Second Chances

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Second Chances

Scene 1

Off Camera

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Second chances are rare and hard to come by.  Chance after chance, opportunity after opportunity, are all too often available and yet those who need them do not take those second chances, and if they do take them they squander them.  The second chances offered to them are wasted by people who do not realize what they have in their possession; a chance to make things right.  Conversely those who actually do need the second chances, those who actually deserve a second chance in life, are all too often ignored and cast aside.  All too often they do not get their second chance.

Karen McBride is all too well aware of this fact, as she herself is a product of a second chance that was gifted to her by Stan Lee and Diane Cooker McBride.  What very well could have spelled the end of her life when her mother was murdered by a drive by shooting and her brothers went missing turned out to be the beginning of an all new journey as Karen was adopted into the McBride family.  Karen understands where she came from, she knows full well and is eternally grateful for the chance the McBride family gave her.

Her new family, the McBride family, came with siblings; Stan Lee Jr., the oldest brother, as well as two sisters, Blaire McBride and Melanie McBride.  Karen was willing to give all of her new siblings a chance and, for at least the first year or two, she got along well with all of them.

Karen, though, is really good at reading people.  She knows how to spot a fake.  But even without those special sensory perception abilities that she had honed over the years, it wasn’t difficult at all to detect how awful and terrible Stan Lee Jr. and Blaire were treating their younger sister Melanie.

This is what ultimately drew Karen closer to Melanie.  Karen could recognize that Stan and Blaire were fakes.  It didn’t really bother her that they were fakes.  If they wanted to be fakes, then so be it.  That was their choice.  Melanie, though, was real.  She did not pretend to be someone else just to please society and that impressed Karen.  It impressed her enough, at least, that she began to side with Melanie against Stan and Blaire.

It seemed as if the relationship between them was forever torn apart.  It seemed as if Karen and Melanie would always be on one side standing against Stan and Blaire.  But then Blaire approached Karen about helping her, helping her in her quest within the IWC.  Karen was reluctant but she always has believed in second chances, so she offered Blaire a second chance.

We all know, of course, what Blaire did with that second chance Karen offered to her; she squandered it, she wasted it, she threw it away all out of greed and a desire for power.  Blaire has had her second chance and she will not get another one.

Even now, in the Independent Wrestling Cartel, second chances are being handed out left and right and Karen McBride isn’t quite sure that there is anyone, other than herself, that truly appreciates the second chance that is being offered to her.  While she failed to capture a shot at the IWC World Tag Team Championships, she is now in a triple threat match against Andre Jordan and Aaron Harrison, a match that is appropriately dubbed a second chance match, because if she happens to pick up the win, then later on in the night she will get to compete for the IWC Evolution Championship.

Second Chances Match is an appropriate title because even the champion himself, Andre Jordan, will get the opportunity at a second chance, at redemption.  For if Karen does indeed defeat him in the triple threat, the pressure will then be on Jordan to redeem himself or forfeit the title.  That will be one chance Karen hopes to play spoiler for if it comes to fruition.  She wants that Evolution Championship and she wants it more than Andre wants to keep it.

These thoughts are being kept to the back of Karen’s mind as something else is taking up her attention today.  Cartel:NXTGen is hosting their latest ippv titled Valhalla and her sister, Melanie, is competing here tonight on the pre-show in an Infinite Possibilities Match…

“It’s another clusterfuck!”

That’s the voice of Karen’s flustered, somewhat upset sister Melanie.  The two women are heading towards the back entrance of the arena, Melanie carrying her bags and Karen helping to carry some of the lighter bags.  Melanie isn’t too happy about her spot on the card and she has been voicing this disapproval ever since the Valhalla card was announced.  It’s all Karen can do to not laugh at her.  Melanie is new to the wrestling business.  This reaction is normal for a new wrestler.  Karen recalls having similar reactions herself when she didn’t get the spot she felt she rightfully deserved.

“You are on the card, Mel.  Be happy.” Karen advises quietly.

“That’s easy for you to say.” Melanie whines. “I busted my butt in Cartel:NXTGen.  I haven’t been pinned, I haven’t been made to submit, and yet for two straight ippv’s I’m stuck in clusterfuck type matches because Mr. Wasley can’t find anything better for me?”

