==========
January 2002
Cardiff
Off Camera
==========
Wrestling fans from all over Europe are gathered at
the Cardiff International Arena in anticipation for classic wrestling
action. If you had to ask any of these fans who they are here to see,
odds are fairly good that you would hear one name and one name only; “Britain’s
Best” Glenn Braddock. Now most wrestlers are arrogant enough and
self-proclaim themselves to be the best of the best. Glenn Braddock, on the other hand, has never
declared himself to be Britain’s Best. It is a nickname that fans,
wrestling experts, and his peers alike have bestowed upon him throughout time. He has won many tournaments before and this
one tonight at Cardiff International should be no different. The only
thing that makes this tournament any different is Glenn’s ulterior motive. He has his eyes set upon competing in the
tournament of all tournaments, the 2004 Olympic Games. Glenn Braddock, a proud Englishman, wishes to
represent his country in the Olympics and, in the process, win this greatest of
all wrestling tournaments, thus proving beyond the shadow of any doubt that he
is truly the best in the world and not just Britain’s Best. The fans do
not know this; they are just excited to see Glenn competing. Cheers erupt loudly arena, nearly causing it
to shake, as Glenn Braddock walks out from the back and makes his way down the
aisle. The announcer calling his name
only serves to further cause excitement in the crowd…
“Introducing, GLENN BRADDOCK!!!”
And there it is, the roar of the crowd. Glenn
ignores it. He has other plans and more
important things on his mind right now. If only these fans knew that in
their presence, near the front row, stood two figures familiar to Glenn.
These are two women who are very important in his life; his wife Mary and his
oldest daughter Glory. If the fans knew
they would probably be swarming them right this very moment. Glenn is
ignoring them as well; his focus is solely on his opponent. But Mary and Glory definitely are focusing on
him.
“Isn’t this exciting, mom?”
Glory asks with an excited tone in her voice.
“I’m not sure I would call it exciting.”
Mary states flatly. “But then again, I’ve seen them all.”
“Oh come on, mom! You can’t be serious?” Glory
insists. “Sure, dad has been in many tournaments before, but this is
different! He’s trying to prove his worth to qualify for the
Olympics! The bloody Olympics!”
“Right, the Olympics.”
Mary sighs and shakes her head. “Just another tournament.”
“The Olympics isn’t just another tournament,
mum. It’s bigger than any tournament!
If dad can win that, he would show the world what you and I have known
all along, that he is the BEST IN THE WORLD!”
“Best in the world?”
Mary asks as she stares stoically and tensely down at her daughter. “You
have no idea of the cost of being best in the world.”
“What do you mean?”
Glory asks inquisitively.
“Your father has been at this for as long as I’ve
known him. If I remember correctly from what he told me, he got his start
when he was your age or younger. It took him this long to finally get to
the precipice of finally making the Olympic Games. That was his lifelong goal but at what
cost? Years upon years of physical wear and tear on his body.”
“But the Olympics…”
Glory’s voice starts to fade off.
“The Olympics won’t mean a damn thing if you’re
paralyzed.” Mary states in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I know you love your father, you adore him and want to see him happy, but the
only thing that will make him happy is if he competes in the Olympic
games. At this point, I think his opportunity to qualify has passed him
by, but he’s going to try anyway. He
will keep competing until either he reaches his goal or he is permanently
injured.”
There is a long tense pause as mother and daughter
exchange looks. Mary realizes she may have startled her daughter and
forces a smile upon her face. “I’m sorry, Glory. I didn’t mean any of
that, it’s just that I worry about your father. You know?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Glory
nods her head. Mary embraces her in a tight hug.
“Good. Now watch, your father’s opponent is
on his way.”
“And his opponent, THOMAS VAN STANTON!!!” Glenn
Braddock is the hero in this country and thus his opponent for this evening
gets a considerably chorus of boos. Much like Glenn earlier, Thomas
appears to ignore the crowd as he makes his way down the aisle until he joins
Glenn Braddock on the wrestling mat. Young Glory Braddock turns to face
her mother.
“Dad has this one in the bag!” Glory’s
excitement has seemingly returned. “Olympics here we come!”
Mary still doesn’t seem as confident as her
daughter but nods her head in a futile attempt to show confidence. Glory
and Mary’s attention immediately turns towards the front as the referee signals
for the match to begin.
Thomas and Glenn tie up in a collar and elbow tie
up but Thomas gains the upper hand early with a leg sweep, slamming his entire
body weight on top of Glenn’s chest area while Glenn lands on his back.
