Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2019 13:48:22 GMT -6
Flashback: May 2018
“Vicky, as one of your best friends…”
Victoria Salinas is feeling a little bit intense shortly after putting on her wedding dress in a Las Vegas hotel room. Julia Rivera, who has been with her every step of the way for the most part in the previous few years, looks concerned. She knows that Victoria is dying on the inside, that she’s as miserable as a bride could possibly be on their wedding day.
Julia: You shouldn’t go through with this. Don’t you see this as a red flag that your parents, who almost never agree on anything, agree so much that this isn’t right for you that they both declined to be here tonight?
Victoria: It hurts that they’re not here…
Julia: Because they’d never support what’s not right to you… whether it’s a drug addiction or tonight’s wedding. Not that HE is as bad as drugs or anything but you get what I’m saying. You don’t love him. Why are you putting yourself through this?
Victoria: Because we’ve come this far and I owe it to him, that’s why.
Julia: Vicky, you don’t owe him shit… except for an explanation for why you don’t love him and why you’re not going through with this.
Victoria: I AM going through with it. I don’t feel like I love him but maybe the wedding today changes this.
Julia: Vicky, don’t. Your feelings about him are never going to change. A ceremony won’t change that. It’s obvious to everyone but you that he’s not the man you were put on this earth to spend the rest of your life with. He’s a good person and all, but he’s someone you should have kept in the friend zone.
Victoria: Julia, I’ve made up my mind.
Julia: Vicky… you need someone who will comfort you, who will be there for you, who understands you and loves you for who you are, who will support you every step of the way. He’s not it… and deep down in your heart, you know that.
Victoria doesn’t say a word in response to this.
Julia: You’re making one of the biggest mistakes in your life if you do this. I don’t think you understand the potential consequences of going through with it.
Julia sighs before reluctantly leaving the room. Deep down, Victoria knows Julia is right. But all she’s worried about right now is the consequences if she DOESN’T go through with the wedding: the damage it would do to her reputation… how the fans would see her… how her peers would see her. She’s not thinking of herself at the moment. She’s not thinking of her happiness. All she’s thinking about is making other people happy, putting their needs ahead of her own.
That night…
At the reception, Victoria looks at the empty chair that she had reserved for her parents who decided not to show up in protest. Her old wrestling friend, Valentina Madison, shows up and stands next to her.
Valentina: You’re lucky I love you enough to be here.
Victoria: Apparently, my parents didn’t.
Valentina: I don’t blame them. Honestly. But… if it makes you happy… you know. This DOES make you happy, right?
Shockingly, Victoria isn’t able to respond.
Valentina: This night… your future children that you’re going to have with him… the fact that you’re with someone who describes himself as a “big kid” for the rest of your life and isn’t sensitive enough to support your needs… the fact that… most likely… you’ll be the working mom while he stays home with the kids and you’ll have to deal with his immaturity and his awful humor and the fact that he won’t allow you to be you because you’ll be too busy pretending to be someone you’re really not just for fraudulent happiness…
Victoria: ...why are you saying all this? I know you never liked him but…
Valentina: ...well no, because he’s never been good enough for you and he never will be… and I’m not saying that just to put my Northwestern psych degree to good use… or to be a total bitch… I’m saying that to be brutally honest with you… something which you refuse to be with yourself. The wedding didn’t change how you feel about him, did it?
Victoria: Oh god…
Valentina: You still don’t love him, do you?
Victoria: ...I don’t…
Victoria’s eyes widen in horror.
Victoria: Oh my god… I’ve made a terrible mistake…
Victoria bolts from the reception at this point just wanting to be left alone.
The next night…
Victoria is in the locker room ready to compete against one of her biggest rivals of her entire career, at GCW Resurrection, GCW’s flagship stage. Prior to this match, Victoria was known for being able to win on the biggest stage under the brightest lights. With this… and with her opponent and long time rival in Myra Lynwood having had issues doing the same in recent years, there’s no reason to believe why she wouldn’t walk out of the biggest show of the year once again, a winner. But the vibe and the aura around her is different… and not in a good way. When Julia Rivera approaches her, she can sense it instantly.
