The Next Generation: Part 6

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London England,

5/10/2019

Off Camera

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It may not look like much, but this small, run down looking gym on the outskirts of Southampton is quite a well known venue.  This is the gym that hosts the Glenn Braddock Wrestling School.  Glenn Braddock is a popular figure in the European wrestling scene.  The legendary grappler went undefeated as an amateur, beating anyone and everyone who stepped up to the plate.  He garnered the nickname “Britain’s Best” indicating his skill level when it came to the so-called “sport of kings”.  The legendary Braddock was in training to be an Olympian before an injury forced him to retire from active competition early.  Even then, Glenn Braddock refused to let injury keep him away from the sport he loved.  Like a stubborn bull, or more aptly like an enraged fire breathing Japanese monster dead set on destroying Tokyo, Glenn rampaged into the next stage of his career: a trainer for the next generation of wrestling greats.  His personality and methodology is legendary.  Some say he is akin to the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket.  Others liken him to an angry and very hungry lion.  However you describe him, Glenn Braddock does not take shit from anyone and he is one of the hardest, most challenging trainers to work under.  But those who wanted to break into the wrestling business always sought him out; they sought out his guidance.

He was, after all, Britain’s Best.

Past tense is important.  Glenn Braddock was Britain’s Best.  He was the best trainer around the European circuits.  He was the best person to prepare an athlete for the next level.  Not anymore.  A recent health scare has forced Glenn into permanent retirement.  It has now fallen upon the shoulders of his daughter, Glory Braddock, to keep the ‘family business’ running efficiently and smoothly.  Glory Braddock understands the pressure that weighs heavily upon her shoulders.  She is the daughter of “Britain’s Best” and, as a student at his school, her peers expect great things from her.  She understands that Glenn himself expects great things from her and she does not want to let her father down.  And she understands that the pressure is upon her to make sure the Braddock Wrestling School does not fail and that it continues perpetually in the future.

The British Bombshell doesn’t want to see her father’s hard work go down in flames.  She wants to see it continue but she knows she needs assistance.  She is already competing not only in Global Championship Wrestling but also in Supreme Championship Wrestling; to compete and run a wrestling school at the same time would be damn near insurmountable for Braddock.  As much as Glory would like to do it on her own, even she has to admit that she cannot do it by herself.  Thus she recruited her best friend, Sophie O’Brian, to temporarily run the school; at least until a more permanent replacement can be found.

Braddock must admit that Sophie has been doing a good job.  She takes a mental note of the efficiency she sees with her own two eyes as she walks the floors of the school.  Sophie O’Brian and her brother Mark are definitely running a well-oiled machine.  This allows Glory and her husband Kurt to drop by for an unexpected visit like this.

“Well I can’t find much to complain about.” Braddock says cheerfully, leaned back in the comfortable black leather chair behind the wood oak desk in her office.  Kurt sits in front in one of the decidedly less comfortable brown leather chairs.

“You don’t think they’re being too tough on the students, do you?” Kurt asks. “Knowing Sophie and Mark’s reputations for sadism that could be the only concern I might have.”

“Not at all.” Glory shakes her head. “I spoke to my dad.  He confirmed that Sophie and Mark are running a tight but fair shift.”

“That’s good news, but I thought your dad wasn’t going to be involved in this anymore?”

“He isn’t.” Glory sighs and shakes his head. “But he can’t help but stick his head in every so often to see what’s happening.  He may not want to run the school any longer, but he damn sure wants to make sure that whoever is running it is running it up to his standards.”

“Funny, considering he was going to retire.”

“Yeah, I know he said he was going to retire.  But what daddy says and what he actually does sometimes can be two completely different things.”

The pressure to please her father has always been great.  The pressure is even greater now that her father’s legacy is practically on the line with the success of this wrestling school.  This is why she desperately wants to make this school succeed on her own terms and on its own merits.

“What about the other elephant in the room?” Kurt asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Melinda.”

The British Bombshell sighs and shrugs her shoulders. “I wish I had an answer for you, mate.”

