Dawn Lohan vs. Deanna Frost

[Kemal Yilmaz]

SCW Adrenaline Championship

2 RP Limit per character

3500 word limit

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Wednesday, July 1, 2026

[QueensGuardSCW]

Frost No More

”The Person They Don’t See...”

The Frost Forever Home
Manhattan, New York
June 27th, 2026
3:23 PM

The house was quiet – and not the comfortable kind of quiet. Not the peaceful silence that came after three children had gone out with friends. The silence that filled the Frost home lingered – like an uninvited guest that didn’t know it was time to leave.

Deanna Frost sat alone in the family room, one hand wrapped around a mug of tea that had long since gone cold within her hands. The television was off and her phone rested face down on the coffee table.

She hadn't touched it in over an hour. She knew there wouldn't be anything there...

No missed calls.
No messages.
No impossible text from the woman who had once texted her every morning without fail simply to say, “Good morning, pet. Maybe I love you...”

Selena was gone... Again.

It stung less than it had following Hubris... less than it had following the revelation of her betrayal. In fact, if Deanna were honest with herself, it had almost become predictable. Whenever something inside the platinum-blonde fractured - whenever the mask slipped and the Blue-Eyed Devil no longer knew what to do with herself – she disappeared.

Usually to Nome. Deanna thought, closing her eyes.

It wasn’t hard to figure out the Snow Queen’s mentality, either. She always disappeared believing she deserved to be alone. Believing isolation was punishment. Believing love was something she had forfeited.

Last time Deanna had ignored that, crossing thousands of miles because every instinct she possessed screamed that if she didn't, there might not be another chance.

She remembered stepping onto the frozen Alaskan soil and searching dank, dark mine of Selena’s father - wondering whether she would even find Selena alive. She had failed to really find her, only seeing her ex-wife/lover in the midst of the royale...

But it had been enough... Because she knew.

I'll see her again.

The certainty wasn't logical. Most people would have called it foolish or blind or naïve. Exactly what everyone had accused her of being for months... Maybe years. Deanna had accepted that.

If believing in Selena made her naïve... Then she would simply be naïve. She settled on that thought as she tasted her tea – a bitter taste ran over her tongue, forcing her to set the mug down.

Across the room, family photographs decorated the mantle: Vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, wrestling moments. She smiled despite herself. She had insisted on taking too many pictures throughout her marriage to the former world champion.

"Years from now..." she'd laughed. "when we're old and arguing over whose turn it is to cook dinner, I want proof we were happy." Deanna had teased.

"We'll still be happy." Selena had assured her.
"Exactly."

Neither of them had imagined happiness could become something they had to fight for... Or remember as something they once had.

Her eyes settled on another photograph: Elsianna.

Nine years old. Standing proudly between her two mothers with missing front teeth and a grin too big for her face.

She had worshipped Selena - not in the unhealthy way fans idolized heroes. Children simply believed. If Selena said the stars looked brighter tonight, Elsianna would run outside to check. If Selena promised she'd always catch her, she would jump without hesitation.

That trust had been beautiful... Until it wasn't.

Deanna sighed at the reality. The Blue-Eyed Devil hadn't merely hurt Deanna. She had shattered that child's understanding of who her mother was.

Deanna understood why which somehow made it hurt even more. The relationship had deteriorated and deteriorated until there was so little left for the young girl to believe... growing up far too fast for Deanna (or Selena) to like. The scars on Elsianna’s arms, coming out, losing the image she held of Selena – no child deserved to endure such hardships one after the other.

A floorboard creaked upstairs. Then another. Deanna looked toward the staircase just as footsteps descended.

As if thinking about her at manifested the young girl, Elsianna appeared, dressed casually, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She wasn't the little girl from the photograph anymore.

She noticed the untouched tea immediately. "You've been sitting there the whole time?"
Deanna smiled faintly. "I've moved..." she shrugged. “A little...”
"Three feet?" Elsianna raised an eyebrow.
"...Maybe."

The young girl walked into the room before sitting in the chair opposite her mother. For a moment neither of them spoke for several moments – though it wasn’t as awkward as it could have been.

Finally... "She left." Elsianna remarked.
"No." Deanna answered simply, causing her daughter to frown.
"No?"
"She disappeared." the redhead corrected.
Elsianna sighed. "That's leaving, Mom."
"No it isn’t." Deanna's answer came gently.
"It's running."

