Bloody pages of history

"An exciting moment, isn't it?" Victoria asked.

Astrid grinned, but did not deny the truthfulness of her manager's words. The blonde was standing in front of the curtains in the waiting room. Today she will speak to the audience for the first time as a champion. Perhaps there was nothing too unusual in this, but for the Golden Dragon it was a very important moment, especially considering the upcoming events. She had a few things she wanted to say, and not just to the audience.

"I promised I'd be the one to bring you the belt," Astrid said, "but this is just the beginning."

The Englishwoman adjusted her glasses, although there was a slight smile on her face. She knew that the Golden Dragon wasn't going to stop after receiving the golden belt. The manager was proud of the women of her team and she was sure that each of them was not just worthy of becoming a champion, but also ready to do everything necessary to maintain the reputation of both the championship title and the federation as a whole.

"Then go and tell them," Victoria said.

The Golden Dragon struck her left palm with her right fist. Her dynamic music started and Astrid came out from behind the curtains. She was greeted with a roar of applause. The Norwegian woman smiled broadly, and then raised both hands above her head, folding her palms in the manner of a crown. And then she started walking down the ramp.


Today she was in her casual clothes, but that wasn't what was important. The most important thing was that there was the large gold belt around her waist. The belt she fought for on the Avalanche. The belt she paid for with blood and sweat. The belt that confirmed the fact that now the Golden Dragon has the right to call herself one of the strongest. The blonde stopped several times to sign posters and take a couple of photos with fans.


Once at the commentators' table, she picked up the microphone, and then climbed the metal steps. Slipping between the middle and top rope, she found herself in the ring. After her title shot, she needed time to recover, because she and her rival literally tried to kill each other. But now that she was back in the ring, Astrid felt more alive than ever. She belongs here. And she didn't want to be anywhere else.

The Golden Dragon walked confidently to the center of the ring. Stopping, the Norwegian woman proudly pointed at herself with her thumb. The last two hardcore champions were made out of anger. They didn't care about public opinion, they didn't care about popularity, they didn't care about fans, only the moral satisfaction of their cruel needs was important to them. Astrid was made of a different material. For her, any bloody and brutal match is another way to test herself and her abilities. She's a warrior. She's the new hardcore champion.

When her music ended, Astrid accepted the last applause of the audience, and then brought the microphone to her mouth.

"Let me hear you, TOKYO!" she almost shouted.

The hall was filled with noise again and the blonde laughed good-naturedly. She always felt a special connection with the fans, she liked to see their enthusiastic faces. The feeling of support from them helped her more than once during matches and therefore she sincerely appreciated everyone who was here for her.

"First of all, let me thank each of you," Astrid said, after which she ran her hand over the gold on her waist, "this would never have happened without your support, so with all sincerity I thank you and give you a promise that I will not let you down on my champion path."

Astrid had to take a short pause in order for the noise in the hall to calm down a little. She usually tried not to make promises, but this time she was willing to make an exception. Some believe that after receiving the belt, you can relax, because the top has been taken. But the descendant of the great Vikings thought otherwise. Now she felt a new responsibility on her shoulders. In her opinion, there have been too few truly worthy champions in the federation in recent years. And so she was ready to promise to do everything possible not to become another piece of shit who holds on to the belt just for the right to call themselves a champion.

"And I hope you'll let me thank a few more people," the blonde continued, "now I'm talking about our great team, as well as our leader, Victoria Palmer. I want to thank this great woman who supported me on the way to this title. It is my duty to express my admiration to all the women and girls in our team who work on themselves every day so that you, the audience, have the opportunity to enjoy truly wonderful matches. And, of course, I just can't help but turn to my best friend and sparring partner."

The blonde paused briefly and grinned slightly. She ruffled the gold belt around her waist again.

"Charlotte, try to keep up," Astrid said a little sharply, but only so that her friend fully realized the meaning of this message.

