Conspiracy Theories

The scene opens up backstage of whatever Australian arena Carnage was set to air from this week. The cameras have caught up with Rayven, who is walking through the backstage area with her Absolute title slung over her shoulder, and walking with purpose. She walks past WWG’s backstage interviewer, Jackson Green, and he hurries to catch up to her.

Jackson::
“Rayven! Can I get a moment of your time?”

Rayven stopped and turned her gaze on him, seeming as though she were trying to stare a hole through him until he decided better of this decision, but then she suddenly smiled.

Rayven::
“Go right ahead, Jackson. What’s up?”

Jackson::
“I just wanted to get your thoughts. Last week at Venom, you managed to retain your Absolute championship. How do you feel after that?”

Rayven laughed and patted the main plate of the title on her shoulder.

Rayven::
“Was it really any surprise? I told everyone I was going to retain this title at Venom, and that’s exactly what I did. I don’t see how this could come as a surprise to anyone.”

Jackson::
“Well some are saying that you had some help with your win. It looked like Trine Larsen was about to win the match when Ludd Gwenn and Weight came down to interfere and, ultimately, cost her the match.”

Rayven seemed a bit surprised by this comment and shrugged a bit, shifting her title higher on her shoulder.

Rayven::
“I don’t know who these some are, or where they got this crazy idea from, but the simple fact of the matter is, they’re wrong. I’ve got no connections to Ludd, Weight, Licious, or anyone else associated with The New Movement. If anything, Trine brought that bad business upon herself. She’s already shown herself aligned with the Blackwells and their Revolution, I’m not surprised Licious sent his goons to interfere with her and keep more power from going to the other side of the battle. As for me? I’m just a lone wolf out here looking out for number one, and I took advantage of the situation. Is that so wrong?”

Jackson shook his head.

Jackson::
“No, nothing wrong with that at all. But are you really saying that you aren’t taking a side in this battle that has split the WWG roster?”

Rayven::
“What reason do I have to join either side? On one hand, you’ve got Trevor and his merry bunch of misfits, the only one of which I actually halfway like is Trine. Oh yeah, and his sister attacked me once, and I’ve got the scars right here on my cheek to remind myself of that every day. On the other hand, Licious and his crew haven’t really done me any favors. They haven’t attacked me, either, but there’s still no love there. His golden boy Abrams still has that World championship I intend to get my hands on sooner or later, so that would surely cause some tension sooner or later. So when you look at it this way, the only solution I see is to keep doing what I’m doing, and take care of myself.”

Jackson::
“This week, you team up with Tony Blackwell to take on Wretched Nobody and Nick Sadistic. How do you feel about this new tag team partner? And how do you feel about taking on your former family?”

Rayven::
“Wow, Jackson, getting pretty forward, aren’t you? Asking two questions at once like that? It’s ok, I’ll overlook it this time, and I’ll even do you the favor of answering both of them, and in order. First off, my feelings about teaming up with Tony are...meh. I really don’t care who I team up with, so long as they don’t try to screw me over as soon as my back is turned. Now as I said, there’s no love lost between me and the Blackwells, but when it boils down to it, he’s not the one that cut up my pretty face, that was his b*tch sister. So as long as she doesn’t get jealous that I’m getting too close to her brother and come down and try to cut me up again, I think me and Tony will be able to get along just fine this week. Seriously though, isn’t their relationship just a little bit weird? They say they’re siblings, but I don’t know...”

“As for having to face my old family? Wretchie and Big Brother Nicky? I couldn’t ask for an easier match. And this is also why I’m not worried at all about who my teammate is. With those two as my opponents, I don’t even need a partner. I could take care of them myself. However, I won’t get mad if Tony does decide to lend a hand. It’s always fun to watch someone else get tossed around the ring from the relative safety of the apron. But here’s the problem that Wretch and Nick will face with me as their opponent. I used to be one of them. I know every trick they’re capable of, and every ploy that Grace will try to use against me in order to get the win this week. None of them are going to work on me, Grace, so you may as well not even try. Trust me when I say there is literally nothing new you can do to try and throw me off of my game, so stay at home in your trailer, and let the boys take their lumps like they should. Nick has been nothing more than a joke ever since he lost this very title that I hold, and Wretch hasn’t been the same either since I cost him his World title in the elimination chamber. The way the dominos are lined up to fall, this match should be little more than a cake walk for me and ol’ blue-eyes.”

