"I was working in the lab, late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab, began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise"
"He did the mash, he did the monster mash
The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash
He did the mash, it caught on in a flash
He did the mash, he did the monster mash"
The lightning flashed past the paned glass window, the cracked glass allowing just a hint of the rain's mist from the storm overhead to blow into the old mad scientist laboratory, painting the stone floor and walls. The hole in the glass, broken ages ago, caused a shrill whistle to stream across the ears, the window blowing across as lips to the mouth of a bottle.
"Oh Shegor!"
Came the call of the humble abode's dominant figure, all five foot six inches of him! Doctor Despayre came running up the stone stairs that led from the base of the old tower, to this his pride and joy in the art of whatever it is that mad scientists do. (What do they do, anyway?) His wild, black hair flowed back over the closed, ankle-length lab coat that was streaked with red -- ominous, isn't it -- that same black hair streaked with white at the temples. (See what happens when you scratch your head after using those powdered gloves?)
"Yes Doctor..." Came the feminine type female voice of Doctor Despayre's trusted sidekick and lab assistant, Melody Grace, but we prefer to call her Shegor because -- well it fits the mood of this here spooky tale, doncha think?
Shegor wandered from around behind the old, wooden surgeon's table, propped up at an angle. Shegor was clad herself with an immaculate rainbow dress and unicorn horn strapped to her forehead -- for decorative purposes, I assure you. She made her way across the lab, past the Tesla Coil and the great big, honking Jacob's ladder that was the prominent feature in the laboratory's interior, the arc of electricity flickering upwards between the two antenna.
Arms swinging, because they do when you're the hunched over lab assistant, Shegor approached the good doctor who said, "Is the subject readyYYOOP!" His words cut short as he stumbled over his lab coat, his foot caught in the folds and he went down, face-first! Shegor hurried over to help him to his feet, and as he dusted himself off he sighed, "Okay, you were right! I should have gotten the coat in petite!"
"Your lab coat..." Shegor pointed towards his jacket with lips puckered in distaste. "Isn't it about time you cleaned the blood off of that?"
Hm?" The good doctor looked down at his accoutrements. He wiped the index finger of his right hand along one of those red streaks, saying, "Oh this isn't blood." He crammed the finger between his lips, much to Shegor's horror, until he popped his finger back out and mused, "Mm! Strawberry jam!"
Shegor fell back against the nearby table, hand clutched over her heart, covered with bottles and beakers, jars filled with plush little beanie babies that "didn't make it" and tubes with colorful liquid coursing through the lines in loops to other bottles.
Paying little heed to the mental plight of his assistant, Doctor Despayre asked of her, "Is the subject ready?"
"Ready, willing, and possibly able!" Shegor replied, almost immediately back to her usual perky, abnormal self.
"Then let us begin!" The doctor declared in pose, his finger pointed to the heavens. "In the name of MAD SCIENCE!"
The following moments passed in preparation, as Doctor Despayre carried a small form wrapped in cloth bandages to the surgery table and placed it down atop the surface -- and watched it slide off. He reached down to pick the body up and set it back down, and watched it slide off again. He huffed, eyeing it with one eye wide open, the other squinted nearly shut.
"Going to be difficult, are you?" He then snapped a finger as a bright light bulb flashed on above his head -- the storm was nearly at its peak! "I got it! Oh Shegor!"
"Yes, Doctor?" The assistant wandered over.
"The special Mad Science straps to keep the subject in place!"
And reaching into her rainbow fanny pack, Shegor removed a roll of gray duct tape and handed it over.
"Excellent!" Doctor Despayre declared as he pulled a length free and tore it loose with his teeth before he used it to strap the small body down while Shegor held it in place. Once satisfied that the body would not slide off, the Doctor pointed to the sky and spoke to Shegor, "Now prepare the table while I make the final adjustments to attract the lightning through the sun roof!"
"You mean that hole you blasted through the roof in your last experiment?"
"Nobody likes a smarty assistant!"
Doctor Despayre moved to make his final adjustments for the subject when he paused and turned back to address Shegor.
"You know, you should really do something about the way your back is lurched over." He stressed. "That can't be healthy. Have you considered a chiropractor?"
"Oh no chiropractor can help me now." Shegor stated as she started to turn the rusty crank to level up the surgeon's table.
"What do you mean?"
Shegor paused and said, "You know how your mom always tells you to stop slouching or you'll freeze that way?"
"Uh huh?" Doctor Despayre nodded.
"She means it!"
Doctor Despayre nodded knowingly and headed off as Shegor finished leveling the table so that it was perfectly horizontal to the tower's open roof above. Only a moment later, the doctor came back with a kite on light string with a key attached to the end. He tied the end with the metal key to the subject's exposed purple paw, then held the kite as Shegor set a small table top fan on the table's surface as well. She turned it on high and Doctor Despayre released the kite and the air circulating blew it skyward until it got caught in the storm's rains and winds.
"Prepare yourself!" Doctor Despayre called out, and as he fit a pair of safety goggles over his eyes, Shegor popped open a 'Hello Kitty' umbrella over her head. Despayre went to turn the crank that would cause the table to rise, pausing only to do a double take at his trusty lab assistant and her choice of "protection." He sighed and shook his head, then started 'cranking' while Shegor ran along the wall, pulling every switch she was meant to -- and perhaps one or two that she was not?
The table with the experimental subject on it rose up as the lightning crackled overhead! Sparks flew from the gizmos and doohickys! Arcs of electricity rose in sync on the antenna of the Jacob's ladder (good movie!) when a bolt of lightning surged down and struck the table!
"Yes!" Doctor Despayre cried gleefully while Shegor bobbed on her feet, clapping her hands with a manic smile -- at least they did until more bolts of lightning streamed down into the lab and zapped the jars filled with formaldehyde, sending the glass shattering and their contents of uniquely shaped Teddy Grahams flying to the floor!
