End of the Year Open Invitational

[Erica Eden]

December 18, 2021

The IFW show was set to start in about an hour. Erica had made sure that Alex Kesselring was in attendance. Tonya was as well, it might be tricky to catch Alex alone. Erica knew Josh still thought she was wasting her time, trying to convince them not only to give her a chance, but to allow intergender fighting, since there were no other women on the roster. As Erica prepared in her mind what she would say, she wondered if it might be an easier task to convince Alex to just hire five or six other women as well, and create a women's division, than to talk him into intergender. Josh was certain the Kesselrings were adamantly against that sort of thing. Maybe she should suggest both options? It didn't matter to her one way or the other, Erica just wanted to compete, and she wanted to do it where her man also worked.

Sure, the man from SCW had come and spoken to Josh recently, about either making a return or being cut loose, but Erica was unsure about returning there if Josh did so. That was where she failed. Nina had told her it wasn't as bad as she thought, her record was fifty percent, two wins and two losses. But in Erica's mind she should have won all four, especially the Rise to Greatness weekend one. That's what embarrassed her more than the other loss. It was a triple threat against two other women, both who had been in the business a long time. Rationally Erica knew there should be no shame in getting beat out, but she felt that she should have been the one to make a statement, show the next generation was coming up and that the old guard were just that – old. Instead she was the one pinned and any thoughts of being part of some new guard movement went out the window. Erica didn't return after SCW's annual post-Rise break. Even though she knew she was ready to return to a ring, she wasn't sure it should be an SCW ring.

Dressed in jeans, a maroon sweater, and biker boots, Erica thought she looked as professional as she possibly could for a wrestling show when she saw Alex and Tonya backstage. Josh was in his locker room getting ready. Erica had been walking around, looking for her moment. She stood near a catering table, nursing a bottle of water as she watched the investor couple talk. After a few minutes, they smiled and nodded at each other, and Tonya walked away down the hall, while Alex started walking in her direction. This is my chance, Erica thought. She set the water bottle down, smoothed out her sweater, and stepped up as Alex passed her by.
“Hey Alex... can I talk to you for a minute?”
Alex gave Erica a smile, to her it looked fake. “Sure, Erica. I'll even give two minutes to the other half of my champion.” He chuckled. Erica fought the urge to roll her eyes.
“Thanks. So... as I'm sure you know, I've been training with Josh for a few years. I-”
“Yeah, yeah. He's told me you've got skills.”
“Good. I mean, that he's told you, so you know I'm not just blowing smoke.” Alex smiled that fake smile again. Get to the point, Erica. “With that in mind, I was wondering what you would think about adding the first female wrestler to the IFW roster?” Erica smiled, making it clear she meant herself. Alex made a face. Not a positive one. It was like a grimace, as he sucked air in through his teeth. “I'm not so sure about that, hon. I don't know if you know this, but we never really envisioned a women's division for IFW. If we hired you on, we'd have to hire a handful more women just so you could work... and we're barely breaking even so far as it is. I'm not sure we can afford a roster expansion like that.”
Undaunted, Erica smiled. “I thought you might say that, and there's a simple solution. Forget a women's division. I can fight men.”
Alex shook his head. “I never got behind the whole, everything is equal, thing in wrestling. Men are just bigger and stronger than women. Now now, don't get me wrong, I'm not some misogynistic asshole, I'm not gonna start talking about women having a place and all that. I just get real uncomfortable watching a man throw a woman around the ring. It's almost like... like abuse.”
“It's not abuse if we're willing to fight, Alex. We train just as hard, maybe even harder, than the guys, just to keep up. The truth is that the number of companies these days that keep men and women separate on the roster is shrinking. You're in the minority.”
“I know we are. That means we offer something different. If we went with this intergender thing, we'd be the same as a dozen other companies. This is Iron Fist, Erica. Tough, brutal, hard hitting. I'm sure you could hang with some of these guys, I've seen you working out. But there aren't many women who can. And honestly, I don't think much of this roster would be comfortable fighting you. I'd love to help you out, I really would. But... it just doesn't fit our business model. I'm sorry.”
Erica took a step back, trying her best to keep her coo. “So it's fine for other companies but not good enough for you?”
“It's just not who we are. You'd do great things in any one of those places that cater to that sort of thing. We just don't.” Alex shrugged, giving the impression he is done with the conversation. Erica sighed hard.
“Okay. Well. Thank you for your time.”
Alex gave her a nod with that same fake smile and walked away.

