by: Bob Magee

• CZW actually went to the extent of kayfabing their own locker room. This was done to keep the angle absolutely secret. As Dory Funk once said, there's an old saying in wrestling: "There's three means of communication... telephone, telegraph and tell-a-wrestler". Needless to say, CZW's locker room is as skilled in those means of "communication" as is any other locker room in wrestling. Thus, the kayfabing of the CZW locker room.
  
  
• Ian Rotten kayfabed his fellow IWA workers Corporal Robinson and JC Bailey, only telling them (truthfully) that he was working a show in the Northeast, and that they could likely get some work with him. He failed to mention just WHAT sort of work they'd be getting until they got to Philadelphia.
  
  This was seen as necessary after a problem occurred at the 2003 Best of the Best CZW junior heavyweight tournament when another IWA Mid-South worker blabbed his surprise participation in the tournament, and was pulled from the tournament as a result.
  
  
• Security was kayfabed. They knew that someone would be hitting the ring, and were told essentially, to work with what they saw happening. CZW owner Zandig logically figured his security was quick enough to think on their feet (which they did). One would assume that CZW's various out-of-ring staff possess the same "skills" in "communication" as their locker room...thus, that kayfabing.
  
  
• Even Zandig's own wife was kayfabed somewhat. She knew a run-in was happening, but not much else, and was told to "do whatever they tell you". Given her involvement in the business, Zandig correctly assumed she'd know what to do as well.
  

In the era where it sometimes seems that everyone (at least in places like Philadelphia) are getting a little too "smart" for their own good, and loves giving away things before they happen, this degree of obsession with detail was essential. If it had gotten out that this angle was happening, more people might have attended the June 14th show... but the long term effect would have been lost.

The purpose of this isn't to "give away" anything as such.

Rather, it's to show readers how hard it is to pull off a good surprise angle in this day of e-mail, IMs, pagers, text messaging, promotional and fan-operated message boards, "tell-a-wrestler", and the good old Internet... and how hard it was to do such an angle well. I hope it lets you appreciate the work that goes into what you see.

Now for the unfortunate real life happenings...

Real life occasionally intrudes into wrestling...as it did for some of us in the Philadelphia area when we heard about a legal situation confronting someone that many of us we know well, Steve Corino.

A local newspaper, the Times Herald (out of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania) reported the following:

Pro wrestler charged with felony fraud

SKIPPACK- A professional wrestler who resides in Collegeville was returning to the United States from Japan when he was detained by U.S. Customs in Detroit, Mich., for an active criminal warrant, according to state police.

Steven Corino, 30, was charged May 19 with forgery and misdemeanor and felony access-device fraud charges after Pennsylvania State Police concluded an investigation which started in 2001.

According to the report, Corino, formerly of 1100 block of Mensch Road, Skippack, allegedly forged a check in his roommate/victim's name in the amount of $2,100 on June 11, 2001.

He reportedly obtained account information and credit cards issued to the victim and proceeded to make more than $10,000 in purchases without the victim's knowledge.

Corino was extradited from Detroit and arraigned in from of District Justice Benjamin Crahalla Sunday. His bail is set at $10,000 and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 23."

Corino responded a day later on a number of websites, including PWBTS.com, with the following statement:

"First before I start, I want to thank the web sites that have posted this statement from me.

Most of you have probably read that I was arrested recently on charges of forgery and fraud in suburban Philadelphia. This is true.

As reported correctly, I was arrested in Detroit, Michigan on charges that I forged a $2100 check and used a credit card of an ex-girlfriend of mine without her knowledge. This ex-girlfriend claimed I used her credit card 25 times without her knowledge.

I want to go on public record and tell the world that I at no time was ever involved in any illegal activity and I am looking forward to proving my 100% innocence in a court of law. It is a shame that this has happened and I am also looking forward to the truth coming out in this matter as soon as possible.

I apologize to my family, friends, and fans that they have to read negative things about me in the newspaper and Internet. The real truth of this situation will come out in court and I am confident that I will be found innocent of all charges.

A great thing we have here in America is 'innocent until proven guilty' and I ask all my family, friends, and fans to keep that in mind when reading about this case. I have not done anything illegal and will prove that in court.

As you have probably figured out, this is the reason I was not in attendance at the Ring Of Honor show on Saturday, June 14. I apologize to Rob Feinstein, Gabe Sapolsky, Donavon Morgan, Christopher Daniels, Danny Maff, Samoa Joe, CW Anderson, the rest of the boys, and mostly the fans for not being able to attend.

I will continue to wrestle and will be in court on Monday to ask the judge for clearance to return to Japan for ZERO-ONE, which I am confident he will allow.

Thank you to everyone in my family and friends that have supported me and helped me in the last 19 days as this nightmare has unfolded. You truly realize who your friends are when something horrible happens to you.

In closing I want to thank the fans for their support already in this matter. Please realize that I am not a criminal, never will be, and I appreciate all the support you guys are giving me through this hard time.

Sincerely,
Steve Corino"

Perhaps I'm speaking out of turn here...

But no one and I do mean no one that knows Steve Corino well believes that he's capable of doing the things alleged above. Corino is someone who, unlike many men... especially in wrestling... plays an active part in the life of his son from a previous marriage, Colby. He happily talks about his son, whether or not it seems "cool" to do so. Steve Corino's no more a saint than any of us... but Corino has always come across as a straight shooter in a business that all too often is sorely lacking in them.

It also seems rather strange that the incident in question took 2 years for such a matter to come to light. One would have thought that if someone were victimized... that they would have immediately tried to secure justice for themselves. No investigation that I can think of would have taken two years to complete. Hell, most murder investigations don't take that long.

Best wishes for Steve as he goes through this situation. I sincerely hope this situation will be resolved quickly, and that the media sources that reported on it last week, including one major Philadelphia TV station, will give equal attention to the dismissal of these charges that I anticipate will happen.

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(If you have comments or questions, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com)