Ty Walker:

Tell ‘em Ry.

Ryan Matthews steps into frame and takes his place next to Ty Walker in front of the same Defiance banner. He’s wearing a red, sleeveless t-shirt, black cargo shorts, and an all-black pair of Nike Boings. After adjusting his matching Ohio State University baseball cap he peers ominously into the camera.

Ryan Matthews:

It’s funny how three different points of view this week paint the perfect picture.  Ty wants to add to his legacy and winning another championship will do that.  Sam loves to fight, and he wants to begin a legacy; another championship will do that.  Me…

Camera pans in on Ryan’s face as he nods.

Ryan Matthews:

...good old fashioned redemption, and revenge.  Another championship will do that.  I wanna wax poetic about how much this match means to me.  I wanna go into detail about the things I plan to do to you three physically to take those belts away.  But my words will fail me.  Instead I wanna give you all the opportunity to see yourselves the way I see you.  

Ryan removes his hat, and runs his hands through his hair before placing the hat back on.

Ryan Matthews:

I have always been a star athlete.  When it comes to any sort of physical application, I study it, I assimilate it, and then I perfect it.  Wrestling, martial arts, soccer, football, badminton--if it’s a sport, I ace it.  I brought that into professional wrestling and in the early days before the WWA,  I made a helluva name for myself.  OCWF, RSW, GWA, I dominated.  When I came to the WWA I found out that none of that mattered.

A humble, almost embarrassed smile forms on Ryan’s lips.

Ryan Matthews:

I believe the term they used, was “Double Crown at best.”  Double Crown at best?  Me?  My ego was crushed, my attitude became poor, and my matches afterward….don’t even get me started.  I turned on Sam, one of my best friends, one of my proteges and almost ruined his career.  

Sam Horry: (off screen)

You’re a bastard, but I forgive you, Ry.

Ryan Matthews:

Shut the fuck up, Sam.

Sam Horry: (off screen)

Sorry.

Ryan Matthews:

The depression I went through, was almost unbearable.  But I pushed through it, I fought harder.  I was determined to show that I was good enough, able enough.  Not long after, the kid labeled  “Double Crown at best” was now looking down from the mountaintop as the World Heavyweight Champion.  

Ryan rubbed his hands together.

Ryan Matthews:

So when I think back, to how I lost to you, Troy--somebody who’s mooched off my family’s last name despite yours only being spelled with one ‘t’-- it brings up all those feelings again.  Feelings like I’m not good enough, like I’m not capable enough.  So now you’re placed in an unenviable position, Philosopher Kings.  One where I gotta fight like hell to prove that I am good enough, that I’m as good as I’ve ever been. I’m like the original Coca-Cola, you’re nothing more than....Tab. Coke always wins out, and in this taste test history’s gonna repeat itself, cause the end result is gonna be gold around my waist.

He pointed an angry index finger into the camera shot.

Ryan Matthews:

Yours.

A wide sardonic grin appeared on Ryan’s face

Ryan Matthews:

Good old fashioned revenge, and redemption.

[_+_]

Earlier that morning.

The exercise room at their hotel in Japan, was not overly impressive.  In no way did it qualify as a gym as they only had a few treadmills, a medicine ball and machine weights.  But ever the warrior, Ryan not only persevered, but improvised.  There were not that many people in the exercise room at this time in the morning, but the ones who were got treated to a show courtesy of ‘The Real f’n Deal’.

Barechested, in a black pair of green basketball shorts, Ryan grunted as he continued his machine assisted benchpress routine.  He had the machine completely racked out, plus one of the cute massage assistants standing on top of the plates.

“....ten.”  Ryan called out as finished the set.  He exhaled before sitting back up.  “5 sets of 10, done, Sakura.”

Sakura, the massage assistants hopped down off the plates.

“That was impressive, I’ll give you that.”  She handed Ryan a towel.  “How much was that, including me?”

“Including you...305 to 310 lbs.”  Ryan wiped his forehead and chest.    

“Sounds heavy.”  She smiled.

“I usually lift more.”  Ryan flirted as he stood up and walked to her..  “Strength plays a role in my fighting style.  Flexibility too.  You look fit, I could show you a couple things.”

She moved closer to Ryan’s chest.  “I’d like that.”  She said.

Smiling, Ryan was about to close the deal, when his tag-team partner came in.  Ryan was trying to shoo him away but to no avail.

“Yo Ry, Sam’s mom is on the phone for you.”  Ty held the phone out.

“I can always count on this family to interrupt while I’m getting…..”  Ryan snatched the phone and put it on speaker.  “Hey mom.”

Darcell for years refers to Ryan as her ‘son’.  Though Ryan is part Scottish, part German, and part Irish, Ryan is not white to Mrs. Horry but light skinned.

“That’s my light skinned son..  My other son with you?”  Came from the phone.

“No, mom.  Sam probably left out early this morning.”  Ryan saw Ty about to answer, but Ryan shook his head.  “He didn’t answer his phone?  Probably has it on silent, you know him.”

“Oh, okay.  Tell him to call me before you guys show up at the family reunion.”  She says.

“Fam-ily Re-un-ion?”  Ryan looked at Ty, who nodded.  “Um, yeah.  Sure, mom.”

“See you when you get here.  Bye.”

Ryan handed the phone back to Ty.  “Family Reunion’s this weekend?  We’re going?”

Ty nodded.  “Yeah we goin’.  You want them comin’ over here lookin’ for us?”

“Good point.”  Ryan agreed.  He took a look at Sakura.  “Guess we’ll have to take a rain check on that, eh?

