Harpin’ On With Harp, Harper’s Loft, Las Vegas, Nevada
Tuesday the 9th of April 2024, 17:00pm

(on camera, start vlog)

We open on Harper in her loft and she has a sombre expression on her face.

”I’m sure Blaze of Glory means something to everyone on the roster who’s been around for a while.” Harper sighed as she brushed some hair over her shoulder. ”Maybe they won their first title at that event? Or heck, maybe even made their debuts at the event! I’m pretty sure that’s happened at least once? But there’s only one thing I can associate with this show and it’s only tangentially related too it, I brought this up last week so I won’t dwell on it further.

Because let’s face it, having your parents murdered before you’re even twenty, never mind twenty one, is one hell of a bitter pill to swallow!”

Harper let’s out a deep breath as she leans forward on her desk.

”That is why I need to win this match against Kallie on Sunday, I don’t want my memories of Blaze of Glory to just be associated with that terrible day.” Harper lets out a sad sigh. ”I’m sure some people will accuse me of exploiting my parents’ deaths for sympathy but honestly? It’s all I’ve been able to think about since my match against Kallie was announced, well that and how excited I am for the match with Kallie because io know we’re going to rock the house on Sunday but if I can mark off “bounced back from my loss to Bobbie at the last Supercard” off the list?

I don’t think I really need to explain how I’d feel really!”

(end vlog)

Bunkers Memory Gardens, Las Vegas, Nevada
Wednesday the 10th of April 2024, 16:00pm

As the car pulled into the parking lot Harper got out of Jessie’s car with the older, visibly pregnant woman behind her.

”This is the place.” Harper muttered to herself as she checked the info on her phone. ”Just need to find where they are buried.”

”Harp, I understand why you want to do this, but are you sure about this?” Jessie asked with a concerned look on her face and Harper nodded. ”The PPV’s this weekend, we can come cack afterwards because your mind needs to be a hundred percent there, even for a filler match against Kallie.”

”But on the other hand if I don’t do this my mind’s going to be wrecked with guilt and I don’t know what’s worse heading into the match.” Harper explained before she reached into the backseat and grabbed some flowers. ”Talk about “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” am I right?”

”Yeah, that and a lose-lose situation.” Jessie sighed as she looked out towards the cemetery. ”Memory’s a bit hazy but they were buried on a hill, right?”

”Yeah, I think I remember which hill but it shouldn’t take me that long to find it.” Harper responded with a nod before turning to Jessie. ”Are you coming with me or staying behind? I know you’re four months into your pregnancy and all but they mobility doesn’t seem to be all that affected by it.”

”You haven’t seen e try to get up the stairs yet.” Jessie sighed as she shook her head. ”I can get up them just fine but I’m always worrying if a misplaced step will end in something terrible happening to my baby girl.” Jessie explained and Harper nodded as she got the idea. ”Same reason why I’m not going up that fill with you, I’ll be waiting here for when you’re done.”

”I’ll send you a text when I’m done.”  Harper responded as she held up her phone and Jessie nodded, Harper proceeded on her way into the cemetery not really paying attention to the world around her, she momentarily glanced down at her phone. ”I bet some boomer will expect me to start filming a vlog whilst I’m here.” Harper commented before shaking her head. ”No, not getting it out until I’m done.”

“You always talk to yourself?” Harper glanced up and saw an older woman addressing her.

”Nah, just got a lot on my mind, I haven’t visited a certain gravesite in over a year and I’m trying to make up for it.” Harper explained and the older woman nodded in understanding. ”You wouldn’t know where the Masons are buried, would you? Just want to make sure.”

“They are on that hill over there.” The older woman responded as she pointed it out to Harper and Harper nodded before she quickly went on her way, by the time she reached the top of the hill and knelt in front of the gravestones Harper was quite emotional.

”Mom, dad? Calling the past year crazy doesn’t even begin to describe it.” Harper muttered to herself  as she put down the two flower bouquets on the graves. ”I made it, I’m a professional wrestler now, wrestled for a whole bunch of companies, won three titles, one of which is inactive because the fed closed.” Harper let out a deep beep breath. ”Actually signed with Sin City Wrestling after Jessie went on hiatus, and then got pregnant, err, Jessie, not me! I’ve even challenged for the Bombshell Roulette Title! All things I wish that you could’ve been there to see in person, to know that your oldest daughter made the right decision to go into wrestling.” Harper lets out a sad sigh as she wipes away a tear or two. ”Jason and McKenzie are doing great, they are doing well in school, and their grades are good…….”

