THE DEAN VANDAL STORY
PART: III
PROLOGUE
When I was a child it was weird growing up in Mexico with my primary language being English and hardly understanding much Spanish. You’d think that after all the running around the streets that I would’ve picked up a thing or two. I guess I just really had no desire to do so. I was too worried about survival and becoming a wrestler that I never took time to socialize much as a youth. By the time adulthood had rolled around I knew a few things and enough to get my by but other than that I stuck to those that spoke English. It seemed to have done me just fine.
All never forget my first training session with Mondo. It was the weirdest thing being in a ring and having people watch you but not watch you for purposes of enjoying your match but for purposes of analyzing your body of work. It’s a total different thing wrestling in front of a crowd of random people than it is in front of a select group of trained professionals critiquing you.
From the very moment that the real training began I had changed. I was changed as a person and as a professional. Mondo would become a very close friend of mine as he was only a few years older than myself but light years ahead as far as in-ring psychology and various other techniques. My first actual friend and trainer, I’d always remember Mondo and appreciate everything he gave to me. I respected him and it was probably the first person I had actually met that I respected.
THE CHILDHOOD
OFF CAMERA
Mexico City, Mexico
Sitting in an abandoned building quietly keeping to myself I sat there looking at poster of luchadores and reading through old magazines of the classic wrestlers. Pictures of guys like Frank Gotch, Killer Kowalski, Farmer Burns, Georg Hackenschmidt, Billy Sandow, Ed Strangler Lewis, Stanislaus Zbyszko, El Santo and Gory Guerrero amongst many others that most people probably haven’t heard of or at least your typical fan and “entertainer”.
Alone most of the time I just would get lost in my thoughts. Visions of wrestlers and my grand debut danced in my mind. I could see myself as the biggest and strongest wrestler of all. So big and strong that everyone would fear me, they would all need to respect me because of that. I wanted to be feared but only to belong. It seemed the most logical option to me. Get big and strong, simple enough right? If only I knew what I know now back then.
I tossed the magazines in an ADIDAS shoebox and slid it under a floorboard that was half sticking up. That was my stash spot so no one would steal my things. I could hear the Spanish voices come over some speakers so I ran up the stairs to the left and continued to climb up the stairs until I stood atop the roof. Walking to the edge I sat down and looked in the not too off distance. There was a wrestling ring and a man stood inside with a microphone in hand.
It was the main reason why I picked this place to call my home. They held events like this once a week every week and I would just sit atop the roof watching them work marveling at their every move.
The first few matches were with the more athletic wrestlers and I studied them the most. The lightning quick agility and spinning all around, jumping high in the air…it was amazing like they were truly flying. Those were the real heroes to me. Yet somehow they never seemed to be as BIG and as IMPORTANT as the other wrestlers. Funny how worldwide that thought process had become. Then again I was young and this was probably a half rate promotion anyways.
Still my eyes never left the action. When it was all over I’d run downstairs and wrestle with a bail of hay or sack of beans whatever I could find that didn’t get stolen. I would go through the whole ordeal introducing myself walking out and competing in a squash match. Eventually I got older and learned how to sell so I fixed that. After hours of wrestling around I would lay my head down and sleep. It was these days that were the only days I was happy. Every other day was a struggle and I could feel it.
THE ADULTHOOD
OFF CAMERA
Mexico City, Mexico
Walking up the entrance of the gym I had a Cubs hat on (I always appreciated the real underdog) it covered my eyes as I pushed the doors open. With my gym bag slung over my shoulder and a black zip up hoody on with the hood over the hat I tried to look inconspicuous. I didn’t want him to notice me right away. In my mind I wanted to check the place out a bit by myself in case it was lame I could just bail.
“AMIGO!!!”
Great, it was too late now. I turned to see the guy I had met the other night standing there with his arms open for a hug. He was a hugger too, that annoyed me. I stuck out my hand for him to shake it like a man and not like some sort of weird touchy feely fuck.
“Oh a hand shake kind of guy, I dig it amigo…”
Reaching out he took my hand and wrenched down hard on it. Yeah his grip was stronger than mine I’ll be the first to admit it and it kind of hurt like hell at that moment. Did I feel like cocking back with a left and jacking him in the jaw? You better believe it.
“So this is your place huh?”
Quickly I changed the subject as to avoid inflecting pain on him and ruining this opportunity, I mean I had finally been given a chance and this place didn’t look too bad. Hell I came from the gutter this place looked like the damn Taj Mahal to me. There were actual weight machines and practice dummies. Punching bags and speed bags hung around along with a prime-wrestling ring centered right in the middle.
“It’s amazing…”
He looked at me like I was being sarcastic. The ring pads were being held together by duct tape and the ropes barely had anymore of the covering on them. Punching bags were wrapped in duct tape and the mats had rips. I didn’t even care that the weights were a bit rusted. It was beautiful to me. I tapped him on the back with a smile.
“It’s weird amigo, you’re a weird guy. I like you but you’re weird. I see you’re actually genuine though and I like that.”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life.”
“I can tell, you don’t seem like the smiling type amigo.”
