Post by The Circle Television Network on Apr 28, 2018 7:39:02 GMT -5
I stared at the call sheet that listed the matches for UGWC Chill #1 and saw my name alongside Daniel Corvin in a steel cage match. It wasn’t the quite what I had imagined my first official match as a rostered member of the brand would be. Fighting men had always made me anxious, even though I had managed to always escape relatively unscathed. All the same, I had never faced a man within the confines of cage. The thoughts of the brutal nature of cage matches made my ribs ache…the same ribs that had been injured when Le Bord de Dieu had ‘accidently’ allowed me to take a shot on the LFL field during a game two weeks ago…
Le Bord de Dieu…The Edge of God…
Ava Quinn…Aveline Lacklan…
I knew I should have been focusing my thoughts on Corvin, but Ava had been on my mind for some time. I had trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that the insane French chick who spent the majority of her days calling everyone in sight whores was actually…for all intents and purposes my mother-in-law.
No…I had not come by this knowledge BEFORE she was added to my LFL team.
No…I had not come by this knowledge BEFORE I offered to produce ‘Dear Bordy’ for her.
No…I hand not even come by this knowledge through the most important person in my life…my Baby…my wife, Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan.
Instead, I found out along with the rest of the world, though her grand proclamation in UGWC, a company I had signed on to in the hopes of doing what I loved in an organization that my wife had considered home before her accident. So, to say that I felt like a complete fool was an understatement. Sarah knew who she was the entire time, and yet she had allowed me to walk around in the dark like a complete idiot! I had spent hours with the woman, enduring her pokes and jabs at me while she was busy laughing at the stupid girl who had no idea who she was!
I was angry…I was in a rage over it, but Sarah had to have a reason…there always had to be a reason…
________________________________________
I walked back aboard The Queen with a bit of trepidation. I was still upset, but I was resolved to have an open mind about things...especially things that involved our pasts. We both had one, so throwing rocks at each other’s glass houses was a stupid idea. Still, this was a matter that we needed to talk about. I needed answers. I was signed to UGWC, the very same company that the woman who had supposedly been married to her father worked.
“Baby?” I called out as I made my way into our stateroom aboard the ship she had purchased for me last year…with the help of my friend Roxy Cotton.
Sarah was seated on our couch, as she had apparently been for some time, wearing a simple Firestarter tank and top, and without a single thing adorning her face except for the damnable glasses she so hated to wear these days. No makeup or eye paint, no plunging neckline and jewels. No tricks. Just my Selena. "Hello, Beloved."
The sight of her warmed me, as it always did despite my rotten mood. I swallowed down my anger and walked over and straddled her lap. I posted my arms on either side of her and greeted her with a passionate kiss, to show her there was no need to dread this talk. “Hey.”
Sarah shivered and purred, but quickly shook her head to force herself to focus. "I'm sorry for being stupid."
“Look, I…”
She narrowed her eyes as she cut me off, "Let me talk! Listen...part of me wants to defend myself by joking that telling you about every whore my father slept with would be like trying to tell you about every whore I slept with, but I know that would just be wrong. I should have told you about Ava as soon as I saw her and I didn't. I didn't lie to you...but we are partners and I should have told you everything I know straight away instead of you having to ask. Can you forgive me?"
I answered her with another kiss, then rolled over to take my place beside her, lacing my fingers with hers. “It’s fine. I love you and that’s all that matters. I just want you to realize that we are a team and we tackle things together!” I gave her hand a squeeze. “Lay it on me...all of it. Don’t spare any details.”
Sarah took a few seconds to compose herself, her red eyes darting rapidly. “Well, I suppose it makes the most sense to remind you that Father only loved one person, my mother, but had many ‘wives,’ or what some might call a concubine. I listed those I am aware of, but Lord knows how many there were before I started to notice. Ava might well have been the worst.”
Of that, I had no doubt, the woman was rude and classless, despite the air of culture she kept trying to portray. I gave Sarah’s hand a squeeze, and she continued on.
