Five

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On Camera

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The camera feed begins to roll in what appears to be a drab, run down a gym that is in disrepair and whose better days have long since gone.  The concrete floor is gray and the walls are painted an off-white color, at least the walls that still have paint on them, as most of the paint on the walls have begun to peel.  There is a standard wrestling set up in the center, weights scattered all over the floor.  At one of the far ends of the room is a red heavy bag.  In the background we see a standard wrestling ring.  The ring has black ropes and a black apron but the mat is a Carolina sky blue.  A few moments later footsteps echo throughout the empty, concrete floor of this workout center.  It isn’t long until we see our visitor; The British Bombshell, the woman who some believe to be The Best in the World, Glory Braddock approaches with a confident stride in her step.  She is dressed in her royal purple colored two piece wrestling gear.  Her long blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  A confident smirk is etched across her lovely features.

“Are you a believer yet?” The confidence seems to ooze from every one of the pores on Glory’s seemingly flawless skin.  Her grin and arrogance grows with each passing second. “I have said before that I am The Best in the World and I have proven it each and every time I step inside the ring.  Yet there’s always someone who thinks that they can put me in my place.  There’s always someone who thinks that they can prove me wrong.” Braddock sighs and shakes her head.

“And here I am, still the best, still The British Bombshell.  Every once in a great while someone may get one over on me, typically there’s controversy involved, and yet sometimes there’s the rare occasion where I’m beaten clean.  And they can shout about their victory from the highest of the mountain peaks to anyone who will listen about how they beat The Best in the World.  Ask any true student of the game that a career is not made based upon one victory alone, but upon an entire career worth of matches.  Everyone who fights me eventually learns that one match doesn’t mean anything.  They also learn that whenever I call my shots I am typically right on the money.  Just take Selena Frost for instance…” there is a pause from Glory Braddock as she lets her words sink in.

“I said that it would be practically a handicap match and sure enough it took both Selena and Asher to defeat me.  I said that Selena Frost could not defeat me one on one and sure enough Selena did NOT defeat me, she did not pin or submit me, she pinned Asher.  So the record does show that she beat me, but in truth she hasn’t proven a damn thing.” The British Bombshell points a long slender finger at the camera. “And you know it, Selena.  But what I want to know, Selena, is are you a believer yet?”

A smug smirk forms upon Glory’s face. “I said that I would make a believer out of you, Selena.  After the match at Cold Blooded was over, I went and dropped you on your head.  After that headache was over and the pain finally subsided, did you become a believer in Glory Braddock?”

The smirk changes into a deep scowl. “If not, then trust me, I have plenty of time and plenty more ways to make a believer out of you.  As I said, one match doesn’t mean anything, one match doesn’t prove anything, and thus over my long and storied career I have learned the art of being patient.  You and those like you are a cancer upon this sport, Selena, and I will do whatever it takes to eliminate you.  And however long it takes to eliminate you, that’s fine, because I have all of the time in the world.  But you, Selena?  All you can do is continue to watch the clock ticking away, counting down until the time when your days of relevancy are over, counting down the days until the shroud that has veiled and protected your public image is torn away and I reveal you for the fraud that you are.” Braddock nods her head.

“You are a protected individual, Selena.  Cold Blooded Sasha knew I would beat you one on one, she knew that I would beat Asher one on one, so she made it a triple threat.  Now on Breakdown we will be opponents again and once again it’s not one on one.  Once again Sasha protects you by giving you partners...someone to take the blame in the event you fail...and you will fail, Selena.  You will fail because you, Ace, and Asher do not have the cohesiveness and chemistry that myself, Chris, and Sienna have.  Then what will you do?  What will The Face of SCW do?”

A chuckle escapes Glory’s lips. “You’ll blame Ace...or Asher...or maybe the SCW propaganda machine will come up with an excuse as to why you lost?  But I’ll tell you the truth as to why you lost.  You lost because your opposition was simply better.  You lost because your opposition was The Best in the World.”

“This match in and of itself is a prime example of everything I’ve been saying about you, Snow Queen.  For you this is all about winning a popularity contest, not only in Supreme Championship Wrestling but in all of professional wrestling.  You do not care about being a role model or a true hero.  If you cared about anything or anyone else other than your own selfish popularity than you wouldn’t be teaming with perverse degenerates like Ace Marshall and Asher.  Sure, you can argue that you didn’t make the match, but if you were true to your word as a role model then you would be on my side, pointing to how Ace Marshall and Asher both degrade and diminish the public image of our sport with their clownish acts and attitudes.”

“Let me ask you something, Selena.  Do you really want one of your true believers to grow up and become like Ace or Asher?  Somewhere deep down inside you see that I am right when I point out that Ace and Asher are both cancers to this sport. But will you do anything about it?” There is a pause before Glory shakes her head.

“No, you won’t say or do a damn thing because you don’t care about your fans.  You only care about yourself.  You only care about being popular and right now Ace and Asher are popular.  You may not condone their actions but you will turn a blind eye towards them and their actions because anything else would mean becoming unpopular.  You cannot stand even the thought of being booed by your beloved believers…” Braddock snickers nastily.

