The Harold interviews first of many:
Harold: Well Cage, thank you for sitting down with me to do this interview, I know you're a busy man.Cage: it's been a long time since I've done one of these; it's just like old times, really
Cage: me in the spotlight, everyone hankering for a piece of me
Cage: but i guess you wouldn't know much about the spotlight Harold: Well ive never had the pleasure of interviewing you, but this should be one of a kind, ok my first question and the question of many is, your match in Januarys ppv against Shadow, is it a one time deal or will you return to SFT permanently?
Cage: right now it's probably just going to be a one time deal. In honesty, the desire to do this day in and day out again is gone. At the same time, though, there is something that burns within all that are true of heart... the desire for competition, to be pushed in hand to hand combat. It's really one of the most primal instincts
Cage: and as long as I can still ante-up and bring it, I'd be lying to say I wouldn't come through now and again just to see if I an still do it Harold: Well next question is Why Shadow? Why now, you two have been on good terms and he seems to one of the few youve stayed on good terms with when youve left in the past? Why face him? What would be the point? There would be no titles on the line?
Cage: There doesn't much have to be a point or title on the line to want to square off against one of the best that's ever done it. If nothing else, it is a clash of era's, each of us arguably the best of our time. It's like Ali v. Frazier... a classic battle. I want Shadow for the fact of his reputation alone, there doesn't have to be hate behind it. There was a time for me where it was about establishing a name, so I'd go so far as to challenge anyone and everyone for the sake of winning. After a while, though, it becomes less about the ends and you get entranced by the means of which you once pursued them.
Cage: i am a warrior Cage: there is a certain love for the dance we do
Harold: Most are just happy enough if he agrees to a match, which for him to accept says quit allot about you, but what does a match and a possible win or him really mean to you and your career?
Cage: In honesty? It doesn't really mean all that much. I have been hated and my abilities publicly disputed from day one, that fact won't change regardless of the outcome of this match. Yet people fail to see that comments or admiration have never much phased me... really, when you're good, you just know it. I have always known. A win verse Shadow would not suddenly promote me to greatness, at least not in my eyes. It would only serve to show others, the same others who've allowed envy to blind them to such a miraculous talent as it sits in front of their eyes. Additionally, one match does not a legacy build... nor destroy. It is just one in a series, the proverbial strand in a golden rope
Cage: What it does suggest, though, is that I am one of the best to ever do it. Perhaps the public perception changes, but my own does not. The irony of it all is that regardless of any match, a man's legacy is only in the eyes of others-- after all that I can do in ring, it is beyond my control
Harold: Cage you seem to have some sort of reputation the backstage area, what are your feelings for the SFT roster and vice versa?
Cage: Hmm, that's a good question. Reputation means very little. I feel you can change it on a whim if you really wanted to; a reputation is really only as strong as the committment to it and the spin you're therefore willing to put on things. Therefore, one's reputation can't ever really be universal. That's why you'll find those on the roster that love and admire me just as you will those that downplay and try to diminish me. As far as the roster is concerned, I really don't have any major thoughts one way or the other on them personally. I will say that I feel with certainty the talent level now has diminished tremendously from how it was when I started here four years ago, and I'll also say that there is far less unity even amongst the little kliqs that do exist. It's sad, really, but only a reflection of society. Harold: Do you feel that there may be some sort of resentment towards you for leaving right after you won the world title? Allot of people looked down on you for that.
Cage: Again that depends really on the beholder. I mean when I came back, it was known that I was only there for the tournament and that was it. I only held to my words that Shadow and I had discussed when he asked me to come back. Really, though, look at it from a different level... what kind of champion holds the title without love and committment to defending it? Sure, I probably could have held it for a long while, maybe even to today, but the heart just wasn't there. You could make the argument that what I did was a great sacrifice, done for the good of the promotion. Let someone who wants it badly run with it and take the federation to public heights that I wasn't willing to go to.... yet, these facts are overlooked. The resentment that came out when I left the fed right after winning the title was there within people long before I'd ever won it. Me leaving served just as an excuse to voice it.
Harold: Do you think there could be some resentment due to your relationship with Shadow? Others have not known him as long as you have, maybe they feel that you waltz back in and get a match with him? If im in the lockerroom, id be saying "what makes him so special?" How do you respond to people saying "he's close to Shadow so he gets to do what he wants".
Cage: Those people are oblivious to reality and have failed to do a little research. Shadow and I have long battled and been at each other's throats. We take shots at each other, hell, he's banned me from competing before. It is not as if we're some great friends by any means and I hardly say I do as I please around here. It's much more I throw caution to the wind and just ignore/deal with the repercussions as they come. The thing about this match is that Shadow wants it as bad as I do... it is a competition of eras. The unspeaking force v. The incessant mouth. A man of secrets v. Mr. Real name, no gimmicks. Call it what you want... all this match represents is two men that love the competition, simple as that. We come for a great battle.
Cage: We fight with nothing to gain, nothing to lose.... just to fight. For the love of the battle.
Harold: Theres something I need to ask, and seeing as you're gonna be paying for the site for a year, maybe this question is more relevant to you? What has SFW/SFT meant to you personally? What does it mean now? Many who have walked through our doors take something away from those places, what did you take from it and what does it mean to you?
Ahh, there's so much I could say here but I don't know I can truly do justice with words in my answer. To me, this is a place that helps define personal identity. It doesn't create it for you; everything people spill here is innate. It pinpoints character and clarifies existence and purpose. This place was with me as I grew up. It is almost as if I come here and look at my childhood, kinda like the same feeling some people get when they see a tire swing hanging from a tree. It's like I can look at a Golden Age where we all come, ultimately, with nothing to gain for the love of expression, innovation, and competition. I opted to put up the money because I hope this place, the foundation for so many things, prospers on, regardless of the roster or the staff.