One Good Day

The morning light crawled across the mats of Wolfslair. It wasn’t the blinding white of a new beginning ,more like the soft grey of something still trying to wake up. The gym smelled faintly of sweat, tape, and detergent. The sound of the air conditioner hummed somewhere overhead, and for once, Aiden didn’t feel the weight of it pressing down on him.

He’d been here since dawn. Not because he was told to. Not because Alex had ordered extra drills. He just… didn’t know where else to be.

His hands ached from the bag. His knuckles were raw. There was a line of sweat down his neck that had gone cold, sticking his shirt to his skin. He wasn’t training to prove anything. He wasn’t chasing redemption. He was just trying to exist in the space between thoughts.

He wrapped his gloves and threw another jab. The dull thud echoed through the empty gym. Each hit was rhythm, not anger. Each breath was control…….not survival.

But underneath it all, the whisper was still there.

You’re not fixed. You’re just pretending. He ignored it. Hit again. Harder. One good day. That’s what Alex had said yesterday before leaving. It wasn’t a pep talk. It was a statement. One good day didn’t mean victory. It meant choice. And maybe today was that day. He could live with that. A door creaked somewhere behind him. Aiden turned slightly, gloves still up, expecting Alex or one of the other trainees. Instead, it was Austin. Hoodie, coffee in hand, the familiar calm in his posture that felt like a counterweight to all the chaos. “You’re early,” Austin said, leaning against the ropes.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Nightmares?”

“Noise.” Aiden threw another punch. The sound cracked through the air. “Couldn’t shut it off.” Austin didn’t answer right away. He just watched. The older man had that quiet way of studying people,  not judging, not waiting, just letting them speak themselves into understanding.

“You do realize you don’t have to fight it alone, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” He jabbed again. “But I need to.”

“That’s not what needing is, Aiden.”

He stopped mid-combo, turning slightly toward him. “You ever feel like if you stop moving, you’ll drown?”

Austin nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’ve been there.”

Aiden’s eyes flicked away, like he didn’t want to be seen too much. “It’s not about the bottle anymore,” he said. “It’s about what’s left when it’s gone.”

Austin set the coffee on the apron and leaned forward on the ropes. “And what’s left?”

Aiden thought for a long time before answering. “Noise. Regret. This constant feeling that I’m chasing a version of myself I can’t find.”

“That’s part of it,” Austin said softly. “The part where it’s quiet, but it still hurts. That’s where you figure out who you actually are.”

Aiden took a slow breath and looked down at his gloves. “Feels like punishment.”

“It’s not,” Austin said. “It’s a clean slate. You just don’t trust it yet.”

Aiden let out a bitter laugh. “You sound like Alex.”

“I doubt it,” Austin smiled faintly. “He uses fewer words and more threats.” That almost drew a grin from Aiden. Almost.

Austin stepped into the ring, slow, careful, like approaching a wounded animal that still had teeth. He picked up a set of mitts and held them out. “C’mon. Work with me for a bit.”

Aiden hesitated. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Let’s see if all that self-pity improved your footwork.”

The gloves met leather. The rhythm started again. Austin called out combinations, steady, methodical…. and Aiden followed. Jab, cross, hook. Breathe. Reset. Again. For a while, they didn’t speak. The gym was quiet except for the sound of impact, the squeak of shoes on canvas, and the rasp of Aiden’s breath. His arms burned. His shoulder throbbed from yesterday’s spar. But this time, he didn’t care. The pain felt earned. It felt alive. Austin caught a jab mid-motion and lowered his mitts. “You’ve got control again,” he said.

Aiden wiped his forehead with his wrist. “For now.”

“That’s all it ever is,” Austin said. “Control’s not permanent. It’s a choice you keep making.”

Aiden exhaled. “Yeah. Alex said something like that.”

“Alex is right more than he’s wrong,” Austin admitted. “He just forgets that people aren’t machines. You can’t train grief out of them.”

That hung between them for a second. Aiden looked down at his gloves, the red fading at the seams. “You think I’m grieving?”

“You’re grieving the version of yourself you lost,” Austin said. “The one that didn’t flinch, didn’t question, didn’t need help. That’s the hardest kind of grief. Because that person’s not dead. He’s just different now.” Aiden went quiet. The words landed deep. He wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. It was true. Every time he saw himself in the mirror lately, he didn’t recognize the man staring back. And for the first time, he wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing.

He stripped off his gloves and sat on the edge of the ring. Austin joined him. Outside, the city was starting to stir, car horns, sirens, the faint pulse of life coming back to the streets. Inside, it was just them, the faint hum of the AC, and that same strange peace that Aiden was still learning to trust. He rubbed his hands together. “Do you ever stop hearing it?”

“Hearing what?”

“The whisper. The one that says you’re not enough.”

Austin looked down, then shook his head. “No. It just changes its tone. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s loud. But the trick is, you stop believing it.”

Aiden leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “How long did that take you?”

“Still working on it.” That earned a short laugh from Aiden. He didn’t smile often these days, but this one felt real, small, quiet, genuine. For the first time in a long while, the silence didn’t feel hostile. It just was. The rest of the morning passed without words. Austin left first, muttering something about paperwork and too much caffeine. Aiden stayed. He cleaned the ring, wiped down the mats, folded towels,  simple things that didn’t require thought. When he finally sat down on the bench in the locker room, he realized how still everything was. The same place where he’d almost broken again. The same bench. The same bag.

Only this time, the bottle wasn’t there. He’d thrown it out last night. No ceremony. No big gesture. Just tossed it in a bin outside the gym and walked away. He’d half expected to regret it, to feel panic crawl under his skin. But instead, there was only a strange, almost uncomfortable quiet. He picked up his phone. There were no missed calls. No messages. Just the faint reflection of himself in the black screen. He looked tired, older maybe, but clearer somehow. “Maybe that’s what progress looks like,” he muttered. “Just less noise.”

He set the phone down and leaned back against the locker. Time passed. He didn’t track it. He didn’t need to. For once, the silence didn’t demand anything. It didn’t accuse him. It didn’t remind him of what he’d lost. It just was. Eventually, the door opened again. This time it was Alex. He didn’t say a word when he walked in. He just gave Aiden a look, quick, assessing, and nodded once. Approval without praise.

Aiden nodded back. “Morning,” he said quietly.

Alex stopped halfway to the opposite locker. “You trained early?”

“Yeah. With Austin.”

“How’d that go?”

Aiden paused, thinking. “Not bad. Still standing.”

Alex grunted. “Good start.”

The two men didn’t exchange much else. But they didn’t need to. Alex changed silently, grabbed his towel, and headed toward the gym. Before he left, he stopped at the door. “One good day,” he said over his shoulder.

Aiden looked up. “Yeah.”

“Make it two.” Then he was gone. Aiden sat there for a long while, staring at the door. The words replayed in his head.

Make it two.

He smiled faintly, stood, and started wrapping his hands again. His shoulder hurt. His head was tired. His chest still ached with everything unsaid. But he was here. And that was enough. The world outside would still be loud. The fights, the noise, the pressure…all of it would come back. But not yet. For now, there was only the sound of tape against skin. The steady rhythm of breath. The hum of the lights above. And for the first time, he didn’t need the quiet to hide. He just needed it to start again.

One good day.

Mine

”I did it…”

A deep breath, a heavy exhale. Aiden Reynolds sat forward, clasping his hands together as he balanced his elbows on his knees.

”Despite everything, despite the bullshit that I’ve had to hear and put up with from everyone involved, despite the stupid stipulations and gimmick matches that come with Halloween, I now get my opportunity at becoming the SCW World Champion. And I did it in one of the most satisfying ways. Alexander Raven is someone who many earmarked as a World Champion. He spent years trying to become an SCW World Champion. He went after everyone who held that championship and has never been able to break through the ceiling above him to claim it. Because, quite simply, he’s not good enough.”

“And it isn’t that he never will be. The truth is that if Alexander really wanted to become the World Champion, he could. But deep down, in his heart of hearts, he doesn’t. Because it’s more satisfying to him to be able to whine and bitch and cry and wax lyrical about the state of the company and the championship instead of being part of the change that he so desperately wants to see. You see, if Alexander Raven actually won the SCW World Championship, then he would have to defend it. He would have to be the champion. He would have to lead this company — and he doesn’t really want that.”

“That is too much responsibility…”

“And as far as responsibility goes, it’s a large one. Leading a company is no small feat. When you’re holding the World Championship, everyone looks to you for guidance. And they’re all looking at you like a target. The fans, the back office, all the boys and girls in the back — they’re all looking squarely at you, judging and watching. Waiting for you to do something. Something they can either emulate or something they disagree with so they can jump all over you and try and throw you under the bus. But either way, when you are the World Champion, everything runs through you.”

Aiden closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He calmed himself down as he let go of his hands and pushed off his knees to get to his feet.

”It’s something that very few people are ready for. To my surprise, it seems like Carter has started to learn what it is to be a World Champion. I still don’t think you should be the World Champion, Carter. I don’t think you should’ve beaten Alex, and the fact that we’ve gone from Finn to Alex to you is a huge downgrade. Because you can’t really take anything seriously. You like to pretend that you can, you like to pretend that you are a World Champion, and you like to pretend that you are a professional wrestler — but that’s all you ever do. You pretend. And the masquerade that you’ve been living needs to stop.”

“You have been able to reach heights that so many other people will never even get a sniff at. And you should be applauded for that. But this whole dog and pony show needs to end. You are embarrassing this company. And that might sound harsh, but it’s the truth. When people look at SCW, they laugh seeing you as the World Champion. They laugh looking at you as our World Champion. That whimsical charm that you’ve always had, that most people seem to be drawn to, is excellent for an Internet Champion or a Roulette Champion. It’s excellent to see you in this company, and you are a talented and entertaining wrestler.”

“But a World Champion? No.”

“A World Champion needs to be intimidating. A World Champion needs to be a leader. And you can’t even lead yourself out of the funk that you constantly find yourself in. You and Miles are a toxic relationship built on fake positivity. You lead Miles astray and call it love. He should’ve been a World Champion at least once in this company, but he followed you around and was more concerned with playing dress-up with you and posting pretty little pictures for whatever man-crush bullshit you guys keep getting involved in. He’s more concerned with putting up pictures of you for himself to drool over in the future than he is about training and becoming a World Champion. That’s what you’ve done, Carter. That’s what you’ve done to him, and that’s what you’ve done to his career. All so you can hold that championship like it’s a fucking trinket.”

Aiden started to get more animated now, throwing his hands in the air and pacing back and forth. The anger seemed to be rising inside him — anger that he used to push down and deflect with a joke or something similar. Anger that he never wanted to feel, but now flowed freely through his veins as easily as his blood and oxygen.

”Seeing you hold that championship makes me sick. But I’ve come to a realisation. Last time you and I faced each other, I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready for the burden of being the World Champion. I wasn’t ready for the responsibility of leading this company. But unlike Alexander Raven, I do want that pressure. I do want that opportunity, and I do want to be the one that everybody targets or looks at for guidance. I want to join everyone who I train with in being a World Champion. I want to join Alex and Austin and Alicia — people who are my mentors, who are my friends. They have their fingerprints all over this company, and they made damn sure that SCW kept its fucking lights on after everyone else left.”

“And they’re still doing it. Austin works behind the scenes. Alicia has had to come back and save the Bombshell mid-card, and Alex came back to stop Finn from holding that championship forever. They’re still trying to keep this company alive, and they’re still trying to keep this company afloat. Meanwhile, you and Miles are playing touchy-feely out the back and posting stupid pictures all over Twitter and making dumb shit jokes. Instead of promoting the company that you’re the champion of, you’re just promoting your own relationship.”

“We get it — you and Miles love each other, and there’s nothing going wrong between you two at all. You never have arguments, and you have the most perfect relationship ever. Because that’s realistic and not toxic and isn’t going to blow up in your face whatsoever. And trust me on this — I don’t care what Miles says. He’s jealous. He’s angry. And he’s hurt. Because you’re standing there as the World Champion, and you took all of those opportunities away from him because you stole all of his focus. When he should’ve been training at the same gym as me and focusing on becoming a World Champion, you swooped in, you took him away, and you’ve now made it so that every single one of his friends and people who could’ve helped him become a World Champion don’t even want to talk to him or look at him.”

“But nah, Carter… you’re a fucking peach…”

“A sweetheart…”

“A champion…”

“Only, you’re not. Not by a long shot. For the last few months, I’ve had a change of attitude. I’ll be the first one to tell you that I never wanted this. I was the guy that everyone looked to for entertainment. I made people laugh with the different comments that I made and my outlandish stupidity — like bringing my pet wombat backstage, so Christian could freak out over the fact my wombat shat in his office. I would make stupid jokes and wrap myself in the Australian flag or start humming ‘Land Down Under’ under my breath.”

He rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself.

”Not now. Not anymore.”

He took another deep, shaky breath before continuing.

”I needed to grow up. I needed to start taking my career seriously — something that you should’ve done when you became the World Champion. And I know, I know, some people — including yourself — will sit there and say that you shouldn’t have to change when you become a World Champion. A lot will sing your praises and talk about how you’re such a nice person. Carter wouldn’t hurt a fly. He just goes and does his job and wrestles and becomes a champion and does so well and has so many fans. It’s just too bad it’s all complete bullshit. And you are the biggest snake that I’ve ever seen in this company.”

“You’re more of a snake than anyone with the last name Harris. You’re a bigger snake than J2H — because yeah, he had a huge ego, but at least he was honest about the kind of prick he was. You’re a bigger piece of shit than Mac Bane…”

“But you try to hide it.”

