Dexter Grant vs. La Pequena Luz

[Wisteria Waltz]

The very first thing we see as we open up is the legendary sight of Walt Disney World, complete with Cinderella Castle standing tall and proud in the center of the park. The blue skies are proof that it's daytime, so there's no fireworks display to expect anytime soon, but it's still an incredible sight that just about anybody is familiar with. As we find ourselves panning back, though, it quickly becomes clear that we are not, in fact, at Walt Disney World, or anywhere too close to the crowded theme park known the world over. No, the Magic Kingdom is simply a fitting backdrop for us here in Orlando, Florida, where the first Breakdown following Rise to Greatness will take place. Panning back enough does reveal that the hotel we're actually at is one of the ones that would be owned by Disney, and it really isn't a surprise that this is where we find the blinding smile of none other than La Pequeña Luz, wearing the ivory and gold mask we recognize from Rise to Greatness but otherwise dressed in attire that makes it clear she (and likely her wife) have spent some time enjoying the legendary park already. The other thing that immediately draws our eye is what's resting over Luz's shoulder, that being the SCW United States Championship belt, the title she fought to earn, undisputed, on SCW's biggest night of the year. Luz is practically bouncing in place as she finally begins to speak.

“You know, maybe it's a really old cliché to say 'I'm going to Disney World' after accomplishing something as significant as winning a championship, but... can you really blame me for being unable to resist when SCW is going to be live in Orlando this Thursday night?

All jokes aside, Rise to Greatness is in the books and SCW is ready to begin a new calendar year full of challenges and surprises, and The Light In The Darkness is starting off this next chapter of our SCW careers on the right foot. Amelia proved Chris Cannon wrong and took a big step forward for herself, while I... well, the fact that the title's sitting on my shoulder right now is probably a pretty big spoiler. That fourway, though, was exactly what it needed to be: four of the best SCW has to offer, putting it all on the line, fighting to see who wanted to walk out as with the unified United States Championship the most. Asher, Deanna... thank you both for pushing me beyond my limits and making me fight to reach this point, and if either one of you wants a one-on-one rematch, just say the word and I'll do my best to make it happen. And Jordan? I doubt you're watching if you're bitter about taking the fall in Houston, but... I warned you that you were going to have to truly earn this at Rise to Greatness, and I wasn't just going to let you have it that easily. There are no more excuses, no more lies... I am the undisputed SCW United States Champion, and if you still want this title so bad? Then you're going to have to earn another shot at it.

Speaking of earning U.S. Title opportunities... I know that David Striker is the current number one contender through winning that Scaffold Scramble, and while I do look forward to meeting you in that ring one-on-one for the first time David, I also wish you a speedy recovery after what happened following your match. Just please do me a favor... for now, try to forget about what Gavin did, because he's not challenging for this title and I have no plans on letting him try to weasel his way into a title match with me if that's how he thinks he can make it happen. Whenever we meet for this title, I want you at your best David, and if that means forgetting about Gavin... well, I'm sure his ego will be fine for a little while.”

Luz chuckles a bit before taking a deep breath, her smile fading in favor of a more serious look, her fingers gripping the title belt over her shoulder a little more tightly now.

“Do you all want to know what it means to me to be U.S. Champion? To me, being able to stand here with this title, especially without the interim tag attached to it anymore, is a symbol of how far I've come since I first set foot in a wrestling ring. It's proof that I've been able to do exactly what I said I wanted to do, and that's forge my own legacy in this business. I didn't just get handed this opportunity because of who my father is in lucha libre, nor did I end up in that fourway at Rise to Greatness just because I'm some sort of 'golden child' in the eyes of management. I earned the right to challenge for the U.S. Title almost one full year ago at Apocalypse, I was declared the initial interim champion because Deanna unfortunately wasn't going to be able to defend it, and I filled those shoes for as long as I could by proudly defending this title no matter what was put in front of me. Even when Asher ultimately dethroned me, I never gave up. I got right back to work, knowing that I had a rematch to my name but still wanting to feel like I earned it whenever that time came. Asher acknowledged that, Deanna acknowledged that, and even the boss acknowledged that. If anyone didn't truly earn their place in that match, it was Jordan, but we welcomed her into the fight anyway to teach her a lesson, one that hopefully sticks with her going forward.

That's why every word out of the mouth of a man like Dexter Grant paints him as more and more of a self-centered hypocrite every time he graces us with his presence.

Dexter, I heard what you had to say, as much as you were probably hoping I wouldn't because you clearly don't understand how this business works. Yeah, once upon a time it didn't need any of the things you hate, but in those times, most companies also kept themselves closed off and rarely extended the olive branch for partnerships or eagerly welcomed in new talent looking for a chance to prove themselves on a different stage. But times change and everything ultimately has to evolve in order to keep moving forward. If the business hadn't reached the point it was at today, Amelia and I likely wouldn't even be in SCW or even be aware of its existence despite the presence it has in the wrestling scene today... heck, we may have never ended up crossing paths in the first place.

