Glory Braddock vs. Kandis

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 word max per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Wednesday, June 21, 2023

[Braddock]

1 of 2

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June 16th, 2023
Charlotte, NC
Off Camera
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Taking Hold of the Flame is the starting point for Rise To Greatness season. Victory in the popular Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal would earn you an opportunity at the SCW World Championship in the main event of Rise To Greatness, the single biggest event of the SCW calendar year. Braddock had been aiming for a tag team championship match, seeing as she needs those belts in order to complete her Supreme Championship status. Unfortunately her search for a tag team partner had come up short, it came up empty, and she had no one to support her in her quest for the tag team titles. But Rise To Greatness was near and Braddock refused to rest on her laurels. She decided to enter the battle royal and punch her ticket to Rise To Greatness. She decided to take her fate into her own hands. But despite her best efforts, The British Bombshell once again came up short. Coming up just short has become all too familiar lately for Glory Braddock. And this setback put her right back where she started; still without a tag team partner for the tag team title chase, and still without a path to Rise To Greatness. Still, she had planned to once again take matters into her own hands. She had fully intended on challenging Adam Allocco, who also came up short at Taking Hold of the Flame. At least, that was the plan until Brittany Lohan showed up.

Lohan has been a staple in SCW for years. Her return to the company as it heads into the twentieth Rise To Greatness is not a surprise. But Lohan also has a deep history with The British Bombshell. They started out as enemies and quickly turned into friends and a very successful tag team. Regardless of whether they were enemies or allies, they always brought out the best of each other inside the ring. And with Lohan now seemingly volunteering her services, volunteering herself to be Braddock’s tag tam partner, it would appear that the stage is set for a reunion of the former tag team championship duo known as Twisted & Sadistic. It seems almost too good to be true. And perhaps that is why Glory Braddock is a little indecisive about accepting this proposal from her friend.

For the better part of the past couple of months, Glory has been accused of either being a glory hound (no pun intended) seeking to simply add to her trophy case or of constantly changing her minds and not knowing what she really wants. Braddock just wants competition. She wants to put herself against the toughest of tests, against the best of the best, to prove her worth. That’s all she wants. The Supreme Championship status is just one of those tests. Achieving that is the ultimate prize. Returning to the tag team ranks, a division she has not been in regularly for years, is also a challenge that she feels is worthy of her attention. Brittany Lohan would be a great tag team partner, they have chemistry, they know one another quite well. But what if they fail to get the job done? What then? Again Glory will have to deal with coming up just short. If she fails and then gets a new partner, she will again be accused of changing her mind and being indecisive. But that’s just what other people might think about her. Glory Braddock had for so long prided herself on not caring what other people thought about her. And still, to this day, she puts up a strong front, she pretends very strongly that she doesn’t care. Deep down inside, where no one can tell, in a part of her soul that she keeps hidden, she does care. She worries about how this will impact her own image if she fails again. Fear is strong. Fear can make anyone, even the great Glory Braddock, become hesitant to make a move. This is why she has yet to answer Brittany’s challenge. She is afraid to go all in on a Twisted & Sadistic reunion.

A potential Twisted & Sadistic reunion must be put in the back of her mind, for now. Glory Braddock has business to take care of in Charlotte, NC. Lucky for her, with Breakdown having taken place in Raleigh, she did not have to travel long or far for this meeting with her corporate president Francis Taylor. The purpose of this meeting still eludes The British Bombshell. She just received a call from Francis during Breakdown and asked her to meet her at her Charlotte headquarters while she was there. Honestly, Braddock would have preferred to either go back home to Miami or go straight to Memphis, the site of the next Breakdown where she faces Kandis. Kandis is on a roll, having just won Taking Hold of the Flame, and will not be easy to defeat. But a victory over the current number one contender could give The British Bombshell all the momentum she needs heading into Rise To Greatness. She would rather be preparing for a showdown with Kandis. But instead she has stayed behind in North Carolina for what she hopes will be a very brief visit with Francis Taylor.

