OCTOBER 22, 2023
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
[Open in the backstage area where Ms. Rocky Mountains stands with a microphone in hand next to Mercedes Vargas, who is all smiles after an eventful High Stakes supercard. As the cameras are rolling for this exclusive interview, the Hall of Famer has since changed from her wrestling gear into street clothes, a patterned, pastel coloured crop top with high rise jeans, and is wearing her hair loose, sunglasses rests on top of her head.]
Mercedes: Start the interview, let's go. I've got a plane to catch.
Ms. Rocky Mountains: Well, alright. Mercedes, tonight you and longtime rival and fellow Hall of Famer Samantha Marlowe put on quite the match at High Stakes right here in Sin City. You get the 1,2,3. No more curse at High Stakes. Finally.
Mercedes: Finally.
Ms. Rocky Mountains: Your first win at this pay-per-view in nine years and third win overall.
[Mercedes performs a victory clasp gesture while Rocky continues.]
Ms. Rocky Mountains: That said, how does this win change your outlook on finishing this year on a positive note?
Mercedes: Surprised, Rocky? Don’t be. You didn’t need a crystal ball to realize that I was going to have my hand raised, it was expected. Samantha gave everything that she had. She still is one of the toughest Bombshells to beat in SCW. But after we put each other through hell, in the end there was always going to be one Hall of Famer left standing. They say what happens in Vegas stays there. Well, an exception was made. Because what happenned tonight was seen by the entire world.
Ms. Rocky Mountains: I guess the next question I just have to ask is…what's next for you on the cycle leading up to December 2 Dismember?
Mercedes: I don't know, I'm not sure. But it's going to be fun to find out.
[Mercedes rubs her hands together and turns to the camera. She then turns to Rocky.]
Mercedes: We done here?
Ms. Rocky Mountains: Do you have any -
Mercedes: Okay, thanks, bye.
[Smirking, Mercedes spins on her heels and walks off without another word.]
~~~
Blog: Almighty Firesemana del 5 al 11 de noviembre de 2023 The holiday season is just around the corner, but we know better because things really get going by the time Halloween rolls around. Millions of children across the country put on costumes and went out to get free candy and future cavities. That now leaves, well, Thanksgiving. And what does everyone do at this time of year? Stuff their face with turkey while remembering to be thankful for everything in life. I bet those fans in SCW are thankful for the overseas tours we’ve been on this year. I'm sure they're just as thankful for the entertainment after one of the biggest supercard events of the year happened three weeks ago.
Many will say that my victory over Samantha Marlowe was pretty decisive, and I can’t really argue that point. Truth was, I wanted to teach Samantha a lesson she would not soon forget, but I wasn't planning on stopping there. No, no, no. She was just the start. Those lessons I planned for Samantha will be the same lessons that my next opponent will be in for this Sunday. I come to teach Harper Mason a lesson that only I can teach. Because when she steps into my ring, she's no longer in Orlando, Florida. She's no longer in front of her fellow graduates at Hero Academy. She's now in my world. Her cousin has seen me make history again and again over the years. We've shared the ring together side by side, we’ve stood across the ring from each other many times. And if there is one opponent I have no shame in beating over and over again, it would be Jessie Salco.
For Harper, looking past this match would prove fatal. This is no time for her to put the proverbial cart before the horse. Because there was someone more than willing and able to overturn that apple cart. Barring injury, an act of God or being suddenly abducted by aliens, this match will happen. If Harper can pull off another daring escape Sunday night like she did at the High Stakes pay-per-view three weeks ago, then her mission would be complete. Defeat me at Climax Control, and maybe just maybe she will inch closer to achieving success the likes her cousin could only dream of. Fail, and maybe she will have to temper her expectations down a notch. Crossing two months since joining the roster, she might want to take that advice. Because whether before my prime, in my prime, or past my prime, Harper Mason is going to need a little bit of luck and a whole lot of talent to even keep up with me.
If you want a silver lining, Harper has been moderately impressive for a rookie, to say the least. Other than that, losing to Bea Barnhart isn't a bad thing - I've never lost to her in SCW, so I have that going for me - but at some point she's going to need to answer the question as to whether she can event step out of her cousin's shadow.
Come to think of it, maybe she already has.
I know I'm just a cog in the wheel and had I decided to quit today this company will march on with or without me - just as it did when Crystal Caldwell retired for the umpteenth time or when Roxi Johnson finally does - but think about the dark future you would have. Realize that Mercedes Vargas didn't need Sin City Wrestling. Sin City Wrestling needed Mercedes Vargas.
Many people believe that I should have hung up my boots a long time ago, most probably still feel that way now. I wouldn’t be surprised if opponents started sending me Depends in the near future. Harper has it easy. When you're 18, you can vote. When you're 21, you can drink. And when you're 25, you can rent a car. But what do you get for staring down the big 4-0? Harper won't have to worry about that for quite awhile. If life really begins at 30, then I should have had everything figured out close to 40. Everything in life is a trade-off. You give up one thing to get another and you can't have it all.
