Last Sunday
Julianna DiMaria is over the moon at the moment. Moments ago, in her own hometown nonetheless, she found out after Climax Control ended that she was going to be receiving a shot at the SCW Bombshells World Championship at High Stakes. Considering the proximity to San Diego, her mother joined her in Fresno. What was supposed to be just a regular, Sunday night dinner turned out to be something far more celebratory than planned. Currently, both are near done with dinner as Julianna’s mother breaks the ice.
“So, you’re going to talk about it now?” she asks.
“Talk about what?”
Her mother rolls her eyes in an amused manner.
“Oh right, the title shot. Well…” Julianna takes a pause for a brief moment to absorb the absolute shock of it all. “...THIS soon? At fucking High Stakes?”
“Sweetheart, let me be really honest with you…” her mother pauses as she grabs her hands. “...you act the way you do with your confidence and bravado with the camera on, but you really do underestimate yourself sometimes. We both know that you were going to get to a world championship level in your knew job someday.”
“But this soon?” Julianna says with a scoff. “I thought this was going to be a rebuilding thing. I thought this was going to take time. I figured I was going to have a long way to go considering that, when I signed, I was still trying to recover from last year and what I had been going through with NVR and…”
“None of that matters so much, Julianna…” her mother says with confidence. “You’ve always been strong enough to overcome any adversity thrown at you. You always have been ever since you got out of your personal rock bottom a few years back. I know what happened with NVR, being treated like a nostalgia act in Mainstream this year, and hat horribly sexist British company you were working for last year did a number on your confidence, but you’ve pulled through it. I understand being surprised by how fast it happened, but don’t be taking it for granted.”
“When you put it that way, yeah, maybe I do underestimate my own strength at times. BUT… I’ll tell you one thing, at least I can say that I earned it unlike the last bitch that had a title shot on one of their supershows.”
Julianna’s mother sighs and shakes her head with embarrassment.
“I can’t with her. You realize I had to change the channel when she was on, right?”
“...why? I’ve seen worse than her.”
“She reminds me so much of how you were earlier in your career when you had your father’s poison in your head… to a tee. I really don’t want to talk crap about the young lady, but that’s someone who doesn’t know how to be grateful for what she has and who doesn’t know a lick about handling adversity. But you do, Julianna. That’s why you’ve become the wrestler that you are now.”
Julianna is surprised to hear this from her own mother, considering the fact that she rarely gives such glowing compliments.
“I am not surprised that you’re getting a world title shot. I don’t care what anyone else says, but it’s not too soon for you and you have earned it. You’ve always been a fighter that has learned not just to stop giving a damn about what other people say about you, but to roll with the punches. I hated seeing you lack the ability to do this earlier in your career, but what I see is a young lady with her best years still ahead of her and who is about to become a world champion. So, when you go into that title match, don’t lose sight of that perspective. Remember where you came from, where you started, what you’ve overcome… and for god’s sake don’t regress and be that Ariana Angelos woman. You relapsing to that would hurt so much worse than you losing a world title match. I really…”
Mrs. DiMaria suddenly has a sudden pause.
“...I’m sorry Julianna, but I really have to use the bathroom again…”
“...that’s the third time in the last half hours. Mom, is something wrong?”
Her mother doesn’t give her any assurances when she bites her lower lip.
“Just think about what I just told you, okay? I’ll be right back.”
Julilanna’s mother heads to the bathroom while Julianna herself just takes a sip of some iced tea she ordered earlier.
“Maybe she just drank too much water…” Julianna says with a shrug, not thinking anything of the frequent restroom trips. This allows her to focus on her entire wrestling journey and not just the brief one that she’s had in SCW so far.
“It’s easy to remember when I used to be so bad at handling adversity like I was before…”
While she waits for her mother to return, Julianna takes a trip down memory lane.
Fall 2019
Julianna at the moment, just a week or so removed from her 25th birthday, is feeling nothing but shame as she glares at a sign that says “San Diego Psychiatric Clinic”. She happens to be in a therapy room with a psychiatrist that she has known for a while.
“How did this happen?” he asks her. “What in the world caused you to snap so much that your mother had to drag you here for an overnight stay? Were you on any kind of drugs, Julianna?”
“No…”
“Were you drunk?”
“I don’t drink, Dr. Montgomery…”
“So what happened? Talk to me. How does Julianna DiMaria go from a promising young prospect in the world of professional wrestling to being, honestly, a joke in Portland Pro Wrestling. I know you just lost a huge match that you HAD to win. Was it that?”
