AJ Helms :: "The Next Dangerous One"

Hell Hath No Fury was a bittersweet night for the teenager known professionally as AJ Helms; on the one hand, he was disappointed about Honour Code coming so damn close to winning the tag team turmoil that they almost had their hands on the tag team titles before having the illusion ripped out from underneath them when Bree and Blake finally beat them in the final fall of the match, which was gut wrenching knowing they’d come close but not quite close enough… but despite the sadness he felt over not quite getting the job done, the night had also thrown out one hell of a surprise when it was revealed that not only had he scored twenty six percent of the public vote for who should get the End Of Year Special world title opportunity in Toronto on New Year’s Eve, but that that percentage was actually enough to grant him the shot! Both Aaron and Selena Frost had gained the same number of votes and would both get a chance to compete for the world title at the final show of the calendar year and that was a staggering notion for the teenager, it truly was. How had he managed to get the same number of votes as one of the top stars in the company, a woman who had achieved far more than him and won over so many people in the process? The mind boggled! And okay, so maybe Honour Code had failed to score the final pinfall required to secure victory and maybe it did hurt that they’d got as close as they did before dropping the ball in the final few yards… but they had eliminated six teams before finally losing, they had beaten more than a third of the teams involved in the match and if that wasn’t something to take pride in then Aaron didn’t know what was! And yet, despite knowing that he should be over the moon with walking out of Dallas with a shot at the big one, Aaron couldn’t shake the voice at the back of his head that told him this was all too much, that he wasn’t ready for the opportunity that had been handed to him!

It wasn’t that the teen wasn’t confident in his ability; he’d been to what he considered the best wrestling school in the world, he had learned from the best tutors and he didn’t walk into a match scared that he wouldn’t be able to hold his own even if he thought he was probably going to lose… this was an entirely different feeling all together. It wasn’t about his ability or whether he could hang with whoever was going to be in the ring with him, it wasn’t about composure or whether he was tough enough to stand up to the challenge. In short, Aaron didn’t believe he was ready for the opportunity ahead of him, it was all too soon. Aaron wasn’t mature enough to handle the pressure of competing for the world championship and if he won… well, how the hell would he take that responsibility on when he couldn’t even handle his emotions in an every-day regular match?! How many times had he dropped the ball up to this point during a match, how many mistakes had he made that ended up costing him or his team?

He knew he’d need both hands to be able to count the mistakes he’d made recently, that went without saying… and Aaron had half a suspicion that that was part of the reason why Shaun had decided to take his career in the direction he’d gone, the whole choosing to dedicate himself to the tag team division thing, forgetting about his own singles aspirations to concentrate on Honour Code. That made Aaron feel guilty, he didn’t want Shaun holding back his own career in order to try and keep him on the straight and narrow or to help guide him through the business or whatever justification Shaun wanted to use for deciding to give up on his singles aspirations. He effectively had a babysitter, that’s what it all boiled down to; okay, so maybe that was a harsh, it wasn’t as if Shaun was showing a lack of confidence in Aaron as such, more that he wanted to provide him with someone who had a little more experience than he did to call upon if Aaron needed it… but when you thought about it like that, when you did consider that he effectively had a babysitter in SCW now, was Aaron really the right choice of person to shoulder the burden of holding the world championship?! Of course he wasn’t, even Aaron himself knew that! And obviously, that was supposing that Aaron could actually get the job done in the first place, the odds of which had to be pretty long at best, but if he did, if he did the unthinkable… well, Aaron wouldn’t deny that he wouldn’t even make the top ten list of people in Supreme Championship Wrestling who would be best-suited to handling that pressure, maybe not even the top twenty and yet there he was, a few minutes removed from finding out that he had been chosen regardless, one of two chosen from a list of thirty two individuals… crazy, just crazy…

That was all that ran through his head as he stood under the spray from the shower after the tag team turmoil had ended.

How was he going to do it, how was he going to handle the pressure of competing for the world heavyweight championship when in wrestling terms he wasn’t even out of kindergarten yet?! He had two weeks, a little over two weeks to figure out just how in the unholy fuck he was he going to work through all of this and somehow manage to go out there to compete, maybe even do so twice?! After fifteen minutes under the spray, Aaron couldn’t avoid getting out of the shower any longer and he shut the water off before grabbing his towel from the swing door that shielded the view of the cubicle, wrapping it around himself. Stepping out of the shower stall, Aaron motioned to walk towards the row of basins before coming up short at the sight of Shaun standing in front of the mirror towelling off his hair.