"Quick! Bring it down!" Doctor Despayre cried and he started to crank the wheel in reverse, with Shegor assisting in the cranking (you may make your jokes now)! The table descended, and as it did, the lightning slowly subsided, its attraction to the metal lining the table now gone.
Once the table touched the floor, the 'mad' doctor grabbed the bandaged form and picked it up, only for purple goo to ooze through the bandages and onto the table in a thick puddle.
Shegor scrunched up her face, "Ewwwww!"
"Take a note assistant!" The doctor demanded, and immediately Shegor whipped out her unicorn memo pad and had on black, thick rimmed glasses. "Gummy bears and lightning do not for a good mix make!"
"From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes"
"They did the mash, they did the monster mash
The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash
They did the mash, it caught on in a flash
They did the mash, they did the monster mash"
"Gasp!" Despayre sat upright in his hotel room bed, a thin veil of sweat on his forehead. He looked around, slightly confused and attempting to blink the sleep from his eyes as he cast a look at his window. Hm, still night? He then looked at the clock on his bed stand and saw it reading 4:54 AM.
"Well!" He exclaimed. "No more pu pu platters before bed for me!"
He looked to the small, plush form buried under the covers save for the teddy bear's nose peaking out from beneath the folds and Despayre giggled. "Ha! I said 'pu pu'!" And that being said, he pulled the comforters back over his body and snuggled up to Angel once again to drift off into dreamland...
A familiar and fuzzy face appeared full center of the screens that our eyes are firmly glued upon, our rapt attention fixated on the wisdom that could be clearly seen deep within the little black eyes -- once one got past the thick rimmed glasses with even thicker lenses that magnified the teddy bear's eyes five times over.
"Hewwo! Will you be my fwiend?"
**Annnnnnd CUE the corn ball theme music that we as the adamant admirers and rabid fans of the one, the only...*
Voice Over: "And ladies, babes, and gentlemen, he is here with us now, the bear that knows it all and isn't shy about sharing that ... knowitall-ness? He will gift you with insight and share with you snuggles! There is only one that is here to help, there to please, and everywhere to make us feel better about ourselves by showing us just how messed up we really are... please welcome ... Mister Self-Help!"
A general recorded applause machine from a non-existent audience was heard to greet the one and only Mr. Self-Help. Dressed in a plaid sports jacket, an oversized bright yellow bow tie, and yes, those same glasses that not only magnified his eyes to multiple times their normal size, he bounded up the steps and onto the stage, and across the stage he walked ... right past the microphone and....
**CRASH!** A car horn honked! ... A woman screamed! ... A cat screeched! ... A bicycle wheel rolled across the stage....
Mister-Self-Help appeared once again in the camera shot, being guided by the shoulders by none other than his bestest buddy Gabriel. The former two-time World Champion led him to the microphone stand and positioned him just so, before taking his leave. Mr. Self-Help looked off in the wrong direction...
"Thank you!"
"You bet!"
Mr. Self-Help looked in the direction the voice emanated from and frowned.
"Stop moving around on me! You know I can't see anything with these ridiculous glasses!"
Mr. Self-Help jetted a thumb in the direction of the voice and gave the camera a knowing nod, as if to silently say "See what I did there?" Mr. Self-Help cleared his throat and this very special Supercard presentation was set to begin.
"A rather unusual approach in order to begin a promo for such an important match, you might think? You could even go so far as to believe that when one is competing in your very FIRST Supercard Main Event in your very FIRST one-on-one encounter for the World Heavyweight Championship, you should take things much more seriously and focus on one thing and one thing alone: J2H and the removal of the SCW World Championship from his possession."
"Okay, that was two things to focus on, but you get my point. Determination in a match of such importance is vital. Focus is the key. But when you're talking about a competitor as unique as Despayre, with the one-of-a-kind qualities that only he possesses, you'd understand why such thoughts are not so simple, and if you know him as well as I do..."
Mr. Self-Help gave the camera a goofy smile.
"... Then you'd indeed know why. If you have not been paying close attention to him -- and shame on you if you haven't -- then you might make the same error in judgment that so many others have made over the past number of years, ever since this young man first set foot inside of the squared circle in the Asylum Wrestling Alliance, up to his first moment in the six-sided ring of Sin City Wrestling."
"Once again, I'll be your host for this here very special edition of Mister Self-Help and not just his attempts to help the man known as J2H, but also the evolution that will turn Despayre from a world class wrestler into a soon to be World Champion!"
"Joshua...? Joshua!"
The sound was not welcome, calling out his name. After all, he had just went back to sleep and started to doze away when the disembodied voice started to say his name, over and over. He felt the grip on his shoulder and it gave him a slight jostle, attempting to rouse him. Hm, disembodied voices with a strong grip? That's one for the record books.
Despayre whimpered, mumbling something about "cookies" and "pirates" as he attempted to dig his way deeper into the blankets covering him, not an easy thing to do when you have your own father pulling at the blankets playfully. Synn watched with an almost impish smile (were he capable of such a thing) as he pulled the comforter further down the bed, watching in amusement as his son scurried along the same path in a fetus position. Synn then sighed and pulled the blanket from the bed's surface entirely, and in a last ditch effort to remain comfy beneath the warm and soft blanket, Despayre scooted his skinny butt right off the edge of the bed and ...
*WHOMP!*
... Proceeded to land on his backside on the carpeted floor of his room at the Hotel Gracery, the famed Godzilla themed hotel in the Shinjuku Ward of Tokyo.
"Ow!" Despayre cried out, rubbing his backside gingerly. "What's the big idea? I just went to bed!"
"Joshua," Synn started to reason, knowing full well handling anything regarding his son was a delicate matter. Even waking him up in the mornings. One never knew how he would respond to -- well, anything. This just so happened to be one of those lucky times where he seemed alert, if not just a hint confused. As Synn rolled the blanket in his arms, he walked around the bed and said, "Take a look outside. It's almost ten in the morning. You have breakfast to eat, a surprise to have, and we have business that needs to be done."
