AfterBurn for Vertigo E33

[FGA Office]

Catch up with your favorite FGA grapplers on AfterBurn! Get their thoughts on the latest, their opponents, and other backstage happenings right here, only on AxxessNet!

[The Mason]

The camera catches up with Sadie San Francisco as she stands before a mirror in the Camp Envi dressing room after her match, looking over her eye for any indication of swelling. In the background, we can hear noises that suggest the evening's main event is just starting at the time of the filming. Sadie turns away from the mirror as her iPhone begins to ring. Walking to the far side of the locker-room, she picks it up, sliding the conversation over to “Speaker.”

Sadie San Francisco: Hello...

???: Sadie.

Sadie San Francisco: ...Evan? Thought you were on a mountain in "some undisclosed location that's none of your business.". How is this call happen--

Evan Envi: Don’t mock! The Chief is always connected! And I’ll ask once time, alright? Sadie, what was that tonight? All of it, man. You might as well have not even been out there when NEON was wrestling.

Sadie San Francisco: Yeah. The subtle approach. Did you like it?

Evan Envi: No! That was the opposite of teamwork!

Sadie San Francisco: Hm. Pardon me for assuming she wouldn’t need help against Susan Kent. And she didn't, did she?

Sadie rolls her eyes, leaning against the doorway as she raises the phone toward her face. Evan's voice comes through quietly, but clearly.

Evan Envi: That isn't even the worst thing that happened tonight...

???: SADIE…

Sadie lowers the phone and offers a forced smile toward NEON, who walks into frame. NEON slaps a hand against the doorframe, just centimeters above Sadie’s head, forcing a smile of her own.

NEON: Great work out there, Sadie. Every week I try to find a reason to have faith in you, and I convince myself I've found one, and every week you take it away from me. You're skilled like that.

Sadie shrugs a little, looking back at her tag team partner.

Sadie San Francisco: Sorry 'bout that.

NEON: "Sorry." Yeah, heard that before. And yeah, that's fine. The thing is… you aren’t taking this seriously. You weren’t at Only the Strong Survive and you hurt Evan. You gave the win to… them.

NEON visibly grimaces, refusing to even speak the names of their previous opponents. She sighs again, leaning closer to Sadie.

NEON: And then you hit me in the head with that stick. You did everything Noelle wanted you to do. You’re weak, Sadie. I can guide you so far but I can’t make you a stronger person. That was proven tonight. I hit Noelle as hard as I could in the side of the head, but I still couldn't make you look stronger. I still couldn't get you to just win. I don’t have it in me. No one has it in them. Sad, rea--

Sadie San Francisco: I never asked you to be out there.

NEON: How bad would it have been if I HADN'T been?!

Sadie shakes her head a bit, a bitter half-smile on her face as she looks toward her partner. She opens her mouth to respond, but Evan’s voice comes through the speaker again.

Evan Envi: We can talk this out later. Don’t lose focus, dangit! NEON is on a hot streak right now and the best thing we can do is capitalize on that! Tell her your plan, NEON.

Sadie San Francisco: I don’t--

Evan Envi: Right now, I don’t care! Go ahead, Ne.

NEON smirks at Sadie and goes on.

NEON: I want us to be the FGA Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion.

She grins at the prospect but Sadie gives her a confused look.

Sadie San Francisco: We? How--

NEON: With everything I've done since I got here... with every victory and every hardship I've overcome... I deserve a shot. But I'm generous, and I want to extend my privilege to you, Sadie. I will make it happen for us.

Evan can be heard clapping through the speaker.

Evan Envi: And you know who needs to go in order to make that happen?! Noelle! SHE is the problem. SHE is the one constantly driving a wedge between this team and I could see her sticking her nose in this too. Why wouldn't she?!

Sadie remains quiet, looking down at the phone. NEON takes her wrist, raising the phone back up so it rests between them.

NEON: You read my mind, baby. I'm so sorry that Sadie couldn't get it done tonight.

She smirks at Sadie.

NEON: We'll make it through this though. We'll still be the next Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion somehow. Right?

NEON lets Sadie’s arm drop, giving her a grin before stepping past her into the locker room.

Evan: Sadie...

Sadie sighs and raises the phone.

Sadie San Francisco: I have to go find Spencer. Told him I'd do an interview, win or lose. So--

Evan Envi: Don't let this stay in your head. You know?

Sadie narrows her eyes for a moment, looking back into the locker-room. She shakes her head a bit.

Sadie San Francisco: Yeah. Whatever. Bye.