“About damn time mate,” Shaun said, looking at Aaron in the reflection of the mirror in front of him before turning to look at the teenager. “Was starting to think you’d drowned in there,” the brit went on, smirking a little as Aaron rolled his eyes and made his way over to the counter where his bag sat. Shaun turned his attention back to his reflection and continued to towel off his hair as Aaron slipped his boxershort’s back on from beneath his towel so that he could let the towel drop to the floor. “So listen mate, I’d like to think it goes without saying, but what just happened out there,” Shaun started up again, tossing his towel down onto the counter and turning to lean against the basin as he continued. “We gave it a hell of a shot mate, we achieved a lot out there and all things considered I think we showed that we’re not just around here to play… I know we didn’t win the whole thing fella, but we beat six teams out there, scored six pin falls. We were in there for what, thirty five, forty minutes? There’s no prize for second place and I’m not gonna bullshit you, we fucked up at the end and let Bree and Blake get the drop on us, but I still think we can be proud of what we achieved even though we lost…” he said as Aaron slipped into his jeans and pulled on a plain white t-shirt, not bothering to dry his hair.“Well come on mate, say something at least…”

“What you want me to say, bro?” Aaron said as he started trying to hop on one foot while slipping a sock onto the other one. “I mean, it’s not like I want to sugar coat anything, you said it yourself we fucked up at the end but I agree with pretty much everything you’ve said,” he went on as he succeeded on pulling the sock on and switched feet so he could slip on the second. “We gave it our best and we didn’t quite pull it off, it is what it is…”

“Alright mate, just checking…” Shaun said, holding his hands up defensively as he turned his attention back to his own bag and grabbed a folded dress shirt from inside of it which he started to slip on. “I sent the girls on ahead anyway mate, I put them in a cab and told them I’d get you back to the hotel once you were dressed, said you might want to talk it out after coming so close again… Angy said she’d see if they could set us a table up in the restaurant; it’s probably closed but you know the mrs, she can wrap people around her little finger…”

“Sounds good,” Aaron said noncommittally as he tossed his sneakers onto the ground and slid his feet into them one by one; his ring gear was still in a pile in the dressing room and he’d need to collect that together before he was ready to leave. Heading back into the locker room, he found that Scarlett had folded everything up already and a weak smile spread across his face as he tossed his now-empty gym bag onto the floor and squatted down next to it to start packing away his stuff.

He didn’t hear Shaun follow him into the room and Aaron actually jumped a little as the brit started to speak again. “Alright mate, so you want to level with me or are we gonna keep playing this game of avoid the obvious issue for a little longer?” he asked and Aaron had to steady himself on one of the foldup chairs to avoid falling over as he jumped. “Because you’ve got a face like a slapped arse right now mate kiddo and to be blunt, you should be over the fucking moon after winning that vote…”

Aaron’s head dropped at the mention of the vote; he’d hoped it wouldn’t come up, that he wouldn’t have to talk about it even if it was a fucking stupid thing to hope. Of course it was going to come up, how could he avoid something that big? “That obvious, huh?” He asked as he pushed up from his position on the floor and dropped down into the empty chair he was knelt in front of. “I’m just flustered, I… ugh, you know what, no. Being honest? Bro, I don’t know what the fuck I got the vote for, but truthfully I don’t think I deserve it… maybe deserve isn’t the right word, not ready I guess is the best way to put it. I’m not ready for this, it’s too much responsibility for me right now… I mean, I’ll probably just fuck it up anyway, right? That’s been a bit of a theme the last few months…”

Shaun sighed, nodding a little as he walked over to his locker and pulled his bag out. He clearly had an opinion but wasn’t sure about sharing it, he was hiding his face from the teenager while he tried to decide how to put what was on his mind as delicately as he could… not that Aaron noticed that Shaun was hiding his face, he was staring at the ground between his feet as if there was a television built into it. “Listen Aaron, I don’t want to ruin the mood but I talked to you about this a week or so again,” Shaun finally said, turning and dropping his bag onto one of the empty chairs. “And… well, you know I agree with you about that, give my own experience with the world title over the last few years. You’re not ready, I agree. You’re a hell of a wrestler Aaron but you’ve still got a lot to learn and I don’t want to see the pressure of that break you before you’ve truly found your feet.”

Aaron nodded his head; he’d been expecting that, given the conversation they’d had over coffee around a week earlier, that subject still fresh in his mind. Of course, that was before the results from the fan vote, Shaun wanting to make sure the teenager wasn’t planning on wasting his Trio’s contract on a shot at the world title and back then nothing was further from Aaron’s mind, but now he couldn’t avoid the subject because the fans had put him in the position that Shaun had tried to warn him off of. “Before tonight, I wasn’t even thinking about it,” Aaron finally said, still staring at the floor between his feet. “We had our shot at the tag titles, I’ve got Shot of Adrenaline coming up… I was trying to concentrate on the goals I already had, but what can I do now, walk into D’s office and tell him thanks but no thanks?!”