The corporate offices of her company, Glorious Golden Enterprise, is nearly empty as she walks through the halls. Braddock is wearing an elegant sweetheart neckline bodycon mini dress, colored pink, with cap sleeves and a pencil hemline that stops just above the knee. She is perched atop open toed pink high heel pumps. Her long blonde hair is left to flow straight and unrestrained to past the shoulders. She does not make a visit to the corporate offices that much. She knows all too well what the corporate world does to her; it turns her into someone she does not recognize. It brings out the worst in Glory Braddock. This is why she has allowed people like her adoptive ‘mother’ Aphrodite Noel and corporate president Francis Taylor run the company on her behalf, so that she doesn’t have to get her hands dirty in the corporate politics. Yet today Francis insists that Glory get involved. She insists that this is something that Braddock will want to know about.

Braddock finds the office of Francis Taylor already standing wide open. Taylor’s secretary isn’t even here today. She finds that odd but nevertheless walks right on inside the office as if she owns the place, which technically is true. She does own the place. Once inside the office she finds Francis seated at her oak desk wearing a long sleeve black dress with a hemline that stops right at the knee, sheer stockings, and black patent leather high heeled pumps. Francis beams with what is obviously fake joy as she stands up to greet Glory with open arms.

“Gloria! How wonderful it is that you stopped by!” She tries to embrace Glory in a tight hug but Braddock gently pushes her back.

“Not now, Francis.” Glory says coldly. “I have no idea what this is about but I want to get this over with quickly. I have more important things to deal with.”

“Oh right, SCW.” Francis says with a low chuckle. She walks over and sits back down. Glory nods her head as she sits down across from her.

“Yes, I am facing the current number one contender to the world title on Breakdown. Do you know what a win like that could do for me right now?”

“Honestly, Gloria, I think ANY win over ANYONE would do you a world of good right about now.”

“Are you being serious right now?!” Glory asks incredulously, surprised that Francis would confront her over her wrestling career. “Francis, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You are a businesswoman but you know nothing about wrestling.”

“I may not be a wrestler but even someone with as limited wrestling knowledge as me can tell that you are spinning your wheels. You couldn’t find a tag team partner. Then when one volunteers herself you seem unwilling to accept the help.”

“I have my reasons.”

“Look, I don’t care what your reasons are, but you DO need to start becoming more decisive in your decision making process, Gloria. If you can’t be decisive enough to know whether or not you want to tag team with your best friend, then what makes you think you will be decisive enough to win against this Kandis girl? Or decisive enough to run a company?”

“I am decisive.” Glory insists, her anger starting to boil over. “That’s not my problem.”

“Then what is your problem, Gloria?” Francis asks. “And I don’t really care about SCW or your wrestling, because as you astutely pointed out, I am not a wrestler. You and my brother love the stuff, but not me. I enjoy making money off of wrestling but I am not a wrestler. What I care about is this company. You lost control of this company in 2014. You still owned it but you were stripped of your decision making power. You didn’t get control back until 2019 and you fought ruthlessly to get it back. Yet ever since you got the company back under your control, you have refused to exercise that kind of power over the company. Instead you choose to let your ‘mother’ and minority shareholder Aphrodite Noel run it, you choose to let your corporate president ME run it, you choose to let your general manager Tabitha Silverstone run it. I don’t get it, Gloria.”

“Does it matter?” Glory asks. “You’re getting paid quite nicely. So what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that I want to know what I am dealing with and if I can count on you if I need your help.” There is a pause as Francis stares a hole through Glory Braddock, right into her soul. Finally Braddock sighs and shakes her head.

“Look…I don’t trust my judgment.” She sighs again. “That’s all.”

“You don’t trust your own judgment?” Francis asks curiously. Glory nods her head in confirmation. “If you didn’t trust your judgment then why did you fight so hard to get control of the company back? You could have just left things alone. You wouldn’t have to make the decisions.”

