Post by Alexis Caffrey on Jul 30, 2018 3:31:33 GMT
With an absolute glow in her eyes, my wife, the first ever Luchadora Champion slowly rubs her hand over the faceplate of the championship she won at Bloody Assizes. She smiles down at her new “baby” a look of sheer joy as if holding a real live child.
Everything just seems right, doesn’t it? I haven’t held a championship in my arms since losing the Diamonds Champion a long time ago and I just felt…
She pauses a minute, the horror of those times without a belt, a time of vulnerability flashing before her eyes, sending a shutter down her spine. The sheer thought makes her hold the title close to her chest.
Empty. And I don’t want that feeling to be ever felt again.
She turns toward me, her eyes narrowing on the lens of the camera as if they were her opponent at Lineage, Vesna herself.
And that’s why you can’t have this championship Vesna. It simply means too much to me to allow someone else to even touch her let alone take her from me to never have me hold her in my arms...why would you be so cruel? Why would you take this loving little girl away from the only thing she’s known in her brief bit of existence?
Her eyes transition from serious to almost doe-like innocence, to a smirk on her face.
It’s because you’re a mean person. You know, the same reason you’re probably sitting their on your couch, or on the edge of a bed in a hotel room, or wherever it is you’re watching this, and you’re thinking to yourself...this girl is cra…
She pauses again, this time only to swallow her words. She clears her throat and continues.
No...not that word, I am not that word. The mere fact that the thought even crossed your mind annoys me to no end, and don’t even sit there and pretend it didn’t. I’m not goofy, not looney, notnuts-bonkers-insane-orcrazy!
The sudden burst of words from her mouth cause her a shortness of breath as she recollects herself. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before refocusing on the goal at hand.
I’m not any of those things Vesna, I’m cunning, I’m smart, and I use every advantage presented to me. It’s what allowed me to adapt and win this shiny championship in the Last Rites Match at Bloody Assizes. That cunning is what allowed me to take on every woman in this company who wasn’t already a champion and overcome them all...yourself included.
She looks down at her championship, a glare from the light above gives it that delightful twinkle that brings another smile to her face.
We all had the same goal Vesna. We entered that match with the intention of walking out as a history making woman in this company. We walked in with the intention of becoming the first...I wanted more. I wanted this beauty that much more.
She turns back to the camera.
Don’t misconstrue my words my primal little nemesis. I’m not saying there’s not a fire in your belly. I’m not saying your eyes don’t glow behind the mask with a fiery passion for what it is you do. I’ve been where you are, and my dark little raven, I too thought I was ready. The difference was and is…I am.
She points into the camera.
You thought you were ready at Bloody Assizes, and you had a nice little run, but in the end, you came up short. Then, then you had a little bit of a reprieve. You got to this point where we now reside, in the ring with a Champion, challenging for her title, challenging for the right to ascend to bigger and better things than you now possess. I look at you now Vesna, and once more, here, through this little lens, I’m telling you an observation that I have...you’re still not ready.
She shakes her head from side to side to dismiss a notion that some might be interpreting from her words.
I don’t mean in the physical sense, no, not at all. You clearly have talent when it comes to being inside that ring. You clearly know your way around the mat, and from the top turnbuckle, and I would be a naive fool to ignore that, and quite frankly not much of a champion to disrespect you in that manner. Maybe in the days gone by, but not here...not now.
**************************************
June 24, 2018
It hurt. I thought the world had forgotten about me. I thought my own husband, the man who has supported me day in and day out, both in the ring and outside of it had lost his faith in me.
Then came Bloody Assizes.
The bell rang and I was handed the Luchadora Championship...crowned the first ever champion of its kind. Tears streamed down my face, not so much because I had won a championship, not even because I was the first ever champion, though that fact in and of itself is pretty sweet; but because I had once again done what I set out to do...prove the world wrong.
They forgot about me, I reminded them who I am.
He lost faith in me, I restored it in full.