“I haven’t smiled since I was a kid.”
“Well then let’s turn it back off and get to training.”
Nodding my head I was ready for this. He pointed me in the direction of the locker room so that I could set my stuff inside and lace up my boots for action. There wasn’t much work that went into me getting ready. I simply stuffed my bag in the locker with my jacket and shirt. My gym shorts already on all I needed to do was lace up m shitty used plain black wrestling boots.
The excitement was rushing through my veins. I could feel it pulsating and pumping over and over harder and harder. My anxiety was at a whole different level. It was insane. Looking up from my hands as I was taping them up I heard him tap on the doorframe.
“You ready?”
“Yeah sure thing let’s do this.”
Standing up I followed him back into the gym and we walked up to the ring where a couple of guys were working together.
“Oh by the way my name is Armando, friends call me Mondo.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Dean.”
“Right on gringo now let’s get you in the ring and see what you’ve got!”
I looked up at the ring and down to the ground whispering to myself that it’s now or never. With a little hyping myself up I leapt up onto the apron and climbed through the ropes. It was all about this moment right here and now. I was going to do this.
THE SHOOT
ON CAMERA
Chicago, Illinois
“I’ve seen what everyone is saying and hell even my name has been popping up all over the Internet and even making splashes in other companies. I love this sport man and I won’t ever stop wrestling. Maybe I’ll even be walking around extremely saggy in the ring red faced yelling out WOOOO!”
“Code Red booked me and Flex Johnson in a tag team match which should be interesting. I have a weird respect for Flex Johnson. You can just tell that the genuinely cares about the sport and where it’s headed. I can always respect someone with that mentality.”
“Platinum Dynasty Wrestling continues to drop the ball time and time again. Maybe it’s because I don’t have some sort of flashy agent that they aren’t calling me back still about the match with Kenny. I’ve offered to work some deal out and have IWF pay the man and bring him here but he declined. Yet somehow he magically got fired the other week so I don’t even know what’s going on there. I know people have followed what’s happened on twitter and how I think he’s about as big a joke as half of their roster over there…I still want to fight him simply to prove my point. I’ve run my mouth enough about him and now it’s time to cover these taped up hands with his blood. I’d love nothing more than to pulverize that fucker. He’s nothing but a guy that trash talks from behind the screen but when someone calls him out he ducks them and plays it off like he’s still waiting for them to make the match. Whatever fuck that guy and if my cellphone ever rings and Star pulls her head out of her ass and stops fucking with these reality shows and other VH1 rip off nonsense she’ll see that simply by signing me to a minimum contract will make her an INCREDIBLE amount of money.”
“Flat out I’m saying it right now, if you give me a minimum waged contract I will compete against Kenny under PDW’s roof. Now there is NO REASON not to make this match happen Miss Star. Sounds like mister. The fans want to see it and the sides are split fifty fifty, some people fucking hate me and most people fucking hate him. Let’s get it signed. The profit margin makes this match almost STUPID for you not to make Star. I’m not asking for money, I don’t need his fame…Kenny isn’t even a top ten talent…I just want this opportunity to prove that I’m as good as advertised. I’d walk in, break his face and walk out still undefeated.”
“That goes for ANYONE out there too. If you think you can beat me then come to IWF or hell I’ll walk into your house and smack you around if you’d like…it’ll just be more embarrassing that way which is fine with me.”
“Call it an open challenge or whatever you want to…this is me putting my personal legacy on the line by saying I’m the best wrestler in this sport and I will travel the known world to prove that fact. I will NEVER back down from a fight or a challenge. Come on and come all I will not be defeated!”
“Dean Vandal, best wrestler in the known world…write it down, take a screen capture or grab a voice memo…just remember it. I haven’t been preaching it week in and week out so that you can all ignore it and forget it.”
“So moving on now…my mailbox has been flooded with hate mail, thank you. I’m sorry that I came down to the ring and removed a distraction. Fuck the broom and everyone that cheered for that disgrace to this sport. Management how funny of you to book an inanimate object so that all of these dense retarded clapping monkeys would cheer and jump up and down in enjoyment.”
“The moment I took the Broom and snapped him in half I made a bold statement to management. You see while the other so-called wrestlers around here can shuck and jive…suck and swallow all at the drop of a hat…I refuse to be that guy. I’m not someone you can dictate. I don’t care if you think it’d be humorous for Joey Miles to job out to a BROOM! A kid Joey Miles, young and not too talented but with lots of heart nonetheless and I’d be willing to bet that we’ll probably never see young Miles again. Could you imagine someone coming up to you and saying hey I know it’s physically impossible but hey we’re going to have you get your ass kicked by a broom and lose. So I did what I had to do. I came out here and broke the broom right in half. Hopefully my message was seen and heard by everyone that needed to see and hear it. The Underground is NOT a joke, not while I’m on it. When I become the first ever IWF Underground Champion I will echo that point that much louder and clearer.”
