The Real World
Kris’ Apartment - San Diego
21 November 2020
OFF-Camera
The big one was right around the corner. Sure, he had to defend the Mixed Tag Team Championships at High Stakes in less than 24 hours, but he was already thinking past that. Time was running out on the control that he had of his own destiny. It was strange, he never actually thought that he would make it to the end of the year without being forced to put his opportunity on the line, or cash it in early to either win or reclaim the mixed tag team championships. Making it to the end of the year with his opportunity intact hadn’t seriously crossed his mind. Even worse, actually using his opportunity to ascend back to his rightful place atop of the SCW roster was overwhelming to think about. Back when Kris returned to Sin City, chasing after the World Heavyweight Championship was the last thing on his mind. It was Crystal that handed him the opportunity that he never asked for. All he did was go out to the ring and win it. That was hardly a challenge given that his competition was O’Malley, Barnhart and his former friend, Griffin Hawkins. Even then, he was able to put it in the back of his mind for the last few months. However, in the last few weeks, the idea of having one big match to close out the year was starting to feel real. The problem was, he wasn’t necessarily ready for it.
He wasn’t as sure of himself now as he was back in 2018. Kris spent the majority of the year hiding in the mixed tag division and doing what was easiest. Sure his record looked nice on paper, but he wasn’t challenging himself the way that he used to. He wasn’t even sure if he really even wanted to keep going. On top of that, stepping up to challenge for the top prize felt like more than he could handle. In preparation, he had quietly gone about cleaning himself up over the last three weeks. The plan was two months of sobriety by the time Christmas came around. Not just for Sin City and his big opportunity, but for himself. It didn’t seem like much of a goal, but it was a big step for Kris, especially on his own. Still, he didn’t think that it would be enough. He had started pushing the Jet City South students a little harder in order to sharpen his own skills. He still felt like he was playing catch-up though. He had been coasting for months, and trying to get back into the swing of things was more difficult with age and injuries. At least he could say that it was starting to pay off. He was getting there physically, but the stress of it all was running him down. Mentally, maybe pressure was just too much. He had a feeling that it was all of this was going to be too little, too late.
Those were the thoughts haunting him as he sat silently in the center of his room, in front of a blank canvas that he had been struggling to put color to for hours. The sudden rapid tapping of what sounded like a dozen people startled him and nearly knocked him off his chair. He didn’t have energy to spare in order to be mad at his intruders, but when he reached for the handle and pulled the door away from its attackers he didn’t know what to expect on the other side.
Kristopher Ryans: Why is everyone always so anno---
When his eyes found the three women in the hallway his mouth stopped moving. His breath became stuck in his lungs and his eyes fell down to the floor. On the bright side, he was glad that he hadn’t come to the door shouting in anger. That outburst only would’ve made things worse for him.
Liz Smalls: Oh lookies, he’s like speechless and stuffs. That’s new. I like it.
Liz was the last person that he thought would be at his door. She tended to stay as far away from wrestling shows as she could, especially with companies she used to be a part of. Her time with SCW was long over. She left the wrestling lifestyle behind years ago to focus on being a mother and a businesswoman. There were significantly less concussions in that line of work, even if it was Kris’ son she was raising. They were co-parents, but not so much friends. Let’s just say they got along better with distance between them. She wasn’t the problem though. Likely she was just along for the ride with the two other women.
Kali Fox-Cooper: He’s looking like shit too...
Kali, his former manager in SCW who became much more than that over the course of their time together. Without her, he probably would have never gotten to the World Heavyweight Championship reign that turned him into The Miracle.
Heather Cooper: Yeah… well… it’s not like he has any supervision these days. You know he can’t take care of himself.
His now ex-wife was the reason that his eyes were focused on the floor. He hadn’t actually laid eyes on her since he left, but that was his fault. Heather was a recovering addict, just as he was but she managed to keep herself together because of the children they shared. That was supposed to be enough. It never was though. Kris always caved in, and all three of the women in front of him wouldn’t tolerate it anymore. That is how he ended up in San Diego in the first place.
Kris: ....I… uh…. can….
He was struggling to put together any series of words that wasn’t just going to dig the hole he was in deeper for himself. Luckily, Liz didn’t have the patience to wait for him to invite them in, so she cut him off by pushing past him and into the room.
Liz: Come on! If he’s really sad he’s deffs been painting.
Kali dips past him as well, and the two ladies go to work judging him for his living conditions. Heather pauses at the door, glaring at Kris even though he refuses to look up at her. He takes a step back and moves aside to allow her to pass into the room.
Liz: It’s so dark in here! How do you live like this?
She yanks open the black-out curtains covering several panels of large bay windows, brightening up the space immediately. Kris’ eyes have trouble focusing in the light, but help the three of them to quickly survey their surroundings.
Kristopher: It feels too big when it is all lit up...
Kali laughs at the excuse.
Kali: Coming from the guy who left Seattle so that he could compete in front of crowds again that is kind of funny...
Heather moves across the room and smacks Kali’s upper arm. The tension in the room was already making her nervous, and she could see from Kris' overall demeanor that he wasn’t exactly enjoying any of this either. There was no need to make this any worse than it was already.
Heather: You’ve been painting a lot...
