Surprise!

It never stops…

It’s a sickness and a blessing. It’s a truth and it’s a consequence

It’s an addiction and it’s an intervention. Point blank, when you become so accustomed to living your life a certain way, stepping away becomes too big of an alteration. It’s like a book. A chapter may end, but there are still more pages filled. Or yet to be filled. It’s not until you hit the binding that there’s nothing left to be said and no action left to be had

No binding here, not yet.

Simply a new chapter.

They think it’s over…

They think it’s desperation…

They think injuries have taken a toll, and a long career has exhausted abilities. But if they think that this is Grandpa going skydiving for one final taste of the thrill? If they think that this is one final attempt at feeling the warmth of the spotlight? One final blaze of glory?

Fuck ‘em. I’m the Strike Back Kid for a reason

Ageless. Timeless. Just a man lacing up boots. Just a man who cares more about the business and HIS business than anything else. Just a man. Just a veteran. Just a…

† Johnny Styles †
Legend


† Night after the IWF Hall of Fame Show †
† BCEC Center, Boston MA †

One week.

One week was all it took, my brother Tails was always one of the greatest organizers I'd ever seen. One week after his retirement announcement, One week after are last show together which was my IWF Hall of Fame Show, he had not only organized one of the largest retirement parties thrown by any Insurgency wrestler before or since, but he had managed to rope everyone from the past into coming along and bringing whatever family they had. He'd rented out space in the Boston convention center for the occasion, hired workers to put the whole thing together... the guy had it all planned out, he knew just the way he wanted to leave the business and he was making sure it all came together perfect.

Me, I was just along for the ride. Sure, in all technicalities Tails was throwing the retirement party for the both of us, but I think he and I both knew that I was the one who couldn't keep away for very long. Much as I wanted him to be my last match, at the time there was just... there was something about the call of the ring that was going to keep me from being able to stay away for long.

Honestly, I think Tails knew long before I did, I think he knew it the moment he realized I said I was going to retire. There was probably a lot he wanted to say but never said, if only out of respect for my decisions at the time. Not once did he ever tell me something contrary to how I was feeling, he just... went with it. Probably because he knew where I was going to wind up in the end.

"Retire? You? Ha, you won't be able to stay away for that long. You’re gonna die inside the ring brody"

Turns out you were right, Tails, but that doesn't surprise you, does it?

The party was amazing... everyone turned up, if only because of the free food. People who hated us, people who once tried to kill us in the ring... he'd even managed to get a few of the old JWF faithful together, friends from times long passed that I never thought I'd see again. The whole night, Jada and I were talking to someone about the good old days, about how funny life is and how far you can go before you finally realize the journey you've taken.

Truth is, I probably could have lasted awhile longer in my own retirement, probably made it a few years without worry and have everything be just fine... but in the end, I don't think Tails wanted me to. He saw something in me left to shine back then, something to do that I hadn't done, some way that I could finish my own personal story. That night, talking to those people helped strengthen my doubt of whether or not retirement was the right thing for me to do... but it was Tails who'd finally convinced me in the end.

Tails kicked off the party at around 8:00 PM and was drunk about an hour before it, which was great because it made for some of the most hilariously awkward welcomes I'd seen in my life. I don't know if Hallow Wicked ever got those pants of his cleaned after what Tails did to them, but I do know for certain it'd be a night his nightmares would never let him live down. Georgina was there too, seems they'd found little Cesar a babysitter to take care of him while they were away, and Tails was totally living it up because of that. When Jada and I arrived, we were about an hour late and I found my soon-to-be-wife being escorted away from me by Georgina just as Tails had realized our arrival.

Tails
"TAILS! Ya'... ya' big coffee man, c'mere! Get over here an'... get over here an' celebrate!"

† Johnny Styles †
"I don't drink anymore Tails remember?"

