As I walked past the black curtain that made very little effort to mute the sound of the fans in Cameron, North Carolina proudly booing Big Dave for his victory over me, the slight decrease in temperate chilled the sweat that clung to my body.
I immediately encountered The Prototype Corey Payne, as he was in the process of keeping his body warm up with the use of a resistance band.
Corey Payne: Hey Rush, good match out there. Sorry it didnt go you way, but it sure as hell looked good from here. I got lots to learn still man.
My head still hung low as I ignored both his attempted offer of condolences for my lose, as well as his compliment for an entertaining & educational match. This time, I didnt share in his were get them next time attitude a character trait often shared among the young talent. Instead I silently wondered how many next times there would be for me.
The slight decrease in temperature chilled the sweat that clung to my body as I walked further away from the ring and closer to the locker room. I remembered a time when the sweat didnt come as quickly as it does now; When I could be half way though a match before the sweat was really noticeable, now I cant seem to get back my first offensive wave before the salt begins to sting my eyes. This sweat, although hard-earned in my match, wasnt the sweat of a winner like it use to be. It has been a while since I had to wash the sweat of victory off of my body.
I continued to make my way as far from the ring as possible, passing Austin Reynolds as he sat on a folding steel chair, eyes glued onto a backstage monitor as he watched the events unfold on Meltdown. Austin, a remarkable young and gifted wrestler, who just like me, had become a surprise entrant into a championship league. The difference between Austin and myself is that Austin knows that he still has what it takes to rise to the top of the league and then walk out of Kingdome Come a champion. I wonder if Ill even be considered for the dark match to WZCWs largest Pay Per View.
Austin, will do what I was unable to accomplish, because he is at the peak of his career, not 15 years past it. Hes moves without pause and hits with full strength. He is able to think not only of what is happening in the ring now, but might happen five moves from now something I am constantly finding harder and harder to do. I can barely stay on top of what my opponent is doing in the ring.
The closer I got to the locker room, the more young faces I encountered. Trevor Steele sitting on a backstage equipment storage cart, listening closely to the words sung by Rage Against the Machines Zach de la Rocha. Trevor, despite all of the talent he possessed, seemed to be in the same situation I found myself in, lingering just above the bottle of his league. Maybe he has been too focused on his pending legal battle with Showtime, regardless, at least Trevor had the satisfaction of knowing that he will be a big time player in this business sometime in the near future. A comforting thought that I could no longer experience.
I rounded the corner, finally getting closer to my final destination. The shine off of James Bakers Mayhem championship crossed my eye as stood in line at the catering table waiting to be served.
Not long ago, James Baker was nothing by a worthless disrespectful young punk that lacked the focus and respect to make a name for himself. All of his energy and talent was wasted on nursery rhymes and trying to conquer loose women, rather whats important in the ring. 20 years ago, Jamess backstage behavior would have been better suited and even welcomed with an open bottle of booze and an unthinkable amount of pills. James was a nobody and lost too many, including me.
Then James, for better or for worse, was forced out due to a career-threatening ankle injury. Then when James was stuck at home with nobody by his side, forced to look back at his empty career, something sparked inside him. I dont know what catalyst caused the transformation within James, but he came back to the WZCW a better person, and without a doubt, a better wrestler. He was focused and determined to be successful today and in the process, he beat not only me, but Ty Burna as well to become the current Mayhem champion. The same opportunity that was handed to him was also handed to me. But as I let it slip though my fragile, wrinkled hands, James grasped it.
This week, I once again attempt to rise towards the top of the EurAsian league, and once again it is a young man that stands in the way of my climb.
Outside the ring, Ulysses S. Adams is a man with strong moral beliefs and even stronger patriotic values. Inside the ring, the man has all the talent, skill and charisma to show the world why he is one of the best today. But this week, it all means nothing. This week, everything that he has worked so hard to perfect in the ring, just wont be enough for him to beat me.
I have nothing by respect for the man and everything he stands for. But I need to prove to the world and more importantly, I need to prove to myself that I can still get the wins when they really count. I refuse to sit at the bottom of my league and that is exactly where you are trying to keep me, whether those are your intentions or not.
There is an old saying; you cant teach an old dog new tricks. Come Ascension, the both of us are going to see if that adage holds any merit.
Its just a matter of time before you realize that his old dogs bite is a whole lot worse than its bark, and in the process, Im going to make you regret your willingness to bleed red, white and blue.
