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>The scene opens up with Kristopher Ryans in the center of the frame. Like the old days, “The Miracle” is wearing his faded red hooded sweatshirt, and is walking away from the camera. The operator sprints after him, not wanting to miss any of his words.

Bill Barnhart is out here looking for a god damn birthday present….

The words fall out of his mouth dripping with disgust. Kris was no stranger to celebrating his birthday with the Sin City audience. He had made a birthday spectacle out of several Climax Controls in the past. Something about Bill’s recent words about his own birthday celebration seems to have rubbed the champion the wrong way.

He thinks that because he won a single match forever ago, that this match is going to be competitive. He’s going to throw away all of his other losses as failed battles in a war that he intends to win. The only problem with that is, he never planned on losing any of those battles either. Just like he doesn’t plan on losing this next one. Just like he doesn’t think that he is going to lose this so-called war between the two of us.

Kris stops, allowing the camera to not only catch up to him, but move around to his side so that the viewers can see the condescending smirk on his face.

There’s just one problem with that: this isn’t a war. These aren’t battles. You know what Bill Barnhart is to me? A mosquito. He’s always buzzing around doing his best to get one over on you. Most of the time he gets swatted down without a second thought, but occasionally he gets himself just deep enough under your skin to become an annoyance. But then what happens? What happens when Bill Barnhart successfully gets someone’s attention, huh? He falls on his face every single time.

The camera moves ahead of him, looking back towards “The Miracle” as he continues down the alley behind Jet City South.

It’s not a war if you lose every time something important is on the line, and that’s the rut that Bill is stuck in. The guy is just barely good enough to break through the middle of the pack, but once the heat is on, he folds under the lightest pressure. The guy doesn’t just come up short, he comes up so short that people have to wonder how the hell he rose through the ranks in the first place.

He tries to suppress another laugh at his opponents’ expense, but the snicker still manages to slip through to the audience.

This guy is closing in on 40 years old, and is still on everyone’s screen talking about parties and presents. He wonders why people don’t take him seriously. He wonders why he always watches his opportunities slip away at the last possible second. It’s because he doesn’t have the talent. Or rather, maybe he had it at some point, captured it again for just a moment in that first match with me, and lost it forever like sands through time’s hourglass. I don’t know what the reason is. The only person that could really give us an answer to that is Bill himself, but I’m not sure he even knows himself. Denial is one hell of a strong drug, and he looks to be hooked on it.

The Grand Slam Champion gets to the end of the alleyway and turns down the sidewalk leading around the building. There are unsurprisingly few passersby given the various restrictions in the area, but that just makes focusing on Kris that much easier.

I mean it kind of makes sense in a half-baked junkie type of way. The guy sees The Black Sheep’s Mixed Tag Team Championships, and wants them. He thinks they’re shiny. He thinks that it would be a good birthday gift. It is a trophy to keep on top of his mantle and look at when the depression of constantly losing comes back to haunt him. So Bill and Bea have been lumbering towards these championships that they have no hope of taking in the sloppiest of ways, for what reason? Do these two want to carry a division? No. Do they want to change the way that people look down on these championships? No. They want a shiny new present to celebrate a birthday that nobody has ever, or will ever, care about.

Kris looks up into the lens of the camera, stopping near the front door leading into the gym.

The Black Sheep are the champions that this division deserves. We’re a team that people look at and see a challenge. We’re not some flavor of the week duo thrown together at random, or some deluded newcomers that want to challenge the status quo just to have our names written down in the history books. We aren’t trying to launch anyone’s career. We aren’t using these championships as a stepping stone to bigger or better things. Plainly speaking, Mikah and I are in this position because this is exactly where we want to be. This is what the two of us came back to Sin City for. Defending these championships was the goal, and we have been doing that night after night.

He laughs, shaking his head simultaneously and pointing a finger angrily at the camera. His words start to run together as he gets more and more heated.

...and let’s not forget that Mikah and I, the villains of the tag team division, worked our way up through the ranks legitimately so that we were beyond reproach. We beat everyone. We succeeded during every challenge. We didn’t lose a single battle during the war we waged against the Mixed Tag Team ranks. We got to the top of the mountain, and then we challenged the best of the best. We answered the call. We put our money where our mouths are, and came out on top time and time again. There hasn’t been a single stumble in our ascent to the top of the mountain yet again, and the sky’s the limit for The Black Sheep.

Kris raises both arms up to cradle the back of his head and takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. The criticisms that his team faced on a day-to-day basis was clearly annoying him, but most would have thought he was used to that by now. After all, it has been a repeated trend in Sin City since his early days.

...but I do have a present for Bill. He can’t exactly have it at High Stakes, but he’s just going to have to get over that. See, the best that someone could give Bill is some pointers as to how to successfully navigate this business. He can be an asshole. That’s fine. I’m not innocent of that, and that label applies to the majority of the roster. He can say and do whatever he wants, but at the end of the day, people’s reputations start and end in the ring. Over the next month or so, I’m not only going to defend this Mixed Tag Team Championship, but I’m going to take on whoever is holding the SCW World Heavyweight Champion on the final Climax Control of 2020. And how did I make it happen? I showed up, I talked a lot of shit, and then at the end of the day I won and proved I was better than anyone that has come across my path. It’s that end part there that Bill needs to pay attention to. I would have thought that he would have gotten the memo one of the last couple times.

Kris pulls open the front door of the gym, but hesitates to step inside. He looks away, but then turns back to the camera, not able to stop himself.

In a couple days, this one-sided war Bill has been raging is going to be over. The Barnharts will decisively, and formally, be put in my rear view mirror. I have a lot more that I want to accomplish before this year is over, and I can’t waste anymore proving to Bill that the one win he already managed to steal is the only present that he is getting this year. He simply hasn’t been good enough to deserve anything more than that. In three days, this ends, and the last chapter of my 2020 begins. Personally, I can’t wait.

With that, “The Miracle” steps through the doorway. The camera watches as the door closes behind him and then fades to black.
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JUMP
Jet City South - San Diego
23 October 2020
OFF-Camera


Kris was busy plowing through the paperwork from the day-to-day goings-on of Jet City South when he heard his friend’s trudging from down the hall. The door to the office was not only closed, but locked which was apparently the source of the fastest member of Jet City’s frustration. A loud bang on the door after the handle failed to give was obviously from Coby throwing a fist at it, not that it was going to help his situation. There was a long pause, while Kris assumed the man was searching for his keys, before the lock turned and the door flew open almost as if it had been kicked. Coby enters through the door carrying a box big enough to block most of his field of vision. He drops it on the floor, which makes a lot less noise than Kris expected, showing that it was more large and awkward to carry than it was heavy. Coby easily kicks it across the floor and it slides to a stop in front of Kris’ desk. Wordlessly, Coby motions in annoyance at his friend, but Kris merely shrugs his shoulders and returns his attention to his desk.

Kris: Who has your feathers all ruffled?

Kris tried to keep the amusement out of his voice, knowing it would likely only make matters worse. Coby rarely got this upset about anything. In fact, he was more proud of his level-headedness than he was his ability in the ring. If Kris could poke Coby into exploding over what Kris assumed was a box of halloween decorations they had ordered, it would be the high point of his day.

Coby: I’m not a bird. I don’t have feathers, and if I did they wouldn’t be ruffled at all. I’m good.

Coby dropped his gym bag onto his own desk, and moved across the room before tossing himself down on couch along the wall.

Kris: That both sounded and looked convincing....

The words came out of Kris’ mouth without any hint of the fun that he was having. He tried to make it seem like he was more focused on his computer screen than the conversation.

Coby: Why don’t you ever bother me about stepping up from Underground to SCW?

Kris’ attention was immediately pulled away from what he was pretending to do. He drops the uninterested act, almost dumbfounded by how pointed Coby’s question was. It made him uncomfortable when people were that direct, and it showed in the tone of his response.

Kris: I...didn’t know I was supposed to be?

It was not a turn in the conversation that Kris was prepared for. He and Coby had been partners for a little more than a year, and friends for five more, but he had never gotten the impression that Coby really valued his opinion. It was the same story as everyone else. He came to Jet City through extended family, and just happened to be better than most of the rest of them at being able to tolerate Kris. Kris had never given any thought to the idea that Coby might actually take him seriously though. He was blindsided.

Coby: Just seems to me like if you thought that I could step up I would be hearing about it constantly. You’re annoying about pushing others to do things that benefit you. Yet, you haven’t said anything about it.

Instead of trying to dig through what Coby was saying, Kris takes offense to the attack.

Kris: So let me see if I’m following you. Because I haven’t been bothering you, I don’t think that you can do it? Is that what you think?

Maybe it wasn’t that big of a stretch, but there was no way that Coby came to that conclusion on his own. Kris knew almost immediately that there had to be more to it than he was getting, but Coby shrugs off the question and gets more defensive.

Coby: I mean it’s hard not to see it that way.

This time Kris actually laughs out loud, but not at the words themselves. He had heard this type of thing before, just not coming out of Coby’s mouth. He was much more rational than this. Something wasn’t adding up.

Kris: Maybe for a crazy person!

Kris’ mind was already off to the races trying to put together the puzzle pieces that Coby had given him. He didn’t even notice that Coby didn’t take the insult in stride.

Coby: That’s insulting.

Kris shakes his head, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening. Instead of arguing with Coby, he tries to walk his friend through a different perspective.

Kris: When you came down to San Diego, which I didn’t make you do, you said you wanted to go to Underground so that I didn’t overshadow you. That was your plan, not mine. I was just letting you have your space. I don’t see how this is my fault.

Coby shrugs, not following Kris’ logic at all.

Coby: You rarely do.

It was a line of attack that Kris had been subjected to numerous times by more people than he could count. Most of the time whoever it had been had come to Kris with a legitimate gripe. It was a character flaw that he knew about. He wasn’t about to take credit for something that wasn’t actually his fault though.

Kris: Okay, usually you may have a point there, but I really feel like this is one that you are just piling on me to feel better about the fact that they aren’t doing a whole lot with you over there.

It wasn’t hard to push Coby away from verbal attacks and onto what was actually on his mind. He wasn’t nearly as petty and stubborn as Kris was.

Coby: It’s a lot of getting chased around by the masked people, and not a whole lot else these days.

Things had been pretty bleak as of late, but there was at least one silver lining that Kris felt inclined to point out.

Kris: You have that contender match coming up. If you take that, you’re back on track to where you want to be. Since when did you become so impatient?

Now they were circling back around to the fact that Kris knew that someone had put these delusions into Coby’s head. It had become his goal to figure out that person’s identity since the moment Coby had pointed the finger of blame at him. Kris had a knack for making sure that blame got placed appropriately, even if he had to do it himself.

Coby: You know what, just forget about it. I didn’t say anything.

Coby’s eyes widened, almost like he had put together what Kris’ endgame was. It was too late though.

Kris: Ah, so this wasn’t you, this was someone putting an idea in your head that you’re underappreciated.

Kris had already been mentally working his way through a short list of suspects. He only needed a few more clues to narrow it down.

Coby: Just let it go.

If Coby wasn’t going to volunteer any more information, Kris would just have to goad him into it by working through the problem aloud.

Kris: ...and you only really see a handful of people these days. I doubt it was a random person here. Chelsea wouldn’t have been that shitty to you….

Of course, Kris couldn’t know for sure. Saying her name and reading Coby’s reaction was the only way to eliminate Chelsea. Even though they were friends, she had a short temper and could really tear into people when she was upset.

Coby: It’s really not important.

Kris could safely rule out both Chelsea and anyone random, which was a lot more helpful than Coby could have imagined.

Kris: ...and since it wasn’t me, that really just leaves two people that you would come across on a daily basis that would have any chance of getting under your skin.

Knowing that arguing was pointless, Coby rolls his eyes.

Coby: You’re the single most insufferable person in the world...

There were only two options and one was a lot more likely than the other.

Kris: ...and since Mikah would have told me as much so that we could enjoy the fallout of it together, that really just leaves our dear friend Courtney.

Coby sarcastically claps his hands together too softly to produce any sound to celebrate Kris figuring it out. He knew that Court would probably have to pay a price for that, but that was between her and Kris.

Coby: I assume you have a point...

Kris had already shifted away from their actual conversation and onto Court though. She had put him through the ringer lately, and was now doing the same with Coby. It all gave him more questions than answers.

Kris: And I assume that she has one. She’s been poking around at everyone around here, and keeps tweeting things about starting to play some of the cards that she has been holding. She has some plan.

Coby took his opportunity to turn it back around on Kris now that he was given the opportunity.

Coby: You almost sound jealous.

Instead of trying to deflect, Kris tries to give a direct answer. It was the least he could do since Coby hadn’t made this conversation impossibly difficult to navigate.

Kris: I don’t like feeling like I’m being manipulated for something.

Coby laughs at how hypocritical those words were coming out of Kris’ mouth.

Coby: Now you know how everyone that has to deal with you feels.

Instead of returning fire with his own insult, Kris seemed to have pieced it together based on Coby’s words.

Kris: Maybe that’s the point….

Even Coby had to admit, Kris had a way of reading people that he really envied. Before Kris went about hunting down Court, Coby realized he needed to have a conversation with the Bombshell. He picks himself up from the couch, and shoots a smile Kris’ direction.

Coby: You know for someone that is really good at pretending to be stupid, you can actually be really helpful on accident sometimes.

Coby turns and walks out of the office as hastily as he had come in. Usually Kris was the one to storm out suddenly. It was weird to be on the opposite end of it for once.

Kris: Accident... nobody… story of my life.


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>I have always loved the Sin City Halloween show. It’s usually my second favorite show of the year. It’s kind of fitting that I am holding a tag team championship this time of the year. One year Jet City debuted as a team before going on to win the SCW World Tag Team Championships. The next year we did the Jet City Water Balloon Fight backstage in between all of our matches. Something big happens every time I take part in this show, so I was excited to see the release of the card this past Sunday.

I think we are all in agreement that this is the kind of match that would usually be for the mixed tag team championships under any other circumstance. Mac Bane, though still new to the SCW scene, is more than formidable in the ring. Amber Ryan has been impressive in Sin City over the last six months or so. She’s been in this company roughly as long as I have been back, and is already one of the handful of bombshells on the roster worth paying attention to. A couple of weeks ago I stood here preparing for a match with two nobodies while begging for a pair of worthwhile contenders to step up. I’m not going to lie, I was referring to Ben and Evie, but these two will suffice.

Mac Bane is a guy that understands this business. He’s the type of guy that gets the fact that most champions don’t want to be fed easy matches to rack up defenses. That might be what some people in this company are after, but that is not the kind of thing that will get you far in this business. It is not how you earn respect. It’s not how you prove that you are the best. The only way to prove that you are worth being called a champion is to take out every single person or group that could even attempt to lay claim to what you have. It’s just how this business works. Mac and Amber know this, and that’s why they stepped up. Mikah and I get it, and that’s why we’re actually excited to walk into a match for once. Sure, we may have beaten the lesser half of Wolfslair. We may have taken the championships away from Sass n Bash while they were at the top of their game. We dominated both the Trenton Tigers, and The Barnharts, but everyone expected all of that to happen. The Black Sheep have been the heavy favorites to take over this division from the moment that we came together as a team. It happened when the Sweet Twins put together this group a few years ago, and it happened when Mikah and I brought it back. The Black Sheep and championship belts are made for each other, and always have been. There wasn’t anything to really celebrate about those victories though. Nobody is ever ecstatic about watching the favorite dominate their way to victory. They want to watch the underdog overcome, but that isn’t a group Mikah and I will ever be a part of. The best we can hope for is to walk into a fight on a level playing field. Most people won’t give their opponents the type of credit I’m about to, but since when do I ever follow those kinds of rules? Amber Ryan and Mac Bane are perfectly capable of beating me and Mikah.

While that thought might scare others, it’s motivating for people like us. Mikah and I have been at it in Sin City for so long that it’s hard to get that rush back sometimes. Sometimes you get on such a roll that you forget what a setback is like. Mikah and I are undefeated as a team, and we haven’t even been close to being in danger of that streak coming to an end until now. Everything has been so easy that the two of us have been coasting without even realizing it. Seeing a true contender pop onto the scene has a way of being so motivating that you push yourself that much further to make sure that you are on top of your game. The problem for most of this roster, is that Mikah and I were already so much better than they are. What are they going to do now that there is a new team on the block forcing us to be better, sharper, and more cohesive than we have ever needed to be before now. It’s exhilarating.

...and I understand that this is a lot of praise to heap onto two people that don’t look like they have done a lot in this company. Mac has only had a couple of matches, despite how impressive he may have looked in them. I mean, the guy is the current number one contender to the Roulette Championship. Clearly Mark and Christian see the same thing in him that I do. He’s not the guy making empty threats. He’s not the guy coming into this business just to make a name for himself elsewhere. He lives and breathes this business. He is a guy that has always wanted to be competing inside of a ring. That’s the kind of thing that I can respect. It’s the reason that I climb into the ring on a weekly basis. It is the reason that no matter how many times I leave, I always end up coming back. Being in the center of that ring is everything that I have ever wanted in life. It’s the best part of being me, and I get the feeling that Mac might feel the same way about it. It isn’t about past accolades. It isn’t about all the extras. It’s about what happens in between the bells. It’s getting more and more rare to find someone competing in this business for the right reasons, which is why I am so impressed with the guy.

It doesn’t hurt that he’s practically a giant either. He’s got the right attitude, and is freakishly big. That is how he was able to out-muscle Bill Barnhart. We all saw what happened when I tried to go at Bill head-on. Luckily, I have pulled my head out of my ass since then. I’m not going to win this match by throwing myself against the wall and seeing what sticks. Unlike most people his size, Mac’s perfectly able of keeping up with me for longer than most people. He’s got the reach and power on me to really hurt my feelings if I try to stand toe-to-toe with him and throw hands. His one glaring weakness is that his legs might not hold up under extended pressure, but in a match where he can tag out to a partner, it’s going to be hard to keep him in the ring long enough to wear him down. Unlike most people I come across, there is no simple answer as to how and why I am going to beat him. He’s not sloppy. He’s not going to lose his temper and make mistakes. He’s going to force me to be flawless, because he is more than good enough to capitalize on any mistakes I make. It’s going to take everything I have and a little bit of luck to come out on top this time around, and it’s not like Mikah has it any easier.