Julia: You’re not right…
Victoria: Julia… you were right. I’ve made a horrible mistake.
Her eyes flood with tears at this point.
Victoria: I woke up in the middle of last night lying next to him…
Julia: Oh god… Vicky…
Victoria: We didn’t “do it”, okay? I lied and said I was too tired.
Julia: And the fact that you lied to your husband within hours of marrying him isn’t a red flag?
Victoria: I GET IT, okay? Listen, I woke up and the first thing I saw was his face and… I just lost it. My heart was broken, Julia. I just wanted to hide… so I did. I got out of bed, left the room, went to the catering room and I was bawling… like… I knew I made a mistake… it was this horrifying moment of perfect despair and all I can think about was “I settled for THAT? What’s wrong with me?”
Julia: I’m sorry… look… we can talk about this more later, okay? You’ve got to put Myra away and get her off your back. Remember Toronto… when your first ever world title 7 and a half years ago was at her expense… that joyous feeling you had. That’s how you’ll win this. Focus on your match, alright?
Victoria and Julia embrace each other before Julia departs and leaves Victoria alone in the locker room.
Victoria: ...I don’t know if I can…
The concern in her eyes tells the story and sure enough, her emotions got the better of her.
And on this night, on the biggest stage… under the brightest lights… a situation she had always been so good at… she wouldn’t be. She’d lose that match to her bitter rival.
Annulment would come a month later when she finally put her needs first. But the end of that one month marriage would create devastating consequences. She’d leave GCW in disgrace, being one of the most hated people in the locker room. Most of the personnel sided against her, which cut deep into her core. For so many years, GCW felt like home for her. But after that? She realized there was no way she could stay. Leaving GCW hurt her immensely and it would be something that would alter her confidence for a long time to come.
September 2018
Victoria wasn’t out of work long, joining HYBRID Wrestling. On this particular morning, she’s having a coffee talk with Valentina Madison, who was also with the company at the time. Valentina is incredibly happy at the fact that she’s once again sharing a locker room with someone she admires so much. Victoria on the other hand isn’t into their meeting at all.
Valentina: Vicky, I’m elated as hell to have you with me in Hybrid… but… I can’t help but feel that something isn’t right.
Victoria: Val… I’m homesick, honestly.
Valentina: Weird. You’re a bit too old to be missing your mother right now.
Victoria: No, not THAT kind of homesick. I’m talking about GCW…
Valentina: Oh… well fuck them, Vicky. The way you were treated for that whole marriage thing when most of them didn’t even bother to try to understand your feelings or where you came from… they can go to hell for all I care.
Victoria: I should still be there. No disrespect to HYBRID, but GCW is where I belong. And not being there right now… not being home… not being where the best years of my career happened… it hurts like hell, more than you can ever know.
Valentina: I know… making such a big career change is daunting… but it’s worth it. Trust me, I’m having the time of my career here…
An ironic statement from someone that would leave Hybrid within the next 7-8 months while expressing that Hybrid was the most miserable time she’d ever have in wrestling… though obviously she doesn’t know this yet.
Valentina: I’m treated like an actual human being and not like a joke the way companies before always looked at me. I know that what happened with he-who-shall-not-be-named was intense. But you’re strong enough to move past it… and GCW. Besides, what did you have left to accomplish there anyway, Miss Hall of Fame member and three time world champion? Embrace a brand new beginning, Vicky. They have no idea what kind of wrestler Hybrid has on their roster in you.
Nor would they, but again, neither woman is anywhere near aware of that at this moment.
Victoria: Right… let’s go with that…
Valentina: I’m worried… you don’t seem so sure of yourself as you usually are…
Victoria: Just drop it, okay?
Valentina: I’m just saying… jeez!
