Liberation and a New Dream!

“LIBERATION AND A NEW DREAM!”

Pro Wrestling Excellence, Victory 1 (The First Victory)
Excellence Championship Tournament

Cameraperson: Farrah Cornett
On-Camera: Zoey Madigan-Star, Aloysius, Jimmy Mikowski

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Even behind the curtain, thick and heavy, the applause is borderline deafening. As is usual for most nights when the Sorceress Supreme takes the stage, the adulation is on another level. The question has been posed to her more than once:

”If it is just the roar of the crowd that you miss, you seem to get plenty of that here. Why not do this more often?”

Such is a fair question. Yet every time it is posed to Zoey, along with similar queries, she shrugs, smiles and casts her gaze off into the distance for a few moments, answering only after taking in a cleansing breath, holding it, and allowing it to fly free. Sometimes they ask if it is the aforementioned adulation. Some question her about the adrenaline of a live crowd. Others dare to posit the theory that she has an inborn need for attention. Regardless of tilt or tone, Zoey responds the same way each time.

”Because it makes me happy. I need no other reason.”

And truly, how can one refute that? If a person can do what makes them happy, and even more so turn it into something they can make a living at, where is the negative? Especially when their efforts put smiles on faces and dreams within hearts? Zoey knows this, hence her verbatim response and the easy way she walks away from the questioner, leaving them wondering. There are no such questions tonight, thankfully; the crowd’s outburst of support elevates, then diminishes to its previous level, in time with Zoey stepping through the curtain and making her way along the barely-lit path to the backstage area…

Saturday, August 21st, 2021
Excalibur Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
11:02pm, Pacific Time

...and even after three straight hours of stage time with her Sin City Sorcery troupe, showing off her considerable skills at illusion, escape artistry and more, the Sorceress Supreme of Professional Wrestling glows. Part of it is her smile. Part of it is perspiration. No small amount is a result of light caught by her glittering purple heels. She is most certainly tired by this point, but seeing the camera before her in the hands of her oldest and dearest friend makes her light up all over again!

”A most fond welcome to family, friends and fans of Pro Wrestling Excellence! They like to say that show goes on, but let me tell you the truth of it, my dears:”

She stops for a moment, sweeping her cloak around her shoulders and flipping her top hat into the air deftly. It lands just right atop her head, giving a jaunty tilt by a flick of her finger, as with a flick of the other wrist her wand appears in that gloved hand. She takes a bow for the camera, then straightens with a sweetened grin.

”For some of us, the show never stops!”

With a wink and a flourish she walks past the camera, which follows her every motion. And had there not been a cloak in the way, those long legs of hers would certainly be getting some stares. Not to mention other particular places on her person. The camera keeps up with Zoey as she makes a stop at a door with a star emblazoned on the middle, her name etched within the center. She opens it and enters, the camera following along. Not three paces into the pleasantly-decorated, comfortable dressing room and a gray tabby comes sauntering up to Zoey, sitting up on its hind legs with front paws raised and a request at the ready.

”Meow!”

With an even brighter smile now, Zoey scoops up the eager feline, who immediately starts nuzzling under her chin and purring while she strokes and scritches its head.

”You find me at an opportune time, when the adrenaline of putting on a show is still running high, the fatigue not yet set in and the implacable joy that comes with my magic still coursing through my veins at a mile a moment. The love of a good kitty only makes the moment that much sweeter. And if you’re watching, Ollie? Aloysius here would love to meet you!”

She winks, Aloysius’s green eyes opening at the sound of his name. He mrows at the camera before hopping down onto the make-up counter, sitting before the lit mirror. Zoey, doffing her cloak and hat, tossing them effortlessly upon the stand just for that purpose, takes a seat at the dressing table herself, leaning back and crossing one long, fishnet-sheathed leg over the other. An exhale of satisfaction escapes her and she tilts her head back, closing her eyes for a moment.

The first-ever Pro Wrestling Excellence Victory show, loaded top to bottom with twenty-three hungry talents, and yours truly, scrapping it out in a one-night tournament to determine the first-ever Excellence Champion. Mmm… the goosebumps are already rising! It truly is one of those rare, win-win situations in wrestling where, even if you do not find yourself with your arm raised at the zenith of the evening, you know that you were still part of history, a moment you shall look upon fondly forevermore! But it is as daunting as it is enchanting!”

There is a chilled bottle on the table and Aloysius nudges it towards Zoey’s hand when she places it on the surface. She accepts the gesture and offers more scritches before spinning the lid off the container and taking a long sip, pinky extended.

