Light in the Darkness vs. European Fiery Nation

[Wisteria Waltz]

We find ourselves in the heart of Olympic Park in Toronto, our eyes immediately drawn to the incredible view of the city skyline all around us. The Metro Toronto Convention Centre stands proudly not too far away, with the iconic CN Tower looming just off to the side of that. Down the road in one direction we'll find the Scotiabank Arena, which will play host to Breakdown this week, while in the other direction stands the Rogers Centre, which played host to Rise to Greatness last year. In a way, being somewhere exactly in the middle of these two venues in particular feels appropriate considering who we're here to see, and it's not long before we spot Amelia Blythe and La Pequeña Luz, The Light In The Darkness. We watch for a moment as each of them raises a purple-colored baseball bat that looks like it's had a bunch of magical symbols painted in white along the wood, getting into the proper stance before swinging like they were actually playing for the Blue Jays over in the Rogers Centre right now. The fact that it's starting to rain doesn't seem to deter them as they take a few more swings, not caring that they're getting soaked seeing as they've donned jackets in case of this possibility, but it's a bit unnerving at this point how fixated they seem on this endeavor. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, they relax their stance and nod to one another, the focus seemingly giving way to smiles as they turn and walk towards us, stopping once they realize our presence. To their credit, they actually looked a little embarrassed and apologetic for taking so long to get to this point, but after a silent-but-brief conversation, it's Amelia who addresses us first.

“Luz and I owe all of you an apology. Over the past few weeks... you saw us at what was easily the lowest point we've ever been at in our entire careers, and in hindsight, maybe we really didn't have that good of a reason to be beating ourselves up as much as we were.”

“We haven't been shy about how much being World Tag Team Champions meant to us, how proud we were of everything we were doing to try and help elevate the division. The fact of the matter is, we got what we asked for several weeks ago: Team Desire stepped up and proved they wanted it more than we did, gave us a heck of a fight, and our second reign ends not too long after we'd crossed the 100 day threshold this time. Congratulations to Katie for reaching Supreme Champion status... you truly do deserve it, and you know we're sincere when we say that.”

“You also know we're sincere when we admit that we're only human, and despite how hard we work... Luz and I, at our very core, are two very flawed individuals trying to help one another fill in those cracks because we deserve a chance to figure out who we want to be and what kind of lives we want to live. Wrestling may be in our blood, but we take a great deal of pride in the legacies we've been trying to build for ourselves, hoping that when the day finally comes for us to hang up our boots once and for all that everyone all around the world will remember us for what we accomplished, not just recognize us as the next link in our family legacies.”

“I may love mi papá with all my heart and be proud of following in his footsteps, unlike Amelia who has every reason to want to prove she's more than just another Blythe, but I can tell you from firsthand experience that having such big boots to fill... it takes its toll on you. The burden of those expectations truly had me wondering for the longest time if that's all I was to the fans: the daughter of a lucha libre legend gone too soon. Amelia's felt that pressure, being expected by her parents to be the perfect wrestler just to prove that their family is at a level that no one else is ever meant to reach. We've come a long way in trying to redefine exactly who we are what what we want to accomplish as ourselves, but those kinds of mindsets... they don't go away just because things are going in your favor and you're accomplishing everything that is the antithesis of all those doubts and insecurities.”

“That's why Luz and I fell apart as much as we did in the aftermath of that particular defeat. It wasn't because we lost the titles, because we'll be the first to admit that we've done this long enough to know that no title reign will ever last forever. Heck, we actively encouraged the tag team division week after week to give us a fight, to show us just how badly they wanted to dethrone us, and that's exactly what the Stewards gave us. No... it's because in both instances where our Tag Title reign came to an end, it allowed someone else to achieve arguably the highest status you can have in your SCW career, a feat that only a select few have been able to achieve in all the years this company has been active. Congrats again to Katie for joining that club, just as Glory did earlier this year... but twice at our expense after how hard we've pushed ourselves to get to this point was more than our pride could honestly take.”

“In that brief moment, we truly felt as though we had failed in everything we were trying to do, that we weren't good enough to truly define ourselves as something more than just the lineages we came from, not against the very best on the planet. In our heads, we could see this stigma being weaponized against us, that we were only fodder for the history of others. I think it's clear now that we got really deep into our own heads, convinced ourselves that we weren't good enough and that the only solution was to properly prove otherwise. That said... we owe a huge thank you to CHBK for giving us the wake-up call that we needed, because he wasn't wrong. We're both former Television Champions, we're held those Tag Titles twice now and considering we've been in that spot for most of this year, we'd like to think we've proven by now that we earned that honor of being called Tag Team of the Year by all of you guys last year.”

Both ladies exchange looks again before lifting their bats to rest over their shoulders, not caring about the wet wood making contact with their hair or jackets because they're already soaked, yet they continue to stand defiantly in the rain.

“By now I think it's clear that we can sometimes be our own worst enemies. We push ourselves too hard, we're too hard on ourselves when we falter, we even involve ourselves in matters that honestly shouldn't concern us, all because we want to create a level playing field. It's been said time and time again that maybe we're too nice for this business... to that, I have to ask: if being too nice is supposed to be to our detriment in a business where fighting is how problems are resolved, then how have Luz and I achieved what we have so far in our SCW careers? Yeah, maybe it is a weakness in the eyes of many out there, but we've been upfront time and time again about how we don't want to approach this business as anything other than who we are, who we truly want to be. We've both fought long and hard just to figure that out, so why should we abandon any of those struggles like they meant nothing at all? We've proven that we don't need to live a lie just for the sake of success when we've already found it by being honest with ourselves.”