Victoria sighs and just stares at her coffee… not realizing how far her confidence has already sunk by this point. Sure enough, due to said confidence… or lack thereof… Victoria’s tenure in HYBRID was short and uneventful. While she left the company on far better terms than Valentina did, it didn’t take her long to realize that she wasn’t a fit for the place. Of course, her feelings about GCW also played a clear factor in this considering the harsh breakup she had with them… which of course, on top of that ill-fated one month marriage… harsh breakups was something that Victoria wasn’t a stranger to by this point. Still, her uneventful HYBRID tenure did nothing but suppress her confidence even more.
In essence… Victoria Salinas was already broken on the day she arrived in MWE… all of the above considered.
Did Sunday’s events cause further damage?
Sunday…
Naturally, Victoria is disappointed in the way her match with Bethany Driver shook out. A cold feeling sweeps her and in her mind, she’s conflicted. Does she keep pushing on? Or does she fall back to old habits? Does she go back to the pity parties? Does she go back to openly doubting herself?
Victoria: Victim? Or champion?
She says this to herself, recollecting that hallway dream she had with her future self.
Gavin: You know the answer to that.
Victoria becomes delighted with her fiance’s presence as he sits next to her.
Gavin: I’m sorry about the match…
He grabs her hand and she looks at him with a smile on her face which catches him by pleasant surprise.
Victoria: I’m okay.
Gavin: Yeah?
Victoria: Yeah. I was hung up on the wrong things. I let things snowball for so long. The last wedding… the way I left GCW… how HYBRID went for me. I see things clearer than ever. I haven’t had the success I’ve wanted to have here because this entire time, I was hurting. If my last relationship shattered my confidence… then the way I left GCW as a consequence of ending it shattered what was left. I didn’t get anywhere in HYBRID because I was stuck on that despair and all I did was add even more of it to my shoulders. With all that considered… I’ve never given myself a chance… a real chance… to be successful here. And yet… despite all of that despair in my soul…
I could have done so much worse than I actually have. All things considered, Bethany should have routed me out of the building tonight. She didn’t. She won… but it was nowhere close to a rout. It took CHEATING for Duke Andrews to beat me… with all that despair in me… that shouldn’t have been the case. He should have routed me too. I’ve underestimated my strength. If I can even come CLOSE to winning matches like that with this despair in me… imagine what I can do once I become cured of it.
Gavin: What’s the cure?
Victoria: It’s you!
Victoria smiles as Gavin raises his eyebrows in surprise.
Victoria: Through every ounce of despair that I’ve been through, through the darkness I’ve had to live in for so long… you’re the one thing in my life I had unconditional happiness about. You’ve been there for me more than I could ever ask you to be there. You’re the one that took me with you to that Indy wrestling show when we were 16, backstage passes and all and that’s when I discovered my love for this and my desire to be a wrestler. You changed my life that day for the better and on Saturday, you’re going to do the same thing for me. I was meant to be a wrestler and we were always meant to be together and knowing that makes me feel so indescribably happy… it gives me this… confidence… this love… this feeling… this bright, vibrant, happy feeling… that things ARE going to get better… and that starting on Saturday, when we walk down that aisle… when we both have our moment of perfect happiness, it’ll be a clean slate, a brighter future and something we’ll never forget.
Gavin: You’ve finally realized your own worth as a person, haven’t you?
Victoria smiles and nods.
Victoria: At long last… yes!
The pair for a brief moment exchange a few passionate kisses before they stand up together.
Victoria: Let’s get married!
Gavin: Yeah… I’d love that.
Arm in arm, they leave the locker room together with Saturday representing what could very well be the best day of both of their lives.
Victoria (thinking): I can feel it… the despair in my heart finally melting away. My confidence is coming back. It’s all coming real nice and slow. But when I get married to the love of my life… that despair will finally be gone and I can never look back. My life on Saturday changes for the better…
...don’t ask me how…
But after this wedding, when I step back in an MWE ring… I have a hunch that things are going to start getting better…
...finally!!!
