June 17th 2022

“It’s a bit different from the Buick, huh?” Lucy said, glancing over at Rogan from the passenger seat of her vintage Chevrolet Camaro SS. One of the few things Lucy just couldn’t leave behind when she left Western Maryland for the final time. She’d had the car completely redone, and painted the perfect shade of metallic purple.

Rogan barely took his eyes off the road as he responded. “A bit? More than a bit, Lass.”

Lucy chuckled and turned her attention back out the windshield and the early morning sky that lay above them as they drove down route 9D towards their destination for the day. “Hey, you’re lucky I’m even letting you drive this thing… I’ve never let anyone drive it but me.” She finally said, reclining back in the seat a little more.

“Not even CJ?”

Lucy shook her head. “Not even CJ.”

She looked over just in time to see Rogan’s eyes widen. He swallowed hard and seemingly doubled down on his focus. It made Lucy’s face relax into a smile, even if inside she was a bundle of nerves and anxious energy. The Dark man had a way about him that made her feel better about just about anything.

“Then..” Rogan began, smirking over at Lucy. “..It’s an honor, Ms. Wylde.”

“Damn right it is.” Lucy says, noticing a sign on the road as they pass it. “Now… The Trailhead shouldn’t be too far up here…”

She points to a small parking area and a few moments later, Lucy was stood at the back of the vehicle, staring at the trail that leads straight up and over the road they were just on. Rogan stepped in beside her.

“So..” Rogan said faintly, eyeing Lucy up from the corner of his eye.

“So…” Lucy replied, just as faintly. She turned her head to see him smirking down at her, and she playfully smacked him in the stomach. “What?”

The Dark Man simply shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just wonderin what we’re doin here.”

“Isn’t that one obvious?” Lucy asked, pointing at the trail. “I’m taking you hiking, Lad.”

Rogan shook his head. “You know what I mean.” He finished by pointing to his head, and then to Lucy’s. This brought a bit of a furrow to Lucy’s browline, which made Rogan chuckle.

“See? I knew there was somethin on yer mind.”

Lucy sighed.

“Of course there’s something on my mind. Biggest match in my career coming up and… And I just don’t wanna fuck it up. So I figured maybe we spend the day hiking up this steep fucking hill and I wear myself out enough to sleep for more than a few hours… Then maybe I can wrap my head around all of this.” She finished and began pacing around the trailhead sign. She stopped and read a little bit of the information that was listed on a small bulletin board near the sign, in an all too obvious attempt to distract herself from the conversation she and Rogan were kind of having.

But Rogan knows this tactic all too well, and he wastes little time in taking a few steps forward – wrapping his arms around Lucy from behind.

“You know, Lass, you worry yourself far too much.” He said into her ear before placing a kiss on her cheek. “You are going to be great.”

“I know you’re right.” Lucy closed her eyes and let out a sigh before pulling away and turning around to face Rogan. “So, let’s just enjoy the day before we gotta head out for Hartford.”

“Aye.” Rogan nodded and they both finished gathering their things.

A few minutes later they were standing at the trailhead. Rogan looked over at Lucy, attempting to see if she was as nervous as he was.

“It looks even steeper than it did a few minutes ago.” He finally says, still staring at Lucy.  But Lucy only nods her head and begins climbing the trail.

“I’m no stranger to uphill battles, Dark Man. Come on.”

 

These last few weeks have got me thinking.

About what’s coming up at Battleground, of course. But also my life, my career… And everything that’s gotten me to this moment, right here. I’ve had my share of triumphs in this business, and I’m grateful for each and everyone of them.

I’ve also suffered my own fair share of failures. Maybe to some I’ve suffered far more failure than I deserved. Who knows. That’s not really up for me to say.

I guess the point I’m trying to get at here is that when I came here to UGWC – I was, for all intents and purposes, an Outsider. I didn’t belong here, and many of you were very vocal in letting me know of your disdain for someone like me, trying to fit into the ‘inner circle’ of the UGWC.

