#StandWithSammy - an invitation to the [Monster's] ball.
Jan 22, 2018 22:28:04 GMT -8
Mark Storm and Tapioca Joe like this
Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2018 22:28:04 GMT -8
What a ride it had been. It was just over the summer of twenty-seventeen that Sammy Duke, a fan-at-heart had started to realize the dream of becoming a professional wrestler had become more than just a dream for him. It was his reality. His career took off like a rocket too, signing quickly with Pride Pro Wrestling during their relaunch in September, their first show in about two years. Sammy was excited to have been able to make history with them, even having a role in their “King of Lions” event. At the aptly named “ReAwakening” pay-per-view event But for Sammy, his role was short-lived as he was eliminated from competition by knockout a mere couple of minutes into the match by then arch-rival, Erron Wilder. To say it was a disappointing start to his career would be an under-statement, and the number of voices loudly proclaiming he didn’t have a place in the company or industry as a whole had vastly out-numbered the small supporters that had wanted to see him succeed. Even then, had Sammy Duke walked after that match, in his own mind he knew he could have held his head up high. He had set out to do what many other fans only talk about doing on the internet message boards. But...Sammy wasn’t interested in taking a walk. No, Sammy stuck to it, continuing to practice his craft and make people notice his work ethic and desire to succeed.. Sammy never took a day off, he never asked for an easy night. And he never got one from Pride, either. When Pride announced the return of their television broadcast “Ignition”, Sammy Duke was one of the first on the card, eager to learn. And learn he did; he took on the company’s newest signing, International star all the way from Israel and slated to do the biggest of the big things, Anushka Aalto. In a match that many had written Sammy off in, there were that many more that, by the time the dust had settled, realized that this wasn’t just a match. No, this was Sammy’s coming out party. Thanks to the collaborative work of Anushka and Sammy together, fans and athletes alike had taken notice and everyone had tuned in to see what would happen with the rookie and the Israeli veteran. Anushka would win that match, but the real story was after. In a show of true sportsmanship, Anushka had raised Sammy’s arm, and the two - together - had received a standing ovation, indeed the loudest of the night! This was the real beginning of the #StandWithSammy movement, mainly thanks to the entirety of the ShoWare Center that night standing tall for the performance they had just witnessed! Afterward, the momentum continued. The fans wanted to see more and more of Sammy Duke, and Sammy wanted to show more and more of what he could do. A month later he had earned his first championship opportunity, a triple threat match with Holly Rhodes and Luke Jackson, a match that while he didn’t win, he didn’t lose either. Sammy never complained. He showed his gratitude and congratulations toward Holly, and kept working harder and harder for the next opportunity. All-in-all he had spent another two months, a total of four months into his career, when he won the Pride Television Championship. At Pride’s second pay-per-view event, Phenomenon. It was just a week later though that Pride Pro had announced it would allow itself to be absorbed into the CWC umbrella as yet another territory on their international stage. Sammy had a difficult choice to make…
That choice, worked out pretty well for the Global Wrestling Division as Sammy had relinquished his title that he had worked so hard for, truly believing he needed more time on the independents before assuming the international stage. He was mocked by his now former Pride Pro competitors, but he held firm in his decision. He had to make the decision that was the best for him and his career, and that, including to walk away from his very first title win, that showed the greatest strength in him was his heart and passion. Titles come, and titles go, but accelerating your pace faster than is ideal is a mistake one could not come back from. Since arriving on the GWD stage, Sammy had remained humble. Humble, but hungry. He was quick to jump into the thick of things with the much-different-from-Pride Global Wrestling Division. Maybe Sammy was even a little too eager as he allowed himself to get involved in a main event cage match to crown the first American Justice champion. In the moment, Sammy didn’t think about the consequences of attacking the monster among men, Nameless. All that had mattered was Nameless put his hands on him, and Sammy had got him back, subsequently costing the monster the title despite being the odds-on favorite! In the end, what may have been a foolish mistake based more on impulse than intuition on Sammy’s behalf, may have actually been the smartest thing he had done as it got him a contract by the manner in which he impressed Mr. Ethan Roerich. A contract, on one condition…Sammy had to give Mr. Roerich a blockbuster match.
Live, on pay-per-view, the GWD’s first-ever pay-per-view “Puroresu”, Sammy Duke would be going one on one with the monster Nameless...in a Monster’s Ball match!
“You know, many have pegged me as a deadman walking since Mr. Roerich made this match into a Monster’s Ball…”
The scene had opened up right smack dab in the middle of a barebones basement room, furnished only by a wooden chair and a single light bulb dangling low from the ceiling. The bulb swung about, casually and carefree, over Sammy’s head as he sat on the chair.
“And, I’ll be honest, when I saw the news forwarded to me by Mr. Roerich himself after I woke up, I was a bit afraid too! I mean, look at him! I’m as big as his arm! And you saw how he...how he, manhandled, the fiercest Fiona! He put me in a hole in the ring.!”
He stood up, his eyes darting all around the room before fixating on the door, as if nervously expecting someone.