Melinda Braddock is Glory’s oldest child and had been a perfect angel, at least until she asked her mother for permission to begin training to become a professional wrestler.  The moment she made that request, and Glory denied it, Melinda began acting out.  She got wasted on an overdose of alcohol and then that devolved into petty theft.  To say that these are actions unbecoming of Melinda Braddock would be an understatement.

So what brought this on?

“Well we need to figure something out, Glory.  My guess is that this isn’t over.  Melinda will continue to act out.”

“What should I do, Kurt?  Huh?” Glory glares daggers through her husband. “I can punish her again and again.  Every time she acts out, I can punish her.  I can make her regret her actions.  That’s all I can do.”

“I know this, but have you stopped to get to the heart of why she’s acting out?”

Braddock nods her head. “Of course, Kurt, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Melinda is acting out because I refuse to let her follow in my footsteps.  And I’m going to put a cork in that idea right now because there is no way in hell Melinda Braddock will ever become a wrestler.”

“You say that now and right now you can stop her but eventually you won’t be able to stop her.  One day she’ll leave us and she’ll make her own decisions.  Then what will you do?”

There is a long tense pause as Glory and Kurt stare across the desk into one another’s eyes.  Finally Glory breaks the ice.

“All I can do is pray.  I can pray that she will grow up and realize that wrestling is not in her best interest.”

Kurt opens his mouth to speak up but he is interrupted when the door to the office swings wildly open.  Sophie O’Brian sticks her head in.  The raven haired sociopath has a somewhat panicked look on her face, which is unusual for O’Brian.

“Glory, Kurt, you two need to get out here.  Now.”

“What is it?” Glory asks curiously.

“It’s Clyde.  It looks like he seriously hurt one of the other students.”

This is not what Glory wanted to hear about when she stopped in for a visit.  She sighs as she gets up from her desk and follows Sophie out the door.  Kurt follows closely behind them.  Glory catches up with Sophie as they make their way across the floor.

Glory Braddock has heard a little about this Clyde Sutter individual.  Sophie expressed her concerns about Sutter and wanted to kick him out of the school but Glory was insistent that she not kick him out.  Now The British Bombshell is concerned that the warnings may have come too late.

“What happened?” Glory asks as she follows Sophie up the steps and into the wrestling ring set up in the center of the floor.  Immediately she spots Mark O’Brian doing all he can to hold back a large man, most likely Clyde himself.  The youth combined with the sheer size and power of Sutter makes it difficult for the larger of the O’Brian siblings to keep him at bay, but somehow he does manage it.  Other students are tending to a man who appears to have been knocked unconscious.

“Clyde was sparring with Karl.” Sophie motions to the man lying on the mat. “It didn’t last long, Clyde took him down with a devastating kick to the face.”

“Impressive.”

“I agree, but the problem is he wouldn’t stop.” Sophie turns and glares angrily at Clyde. “He picked Karl back up and drilled him with a package pile driver.”

“I see.” Glory kneels down next to the man who was beat up unconscious, Karl his name.  Glory immediately takes a mental note of some blood next to Karl. “He certainly did a number on Karl here.”

“Indeed, and he ignored me when I told him to stop.” Sophie approaches Glory who stands up.  O’Brian whispers into her ear. “I’m warning you again, Glory, this guy is dangerous.  The fact that he went and did whatever the hell he wanted without regard to my orders and my protocol should tell you something.”

“The fact that you of all people think he’s too dangerous should tell me something.” Glory whispers back to her.

The British Bombshell turns and approaches Clyde Sutter, who is still being held back by Mark O’Brian.  Glory taps on Mark’s shoulder, motioning for him to back away from Clyde.

“Are you sure?” Mark asks.

“I’m sure, mate.”

Mark and Clyde exchange looks and finally, after a tense pause, Mark backs away, giving Clyde freedom to move.  Glory folds her arms over her chest and studies Clyde intensely for several moments before speaking.

“So you’re Clyde Sutter.”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Do you know who I am?” Glory asks inquisitively.

“Oh, of course I do, Ms. Braddock!” Clyde’s face seemingly lights up with excitement. “You’re Glory Braddock!  Your father is a legend and you, you’re an even bigger legend than him!”

“Oh hush you.” Glory begins to blush ever so slightly at the praise being heaped upon her.

“It’s true.  Your family is the reason I wanted to be a wrestler in the first place!”