I accomplished a goal and as I walked toward the backstage area I hugged that championship and as I walked through the curtain, there were applause from those who watched, whether it be some of the other girls, or the production crew, and I nodded and thanked them, and as the sea of people parted, there was but one standing there with a smile on his face, and his arms wide open. I walked forward and pretty much fell into his arms. His embrace perhaps the absolute safest, most comforting place I could be at that particular moment in time. I cried tears into his shoulder as he congratulated me.
Mike Laszlo: I am so damn proud of you. I knew you had it in you, even after all of this time away. I knew you wanted to be a champion again, and damn it, here you are.
I pulled away, wiping the tears away. I looked up at him and through the smile on my face let him know how I felt.
Alexis Caffrey: You really don’t know how much that means to me.
He stepped behind me and grabbed the championship from me, putting it around my waist, fastening it behind me. He then put his arm around my shoulder and we started walking down the hallway.
Mike Laszlo: What do you mean? I’m always proud of your accomplishments. I told you that when those kids were goofing around in the airport.
Alexis Caffrey: I know.
The look on my face, though smiling, still had a faint look of uncertainty...and he sensed it.
Mike Laszlo: What is it?
I didn’t answer as we continued down the hall. He started to grow concerned and stopped, taking me by my hands.
Mike Laszlo: Hey? What’s got you upset?
I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, though I guess I had with my body language. He reached up and lifted my chin so that our eyes met.
Mike Laszlo: You can say it. I promise, no bad reaction or anything.
I had thought about words he said to me at Night of the Immortals. It was kind of the spark that set this whole thing in motion, the training, and the sparring, and whatever else I had to do to get back into perfect conditioning. I stared into his eyes for a moment and could see how concerned he was. I took a deep breath and let it loose.
Alexis Caffrey: It’s just that, well, that little fight we had at Night of the Immortals. The one where you said it wasn’t your fault I didn’t have a match.
Mike Laszlo: You’re still on that? I don’t know if I have any other ways of apolo…
I held my finger up to his lips to get him to stop talking.
Alexis Caffrey: Shhh, I’m not asking for another apology. I’m explaining myself, so please...just listen.
He nodded as I pulled my finger from his lips.
Alexis Caffrey: I heard those words come from your mouth, and to be honest, they did three things. First...they hurt, and yes, you’ve apologized enough in a number of different ways, and yes, I forgive you. The second thing they did was piss me off. The third thing? They motivated me. I took that hurt and wanted to change it. I took that anger and I channeled it into my routines to get better each and every day. They made me the woman I am today, standing before you as champion because those words, though harsh in how you said them...were exactly what I needed.
Mike Laszlo: I’m glad I could be a source of...motivation?
Alexis Caffrey: Yes, I’m telling you, hearing that lit a fire. I wasn’t aware that I had kind of let my career go a bit. Sure I was hurt, but I’ve been clear for a bit now, and I was just kind of, I don’t know, treading water. That was my kick in the butt, and now look.
Mike Laszlo: NEW CHAMP!
Alexis Caffrey: Not just new...but first...EVER!
Mike Laszlo: I think that’s a pretty good cause for celebration.
Alexis Caffrey: That wouldn’t upset me in the least.
I pulled down on his shoulders, standing on my tippy toes to kiss him. Both of us, now with things out in the open having a much better aura around us as we head to the locker room to get ready for celebration!
**************************************
As the scene opens up, your Luchadora Champion is sitting on a bench in the park. There’s people walking around, some taking a second to take a selfie with her merely in the background, others glancing down at the Championship in her lap. She watches and nods at passers by then turns her attention to her opponent via the camera lens.
We took very different paths to get here Vesna. I was the poor girl who worked her way through slums, moving month to month, and rumors of my mother doing whatever she had to do to keep me alive, clothed, and fed. I fought through the nastiness of the world, and to say I went above and beyond to rise above those circumstances might just be the understatement of a lifetime. We all know, I met the right people, and here I am today...a Hall of Famer, and Champion once again.
She points into the camera.
