Post by Samantha on Feb 24, 2024 11:28:11 GMT -5
Blue on black…
Tears on a river…
Push on a shove…
It don't mean much…
—-Kenny Wayne Shepard Band
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The scene opens to a small television set, nothing very fancy, with a small round table flanked by a pair of comfortable looking chairs. A glass of clear water rests in front of each chair, and UPRISING reporter Luis Montes stands between them, dressed in a smart navy blue suit with a matching tie, a powder blue shirt under the darker jacket.
LUIS MONTES
Good evening everyone, and welcome to a very special sit-down interview for UPRISING dot com. My guest tonight is one of only three original members of our original roster still with the company, and she looks to reclaim the UPRISING World Championship inside the Terrordome, live from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on March Second. Without further ado, I welcome the Pretty Little Murder Machine herself, representing The Kingdom, Samantha Tolson.
Samantha Tolson walks onto the stage in a knee-length burgundy dress, with spaghetti straps, that flatters her curves yet remains fairly conservative, especially for her. Her feet are in a silver pair of Louboutin heels, and as she reaches Luis, she shakes his hand before the two share a very quick, professional kiss on the cheek. Luis motions to the chair to his left, and sits down after the former World Champion.
LUIS MONTES
Samantha, good to see you, and of course it's good to speak with you as always.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Thank you, Luis. It's been a little bit since we've last spoken. Always good to see you.
LUIS MONTES
Too long in my view, but we're here now, and that's what matters. So let's dive right into it, shall we?
Samantha smiles as she gets comfortable in her seat.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
This is why everyone in The Kingdom likes you, Luis. You're a man who understands that we're about business, not fluff or small talk. So, head first it is.
LUIS MONTES
You were the first person to challenge the UPRISING World Champion, Kalinda Kriegsdottir, after she defeated Kevin Mears. What's it like to have to wrestle a dragon?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I've been in hundreds of matches, Luis, but I can honestly say it was certainly the most unique challenge of my career thusfar. It was something I'd never even gave a thought about during my days in training.
LUIS MONTES
What about Kalinda presents such a unique challenge?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
The first is obviously the tail, which she uses like a third arm at times. Then you have a set of razor sharp teeth to consider. I've been bitten before in the ring, but avoiding those choppers in particular is something that seems incredibly wise. She's a dragon, and like most dragons, you have to be on guard for balls of flames coming from her mouth. None of those things come standard on a human being, and any of them can end a match in an instant.
LUIS MONTES
She aimed one of those fireballs at you in that bout.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
She did, and it wasn't unexpected. I managed to duck, but Neil Rana caught it with his face.
LUIS MONTES
It was a gruesome moment, for sure.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I didn't see it in the moment, but I've watched the match online and I'd have to agree, but Rana was out of position. Most officials stand to the side when we're in a corner. Not sure why he was behind me, but I'll wager if he comes back, he won't do that again.
LUIS MONTES
Kalinda won the title in, what some internet commentators have said, a controversial way. What's your take on that?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I disagree with that sentiment a hundred percent. It tells me those comments don't come from someone who's followed UPRISING from our first show, because anyone who has knew she had that instant match at her disposal. It was a smart play, with Mears still hurting from the match with Eli Buchanan. Nothing controversial about it, just a smart move against a champion who was too absorbed with his Twitch streaming to learn the true lay of the land.
LUIS MONTES
Kalinda had some very pointed comments about you on the last episode of Revolution, before the match.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
That she did.
LUIS MONTES
What do you make of them?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I think Kalinda is full of her own bullshit. But, in some ways, she's right.
Montes looks at Samantha with the kind of expression that says he didn't quite expect that answer.
LUIS MONTES
Care to explain?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
There were three things she said that are absolutely true. I'm not ashamed to own them, though I'd say there's a bit of a caveat to them as well.
LUIS MONTES
And those things are…?
Montes leans forward to sip from his water as Tolson begins to answer.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
The first is that I need this, meaning I need professional wrestling. She's spot-on. I do need this. I do enjoy the spotlight, I've never once said I don't. I very much enjoy the rush of performing in front of a crowd full of people, the goose bumps on my arms as I wait behind the curtain just before my music hits. I crave the competition, the physicality, the feeling of knowing I've given the fans their hard earned money's worth at the end of a show. I absolutely am addicted to all of it, and I'm not afraid to admit it.
Samantha takes a drink from her glass.
LUIS MONTES
Fair enough. I can imagine all those things are quite addicting. What's the second thing?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
She's right. Sometimes I do question myself. Sometimes I'm not sure if I can get a specific job done. I've had bouts of self-doubt before. Again, I'm not ashamed of that, not in the least. I understand Kalinda can't relate to it, but moments of doubt, seasons of questioning one's self, are part of being human. That it happens in the public eye, that's a function of being a person in full view of that public. Thousands of people go through the very same thing every single day, but no one knows because they aren't in front of groups or cameras.
