“And The Neon Diva keeping Fiona down for a two count but not getting the win,” Dan Rich said, “it looked like Fiona had the match in hand only for Ada to turn things around with a dodge and a couple of German suplexes.”

Ada approached Fiona slow and careful, the confidence still resonating from her despite the close save for Fiona.

“And I think Ada knew that was not enough to put Fiona away, credit to Fiona,” Brent stated, “that counteroffensive and pin was as much a psychological attack as a physical one. Fiona was riding high with the crowd behind her only for Ada to snatch the momentum back to her side.”

“And we see Ada now preparing to make her next move with Fiona on the ropes.” Dan nodded to the ring.

Ada reached out with her left hand and grabbed a handful of Fiona’s hair, the official rushing forward to interject for the first time in the match, “Off the hair.” Ada ignored him and wound up her right arm and delivered a vicious punch to Fiona’s chin.

“A hard right from Ada!”

Ada held onto Fiona’s dark locks and wound up for another punch, the official once again shouting for her to release Fiona’s hair - Ada once again ignoring him. Ada delivered a second punch, this time to Fiona’s left cheekbone. The resounding smack caused the fans ringside to either recoil or cheer Ada on.

“A second hard right!”

Ada prepared for a third punch only for the official to grab her right arm and pull her back, Fiona now free of Ada’s grasp. Ada snatched her arm away from the official and shouted something at him as he waved his hands in a gesture of final warning.

“And the official breaking it up and warning Ada to stay away from Fiona’s… hair.” Dan Rich snorted.

Ada turned her focus back to Fiona and suddenly rushed forward, intent on tackling Fiona between the ropes and sending them both down onto the floor.

Fiona found herself in a difficult position, trapped between Ada and the ropes and still too dizzy to effectively defend herself. Ada's continued targeting of her head wasn't helping; Fiona was easily distracted by her opponent seizing her hair, reaching up to try to pry Ada's hand off only to leave herself wide open to a punch. Her legs destabilized, and when the second punch smashed into her cheek they gave out altogether. Only the ropes kept her upright after Ada let go of her hair, leaving Fiona more or less sitting on the middle rope, trying to find any kind of focus again.

The match suddenly kicked up a notch into overdrive when Ada charged at Fiona. A combination of quick reactions and dumb luck let Fiona avoid it, as she slipped off the middle rope and fell to the mat, Ada's tackle attempt carrying her right through the top and middle ropes to crash painfully down onto the floor below. The nearby crowd at the barriers leaned over to get a better view, while Fiona reached up to grab a rope and get herself back to her feet. Did... did that just happen?

Once she was back up, Fiona found herself hesitating again. Ada wouldn't be down for long, and Fiona didn't like the idea of chasing her ringside to fight during the ten count, as she'd rarely had any success brawling outside the ropes. She couldn't just let her recover, though; Fiona felt like the tide had turned against her, and unless she did something to get the crowd back behind her, Ada's skill or just her toughness were going to win out eventually. Gotta go big for the debut night.

Taking the top rope in both hands, Fiona pulled it back and used it to slingshot herself over the top, aiming to crash down on top of Ada just as she was starting to get to her feet again.

Fiona’s gamble paid off as all one hundred and nineteen pounds of her rained down across Ada’s back just as the latter was up onto her hands and knees. Ada was plastered against the floor padding, Fiona rolling off of Ada and down beside her after the collision.

“And Fiona Chevalier with a slingshot right over the top rope and down onto Ada flooring them both!”

“You know Ada wishes now that she hadn’t went for that wild tackle!” Rhonda grinned sideways at Dan Rich.

“And Fiona has a chance now to reclaim the advantage if she can be the first one up.” Dan replied.

”One!…” The referee started a ten count. Both women had ten seconds to get back inside the ring or take a loss or - if neither made it in time - a no contest. Ada’s arms and legs moved about in awkward, random motions against the padding though she did not rise up again. The sudden impact of Fiona’s body weight battering down onto her had flattened Ada and The Neon Diva needed a moment to recover.

”Two!…”

For a midcard match, the fight was proving to be anything but filler, with both women giving a fearless, gutsy performance in their efforts to deliver a debut win, and the crowd was loving it. Fiona's dangerous, risky move had paid off, although falling from that height hadn't been pleasant for her either, as she rolled off of Ada and couldn't get up for the first few seconds. She brushed the hair out of her face, breathing hard and hearing the referee's steady counting, which was soon matched by the crowd.

