Post by Dionysus on Nov 21, 2021 5:06:13 GMT -5
Have you ever heard of the concept of the mind palace?
I take it you might have, but lets review it anyway, for our own benefit. After all, retention is the best form of education, no?
The idea is to build a warehouse in your mind to retain data; history, memories, that bit of bar trivia you learned that one time at a backwater dive in the middle of Missouri. Once constructed, you can then "walk through" your mind to find the exact information you're looking for. You could play "who would win" using the information compiled between two athletes, two teams, two armies. I understand that this was the sort of strategy you were going for, wasn't it Hector? I'm sure you and your counterpart had the right idea; observe our matches, formulate a strategy to counter each move we could muster at you, then look for an opening. As the veteran between the two of you, it should come as no surprise that you are the ring tactician and strategist.
In that sense, you and I are very much alike.
Here, a representation of what I imagine many mind palaces of men like us appear:
Magnificent, is it not? An impenetrable fortress of knowledge, able to take in a lifetime's worth of information, and using that to completely formulate that strategy. See, we are both men who understand the importance of studying up on the competition, to really take in who someone is and either exploit their weaknesses to victory, or understand why we lose. In the end, for men like us, its the experience that we're after, not necessarily the tally in the W or L columns. But see, I'm going to let you in on a little secret.
I know, isn't this exciting? We get to square off and I give you a hint? Its like Christmas! ...Well alright, not exactly Christmas; still a few weeks off...unless you're working retail.
...Now where was I...Ah, right, the secret. Well, if you recall, I mentioned we are very similar. We watch. We observe. We analyze. We retain. We use our minds as a wellspring of knowledge and pull on it whenever we need to. ...Right? Actually, here's the truth of the matter. This...is my mind palace:
...Yeah, not all that impressive, right? A collection of little spheres in a small, partially deflated pool that vaguely smells of internet angst and a slight bit of piss. Now I'd understand if you wanted to look at this and laugh uncontrollably, that this pathetic excuse of a repository can barely stand to your years of experience and multitude of matches that you have experienced. Hell, I'd laugh too...if it weren't for the fact that this is actually much more efficient.
Consider, if you will; you utilize this wellspring of information at your beck and call in order to remember, analyze, and utilize. And its absolutely MASSIVE! Lots of information you can pull from and be effective. And its all well and good, but...doesn't it seem like too much to process? I mean, you're working with years and years of experience to help dictate what your next move will be, or the next five or six moves. Me? Well, that's an entirely different story. See, I'm more than happy retaining the most relevant information about whomever I'm going up against, then working on the fly and changing up that strategy to best suit my needs. Having trouble locking in a hold? Well, guess its time to strike! Can't land a dive? No problem; I'll just work things out on the ropes.
See, this level of flexibility makes the difference in matches. Its why I was able to consider that running out the clock would be a viable strategy against our opponents should our matches run a time limit. And boy did they at Execution. Now, it isn't inherently your fault; it was a miscalculation. After all, whose ever seen a match run to its time limit here? At least recently? Not I, that's for sure. So of course it would be a perfect way to ensure that we could protect ourselves should the worst happen.
You two are valuable competition for this division, make no mistake of that. The problem you're facing is that you two are up against the new architects of this division; you're facing two competitors who, despite their differences, understand the importance of competition and utilizing unconventional strategy in order to achieve victory. And if there's anything I am, its unconventional. I mean look at me; I compared the inner workings of my mind to a fucking ball pit. I spent the better part of half the year going on about fucking tortilla chips. And yet, you can't help but see the results for yourself; a tag title victory against a top seeded team in our industry, a good showing at this year's Havoc in the #1 position, multiple invitations to events outside these walls, a number of high profile victories against many former champions, and the year is hardly even over yet! And no, I'm not exactly the bragging type, but dammit when I've had a good year, I'm going to let people know about it.
But why is any of this important? Well, it shows what kind of man I truly am; a perpetual underdog willing to be the one that is forgotten about. Oh yes, it isn't a mistake that I continually refer to myself as "The Man Action Wrestling Forgot." Its a clear message, isn't it? Why would Action Wrestling continue to forget someone like me? Why would I want to call myself that? Well, what if I told you that I want people to forget about what I can do? What I am truly capable of? It leads to a lot of underestimation and that fact causes many of my opponents to slouch, to take it easy, to think that they will walk away a victor while I lay back and take the job. The truth is, a lot of people forget that I'm a former world champion. I don't exactly parade around talking about that fact, but its true. Not here, of course; I mean sure, the records can be quite inaccurate at times (just take a look at the All-In section if you really want to know how behind that is), but you'd think I'd make sure my own name would show up there.
Regardless, that is a trait I see in you; your ability to analyze anybody works especially well, provided they remain consistent. I strive to change up how I work in the ring. Sure, I use similar moves all the time, moves I'm comfortable using, moves I know won't necessarily do serious harm to my opponents. However, when and how they are executed can often times come from nowhere. I could be taking a beating all match, then suddenly return with a surge of energy and pick up the win. Then again, I can just as easily get overconfident in a match and lose it all because of my own lack of foresight. Your problem, Hector, is your overreliance of thinking six steps ahead when there is a more immediate problem you need to address.
Its that mindset you and your partner have that cost you at Execution.
But again, I wouldn't hold that against you. As I mentioned, you're both fantastic opponents and a welcome addition in the tag team landscape. Think of Execution as a lesson. And that lesson is this: never assume to understand the mind of a man whose usual training regiment involves listening to colorfully-dressed Germans singing about Russia's capital. Don't think six moves ahead when only one will suffice. And especially don't forget what I've told you here today about myself.
You need ammunition for our match at Clash, after all. I'd hate to see you come unprepared.