"You know, it's funny. Over the past several days, ever since the lineup or the next Sin City Wrestling card had been first announced, I've had a number of people, both fans and a handful of peers, ask me where I've been. They see my name on the official marquee for the show, facing none other than the current number one challenger to the World Heavyweight title, and they almost express surprise. I've had a few detractors make heir remarks about my 'so-called' wrestling schedule. I've had others make light of the fact that I'm not there inside of the ring often enough for my fans. Fair enough."
"I even took a little time to indulge in some online surfing to see what people had to say about the match I have found myself scheduled in this weekend against Sean Jackson. You can imagine my surprise when I saw in a predictions thread that practically everybody has stated they believe Sean Jackson will walk away from this match the winner. At first I was hurt, and then annoyed. Then I came to understand to some degree why they might think this to be the case, because aside from his losses in the championship scene, Sean Jackson has been on an impressive winning streak as of late."
I mean the man has taken on such credible contenders as Chris Shipman and Drexel Matheson, two of the most violent and blood thirsty competitors, and he's walked away with both his head and hands held high. He has reason to be confident, and I admit I would be an outright fool if I were to gloss over him. My trainer Mister Parker would kick my tail in just for making such a cardinal error after everything he's taught me to do, and what not to do. And assuming anyone is an easy victory is one of the biggest mistakes that any competitor ca make once that bell rings. Just as I think Sean Jackson would be making the same if he were to simply think he is going to set foot inside of that ring against me and walk away with an easy win."
"No, my schedule recently has not been everything that I would like, and what perhaps my fans would like, but when I am in there, I would like to think I give a pretty good accounting of myself. I've went up against some top competitors since my return, and to date have found myself on thee short end of the stick once, and that was in the Blast From the Past III tournament. But one on one? It's not usually my custom to brag about my accomplishments but indulge me this once. Gavin Stephens, I put his shoulders to the mat. Granted it had some controversy as the guy had his foot on the ropes. The man went for some payback afterwards and we had ourselves a nice little bout of fisticuffs, but before we could really settle things between us, the guy tucked his tail between his legs and high tailed it out of SCW before we could make things square between us."
"Then of course, there's the reigning Roulette Champion, Lord Raab. I had so many people making more predictions that Raab would walk away the winner based solely that our match was to be held in Germany where he had the hometown advantage. It's a credible reason, indeed, and I admit I was a bit flustered hearing boos against me for the first time in memory, but in the end it was not the hometown hero who left Germany as the winner. That man happened to be me. And you know something? I almost felt bad doing it. All those fans came to that show to see their boy win, only they left that night having witnessed the exact opposite happen."
"It says something, doesn't it? That history seems to be on my side. Every time people make the mistake of thinking I'll lose because I'm either out of my element location-wise, or because I haven't been as active as my opponent, it just makes me want to work even harder to prove the critics wrong and walk away the victor. Sean Jackson, you probably should have went in and asked everybody betting for you to win to quiet down because all of that built up confidence on their part is only going to work against you."
"So now, kindly allow me to explain, just a little bit about where I have been and what I've been up to. Maybe then you'll come to understand why I'm not here every week when expected to be. You see, I've explained time and again that I indeed do have other priorities outside of professional wrestling. Ones that actually take/I] priority."
"Look everyone," I said as I sat back against the edge of my desk in the class room filled with near thirty students in grade nine. I felt their eyes on me, some with angst, others with frustration, but at this time of year, it seemed only natural for any young man or woman to feel this way when they were about to take an extremely important exam in order to pass on to the next grade and continue with their education. I went on and said to them, "I know you're not looking forward to the time you're going to spend taking this final exam, nor are you happy about the time spent studying for it when you'd much rather be going to the mall, the movies or..."
I waved a hand in the air, trying to come up with one of those games kids played on their phones during lunch or when they should be doing their work. I frowned and came up with," ... Angry Birds?" I heard the chortle of laughter and snickers at my expense and shook my head. I shrugged and asked, "Is that even still a thing?"
