Another Press Conference, Another Viral Incident
Nov 19, 2023 20:59:59 GMT
Roy Vezina and Matt Pulver like this
Post by AJ Knight on Nov 19, 2023 20:59:59 GMT
The camera comes up on the press conference called by reigning Cruiserweight Champion AJ Knight, during which he has promised big news regarding his next title defense. The champ arrives with the belt over his shoulder, he and Duke Womack share passive aggressive pleasantries as AJ takes his seat. Duke Womack steps up to the podium.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, thank you for coming. As promised, there is some exciting news, and with that I’ll turn things over to our champion. And since he loves the sound of his own voice, he will be taking questions. Ladies and Gentlemen: The World Cruiserweight champion, AJ Knight!”
There’s a round of applause as AJ stands up, rolling his eyes at Duke Womack’s intro, the disdain evident. AJ leans into the mic.
“Thanks for that lovely intro, Dukey. You truly are the shit.”
There’s a small chuckle from the assembled press at AJ’s wit (if that’s what you want to call it). It’s now Duke’s turn to roll his eyes at AJ.
“Now, onto the reason you’re all here today. As you all know, our next event is scheduled for the 4th of December, for the Hijo de Pollo memorial tournament. As you may have noticed this also means that there is no title defense scheduled for the remainder of the year. Now rest assured it was not my decision to have a series of non-title and tag matches to close out the year, so I went to the Laurentide Athletic commission, I went to corporate, and I did Duke Womack’s job for him, and I can now announce this title WILL be defended at HIJO. There will be not one, not two, but THREE championship matches on December 4th! That is because, that night every tournament match in which the Cruiserweight World Champion is involved the championship will be on the line!”
There’s a general buzz amongst the assembled press at that news, AJ soaks it in as he continues to speak.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the bar has been raised tonight, so to the rest of the participants I only have this to say: Step up your game. Now if you have any questions for the most interesting man in the sport, here’s your chance to ask them!”
A red-haired lady stands up raising her hand. AJ points to her.
"Naomi Jordan, Piledriver Press, we have heard rumblings about your struggle to make the cruiserweight limit. Any validity to it?"
AJ chuckles and scratches the back of his head.
“Well, there’s no sense denying what you can clearly see with your eyes, right? Early in my career I was walking around at about 220, and I was a semi regular participant in Jr. Heavyweight or Cruiserweight tournaments such as The Sword of Lite. But back then I was a 22–23-year-old kid. I’m almost 30 now, and when you get older, you get bigger. So yeah, 225’s not exactly my natural weight anymore, it takes some doing to get down there, but overall? I’ve never been averse to some hard work, it’s just one more challenge for me to overcome.”
A somewhat pudgy man with a combover stands up, AJ acknowledges him.
"Chet Butler, Wrestling Odyssey AJ, I can't help but feel this is your attempt to catch Pulver's four defense record in, well, record time."
AJ looks a bit irritated that Matt’s name came up in this. Regardless AJ just gives a shrug before beginning to speak.
“You’re close to being right. This is about records, this is about legacy, it’s about making a legendary title reign, but as nice as it will be to say I took this record from Matt, it’s not about him. I want to break records regardless of who holds them. Anybody can win a title. Three seconds is all it takes. You find three seconds in the right match, then no matter what the history books will say you were a champion. Nobody can take that from you. For all time the history books will have your name, the day you won it and the day you lost it. What it doesn’t mean is that anybody’s going to remember you or that you had it. For instance, does anybody here really remember former Heritage champion Alex Kincaid?”
There seems to be a dawning realization among many in attendance that, yes Alex Kincaid did in fact exist at some point.
“I don’t want to just be a guy with a title. A guy who won when it counted and then just used this belt to hold his pants up for a few months. I wanted to do something with it, something nobody had ever done before and that’s when it hit me. 2017, Corey Cruelty Heritage Champion, great title reign, Heritage Cup single elimination tournament, belt on the line in each match, makes the finals, but comes up just short, 2018, James Edwards same deal, and same ending. Just shy of a legendary feat. So close, but oh so far. Now me? I want to do that, see Corey Cruelty was good but he peaked so early because he refused to grow. James Edwards was a damn fine competitor, but he lacked the vision to accomplish legendary feats. What I want to do is show what separates great wrestlers from all-time great wrestlers. December 4th, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
A skinny somewhat nerdy looking man stands up. AJ gestures towards him.
“AJ, Bobby Carson from the PolloBuckIt news site. With your recent championship win, will we see you add any high flying moves to your arsenal?”
That question honestly seems to amuse AJ a bit, as he’s grinning and laughing to himself before answering.
“Interesting question Bobby. You know what I love about Pro wrestling? Just how many ways there are to win. And they’re pretty much all valid. When I was growing up Julian Cutlass was my favorite wrestler, but I loved high fliers. When I grew up I wanted to wrestle like Julian Cutlass but with more flips.”
