Post by Deleted on May 29, 2017 3:59:06 GMT
Date: May 27, 2017
Julianna DiMaria is going through some thoughts as she finds herself in front of a camcorder that’s not currently recording. She’s sitting down in a green room somewhere in the Mexico hotel that she’s staying at and she’s very deep in thought, more than she typically is considering much of what the young, second generation rookie has gone through in recent times so early in her career. There’s a cameraman waiting for her cue to turn the camera on, but Julianna appears to be in some sort of daze. Her pupils are a bit wider than normal, but not too much, her shoulders are somewhat stiffer than usual and she has her hands crossed as she’s got them placed on her lap. Only a few words from the cameraman break the slight trance she finds herself in.
Cameraman: So, are you ready to go?
Julianna: Huh?
Julianna gives a long blink and a stare at the cameraman.
Cameraman: You look like you’re visiting another planet or something. We’ve got to hurry up and get this thing out there for your second round tournament match.
Julianna: Right. I’m trying not to lose sight of that fact, okay?
Julianna raises her voice, indicating that she’s annoyed.
Julianna: Just… give me some time… and I’ll tell you when I’m ready. Got that? We’re on MY time, not yours, so don’t disrespect me by telling me to hurry up.
Cameraman: Christ, lady, I just wanted to get this done! Whatever! Take all the time you need. Kids these days…
The cameraman shakes his head as he sits down behind the inactive camcorder and picks up a random comic book to read to kill the time.
Julianna (thinking): What a long way to get to this point…
Julianna begins to reflect on some key moments of her past…
FLASHBACK: 2010
Julianna’s first reflection is of a conversation she was having with her parents when she was fifteen years of age. They’re at the kitchen table and there’s a bit of tension in the air.
Mr. DiMaria: You’re out of your mind, Jules.
The 15-year-old Julianna doesn’t react to her father’s negative reaction to something that she just revealed.
Mr. DiMaria: I never thought you’d want to do this.
Julianna: Well, it’s going to happen whether you want it to or not!
Mrs. DiMaria: Sweetheart, we’re flattered that you want to be part of the wrestling business, but this isn’t just something you can walk into and act like you can succeed instantly. This isn’t just something you can say “My parents did it, so I’m going to do it too!” It takes a commitment, not just a five year commitment, not just a ten year commitment…
Mr. DiMaria: But a LIFETIME commitment! It’s road trips in rental cars, the worst hotels you’ll find in the middle of nowhere, fast food almost every day and barely scraping enough change together to make a livin’... at least, at first it is. This ain’t a glamorous lifestyle, Jules… are you sure you wanna do this?
Julianna: YES! This is what I want to do! If you two don’t want to believe in me, then fine! I don’t need you both to believe in me! I know I don’t “look” like a wrestler, but I know in my heart and soul that this is why I was put on this earth to begin with. So why don’t you two just open up your precious wrestling facility tomorrow and I can start training.
Mrs. DiMaria: You’re not getting a free ride just because you’re our daughter. You have to pay like everyone else.
Mr. DiMaria: And ya gotta work for that money like everyone else too!
Julianna: You GUYS!!!
Mr. DiMaria: Work for it Jules, ‘cause in this business… ya ain’t gettin’ handed a damn thing! Look for a job first thing tomorrow. Save up what ya can! Once ya get in, we ain’t goin’ easy on you.
Mrs. DiMaria: When have we?
Present Day Julianna (thinking): My parents expected so much out of me from the moment I could sustain my memories better, and it wasn’t just wrestling. Even when I was a little girl, they only gave me a limited window to be a kid. When I was a little girl, all I wanted to do was go to Disneyland, or even go to the park and have some ice cream. They never did that much because they raised me as a hard worker from day one… in and out of this business…
Julianna pauses her thoughts as she continues to reflect on some of the moments of her life that brought her to this point.
FLASHBACK: 2014
Mr. DiMaria: You could do so much better than that!!!
Those words from her father in this memory from a few years ago rattles the now 19 year old as she squints her eyes during a conversation between her parents in front of her peers at their wrestling facility.
Julianna: Dad… an Indy job is an Indy job…
Mr. DiMaria: Yeah, but they’re paying you five dollars a match! That’s backyard league bullshit! Then again, here in San Diego, ya gotta expect that because Indy promoters here are cheap.
Mrs. DiMaria: Couldn’t you have at least found something in Los Angeles? Or even Tijuana?
Julianna: Do you two really need to do this to me in front of everyone else?
Julianna looks over her shoulders and catches a sneer and a snicker from a couple of her peers.
Julianna: If any one of these inferior people behind me got this same Indy job I just did, you’d be telling them that they did a great job and that they’re on their way. But with me, suddenly it’s a bad thing. WHY?
Mrs. DiMaria: Because you’re our daughter, that’s why…
Mr. DiMaria: And ‘cause of that, we expect more outta ya. If you’re so superior to everyone behind ya, you’d get a better Indy job than this. You’re never going mainstream if ya keep accepting things below your level!
Julianna: FINE! I’ll find something better!
The 19-year-old Julianna sighs and has a glum pout on her face, once again brought down to size by the slightly overbearing expectations of her own parents when it came to this business.
