"I have to admit that I was really beginning to lose patience. And hope."
"Last week I was asked by Mister Underwood and Mister Ward to make the trip from Tahlequah, Oklahoma to Malibu, California for that particular edition of Climax Control. I didn't know why. I didn't ask. There weren't really very many details being thrown around, but the business itself was unpredictable. I assumed that one of the talents had canceled or been unable to make it for any one of a hundred possible reasons, and they wanted me to substitute in a match. I figured, 'Sure. School was out for the summer so I'd love to get a regular schedule wrestling again in the time off from my 'day job.'"
"The trip itself wasn't easy. Over a fifteen hundred mile drive to get there. Why I didn't just invest in a plane ticket is beyond me. I guess I just wasn't thinking. My mind's been on a few other things, but that is neither here nor there. I finally get there and I'm told that I'm needed for promotional purposes for their upcoming Supercard, 'Summer XXXTreme'. Well, imagine my surprise that I drove almost two thousand miles to be told I didn't have a match."
"I was instead asked to appear before the show at the fans' usual meet and greet. That part I didn't mind. It's always a thrill for me to get to sign an autograph or have a fan ask for my picture. Oh and here's a little secret; don't ever ask for my picture, assuming yours won't get taken as well. I've learned the vast majority of fans who ask for a wrestler's picture want theirs taken with them, even if that's not what they asked for. So if I have to have my picture taken, then so do you! Play coy all you like but once I'm asked, my arm is going around your shoulder and that camera will be in the hands of someone else so smile and say 'cheese'!"
"Imagine my surprise, a pleasant one, when Mister Ward met me in the middle of the show and handed me my salary for my personal appearance. It was the same amount as I would have gotten had I competed. Not bad, but truth be told, I still would have preferred a match. Over the course of my career in Sin City Wrestling, I haven't been getting booked as much as I would have liked, but truth be told, part of that was my own doing. Family obligations and my career as a teacher got in the way but God bless them, Mister Ward and Mister Underwood always managed to work around that and get me booked when they could. I just admit that I wanted more."
"I really thought things were going to take off when this 'thing' with Nick Jones started. As the heavyweight champion, any feud against him would become an instant championship encounter. The only problem with that was, I wasn't the only person who was gunning for Nick. Since his arrival, he had made a fair few enemies and each one wanted what he held around his waist at the time. A number of wrestlers had that professional 'gold fever' and I was one of them. The fact that it was held by that loud mouth, egotistical jerk made the prospect all the more sweeter. I just couldn't seem to get at the front of the line for my opportunity to strip him of his most prized possession. I really wanted to get even with him for costing me the Roulette Championship."
"Now don't get me wrong. I was proud to be the Roulette Champion. Every championship is a great championship. It adds to your personal legacy in the business and keeps your status cemented. Nick took that away from me, so I wanted to return the favor and take away his own. proud as I was of the Roulette Championship, the heavyweight title was my real goal. I think it's that way for every wrestler to want to eventually hold the top prize, no matter what title they might currently be wearing around their waist. It's a lesson Mister Parker instilled in me from the very beginning;
Be proud of what you have in this business, but don't ever close your eyes to a higher goal."
"Words to live by. Then the unexpected happened. Rage got a second chance at Nick one-on-one and lo and behold, we found ourselves with a brand new Heavyweight Champion. Don't misunderstand me. I'm happy for Rage. He busted his butt for that win and earned it. But when that happened, I thought my own chances of a title shot flew right out the window. Everything that had been building between Nick Jones and myself no longer held any meaning in regards to a title match between us. if we met again, it would end up being a singles match and nothing more. Those big one-on-one matches are great, trust me. You always learn from them and getting the best of Nick in a normal encounter would be fun, but I was starting to really feel those 'hunger pangs' hit me. I wanted the championship. I wanted Nick's championship, and that desire was really no longer valid."
"So there I sat backstage at the Firestone Fieldhouse when all hell started to break loose in the ring. The tag team match between Lucas Darby and Kain against Nick and Jordan Williams went south and all the guys were fighting. The referee couldn't stop it so out i went, hoping to lend a hand. I got into it with Kain, then I got a shot from Lucas. Before you know it, the champ himself, Rage was out and they might as well had paid me to wrestle because I sure was in a battle royal, albeit an unofficial one. That's when the bosses stepped out and surprised us all, announcing that the six of us would be competing in a single match for the very championship I had been wanting a crack at in a few weeks."
