DOTT: Road To Glory

[apsham]

Death Of The Territories: Road To Glory

  At the age of eighteen you were always told that you could do whatever you wanted to with your life, just figure it out quick. Well, in the year 1982 there wasn’t much that I was able to do, or wanted to if I had the chance. My parents always treated me like I was the smartest person in the world, I just didn’t “try” hard enough. I didn’t see it like that though, I always saw myself being smart, but not in the classical sense with math and science. So it was because of this that it came of no surprise that none of the “nice” colleges would take me. My family was about to disown me if I didn’t do anything. But that’s where Phil Chase came in.

  One night I was in Montreal, visiting a friend who was in college there. A night out at the bar was in order and it was there that my life changed. It seemed that wrestling was in town that night, which had me cursing myself, since I had been a fan all my life. Sitting at the bar, it ran past my mind that maybe I could become a wrestler, but I quickly laughed it off. I mean, I was by no means a small scrawny guy, I was a heavyweight by their standards and I worked out for years but quite frankly I was scared. Half way through this train of though thought, something broke out. Behind me, a fight between two guys, one I didn’t notice and the other was a legend on the east coast of Canada, where I lived. The Cuban Assassin. I don’t know what made me rush to stop it, but I tried my best to. I later came to find out that it was this that sparked the man across the bar to get in contact with me. As the bar settled back down I went over to my seat. The man I had just helped, Assassin has scoffed me off and left looking quite pissed. Why? It was then, when I was trying to figure out why it happened that Phil came up to me.

“Hey kid, that was pretty impressive. I’ve never seen many people able to separate the Assassin from anyone that he had his sights set on before. You must be a strong fellow” he smiled.

“I don’t know... why did he leave like that? I mean, he wasn’t exactly winning against that guy.” I replied, still puzzled. Perhaps this new guy would help me out. He stopped to think for a second, he really seemed to be thinking something out.

“Tell you what kid, you come down to this gym tomorrow, and we’ll talk about something.” He smiled, giving me a business card and stepping away.

That was the entry from only days after I met Phil. Of course, I came to learn what actually was happening, how the Assassin was trying to protect his character, and then much deeper into the kafaybe of wrestling. I was asked to become a wrestler first and after a few months of training, of getting the shit kicked out of me, I was sat down and told. There was no backing up now, and my family weren’t the most supportive, but they were happy that I was at least doing something. And now we’re here.

November 1st, 1983

I have graduated from wrestling school. One year and more than a half of physical pain, of training of everything led me to where I am today. I am only nineteen years old and here I am heading out into the big world of wrestling. I have the chance to become one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, to have my name remember. Or, I may end up becoming just another name that only those in attendance will remember. Phil promised to stay in contact with me, and help with my future training. As of now, I stand:

Let’s see where this takes us….

Edited April 10, 2005 by Apple Shampoo

[Cole]

Well...it hasn't really started yet but I have something to say.

Please don't cap the screens and post them...It looks tacky and streches the screen along with the fact writing it out looks better.

I have a feeling what I said won't matter to you though.

[apsham]

OOC: Yeah, I will get my first match and the like up, but live with the inch stretch for now, as I might cut it down later. I felt it was neccessary to get across my starting statistics and the like.

[Guest The Real Deal]

Cole as long as its well written and entertaining then the layout won't really be a problem.

[apsham]

The Beginning.

November 1st, 1983 at 9:30 AM

Here I was. I decided to follow the most sensible route, going to America to make my name instead of staying home in Canada. It was a hard decision to make, since it was back home in Canada that I first got into and started to love wrestling, but the chances were just not there. I relocated myself, and my few possessions to a small apartment in Memphis, which was where Phil Chase’s main gym was located. What a time this would be, I had never really been away from home for long before and with the amount of money that my parents had given me to start off, I would be expected to come back home every now and then. That was nothing to worry about though, with the $10,000 dollars that I had to start out with, I wouldn’t last long without finding a stable job, but lucky that was already laid out for me. Phil was going to explain it to me after we met at his gym for a run by of what we needed to work over, and he was also going to introduce me to someone to help me with my nutrition and eating habits. I arrived at around 10:00 AM, half an hour late.

“Where have you been? If we don’t get things set right here, then you’re going to be late for your meeting.” Phil seemed a little bit pissed, so I quickly responded.

“Sorry sorry… I have a meeting?”

