{The feed starts up and we find ourselves looking at two young men, both in their early to mid teens, wrestling against each other in an old wrestling ring that's set up inside of an old barn, with a Japanese man standing near-by. The older of the two boys suddenly hooks the younger and hoists him up and over in a near-picture perfect Butterfly suplex that drives him to the mat easily but when the older boy gets back up to his feet, he sees that his younger counterpart is holding his lower back and making small "owe" sounds}
Older: You okay, Dusty?
Younger: Yeah...I think I might have landed wrong though..
{The older teen goes over to check on Dusty but the Japanese man joins the two teens in the ring, revealing it to be none other than the familiar face of none other than Vergil Urahara}
Vergil: Hold on, boyos. Let me check first.
{Vergil goes over and checks on Dusty, kneeling down to help the teen to sit up before looking at his back, poking and prodding at him just a little}
Vergil: Nothing feeling broken?
Dusty: No sir, just tender.
Vergil: Heh, probably just a minor bruise. Question, did you clench when got hoisted up for that suplex, Dusty?
{Dusty looks a little bit embarrassed before he nods slowly}
Dusty: Yes'sir.
Vergil: Well then, there's the cause. Clenching on impact is what made it hurt...
Older: Yeah, but you know one of our da's sayings, Mister Vergil. You know, that one about pain?
{Vergil rolls his eyes ever so slightly}
Vergil: Your father does love his sayings, don't he...but yeah, I know all about him and "Pain is a great teacher, especially on how not to fuck up"...But then again, one has to wonder why a man with as many scars as your father loves to use that saying, eh?
{Vergil tosses the two boys a wink which makes the two laugh as Vergil helps Dusty to stand}
Vergil: Your dad is a good guy and of course he's going to be a little bit harder on the two of you than anyone else. He didn't go that road with your older brothers and look where it got them, eh?
No, there was one that he taught me and Jase when we were training under him. One that is a lot more useful.
Older: Which was?
{Before Vergil can say anything, an older man's voice from out of the camera's view can be heard}
Voice: "Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even."
{The two teens nod in agreement before the screen fades to a shot of the same ring, only it is empty save for the one person that is resting in the ring with a thoughtful expression on his face...Jacob Striker, who takes a moment before rolling out of the ring as the screen fades to black}
=========================================
{When the screen comes back up, we see Jacob setting on a stool with the ring in the background behind him as he starts to undo the athletic tape around his hands, still with a thoughtful look on his face}
Jacob: I caught your promo and you made a couple of valid points, Indy. Fair, even, in one case. Points that I can actually respect and that's probably the last thing that you ever expected to hear come from out of my mouth.
But of course, you probably won't believe that and I can respect that because of my track record as of late...and for that I believe that I can forgive you.
I can forgive you because deep down, I actually respect you Indy, and the list of people that hold that particular honor is so small, it might not even exist and that's why I haven't come at you from every single corner and direction like I have been to a little bitch named Jenni Drew and that is because of that. Actual *respect* and at King of the World, I will honor that respect by not bringing any other thing into play unless you do it first and while everyone in this company seems to lovingly state that I'm a soulless and rotten person, when I give my word I keep it.
{Jake stops working on the tape on his hand and looks at it. The tape is dirty, bloody, and torn...his fingers are bruised dirty...and the tape splits when he makes a fist}
Jacob: But as for you being "The Guy"... that has yet to be seen, Indy, and you don't get to be "The Guy" by simply winning a title or by having a couple of losses. No, the way that I was raised is that in order to lay claim to that particular moniker, then you have to be able to reach down deep inside of you and be willing to do whatever it takes to tear down your opponent at a moment's notice.
It also means that you have to make the sacrifices for the promotion that you work for, that you're willing to take the big losses when it won't benefit you in the slightest...it also means that you're willing to be the greatest hero or the most hated villain for your company while still having one incredible match after another with whomever it is needed for that particular show! It doesn't mean that you have the ability to just stand there and look pretty while holding your shiny championship high over the monster of the week.