There was a difference and Deanna picked up on it immediately: One implied abandonment. The other implied fear. Only one described Selena.

Elsianna studied her mother. "You're defending her already."
"I'm explaining her."
"After what happened?"

Deanna didn't answer that. She had heard similar arguments from every friend, critic, fan, and family member for weeks.

Her daughter leaned forward."She lied to you."
"I know."
"She manipulated you."
"I know."
"She spent months convincing everyone you gave her the shot."
"I know."
"And you're still..." Elsianna couldn't quite finish. "...doing this?!"

Deanna looked out the window at the sunlight that filtered through the trees surrounding the property.

Summer. A season Deanna always loved. How many times had she dragged everyone outside for picnics? For water wars? For barbecues? There had been one Fourth of July where she'd accidentally launched a firework sideways!

David still jokes about it. The memory surfaced so naturally that Deanna laughed under her breath.

"What?" Elsianna asked.
"I was remembering almost setting the neighbour's hedge on fire."
Elsianna blinked. "That's what you're thinking about?"
"Part of it."
"Mom..." Elsianna tried, only to be met with strong glance from Deanna.

"The person everyone talks about..." Deanna paused. "...isn't the only Selena I've known."

Silence settled again, the daughter caught off-guard. If only for a moment.

"I know." she finally said, but Deanna intercepted her again, knowing where her eldest child was going.

"No." There wasn't anger in her voice. Only certainty. "You know stories. You know what you’ve seen as you grew up with her."

Elsianna's expression tightened. "Exactly. I’ve grown up with her."
"You grew up with someone already carrying things you couldn't see." Deanna’s stated.

That landed differently for the young girl - Deanna could tell.

She continued quietly. "You remember your mother after wrestling. After championships. After expectations. After years of convincing herself she had to become something impossible. After the fans turned on her because she had an opinion."

"I remember before." The room seemed smaller, perhaps because Elsianna’s voice was just above a whisper. "I remember the woman who cried she got so frustrated that she couldn’t fix Amiliah’s favorite toy." she almost smiled. "I remember someone who admitted to a speeding ticket for going one mile above the speed limit." That earned an involuntary laugh from Deanna. "I remember someone who refused to let me drive during snowstorms because she thought everyone else on the road deserved to make it home too."

The laughter faded slowly from Elsianna’s voice. "I remember someone whose first instinct was always kindness." She looked back up at her mother. "I still remember her. But not like you do.” she admitted. "I remember pieces. The rest..." she shook her head. “I remember somebody who kept choosing a title over us... over you."

Deanna inhaled slowly. "She didn't."
Elsianna stared. "What?"
"She chose responsibility."
"What responsibility?"
"The wrong kind." Deanna folded her hands together. "Your mother convinced herself she had to carry everyone's expectations."
“Who’s?” Elsianna asked.
"The company, the fans, the championship, the legacy. Every time she fell short...she couldn’t blame herself. She had to find another way – another solution. And when she was held back, it just added and added, making her more desperate. Fighting a system that worked against her at every turn..."

Elsianna frowned. "So?"

"So eventually..." Deanna sighed "...she forgot she was allowed to simply be Selena." The words came softly. "And when someone forgets who they are long enough, they...” she tried to find the right words, “...they start becoming whoever they think everyone wants."

The Blue-Eyed Devil. The villain not born overnight... but built. Brick by brick. Expectation by expectation. Mistake by mistake. Regret by regret.

And nobody wanted to admit their part in it. Not Selena, not the fans, not the wrestlers, not CHBK with his well-meaning but blatant bias. Not Frank Delatosso with his bias – entirely not well-meaning... Nobody wanted to admit their part in it – they just wanted to blame it all on Selena and call her ‘evil’ and ‘wicked’ and ‘never good’.

Elsianna was quiet for only a moment. "So you're saying none of this is her fault?"

Deanna looked directly at her daughter. "No." her answer was stern and the hurt was there just beneath the surface. "Some of it absolutely is. Your mother has made terrible choices." the redhead explained. “She's hurt people... hurt me. She has to answer for those choices."

"So why?" Elsianna asked, more confused than anything else. "Why are you giving her another chance?"