“Oh my fault, Sakura.  ‘Sup?”  Ty greeted her.  “Kimiko and Asuka are upstairs sleep, but they’ll be down to work their shifts.  Long night, nah’mean?  

“Of course, Mr. Walker.”  Sakura smiled, not wanting Ty to continue.  “We’ll continue our conversation again, I’m sure Ryan.”

She exited, leaving the tag team partners in the exercise room.

“Not bad, Ryan.  First name basis, too?  Awww shucky ducky.”  Ty teased.

“And you just had to ruin it.  But whatever, man.  Let’s get out of here.”  Ryan walked past Ty to grab the door.

“Where we goin’?”  Ty shrugged his shoulders.

“To get your cousin, who also is known to cockblock me on occasion.”  Ryan answered.  “Bad enough I can’t hit on anybody at the family reunion without feeling all awkward.”

[_+_]

The Next Day--The Family Reunion

Virginia.

When we last saw our heroes, they were behind a park bench after gunshots rang out, interrupting the family reunion.  A loud boisterous man, with a heavy Mexican accent had made a demand, which Ty Walker was all too happy to oblige.  And why not?  The demand was simple enough:

Hand Sam over.

“Please, if we can hurry this up.”  The man continued.  “I am starting to catch a cold, which is contagious, and contagious is to touch you.”

“Come on, Sam.”  Ryan said.  “Who else do you know with an accent like that, that completely butchers the English language?”

“No.  It can’t be.” Sam peered over to see who was demanding his life.  “Jeanie look, an old friend of yours.”

Jeanie peered out as well, her mouth dropped in shock.  He’d put on a couple of pounds but as Ryan mentioned the accent and diction were unmistakable.  

“El Jefe?”  She said.

Meet Juan Castillo-Rincon--aka El Jefe.  He was a gun runner and drug smuggler from Mexico who also wrestled as a way to transport guns and drugs without being hassled.  Juan wasn’t much as a wrestler as he was soundly and routinely beaten by Sam and Ryan in the promotion they wrestled for prior to entering the WWA.  The worst of which, was when he flashed Jeanie his twig and berries at ringside.  Sam nearly beat him to death which caused Sam to lose a match via countout.

El Jefe has seen hard times, having lost his business and major contributing partner in short order.  He could only afford muscle that were dumb enough to come unarmed as he was the only one with a pistol. Collecting the bounty on Sam’s head would be enough to make up for all that.

Or...so he heard.

“I’m gonna get to the grill.  One of y’all distract him.”  Sam said.

“Why don’t we just hand you over and save us all the trouble?”  Ty asked.

“Come on, can you and Ryan beat the Philosopher Kings without me?”  Sam asked as he took his shirt off.

“Yes.”  Ryan and Ty said in unison.

“Jeanie, he has a thing for you, so he probably won’t shoot you.”  Ryan strategized.  “Can you buy Sam a little time?

“Yeah, hand me my purse.”  She rolled her eyes while Ryan handed it to her.  Jeanie stood to her feet, reluctantly getting into ‘flirt’ mode.  “¿El Jefe?  Hola Jefelito…”

“¿Jeanie?  That you mama?”  Jefe ran his fat paw through his greasy hair.  “Aye, mamacita.”

Jeanie walked towards El Jefe and his crowd of 4 thugs, doing her best to flirt her way out of this mess;  Sam got to the grill.  Brandishing a pair of tongs, Sam hurled one at El Jefe.

Only to pierce one of his thugs in his thigh.

“Shit, Sam!  You almost hit me!”  Jeanie cried out.

“¿¡Sam?!”  Jefe yelled snapping out of trance Jeanie’s curves left him in.   “Get the ass out here!”

That’s when Ryan stood up.

“Been a while El Jefe.”  Ryan said.  “Still never quite mastered the English language, huh?  Glad to see some things never change.”

El Jefe pointed his gun at Ryan. “I should’ve known Sam would hide behind you.”

“You have a lot more reasons to be mad at me, El Jefe.”  Ryan smirked.  “I took your benefactor out the game too, man.  You’re broke, because of me, and...I’m sorr... are you the only one with a gun?”

Another pair of tongs flew through the air, digging their way into Jefe’s outstretched arm.  It numbed all the sensations in Jefe’s forearm down to his trigger finger.

“¡Maricon! *(insert angrier, sounding Spanish words here.)* El Jefe cursed.

Jeanie quickly kicked the gun away from El Jefe as it landed near Uncle Jeff who was still drunk twerking as it were.  She then kneed Jefe’s face, breaking his nose.

“Good, I got him!”  Sam called out.  “You see me Ryan, I was like Sisqo.  Hit ‘im with the Tong, ToTong, Tong, Tongs!!!”  

Ryan, with Ty and Sam in tow walked towards Jefe who was down on the ground, clutching at his numb arm.  Jefe’s hired muscle stood between them and Jefe.

“Now Jefe, you know how this is going down.”  Ryan said rubbing his hands together.  “Whenever you show up, me and Sam beat you down.  You’re still conscious, which means we haven’t done our job.  

“Um, I can has help here, please?!”  Jefe screamed towards a van with open doors.  “I thought you guys say this was easy.”

Two men accompanied by even more of Jefe’s hired (unarmed) muscle.  The two men in the lead literally shocked Ryan.  A blast from his past.

“I had some feelings that you would show up, Ryan.”  Jefe said as he tried to pull the tongs from his arm.  “So I has to brought some insurance.  They the guys who tell me about the bounty.”

“Hagane and Tokugawa…..terrific.”  Ryan sighed.

TBC...

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