Saturday, August 26, 2017

You Can't (can?) go home



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GCW For Glory & Gold
August 12th, 2017
On Camera
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Most know by now that Julia Braddock is the younger sister of Glory Braddock, a member of the famous Braddock wrestling family.  She made her debut under the tutelage of Glenn Braddock, her trainer and the patriarch of the Braddock family.  Glenn Braddock is the one who originally brought fame to the Braddock family, having been a successful wrestler on the amateur circuits.  He was so successful that people in his native United Kingdom nicknamed him “Britain’s Best” and he would have competed in the Olympics were it not for a back injury that ended his competitive career.  Thus he transitioned into training the future generation of wrestlers, including his daughters, Glory and Julia Braddock.

Things were never perfect for the Braddock family and Glenn in particular.  He bore a secret; Julia’s sibling relationship to Glory was kept from the public eye for a very long time.  Glenn’s brother, Peter Braddock, raised Julia as his own.  Julia grew up thinking she was Glory’s cousin.  She believed it in the early years of her professional wrestling debut.  She never suspected that Glenn was training her not just to help her be the best but also to be closer to his daughter.

Glory’s debut was almost an immediate success, unlike Julia, who had some rough spots early on in her career.  Julia had been expected to live up to the high expectations of “Britain’s Best” Glenn Braddock and “The Best in the World” Glory Braddock; but all she wanted was to just be Julia Braddock.  She never wanted to be compared to Glory Braddock.  Those comparisons, criticisms, and judgments the so-called “experts” passed as they compared Julia and Glory, they slowly drove Julia to jealousy.

Julia’s jealousy hit a peak when, shortly after Peter’s death, Glenn Braddock finally came clean and admitted that he was Julia’s father.  The realization that she and Glory were, in actuality, sisters made her even more crazed with jealousy and drove her to try and become the best Braddock in the family.  Her jealousy caused Julia to burn several bridges in the process of proving herself to the world.

No longer did she want anything to do with Glenn Braddock, her true father, because he had abandoned her and lied to her all of her life.  She definitely didn’t want anything to do with Glory Braddock, for Julia was convinced that she was Glory’s superior and that the attention should be on her, not Glory.

Julia’s jealousy even led her to quit the UWA, a place she had been since the company’s inception.  Her jealousy over the attention the other Braddock family members had been getting led to an overinflated ego and overinflated opinion of herself.  Her ego made her feel misused by UWA and thus she left that company high and dry.

Something had to be done, with Julia’s ego and jealousy running wild and causing great distress for the Braddock family.  The issues within the family had to be dealt with.  Those issues would come to a head tonight, at the GCW For Glory & Gold event.  Glory Braddock had challenged her younger sister Julia to a sixty minute Iron Man Match.  This one went to regulation as a one to one tie and then an overtime period was about to commence…

The referee waits as Glory pulls herself up using the ropes, looking confident as she finally got Julia to tap out. By contrast, Julia looks thoroughly depressed as she realizes that all she had to do was hold on for one more second and she would have beaten Glory a second time but she couldn’t hold on. The referee calls for the bell to start the overtime period!

The two women trade right hands, almost as if this whole thing started all over again. Glory gets the better of the exchange, backing Julia against the ropes. She whips her in and lowers her head but Julia makes her pay with a swift kick to the face followed up by Julia In Excelsis Deo! Julia immediately rolls into a cover…

1…

2…

…3NOO! Glory kicks out!

Julia shakes her head, shocked that her move didn’t end it. Julia rolls out of the ring and retrieves a steel chair. She brings it in and blasts Glory over the head, knocking her down! The referee can’t disqualify her as this can only end via pin or submission. Glory is busted wide open and bloody begins to pour from her face. She waits as Glory pulls herself up and Julia blasts her a second time in the head with the chair! Julia gets rid of the chair and instead of covering goes up to the second rope. Glory pulls herself up and turns around into Queen’s Ransom! Julia covers!

1…

2…

…3NOO! Glory kicks out!

Julia is severely frustrated now. She takes Glory and locks her in The Guillotine, hoping to finally beat Glory a second straight time, and a second straight time via submission. The hold squeezes Glory’s head, causing the blood to flow more and more. The referee gets right there in Glory’s face, asking her if she wants to give up. Glory feels flashbacks from Resurrection, when she lost via submission for the first time in her career. Julia shouts at Glory to give up, to tap out, but Glory shakes her head, refusing to give up. Just then, Glory shifts her weight, turning Julia ever so slightly, causing Julia’s shoulders to go flat on the canvas...

1…

2…

…3!

DING! DING! DING!

“Ladies and gentlemen, here is your winner of the Iron Woman Match, in overtime, GLORY BRADDOCK!”

The referee helps Glory Braddock to her feet. She holds her arms up high in the air as she celebrates. The fans shower her with cheers of adulation, joyous that she picked up the victory. Julia, meanwhile, looks dejected, as she has been beaten by her sister in the Iron Woman Match. Julia uses the ropes to pull herself up and she stares across at Glory, who continues to celebrate. Glory turns as she watches Julia cautiously approach her. The two get eye to eye and stare each other down. A low rumble begins in the crowd, anxious that the two may go at it again. But just then, Julia extends her hand…

“Congratulations, Glory. I was wrong and you were right. Tonight you were The Best in the World.”

