[Mercedes Vargas]

"Reunited and it feels so good."

Mercedes laughs as she signs an autograph book for a female fan while at the same time trying to engage in conversation.

Mercedes: You enjoyed the show?

Female Fan: Yeah, it was pretty good. You and Keira never missed a beat out there.

Male Fan: Mercedes, who did you vote for in the election?

Mercedes: I voted for…the candidate who would do the least harm to the country. It’s not like it can’t get any worse, right?

One or two people ask for their picture to be taken. A man stands next to Mercedes, holding up a camera phone and poses before the snapshot is taken. He trades spaces with three female fans, each wearing SCW t-shirts, as another shot is taken. With another stroke of a pen, her last autograph request is fulfilled and she is finally relieved. She parts through the crowd, pulling her tote bag behind her. She turns back and waves.

Mercedes: See you next year, we love ya!

As she heads for the arena parking lot. Mercedes jumps in the air while clicking her heels together, but lands awkwardly. She gets up and continues on as onlookers helplessly stare.

~~~

Blog: Almighty Fire
semana del 3 al 10 de enero de 2021

My crystal ball isn't right all the time, but I have a good feeling there's going to be a new World Bombshell Champion in 2021. Call it a hunch, call it a premonition. The Era of Keira Fisher-Johnson is over, and not a moment too soon. Her reign is done. I guarantee it.

But just because I'm expecting a new champion to walk out in the new year doesn't mean the choices will revive the division. As of right now, Keira and whoever will be number one contender could be just about anybody. It could be Alicia looking to be a three-time champion, could be Andrea who's has had Keira's number in every one-on-one match they've been in. For all I know, Roxi might get another shot after everything that went down in her title match simply because she's Roxi, the embodiment of everything that is right and fair and true.

That we're suffering through a first reign of Keira is one thing but another Christina Rose title reign is like giving an assassin another bullet for their gun because they missed you the first time. If you survived the first four reigns of Christina Rose, sorry, but you're still aren't getting a lousy t-shirt. A fifth reign would be worse. And another Roxi reign or another Alicia reign isn't much better. That's a dumpster fire right there.

Whoever wins, we ALL lose.

Like I said before my match with Keira, that wasn't a real celebration when she beat Alicia for the Bombshell Title at High Stakes. All this talk about believing in yourself and never giving up and overcoming obstacles? All Keira really proved at High Stakes is that anybody can be World Bombshell Champion.

In a lot of ways, Keira should be kissing the ground Andrea walks on for saving her title reign - not that she really cared about her or her wife - because it would have ended either with Roxi laying down so she could pin her shoulders to the mat for the three-count or she would have gotten herself disqualified.

I always wondered how Keira became so popular. Not that she's World Bombshell Champion. Not that she retained by the skin of her teeth in her first defense. She got the attention of all those fickle fans who will sing your praises today and despise you tomorrow. If anyone think they're supposed to be intimidated by her, she's going to be sadly mistaken. Dreams may come true, but dreams can also shatter. Which is the reality she'll be waking up to when she's beaten and be the good little transitional champion she is, was, and always will be.

So I've been noted as being bitter, disgruntled and outspoken. Awesome. Look, I'm not in a position where I feel like I need to be pushed around and take whatever is given to me. If I don't like something I'm going to say something, and I don't give a damn who likes it. I don't care about the money, so they can fine me and take away bonuses all they want, but that isn't going to shut me up. Personally, the favorite to beat Keira in a future title match should be me, but I'm going to step aside and not be selfish for a moment.

SCW has a roster that's capable of leading the company into the future and many new faces will eventually find their way to the company, but it's going to take more than a mean streak to survive in the Bombshell Division. Year after year, SCW signs all these new talent and only a few has managed to stick around. Krystal and mystery girl from GRIME hiding behind a mask both mean well, but this is not Sin City Underground where they had it so good, this is Sin City Wrestling where the big kids play.

Alice, on the other hand, is nothing more than an underachiever, which is kind of shocking when you think she's been in SCW, on-and-off. But I need something explained to me: why is it that people like Alice get to come and go from SCW whenever she pleases? What makes her so special, huh? It’s no secret that she won’t have much to offer in this match. It's painfully obvious that she won’t even take this match seriously because honestly, by the same token, even after four years of holding a roster spot, she's still nothing but another fringe player on the Bombshells roster. How she Christian Underwood got her another contract is a miracle in and of itself.

Now, Johanna Krieger had a very strong first year, maybe the best in recent memory, I'm not going to deny that. Three championships in a single year, fastest two-time Bombshell Roulette Champion in history, one-half of the most defending Mixed Tag Team Champions in history. Like I said, a very strong year, but can she repeat that success, only time will tell. In the meantime, Johanna has her match with Mikah this weekend, and I wouldn't miss that for the world.

As far as Sunday, if Johanna had to pick who she wanted to defend her title against, I think she'd want to be find someone who would really push her. There is nothing as more unpredictable than a Roulette Rules match. You have all these unseen elements; you have to expect the unexpected. I've been in more Roulette Rules matches than anyone; Royal Purple and Krystal Wolfe has never had such a match until now while Alice has only been in one, and that was her SCW debut four years ago. Pretty sure this gives me an advantage, no?

Now, Royal Purple beat an accomplished performer in Candy. She did something I have yet to do, and it was on her first try, too. She beat a former Bombshell Roulette Champion who held that title for over five months in only her second match and when you're able to pull off something like that, it definitively means you're going places, and to be honest, I'm looking forward to being in the ring with Royal Purple. She probably won't feel the same about me, but I'll manage.

Maybe because Krystal has been trained by two of the best in the SCW that she thinks she can run figure-eights around the other girls on this roster, and you know, I wouldn't doubt it for a second. Don't get me wrong, she has a bright future, her SCU career notwithstanding, but Krystal is going to be in for a rude awakening the same way she got in her last match against her fellow OG alum, Tempest.

I may not be the most popular or being Mark Ward's favorite Bombshell or being voted number one on some stupid list, but I'm renowned for being the Champion of Champions, and now is my time to actually win some gold. If there is anyone who is bona fide, certified, and qualified to put a stop to Johanna's title reign at Inception - that is, if she's even champion by then - SCW management found the right one. If there is any Bombshell Johanna thinks she can intimidate, she found the wrong one, and if there is any Latina who is going to be the new champion in 2021, they got the best one.

I've accomplished so much in SCW already as a multi-champion, Grand Slam Champion, Hall of Famer - and the list goes on and on if you want to go to Wikipedia yourself - that it’s easy forget that it's been eight years since I debuted.

Next Sunday isn't an audition, it's a reminder. You don't have to be impressed with my accomplishments; I can sleep at night with my eyes closed and I don't have to wake up every day to impress none of you. You may not like that I am one of the top stars in the Bombshells Division, but you better learn to love it because I am a dynasty. This isn't a race, it's a marathon, and I don't think any of you can keep up.

The gloves are off, the war paint is on, and the checklist is always at hand. Hope springs eternal and it will only be a matter of time, a matter of when, not if, and a matter of who I'll have to go through to get another opportunity at championship gold. Like it or not, believe it or not, I'm walking out of the first Climax Control of 2021 with my hand raised and being one step closer to making history one more time.

So then the question isn't who's going to let me...

it's who's going to stop me?

