The Book of Titus: How the legend came into being
Chapter 14: In Brightest day and Whitest Knight
For a man with so many successes in life it's odd to think about the failures. As cheesy as it is I hate the word failure, every failure I've had has been an opportunity to learn and grow. If you don't learn and grow what's the point? Where does it leave you? Tagging with Paramount Joe T or lying on your IMDB page by saying you were an extra in Wonder Woman or something? My failures have lead to my successes.
There was the infamous Elite X number one contenders match where I was supposed to wrestle Mohammed Hasheem but the Dynasty happened. That and my self imposed exile to the fed. Rumours of a legend dotted around the place and unmasking Red Mask showed what I was made of. I defeated Carmen Bratchny and became the second best Elite X champion of all time (after Mikey Stormrage, of course).
Then there's the world title. Can you recall my first ever world title match? It was a six person match and I did not win. I was lost in shuffle and was way out of my depth. Yet I learnt, developed and with that I won the world title not once or twice but three times. That is the stuff of legends.
I could write an entire book on the historic EurAsian reign but 951 days were built on failures. There's the Big Dave match for the belt which led to me needing to leave the federation. Imagine that, a man I had mentored who turned his back on me was the one to send me packing. My time off involved me winning another Oscar and watching the likes of Bruce Irwin just stink up the place. The time was to step in and win it. That I did. Lesson learnt.
I recall once being on set for my movie Passion of the Pope (Best picture, Best Actor, Best Director at the Oscars, Golden Globes, ACE "Eddie" Award, ASC Award, Art Directors Guild Award, Cinema Audio Society Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, The Directors Guild of America Award, and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) where director Kirk Lazarus gave some advice to me and another co-star. The other actor, let's call him Christian Bale, got irate at the direction. Lazarus fired him there and then and moved me into his role. This was the first day of filming and my first major role. I learnt there that there are people who know what they are doing in life in every aspect. I decided I would be one of those people. My acting, philanthropy and wrestling shows that. Some may think that's cocky but honestly I'm just better than you at most things.
Every opponent who has bested me I have destroyed later as they learn that I grow and develop. That is all apart from one man. Chris K.O. I don't even know if Chris is short for Christopher or Christian nor what the K.O. stands for, nor do I care. He could be called Christos Kermit Omega for all it matters. Yet he's someone that many just forgot about. The rise of Vis Imperium, the return and departure of Tyrone Blades, Flex America and a 951 day EurAsian reign. Why do I bother with someone most forgot?
Chris K.O. was someone I saw right through from the off. He came out of nowhere with these plaudits and with that people were pushed aside. I was a former world champion yet, for the first time in my career, I was moved to give a newcomer the chance. I call him kid but we're actually a similar age, I started my ascent sooner. The White Knight was the hero of WZCW for some weird reason, he'd shit on people but the crowd and locker room loved him. One man saw through that decided enough was enough. I called him out for it. It took me six months to face him, it was a throw away match that I lost.
With that the Apostles of Chaos had built up and his true intentions were revealed. That feud ate up WZCW, my fed, and when the likes of Alex Bowen are on your side you know you're in the wrong. He used it to snatch Seraphina away amidst all the chaos (pun intended) and the big match came. AOC v WZCW. Of course he wait until it was too late to try and help WZCW, why not help at the start. It's because it was always about him. Always. Yet that period, when Ty was in charge, showed him for who he was. He was one of a few people to defeat Ty in a match. Wrestling historians believe it was Ty who â??put him overâ? which is where you intentionally lose a match for reasons. What this did was show him as this big thing to WZCW. Yet I was not convinced. Not really.
I remember the day clearer than anything. It was February 24th 2013. Nothing newsworthy happened that day but it was a few days before Pope Benedict resigned. Think of the card, I bet you'll struggle to remember. Mason Westhoff, Krypto, Sam Smith, Justin Cooper, Alex Bowen. Funnily it also had Xander v Holmes on it. Yet here it was the â??grudge matchâ? me v KO. I lost. I was pinned. The ref broke me out of the ankle lock yet I allowed myself to be distracted. He won. Lost to my biggest rival.
A quick aside on that, it's often been said that my Lex Luthor, Moriarty and Shredder was Everest but I made my peace with him years ago. We had our downs but we had our ups too, kinda like that weird cousin you always argue with. You still have each others back. For me though it's always been about one. Every day for five years that niggle has been at the back of my head. Every cheer. Every boo. Every success has been spoilt by my nemesis. Chris K.O.
After that loss it was suddenly summer. July 25th, three days after Prince George. Summer in LA is rough, let me tell you, but LA is my third home (after Keystone City and Newcastle) for obvious reasons. Physical activity in 80o heat is not fun. Let alone when it's for the EurAsian championship. I've mentioned several times in this book about my love affair with that belt and here was my chance to prove once and for all. Let alone an I Quit match. Can you imagine me, Titus Avison, saying the words I Quit? I can assure you I didn't.
The crowd were with me, the failed to see his antics. From entering the ring doing a crucifix sign, as if the Lord Jesus himself would give him support in the match. My only regret is that awful speech I did to the crowd, in retrospect it made me off on the backfoot but my idea was to get in his head. It failed. The whole match is a blur. He starts off. Then I get control. He says no. I stay in control. He says no. I am busted open, bleeding. I say no. He moves the next level. I've never done well with busting my opponent open, I feel it's week but this is genuinely the time I contemplated it. He hit Harrys. Who in their god-damn mind hits Harrys Truman? He's the nicest guy in the world. I'd say I saw red but the blood from my head made my face like I was Red Mask again. A tit drop almost saved my bacon but he lost control.
Chairs and who knows what happened next. I lost 3 pints of blood that match. Katie Prince decided to call an end to it. He was the EurAsian champion still but I never uttered the words. The records show he won that match but I never said â??I Quitâ?. I had lost that much blood yet still was continuing on. The crowd were behind me yet the full thing is a blur.
For five years that moment has been there. For five years I wondered how I would make amends. I did it all. The legends were written and extended but that was still at the back of my mind. It wasn't the people who inspired me. It wasn't Joe Montana or Rosie Danvers. It wasn't even Becky Serra. It was always about him. So to see him make that return in the Lethal Lottery, all singing all dancing. All smiley faces I could not put up with it. The family man now. I don't forget the hypocrisy. Seraphina. The blood loss. I don't forget it. People can change but for me I needed to do it. I needed to end him.
At Kingdom Come X I did it, I defeated him. I forgave him and I moved on. We're on good terms now and I wish him the best. With that the third major chapter of the legend began but you know how that goes, something Harthan could only dream of.