Eiji Matsumoto interviews Darina Daybreak

[winner3]

Interview/Promo Segment

[CaptainL]

The fans had been treated to no shortage of excitement at We Are LAW, and already some of the event's scheduled matches had left an impact, bringing the thrills, the spectacle, and the long-awaited payoff that only the promotion's flagship event could. But with so many high-profile matches on the card, no one could watch everything back to back. The bookers at LAW weren't stupid. They knew it was important to pace the big matches out and to give the fans time to cool down and collect themselves, lest they burn themselves out in the leadup to the next big bout. To that end, the next planned segment for We Are LAW wasn't a match at all - but a look into the mind of one of the promotion's up and coming stars, Darina Daybreak, conducted by none other than veteran sports journalist and LAW Magazine mainstay Eiji Matsumoto.

Spoiler

Now, it was time for Eiji to take to the ring. As he stepped through the curtains, he lifted a hand to wave to the cameras, but for the most part he paid them no heed. As consummate of a professional as always, Eiji wasn't out to promote himself or grab everyone's attention. He wasn't here to be a celebrity - he was here because someone needed to document what changes lay on the horizon for the League, straight from the mouths of the stars themselves. And if they were going to rely on an old hand in the business for it, he was going to make sure they got their moneys' worth, no matter how much he might have disagreed with the trends driving modern wrestling.

Eiji wasn't shy about his opinions, and it was that fact that made him a controversial figure in the wrestling business. His long tenure in the press got him a few cheers on his way to the ring, but just as many of the fans booed, knowing him only for his colorful rants about the decline of professional wrestling. To that, Eiji just shot them a glare, but adjusted his hat and moved on. He couldn't get caught up in what the youth of today had to say - he knew what really mattered. And, as he stepped into the ring and accepted a microphone from a nearby stagehand, he was going to speak his mind.

"Folks, this is Eiji Matsumoto live from the Tokyo Dome, here at We Are LAW 6!" he announced, a statement that won him a few cheers. "Let me be the first to say, when you've been covering the world of sports for as long as I have, you've seen many a historic moment play out here. The inaugural Pride FC event, Hogan vs. Hansen, Bull Nakano's championship run, the 1990 Japan Series - I'm proud to say I was there for each of them. But today is a day that will make history as the first night I've been part of the event!"

"For the last few decades, I've had my finger on the pulse of the wrestling business. I've seen its highs...and, yes, its lows...but no one can tell me that, for better or worse, the business isn't booming! And tonight, I'm going to spend the time face to face with a woman who thinks she's the future of the wrestling industry! You've heard from her before, but get ready to hear from her again tonight! Everyone, please welcome the lady of the hour herself, Darina Daybreak!"

He cleared his throat, taking in a breath. Eiji wasn't about to throw himself behind Darina just yet, and though he was cautiously optimistic, it still left a bad taste in his mouth when he had been instructed very carefully to make sure he kept his introduction as positive as possible. He did, after all, have plenty he could get off his chest. Still, only time would tell what would happen when Darina came through the curtains...

[FreestylePoet]

Ah, Eiji Matsumoto. What a guy. The big networks had clambered over themselves for years to get him on their shows, and yet there wasn't a bag out there that he'd abandon his post for. They wouldn't have even asked him to read off soulless hot takes cooked in a marketing department somewhere. No, they wanted Eiji to be himself. Because there was no hotter take in combat sports -- dare she say any sport -- than an Eiji Matsumoto original.

This had the potential to be tougher than any fight Darina Daybreak had faced -- octagon or ring. Hell of a way to make a mark on LAW, though, wasn't it?

She told the backstage crew to dispense with the pleasantries this time. No need to build anticipation. Eiji did a good enough job of that already, and all Darina had to do was jam the lob.

The bouncing synths of Darina's entrance theme filled the packed stadium. A golden backlight flashed in time with the track, giving the emerging Starmaker a sunny glow as she made her way onto the entrance ramp. She popped a simple pose. A quick toss of the hood, flick of the head, and slight quirk of half a lip. Smolder for half a second, then step. One by one 'til she found herself ringside with wrestling media's favorite hardass.

She stopped at the apron. Their little soiree would get started soon, but before that? There was someone else to say hello to first... Or, more like, millions of someones here in the Tokyo Dome and around the world!

