The Rise And Fall (Lillie KOTW #2)

OOC: It should be noted that the characters in this promo that are used, are not necessarily the wrestlers. There are actors portraying these characters. Before anyone gets upset about it, remember this is a parody, and not a reflection of how the wrestlers speak or act during their promos.

“About a year ago, I was really excited about the World Domination match. It was really my first realistic chance at challenging for a Championship in Wrestleworld. Sure, there were other opportunities, but something felt right about that time. I had the right people behind me with the World’s Finest, I had the best tag team partner in the world, and I was on the same team as Ozymandias. Ozy-freakin’-Mandias. How could it be better? So I started this crazy idea to hype up the event by doing this cool Wizard of Oz skit. It was going to be fun, we were actually in the middle of filming it on the backlot of Mr. Morgan’s studio, and I got a text message. My friend told me to ignore social media until I was done, but curious minds will have you do otherwise. I looked. I saw a video that SHE did. I saw some shade being thrown, and this is wrestling, so shade will be thrown. She said one word that just killed every single positive thought I had that day, she called me a slut. I was goofy, still am. I was naive to a lot of things in the business at that time, so for somebody to take such a personal shot was absolutely insane to me.”

(Seated in the video confessional, a Campeonato De Pareja sits before the camera. Lillie Saint, the happy-go-lucky wrestler that fans either adore or are indifferent about. She was pouring her heart out to the viewers to ensure that they understand what happened inside of this group.)

“I understand that vulgar language has a place in this business, and there’s definitely no crusade on my end to fight that. There are limits though. There are words that just shouldn’t be said. The scary part is, people above us were endorsing it. I promised I would get my hands on her for that single word. Didn’t happen, and I don’t even think it justly happened at Violent Ends.

In this situation, I could go in with a head full of steam and call her every nasty name in the book, but I thought to myself about what the world needed to know. Who was the World’s Finest? Why did it come to this? This is a retelling of some crazy things that took place, things that were NOT shown on television. I hope after you see this, you’ll understand why I have taken such a hard stance against a certain member, and have such disappointment in another. Enjoy the show.”

(Fading out of the confessional piece, we reach the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. That generic old song that makes everybody go ‘Hollywood.. Something, Something, Something Hollywood’ plays in the background for the World Premiere. A lovely red carpet gala, featuring cast and crew looking their best in tuxedos and gowns, was the perfect setting for the World’s Finest to be set on fire. Of course, the photo opportunities came. With Lillie playing herself in the role, she can’t help but smile at the flashes coming from the cameras. On her arm is Guthrie Graupe, one of the most improved professional wrestlers on the planet. He is like a fish out of water at these Hollywood premieres. The lovely Naoko walks along the red carpet, nervous with all the lights around her. She had the unenviable task, cast as Hana Nakajima. Tham Huynh, flanked by Andrej Jankovic, graciously accepts the fanfare as one would expect. She was cast to play April Song. Kimberly Chase has arrived, flanked by Ramesses, despite not being cast in any role. Her role might simply be to show herself off to everyone in Hollywood. In typical Kimberly fashion, she was demanding her director’s chair, despite not being the director in this film.

There are plenty others along the way, including some amazing actors and actresses who were cast to be Crazy Violet, Reno Dumont, Stephanie Matsuda, and Nobi. Believe it or not, Nobi was very difficult to cast for this awesome film. Several well wishers are on hand as well, believing that the cause justified the need to make the film to begin with. Nobody can deny that some effort was put into making this happen.)

“We’re heading into King of the World with the biggest match we could expect for a Title Defense. I feel this Championship has always been about bringing the best out of others. They half assed it against us at Violent Ends, and that’s why they don’t have the titles anymore. April and Hana learned a valuable lesson about why you can’t overlook a driven team. Vie made sure to be ready, I made sure to be just as ready. I don’t know who kept tabs, but up until that point, I had never won on Pay Per View. That was my first win, and it was incredible to come away with such an important win. Then they attacked us? Why? That’s who one is, and that is who another became. It was a definite exposure of those two, they realized they weren’t as hot of shit as they thought they were.