“I’m not going to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t do that mate,” Shaun said, shaking his head. “That’s not up to me to decide, only you can make that decision and I wouldn’t dream of giving my opinion. But you know as well as I do that the world title can fuck with you, it leaves people obsessing over it, it twists your head and fucks with your decisions. I’ve been in that position fella and it really isn’t fun…”

“I’ve seen it already myself,” Aaron admitted, nodding before finally looking up. “I’m not even a year in yet bro, I can’t let that bullshit happen to me…” he went on, his eyes almost pleading as he looked at Shaun, the elder half of their team, the one who was the experience to Aaron’s youthful enthusiasm.

“Look, I’m not saying you should,” Shaun said hesitantly, clearly trying to skirt around something without actually saying it. “But if you do tell D that you want to pass up on the shot, I think people would understand. You’re almost at the end of your rookie year, you’ve shown a hell of a lot of promise and like I’ve told Dave before, I do think you’ll go on to be one of the best in the business just like he was once you find your feet… but you’ve got a lot of work to do just yet and maybe the time just isn’t right for you chief, that’s all I’m saying. And if you keep going as you are, you’ll keep impressing the brass and sooner or later you’ll earn another shot… when you’re ready for it…”

When you’re ready…

That was something that resonated with Aaron, but not because of the world title or the business… those three words, they brought a flood of memories back for him, took him back to a place he hadn’t thought about in a long time…

Asbury Park, NJ
Late Spring, 2008

A whistle sounded from the centre of the field, just audible above the sound of chatter from the parents and supporters gathered around the edges of the field and the diminutive figure, eleven year old Aaron Jacobs looked up towards the centre of the lacrosse pitch where the referee was standing expectantly. Aaron was nervous; this was the big game, the last game of the regular season and if the team won, they were in the state finals! Aaron hadn’t wanted to play lacrosse, at least not in the beginning; his phys-ed teacher had been the one to suggest it after they played in class and Aaron had proven to be quite good at it. That was at the start of his first year in middle school, and the academic year was coming to an end in a couple months, the young boy was approaching his twelfth birthday and was one of the younger players on the team but he was quick and agile, he could pick out a pass to his team mates, that had earned him a place in the starting ten and his parents Alan and Elizabeth were both watching from the sidelines, cheering and shooting him a thumbs up as he tightened the laces of his cleats and straightened up. Grinning, Aaron gave a small wave before sheepishly dropping his hand again at the laughter from members of the opposition team; a big meathead of a kid, had to be fourteen and twice Aaron’s size was laughing at Aaron, mocking him by waving enthusiastically to nobody in particular and Aaron could feel his face reddening as he turned away and almost walked into his friend Craig.

“Woah, watch it lug nuts,” Craig said, grinning as he took a step back and held his lacross stick out defensively, like he was expecting a fight.

“Sorry, I was miles away…” Aaron said, trying to laugh it off though he knew Craig would no doubt have picked up on how embarrassed he looked.

“Nervous about the game?” Craig asked, still grinning. Craig was taller than Aaron, a grade higher in school than he was and it showed, but the two had become quite good friends since Aaron joined the team. “Can you believe we’ll make the finals if we pick up the win today? Man, I’m so nervous right now I think I might crap myself if I get checked…”

“Yeah,” Aaron replied, half-heartedly agreeing though in truth, he hadn’t even thought about being nervous. “I mean, it would be pretty cool to bring back the trophy, wouldn’t it?” Aaron asked, finally managing a genuine smile as he thought about the celebrations that would take place if the team did bring back the championship. He hadn’t really imagined it until then, he was just happy to be part of the team and if they crashed out at the final hurdle then so be it, at least they’d tried. That was something his parents had instilled in him, that it was the taking part that truly mattered, not the winning and he tried to remember that all the time so that his competitiveness didn’t get the better of him.

“With you out on the wing and me in front of goal, we’ve got this man!” Craig replied and he held his hands up for a high five, Aaron duly obliging…

“Aww look, the faggots think they’re in with a chance of winning,” a voice said from nearby and both Aaron and Craig looked around to see the same heavy set player from the other team who was poking fun at Aaron a couple minutes earlier. He had a wide grin spread across his face, sneering at the two team mates, at least a foot taller than Craig and had even more on Aaron, including maybe twenty to thirty pounds. “At least your mommy and daddy came along to watch you lose, they can scoop what’s left of you up after we wipe the field with you in the game!” he went on, some of his team mates who had wandered up behind him laughing at the comments as Aaron and Craig subconsciously shifted closer together. “What’s the matter faggots, lost your voice?”

