02-21-2020, 11:31 AM
02-25-2020, 11:00 PM
OOC Note: Between a depression battle over the weekend, and Daddy Daughter Date Night, I didn't get the CD written, and I wouldn't want to disrespect G by half-assing something. The promo I was happy with, and wanted to post it regardless. Good luck (and likely congrats G).
-------------------------
Jake Starr: Well that was fun, wasn't it? I mean, a shit ton of us walked out there thinking we were going to get a "golden ticket" to whatever we wanted in SCW, and only three of us walked away with Willy Wonka's gilded, chocolate, prize. Now the reality of the situation is, there were several of us vying for it, and only three won. The odds weren't in our favor. And now, the crashing reality, I wasn't one of the trio that walked away with this shiny token that gave me the ability to have whatever I want. Instead, two of the three were individuals I can't say as I'm surprised about. For one, we have the unretiring, returning, resurrected, Phoenix, that is David Helms, and the other is the, "Oh, Trios? Yeah, I'll win that," human being in Ace Marshall. These two men are two men I cannot deny deserve a right to flat out determine their trajectory in SCW. I know a lot of people don't believe that others deserve the right to state their claim, make their path, or decide where they go from there, but I disagree.
I VEHEMENTLY disagree...
This business is one where people earn their keep. They earn their right to state their claim as a contender, as a determinant of where things go, and these are two men who have done just that. David Helms, for one, yeah, he's one of my closest friends. Did he dress like a large cup of Joe to surprise everyone in his return, yeah, and has he really done everything that has been put in front of him to challenge him, you are Goddamn right! David Helms has never backed down from a fight, and nor has he ever taken a easy way to anything. So now he has the ability to give himself that "easy path" and I promise you one thing, he won't take it. David Helms has made a career, good or bad, of proving himself to be worthy of everything he's been gifted with or earned. So the fact is, he isn't going to use this "golden ticket" for a method to "easily" take something from SCW. David is someone who craves to be seen as the guy who EARNED everything. So what do I expect him to do? What do I expect David Helms to try and seize with this opportunity...?
.:: Jake shrugs. ::.
... Honestly, I haven't a clue. David is an enigma. David is a man who thinks everything out thoroughly. So whatever he decides to do will be done with a methodical thought process behind it. It'll be done with his legacy in mind. He's a lot like me in that regard. I mean, think about what I did... That first time, I wanted to have that notch of main eventing Rise to Greatness, and I executed it. The second time, however, everyone expected me to just be selfish, but while there was some of that selfishness involved, ultimately I wanted to do something that would have defined my legacy. So what did I do? I put every champion against me in a gauntlet, inside a chamber that would kill our bodies. I didn't do it out of greed. I did it out of legacy. I did it out of the challenge. I will say David is a similar man in that regard. He isn't going to simply do something to seem greedy. He's going to want to show the world David Helms is still one of the baddest motherfuckers on the planet. So... The reality of the situation is, when it comes to David, I haven't a clue what he's going to do, nor am I going to speculate...
Now when it comes to Ace, I CAN speculate. It's easy to guess about him. Why? Well he and I have crossed paths and teamed on a couple of occasions, once in the Trios, and I learned a LOT about his persona. The first thing about Ace Marshall is to expect the unexpected. Expect someone like him to go out there and make everyone freeze in their tracks, and ultimately go "who the fuck thought that up?" That's the type of person Ace is. He isn't a person who like to ever be remembered as "ordinary." So the fact is, while David Helms is going to be deliberate, he's going to be someone who does everything in a very methodical manner, Ace is going to be wild. Ace is the type of guy who simply wants to capture headlines. He wants everyone to be surprised. He wants everyone on their toes. He's liable to have us all dress as our favorite drag performer, and walk the runway for the SCW Championship...
.:: Jake goes to continue but pauses. ::.
... And if it goes there, I'm dressing as John Leguizamo from "Too Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything, Julie Numar." Why Leguizamo? Well Patrick Swayze was ugly AF, and I'm not black, to be Wesley Snipes. I'm not Hispanic, either, but if he can pretend to be an Italian and be Luigi, by God, I can be him!
Now, with Ace, it could be a race to see who the last is in SCW to get the Coronavirus, or as I call it, the Kung Flu. It could be a match to see who is the last to test positive, and not be on death's doorstep. That's Ace. Ace wants to be crazy and shocking. Ace wants the world to go, "Really?!" when the look at his decision with his Trios contract. And inevitably, he will get that exact treatment.
So for those of you who are curious, that's what to expect...
The third guy, I dunno, his name rhymes with Haddock, and I assume he's another cousin of the Cod family, I don't know anything about him. He could be the shocking guy of the Trios winners, and do something outrageous. He could be more wild than Ace, but if Ace got wind of it, let's be real, he'd do something even more crazy. So Ace, let me direct this at you... If you're thinking of doing something crazy, like we all have to die first, and the last man standing is the World Champion, don't include me. If it's some sort of crazy-assed free for all, like what's his name decided at the end of the year, I have money for hookers for you!
.:: Jake grins a cheesy smile, before pulling several $100 bills up from below the visual screen, and fans them out! ::.
