After Shock Preview for Future Shock 59

[Adam Grant]

A lightning bolt strikes the screen, leaving the Future Shock logo. The next thing we see is the familiar set of the After Shock studio with the curved video wall behind the purple couch. Gary is also seen in his bowl. The camera pulls back, and finds he’s with the woman who most recently was the main event of Future Shock Malice, Vivi Robichaud.

Jake: Hi there, everyone. Welcome back to the another edition of After Shock. There was a LOT going on this week in Future Shock, and we’ll get to all that and what’s to come. But first, allow me to introduce Vivi Robichaud, who probably doesn’t need an introduction. Welcome back to After Shock, and how is your knee healing up?

Vivi: My knee is healing up wonderfully, although judging by the things I’ve yelled at my physical therapist, one might not think so. But hopefully I should be back in action by early May. Thanks for having me back, Jake.

Jake: You’re always welcome on After Shock. Let’s dive into this week’s show, there was a lot that went on, like I said. I’ll start with the main event where the “World Piercer” Gemma Pierce finally caught her white whale, so to speak. After three attempts, the third time was the charm and she finally got a win over Lydia Charisma.

Vivi: Let me tell you something, as a competitor? We all have those people that we come up against time after time, and it feels like we have to pull out everything we have in order to beat them. Gemma is a force to be reckoned with and I’m sure she must feel vindicated now that she’s finally beaten Lydia. Not to take anything away from the former Aspire Champion - Lydia is a fierce competitor in her own right and she gave Gemma the fight of her life, as always.

Jake: I agree with that. I know you aren’t synonymous with tag team wrestling, but what did you think of the two new teams that debuted: Target Acquired and the Laurie Jane Experience? The tag team division in Future Shock is pretty full, I think.

Vivi: I’m familiar with Target Acquired, and it was a treat to see them get the win, but the Laurie Jane Experience was fantastic as well. I may not be a tag team specialist, but as a fan they’re some of my favorite matches to watch. I think Adam’s done a wonderful job of filling out the tag team division, and I think Lacey and Valerie are going to have plenty of competition to look forward to in the near future. The key to building a strong division is providing a diverse array of contenders, and we certainly have that with the tag teams in Future Shock.

Jake: I know you are also a fan and friend of Katie Keller. She’s recently decided that she isn’t going to be the nice girl as much anymore, and she showed some of that against the debuting Arabella Townshend when she won. What did you think of Katie’s performance and Arabella’s debut?

Vivi: I think Katie reached a breaking point - no pun intended. It happens to all of us at some point or another. It seems like she’s been frustrated at almost every turn by the antics of the Gold Standard, so I don’t blame her for taking out those frustrations a bit on Arabella. I think it was also going to be an uphill battle for Miss Townshend no matter what mood Katie was in, though - Arabella’s had five matches in her career, while Katie has over a decade of experience under her belt. What impressed me was Arabella’s ability to stand up to Katie and give her a damn good match, but this was always Katie’s match to win.

Jake: Well we’ll be seeing more of the new Katie next show, but there’s still a fair bit more to cover. Like the first ever trans Prospect in FFW or Future Shock history, SVW Hall of Famer and former SVW Champion….when she was still male….Carys McFarlane! It’s not often you get to squeeze out of a box twice in your life!

Vivi: I’m excited to have Carys here! I’ve heard so much about her, but didn’t really have a chance to be part of the same roster as her until now. I think someone with her experience is going to be immensely helpful for the entire roster, myself included. Her presence here is also proof that you never truly stop learning in this business - a woman with her bona fides could easily have gone to the main roster, but she’s here in Future Shock instead, and I think every woman here is lucky she is.

Jake tries to hide a smile as he comes to the next topic, and rubs his chin for a moment before clearing his voice.

Jake: Well that leaves the second fastest match in Future Shock history. Would you like to cover that one?

Vivi: At this point I feel like getting to punch Kyle Kilmeade in the face should be a Future Shock rite of passage. Well done, Nora. We all lived vicariously through you in those precious few seconds.

Jake: But while the Gold Standard was barred from ringside, that didn’t stop someone else from wreaking havoc backstage during the match.

Vivi: Seriously, nobody thought it was weird that Rhea Laskaris had showed up in Boston? I think any time Kyle’s personal safety is threatened like this, backstage has to prepare for potential shenanigans. Hopefully Adam’s able to get that tooth replaced quickly. Kyle’s clients are legion, and he’s not afraid to mix and match between his SVW clients, his Future Shock clients, and his main roster clients. Gotta have your head on a basic bitch swivel.

Jake: And the last thing I think we should discuss, Vivi, is the upcoming Impact show on July 16th, where the owner of FFW has decided to give five of the best Prospects a test against five of FFW’s best. I’m really looking forward to seeing who she and Adam choose, and this should be a lot of fun to watch.

