Chapter Two
Molly had not fought in a championship match since that fateful night in New York City, where she not only lost the match, but her precious locks too. She was not the sort of person to naturally exude confidence, so the bombshell of learning she had a shot coming up any minute left her under prepared.
She believed in her own ability though, and whilst lacing up her boots in the locker room, she glanced in the mirror like she had done earlier. 'You can do it Molly' she told herself, knowing full well that chances like this one don't come along every day. She differed from most of the other divas in that she always preferred to wear plain outfits - black pants and a black top with pink trim.
She made her way to the ring entrance and awaited the cue of her music. The adrenaline was already flowing and she just wanted to get out there, and on with the job. There was an untimely interruption though, in the shape of Triple H.
"Molly," he aroused her attention, "good luck in the match."
A thumbs up signified that he was pulling for her, 'for whatever dark reasons go through that evil mind of his' she thought. She didn't want to appear ungrateful, so she nodded her appreciation.
With Victoria already in the ring, her music came over the P.A. She burst through the curtains and stood at the top of the stage to gauge the reaction of the crowd.
With Victoria being a big fan favourite, Molly's reception was a typical mix of boos, heckling and gesturing. Playing a heel character had its upsides from time to time, but being treated like trailer park trash by the fans week in, week out was not one of them.
In defiance, she ignored all the abuse and strode with purpose down the ramp to the ring, where her nemesis stood with a beaming smile on her face. Molly couldn't wait to wipe that smile off as the bell sounded and the match started.
The early exchanges saw Molly gain the upper hand, keeping her taller opponent at bay by executing several mat based maneuvers and holds. She really went to work on Victoria's neck, utilizing a variety of legal head locks, and the odd illegal one.
She knew Victoria wouldn't be defeated that easily, and had to try and wear her down with more powerful moves. This played into the hands of her opponent who blocked Molly's suplex attempt, reversing it into one of her own.
Molly could do nothing as Victoria unleashed a combination of moves leading into her obligatory standing moonsault. She winced as Victoria tumbled down onto her chest, squeezing the air out of her lungs. She had to be alert to kick out of the attempted pin fall at a two count.
Victoria seemed to be enjoying herself, but by uncharacteristically showboating to the fans, she gave an opportunist Molly the chance to strike back. A drop kick from behind sent Victoria tumbling into the ropes, catching her neck on the bottom one. The blow stunned her and enabled Molly to get in position to perform a Northern Lights suplex; which she did, bridging into a pinning situation. 1… 2… No a kick out before the 3.
Visibly frustrated, Molly headed towards the nearest turnbuckle. She stopped for a split second to look out into the crowd - there were several fans jeering and showing their displeasure towards her. She responded to a couple of young males in the front row who were being particularly rude, which resulted in her making the same mistake as Victoria.
The champion capitalized by striking the challenger across the back of the shoulders and dazing her momentarily. That gave her time to position Molly on the second rope - the ideal place to set her up for the vicious Widow's Peak.
Molly recovered her senses to the realization of her predicament, a tight spot she'd been in far too often in the past. Squirming to break the hold, she fought desperately but to no avail. Victoria brought Molly crashing down onto her knees, crushing her neck and chin in the process.
Molly winced as pain shot through her body, she was out of it. She was not quite out cold, but knew the game was up and the match lost. Waiting for the inevitable cover and three count, she cursed her rotten luck.
The strange thing was, Victoria wasn't trying to pin her. There was no way that she would take mercy on her, Molly had found that out in NYC, so there had to have been some sort of interference. Seemed plausible enough, there were a number of divas lining up to knock Victoria off her perch, but whoever had just jumped into the ring did not appear to tread as lightly as any of the divas.
Molly moved her aching neck as much as she could in order to get a glimpse of who had interrupted the fight, but could only see the referee down on the canvas. 'None of the divas would attack a referee would they?' She knew that it was one of the men on the roster coming to her aid.
A sickening crunch told her that Victoria had suffered at the hands of her mystery ally. Suddenly she could feel her arm being pulled and the sensation of being dragged across the ring; her arm placed over the chest of Victoria.
Her head still a little woozy from the Widow's Peak, she could make out the thumping of the mat, 1… 2… 3… and the ring of the bell. She heard the deafening shrill of the crowd who hissed their disapproval at the outcome of the match. "The winner of the match… and new Women's Champion… Molly Holly!"
As the shock of the bump she had taken wore off, the shock of winning the title in controversial circumstances set in. She was helped to her feet by a different official to the one who began the match, and she shook her head in an attempt to make sense of what had just transpired.
"What happened?" she asked groggily, there was no sign of any outside interference.
"Lets get you to the back Miss Holly." The official swerved on the question as he handed her the prized title belt. She snatched it away from him, before he tried to grab her arm, which incensed her. She threatened to hit him if he didn't back away, which he did wisely by sliding out of the ring. Molly was seething, because she didn't want the title given to her on a plate.
Sure, she played the bad girl character and would often cheat herself to secure a victory, but the one thing she absolutely detested was outside interference gifting her the win. Flawed logic perhaps, but the way she set out to play the game.
She flung loose strands of hair out of her eyes, to be confronted by the sorry sight of Victoria lying prone on the mat. A flashback of the haircut from hell passed by her mind's eye and she could only see pay back on the horizon.
Hauling Victoria's limp body up, she laid into her, "Think it's funny now do you? Had your fun didn't you, shaving my head you bitch!"
Victoria was a sorry mess and couldn't offer any resistance as Molly brought the championship belt crashing down on her skull. Raining further blows down on the fallen champ, she showed no remorse, giving each shot every ounce of anger she could muster. Victoria had made her life a misery and she was going to see to it that she suffered the same fate.
A plethora of officials cascaded down the ramp to the ring, to separate the uncontrollable Molly from her bruised and battered enemy. It took several of them to prize her away from the defenceless Victoria, kicking and screaming as she yearned to inflict more punishment. The rage was clear to see in her eyes, a grimace painting a vivid picture of the feelings bouncing around her mind.
The crowd was visibly shocked by her actions. Some continued to show their disgust, but the majority stood their wide mouthed and stunned by what they had just observed. Molly was not sorry at all for what she had just done to Victoria; that was her vengeance.
She cared less what the fans thought at that point in time, they made it perfectly clear they didn't like her, she had nothing to prove to them. She was more concerned, totally preoccupied by the interference in her match. She wanted answers, and they were going to have to be good ones.
She paused at the top of the ramp, glancing across to the announcer's table. J.R. and Jerry Lawler looked as appalled as the fans in the arena.
"What happened?" she asked, hoping to discover who'd run in for the assist.
The commentators weren't interested in being of assistance, "You're sick Molly, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself!" J.R. spoke his mind, the King for once agreeing with his partner.
"Whatever, she had it coming to her!" Molly snorted, and held her newly acquired title above her head in contempt of everyone present.
At that point she had to remind herself that she did win the match, and was the champion. Whilst the circumstances reeked, part of her was ecstatic to hold the gold again - 'her title'.
• Chapter Three •
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