Wednesday May 18, 2011
United Flight 298- First Class Cabin
Over British Columbia, Canada
2:07 PM Local Time
“...tailwind we should be in Chicago about half-an-hour ahead of schedule. Thank you again for flying United Airlines, and please enjoy the flight.”
The gentle *ding* of the seatbelt sign being turned off sounded throughout the cabin, and I couldn’t help but smile as nearly ever passenger on the Airbus A319 dug out some sort of electronic device, flipping them on. I myself leaned forward, digging my Ipod and book of crossword puzles. The two diversions likely wouldn’t keep me occupied all the way through the four hour flight, but at least it would kill some time. And once I grew tired of crosswords, there was always looking out the window at the terrain below.
Not the first time that day, I wish we hadn’t taken the latest of the three daily flights leaving Vancouver for Chicago. After the two flights, and the hour and a half layover at O’Hare, I wouldn’t be getting home until nearly midnight. And I would be coming home to an empty house. Terrence had left for Lexington, Ohio that morning for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course, where he was to receive a “crash course” (and I absolutely LOATHED that term) on road racing in preparation for his upcoming race in New Jersey, the only race out of the whole ARCA schedule that required cars to turn right. He had left Theresa with Cassie, but it would be far too late to pick her up by the time I got home. I sighed inwardly- all the demands of my schedule and Terrence’s kept splitting the two of us up. I just hoped that none of it was negatively affecting my daughter any.
Well, there was nothing I could do about it from seat 4A, that’s for sure. I turned my Ipod on, trying to decide which musical’s soundtrack I would listen to, ultimately deciding on Oklahoma! I began to slip my earbuds in, only to be distracted by the sounds of painful grunting next to me. I glanced over, and saw my manager, unsuccessfuly trying to lean over and grab his laptop bag, which he had set on the floor. It was obvious from his facial expression that the attempts were making him fairly uncomfortable, the obvious soreness he was feeling only added to his obesity in the difficulty factor.
“You need help?” I asked. Even though Pollaski stubbornly shook his head no, I leaned forward and grabbed the bag, and hoisted it into his lap, thankful that the more accomodating first-class cabin allowed me the room. Pollaski mumbled his thanks, and began pulling out the computer.
“How you feeling?” I asked, looking at my manager with concern. He had taken a considerable beating at the hands of Kevin Flynn the previous night, and he definitely looked the part. One eye was swollen, and one could tell by the stiffness in his movements that there were a lot of bruises on his body.
“About as good as I should have expected” Pollaski said, shooting me a strained smile. “I got my ass kicked, not the first time, probably not the last. I’ll recover.”
I shot him a reassuring smile, as Pollaski finished taking his laptop out, then tossing the bag back onto the floor. “I suppose I should thank you,” he muttered as he turned the laptop on.
“For what?” I asked, glancing sideways at my manager.
“For saving me last night. Y’know, ripping the chair out of Flynn’s hand and standing in the way. I suppose I owe you one...”
I almost shivered, feeling the intensity from the previous night. I was almost amazed with myself, how I had been able to calmly stand in that ring, while Kevin Flynn stood inches away, screaming in my face. It had taken every ounce of restraint to not either step away, or punch Kevin in the mouth, especially because I had expected Flynn to take a swing at me at any moment.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” I replied, grabbing my earbuds, and beginning to put them on. Pollaski reached over, and grabbed my arm, however.
“I’m serious,” he said, his voice low. “Knowing how you felt about the situation, I honestly thought that you were just going to let Flynn kill me.”
It was true- I hadn’t been overly pleased with the stunt Pollaski had pulled, especially considering that the victim of the ‘prank’ had suffered fairly serious injuries. But for better or for worse, Daniel Pollaski was my friend, and I wasn’t going to throw my friend to the wolves.
“What would letting Flynn kill you have done?” I asked, looking over at him.
Pollaski shrugged. “Some might say that after what I did to Kristi, it would have been appropriate to allow Kevin some sort of revenge.”
“And he got it,” I replied. “He faced you man to man in that ring, and beat you flat out. The fact is, even if Flynn had killed you, flown your corpse to Minneapolis, and dragged your body around the city behind his car to desecrate it, he still wouldn’t be satisfied. We all know what he wants- its the exact same thing he wanted before you attacked Kristi.”
