Post by amyzing on Jun 11, 2013 16:56:08 GMT -4
::Thursday Night Overdrive has ended. The crowed that attended tonight’s event are leaving. The ring crew and other production crew members are starting to take the Overdrive set down. Backstage, the equipment is being taken apart and packed up to be shipped out for next week’s Overdrive. The wrestlers and APW staff members are starting to leave for home or their hotel or any appearances they have to make this week.::
::Amy Zing is sitting in the locker room. She has barely paid attention to the show since she was pinned in her tag team match where she teamed with Biggs against Delikado and Nathanial Havok. After the match, she showered, changed out of her wrestling gear into a pair of jeans and a blouse, and then just sat down in a chair.::
::The usually friendly Amy was silent through the remainder of the show. This would have more impact if she had seemed to have been able to really make a few real close friends with anyone in Action Packed Wrestling. Still, she has tried to be that usual friendly and respectful self that has earned her a huge following despite almost no real success in wrestling.::
::Her phone rings. Digging it out of her pocket, she sighs when she sees who it is.::
Amy: “Hello mom. Yes, I know I lost tonight. No I don’t think that’s a reason I should get out of wrestling. Yes, I know what you and dad went through was terrible. Yes mom, I realize that they fired me and I know you and dad wished I had found something else to do. Mom, this is my dream. Yeah, I know I do not exactly have the best record in Action Packed Wrestling. I could to win. I beat Michael Jennings didn’t I? No, I don’t think I was lucky to win that one.”
::Amy leans her head back and sighs, closing her eyes as her mother says something.::
“No mom. No, I don’t know who I am facing in the first round. Yes I think can win.”
::She leans forward as she talks to her mother.::
“I thought you and dad supported me in this. Yes, I know what happened to you was awful. I tried to get even. Well I did beat Sienna Harrison. It counts. Well support me. Yes mom, I’m sorry. I know you and dad support me. Yes, I will try and win. Okay, I love you too. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
::Amy hangs up the phone and slips it into her pocket. She gets to her feet and grabs her bag and slips it on her shoulder. She picks up her boots and exits the locker room. As she walks into the corridor, she is approached by Thursday Night Overdrive interviewer Shane West, who usually calls the action on Monday Night Meltdown. “The Hong Kong Sensation” stops walking.::
West: “Amy Zing, tonight you and Biggs were unsuccessful in your match against Nathanial Havok and Delikado. With next week being the start of the first round in the Test for the Best tournament, does that have any effect on your momentum going into that first round?”
Amy: “When you really look at my career here in Action Packed Wrestling, my “momentum” has been something of a roller coaster. Just when I start to gain a little momentum, something happens and it goes down. But I really do not pay attention to that. All it takes is one victory, one great night, and everything can change.”
West: “Next week, you enter the first round of Test for the Best. As of now, your opponent has not been named. How do you think you will fair in the tournament many consider you a dark horse to win?”
::Amy smiles a bit.::
Amy: “Dark horse? That’s a strange term. So many people look at me as a long shot, a dark horse as you called it. No one thought I could beat Michael Jennings. Everyone assumed I would be in the Second Chance match after losing to Jennings. And yet, I did it. I pulled off what people are calling an upset. No one thought I could win except for me and every single fan I have out there that cheered me on. All I have is the support of my fans, my friends and my family as well as my heart, my will and the confidence I have in my ability. They can call me a dark horse, but I think I can win.”
West: “Do you have any preferences as to who you could face in the tournament?”
Amy: “I really don’t know. There are a lot of people in the tournament I have history with, and some I have never faced but would love to. However, I am not focused on who I may face, so much as who I will face in the first round.”
West: “Considering what happened tonight, are you at all nervous about going into your first Test for the Best?”
Amy: “The only time I was nervous was back at Rasslemania, and that was only because of the steel cage and Hell in a Cell hanging over the ring.”
::Amy laughs a bit.::
Amy: “But no. Right now, my goal is to make it through that first round, and then I can focus on the rest of the tournament, if I even make it that far. I take it one match at a time, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to make it to the finals, win and go on to Shockwave and become World Champion. However, first thing’s first, and my first thing is the first round and showing everyone in this tournament why I am simply Amy Zing.”
