Chapter 9

So Liv and I weren't going to be on RAW this week. I'm doing an interview with Chris Van Vliet on Monday. While Liv is going to the performance center to do one last session with the physical therapy session. I was sitting in a room that Chris had picked out for us to record in. I smiled as I texted Finn saying I missed him. We were also planning a date night. We were going to go out to a restaurant. That is when Chris walked in.

"Hey it's nice to meet you, I'm Chris." He said, shaking my hand.

I smiled back at him, shaking his hand. "Hey I'm Kira and it's nice to meet you too. I love listening to your interviews when I'm driving."

"Really thank you, that means a lot." He said sitting in front of me "Are there any questions or topics you want to avoid? I want to make sure I don't blindside you or make you uncomfortable."

"No, I'm an open book. But thank you for asking." I said right before the cameras and audio guys started to record.

"Hey guys, I'm here with current WWE superstar and one half of the Rebellion, the hell raiser, herself, Kira Olson." Chris said happily

"Hey, it's awesome to be here. This is my first ever interview and I'm so excited that it's with you." I smiled

"Really, this is your first! Well I'm happy you're here." Chris said "So you're from Peoria, Illinois. What's it like growing up there?"

"Well Peoria is a small town compared to Chicago. It's like less than half the side probably. So there isn't that much to do there. Growing up was honestly not that exciting. I have great parents. I'm an only child. Though my cousins were around my age. Like my cousin Brynn she is my age. And my cousin James is a year or two older than me. So it's like I had siblings but they didn't didn't live with me and were like 30 minutes away." I laughed

"Like semi siblings. Built in siblings" Chris said laughing

"So yeah I grew up in a small town near corn fields. The only real interesting thing I really did was go to our local comic shop and play some dnd." I laughed

"I heard you were into comics, video games and dnd." Chris said

"You can say it Chris, I'm a nerd and I'm proud of it." I laughed

"So how did you get into that?" Chris asked

"My cousin James. He was into comics and wrestling before I was. I remember when I was 12 that he gave me a movie to watch at home. He is a huge movie buff and was like my personal red box. It was the Fantastic Four with Chris Evans as Human Torch. I honestly loved the characters so I decided to look into them more. And as I looked into the Fantastic Four I learned more about other Marvel Characters which then led me into DC comics. I watched the Teen Titans cartoon on the cartoon network but I had no idea it was based on comics at the time. Around the same time he had gotten into wrestling. I remember he told me to watch TNA first. I remember turning to it and seeing Mickie James and Gail Kim for the first time. I knew right then I was hooked and that is what I wanted to do. Then I started to watch more wrestling like WWE. I saw Matt Sydal or Evan Bourne as he was known at the time doing all his high flying stuff and I was amazed at how someone could do that. I got a hold of any dvd I could find and every YouTube video I could find. Looking back on it now I knew I was bitten by the wrestling bug. Once AJ Lee got to WWE. That was a sign to me. That even a nerd from a small town can make it in the WWE." I smiled thinking back to when I was a kid

"So who is your favorite superhero?" He asked

"Honestly either Jessica Cruz or Harley Quinn. I have ADHD, Anxiety and Depression. So I related to them. Like Jessica Cruz has major anxiety but she learns to face it and conquer it one day at a time. Harley clearly has ADHD and stuff so I related to her in that way. Harley is also willing to stand up for what she thinks and believes in no matter what. She is also willing to do anything for her friends as well."

"I'm curious. Why do you go by Kira Olson in the ring instead of your first name Macie?"

"My two great grandma's names were Macie and they were both still alive when I was born. One died a year after I was born but the other one died around three years ago. They were called grandma Macie and it would be confusing to call me Macie all the time so I just went by my middle name my whole life. So why change what isn't broken you know."

"You think you will ever go by Macie?"

"Honestly, probably not."

