As a young kid, Aaron Helms was definitely what you’d call a ‘day dreamer’. As an avid professional wrestling fan, Aaron watched wrestling every week and didn’t just enjoy the show, he didn’t just mark for his idols, he let himself become fully immersed in the shows. He watched his favourite wrestlers compete and he’d imagine himself in that world, a world that was full of glitz and glamour, he saw his own name in lights on the marquee just like his heroes, assuming the professional wrestling world was full of excitement, adventure and hero-worship from the masses! He was young, naïve and idealistic, but he didn’t have to think about the reality back then, he was a kid. It was childish romanticism at its finest but back then, to Aaron at least, that was just how he imagined the life was and despite believing he had no chance of ever being in that position in a realistic admission, it didn’t stop the dream of being part of that jet-setting lifestyle. Fast forward several years though, at nineteen years old, Aaron was both living his dream and also gaining a stark lesson in how naïve and idealistic he once was! The reality of the business was blunt shock for Aaron. As a kid, he didn’t think about the pain that the wrestlers went through, he didn’t think of the aftermath from those huge matches that had people like him on the edge of their seats, he didn’t think about the injuries they suffered, the emotional and physical drain of having to go through rehab or physio as a result of the stress they put their bodies under. He didn’t think about how tiring it was, how exhausting the competition left these people and how the difficult schedules they lived to only exacerbated that. He didn’t even stop to think about how difficult it was for those who were apart from their families for more than two thirds of the year, about those who had children at home that were growing up without a mother or father for large periods of their life. How that may impact their own passion for the business, how difficult it must be to keep yourself motivated knowing how much you were missing at home. It was only when he joined the business himself that he got that sharp shock associated with the reality of the business, about how far removed from glamourous it could truly be…
And Aaron had it easy, too. He knew that, he knew full well how easy he had it compared to others; he was young, he had no children, had no real commitments back at home that distracted him from his career or forced him to make choices. His girlfriend travelled the road with him, she was with him every step of the way, and that put him in a major advantage over a lot of his co-wrestlers because at least he wasn’t pining for home or worse, wondering what he was missing. How many wrestlers on the international circuit wondered whether they were losing their loved ones? How many people suffered from paranoia, wondered whether their significant others were being unfaithful, whether they were losing their husband or girlfriend, whether they should give it all up for a normal life. And what about the opposite side to that? How many battled internally with how lonely life on the road could be?! You only had to look at how many relationships failed in the business, how many high profile relationships had crashed and burned in a very public way, to know that the business wasn’t exactly the best place to cultivate a romantic relationship in… that was one of the first lessons Aaron truly learned when he went from being a fan on the outside to being part of the machine; the business could ruin lives if you let it and Aaron was thankful for how easy he had it in comparison to some of those around him. But at the same time, while he may be lucky that he didn’t have to go through what many in the business went through, Aaron did have to deal with a lot of the things that he hadn’t ever accounted for when he was just a young idealistic fan. He had to deal with the aches and pains after his matches like everyone else, he had to deal with the stress he put his body through and the risk of injuries. He had to deal with the hectic schedule and the different town every day they were on the road. The hotels, the motels, the fast food joints and the airports or bus terminals, the packing and unpacking. It all took its toll. But it was all worth it too, because the feeling you got when competing made it worth it!
That was the beauty of the business; Aaron had been a big fan long before he made it into the business, he knew what it was like to be on the other side of the fence because it wasn’t that long ago that he was in that position. And when you thought about it, this business wouldn’t be anything without those fans, because if they didn’t have viewers the company would go out of business, wouldn’t it? So Aaron kept a smile on his face, he paused for every photo before and after shows, he signed all the autographs he could manage while sticking to his itinerary, he did everything he could to make sure those fans went home happy, just like his favourites had done when he was a kid. Because those people mattered. Aaron attended every single event for SCW that he could, all the meet and greats and fan access events, he loved doing them even if they were draining on him and at times he’d rather catch up on missed sleep or hit the gym. Those events gave the fans more opportunity to meet the people they idolised, just like he had done once upon a time and that connection was important to Aaron, because while he had realised that it was that hero-worship that had forced his hand where some of his decisions were concerned, he still had to remember what it was like being a fan and wanting nothing more than to meet those people that you looked up to! Not that he expected anyone to see him as their idol yet, but some day that may be the case if he continued on as he had been and he didn’t want to forget where he’d come from. Of course, it wasn’t always possible to keep up an air of positivity at those events, especially when things hadn’t been going your way or you’d had a particularly big loss at a previous show. Those were the worst fan events to attend because you had to keep a smile on your face despite however you felt on the inside…
That was particular difficult as Aaron sat behind a table with Scarlett in the convention area of the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. SCW had a house show there that event, three nights after Breakdown where Aaron lost the Television Championship to one of his mentors, Tommy Valentine and the rawness of that loss was still very much in evidence in Aaron’s mind, he felt like he’d failed some sort of test and he’d wanted nothing more than to head home after the show ended but he’d stuck to the schedule regardless because that’s just what you did. You couldn’t duck commitments because you weren’t in the mood! “It looks like things are finally dying off,” Scarlett said through the corner of her mouth before turning to the queue in front of their table. “Okay folks, everybody smile for the camera!” she shouted out with a smile to the queue as she snapped a quick picture of the event on her phone to post on twitter. They’d been sat there almost an hour, having broken from their first slot for lunch before coming back for the afternoon session and Aaron was thankful that the line was finally coming to an end, even if he’d smiled for every phone shoved in his face and gladly chatted with everyone who asked for an autograph. “It’s been a good one though; did you see that little kids face when you signed his action figure? I thought he was going to cry when you told him you’d pick up the win for him tonight. It’s stuff like this that makes it all worth it, when you think about it…” she went on as they signed the eight by ten placed in front of them.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Aaron said, forgetting about the fact that he was trying to keep a smile on his face despite still feeling down about losing three days earlier. “I’m looking forward to getting back to the motel though, even if we’ll only have about an hour to relax before we have to come back here…”
“Well, we’ll at least have time to eat some room service and relax before then,” Scarlett said with a shrug as she placed her phone back down on the table, a couple more people joining the short queue for their table and Aaron nodded as he grabbed another photo from the pile next to him.
“So who am I making it out to?” he asked, pen poised over the photo, not actually looking up as he prepared to write.
“You can’t have forgotten my name already, slick?” a voice asked and Aaron froze momentarily before looking up slowly into the face of the guy he’d met little over a week ago, at the house show in Montreal. “How about you make it out to Francis. That’s my little boy, he’s a huge fan,” Foster Willard said, his grin spread wide across his face as he looked down at the two teenagers in front of him. Scarlett had a smile on her face, not realising who was standing before them but Aaron was anything but pleased to see the agent who he had already rebuffed once already; he wasn’t in any mood to discuss what the guy was no doubt wanting to talk about, especially at a fan event where he had to make sure he got through everyone in the line before their time at the table was up! “Sorry about what happened Wednesday night, Aaron. It’s tough losing something you cherish, I know all about that one. But still, the thrill of the thing is in the chase, isn’t that right? You’ll come back stronger, just like you did against Amy Chastaine when you beat her for the belt… never give up, that’s the key. It’s why I’m here, after all!” he went on, flashing his pearly whites once again, giving Aaron the feeling that he was staring into the face of a shark for the second time since they’d met only nine days earlier. “Oh, and it’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Pearson; I’ve already met your delightful beau here, back in Quebec, but it’s an honour to meet you too. My names Willard, Foster Willard,” he said, holding out his hand and Scarlett took it her hers, shaking hands with him as realisation washed over her.
