I do not own anything related to Impact Wrestling except for a love of it. The only thing I own in this story is my OC Matt Gonzalez.
Sitting on an equipment case, I casually looked around the backstage area for the Impact Zone. I was going to make my debut tonight. I was going to face off against Idris Abraham, and he agreed to put me over. The other match I was interested in is going to be Ava Storie versus KC Spinelli.
The reason for it was due to how good both females are. Ava has been wrestling for about a year or so, and had the potential to go down as one of the greatest. While Amber had a pretty good reputation on the Indy scene.
"Jason, you there?" Thomas Laughlin called out, causing me to give him a slight glare. He let out a hearty chuckle due to the glare. He was the one who pushed for me to be signed after we met at an Indy show. I couldn't ask for a better mentor in this crazy business called wrestling.
"Yeah Tom. I'm just getting into the right mind-frame for my match tonight" I replied, taking a good look at my wrestling gear. The silver shorts had two cherry red stripes going down the sides, while my white boots matched the color of my elbow and knee pads. Black wrestling gloves with three red stars on them finished off my look.
"You know what you're going to do, right?" Tom asked, causing me to give him a halfhearted glare. He just shrugged it off. I knew he meant well, but still.
"Yeah. I'm going to win my debut match, from there, I'll be given a feud with Andrew Everett." He gave me a soft pat on the back.
"Yep. You going to use the Pump-Handle Half Nelson Driver as your finisher?"
"Yeah, unless they say I can't. If they do, then I'm thinking about using a pump-handle emerald flowsion along with a few others." He raised an eyebrow at that, signaling for me to continue. "I'm thinking of using a Spinning Knee and Bicycle Kick to kind of give me more options if Upper Management thinks the pump-handle half nelson is too dangerous. A Full Nelson slam or Cobra Clutch slam for when I have to put people through tables."
"Well, just a little bit of advice: Having options isn't a bad idea, but being confident in your selected finisher is the best idea ever. Especially if you've been working on it for the past few years." He left after that, allowing me to focus on my match.
"Hey. We should go over our match" Idris stated as he entered the locker-room. I nodded at him, and he launched into a detailed description of how he wanted to do this. For the most part, I agreed with him.
"That works for me." He just rolled his eyes, before telling me to meet him ringside once I finished getting changed. It was weird for me to consider that just a few months earlier, I contemplated retirement. Now, I was going to make my debut on a huge show.
As I finished getting my boots on, the door opened. Looking over my shoulder, I was surprised to see quite a few people there. Eric Maher was leading the pack, and behind him was Quinn Ojinnaka, Shaun Ricker, Daniel Solwold, and John Hennigan.
"Didn't expect to see you here Matt." Maher greeted me, extending his hand towards me. The others introduced themselves after him, each offering me advice on my debut match. As I went to leave the locker-room, Maher followed me out.
"Listen, I know you're probably extremely nervous about potentially screwing something up. Don't be. Idris is probably one of the best options to walk you through your first match here. On top of that, we're certain that you'll be able to carry yourself with the same pride you did on the Indy scene." He went back into the room, while I walked out towards the ramp.
This was going to be my first opportunity to make a big splash. I just need to trust in myself and my opponent for the night. Looking over to my left, I noticed that an auburn haired woman was standing next to me.
"Are you making your debut tonight?" She asked, a twinge of a Buffalo accent slipping into her silky smooth voice.
"Yeah. I'm going to be facing Idris Abraham. What about you?" I replied, allowing myself to take a deep breath.
"No. I'll be featured on Xplosion though, but my first real storyline will begin tomorrow night." We stood there in silence, allowing our nerves to slowly dissipate. After a few minutes, Idris called me down to the ring so we could get in a few practice moves. After about half an hour of doing that, we went backstage and waited for our moment to shine.
Idris went out first to a mixed reaction. He soaked it in before flipping the fans off, causing them to start booing his action. As he entered the ring, he started to taunt the fans again as his music stopped. He bounced on the balls of his feet, awaiting my entrance.
