{Our scene opens at a park. Still not too many people inside the park given the pandemic, but there’s a few dog walkers and some folks out enjoying the fresh air, including Roxi’s dad Paul, sitting on the park bench, feeding the ducks near the pond. Roxi soon walks up behind him, smiling and calling him name.}
Roxi – Hey dad.
{Paul turns around, eyeing Roxi suspiciously.}
Paul – Hey, there’s my baby girl! Well, one of them anyway.
{Paul stands and father and daughter embrace.}
Roxi – I wouldn’t leave you hanging on Father’s day.
Paul – I know you wouldn’t. Where’s your sister?
Roxi – I figured she would have already sent you a card.
Paul – No, I haven’t gotten anything aside from you, right now.
Roxi – How are you feeling?
Paul – I’m okay.
Roxi – I really wish you come stay at home.
{Paul sighs.}
Paul – I like to just be at peace, being around the family, I just feel like a burden.
Roxi – That’s silly, Dad. You’re not a burden, we would not have done this if it was a burden. In fact, I always tried to respect your wishes and leave you to what you wanted to do, but we had to try.
Paul – You didn’t have to.
Roxi – I owe you that much. You took care of us after Mom left and she came back and now she’s doing great at the house.
Paul – It’s just... it’s been a long time.
Roxi – Dad, you are always welcome to be at home with us. That’s never going to change. It is a little awkward, yeah, but you know what? That’s okay. I’m willing to deal with it if you are.
Paul – That’s not for me, anymore. I did the best I could with you girls after your mom left, and I can say I’m proud of that fact. I’m proud that I did, what I thought I was supposed to do. What I thought was best. I tried to raise you both to be good people, and respectable young ladies. Now, I didn’t think you’d both be pro wrestlers, but you did it, and you both did it well. For that, I am extremely proud of you both. But that’s what I was supposed to do. I don’t need the praise for doing what my responsibility was. I took care of you, you shouldn’t be taking care of me.
Roxi – I’m not going to sit here and have you say that you don’t need these things. You deserve some recognition for Father’s Day, it’s a holiday for goodness' sake. I got you a card and everything. And I’m trying to force you to come live with us, but you ARE a part of this family. A big part in fact. One of the most important parts. Without you, I don’t know where we would have ended up. You were strong enough to raise us back then, But coming home isn’t a sign of weakness, nor is it a sign that you need to be taken care of. It’s just that we want to know that you’re okay. I don’t like the fact that you’re just staying in the retirement home and sure, they’ll call us, but for what years we have left, I want to know that my dad is okay.
Paul – I am okay.
Roxi – I heard it the first time, but you don’t need to face the rest of this alone. You taught us that we were stronger together, and I’ve lived that my whole life. And all I really want now, is to know you’re happy.
{Paul doesn’t say anything for a moment, reaching down and tossing bread to the ducks. He looks back up at Roxi, closes his eyes and sighs}
Paul – You know, at the beginning of this, I was trying to act like I knew if you were Roxi or Nicole, and I really didn’t know. But now, it’s pretty clear that it’s Roxi, because Nicole would given up on this conversation a long time ago.
Roxi – Sorry, I’m stubborn, like my dad.
{Paul smiles a bit from the response, he even goes into a chuckle.}
Paul – I see what you did there.
Roxi – I’m just saying Dad, you didn’t give up when Mom left, you can be right where you left off and back home with all of us.
Paul – Nicole is on her own, I can be on mine.
Roxi – Nicole also travels the world like her name is Columbus.
Paul – And I’m right here, I’m always right here. Look, Roxi, I didn’t give up on the family. I didn’t give up on trying to make things work, but I also know that on your mother’s side, there’s a lot of regret,, and she’s the one that needs to make up for that. She’s the one that left and needs the time to spend with you and your sister. I... I just have my own emotions on this and I don’t want to drag up the past to bring back painful memories. Your mother relapsed into alcohol before, after spending all that time to get clean. What you have to understand now, is that those memories, all coming back with me in her life or even around, could imbalance things. None of us want your mother to have to fight that demon again. I almost lost her, and both of you girls to that. I don’t want to risk losing it again.
Roxi – Dad...
Paul – No, Roxi, I’m not going to be swayed or told what I’m doing is wrong or right. I believe a man should do what he knows best and being a close advisor to you and your sister and your family is what’s best for me. I’m not totally gone. I’m not going to walk away from you and leave you with nothing. I’m here to be here when you need me. And that’s final.
Roxi – But...
Paul – Don’t argue with me, Roxi, I’m your father.