Present Day Julianna (thinking): They never made it easy on me. For anything I accomplished in the Indy scene, I’d be lucky if I even got the proverbial gold star sticker on the front cover of my notebook. Oh they celebrated when I made it to WCG, alright. But the way they raised me, the way they brought me up into this business when they were training me, among other things, it would have a profound effect on how I’d react to the highs and lows of my nascent mainstream wrestling career up to this point. I wasn’t even all THAT happy when I fought Coby Quik in round one of the Super Falcon Cup and won…
Julianna at this point begins to reflect on the immediate reaction that took place after she defeated Coby Quik.
FLASHBACK: After Chapter Diez
After Julianna had her match, she leaned against the wall, her arms folded and looking like she wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything in the world. Her shoulders are slumped and she’s looking down at the concrete floor, as if something outside of GOL is bothering her. She takes a deep breath, not aware of the presence of WCG’s interviewer, Mia Bala, being nearby.
Mia: Gosh, with that kind of body language, it’s almost like you LOST earlier tonight.
Julianna: Fuck off, Mia. What are you even doing here?
Julianna looks rather annoyed as she looks up at Mia, who is alone without any cameras surrounding the two of them.
Mia: I thought maybe I’d get an exclusive scoop for WCG documenting your Super Falcon Cup experience. Don’t worry, we’re off the record for now. But, hey, at least you WON! Shouldn’t you be happy?
Julianna rolls her eyes.
Julianna: Yeah, here I am, representing WCG, winning in the first round against Coby “Quikly Forgotten About” or whatever the hell you want to call him and all’s well right? There’s only one thing missing and it’s greatly bothering the hell out of me.
Mia: What’s that?
Julianna: I said I was going to represent WCG in the Super Falcon Cup as the WCG West Coast Champion. Well, do you see the WCG West Coast Championship anywhere around here?
Mia: OH…
The eyes of the WCG interviewer widen when Julianna mentions what she just did, realizing what is now getting the young San Diego native down.
Mia: Listen, it’s not THAT big a deal…
Julianna: Oh it’s NOT? While I’m down here, pissed off as all hell and being unable to celebrate a win, the WCG West Coast Championship is in some stupid art gallery with Ryan Keys!
Mia: What is the matter with you?
Julianna: You don’t understand. If my parents were in plain sight, they’d be telling me “good job, but you can do better”. Or they’d say “but you’re not the West Coast Champion like we all expected you to be going into this tournament.” I swear to fucking God, I feel like they are never satisfied with ANYTHING!
Mia: You do have one more chance at the title in a few days. Maybe you’ll be able to satisfy them by winning.
Julianna: I hope so… because if I don’t… oh god… I’m going to hear all the lectures in the world about how I’ve got a long way to go and all this crap! All of this? Off the record. That’s all you’re getting from me.
Julianna turns and walks away from the WCG interviewer.
Mia: Hey, don’t let that take away from your win tonight, Julianna. Julianna?
Mia pauses and sighs.
Mia: Poor girl…
Present Day Julianna (thinking): I was right. Essentially, my parents did give me the “Good job, BUT…” treatment that I had just told Mia that they were going to give me. They gave me that lecture that I was dreading about how I still had a long way to go and how the Super Falcon Cup tournament was only going to be harder. They did mention that I wasn’t the West Coast Champion and that I had to be on top of my game if I were going to win that title from Ryan Keys over in WCG. So much pressure on me just because of them and having to live up to what they taught me and the pedigree that they passed onto me.
Julianna’s mood started to dampen a bit as she remembered the immediate aftermath of her most recent televised match in WCG to date against Ryan Keys.
Present Day Julianna (thinking): And then I lost to Ryan Keys… AGAIN! Talk about torture!
Julianna’s mood continued to sullen as she reflected on the immediate aftermath of losing her title match to Ryan Keys.
FLASHBACK: May 6, 2017. After her second loss to Ryan Keys at WCG Hype 2!
Julianna sat alone in the corner of her locker room hanging her head and covering her face with one of her hands. She’s taking the loss to Ryan Keys rather hard, knowing that no matter what she did and how hard she tried, it still wasn’t good enough to beat him. While she got the last word at the very end by taking him out, it still wasn’t going to nullify the match outcome or how deeply it was affecting her.
Julianna: Back of the line…
Julianna utters those words as she lifts her head up, folds her arms, and slumps back in her chair slightly.
Julianna: That was it…
She squints, immersing herself within the reality that was now in front of her.
Julianna: What do I do now? I had my two chances. There’s no way I’m getting another one anytime soon. I’ve disappointed my parents again. I’ve got no hope to be West Coast Champion now. Ryan Keys can just move on to someone else, and I know he will.
That reality stings her as tears start to well up in the corner of her eyes. The door to her locker room pops open and Julianna’s emotions reach a fever pitch at the sight of her two parents.
Mrs. DiMaria: Julianna….
Julianna: NO! Don’t even START with your lectures! Don’t even START with your latest ramble of everything that I did wrong. Don’t even start with criticizing me for every little thing that you find wrong with my performance. I know I lost, you don’t need to tell me.
The tears start to stream down her face.
Julianna: You two don’t need to tell me how much I disappointed you and I definitely don’t want to hear about how I’ll never be good enough for you.
Mr. DiMaria: Jules…
Julianna: NO! It’s my turn to talk! Nothing I ever do is good enough, is it? The only time you were ever happy for me was when I signed my first mainstream contract. I’m grateful for what you’ve given me, but you two don’t seem to be grateful for anything and everything I’ve done for both of you. You can’t even tell me “congratulations” after a win, or “commiserations” after a loss. I’m SO tired of having to feel the pressure of living up to YOUR unsustainable expectations! So, I’ll lay it out like this: LEAVE ME ALONE!
