((Two a.m., Tuesday morning. Houston. The room in the Hotel ZaZa isn’t the disaster area that’s become the norm for rooms “Loverboy” Vinnie Lane has stayed in. For the most part, things are in immaculate, untouched condition. At a desk near the bathroom, Roxy Cotton is sitting and applying her makeup – a delicate endeavor in the art of technical precision, to be sure. Loverboy has just entered the room, and doesn’t look thrilled.))

Loverboy: Hey Roxy. Sorry I didn’t make it to the room any earlier. I needed to blow off a little steam so, I took off and found a titty bar, honestly.

Roxy: Baby! Why didn’t you invite me? I’d love to show these Texas rednecks what a real California girl can do on a pole.

Loverboy: Yeah. Well. Did you see the show?

((Roxy flattens her mouth, then stands and walks to Loverboy, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him gently on the lips.))






Roxy: I saw it babe. I’m so sorry. You put on a hell of a show though.

Loverboy: Yeah, you know, I thought I was going to really lose it if I had another loss, but honestly it was almost a relief.

Roxy: A relief? How?

Loverboy: Well, you know, ever since I started putting all this focus on always winning and staying undefeated – it really just became nothing but pressure, you know? Like, that was never the idea when I came in to the XWF, man, I was just planning on paying my dues and working my way to the top of the pile. I lost that somewhere getting all caught up in this undefeated streak, and it turned into the only thing that mattered. And as soon as I let it turn into the thing that mattered, I lost control of it. I got ahead of myself, full of myself, and then before I knew it I’d created this huge persona that no one could really expect anyone to live up to. I mean, really, who goes undefeated forever in this business? Nobody. I got a taste of something and I wasn’t willing to let it go, man, I was just… what’s the word, babe?

Roxy: You mean… recalcitrant right?

Loverboy: What? No, that doesn’t sound like a real word. You should stick to looking good and stop with all that reading.

Roxy: Sorry baby.

Loverboy: It’s cool, man, smart is sexy and all that. I’ve just been through some weird shit is all, it’s not your fault.

((Roxy bites her lip and smiles, looking up into Loverboy’s sky blue eyes and batting her lashes. Despite his somber mood, Loverboy finds himself smiling back down to her.))

Roxy: Sweetie… why don’t you let me do what I do best and make you feel better? Would you like that?

Loverboy: Well, I dunno, did you wash Tommy Gunn off of you?

((Roxy opens her mouth, pretending to be offended and playfully swatting at Loverboy while she laughs.))

Roxy: Oh yeah! Well, what about little miss Sasha Grey? Did you get her all over you?

((And suddenly, the smile falls from Loverboy’s face. His eyes dart away from Roxy’s and he breaks their embrace, turning toward the few things of hers laid out on the bed and gathering them.))

Loverboy: You know… I’m just not feeling it, Rox. It’s just not gonna happen tonight, man. Besides, really, I’ve got to get to the airport really soon. Another big trip and another big match.

((Roxy, suddenly sullen, starts to walk back over to her make up area, but Loverboy turns to her again.))

Loverboy: Roxy – will you come with me to Australia? Honestly… I really just need someone there that I care about, dude.

((Roxy beams. She grins from ear to ear and jumps back into the arms of Loverboy, kissing him deeply as they laugh in one another’s arms.))

Roxy: Baby! Of course I’ll come with you! I can’t wait to watch you put a hurting on that Pest.

Loverboy: Yeah baby… I’m going to really turn it up knowing you’re there for me. This match isn’t about winning or championships or some ridiculous undefeated streak – it’s about putting that loudmouthed, ugly bastard into the dirt where he belongs. Let’s get your stuff together, we need to go.

Roxy: I love it when you get all determined, Vinnie. But baby, you know I don’t know anybody in Australia. We’re going to have to make a stop on the way to the airport.

((Loverboy looks briefly annoyed, but the beautiful girl twists a coil of blonde hair around her delicate finger and puts the manicured nail between her smiling teeth. Loverboy simply has no choice but to agree with her and give her what she wants.))

Loverboy: For you, anything. Let’s go, baby.








((The car is parked somewhere, idling. Roxy is standing outside, talking to a thuggish looking kid and counting out a stack of bills she’s pulled from between her heaving breasts. “Loverboy” Vinnie Lane watches the exchange with a smile, knowing that the poor drug dealer has no chance in counting things correctly if he keeps staring at Roxy’s body the way he is. Loverboy takes the few minutes of alone time to speak his mind on Pest some more.))

Loverboy: You know… that girl is pretty much the best thing that’s happened to me in the XWF since winning these Trios belts.

((Loverboy lays his hand on one of the title belts sticking out of his duffel bag in the back seat.))

