Homecoming Game

[Anthony Jordan]

Original work here


INT. ROOM IN THE GOLDEN NUGGET CASINO IN LAS VEGAS – DAY

KALMIN WATTS is sitting in a chair looking out the window. He could be lost in thought. It will be difficult to tell. His left knee is propped up on an ottoman and heavily iced. The room is modest, at best. It’s not the Sands or the palatial casino that is the Turning Stone Casino in Syracuse, but it works for what it is. Keeping a 24 year-old like Watts off the Strip was probably the right move. It might have been overkill given the damage to his knee from Eddie Havok. ANTHONY JORDAN enters from the adjoining room. The noise shakes Watts out of his daze.

WATTS

For a man who complained at the costs of staying on the Strip, you jumped at different rooms.

JORDAN

Two bachelors sharing a room? People would talk. (beat) Besides, neither one of us has been good company lately.

WATTS

I agree with that.

JORDAN

(offended) Back at you.

WATTS

At least you can walk.

JORDAN

You will, too. The M.R.I came back negative. The ice and antiinflammatories are working well on the swelling. I think you will be able to wrestle at the Hardkore World show. This injury does not change our approach. You needed to ground Little Dragon, so a mat-based match will help with your leg.

WATTS

I just hope I can apply the Sooner Squeeze. It wasn’t easy at New Year’s Brawl after the injury.

JORDAN

It could have gone the other way a couple of times.

WATTS

There’s no column in the record book for “close”.

JORDAN

(dejected) No…

WATTS

It’s hard to get my motor going after doing so much. In football, we would come together after a loss. In wrestling, it’s just you. I never appreciated how difficult it would be to handle defeat. Amateur wrestling was nothing like this.

JORDAN

You have to salvage what good you can find, even if you are the only one who can see it.

WATTS

Can you think of any?

JORDAN

No one pays attention to us. A lot of people would pay a lot of money to be this level of invisible. (chuckles then turns to disgust) We could walk on water, and the ghouls at the top still would fail to remember our names.

WATTS

(sardonically) That certainly sounds optimistic.

JORDAN

You played college football, so you understand. Winning and losing is part of the equation, but your brand is part of it, too. There is a reason the S.E.C. wants Oklahoma. You can lose and still be treated as prominent, if you are big time. We…are not. (exhales) This is a new feeling for me in my career, and I do not like it.

WATTS

I took a former champion to the brink! Billy’s Fowler most recent loss came against Eddie Havok. That has to mean something.

JORDAN

The magnum opus of your career was second on the card. Your pain and perseverance was on display as fans were still finding their seats. No one is going to blame Havok for that. They are going to say that you drug him down. You got the “stink” on you, and you gave it to him. That is the narrative.

WATTS

Am I scheduled for Legacy #11?

JORDAN

You are penciled in as cannon fodder for the new British Television Champion. (looks up and salutes) All hail the B.B.C.!

WATTS

So I’m his homecoming game?

JORDAN

That is their plan.

WATTS

(thinking for a second) Wait, isn’t the British TV Champion Oxford Osland?

JORDAN

Yeah. The “OH” guy.

WATTS

Oh. (looks up in thought before snapping back to reality) Didn’t he get his brains bashed in against Spike Kane?

JORDAN

He took a bit of damage. Did you see him after the show? He was not well.

WATTS

(disgusted) Yeah, I remember. It reminded me of Tua Tagovailoa. After watching Damar Hamlin on Monday Night Football, it’s hard to believe WUK let him finish the match or even leave the arena.

JORDAN

Maybe that makes him easy pickings.

WATTS

(shakes head) No, I don’t want that. It feels wrong. You need to contact his people and see if they want to postpone the match. I want to know he’s ready for the match.

JORDAN

I can do that. If they can catch Osland with their butterfly nets, maybe they can test him and verify if he is well. I will notify W:U.K. of the official petition to postpone, if Osland cannot pass the various concussion tests. (starts heading back to his room, then stops) You know if you drop out of the match, everyone will say you are ducking Osland. Your record is one win, three losses, and two draws. They will say you are running from another loss. There is also the fact that your one win was from a preliminary guy who never made the roster.

WATTS

I don’t care about the optics. I want to do the right thing.

JORDAN

I will start the process. I just wanted to inform you of all the options. (beat) And if Osland is well?

WATTS

Then I’ll wrestle him. It’s a British TV Title shot, after all.

JORDAN

Actually, it is a match for a future British Television Title shot. The belt is not on the line.

WATTS

So I have to beat him to get a match where I have to beat him again for the belt?

JORDAN

Yes.

WATTS

TV titles were defended on every TV show because, you know, “TV Title”.

JORDAN

I do not think the W:U.K. brass are strict historians.

WATTS

If Osland is well, then I will beat him twice. If I can beat him once, then I can again.

JORDAN

Given his mental state, you could trade some magic beans for the belt.

WATTS

(glares at Jordan)

JORDAN

Well, you could!