Post by Jay Stevens on Mar 3, 2022 19:46:00 GMT -5
What does it mean to be the World's Heavyweight Champion?
Recognition.
Glory.
Burden.
Power.
Excellence.
It's all of those things and more.
But the true meaning is defined by the man.
=/=
Long Beach, California.
Cruiserweight Cup plus three.
Crowning of a Champion minus nineteen.
Jay Stevens, having enjoyed a night of celebration, is back to work at the TDU training facility. The gym is bursting with positive energy, everyone feeding off of the night the team had at "Heart of Halifax."
Jay finishes a grappling lesson in the ring with the students and signals for the group to take a quick break. The front doors fly open and Nicole Anderson zooms into the gym on a longboard. She stops at the mat, scoops the board up and points to the office. Jay drops put of the ring and walks to meet her.
Jay Stevens: Skateboarding to work now?
Anderson gives him a confused look as they enter the office and sit down around the desk.
Nicole Anderson: What? No, I drove here. I just rode in from the car.
Stevens: That's only like, thirty yards.
Anderson: Yeah, and that is far. Unlike you, I was out late last night letting L.A. show me it's sexy side.
Stevens: Yeah, I texted you earlier to see if you were coming in today. It's almost noon.
Anderson: Only noon? I could have slept in more.
He sighs.
Anderson: Dude, you have no idea. I met up with these girls at Elevate and we were dancing it up and one of them says "let's go to the Reserve" and I'm like "what is the Reserve?" and we hop over there and no joke, it's a club in an old bank.
Jay feigns interest as he starts changing into fresh clothes.
Stevens: Oh yeah?
Anderson: Yeah, big ass vault with the big door and everything. So that's cool and all but I am a Miami girl and this is all super white bread.
Stevens: Uh-huh.
Anderson: So they take me to The Mayan and let me tell you, this place has everything. Pounding EDM… fluorescent lights everywhere…
Stevens: Mm-hmm.
Anderson: Open-toe sandals…
Stevens: Yeah…
Anderson: A giant chandelier made of dildos…
Stevens: Hmm.
Anderson: I twerked on a Sasquatch…
Stevens: Oh yeah? Cool.
A pink sneaker goes whizzing by Jay's head.
Anderson: You're not listening to me at all!
Stevens: I'm sorry, Nic, I just have a lot on my mind. Biggest match of my life coming up.
Anderson: Sure, but you used to also have fun. Work hard, play hard. All work and no play makes Jay a dull boy…
He raises his hand to shush her.
Stevens: Things are a little different now.
Anderson: Only because you're letting them be different.
Her eyes widen with a realization and then horror.
Anderson: Oh God, is this what we have to look forward to if you become Champion? Just a dull husk of a serious wrestler-man?
Stevens: What's wrong with being serious about this? You, of all people, should understand how important this is to me, it's what we've talked about for years!
Anderson: Dude, there's nothing wrong with being serious about your career, but you've taken it to a dangerous level. You're becoming obsessed.
Stevens: I am trying to avoid…
She swiftly cuts him off.
Anderson: I swear to all that is holy, if you start talking about "avoiding becoming like your dad" again, my other shoe is going to find its way into your ass.
She springs to her feet and grabs Jay with her hands on both sides of his head, giving it a "gentle" shake.
Anderson: Wake up and get your shit together!
Jay brushes her hands away but she stands her ground in front of him.
Anderson: Your dad was a mess at times, but none of that ever really even hit you. I mean, shit Jay, if you wanted to avoid being like your dad so much why the fuck did you walk in his footsteps and become a wrestler in the first place?
He moves past her and takes a seat at the desk, seemingly searching for space to ponder her question, but Nicole doesn't relent.
Anderson: You seem so focused on the fact that Steve and Ty liked to have too much fun at times that you've just let yourself have none.
Stevens: I have fun.
Anderson: When?! Because I don't see it. When we were coming up, we used to have fun all the time. Hell, we had fun wrestling but now you just treat the whole thing like it's some type of mission you're on to be responsible. And isn't that what we got into this to avoid? Responsibility?
He interjects more forcefully this time.
Stevens: I am just trying to avoid the pitfalls of… everyone who came before us. Just because I'm in the same business doesn't mean I want to make their mistakes.
Anderson: So you've decided not to make any and that means just spending day and night in the gym, never going out into the world, never feeling anything but responsibility and the weight of the world. You're never living in the moment, you're always reliving the past and dreading the future. Not much of a way to live, Jay-rock.
Jay stares at his friend with the realization that she's not wrong.
Anderson: You need to loosen up, man. You're wound tight as fuuuuuuuuuck and honestly, it's getting a little weird.
Stevens: How is it getting weird?
Anderson: We're twenty-two and…
Stevens: You're twenty-four.
Anderson: We're twenty-two and living in the second-best city in the world to be twenty-two in!
Stevens: Second-best?
Anderson: Dude, South Beach. My heart will always be in Miami. That was definitely the best city to be seventeen in. Remember that time I got you that fake I.D. and Steve and Ty got mad because, what did they say?
Stevens: "It gives us proper villains a bad name to have you walk around with something so amateur."
Anderson: Ha! That's right and then they came back with that legit Florida state I.D. for you that said you were twenty-five.
They both laugh.
Anderson: See? There's still some life in there somewhere. You need to live in the moment and just have some fun. Even Dusty and The Old Man are trying.
Stevens: You have to know Dusty is going to kill you for what you keep doing to his dog.
Anderson: Pssh. He loves it.
Nicole saunters across the room and collects her previously flung footwear.
Anderson: Now let's get to work.
Jay just throws his arms up in disbelief.
Stevens: You just lectured me about not working non-stop!
Anderson: Yeah, but I had like, thirty Jello shots last night and then overslept by like, six hours. You need to help me work it off so I'm staying looking good on TikTok and the 'Gram.
Stevens: Alright, let's do some core, then.
Anderson: Sweet. I got simps and subs to keep happy.
Stevens: You want to go out later, get some drinks?
Anderson: On a Sunday night?! Gross.
She throws her arm around Jay and pushes him through the office door and into the gym.
Anderson: Plus, we have to get up early… we have a World Championship to win!
=/=
The opportunity to compete for the crown. To be recognized as the absolute best.
I didn't know how I would feel when this day came.
I'm excited.
Nervous.
Confident.
The voices of doubt from the shadows are quiet, silenced by my resolve that I can do this. I can be Champion.
Chris Card is a challenge… perhaps even the greatest challenge I've ever been faced with. His path to the title is the stuff of legends.
Donzig. Rob Riot. Jeff Andrews.
To secure a win over one of them gives you enough clout to call your shots for a while. To beat all three in one tournament and claim the ultimate prize?
Like I said, legends start with a feat like that. But the achievements of Chris Card isn’t the story being told. He's just laying the groundwork for a far more legendary tale.
Mine.
The hard work? It pays off. The sacrifices? They become worth it once your hand is raised in victory.
And I have sacrificed. I've devoted every second, every breath, for this chance at destiny.
With victory comes glory and with glory comes the spoils. My eyes are opening to that fact more lately. I've always seen the acknowledgement, the belt itself, as the prize.
I never thought beyond that until now because it was always such a far-off idea. Abstract, not reality.
But the reality is that my legend begins at Crowning of a Champion, when I become the next World Heavyweight Champion.
