INTERVIEW: GQ Money/"Devilish" Lee Handsome

[LucharesuFan619 0]

GQ Money hits it up with ring announcer Kingdom James on an XPW show.

 

Over the past 12 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 2003, 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 early last 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 half a year, 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, along with words from Verne Langdon, who trained The Messiah, Johnny Webb, Homeless Jimmy, Angel, Damien Steele, Dynamite D, Carlito Montana, and others; NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN, pre-XPW photos of the XPW stars such as The Messiah, Johnny Webb, Kaos, Homeless Jimmy, Supreme, and Angel; and a great deal more.

 

Fans are encouraged to PM me or e-mail me at [email protected] photographs they took at XPW events. Whether they be pics of themselves with friends at XPW shows, themselves posing with XPW wrestlers, photos they took of XPW wrestlers in the ring, whatever...it's all encouraged, and will be used in the Photo Gallery section of the retrospective. Credit will of course be given for photos that are used.

 

This retrospective would not be possible without the help of many people, among them GQ Money, Johnny Webb, Verne Langdon, Steve Bryant, Sean McCartney, EMAX/Ethan, and Chris Hamrick.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

This part of the interview was conducted on Saturday, March 29, 2003:

 

ME: Let's talk about the XPW side of things. You joined the Enterprise soon after it had already been formed by TJ, Veronica, and Steve Rizzono. At the time, they were feuding with Kaos and they were costing him bouts and all that. You debuted during Rizzono/Kaos at Retribution. What did you think about your reaction? People probably were clueless as to who you were, right?

GQ: Yeah. Things got crazy when Rizzono got knocked out. I was supposed to interfere, hit Kaos with a chair, and roll Rizzono on to Kaos for the win, but Rizzono was really out, and Kaos just kind of "changed things," blocked my chair, and started kicking my ass. It was fun...it was cool…and in the end, the same thing that was originally planned happened, and that was have it all be a "work" of The Enterprise, as Kaos was with us all along. It played out the same, but that scene got a little ad-libbed. People had no clue who I was and I got the reaction of..."You just debuted and got your ass kicked!!!!!!"

ME: At Damage Inc., you wrestled your second match for XPW, and it was against Kaos. We’ll talk about your first actual match in XPW soon, but regarding your Damage Inc. match – Were you nervous? What did you think of the match and of your involvement in it (it was handicap, gauntlet style).

GQ: I loved it...I step up with guys like Kaos and guys like Smokey and guys like Angel, so I felt great. I was confident, and was ready to have some fun. Plus, just for shits and giggles, I designed this ridiculous tights get up, with "GQ" written on my ass, thanks to Veronica, and I was stoked. I looked like an ass, and I knew my heat was gonna be strong. Plus, no one had seen me wrestle, so I popped this somersault leg scissors into a springboard to the outside so people were like, "Damn!" They weren't expecting that. And then Kaos took over and I took some good bumps, had some good selling, and I think that's when people actually got into my character.

ME: But some other things also occurred that night. MANY, in fact. Firstly, it was Homeless Jimmy's last XPW show. What happened with him?

GQ: He wanted to call it quits. He had taken a lot of crazy bumps and his body was feeling it. He said he wanted to retire...

ME: He is still wrestling, though.

GQ: Yeah, like any wrestler, it's in you and it's hard to give up. He moved back home to Ohio to spend some time with family down there. We used to hang out - I saw 4th of July fireworks with him (2001, I think).

ME: The Messiah also left shortly before that show. You've criticized him in interviews before. What were things like between you two?

GQ: That was crazy because it came out of nowhere. I remember the day before we were all scrambling to make that video that was at the start of the show. Everyone stepped up to try to make some sense of the crazy commotion. Him and I were acquaintances. We definitely hung out a lot, because I became friends with some of his friends. I never really called him to hang on my own or nothing, but we were cool and we got along...My talking shit about him in interviews was so much more work then anything else. I said things like he was overrated, but that was my opinion and I expressed it. As a person, he was always real cool, really nice, and really friendly. He called me after that and I told him - I said, "Look, I played a character in the interview.” I talked honest, but still in the voice of my character. I probably backed over my words with him, as I realized what I did may not have been cool, but we were still all good. I had seen him since then and we still got along. In fact he shot on me, too, and I thought it was funny.

ME: In an interview, he seemed to say that he offered to defend the KOTDM and XPW world title at Damage Inc, another wards wrestle two matches that night. Now, I certainly may've misunderstood him there, but I don't know. Do you know if that’s true?

GQ: At that point, I had no idea what was going on with the matches, as my involvement that show was more in terms of the set, and the TV production. That's a him and Rob thing, and I don't know.

