==========
Apocalyptic Change
On Camera
==========
Our pay per view was appropriately named, because for the
longest time the Future Wrestling Alliance had been shrouded in darkness. A man, a false prophet who claimed to bring
enlightenment, brought nothing but blackness and ignorance to FWA. His desire was to cover this great company, encompass
it in his own wretched image, shroud it in the darkness of his championship
reign.
Darkness covered our great company from the Rumble Bash
through End of Worlds and finally came to an end at, appropriately enough,
Darkness Within, because a force more powerful than anything Isis Derrida could
assemble, a faction that is legendary in this industry, rose back up to battle
not just for FWA but for the respectability of this industry against a man who
was willing to spit upon the very image of professional wrestling.
I told Isis, and I told each and every one of the FWA
superstars who got the funny idea to follow in his footsteps, that Apocalypse
was coming. Actually, that was meant as
more of a warning. The signs of the
coming Apocalypse were there and some heeded my warning while others just
laughed it off, whistling in the graveyard as if there was nothing to fear.
Oh but there was plenty to fear. At least, those who took the side of Isis
Derrida and those who, like him, treated this industry as if it was their own
personal playground, those disrespected it, those were the ones who had
something to fear from Apocalypse. Those
were the ones we planned on targeting.
There were those who tried to stop us; Isis Derrida…The Lone
Star Outlaws…Willow Wilkes…they tried to stop the inevitable. They tried to stop fate. But that’s the thing about fate. You can’t stop it. You can’t change it. Despite all of their efforts, by the time Darkness
Within came to a close Apocalypse had restored order to the Future Wrestling
Alliance.
An Xtreme Division had been run by a coward who never stood
up to anyone, who never fought back. He
just ran away. Jessica Lasiewicz
restored order to that division by becoming the FWA Xtreme Champion. Then it was Redemption to took out The Lone
Star Outlaws, the jokes of the tag team division who had been brought in just
simply to be Isis Derrida’s lapdogs.
All that was left was restoring honor and dignity to the
world heavyweight championship by taking it away from Isis Derrida. That task fell to me and this time there
would be no mistakes. This time I knew
what he was willing to do in order to retain the championship and I came
prepared. Apocalypse had my back and
with them having my back to make certain I had a level playing field, well the
outcome was academic. What do you think
happens when a cowardly champion faces The Best in the World?
Things have changed in FWA ever since Apocalypse arrived but
if you think that change has ended now that Isis Derrida’s reign as champion is
over then think again. The change has
only just begun because I know there are others like Derrida out there. There are others who wish to follow in his
feeble footsteps and those others will have to be executed in the same way.
Priest is nothing like Isis but the fact that he is facing
me on Mayhem make him a threat, a threat that I as the world champion have to
take seriously. He is the
Intercontinental Champion and that alone speaks of how well he has done for
himself since arriving in FWA. If you
took our losses since arriving in FWA and combined them you could count them
all on one hand.
You will try to topple me, Priest. You will try to prove yourself worthy but you
will fail. As good as you are right now,
the fact that is that I am still The Best in the World and no one can topple
me.
==========
Cold War
Act 1
Off Camera
==========
The Cold War evokes images of the strenuous relations between
the United States and the Soviet Union during the twentieth century following
world war two. But that was just one
example of a cold war. A cold war has
existed between Greece and Turkey ever since the downfall of the ottoman
empire. There has also been an ongoing
cold war between North Korea and South Korea ever since the Korean War.
A cold war is a conflict between parties that does not
involve actual physical fighting or the lobbing of missiles or firing of guns
or any other form of actual offense. It
is a war pursued primarily through political actions, propaganda, or proxy wars
waged by surrogates.
Cold Wars can be bitterly frustrating in the sense that you
know who your enemy is, you know you want to bust them in the mouth, and yet
you cannot due to the political environment, due to the situation, you find yourself
in. As a professional wrestler I can
definitely understand that frustration.
I have been through wars, physical bloody wars with Brittany Lohan and Dante,
and I came out victorious; battered, bloody, and bruised but victorious. I can also recall some cold wars I have been
through, namely the recent one involving me and my cousins Angelica and Kayla.
Thankfully that war has concluded and we have
reconciled. Unfortunately a new cold war
has arisen, one that I had fought before and thought was over but has come back
up as a problem for me. I am referring
to my other cousin, Julia Braddock.
Julia is a girl who fell onto some hard times. She let the pressure of living up to the
Braddock wrestling name get to her and she resorted to using drugs as an
escape, a means of forgetting her problems.
Oh the drugs helped her forget her problems alright but the
thing with drugs is there has to be a supplier and that supplier expects to be
paid. Julia racked up quite a hefty debt
to that supplier, one she could not pay off without assistance.
