Konrad Raab vs. Marie Jones

[The Matt]

2 of 2
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July 1st, 2024
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Marie Jones walked briskly through Boston Common, it is a city park she knows all too well, a place she has visited many times. She still often comes here for peace and tranquility and for calm. Yet today she fears that there will be no peace, tranquility, or calm. Jones is about to confront one of her most troubling nightmares of her past head on. She is about to confront a past memory that she had hoped would stay long gone but, unfortunately, it has risen its ugly head. Marie Jones is about to once again confront her ex-girlfriend, Julianne Buchanan. She and Julianne have had quite the storied past. After Marie’s fiance, Arthur Pond, committed suicide, it was Julianne who offered her comfort. Julianne offered her friendship. Julianne also introduced her to the Inner Peace Enlightenment Retreat which quickly grew into a cult. And Marie and Julianne’s bond in Inner Peace became a strong romance. They loved each other, or at least Marie thought they loved each other. Marie was so convinced that their love was true that she was willing to do anything Julianne had asked. And the young blonde took full advantage of Marie’s devotion. Julianne tried to get Marie to become totally devoted to her and Inner Peace, even at the expense of losing her own family and her own identity. She nearly succeeded. But Inner Peace fell apart under police investigation. Its leader, Raul Alfaro, as well as Julianne herself became in trouble with the law due to their manipulation and deceit. As for Marie herself, she had repaired the broken relationship with her family. She also found another romantic interest; Percy Matthews, an ex-convict trying to turn his life around. Marie would much rather just be with him, focus on her wrestling career, and just forget about Julianne Buchanan. But she learned from Brandon Buchanan, Julianne’s older brother, that she was in trouble and needed Marie’s help.

Jones would just assume let Julianne rot than help her, especially after everything that went on between them, especially after the lies and the manipulation and the deceit from Inner Peace. And Marie would have just Julianne flounder were it not for Percy. Marie’s ex-con boyfriend knows that there is a chance Julianne might legitimately be trying to turn over a new leaf, that she might really need help. Marie would not be here today walking in the Boston Common city park were it not for Percy talking her into reaching out to Julianne to set up a meeting. Percy thinks that Marie should at least hear her out, at least listen to what she has to say. But Marie will do so with her guard up. She has been fooled three times by Julianne already. She will not allow herself to be fooled again.

On this bright sunny afternoon Marie’s red hair gleaming in the summer sun, is tied back in a simple ponytail. She wore a modest yet elegant knee-length dress in a soft pink coloration, with short sleeves and a high neckline, paired with comfortable flats. Her expression was tense, betraying the unease she felt as she approached the park bench where she was told to meet with her old flame. Marie stops in her tracks as she looks ahead at the bench; there she is, Julianne Buchanan. Julianne was dressed in a casual but chic ensemble; a light, sleeveless blouse tucked into tailored shorts, and stylish sandals. She sat with an envelope in her lap, though her eyes were fixed on the approaching figure of Marie. The air between them seemed charged with the history between them, the tension palpable even in the warm, serene atmosphere of the park. As Marie drew closer, Julianne's posture stiffened, her fingers gripping the envelope a little tighter. Marie took a deep breath, steeling herself for the conversation that was about to unfold.

“Julainne.”

“Marie.” There is an awkward silence as neither moves, neither says anything. Finally Julianne moves over just a little to allow Marie room on the bench to sit down. “You can sit down, Marie. I promise I won’t bite.”

“I’m not sure I believe you.”

“Oh for God’s sake, Annabelle!”

“You lost the right to call me that.” Marie says sharply. Julianne sighs and nods her head.

“Look, I’m sorry…” again she motions to the spot on the bench next to her “...but please, just sit down. This might take awhile and, really, it would be easier on you.”

“Fine.” Marie reluctantly gives in and sits down on the bench, sits next to Julianne. She glares deep into the blonde’s eyes. “But remember that this is a public park with lots of people. If that wasn’t enough of a threat, my new boyfriend and my sister Kim are nearby watching just in case you try anything funny.”

“Seriously?” Julianne laughs a little. “You brought back up? You trust me that little?”

“What have you done lately to earn my trust?”

“That’s a fair point.” She nods her head. “But, sweetie, be honest, I never physically hurt you. I never physically forced you to do anything. You willingly joined Inner Peace. We both did. I own up to hurting you emotionally, mentally, but I never hurt you physically and I do not plan to start now.”

“Right…” there is still a hint of skepticism in Marie’s voice. She finds it difficult to believe anything her ex-lover says. After all, she manipulated her three times now. Julianne rolls her eyes out of frustration.

