The Wrestling Press: Chris Jericho Special

INSIDE: THE MIZ

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JOE E. LEGEND

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WW-GEEK

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CORNETTE IV

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NWA 2K10

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FUTURE OF ROH?

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MORE

CONTENTS 4

WORLD NEWS

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CHRIS JERICHO INTERVIEW

THE WRESTLING PRESS

“It's virtually a lock someone from developmental will be replacing Michael Cole as announcer for NXT.”

“The thing is, I have been doing this for 20 years. I have a lot of good will built up with the fans and people appreciate the hard work that I do, so if I turned baby face tomorrow they would buy it."

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WW-GEEK

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BRAVO CLOSING - WHERE DOES IMPACT GO FROM HERE? “TNA though are remaining positive and upbeat about the announcement of the closure and seem confident in their future on UK television.”

ISSuE 10 CONTACT

ed@thewrestling press.com

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CONTRIBUTORS

Phil Austin Dusty Wolfe Matt Singh Justin LaBar Mark Satrang Rob Sivell John Milner The CYNIC David Schmida Dark Kitty Darren Wood The Wrestling Press is an independent publication and is in no way endorsed by or affiliated with any wrestling group, including WWE and TNA. The views expressed by the writers does not necessarily represent the views of The Wrestling Press. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. © Riot! Promotions 2010

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THE CHRIS JERICHO YEARS “Chris Jericho was the rock star you dreamed of being, mixed with the guy in high school that you couldn’t stand to be around.”

HOW WILL HISTORY JUDGE THE NEXUS? “But with Nexus, you are seeing a group unique in the history of professional wrestling. This is not a collection of elite, established stars. Instead, the Nexus looks to be a vehicle to introduce a number of young stars to the main roster all at once."

MIZ IS AWESOME 24 THE “A man simply known as The Miz blew my mind with his promo on the September 6 edition of Monday Night RAW.”

“So what am I getting at? Well, to put it bluntly, where wrestling was once populated by superhumans and ‘macho men’ far removed from the rest of us wrestling geeks, wrestling now features many of these geeks as ‘stars'."

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COUNT-OUT WITH NOEL HARLOW “The day before Mothers Day a few years back I was doing a show at the ECW Arena and a fan punched me in the face and gave me a black eye. I ended up knocking him on his behind."

OUR BLESSINGS 42 GIVING WITH THE WRESTLING PRIEST: FERGAL DEVITT

“While most Western fans will think of Sheamus or Finley when asked to name a successful Irish wrestler of the last few years, there is one wrestler who is garnering just as much success in the wrestling world.”

TNA WOES, AND SOLUTIONS

HENNIG BIOGRAPHY 44 CURT “In 1982, Hennig went to the

at the feet of the guys in charge, namely Vince Russo (head writer), Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan.”

WWF for the first time, tagging with another future star and 2nd generation wrestler, “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert.”

28 “The problem can be laid directly

2 www.thewrestlingpress.com

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A CYNICAL MIND: IT IS FLEETING, IT IS EPHEMERAL, IT MEANS NOTHING

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“It was a brilliantly constructed storyline that culminated in a truly amazing Last man standing match.”

“Wrestling is seedy. It’s on the margins. It needs a clear out. Not of grapplers though.

Of management and their outmoded ideas.”

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60 62 67 68

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JIM CORNETTE INTERVIEW

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“And of course, Tyler Black and Davey Richards which to me compared with a Ric Flair/Ricky Steamboat match.”

ROH: WHERE TO GO NOW? “The change in booking style under Pearce has rocked RoH’s position as the perceived number three promotion in America, with close rivals Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Chikara and Dragon Gate USA not far behind."

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NWA 2K10 “He is a very good choice as champion, bringing credibility back to the NWA title.”

BACK FROM THE BRINK

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“Don't get back in the ring again. I’m sorry but your wrestling career is over, go play chess”.”

“He quickly became one of the biggest stars continental Europe had to offer and went on to win a great amount of tournaments.”

JOE E. LEGEND INTERVIEW

RETROWRESTLING INTERVIEW “My most memorable experience has to be when I was invited to meet Don Matthews (William Regal's Father) at his home.”

PBW - THE BEST IN THE LAND? “PBW helped current WWE superstar Drew McIntyre by giving him the platform to perform and hone his craft.”

MANIACO CRAZY INTERVIEW “I’ve always been rebellious and quirky, you can say I always was a little crazy.”

UFC CLOSE TO ONTARIO MOVE “Not only is the Ontario area a hotbed of MMA fandom, but with the opening up of that area also comes a huge step towards what many in UFC management believe to be the holy land; namely MMA being legalised in the state of New York.”

SHOWING COURAGE “GSW is going to present a weekly ninety minute wrestling show revolving around the promotion’s talents.”

TWP REVIEW 92 THE STRANGER 93 WRESTLEMANIA 26 94 ORIG WILLIAMS BIOGRAPHY 96 FWA ART OF WAR 97 UFC: RAMPAGE GREATEST HITS

HORST HOFFMAN BIOGRAPHY

“I did another movie with Johnny Storm in England a few years ago. I will never forget that one. It was the day they found Benoit’s family dead. I really didn’t believe it, so we went back to the director’s office to watch RAW and, sadly, it was a reality."

NATHAN CRUZ THE SHOWSTEALER - AND RIGHTLY SO

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THE WOLFE PIT “I met Lance when he was training here in San Antonio. Lance was all of 18, and constantly hanging with “Spanky” Brian Kendrick. They were a pair that made me grin every time I saw them.”

Winners of last issue’s Abdullah signed shoot DVD’s are: Stephen Tansey of Liverpool, Phil from Worcester, Luke Faith of London, Mark Fox from Tyne & Wear and James Shaw of Stoke-on-Trent.

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The Wrestling Scoop With Mike Aldren Courtesy of THE WRESTLING GLOBE Newsletter WWE has updated it's Talent Wellness Program following events in Europe with the Smackdown crew. The most significant change is that the drug Carisprodol (Somas) has been added to the banned substance list, and there will be no medical use exemption.

More updates to the program are expected to be announced publicly at a later date. Former WWE announcer Jim Ross on his website www.jrsbarbq.com welcomed the news. "I think that's a great idea. Too many wrestlers took/take Somas recreationally, much like wrestlers used to smoke weed in the '70s.

Prescription pill abuse is a huge enemy of all wrestlers who abuse them. Pain medicine, Somas, Ambien, and Xanax are an evil mixture especially when mixed with alcohol and taken in excess."

Matt Hardy's future with WWE has been determined but neither side is talking. Hardy has been active on Twitter and noted that he is looking for a professional writer to help pen his autobiography.

It's virtually a lock someone from developmental will be replacing Michael Cole as announcer for NXT. The show this past Tuesday night did a 1.0 rating and averaged 1.2 million viewers.

There’s a strange story of an Indiana woman wo was arrested after she attempted to purchase two properties while falsely claiming she was 4 www.thewrestlingpress.com

married to WWE agent Fit Finlay! Nanette Michelle Stone, 35, faces a maximum of 16 years in jail for two Class C felony charges of forgery.

Hogan is pitching a new TV series called Hogan's Court where he handles disputes between siblings. Punishments may include picking up dog poop. Seriously...

Kevin Kelly of Ring of Honor on Vince going nuts at announcers in the headsets, he said: "It was easy for me. I just turned the volume down and then would apologize later. He never said anything to me that was accurate or helpful on the headset. Now, JR, on the other hand was a terrific producer for the announcers and the few times I worked with him in that capacity, it was great!"

Kevin Nash' contract expires on 12th October and at this point his final date is Bound For Glory on 10/10. Most people in the company assume he will sign a new deal soon despite a Twitter rant in which he buried Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam. Nash has told friends recently that he wants out, but they took it that he was just venting.

Sean "Syxx-Pac" Waltman was arrested and charged with CDS possession while passing through New Jersey. He was busted by port authority police at Newark Airport who

processed him before eventually releasing him without bail.

Triple H's unofficial role as a senior adviser (to Vince McMahon) was recently formalized as he was given his own office at WWE's headquarters in Stamford, CT. It's believed that he will be transitioning to the corporate side of the business and winding down his inring career over the next few years in readiness for the day that McMahon, 65, hands over the business to Stephanie.

Legendary, WWE Studios' sports drama with John Cena, Danny Glover and Patricia Clarson didn't fare too well in it's first week limited release at the U.S. box office. The film showed in 178 theaters over its debut weekend and was estimated at doing a little over $135,000 or $764 per screen.

Critics generally gave the film a negative response with many calling it predictable and overdone.

Chris Jericho recently turned down a spot on Dancing with the Stars due to a scheduling conflict but said he would love to do the show in the future should the opportunity arise.

Joey Styles' WWE talent contract recently expired although he remains with WWE's New Media department.

Rob McNichol on Tyler Black signing with WWE.... Black, 24, says he was renegotiating with ROH but Evan Bourne convinced him to sign here and that he also turned down an offer

from TNA. "To be honest, and no disrespect meant, but it wasn't a hard decision to make.

You have to want to test yourself against the best and WWE is the pinnacle of our industry.

They were actually the last to make me an offer. I was renegotiating with ROH and TNA had made an offer, but when WWE came in it was no contest. I understand that I may have to sacrifice a little artistic integrity – and I don't know if I'll have to change my name – but I'm so excited about the challenge that lies ahead." Black finished up with ROH by dropping the heavyweight title to Rodrick Strong.

The Winnipeg Sun reported on the mistress of Billy Gunn / Kip James (Monty Sopp) who has been publishing audio rec-ordings, videos and photos from her affair with him after it ended.

Sopp, who is married, says 24-year-old Deborah Simmons has been harassing him after his wife became aware of their affair. Simmons had posted several photos of her together with Sopp on her Facebook page.

Next Month For the next edition of TWP we shall have an exclusive interview with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, along with 5 copies of his latest movie to give away. Also planned are debut articles from Japanese and Australian correspondents, and an extensive look at tag teams on the independent circuit.

We hope you enjoy our efforts this issue. It was a lot of hard work so please spread the word about the greatest free wrestling mag on the net today!

As ever, looking forward to your comments, suggestions and feedback.

– Ed (ed@thewrestlingpress.com)

To receive all the latest professional wrestling news and gossip direct to your mailbox send an email to wrestlingglobe-subscribe@topica.com www.thewrestlingpress.com 5

He has won 22 championships in his WWE career, he was the first ever undisputed WWE Champion and since his debut in 1990 he has entertained fans throughout the world.

TWP’s Darren Wood managed to grab an exclusive interview with Fozzy lead singer, WWE superstar and the best in the world at what he does - Chris Jericho. .. .

Right first question Fozzy started off as a tribute band and some people really didn’t take you guys seriously – now it seems though Fozzy are a legitimate hard hitting rock band, what made you decide to take the band in a more serious direction?

It started off as more of a hobby, just a bunch of guys getting together to play some songs that we liked and as a result we got offered a record deal by the guy who signed Metallica & Anthrax. He wanted us to make an album of covers and we were kind of confused by it, but like any self respecting musician we took the cash and made the record (laughs).

I wanted to be more than a cover band, I mean it was fine at first, but a couple of years later Rich Ward [guitarist of Fozzy and Stuck Mojo] and I were saying to each other we enjoy playing together, we have good chemistry as a band, we’re good friends and we wanna keep going with this. So we switched the focus of what Fozzy was doing at first into more original stuff. I think our last album ‘All That Remains’ was really a transition record where people who thought these guys were just a cover band listened to the record and realised how good the tunes were and how good the band was. For this album ‘Chasing The Grail’ it’s kind of taken us to a whole new level, its one of those things where at this point in time – ten years later since we started, people have (a) forgotten about the cover albums and are just enjoying the original tunes and (b) really have seen what we do live and seen that we have really turned the corner. It’s been a great last couple of years to see the band grow, especially in the UK. We do great business over there and draw great crowds, selling out most of our shows. At this point in time people enjoy the music for what it is.

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It must be very gratifying to receive such positive reviews for this, your fourth studio album, after being dismissed as a tribute band all those years ago.

It’s very gratifying; I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12 years old. As a kid I wanted to be a wrestler and a rock star. Even before I was wrestling, I was playing in bands and even when I started wrestling I was still writing songs, playing those songs in bars and stuff like that. Some people don’t get to live out their dream but I have seen my dreams come into fruition and for them to both have varying levels of success is very gratifying. It’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of shows and a lot of songs that have been recorded. To be able to go to the UK like we are in October and do 10 shows in 10 days across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England is great. To do shows all around the world is very rewarding and I am very blessed in the fact that I have two dreams that I am living and able to do both. It’s a great time to be in the band for sure.

You said earlier you wanted to be a rock star since you were 12 years old, so how come instead of pursuing that passion first you instead chose to pursue professional wrestling?

I love them both equally and growing up in Winnipeg, Canada, the music scene consisted of The Guess Who and The Crash Test Dummies, there wasn’t a lot around in the music scene.

I just really got into the wrestling side of things when I was about 17, so it was just one of those things where wrestling was the path I went down, it could just have easily been music if there were the same opportunities afforded. It almost worked out for the best because obviously I was a huge wrestling fan and I had a massive passion for wrestling. I really got to explore that for the first 10 years of my career and then Fozzy started in 2000, so it has really been double duty in the last 10 years. It’s great though because I am seeing Fozzy grow and seeing the snowball roll down the hill, the same way I did with Chris Jericho 15 years ago. I’ve been very fortunate to see lightning strike twice and I think it’s one of the reasons why Fozzy is big and get-

ting bigger because I know what it takes to be successful as I have done it with Chris Jericho in wrestling against all odds, so to speak.

It seems that you have done a pretty good job, distinguishing and separating Chris Jericho the rock star and Chris Jericho the WWE superstar. Was it a hard thing to do and when live on stage with Fozzy, is it imperative to show that different side of your personality?

Not really because they stem from the same place, I mean whether it’s wrestling or its fozzy they are both entertaining the crowd. Making sure that people have a great time. So that’s all part of what you’re doing, it’s what being in show business and being a showman is all about, there’s a lot of similarities with what I do with fozzy and what I do with WWE in terms of the reaction of what the crowd gives you. They are both very hard hitting and very aggressive forms of entertainment, you want to be the party host in both cases and make sure that people have fun and influence them. If they’re having a great time you end up having a great time and it becomes a better show because of that.

THEY HAVE KIND OF FORGOTTEN THAT JERICHO’S A WRESTLER, IT’S TWO SEPARATE THINGS Being in the WWE also I’m playing a character so, my character right now is one that is very antagonistic, he enjoys making people angry but with Fozzy it’s more a character of the party host. But they both stem from the same place which is the reason why Fozzy is a great representation of a live band because we are very en-

As a kid I wanted to be a wrestler and a rock star

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tertaining. Rich and I know how to entertain a crowd with us being in show business for 20 plus years. Show business is show business whether its wrestling, rock and roll, being a game show host – it doesn’t matter, it’s still all about the connection with the crowd and being in front of a live audience.

I suppose wrestling is a great start for being a showman?

It’s not just a great start it’s the best start, that’s one of the reasons why I made it in the first place. When I started wrestling it was all about size, I didn’t have the size in 1990 – I wasn’t three hundred pounds – so I thought how can I make a mark in the wrestling business and figured that I needed to have the biggest personality and the best character I could possibly have. That’s the reason why I’ve been able to stand up in front of a crowd. Some of the best entertainers in the world are not necessarily the best wrestlers, singers or guitar players but they know how to connect with the crowd. Which in wrestling is more important than doing a dozen high spots, it is all about connection with the crowd.

Being a wrestler, were there any problems getting your name out there or generally being accepted in the music industry?

Yeah absolutely. I mean there was a lot of people who checked out the band because of who I was, but there was just as many people who didn’t check out the band because I was in it. I think people were like: He’s a wrestler, how can he possibly sing, how can he possibly do both? After a while, with the band being around for so long now, it seems it’s got to the point where I could be a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker – it doesn’t matter as long as it’s good music. I think people really appreciate the music, the level of consistency that we have and the diversity of the band.

They have kind of forgotten that Jericho’s a wrestler, it’s two separate things. The music we do is quality stuff and that’s the most important thing.

I AM IN CONTROL OF HOW THE FANS REACTS WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT You are a wrestling star, a rock star, a movie star in Mcgruber – now how does it feel to be a TV game show host with ABC’s downfall and how did this come about?

Like I said it’s just a natural step and progression for what I do it was a big opportunity for me, 150 people auditioned for Downfall and I ended up getting a gig, it was a great experience and more importantly for me personally it put myself in a different light in front of a lot of influential people, it extends what I do as an entertainer and the Chris Jericho brand so to speak.

Could you see yourself going into film acting or being a TV star full time?

Well yeah and the beauty of doing Downfall was it didn’t affect anything I did in the WWE. We filmed our episodes for three nights in LA and it was great and it was a lot of fun to show a different side of Jericho, a more funnier, laid back personality, which is good because I’ve been playing the evil character for the last three years so I wanted to kind of open up and do something a bit different.

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Over the last few weeks some fans have been chanting Y2J, what is your opinion on this as you are a heel and does it annoy you in any way that when you came back to WWE in 2007 you had to start a whole new Jericho persona as the Y2J character didn’t really click.

Does it annoy me? Not in the least. It wasn’t that the Y2J character didn’t click necessarily, it was just that I knew I needed to do something new and more importantly I wanted to do something new, I just wasn’t exactly sure what that was when I first came back. Being gone for two years in wrestling is like dog years, I had to reacquaint myself with the fans and I didn’t really have 100% commitment to that character because it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I thought there was more that I could do and I wasn’t sure what to do with my character until I saw the movie No Country for Old Men. I saw that character Anton Chigurh had and how he was like a crazy psycho that was very calm and monotone and that’s kind of what made me click and I wanted to do that in wrestling and ditch the countdown, ditch

all the catchphrases, completely reinvent myself.

Combined with the whole Shawn Michaels angle, which was supposed to be just a one night thing, but ended up being 8 months and one of the best feuds of all time. All this influenced me to understand what I wanted to do with this new character and as far as having people chant Y2J, that’s the idea at this point of time because by proxy I am the ‘good guy’ because we faced Nexus at Summerslam and the whole story is yeah, Jericho has teamed up with Cena, he’s kind of a good guy but he’s kind of not, are we supposed to cheer him? The thing is, I have been doing this for 20 years. I have a lot of good will built up with the fans and people appreciate the hard work that I do, so if I turned baby face tomorrow they would buy it. I knew they would chant Y2J when it was proposed I was going to team with Cena and it’s what WWE wants at this moment in time. Tomorrow that could change in one second if I wanted to because I am in control of how the fans react whether they like it or not.

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You exert that control quite easily it seems because I have seen lately if the fans are cheering you all you have to do is say one thing to them and they are back to booing you again?...

Yeah and it’s fun to be able do that, a lot of people online think they know everything that’s going on but they don’t. They think they do, they fool themselves into thinking that because you can read it on a website, but the only people who know what’s happening in regards to what I’m doing is me and the people who work with me, booking the angles and storylines. I love that people make wrong assumptions because I am like ‘well you guys know nothing that’s gonna happen, you have no idea what’s going on’.

When I was growing up we didn’t have websites, newsletters and I would have loved to have known the inner workings of what’s going on but it was almost just as cool that I didn’t. All I knew of what was going to happen was what I saw on TV every week. It still is that basically because people don’t know as much as they think they do and I like that. Otherwise it’s like unwrapping your Christmas presents before December 25th and where is the fun in that? If you think you know what’s going on, let me tell you that you don’t.

So just watch the show and enjoy it.

Over the years it seems that some wrestling fans have shown an adverse reaction when it comes to a wrestling personality leaving the business to do something else with their life. Did this worry you at all when pursuing a rock music career with Fozzy?

Nothing worries me – I call the shots! Nothing worries me in anything about wrestling because I’ve been doing it for so long that I can be a puppet master and manipulate people into reacting

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whichever way I want. It’s my own personal decision, I don’t give a damn what anybody else thinks so it’s kind of the way it is.

In 2005 when I left I had enough of wrestling, I was getting burned out and wasn’t at my best really until the last two matches that I had before I left with Cena, I had a lot of stuff going on with Fozzy and I wanted to pursue acting and spend more time at home with my family.

Humphrey Bogart had a great quote which I love – “The only thing I owe my fans, is my performance.” And sometimes that’s the way I feel – I don’t have to give you an autograph, I don’t have to give you an interview, I don’t have to do a damn thing. All I have to do is perform well, to give you what you deserve 100% because you bought a ticket to see me and once the show’s over so is my relationship with the fans. Sure I don’t feel like that all the time but when it comes to what I wanna do, I don’t care what anybody else thinks and I know that anybody who doesn’t really like it if I came back to wrestling the very next day would forget about it instantly.

In 2007 you wrote ‘A Lion’s Tale’ which was a bestseller, so I have to ask the question how the sequel book is coming?

It’s almost done; just waiting for a copy edit right now which is when the grammar guys go through it, check the facts and all that sort of stuff.

Then we will have one more draft, one more run through after that and I have submitted all the pictures so we’ll decide the pictures and captions for those and then it’s pretty much done. It comes out in February and it goes from the moment I entered the WWE ring until when I came back in 2007.

During the first NXT season you mentored Wade Barrett, what do you think of his victory in the competition, thoughts on him and the Nexus storyline that has developed?

I felt he was going to win from the moment I first saw him, as soon as I was paired with him I thought well that’s the guy who’s going to win because he has got great presence, his interviews are very strong and he’s a big guy with a good look and was exactly what we are looking for in WWE. I think the Nexus angle has been genius; it is a tremendous idea that’s really great because it’s a bunch of new guys that on their own mean nothing, but together it’s the hottest angle of the summer. I was really excited about Summerslam, the storyline has been put together great and every once in a while we find something that really clicks and this is one of those things.

It’s funny because you have a bunch of guys that no one has ever seen, have had no TV exposure whatsoever and it’s such a hot storyline.

It kind of throws off all those people who say when coming into the business ‘you need TV time to get over, you need this to get over, you need that to get over’ all you need is a good well followed storyline and we got that. It shows once again the genius of Vince McMahon, he still has ingenious ideas and that was one of them for sure.

What were your thoughts on Bryan Danielson being fired from WWE and do you think he will ever return to WWE in the future and was he a key part of Nexus?

[This interview was conducted before Danielson’s WWE return - Ed]

Of course I think he is going to return, it’s too bad that he got fired and I don’t think it was quite as deserved but somebody obviously got angry at something, but I think he will be back. It’s too bad that he did get fired because he was the guy Nexus went to, to have the five star match but it doesn’t matter at this point because it’s not about the matches, it’s all about their group beat down and them being a pack of animals. I’m

I DON’T THINK IT’S NECESSARY TO HIT PEOPLE IN THE HEAD WITH CHAIRS ANYMORE positive he will be back some point in time, we only saw the tip of the iceberg of what he can do in a WWE ring.

