Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2021 14:56:20 GMT -5
Basics (off-cam)
FUCK!
I was hurting all over. 3 tough as fuck matches within a week was taking a toll on my body. The ladder match at Reno, the Gauntlet at Indy and the match vs the champ at Edmonton. I had barely gotten home last night before passing out on the couch. In the morning I had tried to stretch and shit, all the things Donny had told me but they weren’t doin the trick. So I had done the one thing I knew from experience would help get rid of the soreness and stiffness.
I had taken to the ring I had constructed on my backyard and started training. Bumps, roperuns, rolls you name it. The pain goes the same way it came. It was a chilly as fuck morning though, so I had to work twice as hard to keep warm. At some point I saw Donny walk out to the backyard, he looked like he had just come back from a jog. Dude was a fitness-freak to say the least. He sat down on the porch and watched as I kept going through my routines in the ring. Rope run back bump forward roll hop over the ropes roll into the ring rinse and repeat. Eventually he walked up to me with a puzzled look on his face.
“The fuck you doing old man? Been watching you run around and fall down for a good 15 minutes now.”
I stopped and swept a bit of sweat off my brow. I sat down on the middle rope and beckoned him to step in, which he did. “Training kiddo. My way.” I quipped before getting back to my routine. Donny hopped up to the top turnbuckle and sat there watching.
“Training? You’re just running around and falling on your ass. How is this training? Shouldn’t you be lifting weights or something? Or I don’t know, join me in a jog like you are supposed to?” There was more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. I had flat out told him that jogging wasn’t my thing before I headed off to the road earlier in the week. I stopped and leant against the ropes, looking at him.
“This is how I train kiddo. Running in the ring is different from jogging around. You can’t train for the ring without training in the ring. You gotta understand your ring positioning at all times. And repetition is the only way to get there.” I reached over to grab a sip of water from a bottle I had stashed away. “Wanna try?”
Donny blinked. “Try? You mean you want me to start running and jumping around like a headless chicken?” He looked unsure. And I figured first hand experience was the only way to get him to understand what I was trying to do here.
“Yeah. Just try to repeat what I do and you’ll see what I mean.” I let that sink in for a moment before taking off again. Three steps, ropes. Three steps, ropes. Stop, flat backbump. Get up quickly. Run to the corner. Climb middle rope and jump down. Run to the opposite corner and jump over the ropes to the apron. Swing around the turnbuckle on the outside and jump over the ropes back into the ring. Run to the ropes. Stop, flat backbump and stand up. I looked at Donny. “Think you can do that? That’s a basic exercise of ring awareness and movement.”
Donny pondered for a second before shrugging and hopping down. “Sure. Can’t be THAT hard.” as he said that I tried to suppress a grin. That’s what they all say the first time around. I stepped aside and hopped onto the top buckle myself as Donny situated himself in the ring. He stretched for a second before taking off. Three steps, ropes. Only he took it with the flat of his back with his left hand grasping the middle rope, completely killing his momentum. But he soldiered on. Three steps, last one being barely a skip, ropes. And the same thing. Flat of his back, left hand on the middle rope. He nearly lost his balance as the ropes rebound. Two steps, stop. He hopped backwards, or tried. He took the bump without his right foot leaving the mat until the last second and didn’t throw out his hand. So he landed on his shoulderblades and nearly knocked the wind out of himself. He groaned in annoyance and got up. Not quickly mind you but got up. He ran to the buckle and hopped on the middle rope, swaying forward looking for balance and nearly tweaked his ankle as he hopped off. His face showed signs of increasing annoyance as he ran to the opposite buckle and tried to hop over the ropes like I had. His foot slipped and had he not been 6’10 and the foot hadn’t landed on the ground below, he’d prolly torn his quad. He didn’t even try to hop over the ropes back, merely stepped over before walking to the middle of the ring and taking another awkward fall, this time actually knocking his own wind out. He just remained down staring at the sky and inbetween labored breaths managed to mutter a few words. “You laugh… and I’ll punch your lights out when I get up”
I didn’t feel like laughing though. Just grinning. I hopped down from the buckle and helped Donny up. “See, it’s not that simple. But that’s the basics. Without those, you can’t do shit in a wrestling match.” I backed up into the corner as Donny dusted himself off. “Want me to tell you what you did wrong?”
