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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2019 4:04:21 GMT -6
September 25, 2019
Victoria Salinas finds herself in a 24/7 diner in Las Vegas about an hour after Millennium came to an end. She’s not distraught in any way, but she’s clearly annoyed and obviously unhappy considering how her match on this night turned out to be. That familiar anger boils through her. This was clearly not what she wanted for her Millennium debut after she was recently drafted there. She’s barely even touching her late night meal as she reflects on some things. Inside, she’s feeling a familiar pain. Of course, knowing that she’s in Vegas doesn’t help matters for her either.
Victoria: I hate being here…
Voice: Come on, it’s Vegas! What’s so bad about it?
Victoria is taken aback by the sudden presence by Dr. Montgomery, her therapist. He sits down across from her as she takes this all in.
Dr. Montgomery: So you lost that match to Duke Andrews. He cheated for that to happen. It says far more about his insecurities than it does about you as a professional wrestler.
Victoria: That’s not why I hate being here… although that doesn’t help. The last time I was here, I was crying myself to sleep because I realized I married the wrong man. I may be over… you know… “him”... but I’d still rather forget that the whole experience happened. Winning tonight would have REALLY helped, I tell you. God, I hate losing matches like that.
Dr. Montgomery: You hate losing in general, Ms. Perfectionist.
Victoria: Who wouldn’t when this business is your entire life?
Dr. Montgomery: I get that, but allow me to explain. You’ve always taken losses very hard. That’s you. I respect that. You’ve made tons of progress over the last few months rebuilding yourself and rebuilding your confidence. What I am saying is… don’t let this ONE thing reverse all of that progress. You’re too strong for that.
Victoria: You’re right. I might have overestimated how good things were…
Dr. Montgomery: So one small setback and things aren’t so good anymore?
Victoria swallows her pride knowing she was caught in her own pity.
Dr. Montgomery: Take yourself back to the first loss you ever had on the mainstream… when you became a worldwide competitor. You might learn something.
Dr. Montgomery gets up and leaves at that point with Victoria not feeling much better. The loss to Duke is still stinging some as she closes her eyes and her mind starts going back in time.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Voice: Vicky, wake up. HELLO? Earth to VICKY! WAKE UP!
Flashback: January 11, 2010
21-year-old rookie Victoria Salinas wakes up inside of a bus that’s at the entrance to the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She’s a bit annoyed to see Trinity Williams, her old academy rival, standing above her.
Trinity: Wow! About time! The biggest match of your life so far and you’re in snooze mode!
Victoria: Why did PRW hire you to be my travelling companion again?
Trinity: Hey! That’s just part of the package, alright? I’m trying to intern for a MEDIA JOB here? Whatever. You know it should be ME wrestling Luciana Verdoza tonight and not you.
Victoria: Let it go…
Victoria stands up from her seat on the bus. Trinity stays in her way which just angers her.
Victoria: Get out of my way!
Trinity: WOW! You have ATTITUDE! I’m impressed! You should be thankful for me. I’m in your way because… you almost forgot that…
Trinity points behind Victoria and the shy rookie looks behind her to see the PRW Hardcore Championship lying on the armrest. Victoria picks up the title and slings it over her shoulder.
Trinity: I don’t get you. You have the charisma of a cardboard box and you’re somehow 7-0 with a championship to your name. You’re solid… for the “shy girl from Montana”... but you’ll never be a star in this business “kid”.
Trinity turns and walks away from Victoria, leaving the bus and leaving her annoyed and discouraged. Hearing those words causes a temptation for her to cry, but she shakes her head, resisting.
Victoria: She’s not worth it. You’ve got a match against one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world and you CAN’T screw this up! You’ve got SO much on the line!
With that, Victoria walks off the bus doing everything she can to focus on her match with Luciana Verdoza.
One hour later…
Victoria: Alright… this is going to be awkward for me… Luciana… big star and all… I need to thank her for saving me from that 3 on 2 beating last week…
Victoria looks worried as she walks down the hallway showing both her lack of confidence in herself at the time along with the social anxiety that was very much prevalent.
Victoria: ... but she’s SUCH a big star. Does she even have TIME to talk to someone as low as me? Considering I’m facing her tonight, she probably wants to kill me more than talk to me. How does someone like her do it though? She’s got SO much confidence… confidence that I wish I had. She’s pretty, she’s popular, the crowd goes crazy for her… unlike me… the crowd gives me golf claps, I’m considered “awkward” by the locker room and I’m damn sure NOT pretty at all…
Victoria sighs as she gets to the door of Luciana’s locker room.
Victoria: Here goes nothing…
She takes a deep breath and is about to walk in, but she notices that Luciana Verdoza, her opponent for the night, is talking with her publicist, a woman that she’d become very close friends with over time.
Luciana: Allison, what is your problem tonight?
Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, Victoria hides behind the wall and peaks at the conversation.
Allison: Luciana, I don’t understand WHY you would want to help the girl last week when you KNOW you’re facing her tonight.
Luciana: Because it’s the right thing to do, Allison.
Allison: Fair! I suppose easily beating her and routing her out of the building tonight will be your way of saying “you’re welcome”
Luciana: Allison…
Allison: Look, I’m just saying… who even IS Victoria Salinas anyway? Some little girl out of the backwoods of Montana who got REALLY lucky last week and aside from our IC champion, hasn’t beaten any REAL competition? Someone who won her Hardcore title from one of the worst champions pro wrestling has seen? She’s nowhere NEAR your league, Luciana. You’re a gender-barrier breaker, a former world champion, someone who once won 30 matches in a row… THIRTY MATCHES IN A ROW… you’re a SUPERSTAR. And who’s she?
Tears well up in Victoria’s eyes hearing Allison put her down the way she did, ironic considering the friendship that would eventually develop between them as the years went by.
Victoria (thinking): I’ll prove HER wrong by beating her precious little Californian blonde bitch QUEEN BEE! UGH!
With tears streaming down her face, she bolts from the scene without hearing Luciana’s response.
Luciana: A solid wrestler, that’s what. I’d be a fool to underestimate the girl. You may think she’s nobody… but there’s something about her… I can’t put a finger on it. I suppose when I wrestle her, I’ll find out.
Victoria: I’m NOT going to lose to her! HELL NO! I’m going to beat the shit out of her and shut her pretentious ass kisser the fuck up!
Victoria (reflecting): I remember how bad I wanted to prove her wrong… how personal I took those words that I had heard. When I stepped in the ring with her, I was determined to show the world exactly who Victoria Salinas was. I fought our match that night with my spirit filled with anger and hate. To my own credit, I fought the best match I ever did up to that point. I know that many people were shocked that I was holding my own against a woman that was considered one of the best in the world. And yet…
...she still beat me.
My undefeated mainstream record was gone. For the first time on the global circuit, I had a loss on my record.
And it was devastating…
After the show...
After suffering her first loss despite everything she gave against one of the biggest women’s wrestling stars in the world at the time, Victoria is slumped in the corner, borderline bawling. Her eyes have become red, tears flowing like a waterfall and never stopping no matter how much she tried to wipe them away.
Victoria: I’m not cut out for this… maybe I should just… I don’t know… go home? I don’t think there’s really anyone here that likes me. If my best isn’t good enough… then maybe I never will be…
She closes her eyes, soaking in the misery.
Voice: Didn’t your trainers tell you that there’s no crying in wrestling?
Victoria opens her eyes, surprised to see Luciana Verdoza kneeling in front of her.
Victoria: What? Are you here to run up the score? You beat me. You took my undefeated streak. What else do you want? Why am I even talking to you? I’m not even worthy of talking to such a big star like you… let alone worthy of wrestling you?
Luciana: Are you the kind of person that always assumes the worst and has a tendency to put herself down?
Victoria nods.
Luciana: Stop it.
Victoria: Huh?
Luciana: Listen sweetheart, it’s a miracle you’ve come this far in professional wrestling with that type of attitude. I won’t sugar coat that. So you suffer your first loss and you’re going to cry and act like it’s the end of the world? Buck up, learn from it. You frightened the hell out of me out there. You had ME doubting I was going to beat you… ME. You pushed me in a way that I didn’t expect. You’ve got so much potential in you. Here…
Luciana removes the sweater she was wearing and uses one of the sleeves to wipe Victoria’s eyes dry.
