[Christian Underwood]

Please post all roleplays here! Have fun and good luck!

[Dreamkiller]

Chapter 53: Relationships


There has been so much talk about the relationship that I currently have. You people see it week and week out with how Finn and I look at each other. The fact that while people know that he and I are in a relationship we are not like the other couples that you will see constantly floating around the wrestling Zeitgeist. We aren’t like Carter and Miles, constantly flaunting their private moments all over the place. Nor are we like Alexandra and LJ who seem to think that they need to put every little interaction all over social media just because if they didn’t, no one would know that they were together.

Finn and I are so subtle in what we do that many people don’t know that we are a couple unless they know us personally. Occasionally I will put something on social media, a little quip or a comment to make people laugh. I will gosh over the fact that my boyfriend is a very good-looking man as well as being someone who, to be quite frank, is amazing at sexually pleasing me. These aren’t things that I put out into the ether willingly. In fact, it is taking so much of my energy on a daily basis to push people away from our relationship relationship so they don’t get the wrong idea.

But why? Why do Finn and I keep everything so insular? Well, we both have our reasons and I can only speak on mine. His are his own and that is something that most people don’t realise. They don’t seem to be able to separate myself and Finn from each other constantly lumping us together. And yes we have been a tag team, yes we are in a relationship, but he and I are two separate people with two separate opinions on many different things.

But what were my previous relationships like? With the life that I’ve been living and the problems we’ve been having, we all know that The Romani are constantly watching us, and you all know that Jace and I were in a relationship. But what was that relationship like?

Well, for that, we need to go back to the beginning.

I sat in the back of the cab, looking over my sister Amber. It was about six years ago, maybe seven. The truth is time seems to blend together. She had been dating Jason‘s older brother Renée for a few months. I had met René a few times and he seemed to be someone who you didn’t want to mess with but cared enough for my sister that it was never really an issue. As the cab rumbled along the road, I couldn’t help but shake my head and look over my sister angry that she wanted to drag me along to some weird meeting with Renée and his family. ”I don’t get why I’m coming with you…”

Amber slowly smiled and shook her head ”Well, maybe it’s time Brenna’s family met my family. In fact will be meeting his brother Jase. I think you’re like him.” Her voice changed so she said the last few words my heart raced as I slowly turned to my sister with my eyebrows raised

”Hold on…” I shook my head trying to resent my thoughts as the reality slowly hit me that this was something different. This wasn’t just a meeting. Amber had something in mind. ”Are you trying to set me up with your boyfriend's brother? Amber, I’m not interested.”

She smiled and shrugged slightly ”He’s 6’8, long dark blonde hair, handsome, muscular….”

My eyes fluttered and I cleared my throat ”Ok…m-maybe I’m a little interested.”

At this point in my life, I can blame my use. My immature age in looking at someone’s physical attributes instead of seeing all the warning signs. At that point, I wasn’t sure what to make of the Romani, all of the gypsies who I had met previously. Amber seemed happy and Renée treated her like gold so at the time I didn’t see the warning signs. I didn’t see if there was anything wrong with what they were doing or their lifestyle so I was more open-minded to joining them.

The cab rumbled down the road and stopped right in front of a large gate, a compound filled with small shacks and houses as well as a few larger buildings that The more powerful members of the family were able to live in. Amber and I got out, moving to the gate she put the security code into the keypad before hearing a click and opening the door. We both walked in and, I raised an eyebrow seeing a bunch of aging men sitting with cigarettes in their hands glaring at us. Amber gave a small to them before moving through the gateway and out into the larger courtyard.

It was different for me. Amber seemed to be so comfortable around all these people, these older men who laid at us with a mixture of curiosity, anger, and lust. My heart sank, I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach but Amber seemed fine. She was confident moving us through to the back of the compound to the largest building in the entire area. I swallowed hard. I was nervous. We walked through the front door and Amber giggled running and leaping into Renée‘s arms wrapping her legs around his hips and kissing him passionately. I rolled my eyes unsure of how to feel about her sudden public display of affection with this large Long long-haired and bearded man who I had spent limited time with.

Then I saw him, just as Amber said. 6’8, with long hair that was tied back in a bun, his large and muscular frame was hidden somewhat under a tight-fitting black shirt and jeans, his face was handsome with piercing blue eyes, a strong jawline, and cheekbones that could cut glass. I felt nervous, something that wasn’t normal for me now but back then when I was younger and less hardened to the world it was easier to see and believe.

He walked toward me and it wasn’t love at first sight, it was lust. Pure young lust. His eyes moved up and down my body, I knew what he wanted, I knew what I wanted. I was just too young and blind to see the dark path this was going to lead me down. ”Aye, you must be Ambers sister…Kayla was it?” I smiled and nodded slowly, I felt my cheeks flush a bright shade of red. I look back on those days now with embarrassment and trepidation at how stupidly immature I was. But I wanted him and was open to being with him.

”You know my sister set us up right?”

The night had gone on and I had spent time with him, getting to know him, not seeing the warning signs and red flags ”I’m aware…but to be honest it was my idea”

I raised an eyebrow, I was surprised that he was responsible. I was naive in the ways of the world and I let his attention make me feel special. I was stupid and young in my youth and all of this led me to who I was today. But this was the beginning and as I said you all need to understand it.

You see, everything I am today. The woman that I’ve become, it is all a byproduct of my history. You look at the relationship that I forged with Finn and you look at where we’ve gone in our lives and it all comes from whatever happened to us in our past. Everything that happened with him and his ex-wife, everything that happened with Me and Jace as well as my other relationships. It all pushed me to be who I am today and who he is today. And it’s why we are the way we are when we look at this current problem that we have.

All of this, the problems with the Romani, the fact it ties into Finn and his past with the Yakuza, we are being punished for the sins of our past. And for the first time, I have come to admit to myself as well as the rest of the world that we aren’t innocent in this. We are responsible for everything that our friends and family are going through. The decisions that we have both collectively made before even meeting each other are leading everyone down a path of discovery that they didn’t think they could deal with. a path of pain, anger, frustration, and danger.

And the irony is not lost on me. The irony is that all I’ve ever wanted was happiness. And now I have that happiness within reach, happiness with a man who never thought he deserved it, and all of it can be torn down because of mistakes that we both made in our younger years. But that is how life is. You never know where you are going until you look at where you’ve been. And that’s all. Finn and I being in a relationship and being deeply in love cannot fully embrace the love that we have all because of the Love that we used to have with people who never deserved it. And that is perhaps the saddest tragedy of all.

A new challenge

”Do you all smell that? It’s the smell of a real challenger approaching. The smell of rivalry and competition.”

Kayla Richards, our reigning and defending SCW world bombshells champion. Her long black hair was tied back in a high ponytail, showing off her burning green emerald eyes as she stared head and for the first time in a long time, she seemed excited. Excited about the future and excited about a match. The championship title, one that was fought over by the entire female roster was slung over her right shoulder, her right arm curling around the bottom half of the strap holding onto it for dear life. Her body language betrayed the fact that she was clearly afraid of losing it.

”You know, there was a small part of me over the last couple of weeks that started to believe some of the rhetoric that others were saying about me. Being at the top of the division is hard work. You have some people who respect you and others who are coming for you and gunning for everything that you have, ready to try and take it away from you at a moment's notice and they will do everything in their power to do it. Trying to get in your head with ridiculous statements. Now, I consider myself to be a mentally strong human being. I’ve been through a lot in my life and each time life throws one of those curveballs at me. I tend to hit it out of the park and keep going.”

“It is something that I’m rather proud of. Having that mental fortitude to look everyone in the eye and say that I know that I’m right and they are wrong. But in the last few weeks, I’ve heard those voices slowly echoing in my mind sewing seeds of doubt. Because everyone tries to tear you down when you are at the top of the hill. When you’re standing up there and looking down at everyone else trying to scratch and claw their way toward you, they will say things that will get into your head. Now, I am not innocent in this because I did it myself as I was climbing my way to this championship”

“However, when I talk, when I look someone in the eye and say something to them everything I have ever said has been based on fact. I don’t go wildly making things up to try and tear people down because in the end that can backfire on you.”

“So, as I said, the last few weeks have been hard because I did slowly start to doubt myself. I’ve heard the comments by all the different women coming after me and so many of them have been based on real facts. I did lose the mixed tag team championships. I did suffer my first loss in a year, these are facts and these are true things that happened to me and I can sit there and deny them but the truth is that it’s just going to make me look like an idiot. Denying your losses and denying your failures is a fast path to being looked at as a joke. If you accept them, then it takes away the power that others hold over you.”

Kayla pauses closing her eyes as she grips the championship title. When her eyes open, the passion and power is still there shining away.

”So, yes, my reign as half of the mixed tag team champions did come to an end. But that doesn’t stop anything. That doesn’t make what I accomplished mean anything less. I still defended two championships at the same time and held them currently which is something that no one else in this company can say they have done except for Finn, sure, Victoria Lyons can walk around saying she did it too and is currently doing it, but we did it on a level that she could never imagine. And I think I proved that by walking into a match with the woman who would be my equal and I put her in her place. Victoria Lyons believed herself to be a queen and I did whatever everyone wanted to do and I took her head off and left her laying in in the middle of the ring broken and beaten.”