"Ahh!" Despayre kicked the second blanket which had become tangled in his sock-covered feet off of him, and slowly pulled himself up to a standing position. "But we just got here! There's so many things to see and to do before we have to focus on the whole..." **air quotes** "Business side of things."
"We've been in Tokyo for weeks." Synn countered, giving the blanket a sharp 'snap' so that it covered the bed once again, at least to a point. Synn was not going to make this bed for his son, or for the benefit of this stellar hotel's staff. But he was not going to have them come into his son's room and find a proverbial tornado had struck. Synn continued as he arranged the pillows and handed Angel over to his son's 'grabby hands', "We've almost blown completely through Angel's itinerary list of must-see tourist attractions." Synn stood upright, his full six foot, eight inch frame filling that side of the hotel room's wall. Hands on hips he stressed, "It's time we focused on the business at hand."
Despayre huffed and rolled his eyes, "You mean James?"
"James, J2H ... whatever you want to refer to him as." Synn replied. "We've had our fun in Tokyo but your match against him is just days away. It's important, so it's time we devoted some time to it and more so to your training. You can rest assured that Austin is running James ragged for this match."
"Wouldn't that be to my benefit?"
Synn frowned, "How do you mean?"
Despayre shrugged, "Well if he's running James ragged, won't that mean James will be too tired to put up much of a fight with me?"
Synn smiled. He had to hand it to his son's frame of logic, but still he knew that would not be the case. Synn shook his head, "It won't work out that way, Joshua. Now come, enough playing." He pointed to the closet in the hotel room, "Get showered and dressed -- in THAT order... we don't want another error like in Nagasaki." Despayre smiled sheepishly, remembering how sleepy he was that morning and the ensuing chaos. He simply thought he could save time if he got dressed and hopped in the shower.
Turned out, it wasn't such a hot idea. Angel and another one of his (in)famous ribs!
Synn finished, "Then come downstairs and we'll go to breakfast before we begin."
Despayre started to pout, and that pout turned into a childlike whine as he scuffed his feet along the carpet en route to the bathroom. Synn started for the hotel door to make his exit and give his son some privacy when Despayre paused and turned around, "Wait... did you say there was a surprise?"
Synn just smiled as he closed the door behind him and Despayre huffed, "You tease!"
And once again, we rejoin the jovial Guru of Good Will, Mr. Self-Help -- who just so happens to be facing the wrong way, his back turned to the camera.
"Hello! It's..."
"Psst! Despy!"
Mr. Self-Help looked first one way, then the other, having heard the sound of a voice calling to him.
"Have we got a leak onstage?"
"That's a polite way of phrasing it!"
"You're facing the wrong way!"
"Pardon?"
"TURN AROUND!!"
"Well all RIGHT!!"
Mr. Self-Help did indeed turn around as instructed.
"Ahh! That's better!"
He blinked and leaned in closer toward the camera, and thus toward the audience.
"Oh my. You've aged tragically!"
He stood upright and adjusted his specs and spoke...
"Hello again! It's me! It is once again time for another little intermission in the entertainment that is Despayre as he busily prepares himself for perhaps the biggest match of his career, even if the young man is not yet aware of it. Wow! Main eventing at Into the Void V! Despayre is one of the very few wrestlers, male or female, in SCW that was here since day one on October 9, 2011, and here he yet remains. That there just goes to show everyone that he has perseverance and a love for the sport, albeit it an unspoken one. When you're on the outside looking in, you watch Despayre inside of the ring and think to yourself, 'Self? There's a wrestler who simply enjoys being inside of the ring.' If he didn't, he wouldn't be putting his body on the line, day in and day out, in such unique and with consequences of possible injuries. He has a very high risk style that he incorporates with maneuvers he sometimes just makes up on the fly, and that is what makes him so difficult to prepare for. It is also what makes his origin inside of the sport such a tale to tell."
"When one strives to look toward where Despayre is headed as a competitor, one must first also reflect back on where he came from. Where things started. You understand. The fascinating thing about Despayre and this business is that originally, he was never meant to be a part of it at all. He simply took to it, much like a fish takes to water."
Mr. Self-Help picked up a remote control and aimed it at the camera. He clicked it once, twice, and a third time with no result. Jetting out his bottom lip, he grumbled.
"Oh swell! My assistant forgot to get new batteries!"
Flustered, he slammed the remote down onto his podium and the screen went to static and changed....
New York City...
Imagine if you will, one of those moments in a promo when the commentary takes a brief pause to better be served via the use of a scene that befits the subject at hand. The view before you swirls before your eyes before we once again find ourselves in that 'Power Team' Gymnasium in New York, where Synn and the man who would become a two-time World Heavyweight Champion in Sin City Wrestling, Gabriel, watched as Despayre, then known simply as Joshua, gave Shane Boswell a hard time inside of the gym's training ring.
"Bloody hell." Gabriel exclaimed. "Kid's stuck to Shane like glue!"
Try as he might, Shane was unable to wrest the teenager from his back. While his arms were wrapped around the much larger Boswell's neck from behind, his legs were tightly woven around his waist. Shane tried reaching behind and over himself to get a hand hold but that was one of the perks of being of smaller stature like Joshua was. Shane had no leverage, and he was not going to do anything that might hurt the kid like he would do to any actual opponent, such as simply collapse back onto the mat or in the corner, thereby crushing him beneath his near two hundred and seventy pounds.
"Okay Joshua!" Synn called aloud. The comical sight of the situation and Joshua's head just turning to look out at Synn with wide, innocent eyes. "You've beaten up Shane enough. Now let's let Gabriel's training continue, hm?
"Aww!" The teen complained, but he complied and did as he was told, just not in the way they intended. Despayre proceeded to release his arms grip around Shane's neck, but rather than drop to his feet as the normal mind might intend, he swung over and slid down Shane's back as if he were going for a sunset flip, the fluidity of the movement as smooth as could be. And once he touched the mat, he rolled to his hands and knees and crawled through the legs of the surprised Shane and scurried to the outside to rejoin Synn and Gabriel who both just stared at him.
