Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: First off, let's get right into it. Being in the wrestling business, what are your opinions and thoughts about the recent controversy in Ring of Honor, namely Rob Feinstein?

El Shoes: Well, I don't know Rob that well or anything, but this is really a crazy situation. I mean, pedophilia is really just disgusting. Whether he's gay or not, I don't care. Two of my best friends are gay, but when you're dealing with kids, it's a totally different situation. Yes, it was a sting and there were no real kids involved, but what if it was real? What if that kid he was going to pick up was my little cousin? I'd be mad, dude. And I don't want to single out Rob, but there are tons of people throughout the world with pedophiliac tendencies and it's something that really needs to be addressed. The fact that Rob got involved in it is unfortunate because he always seemed cool to me, but when you risk, there's always the possibility of loss. I don't wish ill on Rob, but by no means can I support what he did or what he's part of. I'm not a hardcore ROH fan; I do go to an occasional show, but I cannot and will not support ROH after this.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You have commentated many UCW/ICW shows. How did you get into UCW and what is/was your relationship with Jac Sabboth?

El Shoes: Honestly, I really don't know. Pretty much by mistake. I used to go to Jac's store in Bayside all the time. He got to know me a bit, I got into helping with ring crew for UCW and one day in the store he asked if I wanted to commentate. He put together a makeshift announce team of Nick Knowledge and I and I thought we were pretty good for two people who had absolutely no experience going in. Jac has always been really cool to me. He had the brilliant idea of using me as a commentator so that scores brownie points with me. I really owe Jac a huge debt of gratitude for everything he did for me. Thanks, Jac.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Speaking of Jac Sabboth, have you ever been stiffed by Jac?

El Shoes: This may sound weird, but no, I have never been stiffed by Jac Sabboth. I guess I'm the only one. Hell, I even read that Jac stiffed Dana Dameson and she didn't even work for him. But as far as Jac stiffing me, no. I was always well compensated.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You got the name "El Shoes" from High School. For the readers at home, can you explain how you got this unique nick name?

El Shoes: If I has a "Frequently Asked Questions" section on my website, this would be the only question. It's not even a good story, really. I went to Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens. I'd actually be the most famous wrestling personality to come out of that school, but Chris Kanyon went there too, so I have to settle for being number two. Yeah, but anyway, during my junior year (1997-1998), I was going on an end-of year trip to Italy that was being run by the school. The teacher who was running it had a very thick Italian accent. During the information meeting, he took off his shoes and, being in high school, everyone was like, "Dude, put your shoes back on!" Well, I did a decent impersonation of him, so I started doing skits about how he had a shoe fetish and stuff like that so people started calling me "Shoes." I added the "El" in front of it because, at the time, I thought it would make it sound all suave and debonair. Well, it doesn't, but I thought it did. So I became known as El Shoes. My senior yearbook actually says "El Shoes" in it. Now, probably 98% of the people I know just call me Shoes rather than Joe. Even a lot of family members call me Shoes now.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You have been on a hiatus from announcing and commentating, with your last appearance taking place at ABC's 9/5 show in Boonton, NJ. Are you making a comeback anytime soon, or are you satisfied with what you have accomplished?

El Shoes: Wow, ABC Wrestling. I'm not really taking a hiatus. OK, wait a second, yeah, I guess I am. I don't know. What I do know is that the market for commentators and ring announcers on the indies is real small. When it comes to ring announcing, Steve DeAngelis is available and, quite frankly, is a helluva lot better than me. The point is, you can only do so much as an announcer. It was awesome while it lasted. I'm very satisfied with what I've done. I think I've done well with the opportunities I've had. I thought about what I actually wanted to do in wrestling and, honestly, I don't know. What I do know is that, more than anything in the world, I love wrestling and being around the business. So since, the business was being accessible to me, I decided to make myself accessible to it. In mid-December I started training at Johnny Rodz's school in Brooklyn. I figured knowing how to bump and work couldn't hurt, so I decided to go and train. I'm not necessarily looking to make a big splash as a wrestler, but I'm just trying to make myself more of a viable option to the business.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Backtracking to UCW, what was it like being part of UCW? Do you feel that early UCW was one of the influences on Ring of Honor, namely the Low Ki-Xavier match?

