Post by James Gilmore on Nov 1, 2022 7:53:21 GMT
"IF WE FIGHT..., PART II"
Three hours later, on that same night...
"Think good thoughts…"
At was 7:30 PM, and the weather was as clear as crystal.
James Gilmore muttered those words as he showed his wife Yulia the report from his heart specialist. It was a moment he had dreaded for several months, like a kid that doesn't want to show his parents a flunking grade on a report card. He plunked himself down on his living room couch as she put her reading glasses on and perused through the document.
"What...?!"
"Oh, just talkin' to myself again."
JJ fell into a deep state of meditative silence, closing his eyes as we hear the sound of a creaking ceiling fan overhead. Luke and Leia, the couple's twin children, were sound asleep in their rooms, and the couple kept their voices low in order to avoid disturbing them. Yulia could tell that her husband was having a very hard time processing his doctor's recommendation that he retire from wrestling.
"JJ, tell me...tell me how you're feeling."
The Islander alum stayed silent, even as he pulled his wrestling scrapbook from the coffee table and starting looking at photos from his exploits on the road.
"Please...tell me."
JJ sighed, then pointed out a large painting above the fireplace. It depicted his first World title victory over Angel Blake at the Cotton Bowl back in 2020, hold the belt up high as 90,000 people celebrated.
"I don't think I'm cut to be a good trainer. I'm supposed to be like that guy on the wall there…"
"JJ, if I am reading this paper right, you're having problems with your heart. That is not a good thing…"
He solemnly shook his head.
"Do ya think I still got it...?"
Yulia chuckled, deflecting JJ's question.
"Don't worry. I'm making more money with the marketing job than I've ever made before. We will get by, believe me…"
"That's just it, the money…I gotta be the one who provides for the kids. You shouldn't have to worry about the money..."
Yulia pressed JJ...
"What did they tell you...?!"
...who raised both brows, for "they" meant the trainees at the Academy -- including his newest project, R.A. Marshall, who was blunt about what the Islander alum ought to do.
"Ram, the other trainees...they don't want me to wither away and die."
"In my eyes, you're not going to wither. But you have nothing more to prove..."
"This is all I've done that's been meaningful to my life..."
Yulia frowned and shook her head.
"I...I don't want you to do it anymore..."
The Islander alum's gaze returned to that framed painting.
"Yulia, this...this is all I know, all I've ever known. I want those trainees to have the best careers they can, in and out of a ring. I want our kids to have the best lives they can have, to have nice things.
To remember their daddy as somethin' other than a coward…"
JJ paused.
"I never asked you to stop marketin' the Academy or IWF after Luke and Leia were born. I'm askin' you, please...please don't stop me from doin' what I love doin'."
He then pointed back to that painting, perhaps realizing that Yulia wasn't going to be on board with him returning to the ring.
"From bein' that guy on the wall..."
To be continued...
"Invictus.
Unbroken. Unwavered. Unconquered.
I know this ain't the first time I heard those words before, but golly...it surely won't be the last time I hear 'em either. Yet despite the fact that this is gonna determine who represents the new Odyssey brand, this ain't my first rodeo when it comes to intergender competition. Prior to comin' to IWF, I did a ton of intergender competition on the indy circuit, and lemme tell ya...I don't care if you're takin' on a dude or a dudette in that ring.
This ain't easy -- it was never MEANT to be easy.
Last time, I took on an up-and-comer along with one of the more dominant women's competitors -- one of my faves -- in the business. I'll admit, my mind's feelin' a bit hazy about the contest 'cuz it was so chaotic. I truly believe that anything could happen on that night, that anyone had a chance to win at any given second. Comin' into this week, that mantra I took from that match will be the same -- especially considerin' that I'm takin' on two members of the Work.
A Hall of Famer and a big brute who wanna kick my ass.
And I ain't gonna be bitter about it, not at all. 'Cuz let's fact it...in the decade I've been workin' in this gig full-time, I've stumbled and bumbled. I know that trainin' with a gal like Fiona McFly rubbed some people the wrong way, causin' 'em to give me the side-eye and the middle finger. She was the one who pitched the whole Academy idea to me back in 2019. She had the foresight in knowin' that I was gonna be a father someday, that I was gonna have kids on my own.
Whether it'd be my family at home or at the Academy?