Sadie ends the call, closing her eyes in the doorway for a moment before turning and walking off, out of frame, leaving the camera to fade on the empty doorway.

[David]

In an area backstage at the Laredo Energy Arena, following the conclusion of Vertigo, Jessie Pederson is seen stood together with Lowri Moss.

Jessie Pederson: Lowri, earlier to...

Before Jessie has barely had chance to say anything, she is interrupted by Lowri.

Lowri Moss: I’m sorry to cut you off, Jessie, but I just want to take a moment to apologise for the way that I spoke to you two weeks ago, when you tried to talk to me after I had been eliminated from the Gold Rush Rumble. It was wrong of me to speak to you the way that I did.

Jessie Pederson: It’s okay, Lowri. Don’t worry about it.

Jessie smiles politely at Lowri, putting her at ease.

Jessie Pederson: Have you gotten over the disappointment that you were feeling following your quick elimination from the Rumble?

Lowri Moss: It took me less than twenty-four hours to get over it, Jessie. The day after Only the Strong Survive was Easter Sunday, and chocolate made everything better.

Now it is Lowri’s turn to smile at Jessie.

Lowri Moss: I’m still waiting though for someone to tell me what name is given to the participant in the Gold Rush Rumble that has the dubious honour of being the opposite of the Iron Man.

Jessie Pederson: I don’t think there is actually a name for that, Lowri - although if there was, maybe it would be something like Mr. Irrelevant.

Lowri scratches her forehead.

Lowri Moss: So I would be Ms. Irrelevant, then?

She thinks it over for a few seconds, before giving a shrug of her shoulders.

Lowri Moss: Alright.

Jessie Pederson: Okay, so, let’s move on to what happened tonight, when you first defeated Jaelynn Ramsey in her FGA debut, before then later stopping AMIRA from throwing the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship belt in the trash - you certainly had a busy evening.

Lowri Moss: A busy evening, but a productive one.

Lowri smiles positively.

Lowri Moss: It wasn’t all that long ago that I was in Jaelynn’s shoes - I remember speaking to you at the start of last month, Jessie, following my own debut in FGA. Back then, I reflected upon having made a positive first impression, and I guess that each of the people who made their debuts tonight would’ve wanted to do likewise. But while some of them were victorious, like my former foe James Edwards, and Macy Dover - who somehow managed to beat Big John Match - thankfully for me, Jaelynn will have to wait for her first win in FGA.

There is a small sigh from Lowri, before she continues.

Lowri Moss: I know I was on the back foot for much of the match, but I was able to endure Jaelynn’s onslaught, before going on to pick up the win. People will have heard me utter the words “train, fight, win,” and I think that tonight, everyone watching will have gotten an impression of just how much fight I have in me.

Her smile then broadens slightly.

Lowri Moss: And I’m also pleased that I managed to win my final match before I turn twenty-two.

Jessie Pederson: Well, as I mentioned a moment ago, that match was followed later by the encounter you had with the new Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion, AMIRA. Now, with AMIRA having left the championship behind in the ring, after you prevented her from throwing it in the trash, I was wondering, where is the belt now?

Lowri shrugs again.

Lowri Moss: I’m not sure exactly where it is now, Jessie, but I can tell you that after AMIRA disappeared up the ramp, I brought the belt backstage with me, and then handed it to the first official that I saw.

Lowri glances over her shoulder, before looking back to Jessie.

Lowri Moss: You see, Jessie, I want that belt, but I don’t want to be seen parading around with something that I haven’t actually earned, and so, as AMIRA apparently doesn’t want the belt, I thought it best that the FGA officials look after it for now, until I have the chance to earn the right to hold it.

Jessie Pederson: On the subject of the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship, Dom Harter stated earlier that he won’t be invoking his rematch clause, so are you asking that you be given a shot at the title instead?

Lowri responds with a gentle shake of her head.

Lowri Moss: I’m not going to demand that I be given anything, Jessie, I merely want to make my intentions clear. I didn’t come to FGA to just make up the numbers, so now that I’ve been here a couple of months, and I’ve gotten my feet under me, I feel ready to set my sights on something in particular - specifically, on trying to win the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship.

Lowri runs her fingers through her hair.

Lowri Moss: I heard what Dom said about not invoking his rematch clause for the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship, which of course means that the Executive Committee will need to select someone else to be AMIRA’s first challenger, and while I’m sure that there’ll be other members of the FGA roster who feel that they should be given a shot at the title, I want to stake my claim.

Lowri puts her hands on her hips.