ME: Messiah cited in his SCU interviews that he didn't get along with Rob and that that was why he left XPW. Do you know if that was true?

GQ: When I first got there, I thought he did, but - hey - that's just my perception, so that really has no credibility. I don't know.

 

This part of the interview was conducted on Tuesday, April 8, 2003:

 

ME: Lets talk about Sabu and Josh Lazie's departure the day after Damage Inc. Do you want to give any info on why they left and/or what your feelings were about them leaving?

GQ: I still wasn't fully involved back then, so my knowledge of their departure is pretty much nil. I didn't know either of them very well.

ME: The next show was Halloween In Hell 2 (a.k.a. Blown To Hell) and, of course, that's where you and Angel shocked everyone. What was with that match? Why'd you guys work so well together there? Many fans viewed it as a pleasant surprise, considering that neither of you had worked together before.

GQ: Angel and I knew we wanted to go out there and impress the hell out of everyone. We had a good chemistry together, and we were both wanting to prove ourselves as wrestlers, and not just comedic sidekicks. It was embedded in our brains for the few weeks leading up that we were going to go out there and try to steal the show. If it wasn't the best match of the night, we were going to make sure that people left there with a new perception of both of us and our skills.

ME: That same night Kaos had his first TV title defense vs. New Jack. Were either of you nervous going in?

GQ: Hell yeah...I was! I remember that morning when I went to the office to pick up some stuff, Kevin told me Jack was jumping off the tower on me and I was like, "AWWW Shit! That's cool." And then I already knew I wanted to blade for the first time, so it was pretty crazy. Shit, when I went down from the hit, I went to blade, but I was getting no blood. I'm thinking to myself, "Oh, fuck! This is New Jack...if I don't get up bleeding, he's gonna Mass Transit my ass," so I did it again and then "Bam!" - the juice started flowing and flowing and flowing. That's why I wore the white shirt. I knew I wanted it to get bloody...and it did. The whole experience was awesome. The whole blood felt really cool and it was my birthday at midnight that night.

 

After this, GQ goes and prepares for his match vs. Smokey Charmichael.

 

 

 

 

 

This part of the interview was conducted on Thursday, May 22, 2003:

 

ME: The next show XPW show after Halloween In Hell 2 was Retribution, at which you wrestled Preston Ascott III and Angel in a three-way dance. What did you think of that match?

GQ: Nothing really sticks out about that show...but I enjoyed the match. I wore an intentionally very stupid outfit that show. The match was fun and I enjoyed it. Ascott always entertained me. He wasn't a tremendous wrestler, but I always thought of him as very entertaining. He was cool. Real quiet, keeping to himself. He liked to read. He was real nice.

 

 

 

 

 

BONUS MATERIAL~!

 

The following part of the interview was conducted on Wednesday, June 4, 2003:

 

ME: What are your memories of the Sabu Invitational House Show at EA Headquarters, the day before Damage Inc.? Who was invited? It was your debut match in XPW (you wrestled Angel). How did your match go, etc.?

GQ: Me and Angel went over some stuff for like a few minutes before (the show started). Then BOOM - we were out there. (I) had a blast, though. Working with Angel was a treat. As usual, I did the J-O-B, but the match was good, especially for so spur of the moment. I was kind of nervous...if I remember correctly, I really wasn't expecting to wrestle, but once we started, I had fun. I actually slipped off the rope doing the tight-rope walking elbow (drop), but it was all good...didn't matter. It was all a bunch of Japanese tourists (who were at the show). They were all quiet and clapped for spots and "Ooooohhhhh"'ed and "Ahhhhhhh"'ed.

ME: Is it true that Messiah was scheduled to wrestle, but no-showed and that - along with his problems with Rob - got him fired?

GQ: I'm not exactly sure what happened, but, yeah - he was supposed to wrestle Sabu.

 

ME: What happened between Pogo the Clown and Shaggy 2 Dope of The Insane Clown Posse? Shaggy apparently got really pissed off when Pogo hurt him with a stiff lariat at Retribution. Was Shaggy really angry and did they have any argument or anything like that in the locker room after the incident? Shaggy bashed Pogo on the ICP web site after the incident, too.

GQ: There was no actual incident or no argument. And we were told that there really was no heat at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In future parts of this interview, topics discussed will include:

 

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

- Inside info as to why more than five wrestlers/employees left XPW, all explanations featuring info you've never heard before

- The So-Cal Jobbers Union and XPW’s relationship 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

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

- his future in wrestling

- Extreme Associate's current legal problems

 

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

 

*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; a prominent wrestling message board recently was discussing the possible reasons as to why Kaos and GQ hate each other now...wait no longer, for in the coming weeks GQ will give his side of the heat he has with Kaos and the others mentioned

*Bob Magee's anti-XPW coverage

 

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?