I don’t know if they plan on changing their strategy, or trying to wing it as we head into the Crown Coliseum, but I know my track record there isn’t all that good. That won’t stop us though.”

(Inside of the theatre, everyone appears to be seated. Excitement is in the air, especially radiating from Lillie. The lights begin to dim, bringing an applause from the audience. The cold open leads to cheers from inside of a wrestling arena. A packed house at Wrestleworld’s Arcadia event. Standing in the middle of the ring on one side is the ever vicious Violent. The hyper aggressive form of Crazy Violet is facing off against Lillie Saint in a last ditch effort for Saint to snap Violet out of the prolonged episode as Violent. She glares with a malicious stare over at Lillie Saint, who stands herself up while bleeding from the eyes.)

Lillie Saint (VO):
You think this would be the lowest point of my career. Having to face one of my absolute best friends in a campaign to bring her home. I was scared for Violet, this wasn’t like her. She’d break out into the Violent form sometimes, but this was going on for months. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew something had to be done, and it had to be done fast.

(Standing before Violent, Lillie reaches up to her eye to touch the trickle of blood that was coming down. She slowly gives an evil smile towards her Crimson Bouquet partner before licking her own bloody finger.)

Lillie Saint (VO):
Yep, I did that. A lot of people were grossed out. I wasn’t in the right place at the time. My entire existence was centered around bringing her home. I had to do it. Sometimes, when things become difficult, you need to use extenuating means. Not my cup of tea, but then again, I signed up for this. The World’s Finest, the biggest part of my career so far, and all I could think about was how important it was to help Violet in any way I could.

(Upon the match ending, ‘Scary Mask’ plays through the shocked audience. Crazy Violet, fresh off of her victory, has snapped back into her wonderful self. Noticing Lillie sitting on the canvas in despair, Violet takes a seat next to her. Certain fans in the audience are anticipating a turn from one of them, thankfully it doesn’t happen. The embrace following the contest has brought the situation to a close. )

Lillie Saint (VO):
We nearly killed each other in that match. I’ve never seen such fire in the eyes of someone, not since Ozy. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t believe for a second that Violet would give up. She didn’t. We’ve been up and down all of these roads, and we never gave up on each other. Violent was so protective over Vie that she wouldn’t let this come without a cost. I had to dig in deep, becoming something I’ve never been before. I liked it. Still, there’s a responsibility behind it, and I know that it won’t come out until it absolutely has to. The thing is, if Vie and I can fight nearly to the death and return to friendship, why couldn’t the World’s Finest find a way to coexist with each other? We deserved the peace that we wanted to fight for. I should have seen it coming.

(Fading from the match, we’re now inside of the locker room at the Chapter event before Dreamworld.. The World’s Finest members, either sitting down, or getting themselves ready for a match. We see Crazy Violet, Lillie Saint, Nobi, Reno Dumont, April Song, and Hana Nakajima sitting back. To no surprise, Hana’s on her phone again. Probably sending out a tweet about something. April is thinking over a strategy, Reno and Nobi are conversing while Lillie glances over periodically at Violet in an attempt to figure her out. Matsuda, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth in the ring. She was chomping at the bit to have a fight with Claudia Michaels for the American Dream Championship. It was clear that she was taking the match more seriously than April was.)

Lillie Saint (VO):
Look at us.. Just peas in a pod, right? Everyone had their motives, everyone knew what they had going on in front of them. Cloud and April were fighting for a title. Nobi had a chance to finish off his long standing war with the Professional. Violet, Hana, and Reno Dumont were set to fight in an Oak Table Match. I was going to be in the Dreamscape Match. If I only knew the lousy decision that was being made. In my view, and it’s hindsight, we would have won that table match if a certain princess would have been in the Dreamscape match instead of me. I figured that the talk went REALLY smooth.

(Times are definitely tense inside of the locker room. Seeing that the phone is finally down for a second, Lillie goes to speak up to Nakajima.)

Lillie Saint:
Hey, your gear was on point. Did you come up with that design by yourself, or did someone make it for you?

