Straight Shooting - Issue #100
Since 1997 - The Standard Bearer For Wrestling Columns
by Fritz Capp
For PWBTS.com
November 27, 2000
So many things, so little time. Every time I get a set idea for what I want to do with a column so many other things come up. Now, now, now....the Coralluzo Shoot Tape Review will be in this issue. But come on, it is Issue #100 so to just have that would be a bit like having pancakes without butter and syrup don't you think?
I have to laugh at some of things that I see and hear in this business. What really gets me are the people who "pretend" to be something they are not. Why do people have to do that? That would be like someone telling you they are a lawyer when in fact they are nothing but a glorified bus driver who happened to fall into a spot as the union arbitrator. Don't they think the truth will eventually come out, thus ruining what supposed credibility they have?
While it is true that wrestling derived most of it's mentality from the old carny days this is the new millennium. Those days are long gone and so should be the practices. There is no longer any room for the "there is a sucker born every minute" mentality of pro wrestling. To feel that today's wrestling fans are just "stupid" is a very wrong attitude to take. Today's wrestling fans are smarter than what they used to be, although even I will say that they are not as smart as they think they are. Today's fans are playing a balancing act on the proverbial fence. While they know some terminology and can see a missed spot now and then, they still do not have enough knowledge to know what is actually bad or good. They think they do and that is a very dangerous thing. In the case of pro wrestling, some knowledge as far s the fans are concerned is NOT a good thing.
Talked with Howard Brody who was feeling a bit under the weather due to it being the flu season. Even though that was the case we talked about a few things and once again you will be seeing my column on the NWA-Online.com website. It will not be "Straight Shooting" as this column here can curl toes sometimes. It will be called "Views From Under The Capp" and will directly deal with the NWA organization. Thanks Howard!
I received this e-mail and thought I would pass it along :
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Hi Fritz,
I'll try to make this as brief as possible :)
I'm trying to find information on Theresa Hayes/Beulah McGillicutty and I'm not having much luck. I'm looking for any background information and stuff such as how did she get into wrestling, did she have any training, etc. No one I've asked seems to know anything more than I do, but someone out there has to know something.
I wasn't sure if you'd know anything about her, but it's worth a shot. The last thing I want to do is impose on her personal life, but I'm a major fan and I'm also creating a Beulah website so it would be nice to know more about her on both counts. Any help at all is *greatly* appreciated!
Thanks,
Polly...
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If anyone has any info that could help Polly out please send it her way. Her e-mail addy is estherpolly@yahoo.com
CZW is sitting at the crossroads of their short historied existence. Since the laws banning "extreme wrestling" were put into law they have had to change their product that they run in the state. They also are looking to others states to run in. My question is why? They showed when they were doing their "ultraviolent" wrestling that they only drew about 300 people maximum. Now I hear they are worried about losing their core audience if they tone their product down. Are they kidding? What core audience? The backyarders and accident freaks who frequented their shows? CZW has a chance to do something positive right now. They could turn that ship around in a heartbeat and still give their fans something to talk about. It's called wrestling. They have some great workers. In fact some of their most over workers never had to blade. Johnny Kashmere, Trent Acid, Ric Blade and Nick Mondo are proof of that statement. These four guys were over in CZW and didn't need barbed wire, light tubes, thumb tacks or broken glass to catapult them into the hearts of the CZW fans. They did it with intense wrestling ability. Does Wifebeater need to blade each time he gets in the ring? No, this guy is another talent that could get over on ability alone. How about Gage? Or Berk? I could go on and on but you get my point. CZW shouldn't worry about having to tone down the blood and they should refocus their efforts and bring back the wrestling. In the long run they would be drawing a lot more than 250-300 a show. In fact I hear that their core audience is even starting to drop off. I wish them all the best in whatever they do but to be quite honest they cannot see the opportunity they have sitting right in front of their face I am afraid.
Rumors are going around that ECW is looking to let go some of it's lower card talent in a cost cutting effort to help the company. They are also looking to use local talent or guys/gals in their locker room who have no objection to paying their own travel. Is Paul starting to take lessons from NWA-Jersey? The next thing you'll be hearing is that Paul expects his boys to sell tickets for the shows or he won't use them. The fact of the matter is Heyman is trying everything to keep this sinking ship alive and while I do have to give him credit for being so tenacious, there comes a time when you really should stop thinking about your own ego and look at the boys you are killing by not paying them. And now you are asking the same people that you do not pay to pay for their own travel? Think about that for a second. Does that make any sense at all?
Continuing down the ECW trail for a few more seconds there has been some controversy as to what actually happened down in Texas. ECW was booked down there and then canceled their shows. Of course, Heyman did he best to blame everything under the sun for this but then a very interesting piece came floating into my e-mail box. It is from Austin Kellerman of XSE Wrestling. It was sent to me by Bob Magee and was originally posted by Dave Scherer on 1wrestling.com.
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PRESS RELEASE FOR NOVEMBER 29, 2000
On Saturday, November 25th, Dave Scherer reported on 1wrestling.com that the cancellation of the ECW show in Dallas on December 8th was the decision of the promoter at The Bronco Bowl (the Dallas venue). The report stated that The Bronco Bowl was upset when it learned that Steve Corino, Sandman, Yoshihiro Tajiri and Mikey Whipwreck were booked to work a show for XSE wrestling, a local independent promotion, the previous night in Fort Worth. XSE wishes to issue this statement with the intent of informing the professional wrestling community that this story is ABSOLUTELY AND CATEGORICALLY FALSE.
XSE spoke with Bronco Bowl promoter Ray Compton on Tuesday, and Compton assured XSE that he was notified by Steve Karel of ECW last week that Paul Heyman was canceling the shows due to financial reasons. He offered a note from Karel informing the Bronco Bowl of ECW's intent to cancel as proof. Heyman then had the nerve to blame the cancellation on the four workers, some of whom received heat from others in the company before the real story started to surface.
