Enter The Sweetness

“This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill Fifteen percent concentrated power of will Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!” I see it took some by surprise that Sean Lane would make his return to Strike Fantasy Towers, especially now. I see that some of you are happy to see him back, but I also see that the reaction was almost mute, telling me that there are either a lot of new faces or a lot of people who don’t seem to remember exactly what it was that I brought to the table and why it is I am in the hallowed record books, why it is that I am enshrined in the Hall of Fame…and why it is those who are happy to see me back are that way. I could sit here all day and tell you about what I’ve done, who I’ve beat and why I am the best that has ever graced your presence, but that gets tiresome after a while…unless you think your AI or something and you just run your mouth constantly. Instead I will let actions do the speaking once again. Oh sure, I’ll run my mouth, you cant shut up The Sweetness…but like back in the day, I will let my actions back up the words. I could tell you all day how good I am…instead Id rather just show you… The camera turns on inside the living room of Sean Lane’s estate. The date is April 18th. We see Sean come through the door followed by a lovely little brunette number. It seems some things really never do change. Sean goes over and has a seat on the couch with the brunette taking a seat next to him, stretching out and laying her head in his lap. Lane runs his hands through her long, curly hair… You know Jamie, you are absolutely beautiful. I don’t know what a girl like you is doing with a shlub like me. Really, out of any of the guys at the bar that night, you called my number…you must have drank too much. Sean, give it up…modesty has never been your strong suit. You know, its been almost a year that we’ve been together now and I still cant get over how beautiful this place is. I wish I had a rich uncle who died and left me a whole shitload of money. Damn, I mean, you drive a Mustang, you have this house…you never have to work. Its almost like theirs a secret to all this that will be sprung on me one day… Apparently Mr. Lane hasn’t been exactly truthful with his young female friend. Its as if she has no idea that Sean used to be the face of the weekly television empire that is Strike Fantasy Towers. Its like it never happened. Gone are the pictures of Lane, the headlines, the title belts that used to grace every room in the house. Sure, its decorated up nicely, but its almost as if Sean Lane the wrestler never existed or lived in this house. Nah, you have nothing to worry about. Once I finish up with school here I’ll start working again…you know, I cant just sit on my ass all day and do nothing… Oh I have something that you can do… With that Jamie leans in to kiss Sean, who reciprocates the action. Before long they are interrupted by a knock at the door. Lane lets out a big sigh before going to the door to answer. Outside is a UPS guy with a package. While Lane signs for it, Jamie gets up and walks down the hall with a determined look on her face. There had been one room that she had only caught a glimpse of, one night when she surprised Sean and he was in there. She had snuck up on him and when he saw her, he slammed the door quickly with a look of depression on his face. She had looked at him funny and when she asked about it, Sean said it was nothing and locked the door. Every time after that when she had the chance to take a look, the door was locked. But she kept trying, hoping to find the day when Sean would slip up. Lane looked behind him while he grabbed the package and closed the door. He had watched Jamie, on several occasions head for the one room that would explain the house, the car, the lack of job and the lifestyle that he could live comfortably in for quite some time. She would discover his past, a life that he desperately wanted to put behind him but was having trouble doing. At first, it wasn’t his fault. The fans, the marks, those who knew who he was all kept asking when he was going back, when he would be back on television. He was done with that. Over time, that stopped…with some help of his, like changing his last name on his ID and other small things to throw people off, like cutting his trademark long blonde hair short. But soon it wasn’t the fans that kept reminding him of his life on the road, his life in the spotlight…it was his own mind. Whether it was thinking about the one that got away or finding something that set off a memory…everything in his mind somehow tied him to what he was trying to escape. Now Jamie had her opening to check again and he knew she was doing so. She seemed so determined to find out what he was hiding…and maybe he wasn’t so determined to hide it any longer. Maybe sharing it would help him to get over whatever it was that kept that past life alive in his head. This time he had left the door unlocked, on purpose…to see what would happen. He loved Jamie but knew that to find out if anything real were there, she would have to know the truth. As she got the door, she took a quick look back to see where Sean was. When she didn’t see him, he grabbed the door handle and turned it…and it turned. She was shocked for a second that the door wasn’t locked…but even more shocked when she popped the door open and saw what remained of Sean’s old office…the spot where so many promos had been cut, where so much of his memorabilia now occupied walls and boxes. She gave it the once over and her jaw just dropped as she looked at one article about the local boy gone good…and then another about his first world title win. Holy shit! Sean now stood in the open door way, looking in at his baffled beauty, trying to judge her reaction. She looked puzzled, shocked and upset, all at the same time. Well, ya had to find out sometime, I guess… She was startled by his voice, jumping before turning to see him looking right at her doing what she had set out to do. Sean just sat there with a blank look on his face, trying to read her… Sean, what is all this stuff? Is that really who I think it is… You’re looking at him… Sean, why didn’t you tell me about this? I mean, what difference would it have made in the first place…I have so many questions about all this stuff… Save them, this is the past and that’s where it’s going to stay. Yes, I was a professional wrestler, a fairly successful one that was on television every week for about 4 years. But that is in the past…and I don’t want to talk about it. But Sean, this stuff is amazing. I’d say, with the articles and those titles, that you were a little more than fairly successful. And imagine the places you’ve been, all over the world. I don’t even know where to start. Don’t. I'm not answering any questions about this stuff and really, Id appreciate it if you left the room and maybe its best if ya take off for the night. With that Jamie just looked at him, noting the very, very serious face he was wearing and just walked out of the room. Lane stayed right there…looking into a box that was filled with various items as Jamie walked away. He heard the door slam a few seconds later and reached down, picking up a picture of himself in the ring, a bloody mess…with SFT legends Mad Dogg, Dave Steel and Ace looking on. That was his first big PPV match…the first time he saw the map in the SFT… He shakes himself out of it. He looks at the room once again and then puts the picture down in the pile of stuff on the floor. He walks towards the door, looks back again and shuts off the light, closing the door on the room and on his past, so he thinks. Its been a struggle…let me tell you. It’s been really hard for the past year and a half to bottle up everything I’ve ever known and get rid of it, lock it off from the outside world. Wrestling burned its bridge with me and I didn’t want that crap any longer. But with the time I realized, I came to the conclusion that I shouldn’t be running from my past, I should be embracing it. Wrestling wasn’t a curse, wrestling was life. I grew up loving something and it became my worst hatred…and that’s something that shouldn’t have happened. I realized I was given a gift…I was given the chance in a life time and given the talents to making a living doing what I loved, something very few can actually say. I grew up loving professional wrestling and I became the best fucking professional wrestler in the history of the game. Don’t believe me? Just stick around a little longer and you will see it once again. So, no longer will I run from my past, I will embrace it. No longer will I stay away from the ring, I will thrive in it. Its been a long time since I’ve tried anything but as you’ll see and as I’ve said, its like riding a bike…the same can be said about winning when it comes to “The Sweetness.” Once you start, you never forget how…and that’s how I intend this run to be. I haven’t been in an SFT ring for 18 months but once I get back in there, it will be as if I never left. And after the victories start adding up and the people take notice, you’ll realize that I am not in the Hall of Fame by fluke…nor was I a 2-time World Champion by act of luck. You’ll realize that Sean Lane really was as good as you’ve heard, as good as you remember and even better than you could have ever imagined…and when all is said and done, you will remember the name. You will never forget “The Sweetness.” Fade To Blue...