It’s a shame because he had just done that awesome promo announcing Daniel Bryan was gone but Bryan Danielson was here and it seemed like he was coming into his own and was the standout guy of Nexus. But now obviously that has all gone...

Well that’s what happens, it doesn’t matter what you do if you make one false move. It seems that someone reacted strongly to whatever was done and I don’t know the inner workings of what happened all I can do is speculate.

What are your thoughts on TNA rehashing ECW and the ‘One Night Stand’ type of event at their HardCORE Justice PPV? Their buy rates are in the toilet anyway so if they can do double what they normally do then good for them. I hope they will be able to do something with it. I don’t even know what to say about TNA anymore because I like the company, I like Dixie Carter and I think they have some great and talented people. I mean they have Jeff Hardy who in my opinion was the biggest baby face in WWE when he left even more so than John Cena. But I don’t know what they’re doing

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or what they’re thinking but I really hope they get it going because the better they get the better the business is for everybody. They just seem to constantly shoot themselves in the foot, I don’t know why they do it I mean it really perplexes me I don’t understand. If they have to bring back The Sandman and do 30,000 buys instead of 15,000 then good for them and hopefully they will be able to springboard onto something else.

I know WWE has gone PG but what is your opinion on the new rules in WWE about stopping matches when people are bleeding?

Surely it takes away from the drama in the match?

That’s just the way it is nowadays, you gotta evolve, morph and change with what’s going on now. That’s the rule that’s going on now and you gotta deal with it. I don’t think it’s necessary to hit people in the head with chairs anymore anyway, I think blood is unnecessary at this point in time. There was a point in time when Roller derby was popular but that fell off the face of the earth so you gotta change and keep yourself relevant to what’s going on or else you end up stuck in the past and nothing that’s stuck in the past has ever really become cool.

In a recent interview you said the attitude era was ‘stupid, childish and that you never liked that stuff.’ A lot of people have argued with your statement saying it was what made WWE immensely popular and brought the company to new heights. What is your response to those people?

It’s one of those things, I mean there was a wrestling war going on at the time, wrestling was very hot at the time and it’s what took WWE from being a very cartoony company to a company that was relevant and

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was able to beat WCW. That’s the wonderful thing about the internet is that everyone is allowed their own varying opinion. In my opinion though if you don’t like what’s on TV right now, if you don’t like the WWE, then quit bitching about it and don’t watch it. Everybody is really critical of everything and we can’t stay the same forever. To me it was getting every boring, you know it’s like glam rock in the 80’s – there was so much of it until Guns and Roses came along and blew everyone out of the water and then Nirvana came and blew everyone out of the water again. If you like the nostalgia of the stuff that was going on then that’s why there’s DVD’s and videos on the net and you can watch that until the cows come home. If you want to watch the stuff that’s going on now and view it in its own way for what it is then please enjoy it and join us, if you don’t like it then go somewhere else. I really don’t care, it doesn’t matter to me.

It seems that since WWE have gone to PG, it’s had some of the most intriguing storylines that I can recall in while. The story with you and Shawn Michaels, the Rey Mysterio, CM Punk feud and the Batista, Cena storyline. WWE produce these good entertaining storylines without the need to do all this attitude era stuff...

Yeah, and guess what – there were great storylines in the attitude era as well! That’s what wrestling is all about and whether you have attitude era or PG era whatever you wanna call it or brand it doesn’t make a difference, it’s all about the stories we are telling. Those stories have always been there, back in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s and now, and whatever window dressing you put on it, the point is its still storytelling and that’s what we do. Of course there is great storylines because that’s playing to the level of guys like myself who have been around and know how to tell a story.

What are your thoughts on your UK fans and on the upcoming tour?

For whatever reason the UK has really embraced Fozzy and it really is our second home.

We have done most of our touring there and people ask ‘why don’t you do more touring in the States’ it’s because we have such a great fan base in the UK that it’s really a case of spending as much time over in the UK with our fans as much as we can. People in the UK like music, they don’t care what’s trendy or what’s playing on the radio they just like what they like and that’s what is going great for Fozzy. We love going over to the UK and like I said we sell-out the majority of our shows, have great fans who know the music and I am very excited to see the fans, its gonna be basically the first time we have been back in five years besides the four shows we did in May, and I am looking forward to be back on the road in the UK.

Thanks for agreeing to the interview Chris, it was a pleasure talking to you. Is there anything else you would like to add?

I’m excited to see everybody with Fozzy and the WWE and thanks for being Chris Jericho fans, I appreciate it. n Contact Darren at news@thewrestlingpress.com

Fozzy embark on their ten date tour of the uK, starting October 10th at The Millennium Hall in Cardiff and finishing up at the orange box in Yeovil on October 20th.

For more information on Fozzy’s tour of the uK or the new album ‘Chasing The Grail’ please visit www.fozzyrock.com

! ! !

N I W ! ! !

N I W ! !

WIN! HIRT -S T Y z z O F D E N IG AS RAIL CD G E H T G IN S A H C AND WIN YOURSELF A FOZZY T-SHIRT AND A COPY OF THEIR LATEST CD, BOTH SIGNED

BY THE WHOLE BAND EXCLUSIVELY FOR ONE LUCKY TWP READER! To enter the competition simply answer this question....

Who is Jericho’s old ‘Sudden Impact’ Tag Team Partner?

Send your answer (and address) to ed@thewrestlingpress.com www.thewrestlingpress.com 15

Competition closes November 1st, 2010

IN Words: JUST

LABAR

r E L T s E r w _THE OF

M U I N N E MILL ho Years

ric The Chris Je

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“Welcome to Raw is Jericho.”

The first words that we heard as we stood staring at the back of a 5 foot 10 inch body wearing tight black leather pants, a shirt that looked like a disco ball, topped off with a hair style that looked like an accident.

On this night, August 9, 1999, in Chicago, there was nobody left in the wrestling world who either wasn’t a Jericholic or didn’t at least understand what a self-proclaimed Jericholic was addicted to.

It was 14 years ago that Chris Jericho surfaced on the American wrestling scene by arriving in the small Philadelphia based promotion, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took less than 3 months for Jericho’s talents to be acquired or stolen away, depending on how you look at it, and be performing for one of the two major promotions in North America, World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

It was in WCW that Jericho got weekly television exposure to millions and began to show that he was on a level of talent, innovation and intelligence that is hardly seen.

At a time in wrestling where being bad was cool, Jericho was no exception. Stone Cold Steve Austin in the WWE was on his way to becoming a mega superstar with his hell raising attitude, while the New World Order was issuing a gang takeover of the WCW. Chris Jericho was the rock star you dreamed of being, mixed with the guy in high school that you couldn’t stand to be around. Somewhere in the midst of his flashy appearance, cry baby tantrums and insulting every other wrestler possible, people in large quantities began to drink the Jericho juice, of course turning them into Jericholics.

He has been showcased in Japan where pro wrestling is treated with the same respect as a ‘real sport’. Chris Jericho has fought guys big guys, small, fast, slow, technical, brawlers, experienced, inexperienced. He has the same ability Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair possessed where he could have a good match with anybody. The talent doesn’t stop with the ability from bell to bell to put on great matches. The psychology that Jericho masters in the wrestling business is tremendous. The only guy you need a thesaurus to fully understand his promos. What a great way to get heat. It’s one thing to insult fans or your opponent, but when you do it with words that are so sophisticated, it’s simple but oh so brilliant. The talent then stretches over to the innovation.

INNOVATION: It sometimes can seem difficult to think about because the wrestling business has evolved so much in the past 15 years. Jericho’s days from 96-98 in WCW were excellent showings of how original he could be. Looking back at such rivalries with Dean Malenko, who was known as “The man of a thousand holds.”

Chris Jericho decided to label himself as “The man of a thousand and four holds.” Again, it was so simple but brilliant. After a quick squash match on Nitro, Jericho with a cup of water in one hand and a list that as it dropped out of his hands unfolding, seemed to be several feet long.

He proclaimed that he counted all of the moves he knew and proceeded to list each move. On television they faded out to a commercial, only to return 3 minutes later with Jericho still standing in the ring as he listed the moves in numerical order.

A quick definition of a Jericholic in my dictionary is “A person who is addicted to experiencing Chris Jericho who they feel is the most talented, innovative and intelligent performer.”

Other innovations which carried simplicity.... the feud with Goldberg as he was undefeated. Jericho would walk to the ring with 2 very out of shape “Security” guards and would take 5 minutes to find his way to the ring. Chris Jericho showed that simple comedic spots such as those, along with his goofy hair, all could draw heat.

TALENTED: This is a guy who has wrestled all over the world. Put a mask on him in Mexico and he was proficient in fighting the lucha libre style.

INTELLIGENCE: He had a great mind to know what was entertaining and how to get the reaction he wanted out of the crowd. His intelligence

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middle of the ring until being interrupted by the final 15 seconds of the clock counting down created incredible suspense. When the lights went out, pyros went off and the name Jericho appeared on the screen while the song “Break the walls down” screamed out. It was an electric moment. The crowd roared as they then saw Jericho standing with his back to them and arms out in a rock star pose.

“Welcome to RAW is Jericho.” From that point on Jericho would always be relevant in the WWE. Never being reduced to dark matches or the second string shows such as “Sunday Night Heat” or “Velocity” that aired over the years.

went beyond how to fine tune his craft. He knew how to deal with people. He knew how to deal with the wrestling business. He also knew how to march to the beat of his own drum.

There was a phase where in the final months of WCW prior to the sale of the company, the best wrestlers began to filter out and jump to WWE. The Giant who would go on to be known as The Big Show was the first big established WCW name to go to New York. 5 months later Chris Jericho would arrive in WWE to one of the most famous entrances of all time. Jericho made the jump before The Radicalz which was composed of Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn and Malenko. Jericho made his jump before Booker T, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan and Rey Mysterio, who would all get picked up by the WWE. Chris Jericho was able to see before most people that WCW wasn’t going to be the number one promotion for much longer. His famous Y2K millennium spoof countdown clock in the summer of 1999 was original. The WWE’s top star in The Rock cutting a very frustrated and comical promo against The Big Show (ironic) in the

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His debut was original. The concept developed mainly by Jericho and his microphone work always set the bar for the night. It was inevitable that he would become a huge baby face with his quick wit and ability to perform both in the ring and in scripted backstage segments with anyone. The guy was a champion fighting a women, that is how good he was. Do you think anyone could have done that entertaining of a program and looked the way they were supposed to look with Chyna?

No way. Chris Jericho became the WWE’s go to guy. His reward, forever in the history books, was the distinction of beating The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night to become the first undisputed world champion.

Chris Jericho would leave the WWE and wrestling all together in 2005. Once again an example of him marching to his own beat and being ahead of © David Seto

the curve. He had been wrestling for 15 straight years with the most time off being the few months between his WCW contract expiration and WWE debut in 1999. A situation where it seems many wrestlers would either continue to travel and perform, putting their bodies and physical wellbeing at risk, but wisely Chris chose to leave and gave his body a rest.

In that time, not only was he getting a break from being in a different city every night slamming onto the mat, but Jericho was keeping his doors open for life. Full with a charismatic personality, a musical career that has been exploited some in the WWE, Jericho was appearing on VH1 and other outlets talking music, pop culture and just about anything.

After 2 years, Jericho decided it was time for more wrestling. He returns with a new haircut, some new moves and another memorable entrance.

Very similar to his appearance 8 years earlier, weeks of mystery surrounded the WWE as a cryptic code of numbers and letters would appear on the screen. As in 1999 when The Rock was in the ring, in 2007 it was one of the top stars, Randy Orton, in the ring as the code flashed and revealed “Save Us Y2J” and once again “RAW is Jericho.”

Chris Jericho continued to win championships. He continued to use new words never heard in a wrestling promo. He used a new finisher he called the “code breaker.” It was a double knee face breaker made famous in Japan. A move that was very simple in performance. You could execute it nearly anytime and on anyone of any size. Jericho again was making it all look so easy.

He continued to kick open other doors and became the host of ABC’s game show “Downfall”, as well as gaining his own show on Sirius radio.

Chris Jericho has spent his 20 year career being a poster boy for not needing to fall into the stereotype and perception that many wrestlers are viewed in.

He was able to look ahead and jump to the greener grass at the right time. He was entertaining. He was political enough to avoid getting

buried, but not so political that every wrestler in history wanted to break his neck. He was smart enough to stand out in the crowd, but not too smart where you couldn’t comprehend him. He was able to prove that wrestlers are pop culture celebrities. Sure The Rock, Hogan and Austin proved they could make some movies, but Jericho has stretched into literally every medium possible.

Chris Jericho will never suffer from the Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair syndrome. He won’t be wrestling into his 50’s. He won’t do it for his ego, and he won’t do it for the pay day.

Chris Jericho will continue to display his wrestling skills for as long as he wants. As he has shown, when it is time to hang them up, he will hang them up. When he does, again as he has shown, we can still get a weekly dose of Jericho by viewing and listening to him in many different places. With every broadcast and show he appears on, more Jericholics are born. A person who is addicted to experiencing Chris Jericho who they feel is the most talented, innovative and intelligent performer.

You can see and hear Justin LaBar every week as he is the co-host of the Chair Shot Reality weekly video show on Wrestlezone.com n Contact Justin at Justin.LaBar@yahoo.com

HOW WILL HISTORY JuDGE THE NExuS? Could This Be the WWE’s Next Generation of Main Eventers?

Words: JOHN M. MILNER

H

n early June 2010, the names of Wade Barrett, Skip Sheffield and David Otunga were relatively unknown to all but the most knowledgeable students of the wrestling industry. Within three months, all three, as members of the Nexus, would be in the main event of what many consider the second biggest pay-perview, behind only Wrestlemania, on the WWE’s calendar.

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When was the last time a group of wrestlers have made such an impact on either Raw or Smackdown? Even the WWE version of the New World Order in 2002 doesn’t quite compare. In fact, one would have to think back to the Alliance a year earlier for such a group around which much of the top echelon of WWE programming began to revolve.

And while it remains to be seen just how the history of the organisation will access the Nexus, there is an argument to be

made that Team WWE (led by John Cena) vs. the Nexus has been one of the most interesting storylines to come across Raw in quite some time.

Of course, the naysayers may point to the fact that a great deal of what made the build-up to the SummerSlam main event wasn’t what the Nexus brought to the table. Instead, there were question marks all over the place as to what the make-up of Team WWE would be when the opening bell sounded. Would Edge and Jericho quit the team?

Would the Great Khali be involved? Would the Miz fill one of the empty spots? Would John Morrison or even John Cena himself turn heel and align himself with the Nexus?

Team WWE in-fighting and the speculations aside, the Nexus had been successfully built up to be a Too poor for pants (l-r): Michael Tarver, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Wade Barrett, Darren Young, Justin Gabriel, Skip Sheffield

credible force out to take down the WWE’s top superstars. In the weeks after their initial appearance on Raw, they swarmed Cena, Ricky Steamboat, Vince McMahon, Bret Hart, Khali, Edge and Jericho. Perhaps it is the last two names that have made the most difference. While it’s one thing for a heel supergroup to target the organisation’s top face (in this case, Cena), it’s most unusual for them to undertake a beatdown of fellow heels.

THEY CHOOSE NO MATTER WHICH GROuP uS AGAINST, NEx E TO TRY AND MEASuR PARISON COM FAIR A BE NOT L WIL IT

It’s things like the attacks on Jericho and Edge, WWE Champion Sheamus approaching them to negotiate a truce and even the tease of John Cena joining them that have made the Nexus THE driving force in WWE storylines over the last several months. Like them or hate them, they’ve create a real buzz throughout “the WWE Universe”.

And if nothing else, they’ve put seven (or eight, if

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you count Daniel Bryan) new faces at the forefront of the WWE when fans complained the product was becoming stale and were tired of the same names at the top of the card. There may be a time when fans look back and note that the Nexus, with the help of Sheamus and the Miz, ushered in a new era in the WWE. And when those wrestling historians look back at mid-2010, they will undoubtedly try to rate the Nexus alongside other supergroups such as the Four Horsemen, the NWO or the Alliance. But no matter which group they choose to try and measure Nexus against, it will not be a fair comparison.

Because, you see, there are vast differences between a group like the NWO, which included wrestlers either in the latter part of their prime (Hall, Nash, Scott Steiner, Syxx) or several years past their prime (Hogan, Savage). Even the best version of the Four Horsemen at the top of their game, was comprised of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and either Lex Luger or Barry Windham, all of whom were in the prime of their careers.

But with Nexus, you are seeing a group unique in the history of professional wrestling. This is not a collection of elite, established stars, save the short-lived addition of Daniel Bryan (and even he was debuting in WWE). Instead, the Nexus looks to be a vehicle to introduce a number of young stars to the main roster all at once.

The question history must answer isn’t whether the Nexus is the next Horsemen, but whether it was successful in launching the careers of the next generation of WWE’s main event.

As of this writing, I believe it’s too early to tell.

While the Nexus may be one of the biggest factors in WWE storylines, can anyone really say any member, save leader Wade Barrett and deposed member Daniel Bryan have been given the opportunity to get themselves over as singles competitors? In having the group used mostly to swarm members of the WWE roster as a group, it’s robbed them of the opportunity to showcase much of an individual personality. I mean, sure we know Justin Gabriel does a mean 450 splash. We know Skip Sheffield looks like the next Batista and Heath Slater has red hair. We know David Otunga is the fiancé of Hollywood star Jennifer Hudson.

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But really, do we know enough about any of them for Sheffield, Otunga, Michael Tarver or the rest to become singles stars at this juncture? At this time, the answer is “Probably not”. However, there’s nothing that says that, over the coming months, that could not change.

Already, two members of the Nexus, Daniel Bryan and Darren Young, have faced expulsion from the group. With Bryan’s background in Ring of Honor and other independent wrestling organisations, he probably had enough going for him that a singles push was probably in the cards for him. Of course, his time in the Nexus, his recent (and temporary) departure from the WWE after he choked out ring announcer Justin Roberts, and return in the main event of SummerSlam probably helped him out in that department.

And so it will be interesting to see just how Darren Young adjusts to life after Nexus. As of this writing, he had only just been cut from the team, after a loss to John Cena on Raw. Will he be able to survive on his own and remain a part of the main event scene on Raw, or will he fumble and find himself “future endeavoured” or stuck in the lower mid-card?

For the Nexus to have a positive lasting effect on the industry of pro wrestling, it must not be greater than the sum of its parts. Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett (if his time as Nexus leader is any indication) will, most likely have solid WWE careers ahead of them. However, it will be Darren Young and Skip Sheffield and the rest who will prove, one way or the other, the final legacy of Nexus. n Contact John at jmilnerresume@gmail.com

Words: MARK SATRANG

I was all ready to talk about the amazing run of programming that TNA Wrestling had throughout July and the early part of August.

For better or worse they had the wrestling world talking in regards to the “not-ECW” revival. The entire wrestling audience was split on whether it was a good idea or a bad idea, but regardless it got everyone talking.

Then the company supplemented that with an amazing best-of-five series between The Motor City Machineguns and Beer Money, Inc. over the TNA World Tag Team Championships. This was an absolutely phenomenal series and their 2out-3 falls match on the Whole F’N Show special on TNA’s August 13 show was a treat. All five matches were off the charts and solidified these two as two of the best tag teams in the world, set their rivalry up as a legitimate Feud of the Year candidate and set the new standard for a match series in pro wrestling. It also showed that tag team wrestling isn’t completely a dead concept in American pro wrestling.

Therefore I was all set to talk about the dearth of tag team wrestling in American pro wrestling these days. But then a man simply known as The Miz blew my mind with his promo on the September 6 edition of Monday Night RAW. Forget the NXT series, World Wrestling Entertainment has already found their “next breakout star” with The Miz. 24 www.thewrestlingpress.com

I have always been a fan of Mike “The Miz” Mizanin. From watching him debut as one of the kids on MTV’s The Real World and developing the early “Miz” persona into his various appearances on MTV’s Real World/Road Rules Challenges I liked the guy.

He had a lifelong passion for pro wrestling and used his appearances on MTV’s reality television to springboard himself into a wrestling career. He enrolled in Southern California’s Ultimate Pro Wrestling in 2002 and began his training at the Ultimate University wrestling school. He officially debuted as a wrestler in 2003 and hasn’t looked back since.

After putting in some dues on the independent circuit, Mizanin was selected to be on WWE’s fourth season of Tough Enough, where he lasted until the final two. He and eventual winner Daniel Puder bat-

tled in a boxing match at the Armageddon pay per view in December 2004. Puder may have won the grand prize and the six-figure contract, but Miz also received a developmental contract out of the deal as well.

Once he joined WWE in 2005, he worked primarily in the now-defunct Deep South Wrestling territory, where he was the promotion’s first champion. When DSW went down, Miz was transferred to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he ended winning the Southern Tag Team Championship.

In the spring of 2006, Miz debuted on SmackDown, as “host” (a la Ryan Seacrest) of the show. He maintained his training in OVW while doing his TV personality work on SmackDown, and finally wrestled on WWE TV in September 2006. His obnoxious attitude and former reality TV star stigma made him an obvious villain.

Miz toiled on the SmackDown undercard through 2006 and the first half of 2007 until he was drafted to ECW during the 2007 draft. Now on ECW with a smaller roster and more attention brought upon him, Miz was able to grow and excel as a performer. This led to an uneasy alliance with John Morrison, who was also chasing Punk’s Championship. Miz and Morison began teaming together sporadically, and it led to them defeating Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter for the WWE Tag Team Championships in November 2007. It was the start of a beautiful partnership.

The incredibly obnoxious and cocky pair gelled together right away and were a huge hit on WWE television. Working together allowed Miz and Morrison to refine their inring skills and become much more competent performers than they were known to be.

Miz and Morrison were the tag team of 2008. They became both WWE Tag Team Champions and World Tag Team Champions over the course of a year and a half and battled teams from all three of WWE’s brands. Despite Morrison and Miz being ECW exclusive talents, they pretty much

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appeared on all three WWE brands weekly throughout the fall and winter of 2008, often times wrestling on RAW, ECW and SmackDown in one week.

The next week on RAW Miz was drafted to the RAW brand and attacked Morrison after the announcement was made, signaling an end to their long-standing partnership. While everyone (including yours truly) assumed that Morrison would be the “Shawn Michaels” of the tandem and Miz would be buried on RAW, he proved everyone wrong.

Once on RAW, The Miz started a one-man crusade against John Cena. He called Cena out each week on RAW and claimed victory via forfeit or count out. But in reality Miz was handily defeated in a series of matches. After being easily defeated in the feud against Cena, Miz tweaked his image and started dressing more like a traditional pro wrestler and adding more moves to his repertoire.

After the losses to Cena, Miz’ new quest was to become the United States Champion. After challenging Kofi Kingston throughout the summer and fall of 2009, he finally defeated Kingston on RAW in October 2009 to win his first United States Championship.

Since that point The Miz has watched his stock literally soar on the RAW brand. He dominated the mid-card and has had the United States Championship almost welded around his waist since that point. He struck more gold when he became the “Pro” for the “Rookie” Daniel Bryan on the first season of NXT. The feud between those two men has been brewing for eight months and should elevate both men in the end.