"It's good to be here, Eiji!" she called out, the screams and cheers making the short distance between the apron and center of the ring feel like an ocean for Darina to shout across. Sensing action if not totally hearing it, the LAW faithful started to quiet down. "But..." Now Eiji would be able to hear Darina without a shout. That was something Darina would have to fix. "Ya got one thing wrong. 'Lady of the hour?' I respect the classics, but it's not like that. I mean. It ain't 'the stars are gonna glower for an hour,' Eiji." She turned on a dime, back to the crowd, and threw out both arms akimbo! "It's-"

"The STARS are gonna SHINE toNIGHT!"

The record-setting crowd joined in, screaming Darina's catchphrase for all to hear from Tokyo to Tallahassee! The sound of thousands upon thousands of wrestling fans singing a song of their newest hero. It filled the Tokyo Dome, echoed across its halls and roofs, and showered down onto the spread-eagle arms and shoulders of Darina Daybreak. A former MMA rising star, now flaring like a comet across the biggest crowd she'd ever seen. UFC? Bellator? Who needed those when a world like this was one impulsive flight away?

Without another word, she turned around and stepped into the ring. Darina stepped in front of the bespectacled reporter with nothing but a curt shoulder-shrug. As the crowd's cheers finally dimmed to just a notch above respectful, she put the mic back to her lips. "It really is the biggest show on Earth, Eiji. I'm glad to be here."

[CaptainL]

It was no secret that Eiji had just as many detractors in the wrestling community as he had admirers. While he was undoubtedly an icon in the world of sports journalism, covering plenty of events through the decades, many argued that fame had gotten to his head, and he'd begun to think he was untouchable. He'd had no shortage of colorful comments to make about the state of the wrestling business, and his disdain for the trends that had taken hold in the squared circle was something he wore on his sleeve. Given his credentials, he figured he could get away with it - and indeed, LAW was reluctant to do anything about his official association with the promotion, no matter how openly he criticized it or with as much vitriol as he did. But many a fan had questioned if he was just a washed-up fossil clinging to his past glories, toting opinions that were well past their time, and when he had opened fire against the very company he worked for - not to mention some of its most cherished stars - there were many who felt he had overstayed his welcome.

Here, though? Here, Eiji was a guest of honor. Beforehand, his involvement with LAW had strictly been behind the scenes. Tonight, he was live and on camera, on the company's biggest event, being broadcast on pay-per-view all around the world. He couldn't help but stand tall with pride to think himself worthy of the honor...

And yet, despite it all, the spotlight on Eiji was nothing compared to the attention Darina was getting as she took to the entrance ramp. As soon as the MMA star made her appearance, the fans were getting fired up - and when she rallied their cheers behind her, the roar that came over the stands was deafening! Even Eiji had to wince, pulling his hat down over his ears as he leaned back from the sound. He bit at the inside of his cheek at the thought that Darina was showing him up; at the back of his throat, he started to formulate more than few rants about how Darina didn't deserve all this hype from her public persona alone, and that she needed to live up to it in the ring before he was willing to entertain her ego. But he cleared his throat and stood a little straighter, collecting himself. Now wasn't the time - and he had plenty more to ask Darina.

"What an entrance!" Eiji remarked. "Folks, I don't know if your TV speakers did it justice, but it sounds like we've got quite a few people here eager to see Ms. Daybreak speak her mind!" True to form, a few more cheers broke out as soon as Eiji's words played over the speakers. But then, even Darina's enthusiasm began to calm down. They did still have an interview to get through, after all.

"We're happy to have you here too, Darina," Eiji continued, turning to face his guest. "I don't think it's any exaggeration to say that you've become one of LAW's most hyped-up signings, and it sounds like there's plenty of folks in the crowd right now who can't wait to hear what you have to say. We've definitely heard you talk about it before, but I think it bears repeating - Darina, to start us off, do you mind introducing what you plan to bring to the table here at LAW?"

[FreestylePoet]

Darina hung her head. She swayed back and forth, nodding as the cheers drew down to a more respectful level and Eiji started his line of questioning. It felt familiar. Bigger in scope, in hype than she'd ever experienced, but a fighter with a mic in her hand was the same all around the world. The Daybreaker stood tall and faced Eiji with a smile. "What do I bring?" she repeated.

"Well, for starters..." She pointed out to the crowd. "I'm bringing them." The section cheered, and Darina slid her finger over to another group of seats. "And I'm bringing them." More screams, more hype. Both picked at random, but happy enough to serve as a stand-in for what she really wanted to say. "MMA fans tuning in tonight, and wrestling fans who've learned to love what I've always been about. All under one packed roof."

Darina turned back to Eiji. "What do I bring? I bring the best. The best of me, the best of what you'll see." Back to the crowd this time, but only with a crane of her neck. "Not just at putting girls out, but also at making sure you have a good time."

