[howardcosell]

This is Kimberly Chaucer with a special edition of One-On-One. As everyone already knows, OPW will be having Calgary Carnage, a pay per view extravaganza, to be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While some of the headlining matches include Glory vs. Trish Stratus and Christina Munoz vs. Allison Payne, the main event will be sister vs. sister as Lady Jasmine Raheid defends the OPW title against Rachel Apache. Rachel and Jasmine have competed in OPW and are regarded as living legends, even though Rachel is only 27 and Jasmine is only 23. The two women have an estranged relationship; they do not speak to each other. But tonight, I will go one on one with each of them and ask them the tough questions you want to know. Then, I will sit down and interview both Jasmine and Rachel at the same time in the same room.

Lady Jasmine is regarded as the toughest fighter in OPW history. Jasmine started her career at the age of 9; she was just an early blooming child, but her submission skills and her passion for fighting in a mask earned her a reputation as a submissions master. Jasmine is the most decorated fighter in OPW history; she has won every major title many multiple times, including her fourth OPW World Title when she defeated Glory at No Mercy in Los Angeles. But now, she faces perhaps her toughest challenge of all.

Kim- Jasmine, do you believe that Rachel is your toughest opponent to date?

Jasmine- Well, I already fought her once back in 1998 and she was pretty tough then, ha ha. But Kimberly, I approach all of my matches the same way. I must believe that every match I have is the toughest because it has the potential to be.

K- I understand what you mean. But has that attitude gained you much success? Of course, you have many titles and many accolades to show for it, but from the looks of the beatings you’ve taken in some of your matches, you’ve had some pretty high medical bills.

Jasmine- (laughing) Oh Kimberly, I cannot and will never say that I am the perfect fighter. I love and respect my opponents, and I do feel that I have had a lot of success. I have met a lot of wonderful people here in OPW and in other federations around the world, as well as all the fans. What I do in the ring is brutal and dangerous; I know that. So, I recover from it and continue on.

K- But you’ve been in barbed wire matches, casket matches, no holds barred matches, submissions matches, scaffold matches. It seems like if the match has an element of danger to it, you’re in it.

Jasmine- All matches have elements of danger to them. You are a former mixed martial arts competitor yourself, Kimberly. You know that when you enter the cage or the ring, anything can happen.

K- But in my career, brief as it was, I didn’t find myself constantly bloody and wrapped in barbed wire.

Jasmine- When you crave the spotlight, you crave the pressure… Rachel Apache has this saying. And I know the dangers of what I do; I prepare for those dangers and I am always safe with my opponents.

K- That’s another thing I want to ask you about. You have two reputations in the ring. One is that you have never submitted and the other one is that you’ve never injured one of your opponents. Why is it that you seem to be so cautious with your opponents and so reckless with your own body and do you think that you would be more successful and have had far less injuries if you were less cautious with your opponents and showed more of a killer instinct like Rachel does?

Jasmine- Kimberly, I do not injure my opponents. One good thing about submission fighting is that the pain ends when my opponent wants it to. I am a very sensitive person and I don’t want someone lying in a hospital bed or not being able to walk for three years or three days because of me. It doesn’t help the business or the person to fight that way. My opponent has a purpose just like I do, and who am I to deliberately hurt them and keep them from fulfilling that purpose? As it relates to me and my body, well, I have a very high tolerance for pain. I do not like it, as Mikey Roberts recently implied, but I have a very high tolerance for it. I know my own body and am very sacrificing and very humble with my body. Through the course of matches, things will happen, but I adjust to those things.

K- You mentioned Mikey Roberts. He also said that your defeat of Glory was unthinkable.

Jasmine- A lot of people didn’t expect me to defeat Glory. There is no blueprint for defeating someone who is so powerful and so intelligent, but I fought her with all my heart. In the end, I did prevail. Glory is a very wonderful person; she is a friend of mine and I respect her and love her.

K- Rachel Apache. She is your older sister and the two of you do not speak. Now earlier, you said that every match is the toughest match, but this upcoming match against her has to have some added tension.

Jasmine- It does have a lot of added tension. Things between she and I have really been strained. I have nothing but respect for her as a fighter, but I have no relationship with her outside of the ring.

K- Why is that?

Jasmine- It goes back all the way to childhood with she and I.

K- I’ll wait until both of you are present and then I’ll ask why you don’t speak again. She’s only lost twice in her career. One was the boxing match to Nikky Smalls when she had to lose fourteen pounds to make weight and the other one was the OPW World Title match against Glory when she was probably still feeling the effects of a chairshot delivered to her by Marie. Many people believe that the only way to beat Rachel is to screw Rachel over or cheat her. You’ve had many great matches, but you’ve lost many of them also. What is your strategy for someone like Rachel Apache?

Jasmine- She is a person and she has flaws and weaknesses just like anyone else. You certainly spend time building her up and making it seem as though it is impossible for her to lose. But you just said that she lost twice.

K- But those were under different circumstances. Jasmine you know that at 100%, the woman is dominant and that she can beat anyone. Even against Nikky Smalls and Glory, Rachel almost came back and won, even though she was dehydrated against Nikky and injured against Glory. You fought her once in 1998, and she won. She even snapped and attacked you after the match and injured you. That match wasn’t for any title, but this match that the two of you are having in Calgary is for your OPW World Title. Why should we believe that you can defeat her? You have said that you do not seek to hurt or injure your opponents; this is your sister, your blood. And she is a woman who is a master at hurting her opponents and figuring them out. She didn’t show you any sympathy in the first match you had with her.

Jasmine- You don’t mention the apartment fight she lost to Christina.

K- But you aren’t Christina. Christina has no mercy on her opponents; you do. And despite the feelings of separation and dislike that the two of you feel for each other, you are still sisters. You still love her and you still care about her. But she is able to view you as another opponent, and I don’t know if you can do that with her.

Jasmine- You will be in for a surprise, Kimberly. You know my reputation and you know my accomplishments; I got those titles showing the same respect for my opponent that I’ve been showing. I do not have to go into a match looking to kill my opponent to be successful. This is a match with a lot of personal meaning for me and I will prevail.

K- You are making a prediction that you will defeat Rachel Apache in Calgary. You aren’t known for being so bold.

Jasmine- Well Kimberly, as I said, this will be a lot different. I do not understand why you seem to believe that I have no chance against her--

K- I didn’t say you have no chance.

Jasmine- This match will be a match that everyone will remember.
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Next, I sat down and talked to Rachel Apache. Rachel Apache is regarded as the greatest female fighter of all time, ending Siena Blaze’s eleven years of dominance in OPW and the female fighting world by beating Siena back in 1996. No fighter in female fighting history was more dominant than Rachel Apache in the mid-to-late 1990s and on into the 21st century. Rachel is the only fighter in OPW history to be the World Champion, People’s Champion, Television Champion, and one half of the Tag Team Champions all at the same time. Rachel has fought and defeated every major opponent she has ever faced with the exception of the previously mentioned Glory and Nikky Smalls. With Rachel, there’s a lot to talk about.

K- Rachel Apache.

Rachel- Kimberly Chaucer.

K- There is so much I want to talk to you about, but so little time. First of all, you’ve been attacked by Echo recently; the footage of the assault was released on youtube.com. Yet, you have made no statements in reaction to the assault at all.

Rachel- She will be dealt with. I said a month ago that I was not concerned about Echo unless Echo got in my way, well now she has gotten in my way. I must face her and conquer her as I have conquered everyone else.

K- I saw the video, and she knocked you down with a single punch to your stomach. Now, you look very great. You have amazing abs, but she hurt you… she hit you in a very vulnerable spot just below your trademark and much heralded stomach muscles.

Rachel- I, I, I don’t believe that she hurt me that badly. I have no weaknesses and she did not harm me.

K- I actually have a taped conversation between you and Marie. I will play a part of it for you.

“Marie- So Rachel… when are we going to deal with Echo? We can’t let her get away with attacking us like that.

Rachel- I don’t know, Marie. There’s something about her that bothers me. I don’t know if we should attack her without learning more about her first.

Marie- That sounds pretty good.

Rachel- You know, Marie, when she hit me… it hurt me so badly. She hit me so hard, and she looked at me and she felt my stomach go weak and she smiled. She knew she had me.

Marie- But that’s okay, Rachel. You’ll recover from that and you’ll win the World Title and then you’ve take out Echo. You’ve been down before, only once before that I recall, but just like then, you’ll get up and then she’s in trouble.

Rachel- You don’t understand. When she hit me, it wasn’t that she knew that I was soft in my lower abdomen, it was that she punched my essence. She hit my core, my soul. That’s what it felt like, and I don’t know if--”

K- I’ll cut it off right there. So… you were saying?

Rachel- (pausing and face turning red) I was hurt by the blow. But she will be hurting a lot worse when she and I face each other again.

K- You didn’t sound so confident on the tape, and you didn’t look very confident lying there on the ground while Marie applied an ice pack to your stomach.

Rachel- And Echo will pay dearly for the way I felt.

K- How? You sounded like you were affected by her. She punched you in the soul; I’ve never heard of that before.

Rachel- Move along, Kimberly.

K- It’s just that I’ve never heard you sound so… so… different. I’m used to the ‘I’m the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be’ talk.

Rachel- Move along, Kimberly.

K- Are you afraid of her? Echo? Are you afraid of Echo, and then we’ll move along.

Rachel- I am not afraid of anything… except my lack of patience.

K- Okay Rachel. Moving along… let’s talk about Allison Payne.

Rachel- (sighing)

K- Allison Payne has been challenging you to a fight for going on three years. You have NEVER responded; you have NEVER even said the name Allison Payne in any of your interviews. In the beginning, not too many people knew who she was, but last year, she defeated Siena Blaze in a quick cage fight. She then defeated Nikky Smalls and Glory, two previously unbeaten fighters, who also happen to be the only two people who have defeated you in official matches. Now, she is preparing to fight Christina Munoz, who defeated you in an apartment fight when you apparently nodded a submission after being beaten badly. Three years ago, Allison also defeated Alicia Christmas in 36 seconds; this is the same Alicia Christmas who gave you all you could handle at the Jessika Tribute Show, though you did beat her by submission. Rachel, I don’t think you’re going to be able to get out of this one… why are you not responding to Allison Payne, the woman who is regarded as the best fighter in the world today? Everyone is saying that you are afraid of her, but as you just said, you aren’t afraid of anything. So why aren’t you answering her challenges?

Rachel- Because she is not on my radar. I have no interest in fighting her.

K- Is that the way that the best fighter ever handles her challenges? Rachel, in your culture, if a traditional challenge is made, you have to answer it.

Rachel- Don’t tell me about my culture.

K- I AM telling you because I researched it. I researched it MYSELF.

Rachel- Then you did a poor job because her challenge was not done in the traditional fashion.

K- And if it was, would you finally answer her?

Rachel- I just answered her. I do not want to fight her.

K- So, the best fighter ever has no desire to fight the number one ranked fighter in the world?

Rachel- You know, you really think you’re cute, don’t you? You sit in that chair wearing that business suit and you talk to me in this fashion and you honestly think that I will tolerate it? You have not spent enough time in the ring to know what goes into match preparation and studies of opponents styles and focusing on weaknesses. You have no idea what that’s like because you aren’t a fighter; you are a fighter turned reporter.

K- All I’m doing is asking questions.

Rachel- How dare you question my desire. Every opponent I have faced has fallen to me. Even when I did not win, I sent Nikky Smalls to the canvas and I made Glory a bloody mess; I always perform my best on the highest stages. And I did not earn my reputation by talking to people the way you are doing; I earned my reputation through my actions. I do not cheat, I did not steal my titles and fake my emotions the way other fighters have. How dare you.

K- All I’m doing is asking questions. Why are you getting so upset? All I’m asking is why won’t you respond to Allison Payne and why you have no desire to fight her. That’s all… for now.

Rachel- A few months ago, I thought I would be retired by now. I had a set plan of who I wanted to fight and who would be my final opponent, but when my engagement was broken, I went back to OPW. All of that has changed now and I have an agenda for 2007 and it does not include her. I am not afraid of her and I am insulted that you or anyone else would imply that Rachel Julia Apache is afraid of anyone after everything that I have done in the world of female fighting. Once I have an agenda, I follow it. I know what I want to do in 2007 and I don’t need to fight her to prove anything.

K- If you aren’t afraid of her, then why won’t you say her name? It’s Allison Payne; they call her The Nightmare. Pretty fitting considering your refusal to fight her, don’t you think? You can’t get around the echoes and the nightmares, can you, Rachel?

Rachel- You are really testing my patience, Kimberly Chaucer. If you think I’m afraid of ‘the nightmare,’ then you must be dreaming. I am the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, and I fear nothing.

K- Okay, Rachel. I guess the audience will decide for themselves, won’t they? You mentioned your engagement. You were engaged to Angelo Thunderhawk; he’s known you since you two were infants, he was always in your corner for your matches and helped you train and develop your fighting style, but he left you because, as he put it, you were putting fighting before your relationship with him.