Then he became the best part of NXT season 2 and won a Money in the Bank World Championship shot back in July.

When he won that briefcase it didn’t seem like a fluke. Many people predicted his victory as it seemed as if he was finally ready to take that 26 www.thewrestlingpress.com

next leap. Unlike the recent push of Sheamus, Miz’s felt organic. He wasn’t immediately thrust to the top and given the World Title prematurely. He scratched, clawed and fought his way through the undercard and into the mid-card and through the tag ranks. He surprised everyone when he survived the shark infested waters of Monday Night RAW and has come out stronger on the other side.

Whereas so many of Miz’s recent contemporaries have seen their pushes escalate and grow only to be pulled back suddenly, Miz has come through the ranks fairly unscathed. Unlike the other supposed breakout stars like MVP, Mr. Kennedy, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Masters, Carlito, Kenny Dykstra, Lance Cade, Umaga and Bobby Lashley. Even Miz’s recent teammates and opponents like John Morrison, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler are seeing the same thing happen to them right now.

He continues to grow. With a United States Championship, a Money in the Bank contract, a personal lackey in Alex Riley and long-standing rivalries with half the RAW roster, he has plenty of irons in the fire. But when he inevitably cashes in that contract, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see him continue the streak of every contract holder cashing in successfully and becoming only the fortieth man to capture the prestigious WWE Championship.

It sounded preposterous just a couple years ago to think that could become a reality. But since his debut on TV he has become far more talented in the ring, better rounded as a character and has the charisma and talent on the microphone to talk people into the arenas. He has already conquered MTV, now it is time for him to conquer WWE. n Contact Mark at markallen@insidepulse.com

TNA WOES

And solutions Words: MATT SINGH

I

t’s clear that Erich Bischoff and Hulk Hogan are not the answer to TNA’s problems, that much is proven by the May and June pay-per-view buy rates; Sacrifice in May drew 8,000 buys, and Slammiversary a month later pulled a similar number. That’s way down from the typical 25,000/30,000 the company was drawing back in 2005/6 when they had an 11pm Saturday night timeslot, as opposed to the prime-time slot they have now.

When the Sacrifice/Slammiversary numbers were leaked, it sent shockwaves through the pro wrestling industry; even with the lousy booking TNA has shown for some time, 8,000 buys is appallingly low considering TNA has a strong roster as well as great television coverage.

That’s a huge shame, as with the right creative direction TNA could be a significant player in pro wrestling, and what makes it doubly disappointing is that really the only thing wrong with the company is the booking. As stated before they have a great roster of in-ring wrestlers capable of consistent great matches as well as a great television partnership to showcase said matches. The problem can be laid directly at the feet of the guys in charge, namely Vince Russo (head writer), Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan. These are the real power-players in TNA and thus have the responsibility of whether the company fails or succeeds.

Dixie Carter is also, obviously, the biggest powerplayer in TNA, but as has been evident she has no clue about pro wrestling, or what the average fan wants to see (or more importantly, willing to pay to see).

Any contention of this assertion is immediately dispelled by a quick glance at Carter’s now-infamous YouShoot interview. The most notable inane ramblings by Carter were the following...

Q. Why is there no TNA magazine?

A. Magazines are obsolete, and not a good business decision.

The problem with TNA (and every other promotion that has struggled) is purely a creative one, but also the situation is exasperated by equally incompetent management. The bookers/writers are always to blame in a situation like this, despite what they or their supporters may claim; simply put, wrestling fans aren’t buying the product TNA is selling. But the reason the TNA bookers/writers are able to write and book such horrible, nonticket-selling shows is because they’re allowed to, by the very person who should know what does or doesn’t draw money; that person is of course Dixie Carter.

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Q. Do you think it would make more sense to have first-time opponents (in TNA) have (their) matches on pay-per-view (instead of) free TV? A. The pay-per-view business is another model that is on its decline.

From those two answers alone, one can deduce that TNA is in a dangerous position of having an incompetent owner (Carter) and booker (Vince Russo).

In regards to the answers above the most contemptible is easily the second, in which Carter arrogantly and ignorantly states that pay-per-view is a declining business model; obviously TNA will try

and spin the notion that pay-per-view is dying because TNA is drawing laughably bad buyrate numbers. The thing that makes Carter look like a total buffoon can be summed-up in three initials; UFC. TNA drew 8,000 buys for its May and June shows, meanwhile the May and June UFC pay-per-views drew 1.05 million, and 520,000 buys respectively. Yes, that’s right, TNA pulled 8,000 buys consecutively for two months, and when compared with the UFC, TNA isn’t even on the same planet when it comes to buyrates and buys.

Ironically, despite her being seemingly completely different from the average wrestling power-player, the YouShoot interview alone has exposed Carter as being the same as all those old promoters Vince McMahon Jr. put of business by 1988; specifically that she’ll blame everything else, and use every scapegoat excuse fathomable to explain why TNA business isn’t booming, or even averagely drawing. It’s the same kind of self-delusion that ended the promoting careers of the likes of Verne Gagne, Fritz von Erich and Jim Crockett, and at the present rate will do the same to TNA if things don’t change fast.

For a number of months now, Paul Heyman’s name has constantly arisen in regard to taking over from Vince Russo. Obviously that would be a huge step in the right direction for the company if someone with a proven track record of writing compelling television shows would be in charge of booking TNA, but Heyman does have his critics due to the fact that he booked his own company, ECW, so dreadfully from 1999-2001. However when closely inspected those criticisms (which are more likely than not true) shouldn’t factor into his potential TNA tenure; remember that Heyman was both booking ECW as well as running the business side of the promotion. If Heyman were to go to TNA, obviously he wouldn’t have much (if anything) to do with the business aspect of TNA.

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While many Russo supporters/fans will point to the record-breaking ‘Attitude Era’ as proof of Russo’s creative genius, there are two main issues to look at; the first is that Russo worked as part of a booking team during his WWE tenure, and of course Vince McMahon had final say on all creative decisions. The second is that it’s pretty well established and agreed that the whole ‘Attitude Era’ grew from ECW’s blood and guts television that was being booked by, you guessed it, Paul Heyman. In short, to compare Vince Russo to Paul Heyman as creative bookers is totally ignorant of the historical situation. If Heyman were to replace Russo, it’s safe to say the entire creative look, feel and execution of TNA would change quite drastically, and instead of trying to mimic WWE, Heyman would surely create (or at least try to) an alternative to WWE so TNA could draw new fans or ones that for whatever reason had/have drifted away from pro wrestling. There are any number of ways TNA and Heyman could do this, but the most obvious and probably the most viable is to focus on the actual in-ring wrestling.

TNA has arguably a stronger core-group of workers than WWE; A.J Styles, Samoa Joe, Alex Shelly, Chris Sabin, Doug Williams and Desmond Wolfe are among the best workers in American wrestling right now, and will be remembered as some of the best of their generation. Of course,

TNA also has the best worker of his generation, namely Kurt Angle. It’s no surprise that TNA’s biggest ever pay-per-view success was when Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle wrestled for the first time in October 2006 at the Genesis show. That show pulled 60,000 buys, a number the company has never gotten anywhere close to since. Unfortunately TNA (basically Vince Russo) decided that Joe/Angle was so successful that the two were booked to work with each again on the December 7th edition of Impact!, and then again rematched at the next two pay-per-view broadcasts, which obviously as you’d expect was overkill from the fans point of view. It was basically desperation booking, with Russo and management not having the patience or sense (or both) to realise that they had a huge money-drawing feud, at least by TNA standards, on their hands.

TNA also needs to make sure it doesn’t fall into an old WCW bad-habit; signing former or recently released WWE workers just because they’re a free agent. TNA has actually been quite astute in their recent signings of former WWE workers, but the unfortunate flip side is that TNA has decided to build the company around former WWE workers that are old and broken down, and thus can’t work a program and have the big-money, big blow-off match at the end.

Currently Impact! Is essentially built around Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Eric Bischoff, Rob Van Dam and Ric Flair. One can quickly deduce then, that Russo, Bischoff and Hogan are trying to recreate the late-1990s, which is a sure-fire way for a wrestling company to at least remain in neutral, and at worst actually regress backwards towards impending financial doom. Obviously great workers like A.J Styles, Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe are also featured heavily on Impact!, which is helping to keep the television tapings interesting and at times fun and compelling to watch.

The big question for TNA though is, will the company (and the powerful people making the decisions) make a change at the top of the creative ladder and turn business around before it’s too late. n Contact Matt at mattsingh33@gmail.com

30 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Wrestling has always attracted something of a ‘geek’ audience. Many wrestling fans are people who wouldn’t dream of going to watch a ‘normal’ sport, and many wrestling fans are somewhat lacking in matters of the opposite sex.

Words: PHIL AUSTIN

Does that first paragraph make you angry?

Of course it does. As wrestling fans we are all seen by the mainstream like that, a bunch of geeks and socially inept folk who like watching ‘men in pants pretend fighting’.

Yet, like it or not, as normal as many of us may be, there is a fair proportion of the wrestling audience for whom these tags do apply. Go on Youtube, or many of the internet forums, and you’ll find fans whose passion for the wrestling business strays from fandom to geekiness.

It’s something we all share really though.

There’s a bit of geek in all of us. After all, we will all spend three hours watching a PPV show, or discussing the intricacies of wrestling online.

www.thewrestlingpress.com 31

We’ll all defend the joys of watching wrestling to those who don’t appreciate it, and we can all elicit passionate soliloquies about which member of Demolition was the best, or whether Kurt Angle is a better worker than Shawn Michaels.

Many of us go to Memorabilia fairs for the chance to meet some of our wrestling heroes.

And how many of us who do so have laughed at the nerds in their Star Wars outfits, dressed up as Spock, or getting excited about meeting ‘Stormtrooper number 37’? Then we go to a stand and get just as excited by seeing a collection of wrestling figures while wearing our rare Ahmed Johnston T-shirt! (Did I spell Ahmed’s surname correctly? I’m sure if you’re a true wrestling geek, you’ll know for sure.)

So you see, as much as we knock the ‘geeks’, we all have a bit of the geek in us. It’s the very nature of being extremely passionate enough about something. Passionate enough that we will sit and read an online magazine about it for example! And I for one can’t knock that decision!

Randy Savage

GEEK CLIP #1

Press play or click here for external link

but....John Morrison? The Miz? The Motor City Machine Guns? Even John Cena and Batista?

So what am I getting at? Well, to put it bluntly, where wrestling was once populated by superhumans and ‘macho men’ far removed from the rest of us wrestling geeks, wrestling now features many of these geeks as ‘stars’.

I can’t say that I could ever imagine Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan doing anything other than going out and being a star. Likewise the second-tier stars such as Mr Perfect and Jake Roberts would never seem like the type that would rather sit and watch Youtube wrestling matches than go out and party.

But you look at the current crop of wrestling stars and even the likes of Cena and Rob Van Dam are people you can quite easily imagine sitting on Facebook or watching a few Youtube matches rather than hanging out at a bar till the early hours of the morning (even Ric Flair in his recent visit to the UK said he had to teach Cena to party).

But recently I’ve noticed something slightly different happening in pro wrestling.

Think back to your youth. If you’re anywhere near my age, then your wrestling back then consisted of the ‘real life superheroes’ like Hulk Hogan, Sting, Randy Savage, Ric Flair and the Road Warriors.

Now look at who has replaced them in the wrestling world today. No offence to these guys,

32 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Initially I was thinking this was just my perception of the wrestling business as an adult. As a kid, these wrestlers seemed larger-than-life because I was that much smaller. But the more I watch the 1980s promotions, the more it still hits me.

Wrestlers today really do have more of a ‘geek factor’ about them. And I think I’ve come to a few conclusions as to why this may be.

1. What did you grow up on?

When many of the stars of the 1980s were growing up, the wrestlers they grew up on came from

an era of grittiness and ‘real men’. Guys like Bruno Sammartino, Lou Thesz and Strangler Lewis. Even men such as Gorgeous George and Buddy Rogers who had somewhat more of the ‘showman’ about them were legitimately tough.

Conversely, the wrestlers many of today’s stars grew up on were the over-the-top cartoon stars of the 1980s. If you grow up emulating tough guys, you’re going to come across more like a superstar. If you grew up emulating cartoon superheroes you’re going to come across more of a geek.

Now obviously those guys that the current stars emulated are still the guys that we are referring to here as the legitimate over-the-top stars. But as each generation’s stars become more ‘watered down’ it has a knock-on effect to subsequent generations of stars. But this is not the only reason for the current crop of ‘geeks’.

come a star without some degree of toughness.

Jump forward to the late 1990s and early part of this century, and every geek on the street can put out a pro wrestling school. And these schools are not of the ilk of those in the past, where you have to undergo severe punishment in order to prove your toughness. Many of these schools merely show you ‘how to do moves’ without weeding out the tough guy from the geek in the street. Go to a wrestling school now and you are as likely to find half a dozen guys in the class that are regularly teased at school for being ‘nerds’ as you are to find guys from a legitimate athletic or ‘tough’ background.

3. The internet Back in the day, the stars of the previous era didn’t have access to the internet. The stars of that era didn’t go online, or have their own Facebook page or Twitter feed. These days, access to the internet has made today’s stars more accessible, and therefore less ‘star-like’.

But the internet has also changed the fans themselves. Discussions that were previously limited to a few hardcore fans gathering in bars or at shows are now opened up to the masses across the internet, and the general critical nature of these discussions tends to level out the star status of the performer. No longer is John Cena revered as a star who we can only read about in magazines, now he is just a ‘geek’ to be criticised by internet ‘experts’ for his ‘lack of wrestling technique’.

Bruno Sammartino

The internet has made these stars appear more like one of us, and that makes them more like the rest of us geeks!

2. What was wrestling when you got into it?

4. Promos

In the 1980s, wrestling was still a ‘closed shop’ for the most part. There were schools, but essentially to get involved in wrestling you had to be a tough guy to survive the process. You inevitably either came from a sports background, a legit fighting background, a bodybuilding background or were a legitimate tough guy that was found bouncing heads around a bar by the ‘boys’. It was highly unlikely that some geek would be able to just walk off the street into a school and be-

Go and look at any promo from the past, whether it’s Hulk Hogan’s ranting on WWF TV, or the passion of a Four Horsemen promo and you’ll see an intensity that you rarely get today. Today’s scripted promos are laced with comedy and a real lack of that ‘tough guy spirit’ that even the most basic promo in the past had.

Even the guys who didn’t cut the ‘main event’ promos, such as Jim Duggan or the Hart Foun-

www.thewrestlingpress.com 33

GEEK CLIP #2

Press play or click here for external link

and the geek of today is how they are presented on camera. Very rarely would you see a wrestling star of the past smiling inanely on camera. They would snarl, they would sneer, they would show intensity. But very rarely would they smile. If they did, it was for a reason, and it was in a way that did not distract from their intense personality.

Now, everyone is taught that you have to smile.

And smile. And smile. So Cena is pictured smiling inanely on camera. John Morrison walks to the ring with a big smile on his face. Even Low Ki now has to wear the smiley face to the ring while still trying to be the intense Kaval!

dation, had an intensity you just don’t see in today’s promos. To put it crudely, today’s promo guys need to have a little more ‘bass in their voice’ in order to seem more like an intense tough guy, and less like a geek ‘cutting a promo’.

It’s just not something that is concentrated on these days, and that is a shame.

5. Personas We’ve touched on this already. The guys in the past all had these larger than life personas.

From Mr Perfect to the One Man Gang, Demolition to the Ultimate Warrior, these were guys who were far more than ‘just another guy’ who you could imagine meeting in real life. And when you did get the opportunity to meet them, you were in awe.

Conversely, today most wrestling personas are pretty basic, giving far less ‘big time feel’ to the guy playing them. So the Miz is just a guy who talks. John Morrison is just a guy who does moves. Even John Cena is just a guy who cuts a funny promo.

Noone has that ‘big time feel’ that a Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair or Steve Austin had in the past.

6. Smile for the camera!

One other thing I’ve noticed when comparing the star of the past

Smiling is fine, and of course you have to be personable, but inane smiling, as appears to be the trend just makes you look like a geek who is “having so much fun being a wrestler”. It’s a step away from being Percy Watson, and I fear that may be the next decades watering down of our wrestling stars if we’re not careful.

WRESTLERS TODAY REALLY DO HAVE MORE OF A ‘GEEK FACTOR’ ABOuT THEM You may not agree with all wrestlers today having this ‘geekiness’ about them, and it’s certainly true that there are some who don’t. Randy Orton for example still exhibits some of this intensity that made guys in the past such stars, and of course the Undertaker will always be a persona that can never be described as being a ‘geek’.

But if wrestling is to be taken seriously by the mainstream again, it needs to get back its stars, and in order to do that we need to move away from these ‘stars’ exhibiting elements of geekiness. These stars are not just like us, and there is no way we should even be able to perceive that they could be. They need to be larger than life personalities (without obviously being larger than life physically, if you get my drift!), and be stars whenever and wherever they are seen in public.

Right, that’s enough from me. I’m off to tweet to Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston! n Contact Phil at PhilUK1@aol.com

BRAVO CLOSING

– where does Impact go from here?

Words: DARREN WOOD

I

t’s been a year of highs and lows in the world of TNA Wrestling so far in 2010, the debut of Hulk Hogan and his entourage to the promotion in January and the debut of their flagship show Impact on Monday Nights against WWE’s Raw were welcome statements of the companies’ intent for the year ahead.

Gradually though 2010 hasn’t really panned out as well as the company would have liked, Impact’s departure from Monday Nights after just two months and the fact that the ratings for the show have hardly made any increase are massive body blows to the promotion.

TNA have received another dent in their armour over the past few weeks, albeit this time across the pond, the announcement could have a massive effect on their growing UK fan base.

On Wednesday 15th September it was reported that BSKYB (SKY TV to you and me) will shut down Bravo and Channel One (which were both owned by the Living TV Group.)

Sky has made it clear that they want to transfer the majority of programming on those channels to their own station, Sky Three.

So what does this mean for TNA on our screens, I here you ask?

Well, the main problem that TNA faces with this closure is that Impact in the USA is broadcast by Spike TV. Now whereas other TV shows will be moved to SKY three, Impact cannot. This is because of the arrangement Sky has with WWE, which is an exclusive agreement to air only their wrestling product on the networks channels.

SKY has announced that they will keep the living TV channel, so being placed on their station would not break the deal SKY has with WWE as although SKY have bought the group Living TV are still their own existence.

36 www.thewrestlingpress.com

The question has to be asked where TNA Impact fits on the Living TV channel and whether they will still want a wrestling show being broadcast on their network.

This is the million dollar question and in all honesty the answer is doubtful, TNA’s programming is not their target demographic, it won’t fit. Currently Living TV plays America’s next top model and drop dead diva, which is not aimed at the same demographic as a wrestling show.

The Orlando outfit has built up a real following in the UK since being shown on Bravo and this year has seen the company regularly get viewers in excess of 56,000. Now by no means is this a ground breaking feat compared to other shows here on our shores but the fact is Impact constantly beats WWE in the UK for ratings.

Impact’s ratings of 100,000 viewers aren’t enough for Living TV to really sit up and take notice, scrambling to put the show on their network. TNA though are remaining positive and upbeat about the announcement of the closure and seem confident in their future on UK television.

Executive Vice President of TNA Andy Barton said: “Following the acquisition of Virgin Media TV channels (now rebranded as The Living TV Group) by Sky, there has always been the possibility of fundamental changes to those channels, including Bravo. However, we remain confident in TNA’s position due to the outstanding ratings enjoyed in 2010, and our long term contract with the Living TV Group.”

These rating’s that he talks about are only outstanding compared to WWE’s, which is likely due to the fact that WWE is on Sky Sports, a premium channel that you have to pay extra money for.

Bravo however was free; TNA doesn’t do so great against other Bravo shows such as Spartacus and Dog the Bounty Hunter.

It has to be said that the Living TV group can draw more ratings with their target demographic by putting on similar shows that they already have rather than taking what would be perceived as a gamble to put Impact on their schedule.

TNA finds itself in a difficult and challenging position; so where does it go?

Extreme sports network currently show their ppv’s but no one knows what channel they are on (its channel 419 by the way), so realistically no one will really watch the TV show either and thus viewership will likely decrease and so too the bragging rights over WWE in the UK market.

Great Britain is without a doubt TNAs biggest grossing market; if they cannot find another station (or continue onto Living TV) they will be losing what is effectively their biggest TV show in their most profitable region.

They have a huge European tour coming up in January and by not being on TV (or on a recognised mainstream TV channel) could really harm the ticket sales. Mainstay TNA fans will likely have their tickets already but if TNA loses Impact in the UK, these shows will likely not attract the casual fan to attend.

Could independent channels be an option?

The trouble with TNA is Impact just doesn’t draw enough viewers to immediately warrant a network to take a chance on them. TNA would also likely have to get out of their contract with the Living TV group which could cost a lot of money. Going to an independent channel is not a sure fire fix though, It’s likely that the viewing audience could decrease, with the channel not reaching enough viewers or the channel not being well know enough, this will harm TNA. Terrestrial TV could be an alternative and one that really would pay off. Wrestling has been shown on terrestrial in the past, Channel 4 had WWE Sunday Night Heat and some PPV’s were shown in the early 2000’s. It is unlikely that the station would want to show wrestling again after many considered their coverage awful with a live delay on their PPV’s cutting off a lot of the action and Channel 4 even blurred blood even though the events were

on at some godforsaken hour in the morning.

Channel 5 had WCW Worldwide in the late 1990’s, (ok so it was awful, being shown on a four or five week delay with the batman style captions when weapons were used, but at least they had it) with these channels being so accessible and reaching millions of homes being on either station could do wonders for TNA and would give them the mainstream publicity they desperately need.

THE quESTION HAS TO BE ASKED WHERE TNA IMPACT THE LIVING TV CHANNEL ON FITS It would seem that Channel 5 would be the more viable option as they already show many US sports including NFL and UFC, they could even use a ploy that Spike have in America by tying in UFC with TNA to increase viewership.

If TNA are smart and are deadly serious about the UK market then going on terrestrial TV is something that would be a great move for them, they always make known of the fact that they get more viewers than WWE, well if they were on terrestrial TV then their ratings would absolutely eclipse WWE’s on Sky Sports.

While not being able to show TNA PPV’s, Terrestrial would be great to attract casual fans to the product. If viewers see recognisable names like Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan being shown then this could entice casual fans who are flicking through channels to regularly watch TNA. While it is known that currently we do not know when Bravo will cease to exist, whatever the option TNA decides to make there is no doubt that they need to sort this situation out as quickly as possible. Could we finally see wrestling on a mainstream terrestrial TV channel in the UK? It could happen, a lot of wrestling fans on these shores would no doubt welcome it and hell we might even see a live TNA PPV here for the first time in the UK. You never know. n Contact Darren at news@thewrestlingpress.com

www.thewrestlingpress.com 37

COUNT-OUT She’s the “Queen of the Catfight” – manageress, interviewer, model and current squeeze of Former WWE, WCW, TNA, and ECW Superstar Big Vito.