“That’s another reason why I am better than you.  I used to be like you, Selena.  I used to thrive off of the cheering of the fans.  But I learned that the fans are fickle.  I learned quickly that the fans do not know what is good and what is best for them.  So that part of me that needed the fans appreciation and support, I learned to turn that off.  If they cheer me, great, that just means there are some intelligent people left in this world.  If they choose to boo, well I don’t care.  I really do not care.  I do what is right first and foremost, and secondly I do my job.  Right now my job means standing side by side with Sienna and Chris to eliminate three cancers of this industry.”

“So go ahead and work with your new friends.  If you try hard enough you may even convince yourself that you are doing this for the good of SCW.  God knows it won’t be difficult to convince your so-called believers that you are doing what’s best.  But somewhere deep down inside that frozen soul of yours you know that you and your new partners are truthfully one and the same.  All of you are glory hounds and popularity seekers.  You are not a true hero.” Braddock pats herself on the chest.

“I am the true hero of this story and I will rescue Supreme Championship Wrestling from your filth, whether it wants me to or not.”

==========

April 20th, 2020

Raleigh, North Carolina

Off Camera

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Cold Blooded did not go exactly as Glory Braddock had planned and yet still, The British Bombshell was able to walk away with a smile upon her gorgeous face despite a losing effort in the triple threat match.  After all, dropping Selena Frost, the self-proclaimed Face of SCW, on her head is enough to put a smile on anyone’s face.  In fact, Glory Braddock’s smile is so engrained upon her visage that it may have to be surgically removed. Also while she did lose at Cold Blooded, Glory realizes that she did not get pinned nor was she made to tap out.  Asher took the fall at the hands of Selena Frost.  Finally, on top of all of that, she still has her Trios Contract and she knows that she can use it any time she wishes for any match she wants.  The supposed “Best in the World” can still use the Trios contract to put herself into a situation to get exactly what she wants…

...the SCW World Championship.

Bree Lancaster is now champion.  That complicates things for Braddock, seeing as she has aligned herself with Bree and Sienna in recent weeks, but at least they possess the gold.  And Glory knows that she can afford to be patient.  Professional wrestling is a marathon, not a sprint.  She will play the long game and wait; her time will come.  This is keeping her name squarely in the championship hunt.  Yes, there are many reasons why Glory Braddock can be pleased with herself and her wrestling career up to this point.

The British Bombshell has many other reasons to be pleased, and a few of those reasons bring her to Raleigh, North Carolina.  It may be true that Braddock detests North Carolina and Raleigh in particular but as she has learned from years of studies, even the smallest of sacrifices will help you achieve your ends.  Besides, it wasn’t that far to go from New Orleans to Raleigh once Cold Blooded had concluded and Glory wants to be here for her corporate business dealings and she is willing to make this trip to Raleigh, because it will be one of the few remaining trips to Raleigh that she will have to make.

Glory Braddock has been laying the groundwork to take full and total control of her company, Global Wrestling Enterprise, a company that puts on wrestling shows and trains future wrestlers. This has been her company since early 2012 but at one point lost control of the company when the Board of Directors cast a vote of no confidence in The British Bombshell.  Years had passed before Braddock would regain the favor of enough Board members to retake control.  Now she wants to ensure that the Board of Directors never again will cast a vote of no confidence against her.

Much like in wrestling, the corporate world creates factions.  Certain individuals command loyalty and respect.  Glory Braddock did not start this company.  She bought it from a crooked, evil man named Matthew Alan who is now in trouble with the federal government over suspected white collar crimes.  Yet there are many within Global Wrestling Enterprise who are still fiercely loyal to Matthew and his family and thus oppose Glory simply out of spite.  There are an equal number of people fiercely supportive of Glory Braddock, simply for the fact that she was the one who brought the company back after it had been bankrupt for so long, she had brought it back to relevance, she had given it new life and new purpose.

Donald Bost, David Beaver, Joshua Hernandez, and John Webster are all fierce Matthew Alan loyalists.  They are the gold guard who will always and forever be loyal to the man who started this company.

Alicia Lopez, Amy Frick, Connie Josey, and Clint Morgan are Glory Braddock loyalists.  They will always be loyal to Glory Braddock because they came on board shortly after Braddock came into power in 2012.

Carl Conroy, the ninth member of this Board, has always been a swing vote.  More often than not he would side against Braddock.  He was the deciding vote in the vote of no confidence against Glory Braddock years ago.  For a long time Braddock thought that the key was getting him onto her side, thus creating a 5 to 4 majority in her favor.

For a long time Braddock fought to create this 5 to 4 majority on the Board in her favor.  The one sure fire way to protect herself is a step she did not want to take, one she was saving until the very end; disavowing any and all association with her former mentor Aphrodite Noel.  The Matthew Alan loyalists hated the Noel influence and opposed Glory at every turn until she fully disassociated herself.  Glory took some steps, and while it helped some it was not good enough, especially when her own blood, her own sister Julia Braddock changed her name to Chastity Noel, fully embracing Aphrodite as her mother.  To disassociate herself fully from Aphrodite now means doing something about her own sister, but is she prepared to take those steps against family?

In hopes that she can avoid taking those steps, Glory has looked for other ways to gain favor with the Board of Directors.  She has looked towards engaging in a secret attack against the Matthew Alan family itself.  Using Meagan Collins and Seth Rogers as spies to dig up evidence, Glory now has the information she needs to blackmail a member of the Matthew Alan faction; namely, Joshua Hernandez.

