Post by Jay Stevens on Mar 21, 2021 17:14:57 GMT -5
5am in the Windy City. The last few days have been unseasonably warm, melting away the beautiful snow and ice mask to reveal the grimy decay of Southside Chicago. There’s a dull hum at this time of the morning as the city wakes. The wind whips off of the water and howls through the streets and between the buildings.
Amongst that howl is the pounding of feet on pavement as Jay Stevens and Nicole Anderson make their daily five mile run to the gym. Stevens enjoys the fact that the run is one of the few times that Anderson is ever silent around him.
Arriving at the gym they are greeted by Jordan Neal, the third member of the Wrecking Crew.
Jordan Neal:
“What’s up guys? You hear we got some new blood coming in today?”
Nicole Anderson:
“Hell yeah, finally someone else for Davis to take his day out on.”
“Just for that you’ll get twice as much ‘love’, Anderson.”
The husky voice of head trainer Davis Avery startles the three as he approaches them from the shadows. He unlocks the door and motions for them to enter. Nicole saunters through, sheepishly smiling at the coach.
There’s no time to waste as Avery barks for the three to get changed and get in the ring for drills. An hour of forward rolls and Hindu squats follow, silencing even the loquacious “Kid Dynamite”. Finally the coach’s whistle blows and the three collapse to the mat.
Avery:
“Take five and then I want to see Jay and ‘Crusher’ square off, Anderson you can referee.”
Anderson:
“Hey, so Jordan gets to be ‘Crusher’ and you still won’t call me ‘Kid Dynamite’? What’s the deal, big guy?”
Avery:
“Because he is ‘Crusher’ Neal and you? You’re…”
Anderson:
“Spit it out.”
Avery:
“Loud.”
Before Nicole can continue, Davis blows the whistle again and hops off the ring apron, greeting one of the new students as they enter the building. Neal, Anderson and Stevens enjoy their brief respite, watching their coach greet a few more new faces. They can overhear his “you have to earn the right to step onto that mat” speech and share a knowing glance as they’ve heard it time and again.
Their time of rest is brief as Davis bellows “Time!” and the three jump to their feet. Nicole perches herself atop one of the turnbuckles and Stevens and Neal begin to circle before locking up. Stevens attempts to drop down into a fireman’s carry takeover only for Neal to smother the attempt and capture him in a rear waistlock.
“Work out of it!” Avery yells from across the room while laying out the expectations for the new trainees. Unfazed by the massive arms capturing him, Jay swims through and grabs onto one of Neal’s arms with a kimura wristlock. Stuck in a stalemate, Neal bullies Jay around the ring, driving him into the corner with force. Kid Dynamite emphatically implores him to try something different and let go, but Jay refuses to relinquish the hold.
Finally, Jordan Neal shrugs and positions his hips beneath Jay’s, lifting him up and over and dumping him violently on his head with a huge suplex. Avery starts blowing his whistle with gale force wind intensity, diving into the ring.
Avery:
“What the hell was that about?! We work safe in here!”
Neal, now on his knees next to his partner, shrugs again and casually explains.
Neal:
“He needs to learn to let go.”
Anderson pipes up from the corner with glee.
“Anderson:
“Metaphor!”
Her excitement is met with the glowing red glare of the head coach. He orders them all out of the ring. The three exit and head to Davis’ office in the back of the warehouse as he returns to the trainees and assures them of the code of safe conduct for the gym.
Jay is the first into the office, slumping himself down into one of the chairs. Neal and Anderson join him, Jordan sitting on the edge of the desk.
Neal:
“Sorry bro, but it had to be done. You keep sulking around here like someone died and that is just dragging us all down.”
Stevens:
“I’m not trying to man, I’m just reeling.”
Neal:
“Damn man, this still about Eron Hunter? Holding onto that ‘L’ isn’t going to keep you warm at night. Like I said out there, you need to learn to let go.”
Stevens:
“It’s not just that. Shit hasn’t been going to plan at all lately.”
Anderson wears a confused expression.
Anderson:
“Wait, there’s a plan? I seriously thought we were just winging it, to be honest. And for the record, things are going just fine for your girl here.”
She pats the face of the ever present Amazons Championship belt.
Stevens:
“Okay, let me rephrase, things haven’t been going to plan for me. I honestly had all the momentum in the world and one mistake just derailed me.”