Luciana: No more crying, okay? You’re just what I thought you were… a girl living her dreams who doesn’t realize how strong she really is…
Victoria: But… Allison… I heard what she said about me…
Luciana: You didn’t beat me… but you shut her the hell up, I’ll tell you that. I can teach you your strength and help you realize your potential in ways you could never imagine…
Victoria: ...WHAT?
Luciana: I’m offering you the opportunity to stand by my side and together we can fight the critics, defeat the doubters and make this company better! I want to show you what the true power of confidence can do for your dreams. If you’re willing to learn… if you’re willing to allow me to take you under my wing… then you will become a true star in this business. So what do you say?
Victoria nods almost instantly.
Victoria: Oh my god… yes! Of course…
Luciana: Wise choice…
Luciana stands up, helping Victoria up to her feet as well. She wraps an arm around her, giving her more reassurance.
Luciana: Sit back and enjoy the ride, young lady. Because I’m about to make you a star…
Victoria’s eyes light up as her inner confidence grows some.
Luciana: ...not TOO big of a star though…
Victoria: Huh?
Luciana: I’m doing this to help you for the betterment of this business, not to mentor my successor as the golden girl of this company. After all…
Luciana gives a confident scoff.
Luciana: I don’t want you being BETTER than me, you know? Just kidding!
Victoria rolls her eyes.
Luciana: Let’s go shopping tomorrow…
They both begin to leave the locker room.
Luciana: I think some “wardrobe diversification” is in order. Lesson #1… to be a star, you’ve got to LOOK like a star…
______________________________________________________________________________
September 25, 2019
Victoria stares at the empty plate she just finished as she reflected on her first loss on the mainstream scene.
Victoria: Everything turned out okay then…
She sighs with a reflective tone.
Victoria: ...even if I was in an uphill battle at the time.
Victoria stands up and walks to the front to pay for her meal. She leaves the diner and takes a deep breath as she finds her fiance Gavin waiting by the door. Victoria gives him a warm smile as the two embrace.
Gavin: Is everything okay?
Victoria: Yeah…
Gavin: I had to make sure… you know… with what happened. I wanted to go in there with you but I felt like it was better for you if I left you alone.
Victoria: It’s okay. Yeah, losing sucks for me but… what I remember now?
She takes another deep breath.
Victoria: It’s that vainglorious wasn’t about treating losses like it’s the end of the world. Vainglorious was ALWAYS about having the confidence to bounce back from them, no matter how they happened.
Voice: Huh… it’s a welcome sight to see that you’re NOT crying after a loss…
Victoria is in for one more surprise as she looks away from Gavin to see a woman all too familiar to her, long blonde hair, the vibe of a vain ego she remembers all too well and a face that she thought she would never see again.
Victoria: ...Luciana…
Luciana: It’s nice to see you again, Victoria. I’m so happy to see that everything I taught you hasn’t gone to waste. You still have my number. Call me! We can catch up… or you can still ignore me and act like I don’t exist for the last couple of years. Your choice!
Luciana turns and walks away from a stunned Victoria who has no idea how to process what just happened.
Gavin: We’re not inviting her to our wedding, are we?
Victoria: Did I tell you how much I HATE being in Vegas?
Gavin: Forget her, okay? She may have been your mentor… but everything you are… you had it in you the whole time. Don’t let her take credit for what “vainglorious” is all about.
Victoria: Hell no I won’t…
Victoria maintains a cold, yet determined look in her eyes knowing that she’s about to be in for one hell of a roller coaster ride…
To be continued...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2019 18:36:44 GMT -6
October 8, 2019
Victoria Salinas finds herself in Santa Monica, California in a home, that while isn’t hers, is one that is very familiar to her. She’s feeling a bit better considering the events of her last match but at the same time, the sudden encounter with Luciana Verdoza in Las Vegas is still weighing on her mind. Allison, her publicist and longtime friend, sits with her at the kitchen table while both are talking over some coffee.
Allison: You really saw her, huh?
Victoria: No disrespect, I was hoping I’d never see her again. I know you and her are still friends and I’m not asking you to get involved or be in the middle of it. It’s just… her presence… it still bothers me and I don’t understand why.
Allison: Is it guilt?
Victoria: Why would it be guilt?
Allison: She disappeared off the map a couple of years ago and you never contacted her.
Victoria: Can you blame me? After the effect she’s had on my career?
Allison: I understand that Luciana… she didn’t leave the greatest impression on you in some respects but… she did take you under her wing when she didn’t have to and you know that’s true. It wasn’t your best look to act like she never existed once her lower back went through that glass table, if you know what I mean.
Victoria looks slightly dejected, feeling like Allison isn’t on her side.
Allison: Then again, she was so busy basking in her Milan glory almost four years ago that she didn’t bail you out of jail after that bullshit arrest that happened to you and for the most part, all she’s ever done to you is either take advantage of you or go to war with you. She’s got this… unique way of showing she cares about you… in some way…
Victoria: Like trying to manipulate me with text messages? I have nothing to talk to her about and I’d rather she just leave me alone. UGH! I thought all the distractions were gone when I dumped all of my ex’s stuff in the trash a few months ago but noooo… here comes my former mentor suddenly waltzing back into my life…
Allison: I know you’ll figure this out and no matter how you do… you have my support 100%...
Victoria: I remember how nice she was to me when we first met… I miss that. But the hoops she’d put me through...
From there, Victoria begins to reflect…
_____________________________________________________________________________
FLASHBACK: February 23, 2010
Voice: Woooooow….
Victoria’s old academy rival, Trinity Williams, is sitting with her younger brother as the latter’s mouth is agape with shock and awe at the sight of Victoria herself in the distance.
Trinity: Gotta say… this whole “protege” thing with Luciana Verdoza is working out pretty damn well. Brian??? BRIAN!!!
Brian: What?
Trinity: Focus!
Brian: She looks so damn beautiful though. I thought you told me she was shy.
Victoria: UGH! I look like a total skank!
Victoria is far from impressed with the sleeveless bright pink top and pencil skirt combination that she’s wearing in combination with some knee high boots. A headband accentuates her look a little more and even though she’s hardly showing any skin at all with the exception of a slit in the skirt, for the rookie wrestler with a hell of a lot of introvertedness still in her, this is way out of her comfort zone.
Trinity: Vicky, don’t be a prude. You look great.
Victoria: I hate this! God, I don’t even like pink! I’m only wearing this because Luciana bought it for me and it’d be rude of me if I didn’t. I need to go. Seriously.
Victoria begins to bolt out of her Jacksonville, Florida hotel room.
Brian: Vicky…
Victoria: WHAT?
Brian: ...coffee tomorrow? You and me?
Victoria sighs.
Victoria: I have a hardcore title defense tonight, I don’t have time for your… COFFEE… okay? It’s bad enough I have to go into a title defense against a massive, fucking asshole looking like a total slut! Just… leave me alone!
Victoria bolts from the locker room.
Brian: Someone’s hard to get…
HALF AN HOUR LATER…
Outfit and all, Victoria is walking through the hallway of the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena looking quite displeased. But, she’s got an opportunity to let out all of her frustrations when she approaches Luciana and Allison.
Luciana: WOW! Look at YOU!
Victoria: Shut up!
Luciana: Excuse me?
Victoria: I hate this outfit and I’m only wearing it out of common courtesy! I don’t do “bright colors”, okay? Why are you doing this to me?
Luciana: Confidence, Vicky.
Allison: Yeah, seriously. She’s trying to bring out your inner confidence that you’ve hidden for way too long… especially since you’ve got that title to defend against that overbearing, arrogant jackass Larry Doane.
Luciana: I’m going to give it to you straight, Vicky. Unless you let your confidence shine, Larry’s going to win that title from you. Hence… the pseudo-makeover. It’s nothing over the top, just something to bring out the cuteness in you and hey… maybe it’ll make guys notice you for once. Ever had a boyfriend?
