One More Chance

It’s Trios time yet again and I can’t help but think about last year.  Sienna Swann and I had a bond, we were almost like kindred spirits in a way, due to our careers being threatened because of neck injuries.  I knew what she had gone through, she knew what I had gone through.  We wanted to win for one another and despite Lexi Von Aaron’s eccentricities, we knew that we had what it took to get the job done.  We knew we could go all the way.  I even had an idea of what I wanted to use my Trios on: a world title shot.

Yeah, ok, it’s lame and unoriginal, I know; but in my fifteen plus year career I have only held two world titles.  I was itching for another opportunity, one last chance at one final run.  One last chance to prove those two world titles weren’t flukes, that I was a legitimate main event player; that I was in my sister’s league.

Funny thing about hopes and dreams is that they all too often get dashed.  My hopes of a Trios Contract and maybe a world title shot were dashed.  But not just my hopes, Sienna’s and Lexi’s as well.

Not that I care much for Lexi, but she’s another story for another time.

I did feel responsible for the loss.  Right or wrong, fair or unfair, I couldn’t help but place most of the blame for that loss on my own shoulders.  For fifteen years I’ve been competing!  For fifteen years I have busted my ass and honed my skills and I should have been able to get the job done for my team!  But we didn’t get the job done.  I felt like a failure.

Now I’m not worrying myself over what to do with the Trios Contract.  At least not right now.  I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.  I’m glad I have an opportunity to right a wrong.  I have an opportunity to turn back the clock and rewrite history.  Only this time we’re not getting knocked out early.

We’re going all the way.

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Scene 1

Off Camera

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It was a terrible day; a day of mourning and sorrow for the entire Jones-Snow Household.  There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Many tears were shed on this volatile day of tribulation.

Or to put it in laymen’s terms, The New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Kayla Jones, as per the norm, threw a major fit.

She looks quite peaceful now as she sleeps soundly in her first class seat next to her husband Trenton Snow.  Wearing denim jeans, black boots, and a Tom Brady autographed jersey, Kayla is the picture of peace and solitude.  It’s amazing to think that this beautiful creature has the potential to have so much stored up energy to be a real firecracker when she’s awake.  And that’s on a good day.  Today was not a good day for Kayla.  Her beloved Patriots lost and she has a difficult time dealing with her team losing.

For Kayla’s sake, and partially in a selfish way, for his own patience, Trenton secretly hopes that his loving (and long-suffering) wife will sleep through the whole flight back to Massachusetts.  Or at least most of the flight.  The last thing the youngest member of The Sisterhood needs to worry about right now is one stupid football game.  Not when there are bigger prizes over the horizon, a prize that, for her, is bigger than any Lombardi Trophy.

The Trios Tournament is on February 18^th and once again Kayla Jones was selected to participate.  Once again Kayla Jones was selected to team with Sienna Swann.  That makes two years in a row these athletes were on the same side in a Trios Tournament.  Last year they came up short of pulling off the victory.  Then they had Lexi Von Aaron as a partner, who you could argue was potentially a little distracted with an AJ Helms obsession.  This year they have a very green rookie but a rookie with a lot of pedigree, being that he comes from the Cruze Dynasty.

Sienna, Kayla, and Owen could very well get the job done.  They could earn those Trios Contracts.  And while Kayla doesn’t care really what Owen or Sienna will do with theirs, Kayla has thought long and hard about what she will do with hers.  But it doesn’t matter, and it won’t matter, if they cannot first win the tournament itself.

Trenton knows how badly Kayla wants this.  It’s something she has constantly brought up over the course of the year since last Trios.  She wants redemption.  But redemption can come later.  Sleep right now.

“mmmm….” Kayla groans ever so lightly.  Her eyes flutter as she turns to look over at her husband Trenton, who smiles warmly at her. “How long did I sleep?”

“Not long.  Maybe about half an hour.”

“Did The Patriots win?”

“No…” Trenton says with a disappointed sigh “…still didn’t win, Kay.”

