Secret Origins IV: Doomsday

D-Day '98

Last week, I detailed Ultimate Championship Wrestling’s first paid event, March Madness, which was an overwhelming success. It’s interesting to look back on three of the men who participated and see how they have  changed since then. Tony Dreamer then was a tough-talking butt-kicker, who wasn’t afraid to take risks. Today, he is a charismatic showman, who plays towards the crowd.  Scarface had just debuted his new persona and attempted to play to the sympathy of the crowd . Today, Scarface enjoys the hatred of the crowd…when he makes an appearance at UCW, that is. Then, Kraven was a dark, silent figure who used to wear a black trench coat and carry a bat. Today, well, if you have been to a UCW show, then you know that Kraven is anything but silent. The differences between then now are particularly glaring as we take a look at UCW’s first big failure, at an event somewhat appropriately named D-Day. However, I am getting ahead of myself.

The story of  D-Day begins with, ironically enough, an explosion. In this case, the explosion involved was the size of UCW’s roster as it grew exponentially. You see, shortly after March Madness, it was decided that UCW would have a second event a couple of months later, in the month of May. When it came to naming the event, the name was once again an homage to something else. Our church, Calvary Christian Center (known then as Calvary Temple) holds an annual event on the Sunday before Memorial Day that honors veterans. As an in-joke for ourselves, we named our new event “D-Day.”

In order to put on D-day, we knew that we would need more people involved than what we currently had.  So about one month prior to the event, we held an open casting call. Thanks to the auditions, we gained several new members of the roster. There were so many in fact, that UCW was to create a new stable to join Kraven’s Flock and the Twin Cities Cartel.  Super Scotty Tuttle was given his own group of wrestlers, which he named the Tuttle Family. His “family” consisted of: Dallas Walden, also known as the V.I.D., the Very Important Dallas; Ray Ellis a.ka. Ray Hammer; Matt Masih, or as he was known in UCW, Stickboy (thanks Charlie!); and the centerpiece of the family, Chris Mace who went by just Mace.

The Tuttle family was not the only group to gain some new recruits. The Twin Cities Cartel also expanded. Besides Desperado and Scarface, the Cartel now also included wrestler, Sto Koroshi, also known as Will MacIvor and valet, Miss Lee, otherwise known as Jennifer MacIvor. Unfortunately, we did lose a wrestler. Jared Johnson, or as he was known in UCW, Seven, decided that he did not want to be a part of UCW anymore. At first, he used the reason that his mother did not want him to wrestle. However, after a little prodding, it came out that he just did not want to wrestle anymore. So we had to write him out of the show.

Once all the players were set, it was time for UCW’s second event. Most of the pieces were the same. Dave Diggs and myself were still providing commentary. Pastor Michael was still ring announcing. Vegas Vic, a.k.a. Pastor Vic, was still in charge. But, in addition to new members, some other things had changed. Gone were the metal stage pieces and in their place stood four wooden stage pieces that had previously been used in a Cinco De Mayo outreach. Gone was Tony Menchaca and Paul Soriano as half-time entertainment. In their place was a dance number set to the Newsboys song “Shine,”  (featuring my wife, Jenn) performed by the youth drama team. (I know, drama and dancing…don’t ask.) Gone was the referee from the prior show. In his place was youth group member, Steve Wilson, who still could not enter the ring. In my family, he was known as Uncle Steve…even though he was only a year older than me.  And most importantly, gone was the crowd of 150 people. In their place, an attendance of 500 people, to date the largest show in UCW history.

This event would feature four matches. Opening the show was Sto Koroshi facing Low Die for the newly created UCW Light Heavyweight Title. Even with the support of the Twin Cities Cartel, Sto Koroshi tapped out to the Snake-Eyes and Low-Die was the first ever UCW Light Heavyweight Champion. In between matches, we aired a video of myself interviewing Seven to find out why he wasn’t competing that night. His response of “I’m going home” drew laughter from those in attendance.

Prior to the second match, Scarface entered to his new entrance music (which to this day gets me pumped for UCW), and introduced the new members of the Cartel to the UCW fans. Of course, during the introductions, he managed to insult the audience and the Tuttle Family. He faced Mace for the honor of the Tuttle Family. Scarface dominated the match and, after hitting his finishing manuever, the Shank,

The Shank - an elbow to the back of the head

(and with a little help from the UCW Tag Team Title belt) Scarface picked up the victory.

The third match was the first ever UCW Rumble. It featured all the members of the UCW roster. The rules were simple. If a wrestler’s feet left the wooden stage pieces and touched the floor, they were eliminated. The last person left on the stage was the winner. The match featured all 10 members of the UCW roster (The Cartel, Low-Die, the entire Tuttle Family, ex-family member the Dragon, and new masked wrestler, El Bandito Loco). This was Scarface’s night, as he was the last man standing.

The main event that night was interesting. It was set to be a no-holds barred Triple Threat Match for the UCW World Heavyweight Title.  Tony Dreamer would be defending the title against not only Kraven, but Vegas Vic as well. It would be the only time in UCW history that the youth pastor would wrestle in the main event, let alone for the world title. The match, predictably, was mainly fought between Dreamer and Kraven. This time, not only were steel chairs used but so were trash cans

Kraven throwing a trash can

and ladders. After a hard-fought match that went all over the gym, Tony Dreamer pinned Kraven with the One Way Ticket to Dreamland and retained the World Title.

