An Open Letter From Cyrus Black: The Folly of Petty Federation Squabbles

My name is Cyrus Black, the man known as "The Exile."

But you probably already knew that.

Today, however, I'm not playing a character. This isn't some professional wrestling stunt and this letter is not intended to be used in any storyline. No, this letter is something else entirely...this letter is to address what I find to be a grave problem with the various major promotions.

In my career, I worked for three major companies: 3XW, ECCW, and EFNW.

I was one of the founding fathers of 3XW. Many people are familiar with the wars I had in that organization, particularly with my old rival and fellow founding father Dan Maskell. Our battles were brutal and helped bring a company that quite frankly had little chance of success to a respectable size, creating what many consider to be the #3 or #4 promotion in the business. I won my first wrestling championships in 3XW, and I was also key in the development of newer stars, including men like Angel and Casey Anomaly. But what many people didn't realize was that, behind the scenes, I was also a prominent member of the booking committee. Now, to prevent any sort of favoritism towards myself, I refused to be involved in the booking of my own matches, although I was asked for my opinions on how to best present the product as a whole. All in all, I am rather proud of what AJ Li, Dan Maskell, and myself helped create and thought that 3XW would've continued to grow as the months went by.

But soon I found myself seeking new challenges, so I decided to sign with ECCW on the former Domination brand back under the Scott Gone administration. It was an exciting time for me on Domination as I was quickly given the proverbial ball, winning the Submission Championship in my first singles match, winning the World Title in a matter of months, and being a part of many top-level programs on the brand. I quickly established myself as a legit contender, and I would like to think I earned a lot of respect for my accomplishments in ECCW from my peers.

But something happened shortly before the Great Purge* that forced the entire industry to revamp itself. Information regarding decisions being made in 3XW somehow managed to be leaked to a prominent figure in ECCW. Wanting to keep the information quiet, this figure spoke with a senior member of 3XW management, asking what was going on. Tempers flared and soon everyone in ECCW knew what was going on with 3XW, and an argument between the top executive of ECCW and the senior member of 3XW management led to mass departures from both companies. These mass departures then led to the ill-advised and petty "Stand Up for ECCW" and "Stand Up for 3XW" campaigns, making what was supposed to be an internal matter for 3XW into, quite frankly, a gigantic pissing match and bitchfest between the two companies.

Relations between several members of the booking committees were patched up prior to the Great Purge, but the damage had already been done. 3XW would not survive for very long after the Purge and ECCW's top executives lost a lot of respect in the eyes of many professional wrestlers. As for me, seeing the petty arguments and general lack of common sense, coupled with the denigration of a company that I helped build, disheartened me to the point that, after the Purge, I walked away from professional wrestling. It would be close to four months later that I would return to the business that I love, and I found a new home in EFNW.

I was welcomed with open arms in EFNW, and I once again did my part to help create an exciting, engaging program as I feuded with Stars such as Jake Lyndon and Daniel Evans. But the promotion suffered from stagnation as some of the company's top talent grew lazy, so the decision was made by EFNW executives to close down and reboot later in the year, in an attempt to revitalize the company and the industry.

But once again, childish reactions from ECCW had arise both during EFNW's latest run and after its closure brought up ugly feelings from many in the business...the same kind of feelings that arose from the squabble between ECCW and 3XW. Many prominent figures from EFNW that were competing in ECCW felt slighted by ECCW's callous and insulting demeanor towards EFNW, and as a result asked for their releases. As it stands, the two most prominent companies now are ECCW and CWW...but for how long? How long will it take for one or the other to find some petty fault in the other organization, leading to yet another debacle? Can the industry survive having two of the biggest promotions butt heads over trivial matters, weakening professional wrestling as a whole?

Let me make something very clear: competition is a good thing. Scratch that, it's the only thing that allows professional wrestling to grow and evolve. But competition does not mean you slander and ridicule another company for doing things differently or simply because you think you are better. You want to prove that you're the best promotion? Then do it by presenting a product that is engaging, competitive, and fair to all the wrestlers you have under contract. Don't thump your chest and belittle another promotion simply because you don't agree with their interpretation of what pro wrestling should be. To all pro wrestling executives, I say this: you're not special. You're not unique and you're sure as hell not irreplaceable. Don't let your egos get in the way of business, and for the love of Truth, don't allow politics to determine which wrestlers get the opportunities to shine. Keep your nose out of other organizations' business and focus on keeping your own house in order.

That's all I wanted to say. Whether anybody has enough respect for me to listen...well, time will tell. Until then, I'll be around to do my part to help whatever promotion I may decide to be a part of in the future. My only hope is that the executives in charge of the remaining major promotions can resist trashing their competition long enough to do the same.

Cyrus Black

*WWE Universe shutting down

Excellent reminds me of my CAW Blogs on the U.

God wrote:

Excellent reminds me of my CAW Blogs on the U.

Eh, well...being in the middle of the ECCW-3XW squabble and seeing what just happened with EFNW, I felt I needed to say something. Truth be told I would've preferred to not get involved, but the surprising lack of sense was a bit too glaring for me to ignore, y'know?

The truth has spoken.

Im glad some one finally said something and put it so well. Maybe every one will read this and understand.

Surge's reply? "Me gusta."

CAPS LOCK wrote:

Surge's reply? "Me gusta."

You're damn right.

Cyrus T wrote:

resist trashing their competition long enough to do the same.

^^^ Love it.

And that was a great read, thanks for writing that.

Hazza wrote:

Cyrus T wrote:

resist trashing their competition long enough to do the same.

^^^ Love it.

And that was a great read, thanks for writing that.

No problem. Some folks just need to learn how to keep their own house in order and stop trying to jab at others.

I suggest everyone reads today's Terror if you're interested in this ECCW/EFNW thing.

Jarrett wrote:

I suggest everyone reads today's Terror if you're interested in this ECCW/EFNW thing.

It is all over now. I was going to tell Granger to not add the 'EFNW Chants', but he wasn't on. Anyway, lets put it behind us.