“Well that’s all well and good, mate, and that’s why you’re here, to learn the rules of this game.  But one rule of this and any game is that you listen to those in positions of authority over you.” Braddock motions to Sophie. “She runs this school in my stead, mate.  You have to follow whatever she says.  She told you to stop and yet you kept on stomping poor Karl over there.”

Braddock places her hands on her hips. “So do you care to explain yourself?”

“It was an accident.” Clyde says, shaking his head and keeping his eyes away from Glory, almost as a show of guilt.

“A package pile driver is no accident.” Sophie snaps back.  Glory waves her off, she wants to hear Clyde’s side of the story.

“I know, Ms. O’Brian, but honestly, I didn’t hear you say stop.  And didn’t you teach that it’s never over until the final bell rings?”

Sophie reluctantly nods her head. “Yeah, I said that.  But I find it hard to believe that you didn’t hear me.”

“I promise it won’t happen again.” Clyde answers.

“You bet it won’t, because…” before Sophie can any further words out, Glory walks past, takes her friend by her arm, and walks her over to a far corner of the school.  Sophie, with fire in her eyes, looks at Glory and then back at Clyde and then back at Glory again.

“You can’t seriously believe what he says, do you?  Hell, I’ve told better lies than that!”

At least you admit it.” Glory chuckles. “But no, I’m not ready to believe him.”

“Good.”

“But I’m not ready to close the door on him, either.”

“What?” Sophie asks curiously.

“You have concerns about Mr. Sutter, that much I can tell.  And from what I can tell, your concerns may be legitimate.”

“Take my word for it, Glory, this guy is a problem.”

“This is still my school, Sophie.” Glory states definitively. “So let me  be the one who decides that.”

“Great, that’s all well and good, mate, but how do you plan to do that?”

“Trust me, Sophie.  Just trust me on this.”

Sophie tilts her head to one side, studying her friend. She points a finger at her. “You have a plan.  I can tell.  And I’ll let you have it, but for your sake, and for this school’s sake, I hope you know what you’re doing.  Because this guy is too dangerous for me.”

Sophie walks off.  Glory watches Sophie and then turns to set eyes back upon Clyde, who stands in the ring, awaiting further instruction.  She has an idea; she thinks it’ll get her the answers she needs.

She hopes.

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London, England

5/11/2019

Off Camera

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It’s Saturday evening.  The events of Friday are still fresh in the mind of Glory Braddock as she sits on her plush comfortable cream colored sofa in the living room.  The gorgeous honey blonde haired beauty is wearing a pink short sleeve dress with a hemline that stops just at the knees.  Her feet are encased in matching pink leather high heeled pumps.  

The Braddock Wrestling School is still her property.  She is still responsible for its operation and she wants to make sure that everything is run smoothly.  Yes, she trusts her good friend Sophie O’Brian to manage the day to day operations efficiently but still, that doesn’t mean Glory can shirk her own duties as the owner of the school.  It is Braddock Wrestling School, after all, and she IS Braddock!

Still, she wasn’t expecting to have to deal with a potential problem child in the form of student Clyde Sutter.

Young Sutter, a very powerful individual, used his power to decimate one of the other students in a sparring session yesterday.  Sophie claims that she told him to stop and that he was ignoring her orders.  Sutter insists that it was all an accident, that he would never do it again, and that he has learned from this whole situation.

Sophie wants Clyde gone from the school altogether.  Braddock would normally think nothing of Sophie’s concerns but when someone as dangerous as Sophie thinks someone else is TOO dangerous...that alone speaks volumes and warrants Glory, at the very least, looking into this.

“Steaks will be done momentarily…” Glory turns her head in the direction of the voice.  She spots her husband Kurt walking in from the hall.  He sits down next to her on the sofa and kisses her on the lips. “...all we need now is your visitor.”

“Yeah, he is a little late isn’t he?” Glory asks.

“Not the ideal way to make a good first impression.” Kurt wraps an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “And he damn sure started things off on the wrong foot yesterday.”

“Kurt, we’ve been through this already…” Glory begins, unfortunately Kurt chimes in, interrupting her.

“I know, but I still don’t understand your logic.  The way Sophie explains it, this kid committed one of the cardinal sins in our business.  Yet you’re treating him to a dinner.”