“DAMN IT!” Kayla exclaims, drawing a few curious gazes from other passengers. “I was hoping that I’d wake up and it’d all be a nightmare!”

“You said that the last two times you woke up.” Trenton says with a light chuckle.

“Oh hush!” Kayla retorts, turning her head away from her husband.

“Sorry, babe, but this year just wasn’t their year.  There’s always next year.  Tom Terrific is signed for another year, right?”

“At least one more year.” Kayla says, nodding her head. “But football is a full contact sport, you know that.  How many more years, how many more Super Bowls, will they have?”

“Really?” Trenton says with a frown. “These are the Patriots we’re talking about.”

“Yeah, they are the Patriots, but they are also still human beings.  They have their limitations.  And I don’t mean just Tom Brady.  Everyone, down to the place kicker, they all have limitations.  They won’t last forever because a football player’s career is shorter than most careers.  If you lose you can’t help but ask yourself will you ever make it back; you know?”

“It sounds like you have experienced a little bit of this before.” Trenton states with an arched brow.

“It’s the story of my life.” Kayla says with a disappointed sigh.  She then holds up two fingers. “I’ve held two world championships in my fifteen year career.  TWICE in my career I have been at the top of the wrestling mountain.”

“Most never get there.” Trenton answers back. “You should be proud.”

“And I am, but I know I can get back there.  But I have to create my opportunities.  Rarely will opportunities fall into my lap.  Take Trios for instance…”

“Here we go…” Trenton rolls his eyes.

“Listen!” Kayla snaps back, silencing her husband. “Trios is a random drawing.  I was lucky to get to participate in Trios last year and I had every intention of making the most of my opportunity but I failed.  I let down Sienna Swann and the other one…”

“Lexi Von Aaron.” Trenton chuckles.

“Yeah, her.  I just so happened to get lucky enough to be drawn for Trios AGAIN…and shockingly enough with Sienna Swann AGAIN!  This is my chance at redemption, Trenton.  This is my chance to make it up to Sienna for last year.  This is my chance to finally win Trios and maybe, just maybe, use it to get back to the top.  But if I lose?” Kayla shrugs her shoulders. “Who knows?  I may never get another shot at Trios.  Hell, who knows if I’ll get another shot ever again.  Fifteen years is a long time, Trenton.  It’s even longer when you have had a broken neck.”

“Don’t talk like that, Kay.” Trenton guides her head back around so that they are looking at one another.  Tears are already forming in Kayla’s eyes and rolling down her cheeks.  Trenton then kisses her on her lips. “You still have a lot to give to this business, Kay.”

“Do I?” Kayla sighs, reaching up to wipe tears out of her eyes. “I wish I could believe that but…but…”

She shakes her head “…my career is nearly over, Trenton.  I have to accept that.  I have twin children to raise.  If I keep this wrestling up, if I don’t know when to quit, I may end up breaking my neck again only this time I’ll be paralyzed from the neck down.  I don’t want to end up that way.  I want to be able to play with my kids, with Paige and Duncan.”  She sighs deeply. “If I don’t start spending time with my children soon, my children may not want to be with me.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself.” Trenton runs a hand through her long, silky soft red hair. “You are a wonderful mother.”

“Am I?  I compete for Supreme Championship Wrestling and Global Championship Wrestling, while at the same time being the head of my own managerial agency.”

“You’re handling it all just fine.” Trenton says with a slight scoff in his voice. “I mean, doesn’t Oliver Hardy manage the agency for you?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that Andreas, my children’s father, spends more time with them than I do.  A lot more time.  That alone should tell you that I’m not doing my job.” Kayla shakes her head. “So no, Trenton, I don’t have a lot left to give.  I need to make my move here and now.  This Trios Tournament may very well be my last chance.”