- Ultra-extensive 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/

 

 

 

Remember, XPW-related photos you have I encourage you to send to myself in order to feature them in this retrospective. Credit will be given.

[Nevermortal 0]

BarrMark fears Barber

 

[sigh]

[Guest bort]

good stuff, i really wished you would put it all at once or follow a more detailed schedule posting parts wise

[ulfistgut 0]

I spose bashing respected posters from other boards is easier than bashing ones from this board because you're less likely to get called on it.

 

 

The interview wasn't actually that bad, if you just got over some of your 'problems' you wouldn't be a half bad collumist

[LucharesuFan619 0]

...

[DCMaximo 0]

from the creations of indy stars like The Messiah, “The Rock Superstar” Kaos, and “The Hardcore Homo” Supreme

 

Now that's a big ugly man I wouldn't call a homo. Apart from that, I enjoyed it. Good work.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

from the creations of indy stars like The Messiah, “The Rock Superstar” Kaos, and “The Hardcore Homo” Supreme

 

Now that's a big ugly man I wouldn't call a homo. Apart from that, I enjoyed it. Good work.

LMFAO! That made my day, and it's only 6...I still have hope...but LOL! Yeah, I meant Angel, my bad.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Everybody's favorite ring crew guy, LEROY~! will now be contributing the retrospective. Those guys'll join Verne Langdon, GQ Money, and Johnny Webb, who have already helped out. Also, there may be a couple other XPW homegrown guys contributing, and more info will be released soon. I'm working on getting some of the guuys who - when you say "XPW - you immediately think of (probably not Supreme or Kaos, though, unfortunately).

[LucharesuFan619 0]

I don't wanna waste the bandwidth and make a whole new thread, so I'm just gonna post updates for this retrospective in this thread, until I release the next part of this GQ Money interview.

 

In the next few days, you can expect some announcements about a number of very big XPW-related names who will be contributing to this retrospective. I should have more sometime this weekend, I expect. As of now, Johnny Webb, GQ Money, Verne Langdon, Chris Hamrick, Leroy The RCG, M-Dogg 20, Josh Prohibition, and Mike Modest are confirmed, but I can almost guarantee 100% that there'll be several more added, possibly even a number totaling in the double digits. A number of guys I didn't think I had a chance of getting to contribute are now very possible.

 

Learn about the sh*t you weren't meant to know regarding XPW in the next six months. It's gonna be some good stuff that'll have a lot of people talking.

 

And the offer is still active for those who want to send me info about the RF Video shoots with Corino, Kristi Myst, and RF (specificlaly the XPW parts of the interviews). In return, I'll send you a free copy of ROH Night of the Grudges (and this isn't illegal...it's a master, not one I'm copying or something...box art included, too.) or a WWF comp from '98. PM me for more info.

 

Also, fans who have photos of themselves or wrestlers at XPW shows, send the photos to [email protected]. I'll be sure to put a copyright warning on each one used.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

A "Where Are They Now? list has been added to the list of stuff to come in the next six months, as a part of this retrospective. It'll fill you in on what virtually anybody whose once worked for XPW is currently doing. And like I said, several more big names will be announced this weekend to contribute.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

A bloody Carlito Montana leaves the ring following his final appearance in XPW, at Go Funk Yourself in mid-2000. In the match, he received a number of staple gun shots from Rey Mysterio Sr.

 

10-year ring veteran Hombre de Oro a.k.a. Carlito Montana has been added to the list of those booked to contribute. I'll be conducting a phone interview with him later this week. I plan to ask him about a number of topics, including:

 

*what it was like training under Dynamite D and Verne Langdon in 1990 and '91

*how the Hombre de Oro gimmick came about

*his training philosophy

*what his initial impressions were of The Messiah and Angel, both of whom he trained

*why he remained with Slammers when just about every other member of the roster left the company and jumped to Dynamite D, Patrick Hernandez, and Kevin Kleinrock's SCCW promotion

*his initial impressions of Rob Black and Lizzy Borden

*how the "Cuban Extremist" Carlito Montana gimmick came about

*his memories of XPW's early shows in Reseda, Ventura, etc.

