'If there's one thing damn near everyone is guilty of, myself included, it's self-sabotage. Whether it be in relationships..school..work, anywhere really. And it sucks cause in life..there's gonna be sooo fuckin many people that wanna see you just fall flat on your face and fail in all the worst ways.

Like I said, I'm guilty as fuck of it. I've taken some great relationships..some great jobs..and for whatever reason.. I fucked them up. Whether it's criticizing things that don't needa be criticized or talkin myself outta takin that chance or just bein down on myself in general.

One of the biggest examples of that has to do with all of this..wrestlin, I mean. I always had sooo much trouble puttin myself above people I cared bout. I can't count how many times it bit me in the ass. I didn't push as hard as I knew I could have against certain people cause I was scared if I did, they'd have resentment..or negative feelins bout me.

It took..I don't know how many matches it fucked me outta or how many people I had in my ear..tellin me whatta fuckin mistake I was makin. Then I finally listened. I came up on that speed bump and I had acknowledged what I needed to do.

It was a Triple Threat Match. I was in there against my sister Toddy and my wife Jennie and I wasn't acceptin anythin less. I took the advice that was bein given to me and I did what I had to do. I went right over that speed bump and more than that..I won.

I defeated two of the people that mean the absolute most to me and I didnt feel bad bout it. Problem solved, yeah? Goddamn, I wish. That feels like another life ago, soo many things have happened since then. And now here I am, comin up on my first round match in the Cannabis Cup. Shouldn't be a problem, right?

Nah, it's never that fuckin easy, is it? My first match in the cup is against Sabin..against Wraith. And yet..all I can think bout is how Jennie..his family..my wife is gonna feel when I take his ass out first round. Even thinkin bout how Tara..my sister in law..his mother..is gonna feel. Now, I really don't care if they root for him. I mean, it's family..what can ya do?

But my biggest concern is how they're gonna look at me after I do the deed. It's not like I wanted this to happen like this, nottabit at all. But we gotta play the hand we're dealt. Ain't no mulligans. Ain't no turnin back on it. What's done is done and now I'm sittin here just..wonderin how they're gonna feel when I knock'em outta the tournament before he even gets goin in it.'

Alaska. It was definitely a first but Ricky was overjoyed when Jennie told him the details of their trip to that strange and mysterious land, as Ricky so eloquently put it. It had been an amazing trip, without question, sights and experiences Ricky never even considered possible before. But even despite all of that, work still lingered in the mind of young Ricky, just settling in and tugging in all the worst ways.

It got to the point where he couldn't even sleep because of it. He laid in that bed, physically comfortable but mentally going through the wringer. Turning his head to look at the sleeping Jennie Fenix next to him, he smiled softly before silently slipping out of that bed. Ricky needed to clear his thoughts so he headed towards the living room area of that cabin.

A dead silence filled the air and there wasn't a soul in sight. Switch in hand, Ricky took a seat on that couch, crossed his legs beneath him, and dove right into Hacker's Memory. With Digimon Survive just right around the corner, Ricky wanted to finish up the latest titles in the series he hadn't had the chance to.

He grinded through a handful of battles, strengthening and digivolving his team. And for once, his mind was calm, thinking only of stat requirements and evolution prerequisites. The deeper he got into his game, the more relaxed he felt. Eventually, Ricky drifted off to sleep, his Switch falling from his hands and into his lap. Before long, Ricky found himself slipping into the land of dreams.

And like..it couldn't even be a good dream. It was the match. Ricky Rodriguez versus Wraith in the first round of the Cannabis Cup. It was a heavily contested match, momentum swaying back and forth between the two, much like a pendulum. The two men beat the absolute hell out of one another. Near falls were exchanged, each one closer than the last, but still neither man was able to get the three.

But then it happened, frustration had boiled over for Wraith and he had no problem showing that. Rather than stay on Ricky, Wraith attempted to recollect his composure, unknowingly giving Ricky a few extra moments. That proved to bite Wraith in the ass as he bent down to pull Ricky up.

The explosive superstar grabbed Wraith by the waist and threw himself backwards. Momentum sent Wraith crashing face first into the middle turnbuckle. By the time he managed to get himself out of the corner, Ricky had bounced off of the top rope and caught Wraith by the head. He spiked him into the canvas rather impactfully.

