Addressing The Elephant In The Room

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Off Camera

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Breakdown from Mexico City, Mexico went off without a hitch for The Sisterhood.  Granted, they were not in a match that night, but still, it was uneventful and, for Angelica and Kayla Jones, uneventful is a very good thing right now.

The Sisterhood have definitely lost a step lately.  It all began at Broken Beliefs when they lost the SCW World Tag Team Championship back to Honor Code.  Fatal Fortunes threatened to pull them apart by placing them in individual singles action.  When the sibling pair finally did manage to return to tag team action a couple of weeks ago on Breakdown, they lost to Tommy Valentine and Jake Starr.

Have they lost a step?  It would appear so.  Those close to the Jones family sense that there is some tension at the least, out and out infighting at worst, between the two Sisterhood members.  What could the issue be?  Kayla has been vocal of her disapproval of her older sister’s choice in romantic partners.  They argued publicly over social media, even.  But supposedly that’s been dealt with…

…and yet the tension is still there.

So what is going on between Angelica and Kayla Jones?  No one knows for sure, but whatever it is the sibling pair need to get the problem resolved and quickly.  They are already immersed in the road to Rise to Greatness and they know full well that their performance in the coming weeks will determine their spot on the biggest event in professional wrestling.

Kayla Jones hasn’t been with SCW as long as her sister.  In fact, Kayla only came to SCW when Angelica needed assistance.  She remembers, Rise To Greatness two years ago, Kayla was there watching Angelica break free from Silas Mason.  Shortly thereafter they reformed The Sisterhood and became SCW World Tag Team Champions.

Now?  Things are looking bleak.

Kayla sits in a blue steel folding chair in the dressing room at Mexico City, Mexico shortly after Breakdown has come to its conclusion.  She is dressed in a flowing, loose fit ankle length floral print skirt, a red short sleeved top, and sandals on her feet.  Her long gorgeous red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.

The younger half of The Sisterhood appears to be deep in thought, so deep that she doesn’t even notice when the door opens and her oldest sister, Angelica Jones, joins her in the room.  Angelica is wearing a pair of form fitting denim jeans, a black t-shirt, and her signature black leather jacket.  Her long red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.

“Kay?”

“Huh?” Kayla is startled as she looks up to see her sister there.  Kayla smiles pleasantly, letting out a slight sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s just you.”

“Who did you think it was?” Angelica asks with a smirk.

“I don’t know.” Kayla responds shrugging her shoulders. “You just surprised me, that’s all.”

“Oh, well I’m sorry,” Angelica says “I didn’t mean to scare you.  I just wanted to see if you were ready to leave.  Trenton pulled the car around.”

“Uh, yeah…” Kayla says somewhat absent-mindedly “…I’ll be there in a moment.”

Angelica frowns. “What is it?”

Kayla shakes her head dismissively. “It’s nothing.”

Angelica and Kayla know each other very well and it goes beyond just being sisters.  They have a very close connection that even few siblings have with one another.  They always seem to know what the other is thinking, or at the very least, they seem to know when something is bothering the other.  It’s terribly difficult, if not outright impossible, for Angelica to lie to Kayla or vice-versa.  Something is bothering Kayla, Angelica can sense it, but what is it?

Earlier Angelica had burst into the dressing room and informed her that they were rusty, that they needed to get back into tag team shape and to do that she had booked them in a tag team match for next Breakdown from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Kayla is a proud athlete, much like Angelica, could the implications that they had lost a step or lost focus had gotten under Kayla’s skin?

There is only one way to find out.  Angelica walks over and picks up another steel folding chair propped up against a wall.  She takes it and sets it up in front of Kayla.  Angelica sits down in the chair in front of her younger sibling and tag team partner Kayla Jones.

“What’s wrong, sis?”

“Nothing.”

Angelica shakes her head. “You’re lying.”