“She was actually really cool, at first. She was dating a Nazi but quickly fell for my father once they fought in the ring. She drank and smoked and did all sorts of fun things. But soon after she and Father started...ya know...banging, she just about changed overnight. You have NO idea what it was like having to deal with her! I was 14 and she was all OVER my shit!” She put her nose up into the air and used a perfect French accent to mimic Ava’s…
“Sarah, you really shouldn’t be drinking that moonshine…”
“Sarah, you really should put on more clothes…”
“Sarah, you really should stop sneaking off to the forest to have sex. You’ll thank me later…”
My hackles raised at the mention of her sorted past, but I choked it down as she slammed her fist down on her thigh, her Londoner accent returning. “Ugh! It was a NIGHTMARE! Unfortunately, Father doted on her, just like all of his other ‘wives’ over the years. But when she came back after a weekend trip that I didn’t get to go on and started saying that they were REALLY married? I had to put a stop to that. So I had her committed.”
My eyes grew wide at this revelation. Was this the reason why she had kept her mother-in-law secret from me?
Sarah turned to me, her eyes lighting up, “Hey, we’re getting tacos tonight, right?!”
To say that I ignored her desire to change the subject to tacos would be a huge understatement. I was more concerned with the fact that my wife had just told me that she had a woman committed for the sin of possibly marrying her father. I no-sold her attempt to change the subject. “Sarah…do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?”
“I don’t think that tacos soun…”
I raised my hand to stop her before she finished her sentence. “Not the tacos!”
Sarah looked away for a moment. "Sorry...force of habit..." She looked back at me. "It's not THAT crazy. I mean, she IS certifiably nuts. She literally escaped from her FIRST asylum because she fell in love with a wrestler through the TV, then cucked him and ditched him for Father, and then pulled this mysterious 'marriage' without so much as a witness! I did what I had to do." She chewed on her lip for a moment and adjusted her glasses with a forefinger. "He was sad at first but he got over it. He always did."
After listening to her story, I could tell that she worried about what I’d think of her, but she didn’t need to worry. I put my head on her shoulder, twisting one of my braids around my finger...nervously. “I can’t judge you. I sent one of my best friends to jail because she made out with my girlfriend at the time. So...I guess we are a matching pair of a-holes.”
Sarah suddenly clenched the braid. "I would murder the person who made out with you." Her face suddenly cooled. "So, are we still getting tacos tonight?"
I squeezed her hand tightly as I chose my next words carefully. “Baby…we are having company over tonight. I invited Maki over to watch Star Trek…” I nearly cried out as she squeezed my hand like a vice. Her dislike of Melissa Aki, the woman who was allegedly possessed by a demon and was the fiancé of one of my oldest friends in the world, Ashley Marie Chase, was something that actually gave me a secret bit of pleasure. Her sorted past and her current obsession with Roxy’s feet that she refused to cop to was an irritation to me, so it was good that I had something to level the playing field with…plus, I really did enjoy spending time with Maki.
“I love Star Track…” she lied.
I ignored her blatant mispronunciation. “Good…she’ll be here soon.”
“Hooray!” she said sarcastically, making me feel blissfully happy inside, despite the heavy conversation from earlier.
Today was going to be a good one…or at least I thought it would be...I was wrong...
THE FOLLOWING MORNING...
Chris Collins, intrepid traveling interviewer for the Chill brand of Unified Global Wrestling Coalition stroked his chin as he clicked the mouse and the images of Ashe Corvin on his computer. Being a student of wrestling, Chris had great admiration for the man and his brother, Eric Lee. There were very few true wrestling dynasties these days, but the Corvin clan was well on its way to becoming one with the arrival of Ashe’s son, Daniel Corvin. Chris fingered the mouse and the image shifted to that of the brash young second generation wrestler; nicknamed ‘The Blade of Damocles.’
Daniel was a good looking kid and raised of good wrestling stock. The kid was strong, insanely so, and he had hops. He was talented, but cocky…but maybe he had a reason to be. He carried himself like there wasn’t a doubt in this mind that he wasn’t the best. Well…with the exception of his father. Daniel was looking to prove himself and Chris couldn’t wait to see what the kid had when he hit Chill.
Chris glanced at the booking sheet for the first episode of Chill, and sat back lacing his fingers. He had circled this cage match as one to watch; not because of his opponent, the #CoolKid and part time ‘talent’ Kenzi Grey, but because he sensed greatness in Daniel and he was going to be the first one to interview him. He had lobbied hard to be the one to do the honors and made a deal with Jason Reeves that they would split duties one this one.
