Los Angeles, California
…Several Weeks Earlier
If wrestling fans were asked to fill out a survey on which characteristics truly denifed the self-styles Gobshite Of Professional Wrestling, Mr. Ryan Watson… cockiness, arrogance and loud-mouthed would probably be at the head of that list, and for very good reason. Ryan Watson was brash, sure of himself and even conceited even before he ever arrived in the United States and onto the pro-wrestling scene there, having made a name for himself in his native United Kingdom and their independent scene for a couple of years before making the leap to the big leages, and for one very simple reason: Ryan Watson never imagined that things wouldn’t ultimately turn out alright for him in the end. Oh, sure, things may be difficult at times, that’s only natural. With Watson, he was absolutely convinced that things, while they may go pear shaped from time to time and while he may end up holding the shittier end of the stick on occasion, in the grand scheme of things he’d be there or thereabouts when the hammer fell. Some people could possibly say it was even a positive character trait, that the power of positivity is infectious and if you believed things would work out in the end then chances are they probably would… of course, that’s complete bollocks, but it takes different strokes and all that. Essentially, Ryan Watson was just a cocky son of a bitch who figured things would go his way eventually and said ‘fuck it’ along the way.
His entire career had been built on that model; of course, his earliest days in SCW had been moved along much quicker than they may have done normally, fast-tracked thanks to his connection to those he surrounded himself with. Chiefly the members of the group known as Infamous, power players in the company already when he signed his own meagre contract… but cream rises and Ryan was under no doubt as to whether he would have still made it as far as he did regardless of his association with The Infamous… even if it was Lucas Knight who opened the door wide enough him to stick his foot in the gap! Of course, life wasn’t by any stretch of the imagination anything close to perfect for the Pride of South Yorkshire over the course of his career; spending almost nine months on the side lines after blowing out his knee was a particularly bad time, and his return to Supreme Championship Wrestling afterwards wasn’t exactly all that great either, given his stupid idea of trying to play the nice guy instead of the raging cunt that all and sundry knew him to be…
His failed marriage to Kennedy Street was another one of those crowning jewels in the history of huge mistakes made by Ryan Watson too, as was the spectacular fashion in which he fucked up his relationship with Autumn Valentine before that. In fact, none of his relationships had been all that successful since he arrived in the US, but again Ryan was ever the optimist. It wasn’t as if he was making the same mistakes every time, if anything he was more than adept at finding new and exciting ways of screwing things up and he probably deserved some sort of medal for that!
And okay, so maybe his career had taken another one of those little downturns over the past couple of years… but could he really be blamed for that? It wasn’t as if he planned for the Independent Wrestling Cartel to go on a hiatus shortly after he had signed with them, was it? It wasn’t as if he’d asked for the company to close its doors right after his second match… I mean, who needs a regular paycheque? Clearly not him, if you assumed he was pleased that the IWC had gone tits up right after he signed! But he got by. He made decent money over the course of his time with SCW and he’d put some of that aside and picked up jobs here and there which paid the bells and let him live comfortable. He outright owned his home, so he had no rent to pay, things could have been much worse for the ‘Gobshite’ they really could… he just wasn’t sure how until getting a certain letter than went a good way towards explaining how that could be the case! And his career… that was the crux of the issue, the catalyst… or perhaps his lack of a career was, depending on your view. Ryan Watson, despite having varying levels of success in a couple of different companies within the industry since he arrived on the scene in the states, had struggled since IWC closed its doors and had found work where he could get it, working as a personal trainer in gyms here and there, helping wrestlers train where he could get the work. The problem was that most of what he did was cash in the hand payment, it wasn’t above board in the same way most jobs were and while he declared the money and did pay his taxes, the little he owed from what he was making anyway… but he hadn’t realised just how problematic that was in terms of his actual legal status in the country. Not until he got the letter from the state department and found himself sat in a waiting room watching the seconds fall off the clock as he waited for his appointment with some government arsehole that got to decide if he stayed in the country!
His phone snapped him out of his funk, doing a jig inside of the pocket of his jeans and he shuffled around in his seat as music blurted out from his pocket, the other people in the room glaring at him as he struggled to pull his phone out before he finally managed to silence the thing by answering the call. “Heard owt yet, dickhead?” the voice of Thomas Watson sounded out through the phone’s speaker, though the silence in the waiting area was so deafening in its self that everyone else in the room could hear it rather than just the intended callee and Ryan stood up before heading out into the hallway where he could speak without being overheard. “‘ello? Anyone there?” Thomas said again, as Ryan made his way out of the waiting room. “Stupid piece of shit fuckin’ phone; we can send a bloke into space but we can’t get a fuckin’ signal in the valley, for fuck sake,” he complained as the door to the waiting room swung shut behind Ryan and he finally found himself out of the all judging eyes of the other people waiting for appointments.
“Calm ya tits knobhead, am ‘ere…” he replied, the phone pressed to his ear as he leant against the wall. “Appointment ain’t for another ten minutes yet, ya knob… why would I ‘ave ‘eard owt yet?”
“Alright, a were only askin’,” Thomas replied as Ryan shook his head. “Last a checked, am not your personal bloody assistant; ya lucky that I even remembered that ya were there in the first place, a normally switch off when ya start flappin’ them gums…”
“Ave I told ya how much a value our relationship recently, cuz?” Ryan asked, rolling his eyes before sighing. “So did ya actually want somethin’ or are ya just callin’ to give me an ‘ard time, eh?” he asked as he straightened up and peered through the glass door to the waiting room to make sure he wasn’t missing his name being called. “’cause no offence mate, but this is kind of an important meetin’ am waitin’ on an’ the last thing a should be doin’ right now is chattin’ wi’ your ugly mug…”
“Someone’s grouchy today,” Thomas said with a laugh and Ryan, while not really in the mood, smirked a little himself as he cousin continued to talk. “Alright, so maybe a do actually listen to ya from time to time, an’ a wanted to check ya weren’t losin’ ya shit over this… remember sunshine, just stay calm an’ try an’ not trip over ya words or owt an’ you’ll have ya papers renewed in no time…”
“We’ll see mate,” Ryan said; he wasn’t as confident as Thomas clearly was, something told him that this wasn’t going to be as cut and dry as his cousin assumed it would be. In truth, he was nervous, though he didn’t particularly want to share those feelings with Thomas at that moment in time. “Listen, I should…”
“Yeah, yeah, get ya sen back in there flower,” Thomas answered, understanding. “We’ll grab a beer afterward, so I can laugh at how paranoid ya were bein’… al even buy the first round, how’s that?”