Julianna gets up, tears still filling her eyes and she bolts out of the locker room, slamming the door shut her way out and leaving her parents stunned.
Mrs. DiMaria: ...we weren’t even going to do any of that…
Mr. DiMaria: Yeah… we were gonna tell her she made a great move by takin’ out her douchebag opponent after the match.
Mrs. DiMaria: It was the proper way to send a message. I don’t understand how she’s so hard on herself. Maybe… maybe we’ve been too hard on her since she started growing up?
Mr. DiMaria:Nah. I doubt it’s that. But, I think we should just give her some space, that’s all…
Little did they know that after Julianna bolted out of the room, she stayed by to eavesdrop on her parents. She rolls her eyes, annoyed by her father’s ignorance, before she just walks away to continue on with what turned out to be quite a rough night for her.
PRESENT DAY
Julianna finishes her reflection of her last memory, feeling a jolt of anger from her negative experiences in the business thus far, and sadness stemming from the frustration she’s been feeling. Before she’s overwhelmed by those thoughts, she looks up at the cameraman.
Julianna: I’m ready now.
The cameraman puts down the comic and stands up.
Cameraman: Good.
He turns on the camera and Julianna sees a light indicating it’s recording.
Cameraman: Whenever you’re ready to express your thoughts…
Julianna sifts through the timeline that she just flashed through over the last few minutes and she tries her best to shift them to the side as she begins to express how she feels about her upcoming second round match against Jack Tillman, who she knows there’s no love lost from him to her.
Julianna: People look at me and they see me as quite a few stereotypes in this business. The most common stereotype, being the progeny of two wrestlers, is that because I am a second generation wrestler, I have it SO EASY! Those that think that way about me couldn’t be any more wrong because despite being in this business for only a couple of months, I am already aware of some of the realities of this business. I admit that for a while, I thought I was going to have it easy and make one of the quickest rises to the tops. I thought I’d come out of the gates dominating every which way on my way to being the WCG West Coast Champion and the Super Falcon Cup winner in GOL. But, I’ve come to realize that it’s not so easy and just because I’m a second generation wrestler doesn’t mean that the world is going to hand me everything on a silver platter. I quickly came to realize, as much as I hate to admit it, that I’m not that much better than anyone else with my youth and inexperience. I’m a step above, but I’m not FIVE steps above as much as it pains me to admit. So, rather than have dominance right out of the gate, I’ve had, more or less, a back and forth, up and down roller coaster ride of a rookie year. Yeah, so much for a second generation wrestler having it so easy, right? Especially when I feel like sometimes my parents are NEVER satisfied with anything I do. I’ll get to them a bit later, but I want to talk about the second stereotype that people see me as. It’s not nearly as frequent as the other trope I mentioned, but it happens. You all know what I’m talking about. “Blonde. Fit. Southern California. VALLEY GIRL THAT CAN’T WRESTLE”. I’ve gotten a few of those too. They’re insulting to say the least, but I try my best to shrug it off knowing that looks don’t matter in this business and that they can be deceiving. I admit that I may not look like the biggest threat in the wrestling world, but as my father once told me: it’s not about the look or the size of the dog in the fight, it’s about the fight in the dog and pardon the pun, I’m quickly becoming known as one of the toughest bitches on the WCG roster!
And yet, I get the sense that my opponent, Jack Tillman, doesn’t see me as such.
Why should I say this about you, Jack?
Well, you are a competitor in multiple companies. You’re in EWC, who you are representing in this tournament, and you’re also in Redemption which if I had to guess, that’s probably why you wouldn’t see me as much. Hell, if I had to guess, that’s probably why many people, if they had to make a prediction, would pick you over me. I’m probably the Donald Trump to your Hilary Clinton… gender reversals and “outstanding” personalities notwithstanding… but hopefully people listen to this and know what I am getting at here. On the surface, they look at this and they go “Hey, there’s that guy in Redemption who has been a champion there taking on some rookie nobody from San Diego in Redemption’s developmental system that has already failed twice to win their top title”. Or, let’s be honest… they look at either gender biases or they see me and go “she’s just someone who should be on a catwalk and not a wrestling ring”. But that’s okay. Make those predictions. Let those predictions go to your head, Jack. Let everyone in the world hype up how good you are. Let everyone in wrestling hype up the fact that you’re unbeatable going up against me. Oh, what, you thought I was going to come into this match with some kind of unrealistic, cloud nine swagger talking about how I’m going to beat you so easily that I won’t break a sweat like many rookies in my generation do? You thought I was, like, so TOTALLY gonna like… ya know… talketh like this… like the dumb valley girl stereotype that some people undoubtedly have of me? PLEASE! I may be idealistic! I may have my own dreams of making wrestling my own world to rule in and all and I may be confident… or arrogant depending on who you ask… but I do so knowing that realistically, when you consider your resume against mine… which by the way has barely been written past the first page, if not the first chapter, you SHOULD be the favorite. You SHOULD be underestimating me. You SHOULD be coming into this match thinking “I’m going to dominate this little girl and send her back to her parents crying because she disappointed them again and will never feel like she’s good enough for them.”