It was just an observation, but it came off as more of an accusation. He knew what she meant. The more he painted, the more he was spending time alone, and if he was sealing himself off from the world, there was only one other thing he would be doing. To Heather, seeing the walls lined with canvases told her that he was not only on drugs, but had been for weeks, if not months. Even worse, hardly anything she could see was finished. Like he had no direction or inspiration. They all felt empty.
Kristopher: I have classes to teach at the gym. Sin City stuff to prepare for. I just do it to keep busy the rest of the time.
He was still talking to the floor, trying to lengthen the amount of time that they were spending on the pleasantries knowing that they didn’t really give a damn about his artwork.
Kali: I would have thought you filled most of that time nodding off in a corner somewhere...
Heather turned to Kali to defend Kris, but he was more than happy to stick up for himself on this one. There was no way that he was going to let himself come between them now that they had moved on in their relationship without him. It was the absolute least he could do.
Kristopher: I was. You’re right. I mean it’s not like I could hide it from any of you. I’m doing better now.
Heather relaxes slightly, but it wasn’t a good enough answer for either of the other two.
Liz: So does that just mean like… you’re not on anything right this second?
The really shocking thing was that Liz was able to cut into the conversation without being focused on them at all. Instead, she was working her way around the different paintings in the room. Five long years had been more than enough time to learn how to handle Kris better than most people could. Sidestepping his bullshit was almost second nature to her at this point.
Kristopher: Totally clean for over three weeks. I’m trying to pull myself back together. I have a big one coming up.
Kali: Defending your titles with Mikah?
That was not a subject that Kris was going to tackle with all of them right now, so he made sure to clarify his answer.
Kristopher: No, that will be a walk in the park. I’m talking about the match for the championship on the last show of the year. Not sure who it will be against yet.
Kali and Heather exchange a look with one another, as Liz finally finishes her lap around the room. The three women come together in front of him and have a short, nearly silent conversation that Kris doesn’t catch. He is finally able to meet Heather’s eyes, but only for her to immediately turn away. The three women appear to come to an agreement between themselves before Kali sighs heavily in his direction.
Kali: We want you to come back to Seattle with us after that match. We were really hoping that you would leave and come with us tomorrow, but if you have something else scheduled, we understand. But, you’ve been gone most of the year. The kids miss you. Quarantines have been lifting. It’s time to come back to the real world. We agreed that you could as long as you were leaving the drugs behind.
It wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He had assumed that this trip was going to be something negative. He had been bracing for the worst type of news, but what he was hearing was relief.
Kristopher: I mean, it’s still a few weeks away but there is a big break coming up anyways so---
Kali’s jaw clenches up and she looks over at Heather as if silently saying she told her it was going to go this way. The look of disappointment on Heather’s face was equally as telling. That was not the answer that any of them had wanted to hear.
Liz: Okies…. I’ll say it. Why are you so set on dying in the ring like my daddy did, huh? You come down here and get hurt all the time. Your whole family wants you to come home. You just want to sit down here, paint nothing at all, do your drugs, and sulk? No thank you.
Her sudden attack on him struck a nerve, and he couldn’t help but snap back at her.
Kristopher: I said I stopped. And you three were the ones that asked me to leave!
Heather finally steps up, raising her voice to stop Kris’ argument in its tracks.
Heather: We asked you to get help! We asked you to figure your shit out! We asked you to stop shutting us out, and let us help you work on whatever it is that has you fucked up after all these years! And for all we did, you ran away!
Kris shrugs, but his tone totally changes. Instead of puffing out his chest and getting louder, he shrinks back, wishing he wouldn’t have said anything at all.
Kali: You wanted to come down here to handle yourself, and make the Hall of Fame. Instead you spiraled out of control, and missed your opportunity. It’s time to cut your losses. You have a family to think about. Knock this off before you get yourself hurt again. I’m sorry you didn’t get what you wanted out of it.
He points at the rings on both Kali and Heather’s hands with another unapologetic shrug.
Kristopher: Looks like everyone is pretty fucking happy without me...
Heather shakes his head and opens her mouth to defend both herself and Kali, but Liz cuts her off.
Liz: First off Kristopher, LANGUAGE! We don’t need to talk like that to speak to each other! Shame on you! A secondly, these two can do whatever they want. They don’t have to sit around waiting on you to finally grow up. You should be happy for them! Just because you are dead set on being miserable doesn’t mean everyone else has to be!
Heather steps past Liz to be face-to-face with her ex-husband. He was still one of her best friends and she was not going to let him continue to throw himself away without at least giving it one last shot.
Heather: You are lucky that we are going to let you be a part of our kids lives. We definitely don’t have to be nice, but we knew what we were signing up for when we got involved with you. You are chaos that we chose, but it’s time to grow up. Come home.
Her words cuts him in half, but before Kris can answer, Liz interrupts the two of them with a challenge.
Liz: How’s about this? You win… like you can somehow... like... become the SCW Champion... You vacate your other title, and stay until you lose the big one. You might even make that Hall of Fame next time around. Maybe… like they’re not too busy inducting all of The Mean Girls as a group. Sorry not sorry. BUT…..If you lose, you have to come home at the end of the year and never look back. Okies?
Kris doesn’t immediately answer. Instead, his mouth opens and closes and few times wordlessly as he tries to find a way out of it without seeming cowardly. Kali laughs, drawing everyone’s attention to her.