XSE realizes that Paul Heyman and ECW are in dire financial straits. XSE has enjoyed positive working relationships with several ECW talents, and we do not want to see the bulk of their livelihoods taken away. However, we will NOT sit still while we are used as convenient scapegoats by Paul Heyman to hide the fact that he cannot afford to run his own shows. This affects our credibility, as well as costing us many advertising dollars that have now been wasted promoting the appearance of ECW talent on our show (Heyman has apparently mandated that none of the aforementioned talents will be permitted to work the XSE show, regardless of ECW's cancellation).
Ironically, Paul Heyman has always positioned himself as the underdog, an independent visionary in an era of corporate wrestling. Yet Mr. Heyman has chosen to sacrifice the good name of XSE (the very type of "underdog" independent promotion that he claims to champion) in order to save himself from being honest with his workers and his fans, and that makes him a hypocrite. Attempts to contact Paul Heyman in order to try to reach a more amicable solution to this problem have been met with no response, so we cannot realistically expect him to start returning phone calls and e-mails now.
However, XSE would like to suggest that Mr. Heyman owes XSE and its' fans, as well as ECW and its' fans a sincere apology for misleading them as well as misrepresenting himself. XSE will run the December 7th show as promised, all be it without the ECW talent it had previously booked. XSE is currently arranging replacement talent, and will notify all media outlets when arrangements are confirmed.
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But this saga is ongoing as is every saga that involves ECW anymore. This was then posted on PWBTS.com by Bob Magee :
XPW stars on XSE card
Xtreme Pro Wrestling champion Sabu will defend the XPW Title at Xtreme Sport Entertainment's December 7 show in Texas!
FORT WORTH, TX - December 1, 2000
While the wrestling world has watched the dissolution of ECW over the past few months, known rival Xtreme Pro Wrestling has sat idly by. With a huge 2001 planned, including the rescheduled Exploding Ring match with Atsushi Onita, the debut of the XPW Arena and biweekly TV tapings, XPW is ready to step into the national spotlight. However, XPW is adding one punctuation mark to their already successful year despite legal actions from Extreme Championship Wrestling, the New York based wrestling promotion suing XPW over an alleged copyright infringement for their name and the use of Sabu, a former ECW wrestler.
On Thursday night, December 7, XPW Champion Sabu will defend his XPW title at Xtreme Sports Entertainment's TripleXMas show at the Stagecoach Ballroom in Fort Worth, Texas. This is the show ECW is claiming caused the cancellation of their shows scheduled for Dallas and Houston on the following two nights.
ECW claimed that the venues in Dallas and Houston canceled the shows because of competition from XSE and the fear that ticket sales would be dismal. However, Ray Compton, promoter for the Bronco Bowl, where the ECW events were to take place, received a fax from Steve Karel who runs the business end of ECW, canceling the shows. Many feel that the shows were canceled due to ECW's financial situation and that the shows were in jeopardy of being canceled weeks before.
ECW pulled their wrestlers scheduled to work the XSE show (Steve Corino, Mikey Whipwreck, Tajiri, and Sandman) and told its workers that they were never allowed to work for XSE again. This action not only put the event in jeopardy, but negatively impacted the income of the four ECW wrestlers booked on the show as they are all owed at least six weeks pay from ECW and would have been paid by XSE that night. ECW is currently threatening to sue XSE over their press release stating that Paul Heyman and ECW had canceled their shows on their own and not due to the XSE claiming the press release "was slanderous and libelous, have damaged his good standing in the community, and are actionable in court" They also stated that XSE's booking of ECW wrestlers was "illegal to begin with as it constituted Interference Of Contractual Relations; substantially and irrevocably harmed ECW and its relationship with said contracted wrestlers; has caused grievous harm to ECW and its relationships; and are actionable in federal court in the State of New York." ECW attempted to use similar scare tactics against XPW, but XPW decided to fight in court.
Now, in defense of XSE, XPW will be sending their champion and former ECW superstar Sabu to Fort Worth on December 7 to defend the XPW Title at XSE's TripleXMas show. More information on the event is available at www.xsewrestling.com. A press release regarding Sabu appearing at the show is expected later today from the XSE front office.
There has undoubtedly been quite a bit of controversy regarding TripleXmas on December 7 emininating from the Stagecoach Ballroom in Ft. Worth, TX. However, XSEwrestling.com has learned that XSE officials are preparing a new card that might just turn a few heads. XSEwrestling.com is expected to receive news on this card by Saturday evening and will post it here as soon as possible.
Kappa Epsilon Gamma will battle the unlikely duo of Seth Shai and "Cowtown Kidd" Kevin Duncan on Thursday in a match that both teams expect to tear the house down. "I've been waiting for December 7 so me and the Kidd could show the fans what a great tag team can do. This will be the first time we've ever teamed together, but the respect is there and that will lead us to the win," said Seth Shai. Shai and Kidd gladly accepted K.E.G.'s challenge for a tables match which will be the first of its kind in the area. No matter which teams wins this in the end, the fans will come out on top because at least two people are going through tables on the 7th!
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All I can say is the same thing I have said hundreds of times this past year. ECW and Paul Heyman would do themselves a greater service for themselves and their company if they would stop these piddling little sue happy tirades and concentrate on trying to salvage something out of their promotion. These are the actions of very desperate people. When all you hear out of someone's mouth is, "I am going to sue you for this or I am going to sue you for that" you can tell that they really have nothing going for themselves. ECW should either get back to what they do best and that is run shows and entertain people or just fold and stop all of this crap.
Scott Hall was arrested for drunk driving? Wow, who'd of thunk that was possible huh?
To break the wrestling news here for a second, there is a new free lotto website on the net called MyTopLotto.com. It is fast and easy to play and best of all FREE. If your over 18 years old and want a daily chance at winning $1,000,000.00 go to http://mytoplotto.com and register. Clicking on the link will not take you away from the page, a new window will open. So take a few seconds to sign up.
My hat goes of to Jimmy Kettner. His last show, that was run at the Bob Carpenter Center in Delaware, was a huge success. They had a draw of almost 1500 people. Here are the quick results of the show.
ECWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
The Cheetah Master (Challenger) over JJ "The Ring Crew Guy" for ECWA Heavyweight
Title
THE SHOWDOWN for the ECWA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Haas Brothers (Champions) retained their titles vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Challengers)
ECWA MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP/CHAIN MATCH
Glen Osbourne (Champion) retained his title over Patch (Challenger)
3 WAY MATCH/Memphis Championship Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship
Steve Bradley (champion) over Inferno and Lance (Simon) Diamond
Low Ki over Scoot Andrews
BATTLE of the TOP INDEPENDENTS
"Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels over Reckless Youth
LEGENDS & ROOKIES RUMBLE was won by Commando
PRINCE OF DARKNESS MATCH
Ty Street defeated Kevin Kelly
Boogie Woogie Brown over Viper
A ceremony was also done honoring "Hero of the Heart" Jeff Peterson, ECWA/independent wrestler battling cancer.
Another show held on the 25th of November was the EWF show that was run in Pennsburg, PA. Here are the quick results for that show :
Show opens with Marshall Law and Love Bug coming to the ring. They start off with the newest tag team in the EWF and that is Touch of Reality. They say that they were the ones that were going to give this team a touch of reality tonight when they beat them in the middle of the ring. They then go on to shoot on Bad Crew which prompts Bad Crew to come out to the ring. After some posturing by both teams out comes Big 80's Donnie B. With Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid, otherwise known as the Backseat Boys. Donnie and Backseat go on to say how they are the "Tag Team Of The Year" and show their trophies to prove it. Then everyone gets into the ladder match that is coming up later on in the evening for the EWF Tag Titles.
1st Match - Tommy Idol vs. Mongoose - winner : Mongoose
2nd Match - Rand Zander w Stein vs. D Man Davidson - winner : Rand Zander
3rd match - Touch of Reality vs. Marshal Law/Love Bug - winner : Marshal Law/Love Bug
4th Match - Doomsday Danny Rose vs. Pinky The Flamingo Kid - winner : Danny Rose
5th Match - Bart Scholl vs. Demon - winner : Bart Scholl
6th Match - EWF Hardcore Title - Big Cotton vs. The Bad Butcher - winner : Big Cotton
7th Match - EWF Heavyweight Title - George Anthony vs. Hungarian Barbarian - winner
Hungarian Barbarian
8th Match - EWF Tag Team Title - Bad Crew vs. Backseat Boys w/Donnie B. - winner -
Backseat Boys
9th Match - EWF Light Heavyweight Title - Nick Benz vs. Ric Blade - winner : Ric Blade
Notes and highlights - Considering that this was the first time in about 15 years pro wrestling was in Pennsburg, PA and added to the fact that there were no "names" on the card it was a good house and the EWF put on a very good show.
Tommy Idol and Mongoose had a very solid opening match which is important as the rest of the show usually goes the way of the first match. Traditionally the first match sets the pace of the show and Mongoose and Idol did not disappoint.
Touch of Reality vs. Marshall Law/Love Bug was a pretty good match for 4/5 of the match. A missed spot towards the end took away from the finish but overall it was a pretty clean match. TOR showed some new moves that have recently been added to their ever growing arsenal of weapons and both Love Bug and Marshall Law appear to have the tag mentality down to a science. Double team moves by both teams were very prevalent throughout the match. The wrong member of TOR was counted for the pin possibly leaving open the possibility of a return match.
Doomsday Danny Rose and Pinky did their usual text book wrestling as these two have faced each other many times in the past. Rose has really improved over the past year or so and it shows in every match. Pinky is also a skilled veteran in the ring and these two do not hold back when facing each other.
Bart Scholl is a young wrestler but shows a lot of promise in the ring. Very personable and well received by the crowd, this guy has potential.
Big Cotton and Butcher took their match outside of the ring and all over the place. The crowd was popping for this one like mad. It is hard to remember all the spots that were hit. I guess that's why it's good they tape each of these shows.
George Anthony and Barbarian are another set of veterans who know how to mix it up in the ring. EWF mainstays for quite some time now, they know how to put on a good match that keeps the people interested.
What can I say about Bad Crew when they face Backseat in a match. Not enough that is for sure. Especially when it was a double ladder match. Folks you have to see this one because the spots were many and not far between. One thing is for sure, Bad Crew was left a bloody mess in the wake of this match. This match also saw not only Big *0's Donnie B. get involved but also Marshal Law and Love Bug which by their presence determined the outcome of this match.
Another duo that should be on the fast track to stardom are Nick Benz (Berk) and Ric Blade. While the match may have been a little slower than usual for these two at first they picked up the pace and had the crowd on the edge of their seat for most of this match. Another match of many high spots and some great wrestling moves and counters.
The EWF shows are taped by SmartMarkVideo.com Check out their website for the complete list of tapes that are available from the premier independent video company going today.
