April 23rd: We [ROH] regret to inform the fans that El Generico will not be able to perform this weekend in Dayton or Chicago. He is meeting with his orthopedic surgeon today to review his MRI, but as of this morning, he was still unable to bend his knee or put any weight on it. Kevin Steen was in contact with ROH officials this morning as well, confirming Generico’s replacement for the weekend. Steen asked us not to announce anything until he has had a chance to address the fans himself, and to that end we offer a letter we received from Steen today at http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/article.aspx?id=2744. Both matches that were scheduled for Steen and Generico will take place this weekend, which opens up a bunch of new possibilities.
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A Letter from Kevin Steen
I met El Generico 7 years ago at some little show back home. I didn’t know him at all but when a promoter from Quebec City, which is about a 3 hour drive from Montreal, came to me that day asking if I could start working for him every week, I said “yes”. Then he said he wanted El Generico for all of his events too, and since Generico doesn’t have a car, driver’s license, sense of direction, or proper knowledge of French or English, he needed someone to help him out. That’s when we started traveling together.
Within those 7 years we went from driving once a week for 3 hours to flying all over the world several times a week to hone our craft in places we would have never thought we’d see. He has seen me get hurt more times that I can keep count. And I have seen him land straight on the top of his head, hit his chins on guardrails after a crazy dive, fall off 20 foot ladders, almost kill himself by slipping off the top rope on a springboard, and get thrown through more tables and chairs than I can even recall…but every time, after every match, I would see him limp back, holding his neck, his shoulder, his ribs, his ankle, and on and on, and all I could do was ask if he was okay…and every time, he’d look at me and say just one word – “Si”.
Well, every time…except two.
Two years ago in England, he was being driven through a table but it didn’t break. His back was shot. We finished the match and when I asked him if he was okay after, he just looked at me with a blank stare and didn’t say anything. I knew it was bad. The next day we had another match in Germany where he was scheduled for a title shot against the champion. When we got there, he told me he couldn’t do it but I refused to believe him. It took me 3 hours to convince him but I finally did. He wrestled and gave one of the best efforts of his career that night, even if he was barely able to walk 2 minutes before his entrance music hit.
The second time was last Saturday in Montreal. Just like I had done two years before, I tried to talk him into wrestling, but this time, there was no denying it, he was in no shape to wrestle. I figured his knee would get better but I’m sad to say, it hasn’t. He will not be able to wrestle this weekend and trust me when I say this, it’s killing him. Physically and emotionally.
So the person responsible for this should be worried…
Davey…you should be worried for two reasons.
One, you know Generico will get better sooner or later and when he does, the payback this time will be much worse than what you ever thought he was capable of. You know what is at stake, and believe me, so does Generico. The World Tag Team Titles are all he cares about.
Two, because I have a partner ready to help me this weekend; one that knows exactly what I’m going through and one that, just like me, can’t wait to get his hands on you.
Jay Briscoe and I were great enemies, and have done battle time and time again. And while I wouldn’t say we’re exactly friends now, the few times we have teamed together seem to indicate that we are just as good as partners. It’s called mutual respect. I don’t have to like him. He doesn’t have to like me. But I know he can go, and knows I can too. And we both have lost brothers because of you American Wolves.
This weekend, we are going to do something even more shocking than when we originally teamed together a few months ago…because this time, we’re going to win the Ring Of Honor World Tag Team Championship – TOGETHER!