khalidplsstfu - Tumblr blog

khalidplsstfu · 5 months

Text

To Be Loved Is To Be Changed

It's kinda hard to belive that quote is attributed to a random twitter user. It's even harder to believe that it's true. Every couple of months, something happens to me that alters the way my brain works, maybe forever and i never really talk about it. The situation in this post is one of those situations.

A large percent of my 2023 was spent missing an ex- girlfriend. Very cliche, but also very painful. I questioned everything about the relationship, but mostly the part i played in it's disintegration. The ways in which i failed to be the lover and friend my ex needed was very heavy on my mind. which was weird because i literally never think about ways i failed. but that time spent reflecting on the days I spent being as unperturbed and unaware of my girlfriends feelings as a mostly homeless young man can be left me with me with something resembling an answer.

The reality was that like most men in my life, i put the emotions of those i care about on the back burner in favor of the results I wanted to see. Probably in an effort to protect my emotional self which had almost been beaten to numbness by a tramuatic childhood and young adult life. It's a practice i learned to use on myself, and then spread to other people as some type of barometer of how worth my time they are. Is it kind? Does it make everyone feel seen or heard? No. Did it save me from cold ravolii cans and nights using a bathroom handwarmer to stay warm? Yes.

This hardened dedication to my goals and absolute withdrawl from my emotional self without a doubt saved my life. It saved me from being a vagrant loser, another man who depends on the blessings of others to sustain his own life. But closing that door to how i felt had disatorious effects on my relationship, as i wasn't just closing the door to how I felt, but to FEELINGS in general.

"But that was then" I told myself. "Surely, with all the books i read, all the podcast and lectures and interviews with feminist rants i've consumed, i'm more ready to feel and be felt than ever. More ready to hear and be heard" At the time I was working at a shoe store where my closest thing to a work friend was a middle aged white woman who hated her husband and complained about him every chance she got. Which I gave her many, because learning from a old dude's mistakes is a big part of being a young dude. Anyway, the advice from my work buddy was very concise.

"contact her and let her know how you feel. It's the only way you'll know if she feels the same. and you'll regret it if you don't"

advice that good cant be ignored, especially if you kinda wanna do the thing you're seeking advice about anyway. so i did it. i wrote my greatest love letter ever. i was vunerable. caring. apologetic. everything i thought i was supposed to be. And surprisingly it worked. So well we hung out that night.

But something was diffrent this time. something that makes me feel that dark feeling in the pit of my stomach even as i write. The feeling that I was being mislead. being made a fool of. Too many quickly hidden phone screens and vauge answers. But like every other man, I was a fool. I said " I do not see" I was ready to bare the horror of trusting another human being with my emotions. If trust was a part of love, i was all in. After all, a life without love isnt much of a life at all.

Somehow, in my infinite stupidity, i decided to use some of my disposable income to celebrate her birthday. This was a decision so stupid i routinely beat myself up about it inside the safety of my mind. A decision so stupid the khalid that orginally met the girl in question simply would've never done it.

"Why would i spend money on a girl i barely trust" 19 year old khalid would say. And honestly that kid knew more than i'd give him credit for. But with our focus re-established, i decided to spend her birthday this year showing her how much she meant to me. I planned a day and fully funded it with the last decent check that shoestore would give me. I got two dinners and two tickets to the worst aquariam dallas has to offer and 7 grams of weed for us to smoke. All in preparation for what was a absoloutely horrible day.

Like most horrible days, this one started off relatively normal. I got high and dressed and mentally prepared to pay the debt i owe someone who i've loved for years. she showed up and was as beautiful as she always is and I started us on our way.

In all honesty the day remanined pretty good until we left the aquariam. At which point we lost the car so we couldn't return for a quick smoke after we ate. Frustrating, but instead of lumping my frustration on her i just tried to focus up and find the car. There was a very noticeable frustrated silence while we looked for the car but eventually we did find it. we smoked. and headed to applebees.

applebees. my home away from home. the home of the 4 dollar pint on friday night. in all honesty the perfect place to have your lifelong perspective altered forever, its almost like a fighting game stage in the way there's just limitless oppurtunity to see things you've never seen before. And that warm day in august, that's exactly what I saw.

In order for the events that happened that day, at that applebee's table to make sense to you dear reader, i have to provide context. Not to suck my own dick or anything, but im not a dude who just started getting pussy a week ago. I've been blessed enough to have a face that allows me to expirence the female form in a somewhat consistent way. Saying that to say, i know what it's like to be around good women. And shifty ones. And as me and my ex were having a beautiful day at that applebees table, I saw the shifty woman trademark. the ol "silence the phone and pretend they didn't see"

Now in the moment, i was salty. I felt a whole relationship's worth of mistrust and self consciousness flow through me. she kept trying to talk to me, and i tried my best to respond, but i felt like a dweeb the whole time. After all who was I in that moment? Paying for a date for a girl hiding her phone from you? Planning a day around someone not named Khalid or Khalid Jr? Putting myself in a position to see myself in these ways? what was i ?

I was changed. My first love made me a changed man.

To make a long story short, I've never been on a worse date in my life. I have to be honest and say that I found myself fighting back tears at more than one point. "You've gone soft. This would've never happened to you in 2020. Couple months alone and you lose your spine?" and more and more all played in my head as i sat in silence. At a table at one of my favorite establishments, with what i thought was the person that understood me the most, i felt completely alone. and that was enough to make me cry without being on drugs.

I don't remember how the rest of the day went exactly. I remember making a beeline for my home. saying my goodbyes. overwhelming dread. wanting privacy I couldn't have because i live in an apartment with one too many people. I remember her texting me, accosting me for my behavior. And i remember one sentence more vividly than anything she's ever said to me.

