Uncle Leo
06-16-2012, 01:47 AM
… and that’s finding a unique perspective that nobody else has, thus distinguishing you from everyone else.
The inspiration, or my “muse” rather, for this column stems from the feedback I received about my first column. I wasn’t expecting as many posts as I initially got, considering the forum being down, which was and is really annoying since I kept looking to see if it was back up and running, curious to see if anyone else had left a comment. But I digress, two comments, in specific, really resonated with me. They were from Al Laiman and mizfan
You have a voice. Try to make yourself unique. Find a perspective that no one else has and find your true voice. Keep writing, even when you don't feel the muse. Sometimes you have to write 200,000 words that nobody will ever see to get 50,000 words of gold.
You're a theatre man, for god's sake! Let your creativity run wild! Start thinking of how you can bring something to the table that nobody else can bring.
And now the pressure is on! My voice. My voice? I just thought I had found an outlet to voice my opinions about the 6/4 episode of Monday Night Raw. I didn’t realize that I actually represented something. How could I make myself unique? I’m doing what everyone else on this forum is doing, which is writing about wrestling. Well, I thought and I thought and it dawned on me. I’m in the same situation as a brand new wrestler, who is about to make his or her debut on WWE television.
Now, I’m obviously nowhere near to being a wrestler of any kind. I may be six feet tall, but I’m 220 pounds of barely any muscle. I could list all my flaws, but what good would that do to my already low confidence, am I right? Anyways, I may not literally be in the same situation as a wrestler, but I’m in a similar situation figuratively, which is far safer and lamer. Writing wrestling columns on this forum isn’t a job like being a professional wrestler is. I don’t eat, sleep, and breathe writing columns. It isn’t my life. If I don’t ever make it to the main page (which I would assume is the “ultimate reward/goal” here in the section), then it’s not the end of the world. Yes, that would be amazing, but I’m focusing on getting better at this, plus I’m passionate about it. You know who else wants to master his craft and is passionate about it? A superstar who has been called up to the WWE. Just for the sake of an example and a point I’m trying to make, let’s use Damien Sandow. This long introduction finally brings me to the meat of my column. Let's all put on our "imaginary caps" and hope you enjoy the ride I'm about to take you on (this is getting SkitZ-level weird)
March 16, 2012 - Aaron Stevens gets a phone call from one of the WWE road agents. "Hey, Stevens, we need you in Philly on Monday. We have some things to discuss with you." Stevens, formerly known to the world as Idol Stevens, was not a stranger to being a WWE superstar. He used to wrestle on a weekly basis on Smackdown! back in 2004. He arrived early, that Monday, to the Wells Fargo Center where Monday Night Raw was going to be held live later that night. He eventually met up with the road agent that called him three days prior. The agent brought Stevens to Paul Levesque's office, where Paul Levesque, Johnny Ace, and a couple of other executives were waiting, expecting the young superstar. Stevens had gotten the news he thought he'd never get. The gist of the meeting was Levesque telling Stevens, "In just a couple of months, we're going to be taking you and your Damien Sandow character and will be debuting it on Smackdown!"
Stevens began attending Live Events and eventually started working the shows. At one show, he was given the microphone and was told to go out there and run with it. Levesque gave Stevens one job and that was to get the fans to hate him. "Get them to hate you." Levesque was willing to take a risk, especially during a non-televised event. It was a great way to see what Stevens can bring to the table, see if he's worthwhile. Stevens had spent almost five years in FCW, so his feet were already wet. It was swim or sink for Stevens. Lo and behold, Stevens nailed it. He drew decent heat for his first time.
When he went backstage after, the road agent shook his hand and told him he did a good job. Stevens eventually moved up to working dark matches, before RAW and Smackdown! where Levesque was able to see Stevens' performance. "You're good, kid. You're just missing something. Let's make you more arrogant. Keep the beard, but let's add some type of robe, to give you that aristocrat presence. But other than that, keep exploring. You can never stop improving. I find myself improving with each time I go out there."
March 30, 2012 - It's Wrestlemania Weekend!! Stevens wasn't booked to appear, but he still traveled with the superstars. He began to build relationships with his peers and coworkers. It was on this Friday night that Stevens found himself in a bar with Keith Irvine (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-37wIyaUmki0/Tl0vOVdV6kI/AAAAAAAADEY/yb0cNBcYUfg/s1600/admphotos151757-chris-jericho.jpg), Bryan Danielson (http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/superstar_bio/public/talent/bio/2012/01/daniel-bryan-bio.png), Phil Brooks (http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/000/422/688/punk2_original.jpg?1336478461), TJ Wilson (http://www.allwrestlingsuperstars.com/wp-content/uploads/5161/WWE-Superstar-Tyson-Kidd-18.JPG), Elizabeth Carolan (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BTlvD1JwF4A/TntBeA49KbI/AAAAAAAABZU/E52MQZVgEeo/s400/Natalya+Neidhart.jpg), and Nattie Neidhart (http://quickwrestlingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/natalya-wwe.jpg). He was listening, but more importantly, learning. This weekend was about Wrestlemania for everyone, but for him it was all about soaking up as much information as possible. Stevens, while mingling, was tapped on the shoulder. "Huh? Oh, hi Mr. Brooks." WWE champion, CM Punk, asks him if he wants to go for a walk. Stevens puts down his beer and walks out of the bar with Punk, who brings his can of Pepsi along with him.
