Konrad Raab vs. Marie Jones

[The Matt]

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June 29th, 2024
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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The opulent, luxurious home of Marie Annabelle Jones and her son Sean Connor Jones is silent at this moment. The silence is due primarily to the fact that Sean is away at the moment. He has spent the majority of the day with Marie’s new boyfriend, an ex-con biker named Death’s Head, aka Percy Matthews, who is looking to turn his life around. Percy has been a God-send for Jones. Marie has long wanted someone who could step in and be a father figure to Sean. Percy not only fills that void but he also is able to teach Sean self-defense skills and other fighting skills, all of which Sean will need in the near future as her teenage son looks to begin his own quest to follow in his mother and grandmother’s footsteps into the wrestling world. Marie finds it hard to believe that her family is about to produce its first third generation wrestler and yet, it is on the verge of coming to pass.

Marie is dressed in modest feminine fashion that enhances her natural beauty without drawing undue attention. She wears a knee-length, navy blue dress made of a soft, flowing fabric that drapes elegantly over her figure. The dress has a high neckline and long sleeves, with subtle lace detailing at the cuffs and hem. She accessorizes with a simple pearl necklace and matching stud earrings, adding a touch of classic sophistication. Her shoes are a pair of low-heeled, nude pumps that are both stylish and practical. She has shoulder-length red hair that falls in soft waves around her face, complementing her clear, porcelain complexion. The Phoenix finds comfort in this alone time she has right now in her opulent living room. The room is adorned with rich, dark wood furniture, plush velvet upholstery, and intricate Persian rugs that cover the polished hardwood floor, a large fireplace crackles gently in one corner, adding to the cozy ambiance. Marie sits on an overstuffed, deep green velvet sofa, her posture relaxed yet poised. She has one leg crossed over the other and rests her hands gently in her lap. Her expression is thoughtful, lost in contemplation. And there is quite a bit to think about. Marie had returned lock a rocket and quickly made waves. She quickly made an impact. Unfortunately after a quick bout of success, The Phoenix has been dealt defeat after defeat. In fact, Jones has not tasted victory since shortly before her victory over Gavin Taylor that earned her a shot at the Adrenaline Title. But she failed to capture the title and she lost every subsequent match since then.

After another loss, this time to Magical Cosmic Princess YUYO, who may or may not have confused her with her identical twin sister Kimberly Williams, The Phoenix was convinced that her opportunities had run out. She had convinced that, yet again, she would become an afterthought in professional wrestling, the forgotten Jones, if you will. But much to her surprise a tournament to crown a new number one contender to the Adrenaline Title, a tournament to see who will challenge for that title at Rise To Greatness, was announced and Marie Jones was among the field of potential challengers included in the tournament. But does Marie truly feel as if she belongs amongst this field of eight? She doesn’t think much of either Ravyn or Autumn…Fall, whatever. She already defeated Gavin Taylor. But David Striker, Chris Lawler, or even her first round opponent Konrad? What about the person who beat her last week, YUYO, she is also part of this tournament. Does Marie truly belong?

The honest answer is that she probably doesn’t belong. However opportunities like this do not come very often and Marie also remembers the wisdom taught to her by her mother, the famous Angelica Jones; it isn’t always about earning opportunities but taking advantage of them when you receive them. Marie has an opportunity to turn her fortunes around in a big way in one single night elimination tournament. No one can question or doubt whether or not she belongs if she can manage to fight her way through three opponents in one night to earn a shot at the Adrenaline Title. These thoughts keep her going, these thoughts keep driving her forward. Jones is startled out of her deep thoughts with the sound of her front door opening. She is startled at first but looks at the clock on a wall. It is getting late in the afternoon, it is about time for Percy and Sean to return from their day’s worth of training. Sure enough, she quickly hears the sounds of her two favorite guys; her son Sean and her boyfriend Percy. The Phoenix rises up off of the sofa in time to see Percy and Sean entering the room. Both are covered head to toe in sweat, an obvious sign of the hard work they put in today. A warm, pleasant smile forms across her face.

“So, did you two have fun?”

“It was awesome!” Sean exclaims. “Death’s Head taught me some roundhouse kicks!”

“Roundhouse kicks, huh?” Marie smirks as she turns her attention to Percy. “Thought you two were working on self-defense?”

“We were but the kiddo is such a quick learner I figured, you know, why not try some of the harder stuff?”

“Really?” Marie looks back down at Sean. “And how are your roundhouse kicks?” Sean smiles sheepishly and shrugs his shoulders.

“Eh…not so good…”

“But he’ll get better at it.” Percy ruffles Sean’s hair. “Right, kid?”

“Right!”