Under normal circumstances, Ryan would have been gobsmacked at his cousin offering to buy the beers, but with everything on his mind, it barely registered. “Sound’s good mate… al call ya later, yeah?” he said, ending the call before even giving Thomas a chance to even respond; his nerves were growing as he walked back into the waiting room, not just because the letter he’d received made him so nervous but because he looked around the room and saw so many people that Trump supporters would probably love to remove from the country… and that made him nervous because it wasn’t as if he was the right stereotype but if he was surrounded by the kinds of people that a dumb ignorant fascist would want rid of, what did that say about his chances? He switched his phone off as he re-took his seat that he’d occupied a couple of minutes earlier, but no sooner had he settled in, a voice was calling his name and he looked up to see an older guy in a dark blue suit, thinning grey hair on his head, looking around the room. “Um, that’s me pal,” he said nervously and the grey haired gent turned to look at him, his lips curling into the slightest of smiles before he motions for Ryan to follow him.
The passed through a maze of hallways after leaving the waiting room; Ryan felt dizzy, they turned left and right so often, but they finally came to a stop outside of a door and the suit-wearing old geezer pushed the handle down for them to enter. The lights flickered into life automatically, and Ryan couldn’t shake the notion that they were the same clinical stark lighting you saw in interrogation rooms in spy movies and stuff. That only added to the nerves as he took a set in front of the desk and waited for the guy in the suit to sit down and arrange his papers.
“Mr. Watson, first allow me to thank you for attending today,” The grey haired guy said before taking his glasses off and placing them on top of his notes. “I’m Christopher Bennet, I work for the state department’s immigration office…” he told the Yorkshire-born ex-wrestler, calmly but without any real warmth in his voice. As if Ryan wasn’t unsettled enough already.
“I uh,” Ryan started, trying to pick his words carefully… not just because he wanted the guy to understand a single bloody word he said, but because he knew that this was a serious discussion and he couldn’t afford to panic. “I have to admit mat—sir, I don’t really know why am here… I got this letter, an’… well, it doesn’t really explain anythin’,” he said, reaching inside of his jacket to pull out an envelope and for a minute, the guy in the suit stiffened; Ryan suddenly felt a little frightened by that, and his glance fell up to the cctv camera in the corner of the room, it’s little red light flashing away. He swiftly pulled the envelope out of his pocket though and Bennet lightened up again at the sight of the paper envelope in Ryan’s hand. He avoided making a joke about how he wasn’t planning to shoot the guy, there was definitely a time and a place for those kinds of jokes and that office definitely wasn’t it. “I mean, it says I ‘ad to come here for a meetin’ an’ that it’s about the conditions of my stay ‘ere an’ stuff, but it doesn’t actually tell me what the problem is…”
Bennet nodded his head before steepling his fingers in front of his face, his finger tips pressed against his upper lip as he regarded Ryan for a few seconds too long for it to be comfortable before he lowered his hands and placed his glasses back on. “Mr. Watson, the problem we have here is a relatively simple one,” he said as he flipped open the folder in front of him and scanned through the pages before finding what he was looking for. “Simply put sir, your visa conditions when originally granted back in two thousand and eleven are no longer being fulfilled…”
“Wait, what?” Ryan asked, trying to comprehend what the issue was. “Listen mate, I’m doin’ everythin’ that’s bein’ asked of me, ain’t I? Am working, am paying taxes, I ‘ave health insurance… what more could a do, other that take some bloody citizenship test?” he asked, clearly struggled to understand why he was in this situation when as far as he could see, he was fulfilling everything asked of him.
“I’m afraid it isn’t that simple Mr. Watson,” the state department officer said flatly, looking up from the folder. “When you applied for your visa, it was sponsored by a company by the name of Supreme Championship Wrestling, according to the files in front of me… however, our records show that you have not been in their employment now for a significant amount of time. Now I can see that an application was made around eighteen months ago for the details of your visa to be amended and that you were to be sponsored by one,” he paused to consult his notes. “Independent Wrestling Cartel, correct?” he asked, looking at Ryan and waited for a nod before he continued. “But alas, the paperwork was never filed and rubber stamped as the company in question went out of business before we could finish the process… this, unfortunately, leaves you in quite a predicament, Mr. Watson. You see, while you indeed do have the right to work in the country as part of your visa status, you sponsorship is still associated with your original employers, Supreme Championship Wrestling…”
“But what’s that got to do with owt?” Ryan asked, struggling to understand why this was an issue. He was there legally, he was contributing to the system, what was the damn problem?!
“It is a problem sir, because you have not been working for the company who sponsor your visa for several years,” Bennet explained, simply, almost as if he was talking to a child. “You do contribute, you pay your taxes, you have not committed any crimes or done anything of a dubious nature I grant you, but that does not change the fact that you no longer have a recognised employer who ensures your status in the country.”
Ryan Watson had never been one to claim he was the sharpest knife in the drawer, in fact he was probably a typical stereotype of someone from Yorkshire… the whole ‘yorkshire bron, Yorkshire bred, strong of arm and thick in’t head’, that was probably something that realistically did apply to Ryan if he was truly honest with himself… but was this guy actually saying what he thought he was saying? He could be, surely? “Are you saying that…” he began, but the rest of the words got stuck in his throat and his mouth was dry as a bone.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Watson, I’m saying that your visa is no longer valid, in the current form,” Bennet told him, and his face was set to an expression of sadness, but it looked hollow when Ryan met his eyes. There was something about this guy that Ryan didn’t like and the more he thought about it, the more he realised that it was because this guy clearly enjoyed his job! And not just in a general satisfaction of a day’s hard work for his country, but he was enjoying giving out bad news, Ryan could see it in his eyes every time he looked at him! And It was making him angrier by the second. “I appreciate this may be coming as something of a shock for you Mr. Watson, and I also appreciate all the effort you went to in order to maintain your status as a law abiding citizen of the United States, but unfortunately the red tape creates a problem and this is one that I’m not sure we can simply cut at this time…”
At this time? Fucking Trump, that’s what he meant! But what else could Ryan expect from a guy who was named after a light-hearted reference to passing gas?! “So what, a’ve got to reapply for me visa or somethin’?” Ryan asked, though he didn’t hold out much hope. The annoying prick across from him sucked at his teeth, a gesture that had always annoyed Ryan in general but on this arsehole it was like nails on a chalkboard.
