The video begins and we see a room in front of us with three individuals occupying it. On the right hand side of the picture, lying on the bed that stands against the far wall of the room, lays the SCW United States Championship alongside it’s holder, Ravyn Taylor. Not far from her but on the opposite side of the picture sits another individual we recognise well, especially after certain media coverage in the last few days. He has his shoulder length curly hair hanging loose, rather than tied back as we’ve seen so often, the outcast member of the Cannon family who now goes by the professional name of Alexander Crowe. And in the middle of the picture, standing between them with something of a smirk on her face, stands a woman for whom scandals have become something of a trend in the past few weeks. “Ok, I guess there’s only one place for me to begin,” Syren says softly before looking first to her right at Ravyn and then to her left at Alexander and laughing a little as she looks back in to the camera. “Remember how last time around I said it had been a hard week and that I thought all the stories that people could write about me just had to have been said already? Well, I guess I was wrong. There was another story. There was something else for people to talk about. And guys, I know a lot of you probably have your opinions right now and a lot of you have even shared those opinions with me in the last few hours, but before any more of you do I need you to know something.”

“I’m no stranger to controversy,” she states before Ravyn scoffs in the background and Syren turns to her for a moment and laughs, turning back to the camera again as she begins speaking again. “Oh, that’s funny, huh? Yah, I guess it kind of is. I mean I’ve had some secrets in my life that I’ve tried to keep from people because – and this might come as a shock to you guys considering you all talk about my personal business like somehow you’re entitled to know all of it – I’m a pretty private person. It turns out that I’m just not very good at keeping my private life private. Now whether that’s certain individuals going on television and trying to humiliate me by spilling my secrets, whether that’s because people I once loved wrote tell-all books and told way too much about our personal lives or whether that’s because I lost my temper at the wrong time and said something that I really shouldn’t have, somehow all my dirty little secrets have this way of coming out. So, last time I spoke about facing your judgement. I’m not talking about those of you who support me, either. Because you want to hear something funny? I mean do you want to hear something REALLY crazy? The three of us have been looking at Twitter all day long. None of us have actually tweeted on the subject yet, but we’ve been watching. And there are some of you who actually support us.”

She laughs, turning to her left this time and looking at Alexander who holds his phone up and grins. “You know when Kennedy Street told people that after I dumped you I’d wind up with a Street – I know, wishful thinking on her part – I actually saw tweets asking who I was. That was kind of insulting,” he says before smirking. “And when that story about you and Freddie was published a few weeks ago I swear I got name-dropped one time in that whole two-page article. The bright side of this morning is that I don’t think I’m going to have that problem anymore.”

“You’re totally not,” Zoe tells him before shaking her head and looking back at the camera. “You’re infamous now baby, and I’m sorry about that. But it seems like everyone in my life always ends up that way. Because you guys love to talk, don’t you? And like I said some of you – a lot of you – have actually been really supportive. A lot of you said some really nice things after I said everything that I had to say on Wednesday. You don’t know how much I appreciate that, you really don’t. And more of you still, while not saying nice things, have at least kept the stories you’ve written kind of neutral, like you’re reporting the facts. I appreciate that as well. But of course there have been those who haven’t. There have been those who’ve decided that their opinions about me just have to be heard. So, while you’re all deciding that, I’ve decided that the truth has to be heard as well, and here it is. On Monday night I wanted to curl up in to a ball and die in shame and humiliation, and the worst part about that is that I didn’t actually do ANYTHING wrong. So many people talked about me and judged me and condemned me and everything they were saying about me was a lie. Because of that judgement, because of that condemnation, because of those LIES about me I had to sit down on Wednesday morning fearing that I could have an opportunity taken from me.”