{Roxi finally concedes that her father isn’t going to budge on this and she nods.}
Roxi – Yes, dad.
Paul – Thank you.
{There is a moment silence between them that seems to break the tension.}
Paul – Roxi, you and your sister have made me very proud with how you have done things in your lives. You both turned out to be good people, and that’s all I’ve ever really wanted for you. And you both are very happy, and that makes me happy, because it means I did my job.
Roxi – Thanks dad, it hasn’t been going so well lately, but yes, for the most part, we are happy.
Paul – Oh? You’re not happy? Why not?
Roxi – Just things professionally.
Paul – Roxi, I’ve watched you enough times on TV to know that you can do pretty much anything you set your mind to.
Roxi – I know, but lately, it just seems like things are... at like a crossroads
Paul – So chose a path.
Roxi – I wish it was that easy.
Paul – It IS that easy. You weigh the options and you do what makes you happy.
Roxi – Maybe... I don’t know...
Paul – The only problem I’ve ever seen you have in your entire life, is that you try and do everything for everyone else, and you don’t put your own choices first. In a lot of ways, that’s admirable. But you can’t always think like that. Sometimes, you have to do what’s best for you. And that’s not a bad thing. It never has been.
Roxi – I just don’t want to make that mistake.
Paul – Life if full of mistakes, Roxi. You’ve been around long enough to know that. You know how good you are, you just need to show people, and not be afraid of your own success.
{Roxi thinks for a moment and then nods.}
Roxi – You’re right.
Paul – Dads know these things.
{Roxi smiles as she hugs her dad and removes a card from her jacket and hands it to her dad. He smiles looking at the card and laughs, looking at the photo of a drawing of people picking their noses. He opens it up with the text reading “You really know how to pick a winner, dad.” with Roxi signing it.}
Roxi – Happy Father’s Day, dad.
Paul – Thank you Roxi.
Roxi – If you ever change your mind, I am making steaks tonight, in case you want one saved for you.
Paul – Hmmm... we’ll see.
Roxi – Thanks Dad. For everything.
Paul – I’ll be around if you need me.
{Roxi once again hugs and kisses her father before wiping away a small tear and beginning to leave.}
Roxi – I’ll yell at Nicole to come see you.
Paul – Is that a promise or a threat?
Roxi – Both.
{The scene fades as Roxi walks away and Paul chuckles to himself before going back to feeding the ducks near him.}
{Roxi has returned home and heads down to the training area to train. She cranks up the intensity and difficulty of training to near max level. She steps into the gravity chamber and begins to stretch and then firing off punches and begins a long painful workout trying to prepare for the match she has upcoming. She just keeps going on and on until finally Keira comes down, wondering what’s going on. Seeing Roxi on her hands and knees, sweating intensely and nearly passing out from exhaustion. She gasps and shuts the machine down.}
Keira – Roxi!
{Keira rushes in, but Roxi slowly turns her head to see Keira and an almost annoyed look on her face appears.}
Keira – Why the hell do you have this up so high! You could have gotten yourself crushed!
Roxi – I just... need a minute.
{Keira shakes her head as she helps Roxi up and out of the gravity chamber.}
Roxi – I'll be fine.
Keira – I didn’t ask, but seriously, you never have this up that high. What are you trying to do?
Roxi – Get stronger.
Keira – Are... are you trying to -
Roxi – No, Keira... I’m... I’m just wanting to get stronger.
Keira – Look, You know that the body can only hold so much energy, I struggled with that blue form, you don’t need to try and do that for me.
Roxi – I'm... trying... to win.
Keira – Win? Win what?
Roxi – The fight I’m having... with myself.
Keira – Okay... you have either lost your mind or your delusional. I’m putting you into bed.
Roxi – I said... I’ll be fine.
Keira – Don't argue with me.
{Keira assists Roxi in standing up, and almost forcefully makes her go to their bedroom to rest.}
Keira – There, I’m not going to have you killing yourself over something silly.
Roxi – I said I was okay. I told you I just needed a minute.
Keira – No more training then, at least for now. I’m not always going to be aware that you’re down there.
Roxi – You don’t need to worry about me.
{Keira shoots a glance at Roxi and shakes her head.}
Keira – You sound like your dad.
Roxi – Heh... I know..
{Roxi slowly sits up and nods before standing up slowly.}
Roxi – Fine, we’ll play if your way, no more training for now.
Keira – Good, because the steaks need to go on the grill since I already made the fried potatoes and the corn is boiling.
Roxi – Alright, I’ll get to it.