Melanie uses all of her strength in an angry rage to fling the back doors open.  They open rather normally, partly due to how heavy the doors are and partly due to Melanie’s lack of strength, despite how angry she may be.  Karen chuckles lightly under her breath as they walk into the arena.

“Careful, Mel, I don’t want you pulling your arm out of its socket ahead of your match tonight!”

Melanie turns and sticks her tongue out at Karen. “Real funny!”

“But in all seriousness, Mel,” Karen begins again, as she tries to console her sister “this is how the wrestling business works.”

“It isn’t fair…”

“It may not seem fair but the politics of wrestling is never fair.  There will come times when you have to take what you are owed.  In this case, tonight, go out there and force Mr. Wasley to put you higher on future ippv cards by earning this title opportunity.”

Melanie nods her head.  She may not like it but she understands that her sister is right.  This is how the wrestling business operates.  It is ugly, it is not fair, but in order to survive you sometimes have fight dirty, sometimes you have to fight and claw your way to get what you want.  Karen has learned that the hard way with her recent dealings in IWC, specifically with Desmond Drake and Silas Mason.  She assisted Drake in buying IWC and in the process she bought twenty-five percent of that company.  Drake ended up losing his percentage and so did Karen.  Karen lost hers to Silas Mason.  Now she is doing all she can to earn it back.

The two women continue down t he hall and it isn’t long until they come to a fork.  They go to the right where the hall is lined with dressing rooms, no doubt for the superstars of Cartel:NXTGen.  Melanie’s dressing room should be down this hall somewhere.  At least this is what they hope.  They continue their walk until…

“Karen!”

The two women stop dead in their track. The voice is familiar.  Both of them recognize it.  In unison they turn around to find Blaire McBride, their older sister, rushing to catch up with them.  Karen just rolls her eyes.

“Oh God…what does she want?”

“I dunno,” Melanie says nervously “but I don’t like it.”

Karen turns to face Melanie. “Look, I will deal with her myself, ok?”

“Are you sure?”

Melanie voice and the look on her face speaks volumes about the concern she has for Karen.  Blaire has already cost Karen a great deal.  Blaire is the reason why Karen no longer has her twenty-five percent ownership of IWC.  Blaire is the reason Silas Mason is running the RIOT brand.  Blaire stabbed them all in the back before, she cannot be trusted.

“I can handle her.” Karen gives a feint smile and a wink. “Trust me.”

Melanie frowns. “You’re not going to beat her up again, are you?”

Karen holds up two fingers. “I promise…Scout’s Honor.”

Melanie giggles. “You weren’t a Scout, Kare-Bear.”

“No but I have donated a great deal of money to them.” She gives Melanie a gentle shove. “Now run along.  Find your dressing room.  I will catch up with you later.”

Melanie nods her head. “Ok…”

With that, Melanie reluctantly exits the area, just as Blaire finally catches up to Karen.  Blaire is breathing heavier than usual when she gets there as she was running…well, not exactly running, but definitely going as fast as humanly possible in a pair of high heels.

“I am…so glad…I caught up…with you…” Blaire says in between her labored breathing.

“Careful, Blaire, you might have a heart attack.” Karen scratches her chin. “Although, come to think of it, that might not be a bad thing.”

“Karen…please…” she reaches up and grabs Karen’s shoulders to hold onto “…hear me out…”

Karen shrugs Blaire off, this causes Blaire to fall over onto the floor.  Lucky for her she lands squarely on her ass, which does provide some minor padding for the fall.  But Blaire is clearly too exhausted from running to bother trying to get up so she just stays there, no doubt looking absolutely ridiculous.  Karen looks down at Blaire, sitting there on her ass, and immediately a look of disgust washes across Karen’s face.

“Why should I?”

“We’re family?” Blaire suggests.

“Wrong.” Karen retorts as she points a finger at Blaire. “YOU were the one who said we weren’t family.  You were also the one who stole IWC from me and YOU are the reason Silas Mason runs RIOT today.  So yes, tell me, Blaire, why the hell should I bother hearing you out?”

“Because we’re not that different…”

Karen blinks a few times out of surprise. “What did you just say?”

