If at first you don't succeed, try try again. That has been the story of Eddie Lyons for the better part of a year and once again he finds himself in another tournament with another opportunity to earn a shot at the SCW World Championship.
It's a story that would have broken most people by now, but somehow, someway, Eddie keeps his head about him and just keeps pushing forward. Perhaps it's due to the fact that he might be the only member of the Lyons family with a level head on his shoulders or the influence of his wife and infant daughter, but the mantra around Eddie Lyons has always been unbreakable and always keep fighting.
And that wasn't about to change.
Would he finish the story this time? Or would he be forced to write yet another chapter in his journey to the world championship?
Only time would tell.
__________
Eddie Lyons sat on the sofa of his warm living room with his infant daughter on his lap. Her eyes looked up at him half shut as she was fighting to stay awake. Eddie gently rocked her the way Sabrina had taught him.
“You should be sleeping you know.” he said quietly “But you're going to fight me too aren't you.”
Jordan's tiny hand balled into a fist and she awkwardly jerked it upward before it loosened again, like she was discovering what her hands could do.
“Yeah you get that from me.” Eddie laughed “Never stop fighting.”
“That's an understatement.” came the voice of his wife Sabrina has she entered the room, taking a seat next to Eddie and the baby.
“What's that supposed to mean?” said Eddie.
“That Jordan is as stubborn as you are.” Eddie Lyons.” Sabrina grinned.
“Yeah…” Eddie grinned back, “Runs in my family I guess.”
“You know you swore up and down you weren't going to be good at this.” Sabrina said motioning towards the baby “But you look like a natural to me.”
“Well she doesn't make it easy.” said Eddie "I mean she's got me wrapped around her little finger already.”
“You're loving this Dad thing.” though she said with a smile.
“I mean I always knew I'd like it.” said Eddie “Looking down at the little bundle in his lap, “I just didn't realize how much it would change me. Before it was just all about wrestling because that was all I had. Now when I come home, whatever happened out there doesn't matter. As soon as I see her smiling at me and falling asleep in my arms. It's like a hard reset.”
He looked down at Jordan and realized her tiny eyes had closed and she had finally drifted off to sleep.
“She always falls asleep faster for you, you know. I think she's gonna be a daddys girl.“ said Sabrina.
Eddie smiled he loved his little family and for a moment his mind slightly drifted to the other side of his family.
“I wonder how I ended up the way I did.” said Eddie “I mean with Victoria still trying to play queen of everything, Vincent going off the rails and whatever the hell Alexander is doing these days, probably brooding somewhere. They all get wrapped up in their own storms. But I sit here as the level headed one of the family.”
“Does that bother you?” asked Sabrina.
“It used to.” said Eddie “But it doesn't anymore. It used to feel like being level-headed made me boring. Like I didn't have all the flash and flare of the rest of them. But I understand now that maybe boring isn't so bad. Jordan doesn't need a storm, she needs someone that's going to be here for her everyday no matter what and the rest of my family has yet to figure that out.”
“That's why I know she'll grow up safe.” said Sabrina “Because you are level-headed and you are the anchor of the Lyons family whether your cousins realize it or not.”
Those words settled heavier and Eddie than Sabrina probably meant. Eddie thought about all the nights he spent chasing success so people could point at him and say he made it. But now he didn't care if the world thought he made it as long as Jordan did, as long as she grew up knowing her dad never quit on himself.
“Come on, we should put her in the crib.” said Sabrina.
Eddie nodded and stood up gently carrying his daughter, following Sabrina to the baby room where Jordan would probably end up disturbing them from in a few hours time, if they were lucky that is.
__________
The cameras open to find Eddie Lyons sitting on the apron of a ring at the Lyons Den, the sweat of a recent workout fresh on his face.
“You know I've tried to wonder if maybe my story is always going to be the same.” said Eddie. "You look back on my career so far and you see the pattern. I make it to the end, I have everything within my grasp, but then I stumble and never quite cross the finish line. I end up watching somebody else leave with the trophy.
He exhales heavily.
“It's a pattern that would break most people.” said Eddie “But I'm not most people. When I fall short, I pick myself up. If a door slams shut in my face, I knock on it again. That's the difference, that's what makes me unbreakable because I never pack it in and I don't walk away.”
He pauses shortly.
“That's why I actually have a certain amount of respect for Justin Smith.” said Eddie “On paper we couldn't be more different. I've been to the finals and at the doorstep of greatness more times than I can count, but Justin never seems to ever get his feet off the ground. He suffers loss after loss, rarely picking up a victory but yet he doesn't stop.”
Eddie leans back slightly resting his body against the ropes.
“He still walks out there throwing fists in arenas where everybody expects him to lose, that's a special kind of stubbornness." Eddie continued “It takes a lot of guts to keep at it when everyone looks at you as a failure. That's why I hold some respect for Justin Smith because I understand it, that refusal to let go.”
He furrows his brow a bit with a more serious expression on his face.
“But respect doesn't mean this is going to be a feel-good story for you Justin.” said Eddie “Because that's where we stop being alike. You're still going to try to get your feet off the ground while I've already proven I belong 100 times over. I've been in finals, I've been in the marquee matches, but you're still sniffing at the opportunity to even get that far.”
Eddie stands up stretching out his arms a bit.
“I might end up with the same old story when High Stakes comes to an end.” said Eddie “Get to the finals, lose and someone else gets to face Carter instead. Or maybe I actually win, get the opportunity and Carter just beats me. But what's not going to happen is me letting somebody who can't even get their feet out of the water trip me up in round one”
He begins pacing a more intense feeling about him now.
“That's just the truth of it isn't it Justin?” said Eddie “Because no matter how many times I've fallen, it's been near the finish line, but you always miss from the start. I know you're going to come at me with those sledgehammer fists. You'll rough me up good, but at the end of the day we all know it's my hand getting raised this isn't where I fall.”
His pace slows down slightly, his voice growing firmer.
“So bring your fight Justin.” said Eddie “I know you will. I also know that it's not going to be enough because my fight is always stronger. Both of us will always come back swinging next time, but only one of us gets to swing at the finish and that's going to be Unbreakable Eddie Lyons.”
He stares confidently into the camera, there's a slight quiver of his lip as everything fades to black.