Column of Honor 12.29.07: Final Column 2007 Part Two

See it wasn’t much longer than a year and a half ago that you and I BJ, we were like this man (crosses fingers), tag team champions, and before every match behind the curtain, right before our music played, you’d give me a hug, and you’d say “I love you little brother”. What does that even mean, “I love you little brother”? When I found Lacey, a woman that I love, instead of being a big brother to me, you walked out on me. You turned your back on me.

What, I wasn’t paying enough attention to you? My priorities shifted, so you walk out on me. Is that love? Is that brotherly love? So a year ago, here in Detroit, you almost killed me. That’s love? I came 6 inches away from my head splattering all over the concrete floor, and from there, the past year, the violence only escalated. You took pints off blood out of my body. You took years off of my life, and most off all you took my innocence you son of a bitch. I used to be a happy kid, happy go lucky, in love of the world, in love with Lacey. Attack the world, seize the day! Now, there are days I don’t get out of bed, and when I lay in bed at night and I can’t sleep, I don’t count sheep. I count the number of ways I can hurt you, the number of ways I can end this. I visualize it in my head, so maybe just maybe, I can go back to how I was, happy and innocent.

Now, I don’t think that’s a possibility. How’d we get here BJ? You brought us down here locked inside a steel cage, like a zoo animal, like a sideshow freak, like a caged bitch! You brought us down here, but I swear to god, I’m bringing us the rest of the way. Yeah this match will end when the referee counts 3, but its not over ’til one of us can’t get up through their own volition. It’s not over until one of us can’t stand up. I’m not going to shake your hand. I’m not going to hug you as a sign of mutual respect, like we’ve gotten closer somehow.

No BJ, its prom night. It always ends the same. The villain gets what’s coming to him, and the hero gets the girl.

Why do you fight? What do you fight for? I’ve listened to you talk. I’ve been around you enough. You fight for acceptance. You want these fans, these people to look at you a certain way. You have this self-absorbed desire for a legacy, to be great, to be the messiah here at Ring of Honor. You are fueled by pride, fueled by hubris. You call that a worthy cause? Tonight, I fight for the worthiest cause of all. The greatest minds in the history of the world have contemplated it. Socrates studied it. Shakespeare wrote songs and plays about it. Tonight, in that very same fashion, I fight for it!

You see, this war we’ve waged, it’s familiar to another war in history. See, many moons ago, the fallen angel Lucifer and his minions declared war on God and the Archangels. Their uprising was declared in the name of pride, in the name of a legacy, to be the greatest. Well the Archangels went to Hell and back, but at the end of the day, love conquered all.

See, you talk about your legacy, the messiah of Ring of Honor. Too few years from now, you and I BJ will be in the exact same place, six feet under. Our bodies decomposing, getting eaten by beetles and maggots, rotting away, and then what of your legacy? Sure the fans that have seen you, they’ll remember you, but when they die, their memories die with them.

There’s one thing and one thing only that has been here since the beginning of humanity and will be here until the end. Love! That’s what I fight for! I fight for love tonight! I fight for this tonight. (The camera pans over to Lacey)

This is what I fight for. I fight to reclaim my innocence, to reclaim my purity.

See, I’ve gone through a lot of matches, and a lot of fights as the underdog. But in my corner is love, immortality, invincibility, and eternity. So in my mind, I’m not just the underdog. In my mind BJ, you’ve already lost big brother. And I hold the chance.

How did it feel? (shakes head) I got half my tooth knocked out. I tore my ACL, my meniscus in my left knee. How do you think it felt? Why don’t you go through that and tell me how it felt. That match for the rest of my life, will leave scars on my body. For the rest of my existence on this planet, there will be scars on my physical being that will remind me of that one night. (mockingly) Oh it was sick, it was brutal. That one night. And it was sick, it was brutal. It changed me for the rest of my life. For the rest of my life, I will have scars from that match. It changed me forever.

But I think more importantly, it emotionally changed me forever. I think emotionally it changed me for the better. You see after that match, Lacey came up to me. I kind of knew it was coming. I could feel the signs. I mean, I’ve been doing everything she asked for a year, over a year. She came up to me and as a reward, as an offering, she offered herself to me for one night, one night in heaven, one night of ecstasy, one night of just me, just Lacey, just our bodies together.