Rachel- That is completely and utterly not true. It is quite well known that I only had one more farewell fight on my agenda when he left me. For him to say that is wrong. I loved Angelo and what he did to me hurt me to the core.

K- Now, he is with ex-military champion, Asia. She has expressed a desire to fight you and he has implied that he would train her and be in her corner if the fight was made. That would be very interesting; after all those years of him helping you train and being in your corner, you have to fight his new fiance with him in her corner. How does that make you feel?

Rachel- How do you think it makes me feel? Do you want me to show you emotion for your little show, Kimberly? Is that why you keep trying me with these questions when you know full well that I am too classy a woman to jump out of this chair and show you why I am regarded as the best female fighter?

K-I know your reputation Rachel, and it is well deserved.

Rachel- Thank you.

K- Now, would you fight Asia?

Rachel- I don’t know, but if I had to give an answer, I would say yes. I feel that Angelo has disrespected me and beating Asia would bring closure for both he and I. I have not forgotten what he’s done, and he obviously has some resentment for me. So, if beating Asia will put this to rest and make him realize the mistake he’s made, then so be it.

K- How are things with you and Marie?

Rachel- Things are great. She is a wonderful person and a true friend.

K- A true friend who hit you in the head with a steel chair and cost you your match against Glory.

Rachel- Marie challenged me in the traditional fashion and she fought me with all her heart.

K- If the two of you are friends again, then she must have won.

Rachel- She did not win; I beat her. Marie showed a lot of heart and she has been showing it. She learned a life lesson from her actions in Las Vegas and there is no way that I could ignore that.

K- You would’ve ignored it when you were sixteen.

Rachel- How would you know? Like I said, Marie could’ve accepted my refusal to make amends with her, but she was determined to show me that had changed and she didn’t stop until she did. That sort of effort speaks to the essence of her as a person. In your chosen profession, you are paid to be dishonorable and dig up dirt. So, you probably know nothing about this sort of grit and determination.

K- Yup, you’re right there too, Rachel. I guess that’s why I’m asking you the questions, oh great and fearless fighter that you are.
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[howardcosell]

Yes, Rachel Apache is an interview that I wanted to do for a very long time, but I only had so much time to talk to her before I brought Jasmine into the room. Both women were seated only two feet away from each other with a small table between them. On that table is Jasmine’s OPW World Title. The 5’9” 140 lb Persian black haired green eyed Angelina Jolie clone known as Jasmine is dressed in a dark greenish gray dress sweater, brownish gray pants, and black boots and she has her long black hair in a braided ponytail. The 5’11” 150 lb Persian with long black hair and blue eyes, Rachel Apache, is dressed in a silk purple buttoned up shirt and black pants with black shoes. Jasmine is sitting on the left and Rachel on the right. Jasmine’s legs are crossed and she is sitting back grinning slightly in her catlike feminine sexuality and Rachel is sitting with her face resting on her left hand and looking around her in bemusement.

K- This is very interesting, having both of you in the same room. Tell me, the two of you are sisters and you competed in OPW for more than ten years, but no one knew you were sisters until recently. Why?

Rachel- I didn’t feel it was important to mention that I was her sister when I entered the company. I am Rachel Apache; I had a worldwide reputation before I joined OPW and I saw the quality of matches that she was having and I would not say that I was her sister.

Jasmine- We are two completely different types of fighters, and I didn’t say anything about it because I didn’t want it to affect people’s perceptions of us. If everyone knew we were sisters, then we would always be compared to each other and only each other.

K- Rachel, you said the reason was because of the quality of matches Jasmine was having?

Rachel- Every time I turned on my television, she was covered in her own blood. It was disgusting; I’m being completely honest. She could have been a better fighter back then and not have taken so many risks.

K- Jasmine?

Jasmine- I may have fought in brutal matches and I may not have been as dominating as some, but at least I did it with class.

K- Rachel, you made some comments a few years ago about Jasmine. You called her an over glorified stuntwoman, a human pincushion, and an underachiever. But she has the most combined title reigns of anyone in female fighting history.

Rachel- And if she fought to the best of her ability, she could have had more. That’s what I was saying; she takes too many risks and she’s always putting herself in danger. If she trained her body to give punishment the way she trains her body to take punishment, she wouldn’t have spent so much time in the hospital after her matches.

K- Jasmine, do you want to respond to that?

Jasmine- That’s her opinion. It’s not like she goes out of her way to teach me anything and she never did. But I didn’t need her; I did pretty well on my own as a fighter and with the support of my family.

K- How are things with you and your family, Rachel?

Jasmine- She has no relationship with our parents. She left the house and changed her name because she wanted to make her own decisions and be who she is now. I’m sure she regrets it, or maybe she doesn’t. But she only calls us when it’s someone’s birthday or we see her during holidays. Of course, she has a good relationship with Sage and my other younger sister Brea and my younger brother.

K- Is that true, Rachel? About you not having a relationship with your parents?

Rachel- I made a lot of decisions when I was younger. Some of them were not very good. I would want to have a relationship with my parents now, but they--

Jasmine- Are as stubborn as she is. Our family is very unique. If she and I were close, then I would try to mediate, like I have done with others and like I have done with some of the wrestlers. But this is none of my business… I can’t say that it doesn’t affect me.

K- When Rachel made those comments, calling you a stuntwoman and a pincushion, how did they make you feel?

Jasmine- In all honesty, my feelings were hurt. When I was a little girl, I looked up to her just like Brea and Sage do now. But she was all about herself and she treated everything as if it were a competition.

K- Rachel?

Rachel- This is the first time I’ve ever heard her say that she looks up to me.

Jasmine- LOOKED up to her.

Rachel- I have changed a lot since being a child. I was never told by her that I was acting rude or that I disrespected her. This is the first time I am hearing any of this.

Jasmine- She was too pigheaded to listen, so there was no point in telling her. Everyone loved her, Angelo was with her all the time and she was the best. But everything was conquest to her, and she gave us up to be a fighter.

Rachel- She is acting like she is not a fighter herself. She can say that I had Angelo and that I have fame and acclaim, but she has the love of our family and the sisterhood of the women in the lockerroom, but she chooses to fight in a way that risks her very life.

K- Speaking of fighting, you too will be facing each other for the first time in eight years and the second time ever. The first time you fought, you Rachel, won. Let’s take a look at that match, shall we?
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  “Silence” by Enigma plays, and out comes Rachel. The 5’9” 140 lb Rachel has blue eyes and extremely long wavy black hair. She’s dressed in her traditional purple sportsbra and purple shorts with white sports boots and a thin purple rubber strap tied around her head. Rachel looks great as always; her six pack glows in the purple lights and her facial expression is one of pure confidence as she stands in the center of the ring with her arms folded as she stares at the entrance.

“No Attention” by Soundgarden plays, and Jasmine walks out. The 5’9” 133 lb Jasmine is wearing a green one piece with various cutouts in it showing off her luscious abdomen, sides, and back. She has on a dark green mask with a dragon-like design to it. Her long black hair is braided in a ponytail and is hanging out of the back of the mask and she’s wearing black leather boots. Jasmine gets into the ring and paces a bit, as she always does and tests the ropes, while Rachel stares at her, not budging an inch.

Rachel backs up a bit as the bell rings and the two women circle each other. After one revolution around the ring, they both come to a stop. Rachel measures Jasmine and Jasmine remains in her Mau Thai stance, her arms raised high, and her right foot forward and stepping. Rachel’s normal approach to a fight is to cartwheel her way in and throw combinations, but Rachel knows she has to do things differently because of Jasmine’s countering style. So Rachel comes in low and then darts to Jasmine’s left, then Rachel takes Jasmine’s left leg out from under her and applies a simple leg lock. Jasmine is close to the ropes but chooses not to grab them, instead she simply rolls herself and reverses the pressure on Rachel’s leg. Rachel quickly scrambles away and to her feet before Jasmine can put on one of her submissions. Rachel quickly rams her knee into Jasmine’s back. The woman in green hisses and tries to turn around but Rachel has her around the waist from behind while Jasmine’s front is on the ropes. Jasmine grabs the top rope with her hands as Rachel attempts to pull her up for some german suplexes. Rachel slams some right hands into Jasmine’s side, but Jasmine twists Rachel’s arm, slips behind her while still holding the arm in a half nelson and wraps her other arm around Rachel’s neck while wrapping her legs around Rachel’s waist and takes her down… this is called a chickenwing choke. Jasmine adjusts her body and really sinks her hold in while Rachel relaxes her muscles.

The key to being in a submission hold, if your name is Rachel, is not to tense up. Everything Rachel does is centered around her breathing; if she can’t breath, she can’t fight. Jasmine uses her legs the same way a boa constrictor uses its body; once you exhale, she tightens her legs around your body and you can’t breath in. But Rachel knows this and relaxes her body and mind and tries to think her way out of this. She arches her back and Jasmine’s shoulders are down so the ref starts counting, 1, Jasmine rolls out. Rachel rams her head backwards into Jasmine’s and rolls Jasmine down again, 1, Jasmine adjusts herself again and this time, Rachel is able to sit up and free her arm. Jasmine goes to a full rear choke on Rachel after releasing her body scissors, but Rachel rams her elbow into Jasmine’s firm but very vulnerable stomach and hears Jasmine let out a “whooo.” Rachel slips out of Jasmine’s grasp by dropping on her side, then Rachel twists and kicks Jasmine in the head, “UNH!” the blow sends Jasmine flat on her back. Rachel quickly mounts her sister and begins to pummel her with punches to her head while Jasmine covers up. Rachel makes various noises when she throws punches and Jasmine is “unnh”-ing and “oh”-ing. Rachel’s punches are very accurate and they hurt like hell; she knows how to punch through a guard. Then Rachel moves down Jasmine’s body and hits her in the solar plexus; Jasmine winces and exhales… she hates being hit in the body. Rachel eyes Jasmine’s Persian tanned tummy and sexy perfectly round navel and wants to strike there, but Jasmine quickly grabs her left arm, pulls her own legs around Rachel’s left shoulder and neck and twists her into a triangle hold. Jasmine grits her teeth and tightens her legs as much as she can while rolling herself on her stomach and Rachel on her right side. Having the hold on from this angle really hurts Rachel because not only is her arm trapped under Jasmine’s body, but her neck is pinned on the mat by her arm and Jasmine’s legs; this puts pressure on Rachel’s right shoulder because it is pinned underneath everything else. It’s very uncomfortable for Jasmine too, but it’s worth it to her.

Rachel knows she’s being choked out and she’s starting to get very desperate and worried, but she refuses to submit. Jasmine may very well be the best submissions fighter on the planet; losing to her is nothing to feel bad about. But Rachel is Rachel; she’s never lost and she certainly doesn’t want to submit to her younger sister, no matter who she is. In a feat of strength which even Rachel impresses herself, she gets her right arm under her right side, flattens her right hand, and does a one-handed pushup, lifting her body and Jasmine’s. This allows Rachel to get to her knees and she rolls Jasmine forward and pins her on the back of her neck, 1,2, Jasmine kicks out and releases the hold. Rachel quickly begins kicking Jasmine’s ribs and the little sounds of “ohhh” and “ahh” only make Rachel want more. She finally stomps on Jasmine’s stomach, forcing an “OOF!!” from the most desired woman in OPW history. Rachel is on her feet while Jasmine is on the ground with her legs raised waiting. Rachel lands a few kicks to Jasmine’s legs, but the green-eyed enigma doesn’t do anything but stare at her sister and wait. Rachel backs up and allows Jasmine to get back on her feet… well, not exactly. Rachel waits until Jasmine is on one knee and then she elbows her hard behind the neck. Rachel yanks Jasmine up into a hard knee to the stomach, “AUGH!!” then Rachel sends Jasmine hard into the corner. Rachel charges, does a cartwheel and a forward somersault into a double front kick that nails Jasmine in the face, “UUNNHH!!” Jasmine is tough enough not to go down from such a blow, but as she staggers out of the corner, Rachel bounces off the ropes and knocks Jasmine down with a roundhouse kick to the solar plexus. Jasmine gasps and lays on her back while Rachel goes for the cover, 1,2, nope, Jasmine’s foot is on the ropes. Rachel stands and argues with the referee, then she begins to land elbows to Jasmine’s right leg. This was the leg that Riptor broke and it hasn’t fully healed, even after this much time. Rachel also lands a few double axe handle shots to Jasmine’s stomach, and Jas’ groans only get louder as Rachel’s face becomes meaner and meaner. Innovating on a move that both she and Siena use, Rachel puts Jasmine’s head and neck across the bottom rope, then she stands on them with both feet and presses down. Rachel then jumps off Jasmine’s neck and drives her butt down on Jasmine’s back, “AHHHHHHHH!!!” Jasmine cries as she flails on the mat. Jasmine isn’t known as someone who groans or cries out like that during her matches; she is pretty quiet and you can’t tell if she’s in pain or not. But Rachel is all about painful offense and Rachel is very happy to hear these noises.

