Square peg, round hole
Aiden was constantly walking on eggs. Eggshells as it were. Constantly trying to make sure that he wasn’t doing anything to annoy, piss off, or set off Florence. His living girlfriend. The tattoo artist that he had started dating. It was a whirlwind romance one based on lust and looks and less off of who they were as human beings. At first, Florence seemed to be supportive and kind but very slowly she started trying to change everything about Aiden.
She tried to change someone after being in a relationship with them. Everything she did was trying to make him more responsible or not as wild or change his thought process. And this entire situation, this whole toxic relationship was doing nothing but make Aiden miserable. It was something that had to be pointed out to him and shown directly to his face. And then a moment of friendship and caring Dickie Watson has slapped him in the face with the truth.
The day started like any other, Aiden would get up. He would roll out of bed after working a night shift as a bouncer. A job that Florence had thrust upon him. He made a protein shake chugging down through some laundry into the washing machine and then went to the gym. He would then come home eat and try and take a nap.
But then the problem would come home.
Florence would return angry after work due to there being a massive downturn as well as her clientele leaving her. ”I'm so sick of this shit…”
Aiden wanting to show empathy puts an open beer in front of Florence. Sitting down next to her with a small disarming smile. ”Aye I’m sorry love”
”Sorry? You could make things a lot easier if you’d just get a real job and stop wrestling Aiden…”
Aiden sits back his empathy leaving him. In his mind, all he could think was the same thing over and over again. Here she goes again ready to blow up over nothing. ”I do have a job and I’m also wrestling. I make money from both…”
Florence grunts and gets up pacing back and forth. ”Do you? I mean really Aiden. You could make so much more money from a regular job instead you’re bouncing so you can have your time at the gym and go do your wrestling matches. It’s time to grow the fuck up.”
Grow the fuck up
Those words echo throughout Aiden’s brain. That was the problem. She thought. He was a child who didn’t know what he was doing with his life. She wanted him to grow up to get a real job or whatever it was that most people did with their lives. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before standing up and walking away. ”Really? Walking away?”
Aiden stopped. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself before turning around and putting his hands up. He had enough. Dickies words echoing through Aiden‘s brain along with every other comment that she had made him pointing out the fact that he was miserable had finally made him snap ”You no I’m a grown arse man right? You want to sit there and talk about how I need to grow up? I packed my shit and I have traveled the world since I was 18 years old.”
”But you still don’t take care of yourself-“
Aiden put his hand up before continuing ”I lived in Japan for three years. A country where I didn’t know the language and I didn’t know the culture and I didn’t know how to pay bills and I figured that out and navigated it. I have had a successful life and then I have moved here and you have made me feel guilty about pursuing my dreams and pursuing who I am and I’ve had enough Flo. it’s over I’m done.”
”Aiden.”
He shook his head, stepping back towards the bedroom door ”I said I’m done…we are done…” Aiden moved to the bedroom door closing it behind him. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders like he was finally free and he could finally breathe again and just be himself. Now is the hard part separating his and Florence’s lives. So he could finally begin his own. He pulled out his phone swiping it open before picking it up to his ear.
”Aye…mate I need a favour…”
Wild Card
”Well I’m sure what you are all thinking is that I have a lack of what I would like to call a co-star today. See most of the time I have someone I can bounce ideas off of. Someone that can help me talk shit. But right now, I don’t need anyone like that. You see. I need to get this runaway train back on the track. I’ve been swerving all over the place like a drunk on the road. And I need to stop.”
Aiden pauses his large arms folding over his chest as he stares straight ahead.
”I got in the ring with our world champion. I did everything I could to go toe to toe with him and in the end, he beat me. It was an expected result, right? The world champion to beat me? I get that. But I’d like to think that I was able to claw a little bit of respect from each and every one of you who thought that Finn was just going to destroy me and walk over me like I was nothing. I have done everything in my power to be taken seriously as a professional in this company and there are some people who still doubt me and think I’m just a fucking clown with an Australian accent. I’m sorry but that position has already been filled. Krystal Wolfe stand up and take a fucking bow.”
“So after losing to our world champion where does that leave me? Well, I got put in a wildcard match. The winner of this match gets an Internet championship match. I swear to God this company. It is a constant cycle of people being thrown in multi-man matches to get championship shots. There is no working up to anything. There is no hierarchy. There is no ladder that you climb where you can start from the beginning and work your way up through which division it is just a case of grabbing everyone that they can put them in a match throwing shit against the wall and seeing what sticks.”