Loverboy: She gets what she wants, man, and she does it over and over, not caring what anyone has to say. I’ve learned from her, believe it or not. I’ve learned that I’m a champion inside and out, even without these belts. I’ve learned that I can overcome obstacles like four corners matches and random tag team pairings. I’ve learned I can get through losses without falling apart. I have a lot to thank Roxy for, because her voice has been there since the day we met, reminding me that I’m a megastar. And you know what, man? It doesn’t matter if people like Pest or Luca or even Shane believe it – I believe it. Roxy believes it. The people that love and support me believe it. So it’s true.

((Loverboy smiles at Roxy through the windshield as she turns to him and shows the cash still in her hand, twice as much as she should have leftover. She smiles and points at the dealer, who has turned away to get her drugs out of his car, and twirls her finger around her ear to gesture that the guy is dumb. Loverboy laughs again, watching and looking out for Roxy. The dealer turns back to her and Loverboy continues his thought.))

Loverboy: When you work as hard as I do and you have the successes I’ve had in such a short amount of time, you make some enemies. Usually a younger guy comes into this business and the old guard are immediately defensive over their place in the spotlight. It’s usually only a very vocal few though, making the rest of them look bad. That’s why a guy like Pest is such a pain in the ass, man. Spouting the crap that he does about me, claiming to be some sort of returning legend from the old days or some shit. You don’t hear real legends like Sebastian Duke saying I didn’t earn my title, do you? You don’t see a guy like Azrael Erebus claiming he let me take the title from him, right? Of course not. They have respect for this business and for the new generation of stars, such as myself, that will continue to keep the XWF banner at the top of the food chain as far as pro wrestling is concerned. Of course, I guess it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that a guy calling himself “Mr. WG WF” would lack respect for the XWF, hell, he even said anyone associated with the XWF was out of God’s favor or whatever. All the while he’s saying this, though, he’s cashing checks from the company. But I’m a hypocrite, right? Pest… Pest is the sort of guy, literally, who quotes himself. As if hearing from him the first time wasn’t enough, he feels the need to make everyone suffer through it again to… well, what? To prove a point? Oh, look, I called Loverboy a crybaby, and then he complained about something! Well, shit, Pest, you’re a regular fuckin’ Nostradamus aren’t you? I bet next time I take a dump you’ll be right there to claim you said a month ago that I was full of shit. Hey man, I owned up to my actions. I went off because I was frustrated, and I acknowledge it. Do I think there’s a really good chance there was some sort of backroom shenanigans involved in that loss to Luca? Yeah man, I do. If you were in the meetings I was in and you saw and heard the things I did, if you were in that ring that night, then maybe you’d see it the same way. But no, you’re just living up to your name, being a damn pest, pointing fingers and running his halitosis pipe about any and everything he can think of. I’m even somehow ducking a championship challenge from Eli James when out of three team members I’m the ONLY ONE COMPETING. If the XWF sees fit to strip Zoey and Clean of the titles, so be it, I’ll get other partners. Until that moment though, man, I don’t have the power to decide who the champions are, do I? Oh, I suppose I should have looked into the future like you do and seen that both my partners were going to flake out, right? I bet that’s what your buddies Feder and Samuels would have done. Fuck it, probably Dr. Zero and Mr. Radio, too. Anyone except the people actually here right now, right man?

((Loverboy shakes his head, looking up and out of the windshield again as Roxy and her drug dealer finish up their exchange. The guy goes in for a hug, but Roxy deftly sidesteps him and gestures toward Loverboy, clearly implying that the muscular, professional athlete behind the wheel of the car would not react well to any more come-ons from the skinny, unintimidating pusher. Roxy sidles back to the passenger door as the dealer turns and walks away as well, and as she gets into the car and leans over to Loverboy with a kiss on his cheek, he starts the engine and continues.))

Loverboy: Well, guess what, Nostradamus? I don’t give a shit what you think of me. Fuck, dude, you don’t even KNOW what you think of me, because you just shift from one foot to the other and try to go for whatever suits you best at the time. Like spending a week claiming gay jokes were boring and tired before cutting two promos calling me a . But again… it’s me who’s the hypocrite, right? Me beating a guy like Darren Dangerous isn’t worth mentioning, and you’re a worthy foe for beating Clean Lucena – but I’m a hypocrite. Me having gone through six matches against some of the best competitors in the XWF was worthless and meaningless, and Scully is a great young talent for winning his matches – but I’m a hypocrite. Peter Gilmour is a loser and Dim is an illiterate , but when they whip your ass they’re legends and strong competitors – but I’m still a hypocrite. You invalidate everything you say right after you say it, dude, so I don't let it sweat me. I'm looking forward with a smile on my face and getting ready to make you a permanent part of my past. Think positive and test negative, that'smy motto. So, there you go, Pest. A few dozen more sound bytes for you to pore over and rehash word for word. Do me a favor though this time man, at least check the date stamp on these video feeds so you don’t end up looking so stupid. Shit gets recorded before it gets released, you know? See you Wednesday, fuckface.

((Pulling away, Loverboy stretches his arm across the back of Roxy’s headrest as she settles her bouffant of Aquanetted blonde locks onto his shoulder.))