You? You came up through the quote, unquote, “system”. You trained your butt off, perfecting your craft under much dimmer lights in much smaller places, like a local high school gymnasium. Others would try to hold that against you, but I respect that. I applaud your grit and your determination because though our paths to get to professional wrestling are different, our struggles through life were all too similar.
We both had to fight for what we wanted, nothing was ever given to us on a silver platter. We had to go above and beyond while others coasted by on looks or who they were sleeping with. We have proven to the world that we are as good as we appear, and what they see is not a mirage.
She pulls the championship off of her lap.
The difference between you, the upstart here in the IWF, and me the champion is exactly what I said earlier...I was and am ready for this moment, and honestly, I don’t think you are. I am prepared through past experience for this lifestyle, the style of a champion. The schedule is demanding and the target on your back might as well be branded in because it is hot and it burns bright for all to take a shot.
I know this...I’ve lived it...and I’m fully prepared to do it all over again.
I look at you, and while you have perfected a great craft in that ring, and as I mentioned before, physically you might be ready...but physicality isn’t all this is about.
She points to her head.
You have to have it up here. You need to be able to think on your feet, figure things out that honestly, you’ve probably never encountered before. You need to have the ability to combine experience with the physical gifts you possess, and I just don’t see you being on my level…not yet.
She stands from the bench, slinging the Championship over her shoulder.
It’s exhausting being the Champion. It’s exhausting to represent the women of this company and this company as a whole, and as gifted as you are...I don’t think you can handle those pressures.
Her eyebrows raise and there’s a slight shrug of the shoulders.
Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you shock the world, and perhaps yourself come Lineage. Maybe you beat me in that ring and you win this title from me. As hard as it would be to relinquish my baby, I could at least look at the person I’m giving her to and know she’s in good hands.
Perhaps that person is you Vesna, and though you’ll tell the world it is...it won’t hit home until it actually happens.
She points into the camera.
Unfortunately for you, I’m going to do everything in my power to keep this little girl over my shoulder. I’m going to show the world how motivated I am. I’m going to show you, and them, I...I simply want it more.
She walks off from the feed as I turn the scene to black with a simple flick of a button.
Everything just seems right, doesn’t it? I haven’t held a championship in my arms since losing the Diamonds Champion a long time ago and I just felt…
She pauses a minute, the horror of those times without a belt, a time of vulnerability flashing before her eyes, sending a shutter down her spine. The sheer thought makes her hold the title close to her chest.
Empty. And I don’t want that feeling to be ever felt again.
She turns toward me, her eyes narrowing on the lens of the camera as if they were her opponent at Lineage, Vesna herself.
And that’s why you can’t have this championship Vesna. It simply means too much to me to allow someone else to even touch her let alone take her from me to never have me hold her in my arms...why would you be so cruel? Why would you take this loving little girl away from the only thing she’s known in her brief bit of existence?
Her eyes transition from serious to almost doe-like innocence, to a smirk on her face.
It’s because you’re a mean person. You know, the same reason you’re probably sitting their on your couch, or on the edge of a bed in a hotel room, or wherever it is you’re watching this, and you’re thinking to yourself...this girl is cra…
She pauses again, this time only to swallow her words. She clears her throat and continues.
No...not that word, I am not that word. The mere fact that the thought even crossed your mind annoys me to no end, and don’t even sit there and pretend it didn’t. I’m not goofy, not looney, notnuts-bonkers-insane-orcrazy!
The sudden burst of words from her mouth cause her a shortness of breath as she recollects herself. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before refocusing on the goal at hand.
I’m not any of those things Vesna, I’m cunning, I’m smart, and I use every advantage presented to me. It’s what allowed me to adapt and win this shiny championship in the Last Rites Match at Bloody Assizes. That cunning is what allowed me to take on every woman in this company who wasn’t already a champion and overcome them all...yourself included.
She looks down at her championship, a glare from the light above gives it that delightful twinkle that brings another smile to her face.