“We’re not that different, Karen.  Sure, I stole IWC from you, but you stole McBride Incorporated from me and Stan.  Think about it, our parents GIFTED fifty percent of the company to all of us, Melanie included, but you bought her share.”

Karen nods. “She didn’t want it, she didn’t want the life of a businesswoman, what she wants is this life right here, the life of a pro-wrestler.”

“Right but that made you majority owner amongst the children.  Now you managed to steal Stan’s portion and my portion via hostile takeover?”

Karen snickers nastily. “Some of my best work…”

“See?” Blaire insists. “We are not all that different.”

Karen sighs. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

Karen bends down and snatches Blaire by her throat.  She hoists her up back to her feet and slams her against a wall.

“Karen, I…” Blaire chokes out “…I can’t breath…”

“Tough.  I will let you go in a moment but for now you will listen to me.  You say we’re not different but we are.  We are very different and it’s time I show you exactly how different we are.”

“How?”

Karen releases her grip, releasing Blaire. “I will text you sometime tomorrow with an address.”

“An address?”

Karen nods. “That’s right.  Be there or else we do not talk ever again.  Understand?”

“I…understand.”

“Good.”

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Melanie McBride

On Camera

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I used to be like a leaf floating in the wind.  I never really had any true direction in my life.  My parents were extremely wealthy; the rich and powerful McBride Family.  I could have had a portion of that company.  I could have been a principle owner.  I could have been a businesswoman.  But I knew business wasn’t my thing.  I wanted something else, I just didn’t know what that something else was…

…until I met Karen Leonard.

Her name WAS Karen Leonard before mom and dad adopted her.  She grew to love them and us and so she took their name instead, becoming Karen McBride.  Karen and I grew close and became the best of friends, closer than any sisters could hope to be.

When she was of appropriate age she decided to become a pro-wrestler and that decision intrigued me.  I watched as she progressed in her career.  I watched as she trained, as she learned, and as she matured in this sport.  It was then that I had my direction, it was then that I knew what I wanted to do.

I knew I wanted to become a pro-wrestler.

Not only do I get to meet some awesome people and not only do I get to compete for some great fans, but pro-wrestling really does teach some great lessons.  One important lesson I have learned so far is the lesson about second chances.

You don’t always get a second chance and while I was upset at first about my placement on the Cartel:NXTGen card, I realize that I should be grateful for this chance, another chance, a second chance at earning a title shot.

Many would have faltered and would have given up had they been in my sister’s shoes.  They would have walked away from IWC and never came back.  She’s been made to look like the resident punching bag for every two-bit hoodlum and villain in the company and for what?  Good television?  Karen would be justified in leaving right now if she wanted.

But she hasn’t.  Karen has not left and is not planning on leaving because she has a chance to make things right for herself and for her fans.  Yeah, it will have to come at the expense of Aaron Harrison and Andre Jordan, but she can make it happen.

She WILL make it happen.

Mark it on your calendars, boys and girls.  My SISTER, Karen McBride, is going to become YOUR new IWC Evolution Champion on the next edition of RIOT.

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Second Chances

Scene 2

On Camera

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We open in front of what appears to be iron gate.  Up above, at the tops of the gate, is barbed wire, almost as if it is trying to keep someone or something inside.  Cream colored pavement leads towards a building but on either side of that pavement is nothing but freshly mowed grass.  It is a bright and sunny day today.  Even here, at this depressing institution which just so happens to be a prison, it would be hard pressed to be upset or sad.

“America is the land of the second chance…”

The gates slowly begin to open with a loud, noisy creaking sound.

“…and when the gates of the prison open…”

The creaking sound continues until the gates are fully opened.  Any inmate at this point who wanted to escape and make a break for freedom could do so right now.  Thankfully, no one does.  But the lovely female figure of Karen McBride does step into view from stage right.  She is wearing dressy black pants, black high heeled pumps, and a floral print black and white sleeveless blouse.  Sunglasses cover her eyes.  Her long brown hair cascades down to shoulder length.

“…the path ahead should lead to a better life.  President George W. Bush said that and, whether he was your hero, if you considered him a war criminal, or if your feelings for him were somewhere in between, it’s really irrelevant because this quote was right on the money.  This place is a land of second chances, a land of opportunities, and when that second chance is given to you, you should have a clear path towards a better life ahead of you.”