"First of all, you can call me Phil. I'm not some high and mighty dick who insists on being called "Mister."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Talk to me, how're you doing?"
"Good, it's surreal that I'm here in Miami right now."
"Ha, yeah. I thought that way too when I went through it all, hell, I still feel like that and I've had my first Wrestlemania moment years ago."
Both men continued walking and making small talk. Before they knew it, they had made it all the way back to their hotel.
"Listen, Aaron, I wanna talk to you about something."
Stevens turned to the WWE champion, looking at him attentively.
"While they don't wanna admit it, this company is in need of a makeover. They're changing everything but the main problem, which is their crop of talent. They can't rely on Paul and Mark forever. Hell, they can't rely on John, Randy, and myself forever either. Eventually other people are going to replace us, and it's time they start focusing on those people."
"You're right. No pressure, though, haha."
“I can tell you’re passionate, but I don’t think you realize the opportunity that you have. You’re getting a credible start. They’re going to show clips of you before you even show up. One minute, two minutes at most, you have to capitalize with what you’re given. I certainly did. You get whatever you put in, remember that. It doesn’t matter if McMahon has a man crush on you. If the fans don’t react and don’t relate to you, then it’ll show and you’ll lose your spot. Trust me, it’s happened to many people and will continue to happen. I’ve seen your work. You have a great look about you and you have charisma.”
“Thank you, Phil. I look up to you and respect what you’ve achieved, but I gotta ask you something. I’ve done this before. I’ve been on Smackdown! I was in a tag team, where I got to work with KC James and Michelle McCool. I gave it my all then and it was still not enough. What do – ”
“Hey, stop. You can’t have that attitude if you wanna make it here in this business. I’ll tell you the same thing Paul Heyman told me when I was called up to the main roster. ”You gotta keep lacing up ‘em boots, go out there, and act like you’re main eventing, instead of curtain jerking. You do it on your best day and you do it on your worst. You climb through those ropes and do the same thing every time. You don’t stop until doing the same thing feels different.” Take Zack, for example, he’s losing left and right, barely making television appearances. He’s doing the same damn catchphrase, wearing the same exact clothing, and talking the same exact way six nights a week, if he’s even lucky. He took initiative and look at what he accomplished in the past four months alone.”
Punk takes a big sigh of relief.
“You face the same person for a month, right? The world only sees it once, twice, maybe even three times. It gets repetitious, but you have to find a way to make it interesting every time the bell rings. Sometimes you have to wrestle a hundred matches before you begin to feel it.”
Stevens’ eyes begin to water a bit, but he holds it back from rolling down his cheeks. These are not tears of heartache or a result of nerves, but rather, they are tears of passion and excitement. He cannot believe he has come this far and is getting advice from the man everyone knows as CM Punk.
“You clearly have the drive. Some people in the back don’t. I don’t blame them, of course. I’m not the one to judge them. There were times where I lost my drive too. The road sucks, man, and you’re putting your body on the line every night, but somehow there will always be that one moment when you know it’s all worth it. When your music hits and you come out, it just sends adrenaline throughout your entire body. I almost walked away from it all. To those that never get that drive back, though, I say move to the side and let others, who deserve it, through.”
Punk smiles and pats Stevens on the back.
“I hope you take these words to heart and start thinking of how you can bring something to the table that nobody else is bringing.”
Both men shake hands. There’s a clear mutual respect between them.
“I’m gonna call it a night. Best of luck in your career and remember, there’s always a room full of guys who are there if you ever need to talk, myself included. Good night, buddy.”
“Good night.”
Stevens is just so awed that he can’t think of what to say. Punk smiles and turns around and starts heading to the hotel door. Stevens who is trying to process all of this as quickly as he can calls out to Punk.
“Phil, thank you so much for everything. Good luck out there on Sunday. Knock ‘em dead.”
Punk smiles, nods his head, and finishes the conversation with one thing that Aaron Stevens will never forget.
“You’re welcome.”
Punk turns back and walks into the hotel, leaving Stevens to enjoy the relaxing, warm summer air in Miami, Florida, home to Wrestlemania XVIII.
