The Bully

Chapter Eighteen

Ed completed the set up by the ring, ensuring everything we would need would be close to hand, spare cameras, lenses,reels of film. I'd given him a run through of what I needed from him during the event, essentially a shadow who would take one camera from me and hand me another while he changed the film for me and ensured the negatives were safely held in cartridges until we got back to the hotel room and my dark room. We headed to the back and I looked around for Bret but didn't see him. I knew there was a talent meeting before the event started and figured he'd be there.

"It's time, Miss Summers," said Ed suddenly and I followed him out, ignoring the screaming fans and checked my cameras before finding a spot on the aisle to photograph the arrival of the first wrestler. From the second the first wrestler, Razor Ramon, stepped through the curtain everything was a blur of action, screams and the click of the camera as I took shot after shot, pausing only to swap cameras while Ed changed my film for me. He was very efficient so I wasn't concerned. Curt winked at me as he passed after his victory over Razor and I smiled.

The next match was a pair of cowboys up against the pig farmers. I got some arty shots of the bucket of slop and a Stetson before I focussed on the action in the ring. It wasn't a bad match but Curt certainly outclassed everyone I'd seen so far in the ring. Next up were a pair of tough looking men sporting Mohawks and huge spiky shoulder pads. They were very photogenic and I got some great shots of them. Their opponents were Money Inc who were the tag champions, which gave me the opportunity to snap the sparkling title belts. They both winked as they passed me and I smiled; I'd enjoyed their shoot at the bank. They were accompanied by Jimmy Hart and his annoying megaphone. I wondered if he were related to Bret briefly, but then pushed that thought from my mind.

During the interval, which was a hefty forty five minutes to allow time for merchandise sales, I headed to catering, hoping to see Bret there but there was no sign of him. Disappointed I grabbed my camera and photographed various fans at the merchandise stall and then back in the crowd, before I headed to the back and got some candid shots of some of the wrestlers, including one of Curt and Bobby deep in conversation while Razor looked on which I was quite proud of.

A claxon sounded alerting staff that matches were due to start again so I headed back to the ring area. The first match after the interval was a women's title match featuring a scary looking blonde lady called Luna and a pretty blonde who was introduced as the women's champion Alundra Blayze . They were both brilliant to photograph with very individual looks and I enjoyed their match. After that there was a bit of silliness with a pair of shorter men who marched out to the ring and round it before their opponents in purple gowns and mortis boards came out for the briefest match on the card. The crowd lapped it up though and I got some amazing crowd shots of smiling faces. This was followed by a handsome Native American who took on a huge bald man with flames tattooed to his head. I thought some of the shots I got of the two of them were the absolute best of the night as they were so colourful and so into their characters that the intensity came through even in the lens. They were followed by the Undertaker, who literally looked and moved like a zombie and squashed Jake in about five minutes flat. His entrance lasted longer than the match I thought and I was glad I'd taken the time to photograph it.

The next match was announced and I knew it would be Bret. A guitar riff echoed throughout the arena and then the heavy thud of his music pounded through my veins. I took my camera and photographed his approach to the ring, capturing him as he entered the ring and took himself to every side, his arms outstretched. He removed his jacket and handed it to someone at ringside then dropped down, removing his shades and placing them round the head of a child who was beyond excited. I photographed the moment and then watched as he climbed back into the ring to face up to his opponent who I didn't recognise; it wasn't someone who had been on the tour. It was a young man with long blonde hair who had skipped out to the ring with a woman behind him carrying a mirror. He was good to photograph for sure, as he posed and danced in the ring while the woman held the mirror for him, then dropped out to screech encouragement throughout the match. When Ed came to change my camera he told me they were Shawn Michaels and Sherri.