Carmine Sabia

Today, I interviewed SSCW CEO and President Carmine Sabia Jr. in regards to the recent shake ups in his company. Read on to hear his opinions on everything that has come up over the last 4 days. I hope this clears some things up. Please remembers that the views expressed in the interview are those of Carmine and Carmine only. They are not the views of myself or other DOI staff members.

Doc Daniels: Knowing what you know now, if you could do this all again, would you have still chosen Sean to head the booking responsibilities?

Carmine Sabia: 100% absolutely yes. Sean brought SSCW to a new level of success that we never had before. I think it is one of the best business decisions I ever made.

Doc Daniels: We've heard that Sean has felt that he did not have complete control booking the shows like most bookers do. Did you feel that you limited his role as a booker? And if so, why did you do so?

Carmine Sabia: Yes I did limit his role as booker. Some of the things he brought to me I didn't like or didn't get or didn't think fit SSCW. This is a NJ fed and some of the NY things that were brought in would have definitely got me heat with the higher ups in the government. Kinda like what happened with JAPW and CZW.

Doc Daniels: How do you respond to allegations that a former booker was trying to "sabotage" Sean's Job as booker by constantly being "in your ear"? Do you feel you were ever persuaded by these comments towards Sean?

Carmine Sabia: That I feel is a matter of opinion. Angel and I talk every single day and I trust him immensely Angel did tell me and Mic some things that we were booking that he didn't like. Many times I asked him for his opinion. I respect him alot. I think Mic feels Angel tried to sabotage him. I don't feel that way I just feel that Angel wants to see SSCW succeed.

Doc Daniels: Is it true that the March show was to have Josh Deely take on HTM? If this is true, what was your reasoning that Deely should have been placed in a match with someone like the Honky Tonk Man?

Carmine Sabia: We kicked it around because I mean how much can Honky do really? It wasn't booked in stone. Things change daily in wrestling. I really feel like at some point someone has to give the kid a change to either prove himself or prove to himself that he can't do it and quit the business. I want to give people a chance. I am sorry if that is unpopular. But to answer your question HTM's opponent is not decided on yet.

Doc Daniels: Would you like to respond to Jason XL's comments in any way?

Carmine Sabia: To respond to it would give him credibility. But it seems that the SSCW fans desire an explanation. So for them I will give one. This will be the only time from here on in that I will comment about this lush. The fact of the matter is that I did consider Jason a long time friend. I really did. But when people are drunk they do stupid things and say stupid things. Jason has done both of those and that Doc is why alcoholics lose friends, spouses, etc....I hope he gets help as a friend I really do cause deep down he is a good kid. I am just surprised that smart guys and respected guys like Louie took the words of a ticket seller who worked 1 show ever seriously enough to make this a big deal. I've been in this business ten years. The kid is beneath me and I won't comment on those who are beneath me. That's my comment.

Doc Daniels: It has been said in the "McRoss Report" that Mr. Puerto Rico was able to change the planned finish at Helloween II because he sold 30 tickets. Is this true, and in retrospect do you feel that was the right decision?

Carmine Sabia: Yes and Yes because this is first and foremost a BUSINESS and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar

Doc Daniels: Sean has stated that you told him flyering was done for this show, but after double checking there was no flyering done at all. Is this true and if it is, why would you not flyer for a show that is in an area with a lot of local businesses?

Carmine Sabia: This is a shoot so I will shoot. When you have ticket sellers sometimes you get a little lazy. That and I trusted the wrong people to handle the flyering. Live and learn.

Doc Daniels: Rumors have had it that Vicious Vin will be taking over booking responsibilities. A lot of people feel that this is not a smart move as he has been considered a "ticket seller." Will he be SSCW's new booker and why do you feel he is the right choice?

Carmine Sabia: Vin will have backstage responsibilities as will Simon Diamond. We are very excited about the prospect of having these 2 help with the SSCW product.

