THE CHAPEL SHOW
Episode: S02E01
Date: 17/01/2015

The video begins and we see the inside of the Chapel apartment in Anaheim, California. In the background, on the wall directly in front of the camera, is a large poster for the next EXODUS Pro Supercard event, Dead in Hollywood, with the date, time, location and viewing details all very clear on the poster. Lexy Chapel walks in to the shot and looks at the poster, reading the details for a moment before turning to the camera and nodding. “What, too subtle?” she asks before letting out a laugh. “What’s up fuckers? I’m Lexy Chapel, this is the Chapel Show, and here’s a fun fact: did you know you can train yourself to stop your gag reflex? I know, it sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Nate has been begging me to try... I can’t figure out why. Anyway, moving swiftly on! Welcome to the first official episode of Season 2 of the Chapel Show. Now you guys know we’ve had a few up and a few downs to end Season 1 – well, they were mostly downs, and there were more than a few of them – but it’s 2015 now, it’s a new year, it’s a new season – FINALLY – and I like to think that that gives us a new beginning. It’s an opportunity to try new things, to find new directions and to take new chances, don’t you think? It’s also a chance to change. That’s what New Year’s Resolutions are all about after all. We make promises to ourselves as the New Year comes about that things are going to be different. Did you make yours? Were they really going to change your life? Have you actually stuck with any of them? Oh, I don’t blame you if you haven’t. I was never great at keeping mine.”

She rolls her eyes and picks up what appears to be a diary, opening it up and flicking through the pages before looking embarrassedly up in to the camera again. “Take this for example. I was fourteen years old and... I don’t think I really understood how things worked back then, because one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to do with my cup size. I was a very skinny kid, didn’t exactly blossom early, it was a tough time for little Lexy,” she says, shaking her head slowly. “All I wanted in the world back then was to be like everyone else. I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be part of the crowd, you know? When you’re a kid that’s basically all you want, or at least it was all that I ever wanted. I wanted to be accepted. I wanted people to like me and to do that I was convinced – CONVINCED I tell you – that I had to be just like they were. Oh man, I tried so many things to fit in as well, I really did. This diary is full of embarrassing stories. Phew, if this thing could speak... then I’d have to have it killed, because it would be telling all my secrets and that would be wrong. Then again if I managed to own a speaking book I’m pretty sure that would be worth some money, right? But I digress. The point I’m trying to make is that back then every year I made New Year’s Resolutions that were all about fitting in and being like everyone else. I had to be a certain weight, because that’s what everyone told me I had to be. I had to style my hair a certain way. I had to have a certain body type. Oh man, I was basically obsessed with fitting in. It’s crazy when I think about it because today the very LAST thing I want to do is fit in.”

 She nods her head, looking completely honest. “Seriously, when you’re a professional wrestler why would you want to fit in? When you’re in the wrestling business why would you want to be like everyone else? That’s madness right there. When you’re like everyone else then you’re disposable, you know? Being in the wrestling business is all about being unique. Now some people, like my dad, do that with crazy costumes, bright colours and an attempt to appeal to people by standing out like a peacock. It’s a good tactic as well, people remember you when you’re the guy or girl dressed in the brightest, craziest, most wild outfit. Other people get noticed with their look, with their ability to pull off some of the most death-defying moves known to man, or with their ability to break down an opponent and take them to the mat better than anyone else. But it’s all about being unique. It’s all about playing to your strengths. I like to think I’ve tried to do that. The Chapel Show has been about that, in a way. It’s been an exploration of the crazier aspects of my life. I hope that it’s made you laugh, along the way. And I hope that I’ve been able to capture your attention in the ring,” she says, nodding her head and smiling again. “The problem I see with the business right now – and this isn’t coming from some rookie who’s only been about a year, this is coming from a girl who’s been watching and involved in wrestling for longer than she can remember – is that there are a whole bunch of people out there who aren’t unique, who aren’t different, who say the same damn things every week and think they sound amazingly bad-ass while doing it.”

“Let’s take, for example, one of my two opponents at Dead in Hollywood – live from Los Angeles, California, on Monday night, in front of the world – Justin Brooks. Unfortunately I’ve been finding lately that Justin fits this more and more. Now here’s the thing I don’t get about that. Justin Brooks has the look. I mean, have you seen this guy? He’s six foot four, towering over little girls like me. He’s two hundred and sixty seven pounds, built for nothing but obliterating everything in front of him, built to destroy whatever stands between him and what he wants, and that’s exactly what I thought of when I first saw Justin. I saw him compete and I knew immediately that that was a guy I never wanted to get in to the ring with because, I mean damn, he’s a foot taller than me and it’d take two and a half of me just to balance out the scales. This is the kind of guy who should KILL little girls like me when he gets in to the ring, right? And he may well do. On Monday night you may witness the death of Lexy Chapel when she tries to fight someone two and a half times her size. So, on the surface, everything is great. On the surface Justin Brooks is everything that you should be in this business, right?” she asks before slowly shaking her head. “See, the problem comes with everything but his look. Let’s take, for example, the hype behind him that tells us that Justin Brooks is a monster! That’s right, that’s the thing he wants everyone to know about him. He wants everyone to know what a ‘monster’ he is. Just like, oh I don’t know, six thousand others.”

She shakes her head slowly and lets out a sigh. “Oh Justin, Justin, Justin,” she says, looking at the camera and shaking her head again. “Part of me can see why you’d want to be known as a monster. I mean, monsters are scary, right? And you’ve got a big build; you like to hurt people, that seems like a natural fit. But there’s this problem I have with it because, well, I’ve seen a lot of wrestling in my life, I’ve been all over the world supporting my family long before I jumped in to the ring to compete professionally myself, and here’s the thing, every promotion has themselves a monster. There’s nothing special about it. In fact, not only does every promotion have themselves a monster but honestly – and don’t take this the wrong way because you’re very scary, I promise – the vast majority of them are bigger, tougher and scarier than you. There are monsters in this business that are seven foot tall. At six foot four you don’t really match up. There are monsters in this business that top the scales at three hundred and fifty, maybe even four hundred pounds. At two hundred and sixty seven you seem more like something they’d scrape off the bottom of their shoe. Now that’s not to say that you’re not physically the biggest, baddest, scariest guy in this match, but are you a monster Justin? Are you REALLY a monster? When you come out with things like that, when you want people to acknowledge you like that, you put yourself up for comparison to everyone else who’s ever called themselves the same, and quite honestly there are monsters that’ve torn through companies, snatched the World title and never let go. Have you?”