Jackson::
"There's been a lot of bad blood between you and The Family since you turned on them, and for the last few weeks Nick has been playing these sort of mind games with you. Do you think he's just trying to get inside of your head, or do you think there's something more sinister going on?"

Rayven smirked a bit and gave Jackson an almost pitying look.

Rayven::
"Jackson, you sure know how to ask the hard hitting questions, don't you? Do I think there's something more sinister going on with Nick? Not at all. If he were up to something more than just playing with the light switch to try and throw me off of my game, then that would mean he's got two brain cells to rub together, and I would have to seriously question where he found the first one. It's just simple theatrics and honestly, he probably got the idea from Grace because he couldn't come up with anything so clever on his own. Not that what he's been doing is clever, but for Nick this would be quite the achievement. But as far as the why, I know exactly why he's doing it. Months and MONTHS ago, he lost this very same Absolute title that's sitting on my shoulder. And ever since then, he just hasn't been the same big bad scary monster, and it's given him a complex. An inferiority complex. And rightly earned, because now he finally realizes just how Inferior he is to me and everyone else around here. He's never gotten over that loss, and to this very day he thinks he still has some sort of claim to my title. A few weeks around go I explained to him how he needed to get in line behind Trine, Yolandi, and Alexander Lord. Lucky for little Nicky, Licious did his best to move that line right along and allowed me the opportunity to beat all three of them at the same time, and that's just what I did. So with no one else currently in the hunt, it looks like this is your opportunity to step up to the plate and swing for the fences, Nick. In fact, I'm going to make it all the easier for you and say that, so long as Licious agrees to it, I'll put this title on the line against you next week on Carnage. Because when it boils down to it, you can turn the lights off and on and burn all the effigies of yourself you can make, but at the end of the day, I'm just not scared of you Nick. I know your tricks, and I know that I'm better than you, so that's why I'm so confident that I could beat you this week, next week, a month from now, or even next year on your birthday. It doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter when, I've got your number, Nick."

Jackson::
"Now this theory is a bit further put there, but it's still one that I've heard a few times and seems to be gaining some traction. Some people are thinking that this whole new attitude you've got is just a ploy, that you're still aligned with The Family in secret."

This comment causes Rayven to roll her eyes.

Jackson::
"These people are pointing to your relationship with Yolandi Visser as proof of this."

Rayven::
"Next you'll be trying to tell me that Bigfoot is real, and it was him that crashed those UFOs in Roswell, and now he's being hid in Area 51 by the Illuminati. Seriously, do you buy into every crazy conspiracy you hear? Let me be clear about something here, regardless of whatever feelings I may or may not have for my little tokoloshe, I have no love left for The Family. For as long as I've been here in WWG, Grace Brutal has had Wretch on a very, very short leash. She can deny it all she wants, but she controls that poor soul like a puppet, and she was trying to put those same strings on me before I broke away from her. It's a formula, and you can see it in play with how Faith came in, neutered Nick, and strung him up like a puppet. Neither one of them have had an independent thought of their own in months. And if Yolandi isn't careful, they'll try to do the same thing to her in time. That would truly be a shame, because I know Yolandi, when she's thinking freely of her own volition, she's one of the most beautiful minds you will find around here. I don't want Grace and her twisted family to take that sense of spirit away from her, and THAT, is my only vested interest I have in The Family. Now seriously, Jackson, do you have any more real questions for me or are you going to throw more fan speculation and conspiracy theories at me? Come on, I'm dying to hear the one about how I'm actually an alien and my natural hair color is actually blue."

That drew a good-hearted laugh from Jackson and he shook his head.

Jackson::
"No, that's all the questions I have for today. Thank you for your time, Rayven."

Rayven::
"Oh no, Jackson. Thank you!"

She flicked him on the nose, then turned and skipped off down the hallway as the scene fades to black.