I wanna teach 'em about a world that can be mean and nasty at times. I wanna show 'em that they can truly make this vile, cold joint a much, MUCH better place than how it was found. I know I sound like a dote a times, and I often say things that don't seem right or whatnot. The honest truth is, though...before you can even THINK about where you're goin' in the future, you gotta be ready and willin' to revisit the past -- no matter how painful it might seem.
I said this in Fiona's Hall of Hame retrospective, and I'll say it again. There was a time in IWF history when you had to put on a suit of armor in order to even get a SNIFF of success. I've had to fight demons and gods jus to make a livin' around here. Spike Kane nearly tried to kill me. Angel Blake tried to bury me in front of my own family. Roberto Verona tried to use his own money to put me outta commission 'cuz he was too chicken-shit to face me man-to-man, in that very ring.
I'm still here, I'm still tickin'.
'Cuz this profession is all I know, the only thing I've ever know that I can actually hang in. That's why I signed up to start trainin' people like Ram or Caroline. 'Cuz I TRULY believe that wrestlin' can be better than how it used to be. I've been the butt of jokes my whole lifetime I've been here, and dammit...the LAST thing I want my trainees at the Academy -- and my children at home -- to have to worry about is goin' through the same kinds of crap I've been through. In a way...seein' people grow helps me wanna grow as a person, too.
Even as I stand in that arena at forty years old.
You understand that, Shelly?! You spent an entire year as Women's World Champion, feelin' jaded 'cuz you weren't gettin' the respect you thought you deserved. Three weeks ago, you cane out and ran your mouth, claimin' that Caroline's title win wasn't legit. Now...you wanna start over again, you wanna try and clean up the image that you tranished by yourself be treatin' that title, and your armor, as a license for you to think you're better than anyone else.
Lemme tell ya somethin' as a dad....you can't just wave a magic wand and pretend your problems are gonna disappear.
Look, I understand what it felt like to be jaded as a competitor, passed over by a bunch of egos and god complexes. I made mistakes, I screwed up too. Five years ago, I chose to align with a charmin' manager that turned out to be a complete psycho. I've had to endure a TON of ass-whippin's since then; yet no matter how hard I try to keep workin' at it, the memories from 2017 will always be in my mind.
Point bein', your daughter's right.
NOTHIN'...is gonna change what ya did durin' your run to the Hall of Fame.
This ain't a case of Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus, this is the REAL deal. Part of growin' as a person, part of getin' your respect back, is learnin' that no matter how much you consider yourself The Best Ever, the cracks in the armor will ALWAYS be there to rear their ugly head. Now you gotta rebuild the bridges that you've burned -- a LOT of bridges -- and no matter how many mea culpas you might say, you're gonna have to endure the trials in that ring. You're gonna have to be willin' to take the hits without pointin' fingers at people for WHY you failed.
I'll be a start, alright...but the lessons you will learn are gonna be VERY painful.
What about you, Stephen?! It's been a while, hasn't it? Yeah, yeah...I wrecked your prized muscle car after you tried to wreck the indy show Fi and I were promotin' by takin' out my big brother. I believe that, in certain terms, that's supposed to make us even. You know it, Portia knows it...all I want is a fair fight, okay? All I want is for you and I to kick each other's ass without havin' some nutball of a manager gettin' involved. Oh, but who am I kiddin'?!
This IS, after all, intergender competition -- which means, from this moment onward, Portia is fair game. If she tries to ingratiate herself into this battle, I swear on my father's grave...I will use any means necessary to deal with the problem, no matter the price I'm willin' to pay. I don't want that to happen, man, but mark my words...this is an entirely different island, Stephen. In this settin', the kid gloves will be comin' off, and the REAL test of the warrior's heart will truly commence.
You think you're as good as you say you are?! Then by gosh, go out there and GET what you're worth! 'Cuz I don't give a damn whose eyes I'm gonna be lookin' into...I have to put everything into this match. Everything I am.
Everything I can be.
I want that Invictus title -- not for the money, not for the extra goodies. But to prove that I STILL can hang around with the best athletes in the Imperial Wrestling Federation. I wanna prove that EVERYONE who's ever told me that I run a cult is wrong -- DEAD wrong. To prove that I can be the best dad I can be...both in and out of a ring.
I don't want none of y'all to go easy on me.
I expect nothin' else but the fight of your lives.
