THE TRUTH ALWAYS HURTS!
Oct 15, 2020 10:53:36 GMT -5
CJ Phoenix, James Nightingale, and 3 more like this
Post by Steve Ryder on Oct 15, 2020 10:53:36 GMT -5
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THE TRUTH ALWAYS HURTS
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“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting.” – Buddha
Steve Ryder has never been much of a social butterfly. The enigmatic young Englishman man preferred the company of close friends or his own person to big crowds or big parties. A bit of a recluse and loner, Steve Ryder might seem like an odd fit for the career of professional wrestler, yet for some reason “The Truth” seems to strike a chord with the fans of any organisation he’s worked for. Whether it is the technically sound move-set, his sharp tongue and sarcastic retorts, or just his often mysterious aura, the fans seem to take to the man from just south of London, England.
The feeling is very much mutual. Steve has come to look out at the hundreds to thousands of men, women and children that gather to watch him perform as his surrogate family. In some way, they replace the fact none of his family have ever had the privilege of experiencing a Steve Ryder match in person. Steve never experienced the father-son bonding of football or school sports, his father had disowned Steve when he chose wrestling as a life. His mother never picked him up from high school, or dropped him off at parties, but she can be forgiven for that as she passed away whilst Steve was still young. He had one sister, they get on fine but she couldn’t care less about wrestling. The fans had become his family. He turned to them for validation, and it had become one of the driving forces of his career.
To this end, Steven Matthew Ryder did all he could to hold on to the lessons of faith bestowed upon him by his mother before she lost her life, to uphold a virtuous life and fight for his beliefs against all vices, enemies and against all odds. He relished his role as underdog. Like David before Goliath or Daniel before the lions, Steve believed that he had strength inside himself to defeat the insurmountable, impossible and unbeatable forces. Steve found irony in the story of Daniel being thrown to the lions, because he himself was being thrown to a Lions himself by joining a company the size of AW.
Steve had in his young life achieved amazing things in the world of business and finance leading to him having a life many would envy. However as a wrestler this was new ground, this was the step up he had been dreaming of.
As mentioned before, Steve Ryder was not much for crowds, and finding himself on a crowded underground train beneath the streets of London, England did not make Steve the happiest of campers. Sitting in the far left back corner of the train, Steve found himself on the Piccadilly Line. He was heading toward Heathrow to jump on a BA flight to Mexico. Ryder, dressed in a red and blue flannel shirt, unbuttoned over a black “Action Wrestling” T-shirt, old blue jeans and white sneakers, twirled the clatter ring given to him by his Irish grandfather that rested on his right ring finger. A black case rests on the floor of the subway between Steve’s legs.
Ryder’s pale blue-grey eyes fall upon a short blonde boy in a red hoodie about five feet away from him. The boy, about nine or so, is standing beside his father and staring at Ryder with a look of recognition. He keeps tugging on his father’s pant leg and saying “Dad” to try and get his father’s attention. Steve smiled a bit to himself, Ryder enjoyed the fact that he would occasionally be recognized, but still was enough of an unknown to ride trains and public transport without being swarmed by wrestling fans
Steve stepped off the train at the stop for Heathrow and took up an empty seat far down the tracks on an unoccupied bench. The blonde boy exited behind him, holding a piece of paper with Steve Ryders’s signature scrawled across it, and went up the escalator with his father, beaming with pride. Steve places the black case on the bench next to him as he sits down. The underground station goes quiet with all the people at the opposite end and no trains coming down along the tracks.
“Do you hear that sound?”
Silence.
“Yeah… that sound.”
Still silence.
“That… that is the sound greeting my arrival in Action Wrestling. That is the sound made by the world as Steve Ryder signs a contract with AW.”
Steve smirks.
“I’m not a fool, I’m well aware that very few know who I am and less people than that on the roster really care. To them I’m just another face passing through, they see me as just one of the hundreds that at some point turn up only to be gone from AW in no time at all. I’m not precious or needy, therefore I’m not offended.”
“I suppose this is the point I should tell the world how great I am and how I’m the greatest wrestler on the planet, that’s what everyone else does, that's what wrestling debuts are right?”
As if answering his own question, Steve’s smirk becomes more a natural smile followed by a slight shrug.
“Now don’t misconstrue what I’m about to say because I do genuinely have the utmost confidence in my ability to hang with anyone but I’m not a liar, despite being technically sound, I am not the greatest wrestler on the planet. Despite being popular, I am not the most charismatic man in the business or on the roster.”
“What I am is “The Truth” Steve Ryder, I’m in this business because I love it not because I need it, that undeniably creates both positives and negatives but I’m not stupid enough to tell anyone what they are, that's for others to sort for themselves. The guarantees I can make about my time here in AW is that nobody will see me as an easy ride, nobody will look at any card and be pleased to face me.”
A serious and determined expression crosses Steve’s face.
“So whether you are talking about pulling triggers, hammers falling, or being Mr Action Wrestling himself, be certain of the fact I don't step backwards.”
Steve’s face relaxes considerably.
“Like everybody in this world, I will win some, I will lose some, that is the reality of the life we chose… if you enter my world… just know it’s a rough ride and the truth always hurts!!”
After the cheesy line that he himself cringes at, Steve pushes himself up off the bench and grabs the case in his right hand as he walks towards the escalators.
“Mexico City here I come!”
A train rolls up on one-side and sight of Ryder is lost among the throng of people rushing either toward the train or toward the airport terminal. As Steve fades into the crowd, so too does the scene fade into black.