It was the early morning in the home of Eddie Lyons, a calm quiet before the world decided what kind of day it wanted to be. Eddie stood with a warm cup of coffee, preparing for the day to start, a calmness that most people never saw.
It was the space between moments that Eddie really enjoyed, it felt honest where nothing demanded anything from him. He took a sip of his coffee letting the warm to settle and his chest slowly not wanting to rush the morning.
There was a quietness down the halls where Sabrina and Jordan slept peacefully. His wife and daughter, the two most important women in his life and the ones he was now fighting for.
But the early morning hours like this one?
This was his time.
Eddie let the quietness settle in, the only real sound being the hum of the refrigerator. The kind of quiet that let the thoughts come forward even when you didn't invite them.
Brayden Williams jumped to the front of his mind.
The weight of words long before he stepped into a ring the bruises would fade in the fatigue would pass but the right words had a way of sticking around longer than they should and the words from Brayden's mouth stuck with Eddie like they were gorilla glued to him.
“You damn right he isn’t a workhorse, it’s a bunch of noise.“
The words rolled over in his head again like they had a thousand times already Brayden had said it so plainly and calmly, almost like an observation rather than an insult and that's what bothered him the most.
If Brayden had just ran his mouth like anybody else, it would have been easier and he could have brushed it off and choked it up to Brayden's own insecurities or ego. But Eddie could tell that Brayden believed it, or at least believed it enough to say it out loud.
Eddie took another slow slip of coffee staring out the kitchen window watching the sky grow lighter as the day began to take shape. Somewhere out there was Brayden, probably convinced he had gotten under Eddie's skin.
And perhaps he had.
But it wasn't in the way Brayden thought, because Eddie wasn't angry and he wasn't even offended, not really. All Brayden did was force Eddie to look inward and that was something he had never been afraid of. He was never afraid of asking himself the uncomfortable questions. Am I doing enough? Am I getting better? Am I becoming the man I need to be in AND out of the ring? It was the kind of self-examination that didn't come from laziness, it was the kind that came from accountability.
Accountability was a lonely thing sometimes. There was no crowd for it, no applause when you chose discipline over comfort or patience over impulse. It didn't look impressive on camera, it just existed in the choices you made when no one was watching, that was the part Brayden didn't see.
Eddie had spent his career being present showing up when it would have been easier. Fighting through injuries that never made any highlight reels, taking losses without turning them into excuses and building himself slowly. Knowing full well patience in this business was often mistaken for complacency.
Eddie sat the coffee down and rubbed his hands together grounding himself. The Lyons Den looming large in his thoughts. The match didn't care who talked louder or who had the sharper tongue, it stripped everything down to effort and endurance. You couldn't coast or bluff in the den and you couldn't fake being ready. This was where Eddie would show Brayden what work ethic really meant.
He moved to the living room and sat on the edge of the couch resting his elbows on his knees and his cup on the coffee table making sure to use a coaster like Sabrina had reminded him a thousand times over.
Brayden Williams was the type of guy who thought work ethic meant constant motion and noise, but Eddie knew it was quieter than that. It was showing restraint when ego begged you to react, choosing the harder road when the easier one promised faster results, and maybe that didn't look impressive to Brayden or fit the image he had in his head of what a workhorse was supposed to be, and Eddie was okay with that.
What wasn't okay was letting that narrative stand unchallenged because if Eddie didn't answer it, then it would follow him. It would be whispered behind his back and brought up every time he came close but didn't quite reach the summit.
He had chosen the Lyon's Den as his answer.
Eddie let the thoughts settle without pushing it any further, he learned a long time ago there was no benefit in circling a decision over and over. Sometimes it was meant to sit there quietly until the time came to act.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft shuffle from down the hall bare feet against the floor as Sabrina appeared, hair tussled still rubbing her eyes and squinting against the light.
“Mornin’ beautiful.” he said with a smile.
“Mornin’...how long have you been up?” she asked sleepily.
“Just long enough to get the coffee ready.” Eddie replied “I suggest pouring a cup before Jordan wakes up. I can get it for you if you like.”
Sabrina smiled and after giving him a soft kiss on the forehead went to retrieve her own cup of coffee from the kitchen, returning a few moments later to cuddle up to him.
“You remembered the coaster.” she said.
“Yep.” Eddie said with a grin “I do listen sometimes.”
“Jordan's been awfully quiet tonight.” Sabrina said “It almost feels like a trap.”
“It's definitely a trap.” said Eddie “Or maybe she's finally getting better at sleeping through the night.”
“Wouldn't that be nice?” said Sabrina through a sip of coffee.
