SCW Adrenaline Championship Contendership Battle Royal

[Konrad Raab]

Aaron Blackbourne
Asher Hayes
Autumn Valentine
Blake Mason
Cassidy Carter
Crystal Zdunich
Holly Adams
Kelsai Adamson-Mason
Polly Playtime
Ricky James

3 RP Limit for singles

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Saturday, December 5, 2020

[Asher_Hayes]

1 of 2. Good luck to everyone. This rp and the next few are leaning toward finishing Asher's arc with Hank and the Russian for those who've read my rps. Some of this will be more of a daydream for Asher, that I plan to reveal at the end of this series. I've an idea of how to do the reveal, but things could change. Oh, Ace and Porno Lad are mentioned and briefly used with the handler's permission.

Unsung Criminal, Ch. I

[Ricky James]

A “catch-22” is defined as “a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions”. Ricky James finds himself with a catch-22 every single time he steps into an SCW ring. Of course the goal for every superstar in SCW going into a match is to win the match. Ricky James is no different there. However, Ricky enters every match in a lose-lose situation, though he does not realize that yet. 



Let’s elaborate on what makes each one of his matches a lose-lose situation, shall we? We can start with the easy and obvious aspect of actually losing the match. No superstar wants to lose a match. Losing is demoralizing. It can derail momentum a superstar has or reinforce doubt a superstar has in themself. In Ricky’s case, a loss (though Ricky will never admit to actually losing a match, despite clear-as-day evidence that he has lost multiple times) negatively affects him multiple ways. We touched on this a couple weeks back. Each loss Ricky suffers puts him further into denial, causes him to become more paranoid about these “conspiracies” against him, and backs him into a corner. The thoughts planted in Ricky’s head from Lucy Huckabee Sanders and his neighbor Joe, among others, are reinforced with every loss. It was Shady Sasha, or the referee, or a cheating opponent. 


Aside from fueling the conspiracy theories, losses have also caused Ricky to subconsciously doubt himself. Ricky moved on from Mexico in search of a better life and career. He struggles with flashbacks to his prior life as evidenced by his fascination with masks. These flashbacks have done more harm than good thus far, costing Ricky multiple matches, as he is unable to stay focused. While Ricky consciously blames others for these losses, there is a bit of self-doubt deep down somewhere. Ricky should be questioning some of the choices he has made in the past. Is he really in a better spot now? Is it worth having to live a lie, completely denying your past, to achieve this “success” that was promised him? Is there a reason for all these flashbacks? Are they trying to tell him something?


Unfortunately, these are all buried too deep in Ricky’s subconscious. He hasn’t yet figured out there is a reason he is having these flashbacks. He sees them as a distraction he can usually overcome (even though he has failed to overcome them more times than he actually has overcome them). The constant “encouragement” from Lucy Huckabee Sanders each time he is in the ring, the “encouragement” from Kellyanne and the “fans” during the staged press conferences, and the “encouragement” from Joe when Ricky is able to spend some time at home are all so overwhelming that they completely destroy any chance of Ricky having some actual self-reflection. 


Yes, not being able to fully realize the root of Ricky’s problems is a massive issue for him when he loses. But what happens when he wins? After all, Ricky James was victorious in his last match, defeating Konrad Rabb. Not only did Ricky win the match - he also overcame a very obvious fascination with Konrad’s mask, actually unmasking Konrad in the process of winning the match. Ricky actually did what he said he was going to do for once, a rarity thus far in his SCW career. After a crushing loss to Asher Hayes (a loss Ricky and Lucy are “challenging” in “court”), this should have been a major positive momentum swing for Ricky.


We mentioned this was a lose-lose situation, though. What’s bad about winning a match and overcoming your personal demons in the process? Well, with every win, the conversation Ricky needs to have with himself keeps getting pushed further and further away. The subconscious thoughts become buried even deeper. The words of the influencers in Ricky’s life begin to hold more weight. With each win, the beliefs that Ricky made the right decisions in life are reinforced. And with each win, Ricky further solidifies his trust in his inner circle, particularly Lucy Huckabee Sanders. 


On the surface, Ricky James is flying high. He is fresh off a victory and now has a chance at yet another title opportunity in his young SCW career. His confidence is up, especially having overcome more flashbacks in the process of winning. He feels that he accomplished his “mission” in “exposing” another one of Shady Sasha’s plots. Yes, Ricky James is certainly riding high at the moment. But while the momentum swings in the right direction for his in-ring career, the much needed self-reflection is pushed to the back burner. If left untreated, it could blow up completely.


When exactly will Ricky address the actual elephant in the room? When will he take a long, hard look at the decisions he has made? When will he stop denying his past and at the very least be honest with himself? It seems this will all catch up to Ricky eventually, but perhaps not any time soon, especially if he continues to have success in the ring.


Heading into the Last Laugh PPV, where Ricky James will take on nine other competitors in a battle royal for a shot at the SCW Adrenaline Championship, Ricky’s past may be the last thing on his mind. Will his recent success and the encouragement from Lucy Huckabee Sanders be enough to keep him distracted from his personal demons? We will soon find out. 




Saturday Night, December 5th, 2020


Ricky James lounges back in a chair inside his hotel room at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa, which is adjacent to Gila River Arena, site of Last Laugh this Sunday. Ricky appears very content, smiling as he watches some TV. Ricky, remote in hand, flips through the channels on the television as if he is looking for something to watch. In reality, he is simply looking for Fox News. He finds the station and sure enough stops channel surfing. He sets the remote down on the table next to his chair and picks up a glass of whiskey from the table. As Ricky brings the glass up to his lips, he hears a loud knock at the door. Ricky sighs, rolls his eyes, and puts down the glass before he can take a sip.


Ricky: Just a sec!


Ricky sits up from the chair and walks over to the door. Without checking to see who is there, Ricky quickly opens the door. Sure enough, Lucy Huckabee Sanders is standing in the doorway. Lucy, with a large purse in hand, lets herself into the room without saying a word. She drops her purse down on the bed as Ricky closes the door behind them. Lucy sits down on the bed and Ricky goes back over to sit in the chair.


Ricky: Traveling a little heavier this time?


LHS: I’ll get to that in a minute. How are you feeling?


Ricky: Great. I mean, I shouldn’t have to be facing nine other people tomorrow night. But I….we...will overcome the odds like we always do. We took care of Comrade pretty easily. So I…


Lucy cuts Ricky off.


LHS: I actually meant personally, Ric. And speaking of Comrade, what the hell happened out there?


Ricky: What do you mean?


LHS: Well, we all knew you were going to win, of course. But you still couldn’t let the mask thing go, could you?


Ricky: Luce I…


LHS: You’re lucky you were against someone like that, Ric. If you were against an American, you could have seriously screwed up our chances there. We’ve been through this. You have. To stay. FOCUSED! Not everyone you face is going to be as terrible as Comrade. Sasha is running out of foreigners to throw at you. Eventually you are going to face real competition and I don’t want your little “visions”, or whatever you want to call them, screwing things up.


Ricky: Hey, I understand the concern, but you need to relax a bit and trust me. I wasn’t distracted in that match. I was trying to send a message. And I think I….I mean we….succeeded. 


Lucy stares blankly at Ricky for a few seconds before shaking her head.


Ricky: You disagree?


LHS: I don’t know what goes on in your head, Ric. To me and to everyone else, you seemed distracted. 


Ricky: I was focused, Lucy. Trust me. We talked about why that coward wears a mask. It has nothing to do with…


Lucy again cuts Ricky off.


LHS: I don’t care why he wears a mask, Ric. It doesn’t matter the circumstance. You’re letting masks trigger you like one of these left wing nut jobs who get offended by everything.  Once again, you faced possibly the worst superstar on the SCW roster. A GERMAN, Ric. We know they can’t fight or do anything better than an American. You can say you weren’t distracted, but you were.


Lucy grabs her purse, opens it, and starts rifling through it.


LHS: And you can’t afford to be distracted tomorrow night. There will be too much going on in the ring for you to be stuck in your own head. 


Ricky: I’ll stay focused, relax. I mean, it’s ridiculous that I have to deal with nine other people before getting a title shot I should already have, but we’re used to Sasha treating us like this…


Ricky grabs the glass of whiskey and brings it back up to his lips to take a sip. Lucy sees this out of the corner of her eye and immediately stops looking through her purse.


LHS: What the hell are you doing?!


Ricky gets a very small amount of whiskey in his mouth before quickly putting down the glass.


Ricky: I’m just having a celebratory drink…


Lucy’s face turns red as she scolds Ricky.


LHS: Celebratory, Ric? This is at least the fifth time I’ve seen you drinking whiskey over the past few weeks. I NEVER knew you as a drinker. What the hell is going on? You know that stuff messes with your head. Do you want to become an alcoholic? Because that’s the path you’re starting to..


This time Ricky cuts Lucy off.


Ricky: Relax, Lucy. It’s just one little drink. You know, just to clear my head a bit.


LHS: …..and why would you want to clear your head, Ric? Are you…..fixated on something again?


Ricky pauses, knowing full well what Lucy is talking about but not knowing how to respond. Lucy continues before Ricky can answer.


LHS: I knew it. I knew you were still stuck on this Mexico crap. And that’s why I have this for you..


Lucy resumes looking through her purse and eventually pulls out an unmarked prescription container full of large white pills. She tosses the container at surprised Ricky, who fumbles it a bit.


LHS: Those will take care of your little visions, Ric. Alcohol is not the answer.


Ricky: And pills are?! Do you want me to end up like Ashtray Hayes?!


Lucy closes her eyes, shakes her head, and sighs. She then gets up and walks over to Ricky. She grabs his hand and looks him right in the eye.


