B A R H A R B O R • M A I N E
Morning fog and evening showers, it's what makes coastal Maine charming, dramatic - and wet. It was just as she remembered since her last visit here some six years ago. But she wasn't going to be wrestling for a match. This time around, it was about unwinding after a busy week.
Mercedes Vargas, dressed as Marie Antoinette, mingles with her fellow colleagues in SCW gathered at the home of Ben Jordan for his Halloween-themed party. Drinks were flowing, the music was loud, and guests came out in their costumed best.
Outside of the house, a mist settles over the lake, giving it a ethereal feel, a perfect setup for the night. Mercedes holds up her iPhone, taking a selfie, then looks up as she is waved over for a few more with her fellow Bombshells and some of the Superstars.
After dancing to a few classic Halloween hits and watching a few of the spookier costumed guests renenact the dance scene from Michael Jackson's "Thriller", she joins her castmates she invited for the trip. Ricardo hands Mercedes a cup of Vampire Blood Fruit Punch, which as you might have guessed, is really red fruit punch. Hugo and Irma is coming from the dance floor. Tomas is devouring a few of the appetizers.
Mercedes: Hey, you guys enjoying the party? We're still got another two hours before I got to leave.[/i]
Irma: I don't get to visit Maine often, but I'm glad we came. I think we'll stay one more day. Still going to Acadia National Park tomorrow?
color=grey]Ricardo:[/color] That's the plan. Then we have to get back to LA for filming. A director's job is never done.
Mercedes: The night's still young, Richie.
Irma: Let's meet some of your friends, Mercy. They seem like a crazy bunch.
Mercedes: You have no idea...
The scene fades on Mercedes leading the way as she and her castmates join the guests.
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S A N T A M O N I C A • C A L I F O R N I A
Scene opens onto the window of an upscale restaurant. McGuilicutty's, a restaurant that's been around and still going strong 20 years. In the window there's a lively crowd.
“Seven-letter word that uses all 5 vowels?”
Four mugs of steaming coffee on a table, then a shot of Mercedes with her castmates at their usual booth at the restaurant. Mercedes is deep in thought with a pen at the ready working on a crossword puzzle, Tomas is devouring the sports page, Hugo is bobbing his head while listening to music on an iPod, Irma is eating a Romain salad, and Ricardo is scourging through movie plot ideas as we see a tree chart in an opened composition notebook.
Irma: Sequoia. Definitely, Sequoia.
Mercedes: Thank you.
She fills in the answer to the clue.
Ricardo: Alright, so how's this for a idea: an Office-style comedy about the lives of homeless people living in the subway: "I was in the middle of my set with my Beatles cover band when this asshole got on the train screaming "NYPD! Show's over, folks", he told me and we're just getting to the White Album!'"
Mercedes shakes her head as she turns to Ricardo.
Mercedes: No. Imagine a cross between Truman Show and Seinfeld. Lighthearted, accessible, we get into Jerry's head. Finally, a show about something!
Mercedes takes up her mug, takes a sip.
Mercedes: Things have been stir crazy the last few weeks.
Ricardo: What do you got next?
Mercedes: Another match this weekend in Arizona. I just had back-to-back matches last weekend. I'm surprised I'm still talking to you after the ladder match I had the night before. My back is killing me! My opponent had the nerve to drop me on the ladder.
Hugo: I know a good chiropractor. Dr. Erazo is the best there is. Haven't had a back problem after seeing him.
Mercedes: I'll take that into consideration.
~~~
Blog: Almighty Fire: Redefined the Third
semana del 21 al 27 de octubre de 2018
It was fun while it lasted, my visit to Scottsdale, Arizona. Getting there was half the fun, but losing was not so fun. So close and yet so far. The thrill of victory was not mine, but someone else's. The agony of defeat was shared with someone else. Cat Riley proved to be the better wrestler. In fact, she did something that rarely happened to me in SCW. She made me submit. Give up, give in. Surrender. The fifth time that's ever happened to me in singles matches in SCW, the seventh time overall including two tag matches, the twelfth time in my nine-year professional career. And yet...
Some probably would make a big deal out of losing last week; some would make excuses. I would do no such thing. Being the veteran that I am, it was always about the big picture.
There's no rest for the weary, I have another opportunity in front of me and while opportunity knocks, it doesn't beg.
Know what's almost as laughable as Christian Underwood having me face Cat Riley two weeks ago? It's that Kate Steele was in the main event again and getting a world title match. Clearly, there's something in those Arizona waters because I could have sworn she's only beat Any Marshall in her return match and not much else. I didn't think she was walking out with the title anyway. But who are we kidding? If it wasn't for bad luck, she wouldn't have no luck at all. Then again, as they say, luck is for losers.
I'm getting a little bored having to #BeatUpKateSteele and NOT #BeLikeJessie by embarrassing and humiliating two women who amusingly think they have rivalries with me. Two women who think they give me a sporting chance when they never stand a chance. And that’s not ego talking, it’s not false bravado, that’s a fact.
They say the truth hurts and the truth is Kate Steele and Jessie Salco are not on my level much less on my radar. In fact, they're just a blip on the radar. Cat Riley may be undefeated, but I gave her more of a challenge than any other opponent she's beat in the time she's been in SCW.
My last match didn't go well, but after reading this weekend's card for Climax Control, I'm intrigued ahead of who I'm facing on the go-home show. Now, I'm not always on the welcoming committee, but when I am, I like to roll out the red carpet to our new guests.
