Communication

The road to redemption is never an easy one.  I should know; I’ve been on that road damn near all my life.  There have been times when that road appeared to become easier, to become straighter, and it appeared as if everything was going my way.  Then the ground fell out from beneath my feet and I let everyone down.  I let my friends, my family, and my fans down.  I failed; but never once did that road to redemption end.  Never once did I fall off of the road to redemption.  I stayed on it, I kept on going forward without looking backward.  I looked to the future.

Yes, I have bounced back from the tough losses.  I bounced back from some dark times.  I resurrected my career and have won the SCW Television Championship.  I had a hell of a battle with Donovan Kayl at Retribution.  Now I head into my first Television Title defense against Beard and while nothing is ever certain in our business, there is at least one thing you can bank on…

…I am not taking Beard or this title defense for granted.  Just because I’m back to where I want to be doesn’t mean a damn thing because I could potentially lose it all just as quick.  And I’m not ready to lose it all, not without a fight.

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Scene 1

Off Camera

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The one bad thing about crowded places is that you can lose yourself; not just in the literal sense of the phrase but also in a figurative sense.  In a large crowd with lots of people, you lose your identity.  You lose your uniqueness.  You are just part of the crowd of people that make up the whole.

Yet, on the flip side of that coin, any mathematician will tell you that the part is the most important aspect of the whole.  Without the part, you cannot know anything about the whole, you cannot solve the problem.  The uniqueness of the part, in a sense, helps us to solve our problem.  For SCW Television Champion Marie Annabelle Jones, she is beginning to have a greater appreciation for her own uniqueness in the whole.  At Retribution her mother and aunt, Angelica and Kayla Jones respectively, wrestled their final match in SCW, which makes Marie the Last Jones Standing in SCW.  Now she has had the figurative torch passed to her by her mother, and she is also the only one left.  And that combined with her recent television championship accomplishment has made Marie feel great about her future in Supreme Championship Wrestling.

While that is no doubt a great feeling, Marie also realizes the pressure that goes along with being the tops of your wrestling family.  She also understands, all too well, the pressure of being the leader of a household, due in large part to the issue surrounding her eleven year old son, Sean Connor Jones.

Marie wanted so badly for him to just be part of the crowd.  She wanted normalcy for Sean.  For uniqueness meant learning just what made him different from every other child in the crowd.  It meant him learning about his past, a past that Marie would dare say very few others in the whole share.  But after speaking with both her mother and her aunt, Marie realized that the truth had to come out.  Sean deserved to know the truth.

Now the proverbial cat is out of the bag and Marie isn’t sure just how well her son is taking it.  How well will Sean cope with knowing his past makes him very different from the rest of the crowd?

Speaking of crowds, this crowd has a life of its own, the vibrant clothes shine in the morning light and the people move like enchanting shoals of fish.  Each person in the crowd moves as if unseeing hands drag them this way and that, pulling their eyes to one thing and then another.  There is chatter amongst the excited SCW wrestling fans, who are like a river of people, everyone moving in the same direction. There are only joyful faces as they head closer and closer towards the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.

At the very front of the line is a booth.  Sitting at the booth are three individuals.  In the center is SCW Television Champion Marie Annabelle Jones.  The beautiful redheaded Boston native is wearing a luxurious rose colored maxi skirt with a beautiful print reminiscent of classical Greek art pairs perfectly with a black camisole top, black flats, and her black leather jacket.  Sitting on the table in front of her is her SCW Television Championship belt.  To Marie’s right is her husband, Arthur Pond.  Arthur is wearing  a simple attire of denim jeans, black button up shirt, and black shoes.  To Marie’s left left is EMERGE star and Marie’s identical twin sister Kimberly Williams.  Kimberly is wearing torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a shirt that reads “I Groped Mr. D” in hot pink lettering.

A young woman is next in line and she approaches the booth with a wide ear to ear grin on her face.  She is clearly nervous about meeting one of her favorite SCW wrestlers.

“Wow!  This is so cool!” She says, blushing furiously as she passes a photograph of Marie over to be signed. “You are an inspiration out there, Marie!  You really are!”

