Tina Armstrong

Tina Armstrong (ティナ・アームストロング, Tina Āmusutorongu) is a professional wrestler from the Dead or Alive series, who made her first appearance the original Dead or Alive. She is one of the three female characters to appear in the first game - the others being Kasumi and Leifang - and she was the the first female pro-wrestler in the fighting genre. She is the daughter of Bass Armstrong, the greatest wrestler who ever lived.

Tina enters the tournaments to get discovered, with a goal of becoming famous in Hollywood. However the path of fame isn't easy for her as Bass always tries to convince her that the Hollywood life isn't for her, but she tries to convince him that it is her dream. Most of their arguments lead to fights.

Early Life
Tina was born in the United States to wrestling star Bass Armstrong and his wife Alicia. When Tina was six her mother died of an unknown illness, so Bass cared for the girl by himself, wanting her to follow in his footsteps. From a young age Tina was put through a rigorous training regime and by the time she was in high school, she was an expert wrestler in her own right. However, she started to have dreams and ambitions beyond the wrestling scene: she wanted to be discovered by Hollywood and become a famous starlet.



The First Tournament
Tina entered the first Dead or Alive Tournament to please her father's wishes, but in a bid to make her dreams of fame come true, Tina's other reason for joining was to use it as a vehicle to be discovered by Hollywood. However, Bass forbid it, thinking that it's not a good idea for his daughter to end the wrestling career he built for her, so he entered the tournament to try and stop her from succeeding.

Tina made it into the finals but forfeited the last match. Kasumi won but she didn't take the prize money, therefore Tina took it instead.

The Second Tournament
Tina entered the second tournament in hopes of becoming a supermodel. Along the way, she had an argument with Leifang about what true power is; while Tina said it's about brute, physical strength, Leifang told her it's all about the mind. She also met up with Zack, who tried to ask her out, but Tina was not interested in him, she gave him a mirror and told him to "use it".

Later on, Tina had to fight with Bass once again, and managed to defeat him. After the tournament, she got her wish and went on to be a supermodel for a show on the television.

The Third Tournament
Being a woman of boundless ambition and a thirst for great fame, after she finally made her debut in Hollywood as a model, Tina decided that she wanted to be an actress. Since the Dead or Alive Tournament gave her a big chance last time, she entered the third tournament to promote herself. Bass tried to stop her once again but she got annoyed at him, telling him that it's her dreams and he's not the boss of her any more. She defeated him in battle, and went onto star in a war-action film.

The Fourth Tournament
Tina joins the fourth tournament, this time in order to become a rock star, much to her father's dismay. During the tournament, Tina confronts La Mariposa. Both seem to insult each other on their ambition and appearance, but show only to do it for the show. After the fight, Tina confronts her father. After a quarrel over the new dream to become a rockstar, Tina goes on to defeat Bass in the ring.

After the fourth tournament, Tina stars in a music video in which she rides in on a skateboard, playing the electric guitar. She also takes part in and wins a tag-team wrestling match alongside La Mariposa, in which it is revealed that the masked-wrestler is in fact her good friend Lisa.

The Fifth Tournament
Having retired after her previous successes, Tina is once again inspired to come back into the ring after having an impromptu sparring session with Mila. After winning a friendly tag duel with her against Eliot and Brad Wong, Tina is recruited into the fifth tournament by Zack, whom she easily defeats in a fight. Later, she fights Sarah Bryant, after getting furious with Zack for mistakening the woman as her.

At a D.W.A. exhibition, Tina fights Mila again, and this time she wins. Tina then thanks Mila for inspiring her to fight again and they promise each other to see each other again in the Dead or Alive 5 finals. Afterwards, she publicly announces her plans of entering the fifth tournament. This catches the attention of Bass (who has also retired from wrestling and now works with Rig on a DOATEC offshore oil plant) causing him to enter the tournament under the guise of "Mr. Strong".

At the tournament Tina faces of against Bass in the quarterfinals. She easily sees through his disguise and is a bit embarrased. In the end, Tina loses the fight, but she convinces Bass to join her in a father-daughter team. She even announces that she plans on running for state governor, much to Bass's dismay.