LHS: Ric, you have to trust me here. Have I ever steered you the wrong way?


Ricky pauses for a moment and turns to look out the window. While he vehemently disagrees with this course of action, he has always listened to Lucy. Lucy was his first true friend in America and was the driving force behind getting him  into the country and into SCW. Looking back at what Lucy has done for him, as Ricky always does, he turns back to Lucy and reluctantly shakes his head.


Ricky: No….you haven’t.


Lucy smiles as she releases Ricky’s hand and steps away.


LHS: Good. That’s what I thought. Now, make sure you take one pill every morning with breakfast and another with dinner. Well, tomorrow night, make sure you take it about forty-five minutes before your match. We can’t take any chances.


Ricky holds the pill bottle in his hand and stares at the pills, clearly still uncomfortable.


Ricky: So uh...where did you get these? And what exactly are they?


Lucy lets out a long sigh.


LHS: Don’t worry about that, Ric. I told you I was going to take care of everything, didn’t I? 


Ricky: Yea you did but I….


LHS: No “but”, Ricky.


Ricky stops and thinks for a moment about what to say. He has never really challenged Lucy before, so he quickly weighs out the pros and cons in his head. He eventually settles on something that probably isn’t exactly what he wanted to say.


Ricky: Well, I don’t want people thinking I’m some drug addict, Luce.


LHS: No one has to know, Ric. You’re a very smart guy, but even the most intelligent people need a little assistance sometimes. These will just...keep you focused on the task at hand, that’s all. 


Ricky, looking defeated, stares off blankly into space. Lucy grabs the glass of whiskey off the table, brings it to the bathroom, and dumps it out into the sink. 


LHS: And you won’t be needing this crap anymore. I don’t know who put you onto this, but you have to stop drinking, okay? Especially now that you’ve got your medicine. 


Ricky, clearly still upset with the situation, nods his head.


LHS: Good. Have you eaten recently?


Ricky: Yeah, why?


LHS: I want to make sure you had something in your stomach. 


Lucy fills the whiskey glass up with water, walks over to Ricky, and sets the glass down next to him before taking a few steps back.


LHS: Go ahead and take one now. That should take care of you for our press conference tonight.


Ricky: You want me drugged up for our press conference?


Lucy groans.


LHS: Ricky, you aren’t going to be “drugged up”, okay? You have some mental issues with your past and this medicine will take care of those. You aren’t going to end up like Asher Hayes - he takes drugs that he has no business taking just to get high. Illegal drugs, Ricky.


Ricky holds up the unmarked container of pills.


Ricky: And these are legal?


Lucy starts to turn red again as she grows impatient with Ricky’s questions.


LHS: Ric, burnouts like Asher don’t need to take drugs. You actually have an issue that requires medicine. Don’t worry about how I got your medicine. We know how terrible government healthcare is, Ric. We don’t want to go that route. I had to jump through some hoops but trust me, this is the best of the best.


Ricky: Jump through hoops? Lucy, don’t tell me these came from Mex-


Lucy storms back over to Ricky and grabs the container from him.


LHS: Open your hand, Ricky.


Ricky folds his arms and looks away, acting like a stubborn little child. Lucy glares at him.


LHS: RIC!


Ricky slowly turns back to Lucy and briefly looks at her defiantly before eventually sighing and slowly extending his hand out to her. Lucy empties out one pill into Ricky’s hand.


LHS: Good. Now take your medicine.


Ricky slowly and reluctantly puts the pill into his mouth, maintaining eye contact with Lucy. He grabs the glass of water and takes a couple gulps, swallowing the pill in the process. He sets the glass down and mockingly opens his mouth to show Lucy that he did in fact swallow the pill. Lucy flashes a grin as she closes the container and sets it down.


LHS: See? That wasn’t so bad. Trust me, you’ll have a clear head when you address the media tonight. Once you realize how good you feel, you shouldn’t have a problem taking these every day.


Ricky sighs, completely giving up the battle.


Ricky: So what’s the plan for tonight?


LHS: I’m glad you finally asked, Ric. You know I WAS going to say you should have time to take a nap before getting ready, but you wasted so much time fighting me on this that I don’t think you’ll have time. Presser is scheduled for 7:30 tonight…


Lucy looks at her phone to check the time.


LHS: So that gives you about an hour…


Ricky: And where are we headed?


LHS: You’re in luck. Meet me down in the lobby at 7:15. The EPC is happening here in the hotel at the Media Center.


Ricky: Great.


LHS: And you have your notes?


Ricky gives Lucy a look then sits up, walks over to the dresser, opens the top draw, and pulls out a large stack of papers. He tosses them down on the bed and smiles.


Ricky: Yeah, I’ve got them.


LHS: Good. Well I’ll let you get ready then….


Lucy grabs her purse and starts to head out. She stops at the door and turns back to Ricky.


LHS: Oh and Ric, prepare yourself. There will be hundreds of people in attendance. We’re really going to get our message across this week.


Ricky looks surprised and impressed as he nods his head.


Ricky: Sounds good. We got this.


Lucy flashes a half smile at Ricky and nods as she heads out. The second the door closes, Ricky falls back onto the bed and lets out a long sigh.




So much for not thinking about his past. So much for not thinking about the masks. What irony - Lucy giving Ricky a pill to block his flashbacks has only caused Ricky to worry about them even more. Of course the unknown pill has not yet gone into effect at this point. If Lucy is correct, perhaps this is a good temporary solution for Ricky.


Lucy has been known to bend the truth and make outrageous claims, however. Her ambiguity with the pill has caused Ricky to stress. Ricky of course eventually put on an act that he was all good, but he clearly is not as he lay back in the bed, his mind racing.


Why would Lucy Huckabee Sanders, who has been outspoken against drug use of any kind to Ricky, suddenly turn to pills for him? Even Ricky can see the hypocrisy in calling out Asher Hayes a few weeks ago for drug use only to be taking pills himself. Perhaps Lucy is right in that Ricky actually needs medication. Lucy has never steered Ricky the wrong way, at least not in his eyes. But Ricky knows based on his own experiences with Lucy, based on their “preparation” for press conferences, that Lucy can sound very confident while telling a blatant lie. Ricky was incredibly skeptical of the pill, especially after everything he has heard about drug use from Lucy and Joe among others. Why is it suddenly okay to take drugs, especially drugs that are not prescribed? 


A few things are at play here that make this situation different than how a normal person would respond. First, a normal person would probably seek the help of a psychiatrist and trust them with any medication they may prescribe. Ricky has been taught to be skeptical of psychiatrists just as much as he is skeptical of drugs. A conspiracy theorist, Ricky doesn’t buy into too many mental health doctors. Ricky probably would not have sought out any help on his own.


A normal person would also make the connection that if Lucy Huckabee Sanders is capable of lying to and manipulating others, she could easily do the same to Ricky. Ricky, though aware of what Lucy is doing during emergency press conferences and other interactions with the public, cannot fathom Lucy ever trying to manipulate him. The skepticism is there with Ricky, but he cannot make the connection yet. Rather than being skeptical of Lucy, he is more skeptical of the pill itself.


Ricky continues to lay in bed and worry about something that is supposed to stop him from worrying. After a few minutes of laying down and intensely thinking, Ricky sits up. He makes the decision to do what he always does - pretend a problem doesn’t exist. He begins to think about the upcoming press conference and gets out of bed. Perhaps Ricky can distract himself long enough for the pill to take effect. He manages to start to get ready, but the worry of what the pill may do to him still lingers in his head.


Thirty minutes later, Ricky has showered and changed into his suit. He’s hardly noticed at this point that he hasn’t really thought about the pill and hasn’t had any flashbacks. Eventually the thoughts faded away as he focused on getting ready. So far so good, but the true test will be how he responds at the press conference.


Ricky takes one last look at himself in the mirror of the bathroom, adjusts his tie, and smiles. He takes a deep breath and then heads out of his room. Ricky makes his way down the hall to the elevators. He takes one of the elevators down to the hotel lobby. The moment the elevator doors open, Ricky sees Lucy Huckabee Sanders staring at him, holding up one of her arms and pointing to her wrist.


LHS: Tick tock, Ric! Come on, let’s go!


Ricky nods and scurries out of the elevator, showing no signs of the resistance to Lucy he had earlier. Lucy leads the two down the hall of the main floor of the hotel down to the Media Center, a large ballroom for events. As they walk down the hall, Ricky is wide-eyed with a smile on his face. It appears the drug has taken some effect.


As The Silent Majority get closer to the Media Room, they can hear the noise of people conversing get louder and louder. They continue toward the room and see Kellyanne waiting outside one of the closed doors with a security guard. She smiles as she sees Lucy and Ricky approaching.


Kellyanne: Welcome welcome! This is it guys! The biggest press conference yet!


Kellyanne turns to the security guard, who grabs a clipboard with a piece of paper on it and a pen from the chair next to him.


Security Guard: These are the two you were talking about?


Kellyanne: Yep that’s them! They just got in from their flight. It’s a long trip from Maine…


Lucy looks at Kellyanne, incredibly puzzled. The security guard looks equally confused as he looks at Ricky and Lucy and then back down at the paper on his clipboard. Ricky seems oblivious to the situation, continuing to look around with a euphoric look on his face. The guard looks at Ricky and Lucy one more time, back at his list, then turns to Kellyanne.


Security Guard: This is Ethel and Fred….?


Kellyanne: Yep!


The security guard again looks at Lucy and Ricky suspiciously, then back at the list. He then abruptly shakes his head, writes something on the list, and opens the door.


