With Valentine and Knight, Opposites Have Attracted
By James Bryan 2010-02-15
I've been with Global Championship Wrestling since the very first day we opened our doors. I have had a chance to meet, talk to and observe every single wrestler that has stepped into a GCW ring. I've met some interesting people and some truly larger than life personalities. Wrestling attracts the bizarre, and as wrestling's mecca GCW certain boasts its fair share of unique characters.
But I can't think of any two people so dissimilar, and yet so akin, as LeStatt Knight and Vivica J. Valentine.
Knight arrived under the name Chris Krowe in 2001, and I thought very little of him. He was reasonably talented, but he didn't seem to have the personality required to affect the things around him. In wrestling, it's all about getting noticed, and Chris Krowe just didn't seem to give a damn. He went out, he wrestled, sometimes he won, more often he didn't. Even after he became LeStatt Knight and seemed to gain a bit more edge, I still didn't think he had what it takes to make it.
When I first met Vivica J. Valentine, she had "star" written all over her. When President Caldera was negotiating with Valentine, Lia Ambrosi and their group of Global castoffs for what he hoped would be a huge GCW recruiting coup, we knew immediately that Valentine was the one to watch. She was raw, she was unpolished and she had a bad attitude. But those things aren't always negatives in this business.
With LeStatt Knight in the midst of his second reign and on track for an NC-17 showdown with Lia Ambrosi and Dawn MacFarlane, he faced the third member of the Global outcasts. Valentine, still United States Champion and riding high, was given a crack at the GCW Title at Devil's Night. Valentine pushed Knight, but it became clear that she was still too raw to seriously threaten the two-time Champion Knight. LeStatt pinned her but went on to lose at NC-17 to Ambrosi.
After losing the United States title, Valentine began a catastrophic losing streak that had many questioning her ability to keep her GCW contract. Knight himself went into a bit of a funk after losing his belt, but they both had an opportunity to right the ship at Warpath. A tournament was held to decide a new number one contender, and fate brought Valentine and Knight together in the semifinals. They fought an intense and even bout which Valentine won via rollup, scoring her a clean but unsatisfying win over Knight.
Once again the two wrestlers met with a title shot at stake, this time as the final two in the Dangerous Games match. Knight clearly had the upper hand, as Valentine entered the match with a badly burned arm suffered at the hands of Bryan Mayhem. Somehow Valentine persevered, eliminating Knight in dramatic form to take the match. She would go on to win the GCW Title, and it would take Knight two years to get back in the hunt.
Valentine had no problems immediately affecting her personality on GCW. She won the United States Title in her first match and held it for almost a year. She walked right in and staked her claim to being a star.
And yet, four years later, with LeStatt Knight's final bout looming, Knight is the more decorated, more celebrated of the two.
It took me a long time to realize it, but LeStatt Knight did give a damn. In fact, it's easy to say that Knight and Valentine are the two most competitive wrestlers in GCW history. So it's fitting now to see Valentine standing across the ring, waiting to send Knight into retirement, because the two have taken alternate routes to the same destination.
Valentine's ugly feud with Andy Murray last year revealed what we already knew: Vivica J. Valentine needs to be loved. She needs the approval of the crowd, the respect of her peers, the accolades to cement her legacy in GCW. There have been times when the fans have not given her the adoration she craves, and those have led to her darkest moments with the company. Yet there's no denying her impact, whether for good or otherwise; Valentine has been the most consistently great wrestlers this company has ever had.
She's never injured. She never takes time off. She's a warrior.
The reason I whiffed so badly on LeStatt Knight was that he doesn't do it for approval. He doesn't do it for respect, he doesn't do it for adoration, and he definitely doesn't do it because he needs anyone else to tell him how great he is. LeStatt Knight doesn't do it to be considered the best; LeStatt Knight wrestles to simply be the best.
That doesn't mean Valentine's any different. But this is why I feel Knight's career has been superior to Valentine's. Knight has never been affected by the response to his actions. He just does what he needs to do to stay at the top. For Valentine, it's not good enough unless she gets to the top and finds everyone waiting for her with balloons and a cake.
Of course, Valentine's supporters would point out that Knight had a big head start, and that's true. Knight had those nondescript early years, whereas Valentine came right in and rocked the world. Personally, I don't think there's any point in comparing resumes. They're both champions, they're both icons, and they're both Hall of Famers.
The difference is in their personalities, and it's the one place Knight has remained superior to Valentine. And there's no clearer proof of this than in the way Valentine regards Knight.
