Post by Tatiana on Feb 11, 2024 12:11:42 GMT -5
Prologue | Visage
On Camera Promo
This business always perplexes me… It continues to baffle, amuse, bewilder, and sometimes even taunt all of us caught in its web - a web that is fraught with deception, provocation, and lies. It can bring you to the heights unimaginable by anyone who isn’t a professional athlete… And lows that are equal in their depths. And yet, like hostages succumbing to Stockholm syndrome - we keep coming back time and time again for more abuse.
I’ve dedicated 25 years of my life to this business. I’ve given everything to Pro Wrestling - and it’s rewarded me in equal measure. And yet, the older I get - the more cynical I become. I suppose it’s the genesis of the ‘salty old veteran’ trope, and though I’m aware that I’ve become like a broken record - I can’t help spinning round and round like a fool on a Ferris wheel.
Up
Down
Up
Down
Up
Down
I’ve been chasing this fantasy now for over two years… The last year has forced me to become much more than I ever expected I could become when I joined Action Wrestling at the end of 2021. And yet, I feel as if I’ve accomplished nothing.
This despite having faced down Torture followed by ending the reign of Jill Park as the AW World Champion.
I saw the close of 2023 with a loss at Turmoil to the man who has only just retired from the sport on the heels of our brutal Hell in a Cell championship match. And as I remain resolute in my desperate efforts to reclaim the championship that I fought 24 years to finally win… I can’t help but suffer these lingering self-doubts.
What if I’m just a fluke?
What if I’m not good enough?
What if this whole thing was just a fleeting moment in time?
What if this is the end?
Doubts are like lies… They’re easy to spin and hard to recover from.
So what next? I stand poised to face off against Teo Blaze and Roman Gunn in a match to determine the challenger for Payback?
Yes… But what is the endgame?
Is this another attempt to retrieve a championship I lost after an almost embarrassingly short reign? Or is it the passing of the baton and the anointment of a new challenger in the form of either Blaze or Gunn?
I wish I knew the answer to that…
Hell, I wish I didn’t know the answer to it.
The truth is that most have written me off as a Cinderella story that has run its course and worn out its welcome. I’m bombarded with people claiming that I was merely punching above my weight when I beat Jill Park to become champion - and that Action Wrestling never saw me as a viable figurehead to lead this company into the new era.
And that might be true.
But it doesn’t mean I’ll stop punching above my weight.
TWENTY-FIVE FUCKING YEARS.
I’ve been in this god-damned business longer than MOST of you have even been alive. I’ve paid my dues, fought the sexism that USED to exist in the industry, and jumped over more hurdles than an Olympic sprinter. I’m short, I’m ambitious, and I work in a style that has been out of fashion since the days of Bret Hart and Dean Malenko. And yet, I’ve outlasted more crowned ‘icons’ than I can count - I’ve beaten legends and losers alike, and I’ve remained just as hungry now as I was when I was a 17-year-old kid getting her first chance to be a ‘valet’ for a mud show wrestling federation in the Canadian heartland.
Yeah, maybe I don’t belong at the top. Maybe you’d rather see Teo Blaze or Roman Gunn vs Gerard Angelo at Payback. Maybe the people upstairs in the staff room would prefer to have somebody - ANYBODY - other than Tatiana Jolee as the AW World Champion…
And yet here I am…
Fighting. Clawing. Crawling. Sacrificing.
All for the privilege to stand at the top.
You may have knocked me flat on my ass. Hell, that crowbar shot across my back from the (former) champ is probably the closest I’ve ever been to considering quitting this sport while I still had two legs to stand on.
But I didn’t… And I won’t. Not because I’ve been given another lifeline to a possible championship match, but because I live and breathe for this business. I fight because I HAVE to fight. I thrive because I HAVE to thrive. And I stand tall for all of those who have ever been told they weren’t big enough, strong enough, or good enough to succeed here.
So long as there’s a fight to be had or a battle to be waged - I’ll be there to fight and to wage. No matter how many times you knock me on my ass, I’ll get back up and swing just as hard.
This isn’t just about the AW Championship. It’s about pride, it’s about legacy, it’s about all things future, past, and present.
So… Roman… Teo… And especially you, Angelo. I know each of you has a notion of what the next few months will look like. Two of you dream of being the one to challenge the champion at Payback - while the champ thinks he’s going to break the Jill Park record. Each one of you believes that 2024 will be your big year - that you’re on the way to LEGEND status.
But the funny thing about expectations is how easily they’re shattered… Nobody on this roster has had as of them shattered as I have.
Likewise… Nobody has shattered more expectations either.
And I plan on doing just that… All. Over. Again.
