Isolation. Lockdown. Quarantine.
The Americans had so many words for it. But to someone like Johanna it was other things. Prison. Torture. Hell. Even if it was in a beautiful hotel on the Vegas strip. Johanna Krieger was used to being able to move around freely. But as a contracted performer for Sin City Wrestling that was impossible. For the last two months she had been in this hotel. And in this very room. Her days often started off the same. She would wake up, do some stretching and yoga, crunches, pull ups, push ups. Anything she could do in the room to herself.
She would make her protein and energy shake, she would prepare food for the day. And thyen train her mind and body. Making use of the gym facilities. Even socialise with some of the others in Wolfslair, some in SCW even tried to be sociable.
But Johanna didn’t want that. She didn't need or want friends.
What she did need and crave. Was freedom. There were only so many workouts she could do, so many articles she could read, so many news stories she could watch on the television. She paced back and forth now, the day had started out as any other. But this was an announcement she had been waiting for. In a weeks time she and Alex would finally be defending the Sin City Wrestling mixed tag titles again. She would be on Climax Control and had another chance to perform.
With Rose City pre taping all their events for months and NFW using her sparingly she had been confined to Vegas. Confined to her room. And now she could see a small light at the end of the tunnel.
A chance to go out there and show what she could do.
But, the weekend seemed so far away, the Sunday night event down in the Go gym seemed to taunt her, to laugh at her. And she was starting to crack. She couldn’t stop moving, relaxing was out of the picture. Johanna sat on the black leather couch, she punched a few keys on her laptop bringing up spotify to listen to some music;. A playlist popped up with some different metal bands. She slowly moved her head flicking through her phone.
She stood up moving across the suite to the window looking down to the street. The strip was so eerie. It was like a scene from a post apocalyptic movie. One where only a small amount of humans still inhabited the world. They dotted the sidewalk, Police patrolled up and down. And Johanna slowly raised a bottle of water to her lips as she tried to think of something else to do.
Her body twitched.
Her eyes followed.
She was anxious, angry, frustrated. She hated this. She gripped the back of the long stools with high backs they put in the rooms near the kitchen counters. She pulled back and slammed the stool forward against the hard wood of the counter. A small growl escaping her lips. She looked over at the small table just off the kitchen. A pair of championship title belts sat there crossed over. One half of the Rose City Wrestling tag titles sat next to her half of the SCW mixed tag titles. For a moment this seemed to calm her.
She let out another growl, she turned off the music, grabbed a leather jacket and ventured out of the room. She had nowhere to go, nothing to go. But she needed to get out. She needed air, freedom. Even if it was an illusion. She stormed down the hallway to the elevator, moving down to the lobby stepping out towards the gym, she didn’t even have her workout gear. But a voice stopped her.
”Hey Jo” Charlie Jones, Alex’s younger sister and one of the head trainers at Wolfslair stood to the side in a pair of black jeans, combat boots, a tight white shirt and a leather jacket. A bag sitting by her feet. Johanna raised an eyebrow moving over as Charlie signed the paperwork in front of her. Jo’s eyes couldn’t help but travel down to the bag, the top of her newly won Triumph FC Womens bantamweight title poked out of the top.
Johanna couldn’t help but smile and nod. ”Hey champ” Charlie couldn’t help but laugh too, she took her credit card back from the receptionist before picking up her back and the room key.”Checking back in?” Charlie smiled warmly and moved around Johanna with a sigh.
”Yeah, I got an exemption to travel to Japan, private jet. Triumph didn’t want their first event to fail.” Jo gave a nod. She was jealous, she didn’t want to admit it but she was. She liked Charlie, they had gotten along well in the gym, she was tough, reliable and much more talented than people have her credit for. ”But, I’m back, to help keep you, Alex, Austin and Alicia in shape. Aiden, Kallie and the rest of the trainees are in town to…”
Oh Joy...Kallie…
Johanna swallowed hard and sighed. The young kid at Wolfslair, the rookie who had clutched on to Johanna had been a welcome distraction, a little friend she didn’t think she needed. But even though Kallie annoyed her, Johanna liked her in a weird little sister way. ”God knows I need someone to keep me focused…..have you seen your brother yet?” Charlie smiled and turned motioning her hand over to the doorway. Alex was there, sitting and looking out the window, Johanna gave Charlie a warm grin and the two fist bumped before Charlie moved towards the elevators and Johanna towards Alex.