Lowri Moss: To put it simply, I want to be the FGA Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion - I want to go from irrelevance, to prominence.

The scene then cuts away.

[The Mason]

Our scene cuts in where Spencer Burke stands alongside Sadie San Francisco, some time after Vertigo from Laredo, Texas has gone off the air. Sadie’s arms are folded and her face is expressionless as her gaze remains focused downward. Spencer starts us off.

Spencer Burke: Ladies and gentlemen, I’m backstage here with Sadie San Francisco who we said we wanted to catch up with after the conclusion to this grudge match between her and Noelle Smith. Now… Sadie, obviously you had something a little different in mind when you went out there tonight. What ended up going wrong here?

Sadie San Francisco: I lost.

Spencer blinks… and nods a little, clearing his throat.

Spencer Burke: Fair enough. Well, another question then-- over the last few weeks, ever since NEON came into FGA, your focus seems to have shifted. You’ve struggled, especially in the presence of your Camp Envi teammates and I’m wondering… did that--

Sadie San Francisco: My focus was a hundred percent on Noelle tonight.

Sadie shakes her head a bit, looking at Spencer, and then away again.

Sadie San Francisco: It just got away from m…

Sadie’s eyes focus on something out of frame. Her stance changes and the camera pans out to find the tapping boot of Noelle Smith, fresh from getting cleaned up, her shower damp curls twisted up into a bun and she waited for the camera to pan up from her boot to her face, jiggling her chest to highlight her ‘Kamijo is a Magic Unicorn’ logo t-shirt before she made eye contact with Sadie, tapping her head where NEON had struck her during their match.

Noelle Smith: You could own up to it right now Sadie. We could end all this animosity between us. You could stop calling me a groupie, I could stop calling you a side chick… sidekick… and we could both move on from this.

Sadie remains cold, unmoved, staring at Noelle the same way she had been when her sentence trailed off. She remains unblinking and for a few (perhaps painfully uncomfortable) seconds, Spencer Burke can be seen shifting his weight from foot to foot before gesturing toward Noelle.

Spencer Burke: Um. I believe what Noelle Smith is offering here is something of a truce. Correct?

Noelle Smith: More like a… detente. Until certain creatures of self-important low-necklined lower common denominations are out of the way. Then? We can settle this properly, without the distractions of a thing more suited for a bar filled with old, fat, drunken bikers.

She stares right back, unwavering.

Noelle Smith: You know she’s going to be in your way, to what you want, forever. Not just with Pretty Boy Vapid Heart, mind you. Your career. What you worked so hard for, that I refuse to mock YOU over.

Spencer continues to look unsteadily between the two. Sadie still hasn’t moved a muscle and Spencer speaks up again.

Spencer Burke: Sadie, it seems to me that--

Sadie makes a subtle movement toward Spencer with her eyes. The interviewer sighs, stopping mid-sentence and Sadie rolls her eyes back toward Noelle.

Sadie San Francisco: You know...

Sadie shakes her head, giving a short, bitter laugh as she looks at Noelle.

Sadie San Francisco: You have no idea what any of this is about.

Noelle gives a glance upward to the ceiling as if she’s praying for patience and strength, then shakes her head.

Noelle Smith: Keep telling yourself that, Sadie. Keep dismissing me as not just a wrestler but a woman, a human being, because you want what I had. It’s exactly that simple, please stop trying to complicate it. Nothing you say, is going to take away from what I’ve done, Sadie. I am better than you were led to believe, in that ring and if he lied to you about that, your own research should have told you that but nah. It’s easier to cut up and call me names than give me a shred of empathy or respect because you think what happened to me could never happen to you. Girl, wake up. I beat you, Sadie. You and Neon, Bryan and I beat you and then I stopped you and her cold in the Gold Rush Rumble and I beat you again tonight. Even with HER help.

Sadie continues to look ahead, never making a move to interrupt. Noelle shakes her head, and sighs.

Noelle Smith: But you’re so far into your feels, you think that you can just laugh me off again and somehow be better than you are. I want you to be, you know that? I want you to elevate yourself. But I don’t know if you can.

The look of indifference on Sadie's face shifts as she rolls her eyes, looking away from Noelle. It evolves into one of frustration.

Sadie San Francisco: Mmhm. And why's that?

Spencer, albeit still visibly uncomfortable, looks toward Noelle with curiosity behind his eyes.

Noelle Smith: Because you refuse to, of course. It’s your decision to do what you do, Sadie.

She pauses, starting to turn away herself.

Noelle Smith: Maybe? It’s time you remembered that.

