EPTThere are a few reasons that I've made the decision at this time; I've been falling out of love with wrestling for a while, I've experienced a lot of disappointment and a lot of broken promises in the past year that have made it hard to continue. Nearly all of the people I broke into the business with have now moved on to other things for one reason or another. I've also been suffering from some problems with my mental health, and the pressure I put on myself to be flawless in my job was doing a lot to make that worse, rather than better.
All of those things combined would still not have been enough for me to make this decision, however, without a few other things. Three and a half months ago I got engaged to a wonderful woman called Swati who's done so much to support me and give me a place in this world. Without her I'd never have had the resolve to go through with this. As well as this I have a new creative project, in something I have the same passion that I had for wrestling; Starcraft 2. Since starting VocTer Gaming ( http://www.youtube.com/VocTerGaming ) a few months ago I've found that same excitement filling me as I record videos again, and the reception amongst my friends and a small part of the TeamLiquid community has been incredible.
This is not a complete retirement from wrestling, I still attend the XWA training school to keep in touch, also performing on their student shows and am about to start recording commentary for their DVD releases. I'm not sure I could ever entirely leave wrestling behind, given all that it's done for me over the years.
In the end, though it was not an easy decision, it feels like the right one. After eight years I can no longer define myself as the FutureShock ring announcer, instead choosing to define myself as a husband first, and an amateur Starcraft 2 commentator second. I'd like to thank the guys that helped me get to where I am now.
Axl Rage for being the first friend I made in wrestling, and being non-stop fun no matter what.
Dave Rayne for being one of my oldest friends and for giving me the support and opportunity I needed.
Sparx, for indulging my love of Rihanna and being my personal chaffeur all these years.
Alex Shane, for being a surrogate father to me at times, for always giving me advice and backing me up, and for taking me on some wild nights out, I probably owe you more than anyone.
Lance Lenahan for letting me stay at his house the night before our first ever FutureShock show.
Cyanide, for being an absolute bundle of fun,
and finally Greg Lambert, for again giving me the opportunity to work for XWA, and for giving me ring announcing advice all those years ago on my first ever show.
Thanking everyone could go on for ages though, everyone at FutureShock means so much to me and I know I won't forget my time there. That's my past and I'm hoping I can make Starcraft 2, and TeamLiquid, a big part of my future.