“It wasn’t losing the match…” Julianna says with sadness in her eyes. “I went home after the match and I went to see my mother. Right when I was about to knock on the door, she and my father were arguing about me. I heard my father tell my mother that I was a failure and that I should retire and become a porn star because I can ‘never break the ceiling’.”
“And that’s what made you break down the window and then attack him?”
“After he told my mother that I should’ve never been born and that knowing I existed made him feel like less of a man…”
Dr. Montgomery shakes his head.
“All this, just from a career that hasn’t been what you wanted.”
“Yeah…” Julianna admits.
“Let me tell you something, Julianna. Your father may be your trigger and I understand that. But ultimately, this all falls on you. Only you are responsible for your own actions. It’s an endless cycle with you: you put all this pressure on yourself to win a big match, you don’t. Then, you handle it horribly and take it out on everyone else. THEN, when your father chimes in and either makes fun of you or degrades you for losing that big match, you snap, you go into a dark place and… you REALLY did it this time. Attacking your father was one thing, but going as far as grabbing a glass shard from the window and threatening to cut yourself?”
Julianna can’t help but let the tears flow at this point.
“You’ve got to break the cycle. You’ve got to get a grip on the fact that it’s not the adversity itself that you face, it’s how you handle it. You’re going to run yourself out of this business within the next year the way you’re going… or WORSE. I am making a medical recommendation that you leave Portland Pro…”
“And let THEM win?” Julianna says stubbornly “...all they ever try to do is screw me…”
“Julianna, quit it with the victim complex. Being there is clearly not right for your mental health. There is far more things in life than winning some big match. Losing one certainly isn’t worth even THINKING about self-harming. You can’t let your father continue to have this hold over you. Losing a match does not prove him right and winning a match doesn’t prove him wrong. You have nothing to prove to him. You have to prove to yourself that you’re capable of reaching your full potential and the only way you’re going to do that is to learn to roll with the punches so much better, you understand that?”
“You make much sense, Dr. Montgomery. I feel so… horrible. I can’t believe I let things spiral that far out of control.”
“You don’t have to allow it to spiral out of control any further. You are the only one that truly defines what your purpose and your legacy is going to be… not your mother, not your father, not Portland Pro or any other wrestling company, not a match, not a wrestler… you! To put it bluntly in a way someone like you will understand: you can make adversity your bitch, or you can be adversity’s bitch. The choice is really up to you at the end of the day.”
Dr. Montgomery gets interrupted by the sudden presence of Mrs. DiMaria who has arrived to take Julianna back home.
“Now, I hope you think about what I’ve been telling you….”
“I will, Dr. Montgomery… I promise…”
Julianna is able to dry her own eyes before she leaves with her mother…
A little bit later…
There’s been some odd silence on the ride back home, but Julianna finally says something when her mother pulls up into the driveway.
“I’m so sorry mom…”
Her mother sighs.
“At this point, an apology can only do so much. What are you going to do differently, Julianna? It’s never gotten to this extreme, but your insecurities with your career are always coming back to bite you.”
“I’m going to leave Portland for starters…”
“Good. And?”
“I’m going to figure out how to be better. I’m a train wreck, mother. I admit this. I need to change. I need to be better than blaming everyone else for my problems. I need to start taking responsibility and I need to start being an adult and that’s exactly what I am going to do. I promise you…”
“I’m not the one you need to make any promises to.”
“Then… I’m going to make a promise to myself that I am going to break the cycle and I’m going to learn how to roll with the punches so I can be a better wrestler, but more importantly, be in a better place as a person.”
“You’re capable of anything you set your mind to, Julianna…” her mother reminds her. “Don’t let go of that…”
Julianna stays alone in the car for a small bit after her mother exits as she starts to think of how she’s turning her career around… which she obviously would in the months to come…
Last Sunday…
“I really have come such a long way from that rock bottom, haven’t I?” Julianna asks herself in her head.
“Sorry about that…” Mrs. DiMaria says as she comes back to the dinner table and sits across from her.
“Mom, are you SURE you’re okay? Don’t tell me something silly like “I had too much water this morning” because even then, three times in a half hour isn’t normal”
Julianna’s mother has a sullen look on her face.
“There’s something that I have to tell you…”
“Now? Mom, this is supposed to be celebrating the big news about High Stakes.”
“You’re on to something not being right. I’ve been having some back pain lately…”
“It’s not related to… wait…”
“I got my kidneys checked out and… the cancer that I had there that was in remission? It’s back…”
“...no….” Julianna says with a shocked gasp. “NO! Mom…”
“I’ve beaten it once, remember? So much good came out of it. With you, it really woke you up and made you learn not to take things for granted anymore. No worries, they caught it early just like they did last time.”
