Back Problems and Family Drama

The pain that pulsates through Kyle Kemp’s body is unbearable as he walks out of a side door of “The Warehouse.” Kemp walks with a slight limp as he tries not to turn to much with his injured back. The match begins to fly between his ears and he can see how close he was. How a simple tweak of the back cost him the shot at the World Title. Not only that but he was forced to tap out in his house. In Chicago in front of his people. What the hell just happened.

Kemp press the unlock button on his keys and climbs into the driver’s seat of his Ford F-150. Kemp winces as he slides into the driver’s seat and groans as he gets situated. A small pattering of rain begins to fall onto the truck and Kemp puts the keys in the ignition but does not turn the truck on. He sits in complete silence and lets the rain begin to pick up until it is a downpour. He stares out the blurred windshield covered in rain and cannot believe that he is out of the World Title Tournament. Disappointment just continues to hit him and it feels like he got punched in the stomach. He finally utters out loud, “fuck.”

With that said he turns the key and pulls out of his parking spot. Fans are running to their cars as Kemp dodges them, desperately trying to get out of the parking lot. He can’t continue to be here right now. What makes it worse is that he lost to Andre Holmes again. Again! That guy has gotten the best of Kemp every time they have faced off and it drives Kemp crazy. Holmes is smaller. Holmes is less talented. How the hell does this keep happening? Kemp finally gets to the entrance/exit of the parking lot and pulls onto the street. It is at this moment that his phone vibrates and Kemp pulls it out of his pocket.

He looks at the iPhone and the disappointed look turns to anger. The text simply reads “You’ll never be good enough.” That hurts in itself but the name above the text makes it that much worse. It’s from his brother Jason. Kemp lets out a scream as he drives down the road. His brother is his one true arch enemy and their interactions a few days before only proved that. Jason has officially removed Kyle from the payroll of his father’s company and now Kemp has only his new UCI contract as his source of income. While that contract is lucrative, it’s not enough to pay for Kemp’s current lifestyle.

There are so many things that Kemp can’t do now. He can’t just hop on a private jet and fly to Vegas to party with his bro Johnny Manziel. He can’t just buy another new car because he feels like it. He can’t be Kyle Kemp. Kyle Kemp shouldn’t have to budget. Budgeting is for the weak. Budgeting is for the middle class and Kemp is nothing but first class. Kemp has to find a way to get back on the payroll and the only way to do that is to play dirty. It may be time to pay his father a visit. Kemp smiles at this thought as he continues to drive towards his condo, planning on what time to visit his father tomorrow.




It’s the next morning and Kemp knows that it’s time to see his father. He has even dressed the part. Kemp is wearing white pants with a blue button up with brown shoes. Kemp has his hair styled perfectly and smiles as he walks up to his father’s Lincoln Park mansion. While this may be an emotional moment for some, it’s far from that for Kemp. Kemp has not talked to his father in quite some time. Not since he joined the WCF a year ago. It was then that his father told him that if he was going to embark on this then he would not be involved with his father. His father said he didn’t associate with jokes. It was a surprise to Kemp that he didn’t get cut off then but for some reason his father kept feeding him the money. Part of Kemp thinks it was a bribe of sorts. A bribe that Kemp would quit and join the family business.

Kemp knocks on the door and waits for someone to answer the door. He waits for what seems to be forever but in reality is only a matter of seconds when a woman answers the door. Kemp raises his head and looks at the woman but it is not who he expects. He looks confused as Sheila, Jason’s wife, answers the door. “What the hell are you doing here?” Kemp asks.

Sheila smiles at Kemp with a fuck you scent to it and says, “I live here.”

“Funny joke. Really….what are you doing here?”

“I’m not joking. We moved in a month ago. Didn’t you get the memo?”

Kemp takes a step back and his jaw drops a little. He looks shocked for just a second before getting his composure. “So you’re husband didn’t just snake the company from my father but he took his house to? How sad are both of you?”

“How sad are us? You’re the one here to beg for more money. From what I see you are the pathetic one.”