Sure, Amber has the typical victories over people like Jessie Salco and Maki. Neither one of those names is impressive by itself. And yeah, she has dropped a few matches since her debut, but when she’s taking Hall of Famers like Roxi Johnson to their limits and causing them to change the way they approach the ring, you have to give her credit no matter what the outcome. She’s been unstoppable on Climax Control, and had the confidence in herself to call out The Black Sheep before ever even competing in the mixed tag team division. Don’t get me wrong, Mikah is still the greatest bombshell in SCW history, and has beaten every single female worth competing against in her time with this company. I doubt that she is going to give Amber as much credit as I am, but I feel like it needed to be said.

If these two want a future in this division, I could see it happening. This match might not be for the Mixed Tag Team Championships, but win or lose, I wouldn’t mind putting them on the line when and if Amber and Mac are eligible to challenge for them. Obviously the Roulette Championship Mac is headed towards complicates that, but you never know what the future holds. If given the opportunity to defend against these two over the crop of challengers we already have, I would pick these two every time. I would rather be challenged than allowed to coast.

Unfortunately it looks as if these two are the only challenge we are going to get for the foreseeable future. The powers that be look to be feeding into The Barnhart’s delusions of grandeur. I can see the writing on the wall already. Ever since my return I have been trying to shrug off Bill Barnhart looking over my shoulder. It seems like no matter what I do, he is always going to be there hanging around. There isn’t going to be anything exciting about having to stand across from him at High Stakes, so I’m going to make the most out of this match on Climax Control. In my mind, this match has so much more on the line. Mikah and I will be leaving with the championships regardless, but we have the potential to launch the career of an impressive new team.

I am sure the two of them would have to admit that they are getting the royal treatment here. Amber called out The Black Sheep, and was given her opportunity immediately. I keep seeing all of these champions and former champions complaining about a lack of opportunity, but Amber went out and seized hers. Unlike other champions, I wasn’t too busy to pay attention. I wasn’t too afraid to push it along. I embraced the challenge, and the Halloween show was given a mixed tag team match that nobody is going to forget. Amber and Mac get the opportunity to step up and beat the champions their first night as a team. They get to jump to the front of the line. All they have to do is hold their own against two of the best competitors that Sin City has ever had on their roster. All they have to do is beat two Grand Slam Champions of this company. They have to rise up and succeed where every notable Sin City competitor has failed. If they live up to the hype, they make the jump from newcomers to true contenders in this company. If Mikah and I come out on top, we were able to fend off two people that are definitely on the rise in this company. Either way, both teams will be challenged more than we have been previously or will be in the near future. I see that as a win-win.

It’s nice to take a break from all the bullshit and just let what happens inside the ring speak for itself, but you have to have the right opponents to capture that kind of magic.

I think these two have potential.

I look forward to testing it.

Good luck you two, you’ll need at least a little of it to win this one.

Getting Things Done
Jet City South - San Diego
25 SEPTEMBER 2020
OFF-Camera


It was dark in Jet City South. Coby was usually the first one to come through the doors in the morning anyways, so it didn’t really bother him. To be honest, it was one of the best parts of his day. He made his way from the front door to the alarm system, shutting it off before flipping a large panel full of light switches. Jet City South came to life around him, but for now it was just his. Soon people would start to come through, but for just this moment every day, he got to enjoy the fruits of his labor without a dozen people asking him questions. He doesn’t linger, and makes his way through the halls and up the backstairs to the office overlooking the main floor. He flips on the lights in the room and tosses his bag down only to be startled by the rustling of someone on the loveseat behind him. Before he can spin to face the sound of the noise, his partner and friend identifies himself.

Kris: Why do you stick around after all these years?

Even with the split second warning, Coby still nearly leaps out of his shoes at the sound of Kris’ voice. He grabs a folder off of his desk and hurls it towards Kris out of some misplaced defense reflex, but just watches as the papers inside scatter in the air and fall to the ground well short of his would be attacker.

Coby: Jesus!

Coby shakes his head, and takes a deep breath, attempting to bring his blood pressure back down. Kris only smiles at first, definitely pleased with the reaction he got out of Coby. He was still sitting in the same clothes from the night before. After his chat with Court, he hadn’t left. He went up to the office, sat down, and got lost in what she said to him. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the next thing he knew Coby was opening up the door. It was an amusing end to an annoying night. At least there was a silver lining though.

Kris: I don’t think he’s here. You can leave a message, but I doubt he checks them.

It wasn’t a topic that Coby was willing to engage Kris on. Instead, Coby tried to keep the conversation light.

Coby: Don’t make a habit of hanging out being sad in the dark. People will start to mistake you for your brother.

He should have been able to tell that Kris wasn’t going to just laugh at the bad joke and move on with his day. There was something off about the whole situation.

Kris: I’d have to be drinking for that….

Coby didn’t know who had broken Kris, but he had a feeling it wasn’t Jason. If it were, he would have gotten a much more negative response to bringing up the more successful brother’s name. Some days the hate that would earn Coby was rivaled only by talking about going home to Seattle, although he hadn’t quite put together as to why it was such a sore subject. He doubted that Kris wanted to let him in on it now either. If the current subject was Jason, then Coby would play along.

Coby: Yeah, well… everyone has problems. You should take it easy on him. Not sure what your alls problem is this week. Seems like you’re at each other’s throats sometimes and chill at others. I can’t keep up.

Kris didn’t flash any smugness or try to change the subject like normal. Instead, he asked his friend a question that he definitely should have already known the answer to.

Kris: You don’t have any siblings do you?

Coby shakes his head.

Coby: Thankfully, no. Just an annoying cousin that thinks herself a sister.

The other half of Team Quik, Keisha, had stayed part of Jet City in Seattle. Their partnership was the first casualty of setting up Jet City South, unless they were counting the founding brothers themselves. Although, Coby knew that the split was only ever going to be temporary. They always resolved their squabbles before.

Kris: I guess you wouldn’t get it then.

Kris shrugs and lets out a heavy sigh. He leans forward on the couch and runs his fingers of his left hand through his matted hair. He looked defeated, but he didn’t have any visible bruises. Whatever had happened had to have gotten under his skin though. Coby almost wasn’t brave enough to actually ask.

Coby: Man, somebody did a number on you. Usually you’re all smiles and arrogance. Did someone swing by and put you in your place?

He tried to make it sound as much like he was joking as possible. The last thing he wanted was for Kris to snap and dump all of his anger on him. Coby had been on the receiving end of that enough in the last few years. He was good at avoiding it these days. However, Kris must have been in a giving mood. He doesn’t even fight Coby over the information.

Kris: Court.

He scowl that formed on Kris’ face just from saying her name gave Coby more than Kris’ words. It wasn’t very often that someone got him twisted inside out like this.

Coby: Oof. Yeah, she has made a couple people cry since we have been open. You really have to blame yourself for that one though. Well, you and Mikah. You all ruined that girl.

He was still mostly joking, but Kris took his words to heart. He is quick to defend himself from the accusation.

Kris: She came to us all entitled and full of herself. All we did was show her how to handle herself in the ring.

Both men knew that wasn’t exactly true, and since Kris seemed too down to fight him on it, Coby took a stab at something a little closer to the truth.

Coby: No, you all crushed her spirit, and you literally goaded her into breaking her hand. You pushed her too hard, too fast several times and she snapped under the pressure. That girl has had more setbacks and injuries than either of us, and she is just getting started in this business. What do you expect?

It was the question that Kris had been sitting back and torturing himself over for the last few hours. Sure, Court had dug deep and took a few shots below the belt, but he only had himself to blame for it. He taught her how to size up and read her opponents. He taught her how to get under people’s skin. He shouldn’t be surprised to be turned into one of her targets to practice on. That wasn’t a conversation to have with Coby though, so he finally tried to shift away from the subject.

Kris: You know, she had some shit to say about you too...

Coby nods knowingly. It didn’t surprise him at all. Most of it was probably things that she says to his face on a daily basis. Court was anything but shy.

Coby: I bet her little ass did. I’m too naive to strike out on my own and give you guys the finger. She thinks of me like Jet City’s little brother. I don’t end up sitting alone in rooms sulking about it though and startling people.

It was a feeble attempt to circle back around to what was actually bothering Kris, and the Grand Slam Champion didn’t let Coby down.

Kris: She went too far this time.

Coby shrugs, not offering his friend a single ounce of pity.

Coby: Yeah, well you probably had it coming. You run around running your mouth long enough and someone is going to come along and close it from time to time.

He didn’t mean it as an insult, but the matter-of-fact tone that he says the words in rubs Kris the wrong way. He is immediately on defense again.

Kris: I expect it out in the ring. You know? Like, if Bella or Malachi had come at me like that I would have understood...

His disappointment with his opponents was a whole different source of frustration, but he would get into that later. This week was supposed to be an ascendance to greatness, but was ending up sucking a lot more than he planned for.

Coby: Really? Let me ask you a question...

Kris stands up, but doesn’t make any move for the door. Instead, he stretches his arms out to the side. His body had started to stiffen up from the hours of sitting in the dark.

Kris: ....you people all the time with your questions….

Coby: Just humor me for a second.

He realized that there was little to no chance that Kris would actually answer his question, but it was worth a shot.

Coby: When someone comes at you from the locker room, or because of some match, it doesn’t bother you. I mean I saw Crimson say and do things to you that nobody should ever be forgiven for, but you two are somehow cool now. Yet, Court comes in here and cuts you down to size a little bit and it has you all messed up. Why?

Kris locks eyes with his friend and business partner without trying to make excuses or bend the truth in his favor.

Kris: ...because she was right.

It was one of those things that Coby already knew, but he was still surprised to hear the words come out of Kris’ mouth. He didn’t want to leave his friend on the hook, and immediately tried to lighten the mood in the room with a joke at his own expense.

Coby: Ah, see now there’s the honesty and self-awareness that makes me stick around like a loyal puppy.

Kris straightens himself out and offers Coby a cheap half-smile.

Kris: I guess that’s a compliment.

Coby realized that it was Kris’ way of trying to dismiss the seriousness of the conversation, but Coby wasn’t quite ready to let Kris slip away. He took it a step further.

Coby: You’re not actually mad or upset with her. You’re upset with you. If there’s anything that I’ve learned about you over the years is that you are your least favorite person… regardless of what everyone else may think.

Kris leans forward, extending his arms out in an over-exaggerated bow like some kind of court jester.

Kris: Well someone has to be the villain, right?

Coby shakes his head, unconvinced.

Coby: Nah. That’s just you. Think about it. Everyone thinks that they are the hero of their story. Even if they are wrong. Even if they are horrible. Sometimes especially when they are horrible. They still think that they’re doing the right thing. That they’re making things better for some reason. Everyone wants to be a hero. You’re the only one painting themselves as a villain, and you already know why that is….

Kris thinks it over for a second, but only one answer comes to mind.

Kris: ...because I am...

Coby walks over and claps Kris on the shoulder with his right hand.

Coby: ...and you always will be with that kind of attitude.


==========================================================


>I used to wonder if the veterans of this business ever got tired of beating the uninspired….

Now I know the answer. Because usually I would be excited about heading into Violent Conduct. This isn’t going to be my first time on this show, and it isn’t even going to be the first time I am competing for a championship on it. As far as high profile championship matches go, I’ve been there and done that. Fenris and I put on one of the best Violent Conduct main events in the history of SCW. There is no topping that. There was tension there. Nobody knew who was going to come out on top. There was this up and coming rookie that had been on a tear since debuting and winning Blast from the Past, and then there was me. I was the guy that everyone said was SCW. There was o no mentioning the company without mentioning my name, and vice versa. I was carrying this company on my back, and Fenris came and took that torch from me and ran with it for most of the time that I was gone.

Now I am coming back around to Violent Conduct, and this year doesn’t feel like that year. This match doesn’t feel like that match. There is no tension in the air. I don’t feel unsettled, or nervous about what is going to happen. I feel…. nothing.Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I am not looking forward to taking Sass n Bash’s Mixed Tag Team Championships. I couldn’t be more pumped about the idea of walking out of another SCW show with championship gold around my waist. It’s long past time that Mikah and I won the titles that were basically created for us to carry. That’s not my point though. My point is that it is just academic at this point. All we are doing is dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s. Everyone sees it. Everyone knows it. Malachi and Bella have proven time and time again that they don’t stack up against us. Not in the ring. Not outside the ring. Their little speeches are boring, and they don’t even seem like they have confidence in themselves. Their big opportunity to put The Black Sheep in their rear view mirrors blew up in their face weeks ago. We even told them that we would let them pick the stipulation for their defense just to hopefully give them a boost, but the energy is just not there.

Instead, sad boy Malachi treated us to a story of true love. How he went from intolerable jackwagon to married douche right before all of our eyes. Newsflash dude, everyone has family problems. You want to talk about fighting siblings? Look back at Jet City in SCW. I managed to fight with my brother while the two of us were running circles around the rest of the tag team division at the same time. You’re not special. But then what? You met a girl. Started dating. Formed a team. Won a title. Is this supposed to be an uplifting story? Is this your greatest success? You found the one person in the world that could tolerate you and then decided to team together. How special. Has that worked out well for The Barnharts? I didn’t think so. Being a couple in this business is overrated and played out. Mikah and I don’t need to be together in order to beat the two of you. We don’t even have to be getting along. The fact that we have beaten other teams on this roster without being on the same page speaks for itself. Now that we are finding our footing as a team and actually working together, what hope do these two have? I guess it is a good thing that Bella and Malachi have each other, because after this match that is all that they are going to have. Those Mixed Tag Team Championship won’t be their problem anymore.

...and I can say things like that without everyone rolling their eyes because most people in this company and the majority of the fans have seen it happen over and over again since the first time I stepped foot in this company. They have seen me step up and take whatever it is that I want to take, and do whatever it is that I want to do. I may talk a whole lot of shit, but when it comes time to back it up, I always come through. That’s why I can call you two Bitch n Moan and it gets under your skin. The two of you had to cry to get your one-on-one shot, because you couldn’t get the job done any other way. You have frequently needed do-overs to get the better of the other teams on this roster, and are barely winning as often as you lose. The two of you complain when things don’t go your way, and act like you’re the greatest team ever when you finally manage to take a step forward.

Mikah and I showed up, dominated our way through any teams brave enough to take us on, and earned our shot at the championships. I could have taken a shortcut and cashed in my guaranteed shot. I could have gone out to the ring and cried about my past success until Mark or Christian caved in and handed me what I wanted just to shut me up. There were several paths to this match, and none of them would have allowed a mediocre team like Sass n Bash to hold those titles for more than a month. If the two of you are upset about your little nickname, then you only have yourselves to blame. If it strikes a nerve, it is because there is a nerve to strike. Trying to turn it around on me and Mikah though is not only sad, but…. Uninspired. I let the two of you get your wish of a singles match with Wolfslair, and Malachi has the audacity to talk about people getting shots that they didn’t deserve. I’m almost afraid that they don’t realize how bad of a joke that is. It baffles me that these two think that they are some sort of measuring stick when The Black Sheep has already proven that Sass in Bash couldn’t hang with us inside that ring. How can they claim to be the best at anything in this division when their records don’t support it? Then again, they’re the same two people that don’t understand how Mikah and I are black sheep on this roster, and called me the captain of the friend zone or some shit like that. Maybe they keep having these setbacks because they’re not reading the memos. It would probably be easier for them to beat their opponents if they knew anything at all about them. It might cut down on how many second chances they need to get the job done.

Malachi and Bella are concerned that Mikah and I will never have what they have. The only thing of theirs that we are currently interested in, is the championship belts around their waists. They can keep their life lessons and relationship advice to themselves, and we won’t have any complaints about that. That’s not what we need from them. All we need for them is to shine up those championships real nice, and carry them down to the ring for us. After that, we take care of the rest. It’s not about reclaiming any glory days, and it’s not personal for us. Mikah and I didn’t come back in order to ruin Sass n Bash’s reign. We didn’t join the division in order to take anything away from them. Truth be told, we didn’t even expect for the two of them to even be in our way. Mikah and I put money on Wolfslair sending them to the back of the line. The fact that Bella and Malachi won was just a happy accident. They put themselves on our radar by taking the only things in this division that we actually give a shit about. They made themselves the target, and then want to cry about the fact that we were mean to them before we beat them. They want to misrepresent our places in this company’s history. They want to act like we are relics of the past and not two of the most dominant individuals on the entire roster in the present.

...and that is their right, but it is going to cost them their championships. These two aren’t the gold standard. They barely qualify as a first obstacle. They’re an introductory course, and The Black Sheep are the master class. This isn’t going to be a match. It’s a slaughter, and the champs aren’t smart enough to see it for what it is. Maybe they will learn while they are working their way up for their next shot at the championships. That might be a long and sad road, but at least they’ll have each other.

...because The Black Sheep will have our Mixed Tag Team Championships and that’s what’s really important.

Always Something
Jet City South - San Diego
3 September 2020
OFF-Camera


Both The Miracle and Coby Quik looked a little worse for wear as they walked through the door of their shared office overlooking the main floor of Jet City South. The launch of the gym had gone better than Kris had expected it to, but he wasn’t allowed to say that out loud. It helped that he and Coby had featured the gym on several SCW and SCU events to get their name recognition back. There was also the fact that it was a Jet City gym in the center of the city that had made them famous. Sure, the group had moved up the coast to Seattle years ago, but that didn’t change the support that they had in SoCal. It was the whole reason that Kris had come back in the first place. It was the only place other than SCW that legitimately felt like home. Kris was always the type to expect the worst not only of people, but situations. Before he was The Miracle, he was an accident and a nobody. The situation he currently found himself in was previously unheard of. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t battling any personal addictions. His gym was a success. He was on a winning streak that nobody saw coming after his match against Bill. He should be enjoying the fruits of his labor, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t. In recent days, he had trouble even sitting still. Every second that he wasn’t productive felt like time wasted. There was an uneasiness in the air around him that Coby was sick of trying to ignore. It was never a smart idea to press Kris on something he didn’t want to talk about, but even the fastest member of Jet City was growing tired of trying to keep up with his panicked pace.