Rachel looks out at the crowd and brushes her hair out of her face and lifts Jasmine up. Rachel picks Jasmine up and slams her back across her knee then picks her up again, flips her over and doing the same move, she slams Jasmine’s stomach across her knee. Jasmine is down holding her belly while Rachel stands over her with her hands on her hips. Rachel looks pretty pissed off as she presses her right foot on Jasmine’s stomach and lifts Jasmine’s right leg, hooks it around Rachel’s left leg, and twists it clockwise. Jasmine is looking at the submission and at the same time keeping her shoulders off the mat. Rachel looks down at her sister and smiles. Jasmine knows this isn’t a good thing because Rachel doesn’t smile. Rachel keeps her leg hooked with Jasmine’s but jumps forward, driving her right knee into Jasmine’s throat, then Rachel goes for a pin while keeping the leg locked, 1,2, Jasmine manages to roll Rachel over and reverse the pressure to Rachel’s leg and traps Rachel’s head under her arm in a guillotine choke. Rachel knows all about Jasmine’s legendary toughness but experiencing it up close and personal is a completely new thing for her. While both women grew up in the same house, they’ve never trained together and never sparred together, and they hardly ever spoke to each other unless it was to ask to pass something at the dinner table. Rachel starts to punch Jasmine in the side with very hard right hands, and it isn’t long before Jasmine is really struggling to hold on the choke and to her position. Rachel is really being motivated by the loud noises her sister is making every time she gets hit in the body, and she feeling the softness of Jasmine’s side and seeing the pained look in her eyes and on her mouth despite the mask Jasmine is wearing. Eventually, Rachel is able to simply push Jasmine off of her, and there is a pretty big bruise on Jasmine’s left side. Rachel rises and Jasmine get to her hands and knees. Rachel is breathing heavily but is trying to reduce her breathing as she kicks Jasmine hard in the belly and sends her rolling around. Rachel figures she got a few seconds, so she goes to a corner and undoes the turnbuckle pad and removes it, exposing the steel grip.

[howardcosell]

Rachel tries to whip Jasmine to that corner, but Jasmine reverses and sends Rachel into the opposite corner. Jasmine moves in and lands several straight punches to Rachel’s face and some kicks to her ribs that make Rachel hiss, but Rachel grabs Jasmine’s right leg and pulls her down. Jasmine uses Rachel’s momentum to backwards somersault and wrap her leg around Rachel’s, sending Rachel down on her stomach. With her leg hooked around Rachel and her back to Rachel, Jasmine arches herself backwards like a bow and grabs Rachel under chin and pulls her head and neck… this is called an inverted STF and it is one of Jasmine’s trademark moves. Rachel grabs the rope and Jasmine releases the hold. Rachel turns over and sits up, but Jasmine stands and leans over her from behind. Jasmine hooks Rachel’s right arm under her own and twists it counter clockwise, and hooks Rachel’s head under her left arm. Rachel’s eyes and nose are pressed against Jasmine’s bicep… this move is called the eastern stretch. Jasmine jumps forward and hooks her legs around Rachel’s waist and pulls her back. Rachel can’t see and she can’t breath, but she knows she’s close to the ropes because she’s in the corner. She flails her legs around, so Jasmine lowers her legs and hooks them around Rachel’s left leg, preventing it from moving. Rachel’s left leg is the one closest to the ropes and Rachel figures this out so she uses her right leg and the rest of her body and scoots back hard. The motion moves the two women further into the corner and Jasmine’s head is now on the bottom turnbuckle; this is just like being in the ropes, so the referee breaks the hold because this time, Jasmine doesn’t release it immediately. Both women face each other while sitting down; they both look at each other’s huffing and puffing bodies. Then they both quickly rise to their feet. Rachel doubles Jasmine over with a right hand to her belly, Jasmine’s tongue is forced out of her mouth and her big green seductive eyes widen as the air is forced from her lungs. Then Rachel grabs Jasmine around her waist and flips her over her head… this is called an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Rachel gets up and takes a moment to reduce her breathing back to normal. Rachel picks Jasmine up and slams her head first into the steel grip in the corner. Rachel stops and a look of concern covers her face as she looks down at her sister. It seems as though Rachel got carried away; she looks to just outside the corner, but Angelo isn’t there to tell her anything. Rachel looks very upset and sad now, but that expression quickly disappears as she covers Jasmine, 1,2, no! Jasmine kicks out in a violent fashion.

Jasmine rolls over on her stomach as blood is dripping from the large eye openings in her mask; she’s seen these two bloody circles on the mat many times. Jasmine has become accustomed to the sight of her own blood during matches; she actually laughs to herself even though she’s in a lot of pain. Rachel is a master at giving pain and Jasmine is a master at taking pain… but Jasmine doesn’t want to be known for being able to take a good beating. Especially not to Rachel… not to her overly confident, overly moral and overly anal older sister. Jasmine rolls out of the ring while Rachel watches, shakes her head from side to side, and follows. Rachel pulls Jasmine up, but in a desperate move, Jasmine whips Rachel into the steel steps. Rachel jumps over them, but her momentum takes her shoulder first into the steel barricade. Rachel is down and hurting while Jasmine gets on the ring apron and climbs the turnbuckle to the top rope. Jasmine leaps off the top rope and goes for a flying headbutt, but Rachel moves and Jasmine’s stomach and ribs crash across the top of the steel barricade. Jasmine is almost certain her ribs are broken as Rachel pulls her up. Rachel faces Jasmine, hooks her right leg with Jasmine’s right leg, grabs Jasmine around the neck with her right arm and throws herself backwards… this is called a Downward Spiral and it’s one of Rachel’s trademarks. What’s suppose to happen is Jasmine’s throat is suppose to hit Rachel’s bicep or shoulder, but outside of the ring, what happens is Jasmine’s head hits the steel ring steps. Rachel didn’t look behind her and once she realized they were that close to the rings steps, she let go of Jasmine and angled her own body out of the way as she was falling back. Rachel looks angrily at Jasmine as Jasmine struggles to rise, despite all the pain she must be in. Rachel tosses Jasmine in the ring and pins her, 1,2, no! Jasmine gets her foot on the ropes. Rachel becomes very angry with the ref, yelling at him, “This is MY victory! MY VICTORY!! I am THE BEST!! You’re trying to STEAL it from me!!” Rachel even looks like she’s going to cry as she berates the referee while holding up three fingers. Usually, Rachel is stoic and calm, but all the factors in this match are really getting to her. Not to mention, usually, her matches are a lot easier. Once again, she looks to the corner, and looks depressingly down; Angelo is not there to tell her to calm down. Rachel pulls Jasmine up and stands beside her. Then Rachel puts her arm around Jasmine’s shoulders, hooks her right leg with Jasmine’s left leg and throws the both of them back… this is called a side Russian leg sweep, and everyone knows what comes next. Rachel steps between Jasmine’s legs and to her own right with her right leg, crosses Jasmine’s leg around her right leg and then turn her on her stomach and sits back… this is called a Sharpshooter or the Scorpion Deathlock… but Rachel refers to it as the Sharpshooter and it is her submission finishing move, but as she’s turning Jasmine, Jasmine yanks her foot from under her and Rachel falls on her stomach. Jasmine quickly spins to a seated position and locks her long legs around Rachel’s legs, her waist and her aching right shoulder… people call this move a trailerhitch submission, I don’t know what Jasmine calls it, but it’s her finisher. Jasmine knows a gazillion submissions, but this is the one she’s put the most people away with.

Jasmine’s back is to the ropes and Rachel is nowhere near them, so Rachel’s in a world of danger as Jasmine is smiling broadly while she tries to secure Rachel’s feet with her arms. Rachel angrily, violently and desperately kicks and nails Jasmine in the face with three brutal kicks to her head; the blows stun the Angelina Jolie lookalike enough that Rachel rolls her body over to where Jasmine is on her stomach and now Rachel is in the seated position. Rachel pulls her legs free and yanks Jasmine away from the ropes by her mask. Naturally, Jasmine grabs her mask and Rachel forces her back down on her stomach by sitting on her back. Rachel applies a full nelson and interlocks her fingers on the back of Jasmine’s neck while pressing her sister’s head forward and bending her body up and back while sitting on her back like a camel clutch. This is one of Siena’s moves and Rachel isn’t happy to be using it, but it works. Jasmine’s body is spent and she has really no way out of this move… she knows Rachel may have her. Rachel said that her main goal in this match was to be the first person to ever make Jasmine submit, and she’s pulling on Jasmine with all her might. With her arms above her head like this, Jasmine’s possibly broken ribs are also in agony and she can see the blood from her eyes and now her mouth on the mat below her. Rachel could break her shoulders and arms if she keeps squeezing; Jasmine knows this. So what does she do? She gives in… “AHHHHHH!!!” she yanks her arms hard in the direction Rachel is squeezing them in and intentionally dislocates both her shoulders and slips out of Rachel’s hold. Rachel can hear the popping sounds and her Persian skinned Catherine Zeta Jones with fatter cheeks face turns a shade a pale as she stands up and looks down at her sister, who is writhing in pain. Rachel could pin Jasmine, but she knows Jasmine would kick out again. If Rachel trusts you enough to confide in you, she would tell you that this is what she hates about Jasmine more than anything else; she refuses to give up. Rachel believes that she is better than Jasmine, and she believes that Jasmine knows Rachel is better. But Jasmine has to be Jasmine; she has to take unnecessary punishment to prove a point about nothing.

“Why won’t you just quit!!” Rachel yells down at Jasmine, “Do you see what you’re doing to yourself???” Rachel once again puts Jasmine in the Sharpshooter. This time, Jasmine is in the middle of the ring, nowhere near the ropes and in too much pain to do much. Rachel sits back and arches Jasmine’s legs as far back as possible while Jasmine twists herself and rams her right shoulder back into place. Jasmine tries desperately to break the hold with her legs, but NO ONE has broken the Sharpshooter once Rachel has gotten it in. Jasmine is in so much pain and Rachel is shaking her head up and down and waiting for Jasmine to tap out and submit. Rachel enjoys adding things like this to her resume, which includes first to beat Siena Blaze Brown and end her eleven year unbeaten streak, first to defeat Siena and Alicia Christmas, and soon to be, first to make Lady Jasmine Raheid submit. Yes that’s why Rachel got into OPW, to conquer it and prove emphatically that she is the best fighter in the world. But Jasmine has her own ending in mind. Jasmine is regarded as the toughest female fighter on the planet; her threshold for pain is immeasurable, but Rachel has pushed it pretty far. Jasmine knows she can’t get out of the sharpshooter, but rather than quit to Rachel, she opts for something else. She takes her right hand, places it around her own throat and squeezes until she passes out. Rachel has gotten everything she’s wanted, whether by force or by gift, but Jasmine would never allow Rachel to beat her by submission. She’d die first.

The referee pulls Rachel off of Jasmine and Rachel celebrates. But when the announcer says, “Due to Jasmine forcing herself to pass out… the winner via Jasmine’s chokehold… RACHEL APACHE!!” Rachel isn’t happy. Jasmine didn’t follow the script. When Rachel puts on the sharpshooter, you are supposed to quit; Jasmine didn’t do that. Rachel goes under the ring and finds something… a baseball bat. She gets into the ring and rams the bat down on Jasmine’s ribs, then on her stomach, and then on her throat. The crowd begins to boo Rachel as she is crying and is very angry. Rachel always played fair and was never considered a “bad guy” in OPW, but now, she’s snapped. Rachel never knew the value of having Angelo in her corner until now, because she puts the already unconscious Jasmine back in the sharpshooter and holds on until the referees try to pry her off. She refuses to let go, but then Riptor comes down to the ring and a smiling Rachel exits. Riptor and Jasmine have had some of the most violent matches with each other but there is a respect between the two of them. Rachel looks upset as she backs up the ram and watches her sister. She really appears to be regretting what she’s done. After Rachel is gone, for the first time in her career, Jasmine is taken out of the ring on a stretcher. Rachel is in her private locker room crying and calls Angelo and confesses what she’s done. He tells her to go and apologize, so she goes to see about Jasmine after the show is over, but Jasmine is gone. Jasmine doesn’t go to the hospital; she tapes herself up, takes a few days off from training and is in a match at next week’s show.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kim- That match was on December 18th, 1998; Jasmine you were only fifteen. What did you think of the beating that Rachel gave you after the match?

Jasmine- I don’t know why she did it, and I don’t care. At the time, I felt devastated; I really don’t like seeing that footage because I know how hard I worked in that match and I know how injured I was coming in.

Rachel- I wish I had never attacked her after the match. I tried to find her to apologize, but she wasn’t there.

K- Would you be willing to apologize to her now?

Jasmine- I don’t want an apology from her for that. It happened almost nine years ago; I will not be apologizing for what happens in Calgary.

