Chapter Two – From Britney to Kimber
It all happened so fast. Not even three years ago, Britney, no, not Britney, Kimber, she reminded herself, would have never imagined she would be working for WWE, the top wrestling promotion in the world. In fact, while helping to build a small indie promotion, RCCW, she often stated she wouldn't work for WWE no matter how much they offered her. In RCCW, Ratchet City Championship Wrestling (later renamed Rampage City Combat Wrestling), Britney Melrose had filled many roles; before, during, and after a show; in the ring and behind the scenes. She had quit her job and relocated to Milwaukee to help found it, and once there, slept on the creator's couch, and dedicated every waking moment of her life to the establishment and later, the advancement, of RCCW. In the beginning, she'd helped draw interested people in through messages on wrestling forums, and Chad, the creator and her housemate, who'd been to wrestling school, trained them in the ring in his backyard. While they toiled in the ring, and in the garage, in a makeshift crossfit gym and weight room, Britney designed logos, t-shirts, fliers, and dreamed of the future. She'd sometimes join the guys for a session of "ratchet crossfit", or accompany them to the backyard ring for their practice matches, mockingly imitating any number of valets and female wrestlers and their entrances. Before long, she was training beside them, creating her own character (based upon Lita, her favorite woman wrestler of all time) and learning how to dive from the garage roof. The wrestling bug had bitten her, hard, and she caught on fast. Before long, she felt as though she was made for the ring.
But, Chad had not wanted to put her in a match, as there were no other females in RCCW at that time, and he did not like man versus woman matches. On what they thought of as their big debut night, their first indoor show, in a veteran's post out in the country, to a roaring crowd of about fifty, Britney's in-ring role was as a mere valet, an ornament on the arm of Tyrone Black, the biggest guy on their limited roster, who had all the personality of a mud puddle, both in the ring and out of it. After all the work she'd put in, she'd felt cheated. In the leather skirt and lace-edged bustier that was so unlike anything she'd ever worn in her life, she'd known she was sexy, but she'd also known she was nothing but eye candy. Something to jack off over, or to think about while doing spousal duty. She had trained just as hard as her male counterparts, and had devoted even more of her life to RCCW, and had gotten the least amount of return or gratitude.
Despite living in Chad's house, Britney did not speak to him for five days after her "debut". She visited nearby gyms, did drop-in sessions at crossfit gyms, even hit a hot yoga studio in search of other women who wanted to get into wrestling. But, it seemed hopeless. Nobody was interested.
And then along came Raven. It was Britney's twenty-second birthday, and the RCCW gang was celebrating after a long Saturday of training with beer and brats on the grill in the backyard, and Britney was perched up on the top rope, laughing at Chad who was drunkenly attempting to turn the brats when a stunning, pale, tall, beautiful girl with long black hair came around from the side of the house in a sweatsuit, looking nervous, but hopeful. A warm feeling ran through Britney, she was the unexpected end of her long search, a woman who wanted to wrestle, and she wanted to dive off the top rope and land in a forward roll at her feet, but even with the alcohol coursing through her, she knew she could not, but she hurried down, and over to the woman with a relieved, but welcoming smile, brushing her t-shirt and redoing her then-red dyed ponytail.
"Are you here for the training?" Britney asked.
"Yes, if you'll take me on. I'm Raven, Raven McCallister. I saw a post on a local forum for local female wrestling talent, no experience needed, and I've always wanted to make it into the industry."
"That was my add. And, I'm Britney Melrose." They shook hands, and Britney felt a spark. Raven had apparently felt it, too, because their eyes met, and the pale woman's cheeks were infused with color. Britney knew she was blushing, too, though under her tan it was hard to appreciate.
"Are you one of the trainers?" Raven asked.
"Well, kind of. We all kind of train each other. Chad's been to wrestling school-" she pointed Chad out, still struggling with the grill, "-but this is about as amateur as it gets. We only recently had our first indoor show..."
From that evening forward, Britney and Raven were inseparable. It was love at first sight, last sight, and every sight, as Raven often said. Best friends, lovers, and they inspired one another creatively in so many ways. Although Raven had had no formal training until then, she was a lifelong fan of wrestling, and possessed an amateur background in quite a few martial arts, just like Britney had, and came ready with ideas for her character and the moves she wanted to learn; power moves, takedowns, submissions. She caught on very quickly, and by the time their next indoor show came around, at the same venue, she and Britney were on the card, and spent weeks planning and choreographing Raven's debut, and Britney's in-ring debut.
It had been the most important, exciting event in Britney's life, until that point. She could still remember what she and Raven had worn, how they'd helped each other fix their hair and do their makeup, the long embrace and deep kiss they'd shared in the hall before Raven's entrance music played. She remembered standing on the other side of the black felt drape, smelling the adrenaline in sweat, dimly hearing the announcer's "...from Manhattan, The Demoness of Darkness, Raven Night!"