“Wait, that name rings a bell,” she said as she let go of his hand again. “The agent? Is this the guy you told me about?” she asked, turning to look at Aaron and the teenager nodded at her.
“This is him, yeah,” Aaron confirmed before turning to look at the agent again. “And I don’t think this is really the time or place to talk about what you want to talk about, bro. There’s a queue and those people want to meet us because they want to meet us, not because they want to make money off of us…”
The agent looked offended at that, holding a hand against his chest as if Aaron’s words had cut him deep. “Such pessimism, Aaron… I simply wanted to touch base with you now that you’ve had a little time to consider what I said last week, that’s all.”
“I figured that not calling you would have been an indication of my interest in what you said last week Foster,” Aaron replied dryly, duly signing the photo, making it out to the agents son before sliding it across to Scarlett.
“Aaron,” Scarlett said sternly, elbowing Aaron in the side, giving him a look at only a spouse or partner can truly understand. “There’s no need to be rude; all Mr. Willard is doing is presenting you with an opportunity, if you’re not interested then you can say no and that’s the end of it…”
“I’ve said no,” Aaron said grumpily as Scarlett shook her head, pulling the eight by ten towards herself to sign it. “I said no several times, but I don’t think that word registers with this guy…” he went on, the tone in his voice leaving nothing to the imagination regarding how the he felt about the man standing before him… but he was also conscious of the fact that fans were littered around the room and in particular that there were several people still waiting in line to speak to him and the last thing he wanted was for video of him kicking off at this guy to appear on youtube later that night. Bad publicity was all he needed after the good luck he’d had when nobody noticed who he was the night he was arrested. The chances of that were slim, but the idea of not one person pulling out their phones to film him chewing out some random guy at a signing filled with wrestling fans? Yeah, he’d take a bet on Sammy Thomas Davies winning the world title before he’d bet on no one filming that! “Look, is this really the time? We’re done signing in like, five minutes. You’re holding up the last of the line, it’s already been cut off. Let us get this out of the way and then we’ll talk… but don’t expect a different answer to what you got last time, alright?”
“Capital,” the agent said, beaming again as he reached down to swipe up his signed photo that both of th teenagers had autographed for him. “My boy will be over the moon when I take this back for him. Shall I get us some coffee?”
“That’d be great, thanks!” Scarlett said, her voice the usual one of happiness as the agent smiled and turned to head to the nearest coffee stand, leaving both teens sat at the table for the next fan to step up.
Aaron didn’t feel himself after that; oh, he chatted with the fans and still posed for the photo’s with a smile on his face, acted like he was pleased to meet these people, but didn’t he already have enough on his plate with his shame over losing to Tommy without this guy sticking his nose in for a second time in as many weeks, trying to make him offers that we’re supposedly too good for the teen to turn down. Who was this guy, Marlon Brando? No, he wasn’t Brando. Brando was cool, slick… this guy just pretended to be, he was playing a part. He was a shark, that’s what he was; it wasn’t just the smile, it was the whole package. The guy looked like he could smell blood in the water and was coming for it! And yet, he’d told the guy he’d listen to him… again… and Scarlett had agreed to coffee so Aaron stuck to his word. As the signing wound up, Aaron thanked everyone who’d come to meet him and Scarlett before they headed off to where Willard was waiting with three disposable coffee cups. They headed through a door marked ‘talent only’ into another room, the hospitality area, where press interviews had been done earlier in the day and they took a seat in three of the chairs that now sat empty. Aaron told himself as they say down that if the guy started talking crap again, he’d just walk away. It was Scarlett who agreed to the coffees, even if Aaron had said that they could talk once the signing was over. They were in a private room now, not the main hall where the fans could see. This guy didn’t have a Triple-A pass, he couldn’t follow if Aaron did walk off and yes, Scarlett may chastise him for doing so but she’d come around eventually, he knew that too. He was just being polite, that’s all he was doing… but politeness had a limit, didn’t it?
“It looked like today was a great success for SCW,” Willard said as he settled into his seat, his tailored suit jacket now unbuttoned so that he could sit back and relax. “I’ve never actually attended one of these access events before; I’ve been to shows of course, I sometimes use an executive box when I’m courting a client that I know has an interest in the sport, and I’ve taken my boys to shows also, but today is the first time I’ve attended anything like this. It was interesting to see what the company puts on in terms of fan interaction… I mean, I see a few missed opportunities, but it’s not my business to critique,” he finished, a snide remark hidden with that same award-winning pearly white smile that made Aaron uneasy.
“It’s a house show, dude…” Aaron said, finding himself being overly defensive of the company thanks to the snarky comment from the agent. “You think they go nuts for house shows? It’s basically a ‘sorry you’re not big enough for tv’ type deal, because these shows take place in cities that probably aren’t going to get air time…”“Then I suppose I should reserve my judgement until I’ve seen what things look like when SCW truly rolls out the red carpet,” Willard said, smiling again before sipping at his coffee and grimacing. “Ugh, they call this coffee? You should really let me take you for real coffee when you are back in California; I know a little place that imports their own beans, privately owned of course, not this disgusting chain rubbish…”
“Where you take all your prospective clients I assume…” Aaron said, distaste dripping from every word but the agent too it in his stride without letting his smile even falter.
“Of course,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “I only want the best for my clients, it’s a perk of being on my books. And as you suggested Aaron, that’s exactly why I’m here talking with you again. Yes, I won’t even try to hide the fact; I want you on my books so I figured I’d have one last shot at convincing you…”
“You’re wasting your time bro,” Aaron said, putting his coffee down on the table in front of them without having taken even one sip. “I don’t want to buy into somebody else’s brand, I want to create my own! I told you this last week!”
“And that’s why you need some guidance Aaron, if I could be so bold!” the agent said, not missing a beat. “You have ideas, you have vision… but I have the ability to help make that vision a reality.”
“How can you do that?” Scarlett asked and Aaron looked at her in disbelief, amazed that she was even giving this guy the time of day, but she was!
“As I told your boyfriend a week ago, the best way is to gain exposure in all markets rather than just the world of wrestling,” Willard said, launching into his sails pitch as soon as Scarlett showed an interest. “Any wrestling fan would be able to tell you who Aaron is if you showed them a picture, but what about the average joe? Would Joe Public know who he was if I stopped them on the street and showed them that same picture? Probably not no! And that’s why I say that Aaron needs to break into the mainstream, truly begin to build the ‘AJ Helms’ brand! Aaron has a great future ahead of him, there is no question of that… but if we can make his name a household name then SCW may be forced to realise exactly what they have at their disposal,” he went on before turning back to look at Aaron. “One job Aaron, that’s what I’m proposing. No strings attached slick, one job to give you a taste of what you’ll be signing up for when you finally decide to sign with me and if you decide you’re still not interested after then so be it. I’ll know a lost cause when I see one and if I can’t talk you around after you’ve seen the opportunities available to someone like yourself once you get your name out there!”
As the agent spoke, Aaron watched Scarlett more than him; was she being taken in by this guy or was she just humouring him, that was the question wasn’t it? Aaron didn’t see what was so convincing about taking on just one contract with the man, not when he already had the job that he was interested in, the only thing he’d ever dreamed of doing and if he was happy, what would ‘exposure in other areas’ truly give him that wrestling didn’t already? “What kind of job?” Scarlett asked, still sounding interested and Aaron inwardly sighed as Willard turned back to face her again, another one of his broad smiles sat smugly on his face.
