The Cracker Barrel and The Canucks...

The Canadian Coalition stand around their Toyota Corolla with their collective heads hanging low. Kyle looks across the top of the car to a slightly teary eyed Triple R.

"It's okay, big guy…"

Rick shakes his head very sternly.

"No… no… no…"

Quinn places a hand on Rick's shoulder and Rick shrugs it off.

"I tapped…"

Kyle slowly taps on the top of the car.

"Yeah, but you showed real heart out there, donchaknow. Nobody can say you didn't show up for a fight, Rick."

Rick sniffs strongly and then spits out a flim bomb to the ground at his feet.

"Shore, but I'm the enforcer of this tag team and I was made to tap by a man much smaller than me, eh? He was quick and he was precise…"

Quinn pulls out his phone and starts scanning the companies website.

"Wow, they didn't hesitate at all naming the participants for next week's card.. "

Quinn smirks.

"Oh shit, your tapping hasn't hindered us at all, Trips…"

Quinn's smirk turns a bit as he thinks further into the implications and Kyle gives an enquizative look.

"What is that look aboot?"

Quinn slowly places his phone back in his pocket and gulps out loud.

"Well Rick and I have the main event of Metal next week against Jubei and Trent Page…"

Kyle lights up and gives Rick a thumbs up.

"See buddy, it's not that bad after all."

Kyle hesitates his excitement as he goes back to what Quinn just said.

"Wait a second, did you say Jubei? As in Musada Jubei?"

Quinn nods and Rick's still feeling sickly from everything going on.

"Why do you ask, Wolf?"

Kyle rubs his grey grizzled beard for a second before answering.

"Jubei and I go back is all… I honestly haven't even given his being in Alpha Pro a second thought…"

"Is him being in Alpha that bad of a thing?"

Kyle shrugs a bit as he obviously thinks back to his crossings with Jubei.

"Sowry, it's just… He is the epitome of evil in any organization that he "graces" with his presence. He has honor, but it is HIS honor and his rules. I don't see this Trent guy playing well on a team with Jubei, that may just be your saving edge in this match. Jubei cannot be trusted and he will at the end of the day fill his own pockets before anyone else's. That's where his Masuda corporation came from and I'm not surprised his way of doing business didn't help that poor japanese rebranding of Vincent Pryde's New Blood Wrestling get up off the ground."

Quinn nods along, then gives an inquisitive face.

"What exactly happened between the two of you, Wolf?"

Kyle goes back to rubbing his beard, looking like a rabid dog with fleas.

"God, it was 1995 in the Tokyo Dome some time in July and New Japan was bringing in what they call gaijin to pad up their cards for their home grown talent to put matches on with. I was working Terrible Ted for Stampede for months, that black bear could throw paws donchaknow. Anywho, the Stampede boys let me get my feet wet in Japan for a bit as a borrow our talent so we can borrow yours kind of thing. I was excited as all can get out since this was gonna be my first wrestling opportunity outside of the great white north and I had a chance to show the world what a scrappy young Canuck could do."

Quinn chuckles.

"Let me guess, you were made to look like a hoser in Japan, eh?"

"I was well liked, not sure if it was because of my connection to Stu Hart and his dungeon or if I was so 'Canadian Polite', but management paid me well and didn't have me lose every night so that was a plus. Only issue I came by myself though, I didn't have a tag partner to lean on or a coach to guide my way… I remember gravitating to another hungry individual who was cutting his teeth in the business, but he was considered a homegrown talent, unlike yours truly donchaknow. Masuda Jubei…"

Rick comes a live following every word wide eyed.

"Then what happened?"

"We were put into a tag team with one another… They asked to have him 'carry me' which in turn I had to act like an inferior gaijin and he made sure everyone knew I was below him…"

Rick shakes his, feel pure empathy for his coach.

"I'm sowry coach, so sowry you had to go through that…"

Kyle shrugs.

"But it was what I wanted, fellas. I no longer had to wrestle a bear for people's entertainment. I was teaming with an egotistical madman every night and all I had to do was act like he was the better competitor… It only lasted so long, because my acting was so bad… So bad in fact, Jubei went to management aboot me and declared to be disbanded from me the stupid gaijin. Management told him no, because I was getting over with the fans. They picked up on how Jubei was treating me in the ring and how I had all the heart in the world, which tapped into their sympathetic side… So after his plea, it was made clear that I was going to fight back the next time Jubei tried to degrade me…"

Rick rests his fist on the hood of the car and stares starry eyed to Kyle as he pauses for a second.

"Did you defeat the evil Master?"

