End of the Year Special Open Invitational

[Braddock]

2 of 2 for Angelica
======

==========
December 19th, 2023
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========

It is Tuesday, just a little under a week away from Christmas. Angelica Jones enjoys Christmas, it is one of her favorite times of the year, and she really brightens the mood up in her lavish Boston home with decorations galore. A Christmas tree towers in her opulent living room twinkling with an array of blue, red, green, and yellow lights as well as elegant ornaments hanging from its limbs. Four velvet stockings hang from the mantle of her fireplace, each stocking has a different set of initials embroidered on it; MJ, KW, JL, and KM, each representing the initials of her four children. The stockings are surrounded by gold ribbon and green garlands. Christmas themed pillows and rugs replace the standard pillows and rugs that typically adorn the furniture in this home. Traditional Christmas music is heard playing in the background. But the decorations and the music isn’t the most important thing to Angelica Jones this time of year. The one thing more important to Jones than anything else in her life is her family. Her family is what keeps her going. Her family is what motivates her and drives her to do the very best she possibly can with whatever she is doing each and every week, whether it is wrestling, promoting, or training. Everything she does is for her family. Getting into the wrestling business in the first place was for her family. Family is and always will be her number one priority. Thus it should come to no surprise to anyone that the favorite part of this day isn’t the music or the decorations, instead it is the individual sprawled out on the plus comfortable leather sofa in the living room; her daughter, Kimberly Williams.

“Hey, mom!” Kim exclaims. She is dressed in torn denim jeans and a black ‘Queens of Chaos’ logo t-shirt. “Where’s the juice?!”

Angelica chuckles softly as she enters the living room. She is carrying the aforementioned ‘juice’, that is to say, two glasses of red wine, Merlot to be precise. In a stark contrast to the attire of her daughter, Angelica is wearing a strapless form fitting red dress and red high heeled pumps. The Dragon approaches the sofa and hands Kim one of the glasses of wine. She starts to sit down but notices that her daughter refuses to move. Angelica sighs and rolls her eyes.

“Do you mind?”

“Possibly.”

“Kim!”

“Oh alright!” Kim whines. Kim swings her feet over and sits up. Angelica then sits down next to her on the sofa. Kim then sniffs the wine and look up at her mother. “Grape juice?”

“No, you smartass.” Angelica smirks. “I pulled a Jesus and turned it into wine.”

“Wow! I didn’t know you could do that!” Kim remarks cheerfully. “You should so do that at SCW sometime. Everyone walking to their match hammered would be so damn hilarious!”

“Not gonna happen.” Angelica shakes her head as she sips on her wine. “Besides, shouldn’t you be focusing on more important SCW matters? Like, say, regaining the Underground Title?”

“Don’t worry.” Kim taps the side of her head. “I got a plan!”

“Good. Because as you know I cannot fight your battles for you. I can be your advocate for you backstage, I can make sure you are dealt a fair hand by CHBK, but that’s it. You have to do the fighting for yourself.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Angelica nods her head.

“I’ve had to fight Jimmy and his little cult all on my own for God knows how long. Why can’t you convince CHBK to fire those idiots?”

“I’m not a miracle worker, Kim.”

“But you just literally turned grape juice into wine.”

“You know what I mean, silly.” Angelica chuckles. “Besides, I did a good job on that front too. In all honesty you probably should have been fined for trying to maim Datura, Pain, and Mordred. But you got away with not even a slap on the wrist. That was my influence. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks?”

“Don’t mention it.” Angelica sips on her wine. “I don’t exactly subscribe to chaos like you but James has gone too far. At this point you can do whatever the hell you want to that asshole. End his career for all I care. What he’s doing is beyond insane. He’s dead to me.”

“I can make him dead to everyone!” Kim says hopefully. Angelica gives her an evil eye and shakes her head.

“Let’s not go that far.”

“Party pooper.” Kim says, sticking her tongue out. Angelica lets out a small laugh and then sips on her wine again. She turns and looks back at her daughter who just smiles back at her. Angelica sighs.

