RIPW: The Ballad of Henry Lee

BHK1978 · May 12, 2010

I’m getting to old for this crap!

I would first like to give a quick thank you to jhd1 for this awsome alt. render of Henry Lee that he did for me.

A long time ago when I has a young man in this business, I asked a retired wrestler when he knew it was time to leave the sport that he loved so much. He looked at me and said, “Son you’ll know when the time is right.” That always stuck in my head. Would that hold true to me? Would I know when to hang up my boots? Or would I be the Willie Mays of professional wrestling, stumbling around in the ring, trying so hard to relive my past glory days…

Well the answer came to me one night in May of 2009. I had been engaged in a long running feud with Battle Sakata in WEXXV for that company’s King of Death Matches Title. The matches that I had with Battle Sakata were some of the most brutal of my career. We are talking matches where I was clobbered in the head with a barbwire baseball bat, or had my opponent take a broken piece of glass and use it to carve into my forehead.

As one can imagine these types of matches are not conducive to ones health. Especially when the person is forty years old! I mean yes my nickname is The Icon of Insanity, and yes for the last decade I have been trying to live up to that moniker. However, there comes a time in ones life when they really are no longer interested in having a clumsy oaf like Hiroshi Morisue jabbing you in the forehead with a shard of glass.

That is what leads me to May of 2009. I had informed Ryu Kajahara, that I was no longer willing to put my body through these death matches. No longer, will to sacrifice my on physical well being, in order to get a paycheck. I told him that I wanted to retire.

Now this old tough S.O.B. did not understand what I was saying to him. After all, he was twelve years older than me and he was willing to torment his body. So how could I, a young man in his mind, want to retire? Well I told him that my body was still in relatively good shape and I wanted to get out while the going was good.

Finally, Ryu decided to allow me to retire. All that he asked of me was that I do one more death match against my long time rival Battle Sakata, wherein I would drop the King of Death Matches Title to my long time onscreen rival. I was happy to do this, because I enjoyed working with Battle and the guy was a good guy outside of the ring as well.

So I took part in what I thought was one of the better matches of my career. I gave it my all in that ring because I felt that I owed it to not only myself, but to the guys in the back, to Battle Sakata, to Ryu Kajahara, and most importantly to my fans. Battle and I had a grueling match, which lasted fifteen minutes. And at the end of my match, I laid on the mat in a pool of my own blood, staring up at the lights that hung over the arena. And I knew that it was time to call it a career.

The next day I left Japan and I returned to my home in Exeter, Rhode Island. For the first time in my adult life, I would be without wrestling. Yes, it was a bit scary to think about, but it was also a bit cathartic. Little did I know that I would not be out of the wrestling world for any length of time…

Occ: Okay I know that I said I would probably never do a new wrestling diary again (If anybody reads my other diary The Compound that is still alive and kicking.). However, after reading some of the great stuff that is on the board today (I will not name all of the good writers on here because there are just way too many), I got the bug to do a new diary.

Now this diary will not be updated as much as my NYCW was (one show a week), because that just burned me out. I do hope that some people will read this an enjoy it.

jhd1 · May 12, 2010

Great start BHK! Nice surprise to see you take it up after all. You know I'll be reading buddy

Yay for the Ballad of The Expert! I mean, Stern, I mean...

Bigpapa42 · May 12, 2010

Looking forward to see where you go with this, BHK.

James Casey · May 12, 2010

Cool start, and I like the impression I'm getting that Lee is a lot more intelligent than you might assume a typical hardcore nut might be.

BHK1978 · May 12, 2010

Great start BHK! Nice surprise to see you take it up after all. You know I'll be reading buddy

Yay for the Ballad of The Expert! I mean, Stern, I mean...

Looking forward to see where you go with this, BHK.

Cool start, and I like the impression I'm getting that Lee is a lot more intelligent than you might assume a typical hardcore nut might be.

Thanks a lot everyone! Three great writers have all liked this thus far! Now I feel bad because my backstory is always much better than my diary writing...

angeldelayette · May 12, 2010

You know I will be reading this, my friend. And I'm not sure you give yourself enough credit where diary writing is concerned. Looking forward to seeing where you go with this.

Bull · May 12, 2010

Great backstory, I'll definitely be reading.