“The thing is, I see right through you. I see the kind of person you are. You’ve taken away opportunities from those you say you love, you’ve distracted them, held them down, and pushed them aside all for your own gain. You’re holding a World Championship hostage when other people should be the ones leading this company. And you disregard other people’s accomplishments — like going all over X or Twitter or whatever you want to call it and shitting on Alexander Raven’s accomplishments in other companies, all because it doesn’t fit your stupid little narrative that SCW is the only company that matters. And that’s the problem. The fact that you think SCW is the only company that matters means that you don’t have to put any effort into being the World Champion and keeping this company relevant.”

“You believe that all the hard work has been done.”

“If you openly admitted that there are other companies out there, then you’d also have to admit that as a champion, you’re a joke. An unfunny joke. And the feel-good moment you had where you were able to beat Alex and become the World Champion has now overstayed its welcome. Eventually, all those fans cheering your name and talking about how you’re an inspiration and how you’re a good person are slowly going to see you for the real little snake that you are. And Carter, trust me on this — you are going to end up feeling that weight and that pressure, and you are going to start looking for an exit because you won’t be able to do anything about it. So I’m going to go into High Stakes and I’m going to take that championship from you. But not to save you — no, I don’t give a fuck about you. I’m going to take that World Championship because I deserve it.”

The Confrontation

Wolfslair was quiet that night.

Most of the students had gone home, the lights dimmed except for the glow of the ring in the center. The ropes cast long shadows against the mats, like scars left behind from a hundred wars fought between friends and enemies alike. Aiden sat on the edge of the apron, hunched forward, elbows on his knees, head low.

The bottle was in his hand.

Not even hidden this time.

He stared at the label like it was mocking him. He’d told himself he wouldn’t drink tonight. Big session tomorrow. Alex wanted him sharp. Austin said he’d run drills with him early. He’d promised Kallie he’d come straight home after training. Promises, promises. Words were easy. It was the silence between them that choked him. The whiskey burned his throat on the way down. It didn’t even hit like it used to. The relief came slower now, duller. His body was building resistance to his sin. The door creaked open behind him.

Heavy footsteps.

Aiden froze. He didn’t turn. Didn’t need to. He knew that walk.

Austin.

“Thought you’d gone home,” Aiden muttered without looking back, voice rough, swallowing down the tremor.

“I did,” Austin replied, tone unreadable. Calm. Too calm. “Got halfway to the house. Realised I left my phone.” Silence. Aiden didn’t believe him. Austin wasn’t the type to forget things. Austin wasn’t the type to lie.

Aiden took another sip. Forced casualness into his movements. Forced a smirk into his voice. “Well, I hope your phone didn’t walk off with some geezer’s gym bag. Those things sprout legs after nine, I swear….”

“You gonna turn around, kid?” The words weren’t harsh. They weren’t sharp. They were worse. Soft. Controlled. Aiden swallowed. Slowly, he turned. Austin stood just inside the doorway, arms folded, towel slung over his shoulder. Not angry. Not frowning. Just… watching. That was somehow more unbearable. Austin’s eyes flicked to the bottle in Aiden’s hand. Then back to Aiden’s face. No accusation. No shock. No lecture. Just a quiet, heavy understanding. Aiden’s throat dried out. He wanted Austin to yell. To shove him. To say something cruel so he could bite back and turn this into a fight instead of what it was, truth.

“You forgot your phone, huh?” Aiden tried again, forcing a laugh that cracked halfway through. “Convenient timing. Or are you an alcoholic bloodhound now?” Austin didn’t smile. Didn’t respond. Just stepped forward. Slow. Measured. He walked until he was standing right in front of Aiden. Close enough to reach out. Close enough to take the bottle. But he didn’t.

He just crouched down, resting his arms on his knees so he was eye-level. “Can I sit?” The question was simple. It shattered Aiden more than a demand ever could. Wordlessly, he nodded. Austin climbed onto the apron beside him. They sat shoulder to shoulder, both staring forward into the darkened gym. Aiden’s hand trembled around the bottle. Austin noticed. But still, he said nothing. Seconds stretched. Long. Suffocating.

Aiden finally exhaled, muttering, “Say it.”

Austin glanced at him. “Say what?”

“Whatever lecture you’ve got loaded up,” Aiden snapped, voice rising now. “Tell me I’m fucking up. Tell me I’m weak. Tell me I’m throwing it all away. Come on. Just say it so I can agree with you and get this over with.”

Austin looked back at the ring.

“I’m not here to lecture you.”

Aiden let out a bitter laugh. “Bullshit.”

“No,” Austin said simply. “If I wanted to yell, I would’ve done it the night I saw you stumble in the ropes.” Aiden stiffened.

“You saw that?”

“Yeah,” Austin said. “And I hoped it was a one-off. But I’m not stupid.” Aiden gripped the bottle tighter. Austin’s voice stayed maddeningly calm. “I figured if it was something you wanted to talk about, you would.”

Aiden barked a humorless laugh. “Yeah, because I’m so good at asking for help.”

“No,” Austin agreed. “You’re not.” Aiden stared down at the whiskey sloshing inside the glass. His throat felt tight. Everything in him wanted to scream. To hurl the bottle. To hit something. Anything.

Instead, he whispered, “It’s the only time I don’t feel like I’m drowning.” Austin didn’t react. He just listened. So Aiden kept going, words spilling like the alcohol he hadn’t finished. “You know what it’s like being here, right? With you. With Alex. With Alicia. With everyone?” His jaw clenched. “I love you all. You’re my family. But every fucking day I wake up and I feel like I’m running behind. Like no matter how fast I sprint, you’re all just… ahead. And I’m never gonna catch up…..even Dickie moved ahead and left me behind”

His voice cracked. Austin stared straight ahead. Quiet. Still. Aiden ran a hand through his hair, voice trembling now. “I lose a match and everyone tells me I’ll bounce back. I smile. I shrug. I make some joke. Then I sit in my car for thirty minutes because I don’t know how to walk into my own house and look my wife in the eye.” He took another drink. A slow one. Austin didn’t try to stop him. “I don’t drink because I like it,” Aiden whispered. “I drink because when I’m sober, I hear everything. Every fucking doubt. Every comparison. Every—”

“....every lie you tell yourself,” Austin finished softly. Aiden went still. Austin finally turned to look at him. “You think you’re behind us, Aiden.” His voice was steady. “But we don’t look at you like that. No one does. Except you.”

Aiden scoffed weakly. “Right.”

“You think I don’t know what it’s like to feel like the shadow?” Austin murmured. “To stand next to someone louder? Bigger? More… whatever?” Aiden stared at him. Austin didn’t blink. “I was you once,” Austin said. “Except I didn’t have someone to sit next to me and tell me the truth.” Silence. Heavy. Thick. Aiden swallowed.

“Say it then,” he whispered. “Say the truth.” Austin reached out. He didn’t take the bottle. He just rested a hand on Aiden’s back.

“You’re not okay.” Aiden’s breath caught. Austin continued. “And I’m not gonna pretend you are.” Aiden stared straight ahead, vision blurring. “But,” Austin said, squeezing his shoulder, not aggressively. Firm. Anchoring. “I’m not gonna walk away, either.” Aiden choked on a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. His fingers loosened around the bottle, his hand falling into his lap. Austin didn’t speak again. He didn’t need to.

They sat in silence.

Aiden’s shoulders trembled. No sobs. No breakdown. Just quiet shaking. Austin’s hand stayed there. Eventually, Aiden whispered, “I don’t… I don’t know how to stop.”

Austin nodded. “That’s okay.”

Aiden turned to him, eyes raw. “Is it?” Austin finally looked back at him, gaze firm.

“It’s okay not to know how to stop,” he said. “It’s not okay to pretend you don’t need to.” Aiden swallowed. Austin straightened slightly. “I’m not asking you to fix it tonight. I’m not asking you to pour it out. I’m not asking you to promise anything.” He paused. “I’m asking you one thing.” Aiden waited. Austin held his gaze. “Don’t drink alone again.” Aiden blinked then Austin went on. “You wanna drink? Fine. I’ll sit with you. I’ll watch. I won’t judge. But you don’t do it alone anymore.”

Aiden stared at him. Disbelief. Shame. Gratitude. All tangled. “You’ll just… sit here? Watch me poison myself?” he muttered.

Austin’s lips twitched, not quite a smile. “Better than letting you do it in the dark.”

Aiden looked down at the bottle. His hand trembled. Slowly, he lifted it. Austin didn’t stop him. Aiden stared at the amber liquid. His throat tightened. Then, he set it down. Not a dramatic slam. Not thrown away. Just placed. Gently. Beside him. Aiden leaned forward, elbows on his knees again, head in his hands. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he whispered.

Austin stood. He walked to the far wall, grabbed two bottles of water from the mini-fridge, and returned. He placed one beside Aiden. Then he sat. “You don’t have to know.” Aiden didn’t move for a long moment. Then, slowly, he reached for the water. He didn’t open it. But he held it. Like a lifeline. Austin leaned back on his hands, staring at the ring. “You’re not alone, kid,” he said quietly.

Aiden wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand. “I feel alone.”

Austin nodded. “I know.”

Silence settled again. But it wasn’t heavy this time. It wasn’t choking. It was… breathable. They sat there for what felt like hours. No speeches. No promises. Just presence. Eventually, Aiden whispered, “Can we… not tell Alex? Or Kallie?”

Austin considered. “For now,” he agreed. Aiden nodded. Austin added, “But one day, you’re gonna have to.”

Aiden exhaled shakily.“Yeah.”

Austin stood again, stretching out his arms. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll drive you home” Aiden hesitated. He glanced at the whiskey. Austin noticed. “You can bring it,” Austin said simply. “But it stays in the back seat.”

Aiden let out a weak laugh. “You’re such a dad.”

Austin shrugged. color=lightblue]“Somebody’s gotta be.”[/color] Aiden slid off the apron, landing on shaky legs. Austin stayed beside him.

Not guiding.

Not dragging.

Just there. As they walked toward the door, Aiden stopped. He turned back. Looked at the bottle. Looked at the ring. The place where he’d fought so many battles. This one wasn’t over. But maybe, for the first time, he wasn’t fighting it alone. He followed Austin out. And the door clicked shut behind them.


Next round

”Look, I ain’t here to blow my own horn. I’m not going to stand here and go on about my victory like it was some big win. While I respect Liam Davis and I think he could be a big star in this company, I’m not going to celebrate the win because I still don’t believe I should be here.”

Aiden scoffed and shrugged. His voice was low and calm, almost melancholy.

”This whole tournament is a sham. An exercise in futility where we have all these different names fighting for an opportunity that none of us have earned or had earned to begin with. I don’t understand why most of us are here. In my opinion, the person who becomes a contender for a championship should be someone on the rise. Someone coming up who is annihilating everyone else they face. The whole idea of a battle royale or a tournament to crown a number one contender to me is ludicrous. You don’t know what the match is going to be. A battle royale can end in any number of fluke ways where you don’t get a proper winner, and it’s the same with the tournament.”

“You can have someone with incredible talent and drive get eliminated early in a tournament because of a mistake or someone cheating. The cream does rise to the top, but some of us shouldn’t have been in this tournament to begin with. Some might find it self-deprecating as I sit here and tell you all that I don’t deserve it. But then again, neither did Liam. Then again, neither does LJ.”

“Legit, sorry LJ, it’s true.”

“Now, do I want to be a world champion? Of course I do. Do I want to have an opportunity against Carter? Of course I do. I feel like I have unfinished business against him. But the fact is I wanted to earn my way back to the world championship through hard work and through beating every single person on this roster. Instead, I’m doing it in a tournament where half the people don’t belong here either. You look at someone like Alexander Raven — he just came back. Why is he in this tournament? Why was Liam Davis in this tournament? So I’m here because I pushed Carter to his limit, or so many people would have you believe. But to be completely honest with you? I think that’s bullshit.”

Aiden threw his hands in the air, looking annoyed.

”But, when opportunity knocks, you have to open the door, right? So that’s what I’m doing. I’m opening the door. And if I want to be able to face Carter again and get an opportunity at becoming the world champion, then I’m going to need to beat LJ Kasey. And I guess he and I have a little bit in common, don’t we? I mean, I’m not the younger brother in a toxic family where the older brother is nothing but a name on a piece of paper because he isn’t strong enough to break through the glass ceiling above him, and every single time he’s tried, he’s failed miserably.”

“But, like you LJ, I know what it’s like to be in someone’s shadow.”

“You and I both feel the same way, pushed down and away for other people, whether they are members of our family or friends. When you first came to this company, everyone was shocked and thought that maybe you were going to be the bigger name in your family. You were going to break out of the shadow that Miles had cast. But after a hot start, you have just kind of settled.”

“Settled in the middle.”

“Good position for you. In the middle. You could be the Internet champion or the Roulette champion. You could go to a lesser company and become a world champion. But here in SCW, that world title is simply not yours. It is not a height that you can reach. It is not a mountain that you can climb, and it’s not an accomplishment that you can claim. And the thing is, I like you LJ. I don’t think you’re a bad guy. I don’t think you’re a piece of shit. I think you’re a highly talented individual who has just been dealt a bad hand.”

He takes a deep breath, calming himself down before rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck

”You have to face me. And the run that I’ve been on since my slight change in attitude has been pretty impressive. I’ve beaten people that so many said I didn’t stand a chance against. I have done everything I can to try and get my hands on that world championship, and I’ve also done everything I can to try and change the way this company does things. I was sick and tired of being overlooked and underutilised, so I did something about it. Something that you and your brother don’t seem to be able to do. You both have this disease — a disease where you talk a big game, and you seem like you are finally going to break through the glass ceiling above you without being able to do it. And week after week, fans of yours will try and push you forward with their support, but you keep letting them down.”

“You, your brother, and your idiot girlfriend — the three of you are like this vortex of talent that sucks in everyone else and never lets them go. But now, now you are within arm’s reach of getting an opportunity. You can win and go toward the finals of this tournament. Or, and more likely, you’ll lose. But I’m going to play devil’s advocate — what happens if you do win? What happens if you are able to beat me, LJ?”