“Again, I hate to be the barer of bad news sir,” Bennet said, and his face showed that he actually couldn’t have enjoyed anything more. “Regrettably, an oversight on our part has resulted in your status going unchecked for longer than what would normally have been the case… and unfortunately, as things have already progressed for as long as they have, which means we find ourselves in the position we are currently in…”
“An’ what position’s that?” Ryan asked, already thinking he had the answer in his head before the prick had even given it.
“That we have no choice at this point but to revoke your work status and set a deadline for you to leave the country,” he replied, once again repeating that same sorry expression that meant absolutely fuck all once you looked into the eyes.
This was a disaster… that was no exaggeration, it was genuinely a disaster and Ryan had no idea how he was supposed to react other than being entirely devastated about the news that hit like a brick to the face and an icicle to the heart in one motion. “Ya can’t be… a mean, there has to be…” Ryan spluttered, struggling to string a sentence together; his head was a mess, he wasn’t even entirely sure he understood what was going on properly. He had done everything right, this wasn’t fair! “Can… a mean, a can appeal this, right? There’s gotta be summet a can do or some appeal a can file or…”
“Regrettably not,” Bennet said. “The process would take longer to appeal than we can afford you to remain in the country… I really take no glee in giving this decision Mr. Watson, but alas, things as they are we have no choice but to issue a notice of deportation,” he added, and Ryan’s head started to spin. He could see the guy continuing to speak but it was all just noise; he was being deported? What the fuck?! Hadn’t he done everything he could to be above board with his residence in the country, hadn’t he done everything he could to give back to the system? This was so unfair! “I wish there was something that would change the decision, given the circumstances of the case, but that isn’t possible I’m afraid… if you had been married to Ms,” he paused to consult his papers again, “Ms. Kennedy Street for longer, perhaps we would have a case for citizenship, but as if stands--”
He wasn’t entirely sure why he said it… in fact he wasn’t even sure how he said it, because it wasn’t something he even thought about, the words just came spewing out of his mouth before he could stop them but Ryan found himself cutting off the grey haired man across from him before even realising what he was saying. “Am engaged!” he shot at the guy before a wave of panic ran through him as he realised that he’d said.
“You’re… engaged?” Bennet said sceptically, but Ryan nodded.
“Yep! Nice American bird, lives in California, big weddin’ planned an’ all that jazz!” he said with another flash of panic running through him. “That’d gi’ me status, wouldn’t it? Ad be all American an’ shit when am married?” he asked, though he realised straight away that that was possibly the wrong thing to ask under the circumstances.
Mr. Bennet looked dubiously at Ryan for several seconds before closing the folder in front of him and removing his glasses. “Under American laws, yes, that would give you legal status to remain in the country if and only if you are intended to be married soon,” the state department employee said. “I should note however, that fraudulent marriages are taken very seriously in our legal system and if you are attempting to--”
“Elizabeth Autumn Ferreira,” Ryan said, no fucking clue where it had come from and also well aware of how quickly it would all unravel too. “She were born September of ninety three, we went out for two years before some stuff happened, got back together recently after realisin’ that it were meant to be,” he continued digging, knowing all too well that this could collapse with a simple two letter word when he asked Autumn to do this for him, though it would probably be a two word sentence ending in “off” if he knew Autumn as well as he believed he did. “She were born in Kentucky, only half American but full citizen, an’ she’s loaded so there ain’t no worry about me not bein’ able to support me self either, if that’s what ya wonderin’!”
Bennet looked affronted but pulled his papers together neatly and made to stand up regardless. “Then I wish you every luck, Mr. Watson,” he said stiffly. “Meanwhile, as a matter of precaution, the deportation paperwork has been filed. You should receive the letter this week which will confirm the departing date. If you happen to be married before this date then we shall of course revisit the situation upon an evidentiary hearing and this may prove for naught, but the system cannot be halted while we wait to see what transpires. I’m sure you understand,” he said, extending a hand in Ryan’s direction. It was obvious for Ryan that this man didn’t believe the story whatsoever, and his handshake brought a slight hint of revulsion across his face as Ryan took his hand and shook… but after saying their goodbyes, what other chance did Ryan have? The guy had practically told him that there was no appeal process, that the decision was more or less final… unless… unless he could get citizenship through some other method, and that was either marriage or get someone pregnant, and something told him the former would be an easier sell than the latter. Then again, neither of them would be simple… and the fact that he’d previously asked Autumn to marry him for real and had gotten a no in return only added to the worry there, but fuck it he had to at least try didn’t he? He had to soften her up, that was the best option. Flowers. What woman didn’t love flowers? So he stopped at the first flower shop he passed after leaving the State Department building and bought the biggest bunch of the annoying smelly things he could buy… time to turn on the old charm... now he just had to hope that she was in. So much resting on so many variables… his life literally resting on them…
World Hazard Festival
San Francisco, California
August 11th, 2017
There was something a little strange about this World Hazard festival thing for Ryan Watson as he walked around the Hyatt Regency hotel’s convention rooms with his ‘wife’ Autumn Valentine. It was an odd feeling because while Ryan wasn’t exactly one for pomp and circumstance, he had been intrigued by the prospect of a festival combining that weird Japanese anime shit, other artwork and wrestling… of course, he was all too aware of the fact that his views about cartoons and stuff probably wouldn’t go down all that well with the guy who put the festival on, but what this Dante guy didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, at least that’s what Ryan told himself. He was use to big shows, there was no doubt about that; Ryan had been a part of several Rise to Greatness events during his time with SCW and shows didn’t come bigger than that, but this was weird because it feel massive but it wasn’t. At least not physically, though that may be different the following day when the convention was underway here while a wrestling show took place a ten-minute drive away at the Bill Graham Auditorium, who knew. Ryan wasn’t even sure why it felt weird either, given he wasn’t suew whether it was the surroundings and situation, or whether it was because he was still trying to adapt to his new acting role of pretending that he was married to the woman he was walking hand in hand with. And that was all shades of fucked up in its self, when you thought about it; this was his ex-girlfriend, they’d gone through so much together, and now despite the fact that what they had was purely plutonic, they had rings on their fingers and a piece of paper saying they were a married couple. Kind of fucked up, when you thought about it…
