Damon Cage vs. La Pequena Luz

[Wisteria Waltz]

In what has probably become a familiar sight to us by this point, we find ourselves at the dawn of a brand new day, the sun rising over the horizon and painting the scene in beautiful hues of orange and gold. This time, however, there's nothing but the sun and the clouds around us as far as the eye can see... at least, until we start looking around. Way down below, we see the sight of the desert surrounding Phoenix, Arizona, and it quickly dawns on us that we're very high in the air. The reason? We're currently riding in a hot air balloon, and aside from the balloon's owner and operator, who's respectfully standing off to the side aside from the occasional checks to make sure everything's still good, the only person with us on this ride is none other than La Pequeña Luz. The United States Title is around her waist, likely so there's no incidents that could see it accidentally drop out of the basket, but Luz herself is hardly sitting still. Instead, she's grabbing onto one of the ropes keeping the basket attached to the balloon, fidgeting in a way that almost looks like she's tempted to try something incredibly stupid and dangerous. Maybe that's why there's such a big grin on her face as she finally turns her head to look at us.

“Once upon a time, mi papá told me that the world looks so different from a higher vantage point. As a little girl, I always thought he was talking about the view from the top rope, given that you all know he was a luchador who loved to fly and inspired me to follow in his footsteps before branching off to build my own legacy. Donning my own mask and boots and having been doing this for many years now... he was right. Being able to perch myself on that turnbuckle and see the crowd around me cheering me on, screaming my name, supporting me... it's a feeling like no other.

But such words could have multiple meanings, and given that my father built a legend for himself with nothing but his bare hands, I now know he also could have been talking about the view from where I stand right now... not exactly in this hot air balloon, although the view from up here is absolutely incredible and I highly recommend this experience to anyone out there who's not afraid of heights because you will not regret it. I speak, of course, about being a champion. I'll admit... I didn't really give any of this much thought during my first run with the U.S. Title, probably because part of me was distracted with the interim tag attached to it at the time and so many other things that ended up revolving around this title for months after I'd lost it to Asher Hayes. But whether it's been my previous run with this title, my current run, my run as Television Champion or any of the times Amelia and I have stood before you as World Tag Team Champions, I can attest that the view from the top of the proverbial mountain is truly a breathtaking experience.

It's also one of the most challenging.

One thing that has seemingly becoming a defining trait of every single title reign I've had here in SCW, alone or beside my wife, has been the sheer number of people who suddenly turn their heads towards me, wanting a piece of me and believing they will be the one to knock me back down to the bottom of the mountain. And every single time, I tell them the same thing: give me your best shot, but don't be surprised if I fight like heck to stay up here, because I will give everything I have and then some to retain this title and continue to prove that I belong here, proudly calling myself your United States Champion and earning my place among the legendary names throughout SCW's long and storied history.”

Luz pauses for a moment, something flickering through her mind as she turns her gaze down towards the earth below. Whatever it is, it's enough to briefly knock the brilliant smile off her face. One deep breath later and a shake of her head to clear the cobwebs, and Luz's smile slowly returns as she looks back at us once more.

“All of that said, I know how hard the climb can be to get up to this point. When I first started wrestling down in Mexico, I didn't exactly have a stellar win/loss record after I finished up my first year in the business, just as I didn't have a great singles record here in SCW at first. In both cases, it took years of hard work and busting my butt until I built myself into the name that seems to be on everyone's lips, the person that everyone wants a crack at in the ring. I'm very familiar with the struggle to prove yourself, to gain that respect and recognition, to feel like you've made something of yourself in this industry.

Because of that, I know exactly where you're coming from, Damon.

You've been in this game for a very long time... longer than me, from what I can tell. You spent some time in an old promotion that seemed to be a developmental place of sorts for SCW, and then gave a crack at SCW itself for a little bit. When things didn't seem to be going the way you probably would've wanted, you decided to step ahead and went abroad to hone your skills, competing in Japan for the past several years. It's a story I know all too well... after all, when Amelia and I first came to SCW, we had a solid first few matches until we were derailed by injuries. Like you probably were all those years ago Damon, it left us doubting ourselves, wondering if we really belonged here or if we were ready. So, we opted out of our contracts, returned to competing in Mexico and Europe to rebuild ourselves and hone our skills even further.

And now? I think it's safe to say no one can imagine what SCW would be like without The Light In The Darkness around to not only keep pushing ourselves and each other, but also everyone who meets us in that ring looking to give us a challenge.”