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Scene 2

Off Camera

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It’s been a few days since the Super Bowl.  Kayla Jones has gotten over her New England Patriots losing to the Philadelphia Eagles (or so she claims) and has moved on to more important matters at hand; specifically, the upcoming Trios Tournament.   Kayla realizes that she will have to be at her very best in order to get the job done, to lead her team of Sienna Swann and Owen Cruze to victory and earn Trios Contracts.  That’s what brings her to this place, a place that is all too familiar for an athlete like her; alone in a gym on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts.  She is training by herself, decked out in red adidas pants, white sneakers, and a plain white t-shirt.  Her long red hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back.

Ok, so that may be slightly untrue.  The redheaded Boston native isn’t completely alone.  Her five year old daughter, Paige Shawna Lasiewicz is there with her.   Kayla wants to spend more time with her children and she is using this singular opportunity to do just that.  Her son, Duncan, can’t be here today, but her daughter is here and Kayla was hoping that little Paige would learn a thing or two about the “family business” if you will.

Alas, the child is playing on her iPhone and clearly isn’t paying attention to the intense moments that is her mother, the woman with the educated feet Kayla Jones, striking hard and fast at the heavy bag dangling from above.

This year’s Trios is just as much about her children as it is about her.  Kayla is at the point in her career where she realizes that her time is running out.  She can’t keep up this pace that she is currently going.  She wants to make one final push to do something really great and to have her name etched into SCW’s history books.  More importantly, she wants to spend time with her children, and maybe make her children proud of her.

It’s difficult, though, when her daughter isn’t even paying attention.

After driving her foot into the heavy bag with several more roundhouse kicks in a row, the redhead stops her exercises, turns around to face her daughter, and places her hands upon her hips.  She tilts her head to one side and frowns as she stares incredulously at her daughter.

“Paige?”

“Huh?” The child looks up at her mother and smiles. “Oh, hi mommy…you done?”

“No, I’m not done.” Kayla sighs and motions to her daughter’s iPhone. “Are you enjoying your game?”

“No game, mommy.  Just talking to Duncan.”

“Talking to Duncan?” Kayla asks curiously, tilting her head to one side.

“Text messages!  Silly mommy!”

“Right, silly mommy…” Kayla shakes her head as she walks over to her daughter and pats her on the head “…you know, I never had a phone like that when I was your age.  You should be thankful.”

“Oh I am!  I love the phone!”

“I can tell, but aren’t you interested in what mommy does?”

“I know what you do, mommy.” The child says with a big grin on her face. “I see daddy and Aunt Mags do it all the time!”

“Right…”

Kayla Jones sighs with a sense of disappointment in her voice.  Paige, as well as her brother Duncan, truly do know a good bit about wrestling already, but that’s from following their father Andreas and his sister Magdalena.  Most of their knowledge comes from their father’s family, not from Kayla’s, not from the famous Jones family, and Kayla can’t help but blame herself due to her absence from her children’s life.

She walks back over to the heavy bag and starts laying into it with lefts and rights, both kicks and punches.  She unleashes her agitation and angst upon the bag.  It’s the best thing she can think of to do right now.  She’s so focused that she doesn’t even hear the door to this gym opening…

“Easy there, tiger.”

Kayla is startled at first.  Paige barely even twitches, but as Kayla turns her attention away from the bag and towards the door, spotting her older sister Angelica there in the doorway, Paige also perks up and drops her phone, running over to visit Angelica with a big hug.

“Auntie Angelica!”

“Hi there, sweetie.” Angelica says with a smile on her face. “Are you keeping your mother company?”

“Uh-huh.  She’s beating up a bag!”

Kayla rolls her eyes.  Even her own sister seems to rate higher than her.  Angelica just chuckles and looks up at Kayla.

“Beating up a bag, sis?”

“Preparing for Trios.”

Right, well you can ease up, I think.” Angelica remarks. “You do have a pretty good team.  Sienna Swann is amazingly talented.  And Owen Cruze may be a young rookie but he’s got the pedigree that’ll make him great.  You guys should win.”

“Should win…we SHOULD have won last year but didn’t.” She shakes her head. “I’m taking no chances this time.  This time, we’re going to win and I will hold up my end of the bargain.”

