Perception can sometimes work its way into reality. How you are viewed, can sometimes shape who you are. That scrutiny can come from a variety of sources: from family, from friends, from strangers; and most of all, it can come intrapersonally. The humorous yet tragic component of life is that you never know when exactly the show will end. Unlike a situational comedy which concludes by the bottom or top of the hour, life can last decades or instants. It can exceed a century or collapse in seconds. So before that climactic breath, all that should matter is not perception, but what truly lives inside.  One of life’s greatest battles comes from overcoming the resistance that stems from all angle. One must find the strength to overcome...


Life just seems to be filled with adversity doesn’t it? I remember my freshman year of high school, and thinking that it couldn’t get any worse. Amongst the madness of being a teenager there were: loads of classes, struggles with females, and friends who didn’t have much more success than I. Well, things didn’t get much better the three following years. Throughout high school I never felt like I lived up to my potential. Like I was wasting away while others who I didn't think worked as hard succeeded to levels I could only dream of. To this day, I always smirk when my father reminisces about his high school days, when I try everyday to forget about mine. As cynical as I can be, the day I graduated from high school I thought the hard part was over. In my mind, I figured the rigorous course loads I had throughout high school had to prepare me for four years of going to school half of a day. Boy, was I wrong.

Well the next four years for me were filled to the rim with: loads of classes, struggles with females, and friends who didn’t have much more success than I. Tragic isn’t it? I'm probably exaggerating, as it wasn’t all that bad though. One of the highlights of undergraduate school was getting that acceptance letter and knowing that I'd be able to attend graduate school. Things didn’t get easier though, as I signed up for more classes than recommended and taught at the university while doing so. Everyday felt like a battle as I lived in a kitchenless apartment with three others in one bedroom, but I somehow overcame all hardship and earned my degree in a record 14 months.

With multiple degrees stacked on one of my shelves, I finally felt like the world was my oyster. The field of Public Relations has a low unemployment rate and is supposed to be one of the hottest fields of the decade. Yet, every day since last August, I’ve had to dedicate hours to filling out applications and searching for jobs, while my life goes unfulfilled tutoring public school students.

Ironically, when I was younger I thought money was the most important facet of life. Now I’ve come to realize, money isn’t important to me. It’s how I earn money that’s most important. Right now I’d rather be making less than I do as tutor, if it means that I’ve earned an opportunity in the field I love.  I have no dreams of marriage or children. I dream of the day I’ll get my big break, but honestly, dreaming isn’t going to accomplish any of my goals or make me a success. I just have to keep taking on each struggle head on and just keep plugging away.

Regardless of what I may perceive, I’m not special. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon or white skin (kidding, white people, you guys have it hard too!) But seriously, we all deal with struggles in some form or fashion. Love, education, money, spirituality, and family; they all aren’t easy to handle, but would they really be as significant in our lives if it was easy?  Is there anything more worthwhile than overcoming some of life’s scuffles?

An interesting element to the drama of professional wrestling and the sweaty warriors wrestling in their underwear; is the human element. Obviously, there are many elements of wrestling which are solely fantasy. Real fights usually don’t involve Irish whips. Arguments aren’t usually settled in a twenty foot by twenty foot ring. Yet, while the personalities we see on RAW or Smackdown! may be exaggerated, the struggles that each person playing that character has faced or is facing, are real. There’s no easy way to make it to the WWE, and it’s even harder to make it to the top of the McMahon owned organization. I guess that’s why it was so cool seeing Daniel Bryan go from wrestling in bingo halls to having 17,000 cheer him towards a title shot against the biggest star in professional wrestling. He battled his way to the top when others deemed he had the personality of a door knob, or was too ‘small’ to generate any sort of fanbase. Yet, he let no road block deny his path to greatness. Who would have thought a few years ago that Chris Sabin would be competing again, nonetheless become the TNA World Champion? At any point during his first or second shredded knee, he could have thrown in the towel. He could have changed careers while still relatively young. Yet, he gambled on himself and got lucky. He rolled 7's, or hit Blackjack!

Luck is another interesting variable in a struggle. On any given day, one of us is but a few predicted numbers away from ending all struggles. Hitting the lotto can change someone's life overnight. Not even money can completely end struggles though, as some of those lotto winners go back to being broke but a few years later. That said, who wouldn't risk going broke if it meant never having to worry about money for the time being? You'd bet on yourself wouldn't you? Even when things seem at their worst, life can be but a matter of lucky numbers, and/or big breaks from transforming completely. Becoming an instant millionaire isn't likely though, so for now, make your own luck.