Kali: He won’t take that bet. Look at him. He’s not Kristopher Ryans “The Miracle” anymore…. He’s not even a Nobody anymore. He’s a scared, sorry-ass shell of himself, and he knows it….he’s even too afraid to come home. This was a waste of time. There’s not enough left of him worth bringing back with us.
Again, he tries to put together the words to defend himself, but nothing comes out before more piles on him.
Heather: You’re right. Maybe this was a bad idea.
Clearly upset, Heather turns and leaves the room without giving Kris a chance to talk his way out of it. Kali shoots him another disappointing look before following Heather out to try and calm her down. Liz watches them go, but then focuses her attention back on Kris.
Liz: So many paintings, and not one of them mean a thing. Everything you used to do was always so inspired. Now you’re just going through the motions. Everyone can see it. That’s why they keep overlooking you, and that’s why you look lost. It was cute for a while, but now it’s kinda just like….sad.
Kris smiles, because despite the fact that everything she said was hurtful, she was still here. Despite everything that they had been through she was the only one to never write him off. It was the thing he found most intolerable about her.
Kristopher: Why does it sound like you’re the only one of the three of you not giving up on me?
She smiles, and reaches down into her purse. When her hand comes back out, she has an entire Nails by Liz kit in it. She tosses it to him excitedly and sits down, waving her fingernails at him.
Liz: ....I did come all this way….
Kris reluctantly pulls up a chair and sits down across from her. He hadn’t seen a kit like this one since the two of them were last in a relationship with one another. She was always a fan of his artistic ability, and used it for her own gain.
Kristopher: It’s been a long time since we’ve done this.
Liz shrugs with a smile.
Liz: You don’t talk a lot while you’re concentrating, and I have lots to say. Like, you can just listen because you’re in desperate need of being set straight…. Well, maybe that’s a bad choice of words.
Kris’ attention moves from her hands back up to her eyes, but it was the reaction that Liz expected from him.
Kristopher: Wh---
She shakes her head and puts her hands back in his, trying to drive his attention back to her nails.
Liz: More of that later, more nails now. And nothing sucky like those paintings! I have to be seen with these!
Kris starts to open up the kit, happy to have the distraction, even though it was going to come with a lecture. Plus, it was going to give him an excuse to avoid the crossfire that would happen if he chased after Heather and Kali. That was a problem to deal with at another time, and he wasn’t sure he was ever going to be able to fix those hurt feelings.
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Long Day
Jet City South - San Diego
1 December 2020
OFF-Camera
Fenris: So, this is it.
The voice echoed off of the walls inside of Jet City South, the training facility that Kris opened with Coby Quik. Fenris was out of the country before Kris got the gym put together, so this was the first time that he was seeing it.
Kris: I know. It’s not the GO Gym. Still… I think I put together something decent this time around.
Kris searched Fenris’ face to see if he was going to attempt to hide how unimpressed he was with the gym. Fenris stood stubbornly silent on the matter, which was almost worse.
Kris: You know, there was a time where you had less of a grasp on the English language and I could let the silence go. Now that I know that you’re just being harsh, it’s a lot less pleasant.
Fenris gave him nothing but the blank stare of his icy blue eyes in response. He wasn’t sure why Kris had called him here. He had made it seem important, only to be stalling and for what, Fenris wasn’t sure. The only thing that he knew was that if he waited him out, Kris would stop beating around the bush.
Kris: So I realize that the two of us treat whatever this is as a joke most of the time, but you are pretty much the most straightforward person I know….
The words just kind of fall out of his mouth without Kris putting a whole lot of thought into them. He realized that in situations like this, he rarely helped himself by over-thinking. He just needed to let the words fall out as they came to mind. If Kris broke things down as they came to him, Fenris would tell him how to put the pieces together. There was no game between them. There was no manipulating one another. It was the kind of safety net that Kris needed at the moment.
Fenris: So there’s an actual reason that you asked me to come see your gym? A hidden agenda? Why am I not surprised?
Most of the time, Kris demonstrated the exact opposite of Fenris’ straightforward personality. Yet, they always seemed to click around one another. As friends. As more than. Everyone had heard the stories. Many had seen the video evidence that neither of them had been happy about the world getting its hands on. However, during that scandal, Kris had been able to take the heat for both of them. He was able to be unapologetically open and honest about who he was. He took the lead on a subject that made Fenris want to curl up and hide, at least at the time. It was the one part of Kris that made stomaching the rest of him not so bad.
Kris: So all of the lady exes came to visit me before High Stakes. They want me to come home in a couple weeks after I cash in my opportunity against Jack.
It was not a turn that Fenris saw coming. In all of their time hanging out together, the subject of Kris’ family only came up rarely. Kris was more of an ‘in the moment’ type, which was probably the reason that most of his friendships and relationships fell apart. His impulsivity gets more and more toxic over time, and people give up on him.
Fenris: They think you’ll get beat badly enough to walk away?
It was meant as a joke, but the way that Kris took it told Fenris that he had successfully struck a nerve. Kris averted his eyes and started to chew on the inside of his mouth. He was agitated, and actually opening up was not something that he did well. Instead of taking the joke personally, he tried to push past it.
