Out of the Shadow

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Off Camera

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Allison Lorraine waits in the dressing room she shares with twin sisters Kimberly Williams and Marie Annabelle Jones.  She sits on a crème colored sofa against a wall, her head rested in her hands.  The woman known as #GingerAllison inside of the wrestling ring has already changed out of her wrestling gear and back into a comfortable pair of denim jeans, black boots, a floral print blouse, and a black leather jacket.  Her long red hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back.  She played a big role tonight in the #GingerNation plot to try and help Marie Annabelle Jones win the End of the Year Battle Royal.  There is, unfortunately, one minor issue…

…Marie did not win the battle royal.

The #GingerNation performed quite well, dominating the battle royal as they  worked together and they eliminated a variety of opponents and combatants in the event.  But as the battle royal neared its end, things would begin to fall apart.  Allison was the first victim, forced to tap out to James Evans.  Kimberly Williams was out next after being pinned by Kara Abheri.  Marie would be ousted next due to being pinned by James Evans.

Allison is nervous as to how Marie will react.  Allison knows just how important being successful is to the leader of the #GingerNation.  She doesn’t understand Marie’s desire for success.  It’s almost like an obsession.  Allison may never understand why Marie feels the need to strive for such success but what she does know is that when Marie fails, things do not turn out well for those around her.

“Knock! Knock! Knock!”

#GingerAllison perks up to attention as she watches the door to the dressing room fling open.  At first it appears as if Marie has returned but she sighs with some relief as she realizes that this is Marie’s identical twin sociopathic sibling Kimberly Williams. Allison notices the difference based upon the wrestling gear Kimberly is wearing right now.  She and Marie wore different outfits to the ring and did not attempt any “twin magic” shenanigans.  Allison smiles politely and waves.

“Kim!  Welcome back!”

“Great to be back, Ally!”

Allison spins around, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh so much violence and physicality!  That was fun!”

Kimberly jumps onto the sofa, landing next to Allison.  This causes #GingerAllison to jump up just a little bit.

“Wasn’t it fun, Ally?”

“For you, perhaps.  I feel as if it was a complete waste.  Neither of us won and we couldn’t even help Marie win.  Speaking of…how is she taking it?”

Kimberly smirks knowingly.

“Not too well, sweetie.”

“Huh?”

Allison is unsure of what Kimberly means but she assumes that it cannot be good based solely on the ominous tone in her voice…

“DAMNIT!”

Once more Allison is startled as she watches the door to the dressing room swinging wildly and violently open.  Kimberly has a smug look on her face as she and Allison observe Marie Annabelle Jones entering the room, still in her wrestling gear, having just been eliminated from the battle royal by James Evans.  Jones immediately stomps like a tantrum-throwing child over to Allison and glares down at her.

“You…tapped…out…”

“Yeah, I did.  I’m sorry, Marie, but…”

Marie shakes her head vehemently and immediately chimes in, interrupting her.

“No!  You…TAPPED…OUT!”

“I didn’t have much of a choice.  He…”

“You always have a choice!”

Marie rears back and slaps Allison across the face.

“This half-assed clusterfuck was about me!  ME!  And you let me down!”

Allison Lorraine is definitely a team player but she can only take so much.  She stands up and stares Marie in the eyes, refusing to back down from the #GingerNation leader despite how angry she appears to be right now.

“Marie…”

Allison sighs.

“I’m on your side.  Always will be.  But I do not have to take this abuse from you or anyone.  I did everything I could to help you win tonight.  It isn’t my fault you came up short.”

The stare down continues and Allison still refuses to back down.  Kimberly lets a few short giggles escape her throat, seeing as she finds this whole situation rather entertaining.  Eventually, though, Marie softens.  She sighs and nods her head.

“You’re right, Allison.  I’m sorry.”

She places a hand on Allison’s shoulder.

“You did everything you could and I appreciate your effort tonight.”

Allison nods her head.

“Merci, and I’m sorry things didn’t turn out the way you had hoped.”

“It’ll be fine, Allison.  It’ll be fine.”

Marie sits down on the sofa next to Kimberly.  Allison looks down at the both of them, shrugging her shoulders.

“So now what?  Where do we go from here?”

“I don’t know.”

Allison looks on at Marie and Kimberly with a confused, puzzled look on her face.

“Huh?”

“I just don’t know what our next move is, Allison.  What I do know is that you’re not needed in SCW.  Not now, at least.  You can go if you want.  I won’t keep you.”

Allison is still thoroughly confused.  She blinks her eyes furiously.

“But…”

Marie points towards the  door.

“Just go, I’ll see you in GCW.  Ok?”

Allison sighs and nods her head.

“Right, I’ll see you later.”

With that Allison opens the door and exits, shutting the door behind her.  Once Allison is gone Marie sighs and shakes her head.  Her twin sister Kimberly looks over at her and tilts her head to one side.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“It’s nothing, Kim.”

Kimberly snickers.

“You’re a terrible liar, sis.  I should know, because I am a GREAT liar and I know what good lying looks like.”

