Date July 8th 2017 / Time Unknown / Status Not Recording
Location New Orleans, LA – WrestleStock, Day 3

“Hey there sexy…”

“Congratulations, Hun.”

I smile, lugging my tired body down the corridor – the Cross-Hemisphere championship hanging off of my shoulder. The added couple of pounds feels good, amid the throbbing pain in my knee and the exhaustion creeping through every other part of my body. My free hand reaches up and touches the metal – warm from the contact with my hot, sweaty body.

“Thank you. Feels pretty good if I do say so myself.”

“Winning the belt or your knee?”

I cringe.

“The knee feels like hot garbage, CJ.. but it felt nice to smash that chair into his knee. It really felt like justice was served.”

I reply, feeling pretty damn happy with myself. As painful as it was, feeling my knee being crushed relentlessly – I’d do it a million times over, just to have the pleasure of doing the same to him. Winning the Cross-Hemisphere title back is just the icing on the cake here tonight.

“As long as you’re happy.”

“Trust me… I a–”

I look up to see Gabriel standing against a wall, his lips turning upwards into a wry smirk as he sees me.

“Luce?”

I grin at Gabriel, walking towards him – which isn’t exactly unheard of, considering he’s leaning on the same wall that my locker room happens to be situated on.  Nothing wrong with that.  Well, except I lost all track of what I was doing when I rounded that particular corner.  As I get closer, I realize that CJ had said something.  I cringe and shake my head, sighing as I respond.

“Yeah, Ceej… I’m sorry. Things are kind of crazy back here right now. Can I call you back when I get to the hotel?”

My eyes haven’t left Gabriel’s since I saw him. Something about the way he’s looking at me, and the smile on his face… makes me wonder what he’s up to. If any of the things that I’ve heard about him are true…

Then I might be in trouble.

“Yeah, sure. Talk to you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hang up the phone and slide it into my pocket as I move in front of Gabriel. I stop for a moment, turning towards him and patting the belt on my shoulder.

“So… I’ve done my part.”

“That you have.”

He replies, his eyes flickering towards the belt on my shoulder, the same belt that he held not too long ago. The same belt he took from me… yet I never really saw it that way. Funny, the way you think when your feelings for someone aren’t ones of hatred or malice.. because I’m pretty sure that had anyone else of won that match that night.. and of taken the Cross-Hemisphere title from me… I wouldn’t have taken it so well.

He pushes himself away from the wall, the proximity between us closing.. just as it has in nearly every encounter that we’ve had as of late. I can feel his body heat, which is saying something considering I just wrestled a match and I’m still sweaty. I feel my cheeks warming up and I reach up, wiping my matted hair from my forehead – suddenly aware that I’m not exactly well groomed and clean right now.

“Jesus.. I’m a mess.”

“It suits you.”

I laugh awkwardly. Jesus… what the hell is wrong with me?

“It does? I mean.. shit… Thanks. Now it’s up to you tomorrow…”

I point at his waist, inadvertently grazing his abdomen as I do. He looks down at my hand and back up into my eyes as I laugh again.  Fuck.  I need a quick recovery.   My smile reduces into what I can only classify as a playful smirk.

“Think you can do it?”

I pull my hand away from his abdomen, raking it through my hair as best I can – my eyes shifting around, trying to look anywhere but into his eyes.

“Without a doubt. You’ll be watching, I presume?”

A chill emanates in my neck and travels all the way down to my toes.. slowly, painfully, as I hear him whisper those words into my ear. What in the world am I getting myself into here?

“Yes.”

I whisper back, slowly turning my head to look him in the eyes once more.

“Hey Lucy, are you ready to go?”

Upon hearing the booming voice coming from behind me, I whip around to see JC standing there, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed in on Gabriel and I.  Well he doesn’t look happy.  Was I supposed to meet him somewhere… or is he just that impatient?  Well, It’s Joe… so there’s that.

I step towards him, nodding my head.

“Uh, yeah… I was just heading to my locker room to get changed real quick and grab the rest of my things. I’ll meet you outside?”

Joe nods his head, his gaze settling on Gabriel for a few seconds too long before he moves off, heading towards the exit. My stomach is in knots as I turn back towards Gabriel, only to see him moving away from me as well.

“Gabriel?”

He stops and turns around.

“Yes, my dear?”

“About that drink… If you win tomorrow.. my treat.”

He chuckles softly and approaches me again, his hand coming to rest under my chin as he raises my head up so that I’m again looking into his eyes.

“A true gentleman never allows a lady to buy his drinks. It’ll be my treat, my dear Lucy.”