Hyde Hill · May 12, 2010

Interested will be seeing where this goes, good luck.

Purple Cowboy · May 13, 2010

Huzzah! What a nice surprise in an otherwise drab day. Good luck BHK I'll be reading.

BHK1978 · May 13, 2010

You know I will be reading this, my friend. And I'm not sure you give yourself enough credit where diary writing is concerned. Looking forward to seeing where you go with this.

Great backstory, I'll definitely be reading.

Interested will be seeing where this goes, good luck.

Huzzah! What a nice surprise in an otherwise drab day. Good luck BHK I'll be reading.

Thanks a lot! It is good to see some of the NYCW readers (Angeldelayette, Hyde, and Purple Cowboy) around again for this diary!

And it is great to see Bull around for this as well!

I was/am a fan of all of yours works as well (yours does not seem correct but I make a lot of typos so let me just chalk it up to that)!

BHK1978 · May 13, 2010

An interesting article.

<a href="

http://s969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/?action=view&current=HenryLee_jhdBHK.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/HenryLee_jhdBHK.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I know it is cool for us wrestlers to trash the internet wrestling websites. However, I have a confession to make…I actually am quite fond of them. To most wrestlers that would be considered sacrilegious to admit such a thing. However, I am not like most wrestlers so I will freely admit that I do read such websites.

Anyway, one day I was on Totalextremewrestling.com and an article caught my eye. I will post it hear so you can all take a look at it:

SWF and RIPW sever ties!

According to a number of online reports, the SWF has officially severed ties with its developmental promotion RIPW. Word out of the SWF home offices is that SWF owner Richard Eisen has decided to open up a new developmental promotion located in St. Augustine, Florida, which is located near Mr. Eisen’s summer home in Palm Valley, Florida. At this time, it is not known if RIPW will remain in business.

When asked to comment on this situation, RIPW owner Mycroft Nero had the following to say,
“In light of recent news, I am cautiously optimistic that RIPW will remain open in 2010. I am going to close down RIPW for the remainder of the year. I will then assess the situation and make the decision of whether it is feasible to reopen RIPW.”

This article had piqued my interest because, Mycroft and I have known each other for years and I thought that if he were to resurrect RIPW from the ashes. Well that might be something that I might be interested in helping him do. After all the promotion is run out of my home state and it would only be about a half an hour ride to work. How sweet would that be!

Marcel Fromage · May 13, 2010

Interesting start - RIPW diaries are rare due to the normal SWF parent relationship, so it'll be good to see what you do with them. I enjoyed your NYCW diary so I'm looking forward to this one too.

BHK1978 · May 13, 2010

Interesting start - RIPW diaries are rare due to the normal SWF parent relationship, so it'll be good to see what you do with them. I enjoyed your NYCW diary so I'm looking forward to this one too.

Thanks Marcel,

I am a big fan of your works as well. I really like your new CZCW (cheap plug) diary.

Wow with all the positive comments I am getting, I might as well close this down and call it a day.

BHK1978 · May 14, 2010

Meeting with Mycroft.

I got in touch with Mycroft shortly after reading the article. He was happy to hear from me and invited me to his house so that we could discuss ideas about what to do to move RIPW forward. I pulled up to Mycroft’s house, which is a raised ranch, in North Providence. He lived in a nice quiet neighborhood with his wife of thirty-five years Joan. I walked up the steps to his front door and rang his doorbell. A minute later Mycroft answered the door.

[Nero answers the door with a huge grin on his face. He is wearing an old ratty red sweater, that had slight tears in it. He had on an equally old pair of acid washed jeans, and a pair of slippers with Mickey Mouse heads on them.]

Professor Nero: Hank you old dog, you! It is great to see you! Come on in!

[The two men walk up the stairs of Mycroft’s (Professor Nero) home. They sit down in the kitchen and begin to discuss the state of RIPW. Henry not being one for small talk jumps right into business.]

Henry Lee: So, Dickie Eisen screws yet another person in the industry…

[Professor Nero furrows his brow for a moment and then begins to speak.]

Professor Nero: Well I wouldn’t say he screwed me, I mean after all he did tell me earlier in the year that he was not going to renew our contract once it was up. So it was not as if he did not give me ample warning.

Henry Lee: But he pulled all of his talent out of your promotion. What did he leave you with?

