Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2019 8:41:41 GMT -7
Off-Camera
Monday, February 25, 2019
Los Angeles, California
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
7: 45 AM PST
Seleana Zdunich glances at her bag to make sure she has enough packed for an overnight trip. She glances through her stuff and nods in succession as she goes down her list until she comes to the thing sitting on the very top of the pile in this bag.
The Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship Belt.
Three months ago this shiny symbol of excellence sitting here in her bag would have been unthinkable. She was a rookie nearing the end of her first year competing in a sport that before that had been the domain of only her young sister, Zenna, and her older cousin, Alexi. Both had told her stories of how things would be and the sport had only been a distant thing, something she talked about with those who did but not that she actually partook in herself while she was in Christchurch. New Zealand was not exactly thought of as a hotbed for the sport, especially not after the earthquakes had started in the area in September, 2010. There had been two more major earthquakes in 2011 and countless other small ones in the following years and while several small groups made the attempt, most of the companies did not last simply because a lot of the venues were either damaged or already taken by other events that had required moving following the natural disasters.
Seleana stares at the belt and runs her right hand along the strap, tracing it all the way to the plate in the middle, looking almost as if she is trying to make sure the belt before her is real and not some cruel prank played on her by a well-meaning employee.
This was not something either Zenna or Alexi had achieved in their careers. Alexi had retired without achieving a singles world championship. She had achieved a tag team championship with her partner, Raevyn Lilja, but a solo championship reign was not in the cards for her career before it had come to an end so she could start her family and Alexi had never looked back. Five children later, not having a championship like this one in her trophy case did not seem to eat at her simply because her children were more important and her husband, Robbie Priest, had won six of them himself and thus she considered the household fulfilled by his reigns.
Zenna’s career had been put on hold for five and half years as she battled drug and alcohol addictions brought on by injuries and other traumas suffered as a rookie in 2011. Her comeback near Christmas 2017 in Hybrid Wrestling had thus far produced no championships but she had also contained herself in tag team competition with their younger cousin, Maja Lindström, a woman with far more training that Seleana, but just as much of a rookie when it comes to actual competition inside the ring.
Seleana nods to the belt and then zips up the bag. Tonight there would be no celebration for ehr championship victory. She was not going home to her loving wife and family. She was not going to see her sisters or cousins or parents or anyone else like that. The night before had been spent sleeping here in her cot, hoping the mixed feelings of what had transpired at Climax Control in Long Beach would somehow dissipate and allow her to be proud of her achievement. That hope had been dashed when she’d awoken to the same feelings mixing together in her head. She knew Alicia Lukas would not be taking this loss well, if she could even bring herself to call it a loss at all. She looks at the bag on the desk and shakes her head as she leans forward, her hands landing on the cold wood on either side of the bag.
Seleana Zdunich: Skit också!
She stands up and shakes her head slowly, sadly and yet somehow still angry as well. She needed to pull herself together. She had promised to come over to the home of her friends and “sisters” Kate Storm and Eavan Maloney to help watch over the order to bedrest Kate while Eavan was out of town for a match. Kate was very pregnant, her pregnancy had always been considered dangerous and high risk and now the doctors had order her to almost continual bedrest, something that would put a serious hitch in her life especially with toddler to care for in little twenty-month old Trinity. Having Eavan move in with the soon-to-be single mother was a major help with things except for the days Eavan had to go out and keep her scheduled commitments and that was where Seleana was to come in. though she’d never cared for people in this way, she had cared for animals large and small while at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch and again here at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens in Los Angeles.
Seleana Zdunich: För fan i helvete!
Seleana knew she needed to have her head on straight in order to go help the woman who was once set to be her sister-in-law, especially while the woman who had actually been her sister-in-law was in Miami for a match tonight. Seleana sighs, was it Miami?
Seleana Zdunich: Seleana, din jävla idiot! Tänk rätt!
As she glances across her desk, she hears footfalls behind her in the hallway. Seleana turns to see an assistant in the quarantine area here at the zoo, Dr. Michelle Chavez, a small dark-haired, bespectacled woman of Mexican descent.
Seleana Zdunich: Chavy?
Dr. Chavez smiles, it had taken her two months to get Seleana to call her the nickname everyone else used and to hear it now when she knew her boss was not in the best of moods made her almost float.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Hello, Mrs. Zdunich.
Seleana glances at the woman and nods at her black dress slacks paired with a white blouse and her lab coat. The black non-slip shoes and glasses just seemed to finish off the ensemble perfectly and say to the world, “I’m ready for business today.” Seleana stood in direct contrast in her black workout pants and tank top that almost looked like onesie if you caught ti at the right angle. Dr. Chavez looked like she was at work, Seleana looked like she was about to either go workout or spend the day with a latte in her hand on Rodeo Drive.
Seleana Zdunich: How are things progressing?
Dr. Chavez nods, happy to get to business so as not to take up too much of her boss’s time.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: The three chinchillas are almost ready for their habitat. They need another week before they can be given their last check-up. The lion area is being prepped for Mufasa. He’ll get his check-up on Wednesday and be ready for his habitat. We have couple of others that will enter quarantine in the next two weeks assuming the paperwork I saw earlier goes through and becomes finalized. We have a line on a few tigers being explored. One already has paperwork being set-up. The three bears are taking to their habitat nicely. Bonzo looked like he was gonna be trouble but since they’ve had a few days together, he’s settled down.
Seleana nods happily. This was all good news, especially Bonzo.
Seleana Zdunich: So no fights between Bonzo and Beorn?
Dr. Chavez shakes her head.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Beorn never showed an inclination for that and once Bonzo found his own space, that trouble seemed to disappear. Baloo is doing well too so we seem to be covered on that front.
Seleana can’t smile broadly enough.
Seleana Zdunich: I am glad for this. You will keep me updated in case of problem?
Dr. Chavez nods.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Of course.
Seleana nods and hugs her.
Seleana Zdunich: Thank you, Chavy.
Dr. Chavez smiles and takes her leave. Seleana grabs her bag and her phone, sticking the phone quickly into the side pocket of her pants. She nods as she takes one more look around the room and then moves to turn off the light. She steps out, locks the door to the office and then heads out to her 2019 jet black Maserati Quattroporte. She tosses the back onto the passenger seat and sits down, strapping herself in. As she goes to start the car, her hands suddenly don’t want to cooperate and she lowers her head, almost laying her forehead onto the steering wheel. Within seconds, she starts screaming, tears rolling down her face as she starts slapping the wheel.
Seleana Zdunich: För fan i helvete!
She sits back against her seat and screams again.
Seleana Zdunich: Din jävla...
Her right hand smacks the wheel again.
Seleana Zdunich: Varför gjorde du det här mot mig?
She shakes her head, catching a glimpse of herself in the side mirror.
Seleana Zdunich: Seleana, sluta vara en jävla idiot! Du är bättre än det här och du vet det. Låt inte vad som hände igår kväll få dig att fråga dig själv.
Taking a deep breath, Seleana starts to compose herself. She wipes the tears from her eyes and then glances at herself in the mirror. She nods and starts the car.