“I did that. Me! And everyone who sat there saying that I was starting to go on a downward spiral had to eat their words. Finn and I lost those mixed tag-team championships but at the end of the day, it doesn’t stop us from being the best of the best. We can no longer call ourselves the best team in this company but we can still call ourselves world champions and that is exactly what I am a fucking world champion.”

“Something that Victoria lions will not soon forget.”

“It’s something that no one should forget, for the better part of three years since I came to this company I have done nothing but prove that. I’ve proved that by facing women who are in the Hall of Fame or who are going to be in the Hall of Fame. I have done that by avenging most of the losses that I have on my record which by the way are very few. When someone beats me as I have told each and every one of you, I come back with a vengeance and I come back better to right those wrongs and make sure everyone knows that I was the better woman.”

“Who else can make such a claim?”

Kayla lost to herself taking the championship from her shoulder and looking at it smiling as she admires the engraving as well as her name on the nameplate that sits at the bottom of the front-facing plate of the Bombshells championship.

” The truth is that I’ve always been someone who wants to get revenge and be better than I was previously. When I first won this championship, I criticized the woman that I took it from. I did. I’m not going to deny it. You see my next defense is against Andrea Hernandez, yet, the woman I took this from is someone who Andrea knows quite well Julianna DiMaria. And when I beat her I had done so by showing her a certain level of respect while also talking about how she only defended the championship against people who she knew she could beat. I honestly felt like she had been ducking Me.”

“And I called her out. I called her out because I wanted to be noticed. I was sick of sitting in the shadows and thinking that I was the best this company had to offer but I wasn’t getting the opportunity to prove it. And when I was given that opportunity I knocked it out of the park and I became the bombshells champion and I’ve held this championship for over 200 days. And in that time the championship defenses I’ve had also defending those mixed tag team championships have also been a little bit on the mixed side”

“See, I defended this championship against Ariana Angelos and Seleana Zdunich. And while those wins padded out my résumé the truth is I wish they weren’t on there because those two should never have had a sniff at a championship like this…”

“Admittedly, I also defended the championship in a rematch against Julianna as well as beating the blast from the past winner Luna Palsino and Tempest. Those three women right there consist of a former champion, a woman who won one of the hardest tournaments to win as well as one of the most physically imposing bombshells on the roster. So anyone who wants to talk shit about my championship rain can suck it because I clearly have beaten some of the best this company has to offer and now I’m faced with perhaps my biggest challenger Andrea Hernandez.”

She breathes in her nostrils flaring as she closes her eyes trying to calm herself down and lightly letting go of the air in her lungs, it calms her down, slowing down her heartbeat as she throws the championship back over her shoulder. She wears a Finn Whelan “Seattle Saint” t-shirt as a way to show her support for her boyfriend and the love of her life.

Q”When I say that my biggest challenger is Andrea Hernandez I say this with a certain amount of trepidation. See, Andrew went away from this company for a while and has come back and exploded on the scene and she seems to have picked up right where she left off. There seems to be a strange narrative where people seem to think I don’t show the proper respect to women who are good enough in this company. It’s something that a lot of people like Alexandra Calawhatwcerhernameis and Ariana Angelos seem to push out there.”

“All because I verbally berate them on a regular basis. But nothing could be further from the truth. When I look at women who can add something to this business and to this division I walk on them with open arms and I am more than ready to give them the respect that they’ve earned. Shit, I look at Alexandra Hernandez and I tell you all that she’s the biggest challenger that I’ve had and I fully mean it. She’s a woman whose career paralleled mine.”

“A huge chip on her shoulder, arrogance that many people believe she didn’t earn as well as starting off in the Internet division before becoming the world champion. It sounds very familiar doesn’t it Andrea? And I could sit here and deny that you and I have had a very similar path toward glory but the truth is that I would just be made to look like an idiot if I denied it. You are a real competitor and a real challenger for this championship. And I would be remiss if I looked into the camera and told the world that I was going to beat you easily because the truth is that I don’t know if I can come out of this match still the champion”

“Shocking, I know.”

“But, matches like this where I go up against someone who is as good as they believe themselves to be who are a real threat to my championship get me excited. I didn’t get excited facing some of the names that have fallen into me, because I knew I was going to beat them. Women like Adriana Angelo who I had beaten so many times before did not excite me when I got into the ring with her again to defend this championship. But you? Knowing that I’m going to be defending this title against you one of the biggest shows of the year gets my blood pumping and makes me want to be here. It makes me want to put on my best performance and it makes me want to beat you in Waze that many people just can’t understand. Because not everyone is like you and Me Andrea, not everyone lives in breathes for this shit.”

Kayla laughs to herself and takes a deep breath before shuffling sideways and tilting her head.

”I’m glad that you won that triple threat match. If I had been forced to face Alexandra I probably would’ve come out here and just stared at the camera, unwilling to say anything not showing any passion just being bored generally because someone like her shouldn’t be facing me for the bombshell championship because she doesn’t deserve it. If Alicia had one I would’ve just rolled my eyes and shrugged because she has a fading violet who should’ve stayed where she was.”

“But you? You are someone who left this company at the height of her powers. Someone who could’ve regained the world bombshells championship and stayed at the top of the mountain but instead you chose to take some time away and rediscover yourself. And now that you’ve come back, I think we can all agree that you are a welcome shot in the arm for this division. In fact, when I look at the history of the Internet championship, there really are only two names that matter for that title and that is you and Me. Andrea Hernandez and Kayla Richards. The two best Internet champions of all time.”

“But when we look at the history of the world bombshell championship your world title rain didn’t go as you wanted it to did it?”

“You reached the top of the mountain and you were able to defend the title against a few big names but in the end, you lost it to Evie Jordan. You lost it to someone who should’ve never have held it. So now here you are on your redemption tour trying to regain that glory. Also, you can prove to everyone that you always belonged here. I think you did but you need to prove it to yourself. So, our careers have a certain amount of parallel meaning to it. I have been the one to go on to world championship glory and show the world that I always deserve to belong here while you are still scraping and chlorine trying to make sure that you get that relevance you clearly want.”

She pauses taking a deep breath and shaking her head. Her facial expression changes, she knows that Andrea is good enough to beat her but Kayla also knows that she has something that Andrea can never have.

”You probably think that what you want is so far and above what I do that you can beat me. You want to prove that you were always world championship material and you can become the bombshell champion again, as some kind of unfinished business. You want to get people behind you to make sure they realize that the fight that you have inside is one of righteous need and want. And I get it, you have unfinished business. The problem is so do I.”

“Winning this championship and holding it for 200 days isn’t my endgame. It isn’t my goal. You see Andrea what I want is for people to look at this championship and have my name tied to it forever. I mentioned the Internet championship, when people look at that they see my name and your name. They see what we did with that championship and they want to emulate that. They want their name to be tied to that championship forever.”

“Well, the world championship has that too. Amber Ryan, Alicia Lukas, Roxi Johnson, hell even Mikah. All of those names are tied to this championship. When people talk about the best who have held it, they mention those women. That’s what I want. I want to be able to hold this championship and beat the best of the best so that when all is set and done people see me when they look at this title. They mentioned me when they mentioned the best you have held it and the best who have been associated with it. And to reach that goal I have to keep beating everyone who comes for me. Including you. Because I’m not at that level yet, I’m not at that height of my powers to be able to call myself synonymous with the world bombshells championship and you are standing in my way.”

“So, as much as I respect you and as much as I’m looking forward to this match you need to realize that I will do whatever it takes to keep this championship. I will drop to any lance to keep it and there is nothing you can do to stop me. You are good enough to beat me for this title, I’m not stupid. I know that. But you are facing someone who will do anything to keep it. I am the best you will ever get in the ring with, and considering the names that you’ve already faced I’m sure you’re thinking that is some kind of arrogant statement, and it can’t be true. But trust me Andrea when you and I meet at high stakes it is going to be a clash of two of the best this company has ever seen. But you’re facing someone who will do whatever it takes to leave the winner. And this war has only just begun.

[Julianna DiMaria]

Last Sunday…

Back at Eddie’s home in Flagstaff, I was overcome with so much joy after punching that ticket to the High Stakes main event. I had already exchanged hugs with him and my mother.

“Amazing…” my mother said.

“I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen you so happy…” Eddie added.

“It was well worth the wait seeing you wrestle in person for the first time…” Roddy added as well. To hear that validation from my formerly estranged oldest brother definitely hit home for me.

When you consider that road block Alicia Lukas was for me and how losing to her in our first encounter tore me up and started that horrible snowball effect right into the summer of hell, how couldn’t I be emotional?

“I finally pinned Alicia…” I said, the reality of such a happy moment dawning on me to the point of tears of joy which might as well represented over four years of pain FINALLY melting away from my heart. “Holy fuck, I finally beat her! God, I didn’t realize it would feel this damn good!”

We were interrupted by the sudden sound of Myra Rivers requesting a video chat with me.

“I have to take this guys…” I said, before I left into Eddie’s front porch and answered the call. Myra, all the way back in Miami, had nothing but a smile on her face and I already knew she was thrilled for me though she saw I was crying.

“Congratulations!” she exclaimed.

“Thanks… sorry…” I took a pause to take a deep breath and wipe the tears away. “You know how much this means to me. The fact that I FINALLY beat Alicia Lukas and overcame the loss that sent me on that slow spiral to madness is the most fitting thing in the world right now. I poisoned the root of the problem and overcame the roadblock to challenge for the world title for the first time in four years.”

