Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2006 13:52:20 GMT -5
Daniel Zorich finally found the parking lot he had been looking for. After racking up the miles on the U-HAUL, the bill wasn't going to look friendly. He wondered if anyone would even show up, considering the fact that this was a Saturday morning, and the only teenagers who were up hadn't been to bed yet.
Zorich was a hard-ass. He was the kind of guy who did things by his own rules, and that's what had gotten him in trouble with the big time when he refused to use steroids back in the 1980's. He'd become a respected independent wrestler and a helluva promoter, but something was missing. He'd often see rookies coming up in the independent circuits who didn't have a clue, and it was making business difficult for the experienced wrestlers. Finally, EWF gave him the opportunity to train his own superstars, and that's what brought him to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
It'd been a long drive from EWF Headquarters in Downingtown, but given the fact that he used to drive across the country relatively often, he wasn't one to complain about a cross-state venture. He had one man to help him set up the gym, but the rest would depend upon those who would show up, even if just out of curiosity. Before unloading the truck, he stepped inside the gym, or the Dome as he was told it was called, and found three young men sitting on the first row of wooden bleachers.
"Better than nothing," Zorich muttered to himself. He instructed his assistant to keep an eye on them as he unloaded the truck. As he walked out the door, a rather large guy walked in.
"Excuse me, sir."
"You here for the training?"
"Yes, I am."
"Sit over there with the rest of the guys. As soon as I get the ring set up and the gear unloaded, we'll get started. What's your name?"
"Joseph Cranston, but I go as Joey."
"You'll go by what you're told to. The name's Daniel Zorich, but call me anything besides Z and I'll have your head."
Zorich noticed the expression of fear on Cranston's face. "Hey, ease up a bit. You have the expression of someone who just received an unwanted enema. Take a seat, Joey. You've got nothing to worry about."
Cranston looked a bit more relieved, but he still cautiously walked over to the bleachers and joined the rest. A few minutes later, Zorich kicked in the door, dragging some poles and rope behind him. He dropped them on the floor, left, and came back with a few boxes. Within ten minutes, the wrestling ring was set up in the middle of the gym floor.
"There are a few more boxes left, and after I get them, we'll start. I assume this is all who's showing up, so let me get your names."
The first one to stand up was the guy on the far left. "Bryan Fury," he stated.
"Fury, eh? That your real last name?"
"That it is," he replied.
"How old are you, Fury?"
"I'm eighteen."
"Nineteen? Wow, you all that young?" The two guys in the middle nodded, but Cranston shook his head. "Cranston? How old are you?"
"Twenty, Z."
"Least there's no goddamn liability minors here. Any of you got experience?"
"Not in wrestling, but I'm a black belt," replied Cranston.
"Non-professional, yes," replied Fury.
"I wrestle for the school," replied the biggest one.
"Mat wrestler, eh? Good stuff. Name?"
"Eugene Long."
"No shit. We've heard of you down in Downingtown. You won states last year in the heavyweight division, didn't you?" Eugene nodded in response.
"What about you, the silent one?"
The one who hadn't spoken looked up at Zorich with piercing blue eyes. "Vincent Stecchino."
"Okay, Vincent Stecchino. What experience in this business do you have?"
"Enough that I have a clue."
"All right then. I'll be back in a few." Zorich headed out the door, back to the truck. As he reached in to grab the last few boxes, he saw a tall, dark guy talking to a short, blonde girl. The short blonde left, and the guy was staring aimlessly at the door.
"Just what I was looking for," Zorich thought to himself. "The final piece."
.
I quickly accepted the fact that I would receive no special treatment. In Zorich's ring, everybody is the same, and thus, would receive a thorough asswhooping without hesitation. However, Zorich never took advantage of that. He trained us in a way that we picked up on things rather quickly. Therefore, all five of us were accepted into the EWF training program, headed by Zorich himself.
The four other guys, Eugene Long, Joey Cranston, Vincent Stecchino, and Bryan Fury, had obvious experience over me. Eugene, or Geno as he liked to be called, was a heavyweight mat wrestler for Cumberland Valley, and his build and attitude showed it. Cranston was a martial artist, although I'd pity him if he ever ended up in a brawl. Stecchino was quiet and just out there, but almost impervious to pain. Fury, well, the two of us clicked, to the point where EWF was even considering bringing us in as a tag team. Our ring styles were nearly the same, with Fury leaning more towards the strikes, and me utilizing the grappling moves.
