Halloween Battle, Part 2
The moment I stepped backstage, the cameramen and production crew broke into applause.
"Great work out there."
"That was incredible, Charina."
"You're not actually hurt, right? You're okay?"
I smiled and thanked them.
"I'm fine. Not hurt at all."
"Now I get why they call you a rising star. That was the best."
"Thank you."
I bowed once more in greeting, then made my way toward Gorilla Position.
Stacey was the first to welcome me. The second she saw me, she pulled me into a tight hug.
"Where do they even make cash cows like you? You were incredible. You're really not hurt?"
She rattled it off like a freestyle rap.
"Ah — yes. I'm fine. Charlotte's offense moves were clean, so I'm okay."
"Really? Thank god. You did amazing."
"Thank you."
"But what the hell did you hit that ring post with to make a sound like that?"
"My fist."
"What? Are you okay? Let me see your hand."
"I'm really fine. Doesn't even hurt."
Stacey took my hand and checked it over. Finding no swelling of any kind, she let out a sigh of relief.
Part of me wondered why this woman was fussing so much. Another part of me figured she was just protecting what she expected to become a cash cow. Either way, the concern felt genuine — and I was sincerely grateful for it.
Paul gave me a light hug as well, clapping me on the back.
"John and Jane told me to keep my expectations high. That match earned it. The selling especially — that was excellent. Well done."
"Thank you."
I took praise from the others too. John simply raised a thumb and crooked a smile at the corner of his mouth.
And finally, Jane.
Jane handed me a wet wipe first and told me to clean off the blood.
"That second nosebleed wasn't in the plan."
"I wanted it to look a little more desperate. How was it?"
"Good call, honestly — but your body's already fragile enough. You're going to give yourself anemia."
"Come on. From just that? I'm really fine. I'll eat plenty of other people's flesh later."
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Other people's flesh?"
Stacey, standing beside us, wanted to know what that meant, so I explained — beef, pork.
"Haha. Other people's flesh. Yeah, I guess that tracks."
I was roughly wiping the blood away with the wet wipe when Charlotte returned to Gorilla Position as well.
"As expected of the Queen."
"That final mic work was outstanding. All-time great. It's going to be the theme that runs through this whole war."
"Thank you."
She exchanged greetings with Stacey, Paul, and the rest, then took my hand.
"You did great. My eye never fails me. You were even better than you were in Orlando."
"You were incredible too, sunbae. You looked amazing."
"Sunbae, nothing. Today you felt more like the senior. Just call me Charlotte. Come on — let's go get cleaned up. And get some food in us."
"Sounds good."
The two of us said our goodbyes to everyone at Gorilla Position and headed out.
I hit the shower first and washed every last trace of blood clean. After changing clothes and redoing my makeup, I was about to meet Charlotte for a quick meal when someone handed me something.
"What's this?"
"A shoulder brace. Jane Kim said to bring it to you."
"Thank you. I'll put it to good use."
I should have prepared this myself. Slip-up on my part.
"I'll put it on for you after we eat."
"Just do it now. It shouldn't get in the way of eating."
"Alright."
Chopsticks would have been a little awkward, but we were using forks — so no problem.
On the way to the temporary cafeteria, the staff we passed reacted to us — more precisely, to me — in every shade imaginable. Some stared straight through me. One mountain of a man ducked his head as if too embarrassed to meet my eyes, then snuck a glance anyway.
Charlotte laughed hard at the sight.
"Walking around with you, I see all kinds of things. I've never seen staff react like that."
"Come on. I'm with TPA — a lot of them are seeing me for the first time. That's all it is."
"You'll be one of ours soon enough. By the way, I hope you end up on Smash Down. We've got a grudge now, so they'll keep pairing us up, right?"
If someone asked whether the match with Charlotte had been fun, I would answer yes. But if they asked whether I wanted a rematch? No.
Even if I had to job, I wanted to work as many different wrestlers as possible. There were so many distinctive athletes out there, each with their own signature moves — I couldn't afford to get locked into Charlotte alone.
"Hmm. Won't I start in NEXT? I am a rookie, after all."