Seleana Zdunich: Okej…
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
9: 45 AM PST
Seleana sits on the couch, scanning her phone to check for messages from either the zoo or her family. The previous day and evening had gone better than she thought it would playing nursemaid to the more or less bedridden Kate and her small toddler, Trinity. Seleana had never cared for a small child before and the idea had both excited and worried her. Trinity had been wary at first but had eventually allowed Seleana to handle her well enough. Eavan had made it back home after her match and was now hobbled as well by a knee injury that was causing her mobility problems that were supposed to resolve themselves within a day or two. Everyone involved hoped this was how it played out since Eavan was a self-proclaimed terrible patient and Seleana did not relish the idea of dealing with three unhappy girls at once. As she comes across a message from the zoo, Eavan staggers in and sits down next to her on the couch.
Eavan Maloney: Thanks again for helping out, Sel…
Seleana looks up and manages a sad smile.
Seleana Zdunich: It was my pleasure. It helped me get my mind off what is happening at home.
Eavan sighs heavily. She knew all too well about relationship troubles at home and especially in marriages having gone through a few in recent years including a marriage to Seleana’s youngest sister, Katra. Eavan ponders what to say and then nods to the phone.
Eavan Maloney: Did you get good news?
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: A giraffe had a check-up today. She came through healthy. Dr. Chavez was worried Cami was ill but it turned out to be nothing. She was just getting used to new habitat.
Eavan nods, managing her own sad smile to cover the pain in her leg.
Eavan Maloney: Does that help too?
Seleana nods and sets the phone down next to her.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, lets me focus on their habitat instead of my own and I can work however late I want to so…
Eavan cocks her head slightly, the question flying out of her mouth before she has a chance to stop it.
Eavan Maloney: Crystal doesn’t mind if you come home late?
Seleana shrugs as if there is nothing to the question.
Seleana Zdunich: I do not know what she thinks, I have not returned to the house since she attacked me.
Eavan stares, doing some quick math in her head.
Eavan Maloney: You haven’t gone home in a month?
Seleana shakes her head slightly, again, looking as if there is nothing to either the question or her answer to it.
Seleana Zdunich: Nej…
She trails off, thinking over the answer as if she’s just now doing the math for herself as well.
Seleana Zdunich: The first week I was in New York for Kattunge’s birthday, so it did not matter. Then I returned to California for work.
Eavan continues to just stare, unsure if she’s liking where this is going.
Eavan Maloney: So, hotel?
Seleana shakes her head quickly, as if the very idea is repugnant to her.
Seleana Zdunich: I no spend money like that. Is silly…
Confused and worried, Eavan’s mouth starts to fall open.
Eavan Maloney: So you’ve got nothing?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: Oh, you know, I have the zoo… and my cot…
Eavan raises a hand to stop Selean from continuing.
Eavan Maloney: Did… you say… cot?
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, it is in my office at the zoo. As I said, I no go “home” since the attack. I have crashed at Shay and Lena’s two or three times but mostly, my cot…
Eavan’s entire body just seems to fall at this statement.
Eavan Maloney: Oh, Honey…
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: It is not bad. I feel like I am back in Christchurch some days. I wander around and see all the animals and I lose myself amongst them, forgetting the outside world until it intrude again. Some days it work and then some days I walk out and am reminded when I go to car and I…
She trails up, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
Seleana looks away in shame and embarrassment, the guilt for pushing this onto Eavan rising up inside her and seemingly boiling over.
Seleana Zdunich: Ursäkta mig!
Eavan moves over and hugs her.
Eavan Maloney: It’s not your fault…
The two women embrace for a minute and then Eavan stands up, her leg causing it to take an extra few seconds.
Eavan Maloney: I’m gonna go check on Kate, can you check on Trinity for me?
Seleana nods, rubbing her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, I do…
Fifteen minutes later, Eavan walks up to Seleana as the Swedish woman watches the toddler playing with her blocks. Eavan can’t help but smile at the sight of Trinity enjoying herself.
Eavan Maloney: She’s a doll, isn’t she?
Seleana nods in agreement.
Seleana Zdunich: Förtjusande…
Eavan nods and the two stand there in silence for a second watching the little girl playing, seemingly off in her own little world of imagination that the outside world has yet to interrupt and impede with its rules and reality.
Eavan Maloney: Kate and I think you should move in with us for right now…
Seleana turns to Eavan, shock registering on the Swede’s face. Eavan raises a hand to slow down the panic arriving in Seleana’s eyes.
Eavan Maloney: We need the help between Kate’s pregnancy, Trinity and my out of town schedule and current level of mobility. You know us, you’re family and you need a place until you figure out what is going on with your marriage.
Seleana’s mouth falls open in shock. Could she really argue with anything Eavan had just said? Unsure of whether she should rejoice or burst into tears again, Seleana hugs the much smaller woman.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack, Eavan…
Eavan hugs her back.
Eavan Maloney: Systrar alltid.
Seleana smiles.
Seleana Zdunich: You know what will happen now if it get out I stay here with you and Kate?
Eavan snickers, nodding playfully.
Eavan Maloney: Or if I made a crack about you seeing me naked earlier because i forgot when i went in the shower and just walked around for a minute?
Seleana laughs, nodding.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja… that too.
Eavan shrugs.
Eavan Maloney: Sorry about that, by the way…
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: It is your home, Chickie, how I am mad that you feel comfortable in your home?
Eavan snickers and hugs Seleana again.
Eavan Maloney: Are you going to need to get anything?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: If I go to work tomorrow, I can get some more clothes. I brought most other with already.
Eavan nods.
Eavan Maloney: Okej.
The two turnt back to watching Trinity, both enjoying watching the little girl having the time of her life in her own little sphere, seemingly not a care in the world at the moment, both wishing they were that care free again as well.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
11: 45 AM PST
Seleana sits on the couch, Eavan seated next to her as the two try to find something to keep them occupied while Trinity and Kate enjoy much-needed naptime. With both women scanning their messages and certain websites, Seleana gets a chime on her device to say there is an incoming video camm. She tps the screen and smiles.
Seleana Zdunich: Shenzi calls…
Eavan glances over, a smile coming on her face as Seleana taps the button to answer the call.
Zenna Zdunich: Hej!
Seleana and Eavan both grin at the smiling redhead on the screen.
Eavan Maloney: Hej, Z!
Seleana Zdunich: Hej, Shenzi!
Zenna smiles even wider than usual at the sight of Eavan sitting there as well.
Zenna Zdunich: Hej, Ev! How are you?
Eavan shrugs.
Eavan Maloney: Bad wheel but otherwise, I’m doing great. How are you?
Zenna shrugs on her end.
Zenna Zdunich: Waiting for Sarabi to talk about the lion at her zoo just to see me…
Seleana grins, interrupting her sister.
Seleana Zdunich: You mean…
She pauses, grinning knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: Mufasa?!!?
Zenna shudders playfully, laughing hyena-like as she does so.
Zenna Zdunich: Oooh… do it again!
This time, Eavan leans in, grinning just like the Zdunich Sisters.
Eavan Maloney: Mufasa!
Zenna starts laughing harder and both Seleana and Eavan laugh with her.
Seleana Zdunich: Mufasa!
Eavan Maloney: Mufasa!
Seleana Zdunich: Mufasa!