AJ’s nods earnestly at that statement, as the assembled press tries to envision Julian Cutlass doing anything at all from the top rope.
“Now obviously neither of those things happened. That’s because once I started training, I realized a few things. One: I learned just how hard the mat is. Like you see people getting slammed and you see the mat bounce on TV, and you’re left thinking ‘Oh, it cushions their fall quite a bit!’ And then your instructor tells you to throw yourself back first to the mat and you knock the wind out of yourself. A lot of people seem to think that delivering high impact offense doesn’t hurt if you’re the one delivering it, but you’re absorbing some of that impact too. You do a moonsault and you miss, you’re coming right down on your knees. If you hit, you’re still coming down on your knees, but at least there’s somebody to break your fall. I figured hitting the mat from a high place voluntarily was a bit counterproductive.”
AJ holds up a second finger.
“The second thing I realized is just how much set up it takes to try and do those sorts of moves well. And that set up takes a lot of natural athleticism that frankly, I don’t have. I’m honestly super impressed with the skill and athleticism of the people who can actually do that, because I sure as hell can’t. You kind of have to build your moveset around those types of moves, so that it slots naturally into your fundamental offense, and frankly, I just don’t see where I’d fit it. The Tornado DDT against Pulver was really spur of the moment and was situationally useful. So, to answer your question, I don’t think I’m going to add any to my regular moveset to fit better with the Cruiserweights, but if the opportunity arises and I see an opening, who knows.
Another reporter, slightly older, stands up. He’s got a bit of a smirk on his face as he begins to speak.
“AJ, Jeff Thomas, Great Lakes Post. What is the current status of your ongoing relationship with Becky Chande?”
You can hear a pin drop as any trace of AJ’s jovial nature in his previous answer quickly fades.
“That’s uh.. That’s real funny, real cute. How about you come up closer where my boot can hear you? You’ve got some nerve, you know that? I come up here, and I take time out of my day, my busy schedule to answer your questions, and you come in and try to dredge up something from my private life that happened 5 years ago, and was none of your business to begin with, just to get a headline! You feeling strong, my friend? Are you feeling brave? How about you come up here and repeat that question! I fucking dare you!”
At this point Duke Womack comes up and tries to pull AJ away from the mic, AJ pushes Duke Womack away from him. The mic picks up this exchange.
“Get your hands off me!”
“For God sake AJ you’re the champion! Act like one! Represent this company with some dignity!"
AJ scoffs and slings the belt across his shoulder, AJ shouts this at Duke as his back is turned while walking away.
“You’re welcome in advance for the sellout on the 4th! I’ll be waiting for my thank you card.”
Duke Womack irritably signals for the feed to be cut, as the screen fades to black.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, thank you for coming. As promised, there is some exciting news, and with that I’ll turn things over to our champion. And since he loves the sound of his own voice, he will be taking questions. Ladies and Gentlemen: The World Cruiserweight champion, AJ Knight!”
There’s a round of applause as AJ stands up, rolling his eyes at Duke Womack’s intro, the disdain evident. AJ leans into the mic.
“Thanks for that lovely intro, Dukey. You truly are the shit.”
There’s a small chuckle from the assembled press at AJ’s wit (if that’s what you want to call it). It’s now Duke’s turn to roll his eyes at AJ.
“Now, onto the reason you’re all here today. As you all know, our next event is scheduled for the 4th of December, for the Hijo de Pollo memorial tournament. As you may have noticed this also means that there is no title defense scheduled for the remainder of the year. Now rest assured it was not my decision to have a series of non-title and tag matches to close out the year, so I went to the Laurentide Athletic commission, I went to corporate, and I did Duke Womack’s job for him, and I can now announce this title WILL be defended at HIJO. There will be not one, not two, but THREE championship matches on December 4th! That is because, that night every tournament match in which the Cruiserweight World Champion is involved the championship will be on the line!”
There’s a general buzz amongst the assembled press at that news, AJ soaks it in as he continues to speak.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the bar has been raised tonight, so to the rest of the participants I only have this to say: Step up your game. Now if you have any questions for the most interesting man in the sport, here’s your chance to ask them!”
A red-haired lady stands up raising her hand. AJ points to her.
"Naomi Jordan, Piledriver Press, we have heard rumblings about your struggle to make the cruiserweight limit. Any validity to it?"
AJ chuckles and scratches the back of his head.
“Well, there’s no sense denying what you can clearly see with your eyes, right? Early in my career I was walking around at about 220, and I was a semi regular participant in Jr. Heavyweight or Cruiserweight tournaments such as The Sword of Lite. But back then I was a 22–23-year-old kid. I’m almost 30 now, and when you get older, you get bigger. So yeah, 225’s not exactly my natural weight anymore, it takes some doing to get down there, but overall? I’ve never been averse to some hard work, it’s just one more challenge for me to overcome.”
