[Goth]

“Dad??”

Sounds the voice of my son over the tablet that I have across my lap, his blonde hair makes me realize how much he looks after his mother. Thank goodness he has inherited her looks instead of mine.

“Yes son?”

“Are you sure that this is what you want to do dad??”

His gaze is one of a hidden concern, I know he is proud of me for being his father. But I know that there is a lot of concern on his part ever since he found some of my old matches on tape. I knew I should have erased those tapes, he has always been asking about my past.

“Don’t worry Gerrit, I will be just fine.”

I try to convince him that I will not get hurt, ever after watching my most memorable matches in Sin City Wrestling, but also prior to joining that company has made him worried. The blood, the injuries and the gore has kept him up all night for weeks. Especially the night where many people had pointed out that it was a defining moment of my career, winning 2007’s Psycho Circus matchup. Entering a Hell in a Cell structure in a match where two men begin and every five minutes another entrant enters…. Bringing in your very own weapon that you could use… until 11 men has entered and then it’s a war of survival… where you win by surviving every other opponent in a battle of nutrition, determination and…. Luck…

“But dad…, I…”

I sigh, I know I wished I could have gone to Las Vegas without telling him. that he would not notice me being gone. But he is already a wise ass kid, something he clearly inherited from both of me and his mother.

“Don’t worry son, there is not going to be any weapons around or deadly structures that could injure me. “

“But you haven’t wrestled in years!!!”

He blurts out, his reaction makes me think back to my now dead wife. She was very graphic in her expressions when she was provoked. Oh good times thinking back at every moment that she stood in my corner while competing against whomever it was that I faced on that given night.

“Gerrit, look. I know I have not competed in a long time, but you have to realize that I have been training for a while now. and it will be only a matter of time before……”

“Before you injure yourself?”

My gaze changes from the tablet for a moment, I know that I can promise him whatever I want. But to guarantee that I will not get injured on my first match back after so many years is something I can not guarantee. Softly biting on my lower lip I try to find an answer that would hopefully convince my son that I will be fine.

“And if I promise I will not take not much risk in my wrestling moves?? I promise, no suicide dives through the ropes.”

I put on my best smile, causing him to roll his eyes like I know that I have done so many times before to my parents when I was his age. Oh how children are both a joy and a curse at the same time, causing me to grin from ears to ears as he is struggling to find an answer.

“Look son, I promise I will take good care of myself. I may even surprise you with something special, but only if you are a good boy.”

I can see his eyes widen, already informing what kind of surprise and whether if he could meet one of the Bombshells down the road. His enthusiasm makes me chuckle, telling him that I love him before I close the connection before I turn my attention towards the bed. There I can see my suitcase opened up on the left side of the double bed. Remembering the arguments that I have had with my girlfriend on the why behind my decision. It took me much more time and energy to convince her to approve my decision, something that she has done reluctantly.

I let out a soft sigh before dropping down on the right side of the bed, my arms immediately move towards my head as I placed my hands behind it as I stare at the ceiling of my bedroom of my hotel room.

“Have I ever visited this hotel before???”

I ask myself, knowing that I have been at so many hotels throughout my career that I have lost count.

“I remember this one time, at band camp….”

I groan as I remember the classic American Pie joke that was funny back in the day.

“I bet most of the current wrestlers in Sin City Wrestling were not even born yet when that movie came out, except for father time of course in Bill Barnhart”

I chuckle, I am sure that Bill will resent the jokes we used to make about him being so old that he started the big bang. Something that the kids of these days will assume that Bill is Sheldon Cooper’s great grandfather stuck in a Comic Con convention while having Spock mutter that it would be un logical to assume that he would have human emotions.

“Forgive me if I need to come up to date with all that is cool out there boys and girls, I have been stuck for years watching children programs with my son when he was much younger than he is right now. Being taught that watching children programs would be beneficial for the growth of my son, but I am positive that my girlfriend was just playing a prank on this old timer.”

I chuckle, letting my fingertips of both hands roam across my forehead. Feeling the wrinkles that I have gained through the years after the birth of my son being exposed. I rub them tenderly as I sigh

“Never thought I would be back here again, what was I thinking when I hosted the 300th episode of Climax Control?? I cannot even believe that after so many years that the fans would even remember me, I mean look at me??? I must have gained 20 pounds the past four years before I got back into shape. Hell I am so old that I even forgot the old password for my original twitter account…. Luckily Melissa talked me out of creating my own Tiktok account. All because I wouldn’t be able to hit the right button to go live and talk to my fans….”

“And to this very day I still don’t know whether she protected me from making an epic fail, or just making fun of me”

I smile, I know that it’s the latter one. But I just go with it, she has much more feel what kids like these days. I guess that’s the one positive thing I can think off by dating my sons babysitter.

“I am aware that dating a younger woman causes people to judge you, a man of my age should never date someone that could have been his daughter.”

It wasn’t easy for me or her, I was still in love with my wife who passed away a year prior to me having my eyes opened by this heavenly creature. To this very day I still feel that she can get so much better than yours truly, but for some reason she thinks I am…. Cute…. Go figure.

Buzz

My attention is being directed to my phone as I have received a message, I put the phone in front of my face after searching for it for ten seconds.