- - - -
ACT I | Fandom
OFF CAMERA
What was the future going to hold?
I guess we all battle with expectations… From the greenest newbie to the stalwart veteran - it’s all about survival in a business designed to chew you up and spit you out with indecent haste. And in many ways, being the elder statesman on a roster is no easier than being fresh out of the academy - both are fighting to remain on the roster for different reasons. The only difference is that the youngsters have boundless youthful drive, while we veterans have savvy and knowledge to use in the struggle.
At the end of the day, it’s always a function of desire and sacrifice. Those willing to suffer and wallow in the dregs of defeat usually have what it takes to shoulder the burden of success.
Usually…
“Ohhhhh shit! It’s Tatiana Jolee!”
Huh?
My eyes lifted off the screen of my cell phone and onto the young man standing wide-eyed and exasperated at the side of my table. He couldn’t have been much older than 16 or 17 as judged by his babyface and cracking voice, and he was wearing a Nirvana t-shirt.
Heh… I bet his parents were only children when Nirvana ceased to be.
God, I feel old… Ugh.
“Who me? Nah, I just look like her.”
I replied with a little wink and a subtle smirk as I eyed my phone and took a sip of my decaf coffee. Part of me just wanted to be left in peace to dwell anxiously on the coming weeks and days. But I also knew I was in a Tim Horton's, and there were plenty of people coming and going. I was bound to get recognized and maybe even hassled by fans…
-Sigh- Don’t be a cunt.
"Okay, fine it's me… Just keep it quiet, huh?”
His eyes lit up as he took a seat in the chair across the table from me. This was unexpected as I didn’t invite him to have a seat and chat. However, I guess I was just as impulsive and lacking in situational awareness at that age too.
“Ohhh man, my friends are never going to believe that I met you at Timmy Hortons!”
“Shhh… Dude, keep it down. I’m trying to relax here.”
“Oh… Sorry…”
He replied in a whisper while crouching his head a bit… As if that was going to somehow make him incognito.
“So, I can’t believe I just met Tatiana Jolee!”
Still, he whispered as I looked over the top of my phone at him nervously fidgeting with his hands across the table from me.
“I’m just a normal person on off days."
“Yeah… But you’re also not. I mean you were the Action Wrestling Champion; you beat THE Jill Park. Oh my god, are you going to win your way into Payback against Gerard Angelo!? I know he beat you once before with the U.S. Title on the line, but like… That was ages ago, and he had his goons help him. Oh man, I hope you beat him bad!”
“Dude… Breathe.”
He spoke a mile a minute, all the while his voice cracking with pubescent excitement.
“Sorry, sorry… Okay, yeah…. Breathe.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as he took a few nervous breaths.
“So… You’re going to beat him… Right?”
Nodding, I responded with a quiet - albeit confident tone.
“Of course, I’m going to win. And yes, I'm going to whoop his ass at Payback. Except, the United States Title thing has nothing to do with it.”
“I mean.. Yeah… Like it was forever ago. But still, that guy is a real douchenozzle and needs to be knocked back down to reality. Also, you deserve to be the champion, and all of us here at home are behind you one hundred percent.”
Did I deserve it? I guess that remains to be seen… I had to beat Teo and Roman first.
“O-oh? Oh yeah… Sorry. I’m Todd.”
“Well, Todd. It’s nice to meet you… I appreciate your support, and I know Canada is behind me. I fight every match for the Maple Leaf… It’s a source of great pride.”
“You’re a hero to all of us!”
“I try.”
Was I hero material? I know I claim it all the time, but it was nice to hear it once in a while.
Especially in times of professional malaise…
“I uh… I'll leave you alone now. Oh… Uh… My girlfriend is a huge Jonny Cedrone fan… Is he cool in person, or is he like… One of those backstage assholes?”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that question out of left field. I wondered if he was asking in hopes that I’d give him material to claim his girl’s fav wrestler was a backstage dickbag, or reassurance that he was like his TV persona.
“Honestly?”
Todd leaned in with eagerness.
“Jon is a really good dude. Very professional, very polite, and always approachable.”
All things about Cedrone were true.
At least in my experience.
“Total class act and a real workman… He’s always early to the arena and working to improve himself. Nothing but respect for that dude.”
“Oh wow… Kacey is going to be so excited to hear that!”
Guess he was hoping for affirmation as opposed to defamation.
“Can I uh… Can I get a selfie with you to prove that I met THE Tatiana Jolee?”
I brought my phone down onto the table, hoping that my hair was still decent enough for a photo opp.
“Of course.”
I stood up from the table as he did likewise and gave my brightest smile as he shuffled in next to me with his phone raised to take a selfie.
I guess it was moments like this that kept me in the game.
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