A somewhat pudgy man with a combover stands up, AJ acknowledges him.
"Chet Butler, Wrestling Odyssey AJ, I can't help but feel this is your attempt to catch Pulver's four defense record in, well, record time."
AJ looks a bit irritated that Matt’s name came up in this. Regardless AJ just gives a shrug before beginning to speak.
“You’re close to being right. This is about records, this is about legacy, it’s about making a legendary title reign, but as nice as it will be to say I took this record from Matt, it’s not about him. I want to break records regardless of who holds them. Anybody can win a title. Three seconds is all it takes. You find three seconds in the right match, then no matter what the history books will say you were a champion. Nobody can take that from you. For all time the history books will have your name, the day you won it and the day you lost it. What it doesn’t mean is that anybody’s going to remember you or that you had it. For instance, does anybody here really remember former Heritage champion Alex Kincaid?”
There seems to be a dawning realization among many in attendance that, yes Alex Kincaid did in fact exist at some point.
“I don’t want to just be a guy with a title. A guy who won when it counted and then just used this belt to hold his pants up for a few months. I wanted to do something with it, something nobody had ever done before and that’s when it hit me. 2017, Corey Cruelty Heritage Champion, great title reign, Heritage Cup single elimination tournament, belt on the line in each match, makes the finals, but comes up just short, 2018, James Edwards same deal, and same ending. Just shy of a legendary feat. So close, but oh so far. Now me? I want to do that, see Corey Cruelty was good but he peaked so early because he refused to grow. James Edwards was a damn fine competitor, but he lacked the vision to accomplish legendary feats. What I want to do is show what separates great wrestlers from all-time great wrestlers. December 4th, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
A skinny somewhat nerdy looking man stands up. AJ gestures towards him.
“AJ, Bobby Carson from the PolloBuckIt news site. With your recent championship win, will we see you add any high flying moves to your arsenal?”
That question honestly seems to amuse AJ a bit, as he’s grinning and laughing to himself before answering.
“Interesting question Bobby. You know what I love about Pro wrestling? Just how many ways there are to win. And they’re pretty much all valid. When I was growing up Julian Cutlass was my favorite wrestler, but I loved high fliers. When I grew up I wanted to wrestle like Julian Cutlass but with more flips.”
AJ’s nods earnestly at that statement, as the assembled press tries to envision Julian Cutlass doing anything at all from the top rope.
“Now obviously neither of those things happened. That’s because once I started training, I realized a few things. One: I learned just how hard the mat is. Like you see people getting slammed and you see the mat bounce on TV, and you’re left thinking ‘Oh, it cushions their fall quite a bit!’ And then your instructor tells you to throw yourself back first to the mat and you knock the wind out of yourself. A lot of people seem to think that delivering high impact offense doesn’t hurt if you’re the one delivering it, but you’re absorbing some of that impact too. You do a moonsault and you miss, you’re coming right down on your knees. If you hit, you’re still coming down on your knees, but at least there’s somebody to break your fall. I figured hitting the mat from a high place voluntarily was a bit counterproductive.”
AJ holds up a second finger.
“The second thing I realized is just how much set up it takes to try and do those sorts of moves well. And that set up takes a lot of natural athleticism that frankly, I don’t have. I’m honestly super impressed with the skill and athleticism of the people who can actually do that, because I sure as hell can’t. You kind of have to build your moveset around those types of moves, so that it slots naturally into your fundamental offense, and frankly, I just don’t see where I’d fit it. The Tornado DDT against Pulver was really spur of the moment and was situationally useful. So, to answer your question, I don’t think I’m going to add any to my regular moveset to fit better with the Cruiserweights, but if the opportunity arises and I see an opening, who knows.
Another reporter, slightly older, stands up. He’s got a bit of a smirk on his face as he begins to speak.
“AJ, Jeff Thomas, Great Lakes Post. What is the current status of your ongoing relationship with Becky Chande?”
You can hear a pin drop as any trace of AJ’s jovial nature in his previous answer quickly fades.
“That’s uh.. That’s real funny, real cute. How about you come up closer where my boot can hear you? You’ve got some nerve, you know that? I come up here, and I take time out of my day, my busy schedule to answer your questions, and you come in and try to dredge up something from my private life that happened 5 years ago, and was none of your business to begin with, just to get a headline! You feeling strong, my friend? Are you feeling brave? How about you come up here and repeat that question! I fucking dare you!”
At this point Duke Womack comes up and tries to pull AJ away from the mic, AJ pushes Duke Womack away from him. The mic picks up this exchange.
“Get your hands off me!”
“For God sake AJ you’re the champion! Act like one! Represent this company with some dignity!"
AJ scoffs and slings the belt across his shoulder, AJ shouts this at Duke as his back is turned while walking away.
“You’re welcome in advance for the sellout on the 4th! I’ll be waiting for my thank you card.”
Duke Womack irritably signals for the feed to be cut, as the screen fades to black.