And any other man, any other guy in that locker room would have jumped at that opportunity. But when the night came. I wanted to do it. I’m not a jack off. I really wanted to do it. I didn’t. So despite what all the Neanderthals in the locker room think. Lacey and I didn’t engage in sexual intercourse. I didn’t “bang the broad”, as everyone was trying to give me high-fives for. No, as much as I really, really wanted to, I knew it was just one night, one night of lust, one night of lust together and the next day, things would have gone back to normal. I couldn’t do that. I’ve worked too hard for just one night. I don’t want just one night.

See all the guys in the locker room with their frat mentality. They’re damned apes, they’re primates. They’re like, “Hey you did a good job. You banged that broad, dude!” See, it’s not like that. I worked a year. I knocked on death’s door for a year. I bled buckets for a year. I wasn’t about to take one night. See…

(Jimmy takes out a prescription bottle and rattles it)

See this. You hear that? That’s not my latest addiction. It’s not anything like that. This (Jimmy opens it up and takes out part of a tooth), that’s half my tooth that got knocked out by BJ Whitmer. Half of my real tooth that will never be in my mouth for the rest of my life. This (Jimmy taps on this front tooth), that’s porcelain. That’ll be there for the rest of my life. That’s, that’s what I’m working for. Forever has been what I’ve been working for.

(Jimmy unbuckles his pants, stands up, and shows his injured knee)

Hey, you want to look at something. Look at this.

(Jimmy unwraps the bandages and shows stitches on his knee)

You want to take a look at forever, this is what my knee’s gonna look like forever. The torn ACL, a torn meniscus, scopes through here, here, and here, stitches, scars, bruising, inflammation, that’s what I’m dealing with. I didn’t deal with this to have one night. See, all the guys think it’s awesome. All the boys in the back think it’s great. They think I gave it to Lacey. It’s not about a one night stand. It’s not about screwing the girl. It’s not about putting a notch on my bedpost.

You think it’s cool? I’ve got news for you. Even dogs bang. Cats bang. Every animal on this planet bangs. They all have sex. That’s nothing. That’s meaningless. It takes a man, it takes a human… a human like me, with balls bigger than all of you Neanderthals in the locker room, to love. So I’ll be damned if the first time with me and Lacey will be about screwing! I will be damned! The first time with me and Lacey will be about consumating our love, and I want that woman with everything I have… with everything I have… with everything I have. I feel as time goes, she’s this far away from loving me too.

Stevens: Mr. Daniels, I know I’m the new guy around here, but these people just saw me take you to the limit. I was seconds away from finishing you off. They all saw. So if it’s not too much to ask, why don’t we give all these people what they want, and give me what I want, and put five more minutes on that clock!

Daniels: Erick Stevens! You want five more minutes! (Points at the crowd) You want five more minutes! Well since you are the new guy and I’ve got something to say, I’m gonna tell you… no. I’m gonna have to ask you to vacate the premises, because I’ve got something to say.

(Erick Stevens leaves the ring)

Chicago Ridge! It’s been two years now since I’ve come back to Ring of Honor. Two years since my exile ended, and as I stand here in the center of this ring in front of all of you, I’ve got to say this… I should have never come back.

When I was gone, I fought every day, tooth and nail, to come back here. And now that I’m here, now that’s I’ve made myself available for all of you, you act like you don’t even care! You act like I’m inconsequential! I’ve been taken by granted by this company, and worse than that, I’ve been taken by granted by each and every one of you. I came back to Ring of Honor to be World Champion, but when was the last time that Christopher Daniels was offered an opportunity to earn a title shot?

No! No! Instead I’m wrestling in filler matches, matches that don’t matter if I win or lose. Four Corner Scrambles! Opening matches, over and over again. All I’ve been doing in this company is treading water. And then, what happened when I fought my way into the title picture? What happened when Matt Sydal and I became World Tag Team Champions? You people acted like those belts belonged to Austin Aries and Roderick Strong! Or those belts belonged to the Briscoe Brothers!

You acted like me and Matt Sydal were a couple of ham sandwiches that didn’t even deserve the belts. You could wait for us to lose those titles! Why?! Why did you give up on me, when I never, never gave up on you!

Was it TNA?

