Press Conference Thread for 11.19.19

[FGA Office]

DDT3 Press Conference
Venue: Charlotte Convention Center
Location: Charlotte, NC
Date: November 19, 2019 (in character)
Start Time: 12pm EST (in character)
Invitees:
Carina Eventide & Laurel Anne Hardy, The Hellcat Spangled Death Squad


Deadline: November 19th at 6pm EST

---

The following is a press conference for the 2019 Dynamic Duos Tag Team Tournament. The names listed above are the wrestlers who have been invited to this press conference. For reporters, you are more than welcome to use Flashpoint's Amanda Johnson or Vertigo's Spencer Burke and Jessie Pederson. Or you can use your home fed's interviewers if you would prefer. Or you can make up your own. Doesn't matter. IC, this press conference takes place on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. The finals match will take place later that night.

[Anastasia Hayden]

The room is filled to burst. With less wrestlers taking the stage, the press have seen to fill the gap. For the final, we’re nearing standing room only. The Hellcat Spangled Death Squad look quite comfortable on their side of the stage, lounging about the table like they own the place. A hand shoots up and the press begin to settle. It’s Lisa who leans to address them first.

Lisa Seldon: Before we get going tonight I just want to say a few thank yous. Firstly I want to thank the company itself for bringing us in to compete. We came with a bit of a reputation, but we were distant outsiders and you still gave us our fair shot. If this ends up being the end for us in this company, then I want you to know I’ve enjoyed my time immensely. It was also great to take another strip of flesh off Dexter Jacobs, because I fucking hate that guy and only want him to suffer.

She spits his name at the ground.

Lisa Seldon: Secondly, I want to say thank you to Ana. Actually everyone get up, give her a cheer.

Lisa gets to her feet and starts clapping at Ana who doesn’t appear to know what to do with it. The same can be said for the press in attendance, as just a smattering of applause comes back at them. Lisa leans down into the bouquet of microphones and speaks through gritted teeth.

Lisa Seldon: Clap.

This gets the desired reaction and suddenly there’s a bit more energy in the room. Ana isn’t into it.

Lisa Seldon: Ana has really carried this team in the press room. Personally I think you’re all odious scumbags and the thought of answering even one more of your inane questions makes me physically sick. I don’t want to talk to any of you vultures - I’d rather put my teeth through your neck and not let go until the screaming stopped - but she has risen to the occasion and for that I have to thank her.

Lisa gives her another little clap. No one joins in.

Lisa Seldon: I think she actually enjoys it. She’s crying herself to sleep a lot quicker and stopped drinking and driving so often. It’s been good for her. I’m a lot less worried about walking in and finding her head first in an oven - assuming she could work out how to turn the thing on. Anyway, I’m sure she’s got some angry things to say about wrestling so I’ll give her the floor.

As Lisa bows out, Anastasia steps up after a wonderful introduction from her tag team partner. At least the attempted applause was nice. Before drawing an unlucky participant to ask a question, Ana does indeed speak first.

Anastasia Hayden: To be perfectly honest, I didn’t expect us to reach the finals. Mainly because of our schedules, I expected one of us to die before the finals. Unfortunately it wasn’t me and even more unfortunately it wasn’t Lisa. A complete loss for everyone involved, but now I guess that means we have to go and win this thing. Which I suppose that was the intention from the start.

Lisa Seldon: I fully expected us to go all the way because I believe in the team and knew a giant 4CW murder cage or a two month run of crazy japanese deathmatches wouldn’t be enough to stop us. Only the good die young after all.

Ana does a half shrug.

Anastasia Hayden: Lot of teams in this thing. Some good, some bad. Well, mostly bad, but the ones we beat were good and after beating them, we have continued to cement ourselves as the best tag team around. We just do what we do best. I know some wrestlers can’t comprehend the idea that we wrestle as much as possible, but there’s perhaps nothing that represents pro wrestling than wrestling as much as you can and actively grinding your body into a fine dust.

How can you not be romantic about wrestling? Ana almost looks proud of the way she just described everything.

Anastasia Hayden: You don’t prove you’re the best by staying in your comfort zone. I’ll let Lisa lead me into the unknown and so far, it’s paid off. I continue to be very popular and moderately liked. And Lisa’s here too. So I appreciate that.

