Post by Manabu on Dec 13, 2011 16:34:41 GMT -5
Origins Story Part 1
Section 1
Manabu Fujiwara:
“My name is Manabu Fujiwara.
“Most of you all have never heard of me. And to be honest, I’d be surprised if you have heard of me. I’ve actually been out of wrestling for a little while, for almost two years now.
“But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First, let me tell you about me and who I am.
“I was born in Tokyo Japan.
“Yeah, shocker huh?
“Anyway, I guess you could say that I was born into wrestling. My grandfather wrestled back in the day. His name was Kato Fujiwara. Now, I’d love to say that my granddad was an amazing wrestler, that he tore everyone up. But, the fact of the matter is, he wasn’t. Sure, he was well liked by the boys in the locker room. But skill wise, he was average. He won a couple of tag team championships, but, that was about it.
“For what ever reason, my dad decided that he wanted to become a wrestler as well. His ring name was Mongo Fuji. There was a lot of pressure on my dad. He didn’t want to be like my granddad. So, he worked hard. He was really at home, because he was always at the gym training.
“The average Japanese wrestling fan will tell you that Mongo Fuji was known for one thing, and that is being stiff. I’ve been told the people were actually afraid to get in the ring with him, they thought he would pound on them until the died or something.
“My father was a much better wrestler than my grandfather. He won a three world championships, along with various other middle grade titles.
“But, my dad wanted something more. He felt that he had done enough in Japan, and wanted to travel the world to wrestle. So, when I was about nine or so, my family moved to the States. We settled upon L.A.; my dad had got a lot of calls from West Coast companies. So, that’s where we went.
“Dad earned a lot of respect by working in the states. Eventually he retired and we stayed in L.A.
“Now, you would probably expect me to say, ‘Hey, I knew I wanted to be a wrestler since I was young’ too. But, to be honest, that wasn’t the case. In fact, wrestling wasn’t on my radar when I was younger. Sure, I watched it when dad was around, I pretended to be interested, but, I really didn’t care too much about it. I actually wanted to be a lawyer when I was really young.
“Well, I didn’t exactly become a lawyer per say. I graduated college with a Bachelors in Sociology. I was 20 then. Afterwards, I studied to become a paralegal. It normally takes two or three years, but, I finished in one and a half years. By 22 I was in the court room, helping put criminals away.
“But in college, wrestling had caught my interest. You have to remember, I was kind of young when my dad was big in Japan. I remember watching most his U.S. work, which, I hated. Actually, I didn’t hate HIS work, I hated the U.S. product.
“It was so graceful, so meek, so soft!
“But in college some of my friends began to show me a lot of old school Japanese wrestling. What was hot in Japan was different than what hot here in the states, and I preferred my homeland’s product.
“I told my father that I wanted to give wrestling a shot. He was excite to say the least. I guess he always dreamed that I would follow in his and my granddad’s footsteps. I told him that I didn’t want to train here in the states though, if I was going to learn, then I was going to learn in Japan.
“I did some research and decided to train at a place called New York-Japan Alliance wrestling. I picked this place for two reasons. NYJA has a headquarters in both the U.S. and in Japan. Now this is a good thing, because what happened was that it blended the best qualities of both products into one. So, at NYJA, we learned how to be charismatic on the mic, but how to be super stiff at the same time.
“And that’s where our story ends, for today anyway.”
Section 2
The scene opens up with Manabu sitting in the arena hallway. He doesn’t have a locker room or place to change yet. So, he decided to arrive a bit early and change in the bathroom. At the moment he is sitting in a metal chair, taping up his wrists. Around his an abundance of metal, folded up chairs, piles of metal scrap, even a couple of metal tables.
He looked up at the ceiling, this hallway had a long string of lights running down the center. However, the way the lights illuminate and hit the metal makes the hallways seem a bit dark and gloomy.
Manabu stands up and stretches a little bit, accidentally kicking over his gym bag, which is resting near his chair. Manabu places his gear back into the bag and tosses the tape into too.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Should I leave it here unattended?”
Manabu struggles his shoulders and walks down the hall. No one is going to touch that dusty Black Nike bag. There wasn’t anything valuable in their anyway. What would a thief steal, some old Black trunks?
Manabu walks the length of the hall and makes a right. This new hallway is very bright. He walks over to the food table, which is placed on the center. It’s not a fancy spread, some cheese, some crackers, a few sandwiches. Manabu skips all of that, a heavy load in your stomach slows one down.
Manabu pours a small cup of coffee. He reaches for the creamer, but, there’s none left. Manabu tosses the empty creamer container into trash. He takes a long sip.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spots someone coming. Manabu wasn’t sure who the person was, but he could tell he worked for UWA.
