A Childhood Dream Come True!!!

When we were kids, we all had dreams about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Some of us firemen, some policemen, some doctors, some lawyers, some pro athletes, some actors/actresses, some entertainers, some famous singers, some wanted to be superheroes like in the comics. Pretty much a lot of what I listed was what I wanted to be when I grew up. One thing not listed, because I rarely remember other kids talking about it, was being a professional wrestler. When I was a kid, a few of the many idols I had were people like Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Sargent Slaughter, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and Hulk Hogan. Some of those names you may not recognize, but I know everyone recognizes Hulk Hogan. Who doesn’t?? The guy was a legend in the world of professional wrestling. He fought wars in the ring, he entertained, and he stood for all that was good in the world. He was an iconic legend for all of us to look up to. With his famous saying, “Say your prayers, take your vitamins, and exercise” all the little kids wanted to be like him. I mean who didn’t wanna be a “Hulk-a-maniac”? I mean and his other line, “Whatcha gonna do, when the largest arms in the world, and all of Hulkamania runs wild on you?”…it’s unforgettable!!! I wanted to be like Hulk Hogan someday. Or Sargent Slaughter, heck maybe even “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair!!!

Well…I wasn’t the best at sports in school. I wasn’t the super jock. I never tried out for the wrestling team. (Probably because this 140 pound dork would have gotten killed!!) I went off after high school and joined the Navy. I got in shape in boot camp…I went to my schools, went to Italy for my first duty station. Then I went to Virginia for my next one. Then I was given shore duty in NJ. And that’s when I made a dream come true.

I was working part time hours when I first got to my command. I was bored, I needed something to do. So I got a part-time job at a gas station in Lakewood. While working there one day with a guy named Kent…we somehow got onto a discussion about wrestling. I started to reminisce and talk about watching Hulk, Andre, Ricky, Flair, Rude, The Warrior, etc…and then Kent said to me, have you heard of ECW, I responded yeah, Extreme Championship Wrestling, with Tommy Dreamer, the Dudley Boys, and Raven, and Shane Douglas. He informed me, he wrestles in Raven’s Flock…his name was Lupas. I had started to remember seeing him…because in wrestling his clothing was obviously different, and his hair style was different too. I was like no way!!! Dude…you’re awesome…you get to do what I have always wanted to do. Well, he offered me the chance to try it. I jumped at it of course. So, the following Monday we met up and went to “Iron” Mike Sharpe’s School of Professional Wrestling in Asbury Park. I remembered Iron Mike from the days of watching him on Saturday mornings when I was younger, and he was famous for chopping people. I got to try out some basic things, and took a few body slams, clotheslines, punches, kicks, hip tosses…it was awesome!!! I signed up immediately!!!

So for 1 year, I trained, and trained, and trained every Monday night from 7-9pm…sometimes even till 10pm…it was great!!! I learned all kinds of things, like arm drags, suplexes, atomic drops, DDTs, figure-four leg locks, sleeper holds, just to name a few. I did my best to learn what I could, how to take them, how to give them, and most importantly, how to not get hurt doing any of them!!! I started to referee matches after training for only six months, so I had to learn how to take ref bumps. One of the most important things I learned was how to entertain the crowd. If you don’t keep the crowd entertained…they won’t care at all about your match. There was only one issue I was afraid of…I was kinda shy in large crowds…so I had to overcome my fear of embarrassing myself in front of the 50-100 people I would be performing in front of. I wasn’t expecting to be in the “big leagues” like the WWF, WCW, or ECW…for me it would be the smaller crowds, smaller shows…and that was fine with me!!!

Well…finally after a year of training…I was asked by one of my trainers, The Jersey Hurricane, if I would be in his show. Of course I said yes…and my very 1st match was held at Edison High School, in the gym, in front of about 120 people. Boy was I scared!!! I was also, thrilled, excited, and anxious…it was an awesome feeling…I was giddy like a little kid!!! My match was was supposed to be a tag match. My gimmick was a military style, I was called The Battleship!! Fitting huh?? As I was still in the Navy…why not…right??!! Well…I was supposed to do a tag team match with Lt Warhead…and we were gonna face Duke Dastardly and Professor T Eacher. Well…Lt Warhead got hurt a week before the show…so they turned it into a singles match…The Battleship vs. Duke Dastardly w/Professor T Eacher as his manager. Boy was I green…and by that I mean nervous…and so raw. I barely had any offense…I got the snot pounded outta me. I lost the match by DQ…as I used the briefcase, the Professor brought, on Duke before he used it on me…and the referee saw it. So…I lost my first match…but it was AWESOME!! My wife was there…before she was my wife, and some friends too…they were happy for me.

I went back to training more…to improve…and by my next match…I think it was 3 months later, I was greatly improved. I wrestled in my first Battle Royal…20 wrestlers in the ring, the only way to get eliminated, was to be thrown over the top rope. This was something I NEVER practiced before. I was one of the final four participants…and me and The Freak got eliminated at the same time by Lupas. It wasn’t so bad going over…as I was able to watch my landing on the hard gym floor…using the bottom rope for some leverage and ease. It was GREAT!!! LOL Then…later on in that show…I wrestled against Lupas aka Kent, who got me into wrestling…and we wrestled for his US East Coast Championship (or something like that…I don’t remember)…it was a title match…which was awesome to me!!! This was one of my best matches…I had a LOT more offense…and working with Kent was just one of the best experiences…he knew how to play off the crowd!!! This time I had my wife, my sister, my brother-in-law, and a bunch of friends!!! They were excited, impressed, and thrilled for me!!! I lost that match…but I didn’t care…I was doing my childhood dream…it was an amazing experience!!!

I wrestled for almost 3½ years…before I hurt my knee…and I decided to stop. I could do it again…now…but I am pushing 40…and well…that may not be the wisest thing to do…but then again…I am not known for being too wise…LOL I was tag team champion with The Jersey Hurricane twice, and 6-man tag team champion. I finished with my head held high!! It was a great experience. I have some of the video footage of my matches…watching them brings back some great memories!! The point or moral of this story I guess…if there is one…is to never give up on your dreams completely…cause you never know when one can come true!!!
I have babbled on for long enough!! Till next time!!!

Deadly Hole???

What is up with a dog's need to dig a hole???!!! Especially when you yell at them constantly to stop??? This hole next to a trash can that's covering another hole...I just filled in!!!! Can't you stop the madness Buddy??? Just for a moment??!! Anyone else have this problem?? How did you resolve it??