He releases my chin, turning on his heel and strides off down the hall. I stand motionless for a few minutes, watching him until he’s out of view – wondering again, what in the hell I’m getting myself into with him.. wondering if everything I’ve heard is true… wondering if he’s just playing me. It’s hard to tell around here, honestly. So many wolves in sheeps clothing, so many people pretending to be nice before they stab you right in the back… It’s hard to tell which end is up sometimes.

I don’t get any of those negative impressions from Gabriel, though. He is the only person who’s treated me with any true respect since I’ve been here.. He is the only person who’s stood up for me instead of joining in when everyone else gangs up on ‘the outsider’. It’s hard not to be drawn to him..

It’s really hard.

Shaking my head, I turn and move into my locker room. I know Joe is waiting on me, and he’s already going to be frustrated that I’ve taken this long… he has a new baby girl and a wife to get home to after all, and I did promise that I’d head home with him in order to meet little baby Lizzy.

Time to put all of this out of my mind.. at least until tomorrow.

At least until I find out if Gabriel keeps his end of the deal and beats Eden for the World title.

 

Date July 9th 2017 / Time Unknown / Status Not Recording
Location Jersey City, NJ – The Lee Residence

I told Joe that I was going to take over his living room while I was here, and I also told him that I was going to introduce his baby to wrestling.  A few weeks old isn’t too soon, right?  In my mind, she could never be too young to learn the basics – like who to like… and who to hate.

“Now that… that is Gabriel Baal… can you say ‘Gabriel Baal’?”

I wave Lizzy’s hands around in front of us as she sits on my lap. I see Joe walk into the room out of the corner of my eye and I can see him shaking his head.

“She’s not going to say it.”

“Well duh. It takes practice.”

“She’s a few weeks old, Lucy…”

“Lots of practice. Long term practice.”

He sits down beside us and sighs as I clap Lizzy’s hands together as Gabriel makes his way into the ring.  He’s looking good tonight.  He looks ready to fuck a bitch up.  I pull Lizzy’s arms up into the air, pretending like she’s cheering.  She’s having a great time already.  I can tell.  God I’m a great Auntie.

“I’m not sure I want my daughters first words to be ‘Gabriel Baal’.”

I shrug my shoulders.

“That’s not the worst thing she could say… For example…”

I turn my attention back to the TV as I hear Eden’s entrance music playing.

“Now, Lizzy… That’s Eden Morgan. We don’t like her.”

I hear Joe chuckle softly as he turns his own attention from the baby in my arms to the TV as we both watch the UGWC World Champion walk towards the ring.

“Lizzy.. this is really important, so listen carefully.  Eden is a Bitch.  Can you say ‘Bitch’?”

“Lucy!”

I turn to Joe and smile.

“Oh come on Joe.. Lighten up.  She’s a baby. She’s not going to know I said it.”

“Stacy will.”

I shake my head and look at him out the corner of my eye.  Auntie Lucy knows better.

“Please, that woman is dead asleep by now. She looked exhausted when I saw her earlier. I told her to go lay down.. that I’m more than capable of taking care of the baby while she rests.  And come on Joe, she’d be crazy to pass up free child care.”

The match on the TV starts, and my attention is immediately drawn to Eden and Gabriel. The biggest match of the weekend. The main event of the entire Wrestle Stock. I can’t help but think to myself how much I really do hope that Eden walks out without that belt.

“She might reconsider once she hears you teaching our daughter cuss words.”

What a buzz kill sometimes.  Sheesh.  I roll my eyes as Lizzy and I move to face her Daddy for a few seconds.

“Okay, okay.. Lizzy.. no more cussing until you’re fifteen.”

“Fifteen!?”

“Fine… Eighteen.  But that’s my last offer.  No more naughty words until you’re eighteen, Lizzy.. because Daddy is a party pooper.”

Joe glares at me for a moment, but when his eyes shift to his baby girl in my arms – I see something that I rarely see in Joe Cool.. a real, genuine smile.

“But… the day she turns eighteen…”

“Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.  We’re haven’t even made it to a month y–“

He stops talking as I lean into Lizzy’s ear and whisper.

“We’re fucking partying, baby girl.  Auntie Lucy promises.”

“Lucy…”

“Oh my God Joe… I’m stopping… I’m stopping.  Okay warden?”

He nods his head and the three of us settle in to watch the match.

As I sit there, holding that baby in my arms.. I can’t help but to feel a pang of jealousy.  That same pang that I felt when I met baby Adina and saw how happy Kyra and JD were to have her.  I honestly don’t think about it very much, until these moments.  These small, seemingly insignificant moments when I realize how empty I might feel if CJ and I never have a child of our own.  It’s hard thinking that I’m going to end up without something that I always thought I’d have – But I know where CJ stands on this issue.  I know that Hope and Riko are likely going to be the only children of CJ Wylde… And I can’t really blame him.

It’s just… what about me?