Deanna looked toward the wedding photograph still hanging in the hallway. White dress.... a tiara of vines... sapphire eyes...

Most divorced couples would have taken it down. Neither of them ever had. Perhaps neither had wanted to admit forever had become uncertain.

Deanna’s voice barely rose above a whisper. "Because she earned it."
"Earned it?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"She admitted she was wrong... in her way."
"That's enough?"
"No." Deanna smiled sadly. "But it's where healing starts."

Her daughter shook her head. "I don't understand."
"I know."
"You keep saying she's still in there."
"Yes."
"But what if she isn't?"

The question echoed through the room. It was enough to make Deanna pause, because that question haunted her too.

What if everyone else was right? What if she had spent years believing in a ghost?

Her eyes closed. Then...

She remembered Taking Hold of the Flame. She remembered the moment. The one almost nobody else seemed to understand.

For one heartbeat, the Devil had vanished. There had simply been Selena. Looking at her. Not an opponent. Not an obstacle. Not weakness. Just... Deanna.

The woman she'd promised forever to. Deanna had seen as Selena had saved her from possible elimination. That wasn't imagination. It wasn't wishful thinking. It had happened. Only for seconds.

But seconds were enough! Enough to remind Deanna that the woman she'd married was still fighting from somewhere deep inside.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "I know why nobody believes me. And I don't blame them."
"And yet you still do."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Deanna's answer came almost immediately. "Because somebody has to."

The answer lingered between them. Elsianna looked at her mother as though she had spoken in another language.

For years, Deanna had been the easiest person in the world to understand. She was kind because kindness came naturally. She forgave because she believed people deserved the chance to become better than their worst day. Even those that kept seeing her as ‘the weaker Frost’ and ‘Selena’s shadow’.

This... this felt different. This wasn't kindness. This was conviction.

"Mom..." Deanna met her daughter’s eyes. "You know everyone thinks you're wrong."
"I do."
"They think she's manipulating you."
"I know."
"They think she always has."
"I know."
"They think..." Elsianna hesitated. "...they think you see someone that doesn't exist anymore."

Deanna smiled sadly. "They're allowed to."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"No." Deanna shook her head. “It doesn’t.”
"Not even a little?"

The redhead glanced down at her wedding ring - she still wore it. Not because she denied the divorce, but because she had never stopped believing the promise behind it.

"I spent a long time wishing everyone would understand." She laughed softly. "Then I realized... they weren't there." she continued. "They didn't see the little moments. They didn't see the moments in-between SCW. They didn't see your mother when nobody was watching."

Elsianna frowned. "I did."
"You saw your mother." Deanna nodded. "I saw Selena."

"Everyone just remembers the championships, the mistakes..." her breath caught a little. "The Blue-Eyed Devil." she sighed. "I remember someone dancing barefoot in this kitchen because one of her favourite songs came on." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I remember someone who insisted Yuletide traditions be honoured."

Elsianna rolled her eyes despite herself. "She always won that argument."
"She absolutely did." Deanna chuckled a little. "I remember someone who stayed awake all night because David had a fever. I remember someone who cried harder than Amiliah did on her first day of school."

She eyes her daughter gently. "Those things don't disappear."

Elsianna looked unconvinced. "They can."
"No." Deanna shook her head. "They change. They get buried. They get twisted, but they don't disappear. Not unless we stop looking."

Her daughter folded her arms. "How long?"
"Hm?"
"How long do you keep looking?"

The question caught Deanna off guard, but Elsianna continued. "What if this takes another year? Five years? Ten? At what point do you decide enough is enough?"

Deanna didn't answer immediately. She deserved an honest answer. "I... I don't know."

Elsianna blinked. "You don't know?"

"No. I honestly don't. I've asked myself that question every night." Deanna’s fingers tightened around the cooling mug. "I wish I had a number. I wish I could tell you there's a point where I simply stop loving her." A tear formed before she noticed it. "I've tried."

She laughed once. A broken, almost embarrassed sound. "God... I've tried so hard. I've tried being angry. I've tried hating her. I've tried convincing myself everyone else was right." Her voice cracked. "I've tried imagining a life where I just... moved on." She wiped at her eyes. "But I can't."

Elsianna watched silently.

