A Tempest Brewing
Behind the Scenes
Notification
Fiona’s Hotel Room
Greensboro, North Carolina
Fiona looked at her phone and the notification message of a match. This time, the notification did not come from Valora Salinas, the usual source for CWF matches, but Ian Childress, who was in charge of 4 Winds Wrestling. She had been booked to defend the Tempest title on AWS programming which, in this case, meant a trip to Australia. It just so happened she was hanging out with Abigail and Akame now. Even though in a few days the three Upstarts would technically be opponents, they were still friends and hung out a lot. “Hey. You two were in AWS, right?”
Abby and Akame looked at each other then to Fiona both speaking in unison. “Yes. Why?”
Fiona slid her phone on the table and Akame and Abby looked at the screen. Abby tilted her head a bit. But Akame was the first to say it. “6’4 and 188lbs.. He’ll fall over in a stiff breeze.”
Abby chimes in. “Look at him, though. He’s so brooding. So emo. He doesn’t have time for conformist shit like eating food. He lives on the pain that is the pain of existence.”
Both girls laughed, Fiona joining in not long after. “Well he is American. And from California. Maybe a Veagan? Striving hard for that zero percent body fat?” All three continued laughing.
“Should be an easy title defense for you.” Abby says and Fiona nods. “Aye. He is definitely what is that Yankee term? Try-hard?”
Akame nods, by now laughing to the point where she is having trouble breathing. “Yeah, try hard is one of a few good terms to put on him.”
Abigail blinks. “The hell is a ‘psychological hardcore specialist?!” She asks before taking out her phone and dialing her mother. Soon, Valora appears on Abby’s phone as the face time session kicks off. “Hey mom. You have any idea what a Psychological Hardcore specialist is?”
Valora wastes no time. “Yeah, a porn star who specializes in horror movie parodies.” This brings a laugh from Abby, Akame and Fi.
After she stops laughing, Abby explains. “Fi has a fight in AWS for the Tempest title. Her opponent describes part of his fighting style as ‘Psychological Hardcore Specialist.”
Valora rolls her eyes. “Fuckin’ all hardcore is psychological. You’re fighting someone who grabs a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire or who throws thumbtacks on the ring or something. We all do it, not just to play to the crowd but also to give our opponent time to shit their fuckin’ pants. So yeah. Have fun Fi and make sure to make sure that CWF is the superior fed.”
Fi nods, giving a salute to Valora. “Aye boss. I got this.”
Behind the Scenes
Arrival
Sydney, Australia
Fiona got off the plane and looked around as she made her way through the airport. This was now the official first visit to Australia and Fiona was excited, and also found herself sharing Valora’s opinion. Fiona wanted to keep her Tempest title. Obviously. But the long plane ride to Australia had given her time to think and she agreed with Valora. She was here not only as the defending champion but also as a representative of CWF. Abigail and Akame were both AWS veterans, both of them had successful, if short, tenures here. Abigail actually still spoke of her time in AWS with some degree of affection, having said it was where she was able to ‘find herself.’ and really start to put together a base to establish and build from.
A couple hours later saw Fiona in her hotel room. She went about her usual ritual of getting settled in and then went out and did some exploring of the city. After her initial explorations, she stopped for something to eat on the way home and returned to her hotel room with the food and drink she picked up. She also went ahead and ordered some room service as she was digging in for the long haul here as she would have to do some research.
She began by pulling up the AWS website and looking up the roster page for the Harrower. The first thing she noticed was the plethora of nicknames. She noticed a few other things as well and shook her head. “Oh, I’m gonna have a bloody field day with this daft fecker.” Fiona muttered to herself as she ate her McDonald’s french fries. While she was looking around, taking notes when she noticed Harrower had posted a promo. She pulled the promo up and watched it. The fact that she made it through said promo without killing herself or not dying of sheer boredom were things that Fiona considered small victories.
On Camera Promo
A Tempest Brewing
The scene opens up in darkness. Black screen. After a few seconds, Fiona’s voice can be heard. “I am the terror that flaps in the night…”
“I am a man who thinks he’s a vulcan.”
“No. I’m a man who repeats ad nauseam to make it sound like he has a lot to say..”
“I am a man who saw David Boreanaz as Angel on Buffy and has devoted my life to emulating him. Oh how I wish I was as cool. As dark. As brooding!”
“I am a man who absolutely…
Quite surely…
Needs…
To extend one sentence..
Into a whole paragraph. Because I’m so cool and dark and emo brooding!”
The camera comes into focus and we see Fiona sitting there, the 4 Winds Tempest title resting on the desk in front of her.
“Actually. I think you’re a daft fecker. More on that in a bit there. I have a few other things I’d like to point out first..”
Fiona places a hand on the Tempest title and then nods. “You know both Abigail and Akame have wrestled for AWS in the past. Abby, in particular has said on more than one occasion that her time in AWS helped her find herself and build the base from which she has launched her dominant career. I point this out because I find myself wondering how someone like you becomes a champion. Do you have blackmail material on the owners of AWS? Bribe the ref? Maybe the Lightweight division is just small and there aren’t a lot of competitors. Who knows. But I do know this.”
