Turning Point

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Introduction

Sam’s Thoughts

On Camera

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Good afternoon.  My name is Samantha Hodgson and I guess I could begin with the corny, cheesy, overused statement that I am the manager of champions but that would be oversimplifying who I am.  I am oh so much more than just a manager of champions.  I am the manager of legends.  I am the creator of legacies.  In the palm of my hands I mold wrestling dynasties and now you can welcome me and my client to your shores.

Supreme Championship Wrestling can get on its knees and thank me eternally for blessing it with the most glorious presence of the greatest in ring performer to ever set foot inside of a wrestling ring.  I am, of course, referring to my client, “The Golden Goddess” Angelica Jones.

SCW will be thanking me, for the arrival of The Golden Goddess means more money in their pockets.  Angelica Jones, after all, is a major draw all over the world.  Wrestling companies all over have been clamoring for her but it was SCW that won out in the end.  Oh but the superstars on the roster may not feel like winners.

You may have heard of Angelica Jones but most of you have not had the honor of getting to face her in a match.  But now that will change.  Now each one of you will get to experience The Golden Goddess for yourselves.  Each o f you will see why Angelica Jones truly is one of the greatest ever and it all happens at Take Hold of the Flame.

My client has been ready since January to Take Hold of the Flame.  Since January she has been undefeated and she has been looking for an opportunity just like this one to reach out and take what is hers, what rightfully belongs to her.  Now SCW has granted her an opportunity to do just that in this battle royal and there is no one who will stop her.

It doesn’t matter if you are a Street, a Lohan, or a Frost.  It doesn’t matter if you’re superman or crazy Kordy.  I don’t even care to know about any surprise secret entrants.  I am confident in my client’s ability to defeat anyone in this industry, no matter who it is.  I am confident that no matter what is thrown at Angelica Jones, she will reign supreme, she will Take Hold of the Flame, and she will walk away having made the biggest and greatest debut anyone could ask for.

People love to talk about making a big impact, and I’m sure my client will try to be humble, but I am not humble, so I’ll say it for her.  Angelica Jones will win this match.  She will go on to become your world champion, having made the biggest immediate impact in the history of SCW.

I only deal with success, ladies and gentlemen.  I only deal with victory and I am obsessed with gold.  I must have it.  I must be surrounded by it and I must make sure my clients have it.

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Turning Point

Scene 1

Off Camera

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They say that pride cometh before a fall.  It comes from the book of Genesis in the Bible, the story of the original sin, the first sin.  It is also considered the most serious of the seven deadly sins.  In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride was what caused his fall from Heaven.  Pride, according to Christian mythology, has always been a bane upon the existence from the beginning of time.

Pride has also been a curse upon the life and career of one Angelica Jones.  Angelica Jones won her first world championship in her debut as a professional wrestler back in 2003.  She made further history by becoming the first female to win the world championship in that company, the Global Division of Wrestling.  The Boston native would go on to win titles in Motor City Wrestling, the Future Wrestling Alliance, the Millennium Wrestling Alliance, and every other company she would set foot in, eventually getting inducted into three halls of fame.

All of this came from a woman who, just sixteen years after losing her mother, sixteen years after a home invasion led to her being tied down and forced to watch her mother get brutally raped and murdered, sixteen years after she was sent away from her father to live the rest of her teenage life in a Catholic Parochial School learning to be a nun.  To come from such humble backgrounds to be a world champion is a fairy tale.

Success defines the life and career of Angelica Jones.  The woman calling herself Firestar had always known nothing but victory since becoming a professional wrestler.  And always in the background, always there watching and guiding with a silent hand, was none other than Samantha Hodgson.

Hodgson had been the agent of Emma Storm, a former rival of Angelica’s turned friend.  Emma had set the two up with one another after Angelica first became world champion.  Angelica had so quickly gone from rookie to world champion and thus it was Emma’s belief that her friend Angelica needed an agent to guide her career.

Samantha had been together for many years and Samantha watched as she marched through each company she had been in, winning championship after championship, and earning hall of fame honors, until Angelica and Samantha started having disagreements and the first major disagreement came after Firestar had won her ninth world title.

Samantha Hodgson encouraged Jones to quit, to retire and retirement, for Hodgson, made perfect sense.  Hodgson never understood the competitive nature of professional athletes.  She never understood their desire to continue fighting, to continue striving to be even better than before.  All Samantha saw were the dollar signs and she believed that Angelica could make just as much money for herself and for Samantha by sitting on her ass at home.