Speaking of SmartMarkVideo here are their latest releases :
Eastern Wrestling Federation - November 25, 2000 - Pennsburg, PA - See a wild and bloody ladder match for the tag team titles as Bad Crew takes on The Backseat Boyz, see Nicky Benz battle Ric Blade for the vacant light heavyweight title, along with all the EWF stars including Heavyweight champ Hungarian Barbarian, Hardcore champ Cotton the Bad Butcher, Touch of Reality, Love Bug, Marshal Law, Tommy Idol, Dino Divine, Mongoose, Doomsday Danny Rose, Pinky and many more. Price - $12.00
Jersey All Pro Wrestling - November 18, 2000 - Philadelphia, PA - See JAP invade the ECW Arena as Trent Acid, Ric Blade, and Nick Berk tear down the house in a wild 3 way ladder match for the vacant light heavyweight title, see former ECW stars square off as Sabu battles Axl Rotten, see The Hit Squad take on The Black Guerrilla Army in a Philly Street Fight along with all the JAP stars including Homicide, Crazy Ivan, Laithon, Dr. Hurtz, Elaxx, Christopher Street Connection, Jay Lover and many more. Price - $12.00
Jersey All Pro Wrestling - November 17, 2000 - Bayonne, NJ - See a wrestling clinic as Low-ki' battles Xavier, The Hit Squad battle Don Montoya and Homicide for the JAP tag team titles along with all the JAP stars including Ric Blade, Crazy Ivan, Elaxx, Blue Dragon, Dixie, Laithon, Ron Zombie, Nick Berk, and many more. Price - $12.00
Maryland Championship Wrestling - November 17, 2000 - Odenton, MD - See a wild and bloody dog collar match as Bruiser takes on Corporal Punishment, see Candie take on Tara in a hardcore ladies match, a 4 corner tag match for the tag team titles, see ECW superstars Julio Dinero, Joey Matthews, and Christian York, as well as all the MCW stars including Gillberg, Jimmy Superfly Snuka, Tom Brandi, Qenaan Creed, Adam Flash, Jimmy Cicero, TQM and many more. Price - $12.00
Champion Wrestling Federation - April 20, 2000 - Wayne, NJ - See a bloody ECW battle as Steve Corino battles Tommy Dreamer, also Little Guido takes on Mikey Whipreck, also a wild 3 way dance between Big Dick Dudley, Kuvatro, and Public Enemy's Rocco Rock, you'll also see Dave Delicious, Rocky Jones, Andrew Anderson, Johnny Thundar, Ryan Wing, Nicole Bass, Jimmy Superfly Snuka, Tony Atlas and many more stars of the CWF. Price - $12.00
Dangerzone Championship Wrestling - November 11, 2000 - Bordentown, NJ - See a wild and crazy tables match as Big Dick Dudley takes on Johnny Greco. Also see Tommy Golden defend his phantonweight title against Johnny Rock and Draven McKnight. Also in action: The Cremator, Rodney Superstarr Farr, Tundra, Dave Patera, Kid Shamrock, Rapid Fire Maldonado, Allison Danger, Don Rott, Patch, High Voltage, and many more. Price - $12.00
For further info or to order, please visit www.smartmarkvideo.com Smart Mark Video now accepts PayPal so you can order using a credit card.
The following is an excerpt from the latest NWA Fanzine. It is from a 10 question piece with Fred Rubenstein.
Where do you see NWA-Jersey 5 years from now?
"Promoting shows within our territory. NWA Jersey is approaching our first anniversary. Our plans for 2001 include a return to the Wildwood, NJ Convention Hall for eight firm dates. The 2000 season at Wildwood surpassed our greatest expectations. Our promotion is "clean." That means our employees ("workers") are prohibited from using even the mildest profanities, sexual innuendoes, racial/gender stereotypes and "juice" only flows if it comes the hard way. We pride ourselves in presenting a product which a parent may view with their children being assured that their family values will not be assaulted. My partners and I consider our employees to be the best in the business. After all, they have to do it the hard way - by remembering that pro wrestling is supposed to be fun and not a counterculture."
Let's look at this for a few seconds. The immediate response to the question was, "Promoting shows within our territory". My question is, "Is Bensalem and CT. and anywhere else in the surrounding area in the NWA-Jersey territory? While Howard Brody corrected me by saying that there is nothing in the NWA bylaws that prohibit NWA partners to go into another's territory under another wrestling promotions name, I still think it is something that needs to be addressed. Let's look at this hypothetically. Say I owned NWA-XYZ. Now my territory (yes, they still consider areas territories in the NWA) was say from Philadelphia to Erie to Harrisburg. Now of course people own the territories surrounding me and they run their shows there. Now I have a wide scope of places to run within my territory. But over the years my territory was burnt out due to stupidity, poor shows and an over saturated market, of which I was a part of. Now instead of coming up with a better product which could rekindle my "territory" I decide I am going to go into my fellow partners territories under another name. Remember now, we are all in this together right? We are all here in the NWA for one thing, to help restore the company to it's former greatness. So my contribution to this cause is to run in a partners territory under another company name. I would hate to be these guys business partners that's for sure. Here is a guy that will smile in your face while trying to figure out how to stab you in the back and cut into your territory when your not looking.
Let's delve a little further into this. One thing I will say is that NWA-Jersey is a family oriented product. And I will go on record right here as saying that there isn't one damned thing wrong with that at all. It is a place where you can take your kids to see a good clean wrestling show and that is a breath of fresh air in today's market. Your not going to go to an NWA-Jersey show and hear two tons of swearing for no reason at all, your not going to be covered in blood from some guy hacking himself just for the sake of bleeding and your not going to see gratuitous sex shows from some chick who just happens to be a stripper at the local club. It is a clean show and they do have some names on the show that people can recognize.
That being said though I want to look at this sentence, "My partners and I consider our employees to be the best in the business." If that was the case then why is it that when I was the NWA-Jersey webmaster I had to fight, scratch and claw to get their locker room "branded" out? If they feel that these guys are the best in the business then why won't they put their locker room in situations where they can showcase their talent against "name" performers. I fought with the owners of NWA-Jersey for 6 months about branding out and actually securing their locker room. Their old press releases for their upcoming shows didn't even list their heavyweight champion until I asked them what was up with that. I mean, who doesn't promote their own heavyweight champion? Myself (and Bob Magee) would actually have to research who was on an upcoming card sans the "names" so we could properly promote the upcoming show.
Also, if they consider their guys the "best in the business' then why are the payouts at the end of the show so small? Is this how you treat the "best in the business"? NWA-Jersey is forever crying poverty but yet they can afford to have 5-7 names on a show. I said on many occasions that they could do so much more with less overhead if they would just treat their locker room with a tad more respect and a lot more marketing.
The mind set that I believe would be a great formula is that your locker room should draw a minimum of 300 people to the show. Then you should have a name or two to "pop" the crowd for those extra seats to make it a good turnout. This concept is lost on the people at NWA-Jersey. They would sooner bring in 5-7 "names" and draw 300 people at a higher payout while at the same time not do one thing for "their" locker room to help that grow. Does this make good business sense? Not at all, but no one ever claimed that wrestling promoters made good businessmen have they?
