Post by The Cosplay Playboy on Aug 25, 2015 19:26:08 GMT -6
The camera is on and this time around, their focus isn’t on the California coast and not at all anywhere near a bowling alley, thank goodness. In fact, they are actually right outside of a fairly large building with a humble logo at the top bearing the words “(R)Evolution Dojo,” located right in between Grand Avenue and Mission Boulevard in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of beautiful San Diego, California. The sun is hanging high, late morning beginning to give way to early afternoon. Highlighted in the sun’s flourishing embers stands a young woman clad in a “(R)Evolution Dojo” black t-shirt that matched the logo in the building, golden yellow sweatpants with the word “HOLLISTER” running down the left thigh and a pair of matching white, yellow and black Reebok’s, Anna Giovanna’s disposition in this roundabout was far more cheery than the last time we saw her two weeks ago by the sea.
“...Greetings, greetings. We’ll get all our talking done once we’re inside, but first and foremost...allow me to welcome you personally to the (R)Evolution Dojo.” Cracking her knuckles, Anna eyed the door and then the camera again. “Wanna know what it’s like to become a professional wrestler? Let me show you one of the many paths to do it...and the way that I did it.”
Nodding for Victoria Reid to follow along, Anna Giovanna made her way to the double doors, pulling them open and slipping in, giving the door a firm push from the other side to allow the camerawoman to make her way into it without having to stop the door from slamming into her with one of her legs or the free arm. The walls inside did show their fair share of decorations under the eggshell paint, posters of different shows that the (R)Evolution Wrestling developmental system has run over the course of the past year.
“This is where I got my start. It’s a twenty-minute drive from the UCSD campus where I went to school in and something that Jonathan Collins kept in mind when he opened the place. He wanted us to be close to the big leagues and at the same time, he wanted the big company over there running its shows at the RIMAC to glimpse at the future that would be developed in these halls. It might not be the biggest wrestling school around, but if you come here and you learn your craft? Somebody’s going to notice you. Femme Fatale Wrestling did, after all. They don’t just take strays off the street unless they know you can go toe-to-toe against some of the most talented females on the face of the planet. They’ve given me an opportunity to be here and so far, I’d daresay I have started to make the most of it.”
As they stepped further inside of this “dojo” that Victoria Reid’s camera gave them all an inside scoop on the facility that Anna Giovanna trained in, one could tell that its founder - the “Saint of Violence” Jonathan Collins - was the kind of man who always put 100 percent in everything that he did and that this facility was no different. Several wrestling rings that was being occupied by a multiple-time champion who made her name in GDW as a multi-time World champion. To the wrestling world, she was better known as “The Fallen Angel” Angela Jameson. To Anna Giovanna? She was basically a surrogate mother.
The head trainer of the (R)Evolution Dojo sat on the top turnbuckle, hunched over with her forearms resting on her knees as she watched two of her students work in the middle of the ring - stopwatch and a whistle on a pair of lanyards around her neck as she wore a white “(R)Evolution Wrestling” t-shirt, shorts and kneepads along with her wrestling boots. Anna and Victoria stopped in their tracks, not being able to help but watch, remembering what it was like to be the green in the middle of the ring.
“I can’t blame them for being wary of running the ropes,” Victoria commented, quite glad nobody could see her expression as one of the two students came off from the ropes at a slow pace to make sure they got it right underneath Angela's watching eye.
“Still your least favorite part of training, isn’t it?” Anna asked in a near whisper, looking at the camera and grinning for a moment before looking back towards the ring.
“Well, there’s a reason why I kept to the basic class and decided to invest my time in a manager’s license instead, bellissima,” Victoria retorted, observing with the camera as the students picked up the pace and not being able to help the wince as one of the students went to the mat via a shoulder tackle as the pace in the ring began to increase. “Oof...that looks like getting hit by a freight truck.”
“Yup. But hey, at least you’re not going to be some defenseless person should anybody decide to take their shot at you,” Anna replied, examining the expression on the head trainer’s face as she watched the two young hopefuls continue running through the basics. “What you’re all seeing here is part of the night classes that the (R)Evo Dojo offers. It’s a nice option for people with early school schedules or people who work day jobs to come in two to five days a week and put in the work with the hopes of getting in this industry. It doesn’t matter what level you are going for or what payment arrangements are made, the idea is that when you step inside of this Dojo, you’re here to put in work...and considering the ungodly amount of wrestling schools opening up these days, it’s nice to see a place that puts the emphasis on ethic and substance rather than just going for style and all the high-tech craze.”
Victoria has the notion of doing a close-up on Anna’s upper body and face, noticing that something more is coming from the Future Shock competitor.
“In a way, that’s exactly what Bianca Salvador brought to the table - style over substance, sizzle over steak and just an overall attitude that screamed please eliminate me with the more backtracking she did. Because we can all definitely agree that sometimes not every action you take is going to be the popular choice...but when you can’t own that until AFTER everybody votes you out? You kind of just look like nothing more than a bitter and spiteful human being. If anything, you’re proving what we’ve all known Bianca. That nature isn’t perfect. Nature’s just an asshole...and so are you.”
Glancing over in their direction, Angela met eyes with the two girls observing from a distance, offering the camera a gentle nod of her head as she slid from her perch on top of the turnbuckle.
“Alright guys, take a breath...I'll back with you in a few minutes.”
The two students gingerly made their way out through the ropes while Angela grabbed her phone from her pocket, pressed a few things on the screen and then pocketed it again before rolling out from the other side of the ring and made her way to the two women, a rare smile on her face as “The Fallen Angel” finally spoke up to the two of them.
“When you pitched this idea, mija...I was expecting way more cameras...”