“Then what?”

“I guess we hand whoever is going to be in the final a free win and a path straight to Carter. I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to let you destroy the finals of this tournament just because you think you can win something, whereas I know I can. This is my pathway to becoming a world champion. This is my time. This is my place, and I’m not going to sit back and let someone like you come anywhere close to it. Bring everything you are. Bring everything you can bring, and you try your hardest, because I can guarantee you, LJ, anything less than that is just going to be you wasting your time, and therefore you will be wasting mine. The finals await. And you are my last hurdle to get to that point.”

Legacy

The sound of the Wolfslair gym was the same as it always was: weights hitting the ground with a dull thud, the echo of sneakers squeaking against the mat, the occasional barked instruction from one of the trainers. For most people it was just noise. For Aiden Reynolds, though, every clang and every shout was a reminder of where he stood and how far he still had to go.

He sat on the bench, towel draped over his shoulders, chest heaving after another brutal set of drills. Sweat rolled down his arms in steady rivulets, pooling at his elbows before dripping to the mat below. He wasn’t the strongest in the room. He wasn’t the fastest. And if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t even the most technically gifted.

But he was the one with the opportunity.

That thought was both a blessing and a curse.

Aiden’s eyes drifted across the gym, taking in the familiar faces. Alex Jones was there, methodically working on his striking, his movements precise and controlled like a man who had done this for decades. Austin James Mercer was tearing through heavy-bag drills, every punch sounding like a shotgun blast, his sheer size and power impossible to ignore. And in the corner, Alicia Lukas was watching film, eyes narrowed, mind ticking a hundred miles an hour as she dissected the mistakes of others to make herself sharper.

Wolfslair. Legends. Champions. People Aiden had matured watching, admiring, and, if he was honest, idolizing.

And then there was him, the joker, the Aussie with the laid-back grin and a voice that always seemed to carry through the locker room. He had always been “fun Aiden,” the guy who lightened the mood, who cracked jokes before matches and made the grind a little easier for everyone else.

But now he was supposed to be something else.

Now he was supposed to be the future world champion.

Aiden leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. The towel slipped from his shoulders and landed on the floor, but he didn’t notice. His eyes were locked on the reflection in the far mirror, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t recognize the man staring back.

Was that a contender? Was that a champion? Or was it just Aiden Reynolds, the eternal supporting act to Wolfslair’s headliners? “You alright, Aus?”

Alex’s voice broke his thoughts. He stood nearby, sweat dripping from his brow, his long hair clinging to his face. He looked down at Aiden with a raised eyebrow, clearly reading the conflict on his features.

“Yeah mate… just thinkin’.”

“Don’t think too much. You’ll twist yourself up. Trust me, I’ve been there. And we’re counting on you.” Alex gave him a quick nod before turning back to his own work, leaving Aiden with nothing but his thoughts again. He let out a long breath.

Later that night, Aiden found himself sitting in his car in the driveway, engine off, headlights dimming. The house was lit warmly from the inside. Through the window he could see Kallie, her hand resting on her growing stomach as she laughed at something on the television. Their daughter was curled up beside her, tiny hands clutching a stuffed kangaroo.

It should have been the easiest thing in the world to open the car door, walk inside, and be with them. To let the warmth of his family wash away the doubts of the day.

But instead, Aiden sat there, hands gripping the steering wheel, staring at the glow of the house like it was a world he didn’t quite belong to.

Because in his mind, he was already somewhere else, already in the ring, already feeling the roar of the crowd and the crushing weight of expectation. Already fighting not just his opponent but the shadows of every Wolfslair champion who came before him.

Alex Jones. Austin James Mercer. Alicia Lukas. Finn Whelan. Names carved into history. And now it was supposed to be him.

But what if he wasn’t good enough?

What if he was just a placeholder, a name that would be forgotten when the next true Wolfslair legend came along?

Aiden slammed his palm against the steering wheel, the sound loud in the quiet night. He closed his eyes, breathing hard, before finally forcing himself out of the car and into the house.

The following day, he stood in the empty ring after everyone else but he and Austin had gone. The gym lights cast long shadows across the canvas, and Aiden traced the outline of the ropes with his fingertips. Austin stood behind him, tilting his head and watching the young Australian star.

“You ever feel like you’re just… pretending?” he muttered to himself. His voice echoed faintly in the silence. “Like everyone thinks you’re ready for something, but deep down you know you’re still the same kid who joked his way through the hard stuff because it was easier than admitting you were scared?”

He climbed through the ropes and sat in the corner, back against the turnbuckles, staring up at the ceiling.

“That’s me. That’s Aiden Reynolds. The fun one. The clown. The guy who can wrestle his ass off but never takes anything too seriously. That’s what they expect. But now… now they want me to be serious. To be a world champion. To carry Wolfslair’s name on my back like it’s some sacred responsibility. And I don’t know if I can do it.” His fists clenched.

“I don’t know if I even want to do it for them. Maybe I want to do it for me. Maybe I’m sick of being ‘the next Alex’ or ‘the next Austin’… no offence. I don’t want to be the next anyone. I want to be the first me.” Aiden pushed himself up, pacing across the ring now, his voice growing louder, more determined.

“Because if I win that world championship, it won’t be because Wolfslair told me I could. It won’t be because I’m some legacy project. It’ll be because I fought for it. Because I earned it. Because I proved that Aiden Reynolds is not just the funny Aussie sidekick. I proved that I can carry this company, this division, this championship, on my own bloody shoulders.” He stopped in the middle of the ring, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his face even though he hadn’t been training. His words hung in the air like a challenge, not just to his future opponent but to himself.

For the first time in days, maybe weeks, he felt a flicker of clarity.

Maybe the shadows of Wolfslair would always be there. Maybe people would always compare him to Alex, Austin, Alicia, and Finn. But maybe that wasn’t a curse. Maybe that was the fuel he needed to finally step out of their shadows and into his own light. “I’m not just carrying their shadows anymore. I’m carving my own name. And when the dust settles, when the final bell rings, everyone is going to know exactly who the hell Aiden Reynolds is.”

The silence of the gym swallowed his words, but in his chest, the fire burned hotter than ever. Standing behind him, Austin was stoic and quiet, hearing Aiden unburden himself. Ending that moment, he decided to say two simple words that would help.

”You’re ready.”

Not a bad guy

”This is the biggest opportunity of my life….”

It was a simple statement. Aiden was right. This was the biggest moment of his career.

”I don’t think I’m fully understanding the gravity of the situation. I’ve won championships before. Hell, I’ve won world championships before. But never one this big. SCW is a company that dwarfs all the other ones I’ve been in. I knew the second I walked into this company that it was going to be a challenge to climb to the top — more so than other companies. And it has been a struggle. I haven’t been dominant, I haven’t been remarkable. I’ve been… I dunno…”

“Average.”

“I can be honest with myself: for every dominant win, like the tag match going into this event, I’ve had humiliating losses or wins that I just scraped by in. But with every win and every loss I have always kept my eyes on the goal. The goal has always been to try and become the SCW world champion. That should be everyone’s goal. In the Bombshell’s division you should be going for that world championship; in the male division you should be doing the same thing. Other championships are nice and getting big wins is great, but if you’re not in this to be the champion, to be the best in the world, then what are you doing?”

“I just don’t get some people.”

“So, I’ve been chasing that championship since I got here. Following in the footsteps of those who came before. This company has been at the top of its game for a long time, and being a part of it is amazing. Being able to say that I’ve even got to this point is an accomplishment. Going into one of the main events of a huge supercard like Violent Conduct and going for the world championship of this company is something that not everyone gets to do. And not everyone should get to do it. Not everyone should be able to fight for a world championship. It should only be the best of the best. But in the past some championship opportunities have been given away in this company like participation trophies. And that’s bullshit.”

Aiden chuckled to himself and raised his finger to his chin, tapping on the end of it a few times thoughtfully before continuing.

”But, getting to this point I’ve sat and done some things that many people would think are out of character for me. But are they really? I’ve spoken a lot about the perception that people have had of me. And a large part of it is a massive miscommunication. I can be a joker, I can be someone who entertains those around me. I can make people laugh and sometimes I can be very flippant with my answers and my attitude. But that wasn’t getting me anywhere because I didn’t take anything seriously. I still have a sense of humour, I still make people laugh, but this — this business and this life — deserves to be treated with respect and given all of my attention.”

“And now I’m in an interesting position. Coming from where I come from there’s a lot of expectation and pressure put on my shoulders. Wolfslair is both a huge advantage and a massive albatross. It helps me in ways that people can’t even imagine but also starts to drag me down because of that expectation. Coming from a gym that still features Alex Jones, Austin James Mercer, Alicia Lukas, Finn Whelan… and that is just the three members that have won the world championship in SCW. I’m not counting the world champions in other promotions. All the other championships that everyone else has been able to win.”

“That amount of pressure does one of two things. Either it makes you crumble like a rock, or it turns you into a diamond.”

“But I’m sick of being called the next Alex or the next Austin. I’m just me. And being in their shadows can be cold and uninviting. I’m here for my legacy, for my family. I need to become world champion and take that championship home to my son, to my pregnant wife. Just show my family back in Australia that packing up and moving halfway around the world was not a mistake but a choice. A conscious choice to make sure that I can follow my dreams. And that’s what this is all about: following your dreams and believing in yourself — something that knows damn well. And they realise the problem. I’m not facing some arrogant douchebag who thinks that they are the greatest in the world. I’m facing someone who is keenly aware of the stakes. And that’s what makes Carter the most dangerous world champion this company has ever seen.”

Aiden took a deep breath and smiled before shaking his head.

”Carter, so many believe that you are a fluke of a champion. That you beat Alex and that’s all it was. Just a fluke. A bad day for a guy who is a legend and a good day for someone who has always struggled to break through the glass ceiling above him. But I know better. I know that you’ve always had it in you to be a world champion, and the fact is that you don’t take it for granted. You don’t take it for granted because you know how special this is. You know how hard you’ve had to work. Being a champion and rising to the top doesn’t come easy for you. You look at people like Ferris, Alex, Austin, Finn, J2H…”

“It came natural to all of them. You look at the female division, Amber Ryan, Alicia, Kayla, Roxi…”

“They all found winning and dominating as natural as breathing. But that’s not you, Carter. And don’t take this as a slight on you or anything like that. I’m not trying to degrade you. I’m not trying to say that you haven’t earned where you are, but what I am trying to say is the fact that it doesn’t come naturally to you and you’ve had to work so hard means that you are dangerous. You are dangerous because you have the kind of heart and soul that many wish they had and cannot learn. You can train and get faster and stronger and you can learn how to get in and out of different submission holds and you can do everything you can to make yourself tough and immune to certain things, but something that cannot be taught is heart. And you have it in spades, buddy.”

“But here’s the thing…”

“I have that too…”

“Look, I know that physically I’m more imposing than you. I’m bigger than you, I’m stronger than you, faster than you; people look at me and they have a few guesses of what I do for a profession and ‘professional wrestler’ is usually on that list. They look at you and they don’t see that. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not an underdog too. And I’m not going to underestimate you. Everyone at Wolfslair keeps telling me over and over again that you should be easy to beat. Alex has been crowing about how he beat you one on one and how I should be able to do it. But it’s never that simple.”

Aiden looked down and took a deep breath before pushing it back out and folding his arms over his chest.

”So at Violent Conduct I can promise you this, Carter. I’m gonna do everything that I can to beat you. I’m gonna do everything I can to take that championship from you in our match. And I understand it’s not going to be easy. After all, it’s an I Quit match. One of us has to not just submit but utter the words, ‘I quit.’ But I’m gonna give you everything that I have. I’m gonna leave it all in the ring and I’m going to force you to hurt me in ways that you never thought possible. That is the only way you are going to beat me. And to be completely honest with you, that’s what you deserve. You deserve me at my best and you deserve me giving you everything.”

“And truthfully, that championship in this company deserves that. It deserves a champion who is going to fight for it and that’s what you have done. And that’s what I need to do. So there you go, Carter, you’re getting everything I have; you’re getting me at my best. No matter what happens, no excuses, no bullshit. If you beat me, you know damn well it’s because you were the better man. But if I beat you? I expect the same thing. See you Sunday, mate.”

Cruisin’

Man, the Summer XXXTreme cruise must be awesome to go on.

Think about it. A non-stop party boat filled with professional wrestlers as well as professional wrestling fans, all leading up to a massive supercard where they get to see the best wrestle up close and personal. A huge cruise ship filled with alcohol, food, and a massive shopping centre, as well as activities just to keep yourself entertained.

Aiden wanted to enjoy it. He wanted to be able to have fun with his friends and family and the fans. But unfortunately, there was something weighing on his mind. More than what was going on when it came to his position in the company and how that was affecting him, it was more so his position in his friend’s organisation. The fact that he was trying to protect Dickie while simultaneously helping the rest of the Brotherhood had started to push him down.

He felt like a joke.

And not a funny joke. Not one that was there to make everyone laugh and be entertained. The kind of joke that makes you sad and makes people feel bad about themselves. All of it was changing him. Changing his entire outlook on life. His attitude and his demeanour. He was being looked at negatively by those closest to him. Including his wife, his friends, and of course, his sister.

Amelia Reynolds had become a part of her brother's life in deeper ways than he had ever imagined. She had integrated into not only his friend group but had started dating his best friend and tag team partner Dickie Watson. And to make matters worse, she had been training in secret to also become a professional wrestler. Something that everyone else had seemed to support, except for Dickie and Aiden. And even then, Dickie wanted to be supportive. He couldn’t help himself. Yet, Aiden was torn. And now, with everything else happening around him, he had become irritable.