She sort of turns to her partner with a quick thumbs. Lisa takes the chance to jump in.

Lisa Seldon: My personal philosophy has always been that the best wrestlers in the world are the ones who can go anywhere, drop in and immediately make an impact. There are a lot of people who just want to talk about all the matches they could have while doing nothing about it, but that’s not us. We’ve gotten some flack for it, but I don’t want to just hunker down somewhere and wait for the fight to come to us. If there’s something out there I want, be it a match, or a tournament or whatever, I’m happy to be the one to after it and I’m happier to drag Ana with me.

Ana turns back to the reporters. A big sigh comes out as she does and that can only mean one thing. Thankfully, everyone’s so conditioned by now that Ana simply has to motion her hand out for everyone else to put their hands up. A few seconds pass and Ana picks some poor soul from The World of Wrestling Blog to ask the Hellcats a question.

George Russell: You already touched on it, but Lisa finds herself in a tournament and you’ve just returned to 4CW. Has the tournament fatigue caught up to you two?

Anastasia Hayden: If you claim to be as good as you are then you’re always walking around with some level of fatigue. 2019 has been one of my more quiet years and I entered this tournament aching. Some time later and that really hasn’t changed, but like a professional, you work around it. I’m sure it’ll all catch up to me eventually, but I’m not concerned about then. I’m only concerned about right now and right now, I want to win this whole damn tournament.

Ana gives a brief pause for a nod to back up her own claim.

Anastasia Hayden: I’ve never suffered a big injury to slow me down. I’ve prepared my body the best I can for situations like this. It’s certainly a lot easier knowing that I’ve got one of the best in the world in my corner to pick up any slack.

Lisa Seldon: From my end; at this point in my career I’ve gotten quite good at pacing myself. I’ve entered a lot of tournaments but I’ve won a lot of them too. I won 2 them back to back when I took the IJPW Deathmatch Demolition and then the 4CW Snuff Fest just a few days later. If anything the DDT3 shows have been fairly forgiving. We’re not banging out 3 or 4 matches a night here, so it’s less of an issue.

After that, it’s time for another question as Ana covers her eyes with one hand and gestures her other hand around for a good moment before blindly landing on someone. Putting her hand back down, there’s no real reaction from her. Just another day really as the next reporter, from Wrestling Society, rises up to ask their question.

Jeff Stone: Heading into the finals, you two are up against Laurel Anne Hardy, who has been a finalist in DDT3 the past few times, and her partner, Carina Eventide. What are your thoughts about these two and the match ahead?

Anastasia Hayden: Truthfully, I don’t know much about them. I know who Laurel is at least. She’s meant to be a big deal or something, but I wouldn’t know, it’s all second hand information. That said, I have watched a bit of her in this tournament and in these pressers. She’s done a good job confirming what I thought of her. Everything she does is calculated, but in a really dull way. Great wrestler, absolutely, but where’s the spark? Where’s the drama?

To add a dash of her own drama, Ana’s voice rose near the end there with some nice inflection. Always an ace in front of the crowds.

Anastasia Hayden: She’s like a dissertation. And Carina isn’t any different. She’s young, talented, but guess what, there are a million like her. Why is she the exception? She’s an artist that’s about as exciting as watching paint dry. What would’ve been a bit more exciting is if Laurel did get Artemis in this, but hey, what can ya do? They’re here now and that’s what matters, right? They overcame a lot of teams to get here and while I’ve never crossed paths with them, I’ve already got a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Lisa Seldon: My takeaway was pretty much the same. The two of us fighting Laurel and Artemis was a real dream match stuff and Carina just isn’t up there. I’m not going to say she didn’t earn her spot because we all had to fight to get here and I’m sure she’s going to push herself to prove she belongs. She’s hanging with the hometown hero, she’s not going to want to go all the way to the final and embarrass herself. Still no one is coming to this show to see Carina. I mean she wasn’t even her partner’s first choice to be here so why should we feel any different.

She briefly turns and shoots a glance her way.

Lisa Seldon: If anything I’m kinda worried for her. Big match on the big show. We’re one of the top teams in the world and you’ve got one of the company’s all stars counting on you. Sooner or later the nerves are going to kick in, she’s going to make a mistake and we’re going to jump all over that. As good as she is and everything she’s got going for her, the experience edge is going to let her down.

