Opportunities
The start of a career is always the hardest part. It doesn’t matter what kind of career it is. Anything where you are starting from the bottom and starting from scratch means that you have to work hard to get your name out there. Even if that is something like being in an office, or working retail, working in the service industry, or any type of management or business, all of it leads to having a chance to reinvent yourself and put your best foot forward. The old saying is to respect the hustle.
Everyone, everyone on earth who has some sort of job or career has had to start at this point. Some people end up having advantages, like getting a job in the family business or having a friend who gets your foot in the door. But you still need to learn how to do the job and still need to have some form of Work ethic. And that is what Aiden Reynolds did. He had a work ethic. From training and learning his craft to going out and grinding and working he had done everything he could to get his name out there. Well, not everything.
He had only worked in Australia.
Contrary to popular belief while Australia is a bustling nation with first-world problems and technologies. It isn’t exactly the most popular place for professional wrestling. There are companies, independent companies that host events all around the country every weekend. But while this is what Aiden wanted to do with his life and his career. It wasn’t what he was able to do to pay the bills. During the week he was working construction jobs, working as a bricklayer on job sites. And on the weekend he would drive all around the country or fly around the country to make dates to get better in the ring and get his name out there.
This was one such night. An independent show in the western suburbs of Sydney Australia, Aiden had just finished a match. The crowd was in all of his natural athleticism and a charisma that he had slowly been working on to set himself apart from every single other name on the card. He stepped backstage a few familiar faces giving him a high-five and a pat on the back. He grabbed the towel moving through the backstage area to the locker room rooms. He bent down and grabbed his bag, pulling it to the side and wiping himself down with a towel to get rid of the sweat.
He looked up, noticing a well-dressed man in a suit. The man was talking to the local promoter nodding slowly as the two seemed to be talking about Aiden. He raised an eyebrow as the promoter put his hand up and told him to come over. Aiden got to his feet moving over to the two men ”Aiden, mate. This is Ken Mashima. He’s from the Tokyo sports Confederacy. He’s been out here scouting a few people and he seems to have been impressed by you.”
”Really?” Aidens eyes widened with surprise, he quickly composed himself realizing that looking like a deer in the headlights and looking shocked at what could potentially be a job opportunity was not the best way to go about things.
Max gave a small nod and lightly bowed to Aiden who bowed back. The promoter backed up and gave Aiden a small wink before letting the two men talk. Mashima folded his arms over his chest with a smirk on his face. He was an older man, still young enough to have his finger on the pulse of what people were looking for but old enough that he had seen many flash-in-the-pan names come and go. ”Excellent to meet you Mr. Reynolds.”
”Please feel free to call me Aiden.”
Mashima then nodded before continuing. ”Well, Aiden, I was sitting in my office in Tokyo, and one of our social media workers came to me and said that many fans from Australia had been tagging our company's Twitter and videos of you. Asking us when you were going to be coming over to Japan and doing some dates. Some of our Japanese van saw those videos and interest has peaked. In fact, you have become somewhat of a cult favorite.”
Aiden blinked a few times unsure of what to say and unsure of how to feel. He scratched the back of his head nervously with a small smile on his face. ”Wow, that’s news to me. Don’t get me wrong I think it’s great. It’s just kind of shocking. I didn’t know that some of the fans in Australia were so passionate about what I do that they were bothering your company about it. All the Japanese fans had taken an interest in Me. Truth be told I wasn’t sure how I was gonna get my foot in the door but I’ve always wanted to go to Japan” Aiden smiled, his enthusiasm was evident.
Mishima nodded slowly and reached into the pocket of his dark blue jacket, pulling out a small envelope. A red bow was tied around it with some gold Japanese lettering embroidered on it. Aiden raised an eyebrow wondering just what it was. ”This is an offer. It is for a limited run of dates for our company, you’ll be paid well your flights will of course be taken care of by us and we have set up a family who will sponsor you. It is only a short run of a month. As an introductory offer. To see if you can be a value to us and if that cult following can transfer into real popularity”
Aiden raised his eyebrows as he opened the envelope. Inside was both the offer in Japanese and in English. Aiden tried to hide it as his eyes almost popped out of his skull seeing how much he was going to get paid for The 15-date tour of Japan. ”Aye, this is amazing. Thank you, Mr. Mashima.” Aidens heart was beating out of his chest. Nationally just slowly smiled. There was a certain respect in his look but also an arrogance.
”Do not thank me yet Mr. Reynolds. Japan is a country where you sink or swim. And believe me, when I say this, we are going to throw you into the deep end. I hope for your sake you are able to swim laps. Because I do not want to see you drown.”
Aiden nodded slowly as Mashima offered his hand. Aiden took it giving it a firm shake as the well-dressed man turned and walked toward the promoter’s office. Aiden looked down at his contract offer. It was real money, a real opportunity. An opportunity to travel to another land and show what he had learned. To be a real professional wrestler. And he wasn’t going to waste it.
The Best
”Oi dickie! Where the fuck are you?”
Aiden Reynolds stomps through the hallway of the large area of the house he currently lives in. Looking around frantically for his best friend Dicky Watson, the younger brother of our current world champion and his opponent for this week Finn Whelan. Aiden turns the corner and finds Dickie sitting at the table a spoon in his hand as his wolfing down a bowl of lucky charms.
