Title: “Nothing can stop me”
January 2nd, 2017 Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas Nevada
Off Camera
A red haze started to descend and Ryan almost forgot all about the match. His body felt heated, his blood was pumping fast as he knew what he had to do to win this match.Then again he didn’t know if he had it in him to finish it all. In an instant he doubled over from a kick that made his insides feel like they were burning inside of him, and then what looked like a doge was actually him dropping from pain. Seconds later he neglected all of his pain to catch Steve and raise his knee to pull him down, smashing his face upon impact. Out of pure instinct he managed to roll and hook Ramone long enough for him to stay conscious to hear the countdown. It was all in slow motion for him.
1…
2….
3!
Silence
And then -
The crowd roared, a visceral wave of disbelief and amazement swarmed Ryan as he was handed his first SCW title. Keys raised it into the air, breathing hard, ears ringing. He looked around in his triumph long enough to enjoy it before his pain took over. The next few moments were a faded memory. He doesn't remember being taken out of the ring, he could barely hear the noises from the people as he was taken to the back, even the faces of those congratulating him were blurred out of recognition. He was barely conscious by the time he made it to the medical area.
- Sometime later-
Ryan stands outside in the parking lot of the Cox Pavilion arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, hours after the Climax Control ended. His body is freezing as he’s still wearing his less that modest ring gear,with only the addition of the bandages wrapped around his lower abdomen. But the pain of getting hit repeatedly by a 2 X 4 didn’t compare to the joy he has to be walking out with the SCW Roulette title in his hands. He thinks to himself that he finally did it, he finally showed his worth to his SCW family.
He’s too focused on looking at the shinning belt to notice someone approach him. Weirdly enough the other person was saying the same thing. His long time friend, Jace Ford, comes over and pulls him in. Jace has been a long time friend of Ryan since their highschool days, they probably only see each other whenever Ryan is close to his hometown. Despite Jace’s bodybuilder size and talent for underground fighting he hasn’t moved on from the life Ryan once used to have.
“Fuck, you did it-”
Ryan nods, gripping Jace’s shoulder and swallowing hard. They break apart and he stumbles a bit in his attempt to walk. “I did okay. You know nothing can stop me.” He breathes, hissing at the pain.
“You did great, that was - perfect.” Jace leads Ryan towards the car as he speaks, but Ryan can’t focus all that much. The sounds of the crowd cheering, swearing, yelling and calling his name echoed in his head as he breathes fresh air.
Jace hooks Ryan’s arm over his shoulder and damn near carries him out of the place. Walking in the dark, they reach the car and Ryan collapses against the side of it, one hand cupped protectively over the wound at his abdomen.
“I’ve never been hit with a 2x4 before,” Ryan pants, blinking away the dizzying feeling that washes over him. Jace snorts and looks up.
“You’ve been hit by worse, don’t be a pussy.” He looks over Ryan’s bandages and thinks that the other is just being dramatic, like usual. “You’ll be fine. Don’t fuckin’ puke in my car, man.”
Ryan swallows, tries to nod. “Yeah – yeah I’m fine.”
“Alright. Let’s get outta here.”
He climbs into the car, the leather cool on his back. He winces as he settles into the seat, his knee feeling stiff and hot. Jace gets in and slams the door. He starts the engine and leaves it to idle, looks at Ryan crouched there in the seat with his title.
“I mean it, okay? You did a great job. Not a lotta guys can say the same. I wasn’t expecting you to win, not tonight.”
“Thought you said you believed in me,” Ryan smiles, stretching his leg out as much as he can.
“Like fuck – I thought you were dead meat for sure when those two guys came to the ring.” The laugh is there in Jace’s voice and Ryan leans his head back, shifting his shoulders.
“Ha-fucking-ha.”
After some time driving through the brightly lit city of Vegas.Ryan is lurching in his seat and the world is fading in and out of his vision. He looks up blearily to see the city lights washing past the window. The roar of the car engine makes his head pound.
“Hey, hey stay awake.”
It’s Jace.
“Don’t you dare fall asleep.”
