Wisdom had arrived in New York in the early morning for her interview with Gayle King at their local CBS studios. The CBS Morning show was wrapping up in 30-minutes and she was scheduled to meet with Gayle in an hour later for their live one-on-one. The staff had been polite, offering her refreshments and snacks. She took a sparking water with a straw, but didn’t want to eat as not to have to redo any make-up. Between a few emails, an early morning call to Butch and the kids back home the time went by quickly. A knock on her door indicated that her time had arrived for the interview.

(Staffer): Mrs. Parker, if you’re ready, I’ll take you on set now with Mrs. King.

Wisdom nods politely, grabbed her Hermès bag and followed the staffer out who walked and talked fast in a familair New Yorker fashion.

(Staffer): Now, your card says “open”, before we go in I just want to double-check if there are any topics you prefer Mrs. King not to address?

(Wisdom): No, I’m fine, thank you.

(Staffer): Ok, great. Right through these doors here.

They turn one final corner coming to a set of double doors that opens into a studio. Gayle is reviewing her notes and cue cards, lifting her head up as they enter. She smiles and walks just off the set to greet them.

(Gayle King): Wisdom, it’s good to see you again.

(Wisdom): You too Gayle, thank you for having me.

(Gayle King): My pleasure. Please, lets go sit, we’re ready to go live. We can just chat a minute if you need to ease into things, or we can dive right in. Whatever you’re comfortable with.

(Wisdom): I appreciate that, I don’t mind diving right in.

(Gayle King): Alright, now I have a broad range of questions and as we discussed nothing here is personal. My job is to get the story, even if that means some hard hitting questions…but this is not an interrogation.

Gayle laughs lightly putting her hands on Wisdom’s knee as she leans in assumingly.

(Gayle King): You should be comfortable, and if there is something you rather not answer, simply say so, I won’t push the issue.

(Wisdom): No, I know the drill. Don’t worry about me Gayle, but thank you for the consideration.

(Gayle King): Alright then, let’s get started.

Over the next two minutes the crew gets into place, checks equipment one last time, lights come on and she gets a final countdown before she is given the “Live” signal.

(Gayle King): Joining me now, a familiar face…Mrs. Wisdom Parker of the Hardcore Wrestling Alliance who for over the last week has made headlines worldwide. Wisdom, thank you so much for joining us.

(Wisdom): My pleasure Gayle, thank you for having me.

(Gayle King): Now Wisdom, it was one week ago…you were in Omaha, Nebraska, you receive a call in the early afternoon before your show, and the next thing you know…you were on a plane to Charlotte, North Carolina. What exactly happened?

(Wisdom): Well, it started like any other day. Business affairs, this issue and that. My husband had taken a later flight after a situation with the arena that required me to be on site much earlier than planned. I received a call that afternoon from George Cheeks at CBS advising me of a social media post that he felt Butch and I should be aware of.

(Gayle King): This post being an unauthorized image of your husband, Butch Parker in a hospital bed, and a link to a video of his documented health scare a few weeks back?

(Wisdom): Yes, that’s correct. George urged me to be patient, that he would look into things on his end, but obviously I was curious to see what the big commotion was all about. We’re public figures, we’re somewhat accustomed to our names and images circulating in social media, but it’s pretty uncommon for anyone to call us right before a show when most know we are engrossed in our work…least of all George Cheeks, so I knew this was something potentially serious.

(Gayle King): But you didn’t know how serious, or who was involved at the time? Did you look to investigate right away?

(Wisdom): Oh immediately. The moment we hung up, I was on Twitter and it was just starting to go viral, starting me in the face.

(Gayle King): You’re referring to the Twitter post by Brandi Rhodes, that has now seen over 5 million views?

(Wisdom): One in the same. Honestly, I froze Gayle. For a moment, I was stunned. The first worry that I had was that Butch was going to see this and would be upset.

(Gayle King): So let’s move things forward a bit, you got the call, you saw the post, what prompted you to take that flight to confront Mrs. Rhodes? That’s perhaps a bit more than what some might call irrational, not to mention premeditative.

(Wisdom): You know I’m not going to make excuses for what I did, or apologies. I got on that plane, with the intent to confront Brandi.

