act three: remnant of the past
In the end, it all paid off, didn't it?
I mean, if it didn't, I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't be entered into Sultan of the Squared Circle, I wouldn't be the NLCW's current Hardcore Champion, and I sure as hell wouldn't be out on tour meeting and greeting fans nationwide on behalf of the company that's welcomed me back with open arms. Everything up to this point has gone exactly according to plan, and while I do admit that I've had to make some changes along the way, the fact is that those changes turned out to be inevitable all along, as if somewhere in the beginning I had planned for them to happen.
Everything flowed so smoothly, the execution was so pitch-perfect and flawless that I'd honestly gotten paranoid for awhile that it was all too good to be true. I guess the saying "miracles can happen" wasn't all too far from the truth in the end, though... Suki and I are better off financially now than we've ever been in our lives, including when I reached my peak in the NLCW in the first place. From the sale of my stock in the NLCW to Midvalley, to my managing to net a contract for Remnant that saw me getting money for not even being on-screen, saw me earning paychecks for lurking in the shadows and only appearing when I was absolutely needed. I was an advisor to the NLCW board for a while after I'd given up my spot as CEO, which earned me a good deal of money there as well.
In the end, everything I had done in the NLCW had made me something I'd never honestly thought I'd be when I was younger.
It made me rich.
Now, when I look to the future, I don't see the variables standing in the way any longer. Even in an economic recession, even when everything seemed to say it couldn't be done... I took the last remnants of a personal dream of mine and put it all to the test. I worked as hard as I could to earn the money I made, and the NLCW supported me the entire time because after all we'd done for each other, there was something that the company and I shared together: the will to see each other succeed.
I had made friendships in the NLCW that will last me the rest of my life, and those friends had my back every step of the way.
The funny thing was, it was never about the money in this business to begin with, it was all about the feeling I had when I made it out there in front of those fans. To this day, that feeling is still inside of me, still burning alive and well. The money's an added perk to the fact that I've started my family now, and I don't intend to see my son pay for any mistakes his father may make along the way.
It's hard to make a living in wrestling that provides more than enough for you and your family's future long after you retire... but I found a way to work the system and earn everything I needed to to ensure the brightest future possible for this family of mine. Now that I've done that... there's a dream still left to live out, and the money that comes from living that dream will continue to help provide for the people that I love. Not just friends and family, mind you, but the NLCW itself... the sole reason I became a free agent to begin with was so that I could stay unbound from the general regulations of an NLCW wrestler.
I was free to wander so long as I made the shows, I was free to work closer with the fans than I'd otherwise be able to. It was these things that had allowed me to go on tour while wrestling at the same time, it was these things that allowed me to promote the NLCW in a stronger fashion than I'd ever done before. Basically, it was a mutually beneficial deal to both the company and myself, and it was my way of saying thank you to the people who had made me into the legend I know I am today.
Legend... ha, who'd have thought a guy like me could be a legend. The man with a boyhood dream that came true, that same man who endured nightmares all along the way and managed to turn a personal hell inside of him around and make it into heaven itself. I've suffered injuries, I've endured untold amounts of pain and I've came back every time, doing all I could not to let my dream die out in the middle of that ring. From Final Solution to a simple one-on-one, I've given it my all every single time, and I've never once allowed myself to underestimate an opponent, choosing instead to respect their ability and potential.
There was a man who'd driven me out of my mind a long, long time ago... but he taught me something valuable in the end. His greatest weakness was his lack of respect towards others, and he'd made that into his greatest strength all the same. I was eventually driven to do the same, and the mistakes I'd made in those days were what put me back on the right path when I realized just how terribly wrong I really was.
Ever since those days had passed, I've learned to take every match more seriously. I've learned to always expect the best from anyone, no matter what their record or reputation may be. I learned to expect anything and everything to happen, and to always be prepared to take some hits I might not get back from right away. In that ring, I'd undergone a change in my life that shaped me into something different, a much better wrestler than the one I'd been before.
In the Hardcore Wrestling Federation I was held back by my own limitations, constantly left wondering if I'd ever get the respect I'd felt I deserved. In the NLCW, however... I realized the error of my ways, and I pushed past my own limitations. I rocketed through the ranks of the company, and I climbed the ladder faster than almost everyone before me. In the end, I became the very embodiment of this company's motto: "No Limits".
"We will not be limited!" was the cry of its people, and as an individual I stood among them and agreed.
Yet as the dust settled and the comradrie of the people of the NLCW faded away, I found myself still whispering those same words I'd been whispering among the masses who denied all limitations.
"And neither will I"
Indeed, I was a part of a large group of people, a company that could work together to better itself and send itself on into a prosperous future. I agreed with the stance that together we are not limited, that together we cannot be defeated... but in my mind I reassured myself that I, as an individual, would not be limited either. That I alone would always fight forward if it meant bettering myself and the company that had shown me the light.
In February of 2009 I now find myself with the same set of beliefs that I'd held back then, yet just as my plans have changed along the way... so too have those beliefs changed over time. Honestly, I have quite a few of the NLCW's faithful to blame for that... they were there to challenge me when they felt I was out of line, and they were there to remind me of how important it was to remain a functioning team rather than a dysfunctional hero.
In the end, it turned out that the NLCW and I would have each other's backs no matter what, and I found myself realizing there was a lot left to do before I could leave that place behind to retire.
Never have I lost my respect for this place and its people, no matter who they are. From the greats like Chris Champion and Rick Majors, to those who would see our federation fall like Chris Logan and Dillon Durst. I have respected and honored men who would never do the same for me simply because I knew that despite every terrible thing they'd done, they deserved that respect and had earned it along the way.
Above that... I met fellow heroes of the NLCW who would stand by my side in battle just as they would stand across from me on the battlefield. Heroes who would challenge me just as my allies and friends did, heroes that would push past me if they had to but would rather see me come along for the ride. These were the people who, though perhaps my interactions with them were limited, managed to make an impact on me all the same and show me exactly what they were made of to be so damn successful in this federation.
One of those such men was the Prince himself, and a man I now find standing before me as my opponent in a tournament I've never been able to participate in until now.
A hero who I've fought alongside of and against, but never one-on-one... and that battle has been a long, long time coming.
A man the people call Alex Jay.