Burn It To The Ground

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Marie Jones

On Camera

==========

Everyone has hopes and dreams.  Having those hopes and dreams dashed and ruined, well it's like having your heart ripped out of your chest.  That kind of circumstance, well it can change a person.  Some people sink into depression.  Others become dangerous.

Me?  I had hopes and dreams of what I wanted to accomplish at Invictus II but they were dashed.  I had hopes and dreams of what I could accomplish on RIOT, a brand run by my agent Silas Mason, but then those dreams were dashed as well.

Imagine what it will do to someone like me...

...the Uprising of Marie Annabelle Jones is just on the horizon and opportunity is knocking at my front door.  The first Uprising of the brand split era is here and when you see me, a brand new Marie Annabelle Jones, a more violent, more aggressive Marie Annabelle Jones, more focused and intense than ever, you will all know the consequences of screwing with me.

No longer will I let fancy people in suits screw with me.  Throw five, six, seven or, seventeen people at me for all I care.  I will get past all of them and achieve my destiny.

I will be World Heavyweight Champion.

==========

Only One Option

Off Camera

==========

The great Angelica Jones tended to be both emotional and cerebral, it all depended upon her mood and the situation at the time.  The matriarch of the Jones wrestling family passed these traits onto her children.  Kelly McBride, the youngest, has yet to exhibit one or the other, so no one is quite sure yet which one she will get.  Jessica Lasiewicz, the middle child, is very cerebral and mentally and emotionally tough.  Marie Annabelle Jones, the oldest of Angelica's children, inherited the problematic aspect of Angelica's personality.

Marie can be quite emotional.

Being emotional is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself but when you do not know how to handle it properly it can become a bad thing and the oldest of Angelica's children has not traditionally handled her emotions all that well.  So needless to say, when Marie failed to capture the IWC World Championship at Invictus II, and then later on at the IWC Draft when she did not get on the brand she wanted, the brand ran by her agent Silas Mason, her emotional state went into overdrive.

Many close to Marie wondered if she had finally snapped...had the Phoenix lost her marbles?

Kimberly Williams is Marie's half-sister.  The two share a father and it's Kimberly who had been helping Marie prepare heading into Invictus II.  Williams knows how Marie's psyche is and she knows that, in her current emotional state, that if something isn't done, she will indeed snap and she may do something that she'll regret later on down the road.

RIOT is run by Silas Mason.  Uprising is run by Drew Bryant.  Like it or not, Marie Annabelle Jones is on Uprising and she needs to buckle down and move on otherwise her career with IWC could be over and, at this point, Marie is not in the right frame of mind to be making that kind of decision by herself.

Kimberly Williams is decked out in a tight black number that would undoubtedly turn the heads of many a male.  She is perched atop high heeled sandals.  A stern, serious look is on her face.  She is not here to party.  She is here to try and save her sister from destroying herself.

The Williams girl has just entered a bar.  She sent Marie a text message earlier that she wanted to see her and, after much back and forth between the sisters, Marie finally got back to her with this address, this bar; a rather low down dive considering Marie's standards.

After standing there in the doorway and scanning the room for awhile, ignoring a few cat calls and whistles from drunks, she finally spots her sister Marie, sitting alone in a far corner at the back of the bar.  Her head is stooped over a glass of clear liquid.  Vodka perhaps?

“Marie!” Kim exclaims as she makes her way to the back. “Marie, I'm here!”

“Huh?” Jones looks up and sighs upon seeing Kimberly. “Oh...it's you...”

“Nice seeing you too.” Kimberly jokes as she sits down at the table with Marie. “Did you order for me?”

“I can't order for you, you're too damn picky.”

Kim chuckles. “True enough!”

Williams flags down one of the waitresses.  She approaches the table. “I want a water, please.”

The waitress nods and proceeds to walk off and fill the order.

“See what I mean?” Marie states. “Who would've guessed that you would want water instead of alcohol?”

“I know, usually I want to have fun, but this is different.”

“How?”

“I want to make sure I'm sober.” She places a hand on Marie's shoulder. “For your sake.”

“You're wasting your time.”

Marie says this as she takes her glass of vodka, tilts it up over her mouth and drinks some of it down.  She places it hard back down on the table and looks back at Kimberly.

