Chapter 68: Trauma II
Thinking about my relationship with Matt brought back a whole bunch of memories that I really wish I could’ve left buried and forgotten. Bringing them back up and reliving the horror that I went through was never going to be something easy or something that I would have ever strived to do. But despite those memories, it did remind me of a few things – it reminded me of where I’ve come from and what I’ve been through.
Matt was the exact opposite of other relationships that I’ve been in. He was domineering and tried to control me. And due to my own hubris, I thought I could change him and flip the tables. The relationship with him was like a power struggle with the two of us fighting back-and-forth to gain dominance in the relationship. I failed, and as such, got drawn into a situation where I almost lost myself until I was able to see it for myself.
However, the other major relationship that I’ve had in my life was with someone completely different. Completely different from Matt and also completely different from Finn. His name was Billy Danielson. Many of you probably see how hard I am on Aiden Reynolds, and a large part of that is because he is like the team version of Billy Danielson, who I ended up dating after Matt Shields. There were some similarities there. Billy was also controlling, but in a completely different way. Matt tried to control me through animalistic masculine dominance.
Billy tried to control me through gaslighting and emotional manipulation
He pushed everything in the relationship. In the beginning, I didn’t want to be in a relationship. I didn’t want anyone. I was getting over the horrors that had come about while I was with Matt and didn’t want to be trapped in something. But Billy came into my life and wouldn’t leave me alone. He was charming and funny, but every single time I tried to pull away, he would make me feel guilty. He would use certain phrases and say certain things that would make me feel sorry for him. Emotional manipulation at its finest.
”Come on. You love me, right?”
My breath caught in my throat and I remember feeling a certain type of anger and emotion wash over me. Anger might not have been the best word, frustration would be more apt and appropriate. I knew what Billy was doing. But at the time I wasn’t ready to tell him what I felt. ”Getting married will be great for us.” I closed my eyes and shook my head, feeling him grab my hand and slide the ring onto my finger.
At that point, I didn’t feel like I could say no. I didn’t want to be engaged to him, I didn’t want to marry him. I could not see spending the rest of my life with a man like him. He was a dumb jock. But he was also like a puppy dog, following me around like I was a goddess. You think being worshipped would be right up my alley, but you’d be wrong.
I needed someone who treated me like an equal and is my equal. Matt treated me like he was dominant to me. Billy treated me like I was above him and a goddess was to be worshipped, while still trying to keep me under his thumb.
”I don’t know Billy. Maybe this is too fast. But I–”
”Look at the ring. It was my grandmother‘s. She told me that when I found a woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I should ask that woman to marry me and use that ring. You’re that woman, Kayla. You don’t want me to let my family down do you?”
I swallowed, he knew exactly how to get me where it hurts. The thing is my family liked him. My younger sister thought he was funny and caring and much better than Matt. And in some ways, he was. But in other ways he was worse. He was more manipulative, knew how to gaslight me and knew how to use my emotions against me. ”The ring is beautiful…”
I didn’t say yes. But I also didn’t say no. So Billy took it upon himself to answer for me. Bouncing up and down happily he took me by the hand and pulled me into a hug. ”I’ll tell everyone we can start planning” I wanted to pull away. I wanted to say no. But something stopped me. At the time I thought he was my last shot of happiness. My last shot of being in a relationship. And I let myself fall into his little trap.
Present Day
I could hear him in the next room. Finn was on the phone. Pacing back-and-forth with his arm still caught tight in a brace, in his other hand with his cell phone. The phone was held up to his ear, but I knew he was talking to his brother. Dickie Watson. The tag team partner of Aiden Reynolds, and bedroom partner of Amelia Reynolds. Finn chatted for a while, stepping out of the room for a moment and moving over to the kitchen. He put his phone on the kitchen bench, put on the speaker device, opened the fridge door with his free arm and grabbed a drink out before cracking it open.
“--so I guess…Yoshiro thinks there’s someone that could do the whole business front for us but…I wanted to wait until I heard from you.”