"Only when we're bored to the point of extreme." Answered one boy, a young mister Jay Grant. This statement of pointed bluntness was met with a few scattered laughs, and I may not have laughed outright, but I personally could not help but smile. Jay was one of my finest students here at Sequoia High School where I worked aside from wrestling professionally, and if he kept things up, I dare say he would go on to graduate with full honors.
I said, "Well, if that's the case then I'm even more grateful I take precautions against using phones during class or else you'd never get any work done."
And by precautions, I meant the large, nylon net hanging beside the door where at the start of every class, the moment the students step inside of the room, they deposit their personal cell in the net and pick it up on the way out of class. This reduces the fraction of a temptation to cheat during class, play one of those God awful games, or just to shoot off the random text. None of the kids were happy about this little rule of mine, but when they heard the option of not doing this and being given an automatic "F" for the day, they chose the former of the two options. Of course, the one time I had forgotten to turn my own cell phone off and it rang across the entire class, I found a good thirty plus sets of eyes focused on me and they followed me as I walked across that class and dropped my own phone in along with theirs.
Fair is fair.
I went on with my lesson and addressed the teenagers sitting at their desks, looking sullen. I said, "Try to look at it from my standpoint. You all have already got a remarkable grasp of the concept of the class and what we'll be covering in American History on the final test. I've pretty much even told you exactly what needs to be studied and refreshed in your minds. A little studying each night, and you'll be good to go. Then an hour later after the test and when the school year ends, you'll have ... what? Three months to recuperate from Mean Ol' Mister Dreamwolf's class?"
I looked around and saw a few faces relax into smiles. It helped. It meant that my words were having the desired effect.
"Me, on the other hand," I continued. "I have to sit up all night, grade those tests, and after the school year ends, do I get the summer off? No. I have to keep working, pick up additional dates wrestling, and see my body get thrown around every which way while you guys and girls are busy shopping, going to movies and generally being teenagers." I sighed, then frowned out at all of them, but they knew me well enough to see the sparkle of mischief behind my own eyes as I said rather forcefully with as mean a tone as I could muster, "So suck it up!"
Timing is everything as before some of my saucier students could deign me with a proper response ass even the most well mannered students might be tempted to do, the bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. As the kids stood up and gathered their books before they would make ready to go retrieve their beloved phones, I made certain to call out, "Enjoy your weekend everybody, and just so you know? The substitute will be giving a surprise pop quiz Monday morning to see how ready you are for my final exam!"
Although some of the students made haste for the net to get their phone and leave for the day, most paused and turned their heads to give me the quizzical look.
A young lady spoke up questioningly, "Are you supposed to tell us about pop quizzes?"
I just smiled and gave a shrug of my shoulders, and replied with, "It's my quiz. I scheduled it."
I just smiled as my kids, yes -- my kids gave me their own smiles and bid farewell for the weekend, a few even promising to watch me compete on Sunday. I gave a wave and started packing up my things.
"Yes, Sean Jackson, I do consider this to be a great deal more important than allowing my time in the ring to pick up. I know what I can do inside of the ring because I've done it. I've both won and lost matches, and held my fair share of championship gold. I've done that once, and I'll do it again, but this is the future of this nation that I'm in front of, trying to help prepare them for what's to come and yeah. I will say that is a lot more important than fighting another man to get a fifty pound piece of gold to wear around my waist."
"I do everything I can to engage these kids and make them want to be where they are. I do the same for the fans when I am able to be there for them, both inside of the ring and if they want a picture or autograph afterwards? Hey. It's not asking much. I am not like most people. I've had too many people tell me that I was too nice to be involved in professional wrestling. The backstage politics would gut me. I'd be taken advantage of by people who would want to use me. I'd be pretty willing to bet that you think that my not being around as much as you have is going to give you a pretty decisive advantage over me once that bell rings. You might even think you're going to use those petty mind games of yours somehow to lull the Indian into a false sense of security and take him apart. That's fine. Great, even. It just means the look on your face is going to be that much sweeter when you find yourself on the receiving end of the exact same pounding that you had intended for me."