"What. Do. I. Bring? Well, most of all! Most of all..." She stepped to a corner and rested an elbow on it, chin lounging in an upturned palm. "I'm bringing change." Darina shook her head and strode to the other side of the ring. Then she kicked back into high gear! "I'm here to change what you expect to come outta these four ropes. This canvas floor. To show you that stuff that's worked in the past -- works now -- will probably work forever? Ain't the only way to do it!"

"So what do I bring, LAW?" Darina curled a hand into a lethal weapon. "I'm bringin' fists so fast, you can't count 'em with a one-two-three like a chop. A big knee so boomin', you'll only get one 'yes!'" She stuck her arm into the air as if channeling that most famous of crowd chants. "That's how we're gonna do it tonight, I guess! Do it by the numbers: Ten to a knockout, three to a pinfall. Oh, yeah. And that's not all, with my Muay Thai, you got--" Darina banged her fists, elbows, knees, and shins. "Two-four-six-eight limbs, four martial arts, two girls in, one girl out... And zero chance for anyone who wants to step up to me."

"Oh yeah. And I'm bringing fun." Dare turned back to the interviewer. "'Cuz that's what it's all about, right, Eiji?"

[CaptainL]

"...Hmm." When Darina began to speak, Eiji slipped his glasses a little further down his nose, while his fingers stroked at his beard. He was looking for more assurance before he was sold on Darina being a game-changing addition to the LAW roster - and he didn't know if he was getting it. He'd been looking for what innovations Darina might bring to the ring, and what moves in her arsenal could set her apart from the crowd, but it seemed that the blonde was more interested in hyping up her star power than anything else. Was she bringing the fans in? Maybe, but considering they were already at LAW's biggest event of the year, those seats would surely be sold out no matter who was on the card. Was she going to bring the best of her own accomplishments? Maybe that was true too, but Eiji hadn't seen enough of those to go on. And when she seemed to hype up the entertainment value of her matches as much as she did what she was capable of doing to her opponents, that was enough to wring a groan from the reporter. He'd already feared that Darina valued the hype over in-ring performance, and so far, she wasn't doing much to ease those concerns.

Still, when she hyped up the speed of her strikes, and her Muay Thai expertise, that was promising. Such a style would open the Heavyweight Division up to a kind of offense it wasn't often characterized by, and that was something Darina had made clear from the beginning as a priority of hers. The fans certainly seemed eager to see it - they cheered and gasped with every statement Darina made, all the more excited to see it play out in the squared circle. But then, that was the point that was sticking with Eiji. If all he had to go off of, so far, was what Darina was telling him, how could he be sure it really meant anything? Could she back it up?

When she mentioned fun as being what it was all about - that made Eiji suck in a long, deep breath as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. He stopped for a moment, in thought, trying to think through if it was worth sayng anything or if there was any way he could express his feelings without being kicked off the broadcast. But at last, he realized where he was going to go. Darina had given him the perfect jumping-off point to speak his mind. And if he was vague enough about it, he just might be able to get away with it.

"Well, Darina, that sure all sounds promising - and it sounds like your fans agree - but I know there are still some folks out there who aren't so easy to convince. Especially when you haven't had the opportunity to show off those skills you're talking about in a LAW ring. Plenty of commentators have asked if you'll be able to back those statements up, when push come to shove. So I do have to ask you - how would you respond to those people?"

[FreestylePoet]

There he was. The real Eiji Matsumoto had entered the building. It was couched in professionalism, in a journalistic sort of kindness, but everyone could tell what Eiji was really saying: He didn't think Darina had it. LAW's stands let off a schoolyard oooooooh, and no doubt fans at home were doing the same, from their couches and on social media.

Darina scratched her chin. These were, by far, the brightest lights she'd ever been under. Eiji wouldn't like it, but her performance here might affect Darina's first chapter in LAW as much as her first few matches. She couldn't let herself get outmaneuvered, just as surely as she couldn't let her opponent corner her in the ring. So she charted a different path.

"Would you be surprised if I told you that you're right?" The crowd murmured as Darina openly agreed with Eiji. "Those are the right questions to ask: Can she do it? Is she for real? I know the answer, but you all don't. Not yet." Darina raised an arm to the crowd in acknowledgement. "I can swear to you up and down that the answer's 'yes,' at the end of the day, one thing remains true: Everyone goes down. I talk a lot of shit -- hell, I do a lot of shit -- and it might sound like I think I'm invincible. I know I'm not. Every champion has to lose their belt. Every streak has to stop. Somehow failing all that, we all know that Father Time is undefeated."