... See!
.:: Jake smiles, cheesily, again, and then begins "making it rain" before emptying his hands, and bending down. When he stands back up, he pulls he the SCW Television Championship with him. ::.
... Ok, now that I've bribed Ace, and shown him what I have to offer, let's look at what is REALLY in front of me, and not just me ignoring the fact that my team lost. Let's look at the SCW Television Championship picture. When I walked into the Trios, I was given a reprieve. I was given an opportunity to forget about the title on my shoulder because this championship, of ALL of the SCW gold, is the one that requires the most endurance. This championship requires its champion to walk out there, week in and week out, and be able to defend it in a manner that shows that they are deserving of the SCW moniker of Television Champion. So the Trios gave me a chance to take a breath from it, but with Breakdown back, it's time to get back to the grind. It's back to proving, week in and week out, that I can go out there and be a champion in the eyes of Supreme Championship Wrestling. Effectively, it's Jake Starr as the Adrenaline Champion, all over again, because that's what I faced when I first came to this organization. Now I have to go back to realizing that there are a whole slew of individuals who want the chance to simply call themselves a champion...
And I'm not ABOUT to be the guy who "lets" them have that right!
You see, in SCW, to become a champion, it takes a lot. It takes a lot to accept the right and responsibility to fight and defend any title that is around your waist, like this Television Championship is around mine. When I look at Breakdown, I see someone who knows that very factor as well. I see someone who, honestly, in a decade-plus of being in SCW, I don't remember if I have crossed paths with. It's possible, but I don't remember off of the top of my head. It's not an insult, more just reflective that I've faced so many. This opponent at Breakdown is someone who has held MULTIPLE championships across his career in SCW, and is one that deserves to be recognized as one of SCW's greats. His name... Damian Angel!
Damian Angel is an SCW legend. There is no way around it. He's a former SCW World Champion. He's someone who deserves all of the accolades he's ever received. He's someone who has proved to be someone who can fight and win any match that he is put in, no matter what. Ultimately, he's someone who is one of the baddest motherfuckers in the HISTORY of Supreme Championship Wrestling. He is none other than Damian Angel!
Damian Angel... A name that was synonymous with Supreme Championship Wrestling all the way back in 2009. From the day I joined, Angel was a guy everyone knew was one of the best of the best. He was one of the top of the line. He was one of the ultimate ass-kickers. He and guys like Xander Valentine would just mow over everyone, proving their superiority. Each one of them was willing to batter or bruise the opposition in order to prove their dominance over the opposition. Damian, especially, is one of those guys who would do everything in his power to destroy opposition and make sure everyone feared the "devilish" Angel that was running roughshod over SCW.
But now... Damian Angel is walking into a TITLE match against one Jake MOTHERFUCKING Starr!
This is one of those dream matches for those who have followed SCW for years. This isn't one of those matches you may care about, if you have just been watching over the past few months, but if you realize who we both are, this is a LEGEND versus a LEGEND with a championship on the line. This is what every WRESTLING fan dreams of. And if you look at where we both are coming from this past weekend, we both want to step up and make a move in the eyes of the SCW brass tax. You see, we both were in that Trios Tournament. We were both in those matches that I mentioned earlier, but the thing is, neither of us won. Neither of us came away with the comfy mattress we can fall back on, should we lose this match at Breakdown. Instead we both came away with the reality that SCW is acknowledging there is a title on the line, and I'm the one to defend it, week in and week out, and he is my latest competitor. And a worthy one at that. But the fact is, we both are walking in, in my opinion, on equal footing. I don't care who is and who isn't the champion. I don't care who what who has and who hasn't done things in SCW over their career.
This is legend versus legend...
This is Damian Angel versus Jake Starr...
This is a match SCW matchmakers are fapping themselves raw over...
Why?
This is a DREAM match!
Damian... You and I, like I said, may have crossed paths in the past. But we both have these lengthy careers where each opponent can't be remembered. I will be honest, too, I'm glad I don't remember if we have crossed paths. I don't want to compare this match to one of before. I want this one to stand alone because you and I are in a class of SCW superstar that most never achieve. You and I have done a lot here, and both still have this desire to do more than what we did in days past. We are both former World Champions, and I think it's safe to say we both would DREAM and WANT to be right back there. Right now, however, that isn't the championship at hand. Right now, that's not the opponent at hand. Right now, you have the Television Champion facing you down, and someone who lost during the Trios, just like you. That means we both don't have anything guaranteed going forward. Instead, what we have is a championship that defines us both NOW. It may not be the World Title match that matchmakers dreamed of, but it still pits two of SCW's greatest of ALL TIME against one another with a championship on the line.
And I'm more than ready for that challenge!