Finn didn’t reply at first. He took a sip, put the can down and then picked his phone back up and put it back to his ear. He gave a dry response. Annoyed, but not completely. But still the same brother-like tone he’d always given Dickie. After a few minutes of listening to them yap back-and-forth, he finally hung up. He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow as I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. ”What?”
Finn stepped forward and I folded my arms over my chest. One leg was crossed over the other as I closed off my body language. I rolled my eyes again and let out a tck noise from my lips, my tongue clicking disapprovingly on my cheek. ”Your brother is an idiot.”
”I know.”
I growled and turned toward Finn as he sat down across from me. ”Do you though?”
He stayed silent simply giving me the room to express myself. Waiting patiently. It is one of the things that I love about him – he will let me say my piece instead of trying to interrupt me right there and then.
”He got himself into this mess but now he’s calling you every five seconds for advice.”
”Better to ask me for advice than him trying to do it himself. Just think about that for a second. You are advocating for me to leave Dickie to his own devices….. in this situation.”
My brow furrowed and I let out a small grunt of acknowledgement. Kept my arms crossed. Chin held high. He had a point. And that pissed me off even more. ”I just don’t like that he’s pulling you into this situation. We have enough to worry about. We did everything we could to get away from my crazy ex and his bullshit, and then you’ve got Dickie in those crazy Yakuza arseholes who you used to deal with, I just don’t want anything to happen to you, okay?”
Finn smiled. I hated it when he did that. He had this boy’s charm to everything he did but when he smiled, it put me at ease. Even in a situation where I shouldn’t be. His smile would always end up melting any anxiety that I had. ”Nothing will happen to me, Kay. Besides, we’re professional wrestlers. There’s plenty of other things that can end up hurting me.” He motioned toward his shoulder.
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath trying to calm myself down.
Before I’d say something that I’d regret.
”Yeah, not helping, Finnegan.” I said his full chosen name like it was an insult. Because it slightly was, but just enough. “I just don’t want to lose you. Especially if we ever…” I stopped in my tracks. I didn’t want him to know what was on my mind. He was staring at me, wanting me to continue what I was about to say.
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell him that I was scared to death that he would leave me and a child that hadn’t even been conceived yet. Or talked about. Or planned. I felt my anxiety building and I needed to get out of there.
”Look, do whatever you want. I’ll be back later. I’m going for a walk.”
He didn’t argue with me. Just giving me a small nod as I turned and moved towards the door grabbing my coat. I left and moved out onto the street. My mind was racing. One million thoughts a minute turning and twisting. Making my heart race and my body shake. Ihated feeling like this. Hated the thought that I could.
But then something caught my eye. I slowed down and looked just over my shoulder. I was being followed. I turned and the person was gone. They were back, I didn’t have to ask. The Romani. They were just content with adding to the pile of bullshit that I was dealing with.
”Fuck…”
Blast from the Past
”Well. Here we go. Another supercard on the horizon then another championship defence sitting right in front of me, ready to go. And it’s me with all the momentum going into it. Does it ever get tiring for any of you? Waiting for my downfall and constantly talking like my next loss is going to be the end of me only for me to bounce back and come back better than ever? It has to be tiring. It has to be boring.”
She takes a deep breath, sitting back as a suitcase suits to her left. Packed and ready to go on the cruise for Summer XXXtreme.
”Much like listening to a Mercedes Vargas promo. I bet there were some people who really thought she had a chance of beating me. Some members of the bombshell‘s division and fans who thought that her recent resurgence was going to lead her to beating little ol’ me. Despite the fact that every single time I faced Vargas, I destroyed her. And she is not like me. She cannot come back from loss after loss and come back stronger. I lose. I come back. I dominate. Rinse and repeat. And I’m not saying this to just glorify myself, although that is a large part of it. I’m saying this to get it through all of your thick skulls that while I’m not unbeatable, I am one of the best professional wrestlers on this planet and I deserve to be looked at as such.”
