David Striker vs. Kimberly Williams

[The Matt]

2 of 2
=======

==========
February 27th, 2024
Baltimore, Maryland
Off Camera
==========

Kimberly Williams has given herself the nickname “Queen of the Death Match” and if you look at her record, you would be hard pressed to find an argument to dispute her claim. She is a former MWE Chicago Way Champion, three time HKW Bloodlust Champion, and five time SCW Underground Champion, all nine of which are contested with zero rules. To achieve such accolades in her career as a death match queen she has had to roll around in barbed wire, thumb tacks, and broken glass. Kimberly has even had her fair share of encounters with explosives. There is literally nothing and no one that strikes fear in the heart of The Woman Scorned. If there is any scenario that would prompt some semblance of nerves for Kimberly Williams, it would be the fact that at Retribution she must defend her SCW Underground Title against David Striker, the man who beat her at her own game in an Underground Rules Match. Her championship is in very real jeopardy because she is facing Striker. He figured out how to beat her once, he can certainly figure out how to do it again, and then he would have her title. Most wrestlers would go into such a match with at least some nervousness or fear. Yet this is not the case for The Woman Scorned. Even in this scenario, where her championship is in very real danger, she does not fear facing David Striker. Hell, it was HER idea. She issued the challenge. In fact, Kim is rather looking forward to facing David Striker with her Underground Championship on the line. The Queen of the Death Match was impressed with his first outing in the Underground and sees him as a potential heir to the Underground. She is excited to see what he will do in his second Underground venture, this time with higher stakes, with the gold on the line.

Yes, that is what most people would fear, or at least be nervous about. Not Kimberly. The Woman Scorned fears next to nothing. And yet even this bloodthirsty ginger has her own fears, fears that she keeps bottled up deep inside of her soul. Those secret fears that terrify Kimberly to her very core, she keeps them close to her chest. She keeps them a secret even from her closest family. Kim views fears as a weakness and she does not want anyone to know of her weaknesses. She does not want anyone to know of her fears. So yes, she is the Underground Champion but she isn’t afraid of possibly losing. She isn’t afraid of the years that she may lose from her career as a result of the war she is about to endure against David Striker at Retribution. What she fears is the one reason that has brought her to a beat up Waffle House in Baltimore, Maryland on many occasions in the past and why she is here at that very same Waffle House today.

Ordinarily Kim would have arrived late. That has been her pattern for a long time now. She met here at this Waffle House with Larry Dempsey, a man she met while incarcerated in a mental hospital, due to their shared psychosis. They grew to form a bond and close friendship with one another. They kept their friendship going even after their time in the mental hospital ended. Kim returned to professional wrestling but would meet Larry here at this Waffle House in Baltimore on a regular basis. Kim would always arrive late, which annoyed Larry, but this particular meeting, this particular evening, is very different. Kimberly really doesn’t want to be here. She was pressured into coming by Larry Dempsey. And she is afraid of what she is about to face. And to handle her nerves, she is stuffing herself.

In front of her is a plate stacked full of pancakes. Five pancakes. Another plate full of eggs and bacon. Then there is a glass of coffee, black. The Woman Scorned looks at this bounty of food and frowns with a hint of disappointment. What else could go with all of this? She grins as she flags down a server at the bar.

“Hey! Lady! You got any whiskey?!”

“Uh, no…”

“Well, what about scotch?”

“Sorry…”

“Any alcohol?!” Kim asks, seemingly annoyed now. The server shakes her head.

“No alcohol.”

“Crap.” The Woman Scorned rolls her eyes. “Can you fix a few dozen waffles then? I want to eat as much unhealthy food as possible and maybe give myself a heart attack. Great way to get out of responsibility. Right?”

“Huh?”

