Overtop crushed stone and some 50 odd years of trash I ran, cold wind shrinking my manhood through a growing rent in my jeans and dew soaking my socks with every stride. I remember it being cold, real cold. I remember beating on the emergency door on the opposite side of the arena, next to the heels locker room and telling whoever opened it “Tell Mozart I forgot the whole f’n match!” I remember running back around the building, but not ever re-entering. All faded to black.
Hamburg Fieldhouse is nothing more than a giant airplane hanger (what airplane hanger is not giant I wonder). I know your thinking it is some grand arena by the legendary names I threw out in part one, and it is in a nostalgic kind of way, but in reality is nothing more than a 20,000 square foot airplane hanger built in the 50’s with a kitchen/concession stand on one end, a small lobby and two locker rooms on the other with bleachers in between.
Don’t get me wrong I love the place, the lighting and sound were perfect as was the crowd, but here is the significance to me giving you such background: The locker rooms were separated by the lobby. That meant no communication between the heels (bad guys) and faces (good guys) once the doors to the public were opened.
“So what?” you say? Well, the key to surviving wrestling and putting on a great show is communication, both before and during a match. Generally speaking I break down pro-wrestling into three type of matches:
A Shoot: Every wrestler comes upon these, as have I. A shoot is every bit as real as the UFC and potentially more dangerous. Shoots usually occur when opponents have genuine animosity towards each other, or one has too big an ego and does not believe he should do the job, or you are put in a match with a complete buffoon who knows nothing of what he is doing and deserves to be taught a lesson before he hurts you. The only difference between a Pro-Wrestling shoot match and the UFC is you try and make it appear as if it is a scripted match. In a shoot chances are one of you is leaving bloodied, battered, and possibly with broken bones. Just follow some of Kurt Angle’s earlier matches in the WWE where every veteran thought to test him.
Spot Fest: This is exactly what it sounds, no story line, no thought, no artistic talent. Basically it is two opponents just going out and doing moves equivalent to a high pace training session with each wrestler trying to get in as many of his specialty moves as possible. This is increasingly common today, especially among the Indies and has developed a whole cult following known as “smart marks.” It is more a backyard style and frowned upon by traditionalists. These wrestlers, though extremely athletic and talented, rarely last long in the business or advance.
Traditional: Here you have a match where you try to get a story across, one that usually follows the standard arc found in most books. You start with an exposition, move to a conflict, encounter complications, hit the climax, find a resolution and then a conclusion. Each match then contributes to another plot consisting of beginning, middle and end. These plots can last a couple of shows or if they are really well done nearly a year. Generally you go in with an outline of what you want to do and alter it as needed on feedback by the crowd. The story is what is important, not getting in all the moves you can and making yourself look good. These types of matches are becoming increasingly hard to pull off as the public’s attention spans are dwindling.
Some wrestlers like to plan out the entire match move for move, sequence after sequence. However, most script only beginning sequences and the finish and call the match on the fly. In other words if we take an 8 minute match the first minute is planned as is the last. The other 6 minutes are made up as you go with an attempt to fill the premise of your story. Ideally if you have anything out of the ordinary you want to include in the match you of coarse let your opponent know ahead of time by walking through it. Again, survival by communication. You do not want to get a broken neck because of lack of communication. Unfortunately this is not always possible.
Both my matches for this show, as are all my matches, were traditional matches. Each had a specific story line set and meant to outline the next several shows spanning over a few months. It was imperative that we fulfill these story lines otherwise find ourselves curtain jerking. In this case we had these matches entirely scripted out due to our inexperience in the business at the time. This was of course a mistake. It is hard enough remembering one match let alone two or three as I never possessed a great memory. A harsh lesson learned.
I wish I could tell you more, but that is all I remember of that night, strange as it might seem. I can tell you the match went flawlessly and it went exactly as we planned several hours beforehand despite my concussion. Several wrestlers, fans, and owners told me it was the best match I had ever had to date. It even received a write up and a picture in one of the magazines. Here is a quote from the magazine that stands out “In the eleventh match, JJ Johnson defeated Mozart Fontaine. Making his singles debut was the pompous Mozart Fontaine who was brought to the ring by the manager of the Box Office, E.S. Easton. Johnson was relentless in his attack on Fontaine and when Easton attempted to get involved his interference backfired and gave JJ the win.”
I guess I did okay. All that training paid off and allowed me to perform to perfection under duress. Of course the majority of credit goes to my opponent Mozart Fontaine who took control of the match and made sure the plot was fulfilled. He could easily have shot on me, but was the ever consummate professional. He might not be the model of physical perfection, but the guy is definitely skilled in the ring. His ability to remain calm in the face of adversity allowed our match to flow perfectly.
As for the final match of the night….I have no idea? All I came home with was a bloody pair of jeans with a giant rip through the crotch. I sure hope I had clean underwear on that night. Still do not know whatever happened to my gym bag and street clothes.
And that my friend is what happens when you get a concussion. Hoped you enjoyed the story, and yes it is true.