*the inside scoop on how he obtained The Messiah his spot on the XPW roster

*working with Mike Modest, Messiah, Halloween, Damien 666, Rey Mysterio Sr., and others in XPW

*why he left XPW

*why he retired from wrestling

*what he's been up to since retiring

*his thoughts on The Messiah's success in CZW

*how he learned of The Messiah's real-life injuries in his home by two thugs

*and more

 

Any other questions you have, please post.

 

More names to be added in the next few days and weeks.

 

Also, I'll be interviewing Leroy The Ring Crew Guy later today. A transcript of that interview should be up in the next week.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Update on the retrospective: I recently spoke w/ XPW veteran Carlito Montana/Hombre de Oro for awhile. We focused mainly on his pre-XPW career. A recap of the full interview will be up in about a month. In a week or so, we'll talk about all things XPW. In today's interview, Hombre/Carlito discussed his initial impressions of Angel and The Messiah (both of whom he trained), his training philosophy, his thoughts on the infamous dWo shoot segment in So-Cal's SWF, his opinions of Verne Langdon and Dynamite D, and a lot more. Questions are being accepted for part two of the interview, which will focus on his time in XPW (during which he worked with men such as Rey Mysterio Sr., Damien 666, Halloween, The Messiah, and Michael Modest) and what he's been doing since leaving that promotion. Expect more names to be released in the coming days/weeks as to who will be contributing to this retrospective, including at least one relatively major name. A full transcript of my interview with former XPW worker Leroy the Ring Crew Guy a.k.a. RCG will be up in about a week, hopefully.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Update on the retrospective:

 

I plan to call Carlito Montana in about an hour and conduct part two of the interview with him. Also, just earlier today, I got in contact with another former XPW wrestler who is more than happy to contribute. I'm going to wait before I name him, in case somehow it falls through, but I very much doubt that. Also, earlier this week, I got a brand new batch of Slammers Wrestling Federation pictures featuring pre-XPW photos of The Messiah, Angel, and a number of other XPW stars. The first part of the retrospective should be up sometime in the next month. Also, expect in the coming weeks:

 

- an interview with Leroy the Ring Crew Guy

- part 4 of my GQ Money interview, as GQ goes on the record about the NYR2 incident

- more names to be announced as contributing to this retrospective

 

Coming soon: the full, uncensored story of one of the most controversial promotion in recent years, XPW.

[r4g 0]

You know, I didn't follow XPW back in their "heyday" as they are just another indy, so I don't KNOW about all these "infamous incidents" you're pimping like their big deals. Could you try to explain what exactly they WERE instead of just acting like we're supposed to?

 

No heat, Thanks.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

You know, I didn't follow XPW back in their "heyday" as they are just another indy, so I don't KNOW about all these "infamous incidents" you're pimping like their big deals. Could you try to explain what exactly they WERE instead of just acting like we're supposed to?

 

No heat, Thanks.

I'll try...it'd be easier if you could ask about specific things, cuz your questions kinda broad...

 

dWo shoot = Circa late '96. Non scripted angle. Future XPW wrestler Dynamite D, having left SWF a few months earlier, storms the ring with a number of other former-SWF workers during an SWF show. He cuts a non-scripted shoot promo ripping on the SWF and calls himself the leader of the "dynamite world order." This was right in the heyday of the nWo...just a few months earlier the angle began in WCW.

 

A number of wrestlers quit Slammers around this time; Carlito was one of the very few to stay loyal to Verne Langdon, and Carlito will set the record straight on why he remained loyal, and a lot of other topics.

 

SCCW was a precursor of sorts of XPW and had a lot of future XPW wrestlers. I'll be writing the full scoop on how it formed, the details of its most memorable shows, why it folded, and how it led to the formation of XPW.

 

NYR2: XPW hypes the show by saying that a wrestler you never expected in XPW will debut and change the face of the wrestling world forever. They also challenge the wrestling Internet media to start giving them coverage and send representatives to the show. The debutees were two legit homeless guys that they picked up off the street before the show. LOTS of controversy sparked.

 

The dog/snake thing: Extreme Associates (XPW's parent company) said they were gonna air a webcast with a snake eating a dog so as to gain themselves publicity. Caused lots of controversy and they got a ton of phone calls from animal rights groups ordering them not to go through with it.

 

GQ Money and Kaos were the best of friends in real life for about three years, but a personal issue made them break up and they hate each other to this day. The SCU board recently had a topic wondering why they hate each other; GQ will talk for the first time about why he hates Kaos now. GQ also gives indepth info about the "creative problems" that led to Kaos and GQ leaving XPW together in early 2003. Their leaving was pretty much the end of XPW.

 

ECW HeatWave 2000 PPV: Several XPW wrestlers attend the event and an altercation begins between the XPW and ECW guys. Lots of XPW ring crew members were injured, lawsuits were filed, and a lot more chaos.

