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 |  Subject: Origins #4  Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:13 pm | |
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Ryoko and Dan tried finding his mask but they couldn't. They searched everywhere they could. The locker room, the bathroom, the hallways, the lost and found. They checked their gym bags and friends gracious enough to let them check their's. It was no where to be found. Even more aggravating was the fact that this was the third time in four months it had happened. Furthermore the SWF Manager was becoming impatient. Dan's mask wasn't the cheapest and easiest to make. They cost roughly around thirty U.S. Dollars each and he had already lost three of them. Dan suspected that there was someone behind all of this while Ryoko could not believe anyone in SWF would do such a thing. He assured Dan that it wasn't some sort of locker room prank. Ryoko figured fans may have gotten a hold of it but he also considered that unlikely. The SWF Manager didn't care how it happened. He just didn't want it to happen again. He told Dan that if it did happen again either he would be cut from SWF or he had to assume a different and more undesirable gimmick. Dan became horrified at the thought of putting over everybody every single week. He came up with a plan to purchase a light safe storage box and have it chained to his locker. Ryoko and some others agreed to keep a look out for anyone trying to get to it.
Dan was having had a blast during the first few months of working in SWF. He was able to learn more about Japan by working in SWF than he ever did without doing so. He noticed from Japanese fans that they truly loved the entertainment that was provided. They cheered for every match and geniunely ooed and awwed at every spot. What Dan found most interesting was that he was received so well. Almost any where else he would have been judged by a skeptical eye but here he was just a part of the SWF family as anyone else was. He felt like Americans were welcomed there. Well not all Americans. Over the past few months Dan had gotten to know Bryan AKA Insane Clown. Bryan came from the East Coast and grew up in Boston. His accent wasn't that thick in reality but it was very noticeable considering he was in Japan. He had been wrestling for about three years prior to coming to SWF. His mask was particularly interesting. It was actually just a regular white clown mask with classic clown make up and a red nose to boot. The thing was it was eerily creepy. Bryan's in ring tactics emphasized the fear that the mask envoked. He was a viscious heel that had a smash mouth style and the crowd was not afraid to boo him. Though they weren't soul burning boo's like they were stateside, they were still there. Unfortunately his heelish streak wasn't left in the ring. It was present in the locker room aswell. He had been working in SWF for a year and a few months and hated it. Every night he came in through the hallways in a bad mood. It was always something. He didn't get enough to eat, or he had worked too many times during the week already, or he hadn't worked enough, or he was facing a bad opponent, or he didn't like his gimmick, or his gimmick was the best and everyone didn't want to acknowledge it because they were dumb Japs. Despite his attitude Bryan was kept on the roster because of his consistency as a performer. He was one of their best midcarders and was on his way to becoming a main eventer. Besides everyone was used to Bryan except Dan. That is why Bryan liked picking on Dan. And that is why Dan suspected that it was Bryan who kept stealing his mask.
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Chris
Calm down Mr. Christian.
Rick
You know what? This is all your fault. You pushed him all the way to the top. Made him feel entitled and now that punk thinks he deserves everything IWF has to offer.
Chris
You have to admit he's done a lot for IWF.
Rick
What? You're on his side all of a sudden?
Chris
No. I hate him as much as you do. No, wait. I hate him more than you. I had to deal with that asshole for months. So I don't know what you're complaining about. It's just that I think we can milk the son of a bitch dry while he's here you know? He isn't getting any younger. These are his prime years. He can put on the best feuds and matches for us. As much as I hate the little shit I have to admit he is the best we have...
Rick
Fuck...
Rick stopped pacing around Chris' office and finally sat down in a chair.
Rick
I don't want to... I don't.
Rick stopped himself for a moment and went on thinking again. Chris leaned back in his office chair.
Rick
I don't want to give into him. You know how that makes me look? That makes me look like a fucking pussy! I did not become the owner of the godamn IWF by being a pussy.
Chris nodded.
Rick
That is not what this company stands for. We are the pinnacle of sports entertainment and I am not willing to jeopardize that statement for some little snot nosed punk who thinks he can walk in here and demand anything he wants. I will not give into this kid. No matter what the fuck he does. You hear me?
Chris
Yes sir.
Rick
I don't care if he sells the most merchandise. I don't care if his DVD is the most purchased. I don't care if he sells out the most tickets. I don't care if he fills entire arenas alone. I don't care if he fucking makes me millions of dollars richer this year. I will not be the one eating out of his hands. I am not anyone's bitch. You understand me?!
Chris
Yes sir.
Rick
Listen Chris. He cannot be champion. Not right now. That would make me look ridiculous. That would make me look weak. You understand me?
