Post by Anastasia Hayden on Mar 16, 2019 21:03:18 GMT -5
The scene opens to an idyllic shot of open fields as far as the eye can see, a lone road going anywhere imaginable, and a sun on the verge of setting. Then that same shot slowly pans to the right where we find none other than Anastasia Hayden waiting by the pump of some gas station in the middle of nowhere rural Ohio. The sight suddenly isn't as pretty, but it is what it is and Anastasia seems to be aware of this with her arms crossed, waiting for part of the camera crew to fill up their rental.
She takes a step forward as it would appear that her and the crew are perhaps the last humans on Earth with how desolate the surrounding area is. Even the gas station gives off vague post-apocalyptic vibes to it, but it possesses a certain realness that mimics the aura of Anastasia Hayden.
"Ten years. I've been driving to across this country for ten fucking years and when you come across places like this...in the middle of nowhere, you start to ask yourself around the eighth or ninth year if this is all really worth it. Here I stand, by myself, driving to Columbus, Ohio to face off against a couple of nobodies who have barely been on the scene for not even a fraction of my career looking to make their name at the expense of mine all for the opportunity to compete for tag championship gold...is it worth it?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely it's worth it. This right here? This is the shit I live for. It sucks, it really sucks, but if you don't put in the hours on the road, if you don't waste your time in this backwoods, bumass towns...you're not willing to put in that same effort inside that ring. Lisa understands that because she wrestles all over the world just like me. We've tracked more miles outside the ring than most of these teams combined have. So you tell me...is that worth it?"
"Is it worth stepping into the ring with Anastasia Hayden and Lisa Seldon when you've got no chance? You get a lot of teams who, when they work together, they're unstoppable, but as soon as you pluck them apart, they're nothing without each other. And you get teams who are great by themselves, but can't operate on the same page together. You see the point I'm trying to make here."
In case you don't, don't worry, Anastasia's bound to explain it as she takes another step away from the gas station, and begins to inch close to the empty road. She's got a smug look present on her face, but beside the confidence and arrogance Ana's got; there's some truth in her statement. As different as the Hellcats are, they're alike in one key component.
"But Lisa and myself? We don't show the potential to rule the wrestling world; we've ruled it. We've ruled it by ourselves and we've ruled it together. I don't need to point toward our Rose City Trios Championship or Rose City Tag Championships or the fact that we're crushing the Southside Wrestling Tag Tournament, but I will anyways. It's important because this is the part where every team in this thing will say why they're actually the best and will win, which good on them, but we've got the hardware to actually back our claims up."
"This isn't our first rodeo and win or lose, it won't be our last either. This isn't a vanity thing, this is a passion thing. I've been wanting to step foot inside a Union Battleground ring for years, but the only thing holding me back has been me. And now that I'm here, you think I'm not going to win my debut match? You think I'm not going to become a champion within my first few months?"
A scoff from Ana; again, it comes from a place of arrogance, but there's a nugget of truth there and she's got the past championships to back her up. Mostly arrogance though.
"But out of all that...you're going to tell me that I'm meant to lose to two borderline rookies? Look, I'm all about the future of professional wrestling as much as the next gal, but...it's not happening now. Everyone loves an underdog, but you never hear the stories where the underdog gets absolutely fucking destroyed. You never hear those stories because the underdog dies and no one wants to put the obituary on the front page. Unless you're into that kind of morbidness, in which case, I suggest you tune in to the main event."
"I understand that the blonde Thing #1 had a cup of tea appearance here however long ago when she took out Kaelan Laughlin and that's great, but Kaelan Laughlin takes out Kaelan Laughlin on a regular basis, so…"
Ana looks to spin that into a positive for her opponent, but the longer she does her Larry David impression, it's clear there isn't going to be a positive spin and she gives up. Taking a few more steps, Ana steps onto that empty road, and we've got that picturesque shot once more, but with Anastasia in the center; as if daring the unknown to strike, but she remains calm at the prospect.