“We’ll do our talking on the field,” Craig said, sensing that he had to take the lead given he was the older of the two friends and also the leader of the attacking line when the game started. “We don’t need insults, we’ll just beat you and then we’ll see who’s crying…” he said with a sideways smile that seemed to irk the bully standing in front of them but Aaron didn’t pick up the warning signs and he added to Craig’s comments not realising it was a big mistake.

“Maybe you can get your mommy to kiss it better after,” he said with bravado that seemed to come from nowhere, no doubt encouraged by Craig’s comments. “She can take you to McDonalds and get you a happy meal then give you cuddles until you feel better when we win and then go on to the finals…” he trailed off before realising his mistake as the bully covered the ground between them in two steps.

The thug grabbed the front of Aaron’s jersey and Craig went to try and push him away but the bully’s friends were backing him up before Craig could even move to grab the gorilla’s arm. “You ain’t making the finals you little fag, because we’re going to pound you out there! And if I get the chance… you’re fucking dead, you hear me? I’m taking you out…” he said threateningly before shoving Aaron hard, laughing as Aaron fell backwards and landed hard on his backside.

Another shrill whistle from the centre of the field was enough to drag the members of the other team away and Craig helped Aaron back to his feet as Aaron simply scowled after the jerks who had made their way onto the pitch. “Ignore it man,” Craig said, nudging Aaron with his elbow. “We’ll just get our own back when the game starts, yeah? Come on, let’s get out there,” the elder of the two friends said, grabbing his helmet from the ground and jogging onto the field, leaving Aaron to look down at his own headgear; was this what his parents had warned him about, how the determination to win can change you from being a nice person to being horrible? That was what Aaron saw in the jackass who had been calling him names a few moments earlier, his desperation to win had made him an ugly human being and Aaron didn’t want that!

Sighing, Aaron grabbed his helmet and slipped it onto his head, buckling up before grabbing his lacrosse stick and running out onto the field to join his team mates who were starting up a huddle. As they broke the huddle up, Aaron’s nerves kicked in, just as they did before every game; he’d tried not to show his nerves when the big jerk had been giving him and Craig a hard time he’d tried not to show how he was feeling but as he took up his position on the wings he couldn’t help but feel it now. This was the big one, the chance to qualify and Aaron was excited about that but his palms felt sweaty and his breathing was heavier than normal. But the nerves soon disappeared at the sound of the whistle; this was his time to shine, he was in his element! He picked up a pass from defence and went roaring down the wing, throwing all his weight behind the pass as Craig found space in front of goal… and he scored! One nil to Henry Hudson!

The game came quick and fast; Aaron’s team scored a second and another followed. And then it all went wrong for young Aaron; he picked up a loose ball out wide and went to make another one of his lightning fast breaks down the wing, looking to pick out another pass to Craig or one of the other attackers… and then the thug came out of nowhere, running into him at full pelt, catching Aaron by surprise and sending him ploughing into the ground, hard! Landing on the ground, Aaron felt something jar in his shoulder and pain shot across his chest and down his arm and he knew he was hurt; Aaron heard the whistle blow and knew that the game had been stopped for a foul but the pain in his shoulder was all that he could think about, even as the asshole that had fouled him bent over so that only Aaron could hear what he said. “Told you I’d get you, faggot… enjoy watching from the side with mommy and daddy, little baby…” he said before the rest of Aaron’s team crowded around him and the thug stepped away smirking, receiving a lecture from the referee. He was out, he didn’t need anyone to tell him that; Aaron knew that his lacrosse season was over, even if he wasn’t that bad. He couldn’t feel his fingers, there was no way he was going to be able to hold his stick for the rest of the game!

He was subbed out, and the doctor took a look at him but Aaron barely heard a word of what he was told; his eyes were filled with tears and all he could think about was how it was all over, how disappointed he was. He had to watch the rest of the game like that and even though his team won and made the finals, Aaron didn’t want to join them in their celebrations, not when he knew he wouldn’t get to play for the rest of the season.

