The Luciano Family Home, 1987


From the outside they looked like the perfect Italian American family. Lorraine could have been a beauty queen, her dark hair falling in waves around her shoulders, her sallow Italian skin always glistening in the sunshine; she was perfect, almost angelic except for the Italian passion that ran through her deep dark brown eyes. The daughter of a famous nineteen fifties crooner she caught the eye of many men but there would be only one man that could turn her eye. He was an extravagant business man, well at least from the outside. Anthony Luciano was born in Brooklyn New York, his mother and father had immigrated to New York for Sicily while his mother was expecting. They had hoped for the gold lined streets, the riches and the fame that came hand in hand with the American dream. Like most people in New York of that era they where highly disappointed. Anthony grew up in extreme poverty, himself and his large family of three brothers and five sisters living in a tiny two bedroom apartment block yet there was always a love and warmth enveloping them, their father and mother making sure they had all the benefits they could give them but for Anthony, this wasn’t enough. He wanted it all, he wanted to make sure he had the wealth and he wanted it fast.

When she first met him she was amazed by his extravagance. He was finally the wealthy man he wanted to become. He thought nothing of stepping out and buying her a diamond necklace. He had fallen in love with her the minute he laid eyes on her and for the first time in his life money came second. They had had a traditional Italian wedding, she wore white, he wore designer and one hundred and fifty of their closest friends attended the festivity.

Of course marriage would never be as easy as they had expected it to be. It was only behind the closed doors of they’re expensive house that it came to light exactly how Anthony Luciano made his money and his wife, who had found ways to ignore it when they where engaged, realised now hat there was no ignoring the blood money he brought home to her. She found solace in her ignorance though and decided rather than face her problems head on it was time to start a family so she could concentrate on something other than her husband’s antics. After years of trying unsuccessfully to have a child they had almost given up hope. The pressures of failing to conceive got too much for Anthony as he began to look outside his marriage for what he rarely got inside it, his extramarital activities only pushing his wife more and more towards wanting a child despite her bottle of vodka a day habit and her husbands growing coldness towards her and the home they had built.

It was summer of 1983 when they where finally successful. Lorraine gave birth to an eight pound beautiful baby girl, the apple of her daddy’s eye. She had her father’s bright blue eyes and her mother’s dark hair and sallow skin. Kendell Luciano, the most beautiful baby girl ever born. She was spoilt, everything she wanted in life was hers, she never had to ask twice she rarely even had to ask. And for the first three years of her life she cured all Anthony and Lorraine’s problems. Lorraine quit drinking and Anthony spent more time at home with his wonderful family. Of course the novelty of it all soon wore off and Anthony found himself disappearing for nights on end while his wife sat at home with their child, sobbing to herself while drinking herself numb to forget.

Kendell’s first memory went back to when she was five years old, as she grew older the memory stayed vivid, maybe because it was that single moment that had put an end to her picture perfect family.

The day had started to like any other summers day in the Luciano household. Kendell would wake up early and sit in her room surrounded by her dolls and toys, the only thing that kept this five year old sane in a household full of madness. She would look out the window to realise her father hadn’t come home again the night before and she would wait for her mother to wake from her alcohol induced coma so she could have some breakfast since Lorraine had thought it appropriate to fire their made for showing concern towards her heavy drinking. But as Kendell sat there she realised something was different as she heard her mother screaming in the room a few doors down from hers. Kendell, gripping one of her dolls, pushed open her bed room door slowly and began to walk down the hallway, towards the screaming, her care bears night dress dancing across her skinny little legs as she gripped her doll tighter to her chest. She finally reached her parents bedroom, looking through the crack of the ajar door at her mother frantically throwing things into a suit case while screaming down the phone.

Lorraine: “I’ve had enough of this Anthony! You have a family here that you forget about because of that slut! You can’t have both! I’m sick of playing second fiddle to some slutty cocktail waitress!”

Kendell bit her bottom lip. She had learned at an even younger age that her tears would go ignored so instead she leaned against the wall outside the bedroom, sliding down it and sitting on the floor, never letting go of her doll.

Lorraine: “I don’t care I’m moving back home to my parents house.”

Kendell wasn’t sure what she was hearing, she was five years old and still slightly naïve, she did however realise that things had changed.

Lorraine: “Oh don’t you worry about your precious fucking child! I’ll leave her here for you it might actually give you a reason to fucking come home. No! No! I don’t care that she’ll be on her own. Leave my drinking out of this! Why do you care anyway?! You haven’t cared in years!”

Kendell watched as her mother stormed out the bedroom door, the phone still in her hand and her suitcase in the other. Mascara ran down her pail face, her sallow skin that once glistened now dull and dead. Her passionate brown eyes empty. She ignored Kendell, walking past her down the stairs.

Kendell: “Mommy?...”

Lorraine: “Not now Kendell. Daddy will be here soon.”

Kendell walked over to the banisters and look down at her mother as she left the house, slamming the door behind her and leaving Kendell there, alone, in a huge house. Kendell walked slowly over to the stairs and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest, feeling the tears stinging the back of her eyes and still never letting go of her doll.