"I still wake up wondering if she's slept. I still wonder whether she's eating. I still wonder whether she's remembered to take a jacket. I know exactly where she goes when she wants to disappear..."

"Then why aren't you going?" Elsianna asked.
Deanna could only sigh. "I did... before the royale..."
“Why didn’t you bring her back?”
"I think..." Deanna searched for the words. "It’s not that simple. I think she needs to choose."
"Choose what?"
"To come home."

Not to Manhattan.
Not to the house.
Home.
To herself.
To us....
To the life she'd convinced herself she no longer deserved.

"I can't make that decision for her." Deanna admitted. “I already tried once."
"And?"
"I found her. But I couldn't heal her."

There was a brief silence, before Elsianna spoke. "I don't know if I could forgive her."
"I know."
"I don't know if I even want to."
"I know."
"I don't think she's earned that."
"I know."
"Then why do you keep saying she has earned another chance?"

Deanna took a slow breath. "Because those aren't the same thing."
Elsianna frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Forgiveness..." She considered it. "...is a gift. Trust is earned."
"And another chance?"
Deanna smiled faintly. "That's hope."

Hope... Such a fragile word.

"You know what happened at Taking Hold of the Flame?"
Elsianna nodded. "I watched."
"No." Deanna shook her head gently. "You watched the match. I watched your mother."

She remembered it vividly: The roar of the crowd. The uncertainty. The exhaustion written across Selena's face. "I looked into her eyes."

"And?"

"For just a moment...she looked back." Deanna smiled. “Not the Devil. Not the Champion. Not the legend. Selena. Scared... Confused... Heartbroken... and then... relieved and proud...” The woman I married. "I saw her." She turned her attention to Elsianna. "If I imagined that... why did she stop?"

The question lingered.

"Why didn't she finish what everyone expected? Why not take the shot as I offered it? Why hesitate? Why walk away? Why tell me..." Deanna stopped herself. Selena's words echoed in her mind.

"It should be you." Those words... Not shouted. Not mocked. Almost... regretful. As though Selena truly believed them.

Elsianna noticed. "What?"
Deanna smiled sadly. "Nothing."
"No. You remembered something."

She had. She remembered hearing words she hadn't allowed herself to fully process. Words that refused to leave her alone.

Elsianna studied her. "I saw the segment. She told you it should be you." Deanna looked up sharply. "I didn't understand it." her daughter admitted. I still don't."

The redhead nodded. She didn’t understand it either - not completely.

Had Selena been mocking her?
Trying to hurt her?
Or... Had she truly believed it?

For years Selena had fought to remain at the top. Every championship mattered. Every accolade mattered. Every expectation rested on her shoulders – as if she alone could fix SCW from the heights it had fallen from.

So why? Why would she tell Deanna that she should be the one standing there? At the main-event of Rise to Greatness? The thought unsettled her. Not because she wanted the championship.

Because she knew Selena. Or at least... she used to.

"Mom?"

Deanna slowly shook herself from the memory. "I never wanted that."
"The World Championship?"
"No."

Elsianna looked genuinely confused. "You've wrestled for years."
"I know."
"You've won championships."
"I know."
"So how can you not want the biggest one?"

Deanna smiled. "I never came to SCW for the world championship."
"Then why?"

The answer arrived so naturally that she almost laughed. "For your mother."

Elsianna blinked. "What?"

"I joined SCW because Selena was there. Wrestling was always part of us. But SCW..." She smiled warmly. “SCW was where I got to be beside her. First as her manager... then... as her partner."

Partners.
Best friends.
Wives.
Dreaming together.

"I stayed because I fell in love with this company. I stayed because I loved competing. I stayed because I loved the people. But if you ask me whether becoming World Champion was ever worth losing Selena..."

She didn't hesitate. "The answer is no." The certainty in her voice surprised even herself. "Never. It never has been and it never will be."

Elsianna stared. "But... everyone says—"
"I know what everyone says."
"They think you're settling. They think you're better than this. They think you're too good for her."

Deanna smiled sadly. "They're wrong."
Her daughter frowned. "Mom..."

"I'm not too good for your mother." Deanna pressed.  "I've made mistakes too." She looked toward the family photographs again. "There are things I regret."

"What?" Elsianna asked, prompting a long silence.