“Just bring me a damn waffle to go with all this!” Kim exclaims.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Of course getting drunk would be a far more effective way to forget about what is going to happen, unfortunately this establishment doesn’t sell alcohol. She has to settle for stuffing herself with this bounty of food. Yet she has a feeling that she will have to share this in short order. As Kim takes a bite of her eggs she hears a bell, signaling the arrival of a new customer. She looks up and immediately spots two individuals, both very familiar. One is her old friend Larry Dempsey. She forces a smile onto her face as she spots the young teenager with him. She has long black hair and her complexion is rather pale in appearance. Kim waves politely at the pair. The young teenage girl grins from ear to ear and quickly rushes past Larry and almost jumps into the booth. Kim barely has enough time to scoot over to allow the girl room to sit.

“Hi mom!”

“Yo, yo, whoa kiddo,” Kim says with a seemingly forced but lighthearted laugh “calm down! You almost knocked over my food!”

“Sorry, mom.” She looks at all the heaping amounts of food Kim ordered and then looks back at Kim. “You ordered all that for yourself?”

“Of course she didn’t.” Larry remarks as he approaches and sits down across from Kim and the girl. “I am quite certain your mother ordered this much food to share with you. Correct?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Kimberly nods her head. She passes her a fork. “There, dig in.”

“Thanks, mom!”

“Yeah.” Kim watches this girl eat the food. Then she turns and glares at Larry. “You’re late.”

“How often have you been late to our meetings, Kimberly?” Larry asks with a knowing, almost satisfied grin. “I think I am owed.”

“Whatever. What’s your excuse?”

“Well, Lilith made us late.” Larry motions to the girl who is now chowing down with little to no thought about manners or etiquette. “She wanted to look her very best for her mother.”

Kimberly looks at the girl, now known as Lilith, and takes an appraisal. Lilith is wearing one of Kimberly’s SCW merchandise with her penguin “Wasley” printed on the front. She is wearing a knee length skirt and a simple SCW baseball cap. Kim nods her head in approval.

“You look good, kiddo.”

“Thanks, mom!” Lilith says while her mouth is full of pancakes and eggs, some of which come spitting out accidentally all over Kim. Kimberly cackles happily. Larry leans over and gives Lilith a gentle slap on the face.

“Lilith! I thought we discussed this? Manners.” He points out sternly. “Do not speak with your mouth full!”

“Sorry, Mr. Dempsey.”

“Oh lighten up, Lawrence of Arabia!” Kim exclaims. Larry sighs out of annoyance that Kim would undermine his attempt to correct Lillith.

“She is your daughter, Kimberly. My apologies.”

“That’s right!” Kim smirks. She turns back to Lillith. “So, how have you been doing, kiddo? Are you giving Larry…uh, Mr. Dempsey…any trouble?”

“Uh, well…” Lilith’s voice trails off. Larry glares at her.

“Tell your mother the truth.” Larry declares.

“Ok…I got caught shoplifting.”

“Any charges filed?” Kim asks. Lilith shakes her head.

“No.”

“That’s not all.” Larry chimes in. “Your daughter met a boy at a park who she thought was cute’ and decided to kidnap him.”

“Wow…really?” Kim is shocked, stunned. Then a twisted grin of pride forms across her face. “I was a little older than you when I first kidnapped someone.”

“Mr. Dempsey told me that I shouldn’t do that.”

“And he’s right.” Kim quickly agrees, realizing that praising her recent kidnapping might be a bad idea. Kim looks over at Larry. “How did she get out of this one without spending time in the clink?”

“I convinced the young man that Lilith was only playing a game.” He sighs. “We were still sued.”

“Oh…” suddenly Kim’s face lights up, as if she suddenly realized something “...so THAT’S why you asked for that money recently?”

“Yes.” Larry nods his head.

“I see.” Kim turns back to face Lilith. “Kiddo, you DO NOT do that! Got it? Do NOT do that again!”

“I know, mom. Mr. Dempsey already scolded me. But…”

“But nothing!”

“But…you used to kidnap people. Steal. You used to act this way all the time, mom.”