She sits with that one for a second.

Lisa Seldon: Hell, it’s going to let them both down. This isn’t a marriage of convenience, we’re battle tested and they got lumped together because there was a big show coming up and they didn’t have anything else to do. They can dress it up how they like but that’s what it comes down to. And hey, credit where it’s due. They’ve made it to the final and no one can take that away from them, but so far they’ve been taking on teams like the Gentlegrappers who’ve maybe got a single digit record together.

Lisa crosses herself because RIP Faders, we’ll see you again in the next life.

Lisa Seldon: We’re next level, tried and true. We’ve stacked the cabinet with trophies and titles and put together quite a substantial argument against the notion that two good wrestlers are enough to make a great team. We’re a great team and we’ve earned the right to say it. They haven’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Lisa sits back in her seat and it’s over to Ana who has been sitting on a thought this whole time.

Anastasia Hayden: Another benefit of getting our name out there and being everywhere is that we’ve put in the reps as a team. We’re not some last second team thrown together to preserve a legacy as a runner up. We’ve gone all over the world, we’ve tried not to kill each other all those long nights on the road, we’ve spent hours perfecting every aspect of our craft. So believe me when I say we’re really fucking good and we really expect to win this tournament.

Lisa nods along with her.

Lisa Seldon: We could spend the rest of the night beating you over the heads with our combined records, but this point into the tournament that feels redundant. Most of you already knew who we were when we signed up and everyone else got to learn fast. We set aside some of the best in the British scene, we ran through last years runner-ups and then we left a team of monsters looking like they just got poured out of a blender. There’s just one last team ahead of us and we’re not slowing down. Looking forward to seeing you all again when we’re back calling our shot.

Once again, Ana throws up her dumb little shaka brah hand gesture and Lisa mimics it as a couple of cameras pop off to capture the moment. Perhaps one of the last times we’ll ever see the Hellcats do a presser. Or perhaps not. But even with that bit of uncertainty, the two still look as confident as ever before making their way off stage.

[styg]

Carina Eventide and Laurel Anne Hardy take their place before the reporters packing out the Charlotte Convention Center ahead of Autumn Annihilation, just a couple of blocks away from where tonight’s show will take place. As you really should have come to expect by now, they’re both dressed in a casually flamboyant way - the way of people who threw on whatever clothes they had to hand, but all the clothes they own are eye-catching. Hence Laurel’s green leopardprint leggings and light grey sweater with a psychedelic screen print, and Carina… well, she’s a bit more subdued today, opting for a green bandana on her neck, a white shirt that reads #NoEstamosEnGuerra, a black leather jacket with the Chilean flag and bright red pants. Laurel’s holding both a bottle of water and a cup of coffee, which she alternates between throughout the session.

FGA’s own Jessie Pederson opens up, welcoming Laurel and Carina to the room before diving right in with the first question.

Jessie Pederson First off, Carina, Laurel, congratulations on making the finals of the 2019 Dynamic Duos Tag Team Tournament.

Carina Eventide: Thank you!

Laurel Anne Hardy: Yeah, cheers.

Jessie Pederson Let’s start with the climax of all of this. Tonight is the last match remaining. Whoever wins this, wins the tournament, and Laurel, you’ve been in this position before...

Laurel nods, the same point clearly already in her mind before Jessie raised it, and quickly takes over.

Laurel Anne Hardy: I'm... very cognisant of the fact that this is my third time in the Dynamic Duos final. 2013 with Evangelista. 2014 with Annie Zellor. Now - 2019 with Carina Eventide. I don’t want to invoke something as trite as “third time’s the charm”, but after five years of working to get back to this position, I ain’t wasting it.

Jessie Pederson Well, that may be easier said than done. Your opponents tonight are Anastasia Hayden and Lisa Seldon, the Hellcat Spangled Death Squad - two of the elite members of one of the most prominent units in the sport today. They’ve torn through their side of the bracket, through some extremely tough competition like Canadian Chainsaw Massacre and Best For Business. You have to know they’re not going to make this easy.