“We know.” Harper stopped mid-sentence and glanced around, looking for the sauce of the voices, but she was the only one around.

”Okay, I’m officially creeped out.” Harper muttered to herself before getting her phone out and texting Jessie. ”Hey Jesse, I’ve said all I wanted to say and will be at the car in a few minutes, everything good?” Harper read the massage out loud before hitting send  and heading down the hill.

A few minutes later Harper was greeted by Jessie as she waiting beside her car, leaning against it with her arms crossed. ”Just got your text, I kinda zoned out when listening to the new Krawling Khaos album, did that help?” Jessie asked and Harper nodded. ”Good, and I maintain what I said when we had that fallout last week I’m here for you if you need anything.”

”Appreciate it Jessie.” Harper responded before taking one last look at the hill where her parents’ graves were. ”Can we just get going? Gotta be getting close to dinner time right?”

”Eh, it’s not that close, but I am getting hungry, either that or it’s the pregnancy cravings.2 Jessie responded with a nod before they got in the car. ”Let’s get something to eat out, my treat.”

”Sounds good to me.” Harper nodded in agreement before getting in the car and Jessie subsequently drove off.

Harpin’ On With Harper, Harper’s Loft, Las Vegas, Nevada
Thursday the 11th of April 2024, 18:00pm

(on camera, start vlog, promo time)

As Harper started her final vlog for the match she let out a deep breath.

”My dad always said that exercise was one of the best forms of therapy, getting all that pent up energy out of your system, you know?” Harper asked rhetorically as she leaned on the desk. ”That mindset has helped me through some of the more difficult times in my life and this match may well help me with this part of my life as well! How exactly? I don’t know, especially if Kallie beats me but if I have anything to say on the matter?

That won’t happen.”

Harper said defiantly.

”And at Wasn’t Built in a Day Part IV: Old Wounds I’ll be focussing on healing those wounds with this match Kallie, we both know how good we are at wrestling and I think we both know that this could be a sleeper hit on the card.” Harper added as she leaned back in her chair. ”But that’s if I can get my head in the game, but trust me Kallie, I will do everything I can to get the win.”

It's that simple.

”While staying within the rules because unlike some people I can actually rely on my talent to get the win, isn’t that right Mercedes?” Harper asked with a grin before she shifted her weight. ”I hope you’re ready to bring your a-game Kallie because I bring mine to every match I compete in, otherwise?”

And with that Harper decided to wrap things up.

”This is only going to end one way, with me improving my SCW PPV Record to three wins and one loss!” Harper added as she grinned broadly. ”Because the world needs a new hero and her name is “The Slaytanic Avenger” Haper Mason! See you on Sunday Kallie!”

Harper turned off the camera as the scene fades.

March 19

After winning against Seleana Zdunich two days prior, I was eating crow (not literally) at my mother’s weekly dinner. I had just finished eating while my mother didn’t say a word, which almost certainly was awkward for me. She briefly disappeared and then came back with a book before laying it down in front of me. I realized right away it was a photo album and all I wanted was to cut the tension.

“So are you going to say something?” I asked.

“I still can’t believe you ditched time between us over a match with Seleana Zdunich…” she said in her annoyed tone. I sighed in response to this.

“I’m here now! I’ve apologized so many times this past week. I even said I’m sorry when I walked in and you didn’t say a word to me. What else do I have to do to prove to you that I’m sorry? It was stupid of me. She wasn’t worth skipping dinner over. Now, this week’s match…”

“Julianna…” my mother said in a snappy tone. “...not even this week.”

“What do you want from me? I take criticism from every direction as it is, and I have to hear it from YOU too? Since we’re being honest with each other, I’m still angry at you for saying that I’m just like my dad when it comes to wrestling.”

“You’re angry because it’s the truth, Julianna…”

Suddenly, I was left with nothing to say. My heart knew it was true.

