Bring it all!

Nicole Evans has typically been self-centered all of her life, never stopping to consider what everyone else would want. It wasn’t until she met Gina Neon that she realised how she could have made a difference, if only she cared enough. Somehow, Gina has melted Nicole’s cold heart. For the first time in her life, Nicole has a friend. A true friend.

Now, they form a formidable duo. The Neon Babes are the VoW Twin City Champions - and it is no less than their combined effort deserves. It’s a long time coming for Nicole, but since teaming with Gina she has realised just how much an individual really does matter!

~ Toronto, Ontario
~ March 25th, 2016

“Nicky, what is this place?”

Nicole Evans turns on her heel after the sound of her partner’s confused voice. The young girl looks up at the old, four-story building and stops at the door; apprehensive to go in.

“I’ve already told you, Gigi”, Nicole responds as she grabs Gina Neon by the arm. “It’s the charity’s headquarters!”

“... Charity?”, Gina asks with a blank expression. “What charity?”

“You know…” Nicole points up to the relatively tattered sign on the side of the building, above the arched windows on the second floor. “The selective mutism charity I was telling you about. We have a meeting with one of the volunteers, remember?”

Nicole tugs at Gina’s arm, making an effort to lure her friend into the edifice; but it doesn’t matter. Gina is already on her way towards the automatic doors.

“Well then -- LET’S GO!”, she yells as she almost dives through the glass. Gina waltzes straight on into the building, and immediately takes a left turn. Nicole hurries after her, trying to get her to wait.

“Gigi, wait up!” she exclaims, panting for breath. “You don’t even know where to go!”

Nicole shakes her head as Gina seemingly ignores her plea, heading straight through a pair of doors directly ahead of them. Hesitantly, she follows quickly behind her.

“Gina - STOP!” Nicole tries the more assertive approach, thinking that it will cause her to listen to her. Of course, the overly-excited Gina pays little attention.

“Come on, Nicky”, Gina adds. “We’re going to be late!”

“But you don’t even know where to go”, Nicole retorts as she desperately tries to keep up. But Gina carries on to the end of the corridor, taking the next immediate right. She walks into a dead end, with nothing but a door clearly labelled as a gentlemen's’ restroom.

“Nicky”, she adds. “I don’t know where to go…”

Nicole snickers as Gina looks around like a lost puppy. She gently places her palm onto her partner’s shoulder and smiles, calmly trying to get Gina to turn around.

“It’s okay Gigi - neither do I.” Nicole grabs her friend’s right hand and begins to drag her back from whence they came. “Come on - let’s head to reception. I’m sure they’ll tell us where we need to be.”

Head back they do, this time with Nicole leading the way. By walking at a much calmer, sensible place Gina is able to pay attention to everything that she misses in her eagerness to meet someone new. She peers through one of the doors, and inside appears to be a small classroom of some kind.

“Nicky, are we in a school?”, Gina asks as the next room has an almost identical layout.

“It’s a training center, Gigi” Nicole declares. “They help unemployed people find a job.”

The pair continue to the end of the corridor and straight through the double doors which they had gone through just minutes earlier. With one left turn they find themselves at the reception desk, where a middle aged man is sitting.

“May I help you, ladies?”, the gentleman asks as he places his newspaper onto the table.

“I’m Nicole Evans”, Nicky exclaims as she steps forwards. “We have a meeting with Mel, I think it is?”

The gentleman puts a pair of spectacles on and begins to flick through the pages of the diary on his desk.

“Right this way”, he responds as he pulls himself to his feet and through the door behind him. “Go up the stairs and turn left. He won’t be long.”

Nicole and Gina run up the stairs, neither one placing their hand on the banister. As instructed, they turn left and walk straight through the open doors. They are greeted by a man in his mid-thirties, dressed in a t-shirt with the charity’s logo embroidered across the chest.

“Nicole and Gina?”, he asks confidently. Nicole nods her head and smiles. “I’m Mel. Come with me!”

Mel turns around and starts walking down a long corridor, and he is quickly followed by the pairing of Gina and Nicole. He turns right into a small room, in the middle of which is a small table. He holds the door open for the two women.

“Please, take a seat.” Nicole and Gina both oblige, as they each pull out a chair and sit down. “Do you need a drink, any of you?”, he adds.

“We’re fine, thank you.” Nicole responds. “We had a coffee just before we left.”

“So, what can I help you ladies with?”, Mel asks with a smile.

“This may come as a surprise to you, considering how we are two beautiful young women. But we’re wrestlers. Professional wrestlers.” Mel arches an eyebrow, and Nicole quickly realises that she hasn’t explained why they are there. “There’s this woman we know, and she doesn’t speak much. It kind of concerns me…”

“Ahh, I see”, he replies. “This woman - is she a friend of yours?”

“No, sir”, Gina responds. “She’s one of our opponents!”

Nicole was going to respond, but opts not to.

“Well, there are all kinds of reasons why a person may choose to remain mute. Unless I meet her personally, I obviously won’t be able to tell you exactly why she does.”

“That’s understandable”, Nicole replies. “But can you explain to us how selective muteness works, so we at least have an idea?”