I have heard that there are a few promoters and even some workers who are unhappy that I would say anything like I have above. They feel I am "exposing" the business so to speak. Considering that we are in the year 2000, what is left of the business to expose? To the promoters who are unhappy that I would write this down for all to read then I must be hitting pretty close to home because many promoters in the business have applauded my recent columns as a breath of fresh air. These promoters do their best to run good shows and they respect the guys that work for them. They give them good storylines to work with, not just slap some meaningless matches together in the hopes of drawing a crowd, and give them the best payouts possible for their work. Let me give you all one of the many letters I received from some promoters/bookers. Of course I have full permission to post this letter :
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Mr. Capp,
My name is Robin Hunt, and I am the head booker for United States Wrestling Federation. I must say I applaud you for your honesty in the way you took many independent promoters to task for their treatment of the independent talent.
This struck a cord with me because we run mostly in upstate NY, and we have taken flack from a lot of our fans for not running enough shows. I have always believed that indie promoters should push the local guys, and we do. We present our people to our fans just the same as if they were WWF stars, and when we bring in names we have them work with our people, and never use our guys as "Squashes" for the names.
The reason I am telling you this is not to put us over, but to let you know that none of our wrestlers who step into the ring to do a match, make under $100.00, and some make above that.
It is my personal belief that no one who steps into the ring and risks his well being should make less than that. Unfortunately, this means that we don't run as many shows as we would like, because we will not run a show unless we have the money to pay the talent, and our talent always gets paid regardless of whether the company loses money on the show. I live in NJ, and am quite familiar with how things work there in terms of wrestling promotions, that is why USWF does most of it's shows in upstate NY, even though we have all of the commission hassles. I am glad that you are writing about this and smartening up the fans, (as well as the promoters) about what is happening. Keep your voice out there, and maybe things will change for the better.
Thanks for telling it like it is.
Sincerely,
Robin Hunt
Executive Director / Booker USWF
www.uswf.com
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To the workers who are upset allow me to just say that I have sat here and defended YOUR rights to decent paydays and working conditions. I have sat here and defended your rights to proper promotion. Loyalty to someone is one thing, blind loyalty to someone is another. To get mad or upset at me for saying things about a promoter just because they gave you a break shows that you could possibly be part of the problem and not the solution. Maybe you already did your fighting and clawing and feel that everyone should. Now I have nothing against "paying dues" as it is called as you have to do that in any industry but who says that everything you went through was warranted or justified?
If your "green" then of course you cannot expect exquisite paydays but on the same token you shouldn't be whored by promoters that use you. If your "green" then of course you cannot expect "top billing" but at the same time if your on a show the promoter could at least put your name on the upcoming show press release. If your "green" of course your not going to be put in the ring with the "name" talent because you have to "earn" that spot but you should at least expect some respect from the people your working for. Don't even try to hand me the tired "you have to earn" respect in this business. This business screams about respect but for the most part this is a one-sided coin. The promoters want all the respect in the world but really do not give it on a day to day basis do they? So please take a moment and look past your "blind" loyalty and understand where I am coming from. If you still have a problem, sit down and write me and let's discuss this. Give ME your point of view as opposed to just running your mouth to other people. If you have something say, say it to the source. I realize that this is not normal wrestling procedure but it would garner a better response.
Ok people, here is the moment you all have been waiting for. Now I do want to preface this by letting you know that this is the Official SmartMarkVideo.com release of this tape and that is the tape I am reviewing. There are currently two versions of this tape on the market. On the other version there was an extra twenty minutes added by Dennis Coralluzo and Eric Simms. That tape is NOT to be confused with this one. Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Preface - All of the words/ideals below this paragraph are Dennis Coralluzo's and Dennis Coralluzo's alone. They do not necessarily reflect the ideals or thoughts of myself, my affiliates, my friends or the staff of PWBTS. This is a tape review and that is all. No embellishment is given. (Or needed) This is to be construed as nothing more than a tape review. If you are offended by anything said in this interview take it up with Dennis. Some of the language contained in this interview is over the edge but is reproduced so as not to take away from the interview or quotes.
The Dennis Coralluzo Shoot Interview
Dennis Coralluzo is a well known name in the S.E.PA/NJ area. He was mostly known for breathing life into the left for dead promotion NWA. One of the most out spoken controversial figures in pro wrestling Dennis has a lot to say and is not afraid to say it as you will see in the upcoming "shoot" interview.
The tape opens up with two disclaimers and also a huge list of those that Dennis does not talk about on this tape. Such notables as Andre The Giant, O.J.Simpson, Socks The Cat, Greg Brady, John, Paul, George, Ringo, Ghetto Blaster, Mike Quakenbush and many others are listed. All others beware. Dennis then proceeds to swear to tell the truth and his own version of the truth.
Dennis starts the interview telling everyone how he got into the business.
Dennis then tells how he and Larry Sharp started the World Wrestling Alliance. Dennis gives props to Larry and says that he is one of the smartest people in the wrestling business. He also said he never had to watch his back when he was around Larry. Says Sharpe is a legitimate tough guy, a real bad ass and then proceeds to tell some stories about being around Sharpe.
Dennis then goes into what he did in the early stages of the NWA immediately following the Turner purchase and what he had to go through to try to secure the services of Ric Flair and the ensuing court battle. He then talks about 12 members leaving the NWA and when the NWA got Paul Heyman and ECW to join the NWA. He continues on telling when Howard Brody joined NWA and how it was decided to put the belt on Dan Severn. Dennis then goes on to say that Howard Brody is a good paperwork man, that he doesn't know sh*t about the business but that he is good when it comes to letters and paperwork. Says he is good at being the head jerkoff in charge.
Dennis then describes the incident that lead up to ECW trashing the NWA Title and also explained who knew what and just how many takes it took to film the "shoot" interview after Douglas threw the belt down. Dennis then delves into what exactly brought the real heat between himself and Paul Heyman and Tod Gordon. He described the set up for Mark Brody's Terry Funk vs. Sabu match long before Heyman did it.
