==========
July 3rd, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
The sound of the loud, reverberating church bells
rings out in and around Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Miami, Florida.
The gorgeous gothic architecture and enormous size is both beautiful and
intimidating at the same time. For Mary Ford, a woman who has been a
practicing Catholic all of her life and maintaining her weekly mass obligation,
this is not intimidating or unusual in the least. This is just simply
normal practice. But for her daughter, who stands next to her outside of
this large building, this is quite intimidating. Her daughter is none
other than “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock and she is on record as a
member of the Church of England but has not attended any sort of service in
quite a long time.
Has Braddock lost her faith? One could make
that argument, especially considering her actions as of late do not exactly
measure up to the morality that this church claims to espouse. But the
truth is far more complicated. The British Bombshell simply has been too
distracted to make time for anything else or anyone else in her life. Her
recent struggle to obtain and then maintain absolute power within her company,
Global Wrestling Enterprise, as well as the secret inner struggle with post
traumatic stress syndrome, has kept Braddock far too busy to be concerned with
anything else. Unfortunately the struggle for power has led her to become
extremely paranoid, which only adds to the mental strain of the PTSD that she
has been suffering from for years. After snapping on several occasions,
even going so far as to hitting her own daughter after losing control, Glory
has realized that she needs help. She can no longer ignore her mental
health.
Her mother, Mary Ford, had suggested this; more
accurately she suggested that she and Glory spend more time together.
Glory needs to reconcile with Mary, who she blames for a majority of her mental
issues. But Glory isn’t the only one who needs help. Mary has yet
to move on from the death of Glenn Braddock, Glory’s father. Mary still
regrets leaving him, even though most would argue that she was completely
justified in doing so. Glenn was too focused and too obsessed with
professional wrestling, and Mary used that as an excuse to walk away.
Mary never truly got to say goodbye the way she wanted. Glory as a result
was raised by her father, without a mother figure in her life. Glory
resented her mother and that resentment allowed Aphrodite Noel to twist Glory’s
mind, corrupting her, and creating the PTSD she has today.
Both mother and daughter need serious help.
Now they stand here together willing to at least attempt to make a change; both
are willing to attempt to make some positive move to improve their own mental
health. Standing here before the Church building dressed in an ankle
length black skirt, black patent leather pumps, and a silk white floral print
blouse is Mary Ford, the mother. To Mary’s right wearing a simply knee
length royal purple skirt, matching purple heels, and a purple women’s suit
jacket over a white silk blouse is her daughter, “The British Bombshell” Glory
Braddock.
“I’m glad you’re doing this, Glory.” Mary
whispers. Braddock nods her head slowly.
“Yeah, well let’s be honest; we both need this
don’t we?”
“I agree. Admitting that you need help is the
first step to a cure, as they say. And I think we both admit we need
help. In my case, I never should have walked out so quickly on your
father. I should have tried harder to make things work.”
“Yes but dad should have spent more time with
you...with us…” Glory remarks, trying to comfort her
mother. Mary shakes her head.
“No, I should have compromised. I should have
realized that getting your father to rid himself of professional wrestling
would never happen. I should have realized that wrestling was far too
important to him to ever get him to walk away from him it. So I just gave
up and left. As a result I missed out on watching you grow up.”
Mary takes Glory’s hand and squeezes it tightly. “This is my chance to make
it up to you. You are, after all, my last connection to Glenn.”
Tears are flowing down Mary’s cheeks, which causes
Glory to chuckle ever so slightly. “What’s wrong, mum? Why are you
crying?”
“I just look at you and you remind me so much of
your father. Especially in the eyes. Those are the eyes of a
warrior, just like your father. And you remind me of your father in the
way you carry yourself. You’re strong, proud, and passionate. Just
like your father.”
Braddock refuses to say a word, instead opting for
silence. Glory doesn’t trust her emotions at this point, because at times
she wonders if she is too passionate. She wonders if she is too
proud. Her passion and pride led her to the belief that she was
invulnerable, untouchable. That caused her to make the careless mistakes
that ultimately led her to the open arms of Aphrodite Noel, the woman who had
her manipulated into becoming Glory Noel, Aphrodite’s daughter. The world
believes she has recovered from this but Glory knows that is just a
fallacy. She knows that her mental state still isn’t fully healed.