“That’s different.” Kim insists, shaking her head. “I made tons of mistakes, I did things I have to live with forever. You have your entire life left to live, kiddo.” She pats Lilith on her back. “Obey, Larry, be a good girl, and basically just do the opposite of what your crazy mom does. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good girl.” Kim smirks. “Now if you ARE better behaved for Larry, then I might try to see you more often. Ok? Do we have a deal?”

“Deal!” Lilith says. The excitement in her voice tells just how much she loves being with Kim. She puts her fork down and gets up out of the booth. “I wanna go…I mean, may I go to the bathroom?”

“Well done.” Larry nods his head in approval. “Yes, you may go.” And with that, Lilith walks off in the direction of the bathrooms. Kim watches her go, watching carefully. Eventually she is gone, completely out of sight. Kim then turns to Larry and sighs.

“Is this little family reunion about over?” Kim asks frustratingly.

“For God sake, Kimberly!” Larry exclaims. “You should be ashamed! That is your daughter!”

“Biologically she may be my daughter.” She rolls her eyes. “But c’mon, Lawrence of Arabia, there is literally no real connection here!” She points a finger at Larry. “You are the parent. Not me.”

“The connection isn’t there because you are not trying. Obviously Lilith loves you. She wants there to be a connection.”

“Yeah, yeah, I see it all over her face.” Kim is growing more and more annoyed. “But let’s face it, Emma Floreschu, that monster who stole me from my family, she is the one truly responsible. Emma is a light beer version of a cult leader.”

“You told me this story before…” Larry sighs with frustration.

“Shut up. You’re gonna hear it again because OBVIOUSLY you haven’t figured out the lesson of this yet! Emma raised me. I blindly followed her every command. And she wanted to create her own twisted family. So I allowed myself to be artificially inseminated. I gave birth to Lilith. She was going to be Emma’s next big project once she released me upon an unsuspecting world.”

“Yes, but you reclaimed your daughter so that she wouldn’t suffer the same fate as you.”

“That doesn’t make me a mother. That just makes me one spiteful bitch who wants to make sure Emma’s legacy dies. That makes me someone with a little bit of mercy who doesn’t want to see the world see another ME running around out there! Face it, Larry, Lilith was created to be a monster. That’s all she is. Our job is to keep that monster contained.”

“She is a child!” Larry exclaims.” Kim sighs as she stands up. She shakes her head.

“This was a mistake. I’m leaving.”

“You cannot!”

“Watch me.”

Kimberly storms off. Unfortunately she passes by Lilith who is returning from the bathroom. She quickly rushes up to Kimberly, her mother. She looks up at her with forlorn eyes. For a brief moment Kim is beginning to second guess herself. Should she stay?

“Mom…what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Kim shakes her head. “It’s just…”

“Are you leaving?”

“I uh…yeah,” she nods her head “...I gotta go. Big match coming up. Gotta maim ol’ Davey Crockett Striker.” She kisses Lilith on her forehead. “Now be a good girl for Larry, ok?”

“Yeah…I will, mom.”

“Good.” Kim turns and walks off.

“Mom? Love you!”

Those words sting at Kimberly. Guilt. She feels guilty that she is leaving. This is why she did not want to see Lilith, this is why she has tried to stay away. Every time she leaves she feels guilty. But her logical mind tells her that this is for the best. A psycho like her is not fit to raise a kid. Not Kimberly. Kim is not ready. She never will be. Lilith’s best chance is with someone else. Anyone else.

“Yeah. Back at ya…”

==========
March 1st, 2024
Boston, Massachusetts
On Camera
==========

The camera feed begins to roll. We open not in the lap of luxury but in a dilapidated mess of what should be a living room. It contains a ratty messed up green carpet, the paint on the walls is peeling, the black sofa is also torn and appears as if it has been eaten up from the inside by inspects or other animals. There is a coffee table that appears as if it has seen its better days. On the coffee table is a cage with a hamster inside. Resting on the ratty black sofa is the beloved stuffed penguin Wasley. This immediately lets the viewing audience know that Kimberly Williams must be somewhere nearby. It doesn’t take long before the aforementioned psychopath comes skipping into view, specifically from the right. The Woman Scorned is dressed in torn denim jeans and a black “Queens of Chaos” logo t-shirt. Her feet are bare and she has her SCW Underground Championship title belt draped over her right shoulder.