Security Guard: Fuck it, I’m not getting paid enough for this anyway…


Kellyanne smiles and then leads Ricky and Lucy into the packed room. The noise has died down as someone is now speaking on stage. Lucy and Ricky look around and see a few hundred people seated at tables, all very well dressed. It becomes immediately apparent that they have just entered a wedding reception. Lucy turns her attention to the stage, where the Best Man is giving a speech. Lucy looks puzzled while Ricky looks around in awe, still smiling. Lucy turns back to look for Kellyanne, but then notices Kellyanne has run off to a corner of the room behind the stage, where she is speaking to a man with a camera and two other security guards. Lucy, seemingly unaware that this was going to be the setup for their “press conference”, starts to get irritated and storms over to Kellyanne.


LHS: What the hell is this?


Kellyanne: Don’t worry, we are good. Once the Best Man is done, you guys will head on up. 


Lucy still looks skeptical.


Kellyanne: Trust me, Lucy. Just grab Ricky, you guys will be on any second now…


Lucy turns back and sees Ricky conversing with some of the guests at one of the tables. Her face turns red again and she marches over to Ricky. Lucy grabs Ricky by the arm and pulls him away toward Kellyanne and the back of the stage.


LHS: What the hell are you doing?!


Ricky: Just mingling…


LHS: Well we’re about to be on! Are you ready?


Ricky scoffs.


Ricky: I was born Ready, Luce.


Lucy rolls her eyes as she turns her attention back to the stage. The Best Man wraps up his speech with a toast to the new bride and groom. The guests applaud after a “Cheers”. During the applause, Kellyanne turns to her “crew”.


Kellyanne: Go go go!


The security guard disperse to stage left and stage right while the camera man runs over to the front of the stage. Kellyanne then nods at Lucy and Ricky, who proceed to the stairs on the side of the stage. One of the security guards holds back the confused wedding party on stage as The Silent Majority make their way to the center of the stage. Lucy rips the microphone out of the hand of the Best Man, who looks utterly confused but does not object. The Best Man, apparently a little intoxicated, shrugs and takes a seat. Lucy begins to address the guests while the bride and groom try to figure out what is going on. The security guards at each end of the stage are now on stage on either side of The Silent Majority.


LHS: Ladies and gentlemen, we unfortunately have to interrupt this beautiful reception for an EMERGENCY PRESS CONFERENCE!


A murmur is heard throughout the crowd as the guests look around at each other in confusion.


LHS: Some things are bigger than marriage. I understand this is a special day for the bride and groom here, but this is a dark day for our country. Our freedom is at stake!


Lucy has apparently succeeded in gaining the attention of the guests, who are now quiet and listening attentively. The groom, meanwhile, continues to speak to one of the guards, who is holding him back. The bride glares at Lucy but does not say anything.


LHS: For those of you who for some reason may not know….my name is Lucy Huckabee Sanders. I am the official Press Secretary of Supreme Championship Wrestling. Behind me is my associate, Ricky James. Ricky James is the future of SCW. He is a world class athlete and one of the best wrestlers in the company. More importantly, he is a Proud Patriot. He is a true American who represents beautiful, hard-working Americans like all of you. We decided to come to SCW to save it from a hostile takeover by left-wing radicals. SCW is currently being run by a Communist Dictator. She goes by the name of Shady Sasha. Over the last few months, Shady Sasha has done everything she can to rip away individual liberties, what this country was founded on, and create a socialist environment where beautiful Americans are treated unfairly and not rewarded for their hard-work. She gives handouts to her socialist buddies, who take advantage of opportunities they do not deserve, just like people who abuse the welfare system in America. She has a clear bias against Americans and is trying to push her Canadian agenda through her army of Communist Cowards. She has specifically targeted myself and Ricky James, The Silent Majority. She has suspended us for no reason, cheated Ricky out of matches, and consistently stacks the deck against Ricky and other beautiful Americans in the company.


At this point the groom tries to make a move to grab the microphone from Lucy, but the security guard pushes him back. The groom then pulls out his phone and storms off the stage as he makes a call. The bride continues to give Lucy a dirty look from her seat on stage.


LHS: Tomorrow night, right next door at the arena, Ricky James will continue to fight for our freedom. Ricky has conquered any challenge Shady Sasha has thrown his way, no matter how unfair the circumstances. Ricky should be entering this match as the Television Champion. And he should be challenging for the Adrenaline Championship. Instead, we are still tied up in litigation with regards to the Television Championship, and Ricky inexplicably has to prove himself YET AGAIN against NINE other competitors. NINE!


By this point, half of the guests have moved on and resumed conversing amongst themselves. The other half look on at Lucy, extremely puzzled. The groom is still on the phone, now in the same corner of the room Kellyanne and the crew were in earlier.


LHS: This is Shady Sasha’s latest attempt to silence us. Even Shady Sasha couldn’t deny that Ricky deserved another title opportunity, but of course she has to give Ricky a title shot under the most absurd circumstances. Ricky James has already EARNED a chance at his second championship, ladies and gentlemen. He should not have to defeat nine other superstars in order to get a one on one Adrenaline Title match. But alas, we once again find ourselves in a completely unfair situation. And we will once again overcome the odds. For more on this match tomorrow night, please welcome your future DOUBLE CHAMPION, the undefeated, RICKY JAMES!


One drunk person in the crowd loudly cheers and claps as Lucy hands the microphone over to Ricky. Ricky, looking much chipper than usual, has a large grin on his face as he addresses the guests.


Ricky James: Ladies and gentleman, as you all know, my name is Ricky James. I am YOUR freedom fighter. I am YOUR soon-to-be crowned SCW Champion of Television. Tomorrow night I will overcome the odds yet again, win the battle royal, and go on to defeat Glory Braddock and become YOUR American Champion!


Lucy elbows Ricky.


LHS (whispering): Adrenaline!


Ricky nods at Lucy and mouths “I got it”.


Ricky: Yes, I am fueled by adrenaline. 


Lucy rolls her eyes and shakes her head.


Ricky: You see, as Lucy said, Shady Sasha cannot deny that I have earned multiple title opportunities already in my short time in SCW. Of course there is a catch with each “opportunity” she actually gives me. The first title opportunity was an actual one on one title match, but it was completely unfair and rigged from the beginning. Shady Sasha gave me a Championship of Television match in GERMANY with a biased referee against a fake champion who uses performance enhancing drugs. Fortunately our legal team is working vigorously to overturn the results of that sham match and award me with the Championship of Television that I deserve. 


The groom now has a few of his friends next to him. The men begin to take off their jackets and roll up their sleeves, clearly planning to take physical action to remove The Silent Majority from the stage. Ricky, completely oblivious to this, continues.


Ricky: As an honest, hard-working, fighting American, I did not let that sham match get to me. Instead, I went on to defeat one of Shady Sasha’s soldiers, Comrade Raab. I destroyed Comrade, a filthy German, just like the Allies destroyed the Nazis. And not only did I defeat Comrade…


Lucy’s eyes go wide, anticipating Ricky to bring up the mask.


Ricky: I sent a message to Shady Sasha and the rest of her friends that, even when the deck is stacked completely against us, Americans prevail, as we always have.


Lucy breathes a sigh of relief.


Ricky: After my decisive victory, there was no denying I had earned another title opportunity. Since Shady Sasha didn’t have the convenience of having the Last Laugh pay per view in one of her socialist countries, she had to resort to other means to try to screw us over. Rather than give me a one on one title match that I deserve, Shady Sasha has thrown me into a 10 person battle royal, where the winner earns an American Championship match. If this isn’t a blatant example of Shady Sasha pushing a Canadian socialist agenda, I don’t know what is. Think about it. What the hell did these nine other people do to deserve an opportunity at the coveted American Championship? This is a classic example of a government handout. Many of the superstars in this match have NO business being there. None. It is clear to me that this is yet another punishment of beautiful Americans disguised as a “match”. Shady Sasha is once again giving her loyal communist comrades free handouts in exchange for them doing her dirty work. I mean, let’s take a look at some of the people in this match. 


Voice: EXCUSE ME!


Ricky looks down and sees the groom, surrounded by five of his friends and a few of the security guards from the hotel, standing in front of the stage.


Groom: You’ve stolen enough of our time here. Your little charade is over. Now you can either walk off the stage right now and get the hell out of here, or we can physically remove you from the stage. Your choice. 


Ricky pauses and looks back at Lucy. He takes a step back and gets the attention of the two TSM security guards on the stage. The group deliberates as the groom and his entourage prepare themselves for a potential fight. After a few moments, Ricky puts down the microphone and leads his group off stage. The guests cheer loudly as The SIlent Majority and their two guards exit the stage. They meet up with Kellyanne and the cameraman, who had been chased off by the groom. Lucy gives Kellyanne a death stare as their group leaves the room, the guest still cheering. The moment the group steps outside, Kellyanne turns to her two guards and scolds them.


Kellyanne: You two are done. Fired, get the hell out of here!


The guards look at each other and shrug before leaving the area, clearly not that broken up about losing their gig. Kellyanne then turns to the cameraman.


Kellyanne: And you…


Lucy stops Kellyanne.


LHS: No. We aren’t finished with him. We are going to do this right here. But you can go ahead and take the night off. This was a mess, Kellyanne. And I’m putting it on you. 


Kellyanne’s face turns red. She starts shaking and tearing up.


Kellyanne: But I….


LHS: We’re going to give you another chance, just not tonight. Now get the hell out of my sight!


Kellyanne starts bawling and Lucy rolls her eyes. She then grabs Ricky and the cameraman and leads them down the hall, leaving Kellyanne behind. She searches frantically for a private space. The group comes across a function room that is being cleaned by hotel staff. Lucy barges into the room.


