Originally titled Challenge Match on the Jardonn's Erotic Tales web site.
written by Jardonn
posted here by rounds
Round 1 -- The Match is Made
Dick Hodges was a dying breed. He had wrestled in all the smaller circuits, year by year moving up the ladder towards the big time. It had now been four years since he had made it - Chicago - the Mecca of all professional wrestlers. Not only was the National Guard Armory Arena packed every Friday and Saturday night, but the television broadcasts were beamed to thousands and tapes of the action were sent to stations all over the country.
Despite being the most popular wrestler on the circuit - and therefore the owner's favorite, Hodges was unhappy. The game was changing right before his eyes. Bad guys were getting away with more and more every week. Sure there had always been cheating, but now they were going way beyond the unspoken boundaries. Illegal devices were being brought into the ring, ringside chairs were being used to knock opponents out and double teaming was seen with increasing frequency. All of this was being done in full view of the referees, but cheaters were being declared the winners despite these dirty tactics.
Hodges had complained to the owner many times, but the answer was always the same. He claimed that many in the audience enjoyed the violence and that since they helped pay the salaries same as the traditional fans did, there was no harm in allowing that other segment their jollies every now and then, too. The motto has always been "give 'em what they want."
Dick Hodges felt he was becoming a dinosaur. He still believed that true wrestling skills and playing by the rules would always win out and he was going to prove it. Knowing that the owner would be in Europe for a few days to sell his product to TV stations there, Hodges issued a challenge on the Friday night broadcast. He picked the three dirtiest players for a "loser leaves town" match.
Saturday night he would face them in a best two out of three rounds challenge event. The first round would pit Hodges against one of them while the other two remained in the locker room. In round two a second man would join the first and face him two against one. If a third round were necessary, Hodges would take on all three in the ring at once. Each round was to be determined by pin-fall or submission and there would be no time limit to any round.
The bad guys jumped at this opportunity, because Hodges was the final bastion of scientific wrestling left standing between them and total domination of the Chicago circuit. The owner had always told them they could do what they wanted to any of his wrestlers, but Dick Hodges was off limits. With the owner out of town, they saw this as their best opportunity to get rid of the golden boy for good by any means necessary. Contracts were signed on the Friday live broadcast and the four men actually shook hands on the agreement.
So the match was set. It was to lead off the popular two-hour, Saturday night "Wrestling at the Armory" broadcast and even if it took the entire time to do it, this contest would determine the future of pro wrestling.
Dick Hodges was greeted with wild enthusiasm as his name was announced to the audience packing the arena. He bounded down the aisle and entered the ring to a hero's welcome. He removed his black robe and unwrapped the white towel from his neck, handing them to Jimmy, his ringside assistant. Now he stood before his adoring fans with arms raised, his ankle-length black lace-up boots and black trunks set just below the navel perfectly defining his traditional style. Hodges' muscular and well-defined upper torso, arms and legs glowed in the bright lights illuminating the ring.
Next, the MC announced the first opponent and Bucksaw Jones lumbered down the aisle. A scattering of cheers and applause was quickly drowned by a din of boos and hisses. He stood in the ring with hands on hips, his 6'7" 270 pound frame towering over the crowd. Fitting with his lumberjack image, he was dressed in a flannel shirt with sleeves torn away and baggy Levi's tucked into knee-length logger boots. His massive arms and chest were the perfect build for beating down his opponents and the illegal logger boots were his secret weapon, stomping and kicking victims on his way to victory.
The bell sounded and match began. Hodges moved in fast, knowing he needed to finish Bucksaw quickly and save his strength for Round 2. Dipping to one knee, he grabbed one of the legs and moved behind the hulk, who was as slow as a turtle and possessed no wrestling skills whatsoever.
Bucksaw soon found himself face down on the mat with his left leg clamped in an ankle lock and even though this joint was protected by the thick leather of his logger boots, the skill with which Hodges executed the hold caused Bucksaw to scream in pain. With the ankle leveraged against his forearm, Hodges could have broken Bucksaw's ankle at any time, but he was not the type of man to use his skills for such things. That was not his purpose. Instead, he intended to create enough pain to cause his opponent to forfeit the round by submission, which happened in less than thirty seconds. Bucksaw pounded his meaty hand on the mat and begged the referee to end his suffering. Round 1 lasted a total of 53 seconds, with Hodges declared the winner by submission.
It was always Hodges' custom to rest on a stool in his corner between rounds and the duty of assisting him had been given to a young man he had met early in his career. Jimmy was a fan of Dick Hodges dating back to the days when his professional career began in Enid, Oklahoma. He had written countless letters to his hero and when their meeting finally took place, Jimmy begged Hodges to let him be his ring boy, securing the star's robe before the matches and setting up the stool in multiple-round events.
Hodges had agreed to this, paying Jimmy a small percentage of his salary for this assistance and from that day on, Jimmy had followed him up the ladder of success. Now, with Hodges making good money, Jimmy's loyalty was rewarded with the same percentage of the much larger salary. After all this time, he still was devoted to the man and they maintained a very close friendship, with Jimmy taking care of all the equipment, traveling with the wrestler to every town on the Chicago circuit and acting as a sort of "buffer" between Hodges and some of his overly enthusiastic fans.
Over the years, Jimmy had read countless library books and magazine articles relating to the anatomy of the body human, so he was quite skilled in helping Hodges to not only maintain, but also nurse the muscles, tendons and ligaments back to health. This he did both in the locker room after a match had ended and sometimes at the wrestler's home or motel room before time to arrive for the next contest, plus in between rounds whether it was needed or not.
As Hodges sat awaiting Round 2, Jimmy rubbed and squeezed the wrestler's trapezoids, while Bucksaw angrily paced in the opposite corner, trying to walk off the pain in his ankle.
Then the Master of Ceremonies made the announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, now entering the ring, standing over seven feet tall and weighing in at 325 pounds, the Mongolian Giant, Kruil Li Khan!"
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Round two will be posted in two days.
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