A New Light

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

The sounding of running water is heard and there is a bright white light. The scene fades in to a hotel bathroom in Moscow, Russia. Josh Konnely is in the shower, behind a fogged up glass door. The steaming water shuts off and Josh grabs a towel draped over the shower door.

Konnely steps out of the shower with the towel tied around his waist. Josh stops for a moment with his head hung. He shakes his head, then exits the bathroom.

"At When Dreams May Come, Kyle Murphy and myself successfully defended the SFT Tag Team Championships against a lone challenger in the legendary Sean Lane.

Since that night, I have come down with a cold. As a result, I've mostly been sitting around the house coughing and suffering. As I am sure you can imagine, there is nothing worse when in mourning then to sit around with nothing to do. But that is exactly what I have had to do.

It will be two weeks ago tomorrow that a dear, sweet, and beautiful young girl was struck down by a single bullet inside her own home. All she was doing was... taking a shower. Her name was Luz Damiana Morales.

I hope you all will bare with me if I'm repeating myself. When I was a small child growing up in Saugerties, I used to watch a show with my mom and dad. A show which starred Roma Downey and Della Reese. That show was called Touched By An Angel. The reason I bring that up is because I believe it describes how I feel about having met Luz: she was an angel and she touched my life.

So you will forgive me if it is all that I have been able to think about, won't you?

That angel of Light, Luz Damiana Morales. Luz means 'light' in Spanish, from the Latin 'lux.' Damiana comes from a Greek root meaning 'spirit.' The surname Morales means 'son of Moral,' with Moral being a given name meaning 'right and proper.' Light spirit, right and proper. A perfect name for the girl who bore it.

Seeing her warm, brilliant, beautiful light snuffed out by the darkness of violence and crime makes me realize that for all these years since my father passed that I have hidden in darkness... that I have LIVED in darkness. The darkness attacked me when I was just a child, and in my pain I let the darkness win. I allowed the darkness to consume me.

In my SFT career, I have done countless dark and terrible things. I have mercilessly choked people out. I have punted people right in the skull. I have brutally assaulted people to the point where I have been disqualified. I have done whatever it took to get ahead in this company. I have acted repulsively out of misplaced aggression and rage. I am not proud of the man Josh Konnely has been.

Last week when I dropped that mask in that ring it marked the complete turn of Josh Konnely. That old bitter and angry Josh Konnely who hid behind a mask of rage and held the world at arm's length is dead and buried. I will no longer live in darkness and hide MY light in shadows.

On Tuesday Night Titans this week the world will see Josh Konnely in a new light. While I am still a warrior, I will compete for what is RIGHT AND PROPER. I will put forth my own LIGHT SPIRIT. Last week I debuted an arm triangle choke finisher from the world of mixed martial arts which I call the Beautiful Light. Sean Lane became the first of many who will enter the Light.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to take on Rayn in the main event. Rayn eliminated me from the King of the Deathmatch. Or you could say that I allowed Rayn to eliminate me from that tournament. I certainly didn't put my best foot forward that night, did I? In fact, I missed my plane and didn't even show up.

Rayn, I cannot recall if I have ever done you any wrong... well, aside from no-showing our deathmatch... but if I have, I am sorry.

While I cannot say that I exactly respect Rayn as a human being, I have absolute respect for his ability in that ring. Rayn is a man who has made his mistakes, much as I have. But Rayn is madly in love with himself, and he could never even imagine that he might be wrong. Whereas I have seen the light, Rayn lives with his head in the clouds. The Rayn blocks out the sun, preventing the light from shining through.

In the midst of sickness and mourning, I have also had time to do some homework on Rayn. It is said that Rayn's strongest feature is that he never taps out... 'EVER.' Normally that would be a concern for someone who specializes in submission grappling, with finishers such as the LeBell Lock and arm triangle. But it really doesn't matter if Rayn won't tap out because he WILL enter the Light and once he does go gently into that good night, his lights will go OUT.

Rayn, I have already had my Epiphany. Tomorrow night I will share it with you."

The scene fades out once again to the bright white light.