Wrestlemania was awful

I know it's typical to over-react right after something's just happened, but man Wrestlemania sucked. Some of the in-ring action was fine, but the booking was across the board awful.

Alberto Del Rio Vs Edge

For whatever reason they decided to shoot Del Rio's push in the neck. I mean the guy jobbed to Christian two weeks in a row on Smackdown and then he loses the title match at Mania, what the hell is going on here? I'm going to be just disgusted if Del Rio wins the belt at the next PPV which tends to be nothing but Mania Re-matches, cause then this is just a stupid Vince "Everyone knows Del Rio's going over, so I'm gonna put Edge over, fuck 'em!"

Rey Mysterio Vs Cody Rhodes

Fine for what it was, a good win for Cody. Solid match all around.

Worthless Corre Squash, no comment

Randy Orton Vs CM Punk

I hate matches where the face is booked with an injury and then wins clean over the heel anyhow. It makes the heel look totally incapable of winning a match. I mean, why would I think Punk would ever beat a healthy Orton when he can't beat a 1 legged Orton? A good match, but I hated the finish where Punk was smart enough to avoid an RKO, but then runs right into another one.

Michael Cole Vs Jerry Lawler

Long, overbooked, and the reverse decision was just awful. Cole's offense was horrible and exposed the business, I have no idea what he was thinking with his 'not standing on Lawler's leg' move. Just garbage, the reverse decision was just garbage. We have to protect Michael Cole's heat here? Not Alberto Del Rio or CM Punk?

Taker Vs HHH

Best match on the show, they sold me that HHH was going to beat him, and there was a part of me that wanted him to. To me the Streak has gone from 'sacred' to something I want to see end. The two of them killed themselves out there, great match, good finish.

Snooki/Trish/Morrison Vs LayCool/Ziggler

Good for what it was, Snooki hit her spots and will make for good TV.

John Cena Vs The Miz

Again more overbooked garbage, why does Rock restart the match when it just gives Cena another shot at winning the title? I mean he hates Cena, can't he just kick his ass?

Why Rock went over both Miz and Cena is beyond me, he doesn't need the rub, and this isn't even like "Floyd Mayweather over Big Show" where Show's just a sideshow that gets attention, this is your main event draw and your new champion you're trying to get over, and you have a retired wrestler crush them both, so stupid.

As my friend Chris said.

"Over the last yearish the new talent they have pushed is AmDrag, Sheamus, Del Rio, Barrett, and Miz. AmDrag and Sheamus got pushed into a dark match that they didn't get to finish. Del Rio got to lose clean in the opener to a guy looking to retire, then have an integral part of his gimmick destroyed, Barrett got thrown into a random 8 man that lasted like 90 seconds and not even be involved in it, and Miz did win the main event at Wrestlemania... but was barely even a part of the story as he basically murdered his opponent to no avail only to have an actor hit one move and win it for him and then be promptly pumeled to death by that actor... it is appropriate that this was in Atlanta because it reminds me of another promotion that pulled shit like this in the same city... hell it was the same building where they gave away Hogan/Goldberg for free."

Preach on Brother.

Where I'm at right now

I'm burnt out is pretty much the best way to describe myself. I just feel shot at this point when it comes to writing Rp's, I felt like I didn't do very well Vs Anarky in EPW and thought it was likely I would lose and that I'd deserve to, my Rp in A1E has been spotty over the last few shows, I'm kind of lost in both feds.

I want to talk to a couple people about working out stuff for the next show for EPW and then most likely take a break from EPW and A1E for the time being, I'm sorry to everyone for stepping out like this, but I really don't feel like I can contribute to the shows, and I want to devote my energy to my new idea.

Hopefully Chad will get my PM and my latest hair-brained scheme will be up and running sometime soon and I'll have another blog post about that.

Who will be EPW World Champion on 9/1/11?

Same as the last post, predict the future and amaze people, or fail and be mocked, or neither will happen, anything's possible really.

Who will be NFW World Champion on 9/1/11?

I'll post the rest of the Manson shoot soon, I promise, I've been a slacker, but I had an idea for a poll/thread and figured I'd post it while I still had it in my mind, so here is the first of two pretty simple posts, get out your crystal ball and tell me who will be the NFW World Champion one year from today.

Michael Manson Shoot Part 1

BROWN: We’re back on Going Off Script, I am Will Brown joined as always by Allen Tyson, tonight’s guest is a man who really did everything you could do in the industry. A multi-time world champion who also held just about every kind of title you could in professional wrestling, one of the most controversial, yet well-regarded talents on the circuit who retired in his prime. His name is synonymous with both NFW and WFW, and you can't talk about Ares, Shane Southern, Felix Red, Jonathan Marx, Craig Miles without mentioning Michael Monaghan, aka Michael Manson himself.

TYSON: Thank you for doing this, Mike. It’s quite rare for you to actually do an interview since you retired.

MANSON: Thanks for having me. I thought enough time had passed for me to have more of a proper perspective on my career, and sort add an exclamation point to it. Or maybe a question mark. I don’t know.

TYSON: We’re glad to have you Mike, so what got you interested in the business and how did you get started? Were you a fan when you were younger?

MANSON: Aren’t all little kids? By the time I was a teenager I’d grown out of it, and was mostly into comic books and drugs. I graduated high school early and left home, and basically drifted around. I spent a lot of time in Europe and Japan, doing special projects and course studies that I talked a few universities into accepting as college credits so I ended up with a couple of college degrees that way. I was even in stunt school for a while, toured with a circus, and got back into wrestling since I’d help put together the rings and pass fliers and that sort of thing. I was taking kenpo karate in Japan and through one of the trainers got into the Ultimo Japan training camp.

BROWN: I’ve heard that that’s absolute hell.

