Thursday April 16, 2015
1:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Grand Park- Fountains
Los Angeles, California
Well, alls well that ends well, right?
Thanks to Cassie’s excellent use of diplomacy, the North Marion Speedway’s opening night ended up being saved, with her managing to convince all the Modified and Late Model drivers to stick around and run. And after parading Fifi Calipari around the pit area on her walk of shame (of which she muttered maybe two half-hearted apologies), she was also subsequently thrown out of the track, receiving a round of applause from the still disgruntled drivers.
Terrence wasn’t so keen about Wendy causing strife with the upper management his racing team, but even he had to admit the stickers were over the line. He was also five pounds lighter, thanks to a bad plate of chicken wings he’d picked up earlier from Kroger. Let’s just say there was a good reason he didn’t answer Cassie’s cries for help.
So with the NMS now fully opened and operational for the 2015 season, it was a tired, yet happy Wendy that hopped on a plane early Wednesday morning to Los Angeles. And so it’s a beautiful day in the City of Angels, a city that’s seen too many beautiful days and not enough rain over the past couple of the years. And with the infamous Santa Ana winds blowing, the risk of fire is going to be astronomical this week.
Although that’s nothing compared to the conflagration that’s about to be unleashed in the Staples Center tonight.
And thus we see Wendy Briese, standing in LA’s famous Grand Park, about a mile north of the arena. Wendy is infront of the fountains, dressed for the warm weather in a short sleeved blouse and a pair of capri pants.
“It’s always a gala event when FFW comes to Los Angeles,” the redhead begins, looking around at the city., “Doesn’t matter if it’s your standard weekly television fare or a pay per view, when it comes to the City of Angels, all stops are pulled!”
“It makes sense too, after all. This is the home of FFW, the vast majority of our corporate offices are here. It’s where our first show was, where we film the vast majority of Future Shock, and one of the most frequently visited cities in our company’s history. We’ve seen some of the biggest main events this company has ever had in this city, from Valerie against Isabella in the very first show, to Scarlett and Isabella wrestling to a draw for the FFW Championship, to Eileen and Tara in a submissions match.”
She pauses, grimacing a little. “And last July, Wendy Briese versus Mikaela Demidov for the FFW Championship. The same match that’s scheduled for tonight, although this time I’M the one who’s bringing the belt in her luggage.”
“In truth, I think you can say this is the prime individual rivalry in FFW right now. I know, I know…. you all voted Mika vs. Scarlett the feud of the year last year, but the fact of the matter is that the moment Scarlett beat Mika to win her title back, it was over. It was settled. It seems I could beat Mika from now until the cows come home, and it still won’t be settled. We’re just too opposed, too stubborn for either of us to wave the white flag.”
“But you know what? I get a little bit ANNOYED when people keep talking about this like its some sort of a rubber match. Right, the fact of the matter is that this now the SIXTH time I’ve stood across the ring from Mika in a wrestling match, and of the previous five times, I’ve been on the winning side four of them. And to heck with this notion that it doesn’t count if it’s a tag match or a fatal four-way where someone may be defeated without taking a fall. I don’t wrestle in matches that ‘don’t count’. I view my blood, sweat, time, and talent too highly to waste it on something ‘meaningless’.”
“But it’s that one match… that one loss that everyone remembers,” Wendy’s voice quiets, her face darkening in irriatation. “Maybe it was because it was for the FFW Championship, maybe it was because it was at Unstoppable, maybe its because it was so surprising, or maybe it’s because i didn’t throw a full-fledged ticker tape parade after any of the times I won. But it seems that loss seems to bear more weight than any of the four wins I have…”
“See, for as much as Mika detests me, losing to me doesn’t seem to bother her too much. She makes up an excuse, blames someone else if she can, and shrugs it off. It’s the standards of a woman who barely wins half her matches over the course of a year, then stands in the middle of the ring with a microphone and acts like she’s performed some historical greatness.”
