We click play on the video and as we do, a small loading icon appears in the middle of the blank screen, turning slowly as the video buffers for a moment before fading out as the video finally begins to play. And now that it's playing, the first thing we see is none other than Supreme Championship Wrestling star and member of the Helms Dynasty himself, Jason Helms, standing in what we know to be the home-office inside of his home in Aurora, just outside of New Orleans. He stands in the middle of the shot wearing ripped blue jeans and a t-shirt that shows a cartoon drawing of Christy Matthews sat sulking, in a big poofy princess dress, her makeup running down her face. Her feet are just about visible and while she wears a glass slipper on one foot, the other foot is bare and on the ground in front of her the other glass slipper lays, the heel broken off. In the Disney font above the image is her catchphrase, ‘Happily Never After’ in an off white colour. With a smile, Jason nods his head down at his own t-shirt, as if asking people to pay attention to it, before brushing some lint from the front of it and shooting the camera a big goofy grin as he throws his arms out in a welcoming gesture to those watching. Happy that ample time has been given for people to get a good look at what he’s wearing, he lowers his arms and slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans and a date stamp appears in the bottom left hand side of the screen reading [05.18.2020] as he begins to speak. “Sup ass-clowns?!” he asks, his trademark grin still in place like usual. “And… well, I guess I should start with an apology, right? Fatal Fortunes… man, that show is either awesome or crap, huh? Two years ago, I got a mixed bag where Lady Luck was concerned, and this year… well, actually, if everything was normal and I wasn’t a mess right now, I guess this years draw would have been fucking awesome all things considered? I mean, who could have expected that, huh? All the roster to choose from and that randomiser picks out me and my big brother to put on a hell of a main event for you ass-clowns inside of a steel cage no less… only I guess I kind of shit the bed that night, huh? I don’t even know what to say at this point; night one of Fatal Fortunes should have been a blast; sure, neither of us were getting anything in terms of potential rewards, but Helms versus Helms inside of a cage, fuck bro, that should have been lit and it was more than deserving of the main event spot as far as I’m concerned… yet I let you guys down, I let Dave down and I let myself down when that match started. I hold my hands up; really, I’m not sure I should be cleared to compete right now, but I’ve had three different doctors look at me now and not one of them can find anything actually wrong with me to be causing these fucking headaches that I keep having at irregular intervals. I’ve had tests, scans and checks, been poked and prodded by various members of the medical team and they all gave the same assessment: confirmed fit to work. So you guys fucking tell me what’s going on, because so far none of us have any idea what so ever!” he says, throwing his arms out in a big shrug. 

“Okay, so actually, don’t do that,” he then says, realising what he may have done. “The last thing I really need right now is scores of people messaging me on twitter with diagnosis from Web M.D or various other sources, telling me I’ve got a brain tumor or humors of the pancreas or some equally insane shit. You could hit your thumb with a hammer and google would probably tell you the symptoms were cancer or heart failure, so please guys don’t do that okay?” he says with a grin, chuckling to himself. “I just wish I knew what the fuck triggered them, you know? Things were going okay at first when I was facing Dave… and sure, I could tell he was trying to go easy on me, because he’s my big brother and he was worried about me, but I was doing okay, right until the point where I wasn’t, and I know he was keeping me away from the fucking cage, he was trying to ensure he didn’t hurt me instead of going full throttle like I’d always expect from him, and the fact he grabbed the quick and easy pin the way he did? Yeah, it probably wasn’t the highlight of his career either, so I guess I fucked it up for both of us, huh? And to give Sasha and the board credit where it’s due - because no matter what the douchebags and ass-hats of this company would have you believe, the board do give a fuck - they offered to let me take some time off and come back when I was up to it, but with every doctor who’s checked me out clearing me to compete, they couldn’t force me to sit at home and you know how much of a stubborn jackass I can be at times, so unless they tell me I’m not allowed in the building, you know I’m showing up!” he says with a grin, pausing to run a hand through his hair as he takes a second to compose himself again. After a second or two, he turns back to the camera to continue speaking. “I have to admit though, I don’t think Fatal Fortunes threw out as many crazy things this year as I’ve kind of come to expect from the setup. I mean, okay, Derek Adonis beating Syren was one for the record books, not that I have anything against the Man Mountain obviously, and the main event from last week was just all kinds of insanity. It had some great matches, I can admit that. I can even grudgingly admit that Bree versus Hodges was a fantastic match, as much as it pains me to do so… but in terms of what could have happened on the last two shows, where was the chaos? Where was the shock and awe? It was a little flat, I guess… or something like that anyway. But who the fuck am I to criticise? I don’t know what it takes to run a wrestling show, I’ve never worked in production or booking or any of that stuff, I just turn up, fight people, then go home again. I have the easiest job compared to the people who run this business, the people who do the real hard work. And it’s that time of year now, where everything is bigger, everything is more important. We’re a little under two weeks away from Taking Hold of the Flame, which as you know, is the start of Rise To Greatness season, the best season of them all! Those basic bitches who rave about fall and their pumpkin spice lattes can suck it, Rise To Greatness season is the real best season of them all and I won’t hear a damn word to the contrary!”

