Chris Lawler vs. Clyde Sutter

[The Assassin]

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April 3rd, 2025
Nashville, Tennessee
Off Camera
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It was as brutal as advertised, all three competitors upped their game and endured all the violence that was dished out. Yet at the end of the day the competitor who walked away victorious was none other than “The Assassin” Clyde Sutter. Some might have viewed this as perhaps an upset, considering Adam Brock’s history with ladder matches, Ryan Lecavalier’s dominance since her arrival in SCW, and Sutter’s massive size perhaps making him awkward around ladders. Yet Sutter overcame the odds and he climbed the figurative and literal ladder of success to become the new SCW Television Champion. This ongoing rivalry between himself, Brock, and Lecavalier has now ended with The Assassin claiming his first piece of championship gold in SCW and he could not be happier. Now the hard begins; Sutter is the workhorse champion, which means he must defend it each and every week on each and every edition of Breakdown. His first title defense comes up in one week in Newark, New Jersey against a Chris Lawler determined and desperate to gain some momentum, something he has not had since his return to SCW. Sutter can empathize to a degree. Sutter returned to SCW and was desperate to get some momentum behind him. But he refuses to let Lawler get momentum at his expense. Lawler will have to endure more disappointment, this time at the hands of The Assassin.

Lawler is next week’s worry, though. Tonight Clyde Sutter wants to take a brief moment to celebrate his accomplishment with the woman he did everything, all of this, for; his beloved girlfriend Melinda Braddock. As soon as Breakdown concluded, Sutter got changed into his street clothes; a dark gray shirt that clung to his chest and arms like a second skin, the sleeves pushed up to reveal powerful forearms veined like a roadmap. Faded jeans hung low on his hips, sturdy boots thudding against the wood floor with each step. Over it all was a weathered leather jacket, broken in and clearly well-loved, adding to the quiet menace of his presence. His black hair was tousled in a way that looked accidental, but probably wasn’t. He enters a famous Nashville hotspot known as Puckett’s. Next to him is his girlfriend, Melinda Braddock. Her dress was a soft green that flirted with her curves, modest but undeniably feminine, cinched at the waist with a thin belt. A short cream-colored cardigan rested on her shoulders, and her heels clicked smartly on the floorboards. The setting inside Puckett’s is dimly lit, with a warm, golden glow provided by strings of exposed hanging bulbs crisscrossing overhead. The light reflects off the wooden tables and gives the whole place a cozy, intimate atmosphere.

The restaurant is packed. Nearly every table is filled with patrons deep in conversation or enjoying their meals, drinks in hand. A few people have their heads turned toward the stage, listening to the music, while others are engaged in laughter, leaning in close to talk over the ambient noise. The walls are made of dark wooden planks and decorated with vintage signs, framed pictures, and a few quirky Southern-themed elements like tin signs and Americana paraphernalia. The bar is off to the right side, partially obscured, but there’s a sense of movement; servers weaving through the tables, a steady rhythm of clinking glasses, murmurs, and the distant hum of music blending seamlessly into the background.

“Puckett’s?” Melinda asks curiously. She looks up at Clyde, smiling. He nods his head. “Our celebration?”

“I read some good reviews about this place. It supposedly has good food and besides, why not take in some entertaining music while we celebrate OUR championship victory?”

“Your victory, babe.” Melinda grins.

“No, ours.” Clyde corrects her as he kisses her on her forehead. “Everything I do is for you, my love. This championship I won today…I won it for you. This championship is every bit yours as it is mine. Tonight, my love, is our celebration.”

“Sounds good to me.”

As they wove through the crowd toward their reserved table near the stage, a few patrons turned to look, some out of curiosity, some with quiet admiration. Clyde’s large hand rested gently at the small of Melinda’s back, protective but respectful. She smiled up at him with affection, the kind of smile that said she didn’t mind the attention. Let them look, it said. He’s mine. They slid into their seats just as the band began a slow, bluesy tune. Clyde sat with his back to the wall, instinctively choosing a spot where he could see the room, while Melinda folded her hands on the table and leaned in, already glowing in the warmth of the music.

“How does it feel?” Melinda asks. “You needed help to even get your foot in the door at SCW. My mother tried to keep you out. Your rage and anger gave her the ammunition to keep you out of this company for so long. But you conquered your flaws and imperfections, you made your way back to SCW, you conquered everyone in your path, and now you have your very first championship in SCW. How does it feel to shut everyone’s mouth? How does it feel to make everyone eat crow?”

“It has nothing to do with making my critics eat crow.” Sutter shakes his head. “This was about proving to the critics that there is more to me than just a mindless beast. This was about proving to your mother that I am worthy of you. Most of all, this championship is about you…” his voice trails off. Melinda tilts her head and furrows her brow curiously.