Slowly but surely Angelica and Samantha stopped talking.  Eventually all communication was cut off as Angelica Jones began to do things her way, running her own career the way she wanted.  Samantha didn’t mind, for she was convinced that Angelica would see the error of her ways.  She was convinced that Angelica could not manage her own career by herself.

It appeared as if Samantha was right as Angelica would win tag titles here and there but could never again manage to get anywhere near a world championship.  She knew that it was only a matter of time until Jones would come crawling back to her on her hands and knees, for she knew Angelica’s pride would not sit idly by and be content with being a second tie wrestler.  Hodgson knew very well how prideful Angelica was and she knew that she would once again crave the world championship and would do anything to get it back.

Granted it took four years but Angelica did finally call Samantha.  Angelica called her and asked her to once again guide her career.  Angelica Jones had been a dominant athlete for six years and then after splitting up with Hodgson she went on a four year drought away from the championship scene.  Jones was convinced that Hodgson was right, that she needed her in order to once again get to the top.

Samantha wanted Angelica back on her client list but she also wanted to make sure she didn’t rebel again.  So she used her newfound influence over Angelica to demand certain things from her.  She demanded that she present the public image of a champion and that didn’t just include her dress and hair.  It also included hiding her lesbian marriage from the public view, for in Samantha’s opinion, her marriage to Lindsey Carter was the farthest thing from the image of a champion.

Angelica agreed and did everything that Samantha had asked her to do.  She even  hid her own wife, Lindsey, from public view, all with the desire to keep Samantha happy, all thinking Samantha would lead her to a world title if she just did what she had asked her to do.

Lindsey Carter, Angelica’s wife, was long suffering and patient.  She put up with it for a long time but Angelica could tell that she was getting fed up with being treated like a mistress.  Samantha Hodgson was running Angelica’s life and Lindsey had enough.

That tension has all come to a head and Angelica is ready to confront her agent.  Angelica is ready to drop a bombshell on Samantha that will certainly be a turning point in their relationship and that is what brings Angelica to Hodgson’s Worcester, Massachusetts offices.  The lovely beauty is dressed in a black maxi skirt, flip flops, and a plain white t-shirt.  She may have ditched the elegant dressed for now but her hair is still dyed blonde and left to hang unrestrained to shoulder length.

She storms right in through the waiting area.  Samantha’s secretary is right there at her desk, which is located perpendicular to the door that leads to Hodgson’s office.  The secretary looks up at Angelica and smiles politely.

“Good evening, Ms. Jones!”

“Shut it.” Angelica is not in a good mood and she lets it be known. “Is Sam in there?”

The secretary quickly nods her head. “Yes...Ms. Hodgson is waiting for you.”

“Good…”

Angelica walks over to the door and shoves it open, entering the office.  Sitting there at her desk is Samantha Hodgson.  She is dressed like a businesswoman prepared for war in a powerful looking green knee length skirt and matching jacket with a white blouse underneath.  Her feet are encased in black high heel pumps.

“Angelica, please have a seat.”

With a gentle flick of her wrist her agent motions to an empty chair in front of her oak desk.  The Boston native takes one look at the chair and then back up at the brunette and shakes her head.

“No,” she folds her arms over her chest “I would rather stand.”

Hodgson shrugs her shoulders. “That is your decision, not mine.”

“Imagine that, me getting to make a decision around here.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Samantha asks, her brow cocked in anticipation of the pending answer.

“You are a smart woman, Samantha.  You figure it out.”

Hodgson, agent of wrestling superstars, lets out a sigh of frustration.

“I know that you are upset about some of the things that have happened recently.”

“Upset?” The voice of Angelica Jones raises just a few decibels higher. “Oh I am beyond upset, Sammy.”

“First of all, Frontier would go months without booking me,” she holds up one finger “then despite my constant activity and undefeated streak and you having booking power in GCW, I can’t even get a world title shot in that company” she holds a third finger “thirdly, the Future Wrestling Alliance shuts down before I get any chance of winning gold”

“Hardly my fault.” Samantha pipes in.

“Irrelevant.  You should have been prepared for it but you weren’t.” Finally Jones holds up a fourth finger. “And finally, last but not least, you still want my wife to stay in hiding.”