Post-Match, Vegas Vic announced he was being forced to return to Las Vegas. There needed to be someone who would run things in his place. Dreamer, being the winner of the match, was able to choose who that would be. Dreamer, as he sat high atop a ladder,  looked over the gym and pointed at one man…David Diggs. That night, he was named UCW Commissioner.  (What’s interesting is that Pastor Vic had actually planned on someone else being the figurehead. He just didn’t mention who that was to anyone before the event.) With that matter settled, the evening was over.

I mentioned that this was UCW’s first big failure. Reading over the card, it may not seem like it.  To explain why it wasn’t as successful as March Madness, you need to know three things. First, other than Mace and Miss Lee, all the new recruits were in junior high and did not have the athletic ability of the older wrestlers. Second, stupidly, we did not practice the Rumble at all. People did not know when they were supposed to leave. Desperado, not knowing where he was in the ring, stepped off the stage piece and eliminated himself.  In the backstage area, after the match, people were lying around, nursing wounds both real and imaginary. Victor (Scarface) said it was like a Civil War battlefield. Finally, the matches that were practiced (other than the main event) to be honest, were just not very good. The Scarface-Mace match even ended early because Mace just plain forgot the entire match.

All in all day, D-Day was evidence that UCW undergoing it’s growing pains. Thankfully, it did not stop there.  As has happened many times since then, Ultimate Championship Wrestling overcame the odds and was poised to continue.  However, there was one post-D-Day incident that nearly killed UCW before it could go any farther. But that, my friends, is a story for another time.

My Oldest Friend

As Western as he gets

Tonight, girls, I want to tell you about your uncle.  My brother, Victor, is one of the funniest people I know. At least that’s what most people think of him. But what they don’t know is that he is also one of the most hard-working, focused people I know, second only to your mom. So let me tell you a few of my favorite memories of growing up with Victor.

First, you may notice that most people in my immediate family don’t actually call him “Victor”. The common name we use is “Bicos”. You see, in Spanish, the letter “V” is pronounced with a ”B” sound. So growing up, when my dad called my brother , we always heard Bicos. Of course, that was one of the nicer names.

As soon as my brother turned seven years old, he started gaining weight. So much so, it became one of his defining characteristics throughout his childhood. Naturally that translated to the nicknames my parents gave him. There is one that, to this day, I still can’t believe they called him. It’s “Gordo Feos.” For those of you who don’t speak Spanish, (like me!), that means “Ugly Fat Boy.” Now your grandmother will tell you that, in Spanish, it’s a term of endearment. In English, however, it’s a one way ticket to an eating disorder. Thankfully, Victor can take a joke as well as he can dish it out.

That weight did come in handy one time, though. My dad is a huge fan of Benny Hinn. Whenever he could afford it, we would take off for a few days to go to one of his conventions. Victor and I hated them so we always begged them to stay home. Finally, in 1996, they decided to leave us home for the weekend. Your uncle and I were elated…at least until we locked ourselves out of the house. I don’t remember how we did it but one Sunday night after church, we came home to find that we had locked our house key inside. We tried every way we could think of to get inside the house, but my dad burglar-proofed it too well. Finally, out frustration, my brother slammed his shoulder into the door so hard he broke it off its hinges. From that point forward, I called him a baby elephant.

Finally, Victor got tired of being teased about his weight. So when he turned 21, he decided to something about it. For about a year, he went to the gym every day for hours and, like Forrest Gump, he started running. (I just realized, that reference will probably be even more dated when you girls finally read this.) One year later, Bicos was gordo no more.

It was that focus that enabled him to fulfill his calling in life.Ever since he was in junior high, Victor knew he was supposed to be a youth pastor. When he graduated from high school, my parents couldn’t afford to send him to a Bible college. Instead, he was forced to go to go High School 2.0, or as it’s more commonly known, Yuba College. He could have very easily wasted his time away there, (Lord knows many people have) but he managed to complete his courses and in 2003, he transferred down to Bethany University. After spending a few years there, he graduated and received his license to preach. Victor had managed to do what so few have: he fulfilled his childhood dream.

Today, Victor has a job doing what he loves and a has beautiful wife who supports him (sorta). If he only had the determination to lose weight, or he had only overcome the odds to become a youth pastor, that would be reasonn enough for me to admire him. But you add them together and you have one great person.

Since he graduated college, I have always teased Victor that we are not brothers, but we are friends. However, there is some truth to that. You see, girls, for the longest time I have extremely valued my friends. The reason is simple. You can’t choose who your family is, but you can choose your friends. With that in mind, I have to say, I am proud to call your uncle Victor my oldest friend.

My Top 3 Attractions in Disney California Adventure

Disney California Adventure Entrance

I am planning on continuing my series of posts about our Disneyland trips. But since tonight was the last session of our birthing class, I need to have another short post. So tonight I am going to write about my top three favorite attractions in Disney California Adventure, which I am going to shorten to DCA. (A quick note before I get started: I said attractions and not rides for a reason. My definition of a “ride” is an attraction that has a vehicle that moves. All other types are attractions.) So let’s start at the bottom and  work our way up, shall we?

