Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Instead of asking you standard questions, like how you got started in wrestling and all the normal stuff, can you tell us what is it like right now being a professional wrestler, and if you could do it all again, would you?

Steve Corino: Being a pro wrestler is the second greatest job in the world (First being a dad of course) and I wouldn't change a thing if I had to do it over again. I am living a dream.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: ECW is now legendary, what is it like being ECW's World Champion, and what responsibilities did you feel that you had as being the number 1 guy?

Steve Corino: Being one of the 14 guys that held the ECW World title was quite an honor. To be in the same category as Tazz, Shane Douglas, Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn, and Masato Tanaka was something I never expected would happen to me.

I was champion right near the end of ECW so my responsibilities were pretty much only to defend the World title with honor every chance I got.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What is your honest critique of Allison Dangers career thus far?

Steve Corino: Allison is truly doing much better than I thought she ever would. She was never the fan that I was growing up so I was concerned when she became Allison Danger that it would hurt her but she does her homework and I was totally surprised on what she picked up on when we were kids.

I thought it was really funny that on the 01USA PPV in Tokyo on the January 31, they should a promo of the Christopher Street Connection in ROH when she was their manager and my son yelled out "There's my aunt Cathy!" It felt good to see that she has done so well and I think being around and learning from Christopher Daniels has helped her a ton.

Steve Corino early in his career

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You were single handedly responsible for the infamous Riot at the Elks Lodge at ROH's 1 Year Anniversary show. What are your thoughts about it today?

Steve Corino: When it broke down I thought to myself "What the heck were we thinking." It was very dangerous but very interesting. I don't think I would want to be a part of it again because you don't want anyone in the crowd to get hurt but it was something totally different and that is what pro wrestling needs.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You, along with your Extreme Horsemen partners, (CW Anderson and Simon Diamond) are probably the top three wrestlers to never get a fulltime job with either WWF/WWE/WCW. How come we've never seen Steve Corino get a shot in WWE?

Steve Corino: There are so many factors into why Steve Corino will not get a shot at the WWE. The main one and with 100% honesty I can say is that I would never want to go there. I grew up on pro-wrestling not sports entertainment. I live, breath, and eat pro wrestling. The WWE style is not for me.

2. My body is not a body builders look. WWE likes their wrestlers looking like Greek gods while mine will remind you of Capt. Redneck Dick Murdoch! LOL

3. Japan: I love Japan and ZERO-ONE with all of my heart. The last almost three years have gone by in a flash because I have had so much fun over there. Learning the Japanese style and language has been a great experience for me. I have always wanted to be like Terry Funk, Abdullah The Butcher, Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody, and The Destroyer and be looked upon as a Gaijin legend.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What is the difference between the fans of Japan and the fans of the United States?

Steve Corino: Japanese fans intelligence is not insulted the way it is over here. I am sure that most Japanese fans know pro wrestling is a work but we don't advertise it or expose it that way so they just come and enjoy it. It seems like American pro wrestling companies go out of their way to tell you that their product is not real. I don't understand that theory.

Photo Credit: Ringfury.com

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What was it like feuding with Dusty Rhodes and becoming the King of Old School?

Steve Corino: The feud with Dusty was nothing short of a dream come true. Dusty Rhodes from day one has been a positive influence in my life and really put me on the map when he didn't have to. I consider Dusty to be a second father to me and owe him the world for making me who I am.

Photo Credit www.nwaflorida.com

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you think about MLW's importance, if it has one in your opinion, in wrestling in North America?

Steve Corino: MLW has the potential and the ability to become a newer, edgier (if that is even a word) Championship Wrestling from Florida. Florida has some passionate fans and MLW is doing a great job of giving them the action that they want. You have to remember that MLW is a very young company and we are still in the "feeling out" stages of the company so we try and give them everything we can.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you think about the current state of wrestling? What do you think about the current state of independent wrestling?

Steve Corino: The current state of sports entertainment is horrible. With all of those great pro wrestlers in that locker room, fans keep getting insulted week in and week out. Independent pro wrestling is doing great. Groups like ROH, MLW, JAPW, NWA Florida, WORLD-1 are all realizing that the people wanted something different and are giving it to them.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You have had lots of great matches. What are some of your favorite matches that you had?

Steve Corino: If I had to list a Top 5 it would pretty much go like this:

1. me vs. Dusty at Living Dangerously 2000
2. me and Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka from late last year in Fukoka, Japan
3. me vs. CW Anderson in Queensland, Australia
4. me vs. Justin Credible in New York in August of 2000.
5. me vs. Masato Tanaka from 01USA last year

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What is your current status with Ring of Honor? When will you be back?

