Story Time! (Leva Bates RP)

[Ben M]

The scene opened in a library. Sat behind the desk was The Librarian, Leva Bates. She was holding a book. As the camera zoomed in on her, Leva looked up and smiled.

Leva Bates: Welcome to story time with me, Leva Bates! Tonight boys and girls, I'm going to tell you a story about triumph. I call it "From Blue Pants to WrestleMania".

She opened the book, then began to read.

Leva Bates: Once upon a time, there was a girl called Leva. At school, she didn't really fit in. She was into comic books, video games, alternative music and wrestling. It was that last one – her love of wrestling – that really seemed to make her unpopular at school. She was seen as a geek. A nerd. No one of significance. But she dreamed of being a wrestler, and at the age of 22 she started training at the Team 3D Wrestling Academy. After eight years of wrestling all around the world, she was given the opportunity to take the next step of her career. She was offered a chance to wrestle for a well-known promotion in Florida. Leva was excited, but when she got there, she wasn't taken seriously. They didn't even give her a name... she was simply referred to as "Blue Pants", because the pants she was wearing that day were in fact blue. Nevertheless, Leva worked hard, and won the affection of the fans. With the fans behind her, Leva earned a contract, but the promotion still didn't seem to see her potential, and just over a year later, she was let go.

Leva sighed, then turned the page.

Leva Bates: A few years later, a new wrestling promotion was formed, offering wrestlers around the world the chance to be elite. They wanted to give lesser known wrestlers a chance... they wanted to be different. They wanted a Librarian.

Leva looked up and winked, then continued reading.

Leva Bates: Leva had always loved books, so she put her name forward. She impressed the new promotion, and they offered her a contract. They recruited another librarian at the same time, a man called Peter. The two librarians were expected to work together, but they didn't get along, and so they went their separate ways. Like most women in the new wrestling promotion, Leva seemed to get forgotten about. Tired of being in the background, Leva took a chance. She put herself forward for the biggest wrestling promotion in America... EBWF. To her delight, Leva was offered a contract, and as if that wasn't exciting enough, she was entered into one of the biggest events of the year – the Royal Rumble. Leva would compete with 14 other women, and the winner would be given the opportunity of a lifetime. A chance to compete for the Women's Championship at Wrestlemania.

Leva paused for a moment and smiled. There was a twinkle in her eye as she turned the page.

Leva Bates: 15 women, one winner. The odds were hardly in Leva's favour. And who were these other women who were standing in her path? First, there was Alexa. Alexa was one of the smallest women in the match, but they called her "five feet of fury". It was a fitting nickname, because Alexa was an angry and violent woman. When she lost a number one contender's match, she responded by attacking the woman who beat her, Tam Nakano. Alexa had proved herself to be dangerous, but Leva wasn't afraid. Because Leva knew she was a good person, and that in the end, good would triumph over evil.

Leva smiled confidently, then turned the page.

Leva Bates: The second woman standing in Leva's path was Mandy Rose. Mandy had proved herself to be something of a troublemaker, and she seemed to be the sort of woman who would manipulate men to get them to do her dirty work. Thankfully though, men weren't allowed to enter the Women's Royal Rumble. Why would they be? So Leva wasn't afraid. She knew she didn't need a man in her corner, and that she could take the fight to Mandy.

Leva clenched her fist, as if to show she was a fighter, turned the page.

Leva Bates: In at number three was a woman who had been referred to as the "Scottish Psychopath", Nikki Cross. Nikki was a woman that Leva admired. Like Leva, Nikki had to work hard to get an opportunity in EBWF. But Leva was way of Nikki Cross. She didn't like the word "psychopath", but there was certainly something odd about Nikki. She had a wild energy when she stepped into the ring. But that wild energy meant she lacked focus. Leva was very focused, because she wanted to win the Women's Title. So she was confident she could handle Nikki Cross.

Leva turned the page, moving onto the next entrant.

Leva Bates: The fourth woman standing between Leva Bates and the opportunity of a lifetime was Torrie Wilson. Torrie was well-known in EBWF. You could even say that she was a legend. She had won the Women's Championship ten times, and won the Royal Rumble twice. There were few women in the history of EBWF that could come close to Torrie's legacy. But, while Leva was in awe of Torrie, she didn't want to focus on the past. Her eyes were firmly on the future. Rather than worry about Torrie's legacy, Leva wanted to focus on cementing her own.

Leva could be seen mouthing the words "my legacy" as she turned the page.

Leva Bates: At number five was Eva Marie, who reminded Leva a lot of Mandy Rose. Like Mandy, Eva seemed like the type of woman to manipulate people. The difference between Mandy and Eva though, was that Mandy actually wanted to wrestle. Eva was a total diva, who seemed more suited as a reality TV star than a wrestler. That wasn't to say Eva couldn't wrestle... she could. But Leva knew she was better.

