Marcus "Better then ACH" Rose is...PINNED DOWN

I make this look good.

Mr. Marcus Rose, a wrestler who made quite a splash with just his mouth over the last few months, taking on the Better then ACH tag and speaking his mind about just about any wrestler, without worry or fear and many times it is pretty funny stuff, some of the wrestlers give as good as they get and it can be almost as entertaining as a match.

So far sadly, I have not gotten to see much of Marcus Rose in the ring, Really only a handful of times but he has built up quite a reputation at any rate. I recently got a chance to ask him a serious of questions and his thoughts on where wrestling is, and what he thinks of some of his fellow wrestlers.

1. What was the toughest thing to give up or sacrifice to be part of the wrestling world? 

The toughest thing I have sacrificed was a place to live. I became homeless for the first time when me and my friend Anthony Gundacker, shout out to The Gun show, decided to move to philly on August 1 2010. I was to go train at ROH and he was going to Chikara. The day we arrived I lost my wallet at a hotel and spent the next 3 months sleeping in my 2004 jetta. We somehow still managed to get to training cause we that dedicated. Second time was in San Antonio when I ended up living with a complete stranger in a abandoned house for about 5 months, stealing out of wal mart daily just to eat, hanging out with hookers just to get a bath, but still found a way to make it to training!


2. Do you think its harder or just equally as hard to get to the big leagues of wrestling as it is say Basketball or Football?

I believe it's harder because talent alone in some instances can get you to the top of your profession in the world of football or basketball. In the world of professional wrestling being a talented wrestler doesn't get you passed getting paid 10 bucks and a handshake. It's a whole other beast in professional wrestling if you don't have a certain look or style you probably won't make it far in the pro wrestling world, if I can score 100 points in a single game Noone gives a damn how tall I am, my abs, my tatts or etc.

3. Do you feel that wrestling has more premature or just a surprising number of earlier then expected deaths compared to other sports and does this influence you in any way? 

I think it's about the same but I believe wrestling gets scrutinized for it more! Wrestling has a bit of a stench to it in the public eye for reasons that's far beyond my pay grade! As far as it influencing me, not at all! It's well known that alot of wrestlers have their personal demons! I'm thankful that I have made choices in my life like not drinking and smoking that has deterred me from similar circumstances

4. If you had the power to make any gimmick work, no matter how weird or normal it may be, what would you do? 

At one point I came up with a gimmick in North Dakota I told it to the Honkey Tonk man. I was gonna wear black face paint with neon green tights with chicken and watermelon on the side and call myself Marcus Koon!..I don't know why just to be different.

Does anyone else hear Banjos?

5. If you could change anything about the indy wrestling industry what would it be? What about TNA/WWE? 

To book more Marcus Rose

6. Do you handle crowds differently depending on size? 

No I really don't! My objective is to get people to not like me to the point where they wanna see someone kick my butt! So it doesn't matter if it's 20 people or 200 My objective stays the same.

7. How do you handle going from say going from a no rules wrestling show to a family first show. Do you change alot about how you handle things and what you say or do you just try and act the same no matter what the show? 

You pretty much get the same from me from every show! I tune down the language at family friendly shows but other than that I'm the same guy.

8. Was there every a moment when you truly felt you had had enough, that maybe wrestling wasn't for you? Was it a crowd? Just one guy/gal? A losing streak? Too many broken bones? If so what kept you going? 

That homeless situation put a little damper on things especially the second time around! Made me question was this really worth it, I could be working a normal 9-5 be a regular Joe and live a normal life, but I don't think I was put on earth just to be a run of the mill type of guy

9. Say you were picked up by TNA or WWE and given a over the top gimmick? How would you play it, go through the motions and hope it fails so you can move on to something better or really try to sell and play up the gimmick? 

Tna or WWE could give me the gimmick Buck the wonder slave and I'd knock it out the park! This is a business and I treat it as one if my employer ask me to do something I'm gonna make it do what it do.

10. What promotions do you feel are breaking down the walls separating Men Wrestling from Women Wrestling and just making it all Wrestling? How do you feel they are doing that?

 Everyone is stuck on NXT and I must admit they are doing a great job but as far as separating Men and women wrestling I couldn't tell ya all I know is they all need to be booking me.