Ryan takes a deep breath and tries to sit up but the movement makes him wretch. “Just stay awake, we’re nearly there,” his voice fades and Ryan feels his eyes close. He snaps them open and swallows and shakes his head a little. It sparks pain down the back of his neck like fire.
Ryan licks his lips and blinks himself awake. Tries to speak and doesn’t know what to say.
Two minutes later the stops at their destination. Ryan’s loft wasn’t as lavish or expensive looking in the slightest. But going through it’s metal sliding doors the inside speaks a different story. Marbled floors, the kitchen and lounge is an open expanse of rich wood and metallic fixings. The entire right wall is made from enormous windows and Maslow Park stretches out below them, the rest of the Vegas.lights fill up the unlit room.
“I can’t believe this is still all yours”
Ryan throws his keys down and drops on the couch with an audible reaction to his pain. “Sure is. Came with my last job, but you know that I won’t get into it.” He says as he looks at the title in his hands. It’s been a hell of a journey getting to where he is now. So many fights, so many lost fights, but with only a few wins that matted. With a noticeable smile he lifts the title up and he sees the Vegas lights shine from behind it. This was his.
“I am the new SCW Roulette champion… that is not something to forget.”
Ryan keys Loft, Las Vegas, Nevada
On-Camera
It’s been a hell of a month for the resident SCW roulette Champion, Ryan Keys. He’s been doing a lot of appearances as a sort of celebration for himself because of his recent accomplishment. But with all that aside it’s time to get serious. Inception II Is right around the corner and Steve Ramone is no one to take lightly.
We see Ryan Keys in a sort of unusual scene for him. Instead of working out at the gym or standing outside of the arena to be, he is actually back at his loft. A modern decorated living space where Ryan is currently replaying his past matches, as well as a few matches from Steve from the recent years. He knows that he’s found a way to win against Ramone, he’s proved it about three time already. But there was still times where he’s felt that he’s won by just by luck. And that didn’t sit right with him.
Ryan is pacing around the darkened room in nothing but grey sweatpants, hung low on his hips. Carrying the title, holding it over his shoulder with one arm and cradling a box of Chinese food in the other. He stares at the enormous screen in front of him that casts a light over his skin with all the action happening, his lean muscles tense each time he gets hit or when his plan gets ruined, but relax at the end of every match. Ryan swallows his food and puts the box to the side as he switches the match to one where Steve gets the upper hand. Slowly the camera pans across and we see Ryan’s face focused, his ice cold blue eyes trained on the action until they stare directly at the camera.
"It doesn’t just take skill, strength or talent to get ahead in life. It also takes brains and coordination, along with dedication. I’ve proven to have all of that, but so has everyone else, in their own way. And as you can see, Steve has his own way of acting, moving, tricking… His skills are opposite of mine and we end up in fighting until we can’t go any more.”
He remembered about the brutal beating he took while fighting Steve, but he still pulled through. Smiling to himself Ryan taps his thumb over the plate of the Roulette title on his shoulder. He knows that he can fight for a long time, but was always a guessing game with Steve.
"Inception II Is my new beginning, it’s almost fitting that it be done in my hometown. This is where I grew up, where I trained, a place where I have made the best decisions of my life.... and the worst. But there has been always room to grow. I started out as a underground fighter just fighting to get by, but I got a chance to do something better and I took it. I changed a lot about me. Changed the way I dress, the way I talk, even the way that I fought. I wasn’t just getting by anymore, I was starting to go out there and entertain people, giving them a show like only Vegas can. I did all that just to get a chance to prove what I am worth. Here on SCW I was given that chance… probably more than I can admit, but finally all that hard work has paid off. This new year I am starting off as champion, and I will not let anyone down. I will fight for this.”
He paces around the hardwood floor just thinking about his matches in SCW so far. A lot has changed since the beginning, but his heart is still in the same place. ,Walking away from the big screen he stands in front of the large window of his loft overlooking the Vegas lights. The camera follows him, and gets a clear view of the title being held over Ryan’s shoulder.