Chris
Yes sir. Just let him be number one contender. We'll have plenty of time after that. Well, that's if he can even make it that far. You know who is back don't you?
Rick
Yes I do. That should help Frank out.
A devious smile was poured onto the face of Chris. Rick stood up from his chair.
Rick
I gotta go. All this stress is killing me.
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A few weeks went by. Dan still had his mask in possession and there were no reports of anyone trying to steal it. Dan started to think that he did just misplace the damn thing. He went on with his life training daily and performing in SWF. He loved this kind of life. It was simple and peaceful. He didn't really have to worry about anything. He was just focused on his health and doing well in the ring. Both things made him extremely happy. He was also doing well in SWF. He was progressing. He was now one of the midcarders facing guys like Black Demon and Wolverine. Everything was going well for him, for once.
One day Dan was walking down the halls when he noticed a few wrestlers in the hallway. He recognized Omigawa who pulled him in the crowd with him and got him to the cause of the commotion. She stood there. With her glimmering dress and dark blue eyes. Dan was dumbfounded. Ryoko came up and introduced them to each other. She had come from California also. She had been dating some wrestler in some other organization but when he dumped her she came here and applied for a job. Since she had some experience she was assigned to be an in ring manager for wrestlers.
Dan stared at her for a while while she smiled at him. Thankfully Ryoko snapped him out of it. Her in ring name was Sapphire, but her name was Christie and Dan was mesmerized by her. It didn't take long for her to notice that Dan was interested in her. They struck up many conversations about missing California and how different Japan was to them. Eventually those conversations occured outside of work and eventually those conversations transformed into personal conversations. Dan understood that she was still hurt from her last relationship so he did the best he could to make her feel comforted. They went on dating for over a month. They discovered Tokyo together as they hopped from one place to another. At that moment Dan felt his life couldn't be better. He was great at his job. And he was in this backstage romance with the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.
There was a problem though. There was always a problem. During the time Sapphire and Dan were dating, Sapphire was Bryan's in ring manager. Bryan had dropped the Insane Clown gimmick and his knew one was KOSWF or King of SWF. He no longer wore a mask and just wore a crown during his entrance. Sapphire played his queen and of course they kissed from time to time. Dan didn't let it get to him. He just avoided watching it. However he felt agitated, because of all the people Sapphire could have done this with it had to be Bryan. The one asshole in the entire organization. Dan couldn't stand the fact that it was him that was kissing Sapphire. He would be okay if it were anyone else but him. He decided to take it up with the SWF Manager. He asked if there was any reason in particular that he and the other staff had chosen Bryan to have Sapphire as his manager. The SWF Manager simply said because he asked for it first.
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Ryoko
Not now.
Ryoko laughed. His five year old daughter crawled up on his lap.
Ryoko
Not now baby. I have to call someone.
Ryoko picked up the phone. A woman came in and spoke Japanese.
Ryoko
I am just calling Dan. Remember him? He used to work at your mother's restaurant.
Midori
Yes. I do.
Midori still had a heavy Japanese accent.
Ryoko
Can you take care of Miyoko?
Midori took Miyoko from Ryoko's lap. Ryoko then rolled away into another room with the phone. He found his address book at his desk and dialed up Dan's number.
Dan
Hello.
Ryoko
Hi.
Dan
Ryoko?! Hey man. Whats up?
Ryoko
It has been a while.
Dan
Yes it has. How have you been.
Ryoko
I am doing fine.
Dan
Not so bad?
Ryoko
No. Not at all.
Dan
How are the wife and kids?
Ryoko
You mean kid.
They laughed.
Ryoko
They are doing fine. Though it has been tough.
Ryoko looked down at the wheelchair he was on.
Dan
I couldn't imagine.
Ryoko
It's all in the past. Listen I want to talk to you about your match.
Dan
You've been reading up?
Ryoko
Yes I have. You know I can't stay away from such things. I want to talk about your opponent. Frank Hart.
Dan
You've heard about him?
Ryoko
Yes. I have. He was here in Japan about a year ago.
Dan
Did you meet him?
Ryoko
No. Just read some things and watched some things.
Dan
You know what? I don't really care about Frank. He's not the problem. You saw what happened a few weeks ago right?
Ryoko
Yes, well I read what happened.
Dan
I can't trust anyone here. I can't trust anyone to make the right decisions for me. I don't know if I am going to have a job or not tomorrow. They can cut me at anytime.
Ryoko
They won't cut you. I know they won't cut you. You are the best. You learned from the best.
They laughed.
