“Wolfsbane” Adam Brock vs. Deanna Frost

[SnowQueenSCW]

The camera opens up to a simple sight. A parking lot space, the center shot holding a black KIA Sedan. A few other cars surround it, but it is the person sitting on hood of the car that the focus is on. She wears black pants and a dark-gold shirt with a maroon long coat. That person is the SCW United States Champion, Deanna Frost. Rubbing her hands together, the young woman takes a deep breath of the afternoon breeze before lifting her eyes to gaze into the camera. So… she continues to rub her hands. Where do we start?

Giving a shrug, the champion leans back onto her hands against the hood of the car. Really, I’m not too sure. Normally, I’d play off my last match, reflect on it and on things, good and bad, whether I won or lost – standard fare, that sort of thing. Because there is always something to be learned in every match, isn’t there? Even winning a match, maybe it wasn’t how you wanted to win? Maybe a mistake was made? Maybe things didn’t go the way you wanted them to? And in losing, well that’s all the obvious points, isn’t it?

But you see, that’s kind of hard to do when you don’t have a last match to really speak of. And before he jumps in front of a camera and reams me out on that and before people rush to X and spread stuff about me, let me be clear. I am saying NOTHING bad about David Striker!

The reason that there is not much to speak of in that match… is because of him. Because of how honest of a man he was. Everything he could say, that I could say, it was all left in the ring. Any line, any promise, any promise for the future, it all was there. And I feel if I say anything more about it, then it will cheapen that. It will take away the honest statements he and I made in our match last Breakdown – statements to one another and to SCW. And for how good he was, how good he is? David Striker deserves better than that!

Taking a moment to let her words and the weight of them sink in, Deanna pushes herself off the vehicle, landing on her booted feet gracefully. But as you now see, that places me in a somewhat poor predicament, because what I SHOULD be talking about was what I did at Taking the Leap. What I should be talking about is who I fought and who I retained this championship against.

But I can’t do that. And again, like with his creativity, I envy David Striker in that. He fought me and then immediately went on a tear through a triple cage and almost became the Underground champion! Me? I had to sit home and watch the pay-per-view from my house in Manhattan. So close… yet so far… she looks away distantly, as if the very distance is something she does not like to think of.

And I’ll be honest guys, it sucked. It sucked to have to miss a pay-per-view, sucked that I had to let you all down like that… especially when it was all my fault. I was overzealous last Breakdown and I tweaked my knee. The same knee that got mucked up in my match with Asher Hayes at the end of last year. Like that night, where I wrestled two matches, including one for the world title, I pushed myself further than perhaps I should have. Where anyone with common sense would hesitate to go much further. She gives a shrug.It’s how I am, how I will always be. I don’t know how to quit or ‘tone it down’. I’m always pushing, never stopping. Always trying to reach that next level, that next pinnacle, that next ‘thing’ to evolve in this sport, because I know if I don’t, then someone else will and they’ll take my place in an instant!

She snaps her fingers to further illustrate her point, her hand eventually landing on her knee. But three Burnouts later against Striker and I was being evaluated and was told that it would be savagely unwise for me to compete on the weekend. The risk of reaggravating the injury was high…

And yet I still wanted to wrestle! It didn’t matter if I had one bad leg, I’d kick and knee with the other. And if that failed, I’d cling onto the opponent’s neck with my arms and never let go until they either tapped out or passed out. And if one arm didn’t work, I’d use the other and I’d throw myself over ropes and spring off them with splashes and moonsaults just to try and get my shots in.

Emerald eyes scan the right arm before Deanna gives it a shake, returning her attention to her audience. The point is… is that I wanted to wrestle last pay-per-view. And it was CHBK, Alex Desbourais, that talked to me. Alex who sat me down and asked me a question that is still buzzing around inside my head. “How do you want to lose that title?”

For a moment, Deanna appears perplexed by the question. At first, I thought he was asking me some kind of riddle. Some kind of mind game where I had to find the ‘secret answer’ from the smartest man in SCW history. How do I want to lose the title? A scoff escaped the redhead. What kind of a question is that? I DON’T want to lose this title! I have fought through two chamber matches and a last person standing match to remain the champion as long as I have. I have taken on Hall of Famers, main-eventers, former world champions, and new blood just to name a few of the ranks of SCW! I have done all I can to bring new challengers, new challenges, and just new things to this division and have loved every minute – every SECOND of it! Of being the United States champion for SCW and for the SCW Universe…