TO THE TOP!

Ricky rolled Wraith over, draping himself across the man's chest. Reaching down, he grabbed the man's leg and brought it up, hooking it tightly. The official dropped to the man as the crowd counted along.

ONE! TWO! THREE!

As soon as he heard the bell, Ricky rolled off of Wraith and over onto his back. His body coursing with pain, knowing that he picked up the win took the edge off a bit. Getting back up to his feet, Ricky celebrated his victory, the crowd cheering him on as he did. Turning around, he briefly noticed that Wraith had left to the back, not really paying much mind to it.

Feeling elated at the fact that he advanced, Ricky played to the cheering crowd a little bit more before making his way to the back. As soon as he got there, all of those positive feelings he was feeling were washed away quicker than hell. Instead of the face of his wife, beaming with happiness, he saw disappointment and regret. Jennie and Tara both were reassuring Sabin after the loss and were clearly none too happy with Ricky.

Tara looked up from her son long enough to shoot Ricky a glare before going back to it. After Jennie did the same, Ricky just stood there, every bit of excitement he had felt just gone. His shoulders dropping, Ricky simply backed up, making his way out of that area and taking a different route entirely.

Once finding a spot where he could be by himself, Ricky backed into the wall behind him and just slid down it into a seated position. His head hanging, he shook it back and forth slowly. It was exactly how he worried it would be and it was a feeling he'd never forget.

And just like that, he was shaken from his sleep. The feeling of an unknown hand gripping his shoulder and shaking him slightly would wake him up almost instantly. An understandable jump from Ricky happened just before he realized what was going on.

It was Tara, the mother of the man he was to fight and sister of his wife. Her brow lowered slightly, there was a look of concern on her features. Walking around to the front of the couch, she took a seat next to Ricky before speaking up.

Tara Fenix: 'What'd you do?'

Confusion set in as Ricky heard her question. An inquisitive look grew across his features as he tilted his head to the side. Rather than give a verbal answer, she motioned to the couch. It clicked with Ricky and he laughed out, shaking his head quickly.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'Oh! Nah, nothin like that. Just have alottabit on my mind lately and sleep hasn't really been somethin I wanna do cause I dream bout it and like I can see my worries comin true and it just totallyyy fuckin sucks and like..'

When he realized he was beginning to ramble on, Ricky stopped himself. Sighing deeply, he let his head fall back with a groan as he did so.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'This fuckin suckss.'

Tara Fenix: 'Well, what's bothering you then? Obviously, it's something big if it makes you feel like this.'

He really didn't want to talk about it, especially since she was who she was. But against his better judgment, he gave in without any resistance whatsoever.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'Iunno..it's like..I got that Cannabis Cup match comin up against Sabin and like I kinda sorta feel like if I beat him or I'd hafta stop myself from doin certain things that I do and like it makes me feel like, it's gonna make y'all see me as the bad guy and that's totally not what I want, nottabit at all, y'know?'

For a couple moments, Tara stared at Ricky blankly, her eyes occasionally blinking. With every second that passed that she didn't say anything, dread built within Ricky. Finally, she broke the silence with a rather hearty laughter. Ricky's eyes widened quite largely as he was unsure of how to take her reaction to what was bugging him.

He parted his lips to speak, only for Tara to punch him in the shoulder. She didn't aim to hurt him, just to show him what a ludicrous idea that was. She shook her head after punching him and her laughter subsided.

Tara Fenix: 'You really can be so dumb sometimes.'

He half ass wanted to take offense to that but let's be honest, Tara wasn't wrong.

Tara Fenix: 'It's the nature of the business. As long as you don't try to intentionally take him out or have Page try and help you, why would we be upset with you?'

Ricky Rodriguez: 'Well yeah, I wouldn't do that but I mean like..'

Tara Fenix: 'No, only one of you can win. Now, I'm pretty damn sure you really want to win, don't you? You've been working hard to get to where you're at and you're not doing yourself any favors by getting in your own head like this.'

Ricky was understanding of what Tara was telling him, nodding his head in agreement.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'I have been bustin my ass reallyy hard comin up on this.'

