The Shine

X upon a time in Mexico

When I had all of 4 matches to my name the promoter of match #4 in Laredo asked me if I wanted to dip across the border with him for another show in Mexico. He said that he saw something in me and wanted to help me out. That has to have been bullshit because the match he saw like all of my first 4 was shit.

Likely someone else booked dropped out on him and he needed filler. I don't know why he just wouldn't tell me that. Other than the fact that promoters lie all the time. Maybe it's hard for them to tell the truth even when there's no reason not to. Force of habit. He hasn't booked me again so I he must have changed his mind about my limitless potential.

I'm not sure where I was in Mexico, must have been right across the border because it didn't take long to get there. There was no border check. That's weird but it's also good since I have no documentation that I exist.

Show #5 was in a small rodeo arena. They didn't set up any seating around the ring so the people were in the stands. The ring was at least fifty feet away from the closest fan, which threw me off. I'm used to the people, however few people there might be, being right next to me. To date that was the largest crowd I have performed in front of, there were over a thousand people there.

Someone said that Austin Rivers, the NBA player was in the crowd. Why would a c-list pro basketball player be at a mud show in Mexico? I looked him up on my phone and the guy in the crowd everyone was pointing at did look like him. He was speaking Spanish. Does Austin Rivers speak Spanish?

When I came out for my match I saw a roid-case in red briefs and kickpads in the crowd beating the shit out of a fan. For half a second I thought the previous match was still going on but it was just a dude that red briefs was attacking and he was really kicking his ass. Did he climb up the wall like a rodeo clown or how did he get up there? Usually wrestlers love to gossip about shit like that but I never heard what happened to cause that.

My opponent came out and were both just standing in the ring like assholes not sure if we should start our match because of the fight in the audience. My opponent looked a lot like SoCal Val. She also spoke Spanish. She said something to the referee and he immediately tried to grab her wrist. That guy went from zero to red in the face pissed in half a second.

I wonder what she said to him that was so poorly received. She got away from him and out of the ring and ran backstage. I was still just standing there wondering what the fuck was going on.

Eventually a local wrestler Rudo Anaranjado came out and start yelling orders, at the referee, at the crowd, at the wrestlers who had come out to gawk. The guy in the crowd trying to fight a fan crawled down and left while people threw empty cups and other crap at him.

Once he was gone Anaranjado backed the referee into the corner and slapped the living fuck out of him. That was the hardest slap I've ever seen in my life. And I've seen a few. I never saw knock off SoCal Val again. Once Anaranjado was done abusing the referee he gestured at me to start a match with him. It's amazing how much information he was able to convey with one impatient gesture.

There's a method to calling a match with someone you don't share a common language with. I didn't know it then and I don't know it now. I'm not sure if Anaranjado did either. It's more of a US- Japan thing I think.

I did my best to follow his lead and go along with whatever he was doing. It was actually pretty easy because all he wanted to do was beat the crap out of me. The match was over in three minutes and then he stayed in the ring waving a flag around for twenty minutes while the crowd went nuts. I wish I knew what he was saying to them.

That ring was fucking hard as a rock and Anaranjado had a majorcase of heavy hands. I've heard that luchadores are notorious for working super light. Anaranjado was not from that school of lucha libre. Not with me at least. I literally had a handprint on my chest where he waffled me. Not a just a mark, you could see the fingers individually.

That would be a full day's experience all by itself, but that was also the day I found out about magic. 

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