Madison Square Garden. The Mecca of Sports Entertainment. The place were you will be judged upon what you have done and you will find out if what you have done is actually worth something or will go on to just be a footnote in history. New York City, Madison Square Garden. Every time we come back to this building, it's like coming home. Every rabid fan cheering or booing you, that's family. That ring, with the canvas imprinted with the blood, sweat and tears of all the legends that have ever wrestled here, that's the living room.
CMS steps into the gate of Madison Square Garden. It's really overwhelming to the see this structure empty, nothing but seats and the ealy advances of the IWF crew getting everything ready for the big night. But CMS deep down knows that as intimidating as this empty collosus might be right now, it will be nothing compared to Sunday Night, when he once again steps out there and gets confronted by over twenty thousand rabid fans. When he has to confront the lights on bright and tango with three of the hungriest superstars in the IWF locker room with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.
CMS takes a couple of seconds to breath deep and take in the magnificence of the building and try to ease all the memories and thoughts rushing to his brain. He hides his hands on the pockets of his jeans, covers his head with his jacket's hood and walks with his head lowered, staring at his feet, almost as if unvoluntarily he has been humbled by the arena. CMS tries to calm himself, to put his mind on blank, however, he cannot stop the memories to rush in. He cannot help to think that on that seat, on that seat Mick Foley sat when he saw Snuka fly right into Don Muraco. He cannot help to think that standing right when he is standing stood the legendary Eddie Guerrero, seconds before he marched toward the ring to embrace his long time friend and companion in pain. To his right, that's where Jeff Hardy broke a table...with Bubba Ray Dudley on top. And high up there, up in the nosebleeds, that's where a hater turned into a believer when Hulk Hogan won the championship and gave birth to Hulkamania.
He was no chump himself in making history in Madison Square Garden. Many great chapters in CMS's career had happened right in that building. He had step into the New York venue and do battle with the biggest names the IWF had have to offer, be it Charlie Titan, Vic Noreaga, Marcus Marshall. Some wrestling experts would call CMS a big match specialist. He had competed in the most grueling matches the business had have to offer and he had been succesful in every one of them. Over the Edge match, Spider's Web, I Quit matches, all had ended with his hand raised up high. (it doesn't hurt the fact that he's undefeated in IWF's Grand Daddy of them All).
But on Sunday, it is a challenge like he's never faced before. Biggs, Tony Valentino, Bobby King and CMS, all top notch competitors, and all eager to put some championship gold around their waists, ready to do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Suddenly, CMS watches his clock...he's running late. He was supposed to make that Press Conference about half an hour ago. Damn. Blame it on Madison Square Garden...
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CMS rushes into the hotel's set up room. Surprisingly, none of the press outlets have left, altough when CMS stepped into the room, they angrily raised and pointed their watches at the Bigger than Life Superstar. CMS tries to act cool altough he indeed feels quite embarrassed. However, he doesn't regret his visit to Madison Square Garden. Everything he could do to prepare for the Fatal Four Way is more than welcome. CMS finally gets set in position and lets the press conference begin.
CMS: Well, welcome to this press conference, I am truly honored that you managed to make it and I am equally embarrassed that I arrived late, I, I got caught up in the moment while visiting Madison Square Garden and, well, anyways, let's begin. Uhhm, you.
Reporter #1: CMS, you mention Madison Square Garden. How big of a role will the venue play on Sunday Night for the Fatal Four Way match?
CMS: A huge role. I believe I speak for every wrestler ever to lace up a pair of boots that we wait our entire career for a chance to wrestle at Madison Square Garden, and I along three other men get that chance on Sunday for some championship gold, and I just hope that Valentino, Biggs and Bobby King help me in the goal of stealing the show.
Reporter #2: Does that mean your gold is not exactly walking out champion but more of stealing the show?
CMS: Of course not. Inception will be the culmination of a very, very long journey. All these months, I have felt empty, incomplete. You know what has been missing? Championship Gold. That's exactly what I get the chance to win on Sunday. I have said it before and I will say it again. I am the hungriest superstar in the IWF when it comes to wanting to be champion, and I will do whatever it takes, to whoever steps in my way, in my attempt to win the Intercontinental Championship. You may think you are better, that you are faster, that you are stronger, smarter, whatever, and that's open to debate, but nobody wants it more than I, and if you ask me, that's what it all will come down to, who wants it more.
Reporter #3: In this Fatal Four Way, you will face Biggs for the first time since the two of you battled in Biggs's debut. What are your thoughts on Biggs now?
CMS: Well, going into our match the first time, I said I didn't know what Biggs had to offer, I didn't know if he was better than me, but that I had no respect for a punk who walks in here with a phony championship belt and thinks he deserves something for that. I also told him my opinion that he was nothing but a loudmouth footnote in the company would not change until he did something more valuable that calling himself the AJPW champion, and well, I faced the guy, I defeated the guy, and hold and behold, he's a contender for the Intercontinental Championship, so as far as I'm concerned, Biggs have come a long way,but honestly, I don't think it will be enough to beat me.