“You’re a perfectionist. You’re always down on yourself on even the slightest thing going wrong. You’re an undefeated world champion and you’re STILL trying to find things wrong with your reign and you’re too hyper-focused on your career. I see how you act and I constantly wondered what happened to my little girl…”

I rolled my eyes as my mother opened up the photo album. She was showing me pictures of happier times: a trip to Disneyland when I was 4 years old, my 8th birthday party where I was smiling and happy and surrounded by gifts, me at 13 with many bags of clothes after a shopping spree we would frequently go to together, and even when I was 15 and about to go to my first school dance. A piece of me felt sad remembering how happy I used to be before I started my wrestling training.

“You were a normal, happy girl who just wanted to have fun… that is… before your father began to train you. I really miss that girl…” my mother lamented with a sigh.

“If that girl was a wrestler, she wouldn’t have made it…” I said, further pissing her off as her angry sigh would indicate.

“BULLSHIT!” my mother responded, shocking me with her anger. “Before your father poisoned your mind, you were more like me personality wise and back in my own day as a wrestler, I had a pretty solid career in Germany before your father and I came to this country. If I was your age, in this day, there’s no doubt I would’ve done well so don’t insult me my saying that the little girl I remember wouldn’t have made it!”

There’s that creeping feeling of shame again.

“You said when you first won that title that this was ‘our title’, remember that?”

“Yeah…”

“What happened to that?”

I could only bite my lip without saying a word.

“I was going through my kidney removal, you were so emotional during that time, as any good daughter would be, and you said ‘this is for us’. You were nothing like this prior to High Stakes. And yet, you WON that championship WITHOUT acting like your father. You weren’t so caught up in yourself then. So don’t tell me that the little girl I remember wouldn’t have been successful because the night you won that title, under those circumstances, proves you DEAD WRONG!”

My mother closes the photo album and leaves with it, presumably to put it away. I was feeling guilty at this point and truly realizing how quickly things changed over the last six months.

“I can’t think of where she’s wrong with that…” I admitted to myself, as I began to reflect on the night that there was no turning back…

May 2013

“You HAVE to be at that event…” my father was screaming at me while I was in my prom dress waiting for my date to arrive. “It’s the first time I’m promoting a wrestling show damn it!”

“But… it’s SENIOR PROM…” I explained to him. “That MEANS SOMETHING! I can’t miss that! I only have one chance to have a senior prom at all!”

“PRIORITIES Jules…”

“Mom spent so much money on my dress, making arrangements and everything! You can’t take this away from me! You’re going to promote other events, but this is my only chance for a senior prom!”

“But there’s only ONE first time, Jules! You HAVE to be there! Your stupid prom is well worth missing out on!”

“Stupid prom…” I said with a deep sigh. “You are such an ASSHOLE!!!!!”

My father merely scoffed and laughed at me.

“Do you have ANY idea what my life has been like since you started training me? You have not allowed me to have any form of fun or social life at ALL! Do you realize how many friends I’ve lost because I haven’t spent enough time with them? Before I started training, I was pretty damn popular! You chased how many boys away from me? Now, it’s a miracle I even had a prom date at all! Now? I’m an outcast and everyone forgot that I existed and it’s NOT FAIR that you have taken so much fucking control over my life! You are the worst father EVER!”

“Is that what you think?” he asks me, still not taking me seriously.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I think!”

“You clearly don’t appreciate the meaning of the word ‘sacrifice’. Your mother sacrificed her career to raise your ungrateful ass! Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to train you but you’re the only one I could pass on my legacy to, so I said fuck it. You went to prom last year and it was stupidly expensive and not even worth it!”

“It wasn’t YOUR prom… ASSHOLE!”

“You don’t get the ‘sacrifice’ thing, do you? Those friends of yours? They weren’t real friends. They would’ve understood but no, they dropped you. Plus, let me remind you. You looked up to me right?”

“Yeah…”

“You wanted to be just like me and follow in my footsteps and part of the reason for doing this is so that we could grow closer together, am I right?”

“Right…”

“Is that what you still want?”

“It’s been two years since I started training with you and I still haven’t gotten that.”

“Answer the fucking question, Jules…”

“Yes, that’s still what I want.”

The doorbell suddenly rings and I cringed knowing my date just arrived. My father walks over to open the door and he sees him.

