| Hey
Cage, how's Liz doing? Liz is doing great, I'm happy to report. For the record, the Maritime Cup was, by far, her favorite indy wrestling show ever, and she's been to tons. The best thing about Liz is that she's not one of those stereotypical "wrestling girlfriends," that whines and complains constantly about wrestling, hates going to shows, constantly encourages me to quit, and acts like a snob around the other wrestlers. Quite the opposite, considering what that poor girl went through the weekend of the Cup. She kept getting ignored by me, and repeatedly got dumped in a car with guys that she didn't even know. Then she was even good enough to do 50-50 the night of the show! Gotta love her. When you first heard about the Maritime Cup what were your original thoughts? "Yeah, right, like that's gonna happen. Nice try, kid. Stick to making tapes." What are your feelings on how the Maritime Cup was run, as compared to some other promotions you have worked for? The Maritime Cup was a super-positive experience from beginning to end. It was run very professionally, to be sure. Granted, with the guys that were on the show, there was an air of professionalism all night, and granted, it's very easy to put forth a sound, professionally run show when you don't promote shows full-time. However, I'm not insulting you whatsoever, New Scott. You did a hell of a job that night, and in the weeks leading up to it. To do that well on your first show ever, and to actually bring the whole thing to fruition, you have every reason to be proud. I hope like crazy that you run again next year. The Maritime Cup was easily my best wrestling experience of 2003, and most likely for my whole short career thus far. It was absolutely a great night. Sonny Roselli and I already wax nostalgic all the time about the Cup, talking about how great it was to be on a show chock full of legitimate athletes, and not a show with 2/3 backyarders like many that we wrestle on. In what ways would you like to see wrestling changed? You mean besides seeing every wrestler other than myself shrink by a foot? Then I guess I'd like to see indy wrestlers start to take themselves more seriously. For starters, they could begin working out, for crying out loud! I can't imagine doing what we do, and not working out regularly. For the love of God, we're supposed to be professional athletes, and the risk of injury in this is quite high, even among the well-conditioned. It seems that there's little middle ground in indy wrestling, and that every worker is either a scrawny wimp, a fat slob, or a 'roided up freak. I'd like to see more fit, natural athletes. Anything else makes us look bad. As of November 12th 2003 how many matches have you taken part in? 167. Two were good, five were watchable, one hundred sixty sucked. How has wrestling changed for you over the past year? 2003 has been a great year for me. It's been my busiest year ever, as I've had more matches this year alone than I did in 2001 and 2002 put together. I've improved as a wrestler in many ways this year, and I've really gone a long way in improving my reputation and standing in New England. I think my attitude has changed quite a bit as well, which has definitely been for the best. I hope 2004 is this good. Check that, I hope it's much better. What does the future hold for Legion Cage, wrestling wise ? God only knows, really. I'm pretty sure that soon I'd like to take a few months off from the New England scene, and go somewhere completely different and wrestle there for a little while. Maybe back in the Gulf Breeze/Pensacola area in Florida, maybe somewhere in Canada. Who knows? Just somewhere where I'd be completely away from New England, and could realize just how good I have it here. This coming summer would be a good time for this little plan. Who would you like to see MSW bring in next? Vance Nevada needs to come back. Other than him, Duke McIsaac. Who do you feel stepped it up the most in MSW this past year? Based on what little I saw, I'd have to say Tony Armstrong. The way he's improved in the past year is incredible. He's hardly the same wrestler that he was last year, which speaks volumes about how seriously he takes this business. There's others, too. I'm by no means attempting to slight anyone by picking Tony. How do you feel you are treated in MSW? Despite all the crap that gets said about Devin Chittick and MSW in general, the guys in MSW have never been anything but absolutely great to me. Devin gave me my start in Canada, and was willing to give me a push relatively quickly. I honestly can't think of a single person in the MSW locker room that hasn't treated me wonderfully. If anything, the MSW locker room has always thought more highly of me than they should have. What was your low point wrestling wise in 2003? As good as 2003 has been, it has had its share of downers, as well. The last couple of months of owning RPW was really bad, as was royally messing up my ankle for MEW. There I was that night, waiting in the hospital for Matt Lindsay to bring my payout to me, and when he finally shows up all he had was the promoter's business card, and a message to call him later that week. That was no fun at all. How different was it working at the fourm in 2002 with msw as compared to working in the fourm in 2003 on the Maritime Cup? Obviously the Maritime Cup was a more positive experience, but we've got to be fair, here. MSW didn't have the names that the Cup did, and the names that they did have damn near died in a car accident just a few hours before the show. The cards really seemed to be stacked against MSW that night, that's for sure. Of the 75 fans that showed up to see MSW, many were there for no other reason than to knock the wrestlers in the ring, and act like little smart-marky bastards. In the locker room at the MSW show, tension was high and everyone seemed strung-out for some reason or another. Not a fun night. Now that you have worked on a card in the Maritimes that had the best talent Canada has to offer, can you compare them to the best talent in Maine? Hmmm ... the top talent in Maine ... do you mean Maine Kane? How about Wang Chung? Okay, seriously, a lot of talented guys work in Maine regularly. Maine isn't exactly Minnesota in its ability to produce high-quality workers, or anything, but several work here. As for the top talent that passes through Maine, I think they compare favorably to the top guys from Canada. Most simply don't have the kind of international experience and overall match totals that guys like Mike Hughes and Bobby Rude