“When I sit here and talk about my accomplishments and throw them all in your face, I’m doing so because I know it pisses you off. I start down that path and I start telling you all about what I’ve done and I can hear the eyes rolling and the exasperated noises you all make.”
“You get pissed off about it. And why wouldn’t you? Why wouldn’t any of you get angry about the things that I say and the things that I do. Do you know the only thing more annoying than a delusional piece of shit? Who doesn’t know what they’re talking about?”
“Someone who is right and tells the truth and you don’t agree with them”
“I could be like the Crystals and the Mercedes of the world. But I’d have to fail to be like them. Women like Jesse Salco and Crystal and Mercedes and all the others that I’ve mentioned in the past are so infuriating in their delusions. They constantly lose and tell people that they are the best and will still overcome everything. They live in this little palace of delusion and when that bubble bursts and they are shown reality, they still refuse to accept it. But that’s not who I am. That’s not what I’m about.”
Kayla can’t help but chuckle. She turns and looks at the Bombshell Championship before taking it in her hand, undoing her suitcase and putting it inside. The suitcase snaps as she closes it up. She lays her hand flat on top of the suitcase before taking a deep breath and getting to her feet.
”I tell the truth and it’s something that so many can’t handle. No wonder if that is something you can accept, Frankie. See, things I’m gonna say about you are just simply from my perspective. I’m not gonna be like everyone else and try to come up with a reason why you are going to fail. Instead, I’m gonna come up with reasons why I’m going to succeed. You might disagree with them, because that’s what I expect you to do.”
“But before I get too far into this, I need you to understand something. The reason why I’m feared, the reason why people look at me and refuse to get in the ring with me, is because of the simple fact that I will embarrass them. And when it comes to this, the big matches, the big spotlight…Baby Girl, I shine brighter than anyone else ever has.”
“I have been a bright shining star since I stepped foot in this place. But I was the bright shining star that this company never wanted. I signed my contract, there were some hardcore Sin City fans who knew who I was. They know who my sister is.They know who my younger sister is. they know the companies that I’ve been in. But management didn't care. I signed my contract, I had a match, then nothing. I sat in fucking catering for months. Months. Until I made myself undeniable. I stomped my feet, I clapped my hands, I yelled and I screamed and I did everything I could to get their attention. And then…then they finally started to book me.”
“My first real shot at glory was for the Roulette Championship. Funnily enough, at a Summer XXXtreme.”
“Three years ago. I was in an Ultimate X Over the Pool match. My first title shot was ridiculous, Frankie. The first chance at glory. And I failed. I failed in that incredible clusterfuck of a match. And even though part of me didn’t want the Roulette Championship, there was also part of me that was completely and utterly devastated that I lost.”
“I have this thing inside of me. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s a need, not a want, a need. I need to win. I need to be the best. I need people to know that I am the best. It is a sickness. It is a disease and I have it and I cannot get rid of it. So when I lost at that event? When I lost that match in 2022, it broke me…”
She took a deep breath and held it for a moment as she was transported to that moment in time in her head. Kayla shook her head before continuing.
”Unexpected, right? I spend so much time talking about my Internet Championship pursuits and the Mixed Tag Team Championships and the SCW Bombshells World Championship. People tend to forget that my first title shot in this company was for the Roulette Championship and I lost. I have never won it. But since that moment three years ago, I have spent almost that entire time as a champion of some sort. In three years, I have been damn near unstoppable. But, I’m not unbeatable. I know that. I’m admitting it to you and everyone else, Frankie. It takes a special kind of woman to beat me. Only a handful have done it. Only one person has been able to beat me and then get away with not being a victim of my revenge.”
“That’s because she left the company promptly and never came back.”