”No matter who you are when the evening begins, a long road awaits you. A six-person over-the-top-rope battle royale, a singles bout and, if you are one of the fortunate few, a final match to determine who shall be champion. Preparing for five adversaries is one thing; that is, at least, feasible. But you certainly roll the dice if you make it to the semis, when your opponent could be one of six, and the final match, which could be one of twelve! How one is expected to prepare for twenty-three possible adversaries is something we could debate about for ages. And if you’re debating, then you’re not truly preparing. That, friends, is where a lot of the danger lies in this tournament. So many of these people will waste time deciding who to address, who to formulate strategy for… poring over YouTube for match clips, chatting with fellow contemporaries… only to come up with a mostly-fruitless result. Some will, in contrast, plan to face the people they deem most talented, most likely to advance. Even more will simply, and loudly, dare the whole of the roster to try and stop them, counting on volume over thought. And then what happens? Well, my dears, those are the ones that will fall short, I am sad to say. My heart wishes that everyone could feel the joy of victory, but my brain knows that simply isn’t possible.

What, then, is the answer to this conundrum? It’s very simple, really.”

Another pause, another delicate sip of the bottle’s contents. They appear… bubbly. And very, VERY pink.

”You don’t plot or plan.”

She says it so simply, with such conviction. A moment later the door to the dressing room opens after a few firm knocks, and a handsome middle-aged fellow in a smart black suit enters, bringing a smile to Zoey’s purple lips.

”Hello, Jimmy.”

”Zoey! Do you have a-”

It takes but a moment for him to notice the camera; a half-second more to realize that he’s live.

”Oh! Is this a bad time?”

”Not at all. Farrah?”

A moment later, and…

”What’s up, Jimmy?”

”Oh... well… you asked to see the numbers for the last few weeks. You know, with the addition of the new routine and all.”

”The Mermaid’s Hook.”

For those not in the know, such is a new escape trick of Zoey’s, one that she worked on for well over a year, much to her wife’s worry, before finally attempting it on stage. Zoey’s smile is smaller now… still bright, but showing some of her fatigue.

”...and?”

”People love it. They’re also scared for your life.”

Zoey smiles wanly.

”In other words, they feel the same way Katalina does. Dare I ask what Jessamine thinks?”

”She was otherwise indisposed. Said she was making sure that your insurance policies had the proper clauses.”

The magician could not help but laugh. She sips from her beverage again, reaching out to offer Aloysius more attention. It takes a moment for her to regain her composure.

”Ah, I think I needed that. But point taken. I will have a talk with Emilie and the others about… mitigating the danger.”

”You do know that none of this is a lack of faith, right? That we’re just looking out for you, now more than ever what with you returning to the wrestling ring.”

”Of course.”

Jimmy’s concern borders on fatherly. Not that Zoey is bereft of parentage, but Jimmy has been her agent and manager for a very long time and he cares about his charge.

”You care and you want me to be safe. That’s all.”

”More or less.”

”Well…”

Zoey rises, walking Jimmy to the door.

”I will be fine. I promise.”

Giving the gentleman a hug, Zoey sends him on his way, then turns to Farrah, who remains out of sight behind the paused camera.

”Let’s continue this Monday, hmm? We'll have a conference after I land in Miami.”

End scene.

Monday, August 23rd, 2021
The Madigan-Star Residence, Malibu, CA
6:23am, Pacific Time

Sunrise on a Malibu beach, with no one else around to pollute the moment. Of course, Zoey does not think of other people in such derogatory terms, but let us be real: a beautiful woman taking in the fiery orb that is the sun beyond a horizon of churning blue water and waves lapping at a sandy shore? What more does a person need? Surprising to think that the young magician is mere hours from hopping a plane to the Windy City to prepare for a night in which she will manage her two charges in their pay-per-view matches. After all, shouldn’t she be packing and kissing her wife and daughter good-bye?

Perhaps that is to come later. It is most likely that she is using the peace of the morning to finish her message to the Pro Wrestling Excellence world at large.

”Even after a few days of thinking and rethinking my position, I see no need to change it. Not even the Art of War could provide an answer in this case. You have twenty-three possible opponents, only five of which are certain. Beyond that is a mystery. Sun Tzu would crap his loincloth.”

She covers her mouth with the back of her hand and giggles. In a simple white shift this morning, barefoot, not made up in the slightest, her black hair loose and tossed by the ocean breeze, Zoey has an almost ethereal beauty to her. Something that her smile only amplifies.

