Summer over and 31 shows done. Less than some of the wrestlers on the
tour, but still a good number for a guy who has only been back wrestling for 8
months. One of my last acts of the summer was to fall over into an upside-down
turtle position, legs and arms in the air, a large spanner in my right hand (I assure
you this is still wrestling). As I squirmed around like a die-ing wrong way
round woodlouse I got a moment to think how much I had really enjoyed the last
6 weeks. Let’s see how I got there and what happened next – A Russian Summer
(Part 3)…….
Scottish High
My first
assignment after arriving back from Weymouth was another trip to bonnie
Scotland. This time I was travelling with American wrestler John Skyler and the
Welsh Warrior Kayden Lay (ironically I seem to have a lot more international
friends now I’m Russian!).
I worked with Skyler, who is an up and coming independent
worker in the US, as well as having brief appearances on both WWE and TNA. We
had 3 simple matches, but I was really starting to have fun with the character.
We gelled well and by the third match we had a great bout at a camp that is
usually renowned for not being so hot in terms of atmosphere. My confidence was at a high and I was pleased with how it was going.
Filey Comedown
That weekend I was in Filey again and glad to be working with the talented ‘Showstealer’ Nathan Cruz, whom I
had heard a lot about but never actually wrestled. However, we had a bit of a
stinker for our first match. I was all over the place, it was sloppy and the
match was rushed.
When I
returned backstage I was confronted by All Star veteran and former WCW star
Avalanche (previously P.N.News) who proceeded to tell me how terrible I was. I
did not feel like a wrestler, just embarrassed and a bit stupid. However, I had
2 more shots to get it right!
That
evening I was sharing a chalet (ok - a medium sized caravan) with Avalanche,
Sam Adonis (another All Star regular over from the US) and a Finnish lad who
everyone called, er, Finland. I was initially apprehensive and for-saw a night
of awkwardness. However, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Avalanche did continue to grill me about my views on wrestling, but it ended up
being a night of learning from both him and Sam Adonis, along with an immensely
fun night at the bar too.
The next
day I was determined to improve my performance and implement some of the
guidance I had been given. I am pleased to say my next two matches with Nathan
were far better. Sometimes you just need a little reality check to improve some
more.
Little Legs in Cornwall
Following
on from Filey and another match with El Ligero in Rhyll (that was easily our
best so far this Summer) it was time for the final leg of the tour all the way
down in sunny Cornwall, leaving Leeds at the completely reasonably hour of 2
am! Oh well only 400 miles and 2 wrestling shows to go before I can sleep…..
During
this week I had matches against Daniel Bryant (Yes! Yes! Yes!) and dwarf
wrestler Little Legs (of Harry Potter, Life’s Too Short and Celebrity Juice
fame). This match involved me announcing to Daniel that these lousy English
wrestlers were no match for a real Russian man like myself and I demanded that
I wrestle two men (cocky for a guy who has lost the majority of his matches
over the Summer).
The music
hits and the tag team partner turns out to be Little Legs (who always gets the
biggest cheer of the whole show). The match then involved me getting bitten on
the arse, having a dwarf stuck to my leg that I can’t shake off and eventually
getting double teamed (again still all wrestling this I promise) and beaten by the pair much to the delight of the crowd.
I enjoyed every minute of these matches – an unusual but incredibly fun match
to be a part of.
The End of the Summer
During
Cornwall I also continued the epic Mexican/Russian feud with El Ligero
(everyone knows how much those countries hate each other right? Tequila vs.
Vodka, Sombrero vs. Furry Hat - it’s a cultural battle that may never be
resolved!).
As I lay
there squirming around with spanner in hand - I was content (despite just falling
over when I shouldn’t have, which had led to my slightly awkward position in
the first place). There had been ups and downs, and moments of doubt but
ultimately I was feeling like the ring was becoming home again.
Just as I
was having my poignant moment, Ligero rips the spanner from my hand, he lifts
it above his head in retaliation to my failed weapon attack. However, the
referee is on the ball and demands he drops the weapon. As the commotion grows
and the referee is dealing with the foreign object (the spanner, not Ligero or
I) I sneakily reach across for my flag and jam the pole (Ikea curtain rail)
into my opponents neck thus rendering him helpless and giving Radik the 1, 2,
3. Not today Mexico, not today…
Final Thoughts
I have had
an amazingly fun and unique summer and spent time with some fantastic people. I
am thankful to All Star management and everyone I worked with. It really helped
me develop and learn. I would recommend to any aspiring wrestler to do the
camps should you be lucky enough to have that opportunity.
Thanks
for reading.
JCT
