There is a video montage mixed between random video-games, and clips some of the shows that Seth had predicted. GAME ON covers the screen; afterward, the montage fades to the Game On studio and its host, Seth Evans, standing in front of the camera with several monitors continuing to play through montages.
Seth Evans: Welcome back to the show, gamers, and it’s now the time that all of us have been waiting for… our special guest, representing Fight, is Kasey Winterborn!
The montage shifts to the entrance video for Kasey Winterborn, and a montage of her own highlights from previous matches.
As the montage plays over her music, Kasey appears on the stage and gives a little wave as she walks over to her seat. She shakes hands with Seth as she takes her seat. Seth awaits Kasey to take a seat before he takes his own.
Seth Evans: Good afternoon, Kasey, and thank you for coming on the show! How are you doing?
Kasey Winterborn: I’m doing amazing Seth, thanks for having me as your first guest. I’m incredibly humbled.
Seth Evans: It’s my honor to have you here, because truthfully; I had talked to Denzel Porter about my show in the past and he had said that I could bring it back on his network. And as I mulled it over, only one name came to my mind and that was yours. But as the show is appropriately titled, I do like to start with some gaming questions, and like to break the ice: do you have a console preference? Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Nintendo…? Other?
Kasey Winterborn: Well, growing up my brother and I were huge gamers and we had just about every system on the market. But nowadays I mainly stick to Playstation, and I have a Switch that I bring on the road with me.
Seth Evans: At the mentioning of the Switch, how do you feel about Sora from Kingdom Hearts being the final fighter for this edition of Smash Bros?
Kasey Winterborn: If I’m being honest, I’m not that big into Kingdom Hearts, but it seems like a cool addition.
Seth Evans: It was just a fun little game. I'm sure we all have our favorite fighters that we're not going to switch from. But going back to the PlayStation, is there any series that stands out to you as a favorite? I know they have quite a lot of exclusives.
Kasey Winterborn: In terms of exclusive, I have to go with Horizon Zero Dawn. It was just so beautiful and the story was incredible. I’ve already got Horizon Forbidden West on preorder. Even shelled out the money for the collector’s edition! [she laughs]
Seth Evans: That's going to be great! I still haven't made it all the way through the first one, though, so no spoilers. How about for the overall game field? Any console, any gen, what stands out to you?
Kasey Winterborn: All-time favourite, I have to go with Skyrim. I’ve played it across so many different platforms, and I can easily sink hours into it. It’s definitely a comfort game for me.
Seth Evans: They've released that game so many times, I think they just know that if they release it, people will buy it. But it was an astounding game. But gaming as a modern day form of art, is there anything from any game that you've brought with you to the ring as an inspiration or motivation to keep you going?
Kasey Winterborn: It’s really strange, but I have never actually thought to incorporate my love of gaming into my wrestling. Although lately I have been really heavily inspired by Cyberpunk 2077. It’s such a visually stunning game and the soundtrack was banging, and I’ve been thinking of changing up my in-ring look to a bit more of a cyberpunk aesthetic thanks to that game.
Seth Evans: I would be interested to see what you can come up with as far as in-ring attire goes. I once wore a full Spartan armor suit to the ring at a pay-per-view; it was such a pain to have to take it off before getting in the ring, but it did make for a grand entrance. But what about heroes or villains? None of them click with you when you think it's time to flip the script and persevere, or a villain that makes you think it's time to take off the gloves?
Kasey Winterborn: When I’m down and fighting to get back in the match, I’m not ashamed to say that I do tap into my inner Dragonborn, yelling and all. [laugh]
[Seth joins in the laughing.]
Seth Evans: So that's what you're yelling in the ring! I just can't get the Fus Ro Dah out of my head, and your opponent standing across from you thinking, "This is bullshhh--, I didn't sign up to fight the Dragonborn!"
Seth Evans: It seems to do the trick more often than not, because since coming to Fight, you've earned an impressive record of 4-2, including winning the Islands Championships alongside Shawn Warstein and Betsy Granger as New Status Quo. Those two losses you suffered didn't come without giving one hell of a fight. How does holding the Islands Championships with New Status Quo affect your own mentality when the three of you are going to be joined by Dickie Watson and Aiden Reynolds, to of course form the whole stable, at Ascension?
