[Crystal Zdunich]

 Off Camera
Los Angeles, California
Huge Estate

Paloma found herself entering into her Los Angeles estate. It was one of the many homes that the masked beauty had made for herself. She walked into the house wearing her mask. Her father followed her closely from behind. She slowly took off her mask as she stared back at her father.

“I honestly don’t know if this whole secret identity thing is my calling. I respect the life of a luchadore. I appreciate the values of being a light to the school showcasing what it means to bring the spirit and fight all the hispanic community but hiding behind a mask just isn’t me. It’s just not my calling. People need to know my name. They need to see who it is that they are stepping in the ring with the moment the bell rings. How can I get by on just being there. You of all people should know me better than anyone else. I know you wouldn’t steer me in the wrong direction but even you have to admit that my match with Natalie McKinley was missing something. It was missing that umph that I always put into my matches. The one that only I can…”

The older man closes the door behind him as he watches his daughter take her mask off. She runs her hands through her long golden brown hair as she gazes back into his eyes. He however offers a long sigh in return as he speaks back to her.

“So that’s it… You willing to just give up before the journey even begun? It’s not like you to be quitter. Whatever happened to my daughter who would put nearly everything and anything into every single one of her matches to get her point across? Whatever happened to the woman that would damn near take flight reach for new risks and didn’t care about setbacks using each and every single loss as a way of fuel to propel her on towards something better. What happened to that woman?”

La Paloma clutches the mask in her hands as she squeezes it tightly. She looks back at her father as her eyes move to that of the mask. “What happened to her?! That woman has been non existent for two years. I use to be the cream of the crop. One of the very best in the entire business. Yet it’s been three years since I held a top tier championship it’s been 2 years since I held singles gold, and on top of that two weeks ago I had to deal with hearing about somebody rip me a new one, and the only thing I could do is stand there and take it. Take every single bit of it and ignore what was said about me. I am better than that dad. Better than that. Add in that last year was the absolute worst year in my life. Going through a divorce fighting my husband for the rights of my own child. It’s been a roller coaster of events, and I can’t afford to just sit back trying to establish a new identity when I was comfortable with my old one. What’s the point of creating a new identity when my old one is in need of mending. ”

The older man looks back at his daughter as he let’s the sound of a loud sigh escape his lips. “So if you decide to do give up the mask how do you think that is going to look to all of your students back in Mexico? How is that going to look to all of the people that put their all into you. That trusted you in trying to help further define the art of Lucha in other places away from Mexico…”

The woman get’s frustrated as she squeezes her mask tighter than before. “Dad I don’t need a “BEEPING” mask to prove how much I care about Lucha. You of all people should know that it is rooted deep within my veins. After all it was in your school where I learned how to wrestle. It was your ways and your lessons that I incorporate into each one of my matches. But the landscape of SCW needs to be shaken up a bit. I love the mask. I love everything it represents but I shouldn’t have to hide behind it. People should know of my identity. They should know what I represent, and what I am bringing to the table. After two weeks ago I just can’t have anybody just flat out disrespecting me like they did…”

The father’s man looks back into the eyes of his daughter. He keeps his eyes locked on her eyes as he takes a long deep breath. He seems befuddled as he speaks back to her. “

“I didn’t think Natalie said anything that bad. I mean she basically said it was a David and Goliath encounter but the respect seemed to be there. She respected you being a veteran and…”

The woman however shakes her head as she crosses her arms looking back at her father. “This has nothing to do with Natalie. You should know exactly what I am talking about. It’s just sort of getting to me. You have all of this commotion going on with the Mean Girls and I am left lurking in the shadows trying to hide myself. The fans don’t want me to hide. They don’t deserve it. They need me. They need me to take a stand, and to fight. Whether it’s against the biggest evil, or even defending my own name. Making a new name for myself is out of the question when my own name has so many accolades and accomplishments tied to it. What am I really running away from by hiding behind a mask dad? What is it that is really plaguing me. I respect the hell out of the mask but my justification for wearing it are all for the wrong reasons. Lucha legends wore their masks as  a sign of honor, as a sense of pride. It defined who they are. Yet I am doing it to hide, to run away from what or who I was. I am tired of lurking in the shadows. Tired of trying to glance at things from afar. I think it’s truly time to be just like a dove spread my wings and fly above the rest, and no matter what you say. Nothing will take away from that…”

The father just laughs as he shakes his head.

