:::::Writers note - Thank you all in advance for reading. I would love to hear any feedback. Enjoy::::: I've always heard about how nervous a lot of the girls got the first few times they wrestled in front of a crowd. I never felt it. I never saw a reason to be nervous. To me, it was like my first gymnastics competition 12 years ago. I remember being fascinated by the snow covering the Colorado streets. It was my first time outside the state of California but all I could think about was how the snow looked so much different than it did in the books I read. I was so fascinated by snow that even twenty-four hours later when they called my name to perform on vault for the first time in front of a crowd, I was still thinking about snow. I think it was the fact that I was thinking about something that had nothing do with the task at hand that led me to excel to a silver medal in the all-around my first time out. But that's how it's always been for me. I never thought about the crowds. I never got nervous. I remember the other girls and some of the guys actually hurling before meets. I would just sit back and laugh. I had my first match a month and a half ago, and once again, I couldn't have been nervous even if I had wanted to. I think the closest I came to actual nervousness was three weeks ago when I was booked to face Kimmy Karmack. It was probably more about her being the reigning Impact Champion that may have gotten to me. She's the same age as I am, we're close to the same size, but she had been training two years longer than me. I remember stretching out in my dressing room and Shelly suggesting that my silence was indeed a sign that I was actually worried. It was almost as if the moment she mentioned it, the nerves immediately fled my body. I was primed and ready for that match and a win would put me in line for a shot at Kimmy's title. By the time the bell rang to end the match, I was standing in the middle of the ring with my arm being hoisted up by the ref. Kimmy was tough, but I was just better. It didn't take long before the bookers realized that I was legit. The fact that I'd only been training for just over a year seem to be holding me back a bit. Shelly had mentioned to me that some of the bookers wanted to bring me along slowly so I could get the experience I needed before putting me in line for title shots. I understood the reasoning. But I just felt it was unnecessary. I had been on a roll since my first match. I had yet to lose any of my first six matches and I had started developing a growing fan base. A lot of people attribute my early rise in popularity to the fact that my cousin is the one and only Shelly The Bod, but I'd like to think it's because I'm very good. I love my cousin; you could even say I have always idolized her. I remember visiting her two years ago and finding out she had become a pro wrestler. She was worried that I would see her differently. But all I saw was a strong woman that young girls like me should emulate. Since I first began training, Shelly had always protected me like a little sister. That's just the way the two of us had always been. So every time I wanted to wrestle someone a bit more seasoned, Shelly was the first to try and talk me out of it. Because of her need to bring me along at a snail's pace, other than Kimmy, I really have yet to beat anyone impressive. Things took a turn for the better last week after I pinned Sabrina Lexingstar. After I had showered, I received a text to get dressed and meet Nicole McIntosh in her office. Nicole had mentioned to me that she was impressed with my ring ability. She even mentioned that while I may not have been part of the Santiago breed, I was definitely meant to be in the ring. She then went on to explain that she agreed that bringing me along slowly would be best for me in the long run. I don't know what had come over me, but something in me kinda snapped, "COME ON NICOLE! WHY ARE YOU WITH THEM? YOU SEE I'M READY FOR TOUGHER MATCHES, DON'T YOU?" I quickly realized that snapping at the co-owner of the largest women's wrestling organization in the country was probably not the smartest move. She just stood silent and glared at me a bit. "I know you're getting frustrated Heather, but if you want bigger matches, then I think I can accommodate you soon". I left Nicole's office relieved and inspired. I knew she was serious and I knew I was going to start getting opportunities to face better opponents. What I didn't expect was to get a call from Nicole the very next day, "I think I got something for you Heather. What would you say to filling in for Darcy DeVasquez this week against Kate Powers"? "WOW", I thought to myself. "Kate Powers is a huge match for me". This was definitely a match that could put me over to the next level. Kate Powers was a longtime vet who went back to the old territory days. She began wrestling in the late 80's and was still kicking butts at forty-five years of age. She's big, she's strong and she's a six-time world champion. If she retired today, she's easily a first ballot hall of famer, but she's gone on record stating that she's going to wrestle until they carry her out of the ring. It didn't take long before I got the call I was expecting from Shelly, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND"! I was in a losing battle so I just let her lash out at me. I had to listen to how I was crazy… I wasn't ready for Kate….everything she could think of in hoping to convince me to call Nicole and beg to get out of it. What Shelly didn't realize is that there was