“That’s good!” Julianna says with a little more exuberance. “Thank god! You’re going to kick cancer’s ass… again!”
Mrs. DiMaria can only help but laugh given the grim situation she just unloaded on her.
“One more detail though. There won’t be any chemo this time. Julianna, bear with me on this… they’ve decided that removing the kidney completely is the better decision.”
Julianna’s jaw drops in shock, with her head spinning 100 miles an hour.
“We don’t want to risk cancer coming back for round three, do we?”
“Yeah… I get it… so… when is this happening?”
“A few weeks from now… a week and a half prior to your big title match in fact. I’m sorry to say that I more than likely won’t make that.”
“Don’t be sorry, mother. Take care of yourself first. You know I’d love for you to be there, but if you can’t, you can’t. I can’t help but be devastated for you. I mean, the frequent restroom trips make more sense but… I’m sorry, I feel like I’ve just been punched in the gut…”
“I understand, sweetheart…” she says as she grabs her hand. “But stay strong for me, alright? I know the first time around it weighed heavily on you but I need you to be just as strong with this if not stronger than before. Remember what you learned about rolling with the punches. This is just another one of those things. Don’t let my situation be a distraction for your wrestling goals, alright?”
“Mom, you know I am not going to be able to help it. I’ll be thinking about you plenty. But, I know exactly where the strength in my DNA comes from and she’s the parent that I still have in this world. I know this news is… a shock… but… we still have some happy news to celebrate, right?”
Her mother processes the conversation for a moment before she’s able to crack a smile.
“Of course, Julianna. You having a title shot on that kind of stage is definitely something to be happy and excited about. I don’t want you to be upset or sad about my situation. I want you to stay happy and stay focused with yours, okay? Can you promise me that you’re going to stay strong for me?”
“Of course I can! I’ve done it before when you were in this same situation and I’m going to do it again and if you can’t make it to High Stakes, then I know you’ll be there with me in spirit. If anything, I’ll do what I did last time: be inspired, not downtrodden, and to use that same inspiration to be a better wrestler and a better person!”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear sweetheart…”
Julianna exchanges a hug with her mother and the pair continue on with their evening.. Julianna certainly has much emotions to filter through knowing that she’s got a huge match coming up AND she’s got to balance that with the medical scare that she just learned about.
Still…
This is not an adversity that is going to weigh her down…
September 22
Julianna doesn’t know whether to be amused or serious as she finds herself in an abandoned psychiatric clinic in the outskirts of Fresno. No doubt she is reflecting on her rock bottom of her career at this point especially knowing the match that she has coming up. When she turns the camera on, she’s already thinking about Ariana Angelos, though it’s unclear whether she’s angry about how she’s carrying herself or not. Either way, she’s about to speak her mind.
“A wise man once told me that you can make adversity your bitch, or that you can BE adversity’s bitch. Ariana Angelos, I think with YOU, the choice is clear. You are, without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest disgrace to this division and this company as a whole besides the likes of Bea Barnhart and I am NOT speaking hyperbole, I am speaking facts. Let’s give the short version of this whole thing: you had a lucky draw from a random deck of cards for a world title shot against Courtney Pierce, Ruby Steele interfered, you lost. Been there, done that. You can cry ‘screwed’ all you want to, but what have you actually DONE about it besides whine and complain on social media and all over Climax Control? NOTHING!
In fact… ever since the turn of the year when you lost your Roulette Championship, NOTHING is basically what your career has amounted to, hasn’t it? Who in the FUCK are YOU to demand another title shot? For starters, you didn’t even deserve the one against Courtney at ALL! SURE, you can make the argument that it’s too soon for ME to get any sort of title shot, but at least I have wins to back it up… particularly one against Courtney’s predecessor. Hell, let me take it a step further. You didn’t even deserve the title shot you got against Roxi either. What if I told you that the last ONE ON ONE WIN that you had was that number one contender’s match against Zoey Lukas. First off, winning against the store brand Lukas to even BE the number one contender in the first place? Unimpressive… and you didn’t even PIN the woman! You won that match with a COUNTOUT! But SOMEHOW you think you deserve to even BE in the World Championship picture? Bitch, you don’t even deserve to be in the Internet championship picture… of SIN CITY UNDERGROUND… with the way you have wrestled all year. The last time you actually PINNED anyone in a one on one match was Jessie Salco when you defended the Roulette Championship… LAST YEAR! But you want to act like you deserve a world title shot? Hell, you don’t even deserve THIS opportunity. Kayla Richards, who has made you her BITCH for the better part of a year or so, deserves this more than you do and SOMEHOW, your entire situation is everyone else’s fault, right?
