To Infinity and beyond…
Date: May 16th, 2009
Intended Show: Infinity: The Final Show
<i><center>Keisuke Takashi…
…Lori Equinox…
…Tom Elijah…
…And me!
One last opportunity to etch my name into the history of this company before it closes its
doors.</center>
I wish I could hide my disappointment, these last few months have been both frustrating and
gratifying. It is somewhat fitting that in my final match under the Ringside Wrestling banner I
come up against my greatest nemesis once more, one final opportunity to serve Equinox up
just a little more payback for the bullshit he has put me through since my return. As I think
back, I struggle to remember the last time that I faced anyone so intent on hurting me in any
and every way they could. I suppose I should give credit to Lori, his twisted obsession with
pushing me over the edge has driven me back to the top of my game much faster than I had
anticipated. Admittedly when John Mark Blackburn first contacted me about making a return
to actively competing, I envisaged a marathon rather than a sprint to get back to my best. I
assumed that I would wrestle with the other wrestlers at the bottom of the rankings for the
best part of six months to a year, slowly piecing together my old technique bit by bit, shaking
off the ring rust whilst gradually competing in more and more intense matches. Certainly by
the turn of 2010 I had hoped to be firmly established in the upper mid-card, I hoped to have
forced those in charge to think long and hard about pushing me back into the main event
picture. But all that looks like it is going to be out the window now, with Ringside closing I’m
going to be left without a job once again. I don’t think I’m ready to go back to staring at my
walls just yet! </i>
The thought of being unemployed once again sent a shiver down his spine, he had worked
too long and too hard to simply call it quits now that his employers were left with no choice but
to cease operations. Just as he had started to feel at home in Ringside it felt like someone
was ripping the carpet out from under his feet, two choices presented themselves for him;
move on, or fall flat on his ass. He broke off from his thoughts briefly to check his rear-view
mirror before knocking his indicator up to signal he would be taking the next right. As his eyes
drifted around the road in front of him he caught a glimpse of a young boy in the car in the
lane beside him. The boy was pointing at his car in amazement.
<i>I guess the kid hasn’t seen many fancy cars before, I guess if he knew much about them
he wouldn’t be so overwhelmed by a ten year old motor!</i>
The boy noticed that he was being watched and visibly strained his eyes, seemingly checking
he had identified the driver correctly. A great big smile crept across his face as he turned to
his father in the driver’s seat frantically trying to engage his attention. The feeling you get
when some kid, clearly a pro wrestling fan, recognises you and looks delighted to have come
across you never seems to fade, every time it is both heart-warming and an overwhelming
privilege. Kids tend to treat the sport more intensely than their adult counterparts, they can be
your biggest fan or your worst critic. He felt a smile creep across his own face as he watched
the boy’s eye’s light up, he felt obliged to throw the kid a quick salute before applying gentle
pressure to his break pedal, having arrived at the turn-off he had been waiting for.
<i>God-dammit, why the hell do I always do that?</i>
Every time he threw that stupid salute he always questioned why. It made him feel like an
idiot yet time and again he instinctively motioned that salute in passing to anyone he knew, or
someone who had clearly recognised him. But he couldn’t help but feel that the young boy
probably hadn’t noticed how corny it was, instead the youngster would probably be on his cell
phone now, hammering out the same text message to all his friends who shared his passion
for wrestling; he had just seen SurReal! It was this thought that hammered home how easily
fame comes and goes. Only a few short months ago that kid would more than likely have had
no idea who he was, he couldn’t have been more than an infant the last time SurReal had
laced up his boots and set foot in the squared circle. Memories flooded his mind, memories
from various points in time over the last sixteen years since he had wrestled his very first
match. He smiled as he thought of that very first time he had been recognised. He could still
remember it as if it was yesterday, he felt his spine tingle as his mind focused in. He had been
wrestling in the north of England, as Liam O’Neill, when two boys in their early teens stopped
him in Manchester city center. He recalled their excitement when he agreed to sign an
autograph for each of them. Never mind Championships and accolades; THAT was what it
was all about, THAT was what made it all worthwhile. He pondered if any of his various title
reigns had made him feel as anywhere near as content as seeing the look of excitement in
those boys’ eyes, the answer was a resounding no!