She was too ashamed to come to me, my father, or her father,
so she instead she went to someone she knew was loaded down with cash, someone
who she hoped would keep her secret. A
woman by the name of Aphrodite Noel.
Noel paid of the debt Julia owed and she even paid to send
her to rehabilitation. But that wasn’t
all. Noel held the secret over Julia’s
head, knowing she would not want our family to find out. She forced Julia not just to admit that she
was the best women's wrestler but also to serve her as well.
Julia would try to resist, making things difficult for Noel.
Eventually Julia grew to accept her new role as a mere servant but Noel,
wanting to make sure there would be no more resistance, had Julia sign a legal
document making her, for all intents and purposes, a legal slave to Aphrodite
Noel.
Aphrodite did eventually change her ways and allowed Julia
to leave. They even became friends.
Together they won the GCW World Tag Team Championships. I was proud of Julia and Noel, for that matter. I was proud that they both seemed to change
so much since that time when they operated as Queen and Servant.
Suddenly, at GCW’s latest pay per view, I noticed Julia had
resumed her former status. She got down
to her knees before Noel and bowed, she kissed her ring, she called her a
queen. And Julia refused to talk to
me. She refused to answer my calls. She refused to meet me to talk about
this. She had cut me off completely from
her life. It was as if the nightmare was
beginning all over again.
A cold war is exactly what I do not need right now, not when
I have real wars to focus on, wars with monsters like Priest.
Priest is a real threat.
He has never defeated me but each time he and I have fought he has come
close to getting the job done. He is
also riding a wave of momentum after becoming FWA Intercontinental
Champion. Defeating him should be my
primary focus right now and yet I cannot seem to get my mind off of Julia.
After ringing the doorbell I wait patiently at the front
door of the residence where Julia’s father, my Uncle Peter Braddock,
lives. It’s a casual outing so I am
dressed in jeans, simple flip flops, and a black top. My long auburn hair hangs down to shoulder
length.
I am not kept waiting long as I hear the lock on the door unlatch. A grin is slowly formed upon my face as the
door creaks open. I watch as I see Peter
Braddock emerge, grinning from ear to ear upon seeing me.
“Gloria?”
“Uncle Pete!” I
step in and embrace him with a big hug. “How
the hell are you, mate?”
“I am doing as well as
can be expected, Gloria.”
I nod my head, understanding clearly what he is talking
about. I would be upset too if my
daughter seemingly cut off the family, disowned the family, to once again be a
servant to Aphrodite Noel. None of it
made sense. There were legal ways to
fight Noel, fight her in court. She did
not have to lower herself the way she did and she definitely did not have to
cut us all off.
“I can only imagine,
Uncle Pete. May I come in?”
He nods his head and steps aside, allowing me entrance to
the home. “Sure.”
After stepping into the home I hear Pete shut the door
behind us. He then leads me into the
living room where he motions for me to sit down on the plush black leather
sofa. He sits down next to me, smiling
warmly.
“So, what’s on your
mind?”
“A few things,
actually. Have you heard that I am
engaged?”
I flash my engagement ring and Peter looks at it in
amazement. I haven’t spread the word that
far and wide yet. I have kept it
primarily to myself. But Kurt Logan just
asked me to marry him and I did say yes.
I will be a wife.
This will be the second time I have been married. The first marriage was to Randall Williams
and that ended in divorce when Randall demanded that I choose between him or
wrestling. Wrestling is a part of who I
am. It always will be part of who I am
and there is nothing anyone can do about that.
Randal could not accept it and so we had to break up.
Kurt Logan has been there for me as a close friend and as a boyfriend for a
long time, through thick and thin he has supported me. Kurt supports me in everything I do, just as
a real man ought to do. I love him and
look forward to marrying him and, more importantly, I want to make sure all of
those I care about are there to witness my wonderful moment of wedded bliss.
My Uncle Peter Braddock looks back up at me with those same
eyes, eyes that appear almost sad but yet there is a smile upon his loving
face.
“I am so happy for
you, Gloria.”
“Thanks Uncle Pete.”
“Have you thought
about your brides maids, maids of honor, or the like?”
“Yes, actually. That is partially why I am here. Is Julia around?”
Uncle Pete sighs and shakes his head. “No, I’m afraid not.”
“I could’ve guessed…”
“Now don’t be so hard
on her, Gloria.” He says fatherly tone. “She
has had it rough.”
“Rough? Uncle Pete, I’m not sure if you’ve been
paying attention but she is one half of the GCW World Tag Team Champions. She defeated her drug addiction. Her situation is far from rough.”
“All that may be true
but that woman still holds a price over her head.”
I roll my eyes. “I know she’s your daughter, Pete, but you’re
making excuses for her.”
