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It started on December 7, 2002 at the Murphy Rec Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event was "Night of the Butcher," and was built upon Homicide bringing in the legendary Abdullah The Butcher to fight The Carnage Crew.
Almost fourteen years later, however, it was the second match of the night that stood the test of time. Not for the quality of the match, necessarily, but because it marked the beginning of a long, strange journey for Colt Cabana with Ring of Honor Wrestling that comes full circle this Sunday in the main event of "Global Wars" in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
"I'm a different person than I was in 2004 and in 2007 and in 2009," Cabana told Mike Johnson in an interview for PWInsider earlier this week. "I've come a long way and put in a lot of miles in the ring. I've done a lot, including a 2-time NWA World's Champion. And now I think it's my time to carry this company and to hold the title and to cement my legacy as a champion throughout my career."
The ride began that night in Philadelphia in 2002 when he was expected to be a mere side note for CM Punk, who had already debuted for the promotion earlier that year. Much like he has in his career, however, Colt showed that night that he was not there to showcase someone else when he defeated the man who became known as his best friend.
The two would go on to capture the ROH World Tag Team Titles on two separate occasions as members of the Second City Saints. They would continue to stand tall together in the promotion until August 13, 2005 at "The Final Chapter," when Colt defeated Punk in a 2 out of 3 Falls match in Punk's final scheduled appearance for the company. While the two remain close friends to this day, the shadow of his friend's legacy in WWE has been something that has been of the back of his mind.
"...because I don't want to be remembered as someone's best friend!..." Cabana exclaimed in a promo addressing ROH World Champion Jay Lethal from Supercard of Honor on April 1 in Dallas, Texas.
It was a shock return to the promotion he had not competed in since 2011. The following night, during an impromptu non-title match, Cabana defeated Lethal to earn a shot at the gold at "Global Wars." While he said the Ring of Honor title is something that has eluded him over the years, this match in particular has more meaning.
"This match isn't about a rivalry between Jay Lethal and I," Cabana told Johnson. "This is a company that I started with and I grew as a performer and a wrestler and have been able to become what I've become because of what I've done there."
His initial run with Ring of Honor ended at "Good Times, Great Memories" on April 28, 2007 when he defeated Adam Pearce in Chicago. He then went on to what he would describe as a terrible two-year run as Scotty Goldman with World Wrestlng Entertainment, most of which was spent in between developmental territories Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. While for most, dropping out of the WWE would be the death of their career, Cabana made it a new beginning for his.
"He has been wrestling for over fifteen years and seems to have embraced every step in the journey, good or bad," said Chicago-based stand-up comedian Marty DeRosa, with whom Colt has been working with on various projects since they met shortly after Colt's release from WWE seven years ago. "He has a great respect for the wrestling business and I think he enjoys the fact that he has helped changed the face of indy (independent) wrestling."
Following his release in 2009, Cabana returned to ROH during the "ROH on HDNet" days. His most notable feud was when he would regularly team with El Generico in his ongoing battles with Kevin (Owens) Steen and Steve Corino. He would make occasional appearances, the last of which was in 2011. It was a return to the company he once helped build, although it was still lacking a feeling of importance.
Everything changed for Cabana from that point on. He would go on to create the "Art of Wrestling" podcast, which would become a huge success. It earned him a new legion of fans that may have never heard of him before. Rather than look to sign a long-term contract, he became what he calls a "D.I.Y." wrestler and has wrestled in countless cities and countries all across the world.
"Since I've met Colt, he has grown as a wrester who got released who was thinking about dipping his toes into comedy into a guy with an amazing podcast with a die hard following," DeRosa told me. "(And) a guy who has created a hilarious live comedy show and just overall built an empire around himself and his personality. It's pretty amazing."
According to Colt, about a year ago, the lines of communication once again opened with ROH. Those communications led to an agreement. That agreement led to what is the biggest match of Cabana's Ring of Honor career. He has had ROH World Title matches dating back to 2004 when he unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe. Those were different, though. He wasn't being called upon to take the name he has made for himself and use it to draw box office on traditional pay-per-view.
He also wasn't being asked to be the man in a company with the backing of a powerhouse television organization. Back then, he was being asked to be a side note in the title reign of the champion. On May 8, 2016, he's being asked to take his spot on top of independent wrestling's throne and continue to change the way things are done in the business.
"He may be too proud to say that (he changed independent wrestling), but he has," DeRosa said. "He has been an ambassador for indy wrestling and it's a better place because of a handful of certain guys, and Colt is definitely one of those guys."
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