Carmine Sabia
What up ladies and gents and welcome to an interesting McInterview. Carmine Sabia was the second person I ever interviewed for the DOI (EC Negro being the first) and more than a year later I'm more than happy to have Carmine on board for another interview. While Carmine and myself have not always seen eye to eye in recent times, I granted him this interview as he has alot to say. Carmine discusses Ricky O, JCW, SSCW, Ray Sager and a whole lot more in the following interview. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did, as I think it's Carmine being himself in the open. Whether or not you want to classify this as a shoot is up to you. I also hope you enjoy Carmine calling himself the "George Steinbrenner" of wrestling lol.
Carmine Sabia: They still around? Seriously I think everyone knows that I have tried to be politically correct and pull punches when I felt it was appropriate. Mic that stops today. I am so tired of Ricky thinking every negative thing said about him comes from me. I don’t post on the boards nor do I care to. I am above this bullshit. If Ricky O wants to act like a 3 year old that is his prerogative. But the fact is that Ricky needs to understand that many people can not stand him. He has more enemies then anyone I know in this business so why the finger keeps getting pointed at me Mic, I don’t know. JCW is a shell of its former self and can only benefit from a war with SSCW. I won’t give Ricky that chance. I will not stoop to that level. Our friendship is damaged beyond repair at this point clearly.
Carmine Sabia: The King of fake posting accused me? Funny thing I saw today on your boards Sean. A “fan” posted about how JAPW should fear SSCW. I laughed out loud because even Ray Charles could see Ricky posted that trying to start trouble between myself and JAPW. Let me say publicly I have nothing but respect from JAPW, Frank, Ray and their product. However, unlike Ricky, I do not have a fear of JAPW. Let them run their thing and I’ll run mine. Frank and I have been friends for a number of years and I don’t see that changing. One main reason for that is that if there is an issue between us it gets settled between us not in public on a message board. We handle things like professionals. A word that is clearly foreign to Ricky.
Carmine Sabia: What war Sean? Let’s be realistic here for a second man honestly. It’s a 2 horse race. JAPW & SSCW and anyone who believes or tells you different are lying only to themselves. Frank knows it, Ray knows it, I know it and the fans know it. I know Frank is much too coy to admit it publicly as is Ray but believe me they know it. NWS I don’t even count simply because they operate on a different dimension. If you want to ask me who is the most financially successful then my answer is NWS. I don’t know how those jerks do it but they do lol. But as far as a war? Nah no war. Right now JAPW is #1 and we are #2. But we are inching up and closing the gap. But ranking us doesn’t really matter to me. Success is my measuring stick not any other company and right now we are successful. In this businesses that could change tomorrow. I think Cyber Space has some of the best shows in the area. As soon as Levy realizes that this is NJ and not North Carolina they will be a force to be reckoned with. So that’s about it man. There is us 4 and everyone else more or less just pick up the table scraps. JCW to me is a non entity. Ricky has the roster to run good shows but he is too busy playing games and not spending enough time concentrating on his failing product.
Carmine Sabia: I follow JAPW, ROH, NYWC, NWS, USAPro and a few others on the net. I don't care for WWE all that much no but of course I follow it when I can. I have never seen an episode of TNA thus I know no one on any CSWF card LOL. I don't follow what I consider the minor leagues like AWA, BWO, ECPW and the like. I do send scouts however.
Carmine Sabia: I try not to think about him. He is a good kid and is extremely intelligent. Unfortunately, he has to stick with Ricky and he is going down with the ship. If his talent was as big as his mouth, he would be dangerous. Fact is he is a good wrestler no more no less. Kid has a lot of charisma though.
Carmine Sabia: I bet him if JCW drew, I think 100, I'd book him. I reneged on it cuz minutes after I made the bet I saw a comment on pwbts that said JCW has 400 pre-sold. Not only that but the comment was made in jest in a chatroom. I'm not booking someone on a bet. That is ridiculous.