"Just don't make the mistake of thinking that just because I haven't been active in an SCW ring, means I haven't been active at all."
On the Atlanta, Georgia estate of his manager and trainer, Austin Parker, Bo Dreamwolf found himself once again in a grueling training session with the man himself inside of the professionally sized wrestling ring set up on his family grounds. Austin was never one to let time go to waste, and during Bo's time off from SCW, Austin insisted Bo make the journey from Oklahoma to Georgia at least two weekends a month to keep his skills sharp inside of the ring.
The ring was located inside of a barn on the ranch, but his family could swear they could hear the slams and grunts and groans of pain from all the way inside of their home.
Inside of the ring, Bo was working a sparring match against Austin himself, and had a leverage advantage of the Hall of Famer, bending him over backwards so both his head and feet were on the mat while his back remained in a bridge. Bo sought to force Austin's shoulders down the hard way by jumping on his exposed midsection, but the ring veteran saw it coming a mile away and kicked his legs up to grab Bo in a swift body scissors on the mat.
The pair soon found themselves on their feet again and Austin quickly pulled Bo's leg out from under him, causing him to fall to his back on the mat. Austin went old school and trapped him in a step over toe hold but Bo used the mindset drilled into his over the years by rolling over and using his legs to trip Austin down to the canvas face-first and Bo rolled through, grabbing him in a side headlock on the mat.
Later Bo found himself on his feet and trapped in a full nelson, with Austin's raw strength adding increased pressure on the back of his head and neck. Bo opted for the simple way out and just fell, using his dead weight to break Austin's grip. Bo then rolled backwards and tried to use both feet to kick Austin back against the ropes but Austin grabbed his feet and rolled him the rest of the way back, trapping him in a dragon sleeper. However Bo escaped this debilitating hold by reaching up and back and using the leverage he had to snapmare Austin over his shoulder.
Austin grabbed Bo in a front facelock and threw his arm over his shoulder. Grabbing a handful of Bo's trunks, he brought his protege over with a snap suplex that jarred his back against the canvas. Austin wasn't done there, however, as he rolled right through the maneuver, retaining the front facelock, and Bo soon found himself trapped on the mat in a seated position.
"Nothing you think you can put me through Sean Jackson will equal what I have put through time and again inside of that ring in Atlanta. Even if I am not on the circuit with everyone I have come to know and the newcomers who I look forward to meeting, not once have I been allowed to grow weak or idle. I have been beaten down, battered and bruised by a man that I respect more so than almost any other in this world, and that's on a good day. On a bad, things tend to get more than a little rough."
"You walk into the ring with your confident air about you and your entourage backing you up, thinking that everything you have done recently proves you're to fulfill a destiny. When in actuality, all you did in that last match of yours was climb a ladder the fastest. Bra-vo. Ladder matches are not wrestling. Gimmick matches do not prove to anyone who the better wrestler is. It just tells everyone who all has the capability of lucking out with the most grace or speed."
"This Sunday in Tunisia, that will be when you learn what exactly wrestling is. See then if you're man enough to do so without taking any of your cheap shots or using those people you bring to the ring with you to give yourself some sort of psychological advantage. Well, two can play that game Sean. If those women and that lawyer think they might feel the need to step in and lend you a helping hand, and trust me when I say that you're going to feel you need it, then I am feeling gracious enough to warn you that I have people to who will be all too happy to see to it they keep their hands to themselves and stay back where they belong. And if it looks like that won't keep them at bay, well let's just say that I have another trick up my sleeve. A little something I looked into that could easily turn the tide in my favor and use your own fun tricks against you."
"I don't believe in mind games Sean. I believe in fair play and using our own God given skills to prove who the better man is. Gabriel Stevens has already proven to you time and again who the better man between the pair of you is, and now it's my turn. And as far as mind games goes? Well, just push me far enough Sean. It would be a treat to see thee look on your face when your own tricks get used against you."
"I've proven myself before, and I will do so again. But being a family man Sean, I would think that perhaps you above so many others would come to understand that there are things in life that mean so much more than achieving personal success."