You people just never quit. Just because I’m part of TNA, doesn’t mean I didn’t bust my rear end every time I stepped into a Ring of Honor ring. The only people that think there is a rivalry between TNA and Ring of Honor are you people! Not the TNA office! Not the Ring of Honor office! And not the wrestlers! Just you!

You people act like just because I’m part of TNA that I’m restricted on what I can do here in Ring of Honor. You are still making me pay for a decision I was forced to make over three and a half years ago. Well you know what? I made the right decision then, and if I had to make that decision today, I would have chose TNA all over again.

You wanna know why!? You wanna know why!? Why don’t you take my bank statement and put it next to Bryan Danielson’s bank statement, and you’ll know why. I make a six-figure salary at TNA. One million people see me every week on TNA television. What has Ring of Honor ever done for me? Huh? Do you think I can feed my daughter on you idiots chanting (mockingly) “This is awesome!” *clap*clap*clapclapclap* “This is awesome!” *clap*clap*clapclapclap*

(Crowd chants “This is awesome!” at him)

(Danielson throws his arms up in the air in frustration)

Do you think when my son is sick that the doctor gives me his medicine because you idiots type on the internet that I had a four-star match with Austin Aries? I am sick and tired of being judged by all of you, when you have less than no knowledge of what it takes to be a professional wrestler. You don’t know one thing about the effort and dedication that it takes to step into this ring. I can’t believe that I wanted to commit to this company full-time. Why should I stay in Ring of Honor? So you can use me up the same way you used up Samoa Joe?

Well let me tell you a little tidbit, the reason TNA took Samoa Joe from Ring of Honor was to protect him from you people! They knew that Joe would have killed himself just to make you happy. But you would never be happy. You’ll never be happy. And now Joe’s been gone for two months, and you’ve already forgotten about him. You’ve forgotten about Samoa Joe. You’ve forgotten about CM Punk. I’ll give you one week before you forget about everything Colt Cabana has ever done here. You’re already waiting for the next kid to come up, someone like Davey Richards or Rocky Romero so you can bleed them dry too.

Well you know what? It’s not gonna be me. I’m not giving you one more minute of my time, one more drop of my sweat, one more beat of my heart, just so you can piss it all away!

I’m announcing the official Christopher Daniels Farewell Tour! It starts right now, and it ends the minute I walk through that curtain. Because as far as I’m concerned, you people have seen my last Ring of Honor match.

(Crowd chants “Na,na… na, na, na, na… hey, hey, hey… goodbye.”)

You people broke my heart. You break my heart! I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but Ring of Honor, you can go to hell. I QUIT!

“Man, what a great place… what a great place… Chicago, Illinois. Look at you man, look at you, look at you. The history, the history, my town, where Ring of Honor stays strong. So much going on here, so much in Ring of Honor. And Jimmy Jacobs, its times like these where I look out and think of myself as a young kid playing in the streets of Chicago. And I think of you as a young kid growing up in pro wrestling man and I envy that. That’s awesome. Good for you.

But here I am willing to give you a helping hand, willing to extend my hand, my years of wrestling not only in wrestling but in life man. I’ve had a lot of life lessons given to me and experienced from different And if I can give it to you that’s what we call a good deed, that’s what we call a Mitzvah. Heh. But you’re so emotionally wrecked; you’re just a young kid. Emo is what they call you. And that’s fine, that’s fine, I’m okay with that. Heh. But you know I’d be happy to give a helping hand and allow you to grow, not only in wrestling but in life. And If I can befriend you, help you be a better wrestler,help you be a better person, understand where you are then that’s something I’d like to do but you made a decision. You made a decision right here right in this town, Chicago. Heh.

You’re decision was to lift that rope and when that happened, it was kind of like a vortex if you will. The world flipped, flipped upside down not only for me but for you. Heh. You had to listen to her man, you had to listen to her, Lacey. You still think she knows what she’s talking about well man, she has no clue. And she gave you the heel and you decided to stick it in my eye. You decided to open my legs so she could stick it in my… (deep breath).

Heh.

Jimmy, I’ve talked on this DVDs about how much I love Chicago. I’ve talked about how my friends and my family come out to support me and how I live right down the street and what pride I have for this city, but that’s done with man and that’s fine. The people understand that. But what you’ve got to understand Jimmy is that tonight you’ve been assigned a Windy City Death Match. And I don’t care what town it is in I don’t care what building, I don’t care what arena and I don’t care who’s watching it and why they’re watching it.