 

In general, if you don't know much about XPW...they're just extremely controversial. A lot of the ex-ECW fans hate them, and their PR philosophy didn't really help that. Plus, their owner was a pornographer, so that didn't endear them to many people. In 2002 and 2003, a lot of the Internet media turned on them and said they were bouncing checks, trying to start rivalries with other local promotions, etc. They just were extremely controversial, and while that got them a lot of publicity...a lot of the publicity wasn't the good kind. They folded in early 2003.

 

I really can't give out all that much info about these incidents because that's the point of the retrospective...so much of these incidents haven't even been talked about, but they'll blow your mind when you hear the full stories. A lot of the XPW stuff people know about, but pre-XPW stuff that included future XPW wrestlers is very interesting.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Steve Rizzono has signed on to contribute his memories of working for XPW. Rizzono worked with Kaos, Juventud Guerrera, Supreme, and a lot of other XPW stars while there.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

I'll release the interview with Leroy the Ring Crew Guy in the next week.

 

Leroy talks about Candido & Sytch's snorting, working with Abdullah the Butcher and Sabu, Rob Black's attitude problems, a hilarious story about a big-name wrestler at a Denny's restaurant after an XPW show, and more.

[SamoaRowe 0]

Am I missing something, or what the hell happened to Kaos?

[LucharesuFan619 0]

He and his real life uncle, Supreme, are a regular tag team on the indy circuit for Revolution Pro and Revolution X. He had a TNA dark match with Jimmy Rave awhile back, and most recently worked Justice Pain for JAPW.

 

Part 4 of the GQ Money interview will be posted in the next two weeks.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

I'll be conducting an interview with "The Giggolo" Steve Rizzono later this week. He'll discuss his career, including:

 

- his training and breaking into APW

- working with Mike Modest, Spike Dudley, Crash Holly, Vic Grimes, Donovan Morgan, Tony Jones, and others early in their careers

- the legendary three-way APW Garage match between himself, Grimes, and Crash

- memories of tag teaming with Mike Modest and Tony Jones

- breaking into XPW

- his thoughts on everyone he encountered in XPW

- his matches with Juventud Guerrera

- the scoop on The Enterprise

- his take on the Supreme/fire incident

- why he was never booked for XPW's Philly run

- why he recently retired from active competition

- and so much more

 

If you have any questions you want asked, PM me or post them here.

 

When I talked to him today, Rizzono (who told me he talked to none other than New Jack earlier today) was looking very forward to doing the interview, and vowed to hold nothing back in our interview.

 

Also: An interview with Leroy will be posted soon, part 4 of my GQ Money interview will be posted soon, and look for more names to contribute in the coming weeks, including some pretty big ones. Learn the shit that so many people never wanted you to know about the most controversial promotion in the history of Southern California, straight from the people who made it what it was.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

UPDATE: I talked to Steve Rizzono pretty much this entire afternoon (at least six hours, maybe more) about his entire career. The depth of our interview was equivalent to about two RF Video shoots, but here's just a small preview of what he discussed:

 

- everything and everyone he encountered while in XPW; I'm not gonna name everything; he discussed everything I previewed in my last few posts; I'll just preview the non-XPW stuff

- getting into the business

- working with Mike Modest, Vic Grimes, Spike Dudley, Crash Holly, Chance Beckett, Juvi, and others

- drug use in the business

- egos in the business

- his thoughts on Veronica Caine, Dave Meltzer, Rob Black, GQ Money, John Kronus, and many, many others

- the life of Crash Holly, and what led to his downfall to drugs; also - his memories of Crash

- how the business has changed over the last decade

- his retirement speech a few months ago, and how it was one of the most emotional nights of his life

- how Kaos changed over the time he knew him

- his friendships with Sabu, New Jack, and Chris Hamrick, and memories of meeting each guy for the first time so many years ago

- his thoughts on the idea of "death matches" and "hardcore wrestling"

- and perhaps most interestingly, the toll that wrestling has taken on his body...I gained a whole new respect for him after talking to him about this subject

 

The full details of what we talked about will be released over the next few months. Also, coming in the next one or two weeks:

 

- part 4 of an interview with GQ Money

- an interview with Leroy the Ring Crew Guy

- some major announcement on several relatively big name indy workers who'll be contributing to this retrospective about XPW

 

And in the next few months:

 

- many never-before-seen pre-XPW photos of The Messiah, Johnny Webb, Kaos, Supreme, Angel, and many other wrestlers from XPW

- part 1 of my retrospective about the company's history