He would be lying if he said the loss didn't bother him, it did. He wanted to leave the Princess Cruise as a two-time SCW roulette champion, unfortunately Zayvion came up short and it was Ryan Keys who retained and left the Princess Cruise as champion.
Which meant he found himself back at square one.
He had sat there quietly at the spot for several minutes, his friends Bug and Lorenzo quickly took notice.
“Hey Zay, you good?” Bug asked.
“Yeah, I'm good..” Zayvion muttered.
“That's cap.” Lorenzo chimed in shaking his head. “What you got going on?”
“It's nothing..” Zayvion replied. “I'll be alright, y'all ain't gotta worry about me.”
“You our boy tho.” said Bug “If something's going on you want to try to help you out.”
“Is it about the championship?” asked Lorenzo
Zayvion didn't reply, and somehow that spoke louder than if he had.
“Thought so.” nodded Lorenzo.
“Hey man.” said Bug putting a hand on Zavion's shoulder, “You gotta push past it man, you'll get back up on top. You're the one always telling us to keep pushing forward right? So now we got to tell that shit to you.”
“Just feels like since I didn't recapture it I got to go back to square one.” said Zayvion
“Then take your ass back to square one and climb back up again.” said Lorenzo, "You lost, we all do. But one thing my boys Zay doesn't do, is give up on himself.”
“Yeah what would Cleo say if she saw you being all mopey about it like this?” nodded Bug.
“That girl would probably bust his ass like his mama used to.” grinned Lorenzo.
That got a laugh out of all of them including Zayvion.
“There he is.” said Bug.
Zayvion grinned.
“No y'all are right.” he said “And I appreciate it. I guess it's just easier to say things like that sometimes, it's all right. I'll get back up and I'll find my way back up to a championship.
Maybe even a bigger prize at the end of the road.”
“Of course you will.” said Bug "You're Zayvion Lyons, and I think we got a surprise that will help pull you out this little funk.”
“Yeah I see him coming now, late as usual but he's here.” said Lorenzo.
“Who?” piqued Zayvion.
Both of his friends pointed behind him and when he turned to look....
“Three!” he exclaimed jumping to give his friend a hug “When they let you out?”
“About a week ago.” said his friend Three-Ball “Good behavior and all that.”
“That's what's up.” said Zayvion “Good for you man.”
“So what you been up to? How's the wrasslin’?” asked Three-Ball.
“He out here feeling sorry for himself cause he didn't win his championship back after he lost it.” said Lorenzo
”Man, is that true?" said Three-Ball
“Maybe a little…” Zayvion admitted
“Well you better knock that shit off quick.” said Three-Ball, “That shit ain't you.”
“I know..” said Zayvion “It ain't easy though.”
“It's not supposed to be.” said Three-Ball “But I'll tell you something I didn't get out of jail early to to see my boy feeling sorry for himself. I pushed myself to get out early cause I want to see my boy do his thing. None of us care if you're a champion or not, we just want to see you succeed. We just want to see you out there representin’ for us.”
Lorenzo and Bug both nodded in agreement.
“What I don't want to see you is my boy moping around like this.” Three-Ball continued “So you need to just get over it, pull your ass together and keep doing what you do, representin’.”
Zayvion looked at all three of his friends, the guys had grown up with. They had been there with him long before the cameras,the shows, the championships and the fans asking for pictures. He wasn't The Flyin’ Lion to them was just Zay.
“Man, y'all can't even let me be sad for five minutes can you?” he said.
“Five?” said Lorenzo “We gave you like twenty.”
“That's generous.” said Bug with a laugh.
“Twenty-One would have been too much.” grinned Three-Ball
The four of them shared a laugh together.
“You know I spent so much time thinking about getting the championship back...” Zayvion said “I think I forgot why I wanted in the first place. It wasn't about me wanting a championship, I wanted my little brothers and sisters to see somebody from our neighborhood make it. I just wanted them to know that if you put in the work you can do whatever you want. I wanted all the underprivileged children to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You don't got to end up arrested, locked up somewhere, or worse dead in the streets like common trash.”
“Them kids ain't worried about the championship.” Bug said “They care about you. Malik ain't countin’your title reigns. Saphira ain't looking at your win-loss record. When Baby J points at you on the television, he ain't yelling about you being a former roulette champion. He just says Zay over and over.”
That brought a smile to Zayvion's face.
“Remember that little basketball tournament we organized before you left for the cruise?” Lorenzo asked.
“Yeah, what about it?” said Zayvion
“And after it ended.." Lorenzo continued "You stayed around for hours. You signed every shirt, took a picture with everyone who asked, and you even played a game of HORSE with them little dudes. You think any of them care whether you become the roulette champion six or seven times over?"
“Six Seven.” Zayvion grinned.
His friends looked at him with blank expressions.
“...man you really just did that..” said Lorenzo.
“Sorry.” shrugged Zayvion “Been hanging around Malik too long I guess.”
Lorenzo shook his head, the others let out a quick laugh.
“Anyway…” he continued, "They're going to remember the wrestler that looked them in the eye and told them they mattered. To them that's the real championship. That's something nobody can ever take away from you, even if you lose every match.”
