Time flew by and my first night of training was over. It went so fast that by the time nine o’clock rolled around, I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I could have gone all night with whatever they threw at me, and would have if they had let me. Twenty minutes later, I was heading north on I-29, thinking about the last three hours of my life and how they were everything I’d hoped for, and more.

-------

Every young wrestler will probably tell you that one of the most dreadful parts of starting in professional wrestling is putting together the ring. There isn’t anything fun about the setting up and tearing down the squared circle, and anyone who says otherwise is a liar. Like I said before, the ring is a temple to me, and I respect it more than anything in wrestling, but assembling and disassembling it, night after night, sucks. I once heard from a trainer that, “You can tell if a guy has paid his dues by just looking at him.” Never wanting to come across as someone who hadn’t, I always worked without arguing and with the same determination that I ran or lifted with. As much as I hated it, I knew it had to be done and like so many others, it helped my respect for the business grow.

-------

The next step was to learn how to take an arm drag as a defender. The trainers never explained how to do it, but instead just said ‘do it’. I thought I could handle it but realized I was wrong when I ran into the guy on my first attempt and performed the ‘pro wrestling stare’. The stare is where the two guys in a ring awkwardly stop what they’re doing in a bout of confusion and stare at each other. It stems from neither one knowing what the next move is supposed to be, and it is one of the most dreaded events in any match. In this particular case, I was the one who initiated the stare, but lucky for me it was just practice.

-------

Nervously running through the entire match one last time in my head, I heard my music hit, and to the sounds of Rob Zombie, I made my singles debut with no shirt, long silver tights, black kneepads and kick pads, and black boots. In the moment, I felt very weird and didn’t know how to take to the fans, and from the way it looked, they didn’t know how to take to me either. I looked around and felt like I was in a dream while seventy people stared at me, not knowing how to react. Needless to say, it was an awkward moment for everyone.

-------

The next day, I woke up and established what would turn into a threemonth routine, only taking breaks to wrestle and eat. My day revolved around sleeping, exercise and watching daytime TV and old wrestling tapes. At 4:30 p.m., I got my bags together and drove over to Minneapolis for my first day of practice under the guidance of Eddie Sharkey and Terry Fox. I pulled up to the house at five and headed into the garage. Immediately I got the feeling that I was on the set of a Rocky movie.

It was dimly lit building with dark wood walls that were bare and had no insulation. Taped up were old wrestling photos, flyers, and posters from the 1960s to the 1990s. In the middle, not much smaller than the garage, sat a wrestling ring with a royal blue canvas and red, white and blue ropes. It looked like it had been used continuously for years, but it was still in great shape and very broken in. When you hear old wrestling stories about how guys got their start, you get a picture of an old warehouse with very little to it and a whole lot to offer. Anyone who saw it for themselves realized that there wasn’t much to do but work hard, and that is exactly what I had planned to do.

-------

As he was making his way around the ring, the referee was ‘checking me’ up against the ropes. He asked, “What’s the plan?” I told him that it was going to be a squash, and to count to three on the first pin attempt. Confused and worried, he said, “Wait. What? No.” He wasn’t sure that what we were doing was going to be okay. He hadn’t heard anything of a squash yet, and he knew that Terry was sitting ringside, watching all the matches. As soon as the bell rang, I again whispered, “We’re doing a squash. Finish on the first pin.” Not having any time to react, Dos got to the third side of the ring and slid in to a rain of kicks. I did my best to keep him down as he worked his way up and came out of nowhere with the biggest body slam you’d ever seen. I hit the mat hard, screamed and popped right back up as he threw me against the ropes and launched himself in the air to meet me with an even bigger shoulder tackle. I hit the mat again, but sprung back up and ran right into a gorilla press in which he lifted me over his head and held me for what seemed like forever. He dropped me from seven feet in the air, causing me to land face-first onto the canvas. I rolled to my back and he fell on top of me for the three count. After nineteen seconds, the referee signaled for the bell, and the crowd went nuts.

-------

After spending the day in the city, I went to Big Lake to curtain jerk with a rookie that went by the name of Joey E. Joey was a small guy at 160 pounds and moved around the ring like it was nothing. Terry told us we’d be doing a baby vs. baby and I had no idea how tough that could or would be. The fans took a liking to both of us, but they were confused. We were two, good-guy, cruiserweights starting off the show and more than anything, they wanted to cheer one and boo the other, but we didn’t give them that opportunity. Instead, they seemed to sit quiet and the only thing that would get their attention were big bumps and well executed spots that ended with big bumps. Joey went over with a flashy aerial move that almost landed him on his head. He said he was all right, but I can’t help but feel bad when a move like that goes wrong—especially when it’s the finish.

-------

I realized at any point that I could be asked to give the belt to someone else, and I was okay with that. Just as Abu graciously put me over for the better of the company, I was ready to do the same for someone else. I know that I am not a superstar, but on any level of professionalism, I believe you have to take what is given to you and do the best you can with it. I was ready for the challenges before me and to prove any of my skeptics wrong. For those who told me that, “It is just the PCW TV Title,” they must not have realized that, at the time, I was the only PCW Television Champion in the world.

-------

Cruz and Daniels met up on the outside and conversed about what their next move would be. ‘Deciding’ that they were outmatched, they left the ringside area and walked back to the locker room to accept their count out. Ricky and I had none of it as we chased after them and followed them behind the curtain to the backstage area. When we got out of fans’ view, we met up with Cruz and Daniels, who were standing in the back, just talking. We all four stood there, looking at each other, chatting and waiting for the right moment. After a few seconds of what everyone thought was fighting, Ricky and I said, “You guys ready?”

-------

Like any weightlifter, I’d be lying if I told you that I’ve never thought about the benefits of steroids. I began lifting for the sole reason to gain mass so when I became educated enough to make a decision on how I wanted to do it, I chose the hard way over the more tempting and easier way. I understand why a professional athlete, such as a wrestler or bodybuilder, would take steroids, but contrary to that, I don’t understand why people use them as a recreational activity. Ultimately, I lift for mental strength, so the thought of cheating for that strength contradicts everything I stand for. Unless the needle in your ass putting food on the table or clothes on your kids’ back, it’s an unjustifiable and valueless lifestyle that deserves no attention or esteem. There are a lot of people ‘juicing’ for the wrong reasons, but if there was ever a right reason, supporting myself as a professional wrestler was it.

-------

Pete and I got to the back knowing that we’d just given the fans their money’s worth, and at the same time, earned our own. We didn’t change right away as we also had a battle royal that every wrestler on the card was going to be in. At about the time that people were preparing to go out for it, rumors started circulating that Kurt had promised the workers much more than what the gate had brought in, and therefore couldn’t pay any of us.

-------

While that night didn’t make me famous or get me a contract, it still did more for me than all but only a few shows have in my entire career. I didn’t win the heavyweight title in the main event, and in front of crowd of two hundred people, most big timers wouldn’t even consider it a stage. But for me, it was the biggest stage in the world. I’d signed autographs and taken pictures with fans before, but this night was different. It was a new me as I truly felt like I’d finally ‘got it’. I can’t explain what it was that I got, but I knew that I’d found it.