Glory Braddock vs. Brilliant Sun Princess YUSA

[Braddock]

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August 18th, 2024
Orlando, Florida
Off Camera
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It has been nearly one month since Rise To Greatness, one month since Glory Braddock and Brittany Lohan failed to recapture the SCW World Tag Team Championship. Instead, it was Light in the Darkness who walked away with the coveted gold. The British Bombshell is no stranger to defeat. She is a veteran of the sport who has had her fair share of highs and lows in the business and losing to a team as talented as Amelia and Luz is nothing to hang her head in shame about. What truly bothers Braddock is how she felt this was it, this was her and Lohan’s one final chance to recapture the tag team titles. They put all of their eggs into this one basket, this one shot to retake the top spot in the tag team division, and they failed. Now Glory Braddock is left without a clue as to what comes next. She doesn’t know what direction she goes from here and that is a strange, unusual situation for The British Bombshell. Braddock has always been the type of person who always knew what she wanted and how she wanted to achieve it. It wasn’t long ago that Glory knew she wanted to become a Supreme Champion and she set out to achieve it, first winning the Television Title and then winning the tag team titles to complete the necessary set. But now she doesn’t quite know where to go from here. She easily could continue this path with Brittany Lohan and try to earn another shot at the SCW World Tag Team Titles. Then again, there is a part of Braddock who longs to seek out and recapture singles success. There is a new SCW World Champion, Josh Hudson, someone whom Braddock has a history with, someone who Glory has beaten before and knows she can beat again. She could return to the singles ranks and climb back up to the top and become World Champion again. There are many options, many questions, and Braddock is not sure where she should go from here. She is not sure what path she should take following the defeat of Twisted & Sadistic at Rise To Greatness.

Braddock ordinarily would talk it out with Brittany herself. However she is certain Lohan would just go along with whatever Glory suggested. After all, Brittany only returned to help Braddock become tag team champion and thus achieve the Supreme Championship status in the first place. The British Bombshell feels that she needs someone who will tell her the harsh truth of the situation and give her cold yet valuable advice on how to proceed following her disappointing performance at Rise To Greatness. Glory knows of one person who would provide such cold yet valuable advice and that person is Aphrodite Noel. Braddock also knows that Lohan would not approve of her seeking out Noel’s advice, which is why she has chosen not to tell her tag team partner about her trip to Orlando on this bright and sunny afternoon to visit with the eccentric Aphrodite Noel.

Currently Braddock is confidently walking up the driveway of Noel’s modern home in Orlando, Florida. She’s wearing a stylish pink dress, the color of soft rose petals, which hugs her figure gracefully. The dress features a sweetheart neckline, with delicate spaghetti straps that rest gently on her shoulders. The fabric of the dress is slightly shimmering, adding a touch of elegance to her appearance. The hem of the dress falls just above her knees, revealing a pair of semi-opaque stockings that are a shade lighter than her dress, adding a layer of sophistication and femininity to her look. Her blonde hair cascades in soft waves down to past the shoulders. Her legs are slender and toned, accentuated by a pair of sleek, pointed-toe heels that match the color of her dress perfectly. Glory’s heels clicking softly against the smooth pavement of the driveway as she approaches the house. Braddock approaches the front door and then rings the doorbell, signaling her arrival. Braddock steps back and waits for an answer. The wait is not very long. She quickly hears the door locks unlatching. The door then opens and she spots the woman she has long since viewed as a mentor and mother figure, Aphrodite Noel, standing there wearing khaki dress pants, simple black flats, and a black silk blouse. A wide grin forms Noel’s face the moment she lays eyes on Glory Braddock.

“Gloria! You came!” She motions Glory in for a hug. Glory does not hesitate. She steps forward and embraces her in a tight hug.

“Of course I came.” Glory says. “I told you I would be stopping by for a visit, didn’t I?”

“Yes, yes you did.” She nods her head. “But still it’s just…” Aphrodite pauses, as if she was rethinking her next words. She then shakes her head. “...it doesn’t matter. You are here with me now and that is all that matters.” Aphrodite steps back a little to take appraisal of Glory. She seems to glow with praise. “You look gorgeous, my child! Absolutely gorgeous!”

“Thank you.” Glory is slightly unsettled by Aphrodite’s overwhelming praise of her. She senses a bit of manipulation but shrugs it off as just her imagination.

“Is that the dress I bought you two years ago?” Aphrodite asks. Glory smiles warmly and nods her head.

“Yes, it is. I know how much it meant to you.”

“It does.” Aphrodite says. “But you, you mean so much to me as well, Gloria.”