“So, you might be one of the rare exceptions that is able to beat me, but are you the even rare exception that can beat me and then get out of it unscathed? I can’t figure you out, Frankie, and that’s what makes you dangerous. You came in and you won the Blast From the Past. You’ve been undefeated since you stepped foot in this company, and while you haven’t faced someone like me, you have still been able to dispatch everyone who has been put in front of you and that deserves respect. Part of me does respect you. Winning the Blast From the Past is not an easy thing to do. It is not something that just anyone can walk through and survive.”
“And you beat two veterans to do it. I get it, you are probably on cloud nine knowing that you were able to beat two of the biggest stars that the professional wrestling world has ever seen, including one woman who is a legend of this company. But they’re still not me.”
“You could be something very special. Many people think you already are. Part of me agrees with them. And for you to be the star that you seem to want to be, to complete this burst onto the scene with fire and flair, all that you need to do now is finish your little story and beat me. Everything that you have worked for, everything that you want and you need is right here, Frankie. And to get it all, you have to do is go out to that ring and end me…”
She closes her eyes and takes a sharp inhale before continuing
”I’m not ready for that to happen. I’m not ready to step aside and let you become the new shining star that everyone seems to think you’re going to be. One of the reasons is simply because of who you are. See the key differences between you and I are that I tell the truth, whether people wanna hear it or not. I’m honest to a fault and people hate that. But you? You droop with an sincerity in everything that you say. Before our tag team match, you sat there and told us all to trust you. Despite the fact that you tried to sound so manipulating and so clever when you really aren’t.”
“See, I told you and I told the world that I would have your back during that match. From bell-to-bell, I was ready to stand by you because I knew that we both wanted to get the win. And you couldn’t leave it that way, could you? You had to turn around and say that you wouldn’t do that because it would be too easy. Dripping with sincerity and sweetness. You were trying to appear as if you had principles in standing beside me, but at the same time you were trying to manipulate me into doing something I’d regret.”
“It didn’t work.”
“You are a sarcastic, smug little bitch who likes to project herself as confident. But I see right through you. Your constant contradictions show a true lack of conviction to anything. The only thing you believe in is your desire to get what you think you’re owed. But the problem is that you have a fear of irrelevance. I see it, because I have it too. I told you before that I need people to see that I’m the best. But I’m not afraid to admit to myself that I’m scared of being irrelevant. But you? You can’t admit it. You can’t admit it because you’re not secure enough in yourself to believe in yourself, so instead you have to be this smug piece of shit who drips with lies and sincerity.”
“As I said, all I do is tell the truth. I’m telling you the truth when I say that I’m going to walk down to that ring and do everything I can to cave your skull. I will take every shortcut, I will bend every rule…and I’ll do it with a big shit eating smile on my face because I refuse to allow you to take away my fucking legacy. I refuse to let you stop me from beating the records that are set in front of me. No matter how smug you are, no matter how great you think you are and no matter how many times you try to get onto my skin at the end of the day. Frankie, I’m just looking at doing to you what you wish you could do to everyone else. I’m going to prove to you that your greatest fear is your greatest criticism. And I’m going to make you irrelevant.”
“See you on the cruise.”
Chapter 69: How it started vs how it’s going
I had known him for a while. Finn Whelan. He and I had become friends. Not best friends, and we weren’t super close, but we knew each other. It was something that my boyfriend at the time, Billy Danielson, hated. He was insecure. And because of that, he would gaslight me if I had a male friend. It was something I hated. Eventually, we came to a breaking point. Billy and I broke up.
And no sooner had I been lamenting the fact I had another failed relationship than I got a phone call.
It was Finn.
He called to make sure I was alright. And in the same breath, he asked if I wanted to come out for a couple of drinks to drown my sorrows. We were both in New York. And I figured, why not? So there I was, after I’d spent the entire day trying to find things to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t think about the fact I had failed yet again at trying to make a man happy enough that he wouldn’t turn into a complete dick, now scrambling around wondering what I should wear.
After all, I had no idea what exactly this was. At least at the time.