“You’re taking her nowhere…” he tells my date.

“Dad, I’m going to prom whether you like it or not. I’m not going to your event.”

“You know what! Go to prom! But if you do, I’m cutting you off. No more training!” my eyes widened with shock as my father continued.  “That relationship between us you want so bad? It’ll never happen”

Hearing that made my heart sink.

“We can’t have any form of relationship without wrestling. PERIOD! If you really want that ‘close relationship’ between us, then come to my event. If not, go with this fuckboy here.”

My eyes were filled with tears as I looked at my date.

“Go home…”

My father smirked as my date was confused.

“I’ll pay you back for the tickets. Go without me…”

My date sighed with anger before he left and I was left with the tears going down my face.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it? Get out of that expensive dress and let’s go…”

My father walked away from me at that point.

Even to this day, this memory still haunts me a bit. Whatever was left of my carefree childhood effectively died at this moment.

March 23

I promised Liam a spring training date and the day before my triple threat champions match, I fulfilled that promise. I felt awesome about it as just taking some time to break away from wrestling, even for a few hours, was a freeing feeling. We were on the concourse of the Peoria Sports Complex when I broke the ice.

“That was fun, Liam.”

“Was it?”

“A high scoring game doesn’t hurt.”

“I’m glad to hear that…” he said as we walked along the concourse. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a breather. You’ve been through too much back in SCW.”

I don’t say a word, but we’re caught by surprise by a familiar face, one that’s NOT so friendly…

“LIAM?” the man says. “Long time to see, guy!”

“Mr. Romanelli…” he says, as they exchange a handshake. “You remember him from wrestling school, right Julianna?”

Mr. Romanelli turns toward me and shakes his head.

“My dad’s right hand man, how could I forget.”

“You’ve done well for yourself, Julianna. I admit that. Your old man would be proud. But what the fuck are you doing here?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re going out on dates… it’s a date, right?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“In any case, you have this huge triple threat match tomorrow and instead of preparing for that, you’re going to spring training games?”

“Mr. Romanelli…”

“Liam, I got this. Your father, god bless his soul, would be turning over in his grave if he knew you were wasting time.”

In that moment, I wanted to punch him. Liam awkwardly looked at me as he could tell that I was seething.

“If he was here right now, he’d be pissed at you and yelling at you in front of all these people here!”

“Motherfucker, let me ask you something…” I said as I noticed Liam’s eyes widen. “Is he here?”

“No but…”

“EXACTLY! He’s NOT here anymore so FUCK OFF! I run my life! I run my career! If I want to take a breather and go do something other than wrestling for a few hours, if I want to let loose for ONE fucking night, I have every right to do so! You have no right to tell me what I should be doing with my life and if my father was right in front of me, I would tell him the exact same thing! So again, FUCK OFF!”

Mr. Romanelli scoffed.

“Don’t go crying to your mother when you lose tomorrow.”

He makes his exit, all while anger was flowing through me. Liam puts a hand on me.

“I’m sorry Liam…”

“I’m glad you did that because you’re right. You just showed me exactly why I’m crazy about you… on top of the great conversations we had tonight during the game, most of which didn’t involve wrestling.”

“I’m crazy about you too, Liam…”

At that moment, I turned around and kissed him and he reciprocated that with no hesitation at all.

“Let’s go have dinner…” I tell him.

“Don’t you have a match tomorrow?”

 "I'm not stressing about it, I've got it" I said with a scoff, obviously noting his sarcasm. We left the complex to continue on with a great night.

March 24

“That didn’t just happen…” I told myself in the locker room following that night’s CC. I didn’t lose that triple threat with Tempest and Bobbie.

Nobody did. But what happened that caused the no contest made it FEEL like I did.

Only three weeks away from Kayla…

This was NOT what I needed. I pulled out my journal and thought about how to express myself but I couldn’t find the words…

…that is, until my father, in my own mind, started running me down about it…

“How can you let that happen?” my father said to me in my imagination, which I was writing down at the same time. “How can you let some NOBODY with a briefcase she doesn’t even deserve embarrass you like that! You should be ashamed of yourself! I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO! This is why you were taught to have PRIORITIES! Because the moment you choose to have “fun” over your career, you let your guard down and THIS happens!”