“But if it weren’t for adversity, I wouldn’t have a career at all! Besides, what kind of a role model would I be if I just turned tail and ran away just because a challenge was...large. And scary?! Probably wouldn’t be much of a lion either, come to think of it. You wouldn’t have a reason to Stand With Sammy...if I ran away because the going got tough. Besides, I’m always open to new experiences...and I’ve never had a Monster’s Ball match before. Hard to say how I’ll fare.”
Sammy relaxed his muscles and took a seat back in the chair, his eyes distracted by the swinging bulb momentarily.
“Look, here’s the deal people. I’m not gonna sit here and guarantee you a victory. Quite frankly I don’t know what I’m walking into, other than an angry, and probably hungry, monster that is ready to eat me as a pre-dinner snack!”
Briefly Sammy cast his gaze to the floor, breaking eye contact with the camera.
“But I can say, if you tune into Puroresu on January 29th, you’ll see a great effort by a man that isn’t gonna let himself fall as long as one person stands tall! You’re gonna see the effort of a man that will go out there, and give a hundred and ten percent of everything in his tank Why? Because you’re showing up at the arena, you’re buying the fight on pay-per-view from your home, it’s my job to make sure you get what you paid for. More importantly;”
Sammy looks back up at the camera, standing up from the chair as he does so, as if he were talking to a specific person rather than a group.
“Not just for each and every one of you that wants to see me do what I do, but to all of the special,” Sammy winks at that seemingly targeted individual, “...people, out there watching me, cheering me, from the front row. This Monster’s Ball, is for you!”
Sammy flashes a cheesy grin like he just KNEW what he was aiming at with that last line, as this scene draws to a fade.
That choice, worked out pretty well for the Global Wrestling Division as Sammy had relinquished his title that he had worked so hard for, truly believing he needed more time on the independents before assuming the international stage. He was mocked by his now former Pride Pro competitors, but he held firm in his decision. He had to make the decision that was the best for him and his career, and that, including to walk away from his very first title win, that showed the greatest strength in him was his heart and passion. Titles come, and titles go, but accelerating your pace faster than is ideal is a mistake one could not come back from. Since arriving on the GWD stage, Sammy had remained humble. Humble, but hungry. He was quick to jump into the thick of things with the much-different-from-Pride Global Wrestling Division. Maybe Sammy was even a little too eager as he allowed himself to get involved in a main event cage match to crown the first American Justice champion. In the moment, Sammy didn’t think about the consequences of attacking the monster among men, Nameless. All that had mattered was Nameless put his hands on him, and Sammy had got him back, subsequently costing the monster the title despite being the odds-on favorite! In the end, what may have been a foolish mistake based more on impulse than intuition on Sammy’s behalf, may have actually been the smartest thing he had done as it got him a contract by the manner in which he impressed Mr. Ethan Roerich. A contract, on one condition…Sammy had to give Mr. Roerich a blockbuster match.
Live, on pay-per-view, the GWD’s first-ever pay-per-view “Puroresu”, Sammy Duke would be going one on one with the monster Nameless...in a Monster’s Ball match!
“You know, many have pegged me as a deadman walking since Mr. Roerich made this match into a Monster’s Ball…”
The scene had opened up right smack dab in the middle of a barebones basement room, furnished only by a wooden chair and a single light bulb dangling low from the ceiling. The bulb swung about, casually and carefree, over Sammy’s head as he sat on the chair.
“And, I’ll be honest, when I saw the news forwarded to me by Mr. Roerich himself after I woke up, I was a bit afraid too! I mean, look at him! I’m as big as his arm! And you saw how he...how he, manhandled, the fiercest Fiona! He put me in a hole in the ring.!”
He stood up, his eyes darting all around the room before fixating on the door, as if nervously expecting someone.
“But if it weren’t for adversity, I wouldn’t have a career at all! Besides, what kind of a role model would I be if I just turned tail and ran away just because a challenge was...large. And scary?! Probably wouldn’t be much of a lion either, come to think of it. You wouldn’t have a reason to Stand With Sammy...if I ran away because the going got tough. Besides, I’m always open to new experiences...and I’ve never had a Monster’s Ball match before. Hard to say how I’ll fare.”
Sammy relaxed his muscles and took a seat back in the chair, his eyes distracted by the swinging bulb momentarily.
“Look, here’s the deal people. I’m not gonna sit here and guarantee you a victory. Quite frankly I don’t know what I’m walking into, other than an angry, and probably hungry, monster that is ready to eat me as a pre-dinner snack!”
Briefly Sammy cast his gaze to the floor, breaking eye contact with the camera.
“But I can say, if you tune into Puroresu on January 29th, you’ll see a great effort by a man that isn’t gonna let himself fall as long as one person stands tall! You’re gonna see the effort of a man that will go out there, and give a hundred and ten percent of everything in his tank Why? Because you’re showing up at the arena, you’re buying the fight on pay-per-view from your home, it’s my job to make sure you get what you paid for. More importantly;”
Sammy looks back up at the camera, standing up from the chair as he does so, as if he were talking to a specific person rather than a group.
“Not just for each and every one of you that wants to see me do what I do, but to all of the special,” Sammy winks at that seemingly targeted individual, “...people, out there watching me, cheering me, from the front row. This Monster’s Ball, is for you!”
Sammy flashes a cheesy grin like he just KNEW what he was aiming at with that last line, as this scene draws to a fade.