His mother had packed Aaron’s things for him and she was waiting to walk back to the car with him and his father but as they reached the edge of the parking lot, Alan Jacobs put a hand on Aaron’s shoulder and told his wife they’d be right there. “We’ll just let your mom pack your stuff away in the car while I have a cigarette, huh?” Mr. Jacobs said, pulling out his cigarettes and sitting down on the little wooden fence that surrounded the parking lot, which was little more than a row of big logs laid around the edge of the tarmac. “Take a pew,” he went on, patting the log next to where he was sat and Aaron, his arm in a sling, sat down next to his father. “So how you feeling?” he asked and Aaron gave a shrug, immediately wishing he hadn’t as another wave of pain shot down his arm. “I know it’s tough, champ… what that little bas--… what that jerk did, it was uncalled for and I know it must be difficult to be happy about your team winning when you know you’re not going to be able to play in the finals yourself,” he said, sadly. “But you know what Aaron, he may have knocked you down out there but you got back up again. You may be hurt, and you may be upset, but you’re back up again and you didn’t retaliate,” he informed his son but Aaron scowled.

“I didn’t retaliate because he hurt me!” the eleven year old replied, still scowling. “I didn’t retaliate because I couldn’t, not because I didn’t want to!”

Alan, smiling, threw an arm around his son’s shoulder, smiling. “And I know you might have wanted to Aaron, but I know you… you wouldn’t have done anything even if you could and that’s what makes you who you are…”

“It makes me a little baby,” Aaron replied, sighing.

Stubbing out his cigarette, Alan gave his sons shoulder a squeeze with the arm that was around his shoulders; he didn’t want his son’s head to drop, not when what had happened wasn’t his fault and he needed to help him see that he’d not done anything wrong. “Look Az, I know you think that you’ll never stand up to jerks like him, but that’s what bullies do, they pray on those who don’t use violence because they know they’ll never get hurt. I’d never tell you to hit them back because you have to do what you want to do, but I know that you’ll stand up for yourself when you’re ready. He was much bigger than you kiddo, I don’t blame you for not coming out swinging but when you are ready you’ll know. There’s no shame in backing down from a fight,” he reassured his son, smiling the entire time and Aaron looked up at him, still unsure of himself but a smile started to creep across his own face. “When you’re ready Aaron, you’ll be able to do anything you want to, including standing up to those big bullies that push you around. You’ll get there eventually, so don’t rush it, okay sport?”

And Aaron, while he wasn’t exactly sure that he should be allowed to feel okay about himself, he found that he did feel better…

…when he was ready. That was the message his dad had given him, that he’d stand up to the bullies when he was ready. And he had, in the end; not while his parents were alive, he had to admit that. In truth it was probably the fact that his parents had died that caused Aaron to toughen up, having to live with his grandmother in a new city on the other side of the country. But he had toughened up eventually and did stand up for himself. That’s what was so funny though, what had caused him to think about that particular memory… hearing Shaun talk about how he’d get another chance at the world title, ‘when he was ready’. “Huh?” Aaron said, snapping out of it; he realised that Shaun had been talking to him the entire time he was thinking about the memory of his dad telling him what he had all those years ago. And his father had been right, hadn’t he? He had stood up for himself eventually, even if it took another couple of years for him to do so. Was Shaun right now, saying that he’d get back there to that point again someday?

“I said that you should pack your stuff up so we can get back to the hotel mate,” Shaun said, as Aaron finally found himself able to listen again.

“The hotel?” He asked; he hadn’t really been paying attention to what Shaun had said earlier about the girls and the hotel, he was preoccupied with other stuff and now he felt like an idiot.

“Yeah, the hotel,” Shaun replied, nodding. “The girls went back to try and get us a table in the restaurant if it isn’t closed; if you pack your bag up we can grab a cab and go get something to eat. I don’t know about you fella, but I’m starving after all that…”

Aaron nodded; he was kind of hungry, the tag team turmoil match seemed to have taken it out of him and he only realised just how tired he was now that he wasn’t so preoccupied with the idea of having to compete for the world title in a couple of weeks time. “Sounds good bro,” he said, nodding and he went right back to packing up his bag.

“Are you alright fella?” Shaun asked, surprised at how Aaron had seemingly changed demeanour in a matter of seconds…