“I have made  up my mind.  I am going to quit IWC.”

“Quit?!” Kimberly exclaims. “You can't quit!”

“Why can't I?” Marie asks. “It seems logical.  Those jackasses are going to screw me at every turn.  I may as well just leave and find somewhere I'll be treated with respect and dignity, the respect I have earned.”

The waitress returns with Kim's glass of water.  She hands it to Kim who immediately takes a sip before setting it on the table.

“I agree that you deserve more respect than what you've been getting but you just can't quit.”

“Why not?  Why can't I quit?”

“For starters, Silas Mason may not want you to quit.” Kim says with a wink. “As your agent he'll have some say in this.”

“True...”

“Then there's Uprising itself.  You may not like Drew Bryant but he has given you a rare opportunity.”

Jones rolls her eyes.  “Oh you mean that stupid Opportunity Knocks bullshit?  I have to fight five people in this dumb match and all for some prize that no one knows about yet.  It may be the world title, it may be something else, I don't know.  But I should already BE the world champion.  I shouldn't have to jump through hoops.  I shouldn't have to beat idiots like Christian Savior, Jessica Wilde,  Amanda Blayze, Vanilla Skyy, and Gavin Taylor just to get an opportunity.”

“In fairness, isn't Amanda Blayze part of Silas World now?”

Marie grins. “Ok, you make a good point there, but the fact remains I shouldn't have to compete in that match and I shouldn't have to compete on Uprising for Drew Bryant.  I should be on any damn brand I want.”

Jones tilts the vodka up and downs more of it. “It's ridiculous...”

“Sis, have I led you astray since coming back into your life?”

Marie shakes her head. “No...”

“Exactly.  So listen to me this time because you are not without options.  In fact, you do have one choice, only one choice left.”

“Oh and what's that, oh wise one?”

“Simple...if you hate Uprising so much, then kill it.”

Marie blinks her eyes several times in confusion.  She wants to make sure she heard her sister properly.

“Excuse me?”

“I said kill it.  Destroy Uprising.  It's Drew Bryant's baby, then kill his baby.  That'll teach him to mess with you, right?”

Marie stares off into space and then back down at her half-empty glass of vodka.  A vapid grin forms across her face as she considers Kim's suggestion.

“You know, Kim, you really are one sadistic, mean bitch.”

“Thank you!” Kim says cheerfully. “I do try my best.”

Marie drinks some of her vodka. “So kill Uprising?”

“Yes, kill it.  Make Drew Bryant regret drafting you to Uprising.  Make him beg to trade you to RIOT.  Then you will have really won.”

==========

Kimberly Williams

On Camera

==========

I was there at Invictus II.  I was in a special skybox that my sister Marie had specially reserved for me and many of her invited guests, friends and family who were near and dear to her heart and whom she wanted to be there in support of her as she achieved her dream of becoming IWC World Champion.  In a perfect world the dreams of Marie Annabelle Jones would have been achieved.  In a perfect world, my sister would reign supreme as the IWC World Champion.

Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world.  We live in a world full of corruption and deceit.  This is a world full of men in positions of power, men who have picked their favorites and will make sure their favorites get ahead while deserving young women like my sister Marie continue to be held back by the establishment.

It has taken dear Marie this long to realize that you cannot defeat the establishment by standard means of combat.  You must wage a special kind of war in order to overcome the establishment.

The IWC establishment, specifically Drew Bryant, wishes to hold Marie Annabelle Jones back.  At every turn they have cost her and at Invictus II they cost her the world championship.  So now Marie, my dear sister, is prepared to turn the tables.  Marie Annabelle Jones is prepared to wage a war on the establishment.

A scorched earth policy, boys and girls.  Leaving nothing left.

You see, your punishment for trying to hold her back will be the end of Uprising.  Drew Bryant destroyed Marie's dreams, so Marie will destroy his dreams...

...and the dreams of anyone who gets in her way.

You have no to turn to; not Gavin Taylor or Christian Savior.  No, not Jessica Wilde or Amanda Blayze.

And not even Vanilla Skyy.

There will be many victims and the destruction begins at Uprising.