"What?" Joshua asked, wondering if he had done something wrong. He then briskly rubbed his forearm along his nose and asked, "I got a boog?"
"No, Joshua." Synn reached to offer him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, but stopped at the barest of flinches on the young man's part. He was still unused to being touched in any way that was not abusive, and such wounds would take time to heal. Synn instead opted to say, "I was just surprised you did so well in there. Very nice movements."
And it was the truth. The 'piggy back' on Shane was amusing, the same way a child might have gotten involved, but that slide down Boswell's back was not. Most students spent days and weeks learning how to do a sunset flip like that without hurting themselves, but it had just come natural to the seventeen year old Joshua Young. Glowing words from this man that made Joshua's chest stick out just a bit more with a sense of pride.
Synn turned to Gabriel and gave him a nod, and the magician-turned-wrestler proceeded to climb back inside of the ring where he was joined by another man, a training partner hired to help him hone what skills he had been taught thus far.
Shane maneuvered his way back around the ring from where he had exited while a still laughing Fantasia climbed back in to assist as a referee for this session. Shane gifted her with a coy look that spoke she was going to get 'punished' for her amusement at his expense, but he found himself smiling as he approached Synn and Joshua, Joshua's eyes never straying from Gabriel's instructions on Fantasia's part.
The screen then switched back to the studio and Mr. Self-Help rolling his eyes.
"Well how was I supposed to know that was the garage door opener!?"
He then noticed the light on the camera and his startled response sent the stack of papers in his hand flying through the air and scattering along the stage.
"We're back! Now! Wasn't that a fascinating piece of history? It was almost as if his mind simply knew what to do and his body matched that assumption. Believe you me, there is much more to tell from that tale. For instance..."
He beckoned the camera forward with a wag of his forefinger, and the camera shot straight forward and bonked him in the forehead.
"Ow! Melly!"
"Sorry!"
The camera pulled back just enough and Mr. Self-Help leaned in and whispered...
"Did you know that originally Synn did not want Despayre to enter the sport of professional wrestling?"
"No!"
"It's true! Synn believed that the sport was far too dangerous for young Despayre, but it was thanks to fellow Sins members Shane Boswell and Fantasia that helped to open Synn's eyes and see the potential that was before him -- all five foot six inches of him! Most importantly, Joshua wanted this! And as everyone past and present know -- what Joshua wants, Joshua gets!
Synn was reluctant to be sure, I mean, after all we are talking about his precious son and all! What father wouldn't try and discourage his flesh and blood from entering such a rough and tumble sport? Shane and Fantasia's reasoning won out, however, and Despayre's training regime was begun!"
The camera again rolled video footage of a wrestling training facility from years back, and now Gabriel was joined inside of the ring by the teenage Despayre, watching every move the magician made and carefully attempted to mimic it.
"Okay, Joshua." Synn stepped before him while Gabriel backed up against the far corner of the ring and leaned in with his arms resting upon the top ropes. "Fall back, feet and shoulders." And to demonstrate this, Synn simply fell backwards to the mat, allowing his arms to take the brunt of the fall's impact to better teach the young man how to fall safely inside of the ring without hurting himself.
"Can you do that, sweety?" Fantasia asked and Despayre nodded silently. They cleared a spot in the middle of the ring for him to step up into. Holding his arms out to his sides, just as he saw Synn do, Joshua fell back but did not have the gist as of yet for his arms to land first, and the back of his head collided with the canvas. Despayre cried out and grabbed the back of his head, whimpering, as Synn, Fantasia and Gabriel gathered around him to see if he was alright.
Asylum Wrestling Alliance....
While not having planned for this, Synn quickly adapted his endeavors for this fresh face of the Seven Sins, entering the veteran wrestling promotion known as the AWA. Gabriel had been signed originally, but now with Despayre's training narrowly finished, the young man still in his teens had joined Gabriel, and the two had been paired together as the first incarnation of the team to become known as Sinful Obsession. Synn knew Gabriel had all the potential in the world to rise to the very pinnacle of this profession, and he saw the 'hero worship' of sorts in Despayre's eyes, ever since he first laid eyes on Gabriel. As some may be aware, Gabriel was not as enthused about Despayre then as he certainly was to this day. As a matter of fact, Despayre made him quite anxious given his volatile history and his antics wore thin on the magician.
Still, time was the true test and Gabriel grew to love Despayre and watch over him, just as an older brother might. He accepted the fact that to get things started, they would have to pave their way as a tag team combination and their first match together was against the hard edged AWA combination of Hank Henry and Casey Williams.
Yes, THAT Casey Williams!...
The crowd inside of the capacity filled arena were on their feet as the rookie Gabriel sent Hank Henry careening into the far corner of the ring and leapt in, squashing him beneath his two hundred and thirty pounds via the Stinger splash! Gabriel then mounted the corner, pinning his veteran opponent in and he started to unload first after fist into hank's head, when fate played a fickle trick and saw Hank pull a form from 'parts unknown' and stab Gabriel in the thigh with it, causing an immediate disqualification.
And we rejoin Mr. Self-Help in his studio.
"And that right there was the match that started it all, a literal dynasty in tag team wrestling! Of course, it might not have been the way that Despayre and Gabriel wanted to succeed in their first time out, but as the saying goes: a win is a win! Scoring a victory over two such established stars as Casey and Hank in only their first match together vaulted Despayre and Gabriel up in the eyes of promoters and experts! They were immediately pitted against bigger and better opponents, in both singles and tag team matches. Gabriel worked hard to study his opponents and plan on how to exploit any and all weaknesses he saw, but he and Synn found it difficult, if not outright impossible to get Despayre to do the same. No matter how hard they tried, the harder they worked on getting the little guy to focus on the task at hand, the harder it was for him to do so."
"Until that is an older brother's intuition came into play."
"Maybe that's the issue here." Gabriel said as he joined Shane and Synn after another training session, one that did not go as well as they had hoped in getting Despayre to focus on their next match that would be coming up in only a matter of days.
