act one: back to basics
It's hard to believe how much has happened since then... there's so much to talk about, you know, so many memories etched in my mind for the rest of this life of mine. I never honestly gave retirement that much thought before, never really figured I would have to for a long time... but when the day came that I was standing in front of that small crowd, announcing to them my plan of action, I think it was only then that it dawned on me.
It took speaking about my own retirement for it to finally kick in: this was it. If I were to fully retire then... it was all over, and wrestling, something that had been an integral part of my life for so very long, would be just another closed chapter in my life. Fond memories to look back on for certain, but... I would always look back and wish I could just have one more day in that ring, one more chance to fight again.
The fact of the matter is, at the time, I knew. I knew that as much as I felt content after facing Champion, and as much as I felt like we both deserved that last hurrah of ours to be our final match... the business would eventually pull me back in. I couldn't resist wrestling any more than I could resist breathing, it had been encoded into my very genes. In some ways, I felt like Champ might feel the same way, but was better at hiding it than I was.
Champion was always better at hiding things than I was, after-all.
Still, when I stepped down from the podium and left the questioning crowd behind me, I didn't feel regret. I wasn't ready for it to end, but I had no regrets about my actions... and I think that's what helped me move forward from there. Everything I had planned, everything I knew could be done if I just kept my head up against the pressure, was about to fall into action. It wasn't even halfway through 2007 yet and I was planning for so many years in advance that for some people it would be considered ludicrous, but... somehow, I knew. I knew what I was doing was the right thing.
The rest of 2007 was a whirlwind of emotions and amazing experiences that I will cherish until the day I die, from our retirement parties to Suki and I's wedding, and all the holidays along the way to the New Year. Speaking of, 2008 wasn't so bad either, actually... my minor forays back into the NLCW ring, albeit behind a mask, were downright liberating. All the while, my family stood by my side... they supported me in everything I did, and on the day most important to me of all, they stood by me to keep me together in my nervousness. Champion, Georgina... they were there with my parents that night when I needed all the support I could get.
I never left Suki's side that night, and it was the courage I'd received from the help of my family that kept me conscience enough to get to watch my son's birth, something apparently even Champion struggled to do with little Cesar's birth and the emotion of it all.
Still, these things are small descriptions... there is so much more to say about each of them, so much of their stories left to tell; however... perhaps these stories are better left for another time. If I am to write this epilogue of mine... I have to go at my own pace, not the pace of others. There's no rushing this, after-all... it's my story, isn't it? What's there to rush when I've pretty much done everything I could have ever dreamed to do?
It's been so long now... the last time I stepped into the NLCW's ring I faced a cartoon man, nothing at all like what I'd expected. That being said... the last time I stepped into the NLCW's ring, I was not exactly my normal self, and it took my family yet again to help make me realize how unnecessary the things I was doing were.
I may be a remnant of the NLCW's past... but I'm a past worth looking back on, aren't I? I've nothing left to fear in this place, after all-- my image, my name, my legacy... it's all been set in stone, and the fans would be quick to remind me of that if I gave them the opportunity.
So, rather than continue hiding behind a mask... why not give those fans that opportunity? Why not give them exactly what they've been waiting for all this time, and step back into the ring I knew I'd never be able to keep away from?
Why not?
A free agent, a man able to come and go as he needs to... this was all a part of the plan to, honestly. I never wanted to be tied down to an actual contract, not when I was building my family with Suki, not when I had so much going on with Chris and his family. I needed to be ready for anything, and being a free agent gave me that freedom, no pun intended. Still, it's so amazing to see it all happening as I'd planned it, honestly... it's almost too much to hold in. In the face of the struggling economy, in the face of everything financially that could go wrong, going wrong... Chris and I were able to pick ourselves up above the mess and hold out for our families.
We're not ordinary wrestlers, he and I... there's always seemingly been something more there. Something that sets us out from the rest.
Heh... what a transition. March 11th, 2007 seemingly marked the last match of my career... yet now, January 25th, 2009, I'm coming back again. You'll have to give me credit, at least I almost lasted two years, albeit Remnant didn't last nearly as long.
Finally, who should my opponent be but one of the few men of the NLCW to have ever bested me in the ring? Tyler Scott... he and I have a small history together, the two of us going head to head in that ring and clashing in the past. He is an incredibly gifted opponent, and I can only give him all the credit in the world for the advancements he has made in there. He's something special, that's for certain... he's got potential to be one of the NLCW's legends if he sets his heart to it.
Still, for the sake of my image, my name, and my legacy... I cannot let him defeat me again.
Not on my return.
Tyler Scott, you're an incredibly gifted athelete, but you've no idea what you're up against on this coming day. These fans have waited nearly two years to see me come back into this ring, and when I go out there... they're going to be chanting my name the same as they always have. They're going to support me, Tyler... and if there's one thing that always pushes me through my struggles in life, it's the support of my family.
It's nothing personal, man, but... you just don't stand a chance.
My match with Champion, and all the things that followed, will forever remain the climax of my final chapter, of this I can be certain. Yet with this coming day, and with Tyler Scott my opponent... I put pen to paper for one last time, and begin writing this wrestler's epilogue. Tyler Scott is only the beginning, there is much work left to be done... but when it's done, I can promise you this: everything will go according to plan.
Oh, right... and Tyler? For old time's sake, I've got to say it:
Not even the Messiah can save you now.
See you Sunday, kiddo.