And that is what brings Glory here today, she is hoping that a bond with her biological
mother, one of the figures who she blamed for all of this, will help bring
about an end to her mental suffering and bring about a return to normalcy and
maybe, if everything goes well, a return to being the Glory Braddock she used
to be, and not this person she is today. Not this paranoid monster.
Not this tyrant.
“Why don’t we go inside, yeah?” Glory
suggests. Mary nods her head and immediately the two women turn towards
the entrance. The two women ascend the large marble stairs that leads to
the front doors; The British Bombshell pulls the doors open and allows her
mother to enter first and Glory follows suit, stepping inside after her.
Immediately they find themselves inside the narthex where they immediately see
the vestibule, a large, standing font or pool used to perform the sacrament of
Baptism. Smaller, wall-mounted holy water fonts are found near the
interior church doors. Mary approaches the doors, touches the holy water
with her fingers, and makes the sign of the cross. She motions for Glory
to do the same but Glory hesitates.
“I’m not a Catholic.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’ just Holy
Water. It’s for everyone.”
“If you say so…” Glory
sighs as she walks forward and touches her finger to the water and, like her
mother, makes the sign of the cross. Braddock and her mother then step
into the sanctuary itself. The sanctuary is carpeted with red
carpeting. Two columns of pews are on either side of the majestic
church. Braddock looks down a long center aisle that leads up to the
front of the church, the altar. The altar and the pews are separated by a
rail where worshipers may kneel if they so choose. The altar itself is
just behind the rail, as is a crucifix which is mounted on the wall.
Finally a pulpit is to the left. The British Bombshell is in awe of the
sight. She shouldn’t be, because she has seen majestic sights like this
before when she was an active member of the Church of England. But it has
been so long since she has been inside any church that now she feels as if she
is an outsider. She feels intimidated by the grandiose atmosphere of this
house of worship.
“Let’s go and find a seat.” Mary
says to her daughter, interrupting Glory’s thoughts. Glory nods and
follows her mother down the aisle to a pew near the front. Mary
genuflects, kneeling to one knee and making the sign of the cross, before
stepping back up and sliding into a pew. Glory doesn’t genuflect as her
mother does. She feels it is inappropriate. Instead she offers a
simple bow and steps into the pew, sitting next to her mother. Glory
watches as her pulls out a kneeling bench and kneels down on it. Mary
then takes out her rosary.
“What are you doing?” Glory
asks, mainly out of sheer curiosity.
“They’re about to pray the Holy Rosary. Most
churches pray it before mass begins.”
“Oh…” Glory
says looking somewhat confused by all of this, still trying her best to take it
in. Sure enough, almost as if on cue, a voice from a female on the other
side of the sanctuary, calls out loudly…
“The Five Sorrowful Mysteries…in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…”
Glory watches on, still unsure of what is going
on. She has never practiced the rosary before. Even when she
regularly attended church in the Church of England she was never as dedicated
as her mother appears to be. But Mary seems to know exactly what she is
doing…
==========
1 Hour Later
==========
The rosary, when prayed properly, can take up to
thirty minutes. Altogether it includes, saying the Lord’s Prayer six
times, fifty three Hail Mary’s, six Glory Be to the Father’s, six Fatima
Prayers, and the Apostle’s Creed. It is a very long prayer and takes
dedication to say it. Glory never did learn how to say it and she isn’t
sure that she has the patience to learn it even if she wanted to. So she
just sits there and listens quietly, observing as the others say the historical
prayer. During the approximately thirty minute time it takes for the
rosary to be said people begin to file in, slowly but surely filling up the
pews.
The church is now fully packed as more and more
people began to fill in the empty seats as the rosary was spoken. Service
would begin shortly after the rosary was completed, almost as if it was perfect
timing. From then the service seemed rather familiar to The British
Bombshell. She was raised in a “high church” style atmosphere, and thus
was used to the ritualistic style this service took. A few minutes into
the service and Braddock was starting to have second thoughts about this visit
to church with her aunt Mary. This is beginning to feel like the two of
them are just “going through the motions” as they say. Braddock watches
everyone around her, observing closely as they repeat the same words and
phrases, almost as if it were nothing more than chanting. She begins to
wonder if they really and truly mean the words that they utter or if this is
all part of the exercise? But then just as she is being turned off by the
entire experience that is when the priest begins to deliver the sermon…
...and that changes everything.