“Are you really a monster Justin, or are you just a freak?” she asks before holding up her hands defensively. “Whoa, ok, before you go taking that the wrong way let me clarify a little, ok? You are a freak. You’re a genetic freak of nature. I mean there are people out there who can match your height physically but there aren’t many who look the way you do. Now that’s something special. My dad used to say that people like you are ‘gifted’. That you’ve got something that makes your life in this business that much easier! He used to tell me how much easier his life would have been if he had the physical attributes that you have, Justin. I bet there are so many others in that locker room who think the same as well. I bet there are so many in that locker room who look at you and who wish they could be more like you. Oh sure, they probably won’t come out and admit it, but I bet they’re there. It’s natural, after all. It’s natural to look at what someone else has and wish you could have it. God knows I do that all the time. I look at the way other women in this business look, I look at their perfect hair or their perfect smiles or their perfect bodies and I think ‘goddamn it, it’s not fair, how come they get to look like that and I don’t?’ There are guys that’d give anything to be as strong as you are, as tough as you are, as physically imposing as you are, and yet what have you done with it Justin? That’s the big question I want to ask you, and the first question that comes to my mind every single time I think about you or I listen to you talk. What have you done with all that strength and power? You’ve wasted it.”

She nods her head slowly. “See, here’s the problem. Physically speaking you’re a freak Justin, and one of the scariest guys on the entire roster by a long way. But when you get past the physical you realise that that’s really all you’ve got. You want to see a monster? Go watch Christum Furor. Now that guy was a monster! That guy was evil. He gathered around him an army of those who thought like he did, he set his sights on something he wanted and it took it away from whoever had it without giving a damn about what it would mean. He wanted airtime, he took the airtime. He wanted the World title and he took the World title, and how many people stepped up to him to try to reclaim it and failed? He’s the kind of guy that I had nightmares about facing. He’s the kind of guy who I’d look over my shoulder in fear of. He was about your height, considerably smaller than you in terms of size, but he was a monster Justin, and when you compare Justin Brooks and Christum Furor it doesn’t come out looking great for you,” she says honestly. She pauses them, taking a breath and seeming to think for a moment. “Now I know exactly what I’m saying here. I know that I’m telling a man twice my size that he’s not a monster, and I know that that’s only going to motivate him. There’s a good chance that I should be doing the opposite, that I should be playing in to his ego – because oh boy does he have an ego – but I’m not going to do that for one simple reason. He may be twice my size but I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid of Justin Brooks. In fact if anything I pity him.”

She nods her head again, as though she wants to make absolutely sure that there was no mistake in her words. “Justin has been on the outside for a while. He wants more than that. I can’t blame him for that. We all want more, right? No matter what we have in this world we all want more. None of us are ever happy to sit back, content with what we have, and that’s what drives us all in this business. I know that I want more. We all know that I want more. We all know that I want to fight my way up the card. I don’t want to be in the early matches, I want to be right up at the top of the show because I know a lot about this business and I know that people perceive the guys and girls who fight last to be the biggest stars, and I want to be a bigger star. Justin wants that too. It’s what’s driving him toward the International title. He wants this title to validate himself, right Justin? You want this title to prove something to the world. You want the International title because you think it’ll get you respect, right? Well here’s another problem with you Justin, another thing I spoke about wherein instead of being different you’re just following the same clichés as everyone else, because to get respect out of this business you’ve got to put respect in to this business, and you don’t do that,” she says with a disappointed sigh. “You look down your nose at me, don’t you? You look down your nose at me and everyone I’ve fought. You don’t think they’re good enough. You don’t think I’m good enough. So rather than show me respect you disrespect me at every opportunity you get, and you think that makes you stronger, tougher and better. It doesn’t. It just makes you one of them.”

“Do you think you’re the only person to ever look down his nose at me? No. Do you want to know how I wound up with my first International title match, Justin? I beat the International Champion. It was a pretty big deal for me; it catapulted me up from the San Diego Bay championship scene in to the International Championship scene. And then for the next several months I got to be International Champion, and do you know how many times you beat the International Champion during that time? I do. But you think you’re being dodged, right? There’s no other possible explanation for it than that, right?” she asks before rolling her eyes and laughing. “Do you know how many people say that exact same crap every single week? Have you never have an original thought, ‘monster’? I guess not. And now you’re going to insert yourself in to this match, a match that I never actually asked for in the first place, because you’re big and you’re scary and nobody can stop you... only I intend to stop you. I know, that’s funny right? I’m not even a hundred and twenty pounds despite the fact that I have been busting my ass in the gym to try to get ready for this match. And now this little tiny woman is going to stop the big, bad Justin Brooks? She must be CRAZY! That little bitch is out of her mind! Except that I’m not. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I know as big as you are Justin, as strong as you are, as tough as you are, you’re missing two things. You’re missing the creative spark that sets the ‘greats’ apart from the ‘pretty goods’. We know this because everything you say has been said before. And you’re missing the heart.”

She looks down and taps her chest, just over her heart, before looking back up to the camera. “That’s where my success comes from. I’m not the biggest dog in any fight. I’m not the scariest. I’m not the most death defying. I’m not the strongest. I’m not the deadliest. But I’ve got respect for this business, I’ve got respect for ALL the people who paved the way for me to do what I do today, and I’ve got passion and determination enough that I won’t ever give up. That’s something that guys like you don’t get because they’re so busy looking at themselves and wondering why everyone else doesn’t see the same thing they see when they look in the mirror. They think they’re that much better than EVERYONE else but they’ve forgotten that in this business the way to get to the top is to EARN it, not to make demands, not to throw temper tantrums, not to stamp your feet and make demands, but to get in that ring, to fight the best, to rise to every challenge and to EARN your spot,” she says with passion and fire in her voice before calming down a little. “Now on Monday you’re going to come to this ring all big and scary and thinking you’ve already won. You’re going to walk out that curtain thinking that there isn’t anyone who can stop you, anyone who can bring you down, because you’re Justin Brooks and YOU SAY you deserve this. You’re in this match because YOU SAY you should be. I’m in this match because the EXODUS Pro fans say I should be. Now you’re a scary man Justin, a scary, scary man, and on Monday you’re going to come after me and try and break me and try to prove your the man, but you’re not the man, you’re a disrespectful little boy playing dress up as a monster, and I don’t know how yet but on Monday that’s going to be exposed.”

She pauses again, laughing a little and smiling before shaking her head. “There are so many in this business who display their tail feathers and strut around, so many peacocks who each think that they’re the ones we should all be paying attention to and falling in love with, but we’re not peahens, we’re not attracted to the brightest tail feathers, are we? But Justin Brooks, he’s only one half of the equation that I’m up against this week. He’s only one of two obstacles to overcome if I ever want to call myself the International Champion again, and the other half of that equation presents a whole host of different problems for me. I said in the beginning about there being some downs lately, and Christian Kane is the man who’s provided a few of them,” she says with an honest nod of her head. “He’s a man who’s put more doubt in me than anyone else has so far in the year I’ve been doing this. Now I’ve got a lot to say to Mr Kane ahead of our rematch for his title, but before I get to that I think I need a little break, so what could be more appropriate a time than this to take you on a journey of sorts. Now I’d love to tell you that the past few weeks I’ve been on a journey of self-discovery, of finding myself and of finding the inner strength I need since Jimmy told me that he was booking this match, because goddamn how appropriate would that be for a subject given the rematch, right? But... I haven’t. It’s actually kind of hard to go on a journey of self-discovery. So instead the best I can give you is a journey of a different kind...”