“We dint actually have to come to this bit ya know?” Ryan said as they walked past a display showing what events were taking place the following day. As they walked, Ryan couldn’t help thinking about how everything had kind of happened all at once for him, on several levels; he’d gone from single, about to be deported and working casual jobs where he could get them to ‘married’, legally allowed to stay in the country once again and working for one of the best companies on the face of the planet for the third time… and with the other stuff he had in the works too, things were looking up for the Gobshite of Professional Wrestling without a doubt, even if his marriage was actually a sham and his legal status in the country only depended on that fact! And Autumn was already benefiting from taking a few pages out of the Book of Gobshite – patent pending, sorry Gable, but the Book of Winchester now has a rival. People weren’t giving her the attention she deserved before he talked her into trying things his way, and maybe Gable was upset with the choices she had made recently but if nothing else, people were paying attention again and as far as Ryan was concerned, that was a win. “A mean, this is just the openin’ ceremony an’ shit… we could ‘ave given this bit a miss an’ just turned up in’t mornin’…”
“What, and miss a chance to further sell our marriage, dude?” Autumn said with a smirk as she batted her eyelashes at him, truly selling the affectionate look before she laughed. “Nah, it’s cool… I mean, this is kind of awesome, even if most of it isn’t exactly my kind of thing. And it’s cool that it brings so many different people together I guess? Plus, it really does do you a favour if we’re seen in public doing stuff like this… I know it’s invite-only tonight, but I saw the photographers on our way in, and every little helps,” she said as they stopped to look at a collection of artwork on a stall due to open tomorrow. “You know, your dad should have totally grabbed a stall at this thing dude; he’d have made a killing with all these rich assholes wandering around… and imagine the networking he could have done. Hell, we should just sign him up now for next year and leave him with no choice…” Autumn went on and Ryan couldn’t help but smile at how she genuinely seemed to like his dad. Okay, it took her a long time to warm up to his mother, but good old Charles, he could make a best friend out of anyone after five minutes in a room with them and Autumn had loved him from the get go.
“A thought ya dint like bein’ in the limelight,” Ryan said with a smirk and Autumn laughed.
“I have to get used to it now don’t I?” she told him. “I mean, isn’t that why I decided to pull you from the scrap heap and get you to help me in SCW, because I wanted people to pay attention?”
“Ya wound me love,” Ryan said as he chuckled to himself. “A guess it will do us good to see what all the fuss is abart though… can’t say a paid much attention last year…”
“And the perfect warmup to getting your own career back on track dude,” Autumn said as they walked to another stall, selling prints of some cartoon character or other… anime technically, but not that Ryan really knew the difference. “Assuming you’re still planning to go through with what we talked about last?” she asked and Ryan nodded.
“Got a meetin’ wi’ him on Monday,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t particularly fancy bein’ shut away in a room with the prick, especially when a know that ya used to ‘ave a post of him on ya bedroom wall, given am meant to be ya husband, but needs must an’ all that… should probably ‘ave tried settin’ up a meetin’ wi’ that new bird who part owns the place but what’s done is done nah…”
“Plus it helps that he actually knows what you bring to the table, given he was around in SCW still, when you were last wrestling?” Autumn said as they moved on to another table.
“Aye, a suppose that’ll help an’ all,” Ryan admitted. “Not like this new bird knows owt about the actual wrestlin’ business, is it?” he said as they wandered past one table then another; most of what they were looking at was entirely lost on Ryan, it all looked the same. Guess the same could be said for most wrestlers these days though…
“I’m gonna go and grab a drink,” Autumn said, letting go of Ryan’s hand. “And maybe how towel; how sweaty are your hands dude?! Jesus,” she said playfully before heading off to one of the concessions stands, leaving Ryan to continue browsing the artwork by himself.
Ryan walked past a couple more tables, one filled with row upon row of manga books and novels, the next more framed prints and while he had to admit that it would prove to offer a metric fuck tonne of inspiration for ring gear should someone actually be into the subculture, he still couldn’t tell a Pokeyo from a Digiyugio or whatever the kids were into. He found himself floored however, when he walked over to a table that instead of being themed around the anime side of World Hazard, was practically exlusively wrestle-centric. The table was filled with figurines and busts of the many wrestlers that were due to compete the following night, and the detail on the busts in particular was staggering. “Well fuck me,” Ryan said as he picked one up that was as close a vision of him as his own reflection in the mirror would be.
He turned the bust over in his hands, marvelling at the workmanship that had gone into it; it wasn’t just a close approximation of what he looked like, the detail was out of this world and he couldn’t believe someone was that talented. “Careful with that,” a voice said from behind Ryan and he jumped so badly that the bust flew out of his hands and he had to juggle it trying to catch it. 
Clutching the thing to his chest he turned around and found himself looking into the face of a shared haired women with tattoos up both arms, wearing a black dress that split up one leg. “No really, careful with it… I mean, I know it’s your face that you nearly dropped, but I only made one of everything so it’s kind of a unique piece, you know?” she said with a playful wink and after a couple of seconds Ryan realised that he was just standing there gawping, still holding his own likeness clutched to his chest after just about managing to catch it. Turning, he placed it back down on the table with the rest of this mysterious chicks work before turning back around and smirking. “No need to bother telling me who you are, obviously I know the answer to that one or I wouldn’t have made that thing…” she said with another grin, extending her hand. “I’m Kandis…” she said and as Ryan held out his hand to shake, she took him slightly by surprise by grabbing his hand with a slap, in a broshake instead of the regular handshake he was expecting.
“Ya said ya name’s Kandis?” he asked and she nodded her head. “Kandis what?”
A smirk spread across her face at the question and she shrugged. “Just Kandis. You know, like Madonna,” she said with a wink.
“The mysterious type, eh?” Ryan asked before motioning to the sculptures on the table. “So ya really made all this shit?” he asked.
An offended look spread across the woman’s face though Ryan could tell it was mostly in jest. “Calling my best work shit? Jeez, they say never meet your idols, but--”
“Woah, calm darn love, a dint mean--” Ryan said, trying to backtrack but Kandis started laughing and cut him off in turn.
