Vengeance vs. The Golden Boys

[The Matt]

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June 29th, 2021
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Taking your best friend out to a party or for a night of dancing and listening to great music, those are good ways to help your best friend “loosen up” but Kimberly Williams is not a normal person. In fact, her methods are more than just merely unorthodox and Kim’s half-sister, “The Archangel” Jessica Lasiewicz, has felt the full brunt of her unorthodox methods ever since reluctantly agreeing to let Kimberly “work her magic” so to speak in an attempt to teach Jessica how to “live a little” as Kimberly and some others would put it. But putting both of them in serious danger in the form of a deadly escape room was certainly not what Jessica expected.

It has been less than twenty four hours since The Archangel’s time in the escape room with her demented half-sister and she still cannot fathom just what Kimberly was expecting to accomplish. Kimberly made the two of them dress in period clothing, try to escape a Revolutionary War themed escape room, all the while being assaulted by paid thugs; one of whom being none other than former SCW wrestler Abigail Lindsey. All this to help Jessica loosen up because, in Kimberly’s own words, Jessica was “boring”.

Jessica didn’t let on that it hurt but in a way it did. Is she boring? Jessica had always assumed that Kimberly’s personality was just so over the top that she naturally overshadowed anyone and everyone she was paired with. But is there truth to Kimberly’s words? Is Jessica a little dull? Does she need to learn to live a little? Since this question bothers The Archangel so much, she is going to find answers in the one place she thinks that she can find answers; from her mother, the former thirteen time world champion and now retired Angelica Jones.

Currently Jessica finds herself in the familial home where she spent most of her time as a child. She notices that little about the exterior or interior of the home has changed, and that is due to how traditional and nostalgic her mother tends to be. Angelica Jones never has been one to embrace change with great enthusiasm. Thus returning here and sitting down in this living room on this sofa is like taking a time machine back to her childhood years. Memories of her formative years growing up are flooding back into Jessica’s mind.

Even then she tended to be a bit dull, Jessica realizes as she thinks back to her childhood. She always just assumed that she matured quicker than most children her age, not that she was dull or never had fun. But while her sisters were always out doing childish things, Jessica was typically busy studying, learning, and educating herself. It paid off later when she was able to finish college early but did it come with the cost of having a fun, normal childhood? Plus there was the added pressure of having two famous wrestling parents. Kim and Marie only have Angelica as a famous wrestling parent. Jessica has not only a famous mother but a famous father in the form of “The Silver Eagle” Andreas Lasiewicz. Jessica always felt pressured to make both of her parents proud, to live up to the legacy both left behind.

“Wine?” The voice of her mother startles Jessica back to attention. She turns and spots Angelica Jones walking into the room carrying two glasses full of red wine. Jessica cannot stifle a grin from her face as she nods her head.

“Sometimes I wonder if you enjoy visits from your children because you love us or simply because it gives you an excuse to drink.”

“What can I say? I am a functioning alcoholic and I love my red wine.”

“You can say that again.” Jessica says as she takes one of the glasses offered by her mother. Angelica then sits down next to her on the sofa. Mother and daughter clink their glasses together in a wordless, soundless toast before taking a sip of their wine. Jessica breaks the ice after that first initial sip. “So how is retirement?”

“I admit that I was afraid at first. Three things have dominated my whole life; church, wrestling, and music. Church led me to meeting Sean Williams who became the father of your sisters Marie and Kim. Wrestling led me to meeting Andreas, your father, who gave me you. When your father and I split up wrestling led me to Sean McBride, who gave me your other sister, Kelly. Wrestling also gave the opportunity to live in the kind of luxury I live in today. I owe so much to wrestling and I didn’t know what I would do without it.”

“But you still have your music career?” Jessica asks. Angelica nods her head.

“Yes, I do. And I think that’s what Marie was trying to tell me, even if she went about it the wrong way. I have other parts of my life I can focus on. Wrestling doesn’t have to be my end all be all. I can finally retire on my own terms and focus on my music career. In fact, my next album should be released soon.”

“That’s great news. So is that what you’ve been doing on your retirement? Just making music?”

“That and some introspection. Heavy thinking.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Jessica says flatly. “Things don’t always work well when you do ‘heavy thinking’, mom.”

“Trust me, Jess, I’ll be fine.” Angelica says as she takes another sip of her wine. “But what about you? How have you and your sister been handling yourselves in SCW as Vengeance?”