LHS: You guys, out!


The staff members just stare blankly at Lucy. They do not appear to speak English.


LHS: ¡Ahora!


The cleaning crew scurries out of the room. Lucy directs traffic, motioning for the cameraman to get set up and for Ricky to stand against the wall.


LHS: You got everything before that little fiasco, right?


The cameraman nods. Lucy looks at the room and shakes her head, clearly unimpressed with the surroundings. She then turns back to the cameraman.


LHS: You can edit in an American flag behind us, right?


The cameraman nods again.


LHS: Well that’s what we’ll have to do. Get the camera rolling. Ricky, please continue.


Ricky nods as the cameraman turns his camera back on and points to Ricky. Ricky clears his throat and looks into the camera.


Ricky: As I was saying….take a look at some of these people in the battle royal. Aaron Blackbourne. Very obviously a hired hitman from Shady Sasha. The man lives in Seattle, which is a hub for Antifa, a group Shady Sasha is incredibly fond of, as we know. This is no different than the Fool’s Gold situation. Antifa Aaron has no business in this match. Blake Mason is another hired hitman. I do not know much about him, but I do know he lives in possibly the second most socialist state in America after Commifornia. It does not surprise me that Shady Sasha would throw two of her left-wing radical followers, Antifa Aaron and Bolshevik Blake into this “match”. 


Lucy shakes her head in disgust as Ricky continues.


Ricky: Now it seems I am not the only one being punished in this match. Shady Sasha is using this “match” as a convenient excuse to attempt to take out another beautiful American as well - our good friend, Holly Adams. You know, when I first looked at the competitors in this match, I was a bit blown away that Shady Sasha would put a powerful man like myself in the same ring with a bunch of women. I would never lay my hands on a woman. But as I dug a little deeper, it made more sense to me. We have seen Shady Sasha treat Holly Adams very unfairly, almost as unfairly as she has treated us, week after week. It seems Sasha is trying to once again take out Holly Adams by throwing five other women against her in this match. This conspiracy is too obvious here. Setting aside the fact that the women have no business being in this match, what the hell did some of these women do to deserve an opportunity at the American Championship? Who the hell is Polly Playtime? This grouping of people is a charade. This is, in effect, an 8 on 2 handicap match. Sasha has sent three hitmen, the last of whom I will address shortly, to try to take me out. She has sent 5 hitwomen to take out Holly Adams. 


Ricky pauses and shakes his head.


Ricky: I don’t want to spend too much more time on the women in this match. I believe some of them are decent people, but I lose all respect for any person - man or woman - who agrees to work with Shady Sasha. It is clear and obvious that this is a widespread conspiracy. Strike 1 was putting Antifa Aaron and Bolshevik Blake in the match. Strike 2 was the obvious targeting of Holly Adams. Strike 3, and worst of all, is the inclusion of…...Ashtray Hayes into this match. Ohh yes, our buddy Ashtray. The drug addict who would sell his soul for an undeserved title opportunity and some heroin. What business does Ashtray have in this match? He doesn’t deserve to hold the title he supposedly has now, let alone be given the chance at ANOTHER championship. I’ve already discussed how bad of a representative Hayes is as Champion of Television. Could you imagine him as American Champion?!


Lucy rolls her eyes and drops her head into her hand. Ricky legitimately thinks the Adrenaline Championship is called the American Championship.


Ricky: I couldn’t think of a worse representative for this great country. If this is all another attempt by Shady Sasha to rig a match in favor of Ashtray Hayes, our freedoms are in serious jeopardy, ladies and gentlemen. We have seen her do it before, so don’t tell me it won’t happen again. Now, he won’t have the crooked German referee helping him out this time - but it would not surprise me if Ashtray already has an alliance with Antifa Aaaron and Bolshevik Blake. The two hired hitmen working to make sure Sasha’s favorite burnout is victorious. It really is the perfect plan for Shady Sasha: take out Holly, take out myself, and then let Ashtray Hayes cakewalk to a victory.


Ricky drops his head and takes a deep breath.


Ricky: It would be a perfect plan, but we are already onto it. And Shady Sasha made a mistake in choosing which title opportunity to award me. The Championship of Television is prestigious, don’t get me wrong. It is not, however, on the same level as the American Championship. I think everyone would agree that I have been destined to become American Champion ever since arriving in SCW. So winning this battle royal is not just about foiling another plot from Shady Sasha. It isn’t only about fighting for freedom. Winning this battle royal is the penultimate step in fulfilling my DESTINY. Winning this battle royal will put me on the doorstep of becoming YOUR Champion of America! 


Ricky, filled with pride, puffs his chest out.


Ricky: With that type of motivation, with Lucy Huckabee Sanders in my corner, and with the support of all freedom loving Americans watching all over the country, we will not be denied. No amount of hitmen, Canadian sympathizers, street whores, or drug addicts thrown at me will stop The Silent Majority. This was a hell of an attempt by Shady Sasha, but she slipped up once again. The Silent Majority WILL have the Last Laugh tomorrow night when I am the last man standing in the middle of the ring. 


Ricky takes a step back but maintains eye contact with the camera as Lucy steps forward.


LHS: Before we wrap up this evening, we would like to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. All of you watching this, please join in.


Lucy and Ricky put their hands over their hearts.


TSM: I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.


Lucy pauses for a brief moment before continuing.


LHS: I am Lucy Huckabee Sanders, Official Press Secretary of SCW.


Ricky: And I’m Ricky James.


TSM: THE SILENT MAJORITY. FOR A BETTER SCW.

[Asher_Hayes]

OOC: Same as last time. Posting this now so I can watch Tenet. Good luck assholes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P8ZL...Dfick/edit

[BME]

LONG BEACH HOSPITAL 

10. 31. 2020

Blake walks into the hospital room of Kelcey Wallace. He shuts the door behind him. 


The last thing he wanted to do was think about how fate brought everyone to this point. It was impossible not to. The Masquerade Party he assumed had been a success. Aside from a brief confrontation with Bree where he called her out on showing up in the wedding dress she wore when they got married a couple years ago, he wanted to believe that one Kelcey Masquerade Party  wouldn’t conclude in some form of controversy. Alas it did. She joined him on stage. He wanted to conclude the evening the right way, nothing went right at all, Kelcey passed out in a horrifying display. 


A million on one thoughts raced through Blake’s mind. Mostly negative. The doctor was able to ease his mind before he walked into Kelcey’s room to check on how she is doing. Told him that Kelcey would be able to go home in the morning. 


Blake takes a seat next to her. Kelcey was still out of it. The important thing is Kelcey is alive and awake. That brought him comfort. He grabs Kelcey’s hand. He pierces lovingly into her eyes. “Can you do me a favor?” Blake asks. 



“What is it love?” Kelcey responded. 



Blake takes a deep breath. He manages to say, “Don’t scare me like that again?”


Kelcey says with a smile on her face; “I’ll try.”  


Her response elicits the first time he smiled while being in the hospital. Blake looks over his shoulder to glance at the door. He couldn’t help counting down how much time he could realistically be in the room with her. She has more than a fair share of supporters outside the room who want to check in on her condition. He clears the thoughts from his head, finds a way to stay focused. “Gave everyone quite a scare. Including Chris. He’s here.”


Kelcey’s eyes widen a little. “He is?” she asks, fully registering what Blake said. 





Blake simply nods. “Yep, you know what they say about Superman, always there when Lois Lane is in trouble.”



“Don’t feel that dynamic right now, love.” Kelcey says chuckling a little.  



“Please, at your worst you are still the most dynamic, inspirational woman I know. Glad you’re ok. If something worse happened to you tonight--”



Kelcey quickly cuts Blake off. “It didn’t. See. I’m fine.”



“I screwed up.” Blake says cursing himself. “If I had done everything right you wouldn’t be--”


Kelcey squeezes Blake’s hand to force him to stop his train of thought. She says, “Do me a favor, love?”


“Name it.” Blake says. 


“Please don’t blame yourself. Can’t control everything.” Kelcey says with a smirk. 



Blake knows that Kelcey is right on the money. No matter how many times life reminds him that he can’t control the fates, he always tries his darndest to exert as much control as possible over his surroundings. 


“It’s hard not too. We all knew there were certain individuals on the yacht who aren’t your biggest fans. I could have hired extra people to have Sienna and Bree secretly detailed. Don’t know. All this could have been avoided.” Blake pauses, stopping himself from continuing his current train of thought. “But ultimately you’re right, I could have taken all the precautions in the world. We could have still ended up here.” Blake lowers his head trying not to think about the worst case scenario.   


“What happened to your face.” Kelcey asks. 





He looks back up at Kelcey. He ran his hand over the part of his face that Chris nearly caved in. Blake rolls his eyes, being reminded that this was the second year in a row that Chris assaulted him at Kelcey's Masquerade Party. Taking a deep breath he says,“Don’t worry about it.”


“Did something happen?” Kelcey presses on. 


“I plead the 5th.” Blake says sternly. “I don’t want to lie. Please, can we not talk about this? It is not my intention to keep anything away from you. Last thing you need is to be bothered by what happened to my face.”


Kelcey nods. “Alright. I trust your judgement, love.”



“Hearing you say that means more than you’ll ever know.” Blake pats his heart. 



He couldn’t help looking over his shoulder again knowing there is a hallway full of people who are waiting to see Kelcey. “There’s nothing more I want than to be in this room with you all night. I’m going to resist the urge to be selfish. Chris wants to see you. So does Peyton. Owen. Everyone who adores you as much as I do. I’m going back out there. One last thing in case I don’t get to see you again tonight.”



