TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tommy Dreamer update
Christopher Daniels interview preview
General information
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Tommy Dreamer update
I thought I would pass along an update on the “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” retrospective. I know a lot of you readers have been awaiting details as to the reports that WWE/ECW star Tommy Dreamer has been contacted to comment on his dealings with Rob Black and Tom Byron, his cameo in the adult film “Whack Attack #5,” and the near-riot involving XPW at HeatWave 2000.
After playing phone tag with each other for the last few months, I did in fact recently have the opportunity to discuss with Tommy the possibility of his participating in the “XPW: Bleeding Was ONLY Half the Job” retrospective. As everyone knows, Tommy is under WWE/ECW contract and it is required that any interview (formal interview, at least) that he (or any other WWE talent) does be cleared with WWE executives in advance. Furthermore, as Tommy said himself, the WWE office wants to do everything it can to make sure that this new ECW venture succeeds, which means that the company is extremely selective as far as which ECW-related media interviews are cleared and which are not cleared.
In a funny note (because no XPW retrospective is complete without some humor, considering that that was what so many people loved about XPW TV), while we were speaking, Tommy was on the Internet simultaneously, Googling “Whack Attack 5” with the intent of finding the DVD for himself. He was finding results for “Whack Attack 5: BUTTHOLE BUFFET” and kept asking if that was the correct DVD, to which I kept saying, “I’m not sure; I think it’s just called ‘Whack Attack 5’ without any subtitle.” At that point, he joked “You’re writing the thing, you should know.” Finally, upon my mentioning that the DVD cover has an image of Ashlyn Gere, we concluded that Tommy WAS indeed looking at the correct product. Nonetheless, “butthole buffet” will remain a probable candidate for two words that will never come out of Tommy Dreamer’s mouth one after the other ever again.
While Tommy cannot OFFICIALLY endorse the “XPW: Bleeding Was ONLY Half the Job” (whereas porn legend Ron Jeremy WAS able to officially attach his name to it as an endorsement, seeing as how he is not under contract to any one company--see http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QKS44NTL
for that video clip) because he is under contract to WWE/ECW, Tommy did say that he wishes nothing but success for the “XPW: Bleeding Was ONLY Half the Job” and that he approves of any effort to promote indy wrestling. Dreamer also stated that while he “[appreciates] your wanting to include me in this project,” he doesn’t have too much good or bad to say about Black, Byron, or XPW (with the exception of the HeatWave 2000 incident).
My impression from speaking with Tommy is that it is not very likely that WWE will clear any formal interview, so as of this point, what he had to say in our limited conversations is the extent of Tommy Dreamer’s involvement in “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job." Efforts, nonetheless, will continue to be made to set something up in the future. Regardless of the outcome, Tommy was very cordial during the discussion and his relative cooperation with the project thus far is appreciated.
FLASHBACK: “Fallen Angel” blesses XPW retrospective
For those who were not yet aware, on July 8, Christopher Daniels granted an interview for the ongoing “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” historical retrospective. Chris wrestled Donovan Morgan on one an show in 1999 and was never seen again in the company. In prior interviews (see: a 2001 Wrestling Observer Live audiocast) where he was asked about his short stay in XPW, he did not elucidate upon it and instead would generally shrug it off. This time, however, Daniels finally set the record straight for the first time ever about that lone appearance many moons ago. How did he get involved with XPW? Why didn’t he return to the promotion? Did he think that the “Messiah” character was a ripoff of the “Fallen Angel” persona? Plus a funny story involving himself, Chris Hamrick, and Kristi Myst.
That was just the beginning of the interview, though. Daniels got more and more blasts from the past thrown his way, as he took a step back to the mid-90’s when he first started making a name for himself on the So-Cal independent scene. Topics discussed included his runs in the Empire Wrestling Federation and the Impact Wrestling Federation as well as people he met along the way, such as Gary Key, Jesse Hernandez, Vinnie Massaro, Vic Grimes, and Kevin Kleinrock.
In a funny note, when asked about his memories of an often-forgotten 2003 match with Vic Grimes in the California Wrestling Alliance, Daniels responded “We had wanted to work with each other for awhile, and Vic was always out to prove he could wrestle and not just do hardcore. So he came up to me and he was like, ‘Hey Chris, let’s wrestle tonight.’ And I was like ‘Uhhh, ya, sure Vic, that’s what I do every night, man.’”
Likely the biggest blast from the past and certainly the most candid part of the interview was the discussion that focused on John Cena’s trainer and former-XPW Heavyweight Champion, “The Real Deal” Damien Steele. An old friend of Daniels from their UPW days together, Steele seemed to have everything going in his favor until he developed personal problems which negatively affected his wrestling career. Daniels was very candid about his relationship with Steele, his thoughts on Steele as a “worker,” the onset of Steele’s addictions and whether he (Daniels) saw them coming, and whether he thinks Steele could’ve been something special in wrestling had he kept his personal life in check.
During the course of the interview, several people made appearances including Low Ki (who sat by and listened in the entire interview’s length), Joel Gertner, April Hunter, Lacey, and Ron Zombie. In another funny moment, Jim Cornette and Ohio Valley Wrestling was being discussed and Chris was trying to remember the name of Cornette’s female disciple in OVW, so he kept asking “Who was Cornette’s girl in OVW?” but he couldn’t remember her name for the life of him. Someone mentioned “Bolin” and Chris looked at them, laughed, and was like, “Nah, Bolin is a guy.” [NOTE: Kenny Bolin is one of the main managers in OVW.] Finally Low Ki remembered and blurted it out - it was a chick named Synn. So Low Ki definitely knows his wrestling trivia quite well.