A cruel joke
Her hands clasped together as she sat forward. A small smile across her lips as Johanna Krieger let out a sigh, her head tilting as she thought about her words carefully.
”Last time you saw me in an SCW ring, Alex and I were having our hands raised as the Sin City Wrestling mixed tag team champions. He and I stepped into the ring and did all we said we would and kept then titles that the elders and in particular, Song seemed to want...but, while I have been used...sparingly on SCW television it doesn’t mean I have been silent or stagnant…”
She reaches down pulling up the SCW mixed tag title belt and the RCW tag team title putting one on each shoulder with a grin.
”See, this is the mark of a champion, of someone who wants to be a name in this business who is not content with simply being here. That is a problem with todays society. So many of you are happy with just being handed a fucking participation trophy. Instead of being something more. And that, well, that is the problem that Alex and I have with our opponents this week. Two people who, if I’m honest, don’t deserve a shot at us…”
“Two people who like to have those...participation trophies.”
“Jesse Salco and Caleb Storms. Two of the biggest losers in SCW but two people who never give up and are happy to simply be here.If you’re complacent, if you just want to collect your paycheck and go home, you shouldn’t be in a top flight wrestling company. Caleb especially. See Mr Storms, Ms Salco, I don’t hate either of you. This isn’t about emotion, this isn’t about anger. This is simply a contractual obligation. Alex and I have to defend our titles before we face the Trenton Tiges and SCW has chosen you two to be the sacrificial lambs.”
She laughs to herself adjusting the title belts before rolling her eyes and mumbling under her breath.
”Now, my therapist says I need to stop being so negative about things and people and mostly my coworkers. So I need to say something...nice about you two. I like your styles and the music you listen to...argh that felt wrong...but it’s true. You’re both metalheads. You listen to great music and I’m sure away from wrestling and all this madness you’re good people. But in the ring...you’re both not deserving of my time, and under any normal circumstance I wouldn’t think about either of you...but this isn’t a normal circumstance...we have been booked in a match..”
Johanna pauses for a moment5 and swallows hard placing both title belts back down and pacing back and forth.
”Now, I’m not going to go into the hows and whys of Alex beating the shit out of Caleb,I’ll leave that up to him. But Jesse Salco, well now, that is different. See Jesse is like the cockroach that just won’t die no matter how many times you squash it. For years Jesse Salco has flied the SCW flag. Since 2012 she has been here, on and off, struggling away to make her mark and in that time, in eight years she has barely scratched the surface here. A few small titles reigns, but no real moments that people will remember. I’ve been here a few months and people talk about Song and I brawling mall over the arena and how Mercedes Varghas ducked me.”
“But little Jesse Salco is lost in the shuffle.”
“Little Jesse Salco begs and pleads for title opportunities.”
“Little Jesse Salco is only noticed when people bring up the epic loss record she has going.”
“You haven’t won a title since 2017 Jesse, and in the last fourteen opportunities you’ve had since then, you’ve failed. And just stop and think about that Jesse. Three years, fourteen title shots. And not one championship to your name. And this one is going to be different? This one is going to be where Jesse and Caleb step up and become the mixed tag team champions?. No, I don’t think so….”
Jo chuckles and pulls the chair out from the table spinning it around to sit down on it and place her arms across the front.
”I am a beast Jesse. There’s no other way to put it. Look at me. I look like something that nightmares are made of. Strong, fast, deadly. Zero fear. I can stand up and punch you in the face so hard I break bone, I can throw you around with no effort and if I do happen to take you to the mat I can grab any limb you leave out there and turn and twist it till I hear you tap or it snaps. This isn’t a game Jesse and you don’t have the pedigree to get in the ring with me and be anything more than a speed bump”
“Don’t get me wrong, I do have to respect your longevity here but it speaks volumes that women who have been here just as long as you have hall of fame worthy careers and you simply. Don’t. I have no doubt you’ll be put in SCW’s hall of fame but look at the members of Wolfslair. Alicia is already a legend here. And I won a championship in my first two months of being here.”
“I am well known and respected and even feared in other companies...and you?...you limp through SCW like you limped through Honor…”
“So at bClimax Control, bring everything you have, come at me with it all and do not hold back. And then, don’t take it personally when I am able to take it all and shove it right back down your throat…”