Devil's Calling by Parkway Drive started to blare throughout the Impact Zone. I slowly made my way out to the ramp wearing a black hooded vest. As the crowd started to buzz with the song, I flipped down my hood, earning a surprising pop.
The pair circled one another, looking for some kind of opening for a quick take-down. Idris charged once the new guy, known as Matt Lopez, made a rookie mistake by taunting a little bit too soon. The take-down was done quickly and efficiently, and gave Idris enough time to rain down a flurry of punches on his opponent. After hitting the fifth one, he stood up and started stomping down on his torso.
Matt rolled towards the center left corner, which made Idris smile as he backed up across the ring from him. He started sprinting towards Lopez as he pulled himself up, but Matt ducked underneath the splash attempt and went for a schoolboy roll-up. Abraham quickly got out of it, only to be hit with a calf kick. As he rolled onto his side, Matt kicked him in the ribs and then dropped an elbow into his heart.
Abraham rolled out to the apron between the top left and right corners in an effort to catch his breath. Lopez didn't give him any time though, hitting him with a baseball slide that sent him to the floor. Matt grinned before spring-boarding off the ropes and hitting a mushroom stomp on Idris's chest. Thinking quick, Matt rolled him back into the ring and hit him with a somersault leg drop.
As Idris rolled around in the ring, Matt measured him for a fireman's carry cutter. Idris slowly got up, keeping his back towards Lopez. Once Lopez lifted him up, he started delivering elbows to his head. It caused Matt to lose his grip, and he dropped him with a bulldog. Abraham didn't lose sight of the new opportunity he had, and started to wail away on his downed opponent. Fists and feet rained down on Lopez like a hurricane, only stopping after the ref physically pulled Abraham off of him. It helped for a second, as Abraham delivered a vicious kick to the head before going for a pin.
1…
2.. Matt kicked out at the last possible moment, causing Abraham to get pissed off and he started yelling at the ref. Lopez used the time to recover enough strength to surprise Idris with the pump-handle half nelson driver and go for a pin.
1…
2…
3. RING THE BELL!
I rolled out of the ring after my win, celebrating with the crowd packing the Impact Zone. As I continued my celebration, Andrew Everett ran out with a chair and smacked me across the back with it. He then started to bring it down repeatedly on my back, only stopping to grab another chair. He set them up side by side, and picked me up. He put me through both chairs with a back suplex. He left as the rest of the refs came out to check on me.
They helped me to my feet, but I shoved them off afterwards. I didn't want to be helped out after my debut victory. I wanted to walk out under my own strength. I stumbled a little bit, but the refs caught me and helped right me. As we walked through the curtain, I gave the auburn haired woman from earlier a soft smile, before stopping and watching her match.
She won with a double underhook crossface, but was attacked by Hamada from AAA. As she came through the curtain, her eyes met mine and I could've sworn I saw a great future for me if we ended up together.
"You had a great match" I told her, earning a soft smile in return.
"Thanks. Your match was better though, even if you got attacked afterwards." I let out a soft chuckle, making her raise an eyebrow.
"We were both attacked after our matches. And I can only assume your feud will be going on for quite a while. Mine will be ending at the next set of tapings."
"Well, that's the plan. Of course, they could make yours continue for another year. By the way, my name is Brandi Lauren."
"I hope not. We're supposed to be causing as much pain as possible to each other. And my name is Matt Gonzalez."
She smiled at me, and my heart skipped a beat. It was as if the Universe was telling me that she was the one who would change me for the better. The one who I'd be able to confess everything to, and that she wouldn't think anything less of me. As she turned around and left, my eyes remained focused on where she was standing. The way she carried herself was a sight to behold, with confidence radiating with each step she took.