"I asked her to come back." Deanna finally admitted. "I pushed. When she wanted to stay away... I..." she sighed. "I believed wrestling would remind her who she was. I thought I was helping. Instead...”

The pressure had returned.
The hatred for Selena had never left.
The impossible standards had never lessened.
One more comeback.
One more title.
One more burden.
That was all that was needed to fix SCW for good!

Until eventually... The Blue-Eyed Devil emerged.

"I keep asking myself..." Deanna sighed, gazing at a photo of her and Selena. "What if I'd let her stay away? What if I'd chosen us instead? What if none of this ever happens?" Tears slipped freely now from her emerald eyes. "I don't know. I honestly don't know... But I live with that every day.”

Elsianna crossed the room without saying anything, sitting beside her mother and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. For several moments, neither spoke.

"I still don't think she deserves you."
Deanna smiled through the tears. "I know."
"I don't."
"I know."
"I don't think I ever will."
"I know."

Another silence, then Elsianna stood. She headed toward the doorway before stopping. Without turning around, she spoke. "I still think it should be you."

Deanna looked up, gazing towards the back of her daughter.

"The World Championship." Elsianna clarified. "You should be the one fighting for it.”Then she walked upstairs, leaving Deanna alone once again.

The house fell quiet - the same silence as before. Yet somehow... different.

Deanna remained seated long after the footsteps disappeared.

"It should be you."

Elsianna's words.
Selena's words.
The same sentence.
Spoken by two different people.
For two entirely different reasons.

Or...Maybe not. Deanna closed her eyes.

Had Selena truly been refusing? Not just the match. Not just the championship. Not just the main-event that had been the Snow Queens for five years. But the life she'd built around believing she had to keep carrying everything.

If she had been refusing... If, for one impossible moment, Selena had looked at Deanna and genuinely believed someone else deserved the burden...

...then perhaps that wasn't surrender. Perhaps it was the first honest thing she'd allowed herself to say in years.

Deanna didn't know. There were too many questions. Too many wounds. Too much uncertainty.

Everyone else would continue believing she was chasing someone who no longer existed. That was all right.

If she had to stand alone... If she had to be the last person still believing... Then she would.

Not because she was blind.
Not because she was weak.
Because she remembered.

She remembered a woman with platinum-blonde hair laughing in this very house. She remembered sapphire blue eyes that once looked at her as though forever was the easiest promise in the world. She remembered falling in love.

And until Selena herself proved beyond all doubt that woman was truly gone...

Deanna would continue believing she was still finding her way home.

[QueensGuardSCW]

The camera opens up to an interesting setting. Before the viewers’ eyes is a gorgeous lawn and patio, with several large, hulking gargoyle statues - each one in a powerful, animated pose. The afternoon sun hangs low in the sky, casting long shadows across the yard and across the gargoyles’ features while also alighting parts of them in various orange/red tinted-glows.

This is back deck of the Frost family home in Manhattan. No better proof of that is needed than the redhead nestled at the feet of one of the taller, towering gargoyles. A cup of tea rests untouched beside her, while the SCW Adrenaline championship is seen on the other side, settled on the gargoyle’s talon foot, the gold of the championship also catching some of the sun’s burning colors.

For a long moment, Deanna Frost simply watches the wind move through the trees, saying nothing, the back of her head resting against the cold stone.

Eventually, she smiles. So... she breathes. Where do we start?

She lets the question settle for a moment before turning her attention towards the camera. I mean, it’s still an appropriate question after all this time. Because here’s a couple of things I never would have imagined I’d have as an option for topics to begin a promo. She takes a measured breath. From still being the SCW Adrenaline champion – almost seven months into this reign... to discussing my ex-wife Selena and options with Frank Delatosso... to Selena, herself... she stops, biting her lower lip. To winning the Taking Hold of the Flame royale...

Her emerald eyes seem to glow a little with that last one. I’ll say this before anyone can twist it... whatever happens with the RtG main-event, I am proud of being the 2026 Taking Hold of the Flame Royale winner. That is not something that is going to change no matter what is said of me. No matter what is done to me. I will carry that accolade as proudly as I do this title! her hand glides over the SCW Adrenaline championship. I don’t necessarily need to be in the main-event of Rise to Greatness to do that!