I used to be bitter about it. Hell, maybe I still am – but I understand it now.

Ya’ll didn’t know me from ‘Suzie Wrestling’. How did you know that I wasn’t just a flash in the pan – destined to be gone within a few months – destined to be forgotten in half that time? Looking back, I can’t blame a lot of you for your ‘wait and see’ approach when it came to me and those who ventured here with me from OWF.

But here I am. The only one left.

How many years has it been now?

I should know.

I should remember, but it just didn’t seem important enough to keep track of, you know? UGWC challenged, and it still challenges me in ways that I never thought possible – It’s been an uphill battle the entire time I’ve been here – to earn everything that I’ve accomplished along the way. And if you know anything about me at all, then you know I love a challenge.

And Tony? That’s where we’re at now, I suppose.

 

June 17th 2022

Breakneck Ridge wasn’t for the faint of heart. It was stated explicitly everywhere one looked that this hike was for people who knew what they were doing.

Lucy knew what she was doing.

She’d spent much of her time living in Western Maryland doing things just like this, but none of that truly prepared her for the hike that lay before herself and Rogan on this day. She wasn’t entirely sure how Rogan was doing with the climb but she knew that she was winded after a half an hour of climbing what felt like a neverending rock scramble.

But finally they saw a flagpole in the distance, and as they approached it, the ground flattened out and they were rewarded with one hell of a view. Lucy turned and looked at the mountain behind them, and knew there were better views coming – but for the moment –

“Wow…” Rogan said as he stepped in beside Lucy, staring out at the Hudson river down below. Lucy turned to see his face, slightly redder than it was nearly an hour before, with sweat rolling down his cheeks. She couldn’t help but smirk.

“Beautiful, huh? You look like you weren’t prepared for this much work today.”

Rogan shook his head. “Apparently I wasn’t. But this is totally worth it, yeah?”

Lucy nodded her head and turned her attention back to the beauty in front of her. “Absolutely worth it. You wanna take a break here for a bit before we keep going?”

Without much hesitation, Rogan agreed and the two found themselves a nice spot to settle down and rest for a bit. For a while, they simply sat beside one another on the overlook, staring out over the wilderness that was the Hudson Highlands State Park. It was incredible to think that she’d lived in New York for what felt like forever, but she never realized such beauty lay outside of the city.

But in complete fairness, she moved to New York to get away from the space and the loneliness that places like this provide in abundance.

Only now, she wasn’t alone. And she’s come to learn that space isn’t always a bad thing. It allows for changes in perspective that she never thought possible.

“I know I said we were just going to enjoy today, and worry about all the other stuff later, but this reminds me of something…”

Rogan turned his attention to Lucy as she continued.

“How difficult things were when I first came here. It felt almost like that climb we just did. Always feeling like I was going to tumble back down the mountain before I could prove myself to everyone else, you know?”

“But you didn’t.”

Lucy shook her head. “No, I made it to the first overlook… By the skin of my teeth.” She motions out to the area around them.

Rogan followed her motion and then settled his gaze back onto her face. “And what moment made you feel like you’d finally broken through, Ms. Wylde?”

“The moment I beat Killian King for the Cross-Hemisphere Championship. It felt like I’d finally broken through, like I could finally breathe again. I wasn’t quite out of the woods yet, but I figured there was a chance that I’d proven myself to someone… anyone.”

 

I’ve been here for a cup of tea compared to some of the names we’re still seeing – Dave Rydell, Donovan Hastings, Rogan MacLean… But you, Tony, you’ve been here for a short time compared to me. I know, what does that have to do with anything?

What does that have to do with what’s about to happen on Monday?

I’ve done a lot of shit in my years here in UGWC. We’ve already established this, but I think it bears repeating because it took me a long time to do the things I wanted to do. And my list is nowhere near complete. I still haven’t won an Outlast Tournament, even though I got close this year. I still wanna hold that Conquest title just once.. But I digress.