Then she turned back to the interview, steel in her eyes. "Everyone goes down, Eiji. So let me answer your question with a question -- or two. Count 'em down with me, LAW!" A finger went up in the sky. "Number one: What's it gonna look like when I go down? As much as I'd love to say I did, I don't have superpowers. I'm not immune to that rule. And when it's calling my name, I'll answer that question for you all with a promise." Darina smirked. "I don't die easy." More hoots and hollers, all from four words. "Yeah, I'll lose some day. Maybe lotsa days. Nobody said climbing the mountaintop would be easy. But I'll be able to look you in the eye and say: 'Yeah, but you should see the other chick.'"

"That's enough of that, so get ready for number two!" That call-and-response was so simple, but it got her every time. "The other question is more simple. If everyone's gotta go down, from the top of the card to the bottom... If everyone's gotta kiss the canvas at some point, or get turned into a drooling mess--" Darina took an aside towards a camera. "One way or another." Then back to the crowd. "If someone's gotta make that happen for everyone in our locker room?" Darina grinned and turned to Eiji. "Why can't that someone be me?" The ball was thus placed squarely in his court. Darina had answered the first, but this one was for Eiji and the world at large to wrestle with. "I get it. You haven't seen it yet, so you can't put your faith in me. But at the same time, I've already done some things here in LAW. You've seen a bit of what I can do. Whether you think it's 'sustainable' or whatever aside, isn't it at least worth giving your pal Darina a shot?"

[CaptainL]

There was no doubt about it - Darina was eager to be in the spotlight, and every moment the cameras were on her, she was going to work it with everything she had. She wasn't just going to answer Eiji's questions - she was going to do so with a flourish and a flair, putting forth her energy and enthusiasm for the world to see. Even the way she answered his questions was a chance for her to show off, and it was a chance she was going to take. In fact, her infectious personality was winning her a few cheers even now - and a few rolls of Eiji's eyes when it did little to change his opinion that Darina only cared about promoting her own image.

Still, he continued. And he had to admit it...when Darina admitted that she couldn't guarantee success, that any championship reign or win streak she could manage was doomed to be cut short one day, that was more humility than he had expected out of her. He stopped and stroked his chin in thought - but it wasn't long before Darina once again cast doubts on his belief that she might have a modest bone in her body. Even when she was describing how she'd lose one day, she was building herself up in the process, boasting of skills that she had yet to fully prove in the ring. And she ended up turning Eiji's questions back around on him, as he left him with the task of explaining just where his skepticism was coming from.

At that, the reporter adjusted his glasses. When he was conducting interviews, he wasn't used to being the one interviewed. But he knew that in the world of professional wrestling, nothing was guaranteed. Over the years, he and his colleagues had had to be on the other side of a microphone from some big personalities with egos too great to take no for an answer, and in the world of combat sports, that often meant reporters had to watch their backs - or throats. If he hadn't let himself be intimidated by a 300-pound behemoth who wasn't taking kindly to allegations of steroid abuse back in the 80s, he wasn't going to let Darina intimidate him either. This interview had become a battle of wits. And if Darina was going to jab the metaphorical foil in his direction...he was just going to have to catch it and perform a riposte, to show that he wasn't going to back down.

"Always an eye for the cameras, Ms. Daybreak," Eiji muttered, not entirely complimentary. "Funnily enough, you've given me a perfect segue into the next question I had lined up, so allow me to answer your question with one of my own. Darina, I think it's reasonable to assume that you plan on setting yourself apart from the rest of the LAW heavyweight division by drawing on your expertise in MMA, and working more striking and submission techniques into your arsenal. That's all well and good, but...I'm sorry to say, I don't think your plan is quite as innovative as you think it is. How do you expect to stand out when put next to Astrid Arvidsson, who has all the cross-discipline experience you do? For that matter, how are you planning on handling the comparisons to ladies like Huan Li Brightspring or Zira Cabalero - women who bring their own MMA skills to the division? I'm not just talking in the ring, I mean when it comes to the magazines and the dirtsheets - because forgive me for guessing you care just as much about those." His last outburst drew a few cries of "oooooh" from the fans, too, but he kept his gaze trained on Darina, watching her for a response.

[FreestylePoet]

The crowd looked on with interest as they waited to see how Darina would respond to this latest barb from Eiji Matsumoto. For her own part, Darina nodded as Eiji listed some of the wrestlers who'd shattered the brick wall between MMA and professional wrestling. She chewed on her response for a moment, baring her fangs into a wide smile when he fit in one last jab.