just no turning back for me now. This was my chance to get inside the ring with a woman who had the respect of everyone in the business. I didn't even have to win this match. I just needed to have a good showing. She finally realized that there was no talking me out of it. So she agreed to train with me over the next few days to help get me ready for the biggest match of my young career. We sparred…we lifted…we ran the steps at the Ocean Park Arena until we couldn't stand. By the time Saturday Night came, I was prepared to take on my biggest challenge ever. I think my nerves started rumbling when I entered the dressing room. All I had been thinking about was how I was going to use my speed and grappling ability to frustrate Kate hopefully into forcing her to make a mistake. It's possible. Others before me had done it, so there's no reason to believe I couldn't do it as well. In all my prior matches, I wore either my red, white or metallic purple mono-kini. For tonight, I had Vernita make me one in gold metallic. I just felt that since I was stepping up my wrestling game tonight, I might as well step up my ring attire a bit. I slid into my tights and hopped up on the massage table. Shelly began taping up my wrists with black athletic tape. I then laid on my back as she began stretching all my limbs. I was stretched out and feeling incredibly agile. I've always been in great shape, but never better than tonight. I brought with me my white ankle-high boots that I wore with my white attire, but it just wasn't working. They didn't look right. I needed metallic gold boots to go with these tights and nothing else would do. I ran over to Vernita's workstation to see if she could help me. Thankfully, she had one pair of metallic gold boots, that were a size too small for me, but she assured me they would stretch. I ran back to my dressing room and slid them on as Shelly began lacing them up. I stood up and realized that they were just way too tight for my wide feet. I removed my boots and slid off my bootie socks hoping that would give my feet more room. It didn't even work a little bit. This was frustrating. I hated to say it but I was going to have to send someone out to Shelly's truck to grab my other bag with my other tights. As I was heading out the door to return the boots to Vernita, Monte caught up to me, "Hey Heather…You're up first". "Oh snap!", I thought. I just didn't have the time to get my other tights. Shelly then grabbed my arm and dragged me to the massage table, "Hop on", she ordered. I hopped back on the table confused as to what her grand plan was. "Give me your foot", she demanded. I extended my leg across the table as Shelly rapidly began taping up my ankles with the same athletic tape she used on my wrists. She taped up both my ankles and informed me that tonight I was going to just go out there barefoot. I didn't know what else could possibly go wrong. I mean, wrestling barefoot was Shelly's thing. She was one of three or four women who could work a match barefoot. I just couldn't see it for me. I used to perform my floor routines and parallel bars barefoot, but I wore booties for everything else. I have never even trained barefoot out of fear I'd slip all over the place. But she was right, I had no choice. The two of us headed towards the curtain and waited for my video to begin. I closed my robe and tied the sash. I don't know why, but I then turned to Shelly pleading, "I love you Cuz, but I need you to wait back here for me". She looked over at me horrified, "Heather, stop this. Kate isn't going to mess around with you. She's known for making examples out of rookies. Let me go out there with you to make sure she stays on the up and up." I just smiled thinking about how much I love this woman. I know that she sees me as the little sister she never had, but I needed to do this on my own. "Shelly, I can't have you with me all the time. I need to face Kate alone tonight. If she spanks me tonight, then it's a lesson I have to learn. I'm going to be champion one day, but I'll never get there if I have my big sister helping me fight my battles." That very second, I think Shelly thought about all the times Mia and Reina wanted to go out with her when she started wrestling until Auntie Liz told them that Shelly had to go out there alone. She won some and she lost some. But she survived, and I think right then and there Shelly knew that win or lose, I was going to survive. At that moment, I could faintly hear my music playing throughout the arena as Bobby Testa's gravelly voice bellowed, "…FROM THOUSAND OAKS CALIFORNIA, HERE IS THE PERFECT 10, HARDBODY HEATHERRRRRRRRR"! I was ready. Shelly just smiled and hugged me, "Take care of you Cuz". As I made my way out to the stage, the electricity from the fans energized me like it always does. I did my usual little shimmy before making my way to the ring. I tried to hi-five all the fans I could who reached out their hands. I even managed to stop and hug a couple of male fans at ringside before making my way up the steps and inside the ring. I got such an amazing response from the crowd as I slid off my robe. I knew I was looking good so I climbed up on the second ropes in the corner and flexed my biceps for the ecstatic fans. This was what it was all about. The fans going crazy for you; it was the reason I loved being a pro wrestler. It didn't take long for the mood to sour as Bobby announced Kate's presence. I've been watching tapes of Kate all week and yet I still wasn't prepared for how huge this woman was. At 5'6, I was