The inspiration, or my “muse” rather, for this column stems from the feedback I received about my first column. I wasn’t expecting as many posts as I initially got, considering the forum being down, which was and is really annoying since I kept looking to see if it was back up and running, curious to see if anyone else had left a comment. But I digress, two comments, in specific, really resonated with me. They were from Al Laiman and mizfan
You have a voice. Try to make yourself unique. Find a perspective that no one else has and find your true voice. Keep writing, even when you don't feel the muse. Sometimes you have to write 200,000 words that nobody will ever see to get 50,000 words of gold.
You're a theatre man, for god's sake! Let your creativity run wild! Start thinking of how you can bring something to the table that nobody else can bring.
And now the pressure is on! My voice. My voice? I just thought I had found an outlet to voice my opinions about the 6/4 episode of Monday Night Raw. I didn’t realize that I actually represented something. How could I make myself unique? I’m doing what everyone else on this forum is doing, which is writing about wrestling. Well, I thought and I thought and it dawned on me. I’m in the same situation as a brand new wrestler, who is about to make his or her debut on WWE television.
Now, I’m obviously nowhere near to being a wrestler of any kind. I may be six feet tall, but I’m 220 pounds of barely any muscle. I could list all my flaws, but what good would that do to my already low confidence, am I right? Anyways, I may not literally be in the same situation as a wrestler, but I’m in a similar situation figuratively, which is far safer and lamer. Writing wrestling columns on this forum isn’t a job like being a professional wrestler is. I don’t eat, sleep, and breathe writing columns. It isn’t my life. If I don’t ever make it to the main page (which I would assume is the “ultimate reward/goal” here in the section), then it’s not the end of the world. Yes, that would be amazing, but I’m focusing on getting better at this, plus I’m passionate about it. You know who else wants to master his craft and is passionate about it? A superstar who has been called up to the WWE. Just for the sake of an example and a point I’m trying to make, let’s use Damien Sandow. This long introduction finally brings me to the meat of my column. Let's all put on our "imaginary caps" and hope you enjoy the ride I'm about to take you on (this is getting SkitZ-level weird)
March 16, 2012 - Aaron Stevens gets a phone call from one of the WWE road agents. "Hey, Stevens, we need you in Philly on Monday. We have some things to discuss with you." Stevens, formerly known to the world as Idol Stevens, was not a stranger to being a WWE superstar. He used to wrestle on a weekly basis on Smackdown! back in 2004. He arrived early, that Monday, to the Wells Fargo Center where Monday Night Raw was going to be held live later that night. He eventually met up with the road agent that called him three days prior. The agent brought Stevens to Paul Levesque's office, where Paul Levesque, Johnny Ace, and a couple of other executives were waiting, expecting the young superstar. Stevens had gotten the news he thought he'd never get. The gist of the meeting was Levesque telling Stevens, "In just a couple of months, we're going to be taking you and your Damien Sandow character and will be debuting it on Smackdown!"
Stevens began attending Live Events and eventually started working the shows. At one show, he was given the microphone and was told to go out there and run with it. Levesque gave Stevens one job and that was to get the fans to hate him. "Get them to hate you." Levesque was willing to take a risk, especially during a non-televised event. It was a great way to see what Stevens can bring to the table, see if he's worthwhile. Stevens had spent almost five years in FCW, so his feet were already wet. It was swim or sink for Stevens. Lo and behold, Stevens nailed it. He drew decent heat for his first time.
When he went backstage after, the road agent shook his hand and told him he did a good job. Stevens eventually moved up to working dark matches, before RAW and Smackdown! where Levesque was able to see Stevens' performance. "You're good, kid. You're just missing something. Let's make you more arrogant. Keep the beard, but let's add some type of robe, to give you that aristocrat presence. But other than that, keep exploring. You can never stop improving. I find myself improving with each time I go out there."
March 30, 2012 - It's Wrestlemania Weekend!! Stevens wasn't booked to appear, but he still traveled with the superstars. He began to build relationships with his peers and coworkers. It was on this Friday night that Stevens found himself in a bar with Keith Irvine (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-37wIyaUmki0/Tl0vOVdV6kI/AAAAAAAADEY/yb0cNBcYUfg/s1600/admphotos151757-chris-jericho.jpg), Bryan Danielson (http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/superstar_bio/public/talent/bio/2012/01/daniel-bryan-bio.png), Phil Brooks (http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/000/422/688/punk2_original.jpg?1336478461), TJ Wilson (http://www.allwrestlingsuperstars.com/wp-content/uploads/5161/WWE-Superstar-Tyson-Kidd-18.JPG), Elizabeth Carolan (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BTlvD1JwF4A/TntBeA49KbI/AAAAAAAABZU/E52MQZVgEeo/s400/Natalya+Neidhart.jpg), and Nattie Neidhart (http://quickwrestlingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/natalya-wwe.jpg). He was listening, but more importantly, learning. This weekend was about Wrestlemania for everyone, but for him it was all about soaking up as much information as possible. Stevens, while mingling, was tapped on the shoulder. "Huh? Oh, hi Mr. Brooks." WWE champion, CM Punk, asks him if he wants to go for a walk. Stevens puts down his beer and walks out of the bar with Punk, who brings his can of Pepsi along with him.
