Explanations

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12/05/2018

Little Rock, AR

Off Camera

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The clicking of heels on asphalt is heard off in the distance.  The two silhouettes of a male and figure can be seen.  Light from tall lamp posts shine down on them and one could see that this is SCW Superstar Marie Annabelle Jones and her husband, Arthur Pond.  Like the gentleman that he is, Arthur is carrying his wife’s bags.  Marie is dressed in a knee length black skirt, black patent leather pumps, a red blouse, and her signature black leather jacket.  Arthur, for his part, is wearing khaki dress pants, brown loafers, and a Carolina blue button up shirt.  Looking into the eyes of The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling you would notice that she is distant and stoic.  No emotion at all from The Phoenix.  Tonight on Breakdown she made a fateful decision to side with Dark Fantasy.  Tonight on Breakdown she may have burned some bridges and while she may exude confidence in her swagger and tough actions, her husband Arthur is close enough to Marie to know the truth; or at least, he has his suspicions.  For what he saw tonight surprised even him.  Even he isn’t sure right now as to what is going on behind the eyes of his lovely wife.  And he knows after a couple of years of marriage that his wife can be quite stubborn and hard to reach.  But that won’t stop him from trying.

“So do you want to talk about it?”

Arthur throws out the offer, hoping Marie will bite like a hungry fish staring at a lure.  Unfortunately he doesn’t get the response he was hoping for…

“What’s there to talk about?  I didn’t compete tonight.” She chuckles lightly. “I guess it was kind of pointless for me to even be there, huh?”

“Oh I don’t know, you seemed to be pretty active tonight.”

“You mean what I did out there tonight in the main event?”

“Not just that but siding with Katya after she fired Blake Mason.  Not exactly fair of her.”

Marie arches a brow out of curiosity. “You hate him.  Why do you care?”

“I don’t care about him personally, but what she did to him sets a bad precedent.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  If no one reels her in, there’s no telling what she’ll do.”

“Have you ever stopped to think that maybe she isn’t the one who needs to be reeled in?  Maybe she and Dark Fantasy don’t need to be reeled in but the rest of that slime walking around the halls of SCW need to be reeled in?”

“So you’re not bothered at all by the fact that she fired two people tonight for no real reason whatsoever?”

Marie stops walking long enough to turn and face Arthur.  She places her hands on her hips and glares at her with an intense stoic gaze.  Jones shakes her head defiantly, letting Arthur know her answer before she even utters a word.

“No, because the front office shit isn’t my job.  That’s the job of people like Katya...or Mr. D...or Sasha...or whoever the hell happens to be in charge from week to week.  I’m a professional wrestler, Arthur.  That’s my job.  I wrestle.  In fact, that’s what this whole company is supposed to be about, right?  Supreme Championship Wrestling…” the red head smirks and shakes her head “...yet it seems as if this place forgot about that last word.  WRESTLING!  That’s what this is about!  Think about that before judging me, Arthur!”

“I’m not judging you, Marie.  I’m worried about you and I wanted some answers to put my mind at ease.  That’s all.”

Arthur approaches his wife and embraces her in a tight hug.  The warmth of the embrace seems to melt away Marie’s cold exterior.

“I’m sorry, Arthur.  I don’t know why I’m so upset right now.  We shouldn’t fight like this.”

“No need to apologize, babe.  You’ve gone through hell lately, Marie, and you have earned the right to gripe.  For what it’s worth, though, I do support you one hundred percent in whatever you do, because I know pro-wrestling isn’t my field of expertise...it’s yours...so who am I to judge you?”

“Thank you, sweety.” She kisses him  on his lips. “I have a feeling the rest of my peers and the fans won’t agree with you.”

“Well who the hell cares what they think anyway?” Arthur replies with a smirk of his own. “They’re not in your shoes.  They haven’t gone through what you’ve gone through.  And despite what anyone may say going forward, you are the most wonderful woman alive.”

