Post by ana on Oct 31, 2019 1:41:04 GMT -5
The theme of the past few months has been reflection for Anastasia Hayden. Ten years into her career. A dream she chased aggressively, but not one she had actually envisioned being a part of for ten years. Though, never one to read the fine print; especially on the nights where her joints popped with all kinds of varying degrees of pain. A month and a few weeks away from 30 years old and what had Anastasia accomplished? Hitting the ten year mark was great, but what else? She had managed to buy her own house just outside of Kansas City; a house she'd perhaps one day retire in, but that's even further away to imagine. But that's pedestrian. That's the kind of life Anastasia never wanted to envision.
What had she accomplished inside of a wrestling ring? To her, that was the only way to measure the value of her life. Along the way, she picked up a few championships here and there, but nothing to ever truly be proud of. The moment she wrapped her hands around a piece of gold, it was ripped right out of her hands. The ten pounds of gold vanishing in seconds. And as much as Anastasia loved the idea of preaching to be an icon without the gold; she knew that could never be the case.
"Why am I here?"
A rather deep question to be asked, but that's reflection for you. Though as her eyes narrowed, this didn't appear to be a philosophical question from Anastasia. The camera zoomed out and we found ourselves in some parking garage in New York; no doubt the one closest to her hotel. Convenience was the name of the game.
"Why am I here in Valor?"
The question suddenly became a lot more clearer. And still a good question to ask. Why was she in Valor? The obvious was to face Zack and Benny, but why? There was no gain from it. Lisa and her wouldn't become the champions and bragging rights don't put you in the annals of anything. It was simply a match that stated the Hellcats as nothing more than a special attraction. Nothing if they win, nothing if they lose. A wash. In an eternal war with apathy, Anastasia wondered why she should even care.
"I'm here to prove a point. That's why Lisa and I are here. When you give yourself the moniker of being the best tag team in the world, you know how you actually go out and prove it? By competing. You venture into place after place and against teams who think they're good, and sometimes they are, but they're not the best in the world. They're not the Hellcats."
A decent start. Anastasia had to convince herself this would be worth it. She started to pace back and forth to come up with something; a determined look on her face to do so.
"You always hear how good this team is or how great another team is, but no one ever wants to come out and prove it. Well, luckily for you, we do. And we have. Lisa and I have this common goal of saving the dying art known as a tag team wrestling. So you want to know why I'm here? That's why I'm here. The Dead End Friends are meant to be a pretty damn good tag team, so, why not put that to the test, right? When all the competition has run out, you call in the professionals. And that's what we are."
"We're coming in not because we're wanted, but because we're needed. Without us, what would Zack and Benny be doing? Enjoying some time off?"
She paused for a moment after that to give it some thought. Ana had known Zack and Benny from their brief interactions in AWE and NJFC. In fact, they were two of the very few wrestlers out there she actually liked. Bit of a dilemma. It wasn't like facing Bronx or anyone else she liked. Those names at least had a reason she could make up to hate them.
"Well, actually, they probably would much rather prefer to do that, but that's not an option anymore. The Hellcats are here on your turf and now it's up to you two to protect it. Or protect yourselves. I don't really know where your loyalty lies and honestly, who cares? You two have to run us out of here the same way you ran out NSFW. Admittedly, I think that's going to be a challenge, but I'm a bit bias. We've had a pretty eventful year. Made a deep run in Southside, won Union's belts, Lisa won some deathmatch tournament, and I've returned to the company where I made a name for myself. And now, we're in Valor Pro Wrestling."
The way she said it sounded defeated; as if coming to Valor was beneath her. And maybe it was. Would it really matter? She shrugged for the camera as she tried to piece something together on the inside.
"I've logged in plenty of hours to showcase my talents all over and Lisa has done the same. That's only one reason why we're the best tag team in the world. The other reason, the much more important reason, is that we win a lot too. And even in the rare times we don't, we're still the best. That's been the case everywhere we've been and it certainly won't be any different in Valor. And as bad as Valor needs us...you two need us just even worse. You two need a team that you can beat and really show your worth to the company."