West: “Well thank you for your time Amy Zing. I am sure all your fans wish you luck this week at Thursday Night Overdrive in your first round match.”
::With that, “the Hong Kong Sensation” adjusts her bag and heads to the parking lot to leave the arena.::
________________________________________________________
::APW Rasslemania IX has been released on DVD and Blu-ray. There are numerous bonus features, such as before and after comments by many of the wrestlers who competed at the event, some of who lost and won championships, or just went through wars in that ring, special commentary on several matches by Connor Murphy and Gabriel Krown, Sang Réal, despite the fact that they were not at the pay-per-view or even in Action Packed Wrestling at the time, a look at the build up to several big matches and other features as well as Blu-Ray exclusives.::
::Already it has been climbing to the top of the new release charts. As part of the promotion for the release, several wrestlers have made appearances at various stores that sell the pay-per-view, such as Wal*Mart and Best Buy.::
::Nearly three thousand miles from her home in San Francisco, California, on a sunny Saturday afternoon set between two weeks of rainy and cloudy weather, “the Hong Kong” Amy Zing is appearing at Best Buy in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts to sign copies of the DVD and Blu-ray.::
::From 1pm-4pm, Amy Zing signed autographs, talked to the fans and posed for a few pictures. As always, a few of her Playboy covers have made their way into the mix. She signed them of course. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, an APW baseball hat and one of her t-shirts, this one is black with Amy in her classic entrance pose, her arms out wide and a Chinese style phoenix, its wings spread in flight, behind her. She signed several of those and other shirts of hers, which could be bought at the Hot Topic in the mall.::
::It was about 5pm by the time Amy got out of there and into the limo which would take her to Boston so she could catch a flight home. She lays across the backseat of the limo, her right arm draped over her forehead. Her left leg is draped over the seat, touching the floor. Her eyes are closed.::
::She groans as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, opening her eyes as she does so. She yawns and answers.::
“Hello?”
::Amy sits up to talk on the phone.::
“Hey, bro, what’s up? I’m in Massachusetts right now. I know, right? Yeah, last leg of these appearances, then I get a few days off before Overdrive. No, I haven’t had a chance to see who it is. Who am I facing?”
::Amy leans her head back.::
“That’s who? Damn. That’s going to be tough.”
::Amy leans her head forward.::
“Yes, I talked to mom after my match. Yes, I will visit when I get back. Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”
________________________________________________________
::The sun shines in through the windows of the gym. A few people are in there working out. This is a local community gym, not a fancy sort of gym. She prefers this place to someplace like Fitness World or some other chain gym. These places have local flavor and are good for a community. It has weights, exercise bikes, treadmills, rowing machines, a ring, and of course, punching bags.::
::The sound of Amy Zing’s leg hitting one of the punching bags echoes through the building. The bag sways back and forth from the impact of her kick.::
::She had to switch to the bags at this point as the two people she was in the ring with had reached their limit in trying to absorb Amy’s kicks. Granted, they were wearing pads, but even with pads and protective gear, it is probably not recommended to take a lot of kicks from someone like Amy Zing.::
::Dressed in a pair of Nike Air cross trainers, black gym shorts and a blue sports bra, with her hair in a ponytail, Amy is drenched in sweat. She has been here for most of the morning, working on those kicks. Aside from her signature moves, Silk Road, which is really more of a showy set up move than anything, the Phoenixsault and Nihao [Opponent’s name], which has surprisingly not injured anyone yet, and of course the sudden and devastating Fenghuang Kick, Amy’s kicks are pretty much most of her offense and the most destructive moves she has in her arsenal.::
::With a swift and sudden motion, Amy nails the bag with another kick. This one knocks her spotter back a bit. She drops to her knees, panting from exertion. She holds up her hands and spreads her fingers out. This signals her spotter she needs about ten minutes. He nods and walks off.::
::Amy reaches for a water bottle and opens it, drinking about a quarter of it. She pours some in her hand and wipes it over her forehead. Pausing to catch her breath, Amy stretches her legs out and pours a little more water into her hands. She starts to rub her legs, looking up at the bag.::
“AC Smith.”
