Breaking Point
This was a hard day for Alex. The anniversary of his little brothers death. Dylan was an energetic kid, five years younger than Alex, he was always wanting to hang out with his older brother when they were kids. He was bright, smart, funny and kind hearted. He always wanted to see the best in people. Alex wasn’t like that, even in his teens Alex was jaded to the world and had a cynical edge. It all changed. Alex left their home in Texas. He walked out to get away from their overbearing father. A man who had to drink to deal with any stress in his life.
A few years away, Alex changed, he trained, he wrestled, he fell in love, he lost that love. And then returned home. But the home was different, their father had passed away and Dylan, the once happy kid had turned into an angry teenager. He lashed out at everything and everyone. Alex and Charlie, their sister, tried to get Dylan into wrestling. Taking him to the gym. Dylan balanced that with high school and for a time the siblings were happy.
Or so they thought.
Dylan spiralled, he got deep into drugs and abused them regularly. And at twenty-two years old Alex wasn’t equipped to help him. When Dylan died a little part of Alex did too. It created a rift between Alex and his sister. It left him without a family. A family that he had to rebuild. He created Wolfslair, he brought Charlie in, he had his wife there and often Alex’s children would visit. Everyone at the gym knew his children. Harley the young firecracker from a previous relationship, and his brother's namesake. Little Dylan who had grown to be a funny little man.
Wolfslair was the family Alex thought he lost. But every year, as this day rolled around a sick feeling would form in Alexs’ stomach and break his heart all over again. The guilt of the past would overcome him and he would be irritable, sad and go into a deep depression. A black cloud would always form and Alex struggled to pull himself out of it. Blaming himself for anything going wrong, just like he did his baby brother's death.
Most knew about it. Most at the gym would always take it easier, a few days of calm without issues. But obviously now, with the stress of what was happening, there was one person who seemed to give zero fucks. And it was also the one person who Alex thought of as a younger brother. Austin James Mercer.
He had walked into the gym an hour earlier. His mood even worse than it had been in recent weeks. He was like a bull in a china shop, he warmed up, he did weights and then entered the ring with a few of the younger guys. He threw them around, he threw headbutts, right hands, flattened them with lariats. Austin needed to train hard, something Alex understood for a huge match, but he couldn’t have Austin hurting people deliberately.
Alex walked out of his office, the door slamming behind him causing a few people in the gym to jump and turn to find out what the noise was. Alex moved around and to one of the practise rings jumping up onto the apron shaking his head before yelling in a gruff voice. ”AUSTIN!”
There was silence, everyone seemed to hold their breath as the six foot six monster slowly turned his head looking at his old friend. Alex looked at the young trainee standing in front of the Prodigal son and with a subtle tilt of his head told him to get out of the ring. He obliged and Alex stepped in, the two men standing on either side, Alex shook his head with a heavy sigh, Austin just shrugged. ”What? Did you come down off your ivory tower to yell at us lesser beings?” Alex swallowed his anger at the comment and took a deep breath.
Austin on the other hand just smirked and shook his head, turning to look at the others around the ring, as if picking out a victim. Alex knew he couldn’t let it happen. ”You’re done for today Aus, take a break.” Austin raised his eyebrows, almost as if what Alex said was processing. Alex just stared at the much bigger, stronger, younger man. He clenched his fists ready for a fight. It felt like a standoff, neither man wanting to stand down.
Austin turned his head again, all eyes were on him. Alex was worried, what would he do? Austin was an alpha male, and he had made no secret in questioning Alexs’ leadership. Austin laughed under his breath and took a giant step forward, they were so close now Alex could feel the heat coming off of Austin who had been working hard. ”Is that an order?. Boss” He added extra emphasis on the final word. Alex shook his head, he stepped back and defused the situation.
”It’s a suggestion, but I need you to realize, this isn’t your personal gym. This is a family and we help each other. Not hurt each other.” And just like that Alex had switched the narrative Austin was trying to write. Austin wanted to paint Alex as week, to challenge him, to cause Alex to lose his cool. Instead Alex had smiled, reminded Austin what Wolfslair was. And also made him look like the asshole. The eyes stayed on Austin now, burning glares into his skin as everyone there blamed Austin for the awkward feeling in the gym, the changes that had been made.
Austin was no leader. Not now.
He growled and seemed to be even more infuriated as Alex turned his back on him. Austins mind flashed back to when Austin first entered the gym, a warning from Alex. Never turn your back on someone you fear or respect. And Alex seemed to do neither. Austin stormed from the ring, turning to give Alex one last look. ”Go home Austin...cool off. Come back when you remember who the fuck you are.”
Back on that horse
A small laugh under his breath, a shake of his head, and one look on his face that still betrayed the aura of a confident veteran. It was a look of disbelief as if he can’t process what happened.
”Well, I got the monkey off my back. After months of losing, months of putting in performances that people loved but coming up on the losing end. Against Ben Jordan, Jack Washington, O’Malley, Fenris, Vinnie, I was able to get a win. It’s just too bad it had to come at the expense of Miles Kasey. Milo is a member of Wolfslair, a great talent and a kid who has the wrestling world by the balls. Milo will bounce back, I know it. But where does that leave me? What am I about to do? Truth is, I’ve been lost in the wilderness. Unable to get out of my own head as the losses mounted.”