I wondered if I should just go out in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, a pair of Converse and maybe a leather jacket. Or maybe a nice little black dress,tight, hugging my curves, something that would make my body look irresistible. But then again, all this was going to be was drinks between two friends, right? Or could it have been something more? Was Billy right in being worried?
I remember standing in front of my mirror, making the decision that I was going to doll myself up. Not so much for Finn, but for myself, to feel more like me. I slid on the little black dress, the bottom part cut so high on my thighs I had to be careful if I sat down or bent over. The top had a plunging neckline that made the twins pop. I took a deep breath as I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. I looked great.
I did my hair, did my makeup, and stood in front of the mirror again to make sure everything looked perfect. And on the outside, at least in my eyes, it did. But I also knew, deep down, that I was far from it. I felt like a failure. Even though I was trying to maintain an aura of confidence with what I was wearing and my attitude, I also felt deep down that this was going to be nothing. Finn and I were only ever going to be friends. And that’s honestly what I thought when I left my apartment that day to go have drinks with him.
”I both love and hate this event.”
I folded my arms over my chest. Walking around the deck of the cruise ship was always an interesting experience whenever we had Summer XXXTreme. Every year, we’d get a free holiday on a cruise ship, but we had to share it with not only all the idiots we worked with but also all of the fans. It was designed to give fans of the company access to its stars and allow them to spend time with us, ask questions, create a sense of community. It was a way for the company, and the stars, to say thank you for all the support these people gave us. But at the same time…
I hated spending time with them.
Finn walked next to me, his arm now out of the sling, wearing only a supportive brace under his shirt and jacket. He still wasn’t in the clear and was nowhere near ready to come back, but it was an encouraging sign. And I have to admit, the fact he was now able to wrap his arms around me made me feel a lot better too. ”I barely like turning up to an arena and dealing with the people we work with. Being trapped on a cruise ship with them for over a week isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”
Finn chuckled. I knew what amused him when I went on these rants. He usually felt very similarly to me, but he wouldn’t vocalize it. He would internalize his annoyance at having to deal with people he hated and carry a silent rage behind his eyes. My discontentment was a lot more visceral. ”Try to look on the good side. We get to bring a whole bunch of our friends who aren’t even in the company. Because Amelia is here, Dickie is here. And because Aiden is here, Dax and Kallie are here…” I groaned and rolled my eyes.
”I could do without the Australian. The male Australian. Amelia is alright, I guess. And your brother… Well, the less said about him right now, the better.” We continued walking across the deck and inside the large shopping mall onboard. I could smell food being cooked by the various vendors and saw, out of the corner of my eye, perfume and jewelry shops. The wonders of being able to buy things duty-free on the open ocean.
”Honestly? It’s been good for Dickie to get away from it all. He needed to come out and just be himself, away from all the expectations being put on him.”
”And the expectations he’s putting on you to help him.”
My words came with a level of venom I don’t think Finn was ready for. We kept walking side by side, and after a few tense moments of silence, I felt it, his hand slid down and interlocked with mine, our fingers twisting together. I smiled slowly and shook my head. He turned and stood in front of me, leaning down to give me a small kiss. I took a deep breath, and when my eyes opened, I narrowed them because I knew exactly what he was doing. ”That’s a dirty trick, and you know it.”
He shrugged as we continued walking. I tried to calm myself down, but I was still angry. And of course, Finn picked up on it.
”He… you know he’s the only family I really have left. We don’t see my parents much. I’ve lost other people. If having his back is going to make sure he’s safe, then that’s what I have to do, Kayla.”
I took a deep breath. I felt my eye twitch. I knew he was right, but I also needed to let him know how I felt about the whole situation. ”I get that. I do. But you need to understand my point of view. You’re trying to make sure nothing happens to him. But I’m worried something’s going to happen to you. And look, I like Dickie....but I love you. I don’t want anything to happen to you, and I don’t want you dragged back into this fucking life.” We turned the corner, heading down one of the boulevards inside the ship toward a few more shops. I growled and continued. ”I just worry. And I also hate the fact that after you got out of it, your brother dove headfirst back in and then dragged you along. What kind of sibling who supposedly cares about you does that? If I got out of something and my sister went back into it and then tried to pull me in, I’d be pissed off.”