{Roxi slowly walks out of the bedroom and Keira follows closely behind to make sure she’s not going to pass out or anything. Roxi walks outside and begins to prepare the grill, getting the charcoal ready before lighting it. There is then a knock at the door. Roxi looks at Keira}
Keira – Do you think...
Roxi – It could be her. Just be ready.
Keira – Of all the days...
{Roxi and Keira march to the door, preparing for perhaps an Amelia attack but are surprised when Nicole is standing there with Paul.}
Nicole – Oh, uh... hey guys, I ran into this big lug at the park, I was wondering if we could feed him.
{A wave of relief washes over Roxi and Keira as they smile at the two family member and let them in.}
Roxi – Welcome home, Dad.
Paul – Don’t start. Where’s the grill, I need to make sure you know what you’re doing...
{The family share a laugh as the scene fades.}
"All men have limits. They learn what they are and learn not to exceed them. I ignore mine."
- Batman (Knightfall)
Hello SCW,
I come to you think week and... Something has just been bugging me for a long, long time now, it’s been, I’d probably say over a month. It’s not just been bugging me; it’s been eating at me. It’s just one of those things where you know something is off, something is wrong and you can’t quite figure it out, but you want to try and put it out of your head. You want to try and make it go away, and pretend that if you just focus on something else, that you won’t think about it. But slowly, it starts to affect everything. It’s starts to just make everything a hassle. You can’t find enjoyment in things. Food doesn’t taste as good, when you sit in a chair, you can’t find a spot that you feel comfortable. You toss and turn in bed. Maybe you even itch, like physically. I’ve been struggling with this all this time, and I need to apologize to you.
Because I’ve been totally fake, and that’s not something I ever want to be.
It makes me angry just thinking about it. I shouldn’t have just pretended that everything was okay, because it’s not. I’ve been lying to myself, and to you. And really, the reason is, I don’t want to go back on my words I’ve said in the past. I’ve tried to make sure I’m not sitting here hypocritically telling you one thing and doing another. I don’t want to be that person. I’m not going to be that person with the “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality. It’s not for me. And maybe I focus too much on that, but that is important to me. And I don’t want to lie to you, but I have been and I feel like garbage for doing it. Because I hold myself to that high standard. And I have discovered, that I have trapped myself in this box. I have place myself with a set of strict guidelines, and I for some reason, have handicapped myself this entire time.
You see, for me, I’ve set up these rules and I’ve tried my best to play by them, and then, when something happens, and I even think that one of these rules comes into question or I have to wonder if I’ve said the opposite or if I’ve veering off the path. Because my path really only has one direction. Forward. There are no turns on my road. I can’t go off that road, because the one time I do, is the time that every single person who doesn’t like what I do, instantly points their finger at. If I don’t have my ducks all lined up, these other people instantly scoop it up. I screw up once, I hear about it for ages. I’m not allowed to make a mistake. I’m not allowed to slip up, and when you start to think about that and really understand it, it’s something I really don’t have to think about. But this entire time, it has caused me to feel some of the most frustration I have ever felt in my life, let alone career.
It almost feels like I just inherited a new set of issues after 10 years. Yeah, celebrated 10 years a couple of weeks ago, and now I feel like it’s already like some sort of crossroads. Maybe it’s just me dealing with Keira thinking about life after wrestling that has put this thought in my head and made it a thing that I accepted as okay. I wanted to be a good example for my wife, but not just for her, for many of my friends and family. I wanted everyone to just be okay with things. And maybe that led me to do things and say things that, I know in my heart, were not how I felt at the time. I was masking it and trying to justify in my own mind that it was okay, and the truth was, I really wasn’t okay with it.
I have always prided myself on being honest and truthful with everyone, and sometimes it’s blunt, sometimes it’s harsh, but I hoped in my heart that people would know it’s coming from a good place. But then I go and do what I did and it’s still not sitting okay with me.
I can’t. I just can’t put on a fake smile at the past month of things. And no, I know she’s listening and I want Keira to know it’s not her fault. She’s making her own choices, and I have to make mine, but I can’t pretend that I’m okay with things.
I am frustrated with not becoming a 3-time bombshell’s champion. I am frustrated with not winning the battle royal a couple of weeks ago. I am frustrated with those two things because I know I can do better. It is MY fault that I didn’t win those matches, because I didn’t do what I needed to do, and then I made it worse because I pretended, I was okay with that, and I’m just not. I should be standing here, as the Internet champion, and it frustrates me that I’m not. I take nothing away from Myra Rivers, I expect better from myself. And the fact that I just tried to shrug it off because I’ve always said winning isn’t everything, and I know it’s not. Championships aren’t the end all be all of an in-ring career, and I know that. But there just comes a point where all the words and the “Winning isn’t everything” speech I’m giving to myself isn’t cutting it.
