Post by Patrick Jones on May 22, 2015 23:02:27 GMT -6
Mediocrity. Totally average and unremarkable in any way. That word means that the subject is not good enough to be of notice, but it is not bad enough to be noteworthy either. Instead, the object or person is simply just another face in the crowd, so to speak. He, she, or it has no reason to stand out. In some ways, mediocrity is worse than being terrible. At least something or someone that is terrible gets SOME sort of mention. The attention may be of the negative variety, but the saying goes that any publicity is good publicity.
So how does one who is stuck with that damning label recover? Well, the obvious answer is to find a way to stand out. The usual preference is to improve at whatever task or craft is at hand enough to become worthy of greater praise and attention. That solution is often easier to envision than to accomplish. Then why not just take the easy path to be BAD enough to bring attention to yourself? Any publicity is good publicity, right?
Pride. Self-respect. Integrity. Those are the reasons why the second, easier path is so despised and scorned. Not everyone has all of those traits though. Most people do have pride though. The presence of pride in lieu of integrity can create a despicable outcome. This situation leads down a third path which is easier than the first and more rewarding than the second. What is the downside then? Quite simply, this third path is one of lying, cheating, and moral bankruptcy. It is often defended as not caring what others think or of being tired of fitting in or any number of other bits of lip service that simply boil down to the user not being talented enough to succeed without taking easy ways out.
So is it better to incite the mediocrity tag or to scratch out success in a shameful way? Obviously, that depends on how much integrity and self-respect you have. It depends on how far you can go while being able to look into a mirror without cringing at the person staring back at you. For some, the depths of depravity they can sink to without feeling a shred of remorse is almost impressive. For others, the only option is to maintain the moral high ground, even at their own personal expense.
Then…is it better to be able to respect yourself morally while being mediocre at your job or chosen task, or should we forsake all decency to reach the highest achievements? The choice is clearly not binary as some can maintain their morality while their skills and other factors carry them to the highest peaks yet others cannot win even the slightest of victories with the utmost deceit. As is often the case, those who lack the ethical high-ground will find any excuse or false claim to justice to deflect questions about their transgressions. Instead, they would rather point out how mediocre someone else is. Yes, sometimes the label is correct. Or it may just be correct for a piece of time.
What if being tagged with such a listless, dismissive characterization is the best way to ignite a fire inside the target of the insult? Remember, self-respect is a key element of those who will not their principles for the sake of success. What is more likely to set off a righteous rage than to be told by someone with no moral standing to question your success? For some men, such a calling-out is one of the worst possible actions.
Unfortunately, life is not always fair. Sometimes the target does not become aware of the insult until after the appropriate time for retribution has passed. Indeed, Project Snakehead managed that very feat at Breakthrough 26. By their own words, they viewed their opponent Patrick Jones as the epitome of mediocrity. However, Jones did not hear these words until after their match when someone else brought it to his attention. Beyond how useless that makes a victory over him appear, they might have created a bit of future trouble for themselves.
They would not have to deal with that issue immediately though because Jones has a title match at Fate of the Gods for the Zero Gravity championship. Interestingly, that match is also the main event for Fate of the Gods, which is coincidentally VOW’s one-year anniversary special and one of their biggest shows to date. How does it reflect on the company if such a mediocre wrestler is one-half of their main event for such a landmark show?
Maybe it does not have any bearing on the company at all. Maybe the match instead reflects on how inaccurate the mediocre label is. Is it true that Patrick Jones has lost some matches recently? Is it true that he loses a fair bit of his matches? Yes, but he is also a man that pushes himself to fight against the best. He is also pushed by management who sees the way he handles himself professionally and personally. They see that he makes a good representative of the company both in the ring and outside of it. Thus, he often is given challenges and opportunities of a higher order. Obviously, if you face stiffer competition then your win-loss record will suffer a bit. Jones has never claimed to be the best wrestler, but you do not stay near the upper echelons of the wrestling world for an extended amount of time if you are just mediocre.
Now, he has one more opportunity to succeed. It is not just a chance to succeed though. It is a chance to succeed the right way. Best of all, it is a chance against a new friend and mentee, Ziu Zhong. So how does one prepare for a match with someone whose in-ring abilities he has helped shape? Well, if you’re Patrick Jones…
“Zero to hero. Hero to Zero. Zero to hero. Hero to Zero. Man, that phrase is so catchy. Zero to hero. Hero to Zero…”
I keep whispering the phrase under my breath while watching over one last clip of Zhong. Yes, I had seen him in training so often that there was basically nothing new to notice, only a few things recently had changed with a more confident and comfortable stance on what he had learned from me. Obviously, we had not trained together this week, and the sessions had dwindled in previous weeks, probably in anticipation of this match. This clip is actually from prior to facing Chase Michaels the second time. I wanted to see how he had prepared himself for that match, and his promo might give me some insight.