OUTside The riNg wiTh ....

NOel harlOw What’s your earliest wrestling memory?

My earliest memory of wrestling is probably watching WWF Live from the Philadelphia Spectrum on the old Prism channel here in the states. I remember watching Roddy Piper and thinking wow that guy is wearing a dress but it’s kind of cool...guess that one must have traveled over in to adult hood .

Who has been your biggest influences in wrestling?

I’ve had a lot.

Francine and Pat Kinney (Simon Diamond) taught me a lot. My teacher Sean Denny. Sherri Martel is my idol, I’ve seen everything she has ever done. I watch I learn.

Bobby Heenan, Luna Vachon, Freddie Blassie.

38 www.thewrestlingpress.com

What’s the funniest thing you have ever seen in wrestling?

I was at a show in Florida sitting with Stacy “the Kat” Carter . Before the show, I was trying to teach Vito the dance to the Beyonce song “Single Ladies ... put a ring on it” where you flip your hand around back and forth.

Well, Vito kept telling me, I got it, I got it, over and over again. Well the song hits and here comes Vito dressed as Marilyn Monroe dancing around waving his hands...the wrong way. He looked like he was trying to catch a cab or something. I immediately busted out laughing realising that was his attempt to do the dance. Then Stacy started laughing cause she thought it was “cute”. She said “Look he’s looking at you for approval” and he was with a HUGE smile on his face. Then I looked around and realised the entire crowd is doing the “Vito Version” of the dance along with him. I told him afterwards he did it wrong and he just looked at me and said “But it got over”.

To this day he still does the dance wrong...but so does everyone else when he’s in the building.

What’s your favourite joke?

Two pretzels were walking down the street, one was a salted...that’s probably funnier when you say it not read it.

Had any wrestling dis asters you’d prefer to forget?

I’ve had certain parts pop out of my top during matches. I’d like to forget that . Oh one time I was trying to do the “Mr Perfect flipping neck breaker” and my boot came off and I landed on my hea d funny. Could barely move for a week! I’d like to forget that too.

Do you think Big Vito enjoys wearing women’s clothing?

Yes he does, it makes him feel sexy, and nobody looks better in a dress than Vito.

He’s very comfortable with himself, which I find sexy.

and a fan punched me in the face and gave me a black eye. I ended up knocking him on his behind. Needless to say my mother wasn’t very happy when I showed up for dinner on Mothers Da y...which also happened to be her birt hday...sorry Mom. Which matches have you watched the most?

Wrestlemania 7 Macho Man Vs Ultimate Warrior, Wrestlemania 3 Macho Man vs Ricky Steamboat, Big Vito vs Terry Funk for the WCW hardcore title, Big Vito vs Lance Storm, Ric Flair vs Terry Funk I quit match

Does he look to you for advice when shopping for clothes?

I ask him for advice, He ’s a great shopper.

He helps me come up with great looks.

Ever used your femini ne wiles to get your own way?

All the time. The lord giv es you gifts, it’s blasphemy if you don’t use them.

When was the last tim e you were naked in the open air?

I sleep naked, does tha t count?

Can you recall any ba d experiences with over eager fans?

The day before Mothe rs Day a few years back I was doing a sho w at the ECW Arena

Do you have any sec ret weapons in your wrestling arsenal?

My “distraction”, it’s a certain part of my body that has been kno wn to stop wrestling matches...including the refs (it’s my behind!).

What’s your favourite TV programme and movie?

Desperate housewive s and I love all the Rocky Movies being fro m Philly.

When were you most starstruck?

Probably sitting next to Mickey Rourke at CZW Cage of death. It was right before the filming of The Wrestler and he and I are right next to each other discus sing the cage match.

Didn’t think about it rea lly till I got in the car and was like ‘WOW, I jus t talked wrestling with Mickey Rourke...we ird, but WOW!’. www.thewrestlingpress.com 39

I collect Buddha statues. I’m currently studying to become a cosmetologist. I like go to the clubs or the beach with my man.

Who’s the better cook, you or Vito?

Vito and I set the wrestling world on fire right along with our kitchen. Neither of us are well known for culinary skills. I can bake well I guess.

What’s your idea of romance?

Who’s the most famous wrestler in your address book?

I have a lot of wrestlers in my phone book. I’m just gonna say Vito-WWE, WCW, TNA, ECW, Japan, He was even Von Krus in the WWF. He’s probably the most accomplished guy in my phone book.

Who are your best friends in wrestling?

I’m friends with almost everyone. I worked with so many great people.

My best friend in the business is a given, but most of the guys in the Philadelphia area.

Have you any enemies?

I’m sure somewhere I do, but I don’t’ focus on the negatives.

What role in wrestling do you enjoy the most?

Managing by far. Nothing is better to me than screaming my lungs out at ringside.

What’s your training regime?

I don’t really have a “regime”. I try to work out when I can. I like Yoga a lot.

What hobbies do you have outside of wrestling?

40 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Romance to me is when Vito and I have our Sunday Pizza dinner date. No training, no work, just the two of us and some pizza and wine poolside.

So, when are you two getting hitched???

When the time is right...let’s just say it has been discussed :) Describe your perfect day ?

A day at the beach with my man! Jersey Shore baby!

What would be the title of your autobiography?

She came, she saw, she catfought - The romantic wrestling tale of Noel Harlow “Queen of the Catfight” To visit Noel Harlow “Queen of the Catfight” on the web go to: www.myspace.com/noelharlow or http://www.facebook.com/noelskisses Also check out VitoLoGrasso.com to get all your info on the toughest couple in pro wrestling!

F

or every terrible human being that exhibits ego, self-promotion and a horrendous wrestling ability in the wrestling business, there exist those individuals that, through selfless action, immense worth to a promotion or the business as a whole, or a downright abundance of ability, are deserving of recognition.

It is with that in mind that The Wrestling Priest returns once again to deliver a blessing to yet another deserving individual.

This issue, the special blessing goes to....

Fergal Devitt

ent, nor is he one of the biggest in stature or name.

Fergal Devitt is a 29 year old Irish-born wrestler who, since debuting in 2000, made his name for NWA Hammerlock and his self-contained NWA Ireland promotion. Competing in his home country, and training many other competitors (including renowned female wrestler Rebecca Knox) was not enough for young Devitt though. The former British Commonwealth champion joined the New Japan dojo in 2005, after winning his second British Commonwealth title on the NWA 57th Anniversary show in Nashville, Tennesee.

While training in the American dojo, Devitt worked hard around the American indies. Yet he still didn’t

While most Western fans will think of Sheamus or Finley (or, incorrectly, of Hornswoggle) when asked to name a successful Irish wrestler of the last few years, there is one wrestler who is garnering just as much success in the wrestling world.

New Japan Pro Wrestling went through something of a ‘low’ period in recent years. Crowds were down (as they were for all Japanese wrestling promotions) and their shows were somewhat less ‘must watch’ than usual. Then things began to turn around and an influx of new stars and exciting matches made New Japan the ‘must see’ promotion in Japan once again.

But one of the most successful and enjoyable of their current crop of stars is not a homegrown tal42 www.thewrestlingpress.com

FERGAL FACTS Billed height:

5ft 11in

Billed weight:

178 lb

Born:

25th July, 1981 County Wicklow, Ireland

Billed from

Manchester, England

Trained by:

NWA UK Hammerlock

Debut:

June 2000

New Japan Inoki Dojo

become anything of a household name. In fact, to be fair, when Devitt surfaced on New Japan shows, even many of the UK wrestling fans didn’t really know who he was (after all, he had never appeared on shows with initials like ‘FWA’ or ‘IPW’, and for many that may as well meant he didn’t exist on the UK circuit).

Gun’ Anderson that was a dazzling match, and one of the biggest victories of Devitt’s career, over the former four-time IWGP champion, and one of the biggest names in New Japan at the moment, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

It soon became clear that this newcomer had quite the potential. When he debuted (against long-time Junior Heavyweight competitor El Samurai), and soon after adopted the ring name Pegasus Kid II (named after the in-ring New Japan persona of the late Chris Benoit), it was clear the company had some significant plans for this young Irishman.

Wrestling needs stories like this again.

‘The boyhood dream becoming a reality’, ‘the Irish boy that took on the world’. Headlines like these could really benefit wrestling as a whole, and garner it mainstream publicity over here once again.

His Pegasus Kid II persona was as shortlived as the Wrestleland shows on which he used it though, and soon Fergal Devitt would become ‘Prince Devitt’. However, following a brief heel run with the CTU (Jushin Liger’s group, not Jack Bauer’s!), he suffered a knee injury in early 2007 that looked to end his momentum.

Quite frankly, with such a vast talent, and the success he has had, Fergal Devitt is a name we can guarantee you are going to hear a LOT about in the near future. n

A ‘nil point’ entry in the 2007 Best of the Super Jr’s tournament, and a loss to visiting TNA stars Senshi (now NXT’s Kaval) and Christopher Daniels, spelled trouble for the young Irishman, but it wasn’t long before he found gold for himself and partner Minoru in the shape of the IWGP Jr tag titles.

Back on track, Devitt was becoming a really polished and exciting competitor in the ring, and was soon finding himself in the finals of the 2009 Best of Super Juniors tournament, narrowly losing out to veteran competitor Koji Kanemoto.

The 2009 Super J Cup also saw him losing in the finals, this time to visiting NOAH star Naomichi Marufuji, who left the ark to capture the victory in New Japan’s top Super Junior tournament. But it was this match that had people talking worldwide, as Devitt and Marufuji put together a mindblowingly good match.

A second blinder occurred between the two six days later, when Devitt won the IWGP Jr Heavyweight belt from Marufuji. Devitt was now the king of the division, and was producing some amazing, innovative and exciting performances night after night.

Then came the 2010 G1 Climax, and the reason why Devitt is receiving the blessing at this time. When Naomichi Marufuji was unable to compete in the tournament, Devitt took his place and racked up four solid victories in his block. While the victories were not enough to bring him into the finals, the performances were some of the most outstanding of the tournament. Particularly impressive were victories over the huge Strong Man, an amazing victory over Karl ‘Machine

www.thewrestlingpress.com 43

y h p a r g o i b g i n Curt Hen

T C E F r Mr PE M Words: JOHN

44 www.thewrestlingpress.com

. MILNER

T

hroughout the history of the industry, there have been many wrestlers who have been great. But there was only one who was “Perfect”.

Curt Hennig was born on March 28th, 1958 in Robbinsdale, MN, the son of Larry “the Axe” Hennig. (The elder Hennig had gained fame, in part, due to his AWA Championship tag team with “Handsome” Harley Race.)

Hennig played football in high school but a knee injury curtailed his gridiron career and he began training with Verne Gagne. On January 30th, 1980, “Cool” Curt Hennig, as he was known then, made his debut.

In the early day of his career, Hennig split time between the AWA and the Pacific Northwest and was active in both singles and tag team competition. Hennig would win the Heavyweight title there and become a three-time holder of the PNW Tag Team titles, holding it with Buddy Rose, Pat (or Scott) McGhee and, on April 27, 1982, with his father, Larry.

In 1982, Hennig went to the WWF (now WWE) for the first time, tagging with another future star and 2nd generation wrestler, “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert before returning to the AWA. Curt’s time in the Pacific Northwest would not be the only time he tagged with his father. In 1985, the Hennigs would feud with AWA Tag Team Champions, the Road Warriors. While Curt would not snare AWA Tag Team gold against the Road Warriors, he would do so when he teamed with Scott Hall on January 18, 1986, to defeat Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal in Albuquerque, N.M.

By early 1987, the babyface Hennig had turned heel and, with the help of Larry Zbyszko, he defeated Bockwinkle for the title on May 2nd. He would hold the title for just over a year, feuding with Bockwinkle, Greg Gagne and others. He would also align himself with manager Diamond Dallas Page, AWA Women’s Champion Medusa Micelli (later Alundra Blayze) and Tag Team Champions Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka).

On May 9th, 1988, Hennig would lose the AWA title to Jerry “the King” Lawler in Lawler’s hometown of Memphis.

BY LATE 1989, PERFECT WAS THE TOP CONTENDER TO HuLK HOGAN’S WWF CHAMPIONSHIP

Shortly after the loss, Hennig would leave the AWA and sign with the WWF. Prior to his television debut, Hennig would be introduced, via vignettes, performing various athletic feats such as bowling a 300 game, throwing and catching his own long football pass, scoring a hole in one and hitting home runs.

After Hall and Hennig lost the Tag Team titles to Buddy Rose and Doug Somers on May 17th, Hennig would begin his singles career. In late 1986, he battled AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkle to a one-hour draw, making it known he was a legitimate contender to that title.

Although he would wrestle some house shows as Curt Hennig, he would soon be given the moniker of “Mr. Perfect”. With Lanny Poffo, nicknamed “the Genius” in his corner, Hennig took on WWF workers such as Jimmy Snuka, the Red Rooster and, at Wrestlemania V, the Blue

www.thewrestlingpress.com 45

Blazer (Owen Hart). By late 1989, Perfect was the top contender to Hulk Hogan’s WWF Championship. In order to really get under Hogan’s skin, Perfect and the Genius stole and then destroyed Hogan’s title belt after Genius got a cheap countout victory on a Saturday Night’s Main Event.

While Hogan and Hennig would feud for several months in late 1989 and early 1990, it was Brutus Beefcake who would face, and defeat, Hennig at Wrestlemania VI. It was the first loss by Perfect to be acknowledged by the WWF. Replacing the Genius with Bobby “the Brain” Heenan as his manager, Mr. Perfect would storm through the tournament to crown a new Intercontinental Championship, defeating former champion Tito Santana to win the title.

He would lose the I-C belt to “The Texas Tornado” Kerry Von Erich at SummerSlam 1990, but, with the help of Ted Dibiase, would regain the belt in November. By the summer of 1991, however, Hennig, now managed by “The Coach” John Tolos, was suffering from a back injury that would bring his career to a halt. At SummerSlam

Diamond Dallas Page, Curt Hennig and the Diamond Doll in 1988

’91, Bret Hart would defeat Hennig to win the Intercontinental Championship.

Although his in-ring career was (temporarily) halted, Hennig would remain with WWE as a colour commentator and as the Executive Consultant to WWF newcomer Ric Flair. However, Hennig would split with Flair to team with Randy Savage at the 1992 Survivor Series. (Hennig and Savage would defeat Flair and Razor Ramon.)

The Survivor Series marked Hennig’s return to the ring, as he would feud with Flair, Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels and others, until his back injuries flared up again in late 1993. He would, however, return as a special guest referee at Wrestlemania X, costing Lex Luger his World title opportunity against Yokozuna.

46 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Hennig would return to the WWE in late 1995 as a colour commentator. In 1996, it appeared he was about to feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) as he was coming to ringside to spirit away the myriad of women in Helmsley’s corner.

But the “feud” turned out to be a scheme to cost Marc Mero his Intercontinental Championship in October.

Hennig left the WWF in late 1996 and, the next year, arrived in World Championship Wrestling.

As Diamond Dallas Page’s mystery partner at Bash at the Beach ’97 against Randy Savage and Scott Hall, Hennig turned on his partner and feuded with Page. Initially it appeared Hennig was going to take Arn Anderson’s place in the Four Horsemen, only to turn on the foursome to join the New World Order.

Hennig won the U.S. title from Steve “Mongo” McMichael in September 1997 and would hold it until the end of the year, before losing it to Page at Starrcade ’97. Hennig would team with Rick Rude in the NWO (Wolfpac and later NWOHollywood).

Following his departure from the NWO, Hennig teamed with Barry Windham, winning the WCW Tag Team titles and, later, forming the West Texas Rednecks with both Barry and Kendall Windham and Bobby Duncam, Jr. Opposed to rap music, the Rednecks feuded with Master P’s No Limit Soldiers.

After the program ended, Hennig would feud with Shawn Stasiak and Harlem Heat before losing a retirement match to Buff Bagwell at WCW Mayhem in November 1999. Hennig left WCW when his contract expired in the summer of 2000.

Curt worked in several independent organisations, including the short-lived XWF (where he lost to Hulk Hogan in a high profile match), the Main Event Wrestling Federation and Superstars of Wrestling (both organisations saw Hennig installed as their initial champion) and even faced NBA star Dennis Rodman in Australia.

Hennig returned to the WWF at the 2002 Royal Rumble. His performance at the Rumble earned him a contract with the organisation. After battling Steve Austin and Rob Van Dam and forming a team with Shawn Stasiak, he was released in the aftermath of the May 2002 “Plane Ride from Hell” after a physical altercation with Brock Lesnar.

After his release from WWE, he headed to Total Nonstop Action and feuded with NWA World Champions Ron “The Truth” Killings (R-Truth) and Jeff Jarrett.

Sadly, Hennig’s career and life came to an end when he was found dead in a Brandon, FL hotel room on February 10, 2003 due to what police termed “acute cocaine intoxication”.

Hennig was 44.

But Hennig’s legacy lives on. Remembered as one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time, Curt was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the Class of 2007, inducted by former New York Yankee (and Hennig’s friend) Wade Boggs.

That same year, a year after his father, Curt Hennig was inducted, by Larry Hennig, into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.

His son, Joe, and daughter, Amy, are both wrestlers. Joe was a part of Season 2 of WWE NXT as Michael McGillicutty.

Amy and Joe Hennig

n Contact John at jmilnerresume@gmail.com

www.thewrestlingpress.com 47

Jade Chung Jade Chung is a professional wrestler and manager who has appeared in Border City Wrestling, IWA MidSouth, NWA, RoH and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

She has managed some of the top wrestlers on the independent circuit, as well as Mr. Hughes and the "Franchise" Shane Douglas.

For more details see

www.jadechung.com

thewrestlingpress.com

DIVA

A

L A C I N Y C MIND HE CY with T

NIC

IT IS FLEETING, IT IS EPHEMERAL, IT MEANS NOTHING .....

S

uccess, that is. And I should know.

I have heard those words. Those words I thought I would never hear.

“Have you done any work in the last two weeks?” I waited. And waited. Surely someone would call me? I had mates. Now I just have Jobseekers Allowance. A colleague has intimated that if Ed Milliband wins the leadership election, he might consider the possibility, sometime in the future, of maybe bringing me in to do some indeterminate work of some type. So that’s ok. Isn’t it?

Money running out. But. Don’t panic. No. Panic.

Skip Sheffield knows. You get yourself massive, through gym work and a freakishly supportive genetic makeup. And nothing else, you hear? Nothing else. Oh, you did hear. Well, just in case.

Nothing else. Good. That’s that unanswered question answered. You put yourself through the indignity of a grappling talent show. Now you’re in a hard-pushed group that is making waves. And then, in a standard house show in Hawaii of all places, there’s a sickening snap as you’re looking at an operation on your ankle.

And bang goes that spot. He could taste it. Now it’s nil by mouth. By the time he comes back, there 50 www.thewrestlingpress.com

might be nothing for him. He‘ll be wanting to rehab as quickly, more quickly, than he can.

RVD lost the belt. Not in the ring. Because of an injury. He’d been out of the limelight for a while. Still had a cachet though. That’s why TNA brought him in; if not a household name then maybe a bungalow one (hah ha), but one who could do it all. In the past. That they put the title on him was a brave move. The spreading midriff and lack if fluidity was a warning. But fans had accepted the first-gear pseudo-geriatric Sting as champ, so worth a go.

And although he has the calm Zen thing going on, you know he wants the money, power and respect that his spot affords him. He must be gutted.

Why do they grasp and scheme? Because their employers make them. This is economic lesson number 465 and you haven’t listened yet. This will make wrestlers more healthy and owners more wealthy. I am nothing if not inclusive; but not the way that you were in the ‘Man In The Mine’ pub last Saturday. Yes, you know who you are.

Here it is. Wresting promoters think it pays them to have a conveyor belt of grapplers. Do what we say or there are hundreds like you willing to put their bodies on the line for a sniff of success – take a bow, Jack Evans – so comply. This quick turn-

around is the way owners feel is necessary to bump up profits. But it isn’t. It’s harming their business.

Imagine there was a factory making widgets. Stay with me on this, you might learn something in your A* dangerously underperforming brains. The factory owner has done everything he (and it will be a he) can do to automate the process and thus turn a profit. But there’s a change in the Market; the orders are now all in specially designed widgets, the type that have to be made by hand. The owner can corner the Market by training his staff and paying them the extra wages that their new abilities merit.

A small layout for a massive return. Or he can carry on as he is, losing orders and shouting at his staff that he can sack them all and get a whole new staff in, even doing that and replacing them with 20 new staff...who can’t make the new widgets. Until eventually the business goes bust.

are both things that Vincent can and should change.

Wrestlers want that spot. Bosses know that. They use it to get the most out if them. Through fear of losing that chance. Through fear of losing that money. Through fear of losing that fame. And so grapplers rehab too quickly, come back too forcefully and work through the pain. And so grapplers climb on and off planes, in and out of cars, up and down from turnbuckles whilst their bodies scream for release.

And they use drugs to cope. With, quite often, deadly consequences.

That’s the way to do it.

Of course, there is something they can do. But don’t shout it too loudly in the US or you’ll be accused of being a...Socialist. Which is tantamount to being called a paedophile there. Appalling, isn’t it?

What’s wrong with workers protecting themselves?

Yep, I’m banging on about unions again. Individually, you are nothing. Collectively, you are strong. I know they would be afraid of the brass pink slipping them before they could say “comrades”, but get a few like-minded fellows, join a union (they do already exist you know) and present the management with a fait a compli. Then they might take care of their assets. Then they might cut those schedules. Then they might not be chasing profit above all else.

Because you can have the best writers in the land.

The best matchmakers in the land. The best CEO in the land. But who provides the product every week? Wrestlers. Make them scared to screw up, make them scared to not make an instant impression, make them scared to upset their masters and what do you get?

And then Skip might not be looking at his earliest return date.

RVD might not be losing sleep. And Cade’s ex-colleagues might not be popping pills to get through the day.

You get wrestlers like Lance Cade. Yes, his death is extremely sad. Yes, we don’t know definitively how it happened. But he had issues with addiction when in WWE. It’s not enough to say he had an addiction, what are we to do? It’s not enough to say they put him through rehab and did what they could. It’s not enough. What is enough is changing the way you make your assets feel.

Wrestling is seedy. It’s on the margins. It needs a clear out.

Not of grapplers though. Of management and their outmoded ideas. Capitalism kills people. And it doesn’t work any more. Don’t you read the papers Vince?

