“I’ve looked in the mirror and I haven’t seen the man that I was used to seeing before.”
We open to see Adam Stryker, dressed in jeans and “Free Bearhugs” t-shirt, leaned on the railing of his balcony.
“I saw a shadow of my former self. And I was disgusted. You see, when I was younger, I thought it’s cool to be the one that tries to destroy everything and be the last man standing over a pile of burning bodies. But in the past few years, maybe months, I have learned that it’s not as cool as I thought and that you can’t seriously be considered anything else but a disrespectful punk when acting like that. That’s why, instead of burning bridges like a blind idiot, I started rebuilding some of them. I reached out to my former enemies. To Ryan Kidd, Pat Gordon Jr., John Pariah, to those you love and respect. And I extended my hand to them. I showed them the respect that I’ve always had for them somewhere inside me and said I’m sorry for all the bad shit I’ve done. And I’m glad I did that.
That was the first phase, the more pleasant one. The other included turning my back on several people. Usually that doesn’t feel good… but this time, it felt awesome. See, for the past several months, I’ve had a strange thought that Darin Zion, Brian Hollywood and their plans are actually good for me. But it never was good for me, it only turned me from credible competitor to authority’s obedient lapdog in the eyes of many. That’s not how I wanna look, that’s not who I am. I never had anything spoonfed to me in my entire life, and I don’t want to. That’s why I walked away from The Establishment. That’s why, at No Limits, I stand against them… side by side with John Pariah.”
He chuckles and shakes his head, almost as if he doesn’t believe that his own words are real.
“Weeks ago, if anyone said that I would be tagging with John Pariah, everyone would laugh at him. Me and John, we hated each other’s guts. We were natural enemies, he always stood for the old ways of PWX, I was the ‘new wave’, we feuded over championships or just over the right to be called the winner. But I guess that the thing between me and him just evolved naturally like things evolve. The mutual respect started to grow, and his words started to make sense to me. I did what I had to do and now… now we indeed are a team.
The Knockout Kings. That has a nice ring to it…
On the other side of the field we have two of the worst men I have ever had the displeasure to work with. Schmied and Darin Zion.
Let’s start with Schmied. The guy is a legit monster. It’s not just the way he looks, the mask and all that… he’s dangerous when he lays his hands on you. His strenght in the ring is that he just naturally doesn’t give half a shit. He will do anything and everything to hurt you, even if it means hurting himself in the process. Plan like that may backfire from time to time, but as you can see, it hasn’t backfired on him so far. He faced the likes of John Ojeda or Tyler Graves and did not walk away defeated, and that’s saying something. But let me get one thing straight – with all due respect to John and Tyler, they only saw you as an opponent. Maybe bigger, scarier, more impressive… still just an opponent. I look further. Your former ally is your toughest enemy, Schmied, you should know that, and you should keep that in mind when you step in the ring against me. I used to stand by your side and I know about all the things that happen in that twisted brain of yours. And I know how to beat you. Which I will do…
But let’s face it… No Limits isn’t about Schmied one bit. It’s about sending a message to Darin Zion. And by saying sending a message… I mean kicking his ass.”
The expression on Strykers face turns to an angrier one.
“Darin, you’re like a cockroach. I’ve done my best to rid this company of you. I’ve Powerbombed you through the sound system, I crushed you… and you still came back. I beat you in our match, I locked you in an ambulance and you were never supposed to return… but you still. Came. Back. And you even gained the power to run this whole place. Now for a second I thought that you can actually have some ideas that would help PWX to grow. But I was wrong, because you, after all the shit you’ve been through, stayed the same filthy little cockroach. It is sad to see that a man that once was a great champion is now nothing but a poison for the company he calls home. It’s the job for me and John Pariah to cure PWX, rid it of its poison… I’ve already done it several times.
Darin, you went on to Twitter to insult me. After proclaiming I am the future of this company and the best wrestler on the roster, you turn on your heels and call me an idiot. I’m not an idiot, Darin, I know exactly what I am doing as I stand opposite you and your cohorts. I don’t need to be a doctor or a lawyer to kick your sorry ass all around Staples Center, all around MY TOWN of Los Angeles. I hope you had fun while it lasted, Darin, because starting tomorrow… fun time is over.”
His thumb slides across his throat in his typical taunt. We fade to black.
Adam Stryker - professional wrestler 