It was the week of December 2 Dismember and the third match between Courtney and Ariana, Ariana had a lot of pressure on her shoulders because this was her first defence on PPV and the one where she was defending the title against Courtney rather than the other way around, can Ariana retain and end the year as champion or will Courtney dethrone her and enter the New Year with the title around her waist?
Ariana’s home, Las Vegas, Nevada
Monday the 11th of December 2023, 11:00am
If you think about it, there isn’t a bigger monkey’s paw in wrestling than winning a title.
Yeah, the reigns get your name in the record books, and holding a title means that you have something to your name other than a cool nickname, but think about it, when you’re a champion of any division people are going to be after you the moment that belt’s around your waist, the bosses will want you to defend that championship whenever possible and at the end of the day, you end up finding out who your real friends are fast.
I should know, I’m a four time champion after all.
Two time SCU Pride Tag Team Champion? Did that, one time Bombshell Roulette Champion? Cross that off the list, one time Bombshell Internet Champion? Well, I’m the current champion of the Bombshell Internet Division and for the past several weeks I’ve practically ben wrestling one handed, all because I cost my rival her ill deserved World Bombshell Title Shot at the beginning of the cycle, an injury that could’ve seen the end of my reign if Courtney had her way.
Oh the joys of being a champion, am I right?
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved every second of my reigns in SCW and SCU but when they say that retaining the title is the hardest part of being a champion they mean it! My reign is practically being held together by nuts and bolts at this point and with Courtney as my next challenger? You know she’s going to use every trick in the book to get that title off me on Sunday night at December 2 Dismember VI but she seems to have forgotten one thing.
I’ve grown wise to her tricks.
”Just one more week left in the SCW Callander, and my last chance at ending the year as a champion in SCW.” I muttered to myself as I checked my Twitter feed this morning, I wasn’t even paying attention to Courtney’s promo from the past week, I just wanted to focus on the match. ”And my second match with only one good hand, I swear I should try to break Courtney’s hand for a bit of karma.”
”Karma or revenge?” Francisco asked and I glanced over at my husband as he entered the room having just done another round of housework as he’s had to do since I got my injury. ”Because from what I’ve seen it’s been a bit of both.”
”What do you think?” I asked as I shook my head and Francisco motioned for me to elaborate. ”I’m not going to go over what happened when I wrestled Courtney in Mexico, that’s beyond a well-trodden path at this point, but honestly? Courtney’s had that payback coming for a long time, it’s not my fault that Courtney couldn’t accept the truth, that she did even less than me to deserve that rematch for the title.”.” I added as I glanced towards the ceiling. ”She’s a hypocritical bitch who can’t accept that her time in the Main Event is over, I can’t wait to shut her up this Sunday.”
”Except you’ll be wrestling that match practically one handed, I know you’re not a brawler but you know Courtney will go after that hand at the earliest opportunity.” Francisco responded as he shook his head and I nodded in agreement. ”You survived the first defence but comparing Bea Barnhart too Courtney is like comparing a person starting to learn how to swim to an Olympic Swimmer.”
”First off Franky? I’m totally stealing that for my promo, that line is too good not to use.” I responded honestly and Franky laughed in a way that said “by all means”. ”Second? I know because that bitch will do anything to win a title, same goes for retaining a title because we both know how the World Bombshell Title Match between me and Courtney ended! At least since Ruby’s arm is healed she won’t have an arm in a cast to hide behind.”
”And you’ll have Tempest as backup, though I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t challenge you to the match that never was.” Francisco suggested and I felt a slight shudder go down my spine at that thought. ”When was the last time you wrestled someone like Tempest? In a purely one on one setting?”
”Probably the two times I wrestled Melissa one on one last year, off course Melissa’s more of a brawler than a pure powerhouse and she’s shown no sign of possibly returning to the ring since Goth returned from the injured list so who knows if I’ll ever wrestle her again?” I asked with a shrug and Francisco nodded in response. ”As for Tempest? I’m not a fan of trying to wrestle her, training with her is hard enough because she’s a pure powerhouse and I’m a high flyer, never mind wrestling her for a title, assuming off course that I’ll still be champion heading into the New Year.”
”And that the bosses won’t book a match between you two just to check that matchup off the list.” Francisco added and I nodded in agreement before I took a sip from my drink. ”And off course we have the Golden Briefcase to worry about.”
”Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that ladder match since it got announced, I still say Krystal has the best chance out of the four Bombshells in the women’s match of winning.” I commented with a sigh as brushed some hair over my shoulder with my good hand. ”I want to talk to her about that and everything that’s happened between me and Krystal over the past year but that’s assuming that she’ll even talk to me.” I added as I folded my arms. ”The last time we interacted was when we had that argument at the Go Gym.”
”Maybe you should meet with her on neutral ground?” Francisco suggested and I had to admit, that was a solid idea. ”But where?”
