In other news -Happy New Year,
You know it seems I get a lot of Indy and fledgling pro wrestlers who write to me asking for some general advice about how to thrive and improve so I thought I would post a blog for easy reference. Enjoy, I hope.
TIPS for STARTING OUT
Tip 1: When you begin your training ASSUME NOTHING. I don't care how many behind the scenes documentaries you've watched, how many subscriptions you have to Newsletters, or how many shoot interviews you have watched, you know nothing about actually wrestling. Show up in shape with some cardio to boot. 40 mins 4 x a week brisk JOG (no walking) should be a goal. Also begin doing simple Hindu Squats in your home at night a few hours before bed. Start with with 150 (straight NO STOPPING) and as you get stronger work towards the eventual Japanese workout warm up standard of 500-600. Inoki would often regale us in the dojo that he would do 2000 a day and I would think to myself "Damn that seems a bit excessive", then again he owns his own island and I rent a condo on the Beach..... Advantage Inoki
Tip 2: Find a reputable trainer with actual world/money making experience. Many people will take the easy cheapest route to start wrestling but in reality you get what you pay for. If you inevitably DO take that route always be looking to continue your education beyond the realms of where you start. SO MANY TIMES I see wrestlers who have received LACKLUSTER training who have convinced themselves they have paid there "dues" and are done training. Newsflash YOU ARE NEVER DONE TRAINING! If you think that there is nothing left to learn you most likely SUCK and will never amount to anything. As for schools I recommend, Booker T's PWA in Texas, Team 3D's School in Florida, Lance Storms School in Canada, and Les Thatcher's in the Midwest. DO not ask ME for contact information, do your own research. If you can't do some SIMPLE research to start your career then I don't want your deadbeat ass in my industry.
Tip 3: LISTEN and ask Questions only when unsure. It's amazing how much more you can learn when you shut your mouth and listen. Often times you will be in a drill line waiting your turn. SHUT YOUR F%$!& MOUTH! Do not take that opportunity to talk to the guy in line next to you. A smart man learns from his mistakes but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others too. As a former trainer there is NOTHING worse and more time consuming then correcting the same mistake for 15 different people during class. If they would have seen me correct me the 1st guy in line and made the proper adjustments so much more time could have been dedicated to learning MORE in a session rather than committing time to 1 mistake over and over again. When you don't pay attention you are just hurting yourself. Conversely if attempting something you feel is potentially dangerous, don't be afraid to pause and ask a question.
Tips for current wrestlers
Tip 1: If you want to advance in your career you have to FIND opportunity, it does NOT find you. I get so many e-mails from wrestlers asking me how they can get exposure, but at the same time they tell me they have all these things that make it impossible for them to travel and find the work and exposure that they need. Guess what, YOU LOSE. With any success comes greater sacrifice. You have to honestly ask yourself what you are willing to trade for success in wrestling. Please know when you ask yourself this question it is important you be honest with yourself. If your family is supportive then that is a HUGE boost but at the same time sacrifice does not guarantee success. Wrestling owes you nothing and it will remind you of that often.
Tip 2: You do not need an agent on the Indy's. Many times the schools you train at will try and coerce you into having them become your agent and take a booking fee for booking you out. They will also try and dictate where you can and cannot wrestle. Riiiight.
Tip 3: Sending unsolicited tapes in my opinion does not work. This does not work for a few reasons.
1) Everyone who views these tapes knows that a highlight package can make ANYONE no matter how much they suck, look really good.
2) Most unsolicited tapes find there way into a cardboard box in the corner of an office because people really have NO TIME to watch them all.
If a Terry Taylor, Johnny Ace, Gabe Sapolski does ask you for a tape, then I recommend this format. A short out of character intro give your name, true height and weight, work name, your current city and state of residence (your locale is more important than you realize).
After your intro include your two best matches. When picking these matches take into account crowd interaction and reaction. A tape of you wrestling in font of a hot crowd will do you worlds better than a match you felt you hit a move perfect in. Wrestling scouts have SEEN IT ALL and nothing you will do technically is going to impress them. They are looking for someone who they feel the fans will take to and will hopefully sell tix/PPV's. Once again you will come to the realization that the Wrestling Business becomes less about wrestling and more about business the more you advance in your career.