I found something with Joey Cranston to be rather admirable. You could lock the guy in the most painful of submission moves, and he would never tap to save his life. However, if Z would trap him in a submission move, he'd tap in seconds. When I asked him about it, he explained that Z was a father figure to him, and he didn't have the heart to beat him. Then again, heart or not, it would be a while before any of us could match wits with Z.
"All right boys," Zorich began one morning, "this may very well be the best young group of guys I've ever seen in a training program. The big man in charge has been watching, unbeknownst to you, and he'd like me to inform you that you will all be appearing on the next EWF show in two weeks."
"Excuse me, Z?" Geno's voice suddenly broke the cool air.
"What is it, Long?"
"Where's the show gonna take place?"
"Wilkes-Barre, Long," replied Zorich. This proposed a new set of problems, as we all began looking at each other.
"Z?"
"Yes, Laiman?"
"How are we going to get there?"
"Interesting question, Laiman. You have several choices. A, you can walk, which I'm quite sure I'm not going to see any of you hiking up I-81. B, catch a Greyhound bus, which would require you cheapskates spending money, so I doubt that one too. Or C, the likely choice, you can ride in the back of the truck, get there early, and set up the ring."
Hey, if that's what it took for a free ride, none of us were in any position to turn it down. Wilkes-Barre was a good 160 miles away; farther than I'd ever been in my entire life. The ride was fairly smooth, considering the Interstate took us right up to the arena. When we stepped out, there were only a few cars in the parking lot, and Zorich could see the look of concern on our faces.
"Calm down, guys. Show doesn't start for another five hours." Five hours? That's how long it was gonna take us to set up the ring? "No, it will not take five hours to set everything up, guys. I swear, you kids are so damn paranoid. Besides setting up the ring, the lights have gotta be set up, the merchandise out for sale, and the fans need plenty of time to get in the building. The gates open up about ninety minutes before the show starts."
.
Zorich was easily getting frustrated. Sure, the kids knew nothing about what a show as like, but their attitudes seemed so pessimistic. In Zorich's years in the business, this may have been the most talented group of young guys he'd ever seen, but the two who had the biggest chance at that point and time were the tag partners, Fury and Laiman. The other guys would find their time, but he knew he had something special with those two.
He'd talked with the owner of EWF, and this was going to be their tryout match. Should it be successful, they'd begin appearing on EWF shows on a regular basis, adding the badly-needed new blood in the tag team division. Zorich could only hope that the guidance he'd provided would pay off for young duo.
Zorich was a hard-ass. He was the kind of guy who did things by his own rules, and that's what had gotten him in trouble with the big time when he refused to use steroids back in the 1980's. He'd become a respected independent wrestler and a helluva promoter, but something was missing. He'd often see rookies coming up in the independent circuits who didn't have a clue, and it was making business difficult for the experienced wrestlers. Finally, EWF gave him the opportunity to train his own superstars, and that's what brought him to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
It'd been a long drive from EWF Headquarters in Downingtown, but given the fact that he used to drive across the country relatively often, he wasn't one to complain about a cross-state venture. He had one man to help him set up the gym, but the rest would depend upon those who would show up, even if just out of curiosity. Before unloading the truck, he stepped inside the gym, or the Dome as he was told it was called, and found three young men sitting on the first row of wooden bleachers.
"Better than nothing," Zorich muttered to himself. He instructed his assistant to keep an eye on them as he unloaded the truck. As he walked out the door, a rather large guy walked in.
"Excuse me, sir."
"You here for the training?"
"Yes, I am."
"Sit over there with the rest of the guys. As soon as I get the ring set up and the gear unloaded, we'll get started. What's your name?"
"Joseph Cranston, but I go as Joey."
"You'll go by what you're told to. The name's Daniel Zorich, but call me anything besides Z and I'll have your head."
Zorich noticed the expression of fear on Cranston's face. "Hey, ease up a bit. You have the expression of someone who just received an unwanted enema. Take a seat, Joey. You've got nothing to worry about."
Cranston looked a bit more relieved, but he still cautiously walked over to the bleachers and joined the rest. A few minutes later, Zorich kicked in the door, dragging some poles and rope behind him. He dropped them on the floor, left, and came back with a few boxes. Within ten minutes, the wrestling ring was set up in the middle of the gym floor.
"There are a few more boxes left, and after I get them, we'll start. I assume this is all who's showing up, so let me get your names."
The first one to stand up was the guy on the far left. "Bryan Fury," he stated.
"Fury, eh? That your real last name?"
"That it is," he replied.
"How old are you, Fury?"
"I'm eighteen."