“I actually have the perfect project lined up should Aaron be interested,” the agent said passionately. “I was going to give it to one of my clients, but if Aaron wants to take it, it could be the perfect opportunity for him to see what other ventures are available to a young man such as him.”
“And what’s the actual job?” Scarlett asked, pressing the matter.
“A photoshoot for a new clothing line. A very exclusive market,” the agent said with so much enthusiasm and charm that Aaron wanted to gag. “The range was developed exclusively for the company by one of the best designers in the field, Abigail Lofthouse, have you heard of her?” he asked and Aaron casually shook his head but Scarlett was already hooked, he could see it in her face. “Well, I can say with hand on heart that this would be a great project for someone like Aaron, it will really get his image out there to a more widespread audience!”
Inward sighs seemed to be the order of the day as Aaron listened to the guy speak and he’d just about had enough now, opening his mouth to tell the guy he definitely wasn’t interested and that he appreciated the offer but his answer was still no. He didn’t get chance though, because Scarlett turned to Aaron and grabbed his hand in both of hers and smiled at him excitedly. “I think you should do it,” she said passionately. “I think you should go for it… I mean, it’s only one shoot isn’t it? So if you still don’t like it when you’ve finished, you can cash your cheque and that’s that. What do you have to lose?”
“Exactly! And a fairly substantial cheque it will be too,” Willard added, smiling conspiratorially. “The fee is seventeen thousand, split between the two models involved. My cut is ten percent as standard, the rest to be shared equally between you and the other model, my most recent client on the books. That’s just over seventy five hundred each, before tax. I’ve seen your tax forms Aaron, that’s a nice little bonus right there. And that’s only if I choose to distribute the money evenly. My other client, they signed without even bothering to ask about money…”
“I’m not undercutting some poor bastard because you want to convince me to sign with you too,” Aaron said, not even realising that he was already talking as if he was about to accept the deal. “And let’s be honest bro, trying to get me to sign with you by telling me you’re willing to rip off the guy that just signed with you? Not very smart is it?”
“Okay, you’ve got me there, I admit…” Willard said, holding his hands up. “But the offer is still a fairly good one, even with an even split of the money involved. More than seven and a half thousand for one days work Aaron, and there’s no strings attached to the offer; if it’s not for you then we never have to work together again. What do you say?”
What did he say? He wasn’t interested, he’d said that a week ago and he’d said that today too, but suddenly Scarlett was looking at him and nodding, as if she thought it was a good idea and… well, seven and a half grand wasn’t a number to turn your nose up at, that was true. He brought him less than that a month after tax was added to his paycheque. How much hard could it do to accept one small offer? He could always so no after he’d done it, say it wasn’t for him couldn’t he? “…fine. One job! And I’m not making any promises that there’ll be more either…”
Famous last words, that’s a phrase that comes to mind now. But that’s the beauty – or pain in the backside – of hindsight, isn’t it? Good old hindsight, it’s twenty twenty… which can be a big of a problem when you do look back on decisions and wonder why on earth you made them in the first place! But let’s not do spoilers…
He regretted taking the offer from the minute he’d done so, though. That he was sure about, even afterwards; his instincts had been to turn the offer down the minute this guy had introduced himself to Aaron the week before after his match with Dante McCafferey, but as he pulled up outside the run down warehouse out by LAX, double checking the location on the GPS in his car to make sure he actually had the right address, he started to wish he hadn’t let Scarlett convince him this was a good idea because from the looks of the place, it truly wasn’t! And yes, sure, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but… well, the burnt out car outside the ‘studio’ didn’t exactly do anything to make the book look more enticing, that was for sure! But this was the address that Willard had given him and at the time he was meant to be there too… which only served to prove to Aaron that he was right that he should have said no rather than giving in to Scarlett’s suggestion! But money was money, and he had said he’d do this one job, so he climbed out of the car and made his way to the warehouse, specifically the small metal door in the front wall. He had to knock three times before anyone finally answered; the door swung open to reveal an Asian woman in her mid-twenties, a camera hanging around her neck.
“Um… is this where the photoshoot is taking place?” Aaron asked, unsure of himself despite having checked and double checked the address.
“Oh, Aaron right?” the photographer said, snapping her fingers and pointing at Aaron before her face split into a wide grin. “Yeah, Foster told me he’d booked some guy called Aaron for this one, yeah you’ve got the right place babycakes. And don’t give me that look, I know it doesn’t look much from the outside, but find me a studio in Holywood that’s this cheap and I’ll gladly move in… anyway, come on, we’ve got to get you in makeup!” she said before reaching out and grabbing Aaron’s jacket, yanking him into the warehouse before pulling the door shut behind them. “So I’m Kiko, I’m the one who owns this place… or the business, anyway. I’m doing the shoot today, have you done this sort of thing before?” she asked without waiting for Aaron to answer as she headed across the room and… well, Aaron had to admit that it wasn’t quite so bad inside, compared to the outside at any rate. It actually looked fairly professional! “That’s a no then is it? Jeez, you’re quiet! Anyway, don’t worry about it babes, I’ll keep you covered. I’ll make sure you look great in the photos and you’ll be a hit before you know it! Just need to get you into hair and makeup first and then we’ll be ready to rock! The chick is in there already, she got here super early, I’d barely had time to make myself my first cup of coffee of the day when she was banging on the door looking to get in!” she said before Aaron finally pulled her up short, stopping walking until he got some answers.
“Alright, stop!” he said, frowning as he threw his arms out in frustration. “Look, I get you did this every day and it’s no big deal for you but I’ve never done this before and I’m only doing this because my girlfriend told me it could be a good thing. I don’t know anything about what’s going on today, other than I’m wearing some clothes and you’re taking photos. Okay, I knew there was another model involved or whatever but I don’t even know their name, just that it’s a female and I only know that because you just told me she’s here!” he said, frustrated and already thinking about walking back out of the door again.
The photographer cocked her head to one side and just took the image of Aaron in for a while before finally realising he wasn’t pulling her leg. She actually chuckled to herself a little as she leant against the wall and shrugged. “So Foster didn’t tell you the score?” she asked, more than a little surprised. “Okay, this is going to be fun…” she went on and Aaron didn’t like the sound of that at all…
“Okay, I’m about ten seconds away from walking back through that door…” Aaron said, growing annoyed at the situation now.
Pushing from the wall, Kiko stepped towards Aaron and grabbed him by the hand, dragging him through the studio to a doorway on the end wall as she spoke. “Look, take a moment okay? Think about it. You’ll be here for a few hours at most, unless anything goes really bad, and sure you don’t know anything about today, but I can guarantee you one thing babycakes, it’ll be fun…” she said, laughing as she dragged him on. “Let’s just go meet this chick you’ll be working with, alright? Handsome guy like you shouldn’t have any problem getting on with hot chicks and believe me babes, this chick is on fire,” she finished as they reached the door they’d been heading towards, the photographer pushing it open to reveal a smaller room beyond, filled with makeup tables and mirrors, makeup everywhere in rows on small shelves in front of the mirrors. There was a changing area in the corner and Aaron could hear scuffling coming from behind it. “So I don’t want to jump to assumptions but if you’ve never done a shoot before, I’m guessing you’ve never had makeup done either?”