"In no way, shape, or form am I unbeatable. No.Just because I am a champion doesn’t make me any better than I was before. I still work the same, I still sweat the same, I still bleed the same as I started. The only difference now is that the close eyes people had on my changed to a target. I am on the map for people to go after and that can’t be scrubbed away. It’s in the record books. Having a match against me will now mean something instead of being a job or a squash match. I am not booked to bump and feed for other wrestlers any more. All that has changed for me. But the fight is still there. If anything I am more fired out than before. I have something to defend now instead of it only being my pride. It’s not just about going in there and try to win anymore, it’s about defending the title I have earned and not letting it go to my head. A lot of people might think that I have let it, but that is not the case. I still fight the same with or without it, and I will keep growing.”
Ryan stares out into the open view before releasing a breath. The lights from the outside shine over him as they never go out, just get changed for the better from time to time. He smiled and turns away from the window to the keep talking.
"As I look now there are a lot of guys that are looking up and aiming for me. Lots of new blood in the business. Talented, fast, energized… a little weird, but they are waiting for their chance which can be dangerous. In the other hand I have the veterans around, guys that I have fought with, guys that I have seen fight and that have experience. Arguably they have more experience than me, but I accept these challenges like I have before. Like I will continue to do. The other championships might not think much f me right now, and the same goes for the former champions. But I have yet to defend myself as a champion and at Inception II I will have that chance. It’s only fitting that I get to have it with the man that might think the least of me. It’s been no secret that Steve Ramone doesn’t respect me as a champion, he’ll he doesn’t even see me in this pornstar fantasy world he’s living in. But little by little I have proven that am here, and that I should not be underestimated. I might have been called the underdog in our last match but that if far from the truth,and I am going to show it.”
He smiles, knowing that he has a hard fight ahead of him, but he is going in it with confidence. The camera moves around with him before it focused back on his icy stare.
"This will be our third time in a row fighting each other in the ring since December of last year. I have fought against nobody else besides you, Steve. I have won against you twice now, and I am itching for a third. We’ll meet in that ring at Inception II and I will go all out, I’ll pull out all the stops like I have in the past and I will defend myself as champion against you. It’s going to be hard to say it, but it might be the last time in awhile that I will get to defend my title against you. It’s not by my wish, but the bosses decided that whoever loses will not get to fight the SCW Roulette Championship until the current holder loses it. And that’s where we part ways. Because I am not losing what I have worked so hard for, I am not going to let this opportunity slip away. Steve, I am not going to be you. I am a bit more stubborn than you are, and I can fight back to prove it. I already have, but it looks like I have to remind you again. It’s no problem with me. But it looks like the people of SCW are tired of watching reruns of us fighting each other in the ring, and now we go at it again.Things won’t change.”
He looks down as he pulled off the title off his shoulder and held it between his hands. This is what they are fighting for, the title that is at stake. But to Ryan it’s much more than that.
"I will not go back to being a nobody. I am not a guy that got hired for his looks, and this is my second chance to make people see the wrestler that I am. You can think what you want of me after this match Steve. But I ask of you that for this match you see me as a wrestler. Because if you don’t it’ll all be over for you. And that is not the match the people of SCW want to see from you at Inception II. People around here believe in you, and I some day hope that some day they’ll do the same for me. It’s what I am fighting for after all. And I will get that respect by earning it. So I hope that you are watching, I pray that you are listening, because after this match I don’t want to be that guy thats says ‘I told you so.’ You can’t let a kid like me stop all over your work."
He smirks.
“Time and time again you have said, you have asked, you have believed that I was not ready to fight you. But people still thought that I was, I knew that I was, and still am. So now I am going to ask you to be ready. Because we are going to fight whether you like it or not. And I am still walking out of Inception !! as the SCW Roulette champion. The question is… will you do something about it? Because this champion is hoping you will.”
Ryan looks up at the camera as he slowly raises the title over his head, letting the image set in wait a smile on his face. As the scene fades away the question is still in the the air. Ryan has said his piece and now it’s Steve’s turn.
