Feels like a Sunday

[Cory]

Natalya exhaled loudly, ignoring the goosebumps underneath her outfit. Save for herself and EBWF's resident senior cameraman Drew, Nattie was in the empty arena, leaning up against one of the corners of the ring that would soon host the matches of EBWF Warfare at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. She was already in her all black wrestling gear, and the EBWF Women's Championship hugged her waistline, neatly clasped in the back. She looked around silently as the camera rolled on, recording her. It was showtime, on possibly the most important night of her career.

Natalya: As it turns out, a lot of people seem to think that because I wear suits to the show or arrive at the arena in a limousine that I'm an arrogant, entitled bitch. Well, perhaps that's true. Perhaps I'm just a spoiled brat who takes her title reign absolutely for granted. But tonight... I may as well be ten years old again. The sound of my heartbeat is almost deafening in my ears. That's how I know I still belong here. My heart still pounds out of my chest when the big matches come. And tonight might just be the biggest one ever. Win or lose, tonight is a big deal. A historic deal. Tonight, I am facing Trish Stratus with the not only the Women's Championship on the line, but also my former best friend's win title record.

In a cage match.

And it closes the show.

She closed her eyes, taking in a sharp breath.

Natalya: I looked at the card again and again. Marveled at the fact that there was no match that went on after ours. In all honesty, we deserve it. I know we do. But that doesn't make it any less remarkable. It is like staring at the nice car you just bought, committing every curve to memory. This... this is my baby. My main event. Goosebumps all over again. I even had the Warfare card printed onto some raised cardstock as a commemorative. It's in my bag in the locker room. Even the Iron Maiden can be sentimental.

She looked directly at the camera and smirked.

Natalya: But that... is where my humanity ends. Tonight, I have the chance to not only beat Trish Stratus and retain my EBWF Women's Championship, but also dethrone her as the longest reigning Women's Champion of all time. My life and my career have been dedicated to this moment. Not only because of the prestige, and not only because of my chance to stamp my name in the history book, but for the most important reason that I have ever wrestled for.

She tensed up, her smile fading.

Natalya: To end Trish Stratus.

Her expression became grim and determined, a much darker, icier gaze transfixed itself on the camera.

Natalya: When I first came to the EBWF, I looked upon a roster that was full of Divas. Not wrestlers. It was like an infestation from top to bottom. Women who showed up to the doors of the EBWF with nothing but their latest photoshoot in a binder, and they got a job as a wrestler. They were awful, devoid of talent. When I signed my contract, I vowed that I would do everything within my power to make sure every single one of those women left the company and never came back. Sometimes on a plane, sometimes on a gurney.

She slowly looked upward. The camera followed suit, zooming in on the cage that was suspended above the ring.

Natalya: It has been my modus operandi since I became a superstar here. Over the last seven years, I have spent every waking moment attempting to realize my dream: Of one day wrestling in a company free of bikini models, centerfolds, and divas. And I have a chance to do just that.

She pointed back up at the cage.

Natalya: Tonight, I have a shot at taking down their top girl. An opportunity like this doesn't just come around all the time.

Nattie smiled thoughtfully.

Natalya: Believe it or not, I looked up to her at one point. When Trish Stratus won her first EBWF championship, I hadn't even started wrestling in my family's company. I was a fan of hers for a very. long. time. I saw this woman, this tiny ball of wrestling fury, who started off like any woman had to during that time. She started off as a pretty little thing designed to be easy on the eyes and everyone's dream girl. But then, over time, she became a wrestler. I had so much respect for that. Trish Stratus and Chyna were my influences as I was coming up in the business. So you can imagine how I felt when I came to the EBWF, this mission in my brain about eliminating all of the prissy little Divas in the business and leaving only real wrestlers to compete for the most coveted Women's championship in the world. You can imagine how I felt with Trish Stratus agreed to become my tag team partner. I learned so much during that time. I learned so much about myself, about wrestling and most importantly, about Trish. I learned quite possibly the most important lesson about Trish that I could have ever learned.