“I didn’t trust the people that was put in place to run the company. And when those people stepped down, I didn’t trust the Board of Directors to run this company the way I wanted it to be run.”

“You didn’t trust them to follow your vision for this company?” Francis asks. Glory nods her head.

“That’s right.”

“So it appears as if you DO trust your judgment, at least to some degree. You know what you want, you’re just not comfortable enough in your ability to obtain it. Or maybe you’re just afraid that you can’t make your vision come true so instead of making a decision yourself you let others make those decisions, that way if it works out, you can take credit, if it doesn’t work out, it isn’t your fault.” Francis smirks knowingly. Glory rolls her eyes as she gets more and more annoyed.

“Do you have a point to all of this, Francis? If this was just your way to psychoanalyze me, I could have gone to my therapist for that.”

“I apologize, Gloria.” Francis holds her up hands as if in surrender. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Really, I just want to know what I’m dealing with here, because the reason I called you in today is because I have the potential to make a huge deal for the company…” her voice trails off. Glory arches her brow out of curiosity.

“What exactly do you mean by huge?”

“I mean the promise of a big investment deal. I have a…” she pauses as she thinks of the right word, then she smiles “...a friend. I have a friend that wishes to invest in the company.”

“I won’t turn away cash, but I think the company is doing well enough as it is.”

“The wrestling promotion is doing well, your wrestling school is doing well, but the modeling agency needs help. And our investor, my friend, wants to pump tons of money into the modeling wing of our business.”

Braddock’s interest is now thoroughly piqued. She had only recently gotten into the modeling business last year. Her cousin’s modeling agency was having financial difficulties due to internal sabotage. Glory bought the agency out in order to save it for her cousin. She knows that the agency could always use some financial help, especially as it has not gotten anywhere near the kind of attention as her corporate interests have received. This could be the perfect way to keep her cousin’s modeling agency propped up.

“That actually sounds like a great idea, Francis. Who is the investor? Is it anyone I’ve heard of?”

“That’s the other reason I needed you to come in.” Francis says as she smiles sheepishly, almost with a hint of guilt on her face. Glory notices this and immediately is concerned. Francis presses a button on her desk that apparently signals someone, for Glory hears footsteps approaching. She turns in time to see the door opening and a gorgeous brown haired woman walking in wearing a cream colored short sleeve blouse and a black pencil skirt. Glory’s eyes grow wide in shock. She definitely recognizes this woman.

“Gloria, our new investor is Melody Murphy. She…”

“Yes, I know her.” Glory says as she stands right up. Melody is smiling ear to ear but Glory is scowling. “I know her all too well.”

“Oh come on, Maria, all three of us were the best of friends once upon a time.” Melody says sweetly.

“I remember you. You were what Americans like to call the mean girls. And you were the tops in that mean girl clique.”

“In Melody’s defense,” Francis says as she leaps to her feet and quickly gets in between Glory and Melody, hoping to diffuse the situation “you were one of us. You were one of those so-called ‘mean girls’ as you put it.”

“So what if I was?” Glory shrugs her shoulders. “I have changed since then. But you? You tried to deceive me and manipulate me by bringing her in?”

“I’m not deceiving you, I’m not manipulating you.” Francis insists. “If I were to deceive you then I would have just made this deal without your knowledge or approval. You yourself gave me a blank check to run this company as I see fit. But I knew that you might have a problem with this deal so I brought you in out of respect for you.” Francis shakes her head. “There’s nothing sinister here, Gloria. Melody just wants to do business.”

“Melody wants to do business? My former friend, the friend who betrayed me, stabbed me in the back and treated me like shit after I got pregnant as a teenager, now suddenly wants to do business?” Glory turns her angry glare back towards Melody. “Why should I deal with you?”

“Maria, please…”

“What did you call me?”

“Maria. Your middle name. You used to like that name.”

“I prefer Glory now.” Braddock insists, folding her arms over her chest. Melody nods her head.

