A Long Time Coming...

Jessica was getting ready. She was not sure entirely for what. She already had a belt around her waist, and she was hungry for more. She could not dare to guess what machinations lay in the hearts of those who set the matches up, but she wanted to get noticed for the title shot. Ever since she had won the hardcore title, she had given up a lot of her vices. Not all of the, but most of them. She still went to the casino when she had a spare Saturday night, but she was not boozing or smoking cigars while she was there. It was just her and the cards in front of her, just as now it was her and the weights.

She was wearing black basketball shorts and a white tank top. She had her own merch for a while now, but ever since she had won the hardcore title the merch got a lot cooler. Jessica's tank top had her own face on it, which she felt went well on her. The sneering face very much matched her own demeanor at the moment as she went through one of her favorite exercises, the curl. Biceps were not the most vital muscle when it came to wrestling, but it made her look good and that helped get you chances at the belt. So she was going to go through with it with all of the intensity that she could muster.

Which was a lot.

She set down the weights and looked around. It was pretty full, and there were quite a few women whispering to each other as they looked over at her. Good, let them whisper and do their own thing. Jessica was more than happy to do her thing as well...

"Happy birthday to me" Alaina thought to herself as she exit the gym locker room. She was wearing a blue sports bra and black spandex shorts that showed off quite a hit of leg. She was thinking of doing more training with Trent tomorrow but for today she was on her own for a good endurance workout. What better way to spend your birthday?

Alaina was about to head over to start up her routine for the day when she gazed over and locked eyes with someone. A nasty woman, a damn tough woman. Jessica Wright, new hardcore champion. Alaina had a history with her that culminated with the Amazon narrowly defeating Jessica in a last woman standing match as Alaina defended her entropy title at the time.

While Alaina certainly didn't like Jessica in the least she did ha e respect for her wrestling ability. Taking a deep breath she made her way over to Jessica and stood before her. "Congrats. I know how tough it is to fight Silver Ace and come out on top." Alaina said wanting to show the title it's due respect but still not really hide her personal dislike of Jessica.

Jessica saw her out of the corner of her eye. She really wanted to ignore her. Alaina Sanders. One of her more memorable opponents. It was Jessica's first real opportunity to win the belt, and she came up short. Alaina had been an absolute powerhouse back then, and she imagined that the Amazon was not going to simply rest on her laurels. She had followed Alaina a little off and on, and was fairly impressed with the matches that she had strung together. Not that she would ever ever admit to such a thing. But ignoring her proved not to be an option any more. Alaina was now standing in front of her.

Jessica listened and sneered. "Yeah, thanks. But it is not like you could ever do anything close to that, so how much does your congratulations really count?" Jessica stood all the way up and put her hands on her hips. She just threw it down. Time to see how Alaina would handle it.

Alaina raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh? I guess beating the former tag champs individually after Julia's unfortunate departure doesn't mean anything, neither does beating Cecilia in the middle of the ring. Shame." Alaina said with a smile. She did try to be nice to Jessica, and much to her expectations Jessica prevented things from being totally civil.

"So much for civility. I was going to say that we both had wins over Ace, and maybe if you were woman enough you would put your title on the line against me. If you think I am just demanding a shot without earning it go ahead and look up my recent body of work, compare it to anyone else. If you can look me in the eye and honestly say there is someone else who deserves a shot at Summer Splash more than me then I will be out of your hair." Alaina said, crossing her arms and glaring at Jessica.

Jessica watched. Jessica waited. Jessica listened. Alaina was going all in now, listing off her accomplishments like she was an old Soviet general in the middle of a military parade. Her purple eyes narrowed as she heard the Amazon out, trying to look like she was not impressed by the impressive enemies that Alaina beat and how long she had had the belt. The same belt that Alaina had beaten Jessica over.

She scoffed. "You talk a lot." She stated succintly. "And there is no fucking way that if you and me go again, I don't knock your ass out. Fucking hardcore style." Jessica took a half step forward, showing the woman what she intended.

Alaina smiled as Jessica appeared to be bothered. It was nice to see that having just turned 30 she could still get under a woman's skin. "Well then back up your claim, defend the title. You know you will never find an opponent as good as me. The women normally gunning for this are less versatile, easy prey. More technical woman shy away from this but I am not. What do you say?" Alaina asked crossing her arms across her chest and tilting her head to the side eager to hear Jessica's response.

Alaina needed to get her name out there again. her record wasn't enough. She needed to go for gold against a top woman. This was a great chance to do just that..... so long as Jessica didn't turn her down for a title match on the big stage.

"Fucking done." And with that, it was on. The stage had been set, and the actors more than knew their parts. It was just that it was time now to add a little bit of fuel to the fire. There would be more coming, for sure, but she wanted to get the ball rolling even more. "Well that's good, because you ain't half as fucking technical as you think you are. You aren't half the fucking shit you think you are." Jessica tilted her head down so that her long purple hair concealed all parts of her face except for one glowering eye.

"And I am going to show you, not tell you, soon enough."

"You know full well that my claims are true, not bravado. however I can't wait to see you in the ring again with a title on the line. It will be such fun taking that belt from you." Alaina said with a grin, shifting in place with her hands on her hips.

"Now if you will excuse me I have a workout to get to. I am bigger, leaner and nastier than before. If you want to tag along and see how a real woman exercises you are more than welcome." Alaina added with a smile as she began to strut away towards the free weights, waving at Jessica as she began to pass her by.

Jessica watched as Alaina shifted. The Violent Violet had half a mind to attack right now and was nervous that Alaina may be thinking the same. There were a lot of weights around that could hurt real bad if they were thrown in someone's direction, and Jessica just wanted to make sure that they were not hurled her way. If they were tossed at the Amazon, well, that wouldn't be so bad. Jessica was fairly tense as she waited for the situation to progress.

"Fuck you." Jessica did a double bird flip off, and walked away. It was time to go home and start watching some tape. The stage had been set, and now it was her time to ensure she came out victorious.