K- Yes, the big best two out of three falls match. The first fall will be No Holds Barred, the second fall will be Win By Submission Only, and the third fall, if necessary, will be Hell In A Cell. What are your thoughts on the match concept.

Rachel- Well, it’s obviously tailor made for her and her self-sacrificing style. This is a match that Christina came up with so that my sister could bleed and get hurt. And unfortunately, that is what is going to happen. The stipulations are not going to have any effect on me because my objective will be to win. I am a conqueror, and I will conquer her and this match and win the OPW World Title in Calgary.

Jasmine- I can’t promise that I won’t bleed and I can’t promise that I won’t get hurt. That is what we are in this business for, but as I told you earlier, Kimberly, I will beat her this time.

K- That’s a very bold prediction by both of you.

Rachel- This match will not go to a third fall.

Jasmine- For once, I agree with her. It will not go to a third fall.

K- Rachel, you were influenced by Bret Hart’s career and you use his finisher, the Sharpshooter. You are fighting Jasmine for the World Title in Bret Hart’s hometown… do you feel any added pressure?

Rachel- I feel no added pressure because I will win.

K- Tell me, how does Rachel Apache beat Lady Jasmine? The second fall is a submissions match, but Jasmine has never submitted.

Rachel- I love my sister and I always have. And what she does to her body is sad, but the pain that I will inflict on her to win the OPW World title will be enough to make her submit. You asked how does Rachel Apache beat her… we just watched me beat her, and this will be no different. I will do what I must, and if that means ending her career, then so be it. I think that it would help save her from spending her older years in agony. I will figure her out and then I will show that I she cannot beat me. And once she realizes that, I will beat her until she realizes that it is futile to take my punishment when she cannot win, and then she will submit.

K- So, how does Lady Jasmine beat Rachel Apache?

Jasmine- She will attack and fight in her usual aggressive but poised style, as she always does, and I will take what she gives and force her to make mistakes. She isn’t as patient as I am or as calm and it will cost her. I think you will be seeing some things that you haven’t seen before in an OPW ring. You will see a best two of three falls match that does not go to the third fall, you will see the self-proclaimed best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be submit, and you will see her beaten and humbled. And while I cannot say that I won’t be covered in blood and hurt, I can almost assure you that she will be just as bloody and just as hurt when this is over.

K- Jasmine, you’re usually the quiet one.

Rachel- She will be screaming when we face each other. It’s going to be a really sad thing for me to do, but she will keep taking punishment until she realizes that she cannot beat me.

Jasmine- What will be sad will be when she loses in her childhood hero’s hometown. I told you Kimberly, this match is very different.

K- Just some random tidbit questions. Excluding yourself, who’s the best fighter in OPW?

Jasmine- Glory.

Rachel- Serenity.

K- Who’s the most overrated?

Jasmine- I have no opinion on that.

Rachel- Fortune.

K- Who isn’t in OPW right now that you wish was?

Jasmine- Allison Payne. And Kick Ass Angels, they have the personalities that would fit in great with our locker room.

Rachel- They can all come.

K- Who’s the best fighter you’ve ever faced?

Jasmine- David Rictor or Riptor, same guy.

Rachel- Shinobi.

K- Will Christina do a better job of running OPW than Siena did?

Jasmine- No.

Rachel- Don’t care.

K- Final question: Will the two of you ever be on speaking terms again?

Jasmine and Rachel simultaneously- Ask her.

[howardcosell]

Rachel Apache vs. Lady Jasmine. OPW World Title Match, Best 2 of 3 Falls. Fall Number 1: No Holds Barred.

So, you know the story and you know what has gotten us up to this point. I would imagine you expect me to bleed, don’t you? I would also imagine that you would expect me to enjoy it. I have always had difficulty being understood, but I guess that is one of the wonderful things that comes with wearing a mask. As I sit in the hallway preceding the walkway to the ramp, I have the OPW World Title belt strapped over my left shoulder, across my chest and under my right arm. I am Jasmine Raheid, and I am known to many as a woman who likes to bleed and likes to be in pain. But I tell you, while I do not object to the criticisms and the assumptions others have made in relation to the brutality of my matches, pain is not something that I enjoy being in. One week from now, I am due in Cairo, Egypt to address the United Nations on world hunger, but tonight, I have ‘family matters’ to deal with. You saw the Kimberly Chaucer interview, so you know the story. I see a saddened Tito Blaze at a vending machine and I think back to five years ago. Tito and I are on good terms, and that night in Chicago, we had a no holds barred match. She told me in the cafeteria that she and I needed to go easy on each other and not permanently injure one another. That is not something I would ever object to; I have never administered a major injury to an opponent, but Tito hit me seventeen times with a steel chair that night. She told me that she got carried away. What is amusing is that I still won the match.

Tonight is a different fight. Tonight I am up against my greatest adversary. I watch a montage of our history together and apart; she wins her titles and I win mine. Of course, there’s also the match we had in Chicago nine years ago. I deliberately dislocated both of my shoulders to slip out of a submission hold and then I choked myself out before I would let her have the satisfaction of beating me. I have never submitted in a match to anyone and I have never admitted being beaten. When I am truly beaten, I will have willingly given up, and that has never happened. All these thoughts coming to me before the biggest match of my career, but then again, every match is the biggest match because of the risks. I walk in the locker room and take one more look around. Glory is there, with her hair down, her eyeglasses on, her pedicured feet in two designer ice buckets, and her laptop open and her hands typing away. From what I could see, she’s in a wrestling chatroom in one window and is watching the show on the other one. She greets me with a smile and a thumbs up, and I return the favor. She tells me that she’s created a fake identity for herself so that she can get honest fan feedback on her performance and how we can make OPW better. Glory is one of the strongest and most focused fighters I have ever stepped into the ring against, but she is also one of the nicest and most intelligent women I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I am always amazed by her ability to balance the warrior and the woman.

My hair is already dyed green and on goes my mask. I stand at 5’9” and weight about 140 lbs. My hair is naturally black, but I wear green, so I dye it green. My eyes are also green, but an aqua green and many people tell me that I look like Angelina Jolie because of my figure, my eyes and my lips. I begin to feel the butterflies; I don’t normally get nervous before a match, but this is a match that I really want to win. Usually, I only wish that my opponent is saved of injury and heartbreak in defeat, but tonight, because of the opponent, I want to win. “Silence” by the group Enigma plays, and I can see on the screen that she is coming out. The Canadian fans are cheering her; her ovation is shaking the building. It sounds like an earthquake or a 747 flying over. She is 5’11” and 150 lbs with long wavy black hair and deep blue eyes. She is dressed in the usual attire, a purple sports bra, purple shorts, and white sneaker looking wrestling shoes… Rachel Apache, my oldest sister and the woman considered to be the greatest female fighter of all time. As she makes her way to the bottom of the ramp, I see her looking up at the Hell In A Cell hovering many feet above the ring. If this match goes to a third and deciding fall, that construction will lower and we will fight inside it. But I don’t plan on allowing this match to make it that far. Rachel enters the ring and imitates her childhood hero, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, by thrusting her arms forward and strutting to each set of ropes. The crowd and the man himself are loving it; it is very unlike her to do this sort of thing before a match of this magnitude. The reaction she gets is awing, and she stands with her arms folded, as is her natural pre-match stance, waiting for her opponent.

I always pray once before I enter. I pray for the safety of my opponent and I pray for the safety of the crowd. I pray we who are women in flesh and warriors in spirit fight to the fullest of our beings without doing permanent harm to each other. Rachel and I have not spoken to each other in a very, very, very long time; there are a lot of problems and unresolved issues between us, but I do not change this prayer and I pray for her well-being. “Twilight Zone” is a song by a lesser known band named Golden Earring and it was the entrance music for one of my greatest opponents and dearest friends, David Riptor. Now, out of tribute to him, it is my theme music and when the intro ends and the first verse begins, I walk out. When you first get on the ramp way, so many noises and sounds all jump into you. It’s so loud in the arena, that all you hear is that whizzing sound you hear when you’ve been listening to too much loud music. This has as much to do with the immediate backstage area (the section right before the ramp entrance) being so quiet and so dark and full of PA’s whispering and not bothering you as you get focused on the task at hand. And oh what a task I have in front of me.

I walk to the ring; I can’t tell if I’m being cheered or booed. The crowd is familiar with me and they know that I will show no emotion and I will not look at them. Rachel awaits me; I can feel her aura and see her stoic figure out of the corner of my eyes as I enter the ring. She seems to be trying to make eye contact with me as I test the ropes, but I don’t look at her. What is about to happen will define my career. I have more combined title reigns than any athlete in the history of OPW, APW, AWW, and any other legitimate female fighting federation. I have fought more matches than anyone in those federations, including Siena Blaze, Alicia Christmas, and Ms. Flex. But my losses seem to be what I am known for, more than any win I’ve ever had. I’ve passed out with my leg broken in fourteen places and my face covered in blood against David, I’ve choked myself out against Rachel with two dislocated shoulders, I had second degree burns after Prophecy and I fought in a no holds barred match and something under the ring caught on fire, I broke a bone in my neck when The Shadow choke slammed me off a ladder and through a cage wall, I fought Brix with a broken collarbone in Moscow, I finished my fight with Justine Credible after shattering my ankle in a Tokyo Deathmatch, I suffered heat exhaustion and a minor stroke during my barbed wire match with Siena Blaze. The key is, while I may not have been declared the winner in any of those matches, I never injured any of my opponents. And I am very proud of that. I am a submissions fighter; the pain ends when you want it to, and I prefer it that way.

I take the World Title belt off and hand it to the referee. The ref gives me a few words and I smile and nod, then glance at my opponent. Rachel stance is softened; she isn’t as stone cold as she was when I first entered the ring. I look into her eyes, and I see the older sister I’d always loved but never felt respected me. I see the ultimate fighter, the greatest thinking fighter to have ever stepped into this or any ring. I have to be honest with myself, I may not like her as a person and she may be my older sister, but she is Rachel Apache. She is the conqueror of all great fighters. I know what I’m up against, but I know I must find a way to beat her while protecting her. I turn to one of the corners just to get the thoughts out of my mind. This is a match; this is a match… and then it begins. A blow to the back of my head catches me, and another shot to my neck sends me to my knees as I hold on to the top rope. Some would probably say that Rachel Apache would never attack an opponent from behind, but I’ve seen her do it before. I don’t need to forgive her; this is a no holds barred match, and thus, her tactics are legal. She hurts me with a kick to the kidneys and as I try a sweep, she stomps on my leg, just above the ankle. She pulls me to my feet and buries her knee into my ribs. I hold my groan in as she hooks my head and DDTs me. She pulls me by my legs away from the ropes and begins to land hard kicks to my right leg. Vintage Rachel Apache, and of course I expect this from her. The kicks hurt and they hit arteries and bones; Rachel is very precise, everything she does during the match has a purpose. She’s like a very good movie, but a very predictable one.

I straighten my left leg and turn my body, as I do this, I kick Rachel’s shin as hard as I can from this position. I hit it at an angle where I don’t break it, and she falls forward… I bent my legs and roll on my shoulders. Rachel’s face hits my knee and as she goes to her knees, I see a brief look of shock on her face and blood coming from her nose. I don’t wait; I slide my legs around her neck and squeeze as soon as I felt her exhale. I could break her neck so many different ways, but I would never do that to her or anyone else. She can’t breathe, but she doesn’t wait to figure that out. She picks me up by my wrists and makes her first mistake of this match. I’ve had a neck scissors hold on many wrestlers and those who are strong enough have driven me down on my neck; Rachel The Excellence Of Execution Apache doesn’t do this. Instead, she holds onto my wrists and begins to spin me around. Rachel served in the Peace Corps and she has shot and killed people in defense of the United States and Israel. She did this when she was seventeen. I have never asked her, but have wondered what kind of toll that has taken on her. My point is that Rachel is trained to withstand dizziness and all sorts or situations, but it still doesn’t help her. My legs tighten even more and I smile at her as she goes back to her knees. I roll myself ontop of her, but she brings her legs up under my armpits and locks her ankles just below my chin, forcing me on my back and putting pressure on my legs. The “win by submission only” condition doesn’t take effect until the next fall, but already we are locked in a double submission hold. Rachel is going to break my neck if she keeps the pressure on, but I’m not letting go, no matter how much it hurts. I start to feel punches hitting my sides and I wince, but I know she’s getting desperate. Her punches are very hard and very accurate, my liver and stomach are taking a beating and my leg lock is beginning to loosen. She’s getting to me; I am a woman, and my body is very sensitive in certain areas and Rachel knows this. I am not training, sparring, and jogging every day like Rachel is; I am more centered on meditation and physical therapy and projecting my aura through my actions. With a strong aura, you can never truly be defeated because your will is unbreakable.