Aaron actually shook his head at that. “I’ve done shoots before, just not like this,” he said, talking about doing something independent of SCW. He’d done shoots for the company before, for advertisements for pay per views and stuff like that, but this was a new experience for him.
“Excellent! That means I don’t have to explain the whole deal with why guys need to wear makeup then!” she said, looking severely relieved. “You wouldn’t believe how many guys I have to explain that one too when they baulk at the idea of having to wear foundation…”
Aaron actually managed a smile at that, his face almost cracking into a proper grin before the smile fell from his face. Not because of anything he saw, but because of what he heard from behind him. “Ugh, Kiko, I’ve got a question about this thong,” a voice said and Aaron’s blood practically ran cold at the sound of it, because it was one he knew far too well for his liking. In fact, it was a voice that if he never heard again, he’d die a happy man! “I think they forgot to include like, half of the material because, well I know thongs are meant to kind of disappear up your ass when you put them on and I definitely have the ass to make that work, but… this thing is cutting me in half like cheese wire, there’s nothing to it!” Lexi Von Aaron said as Aaron slowly turned on the spot before spinning around as quickly as he possibly could to avert his eye. Unfortunately, spinning around like that turned him straight towards the reflection of the mirrors behind him and he caught another glance of Lexi, who was standing there wearing absolutely nothing what so ever, bar the thong that she had just been complaining about having to wear and Aaron had to avert his eyes for a second time, covering his face with one hand as he looked down at the floor. “Oh my god, AJ!” Lexi said, shrieking in delight as she ran across the room and threw her arms around the teenager, who immediately started struggling to get away. “I had no idea it was you that that agent guy I signed with was trying to woo! Fuck, this is going to be so awesome!” she went on, pressing her breasts into Aaron as she hugged him tightly.
“Oh, this shit isn’t happening…” Aaron said, trying to forcefully pull himself out of Lexi’s arms, growing more disgusted by the second. “Please tell me I’m fucking imagining this shit right now?!”
“It’s okay baby, don’t fight it!” Lexi said, grinning from ear to ear as she held the struggling Aaron tightly in her arms. The teenager’s struggles only intensified as Lexi maintained the hug, his hand pushing against her forehead as he tried to force her off him and Kiki, the photographer, could only stand there in complete shock as the groping unfolded before her. “This is totally perfect AJ, it was like, meant to be! Our first shoot together as a loving couple, it’s going to be awesome!”
“We’re not a fucking couple you psychopath!” he replied through gritted teeth as he finally managed to shove Lexi away from him. This wasn’t his day, it really wasn’t! “This is exactly why I don’t want some asshole controlling my life outside of wrestling! Jesus fucking Christ, I’m done with this shit!” he said as he went to march for the door but Lexi grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards her, shoving his hand over her chest where her heart was… also where a couple other things were too, which nearly caused Aaron to have a fit as he tried to wrestle his hand away.
“Okay, so something tells me you to know each other?” Kiko said sarcastically as she looked at the pair through wide eyes that seemed more than a little alarmed. “As for you leaving, sorry babes, but a contract is a contract. Got a signed copy in the office and everything,” she went on, even if Aaron was too busy trying to keep Lexi away from him to truly listen. “Okay, enough already! Listen, Lexi; get the rest of the gear on and head into the studio… there’s a robe back there for you to cover yourself until we’re ready, I need to talk to Aaron alone for a minute, get him ready and his makeup on…”
Lexi looked offended as she snapped her head to look at the photographer, her eyes glaring back at the Asian studio owner with hatred in them. “Are you trying to steal my man?” she demanded but the photographer just held her hands up defensively. “Alright. Fine…” she said, giving up on trying to hold Aaron close to her as she turned and walked back to grab the rest of her stuff and the robe that Kiko had mentioned. Slipping into it, she grudgingly headed for the door before turning back to blow a kiss across the room to Aaron, who screwed his face up in disgust before looking away and shaking his head.
As the door swung shut, Kiko puffed out her cheeks and let the air pop from her mouth before shaking her head in confusion. “Is she really your girlfriend?!” she asked, concerned more than anything and Aaron shook his head vehemently. “Thank Christ for that… I mean, she’s smoking hot but, damn, she’s kind of intense. Scary even…”
“You’re telling me!” Aaron said as he tossed his bag down on top of the makeup counter and dropped into one of the empty makeup chairs. “You have no fucking idea…”
“You did sign that contract though,” Kiko said, actually sounding sad to have to remind him. “Look, whatever’s going on between you two, it’s none of my concern. My concern is making sure we get a decent shoot thrown together for BeauBoutique as possible. After that’s done, you can get the hell out of here and forget it ever happened. Just think of the dollars you’re making, babes…” she said, as if any amount of money made it worth spending time with the woman who was borderline-stalking him at this point! “Lemme just get your makeup done and then I’ll leave you to slip into your outfit. There’s a few behind the screen, but the order’s in the list. We’ll shoot each lot then change into the next. Just put on the first one and come on through, then we’ll go from there?” she said and Aaron had no choice but to nod, even if he did so while sighing heavily.
He slipped out of his jacket and let the photographer apply makeup to him, pausing to keep checking the contours of his face with a light meter that she pulled from her pocket. Eventually satisfied, she patted him on the shoulder and left him to get changed and Aaron told himself that he could do it, that he could get through this then tell Willard ‘where to stick his fucking offer’ as passionately as possible! As the door closed behind the photographer, Aaron slid out of his chair and walked towards the screen, stepping behind it and expecting clothing bags to be hung behind it. What he actually found was… well, he could at least label one of the items as underwear, the faux-leather boxershorts that looked like they were two sizes to small for him! The rest? He didn’t even want to think! What the hell had he let this guy get him into?! Not only was he having to do a photoshoot with the psychopath who wouldn’t leave him the hell alone, but he was expected to wear a… a… well, number three looked more like something you held a pair of trousers up with than an item of clothing, put it that way!
“Are you for fucking real?!” the teenager yelled a couple minutes later as he marched back into the main room of the studio, his body wrapped in the second robe that was left for him behind the screen. “You call this a clothing line?!”
Kiko and Lexi looked at one another before back at Aaron again. Nervously, he pulled the two sides of the robe closer around himself as he marched over to them. “Clothing line?” Kiko said, confused. “Babes, this is an underwear shoot! Who the hell told you it was clothing?!”
“I’m going to kill him,” Aaron said, shaking his head is he took several deep breaths. “I’m going to fucking kill him…”
Slight realisation washed over the photographer and her eyes widened a little as she looked at the teenager in shock. “You mean… you mean you really didn’t know what you were modelling today?”
“Do I look like I knew?!” Aaron demanded, glaring at her and Kiko had to bring a hand up to her mouth to cover the smirk that spread across it. Not that it did any good. “Oh yeah, go ahead, laugh it all up! You think it’s funny?! I look like I should be starring in a gay porn film!” he said, throwing the robe off of himself as if to emphasise the point before instantly regretting it once he saw the hungry expression on Lexi’s face.
“Oh come on, it’s kind of… well, it’s hot in it’s own way?” Kiko said and Lexi nodded enthusiastically.
“I’m gushing already!” She added and Kiko actually took a step away from her, Aaron letting out a growl of frustration.
“The only thing hot are my damn balls in these things!” he said, arching a leg slightly in an attempt to adjust down below, Lexi’s eyes widening as he did and he slammed his foot back down again. “And I definitely can’t leave?”