"What are you talking about?" Synn shook his head, unsure of what road to take next. "Joshua needs to learn to study his opponents, or else the chance at the tag team titles will slip right through BOTH of your grasps!"
"Maybe, maybe not." Gabriel reasoned. he turned his head and directed their attention collectively to the ring where Despayre was running around, doing somersaults and back flips and generally just exerting his never ending bundle of energy.
Gabriel continued, "That kid does his best when he simply reacts to any given moment." He looked back to Synn and Shane. "You saw him in that hardcore match when he won the International title against Tassius. There's no really set strategy in matches like that. There can't be. He just went in there and bam!"
"A regular match with rules is a lot different than a hardcore match, Gabriel." Shane countered.
"Maybe." Gabriel shrugged. "You never know. You want my opinion? Tell him who his opponent is, and whether or not he has any weaknesses, and then?" He turned to look at Despayre. "Turn the little bugger loose."
Back to Mr. Self-Help!
"I bet you didn't know that it was Gabriel himself who devised that well-known strategy for Despayre now did you? Joke if you will, but it has proven a successful strategy many a year over! Synn and Gabriel do not even attempt any longer to control him. Inside of the ring, all they have the need to do is simply unleash him."
"Surprise!"
"Mom! Gramma!" Despayre cried as he stepped off of the elevator and into the hotel lobby, and the first thing he saw were the two smiling faces of his two biggest fans! He raced right over toward the two women who showed him kindness and love in his earliest of years and enveloped them in a group hug (Angel included!) as many watched openly with smiles on their faces, friends and fellow tourists, and yes -- fans.
The Japanese fans of Sin City Wrestling were altogether aware that this hotel was housing some of the big names of the aforementioned promotion, and they could not but help to converge at the lobby when and where they were able to get just a peek at their favorites, should they opt to show their faces. And here was one, right before their very eyes: Despayre -- and Angel!
Not to mention the rest of the Sins! Everywhere the eyes would turn, from the fans and staff, the roster of the controversial stable of Superstars, both male and female alike, were standing in the lobby, waiting for the arrival of their young man who in just a matter of days, would be contesting for the richest prize in the sport in his very first one-on-one World Championship match in the entirety of his career. And their fandom did not end with Despayre himself -- or Angel (if you can believe that!), but it also carried over to every other member of the Seven Deadly Sins, both past and present, that had gathered in the lobby of the Hotel Gracery. Synn himself, Gabriel, Rage, Kittie, Shane Boswell, Fantasia -- well, you get the idea.
The fans held up their cameras and took snapshots of the gathered superstars of the wrestling world, but refrained from approaching the group as a whole, thus disturbing their morning constitutional and more importantly, Despayre's reunion with his family. You see, that is a key difference in all of its entirety between the fans here in Japan, and those in America, or other nations across the world: In Japan, the fans are respectfully keeping their distance and enjoying the moment from where they are. And should there be an opportunity later to request a picture or an autograph, then and only then would they take advantage. In the United States, Canada and Europe the fans would simply walk over and barge past the moment as if it were their God given right to disturb the wrestlers from their personal time with friends and family.
Like a child might, Despayre has his fingers in his mother's hair, his fingers idly weaving in her chestnut brown locks as he asked, "What are you doing here?" The smile never leaving his face as the words left his lips.
"This was the surprise I told you about, Joshua." Synn pointed out as he stepped forward and rested a hand on Victoria Young, Despayre's grandmother's shoulder. "I was hoping it would help to inspire you for what's to come."
"It does!" Despayre nodded happily, then he paused for the briefest of moments to address his father and ask, "What's to come?"
"Your match with James." Synn answered. "Your mother and grandmother flew all the way from Las Vegas to witness firsthand you winning the championship."
"We all did." Shane Boswell, known to fans as "Sxxxy" Shane, the Sin of Pride, stepped forward and winked at Despayre, a young man who he helped oversee his career from since the very beginning. He added, "We weren't about to pass up the chance to see you beat that little sh..." Shane noticed quickly the raised eyebrow of Despayre, his dislike for those around him suffering from an affliction known as "potty mouth," so he amended his words, "... snot, and win that World title."
"Great." Despayre sighed, having a gander at all those friends and family who gathered around him. "No pressure." He mumbled.
Synn took a step forward and ran a comforting hand along the small of his son's back, all the better to reassure him, and said, "No pressure is intended, Joshua. Merely confidence in what you're capable of accomplishing."
Despayre bit at his bottom lip and merely nodded, before they noticed his eyes looking around as if he were searching for someone unseen. He then looked at his parents and asked with what they noted as a trace of hopefulness, "Is Missus O'Heaney here too?"
"Your neighbor?" His mother, Margaret asked. She shook her head and answered, "No, Joshy. She didn't come with us."
"Oh."
"Not to worry mate." Gabriel smiled, patting him on the shoulder. He knew well the growing affection his 'little brother' had for the (literal) meanest old woman in Synn's neighborhood. Despite the playful animosity that had grown over the years between the neighbors, he suspected that the elderly woman was starting to appreciate Despayre for who and what he was -- slowly but surely. So Gabriel had taken it upon himself to pay the old woman a brief visit with a special request, and he told Despayre, "But surprise, surprise. She said she'd be watching your match and cheer you on."
That bit of news drew looks from around the group, particularly that of Synn and Rage, who spending as much time in the neighborhood, knew of the old woman and her vaunted reputation for being outright unpleasant. They also happened to know that Despayre had been spending a large amount of time around her whenever not on tour in Las Vegas, ever since he had found her fallen on her living room floor, and that perhaps, just perhaps -- she was starting to appreciate his company.
At hearing Gabriel's words, Despayre's eyes brightened, as did the smile on his face as he asked, "Really?" Gabriel simply nodded with a smile. "You wouldn't fool me about a thing like that, would you?"
At that querie, Gabriel's arm snaked around Despayre's slim shoulders and he gave him a playful "bro-hug" before saying, "Do I look like the kind of bloke who'd fool you?"