His attention turned back to the road he was now on, the rapidly approaching signpost would
confirm whether or not his navigational skills had been as good as he had hoped.
<center><b>WELCOME TO AMSTERDAM
POPULATION: 18,355</b></center>
<i>Jackpot!</i>
As he read the sign again before passing it his thoughts turned back the clock a full fourteen
years. He found it ironic that for the second time in his life he was considering his career
options in the city of Amsterdam. Of course, having never previously been in Amsterdam,
New York, his previous soul search had taken place in the somewhat more famous
Amsterdam; the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. It was late July, 1995 and he had
spent the majority of the last eighteen months wrestling around Europe in the hope of
garnering more attention than he had received in the United Kingdom, things hadn’t been
going particularly well however. The wrestling industry in general was suffering a bit of a lull in
the mid-nineties and it was starting to look as if the dream of making it big in the sport was
going to be over before it had properly taken off. He had been working a long-standing feud
with the more experienced (and more well known) Canadian; Ryan Dynamic. The two had
formed a great friendship and we’re constantly stealing the show with their matches, yet even
that had not been enough to get booked for any of the major events across the continent. It
was at this point, fearing that it had all been for nothing and he would be left with no choice
but to rethink his career choice, that Dynamic made a suggestion, which would ultimately
make or break both their careers… Japan.
<i>What a culture shock that was, but my god do those Japanese love their wrestling. I
wonder what my career would have been like if Ryan and I had stayed there? We got so over
in two years, what could we have achieved in ten? I suppose I can’t complain though, there is
no point now in thinking about ‘what ifs’, what’s done is done. Besides, bar the injury, my time
in America has been awesome. When I think of all the people I’ve met since I came here, the
people who have influenced and inspired me, I can have no complaints. If it had not been for
people like Chris Storm, Jackson Rust, The Real Deal, Kash, Inphino Blitz, Tristan Belmont
and more recently Mark Knight then I wouldn’t be the man I am today! Each and every friend
I’ve made, each and every opponent I’ve faced, they have all played their part in shaping my
career to this point. If I hadn’t come here I would have missed out on all of that, and that
WOULD have been a reason to complain!</i>
His cell phone buzzed to life in the passenger seat.
<center><b>1 NEW SMS
Ryan</b>
“change of plan bro, looks like im coming after all! im guna b late tho so ill try 2 catch u b4 the
ceremony”</center>
<i>Sweet! Been far too long since I saw that jerk! Surprise surprise he is going to be late…
the more things change the more they stay that same I suppose!</i>
The message had helped lift his disappointment at Ringside’s closure, he had not set eyes on
Ryan Dynamic in almost three years so he was absolutely delighted that he would have the
chance to catch up with one of his oldest friends after so long. He was tired too though,
having been on the road since the early hours of the morning. It was now mid-afternoon but
he was close to the end of his journey, having now arrived in the city of Amsterdam itself.
Next stop; Amsterdam Castle! Not that it is actually a castle of course, not like the types of
medieval castles back home in Ireland, in fact, Amsterdam Castle is a former National Guard
Armory. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is now a bed and breakfast,
and his home for the night.
After another ten minutes or so he arrived at his destination. He parked up and reached for
the bag at the foot of the passenger seat, lifted his phone and stuck it in his pocket and
climbed out of the vehicle. He then opened the rear driver’s side door and unhooked the suit
he had hung there. After slinging the suit over his shoulder he made his way inside to check
in.
<center> ~~~~~~~~~ </center>
A few hours later, and after a short nap to recharge his batteries, SurReal finds himself
looking around at the pictures hanging on the wall. Photographs of some of the most famous
athletes who ever laced up a pair of wrestling boots. His head was swelling with nostalgia, not
for the first time today, as childhood memories of watching some of these great legends
compete on the television, these were some of the men who had cemented his love for
professional wrestling from his very early childhood. There were also photographs of some
wrestlers he wasn’t familiar with. One in particular seemed like he should know who he was,
but for one reason or another he was unable to recall who this tall muscle-bound blonde with
the handle-bar moustache and red and yellow attire was.
<i>Hmph, he can’t have been that important if I can’t remember who he is…</i>
This, of course, was The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Its purpose "to preserve and
promote the dignified history of professional wrestling and to enshrine and pay tribute to
professional wrestlers who have advanced this sport in terms of athletics and entertainment."
