Post by Brooke Hernandez on Apr 21, 2023 0:37:58 GMT -5
To lead one must have the qualities that others envy. You must give them a reason to follow. Usually your age is a big deciding factor on why people follow you but sometimes it is your knowledge and your capabilities are enough. I remembered this as I pasted the poster on the fence outside the arena from which WGWF Brawl would be held. A big picture of my face wearing an Uncle Sam Hat with the words "Vote for Brooke" underneath it. I noticed the camera as I began my pitch. "The time has come for the voices that run WGWF to come center stage and prepare for war… war games that is and yours truly is in the running to be a captain. I'd be foolish to pass this chance up. In order to get the vote of confidence I must stand in the ring with the biggest, the brightest, and the best WGWF has to offer. I must show that I belong with the Spencer Adams' and Peter Vaughn's of the world. I must prove, without a shadow of a doubt that I belong."
I paced back and forth with a purpose. My demeanor was showing that of ambition, pride, and confidence. So much confidence that it bordered on cockiness. I chuckled as I looked back at the camera. "Back in January if I would have been in this match I would have been timid about it. I would have shied away from the competition and just used the typical I'm just happy to be nominated schtick. No more. I am no longer that person. I will hurt people if I need to. Did you see what I did last Brawl to Samuel Chatman? I said I was going to win and I did. Losing is no longer an option for me. To lose is to fail and failure is a foreign concept to me. I am becoming a winner more and more in my career and it has helped me feel right at home. I am a former NCAA champion gymnast. I am a future WGWF Champion. This week I prove that I belong here. I belong on the marquee and not in the show opener. I am climbing my way into the hearts of the wrestling world. I love living rent free in the minds of my haters and enemies. For if I dwell there, I have already won the battle and am well on my way to winning the war."
The sun rising behind me shined off of my blonde hair as I had a seat on a bench. My sun kissed skin showing no flaws as I continued. "What is it about the sun that motivates me to be my best? It's like a new chance to seize the day and do what needs to be done. It is a realization that my last win is behind me and I must focus on the next task. So many times, in this and every business, we get focused on celebration that we forget to focus on training and getting better. Each rung of the ladder is harder to climb with weak legs. You must tone your thighs and buttocks in order to keep getting to the top. That is the joke I make with Marisol Vilaro, of the famed Vilaro System, that by toning my butt and legs I will keep climbing to the top. She has led many to the top and I will be the next one. She has given me all the tools I need to succeed and now it is my turn to use the tools and keep on my ascent to the top."
I leaned back and closed my eyes as I let the sun sink into my skin. I kept on speaking hoping my words would not fall on deaf ears. "So I am hanging signs up all over the area encompassing the arena. Yes, I'm very aware that there is no real vote but this is more of a subliminal thing to keep my name at the back of the brain of my opponents. It doesn't matter if it is someone like Krow who is mad at the world or Jim Caedus who sold his soul to the devil himself the fact remains that I will inevitably be overlooked like a snake hiding in the tall grass, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. That perfect opportunity comes on April 24 in front of the WGWF universe. I will, undoubtedly, be coming off a victory in the Thunder Pro Wrestling S.E.X. Cup over Young and GOATed featuring one Mr. James Raven. Will you hold it against me heading into War Games James? God I hope not. I hope you won't run some sort of behind the scenes politics to fuck me over. Nay, I want you to raise my arms after I win this battle royal. After I, once again, defy the odds and win another match that I am not supposed to, I want you to hold my slender arm in the air and declare me the winner."
I could already hear the fans in my head. "Oh no, Brooke is calling out James Raven. It wasn't that at all. This was simply me being my normal young and possibly cocky self. I looked directly into the camera again as I spoke in a confident tone. "You know, Serena Riot thought she could beat me and I sent her back to her pathetic life. You know, I have had a hell of a rookie year between OCW and TPW and now I am going to be showing that skill in WGWF. I have heard a lot of talk of this place. The hype was definitely part of the reason I came here. You always want to fight the best so why not go where the best are? I see myself as the best in wrestling and this is my chance to shine and shine I will. Shine like the Badmon himself did last week. Spencer, that was a damned spectacle and I applaud you. I guess some of us need the fanfare and the welcome wagon. I just came in and took care of business. I do my talking from bell to bell. I don't need to make little videos to hype myself up. The hype follows me wherever I go. The hype I bring is unfathomable to blowhards like you. You toot your own horn and want to be welcomed with open arms. I will welcome you when you do something of importance here. This isn't Action Wrestling. This isn't WCF. This isn't some company you can walk into and just take over. There is real talent here. There are some wrestlers that many just dream of sharing a locker room with. You, now, have the opportunity of a lifetime to come in and share it with us. How will you react to being in the same ring as Mark Cross, Fred Debonair, and Peter Vaughn? Only time will tell your staying power here, Spence."
