A scene in a hotel. Punching. Kicking. Attempted strangulation. I’m furious for my sister and at the world, furious about male violence, so furious I imagine what I’d do to the man.… more
Tag Archives: Wrestling
Heel Turn
FLASH FICTION by Chelsea StickleYou’re either supposed to be a star or a star-fucker. Your mother will settle for a star-fucker.… more
Jobber
FICTION by David CookMack had two roles. The first was to lose every match and the second was to ensure his opponent appeared like a winner, no, an alpha in the process. He was, in wrestling industry terminology, a jobber. No more than that. It would never be more than that. Not for him. Too skinny, the boss said. No abs, he said. Worse, no charisma. The other wrestlers got the wins. Mack didn’t.… more
Collage of Sport as Self, Self as Sport
CREATIVE NONFICTION by Michael CoppermanI loved the old room, though it was dim and ugly and old, stank of the pungent antiseptic soap we used to mop the mats and the brininess of sweat that couldn’t really be scrubbed away. It smelled like what it was: a box of straining bodies on a soft floor, blocked in by padded walls, a training ground that contained as much of yourself as you were willing to release.… more
Mementos
FICTION by Patrick StricklandWe’d been cutting weight for weeks, wearing garbage bags in the sauna and running a few miles two or three times a day. I’d already shucked fifteen pounds just to save space for booze, but I started to worry Mikey would be a downer all night. Worst thing about a guy like that—he gets you worried you did something wrong, like all his problems are your fault.… more
Cutting
FICTION by Daniel KennedyI found my father’s bed at the end of the corridor. A nurse held his pallid arm up to the light. She adjusted one of the tubes and lowered his arm back to his side. In the neighboring bed, a man older than my father was connected to beeping monitors. He followed me with his eyes. Landis and my mom turned their heads as the nurse walked out.
“What are you doing here?” asked Landis.… more
Remote Controls and Menus (XVII)
FICTION by Mathew SerbackThings that go hand and hand – like professional wrestling and pornography.… more
Don’t Mess
FICTION by Jeff Kass“Here’s how to think of the double arm-bar: imagine you’re lying face-down in the street and some roid-ripped police officer’s got his knee jammed between your shoulder-blades. Then he takes his nightstick and… more
