Level X Developmental Facility
Brandon, Florida
1:00 p.m.
“One of the things you have to learn about yourselves and what you’re trying to say to the crowd is the crowd themselves. Are you in Cleveland and trying to get over with them? Then talk up their favorite sports teams. Are you somewhere that has nothing to do with the U.S.? Canada? South America? Europe? Get a taste for the culture. Talk up some place you recently visited to get lunch or if you’re trying to get on their bad side, talk about how horrible the food is, how much their sports teams suck and how you can take anyone in the crowd tonight as a warm-up.”
There were more young wrestlers who were attending the program than anyone could expect. They weren’t exactly the biggest names of indy wrestling and darlings across the pro-circuit but there were a few faces that were at least recognizable to the wrestling industry even by a small margin. They listened, they took notes, they talked amongst themselves as an older woman in a powder blue power suit walked inside of the ring, outside of the ring and peered out at them all as she continued to speak.
“When we teach people about speaking, a lot of it is revolved around knowing the crowd. Sometimes it may help if you visualize yourself as you speak so you can decide the correct mannerisms. Do you want to be all snarky about it? Should you cross your arms and lean with a slightly relaxed gait. Do you want to sit on... What is this?”
“Top turnbuckle.”
“Right! Do you want to sit on the top turnbuckle and stare out intensely to your crowd as you discuss how your time has finally arrived?”
Stephanie hung back as she watched the public speaking teacher offer pearls of wisdom to the young wrestlers, actually taking a few things she’d heard to heart. Trial and error was the name of the game right? She patted herself down for her cell phone and looked at the time. Wendy would be here soon. She moved quickly to find Sunny, passing through one room after the next to where their offices were located and quickly tapped her fist against the door with the plaque ‘S. H. Kyoun - Director of Public Relations’.
The door slowly opened and Sunny peeked out as if cautious, only to grin and open the door all the way. “Hi!” She was giddy in an instant hugging Steph randomly. “Sorry, though maybe you that girl that bugs me to teach her Japanese. I AM NOT JAPANESE!” She scrunches her face almost comically before letting go. “What’s up bosslady who is not really bosslady, but bosslady anyway?”
“Well I know you’re not Japanese,” She offered quickly after returning the hug. “Wendy’s coming by soon I think. Talked about wanting to talk to us and all that and maybe we could show her around and all that. Maybe she might even get to sit in on one of the classes!” Stephanie’s grin went wide and she licked her lips. “She might even give us some sort of approval and then we could do like a commercial or something and-say-like-’I’m-the-FFW-Champion-Wendy-Briese-and-I-approve-this-message’-and-then-we’ll-start-getting-a-bunch-of-big-name-wrestlersandbeforeyouknowitwe’llhavetomoveintoabiggerbuildingandd--” Sunny cut her off with a slap to the cheek, giving her a look.
“Maybe we say hi and show her, worry about...whatever that was you just said later? Not sure if that one word or many...” Sunny huffed, hands on her hips as if some sort of mother figure. Stephanie frowned and dropped her head dejectedly before she pointed her index fingers together and mumbled something that sounded like an ‘okay fine, have it your way’. As the two joined up and began to walk back to the ring where the public speaker continued on, Steph rubbed her cheek and glanced forward.
“Is that... I think it is her!”
Wendy Briese was in the back of the room, leaning against the doorjamb, her arms folded in front of her as she watched the speaker, a nonplussed expression on her face. Evidenced by the lack of commotion, none of the students had appeared to notice her yet, and Wendy was seemingly doing all she could to not draw any attention to herself while watching the speaker.
Sunny poked Steph right in the ribs and pointed to Wendy, then to Steph, then to Wendy...then poked Steph’s ribs again just for fun. Stephanie shot a look at Sunny before swatting her hand away as she tried to do it a third time. She jerked a nod towards Wendy and the team known as The Witches’ Brew made their way as quietly and calmly towards the FFW Champion as possibly without drawing any attention...
...Stephanie had heard the stories of when Wendy had been at the ASWG. Students begging to be put in the frickin’ Banshee of all things. She quickly crept up near her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder... And then tapped her lightly on the shoulder again when she felt like she didn’t get her attention the first time.
Apparently jabbing your finger repeatedly on someone was a Witches’ Brew thing.
