Sunday, June 20, 2004 What have I done...what kind of a man am I? That's the question of the night tonight kids, I went out there and did something that I swore to myself, I PROMISED myself I wouldn't do. I went out to that ring, and I not only broke a promise to myself, but I broke a promise to my family, I broke a promise to the fans, I broke a promise to each and every single living being on the planet that it concerns. Every time I thought about myself I thought myself to be a man of my word, I always thought I was a man that anyone could trust, I have never gone through life with ONE single broken promise, but tonight, within five minutes time, I didn't break one promise, not two promises, not three promises, not four, not five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten promises! I broke MILLIONS of promises, most of which span out to people I DON'T EVEN CARE about! But I still broke them, and that's gonna be on my mind. That's gonna be on my mind for a loooong time, I don't know how long, I don't know if it'll ever stop, but right now I have a lot of broken promises on my mind and not a whole lot of ways to get them off my chest.
By the way you have permission to ask, exactly what promise I had broken, since I'm almost one hundred percent sure that a large portion of those listening to me right now have absolutely NO clue what I'm talking about, so in order to explain to the best of my abilities exactly what I have on my mind right now, you're going to have to go back in time with me. How far back? About a week. About one week ago I was talking up a storm about one thing and one thing only, the main event of Glory. Now sure, on paper this looks like one heck of an idea, Nick Dangerous versus Zachalous, congratulations everyone! One heck of a match there! ONE PROBLEM. What the PAPERS don't tell you is this man isn't just any normal man, not just some guy named Zachalous all lined up and ready for slaughter. No, this "guy" is my SON. MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD. I've been in a lot of wrestling federations in my ten years plus in this business but NEVER, EVER have I been in a position where I had to knock my own Son flat out. So thanks a lot PWR, you put a lot on my mind this week, more on my mind than there really should.
You see even I can respect the decision to put me against my own son, but under these circumstances it's really hard to smile about it. I can't smile when I'm trying to wrestle my Son and his blood is pouring on my hands. I can't wrestle my Son when he's looking me dead in the eyes with that look, you know the one, I look into my Son's puppy dog eyes and I see nothing but pain, I see a look that's begging me to stop, but I can't stop, too much was on the line for me to stop, so after every kick, after every Dangerous Armbar attempt, after every move executed, I had to think to myself, about what he must be thinking, and just thinking about it hurt me more than Zachalous himself was hurting me, not to say that Zachalous did his part, he made me TAP outside of the ring, he proved his worth, but all those holds, all those slams, none of it hit me where it hurts. The heart.
You see after every little move I executed on him, just doing THAT hit me in the heart, it broke my heart to have my arms wrapped around own Son's arm, tearing it out of the socket. It broke my heart to see I broke his nose. I BROKE HIS NOSE. WHAT KIND OF A MONSTER of a father breaks his OWN SON'S NOSE!? Can anyone tell me that? Can anyone seriously talk to me and tell me exactly what kind of a man I am for breaking his nose? I left the ring with his blood on me, on my hands, on my tights, next time I do laundry I'm going to be looking at blood stained all over my wrestling tights and quite frankly just by the sight of it don't think of me as any less of a man but quite frankly, just by looking at it, I don't think I'd be able to keep myself from just falling to the floor and crying. I want everyone to know now and I want them to use this to my credit as a Father. I love that boy, I've grown up with him, I feel like the two of us together have become better than we ever would be if we had never met each other. He's my Son, I'm his Father, as his Father I'm expected to teach him things that no other man can and in turn I learn more about my own ability as I taught it all to him. I taught that boy everything he knows, I potty trained him, I taught him how to live independantly, how to feed himself, I taught him how to wrestle, you know as well as I did that he wasn't as able back then as he is now and you can look at him today and realize that I have had an UNBELIEVABLE influence on him. I've taken him to heights none thought he could reach, and I've done it selflessly, there's no reward for Fatherhood other than the sheer pride of watching a child grow to become a man. I've witnessed it first hand, I took my Son from a dependant young child to a grown responsible man.