MANSON: You’d wake up at dawn to hike up a mountain and then climb down for training for the entire day. And then there’d be your own private workouts, any chores you were expected to do, and sparring. Things always got really physical, but I was a black belt heading into and the school I went through emphasized street fighting. It doesn’t even look like real karate, but it was tough and physical so I lasted when almost the entire rest of the class dropped out. They put a mask on me because I was a such a smart-ass, and at the time, I was reading all about satanism and witchcraft because that’s just what I happened to be reading about at the time, and they called me Mephisto. I toured in Japan, Mexico, and Europe once or twice before the American feds took notice of me.

BROWN: I know you were in a league that was thought of as being a kind of minor league place when you first started getting attention, you and Ares were the big draws there, was that the first time you had met Ares?

MANSON: I cut my teeth in a lot of the smaller American feds, and Ares was working a lot of those same places and, somehow, we ended up having this huge feud across the whole circuit. We worked so much together that we became friends. In fact, he was my best friend in the industry for years. I learned a lot from that feud and time period so a lot of promoters just wanted me to be a wild, satanic mad man and just brawl and bloody the shit out of everyone, but Ares and I would always try out different things. Eventually, I started showing I could actually wrestle, do submissions, and actually come off the top. My character became more like me, but darker, more psychotic, manipulative. Ares went in the same direction, even getting that swastika tattoo.

TYSON: I remember that. It used to get so much attention.

MANSON: I was there when he got it and I was trying to talk him out of it all up until the end. Anyone can dress up like a Nazi and get heat, and he didn’t need it. But he was insistent, despite the fact that he was Jewish, man! So we used it. We became the evil fucks who didn’t care about god or satan and did whatever the hell we wanted, not caring about good taste or morals or anything.

BROWN: The Devils Incarnate, the DI.

MANSON: I was never thrilled with the name, but teaming with Ares got us further than just feuding. We actually worked with the jWo, which back then was the biggest thing going on the circuit, and that got us into Boston Action ‘N’ Destruction, which we had just taken over by the end. We would have had to have feuded with each other because there was no one else. A few other guys passed through DI over the years, but it was really me and Ares that made it work. I was kind of sad though since I won the BAD world title, and people were looking at me as the DI leader, and Ares got kind of jealous, even though promoters out there were offering him the world. He had the look, he had size, he could talk. UWA was falling over backwards for him, and it was kind of like, we like your friend too so he can come with you.

BROWN: So suddenly you were in the big leagues. What was your time in UWA like?

MANSON: Surreal in a way. I had gotten to know Doc Silver from the jWo and he always put in a good word for me with anyone he hadn’t pissed off yet, but it was all highs and lows. It was the biggest names in the world at the time the highest level of workrate and talent, and there was this huge momentum to it at the time. Me, Ares, Alex Wylde, and PC, Problem Child were recruited all at the same time and were basically supposed to be the next wave of stars for them. We all hung out together and were basically our own group while was Canyeta, Steele, Dones, and, sometimes, Craig Miles, depending on what week it was. There was a lot of politicking and in-fighting that I’d never seen before, and tried to keep out of.

BROWN: I remember your feud with JT Tyler.

MANSON: Oh yeah, one of the things Quentin Sullivan, who was always a big supporter of me no matter where we were working, did was let me do a lot of my own storylines. Ironically, it was at first a big three-way between me, JT Tyler, and Shane Southern. That was around the time Shane got into that motorcycle crash and hurt his leg and no one thought he’d ever come back. So it was just me and JT, tormenting each other every week over the US title. We were spiking the ratings and everything. We headlined a couple of house show tours, and Carlos Canyeta, I had become friends with, really wanted to work with me at some point. But Winston Steele, whom I actually travelled with a few times, didn’t want me getting pushed so much since he wasn’t a fan of my act. It wasn’t anything personal, plus he knew he was dropping the world title to Canyeta and didn’t know what his future was like in UWA, especially with all these new guys eating up TV time.

TYSON: I remember that road trip series of promos you did with Ares for the Random Rumble, that stuff really set the internet on fire, why do you think that caught on so well?

MANSON: Because we sold it. Our characters were just exaggerated versions of ourselves. On the road, we were always on E and picking random broads, tearing up motel rooms, pretending we were satanists and making up rituals and sacrifices as we went along wot freak people out. We just put it on footage. My favorite bit was how back then King Krusher used to go on and on in promos about his brother who was a cop who died so we went to a garbage can to find him since I was claiming I shot him. It was like nothing else at the time and we weren’t just pushing the envelope we set it on fire.

It helped Ares more than anyone since to the UWA brass it made him look like the biggest star in the world. We were even talking about having me steel the world title belt -- which I thought would lead to me versus Canyeta -- but instead I’d give it to Ares. I was liking working with JT and knew my time would come so I was fine with it. Then the Random Rumble came and I assumed Ares was going to win it, though I really thought there should be a massive build to Ares versus Canyeta, but then Michael Sparks won. None of us knew at the time what the hell was going on, but I figure they realized they needed to build to Ares versus Canyeta, and didn’t want Canyeta losing the belt so quickly so they took someone who was pretty good and made him a star, even if he didn’t really deserve it. I mean, yeah, he was an al right guy, but Sparks wasn’t working half as hard as any of us at house shows and coming up with new material. We were revolutionizing the whole industry and he had some lame catch phrase about how guns don’t kill people, but Michael Sparks. I still wonder if when I was done with JT if I was supposed to work with Sparks, but the UWA folded due to numbers or whatever. Most of the roster had already been signed by IWC though so it was just like it absorbed UWA into it. Whole different vibe though.

TYSON: There was an even a IWC tribute show to the UWA.

MANSON: There was a lot of talent and staff who worked for both, and the UWA was really something in its day. The IWC was great too, but there were even more politics there than anywhere else I ever worked. Everyone was out to fuck over everyone else. I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, but I kind of fucked over Ares too since Doc took over the book and I turned on him for the big push.

BROWN: You won the IWC World Title. It was the first time a lot of people regarded you as a main eventer.

