[caleb storm 02] - pompeii

The first couple of days had been a dream.

Danny Gerrard had gone from kid with a dream to kid living it. The boy had become a man and finally grew into the persona he adopted when he left New Glarus with $3000, a dream, and his car. He had truly become Caleb Storm. Twelve months into his career, and Caleb had already had a tour of Japan and now the (R)Evolution Wrestling Orange County Title as career highlights, leading him to wonder just how much more could happen in the second year.

And the move to San Diego hadn't been horrible for him either. He had met Virginia Jameson early in his move, and the two had fallen for one another. During one of EXODUS and (R)Evolution's trips to Las Vegas, the pair got impulsively married, and at the age of 19, he had found everything he had wanted in life. He had the career of choice, a beautiful wife, and now he was hearing his name whispered in the breath of people he grew up watching...a blessing and a curse.

It was a typical Friday at the (R)Evolution Dojo, EXODUS' answer to a wrestling school/gym/performance center. Despite not being a global company, the money owners Nicholas Gray and Jonathan Collins had invested into the company had paid off in dividends. They had a wrestling school to not just recruit talent, but develop it themselves. The students paid their dues the old fashioned way, working as security and merchandise people for the small shows of EXODUS, and were given plenty of opportunities to be mentored and to succeed. Now, on a day like today, they were given a chance to mingle with their trainers, some of the main roster who just wanted to enjoy a barbecue, and a visit from a man who had become increasingly elusive over the past couple of months...Jonathan Collins. Caleb had arrived in San Diego and had fallen over himself to meet the man, even adopting a ring name that paid tribute to the last name that Collins had used to collect numerous championships in the NYSWF and NWW, along with various other promotions they had been affiliated with through the long history of the territory and circuit. The names Storm and Collins had been known for being equal parts respected, reviled, and talented among the names that had been involved in these promotions, so Caleb had picked a hell of a name to carry the stigma of, one he was aware of.

When he arrived to the cookout, he saw several faces he had been working with, and the trainers that had helped him get to this point. Of course, when he saw one person, he knew he had to approach him. There was a lot for them to talk about. Caleb hadn't actively looked to leave (R)Evolution Wrestling, and he was intending on staying with the dojo despite his new affiliation with EWA, but he also knew that there was a reason for his arrival in this new place, a place where his idol's past had collided with his own future.

Jonathan Collins was not exactly a young man anymore. He had long grown to understand he was staring down 40, an age where professional wrestlers were starting to wind down. Years of wrestling a style had taken a toll on his knees, especially with his high flying style. Even taking eight years off of actively competing had not done him any good, just delayed the inevitable. When he retired in November of last year, he knew that it was important for him to spend time with his wife and daughter, things that many men in the industry had taken for granted. He had watched his own brother often put his wife and daughter in the line of fire, and now that Jonathan Collins had the ability to choose whether or not he wanted to continue on with his career, he not only retired on his own terms but before the wrestling world could rob him of all his health. He continued to pass down the wisdom as a teacher, the career he took upon himself during his eight year hiatus.

And now he could pass his wisdom onto the young man known as Caleb Storm.

"I was wondering when you were going to talk to me," Collins said as he sat down on a seat not far from the grill he had been working over for the students. After their successful (R) to the Core show earlier this week, Jonathan had decided to reward the students with a well cooked meal for them, one of Jon's passions as he got older.

"Jon, I can't thank you enough for making lunch for everyone," Danny smiled, looking at him with his hands in his pockets as he still felt like a small boy to the man Collins was in his eyes. He was a hero, someone who could do no wrong.

"Mr. Gerrard, it's my pleasure. To be honest, it's what you guys do for me that means so much. You're the imprint I truly left on the business. Not my titles, not my matches, but my students are my legacy. The knowledge and wisdom I've given you all will be what lives on now that I'm sitting at home and learning to get fat," he laughed.

"Your legacy is what I was hoping to talk to you about, Jon. I mean...this isn't a coincidence. You've sent me to a place where some of your old rivals and friends are competing," Danny said. "At least I think you sent me," Caleb replied softly, almost looking sheepish to have implied he was hand picked.

"I didn't order them to sign you, but I signed off on you being a good talent," Jonathan replied, opening a bottle of water after clarifying his role in Danny's path.