TBC...
“Vicky, as one of your best friends…”
Victoria Salinas is feeling a little bit intense shortly after putting on her wedding dress in a Las Vegas hotel room. Julia Rivera, who has been with her every step of the way for the most part in the previous few years, looks concerned. She knows that Victoria is dying on the inside, that she’s as miserable as a bride could possibly be on their wedding day.
Julia: You shouldn’t go through with this. Don’t you see this as a red flag that your parents, who almost never agree on anything, agree so much that this isn’t right for you that they both declined to be here tonight?
Victoria: It hurts that they’re not here…
Julia: Because they’d never support what’s not right to you… whether it’s a drug addiction or tonight’s wedding. Not that HE is as bad as drugs or anything but you get what I’m saying. You don’t love him. Why are you putting yourself through this?
Victoria: Because we’ve come this far and I owe it to him, that’s why.
Julia: Vicky, you don’t owe him shit… except for an explanation for why you don’t love him and why you’re not going through with this.
Victoria: I AM going through with it. I don’t feel like I love him but maybe the wedding today changes this.
Julia: Vicky, don’t. Your feelings about him are never going to change. A ceremony won’t change that. It’s obvious to everyone but you that he’s not the man you were put on this earth to spend the rest of your life with. He’s a good person and all, but he’s someone you should have kept in the friend zone.
Victoria: Julia, I’ve made up my mind.
Julia: Vicky… you need someone who will comfort you, who will be there for you, who understands you and loves you for who you are, who will support you every step of the way. He’s not it… and deep down in your heart, you know that.
Victoria doesn’t say a word in response to this.
Julia: You’re making one of the biggest mistakes in your life if you do this. I don’t think you understand the potential consequences of going through with it.
Julia sighs before reluctantly leaving the room. Deep down, Victoria knows Julia is right. But all she’s worried about right now is the consequences if she DOESN’T go through with the wedding: the damage it would do to her reputation… how the fans would see her… how her peers would see her. She’s not thinking of herself at the moment. She’s not thinking of her happiness. All she’s thinking about is making other people happy, putting their needs ahead of her own.
That night…
At the reception, Victoria looks at the empty chair that she had reserved for her parents who decided not to show up in protest. Her old wrestling friend, Valentina Madison, shows up and stands next to her.
Valentina: You’re lucky I love you enough to be here.
Victoria: Apparently, my parents didn’t.
Valentina: I don’t blame them. Honestly. But… if it makes you happy… you know. This DOES make you happy, right?
Shockingly, Victoria isn’t able to respond.
Valentina: This night… your future children that you’re going to have with him… the fact that you’re with someone who describes himself as a “big kid” for the rest of your life and isn’t sensitive enough to support your needs… the fact that… most likely… you’ll be the working mom while he stays home with the kids and you’ll have to deal with his immaturity and his awful humor and the fact that he won’t allow you to be you because you’ll be too busy pretending to be someone you’re really not just for fraudulent happiness…
Victoria: ...why are you saying all this? I know you never liked him but…
Valentina: ...well no, because he’s never been good enough for you and he never will be… and I’m not saying that just to put my Northwestern psych degree to good use… or to be a total bitch… I’m saying that to be brutally honest with you… something which you refuse to be with yourself. The wedding didn’t change how you feel about him, did it?
Victoria: Oh god…
Valentina: You still don’t love him, do you?
Victoria: ...I don’t…
Victoria’s eyes widen in horror.
Victoria: Oh my god… I’ve made a terrible mistake…
Victoria bolts from the reception at this point just wanting to be left alone.
The next night…
Victoria is in the locker room ready to compete against one of her biggest rivals of her entire career, at GCW Resurrection, GCW’s flagship stage. Prior to this match, Victoria was known for being able to win on the biggest stage under the brightest lights. With this… and with her opponent and long time rival in Myra Lynwood having had issues doing the same in recent years, there’s no reason to believe why she wouldn’t walk out of the biggest show of the year once again, a winner. But the vibe and the aura around her is different… and not in a good way. When Julia Rivera approaches her, she can sense it instantly.