The scene cuts to what seems to be the bedroom of the Chapel apartment. The phrase ‘seems to’ is used because the limited light in the room makes it difficult to definitely confirm whether it is or not. The blinds are drawn and we hear the scuffling of footsteps that appear to belong to the individual holding the camera, Nate Chapel, as he sneaks in to the bedroom while filming himself. “Be vewy, vewy quiet,” he whispers to the camera in his best Elmer Fudd impression, before showing an iPod Touch in his hand and turning the camera back to himself where we can see him grinning mischievously. He shuffles further in to the room before setting up the iPod on a docking station and then turning the camera toward the bed. We see a digital clock on the bedside table that reads ’15:24’ so we know that it’s late in the afternoon already and yet Lexy seems to be fast asleep in the bed with the duvet pulled up tightly over her. We hear Nate giggling to himself a little more before he hits play on the iPod and the sound of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ blasts from the docking station about midwaythrough the chorus. Lexy lets out a frightened squeal as Nate begins laughing hysterically. “C’mon babe, wakey wakey, you’ve been asleep all day. It’s long past time to get up!”

“I don’t wanna,” Lexy complains, grabbing a pillow off of the other side of the bed and hurling it in the direction of the camera. It hits its mark but Nate pushes it aside. We see Lexy rolling over in the bed and pulling the duvet up over her head, and can hear her muffled voice from underneath it. “Oh god, why would you do this to me? WHY!? What kind of cruel, evil beast did I marry?”

“Hey, you’re the one who said to wake you up at three, and it’s almost half past so I figured I’d give you a special kind of wakeup call,” he says, pausing the music as we see Lexy moving under the duvet. “C’mon babe, rise and shine! Don’t make me pull the covers off you.”

“Touch the covers and you DIE,” she threatens from underneath. “Seriously, can I just stay here for the rest of the day? I still feel awful. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.”

“You not feeling any better?” he asks, more sympathetically now as he walks toward the bed and sits down on it. “I thought you said you just needed some sleep.”

“I thought I did, but now I’m awake I feel so much worse,” she mutters before poking her head out of the top of the duvet. Her hair is messed up from being asleep but other than that, and even without makeup, there’s still a natural beauty about the twenty one year old Brit that shines through. “Ugh, seriously, you’re even filming this? Why would you film this?”

“I was bored,” Nate says honestly before laughing and reaching over to touch her head. “Hmm, you are a little warm. I’m thinking perhaps we should leave going out to dinner for another night. Is there anything I can get you to make you feel better?”

She shakes her head and pouts, obviously feeling sorry for herself. “No, I have water, that’s all I need,” she says, looking up at the camera and at her husband. “Thank you though. I’d say I don’t know what I’d do without you but I know I’d get more sleep without you...”

“Hmm, well you being sick is just inconvenient,” Nate says in a playful tone. “You know the last time you were sick I went online to find some remedies. There was loads of Chinese herb stuff that’s supposed to be great, but according to some research there’s one sure fire way to make yourself feel better when you’re feeling ill and that’s good old fashioned physical exercise.”

Lexy gives him a look of disdain. “Oh, sure, I feel horrible, let’s jump out of bed and go for a run,” she says sarcastically before shaking her head. “I don’t think so. I was always told that rest was the best thing for you, so my plan is pretty much just to sleep the whole time. Next time you’re sick you can try the going for a jog if you want...”

He laughs. “I wasn’t thinking about a jog...”

He’s obviously slipped his hand under the duvet out of range of the camera as Lexy lets out a little unexpected squeal before pushing him away. “Oh god, are you serious right now?” she asks, looking up at the camera in disbelief. “Ugh, you want to have sex when I’m like this? My nose is all blocked, I have a sore throat, I haven’t had a shower, I feel like shit...”

“You look great,” he tells her reassuringly.

“You’re a big fat liar Mr Chapel,” she says dismissively before pushing him away again. “Seriously, there’s no way. I’ll probably cough all over you or something.”

“Sexy,” he says, actually sounding excited. She looks up at him in disbelief again and he just grins and leans over and kisses her. “Seriously babe, even when you feel rough you’re still the best looking girl on the planet, you know that, right?”

“I know you’ll say anything right now to make me put out,” she says with a laugh. “You don’t think I’ve picked up on all your tricks by now? You can’t fool me babes, I know the way you think. Besides, do you really want to do something with me knowing full well that it’ll probably mean that you’ll catch this as well? If I were you I’d be rushing back to the safety of the couch.”

“Pssh, you think a little cold could affect me?” he asks in an overly arrogant tone before putting the camera down and seemingly taking off his shirt. Lexy picks it up and films him as he throws the shirt to one side and we see him stroking his abs and grinning at her. “See this? This is the body of a MAN! Your little girly cold can’t bring me down.”

“It is a nice sight,” she says with a laugh.

He takes the camera back and we see she’s got a silly grin on her face. “Damn right it is,” he says confidently. “I’m telling you babe, a little bit of physical exertion is going to fix you right up. You’ll be right as rain in no time, singing from the rooftops about how great you’re feeling, and you’ll have me to thank for it. And when it comes to thanking me I have a few ideas in that regard as well...”

“I’m sure you do...” she says with a laugh before grunting and letting out a sigh. “Ugh, you’re not going to leave me alone until we do something, are you? You’re like a dog with a bone, once you get thinking about something it’s impossible to stop you...”

“Damn right I’ve got a bone, a bone for YOU,” he says before she laughs and he seems to rethink the statement. “Hmm, that sounded sexier in my head.”

“Ugh, whatever, if it’ll make you leave me alone, but you’re doing all the work,” she says with a groan. “And don’t blame me when you get sick.”

“This is the body of a man,” Nate assures her confidently. “There’s no way anything is bringing it down!”

We cut from that moment to Lexy standing in front of the bedroom door. It’s clearly at least the next day, if not a few days later, and she’s out of bed, showered, dressed and looking better than ever. She’s holding the camera filming herself and grinning. “So, a few days ago I was under the weather,” she begins, setting the timeframe between the two clips for us. “I felt pretty rough, I had very little energy, I just wanted to lie in bed and get over it but Nate being Nate just couldn’t play by himself. Oh no, he had to come and bug me and want to do stuff to me – men, am I right? The ladies know what I’m talking about – and I warned him that he’d get sick but would he listen? Of course not, Nate always thinks he knows best. Well babes, when you watch this you know that I don’t like saying I told you so but...”