"You know, i don't really owe you anything" she says.

I was blown away. we'd spent days in love. nights looking out for each other. shared our dreams. our fears. the intricacies of our family relationships. young summers spent stealing time with each other. I felt I owed her so much. She took the time to try and see me in a way nobody else cared to. I spent so much time rationalizing her feelings. trying to empathize. and for what? did we owe each other anything? i didn't recognize the author of the messages i was reading. That was the moment that I realized that it didn't just happen to me. My love had changed her as well. I had given her the experience nesscary to guard her emotions and she had taught me to let my guard down. I don't know who made who worse. I'm scared to know in all honesty.

The story ends with me thanking her for the oppurtunity to "get her out of my system" and going about my way. I think about her often. My first love. I wish I could go back to 2019 and tell myself to make sure to enjoy every moment of her i'd have before it turns into dust. Nowadays every girl is like the new verision of my ex i met last year. Now I wonder did love make them that way as well, and if any of us can ever be saved.

#love #and #love-like #feelings

6 notes · View notes

khalidplsstfu · 10 months

Text

The succession finale ruined my life

The title of this essay is not an overstatement. Somehow, against all odds, three fictional nepotism babies have taken things from me over the course of one episode that have yet to return. In this essay, I will focus on that finale episode of the series.

The episode begins with audio from a news report detailing the current situation. Waystar Royco, a legacy company owned and built up by now deceased Logan Roy, is set to be purchased by GoJo, a company owned by eccentric billionaire Lukas Matsson. With this audio playing, we join Logan’s son Kendall as he heads to the office. Once there, he asks about an upcoming board meeting, which I always found fascinating on Succession. The crew’s work brings such gravitas and drama to something as mundane as a board meeting. It sometimes feels like whole seasons lead up to these characters just sitting together in a room. And the actors’ performances in these scenes are phenomenal. The way Kieran Culkin looks physically ill with fear as Logan berates him in S1 E6 feels like a mob movie, not a show about the wealthy elite.

But back to the episode at hand...

Kendall enters the office where his team waits with more bad news (Kendall getting his bubble popped is almost a cliche in this show). Kendall has lost the votes of two key parties needed to stop the acquisition of his father’s company.Starting the episode this way give the writers a chance to slyly tell us directly: “He doesn’t have it. We know you love this rich loser and want to see him succeed, but we promise, he doesn’t have it.” The audience ignores these warnings, just as Kendall ignores the staffer trying to give him a fair warning of impending doom. "I got this," he falsely assures the man who will likely be fired when, not if Kendall fails.

Then the entrance theme starts.

and then we join Lucas Matsson and Shiv Roy, Logan's daughter and Kendall’s sister has conspired with Matsson to assist in purchasing Waystar Royco so she can become CEO. Her desire for Matsson's approval likely connects to her need for validation from her now-deceased withholding father. As they scheme, the conversation turns to Shiv's husband Tom Wambsgans, who runs Waystar’s news organization, and his future role. Shiv advocates firing Tom, calling him a corporate bootlicker metaphorically and a “highly interchangeable modular part” literally. Moments later, Shiv gets a call and we have the first plot twist: the third Roy sibling has been found.

En route to convince her brother to take her side, Shiv calls Tom and shares updates, including on their crumbling marriage. Shiv seems open to rekindling things but doesn’t know how. Even expressing vulnerability, she speaks in the Roys’ calculated way. When she finally cracks and asks if Tom will have a real relationship with her, his ambivalent "I don't know" breaks her heart and mine.

When we rejoin Kendall, he is leaving cringey messages for his friend, unaware Roman has been found. Learning Roman’s location, both siblings head his way.

Roman Roy, the youngest sibling, is at their mother's house. Shiv arrives, then Kendall, and they are ready to rumble. After getting beaten up at a protest, Roman seems to have had an awakening. In his own weird way, he tells Kendall he wants out. He sees their corporate world as bullshit, Kendall as desperately trying to fill undeserved shoes, and doesn’t want to participate anymore. With messy hair and a t-shirt instead of a suit, chilling at mom’s house, his contrast to his polished siblings is subtle but loud. Kudos to him for being over it all.

I won’t delve too deeply into the great Tom and Greg relationship here, so back to the siblings sitting together. This time it’s closer to sibling chatter than rumbling. Roman expresses wishing he could help both, while Shiv is confident she’s on the winning team. She tells them not to make this a reason for her future kids to lose their uncles. “Take it like men,” she arrogantly says, “because I won.”

In the very next scene, we learn Shiv is “pulling a Kendall.” Tom attends a tense dinner with Matsson, feeling his head is on the chopping block. This was a masterclass in Tom Wambsgans. He kowtows completely to be the ultimate corporate tool, and what does it get him?

The fucking CEO job offer, right under Shiv’s nose.

This was the first moment I ever considered someone besides a Roy becoming CEO. Here, a small-town buffoon proves hungrier and more capable than those born for it, which absolutely gutted me. Some things should be sacred, like a man’s birthright. If Kendall or Roman can’t have it, at least Shiv would through cunning. That would be appalling yet understandable given the stakes. But imagining Kendall futilely resenting his father until death without achieving his life’s mission? We must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Remember that Tom-Greg dynamic? Tom brought Greg, who sneakily got intel on Matsson snubbing Shiv using a translation app, then reported it to Kendall at the family dinner table. Before the bombshell, Greg nervously asks Kendall from the bathroom:

“Can you guys win?”

