Clyde Sutter vs. Amelia Nevado

[Wisteria Waltz]

The hot sun beats down upon us as we find ourselves, not in Phoenix, Arizona, but instead in the harsh desert surrounding it. We can see the city way off in the distance, beckoning us like an oasis offering relief from the harsh conditions surrounding us. Even the fact that it is considered winter right now doesn't seem to deter the weather in Arizona from trying to bake everyone within state lines, but there are some who consider these harsh conditions suitable for pushing themselves, rewriting their limits and growing stronger through hard work and dedication. One such person is Amelia Nevado, who we see jogging away from the city, weaving around the various cacti standing tall and proud among the dirt and rock to keep her reflexes sharp. The tank top and shorts she wears already looked soaked with sweat, as if she's been at this for a while already, but it doesn't deter her as she continues to push herself.

As she finally skids to a stop right in front of us, we can see the various scrapes and bruises that are no doubt a result of whatever other training she's been doing to prepare for her next match, and while she takes deep breaths to steady herself and even grabs a drink of water courtesy of whoever is filming this, we can see a fire in her eyes that doesn't dull for even a second. It takes a moment for her to feel refreshed and hydrated enough to finally speak, but when she does, we can feel the raw passion in her every word.

“This year has not started off the way I would have liked, and if I seem frustrated by that... I feel I have every right to be.

Put yourselves in my shoes for a moment. I know that Fatal Fortunes is unpredictable, but I still went in thinking I was prepared for anything, ready to push myself and fight like my life depended on it to turn things around. Even if I didn't get the lucky draw of some sort of opportunity, I was still determined to win and put myself on the board, start this year off strong, rebuild myself to prove that I am every bit as worthy of considering for any opportunity I could earn, no matter what title it may be for.

And then I found out I have to wrestle a known seductress and trickster in a situation that felt specifically designed for her.

I'll be the first to admit: I lost my cool on that Breakdown. I let the frustration of all of it get to me, and as a result, I allowed myself to be humiliated and embarrassed by someone who has made it clear that she does not care about this business like I do, like most of us do, and that this is all just a game to her. I was prepared for one trap and instead walked into another one I couldn't have predicted but should have expected. That was my one big chance to make a statement through Fatal Fortunes... and it was stolen from me, not by someone better, but by someone more than happy to tell the world that everything I stand for is just a joke to her.

Meanwhile, my wife, my partner... she's setting the world on fire right now. She's continued probably one of the greatest Fatal Fortunes runs any wrestler in SCW history has ever had, retaining her U.S. Title while earning another title shot for the both of us. I mean it when I say I'm proud of her and how far Luz has come... but I'm growing tired of everyone acting like Luz is the only one between us that actually matters. I'm tired of giving everything I have to this business, shedding more blood, sweat and tears than anyone else has ever given to the sport of wrestling, literally being broken and reforged in that ring more times than I can keep count... and not being given my due for everything I've fought for, everything that I've poured my heart and soul into, all because I'm seen as 'second best' in The Light In The Darkness.

Don't think I haven't been paying attention... since Rise to Greatness last year, I've only wrestled seven times. Of those matches, the only two I've won have been tag matches in one form or another, and even when I've scored the pinfall, everyone is quick to jump to the conclusion that Luz's efforts alone carried our team. Of all the singles matches in that period of time, three of them have exceeded at least 20 minutes in length, and in each and every one I pushed my opponents, whether it be Cid Turner, Syren, or Glory Braddock, beyond their limits to have to beat me. And yet... all anyone wants to talk about is Luz's Ironman Match for Fatal Fortunes, one 30 minute match she won compared to three 20+ minute matches that are irrelevant all because I lost.

If that was all there was to it... maybe I wouldn't feel as frustrated as I do right now. Let's not forget, I was raised under a mindset where failure was unacceptable, that I had to always be unbeatable, perfect, flawless. I have long since accepted that everyone is capable of failing, and failures are the building blocks that allow me to truly grow and improve as a wrestler. Yeah, these setbacks suck, but it's no reason not to keep pushing myself to overcome it. But then I look at others... people like Kim Williams at a point where she was struggling in a tournament and fully admitting she didn't care for it, being given a chance to earn a World Title opportunity. People like Polly Pingotti, who've been struggling far longer and fully transparent with her own frustrations, being given opportunities to acknowledge her efforts even when things haven't gone her way. And yet, by comparison... I had a World Title opportunity only because I used my Trios contract for it. No one can argue that, even in defeat, I have put on some of the best matches SCW has seen in a long time in my past few pay-per-view appearances, matches those fans deserved to see. So why is it that, when I'm not teaming with Luz, my efforts haven't been given any consideration ever since I made the finals of a tournament when the U.S. Title was vacant back in 2023?”

Amelia trembles before us, her frustrations visible in her skin. After a moment, she starts taking some more deep breaths, slowly regaining her composure. Not once does that fire in her eyes dim, though... if anything, it only burns brighter, perhaps out of sheer defiance for where she finds herself right now.

“You know... maybe this is fate's way of testing me. Maybe it's not being kind to me because it wants to see if I will crack under the pressure or become the diamond so many close to me believe I can become. There are a number of quotes that talk about adversity... 'Out of difficulties grow miracles,' 'If you're going through hell, keep going,' and perhaps the one that feels most fitting to my exact situation right now, 'Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.' If this is the challenge that fate has supposedly put before me, then I only truly fail if I give up and let myself believe that I can't turn this around.

That, however, raises a very interesting question... how do you feel about the hand fate has been dealing you for so long now, Clyde?

