Chapter 6

Chapter 6


Gene was at an arena in St. Louis where the main event was about to begin, and the bell rang that signaled the start of the world heavyweight title match. The champ did his usual flamboyant act, he was a hot property when television was in its golden age, but he was past his prime as his once masculine physique had deteriorated into a big beer gut. Years earlier, his blonde hair fallen out, and now had to wear a wig to cover his bald head. He just needed to learn when to call it quits.

The Masked Shooter was strong and silent, he and the camp began to come toward each other right in the middle of the mat. They locked up to the screams of the fans in attendance, arenas like that no longer had crowds that sold out, but the fans that did show up in the half filled seats wanted to see their favorite wrestlers no matter what. The screams got even louder as The Shooter got him in a headlock that soon became a variation of the sleeper hold within a matter of seconds.

‘’Hey, don’t squeeze so damn tight!’‘ exclaimed the champ, who was in legit pain from the hold.

The referee raised the champ’s arm, it went down. He raised it again, it went down. He raised it one last time as the champ went down to the mat. The referee called for the bell, and Gene looked on as he raised The Shooter’s arm which signaled that won the first fall. After a short rest period, the bell rang for the second fall to start.

As they came out of their corners, the champ gave The Masked Shooter a very hard kick in the stomach! He then dazzled him with a vast array of punches, and then backed him into a corner. Gene saw The Masked Shooter in the corn as the champ delivered a series of karate chops to his chest.

‘’Woooooooooooooooooooooooo!’‘ the champ yelled to the crowd.

He throttled The Shooter into another corner on the opposite corner. The champ then body slammed him onto the mat. He then executed a knee drop right in The Shooter’s face! The champ then got him in the figure four leg lock. As The Masked Shooter screamed for his life, the referee raised the champ’s hand, he had won the second fall.

After another short rest period, the bell rang once more, and both men tore each other apart. While the referee was distracted, the champ hit The Shooter with a pair of brass knuckles. After he went down, the champ stood over his limp body as he stuff the brass knuckles back in the trunks. The champ got on top of him, and propped his legs on the ropes.

‘’Get your god damn feet off the ropes!’‘ shouted the referee as he regained his attention toward the match.

As the champ got up, he tried to assure the referee that he didn’t try to cheat. The Shooter then nailed him from behind. The Shooter then grabbed the champ by the waist, and suplexed him to the mat! He then covered the champ, and the referee counted 1............2........3! The bell rang for the final time, and the referee handed the championship belt to The Masked Shooter as the fans began to scream.


***

After the match, The Masked Shooter was greeted in the locker room by Gene, his father Adam, as well as Gene’s wife and kids. It was like they had all known The Masked Shooter for years, they all hugged, and congratulated him for his victory. His identity was kept a close guarded secret from the fans. All the easy marks in town wanted to know who was behind the mask.

‘’So, how does it feel to be the new champ?’‘ he was asked by Adam.

‘’I could care less about bein’ the champ right now, I just wanna get this damn mask off, it’s so hot!’‘ he replied.

He unmasked to reveal himself to be Pete Montague who was none other than one of Adam’s younger sons as well as Gene’s little brother. They all bolted out of the arena before any of the marks or any of the fans could see Pete without the mask. They all jumped into the car, and drove off.

‘’You think we’ll make a lot of money off the idea of a masked champ?’‘ Pete asked Gene as he drove the car.

‘’Don’t know, wish it could be more like the old days’‘, he responded.

He looked at old wrestling magazines from a decade or two when the wrestling business had national exposure. When all of the wrestlers he booked for his father were household names all over America, and now he was the promoter, and he couldn’t draw a dime. He couldn’t understand why there had been a downtown in the business. He couldn’t decide whether it was because of his uncle Tony Capulet’s screw ups or what!


***

The first week of production began on Leslie’s new soap, and the commonplace organ lady had now been phased out in favor an orchestra to provide a more classical and more realistic soundtrack for the show. She looked on as the cast and crew brought her vision of the daytime drama to life in the studio. The stories presented on the show depicted families from rich and poor backgrounds with a great deal of racial diversity rather than the typical soap that featured middle class white people.

The actresses on the show didn’t play housewives, they worked, and went through real problems in everyday life. The characters also confronted social issues and debated over the war in Vietnam. Most of all, the cast and crew weren’t from the typical radio or television background soaps were know for in the past. They all came from the theater which included playwright Doug Montague, who was both Leslie’s younger brother and the show’s head writer. They both stood there off camera in amazement at the magic they had all created.

‘’Oh god, I never thought I’d say this, but I love workin’ on a soap’‘, Doug said to her in an almost breathless voice.

‘’It’s such a beautiful show’‘, she said as tears streamed down her face.

Every person on the set was emotional, some laughed, some cried. They had never had work like that before. The show’s director was a dictator, a negotiator, a creative artist, and a confrontationalist all rolled into one. Leslie believed that these guys from theater had such a depth and such a range that guys from radio and television couldn’t have in a million years.


***

Leslie, Doug, and her kids were all around Eve’s kitchen table, she had gotten a letter from the network about that week’s numbers from the show. She was so nervous that they would be low or that the show would be near cancellation after thirteen weeks. She was so afraid to open the envelope that her hands shook and sweat poured down her face.

‘’Aren’t you gonna open it, sweetie?’‘ Eve asked her daughter.

‘’Yeah, go ahead, let’s see it’‘, said Doug as he egged Leslie on.

‘’Alright, Alright, Alright!’‘ she uttered in an irritated voice.

She is stunned by what she saw, she couldn’t believe it, she felt like she was in a dreamworld, as if wasn’t even for real. She was shocked that her show, a new show that had just started was the #1 soap on daytime television. She even had beaten her mother who had been in the business for ever since soaps first started back in the radio days, not to mention that she had more experience and a bigger track record as a producer. In addition to that, Leslie’s soap was pretty much the one high rated soap that wasn’t produced Capulet Television. She started to scream at the top of her lungs.


‘’What?’‘ Eve asked in a curious voice.

‘’My show’s the top rated soap!’‘ she shrieked.

They all started to hug, everyone was so happy and overcome with joy. No one could believe an innovative soap at last broke through the barriers and conventions of the genre. Leslie came over to hug her mother, and Eve was so proud of her daughter that she started to cry. The love in that room was just so powerful that they both cried, and Eve held as if she were still the baby the she brought home from the hospital.