She nods towards the prison gate that now stands wide open.

“A prison, or correctional institution for those who prefer the politically correct term, is a perfect illustration of this.  If you commit a crime and are convicted then you go to prison, just like this one.  Some would lead you to believe that going to prison is the end of your world.”

Karen shakes her head. “That’s not true.  Yes, there are people working here whose job it is to protect the citizens from the inmates, but there are also hard working, dedicated staff of people working at facilities like this one whose job it is to help the inmates better themselves, to help mold the inmates into upstanding citizens who, upon release, will not take that second chance granted to them lightly.”

A snicker escapes the lips of the lovely New York City businesswoman.

“If you don’t like hearing me talk about prisons or Bush then let me focus on someone who everyone can surely get behind…Indiana Jones…Han Solo…yes, I’m talking about Harrison Ford.  That famous actor, who did fire first in Star Wars Episode IV, by the way, had a lot to say about chances.  In particular he told us that we all have big changes in our lives that are, more or less, second chances.”

“The brand split into RIOT and Uprising is quite possibly the biggest change in the history of the Independent Wrestling Cartel and along with that change comes chances, second chances for some people and, for others, their very first big opportunity at superstardom, for the roster split brings new opportunities.  I had one such opportunity last RIOT but came up just short of getting a tag title opportunity. “

The beautiful brunette laughs lightly, shaking her head. “I am disappointed in myself but, you know, I’m not sure I would have wanted to tag team with Selena Frost anyway!”

“I am not going to dwell on that, I am going to move on because I have been gifted with the rare opportunity at another chance, another second chance, and this one will not get by me.  Aaron Harrison…Andre Jordan…a triple threat match.  But this isn’t just any triple threat match, because if Harrison or myself happens to win the triple threat, then that person moves on to challenge you, Andre, later on in the evening for the Evolution Championship.”

Karen holds up two fingers. “So two of us very well could be wrestling twice in one night!  Talk about second chances…”

McBride reaches up and removes her sunglasses, tucking them away in her pants pocket.

“This is not just any second chance, this isn’t just any opportunity, this is a GOLDEN opportunity.  Some may even say that this is being gift wrapped to me on a fucking silver platter.  Harrison is clearly out of his mind.  He is clearly not in the right frame of mind ever since what Mika Kozlov has done to him.  Clearly he is not focused on the task at hand.  Harrison is a threat, yes, but not so much to me as he is to Andre Jordan and his title reign, because I am smart enough, I am intelligent enough to manipulate this to my advantage.  While Harrison is going berserker and Andre Jordan is trying to defend himself, I can sneak in and take what I want.”

“What makes me so deadly, boys, is that I realize that this may very well be my last chance.  Not just my second chance but MY…LAST…CHANCE!  And I am not going to stand by and just watch it float away.  I am not going to let this one slip through my fingers like I have done in the past.  I am through doing things the moral way, the right way.  I will get what I want MY way…by being cutthroat, vicious, and sadistic if necessary.  I am a fighter and that’s what I do.  I fight and claw with every fiber of my being until I have fought out of this corner that I now find myself in.  I will fight until I have broken free from this cage and I have ascended back to where I should rightfully be.”

Karen reaches down, takes her sunglasses from her pants pockets, and places them back on her head, covering her eyes.

“I have my second chance…and I will not waste it.”

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Second Chances

Scene 3

Off Camera

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Karen never did much care for her adoptive sister Blaire.  Blaire has always seemed like a fake and she just doesn’t like fakes.  But when you outright stab Karen in the back the way Blaire did to her in the Independent Wrestling Cartel, well that just burns all sorts of bridges and now Karen really does not have any further use for Blaire any longer.  She cannot stand the sight of her.  If they never were to speak to each other again it would be too soon.

It seemed audacious, impudent, even foolhardy for Blaire McBride to continue crawling back to Karen on her hands and knees, begging for forgiveness.  And yet she has, first on RIOT and then on Cartel:NXTGen, both times trying to reconcile with her sister, but both times failed, because Karen is not the type of person to forgive you so easily.  If you fool her once, shame on you.  You will not fool her  a second time.

