Post by Kenzi Grey on Dec 16, 2017 23:49:06 GMT -5
PROLOGUE...
Part of me felt guilty about continuing to focus on my wrestling career with my wife drifting in and out of her comatose state. All I wanted to do was to take the best possible care of her that I could…and continue to make her proud of me…no matter what her condition was. She had good days and bad, but I was determined to make sure that when she was lucid, I was right there with her to support her like she always supported me.
I had thought that I was going to be alone again after her last episode left her in a vegetative state for over three days. THREE GODDAMN DAYS OF HER LIFE...gone. I didn’t leave her side…not for a moment, even with the mocking of people like our nominee for 2017 Face of the Year, Gabby Camacho rang in my ears, calling her my ‘crippled wife,’ all in the hopes of getting a rise out of me and throw me off my game. Well, she would get a rise out of me alright, they all would…but they wouldn’t get the rise that they were so desperately hoping for. My rise going to be more of an ascension…one that would get underway on Sunday night at LAW 73.
My wife awoke from her catatonia on Monday, and as always, her first thoughts were not for herself…but for me (The Trouble with Marriage). I didn’t know if she would be here for a few hours, a few days, a few months, or a few years…but what I did know is that no matter what, my best friend, my wife, and the center of my universe would always put me first…she would always believe in me, which is why I would always stick by her side and keep the faith with her…just like I now intended to keep faith with myself.
Yes…people like Gabby and some others who pretended to be our friends would always do their best to throw me off my game; to belittle those around me, to make me question myself and doubt my purpose, but they would fail…spectacularly. The slings and jabs at my expense had once been a potent fuel for the rage machine that earned me my LAW moniker as 'most hated' last year. Now, those same insults only served to fuel my desire to win...my desire to elevate my game and smash though the glass ceiling held me in check for the past two and a half years. People could question me and my life until the end of time…but no one would question my heart or determination between those ropes. Of that…Kate Steele, Crystal Hilton, and Gabby Camacho could all damn well be certain!
This is my time and no one is going to take it away from me...never again...
CIRCLE TELEVISION STUDIOS
Studio 13B
I waved to the camera as it focused on me for my second foray into the world of video blogs. I had so much fun the first time that it seemed only natural now that I made it my usual way of reaching out to fans…and most importantly my opponents. I had an enormously busy schedule; keeping up with training for matches, shooting a weekly television series, playing football, and taking care of my wife were all fulltime jobs, so anytime I could squeeze in a v-log, was time well spent.
“Hi guys! Welcome to volume two of Grey Matter. I am hoping that you guys all really enjoyed that first one. It was a ton of fun to do, so I am looking forward to doing this one for you guys today!”
I gestured to my surroundings, which were now largely populated by well-dressed people all laughing and drinking. Sprinkled throughout the crowd were a few people dressed as characters from Star Wars and Hexx.
“If you haven’t guessed it, I am currently at the second day of the Star Wars and Hexx Super Fan event at CTN Studios! Yesterday a young fan was treated to an exclusive private viewing of 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' with me, my wife, our friend Sativa Nevaeh and a bunch of Hexx cast and crew members.”
I shook my head with a tired sigh. I had been on the run from event to event since Thursday night and it was all finally starting to catch up with me. I put on my best smile, all the same.
“I have seen that movie so many times, that I feel like they should add me to the credits or something! But…alas, no Disney cameos for me…only an appearance in Philadelphia tomorrow night for LAW #73 when I make my return to the main event of the evening!”
I closed my eyes and held my fingers to my temples as I used the Jedi mind trick.
“…Mister Dupree, you’ve made a wise decision putting Kenzi in the main event of the show. Now you can put Kenzi in all the main events…”
I chuckled and then shook my head.
“Okay…maybe this one will be enough, at least until 2018! That being said though, I have every intention of making my first main event appearance as Breakout Champion a damn memorable one! I know for a fact that after that ladder match at Night of Glory that my body is still trying to recover, but there is no rest for the weary when you are a champion in this company. This match…more than any other highlights that fact! It is that special time when all of the best that the company has to offer come together in a single match that is meant to tear down the house and show the fans and the entire wrestling world who is the greatest champion of them all.”
I shrug my shoulders as I am forced to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
“Over the past two weeks I have heard a lot of people weighing in on the supposed tiers of championships in LAW. For instance, Nova Sinclair, a woman who failed to beat me at Night of Glory to win the Breakout Championship has an opportunity to qualify for the Marquee Title. Nova said that should she go on to win that title, she would be ‘the number two woman in the company’ and she ‘would be considered more important than Kenzi Grey.’ HELL! When you put it like that, why do we even have a Champion’s Challenge? I mean, by that logic this match is a moot point and no one in it really needs to do anything but show up and stand on a nice tiered set of podiums…with the number two position reserved for Nova.”
I do my best to hide my annoyance with her, but her constant badgering and whitewashing of the facts was really starting to get on my nerves.
“Look here Nova, assuming I thought like you did, if you were even the number three woman in the company, you would have beaten me at Night of Glory, but that didn’t come to pass. You have a chance to compete for a title, IF you win tomorrow night. Best of luck to you, but if by some miracle you actually beat the other women in that match…especially Roxy or Milisandre, then you go on to beat the woman I am going to beat tomorrow night, don’t go thinking you are better than me, I am still up two to zip!”