Laurel Anne Hardy: I’m sure they’re not, but they ain’t quite the hot shit they think they are. I know they’re gonna act like they’re untouchable and when they lose, they’ll quietly forget it ever happened soon enough and still pretend to only ever win, because I’ve seen them do that countless times before. We’ve all seen it. To be honest, I’m actually a little disappointed it ain’t Dex here in the final too - I never get tired of beating him up, yeh. But c’est la vie. I’m sure I’ll get another chance for that again down the line.

Carina Eventide: Maybe even a tag match against them, po.

Laurel Anne Hardy: Eh. If Dex is capable of keeping a friend long enough.

Carina Eventide: Well, there’s that, po!

Laurel Anne Hardy: Big Coffin Hunters. More like… Big Coffin... Dodgers. Though actually I’m like two years older than Dexter or something, so I guess I just played myself, yeh.

That causes Carina to erupt in laughter.

Carina Eventide: They dodged us though!

Laurel Anne Hardy: Right. Ana and Lisa are less fortunate. Look, the Hellcats are good. The Hellcats are tough. The Hellcats are not, however, better than us or tougher than us. They like to say “winswinswins” but it’s telling how silent they are whenever they “loseloselose”-

Carina looks at Laurel and smirks. She puts her hands up and stops her partner from speaking.

Carina Eventide: Look, po! These kinds of tournaments usually bring the best and the worst from everyone involved in them. They push you to your limits. We know how good they are and their track record is on display every single time they take to social media.

Carina sighs, before continuing. Laurel snorts knowingly at the “every single time they take to social media” part, but says nothing.

Carina Eventide: We know about the people they’ve defeated in the UK and everywhere they’ve been… it’s not like they don’t like to speak about it every time they get a chance. That’s the similarity they have to the ill-fated Dogs of War. Accolades, trophies, titles — boasting about material things — is what became of them… the same things Ana was critical about them, they’re doing.

Carina smiles, letting some frustration creep on her voice as she continues.

Carina Eventide: And I get it, I’m not Artemis Kaiser… but that’s something WE know by now. That’s something we’ve already established and I know I cannot fill those massive shoes in terms of accolades. But you know what? I don’t care, po! I don’t care if I’m able to finally catch up to the ghost of Artemis and prove I belong in the opinion of two very opinionated personalities of this industry.

Carina continues to get fired up, as she allows her frustration at being seen as the lesser alternative to vent.

Carina Eventide: I’ve been chasing that ghost all tournament long. Not only trying to prove to the critics that Laurel didn’t make a mistake, but also that I’m willing to create… and fight for something more. Yes, I heard what they said about me. I know you didn’t pay to see me… you pay to see her…

Carina points towards Laurel on her side, and lets out a sad smile as she continues.

Carina Eventide: Yet, that doesn’t mean I’m not as capable as any other renowned wrestler on Twitter. I’m not vocal about my work, I’m vocal about other issues…

Carina says as she points towards her shirt.

Carina Eventide: I’m vocal about much more; and sometimes… it’s better not to say anything. Not to take anything lightly, because hunger for something… is not easily visible or loud.

Laurel sighs and looks downward for a moment before raising her head again, having composed herself a little while Carina spoke. The line about hunger seems to have struck a chord.

Laurel Anne Hardy: You know… out of everything in wrestling that I’ve never done, certainly in terms of accomplishments, this is it. Dynamic Duos is… the big one. Look, you all know me. You know I’m usually not too bothered about titles and the like. My ambitions have always been about finding somewhere new to set foot, metaphorically; a new angle on this wonderful little amalgam of pageantry and violence we call pro wrestling. I’ve been world champion, I’ve been the ace of a company. I don’t need to do those things again.

Some water, to clear her drying mouth as she relates all of this.

Laurel Anne Hardy: But I’m telling you right now, there’s one title I’ve never managed to claim that I… fucking… burn for. I watched friends of mine take it so goddamn hungrily. Cordy, Miko, Fujiko. You know, Fujiko’s arguably been the #1 wrestler on the planet in 2019, and last year’s DDT3 was in a lot of ways a big launchpad for the run she’s on now. It’s properly great to see her flourish at the elite level at last, like we always knew she could, and I couldn’t be happier for her… by my god, was I jealous of her for winning that goddamn tournament. And I don’t… do jealousy, usually. I barely give a fuck about most of my own accomplishments, so normally other people’s are just totally, totally meaningless to me, yeh. But man… every year, when I’ve watched someone else go all the way, that’s been rough.