“Why is Divine Mercy so important? Because we
are who we are. I mean, let’s face it, we are humans and no one is
perfect even though some of us like to think we are. We constantly make
mistakes, we constantly fall short, we constantly hurt ourselves and others,
whether it be intentionally or unintentionally. That is why this building
is not a hotel for saints, as some like to think it is. Instead this is a
hospital for sinners because all of us, myself included, need mercy. And
that mercy is just simply a fancy word for forgiveness. We need
forgiveness and this is a place where you can come and get it. Though you
aren’t limited to just a building like this. Forgiveness begins with each
and every one of us in our own local communities forgiving one another.
But there are many of you out there thinking, ‘Father Sebastian, you have no
idea of what I have done. I am unforgivable.’”
Glory cannot help but nod her head upon hearing
this. It speaks to her situation. She has blackmailed, bribed, and
done damn near criminal acts all to obtain absolute control over her company
and to ensure that no one would ever question her decisions. The worst of
them all was when she had her own sister locked up in a mental institution on
trumped up charges. The guilt is eating away at her very conscience but a
large part of her says it was a necessary evil. Still, how could she do
that to her own family? How can she be forgiven?
“Yes, we all want to be good people. We want
to strive for perfection even though we know we will never be perfect.
But if we want to change, if we want to become better people, we have to learn
to forgive ourselves and part of that is the idea that everyone is
forgivable. Trust me, no one here has done anything that cannot be
forgiven.” Father Sebastian points to the back of
the sanctuary. “I’ve heard it all back in the confession booth, there is
nothing you can say that would shock me. There is nothing that you can
honestly say is unforgivable. You can be forgiven, but first you must be
willing to forgive yourself.”
==========
15 Minutes Later
==========
The remainder of the service went off without a
problem as the ritual aspect of the service returned. The repetition
returned followed by Holy Eucharist and one final song, all of which was just
part of the script. But none of that mattered because Glory Braddock was
impacted by Father Sebastian’s sermon on mercy and forgiveness. It was a
moment of enlightenment for The British Bombshell, for she realized what it is
that she needs is forgiveness. She feels guilty, not just for what she
has done recently in a hostile takeover of her company’s board of directors,
but also forgiveness of her own past failures. Maybe she even needs
forgiveness for her failure against Aphrodite Noel? Forgiveness will put
her mind at ease and hopefully end all of the mental issues she is suffering,
including the post traumatic stress.
Braddock walks side by side with her mother out of
the church. While the others in the crowd walk towards their homes or
their vehicles, Braddock and Mary stop just outside of the church. There
is a black iron bench in front of a statue of Jesus. The two women
approach the bench and sit down. Mary has an ear to ear grin on her face
as she looks on at her daughter.
“So, what did you think?”
“It was definitely different from what I’m used
to.”
“Oh come on now, Gloria. You should be used
to some of this by now. You used to be Church of England and their ritual
isn’t that much different.”
“You’d be surprised. Besides, I haven’t been
to church in years. You’d know that if you bothered to spend time with
me…” Glory sighs as she realizes just a little too late
what she said “...I’m sorry, mum. It slipped out.”
“It’s ok, Glory. You’re justified in saying
that because I haven’t spent time with you and that’s why we are doing this, we
are trying to bond, reconnect.”
“We can do this again sometime if you want.”
Glory suggests.
“Really? You must have liked something about
this then.”
“Father Sebastian’s sermon was great. It
really hit home with me, you know? I mean, I don’t think it needs to be
said at this point that I need help. That much is obvious. And he’s
right, the first big step is admitting you need help and then getting
forgiveness.”
“Glory, do not beat yourself up…” Mary
begins to speak but is interrupted sharply by her daughter.
“You have no idea of the things I’ve done.
What I did to my sister was just the tip of the iceberg. Do I feel guilty
about what I did? Damn right I do. And it’s eating me up
inside. It’s killing me, mind and body, it is killing me.”
Mary places a comforting hand on her daughter’s
knee. “Guilt is a good sign. It means you recognize what you did was
wrong. And just like Father said, no one is unforgivable.”
Glory listens intently to her mother. That is
the line that stuck out most for The British Bombshell. No one is
unforgivable. But Braddock also recognizes that what she has done was
horrible. A part of her wonders if she can be forgiven. Still, this
entire experience at least gave her some hope that she can be forgiven.
“Glory, look…” Mary
points to the church. Walking out the doors is Father Sebastian.
Mary gets his attention by waving her arms, flagging him down. Glory
looks curiously at her mother.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to meet him.”