Ryoko
You did learn from the best. You have natural skill and talent and you took that and became the best. You were the best in SWF by the time you left and you only got better since. I am very proud of you.
There was a pause.
Dan
I wish you could be here. I wish you could be in the ring again.
Ryoko
...I know. Me too. There is not a night when I don't dream of walking down that ramp and seeing all those fans.
There was a long pause.
Ryoko
Well Dan I have to go. I will keep in touch..
Dan
Bye.
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This was completely frusturating. After weeks of not having to worry about losing his mask it was gone again. Except this time there was no conceivable way anyone could have gotten to it. It was in a safe box and no one reported anyone of going near it. It was just getting to the point of ridiculousness. Someone was definitely stealing his mask. He just didn't know who. No one else had the key to his safebox and even if they did it was almost impossible not to get caught opening it. He didn't really care about the mask anymore. He wasn't broke anymore so he could afford to buy them himself and he was thinking about changing his gimmick anyways. He still wanted to fine the culprit, but not that night. He had a date with Christie.
The next day he talked to anyone who was around during the time the mask went missing. No one could remember anything unusual. Everyone was sure that if someone had taken the mask they would have seen it. Ryoko told Dan he probably misplaced it again but Dan was having none of it. He knew he put it back in the safebox that night. He was certain. He was even more certain the same person had been stealing the mask all along.
Later on Dan was just sitting in his locker room thinking when one wrestler by the in ring name of Rincewind came to him. He started gesturing towards Dan trying to explain something to him but Dan was light years away from becoming fluent in Japanese. So they both found Ryoko so he could translate for them. Rincewind told him that he had seen something odd. He said that he had seen Dan come to the locker room that day and dress up for his match. He had seen him take the mask from the safe and put it on and leave the locker room. Later Dan came back and undressed and put the mask back in the safe The thing was that he saw Dan come back about half an hour later to the locker room and open the safe. Rincewind thought nothing of it at the time but it had just occured to him that Dan was wearing the mask that time when he had already seen him put it back in the safe earlier. Ryoko and Dan were taken aback. The only explanation would be that whoever stole the masks the first few times was wearing one of them as a disguise to enter into the locker room unnoticed. But that still didn't explain how he got into his safe without a key. Then Dan remembered that he leaves his key in the locker room during his matches. He must have ran out and had a copy made.
It wasn't hard to imagine that Dan went right up to Bryan and confronted him. And it wasn't hard to imagine how it went. Bryan straight up denied the allegations. Dan then went to the SWF Manager. Although he agreed with Dan there was really nothing he could do. SWF wasn't responsible for stolen property. He wasn't going to send out people to investigate just for a mask. He also wasn't going to punish Bryan and that's what got to Dan. But he had to let it go. Dan just bought a new mask and avoided Bryan.
During an SWF show, after Bryan won a match, he celebrated with Sapphire in the ring. After taunting to the crowds for a while he pulled Sapphire in close and kissed her deeply. A lot of people saw this. Including Dan. Sapphire walked backstage and looked for Dan. She couldn't find him anywhere. She asked around but no one had seen him. He had already left.
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Rick
Have you seen it.
Chris
Yes I have.
Rick
Stupid Frank. You know how bad this makes me look? I can't believe he pulled out of the match like that. It just proves Dan right. It just proves that punk right. I can't fucking stand it. Jason really fucked this one up. He was supposed to bury Dan, but instead he gets to the point where he gets a number one contendership match.
Chris
We can't just keep having him beat people and not get anything.
Rick
Well then what are we supposed to do? Just let him keep winning like this?
Chris
It will be worth more to us to build him up and then have him lose just before he gets his hands on the title.
Rick
He better not get his hands on the title. I will personally cut some jobs if he does.
Rick looked directly at Chris
Chris
...He won't. I assure you Mr. Christian.
Rick
Good.
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You know Frank. You talk a big game. You're one of those people who talk big after doing one thing right. You tell me to shut up, when you have no right to talk at all. You beat Shark? So what? Wow. Time to celebrate. Break out the champagne bottles. Throw a party. Give him a number one contendership match. Oh that's right. That did happen. Because everyone else gladly buys the hype that you put out. Well that hype is worth nothing.
You see all of your talk is based on nothing. Just like all those pieces of paper down at wallstreet that say they are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars when really they are worth nothing because people never paid off their houses and went bankrupt. It's the same with you. Your banking on the fact that you will win at Fallout. You are so fucking sure of yourself aren't you? That you will beat me at Fallout and then go on to win the IWF Title. Well you sure are a good godamn salesman because everywhere I look people have bought your words. Words that are backed by nothing more than some unimpressive win against someone who people forgot about in a week or so. From the kid in the stands holding up a Frank Hart sign all the way up to Rick Christian. They all bought the hype. You raised yourself up pretty high there.