If there’s one thing I've learned, it’s that I can’t have everything. Focus on a few things really well.
As it turns out, I'm pretty good at this wrestling thing.
Many women have come and gone from SCW over the last decade-plus of my career, but I also know that many have gone before me and here I am standing on all the hard work paved by those that has walked before me.
You're guaranteed nothing. I've won titles and tournaments, received accolades and accomplishments. I thought I knew everything there was about the business despite being less than a decade in, but I'm always reminded of that. I'm 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 when I'm gone. SCW already has a roster that is capable of leading the company into the future and many new faces has eventually found their way to the here. I'm just hopeful to leave my mark and, just as I'm thankful of those who came before me, the future will be thankful for my accomplishments in due time.
It's never as good as it is and it's never as bad as it seems. That's just how I'm looking at my life. It's kind of helped me out to be where I'm at now. But that's enough for me.
I just ended a five-match losing streak lasting over three months. Before High Stakes, my last win was against Seleana Zdunich, back in mid-July. You know how embarrassing that is?
I’m not saying you don’t have potential. I’m not even saying you don’t have heart. But heart can only take you so far, potential won’t stand a chance against the most dangerous opponent you're going to face right now, and promise isn’t going to save you from your second loss.
I don’t believe in queens and princesses and goddesses. I claim nothing, I prove everything. So, Harper, you start your training camp at Hero Academy, train with your cousin to your little heart’s content, you watch all the tape on me you want and take notes. There will be a pop quiz after. Do whatever it is you have to do, and I promise you you still won’t be prepared for what I do to you.
Come Sunday, don’t come looking for me, mamita, I’ll be waiting for you.
Do your worst, bring your worst. Matter of fact, bring your best, too. Bring everything that you have. Because, little girl, I’m going to hurt you. I’m going to break your body. I’m going to break your spirit. And I’m going to enjoy every moment while I make you cry, and then use your face as a mop to wipe your tears off the canvas. Writing me off before you ever step foot into a ring with me, big mistake.
Question my victories and accomplishments, but never my resolve.~~~
Appraiser: And you have no idea what this armour might be worth?
Woman: Not a clue, my husband bought it at a garage sale. It's a lovely piece. I'd say it's Victorian.
Appraiser: At auction, this would bring in more than eight thousand dollars. You have a winner.
Woman: Yes!
[Mercedes and her friends slips into the ballroom where the appraiser event is taking place at Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino. Irma wheels in a couple of her art pieces on easels, though the pieces are hidden under cloths at the moment.]
[Back to the opening scene, the woman now gestures at another antique beside her.]
Woman: What about this rocking chair? Is it an original too? My grandfather said it once belonged to Marilyn Manson.
Appraiser: It certainly looks it. The carving looks authentic and so does the inlay....
[The appraiser gives the hairloom a critical eye. The woman is brimming with excitement as she clasps her hands together, now hanging on his every word.]
Appraiser: But I'm sorry to say this chair is a reproduction, worth at best one hundred and fifty dollars.
Woman: Oh, what a shame.
[Mercedes spots a filming crew.]
Ricardo: I didn't know this was being televised. Wasn't on the flyer.
Mercedes: Well, Primm isn't exactly Vegas, so a little exposure isn't a bad thing.
Irma: I'm going to get these appraised.
[Mercedes and Ricardo are looking at an abstract modern painting.]
Ricardo: Did you hear about the guy who removed a banana that was duck taped to a wall at an art museum?
Mercedes: No. That must have been interesting.
Ricardo: Yeah, he did it as a prank, and people got mad. The banana was $120,000.
Mercedes: That's crazy. What is even art anymore?
Ricardo: This isn't your grandmother's Sistel Chapel.
Irma calls to Ricardo and Mercedes]
Irma: Hey, y'all, come over here, they want to put me and my paintings on TV.
Mercedes: I can't appear on TV looking like this. Everyone we know watches this program.
Ricardo: It could be worse.
Irma: So what do you think of that, guys? They said they've never seen anything like it.
Mercedes: Irma, I don't know.
Irma: At this point, I don't care. This is my moment. You only live once, right?"
Director: Everybody ready? Action.
[The director shouts that tape is rolling so Ricardo and Mercedes back off out of view from the camera. A select portrait is on a table in front of the camera. Irma and the appraiser are standing around the table. The portrait shows a moving company moving a set of pictures while a movie crew films it all].
Appraiser: So, Irma, yes?
Irma: Yes.
Appraiser: So, Irma, what brings you here?
[Irma plays to the camera.]
Irma: Well, I heard that there was the convention in town so wanted to take my commissions here for a free appraisal.
Appraiser: And what do you do?
Irma: Oil. Watercolor. Cavern.
Appraiser: Would you like to evaluate your commission?
Irma: That's what I'm here for.
Appraiser: Well, you rarely see these in this condition. For example, the Old World framing, the antique gold finish. Just exquisite.