I know, for the fact, you're going to be ready at Breakdown. I know you're not going to come in lightly. I know you're going to come in ready to show me EXACTLY who Damian Angel is, when it comes to the legend of Damian Angel in SCW. I'm not scared, one bit. I am not nervous in one bit. Instead, I'm desperate for that Damian Angel to step up to the plate. I'm BEGGING that Damian Angel, the LEGEND THAT IS Damian Angel, escapes that curtain and walks to the ring to face me. Why? Because you're someone I remember from day one. I remember hearing everyone talking about how great you were... How amazing you were... How DEVASTATING you were... That is what I remember of Damian Angel. Now, I want to experience that. I want to experience the legend. I want to experience the "God." So I hereby call you out to prove to me that the "God" still exists inside you. I call you out to show me that Damian Angel IS who he ONCE WAS. Why? Because I know you believe that's who you still are. I know you believe that the FEARED Damian Angel still exists. So if he does...
I'M... CALLING... HIM... OUT!
This is your chance, Damian. This is your moment to show everyone Damian Angel isn't a SHELL of the dominant force he once was. This is your moment to prove that you're still as frightening as you were when Shawn Winters looked me in the eye and wondered if I was even a shell of who my father was. This is your time to prove you're not someone everyone simply shakes their head at, every time you speak. And I crave that version of you. I pray you convince the masses. If you do, a win or a loss won't matter. You and I will fight from dawn to dusk if need be to show who is superior, and in the end everyone will see us as equals. THAT is why I crave the OG Damian Angel. I want that equal. I don't want to beat a shell. I want to beat THE MAN. So bring everything you have, sir. Bring what you once brought to become SCW World Heavyweight Champion. Bring what it took to make everyone FEAR Damian Angel in a Trios Tournament. Otherwise expect me to treat you like a shell of the man you wish to be. Expect me to not take you for granted, and simply beat you down fast like I would the "great" Damian Angel. This belt may not be the EVERYTHING of SCW, but like the Adrenaline Championship, I'm going to walk out like it's the SCW WOrld Championship, and defend it as if it's more important than ANYTHING on the roster.
So realize you're facing the best of the best...
Realize I am the ONLY champion who matters to you...
If you look at me any other way, I'm sorry for your inevitable fate...
This title means the world to me, and I'm ready to prove to the world that I can defend it night in, and night out, and not be scared of whomever SCW decides to throw my way... And that includes the likes of a former World Champion... A megalith of SCW GREATNESS... A legend simply named, Damian Angel!
.:: Jake throws up the rock and roll horns as the scene fades to black. ::.
-------------------------
Jake Starr: Well that was fun, wasn't it? I mean, a shit ton of us walked out there thinking we were going to get a "golden ticket" to whatever we wanted in SCW, and only three of us walked away with Willy Wonka's gilded, chocolate, prize. Now the reality of the situation is, there were several of us vying for it, and only three won. The odds weren't in our favor. And now, the crashing reality, I wasn't one of the trio that walked away with this shiny token that gave me the ability to have whatever I want. Instead, two of the three were individuals I can't say as I'm surprised about. For one, we have the unretiring, returning, resurrected, Phoenix, that is David Helms, and the other is the, "Oh, Trios? Yeah, I'll win that," human being in Ace Marshall. These two men are two men I cannot deny deserve a right to flat out determine their trajectory in SCW. I know a lot of people don't believe that others deserve the right to state their claim, make their path, or decide where they go from there, but I disagree.
I VEHEMENTLY disagree...
This business is one where people earn their keep. They earn their right to state their claim as a contender, as a determinant of where things go, and these are two men who have done just that. David Helms, for one, yeah, he's one of my closest friends. Did he dress like a large cup of Joe to surprise everyone in his return, yeah, and has he really done everything that has been put in front of him to challenge him, you are Goddamn right! David Helms has never backed down from a fight, and nor has he ever taken a easy way to anything. So now he has the ability to give himself that "easy path" and I promise you one thing, he won't take it. David Helms has made a career, good or bad, of proving himself to be worthy of everything he's been gifted with or earned. So the fact is, he isn't going to use this "golden ticket" for a method to "easily" take something from SCW. David is someone who craves to be seen as the guy who EARNED everything. So what do I expect him to do? What do I expect David Helms to try and seize with this opportunity...?
.:: Jake shrugs. ::.
... Honestly, I haven't a clue. David is an enigma. David is a man who thinks everything out thoroughly. So whatever he decides to do will be done with a methodical thought process behind it. It'll be done with his legacy in mind. He's a lot like me in that regard. I mean, think about what I did... That first time, I wanted to have that notch of main eventing Rise to Greatness, and I executed it. The second time, however, everyone expected me to just be selfish, but while there was some of that selfishness involved, ultimately I wanted to do something that would have defined my legacy. So what did I do? I put every champion against me in a gauntlet, inside a chamber that would kill our bodies. I didn't do it out of greed. I did it out of legacy. I did it out of the challenge. I will say David is a similar man in that regard. He isn't going to simply do something to seem greedy. He's going to want to show the world David Helms is still one of the baddest motherfuckers on the planet. So... The reality of the situation is, when it comes to David, I haven't a clue what he's going to do, nor am I going to speculate...