Speaking of making our own luck, this forum has seen its share of struggles. If it weren’t for Dead and the rest of staff, perhaps it’d still be an empty vessel, I don't know. While it’s certainly not what it could be, there are plenty of young, intelligent users who have the potential to make it better. Obviously, we all have various definitions of success and different ideas for the site and synthesizing those ideas is easier said than done. No matter what we do with the domain name or whatever are plans are for recruitment, we must make sure to not let the problems the site has define us as a community. I sound like a broken record by this point, but we’re never going to be Unique-Divas or Diva-Dirt or any of those sites, because we’re much better than that (i.e. we can actually speak our mind here.) So while focus might be a concern and our member count might not be like some of the other wrestling forums, we can not let any issue deter us. We have to face each of these issues head on and try to minimize the conflicts while pushing through the transitional period. If we start attacking each other, we're not going to get anywhere other than where we were a few weeks ago. I don't know where this forum is headed, but I'm excited to see how everything unfolds. These struggles that we are facing today will be the reason for our progression tomorrow.


Not including deleted profiles, this forum has seen 853 accounts registered to it. Of that 853, only a small sample of that group have posted on a thread. Of that sample, only a small cluster have contributed in a memorable fashion to the site in its five year history. An even smaller collection of that cluster is still active to this day. Dead did a great job talking to past members about coming back to the site, but here are five members that I’ve interacted with, that I’d like to see back. There are obviously a ton of members who have been active (and were probably great contributors) while I was on either a voluntary or involuntary sabbatical. So you may disagree with this list, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you'd like, you can reply with your own list. Without further ado...

Honorable Mentions: Sticky, the Swedes, Mick, and AngelMessiah.

5. Glitch/”Joey” – Although the last time he was here, he was banned. I’d like to think that “Joey” has matured and could be an interesting contrast from the usual member. While controversial at times, he adds a unique flavor to this melting pot of personalities.

4. KJ/Vince – While he might be busy doing other things, KJ has always been a down to earth kid. Speaking to him recently, he’s another guy who has matured a lot since he was last here. It’d be nice to have him honor us with his presence.

3. CWL91 – Probably the most knowledgeable wrestling and MMA fan I know, I obviously think it’d be swell if he came back.

2. Angelwilliamsfan – One of the early members of the forum , it’d be a nice taste of nostalgia to have her argue with everyone like the good ol’ days.

1.  Blue – Technically, he’s active, but consistency hasn’t been his strength as of late. While it’s great that he’s busy with other things in life, he as X pointed out in a different thread, was the heart and soul of the forum. I don't always agree with him, but this is his baby, and it’d be nice for him to be an everlasting part of this forum once again.


Tonight’s theme has dealt with struggles, but last Sunday was potentially the end for two competitors’ struggle for a title shot. Both Damien Sandow and Randy Orton have a guaranteed world title shot sometime in the next year. Either man could cash in their “Money in the Bank” at the most opportune moment. As the week has proven though, injuries and rivalries seem to get in the way at the worst of times. Who can overcome their respective roadblocks first? Whose struggle for gold ends first? Which of these two men will be next to hold a world title? Randy Orton or Damien Sandow? Or are both doomed to go with out of the most prized possessions in wrestling?

Whose struggle for World Championship gold ends first?
	Randy Orton.
	Damien Sandow.
	Both will continue to struggle for the remainder of their careers.
pollcode.com free polls

Tonight’s special attraction has a passion for the wrestling business that comes few and far in-between. In a world, where everyone wants television time and reality shows dedicated to them, this female’s road back to the WWE has come to a halt for the time being not because of a lack of enthusiasm, but due to politics.  Until then, we can only enjoy Maria Kanellis in ROH… and in pictures.

Spoiler:

I kind of had fun with this edition and got a little off my chest. This is one of the few environments where I feel comfortable posting without risk or worry. Enough people complain on Facebook, and this is a bit longer than the characters allowed on Twitter. Maybe I’ll write another Real Talk in the future, but I’m a little hesitant on making the mistake of forcing material. I’m not trying to compete with 10-4 for fabricated popularity that doesn’t have much significance.  What does have meaning to me is your opinion. So please comment with your thoughts, as I love reading other perspectives. Thanks investing moments of your time for my rambles, and of course...