Blood-Soaked Canvas

- CHAPTER THREE -

"An Unexpected Visit from a World's Heavyweight Champion"

Were their eyes playing tricks on them? Were they seeing the real thing ....or was it an illusion, some sort of mirage? Or was this someone's idea of a sick joke or a distasteful, ill-timed rib? What they were all collectively seeing couldn't be real, could it?

But there he was, in the flesh and in living color. Witnessed by a small circle of wrestlers, referee's, cameramen and backstage crew hands who were drinking their various coffees' and energy drinks while having short, light-hearted conversations with each other as they stood hovering around the large gate entrance to the Arena's backstage area. This small group of people would initially be the first to notice him in his arrival. The various wrestlers that'd seen him and clearly recognized him, stood in a complete daze, as if they were temporarily stuck in a perplexed state of shock and awe, this particular scenario seemed like it belonged in the realm of impossibility and yet.... here he was, defying all expectations. They couldn't believe it!

Each of the wrestlers that witnessed his arrival to the Arena, were now standing there utterly dumbfounded with their mouths agape, watching from afar as he casually got out of his 2-door Sedan, slowly made his way from the talent parking lot, down the ramp of the receiving bay and then through the large gate entrance as he walked into the building, making his way past the crowd of onlookers and into the backstage area of the Arena.

The man walking with a purpose, striding into the venue like he owned the place, the same man that had brought utter shock to so many faces, the man that had various heads turning and the very same man whom several rumors were murmured and whispered as he strutted past. This man of question was obviously a wrestler and what made this abundantly evident was in the fact that he had also walked into the building that evening with a shiny gold championship belt hoisted over his shoulder. Why was he here though?

The whole ordeal smelled like a cheap stunt, a move to grab people's attention, if only for a brief moment. Whatever the case, this was supposedly all for good reason.... as it would later be revealed. At least, that was the idea anyways.

This particular evening, at the historic 70-year-old venue, the infamous Canton Busch Gardens Arena in downtown Dayton, Ohio will be hosting an ACW wrestling event. This would be a momentous occasion, as it would become the very first American Championship Wrestling Pay-Per-View event that the company had ever hosted. Along with the new avenue with the leap in technology that was PPV, the promotion would still be broadcasting it to the usual Closed Circuit market, where they could charge a premium for anyone inclined to see the event in the enviroment of a movie theater. Then there was the best option of the bunch, buying a seat ticket and attending the event live!

They offered fans 3 different options to pay and watch the event and even more surprising were the fact that they'd brokered a nice little deal with a popular AM Radio Station, in a clever effort to showcase some of the matches, with each match being featured over the radio waves as it were described in detail, by the event's commentary team. The unmistakable voices of Sol McBride and Tully Bashem on the broadcast signal, as it was sent out onto the radio airwaves, offering fans and listeners alike to listen in on some of the marquee matches that were taking place later that night.

This modest gesture had been an experimental one on the company's part, but nonetheless would be a welcome one for many wrestling fans, especially for those less fortunate fans who couldn't afford tickets to the show. They may not be able to watch the matches, but fans that owned a cheap radio set and turned their dial to 92.5 AM could perhaps visualize what was going on in the squared circle, as they sat near their radios and listened intently while ACW commentator Sol McBride painted a vivid picture for them with his immaculate vocabulary and sheer gift for words. There was no-one better and Sol would be perfectly suited for the job. For a number of years in his long storied career, Sol McBride had been considered one of, if not the very best play-by-play commentator the industry has ever seen or heard for that matter. The experimental idea of an audio-only radio broadcast, featuring a sort of segmented version of the Pay-Per-View had been a stroke of genius on ACW's part. The radio station had pulled in an incredible number of listeners in the 2 hours when it hosted the live wrestling show. Not only that, but the promotion had also earned half the revenue from a variety of advertisers on the radio within the 2-hour block the show had occupied.