Coby: What are you so damn nervous about all of a sudden?

Kris shrugs his shoulders, and keeps his eyes focused out the office window. He knew that there was no way Coby was going to believe him, but he hoped he was able to sell his lie well enough to cause his friend to drop the subject.

Kris: Nothing man. Just stressing about the gym. It’s not moving along as fast as it did in Seattle…. I expected things to go smoother.

The audible laugh from over his shoulder told Kris all he needed to know about whether or not Coby had bought his lie. Kris’ former student didn’t waste any time shredding his lie for the facade that it was.

Coby: Dude, look around! It’s a pandemic and classes are just about capped. We’ve beaten projections already. Having me in SCU and you in SCW has been the best thing we could have possibly done. People see the roll you are on and want to sign up because clearly you know what you’re doing...

That assertion was just as big of a lie as Kris’ had been, and gets the Grand Slam Champion to turn to his friend instead of focusing on the window.

Kris: Oh come on!

The smile on Coby’s face was enough to tell Kris that he had merely played into Coby’s hand. He wanted his attention, and now he had it.

Coby: Alright fine, it’s probably just name recognition. Everyone knows you’re an idiot. I was just trying to make you feel better but now you had to go and ruin that too. But, to be fair, Jet City South is not what you are actually worried about. So we both lied.

Kris knew that there was no getting Coby to drop it. Maybe it would be worthwhile to just get everything off of his chest anyways. Kris lets out a deep breath and falls into the chair behind his desk.

Kris: I guess it is this match with Wolfslair coming up.

Coby offers only a nonchalant shrug at first before pulling back his own chair behind the desk opposite Kris’.

Coby: You think you’re going to mess the whole thing up like you always do?

It was probably a step too far, but that was how Kris had to be dealt with. If you wanted him to give an inch, you had to reach for that mile first.

Kris: No!

It was a knee-jerk reaction to the words that were more true than Kris was willing to admit. Upon another second to think it over, Kris nodded, and his voice got much quieter and less certain sounding.

Kris: ...at least, not really.

Coby sits down in his chair, and puts his feet up on his desk. His favorite part about being part owner of the new gym.

Coby: Ah, so it's that you're finally going up against someone you feel is on your level and you're actually nervous about losing.



Kris: It's that obvious?



Coby: Honestly I knew before I asked. You tense up everytime you talk about Climax Control. You're even getting along with Mikah during training. You're working at this harder than normal. I figured it was related.

It made Kris feel stupid that he had been so transparent. He had thought he was keeping things together well enough. Then again, he should have known better than to think he could hide something from someone that had been on tour with him for years now.

Kris: It might be shitty to say, but everything has felt like a walk in the park until now. I haven't been this nervous since...

Coby knew where the thought was going, and decided to put it in a way that Kris wasn’t going to be able to tip-toe around for the next hour. He had gotten used to expediting these kinds of conversations so that Kris couldn’t waste too much of his time.

Coby: Choking in your match against Fenris a couple years ago?

Kris’ glare sharpened, and he opened his mouth to say something on reflex, but stopped himself. Instead, he shook his head softly and cut all but two words out of his thought.

Kris: Too far.

Kris always looked like a kicked puppy when someone was as mean to him as he was to most people. Coby had started to enjoy these kinds of moments, but knew better than to continue to kick his friend while he was down.

Coby: The most important thing that you're missing is that you should be nervous. You make it seem like it is a bad thing to be a little unsettled going into a match. You ever think that your blind confidence is actually the weird part? Like that's why you rub so many people the wrong way. Nobody should think so highly of themselves all the time. Maybe it will do you some good to be nervous for a change.

That wasn’t the way that Kris operated, and Coby knew it. There was no way that he could snap his fingers and just feel and react differently than normal. He was too entrenched into how his past had shaped him.

Kris: ...but last time...

Coby loses his cool in an attempt to get Kris to budge off of his self-deprecation.

Coby: No last time! Let that go. You were in a public fight during a sex scandal while battling injuries. You shouldn't have been in the match, but you're dumb. Just like when you beat Crimson for the title in the first place. You were lucky the first time. You got what you deserved when you lost to Fenris.

Suddenly, it felt like the conversation was not going to go the way Kris wanted it to, so he wanted to bail out of it.

Kris: This is not making me feel better….

He goes to get up from his chair, but Coby extends a hand out to him, gesturing for him to stop. He wasn’t going to let Kris keep taking the easy way out of things like this. At some point he was going to have to grow up.

Coby: Well, maybe it's something you need to hear. Just because you're nervous doesn't mean you're going to mess it up. It means you're human. Use it to your advantage.

Dumbfounded, Kris looks up and stops sulking.

Kris: How?

Coby: You've already been doing it. You and Mikah are more cohesive than ever. You have broken down every single aspect of all four members of Wolfslair for months preparing for this. Trust that you have put in the work to come out the other side with a win.

It helped ease some of Kris’ fears, but there was still the feeling that was lingering under the surface and digging at his core.

Kris: What if I'm not sure if we can pull this one off?

Coby had an answer for that too though. The things that Kris was feeling now for the first time had plagued Coby every time he signed a new contract or stepped into a ring with a new opponent. There was only one way to deal with it that had ever done him any good. The only way out is through.

Coby: Then be as honest about that as you are everything else in your life. You can't shrug off a sex tape and then worry yourself sick about a tag match. People will start to think you're crazy or something.

Kris felt like Coby was missing the point, and tried to redirect the conversation a little.

Kris: I can't go out there and do the same old 'Just Take The L' speech. It's not going to sound right this time. Nobody is going to believe that Mikah and I are going to walk all over Wolfslair like we have everyone else over the years.

Coby shrugs.

Coby: Then say that. What's so hard about that?

Kris didn’t even have to think over an answer, it just spilled out of him immediately.

Kris: It's not what people expect from me….

It was surprising to hear the words come out of Kris’ mouth given how he has treated every single one of his opponents, and most of his friends.

Coby: Since when do you care about what people expect from you? You're the villain, remember? You're supposed to be unpredictable. Go out there and give them something they haven't heard before.

At the very least, Coby had Kris actually listening to him for a change. He wasn’t going to miss the chance to be the mentor for once. All Kris had to do was ask.

Kris: ...and that is?

Coby laughs, and rocks backwards in his desk chair. He extends his arms up and laces his fingers together to cradle the back of his head with them. He wasn’t sure how his advice was going to work out for Kris, but it would be entertaining to watch either way.

Coby: Be humble.


==========================================================


>I have never made a secret out of how much I like Wolfslair...

Kris is sitting inside the office of the Jet City South. The camera sits across the room from him, but he is not looking at it. His focus is on his hands in his lap. Most of his fingers are laced together, except his thumbs, which chase one another in circles.

They are every bit the draw that they say that they are.

They are the ones that brought life to a division that was otherwise dead in the water.

They turned championships that nobody cared about into the championships that lured me back to SCW.

They are so good that I tried to convince Alicia Lukas to tag with me against two of her own teammates because she was the best option around to beat them at the time.

I usually come out and take this time to tell whoever is going to be standing across from me at Climax Control that they aren’t as good as they think they are. I tell them that they aren’t going to have the dream career or the big win that they are hoping for. I let them know that there is no hope against me. People see it as boastful, but look at what I have done since coming back. One person has beaten me, and he has gotten his ass handed to him twice since. Mikah and I have never lost together as a team. I know exactly how good I am. I know exactly what Mikah is capable of, with or without my help. Usually when I size up an opponent I see how everything is going to play out. I know, without a doubt, that I am going to have my hand raised at the end of the night. That’s why I can say the things that I do to my opponents. I know… not think, but KNOW… that I am better than a majority of the people on this roster, and most of the people with the audacity to call themselves champions in this company.

However, none of that applies to Wolfslair.

From top to bottom, they are one of the most solid groups that I have ever seen in this business. Alicia Lukas has been a champion everywhere she has gone, and her dominance in SCW etched her name into the record books faster than just about anyone else that comes to mind.

Alex Jones went from Mixed Tag Team Champion to SCW World Heavyweight Champion basically at the snap of his fingers. He wanted a shot at Griffin. He got a shot at Griffin. He took the championship and made it look easy.

Austin James Mercer was the most dominant Internet Champion that SCW has ever seen, and I say that as someone that has held that championship. The guy held the championship for the majority of this year. Even if Teddy manages to hang onto it for the rest of the year, his reign won’t be as impressive.

Then there’s Johanna. She’s the one that I probably know the least about. The only thing I really know is that she came to SCW to break out in the mixed tag division and she did exactly that. Her goal was to dominate alongside her teammates in this division before pursuing championships in the greatest women’s division in the world. In one match since dropping the mixed tag team titles, she beat a legend and Hall of Famer in Roxi Johnson. I’d say she’s well on her way to scratching more goals off her list.

So you can see, when this match was announced, and I didn’t know which two members of the team I would be facing, it didn’t matter. All four of them are equally impressive on paper and in the ring. All four of them are dangerous. All four of them are more talented than the majority of the people that have ever walked through the SCW curtain.

...and before people think I’m just trying to flatter them, don’t be stupid. The things that I am saying are facts, plain and simple. There is no getting around them. There is no discrediting them. For once, there are people in this company that say what they want to whomever they want, because they can back it up in the ring night after night. It’s kind of easy to see why I would be a fan of theirs….

...but it’s also why I can’t stand here and tell all of you that I know that I am going to walk out of this match with a win. I understand that it’s not something that I can guarantee will happen unlike most of my matches since returning to the company. I mean, think about it. They had an advantage by forcing us to prepare for all four of them, and then they threw it out the window on social media because they didn’t need cheap tricks to win. Even better, instead of strategically figuring out who would be facing The Black Sheep this week, they flipped coins. They are so confident in their abilities that it truly didn’t matter to them which ones took part in the match, and deservedly so.

Austin James Mercer and Johanna Kreiger won the toss apparently. They are the duo that get to represent the group that brought both myself and Mikah to the division in the first place. We looked around the roster, and Wolfslair seemed to be the only decent challenge for us. We had hoped for a chance to be the ones to take their Mixed Tag Team Championships, but allowing Sass n Bash to take their shot solo backfired. I’m not going to lie. I expected Wolfslair to emerge from Summer XXXtreme unscathed. I had faith that I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity by allowing Bella and Malachi to once again fall short. I was wrong.

...but the group did let us know that it could happen. I mean, just look at the things Alex was saying before they lost the championships. It sounded like his eyes were already on the SCW World Heavyweight Championship. It really felt like Johanna was ready to make the solo jump to the Bombshell Division. I went into the week before the show with a feeling that an upset could happen, but it was already too late to cash in my opportunity and add The Black Sheep to the match.

Then Sass n Bash shocked the world and walked away with the championships. And I don’t say it that way to be insulting. It’s a fact. It was the upset of the year. The fans were dumbfounded. The two of them were surprised to be having their hands raised. Nobody thought it was going to happen. Why? They weren’t the better team. They had lost to Wolfslair before, and should have come up short once again. That’s what the betting people put all their money on. Imagine how disappointed I was to see Wolfslair toppled before I could get a chance to be the one to beat them.

Like I said, I am not sure that Mikah and I will walk out of this match with a win. Yet, when it came to Sass n Bash, we called our shot and went out to ruin their two week long celebration of a fluke. Mikah and I guaranteed we were going to mop the floor with the new champs, and we did. They might hold the championships, but they are not the measuring stick of this division. Though, I’m not sure that Wolfslair is anymore either, which is the real shame.

See, everything that I have said to this point is true. I respect the hell out of all four members of Wolfslair. They are as good as they say. None of that was bullshit. The problem is, I don’t think that their hearts are in it anymore. They phoned it in during Summer XXXtreme, and they lost. It didn’t seem to bother Alex or Johanna at the time either. They both took a step forward in their careers in the time since they lost the titles. It feels like the team has moved past the need to assert their dominance over the mixed tag division, and that sucks for me personally. The match I was looking forward to, and the match that we have been given aren’t the same. Not even close.

No matter what happens, it seems like Wolfslair is onto other things. Johanna isn’t going to turn her back on the Bombshell Division and come running back to the mixed tag scene after beating Roxi. She’s going to try and climb to the top of a new ladder. If you can’t see that, you’re blind. Alicia? It seems like the people behind the scenes are determined to keep her in the main events by any means necessary, and who could blame them? Does anyone think that she is going to turn down the opportunity to main event every show just to carry a mixed tag team championship? Alex Jones has the SCW World Heavyweight Championship already, so there is no doubt about what his future plans hold. The only wild card is Austin, and I don’t see him running into this division all on his own. He has already held the SCW World Heavyweight Championship. He was great as Internet Champion. Maybe he has his eye on the Roulette Division now that he finds himself short of a full-time partner.

So what purpose does this match serve to any of them? Why would they be so ambivalent about this match that they flipped a coin? The answer is simple. They aren’t going to back down from any challenge, because that’s not their style, but this doesn’t mean anything to them anymore. They aren’t dumb enough to underestimate me or Mikah. They aren’t going to parade themselves out to the ring and boast about how badly they are going to beat us. Winning this match would be a positive for them, but losing this match isn’t going to derail any of their future plans. For that matter, losing this match isn’t going to hurt myself or Mikah. Wolfslair doesn’t want the mixed tag team championships anymore, so it’s not like they will jump The Black Sheep in line. Not to mention, me and Mikah already dominated Sass n Bash a couple of shows ago, so our shot at their championships is all but guaranteed to happen in a few weeks.

My patience and staying out of the match at Summer XXXtreme cost me the challenge that Wolfslair vs The Black Sheep was supposed to be. It cut through the buildup of what this encounter could have been. It took a match that could have main evented any show, and been a contender for the best mixed tag team match of the year, and made it an afterthought on a random Climax Control headlined by Crystaltina Milltonzdunwhatever’s wife. It’s deflating to say the least, and disappointing if I’m honest.

I know that both Johanna and Austin are going to bring their best to this fight because that is just what they do. When they step in the ring, their minds are on winning. It doesn’t matter what they think about their opponents. It doesn’t matter what is on the line. They are going to attempt to dominate because they don’t know how to half ass anything, and they aren’t like these other champions that lose a title and then disappear afterwards. I’m not trying to say that they are going to throw the match against us just because they have other aspirations. I am saying that this match doesn’t mean a damn thing to them anymore, and Mikah and I have something that we need to prove against this team.

Wolfslair is going to be the team that everyone remembers from 2020. They have had the most impressive year of any team that has come through this company, Jet City and The Black Sheep included, and let’s not forget The Black Sheep held almost every championship simultaneously last time around. Still, we don’t measure up to the last year that Wolfslair has had. They have two different SCW World Heavyweight Champions in their group, Alicia was the Bombshell Champion, and they had the most impressive Mixed Tag Team Championship run in company history. The only way that The Black Sheep were going to take them down a notch was to take their championships away before they moved onto the next part of their career. We missed that chance, but were granted this consolation.

I’m confident in The Black Sheep. I know that I didn’t become a Grand Slam Champion by accident. I know that I haven’t been beaten since April for a reason. Mikah is the single greatest Bombshell in company history. She is a record setter. She is the measuring stick that people like Johanna join the Bombshell Division to be compared against. The Black Sheep are not the Trenton Tigers, or Team Eggplant. We aren’t a joke. We aren’t the lackluster Barnharts. We are the team that is picking up exactly where Wolfslair left off when they allowed Sass n Bash to walk away with the championships of this division.

Does it suck that Wolfslair made up their mind to move on before we got the chance to take them on while they were at the top? Absolutely. Is it going to be a whole lot less fun to take those championships from Sass n Bash? Probably. Are we still going to do it? Definitely. The Black Sheep came to this division with one goal: Get the championships and hold them until we get bored beating the rest of the teams on the roster.

Johanna is someone that has already done that. Even more impressive, she did that without the long history of success that most of her teammates came in with. Nobody would be dumb enough to try and say that Alex carried the team for them either. Johanna held her own alongside the man that currently holds the SCW World Heavyweight Championship. That’s impressive. How many teams can say they are that balanced?

Austin James Mercer was too busy winning the Internet Championship to get into the Mixed Tag Championship picture back in February. It’s funny to think that Austin, Johanna and Alex all won their titles on the same night, only to lose them on the same night six months later. It goes to show that anyone in their team could have carried the Mixed Tag Championships and they would have been just as successful. I mean, Austin was the one to end Fenris’ championship reign that many thought would be years long. Let’s not forget that I couldn’t get that done back before my hiatus from the company. My last match was losing my shot at Fenris’ belt. Austin stepped up and ended that reign while I was sitting on the couch at home.

I guess what I have been trying to say, is that this isn’t just some random match for The Black Sheep, or for Wolfslair. For Johanna, this is a chance to prove herself against the best bombshell in SCW history while she is trying to break into the division that Mikah has been the Queen of for the last six years. For Austin, he gets to step in the ring with a Grand Slam Champion, and the only undefeated team left in SCW. There might not be any championships on the line on Sunday night, but rest assured that this match is between the two best teams in this company. The only drawback, is that only one of the teams is actually interested in teaming right now.