“Kim…”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t mind…do you…”

“Of course I mind James and his stupid cult and…”

“Not that!” Angelica shakes her head. “I mean, do you mind me returning to the ring.”

“You mean for the End of the Year Battle Royal thingy?”

“Yes, that.” Angelica nods her head. “It’s just for one night. I wouldn’t think of trying to overshadow you or anything. If you don’t want me to wrestle, if you would rather I stay backstage, just say the word and…”

“Mom…”

“What?”

“Shut up.” Kim says with a knowing grin. “Just shut up. We’ve been over this dozens of times already. I’m not some of these other uptight clowns I work with. I’m comfortable in my own skin and I do not need to hold you back to keep me from feeling good about myself. If getting in that ring and cracking some skulls will make you feel good then by all means, have a ball.” Kim grins. “I’ll even let you borrow Wasley!”

“No thanks.” Angelica laughs. “I think I would rather win this my way. You know? I mean, I see so many people who thought their careers were over…Amy, Simon, Lucas, and so many others…and I see them getting back into that ring and competing. Why couldn’t I do that? Why couldn’t I get back into the ring and still be as good as I ever was?”

“No reason why you can’t.” Kim says as she sips her wine. She then starts to gag. “This crap tastes like alcohol.”

“Because it IS alcohol.”

“I thought it was grape juice.”

“Oh Kim…” Angelica laughs again “...I do love having you here for Christmas.”

“Enjoy me while you have me.” Kim grins. “Tomorrow I’m catching a flight to St. Paul.”

“Right, you have to prepare for Crystal. I’ll be there in St. Paul too. But I’ll be traveling later. I still have some things to do here before I leave.”

“Like what?”

“Find my old wrestling gear. Or have some new gear made. I’d rather not compete in this.”

“I dunno…” Kim studies her mother intensely “...you look kinda fierce.”

“Right…” she rolls her eyes “...I’m definitely getting new gear. And I need to hit the gym before traveling to St. Paul. I’ll be with you, Kim, every step of the way just as I promised. Then its off to the End of the Year Battle Royal. And I intend to win it.”

==========
December 24th, 2023
Boston, Massachusetts
On Camera
==========

I have noticed many trendy fads come and go in my Hall of Fame career as a professional wrestler. Some of those trendy fads tend to fade away and return. I recall fighting my own fair share of megalomaniacs who claimed to be a prophet, messiah, god or what have you. I remember when it was cool to be a badass biker or a Texas cowboy. And I cannot begin to count the number of so-called unstoppable monsters that I have come across in my day. In fairness, most of them lived up to the moniker of monster but there were a few who were just full of hot air and I enjoyed bursting their bubbles. Power crazy authority figures in wrestling promotions? Yeah. I’ve run across those. Wrestlers who thought it was cool to be besties with said power crazy authority figures? Yeah, I remember when that fad was cool too. Hell, I was guilty of playing a part in that fad. So maybe I shouldn’t have brought that one up? Oh well.

Recall the trend of anti-authority anti-establishment figures? Yep. I remember that all too well. It became so trendy that being anti-establishment turned into THE establishment. It became THE norm. But me? That’s one fad I never fell into. I never went the route of anti-authority anti-establishment rebel rouser. I always just went into the squared circle and fought whoever was put in front of me. I fought them tooth and nail with every damn fiber of my being. I left it all in the center of the ring. And I didn’t do it to try and change the system or to upset the established order of things. I did it because I was a competitor and I wanted to be the absolute best to ever do this job and to prove that you are the best in the world you had to beat the best in the world.

I can honestly say that my daughter Kim is a much better human being than I ever was. She does what she does not for glory or for wealth. She does it for the fans because she loves the fans. I can honestly say that I didn’t really do this for the fans. If the fans loved and cheered for me? Great. If they hated my guts? That’s their prerogative. I had two goals, two motivations, one was to be the best…and the other thing driving me, pressuring me to compete at the very best level I could…was my family.