Nova wasn’t the only one that needed educating, one more person had thrown their hat into the ring as well.
“Talk about titles that were ‘greater’ didn’t end with Nova, it was echoed by the former Breakout Champion, Etsuko. She all but forfeited her chance to challenge Crystal Hilton for a ‘less great’ opportunity to regain the Breakout Title from me. Well, I accepted Etsuko’s challenge, even though I disagreed with her assessment of MY championship!”
I stuck out my hand, and just like Rey from Star Wars using the force to lift objects, the platinum title belt magically floated into my hands…from the hands of my personal assistant who sheepishly stuck his face in the camera. I rolled my eyes, yanking the belt from him with an exasperated sigh.
“This title belt means that I am a champion in LAW…I am one of the most elite wrestlers that this company has to offer. Three weeks ago I proved that I was the best woman among all Breakout Championship contenders. Tomorrow night, I prove that I am the best among every singles champion that LAW has...bar NONE! No…I am not going out there to prove to the world that I am number three or even number two in LAW, I am going out there to prove to every single person watching that I am the best…I am number one! I am the woman to beat, and I am the woman who carries this company on her back from bell to bell!”
I handed the title back to my assistant and gave him a playful scowl that kept him out of my shot this time around. I turned back to the camera, lacing my fingers. The doubters and naysayers were addressed, now it was time to turn my attention to the women who were bound and determined to try to stop me.
“Kate Steele, the brand new Chaos Champion. I want to talk right to Kate, if you guys don’t mind..."
"Kate, I know that you don’t think like any of the other people I talked about before. You and I traveled up and down the road together as Guilty Pleasure and in that time we came to understand each other…at least as far as championships were concerned. When you held a title, you were the best damn champion that you could be, regardless of what name was etched across the face! Being a champion meant everything to us and we busted our butts to become champions…and in the end, together...we failed.”
I paused as I reflected on that time, coming so close to beating the Boardwalk Angels…even having the titles in hand, only to have the match restarted and coming out in the losing end.
“Sometimes, you have to fail before you can learn how to win. In an ironic twist, you and I both learned how to win at Night of Glory…we both became title holders in Long Island, New York. Tomorrow night, I show the world not just how to hold a title, but how to make it mean something more! You crossed that finish line so strong Kate, but the measure of a champion is the will to keep on pushing, one foot in front of the other, even after the biggest win of your career. There is only one match more important than the one in which you just became a champion, and that is the next one! I’ll see you in 24 hours Kate.”
I turned my attention to the ‘number two woman in the company’ Crystal Hilton. Over the last few weeks the two of us had been talking more and more as the heat between us cooled…somewhat.
“The LAW Marquee Champion…Crystal Hilton. She might have fought just as long, if not longer and just as hard to become a singles champion in this company. Now, I don’t agree with how she got her chance, but that is a black mark on her career that she will have to live with. Regardless, the fact remains that Crystal is the Marquee Champion and as such, she has earned the right to be a part of the Champion’s Challenge…”
I addressed her directly, just as I had done to Kate.
“Crystal, I know your struggle, especially as it concerns the Marquee Title. I was there the night that my mother screwed you out of the chance to win the title and handed to her friend Summer St. Clair…now there is a name from the past! You fought your heart out for singles title chances and you even won the Queen of the Ring. Singles gold always seemed to slip through your fingers…until this year. You didn’t earn your way to the title, you took a back door and shoehorned your way into a match…then you went out there and won the darn thing! Well…tomorrow night you get to prove to the world what kind of champion you intend to be…a woman who’s holding a belt…or a title holding champion! We will find out on Sunday!”
I paused…a smile playing at the corners of my mouth as I came to the LAW Champion. The woman who was my white whale. I had chased getting a win over Gabby since my first year in the business. Fail after fail after fail. This time I wasn’t going to fail, this time I was going to win back my respect!
“The woman to beat in this match, by conventional standards is Gabby Camacho. Just listen to people like Nova, Etsuko, and I even heard people outside our company like JMC saying that I sat beneath the likes of the LAW Champion. When it came time to rack and stack us, there was only one person at the top of the heap…wins and losses be damned. That woman is now a three-time LAW Champion…and that woman is the same one that I am going to BEAT on Sunday night!”
I pulled my fingers through my braids as I couldn’t hide the giddy expression on my face. I had eliminated her in the Queen of the Ring Battle Royal, but she had come back into the ring to ensure that I didn’t win it all. Showing her desperation to keep me out of the winner's circle. After that, I failed to beat her at Queen of the Ring and it felt like I might never get another chance at her…but here it was…here we both stood as champions in the same ring with bragging rights on the line. I was the underdog again, though I had never once felt like it. I damn sure didn’t feel like it right now. I was the woman to beat, I only had to make that perfectly clear to three other titleholders…and Gabby especially.