It felt like an eternity sitting there alone in the big house before her father arrived home, swinging open the front door in frenzy and looking at the smashed bottle of vodka on the marble tiled floor.

Anthony Luciano: “Kendell? Kendell? Are you here sweetheart?”

Kendell: “Daddy…”

He looked up the stairs at her, sitting with her knees against her chest. A sadness filled his eyes, a sadness she rarely saw in her father. A look that would become even more nonexistent as the years went by. He stormed up the stairs towards her, wrapping his strong arms around her and kissing her forehead.

Anthony Luciano: “I’m so sorry, il mio amore.”

The warmth of her father’s embrace made it all better, it made the pain, the heart ache and the loneliness disappear for a short amount of time. A feeling she would crave for the rest of her life.

Lorraine: “So you decided to come home then?”

Locked in an embrace neither Anthony nor Kendell had heard the front door swing open and her mother storm in. He looked over his shoulder and down the stairs at her, a look of disgust and anger taking over the warmth in his face.

Anthony Luciano: “Stonza impazza…”

Lorraine: “Don’t you dare call me crazy! I have put up with your shit for too long you would drive any woman insane.”

He turned for a second and kissed Kendell on the forehead, before getting to his feet and making his way down the stairs towards his hysterical wife.

Anthony Luciano: “You left our child here alone in this house? You’re not fit to be a mother.”

Lorraine: “Me? ME? Do you even think about your child when you disappear for nights on end without so much of a phone call to let us know you’re alive? Or when you’re jumping into bed with any sporcacciona that looks in your direction?”

Anthony Luciano: “You mean the way you do when you sit around enjoying my money and drinking yourself to death? How am I supposed to stay around this? You brought a child into this World despite me. If I wasn’t a religious man I would have divorced you a long time ago, I’m just waiting for the day you drink yourself to death.”

Lorraine: “Religious man? Don’t make me laugh! Religious men don’t murder people for money; they don’t come home covered in the blood of another human being. You’ll go to hell for things you’ve done.”

The noise of his hand hitting her mother’s bare flesh made her wince, closing her eyes for a second and covering her ears with her tiny hands as she watched her mother fall to the tiled floor holding on to her reddened cheek bone as tears rolled down her face. He didn’t look one bit remorseful as he stood over her, Kendell was almost sure she could see a spark of excitement in his bright blue eyes. As her mother lay on the floor whimpering he looked at her with disgust before spitting at her and walking away.

Lorraine: “I hope you burn for the things you’ve done.”

Anthony Luciano: “Why don’t you do us all a favour and die Lorraine, all you are is a waste of air, it’s all you’ve been for a long time.”

Kendell watched as her father walked off, probably going to his office. It’s where he usually went to get away from the stress of his wife. He spent hours in his office on the phone. Work helped him forget how miserable his home life was. Lorraine stood up from the tiled floor still crying, her husbands hand print visible on her cheek.

Lorraine: “You’ll regret that! You’ll regret it all.”

Lorraine walked off in the opposite direction of the huge house. And then there was silence. Kendell still sat on the stairs, shaking; frightened from the outburst she had just witness. Hoping that things would change, that they would all live happily ever after and praying to the Lord to look after her. But her prayers went unheard as they always did. She sat in the silence for over and hour, the grip on her doll so tight that her nails dug into the palms of her hands causing a small stream of blood to trickle down her hands on onto the carpeted stairs. She stood up, holding onto the banister and making her way down the stairs, one step at a time, occasionally looking over her shoulder. The marble tiles felt cold against her bare feet as she made her way to her father’s office, the large mahogany door standing over her was intimidating and frightening. She grabbed the golden door knob and tried to open it but without and luck. The door was locked. When she needed her father the most he had locked her out. She turned away from the door, heartbroken and lonely and began to follow the tracks of her mother, into the large den in the back of the house. Unlike the door to her father’s office the door to den was open and the soothing voice of Tony Bennett whispered through the hallways as he sang of love lost and broken hearts. Kendell, scared of the silence, pushed open the door slowly.

Kendell: “Mom…”

And there her mother was, in the center of the room, her eyes fixated on Kendell as her limp body hung from a rope dangling from the gold and diamond chandelier. Her mouth open slightly in a silent scream, her feet dangling just above the Persian rug. It was then Kendell’s childhood innocence died with her Mother.



Present Day


Jeff: “You’re taking these recent wins for granted.”

Kendell Smith: “No I’m not, I’m quit aware of the fact that I am winning week in week out.”

Jeff: “That’s not what I mean, I mean you don’t want to get over confident going into an important match, it’s where people like Icon and Stryfe have failed in the past.”

Kendell Smith: “And tell me Jeff why exactly is it I shouldn’t be confident? I have beaten both of the men you speak of in recent times and I hold the belt they both crave after so much. The difference between me, Stryfe and Icon is, I can actually back up my over confidence. In fact it’s not over confidence when you’re backing it up with wins.”

Jeff: “I don’t know Kendell, I’ve seen it too many times before, this could come crashing down around you.”