Anna laughed a little nervously, rubbing the back of her head. “I know how DEMON gets around those, so I figured V would be enough.”
“Yeah, you have a point.” Angela said while finally acknowledged the camera, her expression changing from a soft smile to something a little more...stoic. “If the girls haven’t told you all by now, my name is Angela Jameson. I’m the H.B.I.C. around these parts...and yes, the B word is exactly what you all think it is. Have you two given them the whole tour yet?”
“We got distracted by the two greenhorns going through the drill,” Victoria replied while still keeping the camera on Angela, although taking a step back to put Anna on the shot as she made her way closer to the veteran who helped train her. “Class 3?”
“Yes. They’re nowhere near ready right now, but with time,” Angela said. “Anyways, let’s show them the place…as you can see by now, this one behind us is the main ring. Every couple of weeks, we’ll have the kids tune-up the ring and set-up the entire ringside area for our biweekly show here that’s actually televised on Fox Sports 1 - it’s where Anna got her in-ring start after we felt she was ready out of the Class 2 kids. When we’re not running a show, we usually have two more rings that are built and used for training...and it gives us an opportunity to work specifically with the young ones and help them find what they can do best, what they can fine tune and especially what NOT to do,” Victoria gradually takes her camera and moves it around at a moderate pace to display the other two rings - one behind them and then the one just a little past the current, main one while Angela continues speaking. “Like any good wrestling school, we’re about teaching the basics and then building on whatever it is you’re good at from there. Some of the kids here come with crazy athletic backgrounds of the likes I couldn’t replicate and some...well, to put it bluntly, they barely know the difference between a wrist lock and a wristwatch. Regardless, we teach anyone who’s willing to come in and learn the craft...”
For Anna, coming back here hadn’t been something she expected to happen - especially when putting herself in the position that there wasn’t any sort of a crutch she could hold on to if she failed to achieve greatness in Future Shock and come out victorious in its nineteenth season. When she had “graduated” the dojo and had her final match in developmental right in the center of this ring - shattering the jaw of her opponent in the process - she figured this was only going to be a place she visited years down the road when she’d accomplished many things at the global stage FFW has to offer and be able to proudly say that her training here led to all of it…
But like any kid, she had gotten a little homesick. Add that to Adam Grant telling each of the remaining girls to show the viewers around the world something different than the cookie cutter, something that would make them realize the struggles that it took to get to this point and really, to be relatable. Pathos was an important aspect in any professional wrestler’s career if they wanted to be successful. Gradually, Anna Giovanna was starting to learn that lesson - a similar lesson her own mentors had probably gone through.
But all thoughts of that sort do get interrupted and thrown right back to Earth as a larger man with...rather interesting hair or lack thereof suddenly shows up, a “(R)Evolution Dojo” t-shirt of his own along with matching black shorts and shoot boots appears right behind Anna...
“ANGELA, STOPWATCH!”
Without a second to waste, Angela Jameson’s right hand went to the stopwatch and pressed a button to start it as the man brought his hands around Anna Giovanna and seemingly attempted to place her in a sleeper hold in the process - the yell being enough for Anna to be made wary as she immediately placed her hands on the man’s bicep and pulled down enough, shrugging her shoulders up and tucking it in her chin within two seconds of being locked into it to loosen the grip before pulling and stepping out to the side, her free right hand immediately making contact with the ribs of the sleeper hold man as he reels back, the hold fully broken at this point as Angela presses the button on the remote again and glances at it.
“5.1 seconds, DEMON,” she stated, as the man holding on to his ribs looks up, a grin on his face.
Anna blinks a few times, realizing what just happened and a disappointed expression suddenly appearing on her face. “...Shit, that was the sleeper hold post-grad test thing, wasn’t it?”
“ICHIBAN effort, Anna!” The man said, looking over at Anna Giovanna’s expression. “But you still only fourth fastest person to break hold. YOU HAVE LONG WAY TO GO!”
Victoria looks around the scene confused, widening the shot on the camera so that all three people are within view as Angela takes it to explaining again. “Don’t be alarmed. This is one of the other trainers at the Dojo and by far one of my favorite people here. His name is DEMON Suzuki and when our graduates visit, he tends to throw them a test to see how fast they escape his world-famous sleeper hold. The reward for it is learning the secret behind said sleeper at any time they want it.”
DEMON Suzuki chuckles for a moment, giving the camera a rather nasty stare. “You train here, you learn from the best, but you also learn toughness. TOUGHNESS ICHIBAN! WRESTLING BUSINESS NEED ICHIBAN WRESTLERS! WE HELP CREATE THEM HERE!” DEMON exclaimed, resisting the urge to swear in Japanese because reasons. “Sometime that mean a lot of tough love given out. We give plenty of that. We not coddling environment like some other schools in world. WE ICHIBAN! MORE ICHIBAN THAN PIPSQUEAK GIRL AND PERSON SHE MANAGE! MORE ICHIBAN THAN ALL-STAR WRESTLING GYM WHO PUPILS ANNA CRUSH THIS NEXT WEEK AND DOWN ROAD OF SHOCKING FUTURE.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, settle down DEMON,” Anna puts her hands up, realizing very well they were going into fighting words with the other competitors. “We’re showing everybody the gym, not declaring war on the people I gotta fight in another day...especially since two of the people left are ASWG students and they’re both really good…”
“Even if you wanna punch Arya Quinn’s lights out more than anybody else in the competition, including Riley Riot herself,” Victoria commented behind the camera, her train of thought immediately interrupted by a DEMON.
