Flashback: January 5th…Climax Control
“Here is your winner and NEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW SCW BOMBSHELL ROULETTE CHAMPION, CANDY!”
Jacob Summers had finished handing the Bombshell Roulette title to Candy before rushing to check on Sam Marlowe as she lays on the mat looking up at the ringlights, a half smile on her face as she fights to catch her breath. Across the ring, Candy was celebrating with her new title.
“You ok Sam?” questions Jacob softly then sees Sam hold up her thumb in an ‘a okay’ sign. Sam then fights to make it to the side of the ring by rolling slowly across the canvas. Summers motions for help as a trainer makes their way towards the ring just as Sam reaches the bottom rope and rolls to the outside in time to see Jessie Salco shake her head in disappointment and leave through the curtain.
Before the trainer reaches her, Sam waves him off and then slowly makes her way up the aisle and disappears behind the curtain herself. Backstage is rather crowded with superstars and bombshells ready to head out for their nights entertainment and relaxation as they try to come down from the excitement of the show. Sam walks along the hallway towards the bombshells’ locker room, the odd call out from others catching her attention and getting a response of a smile or a wave from the redhead. Finally, she makes back to the room and inside where she finds her bag open near the showers. Reaching down, she pulls out a shirt and jeans that she lays out on the bench.
A knock sounds at the door and Pussy Willow leans around the door just as Sam’s hands move to the back of her halter. “Hey Sammi,” she calls out. “Ben said the magic word ‘pub’ and we are all heading out. You comin’ with us?”
Sam chuckles and then offers her friend a shake of her head. “Much as I would love to, I don’t think that I would be much of a party girl tonight,” she offers.
Pussy’s smile fades and a look of concern crosses her face as she pushes her way into the room and up to Sam. “Okay Sam, spill it. Are you gonna be depressed about losing that title?”
Sam reaches up to push damp curls off her cheek and behind her ear. “Believe it or not Pussy, I ain’t really sorry I lost the title,” says Sam as she bites at her lower lip, worried about the reaction from her friend which isn’t slow in coming as Pussy puts her hand on the forehead of Sam.
“You don’t feel sick,” she opines as Sam begins to giggle. Pussy shakes her head and then putting both hands on the cheeks of Sam, she turns her head to the right or left as if looking for some kind of injury. “One too many hits to the head, talking like you wanted to lose the title.”
Sam pulls away from the grip and holds up a hand. “Let me be real honest here Pussy, I didn’t want to lose the title. You saw me go out there like usual and I gave it my all and this time, Candy was just a little better than me and she took advantage of that and pulled out the win. Like Daddy says, the sun shines…” begins Sam.
“I know I know,” interrupts Pussy. “The sun shines on a dog’s ass once in a while. But Sam, you have been dominant with that title for almost a year…don’t you think that you should be disappointed at all?”
“I would be lyin’ to say that I ain’t disappointed by the loss,” offers Sam as she straddles the bench nearby only to be joined by Pussy. “Heck, everyone wanted me to retain that title and here I go and lose it and I ain’t even worried about it. What does that say about me huh?”
Sam’s words make Pussy laugh. “It says that you are either too nice for your own good or you are trying to justify the loss with positivity,” teases Pussy. “Either way, you have nothing to be ashamed of you know. No one has done what you have with the Bombshell Roulette title.”
Sam offers a self-deprecating smile as she brings one foot up to untie her wrestling boot. She pushes the laces out and then pulling the boot off, she lets it drop in front of her and stretches out her leg before switching to the other foot and pulling it up and unlacing that boot. Across from her, Pussy taps her own booted foot on the concrete. “You haven’t said that you are coming out with us,” she says, one eyebrow raised.
Sam shakes her head and then leans back on her hands as she smiles. “I am going to head back to the hotel, get me some room service then I have a call that I need to make to Colton. Besides, tonight I think I need to start making plans about what I am going to have to do to get back in contention for the belt. I am pretty sure that some how and some way I am going to be able to get me a rematch for the Bombshell Roulette title. You know they keep saying that it is a guarantee rematch for former champions but I am not going to take that for granted. So, I have some notes to take and some time to figure out just how to earn my rematch.”
Pussy stands and gives her friend a look with a shake of her own blonde hair. “Fine, be the party pooper Sam,” states Pussy. “But remember that when you get that action plan in the works, yours truly gets the first interview about it.”
“Of course, you do Pussy,” teases Sam. “Who else would I go to for that interview?” The redhead also gets to her feet and smiles as she once more pulls at the tie at her neck for her halter as her other arm holds it up. “But you have fun and tell Ben I said hi and congrats.”
Pussy moves to the door and offers Sam a wave without looking. “You know I will Sammi,” she replies before pulling open the door and spinning to offer a cheeky salute to the redhead. “Have fun yourself chatting with Colton.”