"You trained under 'legendary' wrestlers though, so you've got that going for you. Then again, I've been doing this for ten years, and I haven't heard of them, so science dictates they must not be that legendary...right? I'd tell you who I trained with, but like I've said before, I've been doing this for ten years, I'm pretty okay at what I do to where I don't need to flex like that. I don't need to mention the footnote accomplishments of my career like graduating wrestling school because I'm too busy writing my chapter titles."
"So Thing #1 can boast about who she attacked after a match and I'll boast about holding the Battalion Championships while she's out on a road like this holding a 'Will Wrestle for Vanity' sign. And right next to her? Thing #2, of course! This one I like, she's got a bit of spunk to her, but...all you need to do is take one glance at her and you've got her figured all out."
A slight smirk at this one as we wait for Ana to elaborate.
"She's cute, bubbly, and always smiling, but underneath it...she's vicious! Oh boy! Never seen that before! See, a lot of people call themselves killers, but very few actually are and I'm expected to believe Thing #2 will? Ooh, I'm giggily, but once that bell rings? Watch out! I'm dangerous! I can't be responsible for what happens!"
Ana comes to a complete pause after her imitation; this time that little smug smirk has been wiped clean and replaced with a look of disgust. She takes her index finger and mimes making herself vomit at the thought.
"That's precious. Fucking adorable, but in case you aren't aware, my partner, Lisa Seldon, famous deathmatch wrestler and all around actual lunatic, she's the dangerous one. You get on Twitter, going "Are they ready?! They ain't ready!' and talk a mean game, we don't really care because I know I've got the baddest motherfucker on the planet in my corner and she's got someone just as reckless in hers. I get you two wanted in on this because it's fun and you get to be with your friend. You might be good, you might be great...but we're better and you're stepping into a domain that doesn't belong to you."
"It's ours."
In case it wasn't clear, Anastasia taps her chest with her fingers, right over her heart, to send that message home. Ana and Lisa aren't in it for participation awards; they're in it to win it.
"And when I stand in this road, I want it to represent something for you two. Behind me? Endless possibilities. Roads taking you to cities, countries, continents you've never dreamed of visiting. These roads will give you the best days of your life and the worst days of your life. Rewarded and punished. But in your way now? Me. Anastasia Hayden, greatest wrestler on the planet. So allow me to ask you again, Camila and Rachel...is it worth it?"
"Because it is my purpose to make sure you two never make it to the otherside of that fucking road. Not a goal, a purpose. Just like it's our purpose to win the Battalion Championships. That's not smoke; that's fire and we're burning this whole place down. We're putting tag team wrestling on the map and striking you two from it."
With that, one more big smirk from Anastasia. And as she goes to put a cap on this, it's a black cat that's walking by. Ominous. An omen for the Hellcats? Ana looks at the cat for a moment then back at the camera.
Post by Lisa Frankenstein on Mar 17, 2019 16:04:40 GMT -5
The upside to working so many places was that you were always too busy to dwell on things. If you lost, you lost. It was just one match. There’d be another one tomorrow.
It never occurred to her what might happen on the nights when you couldn’t just walk it off. When there was a smouldering hole in your chest and you were using it as an excuse to be over-dramatic. Even by her standards.
To her credit she’d managed to drag herself in front of a camera and plastered on a smile. There was an illusion to maintain after all.
“Let’s get this whole number one contender thing out of the way. Right now I’m sitting on a shot at whatever belt I want. An obvious choice. A week from now I could be the champ. Knock the whole Crown of the King Cobra thing on the head and jump to the top. It’s not the path I wanted to take, but the journey doesn’t matter much if you still end up in the same place.
I could even double down. Call my shot and then walk out of War of the Worlds two titles to the good. It would be a really stupid plan, but that’s sort of what you pay me for and who am I to disappoint.”
She shrugged. Bounding as she was about an empty sound stage cast in white, too wrapped up in her own bullshit to bother with anything more involved.
“It sounds good, it really does, but I’m going to sit on that for now. I’ve already got a shot at the belts I want anyway, and I didn’t bring you the best tag team on this side of the planet just to toss that all aside the first time someone dangled a contendership in my face.
I want this shot. I’m locked in.”
A sneering false smile. There was never enough for her. She was always going to find something to complain about.