Jason had drawn the short end of the straw on this deal. Daniel was going to be the breakout star of Chill, he could feel it in his bones. Kenzi Grey had done a few things in other companies, and she was even a second generation star herself, but wrestling wasn’t in her DNA…television and movies were. Chris had no desire to become an ‘entertainment interviewer’ for a drama queen that didn’t take the business of professional wrestling seriously. One needed to look no further than the incident that had cost her wife and former UGWC Cross-Hemisphere Champion, Sarah Lacklan her career in November, and then the ridiculous incident that had happened last night…
“Psssssst!”
Chris turned and looked over his shoulder as Jason Reeves peeked from behind the corner. The man looked a disheveled mess; his hair was matted to his head, there were large bags under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept all night, and his clothes were wrinkled and torn.
“Jason! What in the hell happ…”
“…get over here man…” He whispered as he waved frantically for Chris to join him, hiding himself from view.
Chris shook his head in confusion as he got up, his chair creaking loudly. Jason recoiled at the sound, hoping that none of their co-workers heard. As soon as Chris came near, Jason grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the office, down the hall, and into a secluded area. Jason looked around, nervousness coloring his sullen cheeks. “Has anyone come looking for me? ANYONE?!”
Chris frowned, unsure of what was going on. “No.” He grabbed Jason by his shoulders and shook him. “Jason, what in the hell is going on here?!”
Jason ran his fingers though his matted hair, his eyes still wide and searching. “I may have…have gotten into a…” he paused, “…situation last night.”
“Jason…what happened? What did you do?!”
Jason pulled away from Chris, “Last night I…I went to do the Kenzi Grey interview…I…I just showed up and the walked onto the ship…then…”
Chris put his hand to his head, his eyes growing wide with shock. “JASON! THAT WAS YOU LAST NIGHT?!”
Jason grabbed Chris and pulled him into corner and stuck his finger in his face. “Hey, I was just trying to do my damn job! Then out of the blue, that…that giant Maxine woman just beat the hell out of me and threw me overboard! All I was trying to do was my job! Just trying to conduct an interview!”
Chris didn’t want to ask the question, mainly because he already knew the answer, but he had to ask. “Did Kenzi and Sarah know that you were coming?”
Jason stood there, staring at Chris…his expression unreadable. “What? Why would you ask me that?”
“Jason…did you tell them you were coming?”
Jason grew indignant. “I feel like you are blaming me for what happened! How is that MY fault?! We all work for UGWC!” Jason shrugged his shoulders, “If you want to get the dirt you gotta catch them off guard! I went there and the ship was open...more or less...an I went in.”
Chris ran his fingers through his hair, then looked up at the ceiling, unable to believe what he was hearing. “Jason, they called the police on you! You were basically trespassing! You need to call someone in management! You need to get someone to clear this up right now!”
“DUDE! THERE IS NO WAY I AM TELLING ANYONE ABOUT THIS!” Jason stepped out of the nook and looked around, hoping that no one heard him. He turned back to Chris. “I could be fired! I can’t tell anyone!”
Chris shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. “You could go to JAIL!” He grabbed the man by the shoulder and shook him hard. “Do you realize that they think you might be in league with that crazy person that kidnapped Sarah Lacklan last year?! This is serious Jason, there is a reward out there for information leading to your capture!”
“That’s insane! I just wanted to get an interview!! This is a misunderstanding!! I don’t want to go to jail! I hav…” Jason paused, the expression on his face fading, “You said there was a reward? How much?”
Chris rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry about that! Let’s go see the boss and get this worked out before it gets anymore out of hand!”
Jason backed away, pointing at Chris. His eyes darting from side to side. “Chris…I need you to do the Kenzi interview! I can’t go back there…YOU HAVE TO DO IT!”
“ARE YOU CRAZY?!” Chris responded emphatically, but he didn’t know if it was more out of concern for Jason or a desire to avoid the insanity that seemed to follow Kenzi Grey everywhere she went. Chris saw himself as a serious journalist! A wrestling journalist, but serious, nonetheless. “Jason, I…”
Jason grabbed him in a tight embrace. “Thanks bro! You’re a lifesaver! I’m gonna pay you back…I SWEAR!”
