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everything been for Tony Armstrong lately? Things have been pretty good, I'm a SMUdent. Struggling to get my GPA off of life support. Other than that, fack all. In July of 2003 you got to wrestle the 18 year veteran Chi Chi Cruz, what did that mean to you? It meant alot. Chi Chi Cruz is the epitome of what a true wrestler should be. And he's respected to a point that his word can make or break an wrestler. I was happy that he was patient with me, and I thought we had a few very good matches, The Street Fight at Retribution, along with the Tag Match from Digby were 2 of my favorites. I'm not sure what he thought of working me, but I learned so much in the 7 Matches I had with him, that I find myself noticeably better because of it. It meant alot for the promotion, because he brought alot of experience, and instant crediblity to the promotion, and like has been stated, made the promotion something more than just "Steen and Savage's stomping grounds". But yeah, it was great working with Cheech over the summer. When you first heard about the Maritime Cup what were your original thoughts? I was actually the very first person to hear about it, New Scott had dropped it to me right before we left Maine to head back to Canada in Mid-August. I was elated to hear about it. And New Scott was pretty determined to make this succeed. I figured that it had been over a year since a Show at the Halifax Forum had taken place, so that it would draw based alone on that. 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 different experience on to itself. It was great being one of the least experienced guys in the locker room again. You could tell something special was going on that night, as soon as Mike Hughes hit the ring to start the show. I also had what I felt was an very good match with Gary Williams, and I can't thank him enough for helping me out. Also, it's good for myself that you guys drew more than my estimated number of '63', which would have had me entering the witness relocation program. But everything went well, New Scott drew 275, paid, on a thanksgiving nonetheless. and to an extent, I think proved that the maritimes aren't as dead as everyone claims it is. If a 2nd show with the same caliber is run at the forum, I think an even bigger draw isn't out of the question. There's no doubt in my mind, that 2004 will be a huge year as far as wrestling is concerned in the Maritimes. As of November 12th 2003 how many matches have you taken part in? 94. What are your thoughts on the recent passing of Stu Hart? Stu Hart was a cornerstone of Canadian Wrestling, and it's always unfortuante to see one of the true older guard of Wrestling pass on. The Hart name will forever be synonomus with not just wrestling, but wrestling at an elite level. However, He lived one of the greatest lives of any wrestler in history. He ran a territory still revered around the world. His training school, The Dungeon, produced some of the best wrestlers in the world, and the name itself still symbolizes what it truly takes to be a wrestler in this buisness. I wouldn't say I'm saddened with his passing however, because in a way, it almost seems like an insult, to mourn his death, rather than celebrate the life that someone like Stu Hart lived. In what ways would you like to see wrestling changed? I really don't think I have enough experience to be able to state what I want changed in wrestling. I'll take heat for this, but less 160 pounders. There are some very good smaller guys, but they should be part of a the whole promotion, a part, not 50%, not 75%. There's alot of things that need to be changed about the buisness. There's alot that can be changed about the buisness, I'd like to see the rest of the contenient to revert to what the maritimes are right now. Still slightly old school, with enough modern wrestling to please everyone. The psychology to a large extent is still alive in this territory, thanks to guys like Chi Chi Cruz, Gary Williams, Scott Savage, Lincoln Steen, Kowboy and Co., and I'm finally coming around on what they've been preaching to me. I find it funny, that what was completely revolutionary in the Northeastern US 2-3 years ago (Standing shooting star presses, twisting 450's) is now becoming the norm, and even passe. The buisness in a lot of places needs to slow down, before it runs itself off the cliff. It's like a 9-year old, being allowed to eat as much Ice Cream as they want. eventually, they're going to eat too much, get sick of it, and want something different. You can't do crazy spots every night, and not expect fans to get tired of it, because when they do, the wrestlers doing these spots don't have the psychology to keep people there. That's what the great thing