Please include two of your best promos also. If the promos coincide with the matches you have sent then that is a bonus. In bookers minds the link between matches and the promos is an important one. Showing the ability to have one lend to the other makes you a more attractive acquisition. Now at the end of your tape if you feel the need to add a few clips you feel are impressive then please do so. NO MUSIC VIDEOS!!!!! And keep the clips to a minimum.
Well that just a few tips that I can offer I hope this helps.
Best of Luck
S. Joe
JoeISM 2008
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]An Emotional Time For Nigel
Sunday, January 06, 2008
One moment after this http://www.rohvideos.com/watch?v=qultHHk9FrI ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness walked through the curtain, crumpled into a corner of a dark hallway and had tears fill his eyes. Nigel's World Title reign has been a roller coaster of frustration and all the emotions came crashing down on him in Manhattan on December 30th after his in ring promo. Here is what led to that moment:
-October 5th: Nigel McGuinness wins the ROH World Title to a phenomenal response from the crowd that must be seen. Nigel's dream of hearing the words "NEW World Champion" is interrupted by a display of disrespect by Bryan Danielson.
-October 19th: Roderick Strong continues the disrespect by interrupting McGuinness' first promo as World Champion in front of the live crowd.
-Mid-October: Nigel's left biceps tear putting the World Title reign he dreamed of his entire life in jeopardy. All the sacrifices throughout the years might be for nothing.
-Nov. 2nd & 3rd: Nigel must miss the two biggest shows of the year. He ends up wrestling Chris Hero on Nov. 2nd, but Nigel wanted to do much more that weekend. This was an opportunity to make his reign in both the United States and Japan. Some fans begin to question Nigel as World Champion when he is unable to defend the belt on 11/3 in Manhattan.
-Nov. 3rd-Dec. 27th: More fans begin to have doubts about Nigel as World Champion. The criticism reaches Nigel. However, McGuinness concentrates on rehabbing his left biceps and letting all his other bumps and bruises heal. McGuinness is focused on the Manhattan doubleshot at the end of December. He knows he can shut up any doubters then.
-November 30th & December 1st: Two more shows pass and Nigel can only wrestle a short, non-title match. To add insult to injury, Chris Hero lays out Nigel on each night with the Hero's Welcome. Doubt continues to grow among the fanbase, but Nigel stays strong and focuses on Manhattan at the end of December.
-Dec. 28th: Nigel says goodbye to his family in England and gets on a plane for Manhattan. Nigel is excited and ready to quiet any doubters with two big World Title defenses. However, he is feeling a little warm and not in a good way.
-Dec. 28th eight hours later: Nigel wakes up as his flight lands, but a sick feeling aches from head to toe. Nigel discovers he has a 102 degree fever. He informs ROH officials of being ill, but insists he will be ready to wrestle. Nigel finally reaches his hotel room and hopes to feel better after a long sleep. Anxiety fills Nigel as he drifts off because he knows he has to be 100% to get through this weekend as Champion and prove his critics wrong.
-Dec. 29th: Nigel wakes up after 12 hours and feels somewhat better. He figures he'll be good enough to wrestle. He has to be. Nigel and Aries tear down the house with a dramatic World Title Match. McGuinness retains, but there is no joy after the match. He knows that he is injured. After seeing the commission doctor he heads to the hospital. 35 stitches, a concussion and broken nose later, Nigel calls ROH officials at 6:30am and informs them of his situation. There is no way he can wrestle on the Sunday show.
-Dec. 30th: After a morning of terrible sleep, Nigel wakes up around 11am and prepares to head to the building. He still has a temperature, his head is throbbing, his eye stings and he is in a foggy cloud. Nigel gets himself together as best he can and heads over to the Manhattan Center.
-Dec. 30th two hours later: ROH officials and Nigel McGuinness have a meeting. The physical, mental and emotional pain are all taking their toll. McGuinness is heart broken that he can't wrestle. He wants nothing more than to perform in front of the NYC fans and give them their money's worth. The idea that he can't is hurting him worse than any stitches or any pounding in his head.
-Dec. 30th three hours later: The event starts. Nigel listens as Bobby Cruise announces that Nigel won't be able to compete. McGuinness hears the boos. He sees some fans throw up their arms in disgust and disappointment. He has never felt worse.
