Quite possibly one of the most entertaining things in wrestling...is a feud. Granted, wrestling prowess is required to make each match just as breathtaking as the last, and a fresh story to keep the fire going in the feud is always needed. Sometimes, feuds aren't as visible as many make them out to be. Sometimes, they're almost too visible...too dangerous. The flames have scarred many, and will continue to scar more with it's growing intensity. Shattered dreams, broken bodies, destroyed careers...it all is stemmed from a sole hatred for one another, or perhaps even that undeniable love for the business. It is all stemmed from that first spark...that one tiny, insignificant spark...which led to the towering inferno that it is today. Close to three months ago, that spark hit the haystack.
Let us take a trip back in time, back to my debut into the NLCW. My first match...Sean Galen. My first match was against a man who had proven himself time and time again to be the stuff of legends in the NLCW...and I beat him. Fast forward a little, there was the rematch. Round two of Sean Galen and Dominic Pericolo. In the end it was Galen who pulled off the win there...tying our little series up at one a peice.
When it was announced that I would then be facing off against Galen in one final third-round match to settle who would win, I instantly began to train. never before in the NLCW had I met an opponent who could push me as hard as Galen had...and I knew that he could easily end it all for me right there. It was an 'I Quit' match and, for those who've followed my career...they would know that I never give up--a Pericolo never says die.
I took Galen on at All Hallow's Eve...and the ante was upped again. My own friend Chris Champion was so confident in my ability to win that he made it a Loser Leave's Town match, and by God...I didn't let a single fan in that arena down. On that night, the fire began to spread. And you know, after that...it almost looked like the fire was to die down...
Violent A found my limitations and gladly pushed me far past them, looking to bring out every drop of sweat from my very being in order to drain the energy from my core...but I kept fighting forward. In a match that was, to me, a harder trial then any match I'd had with Galen...I finally triumphed over A, albeit with the unwanted help of an unknown man. I'm still waiting for our rematch...but until then, that match lingers in my mind as what really began my own personal change.
Free from the ties that bound me to my past, free from the pain that had distracted me for so long...I'd finally pushed forward into the depths of the NLCW's roster, and would eventually move on to face the greatest challenge I could possibly face: Jeremy Diaz. The X-Net heavyweight champion, and he easily showed me exactly why he is who he is...he made sure I wouldn't heal in time for the next show--and by God, I did the same to him. It took every last ounce of effort I had in me to beat that man, and when the smoke settled...he had my respect.
Avulsion...it's almost a grim reminder of my mistakes in the second match against Sean Galen. Here I am saddled up to face off against Jeremy Diaz again, and I'm not even healed up from our last match...how can I honestly tell anyone that I'm ready to go into that arena and win again, when I'm fearing for my very career should I face this man again?
He's pushed me well and beyond the places others have pushed me to, bringing out the absolute best I have to offer just to try and win a single match against him; a man I'd never even met until we set foot into that ring.
It was the same with Galen, you know...just on a lesser scale.
Yet for myself and Galen, the flames have died down, for I put them out at All Hallow's Eve. The flames that have grown between myself and Diaz, however, are a long time away from being extinguished. One can only guess what may happen next...because with an opponent like Diaz, nothing is for certain. I'm sure that he's still hurting over our match last week, and yet still trying to prepare through all of that pain. He's just like me...I had to realize that going into the match. We may be different sizes and skin tones, but by God...the man has the same mentality as myself, and I'd be damned to deny that it's almost like fighting a clone of myself.
He knows my every weakness, when he can make me slip up...and I know the same about him.
I've got to be ready to expect the unexpected...because knowing Diaz from our last encounter, this is going to be far from easy. Sure, I learnt more about his style in the ring when I faced him...but the same could be said for him. The only reason I won that match was because I found an opportunity I knew would only come once, and I took it. Had I messed up even one movement in getting that move set up...Diaz could have easily beaten me.
There's alot to prove leading into this match-up...alot to prove. This could be my chance to put out the flames growing between us, or it could be his chance to strike me down just a short while before the Road to Slamfest begins. I've got everything to win and everything to lose...and hell, the same could be said for him.
This is his chance to prove he can beat me...and this is my chance to prove myself superior and move on from there.
Lord knows I still have a dream to live up to.
Maybe it was the determination...maybe it was the passion, maybe the pure desire to prove ourselves that night. Whatever it was, something helped Diaz and I both find our source of strength...our source of power, and we both exploited it to press onward. Our match was closer then anyone expected, and it seems that management has pounced on the idea of another ratings blockbuster of a match between us. They've not even given us a week to rest, they want our battered and bruised bodies to get back out there and face off again.
And so, well...it's best not to worry about our physical conditions going into these things, or exactly how ready we are for the other. It's best to just ignore it for now, is it not? However...if I were to ignore it when the time came...I would fall. If I were to fall...I would fail to prove what I'm setting out to. Failure is not an option. I will win just as I did before, Diaz...somehow, I will fight through it all.
Amazing...it's only been a week, you know. A single week's difference between our first match and our rematch, and we're probably both still injured from the first. I doubt we'll give the fans what we gave them last time in terms of quality...but in terms of effort, we'll give them more. Just for the management, just for the fans...we're here again. Deja'vu, Jeremy Diaz, Deja'vu.
The thought or feeling that something is happening again that has happened in the past.
Dominic Pericolo vs. Jeremy Diaz.
One on one.
Round two...and for all the chips, this time.
Starting to get flashbacks yet, Diaz? You and I had a legendary match...I still can't quite move my shoulder right after all that happened to me during the match. I can still remember the intense pain you forced me through just to try to win...and I clearly remember the wind being driven right out of my lungs when you crushed my chest in, throwing all you had at me to win. I may have won, but you've clearly got another great chance at evening the odds. Will this be the climax of our feud already, where I still manage to win again? Or will you continue the flames into the future, where the both of us will face off for a spectacular third round tie-breaker, much as I did with Galen? We can make it whatever way we want Diaz...it's really our decision. In all rights, this rematch should not have happened for quite some time...the match should have had some time to linger in the fans memories, get people wishing for a rematch...and then finally brought forth at a later time. However...this is not what the ratings chart states.
Ratings.
It has brought us here today, Diaz. Ratings. The fans want more...they want to see the next big blockbuster match...and they want it now. They want to truly see a finale, or they want to see the road being paved towards one. We both figured we had given it to them last time...but heat like this doesn't go away so quickly, I suppose. The fans still remember, Jeremy...
And so do I.
I remember every second of pain you put me through with the moves that you used...and after what we put each other through, we've got each others styles down like a book. We both know each others strengths and weaknesses, and how to exploit them...and the fans want to see it happen again. The fans still remember, you still remember, and I still remember. I still remember what it feels like to have my head nearly punted off my fucking shoulders, Diaz. That migrane headache that comes when a man nearly breaks his own leg trying to cave your skull in.
I still remember.
And I would be lying to say that I do not wish to relive it all over again. That's Deja'vu for us both, Diaz. To get something back...you have to go back and get it. Relive the moment. Fight the battle again. Go back and try again. You want to even the score? You want your win back? Come and try to take it.
I've still got the headache, damn it. I've still got the sore muscles, the aching limbs, the pounding, throbbing, red-hot pain that comes with your shoulder when you spike it into a fucking metal post...and I want more.
I fought you once and managed a victory, Diaz. Now it's time for me to win all over again. Now it's time to live the moment...all over again.
After all...