He then goes on to talk about and deny the incident at the ECW arena that he and as he calls him "Jabba The Hut" Gino Moore are accused of. The accusation was that he and Gino were accused of going to the ECW Arena the night of one of the shows and slashing and letting the air out of tires.
He then goes on to discuss his association with Jerry Lawler and what he did while he was down in the USWA with Lawler. Talks about why he and Lawler have heat. Told about how he did some booking for Lawler and explained the Coralluzo Collection Agency angle that was run down in Memphis that led up to a main event match at the Mid-South Colosseum. Even though he has had heat with Lawler because of his association with the Gilbert family, Dennis goes on to explain why he believes that Lawler should be held in the highest respect. He the touches on the people who he feels knows what is going on in the business.
Talks about Joel Goodhart and says that what destroyed him was his own ego and then goes on to say that Tod Gordon was nothing but a money backer for Goodheart. Equates Gordon with the rich kid on the block that would get all mad if you played with certain kids and then you wouldn't be allowed to play with his toys and that through out wrestling he will never be known as anything but a big money mark, that he wasn't creative and that he had no mind for the business and that he used his kids inheritance to help Paul Heyman. He then goes onto explain in more detail what happened to Goodhart's promotion.
Then Dennis talks about Ian Rotten and builds that two the four corners match the Ian had with Madman Pondo. Talks about that CZW and Zandig (he affectionately calls hm Zandick) tried to copy what he already had done and fell far short of the mark. Dennis then jumps to the Yardville incident with the management of the building. Goes on to tell how he destroyed the venue and the amount of hospital bills that had to be paid because of the bloodfest that happened that night. Then goes on to talk about his stint down in the IWA and what all transpired down there.
Goes on to talk about Billy Reil and then goes on to embellish on Dan Severn. He then goes on to tell some of his better ribs on people that screwed with him or that he just ribbed because he could. He talked about how he paid back Eric Simms, Ahmed Johnson, how he ribbed Dave Baumkratz into breaking up a WWF creative meeting, went onto tell how he is 1-1 against Amy Lee and how she kicked his ass one night.
Goes back to another incident with Severn then goes on to say how Dory Funk Jr. is a great guy but that Marti Funk is the biggest pain in the ass and that she hurt Dory's career. Then went on to tell how the Funk's offered him $5000.00 to get Severn to drop the strap to Dory.
Dennis then talks about Jim Cornette and how they have been and remain friends to this day. He then goes into the NWA stint in the WWF.
He then touches on the NWA and their viability. Dennis says that he still believes that Brody ruined it. He goes to explain that if you look at the Board of Directors, with the exception of Bill Behrens and Jim Miller that all the rest of the members are either stooges for Brody or Fred Rubenstein. Dennis alludes to the fact that some of the board members are only there because of having private dealings with Brody. Dennis says that Rick O'Brien is akin to the village idiot. Dennis said that for NWA to work they need to get a new Board of Directors and just let Brody be the head paperwork stooge. Says that Brody is a good detail man but that when it comes to wrestling he doesn't know his d*ck from his ass. Dennis then goes on to say that NWA got rid of some of it's better members that being himself, Doug Gilbert and Greg Price.
He then touches on NWA-Jersey saying that the shows are the shits, that they have no talent and nothing worthy of press. He goes onto say, "Who gives a shit about fat f*ck Gino Moore and his Lasagna eating contest? Now there's a top ten event".
He then goes to talking about Tod Gordon and the ECW Invasion angle. He then talks about the difference between seeing an ECW worker at an ECW show and at an indy show away from ECW. He then calls Sandman a f*ucking idiot and a drunk. He talks about how just using a ECW does not mean that you are going to draw. Disputes Gordon's claim to what he was paying him and then talks about the infamous NWA 50th show and what happened.
Went on to discuss when he met Eddie Gilbert, their friendship, Eddie's deal with ECW and then went on to talk about the first time Eddie Gilbert and Terry Funk worked each other in singles competition. Then he talked about Eddie's fallout with Tod Gordon. He then talked about the events leading up to and how he found out that Eddie had passed away. He then talked about the funeral and how he came up with the idea for the Gilbert memorial shows.
Dennis then talked about how and why he had ECW shows canceled. Talked about a few different venues he had canceled on ECW. Then talks about that it was Gino Moore who actually was the one who called Sports Channel trying to get ECW kicked off of television. He goes on to say how Gino was a "minor leaguer" and that he should have let him handle it and the job would have gotten done.
Dennis then talked about the "Rock and Wrestling" event that Angel put on a few years back. He told how he just could not believe what went on during the show up to and including the one punk rocker that was up on stage and how he ended getting oral sex while singing and how two women got naked during the song and decided to get naked and perform oral sex on each other. Then talked about the ensuing riot that happened at the event.
Dennis then goes into his top picks for "Pieces of Sh*t" in the business (He states that these are in "his" opinion) :
Gino Moore - "If you took a big 6 foot 500 lb. pile of sh*t and mated it with Jabba The Hut you would get Gino Moore. He's a pathetic disgusting lying piece of sh*t who tells people he's been to Japan 56 times. He would just as soon climb a tree and tell a lie then stay on the ground and tell the truth. He's fat, he smells and he's a pathetic human being. If you look at him from the neck up...he wears this wig from 25 years ago....did you ever see road kill?.....you know when it's like been on the road for about 6 weeks?....when it's on it's last legs and it's thin as paper?....well he scraped it off the road and took it to the dry cleaners and then he staples his hat to it and it's like...ever see like Super Calo and how he always has that hat stapled to his mask...well this is what he did and that hat and rat assed f'n wig is always stuck to his head. This guys , in my opinion, in the biggest liar in the business, a storyteller. Hey Gino, I know your gonna see this.... I saw your film, it is the biggest laugh ever in your life."