A special thanks goes out to Chris for being as down-to-earth and candid as he was during this interview. Chris is a professional in every sense of the word and his involvement in “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” is truly appreciated.
GENERAL INFORMATION
“XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” is an ongoing historical retrospective which details the fascinating history of Rob Black’s XPW (Xtreme Pro Wrestling). Officially endorsed by adult film legend Ron Jeremy (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QKS44NTL) as well as by pro wrestler / promoter / trainer / musician / radio host / magician Verne Langdon (http://www.vernelangdon.com/), the retrospective will go behind-closed-doors and detail everything one could ever want to know about XPW.
Best of all, the retrospective will be told from the accounts of the people who were there to live the XPW experience, among them Shane Douglas, Jerry Lynn, Missy Hyatt, and tens of others. The retrospective will have a major focus on the more controversial aspects of XPW’s history, such as Rob Black’s friendships with Paul Heyman and Buh Buh Ray Dudley and where exactly the negotiations with ECW went wrong, what exactly happened at the HeatWave 2000 riot, drug use in the XPW locker room, and the inside scoop on whether or not the wrestlers got sexual favors from the porn stars.
As evidenced by the involvement of such world-famous entertainers as Ron Jeremy, Shane Douglas, and Tommy Dreamer, “XPW: Bleeding WAS Only HALF the Job” is devoted to going all-out in its objective of bringing readers dirt that and has been concealed among “the boys” since XPW existed and - until now - has never seen the light of day . Find out what The Messiah doesn’t want his fans to know about his personal life and his former-relationship with Rob Black and Lizzy Borden. Follow Josh Lazie as he tells stories of his experiences traveling all around the world with Sabu, including how they got jailed together in Mexico (as well as how El Hijo del Santo played into the story). Learn the stories that Jasmin St. Claire doesn’t want you to know about her history of harassing XPW wrestlers. Get the inside scoops on the roles that Hayabusa, Bruce Hart, and Atsushi Onita, played in XPW.
Plus, each person who did an interview (see the list below) was asked for their favorite/funniest John Kronus story. Kronus - a former-ECW Tag Team Champion as one half of “The Eliminators” with Perry Saturn - is known not only as being one of the most notorious ribbers in the wrestling business but also for doing crazy stuff to entertain “the boys,” and many of those humorous drugs, sex, and alcohol-related stories will be published in “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job.”
Virtually every major wrestler who you could think of (with a few exceptions, albeit) who wrestled for or were directly associated with XPW have done extensive shoot interviews about their XPW runs and their comments will be incorporated into the retrospective with the purpose of providing first-hand testimony. Everybody was asked about their opinion of how they got into XPW, their opinion of Rob Black and of Lizzy Borden, and then of course more specific questions about their particular involvement in XPW, as well as their favorite party/road stories from XPW.
The list of people who have done interviews so far include:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->“The Franchise” SHANE DOUGLAS
(made very candid comments on a number of different subjects---for a full summary of what Douglas discussed, go to http://www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/xpwsd.html )
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Jerry Lynn
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Missy Hyatt
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Chris Hamrick
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Shark Boy
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->“The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels (the newest addition)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Kevin Kleinrock (former-XPW VP)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Josh Lazie (former-XPW Talent Relations Director, manager of Sabu, and ex-bassist for the world-famous band DANZIG---for a full summary of what Lazie discussed, go to http://www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/xpwlazie.html )
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Kris Kloss
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Larry Rivera
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->CZW promoter/wrestler John Zandig
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Verne Langdon (the trainer of Homeless Jimmy, Messiah, Dynamite D, Johnny Webb, Damien Steele, Angel, and others)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Plus over 20 different wrestlers including - but not limited to - Kaos, GQ Money, Altar Boy Luke, Pogo the Clown, “White Trash” Johnny Webb, Dynamite D, Steve Rizzono, and tons of others
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Many more to be announced!
Those who were contacted for interviews about their XPW tenures but declined include:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Sabu (did not want to do any sort of interview regardless of pay---said he would not do the interview even if he were to be paid $5,000)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->New Jack (no interest in talking about XPW)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Justin Credible (did not give any reason)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Evan Karagias (wanted $100 for an interview)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->The Messiah (wanted $200+ for an interview)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->***Lizzy Borden (has moved on from wrestling and doesn’t wish to comment on it)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Jasmin St. Claire (acted like a prima donna [read: Pre-Madonna], saying she was higher than doing wrestling interviews)
***Although Lizzy Borden did not grant an interview, she was very helpful in supplying rare XPW footage and photographs which will be used to supplement the voluminous information that is presented in the “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” retrospective.
WWE/ECW star Tommy Dreamer’s involvement or non-involvement in “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” is - as of this point - undecided.
More and more people who were formerly associated with XPW continue to be contacted for interviews and updates will be given if anyone noteworthy agrees to get involved.
On a side note, XPW was mentioned in a veiled reference by Paul Heyman on a WWE/ECW show at Viking Hall show on June 24, 2006. In his emotional promo, Heyman said "I don't care what losers and wannabes and porno rejects have run here. I have been dying for five years to say we are home in the ECW Arena!”
To read the editions of “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” that have been printed up to this point, please visit:
http://www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/specialsubmits/xpwhisto ry.html
Be sure to start at the bottom of that page, as the article at the top is the most recent chronologically and the last article is the first article chronologically (assuming you want to read them in chronological order, that is…if not, then dive right in!).
For any questions about the retrospective, please e-mail Piratez4v3go2@aol.com. Also e-mail that address if you wish to be added to the “XPW: Bleeding Was Only HALF the Job” mailing list. Thanks for your interest.
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