Interview - GQ Money/"Devilish" Lee Handsome

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Over the past nine months, I’ve been fortunate enough to receive a number of opportunities to chat with former-independent wrestling managerial luminary “Devilish” Lee Handsome a.k.a. GQ Money. Until March of this year, GQ had been employed for more than two years by the ever so controversial XPW (Xtreme Professional Wrestling) promotion in Southern California. In XPW, GQ gained nationwide publicity as one of the most charismatic managers on the US indy wrestling circuit. He was the mouthpiece of XPW’s memorable “Enterprise” faction, with whom he has worked among an impressive entourage of pro wrestling superstars, including The Sandman, Shane Douglas, Chris Hamrick, Danny Doring, New Jack, Bill Alfonso, UK sensation “Wonderkid” Jonny Storm, and Sean “Syxx-Pac/X-Pac” Waltman.

 

However, GQ didn’t just play a fundamental role in XPW in its ring; rather, he worked behind-the-scenes for much of his tenure with both XPW and it’s parent company, adult entertainment corporation Extreme Associates. As an employee at E.A., he directed a number of adult films and interacted on a daily basis with two of the most controversial figures in the realm of pro wrestling – Rob Black and Lizzy Borden, who were indicted on federal obscenity charges earlier this year. As a vital member of the backstage team of XPW and E.A., GQ was introduced first-hand to a number of the most discussed incidents on the US indy circuit in recent years, including XPW’s controversies with other federations such as EPIC, ROH, and CZW, its fallout with New Jack, and the much-talked-about Chihuahua/snake incident. Since leaving XPW, GQ has toured the US indy circuit, working with the likes of The Messiah, Christopher Daniels, and Scott Hudson in promotions such as NWA-TNA.

 

GQ was remarkably candid during the many interview sessions he had with myself. We discussed a vast variety of topics that cover his whole career, ranging from his childhood as a pro wrestling fan to breaking into the business as a wrestler to performing as a manager in XPW and other promotions. Many of the subjects that GQ discusses have yet to be talked about by XPW officials, and I wouldn’t be exaggerating in stating that the depth of our conversations are comparable to RF Video’s acclaimed “shoot” interviews, which is why I will be posting our dialogues in segments, rather than in whole.

 

The fragments of this interview will compound a much larger project that I am in the process of constructing, one that explores the controversial history of XPW. Granted – in the end, XPW failed, and eventually folded in 2003. However, during its existence, it produced possibly the most avid debate the world of US indy wrestling has recently witnessed. It all started with a pornography mogul named Rob Black. Along the way, names such as Tracy Smothers, Sabu, The Sandman, Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, Jerry Lynn, Juventud Guerrera, and Abdullah the Butcher worked for the promotion. XPW at one point had a nationwide TV deal with America One and it’s home videos were distributed nationwide before those of ECW were. Even with all of these advantages, XPW eventually shut down, but not even it’s bankruptcy has curtailed the mutterings about it.

 

In the next eight months, learn about the formation, the rise, and the ultimate fall of a promotion that at one point had everything going for it. From the beginnings of Rob Black to his friendship with ECW’s Paul Heyman, from the formation of XPW to the signings of stars such as Sabu, Shane Douglas, and Chris Candido, from the interpromotional agreements with ECW and FMW to the TV deals with America One, KJLA, and WGTW, from the creations of indy stars like The Messiah, “The Rock Superstar” Kaos, and “The Hardcore Homo” Supreme to the controversies of Supreme’s injury, Vic Grimes’ 40 foot fall, and the New Year’s Revolution 2 scandal, from the invasion of Philadelphia to the eventual folding – it, and so much more – is all here…“Five Years Later – The Roots, The History, and The Controversy of Rob Black’s XPW.”

 

Featuring – insightful contributions from XPW alumni such as GQ Money and Johnny Webb; never-before-seen, pre-XPW photos of the XPW stars such as The Messiah, Kaos, Supreme, and Angel; and a great deal more.

 

And now…part one of my interview with former-XPW worker GQ Money, known to some as “Devilish” Lee Handsome…

 

This section of the interview was conducted on March 29, 2003 by LucharesuFan619.

 

ME: Firstly, the obvious question - how did you get involved in the pro wrestling business as more than just a fan?

GQ: When I was in college, I always wanted to be a game show host. Well, I always wanted to be in pro wrestling, but I was real small, so that's why I wanted to be a game show host. Well, my roommates were really interested in wrestling like me, and it resparked my passion I started hosting my own talk show on the radio station there and that got me into interviewing various stars, indy guys, promoters and what not.