Tails
"Thas'... thas' 'cause you're a WOMAN. Ya' wearin' a dress an'.. an' ya' HEY! Hey, don'tcha... don'tcha try an' steal my drink, ya' lousy..."

I'd laughed. Beside Tails sat Johnny Hall At the time, he was trying to find ways to mess around with Tail's head, moving his drink around in circles and generally making him think his cup had came alive. Tails of course knew Hall was moving the drink at first, but then again Tails never did have the memory of an elephant when drunk.

Johnny Hall
"SBK! Get... get over here, th'.. th' cup! Iz MOVIN'! ALIVE, SB! ALIVE!!!"

† Johnny Styles †
"Oh Christ, Hall, you're gonna give him a heart attack."

Johnny Hall
"So long as he doesn't vomit on me, I don't care what I give him, this is hilarious."

Tails
"Ah'll... ah'll vomit on your FACE! Hahaha, but... but no, man, no. I wouldn't do that, not to ya', I l--"

The drink stopped moving when Johnny had let go of it to reach up and smack Tails upside his forehead, rocking him back and nearly off of his chair before he came back forward and slumped over on the bar, snoring loudly.

† Johnny Styles †
"What th--... Hall! What the fuck?! Why'd you hit him?!"

Johnny Hall
"I hate it when drunks start telling me "I love you, man", especially when it's Tails."

I remember rolling my eyes. As much as Hall and Tails had gone through together, there were some drunken antics Tails had performed around me that could make "I love you, man" sound like a comparatively light thing to have happen by comparison. As Tails snored away on the bar, I made my way over next to him, sighing as I sat down. Hall looked at me with a raised eyebrow but for the most part left me be. At the time, Hall and I weren't as close as either of us were with Tails, we just sort-of knew each other through Tails and respected each other for all we'd done. Fact was, we didn't really know each other... we just hung out from time to time when Tails was around.

I think that night was the night that changed things a little for us. Changed things a little for everyone, really.

Johnny Hall
"So, retirement."

I heard him say, taking a drink from whatever was in the glass he was holding as he stared off to the side, a slight frown on his face.

† Johnny Styles †
"Yeah... fancy that, two of JWF’s greats leaving at once"

I said back, looking at the downed Tails and shaking my head

† Johnny Styles †
"Never thought the day would come, I’ve tried a few times before but this time I think its final..."

Hall laughed. There was something strong about him, something that really made him stand out from the others at the party. He wasn't just a locker-room leader, he was exactly the legend he was made up to be, the guy who defies all odds stacked against him despite whatever it is that seemed to be holding him down. The fact of the matter was, here was a guy who'd been in the business for ages, who'd seen his own fair share of hell in the ring and had been seemingly forced to hang up his boots on more then one occasion from what I recall... and I was talking to him about my retirement really happening

It almost seemed silly, honestly.

Johnny Hall
"You think retirement lasts, Styles? Not in wrestling, at least not for very long. No matter how much you want it to be final"

He turned around, putting a hand on Tails shoulder and patting it as he looked down at the passed out icon of NLWF, shaking his head in amusement

Johnny Hall
"Look at this guy, he's celebrating now, but you saw him say goodbye to those people. He was a wreck, the guy isn't happy to be leaving... this is comfort and peace for him, the closing of a chapter in his life. He's got a lot ahead of him, and I somehow doubt he'll keep away from the ring forever."

Hall lifted his eyes up at me, a smirk on his features as he did so. Leaning back in his chair, Hall took his hand off of Tails and crossed his arms over his chest, looking as though he were about to challenge me in some way. When the next words came out of his mouth, of course, I realized that he was challenging me, and in a very big way.

Johnny Hall
"Let me ask you something, Johnny... He’s retiring because in his world, all the stars aligned perfectly last night. He was finally able to beat you, for one night he stepped out of your shadow. This man isn’t an icon of the business but he's finally reached a point in his life where he can look back on his career and be satisfied, not just with the ending or some points along the way, but with the entire journey. That's how Tails feels, Johnny... but what about you?"

