The video begins and we find ourselves looking up at the sky from inside a building. The sky is overcast, there are dark clouds overhead but it’s not yet raining, although it looks like it may do any moment. The camera focuses up on the clouds for a long moment before we hear the voice of the former multi-time SCW World Champion, Syren, from behind it. “Earlier today it was beautiful and sunny. I really thought that it was going to be just an amazing day. Look at it now. Isn’t it amazing how quickly things can change? There’s definitely a storm coming. There’s a chill in the air. Everything seems darker, a little bleaker, and you know that that optimism that everyone had this morning when they looked out their windows and saw what a beautiful day it was is long, long gone. Isn’t it weird how quickly things like that can change?” she asks before taking in a deep breath and letting out a long sigh. “That’s how it is sometimes though. The weather changes in an instant. The storms come. There’s not a whole lot you can do about it. All you can really do is get inside, bunker down, and distract yourself from it all. There’s something about that incoming storm, however, that changes the mood, isn’t there? The sun disappears and everyone’s attitude darkens just a little as well. People get more depressed, a lot less optimistic, and you start to see the negative side of them coming out. And sometimes, when the weather is like this, it can be hard to remember that tomorrow it’ll be bright and sunny again. Yah, weather can be a funny kind of thing.”

She steps away from the window and turns the camera around on herself. We see she’s dressed casually, a pink top, a little makeup, her hair tied back and a worried look on her face. “You guys know that it’s not just the weather outside where there’s a storm though, don’t you? Earlier today it may have been blissful and bright before the weather changed outside, but in SCW it was blissful and bright not too long ago as well. There was optimism in the air. There was excitement over the possibilities. Then the storm arrived in SCW and everyone’s mood almost instantly changed. That tends to happen when the dark clouds roll in, and I don’t care what anyone else says but right now we’ve got those dark clouds covering SCW. You guys feel that, don’t you? I know SCW management feels it. Can you blame them? They’re looking at one of the worst-case scenarios for them right now. They have, at the moment, a champion who’s possibly the last guy on the roster they’d want to hold the most prestigious championship in the company. And that isn’t because he doesn’t deserve it. I’m not going to make that claim. I’m also not going to stand here right now and tell you that he’s not ‘good enough’. You know he is. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again right now, you don’t get to compete at this level, you don’t get to compete with the absolute best in the world in SCW if you’re not good. There is nobody in this company who doesn’t deserve to be here, and anyone who tells you otherwise is deluding themselves,” she says before laughing. “But being good, being tough, being a world class athlete or a tough-as-nails competitor doesn’t make you a champion!”

She lets out a little sigh. “It took me a long time to figure that out. Back when I started I used to be like so many in the roster, look at the shiniest title on display and think to myself that if I won that – however I won that – then I’d automatically get everything that I wanted to come with it, and we all knew what I wanted, didn’t we? I wanted recognition. I wanted respect. I wanted power. Heh, I really did want power too. I’m sure you can understand why. Look at my career. How many times have I been humiliated in the ring, not because someone bested me in a physical contest but because someone embarrassed me by dragging in the rest of my world? I’m still the girl who, at twenty years of age, had her own father appear on a broadcast to talk about how disappointed he was in me thanks to CHBK. I’m still the girl, regardless of everything that’s happened since, that everyone will always remember as the one who slept with a married man and had that talked about in the middle of an arena on live TV,” she says before laughing a little. “Oh yah, that’s a career highlights package right there. So when I first got a chance to reach the top I grabbed hold of it with both hands and REFUSED to let go, thinking that with that title would come everything I wanted… but I was wrong. I held that title, I did whatever it took to hold onto it, I raised it over my head and I screamed and I yelled but I was never really a champion. If you told me that back then I’d have denied it, of course. I thought the belt made me the woman. I think Vixen Cain believes that too.”

