Rogue Reparation

October 19, 2016

If there was one thing JC didn't like, it was loose ends.

He had a lot of them lately. They weren't nearly as loose as the bones in his nose were, given the broken nose he received in OWF (which was exasperated fighting Lucas Silva), but he had quite a few loose ends.

He had been thinking about one of them ever since he saw the card for Ultimate Carnage 2, the biggest show of the year for this small independent promotion he had been trying to reclaim his glory in. If he was truly being honest with himself, he was thinking about this particular loose end ever since he got healthy.

Trent Steel, his tag team partner and best friend, was the loosest of loose ends. It wasn't just that JC savagely beat him for doing nothing more than trying to help. It wasn't even the fact that their reconciliation could have ended with JC taking a baseball bat shot to the skull. It was all of those things and more.

JC was the type of person who couldn't stop thinking about something once he got a thought in his head. In this case, he had been racking his brain on the right way to fix his relationship with Trent since they put the past behind them. No matter how many times Trent seemed to suggest things were okay, they weren't. They were uneasy around each other and JC knew it.

Even when he was at his worst, he prided himself on his ability to read people. Part of being a great wrestler is being able to observe your opponents and watch their movements, so you can try to counter. One of the complications of that is that you applied those methods to your everyday life. Stacy hated it when he did that and told him so. Often.

The two were stuck at home, since JC was currently lying in bed with a nose swollen twice its normal size. In terms of decisions he made in 2016, fighting the CW Ultraviolent champion immediately after suffering a broken nose was high in the 'regret' column.

"You seem lost in thought, hon."

"You would be right."

He noticed her giggling a bit, then frowned. He realized how he sounded with his nose swollen and splinted and so did she.

"I'm glad you find my pain amusing."

"I'm sorry. But every word comes out sounding like Kermit. Imagine a Kermit voice from someone your size and try not to laugh."

"If I laugh I'm almost positive I'd have another nosebleed."

She held back a chortle, but he could tell she wanted to laugh. This was going to be a long day.

"Seriously, what's on your mind?"

"I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to fix this thing with Trent."

"You two aren't cool yet?"

"He thinks so. I don't. You don't do what I did and have everything get fixed right away."

She climbed into the bed with him and laid next to him. She turned up on her side to face him as he laid on his back, then placed a hand on his chest.

"You worry too much. Trent's not a guy to keep secrets. If he says you're good, you're good."

Against his better judgement, he turned on his own side to face her, propping his head on his elbow and wincing at the pain the jarring had on his nose. One simple knee strike just ruined his otherwise good week. That and his own neuroses, apparently. 

"There was a moment in the ring where I thought he was going to hit me. I'm positive it took everything in him not to. The guy's been through a lot and too much of it this year was because of me. I know it sounds selfish of me, but I want to make things right. Even if it's something stupid."

Her eyes lit up and it was a like a light bulb turned on inside her head. 

"Oh no, I know that look. You just came up with a really bad idea."

"It's not that bad. Give me a little credit."

He gave her a questioning look, wondering what could be going through the head of hers. She's had some bad ideas in the past, usually from meddling in the affairs of others. Of course, not all of her ideas were bad. After all, she was the reason he was competing in Carnage, getting a new lease on his career. He wouldn't have put that together on his own. 

"Alright, I guess I owe you that much."

As she explained the idea to him, he thought there was no way Trent would go for it. It was an absolutely terrible idea.

He decided to try it out on his tag team partner the next time he saw him.

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October 28, 2016

"Have I told you today that you look like shit?"

JC and Trent were now in the parking lot of the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland, with the latter fresh off a Cruiserweight title defense. Trading jabs back and forth had been pretty common, although JC's psyche had convinced him that Trent's had a little more venom than normal. If he still had a voice in his head, he imagined it would be telling him the same.

JC and Stacy had a flight to catch back to Jersey and she informed him that she would not continue with him on this world tour. He understood, but he saw it as imperative that he now fix things with his tag team partner and best friend. He was used to being alone on the road, but these days he was worried about slipping. While he didn't expect Trent to make sure he took his medication every day or keep his anger in check every single moment, he did want to have a reliable friend there to bring him back again if he failed. Or at the very least, put a stop to things if JC lost it and went too far.

It was always good to have a contingency plan, even if he did think of Trent as more than that.

"Yes, you have. Three times since your match ended, actually."

"Do you think your nose is going to be crooked from now on?"

"No, that's what the splints were for. It's healing up fine."