"Jon...there's Sydney, Carey, Naiser, and even Venus, Elizabeth, or Anastasia. Any of them could've been sent to the EWA's attention...why me?" Danny asked, a little bit of nerves to even dare question a decision Jon had made. The response he got from Jonathan was something that he wasn't expecting, nor did it make him comfortable.

It was a small chuckle.

"Mr. Gerrard, let me ask you a question. Would you send a Marvel fan to a store that specializes in DC Comics? Someone who favors a character like Spawn to an exhibit specifically showing off Batman? Yes, they'll like what they see, but they won't appreciate the experience. Any of those names could have gone to the EWA and succeeded, but you? You see the names and they mean something to you. You recognize the value of those names," Jonathan told him as he turned his head to look at him after taking another sip of water. "It's an opportunity to know your roots while forging your future, Mr. Gerrard...and isn't that what anyone worth their salts wants?" he questioned Danny with a grin.

"I've already seen a few faces there," he said to Jon. "Haywood, Long Island Hardcore, Jack Reed, Chip Masters..."

"Chip?" Jon said as he raised an eyebrow. "Chip Masters was a real son of a bitch back in the day. Tried to do some real damage to me. I had to find a way to tap out one of the best submission experts at the time," he remembered.

"And that's when you started showing off your dragon sleeper!" Caleb said. "It was one of your first NWW International Title defenses! I remember that!" he added, leaving Jonathan to laugh a little.

"It certainly was. And I remember it being one that was a difficult one too. I only hope time has been as good to Chip as it's been to me. He was a little...high strung," Jonathan remembered. "He'll challenge you if he's anywhere near as good as I remember him being."

"I just...Jon, I need to know," Danny sighed. "Can I do this?" he asked.

"Mr. Gerrard...anyone can do anything," Jonathan pointed out, tilting his bottle of water toward Danny without spilling any water at him. "It's just a matter of finding the will to achieve. When I started out in the NYSWF, I couldn't win. I was the laughing stock of the company, and I didn't think I would be capable of winning a match there. Time went on and I got better. I became one of the only Grand Slam champions there, and I'm proud of everything I accomplished. One of the longest reigning and greatest Light Heavyweight champions of all time there, and if you go into your first match in the EWA and commit yourself to being the same Caleb that ignites the room when you compete in (R)Evolution Wrestling...then you'll certainly be capable of anything here," Jon told him. "And maybe you'll break one of Chip's submissions too. Don't ever let him forget you know that it's possible," he added in with a chuckle, using a finger to tap his own temple as Danny laughed.

He had conquered one mountain before on his road to the Orange County Title, he would conquer this one. Caleb remained quiet, a bottle of water in his own hand before a young woman joined them. Beautiful brown hair and gorgeous hazel eyes wrapped up in a slender body that wore the women's version of the Caleb Storm "Face Everything and RISE" t-shirt. Ginny Jameson had originally come to EXODUS and (R)Evolution to help get the computers and everything set up as they moved facilities but became the company's stage manager in charge of lighting and pyrotechnics. She had fallen in love quickly with Danny and now his wife, Danny and Ginny were ready for the next step in their lives as he took a big step in his career.

"What are you two talking about?" Ginny asked, she too seeing Jon like family. Having helped Ginny with her tuition at the University of California-San Diego and being a big brother and mentor when she endured health problems with her mother, the two seemed to owe a lot to Jonathan.

"He was asking me about my past," Jon said, smiling a little. "What a crazy world, isn't it, Virginia?"

"It's your past, Jon...but it can still be my future," Danny replied. And with that, he was ready to meet the EWA head on.



Accessing www.youtube.com/user/CalebSRevPro...

"Apex...the highest point of something. Figuratively, it's the moment of greatest success."

"Avarice...extreme greed for wealth or material gain."

And after that voice over on a black, blank screen, we come up in a small apartment. It's as humble as it gets, and up on the screen in webcam quality in a red Star Wars t-shirt, a backwards Milwaukee Brewers cap, and some jeans is Caleb Storm. Over his shoulder rests the (R)Evolution Wrestling Orange County Title and he starts to sit back on the couch, giving people a better view as he starts to speak.