Zenna almost falls to the floor in her home in New Orleans and both Seleana and Eavan can’t help but laugh along with her even as they both try to stifle the volume.
Seleana Zdunich: Gud välsigne dig, Shenzi!
Eavan nods her agreement.
Eavan Maloney: Yeah, God bless you, Shenzi!
Zenna shrugs playfully, cheerfully.
Zenna Zdunich: What are sisters for, ja?
Seleana and Eavan both nod, both look like they might answer when Zenna smirks wickedly.
Zenna Zdunich: Ah, så jag är den enda som inte ser Eavan naken nu, ja?
Eavan’s mouth falls open in shock as Seleana laughs again.
Seleana Zdunich: Du säger det här som det är en dålig sak, Shenzi."
Zenna snickers at her sister’s answer to this.
Zenna Zdunich: And you say it as if it is not, Sarabi…
Seleana shakes her head as Eavan looks at the screen, the wheels obviously turning in the small blonde woman’s head.
Seleana Zdunich: You naughty thing!
Zenna nods knowingly.
Zenna Zdunich: You laughed…
Seleana nods in acknowledgement.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, Jag gjorde.
The smirk on Zenna’s face is suddenly matched by the one on Eavan’s.
Eavan Maloney: Maybe I need to go find some pics to send over to remedy this problem?
Now it’s Seleana’s turn to have her mouth drop open in surprise while Zenna’s smirk seems to deepen.
Zenna Zdunich: Why, Miss Eavan…
Zenna bats her eyes, putting on a bad fake New Orleans accent that doesn’t quite mask her own natural Swedish one.
Zenna Zdunich: Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs Robinson?
Eavan snickers.
Eavan Maloney: Hey now, I’m the younger one here, you’re older than me… Mrs. Robinson!
Zenna shrugs.
Z: You’re the one offering pics…
Eavan smirks, looking playfully bashful.
Eavan Maloney: Am I?
She bats her eyes back at Zenna the same way the middle Zdunich sister had earlier and Seleana almost starts laughing again right there.
Seleana Zdunich: You two incorrigible!
Eavan snickers yet again.
Eavan Maloney: She says as if she doesn’t love it!
Zenna nods, snickering as well.
Zenna Zdunich: She has you there, Sarabi!
Shrugging, Seleana nods slowly.
Seleana Zdunich: Did you two plan or just luck?
Zenna cocks her head, looking at her sister as if Seleana has just said the single craziest thing any of them have ever said in their collective lives.
Zenna Zdunich: Have I ever struck you as the type with a real plan, Sarabi?
Seleana stares back for a second, caught off-guard and pondering the question.
Seleana Zdunich: Well, there was Japan…
Zenna nods slowly, visibly taken down a peg.
Zenna Zdunich: And how well did that plan work out for me?
Seleana’s head droops in shame.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
Gritting her teeth, she forces herself to look at her sister again.
Seleana Zdunich: Jag är ledsen, Shenzi. Jag menade inte att säga det.
Zenna smiles sadly.
Zenna Zdunich: I know, I love you, Sarabi.
She pauses and nods.
Zenna Zdunich: Ev… I’ll let you go now.
The call ends and Seleana stares at the phone for a second, setting it down and leaning forward, her head in her hands. Eavan leans over, her hand landing on Seleana’s back.
Eavan Maloney: Sel?
Seleana starts to cry and just shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: Jag är en dålig syster.
Eavan can’t believe her ears.
Eavan Maloney: You are NOT a bad sister, Sel!
Seleana nods slowly, rocking slightly, tears flowing now full force.
Seleana Zdunich: I am…
Eavan shakes her head and leans over, trying to get the larger woman to look up at her. Seleana lest it happen and Eavan looks her dead in the eyes.
Eavan Maloney: You are not bad, you hear me? Zenna knows you didn’t mean to go there like that. She loves you as does Nala. Kate and I love you, you’re a great sister!
Seleana looks down again.
Seleana Zdunich: Why things go so badly, Eavan?
She tries to reach out and finds herself unable to make her body function properly.
Seleana Zdunich: I try, Eavan… I try… I…
She manages to look up to Eavan, tears streaming down her face, her entire body trembling.
Seleana Zdunich: Why I no good enough for her?
Eavan hugs Seleana immediately.
Eavan Maloney: I don’t know, Baby Girl…
Seleana’s arms wake up enough to latch onto Eavan and she starts sobbing into the smaller woman’s shoulder.
Seleana Zdunich: Why… no… make…
The words cho0ek themselves off and fresh sobs take over.
Seleana Zdunich: What I do wrong? Why she hit me?
Eavan hugs her tightly.
Eavan Maloney: Ssssh…. You did nothing wrong, Sweetie… you did nothing wrong…
Seleana tries to respond but the words will not come. She sobs into Eavan’s shoulder searching herself for answers that will not come, Eavan holding her and trying to keep her from falling apart completely.
Eavan Maloney: It’s gonna be alright, Sel… it’s gonna be alright.
On-Camera
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Los Angeles, California
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
7: 45 AM PST
The camera opens on Seleana Zdunich in her office at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens sitting at her desk. The shot comes from behind her, swinging around to the right to show both what she’s doing, the relative emptiness of her office and the small cot sitting near the wall on the other side of her as Seleana passes sheets of paper from one pile to another, her eyes scanning over the contents of each sheet before she makes the transfer.
Seleana Zdunich: I will be with you in just…
The scanning seems to pick up speed on the last few sheets, though the camera shows it’s not because she’s hurrying but because the sheets themselves have less content for ehr to try and take in printed on them.
Seleana Zdunich: One…
The final three sheets go through her process and swap from the now non-existent pile on her left to the much larger pile on her right. Seleana pushes back from the desk, the chair she sits in rolling just enough to allow her to stand up. She nods to her now completed work and slowly turns to face the camera’s lens, allowing it to take in the full picture before them. The camera pans down, getting a shot that starts at Seleana’s beat-up looking Chuck Taylors to her black track pants and then up to her grey sleeveless workout top, a sports bra visible under the shirt. The camera finishes panning back up, pulling out for a full body shot of Seleana in front of the desk, a look of world-weariness on her face.
Seleana Zdunich: I am sorry to keep you waiting, but I have a lioness to prepare the zoo to receive next week from Ohana Wildlife Park in Christchurch and that will not take care of itself any more than some of the attitudes that get thrown out on a daily basis on Twitter.
Seleana nods, a slight smile coming to her face as she sits against the edge of the desk, folding her hands in front of her as she does so.
Seleana Zdunich: So, Blaze of Glory VII, Anaheim, California…
Nodding to the southeast, Seleana almost looks ready to give directions to the building from here as if she’s suddenly become a tour guide in addition to everything else.
Seleana Zdunich: Half an hour’s drive from here on a good day, forty-five sometimes, an hour on a busy one, and it will be my first time in the main event of such a show. Everyone else in the match, Alicia Lukas, Dani Weston, Crystal Hilton…
She nods slightly, considering how that last name will be taken and decides not to take it back even knowing how it will probably be both perceived and received in certain circles.
Seleana Zdunich: They have all been in this situation before, tasted victory in this situation before. In Crystal and especially Alicia’s cases, they have tasted this many times over. As a matter of fact…
She stands up and nods to the camera, her hand coming up to allow her right index finger to points slightly at the camera for a quick moment.