Hall stood up from his seat, patting Tails on the back as I stared down at the bar, his words ringing in my mind.

Johnny Hall
"Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a few people I'd like to be able to see before they leave tonight. Make sure Tails doesn't burn down the bar when he wakes up."

Wordlessly, I flashed him a thumbs up. I didn't have much of a will to talk at the time... truth was, Hall had caught me out when I was vulnerable, he'd put me in a position where I was now left doubting myself more than ever before. I knew when I made my retirement announcement that I wouldn't keep away from the ring forever, and the more I talked with people throughout the night, the more I realized that it may come sooner then I thought, but Johnny Hall?!

Hall believed I was making a mistake, and he was challenging me to see from his perspective, and... His perspective felt right when I honestly thought about it. What was I leaving for, what did I have to gain? I knew I had a gameplan, and I knew that it was too late to stop now that I'd set it in motion... but what if everything I'd done up to this point, while good for my future family, was ultimately going to drive me down the path to Purgatory that I'd foreseen back before my Final Hall of Fame match? After avoiding all the pitfalls in this life of mine... what if I was pushing myself in the wrong direction after-all?

What if retirement simply wasn't the answer yet? And if it wasn't, then what could I do to right the mistakes I'd already made?

Tails
"Gotta... gotta see it through ta' the end, SB..."

Tail's voice had nearly made me leap out of my seat. I remember looking down at him, a startled look on my own face and a drunken smirk on his. He was slowly pulling himself back up and I was trying to get my heartbeat to slow back down, shaking my head and tossing my hands up in frustration.

† Johnny Styles †
"Oh what the fuck, bro?! What are you, the magic drunk? How do you know I'm having self-doubts right now?!"

Tails, bless him, he tried laughing but nearly vomited on the bartender as he came over. That kept the man away from us for the rest of the night, but it also left me wondering why the hell Tails was trying to laugh in the first place. Sure, drunks find a lot of things funny that aren't normally when they're sober, but... unless Tails was going to crack a joke about being a magician all these years, I didn't see where the humor was.

At least, until Tails slurred out his response.

Tails
"Ya' jackass, I meant.. I mea-- hey, shuddup, ya' gotta listen, see? I meant me bein' drunk, y'hear? Not... not about yer girly issues, I don... I don have no tampons fer ya'."

I rolled my eyes, staring back down at the bar

† Johnny Styles †
"Thank you, Captain Pep Talk, that was a wonderful speech."

Tails
"First a magic man... now a superhero? I'm a... I'm a jack of all spades!"

I don't remember when the act of "facepalming" became particularly popular, but I do remember practicing it on many occasions that night. Tails wouldn't sober up until much later into the night, around midnight or so with the party still going half-strong, and by then he'd decided it was time to lay off the drink for a bit and grace everyone else with the pleasure of his company, and without the fear of drunken vomiting. As for me, that self-doubt lasted all the way through the night, and even Jada could tell that I wasn't feeling very comfortable with myself there. She tried to keep me active and stick around me for support, and her just being there did help tremendously with how I was feeling, but...

... I wasn't getting better. My mind was in a thousand different places but where I needed it to be the most, and I just couldn't resolve the issues spinning 'round in my head. It felt like I was lost at sea, left drifting in an ocean of uncertainty and fear for the future, without any way of knowing which direction I was going.

Still, like I said... it was Tails who convinced me in the end, and when word got around to him that something seemed up with the way I was acting, I found my arm gripped in a vice and my body forcefully pulled away from the crowd Jada and I were in.

Tails
"Sorry Jay, me an' good ol’ SB need to have a little chat outside if you don't mind."

Jada Hart
"Please don't kill my fiancé, Eric."

Tails
"Well you're no fun. Don't worry, I'll leave him bruised up but still functional."

Jada Hart
"Ooh, I do like functional."