Kendall swiftly springs into action upon learning Matsson is trying to screw over Shiv, who doubts it initially then realizes it's true. Suddenly, the Roys unite like Voltron, full of fire and brimstone to stop the company sale through calls and plots. Cue “The Boys Are Back in Town”

In the next scenes, we get some of the finest family relationship development i've ever seen in media, as the Roys actually bond and enjoy each other’s company for once, like a real family. From preparing a “Meal Fit for a King” to conversing with their mother, this new dynamic humanized them. They depart as a cohesive Roy Voltron.

First stop is getting cherished items from Logan’s possessions, where we see the conclusion of Connor’s storyline. His prostitute wife very likely used him for money, and they’re splitting after a two-week marriage. RIP Connor. As they sort through Logan’s things, they share a somber moment watching home videos and silently grieving together, a surprisingly human moment. Afterward, Tom drops the bomb on Shiv about being offered CEO. Shiv reacts typically, calling Tom an “empty suit” with the man himself mere feet away. The hurt on both their faces is palpable.

The battle lines are drawn with 20 minutes left in the finale.

For context, when I started Succession, I assumed I knew how it would go. Kendall Roy would rightfully become CEO after learning tough lessons. I related to him, so when he humbly asked his siblings’ blessing before taking his father’s seat, it felt real.

Much happens in these gripping final minutes that I won’t delve into here. Please watch the brilliant finale and podcast for the full emotional weight. We fast forward to the pivotal board meeting and shareholder vote.

Kendall confidently walks in ready to claim his birthright, all charm and politics. After pleasantries, he demands that approving the deal requires firing him first. He pushes for an immediate vote, and quick no’s sound off until Shiv’s turn, when she walks out. When questioned by her bewildered brothers, she utters Kendall’s worst fear:

“Uh, I might’ve changed my mind.”

“What the fuck?” Kendall replies.

In the last 15 minutes, I watched my favorite fictional family implode. From rehashing past wounds to Kendall lying about a big secret to the childish fighting, this was clearly the point of no return that severs the family indefinitely.

In the end, they sell the company. Tom assumes the CEO role. Kendall grapples with suicide by a river. Roman grabs a drink at a bar. Shiv becomes a CEO’s wife. Nobody got what they wanted except the corporate yes-man. And yet...

Seven stars on the high-speed scale for this devastating finale.

#succession #kendall roy #shiv roy #stewy #tom wambsgans

2 notes · View notes

khalidplsstfu · 2 years

Text

Miro vs Eddie Kingston: "I am not in the charity business, And neither is my god"

The feud between Eddie Kingston and Miro was a short-lived one , but that time when it was alive was a time like no other. In the midst of an amazing, albeit a bit overcrowded All Out pay-per-view card, Kingston and Miro were able to pay off a story both grand in scope and logically conducive. But like the beginning of any good sports story, the athletes at the center are where it all starts.

Miro. Strong as hell. Religious nut. To say he's been dominant would be an understatement though. Blessed by his god with a body made of stone. In fact, up to this point, no one could even begin to find a way to beat him, if there is one. He started out his TNT title reign by beating Darby Allin by submission. Before that, he had won 7 singles matches in a row. That match against Darby was as tough as it would get for a while. In fact, no one would survive much more than 10 minutes with Miro for the next 6 defenses of his title. But defense 5 is where things would get interesting. Why? because that's where we learned Miro's weakness.

In Miro's fifth defense he would go against Lee Johnson. I'm sure Lee Johnson is a nice enough guy, but the closest comparison I could make for the role he plays in this story is a lamb being experimented on for science. But the experiment leads to a breakthrough: Miro is susceptible to the DDT. I don't even think Lee Johnson realizes it, but the only attacks that do measurable damage to the 6 ft block of stone are all targeting the neck. It allows him to last an impressive 9 minutes and 39 seconds against a man who is now on a 13-match win streak.

In Miro's sixth defense he would face Fuego del sol. If you've ever met someone whose heart is bigger than their chances of success, you've met a guy like Fuego. Love him to death, but from the get-go, it was looking like death was exactly what was on the menu for him. Except for one little thing. Fuego is a master of the tornado DDT. The very move that can win a match against Miro. Suuuuure Fuego hadn't won a single match at this point, and outside of his finisher, he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of doing a damn thing to damage Miro. But all you need is a chance...right?

Wrong. Fuego is pinned in 2 minutes flat.

To add insult to injury the next time we see Miro, he throws Fuego out of the backstage area and kicks his limp body down the rampway like a dead dog he doesn't want to touch. He gets in the ring, grabs a microphone, and says he will forgive Fuego...after he shows his face to the lord, ripping off Fuegos' luchador mask. One-second passes. Then Two. And on the third, music plays over the loudspeakers:

"You know the world is cold, better bundle up"

Eddie. Fucking. Kingston. Independent legend. Tough as nails. There is so much we could talk about when it comes to Eddie. Do you want to start when he (canonically) killed a kid with a car? Or do you want to start with the absolute slaughtering he gave the then TNT champion Cody Rhodes on the mic, on his first night? Maybe we go a little farther back and talk about his involvement in the legendary ROH vs CZW cage of death match? No matter where we start we end at the same place: Miro has not defended his title against anyone of Eddie's stature yet. They have a quick brawl as Eddie goes to save a half-dead Fuego, but in that brawl, we see something very important.

Eddie knows Miro's weakness. In detail.

The next time Miro and Kingston would face off would be in a confrontation before the pay-per-view. Miro stands in the ring, confident as ever, and says his god blessed Eddie with struggle. To make him strong. And now, since Eddie has taken his "charity contract" he's become soft. "I am not in the charity business and neither is my god," says Miro. Music plays

"You know the world is cold, better bundle up"

Eddie comes out with a mic in hand. And does what only Eddie Kingston can do with a mic in his hand. He says he doesn't believe in God (random but okay) but that if Miro is God's favorite champion, why would God let Eddie know his weakness? For the first time, we hear someone explicitly tell us what we've been seeing all along. Miro's neck is the chink in his armor. It's not the DDT, any attack aimed at Miro's neck does critical damage. And Miro knows it. Because for the first time we see him walk away from a fight.