Jason turned and ran off as Chris stood there flabbergasted. He didn’t know what to do or say, but one thing was clear…whether he wanted to or not…he would have to interview Kenzi Grey-Lacklan…
THE RED QUEEN
Port of Los Angeles
Chris Collins had spent much of the day dreading this. He wanted to talk about wrestling, not about Hollywood movies and drama outside of the ring. To him, that is what Kenzi represented, everything that he disliked about this new generation. They didn’t take the business of wrestling seriously. It was a part time hobby for them. They might have been stars, but they weren’t wrestling stars.
Chris arched his brows as the car pulled into the LA port and he got his first sight of the residence belonging to the subject of his interview. He rolled down the window and pulled down his glasses to the tip of his nose as he peered over the top of them at the sight of the massive red yacht. His eyes roamed over the shining exterior and the name designation on the aft that proclaimed it as ‘THE RED QUEEN.’ He adjusted his glasses as he sat back in his seat, stroking his chin. The vessel was obviously named for the former UGWC Cross-Hemisphere Champion, Sarah Lacklan, the wheelchair bound wife of Kenzi Grey…his Chill brand quarry for this interview.
He checked his watch to make sure that he was on time. Unlike Jason, he had called ahead and announced his arrival. This would be his first interview with the woman and he wanted to make sure that he established himself as a professional, regardless of his true feelings. He adjusted the lapel of his navy blue sports coat and brushed off a spot of lint. This was not only going to be her introduction to the Chill brand, but Chill’s introduction to her. It was paramount that both went smoothly if UGWC was going to have unencumbered access to her in the future…and if she was going to feel comfortable opening up to him or anyone else, as well as the UGWC audience.
He sat back, a hard sigh escaping his lips. He knew better than that. She was seeking attention…constantly. Maybe she and Sarah had been bothered by the incident aboard their ship the previous night, but that hadn’t stopped them from capitalizing on the publicity. The irony of the situation with Jason is that he might have given her exactly what she wanted.
Kenzi Grey was recently retired from the organization in which she had gotten her start back in 2015. It was well-documented that she had a love/hate relationship with the company. She never felt like they gave her the respect that she craved, whether that was because of her immaturity at the time or the fact that her mother, notorious reality star and drunk Sidney Grey, had a rotten reputation that had rubbed off on her. Chris hoped to avoid that negativity and establish positive communications right from the start…if for no other reason than to get to the interview he really wanted to conduct with Daniel Corvin.
As the Uber pulled up to the landing, Chris thanked the driver and reached for the door handle, only to have the door opened for him. Chris stepped out of the car and he found himself staring right into the chest of a massively built woman. His eyes tracked upward into the cold blue stare of a woman who had become very familiar to UGWC fan during the Lord of Trios Tournament; Roxy Cotton’s bodyguard, Maxine.
Chris looked around, as he spoke, “I wasn’t expecting Ms. Cotton to be here…”
The large woman didn’t answer, she simply rolled her eyes and pushed the car door closed with a loud slam. The driver protested with a swear that was barely audible inside the car. He rolled down the window to voice his concern over the rough treatment of his automobile, but when Max’s cold gaze fixed on him, he thought the better of it and drove off…likely avoiding the same fate that had befallen Jason.
Chris turned back to Max, “I’m here to see…” his words hung in the empty air as she was already heading up the gangway, her massively muscled back like a wall built to defeat his attempts to communicate with her. “…Kenzi Grey…” he finished, more to himself than to anyone in particular. He gave a hard sigh and ran alongside her, keeping quiet since the woman had yet to utter a word.
As they boarded the yacht, he couldn’t help but to marvel at its incredible size. Calling it a yacht didn’t do it justice at all. The Red Queen was more like a cruise liner. He stopped in his tracks look around and wondered out loud; “How rich is this woman?”
“That’s the same question I have asked myself repeatedly over the last several months…” Chris turned as an older woman in a pinstriped dress that hugged her body so tightly that he wondered how she could breathe strode towards him. She stuck out her hand to him, “…hello, I’m…”
“Sidney Grey,” he cut her off as he took her hand and shook it. “…formerly of Platinum Dynasty Wrestling and Ladies All-Star Wrestling.”