Donny rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna do that anyway so fuck it. Go ahead.”
I gave a chuckle and nodded. “Better I show. Step by step.” And that's what I did. I went through the entire routine again, telling Donny what he did wrong and showing him the correct way on each step. I could almost see Donny’s head getting ready to explode as I finished. “So yeah. A lot. But hey, you ain’t even the worst first timer I’ve seen. You got decent body control and a sense of awareness. Just need to get the nitty gritty's down. Assuming you’re interested”
The kid pondered for a second, taking a few tentative steps and trying the rope run once more, this time actually getting it almost right. “I mean. Why not? If someone with the habits of yours can stay in shape doing this to his 40’s… It can’t be that bad of an exercise. And here I thought wrestling was just punching and throwing people around.”
I let the jab at my age pass unanswered. “It’s a lot of that too kiddo. But it doesn't matter how hard you punch or how much you bench. Or how fast you can run or how high you can jump if your basics are the shits.” I began stretching my quads as I spoke. “Speaking of which. Wanna take a shot at taking me down? Figured I’d see where you stand when it comes to the actual wrestling part”
Donny blinked. “You want me to take you down?” He scanned me up and down. “I mean, sure. If you’re that desperate to get knocked on your ass again”
I didn’t say anything. Just grinned and pointed at a spot on the opposite corner while taking my place on the other. “No punches, no kicks. Just try to take me down.” Donny nodded and I motioned him to get started. We approached each other and I kept an eye on his movements. He was inexperienced, but he had good footing. He kept his center of balance low and didn’t take his eyes off me. Good start. Finally I saw him shuffle his feet slightly, a thing the vets called “happy feet” and I knew he was about to charge. And that he did, trying to dive into a takedown at my legs. But since I saw it coming I sidestepped causing him to crash headfirst into the mat. I didn’t hesitate and hopped on his back, slapping on the Sleeper I had used to put people away for years on him. Didn’t cinch it in though, because that wasn’t the point. “Old man one kiddo zero. Go again?”
I let Donny get up, the kid grumbling under his breath. He backed up into the corner as did I and on my signal we began to circle each other again. This time he didn’t try to go for my legs, instead grabbing my arm before I could avoid and sending me running. He tried to bodycheck me but I dropped down, forcing him to step over me and when he came back drop toehold him down. Anda again I quickly rolled onto him and slapped the sleeper on. “One more fo the old guys”
With clear irritation on his face Donny stood up. “Fine. You made your point pops. You rule I suck”
I walked over and slapped him in the back with a grin. “Don’t be like that Kiddo. You weren’t half bad. You got potential, just need some training. Which brings me to my next question. Do you want me to train you? You got plenty of upsides to be a wrestler. And I got plenty of downtime between shows.”
The kid tilted his head quizzically. “You sure? I know we talked about this but you really want me to get in the biz?”
I shrugged. “If you want to do it, why not. Part of being a veterean is making sure the next generation is ready to go by the time we hang up our boots. Just know that if you say yes, it includes riding shotgun with me to the shows. If you wanna be a wrestler you need to learn the out of the ring-stuff too.”
Donny thought for a moment before shrugging. “Sure. Not like I got much goin on in my life anyway. Being a personal trainer isn’t exactly a career path with upward momentum.” I smiled and extended my hand, which Donny took. “As long as I don’t need to start calling you Sir or start kowtowing to you. I’ve heard about the hazing shit you old fucks get up to.”
I chuckled. “Don’t worry kiddo. Living under the same roof with your old man is hazing enough. Grab a shower and I’ll fix some grub for us. Tomorrow we’ll start in earnest.”
As the kid nodded and went inside, I was left standing in the ring staring after him. There was no turning back now. He was gonna follow in my footsteps eventually. And even though I was the one who suggested it… I still wondered if it was the right call for him. Or for me.
