She could have visited the theme park and enjoyed her time here but Victoria Lyons had more important things on her mind than theme parks, the World Bombshell Championship to be specific, and so she stayed in her hotel room with her fiancee Darian.
“They just don't get it, do they Dare Bear?” said Victoria “I was maybe a little harsh in my demands but damn it, I've worked hard enough and I'm allowed to make demands. The company likes to give out handouts for hard work anyway but they couldn't throw a hand out my way? The 2025 woman of the year?”
She shakes her head with a heavy exhale, the screams from the park guests riding roller coasters carried faintly through the glass Darian looked over at her from the edge of the bed.
“You know how this company works babe…” he said.
“That's the problem..” she replied “I do know how this company works.”
She folded her arms.
“They reward someone like Crystal Zdnuich with a championship match that she doesn't deserve.” She said “I mean at least Mercedes has some wins behind her before getting here including one over Crystal. Yet it's people like Crystal they reward and not someone who carried an entire division on their back for a year.“
She turned her gaze to glance outside the window, her own reflection staring back at her.
“I bust my ass night after night” she said “I made the Bombshell Roulette Championship mean something and what do I get for it? Nothing.”
“You got Woman of the Year.” Darian reminded her.
“A trophy….” she muttered “A plaque to hang on the wall. It's a proud accomplishment sure, But it's not a championship. Do you know what champions get Dare Bear?”
Darian shook his head.
“They get power…” she said “They get respect and control over the division. SCW says they value hard work that they value your dedication and sacrifice but when it comes time to reward it suddenly someone else needs the spotlight a little bit more.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Darian asked.
“You already know.” she replied “I'm going to remind them who I am. I have this championship opportunity now on a technicality, but I have it and I suppose that's what matters, and I assure you I will walk out of Into The Void as the Bombshell World Champion.”
“Of course you will.” Darian agreed. “You don't go all the way to Japan to lose.”
“Exactly.” she smiled as she stared out the window.
She exhaled again listening to the sounds of the people in the theme park below.
“Listen to them.” she said “They all came here for that feeling, that rush you get on a roller coaster when your stomach drops and it feels like it's about to go off the rails.”
She paused.
“In my world that moment isn't a ride.” she said “That's the moment when someone realizes they're standing across the ring from me, and they realize that I'm one who's in control.”
She turned away from the window and looked at Darian.
“I won't let anything get in the way of my opportunity." said Victoria “The universe has a way of correcting itself and it already correctly got me my championship match now I need to finish the job and win. SCW needs a new era, and I am the one to lead it into that new era and everybody knows it even if they don't admit it to themselves.”
“ I get it.” said Darian “You win and you make yourself undeniable.”
“Oh I'm already undeniable.” said Victoria “It's only a matter of time, but I will leave Japan as the woman on top and I will show Mercedes and Crystal once again why despite all their past accomplishments I am still better than they are. I don't steal championships and claim them as my own I win them, and I'm certainly nobody's charity case that gets gifted opportunities. Nobody's ever given me anything, I earned everything myself. I may have inserted myself into the equation a few times but I still earned all my victories. If you can't handle a few surprises and adapt to new situation, then maybe you shouldn't be part of my business.”
“So you're not mad about the whole not being granted an opportunity?” asked Darian
“Oh I'm still mad.” said Victoria “But like I said I adapt to the new situation. There's no use crying over spilled milk. What's done is done. I have my opportunity and I have to take it for what it is. At the end of the day all that matters is that championship belt going around my waist.”
“It's going to look so good on you.” smiled Darian.
“I know.." nodded Victoria “Mercedes and Crystal won't know what hit them. But they will come to realize that I am the one. I am the one that will get to call herself the New Bombshell World Champion.”
“I certainly wouldn't want to be either of them right now. “ Darian grinned
"They shouldn't want to be themselves either." Victoria laughed. “This is just another match on the schedule, another opportunity for them, but for me it's a correction. For me it's proving that everything I've done since I walked into this place has led me here. A year of carrying the Roulette Championship while everyone else was chasing a moment, and now everything's finally lined up for me to ascend where I always belonged.”
“There's still Bea Barnhart you have to get through this week.” Darian reminded her.
“Please..” Victoria laughed “Be serious, it's Bea Barnhart. We all know this is nothing but a warm up. An opportunity for me to send a message not only to Mercedes and Crystal, but to the entire locker room exactly what’s to be expected. Nothing is going to take this for me I will destroy anything and anyone put in my path on the way to Japan.”
