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Pure Carny Scum
Just when you think you've heard the worst thing that could possibly happen in the wrestling business, along comes Roland Alexander and his group of idiots in All Pro "Wrestling"- and they manage to top everybody.
The San Francisco based law firm of Hersh and Hersh sent out a press release this week announcing that they have filed a lawsuit seeking damages against Rolo the APW Carny and several other APW stooges in regards to the death of Brian Ong, 24, who died May 28, 2001, as a result of negligence during a training session in APW's "boot camp."
Apparently, the geniuses in APW decided that Ong should continue taking moves from another worker who, described as being over 7 foot tall and over 400 pounds, could only be Dalip Singh, a monstrous no-talent currently embarrassing himself and the wrestling business in New Japan. According to the lawsuit, Ong suffered a concussion after what most likely was a powerbomb, was told to CONTINUE TRAINING by whatever unfeeling, uncaring robot was doing the training that night, got powerbombed AGAIN, vomited, and lost consciousness.
Training at the "boot camp" must be very, very strict, as according to the lawsuit filed and an article in Wednesday's Oakland Tribune, it took 15 FUCKING MINUTES before someone decided it would be a good idea to call an ambulance. Unfortunately, it was too late to revive him, and poor Brian Ong, a 24 year old who just wanted to be a pro wrestler, died on the way to the hospital.
APW showed how much they really, truly cared as they rang a fucking bell at their next show on June 2nd in his "honor" and some of them wore red armbands. Wow. That certainly must have been quite consoling to the poor kid's parents, who watched their child go off to a $6,000.00 wrestling school endlessly touted by its fat fucking carny of an owner as the "best"- just to get killed in front of a bunch of people either too self-absorbed to care or too clueless to see he was in no condition to take any more bumps. It's heartwrenching to imagine having to answer the phone to hear that your son had died- a phone call that no one in APWLand certainly made to Ong's parents- and it's even worse finding out how he died. The class acts in APW are too busy fleecing a couple of naive idiots out of six grand and letting them continue to take bumps from people who clearly have no business performing them in the first place.
APW's reaction to the death of one of their "family" of students was stupidly detailed in a June 2, 2001 show report by head stooge and self-described "Official APW Reporter" Jermz, who clearly has no idea what it means to be a reporter. Real reporters ask questions. Real reporters follow up on news and items of interest. Apparently, "Jermz's" idea of being a reporter is to open wide and accept whatever anyone associated with APW tells him at face value without any intelligence or human courtesy or curiosity to follow up. So, in "Jermz's" warped view of the world, Brian Ong "passed away" and everyone just moved on.
It was either not newsworthy to "Jermz" that a student of the training school with no health problems "passed away" a few days before the next great, wonderful, big APW show in Pacifica, or he just didn't give a shit how or why he died. Nah, let's get on to the matches!
At least he made sure to note that Mike Modest mentioned Ong's name after he was booked to win the company's title that night, conveniently forgetting that Modest was supposedly, at least according to the police report, one of the trainers there the night that Ong died. Bad enough that Brian Ong died, but his death got used as part of a fucking wrestling angle- adding something to the fake emotion of someone "winning" a wrestling title.
"We Did It!" Uhhh..."we" did nothing. Brian Ong put his health and safety into someone else's hands, and lost his life as a result. Everyone else apparently moved on to more "important" things. Brian Ong doesn't get to "move on." He doesn't get to "live his dream" of becoming a wrestler, like that sad sack Vince Shipman does (and who hopefully had no idea this happened when he signed on). And Brian Ong will never get the chance to say "We Did It!" after winning a title. But at least he was "acknowledged"- which really opens the floodgates to questions no one associated with APW can answer or wants to answer.
According to others, the "locker room" was really upset the night of the Pacifica show, with several people, including Rolo, openly crying. Of course, it didn't stop them from running the show, booking future shows (until that well ran dry- then it was on to those free fair shows), not divulging to anyone HOW Ong died, never mentioning it to future applicants, and most importantly, not bringing the incident up to the representatives from Japan's NOAH wrestling company, who came into town soon afterwards and scooped up several of APW's wrestlers. Certainly, New Japan had no knowledge of this incident when they decided to hire this gassed out freak Singh last year. Organizations like NOAH and New Japan have a certain sense of reality and code of honor, things that are sorely lacking in the APW "boot camp."
Finding out that Brian Ong died and that he died during a class would have sent them, and any other respectable organization right out the door. But for APW, someone dying in the middle of the ring they train people in so they can AVOID injury or death just wasn't enough to deter Rolo the APW Carny and others from their career ambitions.
Makes you wonder just what they were all "crying" about.
Typically, the APW stooges are now babbling about how there was no "cover up"- yet fail to divulge any details in regards to what they knew about Ong's death or when they knew about it. The rest of the world found out this week, over a year later, but these stooges have supposedly known about it since the day it happened, or at the very least since the Pacifica show- and they wonder why everyone in the real world is up in arms and outraged.
It's very difficult to buy into the con that they knew all about what happened, that APW was forthcoming with all kinds of information about what happened, and that it really was just an "accident," if they're not giving any details, or in one stooge's case, admitting that maybe he said too much already. In APWLand, someone getting killed in the middle of a wrestling class just "passed away" and no one has the spine or brain to ask any questions about it.
Not even for the sake of Brian Ong's parents, who must want some kind of closure, will these jerkoffs in APW or their "fans" and workers break that "carny code," be adults, join the rest of us in the real world, and relate to anyone what happened and what they were told. The two people who truly deserve to "move on" the most are Norman and May Oy Ong, but it's more important in the minds of these mentally addled stooges to feign ignorance and innocence. It's more important to them to remain a part of that APW "family" and hopefully stay in that "insider" loop, so they never mentioned it to anyone outside of that disgusting garage until now, supposedly never discussed it amongst themselves, aren't outraged about it, and only are commenting now about it after being prodded to do so.
What a unbelievable group of sociopaths and nitwits.
Too bad they weren't enough in the loop to know that the suit was served to Rolo on March 8th, 2002, meaning Rolo's known this lawsuit was coming for at least six months, never bothered telling anyone outside of the others who were named in the suit, and that he only, finally, got served on March 8th because he tried so hard previously to avoid being served. They had to track his fat ass down at a fucking fair to serve him. And no one's talking about Rolo's working relationship with a bunch of untrained, wannabe wrestlers who not only have appeared on APW's "See Us for Free" shows, but get to rent out the same ring Brian Ong died in.
Truly the actions of an innocent "man," someone who has clearly learned from this and really wants to prevent future, tragic incidents like this one. Absolutely despicable.
Only Rolo the APW Carny has the ability to sink even lower than humanly imaginable. The stooges, at the least, (and that's the very least) can make up excuses about how they "didn't know" and "weren't there," but those lines of bullshit will be sorely tested if this goes to trial and they're called in to testify.
The trainers may have been negligent, but Rolo was the one who made them trainers and who hired them in the first place. He also made the stupid, unconscionable, and fateful decision to keep this all quiet just