The Courage To Change The Things I Can

The year is 2018. Seth Lerch is in a dimly lit hotel room. Well, hotel is too nice of a word. A dimly lit motel may be more accurate - and even that is likely an insult to motels. He's sitting cross legged on a bed, surrounded by bottles of beer. The room's illumination comes from a single source: a television screen. Seth glares at the screen as he takes a swig from the bottle he's currently intent on emptying.

Seth: Fuckin... whatever. What even is this bullshit?

We can hear the voices of the WCF announcers. Seth is drunkenly watching an episode of Slam.

Seth: They think.. they fuckin' think.. They're better off.. without ME?!

Seth finishes his bottle and looks to grab another - but he's all out, which he seemingly didn't realize until now. He takes his last bottle and throws it full force at the television set, which breaks upon impact. The room goes dark, and Seth lays down amongst his trash, deciding to sleep. Instead, there's a knock at the door.

Voice: Sir, we're going to have to ask you to leave. We've warned you multiple times about the destruction of property, and you haven't even been able to pay us-

Seth: Fuck off! Fuckin.. fuck!

Seth passes out. The room is soon lit up briefly the light from the window - the familiar blue and red flashing of police lights.


We now go to a courtroom. Seth stands next to who, at first glance, is a lawyer. Upon closer inspection, he's no lawyer at all. He is Zach Davis, former WCF announcer and former wrestler known as Bob the Cameraman.

Seth: I swear to God, I better not be going to jail. I kept you employed all those years.. you owe me.

Zach: First of all, being employed for the WCF, I witnessed some of the most ridiculous, sadistic, bizarre, traumatizing things in human history. YOU owe ME for my therapy bills. Secondly, as I've told you repeatedly, I'm not, nor have I ever been, a lawyer.

Seth: You're a cameraman turned wrestler turned announcer. You're versatile, you can do anything. Or at least.. You better have.

Zach: We'll see about that.

We now notice that the Judge has been watching the two have their conversation this whole time.

Judge: ...Are you two finished? You know we can all hear you.

Seth and Zach look at each other and shrug.

Judge: In light of the fact that you're a white man that, at least in the past, had a substantial amount of money, I'm not going to sentence you to any jail time. However, I do sentence you to a mandatory stay in rehab. I truly hope that you can get your life together, because you clearly need SOME kind of help.

Seth: REHAB!? No! No, please! TAKE ME TO JAIL!

The cops drag Seth out of the courtroom kicking and screaming.


Seth is sitting in a small, somewhat cramped office, with someone who we can assume is a therapist of some sort.

Therapist: Well, Seth. We've never had anyone volunteer to stay in rehab for this long. Three months is, quite frankly, a long time.

Seth: Doc, I've gotta be honest. I feel better than I have in.. Well, years! I've never been sober for a day, let alone for months. I'm scared to leave.

Therapist: Be that as it may, you can't stay here forever. I'm going to give you two more weeks. You've worked your steps, you have a program. The only thing you haven't done is found a sponsor. I suggest, in these two weeks, you make it a point to find someone so that when you're out, you have that kind of support. I believe in you.

Seth, looking healthier than we've ever seen him, nods.. Looking a bit fearful, nonetheless.


At some point, it seems Jayson Price has entered the same rehab Seth is in. Seth and Price are seated opposite of each other in a circle, surrounded by several other alcoholics.

Seth: Honestly, Price? People like you are the reason I'm here! You think I could stay sober with people like you and Oblivion and Corey Black and Jack of Blades and Logan and whatever other psycho walked through the door, all of you ruining my life on a weekly basis? You did unspeakable things with my sister!

Price: Heh, yeah. I sure did. Thanks for the reminder. Good times!

Seth glares.

Seth: I sacrificed EVERYTHING for you! The best years of my life! I gave my blood, sweat, tears-

Price: Hey, watch it. I sacrificed bodily fluids for WCF too, you know. I got your sister pregnant, remember?

Seth lunges at Price, but this is seemingly a common occurance and security is there to stop him.

Seth: Without me, there would be no WCF, no Jayson Price, no ANYTHING! And all any of you did was destroy me.


Same scene.

Therapist: Alright, Seth, that's enough. I believe in your ability to remain sober, but having Mr. Price here has opened our eyes to quite a bit. You blame everything on everyone else.. Did Jayson Price, or anyone else in WCF, ever hold a gun to your head and make you drink?

Seth: Well shit, to be honest? Probably!

Therapist: ...Okay, well, probably not every time. You made your decisions on your own. You have to take responsibility for your actions. I think you owe Jayson an apology.

Seth has had his head down, feeling guilty now and realizing the therapist may be right. He looks up and looks Price in the eyes.

Seth: Jayson.. I'm sure.

Price smirks.

Seth: SORRY I KEPT YOU EMPLOYED FOR SO LONG YOU SON OF A BITCH!

Seth again lunges at Price but again security is on the scene and steps him, dragging him back to his chair.

Therapist: Seth!

Seth sighs.

Seth: Fine. You're right. Price, I'm sorry. Maybe if I wasn't such a drunken fuckup you wouldn't have gotten my sister pregnant, assaulted me and made my life hell every single day.