Gabriel gave Despayre his best smile of assurance, and the two who as good as brothers stared into one another's eyes, until Despayre's lips curved into an innocent smile and he said, "You're funny." And he wandered past him, walking over toward his grandmother and mom, leaving Gabriel to turn and stare at Synn.
"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"
Synn shrugged, "That he's learning." Synn then turned and saw Despayre with Margaret and Victoria, his head hanging low and it seemed as if his mother was offering him words of comfort, or at least trying to. He had intended to allow them a moment together, without joining in or spoiling their time together, when Margaret looked up at him and the expression of concern in her eyes prompted Synn to forgo the initial thought and he wandered over.
"Joshua?" He started to speak. "Is something wrong?" To which the only answer that came forth was a simple shaking of the head. Noting that the others in their group, Gabriel in particular, had taken note of something being amiss, Synn addressed them casually, "Perhaps you can get us a table? We'll be along in a moment."
Gabriel nodded, "Right." And although he would have preferred to be there along with Synn for whatever it was that had disturbed Despayre, he knew there were times when the lad simply needed his father and mother. Leading their group toward the restaurant in the hotel's lobby, Gabriel passed Despayre and gave him a pat on the shoulder before continuing on.
Only then did Synn turn to his son and ask, "Okay Joshua, what brought this on?"
Despayre kept his head down, but his parents and grandmother could see that his eyes shifted toward the restaurant, all the better to ensure that they would not overhear. Only when satisfied did they hear a meek question...
"What if I lose?"
Had it not been for the slight shrug of his shoulders, they would had not been altogether sure that it was Despayre who had spoken. Margaret, standing just behind him, placed her hands on her son's shoulders.
"Sweety," She started to say. "You're not going to lose."
He inhaled, the older adults taking note that there was the slightest of tremors in the intake of breath. He brought his head up and looked back over his shoulder to ask, "But suppose that I do?" His head turned to his father and his eyes were filled with worry. "All these people here just to watch me ... they'll be mad at me if I lose."
"Mad?" His grandmother frowned. "Joshua, we won't be upset with you if that was to happen." And like her daughter, she stepped up to envelope her beloved grandson in her arms and drew him into the warmest of embraces that could only be appreciated between grandmother and grandson. Despayre returned the 'snuggle' as he called it, and once they separated, Victoria cupped his face in her hands and smiled, "The only possible way we could ever be disappointed is if you went out there and didn't try your very best."
"I know that the World Championship doesn't mean to you what it does for others." Synn offered, drawing his son's attention back to him. "And I know that you have your own reasons for going through with this match ... reasons I quite agree with as a matter of fact." Synn's statement draws a smile from Despayre. Any time his father agreed with him made him feel proud, as it should be between all fathers and sons.
Synn continued, "You have accomplished so much, and we could not be prouder. And we know you've always preferred tag team matches and tag team championships, but..." He rested a large hand on his son's shoulder, cocking his head ever so slightly to the left to prompt Despayre to lift his own gaze to match his father's. "... isn't there the smallest part of you that would like to be the best?"
"I am the best!" Despayre declared hotly, jetting a thumb toward the two women at his side. "Mom says so!"
Margaret and Victoria smile, and Synn concedes with a nod and smile of his own. "And to that I would have to agree. A poor choice of words on my part. What I should have said was, would you not like to take that title belt away from James and prove it?"
Despayre frowned, "What is that? Like one of those Zen riddles?"
Synn chuckled and steered Despayre around by the shoulders, "C'mon!" He said as he and the two ladies escorted Despayre toward the hotel's restaurant to join their comrades...
The scene returns to the studio of Mr. Self-Help's seminar.
"We've learned a great deal about the tag team career of Despayre, but where would we be if we didn't gaze into the path that has led us to where we are today, and the path of what is soon to come? Yes, Despayre is world renown alongside of Gabriel and others as a multi-time World Tag Team Champion! With Gabriel at his side, Despayre reigned as undefeated Tag Team Champions in the AWA and NeWA, surrendering both titles when they left both promotions. They moved on to SCW where they established themselves as the team to beat, suffering only a single loss in over six years together as a team. They won the World Tag titles, losing them in a triple threat match where they were not the team that was defeated."
"Then when Gabriel took time off to heal nagging injuries, Despayre found himself in new territory with teammate Rage as his partner, and they too won the gold together, surrendering it only due to an injury on Rage's part. His third, and to date final reign, was with the unlikely new Superstar known only as Big B. Together as the Bosom Buddies, Despayre and B were surprisingly dominant together, given Big B's lack of professional training, holding the gold for over eight months!"
"Once B left for family issues, Despayre finally found himself in unwanted territory: the singles ranks. With nobody left to team with at the given time, Despayre had wanted to hang up his boots but was persuaded time and again by friends and family to give himself a chance to prove he didn't need someone at his side in order to succeed. For years the higher ups of SCW had wanted to push Despayre as a singles competitor, feeling he had all the tools it would take to reign supreme atop the proverbial mountain."
"Despite his reluctance, Despayre proved his supporters and fans were not wrong when he defeated Kris Halc for the Internet Championship, holding it for two months before suffering a rare loss to Sean Jackson to relinquish the gold."
"Since then, Despayre has had ample opportunities to try for more title shots. He was Number One Challenger to the Internet Championship, and won the King For A Day event which guaranteed him a championship match of his choosing, any time he wanted. He simply didn't want it at the time. Then, as fate would have it, another chance arose in the form of the Blast From the Past IV tournament."
"Teaming with Crystal Millar in the 2016 tournament event, Despayre and Millar went through four other mixed tag team combinations to emerge the victors, and as a result, both won the honor of automatic World title shots at Into the Void IV, which is where we find ourselves fast approaching."
"For the first time in his career, Despayre will be Main Eventing a Supercard in a one on one encounter for the SCW World Championship. An opportunity that many of his peers would kill for -- well not literally! Maybe? Can he make the most out of this chance, and defeat the young man many are saying is the finest champion that Sin City Wrestling has had since the days of Spike Staggs and Nick Jones?"
