Help?

I came through the curtain and I was a bit disappointed at my last match, but it wasn’t as bad. I had learned a great deal, and I was eager to continue to learn, but this would have to wait. But this? this was different. And I knew after that I was on the right track. A splashed water on my face and I at looked myself in the mirror, and I was actually pretty happy with how it all went down in the grand scheme of things. Was it a loss? Yes. But I could taste that championship and I was very close to winning it. I wasn’t too down on myself, I treated it, as it should have been treated.



A learning experience.



Now, it was to head back home, and regroup, and I had to prepare for what was coming next.



I returned home, but it was only going to be for a brief time. Yes, this was another week where I was training with my good friend Roxi Johnson, who had agreed to help me out and see exactly where I was. Roxi is special to me, much like Mimi and Lizzie. But Roxi more so than anyone else, is the reason I am still here. She helped me in so many ways that I can never really repay her for her kindness towards me. When I was up at the beginning, she was there, when I was down, she was there. She was like clockwork, every time. I often wonder how the heck she does it, and sometimes, why she does it.



She doesn’t have to do the things she does, and she’s never asked for anything from me. I feel like I owe her more than anything else in the world, but she’s always just accepted me and let me, be me. All she has ever asked for, was my best. And I feel like I did her proud by coming so close to winning that championship.



Of course, I wanted to do well and have the support of Mimi and Lizzie as well, I always hoped they were proud of me, and everyone in their own way, has supported me, and I am forever grateful for the help and kindness they showed.



But, it was back to the grind.



- - -



I found my way to Roxi’s house in Florida and well into the basement was their home gym, where she, along with her wife trained. Roxi was more than generous to help train me, and she was determined to push me more than I have ever been pushed.



“Thanks for agreeing to this.” I said with a small smile on my face, trying to hide my excitement and failing.



“No problem. You know you’re always welcome here.”



“Thanks, again.”



We went into the ring and Roxi simply watched me circle in the ring, hit the ropes a few times and tumble around on the ring. I even took some bumps and falls on the mat to test it, she was just making sure I was comfortable with how this was going.



“You need to work on your footwork. I know you’re a lot of taller than most of the girls you will be in the ring with, and the guys as well, but you have to be steady in there. You’re taking baby steps in the ring. You cannot take those small steps, you’re tall, you need to take bigger steps. Go back to circling.”



She watched me do it again, studying me like a coach. I felt like I was trying out for a part, rather than training. She watched, and it felt like a giant spotlight was on me as I did it, despite there was only the two of us there. The eyes of one, felt like the eyes of thousands.



She stopped me after about 2 straight minutes of my circling.



“You crossed your feet. Don’t cross your feet. You cross your feet, you’re off-balance and you will get knocked on your butt.”



Roxi climbed into the ring and circled with me. But she was moving side to side.



“You see this? lateral movement, you should know about this. You should know about this kind of movement, you’re an athlete. Now, come towards me, and I will do what you’re doing.”



I advanced and Roxi crossed her feet.



“You see this? Now, you come towards me, and I’m all messed up back here, and I can’t defend when you’re coming towards me, my reactionary gap is all messed up and I don’t have time, so when you come in, I can’t create space. That’s what you’re doing. Side to side, so when they are this close to you, you can switch your hips, and defend. You don’t do it a lot, but I see you doing this way too much. Okay?”



“I gotcha. I’m sorry.”



“You don’t have to be sorry, this is a learning thing. Alright, keep going.”



Roxi left the ring and watched as I circled again, this time my mind was focused on not crossing my feet and moving side to side. This time it was only a minute before she stopped me.



“Better. But that should be a natural thing, alright?



I just nodded. Roxi looked into my eyes when she didn’t hear me say anything back.



“Alright?”



“Yeah, yeah… sorry. I nodded.”



“Good. Alright, let’s move on.”



Roxi stepped back into the ring and we worked on locking up. Roxi didn’t give me any direction, she just took a headlock on me, and although she wasn’t trying to hurt me, she was applying quite a bit of pressure. I stood there and felt so dumb and Roxi sighed and let me go.



“So, were we just gonna sit in that headlock all day?”



I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t know.



“Holly, I wasn’t trying to hurt you, but if you’re just going to sit in a headlock all day, then we’re not going to do anything productive. Your job is to get out of that headlock. That’s what I need you to do.”