She is driven to the brink of insanity with her jealousy for Knight. She hates that Knight is revered as GCW's icon and she is not. She hates that Knight has all the records and she does not. She hates that Knight is universally considered to be the better of the two wrestlers.
To be fair, she may have a point. Sure, Knight's got the better statistics and the better reputation, but that's not necessarily Valentine's fault. Coming up short against Murray at NC-17 set her back, but Valentine's been every bit as important to GCW as Knight has since she arrived in the main event.
But therein lies her flaw. She doesn't need to prove to anyone that she's great. She is, even if the fans might not always show it. Wrestling is a fickle business and you have to learn to live with the ebb and flow. LeStatt Knight was made for the business because he just didn't care what people thought of him. He just entered the ring and took care of business, and in the process people took note of just how much better he was than everyone else.
And the thing Valentine has yet to learn is that her constant thirst for approval is the very thing that turns people away from her. Had she graciously stepped aside to give Andy Murray his time in the sun, things would have been differently. But she couldn't handle being the second favorite. Just like she can't handle being second best to Knight, even if it's only the perception.
Vivica J. Valentine needs to prove to the world that she is better than Knight. They've danced around one another for years, but this will be the first and only showdown with both at their peaks. The spotlight will be on them and them alone. There will be no equivocation about it. Someone is going to win at Shockwave.
This match isn't going to rewrite nine years of GCW history. This match isn't going to make or break either wrestler's career. The result won't become a referendum on their skills, and it won't settle the debate of who the better wrestler is.
But it will settle a few things between Valentine and Knight, and it will become a major feather in someone's cap. If Knight wins, it may drive Valentine further into dementia, and it will prove that he went out on top. If Valentine wins, she will have made a serious announcement to the world that with Knight gone, she's stepping into his place as GCW's premiere active legend.
Whatever happens, after Shockwave, my opinions of Knight and Valentine will remain unchanged. Knight will still be in the Hall of Fame and will be the greatest wrestler in GCW history. Valentine will still go into the Hall of Fame the first day she's eligible, and she'll get a spot right next to Knight.
This match is going to go a long way to deciding how these two are remembered, though. Knight's last match is an historic happening in GCW, and Valentine has a chance to force us all to forever remember that she was the one who sent him out with a loss... or with a glowing victory.
By James Bryan 2010-02-15
I've been with Global Championship Wrestling since the very first day we opened our doors. I have had a chance to meet, talk to and observe every single wrestler that has stepped into a GCW ring. I've met some interesting people and some truly larger than life personalities. Wrestling attracts the bizarre, and as wrestling's mecca GCW certain boasts its fair share of unique characters.
But I can't think of any two people so dissimilar, and yet so akin, as LeStatt Knight and Vivica J. Valentine.
Knight arrived under the name Chris Krowe in 2001, and I thought very little of him. He was reasonably talented, but he didn't seem to have the personality required to affect the things around him. In wrestling, it's all about getting noticed, and Chris Krowe just didn't seem to give a damn. He went out, he wrestled, sometimes he won, more often he didn't. Even after he became LeStatt Knight and seemed to gain a bit more edge, I still didn't think he had what it takes to make it.
When I first met Vivica J. Valentine, she had "star" written all over her. When President Caldera was negotiating with Valentine, Lia Ambrosi and their group of Global castoffs for what he hoped would be a huge GCW recruiting coup, we knew immediately that Valentine was the one to watch. She was raw, she was unpolished and she had a bad attitude. But those things aren't always negatives in this business.
The First Meeting
Devil's Night 06With LeStatt Knight in the midst of his second reign and on track for an NC-17 showdown with Lia Ambrosi and Dawn MacFarlane, he faced the third member of the Global outcasts. Valentine, still United States Champion and riding high, was given a crack at the GCW Title at Devil's Night. Valentine pushed Knight, but it became clear that she was still too raw to seriously threaten the two-time Champion Knight. LeStatt pinned her but went on to lose at NC-17 to Ambrosi.
The Second Meeting
Warpath 07After losing the United States title, Valentine began a catastrophic losing streak that had many questioning her ability to keep her GCW contract. Knight himself went into a bit of a funk after losing his belt, but they both had an opportunity to right the ship at Warpath. A tournament was held to decide a new number one contender, and fate brought Valentine and Knight together in the semifinals. They fought an intense and even bout which Valentine won via rollup, scoring her a clean but unsatisfying win over Knight.