† Johnny Styles †
"What the hell is going on?! And why am I being kidnapped?!"

Tails smacked me upside the back of my head with his free hand, rattling my head and leaving me shocked as I raised an eyebrow at him, his attention facing forward as he drug me to the building's exit.

Tails
"No talking 'til we get outside, SB, or I will get Jay to couch your ass tonight."

Having your best friend use that threat on you is downright surreal, to be honest.

... very intimidating, though.



It was the same old story, as it always was for him and I. One of us was the one to take initiative and give the other a verbal kick in the balls, and on this particular occasion, it was Tails doing the kicking. The night air was a bit chilly, enough to make me wish I'd been wearing my jacket. Funnily, Tails was in a short-sleeve at this point, he'd been complaining about how warm the building was and he didn't appear to feel much better on the outside either. Chances were the alcohol likely wasn't helping him much too, diminished in his system though it may have been.

Tails
"What are you doing in there?"

He didn't waste any time, Tails wasn't the type to do that when he was completely serious. In the ring, Tails would get in your head and work you around his finger, taking all the time he wanted just to enjoy himself in there. Outside of it, though? Sure, he operated the same, but if shit got too serious for him, something in that head of his clicked and he began working like a machine to correct the situation, even at the expense of his own enjoyment for awhile.

† Johnny Styles †
"What, being mopey and depressed about leaving the business? I guess that's what I'm doing."

I'd shrugged, dismissing the situation entirely. Tails frowned, letting me straighten myself up after being drug out of the building, before punching me hard in the arm.

†Johnny Styles †
"Fuck! Jesus, what the fuck Eric?!"

Tails
"Next one's your jaw. What's going on, John? Do we need to go back into that ring again? You really want your ass kicked that badly tonight?"

† Johnny Styles †
"What the fuck are you going on about?"

Tails
"This is our retirement Johnny. You and I? We're legends in this business; the fans don't want us to leave. This party? Par for the course for me, isn't it? Go figure Tails would throw a party to honor himself, but you? You're sitting in there like a wrist-cutting emo kid on some faulty anti-depression pills, writing shitty poetry about how miserable you are about packing your shit and heading home. Stop me if I'm wrong here, SB!"

I crossed my arms, a pissed off look was quickly forming on my face as I turned to face him completely, my voice raising in response to Tails' own.

† Johnny Styles †
"Well just how the fuck do you expect me to feel, Tails?! You just decide to leave the business on us like this? What, Eric, did you not think that something like that would have just a slight influence on me?! I had a game plan this whole fucking time, I was going to go through the higher-ups of the Insurgency regardless of what happened between you and I, I was going to secure my family's future with Jada and I was going to turn a profit off my plans so I could be comfortable getting back in the ring and getting back to what I love! I didn't... fuck, Eric, I didn't want that to be our last match! I'm not fucking ready to quit, what was I thinking?!"

It felt good letting that entire speech out, and for a short moment I'd honestly felt like I'd had a momentary triumph in our little confrontation. I didn't mean to spill my guts out in one long-winded rant, but it just came out and it felt fucking great. I mean, honestly, I was readying myself for another volley of words when Tails decided to cut my plans short by re-introducing his fist to my face, knocking me back and sending me falling on my ass in shock.

The guy had one hell of a punch.

Grabbing at my jaw in stunned pain, I forced myself back up and immediately cocked my fist back, ready to reciprocate Tails for his actions. He stood completely still, just staring at me with a glare, his eyes never leaving mine as I held my fist back, adrenaline surging through my veins. In those few seconds that we both stood there, it took everything in my body to not just give into my urges and swing my fist forward. I was breathing heavily, trying to steady out my heartbeat as Tails just fearlessly stood in front of me.

I glanced away from him, my arm lowering. I couldn't do it, something in me told me that Eric was justified in what he'd just done, something was telling me to just man up and listen, to stop being this self-pitying jackass and actually seek out advice rather than resist it.

