EC3 recently announced his headlining bout against Scherr, taking place at Free The Narrative II on Fri., Oct. 1 (which you can pre-order here). The WWE and Impact Wrestling alum revealed how the Scherr bout came together ahead of his Ring of Honor (ROH) World Championship match at Death Before Dishonor at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sept. 12.
“This match came together because this man knocked on my door. I think you saw the video that we uploaded this week. That is actually the extended ending of our very first Free the Narrative feature,” EC3 tells Cageside Seats’ Shakiel Mahjouri. “That was a stringer ending to our first feature. Nobody really caught onto exactly who it really was but now we get to tell you exactly who it is. Adam Scherr is looking to control his narrative and I’m the man he came to.”
From the propaganda desk of the #essentialcharacter (#ec3)
— ecIII (@therealec3) September 1, 2021
Are you born a monster? Or is it something you become?
After his shocking dismissal from the corporate wrestling realm, join @Adamscherr99 on a journey of self-discovery in his return to the ring when Scherr battles ec3 pic.twitter.com/YsZD06ir6q
For EC3, who was admittedly disheartened by the end of his second WWE run in April 2020, Free The Narrative is therapy. He hopes the experience can be equally therapeutic for Scherr, Matt Cardona and anyone else who enters his world.
“I wear a lot of what I do. It’s very personal and it’s almost therapeutic. I think a lot of talent that has come into The Narrative through this have seen that and are experiencing it themselves. I think Adam Scherr is going to be the prime example of somebody — you think this man has it all. He was a WWE champion, he was on top of the world. He’s been on top for many, many years. The shocking departure from the corporate wrestling world, that is all he knew. That weighs on a man no matter how big you are, no matter how tough you are perceived to be. No matter how strong you are.
“A lot of the talent that has come here has seen the emotional journey and growth through it. I think that’s what intrigues so much talent. It’s just a matter of getting it to the fans’ perspective. Fans want new, they always want new. But when new comes they don’t really recognize it until they do. To do that you just have to keep putting it out there. You can’t make this kind of content just for fans though you do want their support... but you have to make it for yourself. For so long, talent — no matter what company, some claimed they had creative freedom — they’re always working for somebody else. Nobodies truly becoming who they’re supposed to be or really feeling who they are in this landscape currently. So this is for them as much as it is for fans.”
In a modern pro-wrestling landscape where various organizations of note are working together, EC3 sees an integral place for The Narrative in the pockets between those other opportunities.
“It lives in between what is currently taking place,” he shares. “And I want the circumstances to mean something when somebody comes through us. What they do next. Maybe it’s not blatantly, ‘Oh look, he spent time in The Narrative, look at him now.’ It’s not that, as much as this man or woman has changed and they are different. How did that come to be? Kind of the first experiment of it all was with Moose.”
Or is Scherr’s fight against himself?
— ecIII (@therealec3) September 1, 2021
What will happen when this “monster” knocks on this “man’s” door?
Adam Scherr’s fight truly begins on 10/01/21.
“Free The Narrative II” will feature many more “names” and is the sequel to “Free The Narrative” ft. @TheMattCardona vs ec3. pic.twitter.com/J6158U7cjY
For those unfamiliar with the inaugural Free The Narrative event, EC3 describes his spin on the growing trend of cinematic pro-wrestling.
“The fight in The Narrative is the fight for yourself, for your freedom, to take back your control, to find your purpose. It is created as a true creative outlet for any talent that feels stifled, lost their way or looking for reinvention. This is a place I want to build for them to come and do just that. Now that it’s getting a lot of attention, cinematic matches jumped the shark a long time ago. This is not cinematic matches in the sense where EC3 has mystical powers where he’s going to disappear and re-appear.
“This is a cinematic wrestling experience. it’s professional wrestling shot cinematically. We have a camera in the ring, we have no referee, and we have different angles we want to bring in an intimate, up-close view for the viewer so they can feel the physicality and the emotion that we as performers go through when we’re struggling [or] when we’re succeeding. The ups and downs. It’s a real emotional rollercoaster that goes beyond the horses—t you see on TV nowadays.”
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