The GO Gym -
Las Vegas, Nevada
He had checked the digital clock on the far wall of the gym’s interior for what had to be the hundredth time, but why? He wasn’t entirely certain. His next “guest” wasn’t due for several minutes and she certainly wasn’t known for ever having been late when she was in training. In fact, if anything she was more known to his wife and himself for being quite early for every rigorous training regime that they put her through. Such was her dedication toward the business that she wanted to be a part of - and her loyalty toward them as her mentors. She wanted to make a good impression, no matter the cost - and quite often managed to accomplish just that. Perhaps that was the origin of why he was finding himself almost fidgeting at her not being here yet. It had been a very long time since she had set foot inside , and so, he went back to what he was doing while he had been waiting - evaluating the latest group of students during his down time and their progress.
His eyes roamed over the surface of the clipboard at the notes that Odette had taken and given him on the previous session with the three men and two women, and while most had obtained positive reviews from his wife who was just as much a stickler for their ways as he was, if not more so – there was one who was having growing difficulty with making any notable progress. The lad came to them with stars in his eyes and such high hopes in his heart, yet he was having more difficulties mastering the basics. Kid could come off the top with a beaut of a moonsault, but he damn near gave himself a concussion just practicing falls and taking a bump.
"Well…" Gabriel thought silently to himself as he added notes to the kid's profile for Odette to go over. "The kid is going to be in for it." And not in a bad way, mind you. The Stevens did not give up on any students. If they didn't think he had it in him, they never would have taken him under their mutual wings. The boy would realize his dream if it was the last thing they did.
But whatever else might have been going through his mind was placed on the back burner when he heard what he had been waiting for; the buzzer from the gym's lobby went off and the telltale sound of the automatic lock on the doors being released. Gabriel looked up to see the doors being pushed wide open and the towering monolith form of his student at one point in time, the Beast, stepped through. Ever the gentle soul for a man that was damn near 6'8" and close to four hundred pounds of nada but muscle, the Beast acted the part of the gentleman and held the door open for the one Gabriel had been waiting for.
Devona was the sort whose smile and energy would ignite any room, and this was no exception. The moment she looked over from Beast and whatever was happening behind them in the lobby and toward Gabriel, her face practically glowed in a brilliant smile, pearly whites showing and her eyes sparkling. Gabriel returned the smile and stood upright from where he was seated on the ring apron as she approached him, carrying her hefty gym bag over her shoulder. And the closer she got to her mentor to this sport, the faster her pace picked up until the last few were at a sprint and she jumped into Gabriel’s open arms for a welcoming embrace between student and teacher.
After a lengthy moment, they separated and Devona stepped back, shaking her head, saying, “God, it has been too long!”
Gabriel nodded his head playfully, responding with, “Yeah? And whose fault is that?”
“Guilty.” She admitted and then turned her head to the mountain of a man beside her and she smiled, and the Beast extended his own skillet-sized hand to Gabriel, a gesture the Gym’s patriarch accepted. It never failed to impress Gabriel just how huge this man’s hand was and how his own practically vanished in his. It also made him feel regret that things didn't work out the way that he had hoped where Beast and his younger brother Beauty were concerned. Speaking of…
After grasping the gargantuan hand of the aptly named Beast, it was only then that Gabriel noticed that there was someone missing from the small party.
He looked from Devona to the Beast and asked, "Where's that brother of yours?"
"Oh…" Devona covered her face with a hand but the tremor of her shoulders did little to hide the fact she was struggling to refrain from a light hearted laughter.
Beast, however, had no such issues as he openly barked a loud laugh that reverberated across the gym floor. He jetted a thumb back over his shoulder and toward the double doors to the lobby. "Despy won't let him in!" Beast explained with delight at his brother's expense. "Says he looks too much like that guy from High School Musical so he doesn't buy that he belongs here!"
Gabriel hung his head, but the act did not hide the obvious smile on his face to neither Beast nor Devona. Despy loved to help his pseudo “big brother” Gabriel out at the gym in whatever way he could. Gabriel would often use him against students in sparring matches but it was difficult to utilize his chaotic ring style in actual training sessions as it was a style that the students were unable to duplicate. So when he wasn’t assisting in the more conventional ways, Gabriel and Odette “allowed” him to work the front desk rather than hire someone from outside. That way Despy could watch TV and play on the computer to his heart’s content, but he was also surprisingly adept at the duties they needed of him - and he kept out the riff raff like nobody else! The only issue was that at times he would take his duties TOO seriously and keep out people who were actually meant to be let in.
Such as Beauty!