Finally, she sighed and shrugged at Eiji. "You're right. Huan and Zira are some of the greatest to ever do it. Back where I came from, everybody had those two on their Mount Rushmore. Astrid Arvidsson made a hell of a case to win that big gold thing you're giving out at the end of tonight." The question of who would walk away with the inaugural Openweight title was, of course, the biggest undercurrent of the night's events, and the crowd's response at just the slightest mention reflected that. Darina could only smile; would she reach that mountaintop some day? Tonight was the first step in doing so. "There are a bunch more you didn't even mention. Tai Jianying, Marisa Amadio, Sierra Oasis."

"But doesn't that prove my point exactly? For decades, the word 'heavyweight' meant -- well, everything I said last time you all heard from me. These last few years, things have been changing. Bit by bit. Some of these girls have been around for a while, but I signed around the same time as Huan, Jian, Marisa, Kate Zawislak, and a bunch more. Even Zira's kicked it up a notch since then." She walked a few paces away from Eiji to face the crowd once more.

"Some of you might know this already -- shoutouts to the ones who've been here since Day 1, by the way. You guys are real as hell, and I've noticed it every step of the way." More than a few hollers sounded out across the Tokyo Dome, both from longtime MMA fans and those who'd binged Darina's backlog. "If you're one of my people, you already know that my name's been in the news for years. I'm in a different generation altogether than Zira and Huan and all the other all-timers, and I jumped to pro wrestling well after people like Astrid blazed the way. So my headlines weren't anything like theirs. No, they were all asking when I'd pull my head out of my ass, quit traveling around the world to fight in second-rate promotions, and jump to UFC or Bellator. Like our pal Eiji here, they doubted me. They wouldn't accept anything I did unless it was at the pinnacle of fighting sports."

"Well?" She put her arms out wide, and the crowd applauded her in turn. "I'm here now." It was a bold statement from someone who'd been dyed in the wool as an MMA fighter: LAW was the top of the mountain, even for someone like her.

Then she turned back to Eiji and met him at the center of the ring. Not to intimidate or to loom, but to go eye-to-eye with him -- as a matter of respect. "That's really what you're pointing out. Not that I'm unoriginal, but that I'm the next generation. The Heavyweight Division is going topsy-turvy, Eiji and part of what we all wanna figure out is: Who's gonna carry the banner for it? The division as a whole, yeah, we're all going for that belt. But also this new concept of what a heavyweight is." She tapped at the emblem on her chest, the shining star that drew so many eyes over the years. "I'm gonna make you a promise, Eiji. You and everyone else who's listening in. It might take a year. Or five years, or ten. But some day, when you're looking back at the history of this division, I promise you that I'll be in that book."

[CaptainL]

Eiji nodded his head, watching Darina closely. Yes, as she acknowledged, he was right - Darina was far from the first heavyweight in LAW to come from a background in mixed martial arts. But to Darina, that was only proof of her point - that together, they were changing the face of what it meant to be a heavyweight in LAW. They were reinventing the division and bringing in new blood, and Darina was proud to be leading the charge. Something that she was just as eager to show off about to the fans, as she turned to call out to them - and got plenty of cheers in response! Even if she had called Eiji out in doing so - or, perhaps, because of it. The reporter's mouth hung open agape at such a show of defiance. But, nevertheless, he cleared his throat and straightened his back before saying anything else. Eiji might have been stubborn, but he knew better than to pick a fight at a time like this - and he knew, especially, that it was no good to pick a fight against Darina Daybreak. Rather, he straightened his tie and continued.

"Well, that's all fair and good - I'll accept that you're not the first person to have this idea, but you've certainly been up there with the most vocal. However...I want to return to that point you raised. About the last time you spoke. If I recall, you had some words to say back then about the Heavyweight Division, and how their style was uninspired and getting old. And if you mean what you're saying now...evidently, those impressions haven't changed much, am I right? I hate to break this to you, Ms. Daybreak, but I do think there are plenty of women backstage at this very moment who'd take offense to that. A bunch of them, I'd probably argue, would say that if they can make their style work for them, it's going to work just fine. And I'm inclined to agree. I'm glad to know that you consider this company to be the pinnacle of combat sports, but at the end of the day, wrestling is wrestling, and MMA is MMA. Are you trying to say that one should be good at MMA to be good at wrestling? What does it say about this company, to you, if you think its athletes would be best off training in a completely different sport? If old-fashioned pro wrestling is that obsolete to you, what makes it worthwhile to be here at all?"