Dominic Pericolo :: Challenge of a Lifetime

Fuck the American Nightmare. Fuck everything that it ever did to me in my past. I have a future now--I have something that I never thought I would have. I have a meaning, I have new dreams, and I have a reason. Suki Minamoto has opened me up to a future I didn't think I stood a chance of having. A future that I never thought was possible.

And now here I am.

Places I've made it to, things I've done, accomplishments that few men have the chance of saying. I'm one of the longest reigning HWF North American champions. I'm, in fact, a 3 time NA champion there as well. I've made it to round three of When Worlds Collide. I almost made it to the finals of King of Violence. I almost defeated Steve Sharp for the world title.

Almost. Almost. Almost.

It's always been me coming close, always been me not quite making it. Always been me, refusing to believe in a dream right in front of me. Refusing to believe that the very key to my success could possibly lie in the very woman before my very eyes. There are things that I now know that never before could I have even began to process in my mind. Love, an emotion I haven't felt ever since Crystal was around, and yet it seems so much stronger now. It's strange, it's as though I almost forgot what love felt like.

It's like I almost forgot what it can truly do to a person, all the changes it can make for the better. There's some things that I never thought were possible, things such as my making it this far in the very industry that as a child I dreamed about entering.

Mercury.

So you're my round three opponent...I have to say, I'm thankful. You are without a doubt one of the most talented men in that ring I've seen in this bracket, and it's going to be an honor to face you. May the best man win, Mercury, I'll be happy to shake your hand after regardless.

All my life...I've been searching for the challenge that's awaited me. I'm not sure if WWC holds this challenge, but I must say that this is one of the most amazing experiences in my career. I'd like to thank those running this tournament for the chance, I truly appreciate this. This is...this is incredible. I've made it this far, I've fought this hard, and yet there's still so much more to go. This is an incredible feeling, you know, a feeling that I haven't felt outside of the HWF before.

There really is purpose here, there really is a meaning. When Worlds Collide, the name could mean so many things and yet it truly strikes home for me. This truly is a collision of worlds for me...my past and my future. My dreams and my fears. When Worlds Collide has opened up so many doors for me, and Suki Minamoto has done so much to fuel me forward through these doors.

Round three...wow. I truly can't believe that I've made it this far.

It really all seems like a blur, you know. Something that I honestly didn't think could happen. It's amazing sometimes, when you find out exactly what you're capable of. I still don't know if I have what it takes to defeat Mercury, and if I do I honestly find it hard to picture myself as the winner of the tournament. However, that doesn't mean I'll try any less because of it, as a matter of fact it makes me try even harder.

I'm the underdog again, I'll admit to that. I'll admit that I seemingly stand no chance in carrying the flag for the HWF into the finals. I'm the only representative of the place left here, Matthew Logan failing to move forward into this round in his bracket. I've advanced, and it seems as though my proverbial world has collided with Mercury.

Who is Mercury? What makes him tick? What's his in-ring style?

There's so many questions that I have in my mind about you, Mercury. There's so many things I can't help but wonder, and yet I honestly believe that I have no reason to worry. I don't believe that you'll cheat, I don't believe that you'll be arrogant about this. Apart of me wants to believe that in a way, you're like I am Mercury. That you're just as human as anyone else, just like myself. That you don't try to cover up who you are with gimmicks and masks, and that you let the world know who you really are.

That you don't hold back in the ring, that you don't let others push your beliefs to the side as though they honestly mean nothing to them. I believe, Mercury, that you will give me perhaps one of the biggest challenges that this tournament has offered me yet. And I honestly can't wait for my chance to face you. This could quite possibly be one of the best matches in our bracket, and I believe that we can make it that way for the fans.

Are you up to it, Mercury? Are you up to the challenge of giving these fans their monies worth, of truly putting on a wrestling match that they can enjoy? I'm going to throw everything I have at you, Mercury. I'm going to give you everything that I possibly can. I'll expect no less from you, I'll expect nothing but the best. I know you can give me this challenge, Mercury, I know you can.

Here's hoping that I too give you a challenge, because when I face you I'm throwing everything I have in your face, and hoping for the best.

What happens after that, well, I suppose shall be decided by our will to win. Good luck, Mercury, we'll both need it.

And here I am again, 3:20 AM in the morning.

I stare at my watch and sigh, my breath easily being seen in the cold night's air. I look up at the sky, the moon casting it's glow down upon the area. I don't know why I was up so late, why I couldn't get to sleep and why I felt so anxious about the coming days. When Worlds Collide was coming soon again, the third round had began and I would be facing off against a wrestler by the name of Mercury.