Tom Cassatti - "Tom Cassatti is the exact alter ego of Gino Moore in the fact that as dirty as Gino Moore is Tom Cassatti is clean. Everyone will tell you that Cassatti has a clean fetish and that when he takes a shower he'll use a whole bar of soap, about 200 Q-tips, he dries himself off with paper towels instead of a towel, he uses a whole tube of toothpaste to brush his teeth, and he's really a fucking anal prick. But he's a big piece of shit."
Zandig - "Zandick from CZW. He's a piece of shit. If he didn't have his own promotion he wouldn't even be working. He acts like he's a star in Japan, I know what they're paying the boys over there because I talked to someone in the office. Some of the boys have to eat at the 7-11 over there because their getting paid shit and they come back with no money in their pocket. Matter of fact one of the workers girlfriend was telling me that they were getting virtually no money over there, that he couldn't even bring her back a t-shirt. What it is that they took Big Japan...Big Japan is one of the worst promotions over there if you know anybody that follows Japan wrestling, their like a lousy Jersey independent promotion but they're in Japan. So right away you can go your in Japan but they ain't shit. They needed some American suckers to beat up on and they went right to Sewell, NJ and found them."
Jeff Miller (The Metal Maniac) - "A lying fucking piece of shit. He ripped my nephew off...my nephew took him off the street..he was living in his car and he took Jeff Miller off the street and let him stay at his house and fed him and gave him a place to stay and while he was there about a month before he left he racked up an $800.00 phone bill with calls to Hawaii that he hasn't paid to this day....he didn't pay my nephew any money. He's a piece of shit."
Ralph Soto - "Ralph Soto is the biggest piece of shit. He thinks he's a star but he can't walk and chew gum. You know the old cliche, "He don't a wristwatch from a wristlock". He's the biggest piece of shit. That's like the top 5 for now.
Dennis then goes to tell his top five worst enemies. Dennis says that three of them are in one promotion then corrects that to two. "Well Joe Panzarino is harmless but Gino Moore and Fred Rubenstein are on the top of my list. John Zandig. Actually Dennis only comes up with three.
They then talk about Dennis's last days in the NWA and the events that led up to his leaving NWA. Dennis talks about the rib he pulled on Howard Brody that led up to Brody actually resigning from the NWA for one night and then goes on to tell how Panzarino, Moore and Rubenstein conspired together to get him out of the NWA and out of his own company.
Dennis then expounds a bit on Gino Moore, saying how he was his stooge for years, how he was nothing more than his gopher who got him his iced tea, drove him around and carried his bags for him. He says everyone that knows Gino knows that he is a liar and a bullshitter and that he is nothing more than a soundman who f*cks that up. Dennis was then asked if there was anything else he wanted to say about his former partners. Dennis says to look at the make up of the promotion. You have a guy that says he was a WWWF wrestler who was nothing more than a job guy who claims to have pinned Andre in the Tokyo Dome and Hogan down in Gulf States and the guy doesn't know shit about the wrestling business and was never considered to be in the wrestling business. Alright well you got him and then you have "Mr. Rogers" Fred Rubenstein, who's not only a lousy referee but don't know shit about the business but him and Gino Moore have that special thing in common, they like to expose business like if you say, "Hey I'm going to have a drink with Hulk Hogan" they would go, "Oh, your going to go have a drink with Terry Bolea?" They love to name drop and they are the biggest marks in the business." The thing about Dapper Johhny is he'll play the honest stooge. He won't lie to you. He may skim the box office and steal from but he won't lie to you. It's a real volatile mix, a real volatile mix.
Dennis is then asked about what his thoughts are on the future of the NWA. He says that without him they are f*cked. There is no one there that brought controversy to it like he did. The only one there that has anything going for them is Behrens. He says to take a look at Howard Brody. He says that Brody, "Is about as exciting as diarrhea in a fan". He says it's a shame because they have some good members like Jim Miller and Ernie Todd, but that the majority of them are dumb f*ck f*cknuts. He says they couldn't promote pussy on a troop train.
Dennis then goes on to say how there are some great promoters in the business. Jim Kettner, Blaine DeSantis, Jim Cornette.....these are the guys that are good for the business and belong in it. The other promoters have no business being in it. The says that he is starting up again and will put Jersey back to the way it used to be.
Dennis then goes down the time honored name association route : (I did not give full answers, just the basic point because Dennis, as usual, expounds a lot)
Vince McMahon - "Vince McMahon is without a doubt the greatest mind in professional wrestling or sports entertainment ever. He is in a league by himself. He has done more for professional wrestling than anyone ever dreamed."
Eric Bischoff - "Never met the guy. He has no clue"
Chris Candido - "I did more for Candido than anyone in the business. No one was ever as good as Chris Candido"
Tommy Gilbert - "I love Tommy, he is a real strong person. If you have a problem, you call Tommy".
Paul Adams - "Paul Adams is a genius but is a drunk. I think he is a card carrying member to the Bert Prentice club."
Bert Prentice - "Bert Prentice is Bert Prentice."
Donnie B. - "I love Donnie B. People do not realize how versatile Donnie really is."
Mike Keener - "Mike is an incredible guy."
Steve Corino - "Steve is like the best. He never calls me anymore but he is a great guy."
Alan Barrie - "I love Alan Barrie. He's just a great guy"
Brian Hildebrand - "I love Brian. He was just a great great guy." I get bummed out when I think that I'll never get to see him again."
Jim Kettner - "His building is another one of those magical buildings like the ECW Arena. He is just one of the greatest minds when it comes to stories and angles."
Blaine DeSantis - "Blaine is another great guy. We used to have heat but over the past couple years we bonded over food and he is a great guy. He does a good job up where he's at."
Jim Crockett - "Jim Crockett is the biggest cum stain. He belongs on that list with the other jabroni's I mentioned."
The Iron Sheik - "The best. The greatest personality in the business."
Devon Storm - "I love Devon. The WWF missed the boat on him"
Sabu - "He's another great guy, a home run hitter."
Abdullah The Butcher - "Abby is a piece of work. Probably the greatest hardcore legend out there."