But... Her voice grows a little quieter – more measured.

Because of all those topics, I've heard the same thing over and over again these past few days. She looks toward the camera. ’Deanna isn't focused. Deanna has too much going on. Deanna isn't thinking about Dawn Lohan...’ there is a slight edge to her tone at the mention of her opponent’s name, but the redhead drops it immediately as she nods her head. And do you know what?

They're right.

There is no hesitation in her voice as she continues.

They're absolutely right. My family needs me. My children need me. My best friend needed me... and whether she'd ever admit it or not... My ex-wife needs me.

She exhales gently. So if people look at everything that's happened over the last few months:

Everything that's happened since Retribution.
Everything that happened since Hubris.
Everything that happened since Taking Hold of the Flame.
And especially everything that happened last Breakdown...

I understand why they'd think my attention has been somewhere else. She smiles to herself. They'd be correct.

But here's where everyone keeps making the same mistake... her emerald eyes narrow a little, settling firmly on the camera. They assume because my heart has been somewhere else... that my hands stop working.

A faint shake of her head. They don't. If anything, they work better!

When life becomes complicated. When everything outside the ring feels uncertain. When the people you love are hurting... Her eyes gaze out to something unseen by the viewers The wrestling ring becomes the simplest place in the world.

There are no hidden meanings.
No unanswered questions.
No wondering where somebody disappeared to.
No trying to figure out whether someone meant what they said...

When that bell rings, I know exactly what I'm supposed to do... A small smile crosses her face.
And in case you’ve missed my recent activity... That's dangerous for someone like me.

The statement is not said arrogantly – simply matter-of-fact.

So since it will be so simple... Dawn. there is a slight growl – a fire – to that name again.

For months now you've been trying to convince everyone that you've been hunting me... which suddenly changes into a quiet chuckle. I suppose, technically, that's true. You've certainly followed me around enough. You've inserted yourself into my business. You've involved yourself in Kimberly Williams' business. You've aligned yourself with Frank Delatosso. You've attacked me numerous times. You've blindsided me. You've done everything you possibly could to force me to acknowledge you!

She tilts her head slightly. Everything except the one thing that actually mattered. A pause. You never earned me.

Don’t get me wrong – that isn’t saying anything about your talent. Unlike me, you’re a former world champion. You’ve been to the top of the mountain and held that title up high. I was there when you did it and you looked – I’ll say it – ‘Wonderful’ doing it. You don’t get to do that without the ability and skill and smarts needed. And if anything has proven anything to me since you came back – you’re still as lethal as ever and your desperation to win this championship couldn’t be proven louder than your actions and blindside attacks...

But, I've spent weeks listening to you talk about this championship. Listening to you tell everyone that you came back to Supreme Championship Wrestling for one reason: The Adrenaline Championship. Supreme Champion status! Demanding up and down to get a title shot. To be handed the chance at this title...

She shrugs. It's a wonderful goal, Dawn. It really is. Look what I did to get the same championship. I won a damn tournament – going from underdog to undefeated to get it! So, I get the line of reason behind your goals...

But goals... her eyes narrow. Don't entitle you to results.

She folds her hands in her lap. When I first walked through the doors of SCW, I wasn't handed anything. I wasn't given opportunities because people knew my last name. I wasn't placed at the front of the line because somebody thought I deserved it or because of who I slept with.

I earned every opportunity I received. I won matches. I failed. I got back up. I won more. I failed again. I was broken mentally and put on the shelf... and I pulled myself together and came back last year... And eventually... her hand finds its way back to the championship. I became worthy of carrying this.

It wasn't simply because I wanted it. It wasn't because I demanded it. It wasn't because I attacked the champion until someone gave me what I wanted...

It was because I proved over and over again that I belonged! She looks back toward the camera. That’s where we are different, Dawn. Because you skipped that part.

You came back after years away – attacking me from behind. You announced exactly what you wanted. And then instead of earning it, you decided to manufacture it!

Deanna shakes her head. You took the shortest path to the finish line with Frank Delatosso holding your hand... and I've been trying to understand that. I really have. I've asked myself why someone with your talent would choose that path. Because like, I said, I know how talented you are. I know exactly what you've accomplished. I know exactly why people were excited to see Dawn Lohan return.