“This might sound a little harsh but it’s true”
“I understand that this is how things have always been done in this company. And don’t get me wrong I like SinCity wrestling. It’s why I decided to sign a contract here. But at the end of the day, I would like some form of direction I would like to know what I’m fighting for and why and I would also like to know why I’m getting opportunities. Here I am in a match which is essentially a number one contenders match for the Internet championship and I’ve lost three fucking matches straight. I should not be in contention for anything.”
Aiden throws his hands in the air pacing back-and-forth clearly frustrated at what is going on right now.
”I don’t want any of my opponents to start getting excited. I’m not saying that any of them deserve to be in this match either. Justin Smith is a running joke in this company. He is the answer to a question. No one asked and the more I see him the more I question just why he has a contract. The dude turns up does the minimum amount of work every single time he’s booked and then sits and just shrugs like it doesn’t matter to him. He doesn’t care about his job so he’s a detriment to others. He turns up in tournaments like The Blast from the past people get matched up with him people who actually want to win the tournament and said they were handicapped by someone who is lazy and shouldn’t be here.”
“Justin pack your shit and leave. No one wants you here. No one wants people who treat professional wrestling like a joke and you treat professional wrestling like a joke. I might make jokes. I might be a smart arse but I’m not like you. When I step in a ring, I do so as a professional when you step in the ring you do so as a fucking jester.”
“But at least with Justin you look at him and you know that he understands he’s a joke. No one takes Justin Smith seriously not even himself. But then you’ve got someone like Bill Barnhart. A guy who tries to take himself seriously but everyone else hasn’t been lending on the job. Bill you constantly come out and say stupid bullshit that no one believes and then when we call you out on it you just ignore it. You keep saying you’re going to win all of these matches and do all of these things and when your promises don’t eventuate instead of taking a step back and looking at yourself and trying to bed yourself, you just stick your fucking head in the sand just like your moron wife…”
“You are nothing but a fat waste of space with a bad goatee, stupid sunglasses, an ugly dog, and an even uglier wife.”
“Now that is Tweedledee and Tweedle dumb ass now I’m onto two guys who should be way better than they actually are. Unbreakable Eddie Lyons and LJ Kasey…”
Aiden pauses for a moment taking a deep breath before his eyes open and he continues.
”LJ buddy, you are starting to fall into the exact same trap that your brother is. You’re starting to be looked at as someone who is never going to live up to their potential. Honestly, it’s a trap that I’m stuck in. All I keep hearing is how I pushed Ben Jordan to his limit, or how good I did against Finn, or how awesome I did against Alexander Raven even though I lost all three of those matches. The word potential is an albatross that is hung around your neck when people don’t believe you’ll ever reach where you should. It’s something that has been used when it comes to your brother and now it’s been used with you as well.”
“I’m not going to allow myself to get trapped in the story of potential. I’m not gonna let myself get trapped by that word and neither should you. This is a chance for both of us to break out from that. The only thing is only one person can walk away with the Internet championship shot. So I don’t know mate, maybe it will be you, maybe it will be me, or maybe it will be Eddie.”
“I mean let’s face it. It’s gonna be one of us three the other two can’t win shit.”
“But week after week I have been showing Eddie Lyons respect. And I’m sorry Eddie but I only have so many verbal blowjobs in me before I start to get lockjaw. I like you mate I do, and I respect what you’re able to accomplish but how much can you really say about a man who should be fighting for the world title but instead is still stuck down here with us? And I’m serious. You should have moved on to challenge Finn. You should be the one going for that spot. You should be the one pushing to be in the main event but instead, you’re complacent and happy to be down here with us. Trying to put my career back together and trying to climb the ladder LJ is trying to get out of his brother's shadow and the other two nitwits are just here because they have nothing better to do. But you? You’ve become complacent with your position, complacent with being in the Internet or roulette championship pictures…”
“Everyone needs to grow and build themselves. That’s what I’m trying to do in this match. But you Eddie? You should be going for the world championship, LJ. You need to start thinking about being better than your brother and Justin Smith? Will meet you just need to fuck off no one cares. And Bill? Bill whenever you’re done giving your wife the worst three seconds of her day and you decide to roll off of her and join us in a match will be waiting to kick your head in. But until then, deuces, fuck you all, I’m out….”