Allegedly, Cade had a Soma issue. He may have been working through an injury. He may have been taking the edge off a hectic schedule. These

n Contact The Cynic at hearditallbefore@hotmail.com

That’s what Vince and Ditsie are doing. Bringing in generic wrestlers, then not giving them the time or skills to stick in our minds. Replacing them with other greenhorns. Or going back to those successes in the past that you did give time to, but who can’t now be bothered. That’s why Paul Heyman got ECW so right; he let the new boys do there thing until the crowds felt they belonged to them.

www.thewrestlingpress.com 51

INTERVIEW

JIM CORNETTE Summary by JEREMY GRAVES

The Dropkick Radio Wrestling Show recently had the opportunity to welcome back to the program, the Executive Producer of the ROH on HDNet television program, Jim Cornette to discuss a variety of topics relating to Ring of Honor. The complete interview can be found at www.DropkickRadio.com

To set the scene, the last time DKR spoke to Jim Cornette was shortly before the 8th Anniversary show in February.

Tyler Black was on the final road to becoming the ROH champion and dethroning Austin Aries. Since then, the second and third iPPV’s ‘The Big Bang’ and ‘Death Before Dishonor VIII’ have seen phenomenal wrestling (of which both DVDs are available now at ROHwrestling.com), and we are now on the road to ‘Glory By Honor IX’ in New York City which is set to feature perhaps one of the most anticipated tag team title matches in quite some time!

52 www.thewrestlingpress.com

DKR – To begin with, as mentioned we last spoke to you before the 8th Anniversary show. Since then ROH has come on leaps and bounds by featuring great wrestling and compelling stories to make you want to keep up to date with the product which seems to be in it’s best position in some time. What do you attribute the success of ROH this year to and how are you feeling about the growth of the company?

JC – Boy you know how to ask a multi-part question! It really has been phenomenal the way things have been. It all started with Final Battle last December in New York which really set the tone for things to come. As you mentioned, the February New York event that featured Tyler Black and Austin Aries was a great match where Tyler came out as Champion. The attendance that night, believe it or not, was the only New York event not to sell out!

Now that could be because of the ‘state of emergency’ snow storm!

Our trip going through 2 feet of snow in Philadelphia and 30 inches in Baltimore isn’t exactly

normal. We were actually in the north east a lot longer than we wanted to be. But it was a great match that got a lot of talk and got Tyler kicked off well. Of course, bridging over to ‘The Big Bang’, the 3 way match with (Austin) Aries, Tyler Black and Roderick Strong! The PPV numbers were up slightly from Final Battle. The show was very well received, it was about 1000 people in the building in

a brand new market, Charlotte, North Carolina, then going to May in New York featuring the big match between Tyler Black and Roderick Strong, once again I thought that match along with the Motor City Machineguns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. King Of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) was tremendous! Then, we go to June in Toronto, and that’s where internet PPV really started kicking in, the numbers were up at least 25% maybe more from the previous PPV! And also there was a lot of good word of mouth buys, because the PPV was not only live on the internet all over the world,

of as many buys as TNA is getting for their regular PPVs! I don’t know if that’s a compliment to Ring Of Honor or an indictment to TNA, but we’re closing in on the number 2 folks, by doing an internet stream without the huge six figure cost of doing television PPV.

O WE’RE REALLY GETTING INT ET HDN THE H WIT OVE THE GRO R TELEVISION SHOW THIS YEA through GoFightLive.TV, but also they could be ordered On-Demand after the fact, so we got a lot of residual buys! As well, a lot of people are saying that was probably the best Ring Of Honor event of all time with two match of the year candidates and another Briscoe’s/King Of Wrestling war, even better than the one in Charlotte, it’s one of the wildest fights i’ve seen in wrestling in quite a while. And of course, Tyler Black and Davey Richards which to me compared with a Ric Flair/Ricky Steamboat match as far as the gold standard of what in-ring competative pro wrestling is in this day and age just like they were in 1989! Now we’re set to go on September 11th in New York City, Glory By Honor with Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Black, Terry Funk will be on the show as a special guest, the Kings Of Wrestling take on Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, and there’s a lot of other surprises we’ve got in store so, I think what we attribute this to is that the guys up and down the Ring Of Honor roster have really stepped up their game in the ring, they’ve delivered some classic matches, we’ve tried to exploit and take advantage of the new technology, we’re really getting in the groove with the HDNet television show this year (which started back in April of 2009) as a way to bridge these big events with compelling reasons to watch these guys face each other. The Internet PPV experiment with Ring Of Honor is now getting to the point where we’re getting a quarter

DKR – Looking back at the iPPVs since their inception, would you say it’s undoubtedly been a success?

JC – Well, actually every single one of them has been a money maker, because there’s not that much extra cost when we’re already running the live event, when we’re already shooting the live event for DVD there’s not much extra cost in broadcasting the live stream. So every one has been a money maker, it’s just now a question of getting this technology worldwide and getting people to know about it. Of course, these new setups they have where you can watch your computer on your big screen now, the young folks (I’m too old for that, I’ve barely figured out the fax machine yet), the young folks know how to do these things and at some point in the future you’re literally going to be able to log on to the PPV event you want to buy, put your computer screen on your big screen in your living room, and enjoy a high quality picture! At first we had some problems with audio and with dropping out during Final Battle last December. We improved on that in Charlotte, but they say the June show was the best technically yet. So that once again, as the technology emerges and improves, (means) we’re improving. I don’t know if it’s going to be a decade, five years or even next www.thewrestlingpress.com 53

year the way things go. But people all over the world are going to be able to do that at the click of a button, and basically anyone in the world will be able to see an event live as it happens or on-demand after the fact whenever they want!

DKR – Can you go into any specifics as to how well the internet PPVs have done from a worldwide perspective?

JC – Gosh! To be quite honest that’s a great question to ask! I’ve never asked for it to be broken down in terms of domestic and internationally. But I can say because of the Ring Of Honor DVD Mailing List, orders and things like that, that we have a huge fan base in the UK and Germany. I get a lot of emails at my website (www.JimCornette.com) from Europe and all over the world, but there’s a lot of Ring Of Honor fans, especially in the UK! I’ve sent a lot of my Midnight Express books to the UK. There’s a great pocket of wrestling fans in Europe that we have an advantage on the other guys because sometimes, from the way I understand it, the PPVs from WWE and TNA are shown after the fact or delayed or shown at odd hours and maybe free TV specials sometime after they happen. With this technology, anyone with a computer and internet access can see it as it happens!

DKR – One of the bigger stories over the past few weeks relating to the ROH roster is that Tyler Black has reportedly signed with the WWE. Obviously it’s a huge opportunity for him but at the same is a big loss for Ring Of Honor as he’s the current champion. How do you feel about this opportunity Tyler has?

JC – Well first off, everybody’s saying he’s ‘signed’, past tense is different from ‘he’s going’, I’m just making that point. Tyler really benefited from the string of incredible matches he had this year in Ring Of Honor. His contract was coming to a close this Fall and he had offers from TNA, he had offers from WWE, he had a lot of people bidding on him. And to be quite honest it’s attributable to not only his talent but also the fact that every major promotion in this country would

54 www.thewrestlingpress.com

want to bid on the Ring Of Honor champion as he was becoming available, indicates that the big boys for all fact they want to talk about nobody’s in their class, their certainly looking at people making waves in wrestling! Once again Ring Of Honor is not going to open up a cheque book and say it can compete with the billionaire from Stamford. Linda McMahon is spending $50,000,000 to buy a US Senate seat! It’s not like if they don’t want somebody else’s champion they can’t open a cheque book.

I think his ability and quality as a human being will probably make him a big star

I think it’s a great opportunity for Tyler, I think he’ll be a big star in wrestling. I have since the time I first saw him when I came back to Ring Of Honor. A lot of people have problems cracking the political and glass ceiling and everything in the WWE. But I think his ability and quality as a human being will probably make him a big star.

Having said that, it could get to a kid’s head that young, who’s 24 or 25 years old, and being bid on by every promotion in the country, that he still hasn’t lost the Ring Of Honor title! We’re sincerely hoping that happens before he does leave to go anywhere. At the same time, it’d be awfully valuable to another promotion to have a guy walk out on their television with somebody else’s title. It hasn’t happened in a while, but it used to cause a stir when it did. We’re hoping that somebody can come along and zap a quick one on him, as Vince McMahon would say, before anything takes place. That’s why they make PPV!

DKR – And this brings us to the next internet PPV on GoFightLive.TV, presented

by Ring Of Honor, when ‘Glory By Honor IX’, takes place in New York city on September 11th. Already signed is possibly one of the most highly anticipated tag matches in recent memory as The King Of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) defend their ROH Tag Team championship against the team of Charlie Hass and Shelton Benjamin, formerly known as ‘The Worlds Greatest Tag Team’ in the WWE! Can you give us an insight as to how this came to be and how excited ROH is about presenting this match on such an big event in the ROH calendar?

they’re both great wrestlers, amateur and pro. But they haven’t had the chance to show what they can do on a mainstream basis whilst being tied up in WWE limbo. So when they were both released, really very near each other, my idea was to reform the greatest tag team and put them in Ring Of Honor where’s there’s so many great teams. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards), The Briscoes (Jay & Mark), The Kings Of Wrestling. It just so happened by the way things worked out, that the Kings Of Wrestling were the perfect team since they are the Ring Of Honor Tag Team champions now, to face these guys! You know I’ve got a soft spot for tag team wrestling!

JC – Well, we’re all looking forward to it, especially me! Shelton and Charlie are a couple of our OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) boys. Shelton Benjamin got really, his first wrestling training at OVW here in Louisville. He spent a couple of years with us, he and Brock Lesnar came in at the same time. Charlie Haas had been wrestling when he was signed by the WWE and sent to developmental here in Louisville. So we got to spend time with both of these guys. To me, they were the consensus ‘best tag team in the world’ in the WWE 2 or 3 years ago and I guess the conventional wisdom was ‘since they got too good and we didn’t want them to, we’ll break them up’! I don’t know why they didn’t keep them as a tag team. But these guys are athletic, both Charlie and Shelton have a tremendous amateur background. In fact, Shelton was an assistant coach on the Minnesota team the year Brock Lesnar won the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) heavyweight championship in 2000. They’re both great athletes,

Chris Hero has really transformed his body. He’s in shape, he’s really grown up as far as his inring performance and Claudio Castagnoli is a tremendous find! Chris has a lot to do with training him and they are a great tag team. The days of tag teams staying together and travelling together staying place to place has been over for so long, for guys to get to this level of competence as a tag team and really want to stay together, we like to feed on that in Ring Of Honor!

So it’s going to be the best in Ring Of Honor, against the so called ‘best in the world’ from two or three years ago, and we’ll see what happens on September 11th 2010!

Ring of Honor presented ‘Glory By Honor IX’ on September 11th, which you can now order at GoFightLive.TV See www.ROHwrestling.com for further information.

To hear the complete interview of Jim Cornette on Dropkick Radio, please visit www.DropkickRadio.com, and the you will find the interview included as part of the August 21st edition of the program.

56 www.thewrestlingpress.com

n by ROB SIVELL (sivz04@yahoo.co.uk)

A

s of August 15th 2010, Ring of Honor entered another period of its history as booker ‘Scrap Iron’ Adam Pearce departed from his creative duties and left the company.

In his place RoH owner Cary Silkin has appointed Hunter ‘Delirious’ Johnston, who will be assisted in his duties by legendary manager and creative mind Jim Cornette.

The split between RoH and Pearce was amicable according to reports.

“Cary Silkin gave me the chance to live a life-long dream two years ago,” Pearce was recently quoted as saying.

“I want to thank each member of the ROH roster, for working so hard with me to make this year a huge creative success. You all allowed me to grow into a position that I was unqualified for and helped make the stories in my head come to life.

“Delirious, now finds himself in that very scary and exciting spot. I wish him nothing but the best; I’m sure we’ll cross paths again.”

Cary Silkin has recently responded, saying: “We thank Adam for everything he brought to the table, but I decided to make a change. There were no problems between us.

“There was no blow-up and it’s entirely possible he will return down the line either in front of the camera or in another backstage role.”

Silkin went on to praise his new booker Johnston, describing him as a “smart, respected, hard working person.”

Cornette, who was thought to be the more obvious choice for booker, recently spoke to TWP’s official partners, Dropkick Radio:

www.thewrestlingpress.com 57

The Sapolsky formula undoubtedly worked, as Ring of Honor firmly established itself as the number three promotion in the United States.

There was no question that this formula still works today as Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE under the guidance of Sapolsky have gathered astonishing momentum, picking up the fans that Ring of Honor has lost. The change in booking style under Pearce has rocked RoH’s position as the perceived number three promotion in America, with close rivals Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Chikara and Dragon Gate USA not far behind.

Former booker Adam Pearce “When you’re a booker and you get the job you’re happy, and when you lose the job you’re happy. It is a lot of stress but he [Pearce] has done a great job.

“Cary wants to try a couple of things. That’s not going to mean a radical change of style in the ring. We’re going to be looking at more of the independent promotions here in this country.

Looking at more wrestling schools, we want to find these young guys that are out there, and we want to expose them first.”

With Delirious given the support of the owner and Cornette he will be pivotal to Ring of Honor’s future, but the question remains – what does that future hold?

There can be no doubt that the former mystique surrounding RoH as a ‘super-indie’ promotion, constantly booking dream matches, has faded since Pearce took charge.

Although none of us know what to expect from the Johnston and Cornette booking coalition, I hope that they draw upon the original formula that made the company so successful. Although, focussing only on the in-ring product will not solve all of RoH’s problems. I would like to see emphasis and direction put into Ring of Honor’s lacking TV show; by providing fans with storylines they can care about.

The TV show was supposed to be the additional vehicle that would expand Ring of Honor’s fan base and demonstrate the alternative product they offered. However the long match time associated with RoH did not translate well to TV. Little was offered in the way of character development and continuous storylines to link episode to episode, thus leaving the show stagnant and giving the fans little incentive to tune in again the following week.

One prime example of this involved tag team The Dark City Fight Club of Jon Davis and Kory Chavis, who beat a string of tag teams (jobbers or not) week after week, but were not rewarded with a tag team title shot on the TV show.

The post Gabe Sapolsky era proved disappointing for many fans as the product seemed to take a downturn, with the inclusion of far too many disqualifications and run-in finishes.

If RoH were to cut down on the regularity of meaningless matches and focus on its core roster of stars, then they can provide stories that the fans will care about, which in turn will build credible challengers and future champions.

Although it may sound pretentious, I felt these changes tarnished what was once a pure product, where finishes were decisive and every match mattered.

The company has a Television Champion in Eddie Edwards, but he rarely makes title defences against credible opponents, making each outcome predictable.

58 www.thewrestlingpress.com

The final problems that Johnston will inherit as booker are the losses of company stars, problems that have blighted the past two bookers (Sapolsky and Pearce).

With current Heavyweight Champion Tyler Black heading to WWE development as soon as September and Davey Richards announcing his retirement come the end of 2010. This will leave a huge void at the top of the main event scene as both men are considered the top two performers in the company.

Any company would suffer if it lost its two top stars. Even the mighty WWE would if they lost John Cena and the Undertaker for example, although the remaining talent pool available to them would soon overcome the problem; a luxury RoH does not possess.

Johnston should instead focus on the TV show and create credible storylines, involving new and talented wrestlers.

With The Nexus, WWE has provided us with an example of how it can be done. In reality they were seven guys that no-one cared about and have gone from bit parts in a third rate show, to being in the main event at this year’s Summerslam against Cena, Edge, Jericho and company.

Primarily because they were given a compelling storyline that fans cared about and believed in.

If Johnston can create such instances within RoH, then he is sure to be a success and with Jim Cornette at his side, he’ll have every chance of helping Ring of Honor regain its notoriety as one of the best promotions in the world.

WSUWrestling.com

www.thewrestlingpress.com 59

n by ROB SIVELL sivz04@yahoo.co.uk

T

he National Wrestling Alliance and its World Heavyweight Championship has played a major part throughout the majority of pro wrestling’s history, with the title’s lineage tracing back to the first World Champion Georg Hackenschmidt and his 1905 title reign. The NWA was so powerful that legendary promoters such as Vince McMahon Sr, Jim Crockett and Verne Gagne sat on the board of directors; each voting for the wrestler who they thought was the leading talent in the United States and would be the perfect choice to hold the coveted NWA World Heavyweight title.

For those unaware, the title belt is the oldest wrestling championship in the world and the talent that passed through the NWA, holding the gold in the process, is as a who’s who of any wrestling hall of fame. Names like ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, The Funk brothers and Kerry Von Erich all wore the belt, and fiercely defended the title night after night across the world.

Since the glory days of the 1970’s and 80’s, the NWA’s star has faded since being shafted by Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling and then again when TNA broke away in the mid 2000’s.

But an effort to re-establish the NWA in recent times has seen ‘Scrap Iron’ Adam

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Pearce, Brent Albright and Blue Demon Jr capture the Heavyweight title and now in 2010 Adam Pearce is in his third reign as champion. He is a very good choice as champion, bringing credibility back to the NWA title.

Pearce’s characteristics of being one of the best independent wrestlers on the microphone, who wrestles with a suitably traditional old school style that the NWA was built upon, reinforce him as champion of choice.

It is probably the one in-ring achievement that I’ll be most remembered for,” states Pearce. “That’s extremely humbling. I was proud that the organisation had enough faith in me as a performer to make the best of the situation at hand. I owe a lot to the NWA.” Pearce’s reputation as champion and the prestige of the NWA title, looks set to rise even further after retaining the title in two previous title defences against Bryan Danielson and former WWE star Charlie Haas.

The victorious outcomes of these bouts continue to add legitimacy back to the NWA title.

With independent wrestlers now being the only available choices as future NWA champions and challengers, I for one would Adam Pearce. © Scott Harvey (www.scottharvey.com)

like to see the NWA affix itself to an established promotion. With WWE, TNA and RoH out of the question to host matches for the NWA Heavyweight title on a regular basis, I think a new upstart promotion could be a suitable host for the NWA. If consequences allowed, then the purported new Florida based promotion, backed by the Wilpon Family (owners of the New York Mets Baseball Team) would be a suitable coalition for the NWA to attempt to develop. The upstart promotion has reportedly signed up big name talents of Sean Waltman, Vader, Scott Steiner and Larry Zybsko.

These guys may not be putting on five star matches any time soon, but they will help to put asses in seats, the main objective for any wrestling company hoping to become successful.

Such a partnership would provide a win-win situation for both parties, as the NWA logo emblazoned upon a promotion delivers instant recognition and credibility, which could allow it to compete with TNA and RoH as the number two and three promotion in the United States.

If the NWA were to receive financial backing from the Wilpon family, it could potentially provide the NWA with greater national television coverage and high production values, which would cause the NWA’s image to rise even further amongst the casual fan.

Although fantasy booking ideas such as a coalition with the Wilpon Family may not come to fruition, the NWA has so far done a valiant job of re-establishing itself among the wrestling fraternity, using the minor promotions of NWA Anarchy, NWA Pro Wrestling and NWA Mexico to its advantage.

If this re-emergence is to continue then more legitimate challengers to the NWA title such as Danielson and Haas, will be required. Here’s hoping that the National Wrestling Alliance goes from strength to strength.

Fans can follow the NWA wrestling action online with their free web based, NWA Wrestling Showcase.

For more information on NWA please visit www.nwawrestling.com

www.thewrestlingpress.com 61

M O R F K BAC K N I R B E TH

F

ollowing a potentially career ending injury last November, young indy wrestler Jelena (ignoring doctor’s predictions that she would never wrestle again) rehabbed herself back to health and finally returned to the ring this August.

Impressed with her brave battle back to fitness, and her determination to return to the sport she loves so much, TWP caught up with Jelena to ask how she’s feeling after the injury and to learn a little more about her career so far....

An x-ray of Jelena’s inju

ry

Now Jelena, you are only 20 years of age but surprisingly you already have 5 years of experience under your belt. When and how did you get started in the wrestling business?

Ever since I was a little kid wrestling has been something that just fascinated me. To see what I consider some of the bravest people I know go out there in front of so many people every night, they are just amazing and so determined. The lights, the fans, the noise, and the feelings I used to get watching as a kid still excite me to this day.

I have wanted to be a wrestler since about 8 or 9 years old, so when I turned 15 I went online looking for school's in Florida and came across Dory Funk Jr. When I gave the details to my parents my dad told me many great stories about Dory Funk Jr, and so a few weeks later my mom told me she had called Dory Funk and arranged for me to go meet with him.

I trained with Dory for three months, and then moved onto FXE Wrestling Academy in Orlando, who I trained with for nine months under head trainer AJ Gallant. During my time with FXE I got to meet a lot of cool people such as D’Von Dudley. Bumped with D’Von for a while, got to learn a few things from Matt Bentley and I got a lot of help and training from Dylan Night.

Both school's taught me so much that I was well prepared for my Debut match.

Presumably you would have quite nervous during your debut match, but how was the overall experience?

My debut was kind of booked last minute so I didn't have much time to think about it. I received an email from the promoter for FSPW in Sarasota, Florida. He had asked if I would like to come up and wrestle Arsen, their only female wrestler. Of course I wanted to! I’d only had a year's training under me but still I knew I was ready. So we called up AJ Gallant and told him about it as I was still training with him at the time.

He called the promoter and then a week later I was in my first match.

The feeling of your debut is hard to explain, so many things so through your head its not even funny. AM I ready for this? Am I doing the right

thing? What are they going to think of me?

But by time you step out there and you hear the crowd everything just melts away and you feel at home.

How would you describe your wrestling style?

My wrestling style has changed a little bit but when I first started wrestling my favourite wrestler was Bret Hart, so that’s who I tried to emulate. I used a lot of arm drags, headlocks, take overs, old school style moves. I still have that touch of Bret Hart but am now starting to incorporate more high flying moves into my matches.

Based in Florida you must have a few promotions to choose from, who have you worked for?

There is a lot of wrestling promotions to choose from here in Florida, which is a great thing.

The main promotion I am working for right now is DWI and the people back there are just so amazing. They give respect and treat you just like family. Also you have LWLL, FPWA, FSPW, D1PW and many many more.

How many titles have you won?

I have had the chance to hold a few titles so far.

I earned my first title after winning a 2 out of 3 pin falls match in 2007, which was for the SSCW Woman's championship out of Georgia.

I lost the championship a few months later but soon got a rematch and once again became the SSCW Woman's champion for the second time.

I then became the first ever and only LWLL Woman's Champion for a promotion in Sarasota, Florida. I held onto that until it was retired in August 2010.

www.thewrestlingpress.com 63

I am also the first and current IWE Woman's champion for a promotion in Dade City, Florida.

Which match do you consider to be your best, and who has been your favourite opponent?

There has been many matches I consider to be my favourite but I’d have to pick the return match following my injury. I wrestled Ferrari to see who would be called the LWLL woman's champion when it is retired, which I won.

I was so nervous because it was 10 months after my almost career ending match.

Jelena with The James Boys.

© DWI Wrestling

That near career ending match you refer to is when you sustained a horrific injury last November. What happened and how are you feeling now?

As of right now I am feeling a lot better. I was finally able to get back in the ring for the first time in 10 months back in August. My comeback match was planned, but then again it was something I did with a risk.