That's what 'dare to dream' is really all about."
Three hours later, on that same night...
"Think good thoughts…"
At was 7:30 PM, and the weather was as clear as crystal.
James Gilmore muttered those words as he showed his wife Yulia the report from his heart specialist. It was a moment he had dreaded for several months, like a kid that doesn't want to show his parents a flunking grade on a report card. He plunked himself down on his living room couch as she put her reading glasses on and perused through the document.
"What...?!"
"Oh, just talkin' to myself again."
JJ fell into a deep state of meditative silence, closing his eyes as we hear the sound of a creaking ceiling fan overhead. Luke and Leia, the couple's twin children, were sound asleep in their rooms, and the couple kept their voices low in order to avoid disturbing them. Yulia could tell that her husband was having a very hard time processing his doctor's recommendation that he retire from wrestling.
"JJ, tell me...tell me how you're feeling."
The Islander alum stayed silent, even as he pulled his wrestling scrapbook from the coffee table and starting looking at photos from his exploits on the road.
"Please...tell me."
JJ sighed, then pointed out a large painting above the fireplace. It depicted his first World title victory over Angel Blake at the Cotton Bowl back in 2020, hold the belt up high as 90,000 people celebrated.
"I don't think I'm cut to be a good trainer. I'm supposed to be like that guy on the wall there…"
"JJ, if I am reading this paper right, you're having problems with your heart. That is not a good thing…"
He solemnly shook his head.
"Do ya think I still got it...?"
Yulia chuckled, deflecting JJ's question.
"Don't worry. I'm making more money with the marketing job than I've ever made before. We will get by, believe me…"
"That's just it, the money…I gotta be the one who provides for the kids. You shouldn't have to worry about the money..."
Yulia pressed JJ...
"What did they tell you...?!"
...who raised both brows, for "they" meant the trainees at the Academy -- including his newest project, R.A. Marshall, who was blunt about what the Islander alum ought to do.
"Ram, the other trainees...they don't want me to wither away and die."
"In my eyes, you're not going to wither. But you have nothing more to prove..."
"This is all I've done that's been meaningful to my life..."
Yulia frowned and shook her head.
"I...I don't want you to do it anymore..."
The Islander alum's gaze returned to that framed painting.
"Yulia, this...this is all I know, all I've ever known. I want those trainees to have the best careers they can, in and out of a ring. I want our kids to have the best lives they can have, to have nice things.
To remember their daddy as somethin' other than a coward…"
JJ paused.
"I never asked you to stop marketin' the Academy or IWF after Luke and Leia were born. I'm askin' you, please...please don't stop me from doin' what I love doin'."
He then pointed back to that painting, perhaps realizing that Yulia wasn't going to be on board with him returning to the ring.
"From bein' that guy on the wall..."
To be continued...
"Invictus.
Unbroken. Unwavered. Unconquered.
I know this ain't the first time I heard those words before, but golly...it surely won't be the last time I hear 'em either. Yet despite the fact that this is gonna determine who represents the new Odyssey brand, this ain't my first rodeo when it comes to intergender competition. Prior to comin' to IWF, I did a ton of intergender competition on the indy circuit, and lemme tell ya...I don't care if you're takin' on a dude or a dudette in that ring.
This ain't easy -- it was never MEANT to be easy.
Last time, I took on an up-and-comer along with one of the more dominant women's competitors -- one of my faves -- in the business. I'll admit, my mind's feelin' a bit hazy about the contest 'cuz it was so chaotic. I truly believe that anything could happen on that night, that anyone had a chance to win at any given second. Comin' into this week, that mantra I took from that match will be the same -- especially considerin' that I'm takin' on two members of the Work.
A Hall of Famer and a big brute who wanna kick my ass.
And I ain't gonna be bitter about it, not at all. 'Cuz let's fact it...in the decade I've been workin' in this gig full-time, I've stumbled and bumbled. I know that trainin' with a gal like Fiona McFly rubbed some people the wrong way, causin' 'em to give me the side-eye and the middle finger. She was the one who pitched the whole Academy idea to me back in 2019. She had the foresight in knowin' that I was gonna be a father someday, that I was gonna have kids on my own.
Whether it'd be my family at home or at the Academy?