Kris: From the sounds of it…. yeah.
It was time for some of the tough truth that Fenris assumed that Kris had called him to provide. Kris just hadn’t accounted for the disappointment on his friend’s face.
Fenris: Oh, for good?
Kris shrinks a little. He had already started to turn away, but now his eyes fell to the floor. The ladies had every reason to try and create doubt in his mind. Fenris didn’t.
Kris: They said that when I lose I should come back home with them and worry about taking care of my kids. Put all of this behind me the same way that Liz did a few years back. They think a lot of my problems have to do with the fact that I need this business to make myself feel special, but it brings out the worst in me.
Even though Kris couldn’t see him, Fenris was mostly nodding in agreement with his former adversary. That was, until he got to the last part. There was a reason that Kris wasn’t himself, but it had nothing to do with Sin City itself.
Fenris: Blaming a company that signs your paychecks is dumb. The reason that you don’t feel like yourself is because you aren’t acting like yourself. You stopped being your own person months ago. If this is all you have to offer, maybe you should go home.
Kris had tried really hard not to take the attacks personally from the girls, but this was getting to be too much. He was having trouble not getting defensive. Part of him knew that what Fenris was saying was true, but it didn’t make it harder to hear.
Kris: Yeah, they said that too. They said I’m not The Miracle anymore. How could I expect to walk into Climax Control and act like I know it’s not true. Sure, I’ve only lost one match this year, but it’s not like I’ve had the stiffest competition.
Again, Fenris agreed with most of what he was saying, but felt like Kris wasn’t putting together the obvious answer.
Fenris: When you came back you looked happy... You looked like you wanted to be out in the ring competing.... You were whole. You had a hell of a match with Griffin…. You won the opportunity to get back the championship you couldn’t win from me... but then you froze…. and Mikah came along….
Kris couldn’t help but notice the change in tone for the last of Fenris’ words. Any attempt he was making to hold back his defensiveness went out the window the moment his partner got dragged into the conversation.
Kris: Mikah doesn’t have shit to do with shit.
Fenris holds up both of this hands in front of his chest innocently, but it is more sarcasm than anything else.
Fenris: I forgot, your tag team partner isn’t subject to criticism, even though she only agreed to come back once you had a guaranteed championship match.
Kris was starting to miss the days when this kind of communication between the two of them was impossible.
Kris: And I didn’t let her use me to get it! But I guess that doesn’t matter. I’m still somehow just doing what she wants in everyone’s eyes. I should have known this was a bad idea...
Not one to back down in the face of someone being aggressive, Fenris fired right back at him.
Fenris: You shouldn’t have asked for advice that you weren’t ready to hear. You’re only getting upset because you know I’m right. You changed when she came back. You have bent yourself to her will at every turn. You got your opportunity and it freaked you out, so you have been hiding under her thumb ever since. It’s not like I haven’t been watching, and you’re only mad because you know it’s true.
Kris shrugs his shoulders, finally giving up his defense.
Kris: What if it’s just easier doing what she wants instead of dealing with the consequences of being myself? She gives me cover. Everyone blames her for every little thing that we do, and it’s easier for me to let it be that way.
It was still baffling to Fenris that Kris couldn’t see how big of a problem that really was.
Fenris: And you wonder why everyone thinks that you are in over your head right now. You’ve been hiding for the last six months and now you’re out of time. It’s finally time to step up and all of your exes show up and give you the option to run away from everything all over again. You’re saying that your choices are be Mikah’s bitch, or run away. I think you’re better than either of those two choices, so make a better one.
Fenris gives him a chance to tell him that he is wrong, but Kris makes no attempt to defend himself.
Fenris: You can’t keep going the way things are going, but I don’t think that you should run away either. The girls might be half right, but they’re wrong about running away. Maybe stop trying so hard to be Mikah’s partner, and try being Kristopher Ryans for a while. Then face your fears instead of running away. You’re never going to know if you can make it to the top again unless you give it a shot. What do you have to lose?
Being Kristopher Ryans was exactly what felt so fucking terrifying to him. Taking that shot and letting everyone down was the whole reason that being part of a team had been more appealing. It had been months since he had to deal with anything close to real anxiety about losing. He had been able to sit back on auto-pilot while looking more and more impressive on paper. Though the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had been moving in a different direction before The Black Sheep reemerged. That could be the explanation for feeling so lost, although Liz certainly had her own theory on that. Kris wasn’t sure now was the time to cross that bridge though.
Kris: I’m pretty sure nobody really gives a shit about Kris Ryans anymore.
Fenris shrugged.
Fenris: I’m a fan. There are others. I think we’re all just hoping to see the real Kris come back. The one that I really wanted to face for a championship after winning that Blast from the Past tournament.
The words brought a smile to Kris’ face, but he wasn’t even sure that he could explain why. The idea that the way he was feeling wasn’t his true self was sort of a relief. Maybe all he needed to do in order to feel better was correct the course he was on. Could it be that easy to shrug all of the negativity off of him.
Kris: I’m not even sure what that would look like.
Fenris shrugged, motioning towards the ring in front of the two of them. Jet City South was still set to be empty for a couple of hours, but the six sided ring in the center of the room was always lit up by the overhead lights.