We all had the same goal Vesna. We entered that match with the intention of walking out as a history making woman in this company. We walked in with the intention of becoming the first...I wanted more. I wanted this beauty that much more.
She turns back to the camera.
Don’t misconstrue my words my primal little nemesis. I’m not saying there’s not a fire in your belly. I’m not saying your eyes don’t glow behind the mask with a fiery passion for what it is you do. I’ve been where you are, and my dark little raven, I too thought I was ready. The difference was and is…I am.
She points into the camera.
You thought you were ready at Bloody Assizes, and you had a nice little run, but in the end, you came up short. Then, then you had a little bit of a reprieve. You got to this point where we now reside, in the ring with a Champion, challenging for her title, challenging for the right to ascend to bigger and better things than you now possess. I look at you now Vesna, and once more, here, through this little lens, I’m telling you an observation that I have...you’re still not ready.
She shakes her head from side to side to dismiss a notion that some might be interpreting from her words.
I don’t mean in the physical sense, no, not at all. You clearly have talent when it comes to being inside that ring. You clearly know your way around the mat, and from the top turnbuckle, and I would be a naive fool to ignore that, and quite frankly not much of a champion to disrespect you in that manner. Maybe in the days gone by, but not here...not now.
**************************************
June 24, 2018
It hurt. I thought the world had forgotten about me. I thought my own husband, the man who has supported me day in and day out, both in the ring and outside of it had lost his faith in me.
Then came Bloody Assizes.
The bell rang and I was handed the Luchadora Championship...crowned the first ever champion of its kind. Tears streamed down my face, not so much because I had won a championship, not even because I was the first ever champion, though that fact in and of itself is pretty sweet; but because I had once again done what I set out to do...prove the world wrong.
They forgot about me, I reminded them who I am.
He lost faith in me, I restored it in full.
I accomplished a goal and as I walked toward the backstage area I hugged that championship and as I walked through the curtain, there were applause from those who watched, whether it be some of the other girls, or the production crew, and I nodded and thanked them, and as the sea of people parted, there was but one standing there with a smile on his face, and his arms wide open. I walked forward and pretty much fell into his arms. His embrace perhaps the absolute safest, most comforting place I could be at that particular moment in time. I cried tears into his shoulder as he congratulated me.
Mike Laszlo: I am so damn proud of you. I knew you had it in you, even after all of this time away. I knew you wanted to be a champion again, and damn it, here you are.
I pulled away, wiping the tears away. I looked up at him and through the smile on my face let him know how I felt.
Alexis Caffrey: You really don’t know how much that means to me.
He stepped behind me and grabbed the championship from me, putting it around my waist, fastening it behind me. He then put his arm around my shoulder and we started walking down the hallway.
Mike Laszlo: What do you mean? I’m always proud of your accomplishments. I told you that when those kids were goofing around in the airport.
Alexis Caffrey: I know.
The look on my face, though smiling, still had a faint look of uncertainty...and he sensed it.
Mike Laszlo: What is it?
I didn’t answer as we continued down the hall. He started to grow concerned and stopped, taking me by my hands.
Mike Laszlo: Hey? What’s got you upset?
I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, though I guess I had with my body language. He reached up and lifted my chin so that our eyes met.
Mike Laszlo: You can say it. I promise, no bad reaction or anything.
I had thought about words he said to me at Night of the Immortals. It was kind of the spark that set this whole thing in motion, the training, and the sparring, and whatever else I had to do to get back into perfect conditioning. I stared into his eyes for a moment and could see how concerned he was. I took a deep breath and let it loose.
Alexis Caffrey: It’s just that, well, that little fight we had at Night of the Immortals. The one where you said it wasn’t your fault I didn’t have a match.
Mike Laszlo: You’re still on that? I don’t know if I have any other ways of apolo…
I held my finger up to his lips to get him to stop talking.
Alexis Caffrey: Shhh, I’m not asking for another apology. I’m explaining myself, so please...just listen.
He nodded as I pulled my finger from his lips.