She steps aside and on the bedroom door is a piece of paper with ‘QUARANTINE ZONE’ written on it in black marker. Lexy slowly opens the door and we see lying in the bed is Nate fast asleep with the duvet pulled up over him in the same way that Lexy had it pulled up over her, only he’s on the opposite side of the bed that she was. She smirks at the camera before pointing it at the iPod and then back at herself. She grins mischievously before holding her pinky up to her mouth Dr Evil style and then grabbing the iPod off of it and flicking through it and placing it back on the docking station before hitting play. The sound of “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls fills the room as Nate puts his hands over his ears and groans, seemingly in pain. “Oh god, why this song?” he mutters desperately. “You couldn’t just let it go, could you?”

“Let what go, you big man you?” she asks playfully before running and jumping on the bed, laughing as she does so. She gets up and starts to jump up and down on the bed next to him, filming his reaction as he pulls the duvet up over his head. “What’s wrong babes? I thought you were a big strong man and that you couldn’t ever get affected by my little girly cold, isn’t that what you said?”

“I don’t have what you had,” he says, grabbing her leg and tripping her up so that she falls down on the bed back first. “Seriously, stop that, it’s not funny. This is absolutely not what you had. I’ve got something so much worse...”

Lexy laughs. “God, men and their man-flu,” she says, sitting back up on the bed. “You are such a big baby. Seriously, you put a sign on the door?”

“I’m infected,” Nate says in a dire tone. “It’s taking hold of me. I think I’m dying.”

“Oh you wimp,” she says with a laugh. “It’s a cold. It’s the same cold I had, the same cold I warned you that you’d get but would you listen? Nooo, you just wanted to give me all the crap about how ‘physical exertion’ would make me feel better. What happened to that, huh? Shouldn’t you be out front jogging right now?”

“I can’t,” he says before snorting and reaching for a tissue to blow his nose. “Ugh, you see, I can’t possibly go outside. I have the plague. No, wait, I know what it is. I have Ebola!”

“You have Ebola?!” she asks in disbelief before laughing hysterically. “Are you seriously trying to convince me that the cold that I had, that the cold that you wouldn’t even let me sleep one day to get over, is Ebola?! Do you even know what the symptoms of Ebola are?”

“Of course I know what they are, I have it,” he says, looking up at her and shaking his head. “You know you could be more sympathetic. I’m probably going to die. This could be one of the last times we talk to each other and you’re sitting there laughing it up like it’s nothing.”

Her tone becomes more serious. “Oh my god, you’re right,” she says in mock-worry. “Maybe you are dying. Oh wow, if you’re right then I should get out of here. I mean, I’m already risking being exposed, and besides I’ve never been good with blood so when you start bleeding...”

“Wait, bleeding?” Nate asks, looking up suddenly. “You don’t bleed when you’ve got Ebola!”

“Yeah babes, you do,” she tells him in a serious tone. “Why do you think people die from it? First your liver and your kidneys shut down, then you start to bleed internally, and finally, toward the end, you start to bleed out of every hole in your body. Oh god, I couldn’t stand to see that happening, I can’t even imagine how horrible it would be to watch you bleed out your eyes and out your ass...”

“I’m going to bleed out of my ass?!” Nate asks with genuine terror before Lexy starts laughing and he realises that she wasn’t serious. “Oh, fuck you; you’re making that shit up...”

“Ok, the eye and ass-bleeding I made up, but the rest is actually true,” she tells him honestly. “It’s why people die from it. It’s serious, and I promise you that you don’t have Ebola, ok? You’ve got a cold. You’ll be ok.”

He shakes his head and lies back on the bed again. “No, this is something worse, I know it,” he says dismissively. “I’m dying Lexy. I’m too young to die...”

“You are?” she asks playfully. “Hmm, I better start looking for a new husband. I wonder if I can find someone big and strong to take care of me when you’re gone.”

“You’d never remarry,” he says with a shake of his head. “You’d never find anyone as good as me.”

“Says the guy who thinks he’s dying because he has a cold,” she says playfully. “Oh well, if you do die try to die in a nice, orderly fashion, ok? I don’t want to have to clean up any more mess than is absolutely necessary.”

“Where are you going?” he asks, reaching out toward her as she gets off the bed. “You can’t leave me. I’m dying Lex. I have Ebola. You can’t just leave me...”

“I’m going to the gym, and then to the store, then I have to tidy up around here,” she says before rolling her eyes. “I was sick for two days and you didn’t do any shopping or housework, plus, you know, I have a huge match to prepare for. You can take care of yourself while I’m gone I’m sure.”

“You’re not even going to make me soup?” he asks with a sad expression on his face.

“You didn’t make me soup,” she reminds him in a playful manner, clearly enjoying the role reversal and having fun. “In fact you said I didn’t need soup because it was just a ‘girly little cold’. So if you want soup babes you know where the kitchen is, don’t you?”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving me in my time of need,” he says sadly. “What if something happens?”

“You’ll be fine babes, I promise,” she assures him before leaning over and giving him a kiss. “And if you’re really lucky maybe I’ll bring you back some soup...”

She continues filming him as he continues pouting and doing his best puppy dog eyes at her but it only makes her laugh again.

We cut from the bedroom to what seems to be a changing room in the gym. The camera is held at an odd angle as the clip begins before we see it raised up and we see Lexy standing by the door to the changing room carefully shutting it behind her. “Ok, this is kind of creepy,” she says softly. “Maybe I’m overreacting, I mean there’s a strong chance I am, but I’ve just finished my workout and I swear to god this one guy was watching me the whole time. ‘Nothing creepy about that, there’s always pervs at the gym’, right? That’s what I thought too. Seriously, you guys watching this, let me give you some quick advice. The way to win a woman over is NOT to stare at her the whole time that she’s trying to get stuff done. It’s not endearing, it’s just weird and it makes us hate you before we’ve even met you. Seriously, if you like someone at the gym just walk up to them and talk to them like a regular human being. Anyway, dating advice aside, this guy was watching me the whole time, right? And as I left one area he followed me to the next area. And then when I left that area he followed me to the next one, and I swear he was following me back to the damn changing rooms! I just tried to take a look outside and I swear he’s waiting down there. Here, take a look...”

She opens the door slightly and angles the camera out of the door so that we can see the hallway that she’s talking about that clearly only leads to the women’s changing room. There doesn’t appear to be any other doors leading in any other direction from the corridor. We wait for a moment and then a guy walks in to the shot. He looks down the corridor and Lexy quickly pulls the camera back in again and turns it back toward herself. “Ok, he’s DEFINITELY watching, isn’t he? I’m not imagining this shit,” she says nervously. “So in this kind of situation, what do you do? Do you just pretend that he’s not there? Do you go over and confront him and ask him what the hell he’s doing? I mean I guess I could call the gym and tell them there’s this creepy guy following me but that seems kind of immature, doesn’t it? And it could be completely innocent. I mean maybe he’s waiting for someone. Maybe he’s... going to wait for me to come out and kidnap me and cut me in to little pieces. God, that would be just my luck at the moment that 2015 begins and I get chopped in to little pieces by a crazed killer. Ok, so I’m so uploading this video to the cloud when I’m done with it, and if I’m found chopped in to little pieces then it’s totally THAT guy who did it, and, err... Nate? I’m sorry I made fun of you and I love you. Right, there...”

