Hello, and Happy New Year, readers of Wrestling FanFiction! I come bearing a one-shot that I wanted to have posted before it got too late. This one-shot's all centered around New Japan Pro Wrestling's pay-per-view, Wrestle Kingdom 11 (a PPV I'm SOOOOO freakin' hype to watch...later this week), and who's competing on it, namely in the sense that this is Cody Rhodes's debut with NJPW (*insert fangirl screams here*). Now, I'm excited for the show as a whole (especially Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi...awesomeness is REAL with those matches), but this is a one-shot I wanted to write largely because it's something my head OC wanted me to write. I hope everyone that gives this a read enjoys it. =)
(Disclaimer: I own none of the wrestlers used or mentioned in this story. They are the property of themselves, NJPW, and the other promotions they wrestle for. I only own my OCs Alex, Skylar, and Isabelle Hardy and the ideas going into this.)
January 4th probably seemed like just another average day to most people. But to a large number of wrestling fans, tonight heralded one of the biggest wrestling pay-per-views of the calendar from New Japan Pro Wrestling, in Wrestle Kingdom 11. No one was more excited for this show than Alex Hardy. Although, if the brunette could be completely honest with herself, she mostly excited to see how her fiancé Cody Rhodes would compete against his opponent on the NJPW roster.
"Alex, can you please stop checking your phone every ten minutes?" Skylar Hardy asked of her younger sister as she looked away from the episode of 'Z Nation' she had playing. "It's gonna be well after midnight over here before you can even watch Cody compete tonight."
"I know, Sky. It's just...I'm anxious!" Alex tried, but ultimately failed, to keep the nervous whine out of her voice. "This is the first time Cody's competed in NJPW, and on their biggest show of the year, no less. I'm just feeling pretty nervous about all of this."
"Umm, ...you do realize it's Cody that has the match tonight, right?" Skylar asked. Seeing Alex nod, Skylar continued on. "So, you don't really have anything to worry about, the way I see things. Plus, I'm sure it'll be a real treat for the fans in Japan to get to see a member of the great Rhodes wrestling family in action."
"Yeah, that is true," Alex let out a bit of a laugh. "And, you're right, Sky. I just wonder how Cody's feeling about all of this. Like I just got done saying, this is his first real show in NJPW that I know of, so I can only imagine that he's probably feeling pretty nervous."
"Probably," Skylar nodded in agreement. For the four years she had gotten to know the second generation wrestler, she had come to see that while Cody wasn't one that really lacked for confidence in himself, he still had his fair share of moments where he could get pretty nervous about things-one of these things that came to mind was his fairly recent proposal to Alex. An idea hitting her, Skylar asked "Wait. Didn't Cody set up a Skype for when he really started all of his traveling around and stuff after Izzy was born?"
"Yeah, he did. It was just so that it could be his way of seeing Izzy as she grew while he was on the road," Alex said, mentioning her and Cody's one year old daughter Isabelle. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, Izzy's not asleep yet. How about you give your man a video ring on Skype and wish him good luck in his match? After all, I'm sure the newest member of the Bullet Club would love to see his Bullet Girls right about now," Skylar suggested with a grin.
"That's...actually a pretty good suggestion. I don't know why I didn't think of it myself," Alex said with a smile.
"Probably because you've been doing the most just to keep track of the time, but...I'm sure it could've been anything that was occupying your mind," Skylar laughed as Alex shoved her a bit. Coming down from her laugh, Skylar said "Just relax, Alex. I'm sure you and Izzy are going to have fun with your little Skype call with Cody. Plus, I'm sure it'll be cute seeing Izzy do the "Too Sweet" thing with you."
"It probably will be," Alex smiled at Skylar said. "You know, you could hang around and chat with us, too, Sky. After all, this was your idea, so you should at least get a chance to wish Cody good luck."
"Hmm...," Skylar thought on this a bit before saying "Sure, why not? Only plan I really had for tonight was getting my 'Supernatural' on, so this could be fun."