I smirked as I winked at the camera. I continued to speak in my confident tone. Not getting loud as loud showed weakness but, rather, I stayed quiet and confident as I spoke. "Cholo and Mike Mason are so focused on each other I am considering them a non factor. I am seeing them tearing each other apart in my head. How does it feel guys? How does it feel knowing that a little hundred pound woman has a better chance than you both because you simply can't stop arguing over who's man pecs are better? In all seriousness I wish you both the best of luck in your intercontinental title match but while you all fight for that I simply will be assembling WGWFs version of the Avengers."
I smiled as I found some comedy in my words. I mean, sure this company has some top tier talent but who am I going to get to listen to me for game plans? Jim Caedus? He is too busy being up Chris Page's ass to even know what's going on. Punisher? I think he and Sonya are still playing house a bit and Sonya is definitely wearing the daddy pants in the family. Fuck it, go big or go home. "I will reveal this right now. If I win this and get the first pick, unless he is the other captain, I will be drafting Peter Vaughn."
I said that statement as if it were some kind of big shocking twist. Of course you would want to choose the champion to back you. I may be blonde but I'm not stupid. I looked into the camera and shook my head side to side as I shut my eyes. I spoke in a hushed tone, almost monotoned. "This business is all about shock value, all about moments that reshape history. What would reshape our business more than a pretty blonde gymnast defeating some of the biggest names in this business a mere three months after her debut? The fact is I am a Frenzied Spirit away from completely changing this game. I am going to make believers out of each and every one of you peons. You all can sit back on your Twitters and your message boards and think that all is going downhill for little Brookie but, at the end of the day, it is my pictures you Google. It is my ass you can't get enough of and that is what I will use to my advantage. I have the power to make or break each and every person I step into the ring with. When myself and Miss Moskowitz are in town, people take notice."
With that my fiancee, Miss Moskowitz, stepped into the frame. She scoffed as she looked into the camera. She spoke with a sultry sound to her voice. "You all wish you could be a Goddess like my Brooke. You all envy her skills and her looks and, quite frankly, it is pathetic. She is so far out of your league you can't even see her without binoculars. Staring at Brooke for too long is like staring at the sun, bad for your health. You see, Brooke is a living and breathing Goddess and you neckbeards in WGWF just live in her world. The era of Blakely is here and you are all blessed to even be mentioned on a match card with her."
The usually quiet six foot Amazon had finally had enough of people looking past me and it showed. She and I walked hand in hand down a road. The scene faded to black.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The scene opened to show a dark alley as I shook with fear. The year was 2015. I was fifteen years old. I had walked this path many times but recently it had been different. A few weeks earlier I had been approached by an unknown grown male trying to lure me to go with him. Houston was not as nice as people on the outside looking in would believe. There are many bad areas that can make anyone frightened. Gang activity, robberies, unspeakable sexual crimes that I don't even want to get into. Anything you can find unfathomable goes on in areas like this. I looked around as I heard sounds. "Where is she?
I was looking for my best friend, Natalie. She had brought me way out here. It was bad enough she lived in a trailer park but she didn't have me meet her there. Why had she brought me into this alley? Why, of all the places in Houston, why here? I looked around a bit more before I heard a "Psst" coming from behind a dumpster. I looked in that direction and there she was. I walked over and spoke, a little too loudly apparently. "Shh..get your dumbass back here."
I knew Natalie dealt drugs. She wasn't a user but her parents were literal deadbeats and would not be able to take care of her had she not started dealing. Doesn't mean I agreed with what she did but she was my best friend since kindergarten. She spoke in a whisper to me. "Look, here is the deal Brooke. I fucked up and badly. Mike is after me and if he finds me, I'm dead…literally."
I had heard about Mike before. He was a big time drug lord in Houston. This explained why we couldn't meet in the trailer park. Before I could say anything she screamed as she was pulled out from behind the dumpster. I ran off, my friend needed me and I abandoned her. As I escaped the area I heard a gunshot and a thud. I kept running but I could never escape the guilt of losing my friend and it being my fault.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
My head, now drooped in a somber manner. Scottie looked at me as she pulled me close. "Babe, it isn't your fault. She had demons and problems and they caught up to her."