11. What has been your most exciting experiance in the wrestling world so far? 

That day I told the world that I was better than ACH! Everyone took noticed some thought I was brave some thought I was delusional but the point is they all had a opinion.

12. Who are your wrestling Idols? 

As a kid my Idols were Bret Hart, HBK,  Mr. Perfect and Razor Ramon

13. Goals for 2015/2016?

Get some gold

14. Why did you pick ACH to be the one you are better than?

In this business it's about making a impact! I didn't know how loved ACH was until his final match at ACW. When I saw all the love, the tears, the admiration they had for that man I knew right then and there if I want people to pay attention to me I had to go for the top dog!

15. If you could make a tag team with anyone in the Indy's who would it be and what would it be called?

This might sound crazy but I don't watch much indy wrestling! People be like what you think of Ospreay? I'm like I love off spray cause I hate bugs! So I really don't know but if I had to choose I'd pick Cheeseburger and call ourselves Burnt Carrots

16. If you could pick any kind of match to battle ACH in what would it be? Cage? 3 stages of Hell? Ladder? Submission? 

It would be a straight up one fall to a finish wrestling match! I don't need any gimmicks just a wrestling ring and a ref.

17. Which wrestler is your favorite to watch?

 I love watching Brock Lesnar! He does 2 moves but the atmosphere around him makes it must watch.

18. What are the 2 promotions you most want to work at that you have not yet?

 Inspire and Texas pro

19.Who has been your favorite person to wrestle so far? 

Scotty Santiago

20. Given your work on the internet and the Mic, I want to list some of the bigger names in Indy, at least Texas Indy, and your thoughts on them. Just a short list, as some we have seen your thoughts on and others just couldn't make the list.

Ray Rowe: He really is Hard to kill.

Keith Lee: Everytime I see him perform I really do bask in his glory. magnificent performer

MASADA: Is one crazy bastard but is as technical as Benoit, Eddie, Malenko, any of those guys

Jojo Bravo: I think he is truly underrated, I don't think people truly understand how great he really is

ACH: I have the up most respect for him and everything he's accomplished..too bad I'm better.

Jessica James: The 1 woman in Texas

Darin Childs: a beautifully/tortured mind..Great guy

Ricky Starks: Pretty Ricky, what they call him! A true professional and a real work horse.

Bonus Questions:

Do you have a finisher and does it have a name?

Yup, it's the O.J Simpson cutter springboard spinning cutter

Chocolate or Vanilla?

I'm with the swirl baby

Submission or High Flying?

Nothing like making a man beg for mercy

Batman or Superman?

Batman

Beer or Liquor?

 Kool Aid

Cats or Dogs? 

Chicken

Marvel or DC? 

BET

Light Side or Dark Side? 

Racist

Favorite OPPONENT EVER (so far)? Mr. B

I am MR. B

We learn quite a bit about a man who would give Deadpool a run for his money on quips and trash talking. He watched just enough to know that he needed to target ACH right out of the gate.

To do so he even overcame living out of a car and still getting training it, though it came close, Though he does drink the Kool Aid and finds the idea of Star Wars to be racist with it's Dark and Light side...

He does have respect for many of his fellow wrestlers but is not afraid to speak his mind. Battling Scotty Santiago and Mr. B so far has been his highlights and he really wants a spot at Inspire Pro. You can see him at Anarchy Championship Wrestling(ACW) and TCW among other places. 

 

I have NO IDEA

Pinned Down Plus: 31 Days of Halloween: Halloween or Horror Themed w...

Pinned Down Plus: 31 Days of Halloween: Halloween or Horror Themed w...: Now this won't be a full list or everyone over all the years who have, I will mostly focus on Indie Wrestling and even then mostly in Te...

31 Days of Halloween: Halloween or Horror Themed wrestlers

Now this won't be a full list or everyone over all the years who have, I will mostly focus on Indie Wrestling and even then mostly in Texas as that is where I live and watch my indie wrestling. This will just be a list of ones I know or heard of with a small blurb and a picture or two. Plus where they mostly wrestle or where I first saw them.

Hallowicked: CHIKARA PRO:

Chikara is known both for the talent of it's in ring wrestlers but also for it's very unique wrestling persona's most of who are very entertaining inside and outside of Chikara and this man has been to Texas as the Champion of Chikara, a very cool look and and damn good in the ring.