“Don’t worry about that, just worry about this. You’re a big guy, so the least of our worries is speed, so we’ll be doing the least amount of work on that.” I nodded as he continued, “We will still want to work on it though, because you’ll want to pull off a full quick dropkicks sometime in the future, but let me digress. So, the main focus of our training will be on ring psychology, getting more power out of those muscles and of course, getting some more mike skills into that brain of yours, you won’t be making it far otherwise.”

I nodded my head and waited until he wrote down everything, “All right, is it set then?” he nodded, “Alright… so let me meet this nutrition specialist, I would love to know what this is all about.” Phil nodded his head, and in walked another man, only a few years older than myself.

“Alex, this is Ricky he’ll be your fitness consultant.” the new guy nodded, “We were supposed to go over more detail, but I suppose that’ll have to wait for later.” He trailed off. “Let’s just run over the basics, alright?” I nodded my head and Ricky instantly took over, very energized and excited.

“Alright Alex, this is going to be how it goes. You’re not training for anything big, once you get a job you’ll just need to impress people with what you have now, and you seem to be very naturally talented. For that reason, we’re going to stick with you on your basic sleep pattern as it is now, there’s no need for you to work later than you have to. Your body is also in good condition, so there’ll be no diet plan for now.” He never even gave me enough time to think before talking again. “Over the next four weeks, I want to hear from Paul that you have got better in strength, stamina, ring psychology and charisma, if not I will be disappointed, you have four weeks.” And with that, just as soon as he came, he was gone.

“That was interesting… but I am sure glad to get these things out of the way. What kind of meeting do I have now?” I asked curiously.

“Alright, alright.” Paul grinned at me, “Hungry aren’t you? Well, I have some connections in wrestling as you know, and the reason I suggested you come down here with me was just that.” My mind started to race, I knew exactly what he was talking about. “I’ve set up a meeting between you and Jerry Jarrett of the CWA [Championship Wrestling Association] so get your stuff, and let’s go.”

------------------------------------------

The Meeting.

November 1st, 1983 at 10:45AM

“Welcome Alex, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Paul here says that you are an interesting prospect.” Jerry sat across the desk, almost larger than life or so it seemed to me. The office was lush, nice and nestled in the downtown area of Memphis. “I trust that you’ve heard of Jerry Lawler.” My eyes shifted to the side, and there, partially obstructed by a bookcase was the man himself, of course I had heard about Lawler! He had come up North once for a one shot deal.

“Of… of course sir.” I nodded my head, wondering why the man himself was there. I didn’t have to wonder for long though, since Jerry spoke right back up.

“He’s my booker here. He knows what the people want to see, and he’s one of the reasons that you are able to be here to negotiate. I apologize that we don’t have a lot of time to talk Alex, but I am going to put the offer out right now before we have an important meeting. Basically we are going to offer you a tryout, here’s the contract, take a quick look at it, sign it if you want and pass it back.” I took ahold of it and skimed through the short piece of paper, and then focused on the bottom.

1 tryout match

Available for the next 90 days

$0

…………………

I pondered it for a short time, and then signed it and sent it back across the desk. “Thank you for this opportunity sir. Whenever you wish to book me, it’s fine and am fully ready to show the fans here just what I can do.” They must have seen some kind of youthful enthusiasm in me, because Jerry just grinned a bit and stepped out of the room, and Jerry stood as well.

“We’ll bring you in as a babyface, there’s no reason that we want to risk anything against you for your first match. We’ll make a move from there. You’ll also be wrestling a you are, under no gimmick. We’ll have someone arrange a set of boots for you, and I am sure that you can find some sort of tights for the match.” My head nodded quickly and he reached out his hand, I shook it.

“Thank you for this opportunity, once again sir.” He nodded his head and said nothing else, walking out of the room as I followed him, and Paul stood there grinning.

“Good shot kid. You’ll want to get some training in, lets get going. You know he doesn’t meet face to face with nobodies like you all the time, so you owe me one.” He kidded, and we returned to the gym.

[OOC: Any feedback or suggestions are greatly accepted and appreciated. I have a desire to get better, because I realize that I fully suck right now. I also apologize for the lack of flashyness or action right now, but I have to go through the tedious proccess of making a nice moveset. If any has a suggestion for a layout better than the one I have now, please speak up and I will do my best. Once again, anything will really help. Thank you for taking the time to read.