Professor Nero: We have four wrestlers who were under contract with us, plus David, Rob, and Mayhem. So all in all we have seven people officially under contract with us.

Henry Lee: Well then, do you feel like continuing the promotion? Or are you okay with letting it die?

Professor Nero: I am not sure; I mean part of me just wants to call it a day. I mean, I am no spring chicken and the stress of running a promotion at my age is not a good thing. However, as much as I get stressed out, I know I would miss running it as well.

Maybe I am at a bit of a crossroads in my life. Most men my age are getting ready to retire. Perhaps that is what I should do as well. You know enjoy the golden years of my life. Heck the kids are all grown up and I have always told Joan that I would like to go to Paris with her. Maybe that is what I should do…

Henry Lee: Sounds like a good idea to me. I think you and Joan should take a trip to Paris, that trip might be exactly what you need to recharge your batteries. In the meantime, I would be more than willing to offer my services in helping you bring RIPW back.

Professor Nero: Hmm…so, you want to help me with RIPW. In what capacity would you like to be used?

Henry Lee: Well…as of right now I would not be to keen to wrestle. All those death matches over in Japan have taken a toll on my body. However, I would be happy to work behind the scenes.

Professor Nero: Is this you asking for the book?

Henry Lee: Not if you don’t want to give it to me. I am just itching to get involved in the business again and I think I could be an asset to you in rebuilding RIPW from the ground up…

[Professor Nero strokes the stubble on his face for a moment. He then smiles and says:]

Professor Nero: Hell, I hate being the booker anyways…looks like you and I will be working together again Hank! Welcome aboard! Now let’s go and watch some football, I got money on Boston College!

And with that a new era in my life began, I was the new head booker/talent scout for RIPW! And I had a lot of work ahead of me, as I had to essentially build an entire new roster.

Occ: I know I got complaints about my excessive picture posting in my last wrestling diary. I just want people to know that I only do this when characters are having conversations. I feel that it breaks up the giant wall of text.

It is also the what I do in my other diary on here, The Compound (hey if I can't cheap plug in my own diary where can I do it). So if people do not like it just know that this is the only time I will do it. Yes the shows will have pictures but not over the top like I did above.

TakerNGN74 · May 14, 2010

Glad to see this up I will definately be reading along and predicting!

Oldschool · May 14, 2010

Your NYCW was my introduction into C-Verse... You really painted a great picture with that for me, so I will be sure to read along with you here again

BHK1978 · May 14, 2010

Glad to see this up I will definately be reading along and predicting!

Thank you Taker, and just so you know ahead of time. I will be lifting some stuff from your diary and some of the other great diaries on here.

Your NYCW was my introduction into C-Verse... You really painted a great picture with that for me, so I will be sure to read along with you here again

Well your WWWF diary is one of the best on this board so just the fact that you are going to read this will be cool! Also, how are you enjoying the C-Verse have you played any long term games in it?

TakerNGN74 · May 14, 2010

Don't worry you told me before hand so whatever you need to do more power to you.

moon_lit_tears · May 14, 2010

What? Who woke me up?

Guess I will read since your doing this right over my park bench.

BHK1978 · May 14, 2010

The New RIPW

<a href="

http://s969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/?action=view&current=HenryLee_jhdBHK.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/HenryLee_jhdBHK.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

While Mycroft and his wife Joan went on vacation to Paris for two weeks, I had the daunting task of building up the roster. Lucky for me I had Rob Miskovsky, RIPW’s lead play-by-play announcer, to help me with this task.

Rob had been with RIPW since the company opened its doors back in 2006. He seemed to have a good eye for talent and he was very happy to help me find the new faces of RIPW. We spent literally hours on end, scouring over tapes in the hopes of finding some diamonds in the rough. Mycroft placed two mandates upon us when looking for new talent.

1.) They had to be living within the New England or eastern Canada area. And if they were not, they had to be willing to travel up here on their own dime. Well not totally, I talked Mycroft into paying the wrestlers that came here some money for traveling expenses. However, we would not pay room and board for them that was where we drew the line.

2.) They could not be big name wrestlers for the most part. Of course, there were exceptions to that rule.

