Motivated By Ego

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Off Camera

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The Bible is considered by Christians all over the world to be a book full of spiritual wisdom and insight to help individuals navigate their lives as they strive to follow God.  Even some non-religious individual view the Christian scriptures as full of good wisdom.  However, as full of counsel as the Bible is, there are a number of popular proverbs and familiar sayings that are misquoted.  One common example of Biblical ignorance is the phrase “pride goeth before a fall”, which is not, actually, in the Bible.

"Pride goeth before a fall" is a saying that is similar to the original Bible verse, found in Proverbs 16:18, but it does not accurately reflect the original text. In fact, the verse says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." This shows that destruction is the end result of pride, according to the Bible.

Angelica Jones is convinced that her cousin, GCW World Heavyweight Champion and General Manager of Motor City Wrestling Glory Braddock, is suffering from a bit of that pride problem and is convinced that Braddock is heading down a path that leads towards destruction.  It has to be pride, Angelia keeps telling herself.  What other way could explain why this woman, who has accomplished so much in her career, would enter the SCW End of the Year Battle Royal?

It makes no sense to Angelica.  She already has everything she could possibly want and has achieved everything a wrestler could achieve.  Why would she denigrate herself by dressing up in some sexy costume (which is the qualifier) just so she can pad her record?  And what’s more is that this will pad her record at the expense of Angelica herself.  For everywhere Angelica has gone, every company Angelica has been a part of, Glory would eventually follow, and in Angelica’s eyes, Glory would almost immediately outdo her in every company she was ever a part of.

Now Glory Braddock has come to SCW in order to outdo Angelica here as well?  Not going to happen.  This pride will lead to Glory’s failure, Angelica is certain of it.  And if nothing else, Angelica will make sure of it herself by entering the End of the Year Battle Royal to compete for the SCW Adrenaline Championship, the cash prize, and the car.  But the only reward she truly cares about is making certain that her cousin Glory does not win the battle royal.

We open in Boston, Massachusetts, at the special private gym owned by Angelica Jones herself, we see a gym that is in disrepair and whose better days have long since gone.  The concrete floor is gray and the walls are painted an off-white color, at least the walls that still have paint on them, as most of the paint on the walls have begun to peel.  There is a standard wrestling set up in the center, weights scattered all over the floor.  At one of the far ends of the room is a red heavy bag.  In the background we see a standard wrestling ring.  The ring has black ropes and a black apron but the mat is a Carolina sky blue.

The self-named and self-made woman, The Dragon of The Sisterhood, Angelica Jones, inside the ring with a raven haired beauty.  This is her sparring partner for the day but also is the young woman whom Angelica and her sister Kayla is training to be a wrestler; her name is Audrey Russo.

“Hold nothing back!” Angelica’s words drip with venom from her mouth as she glares across the ring and Russo, who for her part, does not back down.  She nods her head and charges forward, locking arms with Angelica in a collar and elbow tie-up.

Kayla Jones, the younger sister of Angelica Jones, stands on the outside watching this sparring session.  She wasn’t sure of this plan, she still isn’t sure of this plan, but Audrey agreed to be Angelica’s sparring partner because it gave her some good sessions with a legend like Angelica.  But Kayla senses that there is more than meets the eye, there is more than what Angelica is telling her.

The tight collar and elbow tie up is broken up by Angelica who drives a knee into Audrey’s gut and then shoves her backward into the ropes.  Audrey rebounds and gets hit with a back elbow smash from Angellica, knocking her to the mat.  Kayla shakes her head with disappointment.

“Audrey!  That was a careless mistake and you need to watch out for that!  And Angelica, you really don’t need to be so stiff with her…”

“If she wants to be a wrestler then she needs to learn to be able to handle stuff like this.” Angelica remarks coldly. “If she can’t handle this, she can’t make it in this business.”

“Angelica is right.” Audrey responds. “Besides, I can handle it.”

Defeated, Kayla sighs and lets the sparring session continue.  Audrey then charges Angelica, wrapping her up and taking her down in a double leg.  She proceeds to pour on rights and lefts without any break or hesitation.  Angelica manages to kick her off and scramble back to her feet.  The woman charges again but this time Angelica sidesteps her, sending her into the ropes.  She comes back and Angelica hip tosses her.  The woman scrambles to her feet, charges, and Angelica connects with an arm drag deep into an arm bar.

Audrey Russo slowly but surely fights up to her feet but Angelica keeps wrenching the arm bar in tighter and tighter.  Audrey reverses the arm bar into an arm bar of her own.  Angelica then counters again, this time into a hammerlock.  Audrey breaks it with elbows to Angelica’s face.  Kayla applauds for Audrey’s achievement.

