Bout of a Lifetime

“Bout of a Lifetime”
Ft. Charlotte T. Rousseau
+ El Tigre (I +II+ III)

“Grandma, I’m home”
“How was your day at school dear? Still having problems with those troublesome boys?”
“No ma’am, I used that move we saw last night. I think they’re still crying.”

That move was the Pulverizing Pounce, perfected by the pugnacious El Tigre, the most famous local wrestler on the amateur circuit. Charlotte T. Rousseau knew how hard it is for girls to grow up in the world today and she wants her granddaughter to be ready. That’s why she tries to share her childhood passion for amateur wrestling with all her female family members and relatives. Her own daughter Patricia couldn’t stand to watch it, thinking it to be barbaric and cheesy. Night after night, Charlotte fought with her daughter to sit down on the sofa with her so they could watch just one show which she believed would bring them closer together. She tried every night until Patricia left for college and once she moved out Charlotte gave up and went back to lonely nights of watching the main events by herself. So she was elated to hear of her daughter’s pregnancy and it renewed her interest in her once forgotten passion. As soon as Patricia started leaving her daughter with grandma, the granddaughter began learning the fine art of drop kicks and taunting. Every chance they got together they would watch and learn as much as could about wrestling. The scoured the internet for books, DVDs, magazines, and even board games just to have devour it in a few hours. Friday nights were their night to watch the Hokum County Charity Wrestling Extravaganza on Channel 9. The grandmother was absolutely infatuated with the wrestler and her hero, El Tigre whose career she had followed since the 1930’s.
This of course is not the same El Tigre that fights today but there have been three incarnations to take up the mask and cape. The early adventures of the first El Tigre took place during the Depression, a time when wrestling was seen as a cheap form of entertainment. Edward McGinley was the first to take up the mantle and was later deemed by the media as the Golden Boy of Depression Era Wrestling. He ruled the ring without all the hype and flash that surrounds today’s matches. They called him the “Gentleman Wrestler” because he always wore a nice jacket and tie to the ring and wore his wrestling garb underneath. He was noted to always have a kerchief on him at all times, even while wrestling. All of this and more was received well by the fans and they saw him as a pioneer of the sport. The most amazing about him was that while battling opponents in the ring, he was also having his own secret battle with polio. He did his best to keep the secret from his friend and trainer, Howard, who begged him to give up the sport and seek medical attention, even though polio had no cure at the time. Edward could easily live off the money from his winnings and endorsement deals but he want to quit till he had totally sport on a worldwide level. On a muggy July evening in 1944 the Fall of El Tigre began. He had not felt well all night and was already felling the effects of the disease tear through his body, especially when he began climbing the top rope to body slam his opponent, Son of Frankenstein. His knees wobbled and his entire body ached as peered down at his opponent was struggling to get up. El Tigre couldn’t tell if it was fear or anticipation but his vision began to blur and sweat started to seep out his pores and instead of leaping onto Frankenstein’s progeny, he just fainted and collapsed onto the mat, the fall breaking 75% of his bones and dying on impact. Edward McGinley had no family and the wrestling community thought it was disrespectful for anyone else to take up the mantle.
The legacy of El Tigre seemed to fade away until the wrestling revival in the 1980’s, when a mysterious young man declared to the world that he was the NEW EL TIGRE! Wrestling historians still debate today about his true identity. Some say it’s the son of Howard, the trainer, while others wished it to be the Frankenstein the III seeking to bring some justice to the El Tigre name. There are no recorded interviews and no one saw him without the famous mask. The other wrestlers claimed to never see him even in the training or locker room, only the ring when they wrestled. As mysteriously as he appeared he seemed to disappear on the 60th anniversary of his namesake’s death.
The latest incarnation is only El Tigre in name, but Charlotte follows him regardless. Thomas Pendleton was a wrestling fanatic since age five when his father accidentally left a match on when he went to do some yard work. Thomas was memorized by the fluid movements and seemingly real violence. He decided then he was going to be the next great wrestling star. The five year old began a strict diet and began working out with his fathers weights, he did the research and by 20 years old he tried out to be on Hokum Wrestling Team. The promoters were impressed with his charisma and willingness to try anything. He started off as a heel named “Big $$$”, the company give him expensive suits and cigars as he bullied his opponents; throwing fake dollar bills to the crowd and blowing smoke in everyone’s face. In the small blue-collar town, he was easy to hate and he was good enough at acting to know when to ham it up and let hometown guy when. He got his lucky break when “Joe the Plumber” got Lyme’s disease while hunting one weekend, giving up wrestling and letting Thomas take his place as a “face”. He wanted to make a good impression with the crowd as the new good guy and decided to take a new persona, El Tigre, because he heard it was Spanish for tiger. The crowd loved him and he was given top billing for all the upcoming championship matches. As of lately though he’s become upset at the company especially with their latest promotion.