I feel my body jerk forward and I find myself face to face with my opponent. Rachel has brought her legs and me towards her at what must be a twenty degree angle. Rachel is looking into my eyes and her face is blue as my body is bent forward; this is very uncomfortable for both of us, but what is next hurts. She thrusts her legs forward and down and my back and the back of my head bang the mat hard. Whether I could maintain my neck scissors on Rachel isn’t even in the question; I feel her pull my legs off of her and I roll over and try to get to my feet. My mind is a complete blur and I have no concept of what is going on around me because my brain is still jiggling inside my skull. I cry out as I feel one of my ribs break and I see Rachel’s foot leaving the scene of that crime and heading for my mouth. The kick is so hard, that I believe that I am in a deep sleep for all of a second before I come around and find her pulling me up by my ponytail. She whips me to the ropes and I can feel her running behind me. As I bounce off the ropes, she wheel kicks me over the top and to the floor. I went over headfirst, but I got my forearm to take the impact; I may have injured my left elbow. Now that I think about it, my chin did hit and there’s blood coming from it. I also bit my tongue… but where is Rachel? I turn and stand, and I see her cartwheel in the ring and flip over the top rope, both feet headed directly for my face. I move; I know that by not taking the blow, Rachel may break both her ankles on the landing, but of course, she lands on her feet. She stands there with her hands on her hips, looking at me as if she expects me to drop to my knees in worship of her reflexes, but I spring forward and chop her on either side of her neck. I grab her shoulders and force a knee into her stomach. I feel her exhale, but she grabs me around the waist and spins me belly to belly. My back hits the steel barricade and I groan in pain. Rachel bends me backwards over the barricade and then doubles me over with a hard right hand to my stomach. The wind is knocked completely from me and I know that there was a message behind this punch. She pulls me up again, but I hook my left leg with her right leg and hook her head under my arm… this is looking like a guillotine choke, but I fall backwards and ram her head into the barricade. I feel her body wince and some of her air leave her; for a moment, she is down and holding the top of her head.

I can’t afford to let her off the hook, not while she’s in this condition. We both fight with honor and integrity, and the fans were probably wondering who would use a weapon first, well, I will leave them wondering no more. I reach under the ring and pull out a table, but Rachel trumps me by kicking herself to her feet, jumping ontop of the barricade and dropkicking the table into me. I am knocked down and the legs on the table extend, hitting me in the neck and the crotch. So far, this is not going the way I would have liked and Rachel tosses the table to the side and stomps on my stomach; I am forced to cover up once again. She yanks me back to my feet, punches me in the stomach again, and suplexes me across the barricade and I am slingshot into the crowd. My back could have been broken when it hit the steel and my neck could‘ve been snapped if she hadn‘t let go soon enough. But that is the difference between Rachel and I; Rachel doesn’t care. For some reason, I feel my heart sink from the notion as I turn around and see her coming towards me as the fans back up. Rachel stops, and kicks into the barricade, knocking one of the steel bars loose, then balancing it on her foot and kicking it up and to her hand.

[howardcosell]

The fans are in awe that Rachel possesses that sort of power in her legs, but as her sister, it doesn’t surprise me at all. She folds a chair around her left arm and approaches like some sort of “hardcore gladiator.” Maybe if she had Glory’s Mohawk she would look more the part.

“If you will not end this… I will. And Heaven help you if I must.”

I guess that would be the first time she’s spoken to me in nine years other than “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas.” Rachel pauses her advance as someone offers me a chair to take into battle against her, but I refuse it. This surprises her, but she doesn’t understand; she will very shortly. We face off as she charges me and I sidestep her attempt at my shoulder with the steel bar. She tries to backhand me with the chair and I duck, digging a two fisted shot to her lower stomach and seeing her eyes widen and her body bend. Rachel has soft spots and weaknesses also, but her biggest weakness is her ego. This is where she and I are separate more than ever. I land three kicks to her ribs and she brings the chair around to shield them, so I do a spin kick to the chair and slam it into her side. The impact drives her to her knees and I stop to savor the moment as she looks up at me and I can see the weakness in her eyes. She tries to hit me with the bar, but I easily kick it away. Then I give her a front kick to her stomach and she groans in agony and curls into a fetal position. How is it that I just knocked down the greatest fighter of all time, who happened to have two weapons and I was unarmed?

This is what Rachel doesn’t understand: Rachel isn’t a no holds barred fighter. While she has been trained in all sorts of weapons usages and in an unlimited variety of forms of combat, this sort of fighting is exactly what she has always denounced. This sort of fighting is what made her refer to me as a human pincushion. And now here she is… succumbing to the madness that I have lived my career inside of. Rachel hates the madness; she is supposed to be the most focused, but the last time she fought me, she lost her cool. She is the white knight, the hero and defender of all that is right and honorable. So, she knows nothing of this hardcore world she finds herself in, but she is more than capable of losing it and fitting right in. Her problem is that she considers herself too noble to do so, and this is why she will lose. I bring her head up and slam my knee into her face. I mount her and begin to punch her face over and over again; this is not something that I ever do unless I’m losing my cool. But I must admit, I like the way this feels, to have Rachel in such distress out here, so far away from the ring where she dominates. I jump and drive both my knees down on her stomach and hear her cry a loud, ear-shattering “OHHHHH!!” I cannot say that I don’t smile at hearing that.

Rachel rolls over on her stomach to avoid further punishment, a very un-Rachel like act, and I pull her to her feet by wrapping my arms around her waist. She can barely stand, so I walk her towards the barricade, but she forward somersaults, rolling me, and I am sent face first into the barricade. She wasn’t as hurt as she made herself to be. I am bleeding badly and my mask is beginning to stick to my face from the moisture. I take the mask off and I turn and see Rachel with a chair. Once again, we make eye contact and she hesitates, seeing my face. We are at war with each other, and we have not spoken in 
many years; there is very little to say. But we are sisters. But she is Rachel and Rachel doesn’t care. I see stars and everything goes red when the chair slams against the top of my head and I am driven down. She raises the chair and by her facial expression, she won’t be sparing any energy on this shot, but I thrust myself at her, driving my head into her stomach and hearing a sound similar to that of a fake orgasm. I don’t like to think of my sister in that sense, especially this sister who shows no emotion, but is so full of it. I see something in her eyes; I have really hurt her… I see a sparkle and then a tear. Then I punch her in that eye and she goes down. Punching is not something that I like to do; if I must fight hand to hand, I prefer to kick. But this is Rachel and Rachel doesn’t care. I pull my mask back on and pull her to her feet. She swings at me and I duck, trapping her in a full nelson. We are both facing the barricade as I lift her up; she knows that I am strong enough to do this. If I throw her backwards in a tiger suplex, which is one of my favorite moves to use, I may break her neck, but if I can take something off of it… she doesn’t give me time to figure this out. She locks her legs back and around my waist and squeezes. This has to be painful for her back, more painful for hers than for mine. I let go of the full nelson and make sure that I am close enough to the barricades that Rachel’s stomach slams across the top and not her ribcage. Rachel makes another ‘girly’ noise and falls on the other side of the barricade, clutching her stomach. I climb over the barricade and go under the ring. I find a ladder, and I pull it out. I glance at Rachel and realize that I have never seen her look the way she does now… in so much pain. And while it isn’t visible on her bloody face because of her commitment to stoicism, I can tell she is hurting badly. Ms. Perfect is in pain.

I put Rachel on the table I have set up and I climb the ladder. The fans, who it seems as though I have ignored this entire match, are on their feet as I look around. The next time I look down, Rachel is not on the table. She is on the ladder with me and trying to throw me off. From this position, I have no leverage, and she gets me into a suplex position, but her grip slips and we both fall off… I feel a horrible pain in my side and neck as I miss the table and hit the concrete floor. Rachel missed the table also… but she landed on her feet. We’re both bleeding, but I’m bleeding a lot worse and her grip slipped because I’m pretty wet. Rachel isn’t known for screwing up a maneuver, but of course, she would screw one up against me and nearly kill me if I hadn’t adjusted my body on the way down. But Rachel is Rachel and Rachel doesn’t care. She pulls me up and front suplexes me across the ring steps, then she pulls me back up and gives me a brain buster off the steps. I’m thinking that she is aiming for the table I set up nearby, but she misses the table and I land on the floor. I rolled my shoulders a bit, or else I would’ve landed on the top of my head. Rachel pulls me up and rolls me into the ring. The crowd is applauding as Rachel has a chair and comes towards me, but I give her a drop toehold and send her out of the ring and into the table. Rachel’s face hits the table, but it doesn’t break; I guess her head isn’t so big after all, ha, ha, ha. I don’t have a lot of time before she rises. I set up the chair in the middle of the ring, I bounce off the ropes, posts off the chair and front flip over the top rope. This time, Rachel is there and I crash through her and we crash through the table. I can hear the fans chanting something that sounds like “holy spit” but I know that’s not what they’re saying. I told Kimberly Chaucer and I told the world that Rachel would be put in more pain than she’s ever been and that I would win this match.

Rachel made the same prediction, and as I pull her up, I can see that she has a blackening right eye and a cut on her left cheek. I take her and throw her into the ladder; she makes a groaning noise as her back hits and then lets out a loud “OOF” sound as I give her a sidekick to her stomach. I grab her head while she is bending over and I prepare to give her a face buster, but she straightens herself out and back body drops me right into the ladder, and I slide down and land on my neck.

Rachel slides into the ring and she is doubled over and it looks like she’s spitting up blood. Deep down, my heart goes out to her, but I have a match to win and I climb the ladder as she gathers herself on her hands and knees clutching her stomach. I get to the top of the ladder and dive into the ring… she rolls over on her back and catches me with a kick by posting off of her shoulders. I feel my head snap up and my body go limp; I have to grab the ropes before I tumble over the top and to the floor. Rachel grabs me and pulls me into a suplex position, but pulls me up and drives the top of my head down on the steel chair via a DDT/suplex merger. I am now wearing the chair and I feel Rachel’s body across my own as the ref taps, 1,2,3. This is not the way I wanted things to go. I told Kimberly Chaucer and I told the world that this match would not go to a third fall. I said that I would beat Rachel in two falls, but now, the only way to win is to break my word. I will have to make Rachel submit in order to even this match up, and then I will have to beat her in the Hell In A Cell. I have watched other fighters tell stories from the first person and every story I have read lately, these fighters make themselves out to be perfect and flawless as fighters. The Kevin Costner syndrome I believe it’s called… and winning all the time makes for very boring stories, and deep seeded insecurities. Perfection is very boring, and I am not perfect. I am a woman and I am flawed like every woman on this earth. And by admitting this, I am closer to perfect than anyone who claims she is. I am bleeding as I back into my corner and Rachel does the same. She is hurting and she is breathing heavily, but her breaths are slowing down, as are mine. I can see that the determination is back all over her bloody face; it’s as if the blood isn’t affecting her. The next fall will be “Win By Submission Only.” You cannot win by knockout; the referee will wake your opponent up and you will continue until someone submits. This is the only way to win. I have never submitted and I have never defeated Rachel Apache, but something will have to give.

[howardcosell]

Rachel Apache vs. Lady Jasmine for the OPW World Title, Fall Two: Win By Submission Only

“… and winning all the time makes for very boring stories, and deep seeded insecurities. Perfection is very boring, and I am not perfect. I am a woman and I am flawed like every woman on this earth.”

My name is Rachel Apache, and I am perfect. I am a woman and I am not flawed, nor am I humbled by what kneels before me. I am one submission away from winning the OPW World title in Calgary, Alberta, Canada… the home of my childhood hero and the man who I have patterned my career after, Bret “The Hitman” Hart. No one is going to stop me from reaching my goal. No one has ever been able to stop me from achieving. Jasmine rests in the corner, the blood running down her face from underneath the green mask. Despite the swelling in my right eye, I can see her. Despite the cut on my left cheek, I can feel her weakening. I have taken the first fall of this match, and this fall is one where the only way to win is to make Jasmine submit. Well, Jasmine has never submitted. One would think that this would be a concern of mine. But you must understand who I am. Siena Blaze had been undefeated and the OPW World champion for eleven years and in the prime of her career at 25 years old, and I, only a sixteen year old girl, ended all of that. I did not doubt myself. In Israel, a clan of suicide bombers entered a church and took hostages. They said that it could only end one way, with dead bodies everywhere. But I saved the hostages, and I was only seventeen. I did not doubt myself. Whether I was in the ring with the undefeated monster known as Death, or staring down the barrel of an AK-47 being held by a 12 year old girl in Turkey, I prevailed and I did not doubt myself. So now, Jasmine, my younger sister, my stubborn masochist sister with her flawed fighting style and her disregard for her own well-being. She is a submissions fighter and she has never submitted and the only way to win this match is to make her submit. I do not doubt myself.

