Road To Glory Press Conference

[Jackson]

Post as you may, folks. 

[maddox]

Rather than be in attendance for the press conference in person, due to being in St. Louis for 4CW Adrenaline, Maddox Lucien has opted to send a conference message via satellite. The screen behind the podium is on with Maddox waiting for his cue.



“Hello, Maddox Lucien here. I know, you all are dying for me to be there to answer your questions in person. Unfortunately, that isn’t possible. I’m here taking part in a Bad Company tag team tournament tomorrow night. I’m sure you all understand.”



He takes a moment.



“That in mind. I’m answering your questions my own way. First question, does Chris Madison have a point about resiliency? My answer. Screw resiliency. Next question.”



Maddox waits for a moment for an inaudible question.



“You’re asking if Mark Storm has me worried. The answer is no. Why? I haven’t been in the ring with him before. I walk into a match with two guys I have never faced before. They’re walking into a match with me. Not the other way around. Mark Storm should be worried about me. He has no idea what…”



Maddox points to himself.



“…this rookie is capable of in that ring.”



Maddox waits for another question that isn’t audible to be asked. He processes the question and considers it for a moment before he responds.



“I know. I haven’t won many matches in 4CW. If I lose tomorrow, that doesn’t say I’m going to lose at Road to Glory. Each night is different. Next question…”



Maddox takes a series of questions connected to each other that no one else can hear.



“I can see your point of view. The doubt doesn’t surprise me. It’s the doubt that I have to prove wrong. Can I really cut it in this industry? As you refer to Chris Madison’s reference to which Maddox Lucien will be in that ring on September 10th, I am telling you that you will not be disappointed. I’m taking Mark Storm and Chris Madison to the limit. When I’m done proving that I belong in professional wrestling…every single company is going to have a bunch of champions hoping that I don’t come and take their title from them. That’s how this works. A guy running around like Chris Madison, bulldozing his way through the ranks, and winning titles puts every champion on standby. At this point, no one knows the name Maddox Lucien outside of a name on a poster or in a advertisement that supports the favored opponent. After Road to Glory they will know that Maddox Lucien was better than both Chris Madison and Mark Storm on September 10th in the Fukuoka Kokusai Center.”



Maddox pauses and then continues to go on.



“That doesn’t mean that I’m better than Chris Madison or Mark Storm tonight. It doesn’t mean I’m better than them two months from now, six months, or even a year from now. It just means that when it matters, the record books will show that I was better than they were on a night when we entered the ring to see who had their arm raised.”



Maddox listens to another inaudible question. He taps a finger against his chin. He smiles big and then starts to answer the question.



“I guess beating Madison in a triple threat should make Perry Wallace think about giving a 4CW Pride Championship match. But, what he decides on when I beat Madison and if the guy can keep the title in the first place remains to be seen. I’ll just cross that bridge when it comes to it. Won’t matter, though. When the time comes…Chris Madison is going to have to figure out a new strategy. That’s…IF…he can keep the belt at Adrenaline tomorrow night.”



Maddox waits but there are no more questions.



“If that’s all, I’ll take my leave. Have a great night. See you soon boys…”



The satellite feed goes to a screen showing no signal with a freeze shot of Maddox Lucien smiling big.

[chrismadison]

There's a lull in the crowd as they away the next participant of the Road to Glory event to emerge for the presser. The flashes from some of the photographers rapidly light up as Chris Madison walks out with Frankie Morrison by his side and the 4CW Pride Championship draped over his shoulder. They walk passed the podium and sit down at a table that had been set up on stage with a pair of microphones placed down in front of them. Madison folds the straps of his championship belt so that it stands on its own with the main plate facing outward towards the crowd. Morrison sips on a cup of coffee from a styrofoam cup and then picks up the microphone.

"Unlike Mr. Lucien, my client Chris Madison felt it was more respectful to NJFC and the people of Fukuoka, Japan, if we made the trip before heading back out to St. Louis for 4CW's next Adrenaline show", he announced with a devilish grin. "So please, by all means, ask whatever you please."