Hodgson rolls her eyes. “Not this again…”

Samantha Hodgson has pretty much had enough of what she perceives to be her client’s whining and moaning.  The brunette gets up out of the comfy black leather rolling office chair she was sitting and stands up behind her desk, staring deep into her client’s eyes.

“Allow me to address these one at a time.  First of all, I cannot control how Frontier books you.  Hell, I am even allowing you to go all out when they forced you on two separate occasions to team up with that stupidly annoying Summer Collins.”

“True…”

“Yes, what is it that you call that sadistic side of your personality?” She grins, nodding her head. “Yes, that’s it, The Dragon.  I’m letting you become The Dragon just so you can shut that stupid Collins woman up once and for all.”

She holds up two fingers. “As for GCW, you know as well as I do that even with booking abilities there is only so much I can do.  Conflict of interest and all…”

“You had no problem making Sierra Michaels the highest paid athlete on the SWC roster.”

“That’s different.” Hodgson points out. “SWC is technically its own entity.”

Jones sighs. “GCW owns it but allows them to operate like it own entity, thus you still have a conflict of interest.  Why else is Pierce Manning so hell bent on getting you kicked out of power?”

“Jealousy, I would suppose.” Hodgson chuckles but Jones doesn’t even crack a smile. “Nevertheless, as for the FWA closing its doors, you know I could not have helped it.  And do not try and tell me I should have been prepared.  Everything was looking up for you and the company.  You were undefeated and they just came off of a successful pay per view.”

Samantha smiles warmly as she steps away from her desk and slowly approaches her client.

“I had my doubts regarding your choice of FWA as a company.  Yet, as you defeated Nate Lawson twice and then Mya Denton, and FWA itself had begun taking off, you were proving me wrong.”

She reaches out and places her hands on Angelica’s shoulders. “But then it went under, proving that I was right all along about FWA’s inability to succeed and your lack of business knowledge.”

She pats herself and then Angelica on the chest. “That is why we are a great team, Angelica.”

“A great team?”

Samantha nods her head. “Yes, you and I are a great team.  I cannot do the things that you do inside that ring.  You are the true best in the world, not your pathetic cousin Glory Braddock.”

She reaches out and touches Angelica on the nose. “And you, as good as you are, cannot do the things I can do outside the ring.  You are clearly inept when it comes to the business of the backstage politics.  You said so yourself.”

“Yes, but…”

“Answer this question for me.” Samantha says, quickly speaking up before Angelica can finish her thought. “Who got you that amazing contract with SCW?”

A sigh of defeat leaves Angelica’s lips. “You did.”

“Exactly.  See?  No time passed after FWA went under until I negotiated a new contract for you.  I did that for you.  And just as you are the best there is inside the ring, I am the best outside the ring.  You need to trust me, as I trust you.”

“Oh but that’s the problem, Sam.” Angelica frowns. “I don’t think you trust me at all.  The way you give me so many orders and directions on how to act it seems like you don’t trust me.”

“Oh but I do trust you, Angelica.  This all just goes back to the fact that you and I are a team.  On a football team, a baseball team, a basketball team, whether it is in the professional leagues or in college, there is a head coach.  There is a team captain.”

Samantha motions to herself. “I am the captain of this team right here.”

“And that’s why I should listen to everything you say?”

“Everything I ask you to do is for your own good, Angelica.”

“What about Lindsey?”

“Oh...her…” Samantha sighs and places a forced grin upon her face “...Angelica, she is a lovely girl and quite pleasant, but the fact is that a wrestling organization like SCW does not want a raging lesbian representing it as its champion.”

“Lindsey and I are hardly raging lesbians, Sam.”

“Only because I have put a halt to it all.”

“You have done more than just put a halt to it.  You made it where we cannot do anything.”

“It’s for the best.  You must appear normal and, quite honestly, that relationship with you and Ms. Carter is far from normal.”

She reaches out with a hand and places it on Angelica’s shoulders again but Jones swats it away.

“I don’t think so.  For a long time my judgment was clouded by a desire to become world champion, but seeing the pain on my wife’s face, the heartbreak as I kept having to tell her we can’t go out, we can’t be seen together in public, that I can’t acknowledge her publicly, that ate away at my heart and my soul until I finally figured it out, until I finally saw the light.”

“That sounded like it burned a little.”