Hana Nakajima:
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(The shrieking hiss coming from Nakajima throws Lillie off. )

Lillie Saint (VO):
Oh yeah, that’s how she is! Seriously, if you are ever backstage when the cameras are rolling.. That’s exactly the shit she does. As soon as a Shogun representative or someone like that walks by though, it’s all sweet little innocent Hana. I didn’t notice for the longest time just how bad it was. It was bad.

April Song:
Don’t mind her, Lillie. She’s just having a rough day today.

Lillie Saint (VO):
Every day was a bad day for her..

April Song:
Besides, we all have a lot going on. Dreamworld is going to be huge for us. We’re going to stand united and be Champions, vanquish rivalries, put some Underworld guys through tables. You get to climb that cage and get a guaranteed title shot. We got this.

(While her optimism is pretty nice to see, April knew deep down that wars come and go. Nobody knew to what extent it was, but it was going to be something difficult for the entire group to deal with.)

Lillie Saint (VO):
Oh, April Song. I miss this version of you. Honest, hard working, and a great motivator to say the least. You were my rock for so long that it hit me three times harder than it should have when you decided to be a lapdog for the childish one. Look at you! Look at all that confidence radiating off of you. What was lying beneath, though?

(With more silence amongst the group members, a knock on the door is heard. Since nobody has gotten up, Lillie makes the conscious decision to get up and answer it. Of course, it’s one of the Shogun representatives, wonderfully played by Sonny Yu because.. reasons.)

Shogun Representative:
You guys are on in five for some promo work.

Hana Nakajima:
YES SIR!!!!!

(The door closes as the representatives walk out.)

Lillie Saint:
Oh, that’s cool. We get some time to cut a promo.

Hana Nakajima:
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Lillie Saint (VO):
I told you!!! That shit was never ending. She would kiss up to those guys so badly, she wanted to do everything she could to get on their good side to increase her position on the roster. Have you guys ever listened to her talk after her sudden revelation that she’s an arrogant bitch? Holy crap, every word she says is just that. HISS. Hissing at people, hissing at animals, hissing at knitted hats, she does it all! The kicker about this promo time we were given though, it was literally Reno, Vie and I standing in the background while April, Hana, Nobi and Matsuda did all the talking. Again, I was green, but Reno could talk. He was pretty good at it. Vie can talk with the best of them. I was okay at it, but I also understood that it wasn’t my time to say anything yet.

(As everyone begins to walk towards the door, the shot slowly fades out. We move onto a Chapter event weeks prior to War of the Worlds. In the locker room, still rocking their referee shirts are the Crimson Bouquet. They’re standing with Nobi and Matsuda while April is on her phone, trying to calm down the loser of the match that was officiated.)

April Song:
It’s okay! We got this!

Hana Nakajima:
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

April Song:
I understand that, but they aren’t referees. Just relax.

Hana Nakajima:
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS!!!!!

(Loud sobbing and hissing are heard over the phone)

April Song:
We’ll fix this, don’t worry!

Hana Nakajima:
Hiss.

Lillie Saint (VO):
Wouldn’t you believe it? She was mad at two referees who had never officiated before. She didn’t get her way, so obviously she was a little upset. Even to this day, as we’re heading into King of the World, she hasn’t changed that tone. She’ll go in and see a little success. She’ll brag about that, not thinking about the political pull she has in all of these places. When she loses though, holy shit. Hiss here, claw there. Stop. We knew you had it in you much longer than some. It’s okay though, because what you see as obsession is nothing more than disgust from rational people who see you as a complete poser.

Crazy Violet:
Cloud, I don’t know what else to do. We tried calling it as far down the middle as we could.

Stephanie Matsuda:
I know. You two aren’t referees, and that was not right for you BOTH to be in there, much less one. That was a pretty bad decision. It happened though, we ignore it, and we move forward.

Lillie Saint:
I get it, but we feel like shit over this.

Stephanie Matsuda:
It’ll blow over.

Lillie Saint (VO): It didn’t blow over..

(A door slowly opens up, leading to all the members of the World’s Finest to glance over. A striking Japanese woman comes walking into the room. She’s Marionette, an illustrious ring announcer and actress. She waves over at Lillie and the rest of the World’s Finest.)

Lillie Saint:
Hi!

Marionette:
Tammy, I love what you did with your hair!

