Post by Γαία Γαλανός/Davey-Boy O'Brien on Jul 4, 2016 1:57:28 GMT
(OOC: This is the documentary RP I posted for the KOKORO Grand Prix. I actually developed Gaia's character a bit more in this RP. Pretty excited about what came out of it. Hopefully you guys won't think it's too "up, up, and away," if you understand my meaning. You'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it.)
ROYALTY
“The Lioness” Gaia Galanos is what many would consider a prodigy in the world of professional wrestling, but even before she was professional wrestler, it seemed as though she was destined to be a warrior. Born in the infamous city of Sparta, Greece, Gaia Galanos was born to two parents who were often too busy with their own matters to see to their daughter. Her father, Ander Galanos, was a gold medalist in Freestyle Wrestling in the Olympics. After winning the Olympics; however, he and his wife, Farah, moved into a business venture which would change the Galanos family’s life forever.
While Gaia’s father was a well-known athlete, Farah; on the other hand, was born into riches. Farah was the niece to the King of Greece, Constantine II. While the King no longer holds any sort of power, she still retained the title of Princess, and with the Galanos’ extravagant lifestyle, it was plain to see they held themselves in high regard.
March 20th, 1992, Gaia Alessa Galanos was born. Despite the Princess’ excitement of giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, Farah and Ander soon turned their attention to a business venture that had in the works that would, once again, make them a prominent family. Ander, on the other hand, had been hoping for a baby boy, and was a bit disappointed to find out that he was having a girl instead. This didn’t stop him from trying to mold her into his image as a World Class athlete; however. Unfortunately, the attention Gaia received as a result of her father wishing she was a boy only lasted a few short years before he focused solely on the container company he and his wife had purchased the majority of the stocks in.
Thanks to their constant traveling for business, Farah and Ander made the decision that traveling all of the time would be hard on their daughter. This was when they sent Gaia to study in the United States where she would find herself bunked up with a family known in professional wrestling as the Gordons. Gaia; of course, had no idea who she was staying with as her world had always been Freestyle wrestling because that’s how she retained her father’s attention for any length of time.
Living with the Gordons was very different from her home, and for a while she resented it. They weren’t even close to as wealthy as her own family. In fact, calling them wealthy would sooner be an ironic statement than a serious one. The Gordons were just a family trying to get by, and, it just so happened, Pat Gordon, Sr., was a well-known professional wrestler and ran his own wrestling academy, the Pat Gordon Wrestling Academy. This was where would Gaia gain her love for the sport of professional wrestling.
THE GORDONS
From the age of twelve forward, Gaia Galanos lived with the Gordons. She knew of Pat Gordon, Sr.’s job as a professional wrestler and a trainer, but never thought about trying to learn the trade. Her sole focus was on her studies, but she couldn’t help but become curious about the training gym Pat Gordon, Sr. ran. She asked to be able to study while they worked out and was granted the request.
Pat Gordon, Jr.: “Gaia was really quiet. She always has been, but, back then, you could hardly even tell she was in the room. It was as if she was taught that she should only ever speak when spoken to, but when you look into her eyes, you can easily tell she has the heart of a warrior. There always has been, and will always be. I’ll never forget when she first stepped into our training ring though...”
While Pat Gordon, Sr. was attempting to teach his students how to properly execute a hammerlock, one of the most basic holds in professional wrestling, Gaia stepped into the ring and showed the whole class up. In a dress. Pat’s own son had been even having trouble with proper execution of the hammerlock. Gaia had been watching his lessons the whole time as she had been focusing “solely” on her studies. While watching, she had picked up on every fluid motion of the holds which Pat Gordon, Sr. had taught his class, and could execute them to the T. Pat Gordon, Sr. knew better than to believe Gaia had never been in a ring before so upon asking her, he found out that her Gold Medalist father had taught her how to Freestyle wrestle. Gordon, Sr. knew he had something special in front of him so he trained her.
Pat Gordon, Jr.: “I can’t even explain how often Gaia and my da would train. Gaia even joined the high school wrestling team. She was serious about becoming a professional wrestler. Unfortunately for her, the amateur wrestling circuit wasn’t ready for a woman to dominate it.”
Parents constantly complained about their sons having to face a girl. They claimed it was insulting, unchivalrous, or any number of other reasons. Unfortunately, her competitive run in amateur wrestling was cut short, but she continued to train with the wrestling team regardless of whether or not they would allow her to compete. After wrestling practice each day, she would do her homework then go back to training, but the second training was at the Pat Gordon Wrestling Academy with Pat Gordon, Sr.
