‘Can you work 300 shows a year for six years non-stop?’

Of course, anything for this business.

‘Thanks, kid. I’ll owe you one.’

You’re welcome.

‘I know you’re working injured, and you need time off... but can you work this show anyway? I’ll owe you one. We can’t afford to have Drayden off the card.’

No problem, boss.

What a terrible decision. Drayden should have known that the end was near, and that working that beat up, that constantly, was a bad decision. That was why he’d pulled off of the live shows, aside from the rare show at MSG, or a special event overseas. For the most part, if it wasn’t on TV, he wasn’t there. And that was fine, they did good numbers anyway. Drayden was on his latest run as the champion when he’d worked the match a few nights before against Caiden Winters, a man Drayden had only wrestled once before then; but it’d been a barnburner, where Drayden had put him over clean, building a new star.

Almost two years later, they’d clashed again, at Judgment Day — four days ago, for the title. It’d been another 4.75 star match, where Drayden had to use a Burning Hammer after nearly four years since the last time he’d had to use it, to retire a legend. Drayden had gotten the pin, but unfortunately something had happened during the match:

Drayden’s knee had blown out, from the sheer weight of carrying the company over and over again, working endless shows, matches, special appearances… now he could barely walk, he needed his knee surgically repaired, and he had to go out to the fans and tell them that he was going away. To disappoint them. Torn ACL. Torn MCL. Torn medial meniscus.

Crutches. He was on crutches.

Drayden looked up from the title that he had laying on the floor by his feet, and over at his girlfriend, who was in their private dressing room with him. Yes, being him had perks. The private jet anywhere he wanted, a private bus, a private dressing room in every arena, on the better side of eight figures a year… he had earned this.

So had Barbie, but her job included a lot less hard… work. There was something hard involved.

Drayden let out a long sigh, before finally speaking and breaking the silence that had seemed eternal. “Maybe I should just work through the knee. I bet I can. I don’t want to surrender the title, what a fucking joke.” He said, growling out the last word as he grabbed the Gatorade he’d been drinking at, and threw it against the wall, watching it explode; explode like his head was right now.

Barbie took a step back and frowned at the colorful liquid that now stained and dripped down the wall. Fiery tempers were something the star couple had in common. The curvy blonde looked to her boyfriend now, her face softened and the frown drifted away. “No, baby. You can’t do that,” she took a few strides towards him to close the distance between them and smirked, “Wouldn’t be much fun fo’ me if you were on crutches forever. Let’s leave the sexy cane shtick to Doctuh House.” Barbie ran her fingers through his hair and scratched gently at his scalp with her perfectly manicured nails.

“Six months. Six entire months.” That seemed like an eternity, and to Drayden and his fans, it might as well be. Did absence truly make the heart grow fonder? Maybe. This would be, to the man, the ultimate test of that. What was he even going to do with himself for six months? “I don’t suppose you want to take six months off with me?” Hey, maybe baby doll would want a vacation. “At least I can power through physical therapy. Maybe I can make six months into four.”

Six months was a long time, they were in agreement there. “I know, it’s a long time…” Barbara said softly and straddled herself over his lap as he sat, careful to avoid his knee. She stroked his cheeks and then put her arms around his neck before speaking again. “Maybe I could take a few weeks off with you… but not the whole six months. I gotta make sure they remember us.” Crowds were fickle and quick to forget about things that weren’t constantly shoved in their face with bright, flashing lights. Being visible was being relevant, and if there was one thing “Barbie Summers” was good at in the ring, it was getting people talking - albeit not always in the best ways. Barbie kissed the tip of Drayden’s nose and smiled warmly “Because we ain’t going anywhere, right?”

Of course they weren’t going anywhere, Drayden wanted nothing more than to go out there each and every night and show the fans who the best in the world really was. But, he probably wouldn’t be able to do that; he’d already cut his workload down to about half, and would probably cut it back more after this, but who knew? At least this girl was his. She had a… way to go about cheering him up that was almost always successful. “No. I’m gonna come back better than ever.” Hopefully to a huge crowd reaction. “I’m sure that Roddy has a plan to keep me on people’s mind. He hasn’t replaced me quite yet, so I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. That’ll come, but not now. I got a lot left in the tank.”

They were an AWE power couple - some would even argue that they were the current monarchy of professional wrestling: a true king, and his queen. Barbie snuggled close against against the reigning champion. “Oh yeah?” she said before her lips curled into a minxy grin. “How much have got left in your,” a dainty hand trailed down his chest and settled to stroke and then grip her man with unmistakable intent, “...tank?” She bit her lower lip and compressed a giggle through her nose.

At least everything still worked properly. It could be worse; he could be out of action, and out of action. But, he was just down one leg; he still had two. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He said lightly, winking at his queen. At least this would do a little to lighten his mood, maybe put a smile on his face before he walked out to face the music. Making a bit of a face, Drayden added, “you’re gonna have to do all the work. I can barely walk.”

“It’ll be my pleasure.” The blonde purred against his neck, peppering the skin with nibbly kisses. Things would go more smoothly with her taking the lead, Tay gets so spun in a tizzy when she messes up her hair or makeup before going out in front of the crowd. She would make sure that she didn’t do that again, at least not today. Her crystalline blue eyes glanced at the clock on the dressing room wall - they had about ten minutes before anyone came a-knocking on the door. Plenty of time.

“You can do this, and you will do it. And I’ll be right there at the end of that walkway when it’s all over.” Barbie said comfortingly, her voice was still a little raspy and her Louisiana accent was thick. Her words always took on a more loose, southern lilt when she was speaking casually. Of course, she would walk her boyfriend out to the ring and then wait backstage for him while he did what he had to do. “We should get you dressed--” she said without even looking at the clock for confirmation. As if on cue, there was a knock at the dressing room door. Barbie went rigid and scrambled up from her knees quickly, snickering like a caught schoolgirl. “Just a minute~” she called out toward the door before helping Drayden get decent again.

Sure, he was in a better mood now, but he wasn’t ready to do this. Drayden stood in the gorilla position, staring at the curtain… the crowd was ravenous to see the star, who had promised he would be opening the show with a huge announcement relating to his match from the weekend. Were he and Caiden going to have a rematch tonight? Something bigger than that? Nobody but Drayden knew, and that was where the hype came from!

Drayden looked at one of the monitors nearby, displaying the camera as it panned over the crowd, as energetic as always. The show’s themesong blared over the speakers, and the camera panned to the commentary desk, where Wade Palmer was bouncing his head to the heavy bass riff as it faded away, and the crowd in attendance were left to their devices, screaming and cheering as Wade spoke into the headset to crowd back home.

“Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages…. welcome to AWE Shock n’ Awe, the longest running weekly episodic television show in history. We are coming at you live from Chicago, Illinois, surrounded by thousands of the most passionate wrestling fans in the world, who are just as amped as you to hear what Drayden has to say after his legendary title defense against Caiden Winters at Judgement Day, a match which will be looked on in the years that follow as a classic one, ending when Drayden broke out a move that hasn’t seen the light of day since 2007, when Drayden used it to retire the legendary Blaze Pierson: a burning hammer.” Wade paused for a moment and smiled into the camera, winking his left eye at it. “Of course, I can confidently say that not a single one of you are more excited to hear what he has to say than me.”

Drayden’s music hit and the crowd naturally went nuts. Not only was this the MAN, this was their hometown hero. It was deafening and it didn’t die down, even as the music played and Drayden wasn’t there. He couldn’t bring himself to walk out quite yet, he was savoring the sweet, sweet crowd’s cheers one last time before it all went to shit.

Finally, he pushed his way past the curtain… and headed down to the ring, with a crutch underneath his left side, where his leg was injured. Drayden was limping, with the championship belt strapped around his waist. Man, this sucked. The crowd was just staring at him, the cheering ceased for a moment, before they all realized what was about to happen.

Believe me, I don’t want to go.

Drayden grumbled in his thoughts as he climbed up the stair and into the ring, hobbling over to the side of it and reaching out for a folding chair, which was handed to him. Drayden put the chair down in the center of the ring, then went back and reached out for a microphone. Then he sat down in the chair and let himself enjoy the atmosphere just a while longer.

Drayden finally pulled the microphone up to his lips. “Trust me, I don’t want to go anywhere, but all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, it’s time for me to take a step back and get some rest. I was informed on Sunday, after my match with Caiden Winters, that I sustained a few… detrimental injuries, and that it was a miracle that my body lasted this long before giving out on me. I’m having surgery tomorrow, and then I’ll be out for… almost a year, they said.” Drayden paused for a second, looking down at the title belt that was now sitting in his lap: his legacy. As he said that he had to be gone, for that long, the crowd couldn’t help themselves: they booed.

“I know believe me, I know. Being gone that long is a joke. But I’ve been doing too much, too fast. I need to slow down and get some rest, unfortunately, or I can never wrestle again.” Drayden paused again, and the crowd cheered, before another… off the wall chant started.

“Now you guys sound like my girlfriend.” Drayden said, and if the place had been deafening with cheers before, the same effect was happening now, though instead of cheers, it was loud and impassioned booing, drowning out almost anyone in the arena’s ability to think. If they loved Drayden, they hated Drayden’s slutty girlfriend who DIDN’T DESERVE IT even more. Barbie was a damn good heel. Drayden cracked a crooked smile, before speaking into the microphone. ”I should have expected that. Now, before I finish up here, I want to make sure that you guys know this isn’t good bye, this is just see you later.”

Drayden looked down at the title in his lap and rapped on it with his knuckles, “time to address this. I don’t know how many fans here in attendance, and how many at home know this but there’s a contractual obligation in all AWE contracts to defend a championship once every thirty days. Due to my injury, I won’t be able to do that. So… As of right now, I’m relinquishing the AWE World Championship.” He said, taking it off of his lap and slowly setting it down on the ground, “but I want whoever holds this next to know that you’re just keeping it warm for me. I’ll be back. And I’ll get my title back.”

Meanwhile, backstage, the head writer of the AWE, one Kevin Harrison, was putting the final touches on the storyboard for the night, which showed the plan so far, barring any immediate changes from Roddy Quinn himself:

And beneath the storyboard, a piece of paper is pinned with a thumb tack, detailing the upcoming tournament’s brackets, along with a note scrawled in Kevin’s unmistakeable handwriting: ‘If there is any confusion with the segment list, see me in my office. Thanks!’

The classic electric guitar riff of one of AWE’s finest veterans blared through the speakers, and a large mix of cheers and boos surrounded Zachary Wake as he stepped onto the entrance ramp, though it was clear that the boos were far more prominent. Zack smiled that glorious smile of his and proceeded down the ramp, purposely timing the walk out to match it with his music. Clothed in his favourite burgundy trunks adorned with the name “WAKE” in golden lettering on the back, Zachary made his way down the metal ramp with his chest held high. Many fans stuck their hands out for high-fives, and Zachary leaned towards them, even extending his hand, but as the fans swung towards Zack, he pulled his hand back close then pointed at the few who went for the high-fives and laughed at them. Their expressions turned sour, and Zack couldn’t get enough of it. Even after being in the business for a full decade, getting heat was still so fun, and the little things like that were the best bits.

Zachary rolled into the ring, and as the music hit 52 seconds, Zack closed his eyes, spread his arms wide and laughed, taking in anything and everything the crowd sent his way. After basking in the noise for a good ten seconds, and as the music faded, he faced the hard cam and flexed his muscles.

“Well, the fans are happy to say how they feel about Zachary Wake, and it isn’t positive. And, I’ve got some good news for those watching at home: we had our last commercial break before this match began, so you’ll be enjoying this one without any further interruptions.” Truth be told, Wade was just as hype as the raucous, on fire crowd was. There wasn’t a damn thing they could mess up with this match; Caiden Winters always had brilliant matches, and Zachary Wake was nothing to sneeze at.

As Zachary Wake’s music came to a close, Caiden Winters did not immediately start. Instead there was a brief pause, as the crowd got hot for the person the desperately wanted to see. Yes, they loved him, despite what he said when he was on the mic, despite how much he claimed to hate the fans, they adored Caiden. And it was hard not to! He was fantastically skilled, and whether the people backstage liked it or not, in this business, in ring ability and psychology got people to love you.

Oh, it felt good. Caiden loved it, even if his character didn’t. That didn’t stop him from playing to the fans, at least a little bit. Working this match, he had been told to play it face; so face he would play. The music hit, and the man himself stepped to the top of the stage. “Is this what you came to see? You come to see me!?” Ooh, felt good.

“You hear the roar of the crowd? They’re answering Caiden Winter’s questions. And that answer is a heartfelt ‘yes.’ Don’t let them down.”

Caiden’s stroll down to the ring continued, and by the time the music got to the chorus, Caiden had rolled into the ring, and was facing Zack; a certain air of confidence about him. He wasn’t going to lose this, no way. This was his time.

