[Kristopher Ryans]

 Beach
San Diego, CA
10 July 2017
7:59pm PDT
ON-Camera


When the video comes to life we are tilted at an awkward angle, staring at the SCW Roulette Champion. Sitting in what appears to be a regular reclining chair seen in living rooms across the country is Kris, the Roulette Championship laying across his lap, directly in the center of the frame. Without him talking the viewers can hear waves nearby, and paired with the sand all around him, they can discern his whereabouts easily. He adjusts the pole next to him, tilting his umbrella slightly forward to block out some of the glare from the sunset.

”I did what I said I was going to do at Summer XXXtreme...”

It was a simple enough concept, and when said with a shrug does not sound bragging at all.

”That is all it was. No more. No less. I said that I was walking in with my Roulette Championship, and that it would still be around my waist on the way out. If there are people that are upset about the way that it all went down, that’s not my fault. What else could any of you even expected? Did you forget who I was? Did you forget that as soon as the bell rings, it is win at all costs? Those things have never changed for me. Go back and rewatch what I said before my first match back. I never said that I played by the rules, and last I checked I was in a match that didn’t really have any, fighting for a belt that usually carries the stipulation of anything and everything being legal.”

He offers another shrug. Unlike what we have normally seen, there is no smile on his face. However, he is also far from the person we saw leading up to Summer XXXtreme. The look in his eyes that was present during his angry tirade is long gone. If anything, he looks tired. Almost like he is lost somewhere between the two extremes.

”Ryan Keys is a good guy. Travis Nathaniel Andrews is a cock. When one of those two failed to even make it to the end of the match due to slightly underhanded tactics, you all cheered. When it happened to Ryan, there was outrage. The only person that was consistent in their actions was me. I went out and did the same things that I always do in order to make sure that I won. For that, love me or hate me, I will never apologize. Do I wish we could have been in a different position at the end, where you could have all gotten a better finish to the fight? Maybe. All I really care about though is the result, and the result was me walking out a winner, as usual.”

He pulls the sunglasses off of his face, squinting at the setting sun in front of him. He lingers on it for just a moment before looking at the camera.

”I was forced onto a cruise, during the worst time of my life. As if being away from my kids was not bad enough, everything fell apart. At the time, I wanted to cover it up because I didn’t want it to become the story of the event. Things always manage to get out no matter how hard you try though. There are no secrets in the age of social media. If you are even slightly famous, all of your secrets get aired. The two weeks I was away were hell. My family fell apart. My brother who you have all seen me stand next to, fight beside, and even fight with turned out to not be a brother at all. My wife got dragged into it. My manager. Students from the Jet City Sports Lab. Everything that could possibly go wrong for me, did. The moment that I stepped onto that cruise, life fell apart. Yet, at the end of the cruise, at the end of my match, my hand got raised in the air. I walked out still champion.”

He reaches down, taking the title into his left hand and raising it from his lap, out towards the camera.

”This is mine. This is going to continue being mine until I break the record for holding it longer than anyone else ever has. I don’t care if I hate you. I don’t care if I think the world of you. I had someone on each side of that equation try to take this title from me at Summer XXXtreme. I got rid of them both the exact same way. Let that be a warning to the rest of you that are going to try. All of the rematch clauses are gone. There is no longer a line behind me. One of you has to earn it.”

He drops the title back to his lap, and then puts his sunglasses back on. As soon as he does he diverts his attention back to the sunset instead of the camera.

”I don’t care who it ends up being. Someone I have faced before? Bring it on. Someone new? Excellent. Someone too mentally challenged to speak to a camera so he has to write stupid fucking blogs instead? Fine. The result is not going to chance. By hook, or by crook, this championship stays with me until the middle of October. If you want it, and don’t want to get embarrassed reaching for it, hop out of line and wait for the day that I throw it down in the center of the ring for all of you to fight over.”

Finally we see the signature smirk cross his face. If the sunglasses were smaller, or any less dark, the audience would have caught the wink that went with it as well.

”You’ve all already seen what’s going to happen if you try and take it from me before then. Trust me.”



