This past weekend the ESS PROMOTIONS xxx a - z tour continued with Kamala. Unlike the Iron Sheik who is high maintenance, Kamala is just the opposite very low key and mellow. Originally it was supposed to be a double shot weekend with JCW and NWS. As luck would have it JCW was forced to postpone its April 24 show to May 1. When I was informed of this I was not a happy camper. Both promotions agreed to have Kamala on there show and a mutually acceptable price was set up. I was informed on Tuesday, April 20. I then began to make alternate arrangements. I put an e mail into Frank from JAPW and began negotiations with him. I ran into some roadblocks there but still continued. I was debating whether to call Kamala and tell him what was going on. I decided not to call and tell him in hopes of something getting worked out in the last second. NWS management was not happy either as there original price had to be raised as well. I am of the belief that once a deal is made its stuck to no matter what happens. Others don't feel that way. So I felt that I had to get Kamala the price that was agreed upon or something real close. In the final hour Frank from JAPW called me. This was 830 am on Sat morning and a deal was made for Kamala for his show. I had to go to his show anyway as I made Tee shirts for him.
I go to the airport and pick up Kamala. As usual he is happy to see me as I always take good care of him when he comes in to town. Before I got to the airport I checked into the hotel room which was an Econo Lodge. I have traveled pretty much for the last 9 months with my job and the boys know a good hotel when they see one. This was one of the cheaper ones. One I would not book anyone in. But since I put the responsibility of the hotel in someone else's hand this is the results I get. Econo Lodge is basically bottom of the barrel of hotels. After I get him we are off to an autograph session in Fair Lawn NJ at Morlott Pizza which is a sponsor of JCW. A special thank you to Mike and staff who treated us well and fed us some good food. About 2 hours later we were off to the JAPW show. Once there Kamala got ready and we did a pre show autograph session along with Vader and Mike Awesome. The original plan that was pitched to me was changed and Kamala wrestled in the showcase pre show. That actually worked out better for me as I was able to get out of the building by 6:30. A special thank you goes out to Frank and the JAPW staff for putting Kamala on the show last second and getting us out on or before it was time for us to leave. Frank your loyalty to me and coming thru for me last second helping me out in a pinch will not be forgotten and will be rewarded in some form or another in the near future.
We left the JAPW and were off to NWS which was about 40 or so minutes away. Kamala was in full get up in my car. Any one that knows Kamala knows that he is basically a shy guy. He felt uncomfortable walking in the parking lot. I thought it was funny when we were driving and he would look at people as we were passing them. I had a make a pit stop at the rest stop on the parkway to get him some food. It was funny as hell just watching him sit in the car in full makeup as people were passing by. I know he felt uncomfortable but I encourage that sort of stuff as I think it is funny. We finally make the NWS show with about 15 minutes to spare. After getting his bags to the locker room we immediately went to the gimmick table and did some good business. A special thank you goes to Dapper Johnny for realizing that we were busy and not starting the show until 15 minutes past the scheduled start time. Thats a real professional if you ask me. The show finally started and was a decent show with angles set up for future shows and a 4 star Chris Candido vs Damian Adams match that had a ton of psychology and was better than there previous 3 minute match at SSCW. Even though there 3 minutes at that show was the best 3 minutes on that show. It was also good to see Big Vito on the show as I haven't seen him in a while and he doesn't do many indy shows. Vito and Hasheem Ali had a good match as well.
At intermission I had Kamala at the table as well as Chris Candido and Tammy and we did good business with all of them. A special thank you goes out to Chris and Tammy for working with me with the polaroids. We have done good business in the past and they trust me and know that when I am around and hustle for a buck that they are going to make some good money.
At a recent JCW Chris spoke to me about how he enjoyed working with me and felt bad about going in a different direction with someone that he thought gave him a better offer but turned out to be bad in the long run. I think everyone knows I am good for business with them but I have to get my fair share.
After the show the Kahuna and group that comes in his van along with Kamala, Vito and myself all went to the diner for dinner as is are usual thing to do after a show. We all shared a good time as there was 12 or so of us. It is always entertaining to listen to one of Gino's road stories.
After dinner it was off to the hotel in Newark to drop Kamala off. His look at the room once I brought him in was priceless. He knew it was bad. For an extra $10 he could have stayed at the Howard Johnson's which is a better hotel. To the person that booked the room that shall remain nameless you should have sprung for the extra $10. I know your on a budget but its OK to slightly splurge sometimes. After Kamala ribbed me for about 5 minutes about the room I thanked him for be a team player and going along with the program of the day as it could have been a very difficult day. I could see the dislike for the room. I promised him that the next time he was in town for me I would get him a better hotel. We said good night and I left to go home. I barely made it home as I was so tired and starting to fall asleep as it was a long day.
I finally made it home and crashed only to awake 3 or so hours later to begin my next day which was Sunday. That's the day I have to be nice to the girlfriend. I was beat to shit on that day.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All in all it turned out to be a good day. A friend came through for me in a pinch, Kamala got very close to what he was originally guaranteed and with the gimmicks got a little more than that. I always have fun at the NWS shows as they are family oriented. JAPW has also been very good to me over the years. A special thank you goes out to them
check out my website which has just been updated and redone at www.esspromotions.com
And as always I can be reached at ess316@aol.com