Looking back at Tails, it dawned on me. Behind him, maybe twenty feet away, there was a tall lamppost casting light out in a circle around it. The light was hitting Tails and I, casting our shadows out away from the lamppost... and there I stood, facing Tails.

He was once again standing in my shadow.

He stayed quiet as I just stared at the ground, where his shadow trailed across and flooded over me, my fists clenching at my sides and my arms shaking in frustration. I let out a frustrated groan and lifted my hands up to entangle my fingers in my hair, pulling at the roots.

† Johnny Styles †
"I... fuck!"

I screamed, turning around towards the building and swinging my fist at it, cracking my fist against the wall and miraculously not breaking my hand in the process of my stupidity. Tails crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me quietly, frowning.

† Johnny Styles †
"Why?! Why does it always come back to this for me?! Why do I have to feel like you’re following in my shadow, like I.. I..."

Tails
"You told me you weren't retiring because I was, Johnny. You told me you were being honest."

† Johnny Styles †
"I WAS! I.. I was... I did want to stop things for awhile, I have everything planned out, and... fuck, Eric! It's a perfect opportunity for me to put things together for Suki and I, but what happens if I get comfortable away? What happens if all that I'm doing is just one huge mistake, and I shouldn't be leaving at all?"

Tails
"Stop your bitching, Johnny... it's too late now. You made your decisions, You’re not a young buck anymore and to be honest, these plans of yours look bulletproof. You're a planner, Johnny, you don't just leap into these things without planning, if you were that kind-of person you'd never make it as my Friend”

† Johnny Styles †
"Friend?! Christ, Eric... look at me! Ever since we started I kept you down, did everything I could to make sure you didn’t shine! I’m a fucking dick head who stepped on anyone and anything as long as it got me to the level I wanted to be at!”

Tails
"Are you fucking kidding me, Johnny?!"

Tails suddenly roared, stepping forward as if to hit me yet again, his eyes burning in anger

Tails
"Do you have any idea just who the hell you are?! You're the only guy I've gone into the ring with when the fans are behind me, that actually splits the crowd right down the middle! You and I are equals out there, SB, it takes more luck than backstabbing for either of us to overcome the other. What's more..."

Tails lifted his fist towards me, index finger extended as he pushed it against my forehead roughly, frowning

Tails
"The only way I could leave this business is if I knew I could beat you one on one."

I'd raised my eyebrow at him as he took a step back, shaking my head

† Johnny Styles †
"Do what now?"

I'd lamely asked him, causing him to roll his eyes.

Tails
"This isn't like you, SB, you're more confident than this. You know that the two of us are the best in the business; you know you you are still a top dog in this game, and if either of us wanted to we could stick around and dominate the scene for years to come. You and I aren't the kind-of guys who just fall back and fade away, we always stay an ever-constant presence in the program even when we aren't a part of it. My name, your name... you can't think wrestling without thinking about either. So don't you come at me with this "I'm not worthy" shit, you've been there since nearly the beginning and we've always given each other hell, every step of the goddamn way."

I sighed

† Johnny Styles †
"I'm just... fuck's sake, I don't know. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing, I really am. I have my plans, everything's going according to them, but when it's all said and done... I'm going to have to leave for awhile. If I expect to have all this shit put together properly when it's all said and done I can't concern myself with what's going on in the IWF, but I don't feel like I'm ready yet to leave! I'm--"

Tails
"-- the biggest woman I've ever seen? Well, you got that right."

Tails interrupted, with a smirk on his face

Tails
"Look, SB. You and I both know it's about time for me to hang up my boots. I've started my family with Georgina, I fought the one guy in the one match I wanted to fight him in to cap off my career, and it's as simple as that. You know this doesn't mean I'll stay gone forever, but I don't plan on jump-starting my career again. Some matches here and there are fine, but as far as I'm concerned, you were the one to end my career, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

I smirked myself now. The tense feeling in the air had long ago passed, as we began to relax around each other a little more, safe in the knowledge that we wouldn't need to hit anyone, or anything, for the rest of the conversation.