She eyed him up and down, “Well…aren’t you well prepared?”
He smiled sheepishly as he apologized. “Actually…I’m a bit of a wrestling historian with a photographic memory…” he chuckled, “…my memory is so sharp it even scares me sometimes."
Sidney waved her hand, never once taking her eyes off of Chris. A worker hurried over with a drink that seemed ready-made for her hand. “Drink?” she asked as she took a sip, then licked her lips.
Chris scratched his head, “Sorry. I don’t drink when I’m working.”
Sidney snorted and dismissed the servant with a wave of her hand. “If those were the rules, I’d never ever want a job!” She strode through the bar and out to the far deck that opened up to the ocean side. She turned to Chris and leaned against the railing. “Look…before I give you access to my daughter, I am going to need a few assurances from you, especially given our previous experiences. My daughter is walking into UGWC with her eyes shut and her fingers crossed, hoping that this place is going to treat her far better than her last.”
Chris was taken aback by the woman’s inference, but he was more than ready to engage her on the subject. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of wrestling, and he was more than familiar with Kenzi Grey, as well as her overbearing mother. “Look, I am not here with any agenda. My job is just to get in and get the interview. There won’t be any funny business like at her last company.” He smiled as he put his hand over his heart, “I promise you, I won’t get your wife drunk and marry her…scouts honor!”
It had been meant as a joke, but Sidney’s expression didn’t change in the least. She merely turned up her glass and took another drink, her eyes never leaving his. She sat the glass of amber colored liquid on the railing and folded her arms as she carefully considered him. “Look…I’m going to be honest with you Mr. Collins…this is not what I want for my daughter. Going from arena to arena to perform in front of a bunch of marks for a few peanuts. Putting her Hollywood career on the line for the entertainment of the masses while making your employer rich off of her good name. I don’t want this…I don’t want any of this!” A pregnant pause hung between them as she watched him like a hawk. After a moment, she continued on. “Kenzi is a child and she thinks that she can do any and everything…and so…here we are in UGWC instead of sitting on a nice comfy movie set talking about all of the big names that she is planning on performing with.” Sidney shook her head and laughed, “Instead of doing action movies with Bruce Willis or raunchy comedies with Zack Efron, she is going to be locked inside of a steel cage with some man who is looking to mangle her lovely face for some UGWC bitcoins!” Sid leaned in, her face coming to within an inch of his, “Does this seem like something you would be comfortable letting your daughter participate in Mr. Collins?!”
Chris met her glare and slowly shook his head, giving a response that seemed more like a question, despite the fact that he may or may not have even been a parent himself, “…no…?” Chris was struck by what Sid had said as he silently attempted to process it.
“NO! EXACTLY MR. COLLINS!” She smiled at him, looking for all the world like a sly crocodile. She collected her glass from the railing, lifted it to him and then tossed the rest of the burning liquid down, then pitched the empty glass over her shoulder and into the Port of Los Angeles. “A man with your brains will go very far in this business Chris…very far indeed.” She winked at him, “My daughter is NOT a professional wrestler. You know this and so do I. This cage match is just a money grab for UGWC and I have every intent of getting it cancelled.” She leaned in close to Chris, her fingers thumbing his lapel. “I want you to interview her, but don’t spend too much time on the match. I want you to talk about her new projects and her new film production company. Do we understand each other?”
Chris understood Sid perfectly. He has seen the banter between her and Daniel Corvin last week as she did her best to get the match changed or outright cancelled. It just added more validity to the notion that Kenzi Grey wasn't here to compete, she was here to promote, but this wasn’t what he was all about. “Look, Ms. Grey, I am here to interview Kenzi about her match on Monday, and that’s it. If you want someone to talk to her about movie projects and television shows, then I’m not your guy. I do serious interviews about being a wrestler in UGWC. As a former wrestler yourself, I think you can appreciate that.”
Maxine appeared, standing beside Sid. The woman’s stark ice blue eyes bored right into him. Sid sighed, rolling her eyes. “I think you understand what I need from you Mr. Collins. I would appreciate you doing what I asked...and so would Maxine.”
