>>20153597WE HEAR FROM HOLLY HOPE-AGAIN
"So... I'm sure you noticed I'm not on the card."
Holly tsk'd under her breath, before climbing up onto the turnbuckle and sitting down.
"When I won the belt, I made a promise to finish what Ash Romero started. A woman who, by all accounts, was forced to retire too early. A woman who spent years giving everything to this sport. She wanted to make it so all comers had a shot at the intercontinental title."
"I'd been cruel to her, needlessly so. Her retirement woke me up."
"And I did that. Five defences in a row. Each week, challenger after challenger, my body failed but my spirit did not."
Holly paused.
"But Romero returned to the ring."
"And you know what happened... She lost and her partner attacked me backstage."
"Ironic, isn't it?"
"Romero, fit to compete. Hope-Again, not medically cleared."
Holly tapped the side of her head.
"A concussion, they say. A bunch of stitches in the back of my head. All because an idiot DA fangirl couldn't keep her head on straight after she lost a tag match."
"Out of active competition for two weeks, according to the doctor. Apparently my knee is also screwed three ways to hell."
"So..."
"I'm out here to apologise for not being present, for not holding down the fort, for putting my record-breaking reign on pause..."
"But I'm also out here to demand something from the back... outside of Court..."
"Romero... I can't get in the ring... So I can't keep cleaning up after you, I can't keep trying to carry on a legacy you seem to be invested in returning to the ring to sully. So let me say this now. Put your dog on a leash. Before she ends up lapping at the heels of Priscilla Divine."
Holly looks to the crowd, and raises a single open palm.
"Five and oh."
>Young and Free hits 