“I’m fine bro,” the teenager replied, already sounding much happier than he had done a few moments ago; somehow, Shaun had actually managed to help him figure things out… okay, so maybe he would get a hell of a lot of shit from the rest of the roster for passing up on the opportunity that had been given to him, but Shaun was right, wasn’t he? He would get another opportunity at some point, he did believe in himself enough to believe it would happen. “Just… things have cleared up a little, that’s all. Call it a… call it a moment of clarity or some shit. I know what I have to do, let’s put it that way,” he went on, Shaun looking at him suspiciously. But Aaron simply flashed Shaun a smile, and there was no way it was anything but genuine, so genuine that even Shaun seemed to accept it. And Aaron, well he could tell Mr. D that he was very grateful for the opportunity but with regret, he wanted to pass up on it and continue to learn, continue to work on his abilities. He’d tell Mr. Drachewych that he wanted to up his game and try and ensure he was ready before pushing himself too far… and when he was ready to chase the next step of his dream, then he could focus on the World title. It all seemed so clear to him now; Aaron couldn’t believe he had been so stupid to think that he had to have all that weight on his shoulders when it was up to him whether he carried it up there or not! That was what he would do; he would go to Mr. D and tell him he appreciated the chance but that now wasn’t the right time for him and he wanted to pass on the opportunity at the show on New Year’s Eve. The weight was gone… he could actually enjoy his Christmas without worrying now… well, after the final Breakdown of the year he could at any rate. But he’d deal with Breakdown when it arrived, for now he was just thankful to have the burden of the World Title match no longer playing on his mind. Aaron shoved the rest of his things into his bag and zipped it up, ready to head back to the hotel, feeling surprisingly cheerful. Funny how backwards that was and yet it felt right somehow, that the pressure had lifted. He couldn’t help but wonder if everyone felt the way he did just a few minutes earlier, whether they felt the pressure he had or whether he was just insane and even more so for passing up on the chance. But it didn’t matter if it did make him crazy; he’d rather be crazy than broken, any day of the week, and he had a feeling that that would be what happened to him if he did force himself to go through with the match. It was something that needed to be on his terms, when he was ready… and only Aaron would know when that time was, but at least he would be able to enjoy the journey along the way…

[Rec]

AJ HELMS: “I don’t deserve to be here right now… let’s be honest, that’s what I need to start this video because truthfully, if you really think about it, I think you can all agree that I truly don’t deserve to be standing here right now, knowing that on New Years Eve, I’ll get a chance to challenge for the Supreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship! I don’t, I really don’t guys; I feel like the cat who got the cream right now, I feel like a found the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow and humped his leg until he made all my dreams come true at once, because in terms of having done enough to warrant this opportunity, I don’t deserve to be here what-so-ever, the only person who does deserve this opportunity is the other winner or the fan vote and I’m just glad that I’m not stealing anything from her because Selena Frost has earned her right to challenge for the World championship at the End of Year Special, she really has… and yet here I am anyway, despite truly believing I haven’t come anywhere near close to doing enough to deserve this opportunity, trying to process that whole thing and in truth, I almost want to laugh because… well, what have I been trying to do for the last twelve months, guys? I’ve been trying to prove I’m not just another David Helms, that I’m not trying to fill the boots he left vacant when he stepped away from the business and now here I am, in a situation eerily similar to one he found himself in, saying almost the exact same thing he did and if that’s not fucking funny then I don’t know what is…”

AJ actually managed a small laugh, though it’s a scoff more than anything and he sighs before turning his attention back to the camera to continue.

AJ HELMS: “I don’t think I really need to talk about what happened nearly six years ago, in fact they made a big deal of that on the commentary back at Hell Hath No Fury when it was announced that me and Selena had won this opportunity… and I don’t really want to talk about all that either because I don’t want to continue to draw that comparison when I’ve been fighting against that for a long time now, you know? But even I can’t ignore the beautiful fucking irony here, that Dave felt the same way I do right now about how I haven’t earned this opportunity, and now I have to come around to the idea that I’m getting it regardless and I guess I should really be thanking you guys at home right now, because… well, knowing that I got more than a quarter of the fucking vote last week, knowing that I drew as many votes as someone who has done so much in this company in the time she’s been here… seriously, Shot of Adrenaline winner, Best of the Best winner, multiple championships, uber popular with you guys at home, do I need to go on? Yeah, I’m not gonna lie guys, that just blows my fucking mind, it really does! You have no idea how much I appreciate the fucking sentiment, I really am humbled by the fact that so many people thought so much about me that they wanted to see me get this opportunity and I can’t thank you enough for placing that much faith in me, I really can’t… but I still don’t know what the fuck I can do to repay it, because even if I do become world champion I can’t help but think it won’t be enough. I don’t think there is anything because… well I already said I don’t know what the fuck I did to deserve to be here in the first place, so how am I going to figure out how I can repay you for that, huh? And let’s face it, if I do walk out of the building that night with the world championship in my bag, all I’m going to hear is that I never deserved to be in that position in the first place… I’ve not even been here twelve months yet, in fact my anniversary show will be at the End Of Year Special. Talk about rounding the year out with a bang, huh? And I can fucking call it now; I can just say a line of people just queuing up to tell me how I don’t deserve to hold that belt, how I’m still wet behind the ears, too inexperienced. That I’m a paper champion who got his opportunity by chance, that I’m wasting an opportunity that someone who actually deserved it could be using, I can hear it all now…”