“No I’m not. She signed that document that gave Aphrodite
Noel full control of her assets if she did not serve her. She has no choice, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what? She’ll lose everything?” I shrug my
shoulders. “Everyone has a choice,
Pete. She could choose to tell Noel to
shove it. Instead she chooses to just
give up and give in to her. Instead she
chooses to disown her family.”
My uncle shakes his head. “It isn’t that simple.”
“Isn’t it? That’s your daughter and she hasn’t spoken to
you since she got back with Noel, has she?”
The silence coming from my Uncle Peter speaks volumes. A frown forms on my face. “Just as I thought.”
“Can I tell you
something, Gloria?”
“If it’s an attempt to
defend Julia then don’t bother.” I
shake my head. “Nothing will justify in
my mind what she is doing to us.”
He chuckles quietly. “Ah
yes, your father’s pride…”
“Huh?”
“You sound like your
father. But then again, your father isn’t
the only one prideful like that. You are…I
am…so is Julia. The Braddock family is a
bit of a prideful bunch. Not prideful to
a flaw but prideful in the sense that we want to earn our success.”
He runs his hand through my long auburn hair. “I remember End of Worlds when Isis Derrida
attacked my brother and I remember his reaction to it.”
“Yeah, me too.” I
chuckle lightly. “He wanted to get up out
of that hospital bed and fight Isis himself.”
“Yes and he would have
had you given him the chance but you wanted to take care of Isis yourself. Which also would have been a mistake. Look at who he brought with him to protect
himself…The Lone Star Outlaws and Willow Wilkes…”
I nod my head. “True…”
“Your friend, Jackson
Adams, had to convince you to bring back Apocalypse. That was his idea, not yours.”
“Ok, and…”
“…AND tell me this,
would Darkness Within have ended the same way had Apocalypse not been there to
ensure that you had a level playing field?”
“Well…” my voice
trails off as I ponder the question “…Marie
and Jessica did take care of The Lone Star Outlaws and Jackson Adams did take
care of Willow Wilkes…”
“Right, and without
them all three of those individuals would have been ringside to ensure Derrida’s
victory.”
He grabs my hands and squeezes tightly. “My point is that you both have that Braddock pride running through
your veins. You both want to earn it by
yourselves and yet you fail realize that sometimes you need to ask for help. Julia’s only fault is that she decided to
work for Noel in order to protect me.
She thinks asking you or her Uncle Glenn for help would be a sign of
weakness.”
“But that’s silliness!”
I exclaim. “We are her family, we
help each other!”
“Yes but wouldn’t you
rather earn something on your own even though you know having help might make
it just a little easier on you? You’re
facing Priest on Mayhem. You love to
tell him about how he’s never beaten you.
Wouldn’t it make him proud to defeat you, fair and square, without any
assistance at all?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I
guess so but that’s not gonna happen. I’m
not going to let Priest defeat me, Uncle Pete.”
“Be that as it may, it
could very well happen. That is Priest’s
goal and he is going to do whatever he can to achieve it. We all have that same kind of pride running
through our systems. It’s a flaw every
human has. Only at the end of your life
do you begin to lose that pride.”
“Yes, well, I’m not at
the end of my life, Priest isn’t at the end of his life, and Julia isn’t at the
end of her life, so there’s no excuses.”
“No, but I am at the
end of mine.”
I blink a few times out of curiosity. “Huh?”
“Gloria…I have cancer…the
doctors have only given me a few months to live.”
==========
Can’t Keep Me Down
On Camera
==========
There is no character more iconic and is a better metaphor
for an underdog or an everyman rising to a challenge than Rocky Balboa. It’s first movie poster, a black and white
one with the simple word “Rocky” written on the front with Sylvester Stallone’s
silhouette on the front, is on our front screen. Just then yours truly steps into view, in
front of this poster. I am wearing a
polished, sleek white silky sleeveless ruffled blouse underneath a black
two-button blazer that tells the story that this world champion means business. A matching black pleated pencil skirt that
extends to my knees and black high heel pumps complete the attire and gives off
the impression of my femininity.
Sunglasses cover my eyes which shows just how cool and collected I am
about this upcoming challenge that awaits me. The FWA World Heavyweight Championship belt is
draped over my right shoulder, which I display with great pride.
“Rocky Balboa is the
story of everyone’s favorite underdog.
If you were the common man, the everyday guy or girl who everyone said
couldn’t win the big one, then Rocky was your guy. Rocky was your inspiration and leader. Many athletes, not just in the boxing world
but in every industry, have looked to Rocky for inspiration and motivation to
continue to fight through any and every obstacle that is placed before them.”