"Okay, so it wasn't a singles match, a one-on-one. It was still a chance at the top title and I was going to take it and do everything in my ability to beat those five men and walk away with the gold. Oh but then it got even sweeter. The bosses wanted to hype things up so they decided to have Rage put his title on the line, and who should be the lucky recipient of title opportunity one, but yours truly. I smiled. I guess I was thinking too fast at what I wasn't going to get, because before I knew... I had it!"
"So now I'm going to be heading for San Francisco, and I am going to take destiny by the horns and make the most of this chance."
"Bo?"
I felt the gentle tap on my bare shoulder and I about jumped out of my skin. I had become so engaged in my thought process about this match with Rage that I didn't even hear my grandmother come outside, let alone approach me from behind. That is until it was a bit too late and I gifted her with a god natured laugh at her grandson's expense.
I turned around to face her, a bit wide-eyed and her eyes danced with the merriment she had now so enjoyed for making me start unintentionally. She clucked her tongue and shook her head at me, the smile never disappearing from her face.
She said, "Well, I didn't mean to scare you but a little fright is always good for you. gets the heart pumping and makes you realize you're still going."
"Yeah," I mused, looking back at the soft dirt my hand was half buried in. "It won't make my dry cleaner any happier though."
My grandmother had a very pretty little garden that she enjoyed taking care of. We lived in a wonderful little neighborhood and our house was modest but never without it's comforts. The garden outside in front my her crowning glory. I can't even name half the flowers she had growing in it, save for a few roses, lilacs and orchids but I knew there were plenty of others. It was my Grandmother who excelled at growing flowers and caring for them. She'd been doing it all her life and had even won a few awards at local shows. She always had a green thumb. Me? My thumb was a bit closer to a shade of black by comparison. Still, her garden needed some tending today and it was in the triple digits so I had her stay inside in the air conditioning while I watered the weeds and trimmed the flowers -- or something like that. So long as I promised not to massacre her arrangements.
I slipped the two rose stems I had accidentally clipped with a couple of weds out of her sight and behind my shoe and looked up.
"So, to what do I owe the dubious pleasure?" I asked. "I thought you were watching your shows."
"I came to check on you." She answered and made a wayward gesture towards me. "And good thing I did too. You've been out here a bit too long."
I could not help but smile. "Why? Could you smell me all the way from inside the house?"
"No." She met my quip with her own sharp witted answer. "I couldn't smell you until I set foot out the door. But I have eyes, Bo. You're starting to burn."
I frowned and glanced down at my shoulders and lo and behold, my tan skin was starting to show the signs of turning a healthy shade on many pink! I thought I had dressed smart enough for a bit of yard work. Muscle shirt, shorts, but I guess showing too much skin in this heat wasn't my brightest move. I sighed and stood up carefully. Two times this week Grandmother had almost caught me take a mis-step and I almost gave away my physical conditioning, a secret I held close so as not to worry or disappoint her.
I pulled my gloves off and used my bare hands to brush my shorts off and I followed her up the three steps that led to our porch and was about to step inside after her when she turned just enough to gift me with a stare through the screen door. She glanced 'down' and my eyes followed and I knew when to admit defeat. I reached down and pulled off my sneakers so as not to leave any remnants of my foray into her garden on her clean floors.
My house, perhaps legally. But it would always in heart be her home. I just happen to be lucky enough to be allowed to live there with her, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
We had just stepped inside when the phone started ringing.
"You get that, Bo." Grandmother said. "It's probably for you. I'll get the lemonade for you to cool off."
I turned the corner and walked into the living room where the phone's main line was. I took a seat down onto the chair that was my Grandfather's and was my favorite because of that sole reason. I leaned back and picked the phone up and held it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Bo." It was Mister Parker. "I got some news for you."
"Shoot."
"Bang." He chided me in jest. "Ah jest got off the phone with Mark. It's all set. Your tickets will be sent for you for the cruise liner. Did you manage to get your gramma to agree?"
I cast a glance back towards the kitchen and heard her opening up the fridge. "No." I answered. "I'm trying. I think it'll do her a world of good to be out in all that fresh sea air but she keeps telling me she's too old for that."
"Hm, pity." he said. "Well, keep tryin'. Oh and Mark told me to make sure you knew there was a third ticket bein' sent in the package."
"Third?" I frowned, not understanding. "Who else does he expect me to bring? My Grandmother's cat?"
"No." I could hear the amusement in his voice and it all became clear. "But ah think he's hopin' you might bring yer sister with ya too."
"Oh Christ." I muttered and heard him start to laugh. "Doesn't he understand my sister is a married woman?"
Mister Parker replied, "In all the years that you've known Mark, when has a wedding band really kept him from takin' an interest in a pretty woman?"