(Gayle King): The intent to physically assault her?

Wisdom tilts her chin and head up ever so slightly, defiantly even, as she proudly replies.

(Wisdom): I went to kick her ass Gayle, that’s just the plain truth of the matter.

(Gayle King): Your company announced a major return 6 months ago, things were going reasonable well, a little bit of controversy surfaced in the week prior perhaps reopening old wounds from its past…why would the co-owner of this company make such an ill-advised decision?

(Wisdom): Because I had to. Now, you and other people might argue that no one has to make the decisions they do, but when I left the arena, when I had made my mind up…I left my husband a note. In it was my only apology about this, and that was to him. What you just said is spot in, recent big return, things going well, a little drama the week before and boom!

Wisdom slams her fist into her palm for emphasis.

(Wisdom): There was that post. I referenced to Butch in that note the children’s story about the frog and the scorpion he let ride his back across the river.

Gayle nods, obviously familiar with the timeless tale.

(Wisdom): I did it because I had to Gayle. Because when someone is attacking me, my instinct, my nature is to fight back.

(Gayle King): We know that several weeks ago, your husband suffered an anxiety attack at press conference following one of your shows, and that he’s had a few medical episodes since. You’re on public record with an injunction against the media for releasing the footage of that incident, but not only the video surfaces online through Mrs. Rhodes post but that photo of your husband in the hospital, and you feel justified for your actions because of this?

(Wisdom): Yes! Look, Cody and Brandi were great friends of ours. We’ve hung out countless times, shared vacations, play dates…you name it. It was truly wonderful having them at our reunion. It was a very busy time for Cody in WWE with their main ppv of the year and we truly hadn’t expected them, it meant so much to have them there to celebrate with us. Then I don’t know what happened. Brandi seized an opportunity to go into business for herself, not only getting too rough in the ring with Michelle Learner, but the words out of her mouth that followed and have since.

Gayle flips through a few of her cards, looking back at Wisdom.

(Gayle King): There’s a clip from your Reunion where the two of you became physical. Let’s take a look…

Footage from the reunion begins to play when Wisdom got in the ring to confront Brandi for what she was doing to Michelle and had put her down on the mat.

(Gayle King): She went on to claim that you and your husband had been “begging”…her words… “begging” them to make an appearance. That knowing over the years your company was doomed and in danger you wanted to ride their coattails hoping to make a recovery.

(Wisdom): None of that is true. Did we invite them to our events?....certainly! We always had, but “beg” nothing could be further from the truth.

(Gayle King): But it got more personal for you, didn’t it?

(Wisdom): She verbally assaulted Butch, talking about his career being over, his age, physical limitations, insinuating that I slept with executives to get our deal with CBS, she ran our names through the mud and has been doing so since.

You can see the frustration on Wisdom’s face as she draws her fingers through her hair with both hands.

(Wisdom): Gayle, I have tried and I have tried to apologize for what happened at the Reunion. I have tried to salvage our friendship, not so much for me, but for Butch who was truly great friends with Cody. I made every attempt to be the bigger person, to apologize and ultimately to walk away and leave it alone. But this…

Wisdom holds up her cell phone.

(Wisdom): Taking photos of people in the hospital and putting it out for the world to see to further her blasphemy, to somehow get her hands on the footage that shouldn’t have been leaked. She crossed the line.

(Gayle King): You say you are public figures, but why did you feel it necessary to put a legal injunction on that footage to begin with? Was it simply because it showed your husband in a vulnerable state?

(Wisdom): Because as much of our lives are out there for the world to see, some things are private, and people share their more intimate details when and if they choose to, not when others do. Chadwick Boseman was dying of Cancer, and he kept that largely to himself, Michael J. Fox in his own time went public about his battle with Parkinson’s disease. These are the choices we make for ourselves, something that happens behind closed doors, out of the public’s eye…no one has any right to invade that. That’s what Brandi did, that’s why I beat her ass, and that’s why given the same opportunity, I’d do it all over again.

Gayle looks a little taken aback. She feels the conviction radiating off of Wisdom.

(Gayle King): We understand Mrs. Rhodes was hospital for several days with some rather severe injuries, is there any part of you that thinks you went too far?