Zack met face to face with his opponent, and grinned at him. “You ready, boy?” Each superstar radiated an immense amount of confidence, and the crowd was feeling it smack them in the face. It had been quite a while since these two last met, and now, only one of them would be progressing towards the AWE Championship.

Caiden smirked at his opponent, and nodded. The ring announcer stepped out of the ring, and the referee gestured for the bell to ring… and Caiden opened the match with a quick maneuver, running up to Zachary and jumping up for a dropkick, fluidly bending his body. High energy. The move connected beautifully, and Zack bounced backwards, dropping onto his backside and resting against the ring ropes. He looked up at the man now standing over him with a slight look of shock. The crowd accepted the move, and started up their chanting for Caiden once more.

Caiden grinned at his opponent on the floor after rolling up to his feet. Caiden put a hand up to the side of his head and flicked it out at Zack, firing a finger gun at him. “I know you got better than that in you.” He said, gesturing for Zack to get up and bring it better than that.

“Winters, showing a little bit of confidence here in the beginning of this match! What an explosive way to begin a match that’s sure to be a clinic.”

Zachary happily obliged, and stood up. He then held his arms out and locked them in with Caiden. After a short back and forth struggle for power, Zack gained the upper hand, pushing his opponent up into the corner. The referee broke the hold after a few seconds, but as Zack began to turn away from Caiden, he quickly doubled back and sucker punched him right in the jaw. The crowd booed the action, as they should have, but Zack didn’t stop there. He grabbed Caiden’s head with both hands, then drove a knee into the man’s abdomen. “You wanted to see better? Well you’re gonna get better!” After another punch, Zack grabbed Caiden’s arm with both hands, and dragged him away from the turnbuckles, attempting to throw him into the opposite corner.

Caiden was caught slightly off guard by the attack, but he was ready by the time Zack tried to throw him into the corner, countering and spinning around. He threw Zack into the corner himself but was quick to follow, ready to hit a corner kick and end this quick and clean. Zack expected the skilled Caiden to go for some big, flashy moves, so when he saw a big kick coming his way, Zack quickly ducked down and rolled out of the corner, allowing him some space. Zack turned to the crowd, and with a stern look on his face, shouted. “I AM THE BEST!” This only made the crowd more aggressive towards Wake, but he didn’t care. This match existed to prove that exact point.

Caiden’s response was in the form of a move. Quickly turning out of the corner and running toward the ropes in front of Zack as he struck a pose. He jumped up onto the ropes, and put his feet on the second rope, launching himself into a backflip in the air. He flew backwards and smoothly grabbed Zack’s neck as he landed, dropping him down to the floor in a reverse neckbreaker. Caiden then hopped up to his feet and mimicked Zack’s pose, “I’M BETTER THAN THE BEST!

“This is their chance to prove it! After all, the winner of this match advances in the tournament to crown the next AWE World Champion, an accolade held only by the best in the business.”

Zack held his neck in pain (faking, of course), and slowly crawled over to the ropes, pulling himself back to his feet with his spare hand. Once he got to his feet he tilted his head back and forth, allowing it to create several cracking sounds, and it was fine once more.

Zack took no time waiting for his opponent, and bounced off the ropes behind him, then sprinted towards Caiden, giving the man no time to react, turning around as Wake connected a stiff clothesline, knocking Winters to the ground. Wasting no time, Zack grabbed the downed Caiden’s legs, and mouthed “Liontamer.” Zack then proceeded to lift Winters ever so slightly off the ground, letting him bend his body to get into position.

Caiden’s face contorted in pain and he screamed as he stared into the camera, his face contorted into total agony as Zack twisted him. The referee came near him and yelled, “Do you want to quit?!” The ref demanded, and Caiden shook his head valiantly, lifting himself up on his forearms and crawling toward the ropes in an act of defiance. He would not give up! He had to win the title. Unfortunately for Caiden, the roadblock named Zachary Wake stood in his way. Soon after he began crawling, he was forcefully stopped with a stomp to the head. Zack pulled Caiden back to the centre of the ring, and re-applied the submission.

”WInters has to break this hold! He has to find a way to get new life, new energy, new power to pull himself to the bottom rope! We’ve seen this move put away so many other competitors in the past!”

Caiden was stunned now, and it showed in his face, eyes seemingly dead and empty. At this point, Zachary was laughing out loud, and every now and again turned his head to Caiden, shouting “Come on, give up!” And Caiden was met with supportive cheers from the crowd.

“Look at the life drain out of Winters’s eyes! The pull of Wake on the hold is clearly getting to him, he can’t take much more of this… but listen to the fans, rallying behind a man they love despite his sometimes blatant disregard for them!”

Maybe Caiden could win this match, but not if he was stuck on the ground. Zack noticed the chants, as it was impossible not to, and replied to them with a sour expression. “HE CAN’T WIN!” Caiden was feeling the power of the crowd though, and in a sudden burst of energy, he pulled himself toward the ropes and snatched the bottom one in his hand, and the ref was on it in an instant.

“Break the damn hold, Wake!”

“And Winters got ahold of the rope! Freedom for Caiden! The match rolls on.”

Wake was stunned by the quick movements of his opponent, but when the referee demanded he break it up, Zack didn’t. The ref began counting towards five, and Zack deliberately held onto the move until the count of four. At that point, he let go of Caiden’s legs, and stood up proud. He grabbed Caiden by the hair, and lifted him to his feet, letting Winters use the ropes to pull himself up. As soon as Caiden was on his feet, Wake spun his around and put him in position for his signature stalled suplex. As Wake held Caiden’s head close to his, he spoke in a low voice. “Flip backwards out of the suplex, then you can start your comeback from there.”

Caiden gave Zack a bit of a nod and let himself hover in the air for a while, planking his body stiff into the air, before he let himself roll backwards and out of the suplex. He planted his feet expertly, now behind Zachary. He twisted out of the hold and threw Zachary into the corner. This time, he sped at the opponent and lifted his foot up for the high speed, high energy, powerful kick in the corner that he’d done hundreds of times before. The crowd popped for Caiden finally hitting the move he missed earlier, and Zack put on a stunned expression dropping to the ground in front of him.

“Look at the force on that kick, it damn near knocked Wake’s head off! If he doesn’t show up at the next show, it’s because that kick made him lose his damn memory.”

Caiden rested in the corner for a second, before climbing up to the top ropes. Once he stood atop them, he held his hands out in front of himself, and spun them, “You wanna see it?!” He shouted, and the crowd loudly cheered, and without a second thought, the massive man was in the air, way higher than he had any business being, spinning around 450 degrees, before splashing down onto Zack’s body. Caiden rolled off of his opponent and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back up to his feet so he could set Wake up for the Solstice, and bring this match to an end.

“Winters hitting a beautiful four fifty splash, something a man his size shouldn’t be able to do. What a physical specimen he is.”

Zachary was quickly elevated onto Caiden’s shoulders wide-eyed and shocked. Zachary then belted Winters with a few short forearms, before putting his hand over his opponent’s eye and pretending to gouge at it. Caiden quickly dropped down, and Zack easily stepped off of Caiden’s shoulders. The crowd ate it up, and once again booed the dirty tactics Wake employed. While Caiden grasped his eye in pain, Zachary walked calmly over to one of the corners, and began untying the top turnbuckle. The ref was down next to Caiden, asking him if he was okay and if the injury was serious. Zack dropped the cover to the floor, then turned back to Caiden.

“Winters almost had the WInter Solstice in position; if he hits that move the match is surely over. You might not agree with Zack’s tactics there, but you can’t ignore that they were damn effective. Look at the time he’s getting now to remove the turnbuckle; who knows what he has planned with that?”

Caiden pushed himself up to his feet, shoving the ref away. ”I’m fine, I’m fine.” He spat out, and then quickly moved toward Zack. This match was going well; they worked together smoothly, but time was of the essence. Caiden locked up with Zack and spoke under his breath. “Finish soon. I’ll hit you with the Enzuigiri, ref looks away, you lowblow me from the ground, then roll up. Feet on the ropes, remember? Make it good.”

“You think I won’t make it look good?” Zack replied.

He then grabbed one of Caiden’s arms and pulled it towards the corner with the exposed turnbuckle, but Caiden quickly turned the Irish Whip around once more so that Wake would be on the receiving end of the exposed steel. Wake ran towards the turnbuckle, but as he got closer, he stuck his hands out and grabbed the ropes beside the corner, stopping his momentum. He stared at the steel, then spun around to see one of Caiden’s forearms flying towards his face. Zack scrunched his face up and took the blow, falling backwards and letting his raw flesh meet the cold steel. He screamed in pain, only to be shut up by an uppercut from Winters.

“An oversight from Wake! Caiden counters the Irish Whip and Zack nearly falls victim to his own trap! Now look at Winters, getting ready to end this for certain.”

After the uppercut, Caiden pulled Zack back closer to him and jumped up into the air, driving a kick into the side of his opponent’s skull, hitting his trademark enzuigiri, watching as Zack crumpled down to the ground. Caiden knew at that point that he had the match on lock, jumping back up to his feet as the referee turned around to deal with the uncovered turnbuckle.

“The Enzuigiri was picture perfect, but Caiden has to wait for the referee, to finish dealing with the turnbuckle to count the pin…”

The kick delivered from Caiden rattled Zack’s brain, sure, but it wasn’t enough to end him. Caiden was waiting for the referee to be done fixing the turnbuckle so he could put Zachary behind him and come that step closer to the AWE Championship. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. As the referee finished up tying the turnbuckle back on, Zack got up to his knees and drove an unforgiving fist into Caiden’s groin, and his face said it all.

“A lowblow! Zachary Wake is going to steal a win in the AWE World Title tournament! Not like this!”

With the hand that had delivered the low blow, Wake pulled Winters over him and down to the ground, performing a roll up pin. The referee turned around to this, and immediately got down to begin the pinfall. While the ref was distracted with numbers, Zack hoisted his feet up on the middle ropes, adding some leverage to his pin.

“Wake’s feet are on the ropes, elevating the pressure on the pin! That bastard is stealing the damn match right out from under Winters! Winters had him, and Wake used the ref’s distraction to his advantage and hit the damn lowblow!”

“One, two, three! That’s it, ring the bell!”

And with that, Wake had won, and was now a step further towards the World Championship. Zachary’s theme started up once more, and it was official. The crowd didn’t like it, and Caiden sure as hell hated it, but Zachary Wake couldn’t be happier. Caiden was laying there, sitting up in disbelief as Zack basked in the heat before heading to the back. After he went backstage, the music was cut, but Caiden still sat there, the same look in his eye.

“And you have to feel for Winters right now. He was going to win the match fair and square, but like he’s done so many times before… Zachary Wake cheated to improve his own standing here in the AWE… Just downright despicable.”

He stood up and slowly walked over to the referee, reaching outside of the ropes and asking for a mic, which was handed to him. “Do you know what you just did? Do you understand?” He demanded, and the smaller man slapped his hands together three times. One two three. “You didn’t see him hit that lowblow on me?! You… you…” Caiden stepped closer to the referee.

“The ref didn’t see it, he just called the match down the middle as best he could. It wasn’t his fault.”

“You’re dead.” The mic was dropped and the crowd exploded as Caiden laid his hands on the referee, punching him in the face again and again before lifting him up onto his shoulders, and dropping him down to the mat with a vicious Winter Solstice. Then, Caiden picked him up again… another Winter Solstice. He picked him up again… one more. This time, Caiden left the ref’s limp body in the middle of the ring, picking up the mic. ”It isn’t going to end like that. Roddy… I got a bone to pick with you…” He growled into the microphone before sliding through the ring ropes and heading up toward the backstage, his music now playing over the speakers, the last shot the camera showed being the ref, seemingly as dead as Caiden had promised, laying in a lump in the middle of the ring, ring doctors sprinting past Winters to check on him.

“What did we just see? Caiden Winters laid his hands on an official, left him broken and battered in the ring, and left a message for Roderick Quinn. Luckily for you, in ten minutes, on AWE After Hours, Joy Ryder and mine first guest will be none other than Caiden Winters. Stay tuned on AWE,com to see if we can shed some light on this.”

The lights dimmed, and the cameras shut off. Show’s over.

Wow, there was so much bad blood between the divas. That was one hell of match. Too bad she couldn’t watch the ending because she needed to get into position for her backstage interview. Joy Ryder was sure Morgana set the stage for the next event. No longer can the sorceress focus on Barbie because now Sydney Ellis was aiming her bat straight at her head. One day, hopefully sooner rather than later, Trinity will join in on the madness. Joy knew her sister’s day was coming and when that day did come, she would be completely ecstatic and ready to interview her baby sister. But, this wasn’t the time or place to think about another underdog besides her current subject matter, who was standing next to her as she held the black mic adorned with an orange A and subtle red marks within both of her hands. Her twin brother, Chance Ryder, focused in on Joy’s face with his camera, while he and his twin were given the 10 second mark.