"That's a shame. Then you might look interesting."

"Hey, fuck you."

Another friendly jab in a series of them. They were mostly just passing time but JC was stalling. He didn't know why he let Stacy talk him into this. Surely Trent wouldn't go for it. He'd laugh him right out of the parking lot and into the rental car his wife volunteered to retrieve. He didn't know why she wanted to keep her distance tonight but that was a conversation for another time. 

Tonight, he had to tell Trent of her grand plan to fix a friendship.

"So, this may be the dumbest thing I ever say to do but, are you, involved in a relationship right now?"

"That's sweet Joe, but you're married."

"Fuck off. You know what I mean."

"I don't have any future ex-Mrs. Steels lined up anywhere, if that's what you're asking."

"Well, Stacy has this cousin..."

Trent gave him an incredulous look and JC felt embarrassed just asking. Surely the friendship wasn't worth this. Maybe it wasn't too late to go back to the ring and kill each other in front of the crowd again.

"You're not asking what I think you're asking."

He was. He hated himself for it, but he was. Of course at the moment, he couldn't come up with a better idea.

"Okay, look. I want to fix things between us. So yes, I'm going along with Stacy's plan to set you up. I don't like it any more than you do, but once she got the idea in her head, you know the rest."

"You really don't..."

"Just humor me, okay?"

Trent looked at him for a moment, unsure of how to proceed here. There was being friends, then there was making things weird. Stacy was meddling and making it weird. He would remember to tell her how bad this particular idea was later. Trent sighed and ran a hand through his hair, seeing that Joe was at least trying to do something nice for him.

Almost as if on cue, their rental car pulled up with Stacy behind the wheel. Trent, in a friendly but still accusatory way, pointed a finger at her as she began to get out of the vehicle. She looked half amused and half concerned.

"You. You did this."

"What did I do this time?"

Joe threw his hands up, hoping to be left out of it. 

"I don't need to be set up, Stacy."

"Oh, that. Joe was trying to figure out a way to make amends with you so I suggested improving your love life. It would make you less of a third wheel."

Trent had a special fondness for JC's wife, in that he let her get away with insults in the same way he would JC or their mutual friend Dude Job. That's probably why laughed at being called a 'third wheel' instead of losing it. JC couldn't help but laugh a little himself. It was a humorous situation spun out of a very serious one. All JC wanted to do was fix a relationship, not fix his friend up with one. 

"Look Trent, you don't have to..."

"I think he does."

"I agree with Joe. Besides, set-ups never work out well for me."

"I told you it was a bad idea."

She shot him a glance and he shut up. The whole thing was now in her hands. He was simply an unnecessary conduit at this point. He wanted things to be fine with his friend, but racking his brain for ideas of his own was preferable to awkward situations like this. Trent looked at him, trying to study his reaction. He then sighed and resigned himself to whatever fate Joe's wife hand in mind.

"Okay, fine. I know I'm going to regret it, but fine."

"Why does everyone seem to think this is a bad idea?"

"Because I know Trent and I know your cousin."

"She has a name, Joe. Her name is Madison, or Maddie, and she's actually very nice."

"Isn't 'very nice' usually code for..."

This time Trent was on the receiving end of her glare, causing him to shut his mouth before he could get another thought out.

"Don't even think it, Trent Steel."

"Damn, she used your full name."

She smirked, then grabbed a picture from her purse. It was a family photo, showing the blonde-haired Madison in all of her glory. Trent grabbed it and gave it his appraisal. 

"See, there's no 'code' here."

"Fine, set it up. I'm doing this for Joe, because he stupidly thinks we're not good. Once he gets a thought in that cro-magnon head of his, he won't let it go."

"Don't do it for me. I know things aren't right between us. It may not be a great plan, but I had to do something."

That was true. While he certainly believed that his friend deserved happiness, considering everything that had gone wrong in his life, he'd be lying if he said there wasn't selfish reasons for his actions. He felt guilty, constantly. He could tell that things were off and he wanted them back to how they used to be. 

They both felt as if they were going through the motions now. They were keeping up appearances for the sake of each other without actually committing to the idea of being friends again. Joe kept it up because he wanted things to be fine, but he felt Trent did simply because it was what 'good men' did. He hadn't forgiven JC completely yet, and JC knew it. After all, how could he?

Joe clapped Trent on the shoulder and offered a small smile, letting him know the gesture was appreciated. Trent shrugged it off, but not in an unfriendly way.

"You'll thank me when this is over."