"I certainly believe so!"
"You know, your dad's not wrong."
Despayre, his chin cupped into the palm of his hand, cast a sidelong glance to the plush teddy bear perched on a stack of telephone books so that he might reach his own plate.
"Oh now, don't you start."
"Well, it's true! You've done so much in wrestling, in AWA and SCW. Undefeated International and Tag Team Champion in AWA? Then look at everything you've done in SCW!"
"Oh that list would take too long. Dad says we have to get to a gym to start training."
"My point exactly! Internet Champion? Three-time Tag Team Champion? Buddy, the world is your oyster and the world title your pearl!"
"I'm not sure I completely understand that analogy, but I do like the sound of it."
"Well, look at it this way. J2H has done a pretty good job as the World Champion, right?"
Despayre turned his head S-L-O-W-L-Y to give Angel "the look".
"Well he has! He's defended the title left and right against anyone who wanted a shot..."
"Except for Rage."
"Except for Rage, right. The one blemish on that. But he's went up against everyone else and won every time."
"Big deal. I could do that."
"That's your dad's point exactly! And mine! You'd make a great world champion! When J2H won the title, everybody was surprised. When you win it, nobody will be because everybody knows that it's meant to be. It's practically preordained!"
"Some even told me it's meant to be!"
"Er, yes. And once you win this title, you know what that means?"
"I can finally tell people I did it and go back to tag teams?"
"Well, besides that. It means after this win, you'll be just one step closer to being the first male Grand Slam Champion for SCW!"
Despayre's one eye pops open to look at Angel.
"Really?"
"What is going on?" Margaret asked as she stepped up closer to where Synn was leaning back against the partisan in the restaurant, having spotted Despayre at their shared table. Breakfast had just ended and while some had opted to go on a tour at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, others such as Gabriel were signing autographs for those fans who had waited oh-so patiently outside of the restaurant. Margaret and Victoria were to join Gabriel for that very same tour in but a few moments, but this curios sight had caught the mother's eye.
"Oh that's right." Synn mused with a smirk, his eyes never leaving the sight before him. "You've never been witness to one of our Joshua's friendly chats with Angel, have you?"
"Does this happen often?"
"Oh all the time." Synn nodded. "It's usually a very good sign."
Margaret looked to the father of her son and asked, "For what?"
Synn answered, "Joshua understanding what he's truly capable of."
Mother and father turned back to the table while watching a rather animated and one-sided discussion take place.
"You really think I can do it?"
"Buddy, would I say you could do it if I didn't mean it?"
"Well, you might just be saying this because you want to make me feel good. You're a real good guy, er, bear like that."
"Well, be that as it may, I am not just saying that? Know why? Because saying that but not meaning it wouldn't be nice. It would be mean and it would get your hopes up. Then what would happen if you lost? You'd feel terrible and be upset with all of us for 'just saying' it. No. A real friend means what they say, and as your friend, I am saying the exact same thing that your dad said, and Gabriel and all the rest of them. You can do this!"
Despayre could only smile at the good natured love and motivation that a boy could only experience with his teddy bear. It felt good to know Angel had his back as much inside of the ring as he did when he was sleeping and the teddy bear spent the night fending off the random shadow beastie.
"Thank you Angel."
Taking that final statement as his cue, Synn approached the table with Margaret and now Victoria in tow. They did so with caution so as not to disturb Despayre and alert him to the fact that they had been listening in on his side of this conversation at the very least. Oh how they wished they could have 'heard' whatever side Angel's part had taken place, but they did not want Despayre to feel self conscious or embarrassed at feeling the usual need to confide in his plush friend as opposed to the other members of his friends and family.
"Ready, Joshua?"
Despayre held a forefinger to his lips, informing Angel covertly that their conversation would have to be given pause and continue another time.
"Can't we go with Gabriel?" Despayre started to plead. "I want to see the Imperial Palace, too!"
"Joshua, we've already seen it." Synn stated matter-of-factly. "When we first arrived in Tokyo."
"But not with Mom and Grandma!" Despayre protested.
Synn shared a look with Margaret and Victoria before he addressed his son, "While that may be true, there is still the matter of you continuing your training in order to be at your peak against James. Now, while we do that and Gabriel shows these two fine ladies here a nice afternoon, we'll all be visiting Ueno Park."
"Mm..." Despayre mumbled in frustration at not getting his way as was the usual norm for these father-son moments.
"And..." Synn continued. "Should you do a good job at the gym, then I'll have a surprise for you."
"A surprise?" Despayre's eyes opened wide in delight at the very sound of that favorite word of words. "What is it?"
"Well..." Synn begun, leaning in to share this nugget of information. "Do well today, and I think a visit to the Ueno Zoo will be in order." He winked. "Since we'll be in the area."
"Oh BOY!"
Somewhere off at the Imperial Palace, Rage felt the involuntary need to shudder....
"There you are!"
The gravelly voice called aloud, prompting heads to turn and the 'Marlboro Man' of SCW, Connor Murphy, was seen approaching the area where the remaining Sins were standing now, readying to take their leave. An unlit cigarette in between his lips, Connor was carrying a plain, brown box in his hands, with air holes conspicuously cut into the sides. Despayre almost immediately took a defensive stance at the approach of his fellow Superstar, but not for the reasons one might assume. Connor had little to do with Despayre here in the past, save for the random backstage encounter or a match or two for the Internet Championship.
Taking note of his son's sudden rigid posture, Synn took a step forward to get between the two quickly, without the need for explanation. Synn looked back over his shoulder at the two women with them, and to diffuse the situation, whatever it may have been, Synn introduced, "Margaret? Victoria? You remember Connor Murphy?" Referring, of course, to his having been introduced to the two ladies during the special Mother's Day edition of Climax Control.
"Of course." Victoria nodded, joined by her daughter's "Hello." Connor kept his mouth shut, and simply gave the two women a curt nod of his head in greeting, when Despayre leaned back on his heels and with a hand cupped around his mouth, he whispered...