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12/8/2018

Boston, Massachusetts

Off Camera

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Redemption is a quality Marie believes in deep down in her heart and soul.  Some may find this hard to believe after her actions on Breakdown and some of her words on social media but she does believe in redemption.  Her belief system and values have not changed but her faith in SCW certainly has and perhaps that is what motivated her in Little Rock.

One unfortunate act that took place on Breakdown was the firing of Blake Mason.  While Marie had nothing to do with the firing, Blake still was quite upset that she would side with Dark Fantasy and Katya after the firing.  Blake thought that he and Marie had something special.  She did convince him that redemption was possible.  She convinced him to turn his life around.  He feels betrayed.

For her part, Marie has no idea why he feels betrayed.  She had nothing to do with what happened to him.  But he wants to speak to her and, despite her reluctance to do so, a part of her does admit that she owes him that much.

This is what brings Marie to The Black Rose bar in Boston, Massachusetts.  Jones is wearing an ankle length, floral print skirt, a ruffled silver colored tube top, and flip flops.  Her long red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length, flowing beautifully behind her as she walks past onlookers and patrons, a few making eye contact with the beautiful Boston native, some even recognize and make catcalls, but she ignores them all.

Jones reaches the bar.  The bartender, a slightly older woman with blonde hair, has her back turned towards Marie.  She gets her attention by clearing her throat loudly.  The bartender turns around and smiles politely.

“Oh, hello.” She greets her. “What can I get you, ma’am?”

“Nothing  for me, thanks.” Marie answers.  “I was just here to meet someone.”

The woman nods her head and goes to fill Marie’s drink order while Marie patiently yet reluctantly awaits the arrival of Blake Mason. Didn’t take long for Blake to make his presence known. He takes a seat right next to Marie.

“I’m glad you agreed to this, unless you’re Kim masquerading as Marie.” Blake says with a light hearted smirk.

“No such luck.  You’re stuck with me.”

“Despite how I’m feeling right now, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“Right, well, tell the bartender what you want.  It’s on me.  I don’t care.” Marie says nonchalantly.

“No thanks.” Blake says shrugging. “Bad things usually happen when me and alcohol are involved. I’d prefer a clear head for this conversation. No point small taking our away around this. I don’t blame you for your new friend firing me. You had nothing to do with that. We’re good there. The reason why I’m upset. I feel like everything you told me was a lie. You championed redemption. You told me I should give it a go. Just feel like everything you told me was b.s. You sold out, Marie.” Blake pauses for a moment to let ‘sold out’ hang in the air. He turns to Marie.  “What happened? Was I wrong to put my faith in you?”

“You know, I read all of your rants on twitter, I heard what everyone else said...that I’m a sell out or how my recent bumps in the road have broken me...that’s the bullshit, Blake.  What I told you about redemption wasn’t bullshit.  Thinking that I’ve changed in some way is bullshit.  I haven’t changed.  You just may not have understood me as much as you thought and everyone else who thought they knew me were wrong.  Do I believe in redemption?” Marie nods her head vehemently. “Damn right I do.  I firmly believe that even the worst of the worst can redeem themselves and turn their lives around.  I believe people like you and me can go from doing what’s wrong to doing what’s right.”

Marie pauses for a moment as she points at Blake, or maybe at an invisible word just hanging in the air. “And therein lies the rub; right...what’s right….and I got to thinking, it’s been something that’s weighed on my mind ever since I was screwed out of the Adrenaline Championship by Dylan Howell.  Is ‘what’s right’ really celebrated in SCW right now? Think about it for a moment.  Dylan Howell gets rewarded with a title shot on a huge platform for breaking the rules.  Derek Adonis regularly gets rewarded with TV Title shots and free air time for sexually harassing women and pushing pornography.  And yes, Syren may not be the most popular of individuals right now, and even I don’t necessarily like the way she went about winning the World Title the last time, but in our industry former champions are typically given rematches regardless of popularity or how they won it.  Not only that but Sienna herself, the current champion, agreed to a match.  Mr. D kept denying it.”