Glory accepts the embrace but then pulls her in for a tight hug. “Yes and tonight you took the Best in the World to the limit. You were one second away from beating me in regulation.”

They break the embrace and the emotion is clearly on both women’s faces. “As far as I’m concerned, there is no superior or inferior, we are on the same level, Julia. You are every bit “The Best in the World” as I am, and let no one tell you otherwise.”

“Yes, equals.” Julia responds, nodding her head.

With the peace having been made, the crowd cheers loudly for the both them, giving them appreciation for the show they put on here tonight. Julia then makes her exit, allowing Glory to celebrate in the ring with her fans.

A few fans are congratulating Julia, either for putting on a great performance or for showing class and sportsmanship at the end of the match, but either way it doesn’t seem to go noticed by Julia herself as she just continues her steady walk up the ramp back.  The beautiful blonde reaches the top of the ramp towards the entrance and turns one final time towards the ring where her sister Glory is still celebrating.  Julia gives one final salute before turning and heading through the curtains and back to the backstage area.

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GCW For Glory & Gold
August 12th, 2017
Off Camera
==========

Julia walks past the ready area and starts down the hall but then a rough, gruff, clearing of the throat stops her dead in her tracks.  She turns to her right and spots her father, Glenn Braddock standing there off to the side, staring a hole right through her.  Anticipating a lecture she sighs and shakes her head.

“So…”

“About time you got back here.” He roughly states.

“I was a little busy, dad.” She sighs again. “I assume you’re happy with the outcome?”

“Of course I am.”

Julia rolls her eyes. “Yeah, Glory won, that’s what you wanted.  That’s what everyone wanted, I take it.”

“Hold on for a bloody moment.” Glenn approaches his youngest daughter. “Now you’re putting words into my mouth.”

“What do you mean!” Julia exclaims, exasperated and frustrated over the match itself, a marathon match, that has drawn so much emotion from her body that she can still barely cry over it. “You just said you were happy with the outcome!  Glory won!  She beat me!  That was the outcome!”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Glenn says, shaking his head. “I couldn’t give a damn less if you or Glory had won tonight.”

Julia shakes her head with confused. “I’m confused…”

He places a hand on her shoulder. “The outcome I wanted to see was you believing in yourself.  I wanted to see you take your wrestling game to the next level.  You did both tonight.  You never could last against Glory unless you believed in yourself and you had the wrestling ability to back it up.  But more importantly…”

A tear forms in the tough grizzled veteran’s eye “…you and your sister made peace.  This long, bitter, jealous rivalry between you two is over.  That is what I’m happy about.”

“Yeah, I guess…” her voice trails off as she stares out past Glenn, thinking long and hard about what brought this all about, wondering if it really is over or if there is something else that needs to be dealt with, that needs to be handled.

“What is it, Julia?” Glenn asks, sensing that she’s troubled.

“It’s just that…” she sighs deeply “…it’s just, this may have ended for now, but we need to face up to some difficult facts or else another problem may come up between me and Glory, or me and you, or even you and Glory.  At least one of us, maybe more than one, hasn’t faced up to at least one difficult fact.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s you…” she says, tears forming in her own eyes yet again “...it’s still hard for me to not look at you as Uncle Glenn, because all my life I thought you were my uncle, all my life I loved Peter Braddock, my father, and then when he died I am told that you were my real father and you gave me up to my REAL Uncle Peter to raise?”

She shakes her head. “I had jealousy with Glory before, a rivalry with her before, but imagine how this revelation affected it?”

“I know…”

“Do you?  Do you really know what it was like, dad?  You were never there for me.  You abandoned me so you could raise Glory.  It wasn’t Glory’s fault, I see that now, and I’m not going to try and take the blame entirely off of myself because I could’ve handled things better, but you made the situation worse.”

“I do know,” he says, nodding his head “and I hope to make it up to you.”

He opens his arms up for a hug. “If you’ll let me, that is.”

“Yeah, I think I like the sound of that.” She embraces him in a tight hug. “Tonight is a night of second chances.  I think we all could use a reset…a reboot…”



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Glenn Braddock
On Camera
==========

I’m not sure if it was Fleur Jamieson or David Helms, or maybe it was a damn intern stuffing his face with doughnuts, but one you bloody clowns can’t get your facts straight.  Let’s take a look at this damnable hype sheet your monkeys wrote: “Two debuts, and Lilith fresh off what was a near Hybrid Championship reign... something has to give.”

Let’s get this clear, only one self-described gobshite is making his debut and that’s Ryan Watson.  Julia Braddock isn’t making her debut.  She was her in UWA since the beginning.  And yeah, she took some time off.  She was going through some tough shit and had to get her head clear.  But she’s back, she’s focused, and she’s ready to get back into the game and make a name for herself in the company she has always called home.

This isn’t a debut for my daughter Julia.  This is a homecoming and she’s damn sure ready to make it a successful homecoming.  Hype Watson all you want, do your best to make Lilith look good, but at the end of the day Julia Braddock will be the one standing tall, because she is The Kensington Knockout and she has come home.  She is taking back her spot in UWA.