"No way. Stacey and Paul aren't idiots. They're never sending you to NEXT."
"I'd prefer that too."
Charlotte and I walked into the cafeteria and filled our stomachs like people who hadn't eaten in days — steak, lobster, the works.
Match five was a head-to-head between the two brands' secondary champions — the IC Champions.
Jay Wood made his entrance from the crowd, chanting his own "YEET" and working hard to drag the atmosphere and attention onto himself. TPA's Luke Palmer sold every hit with violent reactions, writhing in visible agony.
The crowd did cheer — but it was muted, half-hearted. Nothing like the immersion they'd given Match Four.
"The crowd still hasn't climbed out of Match Four."
"Don't blame the crowd. I'm the same way. I still have the afterimage of Charina staring Charlotte down with blood running down her face."
"She's even more intense in person than on TV. Watching her live, there was this aura that just pulled your eyes in."
The judges — Deadman, Carter Angle, Trish — took turns saying as much. Mick Foley simply listened. He was feeling the exact same thing, so there was nothing more to add.
Then he glanced at Jack Cena sitting to his left and saw that the kid was right there with them. His clenched left hand was trembling — blood boiling under the surface.
"Jack, you okay?"
"Haha. Mick. I think I came here for nothing. I figured I could handle whatever leftover attachment I still had. Turns out I can't."
"Well, even the guys next to you are fired up. You retired less than two years ago — of course it's worse for you."
"Mick. You're close with Charina, right?"
Mick shrugged.
"Seems that way. Heh heh. She even gifted me a championship belt."
"Could you set up a meeting?"
The sudden request to meet her caught Mick a little off guard. For a second he wondered if Jack had fallen for her — but looking at the fire in his eyes, that wasn't it.
"Want to give her some advice?"
"What advice could I possibly give? She's already that good…"
"Then what?"
"I don't know. I'd have to meet her first. But I do want to tell her to take better care of her body."
"That so?"
"If she'd been a guy, I'd have jobbed for her just to work a match together."
As far as Mick Foley could tell, there was no harm in it.
"Tomorrow the TPA crew will be sitting here watching. I'll make time after that match."
"Thank you."
Jay Wood was a wrestler whose strengths lived in showmanship and mic work. The only moves worth watching were a superkick, a spear, a splash. So the judges watched without much interest, just letting it play out.
Late in the match, Luke ducked Jay Wood's spear. Jay slammed his shoulder into the ring post, his leg catching in the ropes so he hung upside down like a handstand. Luke baseball-slid straight into Jay's head with a crushing blow.
Fully in control, Luke locked in a figure-four, then hit a frog splash and covered.
— One —
— Two —
— Three —
Against Charlotte's hopes, TPA took Match Five. The series sat at two wins and three losses.
"Every last one of them is figure-fours and superkicks."
"It's easy! These kids won't touch anything difficult. Zero interest in inventing their own moves. No originality. Back in our day, we tried to learn one more thing, tried to change something up."
RBD picked up Carter Angle's complaint and ran with the lament.
"In that sense, Charina's submission was pretty unusual. The form was a little off, but…"
"Harley! I wanted to take that one myself! The kid's cute, for one thing. Pfft."
"Fair enough. Haha."
Deadman clicked his tongue at Karish and Harley's exchange.
"Tsk tsk. Moments like this, the women are worse."
The second the win was locked in, Luke shoved Jay Wood out of the ring — straight through the front. Mick wondered what he was doing, then Luke grabbed a mic. The intent was clear: keep Jay from interrupting.
The second Charina's name came up, the crowd's focus snapped back into place.
— Yes —
— Charina! Ura! —
Luke only ran a short ring segment — a handful of lines — and still walked out owning the crowd.
"The match was nothing special, but that final mic work was solid. Real charisma."
"Yeah. That alone made Luke look better than Jay."
"Jay hates getting outworked on the mic more than anything. He's going to be furious."
"Well, good. Means he'll prepare hard for November's The Live."
"Hmm. Once Match Six starts, will Match Four finally start to fade?"