“I remember the conversation that we had when you first told me you were going back. I was concerned for you and I didn’t think it was a good idea considering what had happened the first time around…”

“Yeah, I remember that.”

“I will happily admit that I was wrong about you going back and I was hoping I would be. I also admit that my own experiences there did cloud my judgment and that I was worrying too much about the same things happening to you all over again…” Myra pointed out with a sigh.

“Listen, I understand where you were coming from and by no means was I annoyed with you. You were looking out for me especially since, let’s be honest, SCW took you for granted and they still do with the only mention you’re getting nowadays is Julianna trying to break your record.”

“I’m LONG used to that and I’m happy with what I’ve done since I left . But, ultimately? It’s not about me. I’m elated for you and I don’t remember the last time I was so happy to be wrong about something but more than that? I am so happy for you as your former mentor that you have managed to turn things around so fast and rise up the ladder again while you’ve shown exactly how much you’ve evolved and grown between your SCW stints. Honestly, you main eventing the Bombshells match at High Stakes is at least two years overdue.”

I could only smile at this knowing deep down that Myra was right. I thought about what might have been had I not collapsed so hard four years ago, but I wasn’t feeling too sad about it. I knew that it was going to be a talking point when I publicly addressed the masses for High Stakes for the first time.

“Better late than never as the saying goes. I’m just happy that I’m here now and that things have gone much better. These last two matches that I’ve been a part of have certainly shown so much and that whatever ghosts of the past there are, seem to be gone…”

“You came back for this moment, you know. But, not all of the ghosts are gone yet. You may have poisoned “the root” with Alicia but remember… Kayla Richards never minces words and she may be particularly brutal toward you. She’s as outspoken as they come and if you’re not careful with how you treat her words then…”

“Don’t finish that thought, Myra. What do you mean all of the ghosts aren’t gone yet?”

The good vibes of the win I just got had transitioned into a “back to business” feeling as I began to look ahead.

“Now more than ever, you’ve got to face up to the mistakes and the shortcomings of that summer of hell four years ago. You may have solved the Alicia puzzle, but where you really rock bottomed was with Evie.”

I briefly pursed my lips upon hearing that reminder.

“You haven’t fully faced that yet and all you did was allow that horrible human being to define who you are and THAT was the biggest mistake you made that summer more than anything. You’ve got to find a way to face that, alright?”

“You’re right, and no worries. I will.”

With that, our video call ended and I went back inside to start thinking about how I was going to overcome THAT rock bottom now that I finally slayed the dragon with Alicia’s name on it.

Going back in time wasn’t easy…

After Summer XXXtreme 2020…

I recently flashed back to where it all bottomed out. I was walking down the hall of the cruise hearing a bunch of tears and much self-defeat talk coming from a nearby cabin. I sighed, knowing that it was the sound of my own voice.. I knew the situation: I had just lost that triple threat with Evie and Alicia with the former pinning me again and all of those old feelings were flooding back.

“I didn’t deserve to be here…” I could hear myself say. “...I’m a flash in the pan. I’m nothing. I’m never going to recover from this. I don’t ever want to wrestle again…”

That was enough for me to walk into the cabin and look at my past self who continued to beat herself up.

“I should just retire tomorrow…”

“Don’t say that…” I told my past self, who looked up at me and found herself stunned. “It gets better…”

“...you’re… ME?” she asked me.

“From 2024, yes. I’ll tell you right now that you’re still wrestling four years from now…”

“How is that even possible? Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong: losing the title, losing four straight matches, my dad dying, being exposed as a flash in the pan…”

I sighed, trying to hide my annoyance at this point.

“Everything looks like shit right now, but I promise you that it WILL get better and that your brightest future is still ahead of you.”

“It’s not true…” she said. “I never deserved to be a world champion in SCW. I peaked far too soon. All the garbage that Evie said about the whole run being a fairy tale was completely right…”

“Alright, that’s it…” I said with anger in my voice. “Now I understand why my father got annoyed with you. You’re going to stop this fucking pity party right now and you’re going to stop this fucking spiral you’ve been on since you suffered your first SCW loss to Alicia. Now, buck up, shut up and listen to what the fuck I’ve got to say…”

My past self looked at me stunned.

“...you are NOT going to be Evie’s victim anymore, got it? I will not let it happen! You were never weak and you’ve always had it in you to be a world champion and I don’t give a fuck what Evie, Alicia or any of the massive amounts of locker room haters you had at this time had to say otherwise.”

“How could you know it’s better… other than ‘I’m living it’?” She asks me. I had to bite my lip to think of an answer without giving away too much.

“For starters, Evie doesn’t exist anymore and Ben divorced her…”

My past self was definitely stunned in silence by that, allowing me to continue.

“Exactly! All the shit she said about you? It means NOTHING! She doesn’t even last THIS year, Jessie… of all women… JESSIE beats her at HIGH STAKES this year and she’s never full time again! So tell me what those words mean…”

“Go on…”

“It won’t happen in SCW, but you will acquire at least two more world titles…”

“...really…”

“And try this on for size… you WILL main event High Stakes one day!”

“WHAT?!?!??!” my past self said with a gasp, expressing her disbelief that things really do get better.

“Let me show you something…”

I pulled out a picture of my third world title win from December 2023 from my pocket to hand to her and she looks completely touched by this. In fact, she’s so touched that she gives me a huge embrace.

“Thank you…” she said, with tears flowing down her face. I was quick to dry them myself.

“At one time, I thought you were weak…” I admitted. “But now I know that even then, I was strong after all. Despite everything, you still pushed through and yes, there were still some extended struggles for a while, but eventually, you were strong enough and brilliant enough to fight your way through all of the darkness that you are enduring right now. The worst has passed, now dig yourself out of this…”

“I will…” she assured me as we broke our embrace.

11-14-2024

I came out of that flashback and talking to my past self extremely empowered while I stood in the wrestling ring of my father’s old wrestling academy.

“I had long wished that things back then didn’t turn out the way that they did…” I thought to myself. “But at the same time, if they didn’t go that way, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now. In a way, perhaps I had to leave SCW when I did for my own sake. I feel like at this point, I’m finally beginning to heal from that horrible summer now that I am aware of how strong I’ve become. Though, perhaps it would’ve been even more fitting if I was able to beat Evie’s ass along the way to really put an exclamation point on that…”

“UGH! Not this fairy tale again…” I heard Chelsea LeClair say as she walked into the building. I was stunned to see that she was dressed just like Evie Jordan, wig and all and I had nothing to say as she walked into the ring with me.

“What the hell are you doing, Chelsea?”

“Finally putting this thing to bed”, she answered out of character. “After all, that roleplay experience in Edmonton when you heard the fans react to your ‘inevitable’ line worked so I figured this would work again. Plus, with Kayla being as verbally brutal as she can be, I thought preparing you by bringing you the closest you’ll get to overcoming that piece of shit from four years ago would immensely help you manage whatever crap Kayla throws your way.”

“So you’re worried I wouldn’t be able to handle her worst?”

“No, but just in case that’s a worry in your subconscious mind…”

I rolled my eyes.

“Sure, let’s go with it. Give me your… or I guess… Evie’s… worst…”

Chelsea cleared her throat and off she went.

“How could YOU, the biggest flash in the pan in SCW history, be in the main event of High Stakes? Didn’t you learn ANYTHING from your FAIRY TALE RUN four years ago? You were the absolute WORST world champion EVER and quite frankly, beating you for the world title was just that damn easy because I exposed you for the fraud you always were and the piece of shit you still are. You had a BIG DOWNFALL, the worst I’ve ever seen ANDREA…”

I just rolled my eyes and Chelsea happened to catch that.

“Roll your eyes at the truth, yeah? Losing the title PROVED you were the Cinderella all along…”

“It didn’t prove SHIT, Evie! Hell, this little ‘fairy tale’ narrative? It wasn’t true! It was NEVER true! Really, if you remove ALL of your fucking bullshit, what it boils down to is that I lost to someone that challenged me on a random supercard that other than the title changing hands, had NONE of the long term consequences you said it did! Losing to you didn’t prove you right and it wasn’t a god damn fairy tale because if it WAS, I don’t recover from that summer. I don’t go on to be undefeated for all of 2021 despite myself, I don’t win the Internet Championship and go on this epic 18 match win streak and I don’t come back to SCW after a couple of years away and break through into the High Stakes main event so I KNOW that EVERYTHING you said about me all those years ago is BULLSHIT and YOU made it bullshit the moment you ran away from this place after Jessie Salco beat your fucking ass”

Chelsea could only laugh.

“It’s smoke and mirrors all over again, Cinderella… just like it was then. All it takes is ONE loss and it’s DOWNFALL all over again…”

I wasn’t even getting angry. I was smiling in her face the way I would’ve if the real Evie was saying this to me.

“This is just another fairy tale and Kayla, who is far superior to you, is going to bring you back down to earth just like I did. You couldn’t even handle me, so how the hell are you going to handle her? What do you have to say to that?”

“Nothing…” I said as I laughed in her face. “...because all I hear is noise. YOU were NOTHING but fucking NOISE Evie, and YOU were the lucky “fairy tale” that was SUPER FORTUNATE that when wee faced off, that I didn’t realize that.

“You’ll ALWAYS be my bitch and I’ll ALWAYS make you feel like you failed your daddy…”

With a snap, I popped Chelsea right in the face, knocking her down so hard that when she hit the mat, her black wig popped off.