(The audience in the theatre laugh at the fourth wall being broken. Marionette walks over to Lillie, but sees cameras all over the place.)

Marionette:
Are you making a movie?

Lillie Saint:
We are, yeah.

Marionette:
Oh, I’m sorry!

(April Song walks over to the group, finally getting off the phone.)

April Song:
Okay, she’s really angry right now.

Lillie Saint:
Should I talk to her?

April Song:
I wouldn’t. Not until things blow over.. Might also want to stay off social media for the next day or so.

Lillie Saint (VO):
Remember how rookies are supposed to listen to the veterans? Yeah, I made that mistake. Within hours, I was trashed online by a former Baby Yoda and her minions. Seriously, they look like they should be in that movie, right? You can’t apologize to brick walls, and you can’t educate them either. She thought she was right. Still does to this day. Still, it’s kind of foretelling with the whole ‘We’ll fix this, don’t worry’ line. She did fix it for them, anyways.

(Marionette continues walking around the locker room, even conversing with Matsuda while Lillie and Violet spoke in private.)

Crazy Violet:
This sucks.

Lillie Saint:
Yeah! It kind of does. I mean, we made mistakes there, we know that. April wasn’t beaten, and I know you didn’t see it. That’s why there were two of us.

Crazy Violet:
Lil, we shouldn’t have been in that match. THIS was going to happen.

Lillie Saint:
Yeah.. Cloud said to weather the storm. We’ll be okay, right?

Lillie Saint (VO):
Oh, poor innocent Lillie. You thought she was going to forget about what happened and be a civil human being. That Texas kindness didn’t rub off on Nakajima, unfortunately. This was a telling piece due to the fact that we saw April Song for what we thought she was. April had so much honor, and so much concern for Hana’s mental wellness that she was hellbent on fixing the problem. War of Worlds came up, and things really got messy. Unfortunately, not long after, we lost Reno Dumont. The guy who brought me in, and he was suddenly gone. He called me shortly after leaving the company and left some very encouraging words. I still miss that man.

(Following the totally intentional interruption during the locker room talk, the scene fades out. This leads into the backstage area at Violent Ends. Mr. Morgan paid for red eye flights for any DOMINION member who wanted to come to the show. He forked out a lot of cash because people were not wanting to miss this event. “Crazy Mask” was still playing as the crowd could be heard cheering loudly still. The curtains swing open, allowing Crazy Violet and Lillie Saint to slowly walk through the curtain, the Campeonatos De Parejas. The cheers were even louder in the backstage area as several members of the DOMINION roster applauded and cheered on the Crimson Bouquet for being the first time to be active on the roster to win a Chapter branded title. It was an emotional moment for the new Champions, who were immediately greeted with a big hug from the General Manager Banch Morgan.)

Various DOMINION Members:
DOMINION.. DOMINION.. DOMINION.. DOMINION!!!

(Kimberly Chase, manager of the Crimson Bouquet on DOMINION, immediately ran up and hugged them. Of course, she took both titles off of them. Laughter came from both Violet and Lillie, hugging their nemesis/good friend. It was the greatest moment of their careers, it felt like.)

Lillie Saint (VO):
Oh, my mistake. Kimberly was in this film after all!! We should have given her top billing!

(Other members of the DOMINION roster greeted Violet and Lillie with hugs and high fives. Morgan comes back into the scene with a table full of champagne glasses, filled with only the finest for this amazing celebration.)

Banch Morgan:
SPEEEEEEEECH!!!

(Overcome by the cheering from their colleagues, Violet and Lillie glance over at each other, taking glasses off the table. Lillie nodded over to Violet with a beaming grin on her face.)

Crazy Violet:
I don’t know what to say. Everything that we’ve done, and everything we’ll do. I don’t know how to explain it. This is an amazing moment, we went in and got it. We made history tonight, holy shit. I guess, if anything, we represent DOMINION. We’re the people that have been looked down at for a long time. Great Champions, great roster. We did this, and that’s just the beginning. Anyone from our roster can go over there and do amazing. We told those girls that we were going to take these, and it’s going to take more than what they did tonight to get them from us.