”Speeding.” Her brother lowly muttered. He was preparing himself to do a quick pan to the wrestler the moment his sister said the guy’s name.

Beatrix Mayes, the program producer in charge of handling all AWE production for over twenty years, who looked incredibly young for her age, watched the interview on a television screen in a different room, so that the wrestler could respond more naturally and not feel her intimidating presence. Pressing on her headpiece, she signaled the Ryder twins with her undeniably sensual and strident voice, ”And we’re live in five, four, three, two--”

”Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Razorbladeeee!” Joy had a bright demeanor on, as she always did, and it reflected through her smile. Her blue eyes looked straight into the lense with the utmost confidence and then Chance panned to Alex’s face. Alex looked extremely focused, but there was also the slightest bit of nervousness on his face. While the image rested on Razorblade, Joy brought the mic to her right hand and before bringing it to his lips, she gave him a sympathetic gaze and welcomed him with her first question (they were on a time limit, after all), ”With all the heightened emotions in tonight’s Shock and Awe, I can’t imagine what’s going on in your head, so I have to know, how do you feel about this upcoming match with Chaos Clayton?”

Razorblade gave a smirk to the camera before he began speaking, ”Well, Joy, I’m am super excited for this opportunity. If someone had told me a year ago that I’d have a chance at the AWE World Title, I probably would have laughed right then and there. This is the biggest opportunity in my career, and I’ll admit that I’m VERY nervous. However, I’m not fighting for myself. I’m fighting for every little guy that the world seems to push down. Clayton is just the first step to a journey. What journey that is depends on how well I do.” Razorblade smiled at the camera and started bouncing on his feet and shaking his hands out waiting for the next question.

With a positive gleam, Joy nodded at his words. So far, so good. Razorblade was on the right path and he won over most of the younger generation’s hearts. Underdogs helped kids believe they could be something more than they ever thought they could be. He, along with Chaos Clayton even, still had work ahead of them. They had yet to become full fledged professional wrestlers, but they were getting there, and Joy wanted to help them as much as possible. If she wasn’t mistaken, she had three to five minutes of airtime, so she had to make sure she brought out the most character in Razorblade, in the short span of time. One question down, two more to go. “Going off what you just said, with your journey depending on how well you do, do you think you have what it takes to take down Chaos Clayton? Like what do you think you have over him?” It was time to hopefully bring out the passion in the wrestler. Being humble was all good and dandy, but every wrestler needed to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and even better if they knew where they had the advantage over their opponent.

Razorblade looked back to the camera and said, ”Everyone knows that Clayton and I have similar fighting styles, but he doesn’t have the heart I do. If it gets too difficult he’ll look for a cheap way to win. I know all of his tricks. I’ve watched his matches and know exactly how he likes to fight. I’ve also got an up over him in grapples and submissions. All I need to do is lock him in a submission and he is done for. He just can’t last as long as I can.”

Come on, Alex. Bring out your character, exaggerate more. Win your fans over. A devilish grin fell on Joy’s face. With the mic by her lips, she thoughtfully asked (there was a hint of challenge in her tone), “How long can you last, Razorblade? How far are you willing to go? Because there’s a lot of competition out there and you know this business by now. If you don’t have what it takes, you’ll be buried alive.”

”Someone has to be there to put a smile on the kids’ faces. I want to be that person. I will be that person. You wanna know how far I’ll go? I’ll keep going until I can’t move my body, and I do it for them. The kids need a hero. Even if someone says that they can’t, they need someone to show them that they can. That no matter how much the world pushes them down that they can stand up and be champions of their own lives. Now yes, there is a lot of competition in this business, and they’ll do everything they can to push me down. But I will always get back up and prove them wrong. I am--” Razorblade looks a Joy and smirks then continues, ”Razorbladeeee! Remember that name.” He gave his signature howl then walked off smiling.

The camera stood on Joy, as Razorblade walked off. She playfully shook her head at his teasing (since he said his name in the same tone and affliction as she did at the beginning of the interview). She was an expressive woman!

“And commercial. Great work, Joy! I expect great things from him, but we’ll have to bring out more heat, definitely. Did you look at script or are you still doing the Wade method?” The prominent Producer’s voice cooed into Joy’s ear from her earpiece.

As such, Joy replied with a sassy eye roll, “The Wade method. I’ll watch to see who wins on screen. I prefer experiencing it rather than knowing. And my questions are usually always better on the spot.”

“Like your mother, alright the fight is about to begin. You’ll hear from me soon.” And as soon as the voice appeared, it vanished, leaving Joy to blankly stare at her twin, who beckoned her to follow him. He had another position to get to, but he could drop her off by catering where a monitor was set up.

“Trinity is waiting for you.”

Drayden looked up from his spot in the locker room, at one of his storied rivals, and close friends. He and Oscar had a history that was forever etched into the walls of AWE. He listened to Oscar talk, before looking up and shaking his head. Deciding to be honest, William responded to Oscar bluntly. “I’m not okay. This is going to be the longest time I’ve ever been away from the ring. I’m not ready for that.” He let out a deep sigh, before scoffing at Oscar’s second question. “Yeah, actually. She is. That’s why she mostly gets her way. Man, I don’t even want to get up, but sure. I might as well head to the screening room, I wanna catch the matches tonight, after all.”

”Yeah, I was injured for a few months about two years ago. It fucking sucked. You’ve just got to keep up the recovery and exercises, and hold out until you’re fit enough to start working out and practising again. After that, the rest of the time until you’re cleared just flies by. It takes some getting used to, but then again, I suppose you’re not used to it. I don’t think you’ve ever had a serious injury before. It was bound to happen some time with how hard you work.”

Oscar stood up, and held out his hand to Will. He considered bringing up the fact that Drayden never had holidays and this could be a blessing in disguise, but he knew better. He knew what it was like to have this business be your life and have that taken away. If anybody had said that to Oscar when he was injured, they’d have been hit. One other thing Oscar did remember, though, was the hunger and thirst he brought on himself from a lack of appetite. ”Also,” He then spoke, concerned. “I know from memory that eating’s the last thing you want to do right now but you probably should eat something.”

“Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve been injured. Hopefully the last, but who knows? There’s a lot of stress on the body out there, I guess. I never had to think about it before…” He stared off into space for a few moments, as Oscar continued to talk, bring up food or something. Did Drayden want to eat? No, not really; but he supposed that Oscar was correct. Eating would do him some degree of good, after all he needed to keep himself healthy. “Sure, let’s walk over to catering — well, you can walk. I’ll limp. Since I’m a cripple now. What a joke.” He stood up on his one good leg, and rested on the crutches that he readjusted under knee, accepting Oscar’s help up to his feet.

“Hey, don’t think you little shits are gonna get rid of me, neither. I’m gonna be at as many shows as I can be, gotta watch the competition while I’m gone. Don’t want anyone sneaking up and taking my position at the top of the mountain, after all.” He said, with a hint of biting sarcasm as he gestured with one of his hands. “Lead the way, if you don’t mind. Make sure everyone minds the cripple.”

Oscar chuckled, and shook his head. ”Well, you definitely don’t have to worry about me taking that position. The brackets of the tournament were posted today and I make it to the semi-finals, beating Savaka in the quarters, so I might be having an IC title feud soon and that’s if I’m lucky. Also, Gethin Rhys is booked to win the whole thing, so I think you’re safe. If they were trying to replace you, they wouldn’t have booked a heel to win.”

Oscar escorted his friend to the catering tables. Due to the nature of this business, people had their meals where they could make time, so the tables were always occupied but never busy. ”What are you hungry for?” He asked Drayden.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, I’ve been talking with Kevin, and you know that everything happens for a reason. I won’t spoil anything, but don’t be so surprised if they do end up crowning a new face of the company after all of this.” Drayden said bluntly with a shrug of his shoulders. It was true, ever since Kevin had come in, everything had a place in the booking. “Maybe Roddy will change his mind, though. He used to do that a lot, remember? Sometimes, on the day of a big match, he’d change his decision. Old man slipping,” Drayden said, looking around at the different foods.

“Pizza. It’s the only way to truly de-stress after all this.”

The two friends ate pizza in silence, both thinking to themselves as they ate, contemplating wrestling, the company, the future and the present. Oscar was standing, Will was sitting down. When Oscar was finished, he wiped his hands on his jeans then turned to Will. “So, feel any better now you’ve got some food inside you?”

“A little bit. Pizza always helps, man. What time is it now? Probably…” William looked down at the watch on his rest and was slightly taken aback by the time it showed. How long had they been eating pizza?! Drayden looked up at the now empty stack of pizza boxes… A while. They’d been eating pizza for a while. “Shit, brother. It’s time for the main event already.”

Oscar looked at his watch, stood up, and started briskly walking to the screening room, making sure that Will was right behind him and if he wasn’t, slowing down. They finally reached the room, and sat down. They’d missed the first couple of seconds of action , but otherwise had made it on time. Several other wrestlers were there now. Anybody who wasn’t in the main event or otherwise busy would often watch just the main event.

The match was indeed a good one. Oscar was surprised that Caiden lost in the first round even though he had read the brackets, though, he’d only glanced at it to see what the plans for him were, and who would be the winner. Caiden was exceptionally talented wrestler, and very over with the fans. It seemed strange to Oscar that such a draw would lose in round one, but knowing the current writing team, there was a reason for this.

Kevin Harrison was on a mission to find a particular member of the roster… which was always kind of hard, honestly. For a bunch of people who were supposed to be unmistakable on camera, and stand out in a crowd… they did a damn good job of disappearing backstage. Eventually, he realized his target, Suzy Mackintosh, Diana Valentine, whatever you wanted to call her, was probably hiding out in the once place he would never look: Women's Locker Room.

Heading over there, Kevin banged on the door without a single fuck to give “HEY. Diana! You in there? You know you’re never gonna get booked if you hide from the writer, girl!”

Snapping out of her creative daze, Diana looked up from her notepad and directly that the trembling locker room door. "Just a second!" She responded. Jumping to her feet, Diana pulled the latest in Gethin Rhys merchandise, a simple black T with a family crest on the breast, over her sports bra and straightened herself out. She glanced at all the over women who were looking at her and she simply shook off their glares. She walked over to the door and quickly squeezed out of the small space she made opening it up a crack. She couldn’t let Kevin see the other girls inside, so her exit had to be less than graceful.

"Kevin, you know I never hide from anyone...except maybe Roger the sound guy. He’s a little bit creepy. I digress. Anyway, what’s up?"

Kevin shook his head, but ultimately he agreed. Roger from sound was kind of creepy, and Kevin was a dude. He couldn’t imagine how it felt as a girl. “I got something for you, it’s in my office, come check it out.” He explained, gesturing for her to follow and walking off toward his office. “I know you want to be on-screen a lot, but most of our guys can carry their own promo work, y’know? So, they don’t really need a manager. Fortunately for you, I think I’ve found the solution to that problem! I know, I’m sure you’re trembling with excitement. Well, don’t be. I found a guy in developmental, that’s kind of... well, he basically stumbles and stutters a lot on the mic, but man, can he work a match. So, you’re gonna take him, build him up, and teach him how to use the mic. I know you’re a good promo, so I’m trusting you to go above and beyond with this one. Work on it after hours, riding from show to show, whenever you get a chance. Roddy is high on this dude, so you gotta help me out.”

Finally Diana thought; she was going to get her chance. She had wanted nothing more than an opportunity since she was a little girl watching The Ghost Ryder beat people up on a weekly basis. “You know I appreciate this, Kevin. Really I do. I’m just glad you’re not giving me a complete greenhorn to work with. As long as the guy can work like you say, I’ll be able to get him over no problem." Kevin had been watching her back for a while now. He had helped her whilst she was in developmental herself and even pulled a few strings to get her touring with the main roster, even if she wasn’t being used. "I’m up for this challenge, boss!" Diana brushed her hair back into a ponytail and smiled. "So what am I working with exactly, Kev? Does the kid have any kind of gimmick or any kind of jumping off point I can play with or what?"

“Well, he’s very large. And he likes to throw people around, here just look for yourself,” Kevin said, pushing open his office door and revealing Dylan standing there, holding in his hand a bag of Doritos, which looked like it was for children, but was actually family size. The huge man slowly tossed another handful of chips into his mouth, before waving to Kevin and Diana. “Diana, meet Dylan Weaver.”

“Hi. The mountain of a man offered, still chewing his chips.

