Retribution 2022
{{Thursday, March 3
Seattle, WA
Breakdown}}
Spencer could still hear the crowd chattering with boos sprinkled in as he walked through the curtain immediately following his revelation – the man who'd walked away from his pregnant mother instead of stepping and being a real father, was Simon Lyman. Marie Caedes met up with him a few steps away from the curtain, but he couldn't speak to her because right behind her was one of SCW's reporters, Jessica Winters, with a cameraman.
“Spencer, we just-”
Spencer grabbed the camera by the lens, palm first, covering the view. “No. I've already said everything I had to say.” Spencer let go of the camera and walked off, Marie following him.
He heard Jessica speak to the cameraman as they passed by... “Just delete that.”
Spencer was in a hurry as he and Marie made their way down the hallway to their groups locker room, hand in hand. No one got in their way, in fact to Spencer it seemed like people were actively moving out of the way. Once they got to the locker room, they went in and Marie shut the door. Spencer tossed the US Title belt aside onto a chair before facing Marie and taking a deep breath.
“You did it.”
“I fucking did it. Now we see what happens next, who really has my back.”
Without a warning knock, the door flew open, nearly bumping Marie. She stepped aside as Jaina walked in, then slammed the door behind her, so hard that it actually popped back open, but no one noticed.
“Are you fucking serious?!”
“Did I look like I was playing around?”
“Do you have proof? You can't just go out there and say shit without-”
“Define proof. I have a fuckton of my mother's papers with his name all over them. About a dozen pictures.”
“What about DNA?”
“No, not yet. I'm sure he's gonna demand that, which I'm more than happy to have done.”
Jaina shook her head, still trying to process what she was hearing. “How long have you known this?”
Spencer took a step closer. “How long? I'll put it this way... the reason I went to BOA in the first place, is because I tracked him down to working there.”
The door flew open again, hitting the wall. Amy blew in.
“All this time?! Almost two years and you've said nothing until now?!”
“It had to be the right time.”
“What do you mean, the right time? The right time would have been the first day you walked into my damn building! And this? Here? Was sure the fuck not the right place!”
Spencer forced himself to stay as calm as possible, countering Amy's yelling. He needed to be the rational one. “Look, I knew you were gonna be angry and I'm sorry. But it had to be done like this. No one was gonna take some random kid they'd never heard of seriously. But now? With that?” Spencer pointed towards the US Title belt laying across a chair. “People have no choice but to pay attention.”
“Why does it matter what anyone else thinks? This is a personal issue, you could have just gone to him and-”
“Oh, so now you're all about keeping personal things between who it concerns?” Spencer nodded his head towards Marie. He was losing his patience with Amy but trying very hard to keep it under control.
“That's not the same thing!”
“Yes it is! Personal is personal!” Fuck rationality, Spencer thought as he yelled. Amy was completely out of line. “It's my fucking business what I do with it, it's my fucking life! I didn't want to just walk up to him and say hey surprise, Dad.... nah. I wanted the whole world to know how he fucked over my mom!”
“I'm sorr-”
Spencer cut Amy off, he was on a roll now. “I came out alright, but her? She refused to even talk about him. Ever. All I ever knew was he was a white man and he left her when she was pregnant. I got a whole box of papers and pictures if you want proof!”
Amy made herself calm down by breathing deep a few times. “I don't need proof. I believe that's what your mom told you, because as you keep reminding me... you've never lied to me. I'm just... stupefied as to why you felt this was the only way to accomplish what you wanted! That man that you just dropped a bomb on then slapped across the face is one of my best friends, and... I know you have your ways and your attitude sometimes but I just can't believe...” Amy shook her head, worked up again. Brushing her hair back out of her face, Amy stepped back a few steps, very clearly upset, distraught even. “I can't do this. I can't be here anymore.” Amy spun and walked out, not bothering to close the door. Jaina stepped up to Spencer, glaring right into his face.
“You have no idea what you just did.” She then turned and jogged out of the room after Amy. Spencer heard her calling out. “Mom!”
Marie, who Spencer hadn't noticed had gotten up from her seat during all this, moved towards the door.
“I should probably...”
“Yeah. Go.” Spencer waved towards the door. Marie left, following Jaina, remembering to close the door.
