“The Rebel Princess” Cassie Wolfe vs. La Luz Pequena

[Wisteria Waltz]

We open up on a beautiful sunny day in the city of Memphis, although it's easy to tell that it's a hot one out today. Perhaps that's why we find ourselves at Shelby Farms Park, where many people can be seen with kayaks and paddle boats out enjoying the water. With playgrounds, zip lines and trails galore as well, it truly is a park that feels like there's something for everyone, and on a day like today, that makes it the perfect place to get some fresh air when you need it. That might be why we find La Pequeña Luz and Amelia Blythe sitting on the grass together, though their tanktops and shorts perfectly line up with the fact that we may have caught them in the middle of an outdoors workout today. The both of them take some time to stretch themselves out before Luz notices the camera and turns to initiate a hushed conversation with her girlfriend, though anyone who is able to pick up bits and pieces of it quickly realizes that it's in Spanish.

With an encouraging nod from Amelia and her arm motioning toward us, Luz rolls back before she kips up to her feet, taking a moment to wipe away some sweat as best as she can considering that she's sticking with strict lucha libre traditions regarding her mask even on a scorcher of a day like this. Amelia grabs a water bottle and tosses it to her so she can grab a drink and stay hydrated before she turns and moves closer to us, allowing our main focus to be on her while Amelia resumes stretching in the background, noticeably focusing most of her stretching on her knee. Luz takes a deep breath before we see her trademark smile cross her lips.

“So, it's been a while since you guys have gotten to hear from me, and in that time things have... well, they could've been better honestly. Taking Hold of the Flame didn't pan out so well for either of us, but what kind of wrestlers would we be if we let that keep us down for long? In all honesty, we both had a feeling that winning the battle royal wasn't going to be in the cards for us, not at this stage of our careers anyway, but that still didn't stop us from entering anyway and seeing how far we could go. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, after all, and while neither one of us may be main eventing Rise to Greatness, that doesn't mean we won't have a place on that show in some capacity. It's all about traveling that road and seeing how things shape up, especially since last Breakdown has confirmed that The Light In The Darkness is done with our self-imposed exile from the Tag Title hunt.”

Luz's smile notably slips as she mentions this, and she finds herself taking another deep breath before she continues.

“I'm going to be upfront with all of you right now... with where we're at right now, Amelia and I still aren't completely sure if we're ready yet to be the leaders the tag division needs right now holding those titles. That's not going to stop us from pursuing them, and maybe when we earn our next shot we'll truly feel like we're ready, but we put that decision in the hands of Selena Frost because she's a woman we respect not just for what she's done in this business but because she wants the same thing we do at the end of the day: wrestlers settling their differences in the ring and proving who's better, fair and square, on that night. Heck, the fact that she and Deanna halted our Tag Title hopes months ago and then Amelia managed to beat Deanna weeks ago in the U.S. Title tournament is proof enough that one result doesn't guarantee anything. If we meet the Frosts in that ring again regardless of the circumstances, there's no guarantee of who's going to prevail on that night or any other night in the future if and when it happens, which is proof that you can absolutely push yourself to improve with every single match you have, even if it's someone you've already beaten once before.

The reason I bring all of this up is twofold. Obviously, we get why Selena may have, at least in our opinion, called a premature end to our self-imposed limitations even if it's not exactly why we wanted this scenario to come about. It's clear to see that she's under a lot of stress right now, especially with the looming fact that SCW's ownership will be changing hands very soon and no one knows who will be in charge or what to expect from them, and I can't lie and say that wanting Ace and Ravyn to no longer be champions is something that Ames and I agree with. Keep in mind that I willingly threw myself into the kind of chaos they're bringing about to all their matches so Selena had help while her wife and my girlfriend could keep their focus on the classic they had later on that Breakdown. I know the kind of games they play and why it would be better for the tag division if they aren't sitting at the top of it anymore.

The other reason is one that's... a little more personal to me on a professional level. I know I'm not the only one who's taken notice of the fact that Amelia's established herself pretty well so far in the singles department, reigning as TV Champion for a little bit and reaching the finals of the U.S. Title tournament. I, on the other hand... I have yet to even score a win on my own yet, and that's bothered me more than I care to admit. I know I'm more than capable of succeeding like Amelia has... heck, I'll forever be known as the one who scored the winning fall in the first ever twelve person tag match in SCW history and I've managed to pin a few former World Champions. It's easy to forget about things like that when you realize they were all in tag matches and could make the argument that I didn't do it on my own, and that's exactly the kind of pit I found myself falling into for a bit. That, however, is why meeting Amelia so long ago was the best thing that could've ever happened to me. She helped talk me through all of those thoughts... thoughts I haven't had in a long time, not since the earliest days of my career where no one saw me as La Pequeña Luz but rather 'El Espíritu Angélico's daughter' and nothing but. If it wasn't for our healthy relationship both inside and out of the ring, my light could be a lot dimmer right now talking about all of this.

