Xander Valentine vs. Glory Braddock

[Braddock]

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May 9th, 2024
Sydney, Australia
Off Camera
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Glory Braddock and Brittany Lohan had endured what they perceived as unfair treatment, being former tag team champions who had never received a rematch, they had to compete against multiple teams to earn another shot at the gold. They won that multi-team match at Taking the Leap. Twisted & Sadistic earned their rightful rematch for the SCW World Tag Team Championship just as they said they would; they did exactly what they were told that they had to do. With that in mind, Glory and Brittany expected to received their tag title match at Taking Hold of the Flame. It was all the perfect setup for The British Bombshell; she and Brittany would regain the tag team titles and then she would go on to win the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal, guaranteeing herself a shot at the SCW World Championship as well. It would be Braddock’s crowning achievement. Instead David Striker, Chris Dumont, and the Cowgirls from Hell kept attacking them backstage, kept involving themselves in their business. Those teams were doing exactly the same thing Twisted & Sadistic had been doing months earlier. When Glory and Brittany did it, they were punished by being put into that multi-team match at Taking the Leap. But Dumont, Striker, and the Cowgirls do not get punished; they are being rewarded. They are being given exactly what they want; a chance to fight Twisted & Sadistic at Taking Hold of the Flame in an eight person tag involving Light in the Darkness. Meanwhile Glory and Brittany are yet again being punished for something that, for once, they did not start. They did not provoke this. They did not ask for these two teams to constantly attack them backstage. Braddock and Lohan were only defending themselves. Yet now the current number one contenders find themselves having to wait, they find that their tag title shot is being put on hold so that Dumont, Striker, and the Cowgirls can be given what they want. All of this puts Braddock’s plans in jeopardy and it definitely puts The British Bombshell in a bad mood.

Her bad mood was on full display after Breakdown came to its conclusion. The British Bombshell didn’t even bother to touch base with Brittany Lohan. Braddock just left the Qudos Bank Arena as soon as she could justify leaving. God knows she doesn’t want to give CHBK an excuse to punish her for leaving Breakdown too early. But she did not want to wait around any longer than she had to; she left as soon as she was allowed to leave, she went right back to her hotel room in Sydney where she has been staying for this Australia show, and immediately got to work packing her bags. Glory’s plan is to leave Australia the very next day by catching a flight back to the United States. She cannot afford to dwell on what happened tonight or the extra punishment that she feels was undeservedly levied upon her. After all, Braddock still wants to regain the tag titles, she still wants to win Taking Hold of the Flame, but a more pressing matter is her match on the next week’s edition of Breakdown. It is a match that she has secretly been longing for; one on one against Xander Valentine.

Pride cometh before a fall, and many religions consider pride to be a sin. Glory Braddock cannot help it, but she is quite prideful when it comes to wrestling. She prides herself on being one of the best technical wrestlers in the business, she prides herself on being a submission expert, and she is proud of everything she has accomplished in her career. But in August of 2021, she faced Xander Valentine and she lost in convincing fashion. She did not tap out but she was choked unconscious. The referee stopped the match and that did not set well with her. She did not want the match stopped, she felt she could have found a way out, she did not believe she was truly as out of it as the officials claim. But maybe that was the delusion setting in, due in part to the blood flow being cut off? Whether she is right or not that she could have found a way to escape, to keep fighting, the fact is that she lost by knockout. And while most may have forgotten, maybe even Xander has forgotten, Glory Braddock has not forgotten and she is anxious to avenge that loss.

So much is on Glory’s mind right now, so much is on her plate from the tag titles, to Taking Hold of the Flame, to defeating Xander, but before she can focus on any of that first needs to get out of Sidney, Australia and get back to the United States. Her luggage is sitting on the floor of her hotel room and she is throwing her clothing wildly into the luggage, not really caring for neatness or orderliness. She just wants everything in her luggage and ready to go so that she can leave as soon as she wakes up the next morning. Unfortunately, as with most of her plans lately, this one, too, seems to have its own flaws. There is a knocking at her hotel room which leads to an annoyed sigh from The British Bombshell. She certainly wasn’t expecting a visitor? Is this room service? Is this Brittany Lohan? She waits and continues to throw things into her luggage, secretly hoping that whoever this is will just go away. Luck is not on her side; the knocking goes on. Glory sighs with a sense of defeat.

“Coming…” there is a definite sound of annoyance in the voice of Glory Braddock as she drops what she is doing and makes her way to the door. She opens the door and she grows even more annoyed at finding her first cousin, part time wrestler turned manager Angelica Jones, standing there before her. “...oh, it’s just you.”

“Nice to see you too, Glory.”

“Can it.” Glory remarks. She still doesn’t stand aside to let her cousin enter. She would rather Angelica just go away. Glory isn’t in the mood for visitors right now. “What do you want?”

“Honestly? I was hoping we could talk. But you seemed to be in a hurry to leave. You didn’t even stop to speak to your own partner, Brittany, before you left the arena.”