Spencer sat himself down on the couch, then leaned over burying his face into his hands. The confrontation had gone exactly as planned, he said everything he wanted to say. He even gave Simon the bitchslap he'd been itching to throw for months... so why didn't he feel like he thought he would after it was all said and done?
* * * * * {{Westin Hotel}} * * * * *
Spencer had gone to his tag match alone. Amy, Jaina, and Marie were nowhere to be found when it was time. He wasn't surprised. He also wasn't surprised when the match itself quickly got out of control. Tsunami targeted him while Davis and Raab traded blows. Spencer got thrown out of the ring and landed a little awkwardly, but didn't hurt anything that wouldn't feel better in a day or two. Tonight though, all he wanted was a hot shower and a beer or three.
Back at the hotel, Spencer went to his room, also alone. He hadn't seen anyone he usually rode with since the confrontation in the locker room. Just as well, it was what he expected. After speaking to his brother Caleb, who had been watching Breakdown and was proud of the way things went down, Spencer cracked open that beer he wanted, had that hot shower, and got ready for bed. Dressed in black cotton gym shorts and a gray tank top, Spencer had just opened a second beer when there was a light knock on his hotel room door. Given it wasn't heavy or fast paced like someone who was angry would beat on the door, Spencer knew it could only be one person. He set the beer down and opened the door – his thinking was correct, Marie looked up at him.
“Hey...”
Spencer let her in, then closed the door. “This is different, I'm usually going up to see you.” He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the beer.
“I hadn't seen you since I left the locker room, I wanted to make sure you were okay. Especially after how your match went sideways.” Marie took a seat in the armchair next to the bed.
“I'm better since you came in.”
“Even with all the chaos, you're still trying to charm me,” Marie said through a grin. Spencer chuckled a bit.
“That wasn't a line, I meant it. The way you ran out after Jaina and Amy... I was starting to wonder if you were on the fence, too.”
“No, of course not. I told you I'm on your side and I am. I was just worried about them.”
“Are they okay?”
“I'm not sure. When I caught up to Jaina, she said Amy had already left the building. Jaina was upset, she was worried Amy was going to do something stupid, but Amy eventually came back. She had just gone out to the car to calm herself down.”
“Something stupid? Like what?”
“Like.... find a drink...” Marie gestured to Spencer's beer.
“Shit....”
“Good news is that she didn't. Bad news is... Jaina knows what her mom looks like when she's about to break, and she thinks she's seeing that. She's worried. And... I have to tell you, she's also extremely pissed at you.”
“Understandable.” In spite of the conversation, or maybe in defiance of it, Spencer downed roughly half the beer. He waved the bottle gently in the air. “There's more, by the way, if you want.”
“No thank you...” Marie seemed put off by the suggestion. Spencer finally thought better of it and set the bottle down.
“I admit I've been worried about Amy a little myself lately. She's been stressed out a lot with the whole Tsunami situation, going after Jaina and you, you getting hurt, just all of it. But I saw my opening to confront that man and I had to take it.”
“You're right, the opportunity was there. There was never going to be a perfect moment and you had to pick your spot sometime. It was always going to go over badly at first, you knew that going in. But I hope you don't blame yourself if Amy does slip up. It's up to her to control her triggers, you know? God, that sounds heartless.”
“No, you're right. But at the same time it's hard not to feel that way.” Marie just nodded, she didn't know what else to say. Spencer looked down at his hands, absentmindedly cracking his knuckles. In the back of his head he knew fucking with Amy was a possibility, he had just hoped she would understand where he was coming from. Without looking back up, he put the question that had been on his mind all night into words. “Are Amy and Jaina right? Did I really fuck this up? I have to admit, I don't feel the way I thought I would.”
“I can't answer that for you. You only did what you thought you had to do. If your goal was to take Simon down because the world thinks he's a saint and you know otherwise, handling it privately wouldn't have accomplished that.” Spencer looked up, to see Marie getting up from the chair. She sat next to him on the edge of the bed. “Maybe they're more upset about finding out what he did and just taking it out on you out of anger.”
“Maybe...”
“Or... maybe, they believe what he said, that he didn't know.”