“Awwww, thanks!” Marie says, blushing a little herself as she signs the photograph and passes it back over. “Don’t forget, Breakdown right here in Seattle at this very arena, I defend against Beard.  You’ll be there to support me, right?”

“Definitely!” She flashes a thumbs up to Marie. “I got my tickets!”

The woman turns and walks away.  As she does so, Kim rolls her eyes. “Hero worship…blegh…”

“You know, you could try getting used to it.” Marie retorts back to her sister. “You do have quite the fan-base yourself.”

“Hey, it isn’t my fault those losers don’t realize I’m an outcast, social nitwit, and a sociopath.”

“Maybe they like you for your oddities, ever thought of that?”

“Nope.”

The next person steps up to the booth, this is a brown haired gentleman.  He passes his photograph to Marie.

“Make it out to Greg, please.”

“Sure.” Marie quickly scribbles her signature on it and then slides it back to him. Greg then looks over at Kim.  He grins.

“Kimberly Williams!”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”

“I like that shirt.  It’s awesome.” He chuckles. “Where can I get one?”

“They’re not for sale.” Marie chimes in, interrupting the conversation before it can get started.

“Marie’s right, SCW isn’t putting these on their website.  BUT if you want one bad enough, you can just have mine…”

Kimberly quickly takes off her t-shirt.  Marie gasps, worrying that her sister is going to be standing there in just her bra, but luckily she has another shirt on underneath.  Unfortunately this one is just as bad as the last. It reads “I Groped My Brother In Law”…

“KIM!” Marie exclaims.  Kimberly ignores her and tosses her old shirt to the fan.

“Enjoy!”

“Awesome! Thanks!”

He walks off before Marie or Kim can stop him. Marie turns and glares angrily at Kim.

“What the hell is that about?”

“Just having fun.  Anything wrong with that?”

“No, I guess not…” Marie sighs and shakes her head “…I can definitely see why they like you.”

“Is anyone worrying about me at all?” Arthur asks, pointing to Kim’s shirt. “I mean…seriously?”

“We’ll worry about it later, sweetie.” Marie kisses Arthur on his cheek and then turns her attention to the next fan in line, another young woman, this time a blonde.

“Like, totally make it to, my B-F-F Sasha and stuff!”

She says, pushing a photograph of Kimberly across the table to Marie.  It is obviously a photo of Kim because in it Kim is wearing her typical outlandish, scantily clad outfits, far from the more modest look that Marie typically sports.  Marie takes a look at the photo, looks up at the woman, and frowns.

“Uh, you do realize this isn’t me, right?”

“Sure it is!  It looks like you…right…and you’re, like, totally the champion of television and stuff.”

“Right.” Marie sighs and just signs the photograph anyway.  She then slides it back across to the blonde.

“Awesome, thanks babe!” She remarks happily. “Sasha is gonna be soooooo jealous!”

“I’m sure she will.” Marie answers.

“Oh and by the way, I would like totally grope Mr. D too!” She winks at Marie. “He’s hotness!”

The blonde turns and skips away. Kimberly turns and looks at Marie, snickering.

“At least my fans aren’t total idiots, Marie.”

“She’s just misguided.  That’s all.”

“Misguided is an understatement.”

The next to approach the booth is a father with what must be his daughter, a redhead.  Marie can’t help but smile at the young girl, for she looks an awful lot like she used to look when she was that age.

“Hi there, and who might this be?”

“This is my little girl and her name is Candice.” He looks down at Candice. “Say hi, Candice.”

“Hello…” she says, waving at Marie.

“Hi, Candice!” Marie says, smiling warmly at her young fan. “Are you and your dad going to come to Breakdown and watch me defend the Television Title against Beard?”

“Yeah!  My daddy wants Beard to win but I told him there’s nooooo way that nasty dude is gonna beat The Phoenix!”

“Is that so?” Marie asks, grinning knowingly at the girl’s father.

“Well, uh, yeah,” he blushes in embarrassment “I do kinda like Beard.  Sorry.”