Now when it comes to Ace, I CAN speculate. It's easy to guess about him. Why? Well he and I have crossed paths and teamed on a couple of occasions, once in the Trios, and I learned a LOT about his persona. The first thing about Ace Marshall is to expect the unexpected. Expect someone like him to go out there and make everyone freeze in their tracks, and ultimately go "who the fuck thought that up?" That's the type of person Ace is. He isn't a person who like to ever be remembered as "ordinary." So the fact is, while David Helms is going to be deliberate, he's going to be someone who does everything in a very methodical manner, Ace is going to be wild. Ace is the type of guy who simply wants to capture headlines. He wants everyone to be surprised. He wants everyone on their toes. He's liable to have us all dress as our favorite drag performer, and walk the runway for the SCW Championship...
.:: Jake goes to continue but pauses. ::.
... And if it goes there, I'm dressing as John Leguizamo from "Too Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything, Julie Numar." Why Leguizamo? Well Patrick Swayze was ugly AF, and I'm not black, to be Wesley Snipes. I'm not Hispanic, either, but if he can pretend to be an Italian and be Luigi, by God, I can be him!
Now, with Ace, it could be a race to see who the last is in SCW to get the Coronavirus, or as I call it, the Kung Flu. It could be a match to see who is the last to test positive, and not be on death's doorstep. That's Ace. Ace wants to be crazy and shocking. Ace wants the world to go, "Really?!" when the look at his decision with his Trios contract. And inevitably, he will get that exact treatment.
So for those of you who are curious, that's what to expect...
The third guy, I dunno, his name rhymes with Haddock, and I assume he's another cousin of the Cod family, I don't know anything about him. He could be the shocking guy of the Trios winners, and do something outrageous. He could be more wild than Ace, but if Ace got wind of it, let's be real, he'd do something even more crazy. So Ace, let me direct this at you... If you're thinking of doing something crazy, like we all have to die first, and the last man standing is the World Champion, don't include me. If it's some sort of crazy-assed free for all, like what's his name decided at the end of the year, I have money for hookers for you!
.:: Jake grins a cheesy smile, before pulling several $100 bills up from below the visual screen, and fans them out! ::.
... See!
.:: Jake smiles, cheesily, again, and then begins "making it rain" before emptying his hands, and bending down. When he stands back up, he pulls he the SCW Television Championship with him. ::.
... Ok, now that I've bribed Ace, and shown him what I have to offer, let's look at what is REALLY in front of me, and not just me ignoring the fact that my team lost. Let's look at the SCW Television Championship picture. When I walked into the Trios, I was given a reprieve. I was given an opportunity to forget about the title on my shoulder because this championship, of ALL of the SCW gold, is the one that requires the most endurance. This championship requires its champion to walk out there, week in and week out, and be able to defend it in a manner that shows that they are deserving of the SCW moniker of Television Champion. So the Trios gave me a chance to take a breath from it, but with Breakdown back, it's time to get back to the grind. It's back to proving, week in and week out, that I can go out there and be a champion in the eyes of Supreme Championship Wrestling. Effectively, it's Jake Starr as the Adrenaline Champion, all over again, because that's what I faced when I first came to this organization. Now I have to go back to realizing that there are a whole slew of individuals who want the chance to simply call themselves a champion...
And I'm not ABOUT to be the guy who "lets" them have that right!
You see, in SCW, to become a champion, it takes a lot. It takes a lot to accept the right and responsibility to fight and defend any title that is around your waist, like this Television Championship is around mine. When I look at Breakdown, I see someone who knows that very factor as well. I see someone who, honestly, in a decade-plus of being in SCW, I don't remember if I have crossed paths with. It's possible, but I don't remember off of the top of my head. It's not an insult, more just reflective that I've faced so many. This opponent at Breakdown is someone who has held MULTIPLE championships across his career in SCW, and is one that deserves to be recognized as one of SCW's greats. His name... Damian Angel!
Damian Angel is an SCW legend. There is no way around it. He's a former SCW World Champion. He's someone who deserves all of the accolades he's ever received. He's someone who has proved to be someone who can fight and win any match that he is put in, no matter what. Ultimately, he's someone who is one of the baddest motherfuckers in the HISTORY of Supreme Championship Wrestling. He is none other than Damian Angel!
Damian Angel... A name that was synonymous with Supreme Championship Wrestling all the way back in 2009. From the day I joined, Angel was a guy everyone knew was one of the best of the best. He was one of the top of the line. He was one of the ultimate ass-kickers. He and guys like Xander Valentine would just mow over everyone, proving their superiority. Each one of them was willing to batter or bruise the opposition in order to prove their dominance over the opposition. Damian, especially, is one of those guys who would do everything in his power to destroy opposition and make sure everyone feared the "devilish" Angel that was running roughshod over SCW.
But now... Damian Angel is walking into a TITLE match against one Jake MOTHERFUCKING Starr!
This is one of those dream matches for those who have followed SCW for years. This isn't one of those matches you may care about, if you have just been watching over the past few months, but if you realize who we both are, this is a LEGEND versus a LEGEND with a championship on the line. This is what every WRESTLING fan dreams of. And if you look at where we both are coming from this past weekend, we both want to step up and make a move in the eyes of the SCW brass tax. You see, we both were in that Trios Tournament. We were both in those matches that I mentioned earlier, but the thing is, neither of us won. Neither of us came away with the comfy mattress we can fall back on, should we lose this match at Breakdown. Instead we both came away with the reality that SCW is acknowledging there is a title on the line, and I'm the one to defend it, week in and week out, and he is my latest competitor. And a worthy one at that. But the fact is, we both are walking in, in my opinion, on equal footing. I don't care who is and who isn't the champion. I don't care who what who has and who hasn't done things in SCW over their career.