As Noelle begins to walk away, Sadie's face changes ever so slightly. She moves past Spencer, taking a step toward Noelle.

Sadie San Francisco: Wait… Noelle…

Noelle actually pauses, giving Sadie a look that for once doesn’t hold anything beyond a slight hint of curiosity.

Noelle Smith: What is it?

Sadie takes another step, stopping about a foot away from Noelle. She looks at Noelle from eye to eye for a few moments before exhaling softly. She looks like she’s prepared to say something… but bites her lip. Out of the corner of her eye, Sadie shoots Spencer a final glance before she shakes her head a little.

Sadie San Francisco: Forget it.

With a look of disdain toward Noelle Smith, Sadie shoves past her and storms out of frame. Spencer Burke’s face finally devolves from its unnatural shade of flushed-red. He fans himself a bit, murmuring something about needing to “update the resume.”

Noelle Smith: Shame.

Noelle gives a shrug towards Spencer, smoothing her t-shirt before she takes off to meet Kamijo.

[James Edwards]

"One up. One down."

One might think that an FGA debut and win would make a roster member fell comfortable enough to address the camera in the relatively nice locker room. However, sometimes a quirk becomes expected behavior for a certain individual. Enter the Burning Heart, James Edwards, who as always is content to sit on a flight of stairs away from the bustle of backstage.

James Edwards: My focus is just like my fightin' style: practical and nothing fancy. I don't like to think three moves or matches ahead. I go by a philosophy I heard growin' up when I was playin' baseball during the summer, one up and one down. We weren't supposed to worry about the big hitter workin' his way towards the end of the bench. Our attention was always on the guy at bat, even if he was a scrawny fuck who could barely make contact with the ball. Getting him out was just as important. The second we overlooked the guy, he had the chance to make us pay dearly.

He pauses briefly to stretch before continuing his lesson.

James Edwards: It would've been easy to look ahead to Flashpoint. A battle royal loaded with fighters at the same station as me and with a chance to sort of headline later in the night. That's what the typical fighter trains his mind to focus on. If I'd looked past Stunray, I would have been dead in the water and missed something more important than glory. Beyond the antics, Stunray is a focused wrestler with a complete mat game. I had to stay on him the entire time just to toss him off his rhythm, and even that wasn't enough. He almost had me beaten as many times as I did the same to him. In the end, I had to drop the dude on his head to put him down.

He pauses again and shakes his head at the memory.

James Edwards: Is that what I expect ever time I walk down the aisle in this company, a battle where getting your hand raised feels like reward enough? Maybe. It could be a sign that I need to get a helluva lot better. I guess I'll see in a few days which is which. Even my philosophy won't change because one man will come in front of me and the most important thing will be for me to put his ass on the ground.

[Stephen]

Elon Elysian is angrily walking by himself backstage, his FGA World Tag Team Championship belt slung over his shoulder. He’s muttering curses as he turns a corner without a clue as to where he’s going. All he wants is to get away from people that look down on him, or at least the people that he feels look down on him. He was one half of the FGA World Tag Team Champions; winning the belt should come with some respect, but his own brother and sister didn’t respect him, or, at the very least, his opinion.

Elon Elysian: Don’t be a child? How about you stop treating me like a child, asshole? How about that? Arrogant pri-

Elon stops talking and stops walking. HIs already elevated temper had suddenly spiked as he locked eyes with the smirking Keister sisters who are sitting on some chests, watching the main event on the monitor that hangs on the opposite wall. Their eyes shine with sanguine delight at the prospect of Elon being alone. Elon’s grip on his title tightens as only two things came to his mind: the word “fuck”, and to just keep on walking. Going back towards his siblings was not an option.

Kalli Keister: Aww. Is somebody lost?

Kimmi Keister: Like, someone should probably let security know that we found a lost little boy so his parents can come and collect him

Kammi Keister: He’s more like a sad, lost puppy. I just wanna cuddle him!

Elon begins to walk forward, his eyes never wavering from the Keisters’ direction. As soon as he’s close enough, they pounce . He drops his belt and prepares himself. As soon as they surround him, however, the sisters throw their heads back in laughter. Elon looks from one sister to the next, confused.

Elon Elysian: What’s so funny?

Kalli Keister: You are, silly.

Kammi Keister: Look at him, he’s shaking.

Elon Elysian:...What do you expect? You attacked me at Only the Strong Survive and just then you rushed at me.

The sisters look offended at this; they gasp in an exaggerated manner, hands on chest in feigned shock as they look towards each other.