~~~

L O S A N G E L E S • C A L I F O R N I A

Despite all of the unpredictable and, at times, improbable things that happened during the 2020 calendar year-- no wrestlers from Sin City Wrestling, Sin City Underground or GRIME lost to COVID-19, Teddy Warren-Steele's sudden crossdressing phase and nabbing an SCW Year-End Award, Violet Amelia Holt, Jessie Salco, and Keira Fisher-Johnson winning titles, to name a couple -- Mercedes Vargas finishing the year with only four wins and winning zero championships feels uniquely odd in a career conditioned by seven years of domination.

What have Mercedes learned in 2020? It was a good question. They say that in life, nothing ever stays the same, though she wondered if she could say the same for herself. Have she really changed at all last year? Did she manage to reach check off all the boxes over the past twelve months? Another good question.

She heard a fly buzz when she died...

A wreath of white flowers, roses and daises surrounds a closed white casket.

But she was pretty sure it was crying. Pretty sure...

Minister: We are gathered here today to mourn the sudden passing of a dear friend to all of us…

As the grief-stricken stand shoulder to shoulder at the burial grounds, we noticed that Mercedes Vargas is amongst them, dressed in a jacket, blouse and slacks. Ricardo, in a navy blue blazer and slacks, is with her.

Ricardo: She was so young. Of all people, why her? Why did she had to die?

Mercedes:: It.

Ricardo: What?

Mercedes: Why did it had to die.

Ricardo: I know you two weren't very close, but you will NOT refer to her as a thing!

A fellow griever from behind offers him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

Fellow Griever: It's alright, son, it's alright. He may be gone, but he won't be forgotten.