While Austin and Johanna clearly have no problem working as partners, they aren’t motivated to function as a team. They have their own interests in this match. They want to prove themselves against two of the best singles competitors in SCW. The problem is, that isn’t the focus for Mikah and I anymore. We are a team first, and individuals second. Sure, we have taken the path of most resistance to get to this point, but it hasn’t slowed us down any. Since we brought The Black Sheep back, we have ironed out all the kinks. We have learned to put our egos aside and work with one another in the ring. We have learned to depend on each other while competing. We were dangerous as individuals. We were unstoppable as a semi-functional team. Now we are on our way to taking over the mantle of the greatest team in this company. That path is going to run us directly through a Wolfslair group who are more worried about their individual pursuits. If they weren’t so damn good, this match would be a no-brainer.

So I guess we all have to wait another few days…. I can’t promise what will happen at the end of this match. I can’t tell all of you what the outcome will be, because I don’t want to sound like I’m not giving the former champions the credit that they rightfully deserve. What I do know is that they have never faced a team like The Black Sheep before. There is no weakness to exploit in me and Mikah. There is no weakest link. We don’t have to carry one another because we made a career out of taking care of ourselves while everyone else was gunning for what we had.

I know that this is going to be a hell of a fight. I know that the Climax Control audience is going to be excited about the fact that they get to be in the building for this one instead of being stuck watching it from a couch. This is going to be the best mixed tag team match of the year, and it’s not even for a championship or part of the Blast from the Past tournament. Let that sink in.

This is everything that I have been waiting for since I came back to Sin City. I hope that Wolfslair is as ready for this as I am. I hope they are as prepared for this as Mikah and I are. If you can’t tell, we aren’t taking them lightly, and hopefully they aren’t making the mistake of thinking that The Black Sheep are some forgotten relics of the past like everyone else has.

Let’s tear the roof of Orleans Arena. Let’s make the mixed tag division the headline of the night. We might not be the main event, but we have the potential to steal the show away from people that simply can’t measure up to any of the four of us. Let’s prove that this match should have been a main event. At least that way, no matter what happens, it was worth it.

I look forward to my first real test since coming back.

Johanna… Austin… Good luck...

 ==========================================================

The scene opens on “The Miracle” Kristopher Ryans standing on the deck of the Sun Princess where the superstars and bombshells of Sin City Wrestling had been holed up for the majority of the week. He was one of the few that had boarded the boat nearly from the moment that it opened, although he had been mostly keeping to himself. There were exceptions for people that were important enough to warrant his attention, but the boat was filled with people that thought he was an unnecessary part of Sin City’s past. Kris was doing all that he could to block those people out, even though they had been posted up in his head all week anyways. When he speaks, he is still leaning on the railing and facing out towards the water. It almost feels like he is indifferent to its presence and is just thinking out loud as opposed to creating a promo video to hype his Summer XXXtreme match-up.

I used to dream of success, but now success feels inadequate.

There is clearly a lot more than just some mixed tag team contender’s match on his mind. In the months since he decided to make his return to the company he had been unable to win over a lot of the people in the locker room. There were those that could not stand him on a personal level, and he was smart enough to realize that he was never going to be able to change their minds without fundamentally changing as a person. That was too high of a cost anyways. It wasn’t that group that bothered him anyways. It was the newcomers.

It might seem like a long time ago to most people, but I had to claw my way up through the ranks of this company. I started at the very bottom, and kicked things off on one of the longest losing streaks a newcomer in this company has ever endured. I was written off long before I joined The Nobodies. I was naive enough to think that people really hated me back then. Little did I know that the bigger I get, the more people line up to be mad at me.

He laughs, still looking out at the water. The Sun Princess would not be departing for the open water this year, but Kris still found it calming to be this close to it. He had grown up on the beach. Something about just being able to hear the waves made him comfortable. Maybe that was why he was addressing everyone with a totally different tone than normal. Usually everything was either a joke or an attack. The fact that he was speaking honestly was as refreshing as it was strange.

I fought my way up through the ranks. Maybe it wasn’t fairly, or squarely, but that doesn’t change anything. I have always unapologetically been out for myself. There are people that used to come to the shows and cheer for me because of that fact. There is nothing malicious about anything that I do. Most people understand that. I move people to the side when they get in my way or hold me back. It is the approach that everyone wishes that they could take in life. It means that I plow through resistance instead of letting obstacles block my path. The people in the locker room that get upset about the way that I talk, or the way I perform in the ring are the ones that can’t get around those obstacles, or through that glass ceiling. So if you think about it, they aren’t mad at me for being me. They are mad at themselves because they aren’t me. They wish they could be someone that sees that there are no rules. This is warfare as a career choice, and nothing is given out for free. If you want something, it is your job to take it. If you don’t, there is nobody to blame but yourself.

He looks over at the camera briefly to flash them the smile that was on his face. He had to know that the vast majority of people were not going to agree with his take on the world, but it didn’t look like he was going to let that bother him.

It’s not like I don’t know that it is a messed up system. The kind of things that we do in Sin City cannot be applied to you people at home. This isn’t a way that you people can run your lives. That is what makes it so exciting to watch though. That’s the reason that there will always be people in attendance that want to see me win. That is the reason that Mark and Christian keep bringing me back no matter how many times I try to burn this bridge. Any creation needs a devil, and every devil needs an advocate, I guess. I don’t mind being that person. It’s not going to bother me to be the one to tell me that I think that it's time we start taking charge. We don’t need to adhere to your rules, or your structure. We can be whatever we want, and do as we please. We don’t have to fit into your system in order to get ahead. You want proof? Look at me. I did it. I became a success, and I never once tried to fit into the system laid out in front of me. I got where I am by flipping that system on its head time and time again. People are conditioned to think that the ones like me will be filtered out. Everyone is supposed to want to see the rule breakers get punished. But like I said, there will always be those that show up to cheer for me. Why? Because they understand what so many of the people on the roster just can’t get. I am a necessity.

He turns around and puts his back against the railing, finally giving the camera his attention. Kris shakes his head a few times, trying to tuck his ego back into place. He was here to make a point now, not sound arrogant.

You people think you know me? I assure you, you don’t know the half of it. Those of you that keep calling me a relic of the past don’t have the slightest clue what you are talking about. You think that if you really love this business that you need to stick with it week in and week out. People look at this as a lifestyle instead of a career, and they’re just wrong. I love every moment of being here, but I’m not attached to this. I don’t have to be in front of a camera all the time. I don’t have to hear my name on the tip of everyone’s tongue day in and day out. I don’t even have to be the center of attention. Everyone liked me a whole lot more when I would come out and pander to everyone and talk about how great the fans and the company was. Did that ever silence the people that heap so much hate on me from backstage? Was anything I did ever enough to get rid of the people that said I wasn’t good enough to have the spot that I earned? Of course it wasn’t. A few years ago, I may have gotten mad about that and left. I may have taken some time to myself. I knew that the show would go on, but I didn’t feel the need to keep acting in it. I was trying to be someone that I wasn’t. If I am honest, I was still trying to do that when I first came back earlier this year.

He tries not to let himself dwell on his missteps of his first month back with the company. Undoubtedly people had picked up on the fact that he had lost direction back then. Kris had found himself in a tug-of-war between trying to give everyone what they wanted, and just being himself. It took Mikah coming along for him to really embrace the latter.

Maybe I have just been pushed too far. Maybe the years of negativity hurled at me has finally come back around. I don’t feel bad about the fact that Mikah and I are going to walk into Summer XXXtreme and do what we do best. I am not going to regret destroying Bill Barnhart and his wife in the middle of the ring once the bell rings. The fact that there are naysayers in this division that don’t think The Black Sheep deserve any credit or consideration is more than enough reason to do everything that I can to prove them wrong. They are going to hate us no matter what we say, or what we do. The other mixed tag teams are going to discredit us whether we win or lose. If we lose, we are talentless. If we win, then it was just The Barnharts that sucked. Nothing is ever good enough, and everything is always wrong. There is no pleasing anyone, so trying to do so is a waste of time.

It was almost like he came to the epiphany as he was speaking. As soon as the words came out of his mouth it gave him a chuckle. He had been working his way through it in his mind for weeks and was only just now starting to sort out what had been on his mind.

Why do we even care what our peers think about us? I’m not just asking that on behalf of myself and Mikah either. I am asking all of you, whether you are on this roster or out in the real world. Why do any of us waste time thinking about what others are going to say about our actions? Everyone is out for themselves. Everyone wants to get ahead. Yet some of us are called villains just because we are honest about our intentions. Sure, it can get ugly, but at the very least, it is honest. That is more than you are getting from people that come across your screen preaching their self-righteous bullshit. People complain about you when they want something that you have. Should it come as a surprise that mine and Mikah’s names are on so many people’s tongues? All of the never-haves wish that they could be one of us, even for just a second. They talk down about us because they know that they never will be.

He holds up his hands in front of his chest innocently. Kris is smart enough to know how people were going to take his words. Before they jumped to their conclusion though, he was hoping that they would at least hear him out.

...and yeah, that might sound shitty to say, but that is the truth. Is it pleasant for the hacks on the roster to hear? Of course not. There is a reason that nobody is talking about The Barnharts or the Trenton Tigers as real contenders now that Mikah and I have shown up though. Sass and Bash made such a big deal about their solo shot at Wolfslair, but everyone knows that The Black Sheep could have been added to that match at the snap of my fingers. Even worse, we could have taken our opportunity weeks ago on Climax Control and robbed Bitch n Moan of their opportunity all together. We didn’t have to let them get what they wanted. Does anyone really think that Mark and Christian would have gotten in our way if that was what we wanted to do? Mark can’t stand listening to Mikah for even thirty seconds, and Christian has been hanging on my every word for years. Everyone knows that we are the team to beat in this division now, and the only thing that would even challenge that would be Ben and Evie dropping their titles and joining the mixed tag festivities. Since I don’t see that happening, this was our division from the moment that we stepped foot in it. All of the other teams know it. That is why they are mad. That is why they are dead set on painting us as the villains. That is why they want to make it sound like we do not deserve to be here, and our singles records are invalid. Every team in this division wants to see us fail, but should be smart enough to know that we aren’t going to. They can hope against it all they want, but everyone knows what is going to happen at Summer XXXtreme.

He could double down on what he means, but he pauses and lets the statement settle in the minds of the audience. Knowing that some of them are undoubtedly starting to tune out his confidence, he backs off a little bit. The more thoughtful tone he had earlier on in the video comes back, and the smile fades off his face.

...but I still have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that just won’t go away. I know that I can’t keep doing this forever. I know that as I get older it is going to get harder to do the things that I do, especially the way that I do them. Eventually I am going to prove all of these people right, and my time in the spotlight will tick its last tock. If I thought that time was now, I wouldn’t have come back. If people were right about me needing to stay back in 2017, then I wouldn’t be on the second longest winning run of my career. If I wasn’t a threat, then the people of this division wouldn’t be paying Mikah and I any attention at all. The irrelevant people never get mentioned. They are not worth the time spent on them. The fact that The Black Sheep have been the most talked about mixed tag team since the moment that we came back should tell everyone all that they need to know about our real status in this division.

Kris pushes away from the railing looking more refreshed than he had when things were first getting started. Everything that he had worked through in front of the camera had clearly started to take some of the weight off of his shoulders.

I guess all I’ve learned is that I can’t wait up trying to get everyone to rally behind me. If people want to look at me like I am a villain, fine. I haven’t changed since day one, and I am tired of pretending like I care about everyone’s feelings. Nobody ever gave me that consideration, and I was still able to become the face of this company. I don’t need their support to rise to the top of one division after I managed to be the number one guy in the entire company. I don’t have anything left to prove to anyone, let alone Bill Barnhart and his sorry ass wife. They are just another one of those obstacles in my way. Unfortunately for them, that doesn’t intimidate me or my partner.

He gives the camera one of Mikah’s ‘sorry-not-sorry’ type of shrugs.

This is still my time.

The camera follows him a few more steps, but the Grand Slam Champion stops at a door, likely leading into the suite for The Black Sheep.

Doubt us if you have a kink of being proven wrong.

With a wink at the camera, Kris pushes open his cabin door, and leaves the camera and the audience on the outside. After a moment’s pause, the feed fades to black and cuts off.

==========================================================

 Same Page
Jet City South - San Diego
9 July 2020
OFF-Camera


Training against their Trenton Tigers stand-ins hadn’t gone perfectly. Mikah would argue that the whole day was a success, because she had managed to hold her own much longer than anyone else was willing to give her credit for at the start of the day. On the other hand, Kris was able to prove to her that there were, in fact, kinks that needed to be ironed out. Courtney Pierce had been trained by Mikah when she was at the top of her game. She hadn’t had the easiest time pulling one over on her old student. It helped both Kris and Mikah to work as an actual team, instead of just showing off to one another.

Kris: You know, you were actually kind of impressive earlier.

He didn’t mind losing the silent battle that they were having about who was going to admit that they were wrong, or at least not as right about how their day would transpire. It didn’t help that one was just as arrogant about their abilities as the other. Put them together and instead of doubling, it increased exponentially.

Mikah: ...and to think you doubted me, even for a second.

Clearly Mikah was not willing to concede her victory like Kris was. After all, he was the one that needed a partner. He was the one that wanted her to come back. This was his doing. In her eyes, if he had doubts, he shouldn’t have bothered. Since he did, all these hoops she was jumping through were pointless. Kris was quick to cut her big head back down to size though.

Kris: Calm down. I am not saying that there weren’t rough spots and you were perfectly flawless by any means, but you held your own. To be honest, we got people that I think are better teams than the Tigers to train with us. I think we have this thing won.

She was glad that he was finally coming around to what she had known from the moment the match was announced. For all his big talk in front of a screen, he really was kind of a pushover. Maybe that was how he and Fenris happened. She was not going to dwell on the thought though. She tried to keep it out of mind.

Mikah: Maybe so… it still doesn’t change the fact that you thought I was going to show up and mess things up for you. It’s the same kind of thing that Drake would do. You didn’t trust me enough to let me in on anything, and just assumed that I wasn’t really paying attention or putting any work in. It’s insulting. We are supposed to be partners. Hell, we are supposed to be friends.

According to others, they were supposedly a lot more than that. The two of them had drawn a line at calling themselves anything other than friends. It was the truth. Despite the fact that it was widely drowned out by the news about the benefits of their friendship. Still, the fact that they were friends should have meant comparing him to Drake was off limits. Kris was having a hard time stepping around her feelings while she was throwing jabs at him like that.

Kris: Can you honestly blame me though? Look, I said that you did well today. You proved me wrong. Are you saying that I am a shitty person just because I wanted to see that in an empty gym before we went out and did it for real? I already have enough people telling me that I am stuck in 2017. I didn’t want to give anyone another reason to shoot us down before we even get started.

There it was. He was so obsessed with his own mistake that he was just projecting it onto others. It was the reason that he had traveled to his brother’s debut in another company and helped him to a victory that he had well in hand. It was the reason that he was lecturing Mikah all week. She was actually upset with herself that she hadn’t picked up on it sooner.

Mikah: Yeah, well, you could have gone about it some other way.

Unfortunately, Kris wasn’t the type to think things through. He was more of the act on first impulse type, for better or for worse. Usually for the worse.

Kris: What other way?

After a moment of thought, she realized that maybe that was better said than done. Instead of admitting that though, she spins it back around on him.

Mikah: I don’t know! One where you don’t seem like such an ass all the time! You could have come down to the gym while I was working out. You could have asked me what I was doing to get ready. Instead, you just assumed that the answer was nothing at all. I can do more than run my mouth, unlike most of the bombshells.

She knew that there were going to be more than a few women on the roster that weren’t going to be happy about her return. Mikah told herself that they were just jealous of her accomplishments though. They wouldn’t hate her if any of them were actually in her league. Hate always starts at the bottom looking up.

Kris: You’re right. I just didn’t think you were serious about it. It’s not like you jumped at the opportunity to come back the first time that I asked you.

She was surprised that he was backing down so easily again. She must have really surpassed his expectations earlier. Of course, that itself was offensive. Exactly how low had his expectations been? It was not her fault that he had twiddled his thumbs for a month in SCW before really deciding what he wanted to do.

Mikah: Have you ever considered that I didn’t think that you were serious? I mean, you had already pitched being a team to Alicia Lukas. Court is even training for a comeback. You could have picked her. How am I supposed to know when to take you seriously, and when you are just being….well… you.

The whole thing had always seemed so simple to Kris though. It made too much sense to ignore.

Kris: What? We are part of the reason that this whole division even exists. How many times did we try to make them let us take a stab at the tag belts before they combined the divisions and tried to take the credit for it? If there was ever a team that was supposed to rise up and take control of mixed tag matches in SCW, it is us. We wanted it. Now we have the opportunity to pick up where we left off.

She took the opportunity to go back to her point in their original argument since he was backing down left and right.

Mikah: ...and we could do that by cashing in your opportunity and taking over now.

He shook his head instantly.

Kris: I---

Mikah waved a hand at him and finished the thought for him. She had heard it enough already.

Mikah: ...don’t want to do it that way. I get it. As wrong as you were about me not being ready, you were right about one thing. That shot is yours. You can use it however you want. If you don’t think that we need it right now, then that’s your call to make. If you think we can make it to the top without it, fine. I’m willing to give it a shot.

It was really the only words that he had wanted to hear her say all week. She was notorious for not wanting to put the work in. She had always argued with Mark about not wanting to come to shows she was not booked on. Or drinking backstage and not taking it seriously. All Kris needed to hear was that she was willing to put in the effort instead of taking the shortest possible route. He pinched himself in case he was dreaming, but didn’t instantly find himself waking up in bed.

Kris: Wow….

She looked up at him, confused by the surprise on his face.

Mikah: What?

He laughs at her, and shrugs his shoulders almost at a loss for words.

Kris: I never thought I would see the day where you admitted that you were wrong about something.

It was not something that she was going to let him hold over her head. He had admitted that he was wrong about her. It was the least she could do. It was not like she was going to be able to change his mind anyways. At least, not with the direct approach. If she had to, she could come up with a way to get him to agree. He would probably even think that it was his idea. Maybe he was right though. It was possible that they could go out and be so impressive that they wouldn’t need it.