The video abruptly ends and we switch back to the bedroom at the Chapel apartment where we see a pale, unkempt Nate sitting in front of the camera. He takes a drink of water before he lets out a long sigh. “Ok, so I was going to write this down but I couldn’t find any plain paper and I’m not sure it’s legally binding when it’s written on the back of a bank statement,” he says before shaking his head slowly. “So, to whoever views this video, know that I’m dying. Everything was fine until a few days ago when I ran in to a man who spoke complete gibberish at me. I don’t know what he said, but I’ve come to just two conclusions since that time. Either it was some kind of curse, and he’s put a curse on me which is causing my imminent death, or what he was saying was something African and he was a carrier of Ebola. So, either way soon I’ll be dead and gone from this world, and I realised I don’t have a will...”

We see him turn around and shake his head. “No, Mr Woofers, now isn’t a good time,” he says before turning back to the camera. “Right, err, where was I? Oh, right, so, I couldn’t find any paper to write it out on so I decided I’d record it instead, and this right here is the last Will and Testament of Nate Chapel. I mean, this isn’t fair, there’s so much that I wanted to do, but I’m not going to get the chance now. Dammit, it’s not fair, I’m too young for this, and I never even got to finish my movie. That’s one of my biggest regrets because dammit that movie was going to be the best thing I’ve ever done. It was going to break me in to the big time. It was going to... ok, maybe it wasn’t going to win any Oscars, but dammit it was going to get recognition and now I’m never going to finish it. I never even got to finish the final draft of the script. For whoever is watching this, I want you to finish the movie in my honour. Oh, and the page that I ripped out of the screenplay, I was going to rewrite it and it turns out that only her boobs can have the power to rebel the zombie menace. Just remember that, ok?”

He looks completely serious, although it’s possible that everything he’s saying is gibberish based on the possibility that he has a fever, although it’s more likely that he’s just an idiot. “Right, back to the will, and – goddamn it Mr Woofers, would you stop doing that bro? I’m busy, can’t you see that?” he asks before reaching down and picking up the dog and putting him on his lap, stroking him as Mr Woofers tries to lick his face. “Yeah, yeah, there’s a good boy. You care about daddy’s well being, don’t you boy? You’d make daddy some soup if you could, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t abandon him as he’s lying there dying. You’re a good boy. Who’s a good boy? You are that’s right.”

Mr Woofers yaps happily and tries to lick Nate’s face again but Nate holds him down. “Ok, where was I? Right, this is my last Will and Testament. I, Nate Chapel, even though I’m dying being of sound mind, leave my worldly belongings, my money, and my epic collection of action figures, to Mr Woofers, because my wife wouldn’t even make me some goddamn soup when I was dying,” he says before slamming his hand on the table. That causes Mr Woofers to bark and Nate tries to keep him quiet. “Shush Mr Woofers; daddy is trying to leave his final thoughts to the world. Don’t worry buddy, daddy has got your back, just like I know you’ve got mine. You’d never hurt me, would you boy?”

He’s still trying to control the dog as he’s talking resulting in Mr Woofers nipping his hand. Nate quickly tosses him aside and holds his hand in pain. “Mother fucker, you bit me,” he says, clearly insulted and hurt. “I can’t believe you’d do that. You know what, just for that you don’t get anything either! Yeah, that’s right; I’m leaving everything to the neighbour’s cat! Ha, how do you feel about that? I hate that fucking cat as well. Dammit Lexy, why couldn’t you make me soup? I’m dying here!”

We cut from the bedroom to a supermarket where once again we see Lexy filming herself. She’s pointing the camera at herself but she’s also holding it so that it’s pointed over her shoulder, and in the background we see the same guy as we saw in the hallway at the gym. “Ok, I’m definitely not crazy, am I? That’s the same guy, isn’t it? This is getting really weird now,” she says before continuing to walk down the aisle at the supermarket. She quickly rushes around the corner and dashes up the next aisle and then stands there nonchalantly like she didn’t do anything and we see the same guy round the corner and stand at the end of the aisle looking what’s on the shelf. Lexy lets out a sigh and turns toward him. “Oh, fuck it, what’s the worst that can happen? Hey, you. Yeah, you, are you following me? Seriously, what the hell is your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem,” the guy replies casually.

“Well I do, and it’s you,” Lexy tells him as sternly as she can muster. “Seriously, you’ve been following me all day. You were following me at the gym, then you were waiting outside the locker room like a giant creepy creeper, and now you’re following me around the supermarket? Seriously, what is up with that? Are you stalking me? Wait, ARE you stalking me? Are you like an actual stalker? Because I have a bet with my husband that I’m going to get a stalker before he does and if you’re actually stalking me then that would help me win the bet...”

He shakes his head. “I’m not stalking you,” he says softly.

“Oh,” she says, actually sounding a little disappointed before snapping back to her attempted righteous anger, which actually comes off cuter than it probably should. “Well if you’re not stalking me then why are you following me? And don’t tell me that you’re not following me because I’ve seen you following me dude. What is up with that? Are you some kind of crazed serial killer?”

He laughs. “Not quite,” he says with a smile.

“Wait, so you’re not quite crazed or not quite a serial killer?” she asks before pausing for a moment. “Wait, how many do you actually have to kill to be considered a serial killer? Not the point, the point is what is your deal?”

“Well at first I wasn’t sure it was really you, then I tried to come over and say something but you took off pretty quick,” he begins to explain. “I tried to apologise because I thought perhaps I’d made a bad impression but I couldn’t find you so I figured you were likely getting dressed and I tried waiting to apologise there.”

“You wanted to...?” she asks, her righteous anger now officially completely deflated. “Oh.”

He nods. “Yeah, um, we might have gotten off on the wrong foot,” he says apologetically. “Can we start again? My name’s Simon.”

“Simon? That’s appropriate, Simon the Stalker?” she suggests before seeing the look on his face. “Ok, um... maybe not. So, err... what can I do for you Simon the Not-Stalker.”

“It’s not about what you can do for me, it’s more about what I can do for you,” he says, reaching in to his pocket and removing a card that he hands over to her. She takes a look at it outside of the view of the camera. “The moment I saw you I thought I recognised you. You’re Alexandra Chapel, right?”

“Nobody calls me Alexandra,” she says, shaking her head. “Wait, you’re a talent agent? Oh, this is not going at all the way I thought it was...”