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August 26th, 2017
Off Camera
==========

Julia Braddock knew that the 60 Minute Iron Man Match against her sister Glory was a turning point in her professional career.  Even in a loss she proved her merit and worth to the wrestling world at large.  She knows now that the sky is the limit, she could go places if she makes the proper decisions from here on out.  And that’s really the key; good decisions.  Julia has made decisions that she has regretted, decisions that she feels she cannot go back and fix.  She has burned bridges that she feels are beyond repair.  But perhaps now she can at least go forward with her career and make the right decisions.

For the past several months her career has been in the hands of Kayla Jones and Jones Wrestling Incorporated.  The problem is, Julia’s ego made it so that she never listened to her manager’s advice.  Perhaps if she had listened to Kayla’s advice she wouldn’t have made the mistakes that she had made?  What’s done is done and there is no fixing it.  Julia is just grateful that Kayla stuck by her no matter what.  For Kayla, family is very important and despite Julia’s stubborn refusal to listen to reason, Kayla would not abandon her.

Julia is grateful for that.

This is what brings us to Boston, Massachusetts where we find Julia Braddock standing out in front of the Boston headquarters of Jones Wrestling Incorporated.  This company started out as a modeling agency that Kayla Jones started.  The younger Jones sibling used nearly all of her savings to purchase it and make it her own but it worked out in the end, for she turned the fledgling modeling agency around.  In later years she would expand her business, choosing to manage the careers of professional athletes.  Currently she manages the wrestling careers of GCW athletes Gabriela Austin, Hayley Gold, and, most recently, Julia Braddock.

The beautiful blonde is wearing a pretty silk cold-shoulder yellow sun dress that falls to just below the knee.  Her feet are encased in mirror metallic high-heeled sandals.  She opens the front door of Jones Wrestling Incorporated headquarters and steps inside, letting the door shut behind her.  Jones makes her way up to a desk, pausing just momentarily to smile politely at the clerk and greet him….

“Hi there.” Julia warmly greets the male secretary at the front desk. “How are you?”

“I’m doing fine, Ms. Braddock.” The clerk, Bruce, remarks.

“Is Kayla ready to see me?”

“Yes,” he nods his head “Ms. Jones is waiting.”

“Great.”

With that, Julia walks on past the desk and continues down a long hallway until she comes to a stop at a door leading to someone’s office.  The door reads “Kayla Jones”.  She smiles as she turns the doorknob and pushes the office door open, stepping inside.  Immediately she lays her eyes upon a female sitting at a large oak desk.  She is wearing a black pantsuit with a matching black blazer, white button up silk blouse, and black high heeled pumps.  Her long naturally red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  She looks up at Julia standing there in her office and she smiles politely at her.

“Hi, Julia!” Kayla says cheerfully. “I am so glad you came!”

“I had no choice, really.” Julia says as she walks over to the desk and sits down in one of the chairs.  Kayla furrows her brow out of curiosity.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m at a crossroads, Kayla.” Julia remarks stoically. “I think everyone can see that now, especially after that match between Glory and I at For Glory and Gold.”

Kayla nods her head. “That was a tremendous match.  I hate it that you lost but you definitely showed the world that you have nothing but unlimited potential.”

“Yeah, potential…” Julia’s voice trails off; she sighs deeply “…everyone has known for a long time that I have potential.  I am a Braddock for goodness sake.  I have this business running through my blood.”

She points a finger at Kayla. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, the business runs through your blood with you being a Jones.”

Kayla nods her head. “Yeah, I know.”

“But that’s all I’ve ever been…just potential.” She shakes her head. “I haven’t been able to break through.”

“I disagree.” Kayla responds as she leans forward. “You are a former GCW World Champion.”

“Yes, but people complain that I cheated to win it.  This Iron Man Match was the closest I came to breaking through and I couldn’t get the job done.” She sighs and shakes her head. “I realize if I had just listened to you and your advice when you offered it, maybe I would’ve broken through.”

Kayla leans back in her chair and scratches her chin. “Well, you are right about one thing.  Having a manager, agent, or whatever you want to call it means you should listen to their advice at least some of the time.  Otherwise what is the point in having them?  But…”

She shakes her head “….but that’s not what I want you to do, Julia.  I don’t want you to blindly do everything I say.  I’m just here to offer my many years of wrestling advice and expertise.  Take it or leave it.”

“Well that’s good to know, because I’m here to listen to that advice.  Far too long have I just ignored you and did whatever the hell I wanted, even when you disagreed with my actions.”

Kayla smirks. “You were acting like a bit of a spoiled bitch, Julia.”

“Gee, you don’t have to put it like that.” Julia snickers. “Even if it is true.”

Kayla grins from ear to ear, nodding her head. “Great, so you’re ready to listen?”

“Yes, definitely.  I see For Glory and Gold as a turning point.  I lost, I may not have got the breakthrough I wanted, but I did show the world what I am capable of when I put my mind to it.  What I did that night was nothing short of a world championship level performance.  I know I can have the breakthrough I want.  I just need guidance in the right direction.  And I’m ready to listen to your advice, Kayla, because I know I made a ton of mistakes when I tried to do things by myself.  It’s time I realized that I cannot always do things on my own, that sometimes I do need help.”

Kayla sighs deeply and nods her head. “You’re right, you did do some things that I consider mistakes.  You did things I’m not necessarily proud of, but I stuck by you and supported you anyway.  So if you’re serious about getting help and listening to my advice, then maybe you should start by fixing one of the biggest of those mistakes right off the bat.”