Frightmare: CHIKARA PRO: Also part of Chikara and grouped with Hallowicked now and then, I have not seen this man live but he fits in with the whole theme both of Halloween and unique Chikaraness.

Frighting?

Chucky: Anarchy Championship Wrestling(ACW): Taking his name and look from Charles Lee Ray AKA Chucky the killer doll of Child's Play fame. But like the doll he is far from a good guy, went by the name of Stan "da sinner" Summers for a time. Now he has a Tiffany doll(Chucky's girlfriend in the movie) and teams with Mad Tigre. He is not overly evil but who knows what the future will bring.
 

COME GET SOME!

Jack "O" Lantern: ACW: Shows up rarely mostly around Halloween with the Halloween crew at ACW.  A smaller cruiser weight/lightweight wrestler, wears a Jack O Lantern mask with his outfit. Teams up with Black Rocker now and then as part of the Halloween crew.

Black Rocker: ACW: A rocker, also a cruiser weight/lightweight wrestler who dresses in black and has death/metal rock. Also rarely shows up and again normally around Halloween.

He makes Friday's black...

The Great Depression: Inspire Pro:  Dresses in a simple style, khaki pants, white button down shirt that just barely fits, a tie, and of course a burlap sack for a mask. Has perfect entrance music and a great look, He also is unique in only showing when he feels like it but his other family members or allies are there more often.

Nobody likes me.

The Boogeyman: WWE: Dude was weird, no doubt, had black leatherish pants, weird clothes, a face painted red and black, came out in a ton of smoke and crawled with a ticking clock in his mouth and a large wooden "voodoo" stick, when he finally stood he did a crazy twitching dance thing to the ring. Also he ate worms and facial moles...gross. Also no longer wrestling at least at the WWE level.








Hollywood Strangler: Inspire Pro: A fairly recent arrival, and a crazy one at that. He wears a basic ski mask type thing with a long leather duster/coat with a picture of a bloody eyed Monroe on the back. He laughs crazy at random times and wants to strangle people for reasons...so out of control that even his teammates like The Red Scare have to just knock him out to gain control.
 

Red Scare and Hollywood Strangler

The Red Scare:Inspire Pro: Just barely on the list. He is mostly there due to being teamed and themed with The Great Depression and Hollywood Strangler. He dresses sharply but with a full head mask of Red.

Finn Balor/The Demon:NXT:

Huge in the indie world and now making quite a name for himself in NXT. He comes out fully painted in a awesome entrance and has one of the coolest looks ever. Faster, smaller wrestler but amazing in the ring.

The Unholy Complex: ACW: A Team this time, Jason Silver and Gregory James, both dark in their own ways, coming together and forming a hell of a tag team. Even separate they fit the mold, Jason Silver is a vampire, former member of The Lost Boys and can take more pain then most

people anywhere. Gregory James is known as Unholy and has also been dark. Together they have gained the ACW Tag Team Titles, made a name for themselves in MPX and even invaded Inspire Pro.

Bray Wyatt and The Wyatt Family: WWE: With the recent reforming of a group, a family again the Wyatts are back on a solid path that I hope continues. The adding of Braum has made them quite a threat again. They are creepy and weird and fit right in to this list.
 

Wyatt's 2015

Crazy Steve:TNA: He doesn't talk much but this psychotic clown makes his point and message known in other ways. His name and face paint say it all I think.
 

BOO!

Abyss:TNA: Large man with a black mask and sad back story, lots of times called The Kane of TNA. Was the big bad monster over at TNA for many years.

Undertaker and Kane:Brothers of Destruction:WWE: Don't know who they are, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS? If you have any interest in wrestling you at least have heard of these men. I am talking the Undertaker, with graves, coffins, and lightning. Kane of the mask and burn victim story, the brother of Undertaker. While both have gone through changes from biker UT to Coperate Kane.

Swamp Monster: Chikara: Pretty much just like it sounds. A giant monster who looks like he is from the swamp.

Lady Poison:ACW: The "evil" alter ego of another wrestler. This femme fatale was deadly and quiet. Sometimes the opponent was beaten before she swung the first punch. A match against Barbi Hayden in her early days had Barbi too scared to do anything, Poison was dark, had a poison kiss and you never knew when she would show up. Plus her entrance music was pretty awesome.               