Carmine Sabia: A place for Ricky to play. They have their place for the FANS. Mic you know SSCW has a strict rule about not allowing our workers to post on message boards. I do enjoy reading the fans commentary on the boards though. And there is a lot of stuff that makes you laugh. And it’s a great place to brag about the Yankees and A-Rod (had to slip that in Mets fans).
Carmine Sabia: Attitude era may have been overstating it. I’d rather call it the take no shit era. I have been a nice guy for way too long and people perceive that as weakness. Well if being nice is weak then I will be strong. I will honestly say what I feel about any and everyone and I don’t care what anyone thinks about it.
Carmine Sabia: Aaron and I are really great friends. We talk almost every day. The relationship with PWS and SSCW is on hiatus right now but I believe things will work themselves out.
Carmine Sabia: Unless you’re the lead dog the view never changes. The view constantly changes for JAPW and SSCW. They are a top fed and I respect those 2 men immensely. Ray and I had heat in the past. We were both younger and dumber and I feel we are well past that now. If we’re not then we’re not whatever but I feel we are.
Carmine Sabia: I did say that didn't I? LOL. And I meant it at the time too. I despised Ray Sager I really did. I didn't even know him and I despised him. Sometimes you listen to too many people in this business. But at the time I did truly not like him. I have seen him grow as a person in this business and become better over the course of time. That comment does not hold true today. I like and respect Ray. If he was on fire I would certainly piss on him now LOL.
Carmine Sabia: I have learned so much from Panz. He is such a good man and he is always trying to help me. NWS is the most underrated fed around. You can argue they aren’t the smark favorites JAPW and SSCW are but you cannot argue with their success. Gino is a good dude and a true friend to me.
Carmine Sabia: Right idea wrong state. Spending too much money on bullshit that doesn’t matter. Has the roster to be a major player but needs to spend money more wisely. Dave as a person is a good kid. We get along great.
Carmine Sabia: Frank is another guy who selflessly helps me. I get a lot of crap for being a defender of his but Mic you know the truth and that is Frank is a good person and has always been good to me. USA Pro shows wouldn’t work in SSCW. I wasn’t crazy about the Billy Reil / Dana Dameson thing but I don’t know what works in NY.
Carmine Sabia: Curse is one of the best trainers in the area. NYWC SHOULD be a student fed without much of a fan following but because of solid leadership and crop of well trained talent they have grow to be so much more then that. I wish them continued success and keep pumping out the finest new wrestlers in the area. It benefits us all.
Carmine Sabia: Mr. Puerto Rico is a lost cause and he no longer works for SSCW, Vicious Vin is a great friend and he tries really hard, and Frankie Hawke is not doing shows until he completes his training. Jason XL is a mark who begged for autographs from the wrestlers at my most recent show and we have that on tape. It's funny to watch and laught at.
Carmine Sabia: Who?
Carmine Sabia: Ok you’re grasping at straws now Mic lol.
Carmine Sabia: I think we are looked at as a viable promotion right now. Is there a need for ticket sellers? In today's economy yes there is. Howefuly those guys can earn regular spots and work hard and get better. And it's not dozens anymore. We have cut down dramaticly cuz I did not like where that was heading.
Carmine Sabia: Sure it can be succesful. It IS successful. Does Vince McMahon attend every house show? I have capable people there taking care of business. In some ways though yes it does effect promoting. You have to rely on others more then you want to.
Carmine Sabia: It's not everything you would expect but it is alot of fun. It's a ton of work but the joy you get from it makes up for it. I can't really describe it except to say it can be the biggest headache in the world at times and not as financially rewarding as my other business ventures but it is a dream come true. Honestly.
Carmine Sabia: I can but I won't get into detail. Simon is a huge part of the team and is on board to help us 110%. His role with TNA does not effect us at all. Simon attends all staff meetings and makes extra trips to do other things that are needed. he is constantly calling and emailing with his stuff and is really truly committed which is good to see. I can only see good things coming from this relationship.