Gabriel stepped over toward the near wall where an intercom system was set up, connecting the main gym to the lobby floor and he pressed in, saying aloud, “Despy?”
“Yo?” Came the response from the other side.
“Is Beauty out there?”
“Well… I wouldn’t call him a Beauty…” Causing a snort of laughter to escape from both Beast as well as Devona, not to mention a howl of protest from the aforementioned Beauty who had always remained confident in his appearance.
“Despy, you can let him in.”
“Are you SURE?”
“Yes, Despy. He’s meant to be here.”
“Well… if you say so…” And although the little guy didn’t sound altogether convinced, he did as he was instructed and they heard the buzzer and the lock’s release once again, and a very confused and disgruntled Beauty managed to push his way through the doors and into the main gym floor. Constantly looking back over his shoulder, the handsome young man started as he saw Despayre poking his head through the doors and doing the universal sign for “I got my eyes on you” before allowing the doors to close.
“Are you okay?” Devona asked with a slight chuckle, to which Beauty nodded in the affirmative, but jetted a thumb back over his shoulder and toward the lobby, stating, “He kept asking me to sing ‘Gotta Go My Own Way’ for some reason!”
“Don’t mind him, Beaut.” Gabriel waved off his concern. “Despy just thinks you look too much like that Zac Efron guy.”
“Psht!” Beast rolled his eyes at the mere thought. “He wishes!” Then turned and looked into the camera knowingly before returning to the matter at hand.
Gabriel turned and rested a hand on Devona’s arm and he said, “Listen, I know that you’re fairly anxious to get into the ring and work off some of that rust, but before you do, I want to talk to you. Just us.”
“O-kay?” Devona shared a look of curious concern between the brothers before she allowed Gabriel to lead the way from the gym’s main floor and toward the office. Gabriel gave a look back over his shoulder toward Beauty and Beast and called out, “We won’t be long! Play nice!” Prompting Beast to give the man a thumbs up - right before he playfully pushed Beauty off-camera and to the floor.
“Have a seat.” Gabriel instructed as he closed the office door behind them, and she did so, taking a seat in the middle of the three cushioned chairs opposite the desk where either Gabriel or Odette would sit while performing the more mundane business tasks behind the gym, or interviewing potentials. Devona could not help but feel that familiar twinge of the butterflies in her tummy as her eyes watched Gabriel as he walked around the desk and took a seat. He pulled in the chair and clasped his fingers together on the surface before Devona finally broke the silence, asking, “Did I do something wrong?”
And despite his reasons for wanting this talk, Gabriel found himself smiling and shaking his head no. “No,” He said, then partially amended the previous by adding, “Not really. I just wanted to have a talk with you. We keep in contact like I do with all my students, and we spoke the last time you were in the Blast From the Past a few years ago. But we’ve never really had a really close talk ever since the day that you didn’t renew your SCW contract and went back to New Orleans.”
He then leaned in and he asked, “And I was wondering – why did you not renew your contract and stay in SCW?”
And there it was, the twenty thousand dollar question. Out of all the things that Gabriel could have wanted to talk to her about, this was something that she was neither expecting nor was she prepared for. She fidgeted in the chair she was seated in, feeling like a kid in trouble at school in the principal’s office.
“Wow,” She exhaled. “Straight to Final Jeopardy, huh?” Sitting straighter in her chair.
“I know, I know.” Gabriel nodded reassuringly, holding up a hand. “I did kind of spring this on you but it’s something I’ve wondered for… well for a fair few years. Both Odette and I have. When things don’t work out with our students for whatever reasons, we try to give you privacy. Especially if there are personal reasons like medical issues or family at home…” Gabriel then looked closer toward her and he raised an eyebrow inquiring, “Is there…?”
“No, no.” Devona answered. “My Nan is fine. In fact, she just had her most recent checkup with her doctor and she said she was in amazing health.”
“Good.” Gabriel nodded, satisfied with that particular answer. Then he went on with his previous thought, “Thing is Devona, as far as we knew, you didn’t have any of the above going on. You were winning matches, held the Internet Championship… then after you dropped the belt to Diamond, it was as if everything just fell apart and then - bam! You were gone. You had the whole world at your fingertips, at least O and I thought so. You had some of the most untapped potential of all of our students and…”
“You’re wondering why I threw it all away?” Devona took the chance at finishing his thought for him, to which Gabriel gave a slight shrug of the shoulders. He said, “I don’t know if I would phrase it quite like that… but yes.”
“I am actually surprised you haven’t asked me this before.”