“Fair enough, Glory…I understand why you would be mad. And I admit that I was an awful person back then. Honestly, all three of us were awful back then, but especially me. You were going through so much when that scoundrel Thomas got you pregnant and ran away, leaving you to deal with motherhood on your own. If I were a true friend I would have helped you instead of mock you.”

“Damn right.” Glory snaps back angrily.

“But Maria…sorry, Glory…” Melody sighs “...please, understand that we were kids back then. Both of us have matured. Both of us have changed, hopefully for the better. You have become not only a successful wrestler, following in your late father’s famous footsteps, but you have also become a successful businesswoman. I myself am a successful businesswoman. I do wish we could someday be friends again…”

“Not going to happen, mate.” Glory says sharply.

“...fair. But we don’t have to be friends in order to do business. And you, Glory, have been very successful at business. And I want to invest in your business.”

“You want to do business? And that’s it?”

“That’s it.” She makes a cross sign over her chest. “Cross my heart.”

“Maybe you’re right…” Glory sighs and shakes her head “...unfortunately, I cannot bring myself to trust you.” Glory says, staring Melody right in the face. Melody sighs with a hint of disappointment.

“Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea after all, Francis?” She says, looking at the corporate president. Francis shakes her head.

“Don’t worry, Melody. Just give me and Gloria some time to talk. Alone.”

“Fair enough.” Melody nods her head. “I will be outside.” Melody turns and walks out of the door. She shuts it behind her. Once she is gone Glory turns to face Francis and shakes her head.

“Nothing you can say will get me to change my mind.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Gloria.”

“You complained about me not being decisive? Well I’m being decisive here. No deal.”

“She’s changed.”

“Maybe she has? But I’m not sure I can forgive her for what she’s done.”

“You did some of the same things, we all did. All three of us were part of that clique, Gloria. But it’s like Melody said, we were kids back then. All three of us have grown, all three of us have changed and matured since then. Melody is a successful businesswoman like you and like you she has connections to tons of resources and tons of money. She wants to put those resources and wealth to OUR disposal, to help OUR modeling agency.”

“That isn’t our modeling agency, Francis.” Glory snaps back. “That’s my cousin Kayla’s modeling agency. I only bought it and brought it into our umbrella in order to sustain it, to keep it from going belly up. My cousin loves that agency and would do anything to protect it.” She points to the door. “I’m not gonna let some weasel like Melody get her grubby paws on it.”

“Right, that agency is your cousin’s. And you would do anything to help your family right?”

“Precisely.”

“Well that’s all Melody is proposing. She doesn’t want to control the modeling agency. She just wants to pump some extra revenue into it to help it out financially. She wants to give it some cash reserves, no questions asked, no strings attached.”

“No strings attached?” Glory asks curiously. Francis nods her head in confirmation.

“That’s right, no strings attached.” Francis places a hand on Glory’s shoulder. “Look, I apologize if it seems like I was hiding something from you, but honestly this deal is on the up and up. This will only benefit your cousin and her modeling agency. I’m not asking you to take a major risk here.”

“Trusting that woman is a risk.” Glory insists. “But I would do anything for my family.”

“So is that a yes?” Francis asks hopefully. Glory sighs and nods her head.

“Yeah, it’s a yes.”

“Wonderful!” Francis exclaims. “Let’s go tell Melody the good news!”

Is this good news? Glory isn’t exactly sure. Then again, she hasn’t been certain of much of anything lately. She doesn’t trust Melody but she does know that her cousin’s modeling agency needs financial help and she is willing to take a risk such as this for her family. This also makes her think about Brittany Lohan. Glory certainly trusts Lohan to do her job and carry her weight. She always has and always will. But Glory hasn’t been able to trust herself lately. But she does want to become a tag team champion and thus Supreme Champion. Brittany Lohan might be the ticket to that goal. More and more Glory thinks about it, the more this seems like a good idea. But before making any decisive move on the tag team scene, she must focus on Kandis. Braddock needs to regain some momentum as Rise To Greatness creeps ever closer.

[Kandis.]