Pat Gordon, Jr.: “For most, they would be burning the candle at both ends, but for Gaia, that was just an easy day. Day-to-day, she focused on what clearly had started to become a passion to her.”
Upon graduating from high school, Pat Gordon, Sr. insisted that Gaia seek further training at the Next Generation Wrestling Academy. Reluctantly, she agreed to.
A FRIENDSHIP UNLIKE ANY OTHER
At the Next Generation Wrestling Academy, Gaia Galanos was one-of-a-kind. At approximately 170 pounds, Gaia was significantly bigger than just about all of the women, and they hated her for it. Galanos was known for being the first one to the gym and the last one to leave, but despite her size, she was constantly the target of being bullied by the other female athletes. Enter The Harlequin.
Harlequin, or Melissa Ramsey, befriended Gaia Galanos while they trained alongside one another. Despite being significantly smaller than Gaia, Harlequin always sparred with her. It was The Harlequin who turned away the bullies when Gaia needed her the most. This friendship between the two continues even today, and Gaia considers Melissa Ramsey to be one of the most important people in her life.
The Harlequin: “Gaia is a special person. I know, I know, how cliche of me, but sometimes those are the most factual statements. Her size sets her apart at first glimpse and her personality aids that. From the first time I ever saw Gaia, I knew there was something there, and I couldn’t let greatness stay in the shadows due to shyness. Some might tell you that I pushed Gaia into the limelight. Truth of the matter is, we mutuality did it. Honestly, I’ve never had issue demanding attention-- Dressed like a clown for a good part of my career-- but I need that boost that she provided. I helped her connect with people and she helped me hone my craft. Gaia’s always been one of the best, if not the best, in-ring technician I have ever met. Always.”
It wasn’t too long before Melissa left to travel around the independent leagues of professional wrestling to get her name out there. Meanwhile, Gaia stuck around NGWA to continue to hone her craft until Girl Power Wrestling came with interest in signing Gaia to a contract.
QUEEN OF WRESTLING
Gaia Galanos: “When GPW came to NGWA with interest in signing me, I was so excited. As a matter of fact, I called Melissa before anyone else, and started talking her ear off. It was the first major opportunity I had seen, and, at the time, GPW was on the way up. Still small, but moving in the right direction. When I debuted, I was so nervous, but Nicholas Bakas, my agent at the time, did most of the talking for me so most of the nerves were unwarranted.”
During the early days of GPW, the wrestling organization joined an umbrella wrestling organization known as the United Wrestling League. There Gaia quickly moved up the ranks to become the Ladies World Champion, which later became known as the Queen of Wrestling Championship. Back in GPW, alongside Valkyrie and Isis, a group known as the Goddesses of Dominance, Gaia was ripping through the competition while enjoying success in UWL.
Jacqui Monroe: “Gaia. Holy *BEEP!*, Gaia. You ever hear that expression, 'like recognizes like'? That's me and Gaia. She was an absolute pain in my ass during the time we worked together, but here's the thing...we weren't out to get one another or whatever. It was just two strong personalities clashing. I could see where she was coming from, she could see where I was coming from, we just couldn't meet in the middle. I'll tell you something, though, hell of a competitor. Hell of a Champion, too. Whoever has her in their roster is lucky. Just be ready to deal with a bitch of a temper.”
Before the end of the year, Gaia began to show a bit of a different attitude toward her craft as she had come in utilizing arguably underhanded tactics at time. It seemed as though Gaia had taken some words Pat Gordon, Sr. had taken to heart.
Gaia Galanos: “He had told me that he had been watching, but he was a bit disappointed by my antics. He said that in his own way; of course. Patrick, Sr. always had his own way of saying things. Sometimes you couldn’t even understand him. Regardless, the things he said made me think about where my career was headed. That’s when I saw an opportunity and took it.”
Galanos challenged the reigning GPW World Champion, Jo McFarlane, to a match in hopes she might become the Number One Contender if she successfully defeated the champion. Gaia did just that, but not in the fashion she had hoped. Instead, in a surprising event, Gaia’s fellow Goddesses of Dominance turned their backs on Gaia, gaining her the disqualification victory.
Fortunately, Galanos would be named the number one contender to the first and only GPW World Champion to that point. Thanks to a bit of a shady finish, Gaia didn’t lose her contender’s spot despite having been named the loser by mandate of Stella Chalmers-Blythe, the owner of GPW. A few weeks later, Galanos was granted her rematch where she dethroned the GPW World Champion of over a year!
