Call Me Jesse Collins

The camera clicks on in the backstage hall of The Foundry. Tyler Voss stands ready, microphone in hand. Beside him, Jesse Collins is still sweaty, ribs taped, a wild grin across his face. Ten feet back, Rich Mahogany hovers with hands folded, keeping his “respectful radius.”

TYLER VOSS: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here with Jesse ‘The Iron Kid’ Collins — and Jesse, after a huge win in tonight’s main event—”

JESSE COLLINS: “Not a kid, Tyler. Not anymore.” He leans into the mic, eyes alive. “You hear that crowd? That’s Iron City, my city, and tonight I stood in this ring with Eric Dane Jr. and I didn’t blink. I didn’t fold. And when the chance came, I put his shoulders down. One, two, three.”

The crowd noise rumbles faintly through the walls; Jesse pauses to soak it in.

JESSE COLLINS: “People are gonna call it an upset. Call it a miracle. But where I come from, we don’t believe in upsets. We believe in hard work paying off. That wasn’t luck. That wasn’t fate. That was me busting my ass in this city every night for years.”

RICH MAHOGANY: (off to the side, proudly) “Told him to watch the hips, not the eyes. Hips don’t lie. Science!”

Jesse shoots him a glance but keeps his eyes on the lens.

JESSE COLLINS: “Eric Dane Jr. walked in with the robe, with the name, with the smirk. He wanted to be the star. The problem was, he was too busy looking at the New  Untouchables laughing at him to notice me. He got distracted, I stayed focused. And that’s why he lost. Simple as that.”

RICH MAHOGANY: “This young man rewrote the odds in Birmingham tonight. A hometown prodigy! A historic triumph!”

JESSE COLLINS: “Rich—” he jabs a finger in his direction “—not now.”

Jesse takes the mic from Voss and steps up close to the lens.

JESSE COLLINS: “I’ve been called the Iron Kid since day one. After tonight? After Eric Dane Jr. hit the mat, and this city shook the walls off The Foundry? Don’t call me the kid anymore. Call me Jesse Collins.”

He hands the mic back to Voss, nods once, and walks out of frame. Rich takes a single theatrical step forward, beaming.

RICH MAHOGANY: “You heard the man. Jesse. Collins. Star of stars.”

Fade.