Braddock rolls her eyes as she allows her mother to
continue getting his attention. Father Sebastian turns and makes his way
to the bench where he finds Glory and Mary. Mother and daughter stand up
and greet the rather young brown haired priest. Mary shakes hands with
the priest.
“I’m Mary, Mary Ford. I am a member of Our
Lady of Annunciation in Boston.”
“Good afternoon, Ms. Ford, what brings you down
here to Miami?”
“My daughter.” She
motions to Glory. “She has two residences, one in England and one here in Miami
but she spends the vast majority of her time here in Miami. I have
neglected to spend time with her…”
“We both have been at fault, mother.” Glory
points out.
“Right, well we both are at fault, but nevertheless
we are hoping to fix things. So I may be spending more time here in
Miami. So we’re visiting.”
“That’s nice but your daughter is Glory Braddock?”
Braddock arches her brow curiously. “You’ve
heard of me?”
“Oh of course.” The
priest says with a bright look on his face. “You are so multi-talented, with
your involvement as a wrestler and as a businesswoman. Many people here
in Miami have heard of you, Glory.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not…” Glory
says with her voice trailing off. Her paranoia is kicking in now.
She has used a great deal of underhanded tactics and near criminal activity to
obtain power in the business world. As absurd as it may seem, the
paranoid part of her wonders if this priest knows anything. The smile and
the next words out of Father Sebastian’s mouth puts her concerns at ease.
“I’ve heard nothing but good about you,
Glory. And I am glad that you and your mother visited us today. I
hope you come back again.”
“I may very well do that, but first…”
Glory reaches into her purse and finds a check book. She quickly writes
on a check, tears it out, and hands it to Father Sebastian “...here, take
this. Consider it a donation.”
“Wait a second…” his
eyes grow wide “...one thousand dollars?”
“A gift.”
He shakes his head and tries to give the check
back. “I can’t accept this.”
“Please, it’s just a gift. Please take it.”
The priest stares at Glory and then looks back at
the check. He reluctantly accepts it, putting it in his pocket. “Thank
you, Ms. Braddock. This is extremely generous of you.”
With that said, Father Sebastian turns and walks
away. As soon as he is gone, Mary turns towards her daughter and speaks
on with a shocked tone of voice. “One thousand dollars? Seriously,
Glory?”
“Why not? Isn’t giving to the church a good
thing?”
“It is but…”
“But what?”
“It’s just surprising. That’s all. So
is this going to become a thing too? Going to church and donating a lot
of money?”
“I don’t know yet. Being with you, being
here, it’s just part of the solution. As great as this experience
was...and it was a great experience, don’t get me wrong...I still feel as if
something is missing.”
“What do you mean?” Mary
asks curiously.
“I just…” Glory
shakes her head as she sits back down on the bench. Mary sits down next
to her and wraps a loving arm around her daughter’s shoulders.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. That’s it, I just don’t know
who I am anymore. I have done awful things, mum, and you know it.
Part of me recognizes that, and that’s why the guilt is there. But a part
of me doesn’t regret it. Part of me truly believes that the awful things
I did were for the greater good. That’s not the woman I once was.
That leads me to the big question; do I blame this on Aphrodite Noel? Am
I still the tyrannical daughter she created? Or is this just who I really
and truly am? Was I just fooling everyone else, myself included, by
pretending to be good?”
“Gloria Marie Braddock, I think you know what you
need to do.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to. Can’t I just do
this? Can’t I just be with you and go to church and get forgiveness and…”
“Forgiveness isn’t about making the guilt go
away. If you think entering a confessional booth and giving large
donations to a church will make you feel better then you’ve completely missed
the point of what Father Sebastian was talking about. Forgiveness is just
the first step. You also need to try and be a better person. For
you that means going back to the psychiatrist and getting the help you need.”
“No…”
Braddock shakes her head as tears roll down her cheek.
“You admit that you still suffer from post
traumatic stress. If for nothing else you need to go back to a
psychiatrist for that. I’m asking this as your mother, please consider
it. Please.”
“Ok…”
Braddock nods her head “...I’ll consider it.”
