Chris Dumont vs. Amelia Nevado

[Wisteria Waltz]

By this point, we've come to expect many things when it comes to the person we're here to see. Maybe we're expecting some professional setup to drive home the point that we're here to see the SCW World Champion, the face of the company. Maybe we expected something elegant, almost royal, something that reminds us that this woman came from money and is finally flaunting it as if to prove she's exactly where she belongs. Perhaps we even expected some sort of shot of the city of Brooklyn, to show off where Breakdown will be taking place this week with Rise to Greatness just over the horizon. Maybe we at least expected to see a woman who was poised, focused, a champion in every sense of the word just by looking at her.

We find none of that.

Instead, we find ourselves in what looks like a rundown locker room, perhaps in some old, abandoned gym somewhere. Lockers are bent and rusted, the lights are dim and flickering, plenty of old gym clothes and water bottles litter the floor after being forgotten or abandoned by whoever owned them. For lack of a better term, this place is a real dump. Maybe one could make the argument that the person we're here to see is simply returning to their roots... except we know by now that her upbringing dictates far fancier, state-of-the-art personal home gyms and all the tragedy and harshness that came with the family legacy she was always supposed to follow. We can try to wrap our heads around why we're here all we want, but it doesn't change the fact that we're witnessing Amelia Nevado, the SCW World Champion, sitting on an old bench in this disaster of a gym. The title itself is sitting on the bench beside her, but she doesn't dare reach out to touch it. Her head is down, her hair out of its usual ponytail and resting on her shoulders, and in the brief flicker of lighting at just the right angle, we can almost make out what look like tear tracks trailing down her cheeks that haven't dried yet. Her head subtly turns, as if to acknowledge our presence without looking at us, and she lets out a shaky, shuddering breath.

“Selena was right...

Last week, I called for a match because I wanted to prove something. The more I think back on everything that led up to it, the harder it is for me to even figure out what I was trying to prove. Was I trying to get some sort of edge over Deanna heading into Rise to Greatness? Was I trying to shut Selena up after she has spent the past year putting me down? I... I honestly don't even know anymore. All I know is that I look in the mirror, and I recognize the face staring back me... it's my own face, but wearing an arrogant smirk and proclaiming that she's the greatest wrestler God ever put on this Earth because it's what she genuinely believes... what she's supposed to believe... what she was told growing up by the mother and father she was supposed to succeed. Her name was Amelia Blythe, destined to become the heir to the Blythe legacy, the evolution of the greatest wrestling family to ever live... at least, according to what she was was forced to believe.

Two years ago now, I shed the Blythe name and was welcomed into my wife's family, and maybe I was foolish to believe that would be the nail in the coffin, that Amelia Blythe and all the expectations that burdened that name were finally dead. I thought I was finally free to embrace a brighter future, decide my own path and walk towards the dawn ready to become someone in this business that future generations could look up to with pride and admiration. Instead, all I've done is given a fresh coat of paint to the fractured little doll that was told she only ever had one purpose, and in the process, I've tainted the last name my wife was born under, the last name that gave her father the courage to become the Angelic Spirit he proudly portrayed between those ropes.

Maybe I should have listened to Selena a little more, even if she could have explained herself a little better. My brain just isn't hardwired to hear 'you can't do it, you're not ready' and similar phrases and not become more determined than ever to defy them, because those very phrases defined my childhood. While others like Chris Dumont, like Luz, like Glory Braddock can all say they come from wrestling families just like me, the wrestler they succeeded trained them in a way that was tough but fair. They were given positive reinforcement whenever they did something right, they weren't berated and treated like idiots whenever they failed or did something wrong, and their workouts and training sessions certainly weren't a thinly veiled excuse to be abused by the parent who was supposed to be guiding them. That was my path into the wrestling business, and those were the words that molded me.

Every success wasn't good enough, I should have done it faster or made zero mistakes.

Every failure was rewarded with being choked into unconsciousness by my father's signature hold, the Blight Choke. If not that, then it was bruises, scars, broken bones I was meant to hide because under the gaze of others beyond our family, I was supposed to look perfect.

Nothing I did was ever good enough... I was told I wasn't ready to be the Blythe I was raised to be, I was told that I couldn't be one of the best to ever grace the squared circle, I was told time and time again that I was a failure... it was my parents' way of trying to motivate me, believing that if they kept moving the goalposts so they'd always be unobtainable, then they could keep physically, mentally, emotionally breaking me until I became their vision of the perfect wrestler. It's why I took such offense when Selena made those claims, it's why I worked myself to the bone to keep improving only for each new setback to knock my brain back to those days where I suffered needlessly just to be something I never even wanted to be, but had no say in the matter.

I want to be clear... that is an explanation for how we got to this point, but it is not an excuse for any of the mistakes I've made throughout this year.

