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A Story That Could Possibly Change Your Mind
12 years ago
*A-a-a-hem!* Look alive, wage slaves! Preeeesenting - the Caliph of Clowns, that Mogul of Mountebanks - the One and Only - JOKER! Theres a story that a friend of mine sent me from a friend of his that is a Pro Wrestler and it hit home, harder than things usually hit home with me. So, I got told earlier "You love wrestling very much don't you." And I responded with "If only you truely knew." and then got asked "What, you watch it because of all the half naked guys running around?" And I responded with "Very rarely people feel the energy from one of the ppv's or from where ever they currently roam, no matter the company whether its WWE, TNA(though TNA is going to shit), CZW, FCW, OVW, HWA, Shimmer, PWX, PZW, THW, WSU, Shine, APW, ROH, PCW, Vanguard, Dreamweave, Freelance, CPW, etc. And when you can feel THAT energy from the fans and the adrenaline from the wrestlers WITHOUT being there in person, you got a good thing going." What I also failed to mention, and this is gonna be extremely weird coming from me of all people because I'm known as a psychotic snarky bitch. But it's stories like this one, of feeling what you feel when you can take whatever someones going through for even a couple of hours and make them happy again, even for a short while. It's that feeling of walking out from the curtain, KNOWING you have a performance to put on to make OTHERS happy regardless of whatever situation they were in before they walked into that arena, and make them feel like their somewhere else even if its for a few hours. It has nothing to do with "half naked guys in tights." So here it is:
And if that doesn't help a few people understand WHY I love wrestling so much, then I honestly can't tell you anything else other than: I just do.
"I'm just a pro wrestler".
A guy said that to me a while ago at a show. "Oh, you're a pro wrestler? That's cool. What do you make?"
I said "I'll tell you what I make. I make friends that last a lifetime, I make people stand up & boo or cheer on command, but more importantly, you see that guy over there in the front row with his 2 boys? Ya see, he has 2 kids & a wife who has been sick. He has lost 3 different jobs in the last year, he's struggling just to keep a roof over his families head and food on the table. He doesn’t know if he is going to lose his house because of all the medical bills and his work situation. His mother-in-law bought the tickets for tonight so he could take the boys out, and for 2 or 3 hours, my brothers and I will make him & his boys forget about their troubles, their bills and yes, even for a brief few minutes, he won’t think about his sick wife, he will be too busy cheering his favorite wrestler, getting his boys to yell and scream, and joining in. And of course, booing me, the big mean bad guy. At intermission, he and his boys approach my table, I see him nudge his 8 & 11 year old and lean down and say "it’s ok". They timidly ask for my autograph, I sign their programs, and in my gruff wrestlers voice I ask them if they are enjoying the show. The dad says "hey man can I get a picture of the boys with you?". "Sure", I say. I squat down and have them make a fist and push into my face as Dad snaps a couple of pictures.
They start to walk away as I get an idea. "Hey!", I yell. "Come here!". They walk back over to me. I say "hey boys, take a picture of Dad and me". I tell the dad "squeeze me right here on the traps". As he does, my experience goes to work. I sell like I have never sold before. I yell so loud that half the armory turns around and looks. I am like "Dang Dad! Take it easy!" I sell the squeeze he gave me on the traps, like my life depended on it, wincing in pain like only we can. I take a good 2 minutes to shake it off. The boys eyes are as big as saucers now as they watch dad get the best of me. I look at Dad and say "Hey man you should have been a wrestler". He smiles.
I say "you must have wrestled in high school". He says "a little". I say "ok, do it again but take it easy". They boys are shaking as they take the picture. As they walk away, he turns to me, shakes my hand, and simply says, "THANKS MAN". For the rest of intermission, every time they look my way, I stick out my arm and sell my traps. I watch the boys as they look up at their dad with those huge eyes. I see the pride in their look. Tonight the boys have a new hero, and it’s not one of us, its the right man this time. It’s their Dad. So you ask me what I make? Buddy, that's what I make. How about you? He mutters to himself, as he walks away. Nothing that good, that's for sure. I have the BEST job in the world & I am proud to be “just a wrestler”.And if that doesn't help a few people understand WHY I love wrestling so much, then I honestly can't tell you anything else other than: I just do.
I knew it was not just that, I was kidding around with you X3. YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN. 8I
Anyway more to the real point of the journal, that story is pretty awesome I have to say. It's nice to see that there are people like that who get it. That it's not all about the fame and money, it's about doing what you love. To me, this is exactly the kind of think Daniel Bryan was talking about when he was cutting his promos against John Cena.