Sawyer
Posts : 19
Join date : 2023-12-04
 |  Subject: The Long Defeat - I  Wed Jun 12, 2024 1:14 pm | |
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Sawyer embraced it. He couldn’t get enough of it. It served as fuel to his fire and he knew The Valor Championship was a testament and a symbolic representation of the aforementioned grind. Sawyer did not flinch staring into the jaws of adversity. He wouldn’t allow himself to be defined by failure. He was resolute in his ways and he has built a reputation for himself that he was proud of but never content with.
He couldn’t help but smile to himself inside as he watched the rain droplets wiggle down the face of the train car window. There was serenity even on gloomy days and he had to remind himself that it was OK to loosen up but not lose control. One must nurture a healthy balance to prosper and to keep their sanity from breaking down and coming apart from the seams. Nobody said it would be easy. Sawyer never thought it was, but the moment anything starts to become easy no matter the circumstance or task, is the moment it’s time to move on.
And that was the hardest thing to do of all for most.
Sawyer wasn’t like most.
Everything Sawyer did had reason and logic behind it. He is not calculated or malicious. He is not reckless and he is not prone to making many mistakes but he is not perfect or untouchable. Such a mindset is the very antithesis of what Sawyer stood for. Such a mindset would lead him nowhere. Such a mindset would cost Sawyer The Valor Championship and would nullify his entire reign completely. Such a mindset would cut his career short in the blink of an eye. The Valor Championship has been a godsend to Sawyer and he’ll even go as far as to admit it. It has lifted him from such an ugly darkness spearheaded by a tumultuous past. Emotional scars are not easy to move past or let go of. They were scars for a reason but they were not game-enders. Sawyer is a puzzle and The Valor Championship was a huge missing piece but that doesn’t mean the entirety was complete.
Sawyer could see from a distance, Lady Liberty in all her glory. Her torch was held high and proud as it should be. Sawyer thought she had seen a lot over the years and if she could talk, oh, the stories she would tell. She was the guardian of the city and she has stood the test of time.
At Conquest Colosseum, Sawyer was hell bent on doing the same.
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“There’s so much you can learn from the Statue of Liberty. She has stood triumphant in New York City bordering 140 years. She has never scrutinized others or given a cold shoulder to those who feel she is an outlet. She is a torch bearer, a beacon of light, and a symbol of hope. I can only emulate some of her characteristics but my job is not to overwatch a city. My obligation; my oath is to inspire the voiceless. To instill some semblance of belief in the generations of wrestling fans before and after me. To defend The Valor Championship with the utmost devotion and respect it deserves. The Valor Championship is not a mere toy or a ‘prize’. When I bled buckets in the Chamber of Valor I knew I would have to sacrifice life and limb. I would have to crush the illusion that anybody else could carry The Valor Championship on their shoulder. There was no going back and yet it is only the beginning. I have barely gotten my feet wet, but it has felt like years since I first stepped foot in PCW and dismantled Jonah Aspinwall.
Just as Ceridwen did.
Why do you think I sought her out on Triumph? It was not a coincidence by any stretch of the imagination. She has an unmistakable aura and has cast it well in PCW. She is ice cold and she is calculated when she has to be. I see something in her that many in this industry lack. Ambition. Drive. Tenacity. Vital tools that make up a budding star. As much as those qualities are important to have, they do not tell the entire story. Ceridwen is no stranger to PCW; she has been here longer than I have. She has cut her teeth with the best of them. She has made something of herself as a former Prodigy Champion but apart from herself and James Christ, I have slain every single Prodigy Champion that stood before me. It is not dumb luck, it is not a fluke but I will not get ahead of myself. I will not dismiss you. I will not underestimate you. Just know I have taken down every type of champion there is in PCW. They came from different walks of life and ended up as another casualty. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy to my methods. Everyone is different. I simply fight with vigor, valiance, and the spirit of a champion. I’ve conquered many household names but not without trial and error. PCW is chock-full of talent, you included, Ceridwen. I just wonder if the lights will be too bright for you. I approached you without hesitance. I knew you were a shoo-in as my next opponent.
That doesn’t change.
Have you changed, Ceridwen?
Have you evolved as a competitor? That is the proverbial elephant in the room. You can dance in circles around middling prey like Jonah Aspinwall and Fallon Stone. They are mere confidence builders, still trying to find their footing, but so are you. The Prodigy Championship is a hallmark of excellence. The Prodigy Championship represents the future, the what could be, the untapped potential, and perhaps a bridge to The PCW World Championship. The loss of The Prodigy Championship was also enough to break you. I cut down the man who dethroned you in twelve minutes. I am not using it as leverage, I am using it to demonstrate that I am not Maximus Steele. Up to this point, he was your toughest challenge and ultimately he ended up being your undoing. I don’t care. You have found your way back when everyone wrote you off. I find that admirable. I find that inspirational but when I say I’m not Maximus Steele, I say that as the biggest threat you have ever faced. My question to you is, will you face the music and accept your defeat with a sense of nobility? Will you shake my hand after we push each other to the brink? Will you look me in the eyes like the warrior I believe you are?
Or will you leave?
Again.
That is your choice to make. That is your burden to bear. I cannot put myself in your shoes. I can only focus on myself and my capabilities. The onus is on you to show up and tear the house down with me, the only catch is I will leave you beneath the rubble where we stood. While we both have our demons, I was not the one who vanished when things went belly up. Instead, I took my flaws head on. I dared myself to make the uphill climb. To set an example for others. I’m no hero. I don’t wear a flowing cape or fly through the marshmallow clouds. I don’t answer to anyone’s beck and call.
Come hell or high water I will leave everything out there for The Valor Championship. I expect you to understand, but I don’t expect you to believe in the outcome. This will be a long defeat for you Ceridwen. It will stick with you. It will haunt you, especially after months adrift. After months of scratching and clawing tooth and nail to get back in the position you are now. I will not get caught up in the constant seesaw of emotional highs and lows. I have a championship to defend and I will do so with no regrets.
As I leave you flat on the canvas lamenting over yours.” | |
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