Spencer snapped his head up, instantly angry. “That's bullshit! The fact the man walked away is the only thing Mom ever told me about him, there was no reason to lie about it. But someone with the reputation he has? Has every reason to deny it!”
Marie set her hand on Spencer's arm, hoping to calm him. It seemed to work a bit, his tensed muscles slacked some. “I agree with you, okay? Simon is obviously a different person now, but making himself into a better person now doesn't really absolve him from what he did, if he's never owned up to it.”
“Thanks for that. I knew I'd have at least you on my side, I just didn't think you'd be the only one.”
“You have to give them time to process this, Spence. All of them. You've known it since you were a kid, and known who he is since your mom passed, they found out a few hours ago.”
“Yeah...”
“I'll talk to Jaina, okay? Try to get through to her. I don't know what to do about Amy.”
“I do. I'm gonna give her a few days to calm down then try to talk to her myself.”
Marie winced a bit. “I don't know... judging by her reaction earlier, maybe it would be better to wait until she goes to you. She and Simon are obviously close friends.”
“That's probably a better idea. Maybe Amy was right about one thing, I should have told her first.”
“Please stop second guessing yourself. You had reasons for everything you did, and they're justifiable. If you had told her, either right away, or just a few days ago.. the first thing she would have done is told him. You know that.” Spencer just nodded, he did know that. It was the sole reason he didn't tell Amy, or anyone. He wanted – needed – to be the person to tell Simon who he really was. Marie squeezed his arm a bit. “Maybe I'm wrong, you know? I don't really know Amy all that well yet, maybe after the shock and anger wears off, she'll listen to you and be more understanding.”
Spencer scoffed, giving Marie a smirk. “I don't think you really believe that.”
Marie shrugged. “Okay, not really. I was just trying to be helpful.”
Spencer had to laugh. “I appreciate the gesture, but I'd prefer honesty.”
Marie sat up a little straighter, adjusting herself to face him better. “You want full honesty? Okay... here's what I really think. Amy has this whole thing about being brave she preaches, right? Well, you stood up for yourself, knowing that the public opinion of the man you stood up to would make you the bad guy by default. But you told the truth anyway. That is one of the bravest things a person can do, and I really admire that.”
“That's pretty honest. It means a lot to hear that, thanks.”
“It's just the truth, and why I'm always gonna be on your side.”
The depth level of the conversation had stretched too long, and Spencer couldn't help himself from cracking a smirk and a joke. “I thought it was because of my irresistible charm and good looks.”
“Well... those help.” Marie laughed a bit, then returned to her seriousness. “I have to say though, that your bravery in the face of certain adversity is inspiring. I can be hesitant to act sometimes, I often over-think the consequences and psych myself out. But tonight? You proved to me that the consequences can be dealt with if you know what you're doing is right. So... I'm gonna make a brave move, too.”
“Oh yeah? What's that?”
In reply, Marie smiled and leaned over to kiss him, raising one hand up to his face. After a few seconds, Spencer pulls back.
“Not the first time you've done that, I don't follow.”
“Well... I'm not going to stop you there this time.”
Spencer widened his eyes a little, and Marie just smiled again. “I see... not that I'm not more than willing, but are you just trying to distract me from my bullshit?”
“Maybe a little... but I'm also tired of talking myself out of it. I want to be with you.”
They kissed again, deeper than before. Spencer though pulled back once more. “Can I ask you something?” Marie nodded. “Why'd you talk yourself out of it, if you actually wanted to? And don't give me that liability speech, I wasn't buying that at the time, or now.”
“That was part of it... but not all of it.”
“Alright, I'll accept that. Why then? Bad previous experience?”
“Not exactly.... more like no previous experience.” Marie winced a little, waiting for his response.
“Wait... you're telling me you're...”
“Yes, a virgin.”
Spencer backed away more, putting actual space between them. “Shit... I'm an asshole, the way I've been acting with you...” No wonder she'd asked about locker room talk about his extracurricular activities!
“No, you're not. You haven't been, at all.” Marie moved closer, filling the space he made. “If anything, I held out too long.”
“No such thing. You don't owe anyone anything... least of all me.”
“I know that. What I meant was... I was nervous. But there's no reason to be.”
