Christmas From The Inside

I have to admit  – I’ve been tough on Dixie Carter since I parted TNA. But, I also have to admit – I’ve been honest. When asked, and also sometimes when not, I’ve openly spoken out about Dixie when it comes to her business acumen. She’s made some mistakes along the way in leading TNA over the last decade, but again, in fairness, I’ve made my errors as a writer throughout my career.

However, regardless of what I may have said concerning her business prowess, I’ve also put her over as a human being every step of the way. Dixie has a big heart; she can’t help herself. That’s just who she is.

I was reminded of that very thing when, after all we’ve been through together, I received her Christmas card the other day.

Receiving that small token of appreciation gave me a chance to look back at the experiences I had over the holiday seasons while in wrestling. 

Starting with WWE, I have to say that when Christmas rolled around it was no doubt the highlight of my calendar year. I guess the greatest joy for me actually came in knowing that I would have a little time off. Now, don’t kid yourself – it wasn’t WEEKS, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was still time off. Time to re-charge my batteries and finally spend time with the people that really mattered in my life – those who I had grossly neglected for the past 51 weeks of the year. 

I can also remember the locker room at that time. There was actually two occasions in wrestling when you actually felt a “family” environment backstage. One was when there was a tragedy, and the other was when Christmas rolled around. All the boys – and girls – were always so up, knowing that after that last TV taping they were finally heading home. Everybody was in a good mood, and it’s always the strange things that stand out. 

I can remember decorating The Artist Originally Known As Goldust as a living breathing Christmas tree. I can remember Rena Mero wearing a reindeer outfit – by GOD, the sexiest reindeer I had ever seen! Those were just the little things, but somehow it’s always those instances that stand out the most.