“Allow me to speak directly to you Ms. Camacho, as I feel I have more than earned the right not only as a peer, but after LAW 73, as your Champion of Champions! No one appreciates confidence like I do, and that is nothing that you have ever been short on…to your credit, but I’ll tell you this about confidence, don’t let it blind you to what is coming your way on Sunday night. You see, sooner or later we all have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes our mouth and our actions get us into situations that we just aren’t prepared to get ourselves out of. In your case, your actions when you faced my wife after Queen of the Ring is one of the reasons why this match is not going to go your way, and more than that, will not be a picnic for you! You see, regardless of what anyone says about you, regardless of what anyone shows me that you’ve achieved, the one thing that will forever stick out in my mind is the image of you about to lose to Sarah Selena Lacklan, and you using a steel chair to not only save yourself from a pin or a submission, but to leave the ring smelling like a rose…in spite of being a straight up loser!”
This made me laugh...a for real belly laugh.
“You are nominated for 'Face of the Year?' How is that even a thing?! Maybe that term means something different, huh? I mean, I saw the desperation on your face when you hit my wife with your best shots, and she kept on coming for you. Army Strong Gabby Camacho, the 2017 Queen of the Ring…and the biggest coward to ever carry the LAW Championship! That’s not just how I see you…that is an absolute fact! Oh! Trust me, I know what it is to lose, I have done it more times than I care to count, and I have done it for you on three separate occasions, but I’ll be damned if I do it one more time after seeing that pitiful display from you! You aren’t the measure of LAW or the Franchise Player, you are just another chick who talks a real big game the night before the match and hopes and prays that their opponent buys it so they can sneak past with their undeserved reputation intact. I’m done buying…and that doesn’t bode well for you, or anyone else in that match.”
“I appreciate that you defeated Amy Jo Smyth. Despite what a lot of people say about ‘The Good Doctor’ I know that getting a win over her is no easy task. Maybe all that bile and shade you like to throw got inside her head. Maybe she was shook over the fact that you were a two-time LAW Champion. Maybe you just got lucky. Either way, bile and shade isn’t going to get me shook and the fact that you are a 3-time champion only means that you dropped the belt twice already and before too long, you’ll drop it again. When the going gets tough, you won’t stick around and see it through, you’ll get desperate and you’ll look for an out to save face, but there won’t be any outs for you! Duck me in that ring, hit me from behind and pray to God that I don’t reach around and snatch a bald spot out of your head, because that is the only way in hell that you get to leave MY RING on Sunday looking like a winner, because the record books are going to say that you took one more loss…champ!”
I did have to calm myself down a bit, but I was way to amped up...I was way too ready for this chance.
“Is this personal? Oh, you bet your ass that it is! No, not because you enjoy throwing shade at me and my past like a shit tossing monkey in the city zoo, but because you think that your shit doesn’t stink. You have been exposed on more than one occasion this year, but winning the Queen of the Ring and going on to win the LAW Title helped you mask the fact that you’re treading water. Lucas Dupree will never name me #1 contender to that title, not with my history in the company, but I’ll be damned right to hell if I let that stop me from doing the one thing that he will allow…making MY title the top title in LAW!”
“Hey! Maybe you can go and get yourself disqualified so you can have another ‘out’ as to why you lost. Maybe you can get sick the day of the show and not compete, that will keep you from having another black mark on your record. Or maybe…just maybe…you can get the guts to think for a single solitary moment that the fact that you are LAW Champion means that you are better than everyone else in that match. Think that you are better than Kate Steele…the first LAW Champion, the former Marquee Champion, the current Chaos Champion. Think that your title sets you above her…and maybe she will believe it. Think that you are better than Crystal Hilton…a former LAW Tag Team Champion, a former Queen of the Ring, and the current Marquee Champion. Think that your title sets you above her…and maybe she will believe it…”
I stood up, eyes blazing as I made my point.
“…take one guess who won’t ever believe it…”
“I don’t have the pedigree of Steele or even Hilton. No one in LAW has ever looked at me and seen a champion, even when I was one. I never let that stop me from believing that I was…I didn’t let it stop me from going out there and becoming one! I became the LAW Breakout Champion, and I didn't have to cheat and I didn't have to get desperate to o it! If you think that you're better than me, then you’ll roll over me during the Champion’s Challenge...but you won't! No, you see…just like I said, a great opportunity has come knocking and tomorrow night I am going to answer when I beat Kate…when I beat Crystal…and when I beat you!”
I held up a single finger...just one.
“Only one woman is walking out of that main event with the ability to say that they are the greatest champion in LAW…and you can bet every last penny that you have that it’s going to be ME!”
Now I could finally laugh, shake my head and clap my hands. I'm sure I looked like a lunatic, but it was just adding more fuel to the fire.
“Bravo Gabby for being nothing more than a broken ‘Speak & Say’ spewing out the same tired lines over and over in an effort to get under my skin…”
“…your wife is a cripple…”
“…you’re a shitty television show actress…”
“…you’re a shitty football quarterback…”
“Wow! I would have thought that you would have gotten some new material by now, but I guess you’re too busy patting yourself on the back to come up with any new tricks. That’s really too bad because I have a few new tricks of my own, and I can’t wait to show them to you in the ring! Don’t think that I am going to be distracted by my ‘crippled wife.’ You remember her, right? The one that beat you a few weeks ago. Don’t you worry about how ‘shitty’ my film and football career are, trust me…I am doing just fine! The fact that you watch me so closely makes me positively giddy! There’s nothing like a fan to inspire a girl to do great things…and I will do great things Gabby…I will do a great thing on Sunday Night when I serve you up a slice of that humble pie that you’re going to try your best to ignore as I shove it further and further down your throat!”