Last week's show had a lot of new faces and as it turns out, Kain and I are stepping back inside the six-sided ring against two of those new faces on Climax Control, but while Lachlan Kane and Sierra Williams may be new, I would like to think they know just what they're getting themselves into because I can tell you as far as competition goes around here, the bar has been raised. Whether they clear that bar remains to be seen but out of all the established mixed tag teams right now, they have a chance, to say nothing of their success in their last promotion.
But as far as taking over SCW as Lachlan boasted on Twitter the other day, let's not get too crazy. It's a jungle out there. It's kill or be killed. Fight or flight. Adapt or perish. To be a champion here you have to fight and claw your way up the ranks, and no match is ever a night off. Not everyone is cut out to be here. I hope you really live up to the hype because you'll be tested right away. That Brooke Saxon has given you an opportunity at the World Mixed Tag Team Titles when they are other more deserving teams who have been here longer seems almost unfair or being given perential treatment - the jury is still out on that one - but then again, I'm not the one booking matches or running the show, am I?
See, Kain and I are both Grand Slam Champions. He's a Hall of Famer, I'm the most decorated wrestler in this company by far. We've combined to win 18 championships in our time here. And maybe that doesn't impress you, maybe that doesn't intimidate you and that's okay. That's not our style. Maybe after Kain launches Lachlan into the crowd like a lawn dart or maybe when you find yourself outclassed, outsmarted and outperformed by yours truly you'll be convinced. Maybe seeing is believing. Maybe — well, now, definitely — we'll make believers out of you just yet.
Sierra and Lachlan are the right team, at the right place, at the right time. Sunday, they're up against the wrong opponents. So if Brooke Saxon want to continue playing games, that's fine with me. Game on.
I'm in a competitive mood, and I'll show her, I'll show the fans, I'll show Lachlan and Sierra, and I'll show the world how the game is played. Lachlan Kane and Sierra Williams are going to have quite the welcome at Climax Control and while Halloween may be six nights away, we're sure to be very accommodating. No tricks, just treats. Though I get the feeling they won't like these treats very much.
Since I first stepped inside an SCW ring, I've been making history. And I've continued to make history. I made one when I won my first championship four months into my career, I made one when I became the second-ever female Grand Slam Champion, I made one when I became the first-ever ten-time and now eleven-time champion, and on October 28 at Climax Control 220, I have an opportunity for a career moment and become the winningest Bombshell in history.
And, well, unfortunately for you Sierra and Lachlan, by the time you get to Phoenix, Kain and I are going to make history when we make history of you two when we humiliate and embarrass you and send you on your way.
~~~
Smile Because it Happened The Sixth: Look What You've Made Me Do The Fourth: Outliers
Present Day • S A N T A M O N I C A • C A L I F O R N I A
[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."
Mercedes looks around, admiring the Los Angeles sunset from her window. She thumbs through her smartphone and holding coffee to go. Despite the sun being out, she has sunglasses pulled down over her head.
"To the surprise of no one except maybe the SCW universe, Brooke Saxon just had to have her fingerprints in my upcoming match. Go figure. But I'll be honest, Brooke got me good this weekend. Things haven't been great lately with the Grand Slam Champions. I mean, Kain lost another match and Cat spoiled my chance at making history as the winningest Bombshell of all time. But you know something? We're going to learn from this, we're going to fix this. We're going to right the ship and come back stronger and better, and it all starts this weekend in Phoenix against Sierra and Lachlan."
Slowly, but surely, a smile forms on her face.
"You know, as much as she's brash and confident and seem to have this chip on her shoulder, Sierra has a lot of things going for her. Now, granted, she's young and gracefully under thirty. But for someone who’s been doing this for almost a decade, have been far more successful and, let’s be honest, a lot older than her, I can imagine our match is a steep learning curve. I mean, here you are, the upstart who is looking to open eyes, turn heads and drop jaws against one of the mainstays of this company. I didn't think we'd meet this soon, certainly not as your first opponent, but at this point what have you and Lachlan got to lose? Kain and I, we don't have anything to prove, but you do. And if by some divine miracle you get past us this weekend, you're going to have to do it again when it matters.
"So, tell me, Cici, who’s more under pressure? The newcomers trying to make a name for themselves in a new company, or..."
Mercedes holds up one finger in a wait-a-minute gesture.
"Or, the first-ever two-time champions who is nearing closer to becoming the longest reigning champions in a few weeks?"
Mercedes tilts her head sideways, giving this important question much thought before she drops this pose in favor of returning to her relaxed pose.
"I don't know what kind of mother Sierra is but I know what kind of wrestler she is. I'm not getting the stay-at-home mom, I'm getting someone who is spoiling for a fight. I know that you hit hard, kick hard and have killer submissions moves, but I can hit and kick hard with the best of them, and I know some submissions myself. I haven’t been in this business for nine years and not learned a thing or two."
Mercedes pauses, shaking her index finger at the camera.
"There's only one woman and one team leaving the playground and we're not heading to Phoenix just to lose. If you wanted to face the best, you got it. Do I think you can win, sure. Will you pull it off?
Mercedes mouths the word “no” while shaking her head defiantly.
"Estar preparado para lo peor, esperar lo mejor."
"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best."
She pauses for effect, lowering her voice just above a whisper.
"Y que la suerte está siempre en su favor.”
"And may the odds be ever in your favor."
***Fade***