Athena, The Wrestling Goddess, The NeXT step...

 Thank you Shana for your thoughts on Athena, if you missed them you may want to read that first here for it to connect. It is all one story---->Enter the Land Of Athena

Standing Tall!

Athena, The Wrestling Goddess, has done so much and has so many fans, it will be sad to to see her go but she is moving up to bigger and better things! I have been a fan of hers almost since I first watched her battle.  For Shana aka @Literarygrrrl she was more than just a fan, she got in to all of INDIE wrestling in a huge part thanks to Athena.

I am going to start with a history lesson, to see where I am coming from. Hope I don't bore you.

She has wrestled for all sorts of companies, from Anarchy Championship Wrestling(ACW), Absolute Intense Wrestling(AIW), XCW, Booker T/PWA,  St. Louis Anarchy(STL), Shimmer, PCW, Ring of Honor(ROH) Inspire Pro Wrestling, and many others. I will discuss some of her opponents and matches in a bit, first I want to talk about where and when I first saw her and where I mostly saw her wrestle. This would be in Anarchy Championship Wrestling where she made her debut in 2008 at  From Innocence to Insanity where she battled Rachel Summerlyn and even got the win. All shows I mention from here on out will be ACW unless I say otherwise.

The first time I saw her in the ring is Delusions of our Childish Days on December 20th, 2009, and one of my earliest shows. She was teamed up with Erin Starr taking on Rachel Summerlyn and Jessica James who got the win. It was an impressive fight, but there was quite a break between her debut and this show, not sure what happened but I was glad she returned. By February 21st, 2010 at Please Allow Us to Re-Introduce Ourselves at Hooligans in Live Oak, Texas she got her first title shot at the Joshi title vs Rachel Summerlyn. She didn't win but she had a shot soon after being added to the roster, pretty impressive.

 Peace, Love, and Anarchy 2010, she fully became part of the faction called The Submission Squad. A group which consisted of several wrestlers, mostly if not all from the St. Louis area, she teams up with them at the same show by  supporting Evan G. and Pierre A. as they won and retain the Tag Titles. Then she went on to be part of a battle royale for the 1st Anarchy TV title champ at  Nothing is a Real as A Dream in May of 2010. We got a rather unique match with Athena at The Realization of Mortality where two matches were going on at the same time, Athena was fighting Lillie Mae while at the same time Davey Vega is fighting Rachel Summerlyn all at the same time in the same ring. You could hit and fight whoever you wanted but only Lillie could pin Athena or vice versa. Same with Vega and Summerlyn.

ATHENA AS ACH!

The big one came in June of 2010 where she enters the American Joshi Queen of Queens where in the FIRST round she got to fight MsChif, she didn't win but it was an AMAZING fight and a hell of a battle. Jump to September, 2010 and Evolution of the Revolution where in an unscheduled match, Athena gets a shot at the Joshi title against champion Portia Perez, sadly she did not win but I think between this and her match against MsChif she had put all the other Joshi's on notice.

This lead to her getting another shot at Beyond Good and Evil in October taking on 3 other Joshi's for a shot at the title. Portia Perez was still champ and gunning for the belt was Athena, Amanda Fox, and Jen Alise.  Quite the match up but Portia managed to retain the title. To close out an awesome 2010, at Delusions of our Childish Days the JOSHI's were the main event and it was a 6 Joshi Elimination tag match with Athena, Portia Perez, and Amanda Fox on one side and Rachel Summerlyn, Jessica James, and Serena Deeb on the other with Portia Perez being the last Joshi standing meaning Athena's team won.

Even a Goddess can not lift Thor's Hammer

Then we really kick it into a whole new level. We hit Guilty by Association 5 in 2011, we got the match that I think changed things and I believe others would agree, the 10,000 thumbtack match against the AMAZING Rachel Summerlyn and MAN O MAN was this brutal. It MADE Athena step up her game and I think it surprised and raised the bar for Rachel as well, which is what a great match and a perfect opponent in that match should do, both parties should come out better or different than when they went in and in a shock for the fans I think Athena got the win, NOT a bad shock just shocked. Rachel didn't lose all that often and Athena was almost still a newcomer, at least compared to Rachel.