Your lesson for this day Grasshopper:
Train to perform under duress.
Train to overcome adversity.
Train not to look good but to perform to perfection when conditions are not perfect.
Train Renegade.
Hamburg Fieldhouse is nothing more than a giant airplane hanger (what airplane hanger is not giant I wonder). I know your thinking it is some grand arena by the legendary names I threw out in part one, and it is in a nostalgic kind of way, but in reality is nothing more than a 20,000 square foot airplane hanger built in the 50’s with a kitchen/concession stand on one end, a small lobby and two locker rooms on the other with bleachers in between.
Don’t get me wrong I love the place, the lighting and sound were perfect as was the crowd, but here is the significance to me giving you such background: The locker rooms were separated by the lobby. That meant no communication between the heels (bad guys) and faces (good guys) once the doors to the public were opened.
“So what?” you say? Well, the key to surviving wrestling and putting on a great show is communication, both before and during a match. Generally speaking I break down pro-wrestling into three type of matches:
A Shoot: Every wrestler comes upon these, as have I. A shoot is every bit as real as the UFC and potentially more dangerous. Shoots usually occur when opponents have genuine animosity towards each other, or one has too big an ego and does not believe he should do the job, or you are put in a match with a complete buffoon who knows nothing of what he is doing and deserves to be taught a lesson before he hurts you. The only difference between a Pro-Wrestling shoot match and the UFC is you try and make it appear as if it is a scripted match. In a shoot chances are one of you is leaving bloodied, battered, and possibly with broken bones. Just follow some of Kurt Angle’s earlier matches in the WWE where every veteran thought to test him.
Spot Fest: This is exactly what it sounds, no story line, no thought, no artistic talent. Basically it is two opponents just going out and doing moves equivalent to a high pace training session with each wrestler trying to get in as many of his specialty moves as possible. This is increasingly common today, especially among the Indies and has developed a whole cult following known as “smart marks.” It is more a backyard style and frowned upon by traditionalists. These wrestlers, though extremely athletic and talented, rarely last long in the business or advance.
Traditional: Here you have a match where you try to get a story across, one that usually follows the standard arc found in most books. You start with an exposition, move to a conflict, encounter complications, hit the climax, find a resolution and then a conclusion. Each match then contributes to another plot consisting of beginning, middle and end. These plots can last a couple of shows or if they are really well done nearly a year. Generally you go in with an outline of what you want to do and alter it as needed on feedback by the crowd. The story is what is important, not getting in all the moves you can and making yourself look good. These types of matches are becoming increasingly hard to pull off as the public’s attention spans are dwindling.
Some wrestlers like to plan out the entire match move for move, sequence after sequence. However, most script only beginning sequences and the finish and call the match on the fly. In other words if we take an 8 minute match the first minute is planned as is the last. The other 6 minutes are made up as you go with an attempt to fill the premise of your story. Ideally if you have anything out of the ordinary you want to include in the match you of coarse let your opponent know ahead of time by walking through it. Again, survival by communication. You do not want to get a broken neck because of lack of communication. Unfortunately this is not always possible.
Both my matches for this show, as are all my matches, were traditional matches. Each had a specific story line set and meant to outline the next several shows spanning over a few months. It was imperative that we fulfill these story lines otherwise find ourselves curtain jerking. In this case we had these matches entirely scripted out due to our inexperience in the business at the time. This was of course a mistake. It is hard enough remembering one match let alone two or three as I never possessed a great memory. A harsh lesson learned.
I wish I could tell you more, but that is all I remember of that night, strange as it might seem. I can tell you the match went flawlessly and it went exactly as we planned several hours beforehand despite my concussion. Several wrestlers, fans, and owners told me it was the best match I had ever had to date. It even received a write up and a picture in one of the magazines. Here is a quote from the magazine that stands out “In the eleventh match, JJ Johnson defeated Mozart Fontaine. Making his singles debut was the pompous Mozart Fontaine who was brought to the ring by the manager of the Box Office, E.S. Easton. Johnson was relentless in his attack on Fontaine and when Easton attempted to get involved his interference backfired and gave JJ the win.”
I guess I did okay. All that training paid off and allowed me to perform to perfection under duress. Of course the majority of credit goes to my opponent Mozart Fontaine who took control of the match and made sure the plot was fulfilled. He could easily have shot on me, but was the ever consummate professional. He might not be the model of physical perfection, but the guy is definitely skilled in the ring. His ability to remain calm in the face of adversity allowed our match to flow perfectly.
As for the final match of the night….I have no idea? All I came home with was a bloody pair of jeans with a giant rip through the crotch. I sure hope I had clean underwear on that night. Still do not know whatever happened to my gym bag and street clothes.
And that my friend is what happens when you get a concussion. Hoped you enjoyed the story, and yes it is true.
Your lesson for this day Grasshopper:
Train to perform under duress.
Train to overcome adversity.
Train not to look good but to perform to perfection when conditions are not perfect.
Train Renegade.