“I’m glad you two had a good time.” Marie walks over and pats Sean on the back. “Now why don’t you go upstairs, take a shower, get cleaned up, and change into some clean clothes? Afterwards me, you, and Percy can go out for some ice cream. Does that sound good?”

“Sure thing, mom!” Sean’s voice is full of thrill and excitement. He quickly runs off, out of the living room. Marie chuckles as she hears his footsteps dashing up the stairs. She hears him slam a door shut. Marie then looks over at Percy. She walks over and embraces him in a big hug.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Percy begins “because you do look spectacular and all, and I’d hate to ruin your outfit.”

“It’s a price I’m willing to pay.” Marie says quietly before kissing him on his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too, babe.”

Percy’s warm embrace is comforting and calming. Marie forgets about every problem she has, including her downward spiral since losing at Taking Hold of the Flame. She forgets about the recent return of the Buchanan family into her lives, sparking the possibility of more trouble with her ex-girlfriend Julianne. Being with Percy makes Marie feel safe. She knows that as long as she is with him, she has no more problems. Shortly, the embrace is broken. Marie and Percy make their way over to the sofa and they sit down. Percy wraps his arm around Marie’s shoulders and she nestles her head on his chest.

“Y’know, if we ARE going out, and you’re making Sean get cleaned up, maybe I should get cleaned up too?”

“That can wait.” Marie says quietly. “Let’s just stay and talk.”

“Sure. What do you wanna talk about?”

“How about us?” Marie turns her head to look up into Percy’s eyes. She smiles lovingly at him. “I am damaged goods. You know that. Some of it is through no fault of my own, some of it is definitely my fault. But I am definitely damaged goods.”

“Hell, we’re both damaged goods, babe.” Percy says as he runs his hand through her long red hair. “I was on the wrong side of the law for a long time. I nearly got myself killed. I served time in prison. It’s been hard trying to rebuild my life. Neither one of us is perfect.”

“Maybe that’s the irony of it all?” Marie says with a bit of a laugh. “We are both damaged goods but together we are whole, together we fix and repair the damaged parts of the other. Sean deserves a good male role model to look up to and you give him that.”

“I’m hardly a good role model.” Percy scoffs. “Remember, I’m an ex-con.”

“But you turned your life. You changed for the better. Now that is a good example for someone like Sean…” she sighs “...and for me. You wouldn’t believe how much I would beat myself up over not once but twice allowing myself to be drawn into that Inner Peace cult at the expense of my family and my career.”

“Wrong again. I CAN believe it.” Percy says gruffly. “It’s a lot like the gangs I would be a part of; they make you feel a sense of belonging. They pretend to fill the void in your soul. But really they’re just corrupting ya. There was a time that I would take a bullet for my so-called brothers in the biker gangs.” He shakes his head. “Not anymore. It’s all a lie. I see that now. The brotherhood was a lie.”

“Just like Inner Peace was a lie.” Marie remarks pointedly. “I won’t let myself get drawn into that lie anymore.”

“Speaking of which,” Percy stares down at Marie questioningly “what about that guy you saw the other week? The stalker. What was his name?”

“Brandon?”

“Yeah, him.” Percy states with a nod of his head. “Are you still ok? I remember that shook you up pretty bad.”

Marie nods her head. To say otherwise would be a lie. Brandon Buchanan is the older brother of Julianne Buchanan, Marie’s ex-lover. He was a clear and obvious reminder of Marie’s past involvement with the deceptive Julianne and their shared past in Inner Peace that nearly destroyed Marie’s life. Needless to say, seeing him again definitely shook her up in a big way.

“I admit, at first it really did bother me.” Marie says. “It’s not Brandon so much as it is his sister.” She sighs. “Julianne did a lot of damage to me emotionally and mentally. It isn’t Brandon’s fault, but just seeing him brought back some horrible memories. That’s all.”

“What did the creep want anyway?”

“It was just as I suspected. He wants me to help his sister.”

“Oh yeah?” Percy is curious. “Did ya call him?”

“I didn’t have to.” She shakes her head. “It was on the news. Raul Alfaro was the leader of Inner Peace. He kept us girls in line. We were practically his sex slaves, for all intents and purposes. He had us brainwashed.” She sighs as she fights back the painful memories. “Raul and Julianne are both under investigation but Julianne had remained loyal to Raul until now. She wants to plead insanity, claiming that Raul brainwashed her.”

“So why does her brother want ya?”

“Well the district attorney isn’t having any of it. The prosecution isn’t buying her story. They’re going to fight the insanity plea and try to charge her with as much as they’re charging Raul. Brandon thinks that if I speak to the district attorney, if I confirm that Julianne is telling the truth, then maybe they will drop the charges, or at least let her plead insanity and accept it. That way she would get time in a mental hospital instead of prison time.”