So it kills me to be the one to stand in his way when push comes to shove. I am slowly yet surely dying inside, just thinking about what I've done. You see? I've taken all my Son has worked for, and worked to become. I took my Son's dreams, I took his aspirations, I held them in the palm of my hand, and I crushed them. I took everything my Son has ever wanted, and I single handedly destroyed it. I don't know if I'm to blame, I feel like I'm to blame for this. If I hadn't been here my Son could soar like a kite. If I weren't in this dump my Son could show them what I've trained him to be. If I weren't here I wouldn't have stood in Zachalous' way of becoming PWR World Champion, but this is one of those times where my constant strive for my own well being interferes with that of those who I care for most. I was in a tournament with my WHOLE family, instead of doing the right thing and stepping down to my nephew, I had him no show, I had him hang in the back and let me reap the benefits. Instead of letting my OWN SON take what he's worked so noticably hard for, I took him on, I pushed him to the limits and he pushed me to mine in what could be a match of the year, but the match of the year is NOT what I was looking for in that situation, I was looking for a quick fix, and for some reason that quick fix HAD to involve me taking the Title shot WITH my Son instead of letting the spotlight shine at its brightest on my Son and let HIM have the glory for once, because who am I to take that away from him? I've had months in that spotlight, I've been a champion before, Zachalous has been a champion as well but not as supposedly prestigious as the PWR World Championship, but for SOME reason I STILL have to be the guy stepping in to win it again. I shouldn't have asked for the shared Title match, I should have dropped the ball and let Zachalous carry it for a change, but I have to be the man in front of the line EVERY chance I get and it's ONLY NOW appearing to me what a horrible man I am.
The best I can hope for is Zachalous' forgiveness, which I received not long after I made him tap out, but man, not even that feels like enough. I don't feel right about just accepting the apology and moving on, but it's my job to move on. It's my job to go on and take the Title shot, it's my duty to win this match, and I will stop at nothing to win it. I've gotten this far, I have to keep going, I've gone through the trouble of making my own flesh and blood submit, bleed, and almost fade into unconsciousness, if I back out now then I would render that whole match pointless, and there has to be some kind of justification for beating my Son senseless, I'm just looking for that justification. It's hard to find man, it's just hard to find.
Justification, that's the word of the week. I'm just looking for it, desperately, I mean by all means help me out here. Tell me what the overall reward is in making my Son bleed and cry for mercy. Tell me there's something at the end of the road for me in the long run because I can't see it from where I stand, and don't DARE tell me it's the World Title because my Son's blood and broken bones CANNOT be replaced by gold. His blood is on my hands, there's nothing that can erase that fact, all he's lost today is in MY hands, I have taken the WORLD from him and all I'm looking to gain out of it is some belt that I've worn before, a single golden belt that does nothing but make me look a little better than I am. Well I am gonna fight for that Title, but I'm no longer fighting for me, I'm not gonna win that Title to suit my own greed. I'm doing it for my family, all those who lost their chances at true singles success all so I can suit my own personal aspirations. From here on in I'm a changed man, I'm not just thinking about myself, I'm not thinking out of greed, I'm thinking about of family values, that mutual respect we all have for one another, that could easily be broken by crap like what went down tonight, that single match could have broken the bond between Zachalous and I, we're just lucky to have a relationship strong enough to overcome such a war. That match hasn't torn us apart but if I continue to live for myself then I wouldn't blame Zachalous for erupting.
You all may call me ignorant, you might think I'm just making too many assumptions, but as a tribute to Zachalous' character, and his modesty towards taking the loss he suffered at my hands let me tell you a story, that's right I'm gonna tell you a story, with ten plus years in the business I figure I could tell my share of stories eh? So let me tell my first story ever told as a wrestling veteran, not just a veteran, but a legend.