 Number 3: Jim Henson’s Muppet Vision 3D

Jim Henson Muppet Vision 3D

Located in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot in DCA, the idea behind this attraction is that you, the guest, are visiting the Muppet Labs, with the tour being provided by Kermit the Frog. He is there to introduce you to their version of 3D film, Muppet Vision. While in the lab of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, they introduce you to their creation, Waldo, the Spirit of 3D. After a brief demonstration of Waldo’s abilities, they attempt to shut him off. Of course, things go wrong. Meanwhile, Bean Bunny repeatedly attempts to help spice up Miss Piggy‘s musical number. His help is not welcomed. He decides to run away and is joined by Waldo. Everything wraps up in  what should have been a “glorious 3-hour finale” that gets reduced to a minute and half. The entire affair is heckled from the balcony by an animatronics Waldorf and Statler.

Earlier this year, they replaced the old version of the film with a new digital copy. I wish I could say that I immediately noticed the difference but then again, my eyes don’t process 3D very well. There is a bunch of trivia associated with Muppet Vision but two pieces are my favorite to share. During the finale scene, there are some dolls that appear singing, “It’s A Small World“. Those are actual Small World dolls. The other is that the (Spoiler Alert) computer-generated version of Mickey Mouse that Waldo transforms into is the first CGI Mickey ever presented.

For most attractions, the best part of is the attraction itself. But for this one, the pre-show is just as entertaining as (if not more so) the film itself. My absolute favorite part of the the pre-show has to be Sam the Eagle telling Gonzo, “Stop this foolishness this instant.” Gonzo’s reply: “What foolishness would you like to see?” That level of wit makes this, for me, the best of the the three 3-D films at the Disneyland Resort (and that includes the Captain EO Tribute.)

Number 2: California Screamin’

California Screamin'

 

The ride attempts to mimic the wooden roller-coasters that were popular at beachfront amusement parks of the past. However, the track itself is steel. California Screamin’ last year was refurbished to remove the Mickey Mouse logo that framed the inversion and was replaced with the current sunburst and Paradise Pier combo. Recently, the scream tubes, which were installed to meet Anaheim’s noise regulations, have been re-painted to a lighter shade of blue.

This ride alone is worth a trip to DCA. I have had so many good memories riding it. From planning our poses for the camera to riding it during the fireworks show, this attraction never disappoints. We even have fun just watching people be shocked by the take-off. However, one time in particular stands out. During Thanksgiving weekend in 2004, Curtis, Victor, Jennifer and I rode while it was raining. I’ll never forget how much we laughed, singing the Reliant K song, “Thundercats”, even while being pelted by stinging rain.

Number 1: Toy Story Midway Mania

Toy Story Midway Mania

This is without a doubt my favorite attraction in DCA and a top contender for best ride in either park. You know you are approaching it when you hear the voice of Mr. Potato Head wafting over the top of the background music. The huge animatronics version of Potato Head welcomes you to the ride. You get inside your cart, put on your 3-D glasses, and grab your spring-action shooter. You are whisked inside the show building, which “transforms” you to toy size. You play against your ride partner in six games based on popular midway games. After the games, the scores are tabulated and you, if you are me, complain about Jenn beating you again.

This ride is one of the newest attractions in DCA. Based on the popular Toy Story films, it takes the shooter mechanic from Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and adds 3D. It aiming mechanic takes some getting used but once you get the hang of it, it’s incredibly accurate (despite what Paul says). In honor of the newest Toy Story movie, Toy Story 3, they removed the game based on Little Bo Peep, and a new one based around Rex and Trixie.

This ride is, without question, the best at DCA. The line, although long at times, really moves quickly and the ride itself is amazing. Jenn and I tried this for the for first time on our New Year’s Eve ’09 trip and we rode it many more times during that trip. But be warned, you need to work on your upper body strength for this ride. The spring-action shooters give your biceps a workout! So make sure you are in shape (or be semi-ambidextrous like me.)

So there you have it: my top three favorite attractions in Disney California Adventure. If I only rode those three, I would consider my trip complete. Normally I don’t do this, but I have to ask you, gentle reader, what are your favorite three? Let me know in the comments. And if you haven’t, well, what are you waiting for. Get down there today!

Secret Origins Part III: March Madness

 

The crew for the first March Madness - Post Show

 

Last week I talked about the beginnings of Ultimate Championship Wrestling. After the successes of Thrash-N-Bash and One Night Stand, Paul, Tony, Pastor Vic, and I were eager to do more with wrestling. We had a meeting and it was decided that we would do something unheard of: we would put on a pro wrestling-style event at the church.

The basic premise was simple. For the low price of $3, we would sell tickets for people to come and watch our show. All of the money that would come in would go to Speed-the Light, the missionary-funding arm of the Assemblies of God (the fellowship that our church belongs to.)  Pastor Vic would handle the logistics. All we would have to worry about was putting on the show.  For that, we needed help.

The first thing we had to do was find more wrestlers. Jared Johnson, known in UCW as Seven, wanted to return.  My brother, Victor, was up for participating again. However he wanted to change his name. At the time, he was really into the “Godfather” movies, so he decided to become a mob character. Not being Italian, he decided he would go for the next closest thing: hence he became Scarface. We were up to four wrestlers. We knew that four wrestlers meant that at most we would be able to have three matches like we had at Thrash and Bash. We simply needed more wrestlers. Like in actual professional wrestling, we would start by recruiting from within our family.