Blake drops down to a knee. He takes a moment to steady himself so he doesn’t allow his emotions to get the best of him. “Times like this that remind all of us not to take life for granted. Trying my best not to allow my mind to run away from me. But I can’t help thinking about what if the worst case scenario happened, I would have missed out on the chance to tell you how much your presence in my life truly means. I know it’s pretty obvious. I don’t say it enough. Kelcey, you are the light for a whole bunch of people. Fans. Your closest friends and family. Me. Especially me.” 


Blake smiles. “I would hate for the world to lose its light. No offense to David Helms, please don’t tell Regan I said this, he is not the last shadow of hope. It’s you. Kelcey, you have a habit of making everything make sense. Our views of the world differ in certain areas. I’ll always trust you. Then, now, forever. I am glad you are ok. I wish you could come home with me tomorrow when you’re discharged but... not going to happen.” Blake shrugs. “That’s fine. We’ll have plenty of time together on my jet when we head on the Southern Hemisphere leg of the tour.” 



Blake stands up. He leans in to give Kelcey a kiss on the forehead. “Goodnight Kelcey.”


Blake goes to walk away. 


“Wait--” Kelcey calls out to Blake.


He turns around. Their eyes meet. 


“Thanks for hosting the Masquerade party. Means the world to me. The night didn’t end like we both planned. I am proud of the man you strive to be. Know it hasn’t always been easy. I knew when you got away from the wrong influences, you would show the world the man I always knew you could be. Always be mindful of that, Blake. Don’t forget you’re a good man. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”


Blake appreciated Kelcey saying that. Bree did try to get inside Blake’s head trying to convince him otherwise. As long as Kelcey sees he is trying to be better, her world will always be more important. Blake places his hand over his heart. “I won’t let you down, Kelcey.”


“I know. Goodnight, love.” Kelcey smiles. 



He opened the door to Kelcey’s room; he walked out. The first person he saw was Chris. He nods to the Father of Kelcey’s son. Lost in his own mind, Blake walked back to the waiting room paying no one else any mind. Sitting down scrolling through his cell phone is Jaxson Sullivan. Blake takes a seat next to his bodyguard. Kelcey is ok. That’s what was important.  


==   


 

11/26/2020

Long Beach Marina

Blake Mason’s yacht 

Blake didn’t feel overly great about hosting Thanksgiving festivities on his yacht after what happened to Kelcey less than a month ago. Being the miracle worker she is, Kelcey managed to convince Blake not to get rid of the yacht the first chance he got when the Southern Hemisphere leg of the SCW tour concluded. He is grateful to her for talking him down. Kelcey survived. Not only that, she is set to compete on the 6th of December, finally Blake hopes she will do what is necessary to put Sienna down once and for all. If he gets the chance... 


... well... he doesn’t want to dwell on that possibility. 


Not today of all days. 


Nothing overly dramatic happened. Victor stopped by. So did Kelsai. His mom flew into town with Drake’s father. Speaking of Drake he was nowhere in sight. He was likely with Minerva. Didn’t blame Drake for that. He is happy Drake found someone he is comfortable with. Cassie wasn’t present either. A shame? Obviously. Considering the chaos that transpired at Emerge’s final show of Season 3 with Cindy Todd being knocked off her perch, forced to leave town, in effect ending The Unforgiven stranglehold over that company, Blake understood that Cassie wanted to be there for her beloved. Victor. Kelsia. His mom and her plus one. They exited the yacht to partake on their own adventures. 


The lone person left to keep Blake any semblance of company is Jaxson Sullivan. Not to protect him from his family. Jaxson has been there for Blake for almost a year now. The former tag team champion is appreciative of everything Jaxson has done for him. As Blake laid on the hammock staring at the stars, the silence gripping the air put him at ease. 


“You are blessed to have a good family.” Jaxson acknowledged, breaking the silence. 


“More than I deserve, Jax. More than I possibly deserve.” Blake responds. 


Blake couldn’t see Jaxson shaking his head. His bodyguard responded, “Should have known you’d say that.”



“Why wouldn’t I? It’s true.” Blake fires back. 


“Today is the one day out of the year you could be less hard on yourself.” Jaxson sternly says. 


Blake looks to his right to notice Jaxson staring at the stars too. “I haven’t made things easy for them.”


“Be that as it may, they want what’s best for you. I do too. Professionally and personally. Especially personally.” Jaxson looks down at Blake. Most of the time Blake didn’t know one hundred percent what was on Jaxson’s mind. He appreciated the big man’s calm, icey demeanor. Someone needs to be when he feels the compulsion to be impulsive. This time Blake sensed there was something Jaxson had on his mind. The what he had no idea. Adjusting his tie, Jaxson continues. “Tonight needs to be the night, Blake. No more excuses. Time to grab hold of the life you want.”



Blake blinks, knowing exactly what Jaxson is talking about. He gets out of the hammock. He looks Jaxson straight in the eyes. “I tried, Jax. Kelcey passed out on this very yacht before I got the chance. I don’t know, maybe fate is telling me this isn’t meant to be.”



Jaxson tilts her head to the side. “Since when did you leave anything to fate? Or is that another excuse.”


Blake grits his teeth. “I’M AFRAID, OK!” He takes a deep breath to calm himself down. “It’s not a matter of Kelcey not loving me. I’m not blind, I know she does, don’t question that at all. When do I ever win, Jax? The day I found out Chris and Sierra split, you have no idea how paranoid I became. I took that as fate’s way of reminding me that Chris and Kelcey are going to end up together. Why wouldn’t Chris go back to Kelcey? He has to know he screwed up by now. Wouldn’t shock me if the Cannon brothers are conspiring as of this very moment. I can see Scott stepping aside to give Chris a free path to claim Kelcey’s heart again, the last thing that family wants is to see me happy.”


Blake looks down at the ground. Jaxson puts a hand on his shoulder. 



“Take a breath. No one is conspiring against you.” Jaxson tries to calm Blake down.



“You don’t know them like I do.” Blake protested. “Chris can’t resist trying to hurt me. He needs the smallest justification possible to--”


“Blake. Don’t. Today is not the day.” Jaxson again tries to stop Blake from continuing the narrative. “Push Chris out of your mind. Tonight could be the moment that changes your life. Forget the past. Focus on the now--” Jaxson hesitates before saying... “-- Kelcey knows how you feel. She has the ring.”


Blake looked up at Jaxson. With a blank expression he asks. “What are you talking about? What ring.” 


Jaxson clears his throat. “The day you asked me to hand you the ring box, it would take a blind man not to see that is not what you really wanted. So I asked myself what would Blake Mason do? An idea popped in my head. I remove the ring from the box. Hoping you wouldn’t notice. Lucky for me you didn’t open the box to check if the ring was inside. I forgot what Breakdown it was, that day I approached Kelcey and I handed her the ring. I told her in no uncertain terms you can’t see the ring again until she is ready to be your wife.”


Jaxson pauses allowing Blake to register what he just said. “I haven’t spoken to her since. You two have spent a lot of time together. Became a lot closer. Figured it would be a formality. A lot of craziness has happened since August. Sienna. Giovanni. What happened to Kelcey on the yacht. Circumstances have gotten in the way. One thing being in that hospital showed me is you need to act! Propose to her. Do it quickly. You might lose her. Fate won’t be the blame. You will.”


Blake mediates on everything Jaxson just said. He knows. Patting his friend on the shoulder, Blake says. “Yeah, of course. Now or never.”  


“Good. Let me know how it goes.” Jaxson nods. 



And with that he turns around to take his leave.  Blake watches as Jaxson steps on the pier. As he leaves to enjoy the rest of his evening Blake briefly wonders where; Kelcey Wallace walks past Jaxson. 


The former tag team champion called Kelcey earlier in the day to see if she could spend the last bit of Thanksgiving with him. He naturally assumed she would spend the day with Chris and Nathanial. Wouldn’t hold it against her if she said no. He was happy to learn she would join him on the yacht.  


Fate can take a backstage as far as Blake is concerned. Time to claim his destiny and fail spectacularly.


.


.




.



Blake and Kelcey spent the majority of their time together on the lower deck of the yacht.


They talked about their respective days. 


He shared how the day went with his family. 


She went over how the day went with Chris and Nathanial. 


Naturally he tensed up a little bit. He did a solid job not allowing his mind to get ahead of him. 

Unfortunately he figured she couldn’t spend the night with him. She had to go home sometime. 


With his time with her winding to a close he walked her up to the top deck. 


Blake grabs Kelcey’s hands, with a smile he says. “Thanks for stopping by, Kelcey. Means a lot”


She nodded. “No need to thank me, love, you are an important part of my life. After the year I’ve had, drove home the point to spend as much time with the people you care about while you have the chance.” 



“I couldn’t agree more.” Blake takes a deep breath to settle his nerves. It was as he was waiting for another event beyond his control to prevent him from doing what he needed to do.


He knew it was now or never. Blake finally did what he wanted to do on his yacht on Halloween, he dropped down to one knee. He looked up at Kelcey who came across as cool and collected as usual. He tries his best not to anticipate what is going through her head. He had one job. Fate wasn’t going to stand in the way this time. 


Clearing his throat he continues. “Not going to lie, I pictured this moment a lot differently. I don’t have a ring, I mean I did have one. Jaxson made sure the ring found a proper home. Can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”


“I meant too, love. Before Under Attack when Peyton stopped by.” Kelcey said. 


Blake nods remembering that day. “Hopefully the advice I gave her proved useful. About time the giver of that advice actually took it.” 