And if you had come back with a shred of integrity, I would have been one of them!  I would say that this division just got stronger! I’d say the Adrenaline Championship picture just became more interesting. I’d say that, with your history with my family - I hope we get to wrestle someday!

Because that's what champions should want: The best challengers.
The toughest competition.
The opportunity to prove they deserve to remain champion.

She pauses, biting her lower lip. But instead, we got this version of Dawn Lohan: the one hiding behind attacks, the one believing headlines are more important than victories, the one standing beside Frank Delatosso because apparently making a statement became easier than making a climb! She shakes her head. That's the part I don't understand...

Because you didn't need shortcuts. You didn't need ambushes. You didn't need to make Kimberly Williams collateral damage. Again, that burn in her voice returns at the mention of her friend. Especially that... all you needed was to just step up! Show us why you’re a former world champion! Like CHBK said it when he made that match at Hubris – EARN IT! But you couldn’t, could you?

Another breath, slow to calm whatever tension she feels. You know... I've learned something over the last few months. It isn't a lesson I wanted, nor is it a lesson I'd recommend. But life has a funny way of teaching us exactly what we need...

When someone is desperate, they stop believing in themselves.

They begin looking for someone else. Someone to hide behind. Someone to validate every bad decision they make. Someone who'll tell them they're justified. Someone who'll convince them that the ends always justify the means. She looks back at the camera. I don't know if Frank found you... or if you found Frank. But I know exactly what the two of you have become.

A pair of people convincing each other that earning something is optional. But do you know the irony?

You've spent all this time trying to convince people you're worthy of being champion. And every single shortcut you've taken has convinced me of the opposite. She lets that thought linger. Because being champion isn't just about what happens when the bell rings...

It's every decision before it. Every choice, every opportunity to prove who you really are, and every time you've had that opportunity... you've chosen the easier road. The faster road. The louder road. She shakes her head. But never the better road.

Deanna reaches over and finally picks up the Adrenaline Championship, resting it across her knees.

I've carried this championship through some of the hardest months of my life. I can admit that. There were nights I probably shouldn't have been standing. Some mornings where getting out of bed was harder than stepping into a wrestling ring. Some moments where I questioned almost everything. She smiles gently as her thumbs trace over the metal. But never this.

I never questioned whether I deserved to fight for this. Whether the people standing across the ring deserved their opportunity. From Dexter Grant to Polly Playtime, I never questioned it... Because they earned it.

She looks directly into the camera once more. And now... So have you.

She gives a pause before shaking her head. But let me be clear, Dawn. You didn’t earn this shot because of rank or skill or victory – the way you should have. And it’s not because you attacked me or demanded it or made enough noise that SCW couldn't ignore you...

Slowly, Deanna pushes herself off the gargoyle, championship in hand. You earned it because eventually... there was nowhere else for this story to go!

You backed yourself into a corner. You made this inevitable. And now... A faint smile graces Deanna’s lips. You finally have exactly what you've been asking for... my full attention.

Deanna adjusts the Adrenaline Championship on her shoulder. You wanted my attention. You've got it.

For the first time since you came back, I'm not thinking about what comes after Breakdown.
I'm not thinking about the next contender
I'm not thinking about rankings.
I’m not thinking about Rise to Greatness.
I’m not thinking about the world title.
I’m not even thinking about Selena.
I'm thinking about you.

She smiles politely. And after spending these last few months watching you, I've reached a conclusion. One you're not going to like...

You don't actually want to be the Adrenaline Champion.

There’s a moment of silence as the words settle. You think you do, but you don't...

You want the moment.
You want the celebration.
You want everyone talking about Dawn Lohan again.
You want everyone saying, ‘She's back. She did it. She took the championship from Deanna Frost.’

Her smile fades. But being champion starts the morning after. When the cameras aren't rolling. When your body hurts. When you've defended this championship against someone who wanted it just as badly as you did. When another challenger is already waiting after that one. When people stop congratulating you and start expecting you to keep proving you deserve it.

That's the part you haven't thought about. Because you've been so focused on taking that you forgot to ask yourself whether you're prepared to carry.