Yeah that's right, a STORY. Where do I begin...might as well BS something, let's see it all started when I was sixteen years old, you see I lived a simple life. Great parents, great family. I was probably the greatest brother Maximous could ever ask for, and he in turn was the best little brother I could ever ask for. I broke into the business a little sooner than Maximous, date wise, age wise he has one up on me as he got trained elsewhere at an earlier age. Me? I stayed in Edmonton, that was the place where I decided I was going to grow as a superstar, I knew about the Dungeon, I knew that all it took was a three hour drive and I could be trained by a Hart. But you know what I figured? I figured the dungeon was for the week Stu Hart could train me all he wanted but that would be the fools way out. I wasn't big on the idea of being taught by someone who knows too much, I wanted to be taught by someone who could get a message across without stretching your lower lip over your face and put you in other holds that that old man has probably never felt in his life. So I went somewhere more local, I went somewhere where the people are nice and yet you still learn, while you don't learn everything, you still learn, I didn't wanna live by someone elses word anyways, I wanted to get the jist of things, and the rest I would forge into my own, it's how I grew to hone my unique wrestling style.
The place was called EAW. Edmonton Alberta Wrestling. There you have it, the first ever wrestling federation I've ever been a part of. I went there just to train, not to wrestle, and I was trained by a guy named Ted "The Killer" Miller. He was ten years old into the business as it was, this man was "the man" as far as a teacher went. He was huge, he had arms bigger than my head at the time. I was just a newbie to the business, that man could have took one look at me and told me to get lost, but under good will, under common Canadian courtesy he embraced the chance to train a new face around town for the sake of the business and nothing more. He wasn't my friend, I didn't ask for his help looking for a friend. He was a nice guy though.
I remember when I went there, when I met Teddy, when I told him of my history. I told him that in high school I was captain of the wrestling team and I ALWAYS managed to get the win, I told him that I was a big name at school and put a lot of emphasis on how much I love being there just wrestling my heart out, I tried telling him as best as my words could to tell him how much love I put into the business. He just smirked, you see at the time I couldn't possibly understand the business as much as he did, as much as I pretended. I tried on that Thursday afternoon as best I could to tell the man that I felt my destiny was in the business, I tried seeming so business smart, I tried acting like I understood everything, I tried getting an early rise out of him, but I didn't earn his respect, you see 'cause at the time I was a dumb young kid, I couldn't just stand there and ask for it. So he looked at me, he looked me dead in the eyes, and I looked him back, somehow with sight and see trying to dig deep into them for some kind of admiration, but it was no use at that point in time, all I was to him at that time was a loudmouth, I could talk all I want about accomplishments and take one step into his world and get rocked. But I'm blabbering, as we were locked up in an intense stare down, he smirked at me and simply said, "see you at eight AM, Saturday." Needless to say I was EXTREMELY disappointed.
I went home. To my parents, and to my brother, all of whom have been EXTREMELY supportive of my newfound mission in life to be the true best in the business. I went home without what I was expected to have. I went home without a smile on my face. I told the man the titles I've won for amateur wrestling, I told him everything I accomplished, and all that man could say to me was DUURRR UHH I'LL SEE YOU ON SATURDAY. Now it's something I understand now but at that time I wasn't happy to hear that at all. Part of me wanted to wow the man so much that he'd straight let me get booked at first sight. I had an alright build for my age, I knew my share of holds, maneuvers, but nothing compared to him, he didn't need some ridiculous amateur wrestling titles to prove his worth, he let his work in the ring do the talking, which is something I hadn't the opportunity to accomplish at the time.
But yeah I went crying home, telling my parents of my woes, they were there to cheer me up though. They told me to believe in myself and anything's possible, which was something I always believed anyways, I just needed to hear it from someone else because someone SOMEONE ELSE couldn't find it in himself to tell me the same. Yeah instead of encouraging me all he could say was DURRR UHHHH BE THERE ON SATURDAY. No please, no thank yous, just BE THERE ON SATURDAY. I went to the man who knew me best at the time in Maximous Hazardous, whose last name was Dangerous at the time. I remember the talk I had with him vividly. I remember from beginning to end. He was in our shared bedroom, I had the top bunk, he had the bottom, I went in the room just to lay down, turn on the television and hope I could catch some wrestling, quickly I entered the room, covered in wrestling memorabillia, from Bret Hart posters to Owen Hart action figures. I had wrestling figures of 'em all actually, all in my toy box, there were figures that my parents bought me, from old Earthquake rubber figures to hard plastic Vader figures. The floor was a mess, there was my toy wrestling ring where I would put the action figures to war with one another and put on some of the best matches I've seen all with my imagination, there were my Hart foundation blankets, with my Quebeccer pillows. But in the room I saw Maximous sitting on the bottom bunk flipping channels on the television at the feet of the bed, he had bags all packed up, I didn't know what for, which was why we had a conversation.