“Good God." Diana stood aback as she looked at the mass of humanity that stood before her. "Where in the blue hell did they find you? Asgard?” Fuck." Diana took a step forward towards the hulking behemoth and smiled to regain her composure. "Hi Dylan, my name’s Suzy but on any other day I go by Diana. It’s nice to meet you. Looks like I’m gonna make you a star." The flame haired manager’s sweet smile soon shifted to a cocky smirk as she looked over her new charge. She turned her attention back to Kevin and put her soft hand on his shoulder. "I owe you for this one, Kev. Take your pick of a diva and I’ll put in a word for you." She chuckled as the little girl inside her began to scream with excitement.

“This is a big motherfucker, right? It’s insane. You should see him work, he just tosses people around like they’re garbage bags. Uh, hold off on that word in with the girls, my fiance would probably end my life.” Kevin joked, as Dylan nodded to himself and beamed at Diana. “He’s also young too, I think he just turned like 23 a few months back, so you’ve got plenty of time to mould him. Enjoy.”

“I’m really excited. I don’t know why it happens, but as soon as I’m in the ring with a mic in my hand, doesn’t matter if it’s twenty people, or twenty thousand people, I get stage fright and sound like a dumbass… so having someone else talk for me will be really good.” Dylan admitted, shrugging his massive shoulders.

“The plan is to debut him in two, maybe three weeks. Maybe even after the tournament ends, we don’t want to pull too much attention off of that… So, you have time. He’s going to be a monster, running through most people. Possibly local workers until we get to a point that we want him to tear through our normal undercard. So you have sometime to really build a character with him.”

"He’ll be ready in two but you’re the boss, hoss" Diana grinned confidently. She had to be confident, she just had to be. There was no room for error on this one. This was her opportunity to fulfil her dream and she wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers. "We’ll start right away then. Dylan, I ride the bus with Wade and some others. Jump in with us after the show and we’ll get you started" She once again looked over her new client and was amazed at his sheer size and now his youth. "God boy, what on Earth do they feed you? Cows and big rigs? My God" Now she was wondering just how hard it would be to actually squeeze Dylan into a seat on the AWE Express. "My mind is permeating with idea’s already"

A bus? Hey, it couldn’t be more uncomfortable than the rental car that Kevin had picked him up from the airport in. “Well, the height is just natural, but the muscles come from a diet with a lot, and I mean a lot of chicken breast. And a lot of lifting, my max bench right now is 500, all time anyway. It might slip a bit since I’m gonna be traveling around a lot more now, but that’s okay. As long as I can still toss people around, I’ll be fine.”

"I wouldn’t worry. There’s a couple of guys and girls here on the main roster who are very strict about their diets and gym time, myself included. I’ll introduce you to them and once you’re acquainted they’ll probably induct you into the body club." Diana stifled a laugh with her hand. "Anyway, should we get going. Lots to talk about and do. First and foremost I think that we should go watch some of the live promo’s being cut."

After this, the main event would start and Joy, the lead backstage interviewer, was more than ecstatic. She was nervous. Whenever Caiden Winters took the floor, she couldn’t help but have build up anxiety. He was the type of guy that the people couldn’t help but want to win. Not because he was an underdog or anything, but because they knew, she knew, he was good at everything he does. The best. But time and time again, he is walked all over and doesn’t get what he deserves. A man that deserves the world, but gets little to nothing in return. In Joy’s opinion, and perhaps she’s biased because of her mentor, Caiden should have the World Title. No matter what though, she was a professional and would keep her personal opinions to herself unless warranted. At the end of the day, her passion and duty was to every wrestler, not just one. She would bring out the best in them all, even if it took her more than one promo, more than one interview, more than one conversation to do so.

This was her life.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my guest at this time, CHAOS-” Pause for dramatic effect. “Clayton!” Her blue gaze glinted with elation and anticipation. Chance, as silent as he was, did give Joy subtle cues to show if he was into her performance or not. The image went from her face to Chaos Clayton’s, who was sweaty and obviously looked like he had one hell of a battle. While she congratulated him and asked her first question, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “Your fight with Razorblade kept me on the edge of my seat. Congrats on your win tonight and tearing the floor up like you usually do! After watching that match, I can’t help but wonder if you might have underestimated your opponent. There were times I thought, wow, the underdog might beat Chaos. Do you agree?”

Duncan was indeed quite tired from the match, but he didn’t mind too much. In fact, he loved interviews with Joy. Duncan took every chance to transform into Clayton, and Joy always did her best to make everyone’s characters even better than one could do by themselves. It’s why she’s been at this for so long. His mask was up, so facial expressions couldn’t do much to convey his emotions. It was all in the eyes, body language, and talking.

He stared down, chuckling a little before looking to Joy. ”You corner a dog, Joy…”, the Anarchist began. In his head, Duncan’s mind was racing around, deciding on the next thing to say. He’d never mess with a tournament standings or go against Roddy or the writing team, but when it came to scripts? Fuck scripts. No fun! ”...and the dog bites. That kid’s got a helluva bite, but he’s got a long way to go before he’ll prove to me that he’s more than a dog. I wanna see how he can destroy.” Chaos Clayton continued, saying the last word with such glee only a maniac could understand. And in fact, that’s what Clayton was. A true tornado of discord and destruction, and Duncan cherished every moment he could wrestle and act as him. Another chuckle escaped his lips before he tapped the side of his head with his finger a couple of times. ”The mind decides how we act, but sometimes not even I will know how I’ll act. That’s why I win. You can’t plan against unpredictable.”

“But isn’t that now predictable for you?” With a raise of her eyebrow, Joy challenged her subject. “Being unpredictable, I mean. Wouldn’t you think, to a degree, having a strategy is necessary? Because who knows what the future has in store for us! The future itself is unpredictable. Chaos would not exist if there was no order.” Her words. that flowed out of her light pink lips naturally and inquisitively, made her think of her brother, who sadly was still in Japan. Everything he did had purpose and he caused an equal amount of destruction. Actually, he probably caused more. The argument here was: Does being unpredictable give you a competitive advantage? In theory, the potential benefits of unpredictability can exceed its cost, but to her, you could lose far more because you are not prepared. The oppose of unpredictable isn’t predictable. The opposite is strategic. How would Clayton be seen as anything but a chaotic fighter? How would his fans see him as a leader, who chooses the game to play and shapes how it’s played, when he goes out on a whim?

In chess, amateurs play for tricks, masters play for position. Does Chaos Clayton have what it takes to be one of the masters? This was his moment to shine and show Roddy that he was more than an uproar. That he wasn’t a happy accident. That he was a Star of American Wrestling Entertainment.

Duncan smiled behind the mask. Damn she’s good. Clayton quickly clapped his hands and pointed at Joy. ”That’s it! There, there it is!” He exclaimed excitedly. In fact, he even took the mic right out of Joy’s hand. ”The two don’t co-exist off of each other, like parasites to a host. They oppose each other.” He said, as if he had hit some sort of break through. ”This is why I’m here. Chaos doesn’t need order to occur. Chaos is freedom! Freedom to do what you like! Take what you want! I’m here to take that Title. I want it! Make no mistake, Joy. Oh no.” As Clayton’s energy grew, he stood up and talked directly to the camera, pacing back and forth as he stakes his claim. “My Age Of Anarchy is upon the AWE!” He announced, getting more excited and sounding more crazy, delusional and most of all, aggressive. Even beginning to shout!

”Anyone who’s against me, who will oppose me, who will try to stop me! They will know the definition of pain when I leave that ring. Strategize… that…” Clayton finished, his wild eyes staring at the camera just those few sweet seconds longer before dropping the mic to Joy’s feet and walking away, out of the camera’s view. However, Duncan took down the mask as soon as he knew he was safe and looked back at the interview scene, smiling.

Okay, Duncan. I’m impressed. The camera stood a second longer on the surprised interviewer, before Beatrix cued that it was commercial break. Breaking down her professional physique, Joy glanced away from the set and to the wrestler, “Way to drop the mic. Quite literally.” With a lighthearted giggle, she moved out the way so the film crew could breakdown everything and prepare for After Hours.

Duncan looked scared for a moment when Joy mentioned the mic. He knew how the team got when their equipment got broken. ”Oh shit… I didn’t break it, did I?” He asked with a genuine bit of worry on his face and in his voice.

Giving him a shrug, Joy strolled to his side and assured him, “If it is, they can take it out of my paycheck, how does that sound?” She teasingly stuck her tongue out, before gesturing for him to walk with her, “The main event is about to begin, I’m joining my sister by the screen. You’re welcomed to come too. I can even ask her to make room for you on the Party Bus. I’m sure Wade wouldn’t mind.”

Duncan chuckled, and not a Clayton chuckle either. A genuine, sane human being kind of chuckle. ”I might just sit on your side. Trust me, I love the guy, but I’m not risking taking what might be his seat with his bird.” Sometimes Duncan couldn’t help his British colloquials outside of the ring, especially when he said stuff like ‘bird’ for someone’s partner. ”But yeah, sure. I’ll come watch. Not a single wrestling fan ever misses the AWE main event. Not even the wrestlers themselves!” He said in a joking kind of way.

“Oh honey, those two are so dumb for each other. I doubt Wade will see you as a threat. This will be a good opportunity for Trinity to get another wrestler’s perspective, since she has a lot of work ahead of her before she joins the rest of the Divas.” Joy shook her head at the fact that Wade and Trinity were that kind of couple that made some people gag at how much love they had for each other. Then again, love wasn’t something Joy thought about, but she was happy her sister found someone to help her be the best her she can be.

And then, the fangirl squealed out of Joy, “I am so ready for this match. I really hope Caiden wins. Do you think Caiden wins? If you’ve read the script, pretend that you don’t know who wins. I don’t want to know. I’m so nervous.”

Duncan almost jumped when Joy made that switch. How she can go from being the cool-headed interviewer to an obsessed fan so easily? Ah, it didn’t matter. It was nice to see her get excited about it anyway. A first hand example of the real reason why himself and the rest of the locker room does this. He laughed and then mimicked zipping his mouth shut. ”You won’t hear a peep out of me.” He promised.

After cutting her promo, Barbie slid through the ropes and gracefully hopped down from the apron. The ominous wind-chime-like notes of the intro to her power rock theme echoed through the arena. The chorus of boos surrounding her seemed to match the mood of the song; that was more than coincidental. Despite the open heat thrown at her, Barbie sauntered up the ramp towards backstage with the widest of smiles. She paused for a moment and cupped her right hand to her ear, as if they weren’t singing loud enough for her.

“What’s that, Dolls?” the blonde asked, referring to her anti-fans in her usual manner. She turned around and walked backwards up the ramp, holding her hands out in front of her and pulling her fingers towards herself and then away. and then back towards herself again - beckoning them to get louder. The crowd took the cue and booed loud enough to reach the rafters.

“Oh, you haven’t had enough of me, huh?’ Barbie taunted as the cameras panned in to get a better view of her smug grin. “Well, okay then,” she said and did a mock curtsy before the people and then pranced back down the aisle, towards the ring.

Sitting at the center of the desk, where he always did, Wade watched as the AWE Women’s Champion turned around and headed back toward the ring. “I guess… she’s not done yet? Must have a few more… choice words for the fans that are here tonight.” He commented, digging his fingers into the bag of Gummy Octopus in front of him, stuffing one into his mouth. The only way to stop from getting too hype, was to eat candy.

The Plastic Queen walked along the edge of the ring and blew a kiss towards the fans - wrestling fans, not necessarily her fans - on the right. Making her way to the announcer’s desk, Barbie ran a single index finger along the surface, like she was inspecting it for dust. She brought her hand up to get a better look, rubbed her thumb and index finger together, and then shrugged. The reigning diva hopped up onto the desk and planted her cheerleader-esque-skirted bottom right between Wade and Marcus.

“Mind if I join you boys?” Barbie asked, but didn’t wait for any response. Their opinions didn’t matter, a Queen needs no permissions to do as she pleases. She even went so far as to snatch a sugary sea creature from the baggie in front of Wade and took a slow, verging on lewd, bite of it. Chewing on the treat, Barbie turned to MarkyMark Granger and plucked the headset right off of his head.

“Thanks,” she said sarcastically and adjusted the headset so that it wouldn’t displace the small, glittery tiara that Tay had nestled in her blonde pile of curls earlier that day. Mark openly gawked at the entire display, obviously enamored by the sex appeal rolling off of her in waves. “Who do you think you are, looking at me like that? Have you seen my boyfriend?” she asked, catching him staring, and rolled her eyes dramatically.

Being the one with the faster quip, Kane Zimmerman, who leaned back in his chair like he had no care in the world, pulled his shades up and gazed upon the sexually attractive, yet gaudy, blonde. A smirk fell on his face before he chuckled, “Hey, B. If you don’t want to be looked at, maybe you should give up your title like your man was forced to do.” While bringing his chair down, he dug into his pant’s pocket and took out a container of orange tic tacs, Barbie scoffed, not even giving such a statement the time of day. “I’m mildly jealous you chose to sit there, instead of here.” He gestured toward the section between him and Wade and then poured the candy into his mouth. What a tease.