I have been sitting here, floundering. And it’s my fault. Here I was making all these cute challenges to Amber Ryan like I deserved them. I don’t. I’m at the bottom and it’s about time I got up off my ass and actually did something worthwhile. I haven’t been a champion in almost two years. I didn’t fulfill what I wanted to do and it’s not an age thing, I am 35, not 85. I have done just about everything there is to do, in SCW, and yet, I don’t feel like I’ve done anything lately. I am always striving to justify this position I find myself in. I don’t want to go down as one of the best, I want to be THE best. It is a selfish desire, and maybe an unobtainable one, but maybe it’s because I don’t ask for it. I want to earn it. And so, the time has now come for me, to being to earn it and do it the right way.
And thus, it brings me to Seleana.
Look, I should apologize right now because I’m been talking about everything BUT Seleana for the past few minutes and the whole match up screen on the SCW website is talking about how I shouldn’t overlook her. And while that’s correct, it seems a little, almost condescending to say that I overlook anyone. I heap more praise on people than virtually anyone else in SCW. I try to build up everyone and Seleana is no different from anyone else. I could sit here and tell you about Seleana and what she hasn’t done and this or that, but I’m just not that person. Because if I did, I would be like everyone else. And that’s not me. Seleana is my friend, and she been my friend for a very long time. I’ve said many times she deserves a medal for putting up with her wife’s antics at times, and how while everyone else calls her Crystal’s shadow, I don’t. I have never called her that, because Seleana has stood on her own for a long, long time. The only problem has always been that Seleana doesn’t get the credit she deserves because she is overshadowed by Crystal, but that’s not Seleana’s fault. Seleana is more than capable in the ring and she has proved it time and time again.
I’ve said it a bunch of times, probably more than Crystal about how good Sel can be on her own, but yes there is some validity to her status because of Crystal. It’s an unfortunate side effect of the situation. Seleana is more than capable of beating anyone at any time. She’s got a bunch of wins when people least expected it. She just has the unfortunate distinction of having her wife be in her spotlight for the most important times.
So no, I’m not taking Seleana lightly, because of circumstances that are beyond her control. I know how good she is, I’ve been in the ring with her many times. But that remark also seemed to insinuate I am the favorite and I should win this match by default. Not that I take people lightly, but if I did, and I won anyway, then we could have a conversation about that, but I don’t, so there’s no reason to assume that I take people like lightly to begin with. No, I give credit where it is due, far more than most, and it seems that even now, people are mistaking my kindness for weakness. And maybe, just maybe, that actually has some validity.
I don’t mean to get sidetracked because Seleana is my opponent and I am very much looking forward to getting into the ring with her again and Sunday will be no different from any other time we have wrestled. It’s going to be an exciting match that is worthy of a super card main event when it’s on. But the point I’m making here, is that maybe I am too nice. I mean, if I wanted to, I could sit here and trash everyone on the roster, but that’s not what I’m about. No, my problem, is that I don’t want to do that, and I want and maybe expect the same from other people. So, you know what? If they don’t want to give me respect, I’ll take it. I’m going to now just do what needs to be done, and what needs to be done, is me going through and earning the respect and the recognition I feel I deserve. It’s not malicious, but I’m just so annoyed at this that it’s just time to take matters into my own hands.
So, from here on out, there is NOBODY on that bombshell’s roster, that’s going to outwork me. None of these bombshells are going to work harder, be in better shape, and get the best of me because I didn’t do enough. I will do the most, and sooner or later, I will be the most obvious choice to get a championship match. Heck, even though we’re halfway through the year, I’m aiming to be the wrestler of the year. That’s what I’m going for. To be at the top. The very top.
Seleana knows I have no hard feelings towards her, nothing about the outcome of this match is going to change our friendship, but this is a match that Sel just happens to be the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m not going to be malicious, but I am going to be intense, because that is what this is about for me now. At the end of the match, I will raise her hand, I will help her up, I will give her a big hug, because we are friends, but I’m going to win this match, no if’s and’s or but’s about it.
I’m going into this match on Sunday already prepared more than before, this is now just a case of me, putting any doubts to rest, and leaving no stone unturned in my preparation for any upcoming match. Nobody, no one single person on that roster is going out prepare me.
I will now begin to separate myself from everyone else. And show you, exactly what I can do.
Seleana, you will always be my friend and I love you to death, but Sunday, you’re not going to beat me.
I will see you, and everyone else, really soon. 