Jayson grins.

Price: Apology accepted!


It's a bright, sunny day. We're outside of a building that we can assume is the rehabilitation center. Seth Lerch and Jayson Price step through the doors.

Seth: I don't believe it. I'm.. I'm free. And it's all thanks to you.

Seth embraces Jayson, who hesitantly accepts it.

Price: Hey.. Hey now, buddy, you were doing pretty good before I got there. What matters is that you're out now, you realized your mistakes in WCF, and most importantly, you're never going to step foot anywhere near any wrestling company ever again. You have a whole new life ahead of you.

Seth and Jayson head into the sunset, happily ever after. OR WERE THEY? We're only half way through the steps, folks!


Seth is at a liquor store with a bottle of rum in his hand. He's sweating profusely, not wanting to undo all the progress he's made. He grabs his phone and calls Price.

Seth: Yeah, Jayson, I can't help it, man. I'm gonna buy some rum. I need to drink. I'm good now, I can handle it, right?

We can hear Jayson's voice from the phone.

Price: Are you kidding me, dude? We literally left rehab ten minutes ago!

Seth: Gah!

Seth throws the bottle at a nearby innocent bystander before breaking down, sobbing.

Seth: Why, God, why? Why am I like this? Why must I ruin everything? Why have you forsaken me!?

Price is still on the phone.

Price: ...I can still hear you... At least hang up, have some dignity ... I'll be right there.

Price shows up, bribes the boss of the liquor store not to call the cops, and takes Seth away.


Seth is at a desk, now at a place that we can comfortably and reasonably call an actual motel. He's making his list.

Seth: There are so many people to have come and gone through WCF... Where do I even begin? I'm so disconnected, I don't even know what the scene is like anymore.

Seth turns towards the TV, glaring at it, remembering the night that lead him to this mess years ago.

Seth: Dare I take the plunge and once again do the bravest thing any of us can ever do - watch several hours of an American wrestling product?

He turns the TV on and the first thing that comes up, conveniently for the purposes of this scene, is FPV and Corey Black winning the Tag Team Titles. Seth glares.

Seth: OF COURSE Corey Black of all people. Forget making amends, screw this. I'm not drinking, so I think I'd rather do revenge.


At this point, we break the fourth wall. We're in the editing studio with Seth Lerch and Zach Davis.

Zach: Look, Seth. You only finished Step Eight, and APW only allows you so many words - er, uh, minutes - per match. You better wrap this up. You've barely talked about the Man Made Gods at all. Quite frankly, this whole thing has been self indulgent, and-

Seth: Okay, okay, fine. Stop using so many words! Er, uh, taking so much time! Back to the steps, let's wrap this up.


Here, we just see footage of Seth and Price's attack on FPV. They're doing literally the opposite of this step, specifically going out of their way to injure others.


Seth and Price are backstage, high fiving each other for their successful assault.

Seth: Man, you're the best. That went perfect.

Price: No, Seth. YOU'RE the best.

Seth: WE'RE the best!


Now, Seth Lerch is, for the first time in his life, hitting the gym. Some song that sounds like Eye of the Tiger but is royalty free is playing in the background. Seth is bench pressing.

Price: Fuck yeah! You're in the best shape of your life.

Seth: I feel good, man. I'm sober, I'm fit. I know I've never been a wrestler, but I've been in the business longer than some of my girlfriends have been alive.

Price does some mental math, hoping that Seth is either exaggerating or wrong, but he doesn't push the issue.

Seth: With your help, Price, I honestly think I can pull this off. This could be the biggest moment of my career. And I've won a lot of big matches.

Price: ...I mean.. Have you, though?...

Seth: Okay, you're right. With your help, this can be the very first big moment of my career!


And, finally, we find Seth against a plain black backdrop. He's looking at the camera... Yep, time for the standard pro wrestling shit talking thing!

Seth: FPV. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong choice of tag team partners, friend. It wasn't personal. Just business. Corey Black, on the other hand... Let's be honest. I've known you as long as I've been in this game. If I hadn't destroyed my memories with alcohol abuse, I probably could've spent all these minutes writing on the different things we've been through. Alas, most of my memories are a haze, but one thing isn't hazy. I hate you. All I ever wanted to do was make WCF the best it could be, and you were always there, always in the way. Stepping on my toes, causing trouble.. And why? Because I, in my infinite kindness, gave you a platform? As Creeping Death, myself and the WCF made you a household name. We sold millions of little Creeping Death masks. My company made you who you are today. And what did you do? The second you were big enough that you didn't "need" me anymore, you started doing everything you could to tear the WCF down, just to make yourself look better. Well, I'm ready to call APW my home, and I'm not going to let you do that here. You're a virus, Corey, you're a disease that only kills companies, and by the time anyone of importance realizes it.. It's too late to stop you. And that's why I'm here. I'm the best I've ever been, and I'm going to save APW. You're no God, Corey Black, and after I'm done with you? You'll know that you won't even be able to call yourself a man.

Seth stares into the camera, trying to look like a badass, and the scene ends.