Angelica tries to place a comforting hand on her sister’s knee but Kayla swats it away.  Angelica sighs out of frustration.

“Is this about earlier tonight and what I said?”

“You think I’m bothered by what you said tonight?” Kayla chuckles. “I just find it somewhat funny that you think a few words and a match that you helped set u p will make things better for us.”

“Ok, you make a point,” Angelica says, nodding her head, “but will you allow me the chance to make my case?”

“Go for it.”

“Look, let’s go ahead and make something perfectly clear.” Angelica begins rather sternly, her sister Kayla folding her arms over her chest and nodding her head in response.

“Ok…”

“Kayla, it is clear that we are not in an enviable situation right now.” Angelica says plainly, matter-of-factly. “In fact, I’d say we are in the absolute last place we want to be.”

“And where is that, Angel?”

“Right where we were one year ago today.” Angelica says stoically. “Think about it, as we were heading towards Rise To Greatness last year we were former SCW World Tag Team Champions but were we challenging for the belts?”

Angelica waits on an answer; hearing none, Angelica shakes her head. “No, we weren’t.  We didn’t even know what we were going to be doing for Rise To Greatness this time last year.  We ended up slowly but surely drifting apart, doing our own thing.  Does that sound familiar?”

“I get where this is going…” Kayla attempts to chime in but Angelica holds up a hand to silence her.

“We were going our own separate paths but we didn’t know where those paths would take us.  As a matter of fact,” Angelica shrugs her shoulders “I’m not even sure we were on any paths. We were more likely just rambling around aimlessly with no real goal heading into Rise To Greatness.  And do you remember what we ended up with at Rise To Greatness?”

Kayla sighs and nods her head. “Yeah, I remember.”

“I fought Justin Davis.” Angelica chuckles lightly. “I remember calling it the piss break match.”

Kayla smirks. “You were angry at the time, angry at being ‘randomly thrown on the card’ as you put it.  You weren’t exactly respectful, sis.”

“Perhaps I was a little disrespectful…”

“A little?!” Kayla arches her brow, shocked at her sister’s understatement. “Angelica, you used a low blow to beat him.”

“Fine, so maybe I wasn’t exactly a saint back then,” she rolls her eyes before pointing a finger at Kayla “but neither were you, if I remember correctly.  You called your match just simply ‘space filler’, you openly said you were hoping to lose, and you didn’t exactly appreciate being on the pre-show as opposed to the main card, now did you?”

Kayla’s eyes narrow and a low growl escapes her lips. “I was very disrespectful, I admit that, and I was wrong…”

“I’m not asking you to apologize for your words or for feeling the way you did.  I’m merely offering this up as motivation, because the fact is that we are right back in that same place we were one year ago.  We are roaming around randomly, not sure of where we’re going, not on any clear or distinct path.  Add to that the fact that we have lost a step.  We lost the SCW World Tag Team Championship back to Honor Code.  We got beat by Tommy Valentine and Jake Starr.”

“They’re good, Angelica.”

“I agree,” Angelica nods her head “but we’ve been together longer, we shouldn’t have been experiencing any ring rust, we should’ve had them beaten.  The point is that The Sisterhood is on a losing streak and that puts us in danger of once again being overlooked.”

Angelica reaches out and places a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I know you won’t disrespect Supreme Championship Wrestling again the way you did last year, but there are no cameras here.  There are no prying eyes.  This is just you and me, sis; so tell me, honestly, do you want to once again get stuck on the pre-show against some random names just because Mr. D and SCW management can’t find anything else for us to do?”

A weak, sad smile spreads across Kayla’s face. “You’re appealing to my pride.”

“You’re damn right I’m appealing to your pride, because I’m proud of who we are and what we’ve accomplished.”  Angelica stands up. “We are The Sisterhood, damn it!  We are two time SCW World Tag Team Champions!  We deserve better!”