”What about that bar Jessie opened after she retired? I don’t think we’ve been there outside of the annual post Supercard parties.” I suggested before checking the address via the Google app on my phone, it wasn’t that far from mine or Krystal’s homes honestly so it was within reach. ”We’ll see if she responds to my texts in any case, but if she does agree to meet there? I’ll leave the Bombshell Internet Title at home, don’t want to risk it getting stolen and I’ll never hear the end of it from the bosses if some drunk asshole does steal the title.”
”Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to keep the title under lock and key here in the house if Krystal agrees to meet you there.”” Francisco assured me and I grinned in response. ”Well in any case I’m going to go walk the dogs, don’t let in any stray cats whilst I’m out.”
”Don’t joke about that, I’ve already told the neighbours to stop leaving unwanted animals at my house because at the rate they were going? We’d have to buy a huge house on the outskirts with plenty of land for the dogs to run around just so I could have enough space for them all!” I responded as I shook my head and Francisco nodded in agreement. ”If nothing else I’d have a lot more peace and quiet, though I’d have to tell Carter and Francisco about my new address so that they could come to see me.”
”Same goes for me and my sister, not to mention Mark and Christian so they know to send your pay checks to a new address.” Francisco responded with a nod before we left my office to go walk the dogs, I definitely had a lot to think about heading into the new year but I had to get past this title match first.
Easier said than done.
Go Gym, Las Vegas, Nevada
Thursday the 14th of December 2023, 16:00pm
The week before a Supercard is always hectic, and it doesn’t really matter whether your one of the SCW Champions, their challengers or not.
Some wrestlers head into the shows not really knowing what will be in store for them until the bosses unveil the full card,. Then there’s me who already knows what’s ahead of me and has known for weeks that Courtney will be my second challenger (again, I don’t count the Tempest match because that match was called off after Courtney tried to break my hand) but there’s only so much I can do to prepare.
Especially when my hand won’t be a hundred percent healed until February at most!
But yeah, I’m getting what training I can do in as much as I can at the Go Gym this week, admittedly my sparring matches/training will be light because the last thing I want is to further injure my hand and risk all my efforts to hold onto the Bombshell Internet Championship be for naught but it’s still training for the match against Courtney and that was all that mattered! Right now though? I was overlooking a sparring match between two of the newer students at the Go Gym, the Irish trainee Kelly, and the recent newcomer Hayley.
”Good job girls, keep it up,” I cheered them on as I watched on from the ring apron and the two trainees kept exchanging holds, Kelly was clearly far ahead of Hayley in her training but both girls were really good for their experience level, either they were prodigies or the Go Gym was that good at training future wrestlers, take your pick! ”Hayley, watch the grip on that armbar, you didn’t have it locked in correctly.”
“Got it, thanks.” Hayley responded before doing the armbar again with a tighter grip,, I continued watching them for a while and to be honest? I was getting flashbacks, flashbacks to when I was an eighteen year old trainee at the Go Gym chasing my dream of being a wrestler, granted Hayley and Kelly were both a year older than I was when I started at the Go Gym but the point stands, I was the youngest Go Gym student at the time.
Heck, at twenty three I’m still one of the youngest graduates from the gym!
“You failure!” My train of thought was interrupted by a strange voice and I glanced around, thinking I was overhearing an argument or something, but there was no one arguing which could only mean one thing, my family’s history of mental health issues were messing with my head again! I excused myself to leave the trainees to it so I could go into another room and try to deal with this on my own. “You call yourself a champion?”
”Yeah, I do.” I responded in a whisper as I paced around the room, not really sure what I was expecting to do at this point. ”And I’m a much better champion than Courtney ever was!”
“Are you?” Then my mind was flooded with images of me at my lowest point during any of my title reigns, the time when Carter gave up his half of the SCU Pride Tag Team Championship? Yep, that was there, the point where me and Alex lost the titles? That too! The matches against Amber and Masque during my Bombshell Roulette Title reign? You bet your ass that was there too! And off course, Courtney’s attack on my hand was the most recent image conjured up by my mind. “You were always a weak champion.”
”No, no, no, no, no, no!” I insisted as I dropped into a foetal position against the wall, I wasn’t sure how long I was like that but eventually the door opened and I glanced up. ”Oh, hey girls.” I greeted Kelly and Hayley weakly as they stood at the room’s entrance with concerned looks on their faces. ”You finished sparring already?”
“Already? Ari, you left us alone two hours ago.” Kelly informed me and I was taken aback by that, did that episode really take that long. “We thought you had headed home early but Francisco wasn’t in the parking lot, is everything okay?”
”It’s a long story.” I sighed as I pulled myself up and turned to the two young women. ”Look, the women in my family have a history of mental health issues, some are manageable, some aren’t, I think mine’s somewhere in the middle.”
“And that was the issues rearing their head?” Hayley asked and I nodded in response. “Have you talked to anyone?”
”About my mental health? Yeah, but that won’t help make those issues go away, just prevents me from going over the deep end again.£ I sighed before I turned to the two younger women. ”I appreciate you girls coming to check on me but I need to go get changed into my street clothes, I’m not about to go out in my wrestling gear in December.”
“Sure, go ahead, Francisco’s waiting for you outside anyway.” Hayley responded with a nod before they stood aside to let me go change.