Appearance
Also see: Tina's Outfit Catalogues

Tina has healthy-colored skin and sapphire-blue eyes. Her hair color has changed since the first game; in the original Dead or Alive, she has dark brunette but since Dead or Alive 2, she's been a blonde. Some fans believe that Tina is actually a "bottle blonde" and dyes her hair, but in Dead or Alive 2, a flashback scene shows her as a young child with blonde hair.

In an interview with Team Ninja, they said that the reason why Tina was a brunette in the original Dead or Alive was because the graphics on the Sega Saturn wouldn't allow it. Thus being blonde in the PlayStation release.

In addition to her hair, her outfits have changed from the original game as well. In the first Dead or Alive, her default costumes were more practical for wrestling, with fighter's gloves, shin guards, spandex shorts and sports bras. In Dead or Alive 2, her costumes have become more sexy and provocative, this fact makes Tina the first female fighter in the series to wear a sexualized outfit; for example, the front zipper of her shorts or trousers may be slightly undone, and her tops tend to reveal a lot of cleavage. A few of her outfits are also heavily US-inspired, with American flag prints and cowgirl accessories.

Tina's outfits from the original Dead or Alive would soon be the inspiration for Mila's outfits in Dead or Alive 5.

Personality
Tina is conveyed as a stereotypical believer of the "American Dream" - she is a girl with big dreams and will do anything to achieve them, no matter who or what tries to stop her. Following her motto "success breeds success," Tina aims high in everything she does, especially in her career goals, and is frequently entering a new profession to the point of being unrealistic. She is a stubborn and tough dreamer and hates it when people (especially her strict and overprotective father) tell her what she can and can't do, showing her independent outlook. However, she seems to recognize that she is stubborn and bullish, saying that she inherited this personality trait from Bass.

However, Tina does have a kind side to her, shown in Dead or Alive 5 when she helps Mila spar not long after they meet.

Tina also has great confidence in her sex appeal, which she exhibits through her extroverted, sometimes impudent personality; some of her winning poses and sayings seem to be more sexually suggestive than those of the other female characters. She's using her role as a fighter and her wrestling career more as a foothold to reach more glamorous professions rather than a way of life. Overall, Tina exhibits a pure, immense lust for stardom in most of her actions. She is highly confident in her abilities - including her skills in wrestling, modeling, acting and music - almost to the point of arrogance.

Etymology
The name "Tina" is a short form of "Christina" and, less commonly, of other female names ending in -tina. Christina is a form of "Christiana," the Latin feminine form of "Christin," meaning "a Christian." Christiana was the name of an early saint who was tormented by her pagan father. This could link to Tina's controlling relationship with her own father.

Her surname "Armstrong" is of Scottish origin, and meanings "strong in the arm"; a perfect fit for a family of pro-wrestlers.

Bass Armstrong
Bass is Tina's father and is really protective towards her, still viewing her as his little girl. Bass guards her from men like Zack and he disagrees with her dreams of being something big in the entertainment world, as he believes that it isn't a good career for a young lady. This causes friction in their relationship, as Tina sees herself as her own person and wants to make her own choices. Their disagreements often lead to real fights in the ring and Tina more or less wins every time. Although they hardly ever get along, the two can be close at times.

Zack
Zack used to have a huge crush on Tina and would often ask her out, although she has never liked him in that way and refused to go out with him, taunting him about his outrageous appearance. After being rejected, Zack finally moved on with Niki. The two fighters remain friends but Tina still takes enjoyment from teasing Zack; if the two of them win a tag-team fight, Tina would high-five Zack, but as he does it back, she would jump to the side and let him fall onto the ground.

Lisa Hamilton
Tina has been friends with Lisa since their school days and their friendship has remained strong right into their adult lives. Although during Dead or Alive 4 they taunt each other in the ring - with Tina claiming that Lisa was hiding the fact she is ugly under her mask, and Lisa calling her stupid - that was just an act for the audience, and they go on to become wrestling partners.

Leifang
Tina and Leifang are rivals, which started from a disagreement on the philosophy of true martial power. Despite the rivalry, the two do seem to respect one another; when Leifang managed to break a small boulder with little effort, Tina whistles long and lowly after this, showing that she was impressed.

