April 12, 2020
Myra Rivers is in her own hotel room in Las Vegas, one that differs from the hotel that Sin City Wrestling has booked as her signing with the company was in the exit stages of its secrecy. She’s watching the main event of Blaze of Glory, winding down her night after a long day of training. Watching this match reignites a fire in her that hadn’t been there in a while as her passion was slowly being drained from her during her final days in Carnage Wrestling. A man walks into the room, someone that’s familiar with her and he too watches the television screen that consists of the match between Christina, Roxi and Andrea.
Man: Are you sure you made the right decision?
Myra turns toward him.
Myra: What do you mean, Jay?
Jason, her boyfriend, has a bit of a chuckle to himself.
Jason: You’d be the Carnage Wrestling world champion had you stuck around, you do realize that right?
Myra shakes her head.
Myra: No. I had hit my ceiling there. It was never going to happen. I had to get out of there before that place brought out the worst in me again. Funny though… they had to throw me in a stupid cage with Jack Michaels because they knew that was the only way he’d beat me. But that’s okay. They can have their “same old shit”.
Jason: Still… you could’ve killed him. You could have made his life hell if you wanted. You could’ve even ended his career in that cage. I support you, you know that. But I know you… you can thrive when the violence is turned up. If you need to end a career, you can and you will. How can you be sure that you made the right decision? You’re going to a company where the competition is going to be harder than where you were.
Myra watches Andrea pin Christina in the main event of Blaze of Glory, which brings a smile to her face.
Myra: Based on what I just saw? I know now… 150 percent… that I made the right decision. I’m not going to regret leaving that other place. I may be going somewhere tougher… but I also know I am going somewhere that’s a better fit for me. Besides, Andrea Hernandez? She’s been in SCW for all of what? Eight months? She broke the glass ceiling. Seeing her do what she just did? It gives me the validation to know that I can do the same…
Jason didn’t respond, nodding to Myra at that point before leaving her alone to soak in the moment. Myra watches Andrea celebrate, feeling a hell of a lot of pride and awe in seeing the young lady she once reluctantly took on as a protege prove her wrong after all that they went through together. Reflecting on her own career, Myra maintains her confident smirk.
Myra: ...besides… Vegas has ALWAYS been kind to me…
Myra reflects on the most significant Vegas experience she had in her entire career… many years ago…
March 23, 2008: Las Vegas
Myra arrives backstage at the Caesar Palace on this night when the then 23-year-old was about to take on the biggest challenge of her young career. Once she gets to the locker room, she overhears a podcast taking place between a radio host and one of her co-workers.
Host: How come you’re not wrestling tonight, Kirk?
Myra rolls her eyes upon hearing the name of Kirk Storm, one of the wrestlers that outright hates her. The hatred is definitely mutual and she’s already feeling that hate flow through her veins as she hears Kirk answer the question.
Kirk: You know… the injuries. I wasn’t healthy enough to receive clearance for this event. What a damn shame! But hey, I get to watch NSWA’s biggest show of the year live and in living color. I get just as much of an adrenaline rush watching wrestling from backstage as I do competing in it.
Host: Honestly, I don’t think there’s going to be a bigger adrenaline rush than the Top Rung Ladder Match…
Myra sighs with a bit of nervousness upon the mention of the match she’s going to compete in that night.
Host: Eight wrestlers… all competing for a shot at any championship any time over the next year! Now, I’ve got to ask your opinion Kirk. Of the eight wrestlers in that match, which one doesn’t deserve to be in it?
Kirk: Oh that’s an easy one! It’s Myra Rivers…
Myra: Of course…
Myra begins to feel even more anger flow through her.
Kirk: Here’s some dumb broad from Florida who doesn’t take the business seriously enough. How is she even in this match? In fact, how the hell is she even in the NSWA? Why did they even sign her? I’d say she blew off one of the bosses, but the bosses don’t even like her. Myra walks in here three months ago acting like she’s the shit… but no… she’s just shit. She’s got about a 50/50 record, wrestling worse than the average rookie does, and not ONE of her wins is memorable. It was a pleasure seeing M.K. Paradise put her in her place a few weeks ago to shut her up when she had that women’s title shot.
