Post by Breezy on Jul 2, 2020 16:06:56 GMT -5
Ultimo Extremo:
It was springtime in 1974. A young man put on his new mask for the first time. He was eager to branch out of his traditional lucha setting by touring the United States. Territory by territory. He wanted to make a name for himself. For two years prior, the fans in his native land called him El Sombra. Once he crossed the border to introduce lucha libre to the gringos, he became known simply as Shadow.
One fateful trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin would prove to be rather fruitful. Following a typical midcard tag team match, Shadow was feeling more confident than ever that he belonged on the circuit. Unlike most events, he decided to go out to the bar with fellow wrestlers rather than go back to his motel room. That's when he met… her. She had just completed her third year at University of Wisconsin: Milwaukee. Like him, she rarely went out to celebrate.
Fate brought them to that dingy bar on that night. She was intrigued by his mask; he was intrigued by her decent grasp of his native language. One thing led to another and… well… you know where this is headed. Following their one night stand, he went back on the road and the two never saw one another again. Nine months later, a child was born who would go on to take on the world of professional wrestling, much like his father.
His mother never once told him who the father was. She was also one of the few to see what was behind the mask. That was… until fall of 2001. Her son was in his mid-twenties and appeared on a nationally televised wrestling program. He had been in the business for a decade by then… and while she supported his dreams… she never watched his work. That Tuesday night, he asked her to watch because he was competing in the finals of a Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament.
He won that match and was awarded the championship. That's why he wanted her to watch. What happened next… changed their lives forever. The owner of the promotion made his way to the ring to present the young man with the brand new championship belt. The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Nothing out of the normal there. At her home in Madison, his mother was absolutely stunned by what she was watching live. Surely you've pieced together that the owner of that promotion was the birth father of the young man.
She did not know how to finally tell her son about his lineage or even if she should. Once he got back to the locker room, there was a text waiting on his Nokia from his mother: congrats on the win we need to talk love mom. She hasn't gotten the hang of punctuation while texting yet, but the sentiment remained the same. She knew it was finally time to tell him the truth. The man who signed his paychecks was his father. He returned home over the weekend to visit his mother and she told him everything.
He admitted that he felt there was always a connection to professional wrestling but could never figure out what it was. It turned out that the sport was in his blood. It was some time after before he opened up to his boss about what he had learned. His boss… or rather, his father… admitted that he noticed a slight resemblance prior to signing him to the promotion. Having spent a lifetime in this industry, he knew there was a chance he had fathered children all over the world. Years later, the young man found out about his siblings… but that's a story for another day.
Not much changed for the young man. He continued to work hard and earn his legacy in professional wrestling. Over a decade later, following his father's passing, he returned to the company under a mask based on his father's… and he was known as Hijo de Sombra. He had decided to have one last run in his father's company and it was arguably his most memorable. He finally became World Heavyweight Champion after a forty-five minute battle with arguably the best wrestler on the planet.
That was roughly five years ago. A lot has changed in that time. His father's company is a faded memory, as the crew who took over could not keep the dream alive. The young man is now in his mid-forties and ready to ride off into the sunset, while still taking bookings here and there. That's where Lucha Bowl comes in. He saw a casting call for a lucha libre tournament where everyone's identity would be concealed for the duration of the tournament. What a wonderful way to honor his father's legacy one last time.
There was a slight hangup though. The lawyers of the crew who ruined his father's company claim that the look and name used by the son are intellectual property of blah blah blah blah. There was too much lawyer speak to get into at this time. Basically… he was unable to enter the tournament the way he had hoped. So he hit up Google and searched for "Random Luchadore Name Generator". That is how Ultimo Extremo came into existence. Now that you know the history of Ultimo Extremo and how lucha libre is in his blood… get ready for the coolest tournament in the history of the world!
It was springtime in 1974. A young man put on his new mask for the first time. He was eager to branch out of his traditional lucha setting by touring the United States. Territory by territory. He wanted to make a name for himself. For two years prior, the fans in his native land called him El Sombra. Once he crossed the border to introduce lucha libre to the gringos, he became known simply as Shadow.
One fateful trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin would prove to be rather fruitful. Following a typical midcard tag team match, Shadow was feeling more confident than ever that he belonged on the circuit. Unlike most events, he decided to go out to the bar with fellow wrestlers rather than go back to his motel room. That's when he met… her. She had just completed her third year at University of Wisconsin: Milwaukee. Like him, she rarely went out to celebrate.
Fate brought them to that dingy bar on that night. She was intrigued by his mask; he was intrigued by her decent grasp of his native language. One thing led to another and… well… you know where this is headed. Following their one night stand, he went back on the road and the two never saw one another again. Nine months later, a child was born who would go on to take on the world of professional wrestling, much like his father.
His mother never once told him who the father was. She was also one of the few to see what was behind the mask. That was… until fall of 2001. Her son was in his mid-twenties and appeared on a nationally televised wrestling program. He had been in the business for a decade by then… and while she supported his dreams… she never watched his work. That Tuesday night, he asked her to watch because he was competing in the finals of a Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament.