==========

Redemption's End

Off Camera

==========

Redemption is a term used, some may even say overused, in today's society by many an individual.  One popular use of it is by Christianity, speaking of how Jesus Christ, as Messiah of the world, came to die in order to redeem humanity.  And that is just one of the more popular versions of the redemption story.  There are many other individuals with similar redemption stories floating around out there, all of which center around the same central principle of making things right.

Redemption used to be a very important principle for Marie Annabelle Jones.  Growing up she watched her mother perpetrate some heinous acts, all in the name of victory, all in the name of getting what she wanted.  Angelica Jones, Marie's mother, was willing to do anything in order to get what she wanted.  Marie witnessed it over and over again, to the point that she could not take it anymore.  She wanted to make it right.  She wanted to redeem her family.

Unfortunately, the longer Marie stayed in the wrestling business, the more she was exposed to the ugly side of wrestling, the politics of wrestlings, the more disheartened she became.  She tried other companies, she tried GDW, GCW, MCW, FWA, and MWA and more and more but each company she tried was just as corrupt as the one before.  That's when things began to change for Jones.  That's when she began to look after herself and her own success as opposed to redeeming her family name.

The Independent Wrestling Cartel was supposed to be the place she could do just that.  IWC was supposed to be where she stepped out of her mother's shadow and made a name for herself.  To an extent she did just that.  She became IWC World Tag Team Champion.  She main evented Invictus II for the world championship.  She was the number one overall draft pick in the IWC Draft.  Silas Mason calls her the crown jewel and more and more she is proving herself to be just that.

But she should have won the Last Stand Rumble, and yet she was screwed.  She should have won at Invictus and yet she was screwed.  She should be world champion today and on the RIOT brand with Silas Mason but she got screwed.  IWC turns out to be just as corrupt and political as all of the others.

Now redemption is long gone from Marie's mind.  Instead it is full of a new goal...

...revenge.

The red headed Phoenix is staggering out in the parking lot of the hotel room in which she is staying.  She is lucky to have made it this far and, truthfully, she should not have been out.  But she did go out.  She went out to drink her sorrows away at a run down dive.  She just wanted to be alone...

..but she wasn't alone.  Kimberly Williams, her half-sister, came to visit and she spoke to her.  Kimberly helped her...at least in the short term she did, and that is all that matters, because Marie needs to be ready at least for the next Uprising as she gets ready to face a slew of five other competitors all with one goal...

...victory at any cost.

It is called The Ultimate Opportunity and Marie Annabelle Jones does not have to be a genius in order to figure out what this means.  This no doubt has some connection to Uprising's championship, their world title equivalent since the IWC World Title is on RIOT.  Winning it would be a huge feather in the cap for Marie, but she has to win the Ultimate Opportunity first.

Jones approaches the front doors of the hotel and then stops dead in her tracks as the doors slide open.  Phoenix does not set foot inside, even as the door waits for her.  The ginger shakes her head as she turns and walks over, away from the doors.  She can hear the doors sliding shut again but she doesn't care.  She knows something is amiss.

She is not alone.

There is a dark alley on the side of the hotel.  Marie makes her way down that alley.  About halfway down it she stops, places her hands on her hips, and shouts...

“Jessica!” A scowl forms across her face. “I know you're there!”

The Phoenix stands there, tapping her foot impatiently.  “I can stand here all night, Jessica!”

“It wouldn't be advisable.”

The voice seemingly comes out of nowhere.  Ordinarily this would scare anyone but not Marie.  She recognizes this voice as belonging to her sister, the enigmatic Jessica Lasiewicz.  It isn't long until a shadowy figure forms in the distance, down near the back of the alley.  Marie turns towards the shadowy figure and watches as it comes closer and closer.  Finally it comes into view and we can see that this is indeed Jessica Lasiewicz, wearing black denim, black boots, and a plain black t-shirt.  Her long black hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back.

“You never know who might show up in a dark place like this.” Jessica smirks knowingly. “It's dangerous.”

“Yeah, says the wannabe ninja.” Marie rolls her eyes.

“How did you know?” The black haired beauty asks.

“It wasn't that difficult.” Marie responds smugly. “I mean, I know you're trying to learn the whole smoke and mirror tricks from dad and your Aunt Magdalena, but you will never ever be as good as them.”