I paused as regret began to fill me.

“Your reign just got completely exposed…” I imagine him tell me. By this point, I was feeling loads of shame. “...if you got blindsided and exposed by that fucking nobody, then there’s no way in hell that you are going to beat Kayla Richards. There’s no way. You might as well just hand her that fucking championship and it’s not like this is the first time this has happened either: Bea, Mercedes, your first defense against Courtney… terrible.

Just terrible…

YOU’RE fucking terrible…”

While the defeatist talk that I was imagining my father tell me was jarring and debilitating, I was just in too numb of a state to really feel anything.

“You need to wake up NOW and pull something out of your ass because that’s the only way you stand a chance in HELL of beating Kayla. Otherwise, your reign, all of your progress in SCW… it’ll ultimately be for NOTHING! WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

I paused my brain, and subsequently what I was writing down in my journal. Word for word, it was everything that I was imagining my father say to me and in essence, it was like a letter from the grave from him. I soaked in that horrible embarrassment of how that night went for me and I wrote, on the last line of the page…

“You proved all the idiots that doubted you right today…”

That’s when the switch went off in my brain. I quickly crossed out that last sentence and then I wrote, in HUGE letters “IT’S ALL LIES” over everything that I just wrote down. I ripped out the page from my journal, tore it up and threw the pieces of paper in the trash.

“Fuck off, Dad…” I said, doing what I could to defeat his negativity in the moment. I heard my phone go off as I put my journal back in my bag. I looked and I saw it was Liam asking me if I was okay after everything that had just happened.

I wanted to answer the text with all of my heart. But in my mind, I felt like our date the night before caused me to let my guard down on this night. That conflict played out within me, but ultimately I turned off my phone and threw it into my bag with the rest of my stuff. I felt great about having a ‘scapegoat’ to explain what happened to me tonight, but in my heart, I felt horrible. It didn’t feel right to place the blame on a date the night before with someone I had a great time with. But what else could I blame?

“I’m NOT letting my guard down again… not like that…”

With that, I stood up and walked out of the room, refocusing on what was to come.

April 6th

The camera was on me and I had the championship over my shoulder as I sat on the bench of the campus of Northern Arizona University. I was still feeling a bit angry from the events of that main event a couple of weeks ago, but I was as calm and as composed as I could be. I HAD to be, considering the situation that I was going to find myself in at Blaze of Glory. I knew that I was walking into a chess match where one mistake could doom my title reign. But at the same time, I’ve gained enough experience to thrive in these types of matches against opponents like Kayla and that confidence was about to come out as I expressed my thoughts.

“FINALLY…

That has to be crossing your mind, right Kayla?

FINALLY you are getting your shot at my championship, which you have been bitching about and taking side shots at me about for weeks if not months. I’ve definitely paid attention to you. You’ve been taking shots at me. Hell, I think there was even a promo not that long ago where you were talking about me being a coward without dropping my name all because what? I didn’t say anything to some petty nonsense that you were talking about? I’m the coward right? But you’re the one that kept taking the unprovoked potshots at me during your promos. You’re the one that was subtweeting about me. I get it, I have what you want. But the very fact of the matter is, Kayla, LONG before now… instead of hiding behind your fucking keyboard, you could’ve come after me.

Remember my new year’s celebration that was interrupted by Alexandra Calaway that led to my last Supercard title defense? That could’ve been you! Hell, for all the shit you were spewing at me leading up to that, and AFTER that, it SHOULD’VE been you! Why wasn’t it you, Kayla? You’re bitching up a storm going into your match against Seleana Zdunich but if you think that if YOU were the one that stepped up and not Alexandra, you would’ve had your shot! I wasn’t going to say “no” to you because I don’t back down from shit. So, for all your bitching and whining about facing Seleana Zdunich, it’s really YOUR fault that you had the opportunity to create your own destiny for My Bloody Valentine and… you didn’t…

But I’M the coward?”

I paused and completely scoffed at that notion.