I don’t want to waste time. I want to end her pain quickly. That is what she does not understand. If she were anyone else, I wouldn’t really care. But because she is my sister, I must show her, as I have tried to show my youngest sister Sage, that resistance is futile. I am hurting; I can admit that. But in fighting, even a perfectionist like me realizes that I will get hit and perhaps even hurt. I rush in on her and she springs forward, tackling me and taking me down, but I keep rolling until and I am on top. I have mounted her and now, it is time for this fight to end. I begin to punch her face and I don’t see her arms. My focus is on the target and to punch with force enough to make her tap out. I could punch through her skull if I wanted to, but I only want to end it before I get too much into it. I love to fight; fighting is what I do, and it is very easy to get sucked into the madness and bloodlust of a fight like this. As I punch her, I see her head turning from side to side and her face twisting in various expressions of torment. I want to stop, but I can’t, I don’t know how far away I am from her admission of defeat, but I feel it is coming soon. How can she not surrender? She has to realize that she will not beat me; I will not let her. Ever since we were children, Jasmine has watched me from a distance. She may not know it or believe it, but I have watched her. She has watched me train, she has watched me break hearts and break bodies, and I have watched her suffer, I have watched her bleed. And I am tired of seeing her this way. So, she knows what I am and I know what she is. She is master at taking punishment and I am master at giving it.

I place both my knees on her torso, grab her head and pull it forward in a classic can opener. I say a silent prayer hoping that this is enough. She has nothing left; the first fall took everything from her. I can feel this… but what I feel next is a shock to my system. She takes her hands and drives her fingers into my armpits. This pain is enough for me to grit my teeth from the nerve effect and she brings her legs around and captures me in a body scissors. I release the can opener as I fall on my back with her on top and my face in her chest. I can’t see and her blood is getting on me, but I begin to hammer her left side with punches. I aim for below her ribs, where she’s soft and sensitive, and I can feel her losing her grip. She is mashing her body against mine to prevent me from getting in the more significant body blows, such as to the liver and stomach, but she is tormenting her own body to do so by holding onto the scissors. I thrust myself from my back and she is caught completely off guard as I sit up. She still has me in the body scissors and is sitting up facing me, but I use my hands and arms to inch myself back towards the corner, then, using only my legs, I stand up with Jasmine’s 140 lbs still wrapped around me. Then, I throw myself backwards. I don’t know if this will work or not; I believe I’ve positioned myself correctly… and that groan I hear is a perfect indicator that it did work. I threw Jasmine head first into the turnbuckle; she releases the scissors and falls on me, only for me to lift her up and slam her power bomb style to the mat.

Jasmine is beaten; this I know. If this were a pinfall, I would end it now… because I am beginning to enjoy this. I am beginning to see her, not as Jasmine my sister, but as Lady Jasmine the fighter. The masked woman in green who, for years, fans have said deserved to be the one who Siena passed the torch to. The woman  who was in OPW before I got there and has expressed jealousy for the fame that I have earned. Well, I was not passed a torch, I took the torch from Siena, not because I wanted it, but because she was running in the wrong direction. I can put Jasmine in the sharpshooter now, but I know she’s waiting for that and her legs are too strong. Jasmine’s legs are her primary weapons, but I decide for an armbar instead. I wish she would give up. As I lock to hold on and put my feet on her shoulder and armpit, I can hear her groaning. I can see her eyes closed and her lips quivering as she fights that internal battle with herself. But what is this? She is pulling her arm back towards her and I am giving way. I feel my own body sitting up as Jasmine is showing superhuman strength. She is pulling her arm free of my armbar and that is not possible because I am a lot stronger than she is. I must admit, this is disheartening for me, but then I realize that strength has nothing to do with it. She is slippery from her blood loss; her skin is covered in it and her sweat, making her body hard to get a grip on. And that slick outfit she’s wearing is assisting in this also.

She frees her arm and before I can make a move towards her, she thrusts her finger into my nearly closed right eye. It hurts, but it’s more of an irritation, however, it’s enough for me to turn away. I figure that she’s more hurt than I am, but she tries to mount me. We struggle with each other on our knees, but she chops me across the throat and pushed me on my side. Then she mounts me and punches me several times in my stomach. A woman’s essence is her stomach, my very core and her weakness and vulnerabilities rest in her stomach. My stomach is beautiful; I do six hundred crunches for my upper abs. But my navel is extremely sensitive and my lower abs are very soft, and this is where she is hitting me. The punches weaken me; I don’t know how to take them and keep a straight face. She beats me to a fetal position, and she applies a rear sleeper… such a silly move against me and very easy to counter. I take in two lungs full of air the moment she ceases hurting my stomach to go for the sleeper. As she puts it on, I bend her arm and roll behind her and apply a half nelson. She posts off her calves and stands as I stand as well. I know this is not a good position to be in even though I have a hold on; there are just two many counters for a half nelson. So, I release it and try to wrap my arms around her waist, but she reaches back and grabs my arm… putting the half nelson back on herself in a sense. Then she backflips while I still am holding onto her arm. I wind up falling on my back, and she rolls herself in midair and lets go of my arm, locking her legs around it and my neck… I can’t believe it. 

[howardcosell]

My left arm is trapped under my body in a half nelson position and Jasmine is holding it in place and choking me out with her legs. I have to do something and do it fast. I know that if I pass out, I will be awaken and the match will continue until one of us submits… no, until SHE submits. I will not submit. Even if I get to the ropes, it will not matter. I have to think about this. Jasmine has never given an opponent a major injury, and despite her dislike of me, I don’t believe she will do this to me. So, I know that she will release this hold before I pass out or die. I bring my legs as far up and over my body as I can; with Jasmine sitting up and the head scissors around me as I lie on the ground, it is easy to get my legs to where they are on either side of her head. But when I try to slam them together, she catches them pushes them down to where they are even with my head. This is a contorting position for me and the strain on my back is amazing, and she is able to maintain this hold with one arm while using the other arm to punch my stomach. Occasionally, she looks into my eyes and I feel tears coming. I am hurting, but I will not submit. I am crying because I know what I must do now. I have to let myself go. I have to no longer look at her as my sister because she hasn’t looked at me that way for much of our lives. I realize now that we will never be on good terms; she is enjoying inflicting this pain on me. And honestly, it hurts my feelings deep down. True, I am Rachel Apache and I show no emotion, but she is hurting me because she is going to make me destroy her just for her to tap my shoulder or to say “I quit.” She is going to make me.

I close my eyes as I feel her fist dig into my stomach. I surrender to it; I let it take me over. I thrust my legs forward with all my might and I feel a horrible pain in my neck as Jasmine is thrown off of me and releases the head scissors. No more sympathy; no more pulling punches. The only sympathy I can show her now is to beat her quickly. I stand, I am weakened, but that is fine. She stands and tries to kick me, but I catch her leg and punch her in the throat. Then I take her leg and take her down by twisting it and dropping my knee across it. I feel her let out a moan and I backfist her across the face. She gets in a kick to my side from her seated position and I respond with a knee drop across her stomach. She makes the “OOF!” sound and I give her five more fast knees to the stomach for her trouble and receive five more “OOF’s” for my excellence. She must submit. She must be made to understand that no matter how much she harms herself in this sport, she cannot win against someone who is a natural at harming people. She whips her leg around and nails me in the back of the head and I fall from my knees and across her knee, which she bends and catches me in the solar plexus. She instantly mounts me from behind, looking to put on a body scissors and sleeper combination, but I try to wrest myself away from her. She hits my navel from behind with a punch and I cry out and she gets her hold on. I take time to pull my shorts up so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again. I can hear her breathing heavily and I can feel the aggression… so unlike Jasmine to act this way. It’s as if she truly hates me… but she is not Jasmine my sister. She is Lady Jasmine, my silent rival. A woman who fans said that I avoided fighting when I was champion because at the time, they didn’t know we were sisters. I post off my calves and force us both to our feet. Her strength is greatly underestimated because she is really holding on, but I am stronger by a wide margin. I thrust my arms outward, as if popping off a cape, and Jasmine’s hold is broken and so is she as she falls to the mat. She lies there, looking up at me from her spread eagle position and with blood running down her arms and legs from her skin tearing when I shrugged her off. She has to realize that no matter what she does, I have an answer and I will prevail. I will show her that my will is superior to hers, as it was superior to Siena’s and superior to every athlete I have fought. She will realize that what I am doing is for her own good and she had best surrender now before I end her career, something that I wanted to do the last and only other time we fought. I will make her submit. I do not doubt myself.

I back up and I allow her to stand. She could stay on her back and be very comfortable because she believes she is the better ground fighter. But she stands and takes the bait. She wants to fight me head up, what a mistake she’s making and I want to make her understand. She throws a punch at my head, I catch her fist and backfist her hard, but as she goes down, I pull her arm and drive my knee into her stomach. I hear the air whoosh from her and I hear a tortured groan from deep within her very soul. So, I follow up with a right hand to her jaw, a left to her throat and a roundhouse kick… she ducked it. And she traps me in another submission, locking both my arms into a double hammerlock and interlocking her legs with mine, bending and twisting my feet outward. But I have no time for this… I flip forward, but she tightens her holds and I go limp for a moment. The idea was to flip her and sandwich her between my back and the mat, but because I went limp mid-flip, she lands on the top of her head… oh God no. This is not what I wanted; I stand and I see her lying motionless. She’s not moving and her neck may be broken. I… I … I don’t know what I just did. I didn’t want to do this to her. The referee approaches and checks Jasmine and she is unconscious. He puts smelling salts under her nose and her body jerks back to life. She turns and stares at me… there’s a moment, I believe there may be one right now. But that look in her eyes, I match it with one of my own… one that says that I am not going anywhere and I will not lose. She stands and steps forward slowly, looking at me. We are face-to-face and she nods while staring into my eyes. For the first time, I am ready to tell her how much I truly respect her for being woman enough to know when she’s… she kicks me in the stomach. It’s one of the worst pains I’ve felt there and I hear myself make a horrible sound as I stumble back. Then she slaps my face and I rest on the ropes as she backs up and cracks her neck back into place. That’s it! You just won’t surrender, will you, Jasmine? You want your career to end; you want to suffer a horrible injury and you want me to be the one to administer it so that I can have it on my conscience for the rest of my life! Well, you know what, Jasmine? I will do what I must to stop you and make you submit to me. This match will not go to a third fall; there will be no need for the Hell In A Cell because I will simply end it now. I will not inflict more pain on you in that contraption just to please you and I will not give you the satisfaction of beating me. You WILL SUBMIT TO ME and you will come to your senses.

More to come…

[howardcosell]

CONTINUATION…

I never thought that my biggest fight would be against this opponent. I struggle to hold her in place as we jockey for control. She is so strong; her desire so great… the desire to inflict pain, the desire to hurt and bloody and conquer. But I have to hold her down; I cannot let her win. My name is Rachel Apache and right now my fight is with myself. My fight is to stop myself from surrendering to the system building inside of me. I have been trained since childhood to fight and to win; I have been trained to conquer and the break wills. And I have been trained to show mercy only after I prevail. I fight because fighting is what I am. And because it is what I am, then I must love it as I love myself. So sometimes, it gets out of hand and I forget who I am and who I am facing and I become the fighter and only the fighter, ignoring the person inside. Right now, I’m trying not to do that completely. So, my struggle is against myself, not my opponent. I am standing in the ring and my sister, Lady Jasmine, is outside having just crashed through a table. She rushed me and I grabbed her and simply flung her over my head. Her body is covered in blood and her mask is torn, but yet she is standing back up and preparing to reenter the ring. This is the second fall of our best 2 out of 3 falls match for the OPW World Title that she is currently in possession of. The stipulation of this fall is that we fight until one of us submits. This match has just passed the one hour mark and it has also passed the point of being competitive. Jasmine has taken a beating, but she hasn’t yet begun to feel the sort of pain that I am capable of administering. If this had been a match against anyone else, I’d have lost my patience and just let myself go full throttle without pausing. But fighting is a methodical process and my fighting style takes a lot of patience; I have learned this in my 27 years of living.

I grab the top rope and launch myself over, flipping onto Jasmine’s head and shoulders so that she takes a double axe kick to either side of her neck. But that not all… the second I feel her going down, I wrap my legs around her neck and throw her in a hurricanrana, but I don’t let go. We both slam into the remnants of the table Jasmine just went through and I tighten my legs around her neck. The submission has to take place in the ring, but this is still beneficial to me. Jasmine struggles to hold onto consciousness as I try to avoid eye contact with her. The referee dives out of the ring and begins to tell me that Jasmine has passed out again. This annoys me because every time this happens, she has to be awaken. So, I let go of her and get a chair… I will wake her up my way. I have a lot of patience, but it is being tested tonight. I stare at the referee and he gets back into the ring; he has no place out here. I raise the chair over my head and I aim for the opening in the top of her mask… no. I decide that I will come sideways across her mouth with it, that will wake her up and all her broken teeth will be enough for her to concede the match. She kicks me in the stomach, low and I feel my beautiful abs fold over her foot. I have the chair in front of my face to hide my expression, and she kicks it into my head and I go down. The moment the chair hits, I feel a shower of some liquid sprinkle on my face… the top of my head is busted open. I feel it and realize that it isn’t anything serious and I pull myself up and lean on the barricade. She has the chair and she drives it into my stomach low and deep. To describe a pain in my core like this is beyond my words. She didn’t really pass out; she was faking. I’ve done this during some of my matches also.