Annoyed, Wendy’s head snapped towards Steph, and her features relaxed into a small smile. “Steph! Sunny! Good to see you two!” she stage whispered, giving each woman a quick hug in turn. “I was just listening to a… I’m not really sure what I’m listening to, come to think of it.”
“Education.” Sunny said softly, as if that word alone explained it all. She stood silent for a moment only to add a bit more. “Well, kind of. Am not best at explaining of things. This for helping students who want character for selves, to work crowd it....Steph...help?”
Stephanie cleared her throat and looked as though she was about to break into a long-winded spiel about recent marketing trends and whether or not the right yearly quarter in this economy was up for a business of this manner before... She simply came out bluntly. “Public speaking. From what I understand a lot of up-and-coming wrestlers struggle with it. Sure they’re pretty well put together in the ring but a lot of them kinda blow as far putting their points together or remembering what they want to say and a few even write their main points on their hand and even get caught. That can look bad for a business.”
“I see,” Wendy said, looking over at the ring, biting her lower lip. “Who is she? I’d never seen her before. Which company does she wrestle for?”
Stephanie paused and she answered with the same delivery though her left eyebrow arched. “She’s a Professor in Marketing from the local University and she teaches classes on Public Speaking. She’s not a wrestler.”
“I see,” Wendy said, and she paused, listening to the speaker for a while. “Lyn said this is what you sold the Hydeout for.”
“Yes!” Sunny replied with big wide eyes and a grin, the Korean wrestler clapped excitedly, bouncing on her heels. “Well...to put in simple of terms yes it is. But was Steph’s idea at first, I jumped on the board to assist. Felt was good move. And Hydeout still there, just new management. Still has the super-amazing of deliciousness nachos”
The power wrestler behind the Witches’ Brew had her head tilted slightly and her eyes narrowed just a smidgen as she continued from Sunny’s observation. “Yes, they were delicious nachos. Point remained that yes this is what the bar was sold for. For something to give very green rookies a chance to do something new. different.”
“It’s certainly… diifferent. I’ve never heard of a wrestling school offering speaking lessons before.” Wendy said, nodding in acknowledgement, although the look on her face suggested she was far from convinced.
“It not the only thing, but good. Though...Steph say I not able to be teaching of speaking lesson. Me think it because I’m too nice.” She said with a huff, completely oblivious to just how terribly she just butchered the English language. “This lady really good though, they listen well. And she make good points. I do lots of that already, did not think of them as skills though. More you know, right?” Sunny offered with a wide grin, again missing the less than convinced look on Wendy’s face. “But we have more too, wanna see?”
“Sure.” Wendy said. “That’s actually why I’m here. Lyn wanted me to come down here and see what you guys were doing and offer my… opinions.”
“Oh, okay. Lyn asked you to come here.” Stephanie smiled brightly. “Well follow us and we’ll show you around.”
...What Wendy probably did not realize was that she had likely signed the former SVW Defiance Champion’s death warrant. Then again considering that both Wendy and Sunny were married women, Steph’s tone had the most obvious... And darkest implication on her husband’s fate. She motioned Wendy forward and Witches’ Brew led her to a room with a quite a number of computers faceted on desks. The room with its oversized whiteboard, a pull-down projection screen and numerous chairs looked to have more in common with a classroom than anything to do with wrestling.
“Here’s where we have students talk about their in-ring personas and wrestling personas of the past. You ever notice how a lot of students who leave wrestling gyms seem to pick up certain traits and things like the teachers they trained under? Not that there’s anything wrong with being like who you learned from but after a while students can turn out like they’re fresh off the cookie cutter.”
“Like way to prepare instead of running into the ring all...” Her hands wave wildly as she imitates...god knows what. “RAWR I’M A WRASTLER!...then get kick supered and realize all they do is make themselves into target for others who know what they are doing. Yes?”
Wendy blinked, at a loss for words as she stared at Sunny, then looked over at Steph, finally deciding she’d be best not asking. “So, if I just get this straight… you’re teaching students how to… act as if in a role. While trying to wrestle a match.”