“See, if you’re not keeping up with me - and honestly, I get it, I wouldn’t listen to this annoying cunt either if she wasn’t me - I’ve been making a big song and dance about tag team wrestling everywhere I’ve gone. I’m enamoured with it. I owe my career to it. I started my life in this wild, wicked and wonderful game at the end of a tag rope and even now a good ten reigns deep my hand has never faltered.
It comes with thrills you get nowhere else in this sport. The perfection of symmetry, the instant and visceral reward of working step perfect in time with another. Flowing like a dance, albeit one that happens to be done on top of someone else’s face.
Indeed, for all the stupid and maniacal shit I’ve put myself through in sport - which includes some real honest to goodness Saw movie looking shit - I’ve felt nothing so exhilarating as being apart of the Rube Goldberg machine of full body misfortune that peaks so exquisitely with someone’s eyes being popped right out of their skull.
This has never been some cheap sideline to pad the résumé. It’s an end all of its own.”
It stung. She cut about the shot like a wildcat in a trap, somewhere between wounded and seething.
“The tag titles in Union Battleground have a short but healthy lineage. They’ve been held by some of the best teams in the world and also Salvation because nothing ever gets to be perfect. With Ana and I, we’re giving you another.
Despite working together for somewhere just shy of a year and having slightly less matches than we do potential team names, Ana and I have been on a tear through every division we touch.
In Rose City we’re double champions, and will be until someone can conjure up a cure from having your skull cave in on itself when someone forcibly tries to hide their shoes in it. Across from that we’re running the gauntlet in Southside, consistently burning through teams who are obviously taking this sport seriously, since they have a bunch of funny names together.”
Lisa Frankenstein, leader of the Hellcat Spangled Death Squad and member of Dodo-A-Gogo, rolls her eyes through a complete lack of self awareness.
“Where others falter, we’ve proved consistently consistent. We’ve taken our lumps, suffered little loses here and there and come back again all the better for it.
Tag team wrestling doesn’t need anymore makeshift duos of two conveniently unburdened tearaways who saw a quick shot to some gold and a bonus in their paycheck.
We’ve got all the makings of a slapdash super team, sure. We’re both hideously successful singles stars in our own right and, on more than a few occasions, one of us has attempted to gun the other down in the middle of the match because nothing is more important to either of us than the win.”
She set her head on one side.
“Personally I find it reassuring. You know you’ve got a bond with someone when you’ve been able to wave off a half-dozen or so attempts on your life, but I'm aware my opinions on that are very much my own. Nevertheless, we bring so much more to the table than a Dead Cute or a New Age Killers or a whoever and whatever it is we’re facing this week.”
A great part of her just wanted to be done and retreat into herself. Just give up. This was never about her though. This was Ana’s match, Ana’s chance to step back into the spotlight. She had her heart set on it. This was important to her.
Lisa was always very good at being conceited, but her loyalties were unquestionable. She was going to see Ana’s hand raised, wherever that might take her.
“Collectively we’ve put more time on the clock together than every other qualifying duo combined. We’ve come into this with a lot of spit and bravado, but we’ve got the credentials to back it up. Conversely, our opponents are tripping all over each other trying to be the first one to undermine their chances.
We were covering miles on the road together. Filling out the record books, throwing down and generally being a successful team. At the same time Rachelle and Camila were preening over pictures of themselves and trying to talk up the time one of them dropped Kae on a chair like they actually did something that day!”
She gives that one a second.
“It wasn’t a tag match together. Wasn’t even a match one of them was in. It was a fucking sneak attack and she’s out there bigging it up, claiming she did it all on her own, because that two-piece sucker punch is literally her whole CV.
I stabbed a giant otter monster with a fork the other night at a Rose City show. It didn’t even make the top five most interesting things I’d done that week.”
Her voice leapt up, swinging indignant.
“The other one isn’t any better. I was back in 2018 trying to find something newsworthy on her and coming up short. A handful of shows gooning for shitty Voidstar of all people, a miserable run out in Revolution Pro and fuck all else for about six months. Now they’re out here talking about giving us a wake up call, which is hilarious coming from two people whose careers are in a fucking coma.