Before Chris could say another word, one of the servants walked. “Are you ready Mr. Collins?”
Chris looked at Sidney, still sporting that same devious grin as before. She had only confirmed what he thought all along, this was a waste of time. If only Jason had went about conducting this interview like a professional, he and Kenzi could be talking about walking red carpets and box office numbers while he spent time with a true second generation wrestler who had his mind fixed on one thing, and one thing only, dominating on Chill and creating a legacy for himself. At this point, he just wanted to get this over with so he could get back and focus on athletes that were interested in being a success inside the ring.
“Yeah…let’s do this.”
THE INTERVIEW...
Chris Collins made sure that the camera feed was working before turning his attention to the subject of the interview, star of television, film, football, and occasionally wrestling…Mackenzie Lacklan, better known as Kenzi Grey. He laced his fingers as he engaged the young starlet with platinum braids and a haughty grin across her face.
“Kenzi Grey, allow me to be the first to officially welcome you to the Chill brand of UGWC. I know that I speak on behalf of management when I tell you that it’s a pleasure to have you as part of the official roster.”
Kenzi nodded, the smile on her face brightening as she did. “Thank you very much Mr. Collins. I have actually been a part of UGWC before, although very briefly when I wrestled alongside my wife once.” She shrugged her shoulders, slightly. “While that showing wasn’t everything that I hoped for, the fans and management treated me very well. I left the company with nothing but good things to say about pretty much everyone here.”
Chris couldn’t help but to feel a swell of pride for the company he worked for, with such high praise being heaped on them. “That’s very good of you to say.” He paused for a moment, before pressing on. “However, joining was the easy part. The first episode of Chill is right around the corner and your first challenge is a cage match against another second generation wrestler, Daniel Corvin. Have you had an opportunity to scout him in advance of Monday’s match?”
Kenzi wrung her hands nervously at the question. “To be honest, and not to be disrespectful to Mr. Corvin in any way, I haven’t had a lot of time to focus on him.” She shrugged, “I wasn’t sure if you heard, but there was an intruder here on the boat yesterday and that kinda put a monkey wrench in my match preparation. Sarah and I had to spend hours down at the local police department filling out statements and looking through books of mugshots.” All she could do was sigh, “Trust me, if I could have spent the time studying him in the ring, I certainly would have. Unfortunately, I am going to have to improvise out there and hope that Daniel makes a mistake that I can take advantage of. If he doesn’t make any mistakes, hopefully I can duplicate that effort and find a hole in his game that I can exploit.”
“Not exactly the ideal way to take on a performer as talented as Corvin.” Chris wondered as he spoke outwardly. This was more evidence that Kenzi wasn’t here to wrestle, but to heighten her visibility for her career outside of the ring.
Kenzi settled back even further in her seat. “I know! It’s not the ideal way to approach a match, but like I said; I will be ready to face Daniel Corvin on Monday, whether I view every match he has ever competed in or I only read his bio page on the company website. The fact of the matter is this; at times you are going to find yourself facing someone that isn’t known to you. Whether it’s a rookie or a seasoned veteran coming from a company that you have never heard of, when that bell rings you need to be ready for whatever comes at you. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I have wrestled all over the world…including ‘Canda’…and I have very rarely had the luxury of knowing my opponent so well that I felt 100% comfortable facing them. Usually, I’m scared out of my mind and wondering what I’ll do, right up until that bell rings.”
“Assuming the bell rings.” Chris added, rather offhandedly.
Kenzi eyed the man, as if he had just grown a second head. “What do you mean, if?”
Chris handed over his tablet, which had several tweets from her mother last week, all apparently asking Daniel to take a dive during their match. It seemed odd to him that she apparently didn’t know about them. “Take a look for yourself.”
She took a moment to gather her thoughts and when she was ready, she kept her tone soft and even. Doing her best to put every bit of her famed #Clarity to good use. “Mr. Collins, my mother may be acting as my manager, but she doesn’t tell me what matches I fight in. I came to Chill, never once looking for favors or a handout. I know what the competition level here is and I respect it, along with most of the people on the roster…until have no reason to respect them.” She balled up her fists, digging her nails into her palms in the hopes that it kept her calm. “I am not going to lie, I found some of those comments by Daniel Corvin to be out of line, especially after the ordeal that my wife and I went through last year and what happened on this very ship last night. I don’t think that was cool, I don’t think that was very cool of him to say at all.”