I didn’t even realize where we were going. We had taken a right turn into the EFFY shop onboard. I was surrounded by jewelry, but I wasn’t expecting what was about to happen.
”Pick a ring…”
”What do you mean, pick a ring? From where? From what part?”
Finn smiled and shook his head, hovering his hand over the large glass case containing engagement rings. He lightly placed his hand on the case and tilted his head.
”From these ones.”
My heart skipped a beat. Everything I wanted to say and had been ranting about vanished. My hands shook slightly as I looked down at the case, lit by bright white lights making the diamonds sparkle. I bit my bottom lip and tilted my head before settling on a ring in the dead center. I pointed at it and looked up at Finn, saying only two words.
”That one…”
My voice was barely a whisper. Finn gave a small nod and walked over to one of the attendants. He started talking to her before pulling out his Visa card, smiling and joking with them. I stood there in the middle of the shop, locked in shock. My heart beat so fast it felt like it was going to leap out of my chest. But I couldn’t help but smile. My cheeks flushed red as I saw the ring taken out of the case. The rest of it was a blur. But all I could think was, all those years ago, when he invited me out for a drink to lament a failed relationship… how wrong I was about what this was going to be.
Happy surprises and all that…
Expectation vs Reality
”I’m not mad, just disappointed…”
Kayla sighs, leaning back against the bar in her cabin aboard the cruise ship. Her long hair flows down her shoulders, her body covered in loose-fitting, holiday-style clothes as she looks relaxed.
”You know, I remember hearing that phrase from my parents when I was younger. Coming from my father, it was always taken with a grain of salt, considering he was an abusive piece of shit who didn’t know how to treat his wife or his children. But it was a lot more cutting coming from my mother. Disappointing her was something I never wanted to do. And if I heard that phrase, I knew I was in trouble. The thing is, in this context, I don’t expect you to give a shit, Frankie. Your arrogance has been shining through for the better part of two months since you stepped foot in this company, and we’ve all had to deal with your arrogant, self-righteous attitude.”
“Before I get into the hows and whys, I need you to understand something. See, I’ve been painted as a horrible person. Most people look at me and see someone who only cares about herself and is out for number one. And part of that is certainly true, I care about myself above all others. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about anyone. I care about my friends. I care about my family. I care about the people I’ve known for years who’ve always had my back. But I’m one of the only people in the world who will freely admit that, when it comes down to it, I hold myself above all others…”
“And that doesn’t make me a horrible person. It makes me a realist.”
“Everyone else is so quick to lie. They’re so quick to tell everybody that they’d do anything for their loved ones and their friends. That they put others above themselves. And while I’ll always have my friends’ and family’s backs, and I’ll always tell them how I feel, I’m not someone who needs to put that out there every five seconds. I’m out for myself. And in this business, that just leads to success. It’s something I see in you, Frankie. But while I freely admit it and see it as a strength, you seem to believe it’s a weakness. Like my arrogance is some kind of exploit to be attacked.”
“Oh, sweet summer child…”
She chuckles and shakes her head.
“Your inexperience is showing. And yes, I said inexperience. Something you seem to think doesn’t matter. I know what you’re doing. You sit there trying to tell me about my own strengths, then say they’re meaningless. You’re trying to play both sides of the same argument. It’s something so many others have done, and they’ve done it way better than you. You come off disingenuous. It’s really weird how you admit you’re not on my level, then talk down to me like you know what I’ve done and what it’s like to be me.”