“I know it seems naive of me, Kurt, but hear me out.  I am not doing this to reward him, even if he may think that’s the case.  This is just my opportunity to find out as much as I can about this kid.  Sophie says he’s dangerous but yet she only knows him from their time together at the school.  I want to know who he really is.”

Glory reaches out and takes Kurt’s right hand, squeezing it tight. “After tonight, if I come to the same conclusion Sophie has come to, then I’ll kick him out.  Simple.”

Kurt opens his mouth to speak but the ringing of the doorbell interrupts him.  Kurt chuckles. “I keep getting interrupted.”

“Just your luck, right?”

“I guess.  Anyway, now we find out all we can about this Sutter kid.”

Kurt stands up and exits the living room.  Glory can hear him walking down the hall and then stopping at the front door.  Sounds of the door opening and Clyde’s voice off in the distance can be heard.  It isn’t long until The British Bombshell sees Kurt leading Clyde Sutter back into the living room.  Clyde approaches the sofa and Glory stands up, greeting him with a handshake.

“I am so glad you could make it, Clyde.” Glory says cheerfully.

“You have a nice place, Ms. Braddock.” Clyde remarks.

“It isn’t much.  More of a family home, the Braddock family has owned this for as long as I can remember.  My place in Miami is much nicer than this.”

“Why wouldn’t you stay in Miami all the time?” Clyde asks.

“I do stay there most of the time.” Glory says with a wink. “But I do need somewhere I can call home, somewhere to put a roof over my head when I’m here visiting my school.”

“Wow, you have it all, Ms. Braddock!” Clyde exclaims. “Two homes, one of them is in Miami!  That’s one reason I want to be in this business, so I can have a better life.”

“Nice goal, but keep in mind that it took my lovely wife a long time to get to this point.”

“Kurt’s right,” Glory nods her head “at first when I broke into the business I had no choice but to live with my father.  Only later did I manage to get a place of my own.”

“But look at you now; you’re a fourteen time world champion across multiple organizations.  You have been inducted in multiple halls of fame.  You were the General Manager of MCW and the owner of GCW.  You’ve done it all in this sport.  There is no need for you to be humble, Ms. Braddock; you are legendary.”

Just like yesterday, Glory’s face grows red as she blushes ever so slightly when Clyde Sutter heaps the praise upon her.

“Glory, aren’t we forgetting someone?” Kurt asks.  Glory turns and looks at him curiously.

“Huh?”

“Melinda.”

“Oh, yeah!” Glory chuckles lightly.  How could she forget the other cause of her recent bout of migraine headaches?  Her oldest daughter, Melinda Braddock.  Glory walks past Kurt and Clyde and into the hall.

“Melinda!  Come into the living room, please!”  And so, Glory Braddock rejoins Kurt and Clyde in the living room as they wait patiently for the new arrival.  They do not have to wait long.  A few moments later Melinda Braddock arrives on the threshold of the living room.

“Yes, what is it?” Melinda stares at the three individuals in the room and strangely enough her face goes pale.

“Mel, I’d like you meet one of the students at my wrestling school.  His name is Clyde Sutter.”

Before anything else can be said, Melinda takes off, running away; presumably back to her room.  Glory and Kurt exchange looks, dumbfounded by this recent action.  Clyde shrugs his shoulders.

“Was it my breath?” He chuckles.

“No, it wasn’t you.” Kurt shakes his head. “Mel has been acting rather strange lately anyway.”

“That’s good to hear.” Clyde says. “I’d hate to think I’m scaring off the ladies.”

“Not at all.” Glory shakes her head as she steps forward, motioning for Kurt and Clyde to follow her. “Come on, lets eat.”

The British Bombshell leads her husband and Clyde out of the living room and into the hall.  From the hall they make their way towards the dining room.  Four places are set, each with a steak and a salad.  Clyde notices this curiosity.

“Who is the fourth place for?”

“Melinda.” Glory remarks flatly.

“Oh, right.  Sorry.”

Glory shakes her head as she sits down on one end of the table.  Clyde sits across from her.  Kurt brings a bottle of red wine to the table and pours some for himself and Glory.  He offers to Clyde who quickly nods his head.