“Nope,” Kiko said with a sympathetic smile. “Got your signed papers right here. Sorry,” she added, and seemed to genuinely mean it; clearly this was a woman who understood when she was in for a difficult time. Yet Aaron knew that it wasn’t going to be anywhere near as bad for her as it was for him! The idea of being just close by Lexi was nauseating enough, but to be stuck in a photoshoot with her, wearing as little as they were? He felt sick to his stomach at just the thought! For Lexi though, it didn’t seem like the valley girl could be any happier than she was; she threw her robe off excitedly and stood there in just her ‘costume’, clearly wanting to impress the poor teenager who stood across from her… only serving to irritate the New Jersey native even further. Why did he have to agree to this? And what about Scarlett?! When she found out about Lexi’s involvement, she was going to hit the roof, he just knew it! Scarlett was already on edge, she was already struggling with keeping hold on her anger thanks to Lexi and her fixation on Aaron, this was going to cause her to lose it entirely. It wasn’t as if he could hide it from her either; Scarlett was bound to want to know the details, she’d want to know who the shoot was for, when the photo’s would be used. Why did she have to talk him into this?! “Well, on the bright side, at least we won’t have to use any ‘stuffing’,” Kiko said, dragging Aaron back to the here and now, much to his chagrin. He looked at the photographer quizzically and she nodded her head down at the leather boxers he was wearing, leaving Aaron blushing bright red with his hands quickly covering his crotch.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Aaron said, sounding like a… well, a grumpy teenager, which is exactly what he was as he shuffled towards the backdrop that was set up ready for the shoot. Lighting lit the backdrop – a plain white sheet hung against the wall – from either side and Aaron didn’t even want to think about what the next few hours had in store for him as Lexi grabbed his arm and clung to him the entire way to the area in front of the lights. What I’d give for the fire alarm to go off right now Aaron thought to himself as Kiko began to explain the brief to them; he wasn’t even listening, not really. He heard words and phrases such as ‘in love’, ‘flirtation’, ‘teasing’… they all made him watch to gag when his brain connected that to Lexi. And that made him wonder, was it the shoot itself that made him uneasy or was it just Lexi’s involvement? If Scarlett was the one standing next to him in what he had to admit was sexy underwear, would he be way more into it than he was now? Then again, he’d probably ask the same question if it was Matty standing next to him, which said all there was to say about his little he enjoyed being in the vicinity of Lexi Von Aaron and that may seem unfair but after everything she’d said and done over the last few months he felt justified in feeling that way too! And yet, here he was, stuck in a room with Lexi, wearing next to nothing, being told what to do by a photographer who was snapping photo’s of the whole thing! And yes, he was being paid… but no amount of money of money made up for the fact that Lexi was repeatedly trying to rub up against him in a way that normally, guys wouldn’t complain about! “Lexi, enough for christ sake!” Aaron said as Lexi began to run her hand up his leg from a lounged position on the floor as they restarted the shoot in the second outfit an hour and half later. Her hand was getting unnecessarily close to the edge of his velvet underwear that he’d changed into, far too close to the little guy for Aaron’s liking but apparently he was the only one.
“No, hold that pose!” Kiko said, lining her eye up with the viewfinder of her Canon slr to frame up the next shot. “That’s it, slide your hand up a little higher Lex, and throw your head back so you’re looking up at him!” she said as she snapped photo’s again, hitting the button once and getting three shots back for every press. “Aaron, show me some feelings huh?! You’ve got a hot piece of ass drapped all over you, literally worshiping at the ground you walk on, show the camera something more than a frown!” she directed and Aaron, despite being angry about the position he was in, did his best to work the camera regardless. He knew if he didn’t at least try and make it look like he wanted to be there for the photo’s, he’d not get paid and if it wasn’t for the money he’d have stormed out much earlier! “Okay, take a break guys while re-dress the set, smoke ‘em if you’ve got em,” Kiko said, after snapping the final photo and stepping away from the camera and Aaron got away from Lexi as quickly as he could.
He grabbed his stuff from the makeup room and was about to head outside before realising he was practically butt naked and rethinking the plan. He lit up one of his home-rolled cigarettes on the other side of the studio to where they’d been taking the photos, skulking in a corner and making a mental note of just how many different ways he was going to tell Willard to ‘go fuck himself’ after this was over. He hoped Lexi would leave him alone… which had worked out brilliant over the last few months so god know why he thought she’s suddenly start doing so now! “Ugh, can’t I even smoke a cigarette in peace?” he asked as Lexi skipped over to him, not even bothering with her own robe to cover up while they were on a break.
“Well that’s a totally rude way to talk to the girl you’ve been groping for the last couple of hours,” she said with a sultry pout, flickering her eyelids at him. “I actually only came over to see if I could have one of those,” she said, pointing at the cigarette between Aaron’s fingers. “I read online that models totally take up smoking to help them keep the weight off and stop them from having cravings and I know the camera add’s like, ten pounds or whatever, so I figured I’d better get started!” she said, genuinely not understanding just how stupid that statement sounded.
“I’m not sure it really works like that you know?” he said as he offered her his cigarettes and she took one of them from the little silver case, letting Aaron light it up for her before laughing into a coughing fit. Clearly she wasn’t a smoker then.
As her coughing subsided, Lexi took another drag on her cigarette and this time managed not to damn-near lose a lung as she exhaled, blowing the smoke into Aaron’s face, leaving him to bend away from the smoke as he waved it away. “So this is totally cool, huh?” Lexi said, trying to look sexy as she held her cigarette. “This whole thing? Who’d have thought we’d be here, doing this together?”
“If I knew we would be, I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” Aaron said, grumpilly, and he stubbed his cigarette out in a plantpot nearby before trying to walk off, but Lexi threw a hand up, placing it against his chest to stop him from leaving.
“You know, I’m not as bad as you think I am, AJ,” she said, attempting what she probably thought was a sexy and sultry voice, but to Aaron made her sound like she has larengitus more than anything. “All I’ve ever tried to do is get you to notice me and I’ve been rejected at every turn… but maybe this is fate! Maybe us being here, signed to that greasy guys talent agency, maybe it’s the sign you’ve needed to show you that we’re destined to be together,” she said, her hand trailing down his abbs before he pushed her hand away.
“It’s a sign I should have stuck with my instincts and told Willard to stick his offer up his ass and nothing else, Lexi!” the teenager told her sternly and he would have said more if Kiko hadn’t called them back over and told them to change into the third outfit. Aaron headed into the restroom to change, not wanting to give Lexi an opportunity to perve over him by changing in the same room as her and he walked back in feeling like a complete idiot in the leather man-thong that he was now wearing, the worst of the three outfits that he was having to shoot. How the hell did he end with leather jammed up his ass in the middle of a warehouse near the airport when he thought he was going to a fashion shoot?! This was just… this was probably the lowest part of his career yet! And to make it worse, when he looked at the way Kiko had re-dressed the set… “A fucking bed?!” Aaron said, his eyes widening in horror. “Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me, I’m not doing this bullshit!”
“Oh god, yes!” Lexi said before diving on the bed and Aaron simply glared at her as the photographer actually facepalmed a little.
“You really want me on there with that?” Aaron asked, pointing at Lexi on the bed and he could hear Kiko’s sigh from where he stood.