MANSON: I really clawed my way up through the ranks. I had title shots and worked with different people. I liked Wildstar a lot as a person and he was an incredible athlete, but didn’t really know how to sell or put a match together. I found later in NFW he had a greta mind for the business though and was the best wrestling analyst I ever heard. Pi could be really good, but was just a horrible little shit of a person. Still, it was the first match I ever had with Shane Southern and then one of the first time I worked with Anarky, and Javid Dones as a promoter. Also, while I always had my own fan base, I started noticing that people were into me as an act. There were times I was getting a face reaction. At the time, no one thought I could ever work as a face, but it got me thinking.

I won the world title at the end and I was really proud of it, but the IWC shut down not long after though Doc assured me it had nothing to do with me. And, really, I wasn’t even champion long enough for it to matter. I got to say the IWC was the last time I really saw Ares motivated. He could have gone so far, but I still wonder if me screwing me was what took the heart of him. He actually called me and asked me to sign with the NFW when it was starting, but he hadn’t stayed active on the circuit like I had.

TYSON: You worked for a variety of small to medium-sized promotions back then, most notably the IWF and NFWA. A lot of people like to hunt down the old footage of you competing back then.

MANSON: At the time, there was no huge fed that stood out above all the others. The NFW became that eventually though. I went to these other feds to keep active and because of my time in IWC and UWA I was seen as the biggest star there. I had the biggest contracts, I chose my own schedule, I had a lot of booking power. Hell, I’ll even say it. They’d buy escorts and sell them right up to my hotel room for me. I never had to buy any of my own E or acid. The agents just gave it to me.

But I look back and see this as the time that I really developed my character into the more machiavellian absurdist he became. I also became more of a technician wrestler and highflyer. I won’t lie though. I loved doing whatever I wanted.

In IWF, I had this Manson’s Rules gimmick where I chose the stips for every match and, sometimes, changed them in the middle. I worked with some cool guys like Nemesis and Suicide, Midiot too, Larry Tact. A lot of talent that could gotten much bigger if someone had shown them the right ropes. Maybe it should have been me. I don’t know. I was too wrapped up in my own work. I even had a storyline where I declared myself God and was throwing lightning and everything. I think that the point I realized that wrestling didn’t always need to be ultra-realistic and could be tongue-in-cheek. After that, my character in general became more like a comic book character and it opened my eyes up to what we could do with wrestling as medium which others couldn’t. Of course, even though I was drawing insane money, a few people didn’t like having me around.

BROWN: You got to be talking about Jean Rabesque.

MANSON: He’s the main one. Before him, he was the big guy in IWF, but then he and everyone jobbed out to me and I was still dominating him when were in NFWA. Every chance this guy got, he bad-mouthed me and tried to get out of even having a match with me since he knew he’d always job. This guy based his whole gimmick on having 5 star matches and being a 5 star wrestler. What a fucking idiot. You’re supposed to want to win all the matches in character. You don’t care about 5 stars or whatever else. The guy was pretty decent in the ring, but nowhere close to what he claimed. He was a horrible promo too. He even faked a leg injury to get out of a match with me in NFWA.

TYSON: I read about a backstage encounter between you guys.

MANSON: I basically threw him out of IWF. We met up in NFWA and King Krusher and Scott Malec who were running things back then wanted to take advantage of the real life heat and do the match. I was willing to so as long as I crushed the fucker since I had in every match everywhere else. Then he claims he hurt his leg, and this is where things get creepy. Even by my standards.

A few other guys used to tell me that he obsessively watched all my matches, taped them, and re-watched them again and again. They said he had this collage of pictures of me that he put up in every hotel room, and that he’d tell any girl he picked up to call him Mister Manson. I even heard he’d dress like me when he was off the road.

Then came the night that Jean Rabesque tried to kiss me. He was arguing with Malec about jobbing to me in a tag match and I rounded the corner and basically called him a bitch. We shoved each other and Malec told us to take it outside so I was waiting for him in the alley and he starts staring at me all weird and he leans like he’s going to kiss me. I couldn’t fucking believe it. I slapped him and then decked him and then stomped the piss out of him. Then he was really injured and didn’t have to work with me.

BROWN: How did you like working with Malestrom?

MANSON: Eh, decent guy, but not too bright. A terrible worker and a terrible promo. Yet, he had size and the look. Malec loved him and I was the heel world champion with a reign of terror going on. I had this program going with Golem. He was a big guy, but agile, could work. Wore green fur and had this mystical gimmick going that worked well for him. Had he really gone for it, he’d have gone far in NFW. Malec, of course, always wanted Maelstrom as his champion since he was the king of minor leagues and that’s really where Malec had his heart in as a promoter. It made since for the heel to get his comeuppance so I lost to Maelstrom and then they started building up to Anarky versus Maelstrom, but I was still the biggest draw and every show was built around me anyway.

TYSON: The NFWA folded not long afterwards though. Could it have lasted if you had stayed champion?

MANSON: I don’t know. It closed because Malec and Krusher had some personal issues to take care of, and the bigger promotions were signing up their talent. Krusher even worked a few NFW dates. But NFWA was mostly good. I got to form the Gentlemen of Destiny, or GOD with Nark and Jonathan Marx, who was the first really young wrestler who ever said he grew up idolizing me, which was weird since I wasn’t even that old. But, maybe because I felt bad because I didn’t do enough to help the younger guys in IWF, I showed him the ropes.

Interesting anecdote, few years later, Malec and Krusher wanted to try again with the AFCW and, of course were going to base it around Maelstrom, who pretty much only ever worked for Malec. They wanted to sign me, but, in going over everything with them, they wanted Marx as their top heel in a horsemen-like faction, and I didn’t want steal their thunder. Plus, I didn’t to do the same old programs over.

Instead, I devised a masked persona called Phoenix where I’d be the ultimate face. I’d even stop run-ins and shake hands and everything. The angel would have climaxed with me against Maelstrom for the title, where we fight off the inevitable heel run-ins and I break a chair under his head and do the turn and the mask comes off and the world goes berserk because it was Mike Manson all along. AFCW never got off its feet though.

