[Kristopher Ryans]

>

The shaky video feed comes to life with “The Miracle” front and center in the frame. As he moves through the hallways, surrounded by stacked up crates and other random equipment, the fans quickly deduce that he must have been recording from backstage during Climax Control. The booming sounds of fans from inside the arena where the show was still wrapping up support the realization, as well as the fact that Kris was still dressed as he was during his brief run-in with Scott Oliver. Since then, his world had been full of surprises. He hadn’t even considered stepping back inside the ring anytime soon, but that had all changed. In stopping by to talk to Mark and Christian, Kris learned that a challenge was going to be thrown out. He had then watched J2H take the screen to call him out. Only moments before pulling his phone from his pocket to start his recording, he had watched O’Malley win the Internet Championship, making him the one Kris would be tagging with should he accept the challenge. From the look on Kris’ face, there was no doubt he had already made a decision about it.

I just want to make sure that we’re all on the same page here...

His tone was a lot more serious than most anticipated. Everything else about his demeanor led viewers to believe that he was excited about the opportunity. Although, anybody with any knowledge of his working relationship with O’Malley had to understand his hesitance.

...I had no intention of stepping back into the ring ahead of what I had planned to be my last match at High Stakes closer to the end of the year...

It was a much more formal retirement announcement than he had previously put out. Although most already assumed as much. Kris was no longer under contract. He was splitting time between the two Jet City gyms, and attempting to be an actual parent. Sin City just wasn’t on his radar, aside from a handful of the people in it. Kris wasn’t going to bullshit the fans by avoiding the subject though.

J2H3 and I have been planning that one for a while. It’s been plenty public that we were putting that one together. If you look at the history books of this company, there are only two names that stick out as contenders for the best ever, and they’ve never even really been in the ring together. Of course we were going to make that match happen. It would be an injustice to anyone that has ever been a fan of this company to leave that match on the table.

Given his tone, the fans knew that Kris was just fluffing them up for the catch.

....I came to Climax Control to see some friends. Give some advice to the students out of Jet City, and thank Mark and Christian for the opportunities that they have given me along the way. Absolutely nothing more, and absolutely nothing less. So all of this has caught me kind of off-guard.

He shrugs...

Then again, how many people can say that they got J2H3 to show up in the building to call them out in person? And yeah, he may not have expected O’Malley to pull out the victory, but he knew that either way he was pairing me up against someone I’ve been in the ring with that may not like me all that much. On top of that, he gets to handpick his own partner, another guy that doesn’t necessarily like me. I guess it didn’t sit well that Mikah and I beat him in that swamp shit match. So it’s really me stepping in the ring with three people with a reason to maim me regardless of who was holding the Internet Championship.

When he said it that way, it kind of sounded like the whole thing was an obvious set up. Kris made it sound like J2H3 was baiting him into a trap. Then again, that might have just made it that much more exciting to The Miracle.

It was the first decent pitch that anyone in this company has made to me since I dropped the World Heavyweight Championship. I mean, I was here for a year and only lost twice. I thought that maybe someone would want to call out a guy that was that successful. I was a champion for the majority of my time here last year, and every single day that I was under contract this year. I was unstoppable. Yet, there didn’t seem to be any interesting opportunities left. It was all so incredibly…. boring.

A smirk starts to break in the right corner of his mouth.

A tag team match? J2H3 wants to challenge me in a tag match? He may have been the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion but I have dominated both of the tag divisions in this company. My record as a member of a team is outrageous. And he wants to pick a guy that I really wished I had gotten to have a real defense against to be his tag partner? Even better.

There was only one piece of the equation left, and clearly that was the part that Kris was being hesitant about.

...and then there’s O’Malley.

He shakes his head. It is almost like Kris knows that there is almost no way that the two manage to make it through the match as a functioning team.

How about this, you old Irish asshole…. I will never…. Ever… not even once… step into the ring with you again if you somehow fuck this up for me intentionally. I realize there is a good chance that we lose just because some of your in ring decisions are just as stupid as your face, and that’s fine. I can live with that. But if you want to turn this into a three-on-one situation or leave me hanging out there, rest assured that you will never get the match with me that you so desperately want. Understood?

The smirk turns into a full on smile as Kris tries to hold back a laugh at O’Malley’s expense.