“Davey! Davey Crockett Striker!” Williams says in a jovial sing-song manner. She waves at the camera. “Hi, Davey! You were soooooo kind enough to entertain me a few weeks ago on Breakdown, you were kind enough to give me the hope I needed, hope for the future of the Underground! So with that, I wanted to give you and all of the lovelies watching at home a peak into my world! So I would like to welcome you and all of my Kimmymaniacs to my humble abode!” She cackles nastily. “Yes, this is the world of Kimberly Williams.”

“I am a Queen of the Death Match. I am the Queen of the Underground. I am one of the Queens of Chaos. Hell, I am part of wrestling royalty, namely the Jones Wrestling Family. You’d think that I would reside in something a bit more upscale.” She shakes her head. “Nah, you got the wrong twin. Marie loves the luxury and the opulence. She can have it. But me? I choose to live like this because I need to remember where the hell I came from. Because I know if I ever chose to accept the lifestyle I could have as a member of the Jones Family, not only would I be a hypocrite, but I would also grow weak and soft. I didn’t get my break into this business because of my name. No one knew who the hell I was, I had to fight for every damn inch. I need to remember that. I need to keep that burned into my psyche so that I never EVER become soft. Everything I gained in this business? All of my championships, my opportunities, and hell, even this moniker as Queen of the Underground, that wasn’t meant for me. I had to reach out and TAKE IT! I refused to forget it. So yes, I live like this, I live here, because I do not want to forget that I did come from humble beginnings.”

“Thanks for the praise, Davey, but I haven’t quite yet broken the record as Underground Champion, but I did tie the record set originally by Rachel Frost. Her name has for a long time been synonymous with greatness in the Underground. But I will say that I believe in my heart of hearts that I have eclipsed her. I eclipsed her because I resurrected the Underground. I eclipsed her because I put the Underground Title into the main event of a pay per view. And most recently when my Underground was threatened by James Evans and his cult of cronies, I risked my own body and my health and well-being, I waged war to save the Underground and I did save it. I managed to do all of this not because of where I came from but despite where I came from. I don’t talk much about my past, because your past doesn’t matter. Who your mommy is and who your daddy is doesn’t matter. What matters is what you have achieved, what you have accomplished. That is your legacy. The Underground is my legacy and I am damn proud of it. I will do anything to save it. At Body, Heart, & Soul I wrapped explosives to my knee and drove it into someone’s face. I did that to save my Underground.” Kim shakes her head. Then she taps herself on her head.

“But then I got to thinking…” she laughs a little “...yeah, funny, me thinking right? But I got thinking, I spoke to Wasley. Spoke to my hamster Caligula here. And we all kinda came to the same conclusion. There may in fact be a bigger threat to the Underground than James Evans and his delusional nonviolence mess. That threat is simply a lack of interest in my Underground. Now don’t get me wrong, the fans love my level of violence. My Kimmaniacs love the Underground and I intend to keep giving them the Underground and the violence as long as they want it. But I got to thinking about the other wrestlers on the SCW roster who once dared to set foot into my world. Jordan Majors and Lucas Knight were two of the first and they aren’t here anymore. Then there was Oktoberfest…you all know him as Konrad Raab…now I love Oktoberfest to death, and while he loves violence as much as I do, he seems much more focused on leading his European buddies in fiery tag team stuff…whatever that means.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Deanna Frost was Underground Champion, beat me for it, but she admitted it wasn’t necessarily her thing and when she lost it back to me, she has been elsewhere in other divisions. Currently she’s been one hell of a United States Champion. Owen Cruiserweight is gone. James Evans is gone and he hated the Underground anyway.”