I place my chin softly on top of her little head and I sigh.  This is as close as I’m ever going to get.  Might as well get it through my head now.  But then, she grabs my index finger softly with her tiny little hand, and I honestly don’t know if I can live without–

“It’s weird, you know.”

“What’s weird? Being a dad?”

He nods his head.

“I can only imagine, Joe. But she’s beautiful… You guys are beyond lucky.  It makes me think though… Would I even want to have one someday… If CJ wanted to?  Would I even be a good mom?  I mean, Kyra seems to have gotten the hang of it… so–”

“You’d be a great mother, Lucy.”

I shrug again.

“Eh. I guess I’ll never know.”

I plaster a fake smile on my face as I turn back towards the TV, hearing the crowd reacting to something.

“Oh fuck! He almost had her!”

I yell out, probably a little too loud as Gabriel almost pins Eden on the TV screen.

“What is your deal with him anyway?”

“Who?”

“You know who. I saw you two last night…”

I laugh.

“That? Shit Joe, that’s nothing. We’re just friends.”

I feel him tense up beside me. For someone who doesn’t like CJ, he’s being awful watchful right now. But honestly, there’s no danger there. None at all. I’m comfortable with my life right where it is.. even if CJ and I never have a kid. Even if it’s just him and I forever.. that’s perfectly fine by me.

So why do I feel like I’m about to puke?

“Just friends, huh? You sure CJ will see it that way?”

“Oh come on, he knows me. He knows that there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Maybe it’s not you that he’s worried about. I saw the way Gabriel was looking at you. It was kind of similar to the way a certain tag partner of yours used to look at you too.”

I groan and sit up on the couch, cradling the baby in my arms. I look down into her pretty little face and straighten out her onesie as I contemplate a response. I know he’s talking about Shaun Stewart and yeah, I know exactly the way Shaun looked at me. Hell.. he kissed me in front of CJ, and that sent CJ into a rage.

“Yeah. Trust me, I remember that. I remember the two of them shoving me into the wall that night in order to get to one another…”

“You sure you wanna tempt fate again?”

The baby starts crying and Joe sits up too, taking her gently from my arms. He rocks her gently before standing up and walking out of the room, no doubt to take her into her room and lay her down.

I run my hands along the material of my jeans, thinking about what he just said. Do I want to tempt fate again? My eyes move upwards towards the TV again, the camera zoomed in on the red, sweaty face of Gabriel Baal. I take in each detail of his face before the camera zooms out, showing the action inside the ring.

My eyes widen a few minutes later as I watch Donovan Hastings cash in his purse for the championship match he’d promised Eden a few months ago.

“What a stooge.”

“What? Did your little ‘friend’ lose?”

I look up as Joe comes back into the room, bringing my focus back to the TV as I answer him.

“For your information… No. Donovan is cashing in his purse for his world title match.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“What a stooge.”

“Exactly what I was saying.”

JC sits back down beside me and the two of us watch as Donovan comes close, but Gabriel breaks up the cover, keeping Hastings from stealing the world title from him. I’m on the edge of my seat now, silently praying for a black hole to open up and swallow Hastings – so that I can get back to what I really want to see.

“Oh fuck! Eden got Hastings…”

“Yeah but–”

“Holy Shit!”

I slide off of the couch and onto the floor as Gabriel hits Eden with the Catatonia, and pins her.

“Come on Gabriel…”

I say as the ref counts the one.

“You got this….”

Again, a little louder as his hand slaps the mat for the two.

“YES!!!”

“Lucy!”

“I’m sorry.. I’m sorry Joe…. But he did it!  He fucking did it!!!”

I can’t contain myself. He did it. He knocked that bitch right off of her pedestal. Nothing could be more rewarding than that… at least not in this moment.

I won.

He won.

Hell, even Joe won.

We said we were, and we did. We proved them all wrong.

And now? The real fun begins.

 

Here we are.  Another week, another Synergy.  Another build up to the next super-show…

First things first.  Congratulations, Travis. 

I’m sure you’ve heard a great deal about me, and I’m sure that most of it is complete bullshit.  I’m also fairly certain that you’re expecting me to go into some ‘woe is me‘, ‘you’re a complete idiot‘ type of rant sometime soon – right?  I mean, this is just a typical Lucy Wylde promo, isn’t it? 

Apparently I’m just a one trick pony. 

An old dog that can’t learn new tricks. 

Truth be told, Travis… I don’t really know you.  I don’t know you like I know the moron who just lost to me at WrestleStock.  Ooops… I just called him stupid again.  God damn me.  I never learn.

You haven’t really done anything to warrant my malice, right Travis?  In my eyes, we’re already starting off on pretty good footing because you aren’t ZANE SCOTT… So there’s plus one for you already.  You aren’t in a perpetual state of pout, are you Travis?  Of course not.. you won your match.  You walked out of Wrestlestock a champion.  What’s there to pout about?   