Tara Fenix: 'Exactly. It's really sweet that you'd put our feelings ahead of your own like that but don't. He's coming to win and you need to be ready to do the same thing. Now quit worrying about stupid shit and go back to bed.'

Bringing her hand up, she ruffled the hair of Ricky, causing the younger man to laugh out, more so when she used his head as leverage to push herself up to a standing position. Ricky followed suit, pushing up to his feet as Tara started walking off.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'Tara..'

She stopped in her tracks, turning to face Ricky with a tilt of her head.

Tara Fenix: 'Yeah?'

Ricky's Rodriguez: 'Thank you.'

The only answer she gave was a smile and a nod of her head before walking off. Ricky went back to that bedroom before crawling back into the bed, careful not to wake Jennie up. That talk he had with Tara proved to be helpful as Ricky fell asleep pretty easily, his mind feeling completely at ease.
____________________________________

The Alaska trip was everything Ricky needed to get his head right where he wanted it to be. Focused like never before, Ricky had a laundry list of big events and matches coming up. Zion's big Clarity event where he would defend his Gateway Championship against Rayola Devine. Liberty was primed and ready for their draft. And of course, there was his upcoming match in Level-Up against Dane Preston.

To say Ricky had a lot on his plate would be an understatement. But that's how he liked it. Always something to do. Always a huge opportunity to be ready for. Things had turned out to be everything he wanted. He truly was living the life he had dreamed of living for so long. Gold, sponsorships, even a few investment opportunities, of course discussed with and approved by two of his biggest supporters, and people who look out for him the most: Chris Page and Thaddeus Duke.

Amongst all the business that was going on, Ricky still made sure to find some downtime. All work and no play makes Ricky a dull boy, of course. Which would bring us to the here and now. Jennie and Tara had made plans to spend the day together which means: The Ricky Rodriguez Day of Play!

Can't start a Day of Play without a good ass wake and bake. Ricky sat upon that back patio, a joint dangling from the corner of his mouth. He took a long drag off of it and held it in for a few moments before exhaling it out above him. Picking up that phone of his, he began to livestream a bit.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'Heyy all you wonderful ass people. Today bouta be a hell of a day. Jennie out with Tara and I got some pretty cool shit lined up for my day off today. Gotta MTG tournament in a lilbit. Linkin up with Bobby and Alessa then we're gonna grab some lunch and got some pretty cool shit planned. Just gonna let go and have some really great fun, blow off some steam..but first..'

Taking another long drag off of that joint, closing his eyes as he did so. He kept the smoke held in, only exhaling it out as he spoke.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'The Cannabis Cup is right around the corner. Everybody startin to get primed and ready but y'see, me? I've been ready. I've been gettin ready since my name was announced and I am ready to go. I am ready to put Wraith on his ass and advance to the next round. And y'know..I ain't even gonna feel bad bout it.

See Wraith, I'm on the roll of a lifetime and it's only gettin better. I'm only gettin better. Each and every time I step out into that ring to do what I worked most of my life to..I get better. I grow. I evolve. There's no limit to just what I can accomplish. It doesn't matter where. It doesn't matter when. If you see me on a roster..any roster..know that I will find success.

And that brings me to the Cannabis Cup. Now, I know you busted your ass to get here too but I'm..not..sorry that Ima hafta be the man that sends you packin right before you can't even get outta the chute. But you already know..that's exactly what I'm comin to do. And of course, you're lookin to do the same thing. We bouta go out there and do..everythin in our power to make sure the other one taps out or gets pinned for the three.'

Another hit taken off of that joint and Ricky was right where he needed to be. Eyes half closed, his body almost melting into the chair he sat in. Knocking the cherry off in an ashtray, he set the roach to the side and continued.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'See, that's where the world sees the differences between us. The whole ass beginnin of my career was a crash course in what not to do as a professional wrestler. I took my lumps..suffered my heartaches..learned my lessons. And cause of that..I know more than I should with my level of experience. See, I didn't come from a wrestlin family. I didn't have that luxury.

Everythin I've done? I've done. I've learned from my mistakes. I've learned from the people I shouldn't have trusted. But more importantly..I've learned that much more from people I shoulda been listenin to from the very fuckin beginnin.