“Maybe if you knew your place, I would have, Kandy Kane.”

“Alright folks, it’s showwwtimmeee. We are starting off the night right with match number one being a women’s tag match. Let’s see who we’ve got coming in tonight, right here on AWE Shock N’ Awe” Marcus Granger announced just moments before the first theme song began.

Knowing that she was the first person up, Tsunami was standing outside the main entrance to the ring. She was looking down, shaking her arms to get looser. The sweet, sweet guitar riff had blared and it was time for Tsunami’s entrance. Her name was splayed all over the titantron as the wrestler ran outside, an arm raised as she sped down the ramp toward the ring. The crowd cheered for her, mostly because of her status as a face. Most people loved her. It was a great feeling to be so loved and well received by her fans.

As she got to the bottom of the ramp, she slowed down and gave a few fans high fives, before going to the other side and giving a few lucky fans the same treatment as well. After doing so, Tsunami made her way to the ring, strutting her stuff up until she got to the ropes. Climbing on the very edge of the canvas, she put her weight on the ropes and turned around, raising her arms, fingers pointed up toward the sky.

The crowd surged with energy. Utilizing that, Tsunami entered the ring and started to shuffle around the edges to keep her muscles warm. This was going to be a rough match and she was going to have to give 110% to keep up with the people she’d be facing.

When that first metal riff hit, and the lights turned green, and the titantron started to play Sydney’s video, the reaction was mixed, both in reception and volume. Sydney was booed because she was a heel, cheered by a few because she did good work in the ring, but didn’t get as loud a reaction as the faces or Barbie, who even without her reputation as a backstage opportunist, still has the mic skills to get any crowd to boo their lungs out. Sydney wished she had that kind of power or presence, but she was no talker. She could give a decent intimidating promo, but like Rosado, she communicated best in the ring without words, just selling the story with her face, her actions, and her body.

Sydney marched out from behind the partition and up the ramp briskly and with purpose. On this occasion, she was wearing desert camo ring gear, a matching military cap, and big black punky boots with as many buckles and zips as could fit onto one pair of boots.

When she reached the ring, she leapt from the floor to the edge of the canvas in a single bound. Who needs steps? She then took off her cap and dumped it unceremoniously on the floor before stepping into the ring, and pacing back and forth, all the time eyeing up Tsunami, as if she was a tiger, and the plucky face had just wandered into her enclosure.

Following the short reprieve as the crowd continued its fading reception, the lights dimmed near to a blackout; this was no power failure, no no, and the excitement was already palpable. It only increased as there came a sound almost like a fancy motor revving up, a vehicle accelerating down a straight road. The choral voices sung over a building beat: EYES FLICKER, HEART BEATS QUICKER INSIDE lyrics mirroring the mood of the crowd whenever a match with this particular wrestler took to the ring...and the skies. The beat continues to build and the lyrics along with it. ’BEFORE WE BEGIN TO SAY GOODBYE...LET’S START MAKING UP… FOR LOST TIME!

As the beat hits hard with its explosive note, the lights flash on, yellow strobes flicker to the beat, and the eruption of cheers is enough to drown out the pumping, thumping, electro track. Rosado wastes little time in appealing to those in attendance, coming from backstage with a front handspring, her flourish being a thrust thumbs up with a smile so wide it could count as a toothpaste commercial. Rosado had a way of working the crowd for different reasons; while some might look to sex appeal or whatever counted for aesthetics - both the wrong things to focus on if Rosado were to have an opinion - Rosado just had an energy and charisma about her that made her incredibly easy to love. Nothing about her was eye catching, from her expressive, though standard and unprettied, face to her attire which looked like something she would wear to the gym: a black sleeveless top, red shorts that weren’t tight on the hips to allow freedom of movement, and shoes. She looked like she wandered in off the street, but the way she walked down the ramp, slapping hands, throwing up hand signs of positivity, and always, always smiling...she belonged here.

Rosado didn’t take the stairs to the apron. She leapt up from the ground and used that momentum to leap again, this time landing on the top rope, balancing atop it just long enough for her music to crescendo again. Rosado bobs her head, looking first to the crowd and then to those already assembled in the ring. Before the music ends, Rosado springs off the rope, landing in a somersault and coming up center of the ring to the last gasps of cheers and applause; the match hadn’t even started and already Rosado was showcasing her energy.

With her music fading, Rosado practically leapt to her corner to give her partner, Tsunami, a pat on the back and an earnest thumbs up. Someone had to be confident, and fortunately Rosado had plenty to spare.

The girls on the ring were soon forgotten the moment the crowd heard the earsplitting screech and the lights began to strobe black and white. The titantron matched in timing for the waves of light and revealed intense close ups of the goth styled Star that was about to grace the crowd with her presence. From her eyes to her lips to a black crossed choker necklace around her neck… anyone who had a goth fetish would surely have wet dreams tonight. And every night, really. The white lights stopped flashing and shifted to red on the drum beat, swiftly panning to reveal the bewitching wrestler known as Morgana. Since her aesthetic was something the crowd always looked forward to, even if some didn’t want to admit it because she was a prevailing heel and unfortunately the former, not current, Sovereign of the Women’s Championship Title, she made sure there was something new at every show.

Before Barbie, she was everyone’s eye candy that they loved to hate. Before Barbie, it was her sensual curves and dynamite sex appeal that all the people cared about. Before Barbie, the Witch was the relevant force, not the stupid, plastic, ooooooh shiny, sparkle bitch, who fucked her way to the top.

Welcome to the entertainment business, world!

Morgana’s makeup was on point, as per usual, thanks to her own skills and Tay’s extra eyes. Her lips were adorned with plum lipstick, her eyes, which were a sharp, icey blue, vibrantly popped due to the dark and smoky eyeshadow and eyeliner to accentuate her provocative expressions. For those who took the time to examine her face, they could see shades of red. Her long, light pink hair was teezed to give her appearance volume, but also the message: this bitch is crazy. Which honestly wasn’t a hairstyle she did often. Her black jeaned shorts hardly had any length and did reveal some flesh, her stomach resembled that of a toned belly dancer, and her tall legs had delicate nylon that reached to her mid thigh (outfit).

There was no fear written on her face, only confidence. Morgana would relish in this moment and every moment she had the spotlight. All eyes would be on her, after all. When the guitar rift started, she strutted down the ramp, that ‘caught on fire’ behind her. Timed well and following her, as if every step she took caused the floor to burn. Letting her body do the talking, her right hand rested on her slender neck and trailed down it to give her fans what they wanted. Her. With her head held up high, her piercing gaze scanned the audience, who were mutually in an uproar. Yelling her name. Telling her to give them hell! Some even throwing shade about her and her feud with Barbie. This only made her… want more. She ate up everything they threw at her. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

Keep it comin’ children.

Near the bottom of the ramp, she looked at someone randomly, puckered her lips into a kiss, and winked at them. She didn’t need to sleep her way to the throne to be enticing. Smoothly, she slithered her way to the ring, bent over to slip under a rope, purposely sticking out her voluptuous bottom, and twirled around so she was facing her people again. Lifting her hands up in the air. she beckoned them to get louder. And they did. Her recognizable smirk appeared on her flawless face and she soon after joined her partner, but rather than prowl around Tsunami and Rosado, her attention wasn’t on anyone in the ring.

No. She was looking at the commentator table, where Barbie, who had an irritating, faux smile on, was sitting. God, she hated her.

Barbie waggled her fingers in a mocking wave to the former AWE Women’s Champion. Her sparkling white smile was as fake as the nacho cheese they were serving to the attendees in the stands.

“And what a match this is bound to be. We have Tsunami and Rosado versus Sydney Ellis and Morgana. Excellent, wonderful! You can feel the energy in the crowds, this place is vibrating right now. I can’t tell what’s louder, the cheers or the boos. We will have to see which team reigns supreme.” Marcus chimed in before the start of the match.

“Hah!” Barbie remarked with a light knee slap. “Reigns supreme? We’ve got that wannabe Japanese girl, GI Jane, the freaky mute, and last and certainly least, the has-been Women’s Champion. Supreme isn’t really what comes to my mind here. This just a bunch of girls playing in the sandbox, building sand castles and wishing they were Queen.”

That fuckin’ bitch.

As soon as the bell rung, Sydney stopped circling Tsunami and immediately rushed her, catching her in a grapple and forcing her back towards the corner, making use of her strength and power, which trumped Tsunami’s. Tsunami knew that she was in trouble as soon as she hit the turnbuckle. Sydney was a lot stronger than she was, so clinching up was going to be a nightmare. Tsunami threw some knees at Sydney’s midsection, causing Sydney to loosen her grip. The powerhouse responded with a swift headbutt, before grabbing her opponent and tossing her from the corner to the middle of the ring like a ragdoll. The crowd popped, booing the heel for her brutal treatment of a beloved face. Sydney smirked and slowly advanced upon Tsunami, who was slowly getting to her knees.

Sydney grabbed her head with both hands and pulled her up. Tsunami subsequently countered with a footstomp, freeing herself from Sydney’s grasp as she had the upper hand. She fired with a roundhouse kick to the midsection, pulling it early enough so that it wouldn’t hit Sydney’s gut at full force. Then came an uppercut as Sydney keeled over, aiming for the very edge of her cheek bone.

Tsunami then backed off and got some energy from the crowd, she dashed toward the ropes, letting herself bounce off the rope and converting the momentum she had received into a dropkick, before rolling backwards into a standing position where she thought about what to do to Sydney, who was still lying from the dropkick.

The much smaller woman had a good idea, and started off with an elbow drop, preceded by plenty of theatrics. She then kicked Sydney’s arm. After feeling the crowd cheer, Tsunami pulled Sydney up, grabbing her arms and standing her up so she could hit one of her favorite moves. Closing the distance between them, Tsunami clinched and clasped her arms behind Sydney’s back, before hopping slightly so that she could get the momentum she needed to pull off the belly-to-belly suplex.

Now that Sydney was once again on the floor, she was going for the pin. Amanda didn’t expect Dawn to give up so soon.

“It looks like we have Tsunami closing in for a pin. This early, can it happen?”

Tsunami pulled the leg and listened to the referee, and the crowd count. “1...2…” and then followed the kickout.

“Ohhh, not yet, Tsu. Not yet. The fans are not liking that, it’s clear that they are rooting for their girl over Sydney. What will she do next?”

“Get Jackhammered by Sydney Ellis, that’s what. Watch. This is damned child’s play, Mark.” Kane chuckled to himself. It was obvious which side he was rooting for.

Tsunami looked devastated that she couldn’t get the pin, but she knew that it wasn’t going to happen so soon. She got up, wondering what she was going to do next. Was it time? Was it time to hit the flying triangle?

Tsunami turned to the crowd and raised her arms to get them hyped up. The crowd, the announcers, the referee, and Sydney all knew what was coming next. Tsunami sprinted to the ropes, taking the momentum she would receive from bouncing off, and utilizing it once again to pull off the flying triangle. Once she was close enough she hopped up as high as she could with her legs out. Targeting the shoulders, she wrapped them around and swung herself so that she could get Sydney on the ground. Wrapping her legs around her neck in a triangle, she pretended to squeeze the living lights out of the other wrestler and get her to tap or pass out.

Sydney, however, now that she was being grappled on the floor, was in her element. She quickly overpowered the smaller woman, and put her in a very real looking Kimura lock, before using her free hand to repeatedly deliver stiff blows to Tsunami’s face. Though these were pulled, and the force went across the face instead of into it, they still made legitimate contact. Dawn had already bought Amanda flowers as an apology gesture.

Tsunami’s offence had crumbled as she now lay in a heap on the floor, covering her face. Sydney got to her feet, pulled Tsunami back up, and then delivered a BFT to her, sending her stumbling back into the ropes, on Sydney’s side. Just in case, Sydney pulled her back into the center of the ring to avoid a possible tag, and put Tsunami’s arm over her shoulder, setting her up for the Jackhammer.

Sydney never lost a match on free TV with this move. Hitting it meant game over, so the mere act of setting it up earned her enough heat that she was now met with a cascade of boos, which turned to cheers, when, before she could lift Tsunami up, the plucky face pushed her away. This reversal of fortune was short lived, as Sydney quickly felled her again with a discus clothesline, before making a cover.

“And another attempt at a pin, this time Sydney on top.”

“Yeah, she is.”

1...2...Tsunami kicked out just before the three count. Sydney got back up to her feet and began stamping on the prone wrestler’s head as the booes once again began hailing down. Sydney smiled up at the crowd, before picking Tsunami up like she weighed nothing at all and delivered a powerslam to her, she then took in a second to strut around with her arms open and flexed, laughing after brutalising the crowd’s beloved face.