Myra’s eyes just narrow in anger.
Host: Isn’t that a bit harsh? Her mother was a wrestler herself prior to giving birth to her. She did retire to be that mother, you know?
Kirk: I’m aware. But honestly? Myra wasn’t worth giving up her career for…
This comment ticks Myra off and causes her to shut off the radio. She’s tempted to pick up the radio and to toss it across the room but instead, she shuts her eyes, takes a deep breath and gets back to a level of zen that she desperately needs to be in… especially with the biggest match of her career at this point coming up. Myra briefly laments her journey in NSWA so far… all three months of it. She didn’t realize that being a rookie in the mainstream business like she was at this point was going to be so difficult. She’s dealt with plenty of disappointment especially the lack of ability to get over the hump at this point. And yet, despite staring in the face of some serious odds… she’s not about to let the words that she just heard from Kirk Storm define her.
Myra: I have to remember what I was told in the days leading up to today: that what other people say about me doesn’t matter. The only thing that DOES matter is how much I believe in myself. How I feel about me and my chances to win this match means more than anything the other seven can say about me put together! There may be more experienced wrestlers in this thing than me… but my mother… if she was here… she wouldn’t be giving up on me… and I have no reason to do so… even though the odds aren’t so good, even if I haven’t hit the ground running. I guess this is it then… I guess I have to go out there and have my big breakthrough moment…
Myra takes a deep breath as she contains some final thoughts about the biggest challenge she’s about to face within herself. She’s not burdened by what other people have to say. She’s not stressing over the consequences of losing this ladder match. All she’s focused on is making a name for herself…
Later…
The Las Vegas crowd is in shock at what they’re witnessing. All of the competitors in NSWA’s Top Rung Ladder match are scattered and knocked out while a ladder is on its side in the center of the ring. There’s only one person moving… and that’s Myra herself. She gingerly gets up, pushing herself through the pain
Lead Announcer: Myra’s picked up the ladder…
She grimaces as she drags herself and the ladder with her to the center of the ring. The ladder wobbles in her hands but she’s able to maintain a strong grip on it to set it up just underneath the briefcase. Myra begins to scale the ladder with no sign of movement of any of the other seven competitors that are increasingly becoming beneath her.
Commentator: No way… there’s no way this is happening…
Myra is halfway up the ladder, soaking in the cheers of everyone around her… a stunned crowd, understandably, but at the same time, they know that they are witnessing something epic. Being 75% up the ladder, Myra takes one last pause, looks around and sees that not one of her opponents is moving. This and the willpower she’s receiving from the crowd pushes her just a little more as she reaches the top.
Commentator: ...this isn't real, is it? This rookie… who hasn’t shown any promise at all… are you kidding me?
Myra grabs the briefcase, unlatching it from the top and hearing the crowd explode with shock and awe as the bell rings.
Lead Announcer: This is absolutely UNBELIEVABLE! Myra’s done it! She’s pulled off a MASSIVE UPSET! This young rookie from Miami has shocked the world!!!!
Commentator: I’m… I’m dumbfounded… How can this happen? HOW could this POSSIBLY happen? She’s got a title shot whenever she wants it for the next year…
Myra slumps down the ladder with the briefcase, tears of joy in her eyes. She knows down in her heart that in front of the Las Vegas crowd, she has broken through all the frustrations of her wrestling experience so far to have not just her biggest moment yet… but also… the moment that would start it all for her… the moment that would propel her to accomplish what she has in the 12 years since...
Myra: And I’m damn sure not going to be a one hit wonder…
Three months later…
Myra is doing a podcast interview in her own right and on this bright late June 2008 day, Myra has not one… not two… but three different championships on her lap and for the icing on the cake, that briefcase she won back in Las Vegas is with her as well.