“Kind of.” Steph noted. “Look, you’ve wrestled for years Wendy. You’ve surely seen wrestler after wrestler, men and women do this sort of thing where they go by ring-names or... They dress up the part or they act with this certain bit of airs that makes them go beyond just being a person and more a walking icon. A symbol as it were. I mean... Lemme think, lemme think... Let’s take Starla for instance? Starla was a doctor. She plays that up with the names of her maneuvers, her certain style of wrestling... Right? Or, or... Let’s take Jenny and Jodie and even Eileen when they first came on the scene. ‘Hey we’re gamer girls! We enjoy video games! We’re nerdy!’ And from their they diverged into different things. Or let’s see uhm... Crystal! My God Crystal has been a witch and she always plays up to the delusional celebrity thing and well... I mean hell... It just WORKS for her... So what we’re trying to offer is something like a headstart to that. Rather than a thousand young wrestlers coming in and saying, ‘Hey I’m X, and I come from Y Gym and I’m excited to be here’. Or ‘Hey I’m A, and I come from B Gym and I am better than all of you. Rawr’.”
“I see.” Wendy said non committally. “So you’re teaching people how to have… gimmicks.”
“Only if they want. Notice Steph and I not really have gimmicks. We have nicknames for things and stuff, but we mostly just...well us. This is more than that. If they comfortable being them, we not going to tell them to act otherwise. We showing those who want gimmick how to do it and not look like Weather Girl or something. Some are amazing for in-ring, but when it comes to opening mouths they like...well ‘blah blah I R smash you in face now. Grrr” Sunny holds her arms out like frankenstein and literally walks around in a circle.
“See what meaning? We not telling people how to do, but helping those who want?”
“I suppose,” was all Wendy said, biting her lip. It was obvious she was thinking hard.
Stephanie looked slightly crestfallen but took a deep breath and they led Wendy now to a large room with a giant green screen behind it, lighting equipment and cameras. They had actually caught one of the wrestlers in the program as she was having a conversation with a man in a fitted cap and slacks. The man motioned her forward and began to adjust a flood light before returning to a studio camera.
“We hired Jamie here to help anyone who needs to cut professional tapes to send out to companies. A lot of them aren’t like Future Shock and they’re going to expect you to have something like a video resume so Jamie here shows them how to cut and edit their videos together into something like a DVD. A little introduction and closing by them in front of the green screen and they’re ready to send it out to a company they’re hoping to get picked up by.”
“So… adding production values to a demo tape.” Wendy observed quietly.
Sunny gave a little scowl to Wendy, then to Steph and motioned with her thumb to Wendy. “There is more, this place is full of win. There is one student, Martha. She is like amazing and stuff...thinks I am Japanese.” Sunny scowls. “But she not know about any of this, wanted to run out and be a wrestler knowing lock of hammer and ddt.”
“You mean DDP...No, wait you got that... Hammerlock. Yes. We’ve had some very interesting... Interesting students. They always have a lot of questions and it got to the point that me and Sunny decided to get separate phone numbers so the students can call us at any time or Mickey and Raquel. Originally we were gonna try to do the pager thing like how some hospitals and restaurants do but that got really hectic the first week in.” She muttered, sharing her tag partner’s glance of frustration. They lead Wendy to the offices but before they could even open their mouths, Mickey popped her head out.
“Raquel, do you have the e-mails I asked you about? I really need ‘em and if these new applications are going to get processed for January when things really pick up then we’re going to be in absolute balls-deep sshhii-- HI WENDY!” Mickey popped her head out with a wide, nearly idiotic grin before she turned her head back to Raquel’s office.
“Do you have ‘em or not?”
From her office, Raquel gave a noncommittal grunt, which caused Mickey to roll her eyes as she popped her head back in her own office. “And she always complains when I’m not doing my job.”
Steph cleared her throat. “Raquel talked Mickey into getting some medication for keeping her attention past two minutes.”
“You hired the Scarborough Fair,” Wendy said, blinking. “To teach at a wrestling school.”
“Well they not going to be like Lyn or someone to teach all kinds of stuff. But they know things, stuff...and things...” Sunny gives shifty eyes. “But they good, better than expected too. Not once they try to hit me with guitar or try and dye my hair.”
“We made this clear,” Steph gritted her teeth and began to punctuate her words. “That this is far from a wrestling school. At least I hope. That. We. Have.”
Wendy walked into Steph’s office plopping into a chair, and rubbing the bridge of her nose as Steph and Sunny followed her in. Wendy was silent for a long time, before beginning to speak slowly. “How many students do you have here?”
“About thirty for the quote unquote semester with seventeen more signed up for the Spring.” She answered earnestly.
