act nine: an issue of trust
I'm still not used to being on a team.
I guess it's something that I have to adjust to, the only real "teams" I've ever been a part of have been in my own personal life, teams like the kind I have with Suki, or the team of Champ and I when we're screwing around with people. Nothing where I ever had to rely on someone out in the ring, I've fought in teams before but they've never lasted... I guess that's the hardest part for me to adjust to, really. It's when I have to put my trust into a guy I barely know to get the job done alongside of me, to see to it that the both of us come out better than we were when we came in, both as individuals and as teammates.
For the first time in a very, very long time, I had a teammate-- and well before even the battle royale for the tag titles in the NLCW. That partner came when the NLCW decided they wanted to ship me off to Japan to represent them, and I wound up tagging with my old rival, Bucky Skyler. He was a guy who stood so fiercely against me in the past that I honestly didn't think a partnership was going to work between us... but on the flight over, we actually got to talking to each other, and you know what?
Despite the way he presents himself out there, Buck's not that bad a guy. He's a reliable partner, he takes the sport seriously... to be honest, by the end of that flight, I'd felt silly for thinking our past differences were going to resurface at that point. After-all, I wasn't going to let them, and Buck didn't seem like the petty type who holds grudges... I guess it was just an assumption made because of the nature of this business. Championships begin and end in rivalries, they work on the premise that one guy has a problem with another guy, and a title gets involved to fuel the fire. Buck and I used to tear each other apart on a constant basis, we threw everything we had at each other during the Final Solution match with Shane Perry and I wound up lighting the man on fire just to get him out of my way.
Fact of the matter is, there was never a lot of restraint when it came to fighting between us. We brought out the worst in each other, and yet brought out the best in each other at the same time. Bucky was a guy I could count on to be vicious against me, regardless of what was at stake. He threw his full effort into everything and he had no shame in doing so, and hardly any shame in losing too... so long as he left you a scar that would remind you of the hell he put you through, he always seemed satisfied.
As a partner, Bucky was no different. The man was calculated, he worked out strategies and plans with me, we adjusted to each other's styles... I have to say, we really did make fantastic partners, almost as good as we were enemies with each other those years ago. I never would have suspected it, but Bucky... he gets tag wrestling, probably more than I do, and he's got the ability to adjust in a moment's time for what's ahead of him. I can respect that, I honestly can.
As far as first "official" tag partners go... Bucky was a hell of a partner. Ironically, he's the one I've fought alongside of the most, too... I've yet to even fight alongside of my own current tag partner, the co-holder of these tag titles of ours, and isn't that funny? Isn't that funny that, in our first match together... it's against the guy that was basically my first official tag partner? Isn't it funny that in the end, after doing so well teamed together, we were teamed against each other once again? It's the nature of the business though, you have to expect the unexpected or you'll always lag behind.
So, Bucky and I... are no longer a team, basically. We did great together in Japan, but when we returned to the NLCW, things had to change because of Isaac and I winning the battle royale. I had no doubt in my own mind that I was going to make it, I'm on a roll that I certainly don't plan to lag on any time soon, but I never even saw Isaac coming. That's how it goes though, isn't it? With Isaac, I'm beginning to realize that there isn't much you can expect out of him, because he either goes beyond those expectations or he veers in another, better direction.
The man is a hellacious singles competitor, I have to say. I've only actually faced him once, when I was masked as Remnant and aiding NLCW in their war with Anarchy Inc., and Isaac stood against us with Durst and the others... but you know what? I barely got to face him. I had to study him in the end-- I could have faced any number of the people in that match-- but ultimately all that studying never came to pay off for me. I think Isaac and I came to blows briefly and then I was back on Durst again, hounding the guy for everything he'd done to the NLCW at that point.
Of course, now I've had to study him all over again, and having done so it's helped me see just how much Isaac has changed in the couple of years now passed. For example, he's not as brash and as ill-thought out in the ring, he's more calculated and understanding of his actions out there. He's a man who's defined himself in that ring in very, very little time, and he's so focused on what's in front of him that it's hard to imagine him slipping up in his goal. He's become a honed and powerful warrior in the ring, and honestly... that's fantastic, that's exactly what he needs to be.
In the time that I first studied him, I truly did believe that if only he could break away from Anarchy Inc., Isaac would go places far and beyond where he was at the time. Now here we are, nearly two years removed from that day, and look at how far he's came. A former World Champion, the longest reigning champion through the American title... Isaac has done more than even I could have suspected, and it's because he broke off on his own and utilized every ounce of potential he had to push himself forward. It took a lot of work and dedication, but the kid just... did it. He didn't question himself too much, he didn't hold himself back because of someone thinking he wasn't ready yet, he just powered through the ranks and took what he knew was rightfully his.
And now he's my tag team partner, once again taking what he knows is available to him. When he entered that battle royale, I never expected anything from him... and he wound up being a pleasant surprise. He wound up fighting with such ferocity that he made it to the end, right alongside of me, and after watching the tape I began to realize he'd actually accomplished more than me out there when we were fighting. While I stayed reserved and watched out for anyone coming after me, looking to pick and choose my spots carefully, Isaac acted on the fly. He took on all challengers, he threw himself into the action and came out relatively unscathed only because he knew what he was putting himself into.
It's two completely different styles: while I scout ahead of time and try to work out strategies to maximize my offense, Isaac just... acts on the fly.
What's more, he's actually good at it, too.
Of course, understanding all of this about my partner does give me a deeper sense of understanding his limits out there and when to substitute myself with him to help maximize our time in the ring. It gives us a better, easier-to-work-with dynamic, and it damn sure makes us a better team-- but, that being said... as much as I understand Isaac in the ring, I don't really know him very well. A tag partner, especially when it involves championships, should be someone you can count on, trust, and understand in and out of the ring. I have to know that Isaac is on my side and that he'll work with me to excel, and honestly, a few days ago, I was questioning myself on the issue.
Fact is, I've still yet to tag with Isaac, and I can't say anything until Sunday night about how he is as a partner for me.
So, with that in mind... I decided I'd get to know him better as a person, try and understand him even more so we'd work better together as a team. It was honestly quite a bit of luck for us in the end... two days before the event, and Isaac winds up in the same city Champion lives in, while I'm hanging out with the guy and while our wives have a day with the kids. I snagged his number from the board and got in touch with him, invited him to come by... and honestly? It was well worth it.
As far as I'm concerned, I can trust Isaac Reynolds.