Kimberly Williams Trios Cash-In RP Thread

[Braddock]

OOC: 1 of 2 for Glory
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March 21st, 2023
Birmingham, England
Off Camera
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It is a warm, wet day in Birmingham, England, which happens to be the next stop on Glory Braddock’s return to her native land. The British Bombshell decided to come back to England in order to rediscover her roots, try to relearn where she came from and why she is the way she is today. In short, she wants to rediscover what it means to be a Braddock. Most might think that it is an easy task. Glory Braddock is wrestling royalty, especially here in Europe. The Braddock name is synonymous with greatness in England. Her father, Glenn Braddock, was a legendary amateur wrestler and professional wrestler in England and all over Europe. He made a name for himself not only as an active wrestler but also in retirement when he opened a wrestling school and started training the next generation of young wrestling talents. It must be incredible to be the daughter of someone so popular and so accomplished. Yet Glory will be the first to tell you that being a Braddock is not as simple as all of that. The pressure to perform, to live up to the high expectations of the Braddock Wrestling name, all of that can be difficult for someone like Gloria. It can also be difficult to listen to everyone sing your father’s praises when you know all of his dirty little secrets. Glory Braddock knows the man behind the myth. She knows who Glenn Braddock really was when cameras weren’t rolling. She knows his dirty laundry, his flaws. She knows that her father was not the hero the average English wrestling fan makes him out to be.

Did she let the fame and fortune, not only simply being a Braddock but also the fame she achieve on her own merit, get to her head? Did she let those dirty little secrets, the dirty laundry that she knows about her late father, fester inside her and make her a bitter, selfish individual? Both are more than likely true. Both contributed to Glory Braddock going down a dark path that led her to becoming something and someone she did not recognize. Glory Braddock’s change in attitude caused her and her daughter to grow apart, made her paranoid, and ultimately the death of her mother, Maria Kurinsky, is what finally caused Glory to recognize that she needed to make a change in her life. The British Bombshell has achieved quite a bit in her career, including seventeen world championships to her name. In Supreme Championship Wrestling alone she has held every title except the World Tag Team Titles, which puts her one championship victory away from the status of Supreme Champion. She is the current reigning SCW Television Champion and despite all of this success, despite these accomplishments, Braddock is still unhappy. She is unhappy because she has come to a point where she no longer knows what she is doing or why she is doing it. All of her active wrestling career has been about continuing the Braddock Wrestling Legacy began by her father. Therein lies the problem; she doesn’t know what that legacy means anymore.

Rediscovering her family legacy means returning to the place where it all began. It means returning to England, her native home. It also means reconnecting with her family, family she doesn’t get to speak with or bond with that often due to her own busy schedule; family such as her younger sister, Julia Braddock. It also means reconnecting with figures from her father’s past. It was one week ago that Braddock arrived back in England. In an attempt to help Glory get off to a good start in her quest of rediscovery, her sister Julia took Glory to a small pub that their father would frequent after wrestling matches. It was there at that pub that Glory met a man from their father’s past.

Blake O’Malley.

Glenn Braddock and Blake O’Malley were both wrestlers back in the day and they were very close friends. They grew apart when a difference of opinion over wrestling philosophy led Glenn to refuse to hire Blake to work at his newly founded wrestling school. Blake took offense and the two did not speak much after. Still, they used to be very close. Even Glory can remember Blake. She used to think of him as ‘Uncle Blake’ even though he wasn’t really her uncle. If anyone can help Glory remember what the Braddock legacy is all about, it would be him. Yet Blake and Glenn did not end their relationship on the right foot. Do the hard feelings still exist for Blake?

Only one way to find out.

The British Bombshell is approaching a small run down building in Birmingham. The beautiful blonde is wearing denim jeans, black boots, and a royal purple t-shirt. Her long blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back. She can see a small, not very observable sign nearby that reads simply ‘Wrestling Academy’. This is Blake’s ‘school’ if you really want to call it that. When her father Glenn wouldn’t hire him to work at the Braddock Wrestling School, Blake decided to start his own. The only problem is that Blake never had the same commitment and determination that Glenn had. Blake was very lukewarm about his support for training the next generation of wrestlers and as a result his own school suffered. The only true ‘successful’ student to graduate from Blake’s school was Glory’s long time childhood best friend Matthew Taylor, and Blake made a point to train him just out of spite, because he used to be Glenn’s student. Blake’s spite towards Glenn Braddock was so high that he literally taught Matthew the exact opposite of what Glenn was teaching. He taught him this not because he agreed with the philosophy per se, but because he wanted to spite Glenn Braddock. Blake never really wanted to train the next generation, so why would he keep his gym that much up to date?