You don’t see much of that, do you? My mind may be slipping but I do not recall anyone who did this for their family. That wasn’t trendy or a fad because it wasn’t cool. It wasn’t hip. And in fairness, I never once made a big deal about doing this for the love of my family. But from the moment I started learning the ropes to this very moment right here and now, all of it has been for the sake of my family. All of it has been to either protect them or keep them safe. Those of you who are really close to me and know my story, you know exactly what I mean by that. The rest of you probably don’t want to be bothered hearing my life story again so I will wait and let you buy my autobiography, if I ever decide to write one.

But do you wanna know of one trendy fad that has always been around wrestling circles? I hear it all the time. The people who say that they “love wrestling”. Better yet, those who haughtily declare that they are “wrestlers NOT entertainers”, as if somehow saying that offends someone or pisses someone off. Now to those who are sincere when they utter those words, I am not talking to you. Because I, too, am passionate about wrestling. I, too, love wrestling. I won’t go into detail, but wrestling has quite literally saved my life. So I can understand why some people find it hard to put away those wrestling boots and retire for good. For some that decision is made for them when they suffer a career ending injury. My cousin, you know her as Glory Braddock, her father…my uncle by marriage Glenn Braddock…he suffered a career ending back injury. He had many lofty goals he had hoped to achieve but never got to complete his story. His story was cut short.

Amy Chastaine thought her story had been cut short and yet she has returned to Supreme Championship Wrestling. She was competing in an Underground Rules Match at Fatal Fortunes. Many thought Simon Lyman would never set foot inside of a wrestling ring due to his condition. Some probably wish he hadn’t. But regardless of what you may think of him personally, he did manage to make it back into the ring. He has once again begun to compete at the highest of levels in this sport. That is admirable. As a human being he may be acting like a complete jerk right now, but that’s beside the point. My own sister, Kayla Jones, who was SCW World Tag Team Champion with me, she had retired briefly after suffering a severe neck injury. And yet she made a tremendous comeback and still competes in Global Championship Wrestling.

Is it the love of wrestling that keeps people like Amy, Simon, and Kayla going? I can’t speak to their motives. I can’t read their thoughts. But I know that the love of wrestling, the passion for this sport, as cheesy and campy as it may sound, does drive a great many people in this sport. And for me, after wrestling gave me my family back, after wrestling gave my family a safety net, after I got everything I NEEDED out of wrestling, all I ever wanted was to give back to this sport that has given so much to me. And when I see people like Amy and Simon and Lucas still doing this. When I see that jackass James Evans of all people reinventing himself and still doing this. When I see that, I think to myself…

….why the hell can’t I climb back into the ring?

Yes, I am my daughter’s manager, her advocate if you will. And I intend to remain her manager. But for one night only, for the End of the Year Open Invitational, I will return to the SCW ring as a competitor. Why? Because I am passionate, because I love this sport, because I love SCW, and because I see some of what is going on right now in this company, I see this action, this chaos, and I want a piece of it.

SCW has what, for all that I can tell, is a supernatural entity known as The Enigma driving everyone crazy. My former friend turned jackass James Evans has started his own cult. Selena Frost is hated and gone, Kandis is now the beloved hero. Simon has lost his damn mind. Seriously, what kind of mixed up bizarro world have I fallen into? What the hell happened to the SCW that existed when I was still a full time competitor? And is a lot of this my daughter’s fault? Because if so, to those who are bothered by this new SCW, I deeply apologize. My bad.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not bothered by the changes in this new SCW. Quite the contrary. I am excited about the talent and competition in this new SCW. I look forward to testing myself against anyone who accepts the invitation to this open invitational. And yeah, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, The Dragon has officially accepted the open invitation to the SCW End of the Year Open Invitational. I am going to enter and burn the whole son of a bitch to the ground. I am going to remind everyone just how good I am.

Most importantly, I am going to remind myself just how good I am.

See, I need this. There was an old saying back from my days, “what have you done lately?” Lately, I haven’t done much except manage my daughter’s career. My matches lately have been few and far between. I haven’t had a match in SCW in years. So can I compete at the highest level? I believe I can. Damn it, I KNOW I CAN! And I am going to prove it. I have to prove it.

I have to win.