The man walks up and shakes Manabu’s hand.
UWA Road Agent:
“You are Manabu right?”
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Yes sir.”
UWA Road Agent:
“Good, I’m one of the road agents here. Just wanted to let you know that there’s about 30 minutes left until your match starts.”
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Thank of very much.”
The road agents walks over to the table and grabs a sandwich.
UWA Road Agent:
“There will be some officials at the end of the hall down there when it’s time for the match. Just follow them ok.
“Good luck out there.”
The road agent walks down the hall, disappearing at the end. Manabu finishes his coffee and puts the cup into the trash can. He walks over a few feet and then leans against the wall. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“It’s been about two years since I’ve stepped into a wrestling ring.
“The last time I had a match, I was working for some promotion called XDF. Don’t bother trying to look it up, the place is defunct away. Not that there was much life in it when it was functional.
“At the time, I was feuding with my mentor, the man who trained me in Japan. His name is Flex Johnson. Sure, he has a great mind for the business. But, he is arrogant, So when I joined the company, I vowed to take him down.”
Manabu let’s out a loud sigh.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Ultimately I failed.
“I guess that’s why I’m here in this little dumped that you all call UWA. Sure, XDF was a clusterf*** backstage, but they had a national TV deal, arranged flights to ever venue, great pay, and a nice locker room for each worker.
“What has UWA offered me?
“Ha, nothing but some stale coffee and dusty metal chair!”
Manabu shakes his head. He then runs his fingers though his hair.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“But, it’s not all bad right?
“I mean, it’s my first match here and I’m already main eventing, which could probably mean three things. One, my opponent is a fan favorite and they are just trying to feed the ‘new guy’ to him. I’ve seen it happen numerous times. Two, my opponent is horrible bad, and they want me to destroy him. Now to be honest, this is probably the least likely of all. I mean, what good promoter would initially book a bad match?
“Or three, this match is more of a test. More than likely, UWA doesn’t know what to do with me just yet. So, they are using this match as a test of skills. My opponent has been here for a bit, they know him. But to them, I’m just a mystery to them.”
Manabu smiles a bit.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“But, I do know something about you, ‘Neptune.’
“For one, I know that you are one sick freak, a bastard who is obsessed with his own feet. Which, if I may say, is a d*** shame. For decades, Americans have thought of us Asians as freaks. They see us as exotic and strange. And, instead of presenting yourself as a decent person, a respectable gentleman, you walk around with a foot fetish. You are Japanese as well correct?
“You are a disgrace to our homeland, our heritage!
“I’ve heard stories about you Neptune. What kind of a man makes other men massage his feet.”
Manabu raises an eyebrow.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“In fact, what kind of a man makes another man suck on his toes?
“YOU are that type of man aren’t you Neptune? Ha, and THIS is the type of man that UWA decides to thrust towards the forefront. If YOU are the best that this promotion has to offer, then I might as well pack my bag and leave!”
Manabu let’s out a small laugh.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Let me ask you something Neptune, what brings you to this promotion? If you are so great, if you are such big s***, then why are you running around talking smack in a rinky-dink indy? I’m not going to hide anything, I screwed up. I was touring the world, and I messed up, that’s why I’m here. But, it’s a different story for you. If you are the wrestler that you claim to be, then why aren’t you employed to a national company, touring the world?
“Ha, it’s simple Neptune, you’re not f******g good enough!
“You are a one trick pony aren’t you.; you kick people. Ok, that’s all fine and good. But what happens when you aren’t able to use those kicks? What happens when you actually have to rely on your wrestling skills? Well, that’s assuming you actually have some wrestling skills.
“And yet, you fancy yourself a god?
“You haven’t done s*** with your career so far, ‘Mr. god’. That’s why you are wallowing this fed just like the rest of us. You are no better than anyone else in this promotion, and the sooner you get that through your thick skull, the sooner you can move on. You need a reality check, and I guess I’m going to be the one to deliver it.”
Manabu sighs.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“What are you in this fed to do Neptune? Are you here to win titles? Do you want a shiny piece of metal to put on top of your shoulder?
“See, that’s the difference between you and I Neptune. I didn’t join UWA so that I could win titles. I joined this promotion for one reason and one reason only, and that is to compete. I’m here to learn, to perfect my craft. Unlike you, I don’t treat wrestling like a d*** game, this is my career!”
Manabu walks away from the wall.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“But I suppose we could talk all and it wouldn’t matter one bit.
“So, I’m done with words Neptune. I’ll let me skills speak from themselves out there in that ring.”
Manabu glares at the camera as the camera as it begins to fade out.