“But when I lost to Mika…” Wendy pauses, clearly emotional. “It was devastating. I’m not going to hide it. It was painful as any loss I’ve ever taken over the years. The time I spent preparing, the way it ended, hearing her gloat in the aftermath…”
“Every single time I lose, I take a long hard look at myself. What could I have done better? Where did it go wrong? There’s a darn good reason why you can count the women in this company who have beaten me more than once on a single hand. I LEARN from my mistakes. I get BETTER.”
“But losing to Mika… as unclean as it was… that caused me to do some things I’d never done before. I changed up my training regime, my analysis. I turned my own sense of preparation on its head because of that loss. I even went out and looked for a new finishing move. Not since I began implimentation of the Banshee in early 2003 had I actually bothered looking for a new move to finish a match with, but after the way that ended… and that’s how the Hook Echo was born. I spent two months perfecting it, making sure that I could pull it off without KILLING someone, before springing it on Valerie last September.”
“Unstoppable 2014.. was one of the most painful losses of my career. But you know what, as of the moment I stand here, nearly nine months later… it’s been the LAST loss of my career as well. Nine months, nearly. And in that time I’ve beaten the best both FFW AND SVW have to offer. And I’ve gotten this back,” she finishes, holding up the FFW Championship, and placing it over her shoulder.
“So here we are, Mika. Back at the scene of the crime. The venue’s the same. The prize is the same. The match type is the same. I wouldn’t be surprised if even the referee is the same. There’s one thing that’s not the same though. Me. You’re facing a better me. A smarter me. One who’s learned her lessons, and one who’s dealt with your CRAP once, and has resolved never again"
“And what about you, Mika? Have you gotten better? Or is it the same old Mika with the same old tired act? Didn’t I give you enough proof the last time how stupid it sounds when you stand in that ring next to Kyle, and brag about how you’re the only special little snowflake in this company who applies to some esoteric statistic? And yet, there you were on the last Breaking Point… doing it again about how you’re the only one who’s beaten everyone else in this so called ‘elite four’. And this time, its not even accurate… unless one on one matches are the only thing that counts in wrestling… in which case...why even have anything else?” Wendy finishes asking with a bemused shrug.
“I guess the question I have to ask is… do you even learn from your mistakes? Because you’re STILL wasting time in that ring, acting like an arrogant, obnoxious, disrespectful buffoon. You’re STILL throwing hissyfits with the referee over every single call you disagree with. And you STILL are incapable of any discourse beyond spewing every single petty insult you can think of without rhyme, reason, or any regard for what you are actually saying. And when that fails, you STILL resort to the same stock Wendy Briese rhetoric you always do. I’m a Puritan! I’m a suck-up! I’m a hypocrite!’
“That last one always amuses me, because for all that you like to call me a hypocrite, you’ve never actually managed to come up with one specific example. Or is “hypocrite” to you the same thing “slander” is for Jodie- you don’t actually know what it means, but it sounds good and biting, so let’s throw it out as much as we can?” Wendy shakes her head, almost amused this time, although she does sigh. “I mean, come on, Mika… really? It’s gotten so sad you actually need ME to pick out the cute little derogatory nickname for you to use! Although Shamrock does have a nice ring to it,” she finishes with a small chuckle.
“Honestly, Mika, if you really want to know how just plain OFF you are in all this, look no further than your last rant about me, when you actually said… and I quote… ‘Admit it, Gwendolyn: you're as ambitious as the rest of us -- which is not a problem to me! The problem with that is that you're too proud and too prudish to admit it.’
There’s a long pause before Wendy bursts out laughing, shaking her head. “Not admitting I’m ambitious? NOT ADMITTING… Mika… OF COURSE I’M AMBITIOUS! I said in my very first promo when I was facing CHARITY DEAS that my goal was the FFW Championship, and I was going to get there. I told Kaitlynn Stryfe, point blank in my FOURTH MONTH HERE that I wanted to be in the Elimination Chamber more than her. I’ve said multiple times that there isn’t a woman in this company I’m incapable of beating. I’m the one who took one look at this upcoming gauntlet run for the FFW Championship and said I wanted to be the FIRST IN LINE, because I wanted to be the one to see if I can make it through it all? Of course Im ambitious! EVERY WOMAN IN THIS COMPANY SHOULD BE!”