When I was booked on that show I didn't get back into the ring at all for even practice bumps or anything. I didn't get to test to see if my back

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would hold up, that's the stubborn person I am.

Fortunately the match went great.

Back in November I was booked for a show but for some reason I had a weird feeling not to go, something just didn’t feel right. Needless to say I went to the show anyway. I would be wrestling Ferrari, a girl who I have wrestled many times before. I felt safe but something still didn't feel right.

We went into the match, we were at a great pace and it was going great.

At a point in the match she put me in a Sit down Sleeper, I tried to counter the move with a Sit down Jaw breaker but when I came down I didn't fall straight, I came down leaning back a little too much. I could not get my arms back down by my side to prevent any damage from being done, I managed to get my arms around her neck like they are supposed to, but just could not do any thing to stop it. Many people have their take on what happened and whose fault it was, but in my opinion I won't blame anyone, it was just an accident.

We were not even a minute away from finishing the match when it happened. I knew when I came down something was very very wrong. I heard my entire back just crack, I could not breath, I tried to get back up by grabbing the rope, trying to get to the finish but nothing was happening. Ferrari noticed I was in trouble and quickly pinned me.

When the match ended everyone knew something was seriously wrong. People came in the ring to help, including a guy by the name of Guy Franchise who I didn't know before the show, but of course is now a very good friend of mine. They took me in the back and tried to sit me down, but I couldn’t move so they laid me on the concrete floor in the back. It was a good 15 minutes before the fire truck got there, and a good 45 minutes before the Ambulance even showed up. The firemen could not move me but they put me on the backboard, strapped me down and braced my neck.

Once at the hospital they took X-rays and discovered that I had suffered a terrible injury... three compressed/fractured vertebras!

They told me that I had to wait ten months before I could return to wrestling. I then had to lay in bed on my back and not move for two months straight.

A few weeks later I went back for a check-up and was then told to wait a year before I could get back into the ring!

I went back to the doctor a month later, at Tampa General, and they took more X-rays and said “OK. This is what the doctor told me to tell you.

Don't get back in the ring again. I’m sorry but your wrestling career is over, go play chess”.

I was not going to sit back and never wrestle again so I decided to get another opinion. A good wrestling friend of mine by the name of Joe Pipitone gave me a number of a good sports doctor.

The doctor checked my X-rays and said he didn’t see why I could never wrestle again, but advised that I still had to wait another six months before doing so. I took his advice and four month's later got back into the ring with no problems at all.

I have been through a very hard test in wrestling that people don't even know about, except for

jelena Birthday: July 18. 1990 Height:

5"5’

Weight:

124lbs

Debut:

2006

Signature Swinging Neck breaker, move(s): Lou Thesz Press, Flying Tackle Finishing Top Rope Bulldog, Dragon Sleeper move(s): Entrance theme:

Move Along (All American Rejects)

Titles:

2x SSCW Woman's Champion 1x LWLL Woman's Champion 1x IWE Woman's Champion

my family and I. It was a huge obstacle but I came through it OK and still have lots of plans for the future. Next plan - TNA. How often do you wrestle, and what other activities / jobs do you have?

I am only allowed to take it very slow in what show's I wrestle in. I used to wrestle Tuesday's, Fridays, Saturdays, and some Sundays. That is going to pick up once again to where I wrestle every day except Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I am also a professional barrel racer with horses, which I have been doing since I was ten years old. It’s very fast and quite dangerous!!

And to top it all of I’m also a construction worker, so I don't think there is one thing I do in life that is not hard.

Is there much traveling involved in your wrestling career and if so, does it get tiresome?

I do a lot of traveling as it’s at least two hours from where I live to the nearest show in Tampa, which is where most of the great promotions are.

But I do drive a lot more than that. I used to drive to Enigma GA every month when I was working www.thewrestlingpress.com 65

for SSCW. But I have also drove from Fort Lauderdale Florida all the way to Charlotte North Carolina in one night to get to a show the following morning. So yes there is a lot of travelling for me, but it’s something I love to do. It gets tiresome but I see it as....this is so worth it!!

What's it like working in a male dominated environment, do you have to work twice as hard as the guys?

This is a very male dominated environment but the guys I work with have so much respect for me, and all the other female wrestlers. They do what they can do to keep me safe and all have my back. On the flip side, I have met a lot of male wrestlers who just flat out don't want us girls there, don't want us to be wrestling. There is so many things that people don't think women should do but that's all the more reason to do them. You always want to work as hard as you can to prove to yourself that you belong in the ring just like they do.

Once again. Give Respect. Get Respect!!

What's your opinion of girls in the industry who are happy to simply strut their stuff, avoiding the grueling training and physical matches?

I say go for it if you are happy just walking around the ring, that's fine. But then so many have started out that way and then progressed to working inside the ring, without being properly trained, which is obviously not a good thing. I think if they are going to be anywhere around the ring they should have the proper training, and at least be able to withstand a match or two because bad things can happen out there.

What's your ambition for the future?

My ambition has been the same since I started in wrestling....to become well known and well liked.

I have wanted to work for TNA ever since they started and that is still what I push myself for.

TNA is the one reason why I got back in the ring after my injury.

66 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Do you have any advice for aspiring female grapplers?

The advice I would like to give is the same advice I received from my mother and grandmother. Coming up in this business is from the start to finish, stay true to your self, if there is something someone wants you to do and you don't feel comfortable then say no. There is so many other promotions out there that will give you nothing but respect and in this business that’s what you should strive to get. Demand respect and give respect!!

Thanks for your time Jelena, best of luck for the future. Do you have any final comments for our readers?

I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to read this, it means a lot to me and I want to thank everyone that has helped me and supported me throughout my career. I want to thank my family who has taken this long trip in wrestling with me and I want to thank my love Todd Kostek for being caring and loving, even when things go wrong. I love you all!!!

For all things Jelena check out www.Facebook.com/AlwaysJelena or www.Myspace.com/AlwaysJelena To book Jelena for your event email her at: AlwaysLoveJelena@Aol.com

Mini bio

Words: DAVID SCHMIDA

Horst Hoffmann

H

e has worked for the American Wrestling Association, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Joint Promotions and promoters all over continental Europe. Horst Hoffmann is perhaps one of the best technicians Germany has ever produced.

Following a very successful period as an amateur, Hoffmann debuted in the world of professional wrestling in 1961. He quickly became one of the biggest stars continental Europe had to offer and went on to win a great amount of tournaments.

Under promoter Gustl Kaiser, maybe the most important promoter throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s, the man born in Karlsruhe, Germany won the yearly held IBV “European Championship” and IBV “German Championship” multiple times outpacing guys like “Destroyer” Dick Beyer. In addition to that, he was able to hold the European Heavyweight Title, which he won in 1971 in Cologne, Germany, for almost three years.

The mid-seventies saw Hoffmann expanding to North America to work for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA). Although he was able to be victorious in plenty of singles matches, he is best remembered for wrestling at the side of Baron von Raschke. After a rivalry with Billy Robinson and his ally Geoff Portz found an end, the “German” heels turned on Superstar Billy Graham during a six man tag team match in November 1974, which led Graham to recruit Dusty Rhodes as his partner to settle the score. Due to their loaded glove gimmick Hoffmann and Von Raschke were able to win quite a few bouts, es-

pecially at the beginning of the bloody feud, but came up short in the end. In September and October of 1974 the German challenged Verne Gagne for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship but wasn’t able to take the prestigious championship away from him.

Hoffmann also appeared in Verne Gagne’s independent movie “The Wrestler” of 1974, starring Edward Asner, portraying promoter Frank Bass and Verne Gagne as current champion Mike Bullard.

The German left the AWA in 1975 and returned to Europe.

The land of the rising sun marked another milestone in Hoffmann’s career. Together with Rudi Saturski and Murat Bosporus, he is the only German who has ever celebrated success in Japan.

Throughout the seventies the man known as a great shooter was invited numerous times to exchange holds with greats like “Destroyer” Dick Beyer or the Funk brothers, just to name a few, and was a welcome guest in venues all over Japan. In 1977 Hoffmann teamed with his former nemesis Billy Robinson to take part in All Japan Pro Wrestling’s Real World Tag League and the Open Tag League.

What Horst Hoffmann may have lacked in charisma, he certainly equalized with his technical skills and intensity. The man who was known for his bow and arrow Backbreaker and his side suplex retired in 1988 and remains a reverred veteran, not only in Germany, but across the world. n Contact David at dschmida@hotmail.com

www.thewrestlingpress.com 67

interview

a Words: DaviD SchmiD

H

e brings international flair to every wrestling show in Germany he is a part of. What local spectators might not know is that Joe E. Legend actually lives in Germany. TWP talked to the man who worked for WWE during the Attitude Era and held the NWA World Tag Team Championship while working for TNA. Original photo Š www.dragonhearts.de

© www.dragonhearts.de

In 1998 and 1999 you wrestled for the first time in Germany for the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA). Tell us a little bit about that time.

I helped Rhino when he was first starting. He got in at CWA through Don Callis, who knew Rambo (Luc Piorier). Duke Droese, who wrestled as Marshall Duke here in Germany, was supposed to come in at the last minute but something happened. So, I got a phone call from Rhino asking if I wanted to work in Germany. Two hours later I was booked. I didn’t sign anything. They actually had me buying my own ticket and reimbursed me when I got here. I was committed to CWA for a seven day schedule; even if I didn’t have to wrestle every day nor had a night off I could have been required to be there for the parade, for instance. I also had to do promotional work for the promotion.

How did you like the round system in the CWA? I love the round system. I remember talking to Steve Corino about it. There was so much drama to be had in the tap out system. When someone tapped three times in the CWA, he lost the match. But if he tapped twice, the announcer went “one, two… no, he didn’t quite tap”. There was so much drama before he tapped.

I remember Michael Kovac doing that for German Stampede Wrestling (GSW) once.

The thing is, that it’s so far removed that the younger audience doesn’t know it anymore.

They are more into what they see on TV. I remember also talking to some of the WWE writers about the European Title once. In my opinion every title should have its own rules.

Otherwise, what’s the difference between the titles? They have a million hot girls under contract they don’t do anything with and who can’t wrestle. Why not have round girls like they do in boxing? They have guys like Regal and Finlay who know how to work a match with rounds. Between the rounds you can have replays and stuff like that. I am surprised they

I RHINO AND I GO WAY BACK. NG DDI WE WAS BEST MAN AT HIS never used that for the European Title. WCW did something like that with the TV Belt. The matches had a ten-minute time limit. It was such a great way to build tension towards the end of the match.

Do you think the round system could be successfully used again in Germany?

Promoters could separate themselves from the rest. The only promotion using the round system in Germany is the European Wrestling Promotion (EWP) in Hannover, but only for their championship matches. It’s tough because the fans see the rest of the show and everything goes smooth. Then you have a rounds match and it almost seems slow, although the work is great. Also the guys who haven’t done it before, don’t understand the philosophy behind it, they don’t understand the timing. It’s a different mindset. It doesn’t come off as strong as years ago because every

www.thewrestlingpress.com 69

match had rounds. So the guys knew it. It wouldn’t hurt to set up a rounds match every now and then to familiarise the wrestlers with the style. If not, the guys will not be as experienced to give the best performance possible. Look at TNA. They are having five gimmick matches every night. The guys need so much time trying to remind themselves of the rules that they don’t have time to get into the match. They can’t get into the emotional part of it

I REMEMBER TEACHING CHRISTIAN ARM DRAGS IN THE GYM

© www.dragonhearts.de

Maybe you could actually achieve more with less using, for example, the round system. What’s your general opinion on the

gimmicks that are being used in matches regarding the health risks for the wrestlers?

I think you’ve got to be creative when you are coming up with gimmick matches and see if the risk is worth it. Years ago Edge, Christian, Rhino and I worked for a promotion called ICW (Insane Championship Wrestling), which was a low budget ECW rip off. Don’t get me wrong, it was great working for them, I had the opportunity to meet and work with many great people. It was a lot of fun. But if you have wrestlers cutting themselves in the opening matches bleeding all over the place you have to top that all the time. Eventually, what is shocking becomes common. They have lost the ability to maintain the audience. I am all for cool moves and stuff like that, but I am a big fan of using them smartly. They try to get the “Ooh-Ah” instead of the “Yeah-Boo”. “YeahBoo” has always made more money than the “Ooh-Ah”.

How would you describe the atmosphere, the fans at the CWA events?

The CWA fans were very loyal. We had people showing up every night. I can think of three faces right now and it was eleven years ago.

Ladies Night was a busier than other nights.

You had the championship, you could build up to, Iron Man tournaments were held. Every week you had different events. The roster wasn’t very big but they were able to mix it up while keeping the same group of wrestlers.

That attracted the fans.

How was the atmosphere backstage at that time?

It was a real boys club. When I first showed up, it was the usual thing. The new guy shows up and shuts up. They brought in this guy, Texas Claw. He was the nicest guy but just not really good. Droese recommended him. I got in there with him and tried to get him over. The match was terrible and I was upset about it. I kept trying to dig myself out of the hole and eventually they realised that he needed more training. At the same time they started to realise that I was able to get over with the fans.

70 www.thewrestlingpress.com

© www.dragonhearts.de

While I got over with them I got over with the guys backstage. And I have trouble getting over with the boys because I am not a party guy. The best way to get over with the locker room is to go out and have a few drinks. In the beginning I was asked to go out for a drink but I didn’t want to, so they didn’t like that at all.

But it’s the same locker room every night and with time I got on well with everybody.

the top guy and build up heels for him to knock off. In Germany it was a lot like in Japan. They build up strong foreigners who beat up everyone and then the Japanese Star knocks him off. It worked the same way in Germany.

You need a German Champion people can relate to.

Why do you think they didn’t do that?

I think there were different reasons. Smisl’s heart wasn’t really into it but I think if you had done the right thing with him, his heart would have been into it. He also might have butted heads with the office and maybe they took it too personal. It should have been about who makes the most money. And he was so easy to work with. It wasn’t difficult for him to get over.

You could’ve put him in the ring with a chair and people would still cheer for him.

Do you think WWE and WCW and their presence on TV also played a part in the demise of CWA?

What should have been done to keep CWA going? Do you think there were big mistakes made?

One big mistake was that they never created a monstrous German hero. Otto Wanz was a huge hero, Austrian, but still. Rambo (Luc Piorier) came close, he was quite over. August Smisl was your next guy. The audience adored him. He was fun to watch. It was mostly comedy but even Otto (Wanz) was mostly comedy except in grudge matches or championship bouts. August Smisl was a guy you also believed in because he was a super heavyweight arm wrestling champion with both arms. He was impossibly strong, great body and super likable. They should have made every effort to make Smisl happy, make him

When you are trying to run wrestling shows seven days a week? Yes! The people could stay at home and watch it for free and see all the pyrotechnics, the international talent and the backstage vignettes. They didn’t have to watch every week and through recaps would still be able to follow the story. To follow the stories at CWA shows you had to be there every day. If you missed a day or two you didn’t know what happened. Not to forget that it was right in the attitude era (CWA closed its doors in 1999). WWE and WCW were marketing their product to the moon.

Everything looked so big. Then you come to the CWA and you see 5 matches every night and no pyro. Not that we had to hide with our roster. We had a lot of quality guys but we didn’t have the marketing machine behind us.

If promoters in Germany worked together and advertised the sport under one name, do you think it could work?

I would love to say it would, but honestly, it won’t. I don’t see for example EWP push Michael Kovac to the top or GSW push Christian

www.thewrestlingpress.com 71

WHEN SABIN FIRST WON THE x DIVISION TITLE, HE WAS WORKING AT SuBWAY SANDWICHES You had matches against Rhino and Christian in Germany. Did these matches have a special meaning to you or was it just business as usual?

It’s fun to get in there with your pals. I remember teaching Christian arm drags in the gym. Seeing how far he has developed; how much instinct he has gained and knowing I had a hand in it is just great. Getting in the ring, mixing it up is like going back to the times we goofed around in the gym. It was so much fun and on top of that we got paid for doing that.

Rhino and I go way back. I was best man at his wedding. It’s very easy for me to make him laugh. So when I have him in a hold, I would tell him jokes and crack him up. I did that with RVD as well. He is such a relaxed guy but I could make him crack up and I am proud of that.

What do you think could be done to make the sport more popular in Germany?

Wrestling is a TV medium. Until somebody gets TV to make real big stars out of the local wrestlers, it’s not going to be perceived as big time. There are plenty of talented wrestlers in Germany. But if you see a German wrestler, who is decorated with titles from many promotions, on a construction site next week, it means he is not really a star. When Chris Sabin first won the X Division Title, he was working at Subway Sandwiches. You need to get TV behind it and maybe a couple of celebrities so that it looks like it’s the place to be and the thing to watch.

72 www.thewrestlingpress.com

You told me that you were shooting movies and worked as Trainer on Celebrity Wrestling in the UK. What can you tell us about your projects besides your wrestling career?

Celebrity Wrestling was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately it wasn’t too successful but I had a good time doing it. I got to hang out with Jack Osbourne. I am a big Ozzy fan, so hanging out with his son didn’t hurt. I recently did a movie in France. I portrayed a Mexican wrestler under a mask named Emilio Poco Loco. I wrestled on it and was also technical coordinator for the match. We actually did the match in front of a live crowd.

I did another movie with Johnny Storm in England a few years ago. I will never forget that one. It was the day they found Benoit’s family dead. I really didn’t believe it, so we went back to the director’s office to watch RAW and, sadly, it was a reality.

Do you have any plans for the time after your active career?

Currently I am writing a column for a wrestling magazine in France.

Essentially it’s my autobiography.

© Tony Knox

Eckstein to the top. Another problem is the storylines. You start a storyline at the first show, after that the wrestlers cross paths at the next weeks’ show and then finally they have a match at the third promoters show. The third promoter sells all the tickets the two other shows were just the build-up. Every promoter wants his roster to look the strongest to make more money.

For every issue I write another chapter starting with the time I got interested in wrestling when I was fourteen. I am also helping with a lot of things for the promotions I work for in France and South Africa so I could wind up doing more backstage work. Opening a wrestling school is also a subject. n Contact David at dschmida@hotmail.com

10 questions with RetroWrestling.com

S

ince establishing RetroWrestling.com in 2008 Chris Reed has had the unique opportunity to interact with wrestling superstars and fans alike. With that in mind The Wrestling Press cornered the ever busy Chris during a rare coffee break and asked him ten questions about his journey so far....

Trish Stratus personalising items for RetroWrestling.com

Chris with some of his prized possessions

So Chris, let's discuss your wrestling background. Presumably you were a fan first and foremost, but what prompted the decision to establish RetroWrestling.com?

A number of factors contributed to the decision really, probably the main factor being that there is no UK based company around that provide the merchandise we have on offer alongside our competitive prices and friendly customer service.

On a personal level I started following wrestling from around 1990 and also met my wife thanks to a live WWE show, so you could say that having a career in the wrestling business seemed like a natural progression!

Alongside the wrestling t-shirts and action figures, visitors to the site can also order autographed photos. Typically, how do you obtain these famous signatures?

We have been known to obtain autographs from attending WWE/TNA arranged signing sessions.

However the main method we use now is dealing with the superstars directly via their agents to arrange personalised signing sessions.

So, which wrestling stars have you arranged personalised sessions with so far?

In the last 12 months of dealing directly with the wrestlers to offer personalised signed items we have been fortunate enough to hook up with Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Ultimate Warriror, Kurt Angle, Trish Stratus, Sting, Paul Bearer and Maria.

74 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Although your website stocks many wrestling items, why do you focus on autographs?

We focus on autographs for a number of reasons.

We have personally queued for hours on end at official WWE/TNA meet and greats in the UK and America so we understand just how hard it is to get autographs of the superstars. Also when meeting the superstars they often do not have the time to personalise autographs or pose for photos as they have so many items to sign and people to meet. With the service we offer, when we arrange a signing session with a superstar we can get a fan any amount of items signed personally to them along with picture proof of the superstar signing the items.

What makes RetroWrestling.com unique from other wrestling websites?

Definitely the quality of merchandise and level of customer service. As a fan myself, I also obtain autographs and memorabilia for our personal collection! There may be other companies around that specialise in figures, T-Shirts, DVD's etc but who else can bring names to the table like Trish Stratus to sign items for them?! However, none of this would be achievable without a fantastic customer base, most of whom I know on a personal level now and have struck up great friendships with. It really is a pleasure to be able to offer such great merchandise to such hardcore collectors.

During your work you have encountered many of the biggest names from the wrestling industry, have they always met your expectations or have you had to nurse a few fragile egos?

Before RetroWrestling.com was established we met a lot of superstars at WWE/TNA signing sessions. We have always been very lucky and the superstars have always been friendly, especially Eddie Guerrero who really took the time to talk to us and spend a bit of time with us which is one of our most treasured memories. Since establishing RetroWrestling.com the superstars we have been associated with have also all been very friendly.

Trish Stratus deserves a special mention for actually personalising a photo from her collection for

my wife and I, gestures like this go a long way and are never forgotten.

Has there been any mishaps along the way?

Wrestlers missing flights, stock not turning up etc?

There was a instance in January this year when we attended a legends of wrestling convention as vendors. This event went badly wrong as 6 of the 10 legends advertised to appear were turned away at UK customs so only 4 of the legends could appear. We are still unaware as to why the wrestlers were turned away as the organisers of the convention did not disclose the reasons to us. It was a great disappointment for everyone there, including us.

N THREE WORDS - BRET HITMA HART! BRET IS BOOKED FOR THE END OF OCTOBER What has been your most memorable experience in wrestling?

There have been a few! Back in the late 90's I stepped into the ring with Yokozuna and Earthquake for a Polaroid when they toured the UK with an independent federation, little did I know that shortly after both superstars would no longer be with us. The same goes for when I met Eddie Guerrero in 2004 at a WWE signing session. Eddie was so kind and friendly that it is no wonder he is still fondly remembered by fans and peers to this day.

But I have to say my most memorable experience has to be when I was invited to meet Don Matthews (William Regal's Father) at his home. I didn't know Don lived so close to me and it was a lovely experience to meet a man so proud of his son's achievements. I will never forget, it was around 11am on a Sunday morning when I called round and Don gladly cracked opened a couple of beers for us and sat back and talked about his son with such pride!

I think he enjoyed it just as much as I did to be honest. I also came out of the house with an armful of Regal merchandise and returned the favour whenever we get any Regal items through!

What's the most treasured piece of merchandise that you own personally? And whose autograph have you not yet obtained that would be the ultimate achievement for you?

The most treasured piece of merchandise we own has to be a personalised 1 of 20 Jakks classic superstars figure of the Ultimate Warrior. This figure was never available for sale, it was designed by the Warrior himself and made exclusively by Jakks on his behalf. The figure shows Warrior in his WCW ring gear and is up there in the top 3 rarest wrestling figures of all time. Warrior also threw in a personalised Wrestlemania VI 8 x 10 photo from when he defeated Hulk Hogan to become The Intercontinental and WWF Champion, this item is on permanent display in my office. To be honest as far as obtaining autographs, I don't think there is a single autograph of a wrestling superstar we have not had in stock at some point. However as the years go on certain autographs are becoming more rare to obtain due to the stars no longer being with us. If I had to choose an autograph that would be the ultimate achievement, I would have to say that I would love a Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels or a Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior joint signed item as both rivalries are still talked about to this day and would make great collectors pieces.