By the count of five she was getting up again, as was Ada, though Fiona won the race to her feet. Fiona grabbed her arm and put a hand on her back to shove her rolling back into the ring beneath the bottom rope, not wanting to mess around at all ringside. She had the advantage again and maybe a chance to win this match, but she had to stick to her strengths. Can't afford any more big mistakes.

Climbing back into the ring, she delivered a running stomp of a kick to the side of Ada's head as she was starting to get back up, keeping her down. Fiona then went into a handstand, holding the pose beside Ada for a few moments, before dropping both knees into her opponent's back. It would've been a good opportunity to transition into Fiona's signature submission hold, a bridging Fujiwara armbar, but she hadn't done any kind of damage to Ada's arm yet, so she decided against it. The match had been a mobile, high flying and heavy hitting affair right from the bell, and it showed no sign of slowing down now.

Pushing off of Ada to get to her feet, Fiona rolled her over onto her back before taking off for the ropes. As she came back, Fiona threw herself into a backflip of her own for a running shooting star press, coming down for a slam across Ada's torso. Fiona flipped over onto her back on Ada's midsection, securing one of her legs and going for her second pin attempt of the night, this time with a better chance of ending the match. Come on, come on...

“Fiona for a cover!” Dan Rich yelled as the official dropped and started the count.

“One!… Two!… Th-…!” Ada popped upright shoving Fiona off just as the referee’s hand was perhaps half a foot from the canvas. Fiona’s fans all released a collective groan as Ada’s went wild. The referee held up twin fingers with a shout of “Two!”. With Fiona’s back still facing her Ada had a small opening - and that was all she needed. With gritted teeth Ada leaned forward, despite the lingering pain in her torso, and swung her arms around simultaneously striking both of Fiona’s ears from behind in a dangerous hit. The crowd went near silent for a moment only then for jeers and boos aimed at Ada to rise up over such a cheap shot as well as shouts at the referee when he did not disqualify Ada on the spot.

“And Ada with a double strike to Fiona’s ears after a kickout! Which is not even legal… and listen to the fans all showing their disdain as well!” Dan Rich pointed out.

“Well, the ref’s not calling it.” Brent shrugged as Ada struggled into a full stand.

Ada slowly walked around a stunned Fiona, Ada wincing visibly as she rubbed at her chest and stomach with both hands. She positioned herself in front of Fiona, sizing up her opportunity for a finisher as she rolled her head and neck side to side. Seeing a chance to put this match away and not wishing to waste another second Ada took four short steps back and then sprinted toward Fiona. When in striking distance Ada dropped to her left, bringing her right leg around for a finishing hit. Leather met flesh as Ada’s shin cracked across the bridge of Fiona’s nose knocking the latter flat on her back.

“A Shining Wizard from Ada!”

“Fiona must be seeing stars after that one.” Rhonda shook her head.

“Match.” Brent said with a knowing smirk.

Ada sat upright and scrambled over to Fiona, sprawling across her torso and laying her left forearm across Fiona’s face. The referee went down for the count, the crowd electric.

“One!… Two!…”

For a moment Fiona thought she had it, and maybe that was let Ada slip free and push her away, escaping just before the three count. Fiona couldn't hide her dismay as she watched the referee start to get back to his feet, looking away at exactly the wrong moment.

Wham. Suddenly Fiona's ears were ringing, the shape of the referee in front of her going blurry as her dizziness returned with a vengeance. She found herself stuck on her hands and knees, able to hear only the muffled jeering of the crowd. Ada was willing to go way beyond the rules to get a debut win, it seemed, and now she had Fiona all lined up for a finisher. Just as she pushed upright on her knees Fiona saw the shape of Ada's leg flying at her, smashing into her face and flattening her on the mat.

Fiona barely moved as Ada lay across her, pushing her face sideways and waiting for the referee to declare the win for her, as she'd no doubt gotten used to after landing a brutal finisher like that.

But she made the same mistake Fiona did, thinking the match was over, and with an even closer call this time, Fiona suddenly surged her right arm up into the air, keeping the match going, to the disbelief of all of Ada's fans. Maybe it was her desire to give the fans absolutely everything for the grand opening, or maybe she got a little extra fire after her opponent cheated to get the upper hand on her. Either way, Ada would have to try again if she wanted to put Fiona away.