Gabriel said, “We wanted to, but common sense prevailed on the off chance that something was wrong. Then when you accepted Mark Ward’s offer to be in this year’s tournament, I had a sit with Odette and she thought it a good time to clear the air.”
“No, I understand, and you do deserve to know the whole truth.” Devona admitted, adjusting her position in her chair to get more comfortable because this talk might go on awhile. “The truth of the matter is that there were a number of reasons why I got frustrated and left.”
“Does it have anything to do with your loss to Diamond?” Gabriel asked. “Because you left almost right after, and I have to be honest; it wasn’t a good look.”
“I know, and it wasn’t the fact that I lost.” She explained. “It wasn’t my first loss. It was more how I lost, or things that led up to it. I did my best in the ring and shot what I thought was a great promo, but what Diamond aired?” She shook her head. “Any promo that lasts THAT long and takes multiple commercial breaks…” She shook her head. “I have to admit. It broke me, at least at the time.”
“Okay.” Gabriel nodded that he understood, then pressed on. “What else?”
“Well, when things didn’t work out with my boys…” She sighed. “I admit that played a big part in it. They had just managed to complete their training when SCW announced that it had deactivated the tag team titles. That was always the plan for us; the boys dominate - hopefully - the tag team division while I work my way up the singles. When the tag titles were no more, it kind of just … ruined everything we had hoped for. I know they were spoken to about trying their hands at the singles ranks – but they just weren’t interested. It’s not what they had signed up for.”
Gabriel offered, “What about the Mixed Tag titles? You could have made a go at those? Do what London Underground did and had a Freebirds thing going?”
“Yes and where are the mixed tag titles now?” Devona countered. “And even then, having competed in mixed tag matches the last time I did this tournament, they’re more like singles matches than they are tag teams. Plus – both my boys would want to be in there with me and having to tell one to sit the night out just didn’t sit right with me, one way or the other.”
Gabriel smiled. He was unable to hold it back. If there was anything that rivaled Devona’s dedication, it was her loyalty to both friends and family. And where the brothers were concerned, they were as close to brothers as they possibly could be. Proving to him that like his own relationship with Despayre, you did not have to be blood relation in order to be family.
“I can understand that.” He admitted. “And I appreciate it. But something tells me that it’s not the entire story.” He nodded for her to continue. “Or at least the ‘big’ story. What else?”
“The fact that I was alone, really.” She finally found herself admitting with a shrug of her shoulders. She went on to further explain, “I don’t know how else to explain it. There was a locker room filled with women, and yet I never felt more alone.”
“Because the brothers weren’t with you?” Gabriel asked, but Devona shook her head in denial. She said, “No, even that I could have worked through if I had to, if I had anyone else to possibly rely on or at the very least, to talk to. But… I didn’t. I mean, I tried - but no matter what I did or said to any of the women at the time, none of them wanted anything to do with me it seemed. I remember on that cruise when I tried with women like Jessie Salco and Amy… I asked them to go with me to a wine tasting or sit with me for one of the jazz shows but they just blew me off. Said it wasn’t their thing. I mean, I can’t exactly fault them for that but I was willing to hit a bar with them for a beer or sit through the concerts that were more to their tastes, but it just didn’t seem…”
“I think I’m beginning to understand.” Gabriel admitted, feeling like his heart was breaking for this young woman. He had absolutely no idea she was going through any of this during her first foray in this rough and tumble sport. He had always had a support group surrounding him when he was an active competitor; Synn, Despy…others. But to feel like you had no one…
Devona broke the uncomfortable silence between them, wiping a finger along her eyes as drumming up these memories was not doing her psyche or self confidence the best. She said, “I was eating alone during the pre-show catering. Getting dressed in the far corner. Traveling without a single person for company most of the time… after a while it just got to be too much and I just gave up. I don’t understand how anyone can make it in this business without having at least one person they can talk to… rely on, y’know?” To which Gabriel could only nod.
Devona went on, “And this was well before Ariana or Tempest or even Krystal came onto the scene. I don’t care what Krystal says…” This gave Gabriel cause to raise an eyebrow in questioning, to which Devona stated, “It just always irked me the way she fudged her resume by telling the world she was your second student after Evie, when I came before her. So did Daniel and the others - and even Fenris!” She shook her head. “I just never understood why she thought it would help her standing by telling stories to jump the line, so to speak. Like nobody with any common sense could just check the facts to see it wasn’t true!”
Gabriel said nothing directly toward the allegation against Krystal, whether he sided with Devona or not. He did not want to do or say anything to come between either woman as all of his students were equally important to him as the other. He instead chose to go a different route to possibly bring this discussion to a close now that he got what he wanted out of it - the truth - and ease the troubled mind of one of those very people.