Breakdown 6-22-23 #1

[Braddock]

2 of 2
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June 21st, 2023
Memphis, TN
Off Camera
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The arrival of Melody Murphy, a former friend of Glory’s from her school days, certainly threw a wrench into her plans. She never expected to be blindsided not only by the return of someone from her past, someone who thought had disowned her, but also to learn that this same individual is interested in investing in her company. Adding yet another wrinkle into this already confusing situation is the fact that Francis Taylor, the corporate president who Glory assigned to run the company in her stead, saw it fit to make certain that Glory herself was not only made aware of this but was the one who made the final decision on whether or not to work Melody. Francis knew full well that Glory did not trust Melody due to their past, a past full of turmoil and grief, a past that Glory would much rather forget. Francis also knows full well that Glory, for the most part, trusts her judgment. Why would Francis insist that Glory get involved in this situation? Nevertheless, Braddock agreed to let this investment deal go through. She agreed to work with her former friend, despite their past. But Braddock is already questioning her decision.

Self-doubt and second guessing has become the norm for The British Bombshell as of late, and not just in her personal and professional life, but also within her career as an active professional wrestler for Supreme Championship Wrestling. Braddock is one championship away from Supreme Status, an elite goal that very few have managed to achieve. She has been World, Adrenaline, United States, and Television Champion. All that remains is the SCW World Tag Team Championship. In order to achieve this goal, she knows she will have to find the right tag team partner, the ideal tag team partner who can help her cross the finish line. Unfortunately her search has thus far come up bearing no fruit. Part of it is due to her own self-doubt. Most of the options of potential partners she has had to reject without any real consideration. She had various reasons for turning away these various potential tag partners. But all of the reasons could boil down to one simple point; Glory Braddock was just too indecisive. It was a primary argument made by Francis Taylor at their business meeting on Friday in Charlotte. And the more Braddock stewed on it, the more she thought about it, the more she began to realize that Francis raises a rather good point. Glory has been indecisive. She has had too much self-doubt which led her to second guessing herself and changing her mind. Braddock had wanted to chase the tag team titles, but then when Taking Hold of the Flame presented itself as an opportunity she entered that battle royal, when she came up short, still thinking the tag team chase was no longer a possibility, she was prepared to settle for challenging Adam Allocco at Rise To Greatness.

Until Brittany Lohan walked back into her life.

Braddock and Lohan share a long history with one another, once enemies, then friends, then frenemies, and now Lohan apparently wants to be friends again. Now Lohan is volunteering her services to be Glory’s tag team partner, challenging The British Bombshell in the process to not just settle for Allocco, to go for what she really wants, go for those tag team championships. Glory and Lohan already have a history as a tag team; they are former tag team champions in other promotions. If anyone could bring Glory the prize she ultimately seeks, it is Brittany Lohan. Still, the self-doubt lingers. She understands that she may not get many more opportunities at this. She wants to get it right the first time. She wants to make sure Lohan is the ideal partner.

First, before she can even begin to consider Lohan’s offer, Braddock has business to take care of in Memphis, Tennessee. The British Bombshell is standing not too far away from the FedEx Forum, the site that shall play host to Breakdown where she will take on the challenge of Kandis, the woman who was victorious in Taking Hold of the Flame. Braddock is wearing a shirred waist layed hem skirt that stops just at the knee, black open toed high heeled pumps, and a silk royal purple long sleeve blouse. Her long blonde hair is left to hang freely, flowing unrestrained to past the shoulders. She has sunglasses over her eyes. She is staring intensely at the FedEx Forum. She is thinking about what she has to do tomorrow night. She is…

“Well look at who I found!” Glory is startled by the interruption but not too much, because the voice is immediately recognizable. She turns in time to see her cousin, Angelica Jones, approaching. Jones is wearing a black maxi skirt, sandals, a white silk blouse, and a black leather jacket. Her long red hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back. Glory starts chuckling softly.