Jessica's father is Andreas Lasiewicz, the original Morning Star of professional wrestling.  He is not Marie's father and while Marie and Jessica did have different fathers, Marie does view Andreas as more of a father than her true father ever was.  Marie learned a lot from her time living with Andreas, and among those things are some of his tricks, tricks that Jessica uses to this day.

“Hey, I realize that I am not perfect.” Jessica begins slowly, calmly. “But at least I do learn from my mistakes.”

“I don't make mistakes.” Marie growls.

“Oh no?” Jessica asks with brows raised. “Well let's see...”

She starts naming things off with her fingers. “...first you sided with Silas Mason...”

“That was NOT a mistake!”

“...THEN you started listening to Kimberly Williams again...you know, the same Kimberly Williams who kidnapped you and assumed your identity?”

“That was NOT a mistake either!”

“Listen to yourself!” Jessica steps closer, approaching Marie, getting face to face, nose to nose. “You are refusing to accept that you have screwed up when you clearly have screwed up somewhere.  You do not have the IWC World Championship now do you?”

Marie's face contorts into one of anger. “You know why that is...”

Now it is Jessica who rolls her eyes. “Yes, you were screwed...at least that's what you tell anyone willing to listen to you.”

“I was screwed!  I should be world champion today!  I should be on RIOT!  I should...”

“QUIT YOUR BITCHING!”

Jessica shouted out at the top of her lungs.  Jessica does not shout, she does not yell that often and she definitely does not shout at her sister Marie all that often.  Jones is surprised, to say the least.  Jessica reaches out with her right hand places it on her sister's shoulder.

“Look, I'm sorry but it frustrates me...hell, it pisses me off to see you like this...”

“Like what?”

Jessica sighs. “...I know how good you are.  You are world championship material and you could have won that title at Invictus but it just wasn't meant to be on that night.  Perhaps you will get your chance another day?  Perhaps you will get your chance on Uprising?  But Invictus just wasn't meant to be.  But that doesn't mean you are not as good as Taylor Chase...or Katelyn Buehler...or even Serenity.  You are as good as all of them and can beat them all on your worst day.”

Marie blinks quickly several times, surprised to hear Jessica say that. “Do you...do you mean it?”

She nods her head. “Of course I mean it, but what irks me is the fact that I know you can do it without Silas Mason's corruption screwing you up.”

Jessica takes Marie's hands into hers and squeezes tightly. “Marie, do you remember what  Redemption was all about?”

The red-headed crown jewel of Silas World nods her head.  She knows what Redemption is.  It is a double meaning.  Not only is it a principle to her, an important one, but it is also a tag team.  It is her and Jessica's tag team that they formed with the sole purpose of redeeming their family name.  They planned on doing it together.  Jones Sisters United.

“Yeah...”

“Well that's what I'm offering you right now.”

“Re...redemption?”

Jessica nods her head. “Redemption.”

Marie stares her sister in the eyes.  She thinks long and hard about her offer, her offer of redemption...but then she also thinks about what Kimberly had to say earlier...about how she really has just one option...Marie knows she has a choice to make...

...only one choice.

With that Marie knees Jessica in the gut and then delivers a sharp European uppercut, staggering her backward.

“Redemption?”

Marie throws a right hand that knocks Jessica down to the ground. Marie snarls angrily with a rage the likes of which we haven't seen before.  Jones stands over Jessica, staring at her with hate-filled eyes.

“You can take your redemption and shove it up your ass, Jessica!” She exclaims. “I do not care about redemption!  I only want one thing now...”

She sneers “...destruction.”

With that, Marie turns and walks off.

==========

Burn It To The Ground

On Camera

==========

We open in a bright, cheerful setting with a Carolina blue sky overhead, birds chirping in the background, and a sun shining off in the distance.  It almost seems like the perfect day.  All good things must come to an end and this good, happy setting also comes to an end, rather abruptly at that, as a rumbling is heard off in the distance.  Shortly after the rumbling begins dark clouds also start to roll on into view, overtaking the blue sky and causing the light of the sun to be temporarily extinguished.  Just like that we have gone from a happy, cheerful day full of hope to one of dreariness and gloom.