"I think Ada's in shock!" Dan Rich exclaimed. "She did not expect Fiona to have any fight left in her. And who can blame her?"

Avoiding the pinfall was one thing, now Fiona had to find some way to take the advantage back, and she was in rough shape. Still flat on her back, she saw a swirling vision of Ada's frustration with the referee, believing she had a three-count. The few precious seconds wasted were valuable time for Fiona to just breathe, and win the battle against the awful dizziness from all the shots to the head she'd taken in the match. Ada wasn't going to let her lay there for long, though, as she moved to the nearby corner and started ascending the turnbuckles.

"One finisher wasn't enough," Rhonda said, "Ada's going right for another while Fiona's still down!"

Ada stood atop the turnbuckles, briefly lining up her shot before soaring into the air for a graceful moonsault finisher. It would've sealed the deal, but Fiona was just barely able to muster the energy to roll herself into the corner, letting Ada crash down for a brutal belly flop onto the mat.

"And she missed!" shouted Dan Rich, holding onto his hat.

It was now or never for Fiona, who staggered to her feet with determination in her eyes, making it to Ada before the Neon Diva could recover from her backfired moonsault. She grabbed her by the hair this time, the crowd drowning out the referee's protests, though Fiona soon transitioned to a headlock and walked Ada to a corner. She was too battered to pull off crazy acrobatics on her own, so she had to improvise, stepping her way up the turnbuckles and flipping over backwards to slam Ada down for a shiranui.

Wasting no time, Fiona crawled back over the top of Ada, grabbing both of her legs and pulling them up and away from the corner and ropes, hoping the third time was the charm on her pin attempts.

“And now a corner finisher and a cover by Fiona!”

The official dropped for the count, the crowd chanting along with his strikes to the mat, ”One!… Two… Three!” And with that the referee leapt up and pointed to the timekeeper’s table calling the match, the bell rang and Madison Square Garden erupted as Fiona Chevalier clenched her first win under the newly risen No Mercy Wrestling.

“And Fiona Chevalier has done it!” Dan Rich smiled, “After a hard fought match Fiona has come out on top, outlasting The Neon Diva.”

“I mean, hey, I’ll own it,” Brent Christi shrugged, eyes still on the ring, “I thought Ada had this one but tonight she just did not bring her A-game and unfortunately for her is starting her NMW career with an L next to her name.”

The official gingerly helped Fiona stand and once she was upright raised her right arm as she was declared the winner. “And here is your winner by pinfall… Fiona… Chevalier!” Ada Eberhard lay on her back nearby, eyes wide and mouth hung open in disbelief as she stared up at the glaring red and white lights high above. Ada had lost not just the wrestling match but much of the crowd’s support with her illegal strike to Fiona and as a result most of the arena was now chanting Fiona’s name in a massive sway.

“Well, Fiona Chevalier took the win tonight - finishing The Neon Diva off with a corner slam and getting the pinfall and concreting her debut for NMW!” Dan shouted over the thunderous cheers and clapping. “This is the Fiona Chevalier that I know!”

“This was a fun match and that win was earned,” Rhonda nodded, “I am looking forward to seeing just what Fiona will show the No Mercy Wrestling world in the coming weeks and months.”

These were the moments Fiona wrestled for, the reason she'd left other sports and other pursuits behind to become a professional wrestler. Ada Eberhard had pushed her to her limit, right to the edge of a defeat, but Fiona found a way to hang on, keep fighting, and pull off a fantastic victory. She didn't wrestle her best match, she made mistakes and paid the price for them, but even her opponent's dirty tactics weren't enough to keep her down.

She nearby stumbled when she first tried to stand, but found her footing and let the referee raise her hand in victory, her expression one of relief, gratitude, and straight up joy. She'd won a lot of fans tonight by showing her character; that rush of feeling their cheering wash over her made all the pain worth it, and guaranteed she'd keep coming back for more. This was only the beginning of her NMW journey, and she was so relieved to have started it off on the right foot.

She headed to the corner turnbuckles to celebrate and let the fans get some better shots of her, feeling more energetic by the second. She'd be sore tomorrow, but that thought didn't even cross her mind. I just won in Madison Square Garden. Gonna need a day or two for this to sink in.