Pro Wrestling Circuit (PWC)

While I think of ideas for leagues, one I've kicked around for a while is a league based around tournaments, not in the TEAM sense, but rather in the format of golf or tennis, a season that has many tournaments over the course of the year.

The set up would be 4 Major tournaments and 6 Minor tournaments. The majors would have themes that would be mirrored by the minors. Why enter a minor? We'll get to that in a moment, but first let's go over the majors.

MAJOR #1 The Legends

Format: FWC style script writing trash talk

Kayfabe info: Held in the historic Greensboro Coliseum, The Legends is the once a year tradition where 32 of the finest wrestlers in all the land beat the heck out of each other for the sought after White Strapped Belt.

MAJOR #2 U.S. Wrestling Classic

Format: self contained narrative (by this I mean, you write your own stories, most likely in your character's mythos.)

Kayfabe info: Folks of all walks of life seek glory and victory in the squared circle as the U.S. Wrestling Classic. What tale of woe and weal will win out in the end and capture the Golden Bowl?

MAJOR #3 England's Wrestling Championship

Format: Open Rp format, emphasis on forwarding storylines and building up matches via segments and interaction with other handlers.

Kayfabe Info: England has a proud tradition of scrappers and brawlers, and expect you to come prepared to fight. Only the toughest can expect to walk out of Wembley Stadium with the Silver Crown.

MAJOR #4 PWC Championships

Format: Theme based Rp. Rp should be about your character's quest to win the PWC Championship, be it by trash talk or narrative. Your Rp should also be about the setting for that year's PWC Champion, as the event can be held just about anywhere on earth (Well within reason, we're not having in the south pole.)

Kayfabe Info: The season ends with the PWC Championships. The PWC Trophy is one of the most sought after pieces of hardware in the wrestling world, and whoever navigates the always tough field to claim it will have assuredly earned it.

Of course I'm open to suggestions/ideas about how to format the majors and what not will you

Question time

"You're not judging this all by yourself are you?"

I'd like to find 2 other people who don't share my views on Rp'ing, maybe from PTC or elsewhere, and have them judge things with me, and I'd expect them to go public with their rulings and reasons for their rulings, as will I.

"What's the point of the minors?"

Good you asked, Minors will be place holders, and also a way to insure you get into a major. Winning a minor gets you an automatic invite to the next 2 majors, and they add up. If you won both minors before the PWC Championships, you would get into the next 4 majors.

"What if I'm busy and can't attend a major I have an automatic entry for?"

Then let me know and I'll keep that entry open for you for the next one.

"So winning a major is cool, anything else to this?"

Well yes, I'll make up a points ranking system and a money leader board. This way we could have 5 or even 6 people happy at the end of the season, 4 different majors winners, a points leader and a money leader. Give people different goals to shoot for and talking points in Rp's...Like having the 1# ranked wrestler on the points system declaring his domination, and his opponent fires back that he just won the The Legends, and that Mr. #1 ranking has no majors to his name.

And so that's my new idea, questions, comments, suggestions always welcome.

PC Shoot interview part 2

ALLEN: What happened with the failed run in NFW? I know you were brought in for a try out or two but you didn’t get on TV at all…

PC: Oh, that. Wow. Well uh, few things. One, Sully and Miles were leery about making it UWA part deuce. Think about who was there and being pushed from the start. Was Steele offered a contract? No, Sully and Craig had written him off. Was Canyeta? Fuck no. Dones? Yeah, and he was making half his old salary, and they buried him, completely. Hell, even Troy didn’t show up until much later on. The only UWA guys who came over were the ones who were on the verge of stardom, who Sully felt had unfinished business and untapped potential. So NFW brought over Manson, Alex, Ares, Shane Southern, and a couple tag teams. I still had a good name with Sully, but some shit went down between 99 and 2000 when I was in CSWA. Basically I went over there, pilled up, drugged up, I mean I was BAD…but I could still work, y’know? They didn’t know what the fuck to do with me, that was the problem, and I guess my gimmick wasn’t getting over with the fucking rednecks over in Greensboro. I basically got buried. The only reason they offered me a contract is because Troy and Sully vouched for me. Eventually I wound up no-showing a couple dates, and they fired me.

BROWN: I actually heard Melton had you fired for groping his wife or something?

PC: What? Man, how the fuck did that get started? No no no, I didn’t grope her. That was a whole separate incident from why I left- Melton’s a jealous bastard, he thought I was gawking at his wife, which I was…but who the fuck cares? And we had it out one day. He told me he didn’t like me, I told him he’s a faggot, and that was that. What’d he think was gonna happen, I was gonna solicit Teri Melton for a BJ in Greensboro? I was dumb, but I wasn’t THAT dumb. But that was only one reason why the brass didn’t like me. I just up and walked out on them. CSWA was all about the clean living, unless you were a Windham that is, and unless your name was Joey Melton. Then it’s OK. Otherwise, you were held to the Shane Southern standard, and I gotta tell ya, as much as I like the guy…I ain’t no fuckin’ Shane Southern, in the ring or out.

BROWN: So how did that impact you and NFW?

PC: Ok, so back to that. From what I heard, Sully wasn’t thrilled with the shit I pulled over there. Honestly, one on one me and Sully were cool, but man I was on a lot of drugs at the time and uh…ha, I think he felt I was a bad influence on the locker room. Like Alex, Manson, and the guys…he wanted their eyes on the ball, not their nostrils on the eight ball if ya know what I mean.

BROWN: Didn’t that happen anyway during Season 1?

PC: Shit man, that’s what I heard. I wasn’t there, you’d have to ask JJ. NFW was clean during 1.0, for the most part. So what happened was, Craig was still my boy and he hooked me up with the tryout. They wanted to see I could still work, gave me a few house show dates, told me to show up clean. First show went great, second show…I showed up zooted, tweaked out of my mind, and Sully gave me the scissors. They cut me, that was it.

ALLEN: Talk about your relationship with JJ Palazzo and that all got started.