† Johnny Styles †
"As gay as that sounds, Tails, I think I can understand your way of thinking."

Tails
"Good, then you'll understand me when I tell you to get back in that ring when these "plans" of yours are good and over. Trust me, good ideas all around on your part, but you're not ready to retire."

I raised my eyebrow. It didn't make sense to me at the time... why wouldn't Tails want me to retire with him? It was the storybook ending, two old friends and, well, rivals, bringing that same rivalry to an end and hanging things up right after. It seemed only appropriate that Tails would be the one to bring my career to an end... so why wasn't I satisfied, and why did he disagree with my retirement?

† Johnny Styles †
"But, why, exactly?"

I asked him, airing my thoughts out for him to answer to.

Tails
"Because as similar as we are, SB, you and I are completely different. You love that ring too much right now to leave. This is something you've had in you since you were young, SB, you've been shooting for the moon the whole time and if you ask me, you're not quite there yet. There’s still a ghost who haunts you, and you’ll never be able to leave the game until you know he’s good and dead."

He laughed, shaking his head and looking up to the stars above

Tails
"Funny thing, that... you get as popular as you are and it still doesn't satisfy you in the end. You really are something, SB. Like I said... you and I are similar, but we're different in too many ways. Me, I can look back right now and know I did what I set out to do, but you? You... you've done more than most people could dream to do in your career and it still isn't enough, you're still not satisfied. I mean, thankfully, you don't carry that shit into your personal life, or poor Jada never stand a chance... you take what looks to be perfect for you in this game of ours and drive to make it better. Wrestling is my life, but for you... wrestling is practically the air you breathe."

He turned back and made his way over to me, slapping my back and leading me towards the door to the building we'd left through

Tails
"And, personally, I think we'd all prefer it if you'd not stop breathing. Not unless you put me in your will, anyway."

† Johnny Styles †
"Oh yeah, you're in there. I've got you inheriting a post-mortem ass kicking from Jada. She's inheriting some spiked boots just for the occasion."

Tails
"Kinky. Pity I'm already in a committed relationship, I am quite the masochist."

† Johnny Styles †
"I never thought Georgina to be the dominatrix type..."

Tails
"You'll be thinking about how uncomfortable the pavement is if you start thinking about the mother of my child in a dominatrix outfit, SB. Just giving you a warning here."

† Johnny Styles †
"Noted."

The rest of the night went incredibly well, much better than it had been for me leading up to our little confrontation. There was something to that moment of ours that made me feel revitalized, made me start to rethink things in my plan. Tails was right, and honestly the only thing that kept me from seeing the message he'd given me earlier was my own stubbornness. I had spent a lot of time preparing myself for the plan I'd made... so when Tails decided to call it quits after our match, it threw my plan in disarray. I wasn't expecting nor did I want to adapt, but in life all you ever can do is adapt.

So if I wanted things to go well for Jada and I, I would have to adapt and make some changes to my plans.



Early 2011, when the very man you see before you right this second made a ‘big comeback’ to the Insurgency from a career-threatening neck injury followed by successful surgery…this very man who was chomping at the bit to get back in the ring too soon, all because I didn’t want memories to fade or for my legacy to ride off into the night while I sit in a recliner with a heating pad on my shoulders. I was a man who fought off the thought of aging with a big stick, not wanting to give up that youth that I enjoyed every single second of. The partying followed by live events followed by partying of the 90’s. The high-life of main event after main event, making sure that every single night I was better than the previous. It was life entering a transitional period, but my mental block made it feel more like running into a brick wall.

I’m not gonna stand here and rant and rave about the evolution of this business and how nobody can go at top speed forever. Eventually the rubber wears thin and the engine runs dry. I can’t do that again. It’s boring, it’s borderline pathetic if not completely pathetic all together. THAT’S what I was. Not now. Not this fucking time. Make peace with change, and conquer it. I know, I’m a real god damn Socrates.