The point is, you’ve done some awesome shit too, Tony. But you’re still wet behind the ears when it comes to the UGWC. You’re still unknown to some people around here… and to some… They seem to think you don’t care about this business. They seem to think that you’re not what you seem.

Now I think that’s a load of bullshit, personally. But being on the outside, looking in – I see a lot of similarities between yourself and me, Tony. We’ve both traversed some perilous roads in order to get to this point in our careers. We both still have people that doubt us, no matter what we do, no matter what we accomplish – There’s always gonna be someone to tell us that we don’t… deserve what we’ve got.

But that comes with the territory, doesn’t it?

We’re never going to be good enough to everyone. You and me, we’re main eventing this show… No offense to the Battleground match, but it’s Outlast Finals part two, and it’s you and me, Tony. As far as I’m concerned, it’s two of the best fighting over UGWC’s top prize.. Two of the best who’ve fought through addiction and injuries, and unspeakable things that some people don’t make it through in order to get here…

To this moment.

Others may judge you for things that they have no business judging you on.. But not me. I see you for what you really are, Tony. And that’s why I wanted this match so God damned badly.

 

June 17th 2022

They reminisced about Lucy’s early days in the UGWC for a while, and it felt good to look back on all of that without all the bitterness Lucy held onto for so long. She’d came into UGWC as the final OWF Network Champion, which no one cared about – Understandably so. But she had her shot against Killian, to prove that she could hold gold somewhere that wasn’t OWF..

And she did.

Maybe her multiple runs with that belt weren’t as impressive as some others, but to Lucy, that was her jumping off point. That was the moment that made her feel like she could make it here in the UGWC.

Rogan couldn’t have agreed more, and he told her as much as they began the next leg of their journey up the mountain – Another stretch of rock scrambles that proved themselves to be just as, if not more formidable a foe as the first set. The more Lucy compared the climb to her career in the UGWC – The more she found herself pushing harder, climbing with more purpose than she would have previously.

There were times as they approached the second overlook that Rogan looked up to find Lucy almost too far ahead of him to see. The Dark Man, however, sensed the fire within his lady, and he wasn’t about to dim it in the slightest.

It was about time Lucy believed in Lucy as much as Rogan had since the very beginning.

After another lengthy climb, Lucy found herself standing on the next outlook – Overlooking the flag pole from earlier and this view was even more impressive than the last. She could see more of the forest and the river, and the way the sunshine reflected off of the water’s surface, she couldn’t help but smile as she stood and caught her breath.

“Rogan, Take a–” She turned away, expecting to find Rogan behind her, but was surprised to see him a couple dozen feet down the steep incline, still making his way up to where she was. As he got a bit closer, she reached out a hand and he took it – allowing her to help him up onto the next level and stable piece of ground.

“Thanks.” Rogan smiled at Lucy as he turned his attention to wiping the dirt and dust off of his pants.

As he did so, Lucy looked down at herself and noticed a few bangs and scrapes on her knees. “Damn, I didn’t even notice.. I must have lost my footing a few times.”

Rogan glanced down and smiled. “Haven’t we all?”

“What?”

“We’ve all lost our footing a few times, but I think you’ve done better than most at picking yourself back up and moving forward.”

A bit of pink rose to Lucy’s cheeks when she glanced up to see him staring at her with the utmost admiration. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the overlook. “The view is better from over here.”

“I doubt it, lass.” Rogan replied almost immediately with a chuckle. “But this is beautiful too.”

“Hard to believe we were just down there..” Lucy pondered.

Rogan nodded his head while he continued looking between the view and the Dark Lady as she watched as a few other people walked around the overlook beneath them.

“..And?”

Lucy turned her attention back towards Rogan, a curious expression on her face. “Huh?”