This isn’t a team, this a joke. The only thing the two of them are ever going to do together is catch a cheque on your way out the door. And they’re daring to claim we’re not ready for them, like they think neither of us have ever had to bag and dump our own garbage.”
She slowed, bringing it in, playing in the peaks and troughs.
“No one is deceiving us here. No one is coming out to play spoiler. In a packed sky of fading stars trying to feed off each other’s light, we’re inescapable. We’ve earned our reputations, separately and together. Outside of the champs we’re the team to beat and we know everyone is coming at us with intent.
So certainly I expect them to be spirited. They’ll throw everything they’ve got at us and then some. They’re going to leave that ring in splinters and it’s all going to be for nothing when we walk out of there, hands raised and eyes to the big show.”
It wasn’t just a lost that was tearing at her, it was the indignity of it. She hadn’t just lost, she’d beaten herself. She’d stepped into the year, two clear goals in mind. She was going to claim the Crown of the King Cobra, she was going to be the champion in EW, setting her place on the world stage and finally winning the big one at home.
Her chances had come and gone, and she found herself with nothing.
“We’re going to send them back to whoever those legends are in pieces. Two more have-a-go halfwits who won’t even be apart of the conversation by the time we hit the final.
We will. I'll be back at the fight win or lose, and I'll drag Ana back by the hair if I need to. I mean I probably won't have to. She's desperate for the work ever since the 4CW money stopped rolling in. Still, the point remains. We’re not some flight of fancy duo of duds who saw this as a way to get a place at the table.
We’re going to etch our names in the history of those belts and Smash every two bit hack team of posers who think they can pass through and get a crack at them.”
She sat with it for a few, beaming empty until the camera cut. Her smile went with it.
She was suffering right now, but she burned white hot. Something was about to give.
Post by camilaabines on Mar 18, 2019 22:43:10 GMT -5
The scene opens up to Camila Abrines standing at the side of a wrestling ring, found inside the Steel Bones Wrestling gym. Camila is dressed down in her workout gear and she is drenched in sweat as she looks at the camera with a smile. She knew how hard and important her tag team match in Union Battleground was, and she couldn’t help but smile knowing that it was near.
“For the majority of the past two years, I was in a tag team with one of my best friends, Kiana Masters, a tag team called 2MF1. Kiana needed a break from the ring though, which left me, a born and bred tag team wrestler, alone. I searched and searched for the right partner, until I ended up here at Steel Bones. This is where I met Rachelle LeRoux, where we forged not only a bond of friendship, but a bond of a tag team. We didn’t just look at each other and decide to jump into the mix and figure things out as we went… No, we decided to train and grind and prepare for this moment in Union Battleground.”
Camila nodded her head as she pat her hand down on the apron, keeping her big brown eyes focused on the camera. She wanted everyone to know how focused she was for War of the Worlds qualifier, especially her two opponents.
“I’ve seen how everyone is doubting Rachelle and I though. So many of Ana and Lisa’s friends, big names in the wrestling world, have shown their unwavering support for the Hellcat Spangled Death Squad, going as far to say that Union is lucky to have these two even on their roster right now. Here’s the thing though, Ana and Lisa aren’t bigger than Union Battleground, and they sure as hell aren’t bigger than this tournament. I don’t think it’s just Ana and Lisa’s friends who believe they’re bigger than this though, I think they themselves believe it too. It’s why they saturate themselves in the wrestling world. It seems like Lisa fights about twenty matches a week. Meanwhile, Ana floats around from place to place, joining up with whoever will give her some kind of a rub. I guess she’s really fallen off ever since she lost the 4CW Championship.”
Camila laughed as she brought up Anastasia’s failed run as the top cat in 4CW before she continued in.
“But hey, Ana has done it all, right? So has Lisa, and if you put the two of them together, that means they automatically win, right? It means Rachelle and I don’t stand a chance, right? It means that we should just take our ball and go home! I’m just a tag team wrestler, known for being a two time tag team champion but also, being the Millennium Television Champion. Oh hey, I can do the whole singles thing when I put my mind to it, huh? But this is tag team wrestling, and it’s what I do best. A well-oiled team is better than putting together two singles competitors and saying, ‘okay let’s win everything!’ This is a different ball game. And while I can do singles wrestling like our foes, I can do tag wrestling even better. I know what it takes to make a team work. I know all the little nuances that Rachelle has in the ring. I know what she’s going to do before she even does it. That’s what a true team is, it’s two people who know each other so well, that they know how to work as one. Can the Hellcats claim that?”