El Shoes: Early UCW was amazing. I sat in the front row at the very first show (I can be seen on the video laughing hysterically as Red came out...man, he shut me up quick) and I started commentating at the fourth show. For me, it was like a dream come true. I wanted to be a part of wrestling and suddenly, there I was commentating on matches that included a host of big name workers. In my mind, it was the coolest thing in the world, dude. It spoiled me, though, because I thought that everything in the business would be that cool. Without a doubt, early UCW was one of, if not the, main influence on Ring of Honor. After ECW, you had JAPW and CZW, but no one created a buzz like UCW did. I don't know if it's fair to attribute it to one match (although the Low Ki/Xavier ladder match is one of the top 3 matches I've ever seen live) because there was a bunch of good stuff going on, but the shows in general had a buzz and an aura about them unlike any others on the indies for about six months. Then it became a joke. Jac started - and he'll openly admit this now - believing his own hype and got caught up in it. There was the infamous, "The Road Warriors can go fuck themselves" statement, Harry Slash left and chaos ensued. The promotion, in my mind, peaked with the show on September 14, 2001. It was a free show and was held just three days after the attacks on the World Trade Center. There wasn't a big crowd, but the emotion was unmistakable and, top to bottom, it was the best show UCW ever promoted.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You have also done some work for USA Pro. What are your thoughts on the USA Pro product today, and what was it like being there?

El Shoes: I actually only worked once for USA Pro when Steve DeAngelis was on vacation or something like that, but it was cool. The thing I'll remember most about it is Norman Smiley not so subtlely hinting that I should get him away from Nick Knowledge. As for today, I think USA Pro sucks the biggest, fattest, most seminal fluid soaked balls in the world. USA Pro uses a lot of great wrestlers, but man does their booking suck. I don't see the point of having 143 wrestlers on every show. I don't see the point of having shows last longer than the death of Jesus Christ. But Frank Goodman makes his money. You have to give him credit for that.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What's the deal with El Shoes karaoke?

El Shoes: "Okey Dokey El Shoes Karaoke" started during intermission of one of the ICW shows. I don't know which one because all of ICW is kind of piled together as one giant memory for me. Well, said show wasn't really all that good. I remember the boys working their asses off, but the way it was booked didn't make any sense and totally took away from the show. So during intermission, I told the DJ to play some 80s music. This was during the time when The Vince (I don't like calling it WWE) was running all those "Desire" videos, so at every intermission, all the dude played was Creed's "My Sacrifice." Man, I fucking hate Creed, dude. So he played my 80s music and for some reason I'll never be able to explain, I just picked up a mic and started singing. It got over and I got to do the karaoke gimmick a couple more times at TWF shows in Pennsylvania.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What promotions are you a fan of today? What promotions do you hate?

El Shoes: I just got TiVo, so I watch everything The Vince puts on TV. Even "Confidential." Dude, did you know that the APA filmed a pilot for a fishing show? Fucking brilliant. I'd tune in every week just to hear Ron Simmons look flustered and say, "Dayum!" That's ratings, my friend. Yes, I know. I'm a dork. As for promotions I hate...I guess I hate USA Pro. I just don't have the attention span. I don't hate Ring of Honor, but I'm not a fan. It seems like every match is the same to me. I've seen one 3PW show and I liked it a lot. It was just a good mix of styles; kept me interested. I'd definitely hit up 3PW again.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Who are your favorite indy wrestlers to watch today? Which indy wrestlers don't you like?

El Shoes: There are a lot of guys that I love to watch. Low Ki, Chris Daniels, Red, Prince Nana, John Walters, Mike Tobin, Homicide, The Solution and tons more. There really isn't anybody who I look at and don't like. I hate the idea of the USA Pro ticket sellers because there's like 792 of them and they're in 23 different gauntlet matches. I don't hate them, but I hate all the clusterfuck matches that come with having all of them on the show.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you think needs to be done to improve indy wrestling today?