Someday, he hoped that he might find his way onto the walls of these hallowed corridors. For
now however, he was just a guest attending the induction of the 2009 class. Amongst those
being inducted today was the Five-Star Ring General himself; Sonny Silver, a man who’s
career SurReal had watched closely, there was a time when the two men had been very
similar, and by that I mean, they were both utter bastards! Times had changed now for
SurReal, he appreciated everything in his life so much more now. They say you can’t teach
an old dog new tricks, but this old dog had found no substance to back-up that statement. He
felt a smile crawl across his face as a beat-up looking man in his early forties, his dark skin
and Cambodian features not quite as prominent as usual tonight due to a massive amount of
cuts and bruises littering his face. He looks pleased to see SurReal though, and the feeling is
mutual, the two men share a warm embrace before SurReal pushes him back a little whilst
holding onto his biceps. He sighs as he looks at his old friend.
“You look like shit dude”
His old friend, Ryan Dynamic, snorts a quick laugh, knowing full-well he isn’t looking his usual
handsome self.
“I see you’ve not lost that Irish charm yet O’Neill”
“Not in this lifetime Ryu, no chance. Not about time you quit this MMA crap and came back to
something your actually good at?”
“Hey now behave yourself, everybody loses from time to time!”
“You’re such a douchebag, Kevin Henry kicked seven shades of shit outta you man, come on
back to wrestling, you know it makes sense!”
“You just want to reform the Dynamic Duo don’t’cha?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me, I’ve had quite enough of pretending to be your little brother for one
lifetime, anyways we better get in there and take our seats before this all kicks off!”
“Suppose so, lead on amigo!”
The ceremony wasn’t quite as exciting as he had hoped for, Sonny Silver, ever the bastard,
hadn’t even seen fit to take the time to come to the ceremony he himself was being honoured
in.
<i>Typical…</i>
His recorded speech played out over a large monitor at the front of the room and was met by
groans from those members of the crowd who we’re disappointed at his decision not to attend
in person. He was, of course, gracious in accepting his induction into the Modern Era
category of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, SurReal though, couldn’t help but feel
that his graciousness was somewhat forced. Regardless “The Silver Lining” was as
entertaining as always and made more than a few jabs at Xavier Cannon and Lindsay Troy
amongst other in his speech, not particularly unexpected.
What happened next thought, was entirely unexpected, to SurReal at the very least. The
inductee for the Non-Participant category… his former employer and High Octane Wrestling
head-honcho… Lee Best!
Now Lee Best and SurReal don’t exactly have the best of relationships, during his time in
High Octane, SurReal had went to war with several members of Lee’s ever-present stable of
hand-picked yes-man, The Best Alliance. Their relationship had been strained from the very
beginning and even after all this time, SurReal still felt a great deal of animosity towards the
man, a feeling reciprocated by Best.
“Dude, did you know they were inducting this asshole? I can’t believe it!”
“You didn’t know O’Neill? I assumed that this was why you came here today, you used to
work for him did you not?”
“If I HAD known Ryu, rest assured I would NOT have been attending!”
Dynamic shrugs in his usual half-assed fashion, Ryan is just one of those people who
struggles to take anything in life particularly seriously. SurReal turns his attention to the stage
where Lee Best is mid acceptance speech, as always he is in ‘promoter mode’, letting
everyone in attendance know just how good he thinks High Octane Wrestling is, using his
speech to promote his High Octane Television network, and High Octane Radio show. The
longer the speech drags on the more and more frustrated SurReal gets, the urge to get up
and leave growing with every passing second. He resists the urge though and shuffles in his
seat for a more comfortable position, once he’s found it he bows his head, switching off
completely oblivious to what’s going on around him. Unsurprisingly it isn’t too long before he
dozes off completely.
<center> ~~~~~~~~~ </center>
The noise he made is hard to describe, somewhere between a cough and a grunt, the result
of being rudely awoken by an elbow connecting with his ribs.
<i>What the…</i>
As he collects himself he notices Ryan Dynamic shaking his head and laughing, needless to
say it was his old friend’s elbow that had stuck him in the side.
“It’s okay O’Neill, it’s over now, you can wake up!”