Doc Daniels: You yourself have said that Sean brought SSCW to the next level. Did you try and convince him to stay with the company? If he was the saving grace of SSCW, why didn't you give him full control of the company instead of allowing him to walk away?

Carmine Sabia: No our split was very mutual. We both knew this wasn't going to work out any longer. We have different visions. Sean made a big impact and a huge contribution but we will continue to soar regardless of who we use booking because we now have an idea of what direction we want to take it and a good feel for what the fans want. Now I know 1 guy posted 100 times that he will no longer come to SSCW under 46 different names but we won't miss him Doc :).

Doc Daniels: Would you like to respond to Rick Steiner's comments saying he did give you more then 2 days notice for the show, and he offered you a replacement that you did not take advantage of?

Carmine Sabia: Rick did offer us a replacement. A replacement that I could not advertise until what the day of the show? We would love to use Ray but we want to have proper time to advertise him. Further I did not get the message from Rick until 2 days before. I have no idea when the message came in. There is no heat with Rick and I and we expect to talk soon.

Doc Daniels: How do you feel about a main event with your companies champion lasting less then 3 minutes, where as other matches that had no build up lasted more then 5 times in length then your main event with your three biggest stars?

Carmine Sabia: I guess my booker booked too many matches and we went over 3 hours again.

Doc Daniels: How do you respond to the comment that SSCW is "...a place of ticket sellers and family members being pushed..."?

Carmine Sabia: Yes Dan Barry, Tyler Payne, Rob Eckos, Damian Adams, Solution, John Shane, Ariel, Tara Charisma and Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz are huge ticket sellers.

Doc Daniels: Is it true that a security and cleaning crew was not supplied for the show, therefore there were uncompensated people who were left cleaning up when they were not even part of the show?

Carmine Sabia: Yep.

Doc Daniels: Do you feel that ticket sellers are necessary for SSCW to succeed? If yes, Why?

Carmine Sabia: No I don't. But I do believe that in the tradition of wrestling people who are willing to pay their dues should be allowed to have a shot to succeed.

Doc Daniels: In retrospect, do you feel you expected too much from Sean himself regarding responsibilities during the live show? (i.e.: organizing, cleaning, keeping tabs on the actions of those in the building, etc)

Carmine Sabia: Absolutely not. If he cannot handle those responsibilities then he shouldn't run a locker room because that is what it entails. If all he wanted to do was write stuff he should have expressed that. he knew the job description coming in. Nothing was a surprise.

Doc Daniels: Do you feel that names are necessary for a show to be successful, and do you plan to continue to use names in the future?

Carmine Sabia: Smarks don't care about names. But the local people in the town want to see someone they are familiar with yes. As far as the future we will see what the new booking staff thinks about it.

Doc Daniels: Where do you see SSCW going from here? What wrestlers will lead SSCW in 2004?

Carmine Sabia: In the words of several rival promoters and workers I have talked to since Sean leaving "Carmine you won't lose 1 fan. SSCW will continue to rise". I agree with that statement. of course on your message board 100 fake posts will pop up about I'm not going to SSCW. We will continue to draw huge numbers and be neck and neck with JAPW and be a leader in NJ.

Doc Daniels: Any last comments you'd like to make to the reading audience regarding your last show or the recent message board bashing of your company?

Carmine Sabia: Surely. Most of the stuff is to asinine to respond to so I have now exited the boards and won't read them nor post except for press releases. But I would like to say something to Matt AYM, Slingblade, Louie and people like that. I've been in this business 10 years and I will continue to be a driving force in NJ. There is alot of stuff that happened behind the scenes that you don't know because I wanted to protect certain people's reputations. Leave it at that. Don't make it to the point where I have to make stuff public that I don't want to. For all the crap that was said about my hatred for Louie and Bravado, grow up. I have nothing but respect for these two men who lay it all out there every time they work. I wasn't sure then, and I'm not sure now, if there style fits that of my company. Decisions are based on business not friendship. That was the hardest thing to try to explain to Sean.

Doc Daniels: Thank you very much for your time.

Carmine Sabia: Thank you Doc.