Victoria says nothing, looking down at the floor in a glum fashion.
Luciana: That wasn’t supposed to be a silencer.
Victoria: So dressing me up like a total skank is going to win me a match tonight?
Allison: WOW! You REALLY need to lighten up!
Victoria: YOU need to mind your own business!
Allison: YOU need to get with the program!
Luciana: Allison…
Allison: Let me handle this. Vicky, you’re a great wrestler and all, no doubt about it. You’ve defended your Hardcore title four times and that’s amazing but for GOD’S SAKE… LIGHTEN UP! Have FUN! JEEZ! Are you going to live like a hermit for the rest of your life? Luciana is doing everything she can to prevent you from being… well… that 70 year old cat lady, if you know what I mean. You need to stop living in whatever past that makes you such an introvert and you need to expand your comfort zone! Have you actually gone out and seen what an actual skank looks like? You’re not even close to that, sweetheart. Just because you’re wearing an outfit that reveals JUST a little more skin than what you’re used to doesn’t make you a skank. On the contrary… I think you look gorgeous.
Luciana: I concur. Vicky… I get it. Your childhood was rough. High school was hell for you. It’s all made you… well… what you are right now. But really, I’m trying to help you become what I know you can be. That’s why I need you to hand over your wrestling gear right now.
Victoria: Excuse me?
Luciana: You won’t be needing it anymore.
Allison snatches the bag consisting of Victoria’s wrestling gear out of her hands.
Victoria: HEY!
Luciana: Trust me… we’ve got plans for you…
A short time later…
Victoria: I want to die…
She says this as she’s staring at a mannequin that’s modeling brand new ring gear.
Victoria: I swear, if my ass is hanging out of that…
Luciana: It’s just your thighs and a little more of your abdomen, Vicky! It’s not going to kill you!
Victoria: Did it have to be all pink and sparkly and stuff?
Allison: You REALLY want to lose your title tonight, don’t you?
Victoria: I can’t wear that. It’s… no… I just…
Luciana: Vicky…
Victoria: You’re trying to turn me into something I’m not… BOTH of you! And this ends RIGHT NOW!
Luciana: No… you already ARE what we’re trying to bring out of you! You just don’t know it yet!
Victoria: NO! Screw this! I’m done! Just give me back my gear and just… leave me the fuck alone!
Allison: Vicky…
Victoria bolts out of the locker room, slamming the door shut on her way out. She leans against the wall nearby trying to hold back tears as her fears and anxieties greatly overwhelm her.
Voice: You know… I have to admit… you’re the most gorgeous looking loser I’ve ever seen in my life…
Victoria feels a vomiting sensation in her stomach at the sight of Larry Doane, her opponent that night: an arrogant, condescending asshole with a six pack and slick black rock-star like hair.
Larry: It’s a shame that I have to take a championship from someone so hot…
Larry tries to touch her in the chin, but she smacks away his hand.
Victoria: DON’T TOUCH ME!
Larry: Oh… you’re an uptight one. What’s the matter? You can’t get enough of my body? Right… you’re a prude. How can I forget that? You may look good now… but inside… I see a scared little girl with no confidence in herself… you’re the little girl who never got out when she was in high school… who was afraid of everything… who doesn’t have what it takes to be a star because she’s reliving her painful childhood memories again and again…
Victoria: Stop it…
Larry: Stop what? Revealing the truth? Every day you live those memories… being a victim… being a bitch to everyone who ever rightfully bullied you… every single day… you’re their bitch… and you always will be. But don’t worry sweetheart… maybe I can take you out for a good time after I beat you… if you know what I mean…
Larry snickers at Victoria before departing and this just angers the then-PRW Hardcore Champion. Immediately, she bursts right through the door back into the locker room walking in on the sight of Luciana taking down the mannequin that’s wearing Victoria’s new ring gear. Allison, annoyed and all, hands Victoria the bag consisting of her old wrestling gear. Luciana and Allison are surprised when Victoria shoves the bag right into Allison’s chest.
Victoria: Keep that! I won’t be needing it anymore. Let me have that…
Victoria gestures to the mannequin.
Luciana: Vicky, I’m obviously not complaining about the fact that you had a sudden change of heart, but what got into you? What’s going on?
Victoria: I need to prove someone wrong… and I need to start fighting back against my fears. If I gotta look good to retain my title, so be it!
Luciana has a smile on her face, happy with Victoria’s change of heart.
Luciana: Good for you! Now… kick his fucking ass, alright?
Victoria wears a determined look on her face as she’s left alone in the locker room to prepare for her title defense.
One hour later…
Victoria is overjoyed and relieved, sporting her new wrestling gear and holding her championship as referees help a bloodied Larry Doane to the trainer’s room after she successfully retained her title against him. She’s briefly caught off guard by Larry’s smirk in her direction.
Larry: You won this round… but I will be back…
He continues to laugh as he’s helped down the hallway with Luciana walking in behind her, minutes away from her own match.
Victoria: I sure as hell proved HIM wrong!
Luciana: Did you?
Victoria: He thought I didn’t have it in me! He thought I was just some prude from Montana with no confidence in herself… that all I would ever be was my bullies’ bitch… but I shut him up… and I proved him wrong… I proved that I was more than what he said of me.
Luciana: You won the match… but at the end of the day, he won the mental battle.
Victoria: WHAT?
Luciana: It was his words that triggered you. You played right into his hands. He’s new to PRW, he doesn’t know how things work here. Had he had the seasoning you do, the match would have gone the other way because he would have exploited your emotional weaknesses. Take this as a lesson… to be you FOR you and not for anyone else. He’ll get better… and he’ll be even harder to beat.
Victoria: DAMN IT! I really DID let him get under my skin too much!
Luciana: Oh Vicky… so young…
Luciana wraps an arm around Victoria.
Luciana: So very young! You’ve unleashed an inner confidence in you that you were unaware that you had… even if it took someone else psyching you out to do so. Now? You’ve got to grow that confidence. Henceforth ends the lesson!
Luciana disappears with her own match looming ahead. Victoria meanwhile, is left alone. She may have won on this night, but even then, she can’t allow herself to bask in the glow… not when she just realized that there’s still FAR too much work ahead for her…
______________________________________________________________________________
Present Day…
Allison: Luciana… always unpredictable…
Victoria: She taught me so much… but always at a price. Still… I guess reflecting back on that night in Jacksonville… it helps me.
Allison: How so?
Victoria: All Luciana did was buy me that outfit… that new wrestling gear… and it was all vanity. She’s not the one that discovered my inner confidence, or what “vainglorious” was all about. That was me! She’s not the one that won that match that night, it was me. No matter how much she wants to take the credit for my rise to stardom, at the end of the day, I know it was all me! I had it in me all along to be the star that I’d become. I’m not saying that she didn’t help me… to a degree, she did. But at the same time… I was always going to be what I am today… whether I was under her wing or not. Really, all she did was guide me to be that star sooner. Suddenly, I don’t feel so guilty anymore.
Allison: When you’re ready to tell her everything you just told me, let me know. You’re right, that star was in you the whole time. In the meantime… keep believing in what makes you what you truly are!
Victoria: I’m already ahead of you on that…
Victoria is able to smile through some of the burden that was bothering her earlier feeling a great sense of pride in realizing she had all the “vainglory” in the world the entire time. Still… she knows that in order to be the world champion she wants to be again… she’s going to have to dig deeper and continue to discover all the layers that make her exactly who she is.
To be continued...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2019 4:41:05 GMT -6
The story begins with some old journal entries…
March 1, 2010
“I’m 22! Wow! I am having the time of my life… (honestly, I never thought I’d write those words)... I need to retain this Hardcore title long enough to secure my place in an all-singles champions triple threat for the PRW World Championship. Imagine that… just five months into my career and a world championship? It’s so weird to think positive but if I can hold on to my title, I’m in a win-win situation. I get that world title shot. And if that doesn’t go my way, I’m obviously trading it for a future Intercontinental Championship match.