This is legend versus legend...
This is Damian Angel versus Jake Starr...
This is a match SCW matchmakers are fapping themselves raw over...
Why?
This is a DREAM match!
Damian... You and I, like I said, may have crossed paths in the past. But we both have these lengthy careers where each opponent can't be remembered. I will be honest, too, I'm glad I don't remember if we have crossed paths. I don't want to compare this match to one of before. I want this one to stand alone because you and I are in a class of SCW superstar that most never achieve. You and I have done a lot here, and both still have this desire to do more than what we did in days past. We are both former World Champions, and I think it's safe to say we both would DREAM and WANT to be right back there. Right now, however, that isn't the championship at hand. Right now, that's not the opponent at hand. Right now, you have the Television Champion facing you down, and someone who lost during the Trios, just like you. That means we both don't have anything guaranteed going forward. Instead, what we have is a championship that defines us both NOW. It may not be the World Title match that matchmakers dreamed of, but it still pits two of SCW's greatest of ALL TIME against one another with a championship on the line.
And I'm more than ready for that challenge!
I know, for the fact, you're going to be ready at Breakdown. I know you're not going to come in lightly. I know you're going to come in ready to show me EXACTLY who Damian Angel is, when it comes to the legend of Damian Angel in SCW. I'm not scared, one bit. I am not nervous in one bit. Instead, I'm desperate for that Damian Angel to step up to the plate. I'm BEGGING that Damian Angel, the LEGEND THAT IS Damian Angel, escapes that curtain and walks to the ring to face me. Why? Because you're someone I remember from day one. I remember hearing everyone talking about how great you were... How amazing you were... How DEVASTATING you were... That is what I remember of Damian Angel. Now, I want to experience that. I want to experience the legend. I want to experience the "God." So I hereby call you out to prove to me that the "God" still exists inside you. I call you out to show me that Damian Angel IS who he ONCE WAS. Why? Because I know you believe that's who you still are. I know you believe that the FEARED Damian Angel still exists. So if he does...
I'M... CALLING... HIM... OUT!
This is your chance, Damian. This is your moment to show everyone Damian Angel isn't a SHELL of the dominant force he once was. This is your moment to prove that you're still as frightening as you were when Shawn Winters looked me in the eye and wondered if I was even a shell of who my father was. This is your time to prove you're not someone everyone simply shakes their head at, every time you speak. And I crave that version of you. I pray you convince the masses. If you do, a win or a loss won't matter. You and I will fight from dawn to dusk if need be to show who is superior, and in the end everyone will see us as equals. THAT is why I crave the OG Damian Angel. I want that equal. I don't want to beat a shell. I want to beat THE MAN. So bring everything you have, sir. Bring what you once brought to become SCW World Heavyweight Champion. Bring what it took to make everyone FEAR Damian Angel in a Trios Tournament. Otherwise expect me to treat you like a shell of the man you wish to be. Expect me to not take you for granted, and simply beat you down fast like I would the "great" Damian Angel. This belt may not be the EVERYTHING of SCW, but like the Adrenaline Championship, I'm going to walk out like it's the SCW WOrld Championship, and defend it as if it's more important than ANYTHING on the roster.
So realize you're facing the best of the best...
Realize I am the ONLY champion who matters to you...
If you look at me any other way, I'm sorry for your inevitable fate...
This title means the world to me, and I'm ready to prove to the world that I can defend it night in, and night out, and not be scared of whomever SCW decides to throw my way... And that includes the likes of a former World Champion... A megalith of SCW GREATNESS... A legend simply named, Damian Angel!
.:: Jake throws up the rock and roll horns as the scene fades to black. ::.
02-25-2020, 11:31 PM
OOC Like Ian, I wanted to get something posted for this. Here it is... a little bit of insight into the mind of the man behind The Devil Himself. Enjoy, and good luck Ian!
The Trios Tournament.
In the end, it was not to be. My trio with Peyton Rice and Alistaire Allocco ended up unsuccessful in the semi-finals, falling in defeat to the trio of Jordan Majors, Bree Lancaster, and Datura. Just like that - the ability to do as we see fit in SCW was ripped away. I had already made my intent clear. I had no intention of using my own wish. I was going to defer it to Peyton. Had the powers that be declined my request, I simply would have used the contract to her benefit anyway. They would have been powerless to stop me. That’s what the Trios Tournament was about: unfettered power. And now that power is held in the hands of Ace Marshall, who comes and goes as he pleases, Glory Braddock, the self-proclaimed “Best in the World”, and David Helms…
It seems what is old is new again.