“Ok, fine,” Julia says, nodding her head in agreement “we can do that.”

“Excellent,” a devilish grin forms on Kayla’s face “then you’re rejoining UWA.”

“Wait, what?” Julia blinks her eyes several times, a look of surprise is on her face as she isn’t sure she heard Kayla right. “UWA?”

“That’s right, UWA.” Kayla responds. “You never should have left UWA.  You were one of the UWA originals and a former UWA Queen of the Ring Champion and UWA Hybrid Champion.  You were going places, Julia, but you threw that all out of the window and for what reason?”

“They…” Julia struggles to find the right words but can’t seem to do so “…they…”

“According to you they were not giving you the spotlight you deserved.  You fell into the same jealousy trap that you fell into with your sister Glory.  You felt everyone was giving Glory a spotlight that you were entitled to.  You felt that same way with UWA, that other athletes were getting a spotlight you deserved.” She shakes her head. “But it doesn’t work out like that, Julia.  No one is entitled to a damn thing in this business. You earn your spots.  You were on the precipice of earning one of UWA’s top spots before you took your ball and went home like a child throwing a tantrum.”

It’s clear based on the pained expression on Julia’s face that the words Kayla just said really hurt her.  Kayla just sighs and shakes her head.

“I’m sorry, Julia, but if you really are ready to listen to me then you need to hear the hard truth and that is the truth.”

“I…” Julia nods her head “…I know.   You’re right about that, I did act like a spoiled child.  But…”

Julia shakes her head “…they’ll never take me back.  I burned that bridge to the ground and I cannot build it back.”

“Oh ye of little faith.” Kayla reaches into the drawer of her desk and produces a piece of paper.  She passes it across the desk for Julia to read.  Julia picks it up and begins reading.   Her eyes grow wide as she reads the details.

“No…this is impossible…” Julia shakes her head “…this is…”

“That’s right.” Kayla nods her head. “Those are the tentative details of a contract between you and the UWA.  I spoke with David Helms and UWA’s new minority owner Fleur Jamieson extensively to get this deal ironed out.  No legal drafts have been written yet, because I wanted to make sure you would be agreeable to a UWA return before any of our lawyers got involved in writing an actual contract.  But that is what the deal would look like.”

Julia looks down at the tentative contract, then back up at Kayla, and she shakes her head. “Kayla, I…I just can’t believe this…where’d you get the time to do all of this work on my behalf?”

“It was difficult.” Kayla admits. “I’ve been dealing with a personal family situation and a SCW Rise To Greatness Scaffold Scramble to prepare for on top of this UWA contract for you.  I had to sacrifice some time when I could’ve been preparing for Rise To Greatness or dealing with my family situation to make sure you were dealt with properly.”

“You’re too good to me, Kayla.” Julia bows her head in shame. “I don’t deserve this.”

“Oh quiet, you.” Kayla says with a smirk. “I always put family first and we may be cousins but we are family.”

Julia looks back down at the contract again and then back up at Kayla. “This amount they’re willing to pay me…”

“I know.” Kayla nods her head. “It’s the same amount you were making before you left the company.”

“But the things I did, the bridges I burned, I don’t…” she shakes her head “…I don’t deserve this pay right off the bat.”

“For starters, you are NOT a damn rookie.  You are a UWA original making a return, so get it right.  And secondly, you don’t give humanity enough credit.  People are a lot more forgiving than you give them credit for.  UWA doesn’t really care what you did when you were away or even why you left in the first place.  They just want you back.  So needless to say, Fleur was glad to work with me in getting you back.”

Kayla reaches across the desk and grabs Julia by her hand. “You just need to learn how to forgive yourself.”

“You’re right, Kayla,” Julia grins from ear to ear “it is time to forgive myself.  And maybe it is time I try to rebuild some bridges.”

“So does that mean you want me to let Fleur know you’re on board?”

“Absolutely.” Julia says, nodding her head. “I’m returning to UWA.”



==========
Kayla Jones
On Camera
==========

I want to start by thanking Fleur Jamieson and David Helms for working together with me to bring Julia Braddock back to UWA.  This company just is not complete without Julia Braddock, one of the UWA originals, a woman who dates her UWA tenure back to when it was just a brand extension of the IWC, a woman who is a former Hybrid and Queen of the Champion here in this great company, and a woman who now is more focused than ever on reclaiming her spot in the UWA.

Julia isn’t ignorant or naïve, though.  She understands that she has been gone for awhile and she knows that she cannot just walk in and reclaim her spot.  She knows and looks forward to climbing back up the ladder and earning her spot in this company…and maybe earning more than just her spot…maybe, just maybe, going beyond that and becoming UWA World Champion?

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  It’s all about climbing the ladder and Julia has to start all over like everyone else.  She starts off against Ryan Watson, who is making his debut, and against Lilith Evans, who had a good Hybrid Title Match against Victoria Salinas.

Ryan, Lilith, I wish you the best of luck, you’ll need it against my client; against my cousin, The Kensington Knockout, and I have to warn you that she will kick your teeth right down your throat!



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On Camera
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John Steinbeck once said that “you can’t go home again because home has ceased to exist except in the mothballs of memory.”

John Steinbeck was a brilliant man and a great writer, but I aim to prove that statement wrong.