"Where are you going?" I had asked him, and I remember this so clearly, he answered me with such glee, "I'm going to Japan!" Which stunned me, I didn't know what business he had there. I asked him "what the crap are you going to Japan for?" And you know what the unpredictable son of a gun told me? He told me that "he's going to become the biggest wrestler in the Canada." Okay now I know that Japan is nowhere near Canada, and I knew this at the time, but heck he's my brother, whatever he wants I'll let him have.
My eyes widened. I didn't know what to do other than feel happy for him. I asked him if "Mom and Dad were okay with him leaving." He told me "they did," which was just a LITTLE hard to believe because he was only fifteen at the time. You see financially we could afford to send Maximous to Japan from the money my Father made wrestling himself. He was actually one of the biggest wrestlers in the EAW, while that doesn't exactly sound like big news now, back then wrestling was IN man, back then, wrestlers cared about what they did and even the independants were really, really huge to the locals. Came as a financial bonus for all of us. My Father went by the name of "Big" Bill Dangerous. He was everything a wrestler should be, he was everything I wished I could be, he was the reason I wanted to be in EAW. He was the reason I put up with Ted Miller's stupid words which I ASSUME were meant to be a form of motivation as he said ERRR UHH BE THERE SATURDAY, it just didn't click with me.
Before I go off track I was still struck in awe of my brother's sudden decision to move out. I wondered "Where he was gonna live in Japan" where he then told me that since Dad's friends with Jushin Lyger that "Jushin would train him, show him the ropes" and I still didn't know how to take it, he was moving off to live a dream that I to this day wish I could live. I was envious yet at the same time I wasn't because heh, I was really looking forward to growing up, wrestling in the same federation as my Father, and watching him watch me grow as a performer. I gave my Brother a big hug, he questioned my sexuality for doing so but I had no shame. I wished him the best of luck, I couldn't have been happier for him. As for myself he wondered "what the...frick I'm so happy about." The answer was simple. I told him "I was gonna work the EAW with Dad." Silence...
He fed me with silence, I didn't appreciate that especially after I had gone as far as to have him question my sexuality just for being overly happy for him. I asked him "what his frickin' problem was" where he then explained to me that "old Daddy Dangerous isn't the best man to work with, SO I HEARD." The first thing on my mind was BLASPHEMY. That man has gone around the world wrestling and befriending the likes of JUSHIN LYGER. I mean this guy wrestled Bret Hart when Bret Hart wasn't even Bret Hart and I was sitting there listen to my Brother defy his name. I explained all this to Maximous and all he could respond with was that "at school kids we're calling me names because they heard Dad is working the politics backstage." I got a little frustrated just hearing this, I stood up and shouted "I can't believe you would lie about Dad like that!" He remained seated, telling me that "The kids even called him Maximous 'has an evil Daddy' Dangerous!" I asked Maximous, "exactly what did Dad do that makes him such trouble backstage?" I couldn't and wouldn't believe what I heard. Maximous simply said at school they said that the night he won the Title he wasn't even supposed to win it, he only convinced the boss to give him that match by tricking him into writing a contract without reading it."
AGAIN, blasphemy, I never will believe my Dad to be a political monger and I never have believed it, while I pulled the same string he was RUMORED to have pulled, the only reason I did it was for the business, and if it's true about my Dad, he probably did it for the business as well! I asked for "no more lies. My Dad's a noble man, and this coming Saturday I'm training with the EAW, and it'll be the best day of my life." With that he met me with two simple words, "suit yourself." I don't know I had about enough of that conversation, maybe it wasn't the magical moment I had thought it was...