But asking for forgiveness is one thing, and perhaps Blaire is just not all that used to asking forgiveness.  After all, the first step to asking forgiveness is usually admitting you were wrong.  This is not what Blaire has done, at least this latest time anyway.  This latest time on Cartel:NXTGen Blaire had the nerve and audacity to insinuate that she and Karen were the same.  To even suggest that they are the same is a deeply personal insult to Karen.

Blaire clearly doesn’t know much about what Karen has had to go through in the past.  So Karen has decided that now is the time to educate her on why  exactly the two of them are so different.

Currently Karen sits parked in her pink convertible, the top down, in front of the Franklin Women’s Shelter in the Bronx, New York.  The beautiful brunette is dressed in black high heel pumps, a pink dress, and elegant black mid-forearm length gloves.  Sunglasses cover her eyes and her long dark hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back.  McBride checks the time on the clock of her car and frowns.  Blaire has already made a bad impression upon Karen by insinuating that they were the same.  Being late only makes things worse.

A part of Karen wonders why she is even here in the first place.  She does, after all, have other, more important, things to do, such as prepare for a triple threat match on RIOT.  This match, pitting herself against Aaron Harrison and Evolution Champion Andre Jordan, is the chance of a lifetime for Karen because if she manages to win that triple threat, then she gets a one on one opportunity at the gold later on in the show.  Defeating two athletes the quality of Harrison and Jordan will be challenging enough, but winning twice in one night is the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest, and yet that is what Karen must do if she wants to become the IWC Evolution Champion.

“Waiting on me?”

Karen’s impatient waiting comes to an end as she turns her head to find Blaire standing just outside of her car door.  She has no idea how long she’s been standing there but it couldn’t have been very long.  The other beautiful brunette of the McBride family is a dark red silky top, black dress pants, and black high heeled sandals.  Her long dark hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.

“It’s about time…” Karen says with a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry but I had some trouble finding this place.” She turns away from Karen and looks at the shelter. “Namely because of how run down it looks.”

“Is that a problem, Blaire?”

Blaire’s eyes grow slightly wider. “Well, yes…I mean, surely you don’t intend for us to go inside, do you?  Surely you mean for us to go somewhere else…”

“Sorry, Blaire,” Karen opens the door of her convertible and exits, shutting it hard behind her “but this is precisely where I intended to go and we are going inside.”

“But why?!”

“Why not?  Is there something wrong with it?”

“Well…” Blaire sighs, shaking her head “…I guess not, but I just assumed…”

“And that’s your first mistake.” Karen remarks, cutting Blaire off. “Never EVER assume anything, Blaire, especially not when it comes to me.”

Blaire shakes her head, look very flustered. “Look, I know all about your past.  You have shared it with me before.  And I know what goes on in shelters like that, I do not need a grand tour.”

“Oh but yes you do.” Karen insists. “You may know what goes on inside but until you have been inside and have witnessed it for yourself then you really have no true understanding.”

“But…”

“Fine, let me put it to you this way.  We ARE going inside, because if we don’t, I’m cutting you off permanently.”

Blaire McBride stands there, weighing her options carefully.  Karen half-expects Blaire to walk away.  Blaire is a snob, she is stuck up and she thinks she is better than everyone else, including Karen.  A continued relationship with Karen isn’t worth it to Blaire.  At least that’s what Karen thinks…but Blaire shocks her once more…

“Fine…you win, Karen…”

Indeed Karen is somewhat surprised but she manages to refrain from showing it.  She doesn’t want to give Blaire the satisfaction.  Instead Karen manages a smile and begins to walk towards the shelter.

“Follow me, Blaire.”

Blaire reluctantly follows closely behind as they make their way towards the entrance to the shelter.   Karen arrives first and she pushes the door open and heads inside with Blaire bringing up the rear.  Immediately Karen and Blaire come face to face with a heavyset woman with short, curly brown hair wearing gray sweat pants and a red sweater.  No, it doesn’t exactly match, but neither woman will point it out to this caring individual.

“Karen!”

“Catherine!”