Seleana Zdunich: Alicia Lukas was the main event in a show that was the biggest in my own family’s careers for a time before Linnéa found herself defending a championship like this herself. It was an Honor Wrestling show, August 13, 2017, Camp Ripley, Minnesota, called Zero Hour. I had been in this country for a month or so but I was watching that show because my sisters’ band was playing the National Anthem and it was their first time doing such a thing. I had been told this was a big deal for a band especially an all female one such as American Murder Log. They started that show and then another woman I know now closed it.
She nods slowly, knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: The main event that night was a Champion versus Champion thirty minute iron woman match between The Honor Champion Samantha Tolson and the Legacy Champion Alicia Lukas and it was a great fight that ended in a draw with neither woman able to continue because of the beating they endured.
Her eyes close and her hands move to land on her chest as Seleana allows herself to bask in the memory, replaying the images over in her mind. Finally, she nods and opens her eyes again, looking dead into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: It was a great night, one that was started by women and ended by women and one that I found inspiring. It was a night I thought of four months later when Crystal asked me to try my hand at the family business as it were. I had seen women do things I had never thought possible and thought, if they can do such things, why can I not at least try. They deserve such respect.
Seleana nods as she turns and picks up a duffel bag from under the desk. She places the bag on the desk and opens it to show the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship belt.
Seleana Zdunich: Now, nineteen months later, it is my turn to step into that position with one of the women from that night in August of 2017 that helped introduce me to the opportunities that America held. The woman who main evented that night, the woman I took this belt from and the woman I pinned last Sunday to do it, Alicia Lukas.
She nods and stares at the belt.
Seleana Zdunich: I would be lying to you if I said I had expected that to happen when I was first watching you fight, Alicia. I would be lying if I said I expected that to happen when you first came here to Sin City Wrestling. You were somebody to be put on a pedestal, something to aspire to become. As you said, you have done this in many places and you have shown your talent and dedication. It’s what you do, ja?
She nods and turns back to the camera, looking over her right shoulder at it.
Seleana Zdunich: You win championships. That is what you said, ja?
She nods and turns back to the championship sitting in her bag on top of her desk and nods firmly to it.
Seleana Zdunich: When this match was first set up, I looked at the line-up and had to blink multiple times to make sure I was not seeing things. I had heard Mark Ward say my name, but it was not real until I saw it in writing, until I saw my face on a posted promoting the show next to yours, next to Dani Weston’s, next to Crystal Hilton’s. It was not real until that poster.
She bows her head, closing her eyes as the camera zooms in to focus on the championship gleaming under the office lights.
Seleana Zdunich: I know none of you see me as being worthy to be on that poster and certainly not worthy of being in the position I am in where I come in as the SCW World Bombshell Champion. When that poster was made, I was the plucky underdog that was lucky to be getting her Rocky-esque shot at the title amidst a sea of champions. I was the only one on that poster who had never so much as challenged for the championship, much less won it. I was the only one who had not yet won the championship and the only one who had not been the champion in the last year.
Nodding slightly, she looks up, opening her eyes and fixing her gaze on the championship.
Seleana Zdunich: Now I am the one you all see as the undeserving champion that will walk into Anaheim and go down in a Blaze of Glory as one of you takes your rightful place back on your throne and I go back to pretending I know what I’m doing the way I was before I punched Christian Underwood in the face and apparently punched the button for the bullet train ride to the main event by getting myself fired.
She nods slowly as she stares at the championships, reaching out her hand but stopping short of actually making physical contact with the belt itself. Her hand hovers for a second and then pulls back and falls back to her side leaving the championship alone.
Seleana Zdunich: Now I stand in that pantheon of champions. “The Lioness” that kicks people and wins championships. All she does is win, takes names and stand tall…
She nods as if ticking off a list.
Seleana Zdunich: Now I stand with the sweet bartender that was the plucky underdog before me. Dani Weston, I know you don’t think much of me. I know you think I do not deserve to be here, I do not deserve to have that championship in my possession and I do not deserve to be defending against but i also know that by being in this match I did not take anything from you and I do not take anything from you. You had one on one matches with Alicia Lukas already and I have no doubt you will have another, if for no other reason than, as Alicia said, you and one and one and she will not be able to stand it if your record with each other stands at a draw. She will need to have that tiebreaker match and you deserve that match as well. I have been in the ring with you before and I know what you are capable of. You pinned me when we faced before and there was no question you were better than me then. You are also worthy of standing in your place in this pantheon of great champions. You have earned everything you have ever gotten and you will earn anything else you ever get. I am proud and honored to be on that poster with both of you no matter what you say about me.
She nods a second time in ticking off her list.
Seleana Zdunich: Crystal Hilton…
Her eyes close again, her entire body starting to tremble.
Seleana Zdunich: I know you do not believe in me or you would not have done what you have done over the last month. You would not have attacked me to get this shot under orders from Christian Underwood after I punched him for you. You would not have gotten involved last Sunday when I was receiving my first championship opportunity against Alicia and you would not be constantly changing your mind about whether that was a good decision or not. You would not be looking at everything and saying you did this so you could find an easier path to the throne you so desperately crave like an addict who has gone too long without a fix. I know you do not believe in me because you do not believe in yourself. Alicia knows it, Dani knows it, Christian knows it, I know it and you know it…
She slowly turns to face the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: We know you don’t believe in yourself because of how often you change personas when one does not work anymore. We know because of what you have done to me, to Alicia and what you will try to do to us all in that match. Alicia earned her way into this match through hard work, dedication and sheer fucking will to be the best! Dani earned her way into this match the same way and by doing it all without shoving it into anyone’s face along the way. She did not feel the need to trumpet because she knew her actions spoke louder than anything she could ever say. But you...
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: I held you in the same company as them. I allowed you to bring me into this sport, train me. I allowed you to lie to me, manipulate me, string me along and you repaid me by making me bleed so you could have one more chance to have the world tell you what you never tell yourself…
Seleana nods knowingly, angrily.
Seleana Zdunich: I know none of you think I belong and before December, I would have agreed with you. However, in the last four months I have survived Christian Underwood taking my job, the Metal Maniacs trying to set me on fire, a former legend crawling out of her retirement hole, Jessie Salco trying to get herself back into the championship picture, my wife attacking me and making me bleed in front of the world, Alicia Lukas defending a championship and telling me I would blow that chance too and my wife stealing the spotlight and the respect I should have earned that night! You can say I do not deserve to be here, but I am the one walking into Blaze of Gory as the Champion and I am the one who has pinned two of the three of you in the last month and watched both of you nearly collapse into oblivion after I did so. You can all say this is your chance to make things right… no…
She shakes her head angrily and then points to her chest.
Seleana Zdunich: This is MY chance to make things right! This is my chance to take back the respect I deserve! This is MY chance to show you all that I not only deserve to be here, I deserve to be able to walk up to Christian Underwood and ask him his own infamous question.
She turns and grabs the championship belt from her bag, holdit aloft for the world to see.
Seleana Zdunich: Alicia Lukas, Dani Weston, Crystal Hilton, I am the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Champion and what are you going to do about it?
