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« on: October 16, 2023, 11:37:43 AM »
(Keira was used with her handler’s permission)
It was the week of the biggest event of the SCW Callender: High Stakes XII and Ariana’s quest to win her second SCW Title (and singles title) continued as she challenged Luna Vanity for her recently won Bombshell Internet Championship! Luna and Ariana were the final two competitors in the Bombshell Battle Royal for the vacated Bombshell Internet Championship and due to the rules of the match Ariana would serve as Luna’s first challenger at High Stakes! But Luna had bad luck with titles previously after she lost the Bombshell Roulette Title in her first defence to Jessie Salco during the Unsolved Mysteries tour, will history repeat itself for Luna? Will Ariana end her title drought?
Ariana’s home, Las Vegas, Nevada
Sunday the 15th of October 2023, 14:00pm
So, how has your week been?
Normally the final two weeks before a Supercard means one thing, training, and lots of it, and even if I wasn’t competing for the Bombshell Internet Championship against Luna at this year’s High Stakes? It would go double for High Stakes.
Why? Do I really need to explain why? It’s the biggest SCW show of the year, this will be my second High Stakes and my second time competing for a title! Now granted, last year I was entering my first High Stakes as the Bombshell Roulette Champion set to defend against Seleana Zdunich in what ended up being the only successful title defence on PPV during that reign and this year the shoes on the other foot as, like I said, I’m challenging for the title but it still rings true.
And hell, after chasing after the Bombshell Internet Championship for the better part of the year, winning the title on the biggest show of the year was going to be the perfect way to end it, so, why am I not training?
The incident at the Go Gym that happened last week.
Everything about it really, my argument with Kelly, the chat with Gabriel, I was keeping my distance from the Go Gym until I had everything figured out with my mental health, it didn’t matter how long it took me, until the day of High Stakes or until the end of the year, I didn’t want to go back there until I felt I was ready.
Besides, Keira and Roxi had been gracious enough to let met use Hero Academy in spite of my argument with Keira after Taylor Parker attacked me, their facilities would have to do for now.
”At least you guys don’t judge me.” I sighed as the Golden Labrador Zeus and the Boarder Collie puppy Oreo lay down beside the couch I was lying on whilst I was playing on my Nintendo Switch, I was soon joined by Athena as the cat leapt onto my stomach before laying down just beneath my breasts. ”And thanks for making me glad that I’m not wearing a crop top Athena.” I sighed as I set my switch to the side and started scratching Athena behind her ear, the cat purred in response and I grinned enjoying the moment of bliss.
The moment ended sooner than I would’ve liked because the front door started to unlock and the dogs raced off to greet whoever was at the door, I had an inkling that it was Franky for one reason: he had gone off to the shops to grab some stuff that we had forgotten during the weekly shop on Friday. ”Ari, I’m home.” Francisco called out confirming my suspicions and Athena was gracious enough to jump off me and move to another chair where she lay down on the arm rest, allowing me to stand up and greet my husband. ”Did you check Twitter today?”
”I checked it once and the only thing I saw was that pissgate nonsense.” I responded as I shook my head and Francisco nodded, trust me, you don’t want to know what I’m talking about. ”Why? Did another gross thing happen when I wasn’t looking?”
”Fortunately no.” Francisco responded before he moved into the kitchen with the shopping bags in hand and I made sure to close the door before either of the dogs got out. ”Unfortunately Carter’s father has taken a turn for the worse, he lost his battle with renal failure.”
”Oh no, that’s awful!” I gasped in response and Francisco nodded solemnly. ”Where’s Carter now?”
”His last update was when he announced his dad’s death, he also said that he was flying out to Seattle.” Francisco explained and I quickly got my phone out without a second thought. ”Are you booking a flight to Seattle for us.”
”No, it’s too last minute and I didn’t really know the man aside from his strained relationship with Carter, besides, I need to train for the match with Luna.” I responded as I shook my head and Francisco nodded in understanding as I started typing a text message. ”What I am doing is sending him my condolences via text, if Carter will allow me to go to the funeral with him then I’ll go but given our recent falling out?”