Julia: You’re not right…
Victoria: Julia… you were right. I’ve made a horrible mistake.
Her eyes flood with tears at this point.
Victoria: I woke up in the middle of last night lying next to him…
Julia: Oh god… Vicky…
Victoria: We didn’t “do it”, okay? I lied and said I was too tired.
Julia: And the fact that you lied to your husband within hours of marrying him isn’t a red flag?
Victoria: I GET IT, okay? Listen, I woke up and the first thing I saw was his face and… I just lost it. My heart was broken, Julia. I just wanted to hide… so I did. I got out of bed, left the room, went to the catering room and I was bawling… like… I knew I made a mistake… it was this horrifying moment of perfect despair and all I can think about was “I settled for THAT? What’s wrong with me?”
Julia: I’m sorry… look… we can talk about this more later, okay? You’ve got to put Myra away and get her off your back. Remember Toronto… when your first ever world title 7 and a half years ago was at her expense… that joyous feeling you had. That’s how you’ll win this. Focus on your match, alright?
Victoria and Julia embrace each other before Julia departs and leaves Victoria alone in the locker room.
Victoria: ...I don’t know if I can…
The concern in her eyes tells the story and sure enough, her emotions got the better of her.
And on this night, on the biggest stage… under the brightest lights… a situation she had always been so good at… she wouldn’t be. She’d lose that match to her bitter rival.
Annulment would come a month later when she finally put her needs first. But the end of that one month marriage would create devastating consequences. She’d leave GCW in disgrace, being one of the most hated people in the locker room. Most of the personnel sided against her, which cut deep into her core. For so many years, GCW felt like home for her. But after that? She realized there was no way she could stay. Leaving GCW hurt her immensely and it would be something that would alter her confidence for a long time to come.
September 2018
Victoria wasn’t out of work long, joining HYBRID Wrestling. On this particular morning, she’s having a coffee talk with Valentina Madison, who was also with the company at the time. Valentina is incredibly happy at the fact that she’s once again sharing a locker room with someone she admires so much. Victoria on the other hand isn’t into their meeting at all.
Valentina: Vicky, I’m elated as hell to have you with me in Hybrid… but… I can’t help but feel that something isn’t right.
Victoria: Val… I’m homesick, honestly.
Valentina: Weird. You’re a bit too old to be missing your mother right now.
Victoria: No, not THAT kind of homesick. I’m talking about GCW…
Valentina: Oh… well fuck them, Vicky. The way you were treated for that whole marriage thing when most of them didn’t even bother to try to understand your feelings or where you came from… they can go to hell for all I care.
Victoria: I should still be there. No disrespect to HYBRID, but GCW is where I belong. And not being there right now… not being home… not being where the best years of my career happened… it hurts like hell, more than you can ever know.
Valentina: I know… making such a big career change is daunting… but it’s worth it. Trust me, I’m having the time of my career here…
An ironic statement from someone that would leave Hybrid within the next 7-8 months while expressing that Hybrid was the most miserable time she’d ever have in wrestling… though obviously she doesn’t know this yet.
Valentina: I’m treated like an actual human being and not like a joke the way companies before always looked at me. I know that what happened with he-who-shall-not-be-named was intense. But you’re strong enough to move past it… and GCW. Besides, what did you have left to accomplish there anyway, Miss Hall of Fame member and three time world champion? Embrace a brand new beginning, Vicky. They have no idea what kind of wrestler Hybrid has on their roster in you.
Nor would they, but again, neither woman is anywhere near aware of that at this moment.
Victoria: Right… let’s go with that…
Valentina: I’m worried… you don’t seem so sure of yourself as you usually are…
Victoria: Just drop it, okay?
Valentina: I’m just saying… jeez!