Our camera begins to pan down from the sky.  Eventually we see the top of Marie  Jones's red-haired head.  The camera continues to pan down and we see her eyes are covered up by sunglasses, she is wearing a smart black blazer over a white silk top.  As the camera pans out we see that Marie is also wearing a knee length black skirt to match her black blazer and black high heeled pumps.  The look on her face is stoic, with no emotion at all whatsoever.  The old joke is that gingers have no soul, but it almost appears as if someone actually did sap the soul out of this particular ginger that stands before us.

“I have given over seven years to this business and well over one year of that seven was devoted to the independent Wrestling Cartel.”

The stoic expression etched across the ginger's lovely features remain but you can tell just from the sound of her voice that she is more intense than she perhaps has ever been in quite some time.

“Day in and day out I sacrificed for this business.  Day in and day out I gave everything I had, including my health and well being, to whatever company I happened to be working for at the time.  Global Division of Wrestling, Motor City Wrestling, Future Wrestling Alliance, and most recently Global Championship Wrestling and, yes, the IWC, they have all my one hundred and ten percent.  My blood, my sweat, and my damn tears have been poured out for each and every one of them.”

“Some of you call me spoiled?” The ginger shakes her head. “I may not be a fifteen to twenty year veteran like some of those who cast stones in my direction, but I have busted my ass long enough and sacrificed enough.  No, I am not spoiled.  I am owed.”

“That's right, I am owed and Invictus II was supposed to be the night that I cashed in and took what I deserved.  Unfortunately the double standards that exist within the Independent Wrestling Cartel continue to victimize me at every turn.  You judge me, you criticize me, and you insult me for signing with Silas Mason and yet when Kelcey Wallace did practically the same damn thing everyone in the entire IWC and SCW supported her.  I sold out to Silas Mason, shame on me, but Kelcey Wallace merely 'did what was right for her career, good for her.'”

Jones shakes her head. “Katelyn Buehler CHEATED her way into the Invictus II main event.  She was medically removed from the rumble and snuck back in when she shouldn't have been allowed back in.  Serenity and I didn't attack anyone, we didn't threaten or even bribe anyone.  We went through the proper legal channels to get into the Invictus II main event by airing our grievances and we were both judged and criticized while the woman who actually did cheat was praised.”

“The final nail in the coffin happened at the IWC Draft.  All I wanted was to be on RIOT with my agent Silas Mason.  Is that so much to ask?  After putting up with IWC's bullshit for over a year solid, after being screwed not only out of the Last Stand Rumble win but being screwed out of the IWC World Championship, I think the least this company could have given me was my request to be on RIOT.  That's all I wanted.”

“But Drew Bryant had to mess it up.  Drew Bryant had to make sure that IWC once again screwed with me.” Jones reaches up and pulls off her sunglasses, placing them in a pocket in her blazer. “That was the last mistake anyone in IWC will ever make regarding my career.”

“Drew Bryant should have let Silas have his first draft pick but he didn't.  I made my intentions very clear after the draft that I wanted on the RIOT brand and that I was willing to do anything to get there.  He could have made it very easy on himself and everyone else had he just given me what I wanted but did he?”

The Phoenix shakes her head. “No, Drew decided to be stubborn.  He decided to stick to his guns.  Drew Bryant decided that keeping me on his Uprising brand was the best for business.”

“I can see your logic, Drew.  I really and truly can.  I don't care if Serenity holds every fucking championship in the universe.  I don't care if she defeated God Himself.  I am THE best damn talent in the Independent Wrestling Cartel.  I am THE crown jewel not only of Silas World but of professional wrestling bar none.  The fact that your fraudulent world champion was NOT the number one overall draft pick and that I was should illustrate it perfectly.  You know, just as Silas does, that any show with 'The Phoenix' Marie Annabelle Jones on it will be a money maker, it will become THE number one show, THE best show, the greatest of them all in no time.  You know that The Jones Family is synonymous with professional wrestling.  We ARE professional wrestling.”

An evil grin slides across her lovely lips. “The thing is, Drew, you don't have as much experience with The Jones Family as others do.  Hell, I don't think you've had any experience with The Jones Family until now, have you?  So allow me to educate you on a fact about us, a fact that not many people know.  You see, The Jones Family truly can turn a small time wrestling brand into a major league player and in the process make any promoter we like into a billionaire....but we can just as easily kill them, we can just as easily end them, we can just as easily destroy them.”