(Wisdom): No! But in hindsight, I bet it’s a question Brandi is asking herself, and the answer is “yes.” Yes, she did go too far.

(Gayle King): Where does this leave you?

(Wisdom): I was arrested, and there are some legal proceedings pending that I’m not at liberty to discuss.

(Gayle King): What about your husband and Mr. Rhodes? I don’t believe Cody Rhodes has really been a part of this dispute between you and his wife.

(Wisdom): Not directly no, but indirectly. I said he’s an accomplice. He’s heard every word, he’s seen everything his wife has said, and done, and he remained silent. He didn’t say a word at the Reunion, he didn’t say a word on social media, he showed up at our house a few weeks ago and whatever was said between he and Butch then…stayed between them, but as far as I’m concerned because he’s said nothing publicly, because he’s done nothing to contradict her…to me it’s the same as if he spoke the words and did the deeds himself.

(Gayle King): Events from Havoc the week prior, your arrest last week…HWA has been put once again under the microscope. Many feel that the company is slipping away from what it claimed to be 6 months ago, into what it was 8 years ago. Wrestling can be violent, is it an appropriate place for the 8-year-old girl like “Laney Price” that you have ringside with her father?

Wisdom shifts in her seat, suddenly starting to feel on the defense as Gayle switches gears on her and digs deeper into negative perpectives.

(Wisdom): Laney Smith is a bright young girl, and her father is delighted to have her share in this leg of his career, both her parents have signed waivers authorizing her to be present.

(Gayle King): That’s a very corporate answer. Because they’ve signed a waiver, are you throwing your hands up and claiming no responsibility should something happen to her?

There it was, the full-on assault, typical media person. Wisdom again tilted her head, chin up as she looks at Gayle with a little less than delightful look on her face.

(Wisdom): There are risks involved to everyone who enters an arena. A 300lbs man might be hurled into the front row on top of an 8 or 80 year old spectator. Those aren’t deliberate actions, those are unintentional accidents. Laney’s safety is of course a concern and we’ve discussed this countless times with her father Stu-E. Aside from banning her from even being there, we take every precaution to see that she is safe.

(Gayle King): Exactly what safety precautions can there be for an adolescent right in the center of intensive, physical action?

(Wisdom): In theatre you might call it “stage presence.” If you’ve watched her, you can see that she’s been taught where to stand ringside, when to step back from the ring, when its okay to come close, when she needs to move even further away, and there will be occasions where her father does not want to her to be ringside at all depending on the match type as the risks would be too great. In those cases, she might be backstage.

(Gayle King): But there are inherent risks being backstage as well, the incident a few weeks ago with Matt Miller and Maniac, something far more violent than what had been taking place in the ring.

(Wisdom): What do you want me to say Gayle, are there risks involved all around…of course there are. A few years ago, a young girl, barely 2 years old got permanent brain damage at a baseball game when a ball hit her in the face. These things happen, when the floor is wet at a store and they put a safety cone up, you can still slip and bust your ass.

(Gayle King): You say “these things happen,” professional wrestling is rife with things that have happened. You’re aware the subject of brain injuries and this sport is once again in the news, Chris Benoit for example, perhaps even your own Eddie Phoenix?

Wisdom nearly flips, she leans in pointing her finger at Gayle, the look on her face is making it well known she’s just about had enough.

(Wisdom): Now wait just a minute…don’t you dare try and link Chris Benoit’s situation in wrestling to Eddie Phoenix and HWA.

Gayle looks down at her cards.

(Gayle King): How do you account for Eddie’s son, Ash Phoneix…who for some time was popping up at your shows claiming your company was responsible for his father’s death, that it was the HWA which lead to whatever had befallen him over the years leading up to it? It is speculated that Mr. Phoenix took his own life, but his autopsy reports have been sealed. Do you believe it’s possible that Mr. Phoenix had some sort of brain damage?

(Wisdom): I don’t account for anything Ash Phoenix said or Eddie’s medical condition, because I can’t. We haven’t had the opportunity to speak with Ash, to hear his story, his claims, and neither has anyone else including yourself to my knowledge. You can speculate all you want to, but I deal in facts. Our Talent Relations Division has done outreach to Eddie’s son Ash, and his family. If they’d like to share their story, their concerns, reach out for help, we are there for them support them however we can.