I wanna teach 'em about a world that can be mean and nasty at times. I wanna show 'em that they can truly make this vile, cold joint a much, MUCH better place than how it was found. I know I sound like a dote a times, and I often say things that don't seem right or whatnot. The honest truth is, though...before you can even THINK about where you're goin' in the future, you gotta be ready and willin' to revisit the past -- no matter how painful it might seem.
I said this in Fiona's Hall of Hame retrospective, and I'll say it again. There was a time in IWF history when you had to put on a suit of armor in order to even get a SNIFF of success. I've had to fight demons and gods jus to make a livin' around here. Spike Kane nearly tried to kill me. Angel Blake tried to bury me in front of my own family. Roberto Verona tried to use his own money to put me outta commission 'cuz he was too chicken-shit to face me man-to-man, in that very ring.
I'm still here, I'm still tickin'.
'Cuz this profession is all I know, the only thing I've ever know that I can actually hang in. That's why I signed up to start trainin' people like Ram or Caroline. 'Cuz I TRULY believe that wrestlin' can be better than how it used to be. I've been the butt of jokes my whole lifetime I've been here, and dammit...the LAST thing I want my trainees at the Academy -- and my children at home -- to have to worry about is goin' through the same kinds of crap I've been through. In a way...seein' people grow helps me wanna grow as a person, too.
Even as I stand in that arena at forty years old.
You understand that, Shelly?! You spent an entire year as Women's World Champion, feelin' jaded 'cuz you weren't gettin' the respect you thought you deserved. Three weeks ago, you cane out and ran your mouth, claimin' that Caroline's title win wasn't legit. Now...you wanna start over again, you wanna try and clean up the image that you tranished by yourself be treatin' that title, and your armor, as a license for you to think you're better than anyone else.
Lemme tell ya somethin' as a dad....you can't just wave a magic wand and pretend your problems are gonna disappear.
Look, I understand what it felt like to be jaded as a competitor, passed over by a bunch of egos and god complexes. I made mistakes, I screwed up too. Five years ago, I chose to align with a charmin' manager that turned out to be a complete psycho. I've had to endure a TON of ass-whippin's since then; yet no matter how hard I try to keep workin' at it, the memories from 2017 will always be in my mind.
Point bein', your daughter's right.
NOTHIN'...is gonna change what ya did durin' your run to the Hall of Fame.
This ain't a case of Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus, this is the REAL deal. Part of growin' as a person, part of getin' your respect back, is learnin' that no matter how much you consider yourself The Best Ever, the cracks in the armor will ALWAYS be there to rear their ugly head. Now you gotta rebuild the bridges that you've burned -- a LOT of bridges -- and no matter how many mea culpas you might say, you're gonna have to endure the trials in that ring. You're gonna have to be willin' to take the hits without pointin' fingers at people for WHY you failed.
I'll be a start, alright...but the lessons you will learn are gonna be VERY painful.
What about you, Stephen?! It's been a while, hasn't it? Yeah, yeah...I wrecked your prized muscle car after you tried to wreck the indy show Fi and I were promotin' by takin' out my big brother. I believe that, in certain terms, that's supposed to make us even. You know it, Portia knows it...all I want is a fair fight, okay? All I want is for you and I to kick each other's ass without havin' some nutball of a manager gettin' involved. Oh, but who am I kiddin'?!
This IS, after all, intergender competition -- which means, from this moment onward, Portia is fair game. If she tries to ingratiate herself into this battle, I swear on my father's grave...I will use any means necessary to deal with the problem, no matter the price I'm willin' to pay. I don't want that to happen, man, but mark my words...this is an entirely different island, Stephen. In this settin', the kid gloves will be comin' off, and the REAL test of the warrior's heart will truly commence.
You think you're as good as you say you are?! Then by gosh, go out there and GET what you're worth! 'Cuz I don't give a damn whose eyes I'm gonna be lookin' into...I have to put everything into this match. Everything I am.
Everything I can be.
I want that Invictus title -- not for the money, not for the extra goodies. But to prove that I STILL can hang around with the best athletes in the Imperial Wrestling Federation. I wanna prove that EVERYONE who's ever told me that I run a cult is wrong -- DEAD wrong. To prove that I can be the best dad I can be...both in and out of a ring.
I don't want none of y'all to go easy on me.
I expect nothin' else but the fight of your lives.
That's what 'dare to dream' is really all about."
Well howdy there pardner.