"First of all, you can call me Phil. I'm not some high and mighty dick who insists on being called "Mister."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Talk to me, how're you doing?"
"Good, it's surreal that I'm here in Miami right now."
"Ha, yeah. I thought that way too when I went through it all, hell, I still feel like that and I've had my first Wrestlemania moment years ago."
Both men continued walking and making small talk. Before they knew it, they had made it all the way back to their hotel.
"Listen, Aaron, I wanna talk to you about something."
Stevens turned to the WWE champion, looking at him attentively.
"While they don't wanna admit it, this company is in need of a makeover. They're changing everything but the main problem, which is their crop of talent. They can't rely on Paul and Mark forever. Hell, they can't rely on John, Randy, and myself forever either. Eventually other people are going to replace us, and it's time they start focusing on those people."
"You're right. No pressure, though, haha."
“I can tell you’re passionate, but I don’t think you realize the opportunity that you have. You’re getting a credible start. They’re going to show clips of you before you even show up. One minute, two minutes at most, you have to capitalize with what you’re given. I certainly did. You get whatever you put in, remember that. It doesn’t matter if McMahon has a man crush on you. If the fans don’t react and don’t relate to you, then it’ll show and you’ll lose your spot. Trust me, it’s happened to many people and will continue to happen. I’ve seen your work. You have a great look about you and you have charisma.”
“Thank you, Phil. I look up to you and respect what you’ve achieved, but I gotta ask you something. I’ve done this before. I’ve been on Smackdown! I was in a tag team, where I got to work with KC James and Michelle McCool. I gave it my all then and it was still not enough. What do – ”
“Hey, stop. You can’t have that attitude if you wanna make it here in this business. I’ll tell you the same thing Paul Heyman told me when I was called up to the main roster. ”You gotta keep lacing up ‘em boots, go out there, and act like you’re main eventing, instead of curtain jerking. You do it on your best day and you do it on your worst. You climb through those ropes and do the same thing every time. You don’t stop until doing the same thing feels different.” Take Zack, for example, he’s losing left and right, barely making television appearances. He’s doing the same damn catchphrase, wearing the same exact clothing, and talking the same exact way six nights a week, if he’s even lucky. He took initiative and look at what he accomplished in the past four months alone.”
Punk takes a big sigh of relief.
“You face the same person for a month, right? The world only sees it once, twice, maybe even three times. It gets repetitious, but you have to find a way to make it interesting every time the bell rings. Sometimes you have to wrestle a hundred matches before you begin to feel it.”
Stevens’ eyes begin to water a bit, but he holds it back from rolling down his cheeks. These are not tears of heartache or a result of nerves, but rather, they are tears of passion and excitement. He cannot believe he has come this far and is getting advice from the man everyone knows as CM Punk.
“You clearly have the drive. Some people in the back don’t. I don’t blame them, of course. I’m not the one to judge them. There were times where I lost my drive too. The road sucks, man, and you’re putting your body on the line every night, but somehow there will always be that one moment when you know it’s all worth it. When your music hits and you come out, it just sends adrenaline throughout your entire body. I almost walked away from it all. To those that never get that drive back, though, I say move to the side and let others, who deserve it, through.”
Punk smiles and pats Stevens on the back.
“I hope you take these words to heart and start thinking of how you can bring something to the table that nobody else is bringing.”
Both men shake hands. There’s a clear mutual respect between them.
“I’m gonna call it a night. Best of luck in your career and remember, there’s always a room full of guys who are there if you ever need to talk, myself included. Good night, buddy.”
“Good night.”
Stevens is just so awed that he can’t think of what to say. Punk smiles and turns around and starts heading to the hotel door. Stevens who is trying to process all of this as quickly as he can calls out to Punk.
“Phil, thank you so much for everything. Good luck out there on Sunday. Knock ‘em dead.”
Punk smiles, nods his head, and finishes the conversation with one thing that Aaron Stevens will never forget.
“You’re welcome.”
Punk turns back and walks into the hotel, leaving Stevens to enjoy the relaxing, warm summer air in Miami, Florida, home to Wrestlemania XVIII.