Her smile falters a little and her shoulders shrug a bit. But, the truth is that Alex wasn’t asking me a riddle. He was asking me a very serious question. Because everyone dreams about winning a title. Everyone dreams about their ‘first’ title, winning ‘the big match’, talking about how they ‘need it’ and ‘want it’ more than the champion or how they ‘need to win’. My opponent is getting his first real top-tier title shot since coming here to SCW – going for a top tier title, I mean – so I know I am going to be hearing that and, honestly, I want to hear it. I want to hear that passion from him. I want to hear how he feels about this opportunity, because I know how I felt when I had it almost nine months ago. The excitement, the nerves, the doubt, the exhilaration, the need to believe that you have to make the most of this opportunity because you don’t know when another opportunity like this is going to happen, IF it is ever going to happen…

But how do I want to lose? I didn’t get what CHBK was asking me.

And Alex, he told me a rather harsh reality. That, for however long this run of mine lasts… it’s going to end one day. And I can stave it off. I can fight and fight and fight until there is nothing left in me. I will, one day, not be able to remain the SCW United States Champion.

A little shaken, Deanna releases a slow exhale, running her hands through her dark-red hair. And that… that was a tough pill to swallow. I mean, it’s not like I haven’t lost a title before. I have been the Television Champion, I have been the Underground Champion, and lost both of them. But the thing is, none of those singles reigns has meant more to me than this one. None of those titles have meant more to me than the one that I currently hold. The one that I have carved my place as one of the longest reigning United States champions. With over seventy title reigns in this title’s history, only two have held this championship longer than I have. And the idea that it will all end one day…

Again, a long exhale comes from Deanna as she shakes her head. I don’t want to think about it – I don’t like thinking about it – but I… she gives an honest shrug. I trusted CHBK. I know, hell froze over, but I do! How can I not?! You’d have to be really thick-skulled not to see how hard he’s been working for all of us! Doing his best to give us the best wrestling shows in the world! The best challenges and how he is constantly looking out for all of us!

Maybe I’ll get flack over this from my wife, but I do. I trust CHBK. So, per that trust… I did think about what he said. I thought about someone being better than me. Someone being able to overcome me… and how, if I had to have it all end, how would I want to have it happen.

And I’m not always the brightest crayon in the box, but I eventually realized what CHBK was getting at. Because the one thing I didn’t want – the one thing I couldn’t stand the idea of – was losjng this title because I was injured due to a rash decision. I didn’t want this reign to end just because I was less than 100%. If this were to all end someday, I wanted it to be done by being beaten by someone that was better than me at my best. Someone that took everything I had – my moves, my grit, all that I have worked to improve – and overcome me. I would want to lose this title to a better superstar, so I could not only learn from it, not only so I could see the ‘next level’ for myself, but so I could rest easy knowing the title I cared so much for was in good hands. Gazing down, Deanna looks at her hands rubbing together.

It was… a humbling and emotional roller coaster. Going from the highs of victory last Breakdown to being told – no, being TAUGHT – that if I wanted to have that dream, if I wanted to have that ‘ending’ for the reign I’ve had, then I had to be patient. I had to be honest with myself. I had to honestly admit that, for all my grit and for all I brag about being the toughest wrestler in SCW, I am still just human. I am not Supergirl. I’m not Wonder Woman. I’m not invincible. And if I wanted this reign to continue on and, eventually, end on my terms, I would have to heed the man’s advice, heed his council and heal up. Not only for myself, but for my future opponents and for all the SCW Universe that deserved my very best every time I wrestled!

So, I swallowed my pride and my ego and I sat the pay-per-view out. The result? The result is that now, I have been medically cleared to wrestle again! I have been given the green light and, now? Now I feel like I’m in the red with what I owe SCW. I feel like I owe the SCW Universe, the Little Gritters, everybody a FIVE-STAR United States Championship Match! her voice echoes within the parking lot with such a statement.

And dammit, I don’t like being in debt! So, this coming Breakdown in UTAH… I am going to pay back what I owe SCW with INTEREST! I am going to provide a main-event, pay-per-view worthy U.S Title match!

Which leads me to Adam Brock…

Taking a deep breath, Deanna leans against a nearby red Honda, eyeing the camera. Now Adam… you and me, we’ve never really crossed paths. Haven’t really been on the other’s radar, so to speak. I’ve been in this division as its champion, while you have gone from division to division, wherever the wind seems to send you. You challenged for the Television title, you were almost the number one contender for the Adrenaline championship, and now here we are with you challenging me for the United States Championship. And yet, like me, you’ve made a list from this year, battling Hall of Famers, former world champions, setting the world on fire and turning it on its head until, just like that, you were on EVERYBODY’S radar.

