Logan James
Its been over 17 years since he last stepped inside the squared circle. Often the world passes each and every one of us by, while the majority watch without acting. The time to act is now. The world of professional wrestling has never seen a comeback quite like this one.
“He was a has-been before he went away…” he’d heard people say.
It didn’t matter what anyone outside of his family thought to LJ. His loving wife of ten years, a woman with a heart of gold, who’d help anyone. Of course, she was unsure of all of this. She didn’t know him when he wrestled before. That wasn’t the man she married or the person she knew.
“Family is what matters most. If you lose them, you lose everything.”
A constant reminder to himself throughout what he considers the second part of his life. It had been a long journey almost 20-years-ago, how could he possibly go at it again? To put his wife and children through this sometimes-unbearable life seems borderline insane. Who chooses to willing make his family sacrifice their own well-being for his own selfish gains?
Doubt is the worst. A destroyer of hope. That constant nagging feeling of losing who you are stays embedded in your brain. You’ve forgotten more than you can possibly ever re-learn. But nobody ever told you to stop. The irritating injuries and rampant road schedule will take a toll on anyone if you’ve been around long enough. But it’s truly this simple: results or excuses, we all have a choice.
Wrestling is in your blood. You can go away but you never forgot. The comradery with the other workers you encounter – some better experiences than others. You can always take something away from an experience, whether good or bad. Those experiences, in the end, define who we all truly are. Everyone has that one story that drove them to do this. That one underlying piece that made you become a wrestler. A lot of those stories are happy. This isn’t one of those.
Logan’s older brother, Tristan, wanted to be a wrestler and trained harder than you could possibly imagine. It was his brother who made Logan love the sport of professional wrestling. Whether it was the lights, the excitement, the atmosphere of the crowd… everyone seemed so happy and thoroughly enjoyed themselves at wrestling shows. It was an easy thing to fall in love with.
Tristan passed away in 2003 and everything he wanted out of wrestling practically disappeared. Until Logan decided to go at this himself. He practically lived his life based on the goals and ambitions of his brother. He’s never forgotten where he comes from or what makes him who he is. Experiences – good or bad, define us as. We all have been through something that’s shaped our mindset or way of life.
Where would he even start if he wanted to do this again? None of his old pals are wrestling anymore. You can’t just call your old boss for a company that doesn’t exist anymore and say, “hey, mind booking me on a show this weekend?” Getting into shape and prepared isn’t so much a problem, his fitness regimen has never changed throughout the years. But access to a wrestling ring would be difficult. “Do they have wrestling rings on Amazon?” he thought to himself while sitting in his recliner at home.
Well, the wrestling ring will be delivered and set in place in three to five days. And no, it didn’t come from Amazon. Was it a wife-approved purchase? Unlikely. Was Logan scared of his wife? Absolutely. But he needed a way to train in a ring, on his own terms, and without any distractions. Who was he kidding? He has three children and a wife; his life is a giant distraction.
Training regimen? Check. Ring to train in? Check. Someone to train with? That’s going to be a problem. Somewhere to wrestle and earn more than a hot dog? Sounds like a bigger problem! Time to make a few phone calls and see if anyone and I mean anyone, is willing to lend me a hand in the ring. I can’t wrestle myself…
—“To Mr. James,
We were pleased to receive your application to PRIME. We do in fact have openings and room for immediate bookings, as you inquired in your previous email. If available and willing, we would like you to join us on August 25th in Cleveland, Ohio for our upcoming show, Revival 34!
Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. We are excited that you are interested in joining our team and look forward to what the future holds for you.
Sincerely,
PRIME Management”—
Having an idea in your head and writing it out always feels good. Hitting that “send” or “submit” button isn’t always so easy. But in this case, sending wasn’t a problem. Anger can and will fuel creativity if projected properly. He just didn’t expect to hear back… that was a lot faster than he could’ve imagined and perhaps the wildest outcome.
Now he had no choice but to follow through. Maybe that’s why he sent the email and application a few weeks ago. You can’t make any progress if you refuse to move. And now is the time to move. The excitement was almost unbearable to the point he felt ashamed. How could he be ‘excited’ to leave his family and travel again? How do you explain to your wife that you just spent $15,000 to have an 18’x18’ wrestling ring delivered and installed in your basement?
It is nearly impossible to hide excitement or disappointment from your partner. They can tell if something is going on based on your mood and interactions. He wasn’t worried to tell her he wanted to go back to wrestling because he figured it wouldn’t go anywhere. This is clearly going somewhere now. He has no choice but to tell her that in two weeks, she can watch him wrestle, live, for the first time. He practically forced her to watch old DVDs of his when they first met.
“Hey Steve, its Logan. I need you to call me back as soon as you can. I have something to tell you. You’ll never believe it…”
Whether Steve ‘The Virgin Slayer’ Fritz would return his phone call remained to be seen. Steve and Logan started together as a tag team. They traveled and wrestled together for years prior to a falling out that lead to a bitter on-screen rivalry. They were well past the adversity their friendship faced but they hadn’t spoken in years, unfortunately. Steve led a reclusive life while Logan focused on family and work. Drifting apart happens to many people.
Regardless, he had to prepare for this upcoming event and the opportunity it could potentially offer him. He knew what he had to do physically, that was never, ever the problem. Logan would rather get physically exhausted as opposed to mentally exhausted. Both have pros and cons. But physical anguish can be overcome if you are mentally tough. Mental distress has no fallback plan and is an entirely different beast to overcome.
—“To Whom It May Concern At PRIME,
My name is Logan James and I am highly interested in joining the PRIME roster. I have been away from wrestling for far too long and I truly feel this is the time to make this move. I know this email is completely out of the blue, but I have often been told that the answer will always be ‘no’ if you don’t ask, so this is me asking for you to take a chance on me.
Please see the attached signed application, along with a few of the digital videos of my past work. I hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
L.J.
P.S. Please don’t call this a comeback.”—