Kasey Winterborn: Well, it’s definitely a confidence booster, knowing that I’m part of a team with some of the biggest names in the industry. I’ve known Dickie and Aiden for a while, and Shawn, Betsy and I have already proven that we are a well-oiled machine. When you put us all together, we are an absolutely unstoppable unit.
Seth Evans: It truly does show when three of you are holding the Islands Championships, and Dickie is holding the Empire Championship. I would say that New Status Quo is definitely the favorites to win this one. At least my favorites to win. What was it about Fight! NYC that stood out to you and why you chose to sign with them?
Kasey Winterborn: After I watched the Blood Money show and saw what a unique and innovative concept they had, I knew I had to get in with this company.
Seth Evans: Blood Money was something else that changed everything in our beloved sport for the better. Was there a particular instance while watching that sold you, or just overall?
Kasey Winterborn: It was the overall concept, the fact that it was basically all-out madness and chaos just made it so entertaining and fun.
Seth Evans: Since going to Fight, have you had any match stand out to you as a favorite that you’ve been a part of?
Kasey Winterborn: Hands down, it has to be winning the Islands titles with Shawn and Betsey. Not only for the obvious reason, but the fact that I was able to get my second career title while teaming with two of the most legendary names in the business is so surreal to me. I still sometimes pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.
Seth Evans: Do you get those jitters every so often when you stand beside them? Sort of a disbelief that you’re standing beside them as an equal?
Kasey Winterborn: Absolutely. I’ve been wrestling on and off for over ten years now, but this past year has been the biggest growth in my career. I’ve mostly been in smaller companies that haven’t had the kind of massive exposure that Fight has, so I’m still kind of overwhelmed that I’m being recognized more and more.
Seth Evans: As you are climbing the ranks, what do you think the potential is of an eventual showdown with Dickie if Dickie can manage to retain? Do you all have a common understanding that there’s no hard feelings if booked against one another?
Kasey Winterborn: Of course. At the end of the day we’re all professionals and we know that in the ring it’s all business.
Seth Evans: It's a good mentality to have. I'm going to switch the question up for a moment and call this a question from the Game Genie: if there was one active wrestler in the industry, whether they're in Fight or not, that you could step into the ring with, who would it be and why?
Kasey Winterborn: Oh man, that’s a doozy. There is just a massive pool of talent out there right now. I do have a list of dream opponents, but the current number one pick is Bella Madison. She’s this fiesty second-gen star out of New York and from what I’ve seen of her work in SCW and PWS, I think her and I could put on one hell of a show for people.
Seth Evans: I’m not too familiar with her, honestly, but I’m going to definitely check her out! If you say she’s good, then I’m going to be inclined to agree! Would you like to share more of those dream opponents or rather hold off until the time is right?
Kasey Winterborn: I’ve got a couple others I’ll say now, like Lachlan Kane. He and I go back a few years when he was first coming up in Japan. Back then, he was still pretty new to wrestling, so to see how far he’s come is incredible. We never really had a chance to match up, so I’d love the opportunity to get in the ring with him.
As far as the rest…well, I’ll let people speculate on that. [she laughs]
Seth Evans: There are a lot of opportunities coming up to turn this into a reality. I’ve heard rumors of upcoming super shows welcoming matches, and Tara has talked about making the cruise event an annual or even semi-annual event. Would you consider approaching these matches at such a future event?
Kasey Winterborn: Oh, absolutely. Who knows, maybe I’ll put on one of these kinds of events myself one day. [she winks and laughs]
Seth Evans: [Laughing in turn.] That does make me question, if you were to create a show, who or what would you build the event around?
Kasey Winterborn: Hmm, that’s an interesting question. I mean, the obvious answer would be a video-game theme, but I may have a few other ideas floating around my brain.
Seth Evans: Any particular two or more people you would want to pit against as the showcase?
Kasey Winterborn: There are so many people I would love to have on if I were to do a show like this, but I don’t know if I could really pick a showcase match yet. I’d have to give it some thought.
Seth Evans: There’s a lot of options. But as long as we don’t end up with a Squid Games ordeal, I think we can all look forward to it! We can move on to some fan questions, and our first fan asks you to list your top five games of all time?
Kasey Winterborn: Well, number one is obviously Skyrim. Two, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Three, Mass Effect 3. Four, Diablo 3. And five, Bioshock Infinite.