“You’re thinking about something.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “We’ve been through this. I do a lot of thinking… all the time. But I guess that’s not exactly what you mean, right?”

“Right.”

She sighed and shook her head. “Just… It’s like winning the Chaos Championship, and winning the Cooperative titles with you… finally, you know? Another hard, frustrating… Painful journey with an amazing reward at the end. Even with all the want in the world, sometimes you gotta wonder if you’ll ever get there. I know I’ve wondered that a lot over the years.”

“No fate but what we make, Lucy.”

Lucy smiled as she looked up into Rogan’s eyes. “I just needed the right person by my side.”

 

I came so close at Outlast. You know it, I know it.. Everyone knows it, whether they wanna believe it or not. But at the end of the night, it wasn’t my time. It was yours – And I’m God damned happy for you.

But you already know that.

If it couldn’t have been myself or Rogan, you would have been my next choice, Tony. But that match, or rather the ending of that match.. It awoke something within me. I’ve always wanted another crack at the World Championship. I mean, who doesn’t? But fighting you, and getting within a few seconds of becoming a two-time UGWC World champ.. It made me realize that there’s no better time than right now.

I respect you, and you respect me. This isn’t going to be the Lucy Wylde vs Gabriel Baal of years past where he wanted me gone and I wanted to end him so badly I could taste it. There’s no malice here, Tony. No ill-will. I just want to test myself against you, one on one… without anyone else to muddy the waters. I wanna see what kind of match we can put on when we’re both fresh, having not fought a four on four tag match earlier in the night.

I wanna see if I really am as good as I think I am.. As good as you think I am.

Because let’s be real, you wouldn’t have wanted me on your side if I wasn’t that damn good. You wouldn’t have asked Rogan and myself to ally with you against people who dare try and take over the UGWC if you didn’t think I was that damn good.

And trust me, I’ve been around long enough to know that the moment that bell rings on Monday, we are no longer friends or allies. I know I want what you’ve got, and I know you’re going to do anything in your power to keep it.

But what am I willing to do to take it from you, Tony?

Does it worry you?

You’ve seen what I’m capable of. But honestly, I don’t know what you really feel about me, Tony. I don’t know if you think I’ve got another world title run in me. Maybe you secretly think the same things about me that many of the others around here do. That I’m always in my own way, or that my best days are behind me.

I hope not.

But then again, if you do, I guess the burden is on me to prove you wrong.

 

June 17th 2022

“What do you say we get moving, and get up to the final peak.” Lucy chimed in after a few moments of resting. Rogan wiped the sweat from his brow and squinted at Lucy as she stood in front of the sun, her shadow cast over him like an oasis on this hot day.

“You in a hurry or what?” Rogan questioned, bringing himself up to his feet. And when he did, one look at her face made him rethink his original thought. “…No, that’s not it.”

And now it was Rogan’s turn to ponder. This entire day had almost turned into a day of reminiscence for Lucy. Step by step, climb after climb – Almost reliving the struggles she’s gone through to get to where she’s at right now.

“What?” Lucy interrupts the Dark Man’s thoughts, placing her hands on her hips. “What’s that look for? Can’t a girl just want to see the best view this place has to offer?”

“You absolutely can, but it’s not just the best view you want to see… Is it?”

Lucy bit her lip and shook her head. “This is helping. I can’t explain it, Rogan. I just feel like this is some kind of–”

“Renaissance…”

Lucy’s eyes lit up. “Of sorts, I suppose. The journey… all the choices I’ve made, all the things I’ve done… It’s all led me here and it’s so weird, but I feel like this really is my moment… I don’t want to jinx it, but I just have this feeling.”

She chuckled. “I think I’ve been hanging around you too long, Dark Man.”

Rogan reached out and grabbed her hand, leading her towards the next part of the trail – and what looks like the steepest climb yet. “Let’s chase that feeling, huh?”

And with that, they began climbing.

