End of the Year Special Open Invitational

[Braddock]

1 of 2 for Angelica Jones

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December 18th, 2023
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Transitioning from a very full and active life to a semi-retired, laid back, and relaxed lifestyle can be easy for some people.  Many like the thought of waking up without a care in the world and not having to do anything for the rest of the day.  The thought of no longer being bound by the same nine to five routine is appealing to many people.  Yet there are also those who still feel the need to have a purpose in life, to have something to do.  This is especially true for professional wrestlers.  The idea of traveling all over the country, even the world, to packed arenas or even just simply semi-packed arenas, competing in front of the crowds against other wrestlers each and every week for damn near every week of the calendar year becomes commonplace for a professional wrestler.  It becomes all that they know, it becomes part of their identity.  The transition from this very active and very busy schedule into semi-retirement is not that easy for a professional wrestler.  This is true for Angelica Jones, because wrestling was not just a career for her, it was so much more than that.  Wrestling, quite literally, saved her life.  She had lost her parents, her family, everything.  But she managed to regain it all through wrestling.  She regained a sense of purpose through wrestling.  She supported herself and rebuilt herself from the ground up through wrestling.  What started as a very unlikely career became a massive success, winning thirteen world championships and being inducted into four separate wrestling Halls of Fame.  Angelica has had a career that anyone would be envious of and a career that she should be able to retire happily knowing that she was a success.

Retirement hasn’t proven easy for The Dragon.  Shortly after formal retirement she announced she was taking a job as general manager of the Fever brand in Global Championship Wrestling. Later she would begin to manage her own daughter’s, Kimberly Williams, career in Supreme Championship Wrestling. Then she took on part time wrestling contracts in smaller promotions.  Angelica quickly realized the transition into retirement would be difficult if not downright impossible for her to achieve.  The Golden Goddess cannot seem to force herself into full retirement.  She cannot find it within her to stop doing this job that she is so passionate about. Whether she is managing someone’s career, booking a show, or wrestling part time, Angelica Jones just cannot and will not permanently exit the squared circle.

Its a Monday morning in Boston, Massachusetts.  The morning mass at Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church has just come to an end and the worshipers are exiting the main worship area and making their way into the transitional space between sacred and secular, the narthex, an area where the priest stands greeting the parishioners as they exit mass and leave out the front doors for their cars.  Religious artwork and flickering candles line the walls.  It creates quite the lovely atmosphere.  Angelica Jones typically enjoys this artwork and beauty but she isn’t paying much attention to it this morning.  Her head is in a different space right now despite her body physically being present here at this church.  Jones is wearing an ankle length maxi black skirt, black high heel pumps, and a crimson red blouse.  She is so out of it right now that she passes right by the priest without even a word, which is unusual for the very religious Jones.  Instead, Angelica just exits through the front door and into the outside Boston air.  She cannot help but worry if she is making the right decision or if she is being selfish.

“Sister Angelica?” The familiar voice snaps The Dragon out of her trance. Very few people alive today recall the very brief period in Angelica’s life when she herself was a nun, when she did answer to the name Sister Angelica. And only one person still calls her that to this day despite Angelica’s protests against it. The redhead turns around and finds a nun.  This particular Sister is just a few years younger than Angelica.  She is wearing a black and white tunic, her habit, and a veil covering her face.  She removes the veil and Angelica immediately smiles warmly.

“Oh, hi Sister Maria…”

“It is nice to see you this morning.  Though I must admit it was a little surprising to see you.”

“Surprising, huh?” Angelica laughs quietly. “The Church may frown upon my lifestyle but I am still very much a dedicated Catholic, much like our President.”

“I do not question your dedication to the faith, Sister Angelica, I just know your routine and as dedicated as you are, you almost never attend weekday masses.”

“Well I can’t be at every service, y’know?” Angelica shrugs her shoulders. “I wish I could be here more often.  This church is one of the few places where I can put my mind at ease, where I can just relax and meditate.  If I could be here more often I would.  But I’m too busy.”

“Something must be bothering you very much to make you want to attend this morning.  Correct?” Maria asks. Angelica sighs.

“Not necessarily…” despite the denial, her own voice betrays her. Angelica’s voice is quiet and troubled.  Sister Maria can detect her voice cracking.  She approaches her friend and places her hand on Angelica’s shoulder.

“What’s troubling you?”

“Sister Maria, you and I have been so close for so very long.  There are very few people outside of my family who know me as well as you do.” She shakes her head. “But I’m not sure even you would understand my problem.”

Sister Maria and Angelica go way back.  They met when during Angelica’s brief stint as a nun in the Catholic Church.  Maria’s family, for all intents and purposes, forced her into the religious life.  Angelica helped her to cope with the change and to not only survive but to thrive.  Maria might not have survived had it not been for Angelica’s guidance.  Angelica and Maria were so close that she named one of her daughters after her.  Even after leaving the convent, Angelica still kept in contact with her friend Maria.  To this day they meet regularly to talk about the goings on in one another’s lives and they still have proven to be reliable help to one another when necessary.  Sister Maria takes Angelica by her hand.  Angelica looks into her eyes and sighs.  She relents and nods her head.  Angelica allows herself to be guided by the nun off to the side where there is a black rod iron bench.  They sit down on the bench and Maria looks into Angelica’s eyes.

