Setting the Tone

The camera opens to what appears to be Stephanie “Cloud” Matsuda finishing a bowl of Life cereal. She looks up and feigns surprise as if she didn’t know she was recording.

“Oh snap, didn’t notice you guys there. I just got finished giving a certain fighting reverend a reality check over at another promotion. That seems to be the theme of this season, huh? Everyone throwing facts and logic around like it’s a fourth-grade food fight. Well, tonight, I’m going to put aside the facts and logic for a moment and just...set a tone—this why I immediately segued into this video from my previous one. Because with Chapter 18 behind us, and Dreamworld just on the horizon, I feel like I need to set the tone this triple threat match. I have two women who think they’ve gotten the best of me, two women who think they can pull a fast one and proclaim ‘Hai! That dastardly Matsuda will never pull a fast one on me!’ Well made you look, bitches. Because while Claudia was sitting in her Mario castle and April was obsessing about our apparent sexual tension, I went out and got TWO BELTS of my own! I’m not the kind of bitch who sits idly by and whine about how it’s not fair that those ‘gosh darn Underworld kids be taking everything from us!’ Nah! FUCK THAT! THIS IS AMERICA! I MAKE MY DAMN OPPORTUNITIES! For good or for ill, that’s been the story of this godforsaken country, right? People from all walks of life arrive here and stake their claim. That’s pretty much the wrestling industry as a whole, right? Just men and women who are trying to stake their claim on the business. Call me Buffy then, because if been staking claims since my high school years. It won’t be vampires turning to dust, but rather the reign of Claudia Michaels followed by a botched attempt by a ghost who thinks he can outsmart me. I don’t know if you’re as nerdy as my college years fam, but I got Blasian Girl Magic on my side, which means incorporeal undead can get bitch smacked across the face. Because if your stealth is as dead on arrival as your charisma, then there’s no way in hell you’re pulling a fast one on me, sweets.”

Stephanie grabs a cup of coffee and takes a sip.


“April and I have fought all over the place and stood back to back against the majority of Underworld and still came out on top. We may not get along, but she’s someone I don’t mind watching my back. And before she runs in screaming to whoever will listen - YES, she defeated me at Boiling Point! Woohoo, April Song finally got a legitimate win over her senpai! So what do you think is next? Do you want the American Dream for yourself? I guess that people’s champ energy is getting to your head. This is not the wild west where you can roll on in like some kind of sheriff and swoop in the do all the work. You’re not the LAW sweets. You’re just a good hand looking for a shake, but I get it, sweets. Beating me was the highlight of your career, the biggest night of your life. For me, it was another Saturday. I brushed myself off, teamed up with Colt, and got my win back. Well, it was a tag win, but fuck it, it made me feel better. Now all that’s left is to finish my campaign against Underworld by dethroning The Queen. You’re not going to get in the way of me finishing my mission, Killer Bee. This isn’t World’s Finest business; this is Cloudy business. This is the culmination of blood, sweat, and tears. I know you feel just as disrespected as I do about what she said, but you’re not the one to finish what Aria started. You’re not the one to do the job that Tarah or Haruna couldn’t do. It has to be me, sweets, it was always meant to be me. It’s why I was signed away from JET. No woman on this planet can bring down The Queen of the World for good, other than The War Queen herself.”

Stephanie sits back and checks her phone for a moment. Her expression softens for a moment but soon returns to its default resting bitch face. She looks up at the camera and continues to speak.

“You and I can fight forever like a couple of meatheads, but I’d rather not spend the best years of my life obsessed with doing something I’ve already accomplished twice. At Boiling Point, YOU were the one that had to prove something, sweets. I just wanted to soften you up for Dreamworld. And judging from your performance in Chapter 18, I think I’ve accomplished what I had set out to. You don’t have it in you to make the impossible a reality, sweets. You’ve wasted your energy on making me look back, but at the end of the day, I’m still the Iconic War Queen, a name I made off the title reign I took from your hands two years ago. An act to this day I don’t regret. It’s just another example of how you’re always just one step behind me. You get your little victories here and but you’re not a closer, sweets.”

Cloud takes another sip of coffee.

“Coffee is for closers. World titles are for closers. Iconic Cups are for closers, for those who can see things till the end. You call yourself a professional? You let some pizza boy hijack your name and run it into the mud with the despicable things he’s done! How are you going to lead Wrestleworld into the future when you can’t even protect your legacy in the present!? You’re stuck in a world of dreams, a real of maybes and what-ifs. ‘What if I can beat Matsuda just one more time, maybe I can take on Claudia and become the inaugural American Dream Cham- WAKE UP APRIL! Dreams fulfilled are for CLOSERS! It’s for people like me who are going to go in there and end things once and for all, and there’s nothing, not even a god damn sapphire briefcase can do about it! I’ve worked hard to get to this point sweets and as your stablemate, I’m sorry that I have to steal your title aspirations yet again, but this is what happens when you repeatedly cross paths with someone who’s clearly better for the job.”