“Do you think this is a joke?” Angelica reaches out and snatches Samantha by her throat. “This is not a joke, Hodgson.  I am deadly serious.  Things are about to change between you and I and they start right now.”

Hodgson doesn’t bat an eye as her client keeps a vice-like grip around her throat.  She knew going in that Angelica tended to have mood swings like this, so she’s used to it.  She just has to find a way to get her back into a good mood.  She has to calm her down.  And she thinks she knows just the way to do it.

“I would advise that you release me right now and we just pretend this never happened.”

“Oh?  Why should I?”

“I know what you want, Angelica, and since we reunited back in January you have gone undefeated.  You even won a world title in the International Wrestling Championship…”

“Which went under shortly after I won it!”

“Another bad business move on YOUR part if I might add, but in any event you have been undefeated since we reunited and you even won a title for a brief period.  You have just joined SCW and are about to participate in their Take Hold of the Flame Battle Royal for a shot at the world championship.  Do you really want to risk it all just to physically harm me?”

Angelica stares deep into Hodgson’s eyes.  Samantha still does not flinch.  She knows Angelica quite well by now and is confident that this should work.  Sure enough, she releases her grip and Sam steps away.

“Thank you, Ms. Jones, I am glad you finally came to your senses and decided to be a team player.”

“A team player?” Angelica throws her head back and laughs. “You misinterpret me, Sammy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that things really are going to change from here on out.” Jones grins devilishly. “I have spoken to Silas Mason.”

Samantha’s eyes grow wide. “You didn’t…”

“I did and, quite honestly, I liked what he had to tell me and what he offered me was very good.”

“You cannot trust him!” Samantha shakes her head vehemently. “I know we haven’t exactly seen eye to eye, Angelica, but you have to trust me on this, he is not good people.”

“Oh and you are?  I am supposed to believe that Silas Mason is not good people but the woman who acts like a homopboic bitch whenever my wife is around is good people?”

Hodgson gets down on her knees before Angelica. “Please, Angelica, you have to listen to reason…”

“Oh this is rich!” She chuckles to herself. “Samantha Hodgson is on the floor at my feet begging me to stay!”

“Just…” Sam’s voice trails off, then she sighs “...just do not join with Silas Mason.”

“Oh don’t worry,” she reaches down and, much like Sam did earlier, touches her on the nose “I am not ready to abandon you  just yet.”

She holds up one finger. “I am giving you one last chance.”

“One chance?” Samantha gulps as she watches her client nod her head.

“That’s right, Sammy.  One last chance.  You had better improve, you had better start acting better around my wife, and you had better start treating me like an equal and not some inferior.  Otherwise I will sign that deal Silas has prepared for me.   Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

“Yes...yes, Ms. Jones…”

“Excellent.” She turns and starts to walk off but stops as she gets to the door. “Oh and by the way, I have grown kind of attached to the blonde hair, but just because out of spite you forced me to sport blonde hair...I am also, out of spite, going back to my natural red hair.  Jones red.”

“You are?”

“Temporarily at least.  Maybe just for the battle royal.  SCW’s first taste of yours truly shouldn’t be of The Golden Goddess.”

A flare erupts in her eyes. “It should be of The Dragon…”

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Introduction

Angelica’s Thoughts

On Camera

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I want to begin by apologizing for my agent.  Sammy can be a bit overbearing at times but she’s real sweet if you get to know her.

This is the first time in a long time I have set foot onto foreign turf, and while SCW has been nothing but welcoming towards me, I do realize that many here on this roster do not know who I am.  So allow me to take this time right now to shed some light on that…

My name is Angelica Jones and whether you call me Firestar, The Dragon, or The Golden Goddess, at the end of the day I am still your worst nightmare.  No matter what name I go by, I am still the last person you want to get into the ring against because who I am and what I am is the most sadistic bitch in professional wrestling.

I have shed by blood in street fights and I have been the last person standing.  I sent opponents to the hospital in ambulance matches and I am undefeated in the triple tier Apocalypse Match.  I am undefeated in Seven Stages of Hell, a match in which I left Brittany Lohan lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood.  I have climbed the ladder and risked my life in ladder matches and I have survived the Weapon’s Lair.  I have broken more bodies, more bones, and shed more blood than anyone else in professional wrestling.

What you see on the outside may be the image of refined beauty and elegance but on the inside is a fierce warrior willing to go to any lengths, to do anything at all, in order to win, in order to achieve success.  I am the woman who has won ten world championships and has been inducted into three halls of fame.  That is who I am and that is who you are dealing with here in SCW.