I’ll see the three of you in the ring next week. It should be a blast.

With a wink, he kills the feed and the screen goes black.

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


Jet City Reunion
Jet City Sports Lab - SEATTLE
4 MAY 2021
OFF-Camera


It had been a long time since Kris had seen the Jet City Sports Lab in person. He and his half brother had managed to spin their successful tag team into a successful brand name, and finally into a gym that was starting to boom with all of the recent success of its students. The state of the art sports lab in Seattle was much more appealing to the eye than Jet City South. Jason had an eye for that kind of thing, whereas Kris was really only concerned with what went on inside the gym. Jason’s attitude had always been geared towards professionalism. Kris was trying to show students like himself the path he took to the top, and there hadn’t been anything glamorous about it. In Kris’ mind, the vision that Jason was selling was a lie, but a pretty one. He had learned to appreciate it for what it was, instead of hating it for not being his own vision. As Kris strolled through the double front doors like he owned the place, several staff workers caught a glimpse of him and had turned the opposite direction. Parker Wayde, a long term trainer at the gym and Jason’s right hand man pointed Kris in the direction he was looking for without a single word. Kris’ brother had his back to the door, so had no advanced warning of Kris’ arrival.

Kris: It’s awfully good to be home...

Jason had been mid-conversation with his assistant when his brother’s words stopped him and caused him to spin around to face the terrorist.

Jason: Absolutely not! No. Maddie, put the sign up...

Jason pointed to a digital display along the wall that ran on a loop around the entire facility. Almost instantly bold and blinking red letters spelled out “KRIS DOES NOT WORK HERE! PLEASE IGNORE ANY OF HIS REQUESTS!” Kris read the words as they started to trail along the wall all the way to the other side of the gym and back.

Kris: For real? You don’t think that is a little excessive?

Jason shook his head without any kind of hesitancy.

Jason: Have you forgotten that I am plagued with remembering every stupid thing that you’ve done for the last… let’s say… 32 years.

It was more hurtful than Kris was expecting right from the start.

Kris: Rude… you’re really not happy to see me?

Jason finally finishes up whatever it was that needed his attention and turns back to his half-brother already exhausted by their conversation.

Jason: Why are you here? You have your own gym. There is no reason to come all the way up the coast to terrorize the people that chose to stay at JCSL. You can do that at Jet City South. I’m sure Court and Ruby would be happy to keep you occupied.

That was the entirety of Kris’ problem. If he was down at Jet City South, he would be the one with the assistant breathing down his neck every second of the day. Even if he managed to give her the slip, one of his students would need some kind of help preparing for an upcoming match. In short, there was no way that he could do anything to get ready for his own battle if he stayed in San Diego. Jason would bust him if he tried to lie his way through a reason that sounded better, so Kris was willing to take a stab at honesty.

Kris: They’re actually the reason that I came up here. They both have the big Bombshell Championship matches coming u---

The older of the two brother’s still wasn’t impressed and his patience was dwindling so he attempted to speed things up.

Jason: Yeah, and they could end up squaring off against each other even though they’re still in the cute honeymoon stage of their relationship. Again, not my problem.

Kris was dumbfounded to find out that his brother was actually following along. Maybe he did really care.

Kris: You know, for a guy that doesn’t want to be involved you sound awfully involved.

Jason shakes his head. If Kris was looking for a feel good answer, he came to the wrong place.

Jason: I keep tabs on you guys because your name is attached to mine. If your gym does well, mine looks good. If yours crashes and burns, my name becomes less valuable. It’s business, not pleasure. Then again, there isn’t very many things that I find pleasurable about playing games with you these days.

Kris wasn’t just going to take the verbal beating lying down.

Kris: That is because I am old enough to pick the games that we play now. I’m not just some puppet for you to pull the strings on anymore.

Jason sighs, giving up.

Jason: We’re going in circles here Kris. I’m going to need you to get to the point. I have a lot going on today.

Kris did the only thing he could, and just blurted out what he needed.

Kris: I need to win a fight against myself. You’re the only one that can help with that.

It was the first thing that drew Jason’s genuine interest.

Jason: ...J2H is finally stepping up….?

It was the hook that Kris had been hoping for. His brother knew what this match meant to him, especially on the kind of stage provided by it being Climax Control’s 300th show.

