Meghan Strader vs. La Pequena Luz

[Wisteria Waltz]

Perhaps it's a bit surprising to find ourselves at Wembley Stadium today, though there's currently no roar from a passionate crowd and no soccer being played. If anything, we can already see glimpses of the transformation as SCW has completely taken over, turning the proud stadium into the sight of the company's next big pay-per-view event: Retribution. A fitting name in most scenarios, especially when you consider the structure currently set up around the ring: the Thunderdome. Long considered one of SCW's most dangerous matches, the Thunderdome is a structure that, up until now, has almost always come into play only when there's a conflict that has grown so wild and violent that this is the only structure that can finally settle things once and for all. This massive dome of chain-link and steel surrounding the ring has long since earned its reputation as a match that can shorten careers and guarantee that those who enter its confines never leave the same.

At Retribution, however, the Thunderdome's purpose is not to contain an otherwise uncontrollable war... it's merely about having long overdue finality.

Perhaps that is why we can see a lone figure sitting at the very top of the dome, near the small hole that serves as the only way in or out of this living hell once it encloses the ring. Never one to meet a risk she wasn't willing to take, La Pequeña Luz looks over the structure beneath her as though she were meeting a new friend, perhaps already contemplating all the different ideas she could use once trapped inside to make the most of the space she'll have to work with. The look in her eyes isn't one of someone perhaps a little more unhinged who's salivating at the potential violence and bloodshed that awaits her... more the determination of a champion who knows she's going to have to endure hell itself to keep her title, and as she runs her fingers along the side plates of the United States Championship currently dangling from the roof of the cage like a prize waiting for someone to come and claim it, Luz appears to have accepted what she's gotten herself into.

“You know... in a twisted sort of way, this almost feels appropriate. For as much as everyone wants to praise me and put me on a pedestal these days, there's one dark cloud that still lingers over my head. Anyone who's followed the careers of The Light In The Darkness throughout our time in SCW know full well that Retribution has historically been a cursed event for us. This was the pay-per-view where our very first run ended when Ames and I were both injured, it's where we took our first shot at the World Tag Team Championships together and fell short despite our best efforts. Yeah, two years ago we thought we finally cleared that bar when we won back our Tag Titles to start reign number two, but considering the unnecessary chaos that followed? I'm not sure I could truly call it the lone bright spot of our time here... and, of course, that says nothing about last year when our third Tag Title reign was finally brought to an end.

I'm sure you're picking up on a theme here... while Retribution has always been a struggle for Ames and I together, this will be the first year I've wrestled on this stage by myself. And what a way to do it, huh? I get to set foot inside one of SCW's most dangerous structures, knowing full well I'm not going to walk out the same person I walk in as... don't worry, I promise you all that it's going to take a lot more than whatever this dome beneath me has to throw my way to snuff out La Pequeña Luz. And before those of you out there who I know are eagerly waiting to open your mouths and claim that every setback that's made this specific pay-per-view into the albatross hanging around my neck is Amelia's fault... do me a favor and save it, guys. I'm tired of having to make it clear that I know my own wife better than you do and know, with absolute certainty, that she is and always has been on my level, even if it doesn't seem that way as of late.

Heck... maybe you'll stop thinking so highly of me if this match doesn't pan out like those of you who only want to support me and not her want it to. You never know what could happen in a match like this, after all... I could lose the United States Championship outright, I could be forced to vacate it because I go and get seriously hurt fighting to keep it. To those fickle fans out there who only want me to succeed because I seem to be the hot new thing right now... I'm sorry, and assuming you haven't already moved on just because I got pinned so Cid Turner got to go out on a high note in one of his last matches, I can only hope that I earn your true faith someday, even when I'm at my lowest.

To those of you who have always supported Amelia and I, who want to see us both walk out of Retribution victorious and hopefully, finally, making this dream of proving ourselves as SCW's top two champions at the same time a reality very soon... thank you, all of you, and rest assured that despite needing to be looked at after the bell rang at Breakdown, I'll be entering this nasty-looking warzone at 100% and ready to shine like I always try my best to.

And hopefully that puts your concerns at ease too, Meghan.”

Luz reaches down and runs her fingers along the links of chain, deep in thought about how everything got to this point. She knows it's been a long and arduous road for sure, and it's clear that neither one of them have been fully satisfied by how events have played out. But she seems to know that by the time the bell rings on Sunday night, there will finally be closure.