”Hey mate, I need your help. See I’m gonna be cutting a promo this week on your brother and I-“
”No…”
”No? What do you mean no?”
Dickie puts his phone down, putting the spoon into the bowl of his lucky charms before moving it to the side and clasping his hands together as he leans across the breakfast bench.
”Aiden, let me explain to you what is going to happen. I will help you cut this promo and then afterward I’m going to get angry and frustrating voicemails from Kayla. Asking me why I said the things that I said. Or why I helped you in any way shape or form. Now, Finn isn’t the one who will care in fact he’ll probably just laugh it off and shrug. But I don’t want to put up with Kayla‘s shrieking voice with her stupid British accent on my goddamn phone.”
Aiden nods slowly
”Fair….”
”I thought so. Last time I said anything negative toward him, she filled up my goddamn voicemail inbox. And then proceeded to start sending me voice messages through everything from WhatsApp to telegram to Facebook Messenger and I really don’t have the time all the patience to deal with her bullshi-….wait… have you already started recording motherfucker?”
”Uh…yeah…”
”You…raging…dickhead…”
Dickie gets to his feet and shakes his head putting the bowl into the sink before walking off. Aiden blinks a few times holding the phone in front of him before realising he still recording and she’ll probably get on with it.
”Right, so, just in case anyone’s wondering I am still the rule at champion. I know, it’s been a while. After all, we ended 2024 and took some time off. I was able to beat Alexandra Raven, I was able to become the roulette champion and since then all I’ve really done is have a rather high-profile match against Daniel Morgan and lose. I’m not gonna make excuses, I’m not gonna sit here and say that I should have beaten Daniel and that it was a fluke or anything like that. You get enough of that from 90% of the other morons who were in this company. I’ll just simply say that Daniel is the better man and I still have a lot of improvement.”
“But still, in case anyone has any type of question about this, yes, losing sucks, and yes it has pissed me off. But Daniel Morgan is not someone who should ever be taken lightly. The guy is a great talent who could be so much more if he actually stuck around in this company. So hopefully he does. We need more people like him in the male division of SCW.”
“And now I get to do the whole New Year New Me thing. Even though it really isn’t. It’s a new year but it’s Me the same old Aiden Reynolds.”
“Now, I’m not going to say that I’m happy with how 2024 ended but I am happy with the year that I was able to carve out in this company. Two roulette championship wins and I was able to get in the ring with some of the best of the best. I was able to face guys like Ben Jordan and of course Daniel Morgan as well as Alexandra Raven and others. I’ve been able to climb the ladder in this company and make a name for myself. I’ve been able to spend time with my son and my beautiful wife as well as my best friend and watch some of the best professional wrestling on the planet from the comfort of the locker room.”
Aiden places his phone down and steps back, folding his arms over his chest before continuing.
”And now I get to have a champion versus champion match. I get to jump in the ring with Finn Whelan. And I’m not going to be like miles and jump him from behind and then play the victim. I get this match just because I’ve earned it. Funny how that happens isn’t it Miles? Sorry if I sound a little bitter but that dude was supposed to be friends with all of us. He was supposed to be our family and he goes and stabs a family member in the back. I’m a little bit pissed off with him, and I get it. Finn can be a bit of a prickly arsehole. And I don’t think that’s news to anyone. But he deserves more respect than that.”
“So, I’ll make damn sure I give Finn the proper respect in and out of the ring. And that’s something that I know exactly how to do because I’m one of the few people on this planet that does understand him. I know he’s not the type of guy who enjoys empty platitudes and people verbally jerking him off in public. But he is all about respect. And I do respect Finn Whelan. And how could you not? The dude has been almost unstoppable in this company. A former world champion and current world champion, a two-time mixed tag team champion, and someone who will be in the Hall of Fame someday. And again, this isn’t me jerking you off Finn this is legit.”
“I know for a fact that you already have had a hall of Fame-worthy career.”
“Now, the next question is, can I beat you? Truth is I don’t know. But if we dig a little deeper into that truth then I have to say no. And I get it that might be a little bit weird for someone to say. That I don’t believe I can beat you. But such is the paradox of professional wrestling. I know I’m not as good as you, I’m not as experienced, I’m not as dangerous, I’m not on your level. Yet. But I want to get there. And to get there I need to keep testing myself. I know it’s an old, kind of bullshit saying, but it isn’t about the amount of times you get knocked down. It’s about the amount of times you get back up again. And I keep getting up. Much to the frustration of a lot of people.”
He smiles and shrugs before grabbing a beer and popping it open and taking a sip.
”I’m going to do all I can to beat you. I’m going to give you my best. Not just because I want to be able to beat you but also because if I don’t give you my best I know I’m going to hear about it later. I’m ready for this match Finn, I’m ready to do everything I can to beat you and I’m ready to put my body on the line. And I know you’re going to do the same. No matter how you feel about me you know that I’m family. Family doesn’t always agree in family isn’t always kind to each other but the fact remains you and I are like family. Your younger brother is like a brother to me. Dickie and I have been tag team champions together and we have gone up and down these roads.”
“Shit, dickie is the godfather to my son. You have spent time with my son you’ve spent time with my wife and we’ve spent time together. I look at you as a brother. That’s why I would never disrespect you as Miles did I would always come to you directly and this match while I didn’t choose it I’m going to embrace it.”
“So, let’s do this brother. Give me your best cause I’ll be damn sure to give you the best.”