Kris: Actually he showed up randomly this past week to challenge me to a tag match. He picked Mac as his partner. I got stuck with whoever was lucky enough to walk out of the ring with the Internet Championship.

Jason could see the dominoes falling into place even before Kris told him. He could see it turning into a three-on-one beating quickly.

Jason: ...and let me guess… O:Malley won.

Kris blows that subject off entirely. That’s not what he was here for.

Kris: That’s not the point. I’m not worried about the two of them. I have seen Mac up close, and I think that I can run him down. O’Malley is going to want the bigger piece of him though. One of the two of us has to be able to counter James, and that isn’t going to be the Irish joke.

Jason: So you’re coming to me because James’ style is basically a little bit of yours and a little bit of mine. I can see why you’re scared

Kris wasn’t going to let the insult slide.

Kris: I never said I was scar--

Jason: [Interrupting] Well, you’re here. That says enough. You want to beat the guy so that you can try to claim that you’re the best of all time. You think because you beat me inside the SCW ring that I’ll be a good tune up for you. The problem is, it involves asking me a favor. You hate doing that. If there was any other way, you wouldn’t be here. So yeah… I think you’re scared. Even if you don’t want to admit it. If you fall on your face during this match, the one that you’ve been planning for High Stakes is irrelevant. You’ll be giving James all the ammo he needs to get into your head ahead of that one.

Kris mouth opens and closes wordlessly a few times. He hadn’t actually thought about it that way.

Kris: ...maybe that’s what he wants….

Jason cuts him off before he can spin a new conspiracy theory.

Jason: Look at you! Always trying to dig for some deeper meaning instead of just seeing things for what they are. James Huntington-Hawkes is the only one with the standing to challenge your place in Sin City history. You’d be a fool not to be scared about watching everything that you’ve worked for slip away.

It was reassuring in a strange way. Jason was scolding him, but at the same time acknowledging that the doubts Kris was feeding into were a waste of time. There was no need to be paranoid about what if scenarios. The match was coming. It was real. That is what he should be focused on.

Kris: ....so are you going to help me or did I come all this way just for a lecture?

Jason’s least favorite thing about dealing with his brother was his need to be spoon fed the answers that he wanted to hear. He surrenders with another sigh.

Jason: When have I not helped you out when you needed it?

Turning back to Maddie, Jason starts to empty all of his pockets onto the stack of papers they had been going over.

Jason: Cancel all of my appointments please...

Jason takes off his jacket and loosens his tie before the two start to head back towards the locker room, leaving Maddie holding a stack of items and looking more confused than ever.

Kris: You know… that sign might actually be helpful. I know it is meant as a way to make the staff ignore me, but maybe the students will take the hint and steer clear.

Jason laughs at how naive Kris still is despite years of rough lessons learned.

Jason: I doubt it...

He points up ahead along the path they are walking, only for Kris to spot Courtney Pierce, already changed and looking like she had been hitting the gym hard for a few hours. She caught sight of the two brothers and made her way over to them with a smile.

Court: So what did I miss? Don’t tell me that you two old timers haven’t even started yet….

The two founders of Jet City exchanged exasperated glances, knowing that their week of preparation had just gotten much longer.



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


>Can you believe there have been 205 episodes of Climax Control between this Sunday and the last time that J2H3 and I were in the ring together?

The scene opens with Kris in his office looking at the wall of championships displayed on the back wall. Each of the five championships he was eligible to win in SCW were hanging, with both the Roulette and World Heavyweight Championships stacked with their double.

Back then I didn’t have any of these...

Kris gestures at the wall with a laugh, and tries his best to recall his first run-in with James Huntington-Hawkes III.

...I wasn’t even a Nobody yet. No Miracles had happened. I hadn’t broken any Roulette records yet. I hadn’t formed Jet City or The Black Sheep to dominate the tag divisions yet. I hadn’t held a single championship on my way to the Grand Slam... yet. We were far from the people that we would eventually become in the history of this business. All of our collective greatness played out after a weird chance meeting. Back then he was only just figuring out that his long ass name was too much, and I hadn’t found out that my name was a lie. He was a guy that nobody took very seriously, and I was an unknown. James just seemed like a spoiled rich kid that was too used to getting what he wanted and I was a burnout going nowhere. The version of him that came to Climax Control to call me out didn’t even exist yet. The Miracle that he wants to step in the ring with hadn’t happened. Yet, both of those things were actually born while we shared the ring, albeit not under the best circumstance for me.