Maybe if you… I don’t know… WON matches without relying on countouts or HB Carter in mixed tags you would… I don’t know… MAYBE deserve it? SINCE you lost to Roxi… your singles matches ever since: Aleesha Jones… loss. Keira Fisher… loss. Kayla Richards… los…. again… One is a current champion, one is a former champion, one is a Hall of Famer. FINE, I suppose. But GEORGIE ROBERTSON?!?!?! You couldn’t even beat GEORGIE FUCKING ROBINSON? How the FUCK do YOU deserve to even be in the main event, or even come CLOSE to sniffing that when you couldn’t even beat Georgie fucking Robinson! That do nothing bitch is literally one of the FEW bombshells that a Bea Barnhart is capable of beating, and you can’t even beat HER?
But you deserve a title shot more than anyone else?
No…
Let me give you some reality here you ungrateful little bitch… with how you’ve been losing matches lately, it’s a wonder you even got a contendership match when you beat Zoey. Hell, I’m starting to think it may be a wonder that you are even employed at all. I mean, when your last one on one, non-countout, non-DQ singles win was LAST YEAR, girl… you’d be lucky to be employed as my own personal shoe shiner! But NO… you act like your shit doesn’t stink. You want to overexpose yourself on Climax Control last Sunday acting like you’re the star of the show when not only were you never even a BIG DEAL in SCU when that company existed… you weren’t even the biggest deal at Go Gym and by the way, great fucking job disgracing them with how you’ve been acting lately. You want to talk about being ‘screwed’ and how Violent Conduct should’ve been your moment?
Reality check… whether Ruby Steele interferes or not, you’re still losing that match. It’s not even just because of Courtney being on top of her game right now, it’s the fact that… okay, time for some LOGIC which you’ve been lacking lately. You can’t even beat Georgie Robertson, so on WHAT planet were you going to beat Courtney? Even if you may have been about to hit your finisher, who’s to say that she doesn’t kick out of it anyway? Yeah, I get your perspective though. I’ve BEEN there. I hate to admit it, but I’ve even been YOU… in terms of being screwed and cast aside like a piece of fucking garbage. I GET IT! But at least the way I handle it? I push on. I either screw the person right back or laugh in their face. I am not that bitch that I was earlier in my career where I would have massive mental meltdowns on social media over every single little thing that doesn’t go my way… which.. BANG UP JOB on that by the way. Had I lost at Violent Conduct, I wouldn’t have been THAT bothered it. I would’ve moved on. I had nothing to REALLY lose in that match to begin with. I’m the type of wrestler that has learned to take it in the chin.
You on the other hand… you basically morphed into the Mediterranean version of Krystal Wolfe from earlier this year and the fact that even SHE admits that is an indictment on you because YOU should’ve known better, Ariana! YOU should’ve AVOIDED that example, but you basically ripped her off and did the same thing that she did, probably in a similar way too. You’re so UNORIGINAL that it’s no wonder that most of this locker room doesn’t give a fuck about you. Holy hell, it’s like that disgusting blob demon thing from Buffy the Vampire Slayer that left one body and infected the other with you and Krystal…
Hey, is SIN in there somewhere?
You were already that back of the line bitch, Ariana… but after your behavior last Sunday and on Twitter after the fact, you’ve gone from back of the line bitch to an overall embarrassment not just to this division or this company, but effectively to all of professional wrestling. Oh, you want to talk about how you’re not going to be shuffled to the back of the line after being screwed at Violent Conduct?
Girl, the back of the line is where you were when you got your lucky draw in the first place.
And while you’re at it, learn to accept some responsibility for your own bullshit! That losing streak in one on one matches? That’s not on Mark, that’s not on Christian, that’s not on Courtney, that’s on YOU and you seem to REFUSE to see that because you suddenly think that everyone else is out to get you when in reality, you did this to yourself by being nothing but a constant, perennial loser for the entire year. Hell, you think Courtney would even want to be out to get you? You think you’re GOOD ENOUGH for her to even want to screw you out of the match we’re having this Sunday? If you really think that, then you REALLY need to come back to earth because there’s no WAY Courtney should even BOTHER having an agenda against you. You’re not even close to being a threat to her for her to have an agenda against you.