Most should recognize me, and those who don’t at the very least should recognize the last name.  I am The Kensington Knockout, I am Julia Braddock.  That’s right, Braddock, of the Braddock wrestling family.  The daughter of Glenn Braddock, sister of Glory Braddock…

…but with all due respect to my father and my sister, they don’t matter; at least, they don’t matter here in UWA, because UWA is the home of Julia Braddock and has been my home ever since its inception, when we were still just a brand extension of the IWC, to when we branched out and went off on our own as our own independent wrestling company.  Even when we had our disagreement and I left the company, deep down in my heart and my soul I regretted leaving, I missed the fans of the Uprising universe, and more than anything else, I missed this place, I missed home.

UWA is also a company I helped build from the ground up.  I am one of the UWA originals so to say that I am making my debut on Uprising is a misnomer and is quite misleading.  I was here at the very beginning.  I was the first ever UWA Hybrid Champion.  I was there in the first elimination chamber match that led to Vanilla Skyy’s wrestling career ending.  I was the UWA Queen of the Ring Champion.

Yes, I have some great memories of UWA.  Now I’m back to create even more memories.  Maybe I’ll become a two time Hybrid Champion?  Two time Queen of the Ring Champion?  I could win my first ever X-Limits Championship or I could find a tag team partner and become tag team champion?  Or maybe, just maybe, I could create the biggest and greatest memory of them all become the UWA World Champion?

Oh but I’m getting way too ahead of myself.  You see, I’m not going to walk right on in and expect to be treated like nothing has changed and that I can just retake the spot I had before I left.  That’s why Steinbeck claims you can’t go home.  When you leave somewhere you once called home and you try to return, you find that time has passed you by and most of the time people just can’t adapt to those changes, and they realize that they, too, have to move on.  They have to realize that they cannot go home.

But I’m not the norm.  I am Julia Braddock, I am The Kensington Knockout, and I have a history of doing things my way, and if I want to go home, then by God, I will be coming home to UWA Outbreak against Ryan Watson and Lilith Evans.

Watson, you’re one lucky bastard…or gobshite as I’m sure you wouldn’t mind being called…you’re lucky because you get to work in one of the greatest wrestling promotions in the world.  You get to debut in a fast paced, chaotic triple threat match against Lilith Evans and myself.

Now while this is your UWA debut, like me this isn’t your first rodeo in pro-wrestling and I’m sure you know all too well how to handle the chaos of a triple threat match.  But unlike me, you aren’t coming home.  You really have no attachment to UWA at all…

…at least not yet.  You’re making your debut, but I’m coming home, I have an attachment to this place.  This IS my home and if you think I’m going to let myself get beat in my return then you have another thing coming.  I won’t go quietly into the darkness.  You may beat me, fine, but you’re going to know you’ve been in a war because Julia Braddock is back and I’m ready to give the UWA fans a show like they’ve never seen before and I’m prepared to give you the fight of your life.

And Lilith, chaos is a word that can definitely be used to describe your career.  You’ve been anywhere and everywhere trying to make an impact, trying to make a name for yourself.  But all you’ve managed to succeed in getting close, so close to that brass ring.  Your latest “close call” was last Outbreak as you came close to winning the Hybrid Championship.  Could the chaos of a triple threat allow you to sneak in and snatch a win away from Ryan Watson or myself?

In a word…no…

Unlike Ryan, this IS your home Lilith.  And it has always been your home because you haven’t left.  But I have more to fight for because this was my home and I’m returning to reclaim my home.  Thus I have more to fight for.  I have the greater cause, the greater desire.  My need to win is bigger than yours because I need to return and show the UWA universe that I am back and I am ready, not to sit around and take up space, not to complain about not getting any opportunities…

…that was the old Julia Braddock.

I’m here to CREATE opportunities by CREATING memories and making impacts each and every time I set foot inside of a UWA wrestling ring. You and Ryan are just two opportunities I have to make an impact on this UWA roster.

In a sense, I have come home prepared to start at the bottom of the ladder, and I will climb that ladder starting Outbreak.  I will climb it back to where I was, and then I will ascend further into the heavens, I will ascend to the top.  I will be champion someday.

But that journey starts here, it starts with Lilith Evans and Ryan Watson, it starts on Outbreak with the return of The Kensington Knockout, and it doesn’t matter what John Steinbeck says, I am going to come home, because UWA is more than just a bunch of mothballs of memories to me.  UWA is special.

UWA is home.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Adequate



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Off Camera
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The Queen of the Ring Championship is just over the horizon.  It’s so close that Julia Braddock-Noel can almost taste it.  The championship, a championship she had sought after before in the Independent Wrestling Cartel and then later on in the early days of Uprising itself, is now within her grasp.  And arguably, it’s all because of lady luck.

It was originally supposed to be Vanilla Skyy defending the Queen of the Ring Championship against newcomer Jade.  Jade has had a win or two under her belt but she’s also lost a few important matches as well.  Julia, who herself was a former UWA Hybrid Champion who had just competed for the World Championship, wanted an opportunity to bounce back and she felt somewhat jilted when UWA didn’t grant her a title opportunity.