PC: Oh JJ’s my boy. One of the coolest cats you’re ever gonna meet in the business. What’s funny is people think we’ve been friends for years and years, but we really didn’t know each other until I came back to NFW in 2008. When NFW opened it’s doors, me and Ares introduced JJ to Craig Miles as a favor to Jimmy Mylde. I actually didn’t know the kid. I was friends with his brother, RA, who now runs NLW. Going back to when I was training with Robby and Ross, you know, those guys were stars in NTWA. Jimmy was doing commentary and booking, RA’s camera crew filmed all the shows, and Robby, Ross, Ares, and Stan Vick were training all the new guys. Well, JJ came up the same way. He was working on his brother’s crew, and I think Ares and Stan were training him. Mainly Ares- he was Ares’ protégé.

ALLEN: Right, I heard the comparison recently between his style and Ares’.

PC: They’re very similar. NTWA closed I think around the same time UWA did, in ’99, so a lot of guys were out of work. Stan opened up WWWA, and JJ was only like 18 or something but they brought him in as Starr and he’d work TV. That was his first gig, I believe. Well about three months later, WWWA folded when the Prodigy Network went under, which effected lots of organizations because without PN they had no where else to go for a television deal. This was before ESEN. So JJ did the indie thing for a while until NFW got up and running, and that’s when Ares and I put him in contact with Craig. They immediately liked him because he had “the look,” but he was pretty inexperienced. He got a tryout, worked house shows for a few months, and they signed him after that. JJ told Sully the story about how him and RA’s dad was an Italian cult director who made all this high brow stuff that was criticized for being artsy porno, and Sully marked. Sully’s a pretty innovative guy when it comes to gimmicks; I mean, they had a white guy pretending to be Cuban for fuck’s sake…and it WAS OVER! JJ got the wheels in Sully’s head turning and they wound up calling him Castor Strife.

ALLEN: He left the business for a little while, and you both came back at the same time. Talk about that and the Jimmy Mylde angle.

PC: I know he had a back injury during Season 1, which is why they booked him as Commissioner of the East or whatever it was. Then like many guys in the business, he got hooked on pain pills after surgery. He was making good money working in LA with his brother for a while, I know that much, and did some straight to DVD acting gigs. JJ’s first love was wrestling, so I think he did the other stuff as a distraction until he could get clean and come back.

My comeback was a combination of two things: Jimmy Mylde, and Sully being out of the company. Jimmy negotiated my return, but it also helped that Mayfield was running shit. Eddie actually was the one who gave me my finisher, which is actually his, and then Sully named it. Props to him for that. I always had a good rep with Eddie, he knew I got clean, and Jimmy vouched for me…so it all worked out. But Jimmy also knew JJ was coming back, so they worked it as a package deal where I’d come in as one of his two “roided up” athletes and we’d take the tag division by storm.

The reason why the angle didn’t work was all due to bad timing. They were pushing BND as a team, but not as a stable. The problem was, Jimmy wanted it to be an anti-NFW, anti-garbage crusade, and it was too similar to Eddie’s “NFW Revolution” and what he was doing with JTP. But you won’t hear me complaining; I was just happy to be back. It all worked out anyway. Jimmy’s still on the payroll as a part-time commentator, Castor’s got a huge push, and when I’m not doing NGEN I work shows when they need it. It’s a win/win/win.

ALLEN: There were rumors Sully coming back is the reason you’re not on TV anymore.

PC: I hadn’t really been on TV. That had more to do with my push in WFW: NE, and NGEN. They were giving me more and more work, so my role in NFW diminished over time. Which is cool with me, I just wanted to work again. But me and Sully are cool now. He wouldn’t have taken me back, but I was already rehired when he got here. He’s seen I’ve gotten my shit together in the last couple years, so there’s no issue. We talk now and then, it’s all good.

BROWN: Think it’s about time we quit grilling you and let the fans get a chance…Caller who are you, where you from?

CALLER: Hi this is Steve from Omaha…PC what was it like with the Windhams? I know you were in the frat, how much time did you spend around Troy and Mark and the rest of those guys, did they really party as hard as it’s claimed?

PC: Uh, I don’t know what’s out there since I’m not on the internet too much, but I can tell you those guys partied like pros. Troy had the locker room jumping down in Philly. Just a non-stop party. The Frat gimmick wasn’t just something he came up with out of thin-air, that was how we were living at the time. Funny story- Troy took me down to the Windham family ranch down in Sweetwater years ago. This must’ve been summer ’99. So we get down there, it’s me, Troy, Alex, Manson, and Ken Severe, and we meet his brothers, his uncles, I meet Mark Windham for the first time. I go up to Mark, ‘cause he’s a legend in the business, and I go to shake his hand. “Hey, Mark, honor to meet you dude, my name’s Pete.” Shakes my hand: “Pete I’m gonna tell you boys this one time and one time only: don’t use the downstairs bathroom. It’s all backed up to hell, and you can’t flush. It’ll stink for days. I’m serious, don’t use it.” Uhhh, OK, sure thing. Like that’s the first thing you say to someone? “Hi, I’m Mark Windham, don’t shit in my toilet.” Come on bro, show some hospitality!

So of course, what happens? First chance we get, we take turns pissing in his fucking toilet. We’re thinking, “Yeah, we’re out of here when he finds out.” Next day comes, he doesn’t say anything. Later on Alex has to shit. “Dude, go shit in Mark’s bathroom downstairs.” He does it. “OK, now we’re getting thrown out for sure.” Saturday comes, it’s our last night and we figure if he throws us out we can drive up to Dallas and rent a hotel for the night, party over there. Mark still didn’t know, cause he didn’t say anything. That night we go out, we eat like fucking pigs, all that Tex-Mex southwestern shit they got down there. We drink, wash down some Somas, Mark gets coked out of his MIND, Troy too…I did a couple lines. Now I don’t know about you, but coke makes me wanna shit. On top of that, Manson takes it to a whole ‘nother level cause he went out and bought a bottle ox X-Lax. (laughter)

I’m not kidding, man. He’s like, “We’re destroying that toilet TONIGHT!”