Monday, February 25, 2019
Los Angeles, California
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
7: 45 AM PST
Seleana Zdunich glances at her bag to make sure she has enough packed for an overnight trip. She glances through her stuff and nods in succession as she goes down her list until she comes to the thing sitting on the very top of the pile in this bag.
The Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship Belt.
Three months ago this shiny symbol of excellence sitting here in her bag would have been unthinkable. She was a rookie nearing the end of her first year competing in a sport that before that had been the domain of only her young sister, Zenna, and her older cousin, Alexi. Both had told her stories of how things would be and the sport had only been a distant thing, something she talked about with those who did but not that she actually partook in herself while she was in Christchurch. New Zealand was not exactly thought of as a hotbed for the sport, especially not after the earthquakes had started in the area in September, 2010. There had been two more major earthquakes in 2011 and countless other small ones in the following years and while several small groups made the attempt, most of the companies did not last simply because a lot of the venues were either damaged or already taken by other events that had required moving following the natural disasters.
Seleana stares at the belt and runs her right hand along the strap, tracing it all the way to the plate in the middle, looking almost as if she is trying to make sure the belt before her is real and not some cruel prank played on her by a well-meaning employee.
This was not something either Zenna or Alexi had achieved in their careers. Alexi had retired without achieving a singles world championship. She had achieved a tag team championship with her partner, Raevyn Lilja, but a solo championship reign was not in the cards for her career before it had come to an end so she could start her family and Alexi had never looked back. Five children later, not having a championship like this one in her trophy case did not seem to eat at her simply because her children were more important and her husband, Robbie Priest, had won six of them himself and thus she considered the household fulfilled by his reigns.
Zenna’s career had been put on hold for five and half years as she battled drug and alcohol addictions brought on by injuries and other traumas suffered as a rookie in 2011. Her comeback near Christmas 2017 in Hybrid Wrestling had thus far produced no championships but she had also contained herself in tag team competition with their younger cousin, Maja Lindström, a woman with far more training that Seleana, but just as much of a rookie when it comes to actual competition inside the ring.
Seleana nods to the belt and then zips up the bag. Tonight there would be no celebration for ehr championship victory. She was not going home to her loving wife and family. She was not going to see her sisters or cousins or parents or anyone else like that. The night before had been spent sleeping here in her cot, hoping the mixed feelings of what had transpired at Climax Control in Long Beach would somehow dissipate and allow her to be proud of her achievement. That hope had been dashed when she’d awoken to the same feelings mixing together in her head. She knew Alicia Lukas would not be taking this loss well, if she could even bring herself to call it a loss at all. She looks at the bag on the desk and shakes her head as she leans forward, her hands landing on the cold wood on either side of the bag.
Seleana Zdunich: Skit också!
She stands up and shakes her head slowly, sadly and yet somehow still angry as well. She needed to pull herself together. She had promised to come over to the home of her friends and “sisters” Kate Storm and Eavan Maloney to help watch over the order to bedrest Kate while Eavan was out of town for a match. Kate was very pregnant, her pregnancy had always been considered dangerous and high risk and now the doctors had order her to almost continual bedrest, something that would put a serious hitch in her life especially with toddler to care for in little twenty-month old Trinity. Having Eavan move in with the soon-to-be single mother was a major help with things except for the days Eavan had to go out and keep her scheduled commitments and that was where Seleana was to come in. though she’d never cared for people in this way, she had cared for animals large and small while at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch and again here at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens in Los Angeles.
Seleana Zdunich: För fan i helvete!
Seleana knew she needed to have her head on straight in order to go help the woman who was once set to be her sister-in-law, especially while the woman who had actually been her sister-in-law was in Miami for a match tonight. Seleana sighs, was it Miami?
Seleana Zdunich: Seleana, din jävla idiot! Tänk rätt!
As she glances across her desk, she hears footfalls behind her in the hallway. Seleana turns to see an assistant in the quarantine area here at the zoo, Dr. Michelle Chavez, a small dark-haired, bespectacled woman of Mexican descent.
Seleana Zdunich: Chavy?
Dr. Chavez smiles, it had taken her two months to get Seleana to call her the nickname everyone else used and to hear it now when she knew her boss was not in the best of moods made her almost float.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Hello, Mrs. Zdunich.
Seleana glances at the woman and nods at her black dress slacks paired with a white blouse and her lab coat. The black non-slip shoes and glasses just seemed to finish off the ensemble perfectly and say to the world, “I’m ready for business today.” Seleana stood in direct contrast in her black workout pants and tank top that almost looked like onesie if you caught ti at the right angle. Dr. Chavez looked like she was at work, Seleana looked like she was about to either go workout or spend the day with a latte in her hand on Rodeo Drive.
Seleana Zdunich: How are things progressing?
Dr. Chavez nods, happy to get to business so as not to take up too much of her boss’s time.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: The three chinchillas are almost ready for their habitat. They need another week before they can be given their last check-up. The lion area is being prepped for Mufasa. He’ll get his check-up on Wednesday and be ready for his habitat. We have couple of others that will enter quarantine in the next two weeks assuming the paperwork I saw earlier goes through and becomes finalized. We have a line on a few tigers being explored. One already has paperwork being set-up. The three bears are taking to their habitat nicely. Bonzo looked like he was gonna be trouble but since they’ve had a few days together, he’s settled down.
Seleana nods happily. This was all good news, especially Bonzo.
Seleana Zdunich: So no fights between Bonzo and Beorn?
Dr. Chavez shakes her head.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Beorn never showed an inclination for that and once Bonzo found his own space, that trouble seemed to disappear. Baloo is doing well too so we seem to be covered on that front.
Seleana can’t smile broadly enough.
Seleana Zdunich: I am glad for this. You will keep me updated in case of problem?
Dr. Chavez nods.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Of course.
Seleana nods and hugs her.
Seleana Zdunich: Thank you, Chavy.
Dr. Chavez smiles and takes her leave. Seleana grabs her bag and her phone, sticking the phone quickly into the side pocket of her pants. She nods as she takes one more look around the room and then moves to turn off the light. She steps out, locks the door to the office and then heads out to her 2019 jet black Maserati Quattroporte. She tosses the back onto the passenger seat and sits down, strapping herself in. As she goes to start the car, her hands suddenly don’t want to cooperate and she lowers her head, almost laying her forehead onto the steering wheel. Within seconds, she starts screaming, tears rolling down her face as she starts slapping the wheel.
Seleana Zdunich: För fan i helvete!
She sits back against her seat and screams again.
Seleana Zdunich: Din jävla...
Her right hand smacks the wheel again.
Seleana Zdunich: Varför gjorde du det här mot mig?
She shakes her head, catching a glimpse of herself in the side mirror.
Seleana Zdunich: Seleana, sluta vara en jävla idiot! Du är bättre än det här och du vet det. Låt inte vad som hände igår kväll få dig att fråga dig själv.
Taking a deep breath, Seleana starts to compose herself. She wipes the tears from her eyes and then glances at herself in the mirror. She nods and starts the car.
