It's a funny thing. As WrestleJam 9 neared, I knew that it would be a heavy night. Between the tribute to their fallen friend in their home town, the implication that one of these hometown heroes could never go home again, and the general atmosphere that I expected to fill the venue ... I knew it would be emotional. Yet I honestly had no idea just how powerful and gripping the build up, match itself, and aftermath would be.
I've only really been aware of Dave Cole, Nocturne, and the Connecticut wrestling scene for a year and a half. Maybe more, maybe less. Certainly much less than probably just about everyone else in attendance that night, yet certainly enough to have been swept up in that moment when they both entered the ring in Shelton, CT; lights dimmed, surrounded by their friends, peers, colleagues at ringside, their closest friends visibly in tears, clearly affected.
In the days leading up to the show, I had made peace with the idea that Nocturne might lose. The guy who I had found to be one of the most consistent, steady and fun guys to watch might be leaving Connecticut and -- as he intimated on a phone call into our old audio BLOGCAST -- the loser just might be done with wrestling entirely. The man who claimed he couldn't be killed, that he'd keep on coming, might DIE on this night. Something about the air in the room that night, the tears in everyone's eyes, the intensity in Noc's, told me that this might be his last match in CT. Maybe even beyond.
But I was wrong. It would be Dave Cole that would eat that monstrous drop from the top of the ladder, onto another ladder, chairs and table to the floor. It would be Dave Cole that would scrape himself from the floor, into the ring, and say a heartfelt goodbye. That crazy belief in the back of my head that said "maybe it'll be a draw and everyone goes home happy and no one leaves Connecticut except US in the morning" was no more and in its place... Was pure emotion.
No, I didn't cry. But I felt it. If you were at the Shelton Boys and Girls Club on September 8th for WrestleJam 9 then you did too.
Dave Cole said goodbye to Connecticut, to his best friends, and to the fans that had watched him grow for so long. It was special. And I was honored to be there to bear witness.
Good luck, Dave Cole, and thank you.
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