Mikah: Yeah, well you started it….

She quickly amends her statement to squash any hope he might have of it being a recurring thing.

Mikah: ...but don’t get used to it!

He holds up his hands in front of his chest as if he is pleading his innocence, but with a smile on his face.

Kris: Wouldn’t dream of it.

He does get up from his seat and start to make his way out of the room though. He could see how worn out she was from the day, and training hadn’t been a walk in the park. Unlike him, she had more important things that this match to worry about for the next couple of days, and he wasn’t going to make the mistake of forgetting that.

Kris: Get some rest. I’m sure those kids of yours will have you up and running around again before you know it, and we have a lot more work to do before we head to Vegas for the show.

She watches him go, considering asking him to stay but knowing better than to push it after such a tense day. Right now she could chalk up the day as a win for her. With Kris, that wasn’t always a guarantee. She did not want to ruin it, but the least she could do was put some of his negative thoughts at ease.

Mikah: Hey...

He turned back to her at the door without actually responding to her.

Mikah: You know we got this, right? At some point you are going to have to get out of your head about that. You never let people hold you back before. Don’t start now.

He nods wordlessly, and taps the door frame with his knuckles before making his way down to his studio and leaving her to rest for the remainder of the night.


==========================================================

The Black Sheep Return!
ON-Camera


You know how people use the phrase “the more, the merrier” like it is supposed to be a good thing?

Kris is seated in the black office chair that we have seen sitting behind his desk for the last few weeks. Using the small space to film his promos had become a habit after his brother had berated him for using the gym downstairs.

The Trenton Tigers are the exception to that rule. They think that it is a problem for people to have to gameplan for four of them instead of two. They are wrong. Instead, it makes them twice as big of a joke as they appear to be on the surface.

He allows himself a laugh at the expensive of the fearsome foursome that he finds himself planning for this week on Climax Control. He has his feet propped up on the desk forcing the chair he is in to lean so far back that only his head and shoulders come into view behind the desk. The Miracle almost looks carefree, despite the advantage that his opponents have on paper. He starts to explain to the audience exactly why that is.

Think about it. Brandon and Daniela come into SCW feeling real good about themselves. They have a peppy high school team name, a record of success, and finally stepped up to the big leagues in SCW after feeling left behind in SCU. They came in and smashed up the Barnharts, and then even got one over on Malachi and Bella. Everything looked like it was smooth sailing there for a second. There was a point where people were talking about them as mixed tag team championship contenders without having to stifle a laugh.

He frowns at the camera to indicate just how much the times had changed. In his opinion, the team had run into a roadblock by making one fatal error.

So they think it is a bright idea to add a couple of new members to the team. They get laughed at for trying to pass off their Mixed Tag Team Championship shot to their buddies, and then go on to lose anyway. At this point basically all of them have dropped the ball when it comes to facing off against Wolfslair, and even though they started out by making Sass and Bash look like chumps, the tables have certainly turned. Char Kwan may have been worth a look back when Gamers Inc was at the top, but she has been nothing but a weight around the Tigers’ neck. And if Daniela has learned the hard way that adding a sibling to the team doesn’t always go the way you want it to, but hey, we have all been there, right?

The smirk on Kris’ face is sure to irritate his brother Jason if he is watching from home. In recent weeks he has not shied away from reminding his brother about their confrontation on Climax Control where Kris walked out with his hand raised in the air.

In just a few short months this team that had a lot of potential, finds themselves at the back of the line. They were gifted back-to-back shots for the championships, and came up short regardless of the configuration that they chose to run with. For all of their talk and grandiose plans, they have amounted to little separately, and absolutely nothing together.

Kris shrugs, not feeling bad about telling it like it is. The Tigers were always the first to tell people that their independent accomplishments didn’t matter, and they were a long lasting team. To Kris, if they were worth anything, they would be able to prove it, and thus fair they had failed to impress him.

Now we know what they are going to say, because we have seen them say it over and over again. Time after time they come up against teams like the Barnharts, or Sass and Bash and say that they are not a real team. That they are more worried about their relationship dynamic outside of the ring than they are about what happens between when the bells sound. Mikah and myself won’t be exempt from that line of bullshit.

Not that they were exempt from it beforehand either. The whole backstage had been buzzing with rumors before Mikah outed certain parts of their friendship. Everyone had been jumping to incorrect conclusions since, and it was clearly eating at the Grand Slam Champion.

Most people in SCW have sniped at us one way or another. People think that we are dating. People think that I am the reason that she and Drake are no longer together. They think we bicker too much to ever be a functional team. They think we are too cocky for our own good.

At least a couple of those were probably true, even though Kris had no intention of validating any of them.

Tell me how that makes anyone on the current roster different from the people we both walked all over a few years ago? Everyone thought Mikah talked a big game at first, but then she built a career out of backing that talk up. She is constantly ranked amongst the best of the best that this company has ever had walk through the doors. If this match were Char Kwan or Daniela against Mikah on her own, there would be no debate about who people would put their money on. Only one of those three is a Hall of Famer in this company. Only one of them has done anything worth noting on her own. Gamer Inc might have carried Char Kwan to a tag title reign, but she has proven over and over again that when she flies solo she can’t get the job done. Either female member of the Tigers will be outclassed and overmatched before they even ring the bell to start this thing.

He was not going to just heap praise on his partner though. Anything Mikah could do, he could do better. That is why his name came first on the show.

...and the same is true on my side of the match. I have done things that Brandon Sludge and Vector only dream of doing. I have dominated every single division that I have been a part of in this company. I won the Internet Championship against all odds. I set Roulette records that nobody thought could ever be broken. My brother and I popped into the tag division as a joke, and went on to make every team on the roster look like our bitches. Not to mention, I was the last person to hold the SCW World Heavyweight Championship in the air before the company was going to close its doors forever, and the people in attendance for it blew the roof off the place.

It would probably remain the defining moment of his career, as he finally shattered the glass ceiling that had always held him back.

I get that singles accomplishments don’t count for much in tag team wrestling, but let’s be honest: this isn’t really tag team wrestling. Jet City was tag team wrestling. I could be trapped on an apron while my brother was getting dominated on the other side of the ring and there was not a damn thing that I could do about it. The other team could tag in and out to stay fresh while they laid waste to half of Jet City. All they had to do was isolate and attack. That’s not a strategy that works in mixed tag matches though. Why? Because as soon as anyone tags out of the match, both partners change. This isn’t tag team wrestling, this is a bombshell match, and a men’s match happening at the same time in the same ring.

Char Kwan or Daniela Rodgers have to somehow beat Mikah, someone we have already established is out of their league when it comes to singles wrestling. Their male partner isn’t going to be able to bail them out of trouble. They are going to have to do it on their own, and they are not up to that particular task. They are struggling on their path to finding tag team relevance and facing someone who is coasted her way into the hall of fame. What are either of them going to do when they bring their sad ass offense against someone who has forgotten more about technical wrestling than either of them have the capacity to learn? My guess is that someone is going to get choked out. I have seen Mikah’s Cupid’s Chokehold up close before, and that shit doesn’t look fun at all. I almost hate to see which one of these ladies will draw the short straw and have to step into the ring this week. It’s going to be a slaughter.

He has to reconsider that maybe they are not as terrible as he thinks. Maybe they will actually put up a fight.

I mean, unless somehow they manage to make it to their team’s corner and tag in some help. That would solve their Mikah problem and buy them some time to recover, but the news isn’t so great for their tag team partner, whichever one that ends up being.

Kris was more than confident that he would be able to take on either of the male members of the team.

Sure, Brandon has me by like 100 pounds, but it’s not like the guy can keep up with me for very long. Good ol’ Sludge comes out of a background of bodybuilding and weightlifting. You know what that tells me? The dude could probably bench press a bus even though he looks like a beached whale. However, nothing about bodybuilding screams endurance. The guy doesn’t have the stamina to keep up with someone like me. I wouldn’t even have to run circles around him. He couldn’t keep up with a light jog. He’s going to get tired and have to tag in his partner for Mikah to pummel some more. Or, the giant is going to fall a little too far from his corner, and he definitely has that “I’ve fallen, and can’t get up” type of vibe to him. Then he is too far out of reach for anyone to save him, and stuck in the ring for me to pick apart. My offense is already hit and run. I don’t have to lift the hippo. I just have to stick, move and wait for the big guy to tire himself out. See, someone like Sludge is like a picnic for me, and I am a nightmare for him.

It felt like Brandon was going to be the Tiger’s best answer for him, even though it was still the wrong answer.

...but what other option do they have? At least if Brandon manages to get a hand on me, he can do some real damage. If they let Vector slide in and take his shot, people are going to laugh. This is a guy that couldn’t hack it in SCU, a brand that has sorry ass O’Malley as its champion. He couldn’t manage to break out of the pack on the B-show, and came running to his twin to take pity on him and let him into the tribe of mediocrity.

The problem for Vector is that I have made a career out of making people just like him Just Take The L. Sure, it would be a hell of a lot more exciting for the people watching at home to watch the both of us fly around the ring as opposed to watching Brandon breathe heavily and struggle to keep up. The fact of the matter is, it still wouldn’t matter. I have beaten better people than him in my blackout drug days. In fact, I have both tagged with, and beaten someone who has the exact same style that he does. People remember my brother Jason as being part of Jet City, but everyone should watch back what happened when he tried to step up and say he was better than me. He ended up on his back in the middle of the ring asking what went wrong.

He shrugs.

The answer was simple. Nothing went wrong. I was just better.

Kris keeps pushing forward though, not lingering just to gloat.

...but again, it is not just me this time. It is Mikah too. It is The Black Sheep finally together again and doing the thing that we have always said that we were going to do. There is a reason that I am the only person that Mikah would ever team with. I am the best at what I do. Don’t believe me? Ask Griffin Hawkins, O’Malley, or even our World Heavyweight Champion Ben Jordan. What do they all have in common? They have never beaten me. Not once.

It was not just his individual work that mattered here though.

Mikah and I are undefeated as a team going against a group that hasn’t won since Blaze of Glory despite the fact that they have doubled in size since then. These people actually have the ability to surprise opponents with whom they send out to the ring, and still haven’t been able to get the job done. Why? Because they just aren’t that good, even with the stupid ass Freebird rule in play.

He rolls his eyes. Usually it would be more difficult to prepare for more opponents, but there was no combination of the team that was causing him to lose sleep. The only wildcard in his mind had been Mikah, and he had already gone out of his way to make sure that she would be ready.

...but Mikah and I aren’t going to whine about not knowing which combination of these never-will-be’s that we will be facing. Instead of worrying about something out of our control, we have just been preparing to face all of them. That way, no matter who comes down the aisle, The Black Sheep can walk out after having their hands raised in victory.

It was the only outcome that made any sense to him, on paper or otherwise.

I’m not going to stand here and rattle off cliches like about not taking the Tiger’s lightly, doing my best, and giving 100%. I will leave that to them and their same old tired lines that thousands of people have spouted off before them. I am standing here to say that The Black Sheep are going to win because of one simple fact: We are better.

He drops his feet from the desk and sits up in the chair. Sometimes facts hurt and he was going to throw a few more at the lens of the camera. He didn’t want people to mistake a relaxed posture for a lack of seriousness.

Together. Separate. It doesn’t matter. Mikah and I are the most impressive team that this division has ever seen. We are not a married couple like the Barnharts. We are not two people just in the division because we couldn’t hack it on our own like Sass and Bash. We aren’t a joke like the Trenton Tigers.

He would argue that as far as jokes go, they weren’t even a good one of those.

We are winning this match and coming for Wolfslair’s Mixed Tag Team Championships sooner rather than later. I dare anyone in this division to step up and try to stop us.

He gives a knowing wink to Malachi and Bella, hoping that they are keeping an eye on The Black Sheep. As Kris flashes a smile, the camera cuts to a black screen.

 When I ran a fed I ended up going with Option 2 due to the same problem. It definitely streamlines results and makes things easier to put together for results. People seemed happy with the outcome, and even after I quit they kept the fed going. Gives more space to segments, less complaining about the match flow favoring one character over another. People can fill in gaps for themselves.

 Into The Void
Jet City South - San Diego
1 June 2020
OFF-Camera


Kris did not have time to play games today. Finally Coby had the time to help him get ready for his match. Sure, things had not exactly gone Coby’s way at Underground, but that should not matter. He effectively had the week off before being everyone’s friendly neighborhood bouncer during the pre-show, and Kris needed a training dummy. After all, that was the whole reason Coby came to stay with him originally.

Kris: You still in a shitty mood or are you ready to get to work?

It was not the right approach, and Coby did not even look up from his desk before replying without any enthusiasm at all.

Coby: Unlike you, I don’t actually need anyone there to be my cheerleader in order to get things done.

Coby’s eyes do not come away from the screen in front of him, but from the angle Kris cannot see what it is that he is doing.

Kris: That’s not true at all. You care way more about what fans think than I do.

It was a valid point, but one that Coby shoots down immediately.

Coby: Not even close to the same thing...

Kris: Oh, it’s not? Enlighten me then. What makes it any different?

Coby lets out a heavy sigh, and his eyes drift up from the screen to meet Kris’.

Coby: Me not going out there and cheating, or thanking the fans for being supportive is nowhere near the same thing as you needing someone around to pat you on the back for doing your job. You have a match to go out and win. People are paying a bunch of money to see it. That means you have to put in the work. It shouldn’t be conditional on having an audience.

It was a lot more harsh than usual but Kris had pushed all of his buttons in the short time that they had been back in the ring for their respective brands.

Kris: It’s not like I have an audience anyways. It’s all Underground rejects and GRIME goons. Half of them have colors instead of names! That’s not a crowd.

Coby shrugs, and his eyes fall back to the screen. He was not interesting in Kris wasting any more of his time.

Coby: Still missing the point...

Seeing that the conversation was not going anywhere, Kris changes gears and tries another approach, attempting to lure Coby in the way he tried to get people to sign with SCW.

Kris: Right, you don’t want to be a cheerleader. So don’t be. Climb into the ring. You are a decent stand-in for Griffin’s quickness. Plus, you get to hit me.

Coby does not even take a moment to think it over.

Coby: Not interested.

Kris counters, having led Coby into a trap in an attempt to win the argument once and for all.

Kris: So then it wasn’t about having to stand around patting me on the back, that was just your excuse.

It does not rile up his protege in the least. In fact, all Kris gets for his effort is another shrug. If anything, Coby looked more bored with the back and forth than he did annoyed that Kris would not leave him alone.

Coby: As if I need an excuse to avoid someone that only cares about himself.

His nonchalant attitude is enough to finally push Kris past his threshold.

Kris: Nobody made you come here. Nobody made you sign to Underground. You chose to be around. You can’t blame that on me now.

It was textbook Kris, attempting to point a finger at everyone else whenever something was not going his way. Instead of letting it slide like everyone at Jet City had for so long, Coby calls him on it instantly.

Coby: It’s really easy for you to make everything everyone else’s fault, isn’t it? Then you don’t ever have to take a look at yourself and figure out why it keeps happening.

It was more matter-of-fact that Coby tried to be, but if there was going to be any getting through Kris’ thick head Coby could not risk being subtle.

Kris: I can’t help it that people’s feelings are overly sensitive. Didn’t think I was going to have to add you to that group though.

It was a last-effort guilt trip. Kris’ version of a hail mary attempt to finally get Coby to cave in. The Underground athlete was too smart to take the bait, and instead hammers Kris with more of the truth that he did not want to hear.

Coby: You basically just called a friend of yours a racist on social media. You left your family to come back to wrestling. You let Mikah stay here even though that is a terrible idea for literally dozens of reasons. Not limited to the fact that all you two do is ignore each other and snipe each other on Twitter. You trash everyone, including your friends.

Kris tries to cut in, but Coby does not give him the opportunity.

Coby: That unpredictability and recklessness may help you in the ring, but the people close to you never know if they can trust anything you say or do. It’s always a game, and you are the only one that is allowed to win. You’re lucky that there are people left still trying to get you to grow up.

At this point Coby’s chill energy had evaporated. He had risen to his feet, now standing face-to-face with Kris despite their being a desk between them. Still, Kris was not ready to admit that his friend was right.

Kris: Ever think that maybe I am just fine the way that I am?

Kris had tried the same line on people days earlier, and nobody bought it then either.

Coby: No.

The speed at which he answered nearly gave Kris whiplash.

Kris: You didn’t waste any time thinking that one over...

Coby did not need time to think over his reasoning either, laying into Kris with everything that he should have been saying for the last month.

Coby: If you were happy you wouldn’t be here begging me to train with you. You wouldn’t be in SCW instead of at home with your family. You wouldn’t try so hard to maintain the upper hand in literally every single one of your personal relationships. It is all on your terms so that if you push people away, it was their fault.

Not wanting to keep up the deep dive into his psyche, Kris tries to deflect.

Kris: Kind of feels like I am in therapy instead of a gym.

Coby laughs. It had been a topic of discussion amongst the Jet City family whether to force Kris back into therapy so he would stop constantly creating chaos in the lives of anyone remotely connected to them.

Coby: Then maybe you should go talk to Everleigh about it. I bet she agrees with me.

Kris does not even consider it as an option. That chapter of his life was closed. No therapist had ever given him any helpful insight anyways. It was like they were all out to get him. Nothing he ever did was right.

Kris: Well that wouldn’t be surprising. She never took my side.

Coby does not take it as the rebuttal that Kris thought it was and instead reinforces his argument with Kris’ point.

Coby: Yet another piece of evidence to show that you are always wrong.

Kris throws his hands up in the air, finally giving up.

Kris: Fine, don’t help me.

Coby sits back down in his chair, and starts to make himself comfortable again. If Kris wanted to walk out, he was not going to stop him.

Coby: I’m trying to help you. You’re just too closed-minded to get it.

Defeated, Kris turns his back on his friend.

Kris: Well then maybe I am just a lost cause.

Coby’s eyes move back to the screen in front of him, and he mutters almost under his breath.