He grabs Kelcey’s hand. “Where do I possibly begin? The day you walked into my life Kelcey I knew beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt that you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I have screwed up a lot along the way. The biggest mistake of my life, there are plenty of them, when I made the foolish decision to sleep with Mary. That moment changed my life forever. Robbed us of a life together. I don’t blame you for turning to Chris... part of me feels that we could have worked it out then if I had properly fought for us, it would not have taken this long for us to possibly have a chance to claim the life I believe we both want.”


His heart was dancing rapidly. He breathes in deeply to center himself. “I gave up! For all these years I have been a coward. I wanted to stop your wedding to Chris so damn badly but I didn’t. I believed that is what you wanted deep down. For years I tried to move on, I didn’t give my all to Cameron, to Tatum, to Bree, to Taylor, no matter how much I tried I believed we still had a chance. A small chance. But a chance nonetheless.” 


Blake paues to pace himself. There is a lot he needed to say. Had to make sure he got this right. “There is a lot I should have done; I should have been the one to rescue you from that medical facility. Not Scott. I should have been the one to nurse you back to health. Not him. I should be the father of Nathaniel, not Chris. It pained me when you told me you were pregnant. Yes, I was happy for you, I was sad that the father of your son wasn’t me. It should be me.” He allows that admission to linger a little bit before pushing forward. “The more time passes the more I am convinced we should be together. We deserve that chance to see if we can be everything I ever dreamed of. Yes, I know you are with someone, on every level going after a taken woman is wrong, I don’t care anymore. I need to know if there is a chance for us. I don’t want to go halfway. I want to go all the way. Forget the dating process. Forget tradition. Kelcey Wallace what I am trying to say is... will you marry me?”  


Kelcey was blown away when he finally said those four words. One thing to know Blake had always intended to get to this point. She does have the ring. An entirely different story to live the moment. 


Blake doesn’t give Kelcey a chance to answer immediately. He says, “Don’t feel pressured to answer me tonight. I would love that... depending on the answer.” Blake smirks. “-- I need you to be one hundred percent sure like I am. I don’t doubt you love me, I don’t question that. There is Scott. There is Chris. He still loves you. I guess there will always be part of you that believes he is the love of your life. If he didn’t try to injure me; you two might still be together. None of that is lost on me. I need you to be sure. If you say no, as much as that’ll break my heart, I can rest finally knowing that I tried. That I laid everything out on the table. You know what I want without a shadow of the doubt. Whether you say yes or no, this is closure.”


Blake rises to his feet. He can tell by the expression on Kelcey’s face that she was moved by him laying his heart on the table with no amburigty whatsoever. He pulls Kelcey in, not hesitating to give her a deep soothing kiss. She doesn’t resist, The Perfect Ten goes with the flow. Before things escalate any further he pulls back, he wasn’t sure if things would have gone any further. He didn’t want to possibly take Kelcey to bed like this. He grabs her wrist, he places her hand hand over his heart. His heart is skipping much faster than normal. “I love you, Kelcey. Nothing changes that. Whatever you decide, I respect your wishes.” 


Kelcey takes a deep breath. She nods. “No matter what I decide, I’ll always love you.” 


“I know.” Blake winks. 


“Ok Han Mason...” Kelcey chuckles at the obvious Han Salo reference. 


Blake and Kelcey hug one last time. 


She steps off the yacht onto the pier. Blake watches her walk away to head home. 


He couldn’t believe he just did that. He proposed to Kelcey. He called his shot. 


Now the waiting game. 


Time for fate to have its day.   


[b]... to be continued[/b]

<< PROMO TIME >>

The scene fades into a quiet nearly empty boardroom. There is a long boardroom table smack dab in the center of the huge room. To the right are windows the audience can see through that overlook the city. What truly stands out as the camera zooms in is William Blake Mason clad in a two piece grey suit and sky blue tie sitting at the head of the table. Standing to his left is Jaxson Sullivan not dressed in a suit. Today he is wearing a black muscle shirt, black jeans and black boots. Blake leans back into the leather chair he is sitting on. He shoots the camera an icy cold stare that would send chills down a normal man’s spine. 



“Leading into Rise to Greatness I spoke at length about my father telling me every man or woman on this planet needs to find their WHY. We all have goals in life. All of us at one point want to become World Champion. The usual reasons for WHY are to grab a status symbol that validates you to the world (and yourself) that you are the best wrestler on the planet. Some want to become World Champion for the money. Fame. Power. Nothing wrong with any of those reasons. I am not one of those self righteous people to condemn you for why you are doing something. We have had all types of characters in this sport who have accomplished things in their own unique way. Not one size fits all.  I can anticipate my opponents and the Twitter mob being quick to remind me this is not a number one contenders battle royal for the World Championship. I know that. It’s for the Adrenaline Championship. A little patience, I’ll arrive to my point in a roundabout way.”


“The reason why I want to win this battle royal to go on to challenge Glory for the SCW Adrenaline Championship comes down to one feeling that has defined my existence in professional wrestling. That feeling is one of regret. Lets rewind the clock, a little over seven years ago at an event called Perfect Destruction, I became the SCW Adrenaline Champion by dethroning everyones favorite public menace Katie Steward. Back then I was driven by extreme pettiness. I was ousted from Perfect World, rightfully so, I was pretty much on my own aside from having The Devil in my ear. Everyone and their mothers mother had counted me out. Wanted to bury me. Said my career was almost done, that I should quit, plus it did help that I wanted to stick it to Katie for humiliating me upon my arrival in SCW... that is neither here nor there.”


“December 1st, 2013 I became a champion. That should have been the proudest moment of my career. First singles championship in SCW. Joy to the world. But predictably my reign lasted fifty six days. What I should have done was enact my rematch clause, chase the championship, take back what was mine.” 


“But I didn’t.” 


Blake shamefully shakes his head.



“I did what I have been known to do on more than one occasion, I pretended to be above it all.  I spat in the face of a championship that should have meant so much to me at that point in my career. My feeling at the time was, I won a championship. I can win another. I did become a singles champion in SCW again... six years later.”


“I regret taking the SCW Adrenaline Championship for granted.”


“I regret spitting on the legacy that men like David Helms are proud to represent. I am willing to bet a good chunk of change he still holds the Adrenaline Championship in high regard.”  


“So when Sasha gave me the opportunity to become number one contender I didn’t view it as a step down. I didn’t see it as ‘Hey Blake, here is another shot to become a champion in this company after you failed miserably to advance to challenge Bree for the Interim World Championship.’ No. I view this chance that Sasha gave me as possibly fate nudging me forward in the right direction. And before anyone jumps down my throat getting ready to say... Blake how can you say it is fate that you will become Adrenaline Champion again. To anyone who jumps the gun on that. No. That is not what I am saying at all. I’m thinking maybe, just maybe; this could be the road I was meant to travel. Maybe fate is telling me that there is unfinished business I need to take care of first. I am going to do the work. I am going to try my hardest. I don’t believe I am entitled to victory.”


“And I am not making any future plans, unlike one man in this battle royal.”


Blake rolls his eyes. He places his hands on the boardroom table and leans forward.


“Asher Hayes, you are the favorite. I am man enough to concede that. You accomplished what I couldn’t, you beat Syren. Since then you have been on a major roll, not only as Television Champion, you and Cid are slaying the Tag League. Who else in this battle royal has more momentum than you? Simple. Nobody. If I wasn’t an employee of Supreme Championship Wrestling and someone asked me to place a bet on who would win this Adrenaline Championship #1 contendership battle royal, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop a wad of cash on you winning it all. Moving on to challenge Glory Braddock for the third time, hopefully with no shenanigans. An actual clean finish. Imagine that.”


“Your wild imagination is the problem.”


Blake clears his throat. 


“I can understand wanting something. No judgement on my end. BUT when you hop on Twitter and have an open discussion about what the stipulation of your third encounter is going to be before you actually step foot in this battle royal, forgive me... actually don’t, there is nothing for me to apologize for.” 


“I found you and Glory’s fantasy booking ultimately disrespectful.”


“And I have been disrespected enough over the past couple of months.”


“Is it because I am not the guy I was when I was running over people.”


“Or breaking into the homes of people who couldn’t defend themselves.”


“Is that the type of guy you are Asher? Blake Mason always remembers. There has always been this underlying tension between us. Our Twitter interactions have rarely been positive. You act like a clown sometimes, telling me I am stuck up or being too emotional, trying to make me out to be the bad guy for not acting like a clown. Somehow me being serious is a bad thing!” 


“Deep down are you really overlooking the rest of us that much that you feel comfortable making future plans with the current Adrenaline Champion?”



Blake takes a deep breath. “Should you be confident? Sure. If you aren’t that’s half the battle lost, trust me, I know that all too well. I don’t take too kindly to a match involving me being treated as a formality that you’ll win. You and Glory can hype up a potential third match until you are blue in the face. One day you will have your third match. But if I have anything to say about it Asher that third match will NOT happen on December 20th, 2020; I aim to close out the year the brand new SCW Adrenaline Champion.” 


Blake takes a moment to crack his knuckles. 



“I am not overlooking the rest of you. Kelsai, I love you. Aaron, I grow to respect you more and more by the day. To the rest of the field. Don’t need to tell me how many people I need to go through to get the job done. This message goes for all of you like it does to Asher. You want this. I NEED this. I need to redeem my first Adrenaline Championship reign. So I am prepared to do what must be done to get the job done.”


Blake looks at Jaxson. He nods to the big man. Jaxson nods back. Blake returns his focus to the camera one last time. 


“Whatever it takes to thank you all for coming.”


Blake winks as the scene fades to black.

[Ruppy]

If there’s any significant flaw to be found in the character of Aaron Blackbourne, many who knew him would argue that it would be his tendency to put everyone else before himself.

