Diva Dirt’s own Jennifer recently shared a great story:
In an interview I had a few weeks ago, we were asked, ‘If money was no question, and if you didn’t have to work for your livelihood, what would you do?’ My hand shot up. I was honest; I said, ‘I’d wrestle.’ The whole room erupted into laughter. The interviewer said, ‘Really?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I would love to wrestle.’ She thought I was the most interesting person in that interview, hah. I make no apologies – I’ll admit I’m a wrestling fan and if the conversation goes farther I admit my real passion is for women’s wrestling. If folks aren’t mature enough to handle that, then sucks for them. They don’t know what they’re missing.
I love this story for several reasons. First of all, I love people’s passions. I don’t care if you love the Civil War, collecting bottle caps, or writing poetry. I am interested in hearing more about it. I like seeing someone’s eyes light up when they talk about something they care about. I love how Jennifer didn’t worry about the reaction in the room. That’s the great thing about believing in something, about having a true passion. You feel it inside of you and that’s all that matters. I also love this story because it made me think, “Jesh, how would I truly answer that question?” What would I truly love to do with my life?
Well for starters, I know I wasn’t born to be a project manager. The job is fine, I work with nice people, and I enjoy business travel, but I don’t jump out of bed every day and mark out because I get to generate project plans. When I was a kid I saw the movie JAWS and wanted to be a marine biologist, but now I’m afraid of the ocean. Plus I don’t really want to be in a small boat all the time…I like my TiVo too much. So I’m glad I didn’t follow through with that. The truth is that I’ve always kind of known what I wanted to be when I “grew up”. I was born to be a booker. I was born to script professional wrestling. I never figured out how to pursue this dream, but I started to feel this way the night I saw my first match, October 1985 at the Hershey Park Arena. The next thing I know I am buying my first Big John Studd action figure and I’ve been booking ever since. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the actual matches, but I have always been more interested in putting together the card, of building the excitement of an entire show from one match to the next. I think I’m pretty good at it too, because ever since 1985 I have been putting asses in seats.
Hardcore history: Making her ECW debut in 1995, Beulah was introduced a major catalyst in a feud between Tommy Dreamer and Raven. The two feuded over Beulah and there were many twists and turns including a fake pregnancy. After siding with Dreamer, Beulah was then revealed to have had an affair — with a woman! Perhaps her biggest highlight is a bloody brawl with Bill Alfonso. Beulah re-emerged in the WWE incarnation of ECW, catfighting with old rival Francine at One Night Stand in 2005 and then competing in a six-person tag match involving Lita in 2006.
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” At face value, this appears to be the moral of Ninja’s Creed. And if it were, this film would have been a rather straightforward, predictable “accept your destiny” story. As is, this movie is much more—at least, it tries to be—and whether or not it reaches that level depends on your reaction to the last third of the movie. Me? I appreciate the effort, but it doesn’t excuse the shoddy execution. After all, a finger painting that aspires to be on the level of a Van Gogh work doesn’t get full credit just for the attempt.