Jason brings a hand up to wiggle a single finger back and forward, as if lecturing the people at home who may disagree with him, a mischievous grin on his face as he lowers his hand and continues to speak. “And with Fatal Fortunes in the rearview and the Flame looming large in the middle distance, this is the time where everyone starts posturing, isn’t it? Where we all start clamouring for the attention in order to try and stake a claim on a good spot on the Greatness card and maybe even grab a title shot of some description… at least many will, anyway. I’m not sure I’m even remotely close to being in that position yet, but I can only speak for myself. I’m sure there’s plenty who already think the world owes them everything and will be waiting to be given what they deserve… not realising that they literally deserve fucking nothing if you actually consider what they’ve done and their value to the company. But who cares about things like facts or the truth anyway, right? They say a lie can make it’s way around the world before the truth even has it’s boots on and that sure is fucking true in this business… at least it seems to be in SCW anyway. But then I’ve never left anyone uncertain about how I feel about the state of this place since I came back, have I? And I’m surprised that it's not really been thrown back in my face yet if I’m honest… but all I’ve said are things I know that you guys at home would agree with, because I’ve seen the reactions you have at the shows, I’ve seen the comments on social media. The roar when Jordan Majors dropped Sienna at Cold Blooded? I mean, okay, I had to see it on the replay for obvious reasons, but it was a goosebumps moment and you guys fucking loved it… but Sienna is the kind of person that will cry havoc when she feels wronged, ignoring every single piece of evidence that she has done exactly the same herself tenfold before that point. What Jordan did was fucking beautiful and the same can be said for the end of last weeks Breakdown too and I know you guys will agree with me!” he says with confidence as he takes a breath before continuing. “And I bring that shit up, because this week I’m more than aware of the task in front of me when I go one on one with Christy Matthews as Breakdown rolls into San Jose for a visit to the SAP Center, because Christy is just another in a long list of entitled douche canoes that love to distort the truth, spin the facts and paint themselves as the victim in this business, isn’t she?! And I may not have been around for her best years in terms of her career, but I’ve seen the re-runs, I’ve heard the stories and I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I’m sure we’ll hear another story about how hard done by Christy Matthews has be done by this company, this business and life itself. Here’s the thing though, guys… everyone has some sort of sob story. Nobody wants to admit that they’ve been given everything in life, that they’ve never had to bust their ass to achieve anything. If you get a golden ticket, you find the golden goose, the success story is never as sweet as if you had to work your ass off to get where you wanna be. Entitlement doesn’t sell t-shirts and privilege doesn’t win you awards, does it? Not that I’m saying Christy falls into that bracket obviously, but my point is that Christy Matthews is not a unique fucking snowflake, or if she is, she’s only one in the same way that every member of this roster is one!”