Victoria sighs and just stares at her coffee… not realizing how far her confidence has already sunk by this point. Sure enough, due to said confidence… or lack thereof… Victoria’s tenure in HYBRID was short and uneventful. While she left the company on far better terms than Valentina did, it didn’t take her long to realize that she wasn’t a fit for the place. Of course, her feelings about GCW also played a clear factor in this considering the harsh breakup she had with them… which of course, on top of that ill-fated one month marriage… harsh breakups was something that Victoria wasn’t a stranger to by this point. Still, her uneventful HYBRID tenure did nothing but suppress her confidence even more.
In essence… Victoria Salinas was already broken on the day she arrived in MWE… all of the above considered.
Did Sunday’s events cause further damage?
Sunday…
Naturally, Victoria is disappointed in the way her match with Bethany Driver shook out. A cold feeling sweeps her and in her mind, she’s conflicted. Does she keep pushing on? Or does she fall back to old habits? Does she go back to the pity parties? Does she go back to openly doubting herself?
Victoria: Victim? Or champion?
She says this to herself, recollecting that hallway dream she had with her future self.
Gavin: You know the answer to that.
Victoria becomes delighted with her fiance’s presence as he sits next to her.
Gavin: I’m sorry about the match…
He grabs her hand and she looks at him with a smile on her face which catches him by pleasant surprise.
Victoria: I’m okay.
Gavin: Yeah?
Victoria: Yeah. I was hung up on the wrong things. I let things snowball for so long. The last wedding… the way I left GCW… how HYBRID went for me. I see things clearer than ever. I haven’t had the success I’ve wanted to have here because this entire time, I was hurting. If my last relationship shattered my confidence… then the way I left GCW as a consequence of ending it shattered what was left. I didn’t get anywhere in HYBRID because I was stuck on that despair and all I did was add even more of it to my shoulders. With all that considered… I’ve never given myself a chance… a real chance… to be successful here. And yet… despite all of that despair in my soul…
I could have done so much worse than I actually have. All things considered, Bethany should have routed me out of the building tonight. She didn’t. She won… but it was nowhere close to a rout. It took CHEATING for Duke Andrews to beat me… with all that despair in me… that shouldn’t have been the case. He should have routed me too. I’ve underestimated my strength. If I can even come CLOSE to winning matches like that with this despair in me… imagine what I can do once I become cured of it.
Gavin: What’s the cure?
Victoria: It’s you!
Victoria smiles as Gavin raises his eyebrows in surprise.
Victoria: Through every ounce of despair that I’ve been through, through the darkness I’ve had to live in for so long… you’re the one thing in my life I had unconditional happiness about. You’ve been there for me more than I could ever ask you to be there. You’re the one that took me with you to that Indy wrestling show when we were 16, backstage passes and all and that’s when I discovered my love for this and my desire to be a wrestler. You changed my life that day for the better and on Saturday, you’re going to do the same thing for me. I was meant to be a wrestler and we were always meant to be together and knowing that makes me feel so indescribably happy… it gives me this… confidence… this love… this feeling… this bright, vibrant, happy feeling… that things ARE going to get better… and that starting on Saturday, when we walk down that aisle… when we both have our moment of perfect happiness, it’ll be a clean slate, a brighter future and something we’ll never forget.
Gavin: You’ve finally realized your own worth as a person, haven’t you?
Victoria smiles and nods.
Victoria: At long last… yes!
The pair for a brief moment exchange a few passionate kisses before they stand up together.
Victoria: Let’s get married!
Gavin: Yeah… I’d love that.
Arm in arm, they leave the locker room together with Saturday representing what could very well be the best day of both of their lives.
Victoria (thinking): I can feel it… the despair in my heart finally melting away. My confidence is coming back. It’s all coming real nice and slow. But when I get married to the love of my life… that despair will finally be gone and I can never look back. My life on Saturday changes for the better…
...don’t ask me how…
But after this wedding, when I step back in an MWE ring… I have a hunch that things are going to start getting better…
...finally!!!
TBC...