Dino Munoz was a young man who was as into wrestling as we were. Tony and he had developed a close friendship based on their mutual attraction the “gangsta” lifestyle that was popular a few years ago. After seeing what Tony, Paul, Jared, and Victor had done in the months prior, Dino jumped at the chance to join in. Dino’s character would be Low-Die, a play on the name of a then-current World Championship Wrestling character named Lodi. His character? Well, he didn’t have much of one, other than he was tough. He would join Seven and fellow newcomer Tracy Barton (now Martinez), nicknamed Anna Conda.  Anna’s character would change over the course of her tenure in UCW, but at the first March Madness, she was just a stereotypical grunge girl. Together they were known as Kraven’s Flock. ( The name was basically stolen from WCW group, Raven’s flock.)

The final wrestler came from one of our friends. Eli Whatley was an interesting guy. He was the type who always wanted to get in on something new and exciting. So he volunteered to be our sixth man. Eli’s character name would be Desperado and would be based on the character from the movie of the same name. In hindsight, it was a funny choice considering the character was Mexican and Eli was pasty white.)  Eli and Victor would become a team, known as the The Twin Cities Cartel. The name came from joke name that Pastor Vic and Victor were going to assign to a fake drug cartel in one of their videos. We now had enough wrestlers to put together a show.

The basic storyline for the show was simple. March Madness was being presented by a former UCW World Heavyweight Champion, Vegas Vic, a.k.a. Pastor Vic. The main event would be Tony Dreamer vs. Kraven in a re-match for the UCW World Heavyweight title.  The undercard would consist of Desperado vs. Seven, Low-Die vs. masked wrestler The Dragon (Tony in a mask), and Seven & Low-Die, representing Kraven’s Flock, vs. the Twin Cities Cartel for the UCW Tag Team Titles. And like at One Night Stand, Dave Diggs and I, in my role as commentator David Alexander, would provide live commentary.

In preparation for the big event, we would make some much-needed alterations to the “ring”. Instead of four steel chairs, we would have ring poles and ring ropes. Of course, for us, ”ring poles” consisted of four PVC pipes and the “ring ropes”  were actual ropes covered in foam and wrapped in black electrical tape. The fragile nature of the rope-pole necessitated us drilling into everyone who participated that under no circumstances could someone touch them. Paul, Tony, and Eli also built a set for the event, using the metal skeleton of a tent used by Sidewalk Sunday School, and some old dividers. We asked a person Pastor Vic knew, whose name escapes me at the moment, to be our referee. He wore a simple black shirt and, because of the small size of the ring, he would have to officiate the match from the outside. Pastor Michael D. Ciociola, our church’s Fine Arts pastor, dressed in his finest tuxedo, would be our ring announcer. The crowning touches were UCW signs, one made from foam, the other made of a white bed sheet and spray paint. Looking back on it now, it seems corny at best, but at the time, we were really excited to have it.

The show began at 7 that night. The 150 people in the room listened to an introduction by Pastor Vic as he tried to prepare the crowd for what they were about to see. As he closed his spiel, he transformed into Vegas Vic and March Madness began. The show opened with yours truly interviewing Tony Dreamer. I climbed in the ring, microphone in hand and announced to everyone that Dreamer was here. The rumble of a monster from outside the gym signaled his arrival. He climbed into the ring and proceeded to address the crowd. As Dreamer spoke and announced his intentions of winning the World Title from Kraven, Kraven and his Flock appeared to confront Dreamer. Dreamer was eager to take them on but I did not want a confrontation. I called for security to escort the Flock to the back. Once order had been restored, Dreamer exited.

Low-Die vs. the Dragon was the match that opened the show. Youth Leader, Scott Tuttle accompanied the Dragon to the ring as his manager, Super Scotty Tuttle. Even with Scott backing him, the Dragon ended up tapping to Low-Die’s finishing move, a Texas-Cloverleaf hold named Snake-Eyes. The next match featured Seven, accompanied by Anna Conda,  vs. Desperado. Desperado fought valiantly, even lifting Seven on his back for a submission hold known as the torture rack. However, Seven was the better man that night as he pinned Desperado.

Next up was our half-time. As the sounds of DC Talk’s “Free At Last” began to play over the gym speakers, Tony and Paul, dressed in black 70′s-style leisure suits, black afro wigs, and fake goatees entered to the roar of the crowd. They began to dance and entertain the people. After their act, Pastor Vic came out and spoke for a few moments about Jesus and presented what we believe.

After half-time, we had the first of our two title matches. Scarface and Desperado came and attempted to endear themselves to the crowd by giving out high-fives. The fans, however, did not want any part of them.  Scarface attempted to win over the crowd by explaining that the scar on his face was giving to him by Kraven’s Flock. Still, they booed him. Scarface snapped. He proceeded to insult the crowd before finally giving away the microphone.  The change of heart seemed to do the Twin Cities Cartel good. They beat Seven and Low-Die and became the first UCW World Tag Team Champions.

The Twin Cities Cartel coming out of the March Madness Entrance

 

It was finally time for the March Madness main event. Tony Dreamer entered and covered the UCW sheet with his own Tony Dreamer banner, further irritating Vegas Vic. Kraven then entered, but he decided to forgo using the Flock as his back-up. Sending them away, he chose to face Dreamer one-on-one. That match was easily the best on the card and far better (not to mention shorter) than their encounter at Thrash-N-Bash.  Kraven applied his finishing move, a direct copy of the Stone Cold Stunner, known as the Scream, followed by his submission hold, the Kraven Deathlock.  However, Dreamer fought back and using his finishing move, the One Way Ticket to Dreamland, became the second UCW World Heavyweight Champion.