Interviewer: How did this all happen? Ever since you won that ladder match in Vegas, you’ve gone absolutely insane. NSWA Women’s Champion. WXWF Women’s Champion. WXWF World Champion. Talk about Jekyll and Hyde! You were borderline moribund when you first broke in and now it’s almost like you’re a prodigy.
The young Myra can only help but laugh at this as she too, is experiencing a sense of surprise at how well this has all snowballed for her.
Myra: Sometimes, you just need ONE moment to push through! You just need ONE big breakthrough moment to hit your stride and be on your way and that’s what’s happened with me. I didn’t think life would be THIS good, but I’m definitely not complaining. When I won that briefcase, the first thing that I told her was that I wasn’t going to be a one-hit wonder because I knew that a lot of bastards back in NSWA were going to slap that label on me. Well… they can’t call me that anymore. They can’t brand me as a failure. I’m where I am and where I’m going to be for many years to come through all peaks and valleys because all I did was believe in my abilities when nobody else did.
Interviewer: If your mother was here… how proud of you would she be? Was she supportive of this career path for you?
Myra: One of the last conversations I ever had with her before she died was that I wanted to be a wrestler, just like her. She never, ever wavered on that with me. It’s a shame that she couldn’t live to see what I’m doing now… but I’m proud to say that I inherited her morals when it comes to this business…
Interviewer: Such as?
Myra: Fighting the good fight… doing whatever it takes to protect the sanctity of this business… believing in yourself to overcome anything that’s thrown at you without falling apart. My mother was a strong woman who never gave up until the very end and she fought for what she believed in. Now, I know a lot of people don’t like me… much of it due to envy over my success… but that’s okay. I’ll continue to be rebellious against those that tell me “no”. I’m not going to go away anytime soon and as long as I’m here, I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this business better against anyone or anything that dares to bastardize it for their own gain…
Back to the present day…
Myra snaps out of her reflections smiling at the wonderful memory of her big breakthrough moment in Sin City itself and basking in the glow of the immediate aftermath when she rose to the top so quickly afterward. Looking back at the television and seeing the immediate replay of the Blaze of Glory show, she takes in her new place of employment. She remembers seeing Andrea do the same thing she had done in Vegas 12 years ago, feeling a jolt of inspiration by it. But once that glow fades, a bit of regret hits her.
Myra: I did so many bad things to her… terrible things…
Myra begins to reflect on her horrible treatment of Andrea when she had her under her wing.
Myra: For years… I lost my way and became everything I said I was going to protect this business from. I abused others… I shortened the careers of others… I made many people’s lives hell… and that same darkness nearly took me over again… that’s why I had to get the hell out of Carnage… that place was no good for me, triggering my worst insecurities…
Taking a deep, relaxing breath, she focuses on the action she’s seeing in the Blaze of Glory replay.
Myra: But you know? I think I’m going to like it in Sin City Wrestling. My journey is far from over… and against the toughest women’s division in all of professional wrestling… against the toughest competition I am going to face in my career? I know I’m going to shine! I can and I WILL break through… because for more than 12 years? That’s all I’ve ever done. Soon enough… they’ll all know every layer of me… and they’ll see why I’ve been so successful before…
Myra finds herself in a confident, stable mood. She doesn’t appear to be afraid of the challenges that she may face. Even knowing that she’s most likely in the final chapters of her wrestling career… with her 36th birthday looming and only three months away… her spirit and her heart, along with everything that her mother instilled in her prior to her death… keep her hopes high.
Having already overcome her worst internal demons, the 12 year veteran knows that even at her age… there isn’t a woman alive that’s going to deny her the purest desires that flow within her heart and soul that will drive her to what she still wants to set out to do before she decides to call it a career.