“Counter-attacked,” my manager replied, that ever-mischievous smile coming through. “She still attacked me first.”
I snorted, and glanced sideways at Pollaski, shaking my head. “Anyways, Flynn wants my title, and he wants me broken and battered. Nothing’s changed on that front. And in three weeks, he gets that chance.”
“You’re still nervous about it, aren’t you?” Pollaski asked.
I paused for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, although, I’m kind of mixed. On one hand, I know that if this Fatal Attraction match isn’t the most dangerous thing I’ve done, its definitely up there in the top three, and considering what I have at home relying on me, the thought of what would happen if something... goes wrong terrifies me. But at the same time, another part of me is just tired of all the delays, and I want to get it over with, regardless of what becomes of it.”
“Well, we’ve been working on what you need to do,” Pollaski said, turning to his laptop. “There’s a reason why you’re the champion, and Flynn couldn’t even make it past the quarterfinals of that tournament. Hell, he should be lucky that he faced Szalinski the first round, when his mind was broken. Outside of him, the rest of that tournament field was worthless.”
“Yeah,then I’d have a different person trying to kill me,” I muttered. I still felt guilty from hearing that I had been the cause of Szalinski’s muteness. I knew my Irish Death was a damaging move- and could even cause severe injury, but considering that the move targeted the abdomen, I never could have imagined it could cause brain damage. The thought honestly had me questioning whether I should ever really do the move again. I took pride in causing as little lasting injury to my opponents as possible.
Pollaski chuckling broke into my thoughts, and I looked over at him. He was staring at his laptop screen, having connected the computer to the Airbus’ in-flight wi-fi system. Sensing me staring at him, he turned the computer, and I was surprised to see a picture of me sided along with a picture of Katherine Stryfe.
“Speaking of worthless participants in that tournament...” Pollaski grinned.
I smiled softly. “About time I got back in the ring.” I had been off the last two Shatterpoints, but considering all that had happened, it’d actually been almost two months since I had been in singles competition in X3W. It felt good to finally be back on my own- especially considering that I was becoming more and more disillusioned with the power struggle that was taking place in the company. Obviously Madelyne had it out for me, with her crony Mike Powers and all their sordid underlings, Kevin Flynn included. But even the other side in the quarrel had me concerned. Brydon Talinsdale had completely disappeared from the landscape, and Graham Clauson, for as honorable as he had seemed, was becoming more and more unbalanced with each passing week, ever since he had come running down with that chainsaw. Add in his entire family (many of which seemed even more crazy than Graham did), and I honestly had begun to feel that the best course for me was to just shut up, stay out of it, and focus on defending my title.
This match would help me do that, I figured. Katherine Stryfe hadn’t had much to do with the conflict taking place in the leadership of the company. Heck, to be fair, Katherine Stryfe recently hadn’t had much to do with anything, I thought wryly. My thoughts flashed back to the night before, when I had expressed surprise and disappointment that Katherine had failed to show up for her match. I wonder if somehow word had gotten to Madelyne, and given her the idea for the match.
“I heard a rumor this morning that Stryfe had an emergency... is that true?” I asked, looking over at Pollaski. If anyone knew the dirt on what was going on with a particular wrestler, chances are my manager would hear it.
“No idea,” Pollaski confessed, with an apologetic shrug that caused him to wince. That wince turned into a snort however. “She was probably off getting high or something, and forgot she had a match.”
“Unlikely,” I replied, rolling my eyes, and looking out the window. We had begun to fly over some low clouds, so any chance of ground-watching for this part of the flight had just become impossible. I glanced back over at Pollaski, who had returned to playing around on his computer. The sudden jolting of the plane caught me by surprise, and I looked up in time to see the seat belt sign being turned back on with another soft *ding*.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. We look to be getting into some turbulence after all, so I’m going to have to ask everyone to return to their seats.”
I grimaced as the plane jolted again. I had been hoping for a smooth ride, and considering Pollaski’s injuries, I’m sure it was the last thing he wanted as well.
Oh well, I thought as I finally managed to slip my earbuds on, and began the soundtrack for Oklahoma. Those were the breaks, sometimes.
