You Never Forget Your First

I sat in the small locker room, putting my ring gear on. I still couldn’t believe it. I was about to debut in my first official match in my career. Granted I had wrestled at a few street fairs and other small events but this was the first match I had for an official promotion. Granted it wasn’t a big promotion by any means. Treasure State Wrestling ran their shows from the Shrine Auditorium and was a very small promotion, used for introducing budding wrestlers to the wrestling world. My opponent tonight, Nick Garcia graduated from the school before I started training and had helped train me.

Nick was sitting across from me, finishing up a phone call before giving me a friendly smile. He was a 6ft 3 guy with a shaved head and blue eyes that always had a twinkle of mischief to them.

“ You ready for this buddy?”

“ Yeah man,” I said quietly.

“ Okay is this is what we are going to do. I’m going to open the show and then you’ll come out, interrupt me and when I asked you who you are, say nothing, just smack me in the face as hard as you can. Our match will go from there. I’ll be putting you over. It’s a little thing we do to welcome new members on the roster.”

“ I appreciate it. Thanks.” I said trying to convey how grateful I was in my tone.

“ No problem man. Once you beat me, grab a microphone and just say “ I’m Jason Ryan” then leave.

I nodded and Nick patted me on the shoulder “ I’ll see you out there.”

Nick stood up and left the small locker room. I leaned back and looked at the ceiling still unable to believe it. The Shrine Auditorium while not being big was a very notable venue here in Montana. It was home to the annual circus and served as a gateway of sorts to aspiring musicians. And here I was, awaiting my debut. I kept pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

After a few moments, I stood up and left the locker room. I walked left and walked in the hallway until I came to a flight of stairs. I climbed them and was greeted by Brooklyn and Travis.

“ Hey Josh you ready?” Travis asked me. I nodded and looked at the black curtain set up in the door. The threshold to my future. I could make out Nick’s voice from the auditorium.

“ It’s alright to be nervous. Just remember you’re ready for this. Just breathe in and out. You’re ready for this” Travis said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“ Thanks. For everything.” I said taking a deep breath like he suggested and tried to force myself to calm down. Brooklyn slugged my shoulder and smirked.

“ Go ahead and warm up the crowd so I can knock them dead later.”

“ Nah, I think I’ll just go ahead and steal the show. Good luck following my match.”

“ I hate following you, it’s too much work,” Brooklyn said, making a face at me.

I chuckled and made a face back at her as Riot by Three Days Grace. I gave Brooklyn a sarcastic salute before stepping through the curtain. The auditorium had two sets of bleachers that only had three rows. While Treasure State Wrestling isn’t a large promotion it still drew well due to the reputation of Travis. I walked down the aisle staring right at Nick as the commentary team questioned who I was and why I was out here.

I got in the ring and walked up to Nick who just gave me a look that was a mix of confusion and arrogance.

“ And I take it you are my opponent. And who the hell are you?”

I said nothing but smacked him as hard as I could. He recoiled and held his cheek. He gave me a murderous look and told the referee to ring the bell. As soon as the bell rang he drove me into the corner with lefts and rights. I sank down in the corner as he stomped away at me until the referee pushed him off me. Nick shoved the referee away and walked towards me but I met him with a Superkick.

Nick stumbled back, holding his chin. I exploded out of the corner with a clothesline. I mounted Nick and punched him over and over again. I hauled Nick to his feet and hit him with a neck breaker. I went for the pin but only got one count. Nick rolled me up as I sat up and nearly got the three count but I managed to kick out.

Before I could recover Nick locked me into an armbar. I played up the pain for the crowd as I drugged for the ropes. Nick gave the crowd a wicked grin.

“ This is too easy!” He yelled for which he got a mixed reaction. I managed to fight out of the armbar and got to my feet. I dodged a clothesline and hit him with a DDT. I stood up and put him in an Indian Deathlock. Nick yelled and tried to reach the ropes but I dragged him in the middle of the ropes. Nick rolled through, causing me to crash headfirst in the ropes.

Nick grabbed my head and smashed my head into the turnbuckle. He went to do it again but I elbowed him multiple times so he would let go. He backed off and I whipped Nick into the corner. I punched him over and over again then backed away. I took a deep breath and went for a splash on. I’ll but he got out of the way, causing me to collide with the turnbuckle. As I stumbled back, Nick rolled me up for the pin but I kicked out at two.

Nick got me to my feet and hit me with his finishing move, a spiking butterfly DDT. He went for the pin but I managed to get a shoulder up. Nick picked me up and went for it again but I pushed him away and hit him with a bicycle kick. I picked Nick up and hit a series of suplexes then covered him. Nick kicked out of two and I immediately put him in a headlock. Nick tried to force his way out, clapping to get the crowd more into the match.

Nick elbowed me in the stomach a few times. I backed up and Nick bounced against the ropes. He ran into a dropkick from me. I hurried to my feet and hauled Nick to his feet, putting him in a waistlock. I hit him with a waistlock lariat for which I hadn’t thought of a name for yet. I waited for Nick to get on his knees before running past him, bounced against the ropes then hit Nick with a running knee to the back of the head, a move I’m thinking of keeping as my finisher at least for now and calling it the Desti-Knee.

Anyway, I went for the cover and got the three count. As my theme played I got to my feet as the fans clapped. I leaned against the ropes, seeing the fact I was exhausted. After a few moments, I grabbed the microphone and leaned over Nick.

“ I’m Jason Ryan,” I said breathlessly before dropping the mic on his unmoving body. I got out of the ring and went through the curtain. As soon as I emerged the others started clapping and congratulating me on the match. I shook hands and politely thanked them before heading down to the locker room.

I grabbed my towel, stripped off my gear, and hopped in the shower. The water was lukewarm at first then turned cold but I didn’t care. I was on a high of sorts, my first match had been a blast. I leaned my head against the wall, letting the water cool down and cleanse my body and closed my eyes, enjoying the moment. Little did I know a shitstorm that was headed my way.