If she can successfully blackmail Hernandez the way she has already blackmailed Meagan Collins, then Glory Braddock would have a guaranteed five vote majority on the Board.  She could do whatever she wanted without question.  No one could stop her.

The boardroom is tasteful in a corporate way - nothing interesting enough to cause offence no matter what a person's preferences might be.  The walls were covered with grey and ivory wallpapers and motivational photography with silver frames.  There was a long rectangular brown wood oak table with chairs lining all around it. Every line was straight, every corner sharp, and the chairs looking as comfortable as a train station bench.

The British Bombshell is sitting at the front of the long rectangular table inside the conference room.  The beautiful blonde is wearing a black pencil skirt that flatters her curves, a matching black suit coat over a white silky blouse.  Her feet are encased in black peep-toe high heeled pumps.  Her long golden locks of hair hang to just below the shoulders.  This is the room inside her corporate headquarters that hosts her Board of Directors meetings.  This is where she has her many showdowns with the Matthew Alan faction.  Unlike those many other times, today it is empty.  The gorgeous blonde sits here alone, her legs crossed with a smile upon her face, staring off into space with an air of anticipation.

Braddock is ready.

BUZZZZZZ!

The buzzing sound from the door is heard.  Glory turns in her swivel chair to look just as the door opens and in walks her secretary, a young brown haired female named Susan.  “Yes, what is it Susan?”

“Mr. Hernandez is here to see you, Ms. Braddock.”

The confidence begins to grow. “Excellent.  Send him in.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Susan turns and makes her exit.  Glory Braddock turns around in her swivel chair with her back now once again facing the door.  She does not wish to see Joshua Hernandez as he comes in.  He can come to see her.  The beautiful blonde waits patiently until she hears the door opening again.  She hears footsteps entering and then she hears the door shut behind her.  A few moments later she sees Joshua Hernandez emerge into her line of vision.  The moment the two lock eyes Glory’s smile grows bigger.  Joshua, however, remains stoic.  Unmoved.

“What do you want, Braddock?”

“Bloody hell, Josh, I half-expected a ‘good afternoon’ or at least a bloody ‘hello’ from the likes of you.  What you gave me was a mite rude.”

Joshua’s stoic attitude remains unchanged. “And I half-expected you to be on your way to Providence for some other company’s wrestling show.  Don’t you have an appearance there?”

“Not until next week.  I’m off this week and that leaves plenty of time for me to do business with you, Mr. Hernandez.” She motions to the long conference table. “Please, have a seat.”

There is some hesitation on Joshua’s part.  He isn’t quite sure what to make of this meeting or of Glory Braddock’s attitude.  He nods and sits down in a chair not far from Braddock.  His eyes never leave hers.  He doesn’t trust her at all.  The feeling, to be perfectly frank, is mutual.

“So you seriously want to have some kinda meeting?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I find that odd.  And why here?” He motions to the surroundings.

“Why not here?”

“We have Board meetings here, Ms. Braddock; if this is just you and me then why not your office?  Or somewhere less formal like a restaurant or something?”

“What can I say?  I enjoy formality.  That’s why I am dressed professionally and you are dressed like a...well…” Braddock tries to find a better word but cannot think of one, she sighs and uses the only one that comes to her mind “...a slob.”

“Excuse me?!” Hernandez says, his stoic attitude suddenly drops as he does show emotion, anger; anger at being insulted.

“Look at you!  Jeans, sneakers, a polo...surprised you didn’t come in wearing a t-shirt…”

“You said this wasn’t a formal meeting so I didn’t come dressed for one.” He snarls. Braddock nods her head in response.

“Still, you could have at least some respect for the OWNER of this company...MY company…”

“Your company?” Joshua scoffs. “It may be yours but you didn’t create it.  It wasn’t your vision.  You didn’t build this on your blood, sweat, and tears.  Matthew Alan did and he…”

“And he’s a great man!  Great visionary!  Walked on water!  Blah, blah, blah…” Glory rolls her eyes, she has heard Joshua’s speech before and is unwilling to hear it again “...I grant that Matthew Alan did build this place originally.  He also got it bankrupt due to bad business practices.  You know what else Matthew Alan did?  He got himself in trouble with the FBI for tax fraud among other white collar crimes.  I stepped in and rebuilt this company.  I brought it back from the dead.  I gave it new life and gave you and the other Matthew Alan cronies on this Board of Directors new purpose and new life.  Had it not been for MY blood, sweat, and tears you and your pals on the Board of Directors would be out on the streets, Joshua.  You’re welcome.”

“So that’s what this is?  Is this just some shitty attempt at bullying me?” Joshua smirks arrogantly.  He shakes his head. “Not gonna happen.  You think you call the shots around here?  You work for the Board of Directors.  If you piss enough of us off we can take your power away.  We did it once and you had better believe that we can do it again.”

“Unfortunately for you, Aurora Alan has yet to show any interest in your pathetic attempt at a hostile takeover.” Braddock’s statement causes silence from Hernandez.  Joshua remains stoic for a brief moment before sighing and nodding his head.  Glory then chuckles. “Yes, I found out about your plans.  Are Donald, David, and John in on this too or is this just your plan?”