-Dec. 30th ninety minutes later: Intermission is coming to an end. Nigel has sat in his locker room alone for close to an hour. He feels the pressure building in him. He is being assaulted on all fronts. Mentally, he wonders if deserves the belt. Emotionally, he feels like he has let everyone down. Physically, he is still in a cloudy, achy state. As the second half starts Nigel leaves his locker room and hunts down ROH officials. He tells them that he is going to the ring cause he has something to say. Nigel doesn't know if he'll be champion when he comes back through the curtain.
This all brings up to Nigel's 12/30 promo which can be seen by clicking the link at the top of this article or by going to ROHvideos.com. Nigel McGuinness and his World Title reign have become the most controversial thing in ROH. Now he's finding out what being the top man in a promotion entails. All this is just making him more determined than ever to build his legacy as ROH World Champion.
footnote: Nigel McGuinness will defend the belt on 1/25 in his old stomping grounds of Dayton inside a Steel Cage against Chris Hero.
footnote: If McGuinness makes it past Hero, he will defend the belt on 1/26 in Chicago against Roderick Strong. McGuinness vs. Strong will take place even if the World Title is not on the line.
http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/article.aspx?id=1733[/FONT][/FONT]
Randy Orton on the Industry! -After a backstage incident in Iraq, there are several people within WWE who now see Randy Orton as something of a locker room leader. Orton is viewed as one of the few guys who don’t take crap from HHH and Shawn Michaels.
The backstage incident in Iraq, of all places, involved Umaga having tights made for his match and the seamstress telling him he couldn’t use those colors because they are HHH’s colors, but he insisted on it.
Michaels threw a fit about Umaga’s tights when he saw him go through the curtain and Orton was the only one who stood up for Umaga. Orton is said to have the same attitude that Michaels used to, but since Orton has stood up to people that a lot of the locker room doesn’t like, and knows they would loose their jobs if they stood up to them, Orton has become popular.
I'm young, I'm good at what I do. Hopefully, me being young and good at what I do opens the door for other people in this business who are at a young age and accelerating at a high rate. Talent like Mr Kennedy, John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Brian Kendrick and Paul London.
I would like to take the game away from the guys in the over 40 club -Triple H, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. It's at the point where their bodies are so broken down, they can't really hang with the younger guys. We have our injuries, we make our mistakes - personal and professional - and we learn from them. What I would like to bring to the industry is the next generation of men and women to represent athleticism, attitude, charisma, and the overall perception of being young talent as opposed to (laughs) old, balding talent.
Whether I'm winning or losing, I'd like to leave all the fans believing I was the most talented in the ring. We all know it's entertainment. It's not necessarily real. You get hurt a lot, so it's not fake, but at the same time, we go out there and bust our humps to put on a good show. I feel this younger generation can bring to the table a more intense, aggressive, athletic style of wrestling.
Q: What moves does a wrestler have to make to be standout star in the WWE?
A: Growing up in the business was one of my biggest breaks because I got my foot in the door. Other people have to pay money to learn how to wrestle and, a lot of times, get ripped off because they go to the wrong people. There aren't a lot of people in the industry who know what they're doing, let alone those who can actually teach. I think there are only 10 people, myself included, of course, who truly know what they're doing. I feel sorry for people who spend money to learn how to wrestle. I didn't have to to do that, so I didn't pay any dues in that repsect. But I paid them in other ways, countless ways. I got handed an opportunity, but what I did with that was up to me. It takes something special to be a star in this business because there are a lot of guys who are in and out quickly. You forget about them while they're still here. The real trick is to have longeivity in this industry. If you can stick it out for five or six years in this business, chances are you know what you're doing.
Q: What advice did you get from your father (wrestler Cowboy Bob Orton) and grandfather (wrestler Bob Orton Sr) about what to do, and what not to do?
A: My dad always said: 'Save your money.' My grandpa said: 'Watch out for the other guys.' Everyone has a gun pointed at you. It's whether you give them a bullet to use. I keep my mouth shut and I don't get too personal with everybody because it's competitive. The best friend I travel down the road with would love to see me break my leg because they'd have a chance to get my spot. It's like any other sport. When someone gets hurt, injured, suspended, in trouble - it opens up opportunities for other people. It's a shame, but it's a very cut-throat business.
Q: Your mother was concerned about you choosing a wrestling career. What were her worries?