Maybe she didn't think so, but Spencer thought otherwise. He didn't think he deserved her, he'd fucked around so much, even before ever going to New Orleans... and she was literally pure. It was something he'd never done, as far as he was aware, take a girl's v-card. He'd never wanted to. But....
“Are you really sure you want-”
“Certain.” Marie laid her hand on his chest. “Please?”
Well fuck. There was no resisting that, no matter how much Spencer didn't think he deserved to be that guy. “Well, since you asked so politely...”
They kissed again, and there was no hesitation in it this time, as Spencer had always noticed before. As they laid back and got more comfortable, Spencer had one thing to thank about his loose tendencies... he always had a supply of condom on hand. He might be a skirt chaser, but he was a responsible one.
* * * * *
The next morning, Spencer woke up with Marie still in his bed. They were both still nude. Watching her sleep contentedly, he thought to himself that if she hadn't told him about her lack of experience, he wouldn't have guessed. He suspected she'd previously done some things, just not everything. Until the previous night, anyway. Despite the fact Marie claimed nervousness, she seemed very comfortable and eager the whole time. Spencer shifted his position a little, the arm Marie was laying on had gone numb. She stirred, and turned her head towards him, now awake.
“Didn't mean to wake you up.”
“It's okay.” Marie smiled.
“How do you feel?”
“Mmm. Like I should have gone for it sooner. I had no idea what I was missing.”
“You were just waiting for the right time and the right guy. Anyone else might have given you a.... lackluster experience.” He smirked, and she giggled.
“You really do have a lot of confidence in yourself, don't you?”
“Hey, I love myself.... you should too.” Spencer meant that as in, she should love herself. But Marie seemed to take it a different way, judging by the way she looked up at him.
“Maybe I do.”
Realizing what he said, and not wanting words to continue down that path, Spencer said nothing, just leaned in and kissed her. Marie responded by pressing herself into him.
“Another ride, huh?” Marie's answer, is a deeper kiss.
Spencer has never been one to disappoint a lady, and he wasn't gonna start this morning.
{{Friday, March 11
Gretna, LA
BlackOut Academy}}
Spencer had booked his own flight home from Seattle, there was no way he was getting on the same plane as everyone else. He had to wait til Friday evening to fly out though, so Saturday had been a wash as far as getting anything productive done. Not that it mattered to Spencer, he spent the week avoiding BlackOut Academy as much as he could. Marie had tried to convince him to go, she said Simon wasn't even there. He'd apparently gone to Los Angeles to see his daughter. Spencer had long been aware of the eleven year old girl Simon fathered with his ex-wife Trinity Street, and that she was technically his sister, but he had zero interest in any of Simon's other family. Besides, Simon wasn't the only person Spencer was avoiding by not going to BOA. He wanted to give Amy time and space to calm down, not to mention the other coaches... and even the students. Jodi Jennings had called him, no doubt to ask questions, but Spencer ignored the call and didn't return it. He wondered if maybe she would be on his side, but she wasn't someone he wanted to talk to about the issue.
Instead, Spencer explained to Marie, he didn't really need a gym to keep in shape for his upcoming United States Championship defense. He had weights at home to keep up his strength training. He ran the track at Mel Ott Park down the street for cardio. Marie though was persistent, she asked him to meet her to spar after class hours. CrescentCity Fitness was open 24/7, and although BOA classes ended around 4PM every day, the academy upstairs was always open to students, so they had access to the rings. Spencer gave in and met Marie there Thursday night. She couldn't do much hard sparring with her neck still bothering her, but she thought it was better than Spencer not getting any ring time at all. Afterwards, Marie had gone home with him to his apartment, and spent the night.
This morning, after Marie went home, Spencer was getting ready to walk to the park for another track run when h got a call from Amy. He was surprised to see her name pop up on his phone, but he did answer it. She sounded perfectly calm when she asked him to meet her at BOA later that afternoon to talk. After she promised no lectures or yelling... Spencer agreed.
It was after lunchtime when Spencer walked into the door of CrescentCity Fitness. He turned towards the stairs to BOA on the second floor, but Amy walked up to him from the other side.
“Hi... I'm glad you came.”
“Told myself I was gonna wait to talk to you til you contacted me. So here I am.”
“That's fair. Let's go into Wyatt's office down here, is that okay?”