“So what made you decide to sign up this year?” He asked with a smile. “Last time you were teamed with Alex and you admitted it was less than ideal.”
“It at least started off that way, the way he was talking about me and our respective chances at the tournament. It changed though – he changed. And we did pretty well for ourselves, even if we didn’t win the whole thing.” She sighed. “Now look at me; repeating history in a sense. Teaming with a legit legend and he’s treating me the exact same way that Alex did at first.”
“Maybe not entirely.” Gabriel spoke up, causing her to look directly at him in questioning. He said, “If J2H really thought that way, he wouldn’t have agreed to stand by your side in this match against Salco. Kid doesn’t need the spotlight or crave it the way he used to. He does nothing without a reason, and a part of me thinks the reason behind this is he wants a first-hand look at his partner in action. See if you have any weaknesses that can be exploited by anyone else signed up - maybe help with them? Trust me; that’s not a bad thing.”
“I suppose.” She found herself admitting despite herself.
“So, the tournament…?” Gabriel prodded lightly, causing a smile to cross her lips once again. Mission accomplished.
She sighed and admitted, “It was mostly because Mark Ward went through all the trouble of contacting me to see if there was any interest – and there was. That’s why. Plus… I admit I missed it. A little bit.” She pinched a thumb and forefinger close together.
“Enough to make a comeback?” Gabriel leaned in on his forearms against the desk, his head turned slightly at the side with a smile on his face, a smile to which Devona warmly reciprocated but she said nothing else.
Gabriel sighed, “Can’t blame a guy for trying!” He then set his hands against the edge of the desk and stood upright, smiling down at her, “So… shall we go get that ring rust worked off?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Devona stood up to join him as he opened the door and held out an inviting arm toward her.
“Excellent!” Gabriel beamed. “Mackenzie said she couldn’t wait to get into the ring with you.”
And the last thing seen and heard as the door closed were Devona’s head whipping toward Gabriel with wide eyes and her exclamation, “Oh son of a…”
Michelob Ultra Arena -
Las Vegas, Nevada
Everything was ready for Sunday, a mere two days away from the spring Supercard spectacular - the eleventh annual Blaze of Glory! The six-sided ring had been set up in the very center of the arena floor and even now, attendants were working a hectic schedule to finish setting up the ringside chairs in an ordering fashion. And inside of the ring stood none other than Devona in her street clothes consisting of a black tank top, denim jeans and tanned boots. Hands tucked in her pockets, the camera was in an undershot of her gazing up and around to every corner of the arena.
"Wow. Deja vu, huh? I don't mind admitting that I'm still having a bit of a hard time grasping the fact that I'm standing here, getting ready to compete inside of this very six-sided ring in front of thousands of fans watching here in the arena and countless others watching from all across the globe. It seems like only yesterday where I was stepping foot inside of this ring in my very first match which was against Amy Santino, if memory serves me correctly. And if I am going to be perfectly honest with all of you lovely people out there, I am feeling almost as nervous now for this match as I did in my very first one. Small wonder because even though I took part in the 2019 Blast From the Past, I have not had a singles match since my Internet title loss to Diamond in December of 2017. Yeah, you heard me right. December - almost six years ago.”
She nodded and turned around in the ring and walked over toward the corner where she turned her back away from what would in two days be a capacity filled audience and she hopped up to take a seat, perched on the top turnbuckle.
“Well over five years between singles matches, which definitely gives Jessie Salco an edge going into this match, given the woman has been competing consistently and non-stop in SCW for over a decade. But – I have to go on record and clear the air that my time away from the ring and away from the SCW Universe… that is the catalyst for these butterflies which are currently playing hell right here…”
She rubs a hand along her midsection.
“I have had my supporters during my time in the ring; both friends and family and yes, if I want to indulge myself with the claim - fans, as well. When you are so blessed to have such in your corner, how can you not have nerves when you come out into this very ring with the thought in the back of your mind that you might end up disappointing them? Oh I know, any wrestler will sound like a record on constant repetition when they claim that they know they won’t lose and that the only outcome is going to be their inevitable win. Then what happens? Two people go out to that ring, thinking the exact same thing – but only one of those two people get their arms raised at the end of the match. That is why I’m more nervous than a virgin in a prison rodeo. It’s been four years since my last match with Alex Jones at my side in the Blast from the Past, and five years since I went up against another woman alone. But… nervous about facing Jessie Salco herself?”
Devona closed her eyes and shook her head no.