Fiona takes a deep breath and shakes her head as she prepares for the next portion. “You don’t know even the basics of how this business works. For most wrestlers, a single nickname is enough. Are you a libra and couldn’t decide which crappy nickname you liked best so you picked all the crappy nicknames? I mean the ‘Quiet Diagnosis’?! As opposed to what? A noisy diagnosis? How is that supposed to help you? How about the ‘Pattern Eater’? I have no words.. This nickname is so cool and badass it gives me shivers. No. It actually gives me a headache from the massive eyerolling it inspires as a reaction. ‘Pulse Taker’? What are you, a feckin EMT now? I hope you’re bloody better at that than you apparently are as a wrestler
How about ‘The Man Behind My Eyes’? Another lame and pathetic attempt to sound all cool and shite. Or ‘The Last Thought Before Sleep’? Again, sorry but you just dunnae rate high enough to take up that much of my brainspace. ‘The Violence Analyst’? What? You a CSI now too? Again.. Hope you’re better at that than you apparently are at being a wrestler. Sorry those viewing this. Only two more nicknames. We’re almost through the 500 shite nicknames this man threw up in a desperate attempt to appear all cool and mysterious and brooding. We begin the wrap up with ‘The Chair in the Dark’. I dunnae, maybe I’m the daft one but what the hell is that supposed to mean? It certainly isn’t intimidating, I know that. Finally, we come to ‘The Blackglass Butcher’. Another tryhard attempt at convincing everyone you’re the serial killer from a horror movie or something. Another failure. A faceplant.”
Fiona rolls her eyes and shakes her head. ‘I usually don’t make such a big deal about my opponent’s nickname but that’s because most actual professional wrestlers have one. Count them, one. Nickname, But you? You just needed to list a book’s worth of nicknames and not a one of them was decent or does anything close to what a nickname is supposed to do. Your nicknames. Your entrance theme. Your description of your fighting style. All of this points out you dunnae know jack shite about being a professional wrestler. Let me give you some examples of a nickname..
‘Reckless’ Akame McClancy. One of her opponents called her reckless, she took the attempted insult and turned it into a nickname because it suits Akame’s high tempo aerial assault style and highlights her willingness to risk her body to get a win.
‘The Hardcore Icon’ Valora Salinas. Valora is a legendary hardcore wrestler. Her name pays tribute to that.
‘The German Suplex machine’ Kronin Reinhardt. The man is one of the best technical wrestlers in the world and is not only an expert at German suplexes but seems to know every suplex known to man
Those are just three examples of how nicknames should work. How sad is it that an 18 year old Irish girl knows more about this business than you do?” Fiona says, shaking her head while making a ‘tsk’ sound.
Fiona takes a deep breath, “See? This is the bigger thing here. I dunnae care about your nicknames. I highlight that only to point out that you dunnae know your damn craft and it’s feckin’ insulting that someone like you is getting a title shot at my title. I would say it’s insulting you’re a champion at all, but again I dunnae know what the circumstances behind you getting a AWS title were. All I know is that this was supposed to be an intriguing title match up and let me break out into a little story and tell you why this match was supposed to be amazing and really big for AWS.”
Fiona taps the Tempest title and smiles. “You might recall I made mention of my fellow Upstarts, Abigail Dresden and Akame McClancy, both being AWS Alumni. Abby was United Kingdom and Legacy champion in AWS. Akame McClancy formerly known as Tetsu Oni IV made her professional debut in AWS and won the C4 title on a pay-per view that never aired due to various problems. Problems that nearly caused the collapse of AWS. That C4 title win is why Akame McClancy started off as the inaugural holder of this here, Tempest title. So, this belt has a history with the AWS and, now with the CWF as I hold it and at the upcoming CWF pay per view, I will look to link it to our Skirmish title by hopefully becoming the first ever CWF Skirmish champ. Aklame and Abby being two of my three opponents in that match.”
Fiona smirks. “This is the legacy AWS used to have. Abigail Dresden, UK and Legacy champ in AWS which led to her becoming 1 third of the iK0n Trios Champions, which when the aforementioned issues happened, were turned into the 4 Winds Legion champs. And that led to her becoming 4 Winds Albion champion. Led to her becoming Valor and Conquest Champions in CWF and having a chance to become CWF Skirmish champion. Led to her becoming FWA TV Champion. Akame, for her part, has also gone on to win titles in CWF, FWA and Four Winds.”
Fiona nods. “And from that proud lineage,... now AWS must look to idiots like you as their champions. A man who has no idea of something as simple as a wrestler’s nickname. How is anyone meant to take the C4 title seriously?! Who knows, maybe AWS will continue its trend of developing superstar talent, and you’ll eventually develop into a competent wrestler. Remains to be seen, I suppose. But right now? You’re in for a bad time. You see, I’m not like the AWS talent you’re used to. I’m a second gen wrestler. Grew up learning how to fight. Actually had a few amateur and semi- pro level boxing matches before making the switch to wrestling. I have already got one title.. This here Tempest title. I know I’m likely gonna lose it at some point, but I will die before i lose it to you.”
The scene fades to black and when it comes back into focus, Fiona stands by a ladder. “You think I’m scared of this? All this is, is a tool. I suppose you could look at this as a metaphor. Climbing the ladder of success. Something I’ve been doing since my first match.”
Fiona climbs up a couple of rungs. “For most, it’s a long, arduous climb. Most people stop right about here. It’s safe. Comfortable. Not rocking the boat. Not taking much risk. But you got on and climbed up a few rungs. You made progress.”
Fiona climbs up another couple of rungs. “Few people make it here. This is often considered a successful life. You took some risks, won some, lost some, but won more than you lost and ended up with a nice, comfortable view. This is enough for most. But not for me.”
Fiona climbs up and positions herself to sit on the top of the ladder. “Here. The top of the mountain. The ladder. That’s my goal. See, even if you think you’re the better wrestler, the better fighter. Doesn’t matter. I dunnae need to beat you. I just need to get up here, and grab my title. Get used to this view, you, watching me, on top of this ladder, taking my title back It is the closest to a real title you’re going to get to for some time. See you in Sydney,”
The camera fades to black.