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But I do know this much. The Shard had his chance. You're the one that offered it to him in the first place. You asked him to join you, and Eddie, and BlackJack, and J-Ro and come to the Wrestle Factory. Be part of CHIKARA. And he told you "No." No one is denying his talent or potential.

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Your blog contains a lot of truth. CHIKARA is the springboard for the next generation of great wrestling talent. It has been for years. Because in training the next generation of great wrestling talent at the Wrestle Factory, we take no shortcuts. To create something that is as fun and uplifting as CHIKARA requires unbelievable dedication and hard work from every single person. There is no room for quitters. And there is no room for someone that wants to show up, put a mask on his face, and decide to steal the rewards that others worked hard to reap. That's what GEKIDO represents. We worked hard to make something real from an idea, to build an organization up out of nothing, our of bankrupcy, out of obscurity, into something that has real influence and the power to not just touch wrestling fans' lives, but the men and women that compete under its banner. That's real power. That's what CHIKARA's "power" is. And CHIKARA is power, my student.

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You know the value of a mentor better than anyone. Because I'm the man that taught you, and taught most everyone up and down our roster. Maybe I would have been a mentor to the Shard as well, had he not thumbed his nose at CHIKARA. Maybe I would have been a mentor to these knock-off ants, but under their hoods are the faces of quitters - when the going got tough, they threw in the towel.

You are correct in that these men did not have the benefit of the same training I gave you. And that choice was theirs - not yours or mine to make. Then they decided they couldn't live with that choice, and took a shortcut. Our boneheaded Director of Fun catered right to these men. Men who think opportunity in our sport is handed out, instead of earned. If opportunities are just handed out to those that complain the loudest, then what is the value of hard work? Isn't hard work what got you the chance to shine at IMPACT Wrestling or compete for Osaka Pro Wrestling? Isn't hard work what got Claudio Castagnoli to the WWE? Isn't that exactly what I've instilled in every single person to graduate our Wrestle Factory these last 11 years?

Jigsaw...my brother, my friend, my pupil and partner. I take enormous pride in what you've become. Even now, conflicted by this dark morass we are all in. Sometimes in the moment we forget.

You are not the only one with a short memory, though. I've actually heard people say that I should just let this go. I should forgive The Shard and deviANT. I guess what they did to me, to Fire Ant, doesn't matter after 30 or 60 days, right? People have actually said to me that I need to work together with assailANT this Sunday. Accept him as my partner. I guess the roles the members of GEKIDO played in what happened to Dragonfly and Tianlong have been forgotten. Those two fallen comrades who worked hard and prevailed where others failed...they just don't matter anymore. We shouldn't really care. This is just pro-wrestling.

Right?

Maybe to someone else. But to me - this is my life.

Here we are, at the end of Season 11. Five minutes to midnight. The clock is about to strike Season 12. Is this how we want to punctuate the year 2012? Could you be a great mentor to a developing talent? Absolutely. I have all the faith in the world that you could, Jigsaw. Do these men lack direction? They seem to now that 17 has been reduced to 0. You want to forgive and forget what these men did, what they represent, take them under your wing and aim them in a new direction? You endorse what the Shard tried to do to Fire Ant in Manhattan, while questioning me for playing the game on the terms they set? Is that where you are headed?

Then I can't stop you. You said it yourself. You are your own man.

LMQ