Fly with us to O'Fallon, IL in March of 2011 in what would be the official/Unofficial start of St. Louis Anarchy and Athena was there, taking on Lady Poison in a title shot. Lady Poison left still the champ but their feud had JUST begun. At The Chain Reaction of Evil we saw the start of JT LaMotta's feud against all the Joshi's and he started by battling Athena.  May 15, 2011 and it is Prom Night, Nothing is as Real as a Dream and the Joshi's have decided to prove that the Indies DO IT BETTER and have an evening gown match! It was a 6 Joshi elimination evening gown match with Athena, Amanda Fox, Sara Del Rey vs Jessica James, Portia Perez, and Rachel Summerlyn. Then Athena made it to the FINALS of the 2011 Queen of Queens tournement beating Amanda Fox and Angel Blue. She faced Rachel Summerlyn in the finals but came up short.

I AM THE CHAMPION MY FRIENDS

Then in August at Distrust, Dismay, and Anti-Social Behavior she was in a huge Battle Royal to get a chance at the ACW Heavyweight Title!  But she FINALLY won her first title, The ACW Joshi Title, at Evolution of the Revolution 5 on September 18, 2011 Athena beat Lady Poison to win the title! Her first title defense was at Beyond Good and Evil in October facing Barbi Hayden, Portia Perez, and Lillie Mae but she retained the title. Then at Delusions of our Childish Days 2011, to close out that year we got the Ladder Match for the Joshi Title with Portia Perez, Rachel Summerlyn w/Machiko, Jessica James, Angel Blue, and Lillie Mae, a brutal match! 
 

First round QofQ

In 2012, Athena won the Queen of Queens

tournament she beat Su Yung, Christina Von Erie, and in the finals Jessica Havok. Now that is a varied and brutal group and the winner of that is super impressive! It made her the 2012 Queen of Queens! At Distrust, Dismay, and Anti-Social Behavior in 2012 she took on former referee Jeff Gant to get the win. She came back to St. Louis Anarchy when it officially-officially opened at Circus Maximus in 2011 teaming with Dorian Victor and Mrs. Victor beating Rachel Summerlyn.

After all those achievements she had one more debut to make in Austin, Texas with the newly formed Inspire Pro Wrestling and what a debut. It was at In Their Blood on 5/25/2014 where she fought Veda Scott to advance to the finals of the XX Division Championship to crown the first ever XX Belt holder. She won but somehow Veda would end up with the belt anyway...figure that out.
 

Often copied, never duplicated

But enough history, Athena took the most recent shows at both ACW at Distrust, Dismay, and Anti-Social Behavior 2015 and Inspire Pro BattleWars 2 to say goodbye to her fans and to Texas for the forseeable future but while sad it was her going on to bigger and better things, things we can not discuss right now. But before leaving Inspire Pro we had on huge heartfelt moment at Fade to Black 2015 when Matthew Palmer proposed to Athena and she said Yes. One of the moments that really speaks volumes to what the fans mean, what wrestling means and how more then any other sport or entertainment how close they become.

When GODS collide!

Now let us talk about what I thought and my feelings during Athena's matches.  Having covered how we got here and seen what Shana "Literarygrrrl" H. thought of her. I won't lie, when I first saw The Wrestling Goddess she was good but I was not yet overly blown away or beyond-words impressed. She was good, but man she got better and better. Even in her entrances she started having flags, armor, flag bearers and more, taking on bigger and better challengers.

I have had the honor of watching her almost since her start, at least in Austin and Texas, I missed her ACW debut but saw her second match where she teamed up with Erin Starr against RAJETT. She came up short that night but it was just the beginning of her rise to the top of many promotions from ACW to AIW. Even making it to ROH Tv several times but I, like many others, really sat up and took notice when she got a one on one match with Rachel Summerlyn in a 10,000 thumbtacks match. Even without the thumbtacks this one would have been brutal as both wrestlers went all out, then you added the 10,000 thumbtacks and we kicked it up to ANARCHY levels.

After this match she had the respect of anyone who she didn't before and she climbed the ranks, facing JT Lamotta when he called out the Joshi's and battled Lady Poison during her reign. Getting her first run in Queen of Queens but not winning it until 2012 and that is where I want to start really.