I nodded as I spoke again. "We all have our own problems and demons. It is how we adapt to them or let them control us that makes us who we are. I am twenty two years old, I escaped the bad life I was in. Natalie wasn't so lucky. She was murdered over twenty dollars. I made a vow that day, that I would never abandon anyone ever again. That includes anyone I may team with in this sport and it includes this sport as a whole. I have trained and worked my ass off to get here and I will be damned if I hide behind a dumpster and let others murder my career. I am stepping front and center and taking control of my life and my career."
My parents had recently tried to get me to call off my engagement to Scottie, something I refused to do. I was gonna marry this girl whether they approved of it or not. Now was time for me to grow up and grab the bull by the horns. I looked into the camera again. "This is a message for Chris Page and James Raven. I am the future of this business and of this company. I am going to show that starting on Brawl. You want to see the feistiness of someone who escaped poverty and became successful? You want to see the cockiness that was caused by me winning three straight NCAA Gymnastics National Championships? Keep watching me ascend to the stars. Get on the bandwagon while you can because, in a few months, there won't be any seats left. I am the underdog to most but, in my own mind, I am the world's greatest wrestler. Each loss makes me better and each win shows the world that I am correct. Think you have what it takes to make me weak or believe I can't do this? Try again. I have been doubted my whole life and each and every time I get knocked down, I get back up and say hit me again bitch."
Scottie cheered me on as I stood up. I became a little more determined with each and every word I spoke. "The fact of the matter is this, WGWF needs me. They need me to breathe life into a rather boring roster. All I hear from this roster is a series of caveman grunts and bitching and moaning. I hear Sonya Benson trying to have a personality but falling flat. I am a necessity to this company. I am breathing new life into a company that was brought back from the dead and then almost returned there. From the slums to the battlefield of war. War Games is going to be the match that puts me in the limelight. The biggest match of my career and that includes the title match I had a month ago in OCW. Page, this is your shining star speaking. Begin recognizing this face for it will be the face of WGWF going forward. No more will your fans have to sit through boring promotional material from Emily Simms or Buster Gloves. No more will John Cable or Mark Flynn have to speak up in the same promo time and time again. My time is now and I will be damned if I allow any of your little drones and robots on the microphone take that from me. Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Brooke Blakely. It's about time you remember me."
I blew a kiss at the camera and followed it with a wink. I was cocky but I had every reason to be. If you came from where I did, you'd be cocky too. I was anxious to show the world what Brooke Blakely was capable of. I was no longer that rookie, nervously biting her nails and staying up all night. The only time I wasn't resting was when I was in the gym with Marisol and working on getting ready for that next rung of the ladder. Getting ready for that next step of my career where I, once again, defied the odds and made people realize exactly who I was. My name is Brooke Blakely and I am a natural born leader. Vote for me!
I paced back and forth with a purpose. My demeanor was showing that of ambition, pride, and confidence. So much confidence that it bordered on cockiness. I chuckled as I looked back at the camera. "Back in January if I would have been in this match I would have been timid about it. I would have shied away from the competition and just used the typical I'm just happy to be nominated schtick. No more. I am no longer that person. I will hurt people if I need to. Did you see what I did last Brawl to Samuel Chatman? I said I was going to win and I did. Losing is no longer an option for me. To lose is to fail and failure is a foreign concept to me. I am becoming a winner more and more in my career and it has helped me feel right at home. I am a former NCAA champion gymnast. I am a future WGWF Champion. This week I prove that I belong here. I belong on the marquee and not in the show opener. I am climbing my way into the hearts of the wrestling world. I love living rent free in the minds of my haters and enemies. For if I dwell there, I have already won the battle and am well on my way to winning the war."
The sun rising behind me shined off of my blonde hair as I had a seat on a bench. My sun kissed skin showing no flaws as I continued. "What is it about the sun that motivates me to be my best? It's like a new chance to seize the day and do what needs to be done. It is a realization that my last win is behind me and I must focus on the next task. So many times, in this and every business, we get focused on celebration that we forget to focus on training and getting better. Each rung of the ladder is harder to climb with weak legs. You must tone your thighs and buttocks in order to keep getting to the top. That is the joke I make with Marisol Vilaro, of the famed Vilaro System, that by toning my butt and legs I will keep climbing to the top. She has led many to the top and I will be the next one. She has given me all the tools I need to succeed and now it is my turn to use the tools and keep on my ascent to the top."