The next climb wasn’t nearly as long, but it was much more arduous than the ones before it. But unlike the previous ones, this one had a few slight descents in between the steep inclines. That was probably the only thing that kept the two of them going on –

“Wow…”

And then they made it. The highest point that the trail they were on would take them to. An overlook that looked out over a different area of forest, and somehow a more gorgeous area of the park. Lucy wasn’t sure if it was just her, or if the angle of the sun actually did make the landscape before them look almost golden in hue.

But then Rogan stepped in beside her and wrapped a sweaty arm around her shoulders. “Maybe it’s a sign?”

“I don’t know about that. But we made it.”

“We did. And what does this feel like to you Ms. Wylde?”

She had to take a few deep breaths as she contemplated Rogan’s question, even though her heart already had an answer.

“It.. It feels… Right.” That’s the only way she could put it. There was no other word for how she felt in this moment. Standing here with Rogan, feeling like life honestly couldn’t be any better right now if she’d tried.

“I feel it too.”

“Feels like winning the world title that first time, all over again. That rush. The euphoria… The relief. Like I finally did it. I finally showed everyone that I had what it took to win the big one. I mean I did it a few times when I was younger… But you already know that.” She elbowed him in the side.

She took a deep breath. “But they never let me near the world title in OWF. I guess I’ll never understand why, but when I won the UGWC World title… It’s just… I felt good about myself for the first time in a long time. And I know I shouldn’t need a title to feel good about myself, but maybe that’s why it feels right, right now… Because I already like who I am…”

Rogan couldn’t keep the smile from his lips. “Now that’s music to my ears, Lass.”

 

Luckily, I’ve made a career out of proving people wrong. Myself included.

Looking at me, you wouldn’t imagine that I’d be anything but fully confident in anything I want to do, but I’m not. Tony, I’m nervous as hell coming into this match. Not because I don’t think I can beat you.

But because I know that I’m not willing to go as far as you are in order to win this match.

We do have many similarities, Tony – I’ve already said that. Our stories are of hardship and triumph. Our lives have thrown us many curveballs and somehow we both have managed to score some runs and win us a bunch of games. But we are not the same.

You’re willing to do whatever it takes to win. I just get that feeling about you. You’re willing to do things that might not seem right, in order to walk out of Battleground with that belt. I wouldn’t dare compare you to a Montague or a Tempest, but something tells me that if I pushed you to it – You wouldn’t hesitate to make sure I don’t walk out with your belt.

And it is your belt… For the moment.

Lucy Wylde has always been the type of woman that’ll take you to your limit, but she wouldn’t cheat you in order to win. I think I said as much last week. But I’m gonna reiterate it here because I want to make sure you know who in the hell I am before we step into the ring together again on Monday.

I can beat you. I’m going to try to beat you with every fiber of my being, Tony. But I won’t do you dirty. I won’t stretch my own morality in order to walk out of Battleground with that belt. I’m better than that. And if that means that I lose?

If that means that I miss out on THIS opportunity to become a two time World Champion? Then so be it. At least I’ll walk out with my head held high, knowing that when I do earn it… I’ll have really earned that shit.

But I’ll tell you now, Tony – You’re walking into the fight of your life. You’re going to have to pull everything.. And I do mean everything out of your arsenal in order to keep me down because there’s no fate but what we make, Tony… And my fate lies in that World Championship – Whether it’s Monday night, or a little further in the future…

It will be mine again.

Of that, I have no doubt.

 

June 17th 2022

They spent close to an hour up there at the peak, most of it in quiet contemplation about the things that were yet to come. It was nice. It was relaxing. But most of all, it was everything that Lucy needed.

But it was time to come down from the mountain, and while that journey wasn’t nearly as difficult – it showed Lucy how far she’d truly come, step by step – inch by inch, in just about every single aspect of her life, both professionally and personally.

