I was sitting all alone in the backstage area as soon as Anarchy went off the air. I didn’t want to be by anybody, I didn’t want to talk to anybody- I just wanted to be left alone. I had taken my mask off, my boots off, and my wrist tape off. I had packed it all up neatly into my multi-colored duffle bag right alongside my 24/7 Freestyle championship. The duffle bag lay silently inside of my locker room while I stared at it from the uncomfortable wooden benches that Vinnie Lane had provided for the talent.

I held my head between my hands.

I held that letter between my fingers.

Every so often I would lift my head up and stare down at the letter. The damned letter. I sighed heavily as I finally let my mother’s handwritten letter fall to the dirty locker room floor. I couldn’t believe the words I was reading over and over again.

How could Charlie Nickles be my father? It’s not possible….

I wrestled with that question for hours after I came back to the locker room after defeating Vita Valenteen. How could that man, no, that rat bastard, be mi padre? What could mi madre have possibly seen in him? Did he force himself onto her? No, that couldn’t be the answer. Mi madre was too strong, she would never have let something like that happen to her.

It was easier to forget about my problems earlier in the night. When I was in the ring against Vita all the stresses and pressures of my daily life just faded right away. All I cared about in that ring was dishing out the pain and bringing home the W….life was so much simpler inside of the ring than outside of it. If only my whole life could be as easy as making one of the greatest Anarchy champions of all time submit….

I sighed and shook my head from side to side as I reflected on my match. I told Vita Valenteen that I was going to play dirty, that I was going to let my wild side go, that I was going to make an example of her out of the match…

But I couldn’t bring myself to do all that. When I was gripping Vita in that gogoplata at the end of the match, part of me wanted to hold on to it well after the bell rang to sound my victory.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Vita had never wronged me, she had done nothing to hurt me- it wouldn’t be fair for me to hurt her just because I was angry with my life. I wanted to hurt Charlie….I didn’t want to hurt Vita.

I can’t believe I ever even threatened it.

What was wrong with me? Was the XWF changing me? Or has all this bad been in my blood this whole time? Was The Nickleman’s DNA finally activating itself inside of my soul?

Vita Valenteen had offered to talk to me- perhaps she could help me refind myself amid all this chaos. Perhaps I should take her up on her offer….but then again, she’s working with Micheal Graves now- how much can I really trust her? How much can I really trust anyone in the XWF?

I wasn’t sure anymore.

When I first came into the company just a few short months ago I wanted to be everyone’s friend. I wanted everyone’s approval. I thought everyone here cared about wrestling, cared about tradition, and cared about their friends as much as I did.

My world crumbled apart when I found out how wrong I was…..I still can’t believe Dolly Waters invited that no good bastard to my mother’s funeral. She should have known how out of bounds that was, she should have known Charlie would create a scene…..but even she couldn’t have predicted how crazy Charlie would be….

But still….if I can’t trust sweet and innocent Dolly Waters to be a good friend, who can I trust? It was starting to seem more and more like the answer was nobody.

I sighed softly one more time as I wiped the tears off my cheeks. I looked down at the letter laying on the dirty floor…..

That damned letter.

I shook my head with disdain as I stood up and snatched my mother’s letter to Charlie off the ground. I stuffed the letter inside of my duffel bag before zipping it up and throwing it around my shoulder. I took one last somber look around the empty locker room before I bowed my head and made my exit hours after the show had ended.




~Some Time Later~




LSM stands with Steve Sayors in front of a nondescript white wall. LSM has the 24/7 Freestyle championship wrapped around her waist and a fake smile glued to her face. Steve presses his hand against his earpiece and nods. Then, the fluff piece interview begins.

Steve: So tell us Latina Submission Machina, how did it feel to get a win over one of Anarchy’s biggest stars- Vita Valenteen?!

LSM: It was a big moment for my career, she is a great wrestler and she gave me a heck of a match. Thankfully I was able to use a few moves that mi madre taught me in order to seal the deal and put her away. Defeating her was a big challenge and I look forward to overcoming many more challenges in the future.

LSM put on her fakest customer service voice to hide the pain in her heart. It seemed to work.

Steve: Your mother must have taught you well, LSM! You have been on quite the roll lately. In just your first few months here in the XWF you have managed to win FOUR championships, including the coveted Anarchy championship! What do you think accounts for your meteoric rise in this company?

