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Suicide Saint Back From the Dead! Morte Joins Messengers In Victory Over Black Flag Rising!

Posted: Aug 6th 2024 By: Michael Hunt

Most people thought Damien Morte was gone forever.

For those who remembered him, Morte lived up to his nickname of the "Suicide Saint" as he was one of those rare individuals who had little to no concern for his body and a very high tolerance for pain. He infamously once ended up setting himself on fire during a Triple Threat TLC Match in IZW, suffering 3rd degree burns on his back and torso. That was in the opening match. But by the end of the show, 3 hours, later, not only had he not gone to the emergency room to get looked at, but he was walking around backstage as if nothing had really happened.

But beyond his physical endurance, Morte's mind was a repository of sick ideas. This is the man who created the Impact X match in IZW. This is the man who brought the Ultimate X match into SWCW. This is a man who competed in the first and only Walking Dead Match in Oklahoma History.

But 5 years ago, Morte walked away from professional wrestling and had not been heard from since.

On July 20th, EPW put on their annual Scars & Stripes event. The main event was supposed to feature a 5-on-5 match between the Black Flag Rising faction and the Psychotic Messengers, but fate, licensing and other factors had cause a bit of a problem in that plan. So special guest commissioner C. M. Burnham decided to create an opportunity for both sides and proposed a series of 3 matches. If BFG won 2 out of 3, they would get to put their 5 members up against the 3 members present of the Messengers. But if the Messengers won, they would face Black Flag Rising in a 4-on-4 match and would be allowed to pick a suitable 4 member.

The first match saw EPW International Champion, WAH Spotlight & CPW Tag Team Champion Trench Blyth defeat Floyd Maystorm. Match two, however is where the controversy set in as EPW All-American & ASP Champion The Gatekeeper faced Sean Ryan. There came a moment where Gatekeeper had Ryan in the ropes with the referee counting, but 'Keeper did not heed the referee's count and Ryan won by DQ. That should have meant 2 matches for BFG and a 5-on-3 Handicap Match in the main event. But commissioner Burnham had some evidence he had to consider and the final match between NWA United States Tag Team Champion Jack Talos and UWE Tag Team Champion The Faded Ghoul went on, with Talos picking up a clean victory.

Burnham then came out and said that he had no problem with the outcomes of matches 1 & 3, but match 2 was in heavy dispute as he had evidence that the Black Flag Brigade had paid off the referee to call for the DQ, so he was throwing that decision out and awarding the victory in the series to the Psychotic Messengers. This meant that they would get their 4-on-4 match, but the question was who their 4th member would be. Gatekeeper and Talos were already accounted for. EPW Champion Malachi was present. But Tank Bryson was unable to be present, allegedly due to transportation issues caused by the Black Flags themselves.

Psychotic Messenger mastermind Lucian Loveless, however, had that situation handled and revealed the 4th member of the team in the surprising return of Damien Morte! Morte, who looked in tremendous shape, fit right in to the chaos that engulfed the Elimination Match and while he was the 2nd man eliminated on the Messengers' side, he still showed that he had all the tools he had during the height of his career. In the end, the Black Flag Rising had to walk the proverbial plank as Talos and Malachi stood remaining in the match. And amazingly, despite the harsh words between the two sides, a show of respect happened after this war as both teams realised there were greater threats out there, with Guy Sterling and the Sterling Society as well as the Saints of Pro Wrestling all looking to increase their power in the company.

Is this a one-time pairing of Morte and the Messengers? Morte has often worked best in a group setiting, such as Nemesis or Impact, Inc. But who knows what the desires are right now for the returning star. If this is a comeback for a final hurrah, then perhaps he wants to stand on his own. And there is one goal that Morte has never achieved: A Heavyweight Championship of a company. Could his partnership be the pathway to a final title reign in the near future?