She'd be on the radar now for a lot of people, fans and wrestlers alike. Every big win in wrestling came with its own set of new opportunities, as well as new consequences and challenges. Bring it on, NMW.

---

The cheers followed Fiona all the way out of the arena, her name riding the waves as she exited through the tunnel out into the backstage area. The staff and gorilla crew were too caught up in their usual bustle to pay any attention to the passing Fiona, though several of the other wrestlers - women and men - offered her head nods and positive lines like “Nice win!” or “Great job!” Fiona soon ran into Gordon McKinney followed close by Kendra who was now dressed in her casual ware, a pair of black yoga pants and a light gray sweatshirt. Kendra had a huge grin on her face and looked like she was about to say something when Gordon suddenly lurched forward between she and Fiona. Gordon smiled at Fiona as he extended his left hand this time for a shake, his smartphone clasped tightly in his right.

“That was a fine performance,” Gordon rasped, his pudgy hand grabbing Fiona’s like a python snapping up a mouse, “Ada and yourself gave the fans a fine spectacle and your win over her has social media abuzz!” Still gripping Fiona’s hand Gordon raised his phone up for her to see a few posts on X.

“I will say,” Gordon said, then lowering his phone and releasing Fiona’s hand, “I do wish the fight had gone a little longer given the feedback from the fans but it was a mid card match and we still have the second half of the show tonight!”

Kendra rolled her eyes slightly before stepping forward past Gordon and grabbing Fiona in a tight hug, saying, “You did great!” into her partner’s ear as they embraced.

A hug was exactly what Fiona had been looking for, and Kendra was really the one person in the building she wanted one from. Fiona hugged her right back, her weight sagging into her a little as she still shook off the last lingering feelings of dizziness. It wasn't the most tired she'd ever felt after a match, as like Gordon said it hadn't been the longest fight, but it was probably the most hits to the head she'd ever taken in a ten minute period. Any more and it probably would've been lights out.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly, more from excitement than anything. "Oh, that was so intense. But so awesome."

Gordon was still there when she finally broke the hug, and she maintained a polite smile for him. "Thank you, Gor—uh, Mr. McKinney. Glad I could put on a show for everyone. Can't wait to do it again." She'd failed to focus in time to read most of the social media reactions he showed her after shaking her hand, but she'd learned last year not to spend much time online reading about herself, regardless of whether she won or lost. She'd have to take Gordon's word for it that the reaction was positive. The crowd at the venue were the only reaction Fiona needed, and they definitely seemed to appreciate her effort.

While she had Gordon's ear and what seemed like a good mood, it seemed as good a time as any to try to help her friend out. "Hopefully Kendra will be on a match card soon too? I've seen how hard she's worked, she's gonna surprise everyone when she gets out there."

There was a digital click as Gordon locked his phone and slipped it into his jacket pocket. “Well, in fact,” he said, “I had already planned on Kendra having a place on the next show. On the mid card of course.”

Kendra’s face lit up though there was a glint of hesitancy as Gordon’s expression suggested he had something more on his mind, his next words confirming that. “I think it would be a great idea,” Gordon seemed to be dragging each syllable out, “to have you - Fiona - cut a promo next Friday night in Los Angeles and introduce Kendra!”

Kendra blinked, her eyes at first moving down to the tile floor and then back up to Gordon’s round mug. “A… promo and an introduction, Mister McKinney?” Kendra asked.

“Yes! Just think for a moment,” Gordon said excitedly, reaching his arms out and pulling both women against him, his sweaty palms on their shoulders, “Fiona Chevalier, just off her unexpected win over The Neon Diva, arrives in Los Angeles, California to declare herself and her intentions to the NMW fanverse and then polishes off a fine performance on the mic by introducing Kendra Snipes and letting everyone know that Defiant Dream is back. Which Kendra then accents with a win over a choice opponent!”

Kendra chewed her bottom lip as she looked from Gordon to Fiona and back to Gordon who meanwhile glanced between the two women, that plastic smile of his never leaving his face. He turned his head to Fiona and asked with a twitch of his right eye, “It sounds too good to even think about refusing, right?”

Fiona really wasn't sure how to feel. She was definitely a little uncomfortable now, at least, as Gordon pulled both her and Kendra into him. He seemed lost in his own enthusiasm for his ideas, seeing the future, or at least his own excited vision of it. Fiona could think of a lot of ways it might not turn out quite like that.