“Me?”

“Ever since I lost you…after our breakup…I was in an abyss. My life spiralled out of control. I thought I was done. But I was rescued from the abyss and given a new purpose and a new goal; to win you back, to earn your trust. I have achieved that. Ever since then my goal and purpose has been to dedicate everything to you…my life, my career, all of it devoted to you, in order to atone for my past sins and transgressions against you.”

“You don’t need to do that, Clyde.” She shakes her head. “You’ve done enough. You’ve earned my trust long ago, you’ve proven you loved me.”

“I do need to do it.” He gently takes her hand and kisses it. “This Television Championship that I won tonight, it is yours. It is every bit yours as it is mine. And I swear to you that I will fiercely defend it to ensure that no one takes it from you.”

Before Melinda can say anything more, a server…a young woman with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail…approaches their table. She has a pleasant smile on her face. “Welcome to Puckett’s! What can I get you two to drink?”

“A Guinness.” Sutter answers.

“Water for me, thanks.” Melinda says. The server nods and walks off to fill the order. Clyde looks over at Melinda curiously.

“You aren’t going to celebrate?”

“If by ‘celebrate’ you mean am I going to drink alcohol? No.” She winks playfully. “I’m gonna let you do all the celebrating for the both of us. You’ve earned it, babe. I’ll be the sober one this evening.”

“I think we both have earned the right to celebrate.” Clyde remarks with a rare smile on his face. “So much has gone our way recently, my love. We have earned this night.”

“Oh you’re right, so much has gone our way, especially tonight with how you won the championship. But that was just one bright spot and there are other darker clouds coming up on the horizon.”

“If you are referring to Mr. Lawler then you are worrying yourself needlessly.” Clyde scoffs, shaking his head as he discusses his first challenger. “Mr. Lawler has proven to be nothing more than a disheartened, easily shaken, legend with lots of doubts about his relevancy. Next week I prove that his doubts about his relevancy are correct when I end him and crush is championship hopes.”

“I’m not talking about Chris Lawler.” Melinda remarks. “I am talking about other things…like your sister and Mason working together.”

Immediately that rare smile on Sutter’s face disappears at the mere mention of his sister Lilith and her new business partner Mason Van Stanton. He feels his anger start to boil over but he quickly works to keep it under control. Tonight is a night of celebration and he refuses to let his sister or his former agent ruin it. He shakes his head.

“I don’t want to talk about them.”

“You may not want to talk about it but we probably should talk about it.” Melinda says. “Look, you’ve been spoiling me a lot these past few days…”

“I have been spoiling you ever since we got back together, my love. And you deserve every bit of it. You deserve to be treated like royalty…no, no, like a goddess.”

“Thanks, babe,” Melinda grins “but I think you and I both know that’s not what I’m talking about. Yes, you have been spoiling me ever since we got back together. But over the past few days? Ever since you learned Mason and Lilith were working together; you have been spoiling me even more than usual. Hell, you even wanted to go to formally relinquish the Television Title to me.”

“You deserve it.” Clyde remarks, smiling warmly.

“You know damn well CHBK wouldn’t allow it.” She shakes her head. “Besides YOU won the match. The title is YOURS. I think you’re spoiling me out of guilt.”

Before he can answer the server returns. She sets the bottle of Guinness in front Clyde and the glass of water in front of Melinda. She smiles warmly at the two. “So, do you know what you want to eat?”

“Give us a moment please.” Melinda says.

“Sure. No problem.”

The server walks away. Melinda then turns her attention back to Clyde and waits for him to speak. The Assassin sighs.

“You are wrong, my love. What do I have to feel guilty about?”

“Well maybe guilty is the wrong word…perhaps it should be fear?” Melinda asks. “You are angry, angry at your sister and angry at Mason and you are afraid of what that anger might cause you to do.” There is a long pause, some tension between the two. “Tell me I’m wrong, Clyde.”

“You…are right.” Clyde finally admits with a nod of his head. “A few days ago in Charlotte, when we learned that my sister and Mason were working together, you saw what happened. You saw what I did. But you had no idea how I felt.” The Assassin shakes his head. Despite his intimidating presence he appears to be somewhat frightened. “I felt an anger and rage that I had not felt in a very long time.” A tear forms in his eye. “The last time I felt that kind of rage was when we first dated and I lost control and I…I hurt you…”

“Oh…” Melinda realizes why Clyde was so reluctant to talk about this “...I see.”