=================================
Monday May 23, 2011
Holiday Inn, Room 317
Boise, Idaho
6:10 PM Local Time
[Well, it’s been a fun week. Wendy got a whole day to relax with her daughter, before heading to meet Terrence in Ohio. Then the apocalypse happened (not really), followed by Terrence’s road racing debut at New Jersey Motorsport Park’s Thunderbolt raceway (23rd place, although he didn’t crash!), and now Wendy’s departure to Boise for the next Shatterpoint show.]
[No rest for the weary, eh?]
[Anyways, the scene opens in a small hotel room. Usual holiday in fare, with a single bed, a television, and a table with a couple chairs. Wendy’s sitting in one of those chairs, the camera set up a short distance away. The X3 champion is wearing a simple pale yellow blouse, and a pair of jeans. She sighs as the camera comes on, although she has a soft smile]
“I suppose after reading the billing for my match, a bit of explanations are in order.”
[ORLY?]
“Despite what the lineup might say, I don’t recall being terrifically upset by Katherine Stryfe’s failure to show up last week. I remember expressing a certain level of disappointment, but I don’t think I was exactly pulling out my hair in anguish over the incident, or throwing a tantrum. I’m sure Stryfe had a valid reason for not being at the arena last week, and in reality, it’s none of my business.”
[A small shrug]
“I also don’t exactly recall ever demanding a match against her, especially considering that I’m not exactly on speaking terms with the person making the matches at the moment. But Ms. McTaggert hasn’t exactly bothered herself with accuracy and the truth in the past, so I guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Regardless of the motivation, this match is on, set for tomorrow night.”
[Wendy pauses for just a second, her lips pursing slightly. Those who know her would easily identify it as the look she gets when she’s internally debating whether or not she should say something. Finally, Wendy shrugs, and relents]
“There’s one more inaccuracy on the preview billing, however. ‘It’s not like Katherine to not show.’ I’m going to have to beg to differ, because to be honest, the real Katherine Stryfe hasn’t shown up in X3W in the six months the place has been open.”
[Small grimace]
“When I returned to wrestling last April, Katherine and her partner, Emma McIntyre, were about halfway through what would ultimately become a phenomenal near-yearlong reign as the CWC tag team champions. Nightmare, Inc., for a long while, was the gold-standard of tag teams. This day and age, holding titles for six months is an accomplishment. Holding them for almost a full turn of the calendar is unthinkable. And yet, Stryfe and her partner managed to do it.”
[Considering that Wendy and her husband were undefeated as a tag team for nearly eight months themselves, that’s fairly high praise. Wendy, however, just shakes her head and continues.]
“And even in X3’s predecessor, EPW, Stryfe was someone to be reckoned with. There’s a good reason why she was a perennial challenger for the EPW Championship. There’s a reason why Stryfe was in EPW’s last ever main event. There was a reason why Katherine Stryfe had earned every letter of being ‘The Beautiful Nightmare’”
[A small pause, and Wendy looks directly into the camera.]
“So what happened, Kat?”
[Small sigh]
“Why didn’t the Katherine Stryfe that was making a legend for herself come to X3W? At what point did you go from being the ‘Beautiful Nightmare’, to little more than a daydream? How did transform from being one of EPW’s top contenders to being barely an also-ran in its successor?”
[Wendy shakes her head sadly]
“When X3W announced that it’s first champion would be decided in that tournament, you were one of the favorites going in. Heck, I was almost certain that if I got by Rockwell and Soldier, I’d see you in the Semifinals. But maybe that’s where the difference between me and you is evident, Kat. You foolishly assumed that because Jeremiah Belmont beat Tweeder, he’d be a walk in the park for you as well. The price of your folly was a first round exit. And I know that loss was later expunged from your record, but the fact remains- you were out of the tournament. I went into that tournament hungry, and I took NOTHING for granted. I fought my way past four wrestlers some thought I had no business being in the ring against, much less defeating, and I won that tournament, and I got the honor of being the first person to have this.”
[Wendy reaches to her side, and produces the X3W Championship belt. She calmly folds the belt up, and places it, faceplate up, in her lap.]
“And after I had won this, Kat, you were given another opportunity. One of five people selected for a round-robin tournament, with the winner moving on to face me at Fatal Attraction. And you got beaten by everybody but the hapless Holden Tyco Malone. Fourth place of five. Was that really the best you could do? This title represents the pinnacle in wrestling achievment, and I gave everything I had to win it. And when I see someone handed the opportunity you were given, and choose to make NOTHING of it, well, disappointed is hardly a powerful enough word.”