”And what of those five? Tank Ferdinand, a man who’s in this just for the fun of it all. That is an attitude that I can get behind. After all, if you’re not enjoying what you do, why are you doing it in the first place? I mean… Betsy Granger passed through different timelines and, for all we know, alternate dimensions and parallel universes, just to get to Pro Wrestling Excellence, and that’s an ungodly level of dedication in my book!”

Okay, perhaps now she’s poking a little fun at her known opponents. Good-natured fun, of course; Zoey doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.

”Holly Rhodes, on the other hand… no, there will be no funny poking about here; that young lady is impressive. I might actually have to resort to pulling something out of my hat to deal with her properly. Angel, on the other hand? She kinda gives me the heebie-jeebies… but so did Damian Knight once upon a time. Anyone know that name?”

Zoey pauses a moment, looking around as though trying to spot someone with a raised hand, indicating that, yes, they ARE aware of her first ever professional wrestling opponent some six years ago. Of course, there is no one to do so and Zoey just shrugs and smiles.

”That is because he pretty much disappeared after taking me lightly and eating a loss for his mistake. Not that any of you are about to make that mistake, of course. Not to toot my own horn, but in the first five years of my career I spent almost half that time with gold around my waist. No matter how much some people take the ‘what have you done for me lately’ attitude in wrestling, accolades like that demand respect. Even if it is the grudging variety. How does that relate to Holly and Angel? Simple.

Holly looks to have the talent and physical attributes to do very well for herself here in PWE. She’s the kind of young lady who I would like to see succeed. Angel, on the other hand, well… she strikes me as the sort to play up the creepiness and hope that her opponent falls for it. And if they don’t, she is at a loss. And headed for one. Sorry, dear, but I’ve faced your type a time or two. You’re just like poor Damian. Except, y’know, smaller… and definitely cuter. Which, I suppose, leaves me to address Ross Hanson.”

She turns as she thinks, walking along the shore as the waves slowly edge inward, starting to lap at her toes. Zoey clasps her hands behind her back as she walks, enjoying the peace.

”Right off, sir, kudos to you for irritating Kayla Richards. Frankly, she’s a loudmouthed, irritable killjoy and seeing someone agitate her is good for my heart. No, that isn’t very nice, but neither is she and you reap what you sow. While I would not be surprised to run into her in the finals, it would also not shock me to see her screw herself en route via her own poor attitude. And if the trigger was you, sir, then I tip my currently non-existent hat… or… you know what?”

With a snap of her fingers, she snatches that hat (the same she had worn Saturday night) out of nowhere, and puts it on just so she can tip it toward Ross.

”My ACTUAL hat! Problem solved!”

And just like that, it’s gone again… only a puff of smoke to mark its passing. The bright smile is back again for a moment before Zoey folds her arms across her chest and gazes out over the waves again. Slowly, but surely, her expression becomes a bit more serious. The smile is there, but it is more subtle. Tempered, one might say.

”But if I’m being honest here, the biggest opposition, the most dangerous opponent, that I have to face for certain come Monday night at Victory? That would be myself.”

An odd thing to say. We need not wait long for elaboration. However, as such is said to us, via voice-over at this point, we’re shown some clips of Zoey’s antics, for lack of a better term, over the next day or so.

”July 3rd, 2020, when I chose to walk away from wrestling, I truly believed that that was it. All my dreams had been achieved and then some. Farrah and I won the LAW World Tag Team Titles and retired the belts, going down with the longest reign, 395 days, and an undefeated streak that would never be broken... not to mention I had to face my future wife at the time in order for us to win those belts. What happened in Rose City Wrestling notwithstanding, there aren’t many tag teams on the planet who could match what we achieved and we both take a serious amount of pride in that. Always will. When “Somethin’ Bad” hits the speakers, that means the Boardwalk Angels are comin’ to town, boys and girls, and we’re very, VERY good at what we do in that ring. We have the Hall of Fame rings to prove it, too.”

But rather than showing clips of the Angels at their best, we see Zoey touching down in Miami, moving through Miami International Airport while stopping a few times to greet fans who recognize her, some of them actually in town for NFW’s Cruel Summer II. Pictures, autographs and the like are shared, and though she’s just a manager in NFW, she still gets her share of love. Some of the fans, though, are having her sign some of her media from Pro Wrestling Excellence as well, duly noted by the camera.