And that’s the consensus, right? Just because you’re on Redemption’s main roster and I’m in WCG, that automatically means you’re better than me? That automatically means that you’re going to win, right? WRONG! You’re going to get a FIGHT out of me! I go into this damn thing knowing that I have nothing to lose. As hard and as frustrating as my parents’ expectations of me are, I would at least hope that they are realistic enough to know that I’m not the favorite going in. I’ve already pulled off what some would consider an “upset” in this tournament. After all, if you look at the poll on Twitter going into round one, many would think that Coby Quik was going to just waltz into Chapter Diez and pick up an easy win over the rookie with little to her name other than her bloodline and her confidence. And that didn’t happen, did it? Coby Quik was far too overconfident against me, Jack. And no, I’m not taking anything away from myself because I went into it knowing that I had everything in the world to pull off the win and while my youth and inexperience hinders me, I know I can find a way to beat any wrestler on any given night and yes Jack, you supercilious, haughty, arrogant son of a bitch, that includes you. What? You can’t bear the thought? Is the self-proclaimed “Mr. Wrestling” thinking about throwing up at the very CONCEPT of losing to someone he likely considers unworthy of facing someone like him? Why?: Because I don’t have the “wrestler look” as defined by you? Is that it? Ironically, and I’m not even sure if I would find this funny or if I find this sad, but I think about my parents, and then I think about you, and you know what I realized?
If you were their son… you’d be their perfect child.
Gosh, THAT’S why I was so moody about this match? I guess there’s a bit of resentment there, but don’t mind that. You know why you’d be their perfect child, Jack? Because you breathe, sleep, eat and drink wrestling. Wrestling is the only thing you give a damn about in this world. You’re all about wrestling and little about anything else. In fact, that gives you a sense of entitlement in this business…. Yeah, I know… me of all people talking about someone else having a sense of entitlement. You’ve been around the world, you’ve done such and such in Japan, you were EWC X-Division Champion, and most recently, you were Redemption’s Genesis Champion earlier this year. Great! Good for you! You want a gold fucking star for that? Because you’re not getting that in this tournament. Despite the overwhelming odds in YOUR favor, YOU are the one with more to prove in this tournament right now because hey, did you even WIN your first round match? NO! You didn’t! You made it to the second round with a draw against Amy Jo Smyth and you even had a little fortune in your favor when there was a double elimination earlier in the night and there happened to be two spots. Shouldn’t THAT be your motivation, self-proclaimed “Mr. Wrestling”? Hmm? Anyway, before I stray too much from my original point, you have everything my parents would be proud of and you may hear that and you may find that to be a good thing but… I have some breaking news for you.
It’s not ALL a good thing!
You see, there’s a stereotype in this business you happen to fall in. You know, the “eat, sleep, breathe” wrestling? It’s great that this business is your life. But that’s as much of a weakness as much as it is a strength. I know that my parents would likely still be wrestling themselves if I was never born and that doesn’t greatly bother me, but still. They were just like you when they were wrestlers. This business was their life. Even NOW, it’s STILL their life. Wrestling was all that they ever knew when they were in Europe. They came to America hoping to crack the mainstream. They never did, and then they had me. My father still tried, but for financial reasons, he had to give it up. I remember every Saturday morning when I would watch a wrestling show with him when I was a kid, he’d record every single show that he could. My mother was similar in that sense. She’s got pages and pages of journal entries about her career and she even went as far as to write a fictionalized version of her career if it went exactly the way she wanted it to. I remember being as young as seven and hearing about their plans to build up their life savings and use it all to open a wrestling school and that’s exactly what they did. Did they talk about their retirement plans? No. Did they talk about setting up a college fund for me? No. It was all about opening that wrestling school. The business consumed them and I hate to say this because I love my parents, but it still does. You have that same tunnel vision that they do. You’re so focused on yourself, you don’t bother learning about the consequences of your actions or what any other wrestler in this business is all about. And you know what? I admit that I share, in some respects, that same weakness that they do and I know that if I am to succeed the way I want to succeed in this business, I’ve got to break out of that. But still, that IS a weakness because whatever perception you may have of me, said tunnel vision is causing that. Said tunnel vision is why you DREW with Amy and not straight up beat her.
And said tunnel vision, Jack… is why you WILL lose to me!
Because here’s what I know! Win or lose, whether the little people like me or not, I gain that invaluable experience that is going to make me better, that in the future, is going to put me on the same level… or dare I say a HIGHER LEVEL than you are right now. I’m not the one with everything to lose: YOU ARE! If you beat me, great. That’s what was expected! At least I WON a match in this tournament. I’ve already gone farther than most expected me to. But if I BEAT YOU? *scoffs* Oh GOD, I can imagine the ego shattering into a billion little pieces! “How could I, Mr. Wrestling, lose to this BIMBO?” And then hilarity ensues! Such is life when you have tunnel vision and you have very little in this life outside of this business! I beat you, you’re not only humiliated knowing that a former Redemption champion lost to a WCG rookie, but you go out of this tournament with ZERO victories to your name! Way to represent EWC right? So keep living in your all-wrestling, no gimmick, no personality bubble. Keep believing your own hype! Keep using that tunnel vision to soak in all the pundits crowning you the winner already. If you’re overlooking me because of the way I look or because of my inexperience, do me a favor and keep doing so. At the end of the day?
It’s all going to cost you! That’s because in round two of this tournament, the “Ripper” because the “Ripped”. You’ll be the biggest conquest in my burgeoning world that is only growing and conquering this business and you’re going to get a sneak preview of what it’ll be like to be one of my subjects in MY world!
Pride goes before the fall, Jack!
Remember when this WCG rookie finds a way to beat you!