The stage is set. All Out 2021. TNT Title Match. Eddie Kingston vs Miro.

Before the match, Kingston looks visibly ready. He holds his hands up like a boxer would before a big fight, dancing around his opponent. Miro on the other hand is just as focused as he always is. And once he gets sick of the pleasantries he runs right in. The fight begins with Kingston looking for the DDT and Miro looking for his own signature submission the "Game Over." These are two heavy-handed strikers in the ring. After an opportunistic eye-poke from Eddie, we get some machine gun chops to Miro's neck in the corner. When he tries to hulk up and rush Eddie again, he gets caught with an exploder suplex. Unlike the little and the young Miro has faced thus far, Eddie can more than keep up when it comes to striking and strength. He's already done more damage than anyone Miro has faced during his whole title reign in the first few minutes. Now he just needs to capitalize.

But Miro is still Miro. And any place he can show the otherworldly strength he's been blessed with he does. Whether it's throwing Eddie into the barricade or catching him off the apron for a power slam, Miro is still kicking. And he regains control just as fast as he lost it.

But when he goes for a pin, Eddie barely allows a one count before kicking out.

Miro continues to be dominant over Eddie. He steps on the fingers to inhibit the DDT. He elbow drops Eddie in his head. He chokes him with the ropes. Everything Eddie does is answered by Miro in kind. Except for his signature chops aimed at the chink in Miro's armor. Those bring Miro to a point of anger/desperation where he (6ft 270lbs) does a DROPKICK out of nowhere. When the pressure is back on, EDDIE responds with a surprise enzuigiri. Both men are down but Eddie gets the better of it. When Miro rolls out of the ring for a rest, obviously not used to this much pressure from an opponent, Eddie attempts a Suicida that gets countered by a forearm from Miro. Eddie feigns being dazed by this, only to punish Miro for his hubris with a big Saito suplex.

At this point, both men are obviously hurt. The crowd chants for Eddie. He takes shot after shot from Miro. But he responds with some firepower of his own. Miro throws heavy, sloppy haymakers, but they connect and leave Eddie stunned. Eddie is single-mindedly focused, as he returns to his chops to the upper chest/neck area of miro before grounding him with two big scoop suplexes. After getting a deep two count Eddie starts looking for his "back fist to the future." Miro rolls out the ring to avoid it and is caught by an inexplicably quick elbow suicida from Kingston. He gets miro back in the ring and into the DDT position. Miro has never looked so beatable. Eddie calls an audible though and instead pulls off a fisherman suplex with a bridge. 5 minutes left before it's ruled a time limit draw. 1 minute after that Eddie has taken a big kick and is laying on the mat, after ripping off the turnbuckle cover to try to avoid a move from Miro. The "Game Over"submission is locked on with time to spare, but luckily Eddie makes it to the bottom rope. Miro is obviously frustrated by this and grabs the turnbuckle pad out of anger. The ref immediately gets in front of miro to remove the foreign object from the ring.

But that's all the time Kingston needed.

In a flash, he's up

BOOM spinning back fist connects,

BOOM DDT connects

1-2-3-4?----5???

The ref was distracted by the buckle pad. He missed Eddie's moment. Miro kicks out of the ref's actual count at 2.7. Kingston's a vet though and he immediately starts looking for a piledriver. A move that will no doubt crush the weak neck of Miro. This late in the match though? With a hurt back? No way. Doesn't matter, there's a perfectly exposed turnbuckle that will do the job. Eddie grabs his opponent, and before he can throw him headfirst into the metal, the ref hops in the way. Miro throws a back mule kick to Eddie's groin and hits his signature running kick. 1-2-3. Miro wins.

Sometimes god punishes good men, after all, he's not in the business of charity.

#eddie kingston #miro #aew #pro wrestling #sports #moxley

1 note · View note

khalidplsstfu · 2 years

Text

Bryan Danielson Vs Daniel Garcia: To Kill Your Heros

The foundation of the future is being built right before our eyes. In some ways intangible, but in some ways, we can see and feel it in our everyday lives. In 2002 Bryan Danielson started his career in ROH, where he'd spend 7 years. In 2009 he joined the WWE where he'd spend the next 12. 19 long years of writing the undersized technical wrestler's handbook for greatness reached, what I would say, is one of its highest peaks when he fought his spiritual successor in a 2/3 falls match.

But who is that successor?

Daniel Garcia. Certified Dawg. 23-year-old technical prodigy. Current PWG world champion. Worked his way up from Elevation, to Dark, to now what I would consider one of the best 3 match sets in AEW history. A lesson in swag school, a reminder of everything that makes pro wrestling great.

But before we talk about the peaks, our story must start. The day is February 23rd, 2022. Garcia and Danielson's first encounter will be the main event of tonight's dynamite. In a backstage interview, Danielson expresses how much Garcia impresses him...but the company he keeps does not. He says Garcia would be at a different level if he had company more like William Regal and Jon Moxley, and less like 2.0. This seed, of the wings you find yourself under being the ones that will eventually help you fly, was first sewn in this promo. And it'd be 6 months before we saw what it would grow into.

But on this night Daniel Garcia will stand toe to toe with his hero. He approaches the ring without delay and with very little pagentry. An intense look in his eyes that either signals focus or fear. Or maybe a bit of both. Danielson on the other hand, looks excited, maybe even happy to be battling a student from his own hypothetical school of wrestling philosophy. This won't be a clash of styles, this will be like two watercolor paints battling over canvas space. More fluid. And in many ways, more colorful.