He won that match and was awarded the championship. That's why he wanted her to watch. What happened next… changed their lives forever. The owner of the promotion made his way to the ring to present the young man with the brand new championship belt. The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Nothing out of the normal there. At her home in Madison, his mother was absolutely stunned by what she was watching live. Surely you've pieced together that the owner of that promotion was the birth father of the young man.
She did not know how to finally tell her son about his lineage or even if she should. Once he got back to the locker room, there was a text waiting on his Nokia from his mother: congrats on the win we need to talk love mom. She hasn't gotten the hang of punctuation while texting yet, but the sentiment remained the same. She knew it was finally time to tell him the truth. The man who signed his paychecks was his father. He returned home over the weekend to visit his mother and she told him everything.
He admitted that he felt there was always a connection to professional wrestling but could never figure out what it was. It turned out that the sport was in his blood. It was some time after before he opened up to his boss about what he had learned. His boss… or rather, his father… admitted that he noticed a slight resemblance prior to signing him to the promotion. Having spent a lifetime in this industry, he knew there was a chance he had fathered children all over the world. Years later, the young man found out about his siblings… but that's a story for another day.
Not much changed for the young man. He continued to work hard and earn his legacy in professional wrestling. Over a decade later, following his father's passing, he returned to the company under a mask based on his father's… and he was known as Hijo de Sombra. He had decided to have one last run in his father's company and it was arguably his most memorable. He finally became World Heavyweight Champion after a forty-five minute battle with arguably the best wrestler on the planet.
That was roughly five years ago. A lot has changed in that time. His father's company is a faded memory, as the crew who took over could not keep the dream alive. The young man is now in his mid-forties and ready to ride off into the sunset, while still taking bookings here and there. That's where Lucha Bowl comes in. He saw a casting call for a lucha libre tournament where everyone's identity would be concealed for the duration of the tournament. What a wonderful way to honor his father's legacy one last time.
There was a slight hangup though. The lawyers of the crew who ruined his father's company claim that the look and name used by the son are intellectual property of blah blah blah blah. There was too much lawyer speak to get into at this time. Basically… he was unable to enter the tournament the way he had hoped. So he hit up Google and searched for "Random Luchadore Name Generator". That is how Ultimo Extremo came into existence. Now that you know the history of Ultimo Extremo and how lucha libre is in his blood… get ready for the coolest tournament in the history of the world!
Get ready for…
Our adventure begins in a beat up, weathered training gym. It looks like it's being renovated… or maybe it was and work just… suddenly stopped. Either way, there is a wrestling ring set up in the center of the gym… covered in dust. It looks like it has been abandoned… but if that were true… there wouldn't be a man walking toward it. The gym is dimly lit but we can definitely see that he has a unique wrestling mask on. Black and white with horns. His mouth is visible and so is his long hair as it flows out of the top of the mask. He walks up the creaking steps and wipes his feet off on the apron before stepping between the ropes. He looks directly at the conveniently present camera.
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Gracias por acompañarme hoy. Yo soy Ultimo Extremo. Bienvenido a mi gimnasio. Sé que no parece mucho. Nos estamos reubicando pronto. ¿Sería más fácil para ti hablar inglés?"
He laughs a bit.
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"My apologies. English is definitely my first language but I thought it might add something fun if I spoke Spanish for a bit. As you figured out by now… I am Ultimo Extremo. I am honored to be competing in the 2020 Lucha Bowl Showdown. What better way to honor my father than to compete in a stylistic tournament suited to his legacy? Aside from being one of the very best wrestlers of his era or any other… he also founded and ran an elite organization for many years. Unfortunately they were not able to last long after his passing. I did everything in my power to obtain the rights to his company but the hacks who took his place had better lawyers. But that's neither here nor there."
He places his hands on the ropes and tests their strength, then he runs the ropes a few times, making sure to grab onto the middle rope with his left time with each pass. He then returns to the camera, slightly out of breath.
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"I'm not as healthy as I was when I first wore a mask to honor my father. Father Time has not been kind to me. Wear and tear from a lifetime of competiton has made me appear much older. And yet… here I am… still living my dream. It's almost time for me to wake up and face reality. What better way than to be called champion once again? I've had more than my fair share over the years from every weight class… every style… nearly every continent. My one title match in Antarctica was a draw… and that will forever haunt me. This Lucha Bowl Championship is unique. It features seven medallions representing the seven tribes of the anchient Aztec world. I never learned enough from my father about the tribe he descended from… and that's another thing that will haunt me."
He sighs.
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"How fitting would it be for a true second generation lucha libre superestrella to win this exquisite championship? I don't mean to take anything away from the other competitors in this tournament… mostly because I don't know a thing about any of them. There's dead coyoto… crazy eye… the warboat… a sexy hurricane… the great sun… the big devil… but most importantly to me… the golden princess. La Princesa de Oro is my first round opponent at Lucha Bowl Showdown. As a princess… she is accustomed to being handed all of the gold. That is going to be a verificación de la realidad when she faces el hombre… el mito el leyenda… Ultimo Extremo!"