”I’d suggest calling him but he might still be on the plane for all we know.” Francisco nodded in understanding and I agreed before adding “call me ASAP” to the text and hitting send. ”It’s bittersweet isn’t it? That this might be the key to salvaging your friendship with Carter.”
”I guess it is, especially given the timing, what with me going after the Bombshell Internet Title and Carter being one of the six wrestlers competing for the World Title.” I nodded in agreement as my text went through and I pocketed my phone again. ”I never wanted my friendship with him to become this strained but I was under so much emotional stress after that confrontation with Courtney that I was just lashing out at anyone and everyone.”
”And it hurt me to see you like that, because I knew that wasn’t the woman I married.” Francisco sighed and I gave him a sad look as it set in. ”Maybe you should try mending that bridge with Keira? She’s only been trying to help you.”
”You’re right, but I need to think about how I’m going about this.” I grumbled as I flipped some hair over my shoulder. ”You were there when she told me about the Battle Royal that main evented the last Climax Control, you saw how fiery I got! Granted, us Greeks can be a passionate lot but still.”
”She’ll understand, in the meantime, do you want to help me unpack?” Francisco offered and I nodded before doing just that.
Hero Academy, Las Vegas, Nevada
Monday the 16th of April 2023, 11:00am
There was an undeniable buzz in the air as I entered Hero Academy this morning.
It didn’t take me long to figure out why either, between Team Hero’s final match against Whisper and Kat Jones at High Stakes and Harper winning her second ever championship at FCW’s event in New Orleans on Saturday there was plenty of reason to be excited, but I was here to speak with Keira first and foremost and with Harper being out of town for her match on EWC’s Prime brand? That did make things significantly easier for me.
Especially when it didn’t take me long to find Keira or convince her to have a chat with me in her office, it was hard to miss a legend like Keira in a sea of trainees and perspective wrestlers after all.
”Look. I know we had that blow up the other week after the Battle Royal was announced but Gabriel threatened to ban me from the Go Gym if I didn’t seek help.” I explained bluntly after closing the door to Keira’s office and the blonde Hall of Famer nodded as she got the idea. ”And no offence but you are a hell of a lot cheaper than any psychologist.”
“I’m just gonna put this disclaimer up front, I’m not a mental health professional by any means nor do I claim to be one.” Keira stated matter of factly and I nodded before I sat down opposite her. “I’ll here you out Ari but if what you have to tell me concerns me enough? I’ll recommend you to a psychologist I know, maybe even get Jenny to front the bill.”
”Giving her an excuse to give out money like it was candy in the process.” I muttered to myself and Keira chuckled before nodding. ”Where do I even start? I don’t think I need to remind you of how my last Supercard ended.”
“No, you don’t.” Keira responded as she shook her head and I said nothing as she continued. “And the same goes for everything that lead up to it, after you snapped me and Roxi went over the past few months of your SCW Career starting from your first World Bombshell Title Match onwards, if you ask me? The problems really started there.”
”You mean when Roxi told me that I wasn’t ready and I felt my childhood dream shattering around me?” I asked with a frown on my face and Keira nodded in response. ”Don’t think I really need to go over that either, you saw how badly I took Roxi’s words for yourself and those words plagued me in the months that followed, Gabriel thinks that the fact that I let Roxi’s words get to me like that is what led to my declining performances since that match, me? I’m not sure, because it definitely felt like the bosses kept putting me in no win scenarios for a while.”
“Is that how you really feel about your matches in SCW?” Keira asked pointedly and I gave her a confused look. “Because they have tried to put you in situations where you can thrive, that’s how I see it at least.”