AJ HELMS: “…and the worst part is that I can’t say I really disagree with most of it. I mean how can I disagree with those kind of comments, you know? I’m barely a year in, I’ve fucked up some huge opportunities because of dumb decisions, acting on impulse or generally showing that I’m not as mature as I’d like to pretend I am… because here’s an admission and probably one that I shouldn’t be making out loud because I know people are probably going to make an issue of it, but I don’t care at this point; truth is, I’m still out of my depth in this company, I’m still having to learn at every single turn and that means I’m going to make mistakes, I’m going to fuck up so much as I figure things out for myself. It doesn’t matter how well I was trained at AnteUp – and believe me, I do believe I’ve had the best training I could possibly get – and it doesn’t matter how experienced my tag partner is or how many experienced people I surround myself with to get advice from, fact is I’m young and dumb and… well, I’m basically trying to just keep my head above water because this business it can fucking eat you alive if you let it and I’m worried that that’s exactly what’s going to happen to me if I stop fighting to keep my head above the water! I’m pretty sure that admitting all of this stuff is probably another big mistake and one I’ll pay for in some way in the near future, just another in that string of so many that I’ve made over the course of the last year since I debuted last December but what’s another mistake among friends, huh?”

AJ scoffs again, shaking his head and sighing before he turns his attention back to the camera.

AJ HELMS: “But you know something guys? I’m okay with making mistakes. I’m okay with fucking up, because I’d rather make a mess of things and learn from that experience than spend every second of my career being afraid that I’m going to fuck up! Shaun keeps telling me that we win and lose as a team and that’s all well and good, I mean I really do appreciate the support I get from him, not having him blaming me for losses even when I cost us the matches by making dumb decisions and stuff… but at the same time, those mistakes do teach me something, I learn just a little bit more about how to go about things, about how to avoid doing the same dumb shit the next time; I’d say I’m nowhere near the same person I was when I debuted a year ago, I have learned a fucking ton of stuff, I’ve grown so much as a competitor in the last twelve months and I can definitely see the differences between how I am now and how idealistic, naïve and inexperienced I was back in the beginning… but I also know I have a hell of a long way to go too, I still have so much to learn and in that sense, every day is another opportunity to improve, to grow, to mature! Hell, even if I’d been doing this for years now, I’d like to think I’d still see things the exact same way; isn’t that what life is, a learning experience?! I’ll never know everything there is to know about this business, that shit is just not fucking possible bro; new moves are being invented every week, new techniques and new approaches are coming out all the time… you’d have to be a fucking idiot to not look at every day as a chance to pick up something new! And that’s how I’m walking into the End Of Year Special this year… it’s an opportunity, a hell of a fucking opportunity for me to do something amazing in such a short space of time, it’s a chance for me to further my career more than I ever dreamed possible when I made my debut a year ago… but it’s also an opportunity to learn! Do I think I’m going to win? Not at all…”

AJ shakes his head for emphasis.

AJ HELMS: “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I have a lack of confidence in myself or anything like that, I know I’ve actually done quite well since I arrived here and that I’ve picked up some big wins against amazing opponents, but… well, I’ll never be the kind of person who just expects he’s going to win everything, you know? You only have to look at the two people I may potentially have to face to walk out of the show with the biggest prize of them all in my bag when I leave to know how high the odds are probably going to be against me winning! Seriously, if you’re going to put money on it, someone tweet me what the odds are because I’d love to know how astronomical they are, I really would! But at the same time, how many people can say they managed to earn a world title shot in their first year in this business, especially in a company like Supreme Championship Wrestling, the biggest company in the business in my opinion, though I’m sure the old man won’t appreciate hearing that…”

AJ manages his first actual chuckle since the beginning of the video, but he nervously rubs the back of his neck while looking a little guilty for taking a slight dig at the company his father is the general manager of.

AJ HELMS: “That’s what I’m concentrating on right now guys, all joking aside; I may have my short comings, I may not be perfect and I may not… I sure as hell don’t deserve to be in the position I’m in… but I am in it, I’ve been gifted this huge opportunity and I’m going to take it! I’m only a year into my career, I’ve got less than twelve months experience and yet here I am, about to compete on the show where I made my debut twelve months earlier, not just in the open invitational battle royal like I did last year, not in some match thrown together to give the fans something to enjoy… I’m in the world championship match guys, I’m fighting for the biggest prize in the company, the belt that every single member of this roster should have at least half an eye on no matter their station in life, because it doesn’t matter whether you’re just making your debut or whether you’ve been here for years, whether you’re struggling to buy a win or winning every single week, no matter what place you occupy in this company, you should always be thinking about the ‘what if’ moment, the dream of earning your first opportunity, your next opportunity… it doesn’t matter if you’ve never held it or held the title a million times, there’s always that next reign, that first one! Regardless of anything that’s going on, the world title is fucking special! I know, I know in a way, the world title isn’t the be all and end all of the business; people obsess over it, they ruin friendships, relationships, their respect or connection with the fans, all in the name of chasing the dream, and there’s a limit to the depths you should be prepared to plunge to in order to get your hands on it… but dammit guys, this is the world title I’m talking about, you know?! Jesus, just look at the people who have stood proud and held that title, the list of names that are synonymous with the best of the best of the best in this business… and man, just to have my name linked to the thing, that’s mind blowing in itself, you know?!”