The night did not end there. Vegas Vic climbed in the ring and refused to award Dreamer the title. Dreamer and Vegas proceeded battle inside and outside the ring. It seemed that Vegas Vic had the upper hand until Tony leapt off a nearby scaffolding set up and broke the foam UCW sign over Vic’s head. The Flock came out to attack Dreamer while the Twin Cities Cartel and Super Scotty Tuttle came out to help him. The brawl extended outside the ring and ended when Dreamer placed the announcer’s table in the ring and, using it as a launchpad, landed on everyone on the outside.

Dreamer Flying at March Madness

 

Dreamer climbed back inside the ring, stood on the table and posed for the fans. Kraven then rolled back in, and in a show of good sportsmanship, handed Dreamer the belt and hugged him. The night ended with both men posing in the ring as the fans left happy. Our first live event was a success. We had proved this idea could work. The only question was: what could we do to top it?

Stinky Fat Kids

Normally Wednesdays are my comic book post day. However, due to the Labor Day holiday, new comics will not come in until tomorrow. So I am going to switch the posts around. Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the new comics that I bought this week. Today, however, I am going write about Disneyland. In particular, our least favorite Disneyland trip.

It had been over a year since our honeymoon. For the first month that we were home, I would tell Jenn every night that I would want to move to Los Angeles. Honestly, girls, if your mom would have agreed to it, you would have been born in Anaheim. But that wasn’t meant to be. Instead, I focused on our new life together. 2003 was the perfect year for me to do so. I loved everything about that year. From one of the best summers I have ever had to my epic 25-hour 25th birthday party, everything was perfect. But all good things must come to end.

The fall of 2004, for reasons I don’t want to talk about right now, was a very hard time for Jenn and I. We needed something to lift our spirits. That something was our place. Disneyland. So in October, we decided that we would go to the resort over Thanksgiving break. But this time we would not go alone.

As I told you in my first Disneyland Post, (http://twintanilla.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/the-greatest-week-of-my-life/), Disneyland had been a place that I had been to many times as a child. The majority of those times were with my brother. He always made the trips interesting. Whether it was his refusal to move around the park without stroller (even though he was way past stroller age) or his seemingly constant mission to find new ways to cause my dad to lose his temper in the Happiest Place on Earth, a trip to Disneyland with Victor was always interesting.

When I returned to the resort on our honeymoon, as I said before, it was the best week of my life. But it felt odd to be there without Victor. So many of my Disneyland memories at that point had included him. It was such a strong feeling that I ended up calling him a couple days into the trip. I wanted to tell him about all the stuff that changed since we were kids. But telling him wasn’t enough. I wanted to show him. So Jenn and I decided to invite him to join us.

One thing I have learned over the years is that heading to a theme park with an odd number of people is not nearly as much fun as even. At the very least, someone will always have to ride alone. Knowing this, we knew we needed another person to bring along with us. At the time the choice was easy. I had been mentoring a student in the youth group named Curtis. At the time, people said he was like our surrogate son. Jenn and I asked him if he wanted to go. He jumped at the chance.

With the group in place, we prepared to take off. The plan was to leave after Jenn and I got off work on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Curtis and Victor would meet us in the parking lot of our work. (At the time, your mom and I worked at the same place.) That day, as most days when we are waiting to leave on a trip, dragged on forever. The time finally came for us all to load up and take off. We took off, eager to get to Disneyland as fast as possible. We were finally moving…until we hit Sacramento.

You see, the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year. Apparently, that is a well-known fact. It wasn’t so well-known to the four of us. Jenn’s road rage kicked in when it took us an hour and a half to leave Sacramento. And it did not get much better the rest of the way down Interstate 5. We tried to make the best of it. Jenn and I played the game I told you about last week. The highlight was finding a mini-van with a television in the back. As we followed behind it, I noticed that the kids in the back seat were playing a video game. Lo and behold, they were playing Mario Kart: Double Dash! This was at the peak of our obsession with the game. We were so jazzed to see it, Jenn ended up following them for quite a few miles.

Finally, we pulled into the parking lot of the same hotel Jenn and I stayed in during our honeymoon. It was after 1 in the morning and the four of us were exhausted. As we walked into the lobby to check in, all any of us could think of was collapsing into bed so we could get an early start the next day. Jenn gave the check-in person our name and as soon as she verified who we were, she then asked us for us our credit card to pay for the room. Jenn looked at her, confused. “We already paid for the room last month”, she said.

What we didn’t realize was that reserving a hotel room with a credit card did not mean that the room was paid for . It only meant that the room was reserved. Which wouldn’t be a big deal…except that we did not realize that and did not have enough money on the card to pay for the room. (Our credit limit was very small back then.) Slowly the realization hit us. We didn’t have a place to stay for the night. Jenn furiously slammed her fist on the counter and yelled, “What’!” At that exact moment, the power went out.

It turns out the hotel suffered a power outage. That turned out to be a blessing, because the hotel management allowed us to stay in the room one night so we could figure out what we were going to do. They, obviously, had bigger fish to fry. We went upstairs to our room and began to make some phone calls. The final plan ended up being that, in the morning, Jenn’s mom would use Curtis’ mom’s fax machine to send us a copy of her credit card so we could pay for the room. We would pay her back when we returned. With the plan settled in my mind, I drifted off to sleep. Jenn, however, did not feel at peace until we paid for the room that morning.