“I’m fucking with you bro,” she told him with another laugh. “Yeah, I made them… it’s kind of what I do. Well, sculpting is what I do, but I made those because they say play to your audience or whatever, right?” she said, flicking her fringe out of her eyes before shrugging. “I’m mostly looking for new commissions but figured I’d show off what I can do by making stuff that people will recognize… I mean, that expression on your face, that’s kind of what I was hoping I’d get from people, and if that’s how realistic I can make things, then maybe they’ll want to commission me to sculpt them or their loved ones or whatever, you know?”
“Makes sense love,” Ryan said, nodding. “A mean, ya could present a sculpt of some randon prick that nobody’s ever ‘eard of an’ they wain’t have a fuckin’ clue how lifelike it is, but sculpt a gobshite like me an’ people will see how talented you are an’ stuff…” he added, somewhat arrogantly but hey, what’s new with Ryan Watson? Gobshite, remember? “Did ya at least bring a portfolio of ya other stuff though? A mean, it’s all well an’ good moldin’ this ugly mug, but people might at least want to see what else ya can do…”
“Relax, gobshite,” The tattooed bird said with a smug grin. Ryan was impressed; clearly she knew more than a little about wrestling if she was using his nickname. “The rest of my stuff’s at the hotel; was leaving it there until setup in the morning… didn’t figure I’d make many sales tonight, given this is just the mingling of people who apparently matter… though if you want to buy that bust of you, I’d be happy to reserve it for ya,” she finished with a wink.
“Quite the saleswoman an’ all it seems,” Ryan replied with a smirk. “Jokin’ aside though, a think a will a’ve it if ya really don’t mind reservin’ it?” he asked, thinking it would be a funny present for his folks when he returned; ‘here ya go mam an’ dad; went all the way to San Francisco an’ brought ya back this!’, he could picture their faces now.
“Tell you what dude, sign an elbow pad or something for me and I’ll call it a trade?” Kandis said, a little hopefully but Ryan was all up for that idea and he shrugged before nodding, not really having to think about it. He wasn’t even using his newest gear anyway; the stuff he’d brought with him was probably a little past its best, so if she was willing to accept that as a trade, he was all good. He may believe in supporting struggling artist, but he was a Yorkshireman after all, and a penny saved is better than a penny spent!
“It’s a deal,” he said, throwing out his hand and again, the bird slapped her own hand into it like she was one of the buys celebrating at the bar, a broshake.
“What’s a deal?” A voice said from by the side and both Ryan and Kandis turned to find Autumn standing there holding two glasses of champagne in her hand. Ryan stepped forward to take one from her and slipped his free arm around her waist.
“Come a’ve a look at this, love!” he said, guiding Autumn toward the table and pointing out the sculpt of his head on the table. “How bloody good is that, eh?!” he asked and Autumn nodded her head, impressed.
“They managed to get every crease of your big head in exactly the right place,” she said playfully, smirking at Ryan before turning to the woman that she hadn’t been introduced to yet. “I’m guessing it’s your work?”
“Got it in one!” Kandis said with a smile. “And I should add it’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Valentine,” she added, which took Autumn a little by surprise.
“Ya dint say it were a pleasure to meet me,” Ryan said with a chuckle and Kandis laughed.
“No, I had to warn you not to drop the merchandise. You look like a clumsy kind of guy, I had to protect my investment,” she replied with a laugh before turning to Autumn. “We were just striking a deal on the sculpt of him; he wanted to buy it but I figured a fair trade would be an autographed elbow pad… now though, I’m thinking the both of you have to sign it or I’d be ripping myself off,” she added and Autumn seemed a little taken aback but eventually nodded.
“It’s my name that adds the value really anyway…” Autumn replied playfully. “This one’s just an asshole from England, who really cares about him, huh?” she teased and Ryan simply rolled his eyes. “These are amazing though, I’ll be surprised if you don’t make a killing selling them this weekend…”
“I was just explaining to the Gobshite here that I’m mostly hoping to pick up new commissions,” Kandis explained. “I mean, yeah if someone wants to buy these I’ll sell them for the right price, but it’s more about networking…”
“Well, I definitely think you’ll find work if everything you do is that realistic,” Autumn told her respectfully. And Ryan had to agree; if everything she did was to the same standard, it was a crying shame she wasn’t already a household name. Or at least a name spoken of in hushed appreciation in art galleries everywhere…
“A girl can hope,” Kandis said with another grin, as she turned to look around the room and when she was happy no one was watching, she slid the flap of her dress aside to reveal a garter belt that held a hip flask underneath. “Oh come on, you realise that we’re not all on the gravy train at this thing, right?” she asked when Ryan looked at her funny. “You guys might get shit for free for being part of the VIP elite, but we have to pay at the bar just like the people that’ll be flocking in here tomorrow… I’d rather bring my own,” she added before removing the screw cap and taking a swig form the canteen.
“Ya mean that there’s a proper bar open an’ I’ve been sippin’ this champagne shite since we go ‘ere?” Ryan asked in dismay, turning to Autumn, who shrugged.
“Fucked if I know dude, I’ve just been grabbing drinks from the trays as people passed,” Autumn said with a grin and Ryan just rolled his eyes before turning back to Kandis.
“Well am serious about wantin’ that so keep hold of it, yeah?” He said firmly. “Al sort out some of me gear after the show tomorr’a an’ we’ll both sign it for ya… but if ya lookin’ for commissions, al take a business card an’ all if you’ve got any, ‘cause a might have a job for ya if ya int’rested?”
“Oh I’m definitely interested in finding work,” she told Ryan and Autumn with a smile. “I’m guessing something to commemorate the nuptials? I read about it in Pro Wrestling Monthly, congratulations are in order I hear?” she said, pointing to the two of them and Ryan nearly slipped up by asking what she was talking about before remembering that the world actually thought him and Autumn were married.
“You actually read that stuff?” Autumn asked with a laugh. “I mean, I know fans will buy anything with wrestling on, but some of the rumors they print in those things are laughable, even for this business.”