The crowded room of reporters from all different media outlets roared as they punched their arms vigorously into the air, trying to grab Chris Madison's attention. "Before we get to any questions, I feel like I should address the elephant in the room", Chris said, drawing a sudden hush from the reporters. "The last couple of months there's been no secret that I'm looking at all of my options before settling on a new contract. 4CW has offered me a hefty sum to stay and compete under their banner. A handful of companies have been more than welcoming, allowing me to join their ranks for a show as a test run; NJFC was one of those companies. I'm not going to spoil my plan and reveal my decision prematurely, but there is a deal in place that'll allow me to continue to compete in NJFC when the dates are free. Road to Glory won't be the last time that the people of Japan get to see Chris Madison inside of a NJFC ring! With that being said, ask away", he announced, opening the floor to questions.

A member of the NJFC staff stood on the floor and looked out towards the reporters who impatiently awaited their turn to ask Chris Madison a question. The first reporter was selected and to rose to his feet with a pad of paper and pen in hand. "The last time we saw you inside of a NJFC ring you were very impressive with a win over Eric Darkthorne, a man that was much larger than you. How did your training for this match against Maddox Lucien and Mark Storm differ", he asked.

"With Darkthorne it was simple. I had one target, one man to prepare for. Triple threat matches are always tough. Factoring in a second opponent, the risk that I don't even need to be involved in the fall to lose the match, you've truly got to be on your toes. Maddox Lucien and Mark Storm are two tremendous talents; guys who could really challenge me had this been one on one. But you don't go unbeaten for nearly fourteen months without being able to tackle any challenge head on", Chris explained.

Chris nodded his head towards the worker on the floor, signaling for the next question. Another reporter was selected, rising out of his seat in the front row with a tape recorder in hand. "All three of you will be competing Wednesday night. How will competing that close together with little time to travel effect you three", the reporter quizzed.

"It's tough to speak for my opponents. I know my limits, I know what my body is capable of. I don't see the travel effecting my performance in that ring at all. Lucien and Storm are going to get the best possible Chris Madison that they can inside that ring. I get a sense, with Storm's already hectic schedule, he's accustomed to a lack of rest in between matches. The only real question mark is Maddox Lucien. He's still fairly new to the business. He's got the potential of being involved in three matches on Wednesday night. Then to top it off, he's up against two established guys just days later. This kid doesn't know what he's walking into", Chris said while shaking his head.

Once again the reporters fought to get the attention of the moderator who was selecting the next journalist to ask a question. He makes his choice, opening the forum up. "Maddox Lucien seemed adamant that he was going to leave this triple threat, not only the winner, but making a name for himself at the expense of you and Mark Storm. Care to address that sentiment", he asked.

"Anytime you step through those ropes you should be confident in your own abilities. Maddox Lucien believes in himself, especially seeing as few others look at this match and share the same feeling. I'm not trying to take anything away from Maddox Lucien. He's been impressive in the early stages of his career, but he has no idea what he's up against. We're talking about a guy who thinks that i've never lost a match in my career. He can't even be bothered to actually scout his opponents. Ignorance must truly be bliss", Chris answered before taking a sip of water from a plastic bottle that was on the table. Just as the moderator was about to choose the next reporter, Madison interrupted. "Maddox Lucien forced himself into this position. Frankie took to twitter and said I'd take on anyone, he had the balls to step up to the plate. But so did Mark Storm. And as quiet as he's been leading into this match, he's one of the toughest opponents that I've been booked against over this span of nearly fourteen months. Mark Storm is accomplished. Mark Storm is one tough son of a bitch. Mark Storm is fully capable of ending this streak. There are those in this industry that pushed a smear campaign against him on twitter, hash tagging the phrase Mark Storm sucks... That couldn't be any further from the truth. Even though you people seem to be more focused on Maddox Lucien because of how vocal he's been, my attention has never swayed from Mark Storm!"

