[Promo - The Undeniable Words #8, 05/29/09]
NOW PLAYING: “Where My Heart Will Take Me” by Russell Watson
 (Mood Music - SJ's Career)

ST: Enterprise Main Theme - Russell Watson

Wow. This is… kinda new territory.

Bear with me here, people. This is the first time I’ve ever had to do something like this. I mean, I’ve done Undeniable Words promos since I was twenty-five, but I’ve never quite done it in this capacity before. And despite what anybody will tell you, cutting a promo for your retirement match is… quite a bit more daunting and different to a regular match. You’ve only got so many words to say, and if you don’t have it all said before the match, you’ve missed the boat for good.

Yes, that’s right. I said retirement match. You weren’t all hallucinating on Thursday night. This wasn’t some elaborate stunt where Judas Iscariot rocks up dressed as me and retires on my behalf. It’s the real deal, and I mean it one hundred percent. X will be my last appearance with the X-Treme Wrestling Federation.

There’s been a lot asked about why I did it. The rumormill’s awash- that I’ve critically injured myself and can’t fight any more, that I got paid off to walk away, that I’m scared of the talent of today, that there was some kind of colossal clash with me and Jonathyn and I left due to personal reasons, hell, I’ve even heard some people straight up say that after witnessing the state of the XWF in the last few months I got disgusted and handed in my resignation.

None of that is true.

The reason’s simple- events in my life appear to be taking me in a new direction away from professional wrestling. I love this sport- and I probably always will until the day that I die- and for a very long time I thought that I’d compete until the day that died. But my life’s come a very long way since I was a brash youth seeking to overthrow the current order. So much has changed, and I have become so much richer- in the spiritual sense, although I imagine I’m earning just a little more than I did working in a surf shop too, heh. Most people here had lives before they entered the XWF- well, my life was spun out of the XWF itself. It wasn’t until I came here that I truly started living- and now it’s time to take the next step.

There’s a lot of people who won’t like this. I imagine there’s going to be no end of antagonists trying to taunt me and bring me down on my way out- probably playing the ‘oh, you’re too scared’ or ‘oh, you aren’t half the man you used to be’ or even the dreaded ‘you’re over-rated and a fraud’. Well, gentlemen, feel free to say what you want, but your pleas will fall on deaf ears. I’ve proven myself time and time again, and I’ve become the master of my own destiny. I don’t have to prove a thing to any of you any more- and quite frankly, I could care less about what a bunch of pampered silver-spooners think of me. So say what you want- see if I give a damn either way.

Then there’ll be another group- the XWF staff members who’ve worked with me, the fans who follow me, and even the wrestlers who look up to me and have always wanted to fight me. They’re all probably going to say ‘Please don’t leave, SJ. I want to see you fight/bring this company to new heights/fight me’. While I appreciate all three of those ideas- I can’t. This is one time in my life where I need to be thinking about myself- and one time where what I want matters more. The time has come for me to leave, and my destiny lies elsewhere. I hope that you understand- and that you show my decision the same respect you’ve shown the rest of my legacy.

When my people got in touch with Jonathyn’s people and asked me just who could be a potential final opponent for me, I have to admit it probably became the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my career. I mean, we all know the phrase ‘you’re only as good as your last match’. Want an example of that, take a look at Cooper. For all his pomp and splendour, I’ll always remember him as the man who bragged superiority to the new era of the XWF- and who drowned in the sea of talent as he was finally proven inferior and obsolete.

That’s not how I want to go out. I could stick it out for the next couple of years, fighting skirmish after skirmish without the full dedication, but I’ve seen what happens to those men and it’s not how I want to go out. Better, I think, to end my career on a high note- at the peak of my prime, at undisputably the greatest show the XWF’s ever produced, against an opponent who embodies the very thrill of my career. This opponent must represent the very nature of the challenges, trials and tribulations that I have faced in the last eight years of my life- and this opponent must have what it takes to make me face all of that all over again.

This opponent is Bigg Rigg John Gambino.

[CLICK TO CONTINUE]