Oh but before anyone says it, let me say it for you.  This is SCW and none of that matters here.  Right?

I agree with you.  This is not about the past, this is about the present, and this is about me repeating my success here in SCW and bringing to SCW my own brand of violence.

You have a battle royal coming up, don’t you?  Take Hold of the Flame?  Samantha was right in saying I would be humble.  I am not going to stand here and declare victory before the bell even rings, not in a match that involves forty other competitors.  That would be insane for anyone to do.

What I am going to say is that I am going to hurt people in that match.  I am going to cause some pain, I am going to shed some blood because that is what I do.  That is what I was trained to do.

I am going to tell each and every one of the competitors in that match to be prepared, because Angelica Jones is here in SCW now and she is going for the jugular.

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Turning Point

Scene 2

Off Camera

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Finally dealing with her agent Samantha Hodgson, finally setting her straight and making sure she knows what she needs to do from here on out, has taken a great weight off of Angelica’s shoulders.  No longer will she be burdened with the guilt of hiding her wife from public view.  No longer does she have to pretend to be someone she’s not.  Now Angelica can just be herself.  Now she can focus on what’s important.

The immediate concern is SCW and her opportunity in the Take Hold of the Flame battle royal.  Angelica joined at just the right time as she gets to enter this match and, if she can win, she can earn a world championship match in the near future.

It’s what Angelica has been after since January, another world title reign, a chance to prove that her legacy is far from over, that she is still a dominant athlete.  There is no better place to prove that than in SCW.

There are many in this match whom Angelica will be encountering for the first time, there are few people in this match who have in ring history with Angelica Jones.  In fact, unless there’s a surprise entrant, the only one whom Angelica knows quite well is Dawn Lohan.  A lot of homework will have to be done so she will be fully prepared for the coming battle.

And perhaps more important than that world championship opportunity she may earn in the battle royal if she can win it is her marriage to Lindsey Carter.  For too long Angelica had kept Lindsey in hiding just to please Samantha Hodgson.  Lindsey had put up with it patiently, even though she shouldn’t have to, and Angelica felt bad.  She felt terrible.  But after confronting Hodgson, Angelica can thankfully rest assured that it is over and she can get on with her life.

Jones is returning from her meeting with Samantha, opening the front door to her home in Boston, Massachusetts and stepping inside.  Her wife, the lovely Lindsey Carter, is there to greet her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“How did it go?”

Lindsey asks as she takes her lovely wife’s blazer and sets it down on a nearby rack.

“It went well.” The Boston native says with a contented sigh.  “It felt real good to get all of that off my chest.”

“I bet it did.” The two women walk over to the couch where they sit down.  Their lips meet in a quick, soft, yet touching nonetheless, kiss. “I know how much that woman has been tormenting you.”

“Yes, but more importantly she’s been tormenting you.” She rubs Lindsey’s cheek. “I was wrong for listening to her for so long.  I was wrong to hide our relationship just to keep her happy.”

Angelica smiles sheepishly. “Forgive me?”

“Forgive you?  I was never mad at you, darling.” Lindsey kisses her again on the lips.  Upon breaking she smiles mischieviously. “Besides, how can I not forgive or how can I be mad at someone who is so damn great in bed?”

Jones bursts into laughter. “That’s what I like about you, Linds!  You always make me laugh at just the right time!”

“I am glad I can be of some service!”

Lindsey and Angelica have been together for just a little over a year now and have been married for less than that.  The original arrangement was actually quite manipulative in that it was a setup on the part of Meagan Collins to try and trick her corporate rival Lindsey Carter into signing over control of her company to Angelica Jones in the form of a prenuptial agreement.  And that did, in fact, happen, but Meagan did not count on Angelica developing real feelings for this woman whom she was supposed to be manipulating.

Lindsey herself didn’t seem bothered too much she learned of what had taken place, for it was Angelica who turned on Meagan in order to protect her and save her from the devilish plot Meagan had for her.  Funny how things work out.  It was meant to be for evil but it became something so very good for both women.

“I have to know,” Lindsey begins with an expectant grin “did you tell her about Silas?”

Jones nods her head. “Oh you better believe I told her all about Silas.”

The brunette woman claps her hands excitedly. “Oh I would have given anything to have seen her reaction!”