He had taken himself away from everyone and everything. He was trying to have fun with his friends and family, but in the quieter moments, he would think to himself and withdraw into himself. He took a deep breath, looking over at Amelia who had come to join him. ”Why the sour look, dickhead?” Amelia smiled and joked. Aiden raised an eyebrow, clearly in no mood for her shenanigans.

He groaned and clasped his hands together. ”I dunno… Maybe I’m just sick of how I don’t seem to be taken seriously in anything I do. My personal life, my professional life. No matter what happens, I'm looked at as the joke. Even when I’m trying to keep Dickie from getting himself killed.”

Amelia went silent. The prospect of what Dickie was doing was somewhat foreign to her. But she also knew that Dickie was trying to keep her brother safe. ”A joke? That isn’t true. Dickie’s boys seem to like you…” she smiled, trying to lift his spirits. It did not work.

Aiden just looked at her with a deadpan expression. No feeling, no amusement or thought. Just pure indifference. ”His boys? They aren’t a bloody bro team. They’re a criminal clan. And I’m their bloody grocery gopher…”

”Oh… no… heeeeey… noooo.” Amelia was placating him. And he knew it.

He got to his feet, moving across the cabin before grabbing a beer. He walked over, handing one to Amelia. ”It’s fine, I guess. I just don’t like the fact Dickie thinks I’m stupid and I haven’t figured it out. I expect to be looked at as a joke by SCW… not by my family and friends.”

Amelia shook her head, taking a sip of the beverage. She placed it down and turned to her brother. Her eyes were filled with annoyance—probably from how he was talking about himself as well as everyone else. ”A joke? Come on. Have you seen how not seriously I’m taken? The girls in this company are a bunch of gatekeepers.”

Aiden shook his head and growled under his breath. ”Have you seen what I’ve been doing to be taken seriously? The things I’ve been saying? Does any of it actually sound like me?” He raised his voice, clearly getting frustrated with how they both felt. Almost like the siblings were feeding off of each other when it came to their frustration and annoyance at SCW, their careers, and everything else. ”I’ve been turning into a bad guy to be taken seriously. That’s the length I have to go to. Because if I’m me, all I get is laughed at. But no one’s laughing now that I’ve held a mirror up in front of their faces and forced them to see the hypocritical arseholes they are.”

Amelia swallowed hard. She had noticed the changes and everything else in his demeanour but hadn’t wanted to say anything. She shook her head and cleared her throat, ready to speak clearly. ”You were never getting laughed at and that isn’t what Dickie is doing either… he’s just—” Amelia caught herself. But it was too late. Aiden raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest. Amelia sighed and knew she needed to say something. ”He doesn’t want to see you hurt. You have a wife, a kid, and a second kid on the way…”

”So what? He’s trying to protect me? I’m a grown-ass man. I can make my own decisions.”

”No you can’t!” she blurted out. She started getting aggressive with her brother, frowning as he snapped to look at her. ”It’s not about protecting you. It’s about protecting Kallie, and Dax… and your unborn kid. MY new niece or nephew. People he cares about and you should care about!”

Aiden shook his head and looked down. He knew she was right, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. ”You think I don’t care about them? My wife? My kids? Of course I care about them. Of course I love them. But that doesn’t mean I can turn everything else off. That doesn’t mean I can stop giving a shit about what Dickie is doing and not want to protect him.”

”What makes you think he needs protecting?”

Aiden stopped for a moment and started to think. He was trying to come up with a reason—any reason. But it was escaping him. He knew that anything he was going to say, his sister was going to come back with an argument that was better. He shook his head and threw his hands in the air before taking another sip of his beer. ”Look, he’s a smart guy. He can take care of himself. But he’s like my brother. More of a brother to me than Adam ever has been. I just care about him, that’s all.”

Amelia nodded slowly and reached out, putting a hand on her brother’s shoulder. She understood. She cared about Dickie too, obviously. The two of them sat there, slowly sipping on a beer each. There was a quiet understanding between them. The issue was far from over, but at least Amelia and Aiden had explained themselves and now understood.

Safety Ring

”Why do you all have to disappoint me so much? Legit. I want to live in a world where we all put our best foot forward and the landscape is so competitive that no one knows who is going to win what match on what week against what opponent.”

Aiden can’t help but shake his head and sigh heavily.

”Instead, we all live in a world where douchebag edgelords like Logan Hunter exist. Legit, Logan, what the hell is wrong with you, man? Whenever you open your mouth and speak, my head starts hurting instantly because you give me a headache. When you speak, it’s almost like you’re a caricature of a human being. Almost like an AI. I’m not saying that you’re an AI, of course, I’m just saying that it seems like you are almost human, but something got lost in translation along the way..."

"...You and Brooke stand there and cut your little promos, bouncing off of each other, and at the end of the day, it just doesn’t come off as sincere in any way, shape, or form.

I’ve had people in my promos like my wife, and Finn, and of course Dickie. I’ve bounced ideas off of them and we’ve made fun of everyone and everything. But you and Brooke? You both start running your mouths and you seem to think it’s entertaining, but at the end of the day you just sound pathetic. You want to talk about my luck? You want to talk about what I’ve been through, Logan? Mate, you beat me and then I never got a fucking rematch for the Roulette Championship, and you lost it right away to a goddamn clown. And then when you got your rematch against said clown, you lost again.

Don’t talk to me about what I have and haven’t been able to do when you weren’t able to beat a clown in a cape. The entire reason this Roulette Championship is being pissed on right now is because of you. It should’ve been defended in an Ultimate X match over the pool, but instead Guy is facing Archie in what is one of the biggest jokes I’ve ever seen in my life, and you are one of the reasons for it. Because you couldn’t get the goddamn job done and this company is too cowardly to put me against that clown.

This whole thing, this whole idea. Everything that I’ve been saying and doing is all because of you. And I’m not going to allow you to win this match and get anywhere close to the World Championship because you don’t deserve it. You’re an edgelord piece of shit who has no idea what he’s doing with his life.”

Aiden sneers and grinds his teeth together.

“Still, Logan is less of a joke than Bill. Oh, by the way, Bill—hello. I’m in this match, not that you would know it because you mentioned everyone else except for me. You even mentioned Alex Jones, despite the fact that he already announced he wasn’t going to be in the match. Guess you weren’t paying attention. But then again, do we really expect anything less from you? I’ve stopped expecting anything from you aside from rambling nonsense for a while now. You are an old, fat, broken-down, useless human being who can’t win any matches unless there’s a fluke. And you and your mail-order bobblehead wife are just stains on this industry.

I would keep going about why you’re not going to win this match, but the truth is? You’re not worth my time.

Neither are you, Justin. You are just taking up a spot. A spot in this match, a spot in this company, and in recent years, a spot in the Blast From the Past. In fact, rumour has it the entire reason the Blast From the Past was changed into two separate singles tournaments is because of people like you, who would turn up to the tag team version and be a detriment to your partner instead of a help, therefore robbing someone who might have a bright future in this company of any type of win because you can’t be relied on. How does that feel, Justin?

How does it fucking feel being such a liability that they changed an entire format because of you? Actually, don’t answer that because you probably would take it as a badge of honour.”

Aiden points and then shakes his head before backing up.

“But then, well, we have Eddie Lyons and Miles Kasey and Liam Davis. And I wanted so bad for Eddie to come out swinging. I wanted to believe in Eddie. To believe that I was wrong about him. Because I have to be honest, I was harsh about you, wasn’t I Eddie? I ran you down and talked so much shit about you that a lot of people lost all their confidence in who you are and what you’re about. But I did it out of a good place. See, I do like you, Eddie. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you are the type of competitor that we should all strive to be. Someone who is going to put everything he is into every single match. But the problem is that your best isn’t good enough.

You can rise up to a certain level, but you don’t have it in you to break through that glass ceiling. I meant it when I said it, you lack that killer instinct that your family has. You lack that killer instinct that I have. Technically speaking, as a professional wrestler, you are probably more talented than me. As good as I am, you have it in you to be great, but you just don’t have what it takes to take that extra step. I do. And when push came to shove, I was hoping that you would take this opportunity and take everything I said and use it as fuel to prove me wrong, but all you did was pull out a deck of tarot cards and decide to play that game.

It’s not even an original concept.

Shit, it’s not even an original concept in this company. Finn Whelan did it in a promo going up against Limitless for the Mixed Tag Team Championships. You literally ripped off his idea because you don’t have anything original, because there’s nothing original about you. You are bland and boring. You are the colour eggshell made into a professional wrestler. You are white rice boiled to the point of being soft and then laid out on a fucking pan. Unseasoned, unloved, nothing there. That’s exactly what you are, Eddie—and you are not the type of person to rise up and become a world champion. Sorry, buddy.”

“I guess I’m just wasting my time though, aren’t I, Liam? After all, that’s what you said, right? You find this whole thing pointless? Because you want to do half the work of everyone else? Promoting the match and getting people interested in us beating our brains in on a cruise ship is literally part of our job. If you don’t want to do that part of the job, then walk out the door and fuck off, because no one really wants to deal with your annoying bullshit. You just don’t like the fact that we do multiple promos because you know that you can get called out for saying stupid shit. If you do it one week, no one can really say anything. But if you say something and we can reply and do the he said/he said bullshit that you find so boring—we can look at what you said, analyse it, and point out the fact you're a complete moron.

And here’s the worst part. Going into this match, I actually had some respect for you. I saw what you did against Kevin and we all applauded it. Hell, I wanted you to take Kevin down and take that championship from him. You failed, but you won a hell of a lot of fans doing what you did. Then you squandered it all away by deciding to open your mouth. That old saying of ‘It’s better to stay silent and be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt’? That’s literally what you did.

And to be clear, no one’s forcing you to do anything. If you want to be a lazy prick and only do one week’s worth of work, then sure, go right ahead.

But since you’ve already made such a big deal out of it, I’m going to wait with bated breath to see what other things you decide to grace us with when it comes to your amazing work of critical thinking. It’s weird though, I’m fairly certain that my son has left things in his diaper that have more brain power than you. In short, if there is one thing that this week has taught me, it’s that I shouldn’t give my respect freely to people. Because I respected you, Liam, until you decided to open your mouth. Now I just want you out of this business. Because you don’t deserve to be a professional wrestler if you’re going to be a lazy prick.”

Aiden closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. He calms himself before cracking his neck and getting ready to mention the final member of this match.

“Ahhh, Miles. You, much like Eddie, you’re someone who I like, someone who I care about. Here’s the thing though. The tough love that I’ve been giving Eddie has been twofold for you. Mate, I want you to be better. I want you to prove me wrong. I want you to go out into that ring and throw everyone overboard and earn a shot at the World Championship. But at the same time, I know that if you are the one to win that shot, it’s going to be wasted. Because you can’t beat Carter, and you can’t beat JH. For two completely different reasons.

And the fact that you would dare bring up Wolfslair just goes to show how out of touch you are. Mate, you are completely right about how I am Wolfslair through and through. But that’s because I’ve always understood the tenets of that gym. Standing up and being accountable. Going up to someone face-to-face and telling them that you are going to kick the shit out of them. Now, the stuff between Alex and Finn is completely different. Alex told Finn he was coming for that World Championship, and the hatred between them is what drove them. Finn was never friends with Alex. Alex was never friends with Finn. They never cared about each other. But Finn cared about you.

He went to bat for you.

And instead of having the balls to go to him like a man and talk about getting a championship match, you attacked him from behind. And the fact that you can’t see the difference there and still want to mention the gym’s name like any of us respect you? Again, it shows how out of touch you are. You have this lovely, happy, loving relationship with your husband, despite the fact that he is better than you, despite the fact that you are constantly living in his shadow. You have this perfect little idea of life, almost like you two navigating a fight will never have any type of tension between you. I don’t know if that’s just a public face that you’re giving your relationship, or if that’s legitimate—but either way, it’s not healthy.

Kallie and I love each other deeply, but our relationship is not perfect. We talk about our problems and their issues. You hide from yours. And trust me when I say this, whether or not Carter is the World Champion coming out of this show, if you end up getting this championship opportunity, it is going to cause problems in your ideal, fake, bullshit relationship.

So, where do we go from here? Because I can tell you where we go from here. I’m going to throw each and every one of you off the ship, and then I am going to go on to face Carter or J2H. And I’m going to shock the world and show them why I deserve to be a World Champion. And why everything I have said over the last couple of weeks is right.”

Yakuza 0: オーストラリア人 狼 (Australian Wolf)

He was nervous. And why wouldn’t he be? He was about to talk to someone who he knew for a fact was dangerous. It’s not that Aiden hadn’t been around these types before. In fact, when he was in Japan he had dealt with them many times. Unknown to him, the wrestling company he was working for was being run by them. But this was different. They were in America and working with Dickie.

So he would be safe, right? Aiden swallowed heavily and opened the door stepping into the small office. It was decorated in different pieces of artwork, some of them recreations of paintings from the Edo period. Aiden studied them and smiled. He always loved Japanese art. Then a voice startled him. It was Yoshiro Hamada.

”Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The man who would help revolutionise everything that happened in Japan. Edo became Tokyo and Tokyo became the centre of the Asian world. No matter what people will tell you. It all started there.” Yoshiro stood next to Aiden, who simply nodded and looked over at Yoshiro, understanding the weight of the past. ”Please..sit..”

Aiden moved over to the desk, lightly pulling out a chair and sitting down. Yoshiro took his place across from Aiden, sitting down. Before they could start speaking, however, Yoshiro pulled out a small ledger and started to flick through the pages. His finger moving across and down as if he was speed reading all of the information and taking it in.

Yoshiro closed the ledger, slid it to the side and clasped his hands together. “Mr. Reynolds, I am sure you are here to discuss our mutual friend, Mr. Watson. I am sure you have certain questions about what he does and questions about what we do, but rest assured that he is a part of this by his own free will. I do not know how much you know about Mr. Watson‘s past with us, but he is not in any danger.”