“Professional wrestlers and promotions have come and gone throughout the years but the Jones Family remains steadfast.  My mother, the great Angelica Jones, was the first along with her sister Kayla.  Now she has passed the torch onto me.  I am the leader of The Jones Wrestling Family, and what you need to realize, Drew, is that we can make or break careers.  I can single handedly turn Uprising into the hottest thing ever.  My superstardom can make Uprising not only surpass RIOT but also supersede other promotions.  Uprising could potentially be bigger than SCW and GCW itself, if I wanted to, and that's why I truly can see your logic.  Having the biggest star of them all on your brand is smart.  Trust me, even Silas himself is concerned about what my star power could potentially do with Uprising in competition with RIOT.”

“Unfortunately you've gone and squandered that opportunity.  You went and pissed me off and now, since you refuse to send me to RIOT, I am going to destroy Uprising from within.”

A low cackle, almost like a witch's laugh, escapes her throat. “That's right, if you won't willingly release me from Uprising, then I will simply destroy the damn thing, I will walk into Uprising and burn it to the ground, and within a year's time I will be gone from Uprising because there won't be an Uprising to speak of.  It will be dead!”

The Phoenix and self-proclaimed leader of the Jones Wrestling Family shakes her head.  She makes 'tsk, tsk' sounds as she does so, almost sounding as if she is disappointed, though we know she isn't.  Marie Jones couldn't give a damn less.

“I can be your greatest ally or your worst nightmare, Drew.  You chose worst nightmare and that's exactly what you are going to get.  I swear on my grandmother's grave that I will burn Uprising to the ground and there is nothing anyone can do to stop me.”

She points a long slender finger at the camera, directly at Drew. “You are a failure.  I want everyone to remember your name as Drew Bryant the failure.  I want children to come to your house and make fun of you, to make fun of Drew Bryant the failure, the idiot who injected the Uprising brand with a lethal dose of poison.  That's what I am Drew.  I am poison to Uprising and you will be the one responsible for its demise when I am done killing it.”

“Rumor has been circulating about a world championship for the Uprising brand.” Jones shrugs her shoulders. “Now I don't know anything about that, but what I do know and what I want you to consider is this.  Just consider this, Drew, or better yet picture this...Silas Mason already controls the original world championship currently held by Serenity as it is on the RIOT brand.  Now think of the possible consequences that would follow after I become Uprising's first world champion.  Now Silas Mason, and you could argue RIOT as well, would control both world titles.”

“I told you, Drew, I can become your worst nightmare, I can make you regret drafting me, and by God I will make you regret it.  When I hold that championship high over my head, you will then regret it.  When I pour kerosene all over it and light the damn thing on fire, when I bury it out in a field, or dump it on the ocean, whatever the hell I decide to do with it, when I commit sacrilege against your precious new world title belt, you will regret drafting me and you will regret challenging The Jones Family.”

“But everything must have a beginning and the beginning of your nightmare starts with this Opportunity Knocks Match, an elimination style match pitting yours truly against six rejects from the Expendables.”

“Tell me something, Christian Savior, just tell me one thing; what the hell is wrong with you?  I honestly do not know why you are obsessed with William Mason.  Hell, I don't even know why you're back in IWC.  Why bother to stick around?  Haven't you done enough?  Haven't you lived out the glory years enough?  You are that guy who just doesn't know when to quit.  You are that guy who will keep going until he can't go anymore.  You are that guy who won't stop until someone makes you stop.”

She motions to herself. “And I am the person who will make you stop.  I will make you stop when I cripple you and you will have no choice but to stop.  Or you could quit.  You could quit now, which is the smartest thing you can do for yourself and for your career, because quite frankly, if you thought your little tiff with William Mason was bad, then you haven't seen anything yet.  You haven't even begun to see violence until you begin to deal with me, The Phoenix of IWC.”

“As far as you are concerned, Gavin, I do understand your grievance.  I understand that you feel you deserve to be in the world title hunt.  And I agree, you deserve to be in the main event...”