We get back, make our way downstairs. Mark is already passed out somewhere else, Troy’s gone with a bunch of girls, and there we are like a bunch of homos trying to blow out Mark’s bathroom. Dude, the smell from the previous nights was so bad…but we didn’t care. I thought I was gonna shit my spleen out, that’s how bad I shat in his toilet. There was shit all over the seat, around the rim, everywhere.

Alex takes it further, he goes and starts pissing on the couches, Ken’s rearranging the bar, mixing all the liquor together. And then, to top it all off, and I kid you not…Manson goes, gets the Windham family bible, and jerks off in it. (laughter) Dude, swear to you, this HAPPENED. Manson jizzes all up in the Windham family bible.

Now we’re convinced- we’re DEAD. I mean, not only are we getting kicked out, not only are we never coming back, Mark’s gonna make sure we never work another day in the business. We even thought Troy might freak and it would get back to Sully. But the sad thing is, we didn’t care, we thought it was the funniest shit ever. This was the ultimate, cause we just ribbed the WINDHAMS. Know what I mean?

Next morning, we’re having breakfast with the Windhams. Everything’s cool. We pack our shit, still no word. We leave, “Hey, you boys are welcome back any time.” Really? Wow, ok. Guess they don’t use that downstairs too often. No joke, TWO WEEKS LATER, it took THAT LONG…Troy approaches us in the locker room. He didn’t even look mad, so much as disappointed and just fatigued by the whole thing.

“Guys, what’d you do at the house?” Blank stares. “Mark’s demanding I find out who’s responsible.” Well, we’re all kind of responsible, right? “Yeah but he wants to know specifically who shit in the bathroom.” WHAT?! Doesn’t care who pissed on his couches? Doesn’t care who ruined a thousand dollars worth of top shelf liquor? Doesn’t care that Manson DESICRATED their family bible? No, he wants to know who shit in his toilet. Our answer was basically, “We don’t remember.” Troy says, “He’s demanding whoever’s responsible pays for the plumbing.” Fuck man, he’s made his money, let him pay for it. Troy just kinda shrugs and goes “Whatever, you can guys deal with him. But you’re all banned from the house.”

But it doesn’t end there. Mark actually called up Sully, complained about us, and threatened that if the person responsible didn’t come clean, he was gonna have the feces brought to a lab. (wild laughter)

Duuuude I swear to you, I am NOT making this shit up. This motherfucker threatened to DNA test our shit to find who did it. Most of the shit was mine, but fuck it, I wasn’t gonna say anything. If he hadn’t introduced himself that way, I wouldn’t even have thought to blow his bathroom out.

ALLEN: Did he ever say anything about the bible?

PC: Uh, not that I heard. I don’t think that means the Windhams don’t care about their bible, it prolly just means they don’t READ their bible. But just as a precaution, Mark, Troy, if you’re watching this…DO NOT turn to Galatians. The pages are stuck together, bro.

Real quick though, I’ll say this: Mark dropped the whole thing and eventually forgave us. Me and him were cool when I got to CSWA in 2000. But Alex actually thought he was the one holding him down behind the scenes, which I don’t think was true. I think that was more Alex being paranoid, and impatient as usual. Once again, another promotion he could’ve been headlining if he just learned to play the game.

ALLEN: Caller, name and hometown…

CALLER: Bill from Reno, glad you guys got on the air…Love hearing the insider stuff…What the hell happened in TEAM? I thought your shit was hilarious…Management there just not care for you or something?

PC: Wait, TEAM has management? Shit dude, that’s news to me. Lemme tell you, and I don’t care who I piss off with this, the guys running the show over at TEAM have no business running an ice cream shop, let alone a wrestling organization. It used to be pretty decent, from what I’ve heard, but when they handed it off to new owners…MAN! Talk about shitting the fuckin’ bed. And it ain’t even cause they misused me. Which, they did misuse me, but that isn’t a big deal. Who the fuck am I? I knew Jared was going over, and I’m friends with Jared from way back in NTWA when he wrestled there…they should’ve made it a more competitive match, but that was only one small problem. The entire tourney was botched, and to this day we don’t even know who won. They never got the finals up and running! Fucking idiots…

BROWN: I got a question for you...NGEN and the whole crazy events with WFW: New Era…What led to you tagging with Cruise, who’s idea was that?

PC: That was just some brainstorming between me and Jonathan Marx. Personally I didn’t think Cruise would go for it, ‘cause you know how he is, he doesn’t like to fuck around with the Cameron Cruise tried and tested formula. But to his credit he said yes, and if they let us have a run I think it’ll get over big. I heard some people comparing it to “The Cameron Cruise Project” with him and Melton, but it’s more like “Cameron Cruise Goes To Hell.”

ALLEN: Haha, kind of like “Ernest Goes To Hell”?

PC: Exactly. “Cameron Cruise Goes To Hell” where PC is his tag partner and makes his life a living hell. I actually had an idea for EPW last year, but Cruise didn’t wanna do it. PC was gonna join Anthology as sorta the wannabe who takes shit way too far. So they’d be out at the bar, Cruise is buying some girl drinks, Wells is buying her shots…and PC spikes her drink and she gets alcohol poisoning and no one gets pussy. (laughter) Another promo: Cruise gets up in some dude’s face, Wells gets into a shoving match, and PC comes in with a beer bottle shank and blinds the dude. They all get arrested and brought up on serious charges, and PC has to pay a real top notch criminal defense attorney. “Come on man, we like to party and have a good time, but you’re shitting the bed!” Anthology parties, PC comes in and shits the bed. Classic, right?

ALLEN: Oh man. We can take one more call…Caller, make it a good one.

CALLER: Dale from Orlando…PC you’ve been honest with your drug use, what’s your thoughts on the drug testing policy in NFW. Is it legit, and if it is, is it still enough or could it be tightened even more?

