"I suppose the question that's been on so many minds is where have I been the past year and a half? Or maybe I'm flattering myself and I should say I'm hoping that at least a few have been asking after me? A few know my thoughts, and if I'm to be honest, frustrations; namely the Stevens and Daniel Morgan. It was Daniel himself who told fans asking after me that it was my story to tell and mine alone. Well, as I'm sitting here in First Class (thank you again Gabriel and Odette!) somewhere over the Atlantic, I may as well share a few details about where I've been, and what possibly lay in store for me on the road ahead."
"You see, the last time I was actively in the ring was October in 2017. That was when I lost the SCW Internet Championship to Diamond. Now if you listen to the catty remarks from Mikah on Twitter, she would have you believe that I laid low and left the business because I couldn't handle it or the loss. Conveniently neglecting to mention two little facts;"
"One, Mikah is full of sour grapes because it was she who I beat for the Internet Championship in the first place. Oh if you listen to her talk, and if you do I feel for you because the woman sounds like the verbal equivalent to nails on a chalk board. But if you listen to her, she'll try to convince you that my win against her meant little to nothing because she didn't want to continue on as the Internet Champion anyway. The oldest and most immature excuse. It's like not getting the toy you wanted and telling any who would listen,'Oh I never wanted that piece of junk anyway. The simple fact is Mikah is a prideful woman. Always has been, always will be. And that pride should tell you that she can accept nothing but the best. And the fact she lost to someone who had not even completed a full year in the business stung so much that she had to offer up the most delusional excuse her mind could come up with."
"It's okay Mikah. Nobody blames you. It's just that cheap, dollar store peroxide you use on your hair just fi8nally seeped through."
"And two? Mikah neglects to mention the simple fact that she is also guilty of what she accused me of. Her last two matches? Losses. And again, against women who were successful but relatively new to the game. One was to Dani Weston for the World Championship. Dani, a woman who was quick to almost write herself off for a losing streak that she worked hard to overcome and did so with style! And the second, and Mikah's last match being against Mackenzie Page, member of London Underground. Two women who have grown to fabulous careers, and women who I am proud to call sisters under the tutelage of Gabriel and Odette Stevens."
"So don't listen to Mikah. I;d hate to see anyone risk their IQ points falling any lower as a result."
"The truth is, I was disappointed in my loss to Diamond. Bitterly so. But I was more upset with the how's and why's rather than in myself. At the time, longer promo shoots were all the rage. Filming could last as long as you wanted and on the most pointless things that had little to nothing to do with the sport. Sometimes you thought you were watching a feature length film, Peter Jackson-length! And when Diamond cut her promo that was so damn long that you had to watch it in three separate sittings with bathroom breaks in between, I had just about had it. I knew I needed a break and time away."
"It wasn't much longer after that loss and my self-imposed break that SCW closed its doors for the first time. It was a sad sight to see, but you couldn't keep me away. I was right there at the very end, saying good-bye with my two brothers and best friends, Beauty and Beast. I never dreamt that this wonderful place would resurrect itself so quickly! Not even four months later! But when approached by a fair few people, Mark Ward most of all, about picking up where I left off, I respectfully declined."
"I had my reasons. That situation in my last match was still a sore spot. Plus I felt like a complete outsider for most of my tenure. I tried making friends, namely with Amy Marshall and Jessie Salco, but in the long run, I just had so little in common with most of the Bombshell roster that tings just didn't click. If Beauty and Beast wasn't there, I generally traveled alone, ate alone, then went back to the hotel to call it a night."
"Why would I commit to something that had been making me feel worse as time went on? So, I made Mark a deal; I'd resign as an active competitor when and only when, Beauty and Beast completed their own training at the Stevens and were able to sign their own deals. But now with the deactivation of the tag team titles...? Who knows if that will be an option?"
New Orleans
Several weeks ago
Beast: C'mon Didi, just say yes. Hm?
Devona sighed as she picked up the tray slid out to her by the worker behind the counter at the Applegold Buffet restaurant. Both Beast as well as his little brother, Beauty, had been nitpicking away at her ever since she had told them she had been asked about a return to SCW for the annual Blast From the Past Memorial tournament. In fact, she and Beast had just finished a rigorous workout at his gym and decided to treat themselves to an all-you-can-eat lunch, and enjoy the looks on the management's faces when they saw the gargantuan Beast walk inside. Beauty had been at the gym with them, but opted to return home for a World of Warcraft campaign or something.