“Oh my god, Chelsea… shit…”

I kneeled down to make sure she was okay as she held her jaw. She moved it around a bit and slightly winced.

“Good, Andrea…. Fucking GOOD….”

“You’re not mad?”

“No…” Chelsea said with a scoff. “She would’ve deserved that.”

I felt relief, but then I had this warm, healing feeling going through me when an epiphany basically flashed before me.

“On one hand… wow… what a shame that I let someone like that get to me so easily back then. But then again, I couldn’t have known how to handle someone like that four years ago. Now I understand.”

“Kayla might try to come at you like that, if not worse…” Chelsea warned.

“If so, then so be it…” I said, feeling damn good about myself. “There’s nothing her or anyone else can say or do to me to bring me back to that rock bottom. I’m not that Andrea anymore. I’ve matured and evolved and you know what? I feel like I’ve healed from everything from four years ago now that I’ve faced much of that horrible time of my SCW run and overcome it…”

“Great!” Chelsea said with a smile. “Now go win that championship!”

“You’re damn right I will…” I said with a true determination in me. I helped Chelsea back to her feet and we talked a bit after that, but now I knew in my heart that I had healed from the past… and that everything from four years ago was NEVER going to burden me again…

11-16-2024

I was inside old building on my parents’s Sedona property that used to house my father’s former wrestling school. The camera was on me and in the room I was in, the walls were littered with photo moments of my first SCW run: the championships, the heartbreaks, my best and my worst, my matches in the past with the likes of Crystal Hilton, Keira Fisher, Alicia Lukas, Sam Marlowe among others. When the camera was turned on, I was reflective but I also knew I was ready to move forward and that’s just what I was about to do.

“We all know the whole mythology of the Phoenix… how when it burns and dies, it rises out of its own ashes. Four years ago, that Phoenix within me died and so did my fighting spirit when I went through the worst summer of my career. That summer plagued me in my first run so you would think that I’d just want to get rid of all the memories and drown them in fire, right? Wrong. I went through tons of adversity and somehow, someway, I kept getting through it every single time to the point where after two years away, I managed to come back and to get myself in this world championship match at High Stakes. You can’t write a better redemption story than that. I went from running away from the past to coming back to face it, embrace it and to grow stronger from it and Kayla Richards, for all you’ve done as the SCW Bombshells World Champion, for someone that calls themselves the Dreamkiller and who has been as dominant as she has been, I am not going to make the same fucking mistake I made when I went to Tucson and faced Alicia Lukas for the first time and that was to enter that ring, alone, dismissing my family even, scared shitless and worrying about the worst because the way I see it? The match is all I have to lose. You can’t kill a dream that I allowed someone else to kill four years ago. I have regained faith in that dream again and you’re about to have the toughest challenge yet.

See, I know what you’re about. I know how you’re going to try to approach me. I get that you’ve got to push people to their mental limits and that once upon a time, I was mentally fragile, but Kayla, there’s nothing you can do and nothing that you can say that is going to shatter me. I’ve done this dance before, and yes, I have failed that dance more than I’ve succeeded in it and yet, I’m STILL able to break through! I know that I am the opponent that you should stress about the most because I’m the kind of opponent you won’t be able to break. I know your history with Julianna and how you basically lured her into defending the championship against her. I know how you were able to get one over on Luna because you knew that she has never been right in the head. Tempest, as we both know, isn’t nearly as strong psychologically as she is physically so I had little doubt that you were going to retain against her. But me? I’ve got them all beat. I’m CONFIDENT that I’m going to beat you and I am going to pour every fucking ounce of fight that I’ve got into this because this moment right here, that we are about to have, is why I came back to begin with. It wasn’t easy for me to come back, Kayla. As a matter of fact, my entire journey here has never been easy. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world to come in, make that impact, win a world championship as fast as I did, lose it far quicker than expected and then not just lose your championship, but lose your father… and lose yourself…

Yet I’m still here…

I’ll be honest, my first time here? I brought a fair portion of that on myself. I didn’t believe in myself enough. I allowed other people to break me and turn me into something I’m not. There were certain losses that got to me for so long, that made me feel like a piece of shit. I didn’t help myself with the lack of self-belief that I had but that self-belief is something in me that has grown stronger than it ever has. Let me ask you something though. What do you think defines a stronger champion? Someone that just dominates for months and turns back challenger after challenger to the point where they might be getting bored at some point? Or someone that has been through hell and back, a partially self-inflicted one at that, and yet has endured, survived and even thrived every step of the way when they had no business to and when they had no business being as good as they were? For me? It’s the ladder! I’ve been there and done that with the whole “domination” thing with the 18 match winning streak and that undefeated 2021 and it just wasn’t gratifying enough for me. Even with some of the wins that I’ve got and an excellent run as the Internet Champion, my proudest moment here WAS that world title win that I did manage to have.

What separates me from your previous challengers is that I come into this wanting this if not craving this to a higher level than any of them. I actually WANT to be here, I WANT to be a world champion again. I WANT to prove that not even the worst bit of hell is going to knock you the fuck down, that you can once more rise from the ashes, do it all over again and do it at the best you’ve ever been. What separates me from you though, is that you’ve been so fucking dominant you may have forgotten what it’s like to have your back up against the wall, when you know that you’re in a do or die situation, when you realize that you could very well lose Hell, you’ve been so dominant that it just MIGHT get inside your head, not that I need it to, in order to win, but still. What are you going to do when I push you BEYOND your absolute limit, Kayla? Beyond anything you anticipated coming from me. How are you going to respond when you realize that you’re in trouble, when you are threatened with losing that championship more than any time during our reign? Will you be able to rise to the occasion and push back hard enough to keep that title?

Are you willing to fucking go as far as putting my career in jeopardy if that’s what it takes to retain? I admit that outside of the ring, I don’t know your whole story. I only know what I’ve seen in the ring. But with how easy you’ve had it for the most part dating back to when you first came here, I KNOW you’re not as well versed with dealing with adversity as I am. Yes, you’ve had your moments where you fell short such as the three times you lost the Internet Championship. Yes, you’ve come back from that stronger and hungrier every time, but for the most part, your adversity has been losing that title three times and recently losing the tag titles and for a while, being passed over for a world title shot. That’s the curse of being so god damn dominant. Psychologically? Mentally? I feel like I’m the stronger of us! That phoenix in me has resurrected and it is burning brighter than ever  and I am going to give you THE reason why you WILL be in some serious trouble at High Stakes and ultimately why I will be the one to dethrone you:

I wasn’t even at my BEST… not even CLOSE… during my first run.

You know my story. Everyone is aware of how Alicia handed me my first loss and started spiraling while hurting and hating myself and being at the mercy of the locker room that I allowed to get inside my head. And yet, despite the suffering I was going through, I STILL found a fucking way to even win that championship at all. Sure, it wasn’t the best reign ever. In fact, it was a big disappointment to me personally… or at least I saw it that way until recently when I realized that when you consider the personal torture I was going through mentally, I really shouldn’t have won the championship at all. I never gave myself the chance to be a champion and that’s a HUGE reason why I came back and wanted a second run. I didn’t believe in myself enough. I had no business even being in SCW after my father had passed and I got constantly embarrassed by Evie, and I suffered that humiliating I Quit loss to Crystal Hilton at High Stakes or any of that. Where most people would’ve and SHOULD’VE given up for their own mental health, I STAYED!

I FOUGHT through the fucking pain and the agony that was killing me inside while I was that horrible person that I used to be and while I was treating everyone else like shit. I KEPT GOING even after my father died, after I dealt with the torture and the bullshit of people that hated me and rooted for me to fail. I WON the Internet Championship being in all of that pain. I had that undefeated 2021. I had that 18 match winning streak. I kept finding a way to keep fucking fighting and to accomplish what I was able to accomplish in my first run dealing with the torture that would make 95% of wrestlers not just leave SCW, but be DONE with this business! Most wrestlers that lived through the hell that I lived through would’ve gotten the fuck out of wrestling, but I am not most wrestlers, Kayla. I am NOT your previous challengers! In a position where most wrestlers would be too broken to even lace up their boots again, I kept going and fighting. I won that Internet Championship tournament being in so much pain I developed a drinking problem, when I was at a point where I was about to hand in my resignation for my own sake with an eye on coming back only to be placed in that tournament before I could hand that resignation in.

I won and retained that championship for over 200 days and kept that streak going despite knowing in the back of my mind that I HAD to get out and fix myself. With a shattered heart and my mental health being completely cauterized, I DID ALL THAT! HOW? Because, to borrow a cliche phrase here… I AM HER! I am that woman that even at rock bottom, even when things are completely pitch black in darkness, I still fight my way through and I still find my way to create the absolute best for myself out of any given situation no matter how garbage it is so putting it all into that context Kayla, whatever you bring against me, whatever you say against me… knowing you can be cruel and callous to other people at times depending on your level of respect, or lack thereof… you won’t even come CLOSE to penetrating the strength that I have built up within me.

THAT’S the kind of challenger you have…

Of course, as you know, that shattered heart and cauterized mental health finally caught up with me and for my own sake, I had to leave. I don’t regret that. I fixed myself, got stronger, came back…

And here we are…

Fittingly, having to go through Alicia, my SCW-long kryptonite, to get here…

Fittingly in my own home state, in Tucson, where my first loss happened and when the snowball that led to my self-destruction here and that summer of hell that broke me for years…

After everything I’ve had to endure, everything I’ve had to learn, everything I had to do to make myself the best wrestler that I can be and to be better than I ever have been at any point in my career, NOW… unlike THEN when I was in that world title picture as early as I was…

I AM READY, Kayla!