Alexis Caffrey: I heard those words come from your mouth, and to be honest, they did three things. First...they hurt, and yes, you’ve apologized enough in a number of different ways, and yes, I forgive you. The second thing they did was piss me off. The third thing? They motivated me. I took that hurt and wanted to change it. I took that anger and I channeled it into my routines to get better each and every day. They made me the woman I am today, standing before you as champion because those words, though harsh in how you said them...were exactly what I needed.
Mike Laszlo: I’m glad I could be a source of...motivation?
Alexis Caffrey: Yes, I’m telling you, hearing that lit a fire. I wasn’t aware that I had kind of let my career go a bit. Sure I was hurt, but I’ve been clear for a bit now, and I was just kind of, I don’t know, treading water. That was my kick in the butt, and now look.
Mike Laszlo: NEW CHAMP!
Alexis Caffrey: Not just new...but first...EVER!
Mike Laszlo: I think that’s a pretty good cause for celebration.
Alexis Caffrey: That wouldn’t upset me in the least.
I pulled down on his shoulders, standing on my tippy toes to kiss him. Both of us, now with things out in the open having a much better aura around us as we head to the locker room to get ready for celebration!
**************************************
As the scene opens up, your Luchadora Champion is sitting on a bench in the park. There’s people walking around, some taking a second to take a selfie with her merely in the background, others glancing down at the Championship in her lap. She watches and nods at passers by then turns her attention to her opponent via the camera lens.
We took very different paths to get here Vesna. I was the poor girl who worked her way through slums, moving month to month, and rumors of my mother doing whatever she had to do to keep me alive, clothed, and fed. I fought through the nastiness of the world, and to say I went above and beyond to rise above those circumstances might just be the understatement of a lifetime. We all know, I met the right people, and here I am today...a Hall of Famer, and Champion once again.
She points into the camera.
You? You came up through the quote, unquote, “system”. You trained your butt off, perfecting your craft under much dimmer lights in much smaller places, like a local high school gymnasium. Others would try to hold that against you, but I respect that. I applaud your grit and your determination because though our paths to get to professional wrestling are different, our struggles through life were all too similar.
We both had to fight for what we wanted, nothing was ever given to us on a silver platter. We had to go above and beyond while others coasted by on looks or who they were sleeping with. We have proven to the world that we are as good as we appear, and what they see is not a mirage.
She pulls the championship off of her lap.
The difference between you, the upstart here in the IWF, and me the champion is exactly what I said earlier...I was and am ready for this moment, and honestly, I don’t think you are. I am prepared through past experience for this lifestyle, the style of a champion. The schedule is demanding and the target on your back might as well be branded in because it is hot and it burns bright for all to take a shot.
I know this...I’ve lived it...and I’m fully prepared to do it all over again.
I look at you, and while you have perfected a great craft in that ring, and as I mentioned before, physically you might be ready...but physicality isn’t all this is about.
She points to her head.
You have to have it up here. You need to be able to think on your feet, figure things out that honestly, you’ve probably never encountered before. You need to have the ability to combine experience with the physical gifts you possess, and I just don’t see you being on my level…not yet.
She stands from the bench, slinging the Championship over her shoulder.
It’s exhausting being the Champion. It’s exhausting to represent the women of this company and this company as a whole, and as gifted as you are...I don’t think you can handle those pressures.
Her eyebrows raise and there’s a slight shrug of the shoulders.
Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you shock the world, and perhaps yourself come Lineage. Maybe you beat me in that ring and you win this title from me. As hard as it would be to relinquish my baby, I could at least look at the person I’m giving her to and know she’s in good hands.
Perhaps that person is you Vesna, and though you’ll tell the world it is...it won’t hit home until it actually happens.
She points into the camera.
Unfortunately for you, I’m going to do everything in my power to keep this little girl over my shoulder. I’m going to show the world how motivated I am. I’m going to show you, and them, I...I simply want it more.
She walks off from the feed as I turn the scene to black with a simple flick of a button.
Well howdy there pardner.