Amelia Nevado vs. Cid Turner

[Wisteria Waltz]

At first, there might be some confusion as we seem to open up to nothing. There's the faintest hint of noise, as if people are hustling around getting things ready, but there's nothing to see. After a moment, however, that changes when a spotlight suddenly flicks to life, shining down on the center of a wrestling ring. Through what else is illuminated by the light's warm glow, we begin to realize this isn't just any old wrestling ring. Rather, it's the ring that's been set up in the heart of the Rogers Centre, where SCW's Apocalypse pay-per-view will be hosted in just a few hours' time. The spotlight isn't on just to test and make sure it's working, however... it's come to life for a reason, and that reason is the woman standing beneath it, brown hair tied back in a ponytail, body already dressed in her wrestling singlet and boots, hands folded in front of her like a proper young lady. Amelia Nevado's eyes are closed, partly in meditation, partly in silent thanks to the ring crew for agreeing to help her with this. It's not long before she takes a deep breath and opens her eyes, acknowledging our presence with a nod.

“I've had a bit of a strange relationship with SCW's Apocalypse pay-per-view, though I wouldn't say that's quite a bad thing. Two years ago, Luz and I won a triple threat tag match under lucha libre rules at this very show to become the number one contenders to the World Tag Team Championships, paving the way to what would become our very first reign with those titles. Last year, I competed in the main event as part of the Trios Tournament finals. I wanted that match to serve as proof to those who began to doubt me that I was ever bit as capable on my own as mi amor was, that I could open another door for myself to a significant opportunity.

Being honest, though... I can't exactly say I succeeded.

True, my team did win the finals, but it wasn't because we pulled together as a team or anything I or my partners truly did on our own. What should have been the moment where I truly began to establish myself was tainted, all because someone else eagerly jumped headfirst into a deal that was never truly formalized. That, in and of itself, played a big role in why I waited so long to actually use my contract. Yes, I wanted to focus on my ongoing Tag Title reign with Luz, but I also decided that if I was going to turn in that contract for any match of my choosing, I had to prove to myself that I deserved it first.

I'm sure plenty of you out there think that's silly. After all, I had a contract for literally any match I could ever want so long as I gave the proper notice. No one else would stress over the extra details of how I got it. But that's just it... I'm not like anybody else. You've heard me talk about it before, how I was born and bred for this business, how I was supposed to be the absolute best because that was the bare minimum expected of me. I had a family legacy I was supposed to carry on my back, an image I was meant to portray at all times. The thought of Amelia Blythe being World Champion wasn't supposed to be in question... it was supposed to be inevitable and absolute. Something that should have happened long before now because I'm supposed to just be that good in the ring. But I'll be the first to stand here and tell you, honest to God, that I'm not. I'm not the best wrestler to ever grace this canvas, I wasn't built to carry an entire legacy on my back, I'm not some unbeatable wrestling machine that's meant to stand here, tell you I'm going to win, and that's just something you all have to accept as an undisputed fact.

As much as I know you've heard this all from me before... one thing very few people ever truly acknowledge is the toll those expectations take on a person.”

Amelia takes a shaky breath as she looks up into the light, almost as if she's letting it guide her next words.

“It would be so easy to say that every tie I've cut with my parents brought me one step closer to freedom... but the truth is, I live each and every day with the mental and emotional scars they've left upon me. I may not need to live up to their expectations anymore, but even after all these years I've been unable to shake that need to prove that I'm worthy, that I deserve opportunities like this, like there remains some invisible expectation I just have to meet before I can truly move forward. Seeing Luz's run as interim U.S. Champion and then watching her win the title outright at Rise to Greatness... God, I love that woman and I'm so proud of her, but I also can't deny that it hurt seeing her with gold again where, on my own, I've been empty-handed ever since a month-long Television Title reign two and a half years ago now. It hurt when we lost the Tag Titles to the Fall of Man and then couldn't reclaim them because regardless of the circumstances, I felt like I let not only Luz down, but myself as well. I watched as Billy's contract was used by his father to give Waylon a World Title match, I watched as Xander used his in an attempt to martyr himself... I watched both of those Trios contracts be used on failed attempts, and the first thought that came to mind was that I would be next, that I didn't deserve to hold it.

That's the thing about trauma... it doesn't follow logic or reason, and even if I had proven I earned that contract or what I chose to use it on a thousand times over, I would always hear that voice in my head, sounding an awful lot like one of my parents, taunting me that it wasn't enough. That I deserved better, that I had to be better. It convinced me, time and time again, that I wasn't worthy of my Trios contract yet, that I still needed to prove that I was ready for whatever challenge I used it for, even as the clock began to tick closer to midnight on my window to actually use it.

That's why Rise to Greatness was so important for me... why a one-on-one match with Chris Cannon, a former World Champion in his own right, was the single biggest match of my entire career. After an entire year of doubting that I truly earned that contract, that I was worthy of being a singles champion in my own right, that I could ever be good enough to potentially aim for the very top and earn the right to call myself the World Champion of the greatest wrestling organization on the planet... I finally proved it all to myself when I beat Chris clean. At that point, it didn't matter who walked out of the main event as the World Champion, because I finally believed that I was ready to take a shot and see if I could stand among the titans of this industry.”

Amelia shakes her head as she lowers her gaze back to us, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she looks less composed than she has up to this point. She takes another deep breath and wipes away the tears, taking solace in the spotlight she knows, deep down, that she's earned before she forges ahead.

