Shot In The Dark - A Kenzie Promo

Once you decided to hit play on the YouTube video, Kenzie Rydell's face pierced the previous darkness. You noticed her expression was rather somber wigth sunken tired eyes and closed lips. She looked at her keyboard and back into the webcam, a steady visage as she began to speak with honesty laden in every word. 

"Avery... I've played out that night in my head like a broken record ever since it happened. It was NGW City Of Sin. I've said it countless times before, but I'll say it again. That was the worst night in my entire career, and God willing, a night that I will never repeat."

Her visage slipped downward again, likely trying anxiously to search for the words she wanted to say.

"I've spent more nights than I care to admit just laying in bed with my eyes wide open, wondering why it even happened in the first place. I was late to the building. I was drinking. I was so stupid and so inconsiderate of the people around me that I just..."

Her voice trailed off. It was easy for you to see that last night was one of those nights where she stayed awake in bed. Her hair was a mess and subtle bags hung underneath her eyes without makeup to cover it all up. Surely Avery's words at the most recent Glory brought back all those unpleasant memories.

"At the time, I was consumed with this idea that I needed to drink to feel confident. I was so addicted to the feeling of touching greatness in my rookie year that I made a lousy mistake I'll never make again. It was irrational. It was reprehensible. I succumbed to the pressure and I just let it pull me down into the worst version of myself when I should have been at my best."

She looked right at you through the screen with a forced sympathetic smile

"I don't expect you to understand, Avery. I don't expect any of you to understand. I know I let a lot of people down, and I know that it's not something I can just ignore."

"I accepted your match because I knew that if I were in your position, I'd be mad at me too. If I went out of my way to ask someone to help me defend the tag team titles and that person didn't even show up, I guarantee I would have been a much less patient person than you. I would have complained up and down, and I probably wouldn't have forgiven whoever cost me my championship, especially back then when I was still getting used to everything in my rookie year."

"And yet you forgave me. The first time I asked for your forgiveness, you swallowed your pride and you forgave me. Even if it was a lie, even if you just wanted to make me stop talking to you, I always respected you for that, Avery. I always admired the fact that you were able to still keep on smiling and stick by me despite the fact that I still haven't forgiven myself. And that... That was a classy thing to do. That's something that helped me more than you'll ever understand."

Emotion was written all over Kenzie's face, and as she continued to speak, she started to get a little choked up.

"I want to be like you, Avery Miles III. I want to be strong enough to be able to forgive the people who do me wrong and move on when it's appropriate. I want to be confident in myself. I want to have the abilities you have to stand as a role model like you've always been for me, and that's not an easy thing for me to say..."

"We've never really known each other. Not personally, not even a little, but I was always a fan of yours. I've been watching you ever since our paths crossed in NGW. I've watched you in GOL, I've watched you in Redemption Wrestling, and I've watched you everywhere else. I've watched your losing streak, and I've watched you rise to the top of the mountain. I've watched you overcome adversity, and I've watched you walk around like a legend. I respect the hell out of you, and I always will. You're one of the greatest people I know, and even when you tear into me like I know you will, even when you tell me I'm worthless and say I'm an awful friend, that will never change."

"I keep getting reminded of what happened. I keep getting told everything I've already told myself a thousand times, but I get it. I made a mistake. I made a mistake and I've been bettering myself ever since it happened. I haven't been drinking, and I've been relying on my own confidence to keep me moving forward. I've been relying on the people I trust the most to pick me up every time I fall back down and I know I'm far from perfect. I know..."

The sophomore in her second year of wrestling professionally wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She sniffled, trying to hold back her tears the best she could.

"On that night, I was fucking pathetic! I was the opposite of everything I've always stood for, and nothing I say will ever make it better. But... But I have to keep fighting. I have to keep moving on and I have to close the door on that past before I let it consume me. 'Everybody makes mistakes,' that's what the people tell me. What matters is whether or not you get back up, and that's what I'm doing, Avery."

With a gulp, her words became a little stronger and a little harsher in the way she spoke.