”How many times have I been booked against Kayla? Every time I’ve faced that bitch she’s beaten me! It’s gotten to the point where I’m her personal punching bag!” I exclaimed in frustration as I ran a hand through my hair. ”Or hell, just look at the past few months in general, I asked for that match against you, I could’ve qualified for the Mixed Tag Team Championship Match instead but no, I instead chose to wrestle my idol and when I did finally get another shot at entering that match, me and Carter got cheated! That combined with my losses to Aleesha and Georgie set my momentum back big time and just when I had recovered some of it with me and Carter’s win over the Barnharts? Boom, another god damn match against Kayla because god forbid something actually goes right in my career!”
“Are you really that focussed on winning that you can’t even focus on the great matches you’ve had? You’re one of the best young wrestlers on the SCW Roster Ari!” Keira pointed out and I just glanced to the side without a word. “Your not the first one to be cheated out of a match, your not the first one to be cheated out of a title match, it’s how you bounce back from those setbacks that matters Ari.”
”I’ve been trying to bounce back! I’ve been trying to take control of my destiny for once! And what did it get me? Bosses that think they know better than me and are perfectly willing to overlook me getting cheated out of my moment! A roster that thinks that I’m entitled just because I’m the only one who speaks out about it! For fucks sake, The Troll got on my case and it took that moron two fucking years to win one match!” I exclaimed as I leaned back in my chair with my arms crossed. ”And I bet they would’ve been all too happy to leave me off the High Stakes card if it weren’t for the rules of the Battle Royal dictating that the runner up would serve as the new champion’s first defence! I put up with so much shit from my parents because of love of this sport, I didn’t nearly break my leg sneaking out of my bedroom window to go train at the Go Gym to put up with all that bullshit!”
“Ariana, I understand your frustration but you are going about it all………” Keira trailed off as she heard the last part and I raised an eyebrow at her. “Wait, what?!”
”You’ve heard the stories about how I got disowned by my parents for wanting to go into wrestling, right?” I asked Keira and she nodded in response. ”When I refused to give up on that dream, they turned abusive, emotionally, physically, it got to the point where the Go Gym was my only respite.” I sighed as I brushed some hair over my shoulder. ”In hindsight? I know that I couldn’t keep it up forever, but my parents did eventually find out and followed me to he Go Gym, don’t ask me how they got past Despy, I never really got around to asking him, when they got physical with me? Gabriel got pissed off and they gave me the ultimatum, my wrestling dream, or my family.”
For the first time since I’ve met her, Keira was speechless, I knew Keira was a mother herself so I could only imagine what was going through her head. “The fact that we’re having this conversation in the first place tells me everything I need to know about how you reacted, but where you homeless after that?” Keira asked and I quickly shook my head.
”Gabriel wasn’t about to let one of his students go homeless, so he made an arrangement with Carter as he was in the same Go Gym class as me.” I explained as I leaned back in my chair. ”I stayed with him for a few months until I found a place of my own, but it was during those few months that me and Carter became best friends, the same best friend who I snapped at when I went off the rails.”
“That’s good at least, Gabriel’s a good man and your lucky to have such a good friend in Carter.” Keira nodded in response as she started looking for something. “Have you talked too anyone else about this?”
”Mostly the other students at the Go Gym and by extension, the graduates.” I sighed as I brushed some hair over my shoulder. ”Growing up I thought all that was normal, that all parents treated their kids like that, it wasn’t until I started talking to the other students at the Go Gym ad they reacted either with shock, horror or anger, at my parents that is, that I realized that I was being abused.” I added as I glanced at the floor. ”That same year Gabriel invited me to Christmas dinner with his family, too see what a normal Christmas was like for lack of better word, and since my graduation I’ve been spending it with Carter and his family, even after I met Francisco.”
“Francisco’s a good man, he’s lucky to have you.” Keira assured me and I grinned in response. “And for what it’s worth? Your parents don’t deserve a daughter like you, despite all the crap you went through you’ve grown into a beautiful and intelligent young woman, though I do wonder if that’s the cause of your mental health issues.”