“I have had my fair share of dealings with prosecutors and DAs.” Percy answers gruffly. “Do ya think Julianne is sincere?”

“I dunno.” Marie shrugs her shoulders. Percy stares down at her skeptically.

“No offense, babe, but how can you not know? I mean, you were part of that same cult as she was; you should know if you both were being brainwashed or not, you of all people should know if her insanity plea has merit.”

“But Julianne has lied to me…” she holds up three fingers “...three times now she’s lied to me! She has tried to deceive and manipulate me three times, Percy! I honestly would not put it past her to be trying to manipulate the system again and she wants to use me to do it.”

“I understand.” He nods his head and rubs her shoulders gently, comfortingly. “But I also know people can change. Mels set us up, remember? She had a bit of a criminal background too and she changed. And need I remind you that you yourself changed for the better.”

“Are you implying that I should talk to Julianne?” Marie asks. Percy nods his head.

“Maybe? I mean, what could it hurt to just hear her out? Y’know?”

“I don’t know.” Marie sighs. “She’s tricked me before…”

“Then keep your guard up.” Percy states. “You know who she is and what she is capable of; so keep your guard up, do not take what she says at face value. But at least hear her out. Because what if she is trying to change? What if is being sincere this time?”

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On Camera
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You know, this is starting to become a rather frustrating pattern, isn’t it guys? Guys? Y’know, my sister has her Kimmymaniacs, maybe my fanbase can be the Phoenix Fans? Let’s slap that on a t-shirt and see if it sells! If not, back to the drawing board. Speaking of back to the drawing board, once again it is back to the drawing board as I look to pick up the pieces from yet another disappointing loss.

Hey, there’s no shame in losing to a Magical Cosmic Princess, I assume. Especially not one who has been on a massive roll lately. And hopefully I will meet her in the finals of this tournament so that I can get a chance at avenging that loss.

What tournament, you ask? The tournament to determine a number one contender for the Adrenaline Championship, the next opponent for Bree Lancaster at Rise To Greatness. That’s another loss I’d like to avenge.

But I’m getting way ahead of myself, am I right Phoenix Fans? Before I even think about a rematch against YUYO in the finals or a title shot against Bree at Rise To Greatness, I think i should turn my attention to a certain hate filled troll who has a strange sense of respect towards my sister.

Hi there, Oktoberfest. Can I call you Oktoberfest? Actually, I don’t care. You’re not exactly respectful to me so why should I be respectful towards you? You may not be respectful but one thing you definitely are is unique. In fact, some might argue that you are an…enigma.

Yeah. I went there. Deal with it.

I mean, you used to be a great guy, Raab. What happened to you? Was it the kool-aid force fed to you by Giovanni Aries? Was it the sick sexual gratification you got from being treated like garbage by your so-called pals from The Jackals? You became the epitome of any and all sick fetishes in the book. You were cast aside like yesterday’s news. They didn’t want you anymore. The truth is, Oktoberfest, they didn’t NEED YOU anymore. Did they ever need you in the first place?

You had your chance to prove them wrong. Sure, you won the Underground Title from Lucas Knight. But then my sister came along and proved that it was a fluke when she took it from you. You’ve been Television Champion three times. Congrats on that, I suppose. But you want to know what really makes you so different from everyone else?

Opportunity stares you in the face but you don’t care. So many opportunities are out there for a veteran like you, someone who has been with SCW for so long, who has battled some of the best SCW has had to offer; you could easily make a case for a title shot against any champion you wanted, even if it was just ONE title shot. But you don’t want it. You don’t care about these opportunities. There are members of this roster who would kill for opportunities that you have been offered and turned away. I would dare say you don’t particularly want this Adrenaline Title opportunity, you have thumbed your nose at title shots before. What makes me believe this is any different? There are roster members who would kill to be in this tournament. But they aren’t in it, you have their spot, Raab. But you don’t care about this opportunity.

You want The Enigma. You want Shaun Cruze. You want to be at a NASCAR race. You want to be Captain fucking Planet and save the world. Are you even in this wrestling business for the right reasons?

Maybe I’m wrong? Hell, maybe for once in your career you finally have it figured out and you realize what a huge honor it would be to challenge Bree Lancaster at Rise To Greatness for the Adrenaline Title? But until you prove otherwise, I have my doubts. I doubt your heart and your passion. And I will be damned if someone who lacks the heart and passion will prevent me from taking that giant first step in this tournament.

I will beat you, Raab. Bring all the violence you got, because you’re gonna learn real quick that Kim isn’t the only person in the family who can be sadistic and violent. I will put you down and move on in the tournament, getting ever so closer to my goal. And that is all I have to say to you.

The rest of the field? You just wait. Just wait, I have more to say, much more to say. Until then, just know this…know that this Phoenix will fly…