“Originally it was a climb back to the top. It was what I wanted to do, but as I faced the best in this company. After I lost to Jack I went on a tour of attrition. Before my match with Milo I had faced three former SCW world champions and one man who was challenging for that title. I went through a murderers row and came out the other side with losses, crushed confidence and a question I needed an answer to.”
“Can I still perform at an elite level in 2021?”
“When I look in the mirror I see a different man. There’s grey in my beard, there’s crows feet in my eyes and I find myself wondering just how long I can keep this up. Professional wrestling is a young man and womens game, and while I’m not old in the general scheme of things, I am still athletic and I feel good, the truth is that I have lost a step. And the best in this business can and will recognise that and take advantage of it. Jack, Ben, Fenris, those three especially are above my level right now. The old me could have beaten them, the old Alex Jones was a force of nature. And unfortunately in this life we all need to come to the realisation that we are all…”
“...human”
His eyes close and he takes a long, deep breath before continuing, a smile forming now as he stretches.
”The thing is, all those matches I mentioned were between former world champions, and I include myself in that, not that you would know since even SCW has forgotten I was the world champion here. It was only my tenth world title, it was only something I promoted the hell out of, it was only something that led to Griffin Hawkins taking his ball and going home. Yeah, not that big of a deal right SCW?. And now, well now I get to challenge for the roulette title. And let me be clear on this, I don’t even know if I deserve it.”
“While I have been a challenge to these big names I still came up on the losing end. And while Miles is a great competitor one win over him shouldn’t really get me a title shot at anything…”
“The roulette title match could be anything when that wheel spins and I don’t know if I’m prepared, I don’t know if I can beat Cassian Reed, or if I deserve to.”
“I have a title shot based on my name and I’m not sure that sits well with me. The last few months I have failed at everything I tried to do. I tried to defend the title against Jack Washington, I failed, I tried to beat Ben Jordan, I failed, I tried to beat Fenris in a match that shouldn’t have even happened. And I failed. My 2021 so far has been nothing but a downward spiral, and I finally get a win, a win against a kid I’m supposed to be a mentor too and even in that, in some ways...I failed.”
Alex runs a hand through his long back hair and clears his throat, his heart sank, he was getting in his head again and feeling his confidence fade. He needed to wake up. He needed to be the black dragon again.
”It was never my intention to step in front of anyone at wolfslair. When I came here ti was to support Austin and Alicia, and then Johanna. To be a unit. I wanted to be a leader by example and be selfless. But then, well then it became about getting that tenth world title. I did it, I was happy, but then it all slipped away. Now, here I am with an opportunity at Blaze of glory to become a triple crown champion and win the roulette title. And hey, all I have to do to do this is to beat Cassian Reed, the new IT boy in SCW and also get out of my own head. No biggie right?”
He laughs to himself, deflecting his true feelings and trying to play it all off as a joke.
“Thing is, Cassian is a talented guy. He burst onto SCW’s scene. Someone who is known on the Underground and who put in an amazing showing in the Blast from the past. A performance to be proud of. He had a great team with Roxi and looked impressive. He’s been able to become a champion in almost record time. And the more that I think about it, the more I realise why this match is happening. This isn’t about me deserving a title shot. This is about squeezing every last drop of credibility out of my name.”
“I’m so stupid…”
“What should I expect out of a company that allowed me to be fed to Fenris, knowing where I was at in my personal and professional life, allowing Austin to push me forward into it, hell Cassian Reed said it himself. He was hand picked by Mark and Christian, hand picked to be in SCW, to be a champion. I’m being set up to fail”
“That’s it isn’t it? My name is being used one last time to elevate Cassian even higher. Cause even though I have lost and lost and lost I’m still Alex fucking Jones. Good plan. What should I expect from a company that forgot I was their world champion?”
He sneered and shook his head. For a moment it wasn’t about his losses or lack of confidence. Now Alex was angry. His heart raced, he shook his head and the old Alex Jones started to return. The one with a chip on his shoulder, the arrogant man who saw himself as a fucking king among peasants.
”Blaze of glory, it’s fitting Cassian, it’s fitting this match should be happening here, cause the more I look at it the more I realise they are expecting this to be my last stand, like Billy the kid in the movie young guns this is supposed to be my “reap it” moment. All guns blazing. I’m supposed to throw everything at you and you’re supposed to beat me. Do you see it? You see the script they are fucking writing to make you be the be all end all? The brand new star, passing the torch right?”
“I’m going to let you in on a little secret kid.”
“Sin city wrestling never wanted me here. They wanted Austin and Alicia, they were top stars in Honor, I was looked at as someone whose time had passed back then. But I came in and I have led a group of people to being one of the best groups in this company's history. Almost three years, a reign of titles, accolades and championships, including my own mixed tag run and a world title win. And now it comes to this. The hand picked future star, Mark and Christians new boy, against the old veteran they never wanted who succeeded despite their lack of interest. It was always about Austin...just like it’s now all about you…”
“But, I’m not going to go down without a fight, Cassian. I’ m not going to ride away into the sunset with a smile, a wave and a speech full of insincere “thank yous” with a dick in each hand to give jollys to people who aren’t fit to shine my goddamn boots. Nah, Blaze of glory will be an amazing night, but you want my scalp?. You’ll have to earn it. And I’m warning you, you better come with some respect, if you do that “Alex Jones? Who?” bullshit...I’ll take your head off...let’s do this kid…”