[Wendy scoffs, and shakes her head again, her voice continues to be fairly mild]
“This is not an accusation that I enjoy making, nor is it one that I make lightly. But Kat, anyone can see that your effort, your attitude over the past six months has been lacking. I don’t know why, and I honestly don’t care. But you owe it to your fans, your competitors, and yourself to give a lot more than you’re giving, and I think it’s time someone called you out on it.”
[Wendy spreads her arms wide, almost in invitation]
“So, at the risk of sounding arrogant, maybe this is what you need. A one on one match with the X3 Champion herself. A chance to prove to the world just exactly what ‘The Beautiful Nightmare’ is made of. If you even just put on a good showing, you can regain so much of the respect you’ve lost in everyone’s eyes. And if you manage to win, you’ll launch yourself into position to actually challenge for this belt after Fatal Attraction, regardless of who’s holding it.”
[Wendy’s eyes narrow a bit]
“I don’t think its an opportunity you’ve earned or deserved, but you have it, and you darn well better make the most of it. At the very least, maybe facing me will remind you what it actually takes to be a champion in this business. It doesn’t matter who I’m facing, where I am, or what the match is, I give everything I have whenever I step into that ring, and it’s going to be no exception for you tomorrow night.”
[Another small pause, before Wendy swallows hard.]
“See, Kat, some people might have thought Judgment Day was Saturday, but for you, it will be Tuesday. Because if you can’t get up for a match against the X3W Champion, if you can’t give everything you have against Wendy Briese, then maybe you need to get out of X3W before you- or someone else- gets hurt.”
[Wendy looks up into the camera again]
“It’s a harsh thing to say, Kat, but you need to hear it. So do yourself a favor, and don’t hold back tomorrow night. I’ll be in that ring waiting for you, and you can bet that I’ll be showing you just why I’m the X3 champion. But if you leave everything out in that ring, and show the world the Katherine Stryfe of old, then I know that you and I are going to bring the house down, and have an amazing contest between us. And that’s something you need desperately, Katherine Stryfe.”
[Another small pause, and Wendy takes another deep breath]
“Because your career might just be depending on it.”
[Fade]
United Flight 298- First Class Cabin
Over British Columbia, Canada
2:07 PM Local Time
“...tailwind we should be in Chicago about half-an-hour ahead of schedule. Thank you again for flying United Airlines, and please enjoy the flight.”
The gentle *ding* of the seatbelt sign being turned off sounded throughout the cabin, and I couldn’t help but smile as nearly ever passenger on the Airbus A319 dug out some sort of electronic device, flipping them on. I myself leaned forward, digging my Ipod and book of crossword puzles. The two diversions likely wouldn’t keep me occupied all the way through the four hour flight, but at least it would kill some time. And once I grew tired of crosswords, there was always looking out the window at the terrain below.
Not the first time that day, I wish we hadn’t taken the latest of the three daily flights leaving Vancouver for Chicago. After the two flights, and the hour and a half layover at O’Hare, I wouldn’t be getting home until nearly midnight. And I would be coming home to an empty house. Terrence had left for Lexington, Ohio that morning for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course, where he was to receive a “crash course” (and I absolutely LOATHED that term) on road racing in preparation for his upcoming race in New Jersey, the only race out of the whole ARCA schedule that required cars to turn right. He had left Theresa with Cassie, but it would be far too late to pick her up by the time I got home. I sighed inwardly- all the demands of my schedule and Terrence’s kept splitting the two of us up. I just hoped that none of it was negatively affecting my daughter any.
Well, there was nothing I could do about it from seat 4A, that’s for sure. I turned my Ipod on, trying to decide which musical’s soundtrack I would listen to, ultimately deciding on Oklahoma! I began to slip my earbuds in, only to be distracted by the sounds of painful grunting next to me. I glanced over, and saw my manager, unsuccessfuly trying to lean over and grab his laptop bag, which he had set on the floor. It was obvious from his facial expression that the attempts were making him fairly uncomfortable, the obvious soreness he was feeling only added to his obesity in the difficulty factor.
“You need help?” I asked. Even though Pollaski stubbornly shook his head no, I leaned forward and grabbed the bag, and hoisted it into his lap, thankful that the more accomodating first-class cabin allowed me the room. Pollaski mumbled his thanks, and began pulling out the computer.
