Post by Danny Rizzo on Aug 23, 2019 8:53:18 GMT -5
What most people don’t realize about their favorite wrestling hero’s, or even their favorite villains, is that at the end of the day most of them are humans who live normal lives away from the bright lights and cameras. Even someone like the infamous Butcher of 4CW in Dakota Smith finds himself whisked away with a busty blonde and a young daughter. That’s just the nature of the business though. For many the heros and villains on their television screens are larger than life, and unquestionably that’s part of why people come to the shows and spend their hard earned money.
It’s a fact that doesn’t escape Danny Rizzo, but it’s also something that he’s reminded at times he’s happy to keep separate and take a break from. It’s one of those moments that he finds himself lost in at this very moment in time as he looks around at the picnic his mother and father had put together for the whole family. He glances over nearby and spots Leela in a sundress that absolutely rocks his world. It didn’t take long after her meeting his family for them to fall in love with her.
His attention is drawn away from Leela when a small hand reaches out and taps him on the leg. Slowly his gaze turns toward the source of the contact and the face of his youngest niece peers up at him. She was three… no… four. Four years old now. Danny closed his eyes for a moment wondering where those four years had gone before speaking to her.
“Uncle Danny…. Are you a bad guy?” The question is an unexpected one, and it rattles him to his core. There were many in the world who probably would say that he was a bad guy. They didn’t like the choices he had made or the means he had undertook to keep the position he had worked so hard for. Even now, though, he didn’t feel like a bad guy. Everything he had don had been justified in his opinion. And, more importantly than that, it had worked.
“You tell me, Cora. What do you think?” Quickly, he scooped her up so that she was able to look him in the eye. He wasn’t entirely sure how he would handle it if she responded and told him that, yes, she did think he was a bad guy. “No… I don’t think so. And grandma says you’re not. She says those other people are just being…”
Instinctively, Danny cupped his hand over her mouth and started laughing. “Oh, I know what grandma says and I don’t think you should be using those words, Ms. Cora.” The smile on his face let the little girl know she wasn’t in trouble and she raised her own tiny fingers to her mouth to cover her smile as she giggled along. “Other people are allowed to think what they want to. But what they think doesn’t have to change who you are inside…”
Swirling his finger through the air, Danny pokes his niece gently in the chest with his forefinger, right where her heart was for emphasis. “But I’m really glad you don’t think I’m a bad guy because if you did…” Quickly he stood up, slipping his hands under her arms and holding her in the air. “I might have to spin you around and around really fast until you change your mind!” Immediately her childlike giggling picked up again and she blurted out “I THINK YOURE THE BAD GUY UNCLE DANNY!”
Mock horror washed over his expression and he quickly began to spin around and around, holding her high in the air. Faster and faster he spun until finally through gasps and giggles Cora managed to get out a loud “I WAS KIDDING!” And as soon as she did Danny slowed to a halt and sat back down, plopping her on his lap before she slid off and dizzily began walking away, her footsteps swaying from side to side as she went.
In her absence, Danny found himself staring blankly into the distance, the question that she had asked him still shaking him to his foundation. Through it all he had never felt like a bad guy. He had never even considered that he might be the villain. Just a man who had done what he needed to do and those who watched but never actually experienced judging him for something they could never understand.
Sensing his unease, Leela made her way over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which he touched with his own fingertips. Moments of quiet passed before he spoke up. “Do you think I’m a bad man, Leela? I’m I the villain?” She seemed to contemplate his question for a moment before giving an answer of her own. “I think sometimes good men have to do bad things.” She paused again, letting her words linger for a moment. “But I don’t think you’re a bad man, Danny Rizzo. You have a good heart. You have conviction. You’re loyal. And there are plenty of people in the world who don’t like the choices that you’ve made, but they lack those characteristics too.”
Moving to kneel before him, she took his hands into hers. “Championships don’t make you good or bad. Making the best out of difficult situations. Impossible situations where no choice is a good one. That doesn’t make you the villain. I believe in you and when you get back from London, whether you have your title or not, I will still be here. And I will still believe in you.”