“And how many of them could step in the ring right now and wrestle for a full-time professional company?” Came the second question.
Steph’s brow furrowed. “Most of them. We usually take wrestlers who have been fully or nearly complete in their in-ring training and point those who are still unprepared to a school that would benefit them. Tell ‘em to keep in touch and such.”
Another deep sigh from Wendy, as she was clearly thinking very hard. “Look, I understand what you’re trying to do. And, to an extent, you are right. There is a showmanship element in wrestling, and there are quite a few people who are unprepared for that aspect. But don’t you think this is kind of… putting the cart before the horse?”
Sunny just stared at Wendy. “Why would you do that?” She looked so terribly confused. “We not having horses here, just wrestlers. Pollaski uses donkey, we leaving that gimmick to him. We helping those who need help, we not showing how to wrestle but how to act if they want to learn it.” Sunny’s hands clasp behind her back as she pouts, yes literally pouts. Foot kicking at the floor gently and all. “Thought you would understand...”
“I understand that you guys mean well,” Wendy said, not even bothering about the idea of her kinda-sorta-ex manager and a donkey, or explaining her missed analogy. “But this… this is putting image over substance. None of this… and I mean NONE of this matters if you can’t perform in the ring. We don’t award matches based on who can cut the best promo.. thank God. You can tie all the bells and whistles you want on something, but most promoters are going to see through it.”
“...Explain Future Shock.” Stephanie asked brusquely, her voice rising before she seemed to remember that the FFW Champion was not the enemy here and tried to keep her voice steady. “Explain wrestlers who in the past have have it through voting after voting. You know what, maybe you’re right. Maybe promoters are going to see through it but as I made clear we don’t take anyone past who knows how at least wrestle. We’re trying to help people who can barely hold a microphone without a stutter or a lisp. Who it takes years to put together some wrestling tapes so that they can show a promoter and even dare to hope to be allowed to DREAM of an opportunity like we were given and believe you me sister when Sunny and I know EXACTLY what opportunity we were given. How many applicants probably do you think get turned down? I mean... For... For all we know we only got accepted in the first place because who we were married both to!
...Sure they can wrestle and they probably could out-wrestle us but there’s not going to be a future for them or at least an attainable one for a long time if they can’t even sell themselves. Tell me how much wrestling ability it takes to spout a bunch of stupid poetry, run around throwing money at people, wearing masks, doing hip tosses of doom, yelling about how Canadian you are, that you’re a Witch, telling people that you’re an actress, that you’re Judas or a Gamer or ten thousand other things... Image... Image is just as important as substance and if we can’t help with the wrestling aspect because we obviously still have a long ways to go then dammit we’re going to help somehow!”
THere was a long silence, as Wendy blinked, almost surprised at the passion in Steph’s voice as the larger woman ranted at her. Finally she took a deep breath. “You’re wrong, Steph. Image isn’t just as important. If it was, do you think I would be where I was? Look at me! I’m the FFW champion, and a housewife from Indianapolis! What about me is so dang interesting that makes people want to plop down their hard earned money? What I do in the ring! Do you see me adopting some fake persona? Do you see me wearing weird gimmicky clothes, or glitzing myself up? No! I’m just… myself. So’s Val. So’s Eileen. So’s Tara. So’s Penny. So’s Lyn, for that matter. And Marcus. And Anders…God help him. Do you think that’s a coincidence? ”
Sunny took a breath. “And you all know how to talk, to walk, to let insults roll of your shoulders. Did you when you started, or did you have to learn by being beaten to ground and get up? This world not like it was when any of them started at it. This is...this world it is open, like floodgates. Your opponent not only get to shoot a promo on you, to talk backstage at shows, but can find you on twitter and things. Can hunt you down, harass you, play mind games, assault you with words....claim you eat dogs because you born in certain country for the example.” Sunny looked around and held out her arms. “This place will help the new ones, those not ready for that. Those who may be able to wrestle better than some champions but have no self esteem find a way around it. To find their confidence, to find out how to deal with the negativity and make it in the industry of their love. We not saying everyone need a costume and mask, or call moves based on gimmick. But give them the option to do that if they want, or to take from this what they can and make their own. Is that really so wrong?”
“It’s not wrong…” Wendy said… breathing deep. “It just doesn’t seem practical.”