“Funny thing that happened immediately after I walked backstage. I was grabbed by a member of the writing team and let’s just say he wasn’t too happy with what I had done out there. Apparently this guy…who will remain nameless…thought it was necessary to cancel my match. Yes that’s right. My match was canceled. Not because Lord Jaguar was fired, no the plan was to have a replacement for that. I was still scheduled to go out there and compete and yet I was denied that opportunity because I was said to have been a “poor sport” about everything.”
“So there I was having traveled on my own dime cause you know IWF is too cheap to foot my bill since after all I’m JUST a developmental talent. Paying for a room to stay, a rental car and I didn’t even need to be there. Thanks IWF.”
“Needless to say I’m a little pissed off about the whole situation. That’s neither here nor there because at the end of the day I’m still in the Underground Championship tournament where I belong. I’m still going to win the tournament and become the first champion. I’m for sure going to walk in to the Underground and actually have a match next week against Bobby O’Day. I’m going to for sure break Bobby’s face on Thursday night.”
“You know one thing I’ve got to say about Bobby O’Day is that he’s a tough kid. There’s no doubt about his strength he’s a meathead. But all of the strength and all of the blood those muscles require only prevent blood from traveling to his brain. Honestly Bobby what in this world makes you think you can beat me? Have you not seen what I’ve been able to do in this company since singing a contract? I’m already on my way to legendary status. I stay true to this sport and I’m doing whatever I can to bring back the roots of professional wrestling. I’m trying to rid the world of guys like you. Guys that think just because they spend hours in the gym pumping iron that it gives them some sort of fucking God given right to be a pro wrestler. You’re as bad as every juicehead, every pill popper, every HGH lover, and every muscle beach moron…if not worse. You see with this little gimmick you’ve got going for yourself you EMBRACE that stupidity and moronic mentality.”
“Dick and fart jokes calling people buttheads like you’re part of some shitty 90’s sitcom. The jokes might appeal to a few handfuls of wrestling fans that watch the program from their vehicles slash homes. You don’t entertain me and the playing off this match like it doesn’t mean something…I’m not buying it Bobby.”
“Let’s face it you and I BOTH know how much this match means. We BOTH know exactly what’s up next for the winner. While you can casually put it off like it deson’t mean anything to you and that you’re somehow about everyone else or whatever the fuck the reasons may be…hell maybe you’re really just that fucking stupid that you don’t realize this match sends the winner into the finals for the UNDERGROUND CHAMPIONSHIP! You see either way if you don’t remember or you don’t know or you don’t care…you DON’T DESERVE to move on. I DO! I deserve everything I’ve ever worked for and while I don’t feel the need to dumb myself down and “entertain” these morons on a daily basis I do what a PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER does every week…I go out there I compete and I win matches. Make no mistake about it I will flat out DOMINATE you from start to finish.”
“Feel like bringing up the pathetic display you put on against JHalc only to hit one move and win? Wow way to boast about how you SHOULD have lost. Even sometimes the sun shines on a dog’s ass Bobby. You got LUCKY!”
“Do you think that someone of my caliber, someone with my talents, someone that I’ve even heard you say was a “beast” on more than one occasion…do you think I’m going to let up on you and allow you to get lucky with that one move? Didn’t think so. I’m going to keep the pressure on and smoother you until you can no longer breathe Bobby. If JHalc took you to that point then I sure as hell am going to humiliate you and prove that you don’t even belong in this match let alone this business. Go back to the modeling this world is not for you”
“Bobby will be just another step in the right direction for myself. The struggle I’ve had to deal with and growing up with nothing and being given a chance to attain something…that’s what keeps me fighting. I will not be taken out by the likes of a man that couldn’t even figure out how to lace up his boots without the use of some stupid nursery rhyme. An uneducated, pathetic, thinks everything should be handed to him fucking jug head roid-monger. IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!”
“Walk down to the ring like this is any other match Bobby, put on the act of a lifetime, earn yourself an academy AWARD! Do whatever it is you need to do to avoid walking into this match with any doubts or any nerves because if you don’t I can promise you it’ll be the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in your short and pathetic career.”
“If you have ANY doubts I will end you. Now I know deep down you know what this match is about. In fact allow me to remind you before we part ways…”
“This is a championship match Bobby, the FIRST EVER UNDERGROUND CHAMPION! How often do I need to say that before it sinks in and you start to slowly swallow feeling your stomach begin to bubble? Everyone will always remember the first ever UG Champ. This is a moment of history in the making. I’m going to win this match because it’s my destiny. You’re going to lose this match because you just simply cannot beat me. Bobby O’Day I feel sorry that they put you in a match against me. I feel sorry that they’ve given you these lost hopes and dreams of becoming a champion only to take them away. Then again why be sorry you know none of this right? You don’t care or seem to realize how important this match is. It doesn’t matter once I pin you and once I’m the Underground champion you can thank me with a simple tweet…#VANDALIZED.”
![Bobby O'Day [vs] Dean Vandal Empty](https://2img.net/i/empty.gif)
Subject: Bobby O'Day [vs] Dean Vandal ![Bobby O'Day [vs] Dean Vandal I_icon_minitime](https://2img.net/s/t/15/19/06/i_icon_minitime.gif){kind=icon}
Sat Jul 27, 2013 9:23 am