Glenn fights and scrambles to get back to his feet. Another tie up and Glenn this time takes the
offensive with a front headlock. Thomas
fights out of it and manages a bear hug transitioned into a massive suplex,
slamming Glenn hard on his back. Mary is already starting to look overly
nervous. Glory Braddock shakes her head.
“Dad’ll be fine…” Glory
says assuringly “...he’s got this.”
Glenn Braddock nods his head in a seeming show of
respect for Thomas, who has thus far done better than he expected. Thomas
and Glenn tie up again and Glenn attempts a throw but Thomas lands on his feet
and then snatches Glenn and throws him instead, slamming Glenn on his back.
Glenn is done playing around; he gets to his feet and throws Thomas down with a
head lock takedown. Glenn wrenches the
headlock in tightly, refusing to let it go. Thomas breaks free. Glenn with a suplex of his own to
Thomas. There is a tension and anger in
both men’s eyes and the crowd can sense it, bringing them to their feet.
Thomas and Glenn tie up once more and battle back and forth for supremacy. Frustration builds as neither can seem to
gain an edge. Eventually Glenn starts to
back Thomas up near the edge of the legal perimeter of the mat. The
referee warns him but Glenn keeps pushing him back, out of the circle and into
the outer area of the mat. The referee
shouts out another warning but Glenn doesn’t stop. He pushes Thomas Van Stanton to the edge when
the referee shouts a third and final warning, threatening disqualification for
disobeying his commands. This is when Glenn releases his grip but Thomas
takes advantage, grasping Glenn around the waist and throwing him with a belly
to belly overhead suplex. Glenn lands
hard on his back on the concrete floor.
“Dad…” Glory
now gets just as worried as her mother as she watches the referee check on her
father. Glenn is shouting out in pain and agony. It appears as if he cannot move very
much. The referee motions for some other
officials to come out and help. Mary starts to panic.
“GLENN!!!”
“DADDY!!!” Glory
exclaims loudly.
==========
January 2002
1 Hour Later
Cardiff
Off Camera
==========
It has been nearly one hour since the abrupt ending
of Glenn Braddock versus Thomas Van Stanton. Glory Braddock and her
mother Mary have joined Glenn in the trainer’s room backstage where he is being
looked at by medical personnel. Tears are flowing down the cheeks of
their daughter while Mary seems to be upset, angry at Glenn Braddock for
placing himself in this situation. The mother is shouting at her husband
while he lies in agony on the bed in the trainer’s room.
“Glenn, you damn fool, I warned you that this would
happen someday!”
“Not now, Mary!” Glenn
exclaims. “Of all the bloody times to argue about this, NOW IS NOT THE DAMN
TIME!”
“Oh I think it’s a perfectly good time.”
Mary states pointedly. “Because now may be the time for you to consider
retirement before something worse happens.”
“Retirement?!”
Glenn’s eyes flare with anger. “THE HELL I’M GONNA RETIRE!”
He tries to sit up and shout but he can’t seem to
sit up. He falls back down onto the bed.
Mary shakes her head. “See? You can barely even move and yet
you want to compete in the Olympics?”
“Daddy, please,” Glory
chimes in “I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore.”
“Hurt?” Glenn
turns and looks at his eighteen year old daughter and scoffingly laughs. “I’m
not hurt. It’s just a flesh wound. I’ll be back on my feet in no
time and furthermore I will make that Van Stanton fellow pay by kicking his ass
all over Europe!”
“You sure?” Glory
asks uneasily, unsure of what to believe. Glenn nods his head.
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m fine.”
“Ok.” Glory
nods her head.
“I can’t believe it.”
Mary shakes her head in disbelief. “You have our daughter convinced that you
are invincible.”
Glenn Braddock is ready to fire off some more
verbal offense at his wife but he is interrupted when the door to the trainer’s
room opens. A head medical official enters the room. Mary immediately turns to face him as she
wants answers about her husband’s condition.
“What is it? What happened to my husband?”
“Not a damn thing!”
Glenn insists loudly.
“I cannot say for certain. Mr. Braddock will
have to endure a more thorough medical examination in order to assess the full
extent of the damage. What myself and my staff can tell here is that he
did land very awkwardly on his back and that there has been some damage.
My initial recommendation is to take some significant time away from
competition, if not retire permanently, especially at his age.”
“BULLSHIT!” Glenn
shouts angrily. This was most definitely not the news he wanted to
hear. Mary sighs and nods her head.
“Thank you.”
“I am NOT retiring!”
The man walks off as Glenn shouts after him. “Do you hear me?! I AM
NOT DONE!”
“That’s right, dad. You’ll be back and better
than ever.” Glory answers. Mary turns to face her
husband Glenn and glares angrily at him.
