The video begins and we see the inside of the home shared by Dark Fantasy members Ravyn Taylor and Syren in Malibu, California. The particular room we appear to be inside seems to be the bedroom of Syren only we’re treated to a different view of the room than normal. Syren is sat on the floor, her back up against her bed, with the camera on the floor with her. She has her legs tucked underneath her, she’s dressed more conservatively than normal, and instead of her normal confidence there seems to be something different about her. It seems like she’s been having a rough week. “Hey guys. So, this week is the semi-finals in the Chase,” she begins before pausing again and then letting out a sigh. She looks away from the camera for a moment, like she’s trying to compose herself, before looking back to it again. “I’m sorry. I know it’s only been two weeks since the last round, I know it’s only been two weeks since I got the honour of teaming with Kaylee and taking on Valentina and Jo, but some stuff’s happened in the last couple of weeks, some stuff that’s been pretty hard for me, and… well, it’s made me rethink a lot of things. It’s put a lot of different things in a new perspective for me. Did you know I used to think that being successful in this business was the only thing that mattered? I did. I think that’s why Maddie and me used to get along so well.”

She laughs at the thought and rolls her eyes at herself. “She told me, not too long ago, that I’d changed. She told me that I lacked something now. She told me that I no longer had the killer instinct. I told her that she was wrong. At the time I needed to believe she was wrong or it would have made everything I’ve done over the last few years, everything I’ve tried to become, and everything I’ve done since I entered Femme Fatale Wrestling, all meaningless, you know? But the truth is she wasn’t wrong. I have changed. I’m not the person I was back when she was my best friend in the world and we were standing side by side and ready to take on anyone. Back then I would have done anything to succeed. It didn’t matter what it was, I’d have broken every rule in the book if I had to and then justified it to myself as something that I felt I needed to do. I’d have told myself ‘well, other people do it so why shouldn’t I?’ and, for a while, that was actually good enough for me. I became this person that, whenever I looked in the mirror, I had to justify being. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like what I was becoming,” she says, shaking her head and looking away again for a second before laughing. “The ends justify the means. That’s what I used to tell myself. That’s what I think a lot of people tell themselves now. If you can win, if you can have success, then it’s all worth it.”

She looks back into the camera and shakes her head. “It’s not,” she says sternly. “Doing whatever you have to do in order to raise a title over your head and defining yourself by the fact that you’ve got that title isn’t the way this business was meant to work. You see championships are only worth what goes into them. Raising a belt over your head doesn’t make you mean something. That championship, and everything that went into establishing it before you, means something, and if you disrespect that title by not honouring it’s legacy, by not being a part of what it took to create it in the first place, then what you’re lifting over your head isn’t validation of all your hard work and commitment, it’s a piece of leather with some rather big gold plates attached to it in the form of a few company letters, a company you’ve spat on by getting where you are in the way you have. Now, if you’re wondering why I’m beginning this week talking about this, rather than talking about the Chase, Kinsey and Kaylee directly, and even my partner this week, then let me try and explain. Like I said, I feel like the last couple of weeks are the longest of my entire life, I don’t feel like myself right now as a result, but I do know one thing with more clarity than I’ve ever had before: when it comes to the Chase for the Crown it’s do or die this week, and I cannot let myself die.”

She sighs and rolls her eyes again. “Sure, because nobody else has ever said that before, right? I know what you’re probably thinking right now. You’re probably watching this video thinking that I’m just like everyone else. God knows that’s the common theme in my career here. It feels like every week someone’s looking down their nose at me telling me that I’m not good enough. It feels like every week someone is criticising me. It feels like every week I get told I’m a Barbie Doll, that I’m fake, that I’m plastic,” she says before looking down at her chest and back up at the camera. “Yeah, a lot of people see me and instantly make up their minds. Nobody ever asks me if there’s a story there. There is, you know. It’s a story that I don’t even mind telling you. I just told you that every week I’m criticised by my peers here, that I get told I’m inferior, but being told I’m inferior is no new story. When I was in high school I felt inferior every day. Nobody pays attention to the athletic girl they say has the body of a twelve year old boy, do they? But that’s what they used to say about me. I didn’t look like everyone else. I felt inferior to everyone else. I didn’t get the kind of attention that other girls got, and even when I did get attention I always figured that they’d walk away the moment that one of the other girls showed some interest. I hated feeling that way, so I did something about it.”