The next day turned out to be a lot of fun. DCA, or Disney’s California Adventure as it was known then, did not have the quantity or quality of attractions that is does today. Coupled with the fact that it was Thanksgiving day, it meant that there was no one in the park. It ended culminating up with Victor and Curtis riding California Screamin’ seven times in a row.It was a much needed respite from the stress of the day before.

 As fun as our first day at the Resort was, the second was not. As it turned out, while Thanksgiving was a day with one of the lowest attendance counts, the day after has one of the highest. It wasn’t until New Year’s Eve 2008 that I have seen that many people in Disneyland. It was wall-to-wall people. It was only the System (my way of maneuvering the park) that kept us moving from ride to ride. Of course, once we hit the black hole of Disneyland, Fantasyland, the day began to drag. To top it off, it began to rain.

That was the final middle finger given to us on that trip. The final day was relatively uneventful, other than for Victor. Prior to the trip, he had promised Brandi that he would spend Thanksgiving with her family. Obviously he broke that promise. He attempted to call as we waited in line for Peter Pan. She, however, was in no mood to listen. To this day, she still holds that trip over his head. The coup de grace for Victor was that, after spending the day in a Disneyland rain storm, he ended up getting sick. (This would begin a running theme of Victor being sick on our Disneyland trips.) He couldn’t even get any rest because Curtis woke him up early that morning by telling him, “Stinky fat kids were stealing all of our rides.”

As you can see, Murphy’s law was in full effect. But I have to say, no matter how bad the trip went, I didn’t lose my love for my home. As I see it, the worst day in Disneyland is better than not having gone at all. The magic was not lost. In fact, looking back, that trip may have done as much to seal it as the perfect one from the year before. From that point forward, I knew that nothing could change my love of the ’Land. There was only one other time that it even came close. But that is a story for another time.

Secret Origins II: The Road to March Madness

Last week we talked a bit about how a youth group video series featuring a group of puppets named the NEO created Yuba-Sutter’s longest-running wrestling ministry. Pastor Vic had agreed to allow Paul and Tony to present a match during the New Year’s Eve all-night event named Thrash-N-Bash. Looking back on that first event, over a decade ago, it’s easy to see the seeds for what UCW is today were being planted.

In a meeting during Christmas Break, Paul, Tony, Victor, Pastor Vic and myself discussed what we should call this match. We wanted to name this crazy thing we were doing. A few names were tossed around but, taking inspiration from the pro wrestling company that helped motivate what we were doing, we finally settled on Ultimate Championship Wrestling or UCW. With the initial match and a name for what we were doing  set, Pastor Vic, Paul, and Tony decided that rather than just have one match, there would be a tournament to determine a champion. In between activities during Thrash-N-Bash, there would be two qualifying matches and a final match where the winner would be the UCW World Heavyweight Champion. So who would be in this tournament?

Tony and Paul were a given. It was already determined that they would be the final match.  Victor would be one of the other contenders as a nod to the NEO. The fourth and final participant was one of Paul and Victor’s good friends named Jared Johnson. Each one would need their own pro wrestling identities so they spent some time coming up with their characters. Tony decided he would become Tony Dreamer, from San Jose. The name was based on then-ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer, but his character would be based on WWE superstar ”Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Paul’s name would be Kraven, who’s demeanor was based on ECW wrestler Raven, although the name was based on horror director Wes Craven (don’t ask). In a cheap attempt to get a visiting youth group to cheer for him, he decided he would hail from Napa, the city the youth group was coming from (the youth group ended up not showing up, so it was for not). Victor took the name and character of a Chris Farley sketch from Saturday Night Live called El Nino. Jared’s character was the closest we had to an original wrestler. He was named Seven and was a supposed to be psychotic (which, it turned out, was not too far from the truth.)

With the first UCW characters set, the guys went about creating the matches. Looking back on it now, everything about UCW was, well, low-rent. Our “ring” was a single, metal, rectangular stage piece. Our “turnbuckles” were four metal folding chairs. And the belt they were fighting for? A weight belt, spray-painted black, with UCW written on a piece of paper attached to it. It shouldn’t have worked. But it did.

The reason it worked is because, to be frank, the guys worked their butts off. They practiced their matches for days leading up to the event. They were determined to put on the best show they knew how. I still have the footage of the matches and have watched them since then. Most of the “moves” were some variations of punches and kick, with the occasional leg drop thrown in. The one thing they did that made it entertaining was they played to the crowd. Even though the crowd was not a wrestling crowd, they reacted to everything that was going on.

The storyline for the night was simple. In the first  round of the tournament, Kraven would face El Nino and Dreamer would face Seven. Kraven would rather easily beat El Nino and Dreamer would defeat Seven. Both matches were really short, no more than about 5 minutes each. Then the main event came.

The match the tournament final was based on.

 

 In an ironic twist, Kraven and Dreamer’s match ended up lasting longer than the match it was based on. They ended up fighting all around the gym: around Tracy Martinez (then Barton, who will come into play later) and her friend were laying in their sleeping bags; onto the volleyball ref stands; near the commentators (David Diggs and Rick Tuttle); anywhere they could. Finally, nearly 30 minutes later, Kraven was crowned the first UCW World Heavyweight champion. And I watched it, from high atop my perch, operating the spotlight.