AJ HELMS: “I used to dream about being in this position, you know, when I was a kid. I had this dumb dream about being the one stood on the turnbuckles, the entire audience standing and applauding because I’d finally done it, I’d won the world title, I was the top of the ladder, the man… and it was a childish dream, I have no problem admitting that; the business was nothing like I dreamt it would be, it breaks you man, it really does… but that dream, that dream I used to have as a child, I thought it was nothing but one, nothing but a dream! And then, well life happened, didn’t it? It does that; there’s always a handy spanner hanging around, ready to drop into the cogs of the machine and fuck everything up. But life happened and circumstances, weird as they were, came together and this is where I ended up! I got luckier than a guy who lost a dime and found a diamond, because I got adopted by two of the most famous wrestlers on the face of the fucking planet… and suddenly, that dream, it’s maybe not quite so insane, is it? Suddenly, I’m working weekends in a wrestling school while finishing high school, mopping up and tidying and being a general dogs body more or less, but there I am, in the middle of a wrestling school, watching these guys training, trying to live my dream. Then the next thing you know, I’m in the ring too; Dave and Tommy and Matty, they’re showing me the ropes in the evenings, just so Scarlett isn’t training alone. But that wasn’t enough, it would never be enough. From the minute I had my first training session I knew this was what I wanted to do and the dream… within the reach of my fingers bro, inches away. And I finished school and Dave wanted me to go to college, get an education because he didn’t have the chance to, but I knew that wasn’t my path bro, I knew where I wanted to be and that was in a ring! I didn’t know where I’d end up, I didn’t know I’d end up in the biggest company on the face of the planet that’s for sure but I knew I’d end up in a ring somewhere because, well simply put that was all I was willing to expect once I started to learn the ropes! And then Dave pulls a few strings and I end up in Supreme Championship Wrestling and… well, now I’m standing here, talking about my next match and I don’t think anyone would tell me I was exaggerating if I said that this is the biggest match of my entire fucking life because… well, it’s world fucking title bro, the world fucking title! I mean, I shouldn’t really have to spell that one out!”

AJ grins a little sheepishly again before pressing on.

AJ HELMS: “This is the moment where my entire life could flip around, the moment where things could change for me forever… I’m standing here, talking about a match I wasn’t sure I’d ever get, and it’s one I could have used my Trio’s contract for sure but I didn’t want to do that either because I didn’t want to get to the world title contendership the easy way… ironic huh, given the reason I’m standing here right now? But even with that said, this match and getting it the way I did… yeah, that makes this so fucking special for me guys, so much more special than just handing over that contract and telling the D-ster to give me World title match because it’s you guys at home that wanted me to be here in the position I’m in right now, you guys put me here and I will never be able to repay you for doing that, even if I’m doing this for another thirty years before I finally step away from the business! I may not have True Believers or Gableites or other fancy buzzword for you guys at home who happily admit to being a fan of mine but I want you guys to know just how much it means to me that you wanted me in this position. And while I’m not going to tell you that I’m going to do this for each and every one of you, because I know that’s probably more likely to induce a bout of nausea than give you a warm fuzzy feeling but what I will say is that, at least in the back of my mind, is that little voice that will continue to remind me that I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys. And if that isn’t motivation then I don’t know what would be, because I know I’m not going to get a second crack at that whip if I fuck this up so I’ve got to make it count! Sunday, December the thirty first, I get to celebrate the end of my rookie year. I get to celebrate making it a full year as a professional wrestler… and if that wasn’t cause for celebration in itself, I could start my second year in the business as the World… Heavyweight… champion. Man, I don’t think that’s ever going to sink in, I really don’t. Hell, I doubt it’ll have truly sunk in even as I walk into the arena, but as I stand here right now, not long to go before the End of Year Special, I do know one thing. December the thirty first, I’ll walk into that arena with one thing in mind and one thing only… to try and end my rookie year with a BANG!”

And with that, AJ winks to the camera as he smiles and the video slowly fades out.

[/Rec]