”It goes deeper than that, there’s a history of mental illness among the women in my family, it was never bad enough for any of them to be institutionalized but I worry that if/when I have a child with Franky and it’s a girl? Well, I don’t think I need to say anything else really.” I sighed as I brushed some hair over my shoulder. ”But there’s a problem with me, it’s the fact that I’m the first woman in the family to be in the national spotlight through my work with SCW.”
“And it’s putting your family’s struggles in the spotlight by extension?” Keira asked and I nodded without hesitation, it was at that point that Keira handed me a business card. “I’m sorry Ai, not just for what your parents put you through but for letting it go this long without having a chat like this, I’m not a mental health expert but this woman is, she’s good, she can help you.”
I took the card and looked at it, after looking it over I pocketed the business card. ”I guess that’s everything.” I commented before I stood up and made my way to the door. ”I have a title match to train for if you don’t mind.”
“Just one last thing Ari.” Keira said as she walked up to me and I turned to my childhood icon and before I knew what was happening, Keira held her hand out for a handshake. “Friends?”
I looked at Keira’s hand for a few seconds before nodding. ”Friends.” I responded before accepting the handshake at which point Keira pulled me into a tight hug. ”Thanks again for hearing me out Keira.”
“No problem, and for what it’s worth Ari?” Keira asked as I turned to her. “I believe you’ll be a fantastic mother one day I should know., I am one myself.”
I had nothing to say to that, I just headed out to the training room so I could get some reps in against some of the students, both new and old, starting with a student from Australia called Jazz (short for Jasmine) who had just started.
Who knows? Maybe this would be enough to break my title drought.
Ariana’s home, Las Vegas, Nevada
Monday the 16th of October 2023, 21:00pm
*promo time*
It’s all come down to this.
”Luna, Luna, Luna, you think you’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?” I asked as I stepped into view having commandeered the garage for my promo. ”You think that idle threats about breaking my bones and doing everything you can to retain the Bombshell Internet Championship scares me? I’ve experienced the fear of growing up with abusive parents who had very specific ideas for what they wanted their only daughter to grow up to be, they didn’t give a damn what I wanted, it took me following my dream to see them for the monsters they are Lua, and I’ll do everything in my power to prove that wrestling is my future!”
This will be good.
”For too long have other roster members taken advantage of my nice nature, “oh it’s just Ari, she’s the girl scout of the Bombshell Division, sure she’s talented but she doesn’t have the killer instinct” and yet the moment where I finally grow a backbone and start standing up for myself after years of being treated as a doormat they trat me like I’m lower than dirt, like an entitled brat jumping the line because she lost a World Bombshell Title Match, this division is full of fickle fools!”
To say the least.
”How quickly they forget that the only reason why I’m not the World Bombshell Champion right now is because Courtney relied on her injured wife to win the match for her! Some champion, right? But because I refused to go to the back of the line after getting screwed. They are all too fucking happy to overlook it, is it any wonder why I snapped Luna?” I asked pointedly as I folded my arms. ”Take a piece of advice from me Luna, when I beat you for the Bombshell Internet Championship on Sunday, don’t go straight to the bosses and demand a rematch, otherwise? They’ll trat you the same way they treated me! Like an entitled brat.”
Disgusting.
”And I bet they wonder why young Bombshells like you and me can’t even crack the top of the card, what with their blatant favouritism towards the World Bombshell Champion! Luna, we are allies with a common goal, to break that glass ceiling and show the world what we can do, but this Sunday? The only thing that’ll matter is that Gold Belt that you’ve been carrying around with you for the past two weeks.” I said as I made a belt motion around my waist. ”I don’t need to go into how this match came about, at this point, even my pets, two dogs and two cats, know the circumstances that led to this title match, but there is one thing I need to get into, my own personal history with High Stakes.”
History lesson time.