“Amelia told me you came around while I was being checked on, and I appreciate the concern, Meghan. I'd be lying, though, if I said it didn't feel a little weird at this point, and not because you're my opponent. In many ways, you're just like Asher Hayes has been, or like how Glory Braddock has been to Amelia at times... I clearly respect you, and I can tell you have respect for me, but it's hard to truly see it sometimes. After all, I've been paying attention since all of this started between us. You've told me, to my face, that you respect me and you feel I'm worthy of calling myself a World Champion someday. As flattering as that was, I still came back for you and this title because as far as I was concerned, Under Attack didn't truly prove anything... not when the very man who will challenge for the World Title this Sunday night stuck his nose in our business and created the question I know has been haunting you, even if you don't want to admit it:

If Gavin Taylor hadn't gotten involved on that night, could I have truly beaten La Pequeña Luz?

And then there was Shattered Reality... believe me, Meghan, you're not the first to take issue with me winning a match involving multiple people and not beating you specifically. It's why I'm not going to sit here and claim, honestly and sincerely, that I truly beat you or proved anything on that night... I simply competed according to the rules we had to work with and ended up winning back this title. That's also why I knew that we were destined to meet again, and why this next match between us had to be something that will undeniably decide, once and for all, which of us is the better wrestler at this point in time. Something where it's just you and me... no excuses, no what if's, no more debating.

For far too long, you've tried to get me to move on from this title and let you reign with it, you've accused me of spitting in the face of everything that makes me who I am all because I played to the rules before me and took my chance... you know, that killer instinct you and so many others have claimed both Amelia and I lack to put yourselves on a level above us. This Sunday night, it all comes to an end, and we can finally resolve this once and for all.”

Luz takes a moment to unclip the U.S. Title belt from the roof of the Thunderdome before she rests it in her lap, leaning back a bit as she maintains her balance atop the curve of the structure, looking down at the steep drop from her current position and gazing out at all the crew members hard at work to get everything ready for another incredible SCW show.

“I won't lie, Meghan... I probably wouldn't have picked the Thunderdome if I had a say in the matter. Anyone who's seen this match throughout SCW's history knows it's the place where heated, vicious blood feuds go to finally be settled, and I'd hardly call everything we've been through a blood feud. Maybe that's a bit one-sided on my part for all I know, but one thing I can't deny is that this structure will give us everything we could've ever asked for. Just you and me, no one else able to interfere, and by the time it's all set and done, we'll know beyond a shadow of a doubt who truly deserves this championship.

Make no mistake, though... just because this isn't where I thought this would ultimately end up doesn't mean I'm afraid, nor does it mean I'm simply going to roll over and let you brutalize me if that's how far you want to go to pry this title from my cold, dead hands. Leading into Under Attack, Meghan, you made it clear you did your homework about my father and what he meant not only to me, but to Mexico and lucha libre as a whole. You claimed you knew why that first encounter was on a night that was sacred to me, falling on Día de Muertos. But if you truly know something about that holiday and what it represents in my culture, then you know why I won't ever be afraid, not of you or a match like this. To me, death is not the end... it is simply a new beginning, and while I doubt SCW would ever let things within this living nightmare go that far, I also know that I have no reason to hold back. Whatever risks I will need to take, whatever violence I will have to endure from you... I will face it all head-on, as I've always done and will continue to do so long as there is breath in my lungs.

I'm not a violent person, Meghan... maybe you think that gives you the edge here, that I'm walking right into your house and begging to be put down because I'm out of my depth. You couldn't be further from the truth... I know that once we're locked inside, this becomes a fight for survival. I know that I will have to do whatever it takes, even respond in kind to whatever horrible things you have planned, and that's exactly what I will do to leave my wife's home country with this title. I will adapt however I need to, just as I've done any other time I've found myself in a match where things were going to get bloody and brutal, because that's what it means to me to be a champion worthy of holding not just the United States Title, but any title in SCW.

I've survived attempts to end my career, efforts to cripple me, immense blood loss... even going beyond SCW, I've had attempts on my life from people who really do not want me to continue existing in this world, and I'm still standing, still smiling, and still raring to go. Give me your best shot Meghan, because I'll respond in kind. I'm not afraid... if anything, I'm excited for this opportunity, I'm going to love the chance to make the most of this spotlight SCW has given us, and I can only hope that there are no hard feelings by the end of the night when this dome raises and Jason Phillips makes the announcement that will send this place into a frenzy:

And still your SCW United States Champion... La Pequeña Luz.”

Luz nods to us, the sentiment of 'good luck' not needing to be spoken into existence because Luz already knows Meghan is going to bring her absolute best to London. But even if she has to walk through hell to make it happen, it's clear by the lack of fear in Luz's eyes and the grin on her lips as she finally starts climbing down from the top of the Thunderdome that she has no intention of leaving a city where she's made a name for herself long before coming to SCW without the same title she'll be walking in with, no matter what she has to do to make that happen.