 

Well, one day, I had these guests on my show who were training people, and then sending them down to Steve Keirn's School of Hard Knox. Steve's school was down in Florida, but we were in Colorado. Well, the two guys got me kicked off the air because they were swearing, and they felt real bad, so they offered me a free tryout. I did great, I loved it, and then they called me with an idea. They said, "Hey, we can train the guys real well, but with your mouth, we may be able to start an indy fed. Are you interested?" I was VERY interested, and we started a school and indy. And that's how I got involved.

ME: I read that you worked with Smokey Charmichael - who worked at Hostile Takeover - while wrestling in Colorado, long before he was in XPW. How did you meet him and what was he like?

GQ: Smokey is one of my best friends in the whole business, as we both got our starts together. We used to be tag team partners and our team was known as "Ringside-Dreems." I was a much better wrestler back then because of the fact that I trained so much. I mean, Smokey and I would wrestle with each other at least four times a week for like a few hours at a time, I used to kickbox twice a week, and we hit the weights three times a week, so we were in great shape...and together, we could go!

 

The name "Smokey Carmichael" actually comes from way back then when we were being considered to be part of "The Family," which was one of the promotion's big factions. Being part of the Family, he dawned the name "Smokey Charmichael," and I was temporarily known as "Shorty Smalls." The Family was headed by one of my trainers and former-World Kickboxing Champ Dan Magnus, who also was involved in training current WWE developmental wrestler Nikita (who's down in OVW).

ME: So, who were some of the big-name guests you had on your radio show?

GQ: Chris Candido and Mick "Mankind" Foley were my biggest. The Foley one was the day before WrestleMania when he faced The Big Show. That was a fun WrestleMania. Me and my friends used to go to Target and buy the biggest TV they had just for WrestleMania…and then after, return the TV, because you get like 90 days to return it with a receipt. That was our yearly WrestleMania tradition. Bar-B-Q, keg of beer, big TV from Target, and WrestleMania. GQ Money does not condone underage drinking. Please don't drink and drive. ;-)

ME: You met former-WCW manager Sonny Onoo and had a fallout with him. What happened between you two and why did you dislike him?

GQ: Now when I look back at it, I guess the answer may have been jealousy, but truth is, once he got involved with my business partner, things for me and my business got bad. He seemed sneaky to me, or at least I thought my partner was feeding him bullshit info about me, and that pissed me off. My heat with him is more comical, exaggerated and played up for the sake of controversy, just as is the heat I "have" with a lot of other wrestlers.

ME: When did your first contact with XPW come?

GQ: I think it was November-ish of 2000. In August, I was ready to move on and leave Colorado. I went to our show, and shit was chaotic. Everybody and their friends were in their cliques and factions...Everybody was getting everybody else to watch their backs. I was scheduled to work my business partner in a match that had heat from the start of our existence, and before the match I told my partner this would be my last show. He didn't want to do the match, and I was like, "No, we'll do it, because we advertised it, and we're professionals." We did the match; he wasn't really on, and I went out, and it was over. That show had around 1,200 people at it. The next show, which I (nor some friends) wasn’t a part of had about 165.

 

After I left, a lot of the roster left. It was no longer the same vibe as when we started, so a lot of the guys thought it was time to move on, two of which were TJ Rush and The Giant (the guy who attacked Messiah at The Night XPW Stood Still). Buddah Doobie, and Dreemer (Smokey Carmichael), and a bunch of other talented guys took off. The CWO (Central Wrestling Organization) was in disarray. Now, they eventually bounced back. They did a show with (Roddy) Piper headlining and had about 1,600 people, but sadly, they are no longer around. I think it finally folded in like 2001. I left in 2000. We had our string of success. We weren't big time by any means...and we weren't makin' much money...but we were all over. The newspapers, the radio, the TV - it was real cool. Our guys got recognized, and it was a real ego boost to all of us at the "start" of our careers. A couple of real good guys have come from down in my area, and I'm pretty sure you'll hear their names in the future.

ME: Are there any other guys who worked for the fed who the guys reading this interview would know?

GQ: My buddy Psycho Sarge has had a bunch of WWE dark matches and Velocity tapings. Same with Derek Corpse. Smokey's from down there. Psycho Sarge was working for Thatcher in Heartland. His name was always in the PWI rankings. Nikita – like I said – is down in OVW under developmental. You know Smokey. Corpse wrestled as Derek Selsould on some WWE matches. Sarge is still wrestling.

ME: So, after the CWO folded, you began talks with XPW?

GQ: Yeah...forgot that that was the point of the question... :-D When I left, I was looking for options, and XPW was one of the prospects. I sent packages to OVW, UPW and XPW. OVW never got back to me, and I made contact with both UPW and XPW. I set up a trip to go to California, so I could meet with both promotions, and check out both of their shows. And the trip became a monstrous headache. My car broke down in Utah...I had to get plane flights, rental cars, and I had like no money.