"Boy, it looks like you're head over heels for her!" Eric stated, causing me to turn and face him. He just grinned like a Cheshire cat. Of course, the thought that she would ever feel the same way about me was nothing more than a pipe dream.
"In a way, I am. But we both know that she's not going to feel the same way. I'm way too broken for someone as pure as her" I replied, earning a slap on the back of my head by Eric. As I turned to face him, he shook his head.
"Brandi is without a doubt one of the sweetest people here. She really doesn't judge because of bad decisions." I gave him a soft look, remembering all of the pain I went through just over a year ago over a woman.
She was as beautiful as she was dangerous. I found that out the hard way. We were dating for almost five months before I discovered that she was cheating on me with a friend of hers. She blamed it on me and wrestling career.
After that break-up, I went down a bad path. Eric met me once before, and helped get me off that path. It almost killed me, but it didn't. Thankfully. It was just a reminder that I couldn't be happy in life. That I had to sit back and watch everyone else be happy, while I wallowed in my misery.
"She might be extremely sweet Eric, but you remember how bad I was after the last break-up? I'm terrified that'll happen again." He just nodded his head, before motioning for me to follow him. As I did, he took the time to soothe my fears.
"I get that the pain was hard to bear last year, but you can't let that control you. Trust me, Brandi is one of the few people who actually cares about others. And if you get back to being the old you, you will be the perfect couple." I let out a sigh after he finished his statement.
"Maybe, but it's one of those things that is hard to forget. I'll try to, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough." I told him, and he just smiled in response.
"That's all I ask." We stopped outside the locker-room so I could get changed. He was going to be working with Ohio Versus Everything, which was going to lead to a reunion of The Wolves. As we left the building, the auburn haired beauty from earlier bumped into me, almost falling on her behind. Thanks to quick reactions on Eric's part, he grabbed her arm to hold her up.
"Sorry about that" she stated as soon as she got her balance. Her eyes met mine once again, and I noticed that they were a tad bit red. It, admittedly, upset me. Who would cause a beautiful woman like her to cry?
"Are you okay?" I asked, surprising Eric and Brandi. Eric had a soft smile, while Brandi just shook her head.
"Not really. My ex just sent me a text showing that he is sleeping with my best friend, who caused us to break up due to her saying that he was going to become controlling."
"That sucks. No really friend would even consider doing something like that." I growled out, remembering how bad such a betrayal hurt. Brandi gave me a grateful smile, but the pain was still evident in her eyes.
"Thank you Matt. It's nice of you to say that" she said, as she gave me a soft hug. It felt as if all of my aches and pains disappeared while she was in my arms.
Well, almost every pain. Eric was just giving me a smug grin, which caused me to glare at him. As she pulled away, it was slightly disappointing to me.
"I should get going. See you tomorrow?" Brandi shyly asked, causing me to give her a reassuring smile in return.
"Of course." As she walked away, Eric was holding in his laughter. Reminds me of our time in ROH. Him and Wesley were the first people who actually took time out of their day to help me get my feet under me. They pushed for me to be on the same tours as they were, in an effort to get me as much work as possible. Plus, they teased me on any woman I had a crush on, or even dated.
"Eric, why must you always take pleasure in my love life?" I asked, earning a boisterous laugh from him. It terrified me to no end.
"Three reasons. The first is cause it's fun." I just gave him a deadpanned look while he continue. "Two, you've always been extremely shy when trying to talk to those you have a crush on." He's just reminding me why I hate asking him questions like this. "Three is because why not?" Ah yes, there's the ACTUAL reason.
"Have I told you lately that I hate you?"
"Not recently."
"Ah. Well, here's a reminder. I hate you." He just laughed at my statement before patting me on the back. Him and Wes were like my brothers, which I loved.
"By the way, you did good tonight. Hope you're ready for tomorrow though. You'll have to cut a promo, and it has to be pretty damn good." We left the building and headed towards the hotel. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day, for good or not will be determined. Can't wait for it though.
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. See you next time!