No, she wasn’t expecting a world title shot, even if it is what she thinks she deserves.  But any championship opportunity would’ve worked.  And yet she was left out in favor of people like Jade?  It definitely left Julia confused but that confusion would be washed away when it was announced that Vanilla Skyy could not compete at Against All Odds.  A new competitor would be required to take her place in the match to decide a new Queen of the Ring Championship…

…and Julia was more than happy to fill that role; a role she feels she not only has earned but one she feels she deserves.  Why wouldn’t she feel that way?  She has been with UWA since the time it was still an extension of IWC.  As a loyal UWA member, she fought the good fight for UWA and for the fans.  She won the Hybrid Championship and earned the opportunity to compete for the World Championship.  For Julia, she feels that these accomplishments, combined with her loyalty and dedication to the UWA brand, should’ve granted her a title shot right away.

Yet it didn’t.  She had to wait until Vanilla Skyy backed out due to injury so that Julia could be plugged in as a replacement.  And Julia feels that she is much more than a replacement.

Part of that, though, is the voice of her sister, Glory Braddock- Noel, speaking to her, trying to influence her.  Julia knows this and, for the most part, she has tried to ignore Glory’s tempting voice.  And yet lately, as time goes on, Julia has found it more and more difficult to ignore that voice.  The easier thing for her to do would be to just give in and embrace what Glory is telling her is her true nature, her true self…

…embrace her destiny.

Julia has fought long and hard to bury that person, that true nature to which Glory is referring.  Julia wants to think that she is better than that person and she knows she can be a better person than that.  And yet, the more she plays by the rules, the more she seems to get taken advantage of.

At least that’s what Glory tells her.

Should she listen to Glory and just do whatever is necessary to get what she wants, to get that Queen of the Ring Championship?  Julia feels guilty just thinking of that as an option.  And yet another part of her mind tells her that she deserves that championship and she should not feel guilty about looking out for her own self interests.

Julia Braddock sits in the bedroom of her hotel room.  She is sitting in front of a vanity staring deep into the mirror, as if she staring deep into her own very soul and not just at the reflection itself.  She is about to go to sleep for the night and thus she is dressed in a skimpy pink nightgown.  A gold pendant necklace is around her neck.

She takes the gold pendant necklace holds it up.  She flips the pendant open to reveal the contents inside: a picture of herself and her boyfriend, JaMarcus Avery.  Normally a picture of one’s boyfriend would bring happiness but to this young lady she sighs sadly and shakes her head upon seeing the picture.

Why is she sad?  The picture is evidence that her sister Glory may very well be right about her.

She remembers it all too well.  It goes back to several months ago…before she even took the name Noel and identified herself as Aphrodite Noel’s daughter…

==========
Flashback
==========

Julia Braddock is in her dressing room backstage at an arena playing host to a UWA event.  She’s wearing a silver knee length dress and high heels.  She’s just arrived and has not changed into her wrestling gear yet.  An odd feature, a new feature, added to this outfit happens to be a pendant necklace around her neck.  It was a gift from her tag team partner, JaMarcus Avery.  There’s just one problem…

…JaMarcus Avery is also Julia’s secret lover.  JaMarcus Avery is the current boyfriend of Melanie McBride and lately he has been cheating on her secretly with Julia Braddock.  She should feel guilty.  She should feel ashamed…

..but she doesn’t.  She has no qualms with being “the other girl”, and she has no fear that she, potentially could ruin JaMarcus and Melanie’s relationship.  Quite frankly, she feels she deserves this.  She feels she deserves him.

It’s strange, really.  When she’s by herself, or when she’s with anyone else but JaMarcus, part of her does feel guilty for sleeping with him.  But when she’s with JaMarcus, all of those thoughts drift away.  Julia just forgets it all and enjoys his presence.  She enjoys him and being with him.  The guilty thoughts and feelings do not exist when she is with JaMarcus, the man she feels she deserves, regardless of of who he may be with right now.

Julia is admiring herself in front of a mirror when a loud banging on her dressing room door.

“Just a minute!”

This could be JaMarcus, although since they started seeing one another in secret she hasn’t known him to knock.  Even before, when they were still just simply tag team partners, he knew he was welcome in her dressing room at any time he wanted.  It’s doubtful he’d knock.  Still, just in case this is her secret lover, she wants to look her best.

Julia sighs as she fixes her hair. She primps and preens, posing a few times before winking at herself in the mirror.  She definitely approves of what she sees there before her; beauty personified.  JaMarcus will love this.

Another knocking is heard, this time it’s more incessant and more impatient.  Julia just rolls her eyes.

“Calm down!  I’ll be right there!”

She then turns and walks over to the door.  The beautiful blonde reaches to the knob and pulls it, opening the door to reveal an angry, glaring Melanie McBride standing there.  Hatred seems to ooze across every pore of her face.  Julia suspects, based just upon the look on her face, that she must have now found out about her and JaMarcus Avery’s secret relationship.

“You cheating whore!”

And that exclamation just goes to prove it.  Julia forces a pleasant smile on her face as she steps aside, allowing Melanie access to the room.   Melanie storms inside angrily, stamping almost like a pouty teenager who didn’t get her way.

“Nice to see you too, Melanie.”

“Cut the crap, Julia!  I know what you did!”

Braddock rolls her eyes.

“What WE did, you mean.”

“Huh?”

“Me and JaMarcus.  What WE did.  It wasn’t just me, remember that.”

Melanie rears back and slaps Julia across her face.

“How DARE you!  You have been sleeping with MY boyfriend and you have the gall to taunt me?!”

