ONE STEP CLOSER TO GREATNESS

One night in Brooklyn New York, in a small venue holding wrestling shows known as BCW(Brooklyn Championship Wrestling), infront of fifty people, a young man named Jacob Cass is wrestling a classic match with his longtime rival, Barron Blade.

Both men are down on the mat, with the crowd chanting "This is Awsome" around them. Both men fight through exhaustion and pain, slowly getting back to their feet and standing in the middle of the ring, face to face, nose to nose. Blade lands a forearm strike to the side of Cass's jaw, but Jacob lands one of his own. Barron again lands a forearm strike, with Jacob responding back with an even more vicious one.

The two men then trade stiff strikes with each other, not letting the other get the upper hand. Barron then knees Jacob in the gut, dropping him to a knee and taunting the crowd, causing them to boo him. He then runs off the ropes for another big move, but Jacob counters with a bicycle knee strike, knocking him off balance. As Blade is turned around, Cass jumps up into the air lands a reverse frankensteiner, dropping him on his head and neck. Barron sits up on his knees, trying to recover, but Jacob aims a finger gun at him and lands a superkick to his face while the crowd goes wild.

He then signals for the end, slowly bringing Barron to his feet, lifting him up and dropping him on his head with a double underhook piledriver, also known as the Tiger Driver'98. He slowly hooks the leg and the ref starts to count the pin.

"1!...2!...3!" The ref counts.

Jacob is too tired to celebrate the victory but he is very grateful that the match is over and that he pulled out the win. As he slowly gets to his feet, the small crowd show their appreciation by giving him a standing ovation. Despite not a lot of people being there, Jacob is still overcome with emotion. He slowly climbs the top rope and raises his hands in victory.

Later, in the locker room, Jacob gets dressed in his regular clothes.

"Hey, great match out there tonight." A fellow wrestler tells him.

Jacob smiles.

"Thanks." He says.

As Jacob ties his shoes, Barron Blade walks into the locker room, and the two have stare down.

"You got lucky tonight." Blade says.

Jacob smirks.

"Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that." He replies.

While they continue to have an intense stare down, Kevin Matthew's, the owner of BCW, walks in and gets in between the two.

"Alright, Alright, break it up you two. The match is over now. Come on, keep it in the ring."

Barron Blade scoffs.

"Next time. I'm gonna kick your ass up and down Brooklyn." Blade says before storming out.

"Eh, don't mind him. I know he won't admit, but you two work pretty damn well together." Kevin says.

"Yeah. He's a dick, but he does bring out the best of me. I won't lie on that."

"Yeah. Anyway, here's your pay for tonight." Kevin tells him, handing him an envelope.

"Thanks, Kev."

"I added a little extra in there. You know, for your mom. How is she doing anyway?" Kevin asks.

Jacob stays silent for a moment, smiling before answering.

"She's- doing better. Listen, I uh- gotta go. I really appreciate this. Seriously thank you." Jacob says, walking off.

Kevin sighs.

"No problem, kid." He whispers.

When Jacob walks to his car, he looks up at a giant billboard and that reads "Wish it. Want it. Do it." causing him to smile as he gets into his junkie car that barely works. It slowly starts up and he drives home for the night. He arrives infront of a small apartment building across town and walks upstairs to his apartment. As Jacob looks at the mail that is stuck to his door, his next-door neighbor, Isabel Lopez comes outside.

"Hey, Jacob. How's it going?" She asks.

Jacob smiles instantly when he sees her.

"Hey Isabel. I'm a little sore, but that's nothing new." Jacob replies.

"Yeah, same. Being a wrestler doesn't come close to being a nurse, working a double shift." Isabel says.

Jacob chuckles.

"I bet. So where's Leo?" Jacob asks.

At that moment, Leo, Isabel's five year old son runs out of the apartment and jumps into Jacob's arms.

"Jacob!" Leo yells.

"Hey, buddy!" Jacob says with a big smile.

"Jacob, tonight, Roman Reigns and the Bloodline attached Seth Rollins, so now they're gonna wrestle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship!"

"Woah, really? That's gonna be a great match." Jacob says.

"Isn't someone supposed to be in bed?" Isabel says in her mom voice.

Both Leo and Jacob look at each other with guilty smiles, as Jacob puts him down.

"Goodnight Jacob! Goodnight mom!" Leo says, running back into the apartment.

"Goodnight, Mijo." Isabel tells her son.

"Goodnight, buddy." Jacob adds.

The two adults then look at each other and share a chuckle together.

"That boy is a handful." Isabel says.

"Yeah I can see that. But he's got a pretty amazing mom." Jacob says.

Isabel smiles, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"So, do you have another match, tomorrow night? I promised Leo a pizza night, if you wanted to join us."

Jacob smiles.

"I wouldn't miss it. Just make sure you add stuffed crust."

Isabel laughs.

"You got it."

The two then stare into each others eyes for a moment, smiling at one another.

"Well, I better- go make sure Leo is asleep. Goodnight, Jacob."

"Goodnight, Isabel." Jacob says.

The two then walk Into their own apartment, looking back at each other for a brief moment. Jacob then keeps looking through his mail, soon coming across a letter from WWE. The young man is shocked, and quickly opens it and reads that he is invited to NXT tryouts at the performance center. Jacob is overwhelmed with excitement. After working hard, the blood, the sweat, the tears, he has an opportunity to make is dream come true. He raises his arms in victory, almost like he just won a match and does a little dance.

The next day, at the hospital, Jacob goes to visit his sick mother, Amanda Cass, who has stage four cancer. He pulls up a chair next to her bed as she smiles at him.

"Hey, mom." Jacob says.

"Hey, sweetheart. You look skinny. Have you been eating properly?"

Jacob chuckles.

"Yes, mom. I promise. But I do have some big news."

Jacob quickly pulls the letter he got from WWE and hands it to his mother. When she finishes reading the letter, she is brought to tears.

"Oh, Jacob." She says.

The two then share a loving hug.

"I am so proud of you." She tells him.

Jacob smiles, letting a single tear fall down his face.

"Thanks, mom."

She then puts her hands on the side of his face.

"Now, I want you to go out there to Orlando and do your absolute best, ok? Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. This is your chance. This is your life. I want you to shine."

Jacob smiles.

"Yes ma'am."

The two then share another hug.

"I love you, kiddo."

"I love you too." Jacob replies.