I leaned back and closed my eyes as I let the sun sink into my skin. I kept on speaking hoping my words would not fall on deaf ears. "So I am hanging signs up all over the area encompassing the arena. Yes, I'm very aware that there is no real vote but this is more of a subliminal thing to keep my name at the back of the brain of my opponents. It doesn't matter if it is someone like Krow who is mad at the world or Jim Caedus who sold his soul to the devil himself the fact remains that I will inevitably be overlooked like a snake hiding in the tall grass, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. That perfect opportunity comes on April 24 in front of the WGWF universe. I will, undoubtedly, be coming off a victory in the Thunder Pro Wrestling S.E.X. Cup over Young and GOATed featuring one Mr. James Raven. Will you hold it against me heading into War Games James? God I hope not. I hope you won't run some sort of behind the scenes politics to fuck me over. Nay, I want you to raise my arms after I win this battle royal. After I, once again, defy the odds and win another match that I am not supposed to, I want you to hold my slender arm in the air and declare me the winner."
I could already hear the fans in my head. "Oh no, Brooke is calling out James Raven. It wasn't that at all. This was simply me being my normal young and possibly cocky self. I looked directly into the camera again as I spoke in a confident tone. "You know, Serena Riot thought she could beat me and I sent her back to her pathetic life. You know, I have had a hell of a rookie year between OCW and TPW and now I am going to be showing that skill in WGWF. I have heard a lot of talk of this place. The hype was definitely part of the reason I came here. You always want to fight the best so why not go where the best are? I see myself as the best in wrestling and this is my chance to shine and shine I will. Shine like the Badmon himself did last week. Spencer, that was a damned spectacle and I applaud you. I guess some of us need the fanfare and the welcome wagon. I just came in and took care of business. I do my talking from bell to bell. I don't need to make little videos to hype myself up. The hype follows me wherever I go. The hype I bring is unfathomable to blowhards like you. You toot your own horn and want to be welcomed with open arms. I will welcome you when you do something of importance here. This isn't Action Wrestling. This isn't WCF. This isn't some company you can walk into and just take over. There is real talent here. There are some wrestlers that many just dream of sharing a locker room with. You, now, have the opportunity of a lifetime to come in and share it with us. How will you react to being in the same ring as Mark Cross, Fred Debonair, and Peter Vaughn? Only time will tell your staying power here, Spence."
I smirked as I winked at the camera. I continued to speak in my confident tone. Not getting loud as loud showed weakness but, rather, I stayed quiet and confident as I spoke. "Cholo and Mike Mason are so focused on each other I am considering them a non factor. I am seeing them tearing each other apart in my head. How does it feel guys? How does it feel knowing that a little hundred pound woman has a better chance than you both because you simply can't stop arguing over who's man pecs are better? In all seriousness I wish you both the best of luck in your intercontinental title match but while you all fight for that I simply will be assembling WGWFs version of the Avengers."
I smiled as I found some comedy in my words. I mean, sure this company has some top tier talent but who am I going to get to listen to me for game plans? Jim Caedus? He is too busy being up Chris Page's ass to even know what's going on. Punisher? I think he and Sonya are still playing house a bit and Sonya is definitely wearing the daddy pants in the family. Fuck it, go big or go home. "I will reveal this right now. If I win this and get the first pick, unless he is the other captain, I will be drafting Peter Vaughn."
I said that statement as if it were some kind of big shocking twist. Of course you would want to choose the champion to back you. I may be blonde but I'm not stupid. I looked into the camera and shook my head side to side as I shut my eyes. I spoke in a hushed tone, almost monotoned. "This business is all about shock value, all about moments that reshape history. What would reshape our business more than a pretty blonde gymnast defeating some of the biggest names in this business a mere three months after her debut? The fact is I am a Frenzied Spirit away from completely changing this game. I am going to make believers out of each and every one of you peons. You all can sit back on your Twitters and your message boards and think that all is going downhill for little Brookie but, at the end of the day, it is my pictures you Google. It is my ass you can't get enough of and that is what I will use to my advantage. I have the power to make or break each and every person I step into the ring with. When myself and Miss Moskowitz are in town, people take notice."
With that my fiancee, Miss Moskowitz, stepped into the frame. She scoffed as she looked into the camera. She spoke with a sultry sound to her voice. "You all wish you could be a Goddess like my Brooke. You all envy her skills and her looks and, quite frankly, it is pathetic. She is so far out of your league you can't even see her without binoculars. Staring at Brooke for too long is like staring at the sun, bad for your health. You see, Brooke is a living and breathing Goddess and you neckbeards in WGWF just live in her world. The era of Blakely is here and you are all blessed to even be mentioned on a match card with her."