Another breath comes from Deanna as she hold the title against her shoulder. You've spent months trying to convince everyone that I'm vulnerable. Again, you're right. I am. I'm vulnerable every single day: I've cried. I've doubted myself. I've questioned decisions. I've lost sleep. I've wondered whether I could have done things differently. I've wondered whether I could have saved someone I love from becoming someone she never wanted to be...

There’s a long silence before Deanna shifts back to the camera. I don't hide that. I never will. Because vulnerability isn't weakness. It's honesty. And honesty takes far more courage than pretending you're invincible. Pretending you’re unstoppable as you lose match after match... She tilts her head. You know what weakness actually looks like?

It looks like attacking people from behind. It looks like hurting Kimberly Williams to hurt me. It looks like surrounding yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear instead of what you need to hear. It looks like convincing yourself that respect can be stolen...

It can't. Like CHBK said, it has to be earned!

Her emerald eyes are like sharp daggers at the viewers – one particular viewer. I've watched Kimberly get back up. I've watched myself get back up. I've watched people in this company get back up after things far worse than what you and Frank have done!

She smiles. That's what SCW has always been! People getting back up.
People refusing to stay down.
People earning every inch they gain.
And that's why you aren’t getting that moment you crave, Dawn Lohan!

Because you’ve forgotten how to get back up!
You’ve forgotten how to keep fighting!
You’ve forgotten how to earn every inch! Every opportunity!
Instead, you took everything that was ‘wonderful’ about you and you burned it down!

Deanna gives a quiet shake of her head. I don't hate you, Dawn. I don't even dislike you. I think you're making a terrible mistake. I think somewhere along the way, you started believing that becoming feared was the same thing as becoming great.

It isn't.

You know who people fear? Bullies. Tyrants. People who make life miserable for everyone around them. You know who people remember?

The people who inspired them.
The people who earned their admiration.
The people who represented something bigger than themselves.

She gently lifts the championship from her shoulder, holding it in both hands. You've spent months trying to catch me at my weakest. And now I stand before you as not only one of the longest reigning Adrenaline champions in SCW history, but the winner of the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament and the 2026 Taking Hold of the Flame Battle Royale winner...

So, I wonder if you or Frank have stopped to consider something... she tilts her head. What if...

This is my strongest?

She lets the question breathe. What if everything that's happened: Selena, Kimberly, everything you've thrown at me...

What if none of it broke me? What if it reminded me who I am?

What if people have been asking the wrong question? What if it isn't whether I'm ready for Dawn Lohan... but is Dawn Lohan ready for me?

Not ready for the grieving woman.
Not ready for the wife.
Not ready for the mother.
Not ready for the friend.
Ready for the champion.

The woman who's defended this championship against everyone placed in front of her. The woman who refuses to let the circumstances outside the ring dictate who she is inside it. The woman – the wildfire - who has learned that hope and strength aren't opposites... They're partners!

She steadies her stance. Compassion doesn't make me easier to beat, Dawn. It makes me harder. Because I don't fight out of anger or ego or accolades. I fight because I love this! She looks down at the championship one final time. And I love representing everyone who's ever been told they weren't enough. Everyone who's ever had to earn every opportunity. Everyone who's ever gotten back up!

She looks into the camera again. Dawn... You've spent months trying to convince everyone you belong where I stand. Now you finally get the chance to prove it.

I told everyone earlier that they were right. My family still needs me. My friends still need me. The people I love still need me. Those things don't disappear because a championship is on the line. They're part of who I am... She smiles warmly. And that's exactly why you're in trouble.

Because every one of those people reminds me what I'm fighting to protect!

They remind me why getting back up matters.
They remind me why earning something matters.
They remind me why I'll never take shortcuts.
They remind me why this championship deserves better than entitlement!

One last pause from the champion. You wanted this match. You wanted this championship shot. You wanted my full attention. You've finally earned all three.

But understand something before that bell rings. You aren't facing a distracted champion. You're facing a woman who's never been more certain of herself. A woman who has lost enough to know exactly what she's unwilling to lose. A woman who doesn't need this championship to know who she is but intends to make sure it leaves Breakdown with the same person who brought it there!

And when it's over... I hope you'll finally understand the difference between wanting to be champion...and earning the right to remain one.

Checkmate, bitches!

The camera lingers for a moment as Deanna turns and walks back toward the house, the back door closing softly behind her before the screen fades to black.[/color]