“Yes, please.”

Kurt pours Clyde some wine.  Kurt sets the bottle down and then sits down at the table next to his wife.

“Ok, dig in!” Kurt exclaims.  Immediately Clyde takes his steak in his hands and brings it up to his mouth and bites into it.  Glory and Kurt do not say anything but they do think that this is rather odd behavior.

“So, uh, Clyde,” Glory begins finally after some struggle to find the right words “you never really said why you wanted to become a wrestler in the first place.  I mean, I know you said it’s because of me and what my family accomplished.  You want to, uh,”

“I want to follow in your footsteps.” Clyde says through a mouth full of food.

“Right.  But surely there’s something else there.  You know?  I can’t be the only driving force behind your chosen career path.”

“You don’t want to know about my story, Ms. Braddock.” Clyde says, shaking his head.

“Of course I do.” Glory insists.

“My story isn’t a very pleasant one.” He chuckles. “But if you insist…”

“I do insist.” Glory states definitively.

Clyde places his steak back down on the plate and sighs. “The fact is that I grew up in an orphanage.  I don’t even know who my real parents are; I was given up at birth.  When I turned eighteen I decided I had enough of the orphanage.  I mean, it wasn’t as if anyone was going to adopt an eighteen year old, am I right?”

Immediately Glory feels pity.  Clyde is right, it’s doubtful anyone would ever agree to adopt an eighteen year old.  Adoptive parents always want babies.  People like Clyde would have been out of luck.

“So anyway, when I turned eighteen I left the orphanage and struck out on my own.  Life quickly kicked me in the ass.  I realized that supporting myself was a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I basically lived off the streets; I was homeless.  But what abilities did I have?  I had no education to speak of.  I was big and strong.  That’s it.  So I put that to good use.”

“You joined my school.” Glory remarked.

“Yes.  I don’t just want to be a wrestler, I need this.  I need it more than you can ever imagine.”

“I see…” Glory’s voice trails off, but notices her husband abruptly rising from the table and walking off to the kitchen.  Braddock chuckles lightly. “...excuse me for a moment, Clyde.”

Glory follows Kurt into the kitchen.  She places her hands on her hips. “Something wrong, love?”

“I don’t know.” Kurt shrugs his shoulders. “Something about him strikes me as a little off.  You know?”

“No, I don’t know.” Glory shakes her head. “I mean, he is being rather rude to you, I’ll grant that.”

“That isn’t it.” Kurt sighs and shakes his head. “Clyde just strikes me as being a little...oh I don’t know...off…”

“There you go saying that again.” Glory chuckles. “I can’t make a judgment call simply based off of someone appearing to be ‘off’, you know?  And his story…”

“Yeah, his story.  He’s been living on the streets his entire life.”

“That’s the practically the same story Sophie and Mark have.  They ran away from a terrible home situation, lived on the streets, and thanks to my father’s wrestling school they managed to make a better life for themselves.  That’s what this school is about, Kurt.  It’s about giving people a second chance.  Clyde Sutter may seem ‘off’ to you but he is just the type of person my father wanted this school for.”

Kurt stares at his lovely wife for a long period of time before finally relenting and nodding his head.

“Ok, Glory.  You win.” Kurt leans in and kisses her on the lips. “This is your school, after all.  I support you one hundred percent.”

“Thanks, love.”

Kurt walks back into the dining room.  Glory follows him behind, thinking silently to herself whether she has made the right decision.  Clyde did do quite a number on his fellow student, he ignored the commands of Sophie to stop, but his excuse is plausible.  It very well could have been just an accident.  These are the types of the judgment calls she will be expected to make if she hopes to shape the next generation of professional wrestlers.

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On Camera

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You would have thought that Retribution would have settled everything.  You would have expected that Tactical Warfare would have brought about a return to normalcy for Supreme Championship Wrestling.

The problem is that there is no such thing as “normalcy” in professional wrestling.

On the one hand you have relics of the past still pretending to be the biggest threat in the company when in reality they’ve devolved into little more than decrepit Saturday morning cartoon villains.

Then on another hand you have a group who seems to honestly believe the people support them when the truth is they are only slightly more bearable and tolerable than the decrepit Saturday morning cartoon villains.