There was a poster of a salt-and-pepper Tervurens dog, named Friday. Mercedes never did interact with the K-9 that served in the Santa Monica police force but she did read stories of the dog in the local paper or heard from her cousin Carmen who works for the LAPD. The way people tell it, Friday was treated like a decorated war hero from the stories they retold. Nonetheless, Mercedes may not have been all there physically, in spirit, or mentally at the funeral. Maybe all three.

Mercedes: Sorry, I'm just taking it hard. I once was a little late for the funeral of the creature that named after me. My brother's parrot.

Fellow Griever: Yeah, and what did he die from?

Mercedes: I don't want to say, too embarrassing.

Fellow Griever: Can't be that bad.

Mercedes: Talking too much.

Come for the grieving, stay for the refreshments.

~~~

L O S A N G E L E S • C A L I F O R N I A

It's Not Whether You Win or Lose: Gatekeeper the 25th: Mentiras, Malditas Mentiras (Lies, Damned Lies..., Part X)

[REC•]

"Some things are better left unsaid, but you can bet I'm going to say it anyway. I can't help being who I am."

We fade in on Mercedes Vargas sitting in a director’s chair in front of the camera in front of a magenta backdrop. She is wearing a baby blue short dress that shows off her long and slender legs, one crossed over the other, and sandles.

"They say it's lonely at the top, and that couldn't be further from the truth. I was not the first to walk this trail, climb this mountain, or witness these views. Someday, one day, when I finally decide to hang up my wrestling boots and look back at my SCW career, I will realize that many will come after me. I'm just hopeful to leave my mark and, just as I'm thankful of those who came before, the future will be thankful for my accomplishments in time.

"If you want to talk about dedication, if you want to find one of the pillars of the women’s division, you don’t have to go very far. I’ve been on practically every show. Whether on Climax Control or at pay-per-view; whether I was featured in the opening match, the mid-card or main event, there was a good chance my name was on the card and a very good chance you would see me in the ring.

I'm too important in this company to ever be considered a stepping stone. I’ve reached milestones, shattered records, and dominated opponents since I joined the roster. With or without a title, I've proven without a doubt that I'm the most accomplished talent in the women's division and there is not a person alive on this roster that can say that I don’t have what it takes to become champion.

"Excuse me if I sound a little jaded. 2020 didn't go my way. What happened last year just added fuel to the fire and I'm coming back this year with a vengeance. Anyone who know me know I'm not one who needs extra motivation for any type of competition, let alone the first match of the new year. Requesting the 12-time champion is bold, but bold is not always wise."

Mercedes now speaks in Spanish, with her translation being highlighted.

"Ya sabes, meterse con el toro, coger los cuernos."
"You know, mess with the bull, get the horns."

She tosses her long, brown hair that is styled in ringlets which falls at the side of her face as she continues.

"I certainly wouldn’t want this to be all about me, but let’s face it, that’s what you’re going to get. Since we both know the results of who’s going to win, I guess we really don’t have much to talk about.

Or do we?

"Fortunately, I’m actually in a very good mood this week, and having you all as my opponents, even better. Don’t get the wrong idea, I‘m not out to hurt any of you. The least that could happen is you'll probably break a nail...

Probably.

"I’m just going to treat you all like any other opponent and be on my merry way. That’s all. No more, no less."

Mercedes slightly looks down shaking her head in disappointment before returning her gaze to the camera.

"We'll find out a lot of things come Sunday. Alice Knight loves to brawl and Royal Purple and Krystal Wolfe are like a cat in the ring, so agile and so impressive. Royal Purple especially thinks her agility will help her win Sunday, but she should also know that speed kills. At some point, she's going to tire herself out and that's when she's going to make a mistake. Against veterans like myself, we take advantage of those and make them pay. I like to think I have an excellent mat game and I am quick on my feet too, maybe not as I used to be, and I'm not afraid to take risks either. Now, they may be younger and think they're faster. I may be a little bit older, but I'm definitely smarter and wiser. Because for the first time ever, they're not in a match where they are the favorite. In other words, when Alice, Royal Purple, and Krystal step in the ring with this porteña, with this Latina, they're going to be in for a long night ahead.

"Oh, the mistakes of youth. Old enough to know better, young enough not to care. But that's not what this week is about, is it, chickadees? A roulette wheel decides what fun we're going to be having, and trust me, this is going to be as much fun for me as it will be for any of you."

She pauses for effect, lowering her voice just above a whisper.

"Estar preparado para lo peor, esperar lo mejor."
"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best."

"Y que la suerte está siempre en su favor.”
"And may the odds be ever in your favor."

Mercedes winks and blows a kiss at the camera, before returning to the coy, almost snobbish expression. She smiles again, and then waves and we fade to black.

***Fade***