Edited April 10, 2005 by Apple Shampoo

[apsham]

The First Match

November 1st 1983

1:00PM – next day

We returned back at the gym and worked out until about one’o’clock. It was then that I received a phone call, my first match was to be the very night that I visited Jerry Jarrett. The person on the other end of the line never identified themselves but they did let me know what to do. I was to arrive at the arena early, and was to be met by my opponent who was fairly well off. We would be able to run through anything we needed to do, before a fellow babyface wrestler would then take me to the side and show me around the arena, where all the cues are etc.

We arrived at around five’o’clock., whereas the show was to begin at eight. When I arrived, I was escorted to the back where I met my opponent, an American fellow that I had heard about through a friend out west, Jim Neidhart. I knew from Paul that his current role in the company was being a lackey to Rick Rude at the moment, as he was just getting introduced to the American scene. This made me think for a second. If I was to actually get a job here, would I be able to get put into a program with Rude himself based on this?

“We don’t have much to run thorough kid.” Neidhart grinned a bit, he was joking around with me, I could tell since he wasn’t that old himself. “I’m going to be giving you the rub here tonight, so you better be as good as you I was told. Lawler seems to have faith in you, because he’s giving us twenty some minutes, and that’s a big deal for an unknown like you on television.” He grinned the whole time, but something else was on my mind.

“Excuse me… telelvision? We’re going to be on live?” as nervous as I was before, I was more than so now. I felt a little bit betrayed for not being told so, but all the things that were being said about me… how could I not feel much more honoured as well? “I wasn’t told that this was going to be going up live.” He laughed.

“Don’t worry kid, it’s taped… our match will probably be clipped at least a little but you’re still going to want to do your best out there. These fans, they won’t forget anything.” He grinned. “Now, you’re going to get shown around by someone else. Go two rooms down. Ask for Stan Lane.”

--------------------------

I met Stan and he showed me around. We talked a lot about the area and what the crowd liked, and wanted. Time passed by, and I remembered what Ricky had said, asking Stan for some advice both on my math and psychology. I never really learnt anything since we were in such a hurry, but let me digress. Time flied past, and it was time for my first match. Stan wished me luck, and I was off on my way to the ring for my first match. I heard myself being announced from Montreal, as I grinned and walked out…

Alex Burpee vs. Jim Neidhart

  Rick Rude’s lackey took on what seems to be just another local boy in what turned out to be an interesting match. It started out with the new boy, identified as Alex Burpee from Montreal, Canada going for an irish whip, which was quickly reversed by the more experienced Neidhart who took this chance to take control. Everyone in attendance was expecting a short match, the kid looked impressive but not all that tough. He pounded away on the kid, but suddenly something happened. He avoided a knee, and turned it into a bodyslam. Some in the audience started paying attention now, for the next seven live minutes the kid took it to Neidhart. It was shocking. Burpee was throwing clotheslines, legdrops, backbreakers, destroying Neidhart. After the seven minutes though, Neidhart took back over with a series of forearms and everyone sat back down. Burpee was getting the same treatment as he had given Neidhart.

  Then out of nowhere, the kid struck again around the 17 minute mark, throwing Neidhart out of the ring and following him out, hitting a GIANT flying shoulder block akin to Erine Ladd’s. He then rolled Neidhart back into the ring and worked him over. The match came to an end when the youngster hit the shoulder block again and lifted up Neidhart hitting something that I swear no one had seem much before, a spinning death valley driver. He lifted him up onto his shoulders, and spun him around a hundred and eighty degrees before falling sideways and smashing his head into the canvas. 1-2-3.

Winner via pinfall: Alex Burpee

After the match, I made my way to the back. People were patting me on the bat, everything possible. Neidhart had a chance to talk to management I suppose because I was told that afterwards, that Neidhart praised me heavily. I guess I do have a friend in this business.

[OOC: There you have it, first match up. You should now have a full taste for what the diary will be like. Please post ALL comments, suggestions or encouragment as I will listen to and be grateful for all. Sorry for the logo on the result thing.. it was the best I could do. The results themself are kind of sketchy, but I made the decision that the results can not be from first person. And also to who editted my subtitle, I am working on getting it fixed. ]

Edited April 10, 2005 by Apple Shampoo

[AntPaulseno]

I like it a lot, simple presentation and well written out. Keep the pics as they are aswell, they good enough for me...

Keep it up, I will be reading!!!

[magell]

I like a lot of the writing before the matches as the characters seem well written out.

I have a few suggestions. First of all you should probably put the match ratings down. I assume Wrestling Spirit has match ratings of some kind.

I wouldn't write too many updates that don't have matches. I'd try and make the updates fairly large with booking meetings and then the match that results.

