Hybrid Championship: Adam Stryker vs. K-Remix [c]

"Welcome to the Stryker household."

We open on the front porch of a house in one of the suburbs of Los Angeles. Adam Stryker is standing there, dressed in jeans and a white shirt. He gestures for the camera to follow him inside the house.

"You know, I haven´t ever done this," he says as the camera looks over his shoulder, following him into the hall. "I´ve never invited all the fans of a company I wrestle for into my house. Of course," he says as he stops in the very middle of the hall and turns around to face the camera again, "that was mostly because just a few years ago, I was living in a pretty humble flat, sleeping on a mattress. When I started earning a lot of cash, I invested into my training school in LA, and then in England, rather than into buying a proper bed. But for the past three or four years," he spreads his arms as a big old smile forms on his face. "I´ve had this."

"I´ve really kicked my life into another gear. I manage to juggle two businesses and a wrestling career AND a wonderful family. Speaking of them, I´d introduce you to Maria and the kids, but she´s taken them to visit some friends. But it doesn´t matter really. Because," he says as he starts walking up the stairs to the second floor of his house, "We are not here because I wanna boast about how much of a great husband and dad I am. Neither have I invited you to talk about my work in the Dojo, or in my PR company."

After the last step, Adam pulls a key out of his left pocket and unlocks the door to the left of the staircase. "No," he shakes his head before opening the door. "I came to show you this," he says as he disappears from the scene, walking into the room. The camera follows him after a second. Adam takes his place in the very center of a big room in which there are no chairs, beds, or tables. Only four big walls worth of wrestling memorabilia.

There´s his old gear framed on the wall, loads of posters of notable shows Adam headlined. One wall dedicated to pictures with his best friends in the business, with a big painting of him and his fallen friend and mentor John Pariah in the very center. But what shines the brightest is the wall Adam is standing in front of, the one directly opposite the door. The wall where all the championship titles Adam has ever one are placed.

"I came to show you how much it means to me to be a champion," Adam states proudly. "I´ve won a number of titles in my career, as you can see. From tag team belts through hardcore titles, through titles that served as a stepping stone to superstardom, all the way to the five heavyweight championships of the world that I´ve won so far," he gestures with his right hand to the very top of the wall, where the 2CW World title sits atop of the five biggest accolades. Stryker turns his attention to the camera again.

"And I want to win more and more, everywhere I go. When I stepped foot in Elysium Pro, the company I now call home, lot of people thought I would go after the main prize, the World Championship, just like a seasoned veteran like me should. But in fact, I wanna save that for last. I wanna win every championship there is in Elysium, each at least once, and only THEN put the final icing of the cake by taking the top prize, the World Championship. Believe me, it´s not my ego that wants to hoard belts, it´s not the fact that champions get paid more than regular wrestlers, not... It´s my pride in this business. It´s the fact that I know that in pro wrestling, there is no greater feeling than when a championship belt is strapped around your waist. There is no bigger satisfaction for all the pain you endure and the blood you bleed for that."

He smiles and nods.

"I get my first shot at Elysium Pro gold at Frontline VII, only my third show for the company, as I wrestle K-Remix for his Hybrid Championship, a title I´ve talked a lot about in the promo before the match in which I demolished Ryleigh Mathis. It´s funny that the promotional material for the show bills me as "the undefeated" Adam Stryker. It is true, of course, but I wouldn´t dare to boast a 2-0 record as "undefeated." Despite my history, I still have a lot to prove in Elysium.

Honestly, if you wanna prove your worth to the upper echelon of Elysium, you gotta beat one of three people. SHIDO, Erik Holland... and K-Remix. Despite the fact he didn´t win the tag titles with Helena Handbasket, he is still one of the top dogs in the company, a franchise player. And a complete wrestler that fully deserves the Hybrid title.

But on the other hand, he´s a young kid with his first championship. And at Fronline VII: Daybreak, he´ll be put against me, The Ringmaster, a wrestler who you pretty much can´t picture without a title around his waist. I know a thousand tricks from the proverbial book, and I intend to use each and every one of them to beat him and become the champion. I will show everyone that this..."

He takes off his shirt and turns his back to the camera, revealing the "BE A CHAMPION" tattoo on his back.

"Is not just some ink I got done when I was young," he says as the camera zooms in on the tattoo.

"It´s my way of life."

The scene slowly fades to black.