“Great work, Audrey!  Keep up the pressure!”

Audrey charges, looking for a clothesline but Angelica ducks it and then snaps off a quick superkick straight to the jaw of Audrey that sends her tumbling over the top rope and to the outside.  Kayla gasps as she looks at her older sister rubbing her jaw from when Audrey connected with the elbows to her face.  Kayla then turns her attention to Audrey and rushes over to the trainee’s side.

“Audrey, are you ok?”

Audrey utters no words as she is somewhat of out of it from that vicious kick.  But she does manage to get a thumbs up signifying that she is ok.  Kayla nods her head and then turns back to the ring.  Kayla slides into the ring and immediately gets up in her sister’s face.

“We have to talk.”

“Can it wait?”  Angelica remarks stoically.  “I’m busy training.”

“No, it can’t wait.”

“Fine…”

With that, Angelica exits the ring and heads to the far corner of the gym.  Kayla turns to look back at Audrey who has just now managed to get back to her feet.

“Audrey, you just rest for a little bit.  Angelica and I will be right back.”

Audrey nods her head as she takes a seat on the ring apron.  Kayla then exits the ring and heads over to the dark corner where Angelica has planted herself.  Once there Kayla places one hand on her hip and the other she motions back to the ring.

“What the hell was that back there?!”

“That was a sparring session.” Angelica answers in a matter-of-fact tone. “It helps Audrey train for the future and it helps me prepare for the End of the Year Battle Royal.”

“Sparring sessions aren’t supposed to be that stiff, Angel.  Especially when the individual in question is the person we are training, Audrey Russo.  She is new, Angel, she is learning.”

“Right, and she needs to learn that this business is not for the weak at heart.  If she can’t handle what I gave her just now, then she does not belong in a wrestling ring.”

“You damn near took her head off with that kick!” Kayla exclaims. “I understand wanting to make her learn but that was ridiculous!”

“Don’t criticize my training methods, sis.  I’m doing her a favor.”

“By what, exactly?  Trying to end her career before it even begins?”

“No, by eliminating that pride and hubris that seems to pervade in this industry.  I am doing her a favor by teaching her what her role is in the world early on so that she doesn’t get a big head like some people we know.”

“Like yourself?” Kayla asks with a smirk.

“No, like Glory.”

“What the hell does Glory have to do with any of this?”

“I may be a hard ass but I do care about Audrey.  That’s why I want to make sure she doesn’t turn out to be like Glory.  It took just ten years of wrestling success to twist our cousin and now look at what Glory has become.  She has one of the biggest egos in this industry today.  Loves to brag about her fourteen world title reigns.  She tells anyone and everyone who will listen that she’s The Best in the World.  Who else goes around calling themselves The Best in the World unless they are just an egomaniac?”

“Point taken.”

“Right, and do you think I really want Audrey to turn out like that?” Angelica shakes her head. “No. I’m training her, and that means my name is forever attached to anything and everything she achieves.  I don’t want my name attached to an egomaniac, so I am instilling some humility in her early on.”

“Ok, so let me get this straight,” Kayla begins with a hint of skepticism in her voice “you’re telling me that you just want to make sure Audrey doesn’t turn out to be as egomaniacal as Glory Braddock is and that’s all there is to it?”

“Exactly.” Angelica says, nodding her head.

“Your argument is flawed, sis.  For starters, you are exaggerating about Glory in a big way.  So what if she calls herself ‘The Best in the World’?  Yeah, it is slightly arrogant, but what wrestler worth their salt doesn’t have an ego?  You need an ego to survive in this business.  You need to believe in yourself.”

“You don’t get it.” Angelica shakes her head. “Her ego goes beyond the norm.  I mean look at her, she’s entering the SCW End of the Year Battle Royal and what does she have to gain?  Absolutely nothing but to stroke her ego.”

“Why are you entering?” Kayla asks. “The same could be said about you, a former thirteen time world champion in your own right.  What do you have to gain by entering this?”

“You’re wrong!” Angelica’s voice raises considerably. “I’m not the one who followed my cousin everywhere just to outdo her!  That’s what Glory did to me, Kayla!  She followed me to GDW and outdid me there!  She followed me to MCW and outdid me there!  She followed me to MWA and outdid me there!  She followed me to FWA and outdid me there!  Now she’s coming to SCW, albeit for one night only, but on this one night only she could potentially eclipse everything I’ve ever done in my several years here with SCW!”

Angelica is breathing heavily after her outburst but Kayla Jones has a knowing smirk on her face.

“And now we’ve come to the truth.”

“What do you mean?!”