Erica stepped back, leaning against the wall. She balled up her fist and smashed it backwards against the wall. Josh had been right. Deep down she knew he probably would be, but she had to try. And it didn't make her any less angry. Hanging her head down, trying to keep her composure, Erica dreaded going into Josh's locker room to tell him what happened. He wasn't the 'told you so' type but he hated seeing her upset. The sound of a throat clearing made Erica snap her head up. One of the younger roster members, Ronin, was in front of her.
“I heard about half of that. I think he's full of shit.”
“Which part? That he wishes he could help me, or that he thinks I'd do well but just somewhere else?”
“The part about most of the roster not wanting to mix it up with women. A lot of us have worked in mixed roster promotions. As far as I know, only maybe one or two guys here don't like it. Older guys, old school pricks. Most of us? Really kinda hate the idea that being female means you can't fight a male. Like you said, you train just as hard. Especially you. I know, we've worked together. You'd probably kick my ass in a real match.” Ronin grinned. Erica liked him. He was a few years younger than her, but had skills on par with her, or even Josh. He was a fast learner and she enjoyed training with him.
“Thanks. Guess we won't get the chance to find out. Not here, anyway.”
“Never know. Stranger things than Alex changing his mind have happened. I think if enough of us really pressed him, he might give in. I can talk to the guys.”
“I appreciate that Ronin, I really do. But I don't really want to be seen as a charity case, begging for work. I'll just do what he said and go somewhere else.”
“Are you sure? Some of us have already discussed it a bit, but with a real reason-”
Erica held her hand up, stopping him. “I'm sure. But thank you.” Ronin seemed upset about her refusal. “Don't you have a match to get ready for?”
“That I do. Just... know that I at least have your back.”
Erica could only smile her reply as Ronin patted her shoulder before heading off.

With a deep breath, Erica walked down the hallway, towards Josh's locker room. She knocked, then walked in. Josh was sitting on a bench, getting his boots on.
“Hey babe.”
“I'd ask how it went, but I can tell by the look on your face. I'm sorry.”
Erica closed the door behind her then leaned against it. “I hate it when you're right. He was so condescending!”
“Some people are so set in their ways that they'll never change. If I had known this ahead of time I'd have found other investors.”
“There were no other investors, I have a memory.” Josh nodded. “I'll just... look around, you know? You could put out inquiries, like you said.”
Josh finished with his boots and stood up, walking over to Erica. He took her hands.
“I do have a suggestion. I've decided to enter the SCW invitational at their end of the year show. You could come with me. Enter as well.”
“SCW? I don't know...” Erica looked away. The place left a bad taste in her mouth.
“It's just an invitational, not a commitment.”
“It's a commitment for you. This means you've decided to honor your contract rather than let them release you.”
“Yes, it does. If they'll have me past the invitational. There is always the possibility they'll decide to cut bait anyway.”
“That would be a mistake, they need you.”
“We'll see. The invitational could determine more than a few things. And that's why I think you should enter, too. See how you feel being there.”
“You really think that's a good idea? It's a battle royal where we have no idea how many people are entering until the match starts. You think I can handle that, after not being in any real match in over a year?”
“I think you can handle anything you want to handle. Forget whatever it was Alex said to you. I'm sure it wasn't anything encouraging or nice. Listen to me, I'm behind anything you want to do. Listen to yourself. What do you really want? To be back in the ring, right?” Erica nodded. “This is literally an open door for you to do so. If it doesn't feel right, no harm. If it does... it could be a huge chance for you.”
Erica took a deep breath, looking down at her hands, that Josh was still holding. She gave his hands a squeeze, then looked back up. He was right, and this time she didn't hate it.
“You're right. If this is what I want, this is my chance. I'll do it.”
Josh kissed her, hard. “That's my woman.”