“So tell me, Sister Angelica, what’s wrong?”

“You know me, Maria.  You know that professional wrestling has defined me and defined my life ever since it saved my life decades ago.  I joined the convent because I thought I had nothing else in my life.  I thought I had lost everything, I thought I had lost my entire family, but then when I discovered that my baby sister was still alive and competing as a wrestler?” Tears form in her eyes and a smile forms across her face as she recalls this fond memory. “I had to leave the convent.  I had to leave religious life behind so I could reunite with what little family I had left.  That was my motivation to entering the crazy world of professional wrestling; so that I could be with my family.” Maria hands Angelica a tissue.  Jones uses it to wipe the tears from her eyes. “It was a wonderful turning point in my life.  So many other good things started happening to me after that.  I had to give my own children at birth in order to avoid scandal within the church.  Wrestling provided me with a good financial base to support myself.  I met my husband, Andreas Lasiewicz.  We got married and had a child.  I also was able to regain custody of my first child…” she sighs “...well, one of my first children, Marie.  I had assumed Kim was dead.  But at least I had a family, I had my children, and I was damn good at my job.  I won thirteen world championships in my career.  And later in my career I would reunite with Kim.  Everything seemed so perfect.”

“It certainly does sound like quite the fairy tell ending.” Sister Maria states. “So what is the problem?”

“Yes, it does seem like a fairy tell.” Angelica nods her head. “And that’s just it, it IS just a fairy tale.  The reality is that I have been very selfish.  My own greed and desire to be the best drove my husband away.” Jones chuckles. “The church frowns on divorce, yet I have been married and divorced three times now.  And each time my selfishness, my desire to put my career ahead of my family drove them away.  I may be on good terms with Kim now, and we may have a wonderful bond as mother and daughter now, but when we first were reunited she wanted to kill me.  Literally.  And who can blame her?  I gave her and her sister up at birth.”

Sister Maria pats Angelica on the back to comfort her. “No one can blame you for making mistakes.  You were young.  You were a teenager when you had Marie and Kim.  How can anyone judge you for that?  Besides, you said it yourself, you are on good terms with them.”

“Are we on good terms?  Really?” Angelica seems skeptical. “All I know is that I feel responsible for much of what has gone wrong with my life and my children’s lives.  Kim has overcome her difficulties and I do feel good that I played a role in helping her overcome it.  I feel good knowing that I still help her out in SCW to this day.  But what about Marie?” Jones shakes her head. “I fear that my own madness has been passed down to her.” Angelica buries her face in her hands.  Her emotions become overwhelming and she starts to cry.  Sister Maria pats her on the back.

“What do you mean?”

“She left!”

“Where did she go?”

“She left the family…she left her own son…she’s joined a cult…” Angelica’s voice trails off. Maria can see the very real pain etched across her face “...and I can’t help but blame myself.”

“It isn’t your fault.” Maria says sternly. “We are all responsible for our own actions.”

“I know this.” Angelica sighs and shakes her head. “But I cannot help but wonder, would things have been different had I not been selfish?  Would things have been different had I not pursued wrestling out of greed?”

“Sister Angelica…” Maria laughs lightly “...you are silly.”

“Silly?” Angelica asks incredulously. “How the hell do you get off calling me silly?!”

“Forgive me, but you said it yourself, you became a wrestler not so that you could become a big celebrity, not to make money, and you didn’t become a wrestler to win championships.  Your primary purpose in becoming a wrestler was to reunite your family.  You did that.  You found love, you found your sister, you found your children.  That’s what you wanted from wrestling and you got it.  So what if some other opportunities happened to fall into your lap along the way?  That isn’t selfishness on your part.  That’s a gift from God.”

Angelica’s fierce anger at being called silly slowly turns into a happy, warm grin.  She slowly realizes that her longtime friend, Sister Maria, is right.  This has nothing to do with selfishness or greed.  And in truth, while Angelica has made mistakes along the way, all in all she has done quite a lot to make up for those mistakes and she has done her best to be a good mother to her children.  She embraces the nun in a tight hug.

“Thank you, Sister Maria.  You always seem to know the right words to say.”

“Don’t mention it, Sister Angelica.” She winks. “You had to calm me down once before, if I recall. I am merely returning the favor.”

“And you’re right, wrestling has been very kind to me.  Which I suppose is why I find it so difficult to let it go.”

“Do I detect another problem, my friend?” Maria asks. Angelica sighs.

“Maybe.  About two years ago I announced my retirement.  Yet I still haven’t completely retired.  I’m very busy in the wrestling business whether its as my daughter’s manager, as a promoter, and sometimes as a part time wrestler.” She shakes her head. “I just cannot find it in myself to step away.”

“And who says you have to step away?” Maria asks. “If you feel you still have something left to give, then by all means, continue to do this job that you love.  Just make sure that it is for the right reasons.  Make sure your motives are pure.  You got into wrestling for the right reasons; to save your family.  As long as your motivation to continue this business is pure, I see nothing wrong with continuing.”

Yet again more wise words come from Sister Maria.  Angelica Jones does feel like she has more to offer this business, she feels as if she can still give more to the fans who helped make her the success that she is today.  And with the year 2023 drawing to a close, Angelica has the perfect idea of where she can go to give back to the business that has given her so much.