One of the most memorable things about being a Professional Wrestler is Ribs, another word practical jokes. When stuck in a car with 3-4 other guys in a car for 3, 6,sometimes 12 hours you get bored. I have been on both ends of Ribs over the 10 years I have been in the business and not all of them fun but many stories have been made.

I'm pretty sure I have PTSD from this song. It's so bad I can't even listen to Under Pressure by Queen 'cuz the opening riff is what Vanilla Ice lifted for his song. And no, the "ting" at the end isn't enough of a change.

The Rib

In the first year of my career Mike and I were both working third shift and got out of work at six thirty. We loaded up in a car with Eric Freedom and Sarah (Mikes wife and Referee) on our way to southern Illinois for a show. A few hours into the trip we were getting tired so we asked if it would be cool to take a nap knowing we had been up all night and this was going to be an eight hour drive one way. Eric said yes. We rested our heads against the speakers and tried to nod off. Eric waited until we settled down and he knew we were about to drift off, he set the bass high, turned the volume up and played Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. I will forever remember that moment and always resent that song for this very story.

After the show, the same trip as the Ice Ice Baby fiasco, the promotor set us up at a hotel so the boys wanted to go party. Mike and I both decided that we just wanted to go to bed. After being up all night working, then and eight hour trip to get our butts kicked being green in the business, against Eric and Sarah’s wishes we decided to skip out. Eric and Sarah got a few drinks in them and thought it would be funny to play another Rib on us for not going out drinking. They took our bags of clothes and scattered them across the hotel bathroom and put our shoes in the fridge with the laces tied together, mind you it was January and cold outside. Eric then climbed into bed with us trying to creep us out, I just laughed and rolled over, Mike thought it was Sarah and was upset with her for pushing him to go out so he kept away. We woke up to the carnage and sore from our matches and frustrated with Eric and Sarah for all they had done to us as they laughed at our misfortune.

At the time we were upset, but in hindsight it was our first big road-trip out of state. We made memories along the way that made everything worth it because now after ten years in, I can tell this story and laugh about it. When we as entertainers stop what we love doing it’s the stories we make along the way that we will cherish forever.