“How you feeling?” I asked, looking at my manager with concern. He had taken a considerable beating at the hands of Kevin Flynn the previous night, and he definitely looked the part. One eye was swollen, and one could tell by the stiffness in his movements that there were a lot of bruises on his body.
“About as good as I should have expected” Pollaski said, shooting me a strained smile. “I got my ass kicked, not the first time, probably not the last. I’ll recover.”
I shot him a reassuring smile, as Pollaski finished taking his laptop out, then tossing the bag back onto the floor. “I suppose I should thank you,” he muttered as he turned the laptop on.
“For what?” I asked, glancing sideways at my manager.
“For saving me last night. Y’know, ripping the chair out of Flynn’s hand and standing in the way. I suppose I owe you one...”
I almost shivered, feeling the intensity from the previous night. I was almost amazed with myself, how I had been able to calmly stand in that ring, while Kevin Flynn stood inches away, screaming in my face. It had taken every ounce of restraint to not either step away, or punch Kevin in the mouth, especially because I had expected Flynn to take a swing at me at any moment.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” I replied, grabbing my earbuds, and beginning to put them on. Pollaski reached over, and grabbed my arm, however.
“I’m serious,” he said, his voice low. “Knowing how you felt about the situation, I honestly thought that you were just going to let Flynn kill me.”
It was true- I hadn’t been overly pleased with the stunt Pollaski had pulled, especially considering that the victim of the ‘prank’ had suffered fairly serious injuries. But for better or for worse, Daniel Pollaski was my friend, and I wasn’t going to throw my friend to the wolves.
“What would letting Flynn kill you have done?” I asked, looking over at him.
Pollaski shrugged. “Some might say that after what I did to Kristi, it would have been appropriate to allow Kevin some sort of revenge.”
“And he got it,” I replied. “He faced you man to man in that ring, and beat you flat out. The fact is, even if Flynn had killed you, flown your corpse to Minneapolis, and dragged your body around the city behind his car to desecrate it, he still wouldn’t be satisfied. We all know what he wants- its the exact same thing he wanted before you attacked Kristi.”
“Counter-attacked,” my manager replied, that ever-mischievous smile coming through. “She still attacked me first.”
I snorted, and glanced sideways at Pollaski, shaking my head. “Anyways, Flynn wants my title, and he wants me broken and battered. Nothing’s changed on that front. And in three weeks, he gets that chance.”
“You’re still nervous about it, aren’t you?” Pollaski asked.
I paused for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, although, I’m kind of mixed. On one hand, I know that if this Fatal Attraction match isn’t the most dangerous thing I’ve done, its definitely up there in the top three, and considering what I have at home relying on me, the thought of what would happen if something... goes wrong terrifies me. But at the same time, another part of me is just tired of all the delays, and I want to get it over with, regardless of what becomes of it.”
“Well, we’ve been working on what you need to do,” Pollaski said, turning to his laptop. “There’s a reason why you’re the champion, and Flynn couldn’t even make it past the quarterfinals of that tournament. Hell, he should be lucky that he faced Szalinski the first round, when his mind was broken. Outside of him, the rest of that tournament field was worthless.”
“Yeah,then I’d have a different person trying to kill me,” I muttered. I still felt guilty from hearing that I had been the cause of Szalinski’s muteness. I knew my Irish Death was a damaging move- and could even cause severe injury, but considering that the move targeted the abdomen, I never could have imagined it could cause brain damage. The thought honestly had me questioning whether I should ever really do the move again. I took pride in causing as little lasting injury to my opponents as possible.
Pollaski chuckling broke into my thoughts, and I looked over at him. He was staring at his laptop screen, having connected the computer to the Airbus’ in-flight wi-fi system. Sensing me staring at him, he turned the computer, and I was surprised to see a picture of me sided along with a picture of Katherine Stryfe.
“Speaking of worthless participants in that tournament...” Pollaski grinned.
