Yakima, Washington

The metal plates clanked and rattled as Ryan dropped the heavy bar to the gym floor. His heart pounded within his chest, and the sweat dropped from his neck and soaked the collar of his workout shirt.

All around him was a quiet, empty workout room. There were idle cardio machines, unused cable systems, and dumbbells neatly organized on benches.

This made sense since it was 3:30 a.m. According to the hulking man named Ryan Rogue, that was the perfect time to really go for it with the weights.

No distractions, just focus.

Focus on the sets.

Focus on the reps.

Focus on his goal.

His goal was clear: become a champion.

It hadn’t come to fruition in the western regional promotion he’d been wrestling in, but things seemed to be changing before it folded. He had partnered up with a man named Phaser who was similar in style.

Sure, Phaser had a bit more going on in his personal life, but he had the same intense desire for achievement.

Too bad the promotion failed when we were getting hot Ryan thought to himself.

He picked the bar back up and began another series of reps, this time focusing on his breathing and rhythm.

With a grunt, he dropped the bar once more, and made that similar iron-laden clank and rattle. From his workout bag he grabbed and checked his phone, then furrowed his brow. Phaser hadn’t replied to his most recent text message.

Ryan tossed the phone back in bag and went back lifting. There was work to be done.

He had goals.

Parker, Colorado

Phaser rolled over in his bed and rubbed his eyes. His wife laid next to him, still snoring, but he didn’t mind. He always seemed to wake up first.

In the ring he was known as Phaser, but he went by a few other names, too: Paul, son, brother, uncle, dad.

Most of his days started the same: check his phone, take a quick shower, get dressed, wake up the kids, make them breakfast, schlep them to school, go to work.

To some it sounded mundane, but he loved it. He reveled in it. He never expected to become a focused family man, but it had given his life meaning. The struggle of each day wasn’t pointless because each day built toward something. Toward a rich, rewarding life.

That said, there was still something more Phaser wanted. The benign life of a family man wasn’t enough to qualm the competitive, alpha nature within.

It’s why he still competed. It was why he still wrestled. And thank God his wife supported him, even when it meant he had to train late at night in their home gym or fly out of town once or twice per month.

Anyways he thought. Time to get this show on the road.

Phaser rolled back over to his nightstand and grabbed his phone. A text message notification popped up, which he quickly pulled up.

Oh? thought Phaser.

His new partner from Washington had some good news. Phaser wrote a quick note back and got up to start his daily routine.