Post by "Captain" Joe Stall on Jul 1, 2011 20:51:26 GMT
Let me tell you about war…
I fought in Vietnam. In country I made some of the best friend I’d ever make, including the late great Alan Foulds senior, son of FWF and UCW Champion Aland Foulds junior and the co-founder of UCW with Sandy Strachon. He is without a doubt the reason I am the man I am today. I also saw some of the worst sights imaginable. And those are things that I relieve over and over again in my dreams and sometimes even when I just close my eyes.
Because of all that I can’t stop wrestling. I step into that ring every chance I get and fight those flashbacks by pounding the stuffing out of every warrior that I come across, and win or lose, those memories drive me to compete at level at sixty years old that few men can maintain into their forties. They’ve also on multiple occasions took me to some very dark places and caused me to forsake my closest friends and even my family.
Nowadays the war I fight is with my own body. If it had its way it would betray me and force me to quit doing what I need to do. Quite frankly it’s a miracle that I still have either of my original knees let alone both. And while most guys my age are taking it easy to avoid breaking a hip I toss myself around the ring every week and fight men almost half my age. I know that I’m not superman and if I get injured at this stage in life my career is done for, but I can’t stop.
So all I can do is keep training. I’ve been working with Marcus Brody senior to maintain and improve my condition. And now I’m prepared to defend my title in what will surely be a brutal battle with Christian Lee, Wild Bill Legend, and Benny Starr. At my side will be my grandson James and Marcus’ son Marcus junior.
James has become another problem. I’ve been helping him train and get training from others for months, and he’s just recently quit FWF. My son in-law and FWF Chairman Pain had told me during my training sessions with Marcus senior. I quickly sent Marcus away and stomped around the gym waiting for my son to come back for his afternoon session with Brody.
He walked in earlier than I expected, and to my surprise he had brought the son of Dan the Dragon Taylor with him. I wasted no time in stepping up to him and letting him know what was going to happen.
“We need to talk.”
I could see I was putting young Danny T in an awkward position. He was looking off to the side wishing he was anywhere but here in the middle of this family squabble. James was looking right at me with legs spread apart and his chest out. He looked over at Danny.
“Danny, if you would be so kind… I’ll meet you in the locker-room.”
Danny nodded and took off in a brisk walk toward the lockers leaving me and my Grandson to square off against each other alone.
“What are you doing?”
“I believe I just made a new friend.”
I stepped toward him shaking my head. In the old days this would have caused James to stagger backward, but on this day he didn’t even budge.
“Quitting James? Really?”
James simply stood there and nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked at him and wondered how he could possibly do this to himself to his career. I couldn’t understand.
“And you didn’t even tell me you were considering this?”
He could have come to me. We would have talked this out. I would have talked some sense into him. Hell even if he still really wanted to do it I would have been able to support him afterward.
“It was none of your business.”
I stepped forward again and couldn’t help raising my voice.
“I’m your Grandfather. How is it not my business?”
James simply looked toward the empty ring.
“You didn’t tell me about training with Brody.”
That much was true. I hadn’t told him that I was training with Marcus Brody senior to keep myself in shape. But I didn’t think that would matter. I hadn’t even told Pain.
“That’s different.”
James head slowly moved from the ring back toward me.
“How? I didn’t tell you I was quitting. You didn’t tell me you were staying indefinitely.”
“What do you have against me staying?”
I couldn’t understand it. We had had good times. Hadn’t we? We had bonded over these last few months like never before. I had trained him intensely, I had set him on what I thought was the right course in his career, and now we were going to be on the same team together Grandfather and Grandson sharing the ring. Was he resenting me for all that?
“I was supposed to be the only Stall here. Hall of Famer’s are supposed to stay retired. But of course shame on me for thinking that when around here it seems once you get inducted it’s only a month or two before you start planning your comeback. Why are you still here?”
I thought he knew. I thought he understood. I placed one large hand on his shoulder.
“I’m here for the same reason you are, because I love to wrestle, because I need to wrestle.”
I brushed me off and stood right in my face. Although he’s still a few inches shorter than me he looked at me with a stare whose intensity I had only seen mirrored in a select few opponent’s in my day.
“No. You’re here because you need to be remembered. You’re here because you want to hear your name screamed. You can’t stand the idea of falling into irrelevance, and letting people take your place. I really thought this whole thing was just going to be one last push to be remembered and by Jealousy you’d have retired and that belt would be what we’d fight for in the tournament. But apparently that’s not going to be the case.”