In other news… Luciana… she’s been… nicer to me lately. So… I didn’t like this wardrobe update at first but… I don’t feel like a skank at least. Larry Doane continues to be annoying and the bane of my existence… I think Austin Harris hates me.... Trinity’s brother Bryan and I are “seeing each other”... though she doesn’t know that… you mean I might ACTUALLY have a BOYFRIEND? I’m 22… WHY am I geeking out about this? Still so much to learn… through all the hoops Luciana is putting me through…”
March 29, 2010
“JAYSON SCHNEIDER CAN SUCK A BIG FAT DICK!
Sorry… he’s REALLY gotten on my nerves and he’s potentially cost me the world title. (At least I wasn’t pinned in the triple threat). Luciana expressed how proud she was of me… which is shocking to say the least. I have a title defense next week. It’ll be my last one no matter what happens. Wish me luck…”
April 5, 2010
“Farewell PRW Hardcore Championship. 105 days. 7 defenses. The Intercontinental Championship match I get anytime for a year will be so much worth it! Yet… Jayson Schneider… STILL on my ass. Oh… and Bryan and I had yet another coffee date! What an odd crush this has been…
April 26, 2010
“No shame in losing to Jayson Schneider tonight… especially when I actually gained his respect in defeat (weird but cool). Luciana has been despondent lately… but with her father in the hospital, sick as he is, I can’t blame her. Well… time to focus on that IC title shot… even though Austin Harris is becoming a growing concern…”
May 31, 2010
“Luciana won her second career world championship… in her father’s memory no less! I’m so happy for her… but she’s been growing even more distant lately. I’ve learned a lot from her, in a weird way. She’s helped me grow my confidence which is awesome… so much so that Bryan and I are starting a relationship! It’s WONDERFUL! He’s so sweet. He makes me feel secure. Trinity doesn’t know this though and for my sake, she never will.”
June 28, 2010
“So much bad…. SO much bad… I had my first shot at the IC title (I didn’t cash in my title shot, it was granted to me) and fucking AUSTIN HARRIS won! UGH! He’s hated me for SO LONG! He thinks because he’s a Hall of Fame member that I don’t belong in the ring with him! FUCK HIM! PRW’s flagship show is going to be in a month… and I’m cashing in that title shot! It’ll be my first match on the big stage and I AM going to take that title from the son of a bitch! I’m not that crybaby that first started and guess what? I get to deal with him and others in a couple of weeks in a Money in the Bank match! Larry Doane… (who was in tonight’s PPV main event… UGH… he’s improved so much since I beat him and I think he’s even surpassing me at this point) … he’s in that match too…. I HAVE to win that Money in the Bank match… I HAVE TO… ANYONE BUT HIM…
P.S… I’m really worried about Luciana…”
July 12, 2010
“NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? Of ALL the people I had to lose that Money in the Bank to, it had to be HIM? It had to be FUCKING LARRY DOANE? The fucking PSYCHO that’s obsessed with being better than me? WHY?!?!?!?! UGH!!! This is the most DEVASTATING LOSS I HAVE EVER HAD!!!! I WANT TO FUCKING CRY (again!). Even Austin Harris would have been a better choice… but HIM? UGH! His life is SO fucking grand! He’s feuding with a former world champion AND he’s got the MITB! DAMN IT! Even if I win the IC title from Austin Harris in 2 weeks… will it MATTER? I may NEVER recover from this! I want the IC title real bad… sure… but I don’t want that to be my CEILING especially knowing that Larry Doane is probably going to become the next big star of PRW and I’m going to be suck in his fucking shadow!!!! There’s no way I can surpass him… there just isn’t. This is the WORST thing that can ever fucking happen to me right now and just two weeks before that IC title match? This is so cruel… I get to live my dream… but at the expense of someone I hate and someone I’m better than being a bigger star than me. I will never be a world champion. It’s obvious now. If it was meant to be, I would have beaten Luciana back in January. I would have beaten Jayson Schneider in April. I would already be the IC Champion right now. And now THIS… obviously, I can’t win the big matches… and it SUCKS. If I can’t win those… then I’m destined to NEVER be the star I’ve always wanted to be. I’ll never be world champion. I’ll never be a main event wrestler. I guess it’s just not meant to be…”
October 16, 2019
“Devastated doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel right now….”
In the hours following Millennium, Victoria is completely shattered. Her face is covered in streaks of makeup. Her heart has been devastated. Her spirit? What spirit. It’s not even there. Her hair is slightly all over the place.
“This is rock bottom…” she thinks to herself. “I haven’t felt this devastated as a person since my wedding night in Vegas 17 months ago… and this is the most devastating loss since… since…”
It’s hard for her to remember a loss so devastating considering it happened so long ago. She’s snapped out of her funk, if only briefly, by the sound of her cell phone going off. Giving it a quick check, she feels a sick feeling in her stomach by the text message that she’s reading…
“Let’s talk. I’m in town. You can’t leave me forever… and you’ll never be able to erase the fact that you are my greatest creation ever, my princess! You need me… especially now. Have I not always been there for you, my vainglorious masterpiece? - Luciana”
Victoria: ONLY TO GET YOU OFF MY FUCKING BACK!!!!
With Victoria being emotionally wrecked as it is, she’s not thinking straight whatsoever. “Send me an address and send me a time. I don’t fucking care anymore! If seeing you will get you to leave me alone, so be it! I want nothing to do with you. You may have put me on the path to success but your selfish taint with it will always sour every moment I ever spent with you.”
In frustration, Victoria sends the text. She immediately gets a reply back.
“Parking lot at Target Field. 5:00 PM. You need me more than you realize. When we meet, you’ll see it.”
Victoria: Whatever…
Victoria doesn’t reply to the text message but she becomes further annoyed when she receives another text from her former mentor.
Victoria: LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!
Reluctantly reading it, she’s surprised to see “7.12.2010. Larry Doane. MITB”... which only saddens her further.
Victoria: There it is… there’s the last time I was so heartbroken over a loss… fucking bitch had to throw that in my face didn’t she…
Hearing a knock on the door only frustrates her further as she bolts for the door in pure anger just wanting to be left alone. She reluctantly opens it, ready to unleash hell..
Victoria: I REALLY don’t want to be… Julia?
Victoria’s anger immediately dissipates at the sight of Julia Rivera, one of the best friends she’s ever had over the last decade that she’s been involved in the mainstream wrestling business. Julia would be one of only four people in her life that would be able to pull her through this. And it just so happens that among herself, Allison, Mr. Holliday and Gavin, she’d be the only one in Minneapolis.
Victoria: Come in…
Victoria stands aside and lets Julia walk in. Julia spots Victoria’s phone and glances at the screen out of sudden curiosity.
Victoria: ...that is my phone, you know.
Julia: Luciana… figures. Your mentor is trying to get to you at your rock bottom moment.
Victoria says nothing as she sits next to Julia on the hotel room bed.
Julia: Talk about adding insult to injury with the mention of that match from 9 years ago. I was hoping to surprise you while you were experiencing THE win that was going to get you back on track at last… the win that was FINALLY going to re-establish you as one of the best in the world… but I knew that… this was a possibility too… and even though Valentina is my primary focus… I was never going to forget about you, Vicky.
These words make Victoria completely lose it. Her eyes instantly flood with tears all over again and she just leans into Julia’s shoulder letting out all the painful, devastating heartbreak that she’s not only experienced on this night, but for the last 17 months, heartbreak that she’s experienced many other nights as well.
Victoria: I can’t take this anymore!!!!!!!!
Julia returns a hug, showing her how much she’s there for her.
Victoria: Ever since that night in Vegas 17 months ago… I haven’t been the same! It’s like being married to that fucker on the same night as my GCW Hall of Fame induction fucking CURSED ME!