“Do you really think I would try to hurt you IN ANY WAY right now when my very life is at stake?” She asks. “I am about to go on trial for the part I played with Inner Peace. Why would I risk everything to hurt you?”

“Fair point…” Marie shakes her head “...but still, I don’t know anymore. I don’t know who you are anymore.”

“I suppose that’s true. I suppose I have that coming.” Julianne nods her head. “I lost your trust a long time ago.”

“Yes, yes you did.” Jones holds up three fingers. “Three times, Julianne! Three times you deceived me! Three times you tricked me into going with you into Inner Peace! I knew something was off about it all along but you played on my emotions, you played on my heart.” She sighs and shakes her head. “It will take a lot to earn my trust back.”

“I know.” Julianne says quietly. There is another long, awkward pause as the two women exchange glances at one another. Finally it is Marie who decides to speak.

“Get on with it.” She says. “What do you want? What do you have to say?”

“You know what I want, Marie; what I need. I need your help.”

“Yes, you want me to help you with the district attorney. But why should I?”

“Because I see the truth now.” Julianne insists. “Raul has been playing me for a fool this entire time. I see that now. I see how evil he is and I need your help.”

“I’ve heard this one before.” Marie rolls her eyes. “You told me once before that you had seen the evil man Raul really was, only I found out much later that you were secretly working with him behind the scenes, trying to help his legal woes, trying to lure me back into the fold.” Marie’s voice grows louder. “Why should I believe you now? What’s different this time, Julianne?”

“Yes, I was helping Raul. But then he…” tears form in her eyes, it is obvious that Julianne is emotionally hurt as well by all of this “...he threw me under the bus. He and his attorneys have been trying to pin all of Inner Peace and its crimes on me. He’s trying to play it off like I was the brains of the operation.”

“That’s bullshit.” Marie states. “Even I know that. We were his victims. We were his dolls, his sex objects. That’s all we were to him.” Jones look at Julianne and the tears flowing down her cheek. For the first time Marie feels some pity for the blonde. “The fact that you tried to restart Inner Peace on your own doesn’t exactly help your case, I imagine.”

“That’s why the district attorney isn’t buying my insanity plea. But it’s true! Raul had me convinced! Raul is the one who wanted me to rebuild Inner Peace! It was all him! I was under Raul’s spell, brainwashed into believing everything he said! Doesn’t that fall under the definition of insane?!”

Marie pats Julianne on the back to comfort her. She knows that everything Julianne says is true. Raul was the mastermind and he was a real con artist. He had Marie, Julianne, and many other girls seduced and brainwashed. Jones is convinced now; Julianne’s insanity plea is justified.

“Yeah…”

“You know it, don’t you? You know it because you were a victim like me. You were brainwashed to obey him like I was. That’s why I need you. You are the only one who can convince the district attorney that what I’m saying is true!”

“You’re right. Raul did mastermind everything. He had all of us brainwashed.” She sighs and shakes her head. “But how do I know you are sincere, Julianne? How do I know this isn’t just a ploy to get out of serious prison time?”

“Seriously?” Julianne asks with disbelief.

“You have betrayed me one too many times. I’m not sure I can believe you anymore.”

“Look…” the blonde shakes her head “...there is no way that I can prove my sincerity to you. But I do have something I can give you, a token of goodwill.” She hands Marie the envelope she had been holding in her hands this entire time. Marie carefully opens it up and takes out the documents inside. There Marie finds a signed deed, the deed to Julianne’s massive property in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was her and Julianne’s secret getaway. Their little love nest. Marie is absolutely stunned to see this. She looks up at Julianne with wide eyed shock.

“Julianne…this…” she shakes her head “...I can’t take this.”

“Yes you can.” Julianne nods her head.

“But it’s your home.”

“Not anymore.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Regardless of whether you help me or not, regardless of whether the district attorney believes me or not, regardless of the outcome of my trial, I won’t be using that property for a very long time. If my insanity plea is successful, I will be staying time in a mental hospital for a long time. If the district attorney doesn’t buy me insanity plea, well, they have me dead to rights and I’ll be spending a long time in prison.”

“But…what will you do after?”

“Oh right.” Julianne chuckles. “I need to get away. For my own good I need to get away from this place. There’s just too many bad memories. Y’know?”

“Yeah…I know…” Marie knows all too well about bad memories and how they can haunt someone.