Reporter #1: Speaking of first time encounters, to my recollection, you have never faced Bobby King in any way whatsover. Do you consider yourself capable of defeating him?
CMS: What kind of question is that? Look, I watched Bobby King since the moment he entered this company. I watched him evolve from these guy battling a guy for who was the real king of their city, from being these goody goody guy, to becoming a no holds barred badass dangerous to whoever steps into the ring with him. Now, just because I have never been one on one with him doesn't mean I don't know about Bobby King. I know he's a great talent, capable of many things, but I also know he has a weak point: Multiman matches.
Go back, go back to the beginning of his career. All of his one on one victories were erased by him getting defeated in Triple Threat Matches. And it just isn't a tendency from the past. He got dropped from the IWF Championship tournament in, you guessed it, a multiman match. Bobby King will come into this Fatal Four Way already with the mindset that he just isn't able to win this type of matches, and without the hunger of a CMS, well, he's practically doomed.
Reporter #1: So, by your words, you're practically ruling Bobby King and Biggs out?
CMS: Of course not. Like I said, Biggs is no longer than running goof with no other claim to glory than his prop championship and Bobby King will probably go back and study what he did wrong in the past multiman matches.
It's not about me coming out here and telling the world I am flawless and better than my three competitors, it's not about coming out here and bashing them for the sake of bashing them. All of them have points I can exploit, all of them have weakness, and so do I, the difference is, I want this more than they do, I want this like you have no idea, and at the end of the day, that will make the difference.
Reporter #3: It comes to my attention that you have been avoiding comments about Tony Valentino, the man who defeated you on last Monday Night Mayhem. What are your views on him?
CMS: Well, I could play smart ass and say that while Valentino's team indeed defeated my team, Valentino didn't pin me, but I wont. Matter of fact is the record book now says Valentino has one over me and well, that makes Tony Valentino the man with the most momentum coming into this match. You mix Valentino's talent with his momentum, and you practically have to make him the favorite going into this match, and if he wants to consider himself such, then he is more than welcomed. I might sound like scratched record in here, but guess what, I also want it more than Valentino, so let's see if he can hang with what my rush for championship gold will make me do in the ring. Last question;
Reporter #2: Well, you have left more than clear that the match will come down to who wants to be Intercontinental Champion more, but, do you think there will be any other factor that plays into giving an advantage to either Biggs, Valentino, Bobby King or yourself?
CMS: No, I really don't. We all have high points. Valentino has his momentum, Bobby King has his raw ability, Biggs has his confidence and I guess his other championship, nah I'm kidding, but once you put all four of us in the same ring, those advantages dissapear, and THAT'S where pure desire to win and be champion comes into play, and that's where I have the upperhand, that's why I will walk out of Madison Square Garden as the IWF Intercontinental Championship.
Thank you for coming to this press conference. See you all on Inception this Sunday Night.
CMS gets up to his feet and walks away, despite all the screams from the reporters, eager for more questions and comments.
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CMS couldn't get out of that room faster. Last week he had learned that getting your mind of the game for just one second could cost you the match. He got distracted with the non sense his agent got him and he gave Tony Valentino some unneeded momentum going into the Fatal Four Way. For Inception, he was not willing to let that happen. He wanted it more than his opponents and that was a fact, but some preparation to go along with it would do no wrong, and he was going to consume himself in the gym from now until moments before the bell for his match rang. All he needed was for Ben to
...pick him up.
Ben: Hop up Carlos, I thought you wanted to arrive to the gym fast.
CMS gets into the car,
CMS: What made you think that?
Ben: The not so friendly message you left me threatening me and my kids if I dared to not pick you up on time and take you to the gym to get ready for the Fatal Four Way.
CMS: Yeah, well, sorry about that, it's just that, you know, you know how I felt when IWE closed right when I was about to get my World title match, and I am just days away from getting the thing I vowed to get a long time ago, championship gold, and I just don't want it to slip away from me just because I wasn't prepared enough.
Ben: Carlos..you're practically planning on turning the gym into your house for the next week, you have tapes for your opponents dating back in their careers almost to the point where they didn't use diapers for the first time and, besides, I know you man, I know you always get what you want and not just because you want it for the sake of wanting it, no, I know you bust your ass to get it, that's why I know Valentino, Biggs, Bobby King, will have nothing on you and your road to becoming the Intercontinental Championship.
CMS: Thank you Ben, I really appreciate it....but if you dont get to that gym in the next five minutes, I will imagine you are either King, Valentino or Biggs and make a punching bag out of you.
Ben: Geez, I was kinda expecting you throwing out there that phrase "giving them their Bigger than Life moment" like you always do haha.
CMS: Nah, you know, in Sunday, the Bigger than Life moment will be for me, when in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, where there's nothing you can’t do, surrounded by streets that will make you feel brand new and lights that inspire you, in the middle of Madison Square Garden inside the ring, I raise the hands above my head as the new Intercontinental Champion!
Ben: ...did you just quote Alicia Keys?
CMS: Shut up and drive.
Ben: Was that Riha...
CMS: 2 out of 5 minutes already. DRIVE.
....