Vivi: I agree, and I’m not so secretly hoping that I’ll be one of Adam’s choices. I think this is going to be an excellent test of skills for the Future Shock Prospects, and it’ll provide us with some interesting new matchups - and perhaps some potential new rivalries, as Prospects move up to the main roster. Whoever gets chosen, I wish them the best of luck - unless their name happens to be Cortez, in which case I hope they go home humbled.

Jake: I think we covered all the big topics, so let’s move onto May 7th. That’s when Future Shock is back on the air in Boston for it’s 59th episode. That’ll also start the fourth year since the reboot too, and we’ll have found out who the fans voted to win the Future Shock Awards too. Congratulations on your nomination, by the way, as Most Promising New Prospect this year.

Vivi: Thank you, Jake. When I came to SVW back in 2016, I won their Rising Star award at the end of the year, which… ended up being slightly cursed, so I’m hoping the same isn’t true of Most Promising New Prospect. It’s an honor to be nominated though, and I’m grateful that the work I’ve put in here has been appreciated.

Jake: I know you don’t care for her much, but Elizabeth Lannister won it last year. And look where she’s at now. So I don’t think there’s a curse, if you take that into consideration.

Vivi: ...I never thought I would be happy that she’s successful but here we are, I suppose.

Jake: You may have that in common soon. But anyway, onto May 7th. The Prospects come back to Boston, and remember how I said Katie would be back in action again? Well she’s definitely going to have plenty to handle against her opponent. Vivi, who do you like when Katie Keller goes one on one with “Li’l Pixie Pump” Nora Harris?

Vivi: I think Nora Harris is in for the fight of her life, Jake. Now that Katie Keller is getting herself back on track, I get the feeling that she’s out to roll over the rest of the roster on the way toward Future Shock gold. But I think Nora is also coming from a similar place of frustration, so she’s going to give as good as she gets. And while Katie does have an experience advantage, Nora isn’t an out of the box rookie like Arabella Townshend. I think Katie might take this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nora walked away with her hand raised.

Jake: I think that one’s a pick’em too. That’ll be a hell of a main event for the show. One match we’ll see involves one of your least favorite people. After calling her shot at wanting to become tag champions with her sister, Luna Cortez is back in the ring against the veteran Sydney Christensen. Sydney’s been putting in strong performances, but hasn’t been able to connect wins. Knocking off Luna will certainly get the momentum rolling for her, don’t you think?

Vivi: Here’s a fun fact for you, Jake - when I first started wrestling, my very first job was in the same company as Sydney Christensen and she was the top champion there - actually, the only champion, since the place didn’t add a second title until a couple of months after I arrived. So yeah, I’m very heavily biased in Sydney’s favor here, for a number of reasons. I want to see her be successful again and I want to see her hand Luna Cortez her smug little ass on a silver platter. I want to see her knock off Luna and take her place at the top of this company eventually.

Jake: She may start that climb in a big way against Luna, and we’ll find out on the 7th. Last but certainly not least, I hope for her sake that Cait Flanagan has healed up from her match with Nora at Malice. Because she’s facing the baby of the Stone Sisters, Trinity’s Mikayla Stone. And she’s going to be a whole different kind of challenge from Nora, I think.

Vivi: With the kind of money she has, I’m sure Cait Flanagan got herself the best care possible after Malice. This matchup is interesting because both Cait and Mikayla are about evenly matched when it comes to experience - they’re both very green, but as we saw last show, little Miss Mikayla has some tricks up her sleeve that not even Cait, with Kyle’s help, can prepare for. So I think in this case, Cait’s going to learn to believe in magic, and Mikayla will walk away the winner.

Jake: She’ll certainly have the crowd support. We can also expect to hear from the newest addition to the Prospect roster. The “Human Pinball” will be in Boston, and I’m sure Carys is as jazzed and excited to get started as any one woman could be. Hell, she was bouncing off the ropes just being in the ring alone!

Vivi: I’m sure she is too. I can’t wait to hear more about what brought her here and what she hopes to accomplish as part of Future Shock.

Jake: Me too. Fans, Year 4 begins on May 7th back in Boston for the next episode of Future Shock. Make sure you join us, and show your support for the Prospects as they continue to build their stock. Vivi, I appreciate you joining me, and I have some news for you! I was told when you were cleared, your first match back will be against Elizabeth Lannister!

Vivi: Good. It’s a match that’s been four years in the making, and I look forward to seeing what’s changed since the last time she and I crossed paths. Thanks for having me here, Jake. I’m excited for what Year 4 brings.

Jake: It begins next show. We’ll see you all back in Boston on May 7th for the 59th edition of Future Shock!

The Future Shock logo flashes across the screen as the video goes to black.