At this time, Front Office, Stella’s hand-selected team of wrestlers, were at war with Gaia Galanos, but were unable to do anything to dethrone her or cease her momentum. Meanwhile, Gaia found herself headed into a match with the woman who won the Gift Exchange Battle Royal at The Bash, Kyra McKnight, at Canadian Conquest, GPW’s first Pay-Per-View outside of the United States. In a spectacular main event, Gaia walked out victorious despite a valiant effort from her challenger.
Over the next few months, Gaia along with a few other wrestlers feuded directly with Front Office, and went on to take them down in a WarGames match, sending Front Office into despair as Gaia moved on to the next challenge: Veronica Valiant, Front Office’s chosen champion. In the path to their clash; however, both women lost in matches. Gaia lost to Constance Chapin, and Veronica Valiant lost to Emma Carlisle. Galanos, being a fighting champion, demanded that both women be added to their match at March to the Mississippi.
Once the Pay-Per-View came around, despite outlasting Emma Carlisle and Veronica Valiant, Gaia Galanos fell victim to Constance’s submission hold and had no choice but to tap out for the first time in her career. After the match, Ryan LeCavalier made her return to challenge the champion, now Constance Chapin. In the process, she attacked Gaia Galanos with a chair, injuring her neck and giving her a concussion, putting her out of commission. Before Gaia could return from her injury; however, GPW went out of business much to her dismay.
Earlier in the year, Gaia had proven that literally no one who wrestled in UWL could defeat her. When GPW opted to pull out of UWL, she relinquished the UWL Queen of Wrestling Championship never having been defeated. Despite her great feats, disaster had struck in January.
DEATH IN THE FAMILY
In January 2015, Pat Gordon, Sr. passed away. The death dealt a major blow to Gaia. For the past few years, Pat, Sr. had been battling a bad case of dementia among other health issues. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to witness Gaia win the GPW World Championship, but he was able to witness her incredible reign as the Queen of Wrestling in UWL.
In Pat, Sr.’s will, he left the Pat Gordon Wrestling Academy to Gaia which meant the world to her. So much so that she completely repaired the building and reopened the business after sustaining her head and neck injury at March to the Mississippi, and, in an unexpected move, returned the Academy back to the Gordon family. She stills owns a part of the Academy to this day.
Pat Gordon, Sr. arguably had the greatest effect on Gaia Galanos’ wrestling career. As a tribute to the man she considered to be her adoptive father, Galanos adapted various moves executed utilizing the Hammerlock, including a submission move similar to the Single-Armed Kimura, known as the Sheba Devil Vise.
BEYOND GIRL POWER
After GPW went defunct, Gaia joined Inferno Wrestling Season 2 where she feuded with Jake Longfellow, and defeated him in convincing fashion at the final Pay-Per-View of the season by making him submit for the first time in his career in a Submission Match. During this time, she began training with a former PDW and HKW star, Eddie Ramirez, who, on a side note, she began dating.
Eddie Ramirez: I keep my eyes open in the wrestling world, and still I am a man after all. I've no shame in saying after seeing Gaia wrestle I was impressed not only professionally, but also personally. She is very talented in the ring, that is undeniable. And yet on a personal level, I was smitten with her, heh.
Afterward her victory in the submission match, Gaia decided she would take the United Kingdom by storm where she signed with United Kingdom Wrestling Federation and Shooting Star Wrestling Alliance. For now, in both places, Gaia remains undefeated. In UKWF, she formed a team with Night Train Ayano and Sophia Halter.
Initially, she had been introduced by the Master Sisters, fellow GPW alumnists. In surprising fashion, they attacked her. Thus began the feud between Hunt By Night, Gaia’s team, and the Master Sisters. After going to war with one another for over two months, there was only one way to properly put an end to this feud: WarGames. In quite possibly the greatest match in UKWF to this point, Hunt By Night was victorious over the Master Sisters when Moonlight Master surrendered out of being worried about the matron sister of the Masters, Aurora, when Sophia Halter seemed primed to maim her. As UKWF looks further into the future, Hunt By Night is easily one of the favorites for the impending UKWF Tag Team Championship Tournament.
As for SSWA, Gaia, as stated before, remains undefeated and seems primed to win her first title in SSWA as she squares off against Nem for the World Crown Championship. Only time will tell if she will be successful in the endeavor, but, if history really does repeat itself, Gaia’s chances are very high.
Gaia Galanos: “There is only one job I could ever see myself doing, and it’s competing inside that ring. Call it cliché or whatever you please, but I have been competing for what seems like all of my life, and it never gets old. All of it. The sound of the crowd buzzing. The roar of approval when you show them something they’ve never seen before. The feeling of being able to say that you are the very best. I’ve been to the top, and I will get there again. Watch me.”
