The Farewell Tour #1: Aching Truth

[Smash INC]

Keaton Saint in...
The Farewell Tour #1: Aching Truth

My head aches.

I open my eyes and every sensation feels like a impact dulling my response and continuously, eventually making me a weaker man than I was the night before. This has been a truth I've lived with for as long as I've been a wrestler, a reminder that the most immediate sacrifice we make is that of our bodies. I've been racing against it for years, before I was a global name and before I finally reached the heights of APW. No wrestler is ever at 100%, it's a truth that all of us deny in order to focus on proving that we're still the better gladiator, but to be 100% would mean that we weren't walking around with dulling impacts, injuries that fly under the radar and a tiredness that permeates the lifestyle.

Nobody admits they're not at their best until they're about to leave the sport. I got the freedom to say that two weeks ago and any regrets I may have held before saying it are gone now. I get to leave the sport on terms that are at least compatible with my own. I get to leave, knowing that I won't be doing so with an injury that would affect my quality of life away from the ring. Lester Only put my career on a timer when I debuted against him in 2008, long before I came to APW but early enough to know it was only worth giving my all against every opponent. He treated me like a genuine foe, that has to be respected.

I get to say farewell, I get to bow out as a man who dedicated himself to giving it his all up until the very last breath. Shockwave marks my last night as a member of APW and the end of my career as a wrestler, I get to share that with a crowd of fans who put their all into energising us and giving us something more to fight for. Wrestling reaches the heights it does because of the fans, those who ensure we aspire to something greater. We're all fighters nonetheless but we aspire to be something closer to a myth, perhaps even a legend. Without the fans, we'd be nothing but monsters. With them, we become magicians of the ring and artists within the craft.

I don't want to leave that, but the mind can only have so much control over the body before it becomes too much to handle. I'm nearing that point, but I have a good couple of matches left in me. I have the chance and the privilege to say farewell in the way I want to. I get to go out fighting, I get to go out in the same way I came in. I debuted as a man who wanted to prove himself to everyone, I will leave at Shockwave with the same basis of thought propelling me further. I will prove myself to the very end. The farewell I give will be one forged by my actions in the ring, which is what leads me to Jackson Ford.

As the door to my career closes, a window of opportunity begins to open for the esteemed opposition I am due to face. There's always going to be talent ready to fill the void, no matter who leaves the ring. My aim in this is simple, I'm going to treat Jackson Ford the same as I would treat any opponent in APW. He will get the best I have to offer, that much is deserved and the fans will hold me to that standard.

What matters for Jackson Ford is whether he can set the standard for himself and make an impact in APW that surpasses the average. Any match is a chance to put your name on the map but a 'first' match comes with bigger chances and perhaps bigger expectations. This is the prime moment to show everyone what you can do the exact nature of who you are, that comes with a condition that you must go to the ring and prove yourself against opposition who seek to undermine your power and your tenacity. The opportunity is yours, the task is mine and only one of us will succeed in our aims.

I'm not here to be your easy window into APW, I'm not here to bow out gracefully just because I've had the chance to say goodbye on my own terms. I will kick, scream, claw, fight and push my way through to the very end because until that last moment where my career in the sport ends, I am still a goddamn PRO wrestler. If you want to make the impact, you have to break some glass. If you want to break some glass, you have to be prepared for the shards of painful retribution. I won't be lying down for any reason other than my life being drained from my body, if you can beat me then all the best to your career. If you can't, then all I can say is that at least you've got something else to learn.

The fact of the matter is this match takes you to one of two places, a victory or a loss. For me, I have the same ending in sight. I'm less than a month away from leaving, I've said my farewell to those who empower us and everything I do from here to Shockwave is the epilogue of my story. Win or lose, I've given my all but the result of this match is of much greater importance for you. Winning here opens up a path that would not be initially available to you, losing here makes the next few steps harder. We all know what's preferable for you, but what actually happens is what your actions will decide. If those actions aren't strong enough then you have to accept that you will have been bested by a man who has a couple of matches left until he can't wrestle.

Here's the truth of it, Jackson Ford has a chance to do something special much like I had my own chance years ago. Jackson Ford has to face a man who has nothing to lose, much like I fought a man who had everything to gain in 2008. Jackson Ford has a story to write, a journey to experience and a tale to tell to every single fan in APW. I've got a testament, a set of commandments and I have marched down the path since my first moments in the ring.

I have been there.

I have done it.

I have embraced the mantle of the Patron Saint of this sport with the utmost pride.

As I reach the final stages of my career, I know I have done this. I made the impact in my own way and I've been a part of the sport, I've given my blood and my sweat to the legend of wrestling.

As I said before, my head aches and my eyes hurt. My body is weaker than it once was but I'm still ready to give my best. I've felt the toll of being in the ring, I know the impact it has taken on me and for you to go beyond that will take something special. You need to hit harder than the constant pain I've been shrugging off for years, you need to hit faster than the sharp pangs I've had to ignore for my career. You need to be more than a juggernaut because I face that within myself on a daily basis.

I'm hurting, I'm aching and I am very much alive. The impact you intend to make will be tested by a man of great willpower and a body that has endured the kind of punishment that you can only see in the ring or torture films. I've given my body to this sport, I will do so once again when I face you in the ring.

You may be Jackson Ford, you may have the opportunity to set the standard of your future but you have to be aware I won't go quietly. When my melody hits the stage, I'll be the monster truck to your Ford Fiesta and I will go out there with the aim to dismantle you, to crush your resistance and to break you down to the most basic components. I'm not here to make it easy for you, I'm here to be a wrestler and that is exactly what I shall do when we lock eyes and horns.

Bring everything you have, I will march into the storm and no matter the result...

Keaton Saint will carry on.