*People only have one chance to make a good first impression upon coming into a new job. Some people come in, bright and cheery, and make good with everybody at his work from the janitors up to the big boss man on the thirtieth floor. Some people, however, falter at this seemingly easy task and end up alienating themselves from the rest of the group. That is something nobody wishes upon themselves, everybody just wants to fit in deep down, it's not a hard concept to grasp. The new guy or girl, coming in and hoping that everybody likes them, because in that, it makes life easier at the job. It's no coincidence that people get jittery and nervous around new people either, hell, they just want to be accepted for who and what they are, and that traces back from grade school all the way to high school and to working and the real world. Some people are lucky, naturally charismatic, able to fit in anywhere and everywhere they go. Some are just fortunate that they are able to stay in the same place all their lives and never have to meche within a new core of people. Professional wrestlers are not like the latter at all. They are charismatic, but everybody is, and everybody in the locker room has an ego as big as the state of Texas, there's no use denying it, because it's always going to be true. Each and every wrestler in the back considers themselves god's gift to the business, it's been that way since Frank Gotch wrestled, since Lou Thesz made his way to the ring, since Ric Flair walked that aisle, and since Hulk Hogan stepped foot inside a squared circle. Dusty J has always believed since he was very young that he would be one of the fortunate ones to stay put forever and always be the life of the party due to his parents excessive wealth and power within the movie industry, but the charismatic professional wrestler changed life for him forever when he was merely five years old watching professional wrestling at the Cow Palace. He chose the life of the professional wrestler, an independent contractor, a journeyman, a guy who will never fit in long enough to become a permanent fixture in whatever territory he chose to wrestle in, forever having to make good first impression after good first impression. Now he is about to enter Pro-Wrestling X and despite knowing some of the names from previous encounters: Shawn Hunt, Terrell Odom, Devastator; he still can't help but feel a little uneasiness, after all, it's nothing more than human nature.*

con·tend·ed, con·tend·ing, contends v. intr. 1. To strive in opposition or against difficulties 2. To compete, as in a race; vie

*The gauntlet for the gold. Twenty of professional wrestling's biggest and best superstars will go at it for a chance to prove their worth to the boys, the front office, and most importantly, to themselves. It is not often that people get such a close opportunity at contendership for the richest prize in PWX, the PWX title. Thanks to the advent of the gauntlet for the gold, they now have that opportunity to become more than just part of the well oiled machine, but to become the head of the well oiled machine, the champion, the head man, the franchise player. Twenty people vying for the double edged sword that is Number One Contendership. While a great honor and a true privelege to be the next man in line for a shot at "The Man", it also means you are the hunted rather than the hunter. All the time you spent earning your stripes, taking cracks at the top, and becoming number one contender, you've now become the very thing you've been fighting against, and that means all of those friends you once had in the back are gunning for you too. Funny how friends and enemies in the wrestling business are dependent on the success of yourself and said person, huh? Dusty J has never had a problem ruffling some feathers, in fact, for some odd reason gets joy out of upsetting people, just to amuse himself, no other reason. This scenario however is quite different from those others, he's the new guy too. The new guy gets enough flack as it is, hazing and what have you, then to come in, on someone's first night and become number one contender for the major title in the company? That is unheard of. Then again, Dusty has done something like this before...*

*Dusty J is busy putting the finishing touches on a "gourmet" hamburger straight from his George Foreman Grill. He puts the burger on a plate and then fills the empty spaces with Doritos, not quite the diet he should be taking to, but he does have a contract that assures him a certain amount, and he can always put a shirt on if he gets a little chubby. Speaking of a "little" chubby, Greg Dixson, Dusty's best friend and personal cameraman, who weighs over 200 pounds of fat, makes his way into the house. Greg has roomed with Dusty forever, he doesn't need to pay rent, and gets to live in oceanfront property in Los Angeles, sounds like a sweet deal, Greg is fat, but he isn't stupid. Dusty gives a nod to greet Greg and Dixson heads straight for the food Dusty just cooked, luckily he cooked about five hamburgers. The two friends pig out on burgers, Doritos, and root beer until they're about ready to pop, literally in Greg Dixson's case. They then begin engaging in their favorite activity together...no you sicko...NBA Basketball!*

Hey Greg, do you think you could ever be in the NBA?

No man, i'm over 200 pounds and in my mid 30's, are you nuts?

I didn't say "Play" did I? I was thinking maybe you could be a towel boy or something...