You have been involved in recent signing sessions with Jeff Hardy, Trish Stratus, Rey Mysterio, Maria and Ric Flair: What's next on the agenda for RetroWrestling.com?

Three words - BRET HITMAN HART! Bret is booked for the end of October and a range of limited edition photos and figures will be available for personalised signing. For more details and ordering details, please visit our site

www.retrowrestling.com. www.RetroWrestling.Com specialises in bringing you the very best in official wrestling memorabilia including genuine autographs, glossy photos, action figures, T-Shirts and much more.

Striving to bring you the very best of those 'hard to get' retro items, RetroWrestling also stocks the latest collectibles that ranges from 1980's to present day memorabilia

www.thewrestlingpress.com 75

THE

NATHAN CRuz

SHOWSTEALER AND RIGHLY SO Words: DARREN WOOD Photos: TONY KNOX

rguably one of the most impressive standouts on the UK wrestling scene over the past year, ‘The Prima Donna’ Nathan Cruz is a young man with a bright future who has seen his stock rise tenfolds during 2010.

A

“Doing acting has definitely helped,” remarks Cruz. “It has given me confidence, charisma and audience awareness. These are all skills I transfer into my character. Being an entertainer, it’s great to have experience in acting because you can use that skill into making the character more believable.”

Having gone from a wrestler who many fans had never heard of he is now one of the most promising stars that British wrestling has to offer. For the past 12 months he has impressed fans across the UK appearing for companies such as Dynamic Pro Wrestling, Real Deal Wrestling and Hull’s New Generation Wrestling.

Whilst training, Cruz gained the moniker ‘Prima Donna’ which came when he was in his rookie year, following a workout at a local gym.

Cruz, who began watching wrestling when he was 10 years old, has been pushed, established and accepted as a genuine main event star, despite being only 19 years old.

Training under the tutelage of El Ligero, Cruz believes that ‘The Mexican Sensation’ has taught him a lot in regards to the theatrical side of wrestling.

This is something that TWP believes Cruz has mastered. Earlier in his life he participated in a lot of acting work and it shows. His charisma work on the microphone and facial expressions shown in the ring are magnificent.

“I was looking for a tag line that I could work a character from. I’d just started going to the gym and in my own vanity was posing in front of a mirror. My friend saw me and said ‘you’re just a prima donna’. So I used it from there.”

NGW owner Richard Dunn believes that Cruz can be the man to lead the company in years to come; he saw a lot of potential in the young up and coming competitor, swiftly bringing him into the promotion.

“From the time I saw him, I knew he had remarkable talent,” states Dunn. “In January 2009 I saw him competing in a four way with Bubblegum, El Ligero & Joey Hayes. Nathan was the odd one out, the complete unknown but he stole the show.

“His character work kept the audience in the match throughout and he more than held his

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own with the more experienced British wrestling favourites. I knew I’d discovered someone special that night.

“If I had the choice of wrestlers all over the world, Nathan Cruz would be one of the first names down on the card. He is that good.”

It is in NGW where undoubtedly Cruz has made his name, further establishing his growing status earlier this year when he embarked in a great feud with British wrestling pioneer Alex Shane.

ing for the right person who could live up to it and deserved that rub.

He thought Nathan was perfect. Along with his talent, his attitude and character matched it perfectly.”

Cruz recalls his feelings of being told that after a little more than a year into his wrestling career he would be entering a feud with British wrestling pioneer Alex Shane over the moniker.

The feud between those two captured the imagination of NGW fans up and down the country, with wonderful verbal exchanges between the two; it was a feud that was based on a cocky youngster demanding respect from the wily veteran.

It was a brilliantly constructed storyline that culminated in a truly amazing Last man standing match which took place on NGW’s 2nd anniversary event in June, for the rights to the ‘Show stealer’ name.

“Even before Alex Shane came into NGW, I’d been telling him how much promise Nathan had and how hard he worked compared to anyone I’d met in the industry. Alex had obviously seen what I saw.

“I got a phone call from Alex asking my opinion on what I thought about dropping the Show stealer name to Nathan. Unbeknownst to me, Alex always had in mind the idea of dropping the name to someone but was look-

78 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Alex Shane © Tony Knox

Many promoters would have had reservations putting a young, relatively unknown wrestler in such a high profile feud as Cruz was involved with Shane.

The gamble paid off for Dunn and NGW, though it wasn’t originally Dunn’s idea to base a feud between the two on the ‘show stealer’ name.

CRuz VS SHANE Press play or click here for external link

was sceptical, realising that at 19 years of age there will still be a lot of things he can learn.

“I never wanted it. When I found out I said no, I’m still young in this business. However our trainees have even more to learn and I can pass on what I have been taught. It wasn’t until Ligero told me that I was capable of doing it that I felt up to the role.

“I was very excited,” Cruz explains. “Here is a guy I used to watch on TV every week and for me he was always a highlight. The feud itself was very well thought out and gave me a chance to do some of the more theatrical aspects of my character that I enjoy doing.

“It was such an honour in my career; Alex is one of the few people who revolutionised the industry. To have a match with him, in a main event, for a moniker that he has made famous for close to 20 years, I couldn’t have asked for much more at just 19 years old.”

The young charismatic Cruz who has been likened by many to WWE superstar Chris Jericho, has impressed Dunn so much that he was recently named assistant trainer at the NGW training school.

“He’s growing into a leader backstage and helps other people work on stuff that is a particular strength of his. The trainees often approach him and ask for any feedback on their performances and he always offers it in a humble, mature way.

“I honestly believe he is now one of the best storytellers in the country, having been mentored by El Ligero & Alex Shane, two of the best storytellers around at the minute. His strength in acting obviously helps this immensely, he understands how important it is to be a good story teller.

“I feel I can do a good job though. I’ve always been good at being a leader, whether it be organising awards evenings or setting a respectful example. When you know people look up to you, you have a certain responsibility to set a good example.”

ALONG WITH HIS TALENT, HIS ATTITuDE AND CHARACTER MATCHED IT PERFECTLY With a little under three years in the wrestling business, Cruz is starting to show signs of developing into a real star for British wrestling. There are still things for him to learn though but it is scary to think how much he can actually improve in the future.

For Richard Dunn and NGW it must be hard to not push Cruz to the top of the card and make him the focal point of the company. In a smart move, the company has not pushed him too soon. They have built him step by step and his rise to the top has been slow and methodical.

Fans have really started to react to his egotistical, maniacal manner and there is no doubt that he will have many years as a top performer in British wrestling. n Contact Darren at news@thewrestlingpress.com

When told of the decision to make him assistant trainer to the NGW training school, Cruz

www.thewrestlingpress.com 79

THE BEST IN THE LAND?

Words: DARREN WOOD

I

f the question was asked which wrestling promotions do you think are the biggest in the United Kingdom, how would you answer? It’s a question that most fans of professional wrestling here in Great Britain, will respond with the usual answers of IPW:UK, FWA and LDN to name but a few.

However that may not be the case for much longer, over the past four years there has been a promotion north of the border that has quietly but consistently grown, pushing home grown talent and putting on quality shows.

Premier British Wrestling, based in Glasgow, Scotland and headed by Ross Watson (who wrestles across the UK as Kid Fite) has for the past few years been progressing at a steady rate, not rushing ahead with ambitious plans and running over the top large venues like so many wrestling promotions on our shores.

At first the promotion ran just three shows in their debut year in 2006. Starting with ‘Breaking Limits’ on 31st March 2006. By the end of 2007, the company’s schedule had grown considerably, expanding to nine shows.

Since 2008, the company has ran selected venues, built up a loyal fan base and are now well known in the local communities. The outfit now runs 12 shows a year and like Bryan Dixon’s All Star Wrestling, have built up a healthy relationship with holiday parks, performing on 50-70 shows during the holiday season.

80 www.thewrestlingpress.com

“Two things I had been passionate about growing up in Glasgow were wrestling and business,” remarks Watson. “I had been involved with wrestling for about four years helping companies like BCW and W3L. Towards the end of 2005, I decided to start PBW with the aim of putting on a few shows every year and hopefully make a few quid along the way.

“I had no idea at the time just how well the whole thing was going to take off for me and what a big part in my life it would play.”

HE [BuBBLEGuM] WAS PERHAPS THE MOST POPuLAR PBW STAR OF ALL TIME. When the idea came together to start PBW, Watson had a decisive plan of action he would undertake for his company.

Realising there were two main training schools in Scotland, British Championship Wrestling and Scottish Wrestling Alliance.

Watson found that both companies rarely used each other’s talents; deciding to exploit that fact, he started to use the best talent from both companies mixed with top talent from around Europe. The idea being that the international names could be paired with PBW regulars in order to give them a rub.

It’s a strategy that has worked. By pitting top talent from across the world such as Kevin Thorn and Jimmy Jacobs against PBW main-

stays, means workers like Bubblegum, Darkside and Liam Thomson have all prospered, whether it be increasing their name value, gaining more experience or increasing their knowledge by working with (and in some cases gaining victories over) their international counterparts.

A good point to underline this fact is that over the last year current PBW Heavyweight Champion Lionheart (who won the title back in December 2008, and a man who TWP wrote about back in issue 8) has been having stand out matches across the UK against the likes of ‘the Best in the World’ Davey Richards and TNA starlet Desmond Wolfe.

These contests have helped increase his standing, resulting in the Cumnock star featuring on wrestling cards up and down the country.

Looking back to the promotions inception, PBW helped current WWE superstar Drew McIntyre by giving him the platform to perform and hone his craft. The former Intercontinental Champion was a regular (albeit not for long) with the outfit until his departure to the Stamford based promotion in 2007. McIntyre was a huge star in Scotland and Watson fully believes that every time people watch McIntyre on Smackdown, it promotes the PBW brand.

“Looking back, he done a lot more for PBW than what we did for him,” explains Watson.

“He put Wolfgang over on our first show and that was needed to be done as we knew he wasn’t going to be around much longer. We had to start building guys to fill the void. Drew is still helping PBW to this day, every time he appears on TV he is spreading the word about Scottish wrestling.

“He has built up a huge following in the USA, all over the world in fact. The more fans he gets, the more people want to search online about him and the more traffic we get to our site. I wish Drew the very best of luck and I am sure he will end up World Champion at some point.”

Watson states that 2010 has been the group’s strongest year since 2007. Attendances at the shows have increased, DVD sales are up and more towns are being added to the companies’ ever increasing list of areas visited.

“One thing I am proud of is the fact we have built up a brand identity, casual fans e-mail me on a regular basis asking what stars will be at the shows etc. When we advertise on radio and newspaper we tell them to plug the fact that it’s PBW, not just wrestling.

“I think that in the next few years’ things will get bigger and better and all we can do is try to take the whole thing even further.”

With PBW presenting its fourth Maximum Impact event on October 16th Watson and PBW would like nothing better than to record their biggest attendance yet at the event.

The company’s Maximum Impact show is known for its King of Cruisers six way matches, which as the name may suggest is six men, elimination rules with one winner. The match has become a staple of the promotion and previously, as the format would suggest, has produced exciting, high adrenaline action.

Previous winners of the tournament are Liam Thomson and the recently retired Bubblegum, Bubblegum © Tony Knox

www.thewrestlingpress.com 81

MAxIMuM IMPACT Press play or click here for external link

from down south already announced the contest already looks set to be a cracker.

Confirmed for the match are three of the best cruiserweights in Europe today, El Ligero, Marty Scurll and his Leaders of the New School tag team partner Zack Sabre Jr. Three more names are to be announced shortly.

who won the previous two years. Unfortunately he will not be there to defend his KOC crown.

“It is a shame and a huge loss for PBW,” Watson says in regards to Bubblegum’s retirement. “He was perhaps the most popular PBW star of all time. Both kids and adults alike just loved him. At least this year we head into Irvine knowing that a new King of Cruisers has to be crowned, which is very exciting.”

“Once again myself and the staff at PBW wish Bubblegum all the happiness in the world with his new family and if he ever decides to return to wrestling, I will be the first promoter on the phone.”

The loss of Bubblegum to the match is without a doubt a massive blow as obviously it would have been nice to see him in there, to defend his crown.

But have no fear UK wrestling fans, this year promises to be one of the best KOC line-ups that the outfit has promoted and with three big names

82 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Ligero, Scurll and Sabre Jr have definitely been involved in some standout contests on the UK wrestling scene over the past year and they will no doubt keep up their high level of performance and consistency. TWP is sure that this match will live up to its predecessors and continue the tradition of the King of Cruisers match containing fast paced, balls to the wall action.

“Every year I try my very best to book the best available talent that the UK and Ireland has to offer and for King of Cruisers this year is no different.

“Marty Scurll will be making his PBW debut; I am very well aware of what a fantastic talent he is and look forward to having him.

Rest assured this will be one hell of a match.”

Also announced on the stacked card is a Tables, Ladders and Chairs main event (with its participants as of press time not yet announced) and an international dream match as Irish born New Japan Pro Wrestling mainstay Prince Devitt will square off against former Ring of Honor star Matt Cross (M-Dogg 20) in a match that has all the makings of a show stealer.

El Ligero © Tony Knox

In his last appearance for PBW, Cross squared off against Darkside and has been looking forward to coming back to the UK ever since. TWP recently caught up with Cross and spoke to him about his upcoming international contest with Devitt.

“There’s no question Prince Devitt is one hell of a talent,” states Cross. “I first met him in 2005 when I was on a tour of Ireland. I was invited up north to NWA Ireland to help with a training session. I got to wrestle around with Prince Devitt that day and it was easy to see he was a top talent.

“In the five years since then, both of us have improved immensely and gone on to make names for ourselves all over the world. I’m looking forward to testing my skills against him and can only hope he’s looking to do the same with me.

Marty Scurll © Tony Knox

“I think the fans can expect two top calibre athletes going at it looking to test their reputations. This is going to be PBW’s biggest show of the year and I’m honoured to be involved in a marquee match. I hope the fans show up in force and give me a warm welcome like I received the last time I was in the country. This whole event is going to be a must-see and I’m really excited for it.”

TWP is urging fans across the UK to make the trip to Scotland to watch Maximum Impact, which if all goes to plan should be a cracking night of wrestling action.

It all kicks off on Saturday October 16th at the Magnum Centre, Irvine, Scotland.

Doors open at 7pm with a bell time of 7.30 pm.

For more information please visit Zack Sabre Jr © Tony Knox

www.pbwwrestling.com www.thewrestlingpress.com 83

INTERVIEW WITH

By Dark Kitty How did you first get interested in the sport of wrestling?

Like most wrestlers I got interested by watching TV and movies featuring the fighters, then I began to attend functions in Arena Morelos, Morelia, in about 1990. I wanted to be like those characters that I saw in the ring, so I started out in the gym of the same arena, right until my debut in 1993.

Why did you choose the name Maniac Crazy?

In fact, in the gymnasium of the arena we were taught both styles of wrestling, but the one style that caught my attention was being a heel, for the interaction with the public and I do not like people to feel sorry for me as a face. I started with the name of Maniak II, which lasted for about 13 years, and which was given to me by the original Maniac of the city of Uruapan (retired), then there is a new Maniac (current) and to avoid problems, I decided to modify a little by adding the Crazy, and I’ve always been rebellious and quirky, you can say I always was a little crazy.

Who were your teachers?

The first instructor that began teaching me the secrets of this sport was Gaby El Payasito, and then polishing my style was Ángel Dorado I, Black Shark y el Sable Rojo.

with Ray Magno Jr. against the champions Cara Dura and Sable Rojo.

I am currently Cruiserweight Champion after defeating Superman Ricochet in 2007, and welterweight champion of the state of Michoacan, which I won in November 2008 from then-champion Arhgo in Salamanca Gto. I’ve also wrestled against superstars from the big companies (AAA and CMLL), as well as independent fighters.

What successes have you had in your career as a wrestler?

I was a finalist in the first championship of tag teams in Morelia in 1995, losing in the final

Who are currently your toughest opponents?

No rival is ever small, new people came pushing hard, but my classic opponents who I’ve

84 www.thewrestlingpress.com

Maniaco Crazy shows you how its done!

ONE!

TWO!

THREE! I WIN Anything else you want to add?

I want to thank the public from all the places we have presented wrestling, as they demonstrate their support for our local fighters, and they know that they are given a good show.

I had the opportunity to meet Maniaco Crazy while visiting a show in Uruapan Michoacan.

Be it a heel or a face, this group of wrestlers go out of their way to promote the sport of professional wrestling wherever they go.

Maniaco Crazy with close ally Darth Maul. tangled with many times are definitely Arhgo and Angel Dorado II. Who have been your best partners?

Before I had good partners such as Cara Dura, Sable Rojo and Tony Padilla, and I am currently coupling well with Darth Maut and Obituary.

n Contact Dark Kitty at medianoche@corp.paltalk.com

www.thewrestlingpress.com 85

Words: MATT SINGH

Georg es S tP ierr

e

O

n 14th August, it was announced via the media that the government of Ontario would be allowing mixed-martial arts events to run in the province starting 2011.

With that news, a whole new territory opened up for the UFC, which is realistically the only MMA company that has any kind of vested interest in MMA becoming legal in the Ontario/Toronto area.

The legalising of the sport in this area is something the UFC and in particular UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner have pushed for for a number of years. Not only is the Ontario/Toronto area a

86 www.thewrestlingpress.com

hotbed of MMA fandom, but with the opening up of that area also comes a huge step towards what many in UFC management (and MMA generally) believe to be the holy land; namely MMA being legalised in the state of New York.

Less than a year ago, Ontario policy makers had been dead-against the idea of allowing MMA in, but money-woes on a state-level have more or less forced politicians to let the sport become legal. “Our government has been monitoring MMA for a while, and the sport really evolved and exploded” remarked Sophia Aggelonitis, Minister of Consumer Affairs for Ontario. She continued “I don’t have a clear answer as to why we’re just now getting around to sanctioning it,

ity of 19,800, and is located in the heart of Toronto, Canada’s biggest city.

Ottawa legalising MMA alone is great news for MMA and more specifically the UFC, but surely now it’s only a matter of time (probably less than a year) until the state of New York passes a bill making MMA legal. The bill has actually been on the books to be passed a number of times, but was removed due to political indifference if not outright opposition to the sport. But with budgets across North American states and provinces’ suffering from the global financial crisis, many territories previously hostile to the supposed blood-sport, many are rethinking their stance.

Germany recently banned minors from attending MMA events, but even worse MMA and the UFC w a s b a n n e d f r o m broadcast television after the first UFC event (UFC 99) was met with significant hostility from politicians.

Still, that hasn’t deterred the UFC from booking their second show in Germany for November.

BREAKING THE NEGATIVE MIND-SET TOWARDS MMA LIES IN EDuCATING THOSE WHO THINK OF MMA AS BARB ARIC but it’s always been on the radar and something we’ve been looking at for a while”. Of course, the untold reason is that the province is running an incredible $C20 billion budget deficit, and estimates suggest that a UFC show run in area could generate around $5-6 million.

The next step is for the Ontario Athletic Commission to get their ducks in a row, such as adopting the Unified MMA rules (the province already allows kick boxing and boxing events), training and hiring referees and judges as well as training inspectors for events. Once all of those necessities are done, the UFC will be able to book venues for its events.

Upon release of the sanctioning news, rumours immediately abounded that the company had booked the 60,000 capacity Rogers Center/SkyDome for an event in early 2011. However this turned out to be only a rumour, and the UFC is keeping its options open in regards to a specific area or stadium for its inaugural Ontario card.

There are a number of arenas that could be booked by the UFC; Scotiabank Place in the countries’ capital Ottawa has a capacity of 19,152, Air Canada Center has a similar capac-

One thing is certain though, the UFC has total dedication to breaking down the doors and changing peoples’ perception that MMA is some sort of human cockfighting blood sport. Both Ratner and Dana White (above) have said that breaking the negative mind-set towards MMA lies in educating those who think of MMA as barbaric, and a huge tool to use in regards to that is to say that both Ontario and New York are fine with hosting MMA/UFC events.

Of course, the monetary gain is also a big advantage to use when convincing locations to legalise the sport. With the UFC opening an office in China, and looking at running in Brazil, it’s surely only a matter of time before New York’s power-players relent and pass the bill greenlighting the sport. As big as the UFC is, running

www.thewrestlingpress.com 87

a 60,000 sell-out show at Rogers Center/SkyDome or running Madison Square Garden would be a new high, at least in regards to the actual staging of events. 60,000 tickets is a lot to sell, especially as UFC ticket prices are much more highly priced than that of pro wrestling’s, so it’s not entirely unreasonable to think if the UFC does book the massive venue, there could be two title fights, with obviously Georges St Pierre being one of the headline fighters.

Brock Lesnar

An interesting booking quirk would be if the UFC did run MSG, there could be the possibility of Brock Lesnar defending his UFC heavyweight title in the same building that housed his last WWE match.

NEW YORK ALREADY HAS A HuGE MMA FAN BASE WITHOuT EVER HAVING RuN A SHOW THERE The good thing about attempting to gain a foothold in the New York area, is that pretty much any UFC headline guy could be booked to main event a New York-area show, as the area already has a such a large MMA fan base, and the show would be a success from a livegate point of view. As New York already has a huge MMA fan base without ever having run a show there, it’s crazy to think how much bigger a potential fan base could be once the first few shows are run there.

It’s clear that currently the name ‘UFC’ alone can sell tickets and pay-per-view buys, but having a huge-name headliner like Brock Lesnar, GSP or Anderson Silva is needed to really pull big commercial numbers, and either of those fighters fighting in

88 www.thewrestlingpress.com

MSG or Rogers Center/SkyDome would, at least on paper, enhance the whole aura of a show run in Ontario or New York. In the United States, West Virginia and Vermont have athletic commissions, but have thus far refused to legalise MMA, and with New York likely to do so within a year, it can only be a matter of time before West Virginia and Vermont do the same (although obviously West Virginia and Vermont aren’t exactly MMA hotbeds like New York).

All in all, 44 States have legalised mixed martial arts, and surely it can only be a matter of time before the entire 50 decide to pass a bill giving the green light to MMA. After all, when a State is in financial difficulties it will pretty much try anything to help bring its deficit down, and a UFC show could bring in around 30,000 people to a geographical location, and generate around $4-6 million for the local economy. It looks as though MMA, or more specifically the UFC, is set to expand even further in 2011 and that has to be a good thing for the sport in general. n Contact Matt at mattsingh33@gmail.com

Anderson Silva

I

t was April of this year when German Stampede Wrestling (GSW) closed its gates. With a star filled double header including the Kings of Wrestling, Ares, Doug Williams, Matt Cross and the crème de la crème of European wrestling, promoter Ingo Vollenberg and his team said good-bye.