END
Section 1
Manabu Fujiwara:
“My name is Manabu Fujiwara.
“Most of you all have never heard of me. And to be honest, I’d be surprised if you have heard of me. I’ve actually been out of wrestling for a little while, for almost two years now.
“But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First, let me tell you about me and who I am.
“I was born in Tokyo Japan.
“Yeah, shocker huh?
“Anyway, I guess you could say that I was born into wrestling. My grandfather wrestled back in the day. His name was Kato Fujiwara. Now, I’d love to say that my granddad was an amazing wrestler, that he tore everyone up. But, the fact of the matter is, he wasn’t. Sure, he was well liked by the boys in the locker room. But skill wise, he was average. He won a couple of tag team championships, but, that was about it.
“For what ever reason, my dad decided that he wanted to become a wrestler as well. His ring name was Mongo Fuji. There was a lot of pressure on my dad. He didn’t want to be like my granddad. So, he worked hard. He was really at home, because he was always at the gym training.
“The average Japanese wrestling fan will tell you that Mongo Fuji was known for one thing, and that is being stiff. I’ve been told the people were actually afraid to get in the ring with him, they thought he would pound on them until the died or something.
“My father was a much better wrestler than my grandfather. He won a three world championships, along with various other middle grade titles.
“But, my dad wanted something more. He felt that he had done enough in Japan, and wanted to travel the world to wrestle. So, when I was about nine or so, my family moved to the States. We settled upon L.A.; my dad had got a lot of calls from West Coast companies. So, that’s where we went.
“Dad earned a lot of respect by working in the states. Eventually he retired and we stayed in L.A.
“Now, you would probably expect me to say, ‘Hey, I knew I wanted to be a wrestler since I was young’ too. But, to be honest, that wasn’t the case. In fact, wrestling wasn’t on my radar when I was younger. Sure, I watched it when dad was around, I pretended to be interested, but, I really didn’t care too much about it. I actually wanted to be a lawyer when I was really young.
“Well, I didn’t exactly become a lawyer per say. I graduated college with a Bachelors in Sociology. I was 20 then. Afterwards, I studied to become a paralegal. It normally takes two or three years, but, I finished in one and a half years. By 22 I was in the court room, helping put criminals away.
“But in college, wrestling had caught my interest. You have to remember, I was kind of young when my dad was big in Japan. I remember watching most his U.S. work, which, I hated. Actually, I didn’t hate HIS work, I hated the U.S. product.
“It was so graceful, so meek, so soft!
“But in college some of my friends began to show me a lot of old school Japanese wrestling. What was hot in Japan was different than what hot here in the states, and I preferred my homeland’s product.
“I told my father that I wanted to give wrestling a shot. He was excite to say the least. I guess he always dreamed that I would follow in his and my granddad’s footsteps. I told him that I didn’t want to train here in the states though, if I was going to learn, then I was going to learn in Japan.
“I did some research and decided to train at a place called New York-Japan Alliance wrestling. I picked this place for two reasons. NYJA has a headquarters in both the U.S. and in Japan. Now this is a good thing, because what happened was that it blended the best qualities of both products into one. So, at NYJA, we learned how to be charismatic on the mic, but how to be super stiff at the same time.
“And that’s where our story ends, for today anyway.”
Section 2
The scene opens up with Manabu sitting in the arena hallway. He doesn’t have a locker room or place to change yet. So, he decided to arrive a bit early and change in the bathroom. At the moment he is sitting in a metal chair, taping up his wrists. Around his an abundance of metal, folded up chairs, piles of metal scrap, even a couple of metal tables.
He looked up at the ceiling, this hallway had a long string of lights running down the center. However, the way the lights illuminate and hit the metal makes the hallways seem a bit dark and gloomy.
Manabu stands up and stretches a little bit, accidentally kicking over his gym bag, which is resting near his chair. Manabu places his gear back into the bag and tosses the tape into too.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Should I leave it here unattended?”
Manabu struggles his shoulders and walks down the hall. No one is going to touch that dusty Black Nike bag. There wasn’t anything valuable in their anyway. What would a thief steal, some old Black trunks?
Manabu walks the length of the hall and makes a right. This new hallway is very bright. He walks over to the food table, which is placed on the center. It’s not a fancy spread, some cheese, some crackers, a few sandwiches. Manabu skips all of that, a heavy load in your stomach slows one down.
Manabu pours a small cup of coffee. He reaches for the creamer, but, there’s none left. Manabu tosses the empty creamer container into trash. He takes a long sip.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spots someone coming. Manabu wasn’t sure who the person was, but he could tell he worked for UWA.