“Ohhh, this is just hard to watch. Absolutely brutal. Sydney Ellis is hammering on Tsunami. She may have to make a tag soon, this could be the end.”

This was the perfect time to really throw a wrench in things. Barbie Summers seized the opportunity, being the opportunist that she was. “Hey, Morticia.” the reigning champion addressed her well-known foe with a mocking nickname.

“Did you get lost on your way to the nearest freak show? This is professional wrestling, honey. Are you lost?” Barbie teased the dark beauty.

Morgana’s eye twitched at Barbie’s vexatious voice. Tightening her grip on the rope, she visibly grimaced and the camera zoomed in on the pink-haired wrestler’s face, as she grinded her teeth together in undeniable aggravation.

Keep calm. Stay collected.

Lying on the floor, taking deep breaths as Tsunami had just received a rather hard powerslam. She was a little winded from the move, but Sydney was doing a good job letting her recover while she did some theatrics. Then she determined that it was Rosado time. Rolling around, she crawled to Rosado with her arm reached. She could sense that Sydney had figured out what Tsunami was going to do and was going to get to her. But, before she could do anything, Tsunami had posted up with an arm and used it to propel herself forward and tag Rosado in. After doing so, Tsunami rolled out of the canvas so that she could get resituated outside of the ropes.

Why was there so much talking? Was this a match or some stupid teendrama? Everyone talked too much, especially in this match, and it was only serving to do one thing: annoy the ever loving shit out of Rosado. The crowd was cheering as Rosado hopped the ropes to enter the ring, moving with purpose and speed towards Sydney and leaping towards her like a pouncing simian. Rosado latched onto the taller woman and began to deliver quick punches to the head; Rosado’s speed was not enough compensation to knock down Sydney with just a splash, so after delivering her standing punches she leapt off Sydney, landing on her feet like a cat, and charged forward again to continue up the momentum.

Never give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. Words she heard in her head over and over again. Sage advice, almost, and Rosado was certainly following it to a T. A leaping strike. Overbearing offense, what it lacked in strength, it made up for in swiftness and repeated offense. It was like a flurry of slaps, punches, and unorthodox delivery methods for each. Let the catty ones talk talk talk. It made this whole affair easier for one party. With Sydney feeling the brunt of Rosado’s attacks, Rosado used the middle rope to give a kick to Sydney’s midsection, effectively capping her initial flurry of blows. Even Rosado had to take a moment to catch her breath now, but the statement had certainly been made.

“What’s with all the black, anyway? Did the witches kick you out of their coven? No, that’s not it, it’s because you’re in mourning, right? … because of your loss of this -” Barbie gestured to the Championship Belt worn around her waist. Barbie had the sorceress’ attention now. Excellent. “Or mayyybe, it’s just because you’ll never be anything but a mere shadow of your father. What’s it like, little goth, having to constantly live in the shadows of people that are so much better than you?”

Oh, fuck this! Sydney didn’t need her help. Morgana had more important matters to attend to. One being putting this bimbo slut in her place. If there was something that separated ‘the prep and the goth’ it was Morgana put years of blood, sweat, and tears to get where she was today, while Barbie… well.

Jumping down, with only the audience to notice her, but not her partner, Morgana hissed at the blonde that sat her fat ass on the announcer table, “I actually like when you spread filthy lies about me. It means you’re spreading more than just your legs.” Her lips curved into a smirk. Taking a step closer, locking her prominent gaze with her rival, Morgana nonchalantly stretched her arms and mocked back, “Must be nice, though. Thinking you’re something other than trash. Cute, even.” Her notorious kittenish giggle escaped her lips.

Sydney crawls to the ropes, only to find that her tag team partner was not there, but was instead at the announcer table, facing down Barbie. "Hey!” She yelled, slapping the canvas multiple times loudly. "HEEEEEY!”

Again with the stupid talking! Rosado rolled her eyes and held up her right hand and made a mocking hand gesture of a mouth flapping as she pointed at Sydney and the bickering broads down near the table. Their mistake. Rosado’s gain. As Sydney was calling for help, Rosado grabbed a leg and pulled her back to the center of the ring where some stomps were delivered just as a statement, like a red mark through a test, highlighting the mistakes made. Being unable to knock Sydney down earlier, Rosado took the opportunity to deliver mounted strikes to the head before relenting.

Rosado pulled back a moment, long enough for Sydney to rise, which was just long enough for Rosado to admire her handiwork. The girl looked out of it, like she didn’t know what was going on. And Rosado just smiled.

Sydney suddenly shakes her head, quickly snapping out of her post-beatdown trance, before delivering a Rolling Wheel Kick to Rosado’s head, and then flipping back to her feet rather impressively. Sydney was back in the game!

Rosado gave Sydney an inch...now she had to make sure a mile wasn’t taken. Rosado was shaken, wobbly, taking a step back, but maintained the wherewithal and presence of mind not to let this mark the end of the match or her time in the ring. The spot monkey darted into action, meeting the delivered wheel kick with a leap up, a turn, and a kick to the head of Sydney in true enziguri fashion. Rosado landed on her chest, rolled through, and was back on her feet, her smile seeming less whimsical and more sinister with each breath she took.

Sydney recoils, wobbling and drooping, looking like she’s close to falling over, but recovers, and hit another Rolling Wheel kick, connecting firmly with her opponent’s head. This time, she doesn’t flip back, but slowly, and shakily climbs back to her feet.

“Lies? Oh, darkling, these are factual observations. You’re right though, I do love using my legs to get what I want. Just like I did when I had you beggin’ for mercy in a Legally Blonde. Don’t you remember? You remember, right?” Barbie continued to antagonize the witchy wrestler. She was, of course, referencing the infamous submission that put Morgana out of the title, and Barbie into it, over 100 days ago. Barbie crossed her legs daintily and grinned wide with pride, curling a blonde lock of hair around her finger. If she had bubble gum, she would snap a bubble right about now.

Seething with anger, the beast in Morgana was begging to rip out of her and gauge Barbie’s eyes to shreds, but rather than jump at her irrationally, she gave a condescending sneer. Her nostrils flared, her eyes flashed and closed into slits, her hands balled into fists, and with her deadly demeanor, she let out a loud, “HA!” If her eyes were a weapon, the daggers residing within them were aimed right at Barbie’s head, waiting to slash at her delicate face. “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is? You may hold the title, but you hide behind the throne. All you do is talk, Barbie Summers.” Morgana inched closer like a predator approaching her prey. Her air of confidence never leaving her. “Without Drayden, you are nothing. You’re only worth what people would pay for you; and that’s not your skills as a wrestler, or even your pretty little face.”

Breaching into Barbie’s space, but still not making any contact, the darkly clad woman gingerly traced her finger down her own chest, “All you have to offer is your body. Oh, and your boyfriend’s talent. The moment you do decide to come out and play, I’ll be waiting, and baby...” Morgana leaned forward. Her breath tickling Barbie’s ear, as she whispered, “I won’t be as forgiving.”

Rosado reels from the kick, her body shook and head stinging. She uses the ropes to stay upright while her eyes narrow towards Sydney. If one wasn’t enough to down the bitch, then here was round two. Another rush forward, another jump, another enziguri to Sydney’s head, with an impact loud enough to carry to the top seats. Again, Rosado landed on her chest, but she vaulted up and continued her assault, a follow through. She was like a dervish, but she was still feeling the effects of twice taking a boot to the head. Her slaps were connecting, her punches were finding the mark, but it was like David and Goliath and David’s sling only had pebbles.

It called for something drastic and flashy, otherwise known as the Rosado Method. After giving another kick to the midsection that didn’t topple the beast, Rosado pulled back and vaulted her way to the top of the turnbuckle, taking only a moment to point to the crowd - this one was for them. Turning on a dime to face the ring, Rosado didn’t hesitate. This monkey was about to fly.

Sydney sees Rosado leap from the top rope, but the powerhouse is ready for the little monkey, and catches her in a fireman’s carry. With a roar, she heaves, and lifts Rosado up into a Military Press, which she hold for a few seconds before dropping Rosado and letting her slam into the canvas. Sparing a few seconds to grin at the heavily booing crowd, she then grabs the back of Rosado’s shirt and lifts her to her feet with just one hand, before swiftly throwing a muscular arm around her throat and locking the Tropical Tamarin in a Standing Chokehold, right in the center of the ring!

“Well, that’s game! We’ve seen that move be locked in time and time again, and there’s almost no way out of it. I guess Sydney’s going to win this match… despite the numbers game.”

Sydney grins, and starts to shake the life out of Rosado, in addition to keeping the move tightly cinched in.

She could get out of this. She knew she could. She was a fighter. And Sydney was shaking a bit...too…

Using the momentum and size difference, Rosado struggled free by following-through and flipping over Sydney’s head, landing with shaking, wobbly feet. Her offense was slowing. Time for the salvo. A kick to the right rib, a kick to the left, a boot to the knee. Her kicks were what she had now. One two. One two. One two. Kick kick. Never give an inch. They were both tired, but Rosado had one more trick up her sleeve. She backed off, retreated back to the top of the turnbuckle, this time taking no moment to appeal to the crowd. Sydney was reeling...this was the moment. The do or die.

Rosado leapt into a forward flip and as she was coming down she grabbed Sydney by the head and dragged her down to the mat by sheer force of gravity and will alone, driving her opponent down. The shooting star DDT hit its mark, and Rosado made sure to go for the cover now that she had toppled the four inch taller giant. One. Two. Three.

“Hmm Hmm Hmm” Barbie held a laugh in her chest haughtily. “Speaking of being all talk…”

The bell sounded and the electro beat of Kuaga (Lost Time) blares to a supportive crowd and a beaming pair of victors.

“Perhaps you should have been paying attention to the match you just lost, Doll.”

Sydney, by this point, had rolled out of the ring, and was supporting herself on the side of the apron, panting heavily, and absolutely livid. She turned to the announcer table, and started to briskly stomp towards Morgana, her so-called tag team partner, who had left her high and dry to fight two opponents. Sydney was not going to take this betrayal lying down, and unbeknownst to Morgana, Fury itself was marching towards her back.

The first the gothic wrestler would know of Sydney’s presence would be a pair of hands grabbing her hair and slamming her face into the announcer table. When she turned to look, she’d see Sydney there, absolutely seething. "Thanks for the help back there, partner!” she shouts in Morgana’s face before proceeding to throw stiff blow after stiff blow into her partner’s face, beating her down until she was floored, dazed and clutching her face.

“Oh, come now. Sometimes you can’t win every battle in the war, no one likes a sore loser, GI Jane.” Barbie quipped, owning her character, never losing the zest that kept the flames of the crowd’s heat for her burning bright.

The military girl, not taking kindly to that remark, then walks over to stare down Barbie for a few tense seconds, before ripping her headset off roughly. She looks down at it, turning it and examining it, amused, before throwing it back in Barbie’s face and marching off, back towards the entrance ramp. The message was clear; ‘You’re all talk and no fight, and that’s funny to me.’

Cameras panned in to get a closer look at Barbie as she adjusted her tiara. After smoothing her hair, she hopped down from the announcer table and stared after the heel with murder in her eyes, her fists balled up tight at her sides.

“What an exciting match we’ve had tonight. It looks like the feud between Morgana and Barbie Summers isn’t dying down in the slightest. With Sydney in on the fight now, things are about to get verrryy heated in the AWE Women’s Division. I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait to see what these ladies have in store for us in the weeks to come.” Marcus said in closing, his excitement over the turn of events very evident in his words and facial expressions.

“You can say that again. Let the fire never die out. I’m too into it.” Kane, of course, had to add his last two cents. Hot babes. Hot fights. Hot drama. HOT.

Her soft, blue eyes were glued to the monitor as the main match proceeded between Zachary Wake and Caiden Winters. Zoned in and her attention completely tunnel visioned toward the match, Joy Ryder was not aware of anyone but the individuals on the ring preparing to fight. The sound of people chewing food at the nearby catering table, the film crew breaking down equipment and preparing for After Hours, the light breaths of those around her, wrestler and road crew alike, watching the match in equal amount of anticipation, was all background noise to her. Rubbing her hands together in nervous anxiety, she took in the entrance of Zachary Wake, a wrestler she had come to respect, due to his experience and apparent efforts at the AWE. She smiled at herself, adoring his calm, yet prevalent stage presence. A man who thrived off the heat.

Then came the pause.

It felt like her heart stopped along with the long silence. Bringing her hands to her lips, she rested them on her face, cupping her lips, waiting. Waiting for the next wrestler to come in and make the crowd go wild. The one they all were waiting for.

The one she was waiting for.