Finally you have the Wonderland; a false prophet spewing lies and hate, and a man who doesn’t believe any of the Wonderland crap but only wants to watch the world burn.

You seemingly can’t go anywhere in this great sport, especially not in SCW, without some sort of family drama, some sort of conspiracy, or some lunatic ranting and raving about a non-existent lizard king.  So honestly, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised to find that my opponent on Breakdown would be Kellen Jeffries.

This is an individual who has earned my respect, from watching what he’s done on his own and from teaming with him in Trios.  Kellen and I marched through that tournament and, against all of the odds, we overcame three other trios teams to win the tournament and bring home those contracts.

Making the two of us, along with Regan, the most dangerous competitors in this company right now.

The ancient relics, the narcissists, and the lunatics should all pay very close attention when Breakdown rolls into Minnesota because each and every one of you, and more importantly the fans, the people, are in for a real treat when Kellen and I lock up.  And when I say something is “for the people” I actually mean it, you brassers.

Kellen, you have what few people in this industry receive; a second chance.  Yeah, fans are quite forgiving, but the locker room isn’t.  Once you make a reputation for yourself, that reputation usually follows you wherever you go and you cannot escape it, no matter how hard you try.

Yet here you are, a changed man.  The people behind you, supporters in the locker room.  Hell, I’m even a supporter of yours.  You earned my support the night you and I fought side by side in the Trios Tournament.  On that night I saw what the real Kellen Jeffries is made of.

I fought with you, we fought side by side for what we believed in and we came out victorious with those Trios Contracts.  You don’t need to prove a damn thing to me, mate.  I already saw into your soul and I see that you’re a better man, a stronger man, for having endured the trials and tribulations you’ve had to endure.

The Trios Tournament was your proving ground, mate, and you proved yourself worthy beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Now I want you to listen to me real close, mate; because I have one simple request from you.

You bring that Kellen Jeffries out to play in Minnesota.

I mean it; the Kellen Jeffries who stood tall next to me and Regan in the Trios Tournament is who I want to face on Breakdown.  The man with that kind of drive and determination is who I want to say I defeated.  I want to beat you at your best, Kellen, and that’s when you were at your best.

A lump of coal, under immense pressure, becomes a diamond.  And that’s what I came here to be, mate.  I came here to be the best, to be a diamond.  So I want the trials and tribulations that come from the best challengers SCW has to offer.

That’s why I want you.

You and I have a rare opportunity to illustrate to the SCW universe what this really and truly is all about.  It isn’t about narcissism or the rantings and ravings of a lunatic.  It isn’t about trickery and chicanery from three ancient relics trying to remain relevant.  It’s about proving you are the best in the world by facing and defeating the best in the world.

Throughout my career I have proven myself to be the best by defeating the best.  Now I’m here to continue to prove myself.  That’s been my goal and agenda since I debuted back in 2008.  It never has been nor will it ever be just about the accumulation of gold trinkets or padding my record.  This is about proving to myself and to the world that I am the best.

So of course I make certain to surround myself with the absolute best competition professional wrestling has to offer.  Of course I will put myself in the toughest, most difficult of all challenges.  That’s why I am entering the Taking Hold of the Flame. And that’s why I look forward to facing someone like you, Kellen.

I want to challenge myself, I want to challenge you, but most importantly I want to give the SCW fans something they won’t forget.  I want to give them a show that doesn’t involve the raving lunacy of the Wonderland or any bloody garbage like that.  I want to give them what they paid damn good money to see.

Professional Wrestling.

So what do you say, Kellen?  Let’s go out there to that ring in Minnesota for Breakdown and remind the fans that this isn’t about some fake hashtag or a non-existent conspiracy against a Wonderland or some sort of Lizard King craziness.  Let’s remind the people what this business is all about.

We’ll fight, just like we fought at Trios, only this time we will fight against each other instead of fighting with each other.  I hope you’ll bring your best because I damn sure will bring mine.  Just know this, and prepare for the inevitable choice that you will have to make, a choice you will have to make regardless of whether you bring your best or whether you half-ass it.

You will tap out or you will get choked out.  The choice is yours, mate.