Jones shakes her head “...but not before me.  I don't care about your past accomplishments here in IWC and I don't care who you have beaten.  It doesn't measure up, as far as I am concerned, and quite frankly, it never will because I am the crown jewel of IWC.  Drew Bryant knows that, because that's why he drafted me to the Uprising brand.  But I'm not just the crown jewel...”

“...a great man, someone even greater than I, once said that he was the measuring stick.  He was the standard.  Well I am that measuring stick.  I am the standard by which everyone measures their own greatness because, quite honestly, I AM greatness, and that puts me in front of you, Gavin.  I am in the front of the line, Gavin, and you will wait on me because that championship, a title that should have been mine at Invictus II, will be mine first and you can have your turn when I am done with it.  Come to think of it, there may not even be an Uprising left for you to reign as world champion in.  I will burn this damn place to the ground Gavin, and just like I said to Drew Bryant, no one will stop me, not even you.  If Uprising is still around, yeah, you can have your turn.  But trust me, there won't be much of an Uprising left for you.  Not if I have my way.”

“Amanda, Amanda, Amanda,” Marie winks at the camera “I'm sure you are so excited about this opportunity, aren't you?”

The evil red-head laughs nastily. “Just bear in mind who you work for and no, the answer to that question isn't Drew Bryant.  You work for Silas World, Amanda.  You do what we want you to do.  You put it all on the line and you screwed up and now we own you.  So I want you to remember one thing,”

Marie holds up a finger “just one thing.  Remember that your job at Uprising is to ensure the success of Silas Mason's crown jewel, IWC's crown jewel.  That's ME, by the way.  Your job in that match is not to win, Amanda.  Your job in this match is to make sure I win.  If I win, everything will be fine.  If you don't win...there WILL be problems.”

“Jessica Wilde, Sinistry's former walking mat.  You let everyone walk all over you.  You drooled over the likes of Ba'al and the other creepazoids from the Addams Family.  How the hell do you expect me to take you seriously?  You spent the better part of two months running away from a freak show until said freak show finally got his hands on you at Invictus.  How the hell can I take you seriously?”

Jones shakes her head. “The answer to that one is obvious.  I cannot take you seriously.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you have no talent.  You're quite good, Jessica.  I won't deny your talent.  But you're so damn pathetic as a human being, you've been the lackey, the sidekick, the glorified cheerleader for so long that I'm honestly not sure you know what it takes to even win anymore.”

“Oh but don't worry, Jessica.  After I win this match and begin my purge of Uprising, when I begin to burn this place to the ground, there will be room for a glorified cheerleader in my regime.  You can cheer me on as I destroy Uprising and leave it in rubble.  I mean, that 's what you do best, isn't it Wilde?”

The smirk that had been on her face contorts into a sneer. “Vanilla Skyy...”

“...we're no strangers, are we Vanilla?  I remember how we got to know one another.  How about the times when I beat your ex-husband half-to-death and damn near ended his career?  Looking back you probably wish I had succeeded in ending his career, but that's neither here nor there because you and I went afterwards.  Danny Darko ran off like the coward he is and let his wife do the fighting for him and damn were you a fighter.  Match after match we fought and we fought, taking years off of our own individual wrestling careers.  I don't know about you, Vanilla, but you definitely earned my respect in those series of matches we had.”

The young Phoenix and crown jewel of Silas World may be considered to be spoiled and scum of the earth but she sounds genuine and sincere as she says these words about respect for one of her opponents.

“You are a veteran of this sport, so you should know better than anyone what I am talking about when I speak of the corruption that exists within this sport.  I mentioned the Last Stand Rumble earlier, well you yourself were screwed out of that win as well, weren't you?  You should know that I speak the truth and I'm not bullshitting.  So you, better anyone else, should understand why I want to burn Uprising to the ground.”

“I'm not going to preach the same sermon that I preached to my other opponents.  I'm not going to tell you that you cannot stop me because I know that you are the only one capable of stopping me from achieving my end game.  If anyone can stop me from destroying Uprising, it's Vanilla Skyy.”

“Which is why I want to assure you that I will do everything within my power to put you down.  I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't stop me.  I spoke of sacrifices earlier and I am prepared to make even more sacrifices in order to mow you over and walk on past you to the promised land...”

Jones laughs nastily “...and then turn the promised land into a waste land!”