“None of your damn business, bitch.”

“Fair enough.  It doesn’t really matter.  Just know your plan won’t work.  Aurora is clearly not a corporate snake like her brother.”

“Matthew Alan is anything but a corporate snake.” Joshua stands up.  Not to be intimidated, Glory stands up as well, getting nose to nose with the Board member. “Did Matt do some wrong? Sure, but who hasn’t?  He isn’t a saint but he gave people like me a chance.  He gave me opportunities.  You’re just riding off of his coattails.”

Glory chuckles under her breath.  She shakes her head in disbelief at what she just heard coming from Joshua’s lips. “Do you really want to talk opportunities?  That’s fine because Matthew only created opportunities for rich, white, men.  That’s what this company was almost entirely composed of during Matthew Alan’s reign of terror when he founded this company. Since I took over more women and people of other ethnicities have been hired for well paying jobs. Just look at our Board of Directors...Alicia Lopez, Amy Frick, Connie Josey, and Clint Morgan, Clint being the first ever African American Board member in this company’s history.  Oh but Matthew gave YOU an opportunity?” Glory points a long slender finger at Joshua, then goes as far as to poke him in the chest.

“He only gave you an opportunity because he knew of your connections to organized crime.”

Joshua had been boiling over in anger, defensive of the man he was most loyal to in Matthew Alan.  But now after hearing this Joshua begins to slowly calm down.  He is much more reserved and much of this is out of shock that Glory Braddock would say this.  But is he shocked that she would accuse him or is he shocked that she found out that it is true?  There is a long tense pause and Glory braces herself for an argument but, luckily for her, none comes.  Joshua sighs and just nods his head, almost as if accepting his fate.

“How did you find out?”

“Someone in your tight knit group of Matthew Alan loyalists flipped.”

Upon hearing this Joshua sits back down in the chair.  Glory does so as well. “You have no idea what it’s like, y’know that?  Hell, even Matthew doesn’t know what it’s like, not really, but at least he gave me a chance.  Point is, you have no idea what it’s like to be dealt a bad hand.  That’s really what started it all.  Life dealt me a very bad hand and all I had was organized crime to keep me up right.  I got arrested a few times early on in my life and was tried as a minor but eventually I got arrested for something far more serious.  I knew with my rap sheet I was done for, they were gonna throw the book at me.”

“The Alan family stepped in, I take it?”

Joshua nods his head. “Yeah, I mean, I had no idea who the hell paid for my legal team or how the hell I was lucky enough for the state to drop the charges, but at the time I didn’t care.  Then I found out Matthew Alan paid for it all.  He got me out of the trouble.”

“I have to admit that this is some story,” Glory begins with some surprise of her own “I wasn’t even aware of this information.  How did a youth involved in petty street crimes become a member of my company’s Board of Directors?”

“Matthew Alan again.” Joshua answers. “He first convinced me to go to business school.  I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it but then after I got the degree he put me in charge of one of his smaller companies.  Wasn’t sure why at first but looking back I figure it was to build up my resume.  He knew he wanted me on the Board of Directors and he knew I would need some kinda resume to get on.”

“Since you owed him his life he knew you’d be loyal no matter what.” Glory states.  Joshua nods his head.

“Yeah...he also used my criminal past against me you might say...he wanted me to do all kinds of nasty stuff on his behalf.  What the feds got him for?  That’s nothing compared to some of the other crimes he masterminded.  Horrible shit.  But I’m sure you already know about that.”

Braddock nods her head. “Yes, I know.  And yes, my source has plenty of evidence to prove your involvement…”

“But not his?” Joshua chuckles. “Matt was good about covering his tracks.”

“So answer this, Mr. Hernandez; are you willing to take the fall crimes that you and I both know Matthew is behind?”

“I told you once, Braddock, I owe him my life.” Joshua growls. “I won’t flip against Matt.”

“I understand loyalty, Mr. Hernandez, I really do.  In fact, I respect that out of an individual like you.  But are you really prepared to go down for Matthew Alan?” She waits for an answer but just as Joshua is about to speak Glory holds up her hand. “Wait...don’t answer yet...just think about it for a moment.  You said that the government only knows about the minor, white collar crimes.  You and I know about the worse crimes that the government does not yet know.  I have evidence of murders, kidnappings, burglaries, all done in Matthew Alan’s name but he used you to do it.” She points a finger at Joshua.

“He used you, Joshua.  He used your connections to the criminal underworld so that the authorities would never connect the dots back to him.  He never cared about you, he was never loyal to you, so why be loyal to him and his family?”

“I guess you want me to be loyal to you instead?  I’m not stupid, Braddock.  I’ve been in this world longer than you.  I know the end game here.” Joshua is belligerent but Braddock is determined.  She shakes her head.

“I’m not going to use you the way Matthew Alan used you.  I will never ask you to utilize your connections to the criminal underworld to organize a hit...you know, like the kind of hit you arranged against me and my family?” There is a long pause as Joshua’s eyes grow wide.  Glory nods her head slowly. “Yes, I found about that too.  But I’m willing to forget about that.  I’m willing to forget about these other crimes you performed all in service of Matthew Alan.  But in return I want your loyalty.”

“So I go from loyalty to a conman to loyalty to a conwoman?” Joshua asks.  Braddock shakes her head.