El Shoes: I think a lot of people need to stop taking themselves so seriously. Every promoter thinks that they and they only are the second coming of Vince McMahon and instead of just worrying about their own shit and putting out a quality product, everyone's out to fuck the other promoters and dog on the other products. What good does that do? None. People need to realize where they stand and act accordingly. That means absolutely nothing coming from me because I mean absolutely nothing to the business, but in my head, that makes a lot of sense.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Like myself, you are a big fan of corny TV shows, such as Hey Dude, Boy Meets World and Saved By The Bell. How have these shows influenced your life and what are your favorite memories of these shows?

El Shoes: Dude, I can talk about TV and music and DVDs and all that shit forever. I love my pop culture. I don't know how to explain how it's influenced my life. I mean, it so totally has, but to explain it is kind of kooky. My favorite TV memories are Jessie Spano being "so excited, so excited, so...scared," on Saved By The Bell, Mr. T guesting on an episode of Blossom where he told Joey Lawrence not to do drugs, Donna Martin graduating on 90210. Speaking of 90210, do you remember Dylan's answering machine? "Hey, this is Dylan, you know the drill." That dude was brilliant. I also have countless memories from Friends, He-Man, The Joe Schmo Show, Full House, Diff'rent Strokes, Growing Pains and of course, Boy Meets World. C'mon Topanga!

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: With the recent controversy in ROH, do you think UCW could make a legit comeback?

El Shoes: Which way is the wind blowing? If you're asking me if Jac will ever run again, yeah, I think he will. When? I don't know. I thought that we could have had a decent thing going the last time Jac was running, but that came to a halt. I don't know how successful a comeback would be; I mean, how many time are fans going to engulf themselves in angles just to have the company close three months later? I think that if Jac were to ever run again, he could do moderately well. Nothing like he experienced during the very beginning, but he could have a respectable fan base.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Do you have any good stories about Jimmy Hustler?

El Shoes: I have to be the only person alive to ever have this question asked to them. I've actually got a lot of Jimmy stories, but my favorite is when Danny Demanto got the two of us - along with Tara Charisma, Valentina, Kevin Matthews and Justin Cage - booked for some promotion in North Carolina. It was a horrible trip and we didn't get paid, but on the drive home, we decided to stop in Washington, DC because I wanted to sit on the bench near the Washington Monument that was used in the movie "JFK" and later satirized in the animated version of "Clerks." We stopped and I sat on the bench. I even had Kevin act out the whole "Clerks" seen with me. He had no clue what he was doing so I basically did all the dialogue.

Word Association

Jac Sabboth
Tried really hard to put out a great product. He gave me a shot so he gets props for that.

Harry Slash
The smartest man alive today. Seriously, I'd call him about anything. I'd ask about wrestling angles one day, then how to fix my car the next. Two days later, I'd ask him about art for a paper I had to write. I really wish ?WA would have succeeded just to see the crazy shit that would have emanated from his mind. I owe him more thanks than anyone else on the planet. He's also Tony to my Christopher.

Frank Goodman
Frank's a really cool guy. I hate on his show, but that's just my opinion. That's why there's a shitload of promotions to choose from. Good businessman, horrible wrestling shows, and supposedly the king of Batman trivia.

Masked Maniac
Taught me how to shave around my belly button.

Fat Frank
I did a little ring announcing on one JAPW show a while ago and he was very cool to me.

Ricky O
Only met him a few times in passing and he was cordial to me.

Carmine Sabia
Never met him, but this whole "George Steinbrenner" thing has got to stop.

Gabe Sapolsky
I never met Gabe, but like I said, I'm not an ROH fan.

Kevin Matthews
He tried selling nude pics of his cat on eBay. If that would have worked, I would have been selling nude pics of my fish.

Danny Demanto
Danny often disputes the fact that I am the Saved By The Bell trivia master. I suggest the DOI organize an SBTB trivia contest between myself and Mr. Demanto to settle this once and for all.