I felt the tension in my shoulders drop and for the first time in a very long time, I felt that I was finally where I was always meant to be in my career. I was doing all the things that needed to be done, and after tomorrow night there was no one who was going to be able to tell me differently.
“This match belongs to me…it has since the very moment it was announced. Regardless of whether Kate, Crystal, or Gabby thought that they were going to win it, the fact of the matter was that they were all wrong! None of them were ever going to be the best champion that LAW had to offer because none of them were ever going to beat me to claim that distinction. Kate is off posting Triple Crown posters, but not being a Triple Crown champion. Crystal is off making friends with anyone and everyone who’ll talk to her, but she’s not making herself out to be a Marquee Champion. Then there is Gabby, who is more fired up to hype a rematch with Amy Jo Smyth that she was to fight her in the first place.”
I stood up, ready to return to the party.
“That is all well and good guys. Revel in your success and keep ignoring what is here waiting for you. Are you wondering what it is? Well…it’s me…it’s the winner of the Champion’s Challenge…it’s me, Kenzi Grey-Lacklan…your Champion of Champions!”
With that being said, I moved on to a fun portion of Grey Matter, the question and answer. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the comments.
"Okay, let's answer a question or two, shall we?"
"Wow! F U Tom...nice! Anyway, yes I am a Scientologist and no we don't put our faith in shrinks when the mind and body are perfectly capable of healing itself. I was able to basically cure myself of my Borderline Personality Disorder through the wonders of my faith and I think that it can do the same for my wife, given the chance. Yes, I know my wife's issues are also physical, but I know that she can be helped. I am looking forward to applying proven techniques to help her get back on her feet."
I moved on to the next question...
"Well Kenzi Watcher, thank you for the question! First of all, I want to say this...I am a married woman and I only have eyes for one person, and that person is my wife. Now, Mel and I are great friends and I admire and respect her, but I also respect her relationship with my friend and mentor, Ashley Marie Chase. I would never do anything to come between the two of them, even if I wasn't married. Sorry, but you're mistaken on all counts."
I let our a hard sigh as I considered screening my questions. I found the next one and read it...
"First things, first; thank you for your service! Secondly, Gabby isn't beating me and neither is Kate or Crystal! I am going to be the winner of that match and that is the bottom line! As for me getting her name of my mouth, maybe you want to talk to her able doing that."
I had time for one more question...
"Okay! You're not bias at all, are you? Well, to answer your question...no I didn't cheat to win, I won that match square and fair. To say that I cheated by hitting Nova in the face with the belt is the same as saying that Nova cheated when she hit me and everyone else in that match with a ladder over and over again. Know this, I know that Nova started planting those little seeds as soon as she lost in an effort to spin things after she lost since she couldn't bully me like she bullies everyone else that she manages to beat. If you want to keep drinking the Nova Sinclair Kool-Aid, that is your choice, but the fact remains that I am the Breakout Champion and I didn't have to cheat to win it!"
With that, I ended the question and answer portion of my V-Log and I started walking towards the other party goers, then stopped and turned, giving the Vulcan hand sign to ‘live long and prosper’ as she added…
“May the Force be with you…”
She giggled, knowing how much her wife was going to hate that when she saw it. She could hardly wait to see her face!
EPILOGUE...
Having my wife back with me, even though she was still on the mend meant everything to me. I didn’t care about the trouble with our marriage, the fact that the father of the man that poisoned my wife now wanted control of her legacy, or the fact that she might not ever fully recover. She was all mines, and she was with me…that is all that really mattered.
Yes, maybe we had problems when it came to the physical nature of our relationship... (Old Habits | New Worries) and (...do you still want me...?) Yet and still, we were soulmates. That was a word that got thrown around a lot by people. They found their soulmate…seemingly every week, and yet, it never lasted…it never mattered. They found new soulmates weeks later, sometimes even days later. My relationship with my wife was different. We had braved the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune together, and we had come out of it stronger, also…together.
I was a champion because of her. No, she didn’t win the title for me, but she did something more important…she gave me the confidence to believe that I could win it! She stood by my side and willed me on when I was too tired to think that I could win! Heck, Yes, even when she slipped in and out of her catatonia, like I always said, her first thoughts were always of me…how I was doing and what I was doing. She was my number one cheerleader and my pillar of support from the very start. She made me strong where I was weak…and she gave me nourishment when I needed it to keep going.
Now that I am a champion…now that I have realized the faith that she placed in me, it is time that I paid it back. Now that she has made me as mentally tough as I am physically tough…its time that I pay her back. She has to believe that she can and will walk again. She has to believe that she will find the strength to regain everything that has been taken from her. That is what I can do for the woman who set me on the path to be where I am today!
I promise myself, just like I promise her…she will be made whole again. Maybe not in a day, or a week, a month, or maybe a year…but it will happen and I will be there holding her hand, every single step of the way!
Part of me felt guilty about continuing to focus on my wrestling career with my wife drifting in and out of her comatose state. All I wanted to do was to take the best possible care of her that I could…and continue to make her proud of me…no matter what her condition was. She had good days and bad, but I was determined to make sure that when she was lucid, I was right there with her to support her like she always supported me.