“Not to intend any disrespect for Jessie. Quite the contrary, actually! I have nothing but mad respect for Jessie and everything she has accomplished and everything she still seeks to do before the inevitable hanging up of the boots. Her tenacity and tenure alone is what got her to where she is, inside of the ring and outside as a Hall of Fame inductee. Win or lose, there is just no quit in that girl, and she won’t stop until she reaches her own personal Holy Grail in the sport, which in this case just so happens to be the World Bombshell Championship. But see, here’s the thing…”
“I’m not entirely certain that I’m even facing Jessie, you know what I mean? All things considered, you could watch her and forgive me for mistakenly wondering if I might be up against Ariana or Krystal or one of the other multiple people that seem to find their way around her each and every week! If she weren’t retired, I could even believe for the briefest of moments that I might even be up against Keira Fisher-Johnson?”
The camera then did a close up shot off Devona as she leaned in with a hand cupped over the side of her mouth.
“Hint, hint Keira, if the urge ever strikes you again!”
The camera then returns to the regular shot.
“But no, here I am and it is against Jessie Salco and I could not be more excited. I can’t even say why I am in this match, why I volunteered except for the fact the opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it. I could have been perfectly satisfied watching as a fan just like everyone else, but when Alicia Lukas had to bow out and Jessie started making noise about another Supercard match being taken away from her … I don’t know. I just raised my hand and told the world that I would do it. Or rather, I contacted Mark Ward and told him that I;d do it… Mark Ward… the world…”
She held out her hands, palms up, balanced like a scale.
“Same thing, really. And I admit that initially I was on the fence about stepping up. But then something happened that honestly burned my craw - and that was…”
She pointed directly at the camera.
“You - Jessie. Your actions, your behavior. I shouldn’t say that I am surprised, because whether you performed for the cheers of the fans or if you could have cared less, you always were very self absorbed in your outlook with a terrine case of the ‘Me, Me, Me’s’. And despite everything I said previously about genuine respect for your in-ring abilities, I have to say that after all these years, since the last time I've seen you, not a whole lot has changed - if anything at all. Jessie, no matter who you target, no matter who you oppose, you seem to be the same self indulgent person as I have last seen. Thinking only of yourself and your career and how things affect you and you alone. I mean…”
She held her arms out in wonder.
“That is why we're here, isn't it? Your scheduled match against Alicia was canceled and you pitched such a fit that Mark and Christian went in search of somebody to find you an opponent just so you would shut up. You showed absolutely no compassion or concern about Alicia or her family or others' well being. All you cared about was how this was going to affect YOU. How you had another Supercard match taken away from you. How you had to go without. Not what caused Alicia to pull out, although you certainly gave your theories to that, didn’t you? No, in your mind, it was all about you. It’s like the old story of the bride-to-be about to have her dream wedding when her soon-to-be husband drops dead at the altar and all she can do is cry why everything has to happen to her! That’s you, Jessie. That is the very attitude that you showed the entire world on social media after Christian Underwood canceled your match. And the moment, the very moment that this was undone and I stepped up and you were rebooked, oh the tears dried up and you were happy as a clam because you got what you wanted. To hell with anyone else so long as Jessie Salco is happy and satisfied!”
Devona then hopped off of the turnbuckles and walked over toward the ropes where she rested her forearms along the top rope.
“Riddle me this Jessie. You are going around, insinuating to anyone unfortunate enough to listen, that Alicia pulled out not because of a family emergency, but simply because she was too scared to follow through with another match against you on such a grand stage. But you two have met before, sometimes with a title on the line and others times no. And the end result was always the same! Why on earth would a woman who has bested you in every single one-on-one encounter the two of you have ever met in, be so afraid of you that she would lie about a family emergency just to avoid another encounter? I mean, seriously Jessie! I know that I don't know you very well and we were never particularly close backstage in the dressing rooms when I was signed and active, but I would have expected better from you! I mean the fact that you got lit up on social media for your implications should have been evidence enough that what you said was uncalled for and outright rude, but I have yet to hear an apology come from your lips and I have serious doubts that anyone ever will. You should be ashamed of yourself!”
She stopped leaning against the ropes and instead stood upright, flinging her purple streaked hair back over her shoulder.
“This one is on the table, Jessie, and despite all odds, the deck is stacked in my favor. I’m not doing this for me, I’m not even doing it for Alicia or the fans. I’m doing this for one person, and one alone; J2H. I have a partner in the coming weeks with doubts - and on Sunday, I’m putting those doubts to rest.”
She held up two fingers and smiled.
“Peace out.”
And the spotlight above the ring winked out, leaving only darkness.