Astrid was not the only one who achieved success on the Avalanche. After the Summer Splash, her friend began a very long and difficult journey. Charlotte lost not only her honor and confidence. However, the strength of the spirit of this Frenchwoman was truly incredible. Getting to her feet, she continued moving forward. And it was on the Avalanche that she was able to do no less incredible thing than Astrid did. She won two matches in one night. And she once again earned the right to call herself the Sand Lizard. That's why the Norwegian woman sent her this message. Now Charlotte was who she was born to be again. And that's why Astrid wanted her best friend and one of the strongest fighters she had ever seen to return to the title race again.

"And now to the point, huh," Astrid grinned, "does everyone remember what happened a year ago?"

The hall was filled with noise. Of course, it was almost impossible to forget. It may not have been the longest match in history, but it was definitely one of the bloodiest matches in a long time. Exactly a year ago Astrid fought against River Styx. Exactly a year ago, Astrid could not get the golden belt, which was now on her waist.

"I'm not going to look for excuses, at that time I didn't have the strength to take the belt with me," the blonde became more serious, "however, I won't let anyone forget the fact that it was after the match with me River Styx was forced to make the title vacant. None of us won the match a year ago. But unlike River, I'm still here. And unlike River, now I'm the fucking HARDCORE CHAMPION!"

Emotions began to overwhelm the Norwegian woman. And she wasn't going to hold it back. She is who she is, and no one will take away from her the fire that she carried in her heart. Now she was standing in front of the audience as a champion and she was proud of it.

"I have never hidden my goals," Astrid continued, starting to pace the ring, "my main goal is to write my name in history as the strongest fighter, I am the descendant of the great Vikings and I'm going to make my ancestors proud of me! Nothing and no one will make me turn away from this path! Now I'm the hardcore champion and now I'm going to remind everyone that I'm ready to fight anyone who thinks they're strong enough! River Styx remained on the old pages of history. I will start a new chapter in the history of the hardcore title. Rest assured, these will be the bloody pages of history. And I'll start from new Cyber Saturday!"

The logo of the upcoming PPV appeared on the screen behind Astrid. The blonde fully enjoyed the reaction of the audience, who clearly supported her every word. A year ago, Astrid tried to get the hardcore belt. And now, a year later, she was going to defend it. It was difficult to think of more favorable circumstances. When the noise subsided slightly, she stopped.

"Any champion needs a challenger," she said evenly, getting to the most important moment of her speech, "so... Galina Romerno, I want you to come to me in this ring because I have a few words for you to say!"

Astrid turned to the curtains amid loud applause and shouts from the audience. The reaction that the blonde received met all her wildest expectations. She was here to fight. But she wasn't going to lose touch with her audience. They deserve a show. They deserved good matches. And Astrid was going to give it all to them. It was a part of her path. The path of the new hardcore champion.

And the contender was not long in coming. Almost immediately after Astrid called Galina, loud music began. A wide smile appeared on the blonde's face when the Russian woman came to the top of the ramp. The Golden Dragon had to make a little effort to restrain a chuckle. A bottle of vodka. A fucking bottle of vodka. Unfortunately or fortunately, Astrid has never been to Russia. However, her best friend, Charlotte, spent a year of her life there. Therefore, Astrid had a source of information about this country and, as strange as it may sound, many rumors about Russians were just rumors.

But, damn it, this red-haired woman standing at the top of the ramp and drinking vodka like cold water on a hot day was a living stereotype of Russians. If she was sitting astride a bear and at the same time playing the balalaika, then she could be given a diploma of the most Russian person in the world. Astrid clearly did not expect such an appearance of her potential rival, but it was definitely intriguing.

The Golden Dragon continued to smile, watching Galina, who broke the bottle, throwing it aside, and then began to descend the ramp. This Russian woman definitely had a certain fan base. The audience greeted her quite warmly, and someone from, apparently, the most loyal fans gave her a beer. This time Astrid couldn't help but chuckle. Drink beer after vodka. The Norwegian woman had a very strong liver and she also liked to drink, but what Galina was doing right now resembled some kind of alcoholic madness.