Julia: Let’s not give him THAT kind of control, he doesn’t deserve it…
Victoria: Lost the next night on a flagship stage to one of my biggest rivals ever… lost on my way out the door at GCW… couldn’t balance running a wrestling school and being a wrestler… went to HYBRID and accomplished NOTHING… couldn’t even make a DENT in that company… I’ve done nothing but be taken advantage of, cheated out of matches by, and be pushover fodder for wrestlers that… that I’d beat EASILY years ago and tonight… all I did was prove that I NEVER belonged in that match! I’m SO TIRED OF THIS!!!! I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!!!!
Victoria pauses letting out a few sobs and deep breathes.
Victoria: I’m TIRED of being MEDIOCRE! I’m TIRED of not being where I’ve been before! I’m TIRED of being just another fucking name on the roster and for 17 months, that’s ALL I’ve been! I’m TIRED of not being a champion… TIRED of not winning the big matches I used to win SO many times… TIRED of all the false hope… TIRED of feeling like I’ve hit rock bottom only for something WORSE to happen… I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!! I’m clearly DECLINING, Julia! I’ll NEVER be that five time world champion that won big match after big match EVER again! Hell, I’ve more than likely won the last title I’ll EVER win in this business! I don’t have it anymore, Julia! I DON’T!!!!! I knew this day would come… but why so SOON? I’m only 31… I don’t WANT to retire… but I feel like my best days are BEHIND ME! What is WRONG with me? Why can’t I be what I was?
Julia: ...I don’t know what to say…
Victoria: I just want this to END… and it feels like being done with this and never wrestling again is the only way it will…
Julia: Do you want to retire?
Victoria: No…
Julia: Then don’t…
Julia helps Victoria off of her shoulder.
Victoria: I’m so sorry…
Victoria wipes away the tears.
Julia: Wow… I really did just get a flashback to that fateful day 9 years ago when you lost to Larry Doane in that Money in the Bank match. I remember how it DEVASTATED you because it was him… because you felt like he was always going to be better than you… because you felt like he was going to be the star you wanted to be and it made you sick to your stomach. You even expressed that you were never, ever going to be a world champion. God, this sounds so familiar… since you’re saying you’re never going to be any sort of champion again. Listen to me… I am sorry that you feel this way but none of what you just said is true. Deep down in your heart, you know it’s not true. You know how strong you are. It’s just… all finally gotten to you. Let me ask you something… after that loss… to Larry… what happened two weeks later?
Victoria: I won the PRW Intercontinental title… from a Hall of Fame wrestler… in front of 70,000 on PRW’s biggest stage. It was the first “big stage” match I ever won on the mainstream… and then fucking Larry beat a former world champion to stay ahead of me… fucking hell…
Julia: You forget that the man you won that IC title from was ALSO a former world champion… and the difference is, you beat him for a title while Larry didn’t get to do that part. So was he really ahead of you that night?
Victoria: No.
Julia: I’m just saying… the date to remember isn’t “7.12.2010”... it’s July 26, 2010… the greatest triumph you had in your career up to that point.
Victoria: How is remembering that going to help me?
Julia: There’s two points I am trying to make with that, Vicky. You had another shot right in front of you and you persevered and pulled through. You’re going to get another chance like tonight… and you’ll do the same thing… and even if you don’t on the next chance… it’ll happen the chance after that… or the chance after that. You didn’t give up after that loss to Larry… and you took it to Austin Harris and won the IC title from him. You were a strong young lady then… and you’re even stronger now and I believe in you and know that you can do it again. That’s my first point…
Victoria: Your second?
Julia: That night you won that IC title… you put the past behind you. You never, not once, brought up your childhood after that in the locker room. You finally allowed yourself to breathe. You finally stopped being a victim of your past. When you lost to Larry… it hurt you extremely bad because it made you feel like that little girl all over again… the one that always got the short end of the stick. Tonight… it hurt because it made you feel like the failure you’ve felt you’ve been since that awful wedding night and the night after when you lost on GCW’s flagship stage. You felt like the irrelevant, “just another name” that you were seen as in Hybrid. You felt like that wrestler that got cheated by Robbie Bourbon and Charlie Webster all over again. You need to quit being a victim of the last 17 months, Vicky.
Victoria: I thought I had…
Julia: Have you read your own tweets and listened to your own promos lately? It sounds like someone who was letting those last 17 months get to you. Honestly, you lost the match tonight before you even landed on the plane in Minneapolis. But it’s going to be alright, I promise. The prime of your career… it’s not over. In fact, you may find it hard to believe now… but the prime of your career? You haven’t even reached it yet. So let out all the pain, all the heartbreak, let it all out tonight… because when the sun rises in the morning, that same sun will shine on the wrestler you’re about to grow into. If anything… I think your wedding to Gavin in a few weeks is going to help you more than you realize…
Victoria: You’re right… on everything you just said… thank you for that.
She and Julia exchange a long goodbye hug for a brief time before Julia leaves her to her own devices.
October 17, 5:32 AM
Victoria is under the covers of her bed doing everything she can to sort through the heartbreak she’s dealing with while also trying to sleep.
Victoria: I remember it…
July 26, 2010
Announcer: AND VICTORIA SALINAS HAS DONE IT! SHE HAS OVERCOME THE HALL OF FAMER TO BECOME THE NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION!!!
Color Guy: We could be looking at the brightest, rising star in PRW and all of professional wrestling today! Two championships in the first nine months of her career? Not many can say that!
Announcer: On the biggest stage, under the brightest lights… this young lady has the brightest of futures ahead of her!
Victoria has tears of joy as she backs up the ramp with her newly won title, clutching it in her chest and hearing the roars of approval from 70,000+ people in the stadium.
Victoria (thinking): I finally did it! I’ve finally defeated my childhood insecurities! My past is behind me, my dreams have been realized… and I know that I’ve got a world title in my future… even if I have to go through someone nasty and disgusting like Larry Doane in order to do so.
October 17, 2019
Victoria: I will do that again… I will defeat the hell that I’ve lived in professional wrestling for the last 17 months… and I’ll do whatever it takes because I know I can… because those 17 months?
They don’t define me.
The past… it doesn’t define me…
And I think it’s time my MENTOR knew that…
With that in mind, Victoria is finally able to put her mind at ease and fall asleep for the night.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 15:22:25 GMT -6
Like last time… we begin with a few journal entries from the past…
August 29, 2010
“Bryan and I broke up after he tried to grope me. WHAT THE FUCK? MEN ARE SUCH DOGS!!!! Oh and Trinity cut me off for dating him and called me a skank for doing it. You know what? Fuck her and fuck him… (thank GOD I never did that by the way). I thought things would be easier as PRW IC Champ… but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Title defense tomorrow. Luciana has been growing more distant from me… I don’t know why… she’s turned on the fans… I think her father’s death has really gotten to her in the worst way.”
September 1, 2010
“And STILL IC Champion after a successful defense. And Luciana silenced Larry Doane. That was nice.”
September 27, 2010
“Another defense in the books. Luciana is talking to me again… Bryan is begging me to take him back (I will not)... and I feel that things between Luciana and I are going to be back to where they were before her father passed. I know that she’s been very controlling at times, but she is my mentor and I do care for her. She’s done so much for me and I want her to do well. She’s almost like the big sister that I’ve never had. I really do look up to her… even still… after all this. So, since we’re talking again… I feel comfortable and confident enough to tell her how I feel about the way she’s been acting lately. So… she’s going to be hearing from me very soon.
October 12, 2010 (FLASHBACK)
Victoria Salinas at this point is still the PRW Intercontinental Champion. With her rookie year weeks away from being over, she’s certainly changed a lot. Her clothes have become more colorful, her hair is down more often than not, her facial complexion has changed, and inside, she can feel her bold, and growing confidence. Her shyness has dissipated and she’s not feeling nervous at all when she walks into the locker room after a show to encounter her mentor… who is sitting there with a tag team championship on her lap.
Victoria: Luciana?
Luciana Verdoza looks up at her, putting the tag title aside to stand up.
Luciana: What?
Victoria: I just wanted to see how you’ve been. We don’t talk that much anymore. I’m still your protege, right?
Luciana: Like you need me anymore…
Victoria: Excuse me?