This was Beauty's diet week.
As she weaved through the tables and the bodies getting up to go for more at the scrumptious selections of Creole offerings, Beast followed her to a corner table where he could at least fit and eat comfortably.
Beast: You know you want to, or else you never would have told us about the offer.
Beast smiled, taking a seat, the chair groaning under the pressure of his three hundred plus pound frame.
Devona: Yes and the first thing that brother of yours asked was how much were they paying.
Beast shook his head as he proceeded to begin to devour (quite literally, his heaping plate), while Devona scrunched up her nose as she picked up a fork and started to dig into her own food.
Devona: Look, I'm not saying you're not wrong. Your brother has been trying to talk me into it as much as you. And it is tempting...
Beast: But...?
Devona: But ...
She frowned and shook her head.
Devona: After the way I felt when I left in `17, I'm just not sure it's the right time. Plus, I didn't want to return until you and Beauty were able to start your own careers.
Beast: Yeah, Didi, but who knows how long that will be? That dipstick brother of mine and I aren't training regularly like you did. I can't take off of work for a few months to finish, so we can only go down there every so often when I get the time off.
Devona nodded, completely understanding. Beast was really the sole provider of his family; his brother and their formidable Momma. Although Beauty did help out when he could. Beast had, as a practical joke, got his younger, dim-witted brother a job dancing on weekends at what turned out to be a gay nightclub. And although Beauty still hasn't processed where all the women are in the club, he can't deny the fellas tip well! It was simple enough to suffice, that despite his vast size and imposing presence, Beast was anything but.
He was a total sweetheart.
Devona: Then there's Grams.
Beast: Now don't you try using your Grams as an excuse!
Beast warned her against this, pointing his fork toward her and speaking in a gruff but tone she knew to be a teasing one.
Beast: I happen to know for a fact that she's been trying to convince you to give it a go too!
Devona: She has.
She nodded.
Devona: But you know her. I do miss it a bit and she knows that too. And even if it takes me away for however long, she'd still encourage me to do it because it's what I want.
Beast: Well yeah! Isn't that the whole point?
Devona: Maybe so, but the tournament is happening during their first tour of the year. I don't know where it's happening but what if it's out of the country? That would keep me from N'Awlins and all of you, and Grams, for almost two months!
Beast: I'm aware, Didi. I also remember the 'comforting' words that dumbass brother of mine offered when he tried to suggest you might get eliminated in the first round.
Devona chuckled as she took a few moments to work on her plate. That remark of consolation, if you could call it that, had resulted in Beauty getting swatted upside the head by Beast ... and their Momma ... and her own Grams. Not that he meant what he had said. He just sometimes didn't -- think.
And that was putting it nicely.
Devona: But if my partner and I win, we'd keep moving onto the next leg of the tour, then what happens if we win the whole thing?
Beast: 'When' you do!
Devona smiled. She couldn't help it. That was her 'Beast." Always looking on the brighter side of things!
Devona: ... Then it's moving onto the following pay-per-view and the title match. Not to mention they might try to get me to accept a match or two in between! And in the title match, if I wi- when...
She hastily corrected herself, spotting Beast ready to correct her again.
Devona: Then I'm back to 2017 and where I left off. Am I really ready for that?
Beast looked up to her with that charming, supportive smile.
Beast: You will be.
Las Vegas
Two weeks ago
The buzzer sounded, and the noise brought back such memories from the first time she had set foot through these doors, and all the times after. The training was rough, grueling at all times to weed out any possible weak links, but she had persevered then, just as she would persevere now. Devona set her gym bag down, and looked around, taking it all in just as she had done so that first time.
The equipment. The two wrestling rings. And yes, there was Gabriel and Odette, working with a fresh batch of new students who wanted to break into the sport, so they had went to the very best. The big man Synn was there, as was his son Despayre who was standing between two young men, identical twins, and scratching his scalp in obvious confusion. Gabriel looked over and caught sight of one of his and Odette's successful graduates, and smiled brightly, offering her a wave before beckoning her over to join them with the current crop of newbies.
Smiling despite her own butterflies, Devona scooped up her bag and started over....
"You know, every year that the Blast From the Past has happened, every year the participants all seem to say the same thing: 'If I can just get that ultimate partner, then I'm practically guaranteed the win!' thought the same thing when I signed up, if I'm going to be honest. That is until Gabriel took me aside and pointed out, that nothing could be further from the truth."
