Post by EmbodimentOfFear on Apr 24, 2015 22:20:43 GMT -5
April 24
I find that I actually miss No Holds Barred.
I would never have anticipated having such a view. The event as a whole was always a weak concept, built on the misguided belief that mindless violence has inherent value. Yet it was nothing but a detraction when Cypress Morgan and Travis Roberts wore blindfolds, unnecessary when Travis Pierce swung on a pendulum above the ring, and silly when Ezekiel Pax won a triple threat Bushfire match. The first UGWC World Heavyweight Champion was crowned in a match known as an “Extra Grande Double Shot” Match. The event is a black mark upon the legacy of this company and it is for the better that the shallow event has been set aside in favor of a concept that is both more personal as well as meaningful.
Yet for us to step inside the Hall of Mirrors would have been so appropriate, would it not? Nevermind the potential for “The Vain One” to be so taken with himself he forgets what he is supposed to be doing, but it is a match that speaks to the very core of the issue in play, that of who we are and what we hold inside.
There is more to this match than an outcome to be determined by skill or talent. So often an analyst points at a victorious competitor and says that he simply “wanted it more.” For both Wallace and myself, the choice is not about wanting more, but what it is that we want most. What is more important, a possession that gives us status, or the core of our identity itself?
Static.
A poorly lit room. A backwards chair. The Embodiment of Fear, seated backwards on the chair, such that his body faces the camera itself. His head tilted down.
“Vain.”
His head lifts so that he looks directly at the camera.
“It is more than just a moniker, of course. It is the venial sin you have chosen to both embody and embrace. Yet you are an equal opportunity sinner, are you not?”
Phrixus stands and slowly walks counter-clockwise around the chair, maintaining focus towards the camera, and keeping his left hand on top of the chair.
“A gluttonous need to participate in multiple matches. A discontent in the present that leads to covetous behavior. A greed in which a singular championship is not enough. A lust for power and fame. A love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one’s neighbor.”
Phrixus pauses halfway around the chair, opens his arms and looks upwards.
“A proud look. A lying tongue. Hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that devises wicked plots. Feet that are swift to run into mischief. A deceitful witness that utters lies, him that sows discord among his brethren.”
Phrixus places his hand back on the chair and continues his walk.
“What makes acedia a deadly sin is a failure to fully utilize one’s gifts and talents. Your avarice blocks your focus from being singular. What you have is never enough, you want and need more and more of what others already have. Your need to pervade yourself throughout the card wears you. Your many monikers mask your lack of true identity and the inadequacies you know yourself to possess. And of course, hubris leads to nemesis. I now am yours.”
He sits back in his original position.
“The contradiction of course, is that vanity is the fear of appearing original. It is thus a lack of pride, but not necessarily a lack of originality. Perhaps what it is that you fear most, is that I will do it better than you ever could.”
Static.
April 26
I am written off every so often. I know this. It has proven to be an invaluable asset on multiple occasions.
Yet here I am in the present as the winner of the Global Challenge, the first person to ever do so twice, and the winner of the Massive Melee, the first person to ever do so from the second entrant slot, and the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship.
If I defeat Wallace at Kobayashi Maru, I will be required for a time to walk in his shoes, to embrace his actions and values, in many ways to become an antithesis to what I have intended myself to be for so long.
The question I am faced with is not if I have the courage or the willingness to do what is necessary to reclaim my place on top of the peak.
Rather, the question is whether I have the strength not to.
I find that I actually miss No Holds Barred.
I would never have anticipated having such a view. The event as a whole was always a weak concept, built on the misguided belief that mindless violence has inherent value. Yet it was nothing but a detraction when Cypress Morgan and Travis Roberts wore blindfolds, unnecessary when Travis Pierce swung on a pendulum above the ring, and silly when Ezekiel Pax won a triple threat Bushfire match. The first UGWC World Heavyweight Champion was crowned in a match known as an “Extra Grande Double Shot” Match. The event is a black mark upon the legacy of this company and it is for the better that the shallow event has been set aside in favor of a concept that is both more personal as well as meaningful.
Yet for us to step inside the Hall of Mirrors would have been so appropriate, would it not? Nevermind the potential for “The Vain One” to be so taken with himself he forgets what he is supposed to be doing, but it is a match that speaks to the very core of the issue in play, that of who we are and what we hold inside.
There is more to this match than an outcome to be determined by skill or talent. So often an analyst points at a victorious competitor and says that he simply “wanted it more.” For both Wallace and myself, the choice is not about wanting more, but what it is that we want most. What is more important, a possession that gives us status, or the core of our identity itself?
* * * * *
Static.
A poorly lit room. A backwards chair. The Embodiment of Fear, seated backwards on the chair, such that his body faces the camera itself. His head tilted down.
“Vain.”
His head lifts so that he looks directly at the camera.
“It is more than just a moniker, of course. It is the venial sin you have chosen to both embody and embrace. Yet you are an equal opportunity sinner, are you not?”
Phrixus stands and slowly walks counter-clockwise around the chair, maintaining focus towards the camera, and keeping his left hand on top of the chair.
“A gluttonous need to participate in multiple matches. A discontent in the present that leads to covetous behavior. A greed in which a singular championship is not enough. A lust for power and fame. A love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one’s neighbor.”
Phrixus pauses halfway around the chair, opens his arms and looks upwards.
“A proud look. A lying tongue. Hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that devises wicked plots. Feet that are swift to run into mischief. A deceitful witness that utters lies, him that sows discord among his brethren.”
Phrixus places his hand back on the chair and continues his walk.
“What makes acedia a deadly sin is a failure to fully utilize one’s gifts and talents. Your avarice blocks your focus from being singular. What you have is never enough, you want and need more and more of what others already have. Your need to pervade yourself throughout the card wears you. Your many monikers mask your lack of true identity and the inadequacies you know yourself to possess. And of course, hubris leads to nemesis. I now am yours.”
He sits back in his original position.
“The contradiction of course, is that vanity is the fear of appearing original. It is thus a lack of pride, but not necessarily a lack of originality. Perhaps what it is that you fear most, is that I will do it better than you ever could.”
Static.
* * * * *
April 26
I am written off every so often. I know this. It has proven to be an invaluable asset on multiple occasions.
Yet here I am in the present as the winner of the Global Challenge, the first person to ever do so twice, and the winner of the Massive Melee, the first person to ever do so from the second entrant slot, and the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship.
If I defeat Wallace at Kobayashi Maru, I will be required for a time to walk in his shoes, to embrace his actions and values, in many ways to become an antithesis to what I have intended myself to be for so long.
The question I am faced with is not if I have the courage or the willingness to do what is necessary to reclaim my place on top of the peak.
Rather, the question is whether I have the strength not to.
2013, '18, '23 
2013 