Upon getting the job, I had an idea of which veterans I wanted to bring into the company. The first person that came to mind was Stuart Ferdinand. Stuart was much like me, in that he was an American wrestler that decided to ply his trade in Japan. Over in Japan, Stuart is very well known; back here in the States…well let me just say he is hardly a household name.

Besides the fact that I was friends with Stuart, the main reason for me asking him to join us was because he is a good solid worker. I felt that if Mycroft wanted me to hire younger inexperienced wrestlers, I needed someone who could help teach them the ropes. Stuart seemed to fit that bill perfectly and he agreed to come to RIPW to work on a relatively cheap contract. Granted I would have to share him with GCG the Japanese company that he worked for, but that was okay because we worked around his Japanese schedule.

Another more controversial veteran was next on my list of people to sign. I knew many people would question why the hell did I go out and sign Terry “Blackjack” Robbins. He seemed full of drawbacks, he could not talk all that well, was not the most attractive guy, he is not the best worker in the ring (a fact that he would freely admit), and he is considered by many to be locker room poison.

Come to think of it, I am not sure why I thought it was a good idea to hire him. Seriously, though the reason why I hired him was because he had been a member of the SCCW, which for a brief period of time was on television. Therefore, my thought process was that some fans might remember Terry from his days with SCCW.

Those were my two splurges so to speak hiring wise. The rest of the roster was going to be young up and coming wrestlers, who were looking to make a name for themselves. I asked Rob to give me a list of four young wrestlers who he would like to see in RIPW, who would also fit the criteria set forth by Mycroft. Rob gave me the list and he and I watched the tapes of these young men. Each of these young talents impressed me greatly and I decided to get in contact with them to see if they were willing to come and work for us. On Rob’s list was:

<a href="

http://s969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/?action=view&current=Ant-Man.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/Ant-Man.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

1. Johnny Heizenger aka Ant Man. Johnny was a young talented wrestler from right here in Rhode Island. He was still very wet behind the ears but the kid oozed potential. And being a graduate of the Piledriver Wrestling School, I knew this kid would be ready to work and work hard.

<a href="

http://s969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/?action=view&current=RunningWolf.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/RunningWolf.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

2. Running Wolf. Running Wolf, much like Ant Man was a young kid that just has future star written all over him. And the fact that he is from Connecticut, well that just made him a better catch.

<a href="

http://s969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/?action=view&current=RogerMonteiro.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/RogerMonteiro.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

3. Roger Monteiro. Roger is a good friend of Running Wolf as they grew up together in Connecticut. Roger, much like Running Wolf, is Native American. There for it seemed natural to put the two real life friends together in a tag team. Plus I really liked the contrast in their looks with Running Wolf being this huge heavyweight and Roger being a cruiserweight.

<a href="

http://s969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/?action=view&current=Jebediah.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/BHK1978/RIPW/Jebediah.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

4. Jebediah. This young man who bills himself from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (he is actually from Brooklyn, Connecticut) is also very green. However, with a little work I think he can become a serviceable member of our roster. Plus his Amish gimmick looks to have endless possibilities. Now if only we could teach him how to cut a better promo…

That was Rob’s contribution to the roster. Once he brought them all to my attention, I got in contact with them and all for you men quickly agreed to join the promotion.

critical-23 · May 15, 2010

You know, BHK, if there is no you-know-who--I riot!

I like what I see so far though as there are not that many RIPW diaries (if any at all) here. KUTGW

BHK1978 · May 15, 2010

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="critical-23" data-cite="critical-23" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="27878" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>You know, BHK, if there is no you-know-who--I riot!<img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> I like what I see so far though as there are not that many RIPW diaries (if any at all) here. KUTGW</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> He has actually become a huge star for me in my MAW game. So there is a good chance he might show up here as well.</p>

moon_lit_tears · May 15, 2010

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="27878" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>He has actually become a huge star for me in my MAW game. So there is a good chance he might show up here as well.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Who? Huh? Fill me in on the secret man!!!</p>

BHK1978 · May 15, 2010

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="moon_lit_tears" data-cite="moon_lit_tears" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="27878" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Who? Huh? Fill me in on the secret man!!!</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Sure thing, critical is a huge fan of Jared Johnson.</p>

ColtCabana · May 15, 2010

Nice start, I will be reading.

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RIPW: The Ballad of Henry Lee

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