I suppose it would be a sense of irony to hear those words uttered through my voice. After all, I have held onto the tenuous strands of relevance in SCW to the point where others would relate the same opinion to me. And yet here we are. Call it fate… call it destiny… I believe I am still here for a reason. I have something to fulfill… something that cannot be seen in the eyes of the unwilling. There are those who do not wish to see the purpose in the stories of others. So they remain willingly blind to them. So be it… blind yourself to my pursuits. I promise you that doing so will only be hazardous to your own health.
All will be revealed in time…
-----
Damian Angel left the arena shortly after the final fall. For all he had known, Alistaire Allocco and Peyton Rice were still in the arena, licking their wounds following the defeat in the Trios Tournament. For Damian, the camaraderie of the locker-room was not a factor beyond the days of the New Blood Rebellion, but even some 12 years following the dissolution of the influential force, Damian had been involved in groups. An ill-advised alliance with Greg Cherry and Chris Lawler did much damage to his own aura and his will to carry on in SCW. Although it nearly resulted in Tag Team Championship glory, it was not to be. Still, that scar is worn by the Devil Himself to this day.
Following the show, however, it was Jessica Winters, longtime SCW interviewer, who found the man inside the hotel bar. He wasn’t drinking, as Damian hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in his life. Rather, he was simply back in a corner booth. He had expected some SCW wrestlers to make use of the bar at some point in the night, and the corner was dark enough that he was able to sit in place without the distraction of social obligations. And yet, when she saw him sitting alone, Jessica approached.
“Is this seat taken?” she asked earnestly. Damian wasn’t in the mood, but with the phrasing of the question, a “Yes” would have been a lie, and a “No” would have invited her to remain. So he didn’t answer, leaving the “No” implied, and Jessica took the chair, sitting across from Damian. “Tough break out there,” she said, offering Damian an empty platitude. He didn’t reciprocate.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked. “Completely off the record?”
“If I say “yes”,” Damian finally responds, his voice hoarse as he glares across the table at her. “Will you leave me alone?”
“I can agree to that,” she responds. It was a shortness in his answer that she hadn’t been used to in the years she’s had dealing with Damian in his various personas - the Hellbound Messiah, The Devil Himself, leader of Har Megiddo… “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing,” Damian answers in a word. “Now go.”
“No, it’s not “nothing”,” Jessica astutely responds. “There’s been a change in you since you returned. You’re not the chaotic, frantic force of nature you’ve become known as in the past. You’re calculating… but thoughtful. What happened under that ring? Who or what pulled you under? What did you see?”
“You are asking too many questions,” Damian growled. Jessica stopped asking the questions as Damian sits back, sighing. “You have been to my compound… you have met my people…”
“Yeah…”
“My followers… they were not monsters,” Damian says, beginning to spin a narrative. “They were regular people who needed a leader. They believed in me. They trusted me. And I cared for them. What some felt was a cult…”
“Wait…” Jessica catches the key word. “Was?”
Damian doesn’t respond. Instead, he slides a newspaper across to her, folded over to the story he wanted her to see - it was the story of a compound fire in a secluded community. Jessica looks it over, sees the picture, and looks up to Damian. “Is this…”
“The Order,” Damian again begins. “It was unsustainable from the beginning. Almost as if previous leaders had designed it as such that it was always supposed to be passed to the next person until the last person carried the blame for its dissolution and decimation. I was put on trial for my crimes, and ultimately my hubris had become so great that everything I knew was to burn.”
“So you’re not affiliated with this anymore?” Jessica was a smart one.
“Sure as I sit before you,” he stretches his arms out to his side, displaying the nothing around him, “I am a leader without any followers… a King without a kingdom... “
“Damian, I had no idea,” Jessica reaches across a sympathetic hand. Damian pulls his back.
“And you would be wise to ensure no one else does,” he snaps at her. “I do not require sympathy, and quite frankly, I do not expect any to be shown regardless. After the things I have done in this company…”
He trails off. Jessica, staying true to her word, stands up from the seat. “You have my word, Damian,” she says, a warm smile on her face attempting to break through to him. “But, that doesn’t explain… why Peyton?”
Damian looks to Jessica, a sharp expression in his eyes as if to tell her that he’s not answering that question. Taking the hint, she walks from the table. Damian sits back again, looking back over the bar and watching her as she leaves. The scene cuts...
-----
To some, the SCW Television Championship is a way to show consistency… to show that you have what it takes to remain successful in the midst of the gruelling schedule Supreme Championship Wrestling puts it’s talent through. Some have shown quite adept at this. For others, it was a one-and-done proposition. I fall into the latter category, but do not mistake my week for weakness of the body, for it was the mind that was impure. I was not mentally fit at the time for the rigors of the Television Championship. I may not be mentally fit for it now. That remains to be seen. For whether I am fit or not, my opportunity is now.
Jake Starr… the present Television Champion… how fitting it is that you and I are set to collide once more. It would appear in the eyes of most that you have had my number throughout our mutual tenures. Simply put - you have. I cannot refute this and do not wish to condescend to try. I am also certain that you will not sit there and explain to me why history is constant, and why this will lead to your victory. At this juncture in your career, you would wise not to incite me…
And yet, perhaps that is what you seek after all… to provoke the, how did you put it? “OG Damian Angel”? Yes, I believe it was something like that. But you see, unlike you Jake, I will not be giving a grandiose address. I will simply keep my message short and to the point. You want the original… the legend…
You will leave Breakdown disappointed.