She shakes her head slowly and smiles. “Now I know what you’re thinking if you’re Kennedy Street. You’re probably going to launch in to a rant about how it should have been taken from me, about how I didn’t deserve it in the first place, and blah, blah, blah, because Syren doesn’t deserve anything, because she’s inferior in every way, and because she’s not earned a rematch, and yah, I’ve heard that one a few times. It’s the same self-absorbed bullshit that EVERY champion says, including those who didn’t deserve their shot in the first place. I mean seriously, does she not know people in glasshouses shouldn’t throw stones? But I’m getting off subject,” she says before shaking her head again. “I was telling you guys a story, a story about how a lie almost cost me an opportunity, and it did. On Tuesday night I barely slept. On Wednesday morning I had to go in front of my bosses and face their judgment. Now you’ve got to bear in mind that I love this company. I’ve dedicated almost a quarter of my life to this company. And throughout that time it’s never been easy, I haven’t always been praised, I haven’t had opportunities thrown at me left, right and centre, and I can give you guys an example of that when you look at the last two men who got to call themselves ‘Supreme Champions’ and you compare their time here to my time here, and you look at the fact that I’ve literally had half the chances that both of them have.”

“But whatever, I’m not bitter. This isn’t going to be a rant about how underappreciated I am and how I deserve so much more. Because do you guys want to know a secret? I’ve busted my ass for EVERY opportunity I’ve ever had and that makes each one of those opportunities special, it means there’s a story behind each and every one, and it’s something I’m proud of. But whether I’ve won a tournament, a Tactical Warfare match, a number one contenders match, I’ve pinned the reigning champion or I’ve broken a record that dates back nine years and then been robbed, there’s a story behind every opportunity I’ve ever had. But on Wednesday morning I faced the very real chance that the latest one of those was going to be taken from me,” she says before chuckling. “It wasn’t, and the relief I felt over that I can’t even put in to words, but there was a chance it could have been. I work for a company that employs people who threaten murder on social media and yet I almost lost an opportunity over a story that wasn’t even true. That was difficult for me, as I’m sure you can imagine. But what was even more difficult for me to deal with was the fact that my own family didn’t support me. When someone tells a lie about you that’s the time that you want people who care about you to rally around, right? But that didn’t happen last night.”

She lets out a sigh. “So, to everyone who wanted to know why I snapped in the way I did, I hope maybe that gives you some insight. I’m not going to say that gives me an excuse, I shouldn’t have lost my temper and I’m not trying to excuse that, I’m just trying to explain it. And what I was going to say last night that I didn’t get a chance to finish was that throughout all of the bullshit, throughout all of the lies, throughout all the ups and the downs of the last year of my life there have been two people who have supported me every second,” she says before looking left and then looking right again and nodding at the camera. “Last night I fucked up. I said something I wasn’t supposed to say. I told the world that I love Ravyn Taylor and I love Alexander Crowe, and they love each other, and that the three of us are a three, not a weird combination of twos. I wasn’t supposed to tell you guys that because we agreed a while back that none of you would understand. Ravyn and me have been condemned a million times over just for being in love with each other and I knew – I knew – that if the world found out the truth there would be people who would condemn me again, who would judge me again, who would ridicule me again, and I didn’t want that. But you know what? I can’t stop people from judging. If the last few weeks have taught me ONE thing then it’s that nobody can stop people from judging.”

Ravyn swings her legs around on the bed and gets to her feet. “If I were to stand here right now and tell you that simply by existing you’re an affront to my God and that I believe with every fibre of my being that you should be condemned, that you should be locked away or you should be burned for being who you are, you wouldn’t care, would you? Now imagine if ten people told you the same thing. Imagine if fifty did. Imagine if ten thousand did,” the brunette says coldly. “Imagine if your family turned against you. Imagine if your friends shunned you. Imagine if political groups told you that you’re not equal to other people anymore. Imagine if they formed laws that allowed them to victimise you. Imagine all of this happened to you overnight and all the while you’ve done nothing but fall in love. How would that make you feel? Zoe and I have some experience with that.”