She pounded the edge of the ring with her fist, a look of irritation on her features.

Natalya: She is just. like. them.

She shook her head.

Natalya: The wool had been pulled over my eyes. Here I was, the only woman to have survived the Hart dungeon in my youth, and I thought that I had found the only other woman that understood where I was coming from. This beautiful woman... who could match my dangerous. And for a while, it was a highlight of my career. Until she broke my heart. She broke my heart by showing the world who she truly is. Just another Diva. It saddened me to have to pummel her, but it was something I had to do. And tonight, I finish her off because it is something I have to do. It's not just about the Women's Championship. It's not just about the longest Women's Championship reign in EBWF history. It's not even about defeating a legend. It's about the final step in a plan I put into action 7 years ago. My plan to rid the EBWF of this Diva... infestation.

Natalya smiled darkly as she traced a finger along the edge of her Women's Championship belt.

Natalya: And the best way to finally exterminate an infestation is to kill the Queen.

She grinned and walked past the camera as the scene faded to an EBWF.net logo at the bottom corner.

~~~~~~~~

After Natalya's ringside promo, the arena started to come alive as the staff started preparing everything for the show. Nattie retired back to her locker room. Warfare was fast approaching, and Natalya could start to hear the hustle and bustle beyond her room as time dwindled until the start of the show. She had barely sat down when she heard a knock on the door.

Natalya: Come on in.

The door opened and in stepped Michael Cole in a dark grey suit and blue button up. Mic in hand, he smiled at Natalya. Flanking him was a cameraman, who had the camera already actively recording. Nattie eyed the red light and narrowed her eyes at Cole, knowing she was already being taped. Looks like they need more backstage stuff.

Michael Cole: Natalya, I was hoping I could get a couple of words from you regarding your match tonight against Trish Stratus?

Natalya folded her arms and looked Cole up and down.

Natalya: How did you manage to land this interview? Is Renee Young too busy?

Cole fidgeted and adjusted his tie nervously.

Michael Cole: Well, I um... Renee is...

Natalya: Afraid of me now?

Michael Cole: You did put her into a Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring while she was trying to interview you.

Natalya: She disrespected me, Michael. That's what happens to people that disrespect me.

She leaned in a little closer to Michael.

Natalya: And don't think for a moment that I wouldn't do the same thing to you.

Michael Cole: Point taken. I wanted to ask you about your match tonight. In just a few hours, you will face Trish Stratus in a cage match, and your EBWF Women's Championship is on the line. What's your strategy going into a match against someone who was your tag partner for a long time? The two of you were multiple time tag team champions, so you no doubt know each other well.

Natalya: Do you feel that? It may say Monday on the calendar, but it definitely feels like a Sunday. Big things are on the horizon tonight. Feels like a pay per view extravaganza! Trish and I are in the MAIN EVENT of Warfare, while the less talented men get relegated to opening for us. The last image you see on the show will be me celebrating the most historic moment of my career.

She smiled.

Natalya: Getting to your question, I wish you were right Michael. I wish I could sit here and say that I know everything Trish is going to do inside that ring. The sad truth is that I don't know what to expect. I don't know which Trish I am going to get in there. Am I going to get the Trish Stratus that defined women's wrestling in the past? Or am I going to get the Trish Stratus who has become the Matriarch of the egotistical, self-entitled, bratty Divas that have started to creep back into the EBWF? I have to plan for both, and that's exactly what I plan on doing.

Michael Cole: Do you think this is the biggest challenge you've had in your championship reign?

Natalya: Ugh, I hope you have better journalistic instincts than that, Cole. That's a trap question and you know it. The truth is, I treat every single match that I'm in as a huge challenge, regardless of the woman that stands opposite me in the ring. I have faced the best women that this company has to offer. I've faced I defeated the Queen of the Ring, I've defeated the winner of the Women's Royal Rumble, and I'm about to tie a neat little bow on my list of accomplishments. I'm about to simultaneously defeat the biggest legend in the business, AND claim the title of the longest reigning Women's Champion of all time. But a lot more is at stake than just titles, Michael.