On Queen of Queens 2012 she had to battle Su Yung, a wrestler she would have a feud with at the end of her time in Anarchy but for this show she won and for the second round she took on Christina Von Erie in a intense but evenly matched...well match...and managed to pull out a win.  The Final Match of that Queen of Queens was Athena vs Jessica Havok, and HOLY SHIT! This one kicked everything up several notches. They BEAT the hell out of each other inside and outside the ring using chairs, the ring, walls, and more to it seemed almost KILL each other. I am not a good enough writer to put this into better words, most of us liked Athena and we knew Havok but this is where I feel Athena finally hit her stride and became who we know today, the whole show but this match more than any other.

We started getting flags and honor guards and with Athena as our 2012 Queen of Queens we were watching her go all out after whoever she wanted to and taking on champions and others.  When she finally came to Inspire she was set and everyone knew how tough she was and having her face down both tough vets like Veda Scott and up and comers like Kat Green who gave her a match I think she was not expecting.

Sadly though all things must end or grow and that is true in wrestling as well as anywhere. We are excited to see Athena move up and live her dreams, to showcase for the whole world but sad to see her go, no matter what the reason. Don't get me wrong I am thrilled her dreams are coming true, and I hope she keeps moving on up.

She has been amazing, taking on all opponents, going toe to toe both in the ring on and on the mic against people like Rachel Summerlyn, Christina Von Erie, JT Lamotta, Jessica Havok, Jessica James, Jeff Gant, Kat Green, Veda Scott, Portia Perez, Angel Blue, Su Yung, Leva Bates and Lady Poison. But her last feud in ACW was with Su Yung over the Joshi title, when Su won the title she vanished for quite some time and Athena kept calling her out each month.

ThunderBOLT

Finally Su returned and Athena got her shot, finally winning back the ACW belt and her final match, for awhile anyway, was against Su Yung and it went all out, a hell of a battle which became Athena the Charmender vs Su "Pikachu" Yung then Athena the Supergirl vs Su Catwoman Yung and they played the parts perfect. It ended with Athena getting the win and leaving as the Joshi Champ, she lays the belt out and tells us all goodbye and warns the remaining Joshi's that they need to respect the belt as she will one day visit or return.

Over in Inspire she had accepted Matthew Palmer's proposal and took on a Joshi she had battled since the beginning in Jessica James and Athena did not hold back even though they are friends and Jessica gave as good as she got. It was exactly the match I or anyone could have expected. Great, full of pure mat wrestling as well as some high powered moves and they both gave us their all with Jessica pulling at the win.

Did he go to Jareds?

 

She said YES

Athena was amazing and will be amazing no matter where she goes or ends up. From being Trouble to becoming a Wrestling Goddess she has had the fan support pretty much from the start, she can handle any match from a one on one to a ladder match, a Anarchy Family Deathmatch, evening gowns, even a yoga pants battle. She had battled for almost every title that ACW had and won several of them, we wish her all the best and KNOW that her new fans will love her.

    

Pinned Down Plus: Nigel Rabid...PINNED DOWN

Pinned Down Plus: Nigel Rabid...PINNED DOWN: Come at me So just recently I managed to get a few moments of a very busy man, he runs a WHOLE EMPIRE so his time is valuable. I was v...

Nigel Rabid...PINNED DOWN

Come at me

So just recently I managed to get a few moments of a very busy man, he runs a WHOLE EMPIRE so his time is valuable. I was very curious, even if I said Nation instead of Empire, to what the person in charge had to say on various ideas and issues that surround both wrestling and his own personal goals.

As he is paid to speak I will let him do the talking. You can also check out his website here: The Website of The Empire
 

IT IS MY EMPIRE!

1. What was the toughest thing to give up or sacrifice to be part of the wrestling world?

Aside from trying to give up snack foods, I think the most difficult sacrifice has been the amount of personal time one has to give up, especially to drive one’s own brand.


2. Do you think its harder or just equally as hard to get to the big leagues of wrestling as it is say Basketball or Football?

