Reflections

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Atlanta, Georgia, certainly a much friendlier environment than Knoxville, Tennessee that’s for sure. Frank Washington didn’t quite get a hero’s welcome on the first edition of combat considering his checkered past in the entire state but despite the change in venue he knew he was firmly behind enemy lines from here on out having to compete under protest. In an ironic twist his own legal team was bought out from under him by the very man trying to end his career for a good part of four years but in the back of his mind he expected something; it’s what followed next that disturbed him. Chris Williams finally took a dive to the deep end and cast his morals, beliefs, and everything he once stood for aside.

Frank Washington was far from the arena instead preferring a more serene venue in the form of the Chattahoochee River on a mild autumn’s day. His reflection could be seen in the water as he was perched on a rock on the coastline; his eyes were a window to his own inner reflection. He stared at the water for a few moments as a wry smile formed on his face as he finally spoke, his eyes never once diverting to the camera.

Frank Washington: It’s a sad state of affairs to see what a person would sell for a taste of power. They say that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and looking at the first episode of RWD Sunday Night Combat there’s no denying the wholesale corruption. You got Travis Rech, a man who looks the part and talks the part of a sleazy used car salesman, you have Robert Garland using his position as General Manager to enact a personal agenda while bribing legal teams… and then we have Chris Williams.

His eyes appear distant as he stares into his reflection in deep thought as the gears were running on all full cylinders inside his mind. It wasn’t enough that he was already deeply entrenched in a personal blood feud rivaled only by the Hatfields and McCoys of old but it was the enemy lurking right under his nose the whole time that caught him off guard. While it may not be widely known to those from the Missouri territory or RWD Frank Washington and Chris Williams had engaged in several high profile matches against each other in the past when the roles were reversed. Years ago when he was the Revolutionary Turncoat in the NY/NJ territory he was one of the few people to beat Chris by pinfall before challenging him later for the World Championship all the while looking to collect a bounty on his head. Despite not winning the second encounter the two continued to exchange victories over the years with neither man having a clear advantage over the other. To say the two had a certain familiarity with each other would be an understatement even if their paths didn’t always cross directly but this certainly wasn’t the Chris Williams he knew.

Frank Washington: You see Chris I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to believe when the chips were pushed to the center of the table you would do the right thing and resist temptation. The Chris Williams I knew would’ve put his personal feelings aside and leave it all in the ring; he wouldn’t sell his soul to a puppet master and do his bidding like a mindless machine.

Frank finally looks up from the river as he grabs a flat, smooth stone nearby. He examines it studiously for a moment as he moves it around in his hand.

Frank Washington: Yet all I hear on Twitter is how Chris Williams is such a machine, ending every sentence with “I am Machine”. “They'll get one match. You won't be physically able to have more than that. I'll make sure of it. I am Machine.”, “At the end of SNC, I will yet again stand tall. Fact. You will need medical assistance. Fact. I am Machine.”” I've cast off the dead skin. @the_RWD isn't ready for what's to come. I am Machine. #EndFrankWashington”

Frank soaks his words in sarcasm as he recalls several of Chris’s tweets over the past week.

Frank Washington: Face it, in the end you’re no better than Michael Smart.

A sly grin creeps across his face knowing that would certainly get his attention.

Frank Washington: Ever since that fateful day in 2010 you’ve never forgiven him or his cousin Daniel when Michael broke Elizabeth Bledell’s neck just because she happened to be at ringside. To tell you the truth in a way I don’t blame you, he made things far more personal than they needed to be, yet how could you sit there with a clear conscious condemning him for his actions when you only look to repeat them?

Frank slowly stands up as his grin only seemed to get wider as he spoke. He knew he was taking the low road by bringing Elizabeth into this but at the same time the truth wasn’t always kind or gentle either. At the end of the day that’s exactly what Chris, Badger, and Rech were trying to do; end his career and inflict serious injury by any means necessary. In the end bringing up this nugget of information served a dual purpose as it not only allowed him to get inside his mind in this game of mental chess, which it certainly would but it was also perhaps a last ditch effort to get a man he once respected to turn back before It was too late.

Frank Washington: Riddle me this Chris, what would your girlfriend Elizabeth Bledell think of your recent actions; what would she think of you becoming the very man you despise? Is it worth the risk of possibly losing the one you love in the name of a personal quest for vengeance? Is it worth losing everything to align with a man who promises you everything just to use you in the end? Or are you going to dig yourself out of the hole you dug yourself into, push the lies out of your head that Robert Garland fed you and do the right thing and be the Chris Williams that shook my hand in San Jose in 2012?

He tossed the rock up in the air several times as he stared out to the river in deep thought. Finally he catches the rock one final time before skipping it across the river causing it to hop across the water several times before finally sinking, the impact causing ripples in the water. His grin slowly faded away as his eyes reflected a steady but fiery determination, his voice reflecting the grave and serious nature of the crossroads set before them.

Frank Washington: I can guarantee one thing though, if you choose to remain on the path you’re on I won’t hesitate to go to any means necessary to make your life a living hell just like Garland and Rech. If you go after Shawna, if you try to end my career and take my livelihood away, to take food off of my family’s table I will take it personally. If you’re hellbent on ending my career you better make your one chance count because if you fail I guarantee you’ll be drawn into a war you have no hope of winning.

Frank then reaches into his pocket and retrieves a silver dollar, placing it ontop of his right hand with his fist, his thumb slightly tucked in preparation.

Frank Washington: You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Which man will Chris Williams be going forward?

With that Frank flicks the coin high up into the air upon delivering the famous line from The Dark Knight before snatching it from the air.