Julianna signals for the camera to be cut, and the cameraman wastes no time in doing so!
Julianna DiMaria is going through some thoughts as she finds herself in front of a camcorder that’s not currently recording. She’s sitting down in a green room somewhere in the Mexico hotel that she’s staying at and she’s very deep in thought, more than she typically is considering much of what the young, second generation rookie has gone through in recent times so early in her career. There’s a cameraman waiting for her cue to turn the camera on, but Julianna appears to be in some sort of daze. Her pupils are a bit wider than normal, but not too much, her shoulders are somewhat stiffer than usual and she has her hands crossed as she’s got them placed on her lap. Only a few words from the cameraman break the slight trance she finds herself in.
Cameraman: So, are you ready to go?
Julianna: Huh?
Julianna gives a long blink and a stare at the cameraman.
Cameraman: You look like you’re visiting another planet or something. We’ve got to hurry up and get this thing out there for your second round tournament match.
Julianna: Right. I’m trying not to lose sight of that fact, okay?
Julianna raises her voice, indicating that she’s annoyed.
Julianna: Just… give me some time… and I’ll tell you when I’m ready. Got that? We’re on MY time, not yours, so don’t disrespect me by telling me to hurry up.
Cameraman: Christ, lady, I just wanted to get this done! Whatever! Take all the time you need. Kids these days…
The cameraman shakes his head as he sits down behind the inactive camcorder and picks up a random comic book to read to kill the time.
Julianna (thinking): What a long way to get to this point…
Julianna begins to reflect on some key moments of her past…
FLASHBACK: 2010
Julianna’s first reflection is of a conversation she was having with her parents when she was fifteen years of age. They’re at the kitchen table and there’s a bit of tension in the air.
Mr. DiMaria: You’re out of your mind, Jules.
The 15-year-old Julianna doesn’t react to her father’s negative reaction to something that she just revealed.
Mr. DiMaria: I never thought you’d want to do this.
Julianna: Well, it’s going to happen whether you want it to or not!
Mrs. DiMaria: Sweetheart, we’re flattered that you want to be part of the wrestling business, but this isn’t just something you can walk into and act like you can succeed instantly. This isn’t just something you can say “My parents did it, so I’m going to do it too!” It takes a commitment, not just a five year commitment, not just a ten year commitment…
Mr. DiMaria: But a LIFETIME commitment! It’s road trips in rental cars, the worst hotels you’ll find in the middle of nowhere, fast food almost every day and barely scraping enough change together to make a livin’... at least, at first it is. This ain’t a glamorous lifestyle, Jules… are you sure you wanna do this?
Julianna: YES! This is what I want to do! If you two don’t want to believe in me, then fine! I don’t need you both to believe in me! I know I don’t “look” like a wrestler, but I know in my heart and soul that this is why I was put on this earth to begin with. So why don’t you two just open up your precious wrestling facility tomorrow and I can start training.
Mrs. DiMaria: You’re not getting a free ride just because you’re our daughter. You have to pay like everyone else.
Mr. DiMaria: And ya gotta work for that money like everyone else too!
Julianna: You GUYS!!!
Mr. DiMaria: Work for it Jules, ‘cause in this business… ya ain’t gettin’ handed a damn thing! Look for a job first thing tomorrow. Save up what ya can! Once ya get in, we ain’t goin’ easy on you.
Mrs. DiMaria: When have we?
Present Day Julianna (thinking): My parents expected so much out of me from the moment I could sustain my memories better, and it wasn’t just wrestling. Even when I was a little girl, they only gave me a limited window to be a kid. When I was a little girl, all I wanted to do was go to Disneyland, or even go to the park and have some ice cream. They never did that much because they raised me as a hard worker from day one… in and out of this business…
Julianna pauses her thoughts as she continues to reflect on some of the moments of her life that brought her to this point.
FLASHBACK: 2014
Mr. DiMaria: You could do so much better than that!!!
Those words from her father in this memory from a few years ago rattles the now 19 year old as she squints her eyes during a conversation between her parents in front of her peers at their wrestling facility.
Julianna: Dad… an Indy job is an Indy job…
Mr. DiMaria: Yeah, but they’re paying you five dollars a match! That’s backyard league bullshit! Then again, here in San Diego, ya gotta expect that because Indy promoters here are cheap.
Mrs. DiMaria: Couldn’t you have at least found something in Los Angeles? Or even Tijuana?
Julianna: Do you two really need to do this to me in front of everyone else?
Julianna looks over her shoulders and catches a sneer and a snicker from a couple of her peers.
Julianna: If any one of these inferior people behind me got this same Indy job I just did, you’d be telling them that they did a great job and that they’re on their way. But with me, suddenly it’s a bad thing. WHY?
Mrs. DiMaria: Because you’re our daughter, that’s why…
Mr. DiMaria: And ‘cause of that, we expect more outta ya. If you’re so superior to everyone behind ya, you’d get a better Indy job than this. You’re never going mainstream if ya keep accepting things below your level!
Julianna: FINE! I’ll find something better!
The 19-year-old Julianna sighs and has a glum pout on her face, once again brought down to size by the slightly overbearing expectations of her own parents when it came to this business.
Present Day Julianna (thinking): They never made it easy on me. For anything I accomplished in the Indy scene, I’d be lucky if I even got the proverbial gold star sticker on the front cover of my notebook. Oh they celebrated when I made it to WCG, alright. But the way they raised me, the way they brought me up into this business when they were training me, among other things, it would have a profound effect on how I’d react to the highs and lows of my nascent mainstream wrestling career up to this point. I wasn’t even all THAT happy when I fought Coby Quik in round one of the Super Falcon Cup and won…
Julianna at this point begins to reflect on the immediate reaction that took place after she defeated Coby Quik.