I’m ready to be that world champion again and I’m ready to be the one that solves the Rubik's Cube that you have been in this division this entire year and regardless of the worst that you throw at me and whatever the fuck you want to say to me, I WILL pull through, I WILL endure and I WILL become, for the second time, the SCW Bombshells World Champion and that phoenix will be soaring all over again having risen from the ashes of years ago where I allowed myself to crumble and allowed other people to define my truth…

Everything I’ve worked for when I decided I was ready to come back will culminate with this world championship Kayla…

And come High Stakes, you’re about to cross the one dream that you can never kill…

With that, I wasted no time whatsoever going to my camera and shutting it of for the time being. I took a look around and glanced at the old memories of my first SCW run and felt a sense of pride knowing that I DID pull through despite everything that was weighing me down.

Now?

I was feeling like with NOTHING weighing me down, that the sky is truly the limit for me at High Stakes.

[Dreamkiller]

Chapter 54: Revenge

It’s funny how one simple act can change things. How it can skew the point of view that you’ve had in your mind for the longest time. One act and one moment can completely flip your world upside down. This is what Kayla has been going through the last week or so. And yes, this is from a third-person point of view because there are going to be things that happen that she doesn’t know. But, Kayla thought she knew what her relationship was like. She thought she understood where they were going with it.

Two people, two people who had families but preferred to have the company of just themselves. And then, Finn took her to meet his parents. It was something that was unexpected, she found herself being nervous. Not just the regular kind of nerves, her heart was beating in her chest so hard she thought she was going to feel it erupt from her rib cage. Her hands were shaking when she arrived. But at the end of the day, this meeting where she got to know Finn's family helped them both.

It helped Kayla understand Finn even more seeing where he came from and what he grew up with. Understanding everything about where his resentment had spawned from and why he was the way he was. The realization hit Kayla in the face. Finn was never going to know her, truly know her, until she let him in the same way that he had with her.

Even if she knew it was not going to go the same way.

Finn‘s mother had been lovely. She had given Kayla a hug and was sweet and kind. And she seemed to enjoy the fact that her son had found someone who understood him. Their relationship had taken a turn that not even Kayla herself could have predicted. They were in this for the long haul.

She knew that he wasn’t going to run away. No matter what Kayla said or did no matter how much she pushed him Finn was not going to walk away from her. He was not going to drop her like a bad habit or think that she was a horrible person. He loved her, deeply and truly more than anyone else ever had. And that’s why they found themselves in the situation they were now in.

”We didn’t have to do this. I didn’t bring you to meet my family to push you into taking me to meet yours.” Finn sat in the driver's seat of his car. One hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear stick. His eyes were on the road as Kayla sat in the passenger seat. Her legs crossed over as she looked out the window as they drove toward her mother's house.

A small smile came across her lips, she knew damn well why she said that. And it had nothing to do with Kayla feeling forced to do anything. ”Oh I know. But the truth is that the whole situation made me realize this was a long time coming. You’ve met my sisters, you probably won’t meet my brother this time because fuck knows where he is. But it’s about time I introduced you to my mother….”

”Nervous?” Finn asked with a small smirk on his lips. That boyish grin that he knew drove Kayla wild.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes shifting slightly in her seat, showing that no matter what she was about to say. There was a small part of her that wasn’t nervous. So of course, she was about to deny it. ”No. Why? Are you?” She flipped it back onto him. Finn shook his head and gripped the steering wheel tighter. He was never someone who would show being nervous or scared. The truth is that Finn was someone who pushed his emotions down. Kayla would show anger, frustration, and apathy. But showing happiness and Love was foreign to her as foreign as every basic emotion seemed to be for Finn.

He took a deep breath, behind his eyes Kayla could see it. He was nervous. So many people thought that Finn was cold and distant but the truth is if you really knew him, you would see his emotions through all the little moments. The little twitches in his face, the way he would move his hands, how he would stand when he was nervous or apprehensive or if he had anxiety. All of these things Kayla had started to pick up on and she knew him better than anyone and that includes his ex-wife ”I have handled you in my life for awhile, and having to put up with your sisters. I think I can handle your mother.”

”We’ll see”

Finn shook his head as the car came to a stop. The two of them got out moving up the small pathway toward the door, before Kayla could knock the door swung open, and standing in the doorway was her mother. A woman who looked very much like Kayla, her long black hair tied back in a high ponytail with a few grey strands of hair throughout, her green emerald eyes fixated on her daughter with a smile before leaning forward and giving Kayla a hug. ”Hello my girl”

Kayla, just a small one as she squeezed her mother before drawing back and swallowing hard ”Hi mum…”

Her mother stepped back, looking over her shoulder with a smile as she tilted her head, noticing Finn standing behind her ”Ahhh you must be Finn…. The man that my lovely daughter has been dating for the better part of a year and has yet to tell too much about or introduce us.”

Kayla let out a heavy sigh as her shoulders dropped. Finn raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, putting on his voice charm as he held out his hand. ”It’s lovely to finally meet you, Amanda.”

Amanda took Finn‘s hand and shook it before looking over at Kayla with a cheeky grin ”Well, courteous and good-looking, much better than the last one you brought back to me. That boy was sweet but my god there was nothing between the ears. He pumped all of that information that he was taking into his muscles. And don’t even get me started on that Matthew Shields idiot.”

”Mum….”

”Right…please come in” Amanda turned sideways allowing Finn and Kayla to come into her home. They moved through the lounge room into the kitchen where Finn took off his leather jacket and sat down. Kayla walked over and right away started making a coffee for herself and Finn and a cup of tea for her mother. ”As I understand it you are a very successful professional wrestler much like Kayla. In fact, from what I’ve seen you’re both the champions in the company that you work for correct?”

Finn nodded slowly and took the cup of coffee that Kayla had put in front of him taking a sip. Kayla sat down and shook her head looking over her mother. ”Why are you acting like you don’t know? You follow my career and you watch more wrestling than I do. You know damn well who Finn is you knew who he was before we started dating.”

Fin raised an eyebrow surprised at this revelation as Amanda simply tutted and shook her head ”Ruining my fun? Really?”

”Yeah…. and stop it with the kindly older lady act. You swear like a sailor you’re only in your early 50s and I only made you a cup of tea because I knew you were going to ask. I know what you really want to do is break out the beer”

Amanda sighed and stood up taking her bright pink cardigan off revealing that she was wearing a very similar top to Kayla. A black midwife showing a crop top and skinny black jeans. Her arms covered in tattoos with black nail polish on her fingertips as she sat down and looked over at Finn. ”Is she a buzzkill with you too? By the way, you’re welcome, being able to look at what you’re going to deal with within the next 20 years.”

”Mum!…..fuck…” Kayla got to her feet as her phone starts ringing. It was Amber. ”I have to take this…” she grumbled and got to her feet stepping outside to talk to her older sister. Finn blinked a few times taking another sip of his coffee before chucking to himself and sitting back.

Amanda sept her tea and looked over at Finn studying him, looking him up and down before tilting her head ”You break her heart I’ll fucking kill you”

”Excuse me?” Finn’s eyes widened as he noticed the subtle change in Amanda‘s body language. Going from open and honest to closed off as she narrowed her eyes at Finn. ”I definitely wasn’t planning on it but at the same time Kayla is unbelievably strong-willed and I don’t think she breaks easily” There is real conviction in Finn‘s voice. Only a small pain of insecurity as he says the words.

Amanda slowly smiles and shakes her head sitting back ”I believe you. I believe that you don’t plan on hurting my girl. But I also know that you’re not stupid enough to believe some of the words that are coming out of your mouth right now. You know damn well that she’s a lot more fragile than she lets on. There is a small pause as Amanda sits forward, tilting her head as she looks thin right in the eyes. ”She loves you… I can see it. The way she looks at you the way she acts around you everything that her sisters have told me. She loves you. That gives you real power. I have faith that you’ll be good to her.”

Amanda reached over squeezing Finn‘s hand as Kayla stepped back in looking at her phone ”I swear to God I am the only sane one left in the family” she looked up at Finn a small smile coming on her lips as she saw him, Finn smiled back and then looked at Amanda lightly nodding his head in recognition of what she was saying. It was something that Finn already understood and it was something that he had been wary of since their relationship started. But this moment was a significant step for both of them. Kayla trusted him, and Finn trusted her. And somehow, someway these two broken individuals have become the most wholesome couple you could ever possibly imagine.

I know, we’re shocked too….

Goals

”The greatest thing about this business is also the worst. There’s always a carrot to chase. There’s always something just out of reach that you want to have that forces you to keep going. It’s the main reason why we watch people leave and come back. It’s why older wrestlers have so much trouble retiring and walking away.”

Kayla lobster herself, shaking her head as she sits back and folds her arms over her chest. Her mind drifts to her sister someone who left the business well before her time. Someone who is still old enough to come back and be a force in the business. But someone who lost a spark, a fire.