I had thought that I was going to be alone again after her last episode left her in a vegetative state for over three days. THREE GODDAMN DAYS OF HER LIFE...gone. I didn’t leave her side…not for a moment, even with the mocking of people like our nominee for 2017 Face of the Year, Gabby Camacho rang in my ears, calling her my ‘crippled wife,’ all in the hopes of getting a rise out of me and throw me off my game. Well, she would get a rise out of me alright, they all would…but they wouldn’t get the rise that they were so desperately hoping for. My rise going to be more of an ascension…one that would get underway on Sunday night at LAW 73.
My wife awoke from her catatonia on Monday, and as always, her first thoughts were not for herself…but for me (The Trouble with Marriage). I didn’t know if she would be here for a few hours, a few days, a few months, or a few years…but what I did know is that no matter what, my best friend, my wife, and the center of my universe would always put me first…she would always believe in me, which is why I would always stick by her side and keep the faith with her…just like I now intended to keep faith with myself.
Yes…people like Gabby and some others who pretended to be our friends would always do their best to throw me off my game; to belittle those around me, to make me question myself and doubt my purpose, but they would fail…spectacularly. The slings and jabs at my expense had once been a potent fuel for the rage machine that earned me my LAW moniker as 'most hated' last year. Now, those same insults only served to fuel my desire to win...my desire to elevate my game and smash though the glass ceiling held me in check for the past two and a half years. People could question me and my life until the end of time…but no one would question my heart or determination between those ropes. Of that…Kate Steele, Crystal Hilton, and Gabby Camacho could all damn well be certain!
This is my time and no one is going to take it away from me...never again...
GREY MATTER
Kenzi’s Video Blog
Kenzi’s Video Blog
CIRCLE TELEVISION STUDIOS
Studio 13B
I waved to the camera as it focused on me for my second foray into the world of video blogs. I had so much fun the first time that it seemed only natural now that I made it my usual way of reaching out to fans…and most importantly my opponents. I had an enormously busy schedule; keeping up with training for matches, shooting a weekly television series, playing football, and taking care of my wife were all fulltime jobs, so anytime I could squeeze in a v-log, was time well spent.
“Hi guys! Welcome to volume two of Grey Matter. I am hoping that you guys all really enjoyed that first one. It was a ton of fun to do, so I am looking forward to doing this one for you guys today!”
I gestured to my surroundings, which were now largely populated by well-dressed people all laughing and drinking. Sprinkled throughout the crowd were a few people dressed as characters from Star Wars and Hexx.
“If you haven’t guessed it, I am currently at the second day of the Star Wars and Hexx Super Fan event at CTN Studios! Yesterday a young fan was treated to an exclusive private viewing of 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' with me, my wife, our friend Sativa Nevaeh and a bunch of Hexx cast and crew members.”
I shook my head with a tired sigh. I had been on the run from event to event since Thursday night and it was all finally starting to catch up with me. I put on my best smile, all the same.
“I have seen that movie so many times, that I feel like they should add me to the credits or something! But…alas, no Disney cameos for me…only an appearance in Philadelphia tomorrow night for LAW #73 when I make my return to the main event of the evening!”
I closed my eyes and held my fingers to my temples as I used the Jedi mind trick.
“…Mister Dupree, you’ve made a wise decision putting Kenzi in the main event of the show. Now you can put Kenzi in all the main events…”
I chuckled and then shook my head.
“Okay…maybe this one will be enough, at least until 2018! That being said though, I have every intention of making my first main event appearance as Breakout Champion a damn memorable one! I know for a fact that after that ladder match at Night of Glory that my body is still trying to recover, but there is no rest for the weary when you are a champion in this company. This match…more than any other highlights that fact! It is that special time when all of the best that the company has to offer come together in a single match that is meant to tear down the house and show the fans and the entire wrestling world who is the greatest champion of them all.”
I shrug my shoulders as I am forced to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
“Over the past two weeks I have heard a lot of people weighing in on the supposed tiers of championships in LAW. For instance, Nova Sinclair, a woman who failed to beat me at Night of Glory to win the Breakout Championship has an opportunity to qualify for the Marquee Title. Nova said that should she go on to win that title, she would be ‘the number two woman in the company’ and she ‘would be considered more important than Kenzi Grey.’ HELL! When you put it like that, why do we even have a Champion’s Challenge? I mean, by that logic this match is a moot point and no one in it really needs to do anything but show up and stand on a nice tiered set of podiums…with the number two position reserved for Nova.”
I do my best to hide my annoyance with her, but her constant badgering and whitewashing of the facts was really starting to get on my nerves.
“Look here Nova, assuming I thought like you did, if you were even the number three woman in the company, you would have beaten me at Night of Glory, but that didn’t come to pass. You have a chance to compete for a title, IF you win tomorrow night. Best of luck to you, but if by some miracle you actually beat the other women in that match…especially Roxy or Milisandre, then you go on to beat the woman I am going to beat tomorrow night, don’t go thinking you are better than me, I am still up two to zip!”
Nova wasn’t the only one that needed educating, one more person had thrown their hat into the ring as well.
“Talk about titles that were ‘greater’ didn’t end with Nova, it was echoed by the former Breakout Champion, Etsuko. She all but forfeited her chance to challenge Crystal Hilton for a ‘less great’ opportunity to regain the Breakout Title from me. Well, I accepted Etsuko’s challenge, even though I disagreed with her assessment of MY championship!”