“I cannot take this anymore, Glenn. I really
cannot.”
“What the bloody hell are you saying, woman?!”
“I love you and I love our daughter and I know you
love me back but I’m not sure which you love more, me or wrestling. It’s
obvious you have our daughter convinced that you can do no wrong. So allow me to spell it out for you as clearly
as I can, Glenn. For your own health and well being, for this family’s
well being, you need to learn when to quit.
You need to give up wrestling and if you don’t, then I refuse to be a
party to your own self-destruction.”
Mary turns and starts to walk off. “It’s either
me or wrestling, Glenn. Make your decision.”
==========
September 14th, 2019
Columbus, OH
Off Camera
==========
The sunlight streaming in through the window
doesn’t immediately wake up “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock, who sleeps
rather soundly in a king size bed next to her husband, her beloved Kurt
Logan. Glory’s eighteen year old daughter sleeps in the room next door,
which is all a part of the luxurious Hilton suite that she reserved for them stay
in during their time in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Later on tonight, in fact, SCW would be
hosting a House Show in Columbus. Braddock needed to be woken up but it
wasn’t just the warmth of the sun’s rays that did the trick. Instead it was a combination of the sun and
the smell of buttered popcorn in the air.
No doubt her daughter has already risen from her deep slumber and has
popped a bag of popcorn. Glory’s eyes flutter open as she sits up in bed
and stretches her arms out wide open. A
yawn escapes her mouth as she looks out the window at the brightness of the
Columbus, Ohio skyline. Braddock
realizes that it must be late. The
British Bombshell turns to the nightstand and looks at the clock for
confirmation: nine thirty in the morning. For most that would be normal
but for Glory Braddock that is late. She
is typically an early bird. But then
again, she does have a great deal on her mind.
In one week’s time she competes at SCW Apocalypse against Abigail
Lindsey.
Or is it Serenity now?
Doesn’t matter to Glory. Abigail is a threat,
not just to her but to anyone who gets in her way. It seems as if she has
to be the one to stop Abigail Lindsey before she gets too out of control.
After defeating Abigail, maybe then Glory can refocus on her SCW World
Championship chase. She still hasn’t
forgotten Rise To Greatness. She had the championship won until Abigail
interfered. Glory was never pinned nor
made to submit in that match and thus she feels she deserves another
opportunity, as soon as she takes care of Abigail Lindsey at Apocalypse.
But she also has her daughter on her mind.
Melinda Braddock, Glory’s oldest daughter, only just recently got out of a bad
relationship with none other than a mentally unbalanced Clyde Sutter. Now
it seems as if Melinda rebounded with another questionable relationship; a
young man Glory only saw and spoke to in passing.
Archie Van Stanton.
Glory isn’t quite sure if she is more upset over
the fact that it is a Van Stanton Melinda is dating or the fact that she kept
it a secret? Either way, this is an issue Glory wants to deal with as
soon as possible. She doesn’t want this
problem to fester and grow the way her previous problems with Melinda did.
Braddock walks over to the closet and pulls it
open. She reaches inside and produces a pink robe. This can do for now as far as clothing
goes. It’ll be several hours before she has to be at the Nationwide
Arena. She has plenty of time to deal
with her personal problems and she knows just where to find her daughter.
Glory follows the smell of the buttered popcorn into the living area. The British Bombshell finds her daughter
sitting on the sofa in front of the television with a bag of popcorn in her
hand. The television is tuned to a classic rock music only station. Melinda is dressed in denim jeans and a plain
black “SCW” logo t-shirt. Melinda
doesn’t seem to notice her mother’s arrival.
“Good morning, Mel.”
“Huh?”
Melinda is somewhat startled at first. She turns to see her mother and
smiles. “Oh, good morning mom.”
“Having trouble sleeping?”
Glory asks curiously. She has a feeling that she knows what’s on her
daughter’s mind. She figures that she is bothered by the same situation
that she is bothered with. Melinda nods her head.
“How can you tell?”
“You are a late sleeper.”
The British Bombshell remarks. “When you were younger I had trouble getting
you up in the morning, so I had to use a spray bottle full of water on you.”
“I remember.”
Melinda chuckles. “I hated that.”
“Someone had to get you up.”
Glory says with a laugh of her own. There is a moment of tense silence
after the laughter fades. Melinda finally breaks it.
“What happened to us, mom?”
“What do you mean?”
“We used to be pretty close. Now it seems as
if we’re always...um…”
“Tense?” Glory
suggests. Melinda nods her head.
“Yeah, tense. It’s as if we’re growing apart,
especially with Clyde and now Archie...”
“I see.” Glory
states with a nod of her head. She motions to the sofa. “May I sit
down?”