“One in abart ten stories’a true probably,” Ryan told her, before holding his left hand up. “As it ‘appens, that one were actually true mind… but no,” he said as he lowered his hand. “I weren’t thinkin’ abart us, I were thinkin’ abart me folks… it’s their weddin’ anniversary at the end’a the year an’ I were thinkin’ a couples bust or somethin’ could be a crackin’ gift for ‘em. The old man would love it; he’s an artist himself…”
“Shit yeah, Charlie Watson, I love his work,” Kandis said, nodding. “Dude, I’d love that… you’d have to promise to introduce me to you father after you give it to them though, I’d love to meet him! I’ve actually got one of his prints hanging in my studio apartment…” she said excitedly as she reached over her table and grabbed a flyer from a pile near the back and handed it to Ryan. “I’ll even do it at a discounted rate if you hook that up, how’s that sound?” she asked as Ryan checked out the flyer.
“Ya askin’ a yorkshireman if he wants to save money; do bears shit in the woods, love?” he asked with a laugh as he folded the flyer up and slid it into his pocket. “But yer on. Sure the old man’ll love talkin’ shop wi’ someone who actually knows what he’s goin’ on abart…”
“Dude, that’d be awesome!” Kandis said, grinning from ear to ear. “Listen, I want to check out some of the other stalls before this thing ends, I’ll probably be too busy tomorrow and Sunday trying to peddle my own wares to do it, but come find me Sunday and we’ll do that trade and we can talk about what you want to do for your folks, cool?” she asked and Ryan nodded his head. “Well, it’s been great to meet you dude… you too Mrs. Watson,” she said to Autumn with a wink. “And good luck tomorrow,” she finished before gliding off to check out some of the other stalls.
Autumn and Ryan watched her leave before turning to make their way in the other direction, once again holding hands for the look of the thing. “You know dude, I think that chick was into you,” Autumn said after a while, breaking the silence.
“Hey, it were you that she said it were a pleasure to meet love not me; a think she were more into you,” Ryan said dismissively… though he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued at the suggestion. Autumn just shook her head and they continued to walk around aimlessly pretending to be interested in stuff they didn’t really give a damn about. Ryan was only vaguely keeping up with the conversation too, which was rude of him but the throwaway comment about this Kandis bird being into him had started him thinking; it wasn’t necessarily her specifically but more that it had dawned on him that there was something ironic about being in a marriage where you got all of the boring stuff without any of the ‘fun’ involved. Fun in a biblical sense, as it were. And that only begged the question of what happened if he was looking for some fun… he hadn’t actually thought of any of that stuff, he’d just done whatever he needed to do in order to stay in the country because he thought that was what was most important. But he also knew that the whole sham marriage only went as far as a piece of paper and appropriate acting in public; behind closed doors, Autumn was very much still with Gable and Ryan knew all too well that he would be pulling some David Copperfield bullshit with switching rooms… but would it make it way too complicated if he was to try and have his own fun too? Probably not a great idea in the grand scheme of things, not if he wanted to legit play up that his marriage was legal and above board. All it took was one phone call to the state department and it would all unravel around them… shame though; the Kandis bird was pretty hot and he had to wonder if she was into him… didn’t hurt to wonder, after all…
“You’re sure you want me to help with this dude?” Autumn asked from behind the camera of the new recording studio that had been built in the basement of her house by the combined forces of Ryan and Autumn’s best friend Tam in the weeks that followed their perfectly executed sham of a wedding; Ryan was busying himself with changing over the backdrop that would hang behind him during the video, changing out the plain colored drapes for the blue one’s that he’d bought for his own videos and with the addition of the huge Union Jack that he once hung behind him in every video when still cutting promo’s from the kitchen-diner or Lucas Knight’s house back in his SCW days, he was ready to rock and roll. “I mean, Tam did offer and it’s her with the filmmaker experience and everything; I genuinely wouldn’t have been insulted if you’d rather she was the one who helped you film this,” the raven haired former girlfriend and current ‘wife’ of Ryan went on as Watson took a step back and took in his handy work. “Hello? Earth to Ryan? Come in Ryan!”
Watson’s head finally turned from the backdrop to look at his ‘wife’, wondering what the bloody hell she was flapping her gums about as he looked at her with a confused expression on his face? “Eh? Sorry love, were miles away… what were ya sayin’?” he asked, honestly. You don’t keep secrets from your wife, it’s bad form.
“Ugh… you’ve got the ‘husband not listening to a word the wife says’ already, haven’t you?” Autumn said with a grin and Ryan smirked. “I said, are you sure you want me to helping you film this? I mean, Tam offered and she has all this experience and…”
In the old days, when Autumn got all questioning about stuff, Watson would have just shut her up by kissing her… but that was a can of worms he had no intention opening up these days, so he simply picked the ball of drapes up from the floor and tossed them at her, catching her complete by surprises and she flapped her arms trying to simultaneously catch them yet protect herself at the same time. “Would ya stop bloody flappin’ love, it ain’t rocket science, is it?” he asked her, rolling his eyes. “Ignore all them dials an’ buttons an’ shit an’ just hit that big record button while makin’ sure am inside that big white box on the screen… simple as owt love, has to be if I can work the fucker…”
“A simple yes would have done,” Autumn said, scowling at him as she tossed aside the drapes and stepped behind the camera. “Alright, fuck it, let’s do this,” she added as she grabbed the television camera’s grips and framed the shot so that the Union Jack flag was central in the background. “Little to the left… perfect,” she said as Watson followed her directions to ensure he was bang centre of the shot.
