SOLARIS CITY, SOLARIS VII – Welcome back,
fight fans, to our special last look at the 3132 Solaris VII
Grand Championship. Joining us here in the studio is, of
course, the lovely and talented Shayne “Shockwave” Kirkpatrick
of Blackstar Stables, this year’s Grand Champion. This segment
of the Championship Recap brought to you by Earcandy
Entertainment, “Good Times Never Sounded So Good”.
DS: Shayne, let me start by thanking you for coming,
on behalf of all of us here at SBC.
SK: Absolutely, Dennis. It’s great to be here!
DS: Alright, now it’s been an exciting ride for you,
hasn’t it? Last year, you were Blackstar’s sixth-place rising
star, but tonight, you actually managed what every other
fighter in the tournament could only dream of. How does that
feel?
SK: It’s unbelievable, Dennis. I don’t think I would
have even dared to think about it all through the matches,
because it would be like jinxing it. Every time I went on
those arena floors, I just kept telling myself it was just
another fight.
DS: Did that help take the edge off?
SK: Oh, hell, no, but that didn’t stop me from
trying! (laughs)
DS: (chuckles) So, out there in the factory tonight,
you squared off against Omar “Demolition” Durand, the very man
who took out last year’s Champion less than twenty-four hours
before. He had speed and technology on his side, plus a
familiarity of the terrain. What were your thoughts going in
there?
SK: Well, when you’re out there, Dennis, you know
there’s just no accounting for all the variables, and all you
have is faith in yourself and your own abilities. Omar was
tough opposition, but I had the mass and the armor to hold up
while he had the speed and reach. Either way you look at it,
it was a tough fight.
DS: As tough as your first bout this tournament?
Kyle DePaik really had you on the ropes there for a bit.
SK: (laughs) Maybe not that tough! It’s hard enough
fighting a dedicated fighter on even footing, but fighting
gravity on top of it, well. Let’s just say I know exactly what
was going through Omar’s mind when he fell off that bridge.
DS: Yes, by all accounts, Durand took a heck of a
fall there. I understand you contacted him immediately after
that.
SK: Well, yeah. I mean, he could have easily been
killed in that fall, and I didn’t really want to win a
championship that way. Heck, I like the guy! He was nothing
but cordial, congratulating me for every good shot, even as we
chased each other through the Factory. When my last shot
knocked him off that bridge in the end, I truly felt sorry
about it. So, when he landed and the game buzzer sounded, I
had to make sure he was okay. I commed him, and said, “Hey,
Durand, you need any help?” He just laughed and said, “Whoops!
I forgot to duck!” (laughs) You know, Dennis, you’d have to be
pretty rabid and heartless to go headhunting during the Games.
There’s a person in each of those machines after all.
DS: Perhaps, but not everyone seems to feel that
way. DePaik, for example, and of course, there was the rivalry
between Tyler and Strauss--
SK: Ah, now you see, Dennis, that’s exactly my
point. You take Tyler or Strauss, and you see how some folks
in the sport just forget that it really is just a sport. If
you take the grudge off the field, you basically court
disaster. I, for one, would have no problem downing PPCs at
Valhalla right alongside Omar Durand and Roland Ghost
Bear—politics of stables and championships be damned—but those
two couldn’t enter a room together without turning it into a
crossfire. It’s that kind of thing that got us all the riots
in ’62, and that kind of rivalry nearly doused the whole
planet in flames during the Jihad. Like Omar said about it
yesterday, you’d think by now folks would know better.
DS: But if they hadn’t caused that riot last night,
you would have had to face one of them in the semi-finals.
Some folks are suggesting that you really lucked out this year
with that turn of events, earning a bye in the semi-finals
while Durand had to get past Ghost Bear.
SK: Oh, I know what they’re saying, Dennis. Fact is,
I would gladly have taken on David or Olivia if they’d only
managed to get there. What fighter wouldn’t? And I would’ve
beat them, too, I’m quite sure. Of course, now I suppose we’d
have to settle that claim in a challenge match someday…
DS: (chuckles) Probably right. So, Shayne, I guess
the big question for you is, “Now what?” You’ve just won your
first Championship at twenty-seven. The purse and the
publicity is enough for one to live off of for at least a
decade, and the rumors have been flying that your husband and
agent, Bernard Kirkpatrick, has plans to start up a stable of
your own someday.
SK: (laughs) Oh, I’d say you shouldn’t listen to
every rumor you hear, Dennis. I’m still Team Blackstar all the
way, and I think Bernie and Jerry would both flip if I tried
anything like that right now. For the time being, I’m just
going to hold onto the title for as long as I can.
DS: Well said, and we look forward to seeing you do
just that, Shayne. We’re about out of time here, but before we
go, is there anything you’d like to say for the viewers at
home?
SK: Oh, yeah! I’d just like to say, for all my fans,
that I didn’t win this Championship just for myself and my
husband. I won it for my team, the Blackstar Stables, for my
stablemaster, Mr. Jeremiah Daelun, and for my brother, Dominic
Hasseldorf—I love you bud! But even more than all these guys,
I have to dedicate this victory to the one and only Kai
Allard-Liao, my hero and idol since I was about ten! I know it
sounds corny, but the galaxy just ain’t the same without him!
Thanks for joining us, fight fans, for Solaris
Broadcasting’s Recap of the Grand Tournament for 3132. As
always, I’m Dennis Stanzio, with my lovely and talented guest,
Shayne Kirkpatrick, and until next time, we are out of here!
+Awwww! She’s married!?! How does a major
piece of information like THAT go unmentioned until now??
:-BNCFanatic
+ROFLMAO!!!!! You didn’t know!? What, you had some
fantasies about her? Look out everyone! BNC’s in L-O-V-E!!!!
With a MARRIED woman, no less! Oh, God! I think I laughed so
hard my ribs are hurting….
:-TVBluFist
+Ah, shoot! I shoulda known better anyway;
no way someone that hot is single, even on Solaris…
:-BNCFanatic
+Don’t feel so bad, Fanatic. You know how it is with
celebs. Sure, they’ve been married for six years now, but that
only increases the odds they’ll split up in a few months or
so…
:-LevEOsa
+He’s her agent! Actually, isn’t that
brother of hers a mercenary? It’s not like she’s married for
the money…
:-GropoM
+Nah, I think he’s nobility. But, anyway, who wants to lay
odds that she’ll hold onto the title again next year, eh? Or
that she really does make a break with Blackstar and strikes
out on her own. Wouldn’t be the first champion to go on and
start up a new stable, after all.
:-KevvyCone