"Heh, well where he was wanting to end my time with him, I was feeling differently… This was the most exposure I had ever gotten before in a wrestling promotion and I wasn't ready to give it up by running an ending story against Jubei. So I kept the story going and really building on his distaste for me… I'd make it so whenever I was in the ring, I'd ask for our opponents to lay into me just a bit more, so when I missed a hot tag, the fans will lose it blaming Jubei for the misfortune… It honestly worked and Jubei's rage built every show, until finally he laid me out in the middle of the ring gushing blood from a broken up kindostick. The whole program led to us having an epic match with death match implications… There was C4 barbwired tables which was idiotic of either of us to compete in. Weapons galore scattered across the arena, which leave it to Jubei to find every last one of them to use on me donchaknow…"

Kyle shakes his head of the memories.

"But that was the Jubei I knew and seeing him again in APW, not much has changed… He maybe more aggressive and driven, but he's still that underhanded snake who craved the spotlight above everything else. He sees this company as a mountain to climb and will be damned if you boys are going to be the ones standing in his way. That honor goes to the likes of Trent Page, Braxton Locus, and Odin Balfore. I want you boys to create and bring the vision of tag team wrestling in Alpha Pro Wrestling to life, so that is your focus for Monday Night Metal. Jubei is going to do to Trent what he did to me all those years ago, so you two will go into this match with clear minds, focus on the win, and having each other's back. As long as you follow those key points, this will easily be your match to win."

Rick mumbles along.

"Are you shore, sir? What makes you think Jubei is going to simply toss away an opportunity to prove his dominance, eh?"

"Don't take me saying it'll be easy so seriously to where you take that snake too lightly. I'm stating you boys are a well oiled, cohesive machine, and I trained you for tag team wrestling… Trent and Jubei aren't a tag team. They don't travel together, they don't break bread together, and they don't have each other's backs and best interest at heart. I shared mine and Jubei's history together because I wanted you to know a bit more about Jubei than what he shows on television… He portrays an image of an evil business man with his own way of doing things, which is true… But his self preservation is next level in the sense that he will destroy those around him to get what he wants. He isn't balanced and that is his weakness going into this match. Together you will expose his weakness and you will strike with the strength of a grizzly."

Kyle points to Rick and then looks to Quinn.

"And the quickness of a lightning bolt."

Rick and Quinn look fired up and nod along, until Rick's stomach lets out a loud growl very reminiscent of the Grizzly that Kyle just mentioned. Quinn chuckles and looks to Rick.

"Hungry, eh?"

Rick tries to play it cool and shrugs softly.

"Meh, I could eat…"

The three laugh and Kyle smacks the top of the car.

"Welp the next show takes us back to Cali, might as well hit one of those Cracker Barrels we've heard about on the way… I heard there's nothing more Americana than a Cracker Barrel."

The three men cram into the car and Kyle doesn't waste anytime heading toward the highway.

Somewhere off Interstate 88, Kyle and company walk out of a Cracker Barrel. On the sidewalk the three find seats in matching rocking chairs, Kyle's across from Quinn and Rick's. Rick pats his barrel of a belly with a satisfied look on his face.

"Country Boy Breakfast and Buttermilk pancakes hit the spot, eh? And they didn't even mind we brought in our own homemade maple syrup."

Quinn chuckles as he pulls out his phone.

"Yeah and that family couldn't believe their eyes when you asked for another plate of flapjacks."

Rick pats his belly again and lets out a husky laugh.

"Yup, yup, yup…"

Kyle watches the two of them intently, Rick disappearing in thought about his gluten filled breakfast and Quinn studying his phone like it's his life support.

"I go back to when I gave you two advice against WarSaw… I told you that you had to be focused to win and what was the end result?"

Quinn doesn't look away from his phone but a cocky smirk perks up on his face.

"We won, of course."

"Yes you most certainly did… So I sit here in front of the two of you yet again and I say, focus is the most important thing, which will never change. If Rick is thinking about where he's going to get his next griddled delicious treat, then who's protecting Quinn from taking a fall? Or if Quinn is too busy checking his social media status, then who's going to watch Rick's back from being taken out for the 3? I get you both have your vices, but when you are in that ring together you are representing your country, your Queen, and most importantly ME. I love you boys like you were my own kin and that's why I push you like I do. It wasn't fun to have to push Rick to work on his cardio like we did, but he was alive out there as he fought Nyeo because of it. As you two prepare for this next match up, it's more important than ever to work on your cohesiveness in the squared circle, because that is what will you set you apart from a random tag team thrown together… Especially since it is two guys who just fought each other to a bloody mess the week before…"

Rick and Quinn both look to Kyle listening to every word.