Mila
Tina met Mila at Jenny's Diner, where Mila worked as a waitress. Mila recognizes Tina simply as "Bass Armstrong's daughter". Tina encouraged Mila to enter the fifth Dead or Alive tournament and help her train via sparring. Mila happily accepts and the two train together at the gym. Mila's fighting spirit helped Tina to return back to ring and enter the fifth Dead or Alive tournament after her retirement. The two fought in the ring where Tina thanks Mila for inspiring her to fight again and promise eachother that they'll make it to finals.

Dead or Alive
Tina's fighting style consists of wrestling moves, including arm and leg jams and powerful throws. Although the slowest of the female characters, her physical strength actually makes her quite a balanced character. Tina is essentially a faster version of Bass. Her throws, while devastating, are less powerful than her father's, bar a small number of exceptions, and her execution time is quicker. Additionally, Tina's command list is unpredictable. Her mixture of mid kicks and high punches, along with the correct timing of a throw execution is excellent in keeping an opponent off-guard.

Dead or Alive Xtreme
Tina can be a bit hard to recruit, since it might be a bit hard to find enough of her favorite things but she can be befriended with the right items. Tina herself can get anyone as her partner, although she can have a hard time with Leifang and Kasumi. She can easily become partners with Lisa, her best friend.

In beach volleyball, strength is Tina's only good point, so she can easily knock down weaker players with her spikes and has some hard-hitting throw combos. Her biggest weakness is her lack of speed and jump skill, making it hard for her to run after the ball if it goes out of reach. Ideally, she would make a really good partner for a weak but fast player, like Leifang, Kasumi, or Ayane. For a strong, powerhouse team, having her team-up with Hitomi is the best bet but one must remember that neither of them are very fast.

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive (1996 - 1998)
 * Dead or Alive 2 (1999 - 2000)
 * Dead or Alive 3 (2001 - 2002)
 * Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (2003)
 * Dead or Alive Ultimate (2004 - 2005)
 * Dead or Alive 4 (2005 - 2006)
 * Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (2006)
 * Dead or Alive Paradise (2010)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)
 * Dead or Alive 5 (2012)

DOA: Dead or Alive
In the movie DOA: Dead or Alive, Tina (played by Jaime Pressly) is a professional wrestler who enters the tournament to prove that she has real fighting skills, unlike (according to the movie) most professional wrestlers. Her various job aspirations from the video games are not mentioned. In the movie, Tina seems to have a close friendship with Kasumi and the two share many scenes together. They are also partners for the volleyball match. She also appears to dislike Christie, though does help Christie when she needs it.

Her friendliness towards the other girls in many scenes leads her father Bass to believe she might be a lesbian, which was never mentioned but frequently implied. Zack is apparently in love with her, teasing her throughout the movie. Tina defeats him halfway through, after which he decides to support her through the rest of the tournament.

In one scene, Bass reveals that her full name is "Christina," although, like many parts of the film, this does not seem to have been acknowledged in the games and for the majority of the film she is referred to by all characters as simply "Tina."

Musical Themes

 * Power Is Beauty - Dead or Alive (Ultimate 1)
 * Power Is Beauty ~more Beautiful Mix~ - Dead or Alive (1998)
 * You Are Under My Control ~Beautiful Version 00~ - Dead or Alive 2 (Ultimate 2) and Dead or Alive: Dimensions
 * Agitated by Emotion and Father's Blues - Dead or Alive 2 (Ultimate 2) Ending Themes
 * True Beauty - Dead or Alive 3
 * War Zone - Dead or Alive 3 Ending Theme
 * I Feel For You - Dead or Alive 4
 * The Fastest Fingers - Dead or Alive 4 Ending Theme

Trivia

 * It's heavily implied that Tina is from the southern states of America - most likely Texas - due to her cowgirl-themed costumes and recognizably southern accent in English translations.
 * Due to her sex appeal, Tina won 2 awards on G4's  TV show back in 2005: "Dirtiest Dancer" and "Video Game Vixen of the Year." Plus, she was #14 in UGO Networks' "Top 50 Videogame Hotties" list in 2010, and IGN featured her in their "Videogame Babe of the Day" series in 2006.
 * Throughout the series, Tina has been shown to own convertibles, as she drives a pink convertible in Bass' Dead or Alive 3 ending, and owns a red convertible in Dead or Alive 5.
 * Tina is the only character in the series to have a complete hair color change. Becoming brunette in the first game, and blonde throughout the rest of the series.