Carmine Sabia: No way dude that show rocks lol.
Carmine Sabia: Kevin Matthews has a smidge of talent and a huge mouth. In wrestling that dosen't add up to anything good. kevin claims he is being blackballed but the fact is he is blackballing himself. He truly believes he is going to get a permenent spot in TNA and I find that sad yet funny at the same time. His ego is our of control. What happened was he cursed in the ring at my show. When I repremanded him he responded by defending himself instead of appologizing and cursing at me. Kevin didn't burn his bridge with SSCW he lit dynamite and exploded it. Not only is he done with SSCW but I would certainly have heat with any fed that books him. That's public. That also means Kevin's JCW bookings are safe. Don't say I never got you any work Kevin.
Carmine Sabia: His agenda is to help SSCW. I truly believe that. His style of booking did not fit with what my image for the company is. We are still very close friends.
Carmine Sabia: Because it was a great suggestion. Not everything Mic did was wrong. This is certainly an area where he was correct. What has to be understood by everyone though is these shows cost money to put on. They aren't free. As a promoter laying out the money you want as much of a guarantee as you can get.
Carmine Sabia: Well we've been in business 6 years and Ring rave IV is our fifth installment of that event. That's our WrestleMania. We've had a number of diferent bookers because I am hard to work with and I have a trigger finger to fire people if things aren't done my way. I am the George Steinbrenner of indy wrestling. I have to be invlolved in the product because i care. Alot of bookers want 100% control while laying out 0% of the money. I want perfection from my staff and anything less is unacceptable. I leave a ton in Simon's hands because I respect his knowledge of the business more then anyone I have ever had on staff. This leaves me time to promote and not be concerned with booking.
Carmine Sabia: I think they should act like Vince McMahon. Why percieve yourself to be anything less then the best. yes i do consider myself to be one of those people. McMahon is successful. Model yourself after the best. Who am I gonna model myself after Ricky O? You have to challenge yourself.
Carmine Sabia: That is such a tough question. I'd narrow it down to 2. Devon "Crowbar" Storm VS "Inferno Kid" Dan Gimondo in Seton Hall University in 1998 or the recent Sonjay Dutt VS jay Lethal match.
Carmine Sabia: Chino Martinez, Charlie Haas (even though he worked for us less then he did other feds in the area), and Devon Storm.
Carmine Sabia: The future of SSCW is to concentrate more heavily on wrestlers who look like wrestlers and good story writing. Using top talent from this area as well. A year from now I see us on top of the mountain and me and Fat Frank throwing snowballs at each other lol.
Carmine Sabia: Well I could sit here and talk about number 1 number 2 number 3 number 4 and how great and unique our talent is. But why blow smoke. Come see SSCW because we do things differently here. We push talent no one else pushes. Come see Honky Tonk man on March 27 and heck spring the extra $10.00 ($25.00 total) to go to the 40 minute Q& A session with Honky before the show and sit front row for the entire event. We're down to less then 50 of those tickets left. After that we will probably stick with just good local talent and lay off the names. We've already used more names then most. We'll save the big names for the fundraisers.
SSCW, with Simon Diamond on board, will be a huge force on the independent wrestling scene in 2004. I really hope the fans come out and give us a look. Ricky mind your own sinking ship. Right now your fed is a joke and you are making yourself a joke with your childish posting. Time to be an adult Peter Pan. Oh that and I look forward to reading your fake, and non fake, responses to this on various message boards. Everyone isn’t laughing at you enough keep them coming. Thanks for the forum Mickey and if I haven’t already mentioned it thank for taking SSCW and DOI for that matter to the next level.
Carmine Sabia: Carmine Sabia: Thanks guys it's been a slice.
Carmine Sabia: Carmine Sabia: Ok that's enough, interview over lol.