Inherently, that wasn’t a bad thing, because it was proof that he would have your back and fight either for you or by your side against whatever the threat may be. It made sense, considering Aaron was about as selfless as a human being could possibly get and he deeply valued the people he did have in his life, from his closest friends and loved ones to those who were simply willing to earn his respect and show it back to him in kind. He was a humble man, though perhaps too humble and selfless for his own good at times.

While it could be understood that maybe he didn’t want to come off as selfish like so many others who easily fell prey to the greed and egotism that had a habit of running unchecked in the world these days, whether it be inside the wrestling ring or out, there was a fine line between being selfish and sacrificing to the point of being detrimental to himself, and Aaron had a tendency to fall into the latter category too much for his own good. The vast majority of the issues he was willing to take on just so others didn’t have to was just asking for his mental state to deteriorate to a point where it no longer existed, especially if it essentially became an escape for his own problems he knew he would have to contend with eventually.

That especially was true of any issues he never truly resolved, only buried within his subconscious.

For as mentally strong as Aaron was, he was far from invincible, and it’s a matter of when, not if, the cracks finally begin to take their toll on the gate he’s attempted to build without fully realizing it himself, considering it’s become second nature to him by now. In this particular case, all it took was the incident prior to the Breakdown on the South African leg of the divided foreign tour to pull the trigger on something Aaron had long since convinced himself he had overcome.

But, in all honesty, how does one just forget and move on from a near-death experience from two years prior with barely any scars that risk being reopened?

Even if he wasn’t actually at the booth when it happened, just hearing about the crazed fan that attempted to stab Owen once he’d returned was enough to awaken a long-forgotten static that permeated through every thought that ran through his mind at that moment. Against every rational thought to say something or step away himself when Owen understandably needed a break, he simply tried to tune it out and kept going, allowing his friend to clear his head while he forged on with greeting fans and signing autographs. The static persisted even into the show that night, and again he’d tried to push it out of his mind in favor of working with Kim on their admittedly crazy plan to figure out what Gio’s game was and storming the ring when all hell broke loose at the end of the show.

The creative soul had decided the following day to simply do what he does best and lose himself in his creativity as a means to shut out what he didn’t want to deal with, having spent the entire trip back to the States putting pen to notebook as a story began to form from the ink beneath his fingers. Between that and regaining Liane’s company once he returned home, it was easy to say he’d fought off the feeling and could just move on, not wanting to get hung up on a ghost from the past when there were just as many assailants trying to stop him on the road ahead. Liane was at least returning more and more to her old self between Aaron’s efforts on top of spending time around Dr. Marsh-Asher while her fiancé was out of the country, and that made resuming the concept of her traveling alongside him while SCW toured around significantly easier, with the hope that she could return to her comedy touring at the start of the new year at least if things continued to go well.

Some monsters just don’t rest that easily, though… Aaron knew this full well, and yet he was choosing to be oblivious to the very idea that something had reawakened that was never properly put to rest.

It was easy to ignore the static and try to brute force his way to a sense of clarity when it came to his thoughts, but there was more to the issue at hand that was just waiting to breach the floodgates, and it became so easy to strike when he least expected it when he continued ignoring the warning signs and focusing on problems that were not necessarily his, no matter how much he did have his part to play in them. The next Breakdown was one thing, considering what he ended up learning and then having all the motivation in the world to stand beside the rest of the Perfect Pack and make a huge statement against the Wonderland, but once that surge of adrenaline had worn off, his thoughts became vulnerable.

Before he knew it, he was feeling a sense of deja vu as he found himself standing next to Owen at a booth for fan activities prior to showtime, taking a selfie with a fan as Owen was adding his signature to someone’s program. Now, anyone who remembered how things had actually gone down might remember that Aaron had taken a small break at this point to hunt for snacks and drinks since this routine had been going on for a while now, leaving the events that would unfold to be discovered upon his return. Instead, he found himself staying put as a few more autographs were done, and he was midway through standing up again to join another group of fans for a selfie when it happened.

With no words spoken and not a single warning sign at all, a fan was leaning over the table with their arm outstretched, the knife clear as day as it pierced through the heart of his best friend, a waterfall of blood flowing down his midsection and onto the table beneath them.

He could feel his eyes go wide and his heart stop at that moment, but all of his other senses virtually went numb. Try as he might, his body would not make any effort to move even a tiny bit in response to the scene playing out before his eyes. It was almost as if time itself had frozen… nobody made a sound or sought security or an EMT or anybody, Owen was still as a statue as the dark red substance continued to leave his body, the assailant made no move to extract his weapon of choice or even attempt a getaway. Aaron could almost feel like he’d been painted into a portrait of agony where some of the darkest fears he would never admit he still held were put on full display to the waiting public.

If this was a nightmare, he could only hope that the shock of this sight would have him jolting upright any moment now, but the ghosts of his past weren’t so keen on letting him get off that easily after trying to ignore them for so long.

Slowly but surely, the fan started turning their head to look at the creative soul, and the more of their face he saw, the more he knew his own was losing every last trace of color it may have held before. The sight of features recognizable no matter how deep he tried to bury the mental images caused his blood to run cold, and he could swear he heard himself muttering the word ‘no’ under his breath in some vain attempt to alter what he was seeing, though with his body virtually paralyzed he couldn’t tell for sure. Once the two had locked eyes and the fan decided to speak, there was nothing left that allowed him to deny that the figure was exactly who he wished it wasn’t.

“What’s wrong Aaron? I thought you were so good at protecting your friends, just like you did such a good job protecting your brother.”

Aaron wanted to close his eyes… he wanted to squeeze them shut as tightly as possible and hope that when he opened them again that all of this would be gone, or he’d be awake, or anything. His body, however, simply refused to cooperate no matter how much strength he used to try and force his eyelids to so much as twitch. He would give anything to no longer have to look into the face of Dylan Jackson, the man who had taken his brother’s life and almost claimed his as well. He would sell his soul to be able to block out the demented laughter that rang out from his lips over what he had just done, tearing into his very core and making sure he could never forget about the horrific act that he had just born witness to upon one of the people he had become close to in his life.

“Alright, I think this has gone a little too far.”

The next thing Aaron knew, the sound of fingers snapping was echoing all around him, and in finally being able to blink, he found the entire scene seemingly wiped from existence. No more Dylan, no more Owen bleeding out, just an empty void. The only thing that seemed to remain from what had just happened was the table, now completely bare and with a chair on the opposite side now. Aaron’s body had resumed sitting, and joining him was a familiar figure he hadn’t spoken to in quite some time that looked beyond concerned, to the point that it was even affecting his spectral form.

“Dreambender…”

To say that he was expecting to see one half of the Twin Stars was an understatement, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. When he’d created them, he gave Dreambender the powers of his namesake after all, and the young cosmic entity’s intervention made it crystal clear that he had fallen into nightmare territory, though that didn’t help take away how real it all felt. He swore he could feel himself in a cold sweat even now, and he couldn’t ignore how much he noticed his hands trembling as he tried to rest them against the table.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t surface sooner. I felt something off, but it wasn’t until I picked up on your mind crying out for someone to help that I realized how severe it was.”

“So… that was all just a nightmare?”

“Technically, yes… though it goes so much deeper than that, and I think you know it.”

A shaky sigh escaped his lips at hearing this. Truth be told, he had a feeling he knew exactly what this was the whole time, but his mind felt it easier to simply try to deny it and hope it went away. Any time it had surfaced in the past, keeping himself occupied in some fashion tended to help, and that was also a significant factor in why he was always so eager to throw himself into the fray to help someone else even if it wasn’t entirely his fight. Admitting to it, however, was a struggle he always hated.

“You’re right… I had a feeling I was starting to spiral when I heard about what happened to Owen while I was away from our table in Johannesburg, but I couldn’t keep from latching on to the thought that I needed to stand strong for both him and the people that had to witness what happened.”

“I’m not denying that it was noble of you to do that Aaron, but you and I both know that sometimes the noblest of intentions is also the most damaging to yourself.”

Aaron could only nod, and even that was just barely accomplished after what he’d just witnessed. Nightmare or not, he knew that whatever wall he’d built up to try and keep his thoughts clear of the incident from last year where he almost didn’t even make it to Rise to Greatness with his life intact had finally collapsed and he couldn’t simply hide from it anymore. While it might be an entirely different context because of it, he was going to have to endure a conversation he knows he’s had several times already with many different faces both real and imaginary.

“Where’s Gleeful?”

“Last I checked, she was deep into hunting for stardust to try and weave into a holiday sweater she wanted to make. I’ll admit that maybe she’d be better equipped for this than I am, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re stalling and we both know it.”

Aaron opened his mouth to respond, but he knows that nothing he says can truly deny that, so he just rests his head in his hands instead.

“Look, Aaron, I know that some of the things that have happened in your life have been pretty brutal. You want to be able to keep everyone close to you safe, but you know you can’t do that because every person has their own life and their own problems, no matter how much those do or don’t intertwine with your own. But you don’t always have to try and stand strong for others. You’re human, just like them, so they’ll understand if you need to take some time to yourself and get your own head straightened out.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“I wish it was always as easy as snapping your fingers and everything magically goes away. I have that power here because of you, and I couldn’t stand seeing you spiral like that anymore. That doesn’t make me a strong being for stepping in, just as it doesn’t make you weak to admit that you could use the chance to rely on others the way you want them to rely on you when they need it.”

Aaron wants to agree with that, knowing that everyone around him would be more than happy to drop what they’re doing if need be in order to stand by his side if he needs it, just as he’s always willing to do for them. But he can’t bring himself to say those words or even so much as give them much thought within his own mind. He wants to see his friends and loved ones live their lives and succeed, he wants to support them all the way, but the moment he even begins to think that he deserves to do the same is the moment his train of thought changes tracks because no matter how many times they tell him he deserves it, he can’t bring himself to agree without sounding even the tiniest bit selfish. Always supporting others but suffering in silence, that seems to be the easiest path he finds himself sticking to time and time again.