“So yeah, when I get out…from the mental hospital or prison, wherever I end up…I plan to leave for California. I want to rebuild my life from scratch. I want to start over.” Tears start to fall down her cheek again. “I’m sorry, Marie. I’m sorry for everything.”

“It’s ok, Julianne.” Marie takes her hands and squeezes them tightly. “I don’t know how much good I will be, but I will talk to the district attorney. I will testify on your behalf.”

“Thank you, Marie.” Julianne says, the tears now are tears of joy. She feels a great weight lift off her shoulders and a sense of relief wash over her. “You know, I really did love you. I may have treated you badly but I did love you.”

“Yeah. I loved you too, Julianne.”

“So…” Julianne smiles “...a new boyfriend, eh?”

“His name is Percy.” Marie chuckles. “He likes to be called Death’s Head.”

“Death’s Head?!”

“He’s a biker and an ex-con.” Marie shrugs her shoulders. “What do you expect?”

“Look at you.” Julianne winks. “Always falling for the bad boys…and girls…”

“Maybe you can meet him sometime.” Marie stands up and winks at Julianne. “You probably do owe him a big thank you.”

“Why’s that?”

“He’s the one who convinced me to speak to you. Also coincidentally he decided not to break your brother in half.”

“Right.” Julianne chuckles. “Yeah, tell him I said thanks.”

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On Camera
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Well, Phoenix Fans, I told you that I’d be back and here I am! I still have plenty to say about this upcoming one night single elimination tournament on Breakdown and I’m kick things off with a brief discussion about worthiness…about deserving or earning opportunities…because that’s been a big theme in Supreme Championship Wrestling lately. Am I right? You have a certain arrogant Snow Queen declaring who is and who isn’t worthy of sharing a ring with her, as if someone died and made her queen of the world. Then on the flip side, you have a tag team division that prides itself on earning opportunities, on truly proving themselves worthy of an opportunity at gold. And now CHBK has decided that the best way to determine who is worthy and deserving of stepping into the ring at Rise To Greatness to challenge for the Adrenaline Championship is to hold a tournament. And not just any tournament but a tournament that is held all in one night. Those kinds of tournaments are the most challenging because you have very little time to rest. The person who advances to Rise To Greatness will have to wrestle and win three times in one night.

It’s quite a tall order but not something I have never achieved. Several years ago, in another promotion, I won a thirty two person tournament. I wrestled and won five times in one night to win my first ever World Championship. But that seems like a lifetime ago, especially when you look at the high I was on then and the low I am at now. From failing to capture the Adrenaline Title at Taking Hold of the Flame, to losing to Autumn Valentine, and most recently losing to a certain Magical Cosmic Princess, one might question whether I even belong among the field of eight. Hell, I have asked myself that question a few times since the tournament was announced.

But you know what, Phoenix Fans? This business is never one that dwells on the past. Sure, the past is important, as is the future, but dwelling too much on the past or looking ahead into what’s to come both can come back and bite you in the ass. In this business what matters most is the here and the now. What is most important is the present. You cannot control what happened in the past and you have very little control over the future. Damn it, you have a lot of control over the present. You can turn your career around pretty damn quickly in the here and the now.

That’s exactly what I intend to do on Breakdown.

In one night I will turn my fortunes around. Konrad will bring his worst, he will bring his violence and his hatred, and I will still put him down. I will advance and win again and again and I will punch my ticket to Rise To Greatness. Three matches in one night, that is what is asked of me. Three matches, one against Konrad Raab, and then who knows what the future holds? The field is packed with talent.

Fall St. Valentine Patrick…whatever her name is these days…

Gavin Taylor…I beat his ass once, I will beat it again…

David Striker…I respect the hell out of you, it would be my pleasure to do this dance again…

Chris Lawler…a legend in SCW, it would be an honor to share the ring with him…

Ravyn Taylor…she can go to hell…

YUYO…I would like to get that win back, I would love to have a rematch there…

But all of that is just a bunch of “WHAT IF’s”...to win this tournament I must approach this just like the wrestling business itself; I cannot dwell on the past and I cannot look ahead to who my potential future opponents are. I have to take this one match at a time. That means Raab is up first. I will whether his violent storm. I will do what it takes to take him down. Then whoever is up next, they’ll be the next to go down, until I make the finals, where I prove once and for that this Phoenix is still on the rise, that there is a hell of a lot of fight still left in me! Because I am going to win three matches in one night! I am going to prove myself worthy, I am going to earn that rematch at the Adrenaline Championship! I am going to prove that I deserve a prime spot at Rise To Greatness!

Watch me fly…