Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed below are solely those of the credited independent contributor, and do not necessarily ref...
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed below are solely those of the credited independent contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com or any of its entities.
From Stephen Platinum:
(Part One of Two)
This was written quite a while ago I had originally slated this for Full Disclosure #24, but as always things came up. I wanted to release this right after the Peachstate show featuring Jeff Hardy, guessing that it was going to be the biggest show in the history of Peachstate, and it was. Then Zachery Seabolt’s mugshot popped up, and that whole sordid story came to light.
So I shelved this story. I had already made arrangements, told Rick Michaels that I was writing the story, trying to arrange for us to interview Rick on a podcast show, etc.
What I didn’t want was for people to entangle Rick’s story with Zachery’s and equate them. To talk about Rick Michaels without talking about the arrests, the people he hurt, and the hard feelings from some that remain would not ring true. Nor would it be a story about redemption without acknowledging just how far the fall was, and how amazing the comeback has been.
Then Josh Wheeler was a coward.
I started Full Disclosure a little over a year ago (on April 1st, 2013 to be exact). The intent was simple: there wasn’t any place that Georgia indy wrestling was talked about that was worth a damn. The Georgia Wrestling Now show had become (and continues to be) a mess, Larry Goodman continued to write show reviews, but beyond that very little to nothing was reported or discussed save show announcements and recaps. Sites like Georgia Insider, the big Shoot, and other places weren’t even really around anymore.
So I started Full Disclosure, fully aware that by writing like I talked (and anyone who has been around me can attest to this) I would open myself up to critics and those that would get angry. My thought about the inevitable criticism and hate directed towards me was the same then as it is now. In short, “Come at me, bro.” After all, I was determined to not simply use Full Disclosure as self-promotion, or for promoting my own projects – I saw what that did (and does) to Georgia Wrestling Now. I wasn’t going to regurgitate the same old lame “standards” that had become popular to talk about. “You have to have gear.” “You have to listen to veterans.” “Wrestling in the state sucks.” Because, frankly, not only are those worn out themes, I am not of the mind that any of those things are true. I didn’t like what was considered a “veteran.” I didn’t and don’t hate wrestling in the state of Georgia.
Josh Wheeler does.
And you know this because he’s said it. Many times. And he believes that he will “save” wrestling. He’s said that (to me, in private, in an effort to keep up some silly kayfabe appearance of a feud that only he cares about) many times as well. I’ve said it many times. Wrestling is not dying. It does not suck. It is, in fact, better than it has been for various Wheeler projects ending. Or never starting. (Seriously…does anybody remember the “So You Think You Can Dance”-styled wrestling show Wheeler wanted to do, where wrestler’s matches would be judged only on the performance like figure skating? What a fucking abortion of an idea. Like that haircut and facial hair of his. Full Disclosure: CATFIGHT!!!!)
The Jagged Edge is out of jail. Whatever happens to him from now on, anyone who knows that guy is rooting for him. He’s served his time (WAY more than was warranted, in my opinion) and he’s doing it right. He’s not immediately jumping back into wrestling.
Supernatural did his time. And did some more. And perhaps one can accuse him of trying to be back in wrestling so soon. He hasn’t met all of his wrestling commitments since he’s been back. But he’s trying. He did his time. He paid the price. Trust me when I say that Josh Wheeler trying to hurt that guy at this point in time was a low shot and a weak move. Those that really know what Supernatural had to fight through this weekend probably have done the impossible – they now have a lower opinion of Josh Wheeler. But, in his defense, Josh Wheeler doesn’t know anything about what’s going on. What else is new.
And I suppose with his own fed (Money Pit Wrestling, or whatever the fuck it was called), Dancey Dance Wrestling (see other parenthesis), Rampage Pro Wrestling (being part of a team that took Rampage from first to worst), his wrestling column (that has only slightly more entries than he’s had in the opposite sex), He’s Got a Gun, managing as the “Money Mark”, forming a “wrestling advisory group” and the host of other half-baked efforts and failures not providing him a forum, I can’t blame the guy for lamely attempting to lash out on “social media.” We all know how much the Greasy Wheel loves social media.
How to counter a guy who hates wrestling in the state so much, yet can’t help dabbling in it? How to battle against someone who doesn’t realize that while there’s no dishonor in failure, there is in being one?
Then it occurred to me – I don’t need to fight at all. Because Rick Michaels' story, warts and all, is a story about a guy who LOVES wrestling. Who has failed time and again, but rose from those failures because of the great people around him, and the fact that at heart, Rick is a man. Not a perfect man, but a guy that in the midst of all of his diva-behavior (by his own admission) and selfishness in the past achieved a real humility and contentment.