It wasn’t the best of memories, but Kris looks proud of himself for remembering a time forgotten about by just about all of the present SCW locker room. The night he crossed paths with J2H3 had been a launch pad for them both.

I was fighting Equinox, thumbtacks were flying. People were getting hurt. Then this clown Ringo comes down, and starts to get beaten up. Then J2H3 comes out with a whole new attitude, all tatted up, and suddenly the guy can actually wrestle worth a damn. That match still hasn’t ended, to this day. They came down, eventually laid out Equinox, and left. No bells. No nothing. It’s a draw on my record only because there was never an official decision, and that was the singular time that I can remember two of SCW’s biggest future stars crossing paths. J2H3 went on to break records with the World Heavyweight Championship, and even hold multiple championships at the same time. The inconsequential guy whose championship match he ruined later became The Miracle standing before you now. Our origin stories overlap even though they are entirely separate from one another.

....but that’s the point, isn’t it? That’s what makes what we plan to do at High Stakes so enticing to everyone. That is why it is the match so good that it was booked nearly a year in advance. Everyone should consider themselves lucky to get this early preview, but we didn’t need to do this to sell tickets to High Stakes. They’re going to sell out the moment that they go on sale. Why? Because since Climax Control 95 when we were in the same ring, we have both done absolutely everything that this company has to offer, and we did it without ever crossing paths. It almost feels cheap for one of the two of us to claim to be the best before we have really even gotten the chance to prove it to the other man inside the ring. The same list that put J2H3 up on top of the world didn’t have my name on it at all. He wouldn’t have showed up to call me out by name if he didn’t think that was a mistake. He wouldn’t be wasting time on me if he didn’t think that I was worth his attention. The fact that he called this shot shows that I belong among the very best that have ever stepped into our six sided ring.

His excitement had taken him a little off topic, so he tried to bring himself back around to the match at hand. Everyone was going to have to wait a few more months for the other.

So when I was asked if I wanted to be part of the historic 300th installment of Climax Control, I already wanted to say yes. When they said that J2H3 wanted to be the one standing across from me, it was a no doubt situation. Everything else since then has just been a bonus. Getting to face Mac in a legitimate match is probably the biggest of those.

Kris had gotten so focused on the dream match that he had nearly overlooked J2H3’s partner for this preview.

Had Mac and Amber gotten a real shot on the Halloween show, there is no telling if Mikah and I would have remained champions long enough for me to hand the championship off to Coby. And that isn’t sarcasm. That’s not me blowing smoke up the guy’s ass either. He’s good. He wouldn’t have been recruited to this match if he wasn’t. More importantly, he sounds like a guy that wants to do things the right way. The way that J2H3 and I did. I didn’t have to look much further back than his comments to Fenris to see that. He offered to have his opponent’s back, despite the fact that it would have been in his best interest to let outside interference chew Fenris up and spit him back out for an easy win. He didn’t do that though. He did the respectful thing. He did the right thing. I can respect that.

...and that’s not to say that he is some kind of slouch in the ring either. There is a reason that Christian thinks that the guy could be a successful World Heavyweight Champion here. He has proven himself on a nightly basis since his debut. I know that there have been a few setbacks along the way, but that doesn’t change the fact that the guy is trending upwards. He’s even got a shot to get his hands on the Internet Championship. I know a little something about that. It was the first one that I won in this company. And he’s going to have to take it from O’Malley if he wants it. I know a little bit about beating that guy down as well.

Although, that can’t be what Kris wants to see happen in this next match. For the first time, O’Malley suffering a crippling defeat would negatively impact the Grand Slam Champion. Usually he would be watching his rival lose with a smile on his face. Their opponents had made sure that wouldn’t be the case this time around. Kris had been lured out of his semi-retirement to team with one of the two people in his life that there was no hope for co-existing with. More painful than that, it put Kris in the position to have to say something positive about his foe-turned-partner.

On that subject, I’m hoping that O’Malley is able to prove some of the things that I’ve said about him wrong….

The Miracle looked like even attempting to be complimentary was going to make him sick. There was no way that he could fake his way through enough pleasantries to convince anyone he was sincere either. Kris decided against even trying to play nice.