“Oh we totally do,” Syren says, nodding her head in agreement. “We’ve been judged. We’ve been condemned. We’ve been told we’re sinners, that we’re evil, and that we don’t deserve the same things as other people. For every person out there who thinks that I exaggerated how I felt when I spoke on Wednesday, for every person out there who thinks that it’s no big deal and I should be used to people talking shit about me and writing lies about me and I should just get on with my life I say fuck you. Do you think it’s ok to talk shit about people’s lives? Do you think it’s ok to condemn them? Do you think it’s ok to bully them? Why, because they’re less than you? Because you think they don’t matter as much as you do? Because you think that you’re worth more than they are? People like you think it’s ok to make us feel like freaks and like outcasts when we’ve done nothing wrong, and we’re not the only ones. There are millions of people like us, millions of people who are subject to your judgement, millions of people who are told their inferior, that they’re broken, that they’re wrong to exist and to feel the way they feel. It makes you feel ashamed. Well, I’m not ashamed anymore.”

Ravyn and Syren hold hands in front of the camera and both look over at Alexander who has a smirk on his face now. “What do I know?” he asks jokingly. “They think I’m a stud.”

“Yah, they do,” Syren says in agreement. “But whatever, right? Do you know what the solution is? We should change. We should stop being who we are because who we are is wrong, and we should be more like you guys instead. That’s the lesson that millions of people are taught every day. If they want to be accepted they’ve got to be just like everyone else. Well they shouldn’t have to. People shouldn’t be forced to make themselves ill with bulimia or anorexia because they have to look a certain way. And guys, I’ve been there. I’ve had body issues my whole life. Hell I have breast implants because I didn’t think that I was ‘right’ the way I was before. You see you’re not alone. That judgment you feel, that feeling of rejection you feel, that’s not your fault. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. And it took the whole world condemning me before I finally figured that out. But there’s a point to all of this, right? There’s a reason that we’re telling you this stuff. There is. All this stuff that I’ve just talked about, all the hard work I’ve put in, all the condemnation from the world that I’ve been through, all the talk, all the rumours, all the people who make me feel like an outcast for being who I am, it’s brought me to THIS moment, it’s brought me to THIS point, and it directly relates to what I’m going to do on Sunday. On Sunday night I’m going to stand up to a woman who’s judged me over and over again, who’s told me repeatedly that everything about me is flawed and wrong and everything about her is flawless and this Sunday I’m going to show her how wrong she is.”

“On Sunday night I step in to the ring with a woman who calls herself the Sexy Flawless Diva, a woman who stands for the polar opposite of everything that I am. This is a woman who didn’t rise through the rankings by being original and by standing for something special, no matter what she might tell herself or others. This is a woman who rose through the rankings by victimising everyone around her. She may be holding a title belt right now but this woman is by no means a champion in any respect. She’s a coward who hides behind others. She’s a liar who who’ll say anything she can to justify her own self-importance. And she’s a bigot. If you’re not the way she thinks you should be then she believes you’re wrong to even be part of her ‘flawless’ world. For more than a month she has judged me for every decision I’ve ever made. For more than a month she’s encouraged the entire world to do the same. She’s talked shit about my family. She’s talked shit about my career. She’s told the world that I’m not good enough to be a leader. And when it mattered the most she brought three people down to ringside who blocked me from getting to her, who pulled down the ropes to hurt me, who distracted the referee so she could take cheap shots at me, and this week she told you that they didn’t do anything wrong,” she says before beginning to laugh. “Sure they didn’t.”

“Now you guys know my story. You guys know the mistakes I’ve made. You guys know the things I’ve done. I’ve done bad things. I’ve broken rules. I’ve even laughed about it. But I’ve never lied about it. A while back – a long while back – Ravyn interfered in a few of my matches. I was punished for that. We were punished for that. Our championship advantage was taken away. We were forced in to more and more difficult situations – five matches in one night one time, along with triple threat matches, four-way matches, and unannounced title defences – and all the while knowing that one mistake and we’d have our titles taken from us. We rose to the challenge,” she says before looking at Ravyn again and laughing. “We proved that we deserved to be where we were by overcoming the most insane of odds. I won a multiple team elimination match on my own when Ravyn was the second person eliminated, for example. And I didn’t need announcers or an army of assholes to do that. I didn’t need them either when I beat three former World Champions in one night to become the number one contender for the World title for the first time in my career. I got to where I am by fighting for myself. I’ve STAYED at the top by fighting for myself. And the last few weeks I’ve watched all her bullshit and I’m sick and tired of it.”