Jones sighs and shrugs her shoulders. “I could go on and on with more examples but the point is that nothing in SCW has been right or just at all whatsoever.  I always try to let my moral compass guide me.  I go along with what’s right and just.  It isn’t always popular and right now, clearly I’m not popular, but my conscience is clear because I at least can go to bed at night knowing I am doing what’s right.”

Blake takes a moment process to everything Marie had to say. The feeling of disappointment and anger subsided enough for him to have some empathy for what she was communicating. “I get it. To be honest with you, I should have never had to face Cassidy at Bound by Blood. I was the one on a win streak. All Cassidy had to her name was coming up short to AJ in a battle royal. Hell, I beat the woman weeks before that. She had no rightful claim to begin with but no, I didn’t challenge that. I felt the right thing was beating her again. That didn’t pan out well. Part of me feels the contendership should had been mine.” Blake takes a deep breath. “Siding with management shouldn’t be the way to solve your problems. You should had come to me. We could have figured this out, together. Your husband may not have liked that. I’m your friend, friends are supposed to be there. I did overlook you and Kim stealing my wallet. If it was anyone else, they would have heard from me. Sue for me having soft spot for you, still.” Blake sighs.

“How could we have solved the problem, Blake?  Seriously.  I’ve grown up in this business.  I’ve watched my mother try and fix things and I’ve tried to fix things and it’s always the same.  It’s always like banging your head against a brick wall.  Eventually you have to get management on board and no, I don’t agree with every decision Katya makes, just like I didn’t agree with every decision her father made, but I do think there’s some promise of changes for the better.  Sometimes you have to make a tough decision to do what is right in the end.  Do you think Harry Truman was overwhelmingly gleeful and confident when he nuked Japan?  No.  He had his doubts.  He had his critics.  Shit, he probably died still questioning whether he made the right decision.”

She sighs out of frustration. “So is that what you want me to say, Blake?  Fine.  Do I have doubts?  Damn right I do.  But I think this is the best possible option to solving the problems that are permeating this whole God forsaken company right now.”

“You know what’s ironic, Marie?”

“What’s that?”

“I am listening to you talk. What sticks out to me more than anything.. You sound like me two years ago.” Blake smirks. “I was the guy who broke into Simon’s home, laid my hands on a stroke victim to try to get Kelcey to back off her crusade. I didn’t want to. Drastic times called for drastic measures. Never wanted to fight Kelcey. I tried to avoid her like the plague. And with Amy. I sent her to rehab against her will. I thought I was helping her. Part of me wanted revenge. Kill two birds with one stone. You haven’t tried to cripple anyone. I doubt you would.”

Blake rest his hand on Marie’s shoulder. “This comes across to me as the ends justifies the means mode of thinking. Who cares how guilty you feel. I have enough sins to fill this entire room. Katya was looking for an excuse to fire me. I gave her one. All I wanted was one show to clear my head about Bound By Blood. Don’t blame her in the long run. Safe to say I won’t be around to enjoy a quote unquote better SCW as long as she wields power. If she does right by you, ok. Fine. Not like I can do anything about it. What I can do is be there. For you. If I let you down in anyway, I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t let me down, Blake.” Marie says stifling back a few tears. “If anything, you helped me realize that there may be hope for this place.  You did turn yourself around.  I’m proud of you.  But as great as that is, I’m still sick to my stomach when the fans cheer Derek Adonis who is no better sex offender, Dylan Howell who should be locked up in an asylum and never let out, and they cheered Giovanni Aries, who surprisingly hasn’t been caught by any damn drug tests, and they cheer that drugged up hippy because he’s entertaining.  Not for his wrestling talent but because he’s entertaining.  It’s fun for them to listen to a maniac rant about lizard people.  It’s fun to watch a fat ass peddle pornography.  It’s fun to watch a deranged lunatic marry a championship belt.  Shit like that needs to be stopped because those morons are getting the spotlight that REAL wrestlers like me deserve but don’t get because I’m normal, because I’m not insane, or a sex freak, or a drugged up hippy.  Things need to change, Blake.  You can’t deny that.”