"When it comes to my first opponent in the EWA, Aidan Reid seems to be the kind of person that couldn't be more different from me if he tried. Oil and water, fire and ice, all that sort of thing. Aidan and I have this thing about us that will probably just rub the other one the wrong way. I'm a guy from a humble background that's focusing on just trying to be the best me I can be, and Aiden's more concerned about taking everything around him. He's greedy, I'm not. The differences are out there for anyone to see, so I won't bother running down a list."

"Here's the funny thing, okay? Aidan seems to be dead set on being the one to put the veterans out to pasture, on retiring heroes and taking all the glory for himself. Who else could do it? Who else could be capable of kicking these veterans into submission and taking their spots? You and you only, right?"

Caleb grins and shrugs with a little bit of a cheeky aura around him when he asks the rhetorical question.

"I think you know the answer, Aidan. See, you and I are here to do the same thing. We're both here looking to establish our names here with a new set of fans. You don't know me and I certainly don't know you, but that doesn't bother me. In fact, I'm not even bothered by you in the slightest. For someone who wants it all, doesn't it get under your skin that I don't even think you're going to be the most difficult opponent I've faced in the past six months? You might be a tough opponent, and I'm sure you are, but the fact is, it's already obvious your cardio skills are crap thanks to smoking. Not to mention that you're so stuck in your xenophobic, anti-American ways, you've already given me the crowd advantage which you really can never underestimate. See, everything you wanted for this match, you gave me in one brief promo."

"You put all the eyes on me."

Caleb smirks and reaches his hand to bring up two fingers to point to his eyes before pointing back at the screen.

"That Boston crowd? They're going to be cheering me on, waiting for me to kick you upside the head when I hit my Superstar-KO. They're going to be screaming loudly and chanting USA so loudly at you, you won't be able to think! They're going to be spurring me on to have my Moment of Impact when it comes to you, and you know something? I'm going to have it! I'm going to march into Boston on October 2nd and show a whole new crowd of people that Caleb Storm is the show stealing high flyer that's going to carry the banner for the new EWA!"

"I'll be honest, Reid. A me first attitude gets you places. It gets you noticed, and you've clearly developed a solid background if EWA reached out and plucked you from wherever you came from...but they also found me. And just because you think you piss excellence doesn't make it true. See, the world is all about perception when it comes to pro wrestling. While you're out here, talking a big game and putting down American fans, I'm out here doing great things like winning the (R)Evolution Wrestling Orange County championship. I'm out here impressing crowds and proving to the world that I'm capable of handling myself in the ring! So if you want to keep on sucking down cigarettes and talking your game, I'll be on my grind getting better. I'm no longer sleeping to dream, Reid. I'm sleeping to build stamina."

"The fact is, you and I are coming into October 2nd with a lot to prove. The EWA isn't marketing this show on the names of their new talents. They're marketing this show on the back of older, more established wrestlers...and maybe that's the one thing you and I have in common, Aiden. We're coming with an axe to grind. Those old stars will make the crowd scream and build up great memories of the past, but I'm not looking back. I'm looking to the future and I'm looking to become the EWA World Champion, the greatest of all time. I'm looking to keep my eyes set on greatness, and if you think that being looked over in favor of guys who may not have wrestled in years isn't putting a chip on my shoulder, you're wrong. I'm wrestling on October 2nd to prove I deserve this title on my shoulder and I deserve to be the star that this company can start building new hopes and dreams on."

Caleb shifts a bit, readjusting the title on his shoulder as his smile fades before he speaks again after taking a small breath.

"Maybe you think this is your night, but it's not. October 2nd is the night that the rest of the US gets to find out what San Diego has been known for the past year! No amount of ego or bastard behavior is going to be able to prevent this from being my night. When we get into that ring, we'll put on a great show, but only one of us is going to walk away victorious...and if your face isn't too busy staring into a mirror, jerking off your own ego, you should probably look at this video and realize one thing."

"...that person is me. You'll be the first person in the EWA, but you won't be the last to be Taken By Storm, courtesy of the Second Coming of #STUDLIFE!"

"A pity, right? Even in defeat, you still can't have all the glory. You'll just be the first of many."

Caleb grins and you can see him reach over to turn the camera off as we fade to black.