”Let’s go back a year, a few months before you signed your SCW Contract, I was defending the Bombshell Roulette Championship against Seleana literally one day before my twenty second birthday, I off course retained the title in what ended up being the only successful title defence on PPV of that reign but more to the point Luna? It’s proof that I’ve got a good track record when it comes to title matches at High Stakes.” I added as I brushed some hair over my shoulder. ”I will grant that I thought the same thing about Violent Conduct heading into my title match against Courtney, but I’ve ranted enough about that injustice at this point, but it does leave a big question hanging over my head doesn’t it Luna?”
And that question is?
”Can history repeat itself almost a year later? Can I succeed in a title match for the second High Stakes in a row?” I asked as I leaned against a wall. ”As far as I see it? The only difference between this match and my match against Seleana from last year’s High Stakes is the fact that I’m serving as the challenger rather than the defending champion, it’s still a title match at the biggest show of the SCW Callender that I’ve found myself in, sure it’ll be higher up on the card as opposed to my last title match which opened last year’s event and the title itself is higher up on the totem pole than the Bombshell Roulette Title but those differences don’t matter much to me.”
Why?
”Because history’s about to repeat itself in two more ways, your reign will end after one defence again Luna and my next title reign will come at one of the last Supercards of the year. Albeit THE last one unless the bosses are planning to bring back December to Dismember.” I commented as I flipped some of my long back hair over my shoulder. ”As for how I plan to celebrate my championship win Luna? I might pop down to Jessie’s bar actually, heard they serve good food there, but let’s not get to far ahead of ourselves, not when we’re not even at the halfway point of the week.”
What does the future hold?
”Don’t get me wrong Luna, you are an excellent wrestler and if it was anyone but me serving as your first challenger? I’d be happy for you, but you had to eliminate me last, you had to win the title that way, you had to ensure that the Bombshell Internet Tile Match at High Stakes XII would be contested between two young women who have had crappy luck all year.” I added as I folded my arms. ”Personally? That’s fine by me, it’s much better than me being stuck with a filler match or worse, being left off the biggest show of the year entirely, a fate being suffered by two of the women from that Battle Royal, but this is where the ride stops for you Luna.”
But for me?
”To be frank? That Bombshell Internet Title has had my name on it since I lost the Bombshell Roulette Championship at Inception VI, I just had a few hurdles to overcome along the way to get where I am.” I added as I brushed some hair over my shoulder. ”But High Stakes XII will be the end of that road for me, the end of a long, painful road filled with obstacles, roadblocks, and false hope because Luna? When we wrestle on Sunday that title will be leaving the arena with me one way or another!”
My condolences.
”I know you’ve worked hard to get here Luna, I emphasize, I really do, but so have I and I’ve been an SCW Bombshell for a year longer than you have.” I stated as grinned broadly. ”At the end of the day Luna? You’ll become what you feared, a two time transitional champion, and at Fallen Angel Part IV: History WILL Repeat I will ensure that I will end the worst year of my wrestling career as the Bombshell Internet Champion.”
It’s that simple.
”Ever since we found a common connection through our respective frustrations with the other Bombshells and/or bosses, you’ve called me your darling angel Luna, I’ll admit, it’s a nickname that’s taken some getting used too, not even my husband calls me that and, well, we’re married!” I commented with a slight chuckle as I shook my head. ”But our friendship won’t amount to much once that bell rings Luna, I’ve wrestled people I’ve respected before, friends, co-workers, even my idols, and they all got the same treatment from me, outside the ring I’ll be the best friend you could ever ask for, inside the ring?”
And with that I decided to wrap things up.
”It’s all business I’m afraid, even when a title isn’t at stake I strive to be the best wrestler I can be and to put on the best matches I can, no matter who my opponent is.” I added as I made a belt motion around my waist. ”But at the end of the day, this match is all about the gold and you and I Luna are destined to put on one of the best matches of the night, who knows? Maybe it’ll show up as a candidate for Match of the Year in a year’s time when High Stakes XIII rolls around? But there’s one thing I do know, as you writhe in agony from the Dark Angel’s light? I’ll be carrying my newly won title well into the new year! See you on Sunday Luna!”
I exited the garage as the scene fades.
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