“And on top of all of that, you want to say that this match is happening because of YOU? That this title match is a main event because of YOU? What’s your logic? Because my other supercard defenses weren’t the main event? Bitch please! Instead of me thanking you, YOU should be thanking ME because if it wasn’t for ME coming after YOU, you wouldn’t be getting this title shot at all. I was the one that had to call YOU out because you wouldn’t shut the fuck up about me. I was the one that had to make this happen! You chose to hide until I called you out! You were the one stuck facing Seleana and bitching and crying about the company disrespecting you! You’re talking about how ANGRY you are while you’re bitching about SCW caring little about you… yet you wanted to criticize ME for complaining?

So, let’s keep playing the logic game, okay?

If SCW really cared that little about you, then I think it stands to reason that if it wasn’t for ME speaking up, someone else would be getting this shot at Blaze of Glory. But ultimately, Kayla, you do kind of have a history of bitching when things don’t go your way. You haven’t lost often in this company, I will give you that, but you didn’t handle losing that Internet Championship to Keira Fisher very well, did you? You got your rematch against her and you won, sure. But holy hell, you were treating that loss like it was the end of the world and THAT’S why I questioned whether you would have the resolve to handle a loss because you were acting like the entire world was about to collapse for you. But hey, let’s not get TOO off track here. The fact of the matter is, for as much as I respect your abilities, I think you’re someone that needs to puff out their chest every once in a while to remind people who they are when the truth is, if you’re as good as you THINK you are, you don’t need to do that. You let your in ring work do the talking, which you have for the most part…

But the “wannabe big bad” is WAY more of a flower than she wants you to believe. It speaks to the state of the division when you’re the only other woman on this roster other than me that has the initiative to push for the championship and yet you didn’t have the initiative to come after me when you started running your mouth. I had to call YOU out for THIS to happen… which reflects badly on YOU WAY more than it reflects on me. You’ve been wanting my championship for the longest time, Kayla. I completely get you on that. You don’t like me. Fuck it, that feeling is mutual. What you DON’T understand is that it is one thing to WANT to be a world champion and it’s a completely different thing to BE a world champion and during your time HERE, you seem to have forgotten what brought you to the dance to begin with. The Kayla I know… or is it “KNEW”... at this point, would get after it! She wouldn’t be hiding behind her keyboard. She wouldn’t be complaining about a damn thing.

She would have appreciation for what this company is supposed to be about instead of throwing constant shade at the Bombshells Roulette Championship and calling it a joke. And sure, I get that we’ve both been through that frustration of having less than stellar opponents but tell me a time where I ever said that I would gain nothing out of beating someone in particular the way YOU did about Seleana? When have I ever demeaned a championship? I’ve called out this division for lacking initiative because it’s a damn fact that most of the women do, but YOU? You are such a flower because you seem to take EVERYTHING personally, EVERYTHING as a slight… and for someone of YOUR caliber, that’s SAD… all of that ability, all of that pedigree, and you freely choose to degrade yourself to a bitter, spoiled whining little bitch that in all honesty, talks SO much about passion and SO much about initiative as I have heard you in your past promos over the last few months and when it comes to that passion, that initiative, you are more bark than bite.

The way you’ve fucking carried yourself, you’ve acted as if nobody but you deserves to have this championship match, as if you’re the only Bombshell on the roster talented enough to challenge me. You stick your nose up in the air, acting like you’re the fucking shit, but I see through that shit. I see someone that is very capable of cracking at the slightest bit of failure and it’s SO ironic that you were talking about Eiley not knowing how to handle losses when YOU have your moments. You’ve had MANY chances to show that initiative to be the next world championship challenger… and not just during my reign, but during Courtney’s reign, you could’ve done that. During Roxi’s reign, you could’ve done that. I get that you were the Internet Champion, but holding another championship shouldn’t stop you considering that throughout the history of this company, we’ve had title for title matches with the Internet Championship and my championship.

And you talk about the company protecting ME from YOU? Hell, what if it’s the company protecting YOU from reality? What if the powers that be haven’t been putting you in this spot or giving you the opportunity to be in this spot because they don’t believe in you? THINK about that, Kayla. I’m dead serious about that. I came in and I lit this place on fire. I SHOWED that initiative. I made an impression right out of the gate and I MADE THEM believe in me so I could get that world title shot at High Stakes and I could be front and center of the spotlight that YOU have craved so bad and in all honesty, Kayla?

You might as well admit it.