The Devil Himself? The Hellbound Messiah? THAT Damian Angel is dead. That Damian Angel died in London, England, alongside his consort. The megalith broke down that night. Everything you have seen in the twelve years since then has been a man holding onto himself desperately trying not to let go, because letting go means falling into desperation. It was something I could not do. I was a leader. My followers relied on me… my daughter relied on me. And I could not provide what I needed to provide them… what they deserved… if I fell apart. So the Damian Angel that built SCW… that was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year… he is a fraud and he is no more.
What you get instead is a Damian Angel with absolute clarity. What you are getting instead of the megalith is a man who knows who he is… a man who wears the sins of a DECADE of violence and destruction, and like a phoenix out of the ashes is reborn. I do hope that does not disappoint you too much, because as I look myself in the mirror I can tell you with absolute certainty…
The Damian Angel you are set to face on Breakdown tomorrow night IS the superior Damian Angel. I do not expect you to take my word for it, however. I expect you to be skeptical… even briefly disappointed. When you see me across the ring from you… when you recognize the man that walked through the hell of witnessing my one true love sacrificing her life for mine… only to have to live each day without her…
I have overcome tragedy… perhaps that is what has drawn me to you, Peyton. I have lived what you are going through and I let it change me. It made me a worse man than I was before it… you are a better person than me. You are going to change the world. You need only to stop the world from changing you first.
I apologize for that brief interlude, Jake. I am certain you understand. See, I have a million thoughts that I had locked in my mind, held them prisoner, only to see them released now and I am still attempting to figure a way to keep them sorted. Or maybe I’ll simply stop. Maybe I’ll let them run free and see what happens.
As for tomorrow night, I expect a war. I expect nothing less than your best. The Championship you carry deserves it. And in the end…
I fight with honor. I fight with nothing left holding me back, nothing poisoning my mind. And really, Jake Starr… that fact alone makes me more dangerous than ever.
The Trios Tournament.
In the end, it was not to be. My trio with Peyton Rice and Alistaire Allocco ended up unsuccessful in the semi-finals, falling in defeat to the trio of Jordan Majors, Bree Lancaster, and Datura. Just like that - the ability to do as we see fit in SCW was ripped away. I had already made my intent clear. I had no intention of using my own wish. I was going to defer it to Peyton. Had the powers that be declined my request, I simply would have used the contract to her benefit anyway. They would have been powerless to stop me. That’s what the Trios Tournament was about: unfettered power. And now that power is held in the hands of Ace Marshall, who comes and goes as he pleases, Glory Braddock, the self-proclaimed “Best in the World”, and David Helms…
It seems what is old is new again.
I suppose it would be a sense of irony to hear those words uttered through my voice. After all, I have held onto the tenuous strands of relevance in SCW to the point where others would relate the same opinion to me. And yet here we are. Call it fate… call it destiny… I believe I am still here for a reason. I have something to fulfill… something that cannot be seen in the eyes of the unwilling. There are those who do not wish to see the purpose in the stories of others. So they remain willingly blind to them. So be it… blind yourself to my pursuits. I promise you that doing so will only be hazardous to your own health.
All will be revealed in time…
-----
Damian Angel left the arena shortly after the final fall. For all he had known, Alistaire Allocco and Peyton Rice were still in the arena, licking their wounds following the defeat in the Trios Tournament. For Damian, the camaraderie of the locker-room was not a factor beyond the days of the New Blood Rebellion, but even some 12 years following the dissolution of the influential force, Damian had been involved in groups. An ill-advised alliance with Greg Cherry and Chris Lawler did much damage to his own aura and his will to carry on in SCW. Although it nearly resulted in Tag Team Championship glory, it was not to be. Still, that scar is worn by the Devil Himself to this day.
Following the show, however, it was Jessica Winters, longtime SCW interviewer, who found the man inside the hotel bar. He wasn’t drinking, as Damian hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in his life. Rather, he was simply back in a corner booth. He had expected some SCW wrestlers to make use of the bar at some point in the night, and the corner was dark enough that he was able to sit in place without the distraction of social obligations. And yet, when she saw him sitting alone, Jessica approached.
“Is this seat taken?” she asked earnestly. Damian wasn’t in the mood, but with the phrasing of the question, a “Yes” would have been a lie, and a “No” would have invited her to remain. So he didn’t answer, leaving the “No” implied, and Jessica took the chair, sitting across from Damian. “Tough break out there,” she said, offering Damian an empty platitude. He didn’t reciprocate.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked. “Completely off the record?”
“If I say “yes”,” Damian finally responds, his voice hoarse as he glares across the table at her. “Will you leave me alone?”
“I can agree to that,” she responds. It was a shortness in his answer that she hadn’t been used to in the years she’s had dealing with Damian in his various personas - the Hellbound Messiah, The Devil Himself, leader of Har Megiddo… “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing,” Damian answers in a word. “Now go.”