Tahlequah Cherokee County District Court...
Above all else, I think preparing for this day was what kept me away from being on the road for Mister Ward. My sister Abigail had been fearing this day for what it would bring, that being an end to something she had wanted since her childhood. Namely a family to call her own.
The letter had arrived certified several months ago, and Darius, her estranged husband at the time, had followed through on a threat he had made well over a year ago and filed for divorce, seeking to end their marriage on the sole basis that he could no longer control Abigail the way that he had done so for the first two years of their marriage. Perhaps had he not been such a greedy piece of... dirt, things may have worked out between them. But Darius wanted to take possession of Abigail and my Grandmother's house due to its location and market value. All the man cared about was money, and arrogant as he was, he thought his wife would stand idly by and watch while he attempted to wrest control of the estate away from our family.
He was wrong.
The house had been transferred to my name, as had the title of being the power-of-attorney for our Grandmother. Darius could not handle this, and he attempted some low and dirty legal tactics to have Grandmother declared incompetent to nullify her recent actions. That was the final straw for Abigail, and for the first time in recent memory, she stood up for herself and left Darius. He thought he could use this against Abigail once the divorce proceedings began.
Again, he was wrong. But not just about that. Darius tried using the fact she had physically struck him as a weapon against her, and may very well have succeeded -- had it not been for the testimony from Mister Ward, Mister Parker and myself over the fact that he had grabbed her by the arm and her actions could be construed as defending herself.
Darius thought his money would gain him the advantage over us as far as attorneys went, but bless them, that's where the Parkers came to the rescue and used their own resources to ensure Abigail had for herself a capable and apparently man-hating divorce attorney. I could look past that this one time I imagine. Just for my sister, and to get accurate descriptions from her as to the looks on Darius' face when her attorney worked against his own, left, right and straight down the center. Darius even thought that since they last lived in Houston, he could manipulate it so their final court dates would have to be held there. Again, Abigail's lawyer proved him wrong.
It is why I am here, seated in the back of the court room, watching in silence as my sister stood beside her soon-to-be ex husband before a judge, both with their attorneys beside them. Darius fought against the notion of alimony, but it would seem that again, this was not to be his day. I had to refrain from chortling in amusement as one thing after another did not go his way in this court room. Abigail had told my Grandmother and myself that she did not even want alimony from Darius, but we talked her into it, stating simply it would be pleasure enough getting it, knowing how much it pained him to separate himself away from the money. That brought a smile to her face and was enough to get her to agree.
"Before I finalize this, have either of you anything you wish to say to the other?" The judge asked the two of them.
I could not believe my ears when Darius actually had the gall to turn to Abigail and say, "It's not too late to put an end to this ridiculous farce."
The look Abigail shot his way spoke volumes, and it was only the fact she was standing in a court room setting that kept my sister from saying anything that would have found her in contempt. She simply shook her head and looked away. I was so proud of her in that single moment that I did not even hear the sound of the judge's gavel, nor what words he had spoken to the two of them, ending the proceedings for the final time.
I glanced up and saw Abigail and her attorney approaching and I stood. No words needed be said other than the "Thank you." I spoke to the lawyer who helped Abigail get her life back. I shook his hand, and then wrapped an arm around Abigail's shoulder, escorting her from the court room. Yes, this was above all else, why I have taken so much time away. Simply put?
My sister needed me.
"I busted my butt to come back from that dark place I put myself in, and the first thing I made sure of was that I would still be able to teach. Only when told I still had a job teaching at did I contact Mister Ward to see whether or not I should bother to go back into training, and the man was gracious enough to understand my problems and assure me I still had a place on the Sin City Wrestling roster. By the grace of God, he looked past the mistakes of the past and told me that I would always have a home in Sin City Wrestling. This will be the next step in proving to Mister Ward that the confidence he showed in me, and that which others have also, has not been cast aside lightly. I am here. I am staying here. And whatever time you intend to cash in that contract Sean Jackson? You are going to go into that event, knowing that Bo Dreamwolf put that blemish on your record."