==========
July 10th, 2020
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
==========
Sitting inside of the waiting room of a
psychiatrist is not exactly how Glory Braddock planned to spend her Friday
afternoon. She has a match coming up against Kelsai Adamson-Mason on
Breakdown but even more important than that is her Adrenaline Championship
Match against Peyton Rice at Rise To Greatness. Last year she was
involved in a triple threat for the SCW World Championship but came up
short. This year it is one on one and The British Bombshell has no
intention of letting this piece of gold escape her grip. Under normal
circumstances, with so much on the line in such a high stakes match, Braddock
would be at her personal gym training for this confrontation. Instead she
finds herself in the waiting room of Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald, a psychiatrist
operating locally out of Miami.
Glory Braddock still questions her decision to
come, even as she sits here studying the plain off-white, wallpaper in this
rather drab waiting room. Partly this is to satisfy her mother, who kept
telling her that she needed to try this one more time. Yet at the same
time a part of her believes that she no longer needs this psychiatrist.
Dr. Fitzgerald was just a means to an end. The Board of Directors at her
company demanded that she prove herself as mentally competent and sane before
they restored her to full power. Once Braddock obtained the power she
sought she just quit attending the sessions and never told the Board of
Directors that she quit. They took her at her word, surprisingly enough,
and that should have been that. So why is she here, about to resume the
psychiatric sessions? Is it just because she feels the need to appease
her mother?
Unlikely. If she’s willing to lie to the
Board of Directors then she can easily lie to her own mother and just tell her
she’s seeing the psychiatrist and that would shut her up. So why is she
here? As much as she may deny it publicly, Glory privately knows that she
still has problems. Part of the problem is the lingering post traumatic
stress she is suffering from after being brainwashed by Aphrodite Noel.
Another part of her mental issue is the paranoia and guilt that is eating her
alive. She doesn’t want to believe that this is who she is, she doesn’t
want to believe that she is this tyrant, this monster who would bribe and
blackmail individuals for power, this monster who would lock up her own sister
for power. She needs all of these questions answered and she is willing
to do whatever it takes to get those answers, even if those answers are not the
ones she wants.
The black cushioned chair Glory finds herself
sitting in is surprisingly comfortable. This waiting room is rather small
and cannot fit many people, thus she is thankful that she is the only person
here today. Dr. Fitzgerald gets few patients to begin with as it is a
very small local practice. This is what was most appealing about him to
Glory Braddock. The smaller the better. She wants to keep it a
secret that she needs psychiatric help. If anyone knew the truth it would
damage her reputation.
The floor of this waiting room is a navy blue
carpet. Braddock is wearing tight denim jeans, black flats, and a purple
blouse. Her long blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.
The British Bombshell is reading a magazine when her thoughts are interrupted…
“Ms. Braddock…” Glory
looks up to see Dr. Frederick Fitzgerald standing in the doorway leading back
to a hall. He motions for to her follow him. Glory smiles pleasantly as
she stands up and follows him through the door and down a short hall and then
almost immediately to the right into a room which serves as his office.
It is a small office with a light brown desk a comfortable black swivel chair
where Dr. Fitzgerald no doubt sits, and two gray chairs that look rather
uncomfortable. There is also a red comfortable cushioned sofa. As
predicted, Fitzgerald makes a beeline for the swivel chair at the desk and sits
down.
“Have a seat.” He
says. Glory opts for the comfort of the sofa instead of the chairs.
She sits down and crosses her legs. The British Bombshell remembers that
it has been years since her last session and she never told him she was
quitting. She can only assume he is upset about that but how much
so? She tries to get a read off of him but his facial expression is
stoic. All she can do is wait until he speaks…
“I must admit that I was surprised when I received
your message about wanting to schedule this session, Ms. Braddock. How
long has it been now since our last session? A few years, I believe.”
“That sounds about right.”
Glory answers flatly. Fitzgerald nods his head.
“May I ask what the problem seems to be?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Yes, I do. You left rather abruptly with
absolutely no word or warning to me. So I just assumed you believed my
services were no longer needed. I suppose your previous problems could
have resurfaced or perhaps your previous problems were never fully gone?”
“Something like that.” Braddock
sighs out of frustration.
“So now you are returning hoping I can still help
you?”
“Look, Dr. Fitzgerald, are you going to help me or
just lecture me? Because if you are just going to sit there and lecture
me then I’m leaving.” Glory rolls her eyes. The
British Bombshell isn’t the only one frustrated by all of this. Dr.
Fitzgerald is beginning to get frustrated as well and his facial expression
shows it.
