What up DOIites. Today I interviewed ABC Promoter and indy wrestler, Jimmy Hustler. Jimmy has toiled on the indy scene for some time now, working in USA PW, SSCW and in other promotions. Hustler also promoted ABC Wrestling in September of 2003. In this interview, Hustler discusses his career, ABC Wrestling, his friends and more. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: How did you get into the pro wrestling business?

Jimmy Hustler: I grew up being a fan of wrestling. I first started watching wrestling when I was around 7 years old and living in Puerto Rico. Yadda yadda...Then Around 1996, my best friend at the time and I started kicking around the idea of looking for training facilities and joining. I was living in Florida at the time and he was in New York. Before either one of us realized that there was a school right near by in NY, he went down to to the WCW Powerplant where he actually made it thorugh that Hell Week type of tryout that they use to offer. Where they take your money and for the next 7 days put you through hell with cardio and calistethics until you wind up dropping out on your own. Anyway, when he got back to NY, he found out about Johnny Rodz's school out of Gleason's Gym. When he told me where it was in Brooklyn, right near the old neighborhood, I was in the process of moving back to NY, so one of the first things I did once I returned was joined the school. That was in March of 1997.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What were some things about wrestling that you didn't know before entering it?

Jimmy Hustler: Aside from watching it on TV and going to a couple of house shows, I didn't know anything about being in the business. Then once I started training, I didn't realize how much hard work is involved. But shortly after joining, as with anything I do, I decided that I didn't just want to learn to wrestle and "work", but I also wanted to learn all aspects of the business. I wanted to lear what goes into booking, promoting and anything else I could absorb from anyone involved.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: You wrestle for Frank Goodman's USA Pro Wrestling. What is it like there?

Jimmy Hustler: Too cluttered. There are way too many guys on that roster and makes for long shows which can turn many people away. When I first started in USA Pro, there use to be around 40 to 45 guys per show, 10-12 matches. I look forward to the day where it will be that way again. I keep hearing how they are going to make cuts, shortened the shows, etc. But I have yet to see that.

But my personal experience there, what can I say, USA Pro is the only game in town and I am part of it. Although it seems like I am always involved in cluster fuck matches involving under trained workers or unskilled "ticket-sellers" but every show is always going to have some of those. And Frank has asked me on several ocassions to keep an eye on these people, protect them and guide them in there. That is part of the reason why I get stuck in those type of matches.So if some of those matches have been intolerable to watch, then I guess I have to shoulder some of the blame as He has put me in the position of directing traffic, sort of speak. Bottom line is this...I put money in Goodman's pocket, and he puts money in mine.This is a business and I am a business man first and foremost.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What promotions have you worked for that you enjoyed?

Jimmy Hustler: I enjoy being in USA Pro because there is nothing like NY crowds. They can be the loudest, roughest critics you'll ever get a chance to work in front of. I also enjoyed the way we were treated down in NWA Wildside. They are true professionals down there and Bill Behrens is the man. There are a couple of others that I had a good time at.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What promotions have you worked for that you thought were weak?

Jimmy Hustler: Vigilante Wrestling Federation. The biggest piece of shit show that I am shamed to say I was even involved with. I can't really think of any small promtions that I have worked for. The only ones that I have worked for have all been well established and recognize. It's just me that hasn't been recognized in them. I always seem to be stuck in Battle royals wherever I go.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: You ran ABC Wrestling. What is the status on that project?

Jimmy Hustler: I'd love to run again, but New Jersey is just too saturated with promotions. I don't want to be another joe schmo with a promotion. It seems like every year, someone new tries to start one up either because they are money marks who think that just because they can afford to they should, or just because they are such marks, that they do it to try and rub elbows with the talents. That just left a bitter taste in my mouth.

And those who know me outside of the wrestling business know that I work 6 days a week running my own branch of a wedding services company. I dont have the time to dedicate to running ABC again. But many people have been asking me about it, so I am more than likely, gonna try it again. I might take a couple of days off to find a building in jersey and take it from there. ABC may be down right now, but they ain't out yet.

My first show did better than alot of the shows I have been to or been a part of. And not one person has shitted on any of the matches themselves. Out of the 10 matches on it, I'd say 7 of them were either 4 or 5 star matches.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What is your side of the story about the infamous headlock, where you beat the crap out of someone who was working for you? What is every detail of that story from your point of view?