Astrid even wondered what was more in her rival's body, blood or alcohol? However, even if it was the second option, this did not prevent the red-haired woman from taking the microphone and then climbing the ring. And instead of approaching Astrid, she settled down on the top turnbuckle. The red-haired woman's music ended. And a moment later, Galina greeted the Golden Dragon in a peculiar manner, complaining that the Norwegian woman did not take a drink with her. Astrid grinned.

"As it's easy to see, you're doing a great job with it even without my help, huh," the blonde replied, not remaining in debt, after which her lavender eyes sparkled in the spotlight, "to the point."

She wasn't going to make a farcical verbal altercation out of this meeting. Astrid called this Russian woman here just for one thing. And so she saw no reason to delay this moment.

"Whether you know it or not, we were supposed to meet in a match for this belt at the Summer Splash," the blonde said, running her hand over the gold on her waist, "but we were both deprived of this match.”

A dissatisfied noise began in the hall. Oh, Astrid understood their feelings. She was also filled with rage at that moment. But looking back is not the best idea. You need to live today and look to the future, but definitely not stay in the past.

"I am a descendant of the great Vikings and it is an honor for a true warrior to meet another warrior in battle," Astrid said, "so I offer you an opportunity that we were deprived of. I offer you a match for the hardcore champion title. I offer you a match against me. In a week. On Cyber Saturday. What would you say?"

Astrid lowered the microphone, allowing the hall to fill with noise. However, that wasn't what she was interested in right now. She was only interested in the red-haired woman's answer. Astrid looked into Galina's eyes in anticipation.

Judging by Galina's reaction, or rather by the almost complete absence of any reaction, Astrid's proposal did not seem very interesting to her. This caused the blonde to slightly raise her left eyebrow. She couldn't say that she was hoping for anything special, but it was still strange to see that this red-haired woman seemed completely uninterested in what was happening.

This prompted the Golden Dragon to think that she had made a mistake with the choice of the opponent for the first defense. She's used to not judging people in advance, especially when it comes to combat. It seemed to her that this Russian woman would be an excellent contender, because she had already tried to get the belt, which is now on Astrid's waist. In addition, the blonde considered it fair enough to offer her a match, given that they were deprived of the opportunity to beat the shit out of each other on the Summer Splash.

She was even ready to bring it to her mouth again to say that if Galina is not interested, then she should get out of this ring and go back to where she came from. But the need for this disappeared when the red-haired woman jumped off the turnbuckle. She approached Astrid, there were only a few inches between them. The blonde felt a strong smell of fumes, but this did not prevent her from focusing her gaze on Galina's eyes. She needed an answer.

And the Golden Dragon got it. After Galina's words, the hall was filled with noise, and a grin appeared on Astrid's face. She still thought it was strange that she had to wait so long, but the most important thing was that the red-haired woman agreed to the match. There was only one thing that mattered to Astrid. In this ring, she needs only the strongest opponents who can push her to the limits of her abilities. Galina started to step back, but it was clear that she was expecting another word or two from Astrid.

"Or I'll pour this whiskey on your dead body at the end of the match, huh," Astrid said with a grin, not wanting to remain in debt to the Russian woman.

The noise in the hall increased. The Norwegian woman did not know what was going on in Galina's head and how high her conceit was. And it didn't really matter to her. The Golden Dragon is not someone who can be intimidated by such words. They made a deal. Now it remains only to wait for the match. Although there was one more thing worth mentioning. Astrid turned to the audience.

"It depends only on you what kind of match it will be!" she reminded. "Hardcore will never die, and only thanks to hardcore can you see what fighters who are ready to do anything for the sake of victory are capable of. Online voting will begin tonight! An unforgettable sight awaits you!”

The Golden Dragon took another look at her rival.

"In a week I will beat the shit out of you and no amount of alcohol in your blood will save you from pain!" she said, her eyes flashing. "Get ready, because to defend this title, I am ready to go through the fucking Hell!"

With these words, Astrid threw down the microphone and spread her arms to the sides to loud applause. The audience wanted a show, and she wanted a match. Today everyone got what they wanted. A new challenge. She had no doubt that Galina would give her everything she had. In a week they will meet and this meeting will be bloody. But wasn't that the point of title-level hardcore?