about basic wrestling is, it's always different. In 2003 you got to wrestling some of your child hood heros, Mike Hughes, Gary Williams, Chi Chi Cruz who was your favourite to be in the ring with? It was great to be in the ring with all 3 of them this past year. I'd probably have to say that Cheech with my favorite to work with, mostly because I got a chance to wrestle him multiple times, and to an extent I could feel myself getting better being in the ring with him, plus it was extremely fun being in the ring with him. I'd love to be able to wrestle with all 3 of them again in the near future. How has wrestling changed for you over the past year? For me, wrestling has gone from something that's happened once a month, to wrestling on average once-twice a week. I can't picture myself at this point wanting to not wrestle, and I'm starting to feel the bug if I have a stretch of any more than 6-7 days between shows. Definitely making an attempt at working full time is a possiblity when I'm finished with university. I think I've learned alot, and went from one of the most inexperienced guys in the MSW locker room, to one of the more experienced guys. In that way, I've been more eager to be in locker rooms where I'm again one of the least experienced guys. In general, wrestling has gone from one of my activities, to a major part of my life. Mike Hughes recently stated that MSW doesn't pay its wrestling, do you have any comments on that? People are paid for wrestling with Mainstream Wrestling, you think Cinder, Vinny Glyde, JDL, Lincoln Steen and Myself would be sticking around for No pay... The amount they are paid isn't on the level with the other promotions in the territory. Guys work for Mainstream Wrestling for a lesser rate, because of the lack of distance in travelling to most shows, (Most MSW shows are in the City) and the ability to have a regular place to work. We are paid, if we are paid well is another question. I can understand where Mike Hughes is coming from on the comment, and to an extent, he has a point, as the guys in MSW aren't paid as well as the crew from say, ECPW. Enough rambling, to answer the question straight up. Yes we are paid, but not as well as the other maritime promotions.I stay with MSW for the amount I'm paid, because of the ability to learn of Lincoln Steen and Scott Savage, and at this point in my career, I believe wrestling with them in a locker room, will enable me to make more money, with more promotions in the future. How do you feel you are treated in MSW? I feel I'm treated well in MSW overall. No, like stated above, the pay could be better, But Devin's put alot of faith in me this past year, and I'm appreciative of it. I got to work some of the best talent in Canada week after week: Chi Chi Cruz, Lincoln Steen, Flexx Falcone, Scott Savage just to name a few. Me and Devin rarely see eye to eye. But I respect him for being one of the reasons I'm in the buisness right now, and I appreciate everything he's done to help me develop as a wrestler. Yes, he's high strung, yes he can be a prick. But he does what he feels is best for MSW. Not himself, not anyone else, and that much passion for something will usually lead to success in the long run. Not to say Devin isn't without his faults, because he's not. But he cares for his promotion, and tries hard to make it work out. I've gotten a bit of experience at just about every part of the wrestling buisness. So as a whole, I say I'm treated pretty well overall in MSW. What does the future hold for Tony Armstrong, wrestling wise ? In the immediate future, wrestling with Mainstream Wrestling for the next 3 weeks, and then hopefully travelling to Newfoundland over christmas to wrestle with a new promotion called Etomik Wrestling Entertainment, run by a close friend of mine Lance Romance. It'll be good to see what he's done with some new guys down there, and good to have a ring to work out in a few days a week. As far as long term goes, I'm hoping the future for myself holds more opprotunities to travel and be in locker rooms, where I can learn as much as possible. I'm hoping down the line, to wrestle with and learn from as many good wrestlers in the United States and Canada as possible. I'd love to be on tour with someone like Eddie Watts, Chi Chi Cruz, Mike Hughes, Vance Nevada or Gary Williams, preferably more in a wrestling enviroment for an extended length of time. Although the distance I go in wrestling is going to be solely based on the fact if I can get in good enough shape to keep up with guys like these over an extended period of time. I hope to rectify part of that problem in the coming months. Who do you feel stepped it up the most in MSW this past year? Until his injury, I'd say Skott Pheonix. He rarely has an extremely great