- by Joshua Norton.

Remember me?  I know you do.

Two things are certain in life.  The first is:

Bela Lugosi's dead...
undead
undead
undead

The second is:

It takes a big man to be a champion.

Why?  I'll tell you.

Champions are supposed to be people we can look up to.  Not neccessarily admire, or Spiral and NOTHING would never cut it as champs.  They need to be people who do something that the rest of us can't or won't.  Let's look at a couple.

Firstly, Grady Smith.  Grady is a guy like the rest of us.  He does Guy things. He talks like someone you might run into in the middle of a barfight and, if you're very lucky, not get hit by.  What makes him a great champion?  Is it the integrity?  The honesty?  Or is it the sheer grit and bloodymindedness that took him to the big belt in the NYSWF more times than I have fingers on my right hand? It's got to be the determination.  Grady Smith never let up.  His intensity and drive pushed him on and on even when it looked like he might have lost everything that made him special.  And in time, in a short space of time, he was back on top.

You have to admire that.

Second...Matt Hoffman.  What was special about Hoffman? Everything.  In his first run with the NYSWF he was unbeatable.  He had a repetoire of moves that seemed to cover all the bases and a devastating finisher.  He has a natural charisma that you can't help tuning in to.  He has a way of bringing the party with him.  And he has a work rate that is pretty much second to none.  What the NYSWF had in Matt Hoffman was a solid draw champ. He was better than us, but in a way that maybe you wanted an older brother to be.

That's something else to admire.

Third...Alexander Haven.  If Matt Hoffman was a John the Baptist type, this is the guy he was paving the way for.  Again, a legendary title run in the NYSWF and again a man that seemed unbeatable.  But Haven had something else going for him.   He was cool.  Not in the way that Hoffman is cool, but in the sense that Haven was the coolest guy in school.  The one you knew you'd never get to hang out with.  And Haven had an attitude.  He knew what he wanted and he took it without hesitation...because there was no one bad enough to stop him.  Haven was the guy we all want to be.

You just plain have to admire that.

Where's all this leading?  It's leading to one name.  The most recent name to join the ranks of the Great.

Sean Boden.

Sean has it all.  He has the guts and determination to take what he wants.  He has a certain kind of twisted cool - he's not like us and we'll never be like him...and even though he's kinda scary...ain't it grand that he's out there? And he works.  He works hard, struggles for every scrap of respect he gets. He's earned it all...and he's earned his reign.  The only thing I want to say about Sean Boden is...

Fer Feck's Sake!  What took you so long?

Slainte.

I'm Joshua Norton.

But then...someone has to be.