”Those carrots, those goals always keep us moving forward. Before I get into Andrea and what she decided to say let me just be very clear on this. Winning the bombshell championship was never the end goal for what I wanted to accomplish in this company. When I came in, I wanted to find my footing, I just wanted to see people realize what this company had. I was well known in other places, I’m not going to sit here and lie and say that I was a nobody or the people didn’t know who I was because the fact is that when I first walked out on SCW television people knew I was special. They knew what I had done in the past.”

“I came in and started chasing carrots. And I told everyone that I was going to become the Bombshells champion. And I did. Everything that I have ever said I was going to do in this company I’ve done. I told everyone I was going to be the Internet champion, and when I was beaten I told them I was coming back for the championship and to get my win back and I did. I told everyone that Finn and I were going to be the mixed tag team champions. I told everyone we were going to be double champions every single time. I open my mouth and I say something I accomplish it. Because I always achieve my goals. That is the difference between myself and so many of the other women who have walked through this company.”

“There is a certain level that most of the bombshells will never get to but they will always aspire to. It’s a level that Amber Ryan reached. It’s something that so many will want to reach but will fail miserably. That is the level that I want to get to. I don’t just want to be known as a three-time Internet champion, I don’t want to be known as one-half of the most dominant mixed tag team champs of all time and the first bombshell to defend two championships simultaneously. I don’t want to be known as that. I want to be the best.”

“The best not one of the best.”

“That is a goal that so many others have. But the difference between myself and them is that I have the skills and ability as well as the drive to accomplish it. I know that I’m good enough to reach that level. There is no questioning it. There is no doubt in my mind. And that makes me dangerous. When you face someone who doubts their abilities then there’s a weakness. Something that you can exploit. But when you’re facing someone like Me who believes in themselves to such a high degree, finding a break in that armor is almost impossible”

“A fact that so many of the bombshells have already found out”

Kayla can’t help with chocolate as she shakes her head, getting to her feet she paces back and forth. In her mind she’s going over the match, thinking about her weaknesses, thinking about Andrew‘s weaknesses, and thinking about how she can exploit them. She’s constantly thinking, and constantly learning. A true student of the game

”Andrea, I want you to think back to when I got my opportunity against your “friend” Julianna. She told the world that she was going to beat me. She seems so sure of it but when you look in her eyes when she was cutting her promos against me, you could see doubt. She automatically knew that she was full of shit. But so many people believed her. so I wasn’t meant to beat her and become the champion according to most people”

“Including so-called “legends”. Then the inevitable rematch. I was told that I was a flash in the pan, that she was going to take that championship back from Me. And in the end, I walked away with it. I defended my championship while also defending the mixed tag team titles which has taken a lot out of me. But at the end of the day, I know who I am. I went into my match against Luna Palsino and everyone told me I was going to lose because she had just won the blast from the past which is one of the most grueling tournaments in professional wrestling.”

“I won.”

“Then, well then came my biggest test in size. Tempest. Do you know what she did Andrea? She made a cardinal sin and looked into the camera and told the world that my championship brain meant nothing. That I was not fulfilling my duties as a champion. That I wasn’t good enough. Do you know what that’s like? To have someone who has failed in every attempt to capture the Bombshells championship tell you that you’re doing it wrong? I suppose you do don’t you?”

She takes a deep breath looking over at the championship. The is sitting on the table. The Arizona skyline looks gorgeous from her hotel room. Kayla swallows taking a deep breath before refocusing on the task at hand.

”You had so many people coming after you when you were the champion. Some of the best to ever step foot in a professional wrestling ring came after you. And you repelled them. You did everything you could to keep that championship around your waist. And all the while you heard the same bullshit arguments that I’ve had to put up with. Now, I have given you a certain amount of respect and I will continue to do that even though you in your infinite wisdom decided to paint me as a horrible person.”

“I’m not oblivious to the fact that I can be an absolute bitch. I’m arrogant, I think I’m better than everyone else. These are all true things that people throw in my face thinking that it’s some form of insult. But the truth is Andrea that I will give respect when it is earned and is due. You being a former world champion are owed a level of respect because you have been in the same place that I am. You know what it’s like to hold the championship and have everyone around you gunning for you and running their mouth not giving you the respect that you’ve earned. You know that, you’ve felt that.”

“Hell, most people probably think that I’m going to listen to your story about leaving professional wrestling and start giving you shit for it. I’m never going to give anyone shit for leaving for mental health reasons. You were a champion and you kept that title all while dealing with your own personal Demons. You fulfilled your obligations and your duties to this company and to yourself right to the very end, and then and only then did you walk away to get the help that you clearly needed.”

“Congratulations.”

“I applaud you for that. Really, I do. You went away and you did everything you could to fix yourself. And then even when you thought you were gone, you felt that fire inside you burning so you decided to come back. Now, it’s no secret that my siblings also are professional wrestlers. Out of the four of us, I’m the only one who is still in the ring. My youngest sister is busy being a mother my older sister is busy being a mother and our brother is, well it’s complicated. I’m the only one who is still doing this because I’m the only one who still has that fire. I’m the only one who still has that spark inside me the same spark that I see when I look at you.”

Kayla gets fired up pacing back and forth as she smiles and looks directly into the camera.

”You love this and you want to be the world champion for a second time. But you are standing there making promises that you simply cannot keep. You think that you can take my worst? Do you want to make all these promises that you pull through and enjoy and you’ll become the champion and all of this other bullshit. I have no doubt that that’s what you want to do. I have no doubt that you believe you can but look at me, Andrea. Everyone always talks about my nickname. The dreamkiller”

“They always think that that name has to do with killing your dreams. I’m not here to kill your dreams. I’m not here to kill Alexandra Calloway’s dreams, by the way, nice work basically ripping off everything that she said about Me good job. But the fact remains I’m not here to kill all of your dreams. That name is there as a reminder that the only person who can kill my dreams is me. The only person who can stop me from achieving my goals is Me and it is my job to fight against that. It’s my job not to have self-doubt. It’s my job to be the best of the fucking Best.”

“I want to be one of the longest reigning champions of all time, I want to rack up defenses and be a fighting champion. That’s what I want and that’s what I need and right now, you are the one who is standing in my way.”

“You can bring up your own story and show us all how you’ve triumphed in the face of adversity. You can show us all how you’ve come back up after almost walking away and have this inspiring story all that you want but just because you believe in your story and just because you are proud of your story doesn’t mean that the rest of us are going to sit here and let you do what you want to do. All the things that I’ve gone through in my life and everything I’ve ever wanted to be I am on the cusp of achieving greatness and I am not going to allow someone like you to walk in steal my phone and think that just because you have gone through a little bit of adversity in your life that you’re better than Me”

“I am the champion. Andrea, I am going into high stakes as the champion, on the biggest show of the year. Both of us are multitime champions and both of us are not women who should be messed with. But my goals and my dreams are right there. My fingertips are reaching out and I am so close to them and you are in my way…..my way… my way of greatness, of being a legend, of being one of the greatest champions this company has ever seen. You're standing in front of me and stopping me from achieving that. So when all is said and done the best woman is going to win. I just have to ask are you going to be good enough to beat me? Or when it gets tough and I drag you into deep Waters, are you just going to quit again?”

[Julianna DiMaria]

11-17-2024

These days, it’s incredibly rare to have any one on one time with my mother. But the day after I released my fiery first promo for my High Stakes match, it was just the two of us having dinner together up in Sedona. We had already gone over the typical life updates both ways at this point and after my mother took a sip of some water she was having, she caught me off guard by bringing up the one thing that was generally taboo when it came to our relationship.

“Can I just say that as a mother, there’s no greater sense of pride in the world than her own daughter displaying how strong she has become?”

“I can only imagine. Why? What did I do?”

“That promotional video you released yesterday had me crying….”

I gasped, not sure if the bigger surprise was my mother’s emotions of the moment or that she went out of her way to watch that. She had never been a fan of professional wrestling whatsoever and she was never, especially, a fan of me being involved in it.

“...I’m so happy for you that you’ve finally found your way.”

“Wait, so does that mean that you’re… going to Tucson with us?”

“Why is that a question? Of course I’m going! I wouldn’t miss that match for the world. It’s one of the biggest matches of your career.”

“I’m shocked, but touched, considering over the years you’ve been wanting me to stop wrestling… especially that awful summer four years ago…”

“When you mentioned wanting this, I didn’t take it seriously at first. But while you were growing up and not letting go of the idea, I knew it was serious. I know I was vocal against you doing this but I was worried about you getting hurt and letting that business consume you the way it had your father and your ancestors on his side of your family. They didn’t like me because they thought I married your father because of his career, but the truth is, it was in SPITE of it. If it were up to me, none of my children would be involved with wrestling.”

“Yet, you still support me…”

“I’m no fan of professional wrestling, but with you, I’ve come around. You overcome your worst darkness from years ago and in the long run, I was wrong about your career being a horrible thing for you. Perhaps my concerns were misplaced after all…”

I sighed, knowing that my mother regrets that she was vocally opposed to my wrestling career for years, even as recent as last year.

“They weren’t misplaced…” I told my mother. “You had every right to have them, especially four years ago when things were really that bad for me and that would be the closest I’ve ever been to just being done with the business at all. I’m sorry, that four years ago, you ended up seeing the literal manifestation of your worst nightmare about me and my wrestling career play out in front of the entire world like that. I can only imagine it was heartbreakingly horrible for you to see me constantly suffer that way.”

The sad expression that just formed on my mother’s face for the moment confirmed that for me.