Karen and the heavyset woman, named Catherine, greet one another with a hug.  Blaire stands there awkwardly, waiting for the two women to finish hugging.  Karen then turns to face Blaire and motions towards Catherine.

“Blaire, this is Catherine Leiber.  She runs this shelter.  Catherine, this is Blaire, my sister.”

“It’s so nice to meet you!”

Catherine approaches Blaire, who holds out her hand expecting a handshake but instead is greeted with a hug.  Clearly this Catherine Leiber is a hugger.

“Ummm, yeah…nice to meet you too…” Blaire responds, feeling awkward at being hugged by the stranger.

Catherine turns to face Karen. “I thought you only had one sister, that sweet girl Melanie?”

“Yes, well, Blaire doesn’t get out much.” Karen winks knowingly at Blaire.

“We should change that.” Catherine declares, looking back at Blaire. “We could always use another helping hand at the shelter.”

“Uhhh, yeah, I’ll consider it…”

Blaire really says this only to shut the woman up.  She does seem genuinely nice and even Blaire doesn’t have the heart to just flat out tell her no.

“I promised Blaire that I would give her the grand tour, just in case she does decide to volunteer.  Is that ok?”

Catherine nods her head. “Of course it is, Karen!  Go right on ahead!”

After one more quick hug, to Karen AND to Blaire, Catherine walks off.  Blaire shudders uncomfortably as the two women turn to walk off in the opposite direction.

“You will get used to the hugging.”

“No, I won’t.” Blaire declares. “Just show me whatever it is you wanted to show me and get it over with.”

“That’s your problem, Blaire.” Karen states. “You don’t want to learn anything.  You are too stubborn.  If you do not learn, if you refuse to change and adapt, then you are doomed to failure.”

“I know this.”

“Do you?” Karen says questioningly. “Do you really know this?  Because if you don’t and you really do try to go after Silas Mason all by yourself then you will get slaughtered.”

Blaire sighs, realizing that Karen brings up a very valid point.  Blaire thought she was on good terms with Silas Mason.  She thought she could use him and manipulate him but he turned the tables and now he took the twenty-five percent ownership of IWC that Blaire had originally taken from Karen.  Blaire wants to get him back but is she really prepared to challenge him?

“Do you think you have what it takes to go after Silas alone and get your principle ownership back?”

Karen nods her head.  “I do…”

The two women stop at one of the rooms.  Karen looks inside, careful not to disturb the inhabitants.  Then she steps away from the door and motions for Blaire to look herself.  Inside is a woman, seated in a corner, reading a book.

“Her name is Monica.” Karen begins. “Her father was killed, her mother was a drunken gambler who was hardly ever around,  let alone take care of her daughter.  So Monica had to turn to prostitution just to survive…until the shelter found her and took her in.”

“Like you…” Blaire’s voice trails off.

“Yes, kind of like me, only your parents took me in, not a shelter.”

The two women walk further down the hall until they come to another door.  Once again Karen takes a look inside before she steps aside and motions for Blaire to have a look for herself.  This time Blaire finds a woman asleep on a small bed that doesn’t look very comfortable at all.  And yet even though she is lying down, the bruises on her face are evident.

“I don’t recall her name because she is new to the shelter, but she was in an abusive relationship with a criminal, a common street thug.  She is staying here until we can find her a new place to stay that is safe.”

Blaire steps away and sighs. “Why are you showing me all of this?”

“I am showing you this so that you can see that you and I ARE different.  You can’t beat Silas because you do not have the fortitude or endurance to beat him.  Silas Mason is the type who will keep coming at you.”

“I have dealt with cutthroat businessmen before, Karen.”

“Not this cutthroat.” Karen insists. “Silas is a different type of scum altogether.  He will not accept defeat lightly.  Even if you did manage to take back principle ownership, he would still keep coming after you.  He is patient and he can wait you out until you give up.”

Karen shakes her head. “But I don’t give up easily. I am very much like these women.  I am a survivor.  I can’t guarantee that I will get my principle ownership back,  I can’t even guarantee that I will win the Evolution Championship on RIOT this Monday.”

She pokes a finger into Blaire’s chest. “But I stand a better chance than you do.”

Karen turns and walks away.  Blaire cries out after her. “Karen, wait!”