Neal:
“You’re letting that happen to you. So you lost a match, you didn’t lose momentum until you let it beat you down. Suck it up and let’s get back at it. You have a chance to get the win back coming up and the only person in your way is you.”
Jay nods to his partner, acknowledging the truth of his words.
Stevens:
“You’re right, man, you’re right. I think we’ve just been running so fast and ignoring everything around us that when I hit that wall, I crashed hard. I thought winning the Cruiserweight Cup would make it all worth it. Bloodline, Ty, having to take a beating from Dane and his crew...”
Neal throws his hand up to stop him.
Neal:
“Yo, who ever said we had to take that?”
Stevens looks at Neal, his expression reading “Really?”
Neal:
“Hey, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not but we aren’t Team Danger. I know that’s your family and there’s history with y’all two and Dane and Walker and your dad and all that, but I didn’t get my Team Danger jacket in the mail and they sure as hell aren’t paying any of my bills.”
Stevens:
“I get that…”
Neal:
“Do you? Because you and Nicki up and left Florida, came to Chicago and even left the damn country to wrestle to get away from all that TeeDee baggage and you’re still letting it control you, even if you don’t mean to. I’m gonna tell you this right now, and I mean this, you need to squash whatever shit you have going on with your family or you need to just straight up let that shit go for good.”
Jay sits in silence, focused on the “tough love” message from Jordan. Stevens stands up and extends his hand, getting a firm handshake in return.
Stevens:
“Thanks for getting my head back on.”
Neal:
“It’s all love, man. The three of us are a fucking team and this is our time. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you get all in your feelings and fuck this up. Now get it together and start putting marks back in that win column.”
Stevens smiles as Anderson springs to her feet and throws her arms around both men, literally hanging from their shoulders.
Anderson:
“Does this mean the team of ‘Beautiful, Black and Mild’ is back in business?”
Both men look to her, disturbed.
Stevens:
“There’s just so much to say to you, but I’m just going to agree so maybe you’ll let go.”
Anderson:
“Oh, but I’ll never let you go, little grumpy goat.”
Anderson drops down then tackles both men with a hug, taking them off balance and sending them to the ground. Their laughter echoes from the office, which is almost immediately drowned out by the sound of the whistle.
Anderson’s smile disappears and her shoulders sink.
Stevens:
“Ooooh, you’re going to get it now.”
Stevens and Neal laugh as the second Kid Dynamite crosses the threshold, a booming voices bounces her name off the walls of the gym.
“ANDERSON!”
Amongst that howl is the pounding of feet on pavement as Jay Stevens and Nicole Anderson make their daily five mile run to the gym. Stevens enjoys the fact that the run is one of the few times that Anderson is ever silent around him.
Arriving at the gym they are greeted by Jordan Neal, the third member of the Wrecking Crew.
Jordan Neal:
“What’s up guys? You hear we got some new blood coming in today?”
Nicole Anderson:
“Hell yeah, finally someone else for Davis to take his day out on.”
“Just for that you’ll get twice as much ‘love’, Anderson.”
The husky voice of head trainer Davis Avery startles the three as he approaches them from the shadows. He unlocks the door and motions for them to enter. Nicole saunters through, sheepishly smiling at the coach.
There’s no time to waste as Avery barks for the three to get changed and get in the ring for drills. An hour of forward rolls and Hindu squats follow, silencing even the loquacious “Kid Dynamite”. Finally the coach’s whistle blows and the three collapse to the mat.
Avery:
“Take five and then I want to see Jay and ‘Crusher’ square off, Anderson you can referee.”
Anderson:
“Hey, so Jordan gets to be ‘Crusher’ and you still won’t call me ‘Kid Dynamite’? What’s the deal, big guy?”
Avery:
“Because he is ‘Crusher’ Neal and you? You’re…”
Anderson:
“Spit it out.”
Avery:
“Loud.”
Before Nicole can continue, Davis blows the whistle again and hops off the ring apron, greeting one of the new students as they enter the building. Neal, Anderson and Stevens enjoy their brief respite, watching their coach greet a few more new faces. They can overhear his “you have to earn the right to step onto that mat” speech and share a knowing glance as they’ve heard it time and again.
Their time of rest is brief as Davis bellows “Time!” and the three jump to their feet. Nicole perches herself atop one of the turnbuckles and Stevens and Neal begin to circle before locking up. Stevens attempts to drop down into a fireman’s carry takeover only for Neal to smother the attempt and capture him in a rear waistlock.