We tried again, and I was in the headlock, and this time, I backed her into the ropes and used them to shove her off. She nodded, and we locked up again, another headlock, and again, I tried to push her off, but this time, she held on tighter than before, and before I knew it, I was on the ground and she was holding onto it. I knew this time that now, I need to get out, so, I used a little strength and pulled her back into a headscissors. She simply tapped my leg and I let go.



“Good. You’re learning. You’re job is try and stay upright. I know we’ve done some grappling and whatnot, but you’re money is you, standing here. Standing up. So, you need to avoid going down to the ground to start with, until you get more comfortable on the ground. Okay?



“Yes.”



“Good, let’s go again.”



Same thing, lock up. Headlock. I backed her into the ropes, and tries to shoot her off, but she held on again, she was trying to take me over again, and she probably could have, but I needed to avoid the ground, so, I lifted her up, and pushed her off. She landed on her feet and stumbled, and I thought I overdid it.





“Oh… I..”



“No, Holly, you did the right thing. You got out of the headlock. I know, you’re nervous about this kind of stuff, but it’s okay.”



“I didn’t want to hurt you.”




“I’ve been thrown around before. I’ve been in the ring with giant guys, it’s alright. But that’s what YOU do. You can’t be afraid to throw people around. Throw people if you need to throw them. You’re big and strong, be big and strong. You’re a natural athlete, but that’s a smaller part, you have to be assertive and take control, you understand?”



“Yes.”



“Good.”



“Just… question.”



“Shoot?”



“What do you know about Ruby Steele?”



Roxi paused and shrugged.



“She’s good when she wants to be. I know she’s your partner, but I wouldn’t go into this match that you have with a firm belief she’s going to be into it. That’s about the best advice I can give you on that. Just, when you go into that match, just be that assertive person you’re starting to show here today. We’ll work on that.”



“Thanks, Roxi. Really.”



“It’s my pleasure.”



We continued to train, and I was learning, and I don’t know if I had a better teacher, but I felt even better afterward. Exhausted, but better.



Now with that out of the way, It was time to get down to business.



- - -

Holly:

I normally would be lamenting a loss like the one I had, where I was so close to becoming a champion. So close to having something new to speak about. I was so close to being able to come in front of this camera and talk about how the hard work has paid off and how I did something I can be even more proud of in my career. I was so close to saying that THIS is the start of something special. But alas, I cannot. And under normal circumstances, I would be saying how frustrating and annoying it was to come up short. How infuriating it is that I didn’t get the job done. I was close and I came up just short. I would have spit bile from my mouth having to say that normally.



But this time, I don’t have to. Because the match happened, I was close, and it wasn’t that I was outwrestled, or outpowered, or outsmarted, or taken advantage of because of my inexperience. Those are reasons to be frustrated about a loss. That would be something worth screaming and hollering about.





But this time, I don’t have to, because what happened was that I was cheated. Ellie Quinn, the Victory champion, had to cheat in order to retain her title. She was this close to losing everything and she managed to salvage all of that, by cheating. I know the expression “by hook or by crook” is most apt in the wrestling business, but we all saw it first hand, Ellie Quinn took the low road in order to beat me. She had to. Otherwise, she was going to lose.





And that makes me feel pretty good, all things considered. The fact that someone like me, as inexperienced as I am. As relatively new to this as I am, I came that close, and so close that the champion had to cheat to beat me, it’s a good feeling. Because you know what that really means to me? I’m getting better. I’m learning and growing and becoming something better than I was. Each time out there, is a learning experience, I’ve said it many times, and that’s really what this is about for me. Learning, and growing, and becoming better. And if I am that close already, after less than six months, I think that bodes extremely well for my future.



Now, I know that after a loss like this, I have to work my way back up, and I committed to doing just that. So that when there is a next time, and I am in firm belief there WILL be a next time, I will have learned even more by that time that there will be no stopping me once I get another chance. And it doesn’t have to be the Victory title, that’s just one title, there’s two others to shoot for. But after that experience, The road back to contention doesn’t seem as daunting. And the end of that climb up the mountain, will be well worth it.





But now, I am preparing for a tag team match, I am teaming with Ruby Steele to take on Sonya Benson and Scott Hampton.