Very funny, you jerk.

Ha ha, sorry man, i'm just a little ansy about this whole PWX thing. Some of the crowd was feeling me last week, but the others were just dumbfounded and clueless as to how to treat me.

If you're going to be worried about anything it can't be about the fans, it's got to be about nineteen other wrestlers ready to take your head off in that Gauntlet for the Gold battle royal.

Well there's that too Greg, but first and foremost I need to have those people behind me every time I step through that curtain, their sheer will and belief in me has always been what's kept me going no matter how immaculate the odds are, and in this case of the Gauntlet for the Gold, against nineteen other superstars, the deck is stacked against me. Being the new guy on the block is hard enough, having nineteen people wanting to knock your block off and having no crowd support to keep you going on top of all of that.

Come on man, you're Dusty J! Dusty Jizzle! You've overcome so many odds before, and you're going to do it again and be on your way to wrestling for the PWX Championship. You've got it bro, you're the most charismatic, talented guy out there, and I have always known you as the type that goes out there and just does the damn thing, no questions asked, just going out and tearing the house down every single night, taking the show and stealing it.

Yeah, guess that's true. Thanks Greg, you're always good to talk to with these kinds of things.

What are best friends for?

Well in your case they're good for eating all of my food, watching my television, bumming money off me...

Okay okay okay...nevermind...forget I said anything.

Hey Greg, have you gotten any videotape on some of these guys for me to look at? It is what I pay you for after all.

I've downloaded more matches in the past couple of days than Jeremy Nolin has pornography, you're good to go, just go check those out whenever you feel like it.

*Greg looks down at his watch and his eyes nearly bug out of his fat head.*

I've got to go man, i'm late for my appointment.

What appointment?

I joined a gym today, and it's going to be my first workout, didn't you notice that I was wearing sweats?

Guess I wasn't paying too much attention, did you just decide to start being healthier? You just scarfed down three burgers and a bag of Doritos after all...

Well they had this hot girl working there as a personal trainer...and I figured it would be beneficial if I joined up and got one of those...

Ohhh, I see, well get going man. I'm going to check out some of these matches and see just what i'm going to be up against come Adrenaline.

Alright man, i'll see you later.

See you later Greg, have fun with your trainer...haha.

*Greg walks out the door and Dusty decides to get on the computer and check out some of those matches that Greg downloaded. He logs on to Windows and clicks on the "PWX matches" folder on his desktop. He skims through the folder and clicks on one of the matches and begins watching some of the great action that only PWX can deliver. The more he watches, the more nervous he gets about his impending debut.*

The Gauntlet for the Gold...man how am I ever going to be able to get past this? It's a match where i'm not facing just one opponent, but nineteen other people, i've won tournaments and stuff like that, but this is a completely different monster... am I ready for this? Can I take the heat of having everybody in the company seemingly breathing down my neck? Waiting to see what i've got to bring to the table? Waiting for me to fall from exhaustion? Waiting for me to fail? I've never failed at anything, I can't fail at this gauntlet...but it's a gauntlet...it's nonstop...it will not let up for any amount of time and I haven't wrestled in over six months, good lord, what on earth have I gotten myself into? This is obsurd...

*He finishes match after match and clicks on more and more, furthering his anxiety. Then Dusty checks out some promos featuring the stars of PWX and notices that every single one of them has a strong, distinct personality that seperates them from the rest of the pack, and for that the fans love them. Dusty ponders how the fans will react to his strong personality.*

My first impression, I hope last week's interview made the fans see how dedicated I was. I need to show them again this week in the match if I didn't last week, my power, my drive comes from those people, I need those people, without those people i'm no more than another typical average professional wrestler. I want to be more, I NEED to be more. These guys in PWX, all of them are more than just the average joe, they're all superstars, I was the man somewhere else, but i'm not the man here, and it's eating me alive, I can't take not being the guy everybody looks to for the best matches and inspiration in bad times. I want the fans to know that every time they watch Dusty J wrestle, they are witnessing something they never have before, something special...

Whoa...where am I?