Pussy heads through the door trailed by the laughter of Sam that is finally muted by the door closing. Inside the room, Sam moves towards the shower in the locker room. Turning on the water, she disappears behind the half wall with her wrestling halter falling to the floor as she does.
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Flashback: January 12th…Climax Control 258 Card announced
Sam Marlowe is backstage at Climax Control in Lawrenceville Georgia dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans with strategic rips in the legs, cowboy boots and a black Sam Marlowe shirt. Standing talking to some of the techs backstage, she looks relaxed and happy.
“Great talking to you guys,” she calls out as she moves to head towards the interview slash promotional backdrop ready to cut a promo for the show. Before she can turn away, she is stopped by a man with an ipad who rushes up to the redhead.
“Sam, I got the card for next week and you will never guess what the main event is,” he says with a smirk. Before she can answer, he continues. “It is a number one contenders match!”
Sam offers him an interested look and claps him on the back. “Sounds awesome. By the way, any idea if I am booked?” she asks. “Or where I am going to be in the card? I have got to make plans because I am sure that I will be booked. Just a feeling you know.”
“I just told you Sam, the main event and the number one contenders match,” answers the intern. “It is a fatal fourway with you taking on…”
“Wait…what?” says Sam looking confused. “I am in the main event again? For the number one contendership? To what?”
“Roxi Johnson’s Bombshell championship of course,” says the intern as if he is speaking to someone that wasn’t understanding English. “I was told that the card has you in the fatal fourway so I thought I would come over and tell you about it considering that you may want to prepare this week to talk about it. Heck, if you want to, you can talk about it now if you like.” Looking around, he finds a cameraman and waves him over. “Sam here wants to talk about next week. You record it and then we will save it til then. Have fun.”
He rushes away leaving the cameraman and Sam to watch him go. The cameraman turns to the redhead and raises his camera up. “So Sam, you want to film your thingie? I got a few minutes.”
Sam nods absentmindedly as she still can’t believe that she is in the main event for the number one contendership to Roxi’s title. Walking towards the SCW backdrop, she stops, turns and then takes a deep breath as the cameraman sets up to film. When he is prepared, he points at Sam to begin.
“I just found out that next week at Climax Control, I have been put in a match to decide the number one contender to Roxi Johnson’s Bombshell title. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. After all it was only last week that I lost my title to Candy and now next week I could get the chance to challenge for the Bombshell title,” Sam says. “If you ask me, I don’t know why Christian Underwood and Mark Ward put me in this match but they must see something about me to have put me in this match.”
Sam brings her arms up to cross over her chest as she cocks her hip slightly and gets a thoughtful look on her face. “You want to know what is going to happen? I can tell you right now that everyone and their best buddies are going to talk about how dare I get a chance like this. They will say I don’t deserve it, that I should stay down in the Bombshell Roulette ranks and leave the Bombshell title to the big girls of SCW. And I would be remiss to suggest that I shouldn’t think long and hard about this shot that I am receiving,” muses Sam as she raises a finger to tap at her nose then opens her hand as if to say why.
“If you ask me, I would tell y’all straight out that I didn’t ask for this shot,” she states with a smile. “I never planned on challenging for the Bombshell title at this time. Given that I was the Bombshell Roulette champion and all, people would up and say that as a champion I shouldn’t challenge for it. So I was proud to hold that title and defend it to the best of my ability.”
Sam smiles at the memory before continuing. “But that was then and I was the champion and now I am just another bombshell on the search for title opportunity. And next week I get that opportunity when I face three other women for…” Sam’s voice fades out as she realizes that she doesn’t know who she is facing in the match. Hanging her head, she reaches into her back pocket where her phone is and pulls up the SCW website where the card for next week has been posted.
“Hellfire,” she breathes as she reads off her opponents then looks up with a small glance of panicked excitement. “I am facing Andrea Hernandez, Keira Fisher-Johnson and Bobbie Dahl. Oh lord help me, this is going to be good.”
The cameraman continues to film as he calls out to the redhead. “So, you are telling me that you are facing those three for the title shot? Doesn’t that make you nervous?” he demands as he moves closer to Sam, her image in the viewfinder enlarging.
“I would be lying if I said no,” says Sam, her southern drawl deepening with her surprise. “All three of these bombshells are hard to beat on their own but in the same match…” Looking down at her phone again, she takes another deep breath and then looks up as she slides her phone back into her pocket.
“I guess first things first…I want to let Keira and Andrea and Bobbie know that I didn’t ask for this shot. Doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve it, it just means that I am not someone that steps out and demands a title shot just because. I am someone that likes to earn things like titles and title shots.”