Aiden shook his head and sighed. He knew that that wasn’t a lie, but it also wasn’t exactly true. Half truths and veiled motivations that typical Yakuza bullshit. “I’m not here to grill you about Dickie and what he does and ask you to take care of him or let him go or some other bullshit. I know why Dickie is doing this and I know that he’s a part of this. I’m here to say that I want to be a part of it too, to take care of Dickie and have his back.”

There was a moment of silence, as if Yoshiro was processing this information. He looked the Australian up-and-down, one of his eyes tilting upward as he wondered just what his game was. “This is not a world you simply walk into. And I am sure you have already talked to Mr. Watson about this. I simply do not know what it is that you think you can offer us.”

Before he could answer, the door opened. A man stepped in wearing a black suit. He was younger, wavy black hair. He had a small pen on his lapel showing that he is a member of the family. He moved toward the desk and then slowly bowed before handing him a note. Yoshiro took it and read. The foot soldier looked over at Aiden and spoke softly “あの白人の少年は誰ですか?” (Who is the white boy?)

Yoshiro handed the note back and answered with authority in his voice. ”彼はモロトフの友人だ、我々には役に立たないから、排除してやる.”(He is a friend of The Molotov, he is of no use to us, I’ll get rid of him)

”外国人を採用し続ける必要がないのは良いことだ”(Good, we don’t need to keep recruiting foreigners)

Aiden slowly looked up at them both and shook his head before speaking. ”あなたが思っている以上に私は役に立ちます.”(I’m more helpful than you think.)

Both men looked at each other, shocked and surprised that Aiden spoke Japanese. Yoshiro dismissed the younger man and clasps his hands together again, switching back to English ”All right, maybe we do have a use for you after all.”

Aiden couldn’t help but smile. Just a small one. He proved his point. Yoshiro turned to his laptop, flipping it open and looking through a few things. The printer nearby clicked on. He got to his feet, grabbing the papers before sitting back down across from Aiden. He then slipped the papers across the table. It was an address and a picture of a restaurant.

Yoshiro sat back and smiled. ”That restaurant is a front. Behind it is an operation that we wish to take control of, but we need to know certain things about the running of it from the inside. You would be able to go there, order some food, sit down and observe everything. Observe anyone who looks out of place, anyone who looks to be just guarding something. Any specific doors that lead to places that you don’t understand. Gather as much information as you can no matter how little or how insignificant and bring it back to us.”

”Seems simple enough… why haven’t you sent someone before?”

Yoshiro smirked and leaned forward. ”You will be able to sit down and eat without being looked at suspiciously. Any of my men would be looked at with suspicion and watched carefully. You will fly under the radar. This is your shot, Aiden…” He looked down and started writing in the ledger. Aiden got to his feet, taking the pieces of paper and leaving the office. He let out a deep breath as the door closed behind him. There was no turning back now.

Bury me softly

”Sometimes you can’t just sit around and wait for something to change. You have to change. The truth is, I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay the same guy that I’ve always been. Laughing and joking and making fun of people in a way that still makes them laugh themselves. but apparently I can’t do that any more. Because when you do that the company itself looks at you as a joke. They start to laugh at you instead of with you. And I’m done with that shit right now.”

Aiden sighs heavily. His wakey light brown hair was slicked back away from his face that had a five o’clock shadow and bags under his eyes.

”I lost. It happens. Logan Hunter was able to beat me and take the Roulette Championship from me. What can I say? Anyone can beat anyone in the professional wrestling world, just depends on the circumstance. And I congratulate Logan for becoming the roulette champion, but he’s the problem. I held that championship proudly, I defended it against everyone they threw at me. I tried to make it worth something and then after losing it, I come to find out that I didn't get my rematch. Instead, some douchebag who won the King for a Day swoops in in a fatal four-way match that he booked as a mystery opponent to take the championship.”

“Ok fine. The King for a Day stipulation is there to cause chaos and it’s there for people to get a little through out of the fact that the control for the show is being handed to someone who doesn’t really have the ability to understand what’s going on in the company and make a card that follows it accordingly. But what did we really expect? The briefcase was won by a guy who walks around wearing face paint, can’t speak English, who only turns up to work every couple of weeks because that’s kind of who he is.”

“Guy won the Roulette Championship. And it’s weird because last week Logan Hunter got a rematch for that championship after he had not defended it or done anything with it. He won the title and ended up in the four-way. He lost the title, then he gets a goddamn rematch right away.”

“Am I the only one seeing this stupid shit?”

“But hey, I should just smile and take it right? I should just be a team player and let all of this play out and I’m sure everything will be fine. I’m sure I’ll get taken care of in the future, right? Highly doubtful. Because Logan didn’t want to face me, Guy sure as shit doesn’t want to face me because I will slam that clown’s head into the mat so fucking hard that it’s going to leave a shit smear of his make up all the way down to the corner post. So I’m not holding out hope that I’m gonna get a rematch for that championship any time soon, despite the fact I’d like to think I’ve earned one. But hey, you do you SCW. Stay classy with your shitty booking and shitty decision-making on who you like to put all your weight behind. I’m sure putting all of your eggs in the clown basket is going to play out real well in the future.”

Aiden shakes his head, his jaw clenching as he is clearly trying to keep his emotions in check. Sitting behind, a little off to the side, is Dickie Watson. He has remained silent to this point, but has been reacting to each thing that his best friend and partner has said.

”So, as I reached a breaking point, I did something I wasn’t very proud of and went all over Twitter, or X, as it’s now known because Elon Musk is a fucking idiot. And I voiced my displeasure. Every single thing I said was true. There was no hyperbole in what I said. There was no lying. There was no bullshit. It was my truth, and I put it out there for the world to see. And I’m not going to apologise, despite the fact that it was a very public blowup. Then on climax control, I turned up to work while other people who don’t sit on their arses and I ran my mouth again. And again – I’m not going to apologise.”

“But now, I’ve been rewarded with a match against two guys who I do respect who also need wins to get their careers back on track. Miles Kasey and Eddie Lyons.”

“Miles, mate. You know I like you. Hell, I was one of the ones who campaigned to get you back into the gym after you decided to walk off. And how did that go? Well, you attacked Finn and made us all look like a bunch of fucking idiots. Thanks for that, buddy. I really appreciate it. But despite all of that, I do like you as a human being. You’re a good guy. You found love and you have a great life. However,, your career is not something that you should really be proud of. And I don’t want to sound like a complete dick when it comes to this, but you have not been able to reach your level of potential that we all know that you have.”

“You should have been the World Champion by now. But you didn’t. Instead, your husband reached that level first.”

“I could be a dick about that, but let’s face it: Carter is an incredible athlete and he deserves to be the World Champion. But something that I’m sure grinds your gears is that I’ve been able to reach a level of success in SCW that you haven’t, and I haven’t even taken my career seriously at this point. The entire time I’ve been here, I’ve been joking around, enjoying my time, just living my life but now…now I’m pissed off and now I’m looking to take heads. And even though you and I are friends, Miles, that’s not gonna stop me from doing what I need to do. I like you, buddy, and I respect you, but you keep banging your head against the glass ceiling above you because you’re not strong enough to break through it and I’m not going to end up like you. Just spinning my wheels and treading water because I don’t have the balls to do what needs to be done. That's the difference between us. You don’t have the balls to do what needs to be done, whereas I do.”

Dickies’s eyes slightly widen and as he goes to say something but instead thinks better of it, nodding a bit in the background with a “hm, okay” face as Aiden continues.

”So, get ready Miles, because I’m about to smack you around and make you bite the pillow because I’m gonna push your shit in and not in the way that you actually like”

Behind him Dickies’s jaw drops, his eyes widen again and he goes to say something else but Aiden is on a roll.

”Oh man, you know what? I was about to leave it there but then I remembered I forgot one of my opponents. Eddie, buddy, I’m sorry. I forgot you, just like how most of the wrestling world has forgotten you because you haven’t been able to do shit since I beat you. And this one is kind of personal to me. So back when we faced for the Roulette Championship, I told you straight up that it was time for you to move on and go for the World Title. Much like Miles, you have the potential to be a world champion, but you’ve pissed it all away. That seems to be a running theme here. You could’ve gone on to break through the same glass ceiling that Miles is currently whacking his head on every single week, but you didn’t. You failed. And you failed miserably.”

“You got lit up and exposed by Finn, you went through the Blast from the Past tournament and got to the final only to stumble at the last moment and be defeated by J2H.”

“You have had all of these opportunities and each and every one of them you stumbled over and fucked up. I held you in such a high regard that I was cheering for you. I wanted you to go to that next level, Eddie, because I respect you. Vincent and Victoria are members of your family that are going to make sure the name Lyons lives on while you seem to be the one who is putting a whole bunch of tarnish on it. And that pains me, because you’re the only one out of the three of you that are in this company that I respect as a human being. Don’t take this the wrong way, but your family are kind of a bunch of arseholes.”

“But at least they succeed despite themselves.”

“But hey, I can’t talk right? I lost to Logan Hunter, who is a bigger joke than both of you combined. Here’s the problem. I know that I lost to Logan. I accept that I lost to Logan and I wanted to have an opportunity against him again, but instead that got robbed from me. My opportunity to regain that championship got taken from me and I don’t appreciate it and I really really don’t appreciate that. I’ve been thrown in a match with you two instead of getting my rightful shot. So unfortunately, you’re gonna see a different side of me. Yeah, I’m still a good guy, I love my wife. I love my friends. I joke around, but now when I get in that ring what I’m gonna be looking for is blood. I’m gonna take your blood, Eddie, I’m gonna take your blood Miles. I'm going to take my pound of flesh and I’m gonna do everything I can until the higher ups in this company realise what they’ve unleashed. I’ll see you both at Climax Control.”

You’re gonna do what?

”Are you sure about this?”

Dickie Watson, Aidens best friend in tag team partner razors an eyebrow as the four mentioned Mr Reynolds popped his arms over his chest with a Maps spread out between them. He not slowly his arms folded over his chest as his eyes dart from side to side. He is deep in thought coming up with a plan and movements as he stares at a two-dimensional representation of the Toledo Zoo. He leaves forward his hands flat on the table as he keeps tracing the lines with his eyes coming up with a foolproof plan.

He reaches out pointing at the entrance before tracing a line down a pathway around a maintenance hub and across the African exhibit to the back of the zoo where the Australian exhibit is held. Knowing that that’s where he will find his target. Sitting in the center of the exhibit is a small plastic Tasmanian devil. Aiden smiles slowly and looks up at Dickie. Who takes a deep breath and throws his arms in the air before nodding back at his friend ”Alright, I guess we’re going to steal a Tasmanian devil then…”

Aiden just smiles again, Dickie groans and stands back. ”Just need a few things from you….”

”…What?”

Aiden pulls out a list opening it up delicately. He clears his throat and starts to itemize off the things that he needs. ”A pickup truck, a 10 m length of heavy-duty nylon rope. A banana, a can of compressed air, two South African whooping cranes, and a sock filled with chicken fat.”

Dickie blinked a few times like his brain was trying to process what he just heard. ”Why?”

”What do you mean why?”

Dickie took a deep breath and shook his head snatching the list from Aiden ”South African whooping cranes? A sock filled with chicken fat? A banana? Why?” Aiden narrowed his eyebrows and took a deep breath before leaning forward with a groan.

”The cranes are so I can release them and have security running after them thinking that they have escaped. And the sock? Well, mate, have you ever been hit with a sock filled with chicken fat? The size and the girth of it will make sure to knock whoever I hit completely out but also won’t leave any lasting damage. I’m not a monster. It’s essentially an all-natural slapjack”

Dickie nodded and raised an eyebrow ”And the banana?”

”A snack…. potassium is very important.”

Dickie just deadpans him. Aiden keeps studying the map and scratches the back of his neck. Suddenly the door swings open and Kallie walks in ”Hey Aiden I made tacoritos and I wanted to know if Dickie was staying….” She looks up, raising an eyebrow as the two men stare at her looking guilty. Aiden slowly slides the map onto the table as Kallie raises an eyebrow ”What are you two doing?”

Aiden looked at Dickie. Dickie looked back at Aiden. Dickie then swallowed and tapped Aiden on the shoulder ”So, I’d love to stay for dinner but I need to get home. Have fun, Aiden.”

”Hey, Dickie!…dude what the hell?”

Dickie gave a small nod to Kallie and smiled before leaving the room. Kallie raised an eyebrow looked at her husband and folded her arms over her chest. She looked him up and down and waited. Waited for some kind of explanation or reason. ”Well?”

Aiden swallowed hard and put the map down on the table. Kallie stepped forward and looked down at it before raising an eyebrow and looking at Aiden. ”So uh, I was thinking about getting a friend for Willow and also a bodyguard for Dax”

”A bodyguard? What kind of bodyguard….”

”A Tasmanian devil…”

Kallie slowly turned and looked at her husband. Her face was pale and emotionless as she stared at him. She shook her head and cleared her throat. ”A what?” She paused. Aiden took a deep breath Kallie continued. ”You want to go and steal a Tasmanian devil? And you want that Tasmanian devil to be a pet and bodyguard for our son?”

”Well, when you say it like that it sounds stupid.” Kallie folded her arms over her chest. The two stared at each other and after a few moments, Aiden swallowed and nodded as he came to a realization. ”Yeah I get it. I’ll just throw this map away and forget about it.”

”Good…. come get dinner”

A war with a family….