PC: Hi Dale. How’s Disney World, buddy? Uh, drug testing in NFW, let’s see. Well you have to go back to the beginning of say, Season 1. From what I hear, and I know lots of guys who were there at the time like Cruise, JJ, Mikey Manson, Steel Viper, Marx. They all tell me that not only was drug use rampant, not only was it turned a blind eye to, but it was encouraged. Now that ain’t me calling out Sully, ‘cause I know he hates that shit. It was two guys: Manson and Miles. And if you talk to one, he’ll blame the other. Manson says it was all Miles, Miles says it was all Manson, but the reality is: it was both of them. They turned that locker room into a shit show. And I know for a fact a lot of it was happening under Eddie too, although he helped get it under control. So they let everyone become junkies, they even made it COOL to be a junkie, which, where the fuck was my phone call? (laughter) I’m serious. It wasn’t cool to be a junkie when I was on the stuff. I was getting blackballed from every locker room, but they give Felix Red a title. Anyway…go on, do what you need to do, just get to work, make dates, you need some coke? Here’s some coke. You want pills? Here’s a doctor or two you can shop. It’s cool to be a junkie. Few years later- it ain’t cool any more. We don’t want junkies. It’s all about the wrestling, it’s all about purity. OK, cool. But what’s missing in the interim?

Rehab. Where’s the fucking rehab for these junkies you helped create? Palazzo needed help for a while and he footed his own rehab bill. I could name you…six or seven other guys who were fired after failing drug tests without being sent to rehab first. It’s like throwing a party at your house, letting people get sloshed off their asses, and then banning them from coming back cause they drove home and got a DWI. No wait, it’s like if the police themselves got you drunk and then gave you a DWI. Eh, you get what I’m saying, right? I’d just like to see a program put in place to help some of the boys who right now can’t help themselves.

BROWN: What happened between you and Ares? I heard you two had a falling out.

PC: That’s still something I regret today. Yeah, I got Ares thrown out his old neighborhood. Man, that guy really took care of me when I was at my worst. Pills…all the time, drunk all the time, cocaine, the works. The bank was after me for some money, I was having major financial issues, and I needed a place to stay. Ares took me in, let me stay with him in this beautiful home, man, I mean this place was really fucking nice. But, as usual, I fucked it up. He was living in one of those neighborhoods with a homeowner’s association, which if you add me into the equation…that’s bad news. Nobody was supposed to know I was staying there, otherwise he’d be asked to leave. Well, one night, Ares is gone, and I’m playing my guitar really loud. Dude from across the street knocks on the door, tells me to turn my music down. I’m already jacked up on cocaine and Wild Turkey, so I literally smacked the guy in the mouth and told him to get off my friend’s steps before I beat him down like a faggot. (shrugs) Hey, it was wild times back then. Turns out though, the guy was legit gay, so he reported it to the HOA, called the police and had me arrested. I was actually charged with a hate crime for that. Shit hit the fan, and to make a long story short, Ares had to leave. He freaked out on me, told me I couldn’t be trusted, that I was a piece of shit, and to stay the fuck away from him. I guess I really took the guy for granted, because he was a good friend to me. We didn’t speak for a year or two after that, and then we were somewhat on good terms when I was in NFW for .2 seconds back in the day, but it was never the same. Shame what happened with him, too. If it weren’t for the injuries, he might’ve gone down as one of the all-time greats. Talk about a guy who put asses in the seats! Not sure what he’s up to these days, ‘cause we haven’t spoken in almost a decade.

BROWN: Any funny road stories?

PC: I just told you a bunch, didn’t I? Ares was a big scary guy, but deep down…man, he was the cheapest Jew that ever Jew’d. I’m serious! We used to laugh- lemme tell you what this guy used to do. Every time we’d stop at a diner or somewhere, I dunno, Applebee’s, Chili’s, Ruby Tuesday, wherever. He’d ALWAYS complain about the food or the service, just so he could get a free dessert. “Eh, I don’t know, there’s just something not sitting right. I don’t know if it was the pasta, maybe you microwaved it, or maybe it was when you put the lemon in my water and I asked you not to. It’s just not sitting well with me. How ‘bout you throw us some free desserts and we’ll call it even?” It was unbelievable, EVERY FUCKING TIME. It got to the point where we were paying the bill up front or while he was in the bathroom, just to avoid the situation completely. (laughter)

Another great story is the time Mikey Manson’s dog took a shit in Sully’s office. Manson was such a pig, man. He’d just leave shit around, or do something disgusting, and just shrug it off like, “Oh well, that’s just the way it is.” It was a well known thing, Sully rarely locked his office door. The money wasn’t in the office, oddly enough. Nobody knew where it was, except maybe Dones. Anyway, Manson would bring his dog to the shows, and if no one he trusted was in the locker room he’d just open up Sully’s door, whether he was in there or not, and leave the dog while he had his match. Sully never cared. So one night, he puts the dog in the office, and after the match he comes back and the dog shit and pissed all over the place. Which was weird, because the dog was well trained, never did stuff like that. On this particular night, he did. I just laugh it off, “Oh man, good luck cleaning that up.” An hour later, Sully approaches Manson. “Yo man, next time your dog shits in my office, you either remember to clean it or you find somewhere else to put him.” Dude, I was laughing. HE LEFT THE SHIT WITHOUT CLEANING IT UP! Who lets their dog take a shit and a piss in the promoter’s office? Wouldn’t you clean that up? You’d think so, right? But not Manson. And best of all, when we asked him why he didn’t clean it, he goes, “Why should I? He’s a dog, that’s what they do. You can’t train them to flush toilets. It’s his office, not mine.” He’s lucky Sully put business before all the petty personal shit, ‘cause anyone else would have suspended him or docked his pay.

ALLEN: How was working with Alex Wylde again in WFW: NE?

