A Lion's Tale_ Around the World in Spandex - Chris Jericho [101]
With his eerie look and total commitment to insanity, he was an instant sensation. He would burst out of the dressing room door throwing chairs and running directly into the crowd, who would in turn flee in widespread panic as if Godzilla himself had broken loose.
The magazines picked up on him instantly and, after his first week, he was the subject of a six-page color spread in Baseball Magazine that proclaimed “Pray for Blood...Luther Is Here!” Dr. Luther became one of the most popular gimmicks in FMW history.
Every time Lenny returned from a tour, I’d ask him how it had gone and then, inevitably, “Did anybody mention my name or when I’m coming back?” The answer was always the same: “Nobody mentioned anything.”
I’d pretty much accepted that Sudden Impact had been a one-hit wonder, a wrestling version of Chumbawamba, until I finally got a call from Ricky Fuji almost one year later. He wanted to know if we could return for the FMW third anniversary show at the Yokohama baseball stadium.
We were going to have the important task of kicking off the show. It’s a general rule in wrestling, if you’re not wrestling in the main event then the opener is the most important match of the evening. It’s your responsibility to get things started with a great match and set the tone for the rest of the night.
But my excitement was shot down in flames when Lance refused to go. He was still pissed that Onita had stiffed us out of our money and lied to our faces about bringing us back. But neither of us had any steady work outside of the odd match in Alberta or Manitoba and I was itching to go back to Japan. Since New Japan wasn’t breaking down my door with offers, FMW was my only option.
Lance had decided earlier in the year that we should break up Sudden Impact and go our separate ways, but I was certain that I’d be able to talk him into a one-time reunion for such a big show. When he said no without hesitation, I was furious.
I wasn’t going to let Lance or anyone else spoil my big return to Japan. So after a few days of holding off the calls from FMW, I called Ricky and told him that Lance had decided to retire from the business. Ricky was surprised, but I told him that I’d gotten a new partner and Sudden Impact would be honored to work the big show. Ricky gave me the details and everything was all set.
Now I just had to find a partner.
None of the local Calgary wrestlers could hold a candle to Lance’s work rate and since our team was based around flashy moves, replacing him wasn’t going to be easy. I finally found a guy I thought would do a decent job in Eric Freeze from Edmonton. He was taller and not as muscular as Lance but he was quite athletic. Even though he wasn’t as advanced in the ring as Lance, I thought he was solid enough to get by.
He had a similar haircut to Lance and I thought from a distance people would be fooled and think it was him. It worked, as there are still tapes of that match floating around with Eric Freeze being listed as Lance Storm...a fact that does not please good ol’ LTS.
I spent the next few weeks teaching Freeze the greatest hits of Sudden Impact. I explained to him that our patented double-team flying elbows and double leapfrogs were so original and unique that after waiting for over a year to see them, the fans were going to lose their minds. It was going to be bigger than the Police reunion.
I kept strictly emphasizing to Freeze how important this match would be and how I was expecting full-page articles in the magazines, mobs of screaming Sudden Impact fans, and lineups of chicks just waiting for us. I taught myself how to say “I’m back!” in Japanese (Kaette-Kita-Zo!), so I could yell it when I entered the ring. I would be the biggest babyface gaijin of all time.
Chris Jericho was going to be the shit!
I had a problem tracking down Lance’s Sgt. Pepper jacket, because he’d sold it to a fan. But after locating it and paying the guy to rent the