Vancouver
Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Despite the sudden match card announcement, every last seat sold out within twenty minutes of tickets going on sale—a staggering feat.
The card opened with two singles matches for wrestlers who hadn't made the tournament, then dove straight into the Round of 16.
1. Joshua vs. 2. Sandy Orton
3. Chris Jacob vs. 4. Frank (New Powers)
5. Gilbert Jensen vs. 6. Brooks Reed (Visions)
1. Nadia Jackson vs. 2. Cornelia
3. Mariah Monroe vs. 4. Olivia
5. Mizuki Miho vs. 6. Hailey
Aside from TPA's Olivia and Mizuki, who'd come over from Japan, every name on that list was one any WWO fan would recognize. Not that Olivia was exactly unknown either—she'd already shown overwhelming power in her clashes against Smash Down and Law.
Casey climbed into the ring to kick off the West Coast tour. Standing in front of a crowd of nearly twenty thousand, she was shaking hard. The brand launch had drawn barely more than two thousand people. The pressure tonight was in a completely different league.
Your face is too stiff right now. Take a breath.
The producer's voice came through the earpiece hidden under her hair on the left side.
"Ahem. Ahem."
She cleared her throat and waited for the crowd's roar to die down. It took longer than expected—nearly two full minutes.
"Vancouver! How are you doing?"
— YEAH!!! —
"Wow! The energy in here is unreal. I'm even more nervous than I was at the brand launch."
The producer and Jane kept feeding her lines through the earpiece, so she never quite lost her place. Even so, cold sweat was pouring down her back.
"Mom and Dad really dropped the ball on this one. Ignoring a city with fans this passionate for years? We'll do everything we can to make sure we come back regularly from now on."
She finished the opening in a blur and climbed down from the ring. All the way down the ramp, fans along the barricades kept shouting Charina's name.
Charina wasn't even scheduled to appear tonight…
That thought followed her all the way back to Gorilla Position. Casey still lacked the experience to run a full show as brand head, so John Michaels and Paulo Hackman were helping direct things from there.
"Good work."
"You did fine."
"Honestly, nobody wants to walk out in front of twenty thousand people."
"You did great."
The people waiting inside offered their encouragement, and once she caught her breath, she started to settle down a little.
"Wow—how did Mom do this at seventeen?"
"Your mom was always a little special. You did well too."
Casey answered John with a small nod of acknowledgment, then got to the real problem.
"But there are way too many Charina fans out there. She wasn't planned for tonight. What do we do?"
"What do you mean, what do we do? We put her out."
"Uncle! We're already tight on time. If we only give her two or three minutes and pull her back, people will just get mad."
Casey bristled at John's easy optimism.
"Heh. There's always a way. Just wait."
They opened with a match that had nothing to do with the tournament—Paul of New Powers, also sitting out the bracket, against Josh Blade, another NEXT graduate who wasn't competing. Match one was pure atmosphere, a warm-up. The real show started with match two.
Mariah Monroe versus Olivia came first. When the beautiful Mariah Monroe made her entrance, the crowd reacted in a completely different register from the opener. With a minimum of fifteen minutes allotted for tournament bouts, the match turned into a real scrap—a solid contest. Olivia finished it with a surprise spear into a powerbomb.
A few people in the seats looked disappointed at Mariah's loss. Probably the ones who'd lost the night's winner-prediction pool.
The card kept rolling. Brooks Reed won as expected. Hailey took her match too.
While the fifth match—Nadia versus Cornelia—was still underway, Frank and Jacob, booked for the sixth, walked into Gorilla Position. Jacob had a tail trailing behind him.
"Charina?"
"John told me to put her at ringside."
Casey shot him a look; Jacob answered like he couldn't see what the problem was.
"Ah—no. She's not running in, right?"
"Just watching. When I heard I could see my teacher's return match from right up front, I came straight over."
Charina looked like she'd literally just walked in—jeans and a hoodie.
"Rina! What are you wearing? Go change."
Jane said exactly what Casey had been thinking.
"Huh?"
"Go put on something pretty. Something sexy."
"I only brought my wrestling gear."
Jane squeezed her eyes shut like the words had given her a headache.
"Go see Vianna. She always packs a ton of clothes. Borrow a pair of shorts at least."
"Yes, ma'am."
Charina bolted out of the room.
"That girl genuinely has no idea how to dress herself. Ugh!"
"She's just pure."
"Pure? Do you have any idea how cunning she is?"
"Why are you yelling at me?"
Jane and John bickered while they waited. About five minutes later, Charina came back—without the jeans.
"Hey! Where are the pants?"
Jane practically shouted it.
"I've got my wrestling gear on underneath. The hoodie's oversized, so it just looks like a dress, right?"
"And Vianna?"
"Vianna barely brought anything either. Wrong size anyway. Selma only packed wrestling gear too."
Casey was the one who answered that.
"It's a no-pants look, but I think it'll be fine."