Seleana Zdunich: Okej…
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
9: 45 AM PST
Seleana sits on the couch, scanning her phone to check for messages from either the zoo or her family. The previous day and evening had gone better than she thought it would playing nursemaid to the more or less bedridden Kate and her small toddler, Trinity. Seleana had never cared for a small child before and the idea had both excited and worried her. Trinity had been wary at first but had eventually allowed Seleana to handle her well enough. Eavan had made it back home after her match and was now hobbled as well by a knee injury that was causing her mobility problems that were supposed to resolve themselves within a day or two. Everyone involved hoped this was how it played out since Eavan was a self-proclaimed terrible patient and Seleana did not relish the idea of dealing with three unhappy girls at once. As she comes across a message from the zoo, Eavan staggers in and sits down next to her on the couch.
Eavan Maloney: Thanks again for helping out, Sel…
Seleana looks up and manages a sad smile.
Seleana Zdunich: It was my pleasure. It helped me get my mind off what is happening at home.
Eavan sighs heavily. She knew all too well about relationship troubles at home and especially in marriages having gone through a few in recent years including a marriage to Seleana’s youngest sister, Katra. Eavan ponders what to say and then nods to the phone.
Eavan Maloney: Did you get good news?
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: A giraffe had a check-up today. She came through healthy. Dr. Chavez was worried Cami was ill but it turned out to be nothing. She was just getting used to new habitat.
Eavan nods, managing her own sad smile to cover the pain in her leg.
Eavan Maloney: Does that help too?
Seleana nods and sets the phone down next to her.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, lets me focus on their habitat instead of my own and I can work however late I want to so…
Eavan cocks her head slightly, the question flying out of her mouth before she has a chance to stop it.
Eavan Maloney: Crystal doesn’t mind if you come home late?
Seleana shrugs as if there is nothing to the question.
Seleana Zdunich: I do not know what she thinks, I have not returned to the house since she attacked me.
Eavan stares, doing some quick math in her head.
Eavan Maloney: You haven’t gone home in a month?
Seleana shakes her head slightly, again, looking as if there is nothing to either the question or her answer to it.
Seleana Zdunich: Nej…
She trails off, thinking over the answer as if she’s just now doing the math for herself as well.
Seleana Zdunich: The first week I was in New York for Kattunge’s birthday, so it did not matter. Then I returned to California for work.
Eavan continues to just stare, unsure if she’s liking where this is going.
Eavan Maloney: So, hotel?
Seleana shakes her head quickly, as if the very idea is repugnant to her.
Seleana Zdunich: I no spend money like that. Is silly…
Confused and worried, Eavan’s mouth starts to fall open.
Eavan Maloney: So you’ve got nothing?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: Oh, you know, I have the zoo… and my cot…
Eavan raises a hand to stop Selean from continuing.
Eavan Maloney: Did… you say… cot?
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, it is in my office at the zoo. As I said, I no go “home” since the attack. I have crashed at Shay and Lena’s two or three times but mostly, my cot…
Eavan’s entire body just seems to fall at this statement.
Eavan Maloney: Oh, Honey…
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: It is not bad. I feel like I am back in Christchurch some days. I wander around and see all the animals and I lose myself amongst them, forgetting the outside world until it intrude again. Some days it work and then some days I walk out and am reminded when I go to car and I…
She trails up, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
Seleana looks away in shame and embarrassment, the guilt for pushing this onto Eavan rising up inside her and seemingly boiling over.
Seleana Zdunich: Ursäkta mig!
Eavan moves over and hugs her.
Eavan Maloney: It’s not your fault…
The two women embrace for a minute and then Eavan stands up, her leg causing it to take an extra few seconds.
Eavan Maloney: I’m gonna go check on Kate, can you check on Trinity for me?
Seleana nods, rubbing her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, I do…
Fifteen minutes later, Eavan walks up to Seleana as the Swedish woman watches the toddler playing with her blocks. Eavan can’t help but smile at the sight of Trinity enjoying herself.
Eavan Maloney: She’s a doll, isn’t she?
Seleana nods in agreement.
Seleana Zdunich: Förtjusande…
Eavan nods and the two stand there in silence for a second watching the little girl playing, seemingly off in her own little world of imagination that the outside world has yet to interrupt and impede with its rules and reality.
Eavan Maloney: Kate and I think you should move in with us for right now…
Seleana turns to Eavan, shock registering on the Swede’s face. Eavan raises a hand to slow down the panic arriving in Seleana’s eyes.
Eavan Maloney: We need the help between Kate’s pregnancy, Trinity and my out of town schedule and current level of mobility. You know us, you’re family and you need a place until you figure out what is going on with your marriage.
Seleana’s mouth falls open in shock. Could she really argue with anything Eavan had just said? Unsure of whether she should rejoice or burst into tears again, Seleana hugs the much smaller woman.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack, Eavan…
Eavan hugs her back.
Eavan Maloney: Systrar alltid.
Seleana smiles.
Seleana Zdunich: You know what will happen now if it get out I stay here with you and Kate?
Eavan snickers, nodding playfully.
Eavan Maloney: Or if I made a crack about you seeing me naked earlier because i forgot when i went in the shower and just walked around for a minute?
Seleana laughs, nodding.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja… that too.
Eavan shrugs.
Eavan Maloney: Sorry about that, by the way…
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: It is your home, Chickie, how I am mad that you feel comfortable in your home?
Eavan snickers and hugs Seleana again.
Eavan Maloney: Are you going to need to get anything?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: If I go to work tomorrow, I can get some more clothes. I brought most other with already.
Eavan nods.
Eavan Maloney: Okej.
The two turnt back to watching Trinity, both enjoying watching the little girl having the time of her life in her own little sphere, seemingly not a care in the world at the moment, both wishing they were that care free again as well.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
11: 45 AM PST
Seleana sits on the couch, Eavan seated next to her as the two try to find something to keep them occupied while Trinity and Kate enjoy much-needed naptime. With both women scanning their messages and certain websites, Seleana gets a chime on her device to say there is an incoming video camm. She tps the screen and smiles.
Seleana Zdunich: Shenzi calls…
Eavan glances over, a smile coming on her face as Seleana taps the button to answer the call.
Zenna Zdunich: Hej!
Seleana and Eavan both grin at the smiling redhead on the screen.
Eavan Maloney: Hej, Z!
Seleana Zdunich: Hej, Shenzi!
Zenna smiles even wider than usual at the sight of Eavan sitting there as well.
Zenna Zdunich: Hej, Ev! How are you?
Eavan shrugs.
Eavan Maloney: Bad wheel but otherwise, I’m doing great. How are you?
Zenna shrugs on her end.
Zenna Zdunich: Waiting for Sarabi to talk about the lion at her zoo just to see me…
Seleana grins, interrupting her sister.
Seleana Zdunich: You mean…
She pauses, grinning knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: Mufasa?!!?
Zenna shudders playfully, laughing hyena-like as she does so.
Zenna Zdunich: Oooh… do it again!
This time, Eavan leans in, grinning just like the Zdunich Sisters.
Eavan Maloney: Mufasa!
Zenna starts laughing harder and both Seleana and Eavan laugh with her.
Seleana Zdunich: Mufasa!
Eavan Maloney: Mufasa!
Seleana Zdunich: Mufasa!
Zenna almost falls to the floor in her home in New Orleans and both Seleana and Eavan can’t help but laugh along with her even as they both try to stifle the volume.