FLASHBACK: After Chapter Diez
After Julianna had her match, she leaned against the wall, her arms folded and looking like she wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything in the world. Her shoulders are slumped and she’s looking down at the concrete floor, as if something outside of GOL is bothering her. She takes a deep breath, not aware of the presence of WCG’s interviewer, Mia Bala, being nearby.
Mia: Gosh, with that kind of body language, it’s almost like you LOST earlier tonight.
Julianna: Fuck off, Mia. What are you even doing here?
Julianna looks rather annoyed as she looks up at Mia, who is alone without any cameras surrounding the two of them.
Mia: I thought maybe I’d get an exclusive scoop for WCG documenting your Super Falcon Cup experience. Don’t worry, we’re off the record for now. But, hey, at least you WON! Shouldn’t you be happy?
Julianna rolls her eyes.
Julianna: Yeah, here I am, representing WCG, winning in the first round against Coby “Quikly Forgotten About” or whatever the hell you want to call him and all’s well right? There’s only one thing missing and it’s greatly bothering the hell out of me.
Mia: What’s that?
Julianna: I said I was going to represent WCG in the Super Falcon Cup as the WCG West Coast Champion. Well, do you see the WCG West Coast Championship anywhere around here?
Mia: OH…
The eyes of the WCG interviewer widen when Julianna mentions what she just did, realizing what is now getting the young San Diego native down.
Mia: Listen, it’s not THAT big a deal…
Julianna: Oh it’s NOT? While I’m down here, pissed off as all hell and being unable to celebrate a win, the WCG West Coast Championship is in some stupid art gallery with Ryan Keys!
Mia: What is the matter with you?
Julianna: You don’t understand. If my parents were in plain sight, they’d be telling me “good job, but you can do better”. Or they’d say “but you’re not the West Coast Champion like we all expected you to be going into this tournament.” I swear to fucking God, I feel like they are never satisfied with ANYTHING!
Mia: You do have one more chance at the title in a few days. Maybe you’ll be able to satisfy them by winning.
Julianna: I hope so… because if I don’t… oh god… I’m going to hear all the lectures in the world about how I’ve got a long way to go and all this crap! All of this? Off the record. That’s all you’re getting from me.
Julianna turns and walks away from the WCG interviewer.
Mia: Hey, don’t let that take away from your win tonight, Julianna. Julianna?
Mia pauses and sighs.
Mia: Poor girl…
Present Day Julianna (thinking): I was right. Essentially, my parents did give me the “Good job, BUT…” treatment that I had just told Mia that they were going to give me. They gave me that lecture that I was dreading about how I still had a long way to go and how the Super Falcon Cup tournament was only going to be harder. They did mention that I wasn’t the West Coast Champion and that I had to be on top of my game if I were going to win that title from Ryan Keys over in WCG. So much pressure on me just because of them and having to live up to what they taught me and the pedigree that they passed onto me.
Julianna’s mood started to dampen a bit as she remembered the immediate aftermath of her most recent televised match in WCG to date against Ryan Keys.
Present Day Julianna (thinking): And then I lost to Ryan Keys… AGAIN! Talk about torture!
Julianna’s mood continued to sullen as she reflected on the immediate aftermath of losing her title match to Ryan Keys.
FLASHBACK: May 6, 2017. After her second loss to Ryan Keys at WCG Hype 2!
Julianna sat alone in the corner of her locker room hanging her head and covering her face with one of her hands. She’s taking the loss to Ryan Keys rather hard, knowing that no matter what she did and how hard she tried, it still wasn’t good enough to beat him. While she got the last word at the very end by taking him out, it still wasn’t going to nullify the match outcome or how deeply it was affecting her.
Julianna: Back of the line…
Julianna utters those words as she lifts her head up, folds her arms, and slumps back in her chair slightly.
Julianna: That was it…
She squints, immersing herself within the reality that was now in front of her.
Julianna: What do I do now? I had my two chances. There’s no way I’m getting another one anytime soon. I’ve disappointed my parents again. I’ve got no hope to be West Coast Champion now. Ryan Keys can just move on to someone else, and I know he will.
That reality stings her as tears start to well up in the corner of her eyes. The door to her locker room pops open and Julianna’s emotions reach a fever pitch at the sight of her two parents.
Mrs. DiMaria: Julianna….
Julianna: NO! Don’t even START with your lectures! Don’t even START with your latest ramble of everything that I did wrong. Don’t even start with criticizing me for every little thing that you find wrong with my performance. I know I lost, you don’t need to tell me.
The tears start to stream down her face.
Julianna: You two don’t need to tell me how much I disappointed you and I definitely don’t want to hear about how I’ll never be good enough for you.
Mr. DiMaria: Jules…
Julianna: NO! It’s my turn to talk! Nothing I ever do is good enough, is it? The only time you were ever happy for me was when I signed my first mainstream contract. I’m grateful for what you’ve given me, but you two don’t seem to be grateful for anything and everything I’ve done for both of you. You can’t even tell me “congratulations” after a win, or “commiserations” after a loss. I’m SO tired of having to feel the pressure of living up to YOUR unsustainable expectations! So, I’ll lay it out like this: LEAVE ME ALONE!