Coby: Finally, something we agree on.

Kris barely catches the jab, and half turns around to launch one of his own back at his friend.

Kris: You know, if there were fans here, they would have booed you for that.

Coby is still not offended. He gives his friend another shrug, and one last piece of advice.

Coby: Yeah, well they are not here, and they won’t be at Into the Void either, so you’re going to have to figure it out on your own for once.

Kris opens his mouth to argue, not wanting to give up having the last word, but something stops him. The wheels start turning, and his voice becomes much less argumentative.

Kris: ....I guess so...

He turns and leaves the room without any more objection. Coby follows him with his eyes but makes no move to follow him. A smile spreads across his face. Kris may not have thought he was helpful, but Coby knew otherwise. It was another step in the right direction.



==========================================================

Return Service
1 June 2020
ON-Camera



Can we talk for just a minute about all of you out there?

Kris is back in the office that we saw him in to start the week. However, instead of using artificial light to allow the viewers to see every little detail of the room, the only light shining beams down from the skylight overhead. It beams down, creating a bright halo around Kris’ head as he lays in the center of the floor. Whoever is operating the camera has it angled down at Kris on the floor, so that his face is at the center of the frame. It was clear that the weeks of being isolated from everyone was starting to get to him. His words run over one another without even the slightest pause in between them. It was almost as if he could not wait to get whatever grievance he had out into the world and out of his head.

I promise it is not a waste of time. I will circle back to a point eventually, but I realized that I had a few things to get off of my chest.

His words are still not coming out in his usual confident and collected tone.

These smaller venues with just the Underground people and crew members in the audience are a lot less fun than an arena packed full of fans.

His eyes wander away from the camera lens, but fail to focus on any specific thing in the room around him. A smile briefly bubbles to the surface of his face as he pictures himself performing in arenas packed with people. Whether they loved or hated him never mattered, just that they were there, and they saw him. For Kris it had always been about those around him being forced to accept his existence. It was the reason he wanted to spend his life in front of a crowd. They proved to him that he was still alive, for better or for worse.

I know that it might be surprising to hear, especially coming from me, but the fans are actually the most important part of the show. They are the only people on camera that are never going to lie to anyone. They let you know what they love, and what they hate without any kind of hesitation. If they love you, they will rally behind you no matter what and it is like having a few thousand of your closest friends cheering you on. If they can’t stand you, then you’re not even going to be able to hear yourself think over how loud they can boo you.

Kris flashes through some of the viciously negative reactions that he has been able to draw out of the fans, but tries not to let himself dwell on it so long. Just as quickly as the thought comes, he throws it away and moves on to what had drawn him to talking about the fans in the first place.

Most importantly, they’re the best editors in the business. If you go out there and try to lie to them, they are going to call you on it. If you misremember anything, or let details slip away from you, they are going to let you know that you messed up. Fans have the ability to end a career just by their response to people. It’s insane how much control that they have, and maybe I didn’t really notice it until they were gone. They keep us sharp. We need that.

His appearance does a lot to prove his point. WIthout his usual support team, a tag team partner, or his family around, he was looking a lot less sharp. Kris’ typically clean shaven face was covered in a full beard, and his usually well-kept hair was starting to look like it had been neglected for days. There was nothing necessarily sharp about him. The former champion looked as though he had lost his way without someone around to help him steer the ship.

There would have been no ‘Triple Crown Champion’ Kristopher Ryans mishap if there were fans in the arena that would have pounced on the ability to correct everyone with their chants, or their signs. Even more so, maybe they could help Griffin Hawkins with a little bit of SCW history, since he appears to be a little spotty.

Kris sits up from the floor, and the camera in front of him moves backwards in order to stay in front of him.

See, I told you that there would be a point in there somewhere.

There is a flicker of life in his eyes, and his words start to find a little more direction. He had spent weeks letting Griffin’s words kick around in his head. Without anyone to bounce any of his thoughts off of, he had been left to stew on his own. There was no telling how far down the rabbit hole he had fallen in his exile, but he was definitely trying to lead the viewers down the same path.

Last week Griffin painted you all a word picture. He took you guys back a couple of years to the greatest return that this company has ever seen. Their hero returned to save them from a lifetime of seeing Calvin Harris or Crimson as the last champion of their beloved companies. Neither of those two men deserved to hold one championship in this company, let alone two at the same time. The two of them main eventing the last show ever would have been a slap in the face to all the work put in by all of the people that have come through the locker room, or paid for a ticket to come see a show in person. The outcome of that match was lose-lose for the fans.

He pushes himself up off the floor, but points directly at the camera. His eyes are focused solely on the lens of the camera, as if just remembering the biggest moment of his Sin City career.

...and all of that would have come to pass, if not for the miracle that happened.

He snaps his fingers and then breaks away from the camera, starting to pace in front of the desk. His words speed up again as he replays the events from memory.

Without actually being cleared to compete, and still rehabbing from an injury, I made my way out to the ring to stop the two of them from ruining the image of this company forever. The show ended with my becoming a two-time Roulette Champion, and finally capturing the SCW World Heavyweight Championship when nobody thought that I could do it. Calvin Harris wouldn’t even acknowledge the fact that I was on the roster, let alone a contender. The last shot of SCW was an underdog triumphant over two of the worst people this company has ever hired.

The mental image of the two of them fighting it out in a match nobody wanted to see still cut into Kris. It should have never been them. That was always his spot, and he would not have had to make a surprise return if not for his own recklessness. His effort was all for nothing though, because that would not end up being the end of SCW. Not by a long shot.

Of course, SCW came back not long after. That much is true. However, according to Griffin Hawkins, you have to fast forward a full two years before I come back into the picture. In his mind, that was the night that I decided to pack up and go home.

He whistles while waving his hand off towards the edge of the frame. Kris had little doubt that few people would have doubted his legacy had that been the end of it. It was enough to almost make him regret not sticking to retirement then. It would have saved him some broken bones at the very least. He did not let any of the thoughts running through his mind break his train of thought, or his pacing around the room.

Griffin said that I already have the respect of the SCW locker room, but apparently he thinks of me as a one-night-champion that got to hold up something shiny for a few seconds before the company closed its doors for a little while.

There was no other way to take it than as an insult to everything he had accomplished as a champion. It was what made Kris think about the fans in the first place.

Had he said something like that in front of an arena full of people, they would have laughed him out of the building. That’s why fans are important. They stop us from making fools of ourselves. Anybody following along from home knows that I was one of the first people that came back on board when Sin City announced that it was going to make a comeback. I was the one reaching out to everyone and trying to pull familiar faces back together.

As champion Kris had been one of the first people that Mark and Christian had reached out to once they decided to return. Knowing he could not do it alone, that was when Kris actually started putting the work into being the face of the company. He provoked people into signing, even if it meant putting himself on the line. It was the one example from his life where putting himself out there had not blown up in his face.

Griffin talks about that night in January being important for me, but it doesn’t even begin to compare to Climax Control 201 that April. It was our first night back, and Mark Ward walked out to warm everyone up, and let everyone know that even though it had been a while, things were going to be okay. He wanted to let them know that we weren’t just back for a show or two. I remember standing backstage, watching on a monitor, not really knowing what was going to happen.

The smile from earlier spills across his face. He could remember exactly what it felt like walking out in front of the crowd that night. It was the night everything he had ever wanted finally snapped into place.

I’ll never forget what he said. This is a guy that gave me shot after shot, and always welcomed me back into Sin City no matter how bad I messed things up. He was a guy that was always kind of silently in my corner, or at least that is how I felt. I didn’t know what to expect...

He stops pacing in the center of the room and leans back against the desk, squared up to the camera. The former champion crosses his arms in front of his chest, lost in memories of that night in April.

He had people in the palm of his hand and told them, “At Full Circle, the place I truly thought SCW was nicely finished, something happened at the end of that show. A man who deserved everything he got, by realising a dream and capturing not only the SCW Roulette championship, but the SCW Heavyweight Championship!”

The smile on his face widens, and his eyes get slightly glassy, showing how much the entire spectacle had meant to him. He laughs, and allows himself to get a little further off track.

The crazy thing was, the fans immediately erupted. That had never really happened for me before. I had pockets of people that would cheer for me, but go back and watch those shows. I was booed just about everywhere that I went. Then Mark came out, and talked about that miraculous button that my return put on the end of Full Circle and everyone loved it. I went from someone they hated, to someone that had given SCW a happy ending before we were all supposed to ride off into the sunset forever. The problem was, I was so wrapped up in watching it, just from a fan perspective, that I didn’t even realize he was talking about me. It took a crew member nudging backstage to really shake me out of it.

As I was backstage, being pulled towards the staging area, I could still hear his audio being pumped throughout the arena. From where I was standing behind the curtain I got to see him tell the world that I was  “a man who overcomes problem after problem, and bounces back stronger, someone we put our faith in because we knew one day, he would become the star that he is today.”

He paused and runs his next few words through his head a few times before letting them come out of his mouth. Sometimes he still did not think they were real.

He called me an SCW Legend.

There was none of the usual smugness in his voice. It was clear that the words had meant something to Kris, even if they had just been for the purpose of riling up the crowd.

Then the power went out, I made my first entrance as the SCW World Heavyweight Champion, and effectively became the face of the company. The fans accepted me for who I was, and cheered me despite my history. I came back, when so many others took their time.

Kris started to straighten himself up now, brushing some of the lint from his shirt, and running his fingers through his hair. Somehow it made it look more like the controlled madness he usually styled it with instead of the homeless bum vibe he had previously been giving off. The smile on his face shrinks down into a smirk. His confidence was starting to return now that some of the weight was lifting off of his shoulders.

Now most of you will remember that from there I tore the house down as champion for a few months. Crimson tried to kill me a couple times. We had one of the most violent matches in company history, and he took a piece of my ear as a trophy of some sort. Then along came Fenris, fresh off winning Blast From The Past with a bright young student that I helped to train. All signs pointed towards a battle of the best up-and-comer and an SCW legend, only for an injury to cut it short. I mean, I guess the world guess a sex scandal out of it in exchange, but even when I tried to rush a comeback, that match ended up being more disappointing than anything.

The entire last month of his time with the company in 2018 had been one disappointment after another. He tries not to let that get him off track though.

Griffin Hawkins made me out to be a one-night champion, seemingly forgetting that I held that championship for six months before injuries cut it short. He says people remember my legacy, but then skips over the most important part of it like it never existed in the first place. Maybe he doesn’t understand why I am so frustrated, because he doesn’t really understand my place or my legacy at all. He remembers an iconic end cap to a show. He doesn’t remember the miracle. How could he? He wasn’t here for it.

Like a light switch being flipped, the condescension filled his voice.

Griffin Hawkins didn’t come back when Mark and Christian reopened the doors. He finally made his way back to Sin City just over a year ago, months after an injury had put me on the shelf and almost a full year after Mark had introduced me as a legend on our first night back.

Kris had finally put together exactly what bothered him about Griffin, and the reason that he had felt compelled to interrupt him and call him out for their fight at Into the Void.

Griffin is quick to say that SCW moved on and evolved into something bigger without me, but doesn’t even realize how much things changed in the year that he was gone. He has no idea, because he wasn’t paying attention. Griffin says I see him as a threat to my legacy here, and he is right, but it is because of his own ignorance. He wants to lecture me about what he thinks my place is, and doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about. Since the crowd isn’t around to open his eyes, I guess that I am going to have to.

If viewers went back to the beginning of the video, they might not believe that the same person is standing in front of the camera now. The doubt had faded away, and Kris seemed focused once again. As he spoke he had found his purpose.

I never wanted to take credit for his successes, just acknowledgement that I was the one that kicked open the doors for him. I paved the way for him to enter this company, long before he was following my footsteps and breaking Roulette records. I was the underdog that broke the glass ceiling and became a legend in this company long before he set that lofty goal for himself. I have already lived every single story that Griffin is trying to write for himself in the SCW record books. Is it too much to ask for a thank you?

Clearly Kris did not think that it was. He was not going to stop there though.

Is it too much to expect people to remember the things I have contributed to this company?

He backtracks, not wanting it to sound like Griffin was just like any average person off the street either. This was someone that should have known better in Kris’ mind.

Griffin Hawkins is someone that I consider a friend, and he has been for a long time. From his fights with Parker Wayde, who trained me, all the way to him fighting my brother for a world championship in one of the most insane matches that I have ever gotten to sit in a crowd for, I have always respected the person he is, and the things he can do inside the ring. It’s not a secret. Look no further than the other night when I had to remind him that he is a six time world champion in his own right, and shouldn’t have anything left to prove to anyone. I may be the bigger star here in Sin City, but Griffin Hawkins’ resume stretches longer than mine, in companies across the globe. He may be the longest reigning Roulette Champion in SCW, but that is far from the greatest accomplishment in his storied career.

This match is not a legend standing in the way of a newcomer that is trying to make a name for himself. Griffin Hawkins is not someone like Jack Washington. Griffin might not have reached the top of SCW yet, but he is a legend in this business. And I have no doubt that he will hold the SCW World Heavyweight Championship sooner rather than later.

Although Kris was full of himself, his words did not come off as sarcastic.

... and if I can clearly see the impact he has made on this business, and the legacy that he will leave behind when he chooses to step away, why is it so much to ask for that mine not be forgotten? Because that is what this was all about. Do I not deserve the same benefit of the doubt that I extend to others? Are my contributions somehow lesser because I am just a legend of this company?

He could continue with the rhetorical questions, but instead takes a different path.

....or maybe I should just try looking at it another way?

He gestures out towards an imaginary marquee overhead.

More like an SCW Legend versus a Wrestling Legend.

He drops his arms and nods, still looking at the sign that is only in his imagination.

Griffin is trying to add a win over me to his list of accomplishments as a way of propelling himself into the upper echelon of the locker room, which is fine. But when I beat him, it means I beat someone who has been known as one of the very best in every company that he has ever worked in. It means I transcend everything that I have done here, because I can take on one of the best in the world and walk out with my hand raised in the air.

He was past the point of worrying about what everyone else thought. That had led him into a week-long downward spiral. He would give them what they wanted. Only, he would be doing it on his own terms.

People don’t want me to linger on my past in this company? Fine.

He shrugs it off like he had not spent the month fighting doing that exact thing.

I’ll put all of that history on the line if it means doing something bigger and better than anything I’ve ever dared to do before.

The smile widens across his lips again.

Griffin, your path to the top of this company goes through me, but my path to immortality in this industry goes directly through you. Unfortunately, your dreams are going to have to wait until after Into the Void.

He reaches out for the camera, but leans in close to the lens as he does. His voice lowers.

I need this one. Just take the L.

With that, the camera cuts to black.

 Take A Step Back
18 May 2020
ON-Camera

Unfortunately, I have to start off by doing something that is going to make me feel dirty.

The video starts to roll with Grand Slam Champion Kristopher Ryans in the center of the frame. He appears to be recording from a laptop but his surroundings leave a lot to be desired. The eggshell colored wall behind him is decorated by two pictures in the plainest of black frames: one of a bowl of white rice, the other of lightly toasted bread on a saucer plate. Kris, despite his plain white t-shirt, is the only splash of any color in the frame. He takes a drink out of a bottle of water, and lets out a heavy sigh.

I have to thank Alicia Lukas for pointing out that since my return, I have been a little…. well...

He gestures to the things around him.

You get the point...

Viewers can tell that he is struggling to keep a smile off of his face, but for now is winning the battle.

She’s not wrong though. I hate to give her any credit at all, but she made a good point. I have been a little...

He struggles to pull out the right word to finish the thought, not wanting to use any of the ones Alicia had thrown at him in making her point.

...let’s just call it restrained.

Kris appears at least mostly satisfied with the alternative that he came up with.

...but it’s not like it is without reason. Before I came back I found myself looking back at some of my matches from early on in my SCW career. Not only was I calling people out that tried to stake a claim to anything based on their past, but I also never seemed to care about what people thought about me. After all, back then everyone thought of me as a nobody. I was the one showing up to prove them wrong. Somewhere along the way I lost track of both of those things.

Kris crosses his arms in front of his chest. He was not good at speaking on his own shortcomings, so his words were not coming easily.

I have been so focused on how people remember me, and my place in history, that I forgot about how things used to be. Before I took time away there was a long period of time where I was the most successful person in the company. I went from underdog, to the person expected to win no matter what the obstacle in front of me was. I forgot what it was like to be on the other side of things.

He lets a small laugh escape his lips and shakes his head like he was putting more pieces of the puzzle together even as he was talking.

I know I’m hard-headed. I’m not exactly the most reasonable person in the world. Maybe it was always going to take getting the same shit shoveled at me by Griffin, Alicia, and the rest of the company to open my eyes. You would think that at this point in my career I would have already figured this kind of stuff out though.

He shakes his head again, clearly still giving himself a hard time.

If people told me at the beginning of my career that at some point people beating me was going to be considered an upset, I would have laughed at you. Yet, that is exactly why everyone was so surprised when Bill Barnhart walked away with a victory in my return. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have settled for Griffin Hawkins or anyone else ignoring me. I wouldn’t have waited for the fans, or management to come around to the idea of getting what I wanted. I didn’t used to think about things like how I was going to be perceived. I just went out in front of the crowd, did what was best for me, and let the rest play out.

He uncrosses his arms, starting to loosen up and become more comfortable now that he was not picking on his own shortcomings.

I can’t force anyone to change their minds about me. I never could, but at least it didn’t used to matter to me as much. Like Alicia put it, all of that stuff is kind of...bland. It is not the reason that I got into this business. It is not the reason that I enjoy being in the ring. It’s not really what I came back for. All of it is just a big distraction from doing what I do best.

He lets out another deep breath, but it does not sound as deflated as when he began.

Sometimes you have to take a step back and listen to the criticism. At least while I was doing it, I got to sit in the crowd for Climax Control and watch Griffin Hawkins come up just a little bit short himself. Kind of makes the things he said about me sting a little bit less when he gets beaten by Raab after talking down to him like he did me.

