The Agony of Defeat

[Jackson Grace]

We open with Jackson grace sitting on his sofa, slumped down watching the recording of his match at Xtraction: Firewall. The epic 10 man tag match that in the end saw AXW gain a 49% stake in the FWA. He keeps rewinding the match to the point Price hits both him and Andrews with the Price Crash. Vanessa walks in and sighs, dropping down onto the sofa besides Jackson, laying her head on his shoulder.

Baby are you still watching this? It's been four hours since you got home and you've done not much else than throw your gear in the wash and re-watch this over and over!

I thought we had it, you know...It was me and Andrews on one side of the ring and Price all alone on the other. I don't see where we went wrong...

Well why not take it to your coach? See if he can pinpoint it? Surely it helps having an expert casting an eye over it?

No...If I can't work this out without his help, I don't think I deserve to be making a living doing this. Maybe this isn't for me...

Jackson Grace, pack it in! Reviews have said you've taken to this sport more naturally than most men your age could. You are the only singles Champion in FWA and you should be damn proud of that fact!

If I'm such a great Champ...why did I manage to squander a two vs one advantage and help cost us the damn match then?!

People lose, honey! It happens! Sure, you want to be the man...You wanted to be undefeated...I checked the FWA match records...You know that won't count towards it with it being a neutral event, right?

I know it won't...I just can't get it out of my head...Not only did we lose the match, we lost Mr Kosloff nearly half of the company he worked so hard to build. I'm ashamed and I hate to think what he will do next. I haven't had any issues with him yet, but I hear he's not exactly kind to those that cross him.

Worry about that in a few weeks! You don't have to hit Moscow now until just after Christmas. Can't we enjoy the family time?

Hold on! Look at that!

Jackson pulls the match back a few seconds and pauses it as he's coming back off the ropes. He skips one or two frames before stopping.

There! See it?

See what?

Here! Watch my eyes and look closely!

Jackson skips it back one or two frames again and takes Vanessa through the frames. It doesn't do much to clear her confusion, but she humours him.

See it? I looked away. I took my eyes off my opponent. You do that for a second and you're toast! That's exactly what I've been looking for!

Now what?

Now I just learned a lesson! Now I make sure I don't do that in my next outing! Maybe one day we get a chance to win that company share back and next time I'll be ready!

That's better! Hey, the plus side is I'm sure now AXW have to pay almost half of your wages, right?

You know, I never thought of it like that! V won't like picking up half of my contract now I'm Champ, for sure!

Speaking of which...That needs defending again at the next show. Who's it going to be against?

Some guy they call Punk. He had a shaky start here in FWA, but he managed to come up trumps to get a shot at me. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure which Punk to expect, but I need to prepare myself to face the Punk that won the other week.

Punk, huh? Is he the Skateboarder?

That's the one. Wearing his trousers all low and a backwards cap. What is it with kids these days and trying to look foolish? Man, pull your trousers up! You're a grown man! If they don't fit either get a belt or buy some that do! Maybe stop throwing your clothes into the crowd and buy something that's more...suited to a man of your age!

Alright old man, McGee! What was it like when the world was in black and white?

Jackson playfully pushes Vanessa away. She giggles and sees the glint in his eye returning. She hated not being able to be there for him when he was down, but she's glad to see even a glimmer of her Husband back. Jackson heads into the Kitchen to make a drink as Vanessa quickly grabs the remote, switching the TV over...

I don't care what it is....Just something other than this!

What's that?

Nothing baby!

The scene fades to black as Vanessa settles down on the sofa, pulling a blanket off the back and over her. Her man is back....At least for now.