Aaron Blackbourne vs. Max Kane

[Team Desire]

Aaron Blackbourne vs. Max Kane
 
 
 
1 RP Limit for singles;
Deadline: Noon ET Tuesday, March 5, 2019

[Ruppy]

OOC: This is promo-only and I'm a little frustrated about that fact. I had plans in the works, even if I had to shuffle them a bit with the revelation that Blackbourne's title match is happening next Breakdown as opposed to the PPV, but the fact of the matter is that I'm just so creatively drained right now. Over the past few days I've been in a nonstop frenzy trying to finish up a ton of design work I've been doing for a group I've become a big part of at the PAX gaming conventions even though I won't be attending the one in East coming up in about a month's time, and in the process I've pretty much run my well of creativity dry. I did start a CD for this, but because of that I couldn't really figure out a good way to run it where I wanted to take it, so I'd rather at least get something up for this match that I'm somewhat happy with and take the extra few days to make sure that I've got everything better figured out for the PPV. I'm really sorry guys... if this keeps up I may need to consider taking a hiatus so I can recharge because this has been happening way too much for even my own liking so far this year.
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Do I still want to work for SCW?

I know, that sounds like a question straight out of left field, but it’s a question that one could very likely throw out to someone in my current position. There are many in this business today that are only here for the spotlight, the championship gold and every single other award and accolade they can pick up along the way. Many might see succeeding here as a springboard into other bigger, better things or simply a chance to achieve immortality in a sense. But if one who’s looking for any of those things happens to find they’re getting nowhere close to any of it, that’s when they tend to ask themselves this very question, trying to decipher if it’s worth continuing on even if the effort may seem futile or if the smarter call might be to just throw in the towel and walk while they still have their perceived dignity.

Look at where I stand when it comes to SCW right now. Despite a rollercoaster ride in my rookie year here that still saw me net two TV Title reigns and plenty of attention as a potential bright future star for the company, my attempts to make this year even better have only seen me secure one victory so far, albeit one that gained me a title opportunity. Even in the face of the defiance I’ve been willing to show to a power-hungry tyrant who had a hand in making sure the end of the previous year was one I’d mostly like to forget, I’ve virtually been lost in the shuffle of this ever-expanding war to decide who will be in charge going forward, made even more chaotic by Mr. D choosing to step down as the full-fledged decision-maker around here and the return of Tactical Warfare to finally decide once and for all who’s calling the shots in his place. One might even believe that the fact my opportunity was bumped from the pay-per-view card to the following Breakdown because of the champion being drafted into that final battle would have me feeling like I’m being jerked around for someone’s amusement.

So it has to be asked again… do I still want to work for SCW?

Without a doubt.

Call me crazy if you want, because it wouldn't be the first time I’ve heard that thrown my way. The fact of the matter is… I love the wrestling business. Despite the rut it seems to have fallen in for many out there, I don’t have a problem trying to carve my own path by embracing the creative freedom that makes me who I am and championing that very belief against those in the world who can’t see the benefits through their mass-produced greed and egotism. Sure, maybe I’m a little put down right now by the fact that I haven’t been able to ‘make this my year’ like I and so many others who support me have wanted so far, but those thinking this is going to be the nail in my coffin as far as sticking around and trying to tough it out need to remember that in addition to being a wrestler, I’m also an artist. I’m used to my efforts being rejected and having to go back to the drawing board, I’m used to being lost in the shuffle because of other matters that need to take priority and, most importantly, I’m no stranger to having to scratch and claw to earn your place no matter how many times I get shot down or told my efforts are all in vain.

The moment I actually start believing that is the moment when it actually becomes a fact.

The next few weeks aren’t going to be easy for me, and not just because of matters pertaining to the wrestling business, but those will be saved for a time when I feel I’m truly ready to talk about them. Maybe I won’t be walking into Retribution trying to see if I can walk out a champion once again… but that doesn’t mean I can’t make that night special for an entirely different reason and prove in the process that I’m ready for whatever will get thrown my way when the time does come, and that certainly doesn’t mean I’m going to allow myself to have any more missteps along the way if I can help it. As the old proverb goes: ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,’ and all it takes is one win for me to start that journey to turn it all around.

Of course, I know that Max Kane isn’t going to let me have it that easily.

Max is a guy I want to have so much respect for, especially considering he’s a pretty creative guy in his own right with all the different ways he tries to find that proverbial adrenaline rush to satisfy all his thrillseeking needs, no less the sheer amount of ways he can find to throw caution to the wind. I’m also glad to see that he’s stepped away from The Network and gone from being just another puppet on a string to being his own man and embracing what makes him who he is, which is refreshing to see in this day and age when most seem content with selling their souls and identity as long as they can get paid and feel like they have some semblance of power.

I want to tell Max that I completely respect him… but I can’t say that and mean it a hundred percent when I know that to him I’m just another target in the drop zone.

I’m sorry Max, but as much as I appreciate the creative thought behind it, even I can’t completely condone your pure recklessness every second of every match. There’s always a time and a place for everything, and while a creative risk or two is one thing in the name of doing something different, if that’s all you ever try to cram into one sitting then it’s going to lose its luster eventually. I’m not saying that what you do is necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that even in this sense there has to be some order to balance out the chaos in how you approach things, and the more you rely too heavily on one and lose sense of the other the more you find yourself sliding backward in due time, struggling to figure out where it all went wrong.

Believe me when I say I’ve spent more than my fair share of time trying to find that very sense of balance for myself.

I know you have your reasons for doing so and will no doubt tell me all about them, which I can admire. But there’s a bit more to it than that. You see… your reckless abandon… it reminds me an awful lot of something in particular I mentioned earlier that I still feel I need a little more time before I can feel comfortable discussing it publicly. It’s a reminder of how wrong things can go in a moment’s notice and how quickly that feeling of invincibility can fade the moment you find it’s led you into a grave situation. To have known such a scenario happening within my life somewhere… I would never wish that kind of fate upon anybody else, and as much as I’m sure it usually doesn’t faze you, Max, I would hate to see your constant desire to throw your own body around with little regard for your own well-being eventually cause you the kind of harm that would do more than just end your career.

We all take risks in order to do the things we love… almost all of us wouldn’t even be in this sport if that wasn’t the case. But there’s still some degree of control as to how much risk you willingly invite into your life and career, and if this is the game you’re going to play Max, then I’m afraid that for more than just a much-needed momentum boost on my own end, but more so for you to know that sometimes you do, in fact, need to dial it back a bit, I’m afraid I can’t let you walk out of Indianapolis with a victory over me.

I just hope that when I’m finally ready to talk more… you understand where I’m coming from.