Chris pushed off of the table and grabbed his championship belt. Frankie Morrison slowly rises behind him and looks pleased as they walk off stage.

["The Iceman" Konrad Raab]

It took Konrad half an hour to get changed into smart clothes to come straight to the press conference due to him being quite behind on everything as he quickly comes in the press conference room with Konrad looking at the photographers and journalists in the room as Konrad pours himself a glass of water and takes a bit of a sip before he starts to speak at the press conference to make his own speech.

Konrad Raab: "Bare with me on this as I've only just arrived here a few hours ago. Anyway before I talk about my opponent, let me talk about the match I had against Jon Kellar for the GPC Heavyweight title. It's true, I did lose the match, but not in a way I thought I would lose since I didn't get pinned or even tapped out, I passed out due to being in a lot of pain and well, I might not be in pain anymore from the move Kellar put on me, but rather the pain I'm still feeling from the match I had against Chris Cannon as he speared me out of nowhere and I still have to wrestle with bruised ribs, but it's getting a bit better now. I was devastated to lose of course I would be when I blew the chance to become a champion in NJFC."

Of course, Konrad had been crying after the match loss he had cos it was really hard on him as he takes a bit more of a sip of the water and speaks again.

Konrad Raab: "Yes so I have the chance luckily to move on from the loss to face against Leon Cashmere. We are so alike with our moves and personalities that I see myself facing against a worthy competitor who I have nothing against at all whatsoever. Mind you, I never really do with any opponents I face unless they've either provoked me or I know I will be provoked. But in this case, we've not really interacted that much on twitter because we both have busy schedules with our wrestling careers. I'm aware of what Leon can do in the ring when it comes to me watching a few of his matches both in ECWF and the company he's with now, PAW."

There's not really much for Konrad to say when it comes to this match, considering he nearly forgot about it which luckily, he double checked beforehand since he got caught up in a pregnancy family situation with Konrad's wife being pregnant and Konrad's eldest daughter from his previous marriage was pregnant as well. He pours some more water and takes a quick sip before speaking again.

Konrad Raab: "There's no doubt in my mind that Leon will be champion at some point and I went to go over the point that we both are always looking to prove ourselves to become title contenders and I always take my opponents seriously and I do with Leon, considering he's achieved a lot more than me and we are pretty much on equal front when it comes to our styles in the ring, but his stamina may is a lot better than mine, although I've worked a lot on my stamina over the past few weeks to improve myself as a wrestler. I can't wait to wrestle again in Japan in front of the fans because I aim to take Leon to his limits and I know we'll be tearing the whole arena down because of having the same amount of respect for this business."

Konrad knew how important this match was for him because he knew he had to win to prove he's worthy to wrestle against. Konrad again takes a few sips of his water before he poses for a few pictures before he speaks again five minutes later.

Konrad Raab: "I need to win this match because I need to prove myself to the Japanese wrestling world that I'm still able to compete against the top wrestlers in the world and Leon is the kind of opponent I need to face against because we both are power and technical wrestlers which excites me on the fact that either one of us could win the match against each other. Either one of us has the chance to become a title contender for the heavyweight title. I know I've blown my chances, but this is a match where I can easily make a comeback and win against Leon Cashmere without the use of violence and weapons I refuse to fight in that kind of style because this is about the competitiveness and pride we have for this business and we'll see who will come out the winner for the match tomorrow night because it's unpredictable at this stage, but I have to be confident to say that I will win the match since I have to and the fans in Japan expect me to be at my best and I will be. I need to get some sleep now and you'll see me in the ring tomorrow night."

Konrad was too tired to talk more about the match and plus had nothing else to say as he gets up and goes to his hotel room to get the much needed sleep he needed. The next day comes with him going down to the gym and works out all day until it was 5 in the evening to get something to eat and drink more fluids before he goes straight to the arena, being completely ready to face against Leon Cashmere.