“I am afraid of myself, Melinda. I am afraid because this is precisely what my sister wants. She wants to get me angry, she wants me to lose control and, for a brief moment in Charlotte, I did lose control. I nearly broke Mason in half. My sister wants my rage to take over because she knows if I lose control again then I lose you…I lose my mother…I lose every POSITIVE connection I have made, every single human connection that has helped me overcome my past, I will lose it all. I will be isolated and all I will have left is my sister to turn to.” He wipes the tear from his eyes. “This is what she wants. She wants me.”

“Well that bitch won’t get you.” Melinda says. “I won’t let her.”

“She’s stubborn, my love, and she won’t give up so easily. I thought I had gotten rid of her but I was wrong. She persists in trying to get me to lose control and if I do…” he fights back tears “...I just couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you again…”

“That won’t happen.” Melinda says insistently.

“That’s not all.” Clyde admits. “I am also depressed. I let my guard down and allowed myself to think that maybe Mason actually cared. Once again he lied to me, once again he manipulated me. He just used me.”

“I thought Lilith used him?” Melinda asks. “She paid his bills, got his agency back on its feet, all to get to you.”

“Van Stanton is a scum and a con artist.” Clyde snarls. “They all are. I cannot trust him. I can only truly trust you.”

“And your family…” Melinda says “...well, except your crazy sister. But you do have a family now, a REAL family. Not just me but the Braddock family that you are intertwined with thanks to me.”

“My sister says your mother and your family will never accept me due to my past.” Clyde says. “What if she is right?”

“She’s wrong. She’s dead wrong.” Melinda snaps back. “My mom is a lot of things, most of which I disagree with, but one thing she firmly believes in is second chances. She will give you another chance, and as a part of the family she will fiercely defend you. Trust me, the Braddock family has your back. And speaking of family, have you considered what the therapist suggested?”

“A father figure?” Clyde asks. Melinda nods her head. Sutter shrugs his shoulders. “Yes, perhaps a supportive father figure is what I need. I never had one growing up. But who?”

“You have options. My step-dad, Kurt, is a good guy. Of course you have the obvious choice of your mother’s husband Henry.”

“Henry Van Stanton?” Clyde arches his brow. He shakes his head. “I am not sure that would work.”

“I thought you two were on good terms?”

“We are on good terms, me and my mother are on good terms. Still, he is a Van Stanton, and he has shown similar personality traits as his brother Mason in the past. How can I be certain that I can trust him?”

“Henry has made his fair share of mistakes, I’ll grant you that much, but I think I can speak to his character at least a little bit.” Melinda says, grinning knowingly.

“Oh? How so?”

“Before you and I reconciled, I dated Henry’s son, Archie Van Stanton.” Melinda starts to get emotional as she returns back to that time, a happy time in her life but also a painful one when she and Archie were victims of a shooting. She survived but Archie did not. “The Van Stanton family and the Braddock family were like the the Capulets and Montagues, or the Hatfields and McCoys, our families hated each other and no one could really remember why. The idea of a Braddock dating a Van Stanton was unthinkable and, yes, members of both families tried to convince us to break up. But the first person to reach out with an olive branch and offer to make peace, to end this long and bitter family feud, was Henry.”

“Henry worked for peace?” Clyde seems genuinely surprised. Melinda nods her head.

“He valued his son’s happiness above all else.” Melinda sighs. “He was devastated when Archie was gunned down. And I…” tears form in her eyes “...I was left in a very dark place afterwards. I was nearly killed in the crossfire.”

“Was this some random act of violence?”

“Honestly I don’t know.” She shrugs her shoulders. “To this day no one really knows if it was random or if I was the target…or if Archie was the target…but none of that matters. What matters is that I did survive and that Henry was there to help me through it, as was you later on.” Melinda forces a smile on her face. “Henry is not the same person as his brother. You should at least consider giving him a chance.”

The Assassin leans back and sighs. He has always had a difficult time trusting people. One of the few people he believes he can firmly trust is Melinda Braddock. Now here she is insisting that he trust Henry Van Stanton, a man whom Clyde thought he could never trust. He has become friendlier with Henry, out of respect for the fact that Henry married Clyde’s mother Autumn. But can he really trust Henry? Melinda believes that he can. The Assassin has his doubts but he knows he should do something. Lilith Sutter, Clyde’s ruthless half-sister, seems insistent on trying to make him lose control, cause his rage to boil over to the point that he loses everything and everyone he loves. Clyde knows he needs some emotional support now more than ever. He may not trust Henry Van Stanton but Melinda does and he does trust Melinda. That is good enough for him.

“For you, my love, I will try…” he takes his bottle of Guinness gives a big swig. Melinda sighs with a hint of relief.

“That’s all I ask, babe.” She says. “Just try. And know that I will be with you no matter what. No one will tear us apart, especially not your deranged sister.”