And that brings us to the Path to Valhalla Match and the most stunning surprise entrant in the whole thing. For weeks I’ve done nothing but hint to a possible showdown against Crimson Skull. A match 5 years in the making, little did any one know (or expect) I had my eyes on Valhalla.

There isn’t anyone who could have pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes like I just did. I don’t even care if Nick Ridicule himself decided to enter. His career has been nothing but garbage ever since he couldn’t control the outcome of matches. Everything that kid has done has been tainted, all the championships the epic main events, all thanks because he wrote the checks.

He’s the Barry Bonds of wrestling ladies and gents

Ever wonder why his career has been shit ever since NLWF closed there doors? How many championships has the kid donned since NLWF shit the bed? Not a single fucking one. The kid OD just to get his name in print again.

As you can see, the hatred very quickly finds the surface when I talk about my son. Always has, ever since the kid went from nobody to somebody, climbing the ranks thanks to the abuse of power. Nick and I have the ability to sit across from each other at a table, look one another in the eye, and go back and forth for days on end, ripping the other apart and trying to disprove the other’s legacy. Egos. Nothing but trash talks and chin-high walks. But there are so many distinct differences between my words towards Nick’s, and his towards me. The main one being…weight. Truth. Backbone. Nick can up-talk his successes in NLWF all he wants, but when a fan decides to go back and look at his rise, to look back on those title wins and those title reigns, all they’ll get is a cramp in the neck from shaking their head in disappointment. Seeing how many things the fucking douch bag has weaseled his way in to, cheated his way out of and used all of the elements to build himself a neat little pedestal for him to sit on as if this 20-something punk is ANYTHING more than a primadonna confidence man.

Me? I’ll stand here and tell about all the great moments and matches, all the times I gave every last ounce of blood, sweat and energy to defend any world title I held and do it proud. And that same fan can go back for evidence to those words and find IT! No need to run through all of the things you can go see for yourself? And That’s JUST the last few years. Not even going to touch on a career Vs career comparison, because this is all Nick’s got. That whiny pre-pubescent voice saying “I’M A FORMER CHAMP, DAMNIT. OH, LET ME SAY CUNT SO I CAN DRAW MORE HEAT.”

YOU ARE NOT AN ALL-TIME GREAT. Not by a long shot.

You clamor all you want through all the verbal spats we’ve found ourselves in when we cross paths. You can say “I sold more merchandise, I’m the highest-ratings champ in NLWF history, I was making the low-tier belts look important while you held the big one!” But your words don’t phase me…these are experienced eyes seeing right through any of this bullshit that flies off your tongue. You can’t hide behind a company or a title, you are who you are and you got there, not by earning it every step of the way, but by taking the escalator instead of taking the stairs, if you catch my drift. No one…and I mean NO ONE…sells more merchandise than SBK.

Nada. Negative.

False claims galore, who in their right mind would buy a damn Nick Ridicule T-shirt. You’re too busy looking to weasel yourself back into a championship match that you aren’t listening to the thousands around you that visit that merch stand and that go to IWF.com. They hate you! They hate you as a man, as a champion, as a wrestler. They despise you, and it’s not out of envious intent. It’s not out of jealousy, as I’m sure you tell yourself every morning as you wax your ballsack.

He’s almost as bad as the Jackyl. I’m sorry, but didn’t the whole Jiggalo phase die with the new millennium? If there’s one thing IWF doesn’t need is a Shaggy To-dope wanna be wrestling, last time I check this was IWF not WCW!

You laughable excuse for a wrestler

You've got no real talents beyond aimlessly flailing about acting like a retarded clown; trying to prove to the world how 'crazy' and 'unpredictable' you are, when in reality? You've spent far too much time listing to ICP; you’re almost as laughably foolish as Nick Ridicule. You can bring all of your randomness down to the ring; you can even come down squeezed inside a clown car with your role model Jinx.