(Gayle King): Some would call that accountability, putting efforts forth to make amends for what you may have done.

(Wisdom): You’re starting to twist words Gayle and its unbecoming of you. What our Talen Relations Division provides is a wide range of benefits no different than what other companies provide their employees from Mental Health support to a basic Vision and Dental package.

(Gayle King): Let’s talk about mental health for a moment. You and your husband for weeks overwhelmingly disapproved of this “Asylum” match your “Maniac” proposed. Following your own violent episode last week, you suddenly agree to it. Coincidence aside, what form of mental health services are you providing Maniac, a medically diagnosed and known schizophrenic? Don’t you find it irresponsible to have someone of that nature in your employ, in a position to cause real harm to others as a performer?

(Wisdom): The scope of some aspects of Maniac’s personal health have only just recently made themselves aware to us. We know that he was in counseling, but other than that he has not taken advantage of any of our company services in that regard.

(Gayle King): What about William Draconis?

Wisdom looks confused at the line of questioning.

(Wisdom): What about him?

(Gayle King): This superstar of yours for years paraded around a Confederate Flag, a common symbol of white supremacy and slavery, yet you brought him back to your company on its return and he continues to do so. We understand that he’s bred his children in wrestling and intends for them to carry on this legacy.

(Wisdom): I have no knowledge of William Draconis being a white supremacist. He’s a valued member of our roster and his personal beliefs which are kept outside of the ring, are also unknown to us.

(Gayle King): But it’s not kept out of the ring, is it? There was a time when he and his coworkers would drape that flag over their opponents. He drives that car with the flag on it into your arena, onto your programming. What kind of message do you think this is sending to viewers.

(Wisdom): The same kind of message a candy stores gives when you walk in and see dozens of flavors of jelly beans and gummie bears. That there is no one flavor or one color, that there are countless individuals with their own unique identity and that’s ok. Gay, Straight, Democratic, Republican, Black, White, Irish, Scottish, British, younger, older, the list goes on and we’ve got them all. Anyone who infers anything different, as if we have some agenda, or some propaganda to spread is making things up and should find something better to do with their time and that includes you Gayle.

Gayle throws her hands up defensively, a shocked look on her face.

(Gayle King): Whoa….I’m not the enemy here. I’m just asking questions. These are the questions circulating in the world outside this studio, outside your offices. There are health experts sitting around the table right now holding discussions on professional wrestling and its toll on the human body particularly the brain, parents debating whether or not to allow their child to watch something like an Asylum match. 6 months ago you were promoting what was certainly more a family oriented product and now as we’ve said…the company seems to be backpedaling into old habits.

Wisdom comes to her feet, now standing over Gayle who looks to shrink back into her chair.

(Wisdom): Don’t sit here and talk like you know anything about where we were, and where we’re going as a company because you have no idea. You have no idea the weight that has been on our shoulders. Every media outlet, every network, every state, blackballed us in 2015. We were crushed. Crushed!!!!

Wisdom sits back down, tears starting to form in her eyes.

(Wisdom): We held a meeting in the arena with all our employees standing around the ring, and sitting in the front row, a few hundred people altogether. I couldn’t even breath as Butch told them the situation. The looks on their faces took our breath away as we told them the doors were closing and we didn’t know if they’d ever open again.

Gayle hands Wisdom a tissue, and she takes it dabbing the corner of her eyes.

(Wisdom): A few months later we regrouped, announced that we were reopening as a training academy and very small independent promotion. We didn’t expect to see any of our former talent, or staff. We rented a small space and when we went on day one to open, there he was standing in the doorway, with a duffle bag over his should waiting for the door to open. A 20-year old Matt Miller. I grabbed him and hugged him so tight, he probably thought I was Andre the Giant. I knew then that everything, that HWA was going to be alright no matter the size, and we’ve been happy these past years.

Matt could have gone anywhere in the world and had offers to, but he came back to HWA in a crappy little building, with no pay for months at a time, and busted his ass because he believed in us. He had absolutely nothing to prove, but he believed in what we were now trying to accomplish. He picked up that tattered HWA banner and marched forward and hasn’t looked back. It’s because of men and women like him that we are where we are today. All the trainees, come and gone, all the veterans who made their return whether their a little over the top, or as green as grass…they all make up what HWA is about.