A: My mum was concerned I'd be gone from my family, like my dad was. And that I'd be living with the temptations that come with travel and having people adore, hate, love or despise you.
Q: Speaking of which - you married Samatha Speno in September. How's that going?
A: I've been married two months and I've only been home seven nights with my wife. That sucks. My wife is a beautiful and strong woman. She puts up with a lot. She has got the full-time job of being a housewife. I've got the part-time job of busting my body so that we can live in the house we do, she can wear the $40,000 watch she wears and she can drive an Escalade.I'm busting my hump so that it can be possible.
Q: What was your perception of marriage, and does it measure up?
A: We were engaged for two years and lived together for three. I didn't think anything would change, but it has. I have a new respect for her. Being able to call her wife is - alone - awesome. Being able to say: 'I miss my wife,' or: 'I need to call my wife.' She's my wife. I'm responsible for her more than ever.
Q: You've said Triple H really understands the psychology of wrestling. What do you mean?
A: Triple H is the best at getting fans to react a certain way. He knows when it's the right time to do certain things as far as getting fans to either jump down your throat or cheer for you. Triple H and The Undertaker are both good at it. And it's ironic because I said they were too old for this business. I suppose with their ancient ages comes experience (laughs).
Q: What is the reality of your WWE life? What do you go through daily?
A: It's rough and it's tiring. I had three hours sleep last night, not because I chose to go out, but because that's what we were allotted to have. We don't have an off-season and we pay for our own rental cars, food and hotels. My expenses are well over $US100,000 ($113,500), sometimes double that. But I spend that so I can work here. They say we are self-employed but, at the same time, we have to be somewhere on time, and we have to dress a certain way. Obviously, I'm a bit of a rebel (Orton grins and tugs on the Gold's Gym singlet he is wearing), but f--- the dress code. It's retarded. The travel sucks, injuries suck but you can't complain because where else do you go to wrestle? Where else do you go to be on TV in tights, with knee pads and shark skin boots and have people go: `Yay!'? Nowhere! You don't bitch because this is the only place to make money doing what we do.
Q: You've been a babyface (hero) and heel (villain) in your career. What are your observations about both sides?
A: Being a babyface sucks, unless you're 300 pounds like Batista, or a character everbody wants to see live, like The Undertaker, or Hulk Hogan, who has charisma. Maybe it's because I'm not good at it, or I'm a d---head in real life. It's easy for me to go out there and be a pr-ck on the show because it's me times 10. And even though you probably don't like me anyway, give me five minutes, and I'll make you not like me more. Being a heel is fun. It comes so natural.
Q: Your character has done some outrageous things. How did you approach the incident, before a match against Rey Mysterio, where you publicly said the late wrestler Eddie Guerrero is in hell?
A: I didn't want to do it because I loved Eddie. Rey and I, even though we were fighting each other, were very, very close friends with Eddie. So we called Eddie's wife and asked if it would be OK. It was heavy stuff. It got people to hate me and Eddie knew it would - God rest his soul. Later, Eddie's wife said Eddie would have wanted me to do it, if it was good for business.
Q: What lessons has the WWE, or you, learned from the death of Chris Benoit? (Benoit, a former WWE champion killed his wife and son before hanging himself in June last year).
A: I guess you never know somebody like you think you do, that's for sure. I never saw him killing his family or himself. Whatever his personal problems, his personal demons were - I can't tell you, I don't know. I don't anyone will ever know except for God and Chris. But it was heavy enough to cause him to do what he did. The lesson is - you don't know anybody like you think you do.
Q: From your vantage point, what is the magic of the WWE. What keeps it vibrant and relevant?
A: There is a constant rejuvenation every week, whether it's a character or a storyline. There is always a change taking place, something to keep you watching - a cliffhanger to see who the mystery opponent is, or what the match stipulation will be. There is always that intrigue which Vince (McMahon, WWE CEO), the writers and the wrestlers are very good at doing. We create drama. And everybody wants to see a fight. People want to see you rip a shoulder from its socket, or get cut open, be hit with a chair, twist an ankle or break vertebrae. If somebody threatened to jump off a building right now, there would be a crowd at the bottom to watch him do it. It's human nature People want to see f---ed up s---. So they watch RAW.
Anywho, is Santino on Raw tonight? If not, I see no reason for me to watch it tonight.