With an eye roll, Jason rolls his neck a little, a cracking sound coming from one side then the other before he shakes out a little and looks back at the camera. “I know what it’ll be. Some bragging about the tag title run, some talk about being forgotten, ignored and feeling unappreciated. There’ll be some reference to Dave’s return from retirement, some mocking of that fact while Christy has been here the whole time and given nothing. I’m sure there’ll be some woe is me and I’m sure there’ll be some jokes at my expense and my families expense. But I’m gonna say it here and now bro, I actually don’t care. Christy can say whatever the fuck she wants about me, about people I care about, it’s a free country and she has every right to spew as much bile as she likes when she steps in front of the camera to talk about her boo hoo story and tell me about my Happily Never After, I hope she finds the experience cathartic and gets something out of it… meanwhile I’m going to continue to simple try and do exactly what I do every week, by walking out there looking for a victory and hoping I make you fucks at home and in the arena happy and if I score a dub in the process then amazing! And make no mistake, my poor opinion of Christy aside, I know how huge a fucking opportunity this is for me, because aside from the recent run as a tag champ with Ravyn Taylor, Christy is a former World Champion, and we can all admit that my career could do with some upswing at the minute after Cold Blooded and the war against the Wonderland. I actually welcome the normality of entering in a match with someone who just doesn’t like me because I happen to share a family tree with someone that ruined their life rather than the Judas bullshit and the insanity that comes with living inside of a Lewis Carroll story… it’ll make for a refreshing fucking change, believe me!” he says, chuckling to himself a little as he shakes his head with his laughter. “Do I know I may just get my ass kicked? Of course. I know I’m overconfident at times, but you know dude, it never leaves your mind that there’s a chance you’re gonna get a beating when you walk out to that ring. But the key is to make your peace with that fact and still go out there. That’s the real test of strength in this business, it’s what defines those that are going to be around for a long time and those who just long for longevity. Funny thing is, at one point, I think Christy, despite her career, was one of the latter. Not to trivialise what she did after my brother beat her all those years back, but it goes to show what failure can drive you to if you don’t prepare for it. She couldn’t handle that defeat and she nearly threw everything away because of it, she nearly paid the ultimate price for short term embarrassment… a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And I’m sure she’ll tear me a new one for saying all of that, I’m sure I’ll have been wrong about everything I’ve ever said about anything in the whole history of things, speaking and Jason Helms. But I’m usd to that attitude at this point, it’s the most common one in this company, and you know the old saying; opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they all stink!”

With an angelic expression on his face, Jason shrugs somewhat theatrically before slipping his hands into the pockets, knowing he’s nearing the home straight and needs to knock it out of the park now. His last promo was lacklustre at best, he was all over the place, and he had to keep it together this time, even if he lost it once the camera stopped rolling. “Thing is Christy… maybe you’re right about some of the things you’ll no doubt say. Maybe you’ll score plenty of points and ‘school me’ like the child I can act like at times, and if you do, I hope it gives you a nice warm fuzzy feeling in your cooch, sweetheart. I’m all for people feeling warm and fuzzy, I want people to feel a sense of accomplishment… but you need to remember Christy, that no matter how many times you refute me or even prove me wrong with one hundred percent undeniability with everything I say… none of it will matter because the only thing that matters is what happens in that ring on Wednesday night and we both know that in truth, anything can happen from bell to bell. And while I may have ‘turned over a new leaf’ for want of a better expression, we both know that I’m more willing than most to bend rules if necessary… maybe not as willing as you, because shortcuts are the name of the game for people like you, but maybe a lot closer than say, if you were facing my brother again. And the thing is Christy, this is a much bigger opportunity for me than it is for you, and maybe that puts the pressure on me in the eyes of some people, but where I stand, the pressure is on you right now. The height of my accolades so far is a U.S title run that was ended by someone named after a type of cheese, you’ve been at the top of the ladder and held most if not all the belts in this company… you beat me, well it was probably expected by many who know enough about this business to get how odds and likely outcomes work. But I win? I’ve beaten a great, I’ve beaten someone who held this company in a chokehold at one point in time, a member of what is possibly the greatest stable of all time. Now tell me who’s really under pressure heading into Breakdown and if you still say me then you’re a fucking liar, pure and simple!” he states with one hundred percent certainty as he moves to bring the video to an end. “And maybe I’m an idiot for not taking Sasha’s offer when she asked if I wanted some time off. Maybe I’m dumb as a post for wanting to walk into Breakdown and face you to see how I fare… but that’s just how I am. Maybe I’m too stubborn for my own good… i think that’s a Helms family trait, I know that it is with me and Dave anyway, but what can I say. We’re the keep trying type, I guess! But that’s what I’m here for right now, Christy. Unlike you, I haven’t lost hope with this business or this company, I haven’t given up on trying to be the best me I can, rather than just trying to prove I’m the best full stop. If that’s your deal, good luck to you… but I don’t want hollow success Christy, because I’d rather be a failure in terms of my record and the history books than a fraud who made it! Think about what that actually means to you and I’ll see you Wednesday…” he says, bringing one hand up with his finger and thumb forming a pistol, which he points directly at the camera. “Bang!” he says, winking, as the video comes to an end, the final frame freezing as the video dims and the replay button appears in the middle of the screen.