In that aspect alone I am the "Guy", Indy. Or haven't you come to understand why I was given the title of "Straight Shooter" by my instructors? A "Shooter" is a wrestler who has a background in legitimate fighting or otherwise has a reputation as a tough guy...take a look at any match that I'm in, be it from Graham Baker to Lillie Saint or Morgan Banch even and what do you see time and time again?
You see the reason why at King of the World why I'll be walking out the new Territorial champion because I go into each and every match with that exact mindset, because I've known defeat and I've used that experience to hone my focus and to make myself a better wrestler, and because I've known loss time and time again over the course of each pay per view loss that I've had with this company, it's made me more equal parts bitter *AND* determined because it's a vicious cycle and I know it, Indy.
{Jake then returns to removing the tape from his hand and when he's done, he laughs bitterly for just a moment before pointing at the camera}
Jacob: As for desire's of the heart...Indy my boy, if you honestly think that your heart's desire to remain champion is greater than my desire to become the champion, then to quote an old song in that you've got another thing comin. Because if you think that I'll just sit around and let you waltz off with that title after everything that I've done to get to this point, Indy, then drive as hard as you want but I'll be the one calling the shots during our match as I yank your good fortunes right out of your hands and into my back fucking pockets!
Because you see at King of the World, I know *exactly* what I'm getting into...because like any good student of the old school, I've sat down and I've studied your greatest and your worst moments of your career, my dear Indy, and I can appreciate the level that you continue to keep your work rate but come the passing of just one more day, you'll get to see first hand what limits I will surpass in order to hold that title aloft at the end of the night, Indy. Because while I have been knocked down and I’ve learned, that doesn’t mean that this time you’ll walk out the conquering hero, because for better or worse, you are looking at the next Wrestleworld Territorial champion and there is not a damned thing that you can do about it.
And before you chalk it up to this being just another "tough guy" act or anything of that like, I want you to take a few steps back and actually ask yourself this one simple question, Indy;
To what levels is Jacob Striker willing to go in order to get the job done?
You said it yourself in that you know damned well that I'm going to do everything in my power to win that title, so the better question is what will I do in order to capitalize on this once in a while shot at your title? To what depths will I go to ensure that my hand, not yours, is raised in that oh so sweet victory in the end of all things that night?
Believe me when I say that I will turn Rome to Ashes when the moment is right, because I have been working towards this day...this moment...and everything that it represents and if by some chance you and only *YOU*, Indy, manage to beat me in the end without anyone from outside like Supreme Machine or any of the other fucking jokers in the back getting involved-then I will gladly accept my loss and work to start over again.
Because if and I do mean by *IF* you can manage that feat of beating me at my own fucking game, then that means my respect in you has been well founded...but understand me in that I will never be "second best", Indy, to a man like me there is no such thing.
There is only get up and try again.
{Jacob gives the camera a dark smile}
Jacob: You see, when my father once told me that only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even, it took me loosing to Graham Baker in my first go at the One Wrestling Movement Pride championship which he only won because he fell on top of me after we'd knocked each other the fuck out in one of the hardest fought matches that I'd ever been in up to that point.
It took me getting seventeen fucking stiches in my face in the aftermath of that very match and then flying here to Wrestleworld to fight in the very match to crown the first Territorial champion for Dominion in order to fully *grasp* the full and potent meaning of it.
My father might have stolen the saying from the great Sage that is Muhammad Ali, but my father made that a *reality* for me and you can be damn well sure that at King of the World, that I'm going to not be the one that has to learn from my defeat this time, Indy. No, at King of the World you are going to be looking at the next Wrestleworld Territorial champion because the right *bastard* for the job is ready to stand up and take his rightful place as the champion.
That's the truth of our match, Indy, just like we are two pale reflections of our more famous fathers...yours loved and mine feared...this isn't about who has held the championship before that we have to uphold with reverence or anything of that ilk.
Forget whatever you assume you know about me, Indy, because at the pay per view...the bastard you know will be the man that you fear.
{The smile disappears from Jake's face as he nods to the camera}
Jacob: Be seeing you soon, Indy...and good luck.
{The screen fades to black}
Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:36 pm by 
Subject: Lessons 