She places one end of the nearby ladder on top of the barricade and the other end on the ring apron. To do this, she pulled the barricade forward a few feet; I am gaining my strength and preparing to make my final run and end this. She chops me in the stomach and gives me little punches to the sides of the pouch below my navel, then she suplexes me onto the ladder. Slowly, my strength is coming back, and so is my anger. She climbs atop the ladder and turns me over onto my stomach. Is she going to put me in the sharpshooter, my finishing move and the finishing move of Bret Hart right here in his hometown? Is she really going to disrespect me that way? She hooks my legs with her own in the sharpshooter and then she arches her back and grabs my chin with one hand, pulling me up off the ladder and holding onto the leg hold with her other arm. I know that  while this hold is probably very pretty to the audience, Jasmine cannot possibly maintain it for very long. One thing I do not like, and Glory, Ricochet, and Marie B. can testify to this… I do not like it when someone uses the sharpshooter against me. This is more like a variation of her inverted STF, but I still don’t like it and it is one the most painful submission holds I’ve ever felt, but not so painful that I can’t get out of it. I pull with my might in my legs and Jasmine is sent off of me. I am in pure agony; that hold took a lot of my strength and my neck is hurting and burning. Jasmine almost falls off the ladder and into the crowd, but as she turns around, I give her a flying wheel kick and she is sent airborn off of the ladder and into a set of chairs in the audience where people moved to give us space.

I don’t wait for her to stand; I jump off the ladder and try to land on my feet on her body, but she rolls on her shoulders and bounces off her hands. She kicks me under the chin and I am sent into the ladder and over the barricade to the floor. Where is she finding the strength to do all this? Why won’t she quit; she will not win. She climbs over the barricade, pulls me to my feet and buries her fist into my stomach. Jasmine and I know each other enough to know that a punch to the stomach, especially a hard one means something. We are both in a culture where the stomach of a woman is sacred and for her to do this to me is deliberately disrespectful. She didn’t do it to me that last time we fought, but I certainly hit her there, but not to disrespect her, to win the match. I stare into her eyes, my mouth is open and I am hurting… I can’t breath. I just can’t breath. Jasmine looks at me as if she has never seen me before; it’s as if I am nothing to her. I search her eyes for something… but nobody’s home. She takes me and prepares to send me back into the ring, but I fall back and roll, and Jasmine goes neck first into the steel barricade. Her body does the same sort of twitch that I’ve seen dead bodies do in Israel after they’ve been shot. It’s that final conk of life… but she pushes herself back to her feet and looks at me… nobody’s home. It makes me angry, it makes me want to let myself go. But I know that she can’t possibly take much more. She just can’t…

We simultaneously roll back into the ring and stand. The audience applauds; for some reason, that makes me a bit sad. I am searching her, trying to find a weak point, and I can see them all. But I’m looking for a weakness in her will, I’m looking for some indication that she is ready to surrender… and what I see is the best poker face I’ve laid eyes on since the last time I looked in the mirror. Not even Death looks as emotionless as Jasmine does now. But I know her, and I know that she is hurting… I know that she is ready to fall. I just have to go after her and finish this. I am Rachel Apache; I am supposed to win this title here in my hero’s hometown and she is supposed to submit to me. This is what will happen… but how much more will it take? I go for a simple leg kick, she steps over the leg and goes for a roundhouse, I duck it, I grab her over the shoulder, lock my leg with hers, and give her a side Russian legsweep. Usually, the sharpshooter follows the side Russian legsweep, but as soon as we hit the mat, I bring my leg over and bend her leg with it while pulling her arm and bracing my knee against her back with my other leg. I hear her groaning and making all those feminine high-pitched sounds and I wait for her to tap out… five minutes… now ten minutes… she can’t pass out because this hold is too painful and it’s meant to keep her awake… twenty minutes… WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER? Jasmine, do you not understand that you must lose to me tonight? Do you not realize that I am capable of killing you and if you were not my sister, as God is my witness, I would put you out of your misery because you were foolish enough to step into the ring with me. I am wrong; I would not deliberately kill an opponent simply to win a match, but my patience is running out with this; I’m starting to get stiff in this hold. She rocks herself hard and rolls me on my back, grabbing my throat and squeezing while wrapping her legs around my body. I did not know my move could be countered, but then again, if someone put me in it, I would have countered it myself. She grabs me by my ears and repeatedly slams the back of my head into the mat. It helps me take my mind off of the fact that my body feels like it’s on fire because of her body scissors.

When she pulls my head forward to smash it down again, I hoist my torso up and ram my forehead into her face. She cries out in pain and I pull hard on her hair with one hand and pull up on the inside of her mouth with the other. She bites my fingers and we roll around on the mat. This is the way sisters would usually fight, if memory serves me right from what I have observed, the hair-pulling, the biting and slapping. Could this mean that she acknowledges me? Could this mean that she is ready to give up? I am so tired and I can hardly breath; I don’t how many times this woman has hit me in the stomach or wrapped her legs around my neck, ribs, or waist. But deep within me, the fighter is waiting for her turn to play. The system is tugging at me, telling me to let myself go and become the perfection that I was trained to be. I am a thinking fighter now; I can figure out the style of my opponent and her weaknesses and beat her, whoever she may be. And I do beat them all, but when I let myself go on pure instinct, when I let the system take over, there is no turning back. As a thinking fighter, I do what I must to win; but when I go on pure instinct, it isn’t about winning because I will win, that’s a given. On instinct, it becomes about destroying my opponent, making her obsolete and showing her how wide the gap is between she and I. That is the system, the darkness inside of me. And I love it. She winds up on top and has me pinned. Time for a rest, she runs her fingers around the cut on my cheek, then she runs them over my eyebrows. I don’t know what she’s doing, but her face is that of a mother to a child; I am older than she is by four and a half years so I don’t know what she’s doing. Then she punches me on my eyebrow and opens up a cut. This enrages me and my breathing picks up, but I’m taking in less and less air. I throw her off of me and reach my feet. I dive on top of her and she drives both knees into my stomach. I can’t take this. I cover my face as tears roll down. I’m crying and I can’t breath. She sits up and I feel her fist pummeling me in the lower stomach and I cover my belly with my arms; I need to catch my breath. She grabs me from behind and wraps her legs around my waist, trapping my arms around my stomach well below the navel and more around my ovaries. Then she grabs my head with her right hand under my chin and turns it hard to the right, twisting my neck.

[howardcosell]

She throws herself back and bends my neck back as well; she’s pumping her legs up and down while squeezing me, driving the blood up my body and compressing my heart and breasts. My arms were soothing my vulnerable spot and now they are helping her torture it. I can’t move them because they are pinned right on the inside of my elbow, so I can’t straighten them to throw her off. My legs are under the bottom rope, but that doesn’t matter because the “reach the ropes and the hold is broken” rule does not apply. Doesn’t she realize that she is going to lose? Doesn’t she realize that I will figure a way out of this hold? She has to lose, there is no way she can win… and now, with her left arm, she begins to punch between her legs and between my arms… right on my stomach. And the punches are hard and they are sinking in. My face is wet with tears and my body is wracked with agonizing pain. I have no time to think about this; it hurts too much and she is hitting all of the spots. How did I let this happen to me? I have a one fall lead and I… I can afford to lose this fall and conserve my remaining energy for the third… no… I can’t submit to her. Not her… never her. She squeezes her legs and I feel my ribs jabbing my liver and stomach… AHHHHHHHHH!!! The referee asks me if I submit and she tightens the hold and goes all out twisting my neck and punching my stomach. I feel like I could fit through a hole the size of a quarter and my hips could pop out of socket at any second. I keep shaking my head from side to side… I just refuse to submit to her. I am better than she is… she is not supposed to win over me. Finally, with my face soaked in tears and in both of our blood, I nod. But that isn’t good enough for her because she does not release me. It takes a few moments, and then I realize what she wants.

Women who are fighters deal with submission in a variety of ways. Simply tapping out is one thing; you don’t have to verbally acknowledge that you’ve lost. Saying “I quit” is fine, but it’s not a true acknowledgment of defeat because you are not saying that you have been defeated. The ultimate admission of defeat, the words she wants to hear from me are words that I have only uttered once during a fight, and it wasn’t in a match, it was when Angelo fought me for the right to marry me. And just like Jasmine, he wasn’t satisfied with a nod; he wanted to hear those words. The same words that I would make him say to me when I would beat him repeatedly during sparring sessions and all those previous times he fought me for my hand in marriage. Of course, he left me for Asia and we never got married, but he got his words and as Jasmine squeezes me and as much as it embarrasses and hurts me to do it, the pain is simply too much all at once.

“You beat me.”

She releases me and I roll on my back and cry out loud. It sounds more like an angry scream than me crying, and as I look at her… she smiles at me. Then she looks up; the Hell In A Cell is lowering and after a brief break, we will start the third and final fall of this match. What she did to me was disrespectful and unnecessary. And I realize that I wasn’t in as much pain as I thought; she simply knew how to make it seem that way by attacking my pressure points. She has never given an opponent a major injury and I was convinced that she was about to kill me. So, I see where I made my mistake… I thought too much. She was emotionless and cold and that is why she beat me. Now, I have no reason to think… now, the system can take over. Jasmine slips out of the ring before the cage lowers completely, jumps on it and begins to climb up the side. I sigh and let the system take me and I follow her. She climbs to the top of the cage and waits for me. She wants to start this match the same way Mick Foley did against the Undertaker. Because my emotions are dead and my instincts are alive, I harbor a grin inside. We face off as the cage finally rests. The fans are all on their feet and stomping and clapping, but all I see is her. Jasmine, you fight me as if you wish to die in this ring. You fight and you do not realize that I will prevail in the end, no matter what you do. As the cage continues to lower, so do my defenses. I remember an interview where Jasmine used the word “madness” repeatedly to describe the pull to these sorts of matches. She said that she lives in the madness. Well, up to this point, this match has been nothing but madness. But now, inside of this twenty foot high Hell In A Cell, a contraption that I wished I would never step into again after fighting the Shadow in one many years ago… the madness will end. No more talking, no more thinking, and no more convincing you to stop. Jasmine, you are my sister and I love you, but God forgive me, I am going to destroy you.

[howardcosell]

Rachel Apache vs. Lady Jasmine for the OPW World Title. 3rd and final fall: Hell In A Cell.

We laugh
We cry
We sigh
We fly
We live
We die… together.

Off the cage they fall. A little more than twenty feet of nothing but air and opportunity between the two sisters and the hard concrete floor. This is now officially the longest match in OPW history. At 2 hours and 17 minutes, it has passed the barbed wire match between Siena and Jasmine and passed the Last Woman Standing match between Marie B. and Kayla Rankin. Watching this match, most of the crowd is blind to the seriousness; they live in the madness, they came for the blood. But some of us, well, we realize that this is a death match. This is a nightmare come true. These two women represent so much to us; they are so important and have inspired so many. And now, they are killing each other and we don’t believe that either of them will come out of this unchanged.

Rachel Apache is more than a wrestler; she’s the essence of a woman. She’s the ultimate winner and the ultimate fighter; she’s as close to perfection as anything to ever walk into a ring. Standing at 5’11” and weighing a fit, strong, but shapely 150 lbs, Rachel can affect you without even knowing it because she is so beautiful, from her long wavy black hair, to her blues eyes, to her Persian brown skin, on down to her most desirable stomach… Rachel is a goddess. Looking at her is falling in love with her, that’s why I’ve always tried not to make eye contact. But see her now… her right eye blackened, her cheek cut, her hair covered in blood from a gash in the top of her head, and her purple wrestling gear wet with sweat and blood from her bruised stomach on down to her white shoes, which are now pink. Rachel is hurting but she’s still winning, she’s still dominating, and she‘s still perfection. This is the essence of a woman. Her calm gone, only moments ago, she faced her sister atop the Hell In A Cell.

Lady Jasmine is more than a wrestler; she’s the essence of a woman. Since the beginning of time, sexism has existed. The world has been a place of male dominance and a place of female oppression, but women have fought and bled and suffered for their right to equality. And no matter how bad the beating or how rough the stipulations, the woman is still here, the woman is still strength. Standing at 5’9” and weighing right at 140 lbs, Jasmine is the personification of sexuality and toughness, from her pony tailed black hair, to her green eyes to her Angelina Jolie ruby red lips to her long legs, she is so entrancing. But this is not the image we are used to seeing of Jasmine, is it? This is not the image of Jasmine we see now. We see the image of Jasmine covered in blood, her aqua green eyes still focused on her task, her face unyielding, and her body wobbling, but still standing. No matter what abuse she takes, she never surrenders, she never submits, and she makes sure to preserve her opponent. This is the essence of a woman. Her calm gone, only moments ago, she faced her sister atop the Hell In A Cell.