“We are done here.” Karen responds, not even bothering to turn and look at Blaire. “You know the way out.”

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Blaire McBride

On Camera

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They say everyone deserves a second chance.  I tend to agree but the thing is that I have had my chances, second and third chances, hell I’ve even had fourth and fifth chances and I have wasted them all.  Now I don’t have anything.  I don’t have McBride Incorporated, I don’t have principle ownership of IWC, and I may not have a relationship with my sisters ever again, all because of my stupidity.

Karen has every right to hate me for what I have done but I will say this about her; if anyone deserves a second chance, it’s her.  It wasn’t her fault.  She didn’t screw up.  I was the one who screwed up.  I threw it all away for her.  It’s my fault and she should get a second chance.

I don’t know if she ever will get another chance at that principle ownership but I am grateful to see that she does have another chance, at least, to become a champion.

Aaron Harrison is a lunatic.  Andre Jordan is an elite wrestler.  You may think that the deck is stacked against Karen McBride, but the truth is that she performs at her best when the deck is stacked against her.  Karen is at her best when the pressure is on and she knows she has to be at the top of her game.

And you don’t get any more bigger or more high pressure than this, a triple threat match that Karen has to win.  If she does win, she gets an Evolution Title Match that same night, one on one against Andre Jordan.

If she doesn’t win, she’ll either watch the lunatic bask in greatness or watch Jordan walk away unscathed.

My sister knows what is at stake and I do not doubt for one second that she will do more than just bring her A-Game.  Karen McBride will RAISE her game to a whole new level f or RIOT, because she wants this.  She wants this win and that championship more than you can ever imagine.

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Adaptation

On Camera

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“Evolution…”

We open in front of a bronze statue of the portly bearded scientist Charles Darwin located somewhere in a museum in New York City.  The walls are a grayish color, the floors are marble.  The clicking of heels across that marble floor can be heard echoing in the background.  Eventually the lovely Karen McBride steps into view from stage left wearing a sparkly little black dress and black open toed high-heeled pumps.  McBride motions to the Darwin statue.

“…behind me stands an image of Charles Darwin, the man who invented the theory of evolution.  Honestly, though, I do not like the idea of evolution.  I prefer adaptation.  If you do not adapt, if you do not change, then you are doomed to extinction.  This is a fact of life that is true in our environment today…just ask the dinosaurs…and it is also true here in the Independent Wrestling Cartel.”

Karen shakes her head. “No, I’m not going to talk much more about Aaron Harrison.  I already said all that needs to be said.  Harrison, your head is not in the game and that is why you will fail in the triple threat match.  It’s going to be me or Jordan and I can promise you that I won’t let him steal this win from me.”

“You are the IWC Evolution Champion, a title you have proudly defended for quite some time now, and while you may know a thing or two about evolution, I have to ask, what do you know about adaptation?  You see, Andre, evolution will not decide the future of your championship run.  Instead it will be your knowledge of adaptation that decides whether you remain IWC Evolution Champion…”

She snaps her fingers “…or if I put you out, just like that.”

“From the dinosaurs to the saber-toothed cat and even the wooly mammoth, all of these magnificent creatures died out, they became extinct because they could not adapt to their ever-changing environment.  We already know about how the environment of IWC has changed oh so drastically with the brand split…”

Karen points a finger at the camera “…but you will have to deal with change on a completely different level.  You see, Andre, the fact is that you will be defeated in the triple threat match.  You may or may not take the fall, but you will definitely lose and that loss will guarantee me a one on one shot at your evolution championship later on in the evening.  Will you make the appropriate changes in order to retain your title?  Or maybe the better question is CAN you make the changes necessary in order to retain your title as you go face to face against me?”

Karen shakes her head. “I think we both know the answer to that question is a big, loud, resounding NO!  All I have to do is beat you once…”

She holds up one finger “…one time is all I need and not only do I know how to beat you, not only do I then know the secret to success, your strengths and your weaknesses that I can exploit to my advantage, but I’m also in your head.  Repeating the process for a second straight time and taking your title will be a cakewalk.”

“Adaptation is a fact of life, Andre.  Learn to love it because your environment is about to change and the biggest change of them all will be the loss of your Evolution Championship.”