“Now I know why you really entered the SCW End of the Year Battle Royal and perhaps why you took out some of your frustrations on poor Audrey over there.  You’re pissed off and jealous with Glory Braddock.”

“You know what?” Angelica nods her head. “Fine, I may be a little jealous, but come on, give me a break, she has outdid me everywhere I’ve gone…”

“That’s an exaggeration, I’m sure.”

“No it’s not.” Angelica responds, slowly getting calmer. “Look it up for yourself, it’s true.  I was hoping SCW could be the one place that was mine, where she wouldn’t come here just to outdo me  But now…now she could outdo me in one night, because in one night she could win the SCW Adrenaline Championship…”

“And what are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to make sure she doesn’t win.” Angelica remarks defiantly.

“So you don’t even care about winning it yourself?”

“No, not really.” Angelica answers, shaking her head. “I mean, it’d be great if I did win, but that’s not my primary goal.  My primary goal is making sure Glory doesn’t win.  It’s as simple as that, Kay.”

“Don’t forget that stupid stipulation Ace Marshall put in, the one about the sexy costume.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“You’re going to parade yourself around in a sexy outfit just to make sure Glory loses?”

“Why not?” Angelica smirks. “I am proud of my body, Kay.”

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On Camera

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I should’ve seen this coming.  I should’ve known that you could not keep yourself away.  Your ego cannot stand the fact that I had a place to call my own without you in it.  You saw me in Supreme Championship Wrestling, content and happy in a place that I could call my own home.  MY home…as in a place I did not have to share with you…but your ego would not allow you to stay away.  Just like with everywhere else I’ve been, you had to step into my home unwelcome and uninvited.  And you used the End of the Year Battle Royal as your way in.

Still, I can’t fault you too much, Glory.  In fact, I can’t fault anyone who wants to enter this battle royal.  Think of the reward; two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a brand new car, and the SCW Adrenaline Championship.  It is such a big reward, Glory, that you or anyone else in this company would be crazy to turn it down.

Yet you say this isn’t about the reward.  You told the world that you’re giving all of the money to charity, that you’re going to auction off the car and give its proceeds to charity, and that you will vacate the SCW Adrenaline Championship seeing as this isn’t about the gold for you.  You claim that you’re giving back to the world, and yet in that same breath you claim to be The Best in the World…

…you sound so arrogant and so humble in one sentence, it just makes no sense, unless you accept the simple fact that you are lying or are hypocritical or both.  The way I see it, the declaration of you being The Best in the World gives you away, Glory.  This isn’t about giving back.  This is truly about your ego.  You want to win it all and the wrestling world will praise you for achieving such a magnificent feat, thus stroking your giant ego.

Then you’re going to give away the prize money, you’re giving away the proceeds of the car after its auctioned off, and people will praise you for being such a generous person; thus stroking our giant ego.

As for the Adrenaline Championship and vacating it after you win it?  Well that right there is ego in and of itself.  What it says is that you’re so good that you don’t need that championship.  In fact, it’s a slap in the face of SCW and of everyone who has held that SCW Adrenaline Championship.

That leads me to the primary reason I am entering the SCW End of the Year Battle Royal.  My primary reason for entering is to make sure you do not win, Glory.  SCW deserves better than for you to use this yearly event just to make yourself look good.  I will make sure you do not win that prize money, that you do not win that cash, and that you do not win the SCW Adrenaline Championship.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll go on and win the whole thing myself and become the new SCW Adrenaline Champion.  And I know I can be a champion that SCW can be proud of.  I guarantee it.  I won’t walk away from it like Glory, I won’t make a joke of it the way Ace Marshall is trying to make a joke out of the battle royal itself; I will be a fighting champion, proudly fighting for SCW.

As for Ace himself and his stupid little sexy costume stipulation; that won’t bother me.  Not at all.  In fact, I already have a fairly good idea of what I’ll be wearing when I am crowned new SCW Adrenaline Champion.

I hope you like it, because that’s the only good thing you get out of me being in this match.  Here’s the spoiler alert for you and anyone else who is going to enter this match thinking that they have a chance; you have no chance.

None of you have a chance to win because of the simple fact that I am now in this match.  I know what I want and I’ve explained why I want it and I am prepared to return to the darkness in order to get it.  I am prepared to bring back something that I tried to hold back in order to get that SCW Adrenaline Championship.

You see, boys and girls, you won’t be facing Firestar or The Golden Goddess.  You will be facing The Dragon.

Which brings me to Giovanni Aries…sorry about your luck, pal.  Your hunt for a Lizard King has thus far come up short and you won’t find any Lizard Kings in this battle royal.  But if you want a reptilian monster then look no further.  The Dragon is back and she’s taking your title whether you like it or not.