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Dr. Halliwell’s Office
San Diego, CA
11 July 2017
12:32pm PDT
OFF-Camera

E.G. Halliwell was smiling as she comes to the door of her new office in San Diego. She had been looking for a while for an LA office but went no affordable spaces became available she branched out. The space wasn't big, but large enough to fit her needs. She looks down at the knob about to open it, but notices the door is ajar, the scratches around the lock indicate someone had obviously spent a little time trying to pick it. She freezes, reaching into her bag and grabbing a can of pepper spray before pushing the door open. Inside, she sees the back of a man standing in front of her desk. It takes her a moment to recognize him from this angle, but when she does, she let’s go of the can in her bag and steps through the door, alerting him to her presence.

Kris: You should really invest in better security. I know a guy that got shot around here once.

Kris puts down the picture he had taken off of her desk and turns to face her with a smile. As he does she tosses her bag into a chair near the door.

Kris: There’s weirdos out there that would break in and really make a mess of the place if you let them.

E.G. rolls her eyes and shuts the door. She had not expected any patients at all, let alone someone that was not a patient at all. Kris was an acquaintance, but not from this part of her life. Seeing him here had her flustered in several ways. She pushes down the feeling of being exposed, and walks to her desk, sitting down in her chair. She rolls it forward, resting her elbows on the table.

E.G.: Hello Mr. Halich, a pleasure as always.

He shakes his head, the smile on his face wavering a little. He had been correcting people who had been calling him that for weeks. He was hoping that would stop coming up so much. In this case, he answers politely instead of lashing out. After all, it was part of the reason he came.

Kris: That’s not really my name anymore. Kind of the reason that I’m here.

He turns from her desk, crossing the room instead of sitting down across from her. His eyes scan around, trying to find something to focus on before he settles on just looking out the window. A couch separates him from being able to walk up all the way to the glass, but the view gives him a buffer between his words, and Everleigh.

Kris: ...probably won’t be as pleasurable a “conversation” as last time.

Her cool expression waivers a little, not that he can see it. He knew she had to have expected as much from him. In their short conversation following their meeting one another for the first time, she had to have picked up as much from his personality.

E.G.: And why is it not your name anymore?

He shrugs, still focused on whatever it was he was looking at out the window instead of turning back to actually face her. It was childish, but it was helping him to feel less anxious.

Kris: I guess it still technically is, but it shouldn’t be. So I guess I came to the only therapist I know to help deal with it. See what you thought I should do.

She scoots back from the desk far enough to open a drawer and pulls out a pad of paper and a pen. Instead of rolling back to the desk, she crosses her legs, placing yellow legal pad on her thigh. She taps the paper with the end of the pen, trying to find the best way to start. Instead of beating around the question, she comes directly at him.

E.G.: Tell me what’s going on?

The words themselves are a statement, but her inflection at the end makes it sound like more of a request. He turns, surprise on his face. He had expected that he was going to get thrown out.

Kris: You mean I can cross back to this side of the line? You don’t mind?

She keeps her expression neutral, but nods, even though for a split second her eyes drift down below his waist as she does. She tries to hide it by immediately looking back down to her pad of paper. He takes a step back towards the desk, bringing his hand up to brush across his lips, not having caught the reaction she had at all. He sighs into his hand before flopping down into the seat across from her with a defeated look on his face.

Kris: It’s kind of a lot to unpack.

The tone of his voice is every bit as flat as the look on his face. Part of her wants to cheer him up, but she tries to steer her mind away from those kind of thoughts.

E.G.: That is kinda my job. And I can keep things professional if you can…

He was not sure if it was fear of actually diving into things, or something else, so he focuses on it instead of the reason that he really came. Anyone that he asked would immediately tell him that he was incapable to keeping anything strictly professional.

Kris: I mean if you are just going to be thinking about my birthday party instead of being able to help, I would understand. It was a pretty unforgettable time.

She immediately blushes a little, her eyes once again drift to his lap before she seemingly adjusts herself back to her ‘doctor expression’. She was not as lucky this time, and she was almost totally sure he had caught it.

E.G.: Is that part of the reason you are here? I understand that you and Heather are having some issues.