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence after that. The kind built on many shared mornings, an unspoken understanding. Eddie looked through the window again, his thoughts quieter and more grounded. Whatever awaited him beyond this house, inside The Lyons Den could wait just a little while longer.
A faint cry came from down the hall as Jordan began to stir, always the reminder of the expiration date that the calm he and Sabrina had.
“There it is..” said Sabrina.
“Yep. The party's about to start.” said Eddie after a sip of his own coffee.
Together they walked back to the baby room to get ready for whatever the boss of the house commanded of them.
__________
The camera fades in on Eddie sitting on a wooden bench in an empty arena with no ring or crowd, just calm and quiet with Eddie in his street clothes looking directly into the camera.
“You know what's funny Brayden?” he began. “Everybody thinks disrespect starts with yelling and throwing insults trying to be the loudest guy in the room so nobody notices how insecure you are underneath it all.”
Eddie pauses.
“But that's not how you did it.” Eddie continued “You didn't scream you didn't sound angry, you just said it plain as day like you were stating a fact –he isn't a workhorse, it's just noise– and that right there is where you crossed the line. You didn't try to provoke me, you tried to define me and that tells a lot about where you think you stand, and where you think I stand.”
He exhales heavily.
“So let's talk about respect.” Eddie continued “Because I don't think you actually understand what it is. Respect isn't loud or performative, and it damn sure isn't something you earn by running your mouth about another man's work ethic when you've never had to carry what he carries.”
His eyes stay heavy on the camera now.
“Respect is of the new earn by going into that ring and giving it your all every single time.” Eddie continued “It's about making no excuses for your shortcomings and always trying to make yourself better each and every time you step into that ring.”
He shifts slightly on the bench resting his forearms on his thighs.
“Respect is earned by showing up and it would be easier or not too.“ Eddie said “It's earned by taking responsibility when things don't go your way instead of pointing fingers and understanding that the business doesn't owe you a damn thing and neither do the people in it.”
He pauses again.
“Work ethic isn't about being the loudest guy in the room.” Eddie continued, "It's about being the most reliable one, the one who keeps showing up. The one who doesn't disappear the first time the road gets uncomfortable. You look at me and decide I'm not a workhorse because I don't do things your way or because I don't broadcast every ounce of effort like I'm begging for approval.”
He shakes his head slightly.
“I stopped needing approval a long time ago.” said Eddie “You want to know what real work ethic looks like? It looks like taking losses and not letting them turn you bitter. It looks like learning instead of writing and it looks like patience when the world around you is panicking.”
He exhales again.
“It's understanding who you are and not needing to tear someone else down to convince yourself you belong.” Eddie continued, “See Brayden, when you spoke about me like that you weren't punching up, you were punching blind. You made an assumption based on what you value and not what actually lasts in this business.”
Eddie leans back slightly resting his hands on the bench at his sides.
“You're about to enter a place where there is no escape." Eddie continued “The Lyons Den leaves no room for excuses. It's a place where words don't matter and it's all about who's willing to fight the hardest. You need to be taught a lesson in humility and I am going to be the one to humble you Brayden. When it's all said and done you will really know what respect is all about.”
Eddie lets the words hang, his eyes not wavering from the camera.
“You don't get to decide what my work ethic looks like.” said Eddie “You don't get to reduce years of sacrifice into a sound bite to make yourself feel taller, because while you are building opinions, I was building consistency. you were watching, I was doing. And that's the difference and that's why this is going to end the way it will with me teaching you a very valuable lesson in respect.”
Eddie straightens up his posture calm and confident.
“This isn't about embarrassing you, or proving I'm better than you for some highlight reel.” said Eddie calmly “This is about correcting you, because everyone in this business learns something early on. Every word you say comes with a receipt, every opinion you hand out gets collected and sooner or later somebody comes to cash in on it, and I'm wasting no time cashing in on you and your fraudulent opinion of me. I'm going to show you exactly who Eddie Lyons is, and exactly how wrong you are.”
He lets out a slow breath.
“You called me noise because you couldn't hear the work being done underneath it.” Eddie said “You mistook patience for weakness and consistency for complacency. That's the mindset of someone who hasn't been humbled yet. I assure you the Lyon's Den is going to humble you real quick, because it doesn't care what you believe or how confident you feel walking in. It only cares about what you're willing to give up to walk back out.”
He lets the words hang once more.
“You're going to feel every assumption you made about me.” said Eddie “Every word you spoke without understanding the weight behind it, and when you do I want you to remember that I never yelled at you, I didn't insult you, I tried to teach you. So that when all this is over and you're exhausted and finally quiet, maybe you'll understand what respect actually is.”
The camera lingers on his face for just a moment.
“Class dismissed.” he grins.
The camera continues to linger on his face as it all fades to black.