Kayla stands up as well and shakes her head. “No, I don’t want to be on the pre-show again.  But I’m also not going to stand here and say we deserve better.  Name recognition alone doesn’t cut it, we have to our own spots here in SCW and, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“But you do want better than the pre-show?”

“Damn right I want better than the pre-show.  I would love to be tag team champion for a third time.  But we haven’t earned that spot, sis.  Lately, we haven’t earned anything.”

“That’s my point.” Angelica says with a grim tone. “We haven’t earned anything because we haven’t been focused.  It’s time that we changed all of that.  It’s time that we regained our focus, wouldn’t you agree?”

Kayla nods her head, smiling confidently. “Damn right.”

Angelica grins knowingly, a grin that matches Kayla’s. “Excellent, glad to hear it, because we’re going to need it for this match I set us up with.”

“Oh?”

“Stacy Kissinger and Craig Thomas.” Angelica remarks. “Adrenaline Rush.”

“I thought Tyler Tucker and Craig Thomas were the team of that trio?”

Angelica nods her head. “Normally it is, but I’m guessing they’re going to try different things.  I mean, Tyler has been successful as a singles competitor.  He is a former United States Champion.”

“Well good for them,” Kayla announces “let’s just make sure this new incarnation of Adrenaline Rush doesn’t live up to the standard of the original one we’re used to facing.”

“You’re right, this is Adrenaline Rush, and we have fought them before.” Angelica says with that same serious tone. “That’s why this is very important.  We know we can beat Adrenaline Rush.  This is our chance to rebound.  So if we fail here, then we need to…”

“No,” Kayla shakes her head, interrupting her older sister “just no, we’re not even going to consider that possibility.  We’re going to win, right Angel?”

Angelica smiles warmly. “Right.”

“Unfortunately it won’t be that easy.”

“Oh I know,” Angelica begins, nodding her head “we may be on the same page but we have to stay there, stay focused, we have to do our homework, and we…”

“No, no, no…” Kayla shakes her head “…I don’t mean any of that.”

“Oh?” Angelica looks on somewhat perplexed. “Then what do you mean?”

“I think you know exactly what I mean.” Kayla sighs. “Aphrodite.”

Aphrodite Noel is the latest love interest of one Angelica Jones.  Angelica and Aphrodite had been rivals once upon a time but now they’re giving this relationship a try and Kayla, for her part, does not understand why.  She cannot see why Angelica would even associate with Aphrodite let alone get wrapped up in a romantic relationship with her.

For Angelica it was simply a matter of needing someone in this post-Lindsey Carter world.  Angelica’s wife, Lindsey Carter, went missing several months ago and for the longest time she was extremely upset, depressed, and didn’t think she could bounce back.  But Aphrodite was there to offer consolation.  She was there as a shoulder to cry on.  She was there as a friend at first but, later on, as much more.

Despite Angelica’s repeated attempts to explain it the sisters remained divided.  Kayla did not buy Angelica’s explanation and, at first, she was very vocal and adamant about her disapproval of the relationship.  Though lately they had gone on to just agree to disagree and not bother to bring up the obvious elephant in the room.  Thus it seems as a surprise that now the subject is being brought up and by Kayla Jones no less.

“Are you sure you want to talk about this, Kay?”

Kayla shakes her head. “No, I don’t want to talk about it.  Do I NEED to talk about it, do we NEED to talk about it?”  Again she nods her head. “Yes, yes we do.”

Angelica sighs and sits back down in her chair. “Fine, then let’s talk.”

“I don’t know what the solution is, sis, but we need to figure it out soon.” Kayla sits back down as well. “We need to be on the same page and time is not on our side.  You’d better believe Stacy and Craig will be on the same page.”

“Yeah they will be, but Kayla,” Angelica sighs “a solution implies that there is a problem and, to be perfectly honest with you, I do not think there is a problem with my relationship with Aphrodite.”