But the days passed and it was time. My clock had hit seven o'clock in the morning, the alarm went off, and as I rubbed my eyes and woke up, my Dad was right there at my bed with some oatmeal on in a dish for me to eat. It was one of the most beautiful mornings of my life, the sun seemingly shined brighter than it ever has. The smile on my Dad's face seemed larger than ever, the unity amongst the family felt stronger than it EVER was, and ever would be. I was proud of myself, that was the night little Nick Dangerous became a man. "Big day today!" Exclaimed my Father with the kind of enthusiasm that couldn't be matched by anyone I've seen. He was happier for me than I was for myself, I never felt so grateful to have such a Father to be by my side through one of the most important days of my life. I ate my oatmeal with the spoon my Father provided. He wanted to make sure I kept in mind all the things he taught me in the past. He asked me the question "what do you do if a wrestler sasses you?" And I answered, exactly as he taught me "tell the boss and request him to be banned from the arena." He smiled, I smiled, he continued on, as I ate he paced around testing me further. He tested me with the question "if you're in a match and a wrestler is throwing close handed punches at you and the referee isn't taking action what do you do?" And immediately I swallowed another mouthful of oatmeal and answered "find a distraction for the referee and kick all my opponents where the sun don't shine. He continued asking and if he's wearing a cup? "Use a weapon," I answered quickly. Last question before I finished my oatmeal was "let's say that you hooked your opponent in a Sharpshooter and he gets to the ropes, the referee is giving you the five count, how long do you keep the hold for?" "Varies," I answered. He fired back with the question "depending on...? I answered as quickly as I could after downing the last mouthful of oatmeal. "If it's a good referee, four point ninety nine seconds, if it's a bad referee I call the shots." I especially like quoting my Father when the testing was done. "PERFECT!" He shouted, giving me a couple pats on the back and letting me get up and get my gear together.
I was a little discouraged when I got downstairs from my room, I had my duffel bag around my right shoulder, I was all ready to go until I saw my brother with duffel BAGS around his shoulders. It caught me off guard for a moment. "Where are you going?" I asked him with concern, "TO JAPAN JEEEZ" he responded loudly, STOP YELLING! Why are you going to Japan so soon!" I asked him back, "I refuse to tell you!" He said as he continued on, "I told you exactly why I'm going yesterday." I didn't have much to say after that until Mom and Dad came on downstairs and my Father said "it's time to go to the airport, Maximous is going on a BIG field trip."
I was discouraged, I thought everything was going to a certain schedule. I thought I would wake up at seven, I would test with my Dad for an hour over wrestling strategy and watch the Saturday Morning Main Event like we always used to, but I was mad at MAXIMOUS because MAXIMOUS had to go to Japan on MY day. I didn't like having to miss the Saturday Morning Main Event, I didn't like having to go out with Maximous, but I had to because it would take forty five minutes to get to the airport and to the EAW arena, which would be the time it takes exactly for me to get there on time, and I never show up to a show late.
Reluctantly, I got in the car. Reluctantly, I sat in my seat in the back next to Maximous, with very little to say throughout the trip, it was about a twenty minute drive and I didn't say a WORD for fifteen of it, I didn't even have much to say after that, there was just a little something Maximous had said to motivate me for the rest of the night. We drove silently, all the way Mom had a look of concern on her face while Dad soothed her with his calming words and growing excitement for the future of both of us. His growing enthusiasm was enough to fuel me for the whole night, his enthusiasm that one night was enough to keep me going even today. On the same road trip Maximous turned to me, and he whispered to me, "when I get to Japan I'm getting my name changed." I did nothing but give him a look of confusion, I mean what should I care? I figured he was leaving me and the family forever, if he were to change his name what the crap would I know. He elaborated, however, "I'm gonna be known in Japan as Maximous Hazardous." Still confused, I gave him the same look to illustrate such emotion. He FURTHER elaborated, "one day you have to get REALLY big in EAW, and I'm gonna get real big for my work in Japan, and one day we'll meet each other again. About ten years from now, and we'll see how much the two of us improved."