match, but he's a constant, in that your always going to get an good match with him, regardless of who he has to wrestle with. I've seen him have good matches this year with absolutely everyone, including a 25 minute 2 of 3 falls match with Scott Savage which blew my mind away. He's also made people that others had a near impossible time getting good matches out of like Seaman White look good, because he's got a smart mind for keeping pace in the ring. He carries himself well in the locker room, and if he'd just get a FUCKING haircut, he'd be even better. Who would you like to see MSW bring in next? I would love to see Vance Nevada come in for a run in MSW, I'd love to see Flexx Falcone or Chi Chi Cruz come back down, as I only had one match with Flexx, which was going great until the fucking ring broke or Cheech, who I'd never get tired of wrestling, or being in a locker room with. As for a person making thier first trip to Mainstream Wrestling? I've heard good things about Kenny Omega from Winnipeg, Dr.Hersey from The state of Maine, so maybe them. But I'd love to see MSW bring in Gary Williams for an extended period of time. Wrestling him at the cup was one my favorite experiences in wrestling, as he made everything so simple and easy, and he can ignite a crowd with or against him so easily. The Future or Too Fit? Both serve thier purpose well, The Too Fit gimmick is an excellent gimmick for a small town, or a non smart crowd. It's simple using the Too Fit gimmick, smile, Jumping Jacks, small towns especially like the gimmick.... As for The Future gimmick, it's a great moniker, I feel that to an extent, I am the Future of Maritime Wrestling, I realize I have a LONNNNNNNNG way to go, and a hell of alot to learn, but I'm starting to feel that this is what I want to do, and it's not doing me any good to only be putting half my energy into wrestling, and half my energy into school. The Future moniker works alot better as a heel also. They both have thier merits. You have competed in Maine a few times now, can you compare wrestling in Maine to wrestling in the Maritimes? Wrestling in Maine is very different than wrestling in the maritimes. The fans expect more from you, and the attitudes in the locker room are more laid back. The wrestling down there is more high spot oriented for alot of guys, but that could be attributed to the fact that guys are smaller than up here. I've only wrestled for 2 promotions there, NWH and RPW, and I'd need to work for some other promotions in Maine and New England in general before I could give you a better answer about that. I enjoy wrestling in Maine, however Wrestling in The Maritimes has it's definite perks though. What was your low point wrestling wise in 2003? I have two low points for this year, one was the CPW Shows at the Beginning of August, an atmosphere that seen some really good wrestlers in this territory: Myself, Chi Chi Cruz, Scott Savage, wrestling on the same card as many backyarders. There was a literal line drawn, as we had the real wrestlers, and the backyarders segregated for the most part, in seperate locker rooms. I took some heat from a few people for wrestling those shows. My other low point, was winning the Cutting Edge Wresting North Atlantic Championship, which became the go to for Lincoln Steen and Flexx Falcone's ball busting on me for the month of August. Your thoughts on how Scott Savage made his return to MSW on April 24th 2003? Here's the thing, I had talked to him on the phone the Tuesday before he come back. I thought that he was still out in Vancouver, sleeping on Vance Nevada's couch, because of this, I was more shocked than anyone to see him walk out through the side door of the DooLittles Bar. The Royal Rumble Order had had "Justin Credible" written as the spot that JDL ended up taking. I thought it was some stupid spot Devin had planned. So I go out, and watch the start of the match, and legitimately had to look twice to make sure that JDL was there when he walked out. After doing the double take, I ran to the locker room, and told everyone, mostly brushed off at first by the boys, and then the whole locker room clears out to see... I was really happy to see him, and one of a few times where Devin Chittick completely pulled the wool over my eyes and hit an awesome rib on the boys... You have been knocking Cutting Edge Wrestling for awhile know, can you tell everyone what your problem is with CEW? Where to begin. As mentioned in Feburary of this year, I had some not so kind comments to make about CEW. I still stand by them, and infact, stand by them more than ever now. I knew it was a shady promotion before, But I had never realized just how backyard CEW really was. There are a million and one reasons why I consider it a bane on