This first meeting starts with the two men entangled. They lock horns and exchange blows, but one thing becomes obvious very quickly: Danielson is the master of this style, and Garcia is the student. Whereas Garcia could out dawg most of those he faced on the independents, he quickly learns that he's in the ring with a different beast entirely. Danielson strikes brutally at will, inviting Garcia to fight back. They lock horns again, but this time it's Garcia who strikes first. After taking what was, truth be told, a pretty heavy shot from Garcia; Danielson bends down... resting his hands on his knees... smiles, licks his lips, and nods. Like a sensei, proud his pupil is finally understanding how to perform a new technique; he invites him to try again. Opening his chest for another heavy chop from Garcia.

But much like a sensei, when he notices his pupil getting too full of himself and slacking during a sparring session, he strikes. With a quick takedown and some type of technical wizardry, I will not attempt to explain, Garcia is trapped. At the mercy of the American dragon with his back to the mat. Danielson, and I shit you not, punches him full force in the stomach 4 times before forearming him in his head 3 more times for good measure. Garcia is somehow still holding on to consciousness but finds his arms locked, firmly snagged into a position that leads into a beautiful butterfly suplex into armbar transition from Danielson.

But Garcia is the spiritual successor to the GOAT, and immediately locks his hands together, preventing Danielson from being able to lock in the dangerous arm-bar submission. A counter that would no doubt stump the average wrestler. But Danielson is far from the average wrestler, and like butter on toast smoothly rolls Garcia into a more dangerous position; one eerily close to the dreaded LeBell lock.

Garcia didn't leave his fighting spirit at home though, and dare I say, just as smooth as Danielson, attempts to roll into the ropes. Nothing is that easy when you're wrestling the American dragon though, and he makes him work for the eventual rope break. Danielson continues to bully Garcia, they exchange blows once again and Danielson starts to hit that groove that's oh so familiar. Garcia throws Danielson to the corner, he backflips over his head (for real they have it on video and he does it all the time), Garcia goes for a clothesline, just like they all do, and Danielson ducks it, like he always does and this match looks like it's about to end like many others have. Busaiku knee from Danielson and a 1-2-3.

But Garcia isn't like the many others Danielson has beaten with this move. Danielson is Garcia's hero after all. He's watched him end countless matches this way. Thought of how he would counter this death blow when the time came for him to take the throne. And now is his moment. Before Danielson could spring off his feet to perform his finishing move, Garcia stops him early, chop blocking the resting leg with his full body weight. Now it's Garcia's turn to show his hero everything he learned from him.

With a limb to target Garcia throws his full effort at destroying the leg. Danielson attempts to lock in a cross-arm bar as quick as a lightning strike but Garcia is prepared to reverse it and get back to the leg. For the first time, Garcia is in an advantageous position on Bryan Danielson.

But just as quick as he had it, he lost it, and before long Danielson is rubbing his wrist bone into the bridge of Garcia's nose. Garcia is a dawg, but Danielson has been one for 20 years at this point. Garcia makes the fatal error of attempting to regroup in the corner. And gets a hard kick to the upper body as punishment. Garcia screams in pain and Danielson's face frowns with a mix of disappointment and rage. He throws another heavy kick, buckling Garcia's knees, and sending them on the mat. But the price has not been paid. Another hard kick knocks Garcia to the mat. Danielson takes a bit too long to re-engage and Garcia gets right back after the knee with a heavy boot. Knocking Danielson off his feet with two heavy European uppercuts. Next was a play right out of the Danielson textbook: using the ring corner to your advantage. Garcia throws Danielson's already damaged leg around the ring post. And for the first time, i actually thought Garcia could win this thing.

Danielson recovers though and they end up exchanging blows once again, but this time Garcia is gaining on Danielson. Danielson attempts another kick to a resting Garcia but Garcia catches the leg and whips Danielson's body over the leg with 2 brutal dragon screws. If Garcia can lock on his patented sharpshooter this may be the end of the story for Danielson. Garcia faces his hero and beats him first try.

But nothing is that easy when you're facing the American dragon. He takes a few more blows before feigning injury on the apron. Garcia, like a bear to a honey trap, takes the opportunity to try to set up a suplex to the inside of the ring. Once he's right where Danielson wants him, he whips him to the outside with a suplex of his own. Further punishing him with a flying knee to the face off the ring apron.

(Okay here's a little side note I wanted to add. There's a moment around here where Danielson comes off the top with a big dropkick that flips Garcia literally head over heels. Danielson then looks up, and says to the crowd " YOU WANT TO SEE VIOLENCE?" and you can vocally hear the crowd say "YEAHHH" they had everyone's attention not because of the athleticism of a flying dropkick but because of the story attached to it. That's that shit right there my boy. Danielson is the fucking GOAT)

At this point, Danielson is doing what he does best. Bullying his opponent with strikes and technical ingenuity. Try as he might Garcia cannot overpower or out-skill his hero....yet. As a result, Danielson locks Garcia's arms once again and whips him over his head with a stunning tiger suplex. Garcia's ring savvy saves him from being pinned, as he slides off his shoulders, onto his stomach. Danielson without delay locks his hands and flips his body over into his signature submission, cattle mutilation. Garcia knew his hero would do that though, after all, why wouldn't he, it's a move that defeated men with more stripes than Garcia. But those men's styles weren't informed by the very groundwork Danielson was laying. Using that information, Garcia quickly has this reversed into an ankle lock on the very ankle he's been attacking all match. A bit more wrestling tennis and I mean a bit because before you know it Danielson is choking poor Garcia out in a triangle. The match ends in roughly 10 minutes. Danielson is still the master. 4 stars on the highspeed scale.