The idea intrigued me, I was still mad at Maximous for leaving so soon, but at the same time I'll admit I was intrigued, but I gave him an ignorant look, at the time my anger overcame intrigue, I wasn't so much looking into the future as I was thinking of that present time, where all I didn't see me getting big, I didn't see him getting big, and all I saw was my own flesh and blood leaving me, possibly forever. I come to think of it, I didn't do so much as say a WORD to him, I barely even looked at him, but he looked at me, as he left, alls he said to me was "...see ya." I looked away, I couldn't even watch him leave. He left the vehicle, my parents waved, my Dad was so happy for him tears were rolling down the sides of his face, I was so UNHAPPY at the time I could almost do the same. When he entered the airport and Mom could no longer see and wave at him we were heading on back.
The ride back was where my Dad, the legend, would showcase his true talent, his biggest talent was being a great Father, and he cheered me up to a point I thought I wouldn't feel for the rest of the day. Just with a simple thought, he shared with me, "what would you think Nick if you had your first match tonight?" My eyes lit up, I was instantly as happy as I was initially when my Dad woke me up the morning prior. "Really?" I tried to insure that it would happen, I know I wasn't trained but I spent my life watching wrestling, learning wrestling basics from my Father, I felt ready. He said "yeah, non televised though." First thing that came to my mind...Against who? And there it was. I saw my Dad look at me through the rear view mirror, uttering the words...
"Ted 'The Killer' Miller"
Now part of me was scared. But the opportunist inside of me told me to take the challenge head on. I was sixteen years old, about one hundred eighty pounds, seemed like small turkey compared to the two hundred thirty five pound titan Ted Miller is, but my Father always taught me it's not the size of the wrestler that matters if the wrestler can work with the talent he has, and I knew myself quite well, I think I could possibly, possibly, POSSSSIBLY take him. I needed this match to test me. For a sixteen year old it's not the best to face a guy named Ted "The Killer" Miller, but I'm talking now aren't I? You can tell I survived it.
Twenty minutes pass. I hadn't said a word since he brought Ted Miller up, not so much out of fear but out of thought. I was thinking. I was thinking about ways to take him down and out, so many possibilities but nothing would be set in stone until I got in the ring and got a feel for him. We parked up at the EAW arena and I was ready. But since I hadn't said a thing to my Dad he turned around and said "you know, you don't have to face Ted Miller." I cut him off right then and there saying that I don't have to, but I'm gonna. For what it's worth, if I was gonna die that day, I was gonna die with no regrets, just seeing that very look on Dad's face. He exclaimed "then let's put you to the test Nick, just be sure to have fun doing it." Have fun doing it. My first REAL match in a wrestling ring, win, lose or die of course it would be the funnest experience of my life.
We got in there and after entering the lobby I could instantly recognize Ted Miller. He looked at me, and then at my Dad, looked at me again, and then Dad, then me, looked to my Dad to say "what are you doing with him?" And he proudly stated "he's my Son." I smiled, I don't think this guy knew that initially, he seemed almost embarassed not to.
"I didn't know! If I knew who he was I would have booked him to train earlier!" He tried to justify himself. "Well that's alright, you're going to make up for it by facing and probably LOSING to Nick tonight." "WHAT!?" He shouted, seeming rather afraid for the man I thought he was. "I said...you're going to lose to my Son, you hear me?" I remember him saying that because I remember how happy I was that he put so much faith into me and my talent. "Let's talk about this somewhere else, go look around Nick.
I obeyed his order, I looked around the arena, there were seats that fit some odd three hundred seats? I'm no good with the numbers but it was a fair amount, there were no shows on that night, the only person who was going to see my first ever match that night was Ted Miller, and my Father. My Father was and still is the only audience I need. They went in a seperate room to speak, what they spoke of I don't know, but I vaguely heard a lot of yelling. I went inside the ring I was due to wrestle in, I was getting a feel for things in there, going against the ropes, doing a few stretches, getting myself in the mood because I felt like I was gonna be in a WAR. While my Father and Ted were in a different room I heard the creek of the door they were in as my Father looked out towards the ring and said "Get changed Son, looks like you two are wrestling sooner than I thought, Ted doesn't wants to lock up soon. Go get changed while we finish our talk. The change room is just over there." He pointed his finger to a door right of the office like room the two were arguing in. I made my way there and as I walked past the office I heard my Dad shouting "You're going to lose to my Son, if you don't I'm quitting the EAW, and you know a certain few people will be upset if I quit now, when they need my draw power the most!"