I'd change the name of the wrestling character. Alex Burpee is a bad name. Alex is fine it's just the Burpee part that sounds really lame.

This seems to be well written so far though so keep it up.

[apsham]

I like a lot of the writing before the matches as the characters seem well written out.

I have a few suggestions. First of all you should probably put the match ratings down. I assume Wrestling Spirit has match ratings of some kind.

I wouldn't write too many updates that don't have matches. I'd try and make the updates fairly large with booking meetings and then the match that results.

I'd change the name of the wrestling character. Alex Burpee is a bad name. Alex is fine it's just the Burpee part that sounds really lame.

This seems to be well written so far though so keep it up.

←

OOC: Thanks for the input. I forgot to put down the rating, sorry about that. For my first match, it was a B, which came by from Neidhart doing a lot of playing to the crowd. From now on, every update will have a match, or two and excuse the name for now. That IS my actual name, and to make it more realistic I am going to go a few matches with it before they gimmick me. Thank you for gicing suggestions.

[Guest Weden]

Well I like it...

No real criticisms of the sort, apart from that you shouldn't do too many non-match updates otherwise you'll be stuck for what to put.

[Guest The Real Deal]

Not really if it's all a story.

Anyway good update Apple just a few typos other than that it's all good.

[GCCWolverine]

Looks very intriguing. Keep up the good work.

[efwa4life]

I like it, I hope you go longer than the other short lived WreSpi diary's I have read.

I have one question though...

asking Stan for some advice both on my math and psychology.

←

[apsham]

I like it, I hope you go longer than the other short lived WreSpi diary's I have read.

I have one question though...

asking Stan for some advice both on my math and psychology.

←

How did Stan Lane become well versed in Math? Did he take advanced Trig or something?

Other then the typos, this is superb!

←

OOC: Oh my god... I am such an idiot, I think I meant match... or maybe it was because I was doing homework at the time. Anways, next update up soon, will edit it in if it's not too late.

[apsham]

The First Tag Bout

Tuesday, November 2nd, 1983

I got home late, some of the boys took me out to a bar, and boy, would I regret it today. I woke up feeling pretty good, never the big drinker but I could sleep some more. The phone rang, and I got hit with some news that shocked me. The person on the other end of the line was the same person as the day before, but sounding a little bit rushed. I was informed that Rick Steiner was unable to make it to the big show at the Coliseum tonight. Alright, but why was she telling me this? To my shock, they were booking me again, and this time it was going to be in a tag match. She said that it would be against Jim Neidhart and a relative unknown named Tony Falk, and my partner would be Doug Gilbert, another unknown at the time who I had met fleetingly the night before. I let the receiver down and sat up in my bed. What was I going to do? I was far too tired right now, but who knows what the morning would bring.

I got dressed and made my way downstairs. On the way home last night, I noticed an “Americana” type diner not too far from the building. With some of my payoff from last night in hand, I walked down to it and sat down, ordering a medium-sized breakfast and coffee. To my surprise, Gilbert showed up, waved and sat down at my table.

“Hey.” he started off our conversation. It looked like he had a rough night as well. “I saw you come down here from the corner. I didn’t know you lived up there too.” he said. I grinned.

“That’s probably because it was my first night there.” I smiled, “And that we’re relatively unknown to both the wrestling world and each other.” I sat back as my food arrived, and I dug in, waiting for his reply and seeing if he was going to order anything himself.

“That’s true.” he laughed. Good, I was worried that I had come off a little too harsh. “Look, I can’t stick around and chat because I have to go get ready, this is my first match in the Coliseum and I guess I should thankful to you, hotshot.” with that, he stood up and left. I wasn’t sure what to make of it all; I mean it was interesting to get all this attention on only my second day in Memphis but it was sure getting to be a burden. I finished my meal and headed out to the gym to talk to Paul. We spoke about what it meant for me to wrestle on one of these shows, and trained lightly. I was plenty ready by this point though.

I arrived at 7:30 PM this time as the show was a little bit later, at nine’ o’clock. I saw Gilbert again and we went over what he knew was going to happen. For someone at the level I was at, I guess he was pretty experience since he knew exactly what he was talking about; I learnt a lot about how a tag team match worked. And with that, our generic rock music hit and we made out way to ringside.

