Quite The Week

What a crazy week. Last Thursday, we flew into London from Los Angeles and then connected to Dusseldorf. We went right from the plane to the building we were wrestling at without any sleep. Unfortunately for us, we had a crying baby on board the 10 hour international flight. We wrestled three days straight in the worlds stiffest ring but in front of an enthusiastic crowd of fans who are so hardcore, they don’t even need chairs to sit in - they stand the whole time. They bang their hands on the ring all night which creates a loud, intense atmosphere that makes our job as wrestlers a lot easier. These fans sure are passionate about what they love, and what they love is good wrestling. On the third night, Nick and I had a one on one match. We were very excited about this, because very rarely do we ever get to work with each other on opposite ends, especially on a big show like such. We were very proud of the match and dubbed it our favorite singles match to date. I would of died if I knew 5 years ago, I’d be wrestling my brother one on one over seas in Germany one day.

We stayed in a hostel for the first few nights which at first seemed creepy to me. (I’m a big fan of those horror movies). The hostel actually ended up being very nice, and no one even tried to kill us or anything. How about that? During our stay in Germany it was absolutely bone chilling cold. I remember it was chilly last time we paid a 24 hr visit back on Halloween day for a Dragon Gate show, but this time it was even colder. We got to meet a lot of our German fans who were all so very kind. They were so interested in what it's like to be backstage with guys like Hogan, Bischoff, Scott Hall and others. When we took a minute to “make a photo” (that’s how they put it) and have a quick chat, they were so very appreciative.

Monday would eventually come and we’d make the same connection to London, where we’d eventually fly home to Los Angeles. Again, both of us had trouble trying to sleep, so we were up for the full duration of the flight. I don’t know what it is about flying, we just CAN’T get comfortable enough to sleep. I find it to be impossible. As I write this now, I am unable to sleep on a flight from Orlando to Los Angeles. Finally we would land in Los Angeles where we’d spend only a few hours before heading back to the airport. Unfortunately, Dana had work until 6pm, and I had to head back to the airport by 7pm, so we’d only get one hour together after being apart for four whole days. I tried to do some chores around the apartment before ordering Chinese take out that was waiting for her as soon as she walked through the door. It was only an hour together, but it was a wonderful hour. I always get emotional leaving her behind, as I hugged and kissed her good-bye, it seemed all to sudden. “I have to leave already!?” I thought. This business is tough. I get to do what I love, but have to be away from the person I love the most. It’s the price I pay. With a tear in my eye I kissed her cheek and was off to LAX once again. Nick and I flew into Orlando on yet another sleepless flight on the last red eye going out. We landed at 5:00 am and found our way to the hotel shortly after. Call time wasn’t until 11:00 am, so we figured we’d be able to grab some sleep instantly! We were wrong. They wouldn’t let us check in until 7am. So we waited around until finally getting access to the room where we crashed for a few hours before heading to the Impact Zone. We filmed Herbies Hotseat which is an internet talk show that will be up on TNAwrestling.com very soon. Nick and I were both on dream-street at this point while answering questions for the interview, trying to seem as upbeat as possible but feeling like zombies. Several hours later in the 11th segment of the taping we filmed our X-division angle which I thought turned out really good. Nick and I got to dive off of these really high metal trusts which hold up the Ultimate X cables onto the Motor City Machine Guns. I won’t give it all away because it airs Monday, but look for a Young Bucks pose somewhere in that segment. (You long time fans will know what I mean)!

This morning we were up at 4:00am for an early flight back home - the very flight that I sit restless on right now in fact. We’ll be home soon, where we’ll have one whole week to relax and recharge our batteries. I look forward to celebrating my 25th birthday this Saturday with my wonderful family, great friends and beautiful wife Dana.

Next Wednesday we leave for the road, where we’ll be gone for another week. We’ve got a couple of TNA house shows, our Jersey All Pro debut and probably the biggest match of our career - an Ultimate X Match against the Guns on Pay Per View. After that we’ll wrap up the week long tour with a couple of TNA Impact tapings. I can’t help but sit back and be proud of all that we have accomplished. We truly are blessed to be in the position that we are in.

Is it easy? Absolutely not. We’ve practically been living on the road for the past 2 years. And a lot of people don’t realize, we’ve been professional wrestlers for over 6 years now. I’ve been taking bumps one way or another since I was 16 years old. I miss my wife. I miss not being in pain all of the time. I miss sleeping. Everyone keeps reminding me that it will all pay off in the end. I sure hope so. Either way, I’ll never forget these days as a professional wrestler. Barely 25 years old and I’ve practically accomplished every single goal I’ve ever set as a wrestler. Pretty friggin good if I can say so myself!

God has truly blessed me with a wonderful life. I brag all of the time to the boys about my family. Maybe 25 years from now I’ll be able to look back and be happy about my days spent as a young wrassler? Well, happy may be a long shot but hopefully I’m at least not bitter. HA!

You know what else I plan on doing when I get home shortly? Catching up on my sleep! Until next time…

-Matt