Then I thought, wow, a lot more is at stake here than I actually thought. The fact that my Dad, MY Dad, is willing to give up his job if I can't win my first match, that made me feel stronger than ten thousand men, let alone Ted "The Killer" Miller. I went into the dressing room, there were lockers all about, and a bathroom a little further down the hall of lockers. A little uncomfortable with the idea of changing in a public locker room I took my wrestling gear and I changed in the bathroom, locked in one of the toilet cubicles. I grew more and more anxious as I changed, with every knee pad, and elbow pad, I felt more and more ready to be in the ring, it was when I had it all on when I decided this is my future, this is what I'm gonna be doing in ten years, and further decades to come, this is my life...
I came out, my Dad was waiting, he was starting to look a little steamed. I don't know what this Ted guy did but he didn't make my Dad very happy. "Get in the ring, make short work of this jobber Nick," he said to me, "he's getting changed in the room, he'll be out and ready soon."
In due time Ted came out, he was in yellow tights and had matching elbow pads, boots and knee pads. He wasn't looking too happy himself. I stood in the ring as he reluctantly approached me. "I don't wanna do this Bill!" Ted pleaded, but it was all for not, as my Dad responded "JUST GET IT OVER WITH." "He's just a kid! I don't wanna lose to a kid!" All of this made me really flattered. "JUST WRESTLE HIM, LOSE, AND GIVE ME SOMETHING TO TELL THE BOYS! dO IT NOW!" My Dad demanded. Ted swallowed his pride and stepped in the ring, I respectfully took my corner, Ted took his. We waited on my Dad's signal to get this show on the road. We didn't have the bell out so he just clapped his hands three times and like a bull on fire I ran as fast as I could towards Ted and I gave him a roaring elbow to the head, he fell down, I pinned him, one, two, three. Of course there was no referee so I pretty much counted in my head.
I thought I killed him, I thought I knocked him out cold at least, but the weird thing is, after the four to five second match he got right back up. I don't know what it was about that elbow but it kept him down long enough for the win. I ran out of the ring as soon as I could while he just looked embarassed. "You just beat a near Alberta Heavyweight Champion Nick! I knew you could do it! I can't wait to tell all my popular wrestling friends Nick! The EAW is gonna be real proud of you!" It was my first match and it was my most memorable match, not because of how much a challenge it was, not because of how important it was, but because of who was there.
Just because of who was there. It's that feeling, that really makes me wish I could be more like my Dad. I don't know if I have the same effect on my Son as my Dad did on me. But I would love to have that. I would love to be the man that's very existance puts a smile on Zachalous' face. I would love to be the man that Zachalous looks up to for the rest of his life, and lives on to tell stories similar to my own about how his Father watched and helped him grow to be the man I know he'll grow to be. But you see, my face lit up like the whole world will when I dethrone Erik Murdock of his Title whenever I simply THINK of my Father...when Zachalous thinks of his Father, I don't know, I get this inkling he doesn't think of me as anything near what my Father means to me.
Anyways, My Day Continued After Glory. After a sweaty, gruelling match with my own Son I was taken to a locker room, with help of Bob Friend, Peter Tiger, and John Pilchard, step by step they assisted me in merely walking to my locker room, I couldn't do it without them I swear to you, just so you know the lasting effects of facing Zachalous. I was sat down on the bench and I didn't feel like changing clothes, I didn't feel like getting up, I didn't feel like anything but a piece of crap because quite honestly that's all I was tonight, I definetely wasn't and still am not my biggest fan. I was freaking out over the whole match. I sat on a bench in my locker room staring at my hands, covered in the blood of my own Son.
Nick: I'm a monster guys, I really am a monster.
Peter: What are you talking about? You're a week away from earning Dangerism some more gold!
John: Yeah Nick you should be happy! Three cheers for Nick Dangerous! Hip hip!
Bob: HOO-
Nick: NO! NO CHEERS, SERIOUSLY I don't deserve it.
John: What the hell? Why wouldn't you?
Nick: I'm a horrible person.
Peter: What'd you do?
Nick: What do you mean what did I do!