April 24, 2020
Myra finds herself in Caesar’s Palace… or rather… as close to a replica as a stage production crew can recreate in a small studio space on the top floor of a hotel. As a commemoration of the breakthrough moment of her career, the setting also has a ladder that is upright with an old briefcase resting on the top of it. With her Sin City debut drawing near, Myra is maintaining her focus as she sits on the second rung from the bottom. It’s been quite a while since she’s had to get herself back in wrestling mode having had her first lengthy break in years but nevertheless, she’s not intimidated by the challenges that she’s about to face… on Sunday with her debut and beyond…
Myra Rivers: Here I am… a familiar spot… near the bottom of the ladder about to start my climb back up. This isn’t the first time that I’ve been in a situation like this where I’m starting over somewhere new, having to prove myself to a new audience, having to prove myself to a new locker room. I’ve been at this for a long time, but I know in my heart that I can make this work as I have everywhere else. I’m not going to make a bold claim and say that I’m going to hit the ground running or anything of that nature, but I know what I’m capable of. I know that the moment I hit my stride in any wrestling promotion, that I’m one of the toughest women in the world to beat. My accolades… my reputation… my career long ability to seize the moment in the clutch and get to that next level… it all speaks for itself and I’m confident that in due time, the results in the ring will attest to that too! Those that know me… they know that’s true. Those that don’t know me… and that would be most of you in the bombshells division, you’ll soon learn that the name Myra Rivers isn’t just associated with success, with dignity, with rebelling against anyone that wants to fuck up the sanctity of this business… but she’s also associated with the words “heart” and “desire”.
With me? Success isn’t a matter of “if”, it’s a matter of when. Being a proven winner for 12 years does help, but I know that I’ve got a challenge ahead of me. Being my age and still trying to be on top of my game? Yeah, that in and of itself is tough. But doing so against some of the toughest competition that you’re ever going to face? Seems daunting, right? I know that newcomers hitting the ground running is the minority in this company. Yet… the reason why I’m so confident is because I’ve actually gotten better with age. I did a hell of a lot in my career in my twenties, yet I’ve been even better in my thirties… for better or worse. Still… there’s one fact that I have to face as I make my debut here… and that’s the fact that where I was before… I was ALMOST at the top… and then I got knocked back down…
Myra pauses for a bit, soaking in the last company she was a part of… one that doesn’t bring her good memories as her slightly, temporarily sullen disposition would indicate.
Myra Rivers: How I ended up here? It’s a long story… but essentially… where I was before? I knew I had hit my ceiling. I knew that Carnage Wrestling wasn’t for me anymore because that place had become infected with a fatal case of Same Old Shit syndrome and it honestly hurt that I had to leave because I wanted to end my career there but it wasn’t meant to be. But you know what? That’s okay! I embrace where I’m at in my career. I’ll gladly take on that role of the wrestler that’s looking to wrap up her career and end it on a bright note because I’m not ignorant. I have more matches behind me then ahead of me and I’m not afraid of the finish line. That finish line… I hope that’s here… and my desire is to put the final touches on what’s been an amazing story for me before my time is up.
Yet… life has a funny way of coming full circle, doesn’t it?
Here I am… second generation wrestler, who struggled at the start and who wasn’t lighting the world on fire at first… starting her new journey in the same city where her big breakthrough moment happened… and her first match? It’s against someone who’s at the starting line… whose journey at that starting line is similar to mine in Bella Madison.
But you haven’t had that breakthrough yet, have you Bella? You could have potentially put yourself on the path to doing so at Blaze of Glory and yet, you couldn’t take that next step to become a tag team champion. You could have done the same thing in the Blast from the Past tournament and yet, that didn’t work out for you either. You’ve got potential, I am not denying you that fact. You too, are a second generation wrestler who’s mother was in the business. You remind me a lot about me when I was the age you are now not just in that sense, but I know what it’s like to struggle out of the starting gate. I know what it’s like to hear the whispers from the locker room that you just may be in over your head. But I’m not going to go into our match with that mindset. It’d be easy for me to underestimate you and brush you aside just because compared to the Candies and the Andreas of the world… you know, the Bombshells that came in around the same time that you did… have achieved some great success while you’re lagging behind.
