KNIGHT 2020 - "You May Hate Him, But You Will Respect Him"

The camera opens on a shot from behind Jacob Knight in what seems like a green room. He stands in place, taking a moment to roll his shoulders and look at his watch, seemingly impatient for what is coming. Suddenly, a door opens and a man in a blue suit holding a clipboard enters the room.

"It's time," says the gentleman, and with a nod Jacob begins following him out of the room. The camera continues to follow Knight as he exits the room and walks down a hall. In the corridor there is a swell of activity; cameras flash, security guards monitor the area to ensure no one attacks the man, and assistants approach Knight with notes which cannot be heard. As he nears his destination, the sound of a roaring crowd slowly starts to get louder and louder, as well as the voice of Thomas Dekker, Defiant's senior ring announcer, who is in the middle of an introduction. By the time he begins going through The List, Jacob has reached his destination backstage and waits patiently. From the camera's angle, Dekker can be seen at a podium center-stage.

Dekker: "He is Wrestling's Knight in Shining Armor, That Guy With An Agenda, Zanna Bell's Favorite Wrestler, The Stepfather of Professional Wrestling - 'You May Hate Him, But You WILL Respect Him,' Mr. #CTS, Jakey Wrestling, The Priiide of New York, 'He's Really Good at Subtweeting,' The Soon-To-Be Ace of Pro Wrestling Nova, The ONE and Only, HEADSTRONG JACOOOOOOB KNIIIIIIGHT!"

The crowd goes ballistic as Jacob walks on stage, the camera turning for a moment to show a theater filled with people wearing a variety of Jacob Knight merchandise and holding various signs displaying phrases like "KNIGHT 2020," "That's our Ace!", "ONE and Only!", and, of course, "#CTS." The camera then turns back towards Jacob as we finally see a front shot of the man. He wears a black suit with a red tie and a large grin upon his face as he approaches the podium. Behind him is a dark blue banner that says "KNIGHT 2020: You May Hate Me, But You WILL Respect Me" in bold white lettering just above an American flag. He raises his hand as he stands at the podium, causing the crowd to grow quiet as they wait for what he has to say. The camera continues to focus on Knight as he speaks.

Knight: "My good people! I welcome you to this... event? Rally? Press conference? Call it what you will, it's an evening with Wrestling's Knight in Shining Armor, that's what matters!"

There is a brief cheer of approval from the audience as Knight cracks a smile.

Knight: "I stand before you today prepared and ready for tomorrow night's challenge: a one-on-one match with 'The Shogun' Arata Asakura."

The crowd boos at the mention of Asakura's name.

Knight: "The man is a veteran, and he's certainly been in the game longer than I have. Some say that gives him an advantage over me; that because of his experience I do not stand a chance. But let me answer this with a few questions. Did experience save Devon Slayton?"

Crowd: "NO!"

Knight: "How about Victor Creed?"

Crowd: "NO!"

Knight: "What about good ol' Graham Baker, or Q, or Kan Tai?"

Crowd: "NO! NO! NO!"

Knight: "Experience is important, but it caused everyone of those would be victors to overlook a young man with the resolve and confidence to tell them that they were so very wrong to doubt me! Now look at me! I'm a former World champion and I'm getting offers from a variety of promotions to come and work for them! Arata, if you're listening to this, know that you will not break me, you will not stop me, you will not beat me! Like many of these aforementioned names and people like Chris Matthews and Tommy Wildfire, by all means you may hate me, but you sure as Hell will respect me after I prove to PWN that I am the best fucking wrestler on its roster!"

The crowd begins to cheer and scream before starting a chant of "HEADSTRONG! HEADSTRONG!"

Knight: "And that goes for the rest of the wrestling world! I hope you are listening or watching this. The end of 2019 was just the start; 2020 will be my year! I will be your PWN World Champion! I will close the horror show that is Sanatorium! I will make you all respect me for the goddamn Ace I already know I am! You know why? Because I AM-"

Crowd: "THE KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR WRESTLING NEEDS!"