Mel stalls for a moment, hesitating. He looks through his notes, before letting out a defeated sigh.

“As I said - there are a lot of reasons for a person’s muteness, such as…” Gina raises her hand, as if she was in a school classroom. “Yes, Gina?”, Mel asks.

“Maybe she had her tongue cut off by ninjas!”, Gina outlandishly claims. “I saw it in a movie once!”

There is a brief silence, as Nicole slaps her palm against her forehead.

“Ninjas…”, she rejoinders. “Really, Gina?”

“What, Nicky?!”, Gina retorts. “Ninjas are totally real! They just can’t go around dressed like one, or everyone would know what they were. Dum-dum!”

Nicole sighs, but Mel bursts into laughter. “We’ve never had any ninjas here, Gina. But if one does ever turn up, I’ll remember you.” He glances down at his notes, before making eye contact with the women opposite him.

“Like I was saying, the main reason that some people may choose to not speak is due to some kind of insecurity. This is particularly evident in a school setting.”

“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Orange Is The New Black”, Nicole declares. “But there’s a woman on there, Norma, who doesn’t speak because of her stutter.”

“I’ve never seen it”, Mel responds. “But that is essentially what I mean, yes.”

Nicole nods her head, thinking that she understands. “So basically, the reason our opponent doesn’t speak is because she has an insecurity?”

“Not necessarily”, Mel adds. “Sometimes, there are other factors involved.”

“Such as what?”, Nicole asks.

“Well, firstly it is important to understand that selective mutism doesn’t mean that these people cannot speak - often, they will speak normally in settings where they will feel comfortable. This doesn’t mean that they refuse to speak, but more that they struggle with social interaction.”

“Well, this particular woman is in a group who are considered by some to be rather intimidating”, Nicole claims.

“But they don’t scare us!”, Gina butts in.

“They like to destroy people, and they have their sights set on us. Being the Twin City Champions, it’s only natural to have a target on our backs. But this lot are something else.” Nicole shivers at the thought of them.

“When you say they like to destroy people, can you give me an example of that?” Mel grabs a pen and paper to start making notes. “It will help me to understand them better.”

“Certainly”, Nicole replies. “We had a number one contenders match against Chaossworn, and they smacked Gina with a steel chair rather than try for the victory. Those women had a golden opportunity, and they decided to hurt my friend and I instead!”

Mel nods his head as she scribbles down notes before responding. “It seems to me that we’re not talking about a case of selective mutism here, ladies.”

“Well if it’s not selective mutism, why doesn’t she speak?” Nicole queries.

Rather than answer Nicole’s question, he sits and stares at her for at least half a minute. Nicole gets more and more impatient as the time passes by. “Hello? Are you there?”, Nicole asks sarcastically.

“Answer me!”, Nicole commands. “Don’t just sit there silently!”

Mel smirks and chuckles ever so slightly.

“Is it intimidating?”, he asks.

“A little, yeah”, Nicole responds.

“Exactly”, Mel adds. “By remaining silent, you can present yourself as rather intimidating. It’s a very popular technique.”

“Like the silent treatment!”, Gina conveys.

“Almost exactly like the silent treatment, yes. You can say a surprising amount without saying a word, and it seems like she may well have mastered it.”

“Well”, Nicole replies, “I guess this calls for a bit of Neon…”

Right on cue, Gina enthusiastically yells in response. “POWER!!!”

~ Windsor, Ontario
~ March 28th, 2016

“Talon and Katalina Star, I don’t know what your deal is.” I press record on my camcorder and place it onto a tripod. I gaze into the lense, making sure that my entire upper-body is in the shot.

“Are you some kind of mercenaries or something? Have you been hired to do what Emma and Joanna FAILED to do? Because I can’t see any other reason why you’d have this sudden issue with the Neon Babes - especially considering how this is a non-title bout!”

I place my hand on my hip and tilt my head to the left.

“I mean, sure. You’re supposed to be a group of scary, intimidating women - but we’re not scared. Nothing you say scares us... and we’re not even scared when you say nothing, Talon. Maybe that’s why you have a problem with us? Maybe you’re that desperate for us to fear you, that you’re going to make us fear you. It’s a great plan - only, it’s not going to work.”

My tone sharpens, as I want to make sure I am understood clearly.

“You might beat us up, you might even win the match. But I still won’t be any more scared of you than I am scared of everybody else on the roster. Why? Because we’re the Twin City Champions - and much like the name of the event suggests, Nothing Else Matters. When all's said and done, Gina and I will be leaving Windsor with our titles.”

I maintain my serious tone as I continue to speak.

“There is no doubt in my mind that you’re both great wrestlers - and I’m sure we’ll have a fantastic match. But you’re against the Neon Babes - the Twin City Champions baby!” I take a leaf out of my partner’s book, as I point towards the camera.

“I may have lost my last match, but the Neon Babes in full capacity are still undefeated. We’re no fluke, and we intend to prove that this week! So bring your sadomasochistic fantasies, your Muay Thai and even your giant husband. Bring absolutely everything you’ve got - because Gina and I? We’ll be bringing Neon… POWER!”