“BUT THEY NOT ICHIBAN, ANNA! NOT! ICHIBAN! THEY NOT YOU!” DEMON exclaimed, excitement pumping through him. While he was known for being a hard-ass on the students, there was no doubt he was passionate about seeing them succeed. “YOU LEAVE TO GO INTO NOT COMFORTABLE ZONE AFTER GRADUATION! WE KNOW YOU SHOW THEM IN RING WHO MOST ICHIBAN OF FUTURE SHOCK AND WE KNOW YOU GO DO THAT! OTHER GIRLS GOOD BUT NOWHERE NEAR ICHIBAN LIKE YOU! GODDAMN FOR THEM, IN FACT! ESPECIALLY TYPHOON GIRL!”
“She just got eliminated last week,” Anna replied quickly.
“I HAVE POINT TO MAKE, ANNABELLA GIOVANNA! THIS PART OF POINT!”
“...Um, hey DEMON...not for nothing but...could you go check on the two kids that just left the ring a few minutes ago? Their break is over.” Angela asked sweetly, interrupting the trainer from going into full-fledged rant mode...something he did do while overly excited. “I’ll let you have the last donut tomorrow...”
DEMON Suzuki shoots a look of pure curiosity at Angela Jameson, who smiles as sweetly as she spoke back at him before he straightens up his posture and rubs the back of his head, nodding before he rushes the other way, yelling something out in Japanese that seems even more threatening than what he may have been about to say on-camera while Anna, Angela and Victoria all watch.
“Well, at least some things haven’t changed...” Anna stated.
Angela nodded. “You’re preaching to the choir. But DEMON does good work, as you know by now with how much you two worked together. Vanessa too, wherever she is these days...anyways, we should continue the tour.”
A nod from Anna is all that Angela Jameson needs before the head trainer leads the way towards another set of double doors which she pushes open to reveal a fluorescently lit hallway with brick walls painted in white at the top with a blue stripe at the bottom.
“Once you go through the doors here, the hall here leads to a few different areas of the building. The first two doors on each side are the locker room area - one for the guys, one for the girls. We don’t particularly believe in the notion of private locker rooms for the talent, even if you happen to hate the guts of the person dressing up right next to you. And up ahead, of course, we have the gym...”
The three of them make their way there, showcasing an area with a few treadmills and bike machines, a station filled with weights, only four machines for different exercises and enough open space to where the students here can pick their spots and go through their routines to get their gains accordingly.
“More often than not, everybody is here after either the morning or afternoon classes, depending on what stage they chose to do their training and the times in question. They’re also responsible for cleaning up after themselves,” Angela commented. “Which is something I know somebody out of your bunch in Future Shock has failed to do since the beginning. The girl with the manager with the obnoxiously fucking pink hair, I mean...”
“Riley,” Anna replied, sighing. “Arya Quinn is an absolute pain in the ass. That’s really it. I have no problems with Riley Riot outside of the fact that she hasn’t fired that woman yet for nearly costing her not once but twice during the earlier challenges. I get loyalty, you know? I do. But the fact that we’re still sitting here and having to possibly expect the megaphone and the damned pipsqueak to show up when we finally get to wrestle is rather frustrating.”
“Managers are something you’re going to have to deal with in your career, Anna,” Angela replied as the two kept walking across the gym towards another corridor. “Future Shock has had you all try some new things and with it some...unique challenges, I’ll give them that. But inside that ring? Don’t doubt it for a moment that you’re going to run into distractions along the way. Managers, advocates, consultants, whatever they wanna call themselves will be around at times for the people they represent and more than likely, they’ll make every attempt in the book to take your eyes off the prize...”
The head trainer of the (R)Evolution Dojo was the first one down the corridor with Anna following behind her, although Victoria has anticipated this as she takes a few large, quick steps passing them both and then begins to walk backward, carefully checking back with each few steps to make sure she’s not running into a wall while holding the camera steady on Anna Giovanna and Angela Jameson.
“It may have not worked in Riley Riot’s favor the first two times, but if the little Quinn shows up again, the third time might be the charm,” Jameson stated. “Watch yourself.”
“Yes ma’am,” Anna replied, as they walked from the corridor into a smaller room with a lot of chairs set-up in a similar manner to a classroom - a projector set-up a few feet past the back row and while turned off, it looked like the kind which could pack a punch. “Not surprised we’re here next on the tour, however…”
Victoria didn’t miss a beat on this one. “Well, it may be the most important spot outside of the ring, bella…” she said. “We get to study up on the stuff we did right and wrong in training and actually get to sit down and rest for a little while…”
“An important part of growing as a competitor is obviously seeing your own selves from the shows and the training footage we do grab every once in a while,” Angela explained. “Film room time is something we don’t necessarily enforce our students to come do, but if you wanna get better at doing this? You’re probably going to want to come here. Besides, who doesn’t want to watch some good wrestling matches every once in a while and learn a trick or two?”
“Like the kind of place where somebody like Echo would sink their teeth into…knowledge is power and all and they’re all about power in any semblance they can get it. They’ve proven as much over the last two challenges and made it so that even I was made aware of the reality that they’re not just dumb brawn with no brains whatsoever. Hell, it’s probably what makes them scarier than they were before I met them...they have an idea of what they are, what they represent and they’ll stop at nothing to understand whatever gaps there may be in between. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dug through the (R)Evo archives online to scout my stuff as a way of preparing for this upcoming match.
Mallory too, even...she might be the least experienced of the four of us left here, but she definitely isn’t the kind of girl who is afraid of asking questions when she has them and I’m certain the ASWG has a similar room to this one. Something where their students can cram hours of wrestling matches and intel onto their brains, take a few tricks here and there, learn them and use them when it’s least expected. She showed everybody something by winning the bull-riding challenge two weeks ago and used the Skip Card option she got to not be in the voting poll. Girl’s a sponge that’ll soak up about anything you throw her way and then get better and better. Way I see it? She’s probably the biggest threat we have in this season of absolute heavyweights, you know...gotta watch myself for that.”