- - -

Let’s get to it. Sonya first

- - -



Holly:

I guess first I must address Sonya Benson, who is as always with these types of ladies, very strange. I mean, I get it, there’s all kinds of things you can choose to do with your life. I love working out and I love wrestling in general, so I think that makes a little bit more sense in the grand scheme of things. But one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen in pro wrestling is the influx of heiresses and billionaire women. It’s just so strange to me how there are THAT many of them, and how they almost ALL seem to find their way to pro wrestling for some reason. Does anyone else notice this trend? Am I the only one? I swear I can’t be the only one. There’s no way. And Sonya is just another in a seemingly endless line of women who have more money than they know what to do with, and instead of like… real estate or fashion or something where they could make you know, even more money, and not get hurt, they all choose to end the pro wrestling business?



It’s just a baffling thing. And yet, here is Sonya, a carbon copy of every single one of them. Why are there not like… female Bill Gates billionaires who want to do good things in pro wrestling? Why is it that every single one of these is going “Rich Bitch”? I mean, I understand sometimes you follow some trends, but this is getting absurd at this point, I mean, how many of them can there possibly be? Is there a factory somewhere? Did someone just set that as a template and everybody has stolen this playbook and never thought to change it? I don’t get it.



“I’m rich and I will buy anything I want” Okay, that’s cool, you have money and that’s awesome for you. I don’t understand why you are coming here, to wrestle and flaunt the fact that you have money. I have money too. I mean, not nearly as much as you, but I’ve just been able to save my money, probably because I’m pretty simple when it comes to things. Some nice cooked food, clean underwear and some clothes that fit, and I’m good to go. I mean, a nice set of weights and a place to train would also be nice, but sometimes Nature is the best place to train.



I mean, if I had that kind of money… I don’t know what I’d do, it would just kinda collect interest as I have most of the things I need. Now I’ve got that song in my head “If I had a million dollars” It’s a fun song. I mean, they do make some solid suggestions. A house? Yes, A house would be good. Furniture? Yeah, that works too. A car? Well, gotta get around. These are sensible things. I don’t really know about a fur coat, or an exotic pet. See, that’s too much. There was a monkey in there too. Things are a bit weird now. Monkeys attack people and…



I’m getting sidetracked here.



Where was I? Oh yes, Wait, I’m sorry, this isn’t something that Sonya wanted to do. Well, color me shocked, there’s a twist in here and somebody changed the template! In fact, she hates pro wrestling, so it does make some sense… Kinda…maybe. I guess I will have to squint really hard to see why this is a thing. Sonya was FORCED to become a pro wrestler? How does that work? I mean, that’s kind of cruel to force somebody to do something they don’t like. But at the same time, you are doing that thing you don’t want to do. And literally doing it because you want to keep being rich. Don’t want to lose Daddy’s money?




I guess that’s different isn’t it. So, the question actively remains why this is happening when someone actively doesn’t want to do the thing. I mean, why did Pro Wrestling EXCELLENCE hire someone who has extremely limited training and actively does not want to participate? Why would you hire someone like this? A person who is actively against this business and this sport? She doesn’t want to be here and is literally taking up a roster spot she does not want. That's the exact opposite of the type of person we need here. I mean, if this is the case, what happens if she tags in? What happens if she’s in the match, and she either hurts one of us, or gets hurt trying to do… Well, I guess she’s not going to do anything, right? She doesn’t want to be here and is only doing so because of money.



Which, I suppose, is a pretty fair reason to get into pro wrestling. But it just feels wrong. A person who hates this sport, forced into it out of pure spite. I guess that the old saying is true. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” I cannot sit here and say that Sonya’s even getting into this match for a good reason, but the fact that she is actively tearing all of us down, only really makes me want to punch her in the face. It’s absurd that this is even a thing, much less that I have to deal with it. Mainly because I don’t know if my partner is even going to be up to it in this moment. And dealing with two opponents, even if one is not even bothering, makes this twice as hard as it would normally be in my partner does what she did two weeks ago.



But I guess now I have to play a waiting game and hope that I at least get Sonya in the ring, to let her know, I will not be bought.



Especially not with a green dress. Because that’s cruel.


Anyway, I guess her partner is more up for this than she is, which I don’t even know if it’s a good thing.