“We had an amazing time but it was quite certain that we couldn't continue the way it was. Since September 2009 we had been discussing the end of the promotion. Alexander Erven, head of the GSW promoting team at that time, decided that he wanted to concentrate on his own professional life which didn't give him the time scale that a "fun-promotion" like GSW needed. I know Words: DAVID SCHMIDA

it sounds strange when I talk about GSW as a hobby promotion since we brought stars like Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, Christian Cage and many more to Germany. But still, GSW was no professional promotion in terms of trying to make money with it. It was about having fun and giving the fans what they wanted while not having too much stress doing so. After seven years it was too much for me and I retreated to finish my university degree. But I wasn’t the only one who had trouble managing both things at the same time. It had grown too big to still run it as a side project; we would have needed a professional background. That’s why Alex decided

EMIL SITOCI

Press play or click here for external link

ments and if the fans support us, especially in the beginning, there’s a pretty good chance wrestling in Germany will reach a new level soon.”

The first shows are going to be taped on 25th and 26th September in Marburg, Germany, a city that saw numerous outstanding and successful GSW shows. Throughout the years Marburg became something like the home of GSW and now it might become a synonym for a fresh start.

to close GSW. I helped by organising the final shows to leave the scene with dignity. The final events were really great and that was the moment I realised that GSW can't die like that and that it might be possible to run it on a professional basis.”

“Marburg is the home of GSW. The venue is very small, it has space for only 250 spectators, but that’s why it’s so special. It’s a hall situated in a former railway area which is now being used

What many fans were hoping for becomes reality now. With a whole new concept Vollenberg brings back GSW and puts everything on the line. But what’s different now? Most importantly GSW is going to present a weekly ninety minute wrestling show revolving around the promotion’s talents.

“GSW defines itself all new. I’m taking a high risk trying it as a full time promoter. It’s a completely new concept: new logos, a new website, new kinds of events and much more. It’s absolutely great to finally be able to dedicate myself entirely to GSW and to do what needs to be done in order to be successful and reach a new level.

Our new website, www.gsw-wrestling.de, is the heart of the promotion. At the moment we only have a German version but we’ll also offer an international version in English soon. The most important thing is that the fans can watch our product on a regular basis.

Our new weekly show is called COURAGE and the first edition will be shown on our website at the end of September. It’s going to be a test run but we want COURAGE to be available on a weekly basis in the future. The big events will be available through pay per view and also as click per view on the internet with German and English commentary. There are so many develop-

Blue Nikita © gsw-wrestling.de

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ferent in this case. On the 9th October GSW Unstoppable will take place at Huxleys in Berlin, a venue which has hosted numerous wrestling shows throughout the history of wrestling in Germany.

“The “Huxleys” was an important wrestling venue in the past and tradition means a lot to me. I was told it would be difficult to reach the masses in Berlin and fill the venues. But we’ll try.

“Bad Bones” John Kay.

© gsw-wrestling.de

as a theater. The acoustics as well as the lighting equipment are ideal. We had fantastic moments there with special guests like Doug Williams, Katie Lea and Steve Corino. But it wasn’t exactly about the guest stars but rather about the things that made GSW so special. We always had good storylines and great matches.

Ladies’ wrestling was also an important factor to our success in Marburg. We had legendary battles between Wesna and Blue Nikita that elevated ladies’ wrestling in Europe to a new level.

T WE BROuGHT STARS LIKE BRE IAN IST CHR T, RET JAR F JEF T, HAR NY AND MANY MORE TO GERMA I’m sure we’ll show some best of moments on the website soon so fans can get an impression of the events in that venue. Of course now with COURAGE we want to top all that, especially regarding the production. That means we want to improve the look and the design. The wrestling product itself has always had a very high quality and we want to keep it like that. Holding events in a TV style will bring changes of course. Everything will be faster and more dynamic, ninety minutes are shorter than you think and we want action from beginning to end.”

Wrestling fans are used to the fact that wrestling’s TV shows lead to events where storylines culminate in high profile fights. It’s not dif-

Throughout the years GSW became known through “International Impact” where we always presented big stars. Now it’s all about an impressive set, creating interesting stories and supporting that with a few celebrities and an interesting framework programme. GSW is in full swing and we want to prove that we are indeed unstoppable.

It’ll be an interesting time, an experiment that no one has tried yet in Germany. I’m very much looking forward to working with the wrestlers and meeting all the fans who will join me on the journey.”

What Ingo Vollenberg and his team are trying involves a high risk and could very well end with the final extinction of GSW. But if it doesn’t it could enhance the level of success of independent wrestling in Germany. n Contact David at dschmida@hotmail.com

9TH OCTOBER HuxLEYS, BERLIN, GERMANY www.gsw-wrestling.de

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DVD

The Stranger

TRAILER

Press play or click here for external link

Discs: 1 // 86 mins // Certificate 15 // £6.99 www.anchorbay.co.uk Since his arrival onto the movie scene at first with WWE’s The Condemned and then recently with Damage. Steve Austin (no more ‘Stone Cold’) has shown that he can be a credible action film star, in his recent straight to DVD release, Austin stars in ‘The Stranger’, an FBI agent with memory loss. In a plot that seems to borrow a lot from ‘The Bourne Identity’ the film seems to be striving to be accepted as more than just an action film.

When sitting down to watch an Austin movie you would usually expect lots of arse kicking and fighting right? Wrong. Indeed there are fight scenes but they are too short and not really very creative (It is explained in the special features they were rushed for time and had to basically choreograph the fight scenes on the spot.) so there is a lot of dialogue, much more than you would expect. Austin’s performance was very good and we have come to expect nothing less from the former WWE Champion, he plays the action hero very well and looks menacing throughout. Of course though we can’t discount the film on the fact that it is quite dialogue heavy for an action flick, to be fair it does have all the basic elements of an action film. Russian Mob’s, secret agents, bent cops - you get the picture.

One major flaw with the film is that we came away from it still not knowing what the bloody hell went on. (Something about Austin’s character being in far more doo-doo than expected).

Much of the plot involves showing the same 92 www.thewrestlingpress.com

flashbacks from Austin's confused memory, over and over and over again, we lost track of how many times we saw the same images. Which we have to admit got boring really fast, it’s almost as if the director didn’t film or forgot to film some more flashback scenes and better yet the flashbacks don’t really even accomplish anything.

The apparent lack of injury that Austin suffers is concerning; he gets hit a number of times in the ribs with a wooden plank and yet never has anything wrong with him, he gets shot at for long stretches of the movie but never gets hit, with the police seemingly not being able to shoot him even when he was running in a straight line.

Eventually he does get grazed a little near the end but that is not near enough the level of damage you would expect from someone who has been through what he has encountered.

Overall the film ends without a clear resolution and seems a letdown from Austin’s other efforts, which to be honest were all rather good; the ending seems to suggest a sequel is intended.

It might be worth a DVD rental but for 86 minutes you might just have your head in a daze.

DVD EXTRAS: Not a lot in the way of DVD extras! There is The Stranger: Behind the Scenes featurette, but that is only a mere five minutes long! Which is really bad for a DVD release, should be at least half hour really. Also, there is a trailer of the movie. Wow. DARREN WOOD

DVD

WrestleMania 26 Discs: 3 // 8hrs 7 mins // Region 2 // Release: Out Now // £17.99 // Distributor: Silver vision WrestleMania – without a doubt the biggest wrestling event ever created and may possibly the biggest event on earth in terms of viewers and people it can draw to a host city. Now in its twenty-sixth year the card looks stacked and surely cannot disappoint, right?

The opener is the Unified Tag team title match between ShowMiz and R-Truth and Morrison, which doesn’t get things off to a flying start as it is cut short and only runs a few minutes, leaving the crowd flat.

Next up the breakup of The Legacy is completed in a match that establishes Orton as a fan favourite, (at least amongst the 18-30 demographic). His lone, aggressive and cold demeanour could lead him to being the PG-era equivalent of Stone Cold in the coming years.

Money in the Bank now features ten men, and the concept this year seems to have become a bit strained, with the participants struggling to add new variety to the match. Will it be the last ‘Mania Money in the Bank match, now that it has its own concept pay-per view?

A noticeable DVD edit has been added by WWE, with Swagger retrieving the case in a few seconds rather than the half a minute it took him, on the live broadcast.

The WWE’s outstanding presentation values continue throughout the DVD, with excellent video packages outlining the feuds between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio, and HHH and Sheamus. The HBK versus Taker video would probably go down as my favourite promo video ever produced by the WWE.

Both the WWE and World Championship matches are solid encounters with Jericho versus Edge being the better of the two contests, but the highlight of the Main card is without a doubt the Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels, (Career vs. Streak match). Which couldn’t quite live upto the standards of their last clash the previous year, but it is still a Wrestlemania classic.

The flaws of the main card are evident with Bret vs.

Vince being the most anti-climactic end to a feud that we can ever remember, so much so that it actually had some fans booing the Hitman. The Divas are always forgettable and should be limited to a DVD extra rather than taking up valuable time from other important matches. The biggest gripe with WrestleMania 26 was the crowd, which was incredibly flat throughout the whole live broadcast; this has been addressed by the WWE editing department on the DVD with added crowd noise and pops, which actually makes for more enjoyable viewing than the live broadcast.

The DVD Extras include the 26 Man Battle Royal that wasn’t featured on the live WrestleMania broadcast. An additional five matches with accompanying interviews featuring the entrants to the WWE Hall of Fame 2010, a Stu Hart profile with contributions from the Hart Family. Disc 3 focuses on the 2010 Hall of Fame ceremony and features a video montage on each inductee and their induction speech.

This is a welcome addition to the DVD as it provides a small back story to each inductee, which is useful to further inform fans and allow them to become familiar with the wrestlers of yesteryear.

Overall WrestleMania 26 is a mixed bag, the main card looked stacked on paper and is up there with the best WrestleMania line-ups.

The event though didn’t quite produce the goods, with some lacklustre performances or time constraints limiting the match quality. However the Undertaker vs. Michaels match is so good that it is worth buying the DVD solely for that match. The DVD extras are nice features that make the modest £17.99 price a bargain, for three discs of action.

WrestleMania 26 is a must for all WWE fans and should be in their collection.

DARREN WOOD www.thewrestlingpress.com 93

BOOK

Orig Williams Pages: 192 // £9.95 // Publisher: ylofa books, www.ylofa.cm Orig Williams is a name that if you are a fan of British wrestling you should be at least vaguely familiar with.

If not, then let me bring you up to speed.

He is without a doubt one of the most famous wrestlers to ever come out of Wales and without giving too much away, Williams or ‘El Bandito’ as he was also known, was not just a wrestler, but also a former professional footballer, wrestling promoter, football manager and television presenter.

Written with the help of Martyn Williams, journalist, TV news presenter and producer, this autobiography carries a lot of information and detail on the Williams life and his upbringing.

“We recorded hours of anecdotal material in compiling this book, before his death last year,” Williams recalls. ”His distaste of authority, his schemes and exploits are documented, and the tributes to him by the likes of Mighty John Quinn, Dave “Fit” Finlay, Adrian Street and Mark Rollerball Rocco speak of his generosity and kindness.

“The tale of Orig Williams, El Bandito, and the escapades will never be repeated. He did not fit nor comply with contemporary politically correct thinking – and that is why I wrote his book.”

What some autobiographies struggle with is conveying to the reader what sort of personality the books subject had or has, the reader must by the end of the book understand the subject

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of the book and be able to connect with them in some way.

That’s what is good about this autobiography; there really is a feeling for who Williams was and what he stood for, a proud Welshman, who had good leadership skills.

The tales included in this book are at times fascinating, from his periods as a promoter in Pakistan, Nigeria, the Middle East and Ireland. It’s seems Williams could simply get away with murder.

Included are some very funny stories that wrestling fans of all ages will find entertaining: Williams biting the finger of a referee in a football match and dragging him all the way back to the dressing room, and another story of an event where crawling things were all over the ring, yet all the wrestlers still went into the ring are two that really stand out.

It was interesting to read his thoughts on the state of British wrestling back when ITV was showing World of Sport on Saturday afternoons.

Which is a period still undoubtedly revered as a golden era for British wrestling.

It was also interesting to read about the struggles he faced as a promoter going up against Joint Promotions and their precious ITV timeslot.

While we found the book interesting it is definitely aimed at a select audience, fans who remember watching British wrestling in front of the TV featuring stars of the past such as Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks will undoubtedly be entertained by this book.

For new fans of wrestling (in particular wrestling in Britain) it’s a read that won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you want to expand your knowledge and know more about the boom period of UK wrestling then this is the book for you.

DARREN WOOD

DVD

DVD

FWA ‘Art of War’

FWA FRONT LINE Press play or click here for external link

Discs: 1 // 2hrs 51 mins // £7.99 // www.FWASHOP.com Since its resurgence in 2009, the FWA has risen like a phoenix from the ashes and is now back with a vengeance and looking to reclaim its place at the top of the hierarchy of UK wrestling.

One thing that struck us right off the bat was the stacked line up that was on offer, which truly is a who’s who of British wrestling, also the event showcases a main event that has truly been one of the best promoted storylines UK wrestling has seen in a long time.

Of course we are referring to The Agenda vs The Resistance storyline leading up to the eight man tag elimination match. In case you haven’t been keeping up with developments in the FWA (why not?); The Agenda, lead by FWA Heavyweight Champion Martin Stone, have set their sights on using British wrestling as a stepping stone to bigger and better things across the pond.

The group have been demeaning British wrestling for months and are planning to take over the FWA (doesn’t this sound familiar to what a certain Stamford based promotion has just done?) It’s a storyline which ushers in a certain realism and one that has captured the imagination of British wrestling fans.

Of course it is a well known truth that UK wrestlers realise that the big money is to be made in the states, which is why the storyline works so well.

UK wrestling fans are never going to want to admit the truth so they will immediately despise The Agenda and what they are saying.

Granted coming into this DVD review no matter how hard British wrestling tries, it doesn’t have the production values of the multi-million dollar WWE Corporation or the professional surroundings of TNA’s ‘Impact zone’ but we haven’t seen a UK

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wrestling event DVD with as high production values as this, other companies should use this as a standard bearer.

Ok sometimes while watching the show, the music is a bit loud and drowns out the commentary and sometimes the camera shots are a little clunky, but what pissed us off while watching the show was the crowd. It’s a massive shame that they do no justice to what a good show this was. The wrestlers work there asses off for little or no reaction.

Rant aside, Commentary is good and adds to the event and its matches, the combination of Dave Bradshaw and Greg Lambert really works. The in ring product is very good and in some matches brilliant. The match between El Ligero and Jonny Storm (which was our favourite) is a fast paced encounter, with two men who have honed their skills for many years, showcasing what they can do and producing a great match.

Rockstar Spud is always massively entertaining whatever situation he is put in and against RJ Singh is no different and the main event is just a classic, hatred filled brawl. Especially watch out for Martin Stone’s promo on British wrestling mainstay Robbie Brookside, this man (who we featured in TWP issue 6) is definitely one who could have a future in WWE. Extras features include the FWA Frontline internet TV episodes which will soon get you up to speed with the storylines and the incredible Alex Shane

Vs Nathan Cruz – Last showstealer standing match from New Generation Wrestling in Hull.

Truly an amazing match which has no commentary but in truth doesn’t need it as the emotion in that match is fully charged.

Overall I would recommend this DVD, with good production values, a decent commentary team and one of the most stacked cards you are likely to see. There is something for all fans, thus making FWA ‘Art of War’ a very good purchase indeed.

UFC: Rampage Greatest Hits

DVD

2hrs 14 mins // Region 2 // £7.99 // Distributor: Fight DVD From the Land of the Rising Sun to Las Vegas and beyond, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson has wowed and entertained fight fans across the globe. A man who is not only hard as nails but a fantastic entertainer, it is no surprise that the UFC have devoted an entire DVD to the exploits of Rampage Jackson.

The DVD opens with the usual slick montage that you would expect with the UFC and jumps straight into the action with the narrator providing a good summary of how Rampage got to PRIDE FC and a short highlight of his first match with the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba, which then guides us nicely to the first fight against Ishikawa, which is the perfect demonstration of what Rampage has become famous for, his striking power and huge slams.

From there the DVD follows a path of Rampage’s career through PRIDE, with the match choices continuing to showcase exactly what Rampage is

about, with the Vovchanchyn fight featuring two monstrous slams that were so amazing we had to watch both three times in a row. The fight pace slows in matches against Kevin Randleman and Chuck Liddell, and it would have been a nice addition to see the encounter against Wanderlei Silva in the 2003 Grand Prix Final; but business picks up again in the Ricardo Arona bout.

The UFC portion of Rampage Jackson’s career, highlights the stark contrast between PRIDE and UFC with the presentation and self-hype from the UFC very foreboding, with the crowd seemingly happy to boo anything that isn’t a slug-fest; whereas the Japanese PRIDE fans are respectful and their explosive reactions truly lift the fight atmosphere.

The UFC half of the DVD features Rampage’s debut fight against Marvin Eastman, Light Heavyweight Title fight against Chuck Liddell, UFC/PRIDE title Unification versus Dan Henderson, Rampage vs. Wanderlei Silva III and versus Keith Jardine.

Rampage Greatest Hits makes for entertaining viewing, which no doubt encompasses some of Quinton Jacksons most memorable moments. But it is lacking in certain areas, for instance the DVD leaves out the two battles in PRIDE against Wanderlei Silva and the five round barnstormer against Forrest Griffin; although Rampage lost in these contests, they are fantastic fights and would be a welcome addition to any fight DVD, which I feel would have rounded out the DVD compilation.

Rampage is known for his humorous and charismatic interviews yet there are none featured on the DVD; a small thirty minute documentary featuring Rampage talking about his career and life, in addition to the aforementioned pre/post fight interviews would have remedied this minor gripe.

Overall though, Rampage Greatest Hits is a good DVD featuring some great action and is a steal at only £7.99; definitely one for all the Rampage Jackson and Knockout fans to purchase.

DARREN WOOD www.thewrestlingpress.com 97

Dusty Wolfe

the Wolfe Pit

STORIES AND OPINIONS FROM AN ORIGINAL WRESTLING JOURNEYMAN

S

eems I missed last months edition.

That omission wasn’t anything deliberate, just the fact transitions sometimes are rougher than other times....

I’m hanging up the boots for good in December. For the past three years, I’ve been attending university, college to us Texans. I’m almost at the end of my degree plan, and one year ago, I took my first real job since I was 19 years old. I knew December was coming even then, I just didn’t know it would be THIS December. And in getting ready for the changes, the past summer was beyond hectic. Add in a girlfriend half my age that has twice my temper........... a 14 year old son. A 16 year old daughter. Two dogs and a nosy neighbor.....

came to learn every group dynamic has a stooge.

The stooge is essential to a group’s survival. In the family, a stooge usually answers to the name younger sister. At work, they answer to the name of management. As we came to terms with each other, we did develop a respect for each other and our talents. The wrestling this direction will certainly be different without the General.

Losing Lance Cade hit a little closer to home.

The kid was just that, a 29 year old kid. I met Lance when he was training here in San Antonio. Lance was all of 18, and constantly hanging with “Spanky” Brian Kendrick. They were a pair that made me grin every time I saw them. Lance and I would catch up everytime we could in the last 10 years. Meaning we didn’t catch up with

Anyway, back to some rasslin. Literally, I just received word that Tough Tony Borne passed away. I never met Tony, but spent more than a few days with Matt. Condolences there, and bless Tony on one helluva 83 years.

LANCE WAS TOO NICE OF A PERSON, AND THAT’S WHAT LED TO THE ADDICTIONS THAT KILLED HIM

Closer to home, General Skandar Akbar passed recently. The man was well known this direction. Even in these past few years when the prostrate cancer had him on borrowed time, Akbar could and would go out and be Akbar. And people remembered. That part always amazed me and proved a point all at the same time. Rasslin fans remember.

Sports entertainment smarts are only worried about how they look in the moment. Akbar and I weren’t close, even though we knew each other for 25 years.

Over time, I mellowed in my opinion of a stooge, and Akbar mellowed in his opinion of those that didn’t respect stooges. I

each other nearly enough. Lance was too nice of a person, and that’s what led to the addictions that killed him. Guys like Chris Nowinski can take the nutsack less, gutless approach that everything in this world is someone else’s fault. No one put Lance down his path, except Lance Cade. Lance began taking whatever he was taking to help with the physical pain we all live with. As personal issues along the way became a bit much, Lance would numb Lance a bit more. Instead of dealing with mean people

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in a mean way, and moving forward with life, this gentle soul would look for an escape. And he found it. The rest of the story...folks that follow the scene know what happened. All of these were decisions Lance made. And decisions I wish others, myself included, might have influenced in other ways. It’s too late now for that type of regret. Hopefully, those that can make a difference don’t listen to the sob sisters like Nowinski, and look to help the individuals that need the help.

Since I’m close to the WWE as a subject, I’ll answer a question that “M” sent from headquarters. What do I think about the WWWF/WWF/E Hall of Fame?

What’s not to like? Yes, Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund belong in any HOF that includes the greatest names around. And others will get omitted as time passes, memories fade, and Vince McMahon destroys/rewrites rasslin history.

But...who else on a visable level is doing anything to acknowledge the past? I know all the arguments about how Vince Jr will take care of his creations first. And why not? It’s his toy. Vince can play with that toy any way he sees fit. Over here, we have a baseball HOF without Pete Rose because of Pete Rose’s bad behavior. Pete Rose was the greatest hitter in the history of

baseball. And yet, Ty Cobb is IN the baseball HOF. Ty Cobb is the man Rose replaced on the all time hits list, and Cobb was a despicable excuse for a human being. I could go into guys that ARE in the football HOF that have no business being there. But I won’t, considering most of the readers here consider soccer to be football. ANYWAY....let Vince play, let some of the older guys or their families have one last moment. And if Bruno, Backlund and a few others don’t want to join in the fun, so be it. Again, adults and their decisions.

I look at Hogan, Bischoff, and Bret Hart returning to the rasslin bidness. I know why each did, but I have to ask, what money making decision could have been bulls*** into justifying Bischoff?

Bret returned to the WWE to correct some past wrongs. Both of his end and Vince McMahon’s.

I have always said Bret would have returned years ago, with Montreal being one huge work.

Owen’s death changed all that back then, but financial situations, and fading animosities made Bret’s return possible now. I’m not too sure if any of it matters months later, but I can honestly say one of the last rasslin shows I made sure to watch was Bret’s return. SOOO, that paid off for at least one night. Hogan will never go away, and in the correct position, the man that carried the wrestling industry for nearly a decade shouldn’t have to go away. The correct position is key here, but damn, if you were the biggest star ever in your industry, you wouldn’t stay at home either. Eric Bischoff proves that P.T. Barnum knew exactly what he was talking about when it comes to minutes and the people in them.

Until next time........... n Contact Dusty at dwolfe414@msn.com

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