“Or is ‘ambitious’ yet ANOTHER word you like to throw around despite not knowing what it actually means? Did you think it meant something like lacking scruples, willing to backstab and step on others to get their way? NO! It simply means a desire to accomplish or achieve something. You can be highly ambitious and still have ethics and morals. TRUST ME.”
“I daresay, Mika… I might be the MOST ambitious person in this company. I dreamed big the moment I set foot in these doors and even now, with two FFW Championship reigns and a berth in the Hall of Fame, I STILL desire more, starting with getting as long as a defense run as i possibly can with this championship. And when my time is up with this title, I am beaten, and forced to pass it along, whether that’s tonight or whenever, then I’ll turn around and come right back at it, and try to get reign number THREE!”
“Why do you think I want a match with Scarlett so badly, Mika?” Wendy asks, looking at the camera, her voice as animated as we’ve ever seen it in a promo. “Because I’m AMBITIOUS. Because I know that match has every potential in the world to be the greatest match in the history of this company- in the ENTIRE history of women’s wrestling! And I want to be a part of that!”
“Me being on Team Cody at Relentless? Guess what? AMBITION! Not for personal glory, this time, NO. I have a DREAM and a VISION of this sport and company, one that I’ve NEVER shied away from, whether I saw eye to eye with my bosses or NOT. And I believe in FIGHTING to make that dream a reality… as best I can! That’s what this match is all about! Two people, who have different views of what FFW should be, willing to do BATTLE over their ideas with people who SUPPORT them! And what is more ambitious than fulfilling your own idealism?!”
“And you know who I pity?” Wendy asks, taking a deep breath, calming her self down a little. “I pity the people like you, Mika. And Chris Sanderson. THe people who sit on Twitter and WHINE about me being ‘judgmental’. Everyone’s judgmental… its part of human nature to have opinions and make decisions on things. And those who simply sit there and cry about me having ideals, and working towards them, are upset because they are simply IMPOTENT to make their own dreams a reality.”
“And you know it’s true, don’t you Mika? You can’t stop me, you can’t stop my ambition. Last July you slowed me down, but it only DELAYED me in the long run. I STILL got here, I still got my belt. And despite the fact that you seemed to care more about stopping it than winning the match for yourself, I *STILL* get my dream match with Scarlett. Maybe a little later than planned, and certainly the question of whether or not this FFW Championship is going to be on the line when it happens is up in the air- there’s three VERY difficult defenses before that after all, tonight being number one. But ITS HAPPENING, for all you’ve tried to do to prevent it.”
“And that’s why I think ultimately Mika, for all you’ve gloated over my setbacks, whether you had anything to do with them or not, when the time came for you to participate in the one thing that could have hurt myself AND Scarlett the MOST, you put your hand down. You stepped back. You wanted no part of Team Isabella, despite her declaring you the CHOSEN ONE. Because you’d be up against myself, and four other women like me- women NOT afraid to fight for what they believe in, and NOT afraid to fight for a friend! Knowing you can’t ultimately stop just myself, how the HECK are you going to stop FIVE of us… and best of luck to anyone who dares to try!”
“And ultimatey, I think you’re kind of jealous of that, aren’t you Mika? I remember you talking last month, poo-poohing the idea of friendships, even going so far as to insist that one day your new protege Karina would turn on you. And that’s gotta, well… suck, Mika, going through life with that BLEAK of an outlook. Especially because all you have to do is look around the locker room to realize just how BUNK it all is. Even in this highly competitive environment, friendships are forged, relationships maintained. People don’t spend their entire lives plotting or expecting betrayal. People understand that just because you might have to tear into each other for a half hour one day, there’s no reason you can’t be amiable in the meantime.” Wendy finishes with a small chuckle.
“I once told you, Mika, that you were only temporary and I was permanent, and that remains true today. You are all about the moment, the fleeting. You’ll get whatever you can by whatever means, and once it’s gone, move on to the next. And because of that you have to be as in your face as possible, hence all the ‘only the lonely’ interviews you have with Kyle, where you have to constantly and constantly REMIND people of your greatness. Its like a firework, only getting a couple of seconds at best to make an impression, and then it’s ashes.”
