Post by Yujiro Fujiwara on Sept 18, 2016 14:11:24 GMT -5
2012—my, what a year that was.
In December of 2011, I hoped back in the industry of professional wrestling. Prior to that, I had be gone for a year or so. My career truly began when I signed to a promotion named Xtreme Wrestling Federation. Yeah, I know, “edgy,” right?
Regardless of it’s idiotic name, XDF was a decent place to work, especially right out of training. The promotion had been bank-rolled by a couple of prominent, wealthy wrestling fans. I guess watching wrestling on their TV screens wasn’t enough; they wanted to get up, close, and personal. And so, they built XDF from the ground up.
They invested their own money, which was the promotion’s fatal mistake. Simply put, XDF grew too fast. It should have started small and grew gradually; that would be a proper business plan. Instead, XDF presented itself as major player from day one. This means that right off the bat, the company began signing wrestlers out of it’s price range, advertizing at an insane rate, etc.
In short, XDF was a money pit. So, eventually, it ended up closing.
Unlike some wrestlers out there, I’ve got a degree. Well, two actually. So, I landed back on my feet and found a job. I’m a paralegal by trade. So, I contacted a local law firm, and got put on some cases.
Soon though, I felt the ring calling me.
So, as any fool would, I came running back to the sport. In my search, I ran across a tiny place called UWA. Now, UWA was your typical independent promotion: small, understaffed, overlooked. It was a hole-in-a-wall that’s for damn sure.
However, it was a place to work. It was a place to expand. And so, I joined.
It’s funny, I joined UWA to wrestle and kick some ass. Those were near-sighted goals if I were to be completely honest with myself.
What I didn’t know about UWA before I signed, was that I was my talent leagues above everyone else there. I know that sounds arrogant and rude. However, if you go on Google, you can find some full UWA shows. I’ve gone back and watched them. Back then, I was good in the ring, but I wasn’t great. But, because of the people around me, I looked like LeBron James.
In short, I was big fish in a miniscule pond.
During my time in UWA, which was about six to seven months, I captured the UWA World Championship on two separate occasions.
That’s kind of wild to think about, considering my family’s history. You see, my father and grandfather were both wrestlers as well. Dad did well for himself, he was popular, skilled, and well-known here in America and Japan. Grandfather? Well, not so much. Grandfather was respected by his peers. However, as far as success and accolades went, he had little to show.
It...it might sound selfish, but, when I decided to become a wrestler, I knew that I had to do better than he did. That was all that was on my mind. And, in a matter of months, I did that.
UWA later closed down to financial troubles as well. Fans just weren’t watching the product. And, instead of waste time, effort, and money, the people in charge packed it up and went home. It was a smart move, in the grand scheme of things.
After UWA, I put my suit back on and went back into the courts. Six months later, I married my beautiful girlfriend, Cammy. Later on, I was offered a training position at a wrestling school…
Things have been good.
So, I’m hoping this new venture doesn’t fuck things up, you know? The name who trained me, Flex Johnson, always told me that wrestling was a drug. Once you get the first hit, you’re addicted. It sounded like a crock of shit when he first explained it to me—but, now that I’ve had time to reflect, he was right. Every time I try to step away, I keep getting pulled back in.
I suppose that’s why I’m in Redemption Wrestling right now. I was happy. Things were going well...extremely well. And yet, I couldn’t ignore the call to get back in there and compete.
...Hmm, I guess there’s no need to stress; it does me no good. My wife as given me permission; and my job has given me permission. This...this is what I want. So, there’s no use second-guessing this decision.