A low chuckle escapes my lips. “It’s
funny, I never used to like the Rocky films; not until Brittany Lohan started
comparing me to Rocky. She would frustratingly
call me ‘The Female Rocky Balboa’ and out of curiosity I just decided to watch
them again and I realized, in a few ways, she was right.”
“For starters, Rocky
Balboa was just too damn tough to keep down.
Whether it was Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, or Ivan Drago beating on him
and knocking him down, Rocky would just keep getting right back up and keep
coming back for more and more until he got the job done until he achieved his
goal.”
“Brittany Lohan beat
on me and beat on me and beat on me and yet she never could defeat me. She never could keep me down. She got so frustrated she decided to just
give up and be my tag team partner instead of opponent.”
I wink at the camera. “Nice
move, Britt.”
“Dante beat on me in a
street fight at Deadly Conflicts in a match where everyone expected him to just
walk all over me and become the new champion of the world but I kept taking his
abuse. I took everything he had and kept
coming back. Dante, as powerful as he is, could not keep me down. I defeated him for my first MCW World
Championship.”
I point at the camera. “Then
there’s you, Priest. You have beaten on
me in Hell on Earth Matches. You made me
bleed in glass chamber and weapons lair matches. We fought, we bled, we paid the price. I suffered a lot from you in those matches.”
“And you suffered a
lot too. You learned, just as everyone
else quickly learned, that I can dish out just as much as I can take. And you also learned that no matter what you
do to me, no matter how much pain you inflict upon me, that you cannot keep me
down.”
“And that’s what really
eats you up inside. You said it yourself
that the fact that you never beat me bothers you but the truth of the matter is
that even if you did manage to defeat me at Mayhem you know that I’ll come
right back later on and avenge that loss with yet another victory over
you. That’s what I do. That’s what The Female Rocky Balboa does,
right? If at first you don’t succeed
against Apollo Creed, try again and defeat him in the sequel. If you lose to Clubber Lang in the third
movie, beat him later on in the second to win your title back.”
“So no, losing to you
won’t bother me. It won’t bother me in
the slightest. I tapped out once,” I
hold up one finger “in my entire career,
to a legend by the name of Andreas Lasiewicz, Jessica’s father. I didn’t let it get to me. I fought through it, I regained my
title. I moved on.”
“But you losing to me,
for the umpteenth time, will drive you closer and closer to the edge of
insanity. There is no amount of pain, no
amount of punishment, that I cannot endure, that I cannot sustain, that I
cannot fight back from. You will just
have to accept that, at the end of the day, even if you win a battle, you will
never ever win the war against Glory Braddock.”
I hold up a second finger. “The second reason Rocky and I are a lot alike is due to our heart and
our will to win. Rocky’s desire to keep
fighting, his motivation, that fire was unmatched by anyone else. He had that x-factor that few athletes had or
ever will have, an x-factor that determines if you actually give a damn about
this industry and want to win or if you’re just collecting a paycheck.”
“There are people in
this industry, even in FWA, who are just here to collect paychecks.” I
shake my head. “That’s not us,
Priest. We’ve battled one another too
often, we’ve peered into each other’s souls and I know you are not just here to
collect a paycheck and you know I am not here just to collect a paycheck. We do this job because we love this business. Hell, out of everyone on this roster, I would
dare say you might be the one person who loves this business as much as I do.”
“My love for this
business is what fuels me to continue, it is what drives me to keep going, to
keep fighting. My love for this sport is
why I never say die and that is why I never stay down, no matter how much
punishment is inflicted upon me. I do
not stay down because I cannot stay down, I cannot stay down otherwise I would
be letting this business down and I cannot let the business down, Priest. I love it too damn much to just quit on it.”
“That is the goal of
Apocalypse, to ensure that this business is respected and that those who would
disrespect it or try to make a joke out of it pay dearly. Having that in mind, you would make an
excellent member of Apocalypse, Priest.
You might even consider this an invitation. A try out of sorts. And for someone like you, the FWA
Intercontinental Champion and a legend, for your try out you should get no
better than The Best in the World.”
I hold up the FWA world heavyweight championship title belt.
“This right here is why I am The Best in
the World and until I lose it no one has any right to dispute my claim. Until someone can defeat me for this in the
center of the ring, clean, no one can dispute my claim. I am The Best in the World and the fact that
I have beaten you, a legend like you, each and every time we have stepped into
the ring against one another just further evidence of that.”
“You might be thinking
that, hey, you are the Rocky Balboa of this story and I am the Apollo Creed or
the Clubber Lang or the Ivan Drago.” I shake my head. “I’m sorry, mate, but I am the writer and director of this movie and I decide
how this will end. This movie ends with
you flat on your back and my hand raised in victory.”
“Cut, print, that’s a
wrap.”