Jimmy Hustler: Well, contrary to rumors, this was not a young kid. Legally, he is considered an adult. As part of his complimentary admission, he was to help out in whatever way he could, whether it was ring crew, clean up, setting up/breaking down the set up. Well, after the show finished, I asked him to help clean up. His response was "why should I, I already saw the show." At that point, I didn's ask him, I told him to get back inside and do what he was supposed to do. He refused with a "what are you going to do?". I told him to get inside or I was going to drag him back inside to which he said "I'd like to see that". At that point I flipped out and told Kevin Matthews to tell his boy to get inside before I beat his ass. Kevin said "I don't care, do what you want",. so I grabbed him by the back of his neck and was leading him back inside. As he was trying to pull away I just put him in a sleeper hold and he just grabbed onto a cement pillar and wouldn't let go. Next thing I know, there were about 4 or 5 guys trying to peel me off of this guy. I told him to get out of my site and made him wait for whoever he was waiting for in the parking lot.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: If you could slap anyone in the face in the wrestling business, who would it be?

Jimmy Hustler: I can't think of anyone. I don't dislike anyone in the business. If I disliked anyone in the business, that would mean that I cared what they did or said.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: You have said many times you want to be respected. There is even a mock song floating around about it. What are your thoughts on this, and wanting to be respected?

Jimmy Hustler: That all started with 2 people who have absolutely no understanding of the word respect. They act like fucking retards and have no respect for anyone. They need to understand that respect is something you show someone, not tell them you have for them. They also confuse having fun with acting immature, idiotic and disrespectful. The "song" you talk about was created by these two as was the video montauge they created for me. But the effort they put into creating this song and video is 100 percent more effort than I would put into anything to trash them.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What are your thoughts on the following people?

Danny Demanto-

Jimmy Hustler: Fat, loser, lying piece of shit with no life, no ambitions, no goals and no future that has to resort to stealing money from his mother's purse to pay for half of Alexis Laree's pay so that he can work her on a show.. Loves to shit talk about everyone and then act like he is there friend to their face. One of these days he is going to piss off the wrong person and its going to get him in serious trouble. His comments and jokes are getting pretty tiresome.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: Kevin Matthews-

Jimmy Hustler: Good friend in and out of the business. Has come a long way from being that tall slinky kid I met at Gleason's Gym 5 years ago. Has great potential in this business if he just learned to keep his mouth shut a little more and open his ears instead. Ha sben my traveling partner for numerous road trips from Georgia, to the Carolinas, to as far north as Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Keenan Quinn- Only met him like 2 or 3 times, but seems like a nice kid that just gets abused by Kevin and Danny too much. But...he know's what's coming DICKFACE!!!

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: The kid who you gave a headlock to

Jimmy Hustler: I can't wait to cross paths with him again. He has gone as far as making threats against me including saying he is going to shoot me. I feel that the fact that he threaten my life is reason enough to seriously hurt him, real bad. I would like him `to feel pain and suffer and cry like the little bitch that he is.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: Jac Sabboth-

Jimmy Hustler: Never stiffed me. I worked for UCW/ICW 3 times and I always got my pay. He needs to stop letting the inmates run the assylum and take full control of HIS company. I've never had a problem with him or have given him any reasons `to have a problem with me.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: Frank Goodman-

Jimmy Hustler: Always been fair to me and has a good business mind. He and I share only one common interest, MAKING MONEY.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: Do you think ABC Wrestling hurt or helped the NJ Indy scene?

Jimmy Hustler: I don't think ABC Wrestling had any impact on the indy scene one way or the other. Had I kept it going on a regular basis, then I feel it would have helped the Indy scene. One word that I have heard numerous times to describe the ABC Wrestling debut show (available at WWW.Abcwrestling.net) was qualilty. I am very old school minded and one of my goals was to bring back wrestling to the way things were when I first got into it. Where heels were clearly dispised and baby faces were worshipped.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What promotions on the NJ indy scene do you think are viable to the wrestling business?

Jimmy Hustler: I think in NJ, JAPW has to be the biggest and best fed and I cant see them ever not being around. I think they set the bar for standards for what a promotion in NewJersey should be like. JCW has had its up and downs but it seems lately like they are putting on a strong argument at being called the number 2 fed in all of NJ.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What promotions on the NJ indy scene do you think are killing the wrestling business?