”So many people thought that Connor Murphy was going to be the roulette champion now. Going into blaze of glory all I heard was that Connor was finally going to start living up to that expectation and potential that we’d always seen in him. But after that Iron Man match when the dust settled, I was the one holding the roulette championship above my head. Not Connor Murphy. Me…”

Aiden took a deep breath and slowly smiled before continuing. Is Sandy dark blonde hair waving slightly down over his eyes

”Blaze of Glory is the biggest show that this company has. Well, one of the biggest shows. Truth be told this company turns out huge events like most places wish they could. And now we’re going on this Viking-era tour and going all through Scandinavia. The people are thirsty and hungry to see some real wrestling from the guys and girls at this company. And again I have come out of one of the major events still holding a championship and still going about my life. I’m not the greatest, I failed when I tried to prove that…”

“Finn Whelan beat me. But I have been going about my work in the roulette division. I have now defended this championship twice, and I have shown the world that I’m not a fluke. I’m a two-time roulette champion and the more time I spend here the more confident on getting. And now the rest of us are all standing back and watching the blast from the past tournament”

“And I’ve accepted the fact that right now the company probably isn’t going to have a lot for me.”

“Everyone is going to be watching this tournament to see who the winners are going to be. The winners get to select what championships they go for and then we’re going to have challenges for those titles. And I’m under no illusions that on the men’s side, they’re probably going to have a winner that’s going to go after whoever the world heavyweight champion is. On the women’s side, they’re probably going to do the same. So, well this tournament is happening. I’m just spinning my wheels. But in spinning my wheels I get to reignite a beautiful weed feud that I’ve got going on that I didn’t even realize I had going on until this week.”

Aiden slowly smiles and shrugs.

”Vincent Lyons eh? You know he and I have never faced each other. But the family? The family I know quite well. See, everyone in this company knows that I’ve had my wars with Eddie. Eddie and I have gone at it over the roulette championship and we’ve traded wins and losses. Everyone knows that I quite like Eddie. I respect him, I think that he is possibly one of if not The greatest and yet underutilized talent that this company has and he should be in that main event scene going for that world championship. Because he is good enough to hold it.”

“But, Eddie and I have beaten the hell out of each other. And in another company. PWS Legacy. I recently faced Alexander Lyons. Another member of the family. So then I come back to this company and I face Vincent. Three male members of the Lyons family all of them coming after little old Me. It seems like I’m in a war with the same family and despite the fact not all the family members say to eye the truth is that this is entertaining Me more than anyone else can imagine.”

“So, what does Vincent bring to the table that the other members of his family don’t?”

“Nothing..”

“I wish I could tell you all that Vincent was some kind of secret weapon in the Lyons family and the Lyons den. But the truth is we’ve seen the best of that family and that gym. Eddie and Victoria. At least in this company. Unfortunately, the best out of that gym isn’t even a member of the family and her name is Cleo. Maybe one day she’ll bring her talents over to this company. But until then we are left with Eddie who is a challenger for the world championship Victoria who has been ruling the women’s roulette division and now Vincent.”

Aiden gets to his feet and folds his arms over his chest.

”And Vincent‘s biggest claim of fame? Holding championships in that dumpster fire of a company WWH. Yeah, a lot of us in SCW were in that company. Alex, our current world champion is a form of world champion in WWE. Alicia also ruled to that company. Hell, I held a championship from that company too but when that company started to become a raging fire and a piece of shit we all left and was smart enough to just wipe our hands of it. But you Vincent? Without your time in that crappy ass company, you would have nothing.”

“So here you are in SCW ready to follow in your family’s footsteps. It’s just too bad that if I wanted a real challenge for your family, I would’ve challenged your twin sister. She’s the one who is currently at the top of a division. She is the one who is holding a championship. Eddie held this championship the roulette championship. He’s challenging for the world championship and being up there in the main event. You walked in and failed going for the Internet championship. Kevin Carter made you look like a joke. But now you get a non-title match against me..”

“Look mate, coming from that family, I know that you’ve got talent. I know that you could become a star here. But I’m sick and tired of being overlooked. And that is exactly what is going to happen when I’m facing you. People are gonna forget that I’m the roulette champion, people are gonna forget that I’ve done everything I can to make this title mean something. And all they’re going to do is look at your last name and think that we have another star on our hands. So to counter that disrespect, I’m gonna do everything I can in our match to show you that you have stepped up in competition. That those championships you held in that dumpster fire of a company mean nothing when you are in the fires of SCW.”

“Bring it Vinnie… cause I’m gonna bury you”

Home

The concept of going home is a strange one. When you think about it the whole concept of Home itself is strange. Is home where your family is? Is home the place that you make yourself? Is home where you are currently laying your head? It’s a very strange thing. The feeling of homesickness. When you go somewhere else all of those creature comforts that you have come to expect are no longer there. The feeling of not having that around you can lead to many things. Depression, anxiety, sadness. All of these negatives.

There are those among us though who can move and live wherever they want. They don’t feel burdened by the feeling of home or family. They can go anywhere in the world and as long as they are taking care of themselves and they have a few others around them they will have their own home in their own mind.

Aiden Reynolds was not one of those people.

After months of living in Japan, months of working himself to the bone and going to every single event that the company asked him to go to as well as a few that they didn’t, not to mention working on the side for a few of the smaller independent companies he wanted to go home he wanted to see his parents, he wanted to see his sister, he even wanted to see his brother. He missed Australia. The beaches, the sunshine, the people.

Aiden missed it.

So, the second he had some time off and an excuse he flew back to Australia. The excuse was a simple one. He needed to renew his work Visa. So he went home, flying back to Queensland, landing at Brisbane Airport before going back to the Gold Coast. He didn’t tell anyone that he was going to be there. He just knew that his siblings were going to be at his parent's house on Sunday.

As the airport shuttle rumbled down the street, Aiden swallowed, he was nervous. Nervous because this was the first time he was going to see his family since leaving to go to Japan. He wondered if they had been keeping tabs on him, wondering if they even cared that he had found success in his dream job.

Aiden got out of the shuttle, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He walked up to the door. He opened it knowing it would be unlocked. He stepped in closing the door behind him. Moving into the kitchen he smiled as his parents and siblings sat and turned to see him. His mother‘s face lit up, his father‘s eyebrows raised, and his sister smiled. Something he found amusing. And his brother slowly smirked and nodded slowly being the most subdued out of everyone.

There were hugs all around, laughter, and smiles. But after everything had calmed down, Aiden sat making a chicken and salad wrap ”So…. how's Japan?” Amelia, Aiden’s sister sat next to him at the kitchen bench. She was the first one to ask. Everyone else just making vague illusions to Aiden working overseas.

Aiden smiled and nodded slowly taking a deep breath after taking a bite of his rap and swallowing ”Yeah it’s great aye…. I’m learning a lot, I’ve even picked up a little bit of Japanese. I am rooming with this guy named Steve. He’s a Brit. Nice guy. We were staying at the same sponsor's house but when I get back, we’re going to be moving into an apartment.”

”Oi ya got a boyfriend? Good job!” Adam, Aiden‘s brother perked up with a laugh. Amelia rolled her eyes and Aiden simply turned and looked at his brother.

”Hey..hey….fuck off”

Aiden shook his head, his brother had always been a bit of a dick head. Always making stupid comments. But they laughed it off in the end. He took a deep breath, his heart sinking to the pits of his stomach. Everyone was ignoring the fact that he moved to another country and had been working hard. They obviously hadn’t been watching anything that he was doing. which was strange. The entire reason Aiden got into professional wrestling was because he and his family had all watched it.

Admittedly, his mother hadn’t really been involved. But his father would sit down turn it on and have all three kids sitting on the floor watching it. Amelia had started to not care about it in recent years but the boys Adam and Aiden would both both wrestle on the floor all the way through their teenage years until Aiden decided he wanted to become a professional professional wrestler. Adam wanted to but had been too cowardly to tell their mother and father about his dreams.

Aiden wondered if Adam had become better about it. He wondered whether or not his parents held it against him for moving away. He took a deep breath and shook his head before looking at his sister with a smile. ”Enough about me. While Japan is great and everything and I’m doing well, I’ve missed a few things around here. So how’s things going with you”

Amelia shrugged and sat forward, leaning against the kitchen bench before grabbing her can of no-sugar Coca-Cola and taking a sip ”Good. I’m going to be graduating from university next year and then I’m gonna start looking for work. I don’t really like having to have a casual job while I’m studying, especially when where I’m working at fucking Maccas.”

”Oi next time you’re at work bring home some nuggets yeah?”

”Fuck off Adam”

Aiden couldn’t help but laugh. This was it. This was home. This is what it had always been like. They would give each other shit, talk and laugh, the part of Aiden thought it would be different. He thought maybe, just maybe they would congratulate him on living his dream. But instead, there was nothing. He took a deep breath, his smile fading and it seemed to be at this moment. Amelia noticed.

”You know, Dad and Adam have been watching your matches. Dad has even been paying for a subscription to the Japan wrestling streaming service. I even caught Mum watching it the other day.”

Aidens eyes widened and he cleared his throat. ”What? Legit?!?”

Amelia nodded. Aiden smiled. Their mother walked in the room and Amelia stood up getting ready to go and help her before patting her brother on the shoulder and leaning in. ”We’re all proud of you. Even if we don’t show it.”

Aiden took a deep breath, happy that he knew the truth. He realized the reason why they weren’t making a big fuss about it was because they didn’t want him to stay. They wanted him to go back to Japan and continue living his dream. He shook his head and smiled before getting to his feet finishing his chicken and salad wrap and walking over to hang out with his brother and his father. Home is where the heart is indeed.

Elimination

”Man what a weird time this is.”

Aiden slowly smiled and shook his head. His light brown/Sandy blonde hair flowed down into his eyes as it had become a little bit longer. His face was covered in a short beard.

”Inception was certainly something special. You see, I did everything I could to try and make people interested in that match. I talked about it endlessly. I brought up how good Daniel Morgan and Connor Murphy were also being a little bit light-hearted with their recent records. I want the roulette championship to mean something. I want people to look at it as a prize. And add inception while I was able to win the match and while I was able to get some eyes onto the match, it was still a failure. It was a failure because apparently, my opponents didn’t give a shit”

“They didn’t talk about the match. They didn’t promote the match. These two guys literally just turned up to get in the cage and try and win it without telling anyone why they wanted to win it. I have said since I won this championship against Alexander Raven that I wanted to make it mean something. I wanted to have a second championship run with it that was worthy of it. Because my first one certainly wasn’t.”

“I failed in my first attempt”

“But this time, I wasn’t the failure. This time the two guys who I got in the ring with other failures. They both failed to live up to their end. They both failed to make people care about that goddamn match. So yeah, The happy-go-lucky Aiden that most people know disappeared for a night. When I got in that cage I wasn’t just in there to try and win it. I wasn’t just in there to try and keep the roulette championship. I was in there to prove a point and I was in there to hurt the two guys who decided to disrespect that championship and by extension Me.”

“I deserve more respect than that”

Aiden spat venom as he clearly started getting angry. He took a deep breath and shook his head before continuing.

”Now, it’s funny that I’m talking about the roulette championship. The first time I won this title it was off of my opponent who I’m facing this week. Eddie Lyons. And this rivalry between myself and him has been built off of the one thing that I just talked about. Respect. I do respect you Eddie, I respect everything that you’ve been able to accomplish and I respect your family. I feel like a broken record repeating myself here. But I mean it. Every single time you get in the ring, you leave it all in there. No matter what kind of match it is you leave it all in the ring.”

“You now have an opportunity in front of you. The same opportunity that I have in front of Me. This match isn’t for a championship, it’s for an opportunity to earn the right to challenge for a championship. And that’s what championships should be. They should be these goals that we all strive for and reach for. That’s what the roulette championship should be and that’s what I’ve always tried to make it. It’s what you succeeded in making. When you were the roulette champion everyone wanted to go for that title because they saw you as a champion that earned the right to be a champion. I’m still fighting for that. But, the powers that be have decided to grant us both this opportunity.”

“A great opportunity.”

“See whichever one of us wins gets to go on to be in the elimination chamber. And whoever wins that match gets an opportunity against whoever the champion will be after that. Now, some people might disagree with us having to jump through hoops like this but I think it’s great. A championship should be a prize and the SCW world heavyweight championship is the biggest prize. And it’s one that I know for a fact Eddie wants. Because, unlike most people in this company, Eddie is a pure professional wrestler. He doesn’t have anything else on the side. This is his love, this is his destiny. But it’s a destiny that has eluded him. Hasn’t it Eddie?”

Aiden raises his eyebrows and offers a small shrug before continuing.

”I’ve been a world champion in other companies. I’ve been a tag team champion, I’ve held mid-card titles, I’ve been an old girl champion of a company. I’ve done a lot. Immediately I’ve never been the world champion in SCW but I know what it’s like to climb to the top of the mountain and realise that dream. Eddie doesn’t. And I know you Eddie, I know that that’s what you want in this world. You want to be able to stand on top of the mountain and look down at everyone else and say that you are the best. And here’s your chance. I told the world that you should be going for the world championship and that the roulette title was something that you outgrew and I wholeheartedly believe that.”

“But, it’s my dream too. It’s my Destiny 2. So what do we do? Well, we go to war. We get in the rain and we go at all to earn the opportunity to try and earn another opportunity. And as I said, that’s how it should be in this business. You earn everything. And I can tell you this right now, Eddie, if you can beat Me I’m gonna make sure you still earn your way into that chamber. Just like I know if I beat you then I will have earned it because you’re going to make me earn it.”

“That is what we do in this business. That is the kind of person you are and the kind of person I am.”

“And I have to be completely honest with you, part of me is intimidated by this entire situation. See, if he’s still the champion by the time we come out of this and I should happen to win the elimination chamber then I will be facing Finn Whelan. And to be completely honest with you the type of person Finn is in the mood he’s been in lately. That match is not going to be pleasant for anyone involved. But that’s the dream, isn’t it? To be able to hold the SCW world heavyweight championship over our heads and say at that moment that we are the best? It’s the dream of everyone who gets into the business. And if you don’t have that dream, if you aren’t looking at the top title in a company and planning to do everything you can to own it and become the champion then you shouldn’t be in this business. But then again that isn’t something I have to worry about with you is it Eddie? Because I know damn well you feel the exact same way as me. So let’s dance again, brother. Let’s see where the dominoes fall.”