Dreambender can see this, however, and while he may not be his sister, he still has no intention of letting Aaron leave his grasp on this night without reaching a point where he no longer has to have this argument with himself anymore. He stands up and reaches out, gently taking Aaron’s hand in his own, and the comforting warmth that radiates from the astral form of the creation before him almost feels like he’s finally come face-to-face with a light in the darkness he’s been trying to find and yet actively avoided as soon as he’s actually caught a glimpse of it.

“Tell me Aaron: all those people you always go out of your way to try and support… people like Liane and Owen and Peyton and Kelcey and your family, do you think they feel selfish focusing on the problems they have to face while you’re sacrificing to help them however you can?”

“N-no… it’s their fight, their chance to achieve something-”

“Exactly. So why does it have to be any different if the roles are reversed?”

Again, Aaron can’t bring himself to respond, but the look in his eyes is enough to make Dreambender know that he’s getting through to his creator at last.

“You have one heck of a support system Aaron, better than most others in your position might have. You never took the time to fully deal with what happened in that incident, but that doesn’t mean you have to live your whole life fighting it. Whether it’s Liane or that therapist or someone in your family… if you just say something, they’ll listen, and they’ll never judge you. This isn’t you showing weakness Aaron… it’s being strong enough to admit that you could use some help to overcome a problem that, honestly, would be more concerning if you didn’t come away with any at all on that night.”

“…I think I’ll try to remember that from now on.”

“I know you will.”

The confident smile from Dreambender is not only a sign that he believes in his creator to stick to his word this time but a reminder that Aaron also has the family of imaginary creations residing within his mind to turn to if need be as well, a secondary support system that he and he alone has going for him if that feels more comfortable to him. They can be the medium through which he finally has hard conversations with himself about what he needs to do to truly move forward. Aaron’s eyes are shining with a mixture of relief and confidence that he can finally stop convincing himself that ignoring his past issues is easier than seeking long-overdue closure for them, and it is that thought that has him slowly leaving behind the nightmare that he’s been saved from as the dream demon gives him a second chance to try and properly clear his head on this night.

It’s at this point that Aaron finds his eyes slowly fluttering open, a yawn escaping his lips as he takes a moment to get his bearings. The decently hot weather for this time of the year brings everything to the forefront of his mind: the most recent Breakdown where he learned that instead of helping to finish things with The Wonderland and Sienna and everything associated with that fight, he would instead be fighting to earn an opportunity at the Adrenaline Championship, and with that came the reminder from both Peyton and Kelcey that seemed to click with the dream conversation he’d just had.

After everything he’d pushed aside to help them contend with the demons knocking at their doors, they wanted him to seize this opportunity to prove at long last that his time had finally arrived.

A slight shift beside him and the feeling of skin-on-skin contact fills in the rest of the blanks as he lets his eyes adjust to everything around him at this very moment. The Last Laugh pay-per-view is on the immediate horizon, and he’s not in Glendale alone. He knows that come Sunday night he’ll have Peyton rooting for him even as she puts her undivided attention on toppling a monster to claim championship gold for herself one again, he’ll have Owen and Kelcey supporting him even as they go to war with two individuals who have become so lost in their own insanity that they seek to destroy something that doesn’t even exist just to validate their conspiracies.

And when the sun finally rises in a few hours, he’ll be able to open up to the woman lying next to him that has vowed to be by his side until the very end no matter what, despite everything that has tried to separate them or erode their respective mental states in hopes of ruining their lives and the happiness they seek.

With that, he can’t help but lean over and gently kiss Liane’s soft lips before pulling her body close, enjoying the added warmth of her flesh against his to remind him as he allows sleep to claim him once more that there is no shame in having a support system to help you face the scars you’re afraid to acknowledge on your own because admitting to those around you that you need a shoulder to lean on will always be the better option than seeking self-destruction because you always wish to be strong for them.

Maybe, just maybe, the creative soul finally understands that message at long last and can allow himself to seek the mental and emotional healing he’s been subconsciously denying himself for far too long.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let’s weave a hypothetical web for a moment. Imagine that you’re in a position where no matter how hard you work or the obstacles you manage to overcome, even when no one believed you could do it, you can’t seem to grab hold of that proverbial brass ring that everyone around you seems to care about. You tried countless times, and in every single attempt, you’ve found yourself grasping at nothing but air and falling all the way back to the bottom to start again. It’s gotten to the point where whenever you fight your way to another opportunity to take that leap of faith, those who are fighting for that exact same thing gleefully bring up your past mistakes because they’re fixated on that being the only thing that defines you, regardless of whether or not you’ve beaten them or names that are beyond what they have proven capable of overcoming in the past.

Do you listen to their constant chatter that it’s a sign you’re just not good enough and walk away?

I call this a hypothetical scenario only because I already know how many of you would answer. Assuming you aren’t scoffing because the mere idea that you are, in fact, capable of failing like every other human being on the planet is laughable to you, you would answer with a resounding ‘NO’ because you either have the determination to keep pushing forward until you’ve finally found that success everyone keeps saying you’ll never get or, just as likely given some of the people I’m addressing, your pride will never allow you to admit that you actually fell short and have to fight your way back into the picture all over again.

It’s that latter class in particular that will always be the first to jump all over the idea that you can’t cut it because of every time you’ve failed before, and yet when you rightfully turn it back on them they can’t process it and will resort to any workaround they can think of on the fly in a desperate attempt to save face.

Welcome to the merry-go-round that I’ve been riding for far too long now.

Whenever my name comes up these days, it seems impossible to steer the conversation in any direction other than questioning either why I’m still here or how my name is on a list of people fighting for an opportunity regardless of how many oppose me or what it is we’re fighting for. Unsurprisingly, The Last Laugh is no exception, as I’ve heard a lot of chatter wondering what I did to have my name among the ten souls competing in a battle royal to decide who will try to end 2020 as Adrenaline Champion. Perhaps even less shocking is this belief being thrown around that the only reason I’m here is because Sasha is rewarding me for trying to do detective work because of a lunatic who is so far gone that I wouldn’t put it past him to crash this match and try to screw us all over just because it’s a point for him in his ‘neverending battle to rid the world of SCW.’

Did you ever consider that, just as Owen had an opportunity to potentially challenge for the interim World Title on this very same show, it might have something to do with the efforts he and I have shown over the course of the Tag League?

Of course not, because I’m sure many of you out there could care less about that whole thing because it’s a waste of your precious time compared to what you could be doing all on your own.

This is the hypocritical stigma that many seek to bind to my name because it makes them feel better about themselves. After all, it’s always easier to find something else to distract you as opposed to facing your own problems and shortcomings head-on. The more you can hide away in your castles of glass where only your own voice matters and you’re free to judge others while avoiding that same fate, the better the chances of you believing that you’ve already won this battle royal because of this reason or that excuse or whatever helps you sleep at night. And sadly, not even some competitors out there I respect have proven capable of ignoring the desire to question me on whether or not I actually belong here and if I’ll ever find the success they either desire and/or already possess.

Let’s go ahead and clear the air right now: aside from the TV Title reigns to my name, I have failed in every single championship opportunity I have scratched and clawed my way into. I have almost every single member of the SCW roster making it their favorite pastime of questioning my drive and whether or not I even have what it takes to keep going here. I’ve lost matches that I probably should have won, and I’ve been more than willing to set my own ambitions on the backburner for the sake of the people that mean something to me, both because it’s been the right thing to do in my own opinion and because what kind of friend would abandon someone whose back he promised to watch just because someone decided to dangle a carrot in front of them that seemed too tempting to resist?

I can stand here and say those things because unlike a lot of you, I’m strong enough to admit to my own shortcomings and failures.

And I’ve grown so damn tired of that being the default target all of you have to rely on because you can’t be more creative to actually give a damn about a foregone conclusion that’s anything but.

The sad truth of the matter is that many of you either don’t understand or are simply choosing not to. Do you think I’m fine with the facts that I’ve laid bare before you all? Do you think it’s easy for me to accept that for as much as I’ve put myself through hell and back each and every day all for the sake of trying to establish myself that I still have barely anything to show for it almost four full years after I first set foot in an SCW ring? And yet, here I am, still making that climb match by match no matter how many times I’m told it’d be easier to just give up. Yeah, maybe there’s some truth to that, just accept all my failures and walk away.

If Asher Hayes had walked away for that very same reason, would he be where he is today? Would Blake Mason have just quit when things got too tough because everyone always assumes they know exactly who he is because they say so and that’s it?

Go ahead, play to the cliche of calling me out for what I’ve already admitted to. For that matter, maybe some of you will actually grow a set and follow in my footsteps of admitting to your own failures for a change to try and prove a point of your own. I’m done just believing that my time is coming sooner or later… I’ve worked too damn hard to get this far, despite every sacrifice I’ve had to make along the way, to come up empty-handed once again. I don’t care who you are, I don’t care how highly you think of yourself, and I’m done caring about whatever hell I need to subject myself to in order to finally rip that brass ring from the string that’s been taunting me for far too long.

I’m walking into the final Breakdown of 2020 ready to not only fight, but defeat Glory Braddock to end this year as SCW Adrenaline Champion.

And I dare any of the nine of you standing against me, regardless of your standing with me, to try and keep me from making that happen.

[Jay Gold]

Episode 3: The Unexpected

[Simple77]

The Learning Curve, Chapter 4