So you see why, when these two women fall from the cage to the floor, I shed a tear. Oh the third fall began with Rachel and Jasmine only a few feet apart on top of the cage. From my seat, I could see Rachel saying something and pointing her finger at Jasmine; Rachel’s stance was firm and strong. Jasmine had her back to me, but her stance was more relaxed, as if she was unaffected. Rachel moved in on Jasmine and threw a right hand that Jasmine ducked, a left hook that Jasmine sidestepped. Rachel feinted a kick at Jasmine’s left side and Jasmine moved right into a right handed back fist that staggered her. I was too far away to be able to hear a groan, but Jasmine’s body shook as if she had the chills and she fell backwards, but Rachel hit her solar plexus with multiple sidekicks and Jasmine’s body left the ground, as if she was being juggled by Rachel’s lightening fast right leg. When Rachel ceased kicking her sister, Jasmine nearly fell off the edge of the cage, but Rachel grabbed her and pulled her. The two sisters’ heads collided and Jasmine fell off the cage but was able to grip the side. Everyone in the arena blew out air at that point, and I said a silent prayer as Rachel grabbed for Jasmine’s hair and her hand. Jasmine crawled up and as Rachel knelt down, Jasmine put her in a front facelock, hooking Rachel’s head under her arm and choking her throat with her bicep. I saw Rachel at first, try to struggle out of it, then I saw her stop and lower her head, as if her body was relaxing. Then I saw her grab Jasmine and try to pull her up onto the roof of the cage, and that’s when Jasmine lost her footing and both women fell off.

Sometimes I’m able to see things in slow motion, or at least I think I can. Rachel was going down head first, but I believe I saw Jasmine wrap herself around Rachel in a scissor sleeper position and spin Rachel’s body to where Rachel was on top and Jasmine was on the bottom. Jasmine wasn’t choking Rachel, she was just about to take the impact for Rachel. But as they fell, I could see Rachel’s mouth open and hear something that sounded like a high pitched scream, and see her trying to reverse the position and get under Jasmine, but Jasmine wouldn’t let go. I saw Rachel finally break the hold and push Jasmine at an announce table, and Jasmine pushed Rachel towards the crowd. But Jasmine missed the table and hit the concrete… hard. At that moment, I saw Rachel, only a second away from hitting the ground herself, and I have never seen her make the face that she made when Jasmine landed. I have watched the great Rachel for many years and I have seen her fall off ladders and fall off tables and fall off scaffolds, and most of the time, she has landed on her feet. Well, she didn’t land on her feet this time; the fans caught her. Jasmine wasn’t moving; I stood and looked down as Rachel stepped over the barricade and back to ringside where her sister’s body lay. She was facing me, but her hair was covering her face and I couldn’t see her expression, but her body was shaking and her hands were balled into fists. I looked around and saw Isis Jones, the eighteen year old English wrestler, born to two Jamaican parents and having won a gold medal for Canada, and I saw her covering her gaping mouth. I saw Brianna Lee, the granddaughter of a very famous kung fu master who has the same last name, the twenty year old Brianna the movie star who wants to try her hand at this sort of action, and her face was as serious as if she was meditating. I saw Kimberly Chaucer and the other wrestlers in street clothes, watching from behind the curtain. We were all standing, we were all in awe. This is where were are now.

The EMTs rush to Jasmine’s side and roll out the stretcher. They give them room, the cage is lifted a bit. Rachel approaches, but the EMTs block her path. They attempt to place Jasmine on a stretcher, but Jasmine comes back to life and struggles to get free. Jasmine has only been taken out on a stretcher once in her career, ironically enough, it was almost nine years ago… the last time she fought Rachel. Rachel has her back to Jasmine, but Jasmine rams her knees into Rachel from behind, and Rachel goes torso first into the side of the cell. Jasmine ducks under the cell and enters the ring… Rachel stands and follows and the cell is lowered. The crowd begins to stomp and I am frozen in the madness. Rachel attacks in the same fashion she would if this were 1997; she cartwheels and flips forward, launching a lightening fast combination of punches and kicks. While Jasmine blocks the shots, she’s backed up in the corner and Rachel delivers a vicious straight punch to the throat. Rachel lowers her head and rams her shoulder into Jasmine’s stomach over and over and over again, each thrust, I can see the anguish on her face and see her body soften and her mouth open. Rachel suplexes Jasmine up and sits her on the top turnbuckle. Rachel joins Jasmine and superplexes her off the top rope and to the mat! Rachel stays down for only a second, and then pins Jasmine, 1,2, no! Jasmine not only kicks out, but rolls Rachel on her stomach, rolls herself onto Rachel, locks her legs around Rachel’s neck and arches herself back, grabbing Rachel’s ankles and pulling her legs in some sort of freakish neck scissors meets Boston crab looking submission hold! If Rachel were to use her legs to power out, she would pull Jasmine and by pulling Jasmine, she’d be pulling her own neck. Rachel bends her legs further back and crosses her ankles on Jasmine’s throat, bending Jasmine back even further; this maneuver also traps Jasmine’s arms around her own neck as they are holding Rachel’s ankles. Jasmine releases the neck scissors and stands up; Jasmine yanks hard on Rachel’s ankles, pulling Rachel’s torso and head off the mat completely and then Jasmine drops down, slamming Rachel’s face and torso in some sort of variation of a face-buster sitdown power bomb!!

Jasmine knocks Rachel’s legs off of her and sits on her back, placing Rachel in a full nelson camel clutch. You have to appreciate the irony of this match, despite the horrible feeling I get watching it; this is the move that Rachel placed Jasmine in when they fought years ago. Jasmine dislocated both of her shoulders to escape. The hold is agony for Rachel, her hair is covering her face still, but I can tell her blood is pumping because her bleeding picks up. The crowd is silent; they aren’t stomping their encouragement for Bret Hart’s favorite female wrestler because we are all affected by what we are seeing. Rachel gets to knees, then she forces herself to her feet as Jasmine is forced to stand as well. I’ve watched enough wrestling to know that Rachel can get out of a simple full nelson, and apparently, Jasmine knows this too, because she locks her leg around Rachel’s waist, her other leg around Rachel’s left leg, hooks her right arm in a hammerlock and hooks her head back and against her forearm in an Eastern stretch… this is another variation on Jasmine’s octopus hold. But Rachel doesn’t stand in this agony for long, with her ever-dangerous right leg and ever-flexible body, Rachel kicks up and back, her leg is even with her own body and her foot peeks over her right shoulder and hits Jasmine in the face, stunning her enough for Rachel to angle and hoist Jasmine onto her shoulders in a Death Valley Driver position (or an F-U position, since that’s what John Cena calls his version of the Death Valley Driver). Rachel spins Jasmine’s body off of her and slams her throat across the shoulder in a stone cold stunner (this DVD/SCStunner move is called a Somoan Neckbreaker and it‘s a move that Rachel has used as a finisher)!!

Rachel doesn’t go for a pin; she mounts Jasmine and begins to punch her in the face. The blows are fast and furious and hard and blood is spraying. I can see Rachel’s expression and it’s a very bland one, but I see desperation in her eyes. For five minutes, she hammers away as the ref asked the still awake Jasmine if she submits, but never a reaction from the lady in green. She wraps her legs around Rachel’s shoulders and neck and pulls Rachel’s arm… triangle hold. Rachel’s body appears to be like that of a dying fish, her mouth is open and her chest heaves up and down, but you can tell she is getting no air. After another ten minutes of silent prayers, I can tell that Rachel is slowly passing out, her face is blue and her body is hunching over… but she rises to her feet. She lifts Jasmine and prepares to drive her sister down on the back of her neck to break the hold, but Jasmine releases it and stands, Rachel grabs Jasmine, hooks her right leg with Jasmine’s left leg and hooks her arms around Jasmine’s neck, then throws herself backwards… the Downward Spiral! Jasmine doesn’t shoot up in the air as other opponents have, she stays lying there. Rachel rolls Jasmine over and pins her, 1,2, no! Rachel slowly stands, both women’s skins are red, not just from dried blood or their Persian heritages, but from the lack of oxygen they have been getting while they have traded holds. Rachel says something and I read her lips as she approaches Jasmine and her hands are pale white and shaking from the lack of blood she has gotten to her fingers. She says “sharpshooter.” Rachel grabs Jasmine’s legs and pulls them apart as the crowd once again comes to life. Rachel steps between Jasmine’s legs and crosses them… but Jasmine counters Rachel’s finisher. Jasmine forces her legs forward, kicking Rachel hard in the stomach with both feet; I can see Rachel’s cheeks fill with air as she falls backwards but steadies herself and tries to turn Jasmine over. But Jasmine tightens her crossed legs around Rachel’s leg and brings Rachel down on her back. Jasmine adjusts her position to where she’s bending Rachel’s leg at the knee in the reverse direction. Rachel lets out a cry of pain and we can all hear it, but she doesn’t submit.

Jasmine rolls Rachel’s leg across her own body and places her other knee across Rachel’s neck. Then she punches Rachel in the stomach and Rachel’s whole body seems to calm as it seems as though Jasmine’s fist disappeared in Rachel’s lower abdomen. We think this is a submission hold, and Rachel tries to do a backwards somersault to throw Jasmine off or reverse the position, but once Rachel is on her own shoulders, Jasmine punches the stomach again and pins Rachel, 1,2,3! Lady Jasmine has defeated her older sister Rachel Apache and has retained the OPW World Title in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jasmine stands, but falls back down to her knees as the cell is slowly being lifted. Rachel is lying motionless with her arms draped across her stomach. We as fans, cannot believe what we have just seen. Jasmine rises to her feet and we give her and her opponent, no, her sister, a standing ovation. Rachel gets to her feet and looks at Jasmine standing there with the world title. Jasmine turns away and raises her belt and Rachel exits the ring and quickly limps her way to the back with her hands on her hips, her head down, and her shin-long wavy black hair still hiding her facial expression. As I leave my seat and head for the lockerroom, I see Rachel walk passed the wrestlers who were watching without saying a word; everyone gives her space and I watch as superstars like Samantha, Jolene, Justine Credible, Vixxxen, Tito Blaze, and even Serenity leave the locker room to give Rachel privacy while she gets her things. I follow her into the lockerroom, but she looks at me and I am frozen. For a moment, I don’t know what to do; Rachel is just so…. She looks at me and she says two words; her voice is supernatural and soft. I don’t know if she’s sad or calm or angry or happy, but those two words are direct and short in the real world, but last an eternity in my mind. Rachel Apache spoke to me.

“Get out.”

I do as she says, and moments later, I see her dressed in a black button up shirt, navy blue jeans and black boots with sunglasses on to hide the cuts and scrapes and swellings on her deep midnight blue eyes. The doctor is in the hallway, but Rachel walks right passed him and heads for the parking lot. Jasmine is applauded by the wrestlers present as she enters the hallway and the locker room fills up as she takes off her mask and shares a shy smile. Jasmine has become the first woman to beat Siena Blaze, Glory, Alicia Christmas, and Rachel Apache… the group referred to as OPW’s fab four, because they represent the four “phases” of OPW‘s growth and four of the greatest champions. Really, in chronological order by when they first won the title, it‘s Alicia, then Siena, then Rachel, and then Glory. If there ever was a fifth member, Jasmine is that member and is regarded as one of the greatest fighters in female fighting history. But she will tell you this herself, she is known as OPW’s greatest loser, because she’s lost in far more spectacular fashion than she’s won, and she’s always protected her opponent. Jasmine sees the doctor and her ribs aren’t broken; they just need adjustment, as does her neck. She doesn’t have any major injuries. How fitting is it that Rachel, who is regarded as the greatest winner, loses to Jasmine, who is regarded as the greatest loser? Jasmine shares a great teary eyed hug with her younger sister Sage, Sage’s best friend Angela Love, and Glory. I take a picture as they pose for me and then Jasmine sits down and nurses her wounds… she’s a mess, a bloody mess. Despite that Rachel did not give her a major injury, Jasmine lays on the locker room bench and passes out. We wonder if she is okay, but we are told that she is just tired. Well, aren’t we all. I have watched these wrestlers compete; I have helped set up the ring, I have taken photographs for OPW Magazine, I have done it all. But moments like these are the moments I dread and enjoy all at the same time. See you in London.

[howardcosell]

of all the matches I've done, this was the hardest one to write. I visited my best friend while he was in the hospital and we discussed this match. Most of the characters I've written about in my stories here and elsewhere were co-created by him, and he died while I was working on this match. Other than "Dina Majors' Story" and "Indifference," this was my creative ceiling as a writer here. Nothing I ever do will ever top it because of what it meant to me and to him. Sure, it's not real and it's not serious, but it was timely.

Live your lives to the fullest and with no regrets. Speak your minds and let the truth be your guides. The world is yours