“Angelica…what brings you out here, mate?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” She motions to a cameraman standing off in the distance. “But I guess that kinda answers my question.” Glory nods her head.

“Yeah, I am going to address tomorrow night’s match in a few. But that’s not the only reason I stopped by.” She sighs. “I like to come out to where I’m scheduled to fight, a little over twenty four hours before the bell, just to soak in the atmosphere. If the ring is set up and I have access to the building I’d go right in and sit in the squared circle for several minutes; just to get into the zone. Y’know what I mean?”

“Oh I definitely get you.” Angelica nods her head. “I used to do the same thing when I actively wrestled. In fact, I’m here this afternoon for that same reason.” Angelica says. Glory arches her brow out of confusion.

“You’re not an active wrestler for SCW.”

“No, but I do have to wrangle Kim and keep her in check. That in and of itself is almost like a damn bar room brawl.” The two cousins share a bit of laughter. It breaks the solemn, intense mood Glory was in but maybe it’s for the best?

“Kim can be hard to handle. Even when she’s not defending that Underground Title of hers she is still out there causing some kind of chaos.” Glory points out. Angelica nods her head.

“This is true. At least Kim has achieved her goal. She is the Underground Champion.” She points a finger at Glory. “But what about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know how you are going to achieve your goal of becoming a tag team champion? Or do you even know if that is your goal anymore?” Angelica asks. Glory sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

“I admit, that stings dear cousin. But it is a fair question. I haven’t exactly been very decisive as of late.”

“You have had lots of ups and downs as of late, it is to be expected. You were Television Champion but lost the title thanks ot Kim’s Trios Cash In.”

“I blame Polly and her bitches for that one.” She snaps back. “I would have had a title, some title, had it not been for them.”

“Maybe. But then you got your rematch. You challenged Bree for the TV Title and couldn’t win it back. But you got your revenge against Polly and the Playgirls at Playing the Wildcard. You cleared up that nonsense and it cleared the road for you to challenge for the tag titles. But you haven’t quite got there yet.” Angelica states. Glory shakes her head.

“I haven’t even gotten out of the blocks.”

“That’s not entirely your fault, Glory.” Angelica points out. “Look at the state of the tag team division; Ace and Ravyn are the champions and you have Datura and Bree gunning for the titles, Light In The Darkness want them, The Playgirls just had a shot and are probably gonna be right back up there in contention. Holly Adams is back and…”

“Don’t try and make excuses for me, Angel.” Glory shakes her head. “The real problem is me.” She pats herself on the chest. “I just cannot make a decision on who I want my partner to be. And it isn’t for lack of names. I had a list.”

“A list? Really?” Angelica chuckles. Glory shakes her head.

“Don’t laugh. It’s a good method.”

“But how many of those people did you ask?”

“None.” Glory admits with a sigh.

“Ok, then maybe it IS partially your fault.” Angelica says with a smirk.

“Gee, thanks.” Glory says while rolling her eyes.

“Well tell me this; how many people have actually volunteered to be your partner?”

“Three. My sister Julia volunteered, but she is already busy with Global Championship Wrestling. She cares deeply for GCW and I didn’t want to split her attention, so I refused her offer.”

“Who else?”

“Well of course there was Matty.” Glory says with a sigh. “But we both know why THAT was a bad idea.”

“I agree. But there is still number three…”

“Britt.” Glory says. Angelica nods her head.

“Right. And what’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing. Hell, she’s probably the ideal tag team partner. I mean, we have so much history together as a dominant force. In Motor City Wrestling the two of us ran roughshod. Between the two of us we held every championship available. We held all of the gold.”

“So why haven’t you just accepted her offer? I was there backstage last week in Raleigh. I heard what she said. It made total sense to me.” Angelica says. Glory shakes her head.

“It’s just…”

“What?”

“The doubt.” She sighs. “Britt and I did once make a great team. But I was different back then. I was incredible. But in the past year I lost track of who I am, I lost my path. And I have tried so damn hard to get back there, I have tried so hard to become that person again. And I truly believe that I am that person again…”

“So what’s wrong?”