”But that wasn’t all, of course. I eventually made my way to Galactic Wrestling, which soon became Southern Rebellion, and reigned as their world champion, from Cosmic to Queen of the South, for a combined 439 days. And I wasn’t exactly facing tomato cans. Some of the best and brightest lined up to face me for the gold, and put me through hell in that ring to try and take it. Ursula Von Rossbach, Rose, Sam Tolson… I know those names evoke strong opinions, but putting aside all else, in that ring they are every bit as amazing as they say. I still have lumps to prove it. And a title reign to show that I fought my way past each one before Sam took my title in my final match for almost fourteen months. The tag belts in LAW and Rose City would have been enough for me to call my dream, one shared with my late brother Drake, accomplished. But to rise even higher on my own? I feel I am more than justified in my pride in myself for going so far. That’s why I had no problem taking my final bow and walking away, leaving the wrestling world better than I found it.”

Moving ahead, highlights of NFW’s Cruel Summer II taking place at Miami Beach are shown. Zoey’s charge, Katie Anderson, puts up a hell of a fight against Katelin Descarrilado, Cass Baumer and Etsuko Mitsuzaka, and in the end comes away with the Genesis Championship, her first title since her own return. And no one is prouder of Katie than Zoey, raising her bloody charge’s arm up high as the belt is handed over to her. Later on in the evening, Zoey is out again at the side of her friend and fellow Boardwalk Angel, Crystal Hilton, as she battles Marilyn Matthews. Things do not go in Crystal’s favor, but Zoey is still right there to support her friend and client, helping her to the back.

”So, why come back then? Why return when I did all that I wanted to and more? When I set records and streaks that may never be broken, putting companies and opponents on the map in equal measure? I said as much at Strategic Assault, but allow me to elaborate a bit further here…”

Cutting away from the fluid montage, Zoey is shown standing outside a classy-looking establishment in Miami, the Capital Grille. As for the Sorceress Supreme herself, well…

...a black never looked so goddamn sexy. Black hair hanging straight down and a little gold here and there to accent her appearance, Zoey is a vision of dark beauty. But instead of a smile, her game face is on… and somehow that’s even more attractive than her infectious smile.

”I returned… because for my first go-round, I was wrestling for something, someone, other than myself. I fought to honor the shared dream of my brother Drake and I: to become a tag team together. He lost his life in Afghanistan before we could tackle that dream, but I was determined to make good in honor of his memory. And I did more than I ever thought possible. A simple girl from New Jersey with an affinity for stage magic, dancing and hair bands, entering the big, bad world of pro wrestling with a smile a dream, only to leave five years later as a dominant force. I walked away satisfied. But, again: why return, then?”

She folds her left arm beneath her chest, stroking her chin with her right hand.

”Because I want to have a go at wrestling when I’m 100% doing it for me. Of course the support of family and friends means something, and I love my fans fiercely, but this time… I’m doing it for me. No baggage, no pressure, just going out to that ring and putting on the show of a lifetime. And already this new run feels… liberating.”

A timely wind passes through, catching her dark locks and tossing them artfully about. She turns toward the wind, tucking her hair behind an ear and closing her eyes. As if hearing something, she nods and smiles before opening her golden eyes anew and staring at the camera.

”So to Ross, Angel, Betsy, Tank and Holly? I hope that you know me, yet also ask that you not base what you may think of me on who I used to be. We are for certain having a long, violent dance at Victory, and the last thing I want is an unprepared adversary. If it is in me to become the first Excellence Champion, I want to know that I fought my best against the best my opponents can offer… that would just be cherries and cream atop the most decadent chocolate sundae. And, of course, you have my solemn word that you will get my best as well, ring rust be darned!

Let us not forget the rest, though. I may not call you other eighteen by name, but that’s all right. You know who you are. And more importantly, I know who you are. Folly as it is to try and plot anything in a situation like this, I shall nevertheless be aware of you… my malleability, stamina and inexhaustible charisma will see me through. After all, this isn’t my first dance and it won’t be my last. As long as I am a part of Pro Wrestling Excellence, that Excellence Championship will forever be a goal of mine, even when I hold it. Titles are like boyfriends and girlfriends, after all. Unless you keep showing the same drive and desire that you did to earn it while you still have it, it won’t be yours for long. Words to live by.”

A sleek black sedan pulls up near Zoey, the horn beeping insistently. She flashes a smile in that direction and holds up a hand, begging a moment.

”So… shall I see you all at Victory? We’ll make a night of it. A long, explosive, jaw-dropping, beautifully violent night. History will be made and to a person, and kitty in Ollie’s case, we’ll all have a part to play. And at the end, we’ll either drink to remember… or drink to forget.

But where it concerns me and mine? There is one demandment that shines above the rest. To prepare you all… for the show of a lifetime!”

With a final, classy bow, Zoey gets into the car awaiting her and it speeds off, bringing her message to a close.