“She told you guys she’s a fighting champion. She actually believes that she’s defended the World title. The only reason that that’s true is a technicality. It was possible for Donovan Kayl to become World Champion on Wednesday night. It was possible. All he had to do was overcome a gauntlet that stood between him and the woman holding the title and a ring surrounded by her army. She calls that being a ‘fighting’ champion. I call that being a fraud. Ask William Mason how many people I made him fight before I gave him a shot. Ask Shaun Cruze the same thing. Ask Regan Street how many people she needed to beat on that night before she got in to the ring with me at Under Attack. Ask Dylan Howell, Chris Cannon or Donovan Kayl the same question at Breakdown, the End of Year Special, and Jealousy. Ok, Chris I’ll grant you had a whole problem with a different bunch of jackasses, but that was technically not my doing and I did everything I could to actually help him with that,” she says before shaking her head. “Not the point. The point I’m making is that what happened on Breakdown wasn’t a ‘flawless’ champion proving her worth, it was a COWARDLY BITCH hiding behind an army AGAIN, and it was the last time that that’s happening. Mark my words on that. The ‘Flawless Gauntlet’ is done. The next time someone gets a shot at the World title they won’t need to beat an army, they’ll just have to beat me.”

“I, on the other hand, am not so lucky. This Sunday I’m fighting a woman who claims she’s a better wrestler than me, but who seems to have more people around her these days than were present in a J.R.R. Tolkien movie adaption. But this Sunday it’s not the Battle of the Five Armies; it’s just me on my own against ONE army. That army is weirdly fitting for a Lord of the Rings franchise though, don’t you think? I mean check it out. There’s a giant, a goblin, a dwarf and there’s a troll behind the announce table,” she says before shaking her head slowly. “And in the middle of the ring, surrounded by this army, is a hideous, warped bitch-creature who’s one and only care in the world is protecting her ‘precious’. Well, this Sunday she’s taking An Unexpected Journey to the back of the contendership line because this Sunday we’re not going to bear witness to the Return of the King but we are you will all get to witness an underdog story when the woman who’s been labelled as a worthless, undeserving fraud rises up and kicks that bitch-creature’s ass in the middle of the ring! You’ve all heard the expression ‘you and what army’ but this Sunday I don’t NEED an army because I am TIRED of this bullshit! This Sunday she won’t protect the precious, this Sunday I’m going to leave her crying and sobbing when I take BACK the World title.”

“Do you think I can do it?” she asks before turning to Ravyn. She smirks then and looks around at Alexander. “What about you baby? Do you think I can beat her? Do you guys want to tell me why? Do you guys want to criticise her? Do you guys want to run her down and tell the world how undeserving you think she is? Do you want to praise me? Do you want to talk me up to the world so they know how awesome I am? Tell you what, there’s a pad of paper in my bag, why don’t you both write letters all about it and I’ll be sure to… screw them up and drop them in the trash because you know what? It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks! I don’t give a damn! Everyone in that locker room needs to know that whether you love me or you hate me I genuinely don’t care anymore. I don’t need your approval. And that’s what this is all about. Because this Sunday it isn’t about who’s slept with who, it isn’t about scandals, it isn’t about mistakes, it isn’t about who’s personal life is the most ‘flawless’, this Sunday it’s about a fight in the middle of that ring and this Sunday I’m going to war with an army and I’m going to win! I know the odds are against me. I know the numbers aren’t in my favour. And I know even without that it would STILL be a hell of a fight, but WITH all of that it’s going to be hell. I’m going to have to fight my way through hell on Sunday. But you know what, you guys? I’m not backing down for an instant!”