Culture Shock!: The arrival in Japan

Do you know how confusing it is to get your passport done for the first time? When you haven’t gone overseas for most of your life going into being an adult? I want you to think back to a time when you’ve had to take care of that, where you have had to contact the relevant government body to get the paperwork done. And how much of a pain that is to do. Now put yourselves in the shoes of. Aiden Reynolds.

Not just Aiden Reynolds. But 21-year-old Aiden Reynolds. With his youthful exuberance and limited intelligence. Now taking all that into account is it looked at as a minor miracle that he was able to organise all of this to go on a working tour of Japan as a professional wrestler?

Keep in mind, this was long before he was the man that you know him as today. The man who is married and is responsible for a young child as well as a former champion in many promotions. No, this was the 21-year-old who had been wrestling for a few years on the independent circuit of Australia who had never stepped foot outside of his own country, and had no idea where he was or what he was about to do.

Yeah, bro was fucked.

He sat in the window seat of his Japan airline flight. Like an excited child, he was unable to sleep for the 12 hours it took him to travel from Brisbane International Airport to Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. As the plane landed Aiden popped up, stepping over the elderly Japanese couple who had been seated next to him before grabbing his bag. He stood there, waiting for them to open the doors and start letting everyone shuffle off. He had never been on a plane before and didn’t realize just how long this was going to take.

Aiden stood bouncing from 1 foot to the other on the balls of his feet before finally hearing the door open and looking up ahead seeing people start to shuffle forward and off the plane. Aiden moved fast, weaving in and out and not letting anyone else out of their seats as he got to the front and almost ran up the ramp out into the arrival gate area. After picking up his luggage and checking his phone to make sure it was going to work, he moved out to the street.

He found a cab and got in trying his best to explain when he needed to go. Pointing at what he thought was the address in Japanese. The cab took off went around the corner and stopped letting him out in the middle of Tokyo. ”Thanks mate, I appreciate it”

The cab driver smiled politely and gave a small nod before pointing at the payment meter ”大丈夫です、800円でお願いします”

Aiden linked a few times not having any idea what he just said, only recognising the number. ”800 yen? Mate that seems like a bit of a rip-off.”

The cab driver looked confused, tilting his head and looking the young Australian up and down. He took a deep breath before speaking in broken English but clear enough for someone with the limited intelligence of Aiden to understand. ”800 yen is about 8 Australian dollars. You chimp…”

”Oh….” he cleared his throat and took a deep breath before fumbling in his wallet and pulling out some money. He handed the cab driver around ¥1000 and smiled in his usual goofy but somehow endearing manner. ”Keep the change mate” The cab driver crumbled and Aiden slipped from the backseat and grabbed his bags. The cab sped off and he blinked a few times realising he had no idea where he was.

Aiden looked down at the piece of paper, the address he was looking for was both written in congee as well as English letters so he could try and sound it out. He walked around looking at the street signs before pulling out his phone and looking on his app. he proceeded to wander around the suburbs just outside of Tokyo for three hours before looking up and noticing the sun was going down. ”Shit…”  he moved around the streets before stopping and turning realizing where he was.

He found his sponsor's house reaching up and knocking on the door. After a few moments the door slid open, Aiden smiled politely, bowing his head and pulling out a piece of paper. The older Japanese man raised his eyebrow reading over the piece of paper before nodding and sipping sideways to invite Aiden inside. As Aiden went to step in the man put his hand up and pointed down to Aidens shoes.

He swallowed, looking down and realizing that all of the shoes were sitting at the front door, he moved down and under his laces, kicking them off next to everyone else’s before entering and holding the bag. He was confused as he moved through the small house. But as he went into the kitchen, his eyes widened. There was another Man in the home. He raised an eyebrow and the two locked eyes.

After a few moments, the other man got up and reached his hand out ”Aye bruv…names Steve.Steve Morrison..”

Aiden took his hand firmly and shook it. ”Nice to meet ya Stevo, I’m Aiden….”

”Yeah I figured. Me and Hachi over there were trying to figure out where you were. At least, I think he was, I don’t understand a damn thing that boys been saying. But I take it you got a bit lost eh?”

”Maaaate…I got a bit lost. But I’m here now. So I guess I better find my room.” Steve chuckled, patting him on the shoulder before leading Aiden up a small hallway toward the back where he opened the door into a room. Over one side was Steve’s bed roll and all of his possessions around it on the other side a neatly made one clearly for Aiden.

”Welcome to Japan…roomie” Aiden swallowed hard and ran him through his hair as Steve chuckled and went and sat on the floor. He shrugged before starting to unpack his things. This was his life, this was the culture, and it was time for him to learn he wasn’t in Australia anymore.

Threeway or “how to get two chicks angry at you”

”Aiden?...hey where are you?”

Dickie Watson, Aidens manager (sort of), Tag team partner, best friend, hetero lifemate and brother of our SCW world champion Finn Whelan walks around Aidens living room, his eyebrows raised as he looks around.

”Aiden?...you home man?”

There was silence.  He moved through the lounge room stopping as he looked at a chair facing away from him. Slowly the chair spun around. Aiden sat on the chair. Willow the wombat on his lap as he slowly hit her head.

”Welcome Dimitri.”

Dickie mouthed “Dimitri” with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head and clearing his throat.

”So, I thought I’d drop by and see if you’d like my help with a promo against Daniel and Connor”

Aiden took a deep breath and he lowered Willow down before getting to his feet.

”I mean…if you want to…I could use a little back and forth, a little help. Ya know. I miss bouncin ideas off you. Could have used that against your brother, to be honest”

”You know why I couldn’t”

Aiden puts his hand up and smirks.

”I know mate, I’m just screwing with you…grab a beer…”

Dickie grabs a beer, turns, and sits down near Aiden who clears his throat and looks at the camera in the side of the room.

”So, as much as I want to sit here and tell you all that I beat the current world champion. I didn’t. I got in the ring with Finn Whelan and I lost. And hey, there’s no shame in that. He’s been the world champion for over three hundred days, beaten the best of the best and I got in there and did the best I could. But, the best doesn’t mean as much as you think. You can all watch that match and come up with positives. Talk about how I took the fight to him, but at the end of the day I ended up lookin up at the lights…and Finn had his hand raised.”

”You’re selling yourself short….you did better than most.”

”Aye mate, I know. And I will be completely honest, a loss at this stage of my career to someone like him is more of a learning experience than a wind would’ve been. Sometimes I don’t think people understand that you can learn so much from a loss to someone who is better than you. And trust me when I say this, Finn is better than Me. He’s a better, he’s seen it all and done it all and he’s someone who knows the business inside and out. I would be considered a veteran as well but at the same time if you don’t learn anything from your losses then you are either the perfect wrestler who somehow had an off night or, you’re an arrogant idiot who doesn’t realize that you learn so much from just examining your losses”

”Very mature way to look at it. Are you feeling alright”

”Fuck off”

Aiden chuckled and shook his head before taking a deep breath and refocusing on the match at hand.

”Now that my match with Finn is done. It’s time for me to look forward to defending my roulette championship. And this is something where I need to put my foot down and show my dominance. Because as the champion, in my first run and the second one I haven’t had that moment where people take me seriously. Beating Alexander Raven for this championship was swept under the rock because he left the company on a break soon after. And beating Eddie Lyons, people thought that should’ve happened anyway because for some reason people automatically thought I was better than Eddie. I think his match with Finn showed he and I are closer to the same level”

“The thing is I was looking forward to this match for a few different reasons. One of those reasons was getting in the ring with Connor Murphy. I’ve heard a lot about Connor and one of the biggest comments that keeps popping up as people mention him is his potential. Everyone talks about Connor and his potential to be a great star in this company. He’s never been able to realize it and break out of that box that they’ve put him in. but I looked forward to getting in the ring with him. I looked forward to it because I believed the hype. I believed it when people told me how good he was, I believed it. When people said Connor Murphy was going to put up a fight in the roulette championship match and he was going to make sure he could snatch that title off of Me in seconds”

“And then….he lost to Bill Barnhart.”

“He got in the ring, with an overweight, old, racist, moronic, spud of a human being. And lost. Connor, how can I take you seriously now? How can I look at you across the ring from Me and believe that you could take my championship with anything more than a fluke? I understand that might be harsh but at the same time, you have to understand where I’m coming from. I heard all about your potential on how good you could’ve been, I heard how everyone was excited for your return and then you get in the ring with that absolute potato of a man and you lose. What the fuck Connor? Why? Why couldn’t you beat him and come into this match with some momentum? Because now it just looks like you exist and the real matches between myself and Daniel Morgan.”

”That’s a bit harsh…”

”But am I wrong ?”

”Well…I mean…no… but you still need to stop spending so much time around Kayla. You’re kind of turning into a bit of a dick.”

Aiden simply shrugs and gives a small knot before continuing.

”Hey, all I want are legitimate contenders for the roulette championship. This title gets passed around way too much. Eddie and Alexander both made this championship means something and I’ll be damned if I just look at it as a title that was taken from me and I get pigeonholed as a transitional champion. Fuck that shit shit. So, Connor Murphy is a bit of a bust but the third man in this match is Daniel Morgan. And that dude is definitely impressive. He has the type of pedigree that points to him being a single star who never really got the opportunity. But now he has the opportunity.”

“Daniel, I won’t mince words mate. I’m glad you are in this match. You are someone who has a history in this company but you never really got to that point where people believed you could be a single star. But now you have that chance, and unlike Connor, you really seem to be taking it seriously. I don’t see you losing to someone like Bill big tits Barnhart, I don’t see you turning yourself into a joke. I see you coming at me and trying to win this championship with all of the heart and effort that the title deserves.”

“But, I will be honest mate, I’m not going to make it easy on you. I don’t know what match is going to end up spinning itself onto that roulette wheel. I don’t know the stipulation. I don’t know what we are going to do, all I know is that I need to keep this championship and I need to win. I need to start defending the title and I need to step up and beat some names like you.”

“I have been very average, middle of the road, or simply mid as the kids say. And I’m sick of being looked at that way. This triple crown idea is looked at as stacking the deck against me. But it gives me an opportunity to beat two men at once even if one of those men completely dropped the ball. But, I want you to bring your best Daniel, hell I want you to bring your best as well, Connor, and I hope it’s better than what you did against Bill. Because you’re both going to need it. I plan on walking out as the roulette champion, and you guys are going to have to pry this title from my dead hands.”

Made for this

”Oh shit”

Aiden winced. And shook his head. It was the end of his first day of training. He arrived home after the long drive, he went to get out of the car and felt it. A pain of pain that shot straight through his entire body. He closed his eyes swallowed hard and pushed through standing up as he tried to ignore it.

He shuffled up the concrete path toward his house. The street was quiet, only some faint sounds of cars driving along the highway behind behind Aidan’s house could be heard. He grabbed his keys opening the door and stepping inside softly trying not to wake anyone in the house. Knowing that his parents were probably asleep and the same with his siblings. he closed the door behind him and made his way through the kitchen trying to tiptoe as shocks of pain rang through his body with each step.

He moved over to the fridge opening the freezer and grabbing out a ice pack. He took a deep breath and turned getting ready to go to his bedroom when the light flicked on. Aidan looked up seeing his mother standing in the doorway. Her arms were folded over her chest and she shook her head looking Aiden up and down. And what a sight he must’ve been. Covered in bruises and abrasions. ”Aiden! What happened?”

She fussed over him. Stepping forward and grabbing his arm leading him over to the kitchen table. She forced him to sit down and started looking over him. Noticing a few discoloured patches on his face and neck looking over his shoulders and his upper back seeing the large red and purple marks that had started to fall. Aiden  shook his head and looked up at her with a bemused smirk. ”I’m ok, it’s just some bruises” The young man couldn’t help it laugh as he grabbed the ice pack and put it on the back of his neck. He was in pain, he was sore and now knew what he was getting into. But he was loving it.

”Just some bruises?” she repeated with raised eyebrows as she kept studying her son. He swallowed heart and pushed the ice pack harder against the back of his neck. His mother took a deep breath and sat back. ”Well, I was going to ask how your first day training went but I can see how it went by how you’re moving and all of these bruises that you seem to just shrug off like they’re nothing”

”Mum…” Aiden grounded and shook his head.

She put her hands up and sighed ”Oh but what do I know? I just worked as a nurse for years.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He tried to make it less obvious than it ended up being. He took a flustered breath showing some frustration with his mothers worrying over him. ”I’ll be fine. It’s all part of learning” He winced again, holding his ribs as he felt a stabbing shot in his side.

His mother shook her head and sighed heavily. ”Are you sure you want to do this? There is no shame in trying something and then realising it’s not for you. Or admitting that your body can’t hold up to it.” Her hand moved across the table and grabbed Aiden’s hand, she gave it a squeeze and rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand with a smile. ”You can still get into university and get a degree…”

Aiden took a deep breath in, a sharp inhale, he pushed it out and drowned before shaking his head and sliding his hand back. ”You want me to give up? Is that how you raised me? You and Dad constantly talk about following your dreams and putting 100% into everything you do. So after one training session, one session where I come home and I’m sore because I did put 100% into it. You’re telling me I should quit?” He pauses and shakes his head again, he was clearly upset by the turn of events and the conversation. ”This is my dream and it’s what I want to do. Can’t you just be happy for me that I’m trying? Can’t you be supportive?”

His mother sat there for a moment, her eyes softened as she seem to be deep in contemplation about everything that her son had laid out in front of her. She took a deep breath nodding slowly before reaching over and taking his hand again this time pulling his hand forward and forcing Aiden to look in her eyes.”I’m sorry…” Aiden looked up, his mother smiled wider ”You’re right. You deserve support and understanding…. I just don’t like to see you in a pain.”

