HPW takes a closer look at the Termina and Trios Championships!

Before the #CelebrationofGreatness, HPW takes a closer look at Arrow Club VS The Dames of the Dunes and Fin Balure VS Ganondorf!

Wind is blowing across Hyrule.

It blows across Hebra Peak and the Tabantha Tundra. It blows across the Toruma Dunes against the Great Cliffs. And it blows across Faron Sea, with waves crashing against Aris Beach. We’re shown glimpses of the Young Ducks, Mack & Rick Quackson, gliding into Tabantha Tundra, and then of Ganondorf and the Dames of the Dunes in different parts of the Toruma Dunes, and of Fin Balure and Bad Croc Scaly standing on the beach.

First, in Hebra…

“Ooh, yeah, this is the stuff,” Mack says as he and Rick touch down in the snow. They enjoy the crunch as they walk around. “Winter?” Rick says with some snark. “What’s that? Hebra’s never not covered in snow.” Mack says, “The cold is bracing. The wind is biting. So are the wolves that’re out here, actually, keep eyes out for them.” The Ducks are Rito Village born and raised, and trips to the mountains were commonplace. They feel it toughened them up well enough. But it’s not like that gave them something they wanted to do in life. It was seeing Hebra Wrestling Heights every Saturday night that gave them that.

The Ducks are nostalgic thinking back to HWH Saturday Night Spotlight and the many stars on their screen: Blizzard; The Gliders; The Beak Busters; Rito Santana; and “Big Pecks” Hawk Morrigan. The Ducks knew early on that they wanted to be just like all of those great wrestlers, and their dad supported them by building a wrestling ring in their own backyard to train in. It took some time to get proper recognition, but they were soon living the dream, competing in HWH. They followed the footsteps of those great tag teams, and then took HWH by storm. “And now,” Mack says, “we’re ready to take over Hyrule!”

Then, in Gerudo…

A gust blows across the dunes as the Gerudo Sisterhood walks along. They shield their eyes with veils and their upper bodies with shawls. The gust passes, the cameraman has to dust off the camera, and the Gerudo Sisterhood chuckles. “That’s the Toruma Dunes saying hello,” Shabonne jokes. “They say hello a lot, actually,” Tali says. “That was a short one.” Tali, a champion Sand Seal Surfer, “is greeted” like that more times than she can count. But it’s just another opponent to beat on top of the other racers. Riju has also done some Sand Seal Surfer and can attest to that. If they can overcome the wind, they can overcome anything.

Buliara says, “The real problem is, when there’s no wind, there’s still the heat. The sun beats down on the sand and it becomes a grill that cooks us like meat.” The heat lines are very visible as they walk along. When the heat got too much to withstand, the only reprieve was going inside for shade. And during that time, “who didn’t watch GWF?” The Gerudo Wrestling Federation toured a lot during the 80s and 90s, starring not just great Gerudo wrestlers but many other female wrestlers of the time. The Majestic Marta, Bae Yung, “Twinrova” Koume & Kotake, Rea “The Body” Ventura, and of course, a young and hungry Nabooru.

Shabonne says, “Gerudo sports culture revolves around Sand Seal Surfing, pro-wrestling, and weightlifting. No offense to weightlifters, but that’s too boring for Tali so here she is dominating the other two. And she and I are both proud to be doing so alongside our Gerudo sisters, in a company that allows mixed competition for titles like the HPW Trios Championships. And trust me when I say, they are going to dominate. That All or Nothing match means nothing because it was in the past. What matters is the future. And the future is The Dames of the Dunes keeping the dream alive for all our Gerudo sisters that are inspired by us the way we were inspired by those legends.”

Also in Gerudo…

However, things were a bit different for “The Gerudo Ace,” Ganondorf Dragmire, the rare male Gerudo. Male Gerudos only come around once a century, dating back to ancient times. Not many people know this, but Ganondorf was raised by “Twinrova,” Koume & Kotake. Therefore, he grew up in the business, groomed to be a champion and nothing less. And though it wasn’t for very long, he did live up to that upbringing by winning the HPW Triforce Championship back at Treasure Island in 2020. But growing up around pro-wrestling as the one and only male Gerudo was an almost paradoxical juxtaposition of the inflated ego we see, and a feeling of isolation we never saw.