[[START RECORDING]]
“Well fuck me, it’s been a while since a’ve done one’a these things, ain’t it?” Watson asked as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans, a smirk spreading across his face as he nodded. “A mean, there were a time where you’d see this ugly mug practically every week, standin’ in front of a backdrop almost identical to this one but in a different location admittedly, where I’d be gettin’ ready to be a complete an’ total dick about whatever fuckwit a were booked against that week, wi’out even considerin’ the notion of losin’… then suddenly, the world rejoices ‘cause lil ol’ Ryan Watson blows out his knee in trainin’ an’ has to step away for a bit. Ya liked that fact, dint ya? A mean, god knows, you pricks at home ain’t a fan of people who say it like it is instead of dressin’ their words up in a nice little bow an’ pretendin’ everythin’s good about the world, ya prefer the ‘ead in the sand method of existin’. The true wrestlin’ fan way right there ladies an’ wankers, ignore the truth an’ everythin’ll be alrate… its like the Arsene Wenger approach; ignore the fact that everythin’s goin’ wrong an’ carry on doin’ everythin’ the same way expectin’ a different result the next time. Fuckin’ bunch of idiots,” he said, shaking his head, sighing a little. “It’s fair to say me career were a bit up an’ down after that; yeah, a came back to SCW after the injury, nearly won that fuckin’ car an’ all when I made me return at the End’a Year Special, losin’ art to that prick Hurse who decided to do the same thing by returnin’ for obscurity after years of bein’ fuck knows where doin’ fuck knows what… but let’s face it, thing were never the same after me return, were the? A mean, a won a few matches yeah, think a even won the United States championship after comin’ back… but it weren’t the same wi’out Infamous. An’ a know that you wankers at home weren’t exactly fans of us lot, but let’s face it pal, Infamous were probably the most dominant an’ most lethal group that company ‘ad since The Mercenaries an’ anyone who wants to argue the toss about that is gonna ‘ave to find some pretty fuckin’ compellin’ arguments ‘cause a don’t care if we’re talkin’ The Coalition, The Brotherhood, New Eden, any of em; Infamous were bigger, better an’ badder than the lot. So to say it weren’t the same… bitter an understatement. A lost me love for it, to tell ya the truth. Lost me love of wrestlin’ an’ ended up requestin’ to be released from me contract in the end…”
“Maybe it was because you came back without your awesome manager, dude?” Autumn said from behind the camera and Watson grinned a little bit, though there was a sense of shame in his face too; it wasn’t as if he just decided that he didn’t want Autumn by his side, things between them had kind of gone downhill – obvious understatement is obvious – and the pair were no longer together. That may have been something to do with it.
“Fair point love,” Watson replied, trying to brush it off without showing how guilty he still felt about the way things had gone between the two of them. “Either way though, that were definitely a new low for the Gobshite of Professional Wrestlin’, a don’t mind admittin’ to that. An’ ya know, a thought that may actually be that, after leavin’ SCW… probably dumb a know; there ain’t many who can walk away an’ resist the urge to come back eventually, but a honestly thought it were the end for me wrestlin’ career… until a found an opportunity for fun over in SCW’s old rival, the Independent Wrestlin’ Cartel. Ah, that’s rate, a were committin’ a cardinal sin – pun intended – by goin’ to the competition, which were tryin’ to get back on its feet like it used to be in the old days of IWC tekkin’ on SCW, an’ wi’ Monarchy already over theer, wi’ certain friends already havin’ fun there, it weren’t too difficult a choice to make when the company said they’d offer me a decent contract for stickin’ me autograph along that dotted line… somethin’ wicked this way comes an’ all that, workin’ with Lexy Chapel an’ Kat Kelly, havin’ a bit’a fun at the expense of others an’ obviously earnin’ a crust – or paycheque for you pricks that don’t speak proper English – while I were doin’ so… an’ then low an’ behold, IWC shows that the same crap management from it’s first run goes an’ fucks em over the second time around an’ all, and it goes under,” he said, shaking his head judgmentally. “An’ then a went an’ disappeared from the limelight again after that, dint a? A mean, a could have gone back to SCW, tail tucked between me legs an’ said how dumb a were for goin’ over to the darkside or whatever, but a’ve never been one for beggin’, an’ am not really one for admittin’ am wrong either… an’ well, by the time Autumn over there were startin’ to realise that you ignorant wankers weren’t ever gonna give her the attention she deserved, half the board had shuffled around anyway, so one call to Sasha an’ low an’ behold; the Gobshite’s back!” he said with a wink, blowing on his knuckles before shinning them on his chest.
“Now am not gonna take all the credit for Autumn’s resurrection in SCW, ‘cause a don’t want lynchin’ mid-video,” he went on, before Autumn could speak up and complain. “All I did were get her to see the light as it were, showin’ her that there’s other options than tryin’ to get people’s attention by simply bein’ a good wrestler. Any fuck can be a good wrestler, some can even be great like yours truly, but not everyone gets the attention they deserve based on pure ability… so why wait it out an’ hope ya can get the attention when ya can just fuckin’ demand it, eh?! An’ that’s exactly what the ol’ wifey did!”
“Backed up by an amazing husband, dude,” Autumn added from behind the camera and Ryan smirked, nodding his head.
“An’ now luck at her,” Watson continued, not even missing a beat. “Between us, we fucked up Jay Gold’s grand return, stoppin’ the first ever Supreme Champion’s ‘opes an’ dreams of competin’ in the Takin’ Hold’a the Flame an’ blowin’ all those stupid enough to be a fan’a his’ minds… an’ best bit is he dint even fuckin’ know it were us! But ya know… as much fun as it is bein’ the manager of the future in that place, I realized how much I were missin’ out on personally as it were… an’ then this thing crops up, don’t it? World Hazard Festival, an independent opportunity to climb back in the ring me sen an’ see if a’ve still got what it takes to blow you cunts away wi’ what I can do it theer! Now am not gonna say I know much about this thing, ‘cause honestly I didn’t even know anythin’ about the thing until I saw on twitter that it were happenin’ – last year’s went straight over me head an’ am not sure ad have given a fuck if it hadn’t – but now am booked? Well, it’s just like old times ain’t it? A mean, okay, still no Infamous an’ that’s a bit shit given how much fun a used to have back in the day, but am managin’ Autumn in SCW in a role-reversal’a how things used to be back then, am in some festival that’s in association wi’ SCW, an’ at the very least, for one neet only… well, like a said, the gobshite is back!” he said, smirking that same smug smirk that he had from day one in SCW when he debuted all those years earlier, the smug smirk that says things just can’t go wrong. Oh the irony.
“I tried convincing him to actually join me in SCW,” Autumn said from behind the camera, annoyance clear to hear in her voice. “Mr. and Mrs. Watson as tag champs sounded awesome to me, but for some reason he’s dead against it…”
A smirk spread across Watson’s face and he rubbed at his beard a little with one hand before shrugging. “Well, ya know what they say abart the definition of insanity, don’t ya?” He said with a smirk. “Repeatin’ the same experiment an’ expectin’ a different outcome an’ all that… a figure at this point, me comin’ back in SCW were pretty much the definition’a insanity, at least comin’ back in an active capacity at any rate… a mean, it’s one thing bein’ able to show Autumn over theer the true path to cuntish arrogance, but gettin’ in the ring me self?”