“Hey, there’s no need to apologize.  That’s what’s great about this sport, you can cheer whoever you want.  However, I hate to spoil the fun, but your daughter is right, I plan on beating Beard to retain the Television Title.”

“Make it out to Candice.” The girl says, passing a photograph across to Marie.  Marie nods her head and quickly scribbles her name onto the photograph.  She then slides it back across to the girl whose face lights up with excitement.

“This is soooo cool!”  She exclaims. “Thanks, Marie!”

Marie, Kim, and Arthur watch as the girl and her father walk off.  Kimberly snickers as she wraps an arm around her sister’s shoulder.

“Yep, there’s that hero worship again and it’s just enough to make me want to vomit.”

“I think it’s sweet that Marie has fans.” Arthur counters.

“You would.”

While Kim and Arthur bicker, Marie sighs and leans over ever so slightly.  An air of disappointment, if not outright sadness, seems to come over this booth now and both Arthur and Kimberly immediately take notice of it.

“Anything wrong, sweetheart?” Arthur asks, with a touch of concern evident from the tone of his voice. “I mean, I’m sure Kim was just joking.”

“Yeah, you know me.  I’m never serious!” Kim says grinning from ear to ear. “Having fans is great.”

“It’s not that…” Marie’s voice trails off.

“Then what is it?” Arthur asks.

“Well look at them.” Marie says, pointing to them as they walk off. “I can tell just by looking at them that she is the apple of her father’s eye.  I can tell she is a daddy’s girl.  They have a great relationship.  I never had that kind of relationship with my own father.”

“Yeah but our dad was a piece of shit and a loser.” Kimberly remarks.  Arthur shoots her a nasty glare as if to silently tell her to shut up.  She quickly gets the message. “Uh…yeah…sorry…”

“Regardless of his personality it would have been nice to get to know him, to have a legitimate relationship with him.  I wanted my son to have the father figure that I never had but I guess I was stupid to think that could ever happen.”

Tears are forming in Marie’s eyes.  Arthur then takes Marie by her hands and helps her to her feet.

“We need to talk.”

“But the autograph signing…”

“Kimberly can handle it.”

“They didn’t come to see me!” Kimberly exclaims.

“Then pretend to be Marie, I don’t care!” Arthur exclaims. “Just give me time to talk to my wife!”

Kimberly rolls her eyes as she takes the center seat where Marie was sitting.  Arthur guides his wife away from the booth, far enough away that no one can see them.  Arthur glares, not angrily but sternly, at his wife.

“What is this about, Arthur?” Marie asks frustratingly, impatiently. “Kim could be out there ruining my reputation as we speak!”

“This is about talking some sense into you.” Arthur states coldly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You want your son to have the father figure you never had?  Well he’s got one.” Arthur pats himself on the chest. “It’s me.  Sean and I have a great relationship.  We have a bond.  I consider him my own son.  In other words, that’s not the problem.”

“Then what is the problem?” Marie asks, placing her hands on her hips.

“It’s you.” Arthur says, pointing a finger at his wife. “This whole ‘father figure business’ isn’t what you’re really worried about, is it?”

There’s a long pause as Marie stares at Arthur, first out of anger but then she sighs and her features soften.  She lowers her head in shame and nods her head.

“You’re right.  I’m just worried about him, you know?  I just told him who his father really was, I told him the whole story, and I’m worried about how he’s taking it.  But he won’t talk to me, Arthur.  He won’t talk to me about it.”

“Is it Sean who won’t talk…or is it you?”

Again there is silence as Arthur not-so-subtly accuses Marie.  He places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Look, I realize how tough that situation was for you.  I know it’s tough to talk about, how challenging it is to relive it, but that is your son.  You have to learn how to communicate with him, to talk to him.  The good and the bad, the challenging and the easy, all of it goes hand in hand with being a parent.”

“I know, Arthur.” Marie says, wiping some tears from her eyes. “I know.  I have to talk to my son.”

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Scene 2

Off Camera

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It’s Tuesday, the day before Breakdown in Seattle, Washington.  The autograph signing ended a long time ago and Marie and her husband are staying at a nice multi-room suite at the hotel in Seattle.  Marie’s television title defense against a tough and very game Beard is coming up, and they both know it, but for now they are enjoying some quality time together.