Luciana: Vicky, you’ve done just fine without me. Look at you… Intercontinental Champion… a growing confidence, god, you’re so much prettier now than when I first met you. It’s so funny seeing how Allison was so wrong about you. And now… you’re one of the fastest rising stars in this business. Sure, Larry Doane is STILL ahead of you… which… I have to say I am disappointed by. But… you are what you are.
Victoria doesn’t know how to respond to this, being as confused as she is.
Luciana: You’re at the ceiling I thought you’d be.
Victoria: But…you’ve said that… I have potential to be a world champion…
Luciana: It doesn’t mean you will be. Remember, I told you when we first started this whole thing that I was going to help you get better but that I wasn’t going to let you be better than me.
Victoria: Luciana… you’re a two-time world champion, there’s no way I’m as good as you.
Luciana: It’s that kind of attitude that will NEVER get you to a world title. You’ve passed every test I ever put you through… except for the one where you stand up for yourself. I keep telling you you’ll never be as good as me and yet, you just… TAKE IT? Why can’t you learn this lesson that I’ve taught you so many times? Listen sweetheart, I love you. I do… and it pains me that I’m going to have to end this…
Victoria: WHAT? Luciana… I know you’ve been going through a lot but you can’t just drop me like that! You can’t just tell me that it’s over. You’ve done so much for me and I can’t afford to lose you… not now.
Luciana: Sorry… but I’ve taught you everything that I can. Take your knowledge I’ve given you and make something of yourself with it. You’re the IC Champion… and here I am… just a tag team champion. Let me ask you something, Vicky… does that make you better than me?
Victoria: Stop it… I don’t know what’s going through your mind… but whatever it is, you’re scaring me. You can’t tell me that it’s over…
Luciana: DOES THAT MAKE YOU BETTER THAN ME?
Luciana snaps and grabs Victoria by the collar.
Luciana: ANSWER THE QUESTION!
Victoria: In… in theory… it does…
Luciana: ...oh so you’ve become SO confident in yourself that you think you’re better than me, is that it?
Victoria: WHAT? I never said that. I was just saying that in theory it does, but I don’t think like that…
Luciana: Oh my GOD… still SO fucking modest… you really DO think you’re better than me! Well… you’re right about one thing… I can’t break things off between us just by telling you it’s over, that’d be rude of me. So, I’m going to do this instead…
Luciana picks up Victoria and slams her back straight into the locker.
Luciana: ...I’m going to beat the fucking modesty out of you, BITCH!
Luciana throws Victoria down to the ground and pops open the locker. She’s stunned, but Victoria doesn’t have time to react as she’s on the receiving end of various items from cosmetics and hygienics to food and drink being pelted upon her.
Luciana: GET AWAY FROM ME!!! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!
Victoria doesn’t respond and Luciana picks up a steel chair nearby and just further drives home the point by constantly beating her in the side with it through Victoria’s pleas to her mentor to stop… which ultimately turn to cries for help.
Luciana: YOU WILL NEVER, EVER BE BETTER THAN ME!!! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, YOU PUTRID, MODEST, PRISSY, WHINY LITTLE BITCH!!!!!!
Another smack to the side to Victoria who’s become defenseless at this point.
Luciana: CRY FOR ME, BITCH! CRY!!!! YOU’LL ALWAYS BE THAT STUPID LITTLE GIRL FROM MONTANA WHO WAS THE DEMON SPAWN OF A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD BACKWOODS SLUT!!!!! YOU COULD NEVER BE AS GLAMOROUS AS ME, YOU COULD NEVER BE AT MY LEVEL!
Luciana drops the chair and picks up Victoria, dragging her to the door before she opens it and tosses her hard out of the door and into the wall across the way.
Luciana: YOU DISGUST ME!!!!
Victoria tries to move, but when she does, Luciana tosses the chair from across the room violent and hard and nails her right in the face. The chair falls to the wayside and Luciana slams the door completely shut. Stunned by this whole experience… Victoria is left in a mess of blood and tears, her mentor having destroyed her. And yet… through it all… the confidence that Luciana built within her gives her one last moment of defiance…
Victoria: ...you’ll regret you ever mentored me… because you just made your own worst enemy…
Victoria continues to lie on the floor… already plotting her revenge.
October 12, 2010 (Journal Entry)
“She has no idea what she’s done… the next time she lays eyes on me… she’ll be proven SO wrong… so very wrong…
R.I.P “Shy, Montana introvert”
In a week… the world is going to see a side of me they never have before…”
October 17, 2019 - 4:59 PM. Target Field parking lot.
Victoria: You think this will work?
Victoria sits with Julia Rivera as they talk about future career plans. Victoria’s hair is tied up in a bun and as far as clothing goes, she’s wrapped up in a dramatically long, overcoat with a pair of gloves, choosing to keep herself introverted at the moment considering the sensitive time.
Julia: You saw the analysis and Mr. Holliday himself said it. That high-risk breakneck style… it can’t be your primary offense anymore. Your submission offense is fine as is, but you saw the analysis. At your age, you’re better off focusing on your technical prowess and growing more of a striking… puroresu style arsenal. Your moonsaults may not have the air that they once did… but those kicks… holy shit, they’re only getting harder.
Victoria: But… I’m not really that well versed in Japanese wrestling. I know how to do it but it’s not something I’ve focused on.
Julia: Trust me, you won’t have to make that much of an adjustment. Being more of a technical, submission focused striker is probably the best way to go… outwit and outthink… fight with your mind, not with your heart. Anyway, I better get going… I don’t want to be anywhere near that woman…
Julia departs from the scene, leaving Victoria alone in the parking lot. Still reeling from last night’s loss, Victoria lets out a sigh knowing that in a few moments, the conversation she’s about to have is going to be quite uncomfortable for her.
Voice: I know it’s fall and it’s Minnesota but it’s not THAT cold. That skateboarder really neutered you, didn’t he?
Right on cue, there’s Luciana Verdoza, glamour and all. Victoria walks toward her, eyes cold, really indicating she doesn’t want to see her.
Victoria: What do you want?
Luciana shrugs.
Victoria: Whatever it is… it’s not going to work.
Luciana rolls her eyes and laughs.
Victoria: What? You suddenly don’t want to talk to me?
Luciana shrugs again, causing Victoria to laugh.
Victoria removes the gloves on her hands, almost as if she wants to beat the hell out of her.
Victoria: I get it… you don’t want to talk to the “introvert” do you? Don’t worry, I know who exactly who you want to talk to.
Victoria takes the bun out of her hair and lets her hair fall down her shoulders. She unties and removes that long overcoat she was wearing and drops it on the ground revealing a much more glamorous look… one that consists of a short, sparking pink dress and the heels to match. Still, she gets aggressive as she grabs Luciana by her collar.
Victoria: So are you going to tell me what you want from me or am I going to have to beat the shit out of you? Huh? Because on any given day, I can still be that bitch that doesn’t give a fuck! Scary huh? Well imagine what I REALLY feel like doing to you… you SHOULD be scared.
Luciana just bursts out in a chuckle.
Luciana: I’m not scared… I’m not scared at all.
Luciana chuckles again.
Luciana: There’s my girl…
Surprised by this reaction, Victoria lets go of her mentor.
Luciana: There’s my greatest creation… my princess…
Luciana affectionately strokes her hand on Victoria’s face.
Luciana: My precious, vainglorious princess… oh how I’ve missed you!
Victoria smacks Luciana’s hand away, causing her to laugh even more.
Luciana: You’ve never told MWE about that bitch you once were… and the bitch I know you can be even now… you never told them about how the sudden success off of what I made you… how it got to your head… how you became the antithesis of what you were raised as back in Montana… how back in PRW, you would become what you hated… how in GCW, everyone hated you because you… the former high school victim of bullying… bullied others herself… they don’t know about that, do they?
Victoria: What’s the sitch, Luciana?
Luciana: That bitch needs to come out, Vicky… permanently.
