//Heading out to the boonies of Tennessee. We’re going to be burying my grandfather’s ashes so won’t be back until Monday. Hoping to get signal at some point Sunday night so I can view the results.
The following interview has been conducted through Zoom
As per custom, Abi Rose appears on the computer screen; this time clad with one of the hottest selling items on the MHW Shopzone site, an El Diablo Blanco t-shirt. She welcomes us to today’s installment.
Abi Rose: Ladies and gentlemen, by now you know the deal but this isn’t just any installment of the Life and Times of El Diablo Blanco. No, today is a very special day as it is my final sit down with El D prior to his big match this Sunday at Game Over as he challenges for the MHW Ultimate Title against the War Queen Leah Aguero. I know as an investigative journalist I should remain impartial but after all this time sitting down with the Backyard Phenom I am proud to say I am officially a card carrying member of The Diablo Nation.
Abi Rose lifts up a card signifying her membership to the Diablo Nation.
Abi Rose: But now, without further ado, I bring to you the leader of the Diablo Nation. The number one contender to the Ultimate Title. The poster boy and one half of the main event of Game Over. Ladies and gentlemen, El Diablo Blanco.
The screen splits from just Abi Rose to a split screen that features El Diablo Blanco on the left side. He’s already waving through the screen.
El Diablo Blanco: How we doing today, Sister?
Abi Rose: Great, as always El D.
El Diablo Blanco: I see that you’ve picked up a t-shirt over at MHW.com/shopzone where if you put in the coupon code GAMEOVER you will receive 20% off your entire order.
Abi Rose: That I did. Now, El D. I hate to start things out on a sour note but the fans are clamoring to discuss your match with Skrabal Stanzas two weeks ago at Throwdown and I would be remiss if we didn’t touch the subject.
El Diablo Blanco: Well, Sister, some may think I’m down in the dumps after my match against Mr. Stanzas. I was so angry. I was filled with a rage I’d never felt before going into that match. Someone needed to put a Man like Skrabz in his place and I was ready to be the one to do that, Sister. I was being put to the test in ways I never thought I would before. I came within a zeptosecond of beating him but ultimately I, like many others before me, fell to Skrabal Stanzas. I was sad, Sister. I was down in the dumps and I wallowed. I let the Diablo Nation down. I let my Little Diablita back at home down. I fought valiantly but it just wasn’t enough that night.
Abi Rose: If it’s any consolation, people are still talking about how big of a match that was and how it may have been the most competitive match we’ve seen on MHW TV in a long time.
El Diablo Blanco: That certainly helps but there was but one thing that cheered me up, Sister. You see, I took a red eye back home to Chicago. I touched down at Midway Airport and grabbed a Crave Crate of White Castle burgers on my way home. I set them down on my dining room table and went to give the Wifey a kiss on the forehead as she peacefully slept. I peeked inside the Little Diablitos room and I saw something different about that room. That bare spot on the wall where her Man Like Skrabz poster was ripped down was no longer bare, Sister.
El Diablo Blanco’s head drops slightly.
Abi Rose: What occupied that spot?
El Diablo Blanco: In that spot occupied a poster of Good Ol El D. You see, I was looking at things all wrong, Sister. At Throwdown I was downright set to slay the monster that made my daughter cry. I couldn’t get the job done and that shattered my heart to itty bitty pieces. It wasn’t about beating Skrabal Stanzas in the end. When I walked into my Little Diablita’s room and saw that poster, I saw where a new hero occupied her heart. Her daddy was her hero and that reminded me of what this is all about, Sister. We don’t always get retribution against our bullies but if you stand up to them it makes all the difference in the world. That act of standing up made a difference in my daughter’s eyes and I hope it did the same for all the Little Diablitos throughout the Diablo Nation.
Abi Rose: You certainly have been an inspiration to many in just a short period of time.
El Diablo Blanco: Let me tell you something, Sister. Each and every day, many of us encounter some sort of bullying on a daily basis. It could be a kid in school bullied for how they’re dressed. It could be because they’ve excelled quicker in their studies. It could be because they’re not as athletic. It could be in the workplace because of competitive jealousy. Maybe they’ll let you do all the work to get themselves recognized only to throw you under the bus at a moment’s notice the second something goes wrong. It could be a certain Ultimate Champion that refers to others as peasants, peons or yours truly as the court jester.
Abi Rose: A little close to home?
El Diablo Blanco: Good Ol El D is no stranger to bullying. It’s happened more times than I can count. Take a look at this Sunday at Game Over. Do you really think there are those out there that believe I belong in the main event, challenging for the MHW Ultimate Championship, Sister? Do you really think they believe I belong on the poster for Game Over? They take one look at me and they think I’m just a joke. They are too scared to look further than this exterior though, I’ll tell you that much, Sister. You see, I’ve worked my tuchus off to get to this match. I EARNED this shot at the championship, Sister. I’m not about to let someone calling me a court jester to be the reason I cower away from a championship opportunity. I’ve been in the ring one on one with the champ. I know what she has to bring to the table. The War Queen Leah Aguero is one tough competitor as evident by our last encounter.
Abi Rose: That she is. To recap, the last time the two of you were inside that ring together, it was a champion versus champion non-title contest in which The War Queen knocked you out with her dreaded Endgame and then proceeded to snip some of the hair from your mask. Hair that still sits on a necklace around her neck to this day.
El Diablo Blanco: That’s all the reason in the world that nobody seems to think that El D has a snowball's chance in heck of dethroning the queen but let me tell you something, Sister. I won’t back down. No, I won’t back down, Sister. They can stand me up at the gates of heck but I won’t back down. I’m gonna stand my ground, Sister. I won’t be turned around. The naysayers of the world are going to try and drag me down but I’m gonna stand my ground. I know what’s right and I got just one life, Sister. This is my opportunity to take that next step. This is my opportunity to go from card carrying member of the Mile High Club to MHW Ultimate Champion and you know what, Sister?
Abi Rose: You won’t back down?
El Diablo Blanco: Darn tootin’, Sister. You see, just because I forgave Miss Aguero for her transgressions after our last encounter. Just because I understood The War Queen was trying to do what she felt she needed to do in order to make a name for herself, it doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten. The War Queen kicked me so hard in the head I didn’t know this from that, Sister. I didn’t know if I was face down in the mat or looking up at the lights. Well, this is round two, Sister. This is War Queen vs the Backyard Phenom Round Numero Dos and I’m coming to fight. I’m coming to fight for my Little Diablitos at home. I’m coming to fight for all the Diablo Nation Members out there. I’m coming to fight for the Shieldmaidens like Alex Carbajal, Evan Maloney, Jackie Layton and Kara Carter. All who have stepped up to The War Queen Leah Aguero and her Queendom and suffered defeat at their hands. Miss Aguero has had her cup of tea at the top but it’s time for someone to rise up against the tyranny of The War Queen and end her reign. To end the era of the War Queen. I’m ready for Vegas, Sister. If the War Queen thinks this is going to end quickly then she’s got another thing coming. We might just see a new MHW Ultimate Champion. Diggit?!
Abi Rose: I can diggit, El D. I’ll see you at Game Over.
The duo sign off further promoting this Sunday’s MHW Game Over special event.