Independent Wrestling Network Presents: Jason Spade on retirement, commentary role, and future with CMV

by Jason Spade Fri Feb 02, 2024 3:20 pm

The IWN jingle plays and intrepid reporter Troy Garter appears on screen.

"Good morning, folks, welcome to another episode of Independent Wrestling Network's podcast; the #17 podcast in all of wrestling! Today we're jumping back into CMV news as the fallout from Validation rocks the world of CMV. Our first guest had front row seats to the main event of Validation, right from the commentary booth- CMV Hall of Famer, Jason Spade!"

The camera pans to Jason Spade, wearing a dark shirt and tie.

"Howdy. Good to see you, Troy."

"So Jason... After your retirement last year, you've been pretty radio silent in the wrestling world until recently. What have you been up too in the recent months?"

"Well, after Ascendance and my goodbye speech, I went in for surgery pretty much right away. I've been fortunate in my career to have never suffered any major injuries that put me on the shelf for a long time, but I had a lot of nagging minor injuries that were really starting to pile up. That's the whole reason I retired in the first place. So yeah, pretty much right into surgery to correct some of those issues."

"What sort of injuries were you dealing with?"

"Well, I had some issues with my left shoulder that needed surgery. I dislocated it probably almost two years ago, but I just popped it back in and thought everything was fine. Turns out I had some bad tears and strains that just kept getting worse for a while, and I actually almost didn't get cleared for Ascendance because of it."

"Wow!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. I also had my left hip replaced, and I got some new metal bits in my right knee. The main thing that contributed to me retiring, though, is the concussions."

"You have a history of concussions?"

"I've had at least six, but probably more. My brain looks okay now, but every doctor I've seen has told me that if I had kept going the way I was, I'd be in a bad way within a couple more years. Especially since we have a history of dementia already in my family, which I'd rather not get into."

"Of course, of course. So it's safe to say that your in ring career is over for good?"

"Well..."

Spade hesitates.

"I'll never say 'never'. You can't in a business like this. Wrestling, I mean. I'm healing fast, I feel good, I'm even training again- martial arts, not wrestling training. Can I confidently say I'll never ever wrestle again? No. But I can guarantee that I'll never be a full time wrestler ever again. Even if I do heal up, even if I do have one or two matches left in me, I can already tell that I'll never be able to perform at the same level, and that... Well, that isn't acceptable to me."

"I see, I see. That does segue into the next thing I wanted to ask you about; you've recently been heard at the commentary booth in CMV, at Attack on Australia and now Validation. How did that come about?"

"Well, even before I retired, I was starting to take some production roles backstage in CMV. It started when I was dating Madison Wright, actually. Now that I'm fully retired, I'm helping out a lot more. Production, public relations, things like that. I guess commentary was the next step up from that."

"Can we expect to see more commentary work from you in the future?"

"Oh, for sure. Never in a full time capacity like Dashing, of course, but I'm sure I'll be another rotating member of our guest commentary list."

"Good, good. One last question for you; we've all read the reports about a backstage altercation between you and Xander Slate backstage at Validation. Can you give us some insight on that?"

"Ugh... Look, I get why Slate was pissed. I wasn't very flattering towards him with my commentary. I got a little carried away, let my biases come out. That's on me. I got nothing but respect for Slate's abilities, he's a CMV original for a reason. Been around longer than me, and he'll probably be around long after I'm gone. So, for my disrespecting him on commentary, I apologize."

"Wow... I don't think I've ever--"

"However!"

A pause.

"I got some more disrespect that I ain't gonna apologize for here. You wanna beat up a guy from behind, while he's eating, who you know ain't medically cleared? Just cuz I hurt your little feelings? I knew Slate was a lot of things, but I didn't know he was such a coward. I may not be as tough as I used to be, but I am not scared of Slate, and I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

"Wow, well, there you have it, folks! After this break, we'll come back with a deep dive into CMV's new boss... Who is Pat LaFave, and what does him being the Higher Authority mean for CMV? DOn't go anywhere!