Kendell Smith: “It could but it won’t. I mean we’re talking about Gary Reece, a man who I eventually made a mockery of, Icon and Stryfe, two men who are embarrassed to recognise my win against them, Icon because of the circumstance and Stryfe because of his ego. I mean really, is this the same Stryfe who has had the longest reign in UWF history? What happened to the Stryfe who actually won matches? This new Stryfe is pathetic; I mean the best thing he can say against me is that I use a pole? Surely he can come up with more creative insults than that. Although we both know he has a thing for strippers, sure isn’t the mother of his child a former clear heel wearing master of the poll? A classy woman that JC, I can see why men would want her to mother their children.”

Kendell sat in front of the mirror as the woman behind her removed the curlers from her long dark hair so that it fell in waves at her shoulders. She was getting ready for her FHM cover shoot. Since her title win everybody in the World wanted a piece of Kendell and she was more than happy to give them what they wanted. After all she felt most at home in front of a camera.

Kendell Smith: “To imply that I am a stripper, well that’s just ridiculous. My net worth is twice that of the ‘Phenomenal’ Stryfe. I have never once done anything to please a man unless I involved some form of reward for myself. And I’m not the one pining after a mid carder who used to be a stripper.”

Jeff: “Meow… well aren’t you turning into quite the bitch Miss Luciano.”

Kendell Smith: “Miss Smith.”

Jeff: “Sorry… every now and then I forget. Um by the way I’ve been meaning to ask you, will you be flying home for your mother’s twenty year anniversary.”

Kendell Smith: “No.”

Jeff: “No?...”

Kendell Smith: “I’ve been to one funeral in the last twelve months I don’t really need to be reminded of another.”

Jeff: “I think it would look bad if you…”

Kendell Smith: “Did I ask you what you think? No. So I would appreciate it if you kept that mouth of yours shut unless you are going to tell me how great I am and how I am destined to come out on top this Monday Night.”

She stood up from the chair, pushing the hair stylist away from her and tearing off the over coat she was given to protect her outfit from loose makeup and hair product. Her perfect physique was clad in an army camouflage bikini, hugging her in all the right places and accentuating the curves of her body and her sun kissed Italian skin. Silver dog tags glistened under the backstage lighting as they hung from her neck.

Truth was, she hadn’t stopped thinking about her mother’s anniversary, she still couldn’t believe it had been twenty years since the day her mother had killed herself. How time had gotten away from her, bug she had bigger things to be thinking about. She had to retain her title this week at Adrenaline, it had been sometime since a superstar had actually retained the title in UWF she wanted to prove she wasn’t just a flavour of the month who held on to titles for a pathetic amount of time like Icon had but her mind kept drifting back to the day she had found her mother hanging in their multi million dollar estate.

She pushed down the handle on the fire escape and walked outside to the back alley of the studio, too busy trying to take her mind of her mother to feel the cold air on her bare skin. Out of her small clutch purse she took a cigarette and lighter, lighting it up and closing her eyes, inhaling the nicotine and praying it took away even an ounce of her stress. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

Jeff: “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up…”

Kendell Smith: “It’s ok…”

Jeff: “Smoking will kill you.”

Kendell Smith: “So will hanging yourself.”

Jeff and Kendell laughed a little. She constantly made inappropriate jokes, it was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her so many years ago, one of the reasons he loved to be in her company.

Jeff: “You’ll do fine this week.”

Kendell Smith: “Hopefully, it’s not like a normal match where I’ve to pin one person to get the win, I’ve to go in there, I’ve to take on Icon for the first time one on one and then if I beat him I’ve to take on either Stryfe or Gary Reece. I know it wont be just another walk in the park, I’m very aware of the fact that I’ll have two matches in one night.”

Jeff: “And Icon pulled the ‘woman’ card.”

Kendell Smith: “Yea so I heard. Sad really that he has to bring up the fact that I am the only female in the ring, I’m also the only one in the ring that holds the Undisputed title, I’m also undefeated since my return to professional wrestling, but know, he has to point out the fact that I have breasts. So does Jesterio but people aren’t constantly pointing that out.”

She brought the cigarette to her lips and inhaled letting it calm her nerves slightly. It was the first time in a long time her nerves had gotten the best of her and if she where to be honest, it had very little to do with wrestling.

Kendell Smith: “As for Gary Reece, well I don’t even think I’ll see him in the fight on Monday. I think Stryfe has organised to beat the crap out of him for trying to bang his stripper baby’s momma… God I feel like I’m Ricky Lake with all these classless tasteless people. Stryfe is messing with my masturbation material with his continuous whining. How am I supposed to find that anyway attractive? And Icon is losing his confidence. What is it with these men questioning themselves? Soon there will be nobody left in UWF worth banging and I thought there was life in the men on the roster after Khristian Call, I was sadly mistaken.”

Jeff took off his coat and wrapped it around Kendell’s shoulders she looked at him suspiciously and pulled the coat tight around her.

Jeff: “Let’s get you back inside to the photo shoot. The men of America are waiting for Kendell.”

Kendell Smith: “But hasn’t that always been the case?”