I’m not necessarily saying that you are wrong for speaking up. But the thing of it is, you don’t even have a leg to stand on when it comes to the Bombshells title in the first place. You never even DID. If you had won most of your matches, put in the damn hard fucking work that it takes to get to the top and actually earned your title shots without fluky countouts or equally fluky card draws, then that’s one thing. But you’ve done NONE of that. You want to act all tough and all bad and you want to think that dissing Jessie’s parents is going to make you edgy and intimidating. Girl, this act that you’re putting on doesn’t make you SHIT… except for an absolute wannabe who can’t accept what her limitations are in this company. This whole shtick of yours? I can’t buy it. I won’t buy it. It’s like you are trying so hard to make us forget that prior to your title shot against Courtney, you were down on your confidence and completely down on your luck because you hadn’t won a match in a while. Don’t think anyone forgets how on social media, when it was announced you were getting that shot, you initially acted as if you didn’t deserve it.
You had ZERO confidence going into that match initially which is why I feel like you lose to Courtney one way or another. But you know, that’s not the only reason. You went from being unconfident going into that match to suddenly wanting to win that match for Team Hero… and then that changed before the match even happened for whatever reason that it did. Honestly, you’re a complete fucking mess in the head, Ariana. But SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY, through ALL of this, you think you’re ENTITLED to a rematch when you don’t have ANY real argument for deserving it?
‘But Ruby…’
NO, that’s not an argument… especially when you never even deserved that title shot in the first place… which by the way, makes your little spiels about how Courtney is a ‘paper champion’ seem all the more ridiculous not only because she HAS retained her title without cheating against other opponents, not only because she WON the title from Roxi without any controversy, but because you literally were the definition of a paper challenger anyway.
But NOW you want to be that big bad bitch that everyone hates and you want to act like you’re so special and you’re so unique well bitch, you’re NOT special, you’re NOT unique, you DON’T deserve a world title shot, you NEVER deserved it in the first place and last Sunday, when you burned your bridge with your friends and when you did the same with the fans, you basically lost their support, which coming into this match, is the one thing that you would’ve had over me to begin with. The fact that you even HAVE this opportunity is a disgrace to the damn title. Seriously! I can’t STAND people like you that think that they’re entitled to everything. Yeah, I may be who I am. I may be a bitch to some people. I may say the things that I do in the way that I do and I may hurt feelings… but at least I OWN who I am! At least I KNOW who I am.
You? You’re just desperate for attention… hell desperate to be in any way relevant, because you can’t buy a one on one non-bullshit win to save your life these days. You snapped because that match against Courtney was your one last chance of having any semblance of meaning in this division for the time being and you’re just desperate to stay in the picture even though you didn’t deserve to be in it at all.
I’ve SEEN this act before… hell, I’ve even BEEN this act before. I USED to act like I’m entitled to everything just like you did and all that did was take me straight to rock bottom. But, I overcame rock bottom. I overcame my insecurities. Throughout your entire career, you clearly haven’t and you can say whatever the hell you want about me, but I get shit done. At least I can overcome any loss, any opponent, any other type of adversity that comes at me.
You on the other hand, are just fine with being a bitter, pathetic, wormy little WANNABE that doesn’t know how to make the best out of the worst situations like I have and that’s why you have done nothing but completely crumble as you have after you lost the Roulette Championship. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you never got over it. This whole ‘bitch act’ of yours is literally your last, desperate attempt to even be anything in this division and I’m going to tell you straight up that you’re only going to drive your career FURTHER into the ground if that is even POSSIBLE at this point. I don’t need Courtney to be on my side and to be honest with you, I’d rather she didn’t. I’d rather she doesn’t fast count me just to screw you and keep you out of the title match because for one, I REALLY don’t want to hear you make any more excuses for your historic ineptitude inside of a Sin CIty Wrestling ring these days and hell, the whole of 2023, but I also DON’T need a fast count, or some other form of bullshit, to beat you straight up. I come into this thing KNOWING that I deserve this title shot more than you do even though you are just my fifth match in the company and KNOWING that you could NEVER be better than me!
Reality’s about to set in for you, Ariana. After I defeat you on Sunday and leave you locked out of the High Stakes main event as you should’ve been in the first place, you’re going to HOPEFULLY come to your senses and realize that hey…
Maybe you’re just not cut out to be a world champion…
Maybe you’re better off being HERE… in this abandoned psych hospital I happen to be talking to you from.
Because lord nows the only thing you need wrapped around you is a straitjacket, not a championship.
Julianna scoffs before she shuts off the camera and remains completely confident about her chances come Sunday night at Climax Control.