She points an accusatory finger at Marie.

“And that sounded NOTHING like a good lie.”

Marie sighs out of frustration.

“Fine!  I give, you’re right, it’s just…”

She shakes her head.

“…is something wrong with me?”

Kimberly’s eyes grow wide and a grin forms across her face as she lets out a few laughs.

“You’re asking me if something is wrong with you?”

“Don’t laugh at me, Kim.”

Marie makes her plea but it falls upon deaf ears as Kimberly continues to laugh.

“I am a certifiable lunatic, I am a sociopath, I am psychotic, and YOU are asking ME to tell you if something is wrong with you?!”

She winks at her twin.

“I think you know the answer to that one already, Marie.”

Marie rolls her eyes and immediately gets up from the sofa and walks towards the door.

“Forget it then, Kim!  Just forget it!”

“No, Marie, wait!”

Kimberly gets up and quickly goes after Marie.  The redhead Jones opens the door but Kimberly uses her arm to block it from opening all of the way.  Kimberly then pushes the door shut and looks over at her twin sister.

“Just sit down, Marie.  Let’s talk.”

The self proclaimed Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling is frustrated and clearly upset with what has happened tonight.  Losing this match that she wanted to win so badly did not help her mood at all.  She would rather just be alone the rest of the night but Kimberly Williams is here and willing to help, as crazy as she might be.  Reluctantly Marie sighs and nods her head.

“Alright, fine…whatever…”

Marie allows herself to be led by Kimberly back to the sofa.  The identical twin sisters sit down next to one another on the sofa.

“Now then, Marie, you want to know what your problem is?”

She taps Marie’s forehead.

“The problem is right up there.  It’s all in your psyche.  You are so obsessed with winning and being successful that you begin to psyche yourself out.”

Jones shakes her head.

“You’re wrong, Kim.”

“No I’m not.  Just take Olympus over in UWA for instance.  That was your crowning achievement.  You became UWA World Champion.  You won the first ever Pyramid Match at the first ever Olympus main event.  You had the world at your feet and were more successful than you had ever been…”

Kimberly reaches over and taps Marie on the tip of her nose.

“…and you flinched.  All that success, all that winning, and you couldn’t handle it mentally.  You let it get to you.  You couldn’t take it and you flinched.  That’s how you lost the title.  I know because I’ve experienced it before.  You’re on the verge of achieving what you’ve always wanted, only to have it snatched out from under your feet.”

Kimberly chuckles under her breath.

“Back when I was still being manipulated by Emma...”

A low growl escapes Kim’s lips as she thinks about Emma and her manipulations.

“…Emma had me convinced that I needed to destroy you and our mother.  And I nearly succeeded.  But when I had my victory within reach, I mentally psyched myself out allowing our durable, powerful family to once again pull through and manage to jerk victory away from me.  That look on your face, dear sister, is the same look I have had on my face the many times I came close to achieving victory only to end up falling flat on my face.  The real question is what is it that you really hope to achieve here?”

She winks.

“I suspect that it’s not as simple as becoming world champion or having a singles career as a pro-wrestler.”

Jones sighs and nods her head.

“I guess there is more to this than just escaping the endless abyss of tag team wrestling or even becoming world champion again.  I thought I had achieved everything I wanted to achieve after becoming world champion again.  And for a while I felt as if I had arrived…”

Marie’s face contorts into a look of anger.

“…but everyone kept looking at me not as Marie Annabelle Jones, The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, but instead as Angelica’s daughter.  Angelica’s daughter had won the championship, Angelica’s daughter achieved her dreams…”

Jones pats herself on the chest repeatedly with a vigor that illustrates how important this is to her.

“…am I not important?!  Am I not my own person?!”

“Of course you are, Marie.”

“Tell that to the experts and observers!  Tell that to the hype-masters whose job it is to hype my career.  I go to SCW and even in SCW their hype-machine talks about how Angelica’s daughter has come to SCW.”

It is an odd contrast to see tears flowing down Marie’s face which is contorted into a look of anger.

“I am more than just Angelica’s daughter.”

Kimberly nods her head as a look of realization washes across her face, almost as if a light bulb has gone off in her head.

“I see, you hate being in mom’s shadow.”

“Who wouldn’t hate that?!”

Kimberly chuckles.

“Me, for starters.  But then again, I don’t care about what other people think.”

Marie sneers.

“That kind of attitude normally gets you in trouble.”

Kimberly snickers.  Then the sociopath leans over and plants a kiss on Marie’s cheek.

“If you’re not in trouble, you’re not having fun!”

Marie rolls her eyes.

“Right, well I’m glad you’re having fun.  I’m not having any fun at all.  And who the hell am I supposed to fight next, anyway?”

“Konrad Raab…knowing him he’ll probably be sooooo polite that he’ll just lie down and let you win in fear of offending you.”

The Crown Jewel snickers nastily.

“You’re probably right.  Or he may just bore me to death.  Iceman my ass.”