do, but many are absolutely great in the ring, and are already achieving much success. Billy Kryptonite and John Walters get WWE dark matches all the time. Johnny Heartbreaker--an intern with the WWE, coincidentally--does well for himself. Dr. Heresy, Johnny Curtis, Adam Booker, and others have wrestled for NWA-TNA. There's a lot of talent in New England, to be sure. Often times guys like me are too negative when speaking of this region. If you were a promoter, who would be the first person you would want in your promotion? I don't think I could narrow it down to just one. There's so many guys that I'd want to have immediately. Michael Monroe, Sonny Roselli, Larry Huntley, Reckless Youth, Dr. Heresy, lots of the guys from Canada ... there's just tons. Do you feel that if you were bigger you would have a better shot at making the big time? Absolutely, of course. Quite often I don't realize just how small I really am until I see myself on video, standing next to and wrestling against other guys. I really am a little guy, and there's not too much I can do about it. I mean, I could start wrestling in boots with two-inch lifts, I guess, but what's that going to do, really? As much as I'm into working out, I refuse to take steroids, or anything like that. God made me small, and that's it. Larry Huntley probably said it best when he recently said, "Dude, nothing personal, but you're not going anywhere. You're 160 pounds and you don't do flips." Believe it or not, that wasn't a rude comment given the context of the situation. Anyway, his point is well-made. I'm small, I'm not getting any bigger, and I have no desire to try and wrestle like Rey Mysterio, Jr. Legitimately, I weigh about 154 pounds, with 7-8% bodyfat, at a height of just a hair or two under 5'7". Naturally, without the use of illegal drugs, I'm probably not ever going to weigh more than 165 pounds and stay in the shape that I'm in. That's the reality of the situation. I can complain all I want, but I might as well make the best of it, do what I can with what I'm given, keep improving my work and my promos, and just have fun and thank God for what I've been given. I love to wrestle and that's all. Is size the only thing holding Legion Cage back? No. I guess, to answer that question fairly, I'd have to determine what, exactly, "holding me back" means. As in, what am I being held back from? Held back from a developmental deal? Held back from being able to make some decent money in wrestling? Held back from achieving some sort of fame? I get to wrestle quite frequently for the average indy guy, I find myself improving on a steady basis, I've made a crapload of friends in the business, and I'm loving every bit of the ride. Check that, I'm loving the vast majority of the ride. Looking at it in that light, how have I been held back? J-Guru, moderator for the "New England Independent" website (www.nei.vze.com), has stated on a few ocassions that I'm one of New England's more underrated guys, going unnoticed by many because of my size. So according to some, size might be holding me back from reaching that next step, whatever the next step might be. But if you're asking whether or not size is the one and only thing holding me back from going to the WWE or NWA-TNA someday, the answer is absolutely not. I'm not some wrestling super-talent that would suddenly be a millionaire if I were six feet tall. Any closing message for the fans reading this? Yeah, absolutely. But before I address the fans, I just wanted to take a moment and mention Skott Phoenix, and thank him a million times over for the match he gave me at the Maritime Cup. He sold like hell for me, and went out of his way to make me look good, and make my offense look devastating. It was a very important match to both of us, and I think both of us came on strong and were very pleased with what we put forth. I think Skott has become my favorite guy to work. Again, thank you Skotty. As for the fans, check out www.legioncage.cjb.net. It doesn't get updated as often as it used to, largely because of school, but it's still a fun visit on the web. Other than that, just support indy wrestling as a whole. And start coming to the shows to appreciate the workers and enjoy the show, not to criticize everyone in an effort to make your friends laugh, and make yourself feel like you're part of the business. If you hate the show so much, don't buy a damn ticket. Name Association Vinny Glyde - Good guy. With a little prompting, touched my nuts once in the MSW locker room. Cinder - Good guy. Despite my prompting, refused to touch my nuts once in the MSW locker room. After reading his and Vinny's interviews on this site, I feel bad that I--this bald little invader from America--wrestled on the Cup, and they didn't. They were certainly deserving. Lincoln Steen - Very funny guy, and a very good worker. I think he wants to do my girlfriend. Not the guy for newbies or backyarders to piss off. I've really come to like Lincoln Steen this past year. Scott Savage - Didja know that I'm a mark for Scott Savage? Another very good worker. Has a great set of abs. Very nice guy. Seaman White - I know very little about the guy at all, so I guess I'm really not the one to make some sort of formal comment. Mini Bugs - Mini Bugs rules. He is, after all, the reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion. He's the best son any dad could ever ask for, and his mother and I are both very proud of him. Maine Kane - "Knight" is an absolute disgrace to pro wrestling in every way, shape, and form. His association with New Wrestling Horizons down in Maine has hurt the credibility of NWH, as far as I'm concerned. His recent "match" with Sonny Roselli was, quite easily, one of the worst things that I've ever seen in my life. Plus, the guy's a friggin' head case. He should be shot and killed, and his gear given to someone that might actually wrestle in it. I would love to see him make his debut in MSW, to see how long he would last with guys like Lincoln Steen around. Mike Hughes - A consummate professional. The guy just seems to command respect around the other workers. Gary Williams - I like Gary Williams a lot, and it was a pleasure meeting him at the Maritime Cup. Very, very good in the ring. Bobby Rude - Professional, respectful, quiet, and incredibly talented. newscott.com - The greatest Canadian wrestling website, by far. Honestly, if it's not on NewScott.com, who the hell cares? As for New Scott, thank you so much for the Maritime Cup. It was a great show, and an honor to take part on. I love ya to death. |