(Gayle King): Which is what?

(Wisdom): It’s about being the best wrestling promotion in the world. Nurturing and showcasing talent, helping individuals push their minds and bodies past the threshold of what they thought possible. Developing skills, and confidence, and delving deep into the very essence of what it means to be a competitor.

Gayle pauses, trying to craft her next words wisely.

(Gayle King): This is what you and your husband have built over the past 8 years. The dedication behind it all speaks for itself, but what do you say to those who might feel that, that vision has been a little less than genuine seeing what has unfolded at recent events and in your personal life.

(Wisdom): I say that our vision has not changed. Perhaps it was a little naïve of us think that we might carry on as we’ve had on a broader stage. But the bigger the stage the bigger the list of elements involved. This isn’t a return to the days of old, it’s an evolution. It’s the next step of who we’ve been. Every sport in the world has conflict, they push and shove in basketball and baseball, they duke it out hockey, butt heads in football, and bust their rackets in tennis, but professional wrestling is a different game. It is the only sport where you come face to face with an adversary and can put hands on one another in an unstructured way. There’s no kicking each other in Soccer, boxers wear gloves, even MMA is only 5-minutes of three well-structured rounds. My husband has been out there in the ring for well over an hour countless of times, Steven Angel, William Draconis, Stu-E Price, Bryan Deas, veterans who for upwards of two decades have pushed their bodies to limits past anything you’ll see from any athlete in any other sport. All our homegrown talent, Jeremy Branson, Sean Parker whose overcome insurmountable odds, Michelle, Sarah, Erica, Alexis, the entire stash of trainees behind them all. All of them knowing what this business entails, and they all carry that competitive core inside. But sometimes Gayle, sometimes in this business because we can put our hands on one another in unrestricted ways things do get taken to another level. That is part of this game, and while we control the chaos as best we can, we are not going to avoid from it entirely. Its that little scorpion again on the frog’s back Gayle…at the end of the day, it’s part of the nature of what we do.

(Gayle King): You’ll forgive me, but that sounds like a cop-out. You don’t see Michael Bublé walk into Macy’s women’s bathroom and start singing at the top of his lungs and say “it’s my nature” I’m a singer, or Jennifer Lopez show up at funerals and start dancing over graves saying “dancing is in my nature.” Shrugging your shoulders and saying “It’s my nature” doesn’t give a man like Maniac the right to cause a public disturbance trying to run people over in a bus? What gives someone like some of your former superstars the right to desecrate graves, or acquire “And” use explosives to bust people out of jail? Steven Angel survived a car bombing…a “Car Bombing”….in a feud with a former superstar. What gives you the right to fly across the country and attack Brandi Rhodes because you disagree with the personal opinions she’s expressed? How many people has your husband man-handled outside of the ring, outside of an arena in public forum? Because you are wrestlers, doesn’t give you any of you a right to rise above the law.

Wisdom stands and starts removing the microphone attached to her.

(Wisdom): You know what Gayle, this interview is over.

(Gayle King): I’m just asking questions, valid questions. You said yourself, “its in my nature.” I’m asking you, does what is “in your nature” make something right? Is it a justifiable excuse for the actions people?

Wisdom turns around pulling the last cord from under her shirt and flings the mic set into the chair beside her, she turns looking at Gayle who cowers back. Her cue cards drop from her hands as she leans as far back into her chair as she can as Wisdom’s hands grip the sides of it. Security rushes onto the stage, but keep a close distance as Wisdom’s mane of blonde hair falls around her face as she stares dead at Gayle, teeth gritted.

(Wisdom): I’m not going to answer that questions, because the answer is interactive, and you wouldn’t like Gayle.

Wisdom leans up tall, turns and walks off the stage. The heels of her shoes slamming on the hard floor as she power walks off set. Gayle looks like she’s trying to catch her breath, having a fear she’s never know shake her to her core. She tries to compose herself, still live on television.

(Gayle King): Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be right back after this commercial break.

They go to commercial as the scene fades to black.