I will not fight a grease fire with fire. I’ll not fight it at all. I will tell this story that should have been told months ago. My apologies, Rick, for waiting this long. I’ll not make that mistake anymore. I’ve added a few things to what I had originally written, Full Disclosure.
This is part one.
March 22nd, 2014 Carrolton, Georgia
668 fans. Peachstate Wrestling Alliance had never seen a crowd that big. PWA had promised the show before that there would be the biggest announcement in the history of that storied company, and they delivered. Jeff Hardy would be there. And he was there. And they drew 668, a mind-boggling number by the standards at the time.
Rick Michaels made sure that everything looked right. The staff looked sharp in their new collared shirts. The gear on the boys was top notch. Rick was in a suit and looked every bit the part of the booker. It was a night that he was determined would go perfectly. It was a team effort to put that show together, and have it go so well. For certain, Shane Noles had made the smart decisions that led to this moment. For sure, any number of people had been there the day before to make sure they were ready.
But it was Rick Michaels that knew what this really was – his fucking moment.
July 2010 Atlanta, Georgia
I’m sitting in a VIP-ish room at The Jungle nightclub with Rick Michaels and Simon Sermon. Any discussion of Rick Michaels inevitably must include Simon Sermon. Partners, rivals, in many ways as different as two people can be. Rick is a wrestling guy down into his very bones. Simon’s relationship with wrestling is one that’s sincere, but held at arm’s length in many ways. Simon Sermon is a person for whom wrestling adds to his already fulfilling and complete life. For Rick Michaels wrestling IS his life.
Simon wants Rick to wrestle again because Rick wants to wrestle again. He’s out of jail. His life is in near ruins. I have only recently begun running shows at The Jungle. PCW was at a pivotal point. We were doing at least two shows a week. I had to ask myself a very important question – could I afford to have someone who was now on the sex offender registry wrestle on our shows?
Simon made the introduction. He sat quietly while Rick told me his story. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. He wasn’t overly specific with details, but it was clear that Rick knew that he fucked up. It was also equally clear that he had lost everything. A wife, a family. He had been to the pinnacle of wrestling, making gear for guys in the WWF/E. He was a famous (infamous?) figure on the Georgia wrestling scene, and now seemingly nobody would book him. TNT would take him back in, other promotions as well, but it was clear that he wanted to wrestle NOW. And PCW would be the place where he would get back into that ring.
Rick cried. Many would say, “Rick always cries.” And it’s true. Rick cries for many reasons. He cries when he is happy. Rick and I will talk about wrestling, and get on a topic about something specific that’s happened to him, and he’ll get choked up. Has Rick Michaels cried to work someone? Likely. Rick is the wrestling person’s wrestling person. His blood type is “carny.” He is, in many ways, a throwback in the best and worst of ways. Simon told me once, “I don’t blame Rick for the things he does in wrestling because for Rick, this is how he makes a living. It’s everything to him.” Simon is correct.
I weighed the value of those tears, but more importantly I listened to Simon. Simon was vouching for Rick. Simon would never leave Rick’s side, in spite of the arrests, the jokes, the scorn. Simon was and is the definition of a true friend. It’s why Rick was sitting there on that couch with me. It sounds crazy in light of the fact that Rick had just done jail time for the most demonized of crimes, but the decision wasn’t all that hard for me. He did his time. And he wanted a shot. And PCW has always been (and will always fucking be) about that shot. We’re the goddamn Raiders of wrestling.
And now Rick Michaels was here.
Rick was back. And there were big-time stumbles along the way at PCW. A shoot promo (with my blessing, because I’m a moron that didn’t know what giving Rick Michaels a live mic meant) where Rick went on a tirade against Bill Behrens, brought up very ugly things in regards to wrestlers he hurt in the past…it was stunning. It was frightening in many ways.
Rick, who had battled with abusing alcohol, showed up lit at a PCW show at the Masquerade. Simon was there, reassuring me that it would never happen again. Rick was humiliated again. He knew he was letting the boys down. He let himself down. He let Simon down, who vouched for him.
And in the midst of all of this, all of the craziness, Rick continued to get booked. More and more places were bringing him in. Rick had worked out hard, delighted in showing people how he looked. There was a definite hubris there. Rick was scheduled to be in the (then) MGCW Wargames show. He had made it back to the main event in a match that would feature former WWF stars (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn). He was cutting promos on-line. He was in the mix! He was making his mark.
Then he was arrested again.
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