(A loud applause continues, even with a dejected April Song walking by, followed by a predictable Hana Nakajima walking by with tears in her eyes.)

Lillie Saint:
Hey girls, no hard feelings! Good match!

Hana Nakajima:
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS!!!!!

(As the two disappear, Violet is handed one of the Championships. Like Lillie earlier, she’s grinning from ear to ear.)

Lillie Saint:
I’m going to take anything away from April Song. She’s a leader inside of the ring. Her heart was there, and she wanted so badly to keep these belts. Unfortunately, a better team came around. Vie and I didn’t know we were going to be tag team partners when this brand split happened. We just went with it. I was injured, she was upset about being split from Cloud, but she fought on. Violet is the absolute best tag team partner I could have ever asked for, and the best friend I could ask for as well. We practically killed each other, and still made it work. So, here we are. Here is to the future, here is the beginning of the coolest Championship reign on the Chapter brand.

(The glasses raise high all around. They all salute each other with the toast prior to taking a drink of the champagne.)

Lillie Saint (VO):
Forget what happened after the match. Sure, they attacked us. That’s what they wanted to do, and that’s something they’re going to atone for at King of the World. I remember this night like it was yesterday. The look of true happiness on the face of Violet, it was like seeing Christmas Morning for the first time ever. She had been through so much, and we broke down the barrier. This was my first Championship, and I don’t think there would have been a better group of people to celebrate with. Well, I wish Graupe was there too.

(The film slowly begins to fade out with the following message.)

(“To Be Continued?)

(A loud applause comes from the audience. They had a chance to see the entire film, rather than the excerpts that were done through Voice Over. They laughed at some moments, they cried at others. It was a fun little film to watch.)

“And now, the director and star of this film… LILLIE SAAAAAAAAAAAAAINT!!!”

(The cheers grew louder as Lillie stood herself up, giving Graupe a pat on the shoulder with a smile on her face. She took her time as she made her way down to the stage, eventually walking up the steps to the front of the screen. A microphone was handed over to her.)

“Thank you!! Seriously, thank you for coming to see this. I hope everyone enjoyed it!”

(The applause continued, slowly dying down so she could speak up.)

“I need to get this off of my chest. Filming this was easy, writing this was easy too. These memories that I had with the World’s Finest were unforgettable. We were a core group that didn’t have enough time together to get the job done. There was always another threat, but for me.. The memories are all there. I remember everything April Song ever said to me, everything Cloud Matsuda said to me. I barely remember anything Hana said, because it was all negative crap, but Nobi, Reno, Violet.. They meant the world to me.

Violet and I broke the ground, not because we wanted to, but because we had to. We were alone, and we needed to find a way to make everything work for us. Violet carried me just as much as I carried her, and we’re going to carry it even further than King of the World. We’re going to move past Sweet Melody, because we simply have to. It has to be over with them.

Where we go from here, I don’t know. I keep seeing Hect and Jordan. I keep seeing Mac and Murphy show up. I keep seeing teams that we want to be in there with, and showcase why we are firing on all cylinders right now. Bring on other teams! I hope, beyond anything else, that April and Hana can just move on from this as well. I know that April has it in her, the other one, not so much. There’s new members of the World’s Finest, I admittedly have been bad at knowing all the members.. Still, if they’re welcomed in, they’ll have my full support as well. I can’t speak for Violet, but I think she would give that same support.

We’re here to do our best, and repave the land that so many have trampled on. It began for us on the first episode of DOMINION as a standalone brand, and it’s going to continue until we do this no more. For everyone who has supported Vie and myself, for everyone who wants to see something other than the same ‘cocky bullshit’ act.. Thank you. Thank you to everyone. We’re not going to let you down, I promise.”

(Lowering the microphone to her waist, Lillie looked over at the amount of people that stood up in applause. Granted, a lot of them were family, friends, well-wishers. They were all important to her. Seeing certain faces in the crowd made her feel so at home on the stage. Maybe this movie thing wasn’t quite as hard as everyone thought it would be. Still, what a feeling.. And what a night.

April and Hana, it’s time to come home. Bygone be bygones. After King of the World, a handshake in the middle of the ring for the defending Champions isn’t too much to ask for.)