Hammer Tyme #5

You had your big night. , the main event, the championship bout and you worked out like a dog. Swore off fast food, ate Raw Eggs for breakfast. You were hungry; the Eye of the Tiger and the force was strong with you. You gave everything you had. The best show of your life. You will remember this night forever, you will have pictures and videos. You performed flawless, every move and every mark was perfection.

But there is no champion, no thunderous screaming or toasting, dead silence and you probably want it this way. No invites for talk shows. No requests for movies. It would be nice at this point to forget the ring. Forget the ring? Are you mad man you just completed in the biggest and toughest match of your career, hell man it was for the championship of the world. You won’t be carrying the weight of the federation on your back at least. Wait that doesn’t sound right either I mean isn’t losing bad? Sounds like failure, defeat, and loss.

Yep you lost, but it was not your fault. You did everything right, you didn’t get counted out, you didn’t say I quit (nobody likes a quitter). You beat off temptation and didn’t use a chair or weapon. You easily could have. It was not a fast count. But a few seemed rather long or short at times. It was a clean pin, dead center of the ring. No ropes to hold and nothing to blame. It was just not your night. When you win there is fanfare, media attention and hype. After the initial shock and hurt ware off, no one really wants to remember losing. No one who loses wants to hear the armchair wrestlers, oh you should have done this or why did you not block that or even I could beat_______. Anyway you want to avoid that. You probably would have more trouble by crushing this fools throat.

Unfortunately we are taught to win. They say it’s all or nothing. Win or lose nothing is ever in-between. In the old school days they had guys called Jobbers. These guys got beat regularly to let top stars get over. I once had the opportunity to talk to Jake the Milkman Miliman. He is probably one of the most popular of these jobbers. He told me that it never bothered him and he never saw himself as a loser. He was providing for his family and putting food on the table. If you’re doing your job then that’s all that should matter. Not everyone is interested to be the number one guy. Some are comfortable just being part of a team. We tend to forget that what we do or not do affects others besides yourself. Sure winners are paid larger money, given rewards and commercial endorsements. The loser sure gets his guarantee pay but that’s it. Worse if your in an independent show and the gate (or ticket sales) didn’t do well you might not get as much as you had hoped for. I did wrestling for the passion and the enjoyment of the fans. I was satisfied with a hot meal and bus fare home. Occasionally I got spending money. I took my check from performing on Jerry Springer and purchased my first championship belt. So I guess there are perks no matter what you just have to look for them.

Then for as long as it is on their mind you’re a loser, a washed up has-been or worse. Sure if you had lost the belt you have a rematch clause but challenge and lose not only do you lose but drop in the top 10. In the old school days, you had to be ranked #1 to get a title match. Sometimes a loss would send you down to 10 or lower. Being in the top 10 is a reward in itself as those spots belong to the main eventers who are the tier money makers and have merchandise revenue to supplement pay.

Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, follow the old saying get back on the horse. Remember it’s about the show after all. When there is a competition there is a winner and loser. Sounds strange but do your job and eventually you will get rewarded and the next time (unless you take up your toys and go home) time maybe you will and have the big time. There is nothing wrong with losing its part of paying your dues. Not everyone can win every time. The excitement is seeing someone lose by a second or fraction of a second then to make a comeback to take the title. It’s easier in Independent Federations as there is not as much competition. You might just have to wait for a spot to open up. Independents tend to have greater chance of openings as talent comes and goes more freely and storylines are not carried generally done over multiple shows. It can be challenging to develop a story-line without building on past house shows. The house show while not as widely used by the main operations still find use in the independent circuits. IIts how these groups survive? Not all federations have the fan base or resources to have television or pay-per-view shows. That doesn’t make then less important. Independent federations are like a minor league franchise. You work there and wait for your big break. Like in baseball or football scouts from federations or even stars themselves have shown up at a show and if they like what they see. You may well get a try-out or a break.

Psychology and injury…I feel that this topic needs to be included in this week’s column. In my quest for a comeback I have realized this is truer then I thought or gave it credit. Once you get injured it can be very hard to clear it from your memory. You can be cleared by the doctor and yet swear it still hurts or even feels worse. This is what doctors call “Phantom” pains. It is also possible that you suffer anxiety issues when you enter into what caused your injury originally. You can’t dwell on it or it will haunt you. To be successful you need to beat your feelings. Most injuries happen from mistakes and are for the most part preventable. However that is not always the case and something serious could happen at anytime. If it does rule of thumb is to get back in the saddle as soon as it is okay to avoid fright. In this business bad things do happen, we try not to think or let it bother us or affect our comfort zone as this is about a 1% chance or less that anything bad would happen. Still not letting us consume ourselves with worry over what we can’t control. Control in some respects is psychological. Not letting anything or anyone bother you. Always wanting to win or inflicting the most damage every punch, never missing. While it is important it is not the only factor to deal with.

This next item is by far the most important. It is what has made Triple H famous; the cerebral assassin is so called for one reason his “Game Face”. If you look at him he has a stone look and he sells his anger with expressions. Very few words and the few words put fear into his opponent. That is sports psychology at its best. The hunger or “eye of the tiger” put to use makes your role larger then life. Life is full of hard knocks and tough times. It is your passion stick so stick with it and weather the highs and lows. It will make you a better superstore and good things come to those who wait. For me it has taken ten years to reach the level of stardom I was looking for. It does not happen over night unless your one of those lucky few that gets the chance. There is nothing wrong with paying dues and working your way up. I have been fortunate to have learned more along the way than I would have if I rushed through it. While a lot can be taught but wisdom has to be learned and experience builds as you go. The mental game is very important and can’t be stressed enough. Undertaker when he first started out was criticized for not selling punches he took. They said he wasn’t very good at it but later it became part of his gimmick and very successful. Looking for opportunities help to grow your character and yourself should be your focus. We never stop learning and even the Oscar winner continues to learn and evolve. It does however make all the difference of the world. Our goal is to make things appear real wherever possible. Being a good sales man helps as that is what we are. We sell the fact that we get hurt and try to hurt our opponent until we cover them for the pin or get them to say I Quit. Ok we are not to quit as we are taught in school athletics but then why do these matches exist. Why humiliate us by having us lose? No. I feel these happen as a way to sell tickets and develop story-lines. Remember the old saying “Live to fight another day.” that’s so true. There is always one more match.