19/10/01

David Hunter, a San Antonio native, writes�

I attended the press conference given by Rick O'Connor in his hometown of San Antonio this Tuesday gone. Here are the highlights:

- The XPCW story was a work. Andrew Grimmm was paid a one-time fee to appear on EWCL television and play out the angle that would lead to The Rage's retirement from professional wrestling. He and the former Champ are on very good terms, and Rick was happy to have the man who gave him his break in the business by his side to see him out of it.

- Contrary to what may have been reportedd, O'Connor was forced to retire because of severe degenerative arthritis of the knees. It is, in fact, his right knee (supposedly the good one � Ed.) which is in the worst shape, with next to no joint spacing. This, the doctor's have told him, is due in part to the greater reliance he has placed upon it since shattering his left (in his legendary scaffold match with Polar � XPO days � Ed.), which is in little better shape. O'Connor stated that the pain is consistent yet tolerable, but that he was warned that if he continued to wrestle the condition would gradually worsen. Although he loves the business, he didn't feel he could sacrifice his future well being for it, and he believes the fans would not want that. He also stated that he believes his legacy would have suffered had he remained wrestling full-time, as he was already beginning to slow down and suffer some discomfort in the ring.

- He was very happy with his last match aagainst The Punisher. He has nothing but respect for Steve, whom he called a 'consummate professional', and said that he thought the match was his best in years. He was happy to drop the Universal Title to Steve, one of the guys who 'built' the EWCL, and wished him all the best.

- He refused to comment upon the well-repported backstage heat between he and the influential clique, The Royal Family, and said only that everybody has their differences and that when they passed that curtain, everybody was professional. That's all that mattered he said.

- He said being entered into the EWCL Halll of Fame was one of the greatest honours ever done him, and that he and some of the boys partied hard that night. He said Cazzo had really given him a chance to shine, and he owed a lot of his success to he and the EWCL.

- (Here's the BIG one!) He is still emplooyed by the EWCL. He and Eric worked out an extension to his contract a mere month after his debut, and he will not be showing up in any other federations anytime soon. While he states unequivocally that he is now retired in a wrestling capacity (how many times have we heard that from wrestlers? � Ed.), he will continue to be a part of the EWCL behind the scenes, and he doesn't rule out an onscreen presence if the right angle presents itself. For now, he is enjoying being at home, relaxing and recovering from several months on the road.

- When pressed concerning whether or not we will see him in the ring again, he admitted that he may one day lace up the boots again, but that that would only be if Eric needed him to, or a one-off match. He will not, he restated, 'break' retirement.

- He thinks the EWCL will get along just fine without him, as it did before he arrived. He said there are a lot of talented guys driving that cart, and that the EWCL could 'only goon the bigger and better things'.

- He said 'Conan: A Witch Shall be Born'' is about to go into principle photography, and that it was slated for a summer release. He joked that now that he wasn't on television anymore they'd probably go and replace him with The Rock. Everything was going very well, but he hadn't seen anything they'd shot yet.

That was about the size of it. He signed some autographs, and left in a limo. He seemed fairly down to earth� not at all like his onscreen character. He even gave away some free shirts.