“It was. You collapsed so hard just because you felt like certain losses proved a bunch of vapid idiots over there right and I always knew that you were better than that. Your shortcomings don’t prove anyone else right because they don’t matter.”

“Myra taught me how to think differently, mentioning that the only truth that matters is the truth that comes from within…”

“That’s exactly it.”

“Even then, it took me a hell of a long time to truly master that mantra and to finally learn how to block out all the noise from other people. I didn’t return to SCW at all until I was SURE I had mastered it. I’ve had a couple of opponents try that same shit with me already and I’ve even got a person or two that I haven’t even bothered mentioning extensively trying to throw dirt at me but it just doesn’t bother me at all.”

“That’s great…” my mother said. “There is absolutely no reason in the world why it should.”

“I’m at the best that I’ve ever been at all facets of the game and I’ve not wavered. I haven’t collapsed. I haven’t even come close. It’s such a coincidence that this year’s High Stakes is in Tucson considering that’s where I had my first SCW loss and things started to snowball for the worse, but ultimately it’s fitting that I’m regaining that world title there.”

“You’re going to win as long as you don’t let Kayla bother you…” my mother predicted.

“This isn’t 2020 anymore. From the moment that the match became official, I’ve known I’m going to win.”

“I’ve felt it since the moment you finally pinned Alicia…” my mother said with a smile. “I know you’ve got this and it’s going to mean the world to me to see it in person.”

My mother and I embraced at this point and I left that conversation more confident than ever that I was going to pull through at High Stakes.

11-19-2024

I wasn’t heading down to Tucson just yet. I headed to Flagstaff and found myself at my older brother’s front door. I rang the doorbell and Eddie was surprised to see me.

“I thought you’d be in Tucson right now.” he said.

“What? Is that the way you say hello to someone that’s about to become the SCW Bombshells World Champion for the second time?” I asked with a laugh.

Eddie could only smirk and I knew that he was loving my confidence.

“By all means…” he said as he stepped aside and allowed me to walk in. He shut the door behind me and I got right to the point.

“Obviously, as High Stakes has gotten closer I’ve been doing much thinking and reflecting. I’ve thought about my journey not just in SCW, not just my entire career, but from the moment I was a five year old little girl with the big dream of becoming a professional wrestler.”

“Trust me, it boggles my mind that you’re already 30.”

“I wanted to tell you straight up before we go to Tucson that all these years, I’ve known that you were the one person that has been behind me on this and has encouraged me and looked out for me from the very beginning.”

Eddie seemed a little surprised as he sat down on the couch and I sat down in kind.

“You’ve protected me. You’re the one person in the family that never shot down my dream. Sure, Mom and Dad came around, but they were against me doing this, as you know. I never said thank you for being the one person that got through to Dad when you decided you didn’t want to be a wrestler and when you stood up to him and told him to get over himself and the family’s outdated sexist nonsense and just allow me to be a wrestler because I was the one that really wanted it.”

“Do you realize how difficult it was to have that conversation?”

I nodded.

“Thank you for being the one person that never gave up on me and that made this whole thing possible and you’ve got far more of a role in what’s about to happen on Sunday than you can ever realize. Even when I was rock bottom as I was two to four years ago, you never gave up on me when most people would’ve or maybe even should’ve!”

“Remember a couple of years back when I told you that I didn’t want to have you around me until you left SCW?”

I had to bite the inside of my lower lip the moment he brought that up as I knew that it was far from my proudest moment.

“I hate that you did that…” I admitted.

“Do you honestly think I enjoyed doing that? Because I sure as hell did not. But, it was something that had to be done because being in that company at that time was destroying you and I couldn’t stand to see you that way. I know back then, you felt like I was giving up on you but you know now that I was trying to push you to start bettering yourself and to have the best mental heath that you could have. It was tough love, but I don’t regret forcing that ultimatum on you.”

“You could’ve just cut me off completely and permanently but you didn’t and again, that just shows you how much faith you had in me to be the best person that I can be.”

“I’m seeing it right now and I couldn’t be happier for you. If Dad was still here…”

He stopped the moment I sighed at what he just said.

“It’s so hard knowing that he’s missing this…”

“I understand. But we both know he’d be proud of you if he was. He’d be thrilled that there’s hope for a sixth generation of our family legacy…”

“I’m su… wait. How? I don’t have any children nor am I seeing anyone…”

“You’ve inspired my two daughters so much, especially lately, that THEY want to be wrestlers one day.”

My eyes perked up and lit up when I heard this.

“They’re going to Tucson also…”

“Hey now, don’t pressure me…” I said with a laugh.

“I’m just telling you the deal and that’s how good you’ve created your own situation, Andrea. The fact that you’ve inspired the next generation of our family, think about that, what’s at stake, what winning that championship again would mean not just to you, but to all of us.”

“I have to an extent and considering how strong our relationship has always been from our earliest memories and all, this world championship I’m about to win will be just as much yours and your daughters as it will be mine. Thank you so much for looking out for me and protecting me all these years…”

“I don’t need to protect you anymore…” he responded causing me to move in for an embrace. “...you’ve grown into an incredibly strong woman now. You’ve got this…”

We paused, before our conversation shifted to other family topics. That growing unity within our family as High Stakes drew closer was definitely a source of inspiration I didn’t know I needed.

I went to bed that night feeling that glow in me. Yet, in the back of my mind, as I fell asleep, I felt like the puzzle was missing one more piece…

There I was again…

The same building and ring that my father trained me in. The lights in it where definitely glowing brighter than before and I was a bit stunned by this as I leaned into the corner, head on the turnbuckle, running through my thoughts and knowing what I was about to face was going to be a hell of a challenge, but one I wasn’t losing faith in overcoming at all.

“Some comeback…” I heard.

I widened my eyes and felt some denial go through me only to turn around and see my father standing right in front of me.

“Dad?!?!?!”

“Did you honestly think I was going to miss this?”

“Of course not but if only you actually COULD be there… for real! I’m about to score probably one of the biggest wins of my career and all after two years of such unreal growth and the obstacles I’ve had to destroy just to even come close to getting to this point. It’s crazy how I went from a disgrace that was getting constantly mocked and ridiculed after I left to suddenly being one win away from winning back the title that I know in my heart was taken from me far too soon. I can only imagine how it all would’ve been if you were physically there for everything.”

“Your confidence and seeing how it’s grown has made me a proud father, Andrea. But, let me ask you this. What if you don’t pull through? What will you do? How would you be able to cope with that. You’ve lost big matches in SCW before and just about every time you have, it’s caused you to be destroyed in some way.”

Confusion poured over me and I was wearing it on my face. I couldn’t understand why he would ask that.

“That was then. Honestly, that ‘what if’ question hasn’t crossed my mind and I’m sorry if that disappoints you.”

My father laughed before he responded. “THANK GOD.”

“Thank god?”

“If you’re as confident as you say you are, you don’t even give the ‘what if’ question the time of day. I was testing you and now I know you’re truly ready. But if worse comes to worse…”

“Nope! That’s a ‘cross the bridge if it ever comes’ situation!”

“PERFECT! You’ve got it! FINALLY! The family legacy is in the most secure hands it could be and with seeing you grow and evolve as you have from the depths of despair you were in years ago, I have to tell you, Andrea… you have truly made me realize that all along, you were a father’s dream as a daughter.”

“Really?” I said, surprised and happily teary-eyed. “Daddy, I… oh my gosh… you know, I spent all these years imagining what it was like to finally achieve that level of respect and approval from you especially considering you didn’t initially want me to be a wrestler at all and now… oh my god, I thought I forever disappointed you all those years ago.”

“You could never disappoint me, princess. It hurt like hell knowing the situation you were in, but I knew the entire time that when you got out of it, you were going to be stronger and what I see before me is someone that has shown she can carry the torch on her own. I’ll always be in your heart, you know that. But I wanted to tell you not just how proud of you I am, seeing what you’ve become, but also goodbye.”

“What? Goodbye?”

“I’ve done what I can from the ‘beyond’ so to speak, to guide you and help you.”

“Dad…”

“You’ve grown so much that you don’t need me anymore. The torch is officially yours now. Your future has never been brighter now that you’ve overcome all the darkness from the past that turned your SCW dreams into a nightmare the first time you were there. You’ve overcome every fucking major hurdle you can face to be complete across the board… except for Kayla, but that’s coming. I got one more request for you…”

“Consider it fulfilled when I beat her…”

My father laughed, catching me off guard.

“I wasn’t talking about the title. You’ve got that.”

“So what’s this request then?”

“”Give me a granddaughter damn it…” he said with a laugh. “...someone that can be truly inspired by your journey and who can carry the torch herself.”

“I can’t promise that, but I’ll try.”

“Good…” he said as we shared one final embrace. “...I love you princess! I’ll see you again someday.”

“I love you too! Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me.”

Suddenly, everything flashed…

11-20-2024

I woke up in my own bed back in Phoenix, touched that at long last, my father’s death and the darkness it brought into my life was finally overcome.

I knew in my spirit that I was finally, fully healed from his death and it was the most freeing feeling I’ve ever felt.

