Cary Silkin gave me the chance to live a lifelong dream two years ago, and I will forever be grateful to him for having the faith in me to give me that opportunity. I've never had a better boss, probably never will, and I'm glad to be able to call him my friend. I've certainly never met a more generous person, and I wish him personally nothing but the prosperity that I believe he deserves.
Ring of Honor has always represented to me what the "future" of professional wrestling could be, and it is my sincere hope that through the continued tremendous partnership with HDNet that that "future" may one day be realized.
I have never been more proud to be part of a locker room, and I want to publicly thank each and every member of the ROH roster, contracted and otherwise, for working so hard with me to make this year a huge creative success. You all allowed me to grow into a position that I was unqualified for, stayed with me every step of the way – low and high, and at the end of the day made the stories in my head come to life better than anyone else ever could have. You are the most creative and hardest working locker room in the industry, and you all deserve more than what is available to you now. I'm happy to have spoken to all of you in the last 24 hours or so, and I terribly wish that I was going to be with you all at TV this weekend.
I want to publicly acknowledge and applaud the efforts of David Lagana, who in my opinion deserves more credit and praise for his contributions to the company than he has ever received, and it is my hope that he continues to work with HDNet to produce the television product that he and I have worked so hard on since it began. I give thanks to Adam Swift and Andrew Simon at HDNet for their network support during my tenure, as well as to Scott Ferrier and Andy Edwards - the unknown magicians that make our TV world go 'round. Thanks to all of our camera and lighting crews and everyone else that brought ROH to the television stage. I will always appreciate the hard work you've done and what you've all made possible for me.
So many people deserve thanks now that this chapter of my life has come to an end. Guys like Chris Maurer for all of his work on the creative end of things. His written word helped to bring my stories to life, and his hard work in so many of the 'not-so-glamorous' areas of the company need to be acknowledged. Bobby Cruise is more important to the ROH production than anyone really knows and I thank him for being my 'right hand man'. Wayne Fitzgerald and Mary Gage deserve credit for their stalwart efforts, making the music and lights do what we need. Thank you both.
I'd be remiss if I didn't publicly thank Jimmy Cornette for being the best mentor I could have ever asked for, and an even better friend. If any man could have upstaged me and went over my head to do things his way, it was him, but to his credit he NEVER once did. He stood by me and allowed me to be the boss, for better or worse, and I'll always remember that. I hope he can be the same for Delirious, who now finds himself in that very scary and exciting spot. I wish them both nothing but the best; I'm sure we'll cross paths again.
I've loved nearly every single second of my time with Ring of Honor, regardless of the capacity. Perhaps one day I'll be back again. But if not, I am humbled and appreciate all that my time in the company has taught and afforded me.
The wrestling in Ring of Honor always has been (and in my opinion, always will be) second to none, and if/when the end truly does come for the company, the wrestling won't be the reason why. The way I see it there are two sides to the Ring of Honor coin: The 'creative/in-ring' side, and the 'business' side.
The 'water' and the 'oil'.
No matter how long and no matter whom does the stirring, they don't ever seem to truly mix the right way.