LSM: My success comes from hard work, preparation, and to be totally honest, a little bit of luck! But above all I have to thank mi madre for all of my successes in the ring. Mi madre taught me to train nonstop if I want to be great, so that’s exactly what I do. Every morning I wake up and hit the gym before eating a healthy and balanced brunch. Then in the afternoons I watch tape of my opponents before I settle down in the evenings to play the official XWF video game! I know people say video games are a joke, but the developers actually did a really good job on this one! I can pick myself in the match to wrestle anyone on the roster AND all the move-sets are 100% accurate- it’s almost like another form of training!

Steve: That’s the routine of a champion, ladies and gentleman! Tell us LSM, what advice do you have for the youth out there hoping to follow in your footsteps?

LSM: Listen to your parents, do your homework, and make sure you eat all of the fruits and vegetables you can get your hands on! That’s what I did as a child and it seemed to work for me! Oh, and remember- drink plenty of milk to create strong bones that even brutes like Oswald can’t break!

Steve: That is all great advice LSM and I hope the children at home are taking notes. Despite what Vita Valenteen says, I think you’re a great role model for all of our fans to follow!

LSM: ¡Gracias Steve!

Steve: But your opponent on Wednesday Night Warfare well, let’s just say he’s not quite the role model most parents want for their children. What’s your take on Tommy Wish?

LSM sighs softly before rubbing the temple of her forehead.

LSM: Ay dios mio…what even is there to say? I think Tommy has a nice heart, I think he means well. He’s no Marf or Oswald or Graves, that’s for sure.

Steve: Are you saying Tommy Wish doesn’t have what it takes to win championships and become a household name?

LSM: What? No! Those guys I mentioned aren’t household names: they’re just rudos! They are absolute barbarians who care only about bloodshed and brutality. Tommy is pretty messed up himself, but he’s nowhere near as dangerous as those kinds of wrestlers. Really Tommy isn’t that dangerous at all, at least he’s not as dangerous as some people make him out to be. He’s just misunderstood.

Of course he’s an absolute creep, don’t get me wrong there. He gives off incredible incel energy and I think the only female buds he has are the ones he plants and smokes himself, but at least he hasn’t tried to send me any disgusting photos through text message!

Steve: You won the anarchy championship before your 21st birthday: Tommy Wish has been in the XWF for years and has never won the anarchy championship. What do you think is behind that?

LSM: Well Steve, I don’t mean to be rude or toot my own horn, but I am simply a better luchador than Tommy Wish. He gets distracted too easily in matches, he almost never gives it his best effort. He’s usually either thinking of feet, looking at feet, or doing something stupid to get himself disqualified. Those kinds of luchadors never win championships because they don’t have the willpower needed to be a champion! Being a champion takes hard work and incredible focus. I’m not sure Tommy Wish has ever worked hard in his life and I think he does too many drugs to ever stay truly focused on anything.

Steve: That could be, but he HAS been focused on you for quite some time now, LSM! What do you have to say about Tommy’s crush on you?

LSM: It’s always awkward when a coworker develops feelings for you, especially when that coworker is twice your age and of the wrong gender for my affections. I think he’d be best served to focus on something else, like maybe winning a few matches in a row for once.

Steve: So you don’t share his feelings of attraction?

LSM barely holds back a laugh.

LSM: No, no, I don’t share the attraction at all. I do like the boots he got me, though. I looked up the brand online and they’re actually very expensive…he must have spent a month’s rent on them!

Steve: And still, even after such an expensive gift, you don’t have affection for Tommy Wish? Why?

LSM: Well first off Steve I like women in that way and NOT men, so you had better add that note to my file. And further, I’m not going to end up like mi madre, Steve. That’s out of the question.

Steve: Like your madre? What do you mean?

LSM: I’m not going to let my career be ended by some disgusting man’s groin.

LSM’s fake smile and customer service voice begin to falter. A few beads of perspiration begin to drip beneath her mask as she feels the air around her constricting. Steve starts to ask another question, but LSM waves him off.

LSM: I think that’s all for today, Steve. I have a match to prepare for and I have to hit the gym!

Steve: But didn’t you say you play video games in the evenings, LSM?

LSM doesn’t respond. She just laughs off the question as she walks past Steve Sayors. LSM pats Steve’s shoulder with a friendly smile as she exits the scene.