“I was doing everyone a favor, Angel.” Glory answers quickly and sharply. “I am not exactly in a good mood right now and I’m fairly certain no one wants to be around me when I’m in this kind of foul miserable mood.”

“Except me.” Angelica counters. Glory rolls her eyes.

“I don’t know why.”

“What can I say? I am a glutton for punishment.”

“Can you get serious and get to the point where you tell me what you want?” Glory asks with a rising sense of frustration in her voice. “I’m almost done packing.”

“You can’t be seriously thinking of leaving tonight, are you?”

“Tonight?” Glory shakes her head. “God no. I am bitchy right now but not crazy. I am going to get some sleep and the first thing I do when I wake up is catch the first flight out of here.”

“Yeah, you are in quite the splendid mood.” Angelica remarks sarcastically. “But I guess I will just have to deal with it because I want to help.”

“I don’t need any help.” Glory tries to shut the door but Angelica blocks it.

“Are you sure? You may be in a piss poor mood and I get it, you certainly have a reason to be mad, but the last time I checked we were family and this family does not abandon one another.”

Glory Braddock is still angry but as the tension builds, as she stares into her cousin’s eyes, she begins to realize the truth that comes from Angelica’s mouth. The tension begins to break. It is almost as if a weight has been lifted from Glory’s shoulders. She is still upset but no longer as defensive as she once was. The British Bombshell finally steps aside and motions for Angelica to enter the hotel room. Jones steps in and walks past the luggage and piles of clothes on the floor. She looks at it and then up at Glory.

“You weren’t kidding about getting out of here as soon as possible.”

“No, no I wasn’t.” Glory watches her cousin make herself at home, sitting down on the edge of the king sized bed. “I’d offer you some wine, since I know how much you like the juice, but unfortunately I don’t have any.”

“It’s ok, I don’t plan to be here long anyway.” She winks. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know how important it is for you to get your brooding and moping in.”

“I’m starting to regret letting you in.”

“Oh ok, I’m sorry!” Angelica chuckles. She pats the edge of the bed. “Sit down.” Braddock nods her head. She sits down next to Angelica. “Look, I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out what’s wrong, what has made you so angry lately. You won the tag team championship, you lost the gold without even being pinned, and then you didn’t get a rematch for the titles, you had to earn the rematch by fighting through arguably insurmountable odds. But you succeeded, you have your tag title shot. Sure, Phantom Troupe…or is it Dangerous Minds? Whatever. Dumont and Striker, and the Cowgirls, they keep involving themselves in your business. But they cannot take your tag title shot away. You earned it and whether its next week, next month, or next year eventually SCW has to give you the tag title match you earned. So…with all due respect…why are you still acting like a tantruming child?”

“Child?!” Glory is taken aback by the accusation. She had calmed down briefly but now her anger is back up to a boiling point. “Me and Britt did everything by the book to win the tag team titles. Ravyn and Syren kept involving themselves in our business and were they punished? No, they were REWARDED by being granted yet another tag title shot, they were rewarded by being placed into the match between us and Light in the Darkness after they had already lost to Light in the Darkness twice before. Luz and Blythe won the titles back, fair play to them, but they did so by beating Ravyn and Syren, not me and Britt. Once again we didn’t do anything wrong but we were punished by having our tag title rematch taken from us. Ravyn and Syren got two rematches after losing the titles. Light in the Darkness got a rematch. But we were punished even though we did nothing wrong. So yes, Britt and I threw a bit of a tantrum, we wreaked havoc throughout the SCW tag team division, and we were punished by being put in that multi-team clusterfuck at Taking the Leap. But we did as we were told, we jumped through the hoops, we earned a tag title shot. Now Dangerous Minds and the Cowgirls are doing the same damn thing that me and Britt were punished for. Are they being punished? No, they are being REWARDED by being gifted with what they want…a match against Twisted & Sadistic, which means our tag title shot is being put on hold so that their bad behavior can be rewarded. So forgive me if I am just a little upset at the downright hypocrisy from SCW management right now.”

“Are you done?” Angelica asks.

“Yeah, I’m done.”

“Good.” Angelica chuckles. “Maybe some wine would have been good after all?”

“Like I said, I don’t have any.”

“Too bad.” Angelica shrugs her shoulders. “But uh, I gotta say, you sound just like my daughter.”

“Marie?” Glory smirks. “Is she throwing a fit after losing the Television Title?”

“Oh no, she knows how the Television Title works, she knows that rematches are not a thing for the Television Title, and she knows that in a triple threat match losing despite not being beaten was certainly a possibility. I was actually referring to Kim and how she reacted to losing the Underground Title to Owen Cruze back a couple years ago.”

“I remember that.” Glory nods her head. “She used her Trios Contract to fuck Cruze and the entire roster over.”