“...what if I’m wrong?” Glory asks. “What if I’m NOT QUITE that person yet? What if?” Angelica places a hand on her cousin’s shoulder.

“Glory, these hypothetical questions will drive you crazy. And I would think you of all people would know better than to allow your life to be dominated by hypotheticals. What did your dad say about the wrestling ring?”

“It’s the proving ground.” Glory says. “Two competitors enter the ring and prove how good they are by leaving it all in the ring.”

“Precisely. You can drive yourself mad with all of these hypotheticals but you’re not going to know anything until you take that leap. You can’t turn away people just because you’re not sure of yourself. Glory, you and I both know that Brittany is your best option. Isn’t she?”

“Yeah.” Glory nods her head.

“Right.” She turns and looks over at the camera man, who has not yet begun to roll, and then looks back at Glory and smirks. “I won’t keep you waiting. You have a job to do, I think.” Glory smiles and nods her head.

“Yeah, I do.”

“And I have a job to do as well…” Angelica winks and then turns and approaches the cameraman. “Gimme that. I think I can work this…”

==========
June 21st, 2023
Memphis, TN
On Camera
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The camera fades in and at first the camera seems to have some jerky movement but quickly the new camera operator, Angelica Jones as it turns out, manages to regain complete control. She focuses the camera on her cousin, “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock, who stands not too far away. Braddock has an air of confidence about her. Whereas before she was a woman with doubt, a woman unsure of where her path to Rise To Greatness would take her, she is now a woman with at least some answers. She is a woman who knows that wherever her path leads, it leads first towards Kandis, and Breakdown.

“It is said that fate is a fickle mistress. I honestly can’t argue that point. Taking Hold of the Flame is the perfect example of fate being a fickle mistress. Look at people such as Syren and my eccentric cousin Kim Williams. Or even Asher, who was among the first few entrants. They went damn near bell to bell. A young lady who we now know to be Kirsten Scott, The One, she lasted a damn long time in that battle royal. If you want to pick an MVP of Taking Hold of the Flame, you could choose any of those names and you wouldn’t be wrong. The case could be made for any of them as having had the best performance of the night. And yet as FATE would have it, none of them won, none of them are going to Rise To Greatness to challenge for the SCW World Championship. That prize, the prize that everyone wanted, went to the woman who drew lucky number forty.” She points a long slender finger at the camera.

“That would be you, Kandis. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t meant to diminish your victory. You may not be the most popular of individuals in the locker room, not that you care, but I have no problems giving credit where credit is due and congratulating you on your victory at Taking Hold of the Flame. You definitely earned that World Championship match that you have wanted for so long now. Still, you have to admit that fate did play at least some part in it. Could you have started at numbers one through five and still pulled it off?” Braddock shrugs her shoulders. “Who knows? Who cares? Point is that you won. Fate was on your side that night. You might even argue that fate owed you one. After all, how many opportunities have you had but came up short for one reason or another…whether it be due to injury? A multiple person clusterfuck event that allowed other competitors to screw you over? All just because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. All because fate had other plans for you. Now you are in the driver’s side, and I bet that feels good.” Braddock shakes her head.

“Don’t rest on your laurels, Kandis, and do not think even for one second that fate owed you anything. Fate is indeed fickle, very fickle. Some say she is a fickle mistress but I’d say she’s just a fickle little bitch. You got what you wanted but now things only get more and more difficult from here. You think beating Selena Frost is going to be easy? Regardless of what fans may think of her, she is the SCW World Champion for a reason. She has been to hell and back with some of the best SCW has had to offer, most of whom are no longer here anymore. But Selena has remained a constant. No wonder she has held that SCW World Title as many times as she has, and no wonder she calls herself the Face of SCW. And you are looking to take that from her?” Glory chuckles softly.

