Post by joeybuongiorno on Nov 5, 2022 18:30:36 GMT -5
I’m sure you’ve heard people say “the work never stops” to the point where it has become a commonplace cliche, but how many of them REALLY mean it?! To go along with that, out of the five percent who actually mean it, how many of them are trying to help run a family business of some sort, while also maintaining a healthy lifestyle to stay at peak performance for their wrestling career?
It’s a rare trip home for me and Vittore since we began our work in Las Vegas with WGWF - between the workouts, publicity appearances and actually shows, we couldn’t be more happy with the direction we are taking in the company as we have surprised everyone by putting our hat into the Tag Team division. At the same time, coming home should bring with it a sense of calm and composure, a kind of peace and serenity that doesn’t come very often in our line of work… but wrestling is only a part of what we REALLY do in the Buongiorno family.
You have the honor of seeing Vittore and I sitting in my family den, relaxing in front of the roaring fireplace and sipping on some Sweet Walter white wine from the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York - a hidden gem that only a true wine lover would know anything about. I’m wearing a tan suit with a white dress shirt unbuttoned at the top, while my right hand man Vittore is sporting the same look but in a burgundy suit with a white and burgundy pinstriped dress shirt.
JB: I must say, this wine is quite dangerous - if you aren’t careful, the whole bottle will disappear and you’ll be left wondering how the hell you drank all of it!
VC: No harsh bite, just sweet in the front while going down nice and smooth in the back.
JB: I’m glad you came home with me for this quick visit, because I want MY business to become OUR business.
VC: What do you mean by that?
JB: Vittore, my family is doing everything they can to maintain the success of my father’s Italian Imports business, and right now it’s going amazing for them. But at the same time, I want to take the family name to another level - not just as a professional athlete, but as a businessman as well.
VC: What does that mean for me?
JB: At this point, we have traveled all over the world to get to where we are today in WGWF. From the moment we met at The Monster Factory in 2013, we have stood by each other’s side through all of the highs and lows in life. Your loyalty is something I have always admired about you, so I want to pay it back to you.
VC: Right now Ace, I just want us to beat the shit out of those Ramseys and become the first ever WGWF World Tag Team Champions since the company’s relaunch in September. After that, everything else… it’s gravy baby.
JB: A nice Sunday gravy, I hope!
Both of us share a good laugh at my comment.
VC: So tell me the plan you’ve got - is this regarding The Sanctuary?
JB: Yes, just waiting for my mother to join us so she can give us her blessing to move forward with my plan.
As I finish that sentence, the double doors into the den slowly open and the matriarch Maria enters the room. Vittore and I both stand out of respect for her entrance, as she closes the doors behind her and makes her way over to the fireplace area where we are. We both greet my mother with a hug and kiss on the cheeks, before the three of us take seats.
JB: You want a glass of what we are drinking or something different?
MB: I’ll take a glass of their red, please.
I get back up out of my seat and head over behind the bar area along the left side of the roaring fireplace.
VC: How are you feeling, Mama?
MB: Eh, as good as I can be, I suppose. It’s always a tough time of year for me, I miss Sal more than usual during the holiday season. But thankfully it’s a big family, so I’m provided a good distraction to get through it.
JB: YES WE DO!!
I bring over the glass of vino to Mama and then return to my seat.
JB: Family above all else, ain’t that right Mama?
MB: Absolutely baby, and I’m so glad to see the two of you back home, no matter how short the visit may be.
JB: So Mama, if you don’t mind, I’d like to discuss some family business with you that involves both myself and Vittore.
MB: Of course Joey, what do you have in mind?
JB: I have always been remarkably grateful for the support our family has given me and Vittore as we worked feverishly to grow in our wrestling careers. The two of us can’t thank everyone enough for that, but now, we would like to help return the favor by bringing honor to the family name OUTSIDE the squared circle!
MB: Okay dear, what is that?
JB: All three of us inside this room know that papa’s business has been well maintained and even grown in certain aspects under the daily attention to detail provided by your other six children, whether it be full time or just when extra help is needed on a seasonal basis. From my point of view, there is nothing that can be done by Vittore or myself to elevate a business that is already thriving. So, with your blessing mama, I would like to bring the family name out to Las Vegas and open a multipurpose venue that will include a fine dining restaurant using goods from the partners we already have established with papa’s business, a second floor dance club and a family entertainment space on the third floor. It would be called The Sanctuary, with only the best of the best in the food and entertainment industries helping operate the business.
MB: And you’ve already done the work to build a list of contractors, chefs and everything else?
VC: Joey and I have been spending as much of our spare time as humanly possible scouting all of the people we would have come on board - all it’s going to take is one phone call to each of them in order to bring them on board. Worst case scenario… I can always make them an offer they can’t refuse.
MB: Are you looking to build a brand new building for this venture or have you found one already constructed?