Nodding his head, those were the words he needed to hear. He didn’t say anything more but it was exactly what he needed to hear to be the man he needed to be.
And to kill the dreams of another, that he might continue to thrive.
It’s a fact that doesn’t escape Danny Rizzo, but it’s also something that he’s reminded at times he’s happy to keep separate and take a break from. It’s one of those moments that he finds himself lost in at this very moment in time as he looks around at the picnic his mother and father had put together for the whole family. He glances over nearby and spots Leela in a sundress that absolutely rocks his world. It didn’t take long after her meeting his family for them to fall in love with her.
His attention is drawn away from Leela when a small hand reaches out and taps him on the leg. Slowly his gaze turns toward the source of the contact and the face of his youngest niece peers up at him. She was three… no… four. Four years old now. Danny closed his eyes for a moment wondering where those four years had gone before speaking to her.
“Uncle Danny…. Are you a bad guy?” The question is an unexpected one, and it rattles him to his core. There were many in the world who probably would say that he was a bad guy. They didn’t like the choices he had made or the means he had undertook to keep the position he had worked so hard for. Even now, though, he didn’t feel like a bad guy. Everything he had don had been justified in his opinion. And, more importantly than that, it had worked.
“You tell me, Cora. What do you think?” Quickly, he scooped her up so that she was able to look him in the eye. He wasn’t entirely sure how he would handle it if she responded and told him that, yes, she did think he was a bad guy. “No… I don’t think so. And grandma says you’re not. She says those other people are just being…”
Instinctively, Danny cupped his hand over her mouth and started laughing. “Oh, I know what grandma says and I don’t think you should be using those words, Ms. Cora.” The smile on his face let the little girl know she wasn’t in trouble and she raised her own tiny fingers to her mouth to cover her smile as she giggled along. “Other people are allowed to think what they want to. But what they think doesn’t have to change who you are inside…”
Swirling his finger through the air, Danny pokes his niece gently in the chest with his forefinger, right where her heart was for emphasis. “But I’m really glad you don’t think I’m a bad guy because if you did…” Quickly he stood up, slipping his hands under her arms and holding her in the air. “I might have to spin you around and around really fast until you change your mind!” Immediately her childlike giggling picked up again and she blurted out “I THINK YOURE THE BAD GUY UNCLE DANNY!”
Mock horror washed over his expression and he quickly began to spin around and around, holding her high in the air. Faster and faster he spun until finally through gasps and giggles Cora managed to get out a loud “I WAS KIDDING!” And as soon as she did Danny slowed to a halt and sat back down, plopping her on his lap before she slid off and dizzily began walking away, her footsteps swaying from side to side as she went.
In her absence, Danny found himself staring blankly into the distance, the question that she had asked him still shaking him to his foundation. Through it all he had never felt like a bad guy. He had never even considered that he might be the villain. Just a man who had done what he needed to do and those who watched but never actually experienced judging him for something they could never understand.
Sensing his unease, Leela made her way over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which he touched with his own fingertips. Moments of quiet passed before he spoke up. “Do you think I’m a bad man, Leela? I’m I the villain?” She seemed to contemplate his question for a moment before giving an answer of her own. “I think sometimes good men have to do bad things.” She paused again, letting her words linger for a moment. “But I don’t think you’re a bad man, Danny Rizzo. You have a good heart. You have conviction. You’re loyal. And there are plenty of people in the world who don’t like the choices that you’ve made, but they lack those characteristics too.”
Moving to kneel before him, she took his hands into hers. “Championships don’t make you good or bad. Making the best out of difficult situations. Impossible situations where no choice is a good one. That doesn’t make you the villain. I believe in you and when you get back from London, whether you have your title or not, I will still be here. And I will still believe in you.”
Nodding his head, those were the words he needed to hear. He didn’t say anything more but it was exactly what he needed to hear to be the man he needed to be.
And to kill the dreams of another, that he might continue to thrive.