“I am not taunting you, Mel.  I’m just stating facts.”

“Stating facts?  Is that what you call CHEATING now?!”

Julia nods her head.

“Yes, I’m just stating facts.  FACT, it takes two to tango, and I didn’t force him to sleep with me.  FACT, he wanted me every bit as much as I wanted him, and FACT…”

She points a finger at Melanie.

“…he came to me when you just couldn’t please him enough.”

Melanie shakes her head vehemently.

“No!  You’re lying!”

“Ask him yourself if you want, though I think that might be a bit traumatizing for a sweet girl like you.  And while we’re discussing facts, Mel, let me tell you another fact.  FACT, people like me deserve this…I deserve him…”

She smirks.

“…people like you don’t always get what you want.  People like me, we always get what we want.  Got it?”

That just does it.  Melanie walks over and shoves Julia as hard as she can, causing her to fall backward onto her butt.

“I HATE YOU!”

Julia sighs as she stands back up.

“I’m sorry, I truly am, and because you do have a reason to be angry, I won’t retaliate.”

She points to the door.

“But please leave.”

Melanie can no longer hold back her tears.

“You put on this façade of being a good person.  The people love you.”

Melanie shakes her head.

“But I can see the truth.  I see that it’s all a lie.  You’re no better than any of the other women in this industry.”

She sighs.

“I just thought you were different.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

Melanie turns and walks away, making her exit as she cries.  Julia watches as she goes, smirking.

==========
End Flashback
==========

Julia, however, is no longer smirking.  In fact, she is rather upset with herself.  She used to know who she was but now?  Now she isn’t sure.  Is Glory right about her?  Her silent musings are interrupted when the bathroom door of her hotel room opens.  She turns and spots JaMarcus Avery re-entering the main area.  She smiles warmly.

“Hi babe.”

JaMarcus rejoins her where she is sitting. He doesn't sit down fully before kissing her.

“Hey.”.

“I need to ask you something.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I am getting a Queen of the Ring Title Shot at Against All Odds.  Instead of being grateful I feel as if I am entitled to it and I also feel somewhat cheated that I didn’t get chosen from the outset for a title shot, that I had to wait until Vanilla Skyy was injured before I got included.”

She sighs.

“My sister, Glory, she told me that I am finally beginning to realize that I am just like her and that I need to embrace who I really am.  I don’t want that to be true, but then I got to thinking about Melanie…”

She shakes her head.

“...when Melanie found out about us, and she confronted me, I told her flat out that I did not feel guilty, that I deserved you.  And to this day, I don’t feel guilty about what we did.  So tell me…”

She looks deep into his eyes.

“...what kind of person am I?”

“If you’re a bad person, so am I. Melanie was a sweet girl. A bit naive to the way the world actually worked at the time. There was a kinship between us. Blake kept hammering to me over and over again that I deserved better. At first I chalked it up to his problems with Karen. He ditched her for Kloe, they weren’t getting alone, I thought he was trying to push me away from everything McBride related. He had a point. As good as Melanie and I were, we are better together in every way imaginable. Blake was right. He’ll love me saying that. He won’t hear it from me, again.”

JaMarcus chuckles.

“Anyway, you are the cream of the crope. The best women I know. Smart. Beautiful. Talented. A Braddock-Noel, how can I lose? I have it all. There is nothing wrong with feeling you should have been chosen initially over Jade. It should not have taken Vanilla getting injured for you to receive this opportunity. If you don’t believe you are the most qualified, who will? It’s called professional pride with a healthy ego to boot”

Julia nods her head.

“You know something?  You’re absolutely right.  I mean, hell, Jade LOST her match right before being chosen to get a title shot.  Whereas I was a former Hybrid Champion who had never been pinned to lose the title and I didn’t get chosen to participate in Against All Odds at all.  I was passed over and only got an opportunity because Vanilla Skyy was injured and there was no one else left?”

She shakes her head.

“That’s not right and I deserve better.  I will show them.”

“I’d never wish injury on anyone. I see more than a few doors opening with Vanilla on the shelf, the perception from what I have noticed is she is the ‘face’ of UWA. And with her out the way, you can drive the point home that you are more valuable then Vanilla can hope to be. She had her moment in the sun, the future of UWA shines brightly with you leading the charge. Not the Ante Up kids who are still wet between the ears. You, my love.”

She kisses him.

“Thanks, babe.  I needed that.”

JaMarcus smiles.

“Only speaking the truth.”



==========
On Camera
==========

“Adequate…”

“Merriam Webster defines adequate as being ‘barely sufficient or satisfactory’”

Laughter permeates the air as a spotlight suddenly appears shining brightly inside of a wrestling ring.  The shadowy silhouette of a female figure is seen standing off in the dark corners of the ring.  The laughter is coming from her.

“…Jade, the woman who did nothing to earn her spot in the Queen of the Ring Title Match, the woman who LOST to Gwen Black just before being gifted this grand opportunity, has the nerve to call someone else simply adequate competition for the Queen of the Ring Championship?”

That female steps into the spotlight revealing her identity to be none other than The Kensington Knockout herself, Julia Alexis Braddock-Noel.  The beautiful blonde is wearing a form fitting strapless teal mini dress with lavish filigree patterning and a skirt that is plastered with sequins for a stunning finish.  Her long blonde hair hangs down to below the shoulders in waves.  Her feet are encased in strappy high heeled shoes.  She faces forward with a knowing half-grin on her face.