"Look at NSFW, they're dead and gone. Who is even left? But now the Dead End Friends have a chance to defeat the greatest team in the world. You two have so much to gain from beating us. Your value doubles just by being in the ring with the Hellcats, but what about beating them? How great would it be for the Chimera Tag Team Champions to beat us? The answer is pretty great. Not exactly the fairest of deals for us, but I'm choosing to see this as a favor. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here unless something was at stake."
Well, she wasn't necessarily wrong. This isn't how year 10 was meant to go. It was meant to be a lot more grand. More confetti and gold. Less standing in a parking garage and reflecting on what should've been. However, she was here, crossing her arms with a look of disdain on her face.
"Consider us to be saviors or something like that. 4CW needed me back and I went. Now Valor needs us and here we are. We're going to make the Chimera Tag Team Champions into household names. You guys can thank me later, don't worry. And, much like us, win or lose, you guys still come out of this having faced the best of the best. Now I'm starting to see some value in this."
And there it is. Whether she actually believed what she was saying or not is another story, but for the moment, Anastasia's vision of their run in Valor was becoming clear.
"Because regardless of what happens, we still leave here the best and you can tell whoever is left about us. You two will spread the legend of the Hellcats for us. But...that's really if we allow you to. As much as I like you two, I can't speak for Lisa. Maybe Lisa wants to roll up to 7 Pillars and crack your skulls. And if she wants to maybe do that, well, I'm obligated to help my great friend out. At that point, everything goes out the window. It's no longer an even playing field. The narrative is now about how the Hellcats came into Valor, took on their Chimera Tag Team Champions, and embarrassed them in front of everyone."
"In fact...I kind of prefer that more. Sorry, boys, you know how it goes. Nothing personal, just business. Though, I imagine at some point where I'm driving my boot through your face you could perceive that as personal and that'd be fair. Because as great as you two are, and you are pretty great, you're not as great as us. The moment we step into that ring, we become the greatest team to ever step foot inside a Valor ring. And try as hard as you can, but nothing's going to change once we get going. We'll get knocked down, but we don't stay down. We can't be stopped!"
And there it is. Again. The gears were starting to turn just a bit faster. The arrogance was starting to break through any kind of rational thinking. Her voice began to rise in volume and echo throughout the parking garage like some higher power was beginning to speak. Perhaps that's just how Ana saw herself.
"We're stepping into enemy territory with the advantage. We can't lose! And even if we do, we still win because we'll go somewhere else, to some other company that needs us, and we'll do the same thing over and over and over again. And in time, who knows, maybe we'll find ourselves back in Valor. And maybe the next time we're here, we'll stick around long enough to take those belts off of you two. But that's a future we can worry about later. For now, just worry yourselves to make it to the end of 7 Pillars."
"Everywhere we've gone, we've left a lasting impact. We either walk out with gold around our shoulders or we've at least set the bar. And as much as I shouldn't care about this match...I kind of do. I kind of like the idea of coming in here just one night and fucking you two up. No offense. We come in here, do our business, and that's it. You two can go on coasting on being the best in Valor and we'll go on actually being the best in the world."
A confident nod of the head.
"We want the best that the Dead End Friends can be because I promise you that you're going to get the absolute best that the Hellcats have to offer. You wanted the competition and now you've got it. I hope you boys can keep up just a little bit. Don't make this too boring for us. I don't care how sore you are from that scaffold match. I'm going to be competing in the Warzone of Horrors and I'll still be able to show up and kick your teeth down your throats. And I get it, I say that a lot, but eventually it's going to happen and if there was ever a time for that to happen for the first time...well, it'd be here and now."
Ana smirks at the thought of it. Bit gruesome, but why not live on the edge every now and again? But with that smirk, her sternness begins to fade away. Maybe she was starting to soften up a touch. Hell, maybe that smirk is even turning into a genuine smile.
"But I know for as easy as I make this out...it'll be anything, but that. I know that even though you two will crack your jokes, I know how fucking good you guys are. I've seen Benny get put through the ringer only to keep on fighting. I've seen Zack get knocked down countless times and get right back up. I know you two have no quit. And I respect that. So if the Dead End Friends want to prove that they're just as good as us? Be our guests. It won't be easy, but this is what you wanted."
"You got the best there is."
Ana offers a wink for the camera as she puts the bow on all this. A worthy cause to fight for after all.
"Don't fuck it up, boys."