Jimmy Hustler: The current state of SSCW has to come to a lot of people's minds when answering that question. They just need to PROMOTE, and not just depend on the internnet. And then you have feds like EWA in south jersey, and any other wanna be feds that mainly use self trained back yarders.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: Is it true that you set the fire at the SSCW show?

Jimmy Hustler: Who told? I thought we were going to keep this between us. I thought the cigarette I flicked went out when it hit, I didn't realize it would create such havoc. But seriously, during intermission, when a bunch of us went to the bar downstairs, weren't you the first one that spotted the fire and pointed it out to the rest of us?

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What has been the best match in your career?

Jimmy Hustler: The first one that comes to mind has to be against Donny Bon Jovi of PCW. It was a singles match that told a story. It had everything one could ever want in a match. I also had a decent match in HWA in delaware against a guy named Frank Savage. For some reason, I always seem to have good matches against smaller guys who dont depend on doing 20 spots in 5 minute matches.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What incident that occurred in your wrestling career made you angrier than anything else?

Jimmy Hustler: I dont get angry very often, but one incident that almost made me lose it in the ring had to be the 12 man elimination match a couple of years back in the Elk's Lodge where Rocksha's mask came off and he threw a hissy fit about it in the back. There were at least 3 people that had no business being in that ring or any ring for that matter. And those are the first three people that took it upon themselves to start it out. Well, first, Kevin Matthews took it upon himself to beat the shit out of one of them, then I threw around the next one for a couple of minutes and he was making the match look like shit that I went for the pin on him. Both Ref Billy Caputo and I told him to stay down and he had the balls to kick out, so I legit punched him the face one more time and pinned him again but this time, I put my forearm across his throat and told him to stay down, which he finally got the hint and took the pin.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What incident that occurred in your wrestling career made you feel good about the wrestling business?

Jimmy Hustler: You'll be the first to know when I experience that feeling.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What promotions would you like to work for that you haven't had a chance to work for yet?

Jimmy Hustler: Lets see, Ive already worked in SSCW, JCW, NWA Wildside, Usa Pro, UCW/ICW, I guess the only one that matters locally and I would love to work for is JAPW first and foremost. And I guess NYCW. I wouldn't even try to get into ROH or ECWA or any of the others that fall into their categories. I think of those as being in a league of their own.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What is your favorite memory of being in the wrestling business?

Jimmy Hustler: That would be being able to say that I was booked and billed as the main event for a fed where I wrestled their hvwt champion and the match preceeding mine was John Walters. Up in the New England area, the really use to appreciate me and my wrestling. the couple of times I worked up there were always singles matches, then again, the same applies to everywhere else I have worked outside of NY and Central Jersey.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: Who's been your best opponnent? Your worst?

Jimmy Hustler: Best Opponent would have to be ECW's The Musketeer. I think we just had really good chemistry in the ring and things just use to flow fluently. Then for a couple of matches, we did 3 way dances with Damian Dragon and we had a really good time in those too. I remember one time we did one of thoswe 3 way dances, after the match when we went to the back, we were so happy with it, we were ready to go do it again.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What are your thoughts on the Wrestling Universe closing down?

Jimmy Hustler: Its a shame. A I said before, I like Jac Sabboth and I always got along with him. And his store was the only place I know where someone can go and get anything from Comic Books, To sports Memorabillia to anything wrestling related. You can't find any one place that caters to all of that. If you were hoping for a Jac sabboth, no money having joke here, dont count on it.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What mark would you like to leave on the wrestling business when you leave it?

Jimmy Hustler: I want to see soemone make it far in this business and say "Jimmy Hustler helped me". I am not in this business for myself. My body can't take much more. I have suffered many injuries that keep me from wrestling like I once did. But I do like helping the young up and comers that really want to be helped. I may not be able to do half the things that spot monkeys do nowadays, but i still have a very good mind for the business as far as psychology goes, ring positioning, timing and pacing a match. thats why I may not be a good wrestler, but I am a great WORKER, and that is why I still have a steady position in Usa pro and have been brought in to many other promotions to carry greenies.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: What would you like to say to anyone reading this?

Jimmy Hustler: If you are reading this far into the interview, thank you for taking the time out to learn a little bit more about one of the forgotten indy workers. And for the many people that keep asking me about ABC Wrestling, I will more than likely bring it back. I will let everyone at the DOI Know and they will pass on the information to you all.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey: Thanks for this interview and good luck with your wrestling and promoting career.