Inside a local gym in small-town Muncie, Indiana, the recently signed to Classic Wrestling Marty Murdoch cautiously eyes a pull up bar. Clad in a pair of Pacers basketball shorts and a Classic Wrestling t-shirt, his skinny arms and legs on full display, Marty approaches the bar and hops. On the first attempt, his hands slip and he nearly falls on his butt.
“Ah, jeez…” he says, compulsively smoothing back his hair.
He hops again, this time securing a grip. After a few seconds of dead hang, he tries to perform a pull up, the effort evident in the way his entire body shakes and jerks as he slowly… slowly… but surely pulls his body up, clearing the bar with his chin. He drops down, wobbling on unsteady footing. He whips around with an absolutely gigantic smile on his face, clearly elated at his success.
“You see that!? You know, two weeks ago, I couldn’t get up for one of those for the dang life of me! Look at me now, Classic Wrestling! Look at me now.”
Marty wipes the back of his hand across his inexplicably sweat-laden forehead.
“Since day one, from the very first time I had enough courage to tell people I wanted to be a professional wrestler, they have doubted me. They told me that I couldn’t do it. They told me I wasn’t big enough, wasn’t strong enough, fast enough, wasn’t good-looking enough…”
Marty scratches at his face.
“That last one is just hurtful.”
“And you know what? They might be right. I might not be big enough, I might not be strong enough. But you’re not gonna find another guy on this roster more willing to fight for his dreams. You’re not gonna find anybody else with the kind of heart I’ve got or the love I have for this sport.”
Marty takes a moment, giving himself some affirming nods.
“I’ve spent my whole life trying to get here. And I know I may not look like much and your expectations might be low. But I promise the fans, now that I’m here, I’m going to fight every single day to put on the best matches and prove myself to be the pro wrestler I always knew I could be.”
“All I need is the opportunity to prove it.”