 

So, I'm trying to call everyone I know to borrow money, and then figure out a way for my sister to deposit that money in my bank, so I could use my debit card. It was just a pain, but I did make it to LA. I saw UPW's show first. It was good - real cool - but something about it wasn't me. I was still interested, but I had a feeling it wasn't the one. The next day, I met with some of their workers, and various office people and I thought they were cool. They had a good vibe, good plans, and I was interested. Keep in mind – I was looking more for office/ behind-the-scenes work, where I would then figure out a way into a talent position. I was also looking for commentary work and we talked about the possibilities of me commentating the UPW TV show in the works. I was real interested, but here was the catch - it was all volunteer.

 

Normally, I'd have no problem with that, but I was moving to Cali with no money, no place to live, no job, and I was supposed to be able to do like 20-30 hours of volunteer work. That was just not an option at the time. LA was just too expensive to live to be able to do that. So, I had my meetings with XPW. I head up to the office at like 5:00 PM (maybe it was 4:00), and was set to meet with Kevin (Kleinrock). I waited in the lobby forever. Kevin kept walking by one the phone, like, "One more minute. I'll be right there.” He was hella’ busy. I met (Homeless) Jimmy - who was real cool - and a lot of the students and ring crew guys.

ME: Jimmy worked in the XPW offices, too, besides the in-ring work, right?

GQ: Yeah, for a little while. Things were kind of unorganized (go figure), but finally I talked with Kevin. They were interested in using me, talks went well, and Kevin was like, "Come check out the show (this was MetalFest [late 2000]) tomorrow. You'll be on the guest list." I'm staying with my buddy, so him and I drive the two hours or so to go to the show. We get there...and we're not on the guest list. I would have bought a ticket, but my friend didn't want to, so we left. I took off, and I thought, “Nah, this isn't the company for me; I'm going to do UPW.”

 

The next day, I went to Disneyland, and Kevin called me. He was apologetic – real nice and real cool. I wasn't really interested in XPW anymore. I wanted to work for UPW, but knew I needed to save some money to be able to live, and it was my intent to go back home to Colorado, pack up my stuff, and move back home with my parents in Chicago. I'd get back into wrestling some time... and then fate intervened.

 

I was up in Aspen doing some skiing and my phone rang when I was on the chair. I was real down at the time. No home, no job, no money, a hell of a lot of credit card debt...and I was getting ready to move back home with my parents. So the phone rings and it was The Giant. I should say, "the 7-foot Stud," because that's what his old name was. Not the Big Show. We all just called him "The Giant," but I digress, so back to the story. Anyway, he must have pep talked me really good, because at the start of the conversation I wasn't interested and by the end I was like, "Alright, let's go make a run (in XPW)."

 

So we drove to LA again. This time to check out New Year's Revolution. Giant met Kevin. I talked with Kevin and Rob. Things were cool. We get to the show and the shit was smokin'. I mean, it was totally off the hook. It was an awesome show and we knew that that was where we wanted to be. I'm sitting on the stands during the setup and Lizzy came up an introduced herself. She saw me (I was wearing a suit) and was like, "You must be GQ Money." That was the first I had heard of a gimmick, and that's when I knew I was in XPW.

 

Keep your eye out in the coming weeks and months – the rest of my interview with GQ Money/”Devilish” Lee Handsome. Topics discussed include:

 

- Memories of working on the adult entertainment side of XPW affairs

- GQ’s background in Internet production/technology (GQMoney.com, webmastering, and Diggin Up Dirt Bert columns)

- His and Kaos’ feuds with Angel, Chris Hamrick, Danny Doring, Jonny Storm, and more

- The Enterprise – joining it; its evolution; memories of E-TV and the chaotic WarGames Steel Cage Match; the memorable Raw Sewage Match; and more

- Why Larry Rivera, Kraq, John Kronus, Homeless Jimmy, Steve Rizzono, Vampiro, Konnan, and others left XPW

- The So-Cal Jobbers Union and XPW’s relationships with Revolution Pro

- The full story on the happenings between XPW and EPIC

- Being a booker of XPW’s product – never-before-publicized angles/storylines that were planned, but never came to fruition

- The never-before-seen Sabu Invitational Show at XPW headquarters

- Surfing the indies after leaving XPW – working with Christopher Daniels and Scott Hudson; Hollywood, Inc.; and more

- For the first time ever - GQ goes on record and gives his detailed accounts of:

 

*Chihahua/snake scandal

*the famous Supreme/fire injury

*the New Year’s Revolution 2/wrestling media challenge

*full responses to a number of the controversies and rumors sparked during XPW’s run in Philly (accounts of the Exit Sandman show and XPW’s dealings with HWA, ROH, and CZW and the talent that jumped to XPW)

*Kaos dropping the XPW TV Title to Sean “X-Pac/Syxx-Pac” Waltman

*why he left XPW

*the full story on what exactly led to his personal fallouts with TJ Rush, Kaos, Altar Boy Luke, and Smokey Charmichael

 

Plus…

 

- GQ answers XPW fans’ two most asked questions ever: Who was the damned MONKEY~?!?!? (yes, you read correctly) and What happened to Altar Boy Matthew?