And so it was, upon further inspection half of the seats were now empty with most people
having moved onto the function suite next-door where the drinks reception was being held.
Wiping the sleep out of his eyes he straightened up in his chair.
“What did I miss?”
“Nothing much, about another twenty minutes of Best shilling everything he owns!”
“Glad I fell asleep when I did then!”
“Listen I can’t stay for the drinks, got a flight to catch, but lets not leave it so long between
visits next time bro, you have no excuse, what with all that free time your going to have after
Sunday!”
Ryan’s words came as a stiff reminder that in just a matter of days, like it or not, he would be
unemployed again. After seeing Dynamic off in a taxi, SurReal turned his attention to the
drinks reception. The Canadian may not have had time to stay, but the Irishman certainly
didn’t come all this way to not have a drink or six, and Ryan’s timely reminder about the job
situation had sparked up that need for a taste of whiskey. After securing himself the
aforementioned whiskey he took a walk around the room, again admiring the photographs on
the wall. He was disgusted to notice that a large photo of Lee Best had already been put up.
As he stood before it he thought to himself that it couldn’t get any worse than looking at his
smirking face hanging up there…
“Well well well… Seán O'Neill…”
… He was wrong. He felt his mood take a decided turn for the worse as he turned to see the
face he knew would be smirking proudly at him.
“What’s the matter, you not going to congratulate me O’Neill?”
“Well done I suppose…”
“Oh come now, don’t be like that. After all, someone in YOUR position shouldn’t really risk
upsetting a promoter with such influence as myself.”
“If you say so…”
“I do say so! And what I say goes O’Neill, maybe you’ve forgotten that. I guess now that
Ringside couldn’t balance the books, you intend to come crawling back to High Octane on
your hands and knee’s begging for your job back? I suppose I could hire you again, since my
boy Aceldama seemed to enjoy beating your ass so much last time!”
“YOUR boy Aceldama?”
“Don’t you know O’Neill… he is MY monster now?”
<i>Oh IS he indeed, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t Best… just you wait
and see if he is YOUR monster.</i>
“Whatever you say Best, but don’t get your hopes up yet…”
“Fuck that O’Neill, you really think I want a washed-up good-for-nothing piece of shit like you
on my roster?
“Charming!”
With Lee Best about to give SurReal another piece of his mind, SurReal’s cell phone begins
to ring in his pocket.
<i>Saved by the bell…</i>
<center><b>Incoming Call: Mr. Caldera</b></center>
A smirk creeps across his face as he turns to Lee Best and puts his hand up right in front of
the face of the God of HOW, which infuriates the newest inductee of the Professional
Wrestling Hall of Fame to no end! SurReal though is much more interested in this phonecall
than anything his former employer has to say.
“Hello”
“Seán, listen it’s just a quick call here, I got your message and I would love to sit down and
chat with you, you have the big farewell show this weekend is that right?”
“Yes sir, Infinity on Sunday night.”
“Good luck with that, so anyway, why don’t you take a few days after the show and maybe
come see me on Thursday or Friday and we can have a chat about the future?”
“That sounds great, Thursday morning suits me fine.”
“Good, it’s settled then, come see me on Thursday morning. I’ll see you then. Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
Feeling now considerably more positive about the future than he had only a few minutes ago
he turned to Lee Best with a smile on his face and his dry sarcasm sounded even more
patronising than he had hoped for.
“Sorry Lee… you were saying?”
“Your all washed-up O’Neill, yesterday’s news, nobody cares about you anymore, you’re
nothing… you hear me… NOTHING!”
With that, Best storms off, leaving SurReal unsure of his mood. On the one hand he is
delighted that he will sit down with Steven Caldera next week to discuss his future, but on the
other hand, he is sick of people like Lee Best and Lori Equinox telling him that he is past his
sell-by date!
<i>I swear, I’m so far past being sick of hearing that ‘past it’, ‘has been’, ‘washed up’. You
know what, this Sunday; I’m going to prove to every single last doubter out there, that Seán
William O'Neill is FAR FROM PAST IT!
<center>Keisuke Takashi…
…Lori Equinox…
…Tom Elijah…
…And me!
One last opportunity to etch my name into the history of this company before it closes its
doors.</center></i>