::She sighs and then closes her eyes and smiles. Surprisingly, she laughs a bit as she opens her eyes.::
“I suppose this is the part where I talk about how everyone thinks I am a dark horse in this match and that probably can’t win or that my victory would be an upset. I find that funny, because here we are and I actually won my qualifier. You lost yours. And if I heard correctly, last year you lost your qualifier and earned a second chance as well. Yet somehow, I am the dark horse, the long shot.”
::Her hands slowly rub over her thighs, trying to soothe her legs as she has spent most of her morning throwing out kicks.::
“That probably comes from the fact that you have won championships, that you have had pay-per-view main events and all that. I have come close so many times and either through my fault or the actions of others, I have yet to achieve a championship win.”
“And yet, all that can chance. The stars can align for just one night and I could do what everyone says will be impossible for me to do. I could win Test for the Best. I could become the World Heavyweight Champion. The dark horse, the long shot, could pull off what could be the biggest upset of 2013.”
::Amy sighs and shakes her head. She smiles a bit.::
“I have no illusions about my odds going into this match. Everyone calls me a dark horse or a long shot and that is fine. I accept that. Yet, in something like Test for the Best, is there really anyway for anyone to be a sure bet or a favorite?”
“A wise, and possibly crazy, man once said “on any given night, anyone can beat anybody”. I proved that when I beat Michael Jennings two weeks ago. You proved that when you lost your qualifier, but won the Second Chance Battle Royal. Wrestling has no guarantees. Anyone can go on and on about how great they are. They can talk about what they will do to their opponent or how badly they are going to beat someone. But, that is talk. Anyone can talk. But when it comes to backing up the things one says, that is where it gets tricky. No one can go out there and win every single night, no matter how good they actually are or claim that they are.”
::Amy pauses as she catches herself starting to ramble. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She slowly exhales and opens her eyes.::
“Sorry about that.”
::She smiles.::
“I suppose you expect me to talk about how much I respect you and all the usual things I say.”
::She stops smiling and leans her head back, looking up at the ceiling. She stops rubbing her legs, letting them rest for a moment.::
“You are an asshole.”
::“The Hong Kong Sensation” glances towards the camera, then turns away, looking back at the punching bag she had been kicking for almost over an hour.::
“Does that surprise you to hear me say that Smith? Does it shock you to hear me just come out and call you an asshole?”
::She nods.::
“Of course it does.”
“Obviously it is not the first time you have heard someone say something bad about you. This is wrestling after all and it is not unusual to hear people say negative things about each other all the time in wrestling.”
“I mean I am Amy Zing. I am this nice, friendly person who everyone thinks is a p pushover or lacks passion and desire and intensity and all that. I go on about how I respect people and how I want to give my fans a show and throw out my “simply Amy Zing” phrase and wish my opponent luck despite my wanting to try and kick their head off. I really don’t show intensity or fire or passion. And yet, here I am, calling you, AC Smith, an asshole.”
::Amy reaches over to the bottle of water by she side and takes another drink She holds the bottle in her hands, looking at it. She takes another drink and then lowers the bottle.::
“This isn’t me trying to show that fire or intensity. This is my honest opinion of you, AC Smith. And my honest opinion is that I think you are an arrogant asshole who is the single most exploitive person I have ever seen.”
“And that ability you have to exploit is something I personally find disgusting and disrespectful.”
::Amy shifts her legs to get more comfortable as she sits in front of the punching bag. She slides a hand over her head, pulling the covered elastic out of her hair. Hours of throwing kicks at people or a punching bag has causes her ponytail to come undone. She starts to redo her ponytail.::
“I remember right after you won the World Heavyweight Championship in American Championship Wrestling, you cut a promo from the pitcher’s mound in Fenway Park, in Boston, Massachusetts. You, a man from New York, home of the New York Yankees, a team with 27 World Series Championships and the team every Red Sox fan is born hating, were standing in the heart of Red Sox Nation comparing their struggle to break the Curse of the Bambino to your struggle to win the ACW Championship after having returned just three months prior. I remember thinking those fans would just kill you.”