Sam looks directly into the camera and once more crosses her arms across her chest. “I think that when it comes to this match, I could address all of you and tell you that I am going to win but I can’t be that cocky because given the fact that I am facing three women who all want the title in the worse way, I am going to have to be focused on each of them in a different way.”
“Take for instance, Keira Fisher-Johnson. She is so bent on getting a title shot because we all know that Team Hero were strong champions as a tag team and that Keira has tried to win the title time and again demanding title shots because she could. And now with her wife wearing the Bombshell title, she thinks that she should be given the shot because it would be keepin’ it in the family so to speak. Well, Keira is a tough challenge and trust me, I know for a fact that she wants it more than most,” says Sam. “She is the one that is ‘super’ interested in testing her wife and taking the title. Sadly that means that she is already underestimating all of us in the match. Well maybe two of us at least.”
Beginning to pace slightly, Sam thinks as she speaks. “Keira, I know that when it comes down to it, you have been a champion before and that is something that one can’t discount in this match. And I have so much respect for you considering your abilities and how you are able to control a match in the six sided ring. I am definitely not underestimating you when we are in the match. Because if I do, that is when you can pull the win out easily. I want to let you know that I intend to give you all you can handle and if that means that I am going to be taking your title shot away, I am sorry but it is something I want just as much as you do.”
Sam sighs and bites at her lower lip. “Then you have Andrea Hernandez who has had an amazing start to her career in SCW. She is a winner for sure and if you believe the hype, she is someone that can pull out a win and if you listen to her, it will be her wanting to get the title shot because she has something to prove. Good for her but when you set yourself up like that, it is like setting yourself up to fail.” Sam rolls her eyes skyward as she contemplates what else she wants to say about Andrea. “I get it Andrea, getting a chance at a title shot in my rookie year. And of course, this would be your first title in the company should you manage to beat the three of us in this match and go on to face Roxi and beat her. But there is something that you need to know, I have been here before…offered a chance to challenge for the belt and when I was given that shot, I took it and ran with it. And now that I have been given the chance to earn my shot, I am going to take it and I am going to do what I do best and that is bringing the fight to the ring and winning against the odds.”
“Andrea, you have to know that I have watched you for the last few months and I will admit you do have what it takes to step into the ring and win this match. You are someone that has the background and the skills to do the unexpected and win. And if you do, great. If you don’t win, it isn’t from lack of trying, it just won’t be your night. Given the nature of the match, the odds are really not in any of our favors,” states Sam.
Unlacing her arms and putting her hands on her hips, Sam’s smile fades slightly and her eyes narrow slightly. “That brings us to the final participant in the match, one Bobbie Dahl. The woman who is talking all sorts of trash about how she is the one that will be challenging Roxi because she is the only one that deserves the match. Yeah, the only one that talks the talk but when she tries to walk the walk, she trips herself up time and again. I know for a fact that she does talk a good game and when she is on, she could be a contender but when it comes to this match, she is going to be hardpressed to get past the other three people in that match.” Sam pauses and offers a thoughtful smile. “I seem to remember a cocky Bobbie Dahl who said that she would take the Bombshell Roulette title from me because I was nothing in the ring and that she was everything. Well when the dust settled, who was it that won those matches Bobbie? I think it was me wasn’t it”
“I am going into the match knowing that I have a twenty five percent chance of coming out of the ring with the contendership,” says Sam with a nod. “But for that twenty five percent chance, I am putting one hundred and twenty five percent into the fight I am bringing to the match and with math like that, I am starting to really like those odds.”
Sam smirks slightly before the smirk fades and a natural smile crosses her face. “You know I could talk about how much I could beat these women and how much I want to show them up because I am walking into this match as some kind of favorite. And truthfully, I have seen post after post on social media about it needs to be anyone but Bobbie and I have seen how most people think that Bobbie is just a flash in the pan that needs to be extinguished. And I am sure that Keira and Andrea believe that they can do it and if truth be told, I could too. And when it comes to Bobbie I am sure that she will do the same thing over and over again and that is talk about it is all about her and how she has been cheated out of title shot after title shot. How she has been on the losing end of each match and looks for some kind of excuse. Wash, rinse and repeat. I also know that she is a force to be reckoned with when she steps into the ring with something to prove. In all honesty, she probably could win it all and prove us all wrong.”
Shaking her head, Sam sighs and addresses the camera. “Next week I am stepping into the ring with three other bombshells that are looking for a chance to challenge Roxi Johnson. And I want you to know that win or lose, I am fine with whatever will happen. But I want you to also know that I am coming to that match with a desire to prove that I am able to compete at that level.”