And then his music hit and Caiden Winters, with the utmost pride and confidence, made himself public. Resolution could be read all over his face. There was no way in hell he’d lose. He made everyone believe that everyday was his day. The day that the AWE would realize he was undeniably the best damned wrestler that has ever walked on that ring. The inner fan girl in Joy jumped and squealed, but Joy, herself, in front of everyone else backstage, was frozen still. With intent and agonizing excitement, the on-air personality internally prayed for the results to end in her favor.

The fight began.

Caiden opened the match with an impeccable drop kick! It was so good. Joy could feel the energy emitting out of the screen and to her. And, well, everyone else in the room, but right now she wasn’t really paying attention to them. All that mattered was this fight. Caiden was going to win. He’s more than ready, Zack. Go get him Caiden! Joy cheered in her head.

The boys fought for power and the anxiety moved from her chest to her stomach, twisting and turning. Zachary Wake was a strong opponent, there was no doubt about that. Her body responded instinctively when Caiden got welted in the jaw. Subtly flinching at the sight, the brunette pouted at the screen. AND THEN THE KNEE TO HIS ABDOMEN. Hugging her body, as if she could feel the pain Caiden was going through, Joy earnestly watched the screen, hoping for a turnover.

Joy eagerly observed Caiden’s reverse neckbreaker, as he retaliated to Zack’s claim to being the best. She couldn’t help but gleam at the pose Caiden made. This match was too much for her. She would surely pass out from the suspense.

And then... the match took a turn for the worse. First the liontamer, squeezing the life out of her favorite wrestler, Joy was losing her breath from the intense hold. Come on! Fight, Caiden! You can do it! Get out of this! Fight! Then the referee having the audacity to ask Caiden if he wanted to QUIT, and then… oh god, this was awful. Too many highs, too many lows.



Not even Caiden’s remarkable Solstice could have prepared her for this. Why was Zachary Wake’s such a CHEATER?! Before she knew it, Wake gave the lowest of low blows, so low, that the referee DID NOT see, and Caiden… lost. He lost. This wasn’t fair! Joy’s right hand was balled into a fist and resting on her chest. She had gotten so immersed into the match and then Caiden Winters, angry as ever, which was to be expected, killed the ref.

Joy’s heart stopped again.



And as she stood there, lost in the show that she helped put on, a hand tapped on her shoulder. Wade Palmer, who naturally rushed backstage just seconds after the cameras shut off to host the After Hours talk show, appeared behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, we’re on in two minutes. You ready, or what?”

Snapping back to present time, Joy turned toward her friend and mentor. Oh, right. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be!” After giving a genuine smile, she started heading toward the AWE talkroom. “That was... a lot to handle.” Joy honestly voiced. Her heart was still racing.

Wade nodded as he took his seat behind the desk, “Yeah, how do you think I feel? That was nuts. This tournament is gonna be giving away pay-per-view quality matches for free… how are we gonna make any money? The party bus doesn’t run on smiles and sunshine, y’know.” Wade winked at Joy and turned toward the camera for his countdown.

“Trinity believes it does.” Joy teasingly joked, while taking her seat on the other side of the glass table. The two talk show hosts got themselves situated before the signal went off and it was go time. With the queue that the camera was indeed speeding, Joy’s on-air persona flooded over and she shook her head, smiling at Wade, “The referee might actually be dead.”

“Which raises the question of: did he deserve it? No, absolutely not. You never put your hands on the official when you’re out there, no matter what happens. If they make a miscall, then so be it. They’re out there doing their jobs, and their job isn’t to fight the competitors.” Wade reached under the table, where he kept his snacks, and withdrew a can of Pringles — original of course — and popped a couple into his mouth, crunching them thoughtfully. “Caiden Winters is going to be fired, you know. And he deserves it. Or, at least suspended.”

Joy visibly grimace in front of the camera. Yeah, no. She was going going to argue her point. The referee deserved ‘dying’ because he failed to do his JOB. “Y’know, Wade, you don’t notice the referee unless he makes a bad call. And here tonight, he made a call that could ruin an exceptionally talented wrestler’s career. I’d like to think we’re all referees at heart. We like to call the throws and errors. Caiden Winters is indispensable. He’s far too loved and far too talented. Losing him would cause unwarranted backlash for the AWE.”

Wade shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t get me wrong, I love him as much as the next person, maybe more than anyone else, but I don’t think it’d be that huge of a dent. The shadow is always filled in the end. Nobody here is fully indispensable.” Wade explained as he crunched on some Pringles, nodding to accentuate his point. “Putting your hands on an innocent official is just as reprehensible as cheating to win.”

Narrowing her eyes at her mentor, Joy didn’t respond for a brief second. He was doing this on purpose. She was already heated and this was doubling that. “Oh? So you’re saying that not even Drayden is fully indispensable?” she challenged Wade. This. Was. War. “If a referee can’t do his job he shouldn’t be out there calling the shots and determining the AWE history.”

“Yeah, I would happily argue that Drayden isn’t indispensable. I believe fully that everyone in the AWE could be in that spot — and maybe before tonight, I thought it was a certainty that Caiden would be stepping up to the plate to take that spot, but I don’t know anymore. Maybe he’s not what I thought he was, maybe he’s not what any of us thought he was. These things happen, and I know it sucks that the referee didn’t see it, but… you have to look at it from his perspective. The ref calls it as he sees it; he doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head. He had to cover up the turnbuckle that was exposed when the low blow happened, he was thoroughly distracted. He was doing his job.” A couple more moments of getting her riled up, then he’d call Caiden on.

“And now he’s dead.” Joy looked away from Wade and to the camera, grabbing her glass of water and lifting it up to the audience, “Ain’t that right, fans? He was warned, wasn’t he? Caiden does kill.” she aggressively sipped at her water, fire in her eyes.

Wade shrugged his shoulders, “Well, I guess you can ask him about the situation yourself, because as I’ve just been informed: Caiden Winters is not, as of this moment, either suspended, nor has he been given well wishes for all his future endeavors. In fact, quite the opposite. He’s going to be our guest tonight.” Wade said, and the man himself walked onto the stage, a clear air of frustration and anger around him as he headed onto the set and took a seat next to Joy.

“Now, I don’t really feel like talking, but it turns out Roddy is too scared to let me anywhere near him, so I guess I will. Hi, I’m Caiden Winters, and if you’re wondering, if you should believe what Joy just said, yeah. You should. I’m a killer.”

Wade looked over at Joy, and stuffed a few more Pringles into his mouth, waiting for the inevitable explosion of words.

Joy caught her gaze with Caiden, as her mind instinctively thought about her next course of actions. With a mischievous smirk, she turned her head toward Wade’s direction and tilted her head, still not agreeing with him, “Caiden, I’m so glad you could be here with us tonight, but what I can’t fathom is why Mr. Palmer here thinks the referee was completely innocent, do you agree?”

“No, I don’t. But, I finished my issues with him out there, don’t ya think? I beat his damn ass, and it’ll be a miracle if he makes it to another show. The person that I have a problem with… is the man upstairs. Roddy Quinn. Roderick Quinn. The man who damn near didn’t sign me because he didn’t think I was good enough to wrestle in his stupid company. That title shouldn’t even be decided in a fu— tournament.” Caiden bit his tongue and Wade held back a smile as he took the chance to speak.

“And what do you think should be done for it? The champion won his last title defense —”

“That title should be around my waist! I don’t care if he won the match, I don’t care if Drayden beat me—” Caiden paused for a moment, before spitting out in his best Wade impression, “-- fair and square in the middle of that ring. I kept my promise. I said that Drayden wouldn’t make it out of the arena on his own two feet. And he didn’t. I did say that, you remember, Joy?”

Taking another sip of water, she nodded in agreement, “I sure do. You were the first wrestler on Do or Die. Caiden Winters never breaks his promises. Not then, not today, not ever. And what did you say specifically tonight?” Once again, Joy looked at Wade, enjoying this After Show thoroughly. “You’re dead.”

“That’s right. And you know what else I said? That I am better than the best. I am actually as good as everyone else out there pretends to be, it’s scary. The fact that Roddy thinks he can hold me back, by putting together a tournament, and then putting me against someone who CONSISTENTLY cheats to win. So he cheats. He wins the match on a technicality, and now what? I’m out of it? I don’t get a chance at the world title now? Nobody else in this tournament earned their spot, I earned my right to be the number one contender before I broke his damn knee.” Caiden leaned forward toward the camera, shaking his head. “I’m going to take this show over. One step at a time, and if Roderick Quinn thinks that he can hold me back by screwing me out of what should be my title, then he’d better walk his ass out to the ring and hold me back himself. I’m done playing games.”

Joy’s gaze was fully locked on Caiden now. “And what are you going to do, Caiden Winters? How are you going to get Roddy’s attention? FULL attention?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” And with that, Caiden dropped the mic he’d been holding on the floor, pushed himself away from the glass desk, and walked off screen.

“Well, he’s certainly got a chip on his shoulder…”

“I do… want to know.” Joy softly responded, holding her glass of water with both hands. She’d be waiting to see what he had in store for the AWE. She couldn’t wait.

Barbara stood backstage and shook the nerves out of her limbs before her theme music started up. It didn’t matter how many times she did this, or how much she loved her job, nor how long she had held the title belt that was strapped around her waist - she still got the jitters when it came to performing. It is good practice for the young aspiring actress, pretending to be someone that she truly is not: Barbie Summers, top bitch, talentless whore, Plastic Queen… the girl that doesn’t deserve this.

Fuck that, I deserve every bit of this. Barbara thought to herself, getting hyped and into character. Barbara cared a lot about the heat that she received, but Barbie basked in the flames. Barbie thinks herself better than all of these peasants - these good-for-nothing fans and wrestlers that think they know who she is - they need to be taught that their place is, always was and always will be, below her.

The tinkling notes of her theme song prepped Barbie for her entrance and she got in position to walk. The lights of the arena dimmed to near blackness as the intro played. When the first few notes of the song hit, the titantron lit up with her stage name “Barbie Summers” in thick, glittery pink script. The very edges of the screen were bordered with bright white circular lights, very reminiscent of old school movie theater signs, a hint at her Hollywood-sized dreams.

Dressed in a shiny spandex mockery of a purple and pink cheerleader’s uniform, Barbie strutted her stuff down the aisle. The crowd wasted no time greeting her with their usual chorus of boos. Barbie took it in stride, posing for photos and dancing to her theme as if she heard nothing at all. She was a star, and this aisle was her red carpet. Confetti cannons posted along both sides of the aisle blasted glittering gold and silver flecks into air to rain down upon the champion, and some lucky fans. Gold like the title at her waist, and silver like the crown on her head. How lovely.

Upon arriving to the ring, Barbie deftly jumped up to grab the second rope. Using her upper body and core strength, Barbie pulled herself up and pushed her feet forward so that she slid onto the canvas without touching the bottom rope, limbo style. She stood up from the entrance smoothly and did a quick princess wave to the left, and another to the right, before she made her way to the center of the ring.

In the middle of the ring stood an ostentatious, gaudy throne that was draped in silks and flowers to match her outfit. Barbie sat gently in the throne, stuck her nose up in the air, and held out her hand for the referee to place a microphone in. Once he did, Barbie grinned smugly at the crowd before beginning her monologue.

“You know, a girl like me has people… and my people have been telling me some very interesting things recently. Do you know what they’ve been saying to me?" she paused and awaited their response. They booed, naturally. Some even picked up their taunt about sucking Drayden - to which she did not respond to today, she was sticking to her own script, for once.

“I’ve heard that some of you have taken to calling me the Plastic Queen. And, you know?” Barbie mockingly put a hand to her chest as if she was overcome with emotion.

“You know, that is just so cute. Really, it’s quite amusing. Plastic is fake, I get it. How verrry clever. But let me set you straight here... just because I am something that none of you - or any of these other wrestlers - will ever be, doesn’t mean that I am not real. If being THE BEST female wrestler in AWE history makes me fake, then package me up and call me plastic, by all means. Plastic or not, though, you are absolutely right about one thing, Dolls, and that is that I. AM. QUEEN.” The blonde made a show of crossing her legs regally on the throne before toying at a rose petal with her left index finger. Her right hand still held the mic that she spoke into.

“And it has been a very big week for your Queen, in many ways. This week marks the 100 day anniversary of me driving the Evil Sorceress out of the kingdom, isn’t that wonderful? I have had over one hundred glorious, victorious days with this title. It should be a time of celebration for us! But… the festivities must wait, for our King...” Barbie frowned at the crowd, and there was a large part of Barbara frowning behind the character as well. This was a hard time for Drayden, and it broke her heart to see it.

“Our King has to go away for some time. So, my Dolls, it looks like it’s just going to be you and I for a while. While pretender kings may come and try to warm this throne in Drayden’s stead - I want you all to know that the TRUE ROYALS of AWE aren’t going anywhere. Drayden will be back and by my side once more."