“There’s nothing that is going to stop me from my fullest potential now…” I thought to myself. “...thanks Dad, for that final push… that final heal…

I’m ready to show the world the final stage of the evolution of the Phoenix that always burned inside of me…”

In that moment, I had never felt more inspired about my wrestling career…

11-22-2024

Not for a second did my faith continue to waver even when I was in Tucson at this point. It felt great to finally be here when I didn’t have any regrets or bitterness from the past weighing me down anymore. Still, the camera was on me in the Cathedral of Saint Augustine, the very location that was associated with the beginning of the snowball…

“Four years ago, I had lost to Alicia Lukas and this was the first place I went after I left the building. I came in here to say a prayer of forgiveness to my ancestors that I felt that I had let down and it wasn’t my best moment at all. It was in this church where my former descent to darkness and madness started. I come back here, at last, a healed woman. Everything from the past from the crap I dealt with in SCW to my father’s death, especially the latter, I am as healed as I can be from this and I know going into Sunday that for this Bombshells World Championship, one of the smallest margins that is going to tip the scales one way or another is confidence. Kayla Richards, as always, you’ve come out of the gate as confident as you can be and why wouldn’t you be otherwise being as dominant as you have been? You can go ahead and run down all the great things that you’ve done. You deserve that victory lap. You deserve your credit for beating Julianna, Tempest and Luna. I’d be a fool to deny you that. But for as confident as you came across for much of what you said, I observed your words very closely and I analyzed what you had to say and in spite of your well earned bravado, I was able to notice some ever so slightly cracks that CONFIRM that I am going to win on Sunday. It’s not just the fact that I have more confidence in me than you do in yourself…

It’s the fact that you tipped your hands at various points…

You even admitted that you don’t know if you can come out of this match with the title while I’m coming in here KNOWING that I WILL! For all your bravado, you tipped your hand. Despite those wins over the three Bombshells that you’ve mentioned, your biggest strength in never being satisfied with what you’ve done is also your biggest weakness, one that I know I can tear apart. You even admitted, particularly after you lost the tag team championships, that you even had some doubts. I get it. Losing those titles came as a surprise for you, but judging by what you had to say, I don’t think you learned your lessons from that. If you did, maybe there’d be a hint of evolution or some type of growth from you, but instead, it’s more of the same. But hey, you’ve been as dominant as you’ve been and you’ve been on top as long as you have. Why the fuck should you change anything, right?

Because if you don’t change, you eventually fall behind and lose your damn place and I hate to say it, but we’ve had our history of dominant Bombshells that lost their way after being dominant for so long. Once Alicia Lukas lost the world title for the third and to date the final time, whether it’s because she lost her edge or because the division was changing around her, she has yet to regain that former dominance. Hell, look at me…

18 match winning streak, undefeated 2021, Internet Champion for over 200 days and in a flash, it ended at the awful hands of one of the most undeserving, overrated Bombshells this company has ever had and I didn’t wrestle here again for another two years…

As much as losing that streak and that aura of dominance bugged me, it was the best thing that could’ve happened to me because that was when I had to get the hell out of here for my own mental health. I knew I couldn’t push any longer. I came back and I have proven that I have evolved. That’s a MASSIVE advantage I KNOW I have over you because I’ve BEEN on that journey that I’ve just described, whereas you haven’t yet. Your biggest flaw as a champion is that you don’t smell the roses and you don’t FULLY appreciate what you have and I KNOW this because during my winning streak, that was me! You start out from the jump saying that I am going to be the biggest challenge you’ve had and I appreciate that sentiment considering that for obvious reasons, you’re going to be my biggest one since I came back to the company but there’s no damn need for you to basically admit that half of your defenses were people that you felt either didn’t deserve a title shot or that weren’t good enough to get a title shot. In fact, I think you should look in the mirror because the way I see it, you criticized Julianna so much for defending the championship against people that she knew she could beat only for your own reign to be pretty damn similar…

If you take away the fact that you were also defending the tag team championships at the same time, how is your reign that much different than her? To your credit, what I just mentioned fulfills your dissatisfaction, but the thing is, Julianna went after YOU and called YOU out because she WANTED to shut you up and yet, when have you gone out and done the same thing? If you’re so dissatisfied with your reign and the people you’ve had to defend your championship against, why is it that until NOW, you’ve finally got a challenge that you’re satisfied with? Why did it have to take a tournament? For as vocal as you were about wanting to challenge Julianna so damn bad, you weren’t nearly as vocal with wanting a specific Bombshell to face you and challenge YOU. Is this rooted in a doubt that is burning within you more than you realize? Hell, if you respect me and wanted to face me so damn bad, all you had to do was pick up that damn microphone like you’re known to do, talk your shit and make that challenge but instead, you sat there and you waited for that challenge to just fall on your lap.

Essentially? The situation that you’re in that you seem to hate so much with how much you’ve gone on about facing the likes of Ariana and Seleana and how you wish they weren’t on your list of title defenses and how you wouldn’t have cared nearly as much and had far less passion if Alexandra won the triple threat and how you went as far as calling Alicia a faded violet that you would’ve rolled your eyes at… YOU had a hand in creating that situation for the simple fact that you haven’t done enough to change what bothers you so damn much. Besides, what in the actual hell kind of attitude is that? How can you just openly admit that you would’ve been bored with Alexandra and and have shown no passion when you promoted the match in front of the camera and that you and just ‘shrugged’ at Alicia like that? What kind of championship level attitude is that, Kayla?

A fucking POOR one if you ask me! I mean, how else can you describe the admission that you’d have given LESS than your best with certain Bombshells when, as the woman that is supposed to REPRESENT this division AND this company, you should ALWAYS give it your damn best no matter who you’re facing! Granted, I’d be remiss to gloss over the fact that during my undefeated streak, my attitude wasn’t that different which again, that shows me that I WILL beat you because really, I feel like I am facing a bit of a mirror image of who I used to be when I was here last time. I am confident that I know your weaknesses and what makes you tick because I WAS that type of person. This is exactly what I meant the last time I expressed what I felt about this match when I said that you’ve been so damn dominant that you might have forgotten what it feels like to have your back against the wall and hearing what you had to say and how you’ve had to bury most of your previous challengers in dirt so to speak, that FURTHER validates what I said. So when you combine everything that I just said and when you take into account your admission that you were having ‘seeds of doubt’ in your mind, then I KNOW I’ve got this because I am facing a woman that on the surface is a dominant champion and will do whatever it takes to remain as such and to let the entire world know how dominant she is, but deep down inside?

She’s someone who is far more vulnerable than what meets the surface. How can someone that has been as dominant as you have been for so long even have ONE seed of doubt in your mind? How can you sit there and admit that you don’t know if you can come out of this match with the win? I was hoping that you would have a little more bravado than that considering that is what you’re known for so I suppose in that sense, I don’t know if I should be surprised or disappointed all things considered. But me? Okay, sure, I started out with the likes of Krystal and Seleana in my first two matches and someone like you is beyond their level, but you don’t hear me have such a horrible attitude about who I’ve faced so far. I took the wins as they came no matter who they were against because I have evolved enough to appreciate every step along the way in the journey to get that SCW Bombshells World Championship back. Not ONCE since I came back to this company have I ever expressed any sort of doubt and not once have I even felt the need to call people out or to complain about a damn thing because now I know a HELL of a lot better than I used to.

Granted, my return hasn’t been flawless. There were times where I got frustrated a little bit. I admit that not being on the Violent Conduct card was a tough one to swallow and there were times where I questioned why the likes of Prudence Pierce and Raine, who I defeated in her debut, were in the Proving Grounds series for Julianna’s title and I wasn’t. I did wonder why certain Bombshells were getting these opportunities while I was on the sidelines. I’d be a fool not to mention that. But not ONCE did you see me bitch about it nor did you see me set aside time in my promo to bitch about how I deserve such and such over so and so because I KNEW that with the way I was going, the opportunity that I DID manage to make the most out of WAS going to be coming and the OLD Andrea, even the one that was in SCW prior to giving Crystal Hilton that piledriver through a television monitor and embraced the hate, would’ve bitched and moaned about everything I just mentioned…

But no, I stuck with it and I made it work out because that’s what a CHAMPION does! THAT, Kayla, is GROWTH! THAT is evidence  that I’ve matured and grown! THAT is growth that as a professional wrestler, you have yet to exhibit in my personal opinion! I wish I could tell you that when it comes to your title reign, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, but sadly with the words that have come out of your mouth already regarding certain title defenses in your reign, I’d be lying to you if I did and that’s really sad that I can’t say something like that because I can’t make you think any different than what you already do.

I already know that you’d be ashamed of losing the championship at High Stakes, not because of me necessarily, but you’d be ashamed of yourself for coming up short on the biggest show of the year to someone that you said was going to be your biggest challenge throughout your reign in all likelihood. You deserve to treat yourself better than that, Kayla. The way I’ve broken it down, it sucks that the world champion is someone that drowns herself in doubt and lacks the ability to appreciate herself enough to grow as a champion.

But perhaps after Sunday, you can gain a little more perspective on what it truly means to be a champion in this company and this business! This Sunday, in what is absolutely the biggest match of my SCW career PERIOD, I KNOW, that with the growth I’ve experienced and the appreciation within me of my journey that I’ve developed through the ups and downs, that I WILL burn the brightest and I WILL become the SCW Bombshells Champion again…

That perspective… the one that I’ve grown while I was away… the one that you’re lacking right now…

That’s what will result in a new champion when it’s all said and done and there’s NOTHING… NOBODY that will EVER shatter my resolve again!”

I took a deep breath and with the greatest confidence I’ve ever had in my life, I shut off the camera for the final time.