She turned back to the window again. Most of the people had come to Alton Towers for the thrills, to get that adrenaline rush from all the rides, but Victoria was already on the ride she wanted to be on, the one that was taking her directly to the Bombshell World Championship.
__________
The cameras open on Victoria in a simple room relaxed on a comfy lounge chair, a glass of red wine in her hand, nothing extravagant just a casual laid-back feel.
“Oh the situations we find ourselves in..” she said taking a sip, “I suppose you fancy yourself some sort of obstacle don't you? A roadblock on my way to becoming the bombshell world champion? The truth is you're no obstacle, you never have been. You're just the warm up, the exhibition before the big show, and you picked a really bad week to be a warm up.
She laughs.
“I'm on such an important path right now.” she said “I can't lose to someone that can't seem to win much of anything.”
She slowly swirled the red wine in the glass before taking a sip.
“And don't misunderstand me.” she continued “I'm sure in your mind you've convinced yourself that this is your moment, and if you can pull off this one big upset the world will start looking at you differently.”
She smirked slightly.
“But it doesn't..” she said “Because those moments belong to people on the rise, that are trying to build something and you're not building anything. You're just treading water and I'm not the lifeguard, I'm the shark.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“You see Bea, this week isn't about you. It was never about you. This week is about momentum.” she said “My momentum. This week is about making sure when I step into that championship match and into the void there is absolutely no doubt about who the most dangerous woman in that ring is.”
She points to herself.
“That would be me.” she said “I spent a year as the Bombshell Roulette at Champion creating my legacy. Every time that will spun and it landed on some ridiculous stipulation designed to trip me up, I adapted and I won. So when I say that you're just a warmup Bea, I'm not being cruel I'm just being honest “
She takes another casual sip of her wine.
“See, right now my focus isn't on you, not really.” she said “My focus is on what comes next, and that's walking into my CHAMPIONSHIP match and proving once and for all that the Bombshell division runs through me. That might be hard for someone like you to accept, but let's face reality you're not stepping into the ring on Climax Control with someone who's desperate for an opportunity. You're stepping in the ring with the 2025 woman of the year, and someone who's already proved she can carry an entire division on her back.”
There's a more serious look in her eyes.
“And you're stepping in there with someone who has absolutely no intention of letting a stepping stone start thinking it's the main event.” she continued “So when the bell rings Bea, do yourself a favor. Give it your best shot, swing hard and try to shock the world, because that's all you're going to be able to do is try.”
She sips more wine.
“Because when it's over..” she continued “And you're laying on the match staring up at the lights, the only thing you'll have accomplished is proving everything I said from the start. That you are never the obstacle, just the warm up.”
She smirks again.
"You see Bea, people like you always believe that if you work hard enough eventually the universe is going to reward you.” she said “And sometimes it does, but sometimes the universe sends you someone like me to remind you where you stand, and where you stand is directly in front of someone who refuses to be slowed down. I'm not fighting you because I need to win, I'm fighting you because I refuse to allow even the smallest crack in my momentum on my way to the Bombshell World Championship.”
She pauses, taking another step of her wine.
“Because when I step into that ring at Into The Void with Mercedes and Crystal.” she said, "I want the entire world to understand something. The outcome isn't a question, it's a foregone conclusion.”
She lets out a soft exhale and twirls her wine some more, studying it for a moment.
“It's funny Bea..” she continued “Everyone talks about Into The Void like anything could happen, but that's just the kind of thing people say when they hope the obvious outcome doesn't happen. Hope isn't what wins championships. Consistency does, and dominance does and I've been proving mine ever since I stepped into this company.”
She takes another casual sip of wine.
“Mercedes has her accomplishments I'll give her that.“ she continued "She's been around long enough to build quite the resume and knows how to survive in this business but surviving isn't the same as leading.”
She pauses for a beat.
“And Crystal has a talent of finding herself in the right place at the right time.” she said “But luck eventually runs out and hers ran out a long time ago.”
She smirks.
“And when someone's luck runs out..” she continued, "That's when someone like me shows up to finish the job, because I don't wait around and hope things go my way. I create the outcome and I leave nothing to chance.”
She takes one final sip of her wine emptying the glass.
“So Bea, when we step in that ring on Climax Control, understand you're in there with someone who's already locked on the bigger picture.” she continued “One last little tune-up before the main event, and if you think I'm being harsh then maybe you should have worked a little harder to be something more than just the warm up.”
She laughs to herself.
“But don't worry you'll get your moment Bea.” she continued "It'll just be the moment everyone watches me run right through you on my way to becoming the next SCW Bombshell World Championship, and when that happens? That's when the real era begins.”
She grins confidently at the camera one last time as everything fades out to black.
