Explanation
LAW user @SuckerPunch, the owner of the then-current Lightweight Champion Rose Gold, has announced his departure from LAW. In light of this, upon consulting with him and @Epicsnivy, the plan is for Rose to forfeit the belt in-universe and for number-one contender Annie Clark to become champion effective immediately. Epicsnivy has chosen that he would prefer to focus on the path forward and move on with Annie’s first title defense.
In order to work this turn of events into the storyline of LAW and to bring Rose’s run to a satisfying conclusion, I have obtained permission from all parties involved to conclude this arc myself. Using the outline for a match SuckerPunch and I had planned before his departure, I will be writing this match out as a solo effort, as an unsanctioned event that will not impact any LAW records, with the intent of being a proper sendoff to Rose’s character. This match was always going to happen, more or less as presented; I’m just using those plans to make something worthwhile out of the situation. Stay tuned!
In order to work this turn of events into the storyline of LAW and to bring Rose’s run to a satisfying conclusion, I have obtained permission from all parties involved to conclude this arc myself. Using the outline for a match SuckerPunch and I had planned before his departure, I will be writing this match out as a solo effort, as an unsanctioned event that will not impact any LAW records, with the intent of being a proper sendoff to Rose’s character. This match was always going to happen, more or less as presented; I’m just using those plans to make something worthwhile out of the situation. Stay tuned!
The camera opened up on a hotel room somewhere in Salzburg, where Yuki Kazikura sat at a table. She was recording hot on the heels of a pitched match - and she still bore the marks of that match, and all the effort it had taken out of her. Her skin was bruised, her hair was messed up, and a few bandages were stuck to her face. One of her eyes was swollen shut, and she was holding an ice pack over it. But Yuki couldn’t wait even a moment. She knew, from the moment she’d heard the announcement, that something needed to be said. She knew exactly what this meant. And she knew she couldn’t let it happen.
”So…we all saw that,” Yuki began. Her voice was weary, and her words came in between pants, her shoulders rising and falling heavy with every breath she took. ”I saw it too. Rose Gold isn’t here. And, by default, Annie Clark…is the Lightweight Champion.” She winced a little saying that - whether it was from admitting that fact, or from the lingering pain of her match, was hard to say. Nevertheless, she took in a deep breath, bracing her hand against the table to continue. ”That means...it’s all over, right? All those years with the title…all those hopefuls looking for their shot at the glory, beaten and broken and humiliated at her feet…this is how it all ends up. No big victory. No comeuppance. Just…she’s gone. Right when it finally seemed like a worthy challenge had come her way. Right when she finally had a chance to be dethroned…she wanted to send one final insult to LAW. She got the last laugh.”
Once again, Yuki winced. Her bruised face twitched and contorted, as though she had to swallow down the pain of what she was saying. But then, she sat up straighter in her seat, and her hand slammed down against the surface of the table. She looked right into the camera and shook her head.
”No. I’m not going to let it end this way. Because I was here before - right from the start of her reign of terror. No, I knew Rose Gold before she was the Sinister Siren. When she encouraged me to face off against then-champion Aoi Fukiwara, and when she congratulated me on those efforts after, even when I lost. I was the first person to be screwed over by Rose Gold, and I want to tell the world I’m feeling like the last, here and now. Because I never got my rematch. And then, what does all the work I put in for it mean? What do I have to say? I didn’t go through the matches I did against people like Amano Jaku and Skylar Jones, both of which left me with scars I wear to this day, just to prove that I was capable of getting to her level, just for her to go and run away before we had the chance to meet face to face. No, all that hard work, all those nights in the hospital, can’t just be for nothing. I can’t let this happen.”
She stopped, taking in a few more deep breaths. Then, Yuki held up two fingers to her eyes, and then pointed those same two fingers to the camera. ”I want to say a few words, now, to Rose Gold. I know you’re watching. Because I know Rose Gold, and I know that when she does things like this, it’s because she wants to hear the people screaming her name. She knows everyone’s talking about what she just did, and she’s going to want to see what they’re saying. So, Rose. Listen up.” Before, Yuki had always dodged the question of Rose Gold. The very thought of facing her again, after the humiliating defeat she’d faced in their first match, was enough to freeze her in terror right where she stood. All those times it had come up before, Yuki had just kicked the can further down the road. But it was different, now. Now, there was no hesitation in Yuki’s voice, and the icy stare on her face didn’t break for a second. Something about this had galvanized something in Yuki.
”The dirtsheets can speculate all they want about what you did. But I think I know why you skipped town. You knew that LAW wasn’t going to put up with you facing off against opponents who couldn’t fight back any more. You knew Annie would have given you a run for your money - that she might even have won. But more to the point, if you did beat her - then you must’ve figured that I would be next. You know as much as I do that we aren’t finished. LAW knows that, too. Sooner or later, they would’ve wanted us to get back in the ring. They know I was one of the most talked-about hopefuls for the title, and that I’d been working hard to get myself to number-one contender status. So you wanted to drop the title and run before there was a chance of that happening. Before you could’ve lost that title in a way that meant anything. Especially not to me. I know you’re afraid of me - or else, would you have screwed me out of the Lightweight Classic? If you thought I wouldn’t stand a chance of beating you, wouldn’t you have let me advance? You look me in the eyes, right now, and tell me I’m wrong.”
“And, Rose, you probably figured that now, with the title out of the picture, without that motivation, I’d be too afraid to chase you down any longer, right? Too afraid to face you again? That you could forget that you and I ever crossed paths? That you ever set me on this path?” She brushed her hair out of her eyes, leaning closer to stare even deeper into the camera. ”...Here’s the thing, Rose. You said that even a week ago? That just might have been true. But after what you did today, I realized that running is no longer an option. Because this isn’t what being a champion is about. No - this isn’t what being a wrestler is about. The very fact you did this is an affront to the sport that I’ve made my life. And it’s for that very reason I have no fear any more. I know now that I’m doing exactly the right thing. And I won’t hesitate.”
“Rose Gold,” Yuki continued, ”it’s time for you to stop running, now. That’s why I offer this. One more match. Unsanctioned. Wherever and whenever you want, in whatever promotion, in whatever venue. This isn’t about our records, and it’s not about the title you vacated. It’s just about you and me. Because I have a score to settle, and I’m not going to let that loose end hang.”
“I know you, Rose. I know how proud you can be. So, now that the world is watching, and people all over the internet have seen me issue this challenge…what are you going to do? Will you get back in the ring one last time? Or are you going to let everyone down again? Either way…I’m waiting.”
With that, the video ended. But it was clear that something else was just beginning…