Later, as RCCW grew, she and Raven often tagged up, Raven as the Demoness of Darkness, and herself as the Duchess of Pain. Britney took on a character more like Raven's, a goth goddess. They trained in Canada together. They had "competed" in New Sorority together. Britney/Kimber wondered if there were any stills of Raven and herself among the pictures taped all over the locker room she'd been kicked out of.
She wished Raven was here now. When Britney was see-sawing about whether or not to accept WWE's offer, it had been Raven who'd pushed her to sign the contract. But, it's not my dream, it's yours, and I don't want to have it unless you can, too, Britney had said. Yes, my sweet, it was my dream, and because it's no longer mine to have- Raven had touched the back of her neck, where the scar from her surgery stood out bright pink against her creamy white flesh, -I want you to have it. Even more now that I can't.
Raven's career-ending injury came in a women's open tournament in Mexico almost two years ago. Britney had not entered, as had been their plan when they'd opened up their wrestling school that January, they would no longer travel at the same time, one of them would always be at D&D to run it and teach. Raven was facing an inexperienced girl from California in the first round, a tiny, caramel-colored thing who called herself La Puta del Fuego, in the first round. Knowing she was working with someone who was very green, Raven had not had good feelings about it, and was very nervous when she called Britney before the match, and Raven was not usually one to worry. Ten minutes later, Britney got another call, from the owner of the promotion that was hosting the event. Raven had been dropped on her neck by the inexperienced La Puta, had been temporarily paralyzed, but managed to get up and finish the match, forcing her opponent to tap out to her signature crossface. Britney closed the school, left Arianna (their pug) at the boarder, and managed to make it to the hospital very early the next morning. Raven had been sleeping when she'd burst into the room, ready to cry, because she didn't know what to expect. She'd thrown herself on her knees at Raven's bedside, and grabbed her hand in both of hers. Raven had woken up immediately, and gave her a tired, drugged smile. I knew better than to let her try that fucking power bomb on me, she'd said. They'd flown home, and a week later, Raven had neck surgery to repair her broken vertebrae. Although Raven was capable of handling the school about two weeks she was out of the hospital, Britney did not leave Arcata for nearly six months. She worked alongside Raven, training the future of sports entertainment. But, she couldn't stay away from the ring. It was only once she'd stopped wrestling that she realized it was what she was born to do. She returned to the indies, and resumed traveling all over the country, and all over the world, diving from the tops of steel cages, flying from top turnbuckles, kicking total ass, and hearing the cheers and applause.
Then, the WWE scouts had caught up to her after a Ring of Honor show. Britney had wanted to say no outright, but she knew she had to talk to Raven first. And, Raven had pushed her. So, Britney rented a condo near the training center, and made her NXT debut two weeks later. Raven was in the audience for that, front row, and she was acknowledged as an "indie legend" and "part owner of the Demoness and Duchess wrestling school in Eureka, California" during the show.
It hurt so bad not to have Raven beside her. In addition to feeling like a total outcast,she felt somehow incomplete, here and now, standing in front of a public bathroom mirror, as Kimber. After ten weeks of having to use it, she'd gotten used to the name. She knew she wasn't the only one who'd had to take on a new name once she'd signed with WWE, in fact it was more the rule than the exception. Bryan Danielson became Daniel Bryan, Jon Moxley became Dean Ambrose, Kevin Steen became Kevin Owens, and Britney Melrose became Kimber, just Kimber, no last name. Her character was changed, and her signature moves altered and diluted. She was told she could no longer use Raven's crossface, which she'd been using as her finisher as a tribute to her love since Raven's injury, and reverted to the very first finisher she'd used, a frog splash from the top rope. Lame. She'd picked out her new entrance music from three instrumental mixes she was offered. She'd gotten new ring gear, all blood-red satin and black lace, lace-up the back bodice. Gone were her simple wifebeater tank tops and baggy cargo shorts she'd worn throughout most of her career. Gone was her rainbow hair. They, specifically Vince McMahon, had wanted her to bleach her hair blonde, but she'd refused, though she agreed to dye it all one color. Black. Like Raven's hair.
It looked good on Raven, with her pale, creamy skin tone, but it was wrong for tanned and freckled Kimber. Everything about Kimber seemed wrong.
She heard the distinct sound of a piece of paper sliding around on the floor, and a handful of assorted giggles. She picked up the paper, it was her bio from Hardcore Wrestling Vixens. There she was, Britney Melrose from Springfield, IL, with green and black hair, a few fewer tattoos, clad in nothing but a very sheer green thong. Her "finishing move", something called "Last Sacrifice to Venus", was also listed. She'd never asked what it entailed.
She felt something tacky on her fingertips. Kimber turned the paper over, and on the back, someone had written "TIME TO GO, STUPID SKANK!" in lipstick roughly the same color as the surprise she'd found while opening her bag. She was disgusted, she would not let herself feel the impotent anger or the shame of a victim, which was the role they were trying so hard to cast her in. But, the message was right, it was time to go.