I stuck out my hand, and just like Rey from Star Wars using the force to lift objects, the platinum title belt magically floated into my hands…from the hands of my personal assistant who sheepishly stuck his face in the camera. I rolled my eyes, yanking the belt from him with an exasperated sigh.
“This title belt means that I am a champion in LAW…I am one of the most elite wrestlers that this company has to offer. Three weeks ago I proved that I was the best woman among all Breakout Championship contenders. Tomorrow night, I prove that I am the best among every singles champion that LAW has...bar NONE! No…I am not going out there to prove to the world that I am number three or even number two in LAW, I am going out there to prove to every single person watching that I am the best…I am number one! I am the woman to beat, and I am the woman who carries this company on her back from bell to bell!”
I handed the title back to my assistant and gave him a playful scowl that kept him out of my shot this time around. I turned back to the camera, lacing my fingers. The doubters and naysayers were addressed, now it was time to turn my attention to the women who were bound and determined to try to stop me.
“Kate Steele, the brand new Chaos Champion. I want to talk right to Kate, if you guys don’t mind..."
"Kate, I know that you don’t think like any of the other people I talked about before. You and I traveled up and down the road together as Guilty Pleasure and in that time we came to understand each other…at least as far as championships were concerned. When you held a title, you were the best damn champion that you could be, regardless of what name was etched across the face! Being a champion meant everything to us and we busted our butts to become champions…and in the end, together...we failed.”
I paused as I reflected on that time, coming so close to beating the Boardwalk Angels…even having the titles in hand, only to have the match restarted and coming out in the losing end.
“Sometimes, you have to fail before you can learn how to win. In an ironic twist, you and I both learned how to win at Night of Glory…we both became title holders in Long Island, New York. Tomorrow night, I show the world not just how to hold a title, but how to make it mean something more! You crossed that finish line so strong Kate, but the measure of a champion is the will to keep on pushing, one foot in front of the other, even after the biggest win of your career. There is only one match more important than the one in which you just became a champion, and that is the next one! I’ll see you in 24 hours Kate.”
I turned my attention to the ‘number two woman in the company’ Crystal Hilton. Over the last few weeks the two of us had been talking more and more as the heat between us cooled…somewhat.
“The LAW Marquee Champion…Crystal Hilton. She might have fought just as long, if not longer and just as hard to become a singles champion in this company. Now, I don’t agree with how she got her chance, but that is a black mark on her career that she will have to live with. Regardless, the fact remains that Crystal is the Marquee Champion and as such, she has earned the right to be a part of the Champion’s Challenge…”
I addressed her directly, just as I had done to Kate.
“Crystal, I know your struggle, especially as it concerns the Marquee Title. I was there the night that my mother screwed you out of the chance to win the title and handed to her friend Summer St. Clair…now there is a name from the past! You fought your heart out for singles title chances and you even won the Queen of the Ring. Singles gold always seemed to slip through your fingers…until this year. You didn’t earn your way to the title, you took a back door and shoehorned your way into a match…then you went out there and won the darn thing! Well…tomorrow night you get to prove to the world what kind of champion you intend to be…a woman who’s holding a belt…or a title holding champion! We will find out on Sunday!”
I paused…a smile playing at the corners of my mouth as I came to the LAW Champion. The woman who was my white whale. I had chased getting a win over Gabby since my first year in the business. Fail after fail after fail. This time I wasn’t going to fail, this time I was going to win back my respect!
“The woman to beat in this match, by conventional standards is Gabby Camacho. Just listen to people like Nova, Etsuko, and I even heard people outside our company like JMC saying that I sat beneath the likes of the LAW Champion. When it came time to rack and stack us, there was only one person at the top of the heap…wins and losses be damned. That woman is now a three-time LAW Champion…and that woman is the same one that I am going to BEAT on Sunday night!”
I pulled my fingers through my braids as I couldn’t hide the giddy expression on my face. I had eliminated her in the Queen of the Ring Battle Royal, but she had come back into the ring to ensure that I didn’t win it all. Showing her desperation to keep me out of the winner's circle. After that, I failed to beat her at Queen of the Ring and it felt like I might never get another chance at her…but here it was…here we both stood as champions in the same ring with bragging rights on the line. I was the underdog again, though I had never once felt like it. I damn sure didn’t feel like it right now. I was the woman to beat, I only had to make that perfectly clear to three other titleholders…and Gabby especially.
“Allow me to speak directly to you Ms. Camacho, as I feel I have more than earned the right not only as a peer, but after LAW 73, as your Champion of Champions! No one appreciates confidence like I do, and that is nothing that you have ever been short on…to your credit, but I’ll tell you this about confidence, don’t let it blind you to what is coming your way on Sunday night. You see, sooner or later we all have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes our mouth and our actions get us into situations that we just aren’t prepared to get ourselves out of. In your case, your actions when you faced my wife after Queen of the Ring is one of the reasons why this match is not going to go your way, and more than that, will not be a picnic for you! You see, regardless of what anyone says about you, regardless of what anyone shows me that you’ve achieved, the one thing that will forever stick out in my mind is the image of you about to lose to Sarah Selena Lacklan, and you using a steel chair to not only save yourself from a pin or a submission, but to leave the ring smelling like a rose…in spite of being a straight up loser!”