She sighs again. “I could be wrong. He’ll tell me I am, clearly. That’s because he thinks right now he’s on top of the world. He thinks he’s the best. He thinks that holding the title proves that he is everything he always said he was. But the truth is holding the title doesn’t make you anything. Holding the title means you earn a bigger paycheque. Holding the title means you have a brighter spotlight on you. Holding the title means you gain the attention of everyone else who wants it. But – and it took me a long time to actually realise this – holding the title doesn’t make you the face of SCW. Truth is Vixen Cain – and I mean the current Vixen Cain, the guy we all know right now – will NEVER be the face of SCW. He could hold the title for another week, another month, another ten years and he’ll still never be the man. Why? Because the title doesn’t make you the man! It never has. Holding the title doesn’t make you a champion, it just makes you the best paid person on the roster with the heaviest carry-on when you travel. Being a champion, a REAL champion, is something else entirely. And the moment that he claimed that belt the dark clouds began setting in around SCW, but here’s the thing about it all… they WILL dissipate. The storm WILL pass. No matter how dark things seem, no matter how far the clouds reach, they WILL dissipate eventually and there will be sunshine again,” she promises before a smile forms over her face. “And if I have my way, I’ll be the one who makes that happen. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow… but I can be patient.”

She smiles a little. The smile doesn’t last too long though. “So, this is the part where Vixen tells me that I’m wrong, that I don’t know what I’m talking about, and that he’s the future of the company, or whatever, right? To give him credit at least that way he’d be consistent. Truth is from the moment he arrived in SCW he’s believed that he should be a champion. That’s been his thing from day one, right? He walked in, he was put into the United States Championship contendership almost immediately, and from that point forward he’s told everyone who’ll listen what he’s entitled to. Every win has just further increased that. Every loss? Well, they didn’t matter, right? Because that’s the way he is. Not so different to most others. And when he got a sniff of something more than the United States Championship he started claiming he deserved that instead. Beat a former World Champion, who happens to be United States Champion, and OBVIOUSLY that means you should be World Champion, right?” she asks sarcastically before scoffing. “No. Sorry Vixen, that is NOT the way it works. You’re going to find that out now as well, the hard way, the same way I did and so many others did when they thought they should have that title by some kind of right. Being World Champion has NEVER been a right and getting a shot at that belt? It’s not MEANT to be easy. But people like you, people who walk in the door and within a month think they should be right at the top… well, I’ve already spoken about the stuff we used to have in common, but bitch, I’ve NEVER been that arrogant!”

She laughs again. “See, from the day I stepped foot in this company I’ve been about ONE thing and that’s PROVING myself. Did I want to be a champion in my third ever match? Duh, who doesn’t? Did I expect it? No. Did I demand it? No. Did I work for it? You bet your fucking ass I did! My third ever match WAS against a former champion – in the Women’s division at least – but I didn’t think pinning ONE former title holder made me the new face of a division. I knew the truth from the beginning. I knew I’d need to bust my ass. I knew I’d need to put the work in. I knew I’d need to take on EVERYONE in the division and that’s what I did. When I got my first ever title shot I wasn’t even sure I was ready, even though I wanted it so bad, and when I claimed it I knew then that I wasn’t ready either. How long did it take me to establish myself? You look back in the history books and that first title reign broke every record known in the company at the time. I was the SCW Women’s Champion for four hundred and six days. And for four hundred and six days I had bitches telling me I wasn’t good enough. You know what I did?” she asks before grinning proudly. “I proved them all wrong. Can you say the same, Vixen? No. Sorry sweetie, I don’t mean to say that you haven’t proven some of the doubters wrong – god knows I was one of your biggest when I first saw you, but that could have been because you were an arrogant douche-canoe who kept dropping my name to get yourself attention, and then tried to hurt my wife – but there’s no way you can tell anyone, with any kind of straight face, that you’ve proven EVERYONE wrong.”