I looked down at him and I couldn’t stop looking at his eyes. I tried to return his glare with one of my own, but I could feel the hollowness of it. Maybe I really have mellowed in my old age.
“You better get used to it boy. I’m sticking around here for the foreseeable future.”
“To do what? Get your ass kicked in by the young guys coming up? How much longer until your knees finally give out for good Grandpa. Your run may be good right now, but you’re heading for an abrupt end. And let’s face it, everything you’re doing now with is just bandaging old wounds.”
That glare. The more I looked at him the more intense it got. I knew I’d seen it only once before, but I just couldn’t place it.
“I’ll have you know I’m in great physical condition.”
I pounded my chest in emphasis.
“Now? You might be in good physical condition, but face it. You’re sixty years old. You peaked in ninety six. And you may have been able to hold that condition, but we all know you haven’t been the same since you blew out your knee in two thousand two fighting Oz Van Damn and “Dark” Mark Lloyd for the Intercontinental Championship.”
That was it. The intensity, that resentment, that… hatred? I had only seen it in one other man. Put a mask on him and James was a spitting image of “Dark” Mark Lloyd. I broke eye contact.
“You’ve done your homework.”
I felt my hands reach for knees, and I felt a twinge in my lower back.
“I watch tape on everybody. I’ve watched every match you’ve ever over and over again.”
I did my best to straighten back up and look at James again.
“If you’re afraid that you’ll have to face me for the title-“
James scoffed and shook his head, but his eyes had the same intensity.
“Afraid to face you? I’m afraid I’d have to embarrass you. And then what would that do for me? Nothing. It’ll do nothing because I didn’t beat the ninety six Joe Stall. Hell I didn’t even beat the oh four Joe Stall. I beat the Joe Stall who enjoys the early bird special at Denny’s.”
He shoved his finger into my chest and then turned and began to walk off toward the locker-room.
“Boy."
That stopped him dead in his tracks. His back was still to me.
“What?”
I needed to know one thing.
“Be honest with me. Am I going to have to watch my back in that cage?”
James turned around and looked at me one last time with that fiery gaze.
“No. I’ve got your back. I want to win that match us much as you do, but you can expect me to be the most dominant wrestler in the ring. You’re about two steps slower than you were in ninety six, and that means you’re about five steps behind me.”
And with that he turned around and left me in standing there. Alone.
I fought in Vietnam. In country I made some of the best friend I’d ever make, including the late great Alan Foulds senior, son of FWF and UCW Champion Aland Foulds junior and the co-founder of UCW with Sandy Strachon. He is without a doubt the reason I am the man I am today. I also saw some of the worst sights imaginable. And those are things that I relieve over and over again in my dreams and sometimes even when I just close my eyes.
Because of all that I can’t stop wrestling. I step into that ring every chance I get and fight those flashbacks by pounding the stuffing out of every warrior that I come across, and win or lose, those memories drive me to compete at level at sixty years old that few men can maintain into their forties. They’ve also on multiple occasions took me to some very dark places and caused me to forsake my closest friends and even my family.
Nowadays the war I fight is with my own body. If it had its way it would betray me and force me to quit doing what I need to do. Quite frankly it’s a miracle that I still have either of my original knees let alone both. And while most guys my age are taking it easy to avoid breaking a hip I toss myself around the ring every week and fight men almost half my age. I know that I’m not superman and if I get injured at this stage in life my career is done for, but I can’t stop.
So all I can do is keep training. I’ve been working with Marcus Brody senior to maintain and improve my condition. And now I’m prepared to defend my title in what will surely be a brutal battle with Christian Lee, Wild Bill Legend, and Benny Starr. At my side will be my grandson James and Marcus’ son Marcus junior.
James has become another problem. I’ve been helping him train and get training from others for months, and he’s just recently quit FWF. My son in-law and FWF Chairman Pain had told me during my training sessions with Marcus senior. I quickly sent Marcus away and stomped around the gym waiting for my son to come back for his afternoon session with Brody.
He walked in earlier than I expected, and to my surprise he had brought the son of Dan the Dragon Taylor with him. I wasted no time in stepping up to him and letting him know what was going to happen.
“We need to talk.”
I could see I was putting young Danny T in an awkward position. He was looking off to the side wishing he was anywhere but here in the middle of this family squabble. James was looking right at me with legs spread apart and his chest out. He looked over at Danny.
“Danny, if you would be so kind… I’ll meet you in the locker-room.”
Danny nodded and took off in a brisk walk toward the lockers leaving me and my Grandson to square off against each other alone.