After this match, there is a scuffle between 2.0 and Moxley after they jump Danielson, who was about to give Garcia heavy props and maybe induct him into the Blackpool Combat Club. It turns into more of a Moxley, Danielson, will they, won't they, type of thing. And we're not here to talk about the friendship dynamics of the BCC.

The next time Danielson and Garcia met was in the "Anarchy in the Arena" match. A lot had changed at this point. Daniel Garica had found himself a member of the goofy ass "Jericho Appreciation Society". They're basically a group of people who call themselves "sports entertainers" because cheap heat is still heat! This match was not my cup of tea and I will not dignify it with any more than a few sentences in this essay. Eddie Kingston is the man, and everybody is about violence until it's time to light a man on fire. And if Danielson would've gotten out of the way and let King handle his business he wouldn't have gotten choked out *shrugs*

The next time Garcia and Danielson met was on the "fight for the fallen" TV special. This was Danielson's comeback match after getting injured during the "Anarchy in the arena" match he shouldn't have been in anyway, but I digress. Garcia enters the ring just as fast as the last time these two faced in a singles match, but that look of fear from the last match is not in his eyes anymore. He knows what it takes to beat Danielson, he just has to execute.

But this match does not start in his favor. quite the opposite in fact. He starts the match taking the very same kicks that brought him to his knees in their last match. Plus an extra running boot in the corner for good measure. And a dive to the outside. Garcia desperately tries to use the ropes to his advantage as Danielson reenters the ring. But that did not work. Danielson invited Garcia to take his best shot while in a front mount position, which resulted in Garcia slapping Danielson's chest(?). An interesting strategy, which once again, did not work. Danielson responds by ripping into Garcia with unyielding forearm strikes to the head. At this point, we were basically witnessing a full-blown assault.

Garcia eventually fights back though, once again proving his fighting spirit. Garcia is targeting a different limb this time, a much more dangerous limb than your leg. The name of the game has changed for the once pupil of Bryan Danielson. Garcia doesn't have to make Danielson tap, and he definitely doesn't have to pin him. He can just use his lengthy history of traumatic brain injury against him tonight and make him pass out.

Garcia gets the opportunity to throw Danielson into a few barricades before he starts getting beat like an insubordinate child in an abusive household again. Taking another dropkick from the top rope.

But...Danielson knocked himself out when he landed(?) and is lying on the mat looking pretty wounded.

And like the dawg he is, Daniel Garcia takes this opportunity, to pound his hero's skull in. I'm not even being hyperbolic. The moment he realized Danielson might be hurt he started banging on his skill something vicious. Kinda like the monkey from that one scene in "Nope". Danielson tries to fire up, gets thrown into the corner, hits the ol' matrix flip over his opponent, but drops to his knees after ducking the clothesline to off the rope rebound. Uh Oh. And Garcia has this look on his face, and the only way I can describe it... is to say he looks concerned. He seems genuinely worried as he watches his hero grab at his head. For the first time in their rivalry, I think Garcia understood that to kill your heroes... you gotta kill your heroes. Not in a metaphorical sense, not even in a physical sense. In order to finish Danielson, Garcia would have to throw away the emotions he has connected to Danielson. The path he's walked with him as a fan all these years. He has to be willing to end Danielson's whole story here and now.

Garcia thinks for a second as he watches Danielson roll out of the ring in search of consciousness. But despite the air of real tangible danger, this fight isn't over, and Garica realizes this, throwing Danielson into the steel steps head first. But to kill your heroes, you gotta kill your heroes. And I think Garcia was trying to do just that with his next move when he DDT'd Danielson onto exposed concrete on the outside of the ring.

(Another note, big shoutout to Bryce Remsburg for really selling the seriousness of the match in little ways. After the DDT to the concrete, Bryce gets in Garcia's face and screams "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" giving Garcia the opportunity to say, at least I think, "Go check on him, I'll do what I have to do" God I love when wrestling is this good)

After Bryce gives Garcia more hell for attempting murder on his watch, we get another glimpse of it, Garcia looks...regretful. Once again realizing the gravity of the situation. This is Danielson's brain we're talking about after all. Skulls can only protect from so much.

The crowd boos and boos, and Garcia feels their boos and he gestures to them, "BRYAN? BRYAN? BRYAN?" trivializing their concern. The very same concern we just saw him show seconds earlier. But the concern is gone now, and all that's left in its wake is anger.

Danielson is bleeding from the forehead but Garcia has become the bully Danielson taught him to be. He rolls him into the ring and steps on his already damaged head again. He headbutts him. The crowd has been shaken into a cold silence. They cheer when Danielson gets a strike in, but Garcia squashes that hope every time. Danielson can barely hold himself up. But when he can, he punishes Garcia like never before. Not like a student and a teacher. Not like a hero and his successor. Like an equal. And like an equal, Garcia is picking his spots, and catching Danielson with some inventive technique. But this is a block Danielson has been around more than a few times; and before long, he has cattle mutilation locked in. Garcia escapes fast, just like last time, but Danielson expected him to, and immediately transitions into the tiger suplex throwing Garcia over his head and slamming him on his head and neck. They exchange hammer and anvil strikes, once again waging war on each other's brains, but this time, Danielson comes out on top, and with a big shoulder capture suplex no less.

Danielson once again telegraphs the Busaiku Knee but Garcia didn't get any less savvy since their first meeting. He smashes Danielson with a heavy lariat before Danielson can get the jump and follows it up with a brain buster. Danielson regains the upper hand but Garcia is able to reach the ropes before he can get locked in the LeBell lock.