He laughs a little, but quells it easily. Raising his right ankle up to cross over his knee, he winks at her, being more confident about this subject than any other. The things he actually came to talk about were terrifying to him. If he could wiggle out of it now, he could go on pretending things were okay.

Kris: Why I’m here? Like things are a little rocky, so maybe I was hoping to see where a round just the two of us would lead things?”

The smirk seen across so many television screens during SCW events flashes across his face. It gets her to look back up from the pad as if a bomb had gone off across the street. Her eyes lock on his, not having a response for him immediately and surprised by the boldness of his statement.

Kris: Would you be opposed?

E.G.’s mouth drops open and she stares at him a second without knowing what to say, the blush grows brighter on her fair cheeks. Instead of answering, she nervously averts her eyes from his. She tries to gather herself, her mouth moving like she is going to say something, but no sounds coming out.

Kris: I think that’s confirmation. Not very doctorly of you to be undressing patients with your eyes.

As he speaks he moves his arms to act to cover himself up in case she was. His movements catch her eye, and start the formation of a smile in the corners of her lips, but she stops it. Everleigh raises her hand, and coughs into it, but it was well short of convincing. After shaking her head, she tries to redirect him.

E.G.:I think we should get back on the topic of your name.

Kris: It’s Kris.

He winks again, and now the smile on her face is gone. He had pushed one too far past charming to simply being a waste of her time. She taps the pad with the end of the pen, but he is not done yet.

Kris: At least we got that out of the way first this time.

She sighs heavily, and then draws in a deep breath. When she lets it out she is able to rephrase calmly.

E.G.: Your last name. What is going on with it not really being your name?

The confidence seems to fade as soon as he realizes that she was not going to be pushed off of the point. He sits up a little straighter in the chair, searching the room for something other than her eyes to focus on. He had been able to deflect with bullshit until now, and was suddenly regretting coming. He reaches for the only answer that was both true, and easy enough to force out.

Kris: I don’t have one anymore.

Her face softens. At least now they were getting somewhere. Without even looking down, she starts to write on the pad.

E.G.:Why is that?

He shrugs, still refusing to look directly at her. He tries his hardest to pass it off as something that did not bother him, but he knew it was going to be less than convincing even before the words came out.

Kris: I’m not sure that I ever actually did. Not really. The guy I thought was my father, isn’t. The guy that was supposed to be my brother, never really was. Everything that has happened in my life has been the result of a mistake that my mother made.

He gets it all out in one breath like ripping off a band-aid. He does manage to bring his eyes back to her once it is out though.

Kris: The Heather problems are unrelated….

She nods. It was more than she was expecting him to open up with, especially given that this was really only an impromptu meeting between the two of them. He was not even really a patient.

E.G.: That can be a big shock, to find out that you were adopted..

He shakes his head, waving his hand in her direction to brush off what she thought as wrong. A few people had made the assumption based on his words. It just meant their definition of brother was different than his.

Kris: Not adopted. Just very much some other guy’s kid…. Not the guy that I thought. Not Jason’s dad.

E.G.: And this makes you upset? How do you feel about the man who raised you? Are you conflicted?

This actually brings a little life back into his face. It was actually the only part of it that was not a total negative for him. It was the silver lining that he knew Jason was hoping for him to cling to, and ignore everything that came with it.

Kris: That he’s not my father? No that part is amazing….

He looks down at his hands in his lap. It had been somewhat unburdening to not be blood related to the man, but what he was going to say next was the reason for his sudden deflation.

Kris: It’s all the other things that came with him learning that… things that really are my fault now… just for being there, and not being his. Everything that happened, happened because I was not his kid.

E.G. shakes her head. He did not have to look up to know that she was doing it. He had talked to Kali about this exact topic, and she had the same reaction. Undoubtedly Heather had as well. Everyone was so quick to tell him that it was not his fault, even against direct evidence to it.

E.G.: You were a child, how can you possibly think it is your fault that your mother had an affair?

He shrugs, and even holds his arms out to his side while he does before sinking down into the chair. The only sound he produces at first is a heavy sigh during the whole thing. He knew that everyone thought it was stupid to feel like he did, but he could not turn that off just because he wanted to.

