Rise of "Le Matriarche" (Part 2)

Wrestling fans all over Canada, and even all over the world, were still talking about what took place in Hamilton, Ontario. What started out as a planned confrontation ended with a brutal and shocking betrayal. Janine Brock, the World Champion of the Women's Wrestling Brigade, had been taunted and teased by the mysterious Le Matriarche, a notorious Quebecoise wrestling villainess looking to rule WWB. During all of this, Janine confided in her friend and mentor, Collette Shannon, a wrestling legend and a fellow Ontarian, regarding her ordeal.

Until she no longer couldn't.

In front of a wild crowd in Hamilton, Janine looked to face Le Matriarche one-on-one, doing so believing that she was Justine Verdoux, who was a rival of Collette's. Collette even appeared to Janine under the guise of reasoning with her longtime protege, but once the mask of Le Matriarche slipped from her pockets, the true mask was removed. A brutal beatdown orchestrated by Collette, who expressed sinister and sadistic pleasure in her actions, while revealing herself as "the true Le Matriarche."

Questions needed to be answered, with the main one being, "Why?" What would possess Collette Shannon, one of the most beloved legends in women's wrestling, to take such a dark turn? And why would she target and turn against Janine, the very competitor who idolized her?

The scene shifted to the Canadian capital: Ottawa. A week had passed since the events in Hamilton, but the fans in Ottawa were excited for action from the Women's Wrestling Brigade's stars. Then, the lights dimmed for about 30 seconds, and afterwards, a lone spotlight shone down on one certain someone: Le Matriarche. She was donned in the full bodysuit and mask, but she removed the mask, and was loudly booed afterwards.

"Bonjour!"

Collette Shannon, fresh off her villainous unveiling as Le Matriarche, embraced the boos and jeers with a prideful and arrogant smile on her face. A week prior, Collette's home province worshipped her, but all of that changed with her actions in Hamilton, and the Canadian capital was letting Collette have it big time.

"Awww, you don't seem to be happy with me lately," Collette said with a mocking tone. "Well, that's just too bad, because I am ecstatic! With every chair shot I delivered to that ungrateful brat, I felt so liberated." Collette continued to smirk as the crowd in Ottawa continued to jeer the once respected legend, but she was far from done with her rant.

"Janine owes every bit of her success to me!" snarled Collette. "I'm the one who molded her, trained her, made her the champion she is today! But what do I get? Do I get any thanks? No! All I get is Janine referring to me in the past tense; how I was one of the greatest! News flash: I am the absolute greatest, and you know that! After all, that's why you idolized me."

Collette gave a slight laugh following that last statement, and then she continued on with her address.

"And that idolatry led you to actually believe that Justine was Le Matriache," said Collette. "Janine... you basically made my job easier! But that is also part of this problem. While my old rival did get all of the attention for it back then, I was the one who made that all possible. I actually opted to take this role then, but I was told that I was too "Ontarian." And get this: the idiot who told me that was from right here in Ottawa. Why am I not surprised?"

The boos from the national capital's fans increased with that last jab, but even then, Collette remained unfazed and delivered even more venom.

"Because you so called 'fans' are another reason why I destroyed your little media darling!" Collette exclaimed. "You put Janine on such a pedestal and push true legends, true icons, like me aside, and you wonder why I was so insulted by being referred to as being too Ontarian? Ontarians are delusional. I mean, look at you! You seriously think that your precious Senators will actually win a Cup? In this decade?!"

The boos were thunderous after that last shot, but Collette got down to the business at hand.

"But on a serious note," the villainess stated, "Janine... I know you're watching, sweetheart. I told you, Le Matriarche answers to no one. I will name the time and the place. The place? Definitely not here. The grand finale of my scheme deserves to be in Canada's real epicenter. The city that owns this one in every way, shape, and form. The only common bond you and I have, Janine: Toronto. And the time? Next week, at the 20th Anniversary Show. Au revoir pour l'instant."

Collette cackled in true villainous glee, but true to her prediction, Janine Brock was watching. She was still in Hamilton, she had finished recuperating from the attack, but she scaled back and didn't join WWB on their trip to Ottawa. Despite this, on the following day, from a hotel room in Hamilton, Janine posted a video message that was publicized by the promotion.

"I accept. That's it. What do you want me to say, Collette? Do you want me to be shocked? Should I say that I'm stunned and heartbroken that the woman, the legend who I idolized and befriended suddenly turned on me? I'm not going to say that, because I know you, Collette. That's exactly what you want from me. You want me to be that sad girl who is all mopey when her idol lets her down. And you want not only me, but everyone to basically bow down to the deity that you think you are. Sorry to let you down, Collette, or "Le Matriarche," or whoever the hell you want to be. But I was taught to never let my guard down for anyone, and to stand up for myself against any and all adversaries. You know who taught me that? You did! And I plan to do it again at the 20th Anniversary Show in our shared hometown of Toronto. See you there."