“Look, it’s so springy!” Lexi said and Aaron looked back at Lexi to see her bouncing on the bed, causing him to close his eyes and sigh heavily at the fact he had to put up with this…
But she soldiered through, talking with Lexi to coach her through what the next leg of the shoot was going to be and the more Aaron heard, the more he wanted to just say fuck it and pass up on the money, but with everything he’d already been through, he wasn’t going to give up this close to the end! Not when he could grit his teeth and just suck it up… though not literally, because there was no way he was going there! And so Aaron just tried to zone out, thinking that he was at home by the pool or on a beech someplace instead of climbing onto a bed that had Lexi Von Aaron on it! And this third shoot was definitely the most difficult of the three, because this was the one where they had to actually look like they were getting intimate, which truly bothered Aaron more than it should for a nineteen year old that was this close to a pair of breasts! Kiko had Lexi lay down on her back with her head turned towards the camera and Aaron had to lay down by her side, propped up on one elbow with his free hand running up her leg and Aaron never felt so exposed in his life. He wrestled in front of thousands of people a night wearing only trunks but this? This felt far more seedy than it should and he hated it. No money was worth this! And he was going to make damn sure he told Foster Willard exactly that when he spoke to him, he repeatedly told himself that as the photographer had them switch up positions and he could feel his skin crawl every time he had to touch Lexi or she touched him. Unfortunately, she was getting way too into it for his liking though and while he was trying to block it all out and concentrate on his hatred for the agent, it all came to an end when Lexi took things way too far in the heat of the moment and actually slid her hand underneath the front of his man-thong, grabbing at him. Aaron hadn’t ever moved faster in his life than he did when he jumped from that bed, recoiling like a snake was trying to bite him! Hell, a snake my be better, all things considered…
“Get the fuck off of me,” Aaron said as Lexi tried to pull him back on the bed. “Okay, I’m done. I’m fucking done!” Aaron said as he stepped away from the set completely and grabbed his stuff. He started to slide his jeans on before realising he was still wearing the stupid leather thong and he stepped behind a desk to take them off, throwing them at Lexi – thankfully not noticing that she picked them up and sniffed them as it would only piss him off further – before sliding his jeans back on without even bothering to put his boxers on first.
“You can’t just leave… we’re nearly finished!” The photographer said, startled.
“No, we are finished,” Aaron fired back, slipped into his sneakers and sliding his t-shirt on. “I should have walked out the minute I saw her here! When you speak to that douche Willard, you tell him to go fuck himself, you hear me?” the teen yelled before storming towards the door and not looking back.
“CALL ME,” Lexi shouted after Aaron as he hit the door to shove it open and stormed outside, the door slamming shut behind him again with a loud bang that echoed around the warehouse. “He totally loves me,” Lexi said to herself and Kiko only sighed as she shook her head.
Outside, Aaron marched towards his car, enraged at what he’d just put himself through; If this was what that asshole Willard thought was good for his career, for building ‘Brand AJ’ then Aaron had to worry about the rest of his clients because that was worlds away from what Aaron wanted his career to be! He was an athlete, he was a professional wrestler, his job was to wow people inside of a wrestling ring and hopefully win his matches. That in there wasn’t him, it wasn’t the brand he wanted. He’d rather spend the rest of his life getting his ass kicked and never winning another match than force himself through that again, he even promised himself that as he climbed into his car and closed to door behind himself. The whole day had put things into perspective for the New Jersey teenager; he’d been sure he wasn’t interested in Willard’s offer the first time he heard it but now he wasn’t just sure, he was adament that he wasn’t interested. Nobody could tell him he hadn’t tried either, but he’d just gone through hours of hell to ‘give it a go’, hadn’t he? And yes, maybe he would laugh about it in a few weeks time, maybe he’d find it hilarious even. He would have done if it happened to somebody else, he knew that… but it hadn’t, it had been to him and now he had to figure out just how the hell he was going to explain to Scarlett what the hell happened and why he was never accepting a strange offer from someone he barely knew ever again! If that was the price of fame, the price that had to be paid to feel like a celebrity or to ‘get his face out there’ then he wasn’t going to pay it. Who cared whether ‘Joe Public’ recognised him if you showed them a photograph on the street… what truly mattered, what matter above all else where his career was concerned, was that wrestling fans knew who he was! And that only gave him more motivation than he could ever want to actually succeed in the business. Not the modelling business or the fashion business. The wrestling business!
[Rec]
AJ HELMS: “So these last few weeks have been a little fucked up, huh? And I’m going to be honest, I was going to start this video with an apology, given how I acted on Breakdown a little over a week ago, I realised I needed to do that pretty much as soon as I calmed down after the show, but… well, how can I start this with anything but talking about events that happened the morning after Breakdown, huh? The whole wrestling world is in mourning right now because of the death of an Icon in this business, the legend that is Orlando Cruze.”
AJ looked saddened to even have to say those words, like hearing them makes them more real for whatever reason.
AJ HELMS: “I don’t think I need to say how great it’s been to see the outpouring of grief from the fans since the news of Orlando’s passing broke last Thursday morning… it doesn’t stop the pain his family are feeling, it doesn’t bring the big man back, but it does show that people loved Orlando. It shows how passionate you guys are about us humble douche bags who compete in this business, how you guys take us into your hearts and learn to idolise us. And that’s the message that I want to concentrate on in Lando’s passing, because it shows that The Icon was more than just a witty nickname, it was a descriptive that was truly fucking fitting for the guy that Orlando was! He wasn’t just loved by his family and friends, he was loved by millions of people around the world, worshipped by them even. There’s something to take from that, no matter how sad we may be… and I know Shaun probably doesn’t want to think about any of this yet, he’s morning his brother why would he… but while he’ll feel that loss for the rest of his life, I hope he can someday come to realise that while Lando may be gone, his legacy will live on forever in the hearts and mind’s of all he touched. And I hate to see my own partner going through this shit, because I know exactly how it feels to lose someone so close to you that you’re not sure how the fuck you’ll go on in life without them, I really do. The day I found out my folks had died in a hit and run, I… well, I know I was young when it happened, but in that moment it felt like the world as I knew it had stopped existing. Does that make sense? Basically, It felt like the end of the world, that nothing would ever be the same again, that I’d never be happy again… and don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t miss them more than I could ever put into words, but the key is to remember that life does go on, that the pain never goes away entirely but it does become easier to live with it. I know I’m probably not the one who Shaun needs to hear this from but I’m speaking for experience here, I know Dave already told him similar when they talked a couple days after the news broke, and I just hate seeing someone I’ve got a hell of a lot of respect for, go through something like this…”
AJ takes a deep breath, which comes out as a sigh on the other end before he looks back at the camera to continue.
AJ HELMS: “And I know I haven’t exactly been helping matters as of late, either. Like I said at the beginning of this thing, I was supposed to start this video with an apology. I was supposed to start this with an apology to Shaun for fucking things up for him in his match against Autumn, because if I hadn’t come down to the ring there’s a good chance he’d have walked out with the victory that night. And let’s face it, I know my actions weren’t exactly what you guys at home have come to expect from me either, so I guess I owe you guys at home an apology too! I acted like a bit of a jackass last week, there’s no other way to describe it and I’m not going to try and make any excuses, like blaming it on frustration over losing the tv title or any of that crap, I’m just owning it. I acted like an irresponsible childish little douchebag pretty much, and there’s no excuses for that. I literally walked down to the ring to cheer Shaun on and then Gable got in my face, accusing me of stuff that I didn’t do and I just, I lost it I guess. I was angry, ashamed, bitter and I let that frustration drive me instead of keeping calm and stepping back. And Shaun, he was pissed at me, which he had every right to be… but then obviously with what happened the following morning, well he kind of let it go and I don’t deserve that but it is what it is; he has more important things to be concerned with right now than being irritated that I let my frustration boil over and cost him a match… I don’t expect an easy ride from you guys though, I don’t expect you at home to let me off the hook as easily as Shaun did. What I did last week, well as much as I’d like to say that I was basically showing I couldn’t be talked down to or pushed around, I probably shouldn’t have let my anger take control of my decision making, you know? I lost the tv title and that left me in a bad mood to begin with then Gable got all up in my grill and… well, like I said, I shouldn’t have tried to dive off the top the way I did, it was uncalled for. It was nothing short of a tantrum; I threw a tantrum and acted like a child… there’s no excuses for it and I’m sure Autumn and Gable will flap their gums an awful lot about it when they record their promo’s, but it’s done. We’ll have to see I guess; I don’t want forgiveness, I just want to move on...”
