• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1724 0

was different then. Now that the gimmick was over and All That Remains had done so well in changing the perception of the band, I didn’t want to jeopardize all of that positive momentum by putting us in a situation where we were bound to fail. I was such a hated heel that it wouldn’t matter how good we were live, we’d still get booed out of the building. Everyone understood my point and it worked out better anyway as we announced the battle, and after Cena tore the house down with his performance, I claimed the audience was biased and would chastise us no matter how amazing Fozzy was. I withdrew from the contest and walked off the stage to massive boos.

* * *

At the time, there were rumors circulating on the Internet that my contract was coming due and I would be finishing up at the end of August. I didn’t want people knowing that SummerSlam was going to be my last match and assuming I wouldn’t be winning the title by proxy. So when I signed the one-month contract extension that Vince had requested, I made sure to have wwe.com announce that I had signed a new deal. Extension or not, after nine years I would no longer be employed by the WWE the day after SummerSlam.

But three days before the PPV I got a call from Howard Finkel, telling me he was changing my travel plans, as I was now needed for Raw on Monday.

Raw on Monday?

Sunday was my last day on the job and I had already made plans with my family for Monday. I told Howard, “Don’t change my travel, because I’m not going to be there.”

About ten minutes later Michael Hayes called and reiterated that I was needed for Raw.

“I’m not under contract anymore, P.S. SummerSlam is my last night.”

Hayes responded, “Vince changed his mind, he doesn’t want you to leave without doing a final angle.”

I had asked Vince if he wanted to do that when we had our talk in Wilkes-Barre three months earlier and he had scoffed at the idea. He’d had plenty of time to change his mind, and now, just three days before the show, he was having his minions call and tell me I was supposed to be at Raw? If he had had some great epiphany and wanted me to stay an extra day, he should’ve called me himself.

Ten minutes after that, Johnny called me and said, “Vince wants you to have a Loser Gets Fired match, and have Bischoff fire you.”

I was getting hotter that Vince still wasn’t calling me, and there was no chance in hell that I was going to Raw on Monday until he did. I told Johnny I wasn’t going and hung up the phone. Ten minutes after that, Vince finally called. I didn’t bother answering, as I was too angry, and when I listened to the message, it was obvious he felt the same way.

“I don’t know why you’re refusing to come to Raw on Monday, but you’re making a mistake,” he fumed. “Do you have some sort of kayfabe deal in Japan where you can’t do any jobs? ”

Kayfabe deal in Japan? What was this, 1986?

His message pissed me off even more and I knew that calling him right back would do no good. I took a few minutes to settle my little tea kettle (copyright Nattie Neidhart) until I calmed down enough to call him back.

“So what is this, I hear you’re not coming to Raw on Monday?”

“Well, Vince, I’m done at SummerSlam. You had three months to think about this and now it’s too late. I have plans with my family.”

“What kind of plans? I need you there.”

“Well, if that’s the case then you should’ve called me yourself, Vince. Do you realize how disrespectful it was to have Howard Finkel call me, Hayes, Johnny, all of them basically asking me to do you a favor? Everybody is calling me trying to coax me into doing this. Everyone but you! Why didn’t you pick up the phone and call me?”

Vince responded, “You are right about that. I should’ve called you and I apologize.”

That’s all I needed to hear.

“Okay Vince, I’ll be there on Monday.”

Vince appreciated my dedication and said he’d take care of me for the match. He stood by his word, and I was very happy when I got my checks for both SummerSlam and Raw.

On the Saturday night before SummerSlam, Jess and I went to the airport and found that our flight