Victoria: I’m not that person anymore…
Luciana: So you grabbing me and threatening to beat the shit out of me just now doesn’t say otherwise? Vicky… you can deny it all you want, but that bitch is still inside of you. Why must you continue to play nice? Once a bitch, always a bitch. Believe me, I know. When you became the golden girl of PRW, you never hesitated to be the vainest, most obnoxious bitch on the planet… you never turned down a photoshoot, you wanted to be on the cover of everything, you enjoyed surpassing Larry Doane and keeping him beneath you like you always felt and always knew he was… and in GCW? You had the WORLD in your hands. And you threw it all away for that skateboarder? Speaking of… how can you not be that same bitch when you strung him along all the way to marriage only to coldly dump him the way you did only one month later? You’re still that bitch, Victoria. Admit it. Admit that you’ll never be successful again unless you embrace that bitch again… be everything that I mentored you to be… there’s no better time than NOW, Victoria. It’s the only way…
Victoria: You’re wrong…
Luciana: Oh am I?
Victoria: I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve grown past that. When I was younger, I know I rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I know my success made so many people bitter and jealous toward me. I always had that confidence in me to be vainglorious. The only reason why I ever was that bitch was because I let my success get to my head and that confidence grew into arrogance. I was so insecure about my childhood that I wanted to pretend it never happened… that I never was that social outcast that was bullied so much in high school. You created NOTHING, Luciana… because “vainglorious”? It was in me from the day I was born.
Luciana: And this is how you repay me? After everything I did for you? By demeaning and putting down my contributions to your success? Are you sure you’re not that bitch, Vicky?
Victoria sighs and shakes her head.
Luciana: This is how you repay a friend?
Victoria: You taught me so much… you helped me discover my inner confidence… you unleashed a potential in me that I didn’t know I had during my rookie year… but you never were my friend…
Luciana: All the clothes I bought you… all the confidence I created in you… all those times I was there for you when you broke down crying over Larry Doane being “ahead of you”... all of the advice I ever gave you… you’re telling me I never was your friend? Ever?
Victoria: Friends don’t beat people up in the locker room… nor do they allow them to struggle as nothing more than a sidekick that nobody took seriously the way you did to me four years ago… friends don’t try to claim credit that they don’t deserve… and friends… they don’t try to push you back to the dark side like you’re trying to do to me… taking full advantage of my rock bottom at that. This thing between us… from day one… it’s ALWAYS been about you. The last thing I need or want right now is to be under your thumb all over again.
Luciana: Fine. Then go ahead and continue being mediocre, sweetheart. If you ever decide to do the smart thing for your career and change your mind… I’ll be there.
Victoria: The smartest thing I ever did was go to war against you nine years ago after how you dumped me as your protege…
Luciana: And why’s that?
Victoria: ...because our initial war at that time is what made me a main event superstar, that’s why.
Luciana rolls her eyes, turns and begins to walk away.
Victoria: Remember December 2010? When in that very stadium behind us, I tapped you out like the bitch that you are?
Luciana pauses and turns toward Victoria now expressing anger more than anything.
Victoria: And yet… I still want to thank you… not for being my mentor…but for being one of my worst enemies… for being one of my biggest rivals ever... for reminding me how I became that superstar in the first place… and opening my eyes to what it’s going to take to rise again. I still hold a place in my heart for you Luciana… a place that wishes you the best… but if you EVER come around me again… I’ll snap your jaw in half, you got that? Because I’m not going to stand for you taking advantage of my rock bottom by trying to push me back to the darkness.
Luciana: Don’t worry, princess.
Luciana chuckles.
Luciana: Your message is loud and clear.
Victoria catches Luciana turn and begin to walk away, of course not catching that bitter scowl on her face as she does so.
Victoria: That’s the last time I’ll EVER let anyone try to define me again…
Victoria takes pride in how she stood her ground as she begins to focus on the future to come.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2019 17:32:44 GMT -6
October 25, 2019
Victoria Salinas didn’t even give herself a break after her victory just the night before in Dallas. She’s already in Chicago preparing for “Homecoming” and her match against Bethany Driver and she’s not even thinking about the win over Teagan Gallagher at this point. She’s unpacked everything that she’s had to in her hotel room already, the pressure of the match to come already weighing on her. Sitting and reflecting, it’s almost as if she’s dreading the match and the knock on the door she just heard isn’t helping her mood at all.
Reluctantly, she stands up and walks to the door. Opening it, she sees her fiance Gavin standing in front of her.
Gavin: Vicky…
Victoria: Not now…
Gavin: What’s wrong?
Victoria retreats back into the room while Gavin enters and shuts the door behind him.
Victoria: Do you need to guess?
Gavin: Stressing over your next match feeling like if you lose, that it’s only further proof that you’re declining?
Victoria says nothing.
Gavin: You REALLY need to stop that. It’s like every setback is the end of the world for you and the end of your career as you know it. It would have been nice if today was just a nice, relaxing trip to Lake Michigan but…
Victoria: I just want to be left alone.
Gavin: So some relaxing time together… our wedding in a couple of weeks? That means nothing to you because your career isn’t going how you want it to?
Victoria: I never said that.
Gavin: You don’t have to. The last few months have already done that since your career is all you talk about anymore. If you want to join me at the lake… great. If not… what difference does it make?
Victoria: Why are you treating me like this?
Gavin: I hate seeing you like this, Vicky. There’s so much more to life than your career… you know… like our upcoming wedding. I love you but I don’t think there’s anything more I can do for you to help you through this. At this point, you’ve got to figure it out yourself. I’ll see you at the lake… hopefully…
Gavin leaves the room and Victoria is left alone as she’s left to process what just happened. Instantly, she regrets the fact that she’s not going to Lake Michigan with him and she begins to bolt for the door.
Victoria: Gavin… wait…
She opens the door and steps out into the hallway, immediately becoming mystified at the darkness of the hallway along with other weird stuff…
Victoria: Okay… what the hell? When and why did they put a TV in the middle of the hallway like this? Where are all the doors? Where’s the exit?
Victoria sees one door to her left and another to her right. She doesn’t know which one to pick so she goes with her gut and turns to the door on the left, back completely toward the one on the right. She hears the door behind her open but doesn’t make much of it as she walks toward the left.
Voice: Why would you want to walk through that door? Again?
Victoria turns around and gets a huge shock at the sight of the woman in front of you.
Victoria: ...what??? You… you look like me…
Woman: I AM you… from 2029.
Victoria: ...you’re ME? At 41?
Future Victoria nods.
Victoria: Well… it’s a relief that I don’t age badly at all, I’ll say that… But, what are you doing here? What do you mean when you talk about me walking through that door again?
Future Victoria: That’s all you’ve been doing the last few months. You see… right now, you have a choice to make. You can choose to be a victim or you can choose to be a champion. That’s the door you’ve been opening every single time something goes wrong.
Victoria: ...I’m not a victim…
Future Victoria: So why don’t you just go through the other door, then?
Present day Victoria looks at the door to her right and her face shows a conflicted pain… almost as if she wants to go through that door but doesn’t feel like she’s ready.
Victoria: I… I’m not so sure that I can…
Future Victoria: Why not? Because the year you’ve had tells you that you don’t deserve to? All because why? HYBRID didn’t go great for you? Because you left GCW in the terms that you did? Because of “that marriage”? Because you’re not living up to the expectations that you have set for yourself all because of what you’ve done in the past? You’ve walked through the door to make you a champion before. Why is it so hard now?
Victoria: You nailed it with all of those things…
Future Victoria: Look at the television screen for a second…
Victoria does just that and she glances at the moment back in 2010 when her old mentor Luciana Verdoza beat the holy hell out of her and violently tossed her out of the locker room after said violent beatdown. With a remote control, future Victoria pauses the video.
Future Victoria: Nine years ago, you were in this exact same spot. You had a choice to make… either be a victim… or to rise up and be a champion. What did you do then?
Victoria: I rose up… became vainglorious… took the fight to Luciana… and it made me such a better wrestler. It gave me this confidence in me that I didn’t know I had. If I had just taken it… if I had allowed her to beat me down and keep me down… I would have never had the career that I did. I’d never be a world champion. I’d probably have sputtered back in Montana being a waitress, living paycheck to paycheck, with a future of… well… would I even have had one?