Angela Jameson glances over at Anna Giovanna...and then at the camera…and suddenly, a realization finally hits the head trainer of the (R)Evolution Dojo.
“Ay Dios mio, you two are literally shooting this start to finish and streaming it, aren’t you?” their mentor asked, as she gets nothing more than a shrug and a sheepish grin from Anna’s side. “Do neither of you know how to use Final Cut or even iMovie, this is going to be crazy.”
“I wanted to show them everything, Angela,” Anna explained. “I think it’s only right…give them an exact idea of the hijinks here and how it brought me to this dance.”
“Then I guess we should show them the last stop of the tour…”
Without hesitating, Angela Jameson makes her way out from the film room, both Anna and Victoria following right behind her as Angela leads them down the corridor and all three of them eventually take a sharp left turn, finding themselves facing a door that has the medical cross sign on it…
“Um, Angela? Why are we going inside there?” Victoria asked. “None of us are injured. And that’s usually where Dr. Kuller is too, right?”
“It’ll be fine. Besides, Anna promised the audience the entire tour, didn’t you?”
Anna gulped. The trainer’s room was the place you’d come to in case of injuries and the like. There was no doubt that the doctor they had at hand here in the Dojo was a pretty good one. But there was a rather...unique aspect to him. As Angela opened the door, she allowed Anna and then Victoria to step through first and take in the environment with the clear white walls, the smell of cleaning chemicals being the stench they fought through while walking towards where the makeshift beds, first aid kit on the wall and all else that would belong in a trainer’s room now stood in front of the cameras. Well, that would be the case if you could actually see much of anything due to the room being dark with the lights off.
“Um, Mrs. Jameson...where is Dr. Kuller again?” Victoria asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
“...I’ll tell you where he’s not…”
There is a sudden realization that there is somebody behind Anna Giovanna and Victoria Reid...and it’s not Angela Jameson at all. Suddenly, the lights turn on and there is a large crowd of people all gathered in front of them, many of them wearing “(R)Evolution Dojo” t-shirts, some with their own gear but all of them immediately shouting:
“SURPRIIIIIIIIIIISEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!”
It is then that we see the camera flung up in the air as Victoria Reid seems to abandon ship while Anna Giovanna’s body goes diving onto the ground for it, her hand being the only things the lens can see as it hits it instead of the cold, hard floor. A sigh of relief can be heard from the Future Shock hopeful as the voice that was behind them speaks up again, this time in a rather disappointing tone.
“No, no, no, no...THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE, YOU GUYS! NOT SURPRISE!”
Dr. Cyril Kuller, the head doctor of (R)Evolution Dojo - and (R)Evolution Wrestling as well - shakes his head, bright blue eyes looking at the members inside the room with a bit of discontent as if he had been planning this for a while now. Before Anna realizes it, the camera is taken from her hands by Angela Jameson who brings it back to focus it on the other fellow and current students of the (R)Evolution Dojo and a particular “Welcome Back Anna - You’re Safe” banner hung above them in the infirmary. People like Gunnar Stahl, Caleb Storm, Anderson Cobalt, EXPLOSIVO and many other current members of the roster of (R)Evolution Wrestling that are still hard at training until their own graduation.
“...Wait, guys? What’s going on here?” Anna asked, finally standing up and clutching on to her chest given the tumble dive she took to save the camera.
While the camera didn’t show it, Angela Jameson was grinning from ear-to-ear. “We’ve been planning this for a while,” Angela replied. “Ever since you asked me to come back to the school and give the tour.”
Anna blinks a few times, as now Victoria Reid is seen joining the fellows and ladies of the Dojo standing there with grins on their faces. “Sorry, bella...it was a part of the plan. Couldn’t say a word.”
“But why, exactly?” Anna asked, blinking. “I...um...like, thank you but...I don’t get it.”
“You mentioned that you don’t have a crutch compared to some of the other girls in that competition you’re on recently, Anna,” Dr. Cyril Kuller stated, joining the fray as well. “We...well...we were surprised. But we know you do this whole thing where you’re relatively proud and you don’t ask for help like ever unless either Angela, DEMON or Vanessa OR ONE OF MY ROBOT HANDS were beating the questions out of you during training. So, we had this idea.”
“THE MOST ICHIBAN IDEA! I MADE BANNER!” DEMON Suzuki stated.
“Yes, yes he did,” Victoria replied, almost as if they were either forced to help or do squats if they didn’t assist him. “We wanted to show you that regardless of circumstances, never for a second believe that you’re alone in this journey. We’ve been watching it. We’ve all been voting for anyone but you to be eliminated...like, a lot. And now that you’re going to get into the ring, we know you’re going to kick some ass like no other.”
“Holy shit you guys,” Anna said, finally letting this all sink in. “I...um, shit, I feel like such a jerk right now for saying what I did say.”
“We know why you did, but never forget it…” Angela Jameson said as she closed in on Anna Giovanna. “You’re not alone in this journey. Like you said before, you are representing every single person in this Dojo and showing the world that any of us here can chase the dream of becoming a professional wrestler at the highest stage possible. But even if you fall, for whatever reason that may be...don’t ever think you don’t have somewhere to come back to, Anna.”
She paused, inhaling for a moment. Breathing in and out slowly, all while trying to hold back her own set of tears at the sudden surprise arranged by the people she spent the entirety of a year training with and learning the craft of professional wrestling and it takes her a few moments, plus a hug from her own best friend in Victoria Reid to calm her nerves enough to finally speak up again.