Us professional wrestlers aren't perfect, and a lot of our mental and emotional struggles are ones that many out there can empathize with. Take it from someone who's admittedly struggled with opening up about her problems and constantly chooses to bottle them up inside: don't be afraid to talk with the people closest to you if you feel you need help, because a good support system can make a world of difference.”

Luz turns to glance back at Amelia, who sheepishly smiles and nods given that those words are directed at her as much as Luz herself or anybody watching. When Luz turns around again, her smile is back in place and she's looking a lot more positive now, energized by her own pep talk.

“It's funny that I bring up that historic tag match from all the way back at Body, Heart & Soul because while Amelia will be taking it easy for the time being after what happened to her knee at Taking Hold of the Flame—don't worry though, because she'll be good to go again well before Rise to Greatness is upon us—I find myself with the chance to finally erase that goose egg from the win column of my solo record against someone who was on the opposite side of the ring from me in that very match, as well as someone who I can relate to when it comes to feeling like it's been a struggle getting anything going around here. Cassie Wolfe is someone who's made no secret of how frustrated she is with how things have gone so far for her around here and how many in this company see her, and the thought of getting a win over me and maybe getting on some sort of a roll does sound enticing. If nothing else, she's acknowledged how persistent she is and that keeping at it will pay off eventually.

Between that and our preferred styles, it's not hard to see how similar we truly are.

That said Cassie, there is something to be said about learning from experience. Despite my struggles from a singles standpoint, every match I've had has been an opportunity to learn and evolve, bettering my chances of making that next opportunity the one where everything finally comes together for me. Whether it's singles or tag, there's always something to take away from every match that will help me ultimately become the kind of wrestler that everyone else can look up to and learn from, and even after five years of being a wrestler and learning from both my father and his closest friends after his passing, I'm still learning new things and ironing out kinks in my gameplan to reach the point where I can call myself a champion and a torch-bearer in this company. Being a hungry rookie is all well and good, but it's hard for people to get behind that if you can't find a way to put all the pieces together. I learned that lesson the hard way once upon a time, and now it's a lesson I'll have to teach you come Breakdown because finally being able to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'm every bit as capable as Amelia is flying solo and we truly are just as good apart as we are together is the feeling of catharsis she and I both need right now to pick ourselves up after Taking Hold of the Flame so we can sprint full steam into whatever our very first Rise to Greatness has in store for us.

By the way, just to be nice and clarify something Cassie: while you at least were able to use Google Translate to understand what my name means, I don't think you realized that by choosing to refer to me as 'Pequeña' you were calling me 'small' or 'little' the whole time... ironic considering you're a rare case where I actually find myself as the bigger wrestler going into a match even if it's not by much. There's a reason most people usually just shorten my name to Luz in conversation.”

Luz can't help but chuckle at that, at least showing she's taking the confusion in stride. She takes a moment to get another drink of water to make sure she can keep going in this heat before running a finger along the side of her mask.

“Speaking of lessons to be learned Cassie, you're going to have to find out through firsthand experience that there's a lot more to me than just being able to fly. Sí, it's common for a luchador to be able to take to the air to put on a show for everyone who comes to see us compete, but I've also found out the hard way that blind leaps of faith are just as likely to backfire as they are to pay off. High risk, high reward after all... and yet, one can still only fly so much before even that becomes predictable. Being concussed years ago because of one such attempt at high risk opened my eyes to that pretty quickly, and that's why I've had to adapt in order to further keep my opponents on their toes. Having a world class technician as a partner to learn from goes a long way for the both of us.

Perhaps that's something you could talk with YUYO about. Not only would it help you get to where you want to be learning some of her striking prowess to utilize, but it would also help the both of you bond as a potential tag team hunting for those titles.

It's funny to think how, despite this being a solo opportunity for the both of us, it does somehow ultimately go back to the tag division. After all, while there may still be some contenders the champions have to get through before the queue truly opens up again, this match could go a long way to figuring out who deserves to be closer to the top of that waiting list. That's just one possibility that could result from this match, and that's just one more reason for me to want to walk out of the FedExForum on Thursday night finally able to have my hand raised in victory after a one-on-one affair.

You're good Cassie, and the day will come where you'll be exactly where you want to be in this business. Until then, however, you need to be ready to bust your ass to get there even when things don't work out, and that's exactly what I've been doing since Amelia and I came back to SCW to prove both to the fans and to ourselves that we belong on this ultra-talented roster of the best this business has to offer. I wish you the best of luck Cassie, but I apologize in advance if Breakdown doesn't turn out the way you want it to because this match is the spark that will start lighting the way to Rise to Greatness, and I can't afford to let this one be snuffed out so easily. But don't get discouraged Cassie... seguir luchando... keep fighting.”

Luz nods before turning and walking back to where Amelia is sitting, having finished the last of her stretches and opting to watch her girlfriend further prove that she was more than ready to start being seen on equal singles ground as her. Luz helps Amelia back to her feet, being mindful of her knee despite Amelia telling her it's doing much better today. As we fade away, the last thing we can hear is Amelia clearly reassuring Luz that she nailed it and she's got this, Luz's smile in response looking brighter than ever.