Glory Braddock senses that something is amiss, something is a bit off here, but she just shrugs it off. She knows Aphrodite has always been a little eccentric anyway. Still, her knowledge has been valuable and helpful in the past. Hopefully her knowledge and advice will help her again this time as she needs guidance on where to go from here following Rise To Greatness. Noel motions for Glory to follow her inside. Braddock nods her head and steps across the threshold, shutting the door behind her and following Aphrodite further, deeper into the home.

“I heard you were coming so I went and bought a bottle of your favorite wine!” Aphrodite gushes. “Cabernet Sauvignon!”

“Nice try but my favorite is Pinot Noir.”

“Oh come off it, Gloria.” Noel shakes her head. “You love a good bottle of cabernet.”

Braddock rolls her eyes but voices no dissent. She just follows Aphrodite down the hall and into an opulent, luxurious living room area. Aphrodite motions to the plush, cream colored sofa. “Sit, Gloria. I will go fetch the wine.” Glory nods her head. She walks over and sits down on the sofa. As she waits on Aphrodite to return the weight of her decision still weighs heavily on her mind. She certainly would hate to just give up on the tag team division just because she and Brittany failed at Rise To Greatness but she also recognizes that there are more goals, more achievements, and more challenges to be had elsewhere in SCW. She wants to be in the thick of things, especially as the competitiveness of SCW really heats up.

“And here you are…” Glory turns to see Aphrodite returning to the living room. She has two glasses of wine, one in each hand. She hands one to Glory before sitting down on the sofa next to her. Aphrodite holds up her glass. “...a toast, to us, to our bond. May it never be severed.”

“Cheers.” Glory clinks her glass against Aphrodite’s. The two women take sips from their wine. Braddock does prefer a pinot noir but still, she has to admit that this cabernet is quite good.

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit from my daughter?” Aphrodite puts emphasis on that last word, a reminder of the kind of relationship Braddock agreed to years ago. Braddock sighs as she sets her wine glass down.

“Maybe I just wanted to visit you?”

“Yes, perhaps.” Aphrodite smirks. “But not you, typically you need something. And especially now, what with your friendship with Brittany Lohan.”

“Brittany means well.” Glory insists. “And she has been a big help. Had it not been for her I might not have become Supreme Champion.”

“Lohan is good for one thing and one thing only, Gloria; hired muscle. She can be your muscle, watch your back, that’s fine. But that’s all she is good for. But guiding you through the rough waters of SCW?” Aphrodite shakes her head. “Not a good influence.”

“You never did like her.” Glory states with a sigh of frustration. “I tried so hard to make it work between the two of you but you never could get along with her.”

“I tried.” Aphrodite insists. “Believe me, I bent over backward to make it work out. Lohan was the stubborn one who refused to listen. Like I said, she is a bad influence. If you want my opinion, and I assume you do since you are here, I would suggest that you spend more time with your sister.”

“Julia?” Glory grins. Aphrodite nods her head.

“Of course. Julia is a wonderful influence on you.”

“You only say that because the two of you are like two peas in the pod. You think alike.” Glory points out as she sips more of her wine.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Aphrodite asks. “I mean, you clearly are not as trusting of me as you used to be. Why else would you have abandoned me in favor of that barbarian Lohan?”

“That’s not fair.” Glory says. “I do trust you, I really do. It’s just that you and Britt never could get along and I had to make a choice.”

“And you chose her.” Aphrodite points out. “But I understand. You had to prepare for Rise To Greatness. You couldn’t risk Brittany leaving you high and dry.” Aphrodite pauses for a moment as she sips her wine. She sighs. “How did Rise To Greatness go, by the way?”

Glory Braddock sighs and shakes her head. She knows damn well that Aphrodite watched Rise To Greatness and knows exactly how it turned out for herself and Brittany Lohan. She knows about Twisted & Sadistic’s failure. She just wants to hear it from Glory’s own mouth. Glory sips her wine again before setting it back down.

“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh really?” Aphrodite’s interest peaked. Glory nods her head.

“Britt and I lost at Rise To Greatness.” She said it. She knew Aphrodite herself already knew this but she said it anyway. Aphrodite wanted to hear it. “We lost, Light in the Darkness won, and we are not the tag champs. For all intents and purposes we are going to the back of the line, if we decide to continue our pursuit of the tag titles.”

“IF you continue to pursue the tag titles?”

“See, that’s the thing, I’m not sure what comes next.” Glory shrugs her shoulders. “Part of me doesn’t want to give up on the tag titles so easily. Britt and I had a great run as champions that was cut short thanks to some bullshit from Ravyn and Syren. I know that if we were given one more fair shot, we could rule that division. But…” her voice trails off for a moment, she shrugs her shoulders “...but it will take awhile to earn that shot again. So I am thinking about exploring my options. You know?”