“...I came here to become a professional wrestler...and it was here that I got to learn how to do that. But after today? ...Well, I can firmly say that I got something far, far greater than that...and that’s family. That’s each and every single one of the people here with me today. So regardless of what may happen, regardless of what may come during Future Shock, these are the people that I want to fight for. The people I want to prove right. So come Episode 3, girls? We’re going to war in a fatal fourway. Bring on the nukes, ladies…I promise to do the exact same.
Because my name is Anna Giovanna...and I...
...I am the (R)Evolution!”
Fade to black.
“...Greetings, greetings. We’ll get all our talking done once we’re inside, but first and foremost...allow me to welcome you personally to the (R)Evolution Dojo.” Cracking her knuckles, Anna eyed the door and then the camera again. “Wanna know what it’s like to become a professional wrestler? Let me show you one of the many paths to do it...and the way that I did it.”
Nodding for Victoria Reid to follow along, Anna Giovanna made her way to the double doors, pulling them open and slipping in, giving the door a firm push from the other side to allow the camerawoman to make her way into it without having to stop the door from slamming into her with one of her legs or the free arm. The walls inside did show their fair share of decorations under the eggshell paint, posters of different shows that the (R)Evolution Wrestling developmental system has run over the course of the past year.
“This is where I got my start. It’s a twenty-minute drive from the UCSD campus where I went to school in and something that Jonathan Collins kept in mind when he opened the place. He wanted us to be close to the big leagues and at the same time, he wanted the big company over there running its shows at the RIMAC to glimpse at the future that would be developed in these halls. It might not be the biggest wrestling school around, but if you come here and you learn your craft? Somebody’s going to notice you. Femme Fatale Wrestling did, after all. They don’t just take strays off the street unless they know you can go toe-to-toe against some of the most talented females on the face of the planet. They’ve given me an opportunity to be here and so far, I’d daresay I have started to make the most of it.”
As they stepped further inside of this “dojo” that Victoria Reid’s camera gave them all an inside scoop on the facility that Anna Giovanna trained in, one could tell that its founder - the “Saint of Violence” Jonathan Collins - was the kind of man who always put 100 percent in everything that he did and that this facility was no different. Several wrestling rings that was being occupied by a multiple-time champion who made her name in GDW as a multi-time World champion. To the wrestling world, she was better known as “The Fallen Angel” Angela Jameson. To Anna Giovanna? She was basically a surrogate mother.
The head trainer of the (R)Evolution Dojo sat on the top turnbuckle, hunched over with her forearms resting on her knees as she watched two of her students work in the middle of the ring - stopwatch and a whistle on a pair of lanyards around her neck as she wore a white “(R)Evolution Wrestling” t-shirt, shorts and kneepads along with her wrestling boots. Anna and Victoria stopped in their tracks, not being able to help but watch, remembering what it was like to be the green in the middle of the ring.
“I can’t blame them for being wary of running the ropes,” Victoria commented, quite glad nobody could see her expression as one of the two students came off from the ropes at a slow pace to make sure they got it right underneath Angela's watching eye.
“Still your least favorite part of training, isn’t it?” Anna asked in a near whisper, looking at the camera and grinning for a moment before looking back towards the ring.
“Well, there’s a reason why I kept to the basic class and decided to invest my time in a manager’s license instead, bellissima,” Victoria retorted, observing with the camera as the students picked up the pace and not being able to help the wince as one of the students went to the mat via a shoulder tackle as the pace in the ring began to increase. “Oof...that looks like getting hit by a freight truck.”
“Yup. But hey, at least you’re not going to be some defenseless person should anybody decide to take their shot at you,” Anna replied, examining the expression on the head trainer’s face as she watched the two young hopefuls continue running through the basics. “What you’re all seeing here is part of the night classes that the (R)Evo Dojo offers. It’s a nice option for people with early school schedules or people who work day jobs to come in two to five days a week and put in the work with the hopes of getting in this industry. It doesn’t matter what level you are going for or what payment arrangements are made, the idea is that when you step inside of this Dojo, you’re here to put in work...and considering the ungodly amount of wrestling schools opening up these days, it’s nice to see a place that puts the emphasis on ethic and substance rather than just going for style and all the high-tech craze.”
Victoria has the notion of doing a close-up on Anna’s upper body and face, noticing that something more is coming from the Future Shock competitor.
“In a way, that’s exactly what Bianca Salvador brought to the table - style over substance, sizzle over steak and just an overall attitude that screamed please eliminate me with the more backtracking she did. Because we can all definitely agree that sometimes not every action you take is going to be the popular choice...but when you can’t own that until AFTER everybody votes you out? You kind of just look like nothing more than a bitter and spiteful human being. If anything, you’re proving what we’ve all known Bianca. That nature isn’t perfect. Nature’s just an asshole...and so are you.”
Glancing over in their direction, Angela met eyes with the two girls observing from a distance, offering the camera a gentle nod of her head as she slid from her perch on top of the turnbuckle.
“Alright guys, take a breath...I'll back with you in a few minutes.”
The two students gingerly made their way out through the ropes while Angela grabbed her phone from her pocket, pressed a few things on the screen and then pocketed it again before rolling out from the other side of the ring and made her way to the two women, a rare smile on her face as “The Fallen Angel” finally spoke up to the two of them.
“When you pitched this idea, mija...I was expecting way more cameras...”
Anna laughed a little nervously, rubbing the back of her head. “I know how DEMON gets around those, so I figured V would be enough.”
“Yeah, you have a point.” Angela said while finally acknowledged the camera, her expression changing from a soft smile to something a little more...stoic. “If the girls haven’t told you all by now, my name is Angela Jameson. I’m the H.B.I.C. around these parts...and yes, the B word is exactly what you all think it is. Have you two given them the whole tour yet?”
