Post by Midori Miyamoto on Aug 28, 2018 12:32:30 GMT
I was fuming mad as I gazed out at the nighttime pier.
A lot of people wouldn’t admit that to you. It seems like the only valid responses are happy or prepared if you ask a wrestler how they’re doing. I’m not like that, though. I don’t see the shame in sharing your true emotions.
Therefore, I can truly you from the bottom of my heart, that I was pissed the fuck off.
Why? That’s what you’re wondering, right? Well, I’ve got an answer for you. A few answers, really.
KAGUYA-Gun. Fucking KAGUYA-Gun…
You know, it’s wild. Rewind your mind back to the beginning of JET Eight, if you could. Our General Manager, Yoko Kudo, made an appearance early in the show. She’s a good woman; a woman of honor. Ms. Kudo went on the detail how KAGUYA-Gun attacked three debuting wrestlers (one of them was me) and how they tried snake their way to the JET Trios Championship belts. She then prevented a majority of the members from be eligible to compete in the Tributary Shield Match as well.
That was a great moment. If fact, it made me smile. Not because she was reading KAGUYA-Gun for filth, but because it showed that someone in the back was paying attention and noticing the group’s bullshit. That doesn’t happen a lot in our sport, believe it or not. Often times, terrible things are just swept under the rug.
Justice was finally served—or so everyone thought.
But of course, fucking KAGUYA-Gun.
They ended up attacking Mizuki during the middle of our tag team match. I couldn’t help her. That’s another bout of mine that they’ve just decided to screw up. And that one? It was important. That was me and Mizuki’s ticket into the Tributary Shield. It was a chance for Mizuki to re-establish to the world how great she is in the ring by myself. It was a chance for me to make a greater impact in this company. It was a chance for my team to show that we are deadly, individually or as a unit…
Those opportunities got shit on because of that attack.
Part of me still had a bit of hope, you know? Ms. Kudo saw it. I know she did. She watched this group of dastardly women commit another travesty out there, one that affected the outcome of our match. Mizuki would have sped in there and broke up the pin on anyway other night. But she didn’t, because she’d just been treated like a pinball. Anyway, I’m sure Ms. Kudo saw it. So naturally, I assumed she’d make another announcement. I assumed she’d make things right, like she did before.
But she didn’t say anything.
She didn’t say anything about Mizuki getting hurt. She didn’t say anything about our getting a match stolen from us. She didn’t say anything about KAGUYA-Gun slinking a member into the match dedicated to the promotion’s founder (more on that another time)…
That hurt.
I could feel my body tensing up. My right hand kept balling up into a fist every couple of seconds. I was heated.
A hand gently rose up and rested on my right shoulder. Merlot Ayano is my mentor. Well, one of them anyway. She took me under ring once I started to re-train myself at the Zero/FOUR Dojo. And although we live in Vegas, I rarely see her unless we are at the gym together. So imagine my surprise when I saw her waiting for me after the JET show. Merlot works for a Japanese promotion called DIVINE Pro. They’d had a show the day prior, so she stuck around to watch me work.
“Take this,” she said in Japanese as she handed me cup of something. It was chill to the touch. After manipulating the cup in my hand a bit, I noticed that it was a cup bubble tea. Strawberry and mango mix—my absolute favorite. I let out a sigh and put its straw to my lips. The liquid seemed to cool my demeanor as well as my body temperature.
Merlot gave me a glance as I sipped on the tea. She was observing and taking inventory. She did that a lot.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “A little better?”
“A little,” I responded. “This helps,” I said as I shook the cup. The bit of tapioca jiggled as I did.
“I figured it would. A good drink always calms you down,” Merlot said as she nodded her head. She was right about that, although, I usually prefer alcohol in these situations. She then took a quick sip of her own bubble tea. Hers was regular mango.
“Though, don’t think that I’m being dismissive. I can understand why you’re frustrated. You’ve got every right to be.” A small sigh escaped along with her comments. “It’s rough. Fighting as hard as you possibly can, doing all the right things, only to watch unsavory people prosper. It’s really rough.”
She took a long sip of her drink. It must have been really been hitting the spot. Although, I can’t be one to talk.
“This is the difficult part about professional wrestling. It’s the part that really can’t be taught, you know? I can tell you about adversity all day long. But it will never be as impactful as experiencing it yourself.”
Yeah. No shit.
“I know things seem wild and out of hand right now. And maybe it’s because they are. However, there’s a silver lining; there’s always one.”
“Yeah?” My eyebrow arched up as I gave her a quizzical look. “What’s that?”
“If you chose to, this is something that you can grow from. Something that will make you more powerful in the long run.” She nodded her head. “What you chose to do in this moment and in the near future could possibly shape your entire career.
“It’s easy to be angry and mad, even if it’s justified. But it’s difficult to push that to the side and continue to make a stand. It’s difficult to keep being vocal and shining light on people’s wrongdoings. It’s difficult to stand up and keep on fighting. But that’s what separates the goods from the greats. And the greats of the legendary.”
She took another sip of her tea. “And, you’re one of the most difficult people I know. So, you should be fine.”
Merlot finished that with a laugh. Always so sarcastic. However, her joke did the trick. I couldn’t help but smile, just a bit.
“I learned it from one of my mentors,” I responded in jest.
We shared a quick laugh before said something stuck with me.
“And Midori? Remember the following. Sometimes you can’t look to others for help. You’ll be disappointed if you do. Sometimes, the only course of action is to stand up for yourself and take matters into your own hands. You understand?”
I didn’t respond verbally. I simply nodded my head.
“Good.” Merlot happened to glance down at her cup. It was empty, which brought a small pout to her face. Mine was nearing the bottom as well. “Let’s go get some food. And maybe a second cup.”
