Post by Mike Laszlo on Aug 18, 2011 0:00:00 GMT -6
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
That question, asked by a female voice entered the room from the doorway as I sat on a weight bench, taking a break from my workout. It had been so long since I had done something so intense. Now granted, over the last year I had still kept in shape, but I wasn’t in game shape. If anyone had looked at me over the past year plus, they’d have said, “Yeah, he looks fit to me.”
I know better.
I know that to perform in that ring week in and week out, I have to be in the best physical shape I can possibly be in. I know that a bump will hurt again after not taking one for so long. I know that all the bumps and bruises are about to return and do so with a vengeance.
I must be ready.
Nobody in the NCW organization is going to say “Hmm, he’s coming back from a long hiatus, maybe I should take it easy on him.” Nobody is going to say, “I shouldn’t go full blast, I don’t want to hurt him.” Nobody will have that train of thought and should someone be so dense, I want them to pay for it.
I want them to come at me with the best they got due to the plain and simple fact that I’m Mike Laszlo and they know what that means in the world of wrestling. It may mean nothing here in NCW because to them, as far as this company goes, I’m nobody. In their eyes, in their ranks, I’m at the bottom where a newcomer belongs, and you know what?
I’d have it no other way.
I don’t want to be the recognized name who walks into a company and is automatically awarded top flight status. I’ve been there, done that, didn’t like it. I felt like when that happened, the rest of my career in that company, the rest of my time spent working my ass off, doing all I could whether they hated me or loved me, for the fans, was wasted. Nobody respected my accomplishments. Nobody respected the workhorse I was. Nobody respected every single thing I did to get better and make my performances that much more entertaining. Nobody gave a damn.
This time it will be different. This time, I not only earn my spot…I TAKE IT!
All those thoughts quickly flashed through the cerebral cortex of my brain as I sat there on the weight bench and was asked that question.
Mike Laszlo: Yes.
I answered with a simple, singular word, the simplicity seemingly baffling the female in the doorway, my best friend, Kristy.
Kristy: Yes? That’s all I get? Yes?
Mike Laszlo: Well, you asked a question and I gave an answer albeit simple.
Kristy: I knew the answer was yes. You wouldn’t be working this hard toward something you really didn’t want.
Mike Laszlo: Then why did you ask?
As I asked that question I looked up from my head down posture with a confused look on my face, causing her to walk over to the bench and have a seat next to me.
Kristy: I guess, what I really wanted to know is, why?
Mike Laszlo: Why what?
Kristy: Why you want to do this? What’s in it for you?
Before continuing she put her hand upon my shoulder to emphasize her point.
Kristy: You’re Mike Laszlo. Ex-owner of one of the most lavish hotel and casino spots in all of Las Vegas. One of the most decorated wrestlers of all time. And to top it off, you’re one of the most intelligent, shrewdest, yet most caring people I’ve met in my twenty-six years of existence. What is left to prove?
The question had weighed on my own mind a few times. I’m sure it weighs on the minds of all great performers and athletes when they go to make the famous “comeback.” That question, like the answer I provided the young girl earlier, was singular in spoken language, yet complex on so many levels…why? I however, was prepared. As I said, I had asked myself this question for a few days now after announcing my return to the world via the NCW website. I had the answers ready and waiting in case anyone asked me that question. So I took a deep sigh as I stood up from the chair as Kristy looked on.
I outstretched my right arm as to show off my first point.
Mike Laszlo: I became one of the greatest wrestlers of all time both singles and tag team competition.
I then put my right arm down and outstretched my left.
Mike Laszlo: I became a successful business man, owning my own set of gyms, one in each corner of the country, and a five star resort and casino of which I just sold. What was left? Sit at home and do nothing? My little girl is six years old already. Her aunt, the long lost sister of my deceased wife is in college. Then, to top it all off, I caught my business associate, manager, valet, and fiancé having an affair with one of the gym security guys, due to the fact that in all seriousness she’s nothing more than a dirty tramp. What do I have left to do?
Kristy: I guess if you put it that way. Won’t going on the road full time take away from your time with Britney?
Britney is the six year old little girl of mine that was mentioned earlier. Her mother, my wife, Sara was killed in a car accident caused by the slick back roads of Ohio in the autumn. She died before my very eyes. I went on to take care of my little girl, as well as the sister of my wife Lindsay, a run-away, outcast by her family, a bunch of sick, twisted, hillbillies who ran with the worst people, and lived the worst type of lifestyle one could imagine. Drugs, sex, more drugs, more sex, bi-weekly binges, weeks on end of nobody knowing where they were. Who knows? Maybe Lindsay was better off getting away from such a lifestyle. Was I the brave knight? I rode in on my white horse and took Sara from such a life that she too chose to ignore, and eventually rescued Lindsay from a life of neglect at the hands of her grandmother. Anyway, I digress.
Mike Laszlo: It won’t. The scheduling is very generous to the talent, and if it gets to be a burden I have backup plans.
Kristy: So why wrestle again?