“We got distracted by the two greenhorns going through the drill,” Victoria replied while still keeping the camera on Angela, although taking a step back to put Anna on the shot as she made her way closer to the veteran who helped train her. “Class 3?”
“Yes. They’re nowhere near ready right now, but with time,” Angela said. “Anyways, let’s show them the place…as you can see by now, this one behind us is the main ring. Every couple of weeks, we’ll have the kids tune-up the ring and set-up the entire ringside area for our biweekly show here that’s actually televised on Fox Sports 1 - it’s where Anna got her in-ring start after we felt she was ready out of the Class 2 kids. When we’re not running a show, we usually have two more rings that are built and used for training...and it gives us an opportunity to work specifically with the young ones and help them find what they can do best, what they can fine tune and especially what NOT to do,” Victoria gradually takes her camera and moves it around at a moderate pace to display the other two rings - one behind them and then the one just a little past the current, main one while Angela continues speaking. “Like any good wrestling school, we’re about teaching the basics and then building on whatever it is you’re good at from there. Some of the kids here come with crazy athletic backgrounds of the likes I couldn’t replicate and some...well, to put it bluntly, they barely know the difference between a wrist lock and a wristwatch. Regardless, we teach anyone who’s willing to come in and learn the craft...”
For Anna, coming back here hadn’t been something she expected to happen - especially when putting herself in the position that there wasn’t any sort of a crutch she could hold on to if she failed to achieve greatness in Future Shock and come out victorious in its nineteenth season. When she had “graduated” the dojo and had her final match in developmental right in the center of this ring - shattering the jaw of her opponent in the process - she figured this was only going to be a place she visited years down the road when she’d accomplished many things at the global stage FFW has to offer and be able to proudly say that her training here led to all of it…
But like any kid, she had gotten a little homesick. Add that to Adam Grant telling each of the remaining girls to show the viewers around the world something different than the cookie cutter, something that would make them realize the struggles that it took to get to this point and really, to be relatable. Pathos was an important aspect in any professional wrestler’s career if they wanted to be successful. Gradually, Anna Giovanna was starting to learn that lesson - a similar lesson her own mentors had probably gone through.
But all thoughts of that sort do get interrupted and thrown right back to Earth as a larger man with...rather interesting hair or lack thereof suddenly shows up, a “(R)Evolution Dojo” t-shirt of his own along with matching black shorts and shoot boots appears right behind Anna...
“ANGELA, STOPWATCH!”
Without a second to waste, Angela Jameson’s right hand went to the stopwatch and pressed a button to start it as the man brought his hands around Anna Giovanna and seemingly attempted to place her in a sleeper hold in the process - the yell being enough for Anna to be made wary as she immediately placed her hands on the man’s bicep and pulled down enough, shrugging her shoulders up and tucking it in her chin within two seconds of being locked into it to loosen the grip before pulling and stepping out to the side, her free right hand immediately making contact with the ribs of the sleeper hold man as he reels back, the hold fully broken at this point as Angela presses the button on the remote again and glances at it.
“5.1 seconds, DEMON,” she stated, as the man holding on to his ribs looks up, a grin on his face.
Anna blinks a few times, realizing what just happened and a disappointed expression suddenly appearing on her face. “...Shit, that was the sleeper hold post-grad test thing, wasn’t it?”
“ICHIBAN effort, Anna!” The man said, looking over at Anna Giovanna’s expression. “But you still only fourth fastest person to break hold. YOU HAVE LONG WAY TO GO!”
Victoria looks around the scene confused, widening the shot on the camera so that all three people are within view as Angela takes it to explaining again. “Don’t be alarmed. This is one of the other trainers at the Dojo and by far one of my favorite people here. His name is DEMON Suzuki and when our graduates visit, he tends to throw them a test to see how fast they escape his world-famous sleeper hold. The reward for it is learning the secret behind said sleeper at any time they want it.”
DEMON Suzuki chuckles for a moment, giving the camera a rather nasty stare. “You train here, you learn from the best, but you also learn toughness. TOUGHNESS ICHIBAN! WRESTLING BUSINESS NEED ICHIBAN WRESTLERS! WE HELP CREATE THEM HERE!” DEMON exclaimed, resisting the urge to swear in Japanese because reasons. “Sometime that mean a lot of tough love given out. We give plenty of that. We not coddling environment like some other schools in world. WE ICHIBAN! MORE ICHIBAN THAN PIPSQUEAK GIRL AND PERSON SHE MANAGE! MORE ICHIBAN THAN ALL-STAR WRESTLING GYM WHO PUPILS ANNA CRUSH THIS NEXT WEEK AND DOWN ROAD OF SHOCKING FUTURE.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, settle down DEMON,” Anna puts her hands up, realizing very well they were going into fighting words with the other competitors. “We’re showing everybody the gym, not declaring war on the people I gotta fight in another day...especially since two of the people left are ASWG students and they’re both really good…”
“Even if you wanna punch Arya Quinn’s lights out more than anybody else in the competition, including Riley Riot herself,” Victoria commented behind the camera, her train of thought immediately interrupted by a DEMON.
“BUT THEY NOT ICHIBAN, ANNA! NOT! ICHIBAN! THEY NOT YOU!” DEMON exclaimed, excitement pumping through him. While he was known for being a hard-ass on the students, there was no doubt he was passionate about seeing them succeed. “YOU LEAVE TO GO INTO NOT COMFORTABLE ZONE AFTER GRADUATION! WE KNOW YOU SHOW THEM IN RING WHO MOST ICHIBAN OF FUTURE SHOCK AND WE KNOW YOU GO DO THAT! OTHER GIRLS GOOD BUT NOWHERE NEAR ICHIBAN LIKE YOU! GODDAMN FOR THEM, IN FACT! ESPECIALLY TYPHOON GIRL!”