Angelica frowns, furrowing her brow curiously.  She looks down at her niece Paige and kisses her on the head. “Why don’t you give your mommy and me some private time to talk, ok?”

“Sure, Auntie Angelica!” Paige skips off happily, stopping by the pick up her iPhone first.  Once she out of earshot Angelica storms over to Kayla and folds her arms over her chest.

“What’s wrong, Kay?”

“My time is up, Angelica.” Kayla admits sadly. “I’ve known it since Sunday.”

“Oh stop that!” Angelica exclaims. “Don’t go telling me that the Patriots losing has gotten to you this damn much!”

“I’m being serious!” Kayla insists. “I’ve been at this game for over fifteen years now, Angelica.  I’ve lost years off of my life because of this sport.  Broke my neck once because of this sport.  And I recognized what I’ve already lost…time away from my family, time away from you and my children…and for what?  A few titles?”

“I guess it’s something we all have to think about someday, but…”

“No buts, Angel.” Kayla shakes her head as she interrupts her sister. “I mean it, I’m making one final push to do something great, and maybe Trios is that final push.  That’s why I’m not accepting anything less than victory.”

Angelica stares at her sister for what seems like an eternity before breaking the silence.

“You’re serious then, aren’t you?”

“As serious as a heartbeat.”

“Then just do me one favor.”

“What’s that?”

Angelica smirks. “Kick their teeth down their throat.”

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On Camera

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Opportunities to reach up and grab that brass ring, opportunities to win the big one do not come very often in this sport of professional wrestling.  There are some who get those opportunities but just can’t seem to win the big one and still others who never get the opportunity at all.  I guess that’s what makes the annual Trios Tournament so special.  It isn’t just the matter of the randomly assigned teams, although seeing sworn enemies on the same side is fun, as is seeing dream teams that you never get a chance to see on the same side otherwise is also fun…oh no, the real reason Trios is so special is because even if you do despise and detest your partners, you will work with them for one night only, because you realize that if you manage to pull off a miraculous upset win in this single elimination tournament, you will be in the driver’s seat; you will have the opportunity of a lifetime…

…an opportunity to book any match you see fit.

Just look at what Trios did for the winners last year.  Gable Winchester used his to become Adrenaline Champion.

Ace Marshall used his to put the Adrenaline Championship on the line in the End of the Year Battle Royal, giving himself and so many others an opportunity.

Then there’s quite possibly the biggest cash-in of them all; Jake Starr using his to run the championship gauntlet, along the way winning the tag team titles and the world title all in one night.

You can do so much with a Trios Tournament win.  Your career in Supreme Championship Wrestling can turn on a dime, you can take off like a rocket to the moon just by winning this tournament.

But therein lies the catch.  You have to win.  Those who lose, those who come up short, don’t get anything and are forgotten.  It’s very much like the Super Bowl in the NFL.  You only remember the Super Bowl winner, not the loser.  And Trios is like the Super Bowl in many other ways.  The Super Bowl, like Trios, just comes along once a year.  You have only one opportunity per year to win that tournament…and that’s IF you get selected to participate…I’ve been lucky enough to be selected twice now.  And if you lose a Trios Tournament, much like with the Super Bowl, you have to wait an entire year to try to get back to that spot and win it again.

And pro-football, like pro-wrestling, they’re both contact sports.  With the potential for injury, and the amount of competition we’re up against there’s never a guarantee you will make it back.  If you make it into Trios, you should count yourself lucky.  You should bust your ass to try and win because you may never get another opportunity at Trios.

I have been pretty damn lucky to get two opportunities.  One I squandered. I have another shot now.  Will I squander it?  Hopefully not.

I know how serious of a matter this is.  I know probably better than anyone else because, for starters, I’ve had injuries.  My first and most serious neck injury was the wake up call.  My first few moments of coherence after the neck injury had me wondering if I would even walk again let alone compete in a squared circle.

Secondly, I have been wrestling for over fifteen years now.  That’s ancient for professional athletes.  I often times find myself wondering just how much gas I have left in the tank?  How much time do I have left to devote to professional wrestling?  How much do I have left to give to the SCW universe?