"As he stressed, in 2018, the exact opposite was proven when another training 'brother' in Fenris, entered the event as his professional wrestling debut. He was an MMA star, but like his partner, Courtney Pierce, had never set foot inside of a professional wrestling match in his life. And against all odds, they won the entire tournament! Two rookies in their first foray in the sport, won the most popular annual event in SCW! So where does that fact leave everyone else and their partner?"
"Well, speaking on my own behalf, it leaves me feeling quite confident. Because in 2017, another graduate of the Stevens, Evie Baang, won the event. The following year, it was Fenris. And here in 2019 -- here I am! It seems the past few years, the event has been a showcase for the graduates of the Stevens training facility and their partners, and I make no bones about admitting that little fact has bolstered my resolve not to let them down and be the first student in three years NOT to walk away with the whole golden pot! Of course, I have two 'sisters' also in this event. Dani Weston and Mackenzie Page. Both former champions in their own right so you know that they'll make things tough. And I can't deny that Mackenzie herself has a stellar partner in her own right in Goth, but let's look at who I'm paired with, hm?"
"Alex Jones. Some say this fine fella has confidence issues, but I disagree. The man has no issues. He's very confident and after checking out his record of achievements, I;d dare say he's earned the right to pat himself on the back! A Hall of Famer? Ten world championships and how many other titles in between then and now? Somebody up there must really like me when his name got drawn out of the hat to stand at my side! I'm certainly not complaining! Alex's track record certainly proves he can face adversity in opponents of all shapes and sizes and still walk away with his head held high."
"And I know that he can look at me and not have a care that I will certainly have his back through this entire tournament!"
"Teddy Warren has certainly made a name for himself, if not in SCW rings. Not that he hasn't tried, but his time in SCW just never got off the ground. And for the life of me, I can't fathom why. He certainly has the tools to go to the top, but just when it looked as if he were going to give it a try, he left before things could get started. Now some folks joke around and just call him 'Mister Kate Steele,' because of his wife's record of success, of which there has been a lot! But that's hardly fair."
"Teddy is his own man when it comes to competing inside of the ring. He just hasn't had a chance to showcase it to the SCW Universe as of yet. Well, this here is his chance, and it's against Alex and myself. Well, against Alex as this is a mixed tag team event, not an intergender one. The key issue is that Alex has so much more experience inside of the ring than Teddy has, and it's going to show when the boys have their chance to lock up. Now, don't bring up my earlier point I made about how two rookies won the whole thing in `18, because there is a world of difference between Teddy Warren and Fenris. Fenris had a fair few years of experience in professional and amateur MMA circles which gave him a definite edge in training. Teddy hasn't got that, and as far as I can tell, I can't remember hearing about the man having ever really set foot inside the ring in a competitive circumstance."
"And that is where Alex will have him, because Alex has been competing for years, and has the success rate to back everything up. Teddy dahlin', all the respect in the world to you for breaking out of that managerial role to set foot inside of the ring, but you drew a bad lot when Alex was to be your first real test."
"Which leaves Teddy's partner, Daniela V. Rodgers, for me to handle. Now trust me when I say, I went and did the research on this chick, and while there isn't a whole lot of information out there, there's enough to tell me what I need to know. I know Daniela is a member of the SCU roster, and part of something called the New Foundation. She's had her ups and her downs in the ring, but this weekend in Belfast is going to be nothing short of a bitter disappointment. Now I know, she has some pretty good credentials. A three-time Crystal River Wrestling singles champion and two-time tag team champion... not too shabby~! Actually, it's down right respectable. Anyone who can call themselves a champion in this tough sport is alright in my eyes, and worthy of being cautious against."
"After all, only a damn fool would just glance at an opponent and not acknowledge who they are and what they've accomplished. I see Daniela, and I respect her for what she's done so far in SCU and elsewhere, but that doesn't mean I'm taking it easy. If anything, it's just going to make me fight the woman all the harder to prove to her and everyone else that my returning for this historic event is something to be proud of. It means I am going to fight to make sure that Alex's faith in me as his partner is not misguided! And I am going to fight her all the harder, to do everyone back home proud."
"Beauty and Beast and their wonderful Momma. My lovely Grams. And everyone at the Stevens academy who are responsible for my success inside of the ring. I fight for them. I fight for Alex Jones. And once that bell rings, Daniela V. Rodgers is going to find out that Devona also fights for herself."