People like Chris Page, the man who took a shot on me when nobody else took a second glance at me. People like Sahara, the woman who showed me that sometimes you hafta do the unpopular thing to get what you want, no matter what anyone feels bout it. People like Michelle Riggs and Paul Montuori who taught me that if you need to? Step over anyone in front of you.

And that's just a few of the lessons from a few of the people I've learned from. Hell, even people I've fought. I've learned from every win..every loss..every match I've ever been in. I'm takin everythin I've ever learned bout this business and I'm gonna use them to put you beneath me. I'm gonna use them to..step over you. And most important of all..I'm gonna use them to take the whole..fuckin..Cannabis Cup babyy~'

Surprisingly enough, Ricky showed a bit of arrogance in the smirk that grew across his features. Giving a friendly wave, Ricky ended his stream and went to get ready for his day. Which means he curled up on the couch with a big ass bowl of Fruity Pebbles and watched a couple episodes of Digimon Tamers. When it got closer to the time of his tournament, Ricky took a shower, got dressed and made sure he had everything he needed before heading out.

It was a sealed deck tournament. You pay whatever fee required and you're given a sealed deck to play with, in this case it was the set of the newer Commander decks from the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate set. The shop wasn't too far away and it was one he had done business with before. Whether it be the occasional signing or buying and selling of cards, they knew Ricky and were genuinely happy to see him.

The plus side being, for the most part, nobody really invaded his space as he sat down with the Green and Red Exit from Exile deck. Sleeving the cards, Ricky began shuffling his cards as he waited for the event to begin. It was simple really, everyone faced off against everyone else, at least once, and whoever had the best record would take first place, second best would take second place, and so on and so forth, depending on how many people were there.

One of the things he liked best about playing was he was able to utterly get lost in his mind. However, the game itself wasn't anywhere near his mind at this point. Thanks to the art of tape watching, a lesson imbued in him by Thaddeus Duke, Ricky pretty much knew the ins and outs of Wraith.

It was to the point where Ricky was mapping out whole ass matches in his head. Multiple matches. Multiple flows. Multiple outcomes. But even with that, Ricky felt more and more prepared, even as he tanked the tournament, not having the best record at all. But that wasn't the point of it. It was to have fun.

And speaking of having fun, almost as soon as the tournament ended, he was called by Big Ass Bobby and Alessa Holloway. Ricky said his goodbyes to the staff and what players lingered. Making sure to schedule a signing for the near future, Ricky took his leave, continuing his day.

The trio, as thick as thieves, spent the rest of the day and night, both, together. What started with a really good diner lunch turned into an arcade trip and when the sun went down, their destination shifted towards a local night club. Ricky sat at a brown circular table, a genuine smile plastered to his face as he saw the closeness from Bobby and Alessa. The two of them enjoyed one another's company out on the dance floor.

As they spent their time together, Ricky sipped on his drink only to pull his phone out, starting up that livestream once again. At this point in the night, Ricky was crossfaded, blasted out of his mind.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'Lemme tell y'all, today has been everyythin I've needed. Away from all the drama in those locker rooms. Away from all of the seriousness of it. It was alottaaabit needed to just..get away from it all. But that means somethin else too. Not only am I ready..physically, thanks to the Vilaro System..thanks to Marisol Vilaro but I'm ready mentally as well.

That spells troubleee for you, Wraith. It's like the perfect storm, man. Two storms collide and become an even larger storm..a more dangerous storm. The perfect storm. Which was a really fuckin great movie but that's neither here nor there but still needed to be said.'

Giving a rather nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, he remained slumped back in that chair, totally relaxed.

Ricky Rodriguez: 'See..this is for me. This is another opportunity to prove that everythin I do..helps in the long run. It makes me that..much..better at all of this. It's not just talk, every single thing I say? I can back it up. But you'll see that and soo much more.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know you can go, you are your mother's son, afterall. I know damn well this is gonna be one of the toughest matches I'll ever have. But that's okay..that's what I'm lookin for. That's what I'm lookin for each and every time I step through those ropes.

This is my opportunity, Wraith and it's one Ima take full advantage of. There really ain't much left to say here so let's continue this conversation. Each word a shot to the other's face. We'll have a whole ass debate.'

Shooting a wink, Ricky grabbed up his glass and drank down the last bit of it.