Nick Berk
What up everyone and welcome to another McInterview for the new Declaration of
Independents website. This time I sat down with Nick Berk. Nick is a former CZW
World Champ and has held numerous titles around the U.S. Nick recently made his
3PW debut as well. Check out this interview for Nick’s opinions on the “Philly
Wars”, his career and more. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: How did you get into pro wrestling, and why did you
want to get into it?
Nick Berk: As a young child, my older brother liked wrestling, so I followed him
and became interested in wrestling too. I remember going to the Philadelphia Spectrum
to see WWF's Saturday Night Main Event, and NWA at the Philadelphia Civic Center.
I grew up on Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Rick Flair, Sting, Lex Luger
and the rest of the 1980s wrestlers. When I got older, around 12/13 years old,
I began to go to ECW at the Arena. That is when I met Trent Acid, Billy Reil and
a few other guys who were training at a local wrestling school in Philadelphia
called "Hawkins Brothers' Wrestling Gym." That is where I learned from Reckless
Youth, Don Montoya and many others. Becoming a pro wrestler has been a lifelong
dream for me, so unlike many others, I'm accomplishing my dream.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What was your training like, and how rough was it?
Nick Berk: The training was tough in the beginning, but after a few weeks, it
became routine. Learning the ways to recover from the pain of the falls, etc.
weren't taught, they were just learned over time. The basics were very tough to
learn, but once you had a hold of them, things got easy. After a year or tow in
the biz, I began to train with Afa the Wild Samoan. At that point, my skills became
sharper and I became tougher. I learned a lot about the business from his training,
and I owe a lot of gratitude to him for that.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Who were your favorite wrestlers growing up? What wrestlers
didn't you like growing up?
Nick Berk: Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Brutus Beefcake, Mr. Perfect, The Undertaker,
Ultimate Warrior, The Rockers, Demolition and mostly all of the "good guys" from
that era stand out in my mind. Basically, I always liked who was on top in WWF
at that time. For some reason, although I watched NWA/WCW a lot, I wasn't a great
fan of theirs. Something about their "dark" atmosphere turned me off.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You have worked a lot of your career over in CZW. What's
CZW like, and how does it differ from other companies?
Nick Berk: CZW is great, despite the bad rap that people have given the company.
They always treated me with respect by the front offices. All the boys in the
locker room are like my family. It is by far the best locker room I have been
in. Anyone who has been an outsider in our locker room has been made welcome.
Sometimes I wish my spot in CZW was on a higher level, but we all have to remember
that there is a place and time for everything. My time just has not come yet.
CZW is a great company with action for everyone's liking. I can't find another
company in the US that offers that.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you think has been the best match in your career?
Nick Berk: That is a difficult question to answer. I feel that I have had a lot
of great matches with a lot of great people. My matches with Trent Acid were all
great (including the tag feuds with that traveled all over the East Coast between
the Backseats and Ric Blade/Nick Berk). The match at CZW's Cage Of Death 2 at
Viking Hall where I wrestled Adam Flash and Nick Mondo. I liked wrestling Fujita,
Johnny Storm, Nick Gage, Tony Mamaluke, Jimmy Rave, and many others. So to pick
one match that stood out above any others is just too tough of a question to answer.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What are your favorite promotions to work for, and why?
Nick Berk: CZW is definitely up there because it's my home. 3PW has become a great
company for me, I like a lot of the people there and I feel very welcomed there
by everybody, and they are a lot of fun.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Do you have any pre match superstitions?
Nick Berk: It's a weird thing that I do, but it's my style...I don't get dressed
into my gear until a short while before I'm about to wrestle. The other wrestlers
noted that as "Berking the Show." That is how the Red Bull thing came to be. I
was still getting ready while my music was playing and I had to drink my Red Bull...so
I finished it one time while walking to the ring. The next week, the same exact
thing happened, and after that, it became routine.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What's a normal day in the life of Nick Berk?
Nick Berk: I wake up, eat my breakfast which consists of eggs, turkey sausage,
wheat toast and a protein drink. Then I go to the gym, work out for a couple hours
and then go tanning. I get back home, have a protein drink and shower. Then I
watch TV for a while and play around on the computer. I have chicken grilled on
the Forman Grill and brown rice mixed with honey mustard for lunch. I'll watch
some tapes of wrestling, run some errands, hang out with some friends, etc. I
make sure I have another protein shake in there and I'll eat some low-carb/high
protein dinner and continue the rest of my night. Every once in a while I'll get
a job to make some extra cash so I can save up for something like a vacation or
holiday shopping, a motorcycle, new car...you know the normal stuff.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you like to do outside of wrestling?
Nick Berk: I like to go to clubs and party a lot, I just recently got a girlfriend
(sorry ladies), so I'm spending a lot of time with her. I love riding my motorcycle
for hours on end. This past summer I went to a bunch of Pearl Jam concerts, accompanied
by Trent Acid. I like to go to the Berwyn Tavern in Berwyn, PA and hang out with
the CZW boys that work there.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: You recently made your 3PW debut, after the "Philly
Wars" ended. What is it like working for 3PW, and what did you think about the
"Philly Wars" between CZW/3PW/ROH/XPW about a year ago?
