Last Week
Following Climax Control
Much like he had the previous week, Lachlan Kane burst into the dressing room he shared with Sierra Williams backstage. Unlike last week, however, he had a massive smile on his face as he grabbed a nearby towel and wiped at the sweat on his face as Sierra followed in behind him, pumping her fists and cheering.
“I told you! I told you we were gonna go out there and punch our ticket!” she yelled excitedly, running over and jumping up into Lachlan’s arms.
He stumbled slightly, but laughed as he swung her around the locker room. “And I shall never doubt you again, my French caramel goddess.”
She mock glares at him for a moment before smiling and sliding out of his arms back down to the floor. “Now that we’ve gotten that bullshit out of the way, we can focus on the real competition to come. We’ve got Vinnie and Amy, Jack and Emmie, or London Underground in whatever configuration they decide on.”
He rested his hands on his hips, letting out a low whistle. “Not gonna sugarcoat it Si, we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Sierra scoffed, flipping back her long hair. “Look, the only ones I would even consider serious competition would be London Underground. They were the first mixed tag champs for a reason. The other two teams are new. They don’t have the experience behind them. Not to mention Jack and Emmie is as dysfunctional as it gets. It’s only a matter of time before that blows up in spectacular fashion.”
“Even still...we shouldn’t short-change anyone. Didn’t work out for us so great last week, did it?”
Sierra rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright, fine.”
Lachlan smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her. “That’s my girl.”
-----
Earlier this week
Long Beach
“Well, this is set to be one hell of a match, isn’t it?”
Walking along the Long Beach boardwalk in the middle of a hot summer’s day, Lachlan Kane was the picture of boyish effervescence. A far cry from the attitude he had been displaying in past weeks, today the Irish fighter was dressed in blue shorts, a white polo shirt and his treasured Vans slides. He had a black ball cap perched on his head and sunglasses shielding his eyes, but there was no missing the large grin on his face as he casually strolled through the crowds.
“Last week, Sierra and I were finally able to shake that proverbial monkey off our back and get back to our winning ways. So yeah, I’m in a bit of a better mood than I have been. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not ready to put the work in this week. Because let me tell you...there’s gonna be a lot of work to be done. When you’ve got the longest-reigning Mixed Tag champions going up against the very first ones...well, seems a shame that’s not the one that’s gonna be for all the marbles, doesn’t it?” He gave a little shrug of his shoulders. “If I’m being honest, I would have loved for Sierra and I to have faced London Underground at the pay-per-view for the titles, because that is a pay-per-view quality match. But, it is what it is.”
He walked over to the railing and leaned against it, looking down at the sparkling waters of the marina. “But don’t think for one second that I’m not giving this match the respect it deserves, because nothing could be farther from the truth. London Underground, you do have my respect for being the first champions of this division. You’re in the history books for that accomplishment. But, it does beg the question...what exactly have you done lately? Where were you all when Sierra and I were calling out the roster? Out of all the established mixed teams in the company, you were the only ones to stay quiet and not rise to the occasion.” Lachlan scratched at his cheek. “I get that you’ve got your little side project going on with the casino and whatnot, but don’t you think that could have been a prime opportunity to show up and cement your claim as the standard of the mixed tag division? Come in, beat a couple young upstarts and reclaim your gold?”
He pushed off from the railing and turned so he was leaning back against it, sliding off his sunglasses and hooking them into the collar of his shirt. His intense blue gaze bored into the camera lens. “No, you decided to wait. You waited until Sierra and I became the longest-reigning mixed tag champs in SCW history. You waited until we lost the titles, and until they ended up vacated. You waited until the announcement of this tournament. For what purpose, I wonder? Probably the same reason as every other team entered - you all probably thought that Sierra and I would be too focused on our singles careers to enter, and this would be the only opportunity you would get to even get close to those belts.” He smirked. “And then, we showed up. We came back like we forgot something. Because we realized that there was no way in holy hell we were going to let any of these teams walk in and think that they were going to take what was ours. Because no matter what anyone says or thinks...when all this is said and done, we will be raising those belts again. And we’ll go on another record-breaking title run. And hopefully this time we’ll get more competition.”
“See, Sierra and I live and breathe this tag division, unlike a lot of others. While we were the champs, we weren’t content to just sit back and let the challenge come to us, as scarce as it ended up. We went out and we hustled. We invited anyone and everyone to step to us and challenge for our belts. That’s why the division needs us on the top. We’ve worked harder for this division than even the god damn owners of this company.” He winked. “No offense, of course. But I’m sure even Mark and Christian would agree. We put a lot of eyes on this company, by virtue of our relentless drive and ambition, not to mention our desire to prove that we were the best team not only in SCW, but the entire wrestling world. For now, we’ll get to prove that we’re the best in the company when we face London Underground this Sunday.”
He slid one hand into a pocket of his shorts, as Sierra walked up beside him. He smiled at her and put his free arm around her shoulders. “So, while I was really hoping that it was gonna come down to us versus the Underground at Summer XXXTreme, we’ll just have to give the fans a treat. Cause they’re going to get to see a pay-per-view worthy match for free at Climax Control. And while I know this is going to be a match to go down in the history books, there’s really only one way it’s going to end - Sierra and I with our hands raised, and moving on to the finals. To get back what is ours.”
With a cheeky wink from Lachlan and a glare from Sierra, the couple saunters off down the boardwalk, getting swallowed up by the crowd as the camera cuts to black.