A smile crosses his face.

...and even though Alicia was out here dishing out the harshness, I think she managed to stir up some of the memories that led to this epiphany I am having.

He gives a slight nod of acknowledgement to the camera.

As for everyone else that thinks that this return was a bad idea, or destined to fail, I’m no longer going to carry your bullshit around with me. I’m not here to cater to everyone’s expectations. I have always cut my own path through the crowd, and somehow I managed to rise to the top. My problem was I tried to fix something that I wasn’t broken. From now on, I won’t be wasting time on things that don’t matter. I have Jack Washington to think about, and then putting a stop to Griffin Hawkins upward momentum in this company after that.

Kris winks at the camera with a smile on his face.

Rest assured none of it will be boring though.

With that, the feed cuts out and the screen fades to static.


==========================================================


Blindspot
Jet City South - San Diego
19 May 2020
OFF-Camera

There was one thing on Kris’ mind as he made his way through Jet City. He knew that Coby was going to have beaten him there as a way to start the day of training with a feeling of superiority, but Kris was not showing up for the two of them to spar. Before Kris went to find his seat in the crowd of Climax Control, Coby had pulled him aside to issue a warning. Kris hadn’t wanted to go into it with cameras following them, but had filed it as something to bring up once he had the chance. Luckily for Kris, the Sin City Underground newcomer had not spotted him as he made his way through some of the weight-lifting equipment. The young star was still warming up, running the track along the outside of the space.

As Coby passed by him, Kris made his way stealthily across Jet City, making sure to stay in his friend’s blind spot. He knew that he only had one opportunity, the curve where the front desk would be once they were actually able to open the gym back up. As Coby veered with the temporary path they had created Kris ducked out from behind a support beam and managed to plant his shoulder firmly into Coby’s midsection. The smaller man’s momentum folded him in half and he rolled over Kris before hitting his back hard on the ground.

Kris: Good morning!

The impact had sent Kris to the ground as well, but he was mostly unharmed. Coby rolled around a few feet away from Kris and was struggling to fill his lungs with air. Kris was able to get himself back up to his feet by the time Coby was able to catch a breath.

Coby: What...is wrong...with you….?

Kris had been ready to go with his answer, but waited to enjoy Coby fighting with the words in order to get them out.

Kris: I was actually going to ask you the exact same thing. That is why I came all the way down here...

Coby rolls over onto his back, now able to breathe again normally. It was not the first time that Kris had blindsided him, and he doubted that it would be the last. The pain itself started to fade the moment that Coby caught the tone of Kris’ voice. He knew this conversation was coming, and should have expected that Kris would lash out like this first.

Coby: Oh...so this is about Mikah?

Kris’ mouth was already open, ready to berate Coby, but his friend’s response caught him totally off guard.

Kris: How did you k--

Coby waved the question off before Kris could finish it, and pushed himself up into a seated position on the floor.

Coby: I know that you need to stay away from her if that is what you are going to ask. I know that she is a distraction. I know that you don’t need her for anything, but for some reason have allowed yourself to rely on her to do things that you could easily do yourself.

Kris wasn’t exactly prepared for Coby to be this forthcoming about his reasoning behind the warning he gave at Climax Control. After all, Mikah had been in Coby’s wedding. They had all been friends for years.

Kris: I don’t know why you suddenly have a problem with her after all this time, or what that has to do with me.

Coby shakes his head as he pushes himself back up to his feet. His hand reaches down to his ribs and his face twists in pain as he tries to straighten himself up. It was going to take a little while for the imprint of Kris’ shoulder to leave his abdomen, but he was not going to let Kris literally talk down at him for the whole argument.

Coby: I love Mikah to death. She is terrible for you though.

Kris opens his mouth to argue, but Coby does not pause long enough to let him get a word in.

Coby: I get it. She is going through some shit and you told her that she could chill here. That’s fine. Friends should do that for each other when they can. But we both know that’s not where the line is drawn.

Kris does not even try to protest, instead attempting to change the subject.

Kris: She got me back into Sin City, and I helped you get into Underground. Really you should be thanking her.

Kris can tell before Coby even starts to open his mouth that his former trainee is not buying it.

Coby: You could have stepped out into the ring at any point in the last two years and the reaction you got would have inked your contract. From what I’ve seen from you and Christian over the years, you could have gotten him to agree in five minutes of less. Even Mark seems thrilled to have you back. You didn’t need to go through all of that shit. You could have just been you, and done it your way. Not hers.

Kris again tries to cut into Coby’s lecture.

Kris: Maybe not bu--

Kris points an index finger at Coby while trying to make his counterpoint, but in a flash it is slapped away. Coby trucks right through Kris’ words, not done making his point yet.

Coby: ...and you walked in half-cocked like you were the greatest of all time and got embarrassed in your first match back. You know who does that shit? Mikah. She would go out drinking, always talk about not wanting to show up or do her job, come out and do it thoughtlessly. Sure, she managed to pull out the win more often than not, but she is way more physically talented than you are, and nobody in her division was seven feet tall or close to five hundred pounds. Being like her is going to get you hurt, and you get hurt enough on your own.

Kris had made the mistake of thinking that his friend had come to the argument unprepared, but instead found himself being shot down before he could even make a single valid point. Instead of being able to vent all of his frustrations at his friend, Kris was forced to turn it inward.

Kris: Alright, maybe I was taking my eye off the prize a little bit, but friends do that for other friends. Besides, she’s going to help me with my problem of not having a tag team partner.

Coby was surprised that Kris was still even hanging on to that dream. One thing was for certain, if Kris had a blindspot, Mikah was in it.

Coby: Has she ever even said yes to that?

Kris goes to nod his head, but hesitates. He thinks back to the conversations that he and Mikah had on the subject. The two of them had discussed it several times, dating as far back as the Kris and Mikah Show, and leading their respective divisions as champions. Yet, he couldn’t recall once that she had ever given him a real answer. Coby picks up on Kris’ lack of response quickly

Coby: That’s what’s up...

Usually it was a phrase that Coby said with excitement, like a call to arms, this was felt more like Coby’s own person brand of ‘I told you so’ more than anything else though.

Kris: So what, you’re saying that I should just send her packing?

Coby shakes his head hastily, and backtracks some of his criticism.

Coby: That’s not what I’m saying at all. Mikah’s not a bad person. She’s just not a person that you need to get lost in. She’s a blast to be around, but she’s not someone whose advice I would take when it comes to career decisions. You need to get back to doing things your way, cause you’re gonna drown otherwise.

The former SCW Champion’s mouth opens and closes a few times without any words being produced. He laces his fingers together and cradles the back of his head in his hands as he lets out a deep breath. Kris knew that Coby was right. Now that he was running the last few weeks backwards in his mind he could see the things that he should have done differently. After the week of being shown up by Griffin and Alicia Lukas, Kris was not about to give Coby any satisfaction of officially backing down from yet another argument. Thinking quickly, he shifts the subject instead, nodding towards Coby’s ribcage. He was content to drop the subject and call it a draw if Coby would let it slide.

Kris: You going to need a minute to walk that off?

Coby shakes his head with a smile on his face. He knew that it was as close as he was going to get to Kris admitting defeat. Honestly, he did not even care about winning the argument, it was more about pointing out the problem to Kris. There was no forcing The Miracle to do anything, you just had to push him in the right direction and hope he got it. Trying to force the issue was not going to get him anywhere. He had been sent to San Diego to keep Kris focused, so that is what he needed to do.

Coby: I’m good to go if you are. You have a long way to go if you’re going to beat Jack and then Griffin back-to-back.

Coby tries to give Kris a light shove, but the SCW Grand Slam Champion slaps his hand away before it can contact his shoulder.

Kris: Well, I like my chances more than yours against John Blade.

Coby’s mouth drops open in offense, but Kris spins away from Coby and takes off running along the same track that Coby was on before Kris had nearly flipped him out of his shoes. Coby tries to shake off the lingering pain in his ribcage and chases after Kris, ready to get the day started.

==========================================================


Knockoffs
San Diego, CA
20 May 2020
ON-Camera

The video starts with Kris Ryans walking through a few empty halls. There is a white towel around his neck that he is using to wipe sweat off his forehead as he passes the camera. Whoever is operating the camera follows closely behind him and viewers can see the discoloration of his gray shirt from it being soaked. When Kris starts to speak, he is clearly out of breath.

This week has been a little harder than most. It would be a lie for me to try and say that Jack Washington isn’t good. He is. There is no denying that. The guy came into SCW through the Blast From The Past Tournament, and killed it in the first round, picking up the win for himself and his rookie partner.

Kris is standing next to a control panel in the center of the new Jet City Sports Lab that he and Coby Quik had been working on making functional since his plans to return to SCW. Kris’ hands move across the panel, and lights around him start to shut off in sections.

You could argue that he would have gone further in the tournament if it wouldn’t have been for that very same rookie partner. I know better than anyone that you are only as good as your partner in Blast From The Past, and he got booted out when Tallyn took the fall to the team that went on to win the damn thing. I guess if you are going to lose, you may as well lose to the eventual winners. Although, I can’t really hold Tallyn’s mistake over Jack’s head. I know if anyone tried to blame me for Polly Playtime’s incompetence, I would be a little salty about it. And let’s face it, Tallyn probably isn’t even on Polly’s level.

The darkness closes in around him as he talks until only a single bright light overhead remains. Kris turns from the panel, and actually looks into the camera, shaking his head.

I’m getting off track here. We’re supposed to be talking about Jack. He even went as far as to win the Jack-Off on Climax Control a couple of weeks back.

Kris starts to move back down the hallway that we had followed him down to start the video. Instead of trailing behind him, the camera now backtracks in front of him, allowing Kris to talk directly to the fans with a wide smile on his face.

You know, now that I say that out loud, I’m hearing how that can easily be taken the wrong way when you follow it up with the show name. Although, probably still a fitting name based on how publicly everyone in the hotel has been about not exactly social distancing from each other’s bedrooms.

He shakes his head again, clearly disappointed at having gotten off track again.

...but again, we are getting away from the point. Jack Washington walked into Climax Control a couple weeks ago, and put down Jack Russow fresh off that huge win against Griffin Hawkins. I mean, that guy had championship momentum coming in and our Gentleman Jack Washington swatted him down like he wasn’t shit. It was kinda impressive. After all, Griffin Hawkins had been on one of the biggest rolls in company history, and Russow ended it. Then Washington just steps up and takes the new Roulette Champion down a peg really easily. Now we finds himself across the ring from an SCW Grand Slam Champion.

Kris taps himself twice on the chest with a smirk on his face as the camera backs out of the building into a back alley. Kris follows through the door and closes it behind him, taking a moment to lock it before they move on.

So on one side we have Jack, the impressive newcomer and momentum killer. On the other side there’s me, trying to prove to everyone that I am still as good as I have ever been.

The camera moves to Kris’ side as he steps away from the building and follows next to him as he walks down the alleyway behind the building.

It’s not unlike my situation standing across from Finn Whelan. Although, Finn is much further along in his career than Jack is. Sure, this kid has been a Limitless Champion before, but Finn has carried more than one company on his back, and dominated tournaments around the world. When I looked at him though, all I could see was someone that was on the same path that I was. The more research I do, the more that I see similarities in the way we fight, the reasons we fight, and the things that we struggle with.

He laughs, but there is more annoyance in it than joy.

It is almost like walking into my house to find a bunch of knock-offs sitting on my couch, watching my TV, and eating all of my food. It is like stepping into my gym and seeing a bunch of K-Mart clones trying to walk down the same path that I took to the top of SCW.

He stops, and turns to the camera, giving the viewers his full attention instead of just bringing them along for the ride any longer.

...but that’s kind of a problem for me.

He offers a simple shrug to the camera.

This lane is taken.

Kris’ face is blank, and the usual joking undertone in his voice is gone.

Look, I’m not going to go out to that ring and put on the most technically sound display. I might be able to get people up out of their seats based on surprise and unpredictability but there is nothing that I can do that others can’t. I don’t always say the right things. I rub people the wrong way. I fuck up. A lot. A quick look back on my history in this company will show you half a dozen missteps for every single inch I ever gained in this company. I got where I am by being myself and forcing people to accept that I wasn’t going to be satisfied with settling for mediocrity. I demanded the things that I thought that I earned, and when people didn’t like it, I made sure to put them in their place. I stepped over the people that thought that they were better than me, and was breaking records even as people were talking about how I would never amount to anything special. I was dealt the same hand as half of this new class of wrestlers in SCW and I already played it to perfection. Their underdog story doesn’t play here. I was a nobody that became The Miracle. The story’s been told, and now I’m back. They’re going to go need to follow someone else’s blueprint because mine’s not for sale.

He shakes his head, wanting to move on from the subject, but now visibly starting to become irritated by the situation.

...and it wasn’t even some surgically precise rise to the top. If anything, it was more akin to someone trying to scratch and crawl their way out of a grave. Most of the time I was my own worst enemy, but so be it. At least that I can say that I made it this far without changing who I am. I say what I want to. I don’t stop to think about the consequences. When it gets me into fights, I usually fight my way out. Was it easy? No. Was it stupid? Probably. However, that path led me to being an SCW Grand Slam Champion. On one hand I can see the appeal to everyone trying to follow it, because it led me to all of the success that I have enjoyed. On the other hand, they say lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice.

He pauses for just a moment, his mind racing well ahead of his words. It takes a second for Kris to take a deep breath and attempt to get back on track.

These people can’t be me, no matter how hard they try. That is why when they are confronted by the real thing, they fall short. Not because I am the best. Not because I am the strongest, but because that is what I do. I’m a punching bag that talks shit and punches back until you give up trying.

Not that I think it would take much to get ol’ Jack here to give up. I mean the guy has had a handful of successful matches here, but other than that he is practically a ghost. The guy comes out and shocks everyone by beating Russow at Jack-A-Pa-Looza, and we haven’t seen or heard from him since. It’s been weeks. Has anyone rallied up a search party to find this guy? Did anyone even notice he was gone? Would anyone have even cared if they did?

A big match like that, and a surprise win over a new champion should have propelled this guy into the mix for championships. He should have been in Mark and Christian’s office saying that if Russow couldn’t beat him a few weeks back, he doesn’t deserve another free day as champion. We are talking about the same Jack Washington that had the confidence to say Russow was going get embarrassed on his first night as champ, and then managed to come through on the promise when everyone was laughing at him.

However, when it came time to fight for his shot, to claw his way up out of the ground, Jack was quiet as a mouse. Everyone has been fighting for a place at Into The Void; everyone but Jack. This is a guy that was talking about waiting by the phone for SCW to call. This was a guy that was supposedly excited to get the opportunity to step out of a family member’s shadow and pave his own way to excellence.

Kris shakes his head, clearly not buying the story.

Seems to me like he is more of a lazy, half-assing, knock off that isn’t going to be able to cut it when confronted in the ring by the real deal.

Kris holds his hands up in his defense, already sensing the offense that some of the viewers were going to take to his needlessly harsh words.

Somebody needed to tell him, right?

He looks to have worked though some of his annoyance, with a smile starting to work its way back across his lips.

You know, Jack, maybe you went back home after Blast From The Past because that is where you belong. Instead of storming into the offices in the back after your partner cost you your spot in the tournament, you packed your shit and you left. You didn’t ask to stick around. You didn’t demand an opportunity to prove your worth. Despite all of your talk, you sat around waiting for the phone to ring instead of stepping up and taking what you had earned. You didn’t cut your own path. You waited for an opportunity to be given to you.

...but what did you do with that opportunity?

You came in talking about wanting to hurt people, and see what it takes to break them down. You told Russow that you wanted to beat him as painfully as possible; that you wished his dad could be there in the front row to witness what you would do to him. You wanted to break a champion’s spirit at the moment where he was riding highest. Despite your best efforts to fuck it up, you managed to pull off the upset, and yes, it was an upset regardless of all of your talk. We all know a tune-up match when we see one and the powers that be were attempting to feed you to their new champion.

Winning that match doesn’t make you special. It makes you a fluke.

Think I’m lying?

Then where have you been? If they expected anything of you other than to get demolished by the new Roulette Championship would you not be getting your chance to take that title off of him at Into the Void? The second that Bill Barnhart walked away with a win over me, they handed him an opportunity that nobody would have given him beforehand. After your big win, they let you sit on the bench until they needed you for another tune up match for a real talent.

Sure it was harsh, but Kris had never been one to hold back on his opinions of others until recently, and he got called boring for his efforts. He had clearly made the decision to stop worrying so much about how he was going to be received.

Don’t walk into this match thinking that you are going to be a speed bump on my path to Into the Void. You’re nothing but a springboard for momentum, and after this you can go back to being irrelevant for a few more weeks.

He laughs, another one of his old phrases coming to mind.

Do yourself a favor before you walk in and accept one simple truth: You’re just there to take the L.

Kris starts to backpedal down the alley away from the camera, which fails to follow him. Instead, as the former champion disappears from sight, the camera fades out to black.

 The knock at the door was not what Kris was expecting to hear. He had quarantined himself following being at Blaze of Glory, but not at the hotel that everyone seemed to be stuck at. It didn’t make sense to him to be staying around so many insane personalities when he could be just as alone at home just hours away. His family and friends were all stuck in Seattle and everyone in San Diego was supposed to be staying at home. It was actually beneficial for him, because it meant that people could not talk him out of his plan to return to the ring, especially at a time like this. Or at least, he had thought as much until he was interrupted first thing in the morning by the increasingly urgent sounding knocks on the door.

Kristopher Ryans: I’m coming! Calm down!

He yelled out as he pulled a shirt over his head. He was still half the length of the hallway from the front door, but he knew whoever was on the other side could hear him. Kris assumed shouting would cut off the pounding on the door, but he was wrong. It only made it worse. That could only mean one thing, and as Kris unlocked and pulled open the door, he knew that it would be someone from his inner circle. He had already prepared to really lay into whoever it was on the other side, but as the door started to swing open his uninvited guest beat him to the punch.