FUCK!
I was hurting all over. 3 tough as fuck matches within a week was taking a toll on my body. The ladder match at Reno, the Gauntlet at Indy and the match vs the champ at Edmonton. I had barely gotten home last night before passing out on the couch. In the morning I had tried to stretch and shit, all the things Donny had told me but they weren’t doin the trick. So I had done the one thing I knew from experience would help get rid of the soreness and stiffness.
I had taken to the ring I had constructed on my backyard and started training. Bumps, roperuns, rolls you name it. The pain goes the same way it came. It was a chilly as fuck morning though, so I had to work twice as hard to keep warm. At some point I saw Donny walk out to the backyard, he looked like he had just come back from a jog. Dude was a fitness-freak to say the least. He sat down on the porch and watched as I kept going through my routines in the ring. Rope run back bump forward roll hop over the ropes roll into the ring rinse and repeat. Eventually he walked up to me with a puzzled look on his face.
“The fuck you doing old man? Been watching you run around and fall down for a good 15 minutes now.”
I stopped and swept a bit of sweat off my brow. I sat down on the middle rope and beckoned him to step in, which he did. “Training kiddo. My way.” I quipped before getting back to my routine. Donny hopped up to the top turnbuckle and sat there watching.
“Training? You’re just running around and falling on your ass. How is this training? Shouldn’t you be lifting weights or something? Or I don’t know, join me in a jog like you are supposed to?” There was more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. I had flat out told him that jogging wasn’t my thing before I headed off to the road earlier in the week. I stopped and leant against the ropes, looking at him.
“This is how I train kiddo. Running in the ring is different from jogging around. You can’t train for the ring without training in the ring. You gotta understand your ring positioning at all times. And repetition is the only way to get there.” I reached over to grab a sip of water from a bottle I had stashed away. “Wanna try?”
Donny blinked. “Try? You mean you want me to start running and jumping around like a headless chicken?” He looked unsure. And I figured first hand experience was the only way to get him to understand what I was trying to do here.
“Yeah. Just try to repeat what I do and you’ll see what I mean.” I let that sink in for a moment before taking off again. Three steps, ropes. Three steps, ropes. Stop, flat backbump. Get up quickly. Run to the corner. Climb middle rope and jump down. Run to the opposite corner and jump over the ropes to the apron. Swing around the turnbuckle on the outside and jump over the ropes back into the ring. Run to the ropes. Stop, flat backbump and stand up. I looked at Donny. “Think you can do that? That’s a basic exercise of ring awareness and movement.”
Donny pondered for a second before shrugging and hopping down. “Sure. Can’t be THAT hard.” as he said that I tried to suppress a grin. That’s what they all say the first time around. I stepped aside and hopped onto the top buckle myself as Donny situated himself in the ring. He stretched for a second before taking off. Three steps, ropes. Only he took it with the flat of his back with his left hand grasping the middle rope, completely killing his momentum. But he soldiered on. Three steps, last one being barely a skip, ropes. And the same thing. Flat of his back, left hand on the middle rope. He nearly lost his balance as the ropes rebound. Two steps, stop. He hopped backwards, or tried. He took the bump without his right foot leaving the mat until the last second and didn’t throw out his hand. So he landed on his shoulderblades and nearly knocked the wind out of himself. He groaned in annoyance and got up. Not quickly mind you but got up. He ran to the buckle and hopped on the middle rope, swaying forward looking for balance and nearly tweaked his ankle as he hopped off. His face showed signs of increasing annoyance as he ran to the opposite buckle and tried to hop over the ropes like I had. His foot slipped and had he not been 6’10 and the foot hadn’t landed on the ground below, he’d prolly torn his quad. He didn’t even try to hop over the ropes back, merely stepped over before walking to the middle of the ring and taking another awkward fall, this time actually knocking his own wind out. He just remained down staring at the sky and inbetween labored breaths managed to mutter a few words. “You laugh… and I’ll punch your lights out when I get up”
I didn’t feel like laughing though. Just grinning. I hopped down from the buckle and helped Donny up. “See, it’s not that simple. But that’s the basics. Without those, you can’t do shit in a wrestling match.” I backed up into the corner as Donny dusted himself off. “Want me to tell you what you did wrong?”