“I can be in the moment, but I’m here for the long run. I am the most consistent wrestler in this company, and I have been for several years, and I welcome to try and come up with the evidence to refute that. Year to year, my record has remained by and large the same, and always excellent. When I was rising in this company, I rose steadily, and now that I”m at the top, I’ve stayed there for a couple years. There are very few women in this company who come even NEAR the level of performance I put out week to week, month to month, and I am darn proud of that!”
Wendy smiles softly, but proudly. “I’m like a boulder rolling down a hill. Once I get going, I’m darn near impossible to stop, and I want to just keep on rolling. Nine months with out a loss. Nine wins in a row. I want to make it ten… then eleven… then twelve… and just keep on going right on through Unstoppable if i can. Just to see how far I can go with this belt, and on this streak. And you might notice, I’m not holding parades, I’m not in that ring every other week desperately trying to remind everyone how great I am. Heck, before I mentioned it tonight, I doubt anyone else even knew what kind of streak I’ve been on. I’m simply letting my talent, ability, and hard work speak for itself, and getting the job done. And yet people seem to know I’m the champion just as well, Mika, and are far more okay with it, despite me somehow being this horrible unlikeable Puritan.” She gives a small, sarcastic smile.
“But more pressing than that, it’s EXTREMELY important to me that I carry this belt into Relentless,” Wendy continues, her expression turning much more somber. "I know it’ll meant the belt won’t be defended on the pay-per-view, although I’d gladly do it and be booked twice if it was required. But Cammie was right… this upcoming match is one of the FEW things that is more important than this belt. And considering what a champion means to their company, it’ll be awfully fitting for the champion of THIS company to step in the corner of the man who’s helped make this belt the premier belt in all of women’s wrestling. And it’ll be even more fitting for the champion of this company to stand opposite and DEFY the woman who’s trying to tear it down. It’ll be all the more symbolic.”
Wendy spreads her arms out, stretching slightly. “The last time we faced over this belt Mika, you beat me, a win that frustrated me so badly I altered my training more in two weeks than I had the entire decade before that. All of that has been in preparation for tonight, when we would inevitably clash over the title again. It's worked twice before, when we faced, but tonight... tonight is when it counts the most. But whatever happens, Mika, I’m ready for you. This is what I wanted, to run the champions gauntlet through this stacked array of challengers, and tonight, you’re first. And I’m ready for you, I’m prepared for you… I know you about as well as any rival I have in this company, and I’m confident that either I’m winning, or you’re wrestling the best match you ever have, beyond anything anyone’s imagined you capable of. And that's not arrogance, that's the TRUTH of someone who's spent the last three quarters of a year on the greatest run of her professional life and isn't about to stop now. ”
“And no, Mika, this isn’t about saving the title from you. I realize that now, because ther’es nothing you CAN do to this belt that would kill it’s prestige. It’s got too much history, too much prestige, for even someone as miserable as you to stain it. I should have realized that last year, but I was too wrapped up in my own disappointment to see the one thing that TRULY needs to be saved from you is yourself. And that’s not something I can do, only you can do that, and it won’t be happening tonight regardless.”
“So bring everything you got, Mika. Bring your dislike of me, your terrible attitude in general. Bring your cries of hypocrisy and your whines of judmentalism and your own lack of vision. Bring your despair and loneliness and your cute little list of things that only you have ever done. But the Red Star, Mika, and bring that part of you that managed to beat Scarlett Kincaid clean, your finest moment. Bring the hunger. Bring that feeling that this in your guaranteed rematch, that you’ve been waiting for since SEPTEMBER.”
A small soft smile from Wendy, as she pats her title belt.
“But most of all, Mika, bring the knowledge that even with all that, you’re going to need a LOT more if you hope to leave Los Angeles with MY belt.”
And with that, Briese walks off, and the scene fades.
A solid post, sir. The question begs though how is the Briese in 2019?
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