“She just got eliminated last week,” Anna replied quickly.
“I HAVE POINT TO MAKE, ANNABELLA GIOVANNA! THIS PART OF POINT!”
“...Um, hey DEMON...not for nothing but...could you go check on the two kids that just left the ring a few minutes ago? Their break is over.” Angela asked sweetly, interrupting the trainer from going into full-fledged rant mode...something he did do while overly excited. “I’ll let you have the last donut tomorrow...”
DEMON Suzuki shoots a look of pure curiosity at Angela Jameson, who smiles as sweetly as she spoke back at him before he straightens up his posture and rubs the back of his head, nodding before he rushes the other way, yelling something out in Japanese that seems even more threatening than what he may have been about to say on-camera while Anna, Angela and Victoria all watch.
“Well, at least some things haven’t changed...” Anna stated.
Angela nodded. “You’re preaching to the choir. But DEMON does good work, as you know by now with how much you two worked together. Vanessa too, wherever she is these days...anyways, we should continue the tour.”
A nod from Anna is all that Angela Jameson needs before the head trainer leads the way towards another set of double doors which she pushes open to reveal a fluorescently lit hallway with brick walls painted in white at the top with a blue stripe at the bottom.
“Once you go through the doors here, the hall here leads to a few different areas of the building. The first two doors on each side are the locker room area - one for the guys, one for the girls. We don’t particularly believe in the notion of private locker rooms for the talent, even if you happen to hate the guts of the person dressing up right next to you. And up ahead, of course, we have the gym...”
The three of them make their way there, showcasing an area with a few treadmills and bike machines, a station filled with weights, only four machines for different exercises and enough open space to where the students here can pick their spots and go through their routines to get their gains accordingly.
“More often than not, everybody is here after either the morning or afternoon classes, depending on what stage they chose to do their training and the times in question. They’re also responsible for cleaning up after themselves,” Angela commented. “Which is something I know somebody out of your bunch in Future Shock has failed to do since the beginning. The girl with the manager with the obnoxiously fucking pink hair, I mean...”
“Riley,” Anna replied, sighing. “Arya Quinn is an absolute pain in the ass. That’s really it. I have no problems with Riley Riot outside of the fact that she hasn’t fired that woman yet for nearly costing her not once but twice during the earlier challenges. I get loyalty, you know? I do. But the fact that we’re still sitting here and having to possibly expect the megaphone and the damned pipsqueak to show up when we finally get to wrestle is rather frustrating.”
“Managers are something you’re going to have to deal with in your career, Anna,” Angela replied as the two kept walking across the gym towards another corridor. “Future Shock has had you all try some new things and with it some...unique challenges, I’ll give them that. But inside that ring? Don’t doubt it for a moment that you’re going to run into distractions along the way. Managers, advocates, consultants, whatever they wanna call themselves will be around at times for the people they represent and more than likely, they’ll make every attempt in the book to take your eyes off the prize...”
The head trainer of the (R)Evolution Dojo was the first one down the corridor with Anna following behind her, although Victoria has anticipated this as she takes a few large, quick steps passing them both and then begins to walk backward, carefully checking back with each few steps to make sure she’s not running into a wall while holding the camera steady on Anna Giovanna and Angela Jameson.
“It may have not worked in Riley Riot’s favor the first two times, but if the little Quinn shows up again, the third time might be the charm,” Jameson stated. “Watch yourself.”
“Yes ma’am,” Anna replied, as they walked from the corridor into a smaller room with a lot of chairs set-up in a similar manner to a classroom - a projector set-up a few feet past the back row and while turned off, it looked like the kind which could pack a punch. “Not surprised we’re here next on the tour, however…”
Victoria didn’t miss a beat on this one. “Well, it may be the most important spot outside of the ring, bella…” she said. “We get to study up on the stuff we did right and wrong in training and actually get to sit down and rest for a little while…”
“An important part of growing as a competitor is obviously seeing your own selves from the shows and the training footage we do grab every once in a while,” Angela explained. “Film room time is something we don’t necessarily enforce our students to come do, but if you wanna get better at doing this? You’re probably going to want to come here. Besides, who doesn’t want to watch some good wrestling matches every once in a while and learn a trick or two?”
“Like the kind of place where somebody like Echo would sink their teeth into…knowledge is power and all and they’re all about power in any semblance they can get it. They’ve proven as much over the last two challenges and made it so that even I was made aware of the reality that they’re not just dumb brawn with no brains whatsoever. Hell, it’s probably what makes them scarier than they were before I met them...they have an idea of what they are, what they represent and they’ll stop at nothing to understand whatever gaps there may be in between. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dug through the (R)Evo archives online to scout my stuff as a way of preparing for this upcoming match.
Mallory too, even...she might be the least experienced of the four of us left here, but she definitely isn’t the kind of girl who is afraid of asking questions when she has them and I’m certain the ASWG has a similar room to this one. Something where their students can cram hours of wrestling matches and intel onto their brains, take a few tricks here and there, learn them and use them when it’s least expected. She showed everybody something by winning the bull-riding challenge two weeks ago and used the Skip Card option she got to not be in the voting poll. Girl’s a sponge that’ll soak up about anything you throw her way and then get better and better. Way I see it? She’s probably the biggest threat we have in this season of absolute heavyweights, you know...gotta watch myself for that.”
Angela Jameson glances over at Anna Giovanna...and then at the camera…and suddenly, a realization finally hits the head trainer of the (R)Evolution Dojo.
“Ay Dios mio, you two are literally shooting this start to finish and streaming it, aren’t you?” their mentor asked, as she gets nothing more than a shrug and a sheepish grin from Anna’s side. “Do neither of you know how to use Final Cut or even iMovie, this is going to be crazy.”