“I can help you and I am willing to help you, but
before we go any further you must promise me to see this through. I told
you when we began these sessions that your issues would be fully cured only if
you saw it through to the very end. You stopped without even bothering to
talk to me about ending the sessions. If you had told me something I
could have at least warned you that your problems would get worse.”
“I still would have left.”
Braddock says with a smirk etched across her lovely lips. “I can be quite
stubborn.”
“I know. My offer still stands, but with that
one requirement; will you see it through to the end this time?”
Braddock sighs and, despite her reservations, nods
her head and agrees to his terms. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll finish it
this time.”
“And I mean it, Ms. Braddock; if we begin these
sessions anew then you must continue to attend these sessions until I say
otherwise. If you leave early again then I will not take you back.”
“Fine! Fine! Whatever!”
Braddock exclaims as she grows frustrated with the tone the psychiatrist is
taking with her. She is willing to take some abuse because she needs him
right now but she won’t take too much.
“Then we may begin. And why don’t we begin
with why you decided to stop so suddenly without even so much as a word of
warning to me?”
“You really aren’t going to let that one go, are
you?”
“Just answer the question, Ms. Braddock. I
know you believed you were cured but there must be something more. And I
need you to be honest with me, Ms. Braddock. Do not give me any
fluff. Do not give me any lies.”
“You want honesty? I’ll give you
honesty. The honest truth is that I never wanted to go to these stupid
sessions in the first place. You know the story how Mothe...Aphrodite
Noel had me brainwashed, twisted, corrupted...biologically I was a Braddock but
in my mind I was her daughter. And my company, my Board of Directors,
they did not trust my mental state as a result of this. They took power
away from me until I could prove I was fit.”
“So you did this to appease them?” The
psychiatrist asks. Glory nods her head.
“Yes. Back then I did it just to appease
them. Time passed and I convinced enough of them that I was better, and I
got power back. When that happened I no longer needed you or these
sessions so I quit.”
“I never knew that this was all to appease members
of your company. That explains why you left so suddenly. So if you
have your company back and the Board of Directors are no longer a problem for
you then why have you returned to me? Why begin the sessions again?”
The British Bombshell pauses for a long, tense
moment as she meditates upon her answer. How honest does she want to be with
Dr. Fitzgerald? “I thought power was all I needed. I thought power
would keep me happy. But the PTSD...among other things...it’s putting a
real strain on me mentally, physically, and emotionally. I’ve been so distracted
by this that my own wrestling career has suffered. I realize that I
really do need help. I can’t just let this linger.”
Glory stares back at the psychiatrist, curious as
to how he’ll respond to her passionate plea. Finally his stoic gaze turns
into a warm smile. “I’m happy to hear you say that. The first step to
recovery is admitting you do have a problem and that you do need help.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”
Braddock remarks, remembering her mom and the priest mentioning that last week.
“Well, I promised I would help you if you stuck it
out and I will. We can try to pick up where we left off but since it has
been so long your condition may have worsened. There is a chance we may
have to try different strategies to improve your condition.”
“What kind of strategies?”
“I was thinking of hypnotherapy as one potential
option we could use if needed.”
“Hypnotherapy? Bloody hell…”
Glory scoffs. Dr. Fitzgerald shakes his head.
“Do not underestimate it. It is a real thing
and it has been proven successful in certain circumstances. You may not
even need it. You just need to be willing to work with me as I try to
help you. That is all I ask.”
“Fine, I’m willing to do anything to get this
problem fixed.” She sighs deeply. “Even if it means
something as stupid as hypnotherapy.”
“Good, then let’s continue…”
==========
July 6th, 2020
London, England
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? Both are legitimate possibilities, but the
location isn’t the point. 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.
“This is where it all began for yours truly; this
squared circle, this training center, the equipment, the atmosphere, this is
where The British Bombshell got her start. This is where I was trained to
become The Best in the World. I put in long hours each and every day here
at this place, studying under the greatest European wrestler of his day and
age, my father, the late great Glenn Braddock, better known as Britain’s
Best. He taught me everything he knew but most importantly he did not
make it easy on me. The times I spent here was like hell on earth, but he
did that because he knew that a lump of coal under extreme pressure eventually
becomes a diamond and he knew that I would grow up to not just take up his
mantle but to exceed his own greatness. He looked into my eyes and knew
that I would become greater than he ever was. And he wanted me prepared.
He wanted me ready to face the challenges ahead.”