What was a beautiful match lost me in the final stretch where they shoehorned in Jake Hager's interference to be the reason Daniel Garcia won. Because he does win this time. He executes his goal and makes Danielson pass out in his modified sharpshooter. This match was damn near perfect up until the last two minutes. But could Garcia do it on his own? 4.25 stars on the Highspeed scale.

And now we're almost at the peak. Just a small thing to get to first, it wasn't very important up to this point but it will be in the future so... stick with me. It's time to talk about the relationship between the Blackpool Combat Club... and the... Jericho appreciation society. This is gonna be a long one, so feel free to jump to the last 4 sentences of the paragraph after the next for a TL: DR

So, Bryan Danielson came to AEW and made it known he wanted to create a super faction to save pro wrestling's future. First guy on the list to recruit: Jon Moxley. The Death Rider. Hardbody type. Bleeds every match like you would in a real fight. How does a guy like Jon Moxley cement a working relationship with a trusted peer? With a good ol' scrap of course! And where did they have that good ol' scrap? The Revolution pay-per-view! Danielson wins their match but they say fuck the match and continue to fight, because why not? It's pro wrestling! But then their pro wrestling dad William Regal showed up to make them shake hands and work together. Also, Jon Moxley kicked the shit out of Wheeler Yuta (Another technical prodigy, wrestled Daniel Garcia for 60 minutes once) a couple of times and ripped him from his old friend group, so he's in the group now too. Ripping people away from their social circles was actually a really big part of Danielson's initial proposal to Moxley truth be told. Claudio Castagnoli joins later as well, but he got to join because he's such a good friend. So no one in the group has kicked his ass...yet. Are you keeping up dear reader? Sorry for dumping all this lore on you right before the climax.

On the other side is the Jericho Appreciation Society. It's 2point0, who's actually a pretty good tag team made up of "Cool Hand Ang" Angelo Parker and "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard. They've been with Daniel Garica forever at this point and they're funny as hell. Daniel Garcia of course, and Jake Hager, a big strong boy for when you need one of those for a multi-man match. They call themselves "sports entertainers". The crux of their beef stems from that issue, the BCC hates sports entertainers, and the JAS hates professional wrestlers. You are now up to speed. And now we reach our climax.

Daniel Garcia and Bryan Danielson are scheduled for a two out of three falls match. The big one. Garcia, after his win over Danielson, styles himself "The Dragon Slayer". On the Friday before their big match. Danielson is in the ring addressing concerns about his health. He says he doesn't know if he'll ever be 100% again, but he knows he won't quit wrestling. This brings out Daniel Garcia, not the whole JAS, not even 2point0 is with him. He's alone. He says Bryan Danielson is his hero and his hero is in the ring making excuses because he knows he will lose in 2/3 falls. He says all the excuses, the retirements...they hurt him. And when Danielson hurts him, he wants to hurt Danielson too. It's his statement of intent. This battle will be the one where his hero dies at his hands. He makes it clear he intends to end Danielson's career. And that wasn't the part that pissed Danielson off. What pissed him off, was when Garcia said, "After I beat you, you can call me the greatest technical sports entertainer of all time."

Danielson says it's no secret he loves violence. And violence begets violence, so it's only right Garcia wants to end his career. But It's the "sports entertainer bullshit" that pisses him off. He asks the crowd do they know why Daniel Garcia was one of the people he mentioned by name when he started the Blackpool Combat Club. He tells them it's because he watched him wrestle for 60 minutes in front of 250 people showcasing the best technical acumen he'd seen in a young talent in years. He tells Garcia to think about something. Whether he wants to be the best technical wrestler in the world or the best technical sports entertainer. The stage is set.

Danielson enters for their 2/3 falls match and he's ready. You can see it in his eyes. Garcia enters. He's now "The Dragon Slayer " Daniel Garcia. A lot has changed in 6 months. Danielson is no longer looking down at or past Daniel Garcia. He sees him now. For exactly what he is. A technical force lacking only experience and not much else. Danielson leads with strong takedowns and strikes and Garcia attempts to respond in kind. He's still outmatched though, the gap is smaller than it was when they first met, but it still exists. Garcia goes heel hook, Danielson goes kneebar. Garcia is playing wrestling chess with a grandmaster. Every move leads both men closer to the eventual checkmate. Danielson gives Garcia a second to breathe and Garcia kicks Danielson in his chest, knocking him off balance. Danielson makes the same mistake again in the corner and Garcia smacks him in the face for it. Like a student, punishing his master during sparring for forgetting to keep his guard up. A lot has changed in 6 months.

But one thing hasn't. Garcia challenges Danielson to put his dukes up, to which Danielson responds with hard kicks to the legs. When Garcia starts watching for the kicks, he catches a smack to the head. When Garcia doesn't back down from his attempts to strike with Danielson, he catches a right hook to the face. Knocking him out cold. Danielson follows that up with a devastating brainbuster. Danielson takes his time beating the shit out of Garcia. But when Danielson throws one of the very same kicks that brought Garcia to his knees in February, he just stands up. A gives him a chop. Our boy has grown into a man. And a man with a knife no less.

Garcia smacks Danielson dead in his shit I'm not making this up I swear it happened and crazy enough Danielson's fucking knees buckle. Garcia throws petty little kicks at his head while he's down, but this just infuriates the Dragon. Who, well, beats him up again. Danielson goes for a top rope Rana, (obviously feeling himself tonight) but Garcia rolls it through to a pin. Danielson kicks out, and they exchange blows. Garcia throws Danielson to the corner, he does a backflip, you know the spot, and so does Garcia, who flips Danielson into an armbar right off his feet. Somehow, once again not even gonna attempt to explain it, Danielson gets Garcia in a shoulder capture suplex and then busts out a submission I've never seen in my life. He then goes for that running knee off the apron, which Garcia avoids. He then takes that golden opportunity and back suplexes Danielson right on his back and head. More technical wrestling tennis occurs when Garcia gets Danielson back in the ring. Garcia gets the best of it though and piledrives Danielson's skull into the canvas. immediately going into the Dragon Sleeper. Which works. Daniel Garcia has put Bryan Danielson to sleep not once, but twice now. The score is 1-0 Garcia.