Kris: If I was his kid, none of it would have happened. My existing was the reason that we had to go through all of it. I was getting punished for her mistake, because she didn’t stick around for it. Now, the person I have become is a result of that. All of the fucked up shit I have been through, or caused comes from the fact that my mom made a mistake with some guy that lived five minutes from me for my whole life and didn’t ever try to help…

The words come out faster and faster until he is done. He wants to push himself up out of the chair, but there is no energy left in him to do so. She rises from her chair, seeing the distress on his face she crosses the distance to crouch down in front of him.

E.G.: Kris, I know you will not believe this right now, but just because your...

She struggles for a second before figuring out what to call the man.

E.G.: ...step-father... ...blamed you does not mean it was actually your fault. And part of becoming healthier mentally is to accept responsibility for some things and realize that other things were not on you at all. Your mother made the mistake of cheating, but that did not give him the right to take it out on you. That is never acceptable. Do not put that blame on yourself and I am pretty sure that Jason does not either.

She puts a hand lightly on one of his in an attempt to offer some comfort. He shakes his head again, still not looking up from his lap. He brings his one free hand up to his forehead to cover his eyes.

Kris: He sent the guy that Heather broke all of our rules with to break the news to me. He did not even want to talk to me himself. That sends a pretty clear message. It happened because I was born, and we aren’t even real brothers now. It’s probably why he hasn’t talked to me in months, or went on his vacation.

The bottom had dropped out. He had done a hell of a job keeping most of it in throughout the last couple of weeks, even from Kali and Heather. There was just too much of it to stuff down, and now that he had loosened the cork it was all spilling out.

Kris: I don’t know who I even am now. Everything that I thought I was, because of who my dad was… is gone. Those mistakes are just my own. The reason it happened in the first place is because I am alive. I always believed that I was the one to blame, and people always told me that it wasn’t. Nobody can really say that anymore. Not even the person that used to be my brother.

He manages to stop, raising his eyes just barely high enough to meet hers.

Kris: I am kind of having a life crisis right now.

She offers him a smile, and squeezes his hand lightly. He was everything that Heather had told her that he was, and probably so much more. There was one detail that she was curious about though.

E.G.: So if this information you got said that the person you believe was your father isn’t, does it say who is?

The way his expression changes tells her everything she needs to know before he even opens his mouth. The lack of confidence, the flat tone of voice, the scared look in his eyes all made sense now.

Kris: He’s here. He lives in San Diego.

He lets go of his hand, moving back around the desk and writing a few more things down on her notepad.

E.G.: It sounds like you already have all the answers you need Kris. The only way that you are going to to figure out who you are, is to have some kind of idea of where you came from. As bad as that used to be, at least you had that with Jason and your step-father.

She takes a small stack of reminder cards out of her desk, and writes on the top one, leaving the rest to clean up later. She walks back across to him and hands it to him.

E.G.: You have one job in between now and this appointment.

He looks down at the card in his hand, dated for two weeks from now. It was like she was giving him a deadline. He looks back up confused.

Kris: What might that be?

There was genuine interest in his voice. She was a little touched that he had actually come to her, and was appearing to be listening. It was not the hard-headedness she had expected.

E.G.: Go meet your father. Try to get to know him.

He taps the card against his palm, nervously tapping his foot on the floor.

Kris: What if he didn’t ever want me either?

It is as honest a question as she had ever been asked in her career. She crouches down in front of him again, reaching out to lift his chin so that he cannot look away from her eyes.

E.G.: Then when you come back we will talk about that part too...

He nods, and she stands up from him, moving across the room to grab her bag out of the chair.

E.G.: I trust you can manage to lock the door back behind you on your way out….

She does not wait for him to answer before slipping through the door. It takes him a second for it to come together, but he gets up from the chair, locks the door, and follows her out..

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Beach
San Diego, CA
20 July 2017
2:45pm PDT
ON-Camera

”Shutting people up seems to be my week in and week out...”

He says it with a laugh as the video starts. We are again tilted at an awkward angle, the SCW Roulette Champion again simply enjoying the view on the beach.

