Monsta Macks First Installment

Well since this is the first time I do one of these, I figure I would let you know what it’s all about. This column is not going to be me just rating, profiling, put them down or passing judgment on any specific wrestler or how he performs in the ring. It will be more like me telling you about some of my favorite workers, how they work and different stories I have involving them.

Being involved with this business for almost 7 years, I have a lot of stories, some that I can’t tell for obvious reasons, and I have met a whole lot of talented people. And if you know anything about my career, you definitely know that my whole career, I have been around three of the most talented and interesting individuals in the world. Ask anyone who works in any lockeroom at any show on the East Coast who the top5 most respected Indy guys are and I guarantee you 3 of those mentioned will be Homicide, Low Ki and Mafia.

When this column came about, I knew it would be these guys that I would write about first. Why? Because they are family and it’s that simple.

Homicide:
This is the person if I had a draft for a new fed, would with out a doubt be my first pick. If 2002 was the year of Low Ki in Ring of Honor, then 2003 is the year of Homicide. For years he was called a little New Jack wannabe because of they way he dressed. Then he started wrestling and shut those people up with the quickness. The Strong Style Thug (S.S.T.) is the Father of the East Coast Wrestling Strong Style Movement that is going on today. He practically trained half of the guys in the lockeroom lol. For the almost seven years I have known him, I have never seen him in a bad situation in or out of the ring. He is a ring general/leader. If something goes wrong, he will take charge and fix it in a matter of seconds. At one time he was notorious for his bad temper but as he got older, that started to disappear. One time he was wrestling his long time JAPW rival, J Lover, in a regular match. J Lover was acting like a tough guy and shooting on Homicide verbally. As to what he was thinking at that moment, I think he was W.U.I. (Wrestling Under the Influence). Homicide decided that the match should head outside and that some toys should get involved. J Lover gave him a chair shot to the back and started to shoot again. So Homicide had enough and put J on his ass. With a little love on his mind for J, he picked up the ring steps, made of heavy steel (not the aluminum steps the WWE uses), and dropped it, corner first, on to the large head of J Lover. Pretty much J stopped talking for the rest of the night and has not been heard from in a while. Thank God he calmed down right? lol. In all seriousness though, no one is happier than me that he is getting the props he deserves right now. He is making all the right heads turn to him right now and I hope it leads to nothing but the best for him. I know he has been working on his promos lately and he has put out his best work ever since he started ROH. Hopefully Big Brother sees how hard he is working at his promos and gives him a chance to make some money and own MSG. Lets see what happens.

Low Ki:
If you have ever seen Low Ki live, you know you have seen something special. The level of intensity, intelligence, agility, toughness and desire he brings in to every single match is something that very few men can duplicate in any walk of life. And just when you think you can reach that level, he beats you with his stamina. While becoming the first ROH champion in a helacious sixty minute iron man 4 way was murder on Ki as well as Christopher Daniels, Spanky and Doug Williams, he has trained his body to survive much worst than that. When we used to train at the Doghouse in Brooklyn, Ki and Homicide would start shoot training around 1am. Nothing major just feeling each other out. Me and Laithon (the head trainer of the doghouse) would go in to the office of the school to either watch TV or play video games. We’d come out around 3-4am, and they would still be going at it. We’d go to sleep, wake up around 8-9am, and they would just be finishing!!!! Now if that isn’t dedication, I don’t know what it. It’s no wonder that these two guys are two of the top Indy wrestlers as well as two of the most talked about today. What is really crazy about Low Ki is that as great of a wrestler as he is over here in the states, he is a million times better over in Japan. Zero One lit such a fire under his ass (which he didn’t need at all) that he has quickly become one of the top lightweight Gaijin over in Japan ever. And to top that, he hasn’t even reached his prime!!! He will become one of the most popular wrestlers of all time worldwide, if he can just let himself heal. Injury is never a good thing but in a way, this recent shoulder injury he suffered is good because now he can let other things like his ankles, heal up. Without the injury, he would have kept wrestling until he ended up in a hospital bed and even then he would find a way to crawl in to the ring. I know when his batteries are fully charged, he is coming back to the ring with so much more passion, desire, and determination that no one will stop him from climbing to the absolute top of the ladder. All I know is he better give me ringside seats when he wrestles in the Tokyo Dome

Mafia:
Sometimes I feel as proud as a father when it comes to Mafia because I have seen him go from being a very stiff and green monster who went in to the ring with the determination of a bull to succeed, in to a man who is quickly becoming one of the top workers as well as top entertainers in the world with that same determination to become the best he can be. I think of him as a brother because for the last 4 years, we have gone through some of the toughest and funniest experience that only a family can go through. Every thing from traveling 6 hours with the Haas Brothers to wrestle each other in front of 5 people (four of which were wrestlers) to wondering if either of us was going to miss time if we got surgery on our bad knees to starting with JAPW very small in the company (him a fan, me a jobber) and exploding to become one of the hottest teams on the east coast to realizing a major dream of ours by going to Japan with our teacher and best friend Homicide. We have done a lot and there is a lot left to do. I know right now it may not seem like we will do anything as a team, but I know somewhere down the line, the second murder spree will happen and when it does, it will be hard to stop it. For now though, I know that Danny Maff (I hate that name sooooo much) will eventually be getting dark matches for the WWE or he will go down to NWA:TNA and wreck shop down there like he has been doing since he started wrestling back in 1999. The man is destined for greatness. To prove how great his will is, I will drop this little story about him that many people did not know. When he was in high school, he was on the football team (and if you could believe it he was also a starter on the soccer team?!?!?). Anyway he was the Defensive Capt. for his team and started at defensive end. His team was so good that they ended up playing for the championship during his senior season. During the last play of the first half, he crushed this kid on a tackle. He hit him so hard that he destroyed his own knee cap while making the tackle. He knew some thing was very wrong right away. During half time he knew that he was done but he also knew his team needed all the help they could get to win. He told the Dr. on the scene to just shoot him up with cortisone shot so he could finish the game. After some convincing, he got the shot and finished the game with basically one leg. Not only did he finish the game, but he was the games MVP. His jersey from the game, is hanging in his school’s hallway till this day. That same fire and determination to win and be the best, is what makes him great today. He is one of the toughest individuals you can ever meet. He is also one of the most evil ribbers you can meet. I will get in to that another day though. I said earlier that 2002 was Low Ki’s year in ROH, 2003 is Homicides year and I will go on the record right now and say that 2004, barring injury or a major contract signing, Mafia will own ROH!!! I just hope he never forgets about a fat kid named Steve who didn’t want to team with him at first, but now cant imagine a life without him. I wish him all the success in the world.

These three guys are my best friends and I am their biggest fan (don’t start with the fat jokes) when they are in the ring. A lot of times I feel out of place when it comes to my ring work compared to these guys and what they can do in the ring but when I do, I just study what they are doing to try to learn from them and make my stuff a little bit better. It works. I still suck, but not as much as I once did I cannot thank these guys enough for all they have meant to me and what they have done for me. I have said it before and I will say it again, I would take a bullet for my brothers Low Ki, Homicide and Mafia.

I will try to get these columns out at least once every two weeks.

The next three guys I will write up will be Samoa Joe, Stryker (NY Stryker) and Ref Hanson.

Thanks for reading my nonsense.

Let me know what you think by posting on either message board at www.declarationofindependents.net or www.dahitsquad.net

Later

Monsta Mack

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