Poor Zane…

My pouty little guy.

The bitterness is real, isn’t it sweetie?  Come on Zane, get with it.  You lost at WrestleStock.  You did exactly what I thought you’d do and then I did exactly what I told you that I would… I beat you.  So please, quit your fucking crying.  Quit complaining that I’m not a ‘worthy’ champion.. or how’d you so eloquently put it?  Oh yeah… I’m lazy.  I’m a lazy champion.  How does that work, exactly?  Please, I’d love to hear your take on this.  I’d love to know how busting my ass day in and day out constitutes a ‘lazy’ champ.  I’d love to know what I’m doing wrong so that I can meet your criteria, Zane.  Although…. your criteria didn’t really work out too well for you, did it? 

But you keep trying, Zane.  Keep trying to break through that glass ceiling… maybe someday you’ll make it. 

Maybe someday… someone will want to hug you too.  It’s doubtful.. but you keep trying lil guy.  You just keep on chugging along and maybe someday someone will find you as important as Sarah Lacklan finds hugging me… 

ANYWAY.

Back to my opponent this week.  Travis Pierce.  The Alpha, the number one, the only Travis that matters, am I right?  The NEW Chaos champion.  Like I said, congrats – from one champion to another… it’s pretty fucking stellar, isn’t it? 

And now?  This week I get the pleasure of taking you on.  Sounds like quite the party.. or maybe that’s just me being a terrible champion, again.  God damn me.  I’m just a miserable human being… totally shouldn’t have beaten ‘you know who’ for the Cross-Hemisphere Championship.  I don’t know what I was thinking.  How could I possibly live up to everything that everyone expects of me around here?  You ever feel like that?  Probably not.. because you don’t have someone like… Sane Zcott breathing down your neck, wetting your shoes with his tears, killing your brain cells with his mindless droning…

You’re so lucky, Travis. 

No, seriously. 

You really are.  First you win the Chaos Championship and that’s just the greatest thing ever, right?  I mean it’s no Cross-Hemisphere Championship, but then again… it’s no World Championship either.  I’m lookin’ at you, Gabriel… In a totally platonic way, of course.  Back to you though, Trav.  Can I call you Trav? 

Probably not. 

So, Trav.  First, you win the Chaos Championship and you obviously feel a strong sense of pride.  Right?  I mean, who wouldn’t be proud of themselves after all of that hard work?  You did it.  You won.  You didn’t make a total fool out of yourself.  And now you get to come out on the very next show, and you get the opportunity to knock off the Cross-Hemisphere Champ.  You get the chance to keep that momentum going… that all important momentum.  But more importantly, you get the shot at killing my momentum.. and trust me, I’ve got some pretty amazing momentum going.  If you’re anyone that knows anything, you already know what I’m talking about. 

You seem like a smart guy, Trav.  You seem like someone who’s got a decent head on his shoulders.  But don’t… I repeat don’t come out to the ring at Synergy and underestimate me.  Please don’t make the same mistake person after person has made and treat me like I’m some lower class athlete, like I’m not supposed to be here.  I’ve been a member of this roster since January.  Seven months.  Seven long, grueling, tiresome months… and yet a lot of these people around here still treat me like ‘the outsider‘. 

The same outsider who almost stole the World Championship at last years Outlast event.  The same outsider who came here when (the federation that must not be named) closed… the same outsider who didn’t want to be classified as ‘just’ an outsider…

Remember that when we meet face to face for the first time, come Monday.  Remember everyone who’s fallen before you, Travis.  Remember all the things they said, the things they did… but most of all, remember how I persevered.  How I beat them and proved myself to be everything… let me repeat that… EVERYTHING that I’ve ever claimed to be.  I’m the UGWC Cross-Hemisphere Champion and regardless of what anyone says, I am damn proud to hold that title.  I am DAMN proud to be one of the faces of this company even though the majority of my peers look at me as an imposter, a phony. 

This belt that I’m holding is anything but phony.  My talent is anything but fake.  So don’t bullshit me, Travis.  Don’t downplay me because it won’t end well for you, I can promise you that.  I am anything but lazy, but you’ll be getting a first hand look here in a couple of days – won’t you?

Chaos Champ vs. Cross-Hemisphere Champ. 

What do you say we open the show with a bang, Travis? 

Lets tempt fate together and see who comes out on top.  Good Luck to you.  Hell, good luck to both of us.  Let’s show the rest of these fucks how it’s really done.  And maybe when it’s all over and done with?  Maybe you’ll earn yourself a hug too.

 

CJ Wylde, Gabriel Baal, and JC used with Permission.