“If we've survived that fight for our entire careers and continue to prove to everyone that who we truly are is not to our detriment, then why should we stop fighting for where we know we deserve to be? Yeah, it sucks that history's been made at our expense twice this year alone... but what's stopping us from trying to make our own history somehow, some way, to continue that fight and prove to ourselves, and to everyone on this roster, that we not only belong here, but we may even be the best tag team in SCW today, maybe even of all time if we keep learning from our failures and evolving to reach that level. That evolution is actually why we're not afraid to march into the Scotiabank Arena just down the road from here come Thursday night, about ten minutes away from the same stadium where we made a Rise to Greatness moment all our own last year despite the setback we faced on that night, and prove that just because we're kind and honorable doesn't mean we can't adapt to a fight that, on paper, probably raises several questions this close to Rise to Greatness XXI.”

“Once again, we find ourselves sharing the ring with Dakon Theron and Ludvig Eriksson of the European Fiery Nation. When we crossed paths with them in Japan some time back, they tried to throw the rules out the window and sought to break us with weapons, not caring if they were disqualified because they thought it would prove something. Unfortunately for them, we had a feeling they would pull that stunt and didn't falter in the face of their aggression, scoring the victory fair and square without stooping to their level. Here in Toronto, however, we find ourselves now having to play their game because this match is going to be contested with Underground Rules, meaning that anything goes and they're free to use anything their can get their hands on to try and cut our road to Rise to Greatness short. Maybe we should be concerned, considering how close we are the the biggest show of the year and the odds are pretty good that we ruined someone's grand vision last week by taking CHBK up on his offer, albeit with a little caveat to guarantee that mess is well and truly over this time.

If that's what Dakon and Ludvig were hoping for... then do Luz and I have some bad news for you.”

“We're far from concerned... if anything, we're excited. I know, that probably sounds confusing, but truth be told, this is exactly what we needed to bounce back and remind the SCW locker room of just what we're capable of after we opened the door for everyone to see us at our lowest two weeks ago. This is the kind of match that allows Amelia and I to prove that just because we're truly nice people doesn't mean we can't step outside of our comfort zone when the situation calls for it. After all, I was more than willing to face Kim Williams in this same kind of match with her Underground Title on the line, and even in defeat I proved I can get hardcore and earned her respect in the process. Yeah, maybe Dakon and Ludvig are salivating at the thought of everything they think they can do to us without any actual rules, as disgusting as that sounds, but don't forget that we're afforded that same luxury. Trust me when I say that Ames and I aren't afraid of matches like these, nor are we going to shy away from what we have to do to get ourselves back on track and regain some momentum with Rise to Greatness on the horizon.”

“Before you two try to claim otherwise in hopes of countering that claim, let me ask an honest question. If we were afraid of getting a little extreme if the situation called for it, then why would Luz and I have gone ahead with Kim's Trios cash-in last year, knowing full well the whole affair was done with Underground Rules, despite disagreeing with the idea for why it was happening when we weren't champions at that point and didn't have to participate? Why would Luz not back down from an Underground Title match with Kim when the opportunity arose? This is also hardly the first time we've walked into a match in our careers knowing that blood was going to be spilled because the rules not only allowed, but encouraged it, but we're willing to bet that doesn't matter to the two of you because, in your minds, you have a monopoly on being the team willing to get violent and nasty at the drop of a hat. Heck, I'd be willing to bet every penny my parents still have to their name that you already believe you've got this match won because how could these two women, called out time and time again for being too nice for this business, possibly beat you at your own game?”

“The real question you two should ask yourselves is this: what happens if the two of you lose this match? If you meet us in that ring over at the Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night, knowing that we're facing off on your terms, in an environment you both claim to thrive in because it's how wrestling should 'actually' be done, and we're the ones who walk away with our hands raised in victory... what does that say about the both of you? What is your response to that? Because I'm going to be blunt: Amelia and I know what we're getting into come Breakdown, we know that there's a very real possibility that you two could hurt us real bad and put our hopes of regaining the Tag Titles at Rise to Greatness in jeopardy... and we don't care. This match, this fight... this is the culmination of just how far we've both come since we started our wrestling journeys, how willing we are to tackle any fight put in front of us, and why nobody, not even the two of you, are going to break us that easily.”

Amelia then steps forward, shifting her bat so she can use it to tilt the camera up so that it's in nice and close on their faces, making sure we can see the fire in their eyes that not even the pouring rain is able to extinguish. That determination almost feels sturdier than we've ever seen from the couple up to this point, but they still allow their lips to curl into grins as Luz even begins sliding her bat back and forth along her shoulders.

“To the Stewards and Twisted & Sadistic, don't get your hopes that we won't be at 100% come Rise to Greatness, because it's going to take a lot more than one Underground Rules match to keep us from raising the bar even higher when the lights are brightest.”

“And to Dakon and Ludvig, bust out anything you think will satisfy your bloodlust on Thursday night, because Luz and I can promise you this: what doesn't kill us will only make us stronger. This is your chance to have your cake and eat it too... just don't choke on it when you find out just how hard it's going to be to stop us from proving just how much this all means to us and what we're willing to do to prove that when we say we're an ever-evolving force that will rise to any challenge and fight like hell to silence our critics...”

“...we absolutely mean it.”

At that, both ladies take a step back and cross their bats in front of them, almost as a warning to the European Fiery Nation about what might only be the beginning of what they can expect on Breakdown before they turn their heads in the direction of the Rogers Centre, almost as a reminder of what happened last year, before turning to face the opposite direction, towards the Scotiabank Arena and the war they're ready to go through to make a statement.