Steve Corino: When I am in the States I am a free lancer so I pick and choose my schedule. ROH doesn't need Steve Corino if you think about it. They have a great roster and I came in to do my feud with Homicide and go. Will I be back? Who knows? Right now I am pretty much booked for shows on the nights that they are running but you never know about the future.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You have feuded with some of the best. Who are your favorite opponents?

Steve Corino: Dusty, Homicide, Justin Credible, Shinjiro Otani, Masato Tanaka, Terry Funk, CW Anderson, Jerry Lynn, and Shinya Hashimoto.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You have tried your hand in the booking/promoting fields with NWA and PWF. What was it like doing that, and how come neither were able to stay around long term?

Steve Corino: PWF was a collection of three partners. One of our partners was very lazy to the point of worrying about being on camera more than selling TV ads, which was his job. PWF stuck around for over two years and I had a lot of fun with it and I am looking forward to being part of the management side of WORLD-1. It will be like a PWF just on a bigger scale.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You wrestle in Japan frequently and very respected in Japan. It seems that your latest venture, Pro Wrestling World 1, is trying to bring a Japanese feel to American fans. Can you tell us about Pro Wrestling World 1, and how it got started?

Steve Corino: WORLD-1 is a concept that both Yoshi Nakamura and I have been talking about for about a year now, maybe a little longer. Mr. Nakamura loves America and American pro wrestling and wanted to do something in the States on a smaller level then what we have in ZERO-ONE. We are super excited about the debut weekend coming up and hope that the fans enjoy the ZERO-ONE style of pro wrestling. You can get more information of the cards at www.zerooneusa.com.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Pro Wrestling World 1 debuts with three shows on February 6,7 and 8. What can fans expect to see?

Steve Corino: Expect to see a touch of the Japanese style of booking. Partners wrestling partners, title match ceremonies, old NWA rules. We are also excited about the return to pro wrestling of Spanky.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What will Pro Wrestling World 1 compare to? Will it be a mix of ROH/MLW/Zero 1, or will be totally different?

Steve Corino: We are going to concentrate of a ZERO-ONE style of pro wrestling. ROH and MLW have created their own niche and that is what is successful for them. WORLD-1 is going to try and create their own niche too.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you hope Pro Wrestling World 1 accomplishes?

Steve Corino: Like ROH and MLW, we want to be an alternative to the "sports entertainment" world. We want to give hard hitting action that does not insult anyone's intelligence. If we expand that would be great but right now we are concentrating on one show at a time.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: With so many independent promotions around today, and with 3-4 shows running in a 200 mile radius every weekend, why should a fan check out Pro Wrestling 1?

Steve Corino: WORLD -1 will be the only American promotion featuring ZERO-ONE Japanese talent. This weekend Masato Tanaka returns to the US for only the third time since ECW closed down. Also he will be wrestling Jerry Lynn in their first one on one contest ever. Yoshihito Sasaki, who recently won the ZERO-ONE Young Lions Cup, will be making his US debut. Spanky returns to the pro wrestling world in the US this weekend and I am looking forward to him vs. Homicide. There are so many matches that I personally want to see on this weekends cards that as a fan I would come to all three shows!

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What career goals do you have left to accomplish?

Steve Corino: I want to main event a PPV in Japan. I have semi-mained a few times but I would love the top billing.

I want to become more popular and learn more fighting styles in Japan so that I can work with anyone.

I want to pass on everything that I have learned in the last 10 years to the next generation of pro wrestlers.

I want to see the WORLD-1 project do well for everyone involved.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you want to say to anyone reading this?

Steve Corino: I want to thank all the fans for their continued support of our sport. I know if gets frustrating watching TV on Monday and Thursday nights, but keep checking out W1, ROH, MLW, JAPW, ECWA, and get promotions like that. They want to sell you pro wrestling.

Also come out to the debut WORLD-1 shows this weekend for a taste of the ZERO-ONE style. I don't think you will be disappointed. Check out www.zerooneusa.com for all the details.

And of course I have to throw the cheap plug for stevecorino.com! LOL

Thank you DOI fans.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Thank you for this interview.

For more websites with Steve Corino check out the following links:

Official Websites:
www.stevecorino.com
www.extremehorsemen.com

Pro-Wrestling ZERO-ONE: www.zero-one.to
Pro-Wrestling 01U$A: www.zerooneusa.com
Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1: www.world1wrestling.com