Fenris: Well, we have a couple weeks…. let’s see if we can figure it out.
Fenris made a motion to pull his hooded sweatshirt over his head, not waiting for Kris to respond one way or the other. He knew what the answer was going to be, because he wasn’t going to be accepting anything other than yes. Luckily, Kris had no intention of turning him down.
Kris: You’re on!
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>As the scene opens, we see the challenger to Jack Washington’s championship sitting in a plastic chair on a San Diego beach. He appears to be the only one out, with the beaches in the area still closed. Luckily for Kris, the house that Jet City built backed up directly to the water. The local government couldn’t kick him off of his own property. The Miracle had a red hoodie zipped up to his chin since the breeze coming in off the water was chilly. He wasn’t complaining though. This was his happy place. He had spent decades of his life sitting in this sand. It was comforting.
You know, Sin City didn’t have to let me come back.
His checkered past with the company was a never-ending cycle of coming and going for one reason or another. Sometimes it was the drugs. Other times it was injuries. There was always something taking his focus away. Kris was done living that life though.
Every time that I left I would think to myself that there is no way that they would let me back in. I felt like I had burned the bridge several too many times. Yet, there was always someone in the office that had my back. There was always someone willing to give me another chance to make good on all my promises. The Kris Ryans redemption story was apparently an easy pitch, because it must have worked five or six times by now.
He laughs, although he shouldn’t take any kind of enjoyment out of the problems that he has caused over the years.
I like to think that over time I have given Sin City a good return on their investment. For a time, I was the face of this company. I got to hold the SCW World Heavyweight Championship for a long time. To be honest, I kind of lucked into getting that shot as well. I went to Mark and Christian and appealed to them to let me give this company a better ending than the one that they were getting. I wanted to give something back to the fans, the competitors in the locker room, and the people behind the scenes that had given me every opportunity to succeed up to that point, only for me to piss it away. I couldn’t stomach to see Sin City close forever with Calvin Harris or Tommy Crimson being the last person to hold our top prize.
He smiles, but to this point refuses to look into the lens of the camera.
I think the reason that I have been thinking about that so much is because it was the one time that I managed to live up to all of the expectations that people had of me. I didn’t come back just to collect a check to get what I really wanted. I didn’t come back for personal success. I came back because I wanted to do something for this company, and its fans. I wanted to give them a feel-good moment before we went off the air forever, because the people deserved that for all of the time and energy that they had invested in us over the years. I wanted to do that because I used to be a little kid watching shows like the ones that we put on in Sin City and dreaming that I could be a part of it. I wanted to give that version of myself an ending that he deserved…. and that was when everything just kind of clicked for me.
His eyes aren’t focused on the waves anymore, and instead flick back and forth as Kris tries to remember the feeling he had raising both the Roulette and SCW Championships when Full Circle went off the air. His final moment was supposed to live forever. Years later, it just feels like the best dream he ever had. The company reopened. Now it’s just another moment lost in the vast history of Sin City.
Being the top champion of this company wasn’t something that I took lightly. People talk about the championship like it is something to add to your resume and rub in everyone else’s faces. It is a lot more than that though. Holding that championship might make you feel like you’re somebody, but I have always believed that the champion says more about the company than the championship itself says about the champion. When you hold that belt, you are the measuring stick by which all other companies judge us. You are the chosen leader of the roster. The things you say, and the things that you do, matter. It’s a responsibility as much as it is an accolade and I don’t think very many people in this business actually understand that. I know that our current champion doesn’t. I know that the last few seemed to have missed that memo as well.
He finally looks into the lens of the camera, not afraid to call out the lackluster transitional champions that have attempted to take over in the last six months or so.
There was a reason that I held onto my opportunity to challenge for the top belt for as long as I did. I didn’t think that I was ready to take on the responsibility. When I came back this last time, it wasn’t to do the right thing. It wasn’t to give everyone the champion or competitor that they deserved. It was selfish. I came back for myself, and have spent the last six months doing what I felt was best for me, not this company. I didn’t want the pressure or the spotlight, because I didn’t know if I was still capable of carrying an entire company on my back without making it all about me. I didn’t know if I could do what only Ben Jordan and Fenris were able to do during my two year absence. I wasn’t sure if I still had it in me to be The Miracle.
It was honesty from a man that had spent the better part of the last year using a whole lot of words to say nothing at all. It was starting to feel like maybe Kris was starting to shed the protective shell that he had built around himself.
This company deserves better. The people that watch it deserve better. I have been sitting back and watching this company fall into the mediocrity that I said that I was going to stop. I watched Griffin Hawkins, Alex Jones and now Jack Washington stake a claim to something that they are not capable of actually living up to. Maybe I am just now waking up to the fact that I have a responsibility to set things right in this company. Just like at Full Circle years ago, I have an obligation to step up and stop the horror show known as 2020 as it comes to a close.
The signature Kris smirk that has frustrated many opponents over his career appears across his face, and Kris stands up out of his chair.
People are going to ask; why me? Well my record speaks for itself. There’s not a single thing worth doing in this company that I haven’t already accomplished. So they’ll ask; why now? And to that I say, I think that I have wasted enough time sitting on the bench. In the last year I have proven that there still isn’t anyone in this company that is capable of taking me down, so why not take my place at the top of the ladder? Sin City deserves better than what Jack Washington is capable of providing. I think it’s long past time I do my best to give everyone what they actually deserve.