“That lasted longer than I thought. I honestly didn’t think you would last past the first match but it is what it is. I can’t hold your hand and tell you what to do. You are 26 and it’s on you to choose what you want to do in your life. You have had a success wrestling career, and I will admit losing to Natalie may look like a setback but if there is anyone who knows how to find a way to bounce back. If there is one way to pick themselves up it’s you. It has always been you…”

The woman however just stands there as she shakes her head offering a long sigh in return as she speaks back to her father. “This has nothing to do with losing to Natalie. It was just the first match but she isn’t the one that really got to me. It was somebody else on the roster, and it’s really be affecting me. I don’t want people to think of me in that way. I don’t want them to think that my mere presence anywhere spells trouble. That’s not me at all. I think the biggest problem with people is that they are mixing on who I used to be and not who I am now.”

“Well to be honest you really can’t escape your past. As much as you may want to turn on it, and simply hide. The truth of the matter is that the past happened for a reason. It happened so that it could shape who you are today.”

“Exactly. I still have my regrets on leaving the school long ago, and whether I put on a mask or not. It’s not going to fix anything. What I can do however is go out to that ring on a daily basis and give everyone the best that I have to offer. Give them everything I have in every single outing. Win lose or draw put on the show of a life time. Before it was only about being the center spotlight, being the main attraction but now my view on what’s important has changed dramatically. It’s not about superficial things that don’t mean a thing. It’s about the fight, the perseverance and most of all just pouring my heart into this business. Plus I have a little one that is looking up to me. Looking to me to make the right decisions so she knows the path to follow. I might as well start doing something right for a change…”

The man finally smiles as he stares back at her. “Well if that’s the case then go… Do what you set out to do, and don’t ever look back. Most of all take flight, spread your wings and fly to the top. You have a lot at stake. It’s not about a mask any longer but it goes well beyond that. It goes to the point of believing in yourself. As long as you do that nothing can stop you from achieving what you want, and I truly mean nothing…”:

“I know dad… After all the sky is the limit right?”

The woman smiles as she turns around to give him a long passionate hug. However in the midst of that a teenager walks into the scene clad in a pair of Resident Evil Jill Valentine pajamas. Her hair wrapped into a ponytail. She smiles as she looks at them.

“Hey mommy… I didn’t know you were coming home…  I thought you were going to stay in Mexico for a bit…”

“Well things change. Anyway why don’t we get some ice cream. I got some things I want to discuss with you…”

The teenage girl’s eyes light up as she glances back at her mother. With that in mind it is on this image that we fade out on.




On Camera

The scene changes and this time we find ourselves inside of a gym somewhere in San Diego California. We are able to see La Paloma standing in the middle of a wrestling ring. She doesn’t hesitate as she does a backflip landing on her feet. She let’s the smile escape her lips and she can’t help but do it again and again. The cameras draw in closer to her face as she grins starting to speak.

“Finally the chance to compete in Southern California. The chance to compete in an area that I am very familiar with. Two weeks ago on Climax Control I had the pleasure of making my SCW debut and despite losing to Natalie it was an honor to step inside of an SCW ring. It felt good to be able to put my body on the line for the people that came to watch, and most of all it felt great to have a match with Natalie. But at the end of the day Natalie emerged as being the better wrestler on that day, and there isn’t anything that can take away from that. However I am not going to get caught up in talking about the past because you all witnessed what happened as much as I felt it. Instead I think it would be a better idea to focus on the here and now. To focus on what is staring at me on the horizon which brings me to this edition of Climax Control, and this week the stakes seem to be raised to a much higher degree.

