Corporal Stryker Interview.
By P. Staniforth 2003.

Another of all time great Bill Anderson's students here, this is Corporal Stryker; a cruiserweight who doesn't limit his self to one style; capable of submission based wrestling too.

PETER STANIFORTH) : *Stands to Attention*. Welcome Corporal, a pleasure to have you here. Let's begin with you telling us about your childhood.

CORPORAL STRYKER) : Heh heh heh. Those are details I'd rather not speak about. Top Secret information you know, classified intelligence. I will confess to the "A-TEAM" and "G.I.JOE" being two of my favorite television programmes though and let you figure out the rest. I'll also say I watched a lot of wrestling, my earliest memories being Bob Backlund losing the then WWWF World Championship to The Iron Sheik. My older sibling at the time was into wrestling, and while that person's passion for it died; mine continued. From Hulkamania onward, I was watching avidly; even during the "down times" of the late eighties/early nineties I was sure to watch WWF, and NWA-WCW when I could on top of discovering lucha libre in the early 90's.(I'd known of it, but never could find it on television at a time I was up).

PETER) : I had that same problem with lucha libre. I eventually found it on a satellite channel I shouldn't technically be getting, on Saturday afternoons when I always had something else scheduled... D-Von, get the video recorder! Anyway, since I don't fancy boot camp; I wont interrupt too much - carry on, Corporal.

CORPORAL) : I decided at the age of 12 that since wrestling was one of the things I wanted to do, that I'd make a go of it. In high school I wrestled, and did okay,(but I still don't understand why booting someone in the head is illegal - cue evil laugh!), and took in every type of wrestling I could watch. Sumo, UFC, it didn't matter; any and all grappling I look at as a tool to enhance my career. After high school I returned to help coach my younger and former team mates, and then joined up with the United States Marine Corps Reserve at the age of 19; fulfilling another goal of mine which was to do service for this country. Being in the reserves would work hand in hand with my goals in wrestling, and couple of my earliest fans were actually Marines from my unit visiting the territory I worked for at the time; Bill Anderson's IWC.

PETER) : How did you discover wrestling?

CORPORAL) : As mentioned earlier, an older sibling was into it and while at first I disliked their choice, given they had control of the television; and as I matured a little I came to appreciate the business. Mind you, I had wanted to watch the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon instead; and even that holds a special place in my heart as well. Next to the part that involves bayonet training at Camp Pendleton! Hoorah!

PETER) : You as well, eh? I loved Dungeons and Dragons too, must be something about us wrestling fans! Who trained you to wrestle?

CORPORAL) : I had the honour of training under several different parties. Whilst Bill Anderson, Jesse Hernandez, Los Cubanitos, and Frankie Kazarian were my main trainers; I also from time to time had pointers from Chris Daniels, Louie Spicolli (r.i.p.), Cincinnati Red, Matt Sinister, Bobby Bradley, Tim Patterson, American Wild Child, King Faviano, and Ebony Blade. My main portion of training came at Bill Anderson's school of wrestling while he ran the IWC, and it was there that Los Cubanitos (now The Havana Pitbulls) and Frankie Kazarian put me through the ringer. I then ventured to Revolution Pro's "Rudo's Dojo" to pick up upon various tricks from lucha libre, and add more experience and contacts to my resume. This is the one lesson I learned from that dojo, is that you never stop learning, because no-one knows everything there is to wrestling; and I agree with that! I can rattle off hundreds of moves, and still there are more out there; waiting to be learned or performed!

PETER) : Indeed. It's all about doing the best that you can, to be as good as you can be; it the learning process never ends. I know it doesn't for me! Can you tell us about your first matches?