With that, he exits the frame, leaving the camera focused on his empty chair and the waves rolling in. After a brief moment, the camera fades to black.
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Push
Jet City South - San Diego
18 December 2020
OFF-Camera
Kris was closing in on two full months of sobriety, but was also just forty-eight short hours from walking into Climax Control to challenge Jack Washington. A month ago he was terrified of the challenge that this weekend represented, but with each passing day he was more and more ready. His sense of excitement about the business was coming back. Getting the drugs out of his system once and for all had helped clear his mind. The harsh reality that Liz and the girls had slapped him with really shook him out of sleepwalking he had been doing for months. Plus, his conversation with Liz led him to Fenris, who had been the most helpful person to have around while preparing for a championship match. Kris was starting to feel like the man that walked into Full Circle and turned the world on its head. Not long ago, he wouldn’t have thought it was possible. However, now that he was back on the right path, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had led someone else down the wrong one.
Kris: I was wondering when you were going to show up...
After taking a look at the security cameras in Jet City South, Kris knew where to find Court. Since she had started her losing streak, she was avoiding everyone. The more time Kris spent with Fenris though, the more he felt responsible for Court’s regression in the ring. He was supposed to be her mentor, and he hadn’t been taking that responsibility seriously.
Court: You just want to rub it in my face that you’re getting everything you want and apparently I suck?
Kris takes a deep breath and steps away from the ropes and into the center of Jet City’s ring as Court approaches. He didn’t want anything that he did to seem threatening, because there was no way she was going to trust that this wasn’t all some game.
Kris: I wanted to say I’m sorry for not being a better teacher.
Court steps between the middle and bottom ropes, joining him in the ring. As he suspected, there was no way that she believed him. Most likely, she thought he was mocking her in an attempt to hurt her feelings. He knew he didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, so couldn’t complain about not getting it.
Court: Are you fucking kidding me? You’ve never been a good teacher. For fuck’s sake you taunted me into breaking my hand which caused me to miss time in the first place. You cost me my chance at the Bombshell Championship! Then you pushed me way too hard over and over again until I missed years of my career. You have been the absolute worst to me since I first asked you and Mikah for help, and now you want to apologize?
Kris takes a step away from her as her voice raises and she advances on him. He tries to hold up his hands in innocence, but she slaps at them causing him to jump back away from her.
Kris: You’re right. I’m not even arguing with you.
Court clenches her jaw and looks away from him. Blood has already rushed to her face, and she has to take a deep breath in an attempt to keep herself from letting her emotions boil over. It takes her a few moments, but she is finally able to force out a few words almost under her breath.
Court: You don’t just get to apologize for being a shitty person for years.
Kris nods, still keeping his distance from her. He wasn’t dumb enough to think that he could take her down if she was determined enough to hurt him. Mikah had trained Court in all of the technical wrestling that Kris was too stubborn to ever pay too much attention to. He didn’t want it to come to that though. They were on the same team. They always had been, even if he never acted like it.
Kris: Look, from the moment you showed up and asked Mikah to train you, I have been hard on you. I thought that maybe I was just being as shitty to you as the world was to me, and that maybe you would learn to rise above it like I did.
Court shrugs her shoulders, so he was trying to demean her after all. She should have seen it coming.
Court: Sorry I wasn’t good enough to meet your expectations.
Kris shakes his head. He should have known that she would have taken his words as a jab instead of how he meant them. He had trained her to always assume the worst about every word that came out of someone’s mouth. In a way, he had nobody to blame but himself.
Kris: That’s my fault. I kept wanting you to do better without ever doing anything to actually help you. Breaking you down isn’t helpful. I was just doing to you what so many people were always doing to me. To be honest, I still haven’t been able to shrug a lot of that off. I am a broken work in progress, and I have turned you into the same thing. The problem is, you didn’t start broken. I made you that way. That’s why I wanted to apologize to you.
Court moves away from him and screams into the void of the empty gym. She throws several punches at the top turnbuckle of the nearest corner and yells out again in an attempt to vent at least some of the feelings racing through every cell in her body. She turns back at him still angry.
Court: ...what am I supposed to do with any of this? I get that you’re saying all this to make yourself feel better, but what am I supposed to do with? You need me to tell you that it is all alright? I can’t do that.
Kris shakes his head.
Kris: I don’t expect that at all. To be honest, if you don’t want anything to do with me, Jet City South, or The Black Sheep, I would get it. You have every right. I don’t know if I can ever make it up to you, but there was no way that I could sit back and watch you try to become some new version of me. That’s not a road you should have to go down. I’m sorry I was pushing you that direction.
Court laughs, still not quite able to wrap her head around the conversation that they were having.
Court: You know, as far as apologies go that’s actually pretty good, but coming from you it just makes me more angry.
Kris smiles, hoping that it was a start of of a positive turn in the conversation.
Kris: That sounds as positive as I could hope for. I realize that you have no reason to trust me, but I promise that things are going to be different if you decide to stick around.
She knew that she shouldn’t, but she trusted him. Maybe it was just because Fenris was back, and if she asked him to, he would definitely pull at least one of Kris’ limbs off for her. There wasn’t really any downside to giving him a chance to prove that he could live up to what she asked of him three years ago.