“Perfect.” Spencer hadn't wanted to walk past the students or other coaches anyway. He followed Amy into the office, and she closed the door, then sat at the desk. Spencer took a seat across from her in one of the two chairs in the room.
“Firstly, I want to say that I understand why you haven't been here all week.”
“I thought you might.” Spencer could tell that Amy was doing her best to keep calm as she spoke.
“Also, I understand that you have a lot of anger over what happened to your mom, and obviously too, to you. I even understand that you wanted to choose your own moment to come clean about who you really are. What I don't understand though... is why you decided that it had to be done in front of a live audience on international TV, or why you felt it necessary to get physical.”
Spencer sat up, he almost leaned on the desk but thought better of it at the last second. “First of all, I threw that slap because he disrespected my mother – again – by insinuating that she lied to me. I reacted, it was probably out of line, but you know me. I'm hot-headed and reactionary. I can tolerate a lot, as I'm sure you fully understand now...” Amy nodded, he'd tolerated all the disagreements and misunderstandings with Simon at BOA and never once even hinted at the truth. “.... but the one thing I will not tolerate, from anyone, is my mother being disrespected.”
“Okay... fair enough. High emotions can get the best of anyone. But-”
“But why on TV? I thought I made that clear on Breakdown. He has the world fooled into thinking he's some kind of hero. I'm living proof that's not true. It made me sick to my stomach, coming in here every day, listening to all of them-” Spencer pointed up, to the second floor where BOA was located. “-idolize him, act like he's the standard everyone should aspire to. All the while he's been walking around here, believing his own hype, like he just completely forgot my mother and the unborn child he left existed.” Spencer shook his head in disgust. All of this had been festering in his head since he decided to come to New Orleans, and now that the truth was out, everything was spewing out. Amy just let him talk, she knew what it was like to purge thoughts and emotions that had been held back for too long. When Spencer was done, Amy let his words hang in the air a few moments, then spoke calmly.
“Would you like to hear what he told me about it?”
“Not really, but I know you want to tell me anyway, so go ahead.” Spencer sat back again, crossing one leg over the other, ankle resting on knee.
“Okay. He says he didn't know she was pregnant. He was offered an opportunity to train in wrestling, but it required him to move away. So he ended the relationship, as he felt that trying long distance wouldn't work.”
Spencer nodded, it was the story he expected after what Simon had said in the ring. To someone who didn't know better, it even fit with the break-up letter to his mom he'd found. But Spencer knew better. “That's what he says. And he has no reason to lie, right? He's just a regular guy, not anyone millions of people look up to, not a man with a saintly reputation. Right?”
Amy sighed at the heavy sarcasm. “I know you fully believe what your mother told you. You have no reason not to, it would seem like she had no reason to lie to you. She raised a good man... two, if your brother is anything like you.” Spencer made a disbelieving face. “Yes, even with the things you and I don't agree on, I know that at your core, you're a good man. And I know that a lot of that comes from your mom, you've often spoken about her as a strong woman, who did the very best she could with the deal life dealt her. She's your hero, right?” Spencer nodded, he said nothing though, waiting to see where Amy was going with this. “That's your perspective. Now let me give you mine, about Simon. When I first came to SCW, he was one of the first people who made me feel welcome in the locker room. Over time he became one of my closest friends. So much so, that after I finished rehab a few years ago, he was my sponsor. To this day, we call each other when things get hard and we need to be reminded why we stay sober. I know you don't want to hear this right now, but he is a good man, too.” Spencer rolled his eyes. Amy pretended not to notice. “Listen, I don't want to call anyone a liar. Honesty is a big thing with me, and accusing someone of dishonesty is serious. I get that. But... they can't both be right. You do understand that, right?”
“What I understand... is that you want to believe the person you've known longer, instead of the person who was wronged.”
“I admit that I don't know what, or who, to believe. I'm stuck in the middle here, okay? I'm your manager, but I'm his employer and friend.”
Spencer sits up again, and lays his hands on the desk, palms down. “Tell you what, Amy. Let's put all the cards on the table, huh? You already didn't trust me, just going by how you were ready to gut me when you saw me kissing Marie. What if I told you she's on my side? Or, that she's the only person other than my brother who I trusted to talk to about all of this before I put it out there at Breakdown?”
