The airport in Beijing is crowded with many people on Monday morning and in the midst of it, a familiar redhead is wheeling a rather large suitcase towards a counter, her hair pulled back into a rather messy bun on the back of her head and a pair of silvered sunglasses covers her eyes. Dressed in a pair of comfortable denim capris, a Sam Marlowe tee and canvas shoes, Sam Marlowe shoulders a large bag.
“Ginge, we got time before the flight,” drawls a tired looking Ben Jordan who is dressed in a white button down shirt and dark pants. “And we are just heading back to Vegas and why would we rush that?”
Sam turns to look at her tag partner and offers him a giggle as she pulls the shades down her nose slightly. “Who said we were heading back to Vegas Ben?” she asks. “We are headed to Peru actually. We need to get there ASAP considering where I will be wrestling. I don’t know if you know but where we are going is like very high up in the air and I want to make sure that I am going to be able to get in the ring and not suffer.”
Ben looks at Sam with a confused look on his face. “High up? And I am not scheduled for this week am I?”
“No, you aren’t booked this week however, I am sure that we will be wanting to be scouting Eiley and Oliver Zahn in preparation for the supercard. And since you lost that little bet we had about the Great Wall, well…I have decided how you are going to pay up. So we need to get to the flight counter and then ready to board the plane to Peru,” offers Sam as she once more pushes the glasses over her eyes.
“Oh you have?” questions Ben with a smirk. “I still think you cheated. So what is my payout?”
“Oh no no no Prat, now is not the time to learn that. I want you to be surprised when the time comes. Besides, I like keeping you in suspense,” teases the redhead as she stands in line behind a short couple arguing with the counter agent. Suddenly a second wicket opens and waves Sam forward.
“Welcome to Asiana airlines, boarding pass please,” the agent says as Sam holds out her passport and the ticket. While the agent looks it over, Sam grunts softly as she puts the suitcase on the belt to weight it. “You wish to check your luggage?”
“Yes please,” answers Sam. “And can you tell me how long it will take to get to Peru on our flight?”
The agent looks on her terminal and types in a few keystrokes. Behind Sam, Ben leans over to listen to the response. “The flight is through Seoul and Los Angeles and will be one day and three hours. I will take your husband’s passport now…”
“Oh we aren’t married…” both Sam and Ben say together which then has Sam mutter under her breath ‘jinx, you owe me a beer’ which only makes Ben raise his eyebrow. The agent looks at the pair and Ben shakes his head and is about to say something else but notices that Sam has held up a finger in warning. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he can’t help but grin. “But Ginge...we are partners.”
“Oh, you not married but you partners,” says the agent with a wide grin. “I understand.” She reaches out for Ben’s passport and then looks it over and then checks the boarding pass. Handing them back, she motions for the pair to the right. “You will need to go to the gate as the flight will be leaving in an hour. Safe travels.”
Sam nods and again shoulders her bag and looks up to try and find where the gate direction is and notes that it is in Terminal three. “Hellfire,” she mutters as she looks at Ben. “Well let’s go then…”
The pair head towards the walkway to take them to Terminal three. Forty five minutes later, the two are sitting outside of the gate. A voice comes over the speakers as Sam and Ben are discussing the trip sayng that the flight was on schedule.
“We fly into Seoul then LA and then down to Lima. Once we get there, we have to head to Cusco but we need to take it fairly slowly since Cuzco is like eleven thousand feet above sealevel,” offer Sam as she is reading her phone. “It means that we could suffer from altitude sickness. It says here that we have to take things slow, keep hydrated and maybe for the first day or so…no drinking alcohol. Just until we acclimate.”
“I think that is a deal breaker Sammi,” replies Ben as he leans back and crosses his feet to get comfortable. “Don’t we have to be careful not to drink the water?”
Sam looks a bit confused for a moment. “You know, I don’t know. I would think that they have bottled water for the tourists. I guess we will see when we get there to Cusco on Wednesday. By the way, I ended up booking a two-bedroom house in Cusco. You are welcome to stay with me if you like. With all of us going there for the show, might be a bit difficult to get a place quick enough.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind sharing? I could always find something on a beach near there you know. Maybe Lake Titicaca has space…” Ben says with a grin at the name of the lake.
“We are friends Ben, mi casa est su casa,” says Sam. “Okay so now all we need is to get there.” Looking up, she sees the agent approaching the desk and pulling up a small walkie talkie that she speaks into announcing the flight boarding. Sam and Ben get to their feet and move forward, their passports and boarding passes at the ready. The scene fades with the pair heading down the skywalk towards the plane.