And yes, they are mistakes... mistakes that shattered the rose-tinted glasses I've been trying to wear for the past few months. Mistakes that cost me a title I should have proudly held alongside my wife... a title I never even truly got to actually hold before I lost it due to my own unwarranted hubris. I failed Luz miserably last week... I failed Deanna, I failed Selena, I failed all of SCW. All I had to do was tag Luz in, let her be the fresh competitor who could handle Selena, and instead I had to prove her wrong and paid the price for it.

Selena... if you're watching this... thank you. Thank you for helping to knock some sense into me in the most brutal way it could've happened... but keep your own words in mind for yourself, and keep those titles safe with Deanna, because I swear to you, on my life, that I owe you both a proper follow-up to that classic we had years ago... and Luz and I will find our way back to you to earn those titles back the right way.

Just like this week, I stop letting myself fall and finally reach out to climb my way out of this abyss I've let myself be consumed by. This week, I finally start proving that Amelia Nevado does deserve to be a proper World Champion who's truly earned it, who can be that World Champion who inspires others to chase her and want to prove themselves against her, title or no.

A wrestler who can give Chris Dumont the match he deserves.”

Amelia slowly looks up now, and while she certainly looks like a miserable wreck, there's a flicker of the embers that have defined Amelia throughout her career. It's not the look we've come to expect lately, laced with prideful arrogance pretending to be confidence. For the first time in far too long, it's a look of genuine confidence, of someone who's willing to learn from the mistakes they've made and truly do whatever they need to in order to become better, both as a wrestler and as a person. Someone who wants to keep getting better and keep climbing that mountain.

“Chris, I truly apologize that we couldn't have the match you asked for. Believe me when I say that I insisted we needed to have it, but Delatosso initially refused to allow this match to happen at all. He didn't want me to get hurt, he wanted me to focus entirely on Rise to Greatness... the thing is, though, I've never been wired that way, and last week made it all the more clear that I need this match more than ever. If I go into Rise to Greatness injured by your hands... then I just find a way to push through and rise above the damage, because that's what a true wrestler does, that's what a champion should do! If I'm going to stand here and be the face of SCW, then I need to be ready and willing to prove it anytime, anywhere.

I told you when I accepted your challenge that I'd be willing to face you before or after the show if Delatosso refused, Chris, and I meant it... I think he knew he wasn't going to be able to talk me out of this match regardless of whether or not it was televised, so he compromised hoping that just facing you would be enough to settle the matter.

My offer's still on the table, though. If we can't do your match with the cameras rolling... then I'm not afraid to wrestle for a second time when they stop to give you a match under Pure Wrestling Rules if you're game, because that's what those fans deserve to see... the kind of match we deserve to have.

I'm not going to sit here and put you down Chris... I've shared that ring with you far too many times by this point, both as your opponent and as an ally, to want to put on that proverbial mask and act like someone I never wanted to be in the first place. I'm tired of feeling like I need to act like a Blythe just to survive in the snake pit I've thrown myself into because I genuinely thought it was necessary, I'm tired of pretending that I wasn't taken advantage of and molded back into something I've spent my whole life trying to escape because someone with power saw a broken woman and felt that under their 'guidance' they could print money. I am psychologically scarred, Chris... my mind has been infected by years of torture and abuse and gaslighting to the point where I'm starting to understand that maybe it'll never go away. Maybe I'll always be at risk of letting myself consider this path in the face of setbacks because 'not being good enough' is what defined the first 19 years of my entire existence, even when it wasn't true, because it was all I was ever allowed to know if I wanted to earn the respect, the admiration, the love of parents who only ever saw me as an investment and an extension of what they had already built.

I mean it when I say you have what it takes to be a World Champion, Chris, and even though this match isn't about the title, I know that won't stop you from eventually wanting to come for it... and that's how it should be. It's how Luz and I defined our first three reigns as World Tag Team Champions, wanting to not only prove we could keep improving to stay atop the mountain, but wanting everyone else to keep improving to maybe one day dethrone us, wanting them to fall in love with the chase and know that even if they weren't good enough to take the titles from us, their time may not be too far off if they just keep working. It's the kind of World Champion I've wanted to be... but I now realize that no matter how much I try to prove it in that ring, the perception is tainted by the path I chose to get here, and I may never be the kind of champion I truly want to be as long as I keep pretending to be the crown jewel of the New Order.

Chris, I know you have what it takes to help me find my way again, and that's why I knew I had to accept your challenge, no matter what. You're right, this isn't about the World Title or who's truly better between us... this is a matter of honor. I know you'll hold nothing back in wanting to face the real Amelia, the Amelia you proved yourself against two years ago inside the Chamber when you refused to back down from a numbers disadvantage and insisted that Luz and I not hold back just because we were trying to be fair. The Amelia you proudly stood beside against the Fall of Man and believed in even when everyone kept saying we were all in over our heads week after week. You deserve to face that Amelia in Brooklyn come Breakdown, Chris... SCW deserves to have that Amelia back. Luz deserves to have that Amelia back, as do Deanna, Selena, and anybody else in that locker room who once genuinely looked up to me. I deserve the chance to believe that I can be that Amelia again.