The hardest part about making the decision had been saying it. Now that it was out there, Erica was ready.

===================

I bet the SCW Universe never thought they'd see me again, other than maybe in Josh Hudson's corner. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I'd ever show my face back here, either.

I thought I was ready over a year ago. I thought I had enough training, I thought I had enough attitude, I thought I was gonna make something of myself. And all I feel like I did was fall on my face and make myself – and Josh – look like a fool. I should have kicked every ass put in front of me, right? I wasn't expecting to be faced with ring veterans right away. I wasn't expecting to be given such high expectations right away. Maybe I should have, I came in with a pedigree behind me, I was trained by living legend and Hall of Famer Josh Hudson. I should have been better than I was.

But I wasn't.

So, knowing I was in over my head, I just... didn't come back after that Rise to Greatness weekend, a year and a half ago. Some might say I tucked tail and ran. And maybe that's not wrong. All I knew is I didn't want to continue to disappoint Josh, disappoint myself.

I went back to training. I dove into it, working harder than ever before. Just when it seemed like I was really ready to be here... a few personal issues came up and took precedence. Josh had to step away. I couldn't go on the road on my own and leave him to sort out the things he was dealing with. They weren't his issues, they were ours. To face and work on together. So, I stayed by his side. He won't like me telling you this but he needed me, and I knew my place was with him.

We battled what needed battling. We handled what needed handling.

Life carried on, and now? We're both in a better place. That's obvious by the fact we're both turning out for this Invitational. Josh has his reasons, but I have my own.

I don't want my memory in SCW to be that of a woman who tried, failed, and gave up. That's not who I am. I stepped back for a while, I worked hard to improve. It's been too long since I've been inside a real ring rather than a practice ring. I'm in the best shape of my life, I've sharpened the skills I had and picked up some new ones. I tried to make an in-ring return on a smaller scale, I wanted to join Josh in IFW. They weren't interested. I was upset for about five minutes, then I realized that passing me up over antiquated and misogynistic ideas about what wrestling should be is really their loss.... not mine.

I know there's prizes to be won with this thing. Money, a car. Those would be nice, I'm not gonna turn them down if I somehow miraculously am the last one standing. But those things are not what I'm doing this for. The biggest prize for me? Is pride.

I admit I'm ashamed of the way I left here. I should have stuck things out, let experience in the ring be my extra training, learn in front of you all instead of hiding in New York in practice rings. It's far past time for me to get over it, walk out there full of confidence and show the world what I can do. I had skills back then, what I didn't have was the confidence to really put it on display.

I'm not walking in blind this time. I know what to expect in SCW. The highest level of competition in the business. A roster full of seasoned veterans, highly skilled talent, and newcomers who have already proven themselves at a high level. Each and every one of them can handle the pressure, the expectations that come along with working in a place like SCW. This time.... I'm out to prove that I can handle it, too.

We already know some of the competitors who are entering this match, some with tons of experience, at least one with almost none. There's no way to know how many more will be on the card before Friday night. Maybe to some people it matters, to me it doesn't. Yeah, I may have to fight Josh, we're prepared for that. I'm fully expecting to be targeted immediately as an easy elimination. To those who think that way and walk in with that strategy? I would tell them not to count on knocking me out being as easy as they assume.

Am I going to stick around past the Invitational? I don't know. We'll see how it goes. For me, just stepping out there in the place where I felt I embarrassed myself is a victory enough. Anything after that would be extra. One thing I can tell you though... no matter what I do after New Year's Eve, stick around in SCW, try my skills somewhere else, one thing I promise you is that you won't hear me talk about that false start again. It's in the past, and I'm not that person anymore. I've grown and learned so much about myself and this craft in the last year and a half and there is no reason to focus on what no longer exists.

Forget the past. It's time to create my own future.