”I mean when I recorded that last video, I was still coming out of a pretty dark place. I’m not naive enough to say it was rock bottom, but I could definitely get a clear picture of where rock bottom was from where I ended up.. I’m not going to try and say it wasn’t emotionally taxing. I’m not going to say I wasn’t pushed to the absolute limit to my sanity. Things aren’t necessarily better, but they’re quiet. You might be sitting at home and seeing me on this beach, thinking to yourself that it looks like I have been taking time off. If that’s the case, you’re not wrong. I have been on a hell of a ride in the last few weeks. The latest being a one-time close friend ending her life. You have all probably caught the fallout of that on social media, and if you did you’ve probably noticed a significant absence for me. I have been spotty at best, and the laughs have been few and far between. Yet, when I have popped in, the status quo has not changed. There is always someone running their mouth. There is always someone trying to argue. There is always someone thinking they are going to challenge me. What does the long line behind me have in common? They have all failed.”

He reaches to the an end table he now has sitting next to the chair, raising a glass up to his lips and taking a drink from it. He puts it back down, the smile still on his face from earlier.

”The last time I spoke to you guys, I didn’t have a match. The card for Climax Control came out, and I thought I was going to have the week off. Surprise, surprise! I was wrong. I get called on, yet again, to pick up the slack where The Elders come up short. Last time it was ending the misery you all suffered during their tag title reign. This time it is filling in for an injury. I am I honest, I don’t mind the switch. I am contracted to this company in order to compete. I am a champion in this company, and expected to be at every show. If you put those two facts together, it’s a no brainer that I would rather show up to compete than sit around in the back and watch the show.”

He sighs, the smile wavering a bit.

”That’s not to say I’m not less than enthused about the man I am standing across from. The man who, alongside a talented partner, has come up short of doing much of anything with the opportunities that he was given. The best thing he has to his credit, is that he held my title for the third longest amount of time in company history. Think about that. His crowning achievement is a bronze medal, and a string of losses in at least half a dozen various other title matches. This is a man that I have beaten as part of a team. This is a man I have beaten for the title I now carry. This is a person that has never beaten me...”

The flat tone of his voice shows just how anticlimactic he found the announcement of his match.

”I thought that the time for me to take out the garbage was older. Don’t believe me? Find that video from last week that I recorded for the SCW website. I thought that all rematch clauses, and past champions were taken care of. I took out Steve Ramone in back-to-back-to-back matches, all with Roulette Rules. I beat Ryan Keys in back-to-back Supercard Ultimate-X match-ups. I nearly beat the life out of Joshua Acquin for even suggesting that our match should be Roulette Rules. No matter what James Tuscini will try and tell you, he has had three attempts to beat me, and has never come close to pulling a victory. He’s not in a different class than the people SCW has been throwing at me. If anything, he is teaching the class with the same boring statistics that I made fun of him for before Into The Void.”

He shrugs, not wanting to rehash the same old shit he has said before, and wanting to leave it at that.

”So let’s not go that way. Let’s talk about something new. What has James Tuscini done in the time since I last beat his ass? Obviously we should start with the sole highlight, right?”

Kris brings his hands up, gesturing at an imaginary marquee in front of him.

”James Tuscini shocks the world and beats Rage!”

Saying something nice does not work to wipe the smug smile from his face at all. He starts to lower his arms, but stops, raising them back up.

”Underdog James Tuscini by defying the odds against Rage!”

Again, the smile shows no sign of coming off of his face. It was all clearly just some set up to the point he was making. Both comments seem to have a similar theme, so when he feigns dropping his hands and then raises for a third comment, nobody watching is surprised.

”I don’t believe it! What the hell! No fucking way! James Tuscini upsets Rage!”

This time he does drop his hands, turning his head towards the camera, and shrugging.

”Is it not bittersweet to win a match, only to have everyone remind you that nobody was betting on you heading in? Does it not taint the sweet taste of victory, to have the announcers, the fans, and the people on social media almost immediately suggest it was a fluke? You know what people that are actually talented never have to worry about? Getting called an underdog, a fluke, or just plain lucky. When people like me win a match, it’s business as usual. I get congratulated. I get patted on the back. Nobody is surprised. Nobody is shocked. They expect me to go into every match, and come out a winner. Why? Because nobody has pinned me or made me tap out since the moment that I came back in October. You want to talk like you’re even remotely in my league, James? You want to harp that I needed Jason to beat you? I have beaten Jason. I have beaten you. More importantly, after those victories, nobody was shocked, and nobody was surprised.”