“Yeah, like I said I’m sorry about any confusion. I just wanted to get a chance to talk to you, but you’re surprisingly hard to catch up to when you think you’re being stalked,” he says with a smile. “It’s ok though, it’s a funny story. So, tell me Mrs Chapel, have you ever considered expanding on your career options? Perhaps modelling?”

“Modelling? Well there was a time when we were broke and I was desperate for money that I thought about—” she begins, but the expression on his face seems to stop her. “Oh, wait, you didn’t mean ‘modelling’, did you? You meant like actual modelling? Like with clothes on and everything?”

“That would be generally how it works,” he said with a grin. “You’ve got a great look, you’re a very popular young woman and I think there will be a lot of options available for you. I want to help you out.”

“You want to ‘help’ me?” she asks, clearly not trusting him. “Right and what’s in it for you exactly?”

“You’re a very suspicious young woman,” he tells her with another grin.

“Yeah, well, let’s just say there aren’t a whole lot of people out there who want to ‘help’ me without wanting something in return. And I’ve heard the stories about you California types,” she tells him with a strong amount of doubt in her voice. “You should know that I didn’t exactly come here looking to ‘make it big’. I actually quite like my life right now the way it is, you know? I’ve got a job I love, I’ve got fans and possibilities and really that’s all I need.”

“Maybe it is,” he says with a nod of his head, “but then no matter how good something is there are often ways to make it better. You’d be surprised how many doors can be opened. Why don’t you keep the card and give it some thought, and if you decide you’d like to explore the possibility or find out more than give me a call and we’ll set up a meeting.”

She’s clearly still incredibly suspicious. “Ok, but seriously, what’s in it for you?”

“Ten percent normally,” he replies casually. “And trust me Mrs Chapel; I’m confident that your own life can only be improved with the other ninety. It was a pleasure meeting you. Think it over and give me a call next week.”

He turns and walks off leaving Lexy to slowly turn the camera back around on herself, looking in to it with a raised eyebrow. “Ok, that wasn’t just me, that was weird, right?” she asks the camera uncertainly. “I mean... that was weird, right?”

We cut from the supermarket to the Chapel apartment once again where we see Lexy sitting at the computer randomly clicking and we hear the sound of her voice in the background. She’s presumably editing video clips. We then see Nate walking around in the background. He stops and picks up something from the table and looks at it oddly. “What’s this?” he asks, looking at the card. “You got approached by a talent agent?”

“Oh, that,” Lexy says dismissively, turning to face him. “Yeah, that was a few days ago, when you thought you had Ebola. He gave me a card, said I should call him. The whole thing was really weird.”

“You didn’t sign anything, right?” Nate asks with concern. “Because those people are like vampires, and once they get their teeth in to you they drain you dry!”

Lexy shakes her head. “No, I didn’t sign anything, but I’ve got to admit I’ve been thinking about calling him, maybe seeing what he can do,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders as Nate looks concerned. “What? It might be fun. We could actually make some money, buy some cool stuff, maybe even save up and get a house. It would be pretty fun to actually make some good money without needing to get my butt kicked to earn it. Besides, with how up and down the last few months have been who knows when the next opportunity may come for me if I can’t make it on Monday...”

“Are you kidding me?” Nate asks dismissively. “If you can’t make it? Pssh, what is this madness?”

“It’s called being realistic,” she says with a nod. “Triple threat match, no DQ, guy who kicked my butt six ways from Sunday and a guy who’ll do anything to win the title, it’s not exactly the most desirable situation to be in.”

“Maybe not, but after everything you’ve accomplished, after how far you’ve come, I’m not willing to count you out and I know that there will be a lot of people who won’t count you out either. I mean c’mon now, you’re Lexy Chapel,” he says encouragingly. “Anyone who bets against you needs their head examining babe.”

“Maybe,” she says with a shrug, “but either way don’t you ever think about the future? I love this apartment but... I don’t know, I don’t see us raising kids here, and if we have to keep saving at the rate we’re saving now we won’t be able to afford a deposit on a house until we’re both in our fifties! I just can’t help but think that it’s an opportunity that might be worth exploring...”

“Yeah, well I don’t trust this guy, this Simon, that’s a very untrustworthy name,” Nate says, shaking his head. “If you’re going to meet the guy then I’m coming with you. Or, you know, I could just be your agent! Hey, now there’s an idea, I could—”

“No,” Lexy says, cutting him off.

“You didn’t even hear my idea,” he says, shaking his head. “I was going to say that I could—”

“Still no,” Lexy says, cutting him off once again. “Babes, I know your ideas.”

“Well, that’s not very nice,” Nate says, putting the card down and crossing his arms in a sulk. “Just for that, I’m not putting out tonight!”

“Oh no, whatever will I do,” she says sarcastically. Nate then walks off in to the bedroom and Lexy just laughs and turns back to the computer and starts another video clip. We hear the sound of Nate’s voice coming from the speakers and after a few seconds Lexy looks over her shoulder toward the bedroom. “Did you actually make a will?”

Nate comes rushing out and tries to reach over her to the computer. “Wait, wait, wait, don’t watch that, I was delirious with fever, I was—”

“You left everything to the dog?” she asks, just staring up at him.

“No, actually no... the dog bit me and I ended up leaving it to the gerbil that I saw in the pet store last week,” he confesses before shrugging his shoulders. “What? I hate the neighbour’s cat and you wouldn’t make me soup!”

She just stares at him for a moment before shaking her head and turning away. “Ok, I don’t even know what to say...”

“It was Ebola delirium babe, I didn’t even know what I was saying,” he says. She doesn’t turn back. “Err, love you babe!”

She just rolls her eyes as we cut out.

We return to Lexy once again in the lounge of her apartment, sitting on the back of the couch with her feet the cushions and looking in to the camera before nodding her head. “Yeah, my life is pretty strange,” she admits before laughing a little. “Like I said before I’d have loved to have given you some kind of montage of clips that show a broken Lexy Chapel figuring herself out, getting stronger, finding the best inside of herself and really coming in to this match on Monday night ready to go with more fight in her than she’s ever had before. I’d even have set those clips to ‘Eye of the Tiger’ or something because, well, you know, you’ve just kind of got to, right? But I didn’t have that kind of journey. I didn’t have that wild adventure. I didn’t have a period where I dug down deep and found myself. And if you guys want the whole truth then the whole truth is that right now I find myself a little lost. You see, when my career started it was right here in EXODUS Pro. When I got started my first pay per view experience was a year ago, and it was a pre-show tag team match. I don’t think a whole lot of people really remember the match, and why would they? It was an afterthought. It was just to give a few kids some experience, most of whom never really made it above that station. For me though it was a taste, and once I got a taste all I could think about was how much more I wanted. I wanted to go all the way, I wanted to break on to the pay per views properly, I wanted to be a star... a year later and I’ve had one of the most accomplished title reigns in company history, and yet right now I don’t feel like I’m much farther along than that pre-show match.”