CORPORAL ) : Some of my first matches were as part of a faction in IWC known as the "Dick Clique". While heels, everyone loved to hate our leader, "Big" Dick Danger and we actually had our own cheering section; "The Danger Zone". I would say we played a mixture of being comic heels and cowardly weasels to boot. Many of those matches myself and my partner got beat in, but we made sure our opposition had an equally "hard" time as well; because when you fight a member of the "Dick Clique"...Well, we were notorious for "being stiff" *wink wink*. After that, I was able to become Corporal Stryker, someone a little more near and dear to my heart; as I got to express the "real me". In that ring I prefer to lead, not follow. From there, it's been one constant war after another!

PETER) : So, what do you like to do in your spare time?

CORPORAL) : Spare time? What's that?! Honestly, I'm a little bit of a web geek in the novice sense, I am involved with a charitable club known as the CAMARILLA; and of course anything related to wrestling whether training or watching tapes, I consider my source of enjoyment. If wrestling was food, I'd eat it, sleep it, dream it, well you know.... The only other thing I do is having fun with the ladies, who always dig a man in uniform.

PETER) : What would you consider your best and worst matches so far?

CORPORAL) : Easily my best match was myself versus Pinoy Boy, April 20th, 2001. Despite one or two flaws, the bout was still very solid. My worst match was my debut for Revolution Pro in August of that year versus Street Styles. I still haven't lived that one down! All I have to say about that is a quote from someone...."What's a quesadora?". Much love to Street Styles though, we've both since gone on to bigger and better; against each other, or in our personal lives!

PETER) : Who are your friends in the business, and also your favourite opponents?

CORPORAL) : One can honestly say they earn few true friends in this business. Mainly it's because so many of these workers are on the road so much to where the only time they see you is in the locker room. To me, a friend is someone I can hang or chill out with; and someone who will tell me what's up to my face. I'm notorious for being crass, or for lack of a better term, a shooter, and that's because to me; I have no secrets, and others shouldn't have them either. That's just me though.

PETER) : You know, that's not a bad way to be. I prefer my friends to be that way, too.

CORPORAL) : As for friends in the business. The first name that sprung up was Bill Anderson, my mentor, the man who referred me to you; and honestly a guy who is almost like a father in some way to me. I'd say Red Tornado, another worker I consider a friend. No matter how overbearing my jarhead self can be, he still keeps a smirk on his face for me. Then there's American Wild Child, the godfather of Revolution Pro. He's someone who if I had a match that sucked will tell me so, no qualms. I'd also add in Pinoy Boy (now called Puma at the Inoki Dojo in LA), and Topgun Talwar. They're like my little brothers I'd like to think, so in some ways I kind of keep an eye on their exploits and such.

PETER) : Ah, Bill and the Tornado… Two of my absolute favourite people in this business, class acts for sure. Have you ever had any bad experiences with fellow workers?

CORPORAL) : To my knowledge I haven't met any workers who are not friendly though. That's the one thing that I like about this business, is that no matter how down some guys may be from the real life stress that can result in being a pro wrestler, the other guys are always there to help lift their spirits. Both IWC, and Revolution Pro, in my eyes had; and have awesome locker rooms.

PETER) : What are your thoughts on WWE? And also, your feelings on NWATNA and the Indy's?

CORPORAL) : I'll be honest, the recent Angle & Lesnar 'ironman' match put me to sleep for a couple minutes towards the end. That's not a knock against their talent, but there was something missing from their bout as opposed to Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart battling it out for an hour. I view the WWE as the pinnacle of the business, but at the same time, I know things can change; and one day it may not be there, and it's product reflects that. It has it's good, and it has it's bad.

PETER) : This business can change way too quick, WCW and ECW were gone so quickly leaving the mainstream with just the one option. Even with their current attitude, no-one wants to see the WWE go that route; although they seem to be making a good job of it.