Peter: Listen I watch porn all the time, you learn to stop hating yourself for it the second time aroun-
Nick: I didn't look at porn!
Peter: Well whaaaat!
Nick: Look at me Tiger, just look at me.
Peter: ...
Nick: Look at my hands Peter.
Peter: ...
Nick: Look at the blood Peter.
Peter: ...
Nick: I BROKE MY SON'S NOSE PETER.
Peter: What? That's why you're angry?
Nick: How could you expect me not to be the least bit upset by that?
Peter: People beat their children all the time!
Nick: I DON'T live by that rule Peter.
Peter: If I had a Son I'd name him Blue because I'd give him such a daily bruisin'!
Nick: That's horrible.
Peter: I'm just trying to cheer you up!
Nick: Well that's horrible! You're horrible...no I'm horrible.
John: No Cazzo's horrible, Chris Christ is horrible.
Nick: No I really am horrible.
John: You are not.
Nick: No I am.
Peter: You're not!
Nick: Then what do you call my beating of my own Son?
John: Cazzo's fault!
Nick: NO, this is not Cazzo's fault, this isn't Christ's fault, it's my fault.
John: What could you have done.
Nick: I could've quit, I could have refused to wrestle, Christ could have fired me, that could have been the end of it.
John: You've worked too damn hard to get back to let yourself get fired again.
Nick: I'd feel a lot better than I'm feeling now.
John: What's to feel bad about! Injuries heel!
Nick: First off, it's an injury that could have been avoided, secondly I didn't just crush his nose, I crushed his dreams.
Bob: Oh come on.
Nick: No you come on Bob, like you haven't had a day go by where you wish you could be World Champion of some kind of fed only to have the dream crushed by some has been.
Bob: Haha!
John: HAS BEEN?
Nick: I'm a friggin' has been.
Peter: What!
Nick: Look at me! I'm sitting here, with a Dangerous Title that I made up myself, an EWCL Tag Title that I only defended what, once? Twice? A PWR Tag Title that Zachalous is probably carrying me with. And now I've stooped to a level where I have to rely on beating my own children to get a Title shot, I'm a has been.
John: You won the match at least!
Nick: It's not even about the win anymore, that was anyone's game and I already had my crack at the Title.
John: Don't worry about it! It's not like he's pissed or anything! You have a trophy! Just another for the trophy case!
Nick: I just said it's not about the trophy.
John: Zachalous forgave you!
Nick: He shouldn't have.
Peter: COME ON.
Nick: I took his head, and I bashed it against the ring, time after time, until his nose was almost literally pushed into his face. I do not call that wrestling, and yet I did it anyways, if that's not the saddest thing then I don't know what is, and that's enough to make me cry.
I dug my face into my hands, trying to hold myself back from letting any tears drop, those that did soaked the blood on my hands, smearing soaked blood on my face as I rose my head back up trying to controll yourself.
Peter: You're crying...
Nick: Shut up Tiger.
Peter: YOU'RE CRYING?
Nick: Go Tiger.
Peter: Urgh! Every time you have a Title match Nick! Every time! You seem to manage to find a reason to cry!
Nick: I'm not crying! Shut up!
Peter: Hate to say this Nick.
Nick: Don't say anything you might regret later...
Peter: P...
Nick: What?
Peter: P...p.p....
John: PETER..
Peter: PUUUUUUUSSSSSSYYYYYYY.
Nick: WHATEVER JUST GET OUT! FOR JUST A LITTLE WHILE.
John: Let's go find Zachalous Peter, or something.
Peter: Yeah fine, he's probably not sitting around crying like a bitch.
Nick: OUT.
Peter: Fine, whatever pussy.
Bob: I'M STAYING WITH NICK!
Peter: Durrr uhhh nobody cares pussy number two.
Bob: Uh yeah haha!
Peter just rolled his beady little eyes as he and Pilchard left. I had a lot of thinking to do, unsure if I could actually get any done with Bob Friend in the same room as me, but there was nothing wrong with trying. This was an adventure though, that I think is better off leaving, to be continued. Gimme just a little me time...or me and Bob time, whatever...just go. ...Scene Fades to Black...