Braddock doesn’t expect to see much as she pushes the front doors open and steps inside. To her surprise she sees quite a bit of up to date, modern equipment there in the main workout area. Glory scans the area and looks at the heavy bags, the bar bells, the other weight lifting equipment, most of which are even newer than some of the stuff at Glory’s Wrestling School. Glory never modernized her school that much, but it was out of respect for her father, to maintain the traditions of how he ran things. Blake used to have run down material but it was because he just didn’t care. Now it seems as if some of that has changed.

“There you are.” Comes the recognizably gruff voice of Blake O’Malley. Braddock turns and spots the grizzled veteran standing by one of the red heavy bags. A smirk is on his face. “Yer a little late, lass. For a moment there I didn’t think you would show up.”

“Sorry about that, mate. I got to seeing some of the old neighborhood and while I was busy reminiscing I just lost track of time.”

“This neighborhood hasn’t changed much, Glory. Trust me. It’s still one of the poorer areas of Birmingham.”

“True.” Glory begins to approach Blake and as she does so she motions to some of the equipment as she passes by. “But apparently you have changed a little, haven’t you?”

“What do ya mean by that?”

“This nice new equipment of yours Blake, c’mon, that’s not you.” Glory shakes her head. “At least, it isn’t the way I remember you.”

“Fair enough, because you’re not the woman I remember you being.” Blake takes an appraisal of her, looking her up and down as she stands before him. A warmer, friendlier smile forms on his grizzled face. “Although you’re starting to look and act more like her.”

“Thanks for that, Uncle Blake.” The British Bombshell embraces Blake O’Malley in a tight hug. The hug seemingly lasts forever, it is as if old friends are reuniting after decades apart. This is almost true, as Glory only saw this man for the first time in a long time just one week ago. Eventually they break the embrace. Blake then leads Glory further into this wrestling academy. As they walk, Glory takes in the features. The inside is far more impressive and much more modern than her own school. Everything looks new. If she didn’t know any better, she would think that Blake is actually taking this whole thing seriously. They enter another room where there is a standard wrestling ring set up. A bucket of beer happens to be sitting on the ring apron.

“After school activities?” Glory asks, motioning to the bottles of beer.

“You could call it that.” Blake states. He reaches into the bucket and pulls out a bottle. He offers it to Glory. “Want one?”

“Sure.” She takes the beer and begins to sip. Blake takes one as well and sips on it.

“Look, before you ask anything, I wanna ask you something.”

“What’s that?”

“Why are you back? Why did you return to England now? You have been traveling all over the world, winning championships, building up a corporate empire. You have far exceeded anything your father could have dreamed of doing. But you’re back and I get the feeling that this isn’t about nostalgia. This isn’t some vacation. What are you doing back here, Glory? Why aren’t you back in Miami living the life of some corporate millionaire?”

“Always right to the point, aren’t you Uncle Blake?”

“Damn right.” He answers, drinking more of his beer. “I think that’s why your dad and I parted ways. I told him exactly what I thought of him. No offense, lass.”

“None taken. But you and my dad used to be very close.”

“Yeah, we used to.” He chuckles. “We had some fun times back in the day.”

“You two partied, you two had some fun times together. That’s why I wanted to stop by and talk to you today. Because face it, Blake, most of my dad’s generation, your generation, they are beginning to pass away. Recently when my mother passed away, I nearly broke…mentally and emotionally, I nearly broke. There were times when I considered committing myself to an institution, that’s how bad I was.” She drinks some of her beer.

“So you didn’t take your mum’s death that well?”

“No, I didn’t. But it was more than just losing my mom. It was the enormity of WHAT I was losing. I was losing more and more of the connections to my past. I got to thinking, who else alive is there who would be able to talk to me about my father? And I don’t mean the casual fan like the people here in England. The casual wrestling fan in England still adore him but they do not KNOW him. My mom knew him but she’s gone. My Uncle Peter Braddock knew him but he’s gone too. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that right here in England was the only place I could some connection to my father.”

