[FADE IN to “The Dragon” leaning against the boot of his red 3.16i BMW in a small gravel car park near a river in the countryside. He’s dressed rather differently to normal, foregoing jeans for a pair of red tight-fitting casual shorts, with a black Animezing Dragon T-shirt and a pair of deck blue deck shoes. The sun is brilliant in the sky, reflecting off the river just to the edge of shot]
Karl: Summer’s almost here, and that always seems to brighten the mood. Of course, some people aren’t summer people; Otaku’s locked himself in his room back in the States to keep from getting too strong a tan, something about not wanting to look like Peach Girl. But for the rest of us, the sunshine brings more light, more joy, longer days and more opportunities. They’re everywhere.
Of course, my good mood could be down to seeing some wonderful improve comedy with MissImp in Nottingham last night. But the thought of new opportunities, of people coming through and grabbing their chance… it’s good to see.
Dreamstealers, they’re sure to get their opportunity soon. Whether they live up to the hype of their manager we’ll have to wait and see. Several times people have come in, been hyped by their manager, only to fade away quicker than a snuffed candle. It could be they’re fantastic elsewhere but fail when they get to Empire Pro. I’ve seen enough videos to have seen people be amazing in one company but fail in a different one. They get comfortable with what they know. It’s like… imagine a bird living its life in a cage. It gets used to its surroundings, and if there’re other birds in the cage as well it may be the top bird. But when they get outside the cage and spread their wings, they might find it more than they bargained for, so they’ll either go back into their familiar cage or go to another one rather than fly through the big wide world. I’ll believe the hype about Dreamstealers when I see them against Otaku and I.
I get to see in person another team who are after their shot at glory first, though. Point of View. It’s good to see two up and comers who are ready to try and grasp their opportunity with both hands.
Yep. Try. Because you can’t actually be sure you’ll seize the chance you’ve been given. I’ve seen people who, frankly, were better than me in almost every way, but they couldn’t grasp the chance. They had the skills, the power, the speed, the charisma, and they thought they had the heart. But… the bright lights, they’re unnerving if you’re not used to them or you’re not used to making a prat of yourself in public. You’ve had some time in front of small crowds, but if you’re like most people the lights, the sounds, the energy of the grand solar spectacle that is professional wrestling will put butterflies in your stomach to say the least.
Me, I’ve always been a little different. So, here’s some advice to get over the butterflies. Don’t give a damn what happens. Don’t give a damn what people say or whether people cheer, boo, or leave to go to the toilet during the match. Leave Dan to worry about those things. You shouldn’t even concentrate on blocking out the crowd and the surroundings – focus on the moment.
That’s the first piece of advice, from someone who’s been making a prat out of himself in sport, in music, in presenting and now in improvised comedy, since I was 8.
The second piece of advice, I have to give personally to you, Eric. 3 time All American? I honestly have no idea what an All American is, except people in the States think it’s impressive. It’s not something you want to focus on, especially with a Briton in the match. Even more so when you talk about people admiring your athletic talent since you were 15. I’ve already mentioned I started sport at 8, I was a black belt at 11, and I’m a Master in Taekwondo. At school I competed for the county in athletics and the three counties in rugby for three years, and placed well in national fencing competitions. From 18 to 21 I took time during holidays to travel to Canada, Japan, Mexico, Europe and the United States to train in professional wrestling. I’m now 29, with 21 years of training and athleticism behind me. Whatever an All American is, whether you’ve had people interested in you since you were 15, doesn’t really matter to me. It’s wasted effort.
Above all else, it’s wasted in this business. You may have natural sporting ability, but this isn’t something like boxing where you train intensively for a while and then take a few months off. It’s not even like when I did rugby and we had two matches a week. This business is seven days a week. Some of the people in it wrestle TV shows, house shows and tours across the country. I remember Blitz when they were in Empire Pro also competed in other continents, jetting back and forth to make tapings in the States. Cameron Cruise, Marcus Wescott, Christian Sands, Sean Stevens, The First, all competed in multiple venues. There’s a very different discipline to this competitive environment to anything you’re used to, a mental and physical discipline that is unlike anything else I’ve experienced.
I’m not trying to knock you – like I said, I haven’t a clue what an All American is, let alone a 3 time one. But nobody in Empire Pro is going to be impressed, because you need to prove you have the discipline for this environment. Anything you say about what you’ve done before means nothing until you’ve backed it up here.
Save your breath for now, and concentrate on the moment in front of you. You’ve got an opportunity that statistically nobody gets. Less than a fraction of a percentage of people in this business even make it to a major company, and you’ve got a chance to shine. A real opportunity, the same I had when I first laced up my boots for a professional match.
I took the chance, and I ran with it. I hope you guys can as well, because while it may sound like I’m pouring cold water on you, I know this business needs a future it can rely on. I’m nowhere near old enough to consider retirement, but hey, I’m considered a battle-weary veteran in some parts, so I guess I should pass out advice and hope it sticks.
Naturally, though, if you two want to grasp this opportunity, you have to beat Otaku and I at our best. There’s no chance of us underestimating you. Overestimating, maybe, we’ll see. I have a habit of overestimating other people in the ring, but I’m sure you guys are the same in that you’d prefer to be disappointed that the challenge wasn’t what you expected instead of disappointed you weren’t as good as you thought you’d be.
It wouldn’t do anyone any favours for any of us to give this anything less than the best we can on the night.
Well, I better head off. I’ve got a bit of a drive and a Eurovision show to present tonight. Think on what I’ve said, and remember – win or lose for you, how you handle yourselves will say far more than your experience, or your history.
[FADE OUT]