“Wait... Marie knew?”
“I told her a few weeks ago. After that training drill where your bestie got on my ass for improvising the drill.” Amy looked down at her hands on the desk. “I told you that you had it all wrong about me concerning her. You never had anything to worry about, she isn't one of the dozens of random women I know you saw me messing with. She's the woman.”
Amy looked back up, and something seemed to click. “Are you saying that the two of you are together?”
“Yes, that's what I'm saying. But you.... you couldn't trust me around her. You tried to make that decision for her. So it's no surprise really that you don't trust me or my word on anything.”
Amy leaned forward again, putting her hands down just like Spencer did. “You know what, fine. All cards on the table? Tell me why I should trust you. After everything I saw on the road, I had every reason to be skeptical about your interest in a young woman who I gave my word to her mom I would protect. And instead of speaking to me, like an adult, about it? You snuck around behind my back and started seeing her anyway. The sneaking, is what makes it look suspect. On top of that, you've hid this information about your connection to Simon the entire time you've been here-”
Spencer smacked the desk with one hand. “And neither one of those things is really any of your business! That's what you're not understanding, Amy. Don't misunderstand me, I appreciate everything you've done for me. Accepting me into your school, getting into SCW, all of it. But I'm my own man, Marie is her own woman. If it's not about wrestling, it doesn't concern you. And Simon? That has absolutely nothing to do with you. You can't control everything and everyone around you, no matter how much you want to.”
“I am acutely aware of that, according to my rehab and therapy records. I'm just trying to do the best I can here, Spencer. I'm trying to make sense of everything, because I care about Simon and I care about you. If you want me to stay out of it, fine. I will. I will find a way to process being upset with you for keeping this secret for so long. You had your reasons and my reaction to it is my responsibility. All of that said... this does mean that you are going to have to talk to him.”
Amy's words sounded to Spencer like some kind of coping skills she picked up from a therapist. That was good for his concern that Amy was going to end up in a bad place over all of this. But he wasn't going to be pushed into anything just to make it easier on her, either.
“No. I don't have anything else to say to him.” Spencer sits back in his chair once more.
“Did it cross your mind that he might have something to say to you? In fact, I know he does. He very much wants to speak to you.”
“Doesn't matter. I'm not ready for that.”
“Did you really expect to just throw that information out there and then just ignore him?”
Spencer rubbed his face, this conversation was starting to wear him out. “I'm not gonna ignore him forever, I know I can't. I just can't deal with it right now. There's a little show this weekend, you know?”
“I wasn't sure you remembered, you haven't been training.”
“Yes I have. I came last night with Marie, after everyone else upstairs was gone. It's not just you and Simon I was avoiding. But she pretty much insisted on sparring.”
Amy nodded, she picked up on the unspoken meaning, Spencer didn't want to deal with questions from the students either. “Okay, well that's something. But, as your manager... I am still your manager, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. As such, I can't let you go into a title match with one training session with an injured woman under your belt. How about you come back here later tonight? It'll be just me and Jason. And then tomorrow morning before we leave for Kansas City?”
“I can do that. Speaking of KC though... you do understand I'm not traveling with your whole group, right?”
“Yes you are. Simon is in Los Angeles, he'll be leaving from there for KC, so there's no issue there. Unless you're trying to tell me you want to travel alone with Marie?”
“That depends on you, if you're gonna get all the way off my back about her.”
Amy held her hands up. “I will back off.”
“Thank you. By the way... would it be too much trouble to rebook my and her rooms into one?”
Amy gave him a questioning look, Spencer just smirked. “I take it things have... progressed.”
“That's one way of putting it.”
Amy flipped open a planner on her desk, pointedly not looking at Spencer. He could see on her face though that the idea of he and Marie sharing a room bothered her. He hadn't even asked Marie about it; the point was a test – to see if Amy was really going to back off. Amy made a note in the planner, then looked back up.
“Okay... it shouldn't be any trouble to just cancel one room.”
“Great. Are we done?”
“For now, yes. See you back here around say.. six?”
“Six works.” Spencer got up and put his hand on the doorknob, but turned back to Amy before opening the door. “You know, you should be happy about me and Marie. Booking us one room instead of two is saving you some money. I know you're paying for it out of our manager's fees.”