I smiled softly. “About time I got back in the ring.” I had been off the last two Shatterpoints, but considering all that had happened, it’d actually been almost two months since I had been in singles competition in X3W. It felt good to finally be back on my own- especially considering that I was becoming more and more disillusioned with the power struggle that was taking place in the company. Obviously Madelyne had it out for me, with her crony Mike Powers and all their sordid underlings, Kevin Flynn included. But even the other side in the quarrel had me concerned. Brydon Talinsdale had completely disappeared from the landscape, and Graham Clauson, for as honorable as he had seemed, was becoming more and more unbalanced with each passing week, ever since he had come running down with that chainsaw. Add in his entire family (many of which seemed even more crazy than Graham did), and I honestly had begun to feel that the best course for me was to just shut up, stay out of it, and focus on defending my title.
This match would help me do that, I figured. Katherine Stryfe hadn’t had much to do with the conflict taking place in the leadership of the company. Heck, to be fair, Katherine Stryfe recently hadn’t had much to do with anything, I thought wryly. My thoughts flashed back to the night before, when I had expressed surprise and disappointment that Katherine had failed to show up for her match. I wonder if somehow word had gotten to Madelyne, and given her the idea for the match.
“I heard a rumor this morning that Stryfe had an emergency... is that true?” I asked, looking over at Pollaski. If anyone knew the dirt on what was going on with a particular wrestler, chances are my manager would hear it.
“No idea,” Pollaski confessed, with an apologetic shrug that caused him to wince. That wince turned into a snort however. “She was probably off getting high or something, and forgot she had a match.”
“Unlikely,” I replied, rolling my eyes, and looking out the window. We had begun to fly over some low clouds, so any chance of ground-watching for this part of the flight had just become impossible. I glanced back over at Pollaski, who had returned to playing around on his computer. The sudden jolting of the plane caught me by surprise, and I looked up in time to see the seat belt sign being turned back on with another soft *ding*.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. We look to be getting into some turbulence after all, so I’m going to have to ask everyone to return to their seats.”
I grimaced as the plane jolted again. I had been hoping for a smooth ride, and considering Pollaski’s injuries, I’m sure it was the last thing he wanted as well.
Oh well, I thought as I finally managed to slip my earbuds on, and began the soundtrack for Oklahoma. Those were the breaks, sometimes.
=================================
Monday May 23, 2011
Holiday Inn, Room 317
Boise, Idaho
6:10 PM Local Time
[Well, it’s been a fun week. Wendy got a whole day to relax with her daughter, before heading to meet Terrence in Ohio. Then the apocalypse happened (not really), followed by Terrence’s road racing debut at New Jersey Motorsport Park’s Thunderbolt raceway (23rd place, although he didn’t crash!), and now Wendy’s departure to Boise for the next Shatterpoint show.]
[No rest for the weary, eh?]
[Anyways, the scene opens in a small hotel room. Usual holiday in fare, with a single bed, a television, and a table with a couple chairs. Wendy’s sitting in one of those chairs, the camera set up a short distance away. The X3 champion is wearing a simple pale yellow blouse, and a pair of jeans. She sighs as the camera comes on, although she has a soft smile]
“I suppose after reading the billing for my match, a bit of explanations are in order.”
[ORLY?]
“Despite what the lineup might say, I don’t recall being terrifically upset by Katherine Stryfe’s failure to show up last week. I remember expressing a certain level of disappointment, but I don’t think I was exactly pulling out my hair in anguish over the incident, or throwing a tantrum. I’m sure Stryfe had a valid reason for not being at the arena last week, and in reality, it’s none of my business.”
[A small shrug]
“I also don’t exactly recall ever demanding a match against her, especially considering that I’m not exactly on speaking terms with the person making the matches at the moment. But Ms. McTaggert hasn’t exactly bothered herself with accuracy and the truth in the past, so I guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Regardless of the motivation, this match is on, set for tomorrow night.”
[Wendy pauses for just a second, her lips pursing slightly. Those who know her would easily identify it as the look she gets when she’s internally debating whether or not she should say something. Finally, Wendy shrugs, and relents]
“There’s one more inaccuracy on the preview billing, however. ‘It’s not like Katherine to not show.’ I’m going to have to beg to differ, because to be honest, the real Katherine Stryfe hasn’t shown up in X3W in the six months the place has been open.”
[Small grimace]
“When I returned to wrestling last April, Katherine and her partner, Emma McIntyre, were about halfway through what would ultimately become a phenomenal near-yearlong reign as the CWC tag team champions. Nightmare, Inc., for a long while, was the gold-standard of tag teams. This day and age, holding titles for six months is an accomplishment. Holding them for almost a full turn of the calendar is unthinkable. And yet, Stryfe and her partner managed to do it.”