Seth Evans: You got those out quick! I’d probably be here in a stutter and be moving them around a few times. [He says with a chuckle.] I did notice you posting about Diablo III before and noticed you actually did convince Shawn Warstein to play it with you. Does he hold his own or do you have to carry him? I only ask because I recently got my wife onto it as well, and I have to carry her and be like, “You need to go to the top-right. I can’t run without you. The top-right. That’s… up and to the right.” Which is crazy because she’s great at Halo, but outside of that…
Kasey Winterborn: It took him a bit to get the hang of it, but we’re having a lot of fun with it.
Seth Evans: That's the most important part. Just having fun and being able to bond. Do you have a certain class that you favor over the rest, or pretty equal?
Kasey Winterborn: Demon Hunter, no question. Although Necromancer is fun too.
Seth Evans: Are you looking forward to Diablo IV's release date?
Kasey Winterborn: Definitely. It’s on the wish list! [she laughs]
Seth Evans: Did you see that statue they made of Lilith? The moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it for my collection.
Kasey Winterborn: Oh my god, yes! I’ve been drooling over it since I saw it. Already cleared a place on the shelf for it!
Seth Evans: Just the sheer amount of detail that they put into it! If only they could put that kind of work and dedication into World of Warcraft, it might be worth playing again.
Kasey Winterborn: Man, I haven’t touched WoW in so long. I’m not really big on MMOs to begin with, but I tried it a little while back. It was fun, but just not really for me, I guess.
Seth Evans: I was running a guild with a few friends in the industry. It was something we had locked down, and only allowed people in the business to enter! We did have a couple alternate guilds that we would allow our fans to join, but we would always build our raids and PVP groups around our peers. It's still going strong if you ever want to join, just let me know and I'll pass the word to let them know to get you in. Only if you ever decide to give it another shot. Our next fan question is asking probably our most important question... What property do you buy first on Monopoly?
Kasey Winterborn: Uh, whichever one I land on first, I guess! [she laughs]
Seth Evans: That seems like the most logical answer. And just hope you're the first person to land on Park Place or Boardwalk. [Seth shrugs.] The next question is asking what is an item you literally cannot function without?
Kasey Winterborn: I mean, it’s kind of basic white girl of me, but coffee. [she laughs] Though I’m not picky, I have a lot of different kinds that I like.
Seth Evans: Coffee is very much needed for our line of work, I think. Do you have any creamer that you like to put in it, or just straight?
Kasey Winterborn: Depends on the day. If I do have it, I like a little bit of French Vanilla creamer.
Seth Evans: There's a Reese's one out there that is just amazing if you ever want to give that a try. But onto the next question: if you were a color on the Twister board, which one would you be?
Kasey Winterborn: I’d say red, in honor of my former hair color.
Seth Evans: And our final question that was submitted is... Do you like pasta?
Kasey Winterborn: Uh, is the Pope Catholic? [she laughs] Of course I do!
Seth Evans: I don't know if I trust anyone who doesn't like pasta. It's like just a go-to... easy to make, but hard to master. Do you have a certain pasta that is your favorite? Alfredo or red sauce?
Kasey Winterborn: I’m partial to a good pesto, it goes well with a lot of different pastas and it’s not too heavy.
Seth Evans: There's so much pasta that I feel like we could talk about this all day... The different noodles, sauces, cheeses. There's a pasta I've been making recently that has cheese melted into the noodles, and a tomato sauce over it. Out of this world. I think that is all the time we have for this weekend, and I would like to thank you one more time for being the first guest on the show since its return after I had to take an unfortunate hiatus from it. And I look forward to seeing Fight next weekend and will be rooting for you and the rest of New Status Quo to walk out with that victory.
Kasey Winterborn: Thanks so much for that, and for having me on the show. It was a lot of fun!
Seth Evans: Thank you for tuning in, gamers, and be sure to catch our guest KASEY WINTERBORN on Fight! NYC where she is one-third of the Islands Champions! Next show, I will be introducing the CLUTCH PLAY OF THE WEEK which will be eligible for the three shows that I have predicted between Fight! NYC, OCW, and IWF. I will also be introducing a star of the week from each promotion. Until next time, gamers: GAME ON!