...but I’m not honestly expecting too much. Why? Because he is the same guy that he has always been. He is about fifty percent edgy tough guy, and fifty percent sob redemption story. He says that he wants to be better, and do better. Then he keeps up with the same tired excuses to explain away his failures. Maybe he would have been more successful if he hadn’t tried to come up at the same time that J2H3 and I were. Maybe he holds that against me. To be honest, I don’t know how this whole thing started, and at this point I don’t care enough about it to call him out to end it. It means much more to him than it does to me. That is why he was online crying about this match while I was busy rising to the challenge.

A wave of relief washes over the former champion. He was always more at peace when he wasn’t trying to mask what he really wanted to say. Plus, there was no need to fake some kind of truce. Kris was already carrying an ace up his sleeve.

I’m willing to look past that though. I’m willing to work with this reject for the duration of this match, if only because it is in my best interests to do so. I know that he is probably better than I will ever give him credit for. The problem with that is, it has still never been enough to beat me. That means it’s not going to be enough to beat J2H3 at his own game. The best thing that I can hope for is O’Malley keeping Mac busy long enough for me to prove to the world that I am the best that has ever walked through the doors of this company.

Of course, his plan relied on O’Malley being co-operative.

I am willing to do all of the heavy lifting needed in this match to pull off the victory. I am willing to put aside any misgivings between me, O’Malley, Jet City and the GO Gym for one night. I am extending my hand in an attempt to put on a match that should have been the main event of the biggest supercard, let alone Climax Control 300. J2H3 said that booking this match gave the show the star power that it needed and I agree with him on that. I don’t want something petty to get in the way of that. So if O’Malley can hold up his end of the deal and keep that temper of his in check, maybe I will be inclined to grant him his one final wish before my match at High Stakes. I know that stepping into the ring with me one-on-one is what he really wants in this company, and I’m willing to set aside my boredom with the idea to give him a shot…

I am willing to bet that offer will be enough to motivate O’Malley to do the right thing and give his best effort. As if dropping a match to the number one contender to his championship wasn’t enough pressure. I just want to make sure that he knows what is actually at stake for him at Climax Control. If we can somehow work together, we can take this thing. Hopefully O’Malley has enough incentive because with the right motivation we could be unstoppable.

He pauses for just a moment, as if a totally new thought struck him just as he had finished speaking.

Motivation...

He says it slowly, and he tilts his head slightly to the side. Fans can tell that he is still working through the epiphany, but he doesn’t leave them hanging for very long.

It’s a funny thing really… Mac jumped at the opportunity to take on the Internet Champion ahead of his scheduled defense. And why wouldn’t he? It will be the perfect test run before putting the actual prize on the line. He should be competing to get as much of an edge as possible...

With Mac down, he moves back to O’Malley.

We know what the dumb Irishman is fighting for at this point. It’s almost sad that his attention is going to be more focused on me than the guy threatening to take his championship though. He’s either going to crack under the pressure, which I will enjoy having a front row seat for, or rise to the occasion, which will benefit me immensely. Either way I win. Although I’d like to see the guy prove me wrong for once.

He taps himself on the chest.

Me? I think all of you watching have figured that one out for yourselves, but I don’t mind saying it out loud. When people say some other guy is the best there has ever been, you can’t help but want to see how you measure up. There’s only one way to step out of a shadow. This is one that has been clouding my view for far too long.

That left just one person.

...but what about you James? I was listening, but I didn’t exactly hear a reason that you’re putting all of this together. You’ve told us all that you don’t need to be here. You’ve let us know that you’re more happy with life and the wife at home. You don’t need Sin City. You over it. So why? What is it that you’re fighting for? Money? That’s sad if that’s all it takes to get your attention. Shits and giggles? That isn’t going to carry you through this one. Respect? You’ll have a chance to earn it. You’re stepping in the ring with three highly motivated people, and if you’re not careful you’re going to be collateral damage when it’s all said and done.

He shrugs. Nobody knows the answer other than the longest running SCW World Heavyweight Champion.

You’re used to coming in and doing these little one-offs before running away to recover for a while. You’re used to taking on people like Teddy and embarrassing them. That’s not going to be the way that this match goes, and if you think it is, you’re about to get reality checked.