Most people assume that after that first event, it was straight into March Madness. Well, there was a short stop, on the road there. While everyone enjoyed the first set of UCW matches, we didn’t think there was going to be anything else. However in February, Pastor Vic scheduled a Valentine’s Day event. As a joke, we asked him if we could have a match there. To our surprise, he said yes. Thus we planned out a single match, tongue-in-cheek titled: UCW’s One Night Stand.

As well as the first night went, the second did not. Plans that were scheduled did come to fruition, egos flared, and to top it off, the power went out at the church, which meant the Valentine’s event stood the chance of being canceled. UCW was in danger of ending before it began. The only reason I am writing about it today is because of a conversation that Paul, Tony and I had in the boys bathroom of the gym as Paul was putting on his make-up (You know, I don’t think that will be the weirdest sentence I’ll be writing about UCW). I don’t remember exactly what it was that was said. I do remember Paul arguing passionately that the match needed to go on.  Because Paul believed in UCW, that night we had a match.

There were still some kinks to be worked out with the characters. When Dreamer came out at Thrash-N-Bash, he emulated Austin as much as possible. However, Stone Cold had tendency to flip off the crowd as part of his entrance. Naturally, Tony couldn’t do that. Instead, when Tony came out, he raised his left hand and brought his palm down in the crook of his also-upraised right hand, curled into a fist. This maneuver was also known as “Up Yours”. Not exactly the kind of thing you want someone doing at a church function. We explained this to Tony, but a youth leader named Scott Tuttle remained a little over-anxious about it. To this day, we still laugh about the number of times he said, “Tony’s not going do that motion, is he?”

Like Thrash-N-Bash, the match that was scheduled was based on a WWE match. In this case, it would be based on Bret Hart vs. the Undertaker from Summerslam ’97.

And the match One Night Stand was based on.

Kraven would be defending the UCW World Heavyweight title against Seven. Tony Dreamer would be the special guest referee, playing the Shawn Michaels part from the match. The story of the match was that Dreamer, still bitter that Kraven was champ, wanted to screw him out his title. As the match came to a close, Dreamer attempted to hit Kraven with a steel chair but he missed and winded up striking Seven instead. Kraven then proceeded to pin Seven. Dreamer, reluctantly, counted the pinfall. And I watched it, this time from my position next to Dave Diggs at the commentators’ booth.

Following the success of that night, it was decided to take things bigger. Much bigger. It was time for the event that started it all. It was time for March Madness.

Life is a Highway

Tonight, Jenn and I headed to our first night of birthing classes. It was…interesting. I am thinking about going more in-depth  about the class later this week. However,  the class took a lot longer than I was anticipating. As such, I now have a very short time to make my post for today. So I am going to be  taking a something I wrote for a Disneyland Trip Newsletter I made in preparation for the New Year’s 2o1o trip and adding to it for tonight’s post. In later posts, I’ll be talking about some of the things I have enjoyed during our past trips. Today, I am going to write about a part that doesn’t get much thought. The ride down.

I have been asked multiple times why I don’t save time and fly to Los Angeles. One of the major reasons I do not drive is because simply, I enjoy the drive. I don’t find it boring or even particularly long. Plus I have many memories from different aspects of the trip.

One that stands out to me is a memory from our April 2008 trip with Victor and Brandi. We were pretty stoked because this was going to be the first time it was going to be just the four of us on vacation. There was some additional excitement in the air as we had decided on a whim to leave a day early. So we piled into our Jeep and were on our way down Interstate 5. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that there was nighttime construction. So, even though we made good time down most of I5, after we left Harris Ranch, there was an hour-long delay as we crawled through what felt like 10 miles of road. Initially we were all still pretty jazzed, but as the minutes stretched on, Jennifer ended up succumbing to the frustration. Victor, on the other hand, succumbed to sleep. So it made for a funny moment once we were past the construction, as Victor woke up and said, “That wasn’t that bad.” Needless to say, Jenn lost it.

Even though I have some more intricate memories, I also have some simple ones. Jenn and I have developed a little mini-game that we like to play. Every time we pass one of the mileage signs on the side of the road, we figure out how long it will be until we reach the resort. (Yes, Jenn and I know we are such nerds that we make up math games to entertain us.) The game is fun, though, because it becomes a countdown for when we will reach Disneyland. As each mile ticks away, we get more and more eager to “get home”.

However that is not the only game we play. Back in April 2009, Curtis, Brandon, Jennifer, and I each picked a few songs and we tried to guess who picked what song. It not only helped pass the time but it was interesting to see the different musical styles each of us enjoyed…even though we all agreed we didn’t like Curtis’s style.

We played the game again for the New Year’s 2010 trip. I asked Brandon, Victor, Brandi, Paul and Jessica to each give me 10 songs to build our trip playlist. After gathering the songs from each person, I realized that we needed to add more songs so we wouldn’t run out before we reached the Grapevine. Luckily, Jenn and I had built a library of trip songs from the multiple trips we have made. A good portion of songs we have were picked based on the ones we enjoyed playing on Rock Band. So I made the CDs (16 in all), not realizing that there was a disporportionate amount of Rock Band songs. As the seven of us played the game and tried to guess the person who picked the song, the cry of “Not Rock Band again!” quickly became a catchphrase of the trip. (It was so ingrained in us that when one of the songs played as part of the background loop for Sunshine Plaza in Disney California Adventure, we all yelled it.)