The usually quiet six foot Amazon had finally had enough of people looking past me and it showed. She and I walked hand in hand down a road. The scene faded to black.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The scene opened to show a dark alley as I shook with fear. The year was 2015. I was fifteen years old. I had walked this path many times but recently it had been different. A few weeks earlier I had been approached by an unknown grown male trying to lure me to go with him. Houston was not as nice as people on the outside looking in would believe. There are many bad areas that can make anyone frightened. Gang activity, robberies, unspeakable sexual crimes that I don't even want to get into. Anything you can find unfathomable goes on in areas like this. I looked around as I heard sounds. "Where is she?
I was looking for my best friend, Natalie. She had brought me way out here. It was bad enough she lived in a trailer park but she didn't have me meet her there. Why had she brought me into this alley? Why, of all the places in Houston, why here? I looked around a bit more before I heard a "Psst" coming from behind a dumpster. I looked in that direction and there she was. I walked over and spoke, a little too loudly apparently. "Shh..get your dumbass back here."
I knew Natalie dealt drugs. She wasn't a user but her parents were literal deadbeats and would not be able to take care of her had she not started dealing. Doesn't mean I agreed with what she did but she was my best friend since kindergarten. She spoke in a whisper to me. "Look, here is the deal Brooke. I fucked up and badly. Mike is after me and if he finds me, I'm dead…literally."
I had heard about Mike before. He was a big time drug lord in Houston. This explained why we couldn't meet in the trailer park. Before I could say anything she screamed as she was pulled out from behind the dumpster. I ran off, my friend needed me and I abandoned her. As I escaped the area I heard a gunshot and a thud. I kept running but I could never escape the guilt of losing my friend and it being my fault.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
My head, now drooped in a somber manner. Scottie looked at me as she pulled me close. "Babe, it isn't your fault. She had demons and problems and they caught up to her."
I nodded as I spoke again. "We all have our own problems and demons. It is how we adapt to them or let them control us that makes us who we are. I am twenty two years old, I escaped the bad life I was in. Natalie wasn't so lucky. She was murdered over twenty dollars. I made a vow that day, that I would never abandon anyone ever again. That includes anyone I may team with in this sport and it includes this sport as a whole. I have trained and worked my ass off to get here and I will be damned if I hide behind a dumpster and let others murder my career. I am stepping front and center and taking control of my life and my career."
My parents had recently tried to get me to call off my engagement to Scottie, something I refused to do. I was gonna marry this girl whether they approved of it or not. Now was time for me to grow up and grab the bull by the horns. I looked into the camera again. "This is a message for Chris Page and James Raven. I am the future of this business and of this company. I am going to show that starting on Brawl. You want to see the feistiness of someone who escaped poverty and became successful? You want to see the cockiness that was caused by me winning three straight NCAA Gymnastics National Championships? Keep watching me ascend to the stars. Get on the bandwagon while you can because, in a few months, there won't be any seats left. I am the underdog to most but, in my own mind, I am the world's greatest wrestler. Each loss makes me better and each win shows the world that I am correct. Think you have what it takes to make me weak or believe I can't do this? Try again. I have been doubted my whole life and each and every time I get knocked down, I get back up and say hit me again bitch."
Scottie cheered me on as I stood up. I became a little more determined with each and every word I spoke. "The fact of the matter is this, WGWF needs me. They need me to breathe life into a rather boring roster. All I hear from this roster is a series of caveman grunts and bitching and moaning. I hear Sonya Benson trying to have a personality but falling flat. I am a necessity to this company. I am breathing new life into a company that was brought back from the dead and then almost returned there. From the slums to the battlefield of war. War Games is going to be the match that puts me in the limelight. The biggest match of my career and that includes the title match I had a month ago in OCW. Page, this is your shining star speaking. Begin recognizing this face for it will be the face of WGWF going forward. No more will your fans have to sit through boring promotional material from Emily Simms or Buster Gloves. No more will John Cable or Mark Flynn have to speak up in the same promo time and time again. My time is now and I will be damned if I allow any of your little drones and robots on the microphone take that from me. Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Brooke Blakely. It's about time you remember me."
I blew a kiss at the camera and followed it with a wink. I was cocky but I had every reason to be. If you came from where I did, you'd be cocky too. I was anxious to show the world what Brooke Blakely was capable of. I was no longer that rookie, nervously biting her nails and staying up all night. The only time I wasn't resting was when I was in the gym with Marisol and working on getting ready for that next rung of the ladder. Getting ready for that next step of my career where I, once again, defied the odds and made people realize exactly who I was. My name is Brooke Blakely and I am a natural born leader. Vote for me!