“But that’s exactly it!” Kayla exclaims. “You don’t think there’s a problem but I do.  You love her and I don’t trust her.  That is the problem.  Aphrodite Noel is the Yoko Ono of The Sisterhood.”

Angelica glares angrily at Kayla. “Are you implying Aphrodite is trying to destroy us from within?”

“I’m not saying that, it’s just…” Kayla sighs out of frustration “…look, whether she is doing it intentionally or unintentionally is irrelevant, the fact is that she is coming between the two of us.”

“Kayla, have you ever stopped to think” Angelica points an accusatory finger at her younger sister “that you and your jealousy are the real reasons why there are issues within The Sisterhood?”

“You’re nuts!” Kayla exclaims.

“Am I?  Think about it for just a moment…” Angelica reaches out and takes Kayla’s hands “…for the longest time all we had was one another.  When mom died and dad abandoned us, we had to rely on ourselves to survive.”

“Your point being?” Kayla asks sarcastically.

“My point is that it is tough to let go and let others have their time with us.  I admit, I was jealous of your first husband Jason spending all that time with you, time that I used to spend with you.  And then you can only imagine how jealous I was when you started dating my ex…”

Kayla snickers. “Yeah, dating Andreas was an interesting time…”

“And now you’re with Trenton Snow.   But have I thrown a fit?” Angelica shakes her head. “No, I kept my thoughts and opinions to myself.”

Noticeable tears are beginning to form in Kayla’s eyes.  “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that I want the same courtesy from you.  This isn’t the end of what we have, Kayla, and it damn sure isn’t the end of The Sisterhood.  We still have that third tag team title to win.  But Aphrodite Noel, whether you believe it or not, does care about me, and while you may not like her, or believe her motives are pure, you still have to accept her as part of my life because it is MY life, not your life.”

“Not my life…” Kayla’s voice trails off as she ponders her older sibling’s words.

“Yes, I ‘m sorry I had to be so blunt but…”

“No, don’t apologize.” Kayla shakes her head. “You’re right, and I needed to hear that, it’s just that…”

She reaches up and wipes a tear from her eye “…I’ve seen you get hurt before, Angel, I’ve seen you hurt so many times.  I’ve been hurt many times but I finally found my happiness with Trenton.  You deserve that same happiness, and I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

Angelica smiles warmly. “I appreciate hearing that, Kay, I really do, but Aphrodite and I don’t even know yet if what we have is on the same level as what you have with Trenton.  We’re just trying this out.  What I do know is that she does make me happy.  And you want t hat, right?”

Kayla nods her head. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Then just let her make me happy and forget about it.”

Angelica stands back up, so does Kayla.  “We are so close to Rise To Greatness.  We are on that road and we find ourselves at a crossroads.  We can prove to SCW and Mr. D that we deserve the best heading into this once in a year special extravaganza, we can do something great at Rise To Greatness…”

She shakes her head “…or we can let silly professional and personal issues divide us.  So what’s it gonna be, sis?”

Kayla smirks and then embraces her sister. “I say let’s kick Stacy and Craig’s teeth right down their throat!”

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On Camera

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Tell me if you’ve heard this story before.  It’s a few weeks before Rise To Greatness and everyone on the roster is looking to make an impact, everyone on the roster is looking to prove that they belong on the grandest stage of them all with the greatest athletes of them all.  Everyone wants to make their impact just weeks before the night where you can cement you SCW legend.

The road to Rise To Greatness is not an easy one.  It’s full of twists and turns, ups and downs, dangers, trials, and tribulations, but if you can make it, if you can endure the gauntlet, then you will make Rise To Greatness where you can forever write your name in the stars.

Some have specific goals in their quest to reach Rise To Greatness, others just want any spot amongst the greats.  Kayla and I aren’t picky, we will be happy with what we can get, but at the same time it’s no secret that we want to become three time SCW World Tag Team Champions.