“It was priceless…”

“She thinks you’re not brave enough to go and sign with another agent but she doesn’t know you like I do.”

“Um, Lindsey…”

“And now that you have signed with Silas Mason and are done with Samantha Hodgson we can just leave that nightmare in the rearview mirror and move on with our lives.”

“Lindsey, I didn’t sign with Silas.”

Carter blinks a few times out of confusion. “Wait...what?”

“I haven’t signed with him, at least not yet.  He knows and understands my positions and he is being very patient with me.  As for Samantha, I’m giving her one last chance to shape up before I do sign with Sils.”

Angelica’s wife shakes her head. “One last chance?  But Angelica, she doesn’t deserve another chance.”

“Samantha and I have been through heaven and hell together, Sam.  I won all ten of my world titles with her as my agent.  Samantha was there at all three of my Hall of Fame inductions.  I owe it to her to give her at least one more chance.”

Lindsey sighs. “But Angel, think of the things she said about me...about us…”

“I know but believe me when I say that she will never again insult you, she will never again try and make you hide from public view.  I informed her that if she offended you again in any way, then our deal was off and I would sign with Silas.”

Jones reaches out and begins to stroke her wife’s long hair. “Believe me, Lindsey, things are going to be different from now on.”

“I know.”

“I do want to be a champion again but I want to be a champion with you by my side, a glorious golden power couple that everyone can look on at with awe.  I want to parade you around with pride, not hide you with shame.  And if Lindsey has a problem with it, I already have someone on speed dial who doesn’t have a problem with it.”

She leans in and kisses her on the cheek. “So, are you ok?”

“Yeah…” Lindsey chuckles lightly “...I guess I am.”

“Good, because things are looking up for The Jones-Carter Family.  In fact, maybe we should start celebrating right now?”

Angelica winks at Lindsey who winks right back at her knowingly. “You little devil…”

“Dragon, get it right.”

“Well then Dragon, go on upstairs.  I’ll be right up.”

Angelica nods her head.  She gets up and heads out of the living room.  Once she is gone Lindsey Carter, her wife, frowns.

“I’m sorry, Angel, but I have to get rid of Samantha.  She does not deserve a second chance.  This is for your own good…”

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The Flame

On Camera

==========

The Phillips Arena towers in the background in a bright sunny sky in an elegant blue sky.  A few people are walking around here and there behind a metal guard rail that keeps them separated from the entrance.   For the most part, though, this place is empty.  Even the sky itself appears empty, with the exception of a cloud or two that passes by.  The camera stays focused on this scene for several seconds until a familiar feminine figure steps into the scene.  This, of course, is Angelica Jones.  The Boston native turns to face the camera, revealing that she is wearing a cream colored sundress, strappy sandals, and her signature black leather jacket.  For this occasion she has returned to her natural hair color, red, and she has a confident look written on her face, a look that some might even describe as being arrogant or smug.

“Behind me is the Phillips Arena.” She begins, waving with her right hand to the building behind her.  “This arena is the home of the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta Thrashers and coming up in June it will be the home of Supreme Championship Wrestling as we roll into town for Take Hold of the Flame.”

“Take Hold of the Flame is appropriate name, I think, because it hearkens back to the Olympic flame.  The Olympic tradition of the flame lighting commemorates the theft of fire from the God Zeus for the benefit of humanity.  In the 1996 Summer Olympics here in Atlanta, Muhammad Ali, former heavyweight champion of the world, lit the Olympic flame, a symbol of the continued burning passion for competition that exists within all Olympic athletes.”

“Granted we are not Olympians but we are athlete nevertheless and we are no different from them in our sense of competition, our desire to be the best.  Competition is what drives us, it’s what keeps us coming back for more.  Were it not for that competitive drive within each of us, we’d all just retire after winning our first championship.  We would just pack up and quit while we’re on top of the world.  It makes sense, right?”

Angelica shakes her head. “It makes sense to the world but it doesn’t make sense to an athlete.  We athletes have to compete.  We have to continue fighting, we have to continue the battle, we have to prove time and time again that we are the best, that we are the top of the mountain, and that no one is better.”

“Take Hold of the Flame also hearkens me back to when I got my start in this industry.  When I first debuted as a wrestler back in GDW I debuted under the name of Firestar.” A warm smile slides across her face as she shuts her eyes at the same time. “Yes, those were good times.  The good old days of my early years, the days of learning, days of growing and evolution.”