Lasiewicz doesn’t like the dodge from her mother. Her words and the dodge, it’s just too cryptic for Jessica’s taste. She does want to know what her mother is up to but that is a concern for another time. Jessica takes another sip of her wine before answering.

“We’ve been more or less treading water. When we weren’t fighting off Giovanni Aries and his Wonderland we were chasing Datura and the Unsanctioned Title.”

“Don’t you mean Lizard Title?” Angelica says with a playful wink. Jessica rolls her eyes.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Sorry, Jess, I just wanted to mess with you. I know almost everything that’s been going on; well, at least on camera, anyway. I have been watching Breakdown regularly to see how you girls have done. I heard you’re facing The Golden Boys on Breakdown.”

Jessica nods her head. “Yes, it is quite an opportunity for Kim and I. I hope we can beat them and put ourselves into the tag title conversation. But…” The Archangel’s voice trails off. Angelica studies her curiously.

“But what?”

“I have a small problem.”

“With Kim?”

“No...well kind of…yes…”

“Which is it?” Angelica asks with her eyebrows arched out of curiosity.

“It’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it for me.” Angelica says dryly. “I am your mother and I am here to help.”

“Is ‘uncomplicate’ even a word?”

“Don’t change the subject. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Fine.” Jessica sighs. “It’s just something Kim said yesterday. She said I need to learn to enjoy myself more. She says I need to loosen up. But the thing that really got me was she said I was boring.”

“She said you were boring?” Angelica asks for clarification purposes. Jessica shrugs her shoulders.

“Technically no, she claimed a bogus poll took by that idiot sleaze Leviticus says I was boring.”

“You can’t trust anything from Leviticus, you know that. What matters is what do you think? Do you think you’re boring?”

“At first I said bullshit to the whole thing. I may not be the most exciting person in the world, I may not even be the most exciting wrestler, but I get the job done when it matters. Wins and losses matter more than ratings. At least that’s what I have always believed. But…” Jessica sighs as she takes a pause to sip her wine “...I got to thinking about me and Kim. I got to thinking about our crowd reaction.”

“The fans seem to love you two.” Angelica says. Jessica nods her head.

“Yeah, when Kim and Datura were trying to staple each other’s asses. When Kim uses that damned penguin, or the Freddy Krueger glove, or the infinity gauntlet as weapons. When Kim drags that stupid Dalek with us. When Kim is fighting over an imaginative, unsanctioned Lizard title...we get cheers when that kind of insanity happens. Hell, when Kim attempted to murder Giovanni on Breakdown we were cheered. And I realized that was all Kim. All of it was her eccentric personality.”

“I think I see where this is going now.”

“Do I need more of a personality?”

“You have plenty of personality, Jess. You just have trouble showing it. But you weren’t always like this. I remember your first stint in SCW. You used my last name instead of your father’s and you used your middle name instead of your first. And your ring gear was a cheerleading uniform.”

“Don’t remind me.” Jessica says blushing. “And don’t tell Kim, otherwise she’ll try to get me back in that stupid getup.”

Angelica chuckles. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay silent. But still, talking about your time as ‘Cheerleader’ Corey Jones, you seemed to show plenty of personality.”

“It was all forced, mom. Most of it, at least.”

“Most of it? So maybe some of you enjoyed it?”

“I don’t know.” Jessica sighs out of frustration. “I really don’t know, mom.”

“I think I do.” Angelica wraps an arm around her shoulder. “You are too much like me and your father. You want to be respected, you want to be taken seriously. And I think a part of you believes that even though Kim is getting cheered that she is NOT necessarily taken seriously.”

“Oh I know she’s not taken serious! How can you take anyone with a penguin as a weapon seriously?”

“It has lead weights in it, to be fair.”

“And its name is Wasley!” Jessica growls. “She isn’t taken seriously but she doesn’t mind one iota. In fact, it is all part of her master plan. She doesn’t want people to take her seriously. She thinks her enemies will underestimate her if they think she’s just a simple lunatic.”

“It is a rather creative plan.”

“That’s not the point. The point is Kim is trying to change me. Now she doesn’t want to be exactly like her, because thankfully she realizes that there can only be one Kimberly Williams and really, the world can only handle one Kimberly Williams. But she does think that I need to enjoy myself more. Do you think she’s right? Do I need to enjoy myself?”