“Today I get a lot of attention, most of it unwanted, so I guess there’s a kind of tragic irony to that, huh? I changed myself so I’d fit in, and now I get criticised in a different way for being different.  But nobody ever asks me about that. They see what they want to see. They judge the way they want to judge. Of course they do. Why look beyond the surface, right? Why get to know me? I’m just another cheap Maddie McTaggert wannabe after all. God, I’m so sick of hearing that,” she says, clenching a fist up angrily. “Here’s the truth, guys: you think I’m just like everyone else and you could not be more wrong. As it turns out, I’m not like any of you. But that’s my problem, right? Yah, it is, but it’s gotten me focused now. I’ve never been pretty enough. I’ve never looked the right way. I’ve never fitted in with the popular crowds. There’s a lot of things about me that left me feeling like an outcast my whole life but there’s one place that I do fit in and that’s inside that ring. When I get in that ring, when I’m fighting, that is where I belong! That’s what I was born to do. When I hear those people cheering I feel like I could move mountains, I feel like I could overcome any odds against me, and I’m going to have to this week because what stands between me and the finals of the Chase, the opportunity grab the brass ring and accomplish something, is no small feat.”

“On one side of the ring will stand me and Samara Steele. What do we have in common? Not an awful lot. We’re from different backgrounds, we have different attitudes, we have very different approaches to the ring, and we have very different styles in it. You’ve seen the way she fights, right? That is what you call fighting. And me, I’m a wrestler. So we have almost nothing in common as it turns out, but last week, knowing how goddamn important this week was, we arranged to meet up and get to know one another, to come up with a combined strategy, to figure out exactly how we were going to approach this match and win. And… well, that didn’t go so well. Not only are we two different people seemingly with two different approaches to everything in life, but life itself got in the way and… yah, I’m here talking to you, she’s talking to you from somewhere else, we’re not exactly what you’d call a cohesive team and that could be a major problem. I talked last time about how important it was to be in sync with your partner, something I know all about with Ravyn, and this week I won’t be. I’m not in sync with Samara at all. But we do have one thing in common,” she says, holding up one finger to emphasise her point. “Neither of us will stop at anything this week to make it to Sin & Sacrifice, go one on one, and grab hold of the opportunity that’s in front of us.”

“This business is all I have. This business is the one thing that I’m good at. And this opportunity is what’s keeping me going, keeping me focused, through all the craziness. I need this. But I know it won’t be easy. Not when we’re up against Kinsey and Kaylee. Not when they are in sync. Not when they want this just as much as we do. And I know this week they’re both going to give everything they have as well, aren’t they? But you know what else I know? They don’t know what they’re fighting for. Not really. Kinsey is fighting to prove herself here. She’s fighting for an opportunity because she’s the ‘odd one out’ in this situation. I know how that feels. I know how it feels to look at everyone else around you and see the one thing that’s different about you. That one difference is the fact that Samara, Kaylee and me have all achieved in this company individually or as part of a team, and Kinsey is still looking for that,” she says, nodding her head respectfully. “I can imagine the way you’re looking at this right now. You’re probably looking at it the same way I did a year ago. You win this match and you’re one more match away from getting the opportunity you’re longing for, right? But winning that one match is still a long way away, and even then there are no guarantees. Trust me when I tell you this though, it’s worth all the effort when you do finally achieve.”

“I know a little something about fighting to earn my spot as well. Did you watch Ravyn and me last year, in our series against the Rocking Kittens, and everything we went through to prove ourselves there? We had a hell of a series of matches against the two of them, both teams started out disliking each other and I like to think that by the end we all had a mutual respect for what the others could do. I’ll tell you right now that I don’t need to fight you Kinsey to already have respect for you. I’ve watched you. I’ve listened to you talk. I’ve seen the way the fans react to you. You’re a hell of a competitor with a bright, bright future ahead of her, so I’m sorry to be the one who steps up and denies you what you’re looking for right now because I know how that feels. It hurts. It’s difficult to accept at first. But trust me, you’ll come back stronger for it,” she says before nodding her head and smiling. “I know that you don’t want to believe me right now though. I know you’re probably listening to this and thinking that actually you’re going to be the one who knocks me down, and that I’ll have to come back from it all, am I right? Maybe you’re right. Maybe you will. I mean you and Samara already overcame Arabella and Desirae, so why not, right? And you’ve been right up there, pushing Eileen hard, scratching and clawing and reaching but never quite getting there…”

“How many people have told you that you won’t get there? How many have told you that you’re not ready? You’ve only been in the business a few years but you’ve come this far already, proven yourself already, earned the respect of everyone in the FFW locker room already – in that regard I guess you’re further along than me – but how many have told you that you won’t make it, only for you to go out there and try to prove them wrong? You’ll do that against me as well; I have no doubt about that. You’ll go out to put me in my place, prove me wrong, show me that your chemistry with Kaylee is that much better…” she says before taking in a deep breath and shaking her head. “And if you don’t, what then? If you don’t make it in wrestling, what then? If you don’t achieve your dreams here, what then? You go back to singing? That’s got to be nice. That’s got to be an amazing feeling to have that backup, just in case. I don’t have that. When I told you earlier that this business was all I have, I meant it. This is ALL I HAVE! There’s no plan b for me. There’s no backup career waiting for me. I fail here and fail, period. And that’s the difference between you and me, Kinsey. You fail and you have everything to fall back on, and I fail and I have nothing. That’s what’s driving me this week. And it’s why, no offence sweetie, but I have to succeed.”

