BANKIE'S HOT TAKE #109 - Thank You, Homicide
Dear Homicide,
It’s wild. After more than three decades in the world of professional wrestling, this Thursday in Brooklyn, NY for Outlaw Wrestling will be your final match.
I’ve been a fan of yours ever since I started going to Ring Of Honor shows in 2004. I was very unfamiliar with independent wrestling prior. However, after hearing about how you were ROH’s MVP in 2003 and your incredible matches for Jersey All-Pro Wrestling, I knew I had to see you perform live to get the full experience.
It was Reborn: Completion at the RexPlex in Elizabeth, NJ on July 17, 2004 when you and the Havana Pitbulls, alongside Julius “the Devil’s Son In Law” Smokes, against ROH World Champion Samoa Joe and the Briscoes in the main event. Once I saw your intensity, your talent, and the absolute fear that you instilled into the crowd with your anger, I was hooked.
Over the next two decades, as a fan, I got to witness some absolute classics of yours.
I was there when you poured Drano into Colt Cabana’s throat at Final Battle 2005 in Edison, which was followed up with an insane Ghetto Fight at the 4th Anniversary Show in February 2006. I was there when you stood up for “Ring of Homicide” and unleashed a chair riot onto CZW’s madman Necro Butcher in May. I was there when you shaved Steve Corino’s head at The Bitter End at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia in November. I was even there when you successfully defended your ROH World Title against Samoa Joe in January 2007.
I especially enjoyed it when you had a great moment during the original ROH’s final year in 2021 when you and Chris Dickinson won the ROH World Tag Team Titles at Best In The World 2021 in Baltimore.
You truly WERE Ring of Honor in more ways than people actually realize.
But it wasn’t just ROH; you rocked the entire independent scene. The work you did in JAPW, including seven Heavyweight and Tag Team Title reigns, as well as adding in a pair of Teddy Hart’s Jordans, is more than legendary. The work you’ve done in countless independent promotions, from ICW and Capitol Wrestling to the NWA, Full Impact Pro and Game Changer Wrestling, stand on their own merits.
And naturally, we cannot forget your state-of-the-art matches in TNA.
You and Hernandez as LAX actually helped rejuvenate tag team wrestling in the 2000s. Your series of matches against AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, America’s Most Wanted, and Beer Money Inc were straight-up classics. In fact, your Ultimate X match at Bound For Glory 2007 against “PrimeTime” Elix Skipper and Low Ki remains one of my all-time favorite TNA matches.
Also, we can’t forget about your cash-in of that Feast-or-Fired briefcase on Suicide for the X-Division Title on July 16, 2009. Truly, one of the coolest moments in TNA that year was watching you win it on Spike TV.
Needless to say, there are countless memories that I and countless other hardcore wrestling fans were able to enjoy of yours. However, there is one personal one that I have to discuss.
It was April 3, 2010 at the ACE Arena in Union City, NJ. You came that night to ACE and faced Rob Vegas, who was beginning to stand-out for his excellent matches. For me, sitting in those bleachers and watching you deliver a Cop Killa to “the Chessmaster” was an absolute blast to see. It was a packed house, and your performance put the exclamation point on a tremendous night of wrestling, especially in my “home” independent promotion.
The point of this open letter is simple, sir. I truly believe that you deserve your flowers for the amount of work you’ve done in professional wrestling. It’s a true testament that you were able to sustain a relatively strong and steady run throughout the independents for as long as you have.
It’s also something to be said that you might very well be, pound-for-pound, the greatest independent wrestler of all time. You’ve ridden through the ebbs-and-flows of the game at its lowest and strongest. You personify the word “independent”.
The fact that you are respected by countless performers and fans alike says something about the person you are and the character you possess.
It does bother me a tad that your last match isn’t getting as much publicity as it should, and it’s a damn shame. However, to those that have followed your career for a long time, we know what you’ve done in the game. I mean, you ARE the “Notorious 187”. Your work will stand the test of time and will be missed in so many ways.
So, there is one thing that I, as a fan of yours, can simply say to close out this letter.
THANK YOU.
Sincerely,
Bankie Bruce
A Long Time Fan
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