Michael Cole: And that is?

Natalya: The future of the Women's Division. Trish Stratus is the last of a dying breed, Michael. Women that came up in this business when everything was about beauty and no substance. Unlike the others that were around at that time, Trish managed to beat the odds and become a celebrated veteran in pro wrestling. But here's the bottom line. She was the best of a bad situation. Nothing more. People look at Trish Stratus and they admire her wrestling skills, because she shared the ring with women like Torrie Wilson, Sunny, and Stacy Keibler. So naturally, when she started to learn actual wrestling skills, she looked like a goddess by comparison.

Michael Cole: Regardless of what you think about Trish Stratus, she is a respected and decorated female wrestler.

Natalya: She's a fraud, and you know it. Father time was starting to catch up with her, and talented women like myself became involved in the EBWF. Before she could get exposed, she became my tag team partner and enjoyed a renewed level of success.

Michael Cole: So... are you saying that Trish Stratus, the most decorated active women's wrestler in the company, rode your coattails?

Natalya: She extended her career by years by hitching herself to this wagon, Cole. It's not hard to see. At least, now it isn't. Can you believe that at the time I felt honored? I thought to myself, "who am I to be in a tag team with a legend amongst women"? It was the most exciting time of my career. What a disappointment when I found out that Trish Stratus is no better than the rest of them.

Michael Cole: So you believe that the future of Women's Division is on the line in this match.

Natalya: Absolutely, Michael. I've never been so sure about anything in my entire life. When Trish Stratus became the Number One Contender, I came the realization that this was the most important moment of my existence. I have the opportunity to make good on the promise I made a long time ago. I will rid this company of all the dead weight that has plagued it since I got here. The day Trish Status becomes nothing more than a footnote in EBWF lore, will be a fantastic day. And I will feel good knowing that when I robbed her of her 7th title run AND took her record for the longest title reign, I got us much closer to that day being a reality.

Michael Cole: It's very interesting hearing you talk like this, Natalya. You've never showed this much conviction about your other opponents.

Natalya: No one has infiltrated my inner circle like Trish did, Michael. It's pretty simple. I'm sure Trish thinks I'm going to come out here and talk about how old she is, and how she's one foot in the grave. But the truth is this: I'm going out there to end Trish Stratus because I can't believe I let her seduce me into being her tag team partner. She convinced me she was an equal, a fellow soldier. When she revealed herself to be the weak, pathetic girl that she actually is, it hurt me badly. The only way I can make things right is to take everything away from the "Quintessential Diva" that she cherishes. I'm going to rob her of her chance at the Women's Championship.

She took a step closer to Cole. He stiffened but remained where he stood.

Natalya: Then I'm going to take her record.

Another step closer still. Michael edged backwards nervously.

Natalya: And finally, inside a steel cage...

She gave Cole a sinister smile.

Natalya: I'm going to take her career.

She casually removed the microphone from Michael Cole's hand.

Natalya: Now. Get... out.

She casually lobbed the mic out the door. The camera picked up the *thud* noise it made when it hit the floor. Cole took the not-so-subtle hint and exited the locker room, the cameraman in tow. Nattie slammed the door behind them, leaving Cole to wrap up the interview outside. She sighed and went to her duffle bag and sat down beside it. She removed her title belt from her waist and folded it up neatly, setting it down. Digging into her bag, she produced an large envelope and opened it. She pulled out a 5 x 8 sheet of raised cardstock with the Warfare card printed on it. She crossed her legs, eyes transfixed on the final match of the show.

Natalya vs. Trish Stratus
Women's Championship
Steel Cage Match

Once again, she felt her heart beating out of her chest. Yep, she still belonged here.