But then what? What happened? You bailed out. You bailed out on all of your promises. You left all your eager investors out to dry. Because you doubted yourself. You knew all along there was no way you were going to win. You knew that you couldnt back up your words. You swallowed the crow whole this time. It's in there just flying around picking at a pathetic piece of meat you call your heart. It's funny how you refer to yourself as Frank Hart. And have hearts as your logo. I revealed that you have little to no heart last time we fought each other. And this last move that you did. Bailing out of the match like this? That just shows how badly I smashed it last time.
Or then again was it your own personal problems? I mean you say that you were such an honorable champion. After all, what do I know? I wasn't in NLWF. I didn't meet you before. I don't know anything about you. You are absolutely right. I don't know you. I mean I only really met you a couple of weeks ago when we had that match. But then what? Did we meet up after the match? No. Did we have a few drinks? No. Did we say hello to each other in the locker room? No. You know why? Because you weren't man enough to. I would have gladly taken the time to form a friendship with you. But no. You didn't want to. And you call me bitter?
I could have been your friend Frank. But I guess your just too proud. Even too proud to shake my hand. I have to ask you. Did it eat you inside knowing that I beat you so decisively in our last match? Do you remember what happened? It was just a week before your match with Chuck at From the Ashes. The biggest match in IWF. And what did you do? You tried to put your career on the line against me. Big mistake, but hey it's your career. So Chuck Matthews comes out. Who by the way is banging this hot chick named Anna Stone. Brandon's ex wife. And announces that your career will be on the line at From the Ashes against him. So I come out and SMASH you in the face with a steel chair. Which is my personal favorite moment of the year. We go through the motions and eventually you tap out to the arm bar.
That's the thing about all of you NLWF originals. You guys tap out so easily. Did you know I have the most wins by submissions in IWF? That's a little fun fact for you. Here's another little fun fact: You are pathetic. That's right. You know even if I beat you so easily. And thought you weren't much of an opponent after you tapped out. Or much of a man after you know what happened with your wife. Or much of a man when you couldn't look me in the eye after I beat you. I still had some respect for you. Some little gleam of respect hiding somewhere. Mostly coming from your storied past which I know nothing about according to you. But after you bailed out from our match? All that respect vanished. The least you could have done was show up at Fallout and step into that ring with me and lose like a man. But no. You couldn't even do that.
You know it's funny that you accuse me of saying things about you when I know nothing. Well for everytime you say I know nothing of you, you know absolutely nothing of me. So I'll tell you something about myself. I was a Frank Hart fan. Surprising right? Well maybe not. A lot of people were Frank Hart fans and still are. But I was. I was a huge Frank Hart fan. I got the shirt and everything. I followed your career through Japan as best as I could. Everyone was talking about you back then. Then you disappeared for a while until you showed up in NLWF. I tried to catch every match you had. So you could understand my disappointment when one day I heard you were no longer in NLWF. Just like that. Gone. It was very disheartening. Having my favorite wrestler gone and me not being able to watch anymore.
So then you could imagine my amazement when you joined IWF. It was surreal. Someone who I admired and tried to emulate during my career was here in IWF. Then you had a match against me. If I recall correctly it was your first match in IWF I think. I can admit now that I was nervous. I wanted to do my best against you. And I did. I won. But as I stood there above your broken carcass I realized that I have surpassed you. You had nothing left to offer. You are a shell of your former self.
So that's why I am not surprised you bailed out. I am not at all surprised that you quit. I just hoped that maybe you wouldn't this time. But that's all in the past. Just go ahead and bring out whoever you want. Bring out some old friend. Bring out another NLWF original. I do well against those types. Bring someone from your past. Bring out some young stud from Japan who has whooped everyone in his path. I'll shut his mouth and flatten his ego. Bring more than one person. Bring out the calvarly. Bring out a whole stable. As a matter of fact bring Godzilla. Bring King Kong. I don't give a fuck. Bring out anyone you want to. Even if I lose I don't care. You know why? Because you will still be a failure. And everything I said will still ring true. Your all washed up Frank.
All the hype you spoke of. All the promises you gave. All the talk about you battling demons ain't worth shit now that you just pussied out of this match. If I lose at Fallout tough luck for me. Can I get back at the top? Easily. Even if Rick himself puts ten people in front of me in attempt to bury me it doesn't matter. I'll get back to the top. But for you? I can't say the same. Your career is over. You showed your true colors this week. You think anyone will believe in you now? I feel sorry for those who do. |
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