AJ HELMS: “The problem is, I acted like an asshole to a guy who’s opinion I value and that’s what I’m most troubled by… I walked out there and stuck my nose in Shaun’s match and then when he tried to figure out what the hell I was thinking afterwards, I blew him off and walked away! What sort of tag partner does that make me, huh?! A shitty one, that’s what… and so I have to start over again, don’t I? I have to start over again, trying to prove I’m not some immature little kid who’s emotionally eratic and throws a strop when shit goes sour! I kind of feel like I’m back to square one, that I’m in this place where I’ve more or less got to start from the ground up because I’ve lost my credibility or whatever… but at the same time, because I said I planned to be truthful with you from day one guys, why should I have to feel like I’ve got to apologise for showing some passion? I mean, okay, hindsight is twenty-twenty and I get that maybe I didn’t make the wisest decision, but at the same time how the hell am I going to show that I’m willing to stand up for myself if I have to jump straight onto my camera and start apologising for every single questionable decision I make, you know? Was it wrong that I suffered from a fit of idiocy and ended up attacking Gable? Probably, yes… but should I have to gush over them and apologise to try and repair any ego’s or try and play at damage control? Gable got in my face, he accused me of meaning to cause Autumn to slip on the top, and he should know fucking better than to say that sort of shit about someone who tried to fight against assholes like Chris Cannon and Kelcey Wallace when nobody else was willing to do so! I made a dumb mistake, I get it… now name one single person in this business who hasn’t done the same thing, you know? Because I can’t think of a single person who hasn’t made a few fuck ups on the way. And I can’t keep beating myself up every time I do, otherwise I’ll end up kicking my own ass worse than anyone else can kick it inside of the ring! And I know I’m probably doing Autumn and Gable a favour by standing here and defending myself, I’m probably giving them the opportunity to try and drive an even bigger wedge between me and Shaun than the one that’s already there by talking about how I feel like I’ve let him down… shit, Autumn already laid those seads when she filmed her promo back at Supreme Saturday, didn’t she, asking Shaun how he was going to feel if he didn’t win in that gauntlet for the gold, having to sit across from me in the locker room at Under Attack and wishing he was someplace else! And sure, she probably wasn’t talking about how he wouldn’t want to be in a room with me, but I bet she’s going to play that card now! And now me and Shaun have to figure out how we’re going to make it as a team, how we’re going to prove that we deserved this shot in the first place, when it’s been obvious that there’s been some issues between us for a while now… but you know what guys? I think we can do it!”
AJ nods his head slowly and confidently.
AJ HELMS: “I think we can do it despite of the odds against us, that’s how much I believe in this team. Autumn and Gable may think there’s problems in Honour Code right now, they may think that the names bullshit and that Shaun’s head isn’t in it or that I don’t have his back… I mean, I know for a fact that that’s how it looks right to some people right now because I’ve been asked about it by you guys at home. I’ve had fans ask me in the street if Honour Code is breaking up, if we’re going to be able to work as a team this Sunday night, but you know what guys? The answer to that one is a definite yes! One hundred fucking percent yes! Because while we’ve had our issues, I also know that every fucking team goes through that! Tommy told me last week that there was a period of time - around the time he found out about Dave and Zoe and what they had going on in private before they went public with their relationship - where the two of them weren’t talking at all! He said that they were ignoring each other backstage and refused to share a locker room… and yet despite that, they went out there and they kept kicking ass, they performed as a team in that ring despite their troubles because that’s exactly what they were. A team! And okay, so me and Shaun have a few months under our belts rather than a few years like they had, but when something clicks it clicks! Anyone who’s watched us actually fight in a ring would know that we’ve managed to make it click when that bell rings, even if we weren’t exactly in the best place beforehand! It’s like Gable said in his promo for Apocalypse, isn’t it; trust is hard to come by in this business, but at this point I don’t think I’d be lying if I said that Shaun and I have that trust, that we’ve built up an understanding inside of that ring even if we don’t always agree outside of it! Andwe may not do it out there on Sunday night, we may not pick up the victory and leave with the world tag team championships over our shoulders… but we’ll damn sure give it a fucking go and put on a fucking show of it, I know that much!”
AJ looks at the camera with an intense look on his face now as he continues to speak, clearly focused rather than a little out of it like he was at the beginning of the video.
AJ HELMS: “I want to think positively though… even if this week is a different kind of challenge to anything we’ve faced as a team up to this point! I don’t care whether other teams have been dismissive, I know how difficult this is going to be because I know how well Autumn and Gable work as a team and how tough it’ll be to beat them. And I also get what Autumn is saying about wanting to be noticed, I really do; I spent months at the start of my career trying to figure out how the fuck I could step away from the reputation set out by that guy she used to have posters of in her room, I spent ages trying to figure out how I’m going to stand out; how the hell do you make people see AJ Helms as a wrestler in his own right when all they see is ‘that kid that David Helms addopted’… and in truth, I’m still not sure I have the answer to that one. But I haven’t given up trying either, because you don’t get what you want if you just fucking give up, do you?! I’m trying guys, I’m making decent headway even if things don’t always go the way I’d like them to, you know? I kind of surprised everyone when I beat Amy Chastaine a few weeks ago to become television champion, and yeah, I lost it last week to Tommy and believe me guys it stung to lose; that was my first championship, the first belt I won not just in this company but my career… it hurt bro, it really fucking hurt. But you keep going. You don’t let your head fall and give up, you keep fighting; I’m sure Autumn and Gable both remember how it felt to lose their first championship! Autumn, for everything she says about how people don’t even know who she is half the time, she made waves with the Women’s championship and Gable is always going to be associated with his impressive US title reigns… but you know what else I’ve learned over the past couple of months? It’s that if you take shit from people, word quickly gets around that you’re willing to take it! I wanted to apologise to Gable and Autumn on Wednesday, guys… I wanted to clear the air, not because Shaun told me to but because I wanted this Sunday to be about the titles and nothing more than the titles. I asked Gable to come out to the ring, Autumn too… and then when I tried to explain myself, Gable starts to look down on me like every single fuck has done since I came here!”
AJ looks annoyed as he continues to speak, his face is actually forming a slight snarl as he speaks and it’s plain to see he isn’t happy.