And finally, they were there – back at the bottom of the mountain. The trail put them out just down the street from where her car was parked, so they set out across the street and slowly pulled their tired bodies towards the reprieve of cushioned seats and air conditioning, but Lucy couldn’t help but to stop and look back up at the sky, and the mountain.

“It’s funny, you claw and you fight for everything you have. Pushing through your own self doubts, not to mention the doubts of everyone around you.. And it feels like it takes so Goddamn long to get there. But the reward is so worth it…” Lucy sighed and pulled her eyes away from the summit and turned her attention back to Rogan. “..But in the blink of an eye, you’re back at the bottom again, forced to stare up at the top… Longing to be there again.”

She smiled softly.

“Without the bottom… There would be no top. This right here? This is like OWF closing. This is like losing CJ, or nearly dying… It’s the pits, right? But without this, I couldn’t have made it to the top. I couldn’t have accomplished what I have… And I sure as hell wouldn’t have found you…”

It was Rogan’s turn to smile.

After a few moments, Lucy shook her head and gripped Rogans hand. “What a fucking day, huh? You hungry?”

“I reckon I could eat a horse.”

Lucy laughed. “You reckon? Come on.. Let’s get outta here. There’s a campfire calling our name.”

 

Rogan and I went on a hike the other day. Breakneck Ridge. Beautiful place, but difficult as hell to climb.

Kinda feels like my life has been, but I’m sure you can relate, Tony.

But that’s what life is, isn’t it? It’s a series of ups and downs and it’s up to you to make the best out of all of it. I ain’t never been great at seeing the good in life, even in the best of times. I was always far too concerned with the hardships to see the rewards of all my hard work.

Things have changed though. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, I don’t know if anyone else has seen it either – but the most important thing is that I feel it. Life is an amazing thing and I thought I was going on that hike the other day to get out all this nervous energy I had before we get to Battleground on Monday. But I realize now, looking back that I was there to reflect on the things that have gotten me to this very moment.

The things that have made me the woman that I am today… and the woman that I’ll be tomorrow and the day after that… etcetera.

We are all the sum of our parts.. The good, the bad, the ugly… But we’re not products of the hands that life has dealt us, you know? You’ve gotten through some bad shit Tony, you’ve been at the lowest lows, and you’ve experienced the highest of highs.. But none of that changes who you are deep down in your soul.

What you’re willing to do on Monday? That’ll show me who you are. I can’t say I’ll respect you coming out of it, but I guess that’s a choice you’re going to have to make. Friends or not, you’ll show me where your true motivation lies, and from there I’ll know who I’m dealing with.

Last year, I told Sebastian exactly where he needed to hit me in order to keep me down. I gave him a roadmap to one of my most serious injuries… I gave him an easy out to beat me for the Chaos title at Wrestlestock. Told him that what he did with that information would tell me everything that I needed to know about him as a person and whether I could trust him or not.

Sebastian proved to me that he might be a bit of an asshole, but he’s still someone that I can look in the eye – He’s someone I can trust because he’s better than taking the easy way out.

What about you, Tony?

Do you see this scar on my neck and see a bullseye? Or do you see something else?

I suppose we’ll find out on Monday.

I just hope you can look yourself in the eye after our match. I know I’ll be able to.

Win or lose.

Title or no title.

I’ve grown so much in the last year and I won’t lose all of that for you, or that title. That title will be there waiting for me regardless and when I get back to it, there will be no greater reward than having won it my way. Under my terms. Without any shortcuts or questions.

Will you be able to say the same thing?

I’ll see you Monday, Tony.

Hypocritical, egotistical
Don’t wanna be the parenthetical, hypothetical
Working onto something that I’m proud of, out of the box
An epoxy to the world and the vision we’ve lost
I’m an apostrophe
I’m just a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see
I’m just a product of the system, a catastrophe
And yet a masterpiece, and yet I’m half-diseased
And when I am deceased
At least I go down to the grave and die happily
Leave the body and my soul to be a part of thee
I do what it takes