Fightful
Molly Belle
“Serena Deeb: One Ring to Rule Them All”
As the AEW women’s division continues to grow and evolve, one member of the roster has carved out a perfectly terrifying niche all her own. She stalks her prey with an unrivaled viciousness and hunger only quenched by pain and blood. Dedicated to showing the roster her proclivity for violence, Serena Deeb walks to the ring every match with a unique eye for weakness and as sharp a mind as may exist in the wrestling world today.
Though a veteran, she navigates her matches with a rookie’s genuine zeal for the business that is both refreshing and anxiety-inducing. If this is Serena having fun, what are her opponents in for when she gets serious? The fans of All Elite Wrestling found out first-hand last Wednesday on Dynamite as Deeb set her sights not decisively on victory or on a path to a title, but for revenge against her blood-rival, Hikaru Shida. In the fourth installment of their heralded blood-feud, Deeb attacked early and only retreated after being forced. Even then, her eyes told us all a story of a woman pushed over the edge – one ready to show the world her rightful place at the top of it. The pain and horror in Shida’s eyes reflected what we all felt watching from afar, that Serena Deeb was unhinged and as dangerous as anyone ever has been in AEW.
The attack was relentless. She very clearly calculated her offense in a way that Shida could do nothing but defend for the match’s entirety. This was a perfect example of what makes Deeb so special. She may not win every match. No one does. What she does do though is learn. She studies weakness, both in her opponent and in herself, and she betters herself for the next battle. That’s what warriors do, and a warrior she is.
With Shida assumed on the shelf for a time after such a vicious attack, new victims emerged quickly for the “Masterclass of Kicking Ass.” Skye Blue. Anna Jay. Tay Conti. Three promising young women and up-and-comers on the women’s roster, they each have something to prove and have talents their own to bring to a fight with the Professor. Unfortunately, on the beginning of what appears to be targeted trip through all the women of AEW, they’ll all need to learn lessons the hard way. Laser focused and as hungry as she’s ever been, a match with Deeb seems almost unfair for anyone at the moment.
When the time is right, her conquest should lead to gold. All due credit to AEW women’s world champion, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D, and to newly crowned TBS champion, Jade Cargill, but the looks over the shoulder should begin now. Two of the baddest women in wrestling with confidence in spades hold AEW’s gold, but to defend successfully and keep their gold-plated prizes, they’ll need to enter and survive Serena Deeb’s ring. Make no mistake, championship or not, that IS Serena’s ring – the one true ring – and defend it she will.
An uneasy feeling hovers over the roster with an unhinged Deeb allowed to wreak havoc wherever she pleases against whoever she pleases. Perhaps her shadow looms large in the eyes of so many young and much less experienced wrestlers around her. Whatever the case, she’s made her mark, and she’s made it in blood.
I find that the haunting beauty of J.R.R. Tolkien often applies to both wrestling and life in moments far more meaningful than we even realize as we live them. A passage of his speaks to me regarding Serena’s presence in not just All Elite Wrestling but in the wrestling world in general. Rewritten to reflect her rising dominance, perhaps you may recognize these words:
For the Professor on her dark throne
In the land of the Elite where her shadow lies,
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them,
In the land of the Elite where her shadow lies.
The one true ring in All Elite Wrestling belongs to the one woman on the roster who should instill a fear in them they haven’t yet known. For to conquer her, into her ring her opponents must first come face to face with the shadow of doubt and the face of fear. Before they even raise their hands to grapple, they endure a mental battle their opponent has already won. There is no substitute for experience. There is no stand-in for scars. There is no shadow that isn’t earned in blood, sweat, tears, and victims left behind.
Before anyone finds a hand-raised in victory, they must endure a lifetime of lessons and a submission barrage not seen since the Iceman last laced up his legendary boots. Luck cannot defeat Serena Deeb. Only relentless preparation and flawless execution can do that. Even then, without a commitment to dive as deep into the darkness of a tattered merciless soul as she has, one might only be able to hope to survive to fight another day.
To stare into the eyes of Serena Deeb is to see your future and know no mercy will come. To survive her is to topple darkness and surrender a shred of lasting innocence. To beat her and to walk out of the one true ring – her ring – a victor, that is to understand sacrifice and earn true respect from a veteran that has walked every path there is to walk in professional wrestling. Not only has she led a countless many into a world only found in dreams, but she has also forged her own paths to reach the pinnacle SHE desired. Sacrifice. Defeat. Failure. Pain. Dreams don’t come cheap, and to try to take hers away now would be a one-way ticket to hell for whichever woman on that roster feels like it’s their turn.
Those who stand toe to toe with the Professor leave as different professional wrestlers – as better professional wrestlers – armed with confidence and a fighting spirit only learned through great triumph over adversity. That’s as much of a compliment as I imagine exists in professional wrestling today. To know greatness is to have the ability to learn to be great yourself. Character aside, her willingness and eagerness to give back all she’s earned over so many years in the business is admirable and will leave as indelible a footprint in the industry as any that have been left before.
In the meantime though…
In the land of the Elite where her shadow lies, one ring to rule them all – her ring.
She is waiting.