This made me laugh...a for real belly laugh.
“You are nominated for 'Face of the Year?' How is that even a thing?! Maybe that term means something different, huh? I mean, I saw the desperation on your face when you hit my wife with your best shots, and she kept on coming for you. Army Strong Gabby Camacho, the 2017 Queen of the Ring…and the biggest coward to ever carry the LAW Championship! That’s not just how I see you…that is an absolute fact! Oh! Trust me, I know what it is to lose, I have done it more times than I care to count, and I have done it for you on three separate occasions, but I’ll be damned if I do it one more time after seeing that pitiful display from you! You aren’t the measure of LAW or the Franchise Player, you are just another chick who talks a real big game the night before the match and hopes and prays that their opponent buys it so they can sneak past with their undeserved reputation intact. I’m done buying…and that doesn’t bode well for you, or anyone else in that match.”
“I appreciate that you defeated Amy Jo Smyth. Despite what a lot of people say about ‘The Good Doctor’ I know that getting a win over her is no easy task. Maybe all that bile and shade you like to throw got inside her head. Maybe she was shook over the fact that you were a two-time LAW Champion. Maybe you just got lucky. Either way, bile and shade isn’t going to get me shook and the fact that you are a 3-time champion only means that you dropped the belt twice already and before too long, you’ll drop it again. When the going gets tough, you won’t stick around and see it through, you’ll get desperate and you’ll look for an out to save face, but there won’t be any outs for you! Duck me in that ring, hit me from behind and pray to God that I don’t reach around and snatch a bald spot out of your head, because that is the only way in hell that you get to leave MY RING on Sunday looking like a winner, because the record books are going to say that you took one more loss…champ!”
I did have to calm myself down a bit, but I was way to amped up...I was way too ready for this chance.
“Is this personal? Oh, you bet your ass that it is! No, not because you enjoy throwing shade at me and my past like a shit tossing monkey in the city zoo, but because you think that your shit doesn’t stink. You have been exposed on more than one occasion this year, but winning the Queen of the Ring and going on to win the LAW Title helped you mask the fact that you’re treading water. Lucas Dupree will never name me #1 contender to that title, not with my history in the company, but I’ll be damned right to hell if I let that stop me from doing the one thing that he will allow…making MY title the top title in LAW!”
“Hey! Maybe you can go and get yourself disqualified so you can have another ‘out’ as to why you lost. Maybe you can get sick the day of the show and not compete, that will keep you from having another black mark on your record. Or maybe…just maybe…you can get the guts to think for a single solitary moment that the fact that you are LAW Champion means that you are better than everyone else in that match. Think that you are better than Kate Steele…the first LAW Champion, the former Marquee Champion, the current Chaos Champion. Think that your title sets you above her…and maybe she will believe it. Think that you are better than Crystal Hilton…a former LAW Tag Team Champion, a former Queen of the Ring, and the current Marquee Champion. Think that your title sets you above her…and maybe she will believe it…”
I stood up, eyes blazing as I made my point.
“…take one guess who won’t ever believe it…”
“I don’t have the pedigree of Steele or even Hilton. No one in LAW has ever looked at me and seen a champion, even when I was one. I never let that stop me from believing that I was…I didn’t let it stop me from going out there and becoming one! I became the LAW Breakout Champion, and I didn't have to cheat and I didn't have to get desperate to o it! If you think that you're better than me, then you’ll roll over me during the Champion’s Challenge...but you won't! No, you see…just like I said, a great opportunity has come knocking and tomorrow night I am going to answer when I beat Kate…when I beat Crystal…and when I beat you!”
I held up a single finger...just one.
“Only one woman is walking out of that main event with the ability to say that they are the greatest champion in LAW…and you can bet every last penny that you have that it’s going to be ME!”
Now I could finally laugh, shake my head and clap my hands. I'm sure I looked like a lunatic, but it was just adding more fuel to the fire.
“Bravo Gabby for being nothing more than a broken ‘Speak & Say’ spewing out the same tired lines over and over in an effort to get under my skin…”
“…your wife is a cripple…”
“…you’re a shitty television show actress…”
“…you’re a shitty football quarterback…”
“Wow! I would have thought that you would have gotten some new material by now, but I guess you’re too busy patting yourself on the back to come up with any new tricks. That’s really too bad because I have a few new tricks of my own, and I can’t wait to show them to you in the ring! Don’t think that I am going to be distracted by my ‘crippled wife.’ You remember her, right? The one that beat you a few weeks ago. Don’t you worry about how ‘shitty’ my film and football career are, trust me…I am doing just fine! The fact that you watch me so closely makes me positively giddy! There’s nothing like a fan to inspire a girl to do great things…and I will do great things Gabby…I will do a great thing on Sunday Night when I serve you up a slice of that humble pie that you’re going to try your best to ignore as I shove it further and further down your throat!”
I felt the tension in my shoulders drop and for the first time in a very long time, I felt that I was finally where I was always meant to be in my career. I was doing all the things that needed to be done, and after tomorrow night there was no one who was going to be able to tell me differently.