“I’m begging for money? I believe you were giving everything away for a little money before my brother named the right price.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Sheila slams the door shut and Kemp can hear her walking away from the door and he takes a deep breath. He’s back at square one. The only question is where the hell is Dad? Kemp walks down the stoop with that questioning running through his head.




Kemp walks back into his place and can’t believe that his father doesn’t live at their house anymore. His father wouldn’t just up and leave. Then again his father wouldn’t just give his company to Jason. His dad always said that he would be working until he had a heart attack and died at his desk. That is what makes all of this so weird. Kemp continues to think about this as he strips down in his walk in closet. He grabs a pair of board shorts and throws them on. He needs a few minutes in the hot tub.

His back has continued to hurt him and the only thing getting him through the last 24 hours in his hatred for his brother and adrenaline. Now that he has hit a dead end his back is choosing now to flare up magnificently. Kemp groans as he climbs into the hot tub and allows the hot water to provide some kind of soothing. He slides in front of one of the jets and allows the pressure to rush into his back. This acts as a kind of massage for Kemp and starts to relieve some of the pressure. Kemp reaches over and picks up his phone.

While he may be hurting now and have a lot going on personally, Kemp still has a job to do. With his brother cutting him off there is no time to be injured. Kemp goes to the UCI website and scrolls through the posted results from last night. Refreshing himself on the landscape of UCI when he notices that a new card has been posted. Kemp takes a look and rolls his eyes. He is not enamored with his tag match this week. Facing Polar Phantasm and Bonnie Blue has little incentives for Kemp but he knows he needs to show up and make that paper. At least Dustin Beaver will bring it. They should pull this one out this week.

Kemp takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He will give Beaver a call later. Right now he needs the jets to do their magic. He continues to let the warm euphoria of the hot tub take over his body when his phone rings. It takes a couple rings before Kemp picks it up. It’s Dustin Beaver. Looks like bros are about to reunite.





Before anyone decides to get into my face and try to tell me about how I dropped the ball or how I’m not who I say I am, let’s get one thing straight. I’m still Kyle Kemp and I’m still better than you. I was injured on Sunday night and you all know that. Deep down you all know that if I hadn’t tweaked my back I would have not only won the match on Sunday but I would have done it with ease. Injuries are an unfortunate product of our business and the injury bug just happened to bite me. I’m man enough to admit it and I’m man enough to stand here and say that getting into the ring on Sunday was a mistake. I was injured and I should have rested. Plain and simple. The only reason I got into the ring was to defend my turf and you better believe that Chicago is my turf.

Now before any of you take that sentence and treat it like I’m going to be your new hero of Chicago let me set the record straight. I believe that Chicago is my turf because not only am I from there but I believe in the ideals that are Chicago’s foundation. No that is not the blue collar of the south side. No that is not the yuppies of the north side. I represent the true Chicago. I represent the corrupt and powerful. I represent those that shook hands and passed money under the table to take power. Every person has their price and I plan on finding out what the price is for John Gable, Benjamin Atreyu and Spencer Adams. I know some may scoff at that but even Spencer Adams has a price. Maybe that price will be to give him magic legs like Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump since he’s still wheeling around in that wheelchair. Either way it seems that I need to shake some hands and pass some money after I saw the card for next week.

I left a sinking ship of a company to join this supposed new up and coming juggernaut and it’s one week in and I feel like nothing has changed. I feel like these idiots have no idea what they’re doing because it seems like they’ve already fallen into the repetition tag team laziness that the last company was known for. I’m being forced to not only face Polar Phantasm for a second week in a row but I’m being forced to face Bonnie Blue for at least the twentieth time. No one wants to see that but yet here we are. At least I have a guy that I know can get it done with me in that ring. Neither of you can say the same.

Each one of these guys has their shortcomings and with those shortcomings have no business being in the ring with me. This past week there was only one thing that was proven to me. Polar Phantasm is just as old and decrepit as I said he was. As Andre Holmes attempted to break my back I was hoping that Polar would break up the hold. I believed that he would be able to get his ass up and save his shot at the title. How wrong I was. For the first time in my life I saw what it was like for an old man to fall and not be able to get up. He was just laying there but it wasn’t like he was out cold. He was looking at me with those old man eyes. The “I just saw a ghost” eyes. However it wasn’t a ghost. It was the panic of realizing that father time had passed him by.