You’re bitter toward me and it eats at you so much that I got to the top before you did. You want to unleash your flaws and your shortcomings out on ME because you KNOW I am better than you. In fact, I didn’t have to bitch and whine and moan about being passed up for main event opportunities while shading the world champion week after week like you did! It sickens me for as strong of a wrestler that you are, your biggest weakness… is YOU! YOU, Kayla, not me, not this company, not anyone that has ever stood in your way, are your own worst enemy. YOU are the one that has been passed over for title shots because rather than DOING SOMETHING about your situation, you were satisfied with bitching and moaning and just hoping that an opportunity fell on your lap. You could’ve gone after my predecessors the way you’ve gone after me and you could’ve attacked them or done something to gain their attention and you CAN’T use being Internet Champion and “not wanting to put so much on my plate” as an excuse because hey, you’re a Mixed Tag Champion and that didn’t stop you from shooting off at the mouth, did it? We both have our own self-absorbed reasons, let’s be real here, for why we want this match and why we want this championship…

But at the end of the day, I’M the one that wants it more because I want to cement this reign. I want to make this title defense right here THE defense that I’m going to be remembered by because when I DO beat you Kayla, when I silence perhaps the biggest, most blunt mouth in this company, THEN people are going to realize “shit, maybe we should shut our mouths and actually have some initiative for a change to be better and to evolve with the times”. You’re not the only one in this division that has chirped during my entire reign and I get that you’ve dealt with the disrespect just like I have.

I’ve been thrown the feeder challengers.

Courtney tried to cut my moment at the legs after two weeks and bury me into the ground only for that to backfire.

Seleana wouldn’t stop obsessing over me.

I GET IT. But for you? As far as I know? You want this title to pad your ego… to VALIDATE your ego. You want to throw the word “validation” at me? Well let me let you in on a secret, Kayla. The only validation that you need… is from YOURSELF! I don’t need you for validation. Hell, I don’t need anyone. I’m STILL learning that, I admit that. I’ve dealt with so much shit in my career before and during my time here.

Coming up in this business, I couldn’t get validation from my own father. Companies have tossed me aside and/or treated me like garbage. I’ve dealt with sexual harassment and sexism in other places. I’ve dealt with being treated like a nostalgia act. I’ve been through ALL sorts of shit Kayla, but I eventually learned how to shut the fuck up and roll with the punches and ever since I’ve been here, I’ve been able to master the ability to do so. I have proven without much of a doubt that I can roll with the punches better than you have. I may have that “zero” in that loss column, but don’t be fucking ignorant. That number doesn’t mean I haven’t dealt with my own shit since I’ve been here.

I’ve been through a lot more of a turbulent roller coaster than you can ever imagine especially since I’ve won this championship. It hasn’t always been as easy as it’s looked at times and that FUCKING EMBARRASSMENT from two weeks ago is proof of that. You’re going to be my toughest challenger to date. You’re going to poke me, push me, do whatever you need to do. You’re going to try to talk your shit because that’s what I expect out of you. But ultimately? I’m STILL going to pull through because I’ve grown stronger, even if I’ve had my moments…

Because during this entire reign, even with some of the battles I’ve had to face with people in this division lacking the fucking initiative that we both have, I’ve STILL pulled through, I’ve STILL rolled with the punches, I GOT my fucking validation at High Stakes.

But you still seek it…

You sure as fuck don’t believe in yourself as much as I do in myself… because if you did, this match would’ve happened so much sooner than now. You wouldn’t have needed me to call you out to make this match happen. It’s put up or shut up for you, Kayla Richards.

And come Blaze of Glory, I’m going to make sure it’s “SHUT UP” for you…”

You’re going to have to keep seeking that self-validation a little longer, I’m afraid. Tough shit!

At this point, having gotten everything off of my chest, I shut off the camera and take in the environment around me.

I knew I was in for a fight… especially with someone as arrogant, as obnoxious and as loud as Kayla Richards tend to be…

But I also know deep down, with what I’ve been able to overcome, imperfections, flaws and all, personally and professionally, that since coming here, I’ve faced my greatest challenges and attained my greatest victories in the process.

And at Blaze of Glory…

I’m feeling like I’m about to attain my greatest victory yet…