Light in the Darkness vs. Hollywood

[Wisteria Waltz]

We open up to find ourselves with a close-up view of the SCW World Tag Team Championship belts, a reminder of the prize that every tag team in SCW strives for every single match. As we pull back, we see that the titles are proudly propped up on a table where Amelia Blythe and La Pequeña Luz sit, looking to be in their hotel room in Ottawa. The two of them are preoccupied with a rather interesting task: painting what look like a bunch of clay-sculpted sugar skulls that have been molded by hands who know a thing or two about throwing and firing pottery. The detail on the skulls themselves is already incredible, but the paint the couple are adding to them is truly bringing them to life in all the deep, intricate little ways that call to mind the image of the iconic Día de Muertos symbol. There are several skulls scattered across the table, some of which are posed with the title belts almost like a pseudo-ofrenda for the holiday, and the curious thing to note is that each skull bears a different design, making them all unique. Perhaps what stands out the most are the finishing touches they're putting on the skulls they're currently working on: Amelia's is decorated in blues and whites with painted snowflakes and small dragons as well as simplified art that we recognize as the center plates of various SCW championship belts, while Luz's also bears these simplified championship icons, though less numerous in number, along with autumn leaves painted all along the skull and drawings of a lion's head proudly roaring.

The two take a moment to smile at one another as they appreciate the work they've done before they gently set the skulls in the middle of the table for the paint to dry, taking a moment to clean up their workspace a bit before they turn their chairs to face us, not caring that their hands and the clearly old clothes they're wearing are stained with paint in all colors of the rainbow. It doesn't change the fact that they're sitting proudly before us, ready to share what's on their minds.

“You'll have to pardon the mess. We knew we'd need to say some things regarding the upcoming Breakdown, but Amelia and I have also been busy with another endeavor, one that we're not afraid to fully reveal to the world now since I think you all knew it was coming sooner or later anyway. Next weekend is a holiday that is very important to my culture: Día de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead in English. I know a lot of you out there are probably familiar with the holiday, but where I come from, it's not just another holiday... it's an important night to anyone who has lost someone, as we believe that during the time of Día de Muertos, the spirits of the departed return to visit us as we not only honor their memory but also celebrate everything that has to do with life itself and everything that makes it so wonderful. I know I spoke quite a bit last year around this time about what the holiday means to me personally, but this year, mi amor and I plan on truly embracing the very heart of what makes Día de Muertos so magical by taking a very big step forward in our lives.”

“I'm sure many of you vividly recall Rise to Greatness last year where Luz and I proposed to one another during the entrance for our match. Here we are, a little over a year later and a bunch of personal matters finally laid to rest that were holding everything up, but for Día de Muertos this year we plan on finally tying the knot and making our union well and truly official. Obviously I don't want to talk too much about it right now because we want to actually be made official first, not to mention we'll no doubt have quite a bit to say about it heading into Under Attack just a few nights afterward and whatever that pay-per-view has in store for us, but make no mistake: the two of us are excited to be able to take that next step in the journey of our lives together and become something more. That also leads to an interesting little detail I need to make clear right here and now because it actually makes this upcoming match we have to wrestle a little more important.

This Thursday night on Breakdown, live from the Canadian Tire Centre right here in Ottawa... will be my final match under the name Amelia Blythe.”

Amelia lets those words sink in for a moment as Luz reaches over the table and gently takes her hand, the two of them smiling at the implication. Maybe that isn't as significant to the rest of the SCW roster or the fans, but they both know how much it will mean to Amelia when she's finally unshackled from her family's name and free to truly decide who she wants to become from here without the burdens of her past weighing on her back anymore.

“Maybe there's some of you out there who think that's not important, and maybe neither is all the work we're putting into unique wedding favors to thank everyone that we've invited to the ceremony, but the fact of the matter is that Ames and I have not been afraid to share parts of our lives with all of you because it just proves that, at the end of the day, we're human. We can make mistakes, we can feel both good and bad about the way things go, and we know there's plenty of cracks and scars that go into making The Light In The Darkness the women you see sitting before you now... and we don't care if you think any of this is dumb or boring or whatever, because we are who we are and we're not going to change anything on that front.”

“And why should we? Sure, there's been a lot of questions raised about us ever since we came back to SCW almost two years ago to the day now, but for all the things people want to hold against us—like the fact that we might be a little too nice to be wrestlers in many people's eyes—it hasn't once stopped us or hindered us from becoming three-time World Tag Team Champions together, among other accolades. It hasn't always been pretty, and we have the right to lament the asterisks that have unfortunately attached themselves to some of what we've achieved or may still achieve down the line, but make no mistake: if there's anything that matters just as much to us than the love we share with one another, it's the sport of wrestling. It's why we fought tooth and nail to climb to the top of the tag team mountain, why we've fought like heck to stay up here and help further raise the bar when it comes to arguably the greatest tag team division in the entire world.”