“You’ve got a chance to now though. You’ve got the biggest belt and EVERY opportunity. And hell, you’re now the guy who beat Selena Frost, Syren and Gable Winchester, right? Except… well, we both know that that middle one wasn’t quite as cut and dry as you’d want history to remember, huh? Now I don’t know what would have happened. I don’t know that I DEFINITELY would have beaten you. I’ve been in enough situations like that in the past to know, beyond doubt, that it’s not over until the bell rings. I’ve seen people kick out of things I was SURE had them finished,” she says before smiling a little and letting out a bit of a girlish giggle. “And how many times have people thought they had ME finished only to blame the referee when I raised my shoulder off the mat? When you’re in that situation, when you’re fighting for what TRULY matters to you, I can tell you better than anyone that you find strength beyond that of normal levels and you can keep going in spite of so much. So I can’t stand here today and tell you conclusively I WOULD have beaten you and become World Champion… but I can tell you conclusively, without doubt, that the ONLY reason the match ended how it did was because of Alex Drake. You know that. I know that. Thousands of people there that night saw it with their own eyes while millions more watched on television all over the world. You beat me that night Vixen and nothing I say or do can undo that… but we both know you didn’t do it on your own. And I’ll be totally honest with you… I’m not going to rest until I get a chance to get back in there with you again, one on one, this time WITHOUT the bullshit.”

“Yet I know the way the game works. I know the fact I’ve beaten you before doesn’t mean anything. I know there’s a line. I know I’m one of a dozen people who deserves a chance at that title. I know I’m going to need to work for it. I know I’m going to need to do something to stand out. And I know beating Alex Drake, as fun as that might have been, doesn’t mean a damn thing when it comes to that title. I know I’ve got everything to prove. But see, here’s the thing… so do you. And the difference between us is really simple: I’m actually going to prove it. I’ve got a chance this week, right? It’s not the match I would have wanted. It’s not one on one. You’ve got Merrick, I’ve got Gable Winchester, but the way I see it I’ve still got a chance this week to get a little payback, and if you think for a moment that I’m going to pass up on that because the belt isn’t on the line then sweetie, that just proves you don’t know a goddamn thing about me,” she says with another laugh. “This week, win or lose, I’m not expecting Mr D to give me another shot at you. I’m not. I’m realistic. I know in seven and a half years the ONLY damn time he’s ever given me a shot was that match a few weeks ago and Alex Drake ruined that for me. But you should know how much that got to me. You should know the fire that lit inside of me. And you should know that every time you and Merrick pull your bullshit, every time you flash that title and piss off people all the more, every moment that those dark clouds keep circling SCW, it all just makes me MORE determined to bring back a little sunshine.”

She smiles proudly. “Yet, as much as I’d love this story to be about you and me, Vixen, in the same way I’d have loved the Trios Tournament first round to have been about me and Selena Frost, it’s not. I know that. This is about you… and Merrick Wiseman. And me… and Gable Winchester. And you know what? I’m good with that,” she says before smiling. “You think I’m not proud to team with Gable? You better believe I am. Why wouldn’t I be? You guys know that he’s dating one of my best friends. You guys know how much I wanted to fight him – with that title on the line – because I honestly believed, in my heart, that he deserved that shot more than anyone else. And ok, yah, we know not everything is perfect between the former World Tag Team Champions right now, but we also know that Gable is a hell of a competitor, one of the greatest Tag Team Champions in SCW history, and I can’t wait to have him by my side in this. It’s a chance for a little payback for him as well, right? But then on the other side of the ring is Merrick Wiseman. You remember how I said that Vixen holding the belt was ONE OF the worst-case scenarios for SCW? Well Merrick Wiseman is one of the few that actually would have been worse. That sucks to say as well because there was a time when I kept trying to convince myself that Merrick was worthy of the benefit of the doubt. As a guy who claimed to believe in justice I lost track of the number of times I’d argue with Ravyn over his intentions, arguing that we should give him the benefit of the doubt because he was TRYING to help… but oh boy did I ever regret defending him in the end?”