Well, if you look at the world of Baseball and/or North American Football, there are 30 and 32 teams, respectively, with 40 players on each baseball team and 53 players on each football team. Mathematically, that means there are 1200 professional baseball players and 1696 professional football players.
How many, actively employed Professional wrestlers does WWE ,TNA or (now that they are on Destination America) ROH employ, total? I can almost guarantee that combined they don’t even reach the same numbers as baseball and football, combined or individually.
It’s simple mathematics… There’s just more available spots for a professional ball player than there is for a professional wrestler.

3. Do you feel that wrestling has more premature or just a surprising number of earlier then expected deaths compared to other sports and does this influence you in any way?

Does wrestling have more deaths? Again, it’s a matter of mathematics and facts… Let’s look at Baseball and North American Football as our baselines. Even if we add up all of the wrestlers from the Eighties that have prematurely passed on, and do the same for the other sports, you’ll find that wrestlers, on average die more often than with other sports. Whether it’s because of drug abuse or misadventure, because there are fewer professional wrestlers, the average death toll is astronomical compared to any other sport.

4. If you had the power to make any gimmick work, no matter how weird or normal it may be, what would you do?

I think I would like to live in a world where “The Genius” was a force to be reckoned with… and “Berlyn” and “Devil’s Advocate” Sean O’Haire as well. I can’t say that there’s a gimmick (beyond my own) that I’d like to force into the limelight, but there are certainly wrestling talents that I feel deserved more than they received. Lanny Poffo, Sean O’Haire and Alex Wright fit that bill, absolutely.

5. If you could change anything about the indy wrestling industry what would it be? What about TNA/WWE?

If I could change the independent industry, I think I’d increase wrestlers wages, see more cooperation between companies and (at least on a local level) see to it that every local market had an independent wrestling show available to compete with WWE/TNA/ROH.
What would I change about TNA? I believe I would wake them up from the dream that they are competition for WWE and have them focus on building a good product, instead of trying to be the “Shock Jock” equivalent to WWE. They have good talent but they seem to not use them coherently or tell stories that last and that’s unfortunate for their talent.
For WWE, what would I change? I’d make the company more accountable to it’s talent and to the wrestling community. Hire the wrestlers as employees, not contractors and provide things like insurance for them. Invest in local promotions all over the country to build indy companies that can afford to have a good product and grow good talent. I’d also let my NXT booking staff run RAW and Smackdown.

6. Do you handle crowds differently depending on size?

Lance Hoyt and Tokyo Monster Kahagas both told me the same thing in this regard. Whether you have two or two hundred thousand in attendance, you give the very best that you can every time.

7. How do you handle going from say going from a no rules wrestling show to a family first show. Do you change alot about how you handle things and what you say or do you just try and act the same no matter what the show?

I generally act the same, as far as how I cut promos or rant on the mic. But as far as my behaviour, with a “No Rules” show I will lean away from the endorsement of brutality and excessive violence, claiming that I’m better than the fans because I won’t stoop to barbarism. In a “Family Friendly” show, I will lean more towards the endorsement of act of extreme violence, to make the fans fear for their heroes safety.

8. Was there every a moment when you truly felt you had had enough, that maybe wrestling wasn't for you? Was it a crowd? Just one guy/gal? A losing streak? Too many broken bones? If so what kept you going?

I don’t know about “had enough”, but I will say that I have thought of hanging up my scarf because I thought that I had run my course and was no longer a viable commodity. I kept going because I had a booking or two that I committed to that reminded me that, regardless of what I was feeling, the fans loyalty revitalised me.

Brothers do sometimes just shake hands

9. Say you were picked up by TNA or WWE and given a over the top gimmick? How would you play it, go through the motions and hope it fails so you can move on to something better or really try to sell and play up the gimmick?

Always, always sell the gimmick. Even a ridiculous gimmick can catapult one into fame.

10. What promotions do you feel are breaking down the walls separating Men Wrestling from Women Wrestling and just making it all Wrestling? How do you feel they are doing that?

Well, I know that Inspire Pro is going that and so is NXT. TNA seemed to be doing that but everything seemed to go back to the status quo, but… I think they’re breaking down the walls by having women be wrestlers instead of eye-candy. There are a lot of tremendous women in wrestling and by letting them wrestle, you have already defied the the norms.

11. What has been your most exciting experience in the wrestling world so far?

Working for PCW in Arlington on their reunion show even though I had never worked for them during their heyday. Managing Charlie Haas, Rodney Mack and Raven have been tremendously exciting for me as well.