Arthur Pond is lying in the king sized bed of the luxury suite.  He has a Wall Street Journal in his hand, reading it as he patiently waits for his wife to exit the bathroom and come to bed.  He barely notices the sound of the bathroom door shutting, but it is just enough to perk him up.

“Marie, are you finally ready” He chuckles. “It certainly took you long enough.”

“I think the wait will be worth it.”

“Hmmmm?” Arthur puts his Wall Street Journal down and finds his lovely wife standing there at the foot of the bed.  She is wearing a black lacy bra and panty number with black sheer nylon over her legs.  Long red hair hangs down to just below her shoulders.  Marie strikes a sexy sultry pose for him and his eyes grow wide at first but then they return to normal as a wide grin forms across his face.

“So, do you like what you see?” She asks playfully.

“You already know that I do.  But…”

Marie frowns “But what?  There are no ‘buts’ when it comes to this!” Marie strikes another sultry pose for a few seconds, waiting on a positive response from her husband, who clearly wants this, but he sighs and shakes his head.

“Nope, not yet.”

“Wait a damn minute!” Marie exclaims, mainly out of surprise, as she places her hands on her hips. “You’re saying no…to me…to this?”

“Yes I am.”

“Are you nuts?  I assure you, babe, I am Marie. I am not Kim pretending to be Marie just to get in bed with you.”

“It’s not that.” He chuckles. “I know you are my wife.  There are subtle tells that tell me it’s you, not Kim.”

“Then why are you saying no to sex?”

“We’re not doing anything until you talk to your son in the next room.”

Marie sighs and rolls her eyes.  She’s been trying to avoid this conversation, even though both Arthur and Angelica Jones have told her that she needs to have it.   It’s a tough conversation to have, especially when you’re talking about that terrible time in your life, that time when you were sexually assaulted. She thought it was over when she told her son the truth about his father and how he came to be.  Unfortunately it isn’t over.  Marie needs to know how her son is handling the news but he’s been eerily silent ever since the big revelation.

The truth is, Marie just doesn’t communicate well with her son.  That needs to change and fast if they are to have a normal mother-son relationship.

“Fine…”

Marie turns and heads back into the bathroom.  A few moments later she emerges wearing a pink robe over her lingerie.  She then makes her way into the other room of the suite where she finds her son Sean, sitting on his single bed, reading a comic book.  Marie smiles warmly at her young son.

“Hi there, Sean.”

“Hi, mom.” Sean answers absentmindedly without even taking his eyes off of his comic.

“Do you mind if I tear you away from Spider-Man just a moment so we can talk?”

“Sure, mom.” He puts the comic down and then sits up.  Marie walks over and sits down on the edge of his bed and ruffles his hair.

“You know I love you, right Sean?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Good, because I do, I really do love you, Sean.  I have made mistakes, I am by far not the perfect parent.  And I know Arthur may not be your father, he does his best to be a good role model and father figure for you.  We both love you and do our best for you.  We both do what we think is best, but sometimes we may make mistakes.  I know I made a mistake in waiting this long to tell you the truth about your father.”

“It was tough to learn all that about my dad.” Sean takes a deep breath and lets it out. “But you know what I realized?”

“What’s that?”

“He aint me.” Sean says with a grin on his face. “Just because he did bad things doesn’t mean I’ll do bad things.”

“That’s very grown up of you, Sean.  That’s wisdom beyond your years.  I’m impressed.”

“There’s a lot about me you might be surprised to know, mom.  But we don’t hang out, you know?”

Marie winces a little, realizing that her son speaks the truth.  She sighs and nods her head.

“Yes, I know, and that is my fault.  Another mistake.  And I grew up a lot like you; no father, and my relationship with my own mother was very rocky at best because we didn’t communicate well with each other.” Marie leans over and embraces Sean in a tight hug. “I promise you, Sean, that from here on out, we will communicate better…or hang out as you put it…because I do not want our relationship to turn out like my relationship with my mother’s.  I love you too much.”