Ganondorf stands alone, overlooking everything from the Great Cliffs. The wind from the dunes hits the side of the cliffs and goes up a bit to blow through his hair and cape. But Ganondorf isn’t bothered by the stinging gust or the heat it brings. Growing up with GWF as the main promotion for pro-wrestling in the Gerudo region also had a mixed effect. It showed Ganondorf that strength can come in any form. But it didn’t quite have the role models Ganondorf was looking for. The previous male Gerudo was Ganon Hackenslash, who Ganondorf is named for. But Hackenslash’s time was so long ago, pro-wrestling had evolved considerably.

So where was a young Gerudo boy to turn? Bootleg copies of TCW. “Oh, what?” Ganondorf chuckles. “Like anyone can do anything about it now.” Ganondorf grew up with the history of TCW, seeing those great champions and innovators fight their hearts out. Ganondorf admits, facing Igos du Ikana back on June 6th, 2020 was a dream match come true for him. And a part of him wishes Igos still had the HPW Termina Championship so they could take that match to HyruleMania. But Osphala beat Igos, then Fin beat Osphala, and Fin kept the title away from Igos after that. “Call it fate, destiny, luck, whatever you want, but that’s just how it turned out.”

“Fin,” Ganondorf says, looking right into the camera. “I remember you talking around this time last year about being toughened up by the sea. You talked about dragging Osphala into the deep waters. Something about the pressure suffocating him. I’ve felt pressure my whole damn life being THE Gerudo Ace. Hell, why sugarcoat it any longer? I’m the Gerudo KING, and I will have my throne as the first-ever HPW Triple Crown Champion!”

Now to Aris Beach…

Fin swims in Faron Sea, down to the reef and back up again. He gets such speed, he manages to launch out of the water! He sails through the air, then dives back down. Fin returns to shore, dragging a large tuna out by its tail. He tosses it to Scaly, who skewers it and puts it over a roaring bonfire to roast. HPW media spots some fangirls peeking over a wall and shoos them off, but one of the fangirls manages to snap a picture of “Prince Fin.” Fin and Scaly enjoy some beer with the roasted tuna as they think back to their own pro-wrestling origins. For Fin, it was ZLW, Zora League Wrestling.

Fin grew up watching Zora legends like Blobby Brookslime, Lord Squilliam ReGill, “The Lanayru Bull Shark,” Davey Koi Fish, and even Torbevito’s dad, THE Torbellino. Scaly says, “No flippin’ way.” Fin says yeah. That was a great reason why Fin signed Torbevito to NWS in the first place. Scaly says that’s pretty cool. Scaly didn’t so much “grow up” with ZLW or pro-wrestling in general, he was kind of a military brat. But when Scaly’s family finally settled in Necluda during Scaly’s high school years, he finally caught a glimpse of it. The Bull Shark VS Bret Hawk for the ZLW All-Coastal Championship. Fin laughs. “What a hell of a match to catch!”

As Fin got going in his pro-wrestling career, he helped build up the Necluda Wrestling Swamp. First it was just a training school but then it turned into its own promotion and grew strong. Scaly came through there as a student, became an enforcer for Blind the Thief for a time until he split off to be his own man. Then the day came that HPW called and Fin left NWS in the capable hands of those he’d helped. Fin met the Ducks, brought in Scaly and Torbevito, and The Arrow Club was born. HPW media asks, “And you don’t feel any pressure preparing for Ganondorf?”

Fin stares at the cameraman intensely, but then chuckles. “I told you a year ago, but I’ll tell you all again. Pressure doesn’t get to me after the waters I’ve swam in. I came up in shark-infested waters, and I’m not just talking about out there. Being the new kid in a Zora promotion isn’t easy with all the sharks in the locker room. But I overcame them to become the big fish in the little pond. Now I’m an even bigger fish swimming in the damn ocean. I feel the pressure all the time. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t. But the secret is to not let it get to you. Does it get to you, Undertow?” Scaly says, “Hell no,” then he takes a big chomp of tuna.

These elements are all converging on the Great Forest.

The cold North winds carry Mack & Rick. The burning South winds lift Ganondorf and the Dames. And the rolling waves carry Fin and Scaly. The Ducks shout, “You don’t know what cold is!” The Gerudo Sisterhood and Ganondorf shout, “You don’t know what heat is!” Fin and Scaly shout, “You don’t know what pressure is!” But then they all say in turn, “But you will.” Who will survive the harsh environment that is the Celebration of Greatness?

My Thoughts:

I really like how this one turned out. This feels like NXT Prime Target. I didn’t even think I was gonna go this big but grabbing up all these names felt right, they’re all linked. And in the end, I really liked the names of past legends I came up with. I hope everyone gets a chuckle out of them, too.