PC: It was great to see him again, but he looked like shit in the ring. Totally out of shape, just a mess. Even the promos were off the mark from what he used to be capable of. And then he leaves because they didn’t give him his “proper assurances.” Well what the fuck are proper assurances? You’ve been out of the game for 5 or 6 years. You think the crowd is on the edge of it’s seat waiting for your return? WFW is probably where he did his best work, but even then…there’s gotta be limits to what you demand when you’re negotiating from a position of weakness. He’s not exactly Troy Windham.

ALLEN: What did you think about Troy’s A1E run?

PC: I think they had the greatest all-around talent in the history of this business, had him highly motivated, which he hadn’t been in some time, and they jobbed him to Ken Cloverleaf. That’s what I think. No disrespect to Ken, I never met the guy, I’m sure he’s great, but Troy could’ve taken them to the next level. Palazzo loves them, though. From what he tells me, they’re using Castor the right way, Nadalny’s over there running with the ball, Jeff Roberts I hear nothing but great things about. So I dunno, maybe the Troy thing just wasn’t right, but they seem to have their act together. I just…if that was me, and I had Troy Windham, I’d make the most of it. But they have a ton of talent over there, young motivated talent. Hart, Daymon, etc. Cruise likes them too.

BROWN: I’m gonna throw out some names, and you tell me what comes to mind. Hornet.

PC: Moneymaker. Legend. I never got the appeal, but that’s just one man’s opinion. Guy made his money.

BROWN: Mike Randalls.

PC: Five star. Every main event I ever saw him in was five star.

BROWN: EPW.

PC: Consistent. High quality, pushing all the right guys. Never worked there, but I hear good things. That’s where all the action is happening. Dan Ryan runs a tight ship.

BROWN: NFW.

PC: Rollercoaster. The highs are super high, the lows are really low, but as soon as you’re off…you get right back in line. I’m a big fan of the formatting change they made, and of course their World Title has exceeded CSWA’s as “the standard.” And from a personal standpoint, it really meant a lot when they took me back, after all the bullshit I pulled.

BROWN: Shane Southern.

PC: Class, pure class, all the way. Top performer who had to pay a lot, a lot of dues before getting the main event, but he did it. He’s what happens when talent meets patience.

BROWN: Joe The Plumber.

PC: The man. He’s the man right now, what else can you say? And he’s not a premadonna either. Genuinely nice guy, doesn’t throw temper tantrums backstage, cares about the business. That’s why he’s the BOUSE.

BROWN: Mike Manson.

PC: Hardest worker in the business, left at the top of his game. Legend.

BROWN: NGEN.

PC: Entertaining, good talent, but they need to work harder to get the product out there.

BROWN: NLW.

PC: Same thing. RA’s a pretty creative guy, knows how to grab attention. He’s got the Palazzo gene for entertainment, but NLW needs to run more shows.

BROWN: Biggest asshole in the industry?

PC: Past or present?

BROWN: Either. Both.

PC: Uhh…I’d have to say (laughs) Doc Silver. Yeah, Doc Silver, fuck that guy. Career killing motherfucker. Built his career by killing off other people’s, in promos, in the ring, and politically. It started in AAWC, and just got worse everywhere else.

BROWN: But didn’t you once say he was the best heel of all time?

PC: Yeah, that’s why. (laughter) How many people did I kill in my promos last year? I’m a shooter, that’s why I’m an asshole too. I never disputed that. But Doc Silver is an asshole, biggest there’s been.

BROWN: Nicest guy in the industry?

PC: Brian Nadalny. The kid is all smiles, he’s like Opie or something. And they got him working with (laughs) Doc Silver Jr. over there in EPW.

BROWN: Who? Winters or Stevens?

PC: Haha, I’ll let you decide. Fuckin’ both.

BROWN: Three best workers of all time.

PC: Hmm. In no particular order…Ares, Randalls, and Canyeta.

BROWN: Canyeta, huh?

PC: Yeah I mean, he was a snake backstage, but the guy could work. Two of my ten favorite matches of all time are his: Canyeta/Steele 2, and Canyeta/Windham. He’s great as a heel right now. This might be his rebirth, and if it is then NLW got him at a steal.

BROWN: Best worker right now?

PC: Probably Impulse. Dan Ryan is underrated as a big man, so I’d like to say he’s up there, and of course JJ is always impressing me. He looks like Ares out there, except he’s more athletic. Karl Brown is also excellent.

BROWN: Best promo?

PC: JTP.

BROWN: Most underrated?

PC: From everything I hear, especially from JJ, I hear Westcott is not only underrated as a worker but also as a booker. As far as what I’ve seen, I’d say probably…umm…Wildstar. He’s rated pretty highly, but not high enough.

BROWN: Most overrated?

PC: Wow, fuckin…how time ya got? Two jump right out at me: Tom Adler and Kin Hiroshi. Ricky Zane was overrated, but every time he won something big it was because someone else fucked up backstage, so maybe he’s more “right place, right time.” Both IWC and NFW crowned him because the champion at the time fucked up. Maelstrom was super, super overrated. JT TYLER! Oh fuck, FUCK THAY GUY! Who’d I say was biggest asshole? Doc Silver? Nah, it was JT Tyler. That lying scumbag fucked over my boys at NTWA, he was a backstabbing cocksucker in UWA, and man…I heard they were gonna strap him had Sully not closed up shop. Man, I really hope that isn’t true, because then it would’ve died anyway. JT Tyler…good for putting crowds to sleep. And he HATED me, we didn’t like each other from the start. Ares’ injuries got 1,000 percent worse when JT potato’d him one time. I heard he ended one of the Violent Boys’ careers as well. What a freakin’ cock. Evan Aho was overrated too, big time. He was like Shane Southern with half the class, and half the talent. Fuckin’, they churned his ass outta one of them FisherPrice playdough cookie cutters. I think they called it the FisherPrice Shane Southern playdough churner. “I can out-Southern you!”

BROWN: Problem Child, it’s been a pleasure. Thanks for being on Going Off Script, glad you all tuned in…See you next time.

PC: Any time, dude.