The Third Meeting
Dangerous Games 07Once again the two wrestlers met with a title shot at stake, this time as the final two in the Dangerous Games match. Knight clearly had the upper hand, as Valentine entered the match with a badly burned arm suffered at the hands of Bryan Mayhem. Somehow Valentine persevered, eliminating Knight in dramatic form to take the match. She would go on to win the GCW Title, and it would take Knight two years to get back in the hunt.
Valentine had no problems immediately affecting her personality on GCW. She won the United States Title in her first match and held it for almost a year. She walked right in and staked her claim to being a star.
And yet, four years later, with LeStatt Knight's final bout looming, Knight is the more decorated, more celebrated of the two.
It took me a long time to realize it, but LeStatt Knight did give a damn. In fact, it's easy to say that Knight and Valentine are the two most competitive wrestlers in GCW history. So it's fitting now to see Valentine standing across the ring, waiting to send Knight into retirement, because the two have taken alternate routes to the same destination.
Valentine's ugly feud with Andy Murray last year revealed what we already knew: Vivica J. Valentine needs to be loved. She needs the approval of the crowd, the respect of her peers, the accolades to cement her legacy in GCW. There have been times when the fans have not given her the adoration she craves, and those have led to her darkest moments with the company. Yet there's no denying her impact, whether for good or otherwise; Valentine has been the most consistently great wrestlers this company has ever had.
She's never injured. She never takes time off. She's a warrior.
The reason I whiffed so badly on LeStatt Knight was that he doesn't do it for approval. He doesn't do it for respect, he doesn't do it for adoration, and he definitely doesn't do it because he needs anyone else to tell him how great he is. LeStatt Knight doesn't do it to be considered the best; LeStatt Knight wrestles to simply be the best.
That doesn't mean Valentine's any different. But this is why I feel Knight's career has been superior to Valentine's. Knight has never been affected by the response to his actions. He just does what he needs to do to stay at the top. For Valentine, it's not good enough unless she gets to the top and finds everyone waiting for her with balloons and a cake.
Of course, Valentine's supporters would point out that Knight had a big head start, and that's true. Knight had those nondescript early years, whereas Valentine came right in and rocked the world. Personally, I don't think there's any point in comparing resumes. They're both champions, they're both icons, and they're both Hall of Famers.
The difference is in their personalities, and it's the one place Knight has remained superior to Valentine. And there's no clearer proof of this than in the way Valentine regards Knight.
She is driven to the brink of insanity with her jealousy for Knight. She hates that Knight is revered as GCW's icon and she is not. She hates that Knight has all the records and she does not. She hates that Knight is universally considered to be the better of the two wrestlers.
To be fair, she may have a point. Sure, Knight's got the better statistics and the better reputation, but that's not necessarily Valentine's fault. Coming up short against Murray at NC-17 set her back, but Valentine's been every bit as important to GCW as Knight has since she arrived in the main event.
But therein lies her flaw. She doesn't need to prove to anyone that she's great. She is, even if the fans might not always show it. Wrestling is a fickle business and you have to learn to live with the ebb and flow. LeStatt Knight was made for the business because he just didn't care what people thought of him. He just entered the ring and took care of business, and in the process people took note of just how much better he was than everyone else.
And the thing Valentine has yet to learn is that her constant thirst for approval is the very thing that turns people away from her. Had she graciously stepped aside to give Andy Murray his time in the sun, things would have been differently. But she couldn't handle being the second favorite. Just like she can't handle being second best to Knight, even if it's only the perception.
Vivica J. Valentine needs to prove to the world that she is better than Knight. They've danced around one another for years, but this will be the first and only showdown with both at their peaks. The spotlight will be on them and them alone. There will be no equivocation about it. Someone is going to win at Shockwave.
This match isn't going to rewrite nine years of GCW history. This match isn't going to make or break either wrestler's career. The result won't become a referendum on their skills, and it won't settle the debate of who the better wrestler is.
But it will settle a few things between Valentine and Knight, and it will become a major feather in someone's cap. If Knight wins, it may drive Valentine further into dementia, and it will prove that he went out on top. If Valentine wins, she will have made a serious announcement to the world that with Knight gone, she's stepping into his place as GCW's premiere active legend.
Whatever happens, after Shockwave, my opinions of Knight and Valentine will remain unchanged. Knight will still be in the Hall of Fame and will be the greatest wrestler in GCW history. Valentine will still go into the Hall of Fame the first day she's eligible, and she'll get a spot right next to Knight.
This match is going to go a long way to deciding how these two are remembered, though. Knight's last match is an historic happening in GCW, and Valentine has a chance to force us all to forever remember that she was the one who sent him out with a loss... or with a glowing victory.