Oh, Canada

Where do I even begin?

I let out a sigh as I sat quietly backstage of an unfamiliar arena out in the middle of Milwaukee. It was only a matter of days before CLASH, which was set to be a big one after the massive supershow the previous week. Yet I find myself dwelling on the events that took place at REVOLUTION. At the time, I had no idea I was assisted by the members of Heritage, and after watching the match over again… I’m not totally sure that I would have won without the help.


Part of me appreciates the assistance, and I’m happy to still be TV Champion. But there's another part of me that feels dirty for having won under such nefarious circumstances… I know Odin has a reputation for being a less than reputable man who is often without scruples, but does that make it okay to have beaten him in such a way?

And then there was The Heritage. It’s always nice to chat with them as they’re my fellow countrymen. They are some of the few Canadians on the roster and we’ve always been friendly backstage. But their statement after the match makes me wonder if they are trying to recruit me into The Heritage. I mean they really put me over as some sort of Canadian hero, which TBH isn’t talked about nearly enough.

I am a legitimate top rate superstar back home in Canada… Especially in the Midwest and west coast where the name TJ Grey is a household word. Every time I step foot in any arena from Calgary to Vancouver, I get that road warrior pop. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the USA and its fans have been very kind and welcoming to me. But it’s not the same as Canada. And losing that loud crowd support is part of the reason I had such a lukewarm start here in AW.

But then there’s the ethics of it… As much as I love those guys in Heritage, I don’t always agree with their tactics. I appreciate the help and friendship. Hell, I even enjoy their company backstage as they always have a way to get me laughing.

If I tell them thanks, but don’t help me, then I’m more or less on my own with the exception of Holden and Lissie, who are also two of my closest friend's backstage.

If I let it slide and say nothing, they may continue to sweep the opposition and help me to victory… Which, selfishly, is a nice idea. But it really goes against my principles, especially since I’m trying to build a brand here in the USA. Having the fans here think that I can’t do it on my own would do nothing but bad things for that brand.

But at the same time… If I tell The Heritage to stay away, they may think I’m a bitch and that I don’t appreciate them. And that’s also not true.

“We’re about to start, TJ”

My attention snapped to the cameraman and backstage production team set up to film my vignette for this week’s show… It’s the whole reason we were all here so many days ahead of the show.

“Right”

I said with a nod before grabbing my TV Title to sling proudly over my shoulder. I stood up and cleared my throat, positioning myself so that the rows of lockers would be the backdrop. My mind stood quiet; my eyes fixated ahead as I got the queue to begin. The red light on the camera flashed on and like a light switch, I went right into character.

“John Blade… Proudly made in the US-of-A. Wow bro, I’ve gotta tell you… After hearing all the nonsense you spewed about me, I’m really starting to understand why they say your brain is 70% rocks and 30% CTE”

Yes, I just called him stupid… But in fairness, that hurrah promo he cut on me was full of cringe.

“You talk about God, Guns, and Freedom. You compare my country with yours and try to make this about national pride. Well pal, I can tell you that I love my country just as much as you love yours, but I don’t need to cut a xenophobic rant to make that point. In fact this has nothing to do with the USA or Canada. It has nothing to do with what happened at Revolution, nor is it about the Heritage. So once again, you’ve missed the whole point, cowboy”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. There was no way I was going to be bated into talking about the USA’s political problems as of late.
All while Canada enjoys stability and unity under the Trudeau Government..

Imagine that…

“This is about MY AW Television Championship. I could care less about who you are, where you’re from, or how much time you have left on your contract. You can come down to the ring with your meathead physique and those dumb joarts, you can wave the American Flag all you want. But none of that garbage is going to help you after the bell rings.”

This guy’s probably a hard right-winger…
He talks like one anyway

“And as far as The Heritage goes. I’m not their keeper, so they do what they want to do independent of what I say. And besides, I don’t need their help to beat your ass from pillar to post.” I paused…“But after what you’ve said about them… I also can’t stop them from kicking your ass either.”

I grinned.
The uncertainty could actually help me here

“I guess you have more than one thing to worry about on Monday night… Don’t you?”