“Not quite.  Unlike Matthew I will not use you for criminal enterprise.  All I ask is your support in all future Board meetings.  I want to know that in all future Board meetings I will have your vote.  That’s the deal.” Glory extends her hand.  Joshua stares at it for a long time before finally...reluctantly...accepting the handshake.

“Hell, it’s a better deal than I had before…” he says quietly.

“Quite right, mate.  Quite right.”

Joshua stands up and starts to walk out.  Then he stops and turns back to face Glory. “Uh, Ms. Braddock...is there anything else we needed to discuss?”

“No, that’s all.  Susan will see you out, Mr. Hernandez.”

Joshua nods his head and then makes his exit.  Once Joshua is out of the room, Glory smirks victoriously. “Five votes...I win…”

==========

On Camera

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Everyone has their breaking point and nothing is forever.  This is a hard truth that Asher is beginning to learn.  I hope you were listening to what I said in the build up to Cold Blooded, Asher.  I told you that as hard as you tried to revive your career, as hard as you tried to keep yourself relevance, I told you that everything has its end and that your end was imminent.  I would go as far as to say that your end is already here.

You lost the Adrenaline Championship at Retribution to Jordan Majors.  You got pinned by Selena Frost at Cold Blooded.  Now your best hope at bouncing back from this losing streak you’re on is to ride the coattails of Ace Marshall and Selena Frost.  It’s ironic, isn’t it, that you have to rely on the person who beat you at Cold Blooded to bring you back from the verge of obscurity.

Does that hurt the ego, Hayes?  Does that humble you in the least?  I hope it does.  I hope that somewhere deep down inside of that thick skull of yours, buried deep down hidden underneath those degenerate, perverse, clownish thoughts and personality, is a pride that has been hurt from this losing streak.  And maybe, just maybe, that hurt pride will cause you to start taking this sport seriously.

That’s always been my problem with you, Asher.  It’s the same problem I have with Ace Marshall.  The pair of you are like two peas in a pod in that you both prefer to entertain rather than be competitive.  You know, Asher, if you went to the ring with a game plan of how to win then you may not be on the downward spiral you are on right now.  Instead you stubbornly refuse to be competitive.  You want to entertain, you desire the cheers and adulation of the fans, but where has that got you?

Nothing.

You were the proverbial third wheel in my match against Selena Frost at Cold Blooded.  You are once again the third wheel in this six person tag.  Selena and Ace just needed a partner and you’re available.  You are relevant in this match only because of your partners and your opponents, not because of your own merit.  And you only have yourself to blame for you massive fall from grace.  You only have yourself to blame for your lack of relevancy because you chose this path of entertainment as opposed to a path of competition.

This path you have chosen is quickly leading towards your downfall, Asher.  You can pretend to fight the good fight but you know that there is nothing left for you to gain from this.  There is nothing to gain from you getting beat...again...by superior athletes.  And that’s precisely what is going to happen on Breakdown when the bell rings and you are staring across the ring at myself, Sienna, and Chris.

But let me ask you something else, Asher...what do you have to gain from this?  What do you have to gain from standing with Ace and Selena against Chris, Sienna, and The British Bombshell?  Every single time you and I have crossed paths you were taken down.  This will not be any different.  And what do you get out of these constant beatings, exactly?

Cheers from the fans.

Support from SCW management.

Popularity.

The sad thing is that popularity is only temporary.  The fans will turn on you the moment you turn on their flavor of the month.  You want proof?  Take Alistaire Allocco.  Late 2018 he issued an open challenge on Breakdown and I accepted.  He ran away from that fight.  Making Things Right in January 2019 we had a rematch and he won after hooking the tights to gain an illegal advantage; the same kind of illegal advantage he preaches against now.  The fans hated him for those actions and rightfully so but now?  Now he’s a fan favorite.  Now he’s popular.  He’s one of the flavors of the month.

But hush...don’t mention that to anyone...we’re supposed to forget he did any of those despicable deeds…

Popularity isn’t worth it because popularity is only temporary.  You may be popular now, Asher, but just watch what happens to that popularity when your losing streak continues.  You will be forgotten.  The fans will turn on you.  They may not boo you but they won’t cheer you, either.  It will be utter silence because they will have absolutely no interest in you whatsoever.

Apathy.

See, Hayes, that’s the natural progression of things...at least, it is where your career is concerned.  You were great, you had a wonderful career, and then you returned as a nostalgia act.  Now your career is slowing down as you lose more and more big matches.  Eventually the nostalgia act will become boring.  Eventually apathy will set in.  No one will care enough about you to boo or cheer your pathetic ass.

That’s when it will hurt the most.

So take a hint, Asher, and leave before the apathy sets in.

==========

April 24th, 2020

Miami, Florida

Off Camera

==========

Several days have passed since the meeting monday with Joshua Hernandez in Raleigh, North Carolina.  It was a hallmark moment for The British Bombshell as she feels confident enough and secure enough in her grip upon the reigns of power in Global Wrestling Enterprise that she can finally relax.  There is no one available to challenge her, no one who can stop her from doing whatever she wants with her company.  It is her company now and with a five vote majority on a nine member Board of Directors in her favor, she has unquestionable control of this empire she has built. Why shouldn’t she be pleased with herself?  And why shouldn’t she relax?