“I know.” Aphrodite nods her head. Her grin seems to be one of triumph. “I know precisely what you mean. This is something I have been longing to tell you but, out of respect for your privacy and your wishes, I chose to stay out of your SCW business. But now that I find you here in my living room with so much doubt and fog surrounding your future in that company, perhaps it is time that I told you exactly what I feel.”

“By all means.” Glory says. “I’m all ears.”

“It may sound harsh, but believe me when I say that I do have your best interests at heart.”

“Just tell me already.” Glory says, growing a little frustrated. Aphrodite smirks and nods her head.

“Very well. I think you should end this Twisted & Sadistic experiment in SCW. Or at least put it on hiatus temporarily.”

“End Twisted & Sadistic? Abandon the tag team division?” Glory asks.

“Yes, of course. After all, you deserve so much better than sharing the spotlight with someone else in the tag team division. Think back to your time as Television Champion, United States Champion, and Adrenaline Champion. Or better yet, think back to your run as SCW World Champion.” Aphrodite’s mention of the world title victory is a bittersweet reminder of her past. It was something she had longed for, fought so hard to achieve, but it ended so abruptly. Noel can see the pain on Glory’s face and immediately nods her head. “Yes, you deserved a proper title reign. But you never got one. Your World Title reign ended after a few minutes because of that ridiculous gauntlet match. Don’t you want to make that right?”

“Of course I do.” Glory shakes her head. “But we have a new champion and there are already others lined up for an opportunity. I would have to fight my way back into the number one contender spot.”

“Then you need to start.” Aphrodite says firmly. “The longer you wait, the longer you delay by keeping yourself in the tag team division, the longer it will be before you taste any singles gold again, regardless of which piece of singles gold it is.” Aphrodite places a hand on Glory’s shoulder. “You deserve better, Gloria.”

“You are wrong about that.” Glory shakes her head. “No one deserves or is entitled to anything. You are supposed to earn your place in this business.” Braddock sighs. “However…” her voice trails off.

“Yes?”

“...however, I do think it is time that I get back into the singles ranks. I achieved what I set out to do. I became a Supreme Champion. I completed that challenge. Now I am need of a new challenge. Maybe that challenge is to win some singles gold? Or maybe that challenge is something else entirely? But whatever that new challenge is, I do not think I will find it in the tag team division.”

“That is a wise decision, Gloria.” Aphrodite says as she pats Glory on the back.

“I suppose I will need to tell Britt very soon that our tag team run is over.” Glory sighs. “And that means you get what you wanted.”

“I take no satisfaction in any of this, Gloria, believe me.” Aphrodite insists. Glory isn’t sure she believes her but doesn’t say anything. She just continues to listen. “Just believe me when I say that I only want what is best for you and this is truly what is best for you right now.”

“Yes, you are probably right. I need to move forward, I need to find new challenges.” Glory nods her head. “I have no idea what this means for Britt though.”

“Lohan will find something to do.” Aphrodite says nonchalantly. “People like her always land on their feet. But as for you, there is one more thing I would suggest that you do.”

“What’s that?”

“You have spent a long time with Brittany and, like I said, she was a bad influence on you. Too many of her bad habits rubbed off on you.” Aphrodite shakes her head. “If you want my advice, you should immediately go catch a flight to London and spend some quality time with your sister.”

“Yes, you said something about her being a better influence than Britt.” Glory chuckles. “But I didn’t think you were serious.”

“I am very serious.” Aphrodite says in a firm, stern tone. “You two have grown a bit more distant lately. That is not good, not good at all. And your time apart has not served to help either one of you. You two are better off together, united, than divided. Understand?”

“Yes…I understand.” Glory nods her head. She had no idea how serious and how important this was to Aphrodite.

“Good. Then promise me you will do as I say.”

“Yes, I will.” Glory says. “I’ll go visit Julia.”

It has indeed been a long time since Braddock spent significant time with her younger sister Julia. The more she thinks about it, the more the words of Aphrodite seem to make sense. She and Julia are better off as a united front. When they are apart, when they do not have each other to support, they tend to take the wrong path and make bad decisions. Glory has definitely made some mistakes, mistakes that led to her and Britt wrecking the tag team division in a fit to try and get another title shot. And yet still they failed to capitalize. The British Bombshell now has a chance to make things better in the singles division. But what of Julia? How has Julia been doing? Glory can honestly say she has no idea. Perhaps it is time to check in on her younger sister? And perhaps it is time for Glory Braddock to put Twisted & Sadistic on hiatus so that can renew her pursuit of singles accolades?