We’ll just turn Ragnarok into a fucking circus

Your boasts this week are as tired as your jokes. Say what you will, rant as you wish, but there is one clear and undisputable fact here; You're just a clown, praying that someone might be pathetic enough to be taken in by your laughable act. But this Sunday? The jokes are over. There aren't going to be anymore last laughs, no more circuses. There will be no more fun times or anything of the sort.

Your career’s gonna be a bigger bust then an ICP rap album

Loca Rocsi, Don’t expect me to go easy on you. You’re no different than a man. I’ll batter and bruise your face like my name was Robbie Hart! I think it’s safe to move on to the list; because lets face it you haven’t been relevant since Robbie knocked you up. You’re almost as forgettable as Jason Hawk! Why did you even qualify for the Full Throttle last week, when you had no plan on actually fighting for the championship? Once again everyone’s left being disappointed by Jason Hawk.

It’s the story of the kid’s career

There’s a list of people I can sit here and take the time to cut down but really it would be a waste of time and effort. Like King Brucey, ever since he got slapped with the title of Hungrey, Hungrey Hippo the boy hasn’t been seen since. Reminds of a guy named Chris Blue, gave him the nickname of Blueballs and the kid was never seen again.

It’s like Déjà vu all over again

Of course there’s the chance that both Crimson Skull and I paths could also cross tomorrow night. Talk about blowing the roof off the place. Just picture if for the first time in Five years two of the biggest stars to ever come outta JWF stand face to face, with yet another contendership hanging in the balance. Now that would be KASH MONEY!

I’ve been in professional wrestling long enough now to realize that my encounters with Crimson Skull are the stuff of legend. There will always be greater meaning to me in facing Skull than the mere matter of a win or a loss. It simply runs deeper than that.

Two absolute giants of the wrestling world square off again and, more importantly, you’ve got two guys who basically live to outdo the other. Fuck all of your Yankees-Redsox baseball games. Fuck all of your England-Germany soccer matches. The duel between SBK and Crimson Skull tops the lot. This isn’t a rivalry based on sport. It’s a rivalry based on existence itself.

Neither man would be the same without the other. We’re like the previously separated, squabbling Siamese twins of the wrestling world.

Over the years, I’ve trash talked Skull into the ground and watched as little red flames have popped out of his ears. I guess that’s one of my main strengths in this tussle; I possess the ability to remain calm and focus on the task at hand whereas Skull seems to take my jibes personally and get all emo about the situation. Fuck that. This stems far beyond a personal rivalry.

This is everything to me and I will do all in my power to come out on top.

You’re a shell of what you used to be, but the same could be said of me. We cast two lonely shadows as we trudge down this never ending road towards our own destruction. I’d like to say that I’m going to come to the pearly white gates before you do, Skull, but I couldn’t commit to it with any degree of certainty. You find yourself in exactly the same spot that I do: we’re both condemned men and the darkness is closing in. However, I think you see the chance of beating me as some sort of shot at reclaiming your life for the better...

Well, it’s not going to happen.

Make no mistake about this match; if it comes down to the two of us, you’re going to lose this match, Skull. The unquenchable desire to be remembered as the best of all time has always motivated me to pull out the real artillery when it really matters. This match is personal to me, Skull. Last time out, you stole my fucking credibility and legacy. Now, it’s time to claim it all back.

And if you think I’m going to let a rigid, two dimensional small time player like you take that away from me, you’ve got another thing coming. As of right now, Crimson Skull, you’re dead to me and it’s going to stay that way until we’ve danced are dance and settle this once and for all.

I will stun the world when my music hits and I enter the Path to Valhalla Match.

I’ll leave everyone breathless when I walk out with my ticket punched for From the Ashes

Another Chapter is about to begin…