"He's an accessory to the mutilation of Gummy Bear."
Ahh! Synn thought to himself. Yes, that would immediately cause his son to take on a defensive posture against anyone he deemed a threat to teddy bears. Hey! Don't laugh! It's a part of what makes Despayre so special. Ask anyone -- well, maybe not Connor.
Mister Murphy raised his eyebrow and shook his head, "What happened was a terrible tragedy. It was all on J2H, not me." He said, playing along with Despayre's unique personae. "I thought we went through this two weeks ago."
"We did." Despayre conceded. "But you know the law. Always changing with whoever is in charge."
"And that would be you?" Synn asked, bemused at Despayre giving Connor a hard time over the fate of what amounted to a gummy bear.
"I'm the star of this promo." Despayre stated matter-of-factly, before turning to the camera and giving it a look, then turned back to Connor.
"Well, be that as it may.. here." He offered the box over to Despayre. "Just a little something I hope gets me off the hook." But as he extended his hands with the box cradled between them, he was met with a suspicious gaze from his accuser, to which Connor drew his offer back for the moment and held his arms out in wonder.
"Where's the trust?" Connor asked.
"Come on, Joshy." Margaret prodded her son, and only with her encouragement did Despayre finally extend his hands to accept whatever it was that Connor was offering him. A peace token, perhaps? Well, in the end it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that he was being given a present. Presents rock!
"What is it?" He asked Connor with a trace of dubiosity yet remaining in his person.
"Well open it and find out." Connor huffed. "It's safe -- Scout's honor." He added, holding up his two fingers in the Scout salute. Connor was in Boy Scouts? Who knew?
"Well, so long as you swore Scout's honor..." Despayre yielded in his mistrust for the moment and unfolded the lid of the box with one hand, while holding it carefully in the other. He peered inside and let out an audible gasp...
"Gummy!" He cried in delight and quickly removed the 'gummy bear' that only previously in Osaka did J2H up the stakes against his soon-to-be challenger by taking the 'gag gift' from Connor Murphy, a jumbo-sized gummy bear, and mutilate it in his anger. Dropping the box carelessly to the floor, his attention solely on the colorful, two toned bear in candy form. Beaming with delight (and quite a bit of relief), Despayre holds the aptly named "Gummy" up for the others to see. "Look! Gummy is alright!"
"Am I missing something?" Victoria leaned over to address Synn, not wanting to take anything away from her grandson's mirth.
Synn could only smile and respond with, "Connor saved the life of a gummy bear. What else could it be?"
Victoria just nodded 'knowingly' and watched as Despayre showed the gummy bear off to Angel, before he looked to the 'savior" with bright eyes and said, "You saved him! How did you do it?"
But Connor held true to his mysterious aura and held a forefinger up to his lips, stating, "Secrets of the trade. The bears fight the unknown, I heal them of their wounds."
Mouth rounded in an "O" of awe at this tidbit of news, another side of Connor he had never been privy to, Despayre turned to his dad wide-eyed and Synn asked of him, "Are we ready now?"
"Oh yes!" Despayre nodded. "Now that I know Gummy is A-okay, I can really focus on avenging him!"
"I'll settle for that." Synn mused as he escorted his son past Connor, Margaret, Victoria and of course, Gabriel, bringing up the year. Connor watched them make their exit and could just smirk like only he could do.
Maiden America Gym
In professional wrestling, the task of passing off your knowledge of the sport to the younger generation is one seen as being necessary and highly respected. In the early nineties, a young woman by the name of Brandi Rose started her career in Japan, and quickly rose to one of prominence. Hailing from Daytona Beach, Florida, Brandi rose through the ranks in the world of Joshi wrestling, capturing a number of championships in both the singles, tag and six-woman ranks. She furthered her experience and training, traveling back to her native United States to tour such companies as PWA, IWA, GPW, ACW and GXW, before returning to her beloved Japan as Brandi Costantino, opening her own training dojo to help begin the careers of the next generation of Joshi stars.
And should the need arise, Brandi also saw fit to lend the use of her gym, and sometimes her trainees, to assist current Superstars in upcoming matches held in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Inside of the dojo, a nervous looking Despayre, clad in his usual ring gear, stood at the side of his father as Synn spoke with the dojo's owner and instructor, Brandi herself.
Synn said, "I appreciate you helping Joshua here get prepared for his match this Sunday. A world title shot doesn't come along every day and I would rather he be prepared for anything James opts to throw his way."
"Hey, my pleasure." Brandi replied, then turned her gaze from Synn to the smaller man to his right and she winked. "I've heard quite a lot about you. I can see why you've got this chance at a world title."
Despayre simply smiled, his nerves around women all too well known. Brandi turned her attention back to Synn and said, "Aside from being too little for many power moves unless against someone his own size, I'd say the only area he really lacks would be the technical aspect. Rather than look for a counter when he's caught in a hold, I've seen him resort to biting to make the other man let go."
"It's easier!" Despayre smiled. "Plus I'm a real good biter!" he proceeded to chomp his teeth together to display the fact. "I once bit through a jump rope!"
"Why?" Brandi frowned, to which Despayre frowned right back, "Whaddya mean why?"
Brandi shook her head, opting to instead move on with this session. "Okay," She said. "Technical skills aside, I wouldn't mind seeing you learn a few kicks to add to your repertoire. It would probably help to throw James off, should he get a boot upside the head."
"One could only hope." Synn mused.
Brandi snapped her fingers and pointed from Despayre to the ring that took up most of the floor space in her gym. A ring that had a young Japanese woman standing inside of it in her own work out clothes of a bright pink t shirt and sweat pants.
"You get in there with Megumi and..."
"I can't train with her!" Despayre gasped, staring from the ring to Brandi and back again, his mouth wide open. "She's a girl! I can't fight a girl!"
Brandi held a hand up to attempt to forestall any further debate. "I assure you, Megumi is more than capable of taking care of her..."