Future Victoria: I’ll tell you one thing… you won’t have one if you continue to be a victim… if you continue to let that stupid marriage… if you continue to let the way you left GCW… if you continue to let the mediocrity in HYBRID… if you continue to let certain matches in your MWE career… define you as a wrestler and as a person. You need to stop doing this to yourself otherwise… 10 years from now? You don’t get to become me.
Victoria: What are you saying? That I walk through that door and things get better? That I relive the glory days all over again?
Future Victoria: Relive the glory days? No… you should be focused on creating new glory days… not reliving old ones. But yes, with the right choice… things DO get better. I’m not going to tell you that you’re going to win more world titles or that you’re suddenly going to be so prodigiously dominant or that everything is going to go exactly the way they were prior to… well… “that marriage”... because for one, it’s not my place to spoil the future for you… and two… I don’t want you to focus on the wrong thing. You see… “vainglorious” isn’t about all the championships you win… or all the big names that you beat… nor is it all about being the biggest star in wrestling or having mainstream celebrity appeal.
Victoria: Then… what’s it all about?
Future Victoria: It’s about the impact you leave every single match, the inspiration you leave behind, the imprint on the people that need that inspiration. It’s good to remember the past to build for the future, it’s good to learn from the past to experience greatness in the present… but you’re focused on the wrong things. The part of the past you should be looking at isn’t all the titles you’ve won. Championships? They’re part of your story, they’re the rewards for what you were put on this earth to do… but they’re not YOUR story. You’re the story of the smalltown girl that lived the harshest of childhoods, who was “nobody” in high school, who all she had at the time was a dream considered a long shot to become a professional wrestler… and through the whole grind, through every obstacle… you made it. That fact alone… that’s what makes you who you are… not the five world titles, not all the accomplishments you’ve had.
So you need to stop beating yourself! You need to stop with your pity parties. You need to stop being a victim… because you weren’t one when you broke in, you weren’t one when your worst enemies put you through the worst hell… so why let a few trivial things and a handful of matches drag you down?
Present Victoria thinks about every word she just heard for a moment.
Victoria: You’re right. I lost focus on that. So many young people out there can be inspired by my story… from nothing to something. I’m a self made wrestling star who never allowed anyone or anything to tell me I couldn’t do something. I need to remember that again… I need to remember how and why I broke into this business… I need to remember what my real purpose is… and that’s to be a beacon of hope for those that are going through the same thing I did growing up…
Future Victoria: The championships are going to come along the way, I WILL say that much… but that’s not the mission you should be focusing on. It’s what you just said… being that beacon of hope for the unfortunate, the downtrodden, and those with their backs against the wall. Win or lose, nobody can take that away from you. You just redefined what the real meaning of “vainglorious” truly is.
Victoria: Right… then I know what I must do now. I’m ready to walk through that door.
Present day Victoria walks past future Victoria and heads closer to the door to her right. She’s about to grab the doorknob, but suddenly stops.
Victoria: Wait…
She turns around to face her future self.
Victoria: I know you can’t spoil anything but… Gavin… 10 years from now…
Future Victoria has a laugh to herself.
Future Victoria: Don’t worry… he’s not going anywhere anytime soon!
Victoria: Thanks…
Victoria takes a deep breath before she opens the “champion” door and walks right through it, a blinding light greeting her. She shuts her eyes as a result of the blinding light and when she opens them again, she finds herself back in the hotel room in Chicago.
She’s initially stunned as she sits up on her bed.
Victoria: ...what?
Reflecting on what she just experienced… she’s letting it all sink in. At this point, her upcoming match with Bethany Driver is nowhere near her conscience. She hears a knock on the door and this time, she slides off the bed and walks to it without having any sort of reluctance. Opening the door, Gavin is standing in front of her.
Gavin: Vicky! Sorry I’m late.
Victoria: Hey!!!
Victoria gives her fiance a highly affectionate embrace which catches him off guard, but Gavin returns it.
Victoria: I love you… and I never want to lose you. I’m so sorry that I’ve spent the last few months focusing on such stupid things and not us…
Gavin: You don’t have to apologize. I never was upset with you for that.
Victoria: But, earlier today you were taking things…
Gavin looks at her, slightly confused.
Victoria: ...never mind, that was just a dream. But, let’s not worry about that. I just… want to go to the lake and spend time with you and put the past behind me so I can focus on today… and so I can focus on the future… OUR future… together…
Gavin: Let’s get going then. I’m happy to see that you’re in a better mood. I’m guessing your match last night helped?
Victoria shakes her head.
Victoria: No… just realizing what’s important in the big picture…
Victoria and Gavin leave the room, heading off to Lake Michigan.
A couple of hours later…
Victoria sits on one lawn chair on the shores of Lake Michigan on this hazy afternoon. Even then, the short, sparkling blue dress with matching high heels that Victoria is wearing stands out well in the contrast as she watches Gavin approach her with a large bag that’s been filled.
Gavin: I don’t know what you’re getting at but… here you go… I got you a bag of rocks just like you wanted… for some reason.
Victoria: Thank you.
Gavin places the bag by her feet and Victoria slips off her shoes, standing up and grabbing the bag of rocks, carrying it with her as she wades into the water, the cold lake being about ankle high when she sets down the bag.
Victoria: This… is me letting go… of him…
Victoria takes one of the stones from the bag…
Victoria: You’re NOTHING to me now!!!
She chucks a stone into the lake and grabs another one.
Victoria: You NEVER will define me!!!!
The second stone goes into the lake.
Victoria: I’m NOT “pathetic”... I’m BETTER than what I allowed YOU to make me…
The third stone goes into the lake.
Victoria: You will NEVER… EVER be relevant in my life again!!!!
The fourth stone goes farther than the other three and the splash appears to be the biggest so far.
Victoria: And for the company I was in before…
She grabs stone number five from the bag.
Victoria: It’s YOUR LOSS!
And stone five goes into the lake.
Victoria: You didn’t see me as ANYTHING worth your time… but I realize… it wasn’t me… it was YOU.
Stone six splashes in Lake Michigan.
Victoria: You made me feel beneath what I am truly worth… BUT YOU’RE DONE TELLING ME WHAT I AM WORTH!
Stone seven goes into the water.
Victoria: Because I’m worth SO much more than what you saw in me. You are through with preventing me from being what I am…
Victoria throws stone eight into the lake.
Victoria: And from this moment on… you hold no piece of me anymore…
Stone nine splashes in the lake right where stone four landed.
Victoria: And this last one… to the concept of me being mediocre, to the times I felt sorry for myself, to the times I let other people get one over on me at my expense, to the times I held myself down to allow other people to get one over on me…
I’m NOT a pushover.
I’m NOT over the hill.
I’m NOT your stepping stone.
...and I never will be because NOBODY defines me but me!!!!
The tenth and final stone travels the farthest distance. Victoria looks back seeing the empty bag harmlessly float back to the shore and on the inside, she’s feeling like a great weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. Walking back in Gavin’s direction, she notices her fiance is surprised but also quite happy.
Gavin: I’m so proud of you.
The two embrace again.
Victoria: I had to do that… I had to let it go. For months, I was only vainglorious in name only. But now? I truly feel like I’ve become vainglorious again… especially now that I remember exactly what it’s all about. It’s not about the championships, it’s about inspiring those that went through the same thing we did when we were kids… to achieve greatness in the face of the worst adversity. Because in the end? Even the smallest amount of inspiration and hope we can give to people… title or no title… can make the greatest difference in the world and change someone’s life for the better. The next time I hold a title… I’ll remember that difference… I’ll remember how much my title win inspires someone to find the brightest of lights in the most bleak of darkness. That’s the true power of what “vainglorious” is all about.
Gavin: Wow… it seems like you’ve had an epiphany.
Victoria: You have no idea.
Gavin kisses her in the forehead as Victoria just stays wrapped up in his arms as she experiences this warm feeling of happiness… a happiness that fills her heart with the confidence that at long last… the meddlesome storm that has weighed her down as a person and as a wrestler… has finally faded.
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