Aaron Blackbourne vs. Matt Hodges

[Konrad Raab]

1 RP per person

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Tuesday, May 26, 2020

[Matt Hodges]

https://mhdeity.wordpress.com/2020/05/26...-the-year/

[Ruppy]

OOC: We agreed to go promo-only for this considering my current state after yesterday. I won't lie... despite this being just a promo, this still took way longer than it should have to write out today because I've had to spend way too long lying down because of my back, and for that I apologize. I really hope this clears up before this weekend, because I truly want to give the PPV my very best. I'm grateful that Hodges was willing to work with me so we could both still clash for this show without me needing to do more writing than I'm able to do as of this exact moment in time.
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When you believe in the abilities you possess and focus on using them to succeed at the task at hand, that is confidence.

When you use those abilities for the sole purpose of trying to look down upon others because you believe they can’t do what you can, that’s arrogance.

You’d be surprised at how many people can’t tell the difference between the two.

I don’t think it needs to be explained that I try to be a humble guy. I may try to rationalize why I believe I’m going to beat someone in the ring, but I never act as those anyone who meets me between those ropes never has a chance. Wrestling is always about far more than just pure abilities. Some people are more than capable of simply outthinking their opponent and putting them in whatever position they’re looking for. Some, unfortunately, feel the need to resort to underhanded tactics to get their way. Some have the size and strength to just impose their will on someone else. At the end of the day, the best way I can describe how a wrestling match reaches its conclusion is simple: whoever executes their chosen gameplan better will walk away with their arm raised in victory.

That’s why you never see me throw a temper tantrum about a loss or gloat about beating someone. So long as we both exist on the same roster, the possibility exists that our paths will cross again at some point, and the next encounter could have a completely different outcome. There is no such thing as a guarantee in this business, just as there is no such thing as a guarantee about anything in life itself. I could stand here and guarantee to all of you that I will walk out of Taking Hold of the Flame this Sunday as the new World Champion, but I have just as little proof that such a claim is concrete as Bree does, regardless of the outcome of our past encounters. After all, there’s always the ability to look back on your past and learn from it to better prepare for what lies ahead.

Of course, there’s also the ability to just assume whatever fantasy makes you feel as though you are invincible. After all, you can’t possibly be wrong if that’s what you believe, right?

As much as I could apply that line of thinking to the person who awaits me in just a few days, it applies just as well to the threat standing right in front of me. After all, while Bree gets to sit back and pray that I go into yet another encounter between us at less than one hundred percent, I get to throw down with one of a long list of names that I could very well be seeing in the main event of SCW’s grandest stage when all is set and done. It’s a name she’s all too familiar with as well, considering she proved exactly what kind of champion she wants to be when face-to-face with this challenge not too long ago.

While I will be among the first to admit that Matt Hodges was robbed of a definitive outcome during Fatal Fortunes, I refuse to allow him to take that out on me.

Now Matt, I’ll be upfront with you: I do respect what you can do in that ring, and I don’t mean that in a condescending way like how you chose to address me. Believe me, I can tell the difference between sincerity and sarcasm. You’re a Hall of Famer for a reason, after all, and you don’t earn your way to an accolade like that without having the ability to back it up when necessary. What I DON’T respect is this inherent belief that you’re better than me just because you say you are. You run with this belief that you are ‘World Class’ because literally nobody in the world can do what you do, ignoring the countless names that have preceded you and will no doubt succeed you as well in laying claim to the idea of being the best technical wrestler alive. But of course, you believe you know for certain that I can’t beat you just because I can’t do what you do.

Do you think I would be in this business at all if I wasn’t capable of wrestling the same way you do?

Stylistically, we may be different, but I’m not as blind to technical proficiency as you may think. True, maybe I don’t show it as often, and that tends to happen when you’ve adapted to being the smaller dog in the fight and stick with what you know works. But I know how to use holds and submissions if need be. What I think you fail to realize is that wrestling, like most things in life, has evolved beyond simply being about taking someone to the mat and trying to make them tap out. To deride me for how I operate in the ring and how many others make their way in this business is ignorant of what makes this sport as appealing as it is to so many looking to earn their place within it.

Of course, I’m talking to the same guy who would approach any technical-oriented wrestler, whether they’re a friend of mine or someone whose ego I can’t stand, with the belief that they can’t outwrestle him no matter how good they are.

I’m no stranger to people like you Matt. The people who just believe they are better with no proof that there’s any truth to it, the people who take issue with change because they aren’t God and can’t stop it from happening. You, like many others, believe you understand me only because you know you stand against everything that makes me who I am. I can tell, just from listening to you, that whatever respect you claim to have towards me is hollow at best… a desperate attempt to try and lower my guard thinking you can have an easier time sending me into Taking Hold of the Flame in defeat.

I’m sorry Matt, but that’s not how we’re going to play this.

I look at this match the same way I do any other: a match will I will give everything that I have and more because that’s the kind of human being that I am. I don’t run from a fight, I won’t take it easy just because a major opportunity is on the horizon, and I’m not going to let you keep thinking that anything in this world is a foregone conclusion just because you say it is. That’s how I’ve always been, and that’s the kind of wrestler this business deserves to see at the top of the mountain. And yes, I did call myself a WRESTLER because that’s exactly what I am, regardless of how you choose to define the term.

You’re right about one thing Matt: even if I know you were referring to it in a manner that’s meant to take a shot at a close friend of mine who has a few issues of his own with you, I DID bust my ass to earn my shot at the World Title come Sunday night, just like I’m going to bust my ass to make you understand exactly what could await you at Rise to Greatness if that’s how the chips fall.

Maybe I’m not considered ‘World Class’ and that’s fine… I know, deep down, that there are a lot of other ways you can look at me.

And after Breakdown Matt?

You’ll come to understand EXACTLY who I am.