The man walks up and shakes Manabu’s hand.
UWA Road Agent:
“You are Manabu right?”
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Yes sir.”
UWA Road Agent:
“Good, I’m one of the road agents here. Just wanted to let you know that there’s about 30 minutes left until your match starts.”
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Thank of very much.”
The road agents walks over to the table and grabs a sandwich.
UWA Road Agent:
“There will be some officials at the end of the hall down there when it’s time for the match. Just follow them ok.
“Good luck out there.”
The road agent walks down the hall, disappearing at the end. Manabu finishes his coffee and puts the cup into the trash can. He walks over a few feet and then leans against the wall. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“It’s been about two years since I’ve stepped into a wrestling ring.
“The last time I had a match, I was working for some promotion called XDF. Don’t bother trying to look it up, the place is defunct away. Not that there was much life in it when it was functional.
“At the time, I was feuding with my mentor, the man who trained me in Japan. His name is Flex Johnson. Sure, he has a great mind for the business. But, he is arrogant, So when I joined the company, I vowed to take him down.”
Manabu let’s out a loud sigh.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Ultimately I failed.
“I guess that’s why I’m here in this little dumped that you all call UWA. Sure, XDF was a clusterf*** backstage, but they had a national TV deal, arranged flights to ever venue, great pay, and a nice locker room for each worker.
“What has UWA offered me?
“Ha, nothing but some stale coffee and dusty metal chair!”
Manabu shakes his head. He then runs his fingers though his hair.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“But, it’s not all bad right?
“I mean, it’s my first match here and I’m already main eventing, which could probably mean three things. One, my opponent is a fan favorite and they are just trying to feed the ‘new guy’ to him. I’ve seen it happen numerous times. Two, my opponent is horrible bad, and they want me to destroy him. Now to be honest, this is probably the least likely of all. I mean, what good promoter would initially book a bad match?
“Or three, this match is more of a test. More than likely, UWA doesn’t know what to do with me just yet. So, they are using this match as a test of skills. My opponent has been here for a bit, they know him. But to them, I’m just a mystery to them.”
Manabu smiles a bit.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“But, I do know something about you, ‘Neptune.’
“For one, I know that you are one sick freak, a bastard who is obsessed with his own feet. Which, if I may say, is a d*** shame. For decades, Americans have thought of us Asians as freaks. They see us as exotic and strange. And, instead of presenting yourself as a decent person, a respectable gentleman, you walk around with a foot fetish. You are Japanese as well correct?
“You are a disgrace to our homeland, our heritage!
“I’ve heard stories about you Neptune. What kind of a man makes other men massage his feet.”
Manabu raises an eyebrow.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“In fact, what kind of a man makes another man suck on his toes?
“YOU are that type of man aren’t you Neptune? Ha, and THIS is the type of man that UWA decides to thrust towards the forefront. If YOU are the best that this promotion has to offer, then I might as well pack my bag and leave!”
Manabu let’s out a small laugh.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“Let me ask you something Neptune, what brings you to this promotion? If you are so great, if you are such big s***, then why are you running around talking smack in a rinky-dink indy? I’m not going to hide anything, I screwed up. I was touring the world, and I messed up, that’s why I’m here. But, it’s a different story for you. If you are the wrestler that you claim to be, then why aren’t you employed to a national company, touring the world?
“Ha, it’s simple Neptune, you’re not f******g good enough!
“You are a one trick pony aren’t you.; you kick people. Ok, that’s all fine and good. But what happens when you aren’t able to use those kicks? What happens when you actually have to rely on your wrestling skills? Well, that’s assuming you actually have some wrestling skills.
“And yet, you fancy yourself a god?
“You haven’t done s*** with your career so far, ‘Mr. god’. That’s why you are wallowing this fed just like the rest of us. You are no better than anyone else in this promotion, and the sooner you get that through your thick skull, the sooner you can move on. You need a reality check, and I guess I’m going to be the one to deliver it.”
Manabu sighs.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“What are you in this fed to do Neptune? Are you here to win titles? Do you want a shiny piece of metal to put on top of your shoulder?
“See, that’s the difference between you and I Neptune. I didn’t join UWA so that I could win titles. I joined this promotion for one reason and one reason only, and that is to compete. I’m here to learn, to perfect my craft. Unlike you, I don’t treat wrestling like a d*** game, this is my career!”
Manabu walks away from the wall.
Manabu Fujiwara:
“But I suppose we could talk all and it wouldn’t matter one bit.
“So, I’m done with words Neptune. I’ll let me skills speak from themselves out there in that ring.”
Manabu glares at the camera as the camera as it begins to fade out.
END