"Nineteen? Wow, you all that young?" The two guys in the middle nodded, but Cranston shook his head. "Cranston? How old are you?"
"Twenty, Z."
"Least there's no goddamn liability minors here. Any of you got experience?"
"Not in wrestling, but I'm a black belt," replied Cranston.
"Non-professional, yes," replied Fury.
"I wrestle for the school," replied the biggest one.
"Mat wrestler, eh? Good stuff. Name?"
"Eugene Long."
"No shit. We've heard of you down in Downingtown. You won states last year in the heavyweight division, didn't you?" Eugene nodded in response.
"What about you, the silent one?"
The one who hadn't spoken looked up at Zorich with piercing blue eyes. "Vincent Stecchino."
"Okay, Vincent Stecchino. What experience in this business do you have?"
"Enough that I have a clue."
"All right then. I'll be back in a few." Zorich headed out the door, back to the truck. As he reached in to grab the last few boxes, he saw a tall, dark guy talking to a short, blonde girl. The short blonde left, and the guy was staring aimlessly at the door.
"Just what I was looking for," Zorich thought to himself. "The final piece."
.
I quickly accepted the fact that I would receive no special treatment. In Zorich's ring, everybody is the same, and thus, would receive a thorough asswhooping without hesitation. However, Zorich never took advantage of that. He trained us in a way that we picked up on things rather quickly. Therefore, all five of us were accepted into the EWF training program, headed by Zorich himself.
The four other guys, Eugene Long, Joey Cranston, Vincent Stecchino, and Bryan Fury, had obvious experience over me. Eugene, or Geno as he liked to be called, was a heavyweight mat wrestler for Cumberland Valley, and his build and attitude showed it. Cranston was a martial artist, although I'd pity him if he ever ended up in a brawl. Stecchino was quiet and just out there, but almost impervious to pain. Fury, well, the two of us clicked, to the point where EWF was even considering bringing us in as a tag team. Our ring styles were nearly the same, with Fury leaning more towards the strikes, and me utilizing the grappling moves.
I found something with Joey Cranston to be rather admirable. You could lock the guy in the most painful of submission moves, and he would never tap to save his life. However, if Z would trap him in a submission move, he'd tap in seconds. When I asked him about it, he explained that Z was a father figure to him, and he didn't have the heart to beat him. Then again, heart or not, it would be a while before any of us could match wits with Z.
"All right boys," Zorich began one morning, "this may very well be the best young group of guys I've ever seen in a training program. The big man in charge has been watching, unbeknownst to you, and he'd like me to inform you that you will all be appearing on the next EWF show in two weeks."
"Excuse me, Z?" Geno's voice suddenly broke the cool air.
"What is it, Long?"
"Where's the show gonna take place?"
"Wilkes-Barre, Long," replied Zorich. This proposed a new set of problems, as we all began looking at each other.
"Z?"
"Yes, Laiman?"
"How are we going to get there?"
"Interesting question, Laiman. You have several choices. A, you can walk, which I'm quite sure I'm not going to see any of you hiking up I-81. B, catch a Greyhound bus, which would require you cheapskates spending money, so I doubt that one too. Or C, the likely choice, you can ride in the back of the truck, get there early, and set up the ring."
Hey, if that's what it took for a free ride, none of us were in any position to turn it down. Wilkes-Barre was a good 160 miles away; farther than I'd ever been in my entire life. The ride was fairly smooth, considering the Interstate took us right up to the arena. When we stepped out, there were only a few cars in the parking lot, and Zorich could see the look of concern on our faces.
"Calm down, guys. Show doesn't start for another five hours." Five hours? That's how long it was gonna take us to set up the ring? "No, it will not take five hours to set everything up, guys. I swear, you kids are so damn paranoid. Besides setting up the ring, the lights have gotta be set up, the merchandise out for sale, and the fans need plenty of time to get in the building. The gates open up about ninety minutes before the show starts."
.
Zorich was easily getting frustrated. Sure, the kids knew nothing about what a show as like, but their attitudes seemed so pessimistic. In Zorich's years in the business, this may have been the most talented group of young guys he'd ever seen, but the two who had the biggest chance at that point and time were the tag partners, Fury and Laiman. The other guys would find their time, but he knew he had something special with those two.
He'd talked with the owner of EWF, and this was going to be their tryout match. Should it be successful, they'd begin appearing on EWF shows on a regular basis, adding the badly-needed new blood in the tag team division. Zorich could only hope that the guidance he'd provided would pay off for young duo.