"Attagirl, Sky," Alex grinned over at her older sister. "But, first thing's first. We should probably eat first before making the call."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Skylar smiled. Rising from where she was sitting on the couch with Alex following suit, the two brunettes headed into the kitchen where they went to work at preparing their evening meal. 'Joining Alex in her Skyping with Cody later. This is certainly going to be a fun little video call.'
...
Pacing around in the room of the apartment he was bunking in with a few of his fellow members of the Bullet Club, new member Cody Rhodes was trying-but failing-to keep the nerves over his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at Wrestle Kingdom 11 that seemed to keep building in him at bay. While the second generation wrestler had been getting encouragements from both his fellow Bullet Club members, fellow wrestlers, fans on Twitter, and his family members, he was still feeling nervous; even with the feeling of his dad, wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes watching over him, he still felt nervous. This was his first time competing in an arena like the Tokyo Dome, so he could only hope that he'd go out there and put on a match just as good, if not better, than his fellow competitors.
...But, for as much as he kept trying to hype himself up, there was still a nagging voice in the back of his head that seemed to whisper "You're not as good as they are. You're going to make a fool of yourself in front of the fans here and around the world." Cody tried his hardest to banish this voice, banish this negativity that was threatening to take hold of him...but, what if-he asked himself-what if this voice was right? What if he wasn't good enough to compete in the Tokyo Dome? What if he was going to just end up making a fool out of himself in his match against Juice Robinson? What if-
The sounds of a ringtone that he didn't quite recognize playing on his phone snapped the Georgia native out of his mental storm of worry. It wasn't until he heard a voice announce "You have one missed Skype call from Alex Hardy" that Cody decided to make a run for his phone before the ringing began again. He had just gotten to his phone when the ringing began again and he saw "Incoming video call from Alex Hardy" on the screen. Pressing the green button to answer it, Cody let out a bit of a laugh at the sight that soon unfolded on the screen: Alex and her sister Skylar were sitting on one of the couches in the living room of their house as talking could be heard between the two.
"Are you sure your cam's even on, Alex?" Skylar asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. The light's on on my laptop, so that means it's on. Maybe we're just having some sound issues," Alex said, as she then tapped her microphone. "No. Not a sound issue."
Hardly able to hold in the laughter that seemed to rumble in his chest now, Cody said "Relax, you two. I can hear and see you both just fine."
"Oh!" Alex said while Skylar said "Huh. I suppose you can."
Letting out another laugh, Cody took a seat on his bed as he talked with his fiancée and one of his future sisters-in-law. "So, what makes you two want to ring me at this time of day? Isn't it pretty much nighttime in the US?"
"It is, but that doesn't mean that we can't Skype people," Alex playfully stuck her tongue out at her fiancé.
"Plus, there's the fact that it's someone's big Tokyo Dome debut tonight," Skylar grinned.
Smiling at what the two Hardys said, Cody said "Yep. Today, I compete in Wrestle Kingdom 11 for the first time ever. And, I...am nervous as hell about it."
"You? Nervous? I find that pretty hard to believe, Code," Skylar cocked an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"Look. Just because I'm the newest member of the Bullet Club does not mean that I'm confident like Kenny and the others are," Cody said, mentioning his fellow Bullet Club members.
"Yeah. But, you seem to be forgetting that they've been in Japan for a few years now. They're used to competing in a place like the Tokyo Dome," Alex pointed out with Skylar nodding her agreement. "You're pretty much a newbie when it comes to competing in Japan, so I think it's only normal that you feel nervous about your big New Japan debut."
"Yeah, I...I guess so. I'm just nervous. I don't want to let down my family name, and I certainly don't want the fans here and watching around the world to see me choke in my match," Cody let out a nervous breath.
"Cody," Alex could only say before a light bulb seeming to go off in her head. "Wait just a sec. I need to go get...a thing." That was all Alex said before she leapt up from the couch and running out of the living room.