“What are you doing?”
“I believe I just made a new friend.”
I stepped toward him shaking my head. In the old days this would have caused James to stagger backward, but on this day he didn’t even budge.
“Quitting James? Really?”
James simply stood there and nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked at him and wondered how he could possibly do this to himself to his career. I couldn’t understand.
“And you didn’t even tell me you were considering this?”
He could have come to me. We would have talked this out. I would have talked some sense into him. Hell even if he still really wanted to do it I would have been able to support him afterward.
“It was none of your business.”
I stepped forward again and couldn’t help raising my voice.
“I’m your Grandfather. How is it not my business?”
James simply looked toward the empty ring.
“You didn’t tell me about training with Brody.”
That much was true. I hadn’t told him that I was training with Marcus Brody senior to keep myself in shape. But I didn’t think that would matter. I hadn’t even told Pain.
“That’s different.”
James head slowly moved from the ring back toward me.
“How? I didn’t tell you I was quitting. You didn’t tell me you were staying indefinitely.”
“What do you have against me staying?”
I couldn’t understand it. We had had good times. Hadn’t we? We had bonded over these last few months like never before. I had trained him intensely, I had set him on what I thought was the right course in his career, and now we were going to be on the same team together Grandfather and Grandson sharing the ring. Was he resenting me for all that?
“I was supposed to be the only Stall here. Hall of Famer’s are supposed to stay retired. But of course shame on me for thinking that when around here it seems once you get inducted it’s only a month or two before you start planning your comeback. Why are you still here?”
I thought he knew. I thought he understood. I placed one large hand on his shoulder.
“I’m here for the same reason you are, because I love to wrestle, because I need to wrestle.”
I brushed me off and stood right in my face. Although he’s still a few inches shorter than me he looked at me with a stare whose intensity I had only seen mirrored in a select few opponent’s in my day.
“No. You’re here because you need to be remembered. You’re here because you want to hear your name screamed. You can’t stand the idea of falling into irrelevance, and letting people take your place. I really thought this whole thing was just going to be one last push to be remembered and by Jealousy you’d have retired and that belt would be what we’d fight for in the tournament. But apparently that’s not going to be the case.”
I looked down at him and I couldn’t stop looking at his eyes. I tried to return his glare with one of my own, but I could feel the hollowness of it. Maybe I really have mellowed in my old age.
“You better get used to it boy. I’m sticking around here for the foreseeable future.”
“To do what? Get your ass kicked in by the young guys coming up? How much longer until your knees finally give out for good Grandpa. Your run may be good right now, but you’re heading for an abrupt end. And let’s face it, everything you’re doing now with is just bandaging old wounds.”
That glare. The more I looked at him the more intense it got. I knew I’d seen it only once before, but I just couldn’t place it.
“I’ll have you know I’m in great physical condition.”
I pounded my chest in emphasis.
“Now? You might be in good physical condition, but face it. You’re sixty years old. You peaked in ninety six. And you may have been able to hold that condition, but we all know you haven’t been the same since you blew out your knee in two thousand two fighting Oz Van Damn and “Dark” Mark Lloyd for the Intercontinental Championship.”
That was it. The intensity, that resentment, that… hatred? I had only seen it in one other man. Put a mask on him and James was a spitting image of “Dark” Mark Lloyd. I broke eye contact.
“You’ve done your homework.”
I felt my hands reach for knees, and I felt a twinge in my lower back.
“I watch tape on everybody. I’ve watched every match you’ve ever over and over again.”
I did my best to straighten back up and look at James again.
“If you’re afraid that you’ll have to face me for the title-“
James scoffed and shook his head, but his eyes had the same intensity.
“Afraid to face you? I’m afraid I’d have to embarrass you. And then what would that do for me? Nothing. It’ll do nothing because I didn’t beat the ninety six Joe Stall. Hell I didn’t even beat the oh four Joe Stall. I beat the Joe Stall who enjoys the early bird special at Denny’s.”
He shoved his finger into my chest and then turned and began to walk off toward the locker-room.
“Boy."
That stopped him dead in his tracks. His back was still to me.
“What?”
I needed to know one thing.
“Be honest with me. Am I going to have to watch my back in that cage?”
James turned around and looked at me one last time with that fiery gaze.
“No. I’ve got your back. I want to win that match us much as you do, but you can expect me to be the most dominant wrestler in the ring. You’re about two steps slower than you were in ninety six, and that means you’re about five steps behind me.”
And with that he turned around and left me in standing there. Alone.