She sighs once more. “Maybe I’m just overly willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, considering the kind of person I am and the kind of trust others have put in me the last few years, but I really wanted to believe in Merrick. I wanted to believe that he was doing his best to help. Sure, ok, he seemed more concerned about his OWN problems than other people’s, getting justice for HIMSELF rather than others, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to believe something like the Watchman program could make a difference. I mean duh, is there anyone in SCW history who’s been jumped from behind more than me? Is there anyone else in SCW history who’s endured more cheap shots than me? I wanted to believe that he could make a difference. Then, slowly but surely, we saw what Merrick Wiseman has become. We saw him devolve before our eyes. We saw his selfishness, his attitude… and I wanted to say that I was surprised, but let’s be honest with each other; I’ve seen it all before. You think some guy who claimed to stand for something and actually stood for helping himself is new to me? Err… no. It’s really not. And the whole thing with lying down with matches, and… well, we’ve all seen it, right? I wish I could say it was shocking but… I can’t,” she says before shrugging her shoulders. “And yet wasn’t he the same way as Vixen? Didn’t he think, once upon a time, that he should be at the top as well? Maybe seven and a half years has been too long, but I really am starting to feel like I’ve seen this all before.”

She laughs. “But while I may have seen the guy who claimed he had good intentions turn out to be an asshat, while I may have seen the new guy on the block let his ego run wild and believe he was better than waiting in line and should have everything whenever he wanted it, you guys STILL haven’t seen anyone else like me,” she says before laughing. “Oh, I know. I know exactly what I said. You guys think I’m just like everyone else? You guys think that there’s an abundance of goodie-goodie little girls who say the right things? Yah, maybe there are… but where I’m concerned they’re all still trailing behind me. Remember I’m not the girl who said I’d be one kind of champion and turned out to be another. I’m not the girl who made threats and never backed them up. I’m not the one who told ANYONE to wait in line. Supreme Saturday last year was EXACTLY what I’m about. My opponent can’t make the show? That sucks, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give someone else the chance instead. I’m the one who gives opportunities. I’m the one who fights those who think they belong at the top. I’m the one who steps into that ring each and every week, no matter HOW dark the world becomes, lays down the gauntlet and tells the next person who thinks they’re the new ‘face’ of the company to come prove it in the ring. THAT is who I am. That is who I’ve ALWAYS been. And that is who I’ll keep being, boys, no matter what happens, because in seven and a half years I’ve won that title you’re wearing FIVE fucking times, I’ve busted my ass for each one of them… and I WILL hold it a sixth time, you can count on that.”

“So, boys, this is the way it’s going to go. This week it’s the two of you against the two of us and we already know what you’re going to bring. You’ve got the big prize, and you want to protect that? Well, we’ve seen what that means. So this week you’ve got a choice. You do that, you care about protecting yourselves, you think that as long as you’re holding that belt it’s all that matters, and I say hell no. This week Gable and me are bringing the fight. This week Gable and me are coming out there to bring a little light in the dark. Mr D may think that the clouds are swirling but I guarantee you one way or another we WILL bring the daylight back, and this week in that ring we’ll STAND TALL against the two of you because that’s what we do and who we are,” she says with passion and pride. “You knock me down and I just keep on coming back. You deny me what I want and I just get more determined than I’ve ever been. SCW may not be the same company it was when I started out in 2009, there may be a LOT of differences between then and now, but there’s ONE thing that still remains true in all that time: I’m still the BEST FEMALE WRESTLER IN THE WORLD and second to NO MAN. So, one last time, congratulations on your title reign Vixen. Congratulations on reaching the top. Congratulations on getting everything you’ve told us for so long you ‘deserve’. Now the hard work REALLY begins. And you’re good, Vixen. You always have been. But you’ve got a bad attitude, you’ve got an ego bigger than you can handle, and this week I know damn well I can’t make you jealous – not until I can raise that belt again – but I will prove, to you and everyone else, that I am still UNSTOPPABLE!”

She smiles at the camera with passion still burning in her eyes before blowing a kiss to it and then flicking it around to point at the clouds one last time. “Remember guys, the darkness doesn’t last forever. See you soon, gentlemen.”

The video ends at that point but continues on for a few seconds of black screen before coming to an end. When it does the replay button flashes up on the screen.