“To make a statement like that is enough to speak of how little you truly know about the industry.  But to call me, Julia Braddock, just simply adequate competition, to say that I am just barely good enough to be an opponent for you…”

She shakes her head in disgust.

“…it’s stunning, it’s disgusting, and it speaks not only of how little you know this industry but how arrogant you are as well.”

“Newsflash, Jade.  You are NOT as good as you think you are.”

“Or perhaps it’s just foolish pride?  I mean, what else other than foolishness could make you think that you deserved to be named as a contender in this match for the Queen of the Ring Championship.  I mean, let’s look at some facts here, Jade.  You were coming off of a LOSS to Gwen Black.  You, a loser, were chosen to face Vanilla Skyy for the Queen of the Ring Championship.”

“If anyone should have been griping about ‘adequate’ competition, it’s Vanilla.  She’d been competing in the Pyramid, the elimination chamber, fighting Marie Jones, and Gavin Taylor and so many other great superstars.  And she got sacked with you?”

She chuckles.

“I would have griped about having ‘adequate’ competition as well.  But then again, Vanilla was in no condition to compete.   And she had to back out, she had to forfeit the Queen of the Ring Title.  She did the right thing because the Queen of the Ring Championship deserves to have a champion that can be there and defend it at all times.  What gets my goat, though, is that I only got this opportunity because Vanilla backed out.”

Julia shakes her head.

“I should have been chosen from the start.  I should have been chosen ahead of you, Gavin, and Victoria for a title shot.  Rachel Lee is excluded because at least she won a match to EARN her title shot.  She wasn’t just gifted with a title shot.”

“But me, I am a former UWA Hybrid Champion and I was never beaten to lose the title.  I was never pinned or made to submit to lose that championship.  And yet someone like you is just granted a title shot, a shot at the Queen of the Ring Championship.”

“Why?”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“I have no idea.  It makes no sense to me.  Now don’t get me wrong, that isn’t to say that you are not a good wrestler.  Unlike you, someone who clearly has no respect for anyone else but herself...unlike you, someone who looks at me as simply adequate because you are arrogant…I will give credit where credit is due.  You are a good talent.  You are a good wrestler, from what I’ve observed. You’ve had some great matches here in UWA and we’ll have a great match at Against All Odds.  But can you honestly say that you deserve this title shot?”

The blonde shakes her head.

“If you’re honest with yourself, the answer to that question will be no, you do not deserve this title shot.  You did nothing to earn it.  Now some would say that you could say the same about me, how I was just gifted with the opportunity and I never earned this title shot, but at least I have a record to back myself up.  At least I have done things to prove that I belong.  As the first ever UWA Hybrid Champion and a former contender for the World Championship, I damn sure belong wherever you put me, because that’s who I am and that’s what you refuse to see within me…”

“…I am a Braddock, one of professional wrestling’s royal families.  My uncle is a legendary amateur wrestler in England who trained me to be the best.  My sister is Glory Braddock, a multiple time world champion and hall of famer.  And then there’s me, Julia Braddock, and I have held championships of every type except the big one and I was on the precipice of doing just that at Sectioned in the elimination chamber.  Granted, I didn’t win it, but at least I was competing for it, but where were you that night?”

She grins.

“You were stuck on the undercard fighting Lilith Evans.”

“What you really need to understand right here and now is that I am more than just adequate competition for you, Jade.  As a matter of fact, Helms and Bryant did you no favors by choosing me as your opponent.  You had a better shot of beating Vanilla even if Vanilla had been at one hundred percent.  Now you’re facing a tougher challenge.  Now you face The Kensington Knockout Julia Braddock.”

Any hopes and dreams of becoming Queen of the Ring Champion have gone up in smoke because you are not facing merely ‘adequate’ competition, but instead you are facing superior talent, tremendous talent.  You are up against a top notch mat wrestler and submission specialist.  And I will live up to my moniker of The Kensington Knockout when I knock you the hell out at Against All Odds.”

She nods her head.

“That’s right, I’m giving away my game plan and, quite honestly, I don’t really care.  I don’t care because I know that out of everything I can do, technical wrestling is what I do best and so I am confident that when I lock you up in The Guillotine you will just two choices…”

She holds her two fingers.

“…tap out or pass out.  It really is up to you.  But winning the championship?”

Julia shakes her head.

“That’s just not an option.  That won’t happen.  You may put up a great fight, I don’t doubt that, and there is no question in my mind that we’ll put on a hell of a show for the fans, but at the end of the day, you won’t win, you won’t defeat me, and you will be faced with the harsh reality that you were sorely mistaken in your evaluation of me.  You will realize that I am far than adequate…”

“…I am the next Queen of the Ring Champion.”

“That’s right, it will be me, not you, who stands tall after the smoke has cleared.  It will be me with my arm raised high in victory, holding up that Queen of the Ring Championship over my head.  And it is only appropriate that I do this at a pay per view event called Against All Odds, because I am consistently the underdog.  The experts consistently bet against me despite the fact that I consistently prove the experts wrong.”

“Vegas may be betting on you, Jade, but smart money is on The Kensington Knockout to once again prove the world wrong and walk away with the Queen of the Ring Championship.”