He was asking her to make a pretty massive statement on the mic in front of all of the fans. Up to this point in her career, Fiona had preferred to let her wrestling do the in-ring talking for her, not wanting to project some massive ego she didn't have. She wasn't completely inexperienced with a microphone in her hands, but it was going to be one of NMW's many new adventures, as the show took a more theatrical approach than its predecessor.

It wasn't really what she wanted for Kendra, either. Kendra had been told to stay behind while Fiona made her debut alone, but now Kendra didn't get to be a solo act when it was her turn. It seemed like in everyone's eyes she was still just "Fiona's teammate" and "the other half of Defiant Dream" rather than someone to be valued on her own. That, and it put a lot of pressure on her to actually win her match convincingly.

Still, Fiona got the feeling Kendra wasn't going to be given a whole lot of options on where and when she'd be able to get in the ring. "I can do that for you if you want," she said to Kendra, not trying to hide her uncertainty. She phrased it like an offer, but much like what Gordon suggested, she didn't think there was really a choice being given here.

Kendra’s eyes continued to dart between Fiona and Gordon as Gordon’s arms dropped down to his sides. Kendra resisted the urge to wipe off her shoulder and asked, “Would Fiona be ringside or-?”

“Possibly,” Gordon butted in with a nod, “or maybe Fiona could have a seat at the announcers table!”

“You mean like… doing commentary?” Kendra asked with wide eyes and raised brows.

“No, no, no,” Gordon chuckled with an erratic waving of his right hand, “I mean… look… we can worry about where Fiona will be stuck later. The point here is that a promo would be good for Fiona and it would definitely fire up the fans to see Defiant Dream make a comeback like this! It would be good for you too, Kendra!”

“Well,” Kendra started to wring her hands together, “I can definitely see how it would-…”

“I have both of youse interests at heart here,” Gordon interrupted again, “and as assistant producer for NMW it is my responsibility to give the fans the best show that myself and my team can put together! Trust me on this, ladies.”

“Alright… yes, Mister McKinney.” Kendra nodded.

“Good, now, you two are officially ‘off the clock’,” Gordon winked at Fiona, “so get back to the hotel and get some well-earned rest. Again, Fiona, great job this evening. I will email you both on Monday. Or maybe I will call you. Whichever! Have a good night!”
And with that Gordon left Fiona and Kendra standing together as he hurried off to whatever or whoever his next point of interest was.

"Good night!" Fiona called to Gordon as he hightailed it off down the hall. The whole conversation felt like a whirlwind, over and done with as soon as it began, and yet so much had been decided so quickly. It seemed it was all good news, but Fiona couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"That guy's gonna take some getting used to," she commented quietly to Kendra, before giving her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry if I pushed you into that, it didn't seem like a good idea to argue when he offered you a match next week." NMW had hired a decent size roster for their women's division, after all, and plenty of them would still be waiting to get their first shot in the ring.

Gordon's aim, like he'd said, was to give a great show to the fans, it wasn't to look after the interests of Fiona and Kendra specifically, she wasn't naive enough to take his word for that. His job was to put them on a collision course with rivals, and as long as the fight entertained, Fiona doubted it mattered to Gordon who came out on top. He probably had plans all drawn up that he needed to scrap tonight after Fiona got the win instead of Ada.

Really, though, this was something to worry about tomorrow. This was a good night, and an important win, for Fiona, and she meant to celebrate it. The hotel bed sounded nice, but it could wait a little bit longer.

---

---

Six days later…

The ball was rolling now after the opening show in New York. Every match that night had been received favorably by the crowd. Isabella Cadiz and Raven Veyn, former NMWW and CSW champions respectively, were in a heated deadlock after their match had been declared a no contest. Isabella Cadiz was known for her pride and Raven Veyn her unforgiving nature and bad temper and everyone knew that neither woman would settle for a draw. They would be at each others’ throats now without a doubt.

And then there was Silas Dane’s beatdown on the young Jason Caillet and Dane’s sneering attitude seemingly aimed at the fans themselves as he declared that he would be the first No Mercy Wrestling men’s champion “like it or not”. This of course was seen as a direct challenge to the up-and-coming Jay Wyatt who had been personally recruited by Mark Trenton from another independent promotion. Jay Wyatt had been a two year reigning champion with his last “employer” and had made it clear that he planned to not only claim the honor of champion again but surpass the length of his previous reign. Winning the first ever No Mercy Wrestling main event against the Polish heavyweight Piotr Kapek had made for a very convincing debut statement by the Astro Kid.