Leva nodded, as if to reaffirm her belief, then turned the page.

Leva Bates: The sixth woman standing in Leva's path was one of the most formidable women in the Rumble. Natalya was a third generation wrestler, who had held the Women's Championship three times. Leva had a lot of respect for Natalya, and she knew she had to be careful when lining up against Nattie, whose sharpshooter had made countless women tap out. But in the Royal Rumble, you couldn't win by pinfall or submission. And that gave Leva hope. She knew she could withstand whatever Natalya came at her with.

Leva turned the page again, moving on.

Leva Bates: The seventh and eighth women Leva had to compete with were two EBWF newcomers, Kacy and Ronda. Two women who had been well-known before getting into wrestling. Kacy was an American Ninja Warrior, who had admirers all around the globe. Ronda was an Ultimate Fighting Champion. Both Kacy and Ronda were groundbreakers, and they were tough. But in Leva's heart, she knew she was tougher.

Leva turned the page, then looked up, staring directly towards the camera.

Leva Bates: They say in the Royal Rumble, it's every man or woman for themselves. But sometimes, superstars entering the Rumble will form an alliance. It's a strategy – work together, use strength in numbers eliminate your opponents. And it can work pretty well. But in the end, there can only be one winner, and that desire for glory means most alliances fall. Best friends, tag team partners, have been known to betray one another in their quest to win the Royal Rumble. But what happens if there is an alliance between two people and one of them doesn't want to win? It's rare, but it's possible.

Leva looked down, turning her attention back to the story.

Leva Bates: That was one such challenge Leva would face in the Royal Rumble. The alliance of Becky Lynch and Winter was somewhat unique, because although Winter wrestled occasionally, her primary role was to be Becky's manager. Which meant that Winter was more focused on helping Becky win than achieving glory herself. That made Becky and Winter dangerous, especially since Becky had drawn lucky number 15 in the Rumble... she would be the last person to enter. But Leva knew that Winter hadn't been quite so lucky, for Winter would be entering at number 10. In order to help Becky win, Winter had to last until Becky entered herself. Leva didn’t want that to happen... she didn't want to be at a disadvantage. So Leva made it her mission to take out Winter before she could help Becky.

Leva turned to the next page in her story.

Leva Bates: Leva was a fighter, and she would fight tooth and nail to win the Royal Rumble. Because wrestling – and books, of course – were the only things Leva cared about. But one of Leva's opponents was multi-skilled, to say the least. Dr. Britt Baker was a dentist, and a successful one at that. A successful wrestler too. Although she had yet to make her mark on EBWF, Leva knew that Britt was a force to be reckoned with. But Leva had never backed down from a challenge, and she wasn't about to start.

Leva looked up and smiled into the camera, showing of her pearly wides, then looked down again and turned the page.

Leva Bates: One of the things Leva loved about wrestling was its global appeal. Leva had been lucky enough to wrestle all around the world, but she was happiest wrestling in the USA. Other women from across the globe had come to the USA to get an opportunity to wrestle for EBWF, and two of those international superstars would be standing in Leva's path. There was the Brazilian martial artist, Tay Conti, and the "Ravishing Russian", Lana. Tay had a black belt in judo and a blue belt in jiu-jitsu. She had almost represented her country in the Olympics, but instead she turned to wrestling. Lana's background before becoming a wrestler was more varied. She had been a singer, a model, a dancer and an actor. A jack of all trades, but a master of none perhaps? Leva always tried to respect her opponents, but she didn't think it was unfair to say that Lana was probably the weakest wrestler in the Women's Royal Rumble. Leva was certainly confident that however ravishing the Russian may be, she was beatable. As for Tay Conti... Leva was not naïve enough to take a judoka for granted, but she believed in her wrestling ability enough that she knew she could come out on top.

Mindful that she had been talking for a while, Leva looked up at the camera and raised a finger, mouthing "one more", then turned the page.

Leva Bates: The last woman standing in Leva's path was a woman with wrestling in her blood. An "iron woman", who had previously entered the Royal Rumble at number one and been the last woman standing at the end. That woman was Raquel Diaz, daughter of the late, great Eddie Guerrero. As talented as Raquel was, she had an attitude problem. She had been known to threaten EBWF interviewers when they asked her questions she didn't like. She was a bully, plain and simple. But as someone who had been bullied her whole life, Leva wasn't afraid to stand up to bullies. Leva wasn't afraid to stand up to anyone. She wanted to win. And that was why, although she knew it wouldn't be easy, Leva was confident she could win the Women's Royal Rumble.

Leva turned the page, then held the book up to the camera. The next page in the book was blank.

Leva Bates: This story isn't finished yet. But I know how I'd like it to end. And I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to make that dream a reality.

Leva closed the book, smiling confidently as the scene drew to a close.

[Matt]

This is great, Ben! Looking forward to more Leva Bates!