- GQ gives his insightful takes on the following questions – What is XPW’s legacy in the world of pro wrestling? How has pro wrestling changed GQ Money as a person? What is GQ’s future in pro wrestling, and life in general?

- Word association

- GQ’s opinions on Rob Black, Lizzy Borden, Shane Douglas, Kevin Kleinrock, Veronica Caine, Bill Alfonso, and everybody else who he’s encountered in his pro wrestling career

 

And a whole lot more…

 

Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

The official web site of GQ Money a.k.a. "Devilish" Lee Handsome can be found at http://www.HollywoodIncDotCom.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feedback would be appreciated.

Edited December 26, 2003 by LucharesuFan619

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

More.

[Guest Dave O'Neill, Journalist]

As an employee at E.A., he directed a number of adult films

 

Sorry Johnny, but if this is a WRESTLING interview, then the credibility goes out the window here

 

On second choice, credibility is the wrong word, but i can't think of anything better at the moment

 

Granted – in the end, XPW failed, and eventually folded in 2003

 

Three months ago, you called bullshit on me for saying that exact sentence

 

Chihahua/snake scandal

 

I look forward to that one. I swear to god, his justification of that better be AT LEAST ten pages long

 

[Guest bort]

I look forward to reading about some of XPW's backstage stuff.

 

Good start, hope the next part is longer

 

is there gonna be a new part every week? or just whenever

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

I want to see more, having seen the Exit Sandaman show(and starting a topic afew months ago about it)

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Sorry Johnny, but if this is a WRESTLING interview, then the credibility goes out the window here

 

That's why only about 5% of the interview is about his work on the porno side, rather than 90%. Duh.

 

Three months ago, you called bullshit on me for saying that exact sentence

 

Agreed...I - like most XPW fans - didn't want to think the promotion was dead. That's obviously not the case anymore, because all facts point to it having folded.

 

I look forward to reading about some of XPW's backstage stuff.

 

If that's what you want...you damn sure ain't gonna be disappointed.

 

is there gonna be a new part every week? or just whenever

 

I'm not gonna give an exact timeframe, but part one of the XPW history - focusing on Black's childhood; his introduction to the porno industry; his rise in the porno industry; his association with ECW; Kleinrock's childhood; and Kleinrock's introduction to wrestling - should be up not too long from now.

 

Webb confirmed to me yesterday he'd be happy to do an interview about his career.

 

Also, Verne Landgdon, who trained Messiah, Angel, Carlito Montana, and D, MAY contribute. I'm not sure yet.

 

More.

 

Huh?

 

Any other thoughts on this part of the interview? Ways to format it better when I post the next part? Anything?

Edited December 27, 2003 by LucharesuFan619

[Placebo Effect 0]

When he wrote "More" that meant he enjoyed it wants to see more of the interview, just like myself.

 

Great read. Don't really have any problems with the formatting.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

When he wrote "More" that meant he enjoyed it wants to see more of the interview, just like myself.

 

Great read. Don't really have any problems with the formatting.

Oh, OK. Wasnb't clear at first.

 

Just signed online and checked my e-mail, to find that Mr. Langdon a.k.a. the world's nicest pro wrestling promoter ever e-mailed me back, saying that he'd be more than happy to contribute.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

More as in I want to hear about backstage at XPW.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Just obtained a LOT of never-be4-seen pics of the never-be4-seen Sabu Invitational House Show, both backstage photos and in-ring photos. See Pogo the Clown...eating something! Rizzono...with a fanny pack! Sabu and Lazie...signing an autograph! Kraq...with his back to the camera walking backstage! Jimmy...looking wierd, but not really Homeless!

 

And so much more!

 

Actually, you can find the photos with absolutely no problem because they're online, but the odds of you finding the site are like one in a million...let's just say I got REALLY lucky and searched for the exact right words on the exact right search engine and clicked the exact right link.

 

This, and so much more shit.

 

- Johnny Webb speaks

- GQ Money continues speaking

- An 80-something year old Verne Langdon speaks on training Messiah, Angel, D, Carlito, and others. And on meeting Kleinrock before he was anybody.

- photos of Kid Kaos looking like he's a kid, when he's really like 17

- and more

 

IT'S COMING...