Post by Samantha on Feb 24, 2024 11:32:55 GMT -5
Joker on Jack…
Match on a fire…
Cold on ice…
It's a dead man's touch…
—-Kenny Wayne Shepard Band
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The lighting comes back up on the interview set, and both Luis Montes and Samantha Tolson can be seen in their chairs, their worn microphones on mute until Luis begins.
LUIS MONTES
Welcome back, and we hope you enjoyed that look into how the Terrordome is constructed. Speaking of that structure, what do you think about it, Samantha?
The former UPRISING World Champion takes a deep breath before responding.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
In a word, Luis, hell. More to your question, though, is the fact that none of us are going to come out the same as we went in. It's going to be exactly what it's designed to be, a massive torture device that will test us all, and ensure a definitive victor.
LUIS MONTES
A definitive World Champion?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Yes, that too. Whoever walks out with the championship can say without question or pretense they are the World Champion. Anyone who questions that claim is either a fool or someone with a death wish.
LUIS MONTES
Some folks say wanting to face Yelena Gorgo, inside the Terrordome, might be just that.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Some say the same for all of us. You put four of the deadliest competitors, if not the four deadliest, inside one structure like this, and it could be easily said we all have a death wish. Then again, if technicalities are observed, we didn't have much choice.
LUIS MONTES
Much of the online chatter about this match centers around Gorgo, and how she manipulated Rick Ravenwood into giving her whatever she wanted for this show.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
None of us in UPRISING are truly sure what Yelena’s goals are here, aside from trying to put herself at an advantage to win the World Championship. That much is very plain.
Tolson holds up a finger as she takes a sip of water, letting Montes know she intends to continue.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I would also say that Yelena Gorgo seems to have a rather large sense of entitlement, one that's only encouraged when management has yet to come down on her for the whole Ravenswood debacle. She's on social media calling herself the Booker, which yet deepens her fantasy. She's allowed to believe she runs UPRISING, and I can't begin to explain why that's so. I always thought Brad Jackson had more pride in the company than to allow that, but here we are.
LUIS MONTES
With perceived power such as that, why would she make an ally of Marisol Vilaro? Vilaro calls Gorgo her best friend.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Luis, Vilaro is getting played a fool, and the master stroke of all of it is that Marisol truly believes Yelena has her best interests at heart. She's a hundred percent sold on Gorgo never stabbing her in the back, but when she feels it's time, Gorgo will drive the knife directly into her belly and twist it. Yelena Gorgo is a manipulator of the highest order, and Marisol Vilaro will be another victim of her supposed best friend.
LUIS MONTES
Back to the match itself, does the Terrordome give any of you an advantage though, when you think about that topic, whether those are real or perceived?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
In some ways it does, depending on your creativity and penchant for violence. But I think Gorgo sees a victory in the Terrordome as something of a birthright. Her brother, Legion at the time before he changed to the name Jack Moreau, won the first and only other Terrordome match. It is, in Yelena's mind, likely her family's signature match, so I believe that she feels as if she has an advantage going into this one.
LUIS MONTES
Gorgo is unbeaten in UPRISING since her arrival, and…
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Pardon the interruption, but that's not true. She's yet to be pinned or submitted, but Yelena Gorgo is not unbeaten in UPRISING.
LUIS MONTES
I'm not sure I follow.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
To date, the only person Gorgo has lost to is me.
LUIS MONTES
But you've never faced Yelena in the ring.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Yet I have, in the match where I won my shot at Chris Mosh. Gorgo and I were the final two. I sent her out of the ring, over the top rope, to win that match. Yelena has yet to be pinned or made to submit. That's true. But she is not unbeaten, because I threw her out that night.
LUIS MONTES
Don't you think she'll be out for blood then?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I'd be shocked if she wasn't. Can't say I wouldn't be myself. But she's chosen this particular match for a particular reason.
LUIS MONTES
Why do you think she's made this choice specifically?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Yelena Gorgo wants to inflict as much pain and suffering as she can. She's mental, something I don't believe she'll deny, but there is a definite method behind her madness. She started the very second she announced that Jace would be in the match as well. She wants to see if she can drive a wedge, cause some damage, but most of all, she wants to see if we'll fight each other.
LUIS MONTES
It's no secret that if there's a power couple in UPRISING, it's you and Jace. But why this? Why include him in the match to get at you?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
It goes back to that same night, Luis. Jace was ringside, Yelena tossed me out, and Jace caught me. She thought she had eliminated me, but because he caught me and put me on the apron, I was able to continue.
LUIS MONTES
I remember that as being a bit controversial. Was such a move part of the reason he was at ringside that night?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I can tell you, very honestly, it wasn't. I won't sit here and pretend I'm not grateful, and I won't pretend it wasn't a big factor in me winning that match, but there was zero planning. Yet Gorgo seethes about it to this day, because it's a chink in the armor. It ruins her facade of invincibility. I firmly believe that in her mind, it's a wrong that must be made right as painfully as possible, and it's why Jace and I were both put in this match.
LUIS MONTES
Jace has had a few pointed things to say himself.
Tolson pauses to take a drink from her water glass, her bright countenance darkening.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
He has, and in his way, he's trying to motivate me while, at the same time, gloating, in his way, over something he's wanted since we started dating, which is a fight with me.
LUIS MONTES
What do you think about that?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Aside from saying he's openly mentioned it many times…no comment.
LUIS MONTES
No comment?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
No comment.
LUIS MONTES
Why no comment?
SAMANTHA TOLSON
Because I'm not going to sit here and discuss this with you, no offense to you, of course. Anything I have to say to the man I hope to marry someday will be handled the way I wish to do so. It's just not something I believe is a public discourse, nor does it need to be.
LUIS MONTES
Fair enough. Give me your prediction, then, on who wins before we wrap this up.
SAMANTHA TOLSON
I think it goes without saying that I'm betting on myself. There's no permutation of this where it's going to be easy, so I know it's going to be a war. But I didn't get this far by being scared or by just being happy to be here, it happened because I believe in myself above all else. So I very much believe I'll exit Terrordome with my second UPRISING World Championship.
LUIS MONTES
Spoken like a confident warrior indeed. Ladies and gentlemen, that wraps up this special interview with Samantha Tolson. I'd like to thank the former World Champion for her time, and thank you for watching. We will see you on March Second, live from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas!
The lights again dim, as both Luis and Samantha stand, sharing a quick hug before conversing between themselves as the camera scene fades into an advertisement for the complete Terrordome showcase.