“Before One Night in Hell, you cut a promo from Hiroshima, Japan, the first city in history to be destroyed by an atomic bomb. You went on about what you were going to do in the ring in a city destroyed by something that can only be described as wrath of the gods and there you are cutting a promo.”
“Do you know what my first thought was when I learned I was facing you in New Orleans was?”
“I honestly had this image in my head of you either standing by the levies or by some part of New Orleans still effected by Katrina or even the Superdome, comparing what you will do to me to what Katrina or some other hurricane is capable of.”
::Amy runs her hands over her head and looks up.::
“I’m thankful we are not in Boston this week, because I honestly could see you doing a promo from Copley Square. Now I am not saying we all don’t do it. I mean that same week you did your promo from Fenway, I did one in Fenway as well as Bunker Hill.”
“But with you, it is different. It’s like you somehow find this place of national tragedy or that place you should not do a promo from and exploit that history for a promo.”
::Slowly, Amy gets to hear feet. She leans against the wall and lifts her right leg, pulling it behind her.::
“I also find you arrogant. And it’s not even just a confidence in your ability arrogance. It is more an arrogance mixed with a touch of condescending.”
“I mean Buckson Gooch said it himself. He had earned a few victories over him, despite everything you said about his character and his background. Yes, he’s a southern boy who married his high school sweetheart, but that is the kind of cliché I think we need more of.”
::She lowers her right leg and then pulls her left leg behind her.::
“What are you going to say about me? Is it going to the apparent lack of passion and fire? Will it be the good old standby for many, my Playboy shoot? Or will you try the rarely used race card, focusing on my being Chinese and that whole East versus West, Capitalism versus Communism, or China being some sort of oppressive communist regime? If you are going to go with the stereotypes, I did major in accounting in college, yet I am an excellent driver and I am not Japanese.”
::Amy lowers her left leg and slides her hands down her thights, and then slides them back up. She repeats this motion, slowly and methodically.::
“I have listened to you condemn people for joining or being in stables and calling them hangers-on or minions or suck ups or sidekicks or cheerleaders or whatever. And yet, as you are doing that, you have had those two guys, whatever their names are, following you around. I mean if they were a tag team or you were a stable, it would sound just a bit less hypocritical. However, it does not seem to matter to you.”
::She stops rubbing her thighs and stands up straight, looking at the bag.::
“Now you can shout that it’s unfair that you have to face me in the first round because I am woman and you have that rule about not hitting women. Obviously that is one rule you will be breaking at Overdrive, because otherwise, I have already won and I do not want to win that way.”
“But maybe it would be easier for you if I was managing your tag team partner. While you may not hit women, you clearly have no problem repeated and publicly bullying them, and humiliating them on a weekly basis, like you did to Aubrey Parker.”
“Now I may not like Parker and she and I will never be friends. However, even I think she did not deserve you spending nearly the entire time you and Evan Harrison, as Evan Envi called himself back there, humiliating, embarrassing and insulting Parker every single week. It was uncalled for, tasteless and disgusting. I mean honestly, Sang Réal thought it was crossing a few lines, so you know it was bad if they had that opinion.”
“So really Smith, with all that in mind, it is really all that surprising why I am standing here calling you an asshole?”
::At this point, her spotter has returned. He is a bit later than she expected him to be, but Amy does not comment on that. He takes hold of the punching bag, bracing himself for the kicks. Amy shifts her stance, getting ready to start kicking.::
“You see Smith, we both want to make it through the first round. Only one of us is going to be able to do that. And if I can kick your head off, it is going to be me. They call me a long shot or a dark horse and they underestimate me. They can do that, but I will never give up and I will never quit as long as I can stand up. This dark horse is in this race to win it.”
“I am going to walk out to that ring to show you and every single person in the Test for the Best tournament why I am simply Amy Zing.”