“No, it’s not “nothing”,” Jessica astutely responds. “There’s been a change in you since you returned. You’re not the chaotic, frantic force of nature you’ve become known as in the past. You’re calculating… but thoughtful. What happened under that ring? Who or what pulled you under? What did you see?”
“You are asking too many questions,” Damian growled. Jessica stopped asking the questions as Damian sits back, sighing. “You have been to my compound… you have met my people…”
“Yeah…”
“My followers… they were not monsters,” Damian says, beginning to spin a narrative. “They were regular people who needed a leader. They believed in me. They trusted me. And I cared for them. What some felt was a cult…”
“Wait…” Jessica catches the key word. “Was?”
Damian doesn’t respond. Instead, he slides a newspaper across to her, folded over to the story he wanted her to see - it was the story of a compound fire in a secluded community. Jessica looks it over, sees the picture, and looks up to Damian. “Is this…”
“The Order,” Damian again begins. “It was unsustainable from the beginning. Almost as if previous leaders had designed it as such that it was always supposed to be passed to the next person until the last person carried the blame for its dissolution and decimation. I was put on trial for my crimes, and ultimately my hubris had become so great that everything I knew was to burn.”
“So you’re not affiliated with this anymore?” Jessica was a smart one.
“Sure as I sit before you,” he stretches his arms out to his side, displaying the nothing around him, “I am a leader without any followers… a King without a kingdom... “
“Damian, I had no idea,” Jessica reaches across a sympathetic hand. Damian pulls his back.
“And you would be wise to ensure no one else does,” he snaps at her. “I do not require sympathy, and quite frankly, I do not expect any to be shown regardless. After the things I have done in this company…”
He trails off. Jessica, staying true to her word, stands up from the seat. “You have my word, Damian,” she says, a warm smile on her face attempting to break through to him. “But, that doesn’t explain… why Peyton?”
Damian looks to Jessica, a sharp expression in his eyes as if to tell her that he’s not answering that question. Taking the hint, she walks from the table. Damian sits back again, looking back over the bar and watching her as she leaves. The scene cuts...
-----
To some, the SCW Television Championship is a way to show consistency… to show that you have what it takes to remain successful in the midst of the gruelling schedule Supreme Championship Wrestling puts it’s talent through. Some have shown quite adept at this. For others, it was a one-and-done proposition. I fall into the latter category, but do not mistake my week for weakness of the body, for it was the mind that was impure. I was not mentally fit at the time for the rigors of the Television Championship. I may not be mentally fit for it now. That remains to be seen. For whether I am fit or not, my opportunity is now.
Jake Starr… the present Television Champion… how fitting it is that you and I are set to collide once more. It would appear in the eyes of most that you have had my number throughout our mutual tenures. Simply put - you have. I cannot refute this and do not wish to condescend to try. I am also certain that you will not sit there and explain to me why history is constant, and why this will lead to your victory. At this juncture in your career, you would wise not to incite me…
And yet, perhaps that is what you seek after all… to provoke the, how did you put it? “OG Damian Angel”? Yes, I believe it was something like that. But you see, unlike you Jake, I will not be giving a grandiose address. I will simply keep my message short and to the point. You want the original… the legend…
You will leave Breakdown disappointed.
The Devil Himself? The Hellbound Messiah? THAT Damian Angel is dead. That Damian Angel died in London, England, alongside his consort. The megalith broke down that night. Everything you have seen in the twelve years since then has been a man holding onto himself desperately trying not to let go, because letting go means falling into desperation. It was something I could not do. I was a leader. My followers relied on me… my daughter relied on me. And I could not provide what I needed to provide them… what they deserved… if I fell apart. So the Damian Angel that built SCW… that was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year… he is a fraud and he is no more.
What you get instead is a Damian Angel with absolute clarity. What you are getting instead of the megalith is a man who knows who he is… a man who wears the sins of a DECADE of violence and destruction, and like a phoenix out of the ashes is reborn. I do hope that does not disappoint you too much, because as I look myself in the mirror I can tell you with absolute certainty…
The Damian Angel you are set to face on Breakdown tomorrow night IS the superior Damian Angel. I do not expect you to take my word for it, however. I expect you to be skeptical… even briefly disappointed. When you see me across the ring from you… when you recognize the man that walked through the hell of witnessing my one true love sacrificing her life for mine… only to have to live each day without her…
I have overcome tragedy… perhaps that is what has drawn me to you, Peyton. I have lived what you are going through and I let it change me. It made me a worse man than I was before it… you are a better person than me. You are going to change the world. You need only to stop the world from changing you first.
I apologize for that brief interlude, Jake. I am certain you understand. See, I have a million thoughts that I had locked in my mind, held them prisoner, only to see them released now and I am still attempting to figure a way to keep them sorted. Or maybe I’ll simply stop. Maybe I’ll let them run free and see what happens.
As for tomorrow night, I expect a war. I expect nothing less than your best. The Championship you carry deserves it. And in the end…
I fight with honor. I fight with nothing left holding me back, nothing poisoning my mind. And really, Jake Starr… that fact alone makes me more dangerous than ever.