'Hellooooooooo Mer-cue-ites!'

Lots of cheers. There are a few fledgling chants that almost start up but never consolidate with the whole crowd at once.

'Maybe I can help! Let's try... 'Jake pinned Jin! Jake pinned Jin!'. '

They eat it up with a metaphorical spoon and recite it willingly, loudly, and for a measurable amount of time. Besides the return show, this is the first Jake's been filmed since the break, so let's take a gander at him while the mantra ensues. His muscles are noticeably more defined yet without any bulkiness, including a complete washboard six-pack. His hair is no longer an unkempt mess, now straightened and shiny, with black streaks and tips amongst the natural reddish brown. The best change on Jake's wide smile is the removal of the soul patch. Man, what was he thinking back then? Digressions aside.

'Thank you guys. Seriously, this is all for you. I've traveled the world now, worked in as many three-letter-acronym feds you can arrange with the alphabet, and at every step I saw the faithful in the crowds. The faded out Merc t-shirts. The Pee-On bobbleheads that almost look real size. The foam crotch bats swinging in the air. The reactions for me and other Mercury guys. We couldn't get the band back together if you didn't still want us around.'

Cheers for kissing up! It worked for Beaumont, so it definitely works for Jakey.

'You know, I wanted to speak before the big show, and I probably would've if Jin-Say Nothing didn't say nothing to Harbinger, or even if Chihuahua Mullet yipped at me like old times. But they chose to play the quiet game, and I ended up doing it too. As much as I wanted to talk, I felt a lot of pressure going into the show. I dropped the fall the first time the matchup happened. I was the only person who didn't have a win against anyone else in the match. I was the one that's got the most unproved potential. So I needed to start proving it, and I didn't want to waste myself on empty words if I couldn't back it up... But DAMN do I feel great now!'

He pantomimes a sigh of relief and a weight off his shoulders. Jake can freely show all the confidence he's built over the years.

'I'm not sure what was better, beating the same dipsticks that tried running this place like a mind-numbingly dull Four Horsemen, or finally smacking their heads together like they did to me and Harby. Taking the win myself on Jinny is a pound of icing on the cake. All those long sessions at the Academy and all those tough rookie losses always showed progress, but now I have concrete evidence in the books that I really am a bonafide Mercury wrestler.'

Jake moves into a topic of other humdrum Merc activities, and still his enthusiasm never falters.

'I've been criticized on my size and my dedication, but I'm still alive and kicking. I'm getting name dropped by idiots and old timers who won't take a minute out of their self-love to learn who I actually am. And now I'm booked against a new guy. Yep, it all sounds like I'm one of the boys now!

'I'm making a personal goal tonight, I want gold around my waist by the year's end; By the end of summer if I can help it. Harbinger probably doesn't expect a hellball's chance in snow of being a tag champion with me, and I know he has the big belt to worry about, but I want those straps so bad, and it's not so far fetched now. If not, I'll claw my way to another Mercury title shot - one I deserve more. I'll get past more former champions if that's what it takes, and I bet it will. If all else fails, I'm dying so much for gold... a few death matches can't be that bad.

'I'm young, and impatient, and ready to make an impact. Though I'm smart enough to see an opportunity. I could take this match as a waste of time, but no, I don't. This is my chance to prove I can beat a newbie as fast as the veterans could beat Rookie Jake.

'Okay, before I start about the match, I need to get a bad joke out of the way. Delgado sounds like 'el gato', and that means 'the cat'... and you're first name is Felix...'

The crowd seems appreciative he didn't try to turn that into serious material.

'I don't understand why MMA fighters think a wrestling ring is an easier place to be. You came here for less rules, but you compare the two rulebooks and I bet the page difference is in the bagillion-thousands. In kickboxing you can't use the ropes, the turnbuckles, the apron, the outside of the ring, and fights are stopped when someone gets a papercut. That's all flipped around here, and give me half the chance I'll flip all around you until you're asking yourself 'What the hell was that?' like Jin.

'You hit Kaiser with a dozen strikes and couldn't knock him out until the cheapshot. You lost to one cradle. Maybe I shouldn't compare myself to the mighty Kaiser, but maybe on my best day I'm, you know, more durable and have a handful of better moves. Plus my Ocean City is better than his, so I think you're screwed. So there.

'You can leave the attitude in the locker room and learn like I did in your first couple matches, or you can be stubborn and have plenty of new photographs for your living room as you keep losing to everyone and their grandmother. And even the most senile of senior citizen would be watching you after beating you with an 80-year-old rollup, so don't try anything stupid and save yourself from being exposed twice in one night, Felixo el gato.'

Jake has finished his first promo back. He sets the mic down and climbs out of the ring. Then he slides back into the ring for the mic again.

'Oh why not. Jake pinned Jin! Jake pinned Jin! Jake pinned Jin!...'

A few flashy poses to the chanting fans, a bounding exit over the top rope, and a brisk walk up the ramp while slapping hands. Every action is so full of energy for 'mundane' reasons in Jake's exciting life right now.