Julianna gets up, tears still filling her eyes and she bolts out of the locker room, slamming the door shut her way out and leaving her parents stunned.
Mrs. DiMaria: ...we weren’t even going to do any of that…
Mr. DiMaria: Yeah… we were gonna tell her she made a great move by takin’ out her douchebag opponent after the match.
Mrs. DiMaria: It was the proper way to send a message. I don’t understand how she’s so hard on herself. Maybe… maybe we’ve been too hard on her since she started growing up?
Mr. DiMaria:Nah. I doubt it’s that. But, I think we should just give her some space, that’s all…
Little did they know that after Julianna bolted out of the room, she stayed by to eavesdrop on her parents. She rolls her eyes, annoyed by her father’s ignorance, before she just walks away to continue on with what turned out to be quite a rough night for her.
PRESENT DAY
Julianna finishes her reflection of her last memory, feeling a jolt of anger from her negative experiences in the business thus far, and sadness stemming from the frustration she’s been feeling. Before she’s overwhelmed by those thoughts, she looks up at the cameraman.
Julianna: I’m ready now.
The cameraman puts down the comic and stands up.
Cameraman: Good.
He turns on the camera and Julianna sees a light indicating it’s recording.
Cameraman: Whenever you’re ready to express your thoughts…
Julianna sifts through the timeline that she just flashed through over the last few minutes and she tries her best to shift them to the side as she begins to express how she feels about her upcoming second round match against Jack Tillman, who she knows there’s no love lost from him to her.
Julianna: People look at me and they see me as quite a few stereotypes in this business. The most common stereotype, being the progeny of two wrestlers, is that because I am a second generation wrestler, I have it SO EASY! Those that think that way about me couldn’t be any more wrong because despite being in this business for only a couple of months, I am already aware of some of the realities of this business. I admit that for a while, I thought I was going to have it easy and make one of the quickest rises to the tops. I thought I’d come out of the gates dominating every which way on my way to being the WCG West Coast Champion and the Super Falcon Cup winner in GOL. But, I’ve come to realize that it’s not so easy and just because I’m a second generation wrestler doesn’t mean that the world is going to hand me everything on a silver platter. I quickly came to realize, as much as I hate to admit it, that I’m not that much better than anyone else with my youth and inexperience. I’m a step above, but I’m not FIVE steps above as much as it pains me to admit. So, rather than have dominance right out of the gate, I’ve had, more or less, a back and forth, up and down roller coaster ride of a rookie year. Yeah, so much for a second generation wrestler having it so easy, right? Especially when I feel like sometimes my parents are NEVER satisfied with anything I do. I’ll get to them a bit later, but I want to talk about the second stereotype that people see me as. It’s not nearly as frequent as the other trope I mentioned, but it happens. You all know what I’m talking about. “Blonde. Fit. Southern California. VALLEY GIRL THAT CAN’T WRESTLE”. I’ve gotten a few of those too. They’re insulting to say the least, but I try my best to shrug it off knowing that looks don’t matter in this business and that they can be deceiving. I admit that I may not look like the biggest threat in the wrestling world, but as my father once told me: it’s not about the look or the size of the dog in the fight, it’s about the fight in the dog and pardon the pun, I’m quickly becoming known as one of the toughest bitches on the WCG roster!
And yet, I get the sense that my opponent, Jack Tillman, doesn’t see me as such.
Why should I say this about you, Jack?
Well, you are a competitor in multiple companies. You’re in EWC, who you are representing in this tournament, and you’re also in Redemption which if I had to guess, that’s probably why you wouldn’t see me as much. Hell, if I had to guess, that’s probably why many people, if they had to make a prediction, would pick you over me. I’m probably the Donald Trump to your Hilary Clinton… gender reversals and “outstanding” personalities notwithstanding… but hopefully people listen to this and know what I am getting at here. On the surface, they look at this and they go “Hey, there’s that guy in Redemption who has been a champion there taking on some rookie nobody from San Diego in Redemption’s developmental system that has already failed twice to win their top title”. Or, let’s be honest… they look at either gender biases or they see me and go “she’s just someone who should be on a catwalk and not a wrestling ring”. But that’s okay. Make those predictions. Let those predictions go to your head, Jack. Let everyone in the world hype up how good you are. Let everyone in wrestling hype up the fact that you’re unbeatable going up against me. Oh, what, you thought I was going to come into this match with some kind of unrealistic, cloud nine swagger talking about how I’m going to beat you so easily that I won’t break a sweat like many rookies in my generation do? You thought I was, like, so TOTALLY gonna like… ya know… talketh like this… like the dumb valley girl stereotype that some people undoubtedly have of me? PLEASE! I may be idealistic! I may have my own dreams of making wrestling my own world to rule in and all and I may be confident… or arrogant depending on who you ask… but I do so knowing that realistically, when you consider your resume against mine… which by the way has barely been written past the first page, if not the first chapter, you SHOULD be the favorite. You SHOULD be underestimating me. You SHOULD be coming into this match thinking “I’m going to dominate this little girl and send her back to her parents crying because she disappointed them again and will never feel like she’s good enough for them.”