You sit there, with Melinda by your side, happily preaching about my fate because you think it's an easy way to convince yourself that you've already won this match, but I believe I'm well within my right to ask about your fate in return, Clyde. After all, you have a Television Title reign to your name... and that's about it. Same as me on the singles front, but I also have the benefit of not only every single one of those World Tag Title reigns with Luz, but also the vast majority of my performances since the moment I walked back through those doors to prove that even if all eyes are on my wife right now, I am still very much a threat. You, on the other hand... opportunity after opportunity, loss after loss, and every single time it happens, instead of acknowledging your shortcomings and working to improve, you just shrug your shoulders and claim that's just how fate decided things should be for you.

There comes a point, Clyde, where you need to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself: am I really comfortable with the idea of fate dictating that I am seemingly never able to amount to anything?

I mean that Clyde, because for as confident as you are that I played right into your hands all because you decided to provoke me in what feels like a painfully obvious bid to make me the stepping stone that gets you back to my wife and the U.S. Title, I can see straight through you. You and Melinda proudly brag that I am not on your level, but history itself contradicts this. March 1, 2025, Breakdown in Columbus, Ohio... do you remember that night, Clyde? I do... it was the Breakdown right before Retribution, right before Luz and I lost the World Tag Titles to the Fall of Man. You were essentially a hired hitman for them at the time, and you were tasked with softening me up before the pay-per-view... a task that you failed, because I pinned your shoulders to the mat and scored the three count on that night, proving that you were not on my level.

But... that's not fair of me to say, now is it? That match was almost an entire year ago now, and so much can change in that timespan. It's why you rarely see me dwell on past results, because I could walk into Chase Field this Sunday and find myself facing a new and improved Clyde Sutter. Except... I have my doubts, Clyde. Let's not forget, I stood there at ringside in your Ironman Match with Luz, I had a front row seat to see everything that you were capable of, everything that could possibly justify your claims that I made a mistake accepting this match for A Taste of Things to Come.

The painful truth, Clyde... is that I saw the exact same man who I pinned at the start of last year in that match with my wife.”

Amelia slowly shakes her head, pausing only to take another drink of water. Even as she continues talking, she begins stretching out, keeping herself loose and preparing to resume the workout we caught her in the middle of to prepare for this match.

“For as much as you saw fit to try and shove Glory's name down my throat, hoping for any sort of psychological edge it could give you because deep down, you know that you desperately need it right now... you are not Glory Braddock. In all the matches I've wrestled with her, I will give that woman her due: when push comes to shove, she will adapt and evolve in the face of adversity, just as she had to do to defeat me in our last encounter. All you know how to do is bully people, use your size and strength to try and overpower your opposition, believing it will be enough. I watched you use the exact same approach with Luz that you used against me when we last met, and looking back on that moment Clyde, I realized the fatal mistake you've made in your overconfidence.

You're using fate as a crutch to excuse your shortcomings, and in the process, you're failing to evolve as a wrestler.

You can stand before me in that ring on Sunday night and claim otherwise to my face Clyde, but now that I can think clearly, I can see straight through you. The Adrenaline Title opportunity you got for the last Fatal Fortunes upon your return to the company against Glory, your efforts to play hired gun to the Fall of Man, your run in Trios this past year, up to you falling short against Luz for the U.S. Title just a few weeks ago. Every single time, you've tried to act like it doesn't bother you, that this is just fate at work. But deep down, Clyde? I know better... I know how much it bothers you that you haven't been as successful as you think you should be. You have built yourself around the concept of preaching about fate like you're some sort of prophet, and every single time, your preaching blows up in your face and you are left trying to justify it. You can sit there and say you're comfortable with your role all you like, but you can't fool me, Clyde... it's written all over your face how much it bothers you that you aren't U.S. Champion right now, that The Vision as a whole haven't been everything you've all claimed and then some.

When I called you a bully that needed to be taken care of Clyde, I meant it. That's the only reason you have this match with me, the only reason why you believe you can use me as your rebound, just as it was the only reason you thought you could prey upon someone like Shaun Cruze when he hadn't wrestled a match in some time and you decided to be his first challenger. Pushing people around and blaming your failures on the whims of fate are all you know... it's your safety net, the security blanket you wrap yourself in at night to convince yourself that if you keep walking this path, sooner or later it will have to pay off.

This is why I told you last time, Clyde, that I wasn't a firm believer in fate. If I had followed the path fate had laid out before me, I wouldn't be the woman I am today, wounds and all. I wouldn't be here in Phoenix, ready to step into that ring and acknowledge the adversity you wish to embody trying to keep me down, so I can show you just how much more I've grown since our last encounter and just how far behind you are because of your own refusal to realize that playing it safe and becoming complacent is not how you achieve your goals in life or in this business.

A Taste of Things to Come... perhaps a fitting name, Clyde, because that is exactly what the world is going to see when I meet you in that ring on Sunday night. By all means Clyde, step up and prove that everything I've just said is wrong, show me that you are capable of meeting me on my level as I keep pushing myself to raise that bar in pursuit of the opportunities I will prove I deserve. But know this, Clyde... when that bell rings and you're left staring up as my arm is raised in victory, as I finally forge a new path forward for myself and keep building from there, it won't be because fate deemed it so.

And if you choose to believe that anyway... then you have no one to blame but yourself for why you can never seem, to reach the level you believe you belong at.”

With one last gulp of water, Amelia hands the water bottle back to whoever's filming this. With a quick stretch, she immediately bolts towards a nearby cactus, stepping up onto it without acknowledging the spines that could be digging into her feet as she does a sort of parkour maneuver very reminiscent of something we might expect out of her wife before she rolls straight into a hard sprint back towards the city in the distance, pushing herself harder to become that wrestler she knows she's capable of being, not because of the whims of fate, but because she refuses to let every failure she's faced leading into this Sunday night break her.