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It has been a long flight and now here I am in Cusco Peru. The air is thin but we both knew that when we were booking this show to take place near the Wonder of the World, Machu Picchu. I am the type of person that likes to prepare for tours. I don’t know if you have looked into my history when it comes to tours, I tend to try and book a central place to stay and then travel for each show that I am booked on. But this tour is completely different because we are not in a regional situation. We are in the middle of a globe trotting tour that has taken us from Petra Amman, Rome Italy, China and now to Peru. How can you even plan a central place to stay. So I was forced to make other plans.
And of course, I also like to look at the places where we go for these shows. I read about Peru and the fact that Climax Control is going to be in a venue that is high up in the Andes where the air is thin and the chance at catching altitude sickness is a real possibility. Which meant that I needed to get here as quickly as I could so that should I be booked in a match, I would have time to acclimate to the lack of oxygen and also be prepared to face whoever they put me against.
I was mid flight when I went online to see that I was booked in Peru and then I was able to see who I would be facing and I was quite surprised to see that I was facing Aleesha Jones. I will admit that I really don’t know her quite well but I have been looking into her as well. And I will tell you right now, seeing what she has done in her short time in SCW, I am really impressed. It isn’t often that you see someone come into the company, get a couple of wins under their belt then disappear for a while. Made me wonder why but then I realized that it wasn’t something that I needed to stick my nose into.
Let me address Aleesha though. I have to say that I am honored to be facing her in only her third match in Sin City Wrestling. Like I said, I don’t really know her but from what I have heard, she is good. So I looked into her opponents and when I saw what happened in the matches, I couldn’t help but root for her even though I knew she won the matches. She was fighting those matches as the rookie…the very definition of underdog. Heck, you beat Eiley who I lost to just a couple of weeks back. Guess that makes me the underdog in this match huh?
Listen, I don’t know what has been going on with you but Mark Ward and Christian Underwood must see something in you that they wanted to really put you to the test. So I guess I am one of the bars they want you to surpass. Given that people seem to think that I am a well known bombshell, I am step one on a person’s way to title shots. And I really hope that I not only am I a challenge, I am someone that will definitely make you earn everything you get in this company.
I have to also admit that I think that you Aleesha remind me of well me when I first started. I was a fresh faced young woman who put her head down and stepped in the ring to be the one that was the rookie. I got a couple of wins under my belt so to speak and earned a shot at a title but when that match happened, I didn’t win it. I became something of a workhorse for the company and kept racking up wins and losses but I always worked hard for every match.
My first title win in Sin City was the Bombshell World title in a match against Mikah. See, I never thought that I was worthy enough to ask for a title match but somehow, Mikah got cocky and was able to choose her challenger back at My Bloody Valentine in 2016. And she choose to face me…the rookie in her first year of wrestling and I surprised everyone by winning that title.
Now I can’t say that winning that belt in my rookie year was a confidence builder but I walked a little taller and I knew that I arrived. And I think that you could also be like me because you are just as ready and just as capable of winning belts here in Sin City. But I will tell you honestly Aleesha, you have to put in the work to get there.
So, your third match is against me and well I am sure you have heard a lot about me. You have probably listened to everyone who has spoken about me being over the hill as a bombshell. That I have fallen so far because I am not as much of a winner anymore, losing more than often in their opinion. Yeah, maybe I have lost a couple of matches and maybe I haven’t gotten back to the Bombshell champion I used to be but I don’t really care to worry about titles. The only things I care about right now is making sure that I go out to that ring and give my opponents a fight to remember. Win or lose, I know that when I step in the ring, all bets are off.
So we have a couple of days to prepare for this match and trust me, I am going to be studying your matches and I am going to promise you that I am coming for the win. You better be on your game for Climax Control. Because I am here in Cusco and I am preparing to wrestle in the thin of air here in Cusco. I hope that you aren’t going to be suffering from altitude sickness. I don’t want you to have any excuse when it comes to justifying a loss. You are better than that I am sure. And that is why I can’t wait to face you in the middle of the ring.
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”You weren’t kidding about this thin air Ginge,” huffs Ben Jordan who is following Sam towards the ruins of Machu Picchu. Dressed in a pair of shorts, boots, safari shirt and a beat up fedora, Ben is filming the redhead who is dressed similarly. She moves along the trail towards the staircase and turns to Jordan.