Just as Janine was about to turn off the camera, she decided to make one more statement to her villainous foe.

"Oh, one more thing. I've always been grateful to you for everything, but if you want more thanks, here it is. Thank you, Collette. Thank you for robbing me of any and all restraint I would have had if this match happened under different circumstances."

The promotion for the overall show was immense, but the focus stayed on the main event. Janine Brock was portrayed as a young star who has done quite a bit, but she now faced a legend in the form of Collette Shannon. As for Collette, she was promoted as the diabolical woman she had become, with some saying that Collette is "desperate" for one more time in the main event spotlight.

The event finally arrived a week later. The city: Toronto. Canada's largest city. The 20th Anniversary Show featured several amazing matches that could all be in the four-star category; the crowd was electric, but after all of that, it was time for the anticipated main event. First off, the challenger entered. Collette Shannon, donned in a sparkling version of her "Le Matriarche" gear, but sans mask. The once respected hometown legend was now a villainess receiving a spatter of boos, as Collette is portrayed as not only having turned on Janine, having turned on the fans, but turned against her entire home province of Ontario, with all of the Toronto fanbase seeing every Fleur-de-lis on Collette's gear as a deep betrayal.

Next up, the music of Janine Brock hit, and she comes out, wearing a jersey of her favorite player, Auston Matthews over her blue and white gear. Janine proudly showed not only her Maple Leafs fandom, but her title belt as well, but before the intros could be made, Collette went on the attack; mercilessly beating down Janine before taking the jersey and actually spitting on it; drawing the immense ire of the Toronto faithful. The match opened mostly with Collette on the offensive, delivering takedowns, suplexes, and a few bouts of hair-pulling, all while berating the attending fans.

Collette gets a two-count on Janine, but she decides to toss her opponent out of the ring and start taunting her.

"Take a look!" sneered Collette, while clutching Janine's hair and being jeered by the fans. "Take a look at your precious little darling! Come on, Janine! Smile for your public!" Collette laughed at Janine, who later fought back with vicious rights before actually tossing Collette on the barricade, much to the fans' loud delight. The defending champion returned to the ring and motioned for her defiant challenger to enter back in. It was more like an actual dare towards Collette, who stormed into the ring and traded blows with Janine.

As expected, this was a true brutal main event match. Neither woman gave any quarter, both women gave it all they got, and after 25 minutes, Janine and Collette's championship contest became less about face vs heel, good vs evil, heroine vs villainess. It became all about two women, two competitors, from different generations, showing each other who was truly the best in the business. Janine went for the "AM34" but Collette managed to counter and turn it into her own finisher, the Crystal Cutter. Despite this, it was only a two count for the veteran, but she went for it again. Janine fought back, and finally delivered the "AM34," but to Janine's surprise, Collette raised her shoulder mere milliseconds before the referee's hand went down for the third time.

Janine was still stunned by this. No woman had kicked out of "AM34," yet Collette, the wily and wicked veteran, did just that. Janine's time voicing her incredulation with the referee allowed Collette to deliver a devastating forearm to the champion, and with Janine down and at her mercy, Collette gave quite an evil smirk.

"It's over, Janine," Collette taunted. "You are about to fall to a living legend." Collette picked up the seemingly vulnerable Janine, who managed to rise up and deliver that "AM34" DDT! But the champion was not done. She knew full well how dangerous Collette is, and with that, Janine delivered another "AM34" to Collette, and that ended up being the difference.

The three count completed, and Janine Brock picked up the biggest win of her budding career. The announcement ("And Still...") was made, and Janine raised her championship title above her head, while carrying a load of emotion. Janine's celebration was briefly interrupted by a staggering Collette, who suddenly had a microphone in her hand. Janine was quite wary, as she still remembered the last time she faced a microphone holding Collette. However, Collette decided to give the mic a true proper use.

"I had to know," said Collette. "I had to truly know for myself... and I did. I only regret the methods I used to get us to this point, but I don't regret this challenge. Janine, you gave me my best challenge in a long time, and I want to say... thank you."

Collette extended her hand, but instead, Janine gave a huge hug to her opponent, her mentor, and her friend. The crowd in Toronto erupted in cheers, as they witnessed an epic clash between two immensely talented wrestling superstars; a clash that will be talked about many, many times on a loop.