::With that explosive speed and sudden burst of power fans have come to expect and many wrestlers have felt, Amy nails a hard roundhouse kick to the punching bag. The impact of the kick knocks her spotter down. The bag sways back and forth from the impact. Amy watches the bag sway as the scene fades to black.::
::Amy Zing is sitting in the locker room. She has barely paid attention to the show since she was pinned in her tag team match where she teamed with Biggs against Delikado and Nathanial Havok. After the match, she showered, changed out of her wrestling gear into a pair of jeans and a blouse, and then just sat down in a chair.::
::The usually friendly Amy was silent through the remainder of the show. This would have more impact if she had seemed to have been able to really make a few real close friends with anyone in Action Packed Wrestling. Still, she has tried to be that usual friendly and respectful self that has earned her a huge following despite almost no real success in wrestling.::
::Her phone rings. Digging it out of her pocket, she sighs when she sees who it is.::
Amy: “Hello mom. Yes, I know I lost tonight. No I don’t think that’s a reason I should get out of wrestling. Yes, I know what you and dad went through was terrible. Yes mom, I realize that they fired me and I know you and dad wished I had found something else to do. Mom, this is my dream. Yeah, I know I do not exactly have the best record in Action Packed Wrestling. I could to win. I beat Michael Jennings didn’t I? No, I don’t think I was lucky to win that one.”
::Amy leans her head back and sighs, closing her eyes as her mother says something.::
“No mom. No, I don’t know who I am facing in the first round. Yes I think can win.”
::She leans forward as she talks to her mother.::
“I thought you and dad supported me in this. Yes, I know what happened to you was awful. I tried to get even. Well I did beat Sienna Harrison. It counts. Well support me. Yes mom, I’m sorry. I know you and dad support me. Yes, I will try and win. Okay, I love you too. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
::Amy hangs up the phone and slips it into her pocket. She gets to her feet and grabs her bag and slips it on her shoulder. She picks up her boots and exits the locker room. As she walks into the corridor, she is approached by Thursday Night Overdrive interviewer Shane West, who usually calls the action on Monday Night Meltdown. “The Hong Kong Sensation” stops walking.::
West: “Amy Zing, tonight you and Biggs were unsuccessful in your match against Nathanial Havok and Delikado. With next week being the start of the first round in the Test for the Best tournament, does that have any effect on your momentum going into that first round?”
Amy: “When you really look at my career here in Action Packed Wrestling, my “momentum” has been something of a roller coaster. Just when I start to gain a little momentum, something happens and it goes down. But I really do not pay attention to that. All it takes is one victory, one great night, and everything can change.”
West: “Next week, you enter the first round of Test for the Best. As of now, your opponent has not been named. How do you think you will fair in the tournament many consider you a dark horse to win?”
::Amy smiles a bit.::
Amy: “Dark horse? That’s a strange term. So many people look at me as a long shot, a dark horse as you called it. No one thought I could beat Michael Jennings. Everyone assumed I would be in the Second Chance match after losing to Jennings. And yet, I did it. I pulled off what people are calling an upset. No one thought I could win except for me and every single fan I have out there that cheered me on. All I have is the support of my fans, my friends and my family as well as my heart, my will and the confidence I have in my ability. They can call me a dark horse, but I think I can win.”
West: “Do you have any preferences as to who you could face in the tournament?”
Amy: “I really don’t know. There are a lot of people in the tournament I have history with, and some I have never faced but would love to. However, I am not focused on who I may face, so much as who I will face in the first round.”
West: “Considering what happened tonight, are you at all nervous about going into your first Test for the Best?”
Amy: “The only time I was nervous was back at Rasslemania, and that was only because of the steel cage and Hell in a Cell hanging over the ring.”
::Amy laughs a bit.::
Amy: “But no. Right now, my goal is to make it through that first round, and then I can focus on the rest of the tournament, if I even make it that far. I take it one match at a time, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to make it to the finals, win and go on to Shockwave and become World Champion. However, first thing’s first, and my first thing is the first round and showing everyone in this tournament why I am simply Amy Zing.”