“That’s why we came earlier than just the day or two before the show. And you knew that we had to come and see this wonder. How many people can claim to have visited all the seven wonders of the world hmmm?” asks Sam as she waves her arms around to point at the pyramid.
“True but Ginge, I was wanting to stay back at the house relaxing,” offers Ben as he holds up a small camcorder. “But you got me filming ya.”
“You did lose the bet Ben and I figured that I would need a cameraman to film me here and you were here with me anyways,” giggles Sam. “So, are you ready to film or not?”
Ben stops and then turns to sit on one of the stone steps of the pyramid before pushing the hat back on his head and looks up at the redhead who has her hands on her hips and is looking down at the Cockney King who holds up the camera. “Crack on Sammi, I am going to sit her and film ya and then when we are done, you and me will go for a couple britneys.”
“Deal,” states Sam as she moves to the side and sits on a stair herself. She looks over at Ben and motions for him to begin filming.
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In two days I am going to be stepping into a ring in Cusco for Climax Control against Aleesha Jones and I have to say that I am looking forward to it.
You see, she is the first person in a long time to actually consider me a worthy opponent. You can’t imagine Aleesha how good it feels to have someone talk about me like I am a challenge, not a has been. And if I am being honest, I would like to thank you for the respect you are showing me.
Let me be clear though, even with the mutual respect we are showing each other, this isn’t going to be a match that will see either of us holding back I am sure. You want a challenge but you also want to prove yourself I am sure. You are still working on finding your way into challenging for titles and I have been there, done that. Which means that the two of us are both dangerous in our own ways.
You are a conundrum for sure. Almost a contradiction in terms of what I have observed. You are tough, you have a winning record that means you are tough to face and even tougher to beat I am sure. But you are also an unknown quantity when it comes to matches and being able to study you. What I saw in your matches, you definitely won’t be someone that I can push around. But there are only two matches that I am able to study that I know of. I liked what I saw. If you ask me, I think that even though you are new, you are someone that I predict will go onto win titles here in Sin City Wrestling. It may not be right away but I am sure that you are going to go far.
Now, this match isn’t just you in the ring. I am stepping into the ring in what could possibly be the last time I am in the ring before me and Ben here challenge for the Mixed Tag titles. Can you imagine the confidence that I will have if I am able to go into that match with a win. See, I am out to prove that when Ben and I won that number one contendership match, it wasn’t a fluke. In all actuality, we should have been in the title match but well, that didn’t happen and now it will be happening at Violent Conduct.
I want to prove to myself as well that I am able to step into the ring with a future champion who beat my opponent and win. You beat Eiley and that is something that I haven’t done. Y’all would think that I could beat a rookie but you would be wrong when it comes to matches lately. But that doesn’t mean that lightning can’t strike on Sunday.
I am coming to this match looking for a fight. I need to push myself facing someone that I respect for their talent to prepare me for the supercard. And when I say that I respect you Aleesha, I mean it. So this match isn’t going to be a fight between a rookie and a veteran. This is going to be a match between equals Ms Jones. Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t worth of a match of this caliber.
But I also want to warn you Aleesha. I am not looking at facing Eiey at Violent Conduct. I am not looking at anything but you and focusing on our match. You aren’t someone that I would dare disrespect by not bringing my best. After all, that IS the reason that you were booked to face me isn’t it? That is just what I am telling myself. Christian Underwood and Mark Ward want you to face someone that won’t have their focus on anything but their opponent. Each match I am in, each opponent I face, that is where my focus is set and it is set with laser precision right smackdab on you this Sunday at Climax Control.
Make no mistake of underestimating me. Because that is where I am at my most dangerous. I can come at you from any angle, and I do mean ANY angle. Whether it is from the mat, the top rope, or on the outside…submission or pin…I am unpredictable when it comes to challenging anyone. I have no limits and no quit.
So bring your best Aleesha…because I am bringing mine.
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Sam makes a cutting motion towards Ben who stops filming her and then offers a smile. “Well said Sam. So now what?”
Sam looks at Ben then to the top of the pyramid, a slow smile crossing her face.
“How about double or nothing?” she offers as she nods to the top and points between the two of them.
Ben follows her glance then nods slowly. “Bloody hell Ginge. You’re on.”
The two begin the climb up the stairs, Sam edging ahead before she is pulled back by Ben who then teases her by preventing her from passing his as they move up the stairs higher.
“PRAT, that is cheating!” exclaims Sam but Ben continues blocking her with a chuckle as he moves up the stairs ahead of Sam.