Of course, I doubt that matters to you, because it doesn't fit your narrative. We hear it week after week Dexter, about how you hate social media and believes it's some sort of disease that's going to kill us all or anything morbid along those lines. You rattle off statistics that are supposed to prove your point, but SCW simply isn't this big 'social media machine' that you keep painting it as. It's a longstanding, well-respected industry where only the very best—and that includes you because I doubt you'd be here otherwise—come to test themselves and etch their names into the history books. And I'm proud to stand here and call myself not only a champion in SCW, but someone I hope is an inspiration to anyone looking to try and get into the business themselves. Believe it or not Dexter, wrestling as a whole is going to need fresh blood to keep going well into the future after athletes like you and me ultimately retire down the line, and if SCW can't put the call out or anybody doubts that they could ever possibly work their way up to this point that they don't even try... well, then wrestling doesn't return to some 'golden era' you think existed just because social media was out of the picture. It dies... and I refuse to let that happen.”

Luz shakes her head, her mouth almost curving into a smile at just how ridiculous the thought of some of Dexter's rationale truly is.

“Since you like to keep tabs on it so much to try and prove your points, I'm sure you've probably noticed that I'm nowhere to be found on social media, nor is my wife. That's a conscious choice we made a long time ago, not just to focus on pushing ourselves in the ring without distractions, but... for her, it was just another way to make sure her parents were truly cut out of her life after everything they'd done to her, and for me? Well... you've been making such a big fuss about online bullying over what happened while you were dealing with Kim, and yet you're looking at someone who was herself bullied, both online and in-person, and let go of social media so I didn't have to face that harassment anymore. But no, me being someone who actually fits into one of the very reasons why you claim to fight this crusade that only you're making such a big deal out of doesn't work with your image of me being a 'golden child' of SCW, beloved by management and specifically bred for this because my father is a legendary name in lucha libre down in Mexico.

Congratulations, Dexter, you're guilty of the very thing that you claim social media makes people do: you've made assumptions about me that aren't even remotely true and ran with them just to suit your own needs.

You know, I do find it kind of funny that you're blaming social media as the problem and you've created this whole effort to try and destroy it, thinking you'll somehow be hailed as a hero for doing so. You know why, Dexter? It's because you're choosing to ignore the real problem... it's not social media, it's some of the people that use it. People who revel in the anonymity of the internet to cause problems while painting themselves as half-decent people when face-to-face. People who were maybe always awful, and getting rid of social media won't change that, it'll just force them to find a new outlet for their vile, hateful views. Do you really want to be a hero to those kinds of people, Dexter? Because I can promise you that taking away a toy they love using to antagonize others isn't going to change who they are, and that's the sad truth about this business, this world in general, that you're just not listening to. Not everyone you meet is going to be a good person, and just because human beings have the ability to change doesn't mean that all of them will, and like it or not, you can't force that just to get what you want.

Just like you won't be able to force me to bend to your will just because you're more upset about losing the Adrenaline Title at Rise to Greatness than you're trying to let on.

I've been there Dexter, multiple times. Losing a championship sucks, and it's OK to be upset about it as long as you pick yourself back up and get back in the fight. But you're just lying to yourself and becoming more and more delusional in the name of your so-called cause if you think titles like the one I hold now don't mean anything. Maybe you think they're a waste, which then raises the question of why exactly you bothered to earn the right to become Adrenaline Champion in the first place, but believing that you being a champion is 'saving' anybody or 'proving' anything for your cause instead of recognizing the talent you do possess as a wrestler? As far as I'm concerned, any hope you have of 'saving' this title from me by proving you deserve a shot at it is going to end right here in Orlando come Thursday night.

I mean it when I say you're a great wrestler Dexter, and the fact that you did become Adrenaline Champion proves that. But until you actually open your eyes and stop seeing the world as some sort of mess that you, and you alone, can clean up even if it means bullying others into seeing things your way, then no one, and I do mean no one is going to buy into the ramblings of a hypocrite. Actions do speak louder than words, and come Breakdown, Dexter? You're not going to 'disconnect' me from anything... I'm going to be flying higher and shining brighter than ever before, because that's what I need to do to set the bar as the new... undisputed... SCW United States Champion.”

Luz offers us a proper smile that is both confident and eager to get back in the ring and prove herself, no matter what someone like Dexter Grant has to throw at her, and the bounce in her step as she moves past us and back into her hotel room only further proves that as we linger a little longer on the sight of Walt Disney World in the distance, knowing that it's considered the place where dreams come true and Luz is already working hard to make all of hers a reality, just as she will when she meets Dexter come Breakdown.