“I love you too, mom.”

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On Camera

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March Madness is here and you know what that means, right?

Well, for most of the United States it means college basketball fever.  It means the NCAA Tournament and a lot of sports fans losing money because their brackets got busted big time.  And the madness was deafening these past few days.  Number thirteen seeded Marshall beat a number four seeded Wichita State.  And the biggest shock of them all, one of the lowest ranked seeds, a sixteenth seed, University of Maryland Baltimore County defeated the top seeded number one in the nation Virginia.

Crazy isn’t it?  It really is crazy how you’re on top of the world one moment and the next you’re back to the bottom of the barrel.   But let’s be honest, that’s been the story of the SCW Television Championship lately, hasn’t it?

Derek Adonis won the belt but never had a successful defense of the title.

Torsten Voigt at least had two successful defenses of the title.

Angelica Jones had no successful defenses of the title.

Donovan Kayl had no successful defenses of the title.

Aaron Blackbourne had one successful title defense.

And now you have me, the current SCW Television Champion in what has been a revolving door of champions, none lasting very long before they are quickly ousted by the next challenger.  To someone like the current number one contender, namely Beard, those kind of statistics are probably making him smile.

I have bad news for you, Beard: that pattern has just ended with me.

You know what I think happened to Virginia when they were beaten by the up and coming UMBC?  They took their spot as the top team in the nation for granted.  They overlooked UMBC because they just assumed that they were the best, that they were unbeatable.  Now I’m not suggesting that’s what happened to all of these former SCW Television Champions, but I can tell you that I know it can happen in our sport.  I’ve seen it happen to wrestlers.

Hell, it happened to me.  There were times in my career when I was on top of the world and I took it for granted.  I relaxed a bit too much and someone came along and knocked me off of my perch.  Never again will I take for granted what I am or where I am.  I am the SCW Television Champion and I am going to fight like hell to make sure I stay there because I don’t want to be just another name on the long list of former champions who couldn’t hang on very long.  I fought too damn hard for too damn long to become a success again, to redeem my career, to get back to where I want to be just throw it away this quickly.

Not to you, Beard.  Not to anyone.

And quite honestly, the Television Championship of Supreme Championship Wrestling deserves better than that.  Now I’m not saying it deserves better than you as champion.  You’re a hell of a competitor and I know you’re a worthy challenger who someday will make a great champion.

But this championship that I now hold, it deserves better than to be passed around more times than a cheap whore.   We’re not even finished with the third month of 2018 yet and already this year has seen six SCW Television Champions…I’m the sixth…the more frequently the champions are crowned, the more frequently the champions lose the belt, the cheaper this great championship becomes.

That also stops here with me; because you know who I am, Beard?  I am The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, and I am not going to let this prestigious championship cheapen under my watch.

I am following in the footsteps of many great competitors; Ace Marshall, Kennedy Street, Amy Chastaine, Jake Starr…all former world champions…I could continue in that path.  The path of competitors who helped make this title great, not by being a one and done title holder, but by hanging onto it and defending it week in and week out non-stop.

That’s what I want to be known as; an iron-woman who fought each and every night, defending the title every opportunity against all comers.  I want to be listed among the great title holder who truly elevated their game and the status of the championship.  And hell, who knows, I could be a future world champion.  That’s what this Television Championship is all about.  That is why it is truly a prestigious championship.

Championships lose their luster with one and done champions.  There is no way in hell I will let you make me into a one and done champion, Beard.  I am not going to take this championship for granted, I am not going to take my current spot in this company for granted, and I damn sure will not overlook you.

In short, I will not be beaten by you.  The March Madness ends with me.  The revolving door ends with me.  The cheapening of this great championship ends with me.  I’m the SCW Television Champion now and for the foreseeable future.

Which means you, Beard, will be the first in a long line of revolving door challengers.  Worthy challengers, no doubt it, but revolving door challengers, because I intend to beat each and every one of them as I prove myself to be among the best in SCW and as I prove myself to be worthy of taking the next step, to elevate myself and the championship, just as others have done before me.