"Agreed. She's wrestled in bikini gear before. This is nothing."
"It actually looks even hotter than that. The crowd's going to eat it up."
Once John and Hackman both signed off, Jane gave a reluctant nod of surrender. While they'd been talking, Nadia had won, and match five was over.
"Ugh. Fine. Nothing we can do."
"Next time I'll pack spare clothes."
"Haah. Okay."
Frank, who hadn't been able to take his eyes off Charina, headed out first. Jacob and Charina walked out together.
I barely knew most of the wrestlers on the card, so I'd been watching with total focus. I was deep into it when Jacob found me. Between one thing and another, I'd only managed the briefest conversations with him so far.
"Rina. Be my sidekick tonight."
"What?"
"Not a run-in or anything. The Vancouver crowd wants to see you, but they can't carve out a proper entrance slot. So this is a way to put you in front of them—even if it's just as a sidekick. What do you say?"
"I'd love to. It's an honor."
"Honor, nothing. Let's go."
"Yes."
I went along without thinking, and Jane immediately started picking apart my clothes. How was I supposed to know something like this was going to happen?
Which brought me to Vianna.
"Every single pair is too big in the waist. The hips don't fit either. What even is your waist size?"
"Twenty-three inches."
"Ha! How do you even survive with a body like that? Put on some weight."
"I don't. No matter how much I eat, I don't gain."
"Ugh! You're so annoying! Get out of here!"
Vianna flung the clothes she was holding at my face. I caught them carefully, put them back in her hands, and went looking for Selma. Selma, like me, had only brought wrestling gear.
Which was how I ended up walking out in bikini wrestling gear under a hoodie.
"So… I don't have to get involved in the match at all, right?"
"Of course not…. Though Frank looked like he was completely losing it…."
"Yeah, he did seem a little off. He'll lock in once he's in the ring, though."
"He will. Sit in a chair, actually work the sidekick spot—whatever you want."
"If I get involved, it just puts a stain on your win, teacher. I'll stay quiet."
"Pfft. Fine."
The theme Jacob had written himself started playing, and he walked out.
Being Canadian was already an advantage in Vancouver.
The second the introduction hit, I stepped out onto the stage and took my place beside Jacob. I knew I was wearing something underneath, but a no-pants look was still a no-pants look. The almost-but-not-quite reveal was always hotter than the real thing.
Jacob led the way. I followed half a step behind. I high-fived a few fans, then scanned the ringside area.
"Charina!"
"I love you, Charina!"
I smiled and waved at the people shouting over the barricade.
Alright. Where am I sitting?
I lifted the ring apron and pulled out a steel chair.
— Oh my God! —
— Oh!! —
The crowd lost its mind. I was just trying to sit down—why were they reacting like that?
I unfolded the chair next to Booker K, the commentator I'd gotten a little closer to while watching him coach Selma on technique, and sat down. Booker handed me a headset. I put it on immediately. He nodded for me to say hello.
"Hi, everyone. This is Charina."
"Wow! What brings you over here?"
"I wanted to watch my teacher's return match up close."
"Damn it! Why is it always only Mac and Jacob who get called teacher?"
"Probably because they had the biggest influence on my wrestling. They were the wrestlers I loved most! You should take on a student of your own, Booker K."
"I was already planning on it."
I exchanged greetings with Max Joseph, who was handling play-by-play and color alongside him.
"Charina. Who do you like in this match?"
"Jacob, obviously. Teacher was already running hot, and hearing that his next match is Sandy Orton only turned the heat up higher."
"Alright then—Sandy Orton versus Jacob. Who wins that one?"
"Hmm. Doesn't that come down to who shows up in better condition on the night?"
Max kept tugging at every loose thread. It felt like he was hoping I'd flounder.
"And if both of them are in great condition?"
"Then Teacher Jacob wins. A guy just coming back from injury and a guy who's been wrestling right up until now aren't the same thing."
Booker spun a hand in a keep-going gesture. A cue must have come down from Gorilla Position.
"When you say Sandy Orton, you think RKO."
"Right."
"With the back injury, he might be protecting himself a little, don't you think?"
"On the other hand, Jacob's gotten old. The body's not what it used to be."
"I still believe he can light it up for one match."
The bout was already underway, and the early going was a real back-and-forth. I'd never worked with the men's roster, so I'd been wondering why they'd booked Frank from the New Powers tag team as the opponent for Jacob's return. I'd even wondered if they were going for a squash.
Once the match opened up, though, the chemistry was excellent. Their builds were similar enough to play to Jacob's strengths, and more than anything, Frank's selling was outstanding.
— THUD —
On a simple slam, he deliberately skipped the breakfall and took it flat on his back. The sound cracked through the arena. When Jacob came in with a running knee, Frank met it with his shoulder instead of his hands, ate it clean, and rolled out. The creative team hadn't thrown Frank in there on a whim.
I need to get closer and really watch this one.
"I'm going to get a little closer."
I took off the headset and stepped right up to the ringside.