always big for a gymnast; but that was small compared to the 5'10, one hundred and fifty pound former champion. All my opponents up until now have been pretty close to my size. The ones that were bigger, I was always stronger than so I still maintained an advantage. But as I watched Kate step through the ropes, I realized that this was the first time I was just completely overmatched. She removed her white jacket to reveal her usual simple red and white sports top with matching white boy shorts. There was never anything flashy about Kate Powers. She never needed to be. She was just too tough to need to rely on getting over with the fans. Her abilities said all that needed to be said about her. As I continued to think about the legend that is Kate Powers, the sound of the bell snapped me out of it. It was time to finally see what I had. I slowly circled matching Kate's pace, and met her in the middle of the ring with a simple lockup. I had no idea just how strong this woman was. She just pushed me back into the ropes without even a slight struggle. I just backed up against the ropes and released the hold. What Kate didn't count on was that I had been watching her matches all week, so I knew exactly what was coming next. Slowly, Kate began to release the hold, but quickly pulled back and launched a thundering forearm heading for my chest. As she pulled back, I immediately ducked it as the momentum of Kate's forearm turned her around with her back against the ropes. I immediately began punishing her with forearm smashes of my own as the crowd exploded in cheers. Completely stunned, Kate just sat back clutching her chest. I knew I couldn't let up so I grabbed her wrist and whipped her across the ring. As she bounced off the ropes, I knew she'd be expecting a clothesline from me, so I just leap-frogged over her waiting for her to bounce off the ropes behind me. I timed it perfectly and Kate rebounded heading right for my backside. I reached down and hip tossed her across the ring. "YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH", she screamed as she exploded back up to her feet and headed towards me. I then delivered a lightning fast dropkick to her chest. She just rolled on the mat for a second clutching her chest and catching her breath before springing to her feet heading back towards me. I needed to get her off her feet so I caught her with a drop toe hold that dropped her face first to the canvas. I knew that I had to stay on her so I dropped to the mat, reached for her ankle and applied a leg lock in hoping to wear her legs out. She let out a bellow that was a mix of pain and frustration. The crowd was all over it cheering me on. This was my night and I was going to make Kate Powers submit. What I didn't take into consideration was just how strong Kate was…especially her legs. After a few seconds, I could feel Kate beginning to power her way out. I was completely flustered so I just continued to apply all my weight into the hold, but I just couldn't maintain. In a matter of seconds, I was laying on my back staring up at the lights after Kate launched me off of her like I was a bag of feathers. I landed awkwardly on the back of my ribs and for a short few seconds, the pain was unbearable. As I began to catch my breath, Kate was already on top of me like a Pit Bull on a raw steak. "GET READY FOR WRESTLING 101 LITTLE GIRL", she lashed out grabbing two handfuls of my hair and pulling me up to my feet. "ARRRRRGHHH", I screamed. I was in an awkward position so I just reached up grabbing at Kate's blonde locks. Before I could get any leverage on her, I felt her knee crashing into my lower abdomen dropping me to my knees. I leaned over clutching my stomach struggling to breathe. "This was bad", I thought to myself. In every match up to tonight, I had yet to be in trouble like this. For the first time in my short professional wrestling career I felt that I wasn't in control. I was in the ring with one of the best wrestlers in the world and she was showing me no mercy whatsoever. "AWWW, WHATS THE MATTER LITTLE GIRL? CAN'T BREATHE?" She was taunting me, and there was nothing I could do about it. At this point I was up on my feet and I didn't know how I got up there. She was making it look way too easy as she was body slammed me in front of her. I quickly arched my belly up in the air reaching my arm under my back. I had been slammed in just about every match I've been in, but never like this. I couldn't feel any worse physically had I been facing John Cena right now. My body was begging me to just give up right then and there, but my heart wouldn't allow me to. I asked for this. I asked for this humiliation and physical pummeling. I looked up to see Kate taunting the fans. That's when I the buzzing in my head began to dissipate and give away to the sea of boo's coming from the disapproving crowd. I realized that they were here to see me get over on Kate, and I had no intentions of letting them down. Suddenly Kate was standing over me taunting me by nudging me with her foot. I knew what was coming next as she reached down grabbing two more handfuls of my hair. That's when I shocked her and the crowd by pulling her down into a small package hooking her leg. I felt the ref fall to the mat beginning to count… "ONE…TWO ..." Kate then sprung out of the hold breaking up the count as the ref shouted, "TWO! TWO!" I somehow got to my feet before Kate and I quickly hoisted her up and delivered a thundering bodyslam of my own. For the first time, I had felt in control of the match as Kate