Whatever the cause was, the fact that this happened for the second time in the month of December since I signed that contract with SCW right before a big match didn’t bode well for the future.
Outside the Go Gym, Las Vegas, Nevada
Thursday the 14th of December 2023, 21:00pm
*promo time*
One big question.
”What makes a champion? If you ask me, it’s someone that defends their titles honourably and doesn’t back away from any challenger, whether they are Bea Barnhart or Tempest, if you ask Courtney? It’s being a total hypocrite who does whatever it takes to win, even hiding behind her wife with a broken arm.” I stated bluntly as I brushed some hair over my shoulder. ”We’ll see who gets proven right on Sunday Courtney, when we face off for the Bombshell Internet Championship!”
A rematch I’ve been waiting for.
”This match has been in the works for how long Courtney? Three long months? Has it sunk in yet how close you were to losing the World Bombshell Title to me or are you still in denial? I bet it’s the latter, I’d bet good money on you telling everyone who’ll listen to you for more than five minutes that you didn’t need Ruby’s help to retain the title over me!” I shook my head with a grin. ”I’m going to paraphrase a quote from the US version of MasterChef because in my mind? It describes you personally, the only thing worse than a paper champion is a narcissist in denial.”
Yep.
”And before you even think about deflecting Courtney? That was about you, because for months you’ve claimed that you had the match against me in hand, that you didn’t need Ruby’s help, tell me Courtney, if you didn’t need your pathetic wife’s help then how come your no longer champion? How come the whole reason this match came about is because I cost you your rematch against Julianna? How come your first match since losing the championship almost ended in a pin-fall loss to Harper?” I asked pointedly before holding up the braced hand and I started doing a wind up motion with my good hand, slowly raising my middle finger until it was sticking straight up. ”How come you were so scared of facing me again that you tried to maim me by breaking my hand? How come you couldn’t get the job done? Say what you will about Krystal’s actions this past year, but at least she was good at breaking bones, something you can’t even get right!”
Shame.
”And I know what you’re going to say, that the attack was retaliation for me embarrassing you, by hitting you with your own finisher and pinning you in the middle of the ring and for costing you the World Bombshell Title Match, are you seriously that deluded?” I asked bluntly before shaking my head. ”Off course you are Courtney! You are a graduate of Jet City, a gym that hasn’t produced any worthwhile talent in how long? Me? I graduated from the school behind me.” I motioned over my shoulder to the Go Gym. ”A school that has produced more former SCW Champions than I care to count, including yours truly, this is what our rivalry basically boils down too, championship or no championship, it’s all about Jet City vs, the Go Gym when you get down to it.”
Pointless.
”A rivalry perpetuated by a has-been wrestler who faked his own death when he realized that people didn’t care about him anymore, oh I’m sorry Kris, was that too soon? Don’t care, the first time around Court? You were lucky enough to have Ruby ready and willing to do your bidding, but that won’t help you on Sunday, because I’m wise to your tactics this time.” I added as I flipped some hair over my shoulder. ”And make no mistake, by the end of the night the Go Gym will triumph over your joke of a gym once again when I retain the Bombshell Internet Championship over you and head into the New Year as the champion, as for you? Back to square one again, but maybe you’ll lose to Bea Barnhart this time around?”
Pity.
”That humiliation is the least you deserve for trying to end my reign prematurely by breaking my hand, off course the alternative is that you sulk off to obscurity again but your ego won’t allow you to do that, won’t it Courtney?” I asked as I folded my arms. ”You always have to be the centre of attention, even when you’re not a champion anymore you can’t stand not being in the spotlight, the problem is Courtney that spending so long at the top of the Bombshell Division Mountain exposed you as the weak champion you are.”
Here we go.
”And trust me, once I’m done with you on Sunday people will reevaluate your matches against Roxi and Devona and see them for the flukes they were! All because someone you needed help to beat originally got her revenge three months later.” I commented as I shook my head. ”And let’s face it, Jet City isn’t in a great place isn’t it? Limitless last successful match was against the Barnharts, what happened to them being world beaters hmm? And you? I’ve already gone over how bad your run has been since you lost the World Bombshell Title, and it’s about I get worse.”
It’s that simple.
”Why? One date, 30th of January 2024, that’s the day where I will hit the hundred day mark of my reign, and nobody will stop me from hitting that milestone, not you, not your pathetic excuse for a wife, not anyone!” I added as held the Bombshell Internet Title high above my head with my good hand. ”Get used to this site Courtney because it’s going to be on your screen for a long time, I am far from done as the Bombshell Internet Champion and the sooner you realize that.”
And with that I decided to wrap things up.
”The sooner we can both move on with our lives! Because there’s no way in hell I’m losing this title to a Jet City Scumbag!” I added as I rested the title over my shoulder. ”And at Golden Angel Part IV: New Year’s Bashing, I will do whatever it takes within the rules to retain my title and prove to the world why I should’ve beaten you for the title at Violent Conduct, remember that as you bask in the glory of the Golden Angel’s Light Courtney, because you’ll rule the day you decided to make this personal!”
I walked off as the scene fades.