She laughs and nods her head. “Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Some of you think I’m crazy, some of you think I’m right. Some of you are likely to tell me how much I’ve accomplished and repeat the often-used line that I hear a lot about being the greatest International Champion since the days of New Era Wrestling, since the icons I watched when I was a kid battled for the International title, since the days when being International Champion meant everything to them. Meanwhile others think that I wasn’t good enough. That’s a reoccurring theme, it would seem. I’m not good enough. I didn’t face the right people. I didn’t defend against the right challengers. I didn’t have the kind of title reign that everyone else is going to have, right? Because here we are and I’ve had to sit in the back and listen to Christian Kane telling the world that HE’S going to be the greatest man to have ever held that title like it’s a foregone conclusion, like everything I did is going to be wiped from the history books, and why wouldn’t he believe that? I mean, when it came to Lexy Chapel against Christian Kane we all saw what happened, didn’t we? I went in to that match looking to defend my title on the biggest stage, at the biggest pay per view in company history, and we all know what happened,” she says softly. “Now I’ve lost before. I’ve lost in controversial circumstances. I’ve lost straight up in the middle of the ring. People have beaten me and proven why they are where they are, why they are as good as they are, but I never in my worst nightmares imagined losing like I did against Christian Kane with the International title on the line.”

“Let’s be honest here. Let’s set the stage the way it should be. I got in to the ring with Christian and he kicked my butt. I got one pin-fall attempt on him and not even a close one really, while he threw me all over the ring. On that night I wasn’t good enough. On that night I wasn’t good enough to live up to the expectations on me. On that night I wasn’t good enough to be the International Champion and I had it taken from me, and I had so much doubt put in to my mind. I tried to bounce back from that and I did so by beating Zack Lifer, only to have him beat the hell out of me as well. Then I tried my absolute best against the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, and I gave him a fight, a fight I’m proud to have given him, but in the end we all know what happened, don’t we? The same result as before. Lexy Chapel got her ass beat. Lexy Chapel isn’t in his league. Lexy Chapel isn’t good enough,” she says, shaking her head. “Yeah, my confidence isn’t high right now. My confidence is so low in fact that even though I knew this pay per view was coming up I had no intention of doing the cliché thing and asking for a rematch, or worse yet demanding a rematch like some spoiled child. Even though I had to sit and watch Christian Kane telling the world how INCREDIBLE he was going to be I still didn’t have the fire in me to go out and demand a rematch. I was happy to sit back. I was happy to hide in the shadows. I just wanted to forget that night ever happened. Only I can’t. I can’t forget it because I’m obsessed with it, with my failing. I’m obsessed with how little I could do against him. And I’m ashamed.”

“Then I got in to a conversation with Jimmy and he told me that he wanted me to have a rematch because the fans wanted me to have a rematch. Now you’ve got to bear in mind that I was a little sceptical of that at the time, because not only do I remember having my butt kicked in spectacular fashion but I also remember the fans singing in celebration, and if losing in that fashion was traumatising then having people celebrate your failure like you mean nothing was the thing that really shook my confidence more than anything. So for the last few weeks I’ve been thinking that maybe I’m not good enough, and as a result I didn’t want anything to do with a rematch for the title, only I had my mind changed,” she explains softly before taking a moment and pausing. “Now it wasn’t only Jimmy who helped change it. It wasn’t only that that put me on this new direction; it was something else as well. It was the unrelenting and unforgiving criticism from everyone. It was the disrespect that so many have shown me ever since I lost that title. Ever since I lost that title I’ve had people, including Christian Kane, telling the world that I wasn’t good enough. I’ve had people like Justin Brooks telling the world that I didn’t fight the right people. I’ve had nothing but disrespect for everything I accomplished from people who want the world to know that they’re better than me. They’re better than Lexy Chapel. Compared to them, Lexy Chapel isn’t in their league. They’re bigger, they’re tougher, they’re stronger and they’re GREATER than I’ll ever be, and I’m nothing in comparison to them. Isn’t that right?”

She shakes her head slowly. “How do you think that feels?” she asks before scoffing. “How do you think it feels to have person after person tell you that you’re not good enough when for the last year of your life you’ve fought with EVERYTHING you had, you’ve given EVERYTHING you could give, you’ve battled against EVERY challenge that was put in front of you, you’ve done all you can to make something of yourself and the only thing you get out of it is men like Christian Kane, men that I WANT to respect, men that I want to even LIKE in spite of what happened between us, looking down their noses at me like I’m nothing? Do you want to know what that does to you? It has two effects. On the one hand it makes you think that there’s no point at all in even bothering to go on. What’s the point, right? What’s the point in continuing when you’re viewed by people like that, by those who consider themselves your betters, as a forgettable piece of trash who should be tossed aside? Now they may not say those exact words but that’s what it comes down to. Lexy Chapel is nothing in comparison to their magnificence. And yeah, it hurts, it breaks you, it affects you, and there’s this feeling inside of you that says you can never win, you can never convince them otherwise, that all you’ll ever be to them is trash. But then there’s the other side of it, and every time I’ve heard that I’m not good enough, every time that I’ve heard that my reign wasn’t enough, every time I’ve heard people questioning men like Kerry Windsor and why they got shots when it should so obviously have been the much superior others it lights a fire in my gut.”

“Christian Kane thinks he’s going to be the greatest International Champion of all time. Bold words, but even bolder disrespect! Because to say that when you’ve only just won the title, to say something that strong when you’ve not even had a title defence yet, when you’ve done nothing but put that title over your shoulder... well, we’ve heard that before, haven’t we? Because there’s been a whole host of people who’ve thought they were the GREATEST OF ALL TIME, there’s been a whole host of people who thought that they were the BEST THERE’S EVER BEEN, and what happened to them? I’ll tell you what happened to them, it’s the same thing that happened to Jerry Matthews when I beat him for the title, and it’s the same thing that happened to Christian Kane a year ago when things weren’t going his way. They took their ball and they went home to sulk. They thought they were invincible, they lost and they couldn’t handle it and they took their ball and they went home. And for a while there everyone thought Lexy Chapel was going to follow in their footsteps. Everyone thought that Lexy Chapel was going to disappear as well. Well hi everyone, guess what?” she asks before shaking her head. “I’M STILL HERE! Because you see Christian, Mr Greatest International Champion ever, I’m not like you. When the going gets tough I don’t run home crying about how unfair everything is. I don’t need a series of ‘redemption’ matches to come back to because I don’t have a damn thing to ‘redeem’. I didn’t walk out. I didn’t quit. I didn’t hide. I didn’t run. I came back and I tried even harder, and that’s what I’m going to do this Monday.”