Luz nods to herself, mumbling something under her breath in Spanish as her hand pats the center plate of the title around her waist. We see the operator pull the cord to ignite the flame and send the balloon up a little higher as Luz moves to sit on the edge of the basket. This earns her a worried look from the operator, but she nods to him as we see her hand keep a tighter hold on the rope tethering the balloon to the basket.

“I don't say any of this to minimize your own journey, Damon. I say this to make it clear that I know exactly where you're coming from heading into our match this Sunday, because I've walked that exact same path and experienced every single hardship, fought against every moment of doubt that you've no doubt felt as well. I can see the hunger in your eyes... I know how badly you want to take this title from me, how hard you're going to push yourself trying to dethrone me so you can finally have that moment in time where you can honestly say 'I did it' and mean it. Winning championship gold here in SCW... it doesn't get any bigger than that.

But becoming a champion is one thing. The question you really need to ask yourself, Damon... is what happens next?

Make no mistake, I have cero plans on just rolling over and giving up that easily so you can have your moment, Damon. If you want to become United States Champion, I'm going to make you earn it the hard way, I'm going to make you push yourself to levels you've maybe never reached before. But say you do pull it off... say I do fall and you become the new champion. This road doesn't stop once your have the title Damon. All of a sudden, that target is on your back now, you're the one everyone wants a piece of, and if you aren't prepared for everyone to come at you, bound and determined to defeat you like you're hoping to do to me, then... as much as it pains me to say it, maybe you aren't ready to stand where I do right now, even after all this time.

I pose this question not to make you doubt yourself Damon, and I apologize if that's the perception you take away from this. It's a question that was posed to me several years ago, back when Amelia and I got the opportunity to challenge for the World Tag Team Titles for the very first time. We were asked that same question, and despite our best efforts, that night proved we weren't ready to carry that mantle quite yet. From that point on, though, every time I've been able to call myself a champion, I have strived to not only be the best version of myself I can possibly be, but I've also fought tooth and nail to carry this company, the title I hold and everything associated with all of it on my back, wanting nothing more than to leave it in better shape than when I ascended to that proverbial throne.

That is what being United States Champion means to me right now... and why no matter how badly you want this, no matter how desperate you may prove yourself to be or how confident you think you are, you're not going to be walking out of Chase Field with this title so long as I live and breathe.”

Luz hops off the edge of the balloon, unclipping the title from around her waist and holding it in front of her, making sure we get a good look at it, especially her name on the nameplate.

“Wrestling isn't just in my blood, Damon... it's my entire life. Even if I didn't have a father who built his own legend in this business, I've always known, deep down, that the ring is where I belong. This is my dream, this is what drives me, makes me who I am. Maybe that's not inspiring to you, maybe that doesn't sound passionate enough to you... but I know many people who look at us and see mirror images, inspired by the both of us making this dream a reality and wanting to follow in my footsteps.

The difference is that one of us is humble enough to admit that, even in victory, there's always room to grow, evolve and improve.

You can have an attitude Damon, believe that SCW owes you the world and you're coming to collect, but if you were humbled once before, then deep down you know that it's only a matter of time before that attitude gets a reality check. I'm being nicer than I probably should be by standing here and giving you the respect you deserve because I know your story, I've been there myself, and believe it or not, I do acknowledge you as a threat that could very well end this run as U.S. Champion before it really gets too far off the ground. But even if that does happen Damon, I'll just get right back up and push myself even harder, fighting like heck to get back to this point so I can see for myself just how ready you are to go from being the hunter to the hunted. You aren't invincible, Damon... sooner or later, you will fall, and when that happens, what will your response be? Will you acknowledge that being in SCW isn't as simple as believing your rise to the top is inevitable and can't be stopped if you aren't willing to keep going even now that you're proving you belong here after all?

Or will you feel the best course of action is to step away once again and rebuild yourself all over again?

Either way, this Sunday at A Taste of Things to Come, we'll know the answer Damon. I hope you're truly ready... because this light isn't ready to stop shining just yet, and if you think your victory is all but certain, then you're in for the same rude awakening that so many others have had when faced with the reality that La Pequeña Luz isn't so easy to snuff out. Not when I have purpose to guide my flight, and not when I'm hellbent on seeing just how much farther I can push myself this time as SCW United States Champion.”

With a ferocity burning in her gaze that makes it all but impossible to ignore just how badly she wants this and how hard she's going to fight to remain champion, Luz slowly lowers the title and turns to resume enjoying the sights of her hot air balloon ride, especially as we start to see buildings rise up over the edge of the basket and realize she's returning to earth now, ready to ground herself and prepare for another war with all her heart and soul.