Chris could see that Kenzi’s demeanor had changed. He wondered if this was an act on her part or of she was legitimately upset. “Honestly, it seemed to me like he was being baited.”
Kenzi laughed at that comment. “Mr. Collins, that is pretty much all that my mother ever does. She even use to do it to me until I stopped talking to her over social media. I completely get it, my mother came at him with some craziness about me and instead of telling her to screw off, he decides to trash talk me to my mother.” She rolled her eyes, doing her best Sarah Lacklan imitation. “What are we, 12 years old here?!”
“Well, I don’t think that…”
Kenzi gestured for him to stop. “If you don’t mind, before you ask me anymore questions, I’d really like to address what Daniel Corvin said about me.
Chris seemed surprised, especially since he thought that Kenzi was going to spend most of the time talking about her films and television shows. “Sure…go right ahead.”
Kenzi turned and looked right into the camera as she addressed Daniel Corvin directly. “Danny, I don’t know you and apparently you don’t know me either judging by your comments, but allow me to smarten you up on a few things. Number one, my mother may have a big mouth, but she doesn’t speak for me in any shape form or fashion! If I am ever going to back out of a match, you’ll be the first one to know it because I’ll tell you directly to your face! She held up a second finger. Number two, when I retired from the ring, I did it for my own reasons and it had NOTHING to do with anyone 'retiring me.' If you think for a moment that you can do that, then I certainly welcome you to try! To be honest, I really enjoyed sleeping in, not working out, eating anything I wanted, and NOT living out of suitcases for weeks on end. Trust me, when the time comes for me to re-retire, it will be a day that I celebrate wholeheartedly, but I doubt very seriously that you’ll be the catalyst for it.” As she arrived at her third point, she couldn’t help but feel a bit angry, so much so that her ears felt like they were on fire. “Danny, like I said, I don’t know you, so maybe you are a nice guy and my mother got under your skin causing you to get a case of the stupids or maybe you actually are stupid and the gravitational pull of my mother’s stupidity acted on yours and caused a supernova of stupid to explode out of your mouth…either way, I want you to realize that it’s going to cost you on Monday! If wheelchairs interest you that much…you be sure to bring one with you to the ring so the paramedics don’t have to bother with a stretcher after our match is over…”
Those were some rather tough words coming from Kenzi and Chris was starting to think that he might have been wrong about Kenzi. Still, he had to be sure. “Those are some pretty tough words. Are you sure that you want to make him angry? Especially with the two of you locked inside a cage? What’s to stop him from hurting you and damaging your career outside the ring?”
Kenzi lowered her head, her braids spilling down as she chuckled at the question. “Mr. Collins, I think you have been around the wrestling game long enough to realize that this isn’t child’s play and that things can happen to best of us in that ring at any moment.” She looked up at him, fixing him in her gaze to let him know that she was being 100% real. “When I decided that I wanted to be a professional wrestler, my mother did everything in her power to discourage me because she knew what kind of toll this lifestyle demands, and it is a price that we frequently pay in blood. Now, I don’t know if making threats about crippling people is an everyday thing for Daniel Corvin or if I am just that special, but at the end of the day, I can’t say that something won’t happen to me on Monday night…just like I couldn’t say what would have happened to me last night on this very ship! Kenzi wrung her hands, “A lot of things could go wrong in that cage at Chill…but to answer your question on what’s to stop Daniel Corvin from hurting me…the answer is me! I know that a lot of people look at me as someone that doesn’t take this business seriously. I get it, I have made television shows, movies, I have sang, and I have made a complete and utter fool of myself over the internet on more occasions than I care to mention. What people fail to realize about me is that while I was doing that…I was actually fighting all over the world and honing my craft. I might not have set the world on fire like my wife when she fought and won matches on four separate continents in a single night…please don’t ask me how she did that…but I am not a rookie in this business! I have been in the ring with world champions and I have beaten world champions. On Monday night, I am going to beat Daniel Corvin and I am going to do it without a single thought in my head about all of the bad things that can happen to me…I’m going to be more concerned with all the bad things that can happen to him!”