“Well the obvious connection is your sister.” Blake points out. Glory nods her head.

“Yes, that’s true, but now I have you.” She sighs before taking another swig of her beer. “I was pleasantly surprised to see that at least one piece of my past was still here alive and breathing. Seeing you there last week in that pub you and dad used to visit, if nothing else, that alone made this trip back home worth it.”

“Heh, well I’m glad my drinking made you happy, lass.” Blake says with a grin.

“I remember you and my dad being the best of friends. When I began to think about becoming a wrestler, when I started my early training before dad’s school was even a concept, you were there to give me tips, pointers, and to teach me. You became my Uncle Blake. You were like family even if we weren’t related.”

“What exactly is it that you want from me, lass?” Blake asks as he puts his glass of beer down.

“Maybe it was the fame that did it? Or maybe it was the pressure of growing up as Glenn Braddock’s daughter? Or maybe, just maybe, you can blame it on me being a bloody fool. Whatever it is, I need your help. I need you to help me rediscover my roots, reconnect with my father’s memory. I need to remember what the Braddock Wrestling Legacy is all about.”

“Is that it, huh?” Blake takes a giant swig of his beer and, emptying the bottle, and then drops it back down. He points at Glory. “Compact?”

“Excuse me?”

“I assume you have a compact for your makeup..”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Glory reaches into her pocket and produces her compact.

“Open it up and look in the mirror.” Glory isn’t sure why she is being asked to do this but she does anyway. She looks at her reflection in the mirror.

“Now what?”

“You want Glenn Braddock? You’re looking at him…or her…whatever. It makes no difference anymore, right?”

“Huh?” Glory Braddock is genuinely confused as she puts her compact away.

“Let me spell it out for ya, lass. You have become your father. You are ruthless, strict, and you take the sport so bloody seriously that you suck the fun right out of it. If ya want some evidence then just look at your run in SCW. Just like your old man nothing was ever good enough. You won a Trios Tournament and main evented Rise To Greatness, not good enough. You became Adrenaline Champion at Rise To Greatness, but that wasn’t good enough. You won a second straight Trios Tournament, STILL not good enough, so you became SCW World Champion, albeit for about ten, fifteen minutes, but you got the title. Still NOT good enough. You became United States Champion, but once again it wasn’t good enough for you. You decided that in order to prove your greatness you had to be a Supreme Champion. Now you win the Television Title and are one title away from that status but will that be enough? Will you then be content and satisfied that the SCW fans believe you are good enough?” Blake shakes his head. “Seventeen World Championships alone should have been enough but it wasn’t. That ridiculously historic undefeated streak of your dad’s wasn’t enough and look at what it cost him? It cost him his career.”

These words hit Glory like a punch to the gut. At the same time they ring oh so true. She remains silent as Blake continues to talk. “The problem isn’t that you forgot your father, it’s quite the opposite. You have become your father. And I had such high hopes for you…” his voice trails off.

“High hopes for me? What do you mean, mate?”

“When you made your debut back in 2008, I was ecstatic because I knew you were something special. But made you special was the fact that you had all of your father’s strong attributes when it came to wrestling…you had the technical and submission skill, you had the great strategic mind…but you lacked your father’s weaknesses. See, your old man took it too seriously. He did not know how to have fun. As a result, he put too much pressure and stress on himself and ultimately, it destroyed him. But you knew how to have fun. Do you even remember Glory’s Prankster Service?”

“The Prankster Service?” Glory arches her brow. “You knew about that?”

“I followed your career closely, lass. Yeah, I remember it. You played pranks on the assholes backstage. You not only tried to win your matches but you tried to have fun while doing it. But looking at you now, I can see that you lost that ability to have fun with it.” He points at her eyes. “I can see it in your eyes, Gloria. Every single time you step into the ring you aren’t having fun out there, you’re just doing a job.”

Braddock sighs deeply before swigging down the rest of her beer and placing it down next to Blake’s. The British Bombshell nods her head, admitting that everything her father’s old friend just said is true.

“I admit, I have become very focused on winning lately. Succeeding at everything I do has become of primary importance, whether it has to do with business or wrestling. I need to succeed.”