LUIS MONTES
She mentioned an olive branch once. Do you recall that?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Yes, it was around the time Marisol Vilaro had the One Percent at its strongest. At that time, no, I didn't have a lot of confidence in myself, so I turned her down. I needed to find myself again, and being under Kalinda’s thumb wasn't the place to do it. Seems as if she took that personally.
LUIS MONTES
You mentioned three things. We've talked about two. What's the last one?
Samantha takes a deep breath.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
UPRISING doesn't need me. It doesn't need any of us, really. Not myself, not Kalinda, not Chris Mosh…the three left from that first show. I could go on and on about all the people who have left UPRISING, yet the company didn't need any of them to keep going. It doesn't need any specific person to be able to continue. No company does, despite the many, many, many wrestlers who think a company will die without them. Run properly, a good company only needs hard-working folks that the fans will come to watch.
LUIS MONTES
That's a rather candid and morbid assessment, isn't it?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I prefer to call it an honest one. Look at some of the names that have walked away. I know I don't need to list them out for you, but you know who they are. Bonafide stars in this industry, little more than a memory in the halls of UPRISING now, yet the company continues to grow without them. All of us are cogs in a larger machine, Luis, and all of us are replaceable. Understanding that, and accepting it, is one of the harshest lessons we learn.
LUIS MONTES
It would seem to be the harshest of them all, in my opinion.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
It's up there for sure. Know what else is a harsh lesson, Luis?
Montes pauses, unsure of where the conversation is now heading as he watches Tolson sip from her glass again.
LUIS MONTES
I can't say I'm sure, but I'd imagine you're about to divulge that information.
Samantha grins softly.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
You know me too well. That lesson, Luis, is being shown to be a hypocrite.
Montes crosses one leg over the other.
LUIS MONTES
Explain.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Luis, Kalinda Kriegsdottir is a hypocrite.
LUIS MONTES
How so?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
She says I need wrestling, which is true. Again, fully agreed. What she does not say, Luis, is that she needs it as much, if not more, than I do. You see, Kalinda fully admitted she is from a fantasy world, so she needs this so she can come to this one and feel real. What happens to Kalinda Kriegsdottir if she's no longer a professional wrestler?
LUIS MONTES
Honestly, I couldn't say.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
What happens is this…she has to go back to her fantasy world, waiting to become a character in a cartoon or a graphic novel. She has to hope and pray someone calls her forth in the book they write, or the television show they create. Now, she'll likely never own that fact, but the truth is that professional wrestling, in all its craziness, allows an Isekai’d Boobie Dragon to exist. Take away that reality, and she has to fade back into being a fantasy.
LUIS MONTES
Certainly, it's something I've never considered.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
She decries my posting of pictures on social media, saying I need the attention, yet the night she made her comments, she had a full Broadway production leading her to the ring. A good six to seven minutes of showmanship for comments that barely took half that time to deliver. Few things scream of a need for attention more than some of the things she's done, on-camera, on some of our shows.
LUIS MONTES
Certainly, that's a point worth further consideration.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Kalinda would likely say something to the effect of “Yes! My hypocrisy is the most dastardly of all my dastardly schemes and plots!” But the real plot twist? She may never doubt herself like a human, but that's because she isn't human. Real or imagined, she's not prone to the frailties and issues of being human. Maybe she truly never doubts herself. I couldn't tell you with any degree of certainty. I'm not a dragon from a fantasy land.
Luis chuckles just a bit, a grin on his lips as he sips from his water glass.
LUIS MONTES
No, you're certainly not a dragon.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Kalinda said I was merely a titleholder, while she was a champion, all because I have low moments. She couldn't possibly be more wrong. I won't go so far as to reverse that charge, but I can tell you that owning my doubts, owning the fact that I am human, and facing that down to come out of it a better me on the other side of it? That makes me more a champion than someone like Kalinda Kriegsdottir will ever understand.
LUIS MONTES
And why is that the case?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Because I've faced my greatest opponent and won. No one will ever be more of a critic of me than myself. But I fought through my periods of doubt and ended up better. That doesn't make me weak, as she'd like this world to believe. It makes me stronger for having the courage to battle through them. That, Luis, is possibly Kalinda's biggest hypocrisy of all…pretending to understand humans when she clearly has little to no understanding of humans at all. She only understands minions, humans who, by hook or by crook, serve her needs. I'm no minion.
Luis turns to the camera.
LUIS MONTES
A very interesting conversation so far with Samantha Tolson. Right now, we're going to take a break as you enjoy a few advertisements, including a special look at how the Terrordome is constructed. Back with the former World Champion in just a bit.
The lights on the set dim a bit, as both Samantha and Luis reach for their glasses, conversing between themselves as the scene fades to commercial.