An amusing thought strikes her, and she cracks a humoured smile among the reflection.

Laurel Anne Hardy: If I win this, I’ll be the only person to win both DDT3 and Rey del Aire. I’ll need to win the Lions Cup too, before Cordy can win Rey del Aire. No, obviously, I’d have loved to win Dynamic Duos with Leanne. She’s my best friend… that would’ve meant so much it almost hurts to think about, especially being so young into our careers, as we were then. With Annie, with Wulf, with my brother… yeah, me and my brother were in Dynamic Duos one year, even if you don’t remember it. Would it have been great to win it with Artemis? No question. Artemis is a singular talent. Artemis is one of the most feared people in wrestling through her raw drive alone. When Artemis wants something she doesn’t rest until she gets it. Artemis is also someone I have a lot of mutual respect for, someone where we bring out a ruthlessness, an aggression in each other, any time we fight or train together. But you know what? I’m damn proud to be here with Carina. Going into this tournament, half of you hadn’t even heard of her so you wrote her off. Now it’s the final match and Carina’s still sitting right here next to me - and I challenge anyone to look me in the eye and tell me she doesn’t fucking well belong here. I don’t give a fuck WHO’s standing across from us tonight - it could be Godzilla and King Kong. I asked Carina to join me because she’s got something special in her and she’s proven that. Go check out Revival; she’s proving it there with every show they put on. Tonight, we’re gonna prove it again.

Carina lowers her head, she knows full well the reason she’s here and how this tournament has opened doors for her in an industry where she felt another chance wouldn’t be possible. Yet she remains quiet, letting the journalists do their job.

El Mercurio’s José Fernández takes advantage of the silence to ask his own question.

José Fernández: Another of tonight’s big matches is the champions vs champions showcase - Pendragon against Silk & Cyanide. If you win tonight, do you know which set of champions you’d rather go after?

Laurel scowls.

Laurel Anne Hardy: Oh, still Silk & Cyanide for me, for sure. I ain’t saying they didn’t eliminate me and Leanne fair and square one year, but they weren’t the better team on the night. That was a stinger, to be in control then just get the wrong three seconds and… bam. Out again. I gotta make up for that and this seems like the right time, yeh.

Then her expression changes in an instant from thunder to sugar.

Laurel Anne Hardy: But, you know, I’d be very happy to face Neal and Lowri. They’re one of the best teams in the world. Lowri honestly might give Fujiko a good run for her money as the wrestler who’s had the best 2019.

Carina smiles at Laurel’s answers, before she comes up with one of her own.

Carina Eventide: Both titles have so much importance for FGA. They represent two distinctive waves of this promotion’s history, po! While I’d love to go for the one with the most history and the one held by one of the best teams in the world; this is a decision that might need to wait for us to cross to that side.

Laurel Anne Hardy: Yeah, for sure.

Carina Eventide: Yet, if it was in my hands… and you forced me to give you and answer… it’ll be this. To be the best you’ve got to beat the best; and at Autumn Annihilation, both teams fight for precisely that… who’s the best. So, we’ll see.

Carina winks an eye.

Laurel Anne Hardy: Yep, very fair.

Spencer Burke: You certainly seem prepared. I know from experience that asking you how about your gameplan is futile.

Laurel Anne Hardy: Uh-huh. That’s for us to know and everyone else to find out once we execute it.

Spencer Burke: But to sum up… how confident do you feel heading into this?

Laurel Anne Hardy: Very. This is the accolade in wrestling I need to accomplish. The one really big hole in my career, For the third time, I’m one match away from it. This time… I ain’t leaving the Spectrum Center until it’s mine.

Carina Eventide: Right, I didn’t put myself this far onto the map to stop now.

Spencer Burke: Well, that certainly sounds confident. Laurel, Carina, thank you for joining us.

Laurel Anne Hardy: Pleasure as always, Spencer.

And with that, they get up and leave the stage, looking ready to go out and win this thing.