Mike Laszlo: Why not? I have the money to support multiple generations of family, so it isn’t for that. I have fame, so it isn’t for that.
She stood from her seat and came a little closer toward me.
Kristy: Then for what?
I stood for a second and stared into her beautiful green eyes before answering.
Mike Laszlo: Because I can. I like to wrestle. I’m good at it. I like walking through that curtain to hear the roar of the crowd, positive or negative. I like putting on a show. I like the adrenaline rush I get when I stand behind the curtain and my music hits. The heart starts pumping, the blood rushing, and all you can think to yourself is…”Here we go.”
She absorbs the answer and responds with a bit of a giggle, trying to keep it subtle with her hand over her mouth.
Mike Laszlo: What’s so funny?
Kristy: Nothing.
Mike Laszlo: What is it?
Kristy: It’s just that…
She paused as her giggle became a bit more of a laugh as she saw the look on my face as I awaited an answer.
Mike Laszlo: It’s just what.
She couldn’t hold in her opinion any longer. So rather than resist, she blurts it out.
Kristy: You…are…an…adrenaline junky.
Mike Laszlo: I guess.
Kristy: You are. You like the rush. I don’t blame you. I’ve sat front row at your events and see how the people in those seats respond to you. You walk down the aisle and they reach to touch you. You grab a microphone and they hang on your every word. Every match you’ve ever had that I’ve seen, they hang on every bit of the performance, because no matter they love you or they hate you, they respect you. Each impact move you do met with a “OOOO!” or an “AHHH!” Each chop, met with a “WOOO!” Every thunderous blow met with a cringe, all out of respect because they know that no matter what, hurt or not, good, bad, or indifferent, you’re there to put a show on for them, and make every bit of their hard earned money they paid for the ticket worth it, and for that, they appreciate you.
The sense of accomplishment overwhelmed me for a minute. She was right. It didn’t matter what creative had for me. It didn’t matter what was written. I always walked to a different drum…my drum, and I will always do so. It doesn’t matter who I face, who my boss is, or what others think of me. I will always be who I am for me and no-one else.
Mike Laszlo: You just contradicted your point. I’m not an adrenaline junky. I do what I do for those people. I perform for them out of respect. The same respect I expect from each and every one of them for what it is I do in that very ring. I expect respect because I am Mike Laszlo, and that means that I am simply put, THE BEST!
The scene starts to face until it goes completely black, however, there is one last set of lines that can be heard.
Kristy: Well, you sure do have that promo thing down to a science.
Mike Laszlo: It’s like riding a bike…you never forget it.
That question, asked by a female voice entered the room from the doorway as I sat on a weight bench, taking a break from my workout. It had been so long since I had done something so intense. Now granted, over the last year I had still kept in shape, but I wasn’t in game shape. If anyone had looked at me over the past year plus, they’d have said, “Yeah, he looks fit to me.”
I know better.
I know that to perform in that ring week in and week out, I have to be in the best physical shape I can possibly be in. I know that a bump will hurt again after not taking one for so long. I know that all the bumps and bruises are about to return and do so with a vengeance.
I must be ready.
Nobody in the NCW organization is going to say “Hmm, he’s coming back from a long hiatus, maybe I should take it easy on him.” Nobody is going to say, “I shouldn’t go full blast, I don’t want to hurt him.” Nobody will have that train of thought and should someone be so dense, I want them to pay for it.
I want them to come at me with the best they got due to the plain and simple fact that I’m Mike Laszlo and they know what that means in the world of wrestling. It may mean nothing here in NCW because to them, as far as this company goes, I’m nobody. In their eyes, in their ranks, I’m at the bottom where a newcomer belongs, and you know what?
I’d have it no other way.
I don’t want to be the recognized name who walks into a company and is automatically awarded top flight status. I’ve been there, done that, didn’t like it. I felt like when that happened, the rest of my career in that company, the rest of my time spent working my ass off, doing all I could whether they hated me or loved me, for the fans, was wasted. Nobody respected my accomplishments. Nobody respected the workhorse I was. Nobody respected every single thing I did to get better and make my performances that much more entertaining. Nobody gave a damn.
This time it will be different. This time, I not only earn my spot…I TAKE IT!
All those thoughts quickly flashed through the cerebral cortex of my brain as I sat there on the weight bench and was asked that question.
Mike Laszlo: Yes.
I answered with a simple, singular word, the simplicity seemingly baffling the female in the doorway, my best friend, Kristy.
Kristy: Yes? That’s all I get? Yes?
Mike Laszlo: Well, you asked a question and I gave an answer albeit simple.
Kristy: I knew the answer was yes. You wouldn’t be working this hard toward something you really didn’t want.
Mike Laszlo: Then why did you ask?
As I asked that question I looked up from my head down posture with a confused look on my face, causing her to walk over to the bench and have a seat next to me.
Kristy: I guess, what I really wanted to know is, why?
Mike Laszlo: Why what?
Kristy: Why you want to do this? What’s in it for you?
