Eighteen months ago, he had decided he’d had enough. It seemed the perfect time, too. He was in the ring, losing a world championship to his friend, partner, and rival, The Deacon. The professional wrestling business was as strong as it had ever been and stronger than most.

And yet… here we are again.

He said he was done after he lost to Deacon. He laid it on the line, NFW Season 2 and fade to black. Thomas had sweetened the deal by giving him a proper farewell in the CSWA against Hornet, but that was a special attraction with the very blatant tagline ‘Eli Flair’s final CSWA match’ attached to it.

And yet… here we are again.

Something just didn’t settle with Eli as the past eighteen months came and went. Sure, he finished the war with Troy Windham, but Troy still held the Unified Championship. Sure, Thomas had come up with the insanity that was the GOLD RUSH, but the first crop of entrants… just didn’t get it.

And so… here we are again.

You can’t go face to face and word for word with Troy, because he’ll shut you down every time. End of story. Sometimes, the only thing that’s given Eli Flair the edge when it came to a verbal spar is the three W’s under his belt. That fact went both ways with Eli and Troy, but everybody else involved seemed to be suffering from plot loss. Nobody could keep their eye on the main goal: remove the belt from Troy’s waist.

And so… here we are again.

Some things just need to be done for the good of the many. These kids – these Gold Rush Fever’d wrestlers – didn’t seem to have enough of a clue on what needed to be done for the good of the professional wrestling industry. Fine. Let ’em talk all they want. The wrestlers that’ll be in the final ring are the ones who will be silently, efficiently doing their job, not talking about it.

And so, here we are again. The bookend to Eli Flair’s career. He started off in the CSWA as a non-contracted wrestler in the 256–man ULTRATITLE. He’s finishing off in the CSWA as a non-contracted wrestler in the 40-something man GOLD RUSH. And while the first chapter was all about being a young rookie trying to make a name for himself, the final is all about a road – worn veteran trying to do what every other veteran has forgotten about: leave behind a better business for the next generation.

This was the CSWA, and this was home.