But tonight we’re in a death match. (Colt turns to the camera and away from the window) Tonight Colt Cabana comes prepared. He is ready to finish it off, Jimmy. I’m sick and tired of you and I’m sick and tired of your woman.

Jimmy Jacobs, haha. Be prepared for pain. Be prepared to bleed. Because Jimmy, tonight, tonight baby, Colt Cabana is going to be in his hometown with his people watching whether they like it or not. And you my friend are going down. Be prepared to lose. Be prepared to have an emotional breakdown. I’m gonna love to see it and these people are gonna love to see it. They thought you were weird before. Well, tonight when you’re covered in a crimson match, and when you’re bleedin’ from head to toe, baby your mind is going to be warped, its gonna be gone and I’m going to love it and I’m gonna have nothing to do with it anymore. Jimmy Jacobs, tonight you lose and I become the master of my own domain. Haha.”

Colt Cabana: “I love you baybeh! And Adam Pearce, as big as a jerk that you are, and that’s a big jerk, bro I looked at you like an idol when I first started in wrestling. Adam Pearce started before me and he showed me how to run the roads, how to bust your butt like a young kid in professional wrestling and Pearce, I looked up to you and that’s the reason I am who I am today. So I’m sorry that this is the way you’re gonna act, but I’m done after this, and let’s leave on a good note the way Ring of Honor is. I’d like to extend my hand (Colt puts out his hand, but Pearce grabs for the mic instead).”

Adam Pearce: “Cabana, I have known you for ten years. You’re mother and father have brought me into their home. Mama Cabana cooked me scrambled eggs. We went to rival high schools and after ten years after watching you grow into what you’ve become, which is one of the greatest wrestlers on the planet Earth, (audience applauds) there’s a million things that go through my mind, a million of them. (Cabana continues to extend his hand) But in front of everybody in your hometown, which is also my hometown, only one thing goes through my mind which resonates and you need it, and this is it.”

(Pearce spits at Cabana and walks out)

(The rest of the ROH roster as well as Colts’ mother and father walk out to say goodbye and pay tribute to Cabana).

(Crowd chants “Colt Cabana” as he hugs the roster)

Colt Cabana: “Let me make one thing very clear. A lot has been going in the last month and the first thing I wanted to do, besides wipe this spit off my face, was to thank Cary Silkin, the owner, the savior of Ring of Honor. I know he doesn’t like it, I know he doesn’t want the recognition but this man saved this promotion that I love, that this guy loves, crazy guy with the beard love it and all of you guys love, so please….

(Crowd chants “ROH!” and then hops to the second turnbuckle.)

How’s my back looking, okay? How’s the back shot, okay?

Fan in crowd: Awesome!

Cabana: Thank you. Now I, every since I saw Paul London sit in this ring and kiss the ROH sign I said to myself, one day, Colt, what would you say? What would have on your mind? what monumental thing would you do?

I got nothing.

I’m letting you know that this isn’t a farewell, it’s a celebration. And it’s more than pro wrestling, it’s more than that. It’s life Because I’ll tell you what. I was just some chubby little kid with braces from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois with a dream. And one thing in mind and one thing that I always wanted to do for my life. I had one goal, which was to be a professional wrestler And the odds, the odds weren’t necessarily in my favor. I wasn’t 6’8″ my father wasn’t a professional wrestler. He’s a salesmen and a great one at that. (crowd applause) But I had two people, my mother and my father saying you could do whatever you want with your life. And I stuck with those rules. And I had one plan in mind and if you can take one thing away from that…and I know this is the cheesiest thing you’ve ever heard in your life, but it’s true. There was only one thing I wanted to do and that was become a star at the sport of professional wrestling. And I’m not saying that’s what I’m going to do, that’s what I have done in Ring of Honor

Four and a half years of my life, some of the greatest years with the best promotion. I’m not going to sit here and give you the speech because you guys are here. You paid the ticket, you support the wrestlers. You know the deal. You know how great these guys are work. You know what a genius Gabe Sapolsky. You know how hard these guys work to put up the ring. You know what a great promotion this is. And this is a celebration of Ring of Honor. Ah, I love you baybeh.

