As the picture opens we see..
https://nebula.wsimg.com/9756ce3a883e49af0e...0&alloworigin=1It's Stephen Callaway's psychiatrist: Dr Saxon
"
Ah Stephen. Been a while since we spoke."
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.ep15UImjkN2ab...pr=1.25&pid=1.7"
Must have been the turn of the year."
"
That's six months ago. A lot has changed."
"
Could go out for your morning paper back then."
"
I never did. I get mine emailed to me."
"
Ooh get you."
Saxon laughs.
"
So how have you been handling the Covid-19 thing?"
"
You first."
"
I've been at home. Me, the wife and our daughter. I've seen some people say they've been bored during the lockdown while I've been having video consultations with my patients."
"
What's that been like?"
"
While I prefer to talk to patients face to face. I do like sitting in my own home while my wife makes my lunch. You?"
"
I'm in a Vegas hotel room. It's a business thing. My wife's back home in Scotland."
"
I heard about that. How's it working out for you?"
"
We talk most days via these video calls but it's not the same. Time delays and all that."
"
Must be a nightmare. That said, it's just after one in the afternoon here so where you are must be..."
"
Just after five in the morning."
"
Jesus."
"
It's alright. My sleep patterns are all over the shop. I'm not doing all that I used to so I'm not tiring like I did. As a result, I'm sat here at five in the morning and I'm not tired."
"
I hear you gave your notice."
"
I did."
"
Why?"
"
I just felt it was time. I'm close to forty, I've not been having a ton of great results. Plus I'm not a big fan of those that wrestle into their forties and fifties because they can't walk away from the spotlight or they need the cash. I don't NEED the spotlight. I don't need the money. Rather than hang on longer than I need to looking for wins that are probably not coming, rather than put my body through hell for it or fly across oceans when I'd be better served by staying home, I called it."
"
Did the Lockdown influence it?"
"
That I'm sat in Vegas and Mrs C is in Scotland doesn't help. But that makes me think that I want to go home. Sat in this fully comped hotel room has given me the time to think 'is all this worth it?'. I might get to the stage that a month after going home that I want to fly off."
"
Really?"
"
Probably just the wrestler in me. Don't know any different as I've been doing this since I was eighteen. Truth be told, I think if I go home I won't want to come back. Which is what I told them."
"
So how long are you here for?"
"
Not a clue. I don't hate the company. I've not had a falling out with anyone. So I don't have this need to leave ASAP. I've said that I'll work until the flight bans are lifted. Whenever that may be."
"
I see."
"
But Sin City Wrestling could decide 'he don't want to be here so let's stop booking him' at anytime. Thought they had after the recent PPV. Thought it was going to be like The Terminal where I can't go home and can't compete either."
"
How did you feel when you thought you had been dropped?"
"
I don't know. I like competing for them. Feels sometimes like it justifies everything. I get in the ring on a Sunday night, they pay for the room. It gives me something to do when I have a match to prepare for. To be dropped would leave me at a sort of purgatory. Wrestling justifies why I'm here. Take wrestling away and I'm away from my family so I can sit in a hotel room and watch Disney plus or on demand wrestling."
"
You have a match this week?"
"
I do."
"
And? Who is it? How are you preparing?"
"
It's a guy called Mason Alexander Vanderbilt. Calls himself 'The MAV'."
"
The what?"
"
Also calls himself the President of Professional Wrestling."
"
Sounds like I'm talking to the wrong member of the roster. I could spend the next year talking to him about his over inflated sense of self esteem."
"
Ha ha. Born with a silver spoon, expensive schools, went to the army."
"
One of those?"
"
Yep. I'm actually surprised he's not British. He even ran for congress. Didn't make it though. Probably would have in the UK. This has David Cameron all over him."
"
Oh Jesus not him."
"
Don't knock ol' Dave. Better than Boris and his busses."
Stephen holds up a sheet of paper and reads from it.
"
My bad. Says here he came out of the army and became a super model. Ran for Congress. When that failed he decided to get punched in his super model face and became a wrestler."
"
Any good?"
"
Yes and no. Three years in the business and he's still a grassy cucumber. But his military training will give him some athletic decency."
"
One of those that do assault courses in thirty seconds."
"
Yeah."
"
Probably looks at you as a fodder opponent, there to be beaten."
"
Yep."
"Well good luck to him on his win."
"Yeah."
beat
"Hey!"
"You did say that you've not had a good run of results."
"I'm sure that's what WAV is banking on."
"MAV."
"Him too. But there's no guarantee I'll lose. On paper, my chances are low but we don't wrestle on paper. We wrestle on canvas. He could go out there and be totally unprepared because he thinks he can beat me while putting in little effort. His inexperience could be his undoing given that I've been doing this for damn near twenty year. I could win."
"Well I hope you do. However, our time is up. I have another patient and you should get some sleep."
"I'll try. Goodnight doctor."
We see Stephen Callaway look at something to the left of the camera and we go black.
