I've been close to greatness many times in my life, so let me share a story about how I was "almost" NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

I could start the story in many places and some of those details won't be appreciated, so I'll start here...

When I was a kid, I used to go to local wrestling events in Lewiston, Maine where I would see former WWF and local wrestlers perform. I loved it. I got all their autographs and I have many fond memories of interacting with pro wrestlers who I ended up meeting as a grown man and, in my instances, wrestling with or against.

One of those guys that I met when I was 11 or 12 years old ended up being a 3-time NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion from Boston. He had moved to Southern Maine and was wrestling on the weekly bar shows in Buxton as it was close to his house. The weekly event was sparsely attended and it was mostly a fun place to hang out. Some weeks (especially during school vacations) they'd shift the Tuesday events to Thursday and make a 3 to 5 day "tour" of the state of Maine (and sometimes Massachusetts) so they could split the cost of the big name star they brought in.

At some point in 2005, I was hitting my stride as a pro wrestler from Maine, especially as a Cruiserweight/Jr. Heavyweight athlete and that coincided with the promoters wanting to bring in a TNA Wrestling X-Division superstar. 

My buddy wanted to build up to his big match against the TNA Wrestling star, so he pitched the idea to the NWA that he lose the belt on a Tuesday Bar Show in Buxton to a young Cameron Mathews...who would then lose the championship to the TNA Wrestling star the following week when we returned to the bar. He would then win it back the next night in his hometown. 

It really didn't affect anything except the record books (and even that could be fudged) and the title would be back on the (now 4-time) World Jr. Heavyweight Champion.

I don't know how far it went but rumor was the NWA vetoed the idea.

When I finally had my match with the TNA Wrestling X-Division star, I was a bit reserved and shy. The match was ok at best and I think I even ended up "winning" when the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion distracted my opponent.

The next night I was in a tag match with my long-time best friend, Paul and two Canadians - one being Kenny Omega. The TNA wrestler saw the match and asked "Where was all those moves last night?"

It's wild to think what would've or could've been. Maybe Marlon Brando was right..."I coulda been a contenda"

In addition to that story, the TNA Superstar ended up traveling down to BG East in Pembroke, Massachusetts where Kenny Omega, Rico Rave, Paul Hudson, Caleb Brand and myself were wrestling. He was offered a spot in a match, but politely declined. He didn't leave the room though...he was sure to get a nice up-close seat on the couch just behind the camera...at least I think that's how it went down.