“...Wait a minute, here. Anders? Anders? We’re talking the same Anders who is ‘who he is’? Now far be it from me to want or try to defend my... Brother by... Thank you o’ Lord, law but... Wendy, Anders? When Anders was teamed up with Cara he was just as nerdy and goofy as Eileen. Nowadays he’s all ‘I’m the Paragon’, hashtag, hashtag, hashtag. Nothing about him now could be anywhere near who he really is. Either he was putting on a facade then or now and either way he was well... Selling. Honestly Sunny’s right in that not everyone needs it but if it was just you? ...How many shirts and mugs and calendars and sweatpants and gnomes are plastered with ‘Welcome to the Slaughter’ or ‘White Knight’ or ‘Pain Train’s A’Comin’? ...All Sunny and I are trying to--”
“And you two are fully qualified to do this?” Wendy interrupted. She almost flinched at the flashes of anger in her partner’s faces, but she took a deep breath, and pressed on. “This isn’t a personal attack on you two. But you have been in wrestling for less than three months. Each of you has had a grand total of FIVE matches. I don’t know about you, but after five matches, I was busy more focused on trying not to get killed than any merchandising or fanservice. Shouldn’t the time you’re spending on… this be more suited to training and gaining as much experience as you can?”
“I stood by ring since years ago, I not just pretty face but paid attention. I watched some win, some lose. I lived with wrestling, not as wrestler but on sides. If that make me not right to help with this then ok, but I want to try. I want to give back, and show those people who coming in that they are not diving into shark take covered in chum.” Sunny sighed. “I happy girl, I smile, I make joke, I have bad English. But I know wrestling, it been part of life for years now. I maybe just start as a wrestler with Steph, but she and I been around this business longer than some champions. I say we qualified, even if we not have gold or scars from head to toe.” Sunny added, arms crossed. “We know wrestling.”
“Sunny,” Stephanie corrected, bitterly. “Sunny knows wrestling. What do I know right? All I know is beating thrown into glass, having pictures of me posted online and being Lyn’s significant other. Woo, experience. How much could he possibly tell me around the house? ...You said that when you were fives matches in, you were thinking more about trying not to get killed. Well with all due respect, around that time there was no such thing as social media. Around that time I don’t imagine there was hype machines. Is wrestling important? It is... It really is, but times change and there calls for adaptability of said times.”
Wendy thought long and hard, then finally said. “I’m uneasy about this. You have great points, the both of you, but I’m almost afraid of what’s going to happen if this becomes such a huge focus. , And I’m afraid it’s going to provide unecessary distractions for two promising talents. I know Lyn is uneasy too, or else he wouldn’t have flown to Indianapolis to talk to me about it.”
Stephanie sat back in her chair, speechless to hear this before her eyebrow twitched. Her mouth went dry and she licked her lips before she reached on her desk for the keys and stood up so fast that the chair nearly flew back. “...Before I make myself a widow, anything else?”
Wendy’s already pale face whitened even more somehow as she realized what had just happened. “I… probably shouldn’t have said that last part.”
Steph seemed to take that for a ‘no’ as she bolted out the door and the last sound that either woman heard of her was the sound of her heels clicking at light speed before a door slammed and, then another and... Then a car started and peeled out.
Sunny scrunched her face up cutely as she looked at Wendy. “So....” Sunny started, trying to ignore the possible homicide about to take place. “This mean you supporting the Level X Developmental Facility?” Sunny asked with a giggle.
Wendy rubbed her eyes. “You’ve given me some things to think about. I’ve been in this business for eight years, and I’ve never really thought about any of that much. It’s always seemed like frivolous gimmickry and such, and just a distraction from where the focus is. But maybe you’re right, and presentation means more than it used to with all… of everything going around. I guess it just shows that those of us who are veterans and have done a ton still maybe have somethings to learn. I’ll tell you what. I’ll think everything over for a couple of days, and then I’ll talk to you two again in Tokyo.”
Sunny wraps her arms around Wendy, probably much like the redhead’s daughter might. “YAAAAY!!!! We show you good, promises.” Sunny released the hug with a wide smile. “Um...mind if I go try to stop Stephanie from killing husband so she can fly to Tokyo too?”
“Probably a good idea.” Wendy said, rising to her own feet. “I’ll see you in Japan, Sunny.”
No comments:
Post a Comment