There is also a sense of relief for Glory Braddock, due in large part to the knowledge that she does not have to delve any deeper into her bag of tricks in order to achieve the full and total control she was seeking.  The Board of Directors were the only ones capable of reigning her in and keeping her power in check.  There were other plans in mind, plans she did not want to resort to, but now, thankfully, she does not have to resort to those plans.

One plan included engaging in a war with The Matthew Alan family, specifically Aurora Alan, Matthew’s sister.  Aurora and her family are far more knowledgeable and experienced about the corporate world than Glory, and she did not wish to go to war with them unless she absolutely had to.  The other plan included betraying her own sister in order to gain favor with the Matthew Alan loyalists on the Board of Directors.  Glory wasn’t even certain she could stomach betraying her sister if it ever came to that point.

Lucky for her she does not have to worry about that.  She convinced Matthew Alan loyalist Joshua Hernandez to flip and side with her.  She now has five members of the nine member board of directors willing to support her with any and all of her actions.  She has the votes necessary to do what she wants.

Glory Braddock feels safe.  She is also happy, happy enough that she is ready to celebrate with the one woman who helped make this possible…

...Meagan Collins, the woman she had also blackmailed into supporting her.

The British Bombshell finds herself sitting in a chair out on the patio of her Miami, Florida home wearing a pink dress, black high heeled pumps, with sunglasses covering her eyes.  Seated next to her is none other than the evil Meagan Collins, dressed in a black mini skirt, flip flops, and a white t-shirt with the word “evil” written on the front in purple lettering.  The patio’s appearance is of an old rock, so much lichen has grown, dappling her regardless of any shade. Soil gathers between the stones, bringing slim wands of green each spring.  It is an eclectic beauty, so much like the rest of the house.  The patio stones made a mosaic of sorts, stones collected as left overs from renovations, sitting together as pretty as autumn leaves from different trees. There was an artistry to it too, a fluidity.  Braddock and Collins sit there watching the garden, vegetables and wild flowers, birds playing and singing, butterflies visiting the blooms.

It is an oddity that these two women, one of whom is being blackmailed by the other, are sitting out here on this patio now drinking champagne in celebration of their accomplishment.  There is an old saying about lying down with dogs and waking up with fleas; has some of Meagan Collins and her manipulative attitude rubbed off onto Glory Braddock?  Is that why the two have become, in a strange unique way, friends?

The way these two women are laughing right now, you wouldn’t even know that a blackmail had occurred.

“I still can’t believe you did it, Glory!” Meagan says with a hearty laugh before taking a sip of her champagne.  The British Bombshell is soaking up this praise and enjoying every minute of it.  She smirks and nods her head.

“I have always said that I’m The Best in the World.”

“Yeah but that’s wrestling.  That’s in the ring, in the corporate world you are an amateur.  But you got Hernandez to flip!”

“That’s the thing, mate.  No matter what the subject...wrestling, business, math, engineering, law…learning is the key.  You must always know that you are not perfect.  You must accept that no one  is perfect and that you can always learn more and grow more.  That’s one thing my father taught me.  He would always say that those who claimed to be perfect were actually imperfect.  The truly perfect were the ones who knew they were imperfect and sought out to learn more.”

“Smart man your father…” Meagan holds up her glass of champagne for a toast.  Glory clinks her glass to Meagan’s and the two drink together in unison.  They both lower their glasses and glory sighs.

“I guess that’s it then?  We’ve succeeded.  Thanks to you…” Glory now is the one offering a toast, this time in honor of Meagan Collins, the woman she is blackmailing.  Meagan smiles devilishly back at her and clinks her glass with hers and they take another sip in unison of the champagne.

“Just doing my job...not that I had much of a choice…”

“And that reminds me of something.” Glory sets her champagne glass down and stares across at Meagan. “How much do you miss this life?”

“What?  The corporate world, you mean?” Meagan asks.  Glory nods her head in confirmation.  Meagan pauses for a moment to ponder the question and then nods in affirmation. “I suppose I have missed it a little.  I mean, my husband...Michael...is running the family business and now that I retired from active competition inside the ring I’ve become practically a trophy wife.  I hated you at first when you blackmailed me but later, the more and more I got involved in helping you, I have to admit…” there is a slight pause as Meagan smirks devilishly

“...I kinda liked it.”

“How would you like to get back into the game?” Glory asks with a knowing grin of her own.  Meagan’s interest is definitely peaked now.

“What is your plan?”

“The Board of Directors is a nine member body.  I have five votes I can count on in favor, three who will definitely be against me, and then a swing vote who can go either way but lately has been opposing me.”

“Carl Conroy.” Meagan answers, referring to the aforementioned ‘swing vote.’  Glory nods her head.

“That’s still too close for comfort, don’t you agree?  I mean, if even one of my five doesn’t make a meeting, votes could end in a tie and that means I lose.  Do you get where I’m going with this?” Glory asks.  Meagan nods her head.

“You want me to be on the Board of Directors.”

“Absolutely.  And you have the qualifications, the resume; you would be perfect.”

“You’re right, I would be perfect, except for one problem; there’s no way to get me on the Board.”

“What do you mean?” Glory asks, now thoroughly confused. “I have the five votes right now to do whatever I want.”

