For the last week, Damian wrestled with a single question.
Was he making a mistake.
A week had passed when, perhaps in a rare moment of impulsiveness, in an effort to assuage the fears of his ex-wife Julia, Damian invited her to come see him wrestle in Chicago on September 6, 2014. It was a compromise, a means of resolving an impasse concerning their son Max. Damian wanted his son Max to come see him wrestle at Rivalry; but in light of the actions and words on Twitter of Ryan Kidd, aimed at the small boy-- "tell him 'Uncle' Ryan is more ecstatic to see him again next week in Chicago"-- Julia was on high alert.
Ryan Kidd certainly did not do Damian any favors by stirring the pot, and whether it was intentional or not, he managed to find the chink in Damian Cole's armor-- he caused tension within his former household. For Damian, his return to the sport-- following his downward spiral of drugs and affair that caused his incarceration and the end of his marriage three years ago-- had always been a means to an end. The bottom line was that he needed the money to support his family, and this was what he did best. He loved the sport, but proving to Julia, to his children, and to everyone he had let down came first.
But then he tasted victory. A string of wins. A fortuitous turn of events. A championship. Competing was still a means to a greater end, but suddenly, Damian was finding the passion that existed when the sport was the end itself. And he wanted to share that feeling with his son.
So when Damian blurted out to Julia that she should accompany Max to Chicago for Rivalry, he was trying to simultaneously serve two masters-- his desire to appease the woman he wanted to take him back, and his desire to have his son present while he did what he loved.
And then there was the pride. Damian was damned if he was gonna let Ryan Kidd and his menacing threats dictate if and when his son was going to accompany him to an event. Damian would not be bullied, he would not live in fear-- even if that came at the expense of Julia's peace of mind.
There were a few problems that stemmed from this predicament that Damian had created for himself. First, Julia had never been to one of Damian's matches-- not while they were married, and certainly not after their divorce, since his release from Rahway Penitentiary. She hated the sport. She didn't understand it. She tolerated it when they were married, but essentially pushed Damian to compartmentalize his life. He had his wrestling world and his family world. What was going to happen when Julia saw the "other side of Damian?" It was something that was more than a little concern to champ.
Second, Julia's presence would certainly add fodder for Ryan Kidd; and Damian, whose greatest strength had always been his focus and ability to remove all distraction come game time, was certainly going to be tested by even the prospect of a run in between Ryan Kidd and his ex-wife.
And then there was the most pressing issue at hand-- Priscilla Price, otherwise known by the tabloids as "The Metropolitan Mistress." She was a con artist, a habitual liar who suffered from bi-polar disorder. She was originally hired by Damian's manager, divorce attorney Marty Sunshine, to seduce married wealthy men in order to drum up business for him.
She was also the former paramour, the woman that wrecked the Cole marriage. Originally brought in four years ago by Damian's manager, Marty Sunshine to serve as a ring valet to Damian, she became a first class "fatal attraction," and was the key contributing factor to Damian's drug binge. Their relationship ended when Damian went to prison and resolved that he would come out a different man, bent on winning back his family. As for Priscilla Price, she became a highly reputable wrestler-- the current woman's champion of the IWA in Kennewick, Washington-- but she also remained somewhat of a stalker when it came to Damian, so much so that he had taken out a restraining order against her.
There was always the chance that she would surface, and a ten second encounter between Julia Cole and Priscilla Price would reek more havoc on Damian's life than a thousand Ryan Kidds.
It was the perfect storm of potential calamity-- well, not the "perfect" storm. There was one missing ingredient-- and that ingredient was that Damian was wrestling Troy Stone.
At 6'1 and 225 pounds, Troy Stone was a seasoned wrestler with a resume that made him an instant threat to Damian. The truth is, however, that this is now what concerned Damian about Troy Stone. After all, in Chicago, there were no easy matches.
The thing that was gnawing at the back of Damian's brain and causing him restless nights was a conversation spurred by a curious wife and a Google search engine. Ironically, it was Damian's wife Julia, with no knowledge of the sport whatsoever, but driven by motherly instinct to protect their son and do her due diligence, that led to this conclusion.
* * *
INT. HOME OF JULIA COLE - PAULSBORO, NEW JERSEY - AFTERNOON
Julia Cole sits at a computer in the front room of the former Cole marital residence in suburban Paulsboro, New Jersey. The ordinarily soft, easygoing matriarch of the Cole family has a look of tension and frustration about her as she scrolls through Google. Given the list of links that appear on the screen, it is evident that she has been doing research of her ex-husband's opponent, Troy Stone.
There's a knock at the door, and it opens before Julia has a chance to get up. In walks DAMIAN COLE.