Seleana Zdunich: Gud välsigne dig, Shenzi!
Eavan nods her agreement.
Eavan Maloney: Yeah, God bless you, Shenzi!
Zenna shrugs playfully, cheerfully.
Zenna Zdunich: What are sisters for, ja?
Seleana and Eavan both nod, both look like they might answer when Zenna smirks wickedly.
Zenna Zdunich: Ah, så jag är den enda som inte ser Eavan naken nu, ja?
Eavan’s mouth falls open in shock as Seleana laughs again.
Seleana Zdunich: Du säger det här som det är en dålig sak, Shenzi."
Zenna snickers at her sister’s answer to this.
Zenna Zdunich: And you say it as if it is not, Sarabi…
Seleana shakes her head as Eavan looks at the screen, the wheels obviously turning in the small blonde woman’s head.
Seleana Zdunich: You naughty thing!
Zenna nods knowingly.
Zenna Zdunich: You laughed…
Seleana nods in acknowledgement.
Seleana Zdunich: Ja, Jag gjorde.
The smirk on Zenna’s face is suddenly matched by the one on Eavan’s.
Eavan Maloney: Maybe I need to go find some pics to send over to remedy this problem?
Now it’s Seleana’s turn to have her mouth drop open in surprise while Zenna’s smirk seems to deepen.
Zenna Zdunich: Why, Miss Eavan…
Zenna bats her eyes, putting on a bad fake New Orleans accent that doesn’t quite mask her own natural Swedish one.
Zenna Zdunich: Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs Robinson?
Eavan snickers.
Eavan Maloney: Hey now, I’m the younger one here, you’re older than me… Mrs. Robinson!
Zenna shrugs.
Z: You’re the one offering pics…
Eavan smirks, looking playfully bashful.
Eavan Maloney: Am I?
She bats her eyes back at Zenna the same way the middle Zdunich sister had earlier and Seleana almost starts laughing again right there.
Seleana Zdunich: You two incorrigible!
Eavan snickers yet again.
Eavan Maloney: She says as if she doesn’t love it!
Zenna nods, snickering as well.
Zenna Zdunich: She has you there, Sarabi!
Shrugging, Seleana nods slowly.
Seleana Zdunich: Did you two plan or just luck?
Zenna cocks her head, looking at her sister as if Seleana has just said the single craziest thing any of them have ever said in their collective lives.
Zenna Zdunich: Have I ever struck you as the type with a real plan, Sarabi?
Seleana stares back for a second, caught off-guard and pondering the question.
Seleana Zdunich: Well, there was Japan…
Zenna nods slowly, visibly taken down a peg.
Zenna Zdunich: And how well did that plan work out for me?
Seleana’s head droops in shame.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
Gritting her teeth, she forces herself to look at her sister again.
Seleana Zdunich: Jag är ledsen, Shenzi. Jag menade inte att säga det.
Zenna smiles sadly.
Zenna Zdunich: I know, I love you, Sarabi.
She pauses and nods.
Zenna Zdunich: Ev… I’ll let you go now.
The call ends and Seleana stares at the phone for a second, setting it down and leaning forward, her head in her hands. Eavan leans over, her hand landing on Seleana’s back.
Eavan Maloney: Sel?
Seleana starts to cry and just shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: Jag är en dålig syster.
Eavan can’t believe her ears.
Eavan Maloney: You are NOT a bad sister, Sel!
Seleana nods slowly, rocking slightly, tears flowing now full force.
Seleana Zdunich: I am…
Eavan shakes her head and leans over, trying to get the larger woman to look up at her. Seleana lest it happen and Eavan looks her dead in the eyes.
Eavan Maloney: You are not bad, you hear me? Zenna knows you didn’t mean to go there like that. She loves you as does Nala. Kate and I love you, you’re a great sister!
Seleana looks down again.
Seleana Zdunich: Why things go so badly, Eavan?
She tries to reach out and finds herself unable to make her body function properly.
Seleana Zdunich: I try, Eavan… I try… I…
She manages to look up to Eavan, tears streaming down her face, her entire body trembling.
Seleana Zdunich: Why I no good enough for her?
Eavan hugs Seleana immediately.
Eavan Maloney: I don’t know, Baby Girl…
Seleana’s arms wake up enough to latch onto Eavan and she starts sobbing into the smaller woman’s shoulder.
Seleana Zdunich: Why… no… make…
The words cho0ek themselves off and fresh sobs take over.
Seleana Zdunich: What I do wrong? Why she hit me?
Eavan hugs her tightly.
Eavan Maloney: Ssssh…. You did nothing wrong, Sweetie… you did nothing wrong…
Seleana tries to respond but the words will not come. She sobs into Eavan’s shoulder searching herself for answers that will not come, Eavan holding her and trying to keep her from falling apart completely.
Eavan Maloney: It’s gonna be alright, Sel… it’s gonna be alright.
On-Camera
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Los Angeles, California
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
7: 45 AM PST
The camera opens on Seleana Zdunich in her office at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens sitting at her desk. The shot comes from behind her, swinging around to the right to show both what she’s doing, the relative emptiness of her office and the small cot sitting near the wall on the other side of her as Seleana passes sheets of paper from one pile to another, her eyes scanning over the contents of each sheet before she makes the transfer.
Seleana Zdunich: I will be with you in just…
The scanning seems to pick up speed on the last few sheets, though the camera shows it’s not because she’s hurrying but because the sheets themselves have less content for ehr to try and take in printed on them.
Seleana Zdunich: One…
The final three sheets go through her process and swap from the now non-existent pile on her left to the much larger pile on her right. Seleana pushes back from the desk, the chair she sits in rolling just enough to allow her to stand up. She nods to her now completed work and slowly turns to face the camera’s lens, allowing it to take in the full picture before them. The camera pans down, getting a shot that starts at Seleana’s beat-up looking Chuck Taylors to her black track pants and then up to her grey sleeveless workout top, a sports bra visible under the shirt. The camera finishes panning back up, pulling out for a full body shot of Seleana in front of the desk, a look of world-weariness on her face.
Seleana Zdunich: I am sorry to keep you waiting, but I have a lioness to prepare the zoo to receive next week from Ohana Wildlife Park in Christchurch and that will not take care of itself any more than some of the attitudes that get thrown out on a daily basis on Twitter.
Seleana nods, a slight smile coming to her face as she sits against the edge of the desk, folding her hands in front of her as she does so.
Seleana Zdunich: So, Blaze of Glory VII, Anaheim, California…
Nodding to the southeast, Seleana almost looks ready to give directions to the building from here as if she’s suddenly become a tour guide in addition to everything else.
Seleana Zdunich: Half an hour’s drive from here on a good day, forty-five sometimes, an hour on a busy one, and it will be my first time in the main event of such a show. Everyone else in the match, Alicia Lukas, Dani Weston, Crystal Hilton…
She nods slightly, considering how that last name will be taken and decides not to take it back even knowing how it will probably be both perceived and received in certain circles.
Seleana Zdunich: They have all been in this situation before, tasted victory in this situation before. In Crystal and especially Alicia’s cases, they have tasted this many times over. As a matter of fact…
She stands up and nods to the camera, her hand coming up to allow her right index finger to points slightly at the camera for a quick moment.