The first tag team championship here in Supreme Championship Wrestling was awesome.  It was shortly after Rise To Greatness 2015, Angelica and I hadn’t teamed up in a long time due to my history of neck injuries, but she convinced me to wrestle again.  She convinced me that I still had it in me to kick some teeth in.  And when we won that tag team championship again, for me personally I was elated because it proved to me that I still could get the job done.  But it was extra special because it was with my sister.

The second tag team title run was special because it proved the first run was no fluke.  We lost those belts too soon.  Entirely too soon.  It could easily have been argued that our first run with the gold was a fluke.  We wanted to prove it was no fluke.  By defeating Honor Code to get the belts back, we proved that The Sisterhood was not a fluke.

Now then, what would a third SCW World Tag Team Title reign mean?  How would it be any different from the previous two reigns?  Quite simply, it will be the beginning of our attempt to cement our place in SCW history as one of the great teams.

Now tell me if you’ve heard this story before; there is another team who clearly wants the same thing we want.  Another group who also want to make their permanent mark upon SCW tag team history, much like we have.  It happens to be a tag team that we are very familiar with, a team that we can’t seem to get away from, as if our gravitational fields just keep pulling us towards one another.

Of course, when it comes to Adrenaline Rush, we’re normally used to facing Tyler Tucker and Craig Thomas, but this will be somewhat different as we face Craig Thomas and Stacy Kissinger instead.

Oh and tell us if this sounds familiar; you’re at a crossroads in your career.  Tyler Tucker seems to be hitting it big as a singles star but where does that leave the tag team portion of Adrenaline Rush?  Where will all three of you land as we careen forward on this road to Rise To Greatness?

You’re in the same boat as Angelica and me.  We don’t know what lies ahead of us on this rough and bumpy road, we’re just fighting, we’re clawing, and we’re doing everything we can to make an impact, to prove our worth, and earn our way to Rise To Greatness.  We know damn well that impressive performances alone are not good enough.

Just ask Tyler Tucker.  He put up a hell of a fight at Supreme Saturday, he put up a hell of a fight later on at Taking Hold of the Flame, he was damn good in fact, but he still lost and he is still arguably out of the SCW United States Championship discussion.

Winning isn’t everything, but it is pretty damn important, especially now.

Supreme Championship Wrestling has among the deepest tag team divisions in professional wrestling, that combined with the chaos and questionable status of the SCW World Tag Team Championship themselves creates for a great opportunity for each and every tag team in this company and that opportunity is right there, ready to be taken, ready to be snatched by anyone willing to take the necessary risks in order to be great…

…risks.  Opportunities do not come by without risk and if you want that opportunity to be great you have to be willing to take risks.  That’s what the road to Rise To Greatness is all about, the men and women in this company taking the risks necessary to put themselves on the map at the expense of everyone else.

Craig, Stacy, we respect the hell out of you because of the many wars we’ve been through.  We’ve won some, you’ve won some, but ultimately you’ve earned our respect and we hope we’ve earned your respect as well.  But there is an opportunity coming up for us at Rise To Greatness, we do not know what the opportunity will entail, but we are damn sure not going to squander it and that means we can’t let anyone get in the way of us and our opportunity…

…not even Adrenaline Rush.

We haven’t exactly been ourselves lately, Adrenaline Rush.  That’s obvious.  The last two matches we’ve been in as a team were losses.  We need to build up momentum in order to get to where we want to be.  We need this win in order to maintain our course, and we need this win to prove to the world that The Sisterhood is far from done.

You’re going to try to stop us because you want that same goal, you want tag team glory, you want that opportunity that we want at Rise To Greatness.  But you can want it all you want, Craig and Stacy, unfortunately for you, you’ve been  matched up against the two time SCW World Tag Team Champions, and we are prepared to take the necessary risks to put you down and move past you on the road to Rise To Greatness.

What else are we prepared to do them, sis?

Do I have to?

Yes!

…we’re prepared to kick your teeth right down your throat!