“Like your heavy lifting comments. Bitch, what would you know about heavy lifting? You run me down like I haven’t been doing it for the last three years in this company. Heavy lifting is being a champion. Heavy lifting is knowing the entire division is coming after you and there’s nothing you can do about it except fight them off. Heavy lifting is being on top of the mountain and making sure no one can push you off. You’ve never been to the top of the mountain, you don’t know what it’s like. And for you to act like you do? It’s pathetic.”
“That tag match we had was a test. Our opponents were never going to beat us. The end result was about how you were going to frame it.”
“You keep acting like you were doing everything in that match despite the fact that if you go back and watch it, we were both clearly doing everything. It was 50/50. And that’s me being nice to you. But here’s the problem with you. You’re trying to shit on my entire career by saying that if you beat me, it means nothing. My career is bigger than this company. My career is bigger than what I’ve done here. And you think if I lose to you, it’ll invalidate everything? How big of a star do you believe yourself to be?”
She throws her arms in the air and keeps pacing back and forth.
“Or is it because you’re not a star? Is that what it is? You believe that because you’re not the biggest star in the world, and you’ve gotten to this point with your streak and your tournament win, that beating me will somehow make you? That it’ll destroy my legacy? That’s not just disrespectful to me and this title—it’s disrespectful to professional wrestling itself. That’s rookie logic, and it shows where your head’s at. Amber Ryan should’ve taught you better. But then again, considering she’s an egomaniacal moron who left this company when she thought she had nothing else to accomplish… the apple doesn’t fall far from the conceited prick tree.”
“Just like how you think the World Bombshells Championship defines me in this company. You really think I’m only relevant because this championship is around my waist? The title has never made the person. The person makes the title. Look at everyone who’s held it—and tell me the names that stand out.”
“Crystal Hilton. Mercedes Vargas. Seleana Zdunich…”
“Those names mean nothing. And they all held this championship. The title is never what defines you. And that’s something you need to learn, because you’re obsessed with it. You’re obsessed with this title because deep down, you know winning it is the only way you’ll ever matter in this business. But what defines Frankie? You brag about your win streak, five and oh. You think that means something? Look at my record. 44 wins out of 51 matches. Kid, that’s a record to be proud of. Not 5–0.”
“Your undefeated streak is impressive—but it’s not what defines your future. Being undefeated is a pipe dream. No one is unbeatable. I’ve proven that. Even your mentor Amber Ryan should know that. I see your little interactions with her on X. She might’ve been a great champion, and you might want to follow in her footsteps—but the path to relevance isn’t paved with kissing someone’s ass and hoping for the best.”
Kayla shakes her head and looks over at the SCW World Bombshells Championship sitting to her left.
“Oh wait, there I go being a narcissist and a sociopath. It’s funny, you Googled some personality traits and thought you could psychoanalyze me like that was going to work. I’m not some diagnosis you can throw out there. I’m the champion you’re going to fail to beat. But you? It’s funny people try to pigeonhole me as this narcissistic bitch who only cares about herself, while you sit there and tell people they’ll thank you later, like you’ve got a savior complex. Like you’re some wrestling messiah being held above everyone else. The second coming of your fucking mentor.”
“The saddest part, Frankie, is that you are talented. You could be a great champion in the future. You could be the future of this division. But not now. You’re not ready. And everything you said last week proves that. You think your little win streak means you’ve earned this. That you beating me erases everything I’ve done. That this championship will make you matter. But it’s the other way around.”
“So let me ask you something—what happens if you win?”
“Being a real champion means facing adversity. I have. I’ve been beaten and come back stronger than ever. But you’ve never had to feel that. You think it’s a positive that you’ve never lost in this company? That you get to wave your undefeated record around like it means something? You know what really means something, Frankie? Coming back. Getting beaten. Losing everything. Picking yourself up and fighting to get it all back. That’s what matters.”
“You’ve never felt that before. So I’m going to give you that gift, Frankie. I’m going to give you the gift of defeat. So you’ll know what it’s like. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll come back better. Ready to actually be a champion.”
“I’m giving that to you out of the goodness of my heart.”
“Thank me later, bitch…”