I want to spend time with my children…my twins, Paige and Duncan…but time on the road has made it nearly impossible to spend as much time as I’d like.  To put it bluntly, I know my time in this sport is drawing to a close.  It may end this year, it may end next year or the year after that, but soon it will end.  And I know that I won’t have many more opportunities like this one.

How many more times will I get selected for Trios?  And look at my last team compared to this one.  Sienna Swann has been on both.  And Lexi may be insane and Owen may be new, but Lexi is damn good and Owen has it in his blood.  You’re not going to get as lucky as I’ve been to get two great teams like this.

My luck will run out, my time will run out eventually.  How much time is left for a fifteen year veteran like myself?

Let’s take a trip back in time to February of 2017, last year’s Trios Tournament; I was teamed with Sienna Swann and Lexi Von Aaron.  We had a game plan, we had a strategy, and we knew that we would make it all the way.  We knew that we would go the distance.   It certainly started off well enough when I managed to superkick Manvel’s head off, subsequently pinning him as we advanced past him, Tommy Valentine, and Tyler Tucker to make it to the semi-finals.

Unfortunately that’s where our journey came to an end.  We got beat by Syren, Bree Lancaster, and Merrick Wiseman.  Granted, Lexi Von Aaron took the fall and the old saying is that you win as a team and lose as a team but I can’t help but blame myself for that loss.  I cannot help but ask myself if I had prepared more, if I had worked out and trained more, would things have turned out differently for us?

That’s not going to happen this year!

It isn’t going to happen this year because I want this Trios Contract now more than ever and more than anyone else selected for this opportunity.  Helena Merriman is still new, still young, and still has a lot left to give.  Amy has been with us a while but even she still has many years left on the clock whereas I’m not guaranteed that.  And even though I could care less about Ravyn Taylor, she also has plenty of time to add more to her illustrious career.

I’m not guaranteed that extra time, so I NEED this opportunity more than them!

I won’t waste anyone’s time by going down the list of each and every athlete entering this tournament, but the fact is that they know if they’re young, they’ll have plenty of opportunities ahead of them in what will hopefully be a long career.  And if they’re veterans, then they’ll know that they’ve had plenty of opportunities already and they’ll get plenty more where that came from.

I’m not guaranteed any of that and that’s a fact.  I have to make my opportunities and The Trios Tournament is my opportunity.  It’s the same opportunity that a young kid like Owen Cruze has, an opportunity of a lifetime to make the world remember him forever not for being the son of someone else but for being himself…for being the first Owen Cruze.

This is an opportunity for an excellent athlete in Sienna Swann to prove that she is worthy of world title contention.  She just hasn’t had the opportunities handed to her.  But with Trios she can create her own opportunity and take that next step to a world championship.

And me?  What can I do with this Trios Contract?

The Trios Tournament itself would prove to the world, and more specifically myself, that I am one of the best ever, that I am far from being Angelica’s sidekick in The Sisterhood.

No offense intended to Angelica.

And maybe, just maybe, I could use that Trios Contract to reach up and grab that brass ring I spoke of earlier?  It’s cheesy, it’s corny, and many of you would call it an unoriginal use of a Trios Contract.  But I don’t really care.  I think using it for a world title shot is an excellent idea.  Do you know how many world championships I’ve won in my fifteen year career?

Two.

Do you know how many times I got to challenge for a world championship in my career?

Two.

On the one hand I could spin that pretty damn good by saying I’ve won every one on one match where I challenged for the world title.  But dig a little deeper and you realize that I’ve only received two one on one opportunities at the world championship.

It’s sad.  And the truth is, I deserve it.

Sienna, Owen, and I all want this.  We want it badly.  And I really want it.  I want it so bad that I can taste it.  And the three of us, we’re going to make our own opportunities by mowing through the competition in the Trios Tournament.

I think that about wraps things up here…except I think I’m forgetting something important…

…oh yeah!

Sienna, Owen, and I are going to kick their teeth right down their throat!