AJ HELMS: “See, I’ve dealt with a lot of bullshit that perhaps most rookies wouldn’t have to go through, part because of just who I am – having this surname doesn’t exactly leave you expecting an easy ride – and part because I had relatively big success early on by winning the Trio’s tournament. But for months, I tried to turn the other cheek, to take the high road and where did that get me, huh? It left me eating the pinfall at Rise to Greatness, my first fucking match at the biggest show of the year, all because I was basically too fucking nice for my own good! I’m not a doormat guys, I’m not fucking playing around here; I joined this company because I want to prove that I have what it takes to be one of the best in the damn business and you don’t get to that point by letting people shit on you from a great height and not doing a damn thing about it! I told Gable why I got defensive, I told him I wasn’t thinking straight and that I made a bad judgement call… and he gets in my face again because he’s the fucking Man of Win, isn’t he?! I don’t have anything against Gable, or I didn’t at any rate, but I don’t care if it’s Gable, Autumn, Kelcey Wallace, the fucking Easter bunny, I’m not going to stand there and let people belittle me in the middle of that ring anymore, it’s not fucking happening! Oh, Autumn wants to talk about how she’s been ignored or just seen as ‘that chick who hangs around with Syren’? How about ‘Baby Helms’?! How about the ‘kid trying to be his old man’?! You think you’ve got it bad Autumn? You’re not the only one who’s sick and fucking tired of being ignored, sick or being judged or underestimated! We’ve all got our fucking hang ups, what the hell makes you so special, huh?! And Gable, he wants to tell me how I should do shit, what I should say, how I should feel, how to think? Nah bro, not happening; I’m getting tired of the whole world thinking they need to give me fucking advice… if I wanted it, I’d asked for it! I’m trying to find my own way in this fucking business, how the hell am I supposed to do that if I’m doing what a dozen different fucking people tell me, huh?!”
AJ HELMS: “Look, I respect what these two have done, I really do… how many months have they held those belts now, ten? Eleven? And who’d have thought it would happen huh? I mean, did anyone even know that Gable and Autumn were bumping uglies when they were put together as a team? They’ve faced everyone that the SCW board has thrown at them and walked out successful at the other end… but I’m not going to stand here and worry about either of them getting butthurt because I dare to actually stick up for myself either! I know what people say when they talk about me, I pick up on the shit the commentary team say when they’re calling my matches when I watch the re-run’s. I’m not a complete fucking idiot, I get that people think I’m trying to run before I walk, that I’m getting ideas above my station or that I’m punching above my weight but you know what? I don’t give a fuck anymore guys! If I let every single negative comment distract me, I’d never win a single fucking match! But if I don’t stand up for myself, no one else is going to! And by the way Sharper, yeah I may have developed a slight attitude these last few weeks, but do you really blame me?! I’ve been kicked while I’m down ever since the Trio’s tournament! I’ve been told what to do, what to say, what not to say, what to think, feel, believe, ignore, accept… at this point I probably shouldn’t know if it’s breakfast time or tuesday! But that’s the problem with this business, isn’t it; it’s so fucking opinionated that everyone thinks they know what’s best for the rest of the roster and they sure as shit don’t shy away from publically giving those opinions out like I should drop to my knees and thank every single fuck that’s tried to tell me where I’m going wrong! Has it not occurred to any of you that I may just want to make my own mistakes and learn from them?! And I’m sorry, but if it’s a choice between letting people walk all over me while I try to be a creature of virtue or risking Adam Sharper telling me I have an attitude problem but actually manage to stand up for myself then I’m sorry Adam, but you’re going to need to find a string of adjectives to describe me because I quit being a fucking doormat after Rise to Greatness!”
AJ slowly shakes his head.
AJ HELMS: “I’m not doing it anymore guys, I’m not! I’m sick to the back teeth of people talking down to me because I’m one of the younger guys on the roster; I’m nineteen not nine! I didn’t only learn to whipe my ass last week, so what makes people think that can treat me like I don’t know the square root of fuck all, huh?! You heard Gable on Wednesday; I don’t think he could have put more emphasis on the word ‘kid’ than he did that night, and this is coming from a guy who was cockier than a sack of cocks when he first walked into SCW! That’s the fucking irony of the situation right there; you’ve got a guy who used to bill himself as the ‘Dragon slayin’ woman layin’ legend thriller’, who came into SCW with a bigger attitude than Casey Holliday times infinity and he’s telling me to calm down and talking to me like I’m a fucking toddler? Oh fuck no… I’m sorry bro, I know you guys at home love Gable and it’s not that I even dislike the guy, but there’s a difference between passing on a little advice and being a complete and utter derogatory asshole! Especially when he was an even bigger asshole than I’ll ever be when he fucking debuted! And the irony of Autumn wanting to chastise anybody Is fucking laughable, given she was the number one supporter of the worlds biggest ‘gobshite’ – whatever the fuck one of those is – makes me fucking laugh too! You want people to notice you Autumn? Newflash babe, everyone does! This isn’t a business that should be pulling in wallflower’s Autumn, you don’t get anywhere as a pro-wrestler unless you want people to pay attention to you! I consider myself a pretty nice guy despite the image the two of you are trying to paint of me, but even I want to be noticed! I want to rise to the top, I want to someday hold that world title if I can work my way towards it… but what I’m not doing is spending every single fucking promo talking about how angry I am that people don’t give me attention! Wanting to be noticed and being a fucking attention seeker are two entirely different things and I guess you don’t get the difference there, huh?!”
AJ scoffs a little before turning his attention back to the camera, ready to talk for the final time.
AJ HELMS: “At the end of the day though, I don’t expect either of them to truly give a fucking damn about anything I say in here… Gable can say what he wants about my attitude and how gold may have affected me in negative ways, but as far as I see it, the two of them holding those titles for as long as they have, its turned them into judgemental know-it-all assholes! But despite my opinion of them right now, I also know that those same know-at-all’s have also proven they’re one of the best tag teams in the business today! And that should have any team that wants to take the belts from them on their guard, because you don’t have an eleven month reign without having the ability, skill or teamwork to back that reign up at every turn! I know that I’m going to have to be at my best, just as I had to be when I beat Amy Chastaine a few weeks ago and Dante McCafferey the week after! I know that Shaun and I are going to have to really put up or shut up if we want to beat Autumn and Gable, that we’ll have to go above and beyond everything we’ve managed so far, because this isn’t Punk Hazard or the Daughters of Darkness, this is the final hurdle, the world tag team champions, and as much as I want to stand here and tell them to go fuck themselves thanks to their up their own asses attitude, I know I have to be one hundred percent focused to help the team achieve what we set out to do when we decided to enter the division! This wasn’t just some haphazard decision we made on the fly guys, I actually asked Shaun to team up with me, I had to convince him I was in this for the long haul, and while I think we can all agree that Shaun is world title calibre, that doesn’t mean that we can’t go all guns blazing on Sunay for those tag team championships! Autumn may want to criticise Shaun for his place in Gauntlet for the Gold at Supreme Saturday but I didn’t see her complain when she was given a TV title shot. Truth is, you can promote the tag division and still have a singles career in this company, it just takes a lot of work to hold both at once! And that’s something we’re not fucking afraid of bro; hard work! We’re not fucking playing around guys, I’m not taking this lightly, I’m not going through the motions, we’ve been trying to work out way towards this for months now, waiting patiently to earn our chance at the champs… and finally… Shaun Cruze and AJ Helms get that shot. Now it’s up to us to make it count! And whether you two think I have an attitude problem or not? It doesn’t matter. The only attitude I’m concerned about right now is having a winning one… which is exactly what we plan to do! Now tell me guys… we I have your attention now? I thought I might…”
With that, AJ smirks a little as he winks into the camera before the feed comes to an end.
[/Rec]