“That's why the last few weeks have felt so frustrating to me and had me beginning to doubt that I'd made the right decision. For certain parties who I hope are listening, let me lay out the timeline my scarred soul was working with. Before my match with Chris, I confirmed with CHBK that my absolute final deadline to submit my Trios contract to the Board of Directors with the match I wanted was when this very pay-per-view went off the air. That was why the win over Chris was so crucial with so little time left, because it helped me power past those voices trying to convince me that I didn't deserve to challenge for the World Title, that I didn't have what it takes, and that's why I submitted my contract as soon as Cid Turner walked out of the main event as the World Champion. And yet, for the past few weeks, I've had to listen to someone who was supposed to be my friend try to convince me that I should have waited, that if I was going to prove anything then I had to beat her and her alone to become World Champion... every word Selena spoke to me felt like listening to my parents berate me and move the goalposts all over again. Even worse, it felt like this World Title match wasn't about me taking my first shot and seeing if I'm truly ready to be that guiding light for SCW as its top champion... I almost felt like an afterthought for most of it.

That's the part that hurts me the most, honestly. That Selena thinks so little of Cid Turner as World Champion that she's inadvertently tried to convince me that I don't deserve this, that I'm not good enough to be World Champion. If she wanted to keep playing the villain, she could have supported me as a friend and hoped that I prevail over Cid here tonight in Toronto... then, she could step up and test me, push me to see if I'm good enough to remain champion and carry this torch. To get the exact scenario she would've wanted, CHBK would've had to give her a title match with Cid on any of the past three Breakdowns and she would've needed to win, because if she got that match as the main event of tonight, it would've been too late for me to have my chance... and that's even assuming she would've been picked for this challenge instead of someone else.

I, on the other hand, know that Cid is going to give me the match of my life. I believe that this is going to be the greatest challenge I've faced to date, and not just because this could be my one and only shot at the World Championship for all I know. Cid, for as much as Selena has berated you for being too 'broken' to carry that banner, I acknowledge the strength you have to push through whatever pain burdens you to stand at the top of the mountain. I acknowledge it... because it reminds me so much of myself, of the pain and abuse I've endured to finally reach this point, the struggle to justify to myself that I was ready to take this leap of faith. I know it's not an exact one-to-one comparison, and I can't even begin to imagine what you go through on a daily basis... but, at it's core, the challenge is similar, and that's why I am honored to be facing someone who I know isn't going to give up no matter what I do, someone who's truly going to make me earn this with every last ounce of skill and technique I've honed all my life.

I want to make something clear to you now Cid: I want you to give me everything that you've got. I want you to push me beyond my limits, not be afraid to hold back. Yes, Selena made a valid point that calls back to a match I had with James Evans two years ago, a match where he got severely hurt when we were just getting underway and how it haunted me for weeks after the fact. But then I think about the hypocrisy of being in this position, even knowing about the obvious target you have that I could exploit. You want to wrestle, despite the risks, and you want to give me the best match you possibly can, just as I want to do the same. I've always been a fighter, someone willing to push myself farther even if I'm physically destroyed and barely able to stand, maybe even injured. The more I think about it, the more I realize it's senseless to put myself through that against someone else and not want them to give me the same courtesy because something serious could happen. That's the risks we take as professional wrestlers... and if I'm willing to risk my mental well-being, then you have every right to risk your physical well-being so we can make this a main event to remember without anything holding us back.”

Amelia takes a moment to crack her neck from side to side as she steps closer to the ropes, the spotlight following her. The fact that it does is not lost on her, and for the first time since she appeared before us, Amelia is finally smiling.

“There's a song someone shared with me recently... a song that gave me a powerful message. Among those lyrics were a request to not let my fears hold me back, because life's not meant to be easy. Ever since Luz and I came back to SCW, the road we've walked hasn't been easy. There have been times where we've even sought to further restrict ourselves, all in the name of proving that we belong here, that we're worthy of being among the best. Tonight, at Apocalypse, I swear to you, Cid Turner, that I am going to give you all that I can, because just as you don't want this ride to be over quite yet, I have to believe that this could be my only chance to prove, once and for all, that Amelia Nevado is one of the very best in all of SCW, that I can stand with the brightest stars and hold my own while being that light in the darkness for all those who want to one day make this same climb. No regrets, no holding back, just everything that I truly am and everything that I want to be. All I ask, Cid, is that you promise me you'll return the favor, that you'll give me nothing less than everything you've got. I want to know that when... not if, when I pull this off and hold that World Title high above my head as Apocalypse goes off the air tonight, that there is no doubt in my mind that I am ready to be World Champion, regardless of what anybody else says or believes. I wish you the best of luck Cid, but once that bell rings tonight, I'll only have one thought driving me forward.

I came from nothing, here I am.

I won the war in my head.

And tonight, I know I have what it takes to become SCW World Champion.”

It's a firm statement from Amelia, not made in arrogance, but in an affirmation to herself that she's ready, that she can do this. As she stands under the spotlight for a little longer, letting the thought of her being that guiding light for SCW going forward manifest to motivate her just that little bit more, she thinks about what her parents would say to her, what her critics would claim, what everyone who believes they deserve this more than her would tell her. And for perhaps the first time in a very long time, she finds that she doesn't care. The only voices she hears are the support from her wife and all her friends and family... and her own voice, confirming that she's truly, finally earned this.