The judges traded thoughts while waiting for Match Six to begin.
Match Six was Tashani Strackton versus Anne Clements — the women's main champions of both brands. That alone was worth looking forward to, and it was a No DQ match on top of it.
"This one's advantage Anne."
"Has to be. Anne's got a gift for hardcore."
A few of them said they were excited. Jack, who knew the wrestlers better than any of them, offered the opposite take.
"Tashani's form swings hard depending on the opponent. And she's weak in No DQ matches like this. Better not get your hopes up."
"That so?"
"Jack, that's pretty harsh…"
Deadman and Angle pushed back as if they didn't quite buy it, so Jack elaborated.
"Tashani shines when she's working a flashy match against a technician a little smaller than her. Gymnast background — she lights up when they're trading tumbling and aerials. Or when she's trading power moves with someone like Vianna or Lisa Rayple. Karish has worked with her — she knows what I mean."
Karish agreed.
"Cena's right. This is the style Tashani hates. She'll hate it more than a cage match."
Before long, Tashani was first into the ring, followed by Anne Clements. Anne came out ready for war, steel chair already in one hand.
"That's it. Matches like this need that kind of presence. Heh heh heh."
Mick, who loved this kind of rule set, was the first to react.
But the match fell short of expectations, just as Jack had said. Blood wasn't a requirement for a No DQ match — but to their eyes, it was bland. The steel chair barely got used. A table did come out, only to be wasted on an ordinary splash.
"Anne looked incredible with Charina at Emergency. Tonight? Completely off."
"Like Jack said — Tashani just didn't have the tools. They'd have been better off running a regular match instead of No DQ."
Molly and Deadman laid into it, and Carter Angle put the period on the critique.
"The gap in level is ridiculous. Charlotte and Charina ran a regular match that felt more hardcore than hardcore, and these two get a full table set and still can't eat. To my eyes, this is worse than Match Three — the men's tag where one of them froze up from nerves and botched everything. This is a stinker."
"Agreed."
"Match Five, Match Six… How do veterans with over ten years under their belts look worse than someone with three months of experience? Tsk tsk."
Mick Foley, listening to all of it, burst out laughing.
"Heh heh heh! Maybe it's just that our Rina is that special? And that Rina gifted me a championship belt. Heh heh heh."
"Annoying bastard. Even more unbearable than during your Happy Love gimmick."
"Can't argue with that one."
Deadman nodded hard at Carter Angle's line. RBD, who'd been sitting quiet and heavy, cut in with a grin.
"I saw Talk Is Jeico a few days ago. Booker K said if a junior ever did something like that for him, he'd carry the kid around on his back. Mick — you got anything?"
Mick answered without a hint of shame.
"I was already planning to adopt her as my daughter!"
Carter Angle flared up.
"Insane! How is that looking out for her? You're just trying to milk the honey."
"So what? I heard Rina respects me and Jeico the most…"
Everyone found Mick Foley's whole act so irritating they each got a shot in.
"Charina can wrestle, but her taste in people is garbage."
"Of all the wrestlers worth respecting, she picks Mick Foley and Jeico?"
"Exactly. She should have respected me."
"Carter. That's a no. Respect you and all she'd learn is 'You suck.'"
"Son of a bitch! Goddamn Edge!"
"Heh heh heh."
While they laughed and needled each other, Match Seven slowly started coming together.
Match Seven was a four-on-four elimination tag: Wire 5 versus Heritage and the Inquisitors.
Heritage hit their theme first and started their entrance.
"This one should be fun, right?"
"Has to be. That bastard's in it."
"I hope it finally scrubs Charina's afterimage out of my head… Why won't it go away?"
"Same. It was that shocking and desperate."
"Plus it was a style you barely see anymore. Straight out of the nineties."
"Maybe the whole card's going retro? Haha."
RBD said it like a joke — but the others thought that if the rest of the wrestlers could deliver even half of what Charlotte and Charina had, a retro wave might actually catch on. Men who'd spent thirty, forty years grinding through the wrestling business had been shaken this hard. The viewers at home would feel it even more — and they all knew it.