Post by Daron Smythe on Jul 19, 2022 11:12:33 GMT -5
MAY 25, 2006
"F*** THIS, I QUIT"
I exclaimed in the center of the ring in the middle of the PWX WrestlePlex, a makeshift arena in a rundown, nearly dead mall in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
I slammed the microphone down in the center of the ring, quickly stepped through the ropes, stormed off to the locker room, grabbed my bag, and marched out the front door, leaving the regular crowd of 250 or so confused. I imagine the promoter, Jim Miller, was more concerned about whether or not the microphone was broken.
I'd like to think Jim was at least partly upset that I was leaving, but considering all he had done to me over the years, I knew that wasn't true. I'll get into that later. Let's go back to the beginning...
MARCH 7, 2001
My 18th birthday. I can remember first discovering PWX some four years earlier on late Saturday night TV. I still have the lineup memorized. WCW Worldwide, WWF Shotgun Saturday Night, ECW, and THEN PWX - somewhere around 2 am. In my tiny hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia, we were fortunate to get the WWF in town once a year. Independent wrestling was damn near non existent. Discovering PWX on late night television offered a glimmer of hope that I could break into this business that I have loved since my mom bought me that PWI magazine in 1986.
During the show, the company ran advertisements for their training school. Unfortunately, I was only 14 at the time and 60 miles away seemed like an ocean away to a kid whose family barely had local transportation. I memorized that phone number. I remember my first call...
"Hello?"
"Hey, this is Jim Miller, owner and promoter of PWX and the PWX Training Academy. Who is this?"
"My name is Daron, sir, Daron Smythe. I was wondering if I'd be able to join your wrestling school?"
"Smythe, eh? How old are ya, kid?"
"I am 14 years old sir."
"Call me back when you're 14, kid."
*CLICK*
Well, now I was finally 18...
"F*** THIS, I QUIT"
I exclaimed in the center of the ring in the middle of the PWX WrestlePlex, a makeshift arena in a rundown, nearly dead mall in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
I slammed the microphone down in the center of the ring, quickly stepped through the ropes, stormed off to the locker room, grabbed my bag, and marched out the front door, leaving the regular crowd of 250 or so confused. I imagine the promoter, Jim Miller, was more concerned about whether or not the microphone was broken.
I'd like to think Jim was at least partly upset that I was leaving, but considering all he had done to me over the years, I knew that wasn't true. I'll get into that later. Let's go back to the beginning...
MARCH 7, 2001
My 18th birthday. I can remember first discovering PWX some four years earlier on late Saturday night TV. I still have the lineup memorized. WCW Worldwide, WWF Shotgun Saturday Night, ECW, and THEN PWX - somewhere around 2 am. In my tiny hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia, we were fortunate to get the WWF in town once a year. Independent wrestling was damn near non existent. Discovering PWX on late night television offered a glimmer of hope that I could break into this business that I have loved since my mom bought me that PWI magazine in 1986.
During the show, the company ran advertisements for their training school. Unfortunately, I was only 14 at the time and 60 miles away seemed like an ocean away to a kid whose family barely had local transportation. I memorized that phone number. I remember my first call...
"Hello?"
"Hey, this is Jim Miller, owner and promoter of PWX and the PWX Training Academy. Who is this?"
"My name is Daron, sir, Daron Smythe. I was wondering if I'd be able to join your wrestling school?"
"Smythe, eh? How old are ya, kid?"
"I am 14 years old sir."
"Call me back when you're 14, kid."
*CLICK*
Well, now I was finally 18...