She smile quickly fades and her eyes open. “I became a professional wrestler because I wanted to be a world champion.  Everyone says that and I know it sounds cheesy but it was true for me.  I refused to sit idly by and become what my father wanted me to become, what society had envisioned for me made me nauseous.  I wanted to become better than that.  I wanted to become bigger than the rest of the world.  So I trained, I learned, and I started wrestling.  I competed all over the world for GDW until I won my first world championship.  My dream had been fulfilled, I was the best, I could stop, right?”

She shakes her head. “No, not yet.  That competitive fire still existed within the young Firestar.  After winning the title once I wanted to win it again…and again…and again…”

A low laugh escapes her lips. “The curse of being champion is the addiction that comes with it.  The feeling of being the best is great but once you lose it you crave it again, you have to have it again.  Ask anyone who has been a world champion and they will tell you all about the addiction that exists.  It is real, it is very real”

“Hell, just ask Kelcey Wallace how real that addiction is.  She can tell you.  She may deny it but she knows in heart and soul that the addiction is real.  She’s been experiencing withdrawal symptoms since she lost the title to Cruze.  Of all forty participants, myself included, I dare say she’ll probably be fighting harder than anyone else just so that she can satisfy that craving to hold the gold once more.”

“There are many in this battle royal who do not know of the addiction because they have yet to become a world champion.  Dawn Lohan,  I have a great deal of history with you and your family.  While your sister has been a world champion before, you yourself have not.  I understand you recently fought Shaun Cruze for SCW World Championship and came up short.”

Jones shrugs her shoulders. “Those are the breaks.  You will be a champion someday, I’m sure of it, but how prepared are you to get the job done at Take Hold of the Flame?  Are you prepared for the all out hell you’ll have to go through just to earn the title shot?  I mean, even if you can get through the thirty-nine other competitors, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll manage to go on to win the championship.”

“Or what about Chris Cannon?  I remember you from my last run in GDW.  We never got to fight but I remember you were a former Fever Television Champion.  That speaks of how good you are.  I look forward to finally tangling with you in the battle royal.  I look forward to seeing if you really are as good as advertised.  I can tell you right now that I am as good as advertised.”

“And there are still more, many more whom I have yet to get acquainted with.  I mean, just think of the potential clashes between famous wrestling families, the Jones and the Streets.  And that’s just one possibility that this battle royal presents.”

The red head grins. “That’s the funny thing about battle royals, you never know what might happen in a battle royal.  You never know who might end up fighting each other in a battle royal.  And the fact that this is a battle royal adds yet another reason why Take Hold of the Flame is such an appropriate title for this event, because in a battle royal, truly anyone at all can reach up and snatch that brass ring, anyone can take it and make their dream come true.  And that’s not cheesy, that’s fact.”

“Battle royals, you see, are unpredictable.  You truly do not know who you will end up facing.  You may try to focus on a hated rival but your best friend may end up stabbing you in the back, because this is truly every man and woman for themselves.  There can only be one winner in this battle royal.  Only one person can go on to face the world champion.”

“Another thing about battle royals is that you have to have endurance.  You have to be able to survive the onslaught of thirty-nine other competitors in order to get that win, to get that prized title shot.”

She points to herself with her thumb. “I have survived barbed wire, c4 explosives, thumbtacks, broken glass, electrified steel cages, and any other barbaric device known to this industry.  I have survived men over twice my size trying to break me in half and I have taken sick falls that no one should ever have to take.”

“I am Firestar, I am The Dragon, and yes I am The Golden Goddess, but more importantly than any of that, I am a survivor.  I have taken everything anyone in this industry has had to throw at me and I have kept coming back for more.  There is nothing anyone in this match can do that can kill me.  There is nothing anyone can do that can make me stop fighting.”

“Will I win?” Angelica shrugs her shoulders. “I can’t say, we’ll have to wait until June 1^st, won’t we?  But what I can say is that I will give it my all, I will fight like hell, I will dish out the punishment, every bit of it that I can dish out, just as much as I take in.  And you can believe it when I say that I am coming prepared for war, because I am a warrior, and I am a competitor, a competitor ready to take that flame and take the world championship match that I have so long desired, that I have so craved.  Win, lose, or draw, I guarantee that I will make an immediate impact here in SCW.  Bank on it.”