It's been five years. Five years, I've been with this company. And still, this is only the fifth time I've been to Japan. Five times, there's what, a two and a half, three year stretch I haven't been here? Pandemic. So what? Shit happens.
Where have I been? 2018, I move East Coast to West Coast, New York to L.A., America is pretty big, ne? I'm in the L.A. Dojo. My grandmother? My mother's mother? She dies. Do I ask the office for a flight back? Do I go to her funeral? Nah, man,I'm a fucking pro wrestler. I stay and I train. I love this shit, I love this company and I want to show my dedication, so I work hard and I stay.
A year later, my mother's father, my grandpa. He's in the ground too. He dies. Did I go back to New York? Did I ask the office for a flight? No. I LOVE THIS SHIT. I stayed. And I trained. I gotta show my dedication, right? It'll all be worth it, it'll pay off in the end, uh?
One more year later, my father's brother, my uncle. He's in an urn on my father's fireplace now. Turnbuckle Tim, he had a local radio show in Florida. He loved pro wrestling, he called me all the time, he was so proud of me. He told me how he couldn't wait for me to come down there and wrestle in Florida. I didn't even get to show him these belts. He's fucking dead. Did I go back to his funeral? Did I fly back from L.A.? I STAYED. AND I TRAINED. Because I'm a pro wrestler, and it'll be worth it... Right?
Finally, I graduate from the dojo. I survived Shibata-san's ass kickings, and I finally got my first pierce of merch. Now, before the L.A. Dojo I wasn't an indie guy. I'm a home grown New Japan talent coming out of an official dojo. Everybody else, Karl, Clark, Gabe, they had years of experience on me, but I was a product from the ground up from New Japan.