A GLIMPSE INTO THE WORLD OF INDY WRESTLING
- 05/08/2010 (12:53:42 am)
- Bob Mulrenin
…
Thanks to Jeff Sheridan.
After clicking this link:
http://longisland.newsday.com/gallery/galleries/amny/pdf/20100507.pdf
First go to page 14 to see:
First go to page 14 to see:
"WEEKEND
Wrestlemania
A glimpse into the world of indie wrestling
BY SCOTT A. ROSENBERG
Barefoot and bedecked in his trademark leopard skin, a sweaty Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka head-butts "General" Bobby Lee Walker.
Walker collapses on the mat with a thud. His tag-team partner, the 500-pound, hirsute Justin Blackwell, screams at the referee.
About 100 spectators hanging on the gates surrounding the ring at St. Mary's Church gym in Perth Amboy, N.J., yell, "Shut up," at Blackwell. He's unfazed.
The legendary Snuka leaps into the air and lands his trademark. "Superfly Splash," which finishes off Walker.
Walker will take home $50 to $100 for his 20 minutes of grappling at the East Coast Pro Wrestling [ECPW] match last month. Snuka will walk away with considerably
more.
A frenzled fan base
The fans - everyone from businessmen to housewives to 12-year-olds - leave pumped after another evening of minor-league professional wrestling.
While the WWE [World Wrestling Entertainment] grabs the big-time bucks, glory and TV ratings, hundreds of wrestlers work small rings in church basements and school gyms nationwide. The door hauls are small, $4,000 to $13,000, as are the crowds, but the passions run high.
"I like the smaller venue because you're right up where the wrestlers are," says Glenn Gallignano, 51, of Maspeth. "If you go to the Garden, you're so far away. It's good
for the kids; it gets them to see what's going on."
Wrestlers crave shot at fame
While Snuka and other veteran wrestlers appear in ECPW matches, smaller leagues feature talent looking to be discovered.
Louie Ayala, 33, of Queens, who grapples for the New York Wrestling Connection [NYWC] under the name "Boogalou," wrestled in high school and college.
These days, when the 13-year wrestling veteran is not beating down his opponents, he's with his family or driving a bus for the MTA.
"I would like to go more international, but at this point, I'm happy to be here working with NYWC," Ayala says. "It's close to home."
Nick Strasheim, 26, of Queens, juggles his job at Costco with wrestling for ECPW under the name "Genocide Junkie" Daemon Crowley.
Strasheim, who wrestles a few times a month, says he's broken his thumb and feet, cracked his ribs, compressed his neck and broken his clavicle.
"You know you're going to get hurt, but you don't quit," he says.
The craziest show on Earth
At a recent NYWC event in Queens the wrestlers are prepping in a dimly lit back room. Typically, there are nine matches that last about 15 to 20 minutes each.
Some of the wrestlers are painting their faces or getting in a last-minute workout. Most of them are buddies.
Yes, wrestling is fake. The match outcomes are predetermined. These grapplers can be in the ring throwing punches and landing body slams one minute, and chitchatting later.
But while the outcome is fake, the action isn't. When a wrestler is lying on a mat and a 300-pound grappler jumps off the top rope and hits him with a flying elbow - that's
real.
So don't dis them.
"Get in the ring with me," Ayala says. "I don't care who it is. Come tell me I'm fake. I'll show you fake."
Nick Klopsis contributed to this story."
NOTE FROM JEFF:On this page there's 2 photos. The small photo has 1 with "Genocide Junkie" Daemon Crowley underneath it & the other has Snuka getting ready to
leap on his opponent & underneath that photo, it says this:"Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka stands over his vanquished opponent."
Now in this same article, it says this:
"Coming to terms with wrestling
A guide to understanding the lingo
BABYFACE: A good-guy wrestler
HEEL: A bad-guy wrestler
BOOKER: The person who sets up the matches and writes the story lines
BOTCH: A screwed-up wrestling move
JOBBER: A wrestler who is there to lose to the marquee names
KAYFABE: This term is used to describe the illusion that pro wrestling is real and not fake
STIFF: When a wrestler doesn't hold back on his moves, putting real force into them
Where to see pro wrestling
Saturday: Ring of Honor: Supercard of Honor V, Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, 311 W. 34th st., rohwrestling.com
May 22: ECPW, St. Joseph-St. Thomas Parish Gym, 6097Amboy Road, Staten Island, ecpw1.com
June 5: NYWC, St. Sebastian's Parish Center, 39-60 57th St.,Woodside, nywcwrestling.com"
Then go to page 20 to see:
"Going beyond the mat
amNewYork takes you behind the curtain of the rough-and-tumble world of regional pro wrestling
PHOTOS BY RJ MICKELSON
VIGNETTES:
THE WRESTLERS
Dimitrios Papadonlou, 32, a Whitestone accountant, has high hopes for his wrestling career. "My goal is to headline Wrestlemania."
The NYWC wrestler from Franklin Square, who goes by the name "The Greek God Papadon," has worked with Ring of Honor, wrestled for TNA Wrestling and the WWE,
and made a cameo appearance as one of the Undertaker's druids at Madison Square Garden. [NICK KLOPSIS]
As a kid, Justin Zickmund considered himself as a dorky wallflower who didn't fit in. At 26, the vitamin salesman uses that to develop his wrestling persona: "Francis
Kipling Stevens III."
"Obviously I'm the smallest guy ... [but] I go out there and dance to hip-hop music ... play it up, have a lot of fun." [SCOTT A. ROSENBERG]
Joseph Maintz of Manorville, 22, better known by his stage name "Stockade," pursued his childhood dream. "I didn't want to be in my 30a and 40s and wonder, 'What If?" [NK]
THE ANNOUNCER
When Bronx resident Larry Legend, 28, enters the ring, fans know that it's time for the show to start. "I like to think of myself as more of an emcee or a host ... just to make the role not so vanilla." [NK]
THE REFEREE
After wrestling in six matches with the NYWC, Howard Angel, 21, of Bay Shore, got a call two years ago asking if he could referee a match.