Chris Benoit - "I like Benoit a lot. Some of the best runs I had at the Armory involved Benoit."
Dick Murdoch - "Dick Murdoch was great. He was one of the craziest motherf*ckers I ever met. Legitimately he was probably one of the toughest people in the business."
Terry Funk - "Terry Funk is a great guy. He was like a mentor to me. He is another one of those guys if you have a question you ask him and he'll tell you. I love him and he's a great guy."
Dennis did mention me of course on this tape but as was explained in SS #98 and SS#99 this was addressed there and does not need to be gone over again here. I have learned why Dennis said what he said and all apologies have been made and accepted by both of us.
I just barely touched on all that was talked about on this tape. If I could have done what I wanted to do and that was give a basic transcript of the tape we would all be here until next Christmas. There was a lot more talked about after the name association to be sure. Other people discussed on the tape are Tom Cassatti, Angel, Balls Mahoney, Jerry Lynn, Sean Waltman, Chris Candido, Saito, Reckless Youth, Tommy Fiero, Dick Worley, Mike DeMuzio, Donny Liable, Donnie B and so many more. He also tells so many stories about the business that it isn't funny. If your looking for an interesting tape to just sit down and watch then this version of the Dennis Coralluzo could be the one you want. Believe me, it is a very interesting tape to view.
Oh yeah, just when you think the tape is over it isn't. Dennis then tells two very interesting stories. One about Gino Moore taking his mother out for Mother's day dinner and one where Gino ate some very questionable cookies. You have to hear these to believe them. If your interested in this tape go to http://smartmarkvideo.com
And that my friends is issue #100 of Straight Shooting. I hope you enjoyed it. Over the years I have tried my best to give you the real insight into the business, not just what people wanted me to give. I have tried to educate and inform, above what the shills and ass kissers in and around this business want you to know. There were times where I crossed the line, if there is such a thing, but each and every issue was meant to be what it was.
I made no bones about trashing people or saying what I thought needed to be said. It has at times caused a lot of heat for me but so what. If I was here to just kiss people's asses in my mind there would be no reason to do a column. You can get that all day long at most of the pro wrestling websites on the Internet. Everybody is out to kiss everyone's ass hoping they will get noticed and to build a name for themselves. Give me a break. This business will suck everything they can out of someone then throw them away like a used tampon when they're done. Why sell out for that?
In my mind I would think that people would like to have someone around who's going to give it to them straight with no bullshit. That doesn't make you a radical or out of control like a lot of people would leave you to believe, it makes you something that a lot of people in this business are afraid of and that is your own man. It is a shame that something like that is such a threat to so many people. That just shows just how insecure a lot of people really are in their own ability because those who are not threatened by people like myself show that they are secure in what they are doing and where they are going. They are usually the other straight shooters in and around the business and will go far as long as they do not sell out their principles or ideals. The people that "pretend" to be shooters, like the idiots over at The Other Arena or those who troll the various message boards or have these so-called "shoot" boards only show their utter and complete stupidity. The sad thing is a lot of these people are somewhat involved in the business which makes them even less than what we already know they are. They are actually worse than the kids who travel the boards trying to act like they know something.
Will we see a Straight Shooting #200? Hell will we even see an issue #101? Who knows? Things change so drastically sometimes in this business. I have been covering pro wrestling for over 5 years now. I have made money at it, I have been published many times in wrestling magazines, I have gotten shows corporate sponsorships, I have gotten workers paydays and I even took a bump and did some mic work at a show. I have walked to the ring as a manager, I have sat at the announcers table and did color commentary at a few shows and on a few tapes. I have booked a match or two, I deal with promoters/bookers on an almost daily basis, help guys train, have run the video camera for television spots, run sound at a few shows, laid out the groundwork for a new promotion for a promoter that will be running soon and I have been a consultant to a few promotions. Hell, I even spearhheaded Wrestling Fans Against Censorship and no matter what idiots like Jason Powell says I believe it was a worthy cause to fight for. Read the WWF's lawsuit against the PTC and Brent Bozell and then go to WFAC and see where they got over half of their information. Did I ever think I would have done all that? Hell no, not by a long shot but I have and that is one hell of a lot more than 99% of the current Internet wrestling reporting staff worldwide. Do I need to continue? Nope, not at all.
I, like Dennis, (now that's a scary thought...lol) think there are a few promoters who know what they are doing. Jim Kettner (ECWA), Blaine DeSantis (PCW), Jim Cornette (OVW), Jim Miller (NWA-East), Johnny Glitter (WSWF), Bad Crew (EWF), Mike Burns (FWA) and Randy Miller (Chaotic) know what they are doing and have proven that they not only run good shows but care about the people that work for them. I cannot speak on or about anyone else because I have not seen their product. I am sure there are others, but these names are what all promoters should aspire to be. Do I think I could promote/book? One hell of a lot better than most that is for sure but do I want to go there? I don't know. I have had a few offers as of late, one here in my area, one in Florida and one up north. But to be honest I am tired of the business. I am tired of the lies and the frauds, the politics and the backstabbing. There are far more important things in life than pro wrestling. I have a few obligations currently that I will not just walk away from in the business but after that I don't know. I miss just being a fan. While I never can go back to how it was before I learned the business I can disassociate myself from it, or go to the next level. Either choice takes me away from what I have been doing, or at least how I have been doing it. Only time will tell what I decide to do next but if I do not ever do another column there are a lot of people out there that will be hard pressed to do even what I have done and that is mostly have a lot of fun.
With the site (PWBTS.com) hitting 6,000,000 and considering everything else I have had fun and I want to thank all of the loyal people, the fans, the workers and the promoters, that have been coming to the site over the past years. I also want to thank all of the loyal readers to this column. It has been a great 100 issues.
And with that I am outta here. Remember wrestling is nothing more than it appears to be but also remember a quote from James Billington, "Intellectual and cultural freedom is the most important single precondition for the breakdown of the kinds of tyrannical and totalitarian systems that periodically threaten us."
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