“Now that’s a loaded question, Jess.” Angelica finishes off her wine and then sets the glass down on a nearby table. “Listen, you are a lot like I was; very serious, deadly serious even. And when I was that serious I won world championships. But if you try to take things too seriously you could miss out on a lot of fun. I admit that I do regret not taking the time to enjoy myself a little. So maybe you should let Kim try to show you how to have fun. What could it hurt?”

“What could it hurt? Seriously?”

“Yeah. What could it hurt?”

“Last night she led me to a so-called ‘escape room’ where we were assaulted by a Hell’s Angel biker and Abigail Lindsay.”

Angelica’s eyes grow wide. “She did?”

“Yes. In revolutionary war attire.”

“Ok then…” Angelica gets up and starts to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to get another drink.”

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June 30th, 2021
On Camera
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We open in a dark, dimly lit room. It is so dark that we cannot tell exactly where we are or what is going on. Then a figure steps into the dimly lit room. The feminine silhouette indicates that this is a female and whoever she is, she is wearing dark clothing, making even harder to see her. But when she speaks we hear the unmistakable voice of “The Archangel” Jessica Lasiewicz.

“I don’t need to listen to other people to find my voice. I have always had strong opinions and have never been afraid to voice those opinions. And I have never once needed to or cared to listen to what other people said about me. I always let my in ring performance do most of my talking. But something told me I should listen to what my sister Kimberly said about our match on Breakdown against The Golden Boys.”

A spotlight turns on, shining down Jessica Lasiewicz. She is wearing dark denim pants, a black top, and a black hooded leather jacket. Lasiewicz removes the hood, letting her long strawberry blonde hair flow freely down past the shoulders. She smirks at the camera devilishly.

“I admit, I enjoyed what you said, Kim. It was a real appropriate feel, especially with the Fourth of July rapidly approaching. But I have to point out one tiny error on your part. Well, at least I consider it an error. You speak of the tyranny of ‘King Adam’...” Lasiewicz rolls her eyes “...but what exactly is he king of, anyway? He is certainly not the king of the tag team division anymore, because he and Bison lost the tag team championships at Taking Hold of the Flame. But at least the old broken down drunk had Bison’s Television Title to fall back on…”

Jessica chuckles “...oh, but wait! Kandis took that away. Now Adam and his throng of lackeys and thugs are left with nothing. He is the king of a fallen and dead empire. He has lost everything that made him feel important, everything that made him feel special. So as far as his so-called tyranny goes, that’s already over and done with. But to say he is King of Shit? Well, that’s a fair point.”

“Poor, Adam. How does it feel to fall from grace? How does it feel to have had so much power and to lose it all within such a quick span of time? You had it all and then within a month you lost everything. The people in the SCW locker room had already ridiculed you for being a clown, a schmuck, and a drunk but they at least respected you for what you were capable of. You brought the tag titles and the television title into your little group. But now you lost the gold. You lost what made you lot the golden boys. And now the people of the SCW locker room no longer respect you, they just ridicule you.”

Jessica shakes her head. “Don’t worry, though. You do still serve a purpose. I mean, the other tag teams in this division, myself and Kim included, still view you as a stepping stone to earning a tag team championship opportunity. What’s the best way to earn a title shot against the newly crowned Lexy’s Angels? The best way to earn that title shot is to defeat the former champions. And that is your purpose now, Adam; you are a stepping stone and nothing more.”

“But Bison? You’re different. You and I went toe to toe and I experienced what you were capable of. I tried to end your Television Title reign before Kandis but I couldn’t get the job done. You beat me and despite anything that is said now or in the future you do have my respect. But bouncing again off what Kimberly already said, I must ask, do you really believe that Adam Allocco respects you?”

The Archangel shakes her head. “No, he doesn’t. You are his muscle. You are a powerhouse whom Adam sees as his ticket to regaining whatever former glory that drunk thought he had. He only cares about what you can do for him. Everything within the Golden Boys is all about Adam Allocco. The sooner you realize that, the better. And while I know you will one day taste championship gold again, the simple fact is that yes, you and Adam are a stepping stone; a stepping stone for Vengeance. We are going to defeat you and then step to the front of the line and earn a shot at the SCW World Tag Team Championship.”

“Dobranoc.”