“Should I not be criticising those who are criticising me? Do you think the Lord of the Rings universe jokes went too far? I mean Maximilian has feelings to, right? So does Porno Lad. He’s probably deeply offended by me referring to him as a goblin. And Kennedy, well she’s sexy and flawless and oh so confident, and nothing ever hurts her, right? Yet every time I say anything about her she can’t stop herself from responding. Do you know why? Because she needs to! She has nothing better to do with her life than to wait for people to talk about her so she can bask in the glory of it, and when someone says something she doesn’t like it hurts her enough that she has to respond to every word of it. She says she loves the spotlight, that she loves the attention, that she relishes the paparazzi following her around, but then why wouldn’t she because nothing in her life matters to her, and she has no idea what it's really like to be truly hounded by it all,” she says before laughing a little, almost pityingly. “There are no relationships that she won’t destroy to further her own ego. There are no friends she won’t betray. There is nobody in her life that she puts on an equal level to herself. That’s never been true with me. Because guys, here’s the truth, I don’t think I’m better than all of you. I don’t think I’m perfect. And I know damn well that there isn’t a single person in this world who’s truly flawless. This Sunday that’s not what it’s all about.”

She shakes her head again. “This Sunday it’s not about looking in a mirror at how perfect you are, but while you’ve got that mirror in your hand ‘honey’ I want for you to do something for me. I want you to take a long, hard look at what you see. You like it, don’t you? Yep, that reflection right there is your favourite thing in the world. Your second favourite thing is probably right next to you as well, and that’s my title. Well, you’ve got two days to enjoy them both. I hope you do. I hope you make the best out of them both. Because in two days I’m taking them both away,” she says with a fire in her eyes. “You see yourself in that mirror and you love what you see, and what you see is all that matters to you. But I don’t stare admiringly at myself through my own eyes. My biggest strength, but also my biggest weakness, is that I see myself through their eyes. I don’t lock myself in a fantasy world where I get to play the queen and I don’t surround myself with an army of yes-men. What matters to me isn’t carrying the World title because I say it matters, what matters to me is being a champion who stands for something so much more than herself. For seven months I did that, and I did it alone, and for seven months people like you looked down on me and criticised me every step of the way.”

“You think that you’re flawless and that everything about me is flawed. Well everything I’ve been through, and all the criticism, has led me to this point and has taught me a lot about myself. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what people like you think because I’m never going to be like you. I’m not perfect. I’m not even close. But it’s those imperfections that make me who I am. I’m not Kennedy Street. I’m not a Sexy, Flawless Diva. I’m Zoe Sperling. I’m a ‘bisexual slut’ in a polyamorous relationship. I’m a ‘scandalous whore’ that everyone loves to take shots at,” she says before shrugging her shoulders. “Criticise me. Praise me. Hate me. Love me. I’m not going to tell you what to do anymore. You’re all free to make your own choices, just like I’m free to make mine. But judge me, condemn me and victimise me and watch me rise above it all. This Sunday I’m fighting for me, but I’m also fighting for every person who’s ever been told that they’re not the way they should be and this Sunday I have a point to prove. The state of Illinois says that if it’s your religious belief that I’m unholy that you can kick me out of your store, that you can refuse to serve me and you can treat me differently, but you can’t stop me. So judge me all you want but this Sunday I’m STANDING TALL, I’m STANDING PROUD and I’m standing as a FOUR-TIME WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! If you can’t deal with that start a hash-tag on Twitter. And while you’re at it, BE TOTALLY JEALOUS!”

The two women hold hands again and look at one another with Syren nodding proudly, clearly no longer feeling the same way she felt twenty-four hours earlier in the videos that have littered YouTube of her speech. In the background we see Alexander Crowe get to his feet and put his arms around the shoulders of both of them as the video fades to it’s ending and the replay button flashes up on the screen.