“But Kinsey and me, we have a lot in common,” she says before looking at her left hand and the wedding ring on there and then laughing. “Yah, a lot in common. We’ve got a similar style in the ring, and so have Kinsey and Kaylee. They’ll have chemistry there as well. And they’ve also got that fire and desire that comes from being new to the game still. Ok, Kinsey’s been around a while I know, but comparatively speaking she’s still new to the game. Kaylee is even newer. She’s got even more hunger. And she fits in just so damn well, doesn’t she? She can make friends with anyone, and why wouldn’t you want to be friends with her? She’s a great girl. I loved working with her two weeks ago. I loved watching her go. I loved seeing the heights she climbed to. But as I was watching her, as I was getting to know her just a little bit, I also found myself getting pretty jealous of her. Like I said, she fits in so easily. She’s got friends in the company. She’s got people to give her advice, people to help her achieve her goals, she’s got everything laid out in front of her and it all comes so easily to her so all she’s got to do is keep working hard, keep applying herself, keep getting better and better and she’ll get there. And I’m jealous of that. I’ll straight up admit it. It’s never that easy for me to fit in. It’s never that easy for me to make friends. I look at her and I wish it could be.”

“She’s Television Champion already, and when I walked through the doors here I wanted that title, badly. I still do. So I’m jealous of that as well. And ok, maybe she’s never going to fit in when it comes to appearance, maybe she’ll always stand out with that, but even somehow that works for her as well. I get told that I’ve got the body of a twelve year old boy, or that I’m a plastic Barbie Doll, and she’s got this exotic, sexy look that she doesn’t even need to work at,” she says, laughing and shaking her head. “And as much fun as I had with ‘Team Hands 2 Hips’ I spent the whole night two weeks ago just watching her with envy. And I know she’s got her critics. I know there are plenty who tell her that she’s not good enough. She’s still learning though, still making mistakes now and again, but always coming out of it better for the experience every time, right? And Kaylee, sweetie, that’s the take away from this week. If we win, you at least get to grow from the experience. Not a great reward I’ll grant you, but… well, it’s something, right? And I know your boyfriend, I know his friends, I know the people you’ve got to pick you up if you do lose, so I think you’ll be ok. I want you to know something though. I wish you didn’t have to, because two weeks ago meant something to me. It’s stupid I know, but I’m serious. I loved working with you. I’d have loved to take you on in the final…”

She smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “I know you’re going to have the opportunity to prove all the doubters wrong sweetie, and when you get that opportunity I know you’ll seize it. Like I said, you’re going to be a top star in this company, everyone who’s seen you in that ring knows that already. But not this week! You and Kinsey have got a natural chemistry. You’ve got a lot in common. You’ve got a strong base to fight from. And you’ve got similar styles. You’ll blend well. But sometimes it’s not similarities that make a good team but differences. I know I can match either one of you in technical wrestling. But I know Samara brings something different to our team. I like to think that’s where we have the advantage this week. We’re not on the same page – god knows I wish we could be – but at the end of the day I didn’t think of the Chase for the Crown as an opportunity to make friends, because when it’s all over with there’s only one spot at the end of it, there’s only one ‘crown’ for the winner, and I need that spot, I need that opportunity, and more than that I need to get there by overcoming the two of you. Like I said in the beginning, the achievement means nothing if you don’t honour the legacy and you don’t earn it, and beating the two of you, going on to Sin & Sacrifice, fighting Samara and proving myself… that’s what I want to do. That’s what I need to do!”

She pauses for a moment, putting both her hands on her abdomen and looking away from the camera for the longest moment, almost like she’s done talking entirely, before looking back into it again and smiling weakly. “The last two weeks of my life have been…” she tries to say before letting out the longest sigh and shaking her head. “I need this. I need to prove something to myself. I need to prove something to the world. I need to show that I BELONG in that ring, that I belong at the top of this company, and that Shaw’s bullshit in the Unity division isn’t going to be my legacy in this company but that I can make it all the way to the top and prove myself as one of the best. I need this. I know you girls want it to. I’d say something sporting right now like ‘I want the best team to win’ but that would just be a lie. What I want is to prove to you what I’ve got, to show you that I belong, to reach out and grab the brass ring and STAND TALL in that ring. And this week isn’t just about proving something to you, or to the company, or to the fans, but to myself. I wish I could explain to you how I feel right now, but I can’t. All I can tell you is that this week I’m going to fight until I have nothing left to give, that when this week is over I want to be lining up to fight in the final, and that I respect the hell out of both of you, Kinsey and Kaylee, but this week all I want is for you to JUST BE JEALOUS!”

There’s no cute ending, no kiss for the camera, just an emotional looking Syren who reaches forward and shuts off the camera as we cut to black and the video ends with the replay button flashing up on the screen.