Forged Steel's Wrestling Journal

Entry 29

Some time later, we finish exercising. I realize that mine and Glitter’s anniversary is coming up. I can hardly believe it’s been a whole year with this amazing mare. Moreover, I can hardly believe that I haven’t driven her crazy with what a head case I am.

We’ve been staying with my grandparents, Glitter got to meet Sister and Rusty, but now I suppose it’s time she meets Papa. After a shower and Glitter helping my arm back into a sling, we set off towards Papa’s gym and wrestling school. As we walk inside through the open roll-up door, I can practically hear my entrance music playing in my head and instinctively go into my entrance posture while Glitter sits at the seats off to the side.

Apparently they were doing interview work, and as usual Papa isn't even looking. He always brings a newspaper to read while the students do interviews because he says he wants to hear you, not see you. I take hold of the microphone in place of the student who had first stepped in to give an interview. I know the prompt, who you are and your favorite wrestler. I can see Gryphus smiling and keeping quiet as I begin.

“Kovanaya Gorneyyevich Stal is my name,” my voice projects through the gym, “and you will remember it. If you have any doubts, give us five minutes alone and I will quell them.”

Papa looks up from his newspaper with a grin as I go down my resumé, “I'm a seven-time national champion in the heavyweight division and a two-time gold medalist in the same. Rest assured, breaking any one of you will be like snapping a twig for me.”

“My favorite wrestler when I grew up was the legendary, infamous Gryphus The Terrible,” I see the old griffon in attendance smile as he's mentioned, “because he would dismember any opponent with the greatest of ease, just as I will do to any of you. Try me, if you dare.”

I set the microphone down with the whole room erupting into applause. Gryphus tells them that's how you do it, and then introduces me to the students. One student in the back of the group I can see is rolling his eyes, disinterested. I say nothing and decide to observe what he does.

As I sit with Glitter and listen to the many students give their best attempts, I join in at giving them critique. The most common problem I observe is their lack of confidence in their words, and the only real fix for that is repetition. The more you speak in front of a crowd, the less nervous you are about doing it. Also they try to do too much and clearly aren't true to themselves. I have to tell them to keep it simple and to not be me because they aren't me.

The trainee who seemed to roll his eyes at my introduction then steps up, Papa nudges me to pay attention to him. As he starts, I can hear that he's got a gift for talk, so I decide to pressure student a bit by glaring at him. His monologue is unwavering and he's practically glaring back at me, finishing up. The class applauds his effort, and continues along going from trainee to trainee working on interviews.

A few hours later, the class adjourns for lunch, allowing me a chance to introduce Glitter to Papa and Gryphus. Wrestling has been almost their whole lives. Papa was an amateur champion much like myself but had a much younger start. Gryphus found he was a natural at it when he got into a fight at seven and managed to get a griffon twice his age screech for mercy.

His and Papa's rivalry was unparalleled, almost everywhere they went a match involving them was a guaranteed sell out, enough to where they often got booked in struggling territories. Papa managed to get be champion for a couple of years, but says that Gryphus was twice the talent he ever was.

Gryphus could have been champion if he had been a little better behaved. He owns up to his past, saying that he often sought out starting fights with fans, using it as a way to fight back against the discrimination that griffons often receive. At the same time, his anger and chip on his shoulder is probably what made him such a hated, effective villain.

Like Gryphus, wrestling was in Papa's blood. Dedushka was a barnstorming pony who competed in various strength contests and wrestling. By the time Papa had come into adulthood, wrestling had become an organized event, not just a carnival sideshow. Like me, Papa was a high school and college champion, setting a few records that I later broke.

Gryphus could have been champion, but Papa was champion. He held the prestigious World Heavyweight Championship for two years. He says it was one of the greatest times of his life, traveling the entire world to fill large venues of many sizes performing his craft. However, Papa had to lose it because he suffered a broken leg, compound fracture.

He first came back well, but the medical care here was quite poor, it still is today. Getting a second opinion in Canterlot, he got a final operation that would allow him to walk again and do most brisk exercises, but not wrestle competitively again. This is why he runs a wrestling school, so that he can pass his life of knowledge about the craft to other young ponies.

