Thank You, Nora Greenwald
October 2006
By Jason Sensation
It was October of 2000 & I had been under contract with WWF for over 2 years. 95% of that time was spent waiting at home, collecting pay checks every week, hoping & actually still believing that they would bring me back up to T.V.’s as they had promised on so many occasions.
Then one afternoon I got the call I thought I was waiting for…
Kevin Kelly called me up & basically gave me 4 days to wrap up my life in Toronto & move down to one of their developmental territories, at that time in Memphis Tennessee.
You would think that I should have been thrilled I was getting the opportunity, grateful that I had not been forgotten & relieved that I was not being let go. However, to be quite honest, I broke out in tears as soon as I hung up the phone. How did they expect me to tie up all my loose ends & just pack up & move to a brand new country that fast? Didn’t they take into consideration that I had to leave my family, my friends & my life as I knew it to embark on a journey to an unfamiliar land where I knew nobody & would have to survive all alone? Did they care? No! This was business & I worked for them & I knew I had to do what they wanted if I had any hope of keeping my job.
Although I cried for four days, I did what they asked of me, packed up my life, said my goodbye’s & tied up my loose ends. Then… I, “Put on my wrestling shoes & I boarded the plane. Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues, in the middle of the pouring rain. W.C Handy, wont you look down over me. Yeah I got a first class ticket, but I’m as blue as a boy could be.” (Sorry I had to, it was too fitting!)
I felt so many different emotions over that long plane ride. Most of all, I was so scared. In fact I was terrified! How would the boys accept me? Where would I live? How was I going to get around when I didn’t even have a drivers licence? How was I suppose to wrestle with Shawn Michael’s 4 best students (which was the initial plan) when I was not even an athlete & had only learnt the basics of working a match to become the best “WWF PERSONALITY” I could be? As all of these questions overwhelmed me I became more & more consumed with insecurity & landed in Memphis with zero confidence & failure written all over me.
After 5 hours of being told to “hang tight” at the Memphis airport, a wrestler by the name of Kevin Fortig came to pick me up. He didn’t seem thrilled to be stuck with the job of bringing me & my belongings to the training facility & didn’t say much over the hour long drive, which didn’t help with my emotional state.
We finally arrived & I walked into the room as shy as could be. I didn’t know the rule about introducing myself to all of the boys, so I was not received well from the get go. I sat back feeling so out of place as Tracy Smothers played old wrestling video’s for all to review. I was too afraid to talk to anyone & nobody was talking to me. I slowly sunk into my chair as my anxiety turned into panic inside of me. I wanted to be sick. Kevin Fortig had helped me unload his car of my belonging’s & as the training day was coming to an end, I didn’t know where I was suppose to go or how I was going to get there. I was fighting back tears wondering what was going on. Nobody was telling me anything. I was suppose to miraculously figure everything out on my own. I was having a nervous breakdown. Then… I met an Angel.
Her name was Nora Greenwald. She introduced herself to me & just meeting her began to settle me down. I don’t know if she could sense what I was going through, but she certainly saved the day in so many ways. She had a kind nature, was entirely polite & had a beautiful smile that could brighten your day. The more we talked, the better I felt.
Nora then asked “Where are you staying & how are you getting around?” I almost broke down right in front of her but I did my best to hold it together while I explained my confused state & helpless situation. Without any hesitation she said “Not to worry, you can easily get a room where I am staying, at the In Town Suites & I’ll give you a ride over cause that’s where I am headed anyway.”
Talk about saving the day! I felt like I was drowning & she reached in & pulled me out of the water seconds before I ran out of breath. I don’t know if she will ever know what her kindness did for me that day. I was all alone, in a brand new world & she was my only friend.
That was only the beginning as there was no limit to her kindness & generosity. For the first while, she made sure I got to every show. If I ever had a question I could always go to her. She would even knock on my door at the In Town Suites every now & then to offer me a ride to go shopping at the grocery store while she was going. Although I felt guilty, like I had become a burden, I really needed her & she knew it. She always did her best to reassure me that I was not a bother. She was like a guardian Angel. I honestly don’t know how I would have survived those first few weeks without her.
Following those first few weeks, I had a dispute with the In Town Suites, which is too long of a story to get into right now but to make a long story short, I found myself in a jam once again, without a place to live. The Memphis Police would not help me & neither would the WWF agents in charge at the time. I had no other choice but to call the only person I knew that would help me… & did she ever. Nora called up Brian Danielson, who lived with two other graduates of Shawn Michael’s Wrestling Academy – Brian Kendrick & Shooter Shultdz (& later Lance Cade) & asked what I never would have been able to ask… “Would you take in Jason Sensation?” As great of guys as those boys were, I don’t know if they would have let me live with them without the reference from Nora. Not to mention, everyone adored her, so it would not have been easy for them to say no.
Shawn’s students took me in & I had the time of my life as we ended up becoming the best of friends. I even became their on air manager in Memphis while Nora, on the other hand was taken up to T.V.’s soon after to become Molly Holly.
I truly believed that she was an Angel, who took me under her wing while she could & then made sure I was taken care of before she had to fly away.
A few months later, 2 days after WWF acquired WCW, I was given my release.
It was so hard to pack up & leave my family to go to Memphis in the first place, but now… I found it even harder to pack up & go home. For I knew in my heart that I would have to say goodbye to this new found family forever. (& that’s what we had all become in Memphis… A Family!)
As I’ve stated in a previous column, following my WWF exit, I would go through a very dark & depressing period in my life.
I lost touch with everyone from WWF except for Brian Kendrick, who did his best to keep my spirits high for a very long time. That’s the nature of the business though. When your in – your in, once your out – your out.
Two of my biggest regrets after realizing it was all over were, 1) I never got to personally thank Vince McMahon for the opportunity he gave me & 2) I never got to meet the Nature Boy Ric Flair.
One year later, I got a surprise phone call… From an Angel.
Nora Greenwald called me up & asked me what I was doing for WrestleMania 18, which would be in my home town of Toronto Canada. She would then offer to give me her 2 comp. tickets with the reason being “I don’t know anyone else in Toronto!” Thanks to Nora, I got to go to WrestleMania & see Hulkamania reborn. I also got to see Nora again which was nothing short of wonderful for me. Again there was no limit to her kindness & generosity as she later invited me to join her for the WrestleMania after party.
At that party, I was able to put my regrets to rest as I finally got to thank Vince McMahon personally & I also got to meet the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Nora even forced me to do my legendary Ric Flair impersonation, right to his face. What an unforgettable night.
As the party came to an end & I said goodbye to Nora & the rest of the WWF, I didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the last time I saw my dear friend who did so much for me, so many times.
So I would like to take this opportunity to say… From the bottom of my heart… THANK YOU NORA GREENWALD. Thank you for the kindness you showed me. Thank you for offering your helping hand so many times when I had no one to turn to. Thank you for remembering me, when it had seemed that the entire world had forgotten about me. Thank you for being the Angel you were to me. Thank you for every wonderful gift you gave me, especially the gift of your friendship. Most of all… Thank You Nora Greenwald – for being You.
Sincerely,
Jason Sensation
God Bless