“Only if you’re a chicken, dude!” Autumn teased and Watson rolled his eyes before chuckling.
“Well, they also say never say never a guess,” He replied with a shrug. “But that ain’t why am ‘ere anyway, is it? Nah, am ‘ere ‘cause’a the fact am booked at World Hazard an’ am finally gonna compete in me first match since January’a last year… not gonna lie pal, am more than a little excited, even if am goin’ up against a bird who’s either gonna ignore me completely ‘cause he’s hacked off that she ain’t been pandered to by that Dante bloke wi’ the bookin’ or she’s gonna throw out the usual ‘who the fuck is the guy, why should I lower meself by gracin’ the ring with him blah blah blah’ spiel, but beggers can’t be choosers, eh?” he added with a smirk before continuing. “Don’t get me wrong like, am not gonna piss all over Cassidy Carter’s abilities or owt ‘cause everyone knows that ya don’t win that two hundred an’ fifty grand an’ a new car by half arsin’ owt in that End’a the Year battle royal an’ that’s exactly what she did a few months back in SCW dint she… but while a know am one to talk about bad attitudes an’ a know full well it’ll make me an hypocrite for pickin’ up on most’a what about to say, but fuck me, this chick can look down her nose at people for Britain! A mean, am not just sayin’ that she takes the piss out’a people kinda like what I make it me business to do, but fuckin’ hell, ‘ave ya heard some of the shit she’s come art with in the past. A mean, she actually plays that “Who?” crap whenever someone says summet bad about ‘er or she’s booked against someone… am not one to throw stones or owt ‘cause ya know what they say about people in glass houses but at least I acknowledge the existence of the pricks am booked against, unlike this bird!” he said, shaking his head in annoyance. “Fair enough, a couldn’t really give a flyin’ fuck abart her opinion of me or the opinion of most people if am bein’ truthful, but fuck at least am sensible enough to keep me soddin’ eyes open an’ half pay attention to the shit that goes on around me! A mean, that can be the only explanation for someone pullin’ the age-old ‘Don’t even know who this prick is’ shtick, sheer stupidity, ‘cause if Cassidy thinks she’s above an’ beyond better’n everyone else in the world, why the fuck ain’t she got the world title reigns to prove it, eh?”
Autumn chuckled from behind the camera as Watson raised a hand to waggle his finger. “A know am one to talk – again – abart that shit given a’ve only got a couple Adrenaline title reigns an’ a US title reign to me name, but fuck me I at least admit people exist, ya know? An’ it ain’t like she weren’t in her fare share’a companies, a can think of four she’s compete in just off the top’a me head an’ she’s got the attitude of someone who’s been a world champion everywhere she’s fuckin’ been… guess what? Nope. She were in two development companies, in a cruiserweight division in another, an then there’s her jaunts in SCW rushin’ around wi’ her husband Ace Marshall! So a think it’s safe to say am expecin’ her to not be in the best’a moods when we meet in the ring, if she even bothers to turn up… a guess not everyone signed up just for the chance to compete, eh? That’s the thing though; when a signed up for this thing, a dint give a flip flop shit who a were booked against, a just wanted to get back in the ring an’ then maybe see what followed… ‘cause I ain’t gonna lie, a’ve ‘ad a few offers placed on the table over the last couple months since people saw me turn up over in SCW, one of which is pretty enticin’, am not gonna lie. Got a meetin’ after World Hazard is over actually, which could prove to be both lucrative an’ excitin’ in equal measure… but am not gonna hand out spoilers either, you’ll just ‘ave to watch this space as they say,” Watson said with a smirk, winking into the camera. “As for this festival though… well, Cassidy may not be all that happy about havin’ to go up against a gobshite that she’s never heard of – feel pretty safe to assume that’ll be the attitude she takes given all the evidence from her history – but me? Am over the fuckin’ moon to be be in this thing regardless of who am against, ‘cause am gonna use it to remind each an’ every one’a you wankers out there what Ryan Watson is capable of, regardless of how ya feel about me. It’s time to get shit back on track an’ what better way that at a three day festival of wrestlin’ in association wi’ one’a the biggest companies on the face’a the planet? An’ when Cassidy loses an’ this gobshite reminds you all what he can do an’ how good he can do it, then I walk into any negotiation I head into wi’ a better position all round, don’t a? Last year might have been a bit shit for little ol’ me, but this year? Am makin’ it my bitch… an’ that all starts wi’ Cassidy Carter at World Hazard two thousand an’ seventeen! See if it don’t…” he finished, winking into the camera and with that, Autumn hit the button on the camera to stop the recording.
[[END RECORDING]]
Stepping out from behind the camera, Autumn walked over to Watson and threw up a hand in a high five, which Watson gladly delivered, even if didn’t look overly happy. “Great job dude,” Autumn told him.
“So it weren’t a steamin’ pile’a shit then,” he replied with a scoff. “Am rusty love, ain’t done that in so long, ya think a should do another?”
“I think you need to relax, Ry,” Autumn told him, chuckling. “Seriously dude, I’m supposed to be the one who’s neurotic not you… and besides, talking only counts for so much anyway; it’s how much ass you kick in the ring that matters, not the trash you talk beforehand…”
Watson nodded. “I guess ya rate,” He told Autumn, shrugging. “Doesn’t stop me thinking that it weren’t me best work though… truth be told, we both know that I ain’t been at me best since the injury. Hopefully it’s down to the rust though; shake that shit off, get back in a ring regularly an’ see what transpires…”
“I’m surprised you didn’t mention UWA by name, dude,” Autumn said as they started to head back upstairs, leaving the basement studio behind. “I mean, the cheap pop would have been worth it, surely?”
“A thought about it,” Ryan said as they walked into Autumn’s kitchen and he made his way to the fridge to grab a couple of beers. “But a figure al just wait an’ show up on the show if a do end up signin’ wi’ ‘em. Bigger pop, dependin’ what a decide to do on me first night of employment if a do end up workin’ for that wanker you used to idolize,” he said as he handed Autumn one of the beers and she flipped him the bird before popping the cap. Watson could only chuckle as he opened his own beer; whether he signed with the Uprising Wrestling Alliance or not, he was determined to make his own comeback in some fashion, whether that would be another company or whether he’d give in to Autumn’s request and join her in SCW he didn’t know, but he was sure about one thing. It was time to get back on the horse and the sooner… the better