A lot of people wouldn’t admit that to you. It seems like the only valid responses are happy or prepared if you ask a wrestler how they’re doing. I’m not like that, though. I don’t see the shame in sharing your true emotions.
Therefore, I can truly you from the bottom of my heart, that I was pissed the fuck off.
Why? That’s what you’re wondering, right? Well, I’ve got an answer for you. A few answers, really.
KAGUYA-Gun. Fucking KAGUYA-Gun…
You know, it’s wild. Rewind your mind back to the beginning of JET Eight, if you could. Our General Manager, Yoko Kudo, made an appearance early in the show. She’s a good woman; a woman of honor. Ms. Kudo went on the detail how KAGUYA-Gun attacked three debuting wrestlers (one of them was me) and how they tried snake their way to the JET Trios Championship belts. She then prevented a majority of the members from be eligible to compete in the Tributary Shield Match as well.
That was a great moment. If fact, it made me smile. Not because she was reading KAGUYA-Gun for filth, but because it showed that someone in the back was paying attention and noticing the group’s bullshit. That doesn’t happen a lot in our sport, believe it or not. Often times, terrible things are just swept under the rug.
Justice was finally served—or so everyone thought.
But of course, fucking KAGUYA-Gun.
They ended up attacking Mizuki during the middle of our tag team match. I couldn’t help her. That’s another bout of mine that they’ve just decided to screw up. And that one? It was important. That was me and Mizuki’s ticket into the Tributary Shield. It was a chance for Mizuki to re-establish to the world how great she is in the ring by myself. It was a chance for me to make a greater impact in this company. It was a chance for my team to show that we are deadly, individually or as a unit…
Those opportunities got shit on because of that attack.
Part of me still had a bit of hope, you know? Ms. Kudo saw it. I know she did. She watched this group of dastardly women commit another travesty out there, one that affected the outcome of our match. Mizuki would have sped in there and broke up the pin on anyway other night. But she didn’t, because she’d just been treated like a pinball. Anyway, I’m sure Ms. Kudo saw it. So naturally, I assumed she’d make another announcement. I assumed she’d make things right, like she did before.
But she didn’t say anything.
She didn’t say anything about Mizuki getting hurt. She didn’t say anything about our getting a match stolen from us. She didn’t say anything about KAGUYA-Gun slinking a member into the match dedicated to the promotion’s founder (more on that another time)…
That hurt.
I could feel my body tensing up. My right hand kept balling up into a fist every couple of seconds. I was heated.
A hand gently rose up and rested on my right shoulder. Merlot Ayano is my mentor. Well, one of them anyway. She took me under ring once I started to re-train myself at the Zero/FOUR Dojo. And although we live in Vegas, I rarely see her unless we are at the gym together. So imagine my surprise when I saw her waiting for me after the JET show. Merlot works for a Japanese promotion called DIVINE Pro. They’d had a show the day prior, so she stuck around to watch me work.
“Take this,” she said in Japanese as she handed me cup of something. It was chill to the touch. After manipulating the cup in my hand a bit, I noticed that it was a cup bubble tea. Strawberry and mango mix—my absolute favorite. I let out a sigh and put its straw to my lips. The liquid seemed to cool my demeanor as well as my body temperature.
Merlot gave me a glance as I sipped on the tea. She was observing and taking inventory. She did that a lot.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. “A little better?”
“A little,” I responded. “This helps,” I said as I shook the cup. The bit of tapioca jiggled as I did.
“I figured it would. A good drink always calms you down,” Merlot said as she nodded her head. She was right about that, although, I usually prefer alcohol in these situations. She then took a quick sip of her own bubble tea. Hers was regular mango.
“Though, don’t think that I’m being dismissive. I can understand why you’re frustrated. You’ve got every right to be.” A small sigh escaped along with her comments. “It’s rough. Fighting as hard as you possibly can, doing all the right things, only to watch unsavory people prosper. It’s really rough.”
She took a long sip of her drink. It must have been really been hitting the spot. Although, I can’t be one to talk.
“This is the difficult part about professional wrestling. It’s the part that really can’t be taught, you know? I can tell you about adversity all day long. But it will never be as impactful as experiencing it yourself.”
Yeah. No shit.
“I know things seem wild and out of hand right now. And maybe it’s because they are. However, there’s a silver lining; there’s always one.”
“Yeah?” My eyebrow arched up as I gave her a quizzical look. “What’s that?”
“If you chose to, this is something that you can grow from. Something that will make you more powerful in the long run.” She nodded her head. “What you chose to do in this moment and in the near future could possibly shape your entire career.
“It’s easy to be angry and mad, even if it’s justified. But it’s difficult to push that to the side and continue to make a stand. It’s difficult to keep being vocal and shining light on people’s wrongdoings. It’s difficult to stand up and keep on fighting. But that’s what separates the goods from the greats. And the greats of the legendary.”
She took another sip of her tea. “And, you’re one of the most difficult people I know. So, you should be fine.”
Merlot finished that with a laugh. Always so sarcastic. However, her joke did the trick. I couldn’t help but smile, just a bit.
“I learned it from one of my mentors,” I responded in jest.
We shared a quick laugh before said something stuck with me.
“And Midori? Remember the following. Sometimes you can’t look to others for help. You’ll be disappointed if you do. Sometimes, the only course of action is to stand up for yourself and take matters into your own hands. You understand?”
I didn’t respond verbally. I simply nodded my head.
“Good.” Merlot happened to glance down at her cup. It was empty, which brought a small pout to her face. Mine was nearing the bottom as well. “Let’s go get some food. And maybe a second cup.”