Amy glared slightly. “If you want me to back off, don't push it.”
Spencer smirked. “I wouldn't be me if I didn't.”
Amy shook her head at him as he walked out of the office.
Spencer had walked into the gym fully expecting to be ambushed, with Simon waiting. Marie had told him Simon was out of town, but that didn't mean he hadn't come back early. Yet, he hadn't, and Spencer had to begrudgingly give both him and Amy credit for not doing so when they had the chance. Spencer meant what he said to Amy, he knew that he had to face the man now that he knew who Spencer really was, but he needed to focus on staying United States Champion first. He hoped that as a former accomplished wrestler himself, Simon would understand that. There would be plenty of time for whatever needed to be dealt with after Retribution.
ON CAMERA
Didn't I tell y'all everything would make sense after Breakdown?
I guess I didn't really explain that hotel altercation between myself and Simon Lyman in detail, but if that's what you're waiting for, you're gonna be waiting a long time. The reason I got frustrated and fed up and did what I did wasn't really that argument. It was the last straw on top of years and years of pent up anger, animosity, hatred... but most of all? Resentment. Here's this guy who turned his back on the most basic human responsibility there is, because it got in the way of chasing fame. Never occurred to the man that he could do both. Or, maybe it did, but he didn't want to take baggage with him to live out his dreams... never considering or caring about what was gonna happen to the people he left behind.
Yeah, I said people.
Old man, you didn't just leave behind a woman who would have followed you if you'd only asked. You left behind a piece of yourself, too. If you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and wondered why you didn't feel whole, or like the storybook career you created for yourself was enough... if you ever asked yourself why is it that millions of people look up to you and call you a legend yet you refuse to consider yourself that, because you don't think you're good enough?
The reason for that, is that piece of yourself you left behind. The reason for that... is me.
Everything you did after leaving that poor woman behind must have in some way been motivated by the desire to forget. You started wrestling, you made friends, you won championships.... you created another family. Maybe after the years passed, you really did forget about her, about us. You moved on in your life, but the thing is... my mother? She never did. Oh, she tried to. I do have a little brother, as I said. I did get my name from his father, as I said. Mom tried, she really did. She enjoyed her job, she treated me and my brother like princes... but in my whole life up til the day she died... I don't think she was ever truly happy. And there's no doubt in my mind that that... is your fault.
Once I figured out who you were and more importantly, where you were? Well, it wasn't hard to decide what to do with my life. I had already been the star of the wrestling team in high school and college... chalk that one up to nature in the Nature Versus Nurture argument, huh? Mom wanted me to pursue this after college, and I promised her I would. Her death was unexpected, some freak aneurysm that the doctors said would have never been detected. Took a full autopsy to figure out why she just didn't wake up one morning. I couldn't let her down, so at the same time me and my brother went through her effects, I was looking into schools. Everything fell into place.... I figured out your identity from some of the papers in Mom's things... and then I found out where you worked.
I want you to know this, Simon. Everything I've done since the day I realized it was you who ruined my mother's life.. from deciding on BlackOut Academy, to insisting to Amy that SCW was the only place I'd entertain working, to pushing myself to rise as high as I could, as fast as I could... has been because of you. Let's face it, I exist because of you.
Before I could knock you off that white horse of yours though, I knew I had to make something of myself in this company, I had to mean something to all these people who idolize you, so that when it came time to expose you? It would mean something. I'm not just a rookie who trained with a Hall of Famer, that then fell into a contract because she put in a good word. I'm not a man who's just happy to have made it here, with no desire for more.
I'm a goddamn champion!
I made the best of every match, every opportunity given to me and I bested a real legend to be where I am right now.
I'm United States Champion because of you.
I don't want you to think I'm crediting you for any of this, far from it. I'm blaming you, for everything I had to do to get here. How I had to act, to make sure that I never was in the position to do something like what you did. I had to shut people out, I had to lie, I had to withhold information. Two people who I thought were some of my best friends are infuriated with me... when they should be infuriated with you! But I get it... people always want to kill the messenger in this world. How dare I, right? How dare I go on national TV and tell people my story, expose their hero as a false idol? Fuck me, right?
