Chapter 1: Choices
Posted by Stockton Pyre on 24 Dec 2013
The following are exerpts from Stockton Pyre’s second blog entry, entitled “Chapter 1: Choices”
The main thing I was feeling when it came to the match I had with Rich Mitchum was nervousness. Not only was it the match itself, but the fear of someone else deciding to pick on me or step in at the last minute for my opponent. It’s one thing to make a good impression by holding one’s own against good competition, but to have my two weeks’ worth of preparation thrown off again by someone who just decided they didn’t like my outfit or the number of years I haven’t served in this business would be detrimental to my continued growth as a professional wrestler. I needed to find what would be a winning formula I could take, mold, and execute when needed to get wins. Because realistically, there’s two primary aspects to this business from what I’ve seen so far. One of them is showmanship, of which mine still needs work. The other, and perhaps still important measure of worth, is wins.
That Rich Mitchum attempted to short-circuit my second match in by jumping me as I came into the ring came as a surprise to me. Someone later told me that this was a tried and true “bad guy” tactic, to jump someone before the bell to gain a competitive advantage, but really, all it did is make me angry. Here I am, trying to earn my stripes in this wrestling business the right way...paying dues, starting from the ground floor...and so far I’ve had my debut match ruined, been attacked from behind to cost me a win, been attacked after the match to prove some point that making me submit somehow did not prove, and then jumped before the second match even began. Somewhere around the time where Rich Mitchum is choking me in the corner, I decided I had had enough with Rich taking advantage of me, and I took control. Hopefully the fact that I’ve gotten my first win out of the way in Defiance means I’m going to be able to move forward with less in the way of shenanigans from here on out. I somehow doubt that, but one can always hope.
.....
One of the choices I had to make backstage this show is whether or not to intervene in the backstage scrum between Curtis Penn and Henry Keyes.
On the one hand, I had my journalistic integrity. I’m supposed to be a neutral observer, participating only when necessary for me to do so. That was part of the deal I made with myself; be part of the process, but don’t rock the boat. Admittedly, this is a difficult proposition in a business that prides itself on confrontation, pull-apart brawls, and using different seasons as an excuse to smack each other in the head with different-shaped objects (oh look, a chair wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper!), but one of the lines I figured was safe to cross was to not go looking for trouble. Inevitably, trouble would find you, that’s just part of the process. But one doesn’t need to go looking for trouble, at least not at this stage.
On the other hand, Curtis Penn could be one of the legitimately nastiest, most unlikeable people I’ve ever met. The man walks around backstage with no friends, no allies, and no stagehands within five feet of him at just about all times. He doesn’t even have rivals in the traditional sportsmanlike sense of the word, because no one wants to be entangled with him for long periods of time. He is truly alone in his narcissism. And having dealt with him for a mere one week, I can understand why he is left alone to rot like a spoiled fruit covered in insects.
Additionally, Henry Keyes, he’s a good guy. Not just a good guy, but a good human being. He actively seeks out wrong and tries to make it right, a rarity in this civilized world much less in pro wrestling. He’s the kind of person who you like to have on your side going to battle, because he’s going to bring it to the opponent’s face.
In the end, I chose the journalistic integrity, but it was a much harder decision than it seems.
Also of note, however, was the decision to go to the ring to assist Tyrone Walker, his Trios Team (not putting their name in print, not comfortable with it yet), and Angus Skaaland against the Truly Untouchables. Some could argue with me that I violated the same journalistic principles I chose to cling to when I chose to “run in”, as they say backstage, at the end of the show to fend off the Truly Untouchables. The one major difference those people missed is that it wasn’t just me, it was EVERYONE. The whole point of this is to go with the flow, to observe what it’s like to be a typical part of the organization, and if everyone on my “side” of the federation is charging out there, then I’d conclude that it would be a violation of journalistic integrity NOT to go.
Yes, I’m not a fan of what the T-UT’s did, either during the match or after.
Yes, I think that no-necked sunglasses-at-night-wearing buffoon Jonny Booya is reprehensible for his repeated offenses against Angus Skaaland, who is by all accounts NOT a wrestler (at least not anymore).
But none of that factored into my decision making. And I stand by my decision to make a run-in (a career first!) to help out.
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