“Change is needed. Can’t support your new friends. But we can agree the company needs to be shaken up. SCW isn’t my problem anymore. I was fired. The only people who came out publicly to support me were Selena and Owen Cruze. I expected that at least. The rest don’t care I’m gone. Even if Mr. D or Sasha could find a way to circumvent my firing, at this moment, I doubt I go back to that place.” Blake rolls his eyes. “Anyway, I didn’t know what to expect coming here. I imagined this going a different way. Thanks for proving me wrong. Just know that I support you. Not the company you keep. We’re still friends. Next time you feel overwhelmed, call me. I have a lot of free time on my hands in case you haven’t noticed.”

Blake leans in and hugs Marie to let her know everything is okay between them now.

“Thank you, Blake.  I appreciate your support.  And same goes for you, if there’s anything I can ever help you with, let me know.”

“I will. Appreciate it.”

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On Camera

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Ever since Breakdown I’ve been called everything under the sun.  People have called me a sell out.  That fucking Star Wars man-child Andrew Raynes thinks he broke me.

He’s delusional and the rest of you are dead wrong if you think I’ve sold out.  But all of you seem to want an explanation.  You want to know why I suddenly changed.

Fact is that I haven’t changed.  You just don’t know who the real Marie Annabelle Jones truly is.

Put yourself in my shoes; growing up as the daughter of a professional wrestler.  I watched my mother blaze trails in this industry and she praised for it.  But I also witnessed the heinous acts she committed in the process.  I also witnessed the crimes she committed in order to blaze those trails, the atrocities she committed in order to prove that she could make it in a man’s world.

Ask Samantha Raine.  Your beloved Angelica Jones set fire to someone very close to her.  Literally set her on fire during a match.  She took a sledgehammer to an opponent’s back and ended their career.  But she got a pass because she’s Angelica Jones.  She got a pass because she was a trail blazer...whatever the fuck that means.  She got the spotlight and the glitz and the glamor but really, did she deserve it?  Considering those crimes, can you honestly say she deserved it?

When I made my debut as a professional wrestler I swore I would be nothing like my mother.  I swore I would always fight for what was just and fair regardless of whether it made me popular or unpopular.  And if my mother was popular for the numerous crimes she committed in her career, then I would prefer to be unpopular.

I’m not going to be like some in this company and be hypocritical about all of this.  I’m the first to admit that I am flawed.  I make mistakes.  But I always recognized my mistakes and learned from them.  I have since been busting my ass to accomplish my dreams the right way.

Seven times a World Champion....

Eight times a World Tag Team Champion…

I even came to SCW because I was promised justice and fair play.  UWA screwed me over by refusing to grant me a rematch at the World Championship so I said fuck you to that place and went on my way to greener pastures, thinking SCW would do right by me.  But has Supreme Championship Wrestling been living up to that standard?

Let’s check on that, shall we?

Bianca Evans is guilty of kidnapping AJ Helms and trying to marry him by force.  How the hell is she not in jail right now let alone still employed by SCW?  The answer is because bat shit crazy antics like hers makes them money.  You fans pay money to see what morons like Bianca will do next.  So SCW keeps morons like Bianca employed for that reason and they give them more and more airtime hoping they’ll generate the cash.

Then there’s Derek The Sexual Harassment Whale Adonis.  He’s borderline Harvey Weinstein in terms of sexual crimes and yet he still has a job.  He has a job because he’s comic relief and you fans would rather see a comedy routine speak of sexual innuendo than enjoy an actual wrestling match.

But I’m just a wrestler.  I proudly hold my head high and step inside that ring every Breakdown, every live event, and compete against whoever I’m put up against.  That’s what I was trained to do.  I wrestle.  And how does SCW actually reward an actual wrestler like me?

I’m largely ignored.

How does SCW reward a lunatic like Dylan Howell who interferes in a sanctioned Adrenaline Championship Match just because Andrew Raynes hurt his feelings?  By giving a huge spotlight on the grandest stage of Rise To Greatness for the Adrenaline Championship.  But I’m the one who got screwed over by Howell’s actions and how did SCW respond?