The twin siblings share a hearty laugh at this time, neither noticing the door opening.  Arthur Pond, Marie’s husband, enters the dressing room.  Arthur clears his throat in an effort to get the attention of the girls.  Marie and Kim turn their attention towards the door and they notice Arthur standing there patiently, waiting with a smile on his face.

“Kim…Marie…”

“Hi, babe!”

Marie approaches Arthur and plants a kiss on his lips.  Kimberly grins knowingly and walks past them towards the door.

“I’ll leave you two alone.”

With that, Kimberly opens the dressing room door and exits.  This leaves Marie and Arthur inside alone by themselves.  Marie and Arthur immediately kiss again, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss.  After breaking the kiss Arthur smiles down at Marie.

“Feeling better, Marie?”

“Feeling great…”

She winks.

“…thanks to you.”

“I hope so, because I know you had to be disappointed with tonight’s result.”

Marie sighs and nods her head.  Taking Arthur by his hand, she leads him to the sofa.  They sit down next to one another.  Marie rests her head upon his shoulder.

“Despite everything I may have said, despite all of the disappointment, tonight wasn’t that big of a deal.  Granted, I would’ve loved to have won.  Earning that Television Title shot would have been great.  But I never expected anything.  This was a clusterfuck, as Kimberly warned me going in.  Even with Kim and Allison backing me up, it was going to be an uphill battle.  I just wanted to do the best I could and to land in the final four was an achievement, especially after defeating Darrin Miles at Hell Hath No Fury.  But no matter how well I perform, no matter what I achieve, it’s always as Angelica’s daughter…never as just simply Marie Annabelle Jones.”

She sighs.

“Or am I just over-thinking things?”

“You may be over-thinking things, but far be it for me to criticize or judge you on your wrestling career.  Wrestling is your field.  What I will say is that there is one good way to deal with this and that is to just keep going forward.  Keep competing and being The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling that I know you are and that everyone else knows you are.  Be patient and know that one day the world will see you for you and not for you who you are related to.”

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On Camera

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Thus far in my tenure here at Supreme Championship Wrestling I have known exactly what to expect when I entered that squared circle.  I knew when I fought Hannah Warr and Kara Abheri that I would be facing competitors who were, like me, still relatively new to this great company.  I knew when I went against Darrin Miles at Hell Hath No Fury that I would be facing someone with a track record of not showing up to fight.  And I knew going into the End of the Year Battle Royal Open Invitational that I would be up against unknown threats and that anything literally could happen.  I knew that I would have to be prepared for anything.

I have had my ups and I have had my downs. I won some matches, I lost some matches.  But through it all I have persevered.  And I will continue to persevere as I move forward with my singles career, as I move forward to make a name for myself.  Many of you don’t understand my position or why I do what I do.  That’s fine.  It’s your right to boo me and to jeer me.  Regardless, I will continue to do what I do and I will do so again on Breakdown against Konrad Raab.

And yes, I do know what I am getting when I face Konrad Raab, and let me tell you, I am not getting a damn Iceman.

You claim to be an Iceman but let’s be honest with ourselves; you are FAR from being an Iceman.  Do Icemen need to go through a ridiculous amount of mental training?  Icemen don’t need to go through mental training because they don’t need to think about anything except doing their job.  No seconds thoughts, no qualms, they just get in there…they kick ass…and they leave.

That’s it.  For all of your mental training, all you manage to pull off is to get in that ring, you get your ass kicked, and then you leave.  Or you get carried out…one or the other.

Also as a question not just to you but to everyone listening to me right now; does anyone really know of an Iceman as polite and friendly and dare I say emotional as Konrad Raab?

You apologized for the actions of your more violent, more aggressive brother in the Open Invitational.  Why?!  He was trying to win and, if you ask me, he seemed to be going about things the right way.  This business is a tough business and you have to do whatever is necessary in order to get ahead in this business.  And yet you apologize for your brother’s actions?

You and I are opponents on Breakdown.  That means we’ll end up having to hurt one another.  I hate to tell you, but that’s how it works in this sport.  So what will you do after the match is over?  Apologize for hurting me?

Don’t bother apologizing, because that’s what happens in this sport.  People get hurt.  Deal with it.

There’s only one other thing working against you, Konrad.  As you’ve been so excited to point out time and time again on social media, you are German.

Nothing against the German people, but let’s face facts, Germany has a history of losing.

You got your ass kicked in World War 1.

You got your ass kicked in World War 2.

Just like Germany in the last two World Wars, you will get your ass handed to you by a super power that you and so many others continue to underestimate and look past.  You will get beaten down by The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.

This is all about momentum and I have it all in my corner.  The wind is at my back and has been blowing in my favor ever since Hell Hath No Fury when I got back to my winning ways.  I may not have won the Open Invitational but I did manage to make it to the final four.  I still feel ready to make my move and to make my impact.

Unfortunately, mein freund, you are standing in my way.  You are blocking my path of success and achievement.

So I’m just going to have to knock you out of the way, because while you will go down, I will rise up just like the mythical Phoenix I emulate; for I am The Phoenix of Professional Wrestling and I am The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.