wrestling. First and foremost is the lack of pay whatsoever, to the point that thier wrestlers pay into the promotion. On top of that, the vast majority of thier wrestlers do not have the most basic of gear. I knew it was bad, but was willing to tolerate it until I seen a tape of it over the summer of this year. If you don't want to believe me, send away for a copy of thier recent shows. A common defense to thier promotion is "Well, it's only Newfoundland", which I find to be a crock of shit. Newfoundland for the most part is much like the Maritimes, where it could be so much more than it is. They consider training 2 hours before a show. take a look at thier roster page, most of them make X-Ray Kyle Kruze look jacked. The worse part about it, is that none of the guys on the roster refuse to see it, and refuse to take criticism. I've tried to talk to the guys, and explain to them what they're doing wrong. Gord Glynn tried to state that I only have 18 months in the buisness, so I shouldn't be stating this things. GORD, that's the fucking problem. If I of all people, have to point things out like the fact that Cutting Edge Wrestling is the complete shits, then what does that say when someone with more experience than me sees it. Yet another thing that gets to me, is that they have no grasp of psychology in any way. The majority are untrained, undeveloped as wrestlers and have no place in the buisness whatsoever. It even states on thier website that they're volunteers. Well guys, It's A Buisness, not a boys and girls club. I'm done ranting on this because frankly, it makes my head hurt, so I'll just leave it with the exact same thing I said in Feburary "they're just a group of people that like to get together once a month, and pretend they're wrestlers." Out of everybody you have been around, who has been the biggest influence on your career? Out of everyone around, two people have had the biggest influence on my short career in wrestling so far, are Scott Savage and Lincoln Steen. From teaching me psychology behind wrestling as a big man, to giving me some of the best matches I've had, to teaching me how to act in a locker room setting, and keeping my head level in wrestling. Almost like a mother/father combo (I let you two fight it out over which is which) I wouldn't have done what I've done in the buisness without them. They're generally always available to answer my questions about wrestling, and I find it great that they've both taken the time to help me out. I always look forward to wrestling with both of them, and I usually feel it the next morning. But yeah, to the both of you, thanks, it's always apperciated. What did it mean too MSW to have the 18 year veteran Chi Chi Cruz in their ring? It meant alot to Mainstream Wrestling to have someone the caliber of Chi Chi Cruz wrestle a series of shows with the promotion, I mentioned it to some extent above, but on a bigger level, it did alot to legitimatize Mainstream Wrestling, and to give alot of our guys someone as good as Cheech to be around, was a great experience for Mainstream Wrestling as a whole. Name Association Scott Savage - One of the nicest people I've ever met, and one of the best talents. If he gets his weight up a bit, and the sky is the limit. Mr. Zehr - Awesome guy, got him very drunk in Maine, good Times. Pistol Pete - Natural Athlete, Very eager as it comes to throwing out ideas. Seaman White - The typical "Snake in the grass". Needs to be thankful to people that give him an opprotunity, rather than try to screw them over at every stop. Needs to learn the bare basics. Hypocritical. Needs to get some shit straightened out in his life, so he doesn't show up at shows fucked up. Just in case there's any question about why he left the territory so quickly, it's because Devin was going to get rid of him because he was a cancer to our locker room. There's other things I've heard about him, but there's enough I can say about him without resorting to hearsay. Liz (Maritime Cup 50/50 girl) - Complete Sweetheart, Liggy Wins. Cinder - He saved my life. (See Above) Other than that, He's Joe Schmo. C.N. Power - A Patient Person. Needs to keep his pants up. Calum Macbeth - Very laid back, funny person. Very patient with situations, which is a good trait to have. Sonny Roselli - Great Buisness Man, One of my favorite people in not just wrestling, but the whole world. The guy won't stop helping me out, and I'm very greatful for everything he's done to help me in the buisness so far. Damien Dredd - Great Guy, always has a funny story to tell. New Scott - A Close friend in and out of the buisness, has helped me with a lot of things, professionally and personal. Other than that, Hot Boss thinks I'm a "Handsome Young Gentleman" and we all know that that means, right. |