Barbie's voice grew harsh and assertive now. “This is our kingdom, and I will continue to rule for the both of us. If anyone thinks they have a right to this throne, they can meet me in the ring where they will only end up bowing at me feet -- Long Live Queen B!”

Throughout the entire show, Trinity couldn’t help but eye the donuts at the catering table. No, she needed to be good. This show in particular was a bittersweet one because it started off with Drayden having to step aside, letting go of the title, breaking fans’ hearts, but he had to do what he had to do. Her boyfriend’s favorite wrestler, and also her sister’s, for different reasons, was the one who led to this story arc (or was it the end of Drayden’s reigning arc) in the AWE. Caiden Winters promised the audience that Drayden wouldn’t make it out the arena on his own two feet at Judgement Day and now Drayden was forced to ‘get some rest’ tonight on Shock N AWE. Focusing her attention on the screen and not the food nearby, such a cruel world, she took mental notes of all the matches, especially the women’s match. Not one to have hostile feelings toward anyone, it takes a lot for her to genuinely hate someone, Trinity intently watched the girls fight, ultimately in admiration and respect. They earned their place there. She could only hope that one day she would join in on the madness that was the Women’s Division.

Liking to think she was good at multitasking, Trinity continuously updated her social media accounts throughout the show, specifically her Twitter account since it was faster and her fans enjoyed her constant spamming silliness. Her social media accounts were probably more active than most of the other wrestlers… habits. SHE HAD HABITS. The internet was a fun place where you could gain traction, fast. The web was her oyster! And her place to give her fans a glimpse of a day in the life of Trinity.



In time, she befriended the adorable wrestler Shay Lee, who was pretty fresh in the AWE business like her. Though, their stories of how they got there were a bit different and Trinity was known at the AWE even before she decided to go full fledged professional wrestler. Well, wrestler. She was working on becoming a professional like her daddy and brother. Shay Lee was quick to learn that Trinity marked out at nearly… everything she saw that would easily wow an audience. She got extremely into each match and interview, her expressions reacted accordingly when there was an impressive move that would cause a proper geek reaction.

Wrestling was amazing.

Don’t even get her started with the Caiden Winters and Zachary Wake match. That one made her stomach curl from the pure intensity. That being said, Trinity couldn’t help but look over at Joy and give a smug look. Her sister was such a fangirl cutie. When the match came to a close and Joy had to rush to host AFTERSHOCK, Trinity pranced toward Duncan, taking Shay Lee with her, since they were buds now, it was decided, and happily waved at the boy that was with Joy not too long ago, “Sis said sorry she didn’t give you a proper intro with me. By the time you guys got over here, the show already started and that’s never a good time to have a meet and greet. Especially since she needed to mark out! Hi. I’m Trinity. This is my new friend, Shay Lee, a.k.a. Kitsune, it’s nice to actually talk to you! Rather than look from afar and be like WOAH, HE’S SO COOL.”

Throughout watching the rest of the show, Duncan gladly watched the screen, not only appreciating the work put in but also any kind of tricks he could get out of it. Always new things to learn. Something Duncan wouldn’t forget from his time at BFC, British Fighting Central. The place that started it all for Chaos Clayton. It was funny, Duncan had originally started of as a face with a practical joker gimmick, but it got old fast. For the crowd and Duncan himself. Duncan wanted more than being a comedic relief in a roster. His attention was sooned turned to the two freshest female wrestlers in the AWE Women’s Division. It was a shame he had to miss the second half of the tag team match and prep for the match with Razor. At least he got to see the main event though. Zachary and Caiden can always put on a belter of a show. He beamed at the two, and chuckled at Trinity’s enthusiastic greeting.

“Thanks, I guess. You don’t have to compliment me like that. My head will get too big.” He joked as he crossed his arms. “So you’re the two new women wrestlers then? I need to catch up on some of your matches in that case. You guys enjoyed the matches? Competition in that ring looked pretty strong from what I saw with the other girls.” Duncan asked inquisitively. After all, Joy did say that Trinity might be on the lookout for pointers. It was nice getting to meet other talent in person. Sometimes it’s so hard to interact when the schedule is busy and you’re moving from venue to venue in a country that’s forty times bigger than your own country.

Manami was LOVING being here and watching the show. Seeing how different everything was here as opposed to in Japan. Before the show started officially, Manami had a dark match against a local competitor in order to gauge the crowd's interest in her. The crowd cheered heavily during the match and all it did was make her more hyped to watch the show. She purposefully didn’t look at anything to do with the card so that she wouldn’t expect anything as it happened. Every match had different things she was excited about.

For the divas tag match she payed close attention to Tsunami. Once she figured out that talking to the writing team about their thoughts was not only allowed but encouraged, she started talking to them about either putting her in a rivalry with Tsunami or put the two into an alliance. Manami thought that the two characters could go a long way to bring more Japanese viewers in. She loved the Chaos Clayton Vs. Razorblade match because she really enjoyed watching the quick, high-intensity that wrestlers like them tended to put on. It caused her to contemplate adding more highflying moves into her repertoire because of how the moves looked. The main event caused her to be extra tense due to Caiden Winters being someone that she looked up to. He had been a major talent in Japan, he was a friend, and Manami believes the only reason she is even here is because of his recommendation. She felt rightly angry that someone would DARE to cheat to get one over on Caiden. Let alone that person be Zachary Wake. It’s not that she hated the character or the person, but it just showed that he was good at playing heel.

When Trinity started walking over towards Duncan, Manami quickly picked up a donut. She hadn’t been able to take her eyes off the screen long enough to grab food and she was hungry. She payed attention as she ate the delectable treat. She could understand English just fine. It was speaking and reading it that she had difficulty with. When she was in school she neglected a lot of her studies in order to train. English took the biggest hit because of how much harder it was than everything else. Speaking slowly she said, “A pleasure to meet you. My name is actually Manami Hayashi. Your match was-” She started searching for the word excellent, but couldn’t remember if it was the right one. “Better than good. You did amazing. Oh, I can’t wait for my debut.”

While Manami talked, Trinity eyed her donut. Such a cruel world. Why did she have to choose to be good today? That’s because donuts go straight to your ass. It was a tragedy that her favorite sweet in the world were deep-fried, ring shaped, potentially filled, potentially decorated, absolute goodness. Sighing heavily but keeping a bright smile on her face, she grinned at Duncan, “I would be disappointed if competition wasn’t strong. Gives me more to fight for and well... against! They’re all very talented, like Rosado’s Rolling Wheel Kick was flawless and she landed on her feet effortlessly.”

She was silent for a second before she decided to cave in and get a donut, specially a French Cruller, her favorite. “‘Cuse me one sec.” with that Trinity pranced to the table, pulled a paper towel off the roll, and grabbed one… no two… okay maybe three donuts. A good reason to do this was because: Wade loved her ass, so having a big ass wasn’t bad! Also, she couldn’t help it. SHE WANTED IT.

When she returned back to her coworkers, she started leading the way and gesturing for them to walk and talk - might as well head to the party bus early, she could always watch AFTERSHOCK later on Wade’s laptop. “My biggest thing is I want the crowd to love me. All of you are so good at getting the crowd worked up. I want that. When I cry, I want them to empathize with me. When I’m thrown off ring, I want them to cheer me on when I get up. I think I’m doing good so far, but I’m worried the other girls will overshadow me.”

Duncan smiled at Manami. “I can’t wait for your debut! First impressions are important, crowd’s gonna love you!” He replied happily. Duncan relished every moment he was wrestling, training for wrestling, or talking about wrestling. These were the conversations that Duncan loved. “You nail it the first time, which I’m sure you will, then you’ve got an awesome career to come.” He added. His attention was then turned to Trinity when she returned with a trio of donuts. He winced at thinking about the calories, but decided he’d get something to eat later. Probably on the infamous AWE “Party Bus”.

“Keep going the way you’re going, Trin, and I think you’ll get there. The difficulty is the reason you’re working the crowd for. Take Razorblade for example. Yeah, I beat him, but he works in that underdog gimmick so well that the crowd wants him to come back stronger and better.” Duncan explained as the three wrestlers walked. “And that’s what I think about every time the crowd is watching. Why do I want them to react the way I want them to?”

Pulling a Joy on Duncan, Trinity raised an eyebrow, finished chewing her recent bite of donut, and quizzically asked, “Why do you want them to react the way you want them to? What about your gimmick makes you think 1) the crowd is going to love it, even if in a spiteful manner and 2) this is what you want to do? Duncan IS Chaos Clayton.”

Manami wanted to hear Duncan’s answer to this as well. In Japan her gimmick had been somewhat barebones and not well thought through until near the end of her time there. She still had a LOT to learn when it came to using words to get the crowd behind her. She was also very worried that with her difficulties with English that the crowd wouldn’t pay any attention to what she had to say. So, getting advice from an amazing mic worker would hopefully help her to get passed her difficulties and present the crowd with more of a reason as opposed to just pointless verbiage.

Duncan smiled slyly and put his skull mask up. “For me, that’s easy. I want people to revel in the chaos I bring. I want to convey just how much I love to destroy and how only true anarchy is the way forward.” Duncan said under the Clayton persona. “And if they turn on me when I dismantle all those they hold upon podiums, then I shall let those podiums topple upon them too.” With that, he put his mask back down. “People love Clayton because he represents the absolute antithesis of order. A rebel character. That’s why I love being him. I’m allowed such free will with the role. Savaka, in my opinion, has been struggling lately with a limiting persona, even if his wrestling makes up for some of it.” Duncan said quite honestly. Duncan wasn’t one to dance around a subject, but the difference is he will happily go out and help.

That was SOO COOL. Manami always loved seeing these characters being portrayed and getting to see it up close was even better. She decided that it’d be best to ask her question now, “I was wondering what you’d think the best way to get around my talking issues to get across a meaning that the fans want to hear me.”

Duncan was silent in thought for a moment. “Yeah, English is tough to learn, especially when we’re on the road most of the time. I would suggest being very clear and particular with your word choice…” He said, translating from thoughts straight to mouth. “Oh yeah! Confidence!” He suddenly exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “You just gotta go out there and say every word with conviction and confidence.”

“Yeah, I agree. You don’t even need to be a wordsmith. I sure as hell am not! I could never be my sister, but the one thing I try to never forget is who I am and what I stand for. Lemme see if I can give you an example… Caiden Winters! What is the one thing people remember from him? When he says: You’re dead.” Trinity paused and let the word ‘dead’ fill the air, with a similar amount of heaviness that Caiden gives it, before continuing, “Short phrase that speaks volumes, especially with the way he says it. Certain. Rageful. And that’s even given him an awesome crowd chant too. Caiden’s gonna kill you! Caiden’s gonna kill you!”

Taking a moment to take another bite of her much needed donut, she smiled at Manami, “But most importantly, stay true to yourself. Let your personality shine through. That’s what my brother tells me all the time. If my goal is to be loved, make them love the real me.”

Manami listened to what the two had to say. She was grateful that people would try to help her figure things out. She made sure that she would remember what they said the next time she practices her promos. “Arigatou gozaimasu. I’ll make sure I use your advice to do better.”

It didn’t take them much longer to find the ‘party bus’. The 2-Story motorhome was extremely hard to miss, especially now that it was pulled up in the back parking lot, behind the arena. 53ft long, 30-ton luxury home away from home. A mobile estate for comfort to ease the constant traveling that their job demanded. The bus itself use to never be like this… extremely massive and unnecessarily excessive, especially since it was meant for one man, the voice of AWE, Wade Palmer. But then Trinity, who is the baby of the Ryder family (giving her princess tendencies), convinced Wade to expand his trailer, for the sake of wrestlers having an option of traveling together in comfort, while potentially making memories. If there was something she loved about being a wrestler, it was the community of people that all worked together for a common goal.

Being a wrestler was not a job, it was a lifestyle and everyone felt like a family. Her family. A dysfunctional family, but a family nevertheless. A professional wrestler must make sacrifices, from their loved ones back at their hometown to their health, while putting their lives on the line just to hear the crowd roar. It’s not easy finding an ‘in’ with a company like AWE.

A wrestler, with the odds always against them, could only hope to perform at AWE Starccade, but once the passion, the courage, and the desperateness to become something more than he or she thought they could ever be, shines through… a wrestler could make it to the big leagues. Something they might have always dreamed of… or something they started to dream about when they saw that they had potential in the business. That they were worth the stardom, even if they knew the journey was the most physically and psychologically draining rides in the world.

Half of their lives is in the ring, the other half is traveling. A wrestler signs up for injuries, aches, strife, blood, sweat, but if they want this, truly, deeply want this, they must keep their head in the game and steer their career in the direction where they’ll be a legend forever. With dignity and passion, perhaps they can be.

“We’re here~!!”