“I wanted to show them everything, Angela,” Anna explained. “I think it’s only right…give them an exact idea of the hijinks here and how it brought me to this dance.”
“Then I guess we should show them the last stop of the tour…”
Without hesitating, Angela Jameson makes her way out from the film room, both Anna and Victoria following right behind her as Angela leads them down the corridor and all three of them eventually take a sharp left turn, finding themselves facing a door that has the medical cross sign on it…
“Um, Angela? Why are we going inside there?” Victoria asked. “None of us are injured. And that’s usually where Dr. Kuller is too, right?”
“It’ll be fine. Besides, Anna promised the audience the entire tour, didn’t you?”
Anna gulped. The trainer’s room was the place you’d come to in case of injuries and the like. There was no doubt that the doctor they had at hand here in the Dojo was a pretty good one. But there was a rather...unique aspect to him. As Angela opened the door, she allowed Anna and then Victoria to step through first and take in the environment with the clear white walls, the smell of cleaning chemicals being the stench they fought through while walking towards where the makeshift beds, first aid kit on the wall and all else that would belong in a trainer’s room now stood in front of the cameras. Well, that would be the case if you could actually see much of anything due to the room being dark with the lights off.
“Um, Mrs. Jameson...where is Dr. Kuller again?” Victoria asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
“...I’ll tell you where he’s not…”
There is a sudden realization that there is somebody behind Anna Giovanna and Victoria Reid...and it’s not Angela Jameson at all. Suddenly, the lights turn on and there is a large crowd of people all gathered in front of them, many of them wearing “(R)Evolution Dojo” t-shirts, some with their own gear but all of them immediately shouting:
“SURPRIIIIIIIIIIISEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!”
It is then that we see the camera flung up in the air as Victoria Reid seems to abandon ship while Anna Giovanna’s body goes diving onto the ground for it, her hand being the only things the lens can see as it hits it instead of the cold, hard floor. A sigh of relief can be heard from the Future Shock hopeful as the voice that was behind them speaks up again, this time in a rather disappointing tone.
“No, no, no, no...THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE, YOU GUYS! NOT SURPRISE!”
Dr. Cyril Kuller, the head doctor of (R)Evolution Dojo - and (R)Evolution Wrestling as well - shakes his head, bright blue eyes looking at the members inside the room with a bit of discontent as if he had been planning this for a while now. Before Anna realizes it, the camera is taken from her hands by Angela Jameson who brings it back to focus it on the other fellow and current students of the (R)Evolution Dojo and a particular “Welcome Back Anna - You’re Safe” banner hung above them in the infirmary. People like Gunnar Stahl, Caleb Storm, Anderson Cobalt, EXPLOSIVO and many other current members of the roster of (R)Evolution Wrestling that are still hard at training until their own graduation.
“...Wait, guys? What’s going on here?” Anna asked, finally standing up and clutching on to her chest given the tumble dive she took to save the camera.
While the camera didn’t show it, Angela Jameson was grinning from ear-to-ear. “We’ve been planning this for a while,” Angela replied. “Ever since you asked me to come back to the school and give the tour.”
Anna blinks a few times, as now Victoria Reid is seen joining the fellows and ladies of the Dojo standing there with grins on their faces. “Sorry, bella...it was a part of the plan. Couldn’t say a word.”
“But why, exactly?” Anna asked, blinking. “I...um...like, thank you but...I don’t get it.”
“You mentioned that you don’t have a crutch compared to some of the other girls in that competition you’re on recently, Anna,” Dr. Cyril Kuller stated, joining the fray as well. “We...well...we were surprised. But we know you do this whole thing where you’re relatively proud and you don’t ask for help like ever unless either Angela, DEMON or Vanessa OR ONE OF MY ROBOT HANDS were beating the questions out of you during training. So, we had this idea.”
“THE MOST ICHIBAN IDEA! I MADE BANNER!” DEMON Suzuki stated.
“Yes, yes he did,” Victoria replied, almost as if they were either forced to help or do squats if they didn’t assist him. “We wanted to show you that regardless of circumstances, never for a second believe that you’re alone in this journey. We’ve been watching it. We’ve all been voting for anyone but you to be eliminated...like, a lot. And now that you’re going to get into the ring, we know you’re going to kick some ass like no other.”
“Holy shit you guys,” Anna said, finally letting this all sink in. “I...um, shit, I feel like such a jerk right now for saying what I did say.”
“We know why you did, but never forget it…” Angela Jameson said as she closed in on Anna Giovanna. “You’re not alone in this journey. Like you said before, you are representing every single person in this Dojo and showing the world that any of us here can chase the dream of becoming a professional wrestler at the highest stage possible. But even if you fall, for whatever reason that may be...don’t ever think you don’t have somewhere to come back to, Anna.”
She paused, inhaling for a moment. Breathing in and out slowly, all while trying to hold back her own set of tears at the sudden surprise arranged by the people she spent the entirety of a year training with and learning the craft of professional wrestling and it takes her a few moments, plus a hug from her own best friend in Victoria Reid to calm her nerves enough to finally speak up again.
“...I came here to become a professional wrestler...and it was here that I got to learn how to do that. But after today? ...Well, I can firmly say that I got something far, far greater than that...and that’s family. That’s each and every single one of the people here with me today. So regardless of what may happen, regardless of what may come during Future Shock, these are the people that I want to fight for. The people I want to prove right. So come Episode 3, girls? We’re going to war in a fatal fourway. Bring on the nukes, ladies…I promise to do the exact same.
Because my name is Anna Giovanna...and I...
...I am the (R)Evolution!”
Fade to black.