CORPORAL) : NWA-TNA I enjoy, although I'd like to see more submission wrestling on their broadcasts. It seems to me the promotion that both should and could be a bastion of such a style doesn't have anyone with that as their strong suit. They get some respected submission wrestlers I like (and yes even Lucha has submission specialists), and I'll be buying their ppv's a little more often than I have been. In the indy's, I have mixed emotions. Some view the indy's as the valhalla of the business, which I won't say they're not; you'll not find more die hard fans than those that attend the indy's. Problem I see with the indy's is that many of them try to cop a style of other companies. I know some try to mimic the WWE style of wrestling, others try to style themselves like New Japan; and so on. One reason I enjoy my involvement in Revolution Pro, is due to it giving the fans something they've never seen before. Lucha libre, puroresu; and a dash of American style wrestling all in one nice package. The example of that formula in reverse ironically is Bill Anderson's IWC which was American wrestling with lucha and Japanese style workers brought in to spice up the mix. Overall, I just wish more people knew about the indy's, and wished more workers would realise that just because they've "made it" in the indy's doesn't mean they stop paying dues. I still am on street teams (flyering), I help with the ring crew; and am trying to learn other skills to help the companies I'm involved with because you never know and that may be how a promoter decides to hire you!

PETER) : I just wish more people had an attitude towards the business like that. Who are your favourite wrestlers to watch?

CORPORAL) : I was a huge fan of ECW era Tajiri. I also liked Vader, and of course Sting. If I want to watch wrestling to be purely dazzled by technical prowess though, I'll watch Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, or Ricky Steamboat. These guys can tell a believable story with just the simplest of holds. And I hold a special spot in my heart for the dark wrestlers with the evil and somewhat "gothic" gimmicks. Undertaker, Kane, Gangrel, Raven, Berlyn, and the like. They may not so much look like what some consider "gothic" but their stories to their characters; and their mannerisms were suggestive of such things.In the since of old WWF wrestlers though, I tip my hat to 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, and The Ultimate Warrior. Savage dropping the bell on Steamboat's neck as a kid made me believe the guy was "nuts". Jake was as if the devil had found flesh, and Ultimate Warrior, to me seemed like a one man version of the Road Warriors with the total "balls to the wall" thing going on, that you don't see no-one doing anymore.

PETER) : How would give a description of you as a wrestler for those who don't know you?

CORPORAL) : I consider myself a cruiserweight with strengths in submission wrestling, strikes; and a couple of veteran tricks up my sleeve. I'm like the Marine Corps in that regard, I'm often "first to fight"; and can attack from land, sea, or air. I think of a slogan are your plans for the future? Anything you'd like to promote?

CORPORAL) : Well, I plan to work on settling some financial matters while re-dedicating myself to what made me respected as a wrestler in the local So-Cal Scene. I've promised to evolve, and another side of Stryker may just pop up yet, although the Marine element will still be there. Promoting wise, I'd like to plug my mentor's site,(that being Bill Anderson) at http://www.bigbillanderson.com, the site of the current promotion that I do work for, http://www.revolutionpro.com, and of course my own site http://www.geocities.com/strykerusmc4life/cplstryker.html, Cpl. Stryker USMC! Once again thanks for the interview, and you guys take care!

PETER) : Thanks again, it's been a pleasure.

Peter Staniforth.
Peter is a columnist for www.prowrestlingdaily.com
A columnist for www.justinrules.com
And a video reviewer for www.simania.co.uk

He writes the press releases for WWE Euro Shop - http://wweeuroshop.com/?tid=ps101 - who are the UK & Europe's official WWE merchandise company.

Peter writes video reviews for the following video tape traders - Simon, at www.simania.co.uk (the UK's number one tape trading website); for www.modtrom.com (the official production company behind Jersey All Pro Wrestling) ; for Vicious Verne at www.a1wrestlingvideos.com ;for Shaun at www.violentjtapes.com ;and for Rob at www.goldenboytapes.com .

Peter has been mentioned on EWR 4.0 on the credits page (downloadable at www.adamryland.co.uk ); and please feel free to leave a message for Peter at the following link - http://globalguest.com/gb2/PWDPETER/guestbook.html

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