West: “Well thank you for your time Amy Zing. I am sure all your fans wish you luck this week at Thursday Night Overdrive in your first round match.”
::With that, “the Hong Kong Sensation” adjusts her bag and heads to the parking lot to leave the arena.::
________________________________________________________
::APW Rasslemania IX has been released on DVD and Blu-ray. There are numerous bonus features, such as before and after comments by many of the wrestlers who competed at the event, some of who lost and won championships, or just went through wars in that ring, special commentary on several matches by Connor Murphy and Gabriel Krown, Sang Réal, despite the fact that they were not at the pay-per-view or even in Action Packed Wrestling at the time, a look at the build up to several big matches and other features as well as Blu-Ray exclusives.::
::Already it has been climbing to the top of the new release charts. As part of the promotion for the release, several wrestlers have made appearances at various stores that sell the pay-per-view, such as Wal*Mart and Best Buy.::
::Nearly three thousand miles from her home in San Francisco, California, on a sunny Saturday afternoon set between two weeks of rainy and cloudy weather, “the Hong Kong” Amy Zing is appearing at Best Buy in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts to sign copies of the DVD and Blu-ray.::
::From 1pm-4pm, Amy Zing signed autographs, talked to the fans and posed for a few pictures. As always, a few of her Playboy covers have made their way into the mix. She signed them of course. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, an APW baseball hat and one of her t-shirts, this one is black with Amy in her classic entrance pose, her arms out wide and a Chinese style phoenix, its wings spread in flight, behind her. She signed several of those and other shirts of hers, which could be bought at the Hot Topic in the mall.::
::It was about 5pm by the time Amy got out of there and into the limo which would take her to Boston so she could catch a flight home. She lays across the backseat of the limo, her right arm draped over her forehead. Her left leg is draped over the seat, touching the floor. Her eyes are closed.::
::She groans as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, opening her eyes as she does so. She yawns and answers.::
“Hello?”
::Amy sits up to talk on the phone.::
“Hey, bro, what’s up? I’m in Massachusetts right now. I know, right? Yeah, last leg of these appearances, then I get a few days off before Overdrive. No, I haven’t had a chance to see who it is. Who am I facing?”
::Amy leans her head back.::
“That’s who? Damn. That’s going to be tough.”
::Amy leans her head forward.::
“Yes, I talked to mom after my match. Yes, I will visit when I get back. Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”
________________________________________________________
::The sun shines in through the windows of the gym. A few people are in there working out. This is a local community gym, not a fancy sort of gym. She prefers this place to someplace like Fitness World or some other chain gym. These places have local flavor and are good for a community. It has weights, exercise bikes, treadmills, rowing machines, a ring, and of course, punching bags.::
::The sound of Amy Zing’s leg hitting one of the punching bags echoes through the building. The bag sways back and forth from the impact of her kick.::
::She had to switch to the bags at this point as the two people she was in the ring with had reached their limit in trying to absorb Amy’s kicks. Granted, they were wearing pads, but even with pads and protective gear, it is probably not recommended to take a lot of kicks from someone like Amy Zing.::
::Dressed in a pair of Nike Air cross trainers, black gym shorts and a blue sports bra, with her hair in a ponytail, Amy is drenched in sweat. She has been here for most of the morning, working on those kicks. Aside from her signature moves, Silk Road, which is really more of a showy set up move than anything, the Phoenixsault and Nihao [Opponent’s name], which has surprisingly not injured anyone yet, and of course the sudden and devastating Fenghuang Kick, Amy’s kicks are pretty much most of her offense and the most destructive moves she has in her arsenal.::
::With a swift and sudden motion, Amy nails the bag with another kick. This one knocks her spotter back a bit. She drops to her knees, panting from exertion. She holds up her hands and spreads her fingers out. This signals her spotter she needs about ten minutes. He nods and walks off.::
::Amy reaches for a water bottle and opens it, drinking about a quarter of it. She pours some in her hand and wipes it over her forehead. Pausing to catch her breath, Amy stretches her legs out and pours a little more water into her hands. She starts to rub her legs, looking up at the bag.::
“AC Smith.”