exploded to her feet yet again. This time I met her with a perfect dropkick square in her chest. I executed a backwards somersault to me feet looking to give her another dropkick but she quickly rolled under the bottom ropes outside the ring clutching her chest. I was in charge and I knew I couldn't let up now. Kate was weak. She had no idea that I had this much fight in me. It was in my DNA. This is what I was born to do. I knew I needed to capitalize while Kate was weak so I slid under the ropes and went right after her. Kate was still hunched over catching her breath. I'm sure she was trying to figure out how I was getting over on her. Shelly was right about Kate's reputation for punishing rookies but this time her lack of respect for rookies was going to cost her. I crept up behind her and drove two blistering forearm's to the back of her shoulders. She dropped to one knee and turned facing me. I then drove my foot into her chest. I could hear her gasping as she hunched over yet again. I then tucked the back of her neck under my armpit setting her up for a suplex. It honestly felt as if there was nothing I couldn't do to Kate at this point, but then again, you don't get to be a 6-time world champion without knowing how to fight your way out of a tough situation. I think my biggest mistake was taking too long to suplex her because before I knew it, Kate had burst up to her feet flipping me up and over her crashing on my butt and back on the naked concrete.I thought being body slammed by Kate earlier was bad, but this was excruciating. I fell off the balance beam once about four years ago and landed the same way. Only that time there was a small amount of padding to brake my fall somewhat. I just laid their clutching my stomach staring up at the blurry lights above the ring. There was just no way I was getting to my feet for a few seconds, but Kate had other plans.Kate yanked me up to my feet by two handfuls of hair and tossed me back inside the ring under the bottom ropes. I just limply rolled in landing on my belly as I struggled to push myself up to my feet. Before I knew it, Kate had once again yanked me to my feet and whipped me across the ring into the ropes. I bounced off heading back towards her where she was waiting with a crushing shoulder block knocking me back on my ass.I was done. There was just nothing left in me. In such a short time, Kate Powers managed to destroy me and I knew it. I could feel it. I would be feeling it for days. All I could do was pray that Kate would just show mercy and pin me calling it a night. I was completely dazed as I made eye contact with her to see that my wish would go unfulfilled.As I lay there trying to catch my breath, I just felt her rock-hard elbow drive down into my chest. There's no way to describe how I was feeling at that point. All I knew was that it was time to just give and be done with it. But before I could find the ref and beg him to put a stop to this, Kate had yanked me up to my feet and hoisted me up over her broad shoulders.I was too dizzy to know exactly what was happening. All I knew was that it was about to really bad for me. I can't remember exactly, but I think I even sunk low enough to beg her to just finish me. In retrospect, I think I did in fact ask her because the last memory I have of my match with Kate was her climbing to the top of the corner ropes and jumping off.After that, everything was a complete blur. I remember laying on the doctor's examination table backstage as he was giving me a concussion test. I had to have surgery on my elbow once. I thought about that because I felt the exact same way waking up after surgery as I did on the doctor's examination table; sore and dizzy.I looked over to see Shelly standing close looking at me concerned. Even though it was painful, I managed to sit up on the table rubbing the back of my neck. "How ya feeling Cuz," Shelly asked. I just looked up at her, "Did I win?""Believe it or not Heather, you actually managed to limp out on your own. You just got your clock cleaned really well," she explained.As if the pain all over my body wasn't enough, the humiliation of such a poor showing had finally set in. I just looked up at Shelly feeling that I somehow let her down. "I'm sorry Shepps. I should've listened. I wasn't ready for a match like this.""You've got nothing to be ashamed about Heather. Trust me, I've had my ass kicked plenty of times by Kate. There's no shame in losing to her," Shelly consoled. She pulled me in tight and gave me a warm one-armed hug as I buried the side of my head into her big ole boobies. I love Shelly…she's always going to be my big sissy…and this was just one of the many reasons why.As I sat in the whirlpool unwrapping the athletic tape off of my wrists and ankles, I just laid back trying to put everything into perspective. I just survived a brutal one-sided match against Kate Powers who has been one of the best in the business for over two decades. I've heard some even call her the Santiago Smasher because at one point, she has destroyed all of us. From Auntie Liz, Auntie Laura, Reina, Mia, Shelly and finally, me…Kate has managed to make all of us look like amateurs at one point or another. Shelly is the only one to give it back to Kate a few times and that continues to inspire me.As I sat in the whirlpool looking at my reflection staring back at me in the mirror across the room I think about how tonight was a hard lesson I needed to learn. Kate did me a favor by destroying me like she did...But it is a favor I plan to return one day soon.