Polar made eye contact with me and it was then that I knew he wasn’t going to get up. His body just wouldn’t allow it. It finally shut down on him and I can’t imagine that in one week’s time he is ready to go. There are only so many ice baths and Icy Hot that an old man can apply. Not even the maximum of both of those can save Polar Phantasm. He knows it and I know it. That is why I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t show up this week.

They say every man has that moment where he realizes he just doesn’t have it anymore and they decide to hang it up. Polar is going to hang it up. However there won’t be a long siliquoy in the ring for Polar Phantasm. He won’t get a chance to stand in the ring and say goodbye to all of you. Instead he will just not show up or even worse he will try to test his luck one more week and see if it was all a fluke. He will try to give it one more go and step into the ring with me. That would be the biggest mistake of your life Polar.

It would be the biggest mistake because I won’t take it easy on you. Instead I will find it to be fun to take Old Yellar out behind the house and put a bullet in his head. You’re Old Yellar. I’m just a kid with a rifle. Just let the best memories of your career fill your head before it happened. At least there’s some happy ones. We can’t say the same about Bonnie Blue.

If there was someone that was in need of a fresh start it was Bonnie Blue. Bonnie had so many opportunities slip through her grasp. Title shots and chances to main event and she lost them all. Every single damn one of them. Now some may make that sound like she was awfully close to pulling them out. She wasn’t. This isn’t a story about how a talented team always came up just a little bit short. Bonnie would show up and get thrown on her ass. Why? Because she didn’t belong. She still doesn’t belong. She just won’t accept that.

Bonnie joined this company looking for a fresh start. She kept telling herself that if she came to the UCI that things would be different. She was going to prove to the world that she wasn’t a joke. She was going to walk into The Warehouse and make sure everyone took notice. She was going to cruise through the World Title Tournament and make some noise. Then the most famliar thing that could have happened happened. Bonnie Blue lost another big time match.

Now Bonnie I have to say that I wasn’t surprised. I mean we have been in the ring with each other multiple times and I know you’re not good enough. I’m just saddened that you can’t realize that you should be at home making me dinner rather than in the ring. To put it bluntly Bonnie….it’s time to hang up the wrestling boots. You aren’t cut out for this. You’re nothing more than a meek housewife that has dolled themselves up to try to prove a point. To prove that a strong woman can do anything. The only problem is that that role is for strong women. You’re not. Time to embrace the kitchen baby.

Beaver and I plan on showing up this Sunday and making sure each of you know your place. We are a well oiled machine. We don’t lose these kinds of matches, we thrive in them. You both have no idea what is in store for you. Let me give you a hint. We all know I’m better than you but so is Dustin Beaver. That means one of you will be looking at the lights come Sunday night. I refuse to lose to two pathetic souls like yourselves. I’m fucking Kyle Kemp and I’m better than you.





It is Friday and Kyle Kemp is sitting at his desk in his condo and across from him is an old friend. It is Tait Baldwin. Tait and Kemp go way back. They were teammates all the way through high school and best friends. They have stayed in touch and Tait is now a detective with the Chicago police. To say Tait has played the game correctly in becoming a detective is an understatement. Tait is the Kemp of the police force. He has shook enough hands and done enough favors that he is now one of the most powerful men of the law. These two have been enjoying a couple of beers before they get down to business while Dustin Beaver is in the gym. Kemp wants to keep this family drama under wraps so they had to make time to discuss this alone. Kemp takes a swig and places his Green Line next to him. “I need you to do one thing for me Tait.”

“Anything for you man.”

“Find my father. Jason’s up to something and the only one that can answer that is my father.”

“I’ll find him but you and I both know that he may not come see you willingly.”

“Do what’s necessary Tait. Just find him.”

Tait nods to Kemp. He knows that Kemp doesn’t want to say anything else. He just wants this done. The only thing is….what if his father doesn’t want to be found?