What I see causes my muttering of his fans’ favorite chant to trail off into silence. I had not seen this footage before. I do not usually check on his promos because we talk often enough that I know his thought process going into the match without him having to watch him explicitly state it all for everyone else. This one, however, is really strange. The closeness of the camera, seemingly his cell phone by the way his arm extends behind the viewpoint, gives it a creepy vibe. The low-light background of dense forest, probably at dusk or later since no light seems to be coming in from above, furthers the foreboding nature of the footage. Ziu’s words certainly do not help any.
The Asian high-flyer does not even sound like himself. It is not that his voice sounds different, but he is making statements that are rather out of character for himself. Whereas he normally has plenty of playful banter and teasing taunts for his opponents, the phrases seem to be legitimately intended to intimidate and get into the mind of his opponent. The best explanation of the feeling building inside me is like watching a found-footage horror film where the bad guy has gotten ahold of the camera. A chill runs down my spine as he finishes with the words, “They all run scared.”
“What the hell?”
My quietly verbalized confusion, aimed to no one in particular since I am basically alone in the local coffee shop here in NYC. One male and one female sits in the opposite corner quietly by animatedly discussing something, probably how non-mainstream the next too-cool-to-be-big time band they like is. I would probably find the usual amusement at how hard they are trying to be too hipster to fit the stereotypical hipster look (and failing miserably), but Zhong’s words and demeanor have thrown me off.
“Where did that come from? That was…”
Again, my words trail off. The comparison I want to make is too extreme, but it seems appropriate. I had seen people act like that before. Maybe I was just paranoid, but I had experience with friends who suddenly start acting strangely and with extra aggression. The responsibility to reign them in had led to some of my most gruesome matches. This match was just supposed to be about a title, but if that darker side of Ziu shows up then it could be more. Or maybe I AM over-analyzing. It was one promo...that I had seen. Maybe others were like that. Maybe that is just how Mr. Selfie has been approaching his promos lately to get the mental edge. He had gone comedy last week with me, but he also knows I am not one for that overly dramatic stuff.
Nothing that I can really do about it now though. All I can do is step into the ring Monday and try to be as ready for anything as possible. At least I am aware of the possibility now, so it will not come as a total surprise if it pops up at Fate of the Gods. Shaking my head, I glance to the bottom screen of my computer to check the time. Where is…
Suddenly I feel a hand land on my shoulder causing me to jump, almost coming out of the big cushioned chair the coffee shop had chosen to use for furniture. My knee slams into the table which causes my cup to rock precariously, nearly spilling over. With my heart hammering, I turn my head to the side and look upward to see who just spooked me. The confused looking face of one John Cruxton greets me.
“Sorry, John. You startled me. Just…stuff for my match, ya know?”
The journalist simply shakes his head with the slightest of bemused smiles playing at the corners of his lips. John is a long-time associate dating back to TEW when he was a backstage interviewer who got caught up in Faction Elite’s adventures. Since then we have met a few times when he has been covering an event that I play a major role in or if it has had significance for both of us. It is about as close to an interview as I normally give now. It is probably something I should do more of to help boost myself and VOW…but a lot of things fit into that category that I still do not do.
“Jones, do you always get lost in your thoughts? One of these days, it really is going to be someone out to hurt you.”
“Hurt me? You mean like your hard-hitting questions?”
Cruxton simply rolls his eyes, letting down his incredibly professional manner just a bit around me due to our history.
“Maybe if you were more interesting then I would have interesting questions for you. Besides, you never let these be true interviews. They always just end up being conversations from which I have to cobble together quotations and comments.”
I simply shrug, not caring much how my conversational style affects him. It has not cost him a job yet, so I am not too worried about it. But…maybe he can help me first.
“Hey, before we start, let me ask you a question, John. Have you heard anything…strange about Zhong? Like…outside the ring?”
Cruxton’s eyebrows furrow a bit. He is clearly thinking about something, probably debating internally.
“Well, there is some unsubstantiated rumor from a few weeks ago about him tying up 2 teenage boys. Something about them annoying him, so he pranked them by tying them up in their own clothes or something. It’s really sketchy info though. Like, even TMZ laughed about it…but still posted it on their site. It is such a silly story that it never really got traction though.”
As John talks, I listen, just nodding and measuring my words.
“Thanks John. Now, questions?”
As we dive off into the usual back and forth, I cannot help but focus on Ziu. I hope this new demeanor is just a slight change or a one off occurrence. Dealing with another…no, I will not compare him to that. Definitely not yet.
Whatever. Either way, we have a match this week. Maybe for me, I can use this as my springboard to break the less educated among us from labeling me as “mediocre.” Maybe this can be how I break gravity’s grip on my career path…