Seleana Zdunich: Alicia Lukas was the main event in a show that was the biggest in my own family’s careers for a time before Linnéa found herself defending a championship like this herself. It was an Honor Wrestling show, August 13, 2017, Camp Ripley, Minnesota, called Zero Hour. I had been in this country for a month or so but I was watching that show because my sisters’ band was playing the National Anthem and it was their first time doing such a thing. I had been told this was a big deal for a band especially an all female one such as American Murder Log. They started that show and then another woman I know now closed it.
She nods slowly, knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: The main event that night was a Champion versus Champion thirty minute iron woman match between The Honor Champion Samantha Tolson and the Legacy Champion Alicia Lukas and it was a great fight that ended in a draw with neither woman able to continue because of the beating they endured.
Her eyes close and her hands move to land on her chest as Seleana allows herself to bask in the memory, replaying the images over in her mind. Finally, she nods and opens her eyes again, looking dead into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: It was a great night, one that was started by women and ended by women and one that I found inspiring. It was a night I thought of four months later when Crystal asked me to try my hand at the family business as it were. I had seen women do things I had never thought possible and thought, if they can do such things, why can I not at least try. They deserve such respect.
Seleana nods as she turns and picks up a duffel bag from under the desk. She places the bag on the desk and opens it to show the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship belt.
Seleana Zdunich: Now, nineteen months later, it is my turn to step into that position with one of the women from that night in August of 2017 that helped introduce me to the opportunities that America held. The woman who main evented that night, the woman I took this belt from and the woman I pinned last Sunday to do it, Alicia Lukas.
She nods and stares at the belt.
Seleana Zdunich: I would be lying to you if I said I had expected that to happen when I was first watching you fight, Alicia. I would be lying if I said I expected that to happen when you first came here to Sin City Wrestling. You were somebody to be put on a pedestal, something to aspire to become. As you said, you have done this in many places and you have shown your talent and dedication. It’s what you do, ja?
She nods and turns back to the camera, looking over her right shoulder at it.
Seleana Zdunich: You win championships. That is what you said, ja?
She nods and turns back to the championship sitting in her bag on top of her desk and nods firmly to it.
Seleana Zdunich: When this match was first set up, I looked at the line-up and had to blink multiple times to make sure I was not seeing things. I had heard Mark Ward say my name, but it was not real until I saw it in writing, until I saw my face on a posted promoting the show next to yours, next to Dani Weston’s, next to Crystal Hilton’s. It was not real until that poster.
She bows her head, closing her eyes as the camera zooms in to focus on the championship gleaming under the office lights.
Seleana Zdunich: I know none of you see me as being worthy to be on that poster and certainly not worthy of being in the position I am in where I come in as the SCW World Bombshell Champion. When that poster was made, I was the plucky underdog that was lucky to be getting her Rocky-esque shot at the title amidst a sea of champions. I was the only one on that poster who had never so much as challenged for the championship, much less won it. I was the only one who had not yet won the championship and the only one who had not been the champion in the last year.
Nodding slightly, she looks up, opening her eyes and fixing her gaze on the championship.
Seleana Zdunich: Now I am the one you all see as the undeserving champion that will walk into Anaheim and go down in a Blaze of Glory as one of you takes your rightful place back on your throne and I go back to pretending I know what I’m doing the way I was before I punched Christian Underwood in the face and apparently punched the button for the bullet train ride to the main event by getting myself fired.
She nods slowly as she stares at the championships, reaching out her hand but stopping short of actually making physical contact with the belt itself. Her hand hovers for a second and then pulls back and falls back to her side leaving the championship alone.
Seleana Zdunich: Now I stand in that pantheon of champions. “The Lioness” that kicks people and wins championships. All she does is win, takes names and stand tall…
She nods as if ticking off a list.
Seleana Zdunich: Now I stand with the sweet bartender that was the plucky underdog before me. Dani Weston, I know you don’t think much of me. I know you think I do not deserve to be here, I do not deserve to have that championship in my possession and I do not deserve to be defending against but i also know that by being in this match I did not take anything from you and I do not take anything from you. You had one on one matches with Alicia Lukas already and I have no doubt you will have another, if for no other reason than, as Alicia said, you and one and one and she will not be able to stand it if your record with each other stands at a draw. She will need to have that tiebreaker match and you deserve that match as well. I have been in the ring with you before and I know what you are capable of. You pinned me when we faced before and there was no question you were better than me then. You are also worthy of standing in your place in this pantheon of great champions. You have earned everything you have ever gotten and you will earn anything else you ever get. I am proud and honored to be on that poster with both of you no matter what you say about me.
She nods a second time in ticking off her list.
Seleana Zdunich: Crystal Hilton…
Her eyes close again, her entire body starting to tremble.
Seleana Zdunich: I know you do not believe in me or you would not have done what you have done over the last month. You would not have attacked me to get this shot under orders from Christian Underwood after I punched him for you. You would not have gotten involved last Sunday when I was receiving my first championship opportunity against Alicia and you would not be constantly changing your mind about whether that was a good decision or not. You would not be looking at everything and saying you did this so you could find an easier path to the throne you so desperately crave like an addict who has gone too long without a fix. I know you do not believe in me because you do not believe in yourself. Alicia knows it, Dani knows it, Christian knows it, I know it and you know it…
She slowly turns to face the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: We know you don’t believe in yourself because of how often you change personas when one does not work anymore. We know because of what you have done to me, to Alicia and what you will try to do to us all in that match. Alicia earned her way into this match through hard work, dedication and sheer fucking will to be the best! Dani earned her way into this match the same way and by doing it all without shoving it into anyone’s face along the way. She did not feel the need to trumpet because she knew her actions spoke louder than anything she could ever say. But you...
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: I held you in the same company as them. I allowed you to bring me into this sport, train me. I allowed you to lie to me, manipulate me, string me along and you repaid me by making me bleed so you could have one more chance to have the world tell you what you never tell yourself…
Seleana nods knowingly, angrily.
Seleana Zdunich: I know none of you think I belong and before December, I would have agreed with you. However, in the last four months I have survived Christian Underwood taking my job, the Metal Maniacs trying to set me on fire, a former legend crawling out of her retirement hole, Jessie Salco trying to get herself back into the championship picture, my wife attacking me and making me bleed in front of the world, Alicia Lukas defending a championship and telling me I would blow that chance too and my wife stealing the spotlight and the respect I should have earned that night! You can say I do not deserve to be here, but I am the one walking into Blaze of Gory as the Champion and I am the one who has pinned two of the three of you in the last month and watched both of you nearly collapse into oblivion after I did so. You can all say this is your chance to make things right… no…
She shakes her head angrily and then points to her chest.
Seleana Zdunich: This is MY chance to make things right! This is my chance to take back the respect I deserve! This is MY chance to show you all that I not only deserve to be here, I deserve to be able to walk up to Christian Underwood and ask him his own infamous question.
She turns and grabs the championship belt from her bag, holdit aloft for the world to see.
Seleana Zdunich: Alicia Lukas, Dani Weston, Crystal Hilton, I am the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Champion and what are you going to do about it?