Slight clapping is heard from off camera. He points in that direction and the camera follows. A masked woman approaches the ring. Her mask is similiar to Ultimo Extremo's but it is white with light blue accents. She enters the ring in the same manor as he did.
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Damas y caballeros of APW… it is my placer to introduce you to mi mujer… Reyna de Hielo. Like me… she is also a second generation superstar, though neither of her parents spoke a word of Spanish."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"And I'm also wearing a mask… to help conceal… your identity?"
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Si."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Muy bean."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Close enough. I wanted to get your input on my first round match, since it is a competencia intergénero."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Uhh… what…"
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Intergender competiton."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Oh. Right. Well, having grown up in this business… I saw my mother face some of the toughest men in the world and fight her way to the top of every company she worked for. When I broke in, I soon realized that I was fighting against all odds. All of the men who started around that time had a much easier time. Intergender wrestling has always been treated as a special attraction… and there weren't nearly enough women in the business. Well, there still aren't. So for someone like… what's her name again?"
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"La Princesa de Oro."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Uhh… what…"
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Golden Princess."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Okay. Cool. So… for someone like Golden Princess to sign up for a blind tournament like this… not knowing what she is up against… that takes balls… for lack of a better term. She could be up against a seven foot tall goliath… or a four foot tall child… or anything in between."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"I don't think there are children in this tournament."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"But there could be! Stranger things HAVE happened in lucha libre!"
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"True. I competed as WrestleBot3000 for a few months."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Exactly. Golden Princess could be over her head and out of her element here. We don't know."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"The same goes for all of us. Thanks to Eli Beazley… this tournament has opened up an amazing opportunity for us all to step outside of our comfort zone. Personally, I am okay with throwing on a mask and becoming someone new. I have portrayed many characters over my storied career. From masks to face paint… to foolishly assuming the identity of my friend who went to prison. This tournament isn't even the strangest thing I've done this year"
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Please don't bring up that stupid match."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"It was match of the year! I'd put any amount of money on it!"
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Don't do that either. We're sinking so much money into our new gym, while falling behind on renovating this one."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"All in due time. This is going to be a busy summer for both of us. I'm wrestling every Monday and Tuesday… and you're…"
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Actively seeking bookings."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Well why didn't you sign up for Lucha Bowl?"
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"How do you know I didn't?"
He pauses, stunned.
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Are you… La Princesa de Oro…"
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Nope. I've never stepped foot in APW… and you know that. If I was the Golden Princess… I would approach this match with extreme caution. When you're focused on something… almost nothing can keep you down. With that mask on… I can see how much this tournament truly means to you. It's not just something to try out or to fill time. You're doing this for your dad… for your heritage… for your legacy. That Lucha Bowl Championship is magnificent… and I saw the fire that was ignited when you saw it for the first time. Golden Princess… whomever she is… has an uphill battle against a lava monster ahead of her."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"Are you comparing me to Te Fiti? That's so cool!"
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"We've been forced to watch that movie 1088 times this year. It seemed fitting."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"It's a good visual. For all we know… Princesa de Oro is a hopeful young lady with a heart of… pun intended… gold. To say that I am a destructive monster is a little too broad of a stroke. Sure, I have a darkness inside of me that… at times… takes over my inhibitions. That very well could happen when I step into the círculo cuadrado next week. When that bell rings… I could suddenly see red and unleash mi rabia on Princesa de Oro. Whatever damage I cause… I will surely feel remorse… but at this point in my career… I should do everything necessary to succeed."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"I'm not saying you should murder her… but yes, you should take this very seriously. You know nothing about her or what she's capable of. Like me… she could be a multi-time World Champion. She could be a bonafide hall of famer. She could be anyone. That's the danger and the mystique of this tournament. You all could be anyone."
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"If anyone knew who was under this mask… they'd tremble at the sound of my name. I say 'tremble' in a subjective way. Maybe it would be out of fear… or anger… or possibly out of laughter."
¡Reyna de Hielo!
"Tremble out of laughter?"
¡Ultimo Extremo!
"It's possible. I've spent a great deal of my career doing silly shit. Putting on this mask… becoming Ultimo Extremo… this could be an exciting chapter as I close out the encyclopedia of my career. Becoming the first ever Lucha Bowl Champion in history mean the world to me. What would it mean to Princesa de Oro, I wonder. I will keep wondering… until we face off next week for the first time. Maybe it's not the first time. Maybe we've done this dance before… as our true selves. Maybe these personas we've adapted for the tournament are our true selves. There are so many unknowns in Lucha Bowl. One thing that I do know for sure… is that nobody is safe from mi rabia in this tournament. Not Princesa de Oro… not Diabolico… not Sol… not Huracán… not Chalupa… not Loco… not Coyoto. When I signed up for this tournament… I didn't do so because I'm bored or I thought it'd be fun to do. I signed up for this tournament to dominate each and every luchadore y luchadora standing in my way. La Princesa de Oro is facing una cuestión de oportunidad as she takes on Ultimo Extremo. All her hopes and dreams will soon be swallowed up by this monstruo de lava. ¡Toda su base pertenece al Ultimo Extremo!"
La escena se desvanece a la oscuridad.
