Post by Violet Ripley on Nov 15, 2014 4:10:38 GMT -5
“We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.”
― Malcolm X
This match... my god. This is the match I have been striving for since I decided to make this my life's ambition. A world title. To be the absolute face of a company.
Sure I wanted that from IWA too. I wanted to move beyond the women's title but seems I didn't get that chance did I? No I got laid off and then when the Newman's approached me to come back I declined. Not just because the women's title was gone and I'd have to start from the bottom again. I won't deny that did make me none the happy but the other reason was... I had to pick.
I am strong. In fact I don't think it's a stretch to say that I'm one of the toughest chicks in wrestling today but even I have my limits. I looked at both of these companies and I weighed my options. Looks like I chose right after all because if not for my decision to stay with the company that made me their queen, I'd be unemployed. I had a chance at gold here because I earned it.
As much as people want to bitch about how I got handed it because my final opponent was too injured to come out, the fact of the matter is until that match... I did EARN it. It's not my fault that there are people in this company that will look for any conceivable reason to try and make me some kind of fraud. To go out of their way to cheat their competition out of what they deserve.
My only two career loses are to the tag team USA. Congrats to you ladies on that but to be completely honest here, both of them were because there was just something working in your favour and it wasn't because you were the better athletes. Anybody that knows me knows that I give credit when it's due. God even Sidney deserves some credit for her skills, she's got titles and accolades to back that shit up. The first time, they won because my partner and coincidently my opponent for this match, The Doc, didn't pull her end of the bargain, but I'll get to that in a second. The second time was because Nyako decided to cheat and luckily she didn't get caught. Now I know she did that big apology and I already stated my opinion on that. I do not condone cheating and as far as I'm concerned once a cheater always a cheater.
That being said, besides those two losses, which are tag team loses I might add, I'd say that it stands to reason that I have a pretty good chance of winning this match. I have proven no matter where I wrestle that I am someone you should want to face. I should be where you strive to be, to go.
Doc. Well here we are. I wonder if you ever thought it would be me winning that tournament. The same night you won the title and automatically had a big target painted on your back. I'm not going to sit here and run you down. That's not my style and frankly you haven't said anything bad about me. My only issues with you Doc are that you let me down when I was counting on you to be the person you were supposed to be. You fell short and to be quite honest... I can't let that go. It's one thing to lose on my own merit but to have a blemish on my record because your partner couldn't get their shit together... well... that shit don't sit right with me. And the second thing... As you so admitted in your last promo... you haven't been the champion that LAW deserves. That these fans deserve. As much as you claim to be back to fighting fit. Back to a place where you can be that which they need... I don't believe you.
We have so much in common. We both come from abusive childhoods. We both ran away from that life to try and do something better. We both succeeded. I mean wow... you have a doctorate. You managed to overcome not only an abusive father but an abusive first husband as well. Believe me, I know how hard it is. How you struggle not to let yourself go back to that place and wallow in that horrible start. To use it as a crutch and as a way to justify just letting everything fall apart around you.
We are two proven cases of where with the right motivation and the right support you can stand above it all. I only wish that this was going to be another story where you will over come a challenge in your life and the only reason I say that is because that challenge is me.
And yes, I am a challenge. Maybe your toughest to date. That's not me being cocky that's me giving you a dose of truth. Look at my track record... 2 career losses... only 2. You are not going to be #3. I refuse it. I feel for you really. It sucks that some personal life stuff came up. But part of being a champion is to prove that you are tough enough to handle it all and frankly as a woman of over 40 years, shouldn't you know how to use time management skills a little better?
I'm not trying to be mean or a bitch, I'm just stating straight up truth.
I have worked the last four years of my life for this moment. To step into the ring and know that when I leave I'll be leaving with something big. Bigger than myself. I have done nothing but hype this match since I won Queen of the Ring. I've talked about how I was going to be presented with a big challenge. That it was an honour to face you. Letting me down, well I'm sorry Doc... that only showed me even more why I needed to beat you.
I still do respect you to a point. You did beat Kate Steele, a woman that until recently was nearly unbeatable. You have numerous wins to support your skill and it's a accomplishment given you didn't start this until later in your life. That doesn't change the fact that I am better.
I have the utmost confidence in my skills. Frankly I think you've been overlooking me since I won. You never mention me, you don't talk about our match. As I've said before, part of this match is that you can't look good yourself unless your opponent in the match looks good too. I'm not going to like putting you down Doc. As I said, as silent as you've been, you still haven't said anything bad about me. And I'm not trying to get attention with this, I'm just saying if you really did respect me, then this inevitable match would have been one the first things on your mind like it has been for me.