Donny rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna do that anyway so fuck it. Go ahead.”
I gave a chuckle and nodded. “Better I show. Step by step.” And that's what I did. I went through the entire routine again, telling Donny what he did wrong and showing him the correct way on each step. I could almost see Donny’s head getting ready to explode as I finished. “So yeah. A lot. But hey, you ain’t even the worst first timer I’ve seen. You got decent body control and a sense of awareness. Just need to get the nitty gritty's down. Assuming you’re interested”
The kid pondered for a second, taking a few tentative steps and trying the rope run once more, this time actually getting it almost right. “I mean. Why not? If someone with the habits of yours can stay in shape doing this to his 40’s… It can’t be that bad of an exercise. And here I thought wrestling was just punching and throwing people around.”
I let the jab at my age pass unanswered. “It’s a lot of that too kiddo. But it doesn't matter how hard you punch or how much you bench. Or how fast you can run or how high you can jump if your basics are the shits.” I began stretching my quads as I spoke. “Speaking of which. Wanna take a shot at taking me down? Figured I’d see where you stand when it comes to the actual wrestling part”
Donny blinked. “You want me to take you down?” He scanned me up and down. “I mean, sure. If you’re that desperate to get knocked on your ass again”
I didn’t say anything. Just grinned and pointed at a spot on the opposite corner while taking my place on the other. “No punches, no kicks. Just try to take me down.” Donny nodded and I motioned him to get started. We approached each other and I kept an eye on his movements. He was inexperienced, but he had good footing. He kept his center of balance low and didn’t take his eyes off me. Good start. Finally I saw him shuffle his feet slightly, a thing the vets called “happy feet” and I knew he was about to charge. And that he did, trying to dive into a takedown at my legs. But since I saw it coming I sidestepped causing him to crash headfirst into the mat. I didn’t hesitate and hopped on his back, slapping on the Sleeper I had used to put people away for years on him. Didn’t cinch it in though, because that wasn’t the point. “Old man one kiddo zero. Go again?”
I let Donny get up, the kid grumbling under his breath. He backed up into the corner as did I and on my signal we began to circle each other again. This time he didn’t try to go for my legs, instead grabbing my arm before I could avoid and sending me running. He tried to bodycheck me but I dropped down, forcing him to step over me and when he came back drop toehold him down. Anda again I quickly rolled onto him and slapped the sleeper on. “One more fo the old guys”
With clear irritation on his face Donny stood up. “Fine. You made your point pops. You rule I suck”
I walked over and slapped him in the back with a grin. “Don’t be like that Kiddo. You weren’t half bad. You got potential, just need some training. Which brings me to my next question. Do you want me to train you? You got plenty of upsides to be a wrestler. And I got plenty of downtime between shows.”
The kid tilted his head quizzically. “You sure? I know we talked about this but you really want me to get in the biz?”
I shrugged. “If you want to do it, why not. Part of being a veterean is making sure the next generation is ready to go by the time we hang up our boots. Just know that if you say yes, it includes riding shotgun with me to the shows. If you wanna be a wrestler you need to learn the out of the ring-stuff too.”
Donny thought for a moment before shrugging. “Sure. Not like I got much goin on in my life anyway. Being a personal trainer isn’t exactly a career path with upward momentum.” I smiled and extended my hand, which Donny took. “As long as I don’t need to start calling you Sir or start kowtowing to you. I’ve heard about the hazing shit you old fucks get up to.”
I chuckled. “Don’t worry kiddo. Living under the same roof with your old man is hazing enough. Grab a shower and I’ll fix some grub for us. Tomorrow we’ll start in earnest.”
As the kid nodded and went inside, I was left standing in the ring staring after him. There was no turning back now. He was gonna follow in my footsteps eventually. And even though I was the one who suggested it… I still wondered if it was the right call for him. Or for me.