And that’s the consensus, right? Just because you’re on Redemption’s main roster and I’m in WCG, that automatically means you’re better than me? That automatically means that you’re going to win, right? WRONG! You’re going to get a FIGHT out of me! I go into this damn thing knowing that I have nothing to lose. As hard and as frustrating as my parents’ expectations of me are, I would at least hope that they are realistic enough to know that I’m not the favorite going in. I’ve already pulled off what some would consider an “upset” in this tournament. After all, if you look at the poll on Twitter going into round one, many would think that Coby Quik was going to just waltz into Chapter Diez and pick up an easy win over the rookie with little to her name other than her bloodline and her confidence. And that didn’t happen, did it? Coby Quik was far too overconfident against me, Jack. And no, I’m not taking anything away from myself because I went into it knowing that I had everything in the world to pull off the win and while my youth and inexperience hinders me, I know I can find a way to beat any wrestler on any given night and yes Jack, you supercilious, haughty, arrogant son of a bitch, that includes you. What? You can’t bear the thought? Is the self-proclaimed “Mr. Wrestling” thinking about throwing up at the very CONCEPT of losing to someone he likely considers unworthy of facing someone like him? Why?: Because I don’t have the “wrestler look” as defined by you? Is that it? Ironically, and I’m not even sure if I would find this funny or if I find this sad, but I think about my parents, and then I think about you, and you know what I realized?
If you were their son… you’d be their perfect child.
Gosh, THAT’S why I was so moody about this match? I guess there’s a bit of resentment there, but don’t mind that. You know why you’d be their perfect child, Jack? Because you breathe, sleep, eat and drink wrestling. Wrestling is the only thing you give a damn about in this world. You’re all about wrestling and little about anything else. In fact, that gives you a sense of entitlement in this business…. Yeah, I know… me of all people talking about someone else having a sense of entitlement. You’ve been around the world, you’ve done such and such in Japan, you were EWC X-Division Champion, and most recently, you were Redemption’s Genesis Champion earlier this year. Great! Good for you! You want a gold fucking star for that? Because you’re not getting that in this tournament. Despite the overwhelming odds in YOUR favor, YOU are the one with more to prove in this tournament right now because hey, did you even WIN your first round match? NO! You didn’t! You made it to the second round with a draw against Amy Jo Smyth and you even had a little fortune in your favor when there was a double elimination earlier in the night and there happened to be two spots. Shouldn’t THAT be your motivation, self-proclaimed “Mr. Wrestling”? Hmm? Anyway, before I stray too much from my original point, you have everything my parents would be proud of and you may hear that and you may find that to be a good thing but… I have some breaking news for you.
It’s not ALL a good thing!
You see, there’s a stereotype in this business you happen to fall in. You know, the “eat, sleep, breathe” wrestling? It’s great that this business is your life. But that’s as much of a weakness as much as it is a strength. I know that my parents would likely still be wrestling themselves if I was never born and that doesn’t greatly bother me, but still. They were just like you when they were wrestlers. This business was their life. Even NOW, it’s STILL their life. Wrestling was all that they ever knew when they were in Europe. They came to America hoping to crack the mainstream. They never did, and then they had me. My father still tried, but for financial reasons, he had to give it up. I remember every Saturday morning when I would watch a wrestling show with him when I was a kid, he’d record every single show that he could. My mother was similar in that sense. She’s got pages and pages of journal entries about her career and she even went as far as to write a fictionalized version of her career if it went exactly the way she wanted it to. I remember being as young as seven and hearing about their plans to build up their life savings and use it all to open a wrestling school and that’s exactly what they did. Did they talk about their retirement plans? No. Did they talk about setting up a college fund for me? No. It was all about opening that wrestling school. The business consumed them and I hate to say this because I love my parents, but it still does. You have that same tunnel vision that they do. You’re so focused on yourself, you don’t bother learning about the consequences of your actions or what any other wrestler in this business is all about. And you know what? I admit that I share, in some respects, that same weakness that they do and I know that if I am to succeed the way I want to succeed in this business, I’ve got to break out of that. But still, that IS a weakness because whatever perception you may have of me, said tunnel vision is causing that. Said tunnel vision is why you DREW with Amy and not straight up beat her.
And said tunnel vision, Jack… is why you WILL lose to me!
Because here’s what I know! Win or lose, whether the little people like me or not, I gain that invaluable experience that is going to make me better, that in the future, is going to put me on the same level… or dare I say a HIGHER LEVEL than you are right now. I’m not the one with everything to lose: YOU ARE! If you beat me, great. That’s what was expected! At least I WON a match in this tournament. I’ve already gone farther than most expected me to. But if I BEAT YOU? *scoffs* Oh GOD, I can imagine the ego shattering into a billion little pieces! “How could I, Mr. Wrestling, lose to this BIMBO?” And then hilarity ensues! Such is life when you have tunnel vision and you have very little in this life outside of this business! I beat you, you’re not only humiliated knowing that a former Redemption champion lost to a WCG rookie, but you go out of this tournament with ZERO victories to your name! Way to represent EWC right? So keep living in your all-wrestling, no gimmick, no personality bubble. Keep believing your own hype! Keep using that tunnel vision to soak in all the pundits crowning you the winner already. If you’re overlooking me because of the way I look or because of my inexperience, do me a favor and keep doing so. At the end of the day?
It’s all going to cost you! That’s because in round two of this tournament, the “Ripper” because the “Ripped”. You’ll be the biggest conquest in my burgeoning world that is only growing and conquering this business and you’re going to get a sneak preview of what it’ll be like to be one of my subjects in MY world!
Pride goes before the fall, Jack!
Remember when this WCG rookie finds a way to beat you!
Julianna signals for the camera to be cut, and the cameraman wastes no time in doing so!