I sighed. "For that reason alone I shouldn't mention this invitation to her. She has enough on her shoulders as it is."
"Well, think about askin' her anyway." he said. "It'll keep Mark off muh back if you do an then we'll all be happier."
I glanced up as my Grandmother entered the front room and handed me a glass of her homemade raspberry lemonade. I took a drink and she asked me,
"Is that Mister Parker?"
"Sure is." I answered.
She leaned in to the phone and called out, "I'm not going and that's final!"
I lost it, and on the other end, I could hear Mister Parker laughing uproariously himself.
She says that now, but I don't think she's heard quite the last of this little debate.
"Well Rage, I can't even begin to express how much I'm looking forward to this match against you. I haven't had an opportunity to set foot in the ring against any member of your stable to date, but I assure you that I've kept aware of the Seven Deadly Sins. Only a fool wouldn't. The whole lot of you have made an impact in the SCW. It's not every often we see a stable these days that is as dominant as you are to the point each member has a shiny gold belt wrapped around their waist. heck! Even that teddy bear companion of Despayre's has one."
("Is James Huntington-Hawkes III ever going to get that Universal title back?")
"You waited a long time, Rage. longer than even me, I believe. A lot of people were starting to wonder if anyone would be capable of stripping that title from Nick. Some believed Jordan Williams would be the man to do it. Alas, he fell just a hair short. I'm certain that you're well aware of the history between Nick and myself, so I hope you take no offense to the fact that at the time I had hoped it would be Nick I was facing in a championship match. Still, you proved yourself the man. A worthy man capable of doing what so many others had failed to do. Now you're the champion, and I finally have that shot I had been wanting since i signed on the dotted line."
"I remember being a champion, Rage. Not just here but a few years ago in the Global Championship Wrestling organization. I had won the GPW Intercontinental championship, second only to their world heavyweight title. I was beyond excited because I was still in my rookie year and to win such a prestigious title so soon? I knew that the challengers would be lining up, and perhaps down the road this win would catapult me into contention for the big one. Unfortunately destiny didn't play to my favor and the GPW ceased operations before I could even make my first title defense. A bit of a bitter pill to swallow but things don't always work out the way we hope they do, do they?"
"So trust me when I say out of all the Sins, you're perhaps the one that I am most well aware of. You've been around longer than Gabriel or Despayre. Almost as long as Synn himself. I've watched you since your days in Generation-X Wrestling, on TV and recording. That's the beauty of having a wrestling scholar as your friend, mentor and manager. Mister Parker has a slew of your matches just waiting to be seen and studied, all the better to watch and to learn."
"I think I can go on record and say that you're probably, to date, the largest man that I've ever found myself up against. certainly the meanest and angriest (no offense!). So I know I have to be at my best when that bell sounds and you come charging. I am expecting nothing short of a full blown mauling by your hands. And I will brook nothing less. If I was the champion, I'd give any challenger the hardest fight of my career to keep them from taking what was mine, and I expect nothing less from you. I've seen the hurt you've put on just about every man you've stared down from your corner. It's why you're the top man in this company today, and why I imagine it'll be no easy task to secure a win of any kind against you. But am I up for the task?"
"Oh yes."
"You see Rage, as hard as you bring it to me to retain your championship, that's just as hard as I'll be taking it to you to strip it away. I don't presume to think of myself on equal standing when it comes to the ability to exchange fisticuffs with you. I'm not that foolish! I've seen other men try the same and walk away battered, bloodied, and beaten. I will not be that man. I'm not a fighter, rage. I am not a brawler. I was trained for this business to be what I am; a wrestler. I believe that's where I hold the advantage over you. You're bigger than I am. Stronger and just plain angrier. I see that works for you. The anger is as fuel to a fire. the trick is knowing when not to get burned."
"I won't be like so many others. I won't stand here and tell you in detail what I intend to do. For one, it's foolish to explain to your opponent just how you intend to take them down, because then they'll know what to expect and have a counter for it. And two, as I was taught -- strategies do not always go according to plan. You can look for weak spots and where your opponent lacks and think to yourself, 'Hey, that's where I'll target him and the rest will be history!' I've had some opponents think the same of me but they always fail to understand one key thing about any ring strategy; your opponent simply has other ideas in how they think the match will go. They have other ideas that conflict with your own and then where are you? It's time to improvise what's going to go down in that ring and Rage, it's not going to be me."
"I waited a long time to get a chance at the top prize in Sin City Wrestling. I've waited a long time to get the top prize in any promotion, be it world or regional. I know when and where to make the most of the opportunities passed down to me, and Rage?"
"This opportunity will be golden."