Nick Berk: The "Philly Wars" in my opinion were stupid. It was actually hyped
up by the Internet fans, who do feel they know everything, when what they don't
know could fill a book. I do feel that XPW were up to no good, as they're main
goal was to kill Philly Indy Wrestling. I thought it was immaturity on XPW's behalf,
and a smart idea when CZW, 3PW, and ROH all banned together to show that they
weren't as tough as they thought they were. The fact that XPW took 3 wrestlers
from CZW didn't help them, so it was a waste of money for them, and they did ruin
3 wrestling careers. That right there showed that it was a war XPW was never going
to win.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you think about the current state of wrestling?
Nick Berk: The state of wrestling right now is far different than it was when
I first broke into the business. The fans are spoiled and unappreciative. The
attempts to make them happy is very tough, and I do feel sorry for the ones that
enjoy the simple pleasures in wrestling and are satisfied with what is given to
them. It is tough to make a successful career now in the wrestling business because
there is only one major company that can pay very well, so spots in the WWE are
limited. I do like the fact that WWE is trying to backtrack in the style of wrestling
so wrestlers don't have to kill themselves in order to make the fans happy. I
have noticed that the attendance in all wrestling shows is down, and I have no
clue why, I just hope it gets back to the way it was.
Word Association
John Zandig
a great guy and a good boss and wrestling promoter, look at all he has to put
up with and he still leaves fans happy.
Rob Black
UUUUGGGHHHH! I never met the guy, thank God for that. I hear he's a scumbag, I'm
still waiting to hear 1 good word about him.
Fat Frank
Good guy....he gave me my first "home" in wrestling, he gave me a chance to make
a name for myself.
Rob Feinstein
I never had the chance to work for him, but I do know him pretty well. He has
a good business mind, he will continue to do fine in this business.
Vince McMahon
GENIUS! He is the God of wrestling....look at what he has done, and what he continues
to do. He created most of the stars in wrestling today. He made horrible talents
into great ticket sellers that were adored by fans...show me somebody else that
has done that.
Jasmin St. Claire
She's a great person. She's very funny and smart, despite the rap that people
give her. I consider her a good friend.
Blue Meanie
He's another person I consider a good friend in the biz. He's a funny guy with
a heart of gold. He's gone far in this business and deserves a lot of respect
for that.
Hardway Wrestling
A company that needs to get back on track. The fan base has been low, and there's
reasons for that. It was a great company to work for, and I have great memories
there, but its in a slump and desperately needs to get out of it.
IPW
I was the tag champ there with Z-Barr, it was awesome wrestling there, I had fun,
I hope I can do it again.
Ruckus
He's a cool guy, very nice and fun to have in the lockerroom. I have a lot of
respect for him, a lot more than I originally had.
Homicide
The guy has come a long way. I remember when he started out as a hardcore wrestler,
he told me he wasn't into the technical part of it...what happened there? He's
definitely into it now, and damn good at it.
Hulk Hogan
He's one of my idols, always has been. Look at him, an older man that can still
RULE!
Bradshaw
He's one stiff looking guy. He has a great new look too.
Steve Austin
I still remember the 1st time I met him. It was when he was the biggest thing
in wrestling. I was in highschool still, and was on JAP's 1st Anniversary show.
I walked him to the hotel room and didn't say anything other than hello. Then
we walked into the room and WWF was on TV with a promo about him. It was a music
mantage about him and showed him 'drinking beer and kicking ass'. I was told by
Fat Frank to ask if he wanted a beer. So I was the idiot who interrupted him and
asked "Steve, do you want a beer?" He turned to me and said "No son, I gotta work
tonight, I don't drink when I work!" My face was puzzled as we all watched this
promo on TV showing him drinking beer in the ring.
The Undertaker
Yet another man that I used to idolize. He amazed me with he "death" stuff...I
loved it. Now he's a little different, I still like his work, but I like the Dead
Man gimmick better
Bastion Booger
He always disgusted me when I was a kid. I hear he's a good guy though. Maybe
my feeling will change if I get to meet him.
Giant Gonzales
Yet another guy that never really did much for me while I was growing up. He seemed
like he was retarded, not threatening.
Declaration of Independents
Who are they???? Hahahahaaa...just kidding. Great site, I enjoy reading it.
Nick Berk
Simply "The Man"
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What is it like being a champion, and knowing that a
promoter has faith in you to hold a title representing his/her company?
Nick Berk: I take it as a great sign of respect, and I see that my hard work is
finally paying off. The toughest part is dropping the title and not getting it
back for reasons unknown.
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What are your long term and short term career goals?
Nick Berk: The long term goal is to be living comfortably as a pro wrestler in
a large company that made me famous. My short term goal is to get higher in rankings
in CZW and 3PW (two of the major Indies on the east coast)
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: Who would be your dream match?
Nick Berk: Bret Hart, but I don't think that is possible now. Other than that
I'd say either Jericho or Benoit. On the Indies, I'd say AJ Styles
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey: What do you want to say to anyone reading this? Nick
Berk: Visit NICKBERK.COM and support your local Independent Wrestling Companies!
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