Cami shook her head and rolled her eyes at the obvious rhetorical question. She knew Rachelle and her had the advantage, in more ways than one.
“You know what else Rachelle and I have on our side? The power of surprise. Ana and Lisa don’t know what Rachelle and I bring to the table together. They don’t know how we work and function together because they haven’t been given anything to look at. This moment? This has been prepared for in private for months. Meanwhile, Ana and Lisa fight seven days a week, all over the world. They might think that helps them but all it is, is a detriment to them. All that travel and matches? It’s going to not only give them weak legs, but they will be mentally exhausted as well. Lisa is a broken down death match wrestler, while Ana is over the hill and past her prime. Now that she’s been to the top of the mountain once, after busting her ass for years and years, she’s finally over it and you can see it in her eyes. There isn’t that bright light anymore, no, Ana Hayden is dead inside, and that’s why she follows Lisa Seldon like a lost puppy.”
“You know what’s funny though? Anastasia is one of those people who probably would have looked down at tag team wrestling in the past. Like, what is she even in this for? How can someone who has claimed the championships that she previously held meant nothing? That was her schtick for years, she was that girl who just didn’t care, she just wanted to knock skulls in and the only satisfaction she had out of winning championships was that she was keeping them away from everyone else. Was Ana lying all of those years though? Did she ACTUALLY give a shit? Was it all a facade? No, it wasn’t a facade, she really doesn’t care. It’s why she lost to Becky fucking Balfour in seven seconds, probably one of the most embarrassing parts of her career. It has to be a close second to losing the 4CW Championship to that spooky boy, Viduus Morta, though. Did you even get a rematch after that, Ana?”
Camila rubbed her chin, pretending to think it over before a devilish grin ran across her lips, knowing she clearly hit a sore spot for Ana.
“As for Lisa Seldon? Isn’t she just coming off of a loss for the World Championship over in Evolution Wrestling? Wow, you’re really on a roll, aren’t you? Seems like you have a habit of losing the big one though, don’t you? Well, I consider this qualifier for those Battalion Championships a big deal, Lisa, and I truly believe that you’re going to fuck this up. I truly believe that because Lisa, is indeed, a fuck up. All she’s good for is spreading herself too thin and tweeting a bunch of bits on Twitter. How is anyone supposed to take this so-called ‘indy darling’ seriously? Oh, that’s right! You don’t take her seriously because she’s a joke. You all can hype up Lisa all you want, but all I see is an over glorified hardcore wrestler. So you put that harcore wrestler together with Ana Hayden, someone who pretends to never give a fuck, and we’re supposed to get a legendary tag team out of that? Really? Are you kidding me?”
She rolled her eyes and let out a scoff, it was obvious that Ana and Lisa as a team bothered her.
“What annoys me the most is everyone on Twitter fawning over you two like you’re something special and how Rachelle and I are just lucky to be here. No, we’re not fucking lucky, we worked hard for this moment. We put in our blood, sweat and tears to be here, to be in such an important company like Union Battleground. But hey, the Laughlin’s and Bronx’s of the world can shower you two with all the adoration and respect that they want, it doesn’t change the fact that Rachelle and I are going to beat the shit out of you two and trust me when I say this, there won’t be anything respectful about it. While you might be hot shit over in 4CW and the million of other places you’ve competed, you’re still nothing here in Union Battleground. This is a whole new ballgame for all four of us here and while people do know you two more than people know us? We are going to use you to elevate our status in the wrestling world. All those people who lifted you up on Twitter? They’re going to look like fools when Rachelle and I dispose of you. But the biggest fools of all at the end of the night? Will be Anastasia Hayden and Lisa Seldon, because they’ll be going up against Unapologetic, and the only ones that will be left looking sorry are the hell kittens. See you soon.”
Camila gives a wink to the camera, clearly satisfied with her final statement before she walks away and the scene fades out.
