”So this is it. The encore performance. Can’t believe it’s come already.

I racked my brain trying to think of a way to do this. Should I hold a press conference? Should I make a big speech in front of the crowd at X? Should I get Steve Sayors over and give him one final exlusive?

Nah.

Say what you will about inconsistencies in my behaviour, reflective of the same inconsistencies in my mind, but I’d like to think I’ve always had the ability to show restraint. Subtlety, even. Don’t agree? Guess I’m just too subtle for you.

I’ve always thrown my entire life out there for everybody to see, and yet, it’s amazing that everyone still has this perception of me as a self-centred knob. What makes it even funnier, to me anyway, is that the folks who have cottoned on to the fact that there is – excuse me – ‘more than meets the eye’, are the ones who have actually managed to get one up on me. But still people keep on their blinders. That’s okay. If I wanted just anybody to get it, I’d be a lot more forward about it all.

Consider this to be me trying to do that.

I’m not going to lie. It’s a slap in the face to be booked in the dead middle of the card for this match. I’m glad that Aidan and I agree on this. No offence to Big Shank, ‘cause I actually like the guy and I don’t say that about many people, but his match against Ranma shouldn’t be the main event. Jem Williams is a good friend of mine, and he shouldn’t be so far up the card with his match either. Ten years in the making and we’re going to focus on what’s happened recently? Makes me feel like all the hard work I put in, the blood… the life… I’ve lost, was for nothing. I feel redundant. Thanks a lot.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t me bitching about not being in the main event. There couldn’t possibly be anybody who doesn’t think Steve Jason and Bigg Rigg should have that honour. Hell, Shank and Ranma probably think the same. But as far as a summary for my entire career goes, this is pretty fucking weak. But I’ll roll with it. I’ll take what opportunity has provided me, and I’ll give you something you’ll never forget. So will Aidan Collins. You can throw your comments about our egos around, but at the end of the day, this is what we’ve always done. I don’t know if there are any two people in the history of the company who represent how far sheer force of will can get you around here, than Aidan and I. Maybe Jem, Christian Connolly, Trent Gein and one or two others get close. But behind the veil of profanity and juvenile pranks, Aidan and I just keep on proving why we’re the best.

Yeah, I said we.

I talk a big game. Too big for anybody to possibly live up to. But I get pretty fucking close. So does Aidan. I’m not here to say that we’re the same kind of person or anything like that, though there may be some credence to such a statement. I’m just saying, setting the bar too high for anybody to jump over, and yet still making contact with it… that’s got to be worth something, right?

Aidan and I aren’t friends. In another lifetime, another world, maybe we could’ve been. Ha! Could you imagine that? Talk about your combustible elements! I digress. Just because we don’t run in the same circles, and don’t spend our Friday nights platting each other’s hair and asking ‘who do you like?’, doesn’t mean there isn’t a sort of appreciation for what the other does. Respect, maybe. I’ll leave that as a ‘maybe’.

Aidan Collins is a very talented wrestler. More so, though, he is a phenomenal salesman. For some, he probably actually convinces them that they can’t beat him before he even gets in the ring with them. Psychological Warfare 101. Classic. His greatest weapon is his mouth. Mind out of the gutter, freakshow. Me? I’ve always been able to parry with the greats as far as verbal swordsmanship is concerned. I’ve prided myself on that ability. But I think my greatest weapon is my heart. Sounds pretty fucking cheesy doesn’t it? But that’s why I’ve tripped so many of you up over the years. Your focus has been in the wrong place all along.

I don’t expect that from Aidan. In a strange way, I’ve always picked Aidan Collins as one of the few people who actually ‘got’ me. By no means am I some misunderstood teenager cutting his wrists in his dark bedroom, but Aidan has an uncanny ability to look a little beyond the surface of things. That’s how he gets you with his words. He strikes right at your… heh… your heart.

But this is a unique situation here. Aidan Collins still has his jokes, but he’s not wielding them in the same manner. I guess it comes down to the same thing Dante Anglais tried to call me out on. What he, in his infancy of career, doesn’t quite yet understand, is that this is not like any other position either Aidan or myself have been in before. This is the final punctuation on our careers. I can’t speak for Aidan, but a comma isn’t an option for me. It’s either a fullstop, preferably an exclamation mark, or God forbid a question mark.

This is the end.

I’ve toyed with that idea in my head before. I’ve kept coming back though. I can’t explain why, but this time is different. This time… fuck. Words escape me. That’s not supposed to happen. Does that put things in perspective for you guys?

I want to be remembered for who I was, not for what I did. I’m a morally pretentious asshole who thinks he’s greater than everybody else. But I was passionate about it. You can’t fault that. You can’t fault me for being willing to (and having proven it) that I’m willing to fight to the death for what I believe. If my convictions are passed onto others, then that’s a definite bonus. But I just want to make sure that people remember it was me who had those convictions. And I have only one way of making sure of that.

I don’t need to beat you, Aidan. I want to, yes, and I will do everything I can to make it happen. But that’s just the kind of guy I am. So let’s put on a show, eh? Make me ‘feel the freeze’. I’ll make you ‘have a bad day’.

Bitches and gentlefucks…

Ladies and gentlemen…

I could thank everyone who has played an important role in my career – no, my life here, but you know who you are. And you know that I am forever in your debt.

I pay my debts.

So I’m going to give you the best fucking show you’ve ever seen. You clowns are going to have the greatest damn day of your life.

Forget the negativity. Forget the hate.

Thank you.

I’ll shut the door on my way out”.