Think about that for a second, Bella.
You and Candy joined this company around the same time. Months later? Candy goes on to beat Sam Marlowe to become the Roulette Champion in short order… and to top it all off, she beats you in a title defense.
You and Andrea Hernandez are also in proximity in regards to when you joined this company… and she JUST become a world champion, beating Roxi Johnson and Christina Rose… two of the greatest bombshells this company has ever had.
But you?
You’ve struggled in comparison to those two. Doesn’t that piss you off, Bella? Because if it doesn’t, it should! We’re on the same rung of this ladder here, Bella. You know that, and I know that. You’ve dealt with a lot, you’ve struggled so much, you’ve even lost three out of your last four matches and that in and of itself isn’t such a bad thing because the key thing for a wrestler your age is how they respond to the struggle, how they respond to adversity, how they’re able to adjust, how they’re able to bounce back and become even better than before and based on what I know of you… based on what I’ve seen of you… I haven’t seen you try to do anything different. I see you out there doing the same thing that brought you to the dance again and again, and you’re still stuck in the same spot. Candy and Andrea pass you by, and you don’t seem to show any frustration in that. Your problem, Bella?
You’re too happy go lucky!
I see the ability, I see the pedigree, I see both of those things that are going to make you a successful star in this business someday, I see the intangibles that could take you straight to your big breakthrough moment… and yet… I don’t see the fire. I see someone that’s stuck in square one and doesn’t seem to know what she wants to be in this business just yet and that’s not a knock on you… I’ve been in that spot. I didn’t know what my purpose in professional wrestling was when I was a rookie on the mainstream scene either and yet, despite everyone else telling me to quit, I didn’t. Despite others writing me off, I proved them wrong. Someday, you’ll do the same, I know that for a fact but that day isn’t going to be Sunday, bella.
And no, I’m not saying that to underestimate you. I know that mentality… where people struggle… and they pay attention to others overlooking them… and they try to use that as fuel to try to push themselves higher… sometimes it works… it sure as hell did for me when I did this…
Myra takes another pause before she scales the ladder and grabs the briefcase on the top, simulating her big breakthrough moment. She sits at the top before wrapping up her thoughts on her upcoming Sin City Wrestling debut.
Myra: And other times? It just drives you further down the ladder. I really don’t want you to be one of those instances, Bella. I want you to succeed. I want you to learn and grow for the future. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough because you wouldn’t be on this roster if you weren’t. You ARE good enough… but at this stage in both of our career cycles? I’m better! You’ve still got much to learn and I DO hope that you show me something that I have yet to see from you from what I’ve studied from your career so far because when I beat you and teach you a much needed lesson about how to scale the ladder in this business, it’s going to make my victory look all the more impressive. Ask yourself these questions though… before we face off against each other.
Why are you here? What do you want to achieve in this company?
I know what I want to achieve! I want to close out my career on a bright note… I want to hit two magic numbers while I’m here… 20 total championships… 5 world championships. I’m currently at 18 and 4 for those wanting to keep score.
Why are you doing this? To make your mother proud? To make a name for yourself? To strive and achieve that next level? Are you fighting this match to take out recent frustrations on me? If the answer to that question is “yes”, you’ve already lost.
Me? I’m here to achieve my full potential… something that my OLD employers denied me. I’ll show them what they missed out on… but my main focuses are being that role model to my six year old daughter back in Miami, showing the world what I’m truly about in this business, going out the right way, being the champion I was born to be one more time and leaving this business in a better state than it was before my arrival.
THAT’S what I fight for, Bella!
And this Sunday? I show you… I show this division… what Myra Rivers is really about and why she does what she does!
Myra confidently climbs down the ladder with the briefcase, soaking in her breakthrough moment from years ago one more time before the camera shuts off and the scene fades out.