One more thing. I’ve done a lot here but there’s one more thing I didn’t get to do in Ring of Honor and That was represent you guys as Ring of Honor World Champion. I’m gonna go off and I’m gonna do my thing, but Gabe, get that pencil ready because one day, one day, I’m gonna search out and I’m gonna try and hold in my hands the most coveted belt in the world of professional wrestling and that’s the ROH World Heavyweight Champion(ship)One day. And you guys will be there to support it, because you love pro wrestling just like I love pro wrestling and you love Ring of Honor just like I love Ring of Honor and boy Chicago, Illinois, I love you. Peace, I’m outta here!”

(Crowd claps and cheers)

I love you too baby, I’ll meet you after the show.

A little over four years ago I walked into Philadelphia with nothing on my back but my wrestling boots and my gear. But four years later I stand in front of the most hardcore wrestling fans in the world. You love this sport!

You’ve all heard it a million times. Philadelphia is the birthplace of hardcore wrestling. But here’s where you’re all wrong. This was not the birthplace of the style of hardcore wrestling. This was the birthplace of the hardcore wrestling fan. This was the birthplace of the people who would only accept excellence and nothing less. This was the birthplace of the people that did not care what the big companies shoved down their throat. They knew what they loved. They knew what they liked. They told those companies to go fuck themselves.

(Crowd chanting “ROH! ROH! ROH!”)

And I may have been born in California, but I was forged right here in the Murphy Recreation Center. I was forged in Viking Hall. I was forged right here in the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory. And I was forged and tempered by the fiery passion of all you people out here.

Be that as it may. Fighting Spirit, in New Jersey, Morishima I took you to the limit. You know, before the show I sat down and I said it was about time I stopped having great matches and started winning great matches. And I vowed to do that. The truth of the matter is…I didn’t. And that would make you think even though I gave everything I possibly could, even though I hit you with everything I possibly could, that would make you think that now I don’t have a chance.

But Homicide, I hear the same thing doesn’t apply to you. See I hear your shoulder is hurt too, but you haven’t had time for your senses to adapt. And that works perfectly into my game plan. The Crossface Chicken Wing tears out shoulder joints. The Cattle Mutilation breaks the ligaments in your shoulder .And add that to elbow I knocked you out with in June and the small package that no one has kicked out of since I’ve perfected it in May and you’re a fallen man Homicide. Because you see although you’ve been very important in Ring of Honor’s history, you’ve always been right near the top right here. I have always been here. And for you to get from here to here, you’re gonna have to do what no one else has been able to do. You’re gonna have to do something that Nigel McGuinness couldn’t do, Colt Cabana couldn’t do, Marufuji couldn’t do, Lance Storm couldn’t do, KENTA couldn’t do, Samoa Joe COULDN’T DO. You’re gonna have to not only beat me but to win the ROH World Championship you’re gonna have to damn near kill me. And no matter how good you are, even in front of your hometown, New York City fans, you’re not good enough to do it.

Lenny Leonard: His wrestling freedom? What’s he talking about?

Austin Aries: And with that freedom Roderick Strong, No Remorse Corps I’m gonna hunt you down and beat some respect into you!

What I have in my hand right here is a piece of paper that once I sign will make me property of the greatest professional wrestling company in the world…Ring of Honor!

Leonard: Is he coming back to Ring of Honor?

Aries: I’m sure someone’s got a pen out there for me, so throw it on in here!

Prazak: He’s asking for pens…he’s gonna sign with Ring of Honor…Austin Aries!

(fans throw dozens of pens, Aries grabs one and signs it on a turnbuckle .Fans chant ‘Welcome Back!’)

Prazak: YES! YES! Aries is back in ROH!

Austin Aries: With a dot of the ‘I’ and a crossing of the ‘T’ I am officially back home where I belong… in ROH! I am proud to be a part of a company that respects its fans, that respects its wrestlers and respects this business.

(Crowd chants “Fuck TNA!”)

Austin Aries: I’m not done yet… I’m not done yet… I’m not done yet.

I guarantee you this: you’ll not find more action, you’ll not find more excitement and you’ll not find more passion anywhere in this industry than you will right here in ROH and you know why? Because we are exactly what we say we are. We are ROH, I’m Austin Aries and we are Wrestling!”