 The Life and Times of Shane Helms Entry #44 Friday, September 27th, 2002. So did everyone get surprised on Monday? :):) What a crazy turn of events huh? The Hurri-Kane's (see what I did there?) as the new WWE Tag-Team Champions is definitely one of the biggest highlights of my career so far. And I have to say, "Thanks a million," to the HurriFans in Anaheim who exploded when my music first hit. Moments like those are what make our sacrifices and hardwork worth it. Add that to the title win, and September 23rd, 2002 became a day I won't soon forget! A lot of people have asked me why did I leave SmackDown, which is the exclusive home to the Cruiserweight Division? Well, to be honest I've already won the CW Title, in both the WCW and WWE. Will winning it again mean as much? Actually, to me, it probably would, but I have other goals at the moment. And let's not forget that I've been taking on Heavyweights pretty much my entire WWE career. Remember my feud with Big Show? Or The Acolytes? Hell, I even took on Kane, and believe me, I definitely prefer being in the ring with him than against him! Will I miss the CW Division? Of course I will, I'll admit to that. I will also miss teaming with Shannon, as we still have never really had the chance to blow up as a team like I know that we can. I'll miss all my Smackdown buds, no doubt. But I do believe that coming to RAW has opened new doors for me. One of course has already opened, that being the door to the Tag-Team Titles, which I never would have had the opportunity to gain on Smackdown. And even if we lose them in our next match, I'm just happy to have my little mark in wrestling history. Also, the IC Title is here, and don't think my eyes aren't on that either. Greedy aren't I? :) But all in all, regardless of whether I'm on RAW, Smackdown, Heat, or Velocity, I'm still just as excited as ever to be a part of the WWE. So, check my Appearances section as I have updated it to reflect my new schedule of events. Now, on to other news, I got a chance to visit Top Cow Studios in L.A. this past weekend. Top Cow is the comic company that puts out books such as WitchBlade, Fathom, The Darkness and Rising Stars, all very good books. It was a great tour with a great group of guys and a gorgeous Editor (who better not spell check this) that ended up with me receiving a bunch of free stuff (swag!!!!!!). :) Thanks to my man, Nick for setting that up! Speaking of comics, I'm going to have to buy another home to house my ever growing collection! LOL And now I've picked up the hobby of collecting "Mini-Busts" of my favorite characters. I already have several on display in my wrestling/comic book/room/office. That room looks a real Hurricane ran through it! And another thing, to all my comic fans, go check out www.geoffjohns.com and help me in my "Give Black Adam a Push" campaign! LOL! Is it me, or is CarrotTop on every single channel on TV these days? Add him to the list of people that need to receive The VerteBreaker over and over again! For anyone who hasn't seen Lord of the Rings, it is out on DVD now, and it gets my highest possible recommendation. I've had the DVD playing in my car (The Black Manta) for about three weeks straight now! Now, I always hate to end on a sad note but as is sometimes the case, sad things just happen. Be that as it may, here is the story: I joined my High School wrestling team having never witnessed the amateur side of the sport whatsoever. I had only seen my beloved pro-wrestling, which I already knew by then was what I wanted to do with my life, and since this was as close as I could get at the time I decided to give it a shot. I beat everyone out in my weight class, both freshmen and upper-classmen to make the Varsity squad. I was 103 lbs. at the time. JACKED!!!! LOL. Anyway, the weight class above me (112 lbs.) was dominated by a guy named Charles Paul, a sophomore at the time. Charles was shorter than me, stocky as hell, and twice as cocky. But he was a big pro wrestling fan, and this led to an immediate friendship. A friendship that was often put to strain by our meetings on the mat, because being close in weight we naturally paired up in practice. And to be honest about it, he used to BEAT my ass every day. LOL, No joke! I was lucky if I even scored a point on him. I went on to break a school record for an undefeated streak by a freshman, won several tournaments that year, went All-Conference, All-Regional, even All-State (which was rare for a freshman), and led my team in both wins and pins. And it was Charles I had to thank for it. I mean I had a great coach, tough as he was, but it Charles' unrelenting whooping of a young Hurricane's ass that made me so good. His desire to be the best pushed him, and in turn he pushed me to be the best I could be. Of course, I see that now in retrospect. I remember returning the following year, and I also remember the pure jubilation I felt when Charles and I locked up on the mat for the first time that year, and I not only put him on his back, but held him there!!! I couldn't pin him, he was damn near impossible to pin, but I did hold him down. And the whole team was watching! We joked about it, I didn't rub it in at all, but on the inside I was pumping fists, high-fiving my self, you wouldn't believe how happy I was. I guess I should say how "lucky" I was, because the next day it was back to business as usual as Charles reclaimed his lightweight dominance and once again beat my ass. LOL! He was without a doubt one of the best and toughest wrestlers I ever faced, and he helped me become the wrestler that I was! Now after he graduated, we lost touch, as a lot of high school friends do, and only saw each other on rare occasions, where we would reminisce about the "old days" and talk about whatever, mainly wrestling, but eventually even those occasions became scarce. I chased my dream of becoming a Pro-Wrestling star, and Charles chased his of becoming an officer of the law. Charles recently lost his life while on duty for the Raleigh Police Department. I attended the funeral, alone, as is often my choice when handling these things, and I said my private goodbye's to my friend. I wish that I could have told him how much I owe him, and that I'll miss him. Charles leaves behind a loving wife and daughter. Life is short, make every second count! Until next time, Shane |