"Then they wanted to build a story line around me becoming a ref, so I've just been a ref since then." [NK]
THE MANAGER
While he's not a grappler, Prince Charles, 36, has endured his share of bumps and bruises in the ring. "I'm also a martial artist, so I know how to fall," says the Long
Island karate school owner. [SAR]
Below: Evan "Mr. Wolf" Myers enters the ring in Lodi, N.J. Middle: NYWC wrestler Stockade applies face makeup before a match in Queens.
J.C. Bouchard, "The Mighty Bouch," left and above, gets ready for a match alongside Dan the Man, far left. Below left: Evan "Mr. Wolf" Myers and Kekoa the Flyin
Hawaiian.
Above: Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart pins The Masked Superstar in Bensonhurst. Top: "Maverick" Tony Nese prepares to jump off the top rope against Quiet Storm at St.
Sebastian's Parish Center in Queens. Far left: Samoa Joe exits after a victory at a JAPW event in Rahway, N.J.
Above: Rich Swann lays motionless at a JAPW event in Rahway, N.J. Left: The Necro Butcher gouges the eyes of Chris Dixon.
Jeff Coleman slams ECPW champion Andrew Anderson at an event in Perth Amboy, N.J."
Then go to page 21 to see:
"WEEKEND
WWE legend Snuka reflects on his career
BY NICK KLOPSIS
Special to amNewYork
Known for his high-flying, daredevil stunts, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was a house-hold name among wrestling fans during the 1980s and early 1990s.
A WWE Hall of Famer, Snuka is renowned for his thrilling dives off 15-foot steel cages.
amNewYork recently caught up with Snuka, who will turn 67 on Monday, before his match at a recent East Coast Pro Wrestling event in Perth Amboy, N.J.:
How did you get started?
I was raised in Hawaii, and I used to go to a gym called The Powerhouse. All the professional wrestlers that came from the mainland to Hawaii went to that gym. ...That's how I got started.
I was raised in Hawaii, and I used to go to a gym called The Powerhouse. All the professional wrestlers that came from the mainland to Hawaii went to that gym. ...That's how I got started.
What are your favorite matches?
The cage matches are the best ones. I used to be a cliff-diver. When I broke into wrestling in '69, I decided, "I don't see anybody dong this kind of stuff, and hey, I'm a
The cage matches are the best ones. I used to be a cliff-diver. When I broke into wrestling in '69, I decided, "I don't see anybody dong this kind of stuff, and hey, I'm a
diver, so why don't I give it a try?"
What did you think of the movie "The Wrestler"?
I enjoyed it. It's good for the fans that they get to watch the movie and see the kind of things that we do. It's not easy; it's a hard job. I see a lot of guys come into that ring and never make it out.
Looking back on your career, would you do it again?
Brudda, I would even do it better. ... I love it, I really love it!
Fans always ready to rumble
Wrestling devotees come in droves for local matches
BY SCOTT A. ROSENBERG AND NICK KLOPSIS
"West Virginia sucks," a scrawny 10-year old boy barks at 500-pound wrestler Justin Blackwell.
"Shut up," bellows Blackwell, flinching toward the kids. A girl runs and hides behind a folding chair. She's scared, but smiling. The boys hold firm. They really hate him.
The kids make up much of the 100-strong crowd in St. Mary's Church gym in Perth Amboy, N.J., on May 1. They've come to see East Coast Pro Wrestling matches.
These independently run matches are tamer than other minor-league face-offs, in which curses fly and blood often flows.
"It's fun, it's entertaining," says Tom Haggerty, 40, of Woodside, who is ringside at a recent Queens match with his 7-year old son Tommy. "They put on a nice show. It's almost like a local version of the WWE."
The $10-$20 price of admission for an up-close experience with these "gladiators" is a big draw for many families. The slicker Ring of Honor matches usually attract a
tonier crowd of urban professionals. Tonight in Perth Amboy, wrestler Gunner Trash is encouraging fans to punch a metal garbage can he's toting around the fan area.
The wrestlers mug for the cameras with the fans, offering high-fives and big smiles. Kids wearing colorful masks and banging plastic "thundersticks" rush the gates
separating them from the monster-sized wrestlers, screaming loudly.
"Half the time, you don't know what's going to happen," says Robert Lotti, of Cypress Hills, at a recent New York Wrestling Connection match in Queens. "I find the
independents to be a little more on the unpredictable side."
A look at some of the weirdest wrestlers to enter the ring
Wrestling promoters throw everything at the wall in an effort to create new stars, but sometimes they miss the mark. Here are a few of amNY's favorite failures:
Isaac Yankem, DDS: Glen Jacobs, now known as Kane, once played this evil wrestling dentist with horrible teeth.
Puke: Darren Drozdov, ex-NFL player with the Jets and Broncos, earned the name "Puke" because of his ability to vomit on command.
Bastion Booger: The 400-pound Mike Shaw, no stranger to bad gimmicks [Norman the Lunatic], was strung up in skimpy tights for Bastion.
Booty Man: Edward Leslie, aka Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, was a wrestler in love with his own butt.
TL Hopper: Darrell W. Anthony grappled in the WWE as a plumber who would plunge the faces of his victims.
The Boogeyman: Marty Wright, decked out in face paint and fake fur, would put live worms in his mouth.
Mantaur: The 400-pound behemoth Mike Hallick was dressed like a bull. It was that awful. [SCOTT A. ROSENBERG]"
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