“I don’t know if you have realized it but there is a fire that burns inside me to prove that I am not just SCW’s sweetheart. I am more than just the babyface of the company who only deserves to challenge in the Roulette division. If anything, challenging at that level is kind of like a proving ground for the skills and abilities of someone that should be able to take the straight match type of the Bombshell World title and with the fact that a Roulette title match prepares you for anything. So maybe that is an advantage for me because I have been a strong Bombshell Roulette champion who holds records that no one else can claim. Now I am being given the chance to once more step up in the World title picture for the Bombshells and I am not going to waste my opportunity because I am going to use all my skills and all my ability to once more challenge for the number one contendership to the Bombshell title and when I win next week, I am going to take my opportunity and face Roxi for the Bombshell title. And believe you me…”
Sam stops suddenly as some taps the cameraman on his shoulder. With an apologetic look at Sam, he points down the hall and shrugs. “I gotta go film this thing…” he offers as he backs away leaving Sam to watch him go.
“It’s all right,” she calls out to him. “We can talk next week!”
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Standing in the airport, Sam Marlowe is relaxed as she spies the departure list looking for her gate for the flight to Miami. Beside her is Colton who has shouldered a rather beat up black bag and is reaching for the handle of a carry on.
“So Sami, when is our flight?” he asks in his soft southern drawl.
“It’s leaving from gate 8 in about forty five minutes,” she replies as she looks along the concourse for the gate numbers and spies the correct gate half way down the corridor. Beside the pair, people are moving along, some stumbling into others in their rush to make their flights or meet loved ones who are waving and calling out.
Colton puts his arm around Sam as she is buffeted by the jostle of people. “Let’s head to the gate,” he states as he begins to guide her towards it. She follows along with a smile that she hides from Colton.
The pair reach the gate and find a pair of plastic chairs that are beside each other. Settling down, Sam leans her head against the shoulder of Colton and closes her eyes. He can hear her soft breathing and speaks softly. “So Miami and you get to be in the main event again. You ready Sami?”
She opens her eyes and then offers him a smile from his shoulder. “I think so Camo,” she states slowly. “I mean they are going to be tough to beat considering that all of them have been in the rarefied air of the Bombshell title. I am just a former Bombshell Roulette champion,” she adds with a wink.
“I know y’all are going to talk yourself down again and what have I told you about that?” demands Colton with a stern look on his face. Sam sits up and with a twinkle in her eye, she replies.
“You told me that I was not allowed to put myself down, that was Cyn’s job and if she ain’t here, then I am ten foot tall and bullet proof when it comes to my matches,” she recites in a singsong voice that has Colton lowering his eyebrows sternly. Sam flutters her lashes at him and his veneer cracks when he begins to laugh.
“Dang straight and I don’t see your sister or that man of hers anywhere around so this week in Miami, you are going to be in that ring and you are going to win right?” he adds which has Sam nodding in agreement.
Before he can say anything else, their flight is called to board and the pair get to their feet. Sam moves to the counter, her passport and boarding pass in one hand as she drags her battered carry on towards the plane. Behind her Colton hands his identification and boarding pass to the attendant who checks it and waves them on to the skywalk towards the plane.
Once they board, they move to business class and put their luggage in the overhead rack and then take their seats. Sam looks out the window to see the crew on the tarmac as they prepare the plane for take off. Colton leans in and laces his fingers with hers.
“Darlin’ penny for your thoughts,” he whispers which has Sam turning to him with a grin.
“I’m thinking that I am glad you are coming to Miami with me. Considering who I am facing and the fact that I am in a match for the number one contendership for the Bombshell title,” she says slowly. “I may look confident but in reality…” Her fingers tighten around Colton’s as she looks down for a moment then back into his eyes. “I’m scared Camo.”
“What do you have to be scared of darlin’?” he counters as he pulls the hand of Sam up to offer it a kiss on her now white knuckles.
“I’m scared that I won’t be taken seriously in that match,” she replies quietly. “Bobbie is all over the fact that this is her year and Keira is all about wanting to face Roxi to decide which one of Team Hero is the best and Andrea is out to do something to live up to her legacy. And then there is me and in all honesty, what have I done to deserve the shot huh? Mark Ward and Christian Underwood put me in the match for some reason and I still haven’t figured out what that reason is but I do know I am not going to waste the opportunity.”
Colton gives Sam a look and then a nod. “Do you think that since you have held the title before and you are a dominant former champion in the Roulette division that this was the natural progression for you. You will do fine Sam, trust me. And I am going to be there to watch this and I am going to be cheering you on like you have no idea. I might even have to be front and center for the match at ringside. Think I might be a distraction?” he teases.
“If I lose, then does that mean I get to blame you for it?” she jokes back.
Colton can’t help but laugh before the buzz of the intercom is heard as the pilot welcomes the passengers to the flight. The stewardess picks up her pack for the safety demonstration as Sam and Colton turn to listen to it. The pair prepare to head to Miami and Sam takes a moment to begin to prepare for the match while giving slight attention to the safety lecture as the view moves out the window as the plane begins to pull away from the airport building.