(Sidenote, although this match is fucking baller I can't suggest you watch it...well... because Chris Jericho is nonstop running his fucking mouth and saying his own name as many times as he fucking can and I wouldn't wish that viewing experience on my worst enemy. The nigga can't even yell like a normal commentator, he has to do this high-pitched yelp with his voice and it's worse than nails on a chalkboard. He also has to make a moment that's very much not about him about him at every turn, even though he GETS AN ANGLE AT THE END THAT IS LITERALLY ALL ABOUT HIM. Treacherous. Nobody will be happier than me when Jericho retires, or gets exposed for being a MAGA freak and gets reduced to guest appearances at GCW shows. Then I'll just feel sorry for the GCW faithful who'll have to deal with him)

The score is 1-0 Garcia. Garcia's foot is resting on Danielson's skull. Garcia's dominance continues after that though. He exposes the concrete, just like he did in their previous match. And DDT's him again. no hesitation this time. As Danielson lays on the outside, Garcia rolls inside the ring, okay with his second fall being from count out. The people in the stands aren't okay with it though and they boo when they catch on to what Garcia is trying to do. And for some reason, it cracks Garcia. He asks if they're booing him and he looks around the crowd. These aren't the indiscriminate boos from their earlier encounters. They're chanting "you suck" at Garcia. It's personal for all involved now.

Danielson barely beats the 10 count, yet he's met with stomps from Garcia. When he tries to fight back, he's met with an arm ring and a reintroduction to the dragon sleeper that put him to sleep earlier in the match. Danielson goes for sliced bread #2 but is reintroduced, once again to the dragon sleeper. Danielson's fading. The blood is on Garcia's hands. He tightens his grip on his neck. Danielson's hands fall limp. Danielson is out. But right when Garcia reaches his most aggressive, Danielson tilts him on his shoulders, holds him there for the 1-2-3, and ties up the match. 1-1. Showtime.

Garcia immediately jumps right back on the attack. But Danielson got all the air he needed and gets right back to.. well beating the shit out of Garcia. He does it so well this time actually, Garcia ends up trapped on the top rope taking an elbow a second to the face. Danielson then grabs the poor kid and spider german suplexes him off the top rope. Danielson then hits a missile dropkick from the top which leads to both him and Garcia having to beat the 10 count. Both men are exhausted and we have now entered wartime. Garcia gets right into Danielson's face and talks that good shit. Danielson responds with 3 words.

"End me motherfucker!"

And we're off. Garcia is striking Danielson, but Danielson don't care. Garcia is chopping Danielson, but Danielson don't care. Garcia says fuck this I gotta go into the sacred text, the forbidden scrolls if you will, and hits Danielson with some Shibata-style PKs. But Danielson. Don't. Care. Garcia throws some more heavy chops Danielson's way, but Danielson. And I cannot stress this enough.Don't. Care Garcia goes for another PK and Danielson takes this as an opportunity to level Garcia a blunt forearm. A punishment for his hubris. Danielson takes this opportunity to return the favor with some kicks of his own.

But Garcia, don't, care

One kick, Garcia don't care

Another... Garcia don't care

The kicks don't work anymore, and Garcia proves this by blocking one and trying to knock Danielson's head off his shoulders with a lariat to the back of the head. A smooth transition into Garica's signature submission (now named the dragon tamer) has Danielson in what appears to be a bad situation. That is until Danielson catches one of Garcia's hands overextended and glides him smoothly into the LeBell lock. Garcia tries to roll through, but it doesn't work, he goes for a pin and gets the separation he was looking for. They trade smacks in the face before Garcia, yes Garcia, pulls out the Busaiku knee outta fucking nowhere. It doesn't lead him much of anywhere except into another strike exchange he is ill-prepared for. Danielson goes for his Danielson stomps, gets a few in, but gets rolled through for some Danielson Stomps...from Garcia. Danielson eats those though and gets right back into position to continue doing what he was doing before he was so rudely interrupted. And then he rolls the poor kid into a triangle choke. At this point, Garcia is fighting for his life. More strikes from Danielson and the LeBell lock gets locked in. There's no more fighting. Garcia passes out. The bell rings. The match is over.

And everyone knows it except Garcia's barely conscious body. He's still clawing for Danielson as the victor's music plays through the arena. And you see Garcia come to the realization, the cold truth. He lost. The next thing he saw was warm though. Bryan Danielson screams to the crowd "HE'S ONE OF US" and reaches out his hand. A public show of respect from his hero. And not respect given. Respect earned. And before Garcia could accept it, before he could reach out and accept the respect of his hero, Chris bitch ass Jericho runs his clown makeup-wearing ass down to the ring and attacks Danielson. But the attack doesn't last long. Because Garcia intervenes. And when Jericho puts his bitch ass fingers in the young dawgs' face, he smacks them shits away. Jericho leaves the ring, and the crowd chants "YOU'RE A WRESTLER" at Garcia.

And he is. A damn good one too.

oh yeah, 5 stars on the highspeed scale also.

#AEW #bryan danielson #daniel garcia #pwg #adam cole #aew dynamite #roh #wrestling stills #all elite wrestling #pwgood

15 notes · View notes