Playing the Scrub
By Joseph Delgado on 2/2/08

Growing up I watched Wrestling on TV. I remember Jimmy Super-Fly Snuka a bloody mess during a steel cage match. I also watched Saturday morning wrestling when they had a no-name (scrub) come out against one of the Superstars. Everyone knew the scrub was being carried out on a stretcher. I think, it may have even followed them out.

It's a great feeling playing someone of lesser ability and for a Wrestling Superstar it makes them almost invulnerable. The scrub can the hit the Superstar with everything they got, pickup a steel chair, a table, a bus, but sooner or later the Superstar is going to start to shake, play the crowd, setup a signature move, and out comes the stretcher. Besides it being scripted, the Superstar just has a lot more ability and weapons.

Most of the time, at tournaments, I'm the scrub. I was beneath scrub when I played A's and B's at Classic. I remember going up against Anu Pam Sood or Pete Holden and just getting a beating. There was no chance. Pete's forehand was like getting the big leg drop from Hulk Hogan fifteen times in a row. I would hate to see the devastation at a Pro's hands; they would bring out a casket or better yet a dust pan.

I've also played some Newbies at Rutgers and the feeling is like I can do no wrong. Shots coming off the back wall, shots coming right to me at 60 to 80 MPH, seeing them way out of position, or not moving at all in the back court. I don't feel any pressure since I know I have a second or third gear on hold and there's a whole laundry list of stuff to exploit.

Just like in Wrestling, the best matches are between the Superstars. Where they are both on equal footing, they each have a signature move, and the love of the crowd. There's an electric in the air and everyone hangs on every move. The crowd knows it's going to be a battle.