That is what I'm coming to Breakdown to prove... to you, and especially to myself, that I don't need to be Selena Frost 2.0 to be a champion standing on my own two feet. I was always good enough, I just needed to stop pushing myself so hard and acting like a losing streak meant anything. I know you've been there Chris, losing match after match and feeling that doubt creep in, but you always bounced back and walked into your next match better than before, more determined to turn things around. No wrestler is perfect, nobody is unbeatable... please, Chris, pick up where the Frosts left off last week and help me remember why I chose to stick with wrestling when I had no reason to after finally unshackling myself from my parents and the Blythe legacy. Help me remember what it means to wrestle, not just to hold gold or be successful, but because you genuinely love getting in that ring and testing yourself week in and week out. Help me prove that despite my mistakes, despite the decisions I've made, that I can still make the right choices and put myself back on the right path.”

Amelia takes a moment to wipe the tear tracks from her cheeks as she slowly stands up and turns to fully face us, almost looking more and more like her genuine self again. Almost as if in response to this, we notice something peculiar. The lights, which have been dim and flickering in this old gym this entire time, suddenly seem to stop flickering. If anything, the lights actually seem to grow brighter, as if the life is slowly returning to this space. Amelia smiles a bit, genuinely, at this miracle before her eyes slowly turn to glance down at the World Title still sitting on the bench. After a moment, she shakes her head, knowing that this isn't about the title, and leaving it be to focus on us again.

“I'm grateful that you understand Chris, that you're willing to give me a chance to do what has always defined both Luz and myself and that's prove through wrestling the truth that my words often fail to convey, and I thank you for challenging me so I can prove that while I may have lost my way, I can still fight to regain my honor and prove to you and everyone else that I can learn and grow and still do this the right way, the way this is meant to be done.

All of that said, Chris... please be careful about making promises you might not be able to keep.

I know you can beat me in that ring, Chris. You almost did during that six-person tag match before everything went off the rails, just as you almost did inside the Chamber years ago. But that's why I not only need this win more than you believe, but I need to do it the right way. No tricks, no help I never needed in the first place, nothing but my own skills that have always been good enough and continue to improve each and every day, just as they should. This isn't about trying to regain momentum before the biggest match of my career... Lord knows Luz and I have gone into Rise to Greatness before with no momentum and still proved we could live up to that pay-per-view name.

No... while you may think you have nothing to gain or lose Chris, I know that this match is make or break for me. How I wrestle this match will speak volumes about whether or not I can not only be the World Champion, but the wrestler I should be, that I should've been all along. If I cannot defeat you the right way Chris, then maybe there is no hope for me... and I refuse to accept that. If I'm going to show the world that Amelia Nevado is still here, that she's finally fighting to pull herself out of the darkness, then I not only need to earn this win, but I need to earn my honor back as well. I need to earn the right to shake your hand after that final bell rings and hear you welcome me back from the brink.

For that reason... I'm still humbly asking La Pequeña Luz to be at ringside, not just to help me stay on track, but to help make sure we have the match we're supposed to have Chris.

I'm also, as my last act as the 'queen bitch' I let myself become, ordering that no one in the New Order show their faces at ringside. Delatosso... consider this my 24 hours notice if you wish, but if you refuse to let me wrestle this match on my own and prove that I'm capable of winning this match the way it's supposed to be done, then that proves what I think I've known all along: that all your claims of believing in me and telling me I could be the face of this company were a lie meant to pick up where my parents left off. Defy this request, and maybe I cement my departure from the New Order a little more forcefully.

I'm done letting myself be a puppet and being pulled away from everything I have scratched, and clawed, and fought to become. Maybe I'll never be able to shed Amelia Blythe for good... but that doesn't mean I have to let myself be defined by every single time I've been broken and reforged to be what someone else believed I needed to be. I'm not afraid of walking into the biggest match of my career at less than 100%... if anything, I welcome that challenge as another step forward to proving that I'm back on the right path, that I'm doing this my way, the honorable way, and that I can pick myself back up and keep moving forward until Amelia Nevado is exactly the kind of wrestler she should be again... the kind of wrestler and champion that SCW deserves.

I'll see you at the Barclays Center, Chris... I wish you the best of luck, and I want you to bring me hell, because only by overcoming that the way I know I can, the way I should've been doing this all along, will I truly know that Amelia Nevado isn't dead yet... and maybe, just maybe, can still rise from the ashes like a phoenix ready to make up for all her mistakes and be the person I should've been all along.”

Amelia nods to us, a genuine confidence growing within her that has been sorely missed for far too long and maybe, just maybe, gives us hope that she might not be as lost as we thought, that maybe she can truly come back to us and Breakdown will be the beginning of that. With a smile that shows how relieved she is to not have to act like the cold-hearted bitch she was raised to be anymore, even if it was just a survival tactic, she takes her leave. We slowly move to focus on the World Title belt she's left laying on the bench before we fade out, realizing that she isn't disrespecting it by leaving it behind... but acknowledging that this match will be a big step towards proving she truly does deserve to hold it.