That's the problem with society these days, people only value truth when it's a truth they want to hear. It's like perception.... Amy drilled into my head, week in and week out, you gotta watch out for perception. No, you can't tell the little kid you won't sign his DVD. No, you can't go out drinking after shows as a championship contender. No, you can't carry on with a ring crew woman, no you can't date that particular woman because reasons.... it goes on and on and on! I don't give a damn about perception, I never have, much to Amy's frustration.
Perception is why Simon is seen in the light he is. Perception is why almost no one ever has a bad word to say about him, perception is what gave him that hero aura... I'm here to tell you that perception is bullshit. I deal in reality. And the reality... that so many people are angry about and refuse to accept... is that their hero isn't any better than anyone else. He's not a hero. He's just a flawed man, who underneath everything he preaches only ever cared about himself. The fact I grew up knowing nothing about him while he went on to create this career that you all love is all the proof you need of that.
Me personally? I mostly only care about myself too, but I didn't have a choice. I had to be self-focused, I had to become the way I am to ensure that I never became like the man who created me.
I know I sound like I'm just bitching and not focused on Retribution but I assure you that I am. Everything that I've said is very relevant to what's been going on with Tsunami and his father Martin Howe. Last week I talked about how despite the fact Tsunami was raised by his father, he would have been better off growing up without him, like I did. I stand by that, and everything that happened at Breakdown is why. Tsunami has a one track mind, and that track is destruction, aimed in the direction Howe points. I walked into SCW, Howe decided I was a kid he could push around and use for Tsunami to make an impact... so he pointed. I went down. I got back up though, and I went on to become a much bigger deal than Tsunami is. While he was facing every other newcomer, picking on those less experienced and weaker than he is, I was earning opportunities and making people tap out.
Amy took on a new client in Marie Caedes, soon after Jaina Lancaster decided to trade her microphone for a pair of boots. It was clear those women were friends of mine, so... Howe pointed. And Tsunami zeroed in. They made a spectacle out of blackmailing Jaina into a match – and I don't give a damn what she said, they forced her – then went on to make good on the threat anyway by attacking Marie. She's still recovering, by the way. But that wasn't enough.... nah, they made the match itself a spectacle trying to act like the ogre had a crush. No one on Earth bought that bullshit, it was just mindgames. When that didn't work, Tsunami listened to Howe again and tried to do God knows what to Jaina... all in the name of getting to me.
Here's the sad part, it took me making the challenge for this match, for Howe to agree to let Tsunami face me one on one! I had to put my gold on the line for it to be worth their while, apparently. And last week? Man, that was the diarrhea icing on top of the shitpile this whole thing has been. What was supposed to be a tag match turned into chaos, because Tsunami apparently doesn't understand tag rules, and then couldn't keep it in the ring. Raab didn't help matters either, chasing Davis around and running the ref over. It's no wonder the whole thing got thrown out.
Let me make something real clear for Martin Howe and Tsunami, though. There isn't gonna be anyone else in the ring Sunday night. There's gonna be no one in my corner for you to try to use to distract me. There's only gonna be me and Tsunami in the ring, and I'm gonna expose him for the one trick pony he is before I knock him the fuck down and make him tap the fuck out.
Exposing people is what I do. Anyone who's built themselves up into something they're not better hope they don't cross paths with me. You can create whatever perception you want, you can make people believe anything. But beliefs can be changed and perception shattered when I find out the truth, when I pick apart every weakness you have, and bring reality crashing down in epic fashion.
Martin Howe wants the world to think his son is a monster, an in-ring wrecking machine. He's created this perception by siccing the man on people weaker than him, smaller than him, less experienced than him. I might be all three of those things.... physically. But mentally? I'm ten times the man that he will ever be!
The United States Championship? I put it on the line to get the match I wanted, but it was never in danger. I'm gonna walk into Kansas City as a champion and I expect to walk out still a champion. Martin Howe can say whatever he wants on Tsunamis behalf, he can spin whatever perception he chooses to concoct. Reality is gonna come down hard in the form of a Pryce Check, and by the time I'm done? Much like my sorry excuse of a father... both Howe and Tsunami are going to wish I'd never been born, so that they'd never be exposed as less than the aura they've created themselves to be.