He appears in a jovial mood, as he always does when visiting the love of his life-- the woman he is so intent on winning back. Damian is holding an envelope.
DAMIAN
Knock knock.
JULIA
Hey.
Damian approaches, albeit with caution, given Julia's less than warm response. He hands her the envelope.
DAMIAN
This should take care of this
month's mortgage and the taxes.
I'm working on some more. I should
have something for you next week.
JULIA
Thanks.
Damian studies Julia.
DAMIAN
Kids still at school?
JULIA
Still there.
DAMIAN
First day, huh?
JULIA
Yep.
The one word answers are eating at him.
DAMIAN
Alright Jules, what's up?
Julia looks back. She's fighting a tear.
DAMIAN
What? What is it?
Finally, the floodgates open, and Julia is a mess.
JULIA
How could you do this?
How could it come to this?
DAMIAN
What?
JULIA
What do you mean, what? You
know what! We had it good, and
you went and fucked it all up!
Damian moves in to hug her. She begins smacking Damian in a rage, but then she gives in and hugs him. All the while, Damian whispers "I'm sorry."
Over her shoulder, Damian notices the Google page, and the multiple links to Troy Stone.
DAMIAN
Jules, what is going on?
What are you doing here?
Julia grabs a tissue and blows her nose, wipes her eyes.
JULIA
I was doing research on this Troy Stone,
this guy you're wrestling this week,
because I wanted to know, if I came along
and brought Max, what we are getting into.
DAMIAN
And?
JULIA
You know he has a baby on the way?
He's got a wife and a baby on the way
and everything I read about him talks
about he is doing this all for his
family and he wants to give his baby
everything and that was you and I don't
know what happened, or how we got here!
Suddenly Julia is sobbing again. Damian is in silence. He doesn't know what to say because-- quite frankly, she is right on all accounts.
DAMIAN
Jules, I am sorry. I
cannot change the past.
JULES
Don't you think I know that!
DAMIAN
I am doing the best I can!
Suddenly, the former husband and wife hear the hustle and bustle coming from outside the front door. They scramble to compose themselves just as their son Max and daughter Faith enter the house. They look suspiciously upon their parents.
FAITH
What's going on?
DAMIAN
Nothing's going on. How was
your first day of school.
FAITH
It sucked.
JULIA
Faith!
FAITH
I have about four hours of homework on the
first day and they gave a pop quiz on the
summer reading and Travis is dating Wendy
again and I just want to curl up in a ball!
MAX
I had a great day! You should have seen the
other kids, asking me about you dad, and the
match, and I told them about this weekend!
Dad, can I bring the belt for show and tell?
DAMIAN
Can you bring the...no, you cannot
bring the belt for show and tell.
As the children continue to speak, Damian throws a look at Julia, who gives a smile underneath reddened, glassy eyes.
DAMIAN
I better get going.
* * *
It seems like every other Saturday marks a new first. My first match back. My first match for a title shot. My first match with my son watching. My first title.
This Saturday is no different, as it seems for the first time in my career, a career spanning back half a decade, I get to wrestle in front of the only woman that has ever mattered to me. Troy, you've got it all-- the speed, the strength, the technique, the stamina. You have a team behind you and a family supporting you. You have all the makings of being the next champion. However, when I study you, I see one thing that you are lacking-- the one thing that separates you from me, that makes closer to a version of my former self.
Humility.
You are gonna steal the show. You are gonna take over Second City. You are gonna be the one that everyone talks about.
My ex-wife does some surface research and discovers a family man, driven by ambition to take care of his wife and child-- all good things.
But I see what you're really about. I see through the façade. You're driven by the fame, by the status, by the need to be looked up by everyone else as the best. Your family is nothing more than a status symbol to you, and when status and accolade are your driving forces, you will crash and burn.
I was you. I could teach you through story. I could give you some life lessons. I could share my experience and try to lead you on the right path. But I myself am still clinging to that path every day for dear life, holding on by a thread; and honestly, I wouldn't expect you to listen anyway.
And so come Saturday, I am going to give you a lesson, not with words, but with my actions. I am going to teach you what it is like to truly fight for something bigger than yourself, bigger that your status, and bigger than the approval of others.
So I want you to bring your best on Saturday, Trent. The lesson does not work-- it will not sink in-- if you leave Saturday with a head cluttered with excuses. I'm looking for an honest war. You keep Bowen and Pierce in check, I'll keep Marty in check, and we'll do this-- you and me. But I'm not too sure you are capable of that-- a low blow here, a hook of the tights there-- I know how it goes. I encourage you to leave those tactics at home. Otherwise, it's gonna make this lesson all the more painful.