Diana Deguara, lead producer of No Mercy Wrestling and the daughter of GM Antonio Deguara, had announced back in New York that the winner of the main event would face a “mystery opponent” in Los Angeles. Needless to say the internet was abuzz over the next few days about who this opponent of Jay Wyatt’s might be. Claims spanned from the obvious Silas Dane to various other male talents on the NMW roster. Some fans even tossed the idea around that NMW had signed a new wrestler that would take the ring on July eleventh - the date of the LA show.

Among the mid card matches in New York, Fiona Chevalier’s victory over Ada Eberhard had gained particular attention. Many had expected Ada, an experienced young wrestler with high ambitions and an unrelenting fighting style, to run circles around - and run over - Fiona. Fiona had instead held her own and managed to defeat The Neon Diva starting her NMW career on solid footing. The fans were quite animated by this turn of expectation. Gordon McKinney put out a post the day before the LA show that the fans “would definitely be seeing more of Fiona Chevalier without delay” leading to a general assumption that Fiona was on the card for the night. The hype was very real as Friday night came and the Intuit Dome was packed to capacity for the second No Mercy Wrestling performance.

---

It proved to be a wild week for Fiona after her debut win, matching pretty much anything she'd done in the previous year. NMW was off to a strong start with an enthused fanbase, and while Fiona's upset win over Ada Eberhard wasn't the biggest talking point of the show online, it was putting a lot of eyes on her, thanks in part to Gordon McKinney's efforts in the following days. There were interviews to do, photoshoots to pose for, advertisements to film, and more. There was no one "face of the brand" for NMW yet, for either the men's or women's rosters, but having even a small slice of that attention was a great way for Fiona to begin.

Before she knew it she was crossing the country for NMW's second show, this time on the west coast, and while she wasn't set to wrestle anyone tonight, she was still a little uneasy. Her job, as Gordon had assigned it, was to hype up herself, her team, and introduce Kendra before her first match, and for days Fiona had been dreading it, knowing she'd be given a script for this kind of promo work. She was pleasantly surprised, then, when Gordon emailed it to her and it was... not half bad. A little stronger than she would've liked in places, maybe, but there was no being timid in this business. She'd just have to fake the confidence until she really started to feel it.

She and Kendra waited backstage as the third match of the night progressed, the bangs of slams to the mat and the cheering of the crowd echoing down the hall. Fiona wore a tastefully torn-up black cropped shirt over a bra, along with skinny jeans and a studded belt. Sneakers, several cord necklaces, and a half-dozen bracelets on either wrist completed her look. Kendra of course was already in her gear for her fight, and would no doubt be feeling the pressure to perform. If she wanted a regular place on NMW's match cards, tonight was the night to earn it.

Fiona waved to Gordon as she saw him approaching, not surprised at all that he wanted to stop by before the match again. At this point she figured he was doing this for at least one of the wrestlers involved in every match of every night.

"We're all set, Mr. McKinney," she greeted him with a smile, more genuine this time, before nodding her head towards the exit towards the sounds of the match. "The show sounds like it's going great again so far."

“Yes,” Gordon huffed, dabbing his glistening forehead with a soggy white handkerchief, “geez… this California summer heat!”

Kendra smiled, impulsively fanning at herself at the mention of the temperature. Even with the air conditioning units all at full blast the parking and backstage areas were hot and stuffy and Kendra doubted that the heart of the arena would be any cooler what with nearly twenty thousand people packed together under a massive light show. Gordon made a broad swipe across his face with his handkerchief and then stuffed it into his left pants pocket as he looked between Fiona and Kendra. “Well, I take it you are ready for your debut, Kendra.”

“Yes, sir, I am.” Kendra nodded, grinning ear to ear.

“Great!” Gordon gave her a thumbs up and then asked Fiona, “And I take it Fiona you took full advantage of the last few days to study over the script we provided you?”

Before Fiona could respond Gordon held up both hands and added with a smirk, “Just so you know your employment with us does not demand a word-for-word memorization when it comes to these things. So long as you have the overall gist feel free to wander a bit with your phrasing and add anything that you think might be a nice touch. Just don’t be too out of line…”

“Fiona’s got this!” Kendra chirped giving her partner a smack on the arm.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Gordon blurted out, “Uhm, Fiona… you’ll be ringside for Kendra after her introduction and for the duration of the match. Not at the tables.”