“Like you said, five votes is still shaky ground.  You’re not invincible yet, Glory.  If you try to add me to the board, making it a ten person body instead of nine, you would be accused of trying for a power grab.  Franklin Roosavelt is a beloved US President and even he was accused of a power grab when he tried to add justices to the US Supreme Court in order to keep the court in his back pocket.  That tactic has been tried and it has failed.  Your best option is to convince someone to step down.”

“Carl isn’t ready to retire yet…”

“No, he isn’t.  And the other three members of the Matthew Alan loyalists would refuse to step down as they would suspect you were behind Joshua Hernandez flipping.”

Glory Braddock is thoroughly frustrated at this point and it shows through the contortions on her face.  She thought that she had power.  She thought that she had control.  But as Meagan pointed out, she is not invincible yet.  Glory takes a quick sip of her champagne and then angrily tosses the glass aside.

“Damn it!”

“I know, you were hoping that you had full control but you have five vote out of nine.  That’s barely a majority and that’s not enough for you to just go ahead and do whatever you want.  You still have much to learn about being a corporate powerhouse and I can help you.  I can teach you.”

“I’m blackmailing you…” Glory says, her voice trailing off.  Meagan nods her head.

“Yes, but I now see you and I as friends.  I think if you’ll look in the mirror, you’ll see that I’m right and that we’re more similar than you’d think.  We both want power.”

“I want power to do good…”

“And I want it for my own selfish needs!” Meagan exclaims with a creepy grin. “Point is we both want power.  I do want to be on the Board of Directors and I would vote in your favor every time, but first you need more power to get me there and I can help you get that power.  What you have right now is enough power to protect yourself from a vote of no confidence.  You do not have what you truly desire; you do not have enough power to allow you to do whatever you want.  You need more votes than just five for that.”

“How can I get anyone else to flip?” Glory asks.

“They’re all pretty solid.  But not all.  There are ways to convince one or two of the remaining four to become sympathetic to your cause.  And you know that there are only two ways to do that…” Meagan’s voice trails off as she grins knowingly.  Braddock shakes her head.

“I would rather not go up against Matthew Alan’s family.”

“You were certainly willing to a few months ago.”

“Things changed.  Aurora isn’t interested in threatening me and besides, they have more experience and connections in the business world than me.  Taking them on would be dangerous.  Matthew Alan is going to be sent to prison on federal charges and that’s good enough for me.”

“Well if taking out the competition is out of the question then you know what you must do.”

Glory pauses momentarily as she ponders Meagan’s statement.  It hits her what Meagan means.  Glory shakes her head vehemently. “I will not betray my sister.”

“Don Bost, Dave Beaver, and Johnny Webster are opposing you only because they doubt your sanity.  They remember very well, as I do, when you and your sister were mentored by Aphrodite Noel.  But hell, it was more than that.  You both literally became her daughters.”

“Yes and I took therapy just as they asked.  I disavowed her and disassociated myself from her, just as they asked.” Glory is insistent but Meagan shakes her head.

“It isn’t good enough for them.”

“Why the hell not?!” Glory’s frustration and anger is growing to a boiling point.

“Simple; they have the same information that I have.  They know that you left therapy earlier than they would have liked.  You did not get a clean bill of mental health saying you were clear from your PTSD and they know it.  They suspect that disavowing Aphrodite Noel hurt you inside and your sister showing back up on the scene, your sister who now sports Aphrodite’s name, by the way, just further cements that suspicion in their mind.”

There is a long tense pause.  Glory stares down Meagan who doesn’t back down for a moment.  But finally Glory breaks down.  Tears begin to form in her eyes. “I don’t want to betray my sister…”

“Family is important to you, that’s sweet.  But unfortunately it leaves you with a tough decision.  What do you want more; the power you seek or a good relationship with your sister?”

Meagan reaches out and places a comforting hand on Glory’s back.  Braddock, for her part, is having a tough time with this.  Yet, this should not be a difficult decision to make.  Isn’t family more important?  That’s what her father always taught her.  That’s what her mother, Mary Ford, always taught her.  Family is important above all else.  That isn’t what she learned from Aphrodite Noel…

Glory wipes the tears from her eyes and looks back up at Meagan. “Make a call to Mason Van Stanton.  Tell him I’m ready to call in my favor.”

==========

On Camera

==========

The camera begins to roll in an almost pitch black area.  Thus it is very difficult to determine exactly where we are but what little light we have shows a wrestling ring.  Could this be an empty gym or an empty arena?  In this case, it is the same gym run down, drab gym from an earlier promo.  A few moments later “The British Bombshell” emerges from stage left wearing a black knee length skirt, black sheer stockings, black patent leather high heel pumps, and a long sleeve black sweater.  Her long blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  Sunglasses sit on her face, covering her eyes.  The Best in the World hops up on the apron of this squared circle that sits before her and she sits down, facing the camera.

“Welcome to my world…” a chuckle escapes the lips of the blonde beauty. She motions with the thumb on her right hand to the inside of the ring behind her.

“Behind me is the place where magic happens.  That is the place where men and women put their bodies on the line all in the name of competition, all in the name of proving that they are the best of the best, better than all of the rest, and that their name should be the one on the marquee, that their name should be above all names in the world of professional wrestling.  That’s what this sport is all about; raw competition between great warriors to see who is the best in the world.”