“Now to give you the credit you deserve you won those matches. You got yourself back to where you wanted to be. You won your match. You got the International Championship. You did everything you said you’d do when you beat me. And you were right Christian; nobody I’ve ever faced was anything like you. Nobody I’ve ever faced compared to you on that night. But then I’ve only been around a little while, I haven’t faced too many people, but I promise you this Christian, you’re not as special as you think. Now Justin already knows how I feel about him. I’ve already shared my thoughts on his ‘monster’ status. Well let me share my thoughts on yours, ‘stud’, because as special as you think you are Christian there are a dozen more like you in every place. There’s always the cocky guy who thinks he’s the best. There’s always the arrogant guy who says that he’s different to everyone else, but actually is just repeating the same crap that so many others have before him. And back in November you had your night. Back in November you had your moment. Back in November I came up against a two hundred and fifteen pound BRICK WALL and I bounced off that wall and I got put down to the mat and I lost,” she says with a stern look and a nod. “I’ve got no excuses. I’m not going to make any excuses. The sun wasn’t in my eyes. My shoelaces weren’t untied. I came up against you and you beat me and for that you can always be proud, but make no mistake about it Christian this unstoppable facade you’ve got going on is just that. It’s a facade. You’re good, but you’re not as good as you think you are.”

“That’s your weakness. In that way you and Justin have a lot in common, you’re both arrogant boys, you both think you’re unstoppable, you both think that there’s nothing that can put you down, but this week at least one of you is going to be wrong. See only one of you can leave with the belt, right? So one of you who are so confident, one of you who think you’re unstoppable, one of you who think that the sun shines out of your ass and your shit smells like flowers are going to find yourselves wrong... and maybe both of you will,” she says before laughing. “You see I’m not going to do the same thing that I know both of you will do. I’m not going to run my mouth and declare myself invincible. I’m not going to promise those people that I’m the one, the sure-thing, the unbeatable future champion who’ll dominate and prove how little everyone else compares to me. I’m not. I never have been. Against every challenge I’ve faced I’ve never been that. I’m not unbeatable. I’m not unbreakable. But I am something that neither one of you two will ever understand. I’m proud, I’m determined, and I don’t quit. Tell me you’re the same Christian. Tell me that you don’t quit either. Because we’ve seen how untrue that is, haven’t we? And what happens next, Christian? What happens if you fail? What happens if I take back that title, or if Justin takes it from you? What happens if neither happens, but in a few weeks you end up in another title defence and they take it from you? What happens if your arrogance is exposed as exactly that? What happens if the world sees you’re NOT the man you say you are? Do you quit again?”

“What happens Christian? I really want to know. What happens when YOUR world comes crashing down around you? What happens when the walls of your world fall around your ears? I know what happened when mine did. I’m still here. I’m still fighting. I’m still giving it everything I’ve got. But what happens to you, Christian? I’ll tell you. You put your tail between your legs and you scamper away, because physically speaking you’re a damn attractive man, but you’re not a ‘stud’. You’re a coward,” she says coldly. “But listen to me, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, am I? I’m not telling you anything that you haven’t figured out for yourself. You know the truth, and you know that despite all the propaganda the people out there know it as well. They see through you Christian. They see you for what you truly are. And maybe I won’t be the one who exposes it on Monday, maybe I won’t be the one who tears down the curtain and exposes the charade for what it is, but someone will. Sooner or later someone is going to rip down that curtain, and what happens next? What happens when the truth comes out? What happens when the truth is exposed? I’ll tell you. We see the real Christian Kane. We see the man I’ve seen for the last few weeks. We see the egotist for what he truly is. You talked about redemption once upon a time Christian, but I don’t think you’ve ever been truly redeemed. The path you walked before wasn’t to redemption. That was as much a lie as everything else about you. But you still took that title away, and you’re still defending it on Monday night...”

She laughs again and shakes her head. “Do you deserve that title, Christian? Do you deserve it after the... weeks of work you put in? Do you deserve it after the ‘huge’ names you overcame to get the shot? Do you deserve it because of how dominant you are? You don’t think that I do, do you? Of course you don’t. You don’t think anyone is as good as you. You put yourself on that pedestal and you don’t think anyone else can compare. Well let me tell you a little something about me,” she says coldly. “One year ago I was nobody. One year ago I was in dark matches. One year ago I had a contract so small that I had to work as a waitress just to pay the bills, just to make enough money to keep a roof over my head. One year ago I was an unknown, and one year ago you were Christian Kane, the man who wasted opportunity, the man who fell from grace. Well I’ve spent the last year fighting every challenge in front of me. I’ve spent the last year fighting every obstacle that I came across. I’ve spent the last year FIGHTING TO EARN MY SPOT and it’s a spot that I’m proud to hold. I wasn’t a good enough champion for you though, right? I wasn’t Christian Kane, so how could I be? I wasn’t a good enough champion in your eyes. Well you know what Christian? You’re not a good enough man in mine. Men show respect. Men have honour. Men stand for what’s right. You don’t have honour, you don’t have respect, and the only thing you see as right is Christian Kane. And when you disrespect all those around you, when you look down your nose and think you’re that much better, that makes you weak.”

“I’m not going to promise to beat you, Christian. I’m not going to promise to overcome. I’m not going to promise to dominate. I’m not going to promise to leave with the title. But I will promise that this Monday night I’m going to give whatever I have. I will promise that this Monday night I’m going to fight for everything that’s important. I don’t need to disrespect you to make myself feel good, I mean I’m just Lexy Chapel and you’re Christian fucking Kane, right? Nothing I say matters, not to you. But let’s go a little bit crazy. Let’s say I DO beat you. Let’s say I take back that title. What then? You lost to someone you look down your nose at. You lost to someone not on your level. You lost to someone who’s beneath you. So this Monday night you’ve got to win or everything you said is exposed as the bullshit that it is. The pressure is on you Christian. Are you destined to be the greatest International Champion in history, or are you just another cliché egotistical asshole with a championship belt who thinks he’s better than anyone else has ever been?” she asks before laughing again. “There’s one thing I do know for certain. This Monday night I’m going to fight with everything I have, and if that means I get my butt handed to me again then so be it but at least I’ll know that I gave everything I had and I tried. At least I’ll know that I proved something. Because you can say whatever you want Christian but you can’t change who I am, and who I am isn’t a self-promoting douche-bag.”

She laughs again and rolls her eyes. “Well, that’s all we’ve got time for folks. I’d do my Porky Pig impression but... well, it sucks. Besides, I have travel arrangements to make because it’s not far to Los Angeles but it’s a journey I’m going to take with hope and with pride, knowing no matter the outcome at least I’m not a quitter, and that’s more than I can say for some. But you shouldn’t be a quitter either, and that’s why you should rate and subscribe. Terrible segue I know, but hey, I tried. As always I’ve been Lexy Chapel, and this has been the Chapel Show. See you next time, fuckers!”

She winks at the camera before the video fades out and the video comes to an end with the replay button flashing up on the screen.