I chose LAW as my permanent home. I gave up IWA before it closed. I gave up PWP because I felt that as a future champion that it deserved my full attention. I crave to be the very best and so far I've been pretty damn close to that.
You have to ask yourself Doc... have you been? Have you deserved to hold that title around your waist? Are you going to continue to be the face of a awesome company that fosters some of the best women's talent... naw I take that back... not just in the women's division but all divisions. I know women here that could easily stand toe to toe with any man, myself included. You Doc, could easily take out men if you really put your mind to it.
I don't think you can't be a champion I just think it's been a combination of maybe some bad timing and maybe you just weren't ready to accept this responsibility.
But I am.
I'm ready to unload that burden at your waist. And when you're ready to be there, I'll give you a rematch. Give you a chance to show me and the world that you've decided to give it the devotion that it deserves.
At night of Glory Doc... I intend to have my own glory. I intend to relieve you of the duty that has been too heavy for you to bare.
At Night of Glory... I become a real champion. I become elite. I become the face of LAW and I have absolutely no guilt about that.
.::May 2008::.
"Evelyn, I'm sorry but you just don't have the grades to be valedictorian. That honour has been bestowed upon Jonathan Carver. But you did come really close. Second place is not something to be upset about. Maybe you should go congratulate him." The dean's words had rung through my ears. I'd tried so hard that last year to bring my grades up. To prove that I was just as if not smarter than the rest of my graduating class and still my best wasn't good enough. I fell short.
Immediately my anger had gotten the better of me and I'd stormed out of his office and wouldn't you know, I crash headlong into the guy I was mad at. Jonathan Carver.
He was handsome, I couldn't deny it then and I certainly still couldn't now. A slow lazy smile, his hair was always kinda messy in that lazy sexy way that for some reason just drove me crazy. He was far from perfect like the jocks. He was on the chess team. He tutored other students after school and for some reason, he wanted nothing to do with me despite that fact that at 17 I looked practically the same as I did now. He grabs my wrists to prevent me to from falling and then moves to set me right but his hands linger just a little to long on my skin.
"Are you okay Evelyn?" he asks. I remember his cologne. It wasn't over bearing and had a sweet aroma of musk masked with some kind of herb. Maybe it wasn't a cologne at all but just his natural scent. Whatever it was, it had me going.
"Yea, I'm fine. Thanks." My anger is momentarily lost. It was funny, other boyfriends I'd had after him --and we did end up dating after high school-- were those good looking jocks but none of them were anything in comparison to Carver.
"I heard that you didn't quite make the grades for Valedictorian. I'm sorry, I know how much you wanted it, but it just wasn't as much as me." It was cocky but his smirk... his attitude... I realized at that particular point that what I'd inferred as disinterest for nearly two years was actually his odd way of flirting. He thought he could make me fall all over myself for his little slights that weren't really all that insulting in the grand scheme of things. The constant competing with me wasn't because he hated me but because he... thought it was... a turn on. Something that made him attractive. And suddenly realizing that, it all kind of came crashing into place. My but wasn't he a patient guy to go through two years of that before I finally clued in.
"Hope it keeps you warm at night." A bit of my anger coming through I move around him, knowing that if I didn't leave now I might end up slapping him but he grabs me wrist before I'm fully out of reach.
"It's just for my university application you know. I needed as many recognitions as I could so that I could get the full scholarship."
I turn and raise and eyebrow at him. "Why do you need a scholarship?" was pretty presumptuous of me to assume he had money just because he was always well dressed and was the most intelligent person I knew.
"Not everyone that goes here has family in the military Evie."
It was humbling. Not just his words but the whole summer with him. Until I'd met Matai, I never met anybody else that I'd uttered the words 'I love you' too... and I did love him. By August we were inseparable but unfortunately he got his university scholarship and was gone to Alberta for four years. The first few months we stayed in touch with letters, emails, phone calls, questionable video chats... but then we both met other people. Moved on. I heard he got married last spring and was already expecting a baby due in May. I'm happy for him.
My point is, that although we want something we don't always need it more than someone else. We might not always be ready for that responsibility. Back then I wasn't ready to be the face of the graduating class. Someone else was a better fit.
This time around I know without a doubt that it's my turn. Doc may have all the right skills, the wins to back up her words but she's only still second best to me.
It's my turn to stand in front of the crowd and tell them about the future. The future of me being champion and doing a fantastic job at it too.