“Yes but even before that she blindsided Alexis Quinne, she blindsided Owen Cruze, all because she felt it was unfair that other people were getting Underground Title shots instead of her getting her rematch. She also didn’t like the fact that Owen didn’t have to defend the Underground Title at the following pay per view. And she had some pretty valid points. Cruze should have defended both his world and Underground Titles. Kim should have been considered for a rematch instead of being forced to use her Trios Contract.” Angelica points a finger at Glory. “I actually agree with much of what you had to say. Ravyn and Syren got preferential treatment and should never have been included in that triple threat. Dumont, Striker, the Cowgirls, they are doing the same thing you were doing, so if you were punished, they should be punished.”

“So if you agree with me then what’s the problem?” Glory demands. “Why the lecture?”

“It goes back to what I told Kim. You handled things the wrong way. Sometimes you have to trust the system, sometimes you have to trust that you will get what you deserve if you just follow the rules. Instead, you went and beat the hell out of everyone. Instead of trusting the system you and Britt went on a warpath. What goodwill you had, and you had a ton of goodwill, but all of that went down the drain. That’s why CHBK can get away with rewarding Dumont, Striker, and the Cowgirls instead of punishing them. And that’s why you and Britt are getting a mixed reaction from the fans now instead of the massive cheers you are used to receiving.” Angelica winks. “And do not tell me that doesn’t bother you because I know it does.”

The British Bombshell nods her head briefly before bowing it in shame. She would be lying if she tried to say it doesn’t bother her that she is receiving boos. And as much as she doesn’t want to admit it, Angelica is right. She brought this upon herself.

“You’re right, I didn’t handle it the right way. It’s just…” she shakes her head “...it’s just frustrating, it is frustrating to see certain people get rewarded for bad behavior but me and Britt, we get punished when we feel we were justified.” Glory chuckles. “And you know how I am, when something I perceive as wrong is going down, I do not always act within the boundaries of the rules to try and set things right.”

“I know. You have a strong moral compass and that’s one thing I always admired about you, but you cannot always play judge, jury, and executioner. Sometimes you have to trust the system. My uncle once said if you have a beef with someone, do not be petty and bully people around backstage. Setting it in the ring.” Angelica winks. Braddock grins from ear to ear. She recognizes that quote as that of Glenn Braddock, Glory’s late father, husband of Angelica’s aunt and Glory’s mother Maria Kurinsky.

“Yeah, my dad had some good lines.”

“Do you think your dad would want you acting like this?” Angelica asks. Glory shakes her head.

“No, he wouldn’t.” She sighs. “Quite honestly, he’d be bloody ashamed of my actions.”

“Then set it right.” Angelica places a hand on Glory’s shoulder. “And if you need any help setting it right, I will gladly go to bat for you. I did it for Kim and then I did it for Marie. I’ll do it for you too. Kim and Marie are kinda sorta friendly with Dumont and Striker, I can probably use that connection to at least try and talk them down. I can’t do much about the Cowgirls, though.”

“I appreciate the help, mate.” Glory says as she hugs Angelica. “Mainly I appreciate you talking some sense into me, because frankly, you’re right. This isn’t me. This isn’t who I want to be or how I want to be remembered. I will do whatever it takes to change that perception, and if it means my tag title shot gets delayed a little so that those blokes we’ve wronged can get the revenge they feel they deserve, so be it.”

“See? Now that right there is a good first step.” Angelica pats her on the back.

“Yes, but…” Glory sighs “...uh, I may need your help.”

“With what?”

“You said you’d talk them down? I know you can’t do much about the Cowgirls but can you at least talk down Dumont and Striker, even if just for Breakdown next week?”

“Sure but why is Breakdown so important?”

“Xander.” Glory says grimly. “That match is important to me, mate. I haven’t forgotten what he did in August of 2021. I haven’t forgotten how that match ended. I feel that the official called an end to that match too soon. The referee says it was for my health and well being. I never said anything about it because the referee’s decision is final. And maybe I wasn’t competing at my best that night?” She shakes her head. “Sorry, I’m rambling now. But my point is that I need this match to be clean. I cannot afford outside interference to screw this up because this has been almost three years in the making for me. This is my chance to redeem myself for what, in my opinion, was my most humiliating loss.” Braddock’s face turns into one of determination. “I will do everything I can to defeat him, cleanly beat him. But what I do not want is for this match to be tarnished by outside interference. Even if I lose I want Xander to know that I gave him the fight of his career and if I happen to win, I do not want there to be any excuses.”

Angelica Jones is just as fierce a competitor as Glory Braddock. In her storied career, Angelica has had her fair share of opponents that were important to her, important that she defeat, important that she put forth her very best effort. Defeating Xander Valentine, or at least pushing him to his limits, that is important to Glory and Angelica understands. She nods her head.

“I will do what I can, Glory. You have my word.”

“Thanks, mate.” Glory embraces Angelica in a tight hug. “And thanks again for talking me down, thanks for talking some sense into me.”