In a way, I was actually glad. I knew this man to be a challenge, and I looked forward to it quite alot. However, there was an odd sense of worry that I would actually lose this round. In a way...I didn't want to leave the tournament yet. I wanted to stay for the challenge still, to really make my impact here and let them all see what I'm really capable of. I know I'm the underdog still, and I know that everyone believes that this wrestler from the HWF, not even their best they have to offer, has no chance against the seemingly more successful and talented Mercury.

I'm afraid of losing, something that's never really happened before. I wasn't even afraid of losing to Steve Sharp, because I knew one day I'd get another shot. But who's to say there's going to be another When Worlds Collide? We're talking an entire year, a year that so many things could possibly happen in. Who am I to believe that I'll still be around when the next tournament comes? That I won't have moved on? The thought of moving on from this business saddens me and frightens me, this is my life...my dreams are here.

My dreams aren't just in the HWF, they're in the business itself. They're with When Worlds Collide, they're with anywhere that I'll ever be apart of. This..this is my very life that I'm carrying out on camera for these people. When they watch me, they don't just see a wrestler, they don't see someone who has an on-screen and off-screen personality. When they watch me on television...I'm the same man in person. Some people find it hard to believe that in this world of gimmicks and catch phrases, I honestly don't change myself for the camera at all.

They come to me expecting an icon, and they leave with the realization that despite my status I really am just like them. I'm living for my dreams, fighting for my dreams, and doing whatever I can to accomplish them. The people seem to respect the fact that I don't change who I am for the show, and that I allow myself to be real for them.

I suppose they can connect with me on a better level because of that. In a way, I'm glad that millions of people know who Dominic Pericolo really is. That so many people understand that I'm not changing myself to entertain them, that I can be myself and do it just as well. It's amazing to think that so many people respect me for this, and that so many people apparently look to me as a hero.

A hero, heheh...who would have thought I'd have ever been a 'hero'.

I could feel a smile on my face as I stared up at the night sky and sighed. So long ago the very thought of me being a hero was laughable, and I would shut the very idea completely out of my mind. I thought I had the chance to be a hero long ago, I thought I had the ability to really be the man who saved the day and I failed. I had realized I had the chance to be after the whole ordeal had occurred, I realized my failure many months too late.

But Suki has helped me see that I can still be the hero, that I still am the hero, that I thought I never was. To Suki Minamoto, I am her hero.

And that very thought makes me feel so incredible that it's really hard to comprehend such a thing to be possible. The woman that I love, the angel that saved me, looks up to me as a hero in her life. It's truly a feeling unlike any other, a feeling that seems so strange to me and yet at the same time...so true and pure that I feel myself giving in to that idea more and more each day.

"Dominic?" I heard a voice call from behind me. Turning, I saw Suki standing in the door frame of the front door, dressed in a pair of pants, a white T-Shirt and a thick jacket. She had on a pair of slippers, the backs of her feet covered by her pants as she shivered lightly. I smiled and walked over, placing my hands in my jacket pockets.

"Hey Suki...what's up? Why are you up this late?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity. She laughed lightly and punched me in the arm, shaking her head.

"So says the man who has a wrestling match in a few days...you really should get some rest Domi. It'll help you focus." she said with a smile. I stared into her eyes, allowing a soft sigh to escape my lips as I nodded.

If only she knew that she's the very reason I can focus so sharply in the ring now. If only she knew how much she's affected me for the better. She took my hand and led me gently back inside, as I closed the door behind us. She turned to me and smiled kindly, brushing her palm against my cheek.

"Hey...sleep well, okay? I'll see you in the morning. Please try to get some rest, this could really be your chance Dominic. I'm not going to stand by and watch it slip from you, I want to help as much as I can." she said, hugging me gently. I held her close and smiled, before letting her go and looking down at her.

"Hey, you've helped more then you know Suki. Thanks so much for your support...if it weren't for you, I don't know if I'd be here right now. Thank you so much...I really appreciate all of it." I said, seeing her blush lightly and smile.

We hugged each other once again, holding each other close for comfort. What seems like hours of bliss were only a mere few minutes, but in those minutes I felt so much happiness in my heart that we could damn well have stood there into the morning hours and I wouldn't have cared. Inevitably, however, we withdrew and smiled at one another again.

"It's no problem, Domi...now get some sleep okay? Sweet dreams." she said, a large smile on her face.

I nodded, chuckling softly. "You too, and don't let the bed bugs bite either." I grinned, receiving a small laugh from her. She hugged me again, still giggling a little. I hugged her to me and smiled, lowering my head and looking down over her shoulder at the ground, closing my eyes softly.

God...I love her so much.