"So when you were 18 and right after high school you decided to go to the Black and Brave Wrestling Academy. What was that like?" He asked as he looked at his notes that were hidden beside him on a end table/

"It was hard. I had no idea what I was doing and honestly I was complete shit. That was until I met Colby Lopez better known as Seth Rollins. He took me under his wing. Whenever he was in Davenport he made sure to train with me at least once. He gave me so much advice. If it wasn't for him there would be no Hell Raiser." I laughed

"Is that where you two became so close? What was it like meeting Becky?"

"Yeah that is where we became close. We realized we liked the same things and just clicked honestly. Seth is like the older brother I never had. When I first met Becky I was starstruck. I won't lie. I was like holy shit, I'm looking at the lass kicker. But Becky is honestly the sweetest person I've ever met. Like when she learned I was the one Seth took under his wing she jumped at the chance to help me as well. Becky is like my wrestling fairy godmother. They really helped me become the wrestler I am today and I debuted in 2017." I laughed

"Before you were the Hellraiser, you were The Nerdable." Chris laughed "How did that come to be and then how did that lead you to transition into the Hell Raiser?"

"So the Nerdable came from what Becky called me the first time we met. I liked it and thought it fit me. I mean I'm a nerd so it just worked. But in 2019 I realized it wasn't working anymore so I wanted a new gimmick. Around that time Becky became "The Man." I wanted something like that. Something that just clicked you know. I called her one night and asked her about it. She knew that I wasn't like most girls in wrestling and that I was a Rebel in that way. That's when it clicked. I was a rebel so I used that nickname for a while. I became more of myself. Like a tweener. So I wasn't the goody two shoe baby face anymore but I wasn't the heel either. I was just in between. I was the badass nerd and Rebel. Around that time I got into John Constantine comics and Ghost Rider comics. And I came up with Hell's Favorite Rebel which lead into The Hellraiser."

"You mentioned earlier that you also like video games? What is your favorite one?"

"I loved Devil May Cry. I love Mortal Kombat as well. Though my favorite is probably Overwatch."

"Who is your main character in Overwatch?"

"I'm a Widowmaker and Sombra main."

"Nice, you appeared on AEW Dark in 2022 facing Sky Blue. The rumor is that you were offered a AEW contract? Is that true"

I nodded "Yeah that is true. I mean Sky from the Chicago wrestling scene and we have tagged a few times before. When they were in the area and needed an opponent for her, she recommended me. I happened to be in the area anyway so I thought why not plus good exposure you know. So we did the match and apparently the Bucks liked it. They wanted to sign me but I turned them down. I was like thank you for the opportunity but I'm still working on my craft and I honestly wanted to go to WWE and be with some more of my friends. And I didn't feel like it would be the right fit for me."

"Recently you have been seen on screen with Liv Morgan. What's that like?" He asked

"Oh my gosh. Liv is like my sister. We have only known each other for such a short time but it feels like we have known each other for our whole lives. Like she is my ride or die and I'm hers. I feel the same about Tegan Nox as well. Tegan was my riding buddy when I first debuted. She was nice enough to let me ride with her and Nattie. Though Liv and I plan on taking the tag division and maybe even Rhea by storm."

"You mentioned Rhea, I've seen the post on both your and a certain Prince's Instagram. Seems like you and Finn Balor are also close as well. So what's up with you two? Are you just friends or dating? If you don't mind me asking." Chris said shyly

"Oh I don't mind. Finn and I actually don't have an official label. We like each other and just are seeing how it goes you know. Living in the moment."

"If you could face anyone in wrestling who would it be? Like, who is your dream opponent?" He asked

"Honestly I have to say either Gail Kim or AJ Lee. They are both aspects of wrestling I love the most. AJ because she is a nerd and she owns it. She isn't afraid of being herself. That is where I learned how to just be myself and speak my mind inside and outside the ring. With Gail it's like let me show you I can kick your ass. And how I can highfly but yet I can do submissions as well. Though if I have to pick just one. I would say AJ Lee."

"Well that is all the time we have. I want to say thank you for being on the show Kira. It has been a blast getting to know you." Chris said, wrapping up the interview.

"Thanks for having me" I smiled before the camera's and audio recordings were shut off.

Once they were off. Chris shook my hand and we both left the room. I went home and just texted Liv and Finn.