The British Bombshell motions to her surroundings, smirking confidently as she
does so. Pride is oozing from her every pore, proud of this place she
knows and thinks of as a second home.
“Places like this is where you separate dreamers
from those who legitimately have a chance of becoming a future star.
Places like this separate the mediocre from the very best. My father took
young men and women with dreams in their eyes and young wrestlers who wanted to
just improve themselves and he taught them all a valuable lesson. It is a
lesson that students to this day are taught at this wrestling school, MY
wrestling school…” Glory removes her sunglasses so you
can see the seriousness and intensity in her eyes.
“...you are not as good as you think you are.”
Braddock shakes her head.
“That’s the problem with today’s generation.
They think too highly of themselves. That leads to a feeling of
invulnerability. Alistaire Allocco, poor little fool, learned the lesson
the hard way last year by my hands. I taught him a lesson he will never
forget and that lesson is that this sport is an unforgiving bitch. You
cannot trust anyone. As good as you are, there is always someone willing
to go that extra mile to make sure your ‘greatness’ isn’t enough. Kelsai
Adamson-Mason, the naive little girl who wants to let love in, she found out
the hard way. She was GCW International Champion but then she lost it
just as quickly as she won it because someone, namely Princess Nava Farrin, was
willing to go that extra mile to ensure Kelsai’s greatness wouldn’t be enough.”
“I wish the world was the way you see it,
Kelsai. I wish everyone saw things through your lenses. Let love
in. I wish the world would let love in. Unfortunately for you it is
a naive thought. The reality of the situation is that we live in a
cutthroat world where the law of the land is kill or be killed and do whatever
it takes to achieve your objective. We both want to do what is best by wrestling,
Kelsai, but you want to play within the confines of the rules and me? I’m
willing to do whatever is necessary for the greater good of this sport.
That’s why I will always be a hero, a legend, a hall of famer, and yes, The
Best in the World, whereas you will always just be second place. You will
always be runner up. Oh you’ll get the cheers. People love a good
underdog story. But that’s all you’ll ever be is the underdog.
You’ll never ever be a winner so long as you remain unwilling to be
ruthless. That’s the lesson I teach you on Breakdown. I will teach
you that this world we live in, this sport we compete in, it is not
loving. It is hateful and the only way to survive is by being just as
hateful. Just as cruel. Just as ruthless.”
“But this match on Breakdown serves another
purpose, and you Kelsai will also serve another purpose. You will get to
be the messenger. In World War One messengers took heavy fire and few
survived because their jobs was among the most dangerous. They had to
somehow navigate through No Man’s Land, through the cross fire, to carry
messages from one group of soldiers to another. And on Breakdown you will
take some heavy fire and a heavy beating from me before carrying that message
to your friend Peyton Rice.”
The British Bombshell waves at the camera. “Hi,
Peyton. See you’re not much different from Kelsai. I will grant
that you aren’t as naive as she is, but you still have a great deal to
learn. You and Kelsai both are too new and too green to know what’s good
for you. You are sitting on top of the world right now basking in the
glory of being Adrenaline Champion. But you have tasted defeat
already. You have tasted what it is like to lose championship gold.
You lost the Television Title. That’s why at Rise To Greatness I fully
expect you to fight much harder than Kelsai will. Kelsai has nothing to
lose. But you? You will fight with everything you have to keep your
title. Unfortunately for you, you’re facing a living legend. You
are facing someone who can stake a legitimate claim to being the Best in the
World.”
“You and Kelsai both can talk up about backing up
your words inside the ring, but I already backed up my words inside the squared
circle since my debut in 2008. Think back to your debut nights as a wrestler.
My debut, Kelsai...Peyton...my debut night I won three straight matches to win
a vacant championship. And the scariest thing about it is that I got better
from there. I improved from there. So Peyton, pretty little Peyton,
pay very close attention to the warnings Kelsai will give you. Because I
plan to beat her up real bad. I plan to take her back to school on
Breakdown and teach her a lesson about pain and suffering. When that is
done she will tell you everything. She will tell you about the pain I put
her through and how you can look forward to that same kind of pain at Rise To
Greatness.”
The British Bombshell points a finger at the
camera. “And then, I’m coming for you and your championship, Peyton.
And then, at Rise To Greatness, I will take you to school and teach you a
lesson and that lesson is that as good as you may be, as good as Kelsai may be,
as good as anyone on this roster may be, Glory Braddock is and always will be
better.”
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