Court: So I take it you’ve cleaned yourself up?
He nods.
Kris: Yeah, and I appreciate you not telling anyone that you knew about it. I’m close to two months now. I’m starting to think a lot more clearly. Fenris is helping me get ready for the World Heavyweight Championship match.
Court assumed that there was a lot more to the story than he was giving her at the moment, but she could probably fill in most of those gaps on her own. Either that, or Fenris would under a little pressure.
Court: He’s one of the best. Maybe you have a chance after all.
From the shock on Kris’ face, she could tell that he hadn’t expected to have her support.
Kris: I think you’re the first person to actually say that I have a chance.
It was strange to think of someone with the public confidence that Kris displayed doubting himself. Being a champion was all that he talked about. It was the type of thing he filled his promo time speaking about. Anyone that had spent ten minutes with him had heard a list of his accomplishments. Before now, he would have never admitted to her that he had doubts about his abilities. It was a start.
Court: I mean, you’re The Miracle. SCW is Kris, right?
He hadn’t been either of those things for a very long time, but there was a twinge of something starting to come to life that had been lying dormant.
Kris: More like Kris is SCW. I never really cared for it the other way around. The company is so much bigger than me, or any other individual. It was fun to say and watch people get mad, but it has always been the other way around. They have never needed me, and I have always needed them. Being in this business was all that I ever wanted to do, and Sin City was the only place that ever treated me like I belonged. It’s my home. My real home.
It sounded to Court like Kris was still figuring some things out about himself, even as he was trying to explain it to her.
Court: Why does it sound like you were thinking about leaving?
He shrugs, but not to blow off the question like he had for years. For the first time, he was starting to treat her like an equal.
Kris: I was offered a free out. One of those ‘do the right thing’ deals. I am starting to realize that it would just be me running away from the challenges here. I belong in SCW. It’s been too long since I went out there and really showed the world that I could do. I have been playing it safe all year.
Court was taken aback by that as much as anything else.
Court: Kris Ryans has been holding back? Strange. I thought you were being a pretty huge dick.
He laughs, but shakes his head before trying to clarify.
Kris: That’s part of it. I’ve been trying to pack myself into a little box. Just kind of phoning it in, you know? I didn’t have to do much in order to be successful with Mikah in my corner and no real challengers in the Mixed Tag Division. It’s not enough though. When I was little, I didn’t dream about being in this line of work just to settle in the midcard. I wanted to be at the top. That was what The Miracle is. A kid from the bottom that made it to the top. I just happened to make it to the top on the night that the company was supposed to end. I swooped in at the very last second....
Instead of thinking back to Full Circle like Kris was, Court turns her attention to their immediate future.
Court: Kind of how you’re swooping in to end the shittiest year of all time with the most positive note it could end on?
Kris had been so busy looking backwards to see how history was moving to repeat itself.
Kris: I guess you’re right...
Court smiled.
Court: Well, I learned from some of the best… and also you.
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>Make no mistake about it, Jack Washington is just another junkie.
Kristopher Ryans is standing in the office of his San Diego apartment. All of his various championships adorn the walls behind him, on display for anyone that doubted the amount of blood, sweat, and tears he has given to this company over the years.
That’s the one thing that sticks out to me about my guy Jack. At first, it was all about the money. He would get upset when he lost because it meant that he was going to have to suffer through taking the loser’s end of the purse. Then it was about the fame and the rush of it. He wanted to skyrocket to the top, because that meant more recognition, better marketing, and even more money. He couldn’t get enough of it. He bought a bunch of expensive bullshit to make himself feel better, and then shredded it once his eyes focused on the real gold. We saw it in the lead up to his big flop against Ben Jordan. He set his sights on the SCW World Heavyweight Championship, and hasn’t ever taken his eyes off of it. First he had a replica, which was kinda sad. Now it’s the real thing… and it’s only slightly less sad. I have to give him at least a little credit for getting to the top despite some crushing losses, but I’m not surprised. He has said himself: he needed his fix, and that championship was the only thing that was going to make the itch go away. Now he is willing to knock over and tear down everything around him just to protect the source of his euphoria. It doesn’t matter who he has to destroy. It doesn’t matter the things that he has to say, or the people that he has to hurt. The only thing that he is worried about is hanging onto the high.
Kris talks as someone with experience.
I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I’m not the person to shame Jack Washington for the way that he has been acting lately. I don’t think that anyone would be swayed by anything that I have to say, because I don’t really have a leg to stand on when it comes to people’s addictions. Mine have very nearly ruined my career here several times. For years I did the same thing that he is doing. Sure, my problems are with an actual substance, and Jack’s drug of choice is the power trip that he is drunk on, but the principle is the same. Just like Jack, I showed up here for years just for the money. I didn’t care about anything other than the check I was getting for doing something that I was good at. I didn’t care about putting on a worthwhile show. I didn’t care about being at the top level of competition. I just wanted to get paid. Everything else was just a bonus.
Half of the championships behind him wouldn’t be there had he not chosen a better course of action for himself.