Coby Quik: Well it’s about damn time!

Coby Quik, one of the first students to ever come through the Jet City Sports Lab stood in the doorway in front of Kris. His voice had been loud and hostile for the sole purpose of deflating Kris before he could get on a run. It was something Coby had picked up from Kris throughout training. It was easy to get under people’s skin, but it took calculated effort to then deescalate the situation at the drop of a dime. The wide smile that spread across Coby’s face did that immediately though. Kris could not stay angry in the moment, and instead stepping out of his protege’s way so that he could enter the apartment.

Kristopher Ryans: I was wondering who they were going to send to try and talk me out of it...

Kris knew that the rest of Jet City was not just going to let him sign with SCW without at least trying to lure him back home. Both of the women of his house were whole-heartedly against his return. That was actually what had landed him in San Diego in the first place. Both of the Sweete twins made their appeal to him as he had been leaving, telling him he had a business at home to run. Chelsea Payne, who Kris had half-expected to be the one at the door, had called him almost daily to remind him of her injury at Summer XXXtreme years before in an attempt to scare him back home. He should have guessed that she would give up and send her husband to do her dirty work for her. Coby was always the one that got along with Kris the best. It made sense.

Coby Quik: Ohhhh no…. not at all. I watched Blaze of Glory.

As Coby steps through the doorway and into the apartment he pulls the strap of his bag from over his head but struggles and has to use most of his strength to toss it Kris’ direction. He was not expecting it, and has a hard time with it due to its size alone. Kris is forced to take a step back due to the force of it, and manages to wrangle it with both arms, stopping its momentum. Coby reaches down to roll the two suitcases in behind him, and rolls them to the side of the door. Kris crosses the room to put the duffle bag down on a table, eyeing the rest of Coby’s luggage as he does.

Kristopher Ryans: If you are not here to talk me out of going back, why are you here? And what is all of this shit?

Coby does not hesitate or attempt to hide his true intentions, offering the information willingly.

Coby Quik: You’re going back. I’m not dumb enough to try and change your mind. I am interested enough to come with you though.

It seemed like every time that Kris thought he knew what was going on, the rug was being ripped out from under his feet. This had to be some kind of trick. Nobody wanted to let Kris leave, and had actively campaigned against it. Why would they have turned around and let Coby run off when he had a wife and baby to take care of.

Kristopher Ryans: You’re coming to SCW?

Coby nods, but almost immediately tries to walk back the confirmation.

Coby Quik: Well kinda…. Yes I am going with you to SCW, but that is just to see if I can get my foot in the door of SCU. You’re going back. I am tired of sitting at home. It seemed like a win-win. They like you there. You can pitch them hiring me… or just get Mikah to put my name on a contract and get it in front of the right people. That seemed to work.

Kris knew that letting Mikah handle getting his contract for him would come back to bite him in the ass. It was bad enough that he had resorted to asking her for help, let alone that she did it at Blaze of Glory where everyone watching could clearly see what was transpiring.

Kristopher Ryans: First, Mikah is Mark’s assistant. Not sure he has anything to do with SCU. Second, Chelsea and the rest of the family is okay with all of this?

The question draws a laugh out of Coby that makes Kris feel stupid for even asking. Coby shakes his head, as he tries to compose himself.

Coby Quik: Nah, not at all. You are basically Jet City Public Enemy Numero Uno. Everyone but your brother thinks you are an idiot.

It made sense that only Jason was supportive. Kris’ half brother was the one that had showed him the messages from people in SCW discussing his comeback. Jason had been the one that pushed Kris to get back into society. If anything, everyone should be mad at him instead of Kris, but that was not a new problem. Everyone did, in fact, hate Kris. Always. No exceptions.

Kristopher Ryans: ....well and you. If you thought I was an idiot, you wouldn’t be here.

Just as he felt like he was starting to get his bearings, Coby turns on him.

Coby Quik: No, you’re definitely an idiot. Always have been. Every time you come back to this life you get yourself maimed and end up on the shelf for months at a time. You should stay retired. You have kids. You’re kind of getting old too.

Kris was with him right up until the end. He was not going to just let the age comment slide though.

Kristopher Ryans: I’m not too old to beat you.

The condescending half-smile on Coby’s face showed Kris just how much the kid’s ego had grown over the last couple of years.

Coby Quik: Not on your fastest day, and that ain’t today.

Kris lets out an over-the-top gasp, and tries to take his offense to a comedic level to throw a veil over the fact that the dig actually got under his skin a little.

Kristopher Ryans: That’s harsh.

Coby shrugs his shoulders, unafraid to say the tough things when they need to be said.

Coby Quik: Nah, that’s what’s up.

Kris was starting to realize that this must be what it is like for others to try and have a conversation with him. After almost four years, Coby was just as good at poking at Kris as Kris was at doing it to others. Instead of continuing down that path, Kris tries to steer the conversation back to something productive.

Kristopher Ryans: So how did you manage to get away?

Coby smiles. It was mildly satisfying to have beaten Kris at his own game. He makes his way across the room, not immediately answering the question, and plops down on the couch. He looks around the apartment for a few moments.

Coby Quik: This place is not s--

Kris was done with the sidetracking though.

Kristopher Ryans: Coby!

It was enough to wipe the smile off of Coby’s face and get him to take the conversation more seriously.

Coby Quik: Alright, so after you left, Heather and Kali got everyone together to try and come up with a way to talk you out of it.

Kris had already heard about this through the daily rants that Chelsea subjected him to. However, it had been more than six weeks since Kris made his way to San Diego. It didn’t explain why Coby was sitting on his couch today, and Kris did not have the patience for the slow walk to the point.

Kristopher Ryans: Yeah. I’ve talked to your wife. Nobody cared enough to want to come stop me. Everyone decided to just be angry. They all have kids now. I am an adult and can make my own decisions. Even if I am a selfish asshole for doing so. They should have expected it by now.

He tried his best to try and speed through Coby’s story because he had things to do, and every minute he was pointlessly stuck here was time wasted.

Coby Quik: ...but Chelsea’s daily guilt trip was not working, so we watched Blaze of Glory to see if you were going to pop up. She saw Mikah with that contract and knew it was yours, so she came up with a new plan. She told me to come back here and to change your mind, even if it took a little while to do.

It was all starting to make a little more sense now. Regaining some of his confidence, Kris tries his hand at filling in some of the blanks.

Kristopher Ryans: ...and you decided to use that as an excuse to sign your own contract and hang around?

Coby nodded, leaning back against the couch and making himself comfortable.

Coby Quik: Like I said, I am not dumb enough to think that I can change your mind. I also don’t intend to spend all my time doing nothing. I was already thinking about making a return when the time made sense. Looks like I have some extra time on my hands now.

It seemed awfully hypocritical for Coby to have shamed Kris for his past injuries, and also be seriously thinking about trying to make a return of his own.

Kristopher Ryans: Correct me if I am wrong, didn’t you get the whole side of your face broken last time you were in the ring?

Coby winces. Coby reaches up to his cheek and runs his fingers along the scars that were still slightly visible in spite of his doctor’s best efforts to eliminate them. He corrects his friend though.

Coby Quik: That wasn’t the last time, but yeah. I’ve seen my share of injuries. That’s why, personally, I know you will be fine no matter what. I also know that it has to be pretty important to you even though you won’t admit it. You are giving up home life for this. Not everyone is going to understand that is a real sacrifice for you.

It was true. Of course, most people would hate being away from their family for any extended period of time. For Kris though, time on his own usually meant a slip back into old habits, and old habits usually meant a spot back in rehab and a whole lot of damage done to himself and others.

Kristopher Ryans: Well now that you’re here there is no need for them to worry anymore.

Coby appears to agree with him, but knows that their window of opportunity is not going to last forever.

Coby Quik: I mean, not until Jason and the Sweete’s figure out that all of the older Jet City Sports Lab equipment from storage is gone….

It was Kris’ turn to have a wide smile spread across his face. He had been certain that there was no way that anyone would even go to check during the lockdown. Kris was not going to just tip his hand though if Coby had not put it all together yet.

Kristopher Ryans: I have no idea what you’re talking about….

Coby took a page out of Kris’ book with a over-dramatic fake gasp, and look of offense on his face.

Coby Quik: I can’t believe you would lie to my face like that!

Little did Kris know, Coby had already been through the bottom floor of the building. Before he had ever brought his bags up the stairs, or started to beat on the door, he had made his way into what used to be the laundromat downstairs. Jason had bought it years ago, but this was the first time that Coby had not seen it open and filled with people. The windows had been covered, and all of the signwork was gone. It was enough to interest Coby enough to pop open the storage window and find Kris’ secret.

Coby Quik: Are you going to try and open it back up, or is it just for you…? Well… us now.

Beneath their feet, Coby had found the laundromat had been converted in the time that Kris had spent in exile. The space was smaller than the old building in Seattle, but Kris had arranged everything to make proper use of the space. It had not taken Coby long to realize it either. Kris had arranged everything exactly the same as it had been. The Jet City Sports Lab was ready and waiting for them. Kris has to admit defeat. Coby had come prepared.

Kristopher Ryans: There’s no getting rid of you, is there?

Coby shakes his head.

Coby Quik: Not even at all. You can blame it on the stubbornness I learned from you.

It was not the solitude that he thought he would have, but Kris could not really complain about having someone around to make sure that he was physically ready to get back into the ring and was capable of pushing him harder to do so. It was like Coby said, a win-win, but they were wasting time.

Kristopher Ryans: Let’s go then, kid. See that speed you were bragging about?

Coby sits back up, surprised that Kris was that willing to let him stay. He had expected more resistance, or at least a little bit of time to get himself together before they got started.

Coby Quik: What? Now?

Kris was already on his way out the door though, not waiting for Coby to attempt to argue with him.

Kristopher Ryans: I have a match to get ready for, rookie!

It had been a long time since Coby had heard that particular jab. It was a good feeling though. Like things were getting back to normal. He gets up and races across the room, following Kris down to the lab.



============================
People are wondering why I am back...

The feed opens on Kris in his signature red hoodie, walking along the same back alleyway behind his apartments that he had in his early SCW days.

I mean after all, I have already done everything in this company. I have held the SCW World Heavyweight Championship, and defended it against Crimson in one of the most violent main events that this company ever saw. I still carry the scars from it...

He points to his still not normal looking ear. Crimson had taken a piece of it in their battles, and he had never gotten it fixed as a way of remembering how off the rails things could get.

I broke records with the Roulette Championship that people thought were never going to be touched. I came back from being a punchline. I atoned for the mistakes of my early career. I rose from the ashes and became a person that was synonymous with the face of this company.

His meteoric rise the last time around was a clear source of pride for the former champion, more so than his endeavors into other companies.

Of course, the early parts were not without successes of their own. The Internet Championship took too long to win, and I didn’t hold onto it nearly as long as I wanted, but that kind of shit happens. You can’t win them all. Even if you help put together a team like The Nobodies, you just put a target on your back that leads everyone down a path to ruin you.

Kris leaves out the fact that he was the very reason for his own undoing early in his career. It did not fit his narrative to blame himself, and was besides the point. Everyone knew about his struggles. That was not what this was about.

...but you can’t really ever get things done around here without some people in your corner. I was the one that pushed for the mixed tag division to be a thing after Mikah and I were so dominant in our respective divisions. The Black Sheep were running the show here last time that I was around, and we were in contention for every single championship the company had at one point.

He kicks at a bottle on the ground in front of him and sends it flying down the alley and out of the view of the camera. He appears to be enjoying himself listing off his accomplishments. After all, he was his favorite subject to discuss.

...and all of that without even talking about how Jet City showed up on the scene and saved tag team wrestling in this company at a time when nobody even wanted to stand up and challenge for the titles.

I have fought wars throughout every arena that this company has been to. I have headlined international tours for Sin City. I have held every single championship, and some more than once. I set records. My birthday bashes and the madness that Jet City caused in the back created the kind of buzz that the owners only ever dreamed of. Kris was SCW, and SCW was Kris.

So why come back? Why now? It has been almost two years, and there is nothing that I could do now that I haven’t already done. This should be my time to ride off into the sunset and celebrate a job well done. I should be enjoying retirement while the people in this company throw around my name as one of the best to ever walk down the ramp. I should be mentioned alongside people like J2H, Sean Jackson, and Drake Green.

That is not the way that SCW remembers me though. Not at all. Not even close.

I am a Grand Slam Champion in this company, and even my return bills me as a Triple Crown. People make lists and debate the best of the best and my name is not even an honorable mention. How many other Grand Slam Champions in this company have someone found themselves on the outside of the Hall of Fame? How many of them show up as a surprise and get blown off by people that haven’t even started to rise to my level?

Alicia Lukas hadn’t even gotten started in this company when I left. Yet somehow, her career here, and her return to the fold has garnered so much more attention than me, someone who has done it all and stood in the ring with most of the greats that this company ever had the opportunity to sign. She gets the red carpet rolled out for her, a main event, and a date with a Hall of Famer for her return. What do I get? Ignored by a guy that I helped bring to Sin City, and a match with a guy that got smashed by Senor Vinnie at Blaze of Glory.

Last time I came back, I came back to rectify my own mistakes. I came back to do right by the people who gave me a platform and an opportunity that I pissed away. I came back to show people that I wasn’t just a flash-in-the-pan fuck up that the company would have been better without. Not only did I accomplish that goal, but I went above and beyond what everyone thought that I could accomplish. I earned my place in history, without a doubt.

Now I am supposed to sit at home and watch people forget about that history? I am supposed to be okay with being forgotten, or at the very least misremembered. I was supposed to stay retired and watch as everyone in this company moved on and celebrated people that would have gotten steamrolled by my ascent to the top of the company. I don’t think so. Fuck that. I fought to take what was mine once already, and I have no problem coming back to give everyone a refresher course.

Whether it is Griffin Hawkins, who apparently thinks that it is cool to break my records and then walk past me like I am invisible, or Bill Barnhart and his stupid dog, or whoever they put across a ring from me from here on out, I have one goal.

I am going to remind this company and everyone in it why I was able to bend it to my will for so long. If that means chasing after the Roulette Championship and rebreaking the records that should still be mine, or maybe even reminding Ben Jordan that I was the one that threw him a bone back when I was the champion and everyone was saying that he deserved better, then I am going to do it. Maybe I will find myself a partner and take over the mixed tag division like Mikah and I were well on our way to doing before Crimson came along and pulled my attention elsewhere. Maybe I go and have a more convincing run with the Internet Championship….

...or maybe I say screw all of the flashy championships and just wreck any and all people that want to come after my place in history.

To be honest, the people that come back talking about wanting to carry around the championships are too shortsighted. I can see the allure, but I have also lived through the last two years and seen that they don’t matter. People forget too quickly. They can’t even be bothered to remember who takes home the awards at the end of the year, let alone an individual championship.

My goal is to take back my spot near the top of this company’s history. My goal is the one thing that the powers that be have managed to keep me away from. If people want to know why I am back, or what I am doing here, it’s basically that simple. I am going to show up, do what I do, and keep stacking the resume until they finally let me into the Hall of Fame like I deserve.

I guess Bill is the first roadblock to that becoming a reality. I suppose that I should maybe even be a little intimidated by the guy. After all, I have not been in a ring for almost two years, and this dude has been running around here for a while. At the very least, maybe I am out-conditioned. Maybe I am a little rustier than I am willing to admit. Maybe I just don’t have it like I used to. I mean, the last few years of taking beatings do take a toll. Every single member of the Jet City Sports Lab has tried to talk me out of coming back just based on how many serious injuries I have taken in this line of work. Maybe they are right? Who knows what will happen the first time I try to take to the air? Do I even have the stamina to put on a match for the ages anymore?

I mean I probably shouldn’t worry about being too old to do this when I will be standing across from a guy that is six years older than me. I might not have to worry about stamina when I am running circles around a guy carrying an extra fifty pounds around the ring. I guess there could be some concerns about the fact that this guy is going to tower over me, even if that grants me the ability to duck and weave around him more easily. I even put a target on my own back by being the person most hyped about my return. I guess he could end up squashing my opportunity to get what is mine. After all, I am but a humble Grand Slam Champion. I am no match for someone who has accomplished things like being a number one contender for the Roulette Championship like six months ago.

If we want to talk about some fears on a serious note though, nobody appreciates a large, hairy southerner sweating on them. Nobody enjoys robust mouth-breathers panting like a dog, and struggling to keep up an entertaining pace during a match. I can’t just underestimate someone that says that he is going to destroy people, only to get pinned in the middle of the ring after a DDT performed by a guy that was nearly unconscious. I need to take this just as seriously as I would if my opponent was actually impressive in any way, shape, or form. I need to carry the same edge into this match that I had when Crimson literally tried to stab me in the middle of the ring. I can’t let all these totally legitimate fears hold me back. I am going to have to do my best to summon the courage to push ahead.

...but sarcasm, jokes, and a correcting of the historical record aside, I am excited for this. I am ready to get back into the ring. I am anxious to get things moving. I know that the fans are not going to be there to see it in person, but maybe that is for the best. At least they won’t be within sweating distance of the monster of girth I have to somehow manage to take down, so call it a silver lining.

He gets to the end of the alleyway and stops as the camera rotates around him, and stops when he is in the center of the frame.

Don’t worry though, I will still provide some highlights. I will still be giving all of you something to talk about for weeks, months, and years to come. There will be a point where the world opens back up, and I will still be out there competing in that six sided ring for experience it in person again. I am not going anywhere until I get what I want, and I have a feeling that nobody is going to hand it over on a silver platter. I am going to have to take it. Again.

A smirk crosses his lips, and the words he thought he would never say again immediately come to mind.

It’s a pure miracle that a nobody like me gets a chance to say this again… but I’m back…. so...

It was right then that he realized he was really going to love being back.

.... someone go ahead and call an ambulance. Bill Barnhart is about to have an ACCIDENT!