::She sighs and then closes her eyes and smiles. Surprisingly, she laughs a bit as she opens her eyes.::
“I suppose this is the part where I talk about how everyone thinks I am a dark horse in this match and that probably can’t win or that my victory would be an upset. I find that funny, because here we are and I actually won my qualifier. You lost yours. And if I heard correctly, last year you lost your qualifier and earned a second chance as well. Yet somehow, I am the dark horse, the long shot.”
::Her hands slowly rub over her thighs, trying to soothe her legs as she has spent most of her morning throwing out kicks.::
“That probably comes from the fact that you have won championships, that you have had pay-per-view main events and all that. I have come close so many times and either through my fault or the actions of others, I have yet to achieve a championship win.”
“And yet, all that can chance. The stars can align for just one night and I could do what everyone says will be impossible for me to do. I could win Test for the Best. I could become the World Heavyweight Champion. The dark horse, the long shot, could pull off what could be the biggest upset of 2013.”
::Amy sighs and shakes her head. She smiles a bit.::
“I have no illusions about my odds going into this match. Everyone calls me a dark horse or a long shot and that is fine. I accept that. Yet, in something like Test for the Best, is there really anyway for anyone to be a sure bet or a favorite?”
“A wise, and possibly crazy, man once said “on any given night, anyone can beat anybody”. I proved that when I beat Michael Jennings two weeks ago. You proved that when you lost your qualifier, but won the Second Chance Battle Royal. Wrestling has no guarantees. Anyone can go on and on about how great they are. They can talk about what they will do to their opponent or how badly they are going to beat someone. But, that is talk. Anyone can talk. But when it comes to backing up the things one says, that is where it gets tricky. No one can go out there and win every single night, no matter how good they actually are or claim that they are.”
::Amy pauses as she catches herself starting to ramble. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She slowly exhales and opens her eyes.::
“Sorry about that.”
::She smiles.::
“I suppose you expect me to talk about how much I respect you and all the usual things I say.”
::She stops smiling and leans her head back, looking up at the ceiling. She stops rubbing her legs, letting them rest for a moment.::
“You are an asshole.”
::“The Hong Kong Sensation” glances towards the camera, then turns away, looking back at the punching bag she had been kicking for almost over an hour.::
“Does that surprise you to hear me say that Smith? Does it shock you to hear me just come out and call you an asshole?”
::She nods.::
“Of course it does.”
“Obviously it is not the first time you have heard someone say something bad about you. This is wrestling after all and it is not unusual to hear people say negative things about each other all the time in wrestling.”
“I mean I am Amy Zing. I am this nice, friendly person who everyone thinks is a p pushover or lacks passion and desire and intensity and all that. I go on about how I respect people and how I want to give my fans a show and throw out my “simply Amy Zing” phrase and wish my opponent luck despite my wanting to try and kick their head off. I really don’t show intensity or fire or passion. And yet, here I am, calling you, AC Smith, an asshole.”
::Amy reaches over to the bottle of water by she side and takes another drink She holds the bottle in her hands, looking at it. She takes another drink and then lowers the bottle.::
“This isn’t me trying to show that fire or intensity. This is my honest opinion of you, AC Smith. And my honest opinion is that I think you are an arrogant asshole who is the single most exploitive person I have ever seen.”
“And that ability you have to exploit is something I personally find disgusting and disrespectful.”
::Amy shifts her legs to get more comfortable as she sits in front of the punching bag. She slides a hand over her head, pulling the covered elastic out of her hair. Hours of throwing kicks at people or a punching bag has causes her ponytail to come undone. She starts to redo her ponytail.::
“I remember right after you won the World Heavyweight Championship in American Championship Wrestling, you cut a promo from the pitcher’s mound in Fenway Park, in Boston, Massachusetts. You, a man from New York, home of the New York Yankees, a team with 27 World Series Championships and the team every Red Sox fan is born hating, were standing in the heart of Red Sox Nation comparing their struggle to break the Curse of the Bambino to your struggle to win the ACW Championship after having returned just three months prior. I remember thinking those fans would just kill you.”