The problem is, addiction corrupts. I mean, you can keep it at bay for a while, but the shit just gets worse and worse. The spiral always leads down to the bottom. Sure, I was a record breaking Roulette Champion. I held the Internet Championship with moderate success as well. Like Jack though, my singular focus on my addiction held me back. I didn’t break through the glass ceiling and become The Miracle until I gave it up.
That was where Kris’ path split away from Jack’s, and that fact was not lost on The Miracle.
Now I know people are saying; but Jack Washington is the SCW World Heavyweight Champion! And they’re right. Jack has managed to get further than I ever could without shrugging off his drug of choice, but how impressive is he really? I mean, the guy has only gone up against two people that were ever close to being unstoppable in this company. One of them was me. The other one was Ben Jordan. Jack will talk all day long about how he was so close to beating Ben, but we all know that in this line of business close doesn’t make him special. He lost. He came up short. It doesn’t matter that he passed out instead of getting pinned or tapping out. He stepped into the ring with one of the best in the history of this company and couldn’t get the job done. Period. He wasn’t good enough to beat Ben Jordan. He wasn’t good enough to beat me. And I’m sure he’s going to have a lot of horrible things to say about me this week, but it doesn’t change the fact that when he got his first shot at that championship, he came up short. That is where the two of us are different. I won the opportunity when it was put in front of me. Jack failed against Ben, and he wasn’t good enough to beat me either.
Kris could almost hear the same repeated excuse from the weeks after Jack’s big loss.
....and we always hear the “I came within a cunt hair” story when Jack tries to explain away his loss to Ben, but we never hear him bring up the time he tried to step up to The Miracle. And I get it; it makes him look amazing that Ben Jordan wasn’t able to get him to give up during their match but the way that I dismantled him makes him look like a joke. That is why he stays quiet about it. That is why when he brings up my name, he refuses to acknowledge that it changed years ago. He thinks calling me by some old moniker gets under my skin, or makes it seem like he knows me. Like somehow his words and insults have some deeper meaning because of a name that I haven’t gone by in years. You know what that actually tells me? For all of Jack’s talk of people forgetting about me, he still remembers my name pretty vividly. After all these years, I must have made some kind of dent in the wrestling business if that name is still stuck in his head.
A smug smirk forms in the left corner of Kris’ mouth. He was enjoying this.
...and yeah… Jack is going to brag about being the champion. He is going to gloat about his meteoric rise to the top, but if you really look at it, the guy isn’t all that impressive. He didn’t get it done during the Blast from the Past tournament. He couldn’t get it done as the King of a Day. He had two opportunities, and he didn’t get the job done either time. He had to let the championship change hands a couple of times before coming out to the ring to bitch his way into another shot. For a guy with a couple of big losses on a short record, it seemed like a lot to ask for. Last I checked, this Jack-off was still a rookie who hasn’t really beaten anyone more formidable than the two disappointments of Wolfslair. I get that they used to be dominant, but that hasn’t been the case for the last few months. They choke about as often as they win, and seem to always come up short in the big spots. And other than those two, Jack has only taken on people like Agostino and O’Malley. I have been in the ring with both of them this year, but you don’t see me bragging about it. I don’t think victories like that alone would qualify me to challenge for the biggest prize in this company either.
Kris was tired of watching Sin City’s spoiled brat of a champion talk down to the roster like he had done something noteworthy. It was time for someone to put him in his place.
Jack’s best claim to fame is a match that he lost and his ability to be really mean to people in front of a camera. The fact that he holds that championship right now impresses me about as much as my past accomplishments impress him. The way he was able to skip to the top is never going to make him seem unstoppable. It’s not going to make him a good champion. Jack’s not a measuring stick. He’s an addict trying to keep hold of his stash. If he was honest with himself, Jack would see that this is the biggest match of his very short career. He wouldn’t see me as a pointless relic of the past, but as more of an opportunity to prove he is as good as he says that he is. I think he’s going to go a different route though. It’s disappointing, but it doesn’t matter what he thinks of me. My place in this company isn’t up for debate. My history is SCW history, because KRIS is SCW.
Jack’s problem with me was that I was walking around SCW like I was owed something. He said I was an insufferable prick that wanted rose petals thrown at his feet for the smallest accomplishments. He called me snap-finger famous. I mean, it’s just words meant to get a rise out of me ahead of a match he went on to lose. It shouldn’t have mattered. I got the last laugh by pinning him cleanly in the middle of the ring for everyone to see. He called me weak and raved that he was going to break me, only to be outclassed inside SCW’s six-sided ring. So, I thought I would be able to shake it off. But then he went on to beat Finn, Vinnie, Agostino, O’Malley, and Wolfslair, just like I did. He claimed to be the face of this company, like I was. He won the SCW World Heavyweight Championship that I had the opportunity to reach out and take at any moment. And it felt like he did it at the snap of a finger.
The hypocrisy was too much for Kris to ignore. He was used to people lashing out at him, but rarely would they immediately become the thing they were projecting onto others.
Jack’s addiction has turned him into all of the things that he said he hated about me a few months ago. I think it’s only right that I do him the favor of sobering him up. That’s what’s best for the people of Sin City. Maybe he can sit back and take some notes on what being a real champion looks like. I’ll be taking the SCW World Heavyweight Championship home with me from Climax Control. Don’t worry though Jack, I’ll bring you another consolation L to take home.
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