Blinking in confusion at all of that, Cody asked "Is, uh, everything okay with Alex?"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, everything's fine. She just had to go something. I mean, outside of worrying for you today, she's been fine," Skylar reassured the older brunette.
"Worrying for me?" Cody asked. "Sky, what do you even mean?"
"What I just said," Skylar answered. "Cody, look. Maybe it's some kind of weird telepathy that you two have now, but Alex has been feeling nervous all day. And it's all revolving around your big match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 tonight. But...before you say anything, it hasn't been bad nervous or anything. Just...nervous in the sense that she's excited to see you compete in a New Japan ring."
Having heard Skylar say all of this, Cody was starting to feel something in the way of a swell of confidence in himself. It wasn't until he heard Alex call out "OK! I'm coming back!" and saw the brunette return that he felt his confidence pretty much shoot through the roof: Watching as his fiancée came back, Cody could see that Alex had come back holding their daughter Isabelle and the pair were both wearing black t-shirts that were specially made for Cody as a Bullet Club member with "The American Nightmare Cody" in blue and white text over the skull that was synonymous with this faction that was striped red and white. Smiling at this sight, Cody let out a bit of a laugh before saying "Well, if this isn't enough to motivate me, I don't know what is."
Seeing her father on the computer screen, a smile all but split the toddler's face as she waved and chirped "Hi, Da''y!"
"Hi, Izzy," Cody smiled as he waved back at his daughter.
"You wressa' yet?" Isabelle asked. The toddler had a fairly basic understanding of what her parents did for a living, so when her mother told her what her father was doing that night, Isabelle just felt curious about seeing it.
"No, not yet. Not for another few hours," Cody answered. "For now, I'm just getting ready to wrestle."
"Oh. I watch?" Isabelle asked.
"Umm, I don't think so, Izzy," Cody said, feeling bad that he was potentially raining on the toddler's parade. "Daddy's going to be wrestling pretty late at night during when you sleep. ...But, there's always tomorrow that you can watch with Mommy and Auntie Skylar."
"OK!" Isabelle chirped with an excited nod. "Goo' lu'', Daddy! I lo'' you!"
"Thanks, Izzy," Cody smiled. "I love you too, sweetheart."
"Same goes for me too, babe. Not like that's even something you need to question," Alex said with a smile. "You're going to do great in your match. I'll be watching live and cheering you on every second of the match."
"Same here with me," Skylar added in. "I can already tell this show's gonna be great. So, I wish you and everyone else on the card good luck."
"Thanks, Skylar. And, thanks, Alex," Cody said, the support he was getting from his daughter, one of his sisters-in-law, and his fiancée feeling like just the thing to get rid of more of his nervousness.
"No problem. Now, go out there and have an awesome match. I'm sure it'll be," Alex cut off before, being joined by Skylar and Isabelle, and adding "Too sweet!" with the two older women doing the "Too sweet" hand gesture and Isabelle blowing Cody a kiss.
Laughing at this show of good luck, Cody talked with the three for a while longer before feeling that he should end the call so that he could head on to the Tokyo Dome for his big match. Rising from the bed as he began to pack a duffel bag for the arena, Cody let his recent conversation hang around in his thoughts. He was going to compete at the Tokyo Dome for the first time ever. He was going to compete at Wrestle Kingdom 11. He was going to put on one hell of a match with Juice Robinson. And, if luck would have it, he was going to win.
...I really hate that I have to wait to watch WK11 until later this week, but...I have a feeling the wait's going to be well worth it. ^w^ *clears throat* My own little bout of misery over, I'm really pleased with how this turned out. Even if Cody doesn't win his match at WK11 against Juice Robinson, I'm sure it'll be really great stuff to watch (can't go wrong with the newest member of the Bullet Club in action). ^^ Now, for everyone that read this, I hope you enjoyed this one-shot from me. This was honestly just something I had to get written up and posted before too much time passed, so I hope this was to everyone's reading pleasure on this wonderful January day. Don't forget to R&R please, and I'll see you in my next updates on my other fics and/or in my next ?-shot. =)