“Before One Night in Hell, you cut a promo from Hiroshima, Japan, the first city in history to be destroyed by an atomic bomb. You went on about what you were going to do in the ring in a city destroyed by something that can only be described as wrath of the gods and there you are cutting a promo.”
“Do you know what my first thought was when I learned I was facing you in New Orleans was?”
“I honestly had this image in my head of you either standing by the levies or by some part of New Orleans still effected by Katrina or even the Superdome, comparing what you will do to me to what Katrina or some other hurricane is capable of.”
::Amy runs her hands over her head and looks up.::
“I’m thankful we are not in Boston this week, because I honestly could see you doing a promo from Copley Square. Now I am not saying we all don’t do it. I mean that same week you did your promo from Fenway, I did one in Fenway as well as Bunker Hill.”
“But with you, it is different. It’s like you somehow find this place of national tragedy or that place you should not do a promo from and exploit that history for a promo.”
::Slowly, Amy gets to hear feet. She leans against the wall and lifts her right leg, pulling it behind her.::
“I also find you arrogant. And it’s not even just a confidence in your ability arrogance. It is more an arrogance mixed with a touch of condescending.”
“I mean Buckson Gooch said it himself. He had earned a few victories over him, despite everything you said about his character and his background. Yes, he’s a southern boy who married his high school sweetheart, but that is the kind of cliché I think we need more of.”
::She lowers her right leg and then pulls her left leg behind her.::
“What are you going to say about me? Is it going to the apparent lack of passion and fire? Will it be the good old standby for many, my Playboy shoot? Or will you try the rarely used race card, focusing on my being Chinese and that whole East versus West, Capitalism versus Communism, or China being some sort of oppressive communist regime? If you are going to go with the stereotypes, I did major in accounting in college, yet I am an excellent driver and I am not Japanese.”
::Amy lowers her left leg and slides her hands down her thights, and then slides them back up. She repeats this motion, slowly and methodically.::
“I have listened to you condemn people for joining or being in stables and calling them hangers-on or minions or suck ups or sidekicks or cheerleaders or whatever. And yet, as you are doing that, you have had those two guys, whatever their names are, following you around. I mean if they were a tag team or you were a stable, it would sound just a bit less hypocritical. However, it does not seem to matter to you.”
::She stops rubbing her thighs and stands up straight, looking at the bag.::
“Now you can shout that it’s unfair that you have to face me in the first round because I am woman and you have that rule about not hitting women. Obviously that is one rule you will be breaking at Overdrive, because otherwise, I have already won and I do not want to win that way.”
“But maybe it would be easier for you if I was managing your tag team partner. While you may not hit women, you clearly have no problem repeated and publicly bullying them, and humiliating them on a weekly basis, like you did to Aubrey Parker.”
“Now I may not like Parker and she and I will never be friends. However, even I think she did not deserve you spending nearly the entire time you and Evan Harrison, as Evan Envi called himself back there, humiliating, embarrassing and insulting Parker every single week. It was uncalled for, tasteless and disgusting. I mean honestly, Sang Réal thought it was crossing a few lines, so you know it was bad if they had that opinion.”
“So really Smith, with all that in mind, it is really all that surprising why I am standing here calling you an asshole?”
::At this point, her spotter has returned. He is a bit later than she expected him to be, but Amy does not comment on that. He takes hold of the punching bag, bracing himself for the kicks. Amy shifts her stance, getting ready to start kicking.::
“You see Smith, we both want to make it through the first round. Only one of us is going to be able to do that. And if I can kick your head off, it is going to be me. They call me a long shot or a dark horse and they underestimate me. They can do that, but I will never give up and I will never quit as long as I can stand up. This dark horse is in this race to win it.”
“I am going to walk out to that ring to show you and every single person in the Test for the Best tournament why I am simply Amy Zing.”
::With that explosive speed and sudden burst of power fans have come to expect and many wrestlers have felt, Amy nails a hard roundhouse kick to the punching bag. The impact of the kick knocks her spotter down. The bag sways back and forth from the impact. Amy watches the bag sway as the scene fades to black.::