“That’s your problem. That was your father’s problem, too. You both were always about winning and not about enjoying yourselves while doing this job. Glenn was a crusty old bastard because he only cared about winning. He had to suffer a career ending back injury for him to realize how important it is to enjoy life.”

“Enjoying life, eh?”

“Yeah, that’s what you need to do more often. Enjoy life.”

“Mind if I ask you something else?”

“Shoot.”

Did you really teach my old mate Matty to be a daredevil? Did you really teach him the opposite of my dad just out of spite?”

“I never did anything out of spite…” he chuckles “...well, I admit, Matthew seeking me out because he hates Glenn was kinda sweet, but I never taught him to treat wrestling like a joke. That was Glenn’s lie. I just told Matthew to have fun with it. I never expected the idiot to take it to an extreme. What Matthew does in making wrestling into nothing more than a damn joke is just as offensive as what Glenn does by taking things so seriously.” He motions to Glory. “You used to be the perfect medium between Matthew’s silliness and Glenn’s seriousness.”

“What do I need to do to get there again?”

“You need to relearn how to compartmentalize. Be serious when you’re in the ring, try to win, kick some ass. But when you’re out of the ring, try to have fun. Try to enjoy life. THAT is the Glory Braddock I remember.” He smiles warmly. “I hope to see that Glory Braddock on tv someday.”

“Funny,” Glory says as a quiet chuckle escapes her lips “I come here and see all of this, and I see you, and it I expected one thing but I got something entirely different.”

“What did you expect to see, lass?”

“I expected to see a bitter, spiteful man who didn’t care about anything. But I see you here now in this modernized school, I see you taking time out of your schedule to speak with me, to help me with my problems, and I see how terribly wrong I was.”

“I always cared, Glory. Always have and always will. I love wrestling and that’s why I still work with students to this day, trying to help them achieve their dream of doing what me and your old man used to do. And speaking of your dad…” Blake sighs with a sense of regret in his voice “...I do have many regrets. I regret never making things right with him before he passed.”

“Me too.” Glory says, nodding her head.

“Me and your dad had a difference in wrestling philosophy, he thought it was all about winning while I tried to teach the kids how to enjoy the game; but we shouldn’t have let that stupid shit, that disagreement, ruin our friendship.” He places a hand on Glory’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re back. I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

“Yeah, me too.”

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March 22nd, 2023
Southampton, England
Off Camera
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Twenty four hours ago Glory Braddock traveled to Birmingham to have a heart to heart talk with her father’s old friend Blake O’Malley. Blake is himself a former wrestler who runs his own wrestling school and as a close personal friend of Glenn Braddock, Glory was hoping that she could learn more from Blake about what she needed to do in order to rediscover what her father’s wrestling legacy was really about. Instead all that she learned was something she had long known, something she had long disagreed with her father about, and yet something she knew deep down in her heart of hearts was a trap that she had fallen into…that Glenn Braddock was singularly focused on winning, took the business way too seriously, and Glory Braddock had essentially become the female equivalent.

Glenn Braddock went undefeated as an amateur, went undefeated as a professional wrestler, and even was training to be an Olympian before a back injury ended his illustrious career. One would think that he would have been satisfied with his success but he never was; he had to keep going, he had to do more and more. Is it any wonder that he eventually broke his back, that his career ended the way it did? Is it any surprise that the injuries he suffered throughout his long career of pushing himself came back to haunt him and one day finally became too much for his body and ultimately killed him? This is all that Glory Braddock learned from her sit down with Blake O’Malley. She learned that she had become her father and is on the fast track to potentially ending up the way he did.

Now twenty four hours after that meeting, Glory Braddock finds herself in the office at her father’s wrestling school, the Braddock Wrestling School. It is after hours, the school is empty and no one is here except for The British Bombshell. Glory can sit here in the office to think and to ponder about everything she has learned over this last day. Currently she is looking at a poster of her father on the wall. It is a poster of him when he was younger, much younger, wearing a red singlet and in one of his signature poses.

