Wednesday, June 03, 2009

This is it

With a heavy heart but a clear mind, I am announcing my retirement from active competition in the game of e-wrestling/e-fedding/fantasy wrestling.

I'm sorry to all the heads of feds that I'm in now for quitting now, but writing has become more of a chore than a release. I also have not been consistently writing RPs that I've been completely happy with for a long time now. It's too much of a struggle for me to continue creatively, and even moreso a chore for me to read through a card. The latter is unfair to everyone else in the fed whom I am up against and to those who've written those matches and segments.

I do leave with a lot of good memories and a lot of lessons that have and will continue to help me in life. I've also met a lot of good friends through this game that I am grateful for having come into my life. I would like to say that I'm not shutting myself off from any of the eW hubs, FW or PTC, that I go to, so I'll still be around. I've always found it asinine that people who leave the game also leave the community. We're all friends for the most part and we all like each other (or at least tolerate each other).

But I would be remiss if I didn't thank the many people with whom I've been involved in the almost decade I've been playing this game.

Thank you to:

- Roger Albrecht, Jarret Aubry,(A1E) Dan West, Bob Rodriguez and Bill Dempsey (MBE), who welcomed me into their respective feds as a super-green rookie and tolerated my bitchiness in my early days

- The guy who handled the Canadian Hitman (don't remember his name) for actually recruiting me into A1E and getting me started

- Ryan Poole (Liquid Snake), who was my first real friend and e-fed confidant

- Dave Brunk for taking a chance on the JA character and letting me find my spark again in EPW

- Chad Merritt for allowing me his site to work creatively with TEAM

- For everyone who ever participated in a UXW or TEAM card, especially Brian Jenkins, the first and only UXW Champion, and Adam Shinder, who took the reins of TEAM from me when I couldn't handle it anymore

- And finally, to all the people I've faced, befriended or even disagreed with over the years, especially Jon Katz, Phil Banet, Lindz, Pierre Hyde, Fergus Looney, Sean Edmunds, Mikey Nunes, Nicholas Kamuda, Chris Davis, Diego Ibarra, Kevin Healey and Ross Fynmore. If I didn't mention you by name, please don't feel slighted. It's probably on account of my bad memory :p

However, despite retiring from active handling, the blog will not be going anywhere. While I won't be doing the regular news/show reviews etc., I am going to make an attempt to continue Project Discovery Channel and keep the interviews alive. However, it'll only be handler interviews. I feel like I'm not well-equipped to do anything in-character anymore.

So, there it is. Of course, as with real wrestling, e-wrestling retirements are never really all that permanent. Will I ever be back? Maybe, maybe not. However, for now, it's goodbye and thank you. My life would never have been the same without this game and all the wonderful people in it.

13 comments:

Hyde said...

Enjoy the retirement home Tom!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for providing me the spark and a place to run with Promo in UXW.

Brian Jenkins

heystopthatman said...

sad to hear it. your talents will be missed!

see you around.
Paul Brisbin

Ross said...

Salut.

R.

Anonymous said...

Holz,

I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of TEAM. I would also like to thank you for mentioning Payne in your blogs from time to time. Call me a mark, but I always tend to mark out a bit when I see Payne mentioned in the blog.

You and I never RPed against each other...(that I recall anyway), but had we done so, I've no doubt it would have been a blast.

Hopefully this isn't the last we will see of you in the ewrestling circle.

We wish you well in your future endeavors...(I couldn't help this...lol)

- Jason Payne

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your retirement.

Anonymous said...

We drank beer together and nary a mention.... sigh.

You think you know people.

-pete

Anonymous said...

COngrats, and enjoy.

But I give you six months before you're back. Trust me, that's how it works out.

- Gregg

WBFIII said...

I never really got to know you all that well, and you're pretty much leaving just as I've come back from a few years hiatus. However, you have a no-doubt impressive e-fed resume, you were the one who started with the cool blog (which gave me the push to do mine), and you've contributed a shitload to the forums.

Anyway, it's not like you're leaving, just not RPing, so I guess I'll see ya around!

Anonymous said...

Mr. Holzerman, you're the man. While I was hoping to RP against you once more (and still do), I know you'll still be around, so all is well. Catch you on the flip side.

Lindz said...

This is total lamesauce, Holz. You'll be back! THEY ALWAYS* COME BACK!

*in most cases.

GBJ said...

Enjoy the break, however long it may be, and thanks for providing me with a place to go to feel good about myself.



Glad you're going to stick out the Project Discovery Channel initiative. I'll definitely be following.

Unknown said...

I didn't see this...

Enjoy the time off, Holzyballs. Your blog became *THE* standard for e-wrestling "reporting" as it were...all that have come since or will come in the future have the "Efed Lifer" standard to live up to. Thanks especially for all the kind words about Nova after I brought him to the Old Folks Home (FW), and for all the good times with TEAM.