JB: All of that has been figured out, I have a meeting set for this coming week to sign off on the building and all of our vendors for the equipment we need on each level are just waiting for the green light from us. We got some extra financing from our bank just outside of Vegas to help with the burden of our up-front costs and as long as we don’t hit any big time snags with installations and hiring for positions, we are aiming to open sometime in the first quarter of 2023.
MB: I must say, I’m quite impressed with your work Joey, as well as you Vittore. Well, as long as you don’t think it’s going to be a problem finding balance between WGWF and running the business, then of course you have my blessing.
All three of us get up, with Vittore and I sharing hugs and kisses with Mama Maria. Once that finishes quick, I grab my glass of white wine that’s still half full.
JB: I’d like to propose a toast!
Vittore and Maria both grab their glasses before I continue.
JB: A toast of love, happiness and expanding the Buongiorno legacy - LA FAMIGLIA!!
All three of us bring our glasses together and take sips of our wine, before sitting back down to enjoy the fire and each other’s company.
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Austin and Todrick… Todrick and Austin. Such a lovely couple, yes you are… and yet, such emptiness lies within this relationship. I mean, from one day to the next, I never know what to expect from these wild and crazy kids - today could be Austin’s day to take up defending the family name, while tomorrow it could be Todrick’s chance at carrying the ball. Tell me, lovers - is this all just a show for trying to reflect equality within the relationship to the cries of your adoring public?
Please enlighten me fellas, is it “equal” for Tee Tee to brandish the Ramsey name with the Tabor name, but NOT the other way around for Austin? Is it “equal” that Austin has to clean up all of the messes caused by the lack of control exhibited by Todrick? Where is the “equality” in the fact that Vittore and I jumped the two of you last week on Brawl, yet only ONE OF YOU had the courage to get in the ring with either of us for THIS WEEK’S show?! It’s not like Vittore and I are Johnny Come Lately’s, no sir - we are grizzled young veterans who have just now reached the peak of our capabilities after nearly a decade of honing our craft around the world, yet the reaction given off by the two of you is that only ONE OF YOU needs to fight in order to deflect our little disruption in your lives.
Let it be known that is your SECOND mistake - first was the fake “equality” you yearn for in jest of the fact that Austin is CARRYING Todrick around like a damsel in distress, and then you both have the gaul to act as if you run the place without even facing the biggest challenges you have on this WGWF roster! Why yes, I took a loss without factoring into the decision in my debut match at the Relaunch Show, and yes… I lost about four weeks ago to Victoria Strader in one of the best matches to date this company has seen. But see, there lies the difference between us - the two of you would like to pretend the past never happened, like it was a mystery or a fairy tale novel that can just be disposed into the closest trash can or back onto the nearest bookshelf. Vittore and I, we like to embrace our faults and figure out a way to make ourselves stronger by fixing them. This isn’t some dressing room at a posh clothing outlet on The Strip where you can take items on and off before putting them back on the rack to be forgotten forever without making a purchase - we dissect and process every second of every match, storing into our massive brains like the world’s largest hard drive.
Around these parts, we don’t take losing lightly at all, while you… you Ramseys seem to take EVERYTHING for granted, like it was your destiny. Or better yet, maybe that’s where you view that “equality” you so BADLY yearn for. Well shit, I think we just hit a major breakthrough - there is so much insecurity BURIED beneath the rubble of your relationship, the two of you view wrestling as entitlement. And that’s even worse, because then you are turning your “equality” into… a statistic… nothing more and nothing less. I mean, Show Stealerz… what a PERFECT name for the team, taking time away from more legitimate and established competitors. Austin and Tee Tee, what stood over your bodies two weeks ago and will FOREVER be standing above you in the WGWF is a partnership of TRUE equality. This is a bond forged in blood and broken bones… torn ligaments and heartbreak… nearly a decade of traveling all over the world to carry the legacy of La Famiglia into the world of Professional Wrestling! We refuse to be “just two guys” or “good hands” in this business - we strive to be the best, because there is nobody in this company who can touch us as a team.
Upon our arrival two months ago in Las Vegas, the initial focus was on the Television and Intercontinental Championship divisions, because the main focus of us getting to the dance was James Raven scouting me as a singles competitor. But after some reflection and realizing how stupid that was, Vittore and I recognized that the only proper way to carry on the Buongiorno legacy was in the TAG TEAM DIVISION! It doesn’t matter to us if we have to get through The Show Stealerz or Sizzling Frenzy or any other rag tag pair of misfits that Raven tries to drag into the division, because we will rule this division with an iron fist.
A group of persons who combine to carry out a particular transaction or project - that is the definition of a syndicate. And together, Vittore and I will prove that THIS syndicate… is going to have it look easy in making our first big transaction, and that’s becoming the new WGWF World Tag Team Champions! The first step is showing Austin that not all phoenixes are built equal, because instead of rising from their ashes, they get BURIED!
VAFFANCULO!