Glory Braddock stands up.  She stares defiantly into the camera. “I AM The Best in the World.  I have proven it throughout my sparkling career record of accomplishments and achievements that anyone would kill to have.  There isn’t anyone in this sport who can claim otherwise, not even Ace Marshall, a foolish man who happened to get lucky at Retribution.” Braddock nods her head.

“That’s right, Ace, you got lucky and won a fluke.  Congratulations, dipshit.  That doesn’t make you great, that doesn’t make you the best, and it damn sure doesn’t add anything to your record.  You are still a clown who disrespects my beloved sport at every turn.  You know what else you are?  You’re a cancer.  Just like Selena Frost is a cancer for continuing to spread her brand across the wrestling world all in the name of popularity and money, just like Asher Hayes is a cancer for refusing to just quit, for being a nostalgia act all in the name of popularity, you are a cancer for just being you…” Braddock shakes her head in utter and complete disgust.  Then The British Bombshell steps between the ropes and enters the ring.  She steps to the center and turns back to face the camera.

“In wrestling this is where all scores are settled.  You settle things in the ring.  You fight for supremacy.  Throughout my twelve plus year career I have proven my supremacy inside this ring time and time again by fighting the best this sport had to offer and by beating this sport had to offer.” She points a long slender finger at the camera, as if pointing at Ace himself. “But you?  Every time you come back you turn this sport I love into a circus.  You do not focus on competition but on entertainment.  Primarily your own sick, perverse entertainment, because unlike Frost and Hayes, who bend to the whims of the fans and SCW management just to remain popular with the idiot fans who do not know what is good for them, you just do whatever you think is funny...you do whatever you think will make you laugh...if that means annoying the piss out of one of the beloved chosen heroes of SCW like Selena or Asher, then you get booed. Oh but the fans have forgotten about your past and are willing to ignore it, all because you happen to be annoying the bloody piss out of people the fans hate...namely myself, Sienna, and Chris....” Braddock chuckles.

“...at least you are consistent, unlike Frost and Asher, so I can credit you with that, mate.  That doesn’t help you, though, because you are still a cancer that needs eliminating.  You are still only about entertainment.  You embarrass this sport by bringing tigers and strippers in scantily clad lizard women costumes to the ring.  You devalued the meaning of the Adrenaline Championship by using your Trios to put it on the line against anyone and everyone who wanted to enter the open invitation battle royal.  That was the inspiration behind Kellen Jeffries using his Trios to put the world championship on the line in that same battle royal, so you were indirectly responsible for devaluing the world championship.  Hell, your very existence devalues and embarrasses professional wrestling.”

Braddock removes her sunglasses and tosses them to the side. “You are an embarrassment to this sport...Selena Frost is a glory hound who only wants to promote herself and her brand...and Asher Hayes is a nostalgia act seeking one last hoorah, one last big grasp for fame and fortune.  The lot of you are popular with the fans now.  Supposed role models.” The British Bombshell. “You are no role models.  If you want a true role model, look no further than yours truly.  I am everything the fans should strive to be.  I am the true hero that this company needs, someone who is willing to call out three cancers like the three of you even if doing so is unpopular.  I am the hero willing to do unpopular things, like teaming with people the fans deem to be unpopular, people like Sienna Swann and Chris Cannon, all for the greater good of professional wrestling.  I am a hero who can work with anyone if it is for the greater good.  I even worked with you, Ace.  I carried your pathetic ass to a Trios Tournament victory.”

She smirks knowingly. “You’re welcome, by the way.  But can you truly work together with Selena Frost and Asher Hayes?  You lot just care about yourselves and how much popularity you can gain, how much money you can make, and how far you can expand your brand.  That’s all you care about and thus I can see it coming.  I see the end game from a mile away.  You three glory hounds all want the victory for yourselves.  Your egos will get in the way and your clashing egos will be the weakness that Sienna, Chris, and The British Bombshell exploits to our advantage.”

“As if we needed any further advantage, right?  But if you wanted another advantage we hold over your team, Ace, then how about this one; two of your three teammates were enemies at Cold Blooded.  Do you really think Asher can put his massive ego aside and forget about getting beaten by Selena Frost long enough to work with her?  If you think he’s still angry about that loss then you’d be right and you’d better be prepared, Ace, because he’ll ruin it for you.  That egomaniac will ruin your fun.”

“Then there is the most obvious advantage of all....just our God given natural talent.  I mean, the three of us are three of the most decorated competitors on the SCW roster.  The three of us, we truly are The Best in the World and our opposition is made of The Fraud of SCW, The Nostalgia Act, and The Clown.  Three of the biggest cancers in Supreme Championship Wrestling right now.  You lot are the biggest reason why SCW...and hell, professional wrestling itself...is in the sorry, sad shape it is in today.” Braddock chuckles lightly.

“Oh but to the wrestling fans out there, do not worry and do not fret.  You may hate us now for what we do to your “heroes” on Breakdown, but eventually you will learn that what we did only served to improve professional wrestling.  One day you will see that people like Sienna, Chris, and I were right all along.  One day you will come to me...you will thank me...and I will say…” she slowly shuts her eyes, pausing dramatically, before speaking again…

“...you are welcome.”