Aiden took a deep breath and laughed to himself before standing up ”I understand. And I get it. I love you too, Mum. But you have to let me do this. And I’ll even let you worry about me. They smiled at one another. He took a deep breath and moved past his mother going down the hallway toward his bedroom. Ready to lay down and relax. His mind they are racing with all the things that he learned and the determination to get better.

Australian Underground

”Bloody hell what a rush”

Aiden Reynolds, the current sin city wrestling roulette champion. He stands with a beer in one hand and the roulette championship in the other as he takes a deep breath with a smile on his face.

”I swear to God, part of me didn’t think I’d be able to beat Alexandra Raven. See, everyone knows how good Alexandra Raven is. He is someone who should have been the world champion at least once. Someone who has taken the fight to some of the best this company has ever seen. he should’ve been the one going after Finn Whelan, he should have been at the top of the garden in the main event. And I mean that wholeheartedly. Nine times out of 10, the way I am now, Alexandra Raven beats me. As good as I know I can be I have a lot of growing to do in this company. And someone like him should have been a world champion instead of being in the roulette division.”

“But with that being said I was still able to beat him. At the biggest show of the year when push came to shove I was the one who had my hand raised high and I was the one who walked out of the roulette champion. Of course Alexandra is taking so much deserved and well earned time off and I’m going to be the one waving the roulette flag from here on out. and what a flag waving it will be. You see, I failed at my first run with this championship.”

“I don’t think that’s a controversial thing to say.”

“Hell, you all sort it. I beat Eddie Lyons and became the roulette champion. And I had intentions of trying to do the championship proud. Especially since Eddie was good enough to hold that championship and make it a prize worth chasing. But, two weeks after I won the damn thing Alexander Raven beat me for it. there was no excuses, he was just a better man. And every time I had a shot at getting it or a shot at becoming something more than just a name on the roster I failed. That is until high stakes.”

Aiden took a sip of his beer and sighed heavily

”And now i’m left with a new task. I get a second shot at making sure this championship becomes synonymous with my name. And another shot at red redemption. Now, I’m not the smartest guy in the world and I’m also not someone who believes in any sort of higher power. But if there is a higher power and I’ve been allowed to have this second chance at becoming the roulette champion and doing the championship proud then I’m going to take it with both hands and I’m not going to look back”

“But first, before I look at defending this championship against anyone who comes for me, I have to get past Daniel J Morgan. A member of London Underground. One of the best tagteam styled stables in the history of this company.”

“Daniel was 1/2 of the tagteam champions as well as being a member of London Underground while they were the first mixed tagteam champions. You don’t stumble across that kind of success by accident.”

“But, I know a thing or two about being a tag team champion. In fact that’s all people thought I was for a time. They thought I was a tag team guy. Myself and my tagteam partner Dickie Watson, the younger brother of Finn Whalen were one of the best tag teams going known as the Commonwealth. And we were one of the best teams in the world. However, I was sick and tired of being looked at as just his partner. And I’ve done everything I can to get success as a singles restless since then and I’d like to think I’ve done a good job holding a world championship in one company and then coming here to become the roulette champion not once but twice.”

Aiden smiles slowly

”With that being said I don’t want the narrative to get twisted here. I am not disregarding Daniel Morgan and his success nor am I saying that he isn’t able to beat Me because most of his success has come to tag team. Because that is simply not the case. anyone can beat anyone on their day and Daniel you are someone who should be respected and looked at as a possible champion. And now that you’ve come back to the fold and you are walking around with the rest of the members of London Underground. as well as Crystal Zdunich… then it’s safe to assume you are going to be making a good run in this company once again”

“But, i’m not going to stand here and disagree with the fact that you’re a threat. Because you are. And my championship isn’t on the line but I also know that if you beat the champion you should earn a championship match. So as we close out 2024 and as I hold the roulette championship, I know that you are going to be getting ready to try and beat me to earn a shot at the roulette title. and I need to keep my momentum going.”

“Momentum is a hell of a thing”

“And closing out this year with the wind will do so much for my confidence and for my momentum going into next year. Going in with a win over someone like you and being the roulette champion ball just snowball into 2025 being a year that I’ll never forget. I need to beat you Daniel,, I need to be able to keep going with the momentum that started when I was able to beat Alexandra Raven.And I have nothing against you, I don’t dislike you, I don’t even know you. But I am going to do everything in my power for the final show of the year to walk out as a winner. And it’s up to you to stop me.

Ghosts of the past

Aiden was happy. And why wouldn’t he be? He had a beautiful wife, a beautiful son, friends and family. A career doing what he loved. He was making good money and was able to enjoy what he was doing as a profession. So many others don’t have that privilege. People work jobs they hate, they do jobs that are dangerous even more so than professional wrestling but don’t give the same amount of satisfaction. The truth is, Aiden was lucky.

But, like most people in the world, he had a past. A past we’ve covered the adventures of Aidan Reynolds and his life in Japan and what he dealt with. He had been betrayed by someone who he considered to be a brother, he lost a woman that he was in love with at the time. And as he traveled to America, he did everything that he could to try and rebuild that life. And what a rebuild job it was.

He trained at Wolfslair, a gym that had numerous world champions that had also had a small stint in SCW as a fraction. A faction that had become dominant in ways that so many people could never believe.

But what happens when that past comes back to haunt you?

Aidan was leaving the gym, stretching as he walked out and down the street ready to get his post-workout meal. Foot sub filled with roast beef bacon turkey ham and chicken. One that he filled with all sorts of other fresh veggies and fats and carbs. Because let’s face it, he’s a pig.

He looked at his phone his gym bag slung over his shoulder before a familiar voice made him stop in his tracks. A voice that he hadn’t heard in over six years. ”Aiden-san..”

Aiden turns slowly and blinks a few times. ”Hikaru?”

His heart left into his throat, it was her. Hikaru. His former boss's daughter. The woman who he had fallen deeply in love with, who had been wished away after their relationship was made public. The woman who was inadvertently the cause of his betrayals and fall from Grace. The woman who had unfortunately been the reason why he had to start over in a new land from nothing. And they are here she was standing in front of him.

”How?…why?”

He was speechless. Which, if you know him, is shocking in and of itself. He shook his head his mind drawing a blank with what he wanted to say. ”I moved here, to New York. And I heard this is where you lived. I guess I just wanted to see you.”

Aiden nodded slowly and stood back. ”Well… it’s good to see you. I’m glad that you’ve been doing well. I didn’t really hear much about you after you got forced away.”

Hikaru nodded moving closer ”I was forced to stay away. I studied, I laid low. But when I started working at a law firm a few years ago I jumped at the chance to transfer to their offices in America and last year I found out you live here too. I didn’t know if I should contact you or say hello because so much time had passed and…..I also know you are married…with a son..” 

Aiden chuckled and shook his head ”Yeah, I am married, happily, and my son is amazing. But regardless of the great things I have in my life I still would have appreciated knowing that you were alright.”  He shrugged trying to choose his words carefully so he wouldn’t come off as cold or distant or cruel. ”There was nothing to be afraid of. You and I had something and you’re a great person. But all I wanted to know was if you were safe and if you were happy. I went through a lot. Your father, that old man could hold a grudge.”

”He still can..” Hikaru's voice went low, she looked down and away as her eyes burned with anger. Before Aiden could ask she ground her teeth together ”When he found out you were married, he let me go, letting me get settled in and happy before sending me information on you. That you were wrestling again, you had friends and family, he thought it would hurt me, but I was happy for you….I was just mad he thought it was all about you”

Aidens eyes widened and he pushed out a deep breath ”Damn, I’m sorry he did that….apparently he really did hate the idea of us together…” Hikaru nodded and Aiden sighed heavily ”Why don’t you come over for dinner?”

”W-what?”

Aiden smiled and folded his arms over his chest ”Yeah, legit. Kallie is a sweetheart and she is nice to everyone and besides I told her about you, it’s not like you’re some dirty little secret I kept hidden….she felt bad that your dad would do that to you…and me…”

Hikaru nodded slowly, still unsure before clearing her throat ”I’d love to….you seem so happy Aiden and I would love to meet the woman who did that…” The two talked a little more, a weight being lifted off his shoulders before they separated, his heart seemed to feel better, healed, like he finally had closure on a part of his life that he never knew he needed

Tuff

Aiden took a deep breath, he was unsure where to begin, unsure what to say. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. He focused forward knowing that he needed to begin to get his thoughts out there.

”Well finally. Finally a match without Bill Barnhart being involved.”

He was relieved, clearly. Not having to think of new things to say against a man who was at this point in his career a complete joke.

”Look, I’m not going to sit here and say that you should never have a return or repeat matches against people. Hell, you can even have a series of matches in a row. But when it is so one-sided, when I am clearly the better man out of the two we don’t need to keep revising it. I have done nothing but beat the shit out of Bill Barnhart for the better part of two months. I’d like to think at this point we have a definitive answer which one of us is better.”

“Spoiler alert it’s Me. I’m better. And now that that part of my career is hopefully behind me I can move on and look to bigger and better things. Namely getting an opportunity at the roulette championship. I kind of like the whole idea about the roulette championship.”

“I mean shit I shouldn’t.”

“See, I have what they call an addictive personality. I need to be very careful with things like alcohol and gambling. Don’t believe me? My Call of Duty addiction was once so bad that I ended up on Prestige 10 within a month of release. My old-school Call of Duty nerds will get that one. That’s the kind of addictive personality I have. I developed an addiction to monster energy that was so terrible that my piss turned the type of neon green that you would expect if someone was hanging around Chernobyl 24/7…”

“So, a championship based around a casino gambling game probably isn’t something that I should be too deeply involved in”

Aiden shrugged and continued.

”The title is fuelled by chaos. A roulette wheel with all the different stipulations on it. It gets spun and whatever it lands on. That’s what we get to do. And I get to fight it out against LJ Kasey and Eddie Lyons… and this should be one hell of a match. I mean LJ is desperate to prove himself and Eddie has a massive chip on his shoulder.”

“And I get it. “

“See in this match you have three young names who are on the cusp of being in the main event. With a few wins over some big names you could see myself Eddie or LJ for the world championship. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility here. Shit, we just saw Felix the cat beat fucking Kris Ryans”

“So anything can happen”

“ The thing is the three of us have also faced each other and come close to trading wins. I’ve beaten Eddie, I’ve beaten LJ and they have both beaten me.”

Aiden sighs and lets out a small laugh under his breath.

”Now, LJ is a weird case. See we’ve had a lot of siblings in this business. From entire families to twins to triplets we seem to attract whole clans coming into the professional wrestling business. And LJ is coming in and following a brother who never quite reached the potential that we all thought he had. So LJ is in a weird position we’re not only does he want to prove that he is on his brother's level he wants to prove that he’s better than his brother and can live up to all of the promise that we have seen in him.”

“And there’s the problem. You see LJ, you have a huge upside in this business and can show us all how talented you are while also showing us all that you are better than your brother. But what if you don’t? What if you try to do everything that you can to win the roulette championship or earn a shot at the world championship and you just never quite get there?”

“What if you fail in every single way?”

“It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? You can say that you’ll come back and you can say that you will do everything you possibly can to reach those goals and those attainable dreams but in the end, you haven’t shown us anything. You haven’t shown us that you’re good enough to be a champion and you haven’t shown us that you’re good enough to break out from the pack. Eddie and I have both had glimpses of it. But you haven’t. You haven’t done anything to prove to us or anyone and to show us that you are indeed special. Because you’re not special LJ….. and I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to be a complete prick in this but you’ve honestly left me no choice and sometimes there needs to be a small amount of tough Love.”

He raises his eyebrows and takes a deep breath before continuing.

”And then there’s me old mate Eddie. A guy who I’ve gone to war with. And if you look at the three of us. If you look at LJ and you look at Eddie and you look at me then you’ve got to say Eddie is the front runner to break that glass ceiling and get to the main event scene before us. LJ is nowhere near ready, and many would argue that I am just scratching the surface but Eddie? Eddie is right there. Eddie is looking at that glass ceiling and has his fingerprints on it.”

“So, I have to ask, Eddie. Are you sure you want to be doing this? I know that you’re gonna come into this match and you’re going to give it everything that you possibly can because you don’t know any other way. But you should be fighting for a championship match against Finn. You should be trying to get your hands on that world championship because I unlike LJ‘s idiot brother. You’ve actually got a pin for victory over Finn.”

“So why are you fighting it out for a chance at the roulette championship? You’re fighting it out to get a shot against Alexandra Raven and no offense to Raven because he’s a great roulette champion but he has had infinite championship opportunities at the world title and he has failed and now he is basically banished to the land of the roulette wheel. But what about you?”

“You should be wanting more and fighting for more. And I know that’s exactly what you’re gonna do. Are you gonna do everything you can to win this match because that’s just the kind of man that you are and that’s something that I respect about you. Any position that you are putting you fight tooth and nail to be the man who has his hand raised at the end of the match. You’ll do everything you can to beat myself and LJ you’ll do everything you can if you beat us to beat Alexandra Raven and get that roulette championship back. But sometimes man, your pride and that will win can hurt you more than it can help you. And I’m gonna take advantage of that.”

“I gave LJ some tough Love before so I’m going to do the same thing for you. I’m gonna do everything I can to win this match. I’m gonna do everything I can to have my hand raised at the end of it so I’m the one who is going to go on to face Alexandra Raven. So I’m the one who’s going to go for the roulette championship. Because it’s the only way that you were gonna open your eyes and realize that you need to be climbing for something higher, you need to be going for the world championship and you need to fucking fight for Eddie so, I’m gonna do everything I can to free of this burden and I’m going to go after the roulette championship. And I’m going to do it by beating you and LJ on climax control.”