12. Who are your wrestling Idols?

As a manager, Bobby Heenan, General Skandor Akbar, Paul Bearer, Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman and Jimmy Hart. As a “wrestler” (not that I delude myself into thinking I’m a wrestler), Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Diamond Dallas Page, Chris Jericho, Lance Hoyt, Charlie Haas and William Regal.

13. Goals for 2015/2016?

As always, my goals are to expand the influence of The Rabid Empire and it’s members. I’d like to expand into outlying states and gain more experience as a performer and a member of the wrestling community.

14. Who do you feel are the best managers of all time and why?

Just as I stated above, Bobby Heenan, Skandor Akbar, Paul Bearer, Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman and Jimmy Hart. They all have brilliant ways to get under the skin of the crowd and really antagonise the audience, sometimes by doing the most subtle of things.

15. What indy wrestler have you not added to the Rabid Nation that you would love too?

Firstly, it’s the “Rabid Empire”, not nation. An Empire is comprised of many nations, never the reverse Secondly, I have a very long wish list, based on the raw in-ring ability of many performers. Matt Palmer, Andy Dalton, Mike Dell, Alex Reigns, Lance Hoyt, Keith Lee, Mike Foxx, Franco D’Angelo, Tim Storm, Angelus Layne, Vanessa Kraven, Paul Titan, Barrett Brown, Sammy Guevara, Gregory James, Teddy Hart, Tokyo Monster Kahagas… I could go on and on… I look for two things: Heart and Talent.

16. You seem to have had a few run-ins with Chris Trew and The New Movement at the last few Inspire Pro show, With a group of your own there now will you be returning the favor?

Chris Trew.biz has lost his way and allowed a “rotten apple” (named James Johnson) to spoil his collection of talent. I can only hope that they learn the error of their ways before more misdirected good intentions interfere with a talented manager.

17. Which wrestler is your favorite to watch?

I’m very fond of watching Mr. Hoyt, as a big man he really know how to move and his psychology (especially his psychology of fear) is breathtaking.

18. You have a unique perspective,being the leader or a whole nation, what companies do you enjoy working for the most? What company have you not been to that you would like to?

As the leader of the Rabid Empire, I’ve enjoyed working with a number of companies. I’d say the ones I enjoy the most are the ones that I am currently working for, Metroplex Wrestling, NWA Texoma, Inspire Pro, Full Throttle Wrestling. I would like the opportunity to wrestle in Houston for Booker T, I’d like to work for NWA BOW and NWA 360… But in all honesty, I want to work where I haven’t worked before.

That looks like quite the Inspired talk

19. When wrestlers join or quit the Rabid Nation I am sure they do so in various ways, anyone really stand out with what they did to either join or quit?

When Spoiler 2000 joined The Rabid Empire it was after I had mocked his long time friend and mentor, Skandor Akbar. We challenged him to a handicap match (2 on 1) and the Spoiler 2k and Kristopher Haiden turned on a petitioning member, Larry “Double L P” Ladell and the two larger men beat LLP to the ground. At that time, Spoiler 2000 announced he was joining The Rabid Empire.

Newest Member of The Empire

Bonus Questions:

What would be your finisher?
The Emerald Flowsion or Figure Four (any variation)

Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate

Submission or High Flying?
Why can’t it be both?

Cats or Dogs?
I have both and I love both equally.

Beer or Liquor?
Liquor, you get a much better range of flavours with liquor.

Light Side or Dark Side?
The Dark Side has a much slicker ad campaign (Come to the Dark Side, we 
have cookies)

Favorite Opponent EVER?
I’ve had so many excellent opponents that it’s hard to pin one down, I really feel blessed in that regard.
 

He is looking to expand The Rabid Empire as well as watching Lance Hoyt move around the ring as well as taking lessons from managers like Bobby Heenan and Paul Heyman as well as many others.

He prefers the cookies of the Dark Side, as well as teaching Chris Trew what he is doing wrong, and all around a force in the business. I am curious to what the newly formed branch of The Rabid Empire will have in store for Inspire Pro Wrestling in Austin, Texas.

For more of his thoughts and insights on all things, check out his podcast Listen to the thoughts of Leader of Empires!