- - -


Scott Hampton

- - -


Holly:

I must ask this question of one Scott Hampton: Why on earth is this okay with you? Why do you think it’s cool that your partner is actively against you, and all of us in this match. You must realize this right? You must see this, that your partner is literally going to try and force you to wrestle this entire match against Ruby and I. You have to see this coming from a mile away. You can’t be okay with this, can you? You can’t seriously be thinking that, it’s cool that your partner wants literally nothing to do with you, and is just gaslighting you to make her job easier. It’s not a good look for you to be doing this.



If I were you, I’d seriously consider not bothering with this tag match since you have a partner who isn’t going to help you one bit. You should be able to see that, and see through exactly what she’s going to do and what she’s trying to do right here and now. She doesn’t want to be in this match, not in the slightest. She just wants to hang on the apron, hope you get the job done and reap the benefits of it. That’s not a partner, that’s a parasite. She’s sucking the very life out of you as we speak. It’s not healthy, you should at the very least, take this into consideration as this match draws near. Think about the fact that at some point, you are going to want to tag out of this match. You’re going to want to take a breather on the apron, you’re going to want a rest and when you look over in that corner, your partner is going to be imploring you to continue, and keep you in that ring. She’s going to stand there, not with her hand outstretched for a tag, but with a look of faux encouragement because SHE doesn’t want to get in the ring. And eventually you know what’s going to happen, right Scott?



You’re going to run out of gas. You’re going to need to tag her, and she’s not going to be there. She’s not even going to bother trying to help you. When you get in trouble, she’s going to leave you high and dry. Hell, she might do it right at the beginning of the match. I just need you to understand this now, so that it’s not like I didn’t warn you. I don’t want there to be excuses when you lose, about how about you didn’t know your partner was like that. She’s flat out telling you this, as am I now. If you don’t heed both the signs and my warning, at this point, you will have nobody to blame but yourself.



And you should be better than that, Scott. You’re wrestling’s best kept secret or so the tag says. This isn’t a secret, Scott, this is right in front of your face, a giant neon sign if there ever was one. I just hope that you open your eyes and don’t come into this match blind. You should be well aware of what’s going on here. It’s not being hidden from you. Your partner wants zero to do with you, and this match, and while you have all the talent in the world, you’re going to let a large chunk of it go to waste if you continue to think that this woman has your back in any way.



It’s almost a shame, but you know, maybe, I’m just thinking that way, so that myself and Ruby win, but then again, if you don’t tag, you’re probably going to lose, and if you DO tag, you’re probably going to lose also.



Man, that is a shitty predicament to be in, Scott. I hope that you feel the same way I do, but then again, you probably do, because well… we might BE in the same predicament.


- - -

Ruby

- - -


Holly:

Look, Ruby is my partner and I’m not sure what to even make of that after two weeks ago, when she literally came on camera and said she didn’t care. That bugged me. It bugs me because this is a crazy business and things can go up in flames in a heartbeat. You can lose this privilege very quickly, so to see someone actually thinking about squandering it after being so gung-ho in that triple threat match, that annoys me. Why on earth would you waste a chance like this? It makes no sense to me. You have the ability, it’s clearly there, but when you give out a “meh” heard around the wrestling world, that sends a clear message, and it makes me wonder about this team.



So, all I’m really asking is for Ruby to show up and work with me. You don’t have to like it, I don’t have to like it, it’s a match and that’s what we’re here to do. Have this match, get through it, get Victory off to a good start, and hey, it’s another win on each of our records. That counts, it builds towards the future, and that’s what I’m trying to do. I don’t need someone who’s not with it, to even come out there and just throw this away. This is a golden opportunity for the both of us, and you have shown you have the ability to get good. Not just good, but great.



All I need for you to do is try, Ruby. Just give it a little effort this week, a lot more than you did two weeks ago, and we should be fine. We should be able to pull through and make this work. That’s all that had to happen. You just have to try.


- - -

Wrap it up.

- - -


Holly:

Well, to say that this match will be interesting is an understatement. There’s literally a possibility that I am the only one going into this match who cares. Maybe Scott does, maybe Ruby does, and obviously Sonya does not. That’s just how this week is for me, but I’m not going to let it bring me down and make me be something I’m not. I’m going out there, all out with the intent to get the win for my team. I will be a team player. Now whether or not Ruby is, is up to her, and if I have to try and win this damn match by myself, I will.



In this match… Help may just be a four-letter word.