“It won’t be easy. Trust me, I know. And you know what, Kandis? That’s really my whole purpose, isn’t it? That’s why I am here tomorrow night in Memphis. That’s why you and I are going to lock up in the FedEx Forum here behind me. You are preparing for arguably the biggest match of your career against arguably the greatest World Champion in SCW history and I suppose Mr. D wants to see how you match up against someone of that talent level?” Braddock shakes her head. “No, no, I’m not standing here tooting my own horn. I’m not pretending to be on that level. Right now there’s only two on that level and that’s you and Frost. Me? I admit that I haven’t been at the top of my game lately. But if you look at my past, and your past…” she shrugs her shoulders “...well, let’s see, you started out as a dominant tag team champion. And while you have definitely had great success as a singles wrestler, and your biggest singles victory ever was Taking Hold of the Flame. But you have never won a singles championship in SCW.” She pats herself on the chest.

“Me on the other hand? I am a former SCW Television Champion. I am a former SCW Adrenaline Champion. I am a former SCW United States Champion. I am a former SCW World Champion. I am one championship away from Supreme Championship status, and that title is the one title you seem to do oh so well with…the World Tag Team Titles.” She laughs softly. “I find that a little ironic. You’re trying to move out of your tag team specialty and into singles dominance while I am moving out of singles and into the tag team realm. You know what else I find funny about all of this? You have everything you have ever wanted sitting right there ready for the taking. You finally have that SCW World Title Match that you have been kicking and screaming about for so damn long. And yes, Kandis, you EARNED IT! You went out and EARNED IT, shoving it right in everyone else’s face!” She shrugs her shoulders. “Yet you are already talking about returning to the tag team division and winning a fifth tag title?” She smirks.

“And people say that I can’t make up my mind.”

“I really do hope you and Selena tear the house down at Rise To Greatness. I really do. I wish both of you the best of luck and I hope you two show the world what SCW is all about. But Kandis, I am here to tell you right now that if your head is in the clouds thinking about how you’re going to win this, you’re going to win that, you’re going prove everyone wrong, and you’re NOT one hundred percent focused on Frost then you are going to fall flat on your face. Just like you are going to fall flat on your face tomorrow night if you decide to take me lightly tomorrow night. I DO understand my purpose, Kandis, I know why I was brought in. I’m the opponent.” Braddock shakes her head. “But I refuse to settle with that role. I refuse to be content with that role. I refuse to simply be that person who puts you to the test to see if you are ready for the Rise To Greatness spotlight.”

“I am a competitor and competitors do not settle. Competitors want to be the best and when I look at you, I see much more than an opponent and I damn sure see more than just someone I can put to the test. I see an opportunity…I see an opportunity to beat up, pin, or submit the current number one contender to the world title. I see an opportunity to outwrestle the winner of Taking Hold of the Flame. And that is exactly what I intend to do on Breakdown.” The British Bombshell smirks knowingly. “Now then, speaking of my intentions…whilst I think there are considerable doubts now raised about where your focus is as we head into Rise To Greatness, I can honestly say that my focus and my vision has never been clearer. I know exactly what the hell I want as we enter Rise To Greatness season.” Glory points at the camera.

“Which brings me to you, Britt. I admit, I was surprised that you showed up in Taking Hold of the Flame. I was also surprised to see you interrupting me in the ring on Breakdown. But you absolutely bowled me over with that proposal of yours. You want to be my tag team partner? You want to reunite Twisted & Sadistic.” She laughs. “You know, Britt, whether we were allies or enemies, one constant that remained about the two of us is that we always brought out the best in one another. I have been searching long and hard for the perfect, the ideal tag team partner, and I thought that person didn’t exist. But then you came along. You’re right. I shouldn’t just be content. I should not settle for something that really isn’t what I want. I know what I want and that is to become Supreme Champion, to win the tag team titles. And if you want to get the band back together and ride on this crazy train all the way to Rise To Greatness…” she nods her head “...you’re on.” Glory Braddock turns and starts to walk away. The camera fades to black.

[Kandis.]

Breakdown 6-22-23 #2