It isn’t about breaking myself free from the cobwebs or going through the motions of nervous of what it might feel to step into an SCW ring. What matters is that I have the absolute chance of a lifetime. I have the opportunity to step in the ring with two women as a part of the Going for The Gold tournament and have the opportunity to earn myself a chance at Roulette gold. The thought of being able to be taken seriously in just my second match makes me feel honored. It makes me feel like I have a shot, and people are looking for me to step up. But I refuse to gett too complacent by thinking that this match will be equal to that of a walk in the park. That’s what happened back in Northern California. I overlooked a woman based on her inexperience in the ring, and I thought highly of myself. I thought based on how long I spent in this business and what I did elsewhere I could immediately bring myself to SCW and instantly be in the limelight.

That I could pick up on things looking I haven’t missed a beat, and soared high above the rest of the competition as if they weren’t anything to me, but Natalie proved that wasn’t the case. She was able to best me inside the ring, and I was forced to swallow my pride, and think on it for a few days. However as we are going to compete in Southern California in a city that I am familiar with let me be the first to tell you that this time around that will not be the case. This time I am going to be ready for whatever Natalie has to throw at me, and I am going to be the woman to dish back more in return. So Mckinley you can go ahead and get complacent if you want too but don’t assume that Lightning will be able to strike twice in the same location. Don’t assume that because you defeated me once doing it the second time will be just as easy.

The difference between our first match and this one is that during our first encounter you had a lot to prove. For your very first match ever you had to show that you had what it took to be able to withstand this business. You had to show everyone that you are more than just a physical trainer that you are a great athlete, and are able to handle your own inside the ring if given the chance. I can respect that but this time the roles will be reversed. Because when I step in that ring I will show that I am hungry for this match, and I am hungry to make a quick ascension to the top. Hungry to prove that I won’t let anything or anyone clip my wings before I have a chance to soar.

You kept me grounded two weeks ago but this time whether you like it or not. I will spread my wings, and I will fly high above the rest of the competition. But it’s just not you that I will be soaring over Natalie. I also have some rich snob in K2 to worry about. Katherine Kensington don’t take it personally. I can respect you wanting to get into the business. I can respect a rich girl trying to showcase that she wants to get involved in this wonderful sport. Whether it is for selfish intentions or simply because you are bored, and have nothing else to do. Whatever your reason for doing it is for your own reasons, and I won’t look down on it.

What I will look down on however is two newbies who are looking to grasp onto that spotlight. There’s only room for one and by every single thing running through my body. With every single pride that I have I won’t allow two women who are just finding their way into this woman cut in front of the veteran who is looking to stride her way back towards greatness. I am 26 years old and in wrestling that may be an age where you may question if I am really a veteran or not. But you all didn’t drop out of high school and find her way to Mexico at the age of 16 to train with her father. You all don’t have ten years of experience of being in the ring.

I just don’t respect the business, i just don’t live the business, but I am the Goddamn business and I won’t let anyone get in a way who is driven to fight her way towards the top. With ten years under me I should be able to do something, and not just look like it. San Diego will be the location where I rise up. It will be the location where the Dove takes flight, and there won’t be anything that get’s in the way of that….

Aside from that however. San Diego will also be the city where I will reveal myself. Win, lose, or draw, After the match everyone will see the woman that is underneath the mask, and you will all see what you are dealing with it. How will the world take it when they see me reveal myself? It can either be indifferent, that of happiness, or that of anger and annoyance. However you may view me. There’s no sense in running away any longer. No sense of hiding in the distance watching others ascend before me. It’s time to do what I do best.

So people of SCW. Watch out as yours truly spreads her wings and takes flight. Nobody will clip my wings or stop me from achieving my goals. After all the Sky’s the limit…”

With that The Dove quickly runs to the top of the ropes and she does a backflip off of it. She takes her mask off in front of the camera but before we can see who it is that is hiding behind the mask the screen fades to static as we fade out for now.