Melinda nods and then moves over, giving Glory
plenty of space. The British Bombshell approaches the sofa and sits down
next to her daughter. They lock
eyes as another tense moment passes before Glory speaks up.
“We’re not really growing apart, Mel. Our
relationship is just changing because you’re beginning to grow up. You’re
maturing into your own woman. The same
thing happened to me and your grandfather.”
“Really?”
Melinda asks. Glory nods her head.
“Yes, really. I used to idolize my
father. He could do no wrong in my eyes. I thought he was
untouchable. I still love my father but
now I see him as a human, no longer the super hero that I once thought he
was. And he recognizes me as the independent woman that I am. It’s bound to happen to every parent/child
relationship, Mel. It’s beginning to
happen to you and I.”
“But what about Clyde and Archie?”
“Some might call it rebellion.” Braddock
chuckles lightly. “Heck, I think I did call it rebellion.”
“You did.” Melinda
confirms as she places some more popcorn in her mouth.
“Well it isn’t as simple as that. You could
call it rebellion but it’s more just you making your own decisions. Not
all of your decisions will be good ones.”
“Clyde.” Melinda
answers. Glory nods her head.
“Right, placing your trust in Clyde Sutter was poor
judgment.”
“And what about Archie?” This
is the question Glory was anticipating. The British Bombshell sighs
deeply and then shrugs her shoulders.
“Honestly I am not sure what to think. My
instinct tells me he’s trouble, just like Clyde was trouble.”
“That’s not fair, mom.”
Melinda snaps back. “You never even stayed long enough to really get to know
him last week. You’re basing your opinion of him purely on your opinion
of his father.”
“That’s enough of a basis, Mel.”
Glory states, her voice growing colder.
“How can you say that?!”
Melinda exclaims, growing angrier. “You’re not even willing to give him any
chance! Just because he is a Van Stanton doesn’t mean he is exactly like
them!”
“Maybe…”
Glory’s voice trails off as she tries to find the right words “...maybe I am
being unfair? I’ll admit that it is tough for me to be fair regarding the
Van Stanton clan. Archie’s father tried to end my career at GCW
Resurrection. Archie’s uncle Mason used
his significant influence to get that sociopath Clyde Sutter an SCW contract
just as a way to get back at me. But what you don’t know is that I
watched helplessly as Archie’s grandfather ended my father’s wrestling career.”
Melinda’s eyes grow wide with shock as she hears
this startling revelation from her mother. “Mom, I didn’t know…”
“I don’t talk about it very much.” Glory
remarks quietly. “Your grandfather refuses to talk about it out of
pride. He is ashamed he let that happen to him. But me, it rocked me to my core. I
thought my father was unbeatable and invincible. Then on that night I saw him receive a back
injury that ended his career for good. So you can understand why I have a
difficult time trusting the Van Stanton family.”
“I can understand. But mom, I still contend
that just because Archie is a Van Stanton doesn’t mean he is just as bad as his
father, his uncle, or his grandfather. There is a history of trouble,
yes, but shouldn’t we judge him as his own independent person and not judge him
based on his family name?”
The British Bombshell pauses to consider her
daughter’s words. Rarely does the child ever seem more mature than the
parent but in this case, Glory is beginning to feel convicted. She feels
as if her daughter may be right.
“You may be right, Mel. Technically, the only
thing you two have done that pisses me off is that you kept this whole
relationship a secret instead of being open and honest about it with me.”
“You’re right, I kept it a secret. But I kept
it a secret because I knew you wouldn’t give Archie a fair chance. So can
you really blame me?”
Glory Braddock doesn’t answer right away.
Instead she stands up and starts pacing the floor. Her daughter watches
closely and nervously. “Mom?
Are you ok?”
“How the hell is Archie getting around? I
mean, he traveled to an SCW show in bloody Canada last week just to see
you. I know for a fact that the Van Stanton family lives in North
Carolina now.” She turns and points at Melinda. “This
sounds an awful lot like the stalking crap Clyde Sutter was doing.”
“Last week he was traveling with his uncle Mason
who, by the way, was also in town for that same SCW House Show. He will
be in town for Breakdown next week in Washington DC.”
“Is he staying with Mason again?” Glory
growls under her breath. Melinda shakes her head.
“No, Henry be there next week.”
“Good.” Glory
stops her pacing and nods her head. “Very good.”
“So does that mean you’re going to meet Archie and
give him a real chance?” Melinda asks, sounding somewhat
hopeful.
“Oh I definitely want to meet Archie. But I
need to talk to his father first and if he’s going to be in town for Breakdown,
then that’s just perfect.”
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