Jim Neidhart and Tony Falk vs. Alex Burpee and Doug Gilbert

  Well, here we go. It was an interesting match up to say the least. On the entrances, the only guy that I recognized off the bat was Neidhart. The other threes names, did not ring a bell. However, I was told by a guy in the audience that this was a type of grudge match. The Burpee kid apparently had beaten Neidhart the night before in a match taped for television. This had me a little bit excited really; I was a little bit more attentive, due to knowing this.

  Anyways, the referee checked all four guys and the match was on. Neidhart started with Gilbert and dominated for a while. He started out with a few crushing forearms. That seems to be turning into a trademark for him actually. Gilbert tried mounting an offense, and I will give him credit for the action but the punches and kicks were having little or no effects. It was when Neidhart tried to go for suplex that Doug used his momentum to flip around behind Jim, and made a dive to Burpee for the tag out. Neidhart begged off and tagged to Falk who seemed determined to bring down the man that Neidhart couldn’t a few nights ago. His fighting spirit didn’t last for long however, Burpee hit left and right with punches and elbows before hitting a body slam that seemed to totally devastate Falk. Moving away, Burpee tagged out to Gilbert and let him take over for a bit. Gilbert ended up hitting his finisher, but Burpee wasn’t having any of it. He yelled to Doug to let him back into the ring and he actually allowed and encourage Falk to tag out to Neidhart.

  What followed was an amazing display. Neidhart came off fighting, but he seemed a little intimidated as he threw chops and kicks left and right. This nervousness seemed to be a window for Burpee, who dodged a tackle in the corner and as Neidhart turned around, he hit the finisher I was told he used on Neidhart the night before, and then and there the match was over. 1-2-3.

Winners via pinfall: Alex Burpee and Doug Gilbert

C+ rating.

The match went much better than I expected. The crowd reacted decent for people who may not have seem me at the taping the night before, and were only going on word of mouth. I packed up and headed straight home. I still didn’t know the booking schedule of the CWA, so I decided that an earlier night was a must.

[magell]

I really liked that last update. The match was interesting and meeting with Gilbert was good.

I understand that Burpee is your real last name but it just sounds so lame for a wrestler. If you do decide to change it that could be a good scene with a promoter or fellow wrestler giving you ideas. Sorry to keep nagging on that.

[Hailtothechimp]

I will agree about the name, but seeing as you are still a fresh face to the crowd and being virutally unknown, I can see why you havent changed yet. I really like the matches and how you build up to them.

Keep up the good work!

[ROZAY]

On a quick note, I also agree about the name being lame for a wrestler. But then again, a lot of our favorite wrestlers start out with bad names, so no big deal.

But anyway, my long and drawn out thoughts:

Like a lot of people's work that I've read here, you have an interesting concept going on. However, like a lot of other's I've read, you also have so many chances to capitalize on it, yet you don't.

First, I liked how you started your career - putting yourself into that fight. Dialogue between all of the included parties might have been better, but that's not so big.

A oppurtunity you had to capitalize on was your guy's past. See, you just gave us the basic jist of his life - the stuff regarding his parents, and not much else. You could have nailed it had you given us a full backstory just based on his life from past to present, and THEN the rest of what you have done. Again, it's not THAT big of a deal, just something that you could have used to make this diary a lot better.

I wouldn't have Mr. Burpee win his first two matches. It would have been a better story if he just kept losing but impressed enough to keep a job, to eventually when after all the demons within and taunting from his peers and family, you finally got the win to end all that, and then started moving up in the wrestling word.

See, this really does have a lot of potential to be a really good diary. The thing is, you have to capitalize on nearly all possible oppurtunities that you are presented with, with absolutely no hesitation. I'm not trying to drag you down at all, just giving you some pointers, because I really do see potential in this.

Work on it dude, and feel free to ask me for any help or advice if you need.

Edited April 12, 2005 by The Aztec Warrior

[apsham]

OOC: Well, to tell you the truth, I am quite perplexed while writing this Aztec. The world of Wrestling Spirit is totally non-kayfabe. The basic way I have to write is this, after the amtch I write I basically play through my next match, and think of a story for why it is and if I win, I win and if I lose, I lose. I might end my career undefeated, or I might just hit a big losing streak. It's more creative writing than anything since I have a certain number of expectations that I have to fill everytime I write. And believe me, backstory will continue as I go. I am in this for the long haul and character development will most likely be slow and steady. Thanks for your comments though, I will take all into consideration.

[AntPaulseno]

I agree with magell in that it was a decent match and the meeting with Gilbert backstage was good to read.

Keep it up and Ill continue to read...