He raises his hand, rubbing at his chin. He was clearly still getting used to the feeling of being clean shaven again.

”What was next? A loss to the Bad Boys? Or was the loss to J2H first? To be honest, I have a hard time keeping them straight. All of your losses run together for me. I hope you don’t mind. Remind me again who took pinfalls in both of those matches? I mean you were legitimately the one to cost your team the win against The Male Mean Girls, right? You let a ragtag group of asshats beat you. You know what nobody said after? That it was an upset. You know why nobody even really congratulated J2H on beating you? Because nobody thought of you as anything remotely resembling a challenge.”

He looks away again, and opens his mouth like he is going to move on from it, but stops himself. We cannot see his eyes behind the sunglasses, but we can see his eyebrows lower, and his nose scrunch up as he replays his words to himself. He taps at his chin again, lightly shaking his head.

”I may have missed one...”

Almost as soon as the words are out of his mouth, he snaps his fingers and points at the camera. The fake epiphany hits him as genuine inspiration.

”That’s right, Jon Dough was beating your ass until the titantron distracted him, the newest Male Mean Girl laid him out, and you stole a victory like you have accused me of doing time after time. You may have an excuse for every time you have beaten me, and trust me I am anxiously waiting to laugh at the justification you make for Into The Void, but what is your excuse for doing the exact thing you accuse me of? What is your excuse for cheating or using an advantage to win? What is your response to people being surprised that you’re capable of beating someone who couldn’t hang onto a title for more than a few weeks? How do you explain away the losses to people that we all rag on for being talentless?”

He poses all of the questions to the camera without looking at it, but turns once he he is finished, almost like he is expecting an answer. In the few seconds of awkward silence that follow, no answers come.

”You can talk all of the trash you want, but i have no losses to explain to you. I haven’t had a shocking, upset win since being back. I have been nothing short of dominant since that first match back against Ryan Keys. Sure, some of those matches may have had shady endings, but that’s no different from you, or anyone else in this company. Sam Marlowe, of all people, injured someone to win a championship. Raab was willing to kill J2H to make history. Why do you think that your every word attempting to hold me to a higher standard falls on deaf ears? Why do you think when you talk, nobody is listening? You spout your statistics and your bullshit narrative about our matches, but it doesn’t translate. Nobody picks up from where you leave the story. Nobody echoes the same things that you said. I called The Bad Boys the Male Mean Girls, and the day after they all changed their Twitter names. People talk about the talent of Sin City Wrestling, and my name comes up, not yours. I am synonymous with success in this company. I am the attraction for free agents. You, on the other hand, are occasional shock value for when you get lucky enough to win.”

He shrugs yet again, but there is no remorse in his words. His body language may try to show otherwise, but the smirk still plastered to his face speaks volumes for the contrary.

”So like I said, we’re back to me just getting booked into matches to shut people up. J2H didn’t manage to shut your mouth, so the pleasure, once again, falls to me. Will they make this Roulette Rules, just to be able to flaunt how awesome their champion is? I don’t know. Maybe I will go and find Christian at the show and tell him to switch this match to be a little more exciting. I mean, it worked last time. I got thrown into a match against someone that absolutely nobody has ever been excited about, so they threw in a stipulation to keep the fans watching. I’m not afraid of you James. That is never going to change for as long as we compete in the same company. After this match, you are going to forever relegated to being my bitch.”

He sits back in his chair, shaking his head.

”Two people, a cruise ship, a pool, and an Ultimate X setup couldn’t derail me during the worst week of my life. What hope do you have to do what they couldn’t, now that I’m turning the corner and things are finally starting to look up? See, weeks ago, I was in the dark. Now I have found that bright, white, pure light once again. If anything, you missed your window for a shocking upset by being one card slow on drawing my name.”

He raises his glass again, sipping his drink.

”I’m sure another humiliating defeat to add to your ever-expanding list of failures isn’t too big a deal for you.”