"Ringside, alright," Fiona acknowledged, shrugging a little towards her teammate. "Looks like I'll have your back out there." None of this was all that ideal for Kendra, all three of them definitely knew that, but they needed to take what they could get to at least get Kendra started and let her show the likes of Mr. McKinney here what she could do. With Fiona doing an introduction and also staying ringside, this match was going to be almost as much about her as it was Kendra, and she didn't doubt at least one or two cameras were going to be on her the entire time. At least I picked something easy enough to move around in if I need to.

The loud ringing of the bell in the distance signaled the end of the third match, meaning they were now minutes away from heading out there, right after the commercial break. Fiona didn't plan to go too far off the script she was given, but it was good to know she had a little wiggle room if there was anything she didn't feel quite right about.

"That's our cue," she smiled, getting herself and Kendra started towards the backstage exit. "Thanks again for the opportunity, Mr. McKinney, we'll keep the heat up out there!"

---

The fans were still cheering even after the departure of the last matches’ winner. Magnus Lev had just trounced Quinn Harding in a one-sided contest that left Harding with a broken face and broken pride to go with. Magnus, fists smeared with crimson, had exited the arena slow and deliberate with his arms out and his chin high as Harding was lead away by medical staff.

“Boy, let me tell you,” Dan Rich said from his spot at the commentary table between Brent Christi and Rhonda Pierce, “Magnus Lev made a bloody statement with that win! The medical staff finally got the last of the unfortunate Quinn Harding scraped up off the mat and he is being seen about backstage as we speak.”

“I was expecting it to get brutal,” Brent said at Dan’s left side, “but I admit I did not expect Magnus to just break off the chains like that! I thought the referee was going to have to call the match!”

“Brent,” Dan turned in his chair, “Magnus was over at Crash Syndicate with you and the rest, did he go easy on Quinn tonight?”

“Oh, definitely!” Brent nodded, “I have watched Magnus unload even more punishment than what we saw tonight. Brent took a beating but he got lucky because Magnus could have made it so much worse.”

“That is… a scary thought,” Dan shuddered, “well then, up next we have something special coming our way. Rhonda, would you care to elaborate?”

“Of course,” Rhonda smiled, adjusting her headset, “up next we have a special promotion by Fiona Chevalier who is coming in after her win over Ada Eberhard last week!”

“A special promotion?” Dan questioned to which Rhonda shrugged with a half smile.

“Let’s hope it’s worth the time.” Brent remarked as the crowd started to settle down.

Fiona's music kicked in as she made her entrance first, mic in hand. The fans were happy to see her make an appearance, even in street clothes and not wrestling a match, lining up for high fives on her way down the ramp towards the ring. It was uncomfortably warm under the lights, with a heat that even a muggy New York City in July couldn't match, but Fiona was thankful at least that she didn't have to wrestle in it. Kendra's going to need some endurance tonight.

She got into the ring after jogging up the steps, lifting the microphone to her lips the second she was through the ropes. "Look at all those beautiful faces!" she said, smiling and sweeping a pointing finger across the audience. "There's nowhere I'd rather be than No Mercy Wrestling!"

The crowd cheered to that. "Now if you don't know who I am... what were you even watching last week? Where have you been? The No Mercy women's division saw not one, not two, but three," she held up three fingers, "absolute battles for the brand's debut, proving that NMW is the place to be for women's wrestling." The crowd cheered again, just before Fiona was about to continue, but she stopped herself to encourage them. It was true; there were basically no major brands out there giving fully equal air and match time to their women's roster.

"We, the women of NMW, are here for you, the fans," she continued, "but we're also here for those beautiful belts. We all want to be the first ever NMW Women's Champion. Now, some of you think I'm not in that conversation. Some of you are doubters." She turned towards the commentary table. "Some of you are like Brent. Why yes, I did watch my match back." She winked at him, clearly not taking it personally that he thought Ada had their match in hand.

"And that's okay. I don't expect to win the entire NMW universe to my side with one victory. What I'm here to do today is state my intentions. I will beat the odds again and again, prove the doubters wrong again and again, and overcome every setback until one day? That title will be mine."