“It’s easy to see the writing on the walls, isn’t it Davey? If my Underground is to survive, it needs people passionate enough to venture into the Underground, and not just for the sake of a damn title. That’s been the whole problem, I think. Too many people ventured into my Underground simply because it was a shot at a championship. It could have been called the “I’m An Idiot Championship” and they still would have went for it as long as it was a gold title belt. All they wanted was a trinket to add to their record, to their trophy case.” She points a finger at the camera. “Then I fought you on Breakdown. And we went to war. We damn near killed each other. And yes, I was beaten, but I’ve been beaten before and almost all of those who beat me in my Underground are gone. What makes you different from them is the fact that you made me believe that you might have the passion necessary to stick around in the Underground, that you can carry on the legacy of my Underground.” Williams shakes her head.

“That doesn’t mean you are going to win at Retribution.”

“See Davey Boy, you have me believing in you now, and because I believe in you that means I am ready to ramp up the violence several notches. You say that’s what you want but do you really know what you are asking for? I don’t think you know what you want. If you knew just how sadistic and brutal I can get in the Underground, I am fairly certain you wouldn’t be asking me to bring everything I got to Retribution. You know those names of those people who are no longer here anymore? Ask them about how violent I can get. They will warn you that what is coming your way is the perfect storm of violence and brutality.”

“Retribution…” she smirks knowingly “...I guess it is about retribution in the sense that I would like to get my win back. It is about Retribution because after being beaten by you in the Underground I need to once again step up and remind everyone just who the hell I am! But you mentioned VINDICATION?” The Woman Scorned shakes her head. “You are mistaken, my friend. I do not NEED vindication. I am very much comfortable in my own skin. People can pigeonhole me as a death match “garbage” fighter all they want, I know what I am capable of as a WRESTLER. As a wrestler I am pretty damn good and if you have truly done your homework, you would have noticed some of those masterpieces. So why do I put my body on the line week in and week out in the Underground? Why do I allow people to assume that death match is all I can do?” She throws her head back and laughs maniacally.

“Because…I…LOVE THIS!” She nods her head. “Yep! I love what I do! I love the violence and the destruction! So thanks but no thanks, Davey! I do NOT need vindication! All the vindication I need for my life, my career, rests over my shoulder…” she pats the title belt “...the SCW Underground Championship. The symbol of what I have built up for the past few years. And if you think I need vindication, well, maybe you really aren’t ready for the Underground.” A look of disappointment spreads across her face. Kim shakes her head. “Maybe I read you wrong? Perhaps you just got my hopes up and, once again, you will turn into a disappointment, like others who have fought me only to turn away from the Underground after one little stint?” Williams pats herself on the chest.

“That is why I always have and always will stand as the gatekeeper of the Underground. No one gets into my Underground without first going through me. No one gets into my Underground without proving that they belong.” She holds up one finger. “You beat me ONE time, Davey! Just the one time! Deanna beat me in the Underground…then I went and beat her. James Evans beat me in the Underground…then I went and beat him. What you did isn’t special, Davey. All you did was peak my interest and peaking my interest isn’t necessarily a good thing. What peaking my interest does is earn you a shot at my Underground Title at Retribution. And now that I have begun to question whether you are even ready for the Underground, you are in even more danger, my friend.”

“You’re in danger because as I have said, I am willing to do anything to protect the integrity, the legacy, of my Underground. And Danny Striker, if you’re not ready for this, then I am going to do damn near anything to make sure that you do not win the championship at Underground. Hell, I am going to make sure that you will never ever consider stepping back into my world, into MY Underground. If that means maiming you? I will do it! If that means slicing you up into pieces? So be it! You speak of vindication…I don’t need vindication…” She points a finger.

“...YOU need the vindication. You beat me ONCE! Many have beaten me once and while some may still be here, ALL OF THEM are no longer a part of the Underground, because I made them regret ever stepping to me. I don’t need vindication. I know who the hell I am. I am the Queen of the Death Match, the SCW Underground Champion, and I will defend my throne at Retribution. I will defend my HOME at Retribution. And you will leave with absolutely NOTHING!”