"I told you about how Jubei operates, but he is just as dangerous physically as he is mentally. He is a hell of a striker and he is a literal submission machine… So Rick, just like with Nyeo you're gonna have to keep your head on a swivel and Quinn you have to do everything to keep the momentum going. Keep Jubei second guessing himself and you can out witt him, but you can't give him an inch or he'll take a mile. He is every bit as vicious as you have heard, but he has taken plenty of falls in his time to prove that he isn't as invincible as he thinks he is."

Quinn speaks up.

"But what do we know aboot this Trent fella? What does his pedigree bring to the table?"

Kyle rubs his grizzled grey beard for a moment.

"He's a veteran through and through even though our paths never crossed, I believe him. He carries himself with poise and with a little bit of that extra confidence that a man who's worked the industry as long as myself, has."

"So what's a guy like Trent Page doing in Alpha Pro Wrestling then? Trying to reclaim some sort of glory days stuff?"

Kyle shrugs and runs has left knee.

"If I didn't have my bummed knee, I'd be back in the ring in a heartbeat donchaknow. I don't believe that is what drives him though… He looks to be driven by something else entirely."

Quinn replies.

"I watched that video that introduced him to APW and I watched the tape on him against Jubei… He seems to be a formidable foe from what I could tell… Both him and Jubei were a bloody mess and still continued fighting each other until the ref stopped the match. That's either pure dedication to the sport or just the desire to come out on top at all cost."

"I can't take anything from either man for their desire to walk out victorious, but to say they used a cerebral approach to their match would be a true stretch. So when you're in the ring with these guys, use their obvious weaknesses against them… I'm not telling you to fight dirty, but it's not like you two wouldn't already go for a superkick or a DDT or something. They showed their openings in their last match and we will go over the tape more thorough before you square off, I promise you that."

Rick speaks up finally after following the conversation.

"I hear what you're saying and we will utilize their openings, just don't expect under handedness, buddy."

"No, you boys are fair and competitive, there's no need for underhandedness. I'm just saying don't hold back from simple attacks that could be done to their weak points. I trust you two understand what I'm talking aboot. We need some dubyas on the board and I'd love to call Rip aboot the good news after Metal."

Quinn pats Rick on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, The Canadian Coalition is going into Metal and we're going to show two veterans that this is a young man's game and this is OUR division."

Rick smiles dumbfoundedly.

"And we will do it with handshakes and good sportsmanship because we don't need to stoop to their level to win. Friendly competition is what we are about after all, right?"

Kyle and Quinn nod in agreement.

"Of course, buddy."

Kyle's phone starts to chime and he notices it is Rip.

"You boys head to the car, I have to take this."

Quinn and Rick walk off and Kyle answers his phone.

"Hello, Rip, how's she bootin'er, buddy?"

Rip doesn't reply right away.

"Hello?"

Rip's voice slow and precise grabs Kyle's attention.

"If I could be serious for a moment… We watched Rick tap, Kyle…"

Kyle stretches out his color a bit.

"Yes sir, I just got done giving the kid a pep talk, really driving home the importance of a dubya this week."

"Your strongest student tapped to a tiny Asian man, how do you think that makes us look up here, eh?"

Kyle takes a second.

"I hear ya, but you can't expect me to get Rick's cardio to where it needed to be in a week's time…"

"How much are you in the hole, Kyle? How much is OUR help worth to you to stay afloat? Is your Wolf's Den that important to you?"

Kyle gulps down some built up saliva in his throat.

"Yes sir…"

"We go back Kyle, we go way, way back… But don't see my kindness as a weakness."

Rip's voice turns polite all of a sudden, fake not sure.

"So go out there and win, buddy. We believe in you up here donchaknow."

Rip flips to a more serious attitude suddenly.

"So don't let us down!"

Rip hangs up and Kyle salutes the phone and then takes a deep breath sitting back in his rocking chair. He looks to Rick and Quinn who's laughing fighting over the front seat, a good old fashioned rock, paper, scissors.

"My boys are good boys, I know they'll go to war for me… I just wish I didn't have my dink in a vice from The Red Serge… I've seen Rip do plenty of questionable things and the last thing I want is for them to pay my price…"

Kyle's head hangs low.

"My sins are my own to live with… I just gotta get more time, is all. Keep fighting boys and keep striving… We will get there, through hell or high water…"

Rick and Quinn give Kyle a thumbs and he puts on a half hearted smile of his own giving a return thumbs up.

"Show Jubei and Trent who you are and show APW YOU ARE their tag division."

Kyle still let's the soft smile rest on his face and he pushes himself up from his chair. He starts walking toward the car as the boys are their 3rd round of paper, rock, scissors.

"Alright who won shotgun?!"

The Canadian Coalition laugh as our feed fizzles out.