Kimmi Keister: We weren’t gonna attack you, babe. We were rushing to, like, hug you, silly. We saw what just happened between you and your siblings.

Kalli Keister: Yeah, that made us really sad, you know. ‘Cause family really should be there for each other, like we are.

She smiles at her sisters; Kimmi and Kammi both smile back as Kimmi moves towards the tag champion, a lingering finger moving across his chest as she does so.

Kammi Keister: OMG! We should totally adopt him. He’s a stray after all isn’t he?

Elon’s brow begins to twitch, the veins in his neck protruding to the point that they look like they may pop out of his skin. He swats away Kimmi’s hand as she moves in closer, pushing her cleavage up into his peripheral vision. Elon struggles not to look, but stays firm in his resolution.

Elon Elysian: I’m not a dog! Look, if you want to fight can we just go ahead and get it over with? I’d rather be beat bloody than to hear the three of you talk anymore.

The sisters ignore him.

Kimmi Keister: I don’t know...He looks a little too aggressive.

Kammi Keister: Oh come on, sis, we could totally discipline him.

Kimmi Keister: Would you like that, Elon? If we disciplined you?

Elon doesn’t say a word to that one - he knows a trap when he sees one. Or hears one in this instance.

Kalli Keister: Look! He dropped his bone. Get it for him won’t you, sis.

Kimmi reaches down to pick up the FGA World Tag Team belt. Elon moves to stop her, but he senses Kalli and Kammi are stalking him from either side. Kimmi picks up the belt and looks at it.

Kimmi Keister: Oh my God, this looks so good on me, don’t you think? Like, this totally suits me.

Elon Elysian: Give that to me.

Kimmi holds up a finger to Elon and wags it at him.

Kimmi Keister: Don’t be like that, babe. We’re not here to make trouble for you or anything like that. But maybe, if you’re a good boy, you can get a treat if you do a trick.

Elon Elysian: What?

Kimmi Keister: We want a shot at this, ok. And you two big boys beat us last time, so you shouldn’t have any problem doing it again, right? Maybe if you do there’s something in it for you...

Elon scoffs and puts his hands on his hips.

Elon Elysian: Why would I just give you a shot without talking to Emery and Effie?

Kammi Keister: Oh my God, you do need their approval for everything! See, Kimmi, he’s just a little whipped pup.

Elon turns to Kammi.

Elon Elysian: Shut up! We’re a team, so we make decisions as one.

Kalli Keister: But, like, Effie didn’t ask for your opinion when she gave the belts to Leonard Ashford.

Kimmi’s eyes glimmer at the mention of this.

Kimmi Keister: Ohhh, you’re right, sis. She didn’t, did she, Elon?

Elon’s shoulders relax a little at this.

Elon Elysian: Th-that was different.

Kammi Keister: How? She decided to do something with the belts without consulting you and Emery. All we’re saying is that you should be able to do the same. If you wanna. If you think it’s the right thing to do.

Elon sighs.

Elon Elysian: It’s different because you’re trying to blackmail me into it.

The Keisters all look hurt.

Kimmi Keister: Oh my God. How dare you? Ok. We’re not blackmailing you, babe. We’re just, like, offering you a trade.

Elon Elysian: Well you suck at bargaining. I literally can’t give you a match without Emery consenting.

Kalli Keister: Well what if you defended the belt by yourself.

Kammi Keister: Good idea, sis.

This time it’s Elon’s turn to laugh.

Elon Elysian: Everyone around here really thinks I’m some kind of stupid kid. Look you can beat me up, you can take my belt, you can try and get in my head, but if you want a shot at the titles you’re going to have to do more than that. They call it “earning a title shot” for a reason, so how about you go do that. Now either give me my belt back or we can end this little game and get down to some real business.

The sisters slowly close in on Elon before Kimmi stops, smiles, and tosses the belt to Elon. Kammi and Kalli back away from Elon and move to Kimmi’s side. Elon puts the belt back over his shoulder and puts some distance between himself and the Keisters.

Kimmi Keister: Ugh, what’s his problem?

Kammi Keister: Maybe he’s stupid or something.

Kalli Keister: Well we know what wasn’t his problem…

Kalli gesture points downwards and giggles. Her sisters follow suit, all three of them giggling behind raised hands.

Kimmi Keister: Oh my God, so cute.

Kimmi smirks at Elon who glares back at her before she follows her sisters. Elon cautiously begins walking the original path, secretly wanting to get back to his siblings, but his pride too hurt to allow himself to do so. He walks past the sisters, but every so often he looks behind him to make sure he’s not about to be attacked.