Playing With Fire

Backstory and Characters

A brief explanation of the world of Profesional Wrestling

Professional wrestling is a form of theater in the round using a combination of staged combat and dialogue to tell a story. It's typically presented in a variety show style format with multiple stories and characters interwoven with each other.

The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) is the largest, most well known wrestling company in the world with several brands, hundreds of wrestlers under contract, and a global fanbase. 

Within the WWE the major brands are Raw and Smackdown.  Raw is the original brand having been a weekly TV show for decades. Smackdown is also a weekly TV show, and is sometimes referred to as the 'blue brand' because Raw's primary branded color is red and Smackdown's is blue. Both shows have a unique roster of wrestlers who make up the cast of characters who perform on their respective shows. Once a year wrestlers are traded between brands to mix the rosters up.

NXT is the developmental brand for the WWE based out of the WWE Performance Center in Florida where upcoming wrestlers are trained. NXT TV episodes are pre-taped at Full Sail University and later aired on the WWE's streaming network. 

Raw and Smackdown are taped live once a week and the rest of the week the wrestlers perform throughout the country and sometimes the world in what are referred to as house shows or live events. Live events are not taped and normally have no impact on the story. About once a month there is a special event normally referred to as a pay-per-view where stories often culminate and titles change hands. Most of the stories revolve around fighting for championship titles, but there are also comedic elements, drama, and even occasionally romance.

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History of Finn and Bayley

Bayley is a lifelong wrestling fan originally from California who realized her dreams when she was hired under a developmental contract in 2013 shortly before the opening of the WWE performance center and during the inception of NXT as a recognizable brand. Her character (or 'gimmick') is the hugger, a lovable underdog who loves to give out hugs and continues to fight no matter how many times she gets knocked down.

She is not your typical 'diva' or women's wrestler, she looks more like the girl next door. She's lean and athletic and is particularly pretty when she smiles, but she's not supermodel beautiful nor is she the type to wear skimpy wrestling gear to get attention. She has dark brown hair, brown eyes and has tan skin owing to her Latin heritage.

Finn Balor is an Irish wrestler who never wanted to do anything but wrestle. He's a veteran of independent wrestling and he made a name for himself spending eight years wrestling in Japan for one of the largest wrestling companies outside of the U.S. He's small for the average wrestler, though he's known for being extremely athletic and fit. He's considered to be very handsome with dark hair, smooth, pale skin and clear blue eyes.

In 2014 he was signed under a developmental contract for the WWE. He combined elements of the body paint he was famous for and his Irish heritage to create the character of the Demon King Balor, an alter ego he can call on when he needs something extra to help him defeat his opponents.

Bayley and Finn were a part of NXT during it's first boom period when it became well know throughout the wrestling world. Finn captured the NXT championship in the summer of 2015 where he would go on to hold it for a record 292 days, and helped grow the brand as fans across the US and the world flocked to see the ultra-cool Finn Balor and his awe-inspiring alter ego.

Bayley culminated a years long underdog story in what is to this day still thought of as the best women's match in history, capturing the NXT women's title shortly after Finn captured his. They went on to hold the titles while traveling and training together along with many of their friends for almost a year.