"I get it, though. You're mad. Who wouldn't be? You've been failing in Redemption and you'd rather blame me than blame yourself. I understand. It's what everybody does. It's easier that way. It's way easier than having the responsibility to admit you just haven't been all that successful here in Redemption Wrestling lately, but honestly? I know what that's like."

"I know what it's like to want to blame everyone else for your shortcomings. I know what it's like to get caught in a rut, to have an occasional misstep. You have this immediate instinct to try and protect yourself. You point to someone else, pin the blame on them, and you hope other people take the bait, but... But when you're alone, laying in bed with your eyes open wide, you can't help but wonder: 'What have I been doing wrong?' 'Why won't God just give me a break and let me succeed for once?'"

"It took me a little while, but I figured out I was asking the wrong questions. I figured out that I should have been asking what I could improve. I should have been watching the tapes and work on strengthing my weaknesses. Maybe that's your problem. Maybe you need to cut it out with all these tag team matches and focus on yourself. Maybe you need to shut down that voice in your head telling you that you can't do it and you need to just..."

Kenzie smiled softly, finally showing those pearly whites. You imagined she finally understood her own advice now that she finally heard herself say it out loud.

"Be confident, Avery. Be the man I respect and quit feeling sorry for yourself. You'll never achieve anything that way. And neither will I."

With a hand fixing her own messy brown hair, she combed down a straggler that poked out of place.

"You were the best Marquee Champion NGW has ever seen, and you're a phenomenal champion in GOL. You've won the Super Falcon Cup in 2016 and you have no reason to feel so hard on yourself."

"At Ultimate Resolve, you can fight to put your career back into your hands in front of that Tokyo crowd. You can give me everything in your arsenal and then some if you think that's what you need to do to succeed. And do you know why I'm going to fight you? Simple."

"It's not the threats. It's not all the insults you're going to throw at me. I'm going to fight you and I'm going to beat you so I can slam the door on every single voice that's ever criticized me for my mistake. I'm going to show you and everyone else what happens when I step into that ring in the best shape of my entire life, and I'm going to show you what it means to be confident when I'm in the best shape of my entire life!"

She laughed, playfully toying with her long brown locks of hair.

"It's not about them anymore. It's not about the people who constantly belittle me and treat me like I'm worthless. It's about those of the people who have supported everything I've done since. It's about the people who wear my shirts and chant my name. It's about the people who watch me fight on their television sets who wonder whether or not they can fulfill their own dreams - big or small - when I'm out there fulfilling my own."

She smiled wide, her hands back at her sides.

"So let's fight, Avery. Let's have the match we've always wanted to have. It might not be in the Super Falcon Cup tournament, and it might not be in NGW, but here's our chance. Here's our chance to show everyone what we can do when we're not so concerned with all the negative thoughts that we've always carried around and finally live up to our full potential!"

"It's time. Ultimate Resolve. Tokyo, Japan. Let's end it. Let's let go. It's our time to shine. It's our time to make a mark and shatter expectations."

She paused. That twinkle in her eyes disappeared, and all her excitement washed away. She thought silently to herself before she spoke again, and once she finally did, her voice was laden in sympathy.

"Avery Miles III... I don't know whether or not this is just a phase, but... I'm sorry. I know you won't care. I know you'll ignore my words and you'll treat me like human garbage when it's your time to make a promo, but it's the truth. If I could go back in time and stand by your side, I'd do it in a heartbeat, I swear to God I would!"

"I'm not perfect. I'm sure you're about to list every single reason why, but... I still respect you. I still think you're an amazing competitor and I still look up to you, even if it's just based on the decisions you've made in the past."

Kenzie took a deep breath, trying to collect herself a little.

"Look... Good luck out there, okay? If insulting me and making me feel like shit is what you need to do to find happiness and get your career back on track, I want you to do it. If breaking me down in front of an audience is what you need to do to make yourself feel better, I won't stop you. I understand."

It was hard for her to say those words, but you could sense the truthfulness as emotions poured from her lips.

"If the goal you have is beating me in a match at Ultimate Resolve in front of that live crowd, then... Then that's a goal I won't let you accomplish so easily."