So why do I like to drive rather than fly? Yes I could save time but for me the trip is not about saving time. It’s about using each moment to make a new memory. And if the drive gives me more time to make memories, then I would take it over a flight every time.

Secret Origins Part I: From Humble Beginnings

So last week, I gave you the genesis of my fascination with professional wrestling. Today, I’d like to tell you a little bit about how that hobby has turned into something tangible. You see, Twintanillas, your dad is involved in something that takes up a  considerable amount of his time. It involves three simple letters: UCW.

The history of UCW (or for those of you who are initial-phobic: Ultimate Championship Wrestling) is something I have toyed with writing for years. As the only person who has been a continual part of UCW since it’s beginning over a decade ago, I have wanted to share my perspective on the ministry that has taken up so much of my life. So my plan is to use my Monday pro-wrestling post to detail the strange tale of how three puppets spawned the longest-running youth-sponsored ministry at CCC (sorry, initial-phobes: Calvary Christian Center).

Most people will say that UCW came about when our youth group decided to sponsor a pro-wrestling-style event to raise money for Speed-The-Light, a missions funding organization. Others will say it began at a youth group all-nighter that needed to fill time as they kept students entertained till dawn. When the story is told by the old-timers, they say it began as an aunt’s suggestion to her son and nephew. But really, the real origin (the secret origin, if you will) is that UCW was birthed in felt.

In 1996, professional wrestling began it’s rebirth as a wrestler named Scott Hall, who was widely associated with the WWF, appeared on rival organization WCW’s flagship show and claimed he was taking over. This kicked off one of the hottest storylines in wrestling history, the New World Order.

Scott Hall appearing on Nitro

 

Each week more and more fans tuned in. Many of those were former fans who had fallen disenchanted with professional wrestling due to the cartoonish nature of the characters they were presented with and were drawn to the edgy personalities that were represent by the NWO. Two of those former fans were the kids who had started their love of sports entertainment at Wrestlemania 5.

My cousin Paul and I were captivated by the storyline. My brother, Victor, who was never much of a wrestling fan, thought it was intriguing enough to at least mildly pay attention to what we were talking about. As we thought more and more about the storyline, we talked to our youth pastor about it. At the time, Victor and Paul were working with the pastor, Vic, on creating videos to show during Wednesday night youth service.

Victor and Paul’s favorite activity was to stay the night at each other’s house, and using a tape recorder, create radio plays that were called, “The Late Afternoon Show.” They had decided to take two characters on from that show and, with Pastor Vic’s direction and filming, tried to translate them to the screen. It did not work well.

However Pastor Vic, Victor, and Paul did not want to give up on bringing videos to youth group. What was needed was a hook. One day Tuesday afternoon, while we were talking about the NWO, the hook was found. The youth group had recently changed its name from ”The Edge” to “The Youth Corps”. In one of those brainstorming sessions that begin with “Wouldn’t be funny if…”, it was decided that the people who were not happy at the change needed a voice. That voice would be a puppet who would parody Scott Hall who was known as Razor Ramon . The puppet’s name: Cologne.  Joined by another puppet named Crash, they would be known as the New Edge Order or the N.E.O.

The NEO made their presence known by “interrupting” the youth service , and calling out Pastor Vic. The following week, they interrupted again, this time thrashing Pastor Vic’s office. Eventually, they added as a third member the only successful character from Paul and Victor’s earlier attempts, a parody of Forest Gump named Toby Stump. In a reflection of their radio play days, Paul would voice multiple characters, including Cologne and Toby Stump, while Victor supplied the voice of Crash.

 The videos were a success. Each video would get more outlandish as the Youth Corps received it’s own defenders, who never really did anything beyond filming a wrestling style promo calling out the NEO. The NEO finally met their match in the form of a youth leader named Jason. The NEO attempted to kidnap and hold an adult leader named Cherese for ransom. Jason, her husband, channeled his rage, transformed into the maniac of Friday the 13th movies, and successfully rescued her. The NEO gathered their revenge when their leader, a person named “The Ancient One”, provided them with a weapon that would even the odds: a ray gun that transformed Jason into a puppet.

The storyline was building to a climax, planned for the New Year’s Eve lock-in named “Thrash-N-Bash”. However, that was not meant to be. Attempts to film a conclusion, revealing who was the Ancient One who had been planning the defeat of the Youth Corps, fell through. The necessary people to make it happen could not coordinate their schedules. Pastor Vic was trying to figure out something to do to fill in the time that was allotted for the NEO. Little did he or anyone else know that Paul, our cousin Tony, and our aunt Linda were having a conversation that would change the direction of the youth group forever.

Knowing how much her son and nephew loved pro wrestling, she asked them why they didn’t put Tony’s athletic skills and Paul’s charisma together to fill the time with a match. Paul initially thought she meant having  the puppets perform the match. Realizing that Linda meant Paul and Tony should wrestle each other in the same manner as the men they watched on television, they began to work on putting together a match based on the Bret Hart-Steve Austin match from Wrestlemania that year. They presented the idea to Pastor Vic. And from the ashes of the NEO, UCW was born.

That concludes our installment for this week. Next week, we’ll look at Secret Origins Part II: The Road to March Madness.