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Caleb White considered himself one of the most intelligent men on the planet.

He never approached a problem without some sort of plan, and he always made sure to account for every possible outcome and detailed alternative paths his plans could take in the event one path looked like it would fail.

There was a reason he was considered a legend in British and European wrestling circles.

His latest endeavor, however... for whatever reason, all roads were constantly leading to failure, and he couldn't figure out why for the life of him.

On paper, it was all so simple: build an Empire around himself, effectively raising an army for a holy war of his own making so that when his time on this Earth was done, he could leave behind a world that he truly felt God would be proud of. A world purged of all its sin, the problem children who he believed had forsaken the one and only true lord and savior of the human race all disposed of and ready to for their souls to be ferried off to eternal damnation in Hell.

The problem, however, lay in the crux of his plan, the one detail he refused to budge on because it was vital to him and him alone, even if no one else within his Empire was aware of that: saving the souls of La Pequeña Luz and Amelia Blythe from that fate by cleansing their sins and ensuring safe passage for them into the kingdom of Heaven when their time was up. In doing so, then everything he had done that could be considered a sinful atrocity in the eyes of God to get to this point would surely be forgiven and he would be welcomed through the pearly gates the greatest hero of all mankind.

Unfortunately, he had sorely underestimated just how much these two young women would refuse to be saved from their sinful lives.

It was truly heartbreaking to him, watching their efforts in Supreme Championship Wrestling and knowing they could be on top of the mountain there, if only they would be willing to let him guide them both to wrestling prosperity and true salvation. Compared to an entire company full of sinful, rotten, damned souls who would never amount to anything and may as well already be dead as far as he was concerned, he genuinely believed they deserved better... the only two wrestlers aside from himself whose efforts would define what the sport of wrestling should be in the new world he would leave behind after purging the sinners and uniting the pure and cleansed.

Beyond that, however, he was growing more and more infuriated that these two had somehow thwarted all of his best laid plans at every turn, and even managed to cause him to be wrongfully arrested for a period of time for crimes he was certain the Lord had already forgiven him for, thereby voiding the need for jail time. But human beings were such fickle creatures, always putting themselves first and foremost and defiling God's name with every action they took, and Luz and Amelia were sadly no exception.

The fact that they had not only turned Valentina, but also Henry, against him had been almost unforgivable, had Caleb not convinced himself they would return to him once he succeeded in this crucial final piece of the plan.

These were the thoughts that ran through his head as he returned to the seemingly abandoned castle in the Britain countryside that, unbeknownst to anybody, secretly served as the base of operations for his Empire. Many would be baffled as to how he was even able to leave the country and return despite his name and face being plastered all over every no-fly list due to his status as public enemy number one effectively as far as authorities across the globe were concerned, but it was nothing a simple little disguise couldn't fix. A wig that fit perfectly over his graying sandy-blonde locks, a big, bushy beard, some makeup to cover the notable scars that decorate his face (including the one over his crooked nose that never properly healed, courtesy of the last time he'd been face-to-face with Luz and Amelia), and he might as well be an entirely different person, especially with a little voice acting to disguise his usual accent.

That disguise, simple but effective, was currently tucked away into his suitcase as he strolled confidently through the castle to his private chambers, any Empire member he passed instantly stopping to bow to him. It made him grin to know how many were still unquestionably loyal to his cause, even if most of them had no idea he had zero intention of including them among the 'saved' once his plans came to fruition. If only more had been as loyal and trusted in his machinations... then he wouldn't have needed to put down one of his own Elites just to kill a splinter cell that should've never existed in the first place.

Even if Luz and Amelia hadn't been willing to share that information with him, he'd been able to put the pieces together with a bit of reconnaissance. After all, his disguise worked well enough that he practically blended into the background as he tailed the couple along their road to Rise to Greatness.

Still, with one of his Elites dead by his own hand and two more back in jail (and this time, he had every intention of letting the Blythes rot for daring to turn their backs on him after everything he'd done for them), he knew he was going to need a new strategy to not only get his house completely back in order, but to finally find a way to get into Luz and Amelia's heads and start directing them towards the salvation he needed just as badly as he knew they did.

As he threw his suitcase off to the side to begin researching the young women's resuming SCW schedule for possible ideas, he found his gaze drifting over to see that it had popped open from the impact of its landing, the pieces of his disguise visible. In that moment, he couldn't help but chuckle at how obvious the simple solution seemed to be, sitting right in front of his face all along.

“If I'm going to gain their trust,” Caleb grinned, “then perhaps they need to get to know another side of me first...”