Jimmy Hustler
Had the illest vest in the history of Earth, but it was stolen.

Tara Charisma
A taco that poops ice cream.

The Solution
Seriously, one of the best teams out there right now. Two awesome guys and they've picked up their game so much. They deserve anything that comes their way.

The DRS
Great team. Only going to get better. DRS and Solution are going to be the answers when fans ask who the best tag team is.

Backseat Boyz
Don't know them. Enjoy watching them. The music is fucking great.

Retch (USA PRO Announcer)
The drizzling shits. He's a cool guy, but he sucks. He's Goodman's nephew, though, so of course he's going to have a job.

Dexter Weiner
The Mic is a very bad influence on him.

Mike Tobin
This dude's really busting his ass to make himself a legit singles wrestler and he's succeeding. Mike's another guy I owe thanks to because he (and Danny Drake) was one of the first people to take me in and just be chill.

Roadtrips
Nothing's better than traveling around with a group of your friends doing something you enjoy more than anything in the world. Until Devon Moore gets himself arrested.

Ring rats
Maybe it's because I'm fat, but they don't seem to like me.

Topenga
Dude, when I was 11, I was convinced I'd marry her. MTV fucked over my opportunity to meet her, but I'll save that story for another time.

TiVo
My two favorite things in the world - besides wrestling - are TiVo and vagina.

Vince McMahon
Out of touch.

Paul Heyman
My pagan god. I'm still waiting for his fax machine to make a comeback.

Vince Russo
The motherfucker killed WCW. I loved WCW. I miss WCW.

Eric Bischoff
For someone who's a big, bad-ass karate guy, he doesn't strike much fear in my heart.

Bastion Booger
Probably will go down in history as one of the top 2 or 3 workers in history. The other two obviously being Mantaur and TL Hopper.

Giant Gonzales
His costume was the most amazing thing ever.

El Shoes
A cool ass dude that doesn't give a fuck and wants to have a good time.

Declaration of Independents
You guys really bust your ass. You know your shit. Damn, you even heard of me.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: If you could recommend 5 wrestling shows, which shows would they be and why?

El Shoes: ICW's show on 9/14/01 because it was just such an emotional night. I know I'll never forget it. The first ROH show. The put all their cards on the table before they realized they booked themselves into a corner and changed their "honorable" rules. Wrestlemania VIII. The best 'Mania ever, hands down. ECW Tag Title Tournament from the Hammerstein Ballroom. When Mikey and Tajiri won, I lost my mind, dude. WCW Greed. I love WCW. You don't, but I do.

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What wrestlers or personalities have influenced your career the most?

El Shoes: The Honky Tonk Man, Cyrus, Mark Madden, Paul Heyman, Chris Jericho (the WCW stuff...not the shitty ass dog-walking stuff they had him to before his 'Mania main event)

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What's a normal day in the life of El Shoes?

El Shoes: I wake up once a day and I'll take my morning piss. I'll check myself out in the mirror and make excuses not to shave because I'm lazy. Then I'll get ready for school, have a bowl of Cookie Crisp and get on the bus. I go to school, head over to work and then go to training when work is done. Then I come home, talk to the Mic about Boy Meets World and watch some dvd's before I fall asleep (Right now, I'm watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force Season 1).

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What does the future hold for El Shoes?

El Shoes: I want to finish college and I have every intention of running for mayor of New York City around 2012. I then want to use my popularity from being a Mayor of the people and turn in into a future campaign for the United States presidency. I'm a registered Independent, so I'll have the two big tickets against me, but I believe that in the end, I will prevail. Harry Slash will be my Vice President.

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

El Shoes: If you've ever heard of me, awesome. If not, it's all good. Visit my website www.PayElShoes.com. It hasn't been updated since September, but c'mon, you don't really care, do you? To all who have supported me, thank you; please continue to do so. To those who don't support me: thank you, please continue to do so. Time to do the Urkel!

Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Thanks for this interview El Shoes.