“Perhaps there are champions in this business who see non-title matches as a waste of time, or maybe an easy night of pay. We're not two such wrestlers. Look back over the past year at every single non-title match the two of us have wrestled together during any of our championship reigns and you'll see the pattern: we like to think of opportunities like these as proving grounds, a chance for the other teams on the roster to step up against us and give us their very best, to prove to us that maybe they have what it takes to go on and dethrone us. Even if they fall short, there's always something to be learned from matches like these, and that's something we embrace wholeheartedly and is a big reason why we've become the tag team we are today. After all, if you proved you're good enough to make it to the SCW roster, that's not a fluke... but that also doesn't mean the work is done. And that's why we want our opponents for this upcoming Breakdown to listen to us very carefully.”

“Ryan, Chris... the two of you call yourselves Hollywood for one reason or another. It's the last name you both supposedly share, it's the concept you've built yourselves around, it's the mindset that we've seen from you ever since you popped up in the crowd back during the Rise to Greatness pre-show like a couple of entitled influencers. Trust me when I say that when Luz and I made the decision to have a house together right here in the United States and become proper citizens of this country, we immediately crossed the city of Los Angeles off the list and decided to reside together in Anaheim instead. Nothing against LA itself because we know it's a beautiful city with a rich history, especially because of the film industry... but it's hard to picture ourselves being able to build a future for ourselves together surrounded by some of the unfortunate egos that city seems to attract, and the two of you are no exception.”

Luz can't help but sigh as her thumb gently massages Amelia's knuckles on the table, the two of them exchanging glances and smiling at one another for a moment before turning their focus back to us.

“Look guys, we really don't want to be too mean about this. After all, despite what some others have no doubt had to say about you, the fact that you made it onto the SCW roster, even despite the aforementioned incident Amelia brought up, is proof in and of itself that you're good enough to be here. You wouldn't have been offered contracts if that wasn't the case. The two of us certainly have no right to tell you both who you can and can't be, either. Heck, I come from a rich culture built around wrestlers presenting themselves as these larger-than-life figures and playing it up even when they aren't competing. That said, at the end of the day, only one thing truly matters to the both of us, and that's what kind of fight you're going to give us in that ring. All of your antics, whatever scandals you seem to constantly attract, what others think about you... all of that is irrelevant when that bell rings. All we ask is that you show us just how much it truly means to you that you've got this opportunity, to step up against the World Tag Team Champions to try and prove that you can take this seriously, that you can give us a fight and want to prove that you might have what it takes to one day take these titles from us.”

“When Luz says that, she doesn't mean being starstruck by the idea of sharing the ring with us or thinking we're just 'fans' of yours or anything else that falls in line with some of the antics the two of you have pulled up to this point. We know you're a capable tag team, we've seen hints of what you can do in the matches you've had up to this point when you actually put in the effort and try to act like wrestlers. That's the thing, though... if you want to be able to walk out of Ottawa this week claiming a huge victory over us, even if it's non-title, then that's the side of you we need to be able to see from bell to bell. Luz and I aren't coming to the Canadian Tire Centre to play games or take selfies or, God forbid, be treated like eye candy for whatever dumb script you probably think you can make out of this encounter. Lord knows I put up with enough of that having to work with Billy Heaven Jr. during Trios. We're coming into this match to give you guys everything that we have to try and earn this win, to keep our momentum going and not only prove why we have been World Tag Team Champions for most of this past year but also that, despite the questions and issues still hovering over our heads, we've earned the rewards we walked out of Apocalypse with.”

“We don't know for sure yet if we're going to be defending our World Tag Team Titles at Under Attack, nor who exactly will be stepping up to challenge us for them. Here's your chance Hollywood... you can either step up and show us just how badly you think you deserve to potentially have that opportunity.”

“Or you can accept that we're going to turn off your spotlight and march into Under Attack with one more win to our name, ready to continue our fight and prove why we've earned the right to be called arguably the greatest tag team in SCW today.”

With that, Luz and Amelia turn to nod at their title belts resting proudly among the work they've done so far on all the personalized sugar skulls that will serve as wedding favors in a little over a week's time, almost as though it were an acknowledgment not only of all the work they've put in to get to this point, but also everyone they know is in their corner supporting them and pushing them to greater and greater heights with every match. As they both get back to work on their little art project, we proceed to fade out and leave them to their task, knowing that they'll be fully focused and ready to fight come Thursday night on Breakdown.