"I think I'd rather be in another 'Kill Trent' match."

It was Stacy that chimed in now, offering her final thoughts on the matter.

"That can be arranged."

"You don't have a match next week. So take a day or two off, meet her, have fun."

"I can do that."

Maybe they would be fine after all. Maybe this was all a terrible idea. Maybe they were in the last gasps of a dying friendship and neither knew how to save it. JC didn't know, but unlike before, he actually cared. He had a new voice now, a conscience, and it told him that he had to make reparations. 

He was doing his best to repair his life, his career and his relationships with the fans.

Now he just had to wait and see if he could do the same with his best friend.

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It's been one hell of a 2016.

I started this year full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. I hurt a lot of people but I didn't get a lot done. As it draws to a close, I find myself on uneasy ground with my best friend. A best friend that I tried to cripple. A best friend that only recently I made an effort to reconcile with.

This is the first time Trent Steel and I have teamed up, two-on-two, in five years. The last time we did it, we were tag team champions over in NLW. It's kind of amazing that we haven't really had the chance to work together since I've been back. I blame that on myself. Maybe if I wasn't a psychotic mess four months ago, we'd be champions again and none of this would matter.

I don't know if we'll get the chance to be champions here in Carnage, but beating an up-and-coming team like Razor's Edge is a hell of a place to start. 

I'm not going to call Razor's Edge a great team yet, but I'm also not going to belittle their past achievements by saying they don't matter here. I will say that we've been champions in two different promotions and it took insane circumstances to get the belts off of us. At one point a promotion closed before anyone could beat us. These are circumstances that I don't think a couple of kids from Chicago can pull off. 

224 days as champion is nothing to sneeze at. As the longest-reigning champion in NLW history, allow me to commend you for outlasting the competition for over seven months. It's impressive. But I'm willing to say that you've never fought a team like The Rogues. You've never even met a team like The Rogues before. We win. It's what we do.

I have met plenty of athletes like you before. And I usually dropped them on their heads before beating them. You might say I have an answer for any problems you threaten to give us. As brothers you may think you have an advantage, but Trent and I are brothers in arms. Our partnership was forged in blood, survived a civil war and is now stronger than ever. In the ring we work in tandem because we're two halves of a whole. If you're keeping score, that's bad news for the Harris Brothers and their sister Megan.

You should know me by now. I came here and showed exactly what I'm about. I'm looking to prove I'm a good man and a great wrestler. I pinned the CW Ultraviolence champion clean because that's what I do. I come in, I outwrestle everyone and go home with the winner's purse at the pay window. You know me and if you don't, you're about to get acquainted really fucking fast.

I can hype up my accomplishments all day long, but the adage of 'you're only as good as your last match' is still very true. Maybe not for everyone else, but it's something I definitely apply to myself. The concept of momentum in wrestling is a fallacy. I may be on a roll, but since that roll can end at any time, I treat every match as if it matters. Because when you're my age and you have something to prove, you'd better believe that every match matters. It's all about the here and now, because there could be no tomorrow and the past isn't going to help me get the job done.

This match isn't just about me, though. As good as I am, I'm not the only one you'll have to worry about. When you two kids signed the dotted line for this match, I don't think you knew exactly what you got yourselves into. Now it's too late and we're going to make you look like rookies out there.

Here's something you should know about Trent Steel. He's relentless. He's dedicated. He's fearless. When he puts his mind to something, he commits 100% because he knows no other way to do it. He's the best possible tag team partner to have, because the only way he will let you down is if his body lets him down first. He once jumped out of a helicopter to win a match, although that damn thing gets higher off the ground every time he tells the story.

As such, he tends to get very little credit when it comes to who he is as a person. Maybe that's to be expected when you've done the horrible things he has. He's a lot like me. We're both two psychologically broken men looking to pick up our shattered pieces and prove we still have value. Trent knows who I am better than most, and he put himself through mental and physical torture to save who he thought he was the real me.

To be blunt, I don't deserve a partner like that. I don't deserve a friend like that.

So that's why I want to earn it. 

I have to apologize, because there's absolutely no chance I'm letting you win this match. Every match is unique, every match is must-win. In this case, I have to prove to Trent that I'm as good of a partner and friend as he deserves. I think Trent Steel, more than anyone else in this business, deserves some happiness. If reforming this tag team and getting us back to our winning ways is the way to do that, then I'll do it without hesitation.

After all, he put his health and his career on the line just to bring me back from the brink.

His reward is long past due.