[Irma calls out to Ricardo and Mercedes.]
Irma: You guys believe this shit?
Appraiser: Ma'am, you can't say that on television. We have advertisers.
[By now, Ricardo and Mercedes, baffled by the findings, have walked into camera view and are standing alongside Irma.]
Irma: Yeah, okay. But what about the
painting?
Mercedes: What am we looking at here?
Appraiser: Excuse me, we're talking with Irma.
Mercedes: Hi, my name is Mercedes Vargas.
Appraiser: Mercedes...Vargas. From Sin City Wrestling?
Mercedes: Yes! You know who I am?
Appraiser: Of course! You're a two-time Hall of Famer. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a legend here in Primm, Nevada.
[Mercedes poses for the camera as it zooms in on the Argentine. While Mercedes and the host of the show are chatting it up, Irma is seen seething.
Appraiser: For the people watching at home, what’s the feeling like after a pay-per-view and you’re a winner going after it?
Mercedes: Exhilarating. It's a two week window for most, so you want to get into the next cycle with momentum.
Appraiser: You are a 14-time champion, the most ever in Sin City Wrestling, but you've only been wrestling in SCW for 10 years. What is left for you to accomplish, and what’s on the bucket list of things you still want to do? Have you thought about how much longer you plan to do this? Do you want to be a three-time world champ? What do you see as your future?
Mercedes: I don’t know. I just take it day by day. I feel like I get better every year. I think that says a lot, considering I have done it all, that I’m still not complacent. So in my mind, I still think that I’m going to work hard to create something that people thought was unobtainable. I don’t know what that looks like, but I know it’s out there.
Irma: AHEM! CAN I GET MY APPRAISAL!
Appraiser: My apologies, Irma. I would say if this was to go to auction today, this picture...
[He gives a hard look before making his estimate.]
Appraiser: ...is worth a thousand words.
Irma: Really? Unbelievable.
Appraiser: Thank you so much for bringing it in.
[Mercedes reaches out and strokes the painting like a favorite possession while she and Ricardo smile into the camera.]
Appraiser: And now for some background information on the beautiful city of Primm, Nevada.
[***Fade***]
~~~
Present Day ♦ S A N T A M O N I C A, C A L I F O R N I A[REC•] "So I heard that Harper Mason wanted to face me and, well, now she gets her wish. I’m going to look forward to welcoming her to SCW just as Jane McCulligan did in her successful debut. Congratulations, I guess?"
[Open on Mercedes Vargas with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. Yes, Harper's debut was two months ago and she's already four matches into her fledging career, but like all newcomers have come to learn here in the Bombshells division, if you wanted to start your career on the right foot, winning your first match was necessary.]
"Poor Harper. I almost feel sorry for her.
Almost. I bet she's going to be tossing and turning the night before our match, maybe wake up in a cold sweat and start biting her nails and her mind racing wondering just what in the hell she's got herself into.
"Oh, I know what I’ve got myself into. A golden opportunity to wipe that smirk off her face and knock that ego down to size. Yeah, I know she beat Laura Phoenix at High Stakes. A match between Harper Mason and Mercedes Vargas, though? That would be like asking someone who's played three games of flag football in their life to beat Tom Brady."
[Mercedes stops, smiles, and shakes her head.]
"Don't think I haven't read the details for this match, it's all there. We've got an upstart rookie looking to make a name for herself in the toughest women's division in the world against the most decorated woman in the division, the crème de la crème, The Dynasty of Sin City Wrestling. And what’s funny about that is, Harper, as much as your cousin wants to make you out to be the next sensation, you have a long ways to go.
"Do you feel that, Harper? The anxiety, the butterflies, making a first impression. Having to measure up to your cousin. Living up to the hype you've built up for yourself is going to be a lot tougher than you probably expected. And yet no matter how many times you convince yourself, the butterflies in your stomach never seem to let up, but then this is what you signed up for. The first few months will be telling as to whether you'll stand from the crowd, or just be another face in the crowd."
[Mercedes pauses as she sweeps back her hair from her face.]
"Like I said, I already know what I’m in for. This five foot seven Latina from Buenos Aires, Argentina may not be winning another championship anytime soon and her name may not strike fear in the hearts of opponents anymore, but you best believe that this weekend, you pick the wrong opponent to mess with.
"So, yeah, Harper. Your cousin was right, and you'd do yourself a favor to listen to her. Regardless of how Jessie feels about me, even she knows that I don't play games, I win games."
[Looking deadset into the camera lens, her voice drops to a whisper though her words hold conviction behind them. She pauses, mostly for dramatic effect.]
"Estar preparado para lo peor, esperar lo mejor."
"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best."[Mercedes stares menacing into the camera. She lowers her voice, barely a whisper.]
"Y que la suerte está siempre en su favor."
"And may the odds be ever in your favor."[The camera pulls back on the lasting image of Mercedes smiling as we fade to black.]
[***Fade***]