“This match belongs to me…it has since the very moment it was announced. Regardless of whether Kate, Crystal, or Gabby thought that they were going to win it, the fact of the matter was that they were all wrong! None of them were ever going to be the best champion that LAW had to offer because none of them were ever going to beat me to claim that distinction. Kate is off posting Triple Crown posters, but not being a Triple Crown champion. Crystal is off making friends with anyone and everyone who’ll talk to her, but she’s not making herself out to be a Marquee Champion. Then there is Gabby, who is more fired up to hype a rematch with Amy Jo Smyth that she was to fight her in the first place.”
I stood up, ready to return to the party.
“That is all well and good guys. Revel in your success and keep ignoring what is here waiting for you. Are you wondering what it is? Well…it’s me…it’s the winner of the Champion’s Challenge…it’s me, Kenzi Grey-Lacklan…your Champion of Champions!”
With that being said, I moved on to a fun portion of Grey Matter, the question and answer. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the comments.
"Okay, let's answer a question or two, shall we?"
@fu-Tom: I heard you follow that hokey Scientology stuff. I heard about your wife's accident and I know how you people are about doctors. Are you gonna be able to live with yourself when try to use that fake sci-fi crap to 'heal' your wife?
"Wow! F U Tom...nice! Anyway, yes I am a Scientologist and no we don't put our faith in shrinks when the mind and body are perfectly capable of healing itself. I was able to basically cure myself of my Borderline Personality Disorder through the wonders of my faith and I think that it can do the same for my wife, given the chance. Yes, I know my wife's issues are also physical, but I know that she can be helped. I am looking forward to applying proven techniques to help her get back on her feet."
I moved on to the next question...
@kenziwatcher: I can't help but to notice, since your wife's accident your banter with Melissa Aki has taken on a very different tone. Some would say a bit more sexual. Is there something going on between you two?
"Well Kenzi Watcher, thank you for the question! First of all, I want to say this...I am a married woman and I only have eyes for one person, and that person is my wife. Now, Mel and I are great friends and I admire and respect her, but I also respect her relationship with my friend and mentor, Ashley Marie Chase. I would never do anything to come between the two of them, even if I wasn't married. Sorry, but you're mistaken on all counts."
I let our a hard sigh as I considered screening my questions. I found the next one and read it...
@goarmy: Once Gabby Camacho beats you yet again, are you finally going to get her name out of your mouth and move on with your life?
"First things, first; thank you for your service! Secondly, Gabby isn't beating me and neither is Kate or Crystal! I am going to be the winner of that match and that is the bottom line! As for me getting her name of my mouth, maybe you want to talk to her able doing that."
I had time for one more question...
@supershinynovagal: During your ladder match, it came down to you and the woman that should have won, Nova Sinclair. You won the match when you cheated and hit her in the head with the title. My question is how you can consider yourself the champion after cheating to win like that?
"Okay! You're not bias at all, are you? Well, to answer your question...no I didn't cheat to win, I won that match square and fair. To say that I cheated by hitting Nova in the face with the belt is the same as saying that Nova cheated when she hit me and everyone else in that match with a ladder over and over again. Know this, I know that Nova started planting those little seeds as soon as she lost in an effort to spin things after she lost since she couldn't bully me like she bullies everyone else that she manages to beat. If you want to keep drinking the Nova Sinclair Kool-Aid, that is your choice, but the fact remains that I am the Breakout Champion and I didn't have to cheat to win it!"
With that, I ended the question and answer portion of my V-Log and I started walking towards the other party goers, then stopped and turned, giving the Vulcan hand sign to ‘live long and prosper’ as she added…
“May the Force be with you…”
She giggled, knowing how much her wife was going to hate that when she saw it. She could hardly wait to see her face!
EPILOGUE...
Having my wife back with me, even though she was still on the mend meant everything to me. I didn’t care about the trouble with our marriage, the fact that the father of the man that poisoned my wife now wanted control of her legacy, or the fact that she might not ever fully recover. She was all mines, and she was with me…that is all that really mattered.
Yes, maybe we had problems when it came to the physical nature of our relationship... (Old Habits | New Worries) and (...do you still want me...?) Yet and still, we were soulmates. That was a word that got thrown around a lot by people. They found their soulmate…seemingly every week, and yet, it never lasted…it never mattered. They found new soulmates weeks later, sometimes even days later. My relationship with my wife was different. We had braved the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune together, and we had come out of it stronger, also…together.
I was a champion because of her. No, she didn’t win the title for me, but she did something more important…she gave me the confidence to believe that I could win it! She stood by my side and willed me on when I was too tired to think that I could win! Heck, Yes, even when she slipped in and out of her catatonia, like I always said, her first thoughts were always of me…how I was doing and what I was doing. She was my number one cheerleader and my pillar of support from the very start. She made me strong where I was weak…and she gave me nourishment when I needed it to keep going.
Now that I am a champion…now that I have realized the faith that she placed in me, it is time that I paid it back. Now that she has made me as mentally tough as I am physically tough…its time that I pay her back. She has to believe that she can and will walk again. She has to believe that she will find the strength to regain everything that has been taken from her. That is what I can do for the woman who set me on the path to be where I am today!
I promise myself, just like I promise her…she will be made whole again. Maybe not in a day, or a week, a month, or maybe a year…but it will happen and I will be there holding her hand, every single step of the way!