“Go champ”

I smile after reading the short message of my girlfriend Melissa, making me wish she was with me right now. But she is on my son’s case for him doing his homework before going to bed. Poor Gerrit Jr, he thought that he would be able to get away with anything. But quickly he realized that she is far more strict than I ever could be. My fingers start to type a message back to her after a few seconds

“Damn screen”

I realize that I need to get myself a newer phone as some of the apps on it will not update that easy anymore. My son has been on my case since the latest Iphone came out last year, but I have never been someone that would follow a hype.

“Newer is not always better”

I laugh, it’s the one thing that I always tell my son to end a discussion about whether I should adapt myself to everything that comes out new instead of using older stuff.

“Newer is not always better, wouldn’t you agree Caleb??”

I love how I have found a way to direct my personal life into my opponent for this week’s Climax Control number 301.

“Forgive me if I will use terminology that may sound like gibberish to you, but it’s where my life is at right now. Because let’s face it, it’s the point in our lives where we are at a crossroad that gives you two choices. Do you turn left or right?? And I am positive that you are far from ever getting to a point where you can make the right decision upon your own behalf son. But that’s why you should be thankful that I am back”

I chuckle, my egotistical nature has suddenly popped back into my genes that I playfully love to call my mojo.

“Have you ever thought that a day like this would ever be presented to you upon a silver platter Caleb?? I wonder, what the mindset of you was when you read about my open challenge…., an opportunity to make yourself relevant? Or merely the fact that I would be an easy pay check??? Either way, I am positive that you never assumed to assume that you just volunteered to step foot inside the twisted mindset that is The Gothic One…. The greatest wrestler that has ever donned the wrestling tights and boots and kicked ass. Of course you didn’t huh Caleb?? Because I am positive that you nothing more than sheer positivity….”

“Did you obtain that from all the many nights that you have busted your ass inside the six sided ring?? To enter a ring, to breathe in the historical significance of every single match that has ever been participated before you. Wrestlers that has paved the way for kids like you??”

“Now I realize that I may not sound appreciative for the obvious adoration that I have felt when you talked about me Caleb. I do consider flattering about what you had to say about me, but flattery is just nothing more than words surrounded by a whole lot of hot air. It’s just like coughing, but instead of the usual coughing sounds you produce words that may start with an A and could very well end with a Z.”

I become silent for a moment as I let the words sink in deeply.

“You remind me of someone that I am aware you know very well Caleb. Steve Ramone…, someone that I have competed with and against, a class act of someone that has gained my respect for his entire career. The man that had a never complain attitude and who would always be ready to compete the very next night if that was asked of him. something that I have noticed for the past weeks that you are like that aren’t you??”

I smile as I brush away some of my hair out of my face.

“I wonder Caleb, who am I kidding? You see Steve was someone that I remember nobody took serious. Someone that had to fight himself out of a deep and void black hole to get some people notice him. And all that I can say is that you are a pretender to Steve’s throne. But that’s okay Caleb, It’s not always easy to step out of someone’s shadow without creating expectations. But who is expecting what from you?? To one day hold the Roulette championship?? The one title that I have held three times?? That at one time that I could have broken the at that moment longest championship reign that was set by Equinox???”

“Only to have me realize that at that given night I was bested by a better wrestler… Oh what a shame that it was something that I had to swallow my pride at that moment before moving on to greater things. Have you ever experienced being in the shadow of someone else Caleb?? If so, please enlighten me my young friend. Because the way I look at things is that you are nothing more than a mere Steve Ramone wannabe”

“And before you start to spew things out that I am wrong, please allow me to spit in your face and call you a liar. Because I have had the prestige of facing Ramone one on one, I have had the honour to wrestle him in an attempt to break his will…. Something that never happened. Something that is something that is equal between him and me… while you?? You are far from achieving anything that comes close to what he and I represent”

“What that may be?? Interesting question that I asked myself…. Because being great allows yourself to question yourself whether you made a right decision or not Caleb. Decisions that I overthink before I make them, whereas you make a decision because it makes you jump up like a giddy schoolgirl whose classical uniform is cutting off the blood flow to the brain impossible to comprehend.”

“Do I make sense Caleb?? Or are you already looking at the weather report in hope of The Metal Storm to produce anything close to resembling yourself as a wrestling threat to me?? Of course you are not and you know why?? Of course you don’t, but today is your lucky day”

“Today is your lucky day, because I am going to educate you to greater heights, heights that you shall not achieve by merely doing leap frogs over people as if you are nothing more than a circus artist. Is that how you want to remember yourself Caleb?? The man that has held only one Roulette title and two Internet titles?? A man to this very day still is searching for another title run of a lesser belt. And with lesser I do not mean that it is nothing more than a piece of paper that you can wipe your ass off with…. Oh no Caleb… I mean about the fact that how long we have to wait until someone either hands the world title or simply where someone slips over a banana peel and fall into a pinning predicament from you.”

“Because evolution is the answer Caleb, whereas I have grown with every single step that I have taken…. Grown to be the man that I am today, while you?? Let us just refer to you as the kid that has worn the same t shirt for the past two years. Nothing Caleb, nothing that you can do inside that six sided ring will make me shudder in fear… because deep down inside we both know that I am the one that will beat you huh? So that you can turn your head and shrug your shoulders as in saying that next time you will do better…..”

“But with facing a man like yours truly will make you realize that there won’t be a next time after you have been in the ring with me… rusty or not, I am still better than you will ever be Caleb…. Too bad you are too ignorant to even understand that one part that makes me who I am and where you shall fail….”

 With that the shot slowly fades