Simon Lyman…
Autumn Valentine and Lexy Chapel…

You don’t get that kind of attention from those kind of people if you aren’t worth it. If you’re not a force to be reckoned with! That’s what you’ve done in less than a year and it’s incredible, Adam. It’s extraordinary! It’s even a little intimidating. I look at you and I don’t have to demand to ‘let me see your hunger’ or ‘prove your grit’ or whatever. This isn’t a handout match for you. SCW chose you because you impressed them – sure as hell impressed me! – impressed everyone to where you were named the number one contender for this title.

And with everything I just talked about, I’d be lying if the question didn’t come up once in the last few days: Is Adam Brock the one? Is Wolfsbane the guy to beat the… well, I don’t have a nickname, so… me. Is Wolfsbane the guy to beat me and end my reign as United States Champion?

Looking down at the ground, Deanna gives a shrug of her shoulders. It’s a fair question. The man just beat Autumn Valentine – and I said Autumn Valentine, not some makeshift name to save egos made by Lexy Chapel. Calling a spade a spade, Adam, you beat a certified, well-accomplished fighter at Taking the Leap. You went toe to toe with Simon Lyman – a recent world title contender! - and almost beat him in a ladder match! So not only is that a fair question, it’s a damn honest one!

Still, despite these facts, Deanna crosses her arms, her head tilting left and right a few times. But here’s the thing. You’ve done a lot of talking about what it’s like to be Adam Brock, haven’t you? That no one would understand what you’ve gone through. No one would understand what you’ve endured to get to this point. And maybe not… but if you think you’re the only person here who has suffered hardship, then you are gravely mistaken. If you think someone like me hasn’t seen that dark and emerged from it, you’re way off the mark. But you know what? Since you don’t know me, I’ll make it clear. I care only about what happens in the ring, so let’s explore something here with that rather than comparing each other’s ‘rough backstory’, shall we?

You got here after losing some matches and then winning one big match at Taking the Leap. Me? I got here by being UNDEFEATED so far this year. You got here by impressing people with your abilities, I got here by BEATING people with my abilities. You’re the challenger because you’re the next ‘impressive guy’, I’m here because I beat every ‘impressive person’ that’s come my way!

Turning, Deanna stands straight on in front of the camera, staring it down. For the past nearly nine months, Adam, I have gone toe to toe with every person that thought they had an answer to take this title from me. I’ve fought every person that thought they were ‘unlike anything I’ve met before’ and, maybe they were right, but I still won! I took every doubter, every discredit from my peers, every person with a catchy catchphrase, and taking even the world’s hatred for my last name and I didn’t settle for just fighting or for a catchy phrase about ‘fucking with wolves’. No! I made something of myself and I bet on myself to survive and find a way to be better than whoever was standing in the ring opposite me!

Calming herself a little, the redhead dusts her hands off. So back to the question I posted. Are you the guy to end this? Maybe you are. But, even if you very well may be, I am STILL going to do what I’ve always done and – I know Utah may hate me for this because of the state laws – but I am going to gamble on myself! I am going to put all my chips on me and watch as our hands are dealt, Adam! Because every time, even when the chips are done, even when the odds are against me, even when I seem to have the weakest hand, I’ve never stopped betting on myself to find a way to win!

This Breakdown, you can come at me with your tales of your past and you can remind me what happens when you ‘fuck with wolves’, but let me remind you of one thing:

I’ve fought Queens of Chaos.
I‘ve surpassed ‘The One’.
I’ve outlasted the ‘toughest’.
I have taken down the Nightmare Warriors.
I have doused out a Phoenix.
And yes, I have beaten many a wolfe.

So maybe it’s not me that should be worried about what you will do – no, siree, Wolfsbane, you need to be worried about what I can do! Because there may be an ‘end’ to all of this one day, Adam, but that day isn’t today. That day isn’t tomorrow. And it sure as hell isn’t going to be at Breakdown! I am taking this title, I am taking everything you can do to have me ‘wind up dead’ and I am getting back to my feet, knocking you out, retaining this championship and I am continuing on… working towards Rise to Greatness! she grins at the idea. To one year as the United States Champion! The feat of the year! The accomplishment of the SCW season!

So bring me your best and your stories, Adam. Throw your catchline at me, because you’ve made it clear what happens when you ‘fuck with a wolf’… This Breakdown, you’re gonna find out what happens when you mess with a Frost.

A challenging, excited grin forms across Deanna’s features. You go down… in a massive BURNOUT!

Checkmate, bitches!

The camera slowly fades on the standing champion before going entirely to black.