
“You can bring me the fight of your life and it still won't matter because it still won't be good enough against me. Because the difference between you and I is that I've been bringing the FIGHT of my life every time I step in the ring, every time I go to train, every time I study tape of my opponents. I've been fighting my ENTIRE life, Dirk. I'm not like you, I'm not someone who gives up on what he wants. We’ve seen you give up on your team with Corey, we've seen you give up on your chase for Emma Dylan and most recently, we’ve seen you give up on yourself when you tried to kill yourself; I'm not even saying that to joke around or poke fun at you, I'm just simply speaking the truth.”
“But when it comes to me, I don't give up on Ash, I don't give up on my career and most of all, I've never given up on myself, no matter how bleak my life has looked at times. I've never given up, I've never given in and at City of Sin, I'm not going to let you be the man to put me down. Bring everything you've got, Dirk, because I'm bringing you the fight of my life.”
Gavin confidently nods at the camera before walking away from the view of the camera. Eventually you can hear him messing with the camera and the scene cuts out.
[End]