Before continuing she put her hand upon my shoulder to emphasize her point.
Kristy: You’re Mike Laszlo. Ex-owner of one of the most lavish hotel and casino spots in all of Las Vegas. One of the most decorated wrestlers of all time. And to top it off, you’re one of the most intelligent, shrewdest, yet most caring people I’ve met in my twenty-six years of existence. What is left to prove?
The question had weighed on my own mind a few times. I’m sure it weighs on the minds of all great performers and athletes when they go to make the famous “comeback.” That question, like the answer I provided the young girl earlier, was singular in spoken language, yet complex on so many levels…why? I however, was prepared. As I said, I had asked myself this question for a few days now after announcing my return to the world via the NCW website. I had the answers ready and waiting in case anyone asked me that question. So I took a deep sigh as I stood up from the chair as Kristy looked on.
I outstretched my right arm as to show off my first point.
Mike Laszlo: I became one of the greatest wrestlers of all time both singles and tag team competition.
I then put my right arm down and outstretched my left.
Mike Laszlo: I became a successful business man, owning my own set of gyms, one in each corner of the country, and a five star resort and casino of which I just sold. What was left? Sit at home and do nothing? My little girl is six years old already. Her aunt, the long lost sister of my deceased wife is in college. Then, to top it all off, I caught my business associate, manager, valet, and fiancé having an affair with one of the gym security guys, due to the fact that in all seriousness she’s nothing more than a dirty tramp. What do I have left to do?
Kristy: I guess if you put it that way. Won’t going on the road full time take away from your time with Britney?
Britney is the six year old little girl of mine that was mentioned earlier. Her mother, my wife, Sara was killed in a car accident caused by the slick back roads of Ohio in the autumn. She died before my very eyes. I went on to take care of my little girl, as well as the sister of my wife Lindsay, a run-away, outcast by her family, a bunch of sick, twisted, hillbillies who ran with the worst people, and lived the worst type of lifestyle one could imagine. Drugs, sex, more drugs, more sex, bi-weekly binges, weeks on end of nobody knowing where they were. Who knows? Maybe Lindsay was better off getting away from such a lifestyle. Was I the brave knight? I rode in on my white horse and took Sara from such a life that she too chose to ignore, and eventually rescued Lindsay from a life of neglect at the hands of her grandmother. Anyway, I digress.
Mike Laszlo: It won’t. The scheduling is very generous to the talent, and if it gets to be a burden I have backup plans.
Kristy: So why wrestle again?
Mike Laszlo: Why not? I have the money to support multiple generations of family, so it isn’t for that. I have fame, so it isn’t for that.
She stood from her seat and came a little closer toward me.
Kristy: Then for what?
I stood for a second and stared into her beautiful green eyes before answering.
Mike Laszlo: Because I can. I like to wrestle. I’m good at it. I like walking through that curtain to hear the roar of the crowd, positive or negative. I like putting on a show. I like the adrenaline rush I get when I stand behind the curtain and my music hits. The heart starts pumping, the blood rushing, and all you can think to yourself is…”Here we go.”
She absorbs the answer and responds with a bit of a giggle, trying to keep it subtle with her hand over her mouth.
Mike Laszlo: What’s so funny?
Kristy: Nothing.
Mike Laszlo: What is it?
Kristy: It’s just that…
She paused as her giggle became a bit more of a laugh as she saw the look on my face as I awaited an answer.
Mike Laszlo: It’s just what.
She couldn’t hold in her opinion any longer. So rather than resist, she blurts it out.
Kristy: You…are…an…adrenaline junky.
Mike Laszlo: I guess.
Kristy: You are. You like the rush. I don’t blame you. I’ve sat front row at your events and see how the people in those seats respond to you. You walk down the aisle and they reach to touch you. You grab a microphone and they hang on your every word. Every match you’ve ever had that I’ve seen, they hang on every bit of the performance, because no matter they love you or they hate you, they respect you. Each impact move you do met with a “OOOO!” or an “AHHH!” Each chop, met with a “WOOO!” Every thunderous blow met with a cringe, all out of respect because they know that no matter what, hurt or not, good, bad, or indifferent, you’re there to put a show on for them, and make every bit of their hard earned money they paid for the ticket worth it, and for that, they appreciate you.
The sense of accomplishment overwhelmed me for a minute. She was right. It didn’t matter what creative had for me. It didn’t matter what was written. I always walked to a different drum…my drum, and I will always do so. It doesn’t matter who I face, who my boss is, or what others think of me. I will always be who I am for me and no-one else.
Mike Laszlo: You just contradicted your point. I’m not an adrenaline junky. I do what I do for those people. I perform for them out of respect. The same respect I expect from each and every one of them for what it is I do in that very ring. I expect respect because I am Mike Laszlo, and that means that I am simply put, THE BEST!
The scene starts to face until it goes completely black, however, there is one last set of lines that can be heard.
Kristy: Well, you sure do have that promo thing down to a science.
Mike Laszlo: It’s like riding a bike…you never forget it.