Meanwhile . . .

Charlotte couldn’t be more excited about the latest promotion, a chance to meet the stars of Hokum County Wrestling Extravaganza. In fact, once she entered her name in the fish bowl at the local Captain Dee’s, she was already the winner because no one seemed to realize the show was on air because everyone else was actually at the event. The prize allowed her and one other guest to go to a special taping of the match and afterwards meet some of the more popular wrestlers. The next Friday night, Charlotte and her granddaughter dress as though they were going to church, long elegant dresses and handcrafted shawls, not caring if they stick out in the crowd. They find their seats upfront right beside where the wrestler gets into the ring and wait anxiously. Several drunken men and some women try to start conversations with them because of their unusual appearance but they pay them no attention but there focus was solely on the upcoming match. The lights dimmed and spots began rapidly sweeping over the room as though they were looking for no one in particular.

“Ladies and Gentleman, Welcome to Bone Crusher Mania XXIV, the most exciting 5 hours of the most bombastic and mind blowing wrestling your eyes will see . . . so hold on tight and try not pass out because we have a special treat for you! Will Mrs. Rousseau and her guest please make their way to the center of the ring?”

The two women leaped out of the chairs and pushed their ways through the ropes and into the ring as the crowd of thousands cheered them on.

“These two special ladies are here tonight for one special reason, can you tell me why that is Mrs. Rousseau?”
“To meet the greatest wrestler of this generation, El Tigre! Whoo!”
“Sounds like your pretty excited, why that? I didn’t even know old ladies liked wrestling.”
“Well, Mr. Announcer, I’ve always loved wrestling since I was a little girl and one of the first wrestlers I followed was the first El Tigre in the 40’s. You know anything about him? He was a great man, overcome such great odds . . .”
“That’s great; maybe we’ll get your history lesson some other time. Right now, I want to bring out the man we all came out here to see. . . EL TIGRE!”

The crowd erupts in cheers and hollering as the rock-rap anthem announces how great it is to be someone like El Tigre. Smoke machines and strobe lights go off and the wrestler emerges from the chaos, clad in his blue tights and a duplicate of the mask the original El Tigre wore. He poses and flexes for the crowd as he makes his way down the runway toward the ring. People yell his name and signs are flashed at him displaying their undying devotion. He gracefully slips into the ring, makes his way toward Charlotte and her granddaughter.
For the first time Charlotte feels like she’s going to collapse and throw up at the same time. Emotion takes over and she rushes toward the ideal she had admired for 60 decades to give it a hug, only to be pushed back to the point of falling backwards into her granddaughter’s arms. Disappointment, anger, and confusion rushed over Charlottes face as she tried to figure out what was happening.
El Tigre was already upset that he had to meet fans, but some old broad and her teenage granddaughter was totally out of the question in his mind. He had worked too hard to walk some grandma across the street while her granddaughter tried to sell him Girl Scout cookies. So, when bag-of-bones went to hug him, he had no choice but to shove her away.

“Once a heel, always a heel” thought Charlotte as she began to walk out the ring. She remember “Big $$$” and loved to hate him like everyone else. She was now looking for one thing to make it all better. Once she found it, she asked her granddaughter to go back to their seats and wait for her.

It turned out to be the most embarrassing night of El Tigre’s night. He had to leave the state to find work and even then he had to give up his wrestling name and buy a new civilian identity because YouTube exposed him to the entire world. As of today the video Granny Beats Wrestler with a Chair has over 3 million hits. Charlotte T. Rousseau is now know as CharTruce the Terrible, who never goes heel and always shows the crowd a good time and honor the legacy of El Tigre the first.