I was largely ignored.

I get why people don’t like Dark Fantasy.  And how she won the championship was underhanded, I don’t think even she would deny that.  Underhanded or not, she was the World Champion and she deserves her title rematch.  It’s simply just and fair.

But for the longest time what’s just and fair has been largely ignored by Supreme Championship Wrestling.  I can relate to that.  Because justice and fairness has been withheld from me.  Instead of giving the spotlight to the wrestlers, the attention and praise was given to jokes, comic relief, and criminals.

I’ve always been this way, ladies and gentlemen.  A leopard never changes its spots and neither do I.  If I see something that I feel is wrong I always speak out, whether it is popular or not.  But you people seem willing to cater to and outright applaud delinquents and jokes just because they are entertaining.  So now here I am, as usual, speaking out against what I feel is wrong.  And because I’m speaking out against your ridiculous form of entertainment I’m now the villain.

So be it.  I never sought out your cheers and adulation.  I never sought out approval from the fans.  I have always been guided by my moral compass and if you idiots chose to side with me then great.  But I never lost any sleep because some people disapproved of my actions.

See?  I haven’t changed.  This industry has changed and it has changed in a way that makes me want to vomit.  There are so many examples of filth in this company that I can hardly stand it.  Case in point, Giovanni Aries.

Honestly I wonder how the hell you pass any drug tests, Gio.  Hell, does SCW even bother drug testing you?  No, they wouldn’t dare to drug test you because you are just too damned entertaining to the mass of unwashed idiots in the crowd.  They eat up your Lizard King garbage, they buy your merchandise, they keep coming back for more, and that puts cash in the hands of SCW.

I’m not even sure I buy the whole Lizard King crap.  More than likely this is just a marketing tool by you because you know that the crazier it is, the more money the fans will shell out to see it.  At least that’s what I want to think about you, Gio.  I’d prefer to think that you’re just a clever businessman and that no one is actually stupid enough to believe that there is a Lizard King manipulating this industry.

But if you DO believe that, Gio, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you’re directly funding The Lizard King each time you set foot into the ring.  Your appearances and your matches and your merchandise sales, all go to the Lizard King since apparently he runs SCW, right?

So here you go, if you want to do all of us a favor and hurt The Lizard King in the process just up and quit!  Quit this joke of a career, because that’s all it is, a joke!  You are a joke and you being in the ring is nothing more than a joke!  You want to know why your career is a joke, Gio?

Because you actually are talented.  You are good inside the ring.  You are damn good.  You did what no other champion in SCW had been asked to do; you defended the Adrenaline Championship in the end of the year battle royal and while you didn’t win, you kicked ass and came pretty damn close.

You won Taking Hold of the Flame, an incredibly challenging feat that earned you the main event spotlight.  You got to compete for the SCW World Championship.  You’re good, Gio.  You’re damn good.  And you earned all of this while being a distracted psycho obsessed with a fake Lizard King.

It is a joke that a psychotic drugged up hippy who doesn’t take this sport seriously got to be in the main event of Rise To Greatness while a great wrestler like me was ignored.

You represent what’s wrong with this industry, Gio.  You represent what’s wrong with SCW and what Katya and Dark Fantasy and myself are trying to do to fix things.  The fact that a loser like you are still even employed by this company is an illustration of what’s wrong with this company.

Lucky for SCW I’m here.   SCW is sick and I’m the fucking cure.  I’m what this company needs right now.  Stability, normality, and tradition; that’s what I represent and that’s what I intend to bring back not only to SCW but to this sport as a whole.

But to do that, maniacs like you have to go.  You, Gio, make a mockery of the sport I love every time you step out from behind that curtain.  That’s why I can’t suffer you to live any longer.

No longer am I going to let comic relief acts like you get in my way.  No longer am I going to let jokes like you get the spotlight that I so rightly deserve.  From now on I take what I deserve because I am The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling and damn it, I deserve it.