Chris sat there for a moment as he drank in everything that she had to say. It dawned on him that Kenzi really did take this seriously and perhaps he had also been one of the people who had misjudged her. “I want to apologize to you…when I came here, I wasn’t expecting any of this. Just like you said, people look at you and they see all the antics that you are engaged in outside of the ring. I think I sold you short, and for that…I truly want to tell you that I am sorry.”
Kenzi couldn’t help but to be flattered by his words, but she couldn’t deny that they he wasn’t wrong to feel the way that he did about her. “Mr. Collins, I appreciate that…I really do, but here is the truth of the matter; I am responsible for changing people’s minds with my performance inside the ring just like Roxy Cotton, Angie Vaughn, and Milisandre Crowthorne did in the Lord of Trios Tournament. When the #CoolKids arrived everyone saw them for the characters they thought they knew from the opinions of others. ‘Roxy is a bubbleheaded idiot’ ‘Angie Vaughn is a lonely cat lady who’s obsessed with her height’ and ‘Milisandre has a porn fetish that revolves around anything with tentacles.’ Well, I think that the #CoolKids made a damn good accounting of themselves and if anyone at all still doubts them, they need look no further than the new UGWC Cooperative Champions to see that when it comes to getting it done inside the ring, what you think you know might not be the reality of things. Roxy is one of my closest friends, and trust me if she was half the things that people claimed she was, she wouldn’t be anyone at all that I would call a friend. She’s funny and she’s driven, and anyone who sells her short is ultimately going to regret it! Angie is the sweetest person that I have ever met, but inside the ring she can go as hard as anyone I have ever seen. Look no further than the titles she had held and the wrestling schedule she keeps! Milisandre is as intense as anyone, I have actually faced her in the ring and I know firsthand what she brings. All jokes about tentacle porn aside, there aren’t any jokes to be had when you’re standing across the ring from her when that bell rings!” Kenzi took a deep breath and shrugged, “The point is that judging a book by its cover is something that everyone does, but in this business actions count for something. If you want to judge me on my acting or singing, then don’t base it on how snug I apply a headlock. Conversely, if you are going to think that I don’t take what I do in this ring seriously, searching my Twitter feed for #WCW posts aren’t going to get you anywhere. I take what I do inside the ring seriously! I told the world that I was not only proud of what the #CoolKids did in UGWC, but I was jealous of it as well! I want my chance to show everyone here that I am not just some hashtag or a disembodied Twitter handle…I am a competitor when that bell rings and I intend to show everyone watching…and one second generation wrestler standing across the cage from me!”
Chris stood up and walked to Kenzi, offering the girl his hand. “I misjudged you Mrs. Lacklan, and it is my sincere hope that after this interview no one else does the same. Best of luck to you on Monday night in Detroit.”
Kenzi stood, taking his hand and returning the shake. “Thank you Mr. Collins. I can hardly wait.”
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Following the interview, Chris was being escorted off the Red Queen and to the Uber that waited to take him away from the port when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him from the ship.
“MR. COLLINS, I HOPE I’LL BE HAPPY WITH THE INTERVIEW WE DISCUSSED!”
Chris stopped and craned his neck, cupping his hands over his eyes to shield them from the sun as he saw Sidney Grey and Maxine watching him leave. He waived to her as he called out, “PROBABLY NOT MS. GREY…PROBABLY NOT!” He couldn’t see her reaction, but he assumed that it wasn’t good.
It was obvious to him that Sidney Grey’s agenda was to keep her daughter as far away from actual competition as she possibly could. Sid was interested in the Hollywood career that her daughter regarded as a hobby instead of the wrestling career that Kenzi apparently prized, much to her chagrin.
As Chris got into the car and pulled away from the port, he was stuck by a single thought that summed up this match perfectly for Kenzi Grey-Lacklan. On Monday night she wouldn’t just be fighting another second generation wrestler in her first match for a new company…she would be fighting public opinion, she would be fighting the doubters, but most importantly…she’d be fighting an overbearing mother with designs on controlling every aspect of her career.
He didn’t envy her one bit…but at least he understood her. She wasn’t at all what he thought she was, and maybe after Monday night a great many others would come to that same realization…
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