“Well I sure hope that doesn't happen.” said Zayvion.
“Me either." said Bug “I'd have to start questioning your training. Like if you start losing every match I'm going to have to blame Cleo.”
“You know she’d probably whoop your ass for even saying that.” said Zayvion.
“Facts.” said Lorenzo.
They all nodded in agreement, nobody wanted that smoke.
“Thanks, I needed this guys.” said Zayvion.
“We know.” said Lorenzo “We was getting tired of looking at your sad ass face.”
“Yeah yeah..” said Zayvion “But now that the gangs fully back together, I think there's only one thing I really want to do right now."
“What's that?” Three-Ball asked
“We gotta hit the courts.” said Zayvion “You and me against the two of them. I know Bugs got the ball in his car. He always does.”
“Oh the two of you are about to get schooled by me and Zo’” said Bug.
“That remains to be seen." said Three-Ball "I ain't do much when I was locked up but practice my shots during yard time.”
“So what you think you Lebron now or something?” said Lorenzo
"I guess we'll have to see." Three-Ball grinned.
"I guess we will." said Lorenzo.
"I'll go get the ball, I'll meet you guys at the courts." said Bug.
And that's how he spent the rest of his afternoon just a classic game of 2 on 2 with the boys which of course as usual him and Three-Ball won. Hopefully he could use this momentum to get him back on the winning track in Sin City Wrestling, but at the end of the day he realized what really mattered was that he was someone who kept showing up.
__________
The cameras come to life on Zayvion in his usual fashion, sitting eyes facing slightly downward with his headphones on as a snippet of music plays. This time he's gone with Slippin’ by DMX.
##Ay yo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up##
##Ay yo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I can't get up##
##Ay yo I'm slippin', I'm fallin', I gots to get up##
##Get me back on my feet so I can tear shit up##
As the music fades he looks up to the camera lowering his headphones to begin speaking.
“Well here I am.” he said “Back at square one, back in the spot where I have to figure out where to go next because I did not recapture the roulette championship. So what that means for my future now? I don't know. That's up to Christian Underwood and the rest of the SCW management, all I can do right now is focus on what's directly in front of me and that's you Bill Barnhart.”
He exhales.
“Our match isn't about championships or contenders. “ he said “It's just a good old-fashioned singles match where the winner gets to take at least one step closer toward one of the three championships, and I promise you I'm going to bring you the fight because even though I lost at Into The Void, I'm still looking to keep my name in the championship circles and I can't do that losing matches to Bill Barnhart.”
He shrugs.
“Can't do that losing to anybody really.” he said “But right now I especially can't afford another loss. I need to get back on my feet and stop slippin’ up. Whatever it is I need to do, I need to find it. Maybe Cleo can help me but I'm going to do it.”
He nodded to himself before continuing.
“Now I ain't going to sit here and pretend that losing didn't bother me.” he said “It did I'm competitive and I wanted that championship back around my waist. I wanted to prove that losing it was just a bump in the road.”
He shrugged.
“But that's the thing about this business.” he said “Sometimes you get knocked down to the bottom of the ladder and when that happens you've got two choices."
He paused holding up two fingers.
“You can sit there feeling sorry for yourself or you can start climbin’ again.” he said “I was reminded of some of that this week by my boys back home. They reminded me that it is not the championship that makes me, it's me who makes me. Not having that championship on my waist doesn't change every kid I've inspired, it doesn't erase every fan I've met or the fact that I still belong here.”
He paused for a beat.
“So Bill you better bring the best Bill Barnhart you've ever brought.” he said “Because Zayvion Lyons is back on the rise, he's back chasing championships and he's back trying to climb that ladder and unfortunately for you, you're the first rung.”
He grinned.
“That means I'm going to have to climb right over you if I want to make my way back to the top.” he said “I've been in there with you before, you're big, you're tough, and you're strong but I've overcome you before and I can overcome you again.”
He nods confidently.
“Look I don't know where my journey takes me next.” he said “Maybe it takes me back to the roulette championship, maybe it takes me to something higher, maybe it doesn't take me to any championships at all. But one thing I'm not going to do is give up because Zayvion Lyons is the guy that will keep showing up.”
He nods confidently.
“Keep showing up.” he repeated “That's Zayvion Lyons. Even when the lights aren't shining on him he keeps showing up. Even when things aren't turning up in his favor he keeps showing up. Because that's how real winning is done, not giving up on yourself and continuing to believe, and I promise you Bill Barnhart. I believe.”
A confident smirk grows on his face.
“A lot of people look at championships like the finish line.” he said “But I think they're mile markers telling you how far you've come. But they don't tell you how far you've got left to go, and I promise you Bill, Zayvion Lyons got a whole lot of road left in him.”
He pauses.
“And whoever that road takes him it doesn't matter. He'll keep pushing forward further down it toward the next mile.” he said “Because if there's anything I can promise it's that Zayvion Lyons will always… keep showing up.”
He nods once, puts his headphones back on and lets everything fade to black.