Glitter talks about herself, Papa remarking that she shows as much passion about jewelry that I do for wrestling. She also mentions that I was the first one to knock her brothers down a peg, causing Papa to roll his eyes but Gryphus to wear a smirk. Glitter then talks about how I and my feuds have almost single-handedly turned around the Crystal Empire territory. I had expected them to treat such a claim as hyperbole, but they really seem to believe it, even despite my downplaying it.

Once lunch is concluded, class resumes with the focal point being selling. The students pair up and have abbreviated matches, the focus being to see how credibly they can sell. Selling is crucial to the art, without it you don't have wrestling, only either low-level acrobatics or legitimate fighting. The one student who had a natural talent for talking seemed to not be putting any effort into selling, his body language making it look like he was above this.

I mention it to Gryphus, and he remarks that his attitude has been toxic. This trainee, his name is Iron Pumper, has amazing gifts that anyone else in the class would kill for, but he's squandering it all with his poor attitude. They've tried to get him to cooperate better by trying to bargain. As I watch, I notice that most of the selling I'm seeing from other students is either not enough or is exaggerated. Feeling the gears turn in my head, I ask Gryphus if I could have a “match” with the cocky one. I think he sees what I have in store, allowing it just before adorning the class to an exercise.

“Okay class, you're in for a treat today,” Gryphus says, as I walk to the ring “Everyone but Iron Pumper out, Forged Steel wants to contribute to today's lesson.” I step inside, sizing up the recruit as I approach. Iron is clearly oblivious as he charges for my arm in the sling. I raise my knee up into his gut sharply, slapping him on the back for a dramatic sound and stunning him.

With him momentarily winded, I use my good arm to take hold of his hand and twist, barring the arm. I make sure to wrench it deep, causing him to howl in pain. I turn him so the whole class can see his face and reaction “That right there, you make that face with no pain, that's selling. You're a natural at this, Iron.”

“You're breaking my arm!”

“Psh, I'm hardly twisting at all. That's another thing, class. Realistic vocalizing can sometimes help with effect.”

I secretly clamp my thumb into his wrist's pressure point, then kick the back of his knee stiffly to push him onto the mat. Seamlessly transitioning into a hammerlock, I again take liberty to wrench hard, causing Iron to yelp loudly again. “Remember, the idea is to make it look like what they're doing to you is murder.”

“My arm,” Iron loudly cries, “You're going to break it.”

I taunt back “You're selling real well, kid.”

“I'm not selling!”

“That's another thing,” as I ignore him and wrench the hammerlock further, “Don't be afraid to taunt your opponent if you're heel, can go a long way to getting hot.”

By this point, he now rapidly pounds his other arm on the canvas, begging for mercy. Papa dismisses the class for a workout, while my knee in Iron's back keeps him from getting up. With the rest of the students gone, I let him up and glare at him.

I say he has incredible gifts that hundreds of wrestlers would do anything to have, but an attitude that nullifies it. Arrogance and thinking everyone is beneath you is a good mentality for inside the ring, but outside of it that attitude will keep you from every working anywhere. Moreover, you will never no-sell anyone without their permission. If you no-sell the wrong guy, he won't stuff you in the ring like I did, he'll jump you in the parking lot and put one between your eyes.

He starts to speak, but I cut him off. That's another thing, you're learning. Keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open. When you stepped into this ring, you agreed that your past wrestling accomplishments, if any, mean nothing. From now on, you will sell for your opponents, be they a veteran like myself or another trainee in your class. The instructors don't want to expel you and keep your tuition, but if you continue to be a problem, they won't hesitate to. He only nods in acknowledgement, and is dismissed to join the rest of the class in workout.

As I sit back down beside Glitter, I can read that she doesn't agree with my methods, but that it's ultimately for the best. Gryphus says with some admiration that he wishes he could be as much a hard-ass as me. I remind him that I went through his class, what I did was child's play.

Once class resumes, Iron starts selling realistically for everyone he is in the ring with. I think he got the message. Some may think my methods extreme, but it's ultimately for better. Wrestling is cutthroat, saying or doing the wrong thing to the wrong pony can and has gotten wrestlers killed. It's despicable and wrong in every way, but it still happens. If I can prevent even one instance of that, I consider it worthwhile.