*Dusty finds himself in the middle of an arena, an empty arena, in a wrestling ring. He gets up and looks around hoping to find someone to tell him where he is and how he got here. Dusty rolls out of the ring and begins searching the backstage area only to find nothing but emptiness, not a soul in sight. He trudges through the empty arena for what seems like hours on top of hours, finding nobody to tell him where he is or what is going on.*

This is it huh? My worst case scenario? I made a bad first impression, and now it's here to bite me in my ass? Is that what this is? Nobody comes to see Dusty J wrestle anymore? Is that what this is supposed to be? They gave me my fair shake and I entered that Gauntlet for the Gold, poured my heart and soul into the match, and it didn't even matter in the end because I dropped the ball before I got my chance to run with it? That's what this is all about? The empty arena? A metaphor! Real clever. Get me out of here! Let me out! Let me go! Let me FREE!

*The scenery shifts to a different arena, not much different from the last one, but different enough in one big way. This arena is full of screaming fans marking out at each and every moment they can, and Dusty is in the middle of the ring just standing there, soaking in the reaction from the PWX faithful who have sold out this venue. Dusty looks around at the crowd and beats his chest with his forearm a couple of times, enticing the crowd to get out of their seats and applaud. He then notices that he is holding a microphone, and the fans want to hear him speak his mind.*

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Dusty J. I have come here to Pro Wrestling-X to prove a point to you all, to my fans, to my family and friends, to the boys, and to myself that I am one of the top professional wrestlers in the world. I am jubilated that I am going to get my chance to prove it on the forthcoming edition of PWX Adrenaline. You see because not only do I get to face one of the great PWX Superstars in this match, I get to face nineteen of them in a Gauntlet for the Gold. Now I know what some of you who know me might be thinking... "A gauntlet? Can he wrestle a gauntlet? For crying out loud I love Dusty J, but he hasn't wrestled in six months and is already undersized as it is." Yeah, you're all saying it, and quite frankly I have been saying it to myself too. I've let my time off not only build up the natural ring rust that i'm surely going to encounter, but I have let it get to my head and psyche me out more than you all would ever know unless you've walked in my Nikes.

But i've learned some patience, and i've learned that prescription drugs are not always a bad thing...in moderation and only taking them when the doctor orders you to, that is. What i'm trying to say is i've gotten over this fear for the most part, this fear of humiliation, self humiliation. This fear of not fitting in with the boys in the locker room. I can only focus on myself and my own happiness, not the happiness of those guys, and not the happiness of the front office. There is however another party I always try to make happy each and every day whether I am wrestling or not, and that's you, the fans.

I am going to go out there in the Gauntlet for the Gold and make you people happy. That's my goal. Whether I win, or whether I lose, I want to make sure that each and every one of you people know i'm all for you and your entertainment. They say in wrestling "Winning gets you over." Well that's true, winning DOES get you over, but there's another thing that does it that i've been doing since day one of my wrestling career, and that's tearing the house down. When I put on a match of the night, it stops mattering if I win or if I lose, all you guys will care about is which Dusty J match to declare Match of the Year, and that's what drives me.

So I vow come Adrenaline one thing, not that i'll win Gauntlet for the Gold, not that i'll befriend all the boys in the back to avoid the inevitable ribs that will come my way, but I assure you all that I will tear the roof of the building. Thank you very much for your time and remember this, if there's a will, there's a way, so says, Dusty J.

*The crowd explodes into cheers as Nelly's "# 1" blares loud enough for everyone to hear it. Dusty scales the turnbuckle corners and raises his arms in the air triumphantly, reading, willing, and waiting for Adrenaline, when he will wrestle in the Gauntlet.*

Hey man, wake up, wake up Dusty.

Huh? What? Greg? How did you get here? Are we in the arena? Is my match up next? Did you hear them cheering? What's going on?

Well my training got cut short due to my inability to do a situp so I came on home, meanwhile you were asleep watching PWX clips. Please don't tell me you're still stressing about this.

On the contrary my dear friend, I think i'm over it. I'm ready to go out there and tear the house down the way I always do.

Now that is what I want to hear, good for you man. So what are we doing for dinner?

I was thinking teriyaki.

Good deal buddy, good deal.

*The word Gauntlet is only as scary as one can interpret it as Dusty J learned. Through the wonder that is sleep he's overcome his fear and is ready to get back into the ring and become the number one contender to the PWX Championship. How long will he last? Will he be a finalist? Will he win? Those answers have yet to be carved into granite, but time will tell, and we shall all see come Adrenaline.*

*The first impression will be made, and Dusty learned the simple tactic that has helped people make first impressions for years and years, "Be Yourself." It's all Dusty has ever known how to do. We'll see you at Adrenaline.*