[Considering that Wendy and her husband were undefeated as a tag team for nearly eight months themselves, that’s fairly high praise. Wendy, however, just shakes her head and continues.]
“And even in X3’s predecessor, EPW, Stryfe was someone to be reckoned with. There’s a good reason why she was a perennial challenger for the EPW Championship. There’s a reason why Stryfe was in EPW’s last ever main event. There was a reason why Katherine Stryfe had earned every letter of being ‘The Beautiful Nightmare’”
[A small pause, and Wendy looks directly into the camera.]
“So what happened, Kat?”
[Small sigh]
“Why didn’t the Katherine Stryfe that was making a legend for herself come to X3W? At what point did you go from being the ‘Beautiful Nightmare’, to little more than a daydream? How did transform from being one of EPW’s top contenders to being barely an also-ran in its successor?”
[Wendy shakes her head sadly]
“When X3W announced that it’s first champion would be decided in that tournament, you were one of the favorites going in. Heck, I was almost certain that if I got by Rockwell and Soldier, I’d see you in the Semifinals. But maybe that’s where the difference between me and you is evident, Kat. You foolishly assumed that because Jeremiah Belmont beat Tweeder, he’d be a walk in the park for you as well. The price of your folly was a first round exit. And I know that loss was later expunged from your record, but the fact remains- you were out of the tournament. I went into that tournament hungry, and I took NOTHING for granted. I fought my way past four wrestlers some thought I had no business being in the ring against, much less defeating, and I won that tournament, and I got the honor of being the first person to have this.”
[Wendy reaches to her side, and produces the X3W Championship belt. She calmly folds the belt up, and places it, faceplate up, in her lap.]
“And after I had won this, Kat, you were given another opportunity. One of five people selected for a round-robin tournament, with the winner moving on to face me at Fatal Attraction. And you got beaten by everybody but the hapless Holden Tyco Malone. Fourth place of five. Was that really the best you could do? This title represents the pinnacle in wrestling achievment, and I gave everything I had to win it. And when I see someone handed the opportunity you were given, and choose to make NOTHING of it, well, disappointed is hardly a powerful enough word.”
[Wendy scoffs, and shakes her head again, her voice continues to be fairly mild]
“This is not an accusation that I enjoy making, nor is it one that I make lightly. But Kat, anyone can see that your effort, your attitude over the past six months has been lacking. I don’t know why, and I honestly don’t care. But you owe it to your fans, your competitors, and yourself to give a lot more than you’re giving, and I think it’s time someone called you out on it.”
[Wendy spreads her arms wide, almost in invitation]
“So, at the risk of sounding arrogant, maybe this is what you need. A one on one match with the X3 Champion herself. A chance to prove to the world just exactly what ‘The Beautiful Nightmare’ is made of. If you even just put on a good showing, you can regain so much of the respect you’ve lost in everyone’s eyes. And if you manage to win, you’ll launch yourself into position to actually challenge for this belt after Fatal Attraction, regardless of who’s holding it.”
[Wendy’s eyes narrow a bit]
“I don’t think its an opportunity you’ve earned or deserved, but you have it, and you darn well better make the most of it. At the very least, maybe facing me will remind you what it actually takes to be a champion in this business. It doesn’t matter who I’m facing, where I am, or what the match is, I give everything I have whenever I step into that ring, and it’s going to be no exception for you tomorrow night.”
[Another small pause, before Wendy swallows hard.]
“See, Kat, some people might have thought Judgment Day was Saturday, but for you, it will be Tuesday. Because if you can’t get up for a match against the X3W Champion, if you can’t give everything you have against Wendy Briese, then maybe you need to get out of X3W before you- or someone else- gets hurt.”
[Wendy looks up into the camera again]
“It’s a harsh thing to say, Kat, but you need to hear it. So do yourself a favor, and don’t hold back tomorrow night. I’ll be in that ring waiting for you, and you can bet that I’ll be showing you just why I’m the X3 champion. But if you leave everything out in that ring, and show the world the Katherine Stryfe of old, then I know that you and I are going to bring the house down, and have an amazing contest between us. And that’s something you need desperately, Katherine Stryfe.”
[Another small pause, and Wendy takes another deep breath]
“Because your career might just be depending on it.”
[Fade]
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