Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Unless you are addressed as "Your Honor" you shouldn't Judge

This past weekend I took Kal and my nephews to our vacation home in the Wisconsin Dells for some last minute fun in the sun and water parks.  I was looking forward to a wrestling free weekend and just chill out. The PWR Show is about to go in a different direction and I wanted some Daddy and Kal time..... Little did I know what would happen on Saturday night.

Saturday night I am out by the pool with the kids and my phone is blowing up with Tweets and text messages about Matt Hardy and his car accident.  One of the first tweets I read was from CM Punk,,,  It was something of a parody of Matt's old WWE theme and it included the lyric driving a car up a tree. I knew this was not going to be good for anyone.

As it turned out that my friend of almost 15 years did crash his car into a tree and was charged with an OUI or DWI. That is when the flood gates opened and I saw people on twitter acting so cold and heartless. I understand that some of you do not like the character that Matt may perform as or if you had a bad experience meeting your "hero" out in public, but for people to make fun of, be happy that, or wish more destruction on someone is embarrassing as a human being.

Before I go any further I want it to be known that I do NOT condone operating while impaired or do I condone any type of drug or alcohol abuse whatsoever. Since I have gotten involved in the wrestling business in 1996 I have lost at last count 16 friends to "demons".  I share those losses with my nine year old son so he knows the destructive path that follows addictive personalities. People with addictive personalities have a disease, it is'nt a switch that you turn on and off, it is a battle, a fight everyday.

In the past couple years I lost two fabulous friends in Andrew "Test" Martin and the beautiful Luna Vachon.  Two amazing people that had hearts of gold but also had issues that they could not defeat on their own. Most people do not know this story but Test called me the day before he died, we were going to talk about future dates in Canada that we had booked. When I saw his name on the caller ID and I saw what time it was, I chose not to answer because I knew I wouldn't enjoy that conversation with Drew.  I wish I had picked up the phone.  The next day he was gone.  I promised myself that I would never turn my back on a friend.  I am not saying that anything would have been different, but you never know. 

Luna Vachon, my lovely Luna.  I really really miss her. Luna was a woman that had so much life in her, so much fire. She just wanted to be the very best at what she did and in my opinion she was the best.  She made Sable look amazing during their feud and she did it like a champion. Luna and I had so many special talks over the years, thru the good times and the dark times.  All she ever wanted was to be appreciated. Is that really ever to much ask?? I remember talking with Luna a week before a WrestleMania, probably in 1999 and she was telling me how Vince told her that she was not pretty enough to draw ratings and that she was not going to be used anymore.  That broke her heart, she had done everything that was asked of her and it still was not good enough. She half jokingly told me she would run down the ramp at Mania and blow her brains out in the middle of the ring and that would be "ratings" for Vince.  A part of me honestly thought she might try.  Thank God for Luna she eventually found some peace with herself and her career.  I am proud to say that I promoted her last match with Traci Brooks, and she left as the champion that she truly was. Luna was working on a book before she died and she wanted me to have my brother who is an attorney to look it over for her when she was done, sadly we will never see that amazing story. YouTube Luna Vachon and watch her, she was amazing.

I am sure some of you are wondering where am I going with this.... Well the fact is I am tired of losing my friends. Matt Hardy is my friend. Jeff Hardy is my friend. Road Dogg BG James and Billy Gunn are my friends.

Oh you didn't know???? Let me just say this I do not think I could ever be more proud of two people like I am for BG and Kip. Over the years I have booked both guys on numerous shows and appearances and in the spring of 2010 I decided I was no longer going to use Road Dogg on my events. His mind just was not right, he lost focus, and my friend was a mess. I couldn't stand to see another Test. I could never really gauge Billy because Billy was just being Billy. A big, hard to read guy but you could always see a shine about him. You could see he was like Darth Vader, he had good in him.. LOL 

BG and I talked one day and I told him how much he meant to me as a friend and how much his family needs him, this conversation happened right before he went into rehab. I am happy to say that BG has been clean and sober for well over 10 months now. His light is shining bright and he believes in himself more than ever. Billy was also able to get the help he needed and the same way, and  he has also found his balance and peace and it makes my heart feel #Tremendous.  Both men still  have to fight every day for their sobriety and sanity and they are doing their work. Yes, they are doing their WORK. The New Age Outlaws really are better than ever. When I told BG how I worried about him as a friend he told me how sorry he was that he did that to me. I believed him, I could see the clarity in his eyes, he was no longer sleeping he was awake and living. I always feared I would have to tell Kal that his friend the Road Dogg died from his "demons", I never thought I would see BG sit Kal down and tell him the struggles and battles he has had and tell him that drugs and alcohol never end well. I know that message will stick with Kal for his life and I am thankful that my friend was able to deliver that message IN PERSON. Please follow them on twitter and show them the support and love @BGRoadDoggJames and @RealBillyGunn and be sure to tell them you are a #SuperFriend.

Okay, time to wrap this up here. So what I am saying is that everyone on twitter and in the IWC that judges people for their falls and trips in life I ask you, who are you to judge?  We all know someone that has addictions whether it be drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, sex, etc etc... Instead of throwing stones and mocking why don't we try and help, why can't we all really be SuperFriends.  Yes you could say that Matt Hardy could have killed a family or that Matt Hardy could have done this or that, but the fact is the only one that got hurt was Matt Hardy. Matt Hardy is someones son, brother, nephew, uncle, friend, cousin, lover, and so on.

Matt I wish you the best my man.  Lets just pick our-self up and dust our-self off and reset. I still remember that young kid in the EconoLodge hotel in Chicago signing ladders, chairs, and 8x10s for me with Jeff and Lita. Stay true to who you are and Go Forward.

I hope everyone knows that I make no excuses for anyone, we are all responsible for own actions. We choose certain paths in life and some go down a dark and narrow road and some are filled with sunshine and butterflies.  Please don't judge anyone, because we never know what that person ultimately is going thru. I wish all of you that took the time to read this the very best and to always have faith, hope, and believe in yourself. I appreciate you all.  #SuperFriends.













2 comments:

  1. Sure it maybe cold and heartless to say things like that towards another human. It seems like Matt Hardy does stuff only for himself. He has become selfish and bitter over the years. He can't get over Lita, he pops off and doesn't care it effects him, his career, or someone else. He panders to the Internet audience that will listen to him. He could have been something, but his actions show people that the wrestling business didn't mature him.

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  2. and of course you know all of that to be true and fact....

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