“Work out of it!” Avery yells from across the room while laying out the expectations for the new trainees. Unfazed by the massive arms capturing him, Jay swims through and grabs onto one of Neal’s arms with a kimura wristlock. Stuck in a stalemate, Neal bullies Jay around the ring, driving him into the corner with force. Kid Dynamite emphatically implores him to try something different and let go, but Jay refuses to relinquish the hold.
Finally, Jordan Neal shrugs and positions his hips beneath Jay’s, lifting him up and over and dumping him violently on his head with a huge suplex. Avery starts blowing his whistle with gale force wind intensity, diving into the ring.
Avery:
“What the hell was that about?! We work safe in here!”
Neal, now on his knees next to his partner, shrugs again and casually explains.
Neal:
“He needs to learn to let go.”
Anderson pipes up from the corner with glee.
“Anderson:
“Metaphor!”
Her excitement is met with the glowing red glare of the head coach. He orders them all out of the ring. The three exit and head to Davis’ office in the back of the warehouse as he returns to the trainees and assures them of the code of safe conduct for the gym.
Jay is the first into the office, slumping himself down into one of the chairs. Neal and Anderson join him, Jordan sitting on the edge of the desk.
Neal:
“Sorry bro, but it had to be done. You keep sulking around here like someone died and that is just dragging us all down.”
Stevens:
“I’m not trying to man, I’m just reeling.”
Neal:
“Damn man, this still about Eron Hunter? Holding onto that ‘L’ isn’t going to keep you warm at night. Like I said out there, you need to learn to let go.”
Stevens:
“It’s not just that. Shit hasn’t been going to plan at all lately.”
Anderson wears a confused expression.
Anderson:
“Wait, there’s a plan? I seriously thought we were just winging it, to be honest. And for the record, things are going just fine for your girl here.”
She pats the face of the ever present Amazons Championship belt.
Stevens:
“Okay, let me rephrase, things haven’t been going to plan for me. I honestly had all the momentum in the world and one mistake just derailed me.”
Neal:
“You’re letting that happen to you. So you lost a match, you didn’t lose momentum until you let it beat you down. Suck it up and let’s get back at it. You have a chance to get the win back coming up and the only person in your way is you.”
Jay nods to his partner, acknowledging the truth of his words.
Stevens:
“You’re right, man, you’re right. I think we’ve just been running so fast and ignoring everything around us that when I hit that wall, I crashed hard. I thought winning the Cruiserweight Cup would make it all worth it. Bloodline, Ty, having to take a beating from Dane and his crew...”
Neal throws his hand up to stop him.
Neal:
“Yo, who ever said we had to take that?”
Stevens looks at Neal, his expression reading “Really?”
Neal:
“Hey, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not but we aren’t Team Danger. I know that’s your family and there’s history with y’all two and Dane and Walker and your dad and all that, but I didn’t get my Team Danger jacket in the mail and they sure as hell aren’t paying any of my bills.”
Stevens:
“I get that…”
Neal:
“Do you? Because you and Nicki up and left Florida, came to Chicago and even left the damn country to wrestle to get away from all that TeeDee baggage and you’re still letting it control you, even if you don’t mean to. I’m gonna tell you this right now, and I mean this, you need to squash whatever shit you have going on with your family or you need to just straight up let that shit go for good.”
Jay sits in silence, focused on the “tough love” message from Jordan. Stevens stands up and extends his hand, getting a firm handshake in return.
Stevens:
“Thanks for getting my head back on.”
Neal:
“It’s all love, man. The three of us are a fucking team and this is our time. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you get all in your feelings and fuck this up. Now get it together and start putting marks back in that win column.”
Stevens smiles as Anderson springs to her feet and throws her arms around both men, literally hanging from their shoulders.
Anderson:
“Does this mean the team of ‘Beautiful, Black and Mild’ is back in business?”
Both men look to her, disturbed.
Stevens:
“There’s just so much to say to you, but I’m just going to agree so maybe you’ll let go.”
Anderson:
“Oh, but I’ll never let you go, little grumpy goat.”
Anderson drops down then tackles both men with a hug, taking them off balance and sending them to the ground. Their laughter echoes from the office, which is almost immediately drowned out by the sound of the whistle.
Anderson’s smile disappears and her shoulders sink.
Stevens:
“Ooooh, you’re going to get it now.”
Stevens and Neal laugh as the second Kid Dynamite crosses the threshold, a booming voices bounces her name off the walls of the gym.
“ANDERSON!”