“I thought I knew who you were.” She muses out loud. “You were a hero, a wrestling legend. You were my idol, the person I wanted to become one day when I grew up.” She chuckles softly. “Funny, isn’t it? According to your best mate I DID become you and it isn’t exactly the best thing in the world. Because you took this business so bloody seriously and you drilled it into my head that I needed to take it just as seriously. You drilled into my head that winning was all that mattered. And that state of mind, that thought process, it pushed you to keep pressing on, to keep putting more pressure on yourself. And that pressure ultimately killed you.” Braddock sighs deeply out of frustration. “So is that it? Is that the Braddock Legacy?” She points a finger at the poster. “And I grew to resent you for it, didn’t I?” The British Bombshell nods her head. “Yeah, you pressured me dad. You put just as much pressure on me as you did yourself. You wanted me to be all in on wrestling, you wanted me to fulfill the lifelong dream of being the best wrestler in the world because you injured yourself and couldn’t do it anymore. You wanted to live vicariously through me, not bothering to care if it was my dream or not.” She sighs and shakes her head. “But who am I kidding? I wanted to do that for you. I wanted to be the best in the world FOR YOU, because you were my idol. I felt I owed it to you.”

Braddock is suddenly interrupted by the sound of knocking at her office door. Glory is jolted to attention and sits up. “Who the hell is it?”

“Is that any way to speak to your sister?” It’s the voice of her younger sister, Julia Braddock. Glory rolls her eyes.

“Come in.” Glory says. The door opens and Julia Braddock comes walking in.

“Kurt told me you were here.”

“He talks too much.” Glory says stoically.

“What are you doing here, Glory?” Julia asks as she sits down next to her sister.

“I just needed some time to think. I used to do my best thinking and planning right here in dad’s old office.”

“Dad barely used this office.” Julia says with a smirk. “He considered the ring his office.”

“That’s true. Still, I used to do some of my best planning and thinking right here. If I came to dad’s school, I knew I could think clearly, I knew that I could get things sorted out and be ready. But lately thinking has become more difficult for me.”

“Part of that is because you haven’t been here in so long.” Julia points out. “Randall, Mark, and the other trainers have been managing this school excellently in your absence but you, Glory, you have been gone for so long with SCW, your company, and other of your activities that you forgot all about this place, the memories it contains, the fond memories of you and our father.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Glory nods her head. “Yesterday, when I went to see Blake, he suggested to me that I had forgotten how to enjoy myself. He said that I am so bloody focused on success that I forgot how to just simply enjoy wrestling. Is that true, Jules? Am I so focused on success, on winning, on building up an empire for myself, not just as a wrestler but as a businesswoman and even a trainer, that I lost myself in all of it? I lost my identity as a Braddock in all of this?”

“Is that what Blake thinks?”

“Yeah.” Glory nods her head.

“Tell me this; do you remember the very first lesson dad taught us about wrestling?”

“No…” Glory shake sher head.

“Of course you can’t.” Julia smirks knowingly. “Your most important one, your favorite one, is the last and final lesson. A wrestler is, him or herself, the deadliest of weapons; use what you’ve learned wisely. And yeah, that’s an important lesson, but so was lesson number one.”

“Well tell me!” Glory insists. “What was lesson one because I can’t bloody remember!”

“The first lesson was never to lose sight of what is important in life and why you are doing this.” Julia points across the table at Glory. “Why are you doing this? Why are you a wrestler, Glory?”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

“That’s simple. I wanted to honor dad, I wanted to honor his legacy, the legacy he left behind when he was forced to quit after the back injury forced him into retirement.”

“There’s the answer to your question, Glory.” Julia says. “Just do that. Honor dad’s legacy, honor his memory, fulfill the dreams he had wanted to fulfill, but don’t do it just because someone else wanted you to. That’s not what dad was about. He would have wanted you to be the best because you wanted to do it, because it was YOUR goal, YOUR dream, and not just because it was his. Do it for him…but it’s ok to be a little selfish and to do it for yourself, it’s ok to have a little fun.”

“It isn’t that simple.” Glory smirks. “You know that right?”

“Nothing worth having ever is.” She points to the poster on the wall, the one Glory was just talking to earlier. “That was another lesson dad taught.”

“I happen to remember that one.”

“Well if you remember it why haven’t you been practicing it?”

“Because I’m a bloody fool?” Glory asks. The sisters share a laugh.

“You said it, not me!” Julia exclaims. Glory nods her head.

“Yeah, and I’ll own it. I’ll also fix it.”