Stephanie rests her head on her hand and shakes her head.

“Some of you might be thinking that I’m antagonizing April the same way Claudia antagonizes me. April gives off this impression that she’s a victim and that she’s being bullied but Song can hold her own. She’s beaten me before, but it’s not happening again. Not at Dreamworld, not for the American Dream Championship. That belt represents Claudia’s hold over the division just like she uses Underworld until they’re no longer of use to her! Maybe I’m underestimating you - in fact, I know you can see through the ruse. I’m pissing you off on purpose because when that bell rings I need you to turn into a fucking tiger, April. I need you to have that spec ops killswitch turned on because WE cannot let Claudia Michaels leave with that championship. She’s at the peak of her ego - this is a power move, sweets. If she can defeat two of the most dangerous women at the same time, then she can Flex on some Rich Homie Quan shit in her own Red Zone District. By the way, that was one hell of a match, shoutout to Quinn, and MYOJIN you guys were phenomenal!”

Stephanie raised a finger and walked away for a moment. She came back with a full coffee cup.

“Sorry guys, my previous cup was used while raging on Michael Bishop for some other match. Alright, let’s shift our focus over to Claudia. Sweet Claudy who made an appearance during me and April’s match during OWA’s Boiling Point event. What were you expecting when you sat next to Gia Cervantes, hmm? What were you hoping to see, sweets? April and I may hate each other’s guts, but even we’re not stupid. We knew what awaited us several weeks from then. April used up her energy, yes, but jesting aside I know she’s going to go full hype beast in this match. We fought a mat classic, what some are calling the match of the weekend. Now, all we need to do is do it again, with the addition of plucking the American Dream Championship from your dainty fingers. The Underworld is divided now more than ever, I don’t know who you think is going to save you. Let’s say you manage to pull off some psychological warfare and force April and me to lay into each other. You come within several feet of that hurricane and you will get handled. This isn’t the time for false bravado, Claudy. You made a declaration before the whole world that you would put up your American Dream Championship against us. You said that shit with your chest and now you have to show the hell up, sweets. Are you able to prove to us that you’re still the GOAT from yesteryear? Will Claudia Michaels cause another heartbreak at Dreamworld? It remains to be seen but I’m curious about the outcome. Remember my dear - last time we shared a ring in singles competition I took every trick in the book to retain your title. Your whole squad is going to have their hands full. There will be nobody there to save you, Claudy. This, as they say, is the end of your fucking road. It’s about damn time too.”

Stephanie sighs and takes another sip from her new cup of coffee.

“This country could use something uplifting you know? A champ who never backs down from a challenge, one whose sole obsession is one singular person. The people deserve someone who won’t be afraid of the future. To me, the American Dream Championship is about just that. This might sound crazy after all the shit I popped but at one point, you were the American Dream Claudia Michaels. I know why Jaywalker chose you - you were the first of our kind to crossover into the mainstream. You, a women’s wrestler got to cut her teeth with the big boys. For a woman in a man’s world, that was progress. Yes, there was a time where I looked up to you. I signed with EAW because I wanted to walk the path you did Claudia! I could’ve stayed in JET and became the next Miss Manami! And when I was approached by Jaywalker, you were the first name he brought up because he knew I would sign without a second thought. We never had the chance to run it back and as the Architect of the American Dream, I thought you would revel in the idea of passing on your legacy to someone else. But, I was wrong. You have no intention of stepping to the side for someone else to shine. You want the dream to be taken by force? I can do that, no problem. The irony is that the true American Dream, the land in which we live, was snatched from the Natives. Sometimes I think to myself maybe you do represent the American Dream. You represent what’s wrong with this company, the dark side of our nation’s people. You wish to use your influence to turn everyone’s dreams into nightmares while you sit pretty in Wrestleworld Castle, watching the world burn before your very eyes. I can’t abide by that and April? I’m gonna offer some advice that Claudia herself has given me several years ago: stop being a fucking tryhard. No seriously, it isn’t cute. If you ever wonder why you’ve never won the big one sweets, that’s why. You’re so eager to go all-in, so eager to prove to the world that you’re better than me that when it comes down to seize an opportunity, it passes right over your head. You’re in this match because Claudia thinks it’s going to stop my form getting what I want. It’s not. If anything it’s going to motivate me to fight harder than I’ve ever had. I’m not letting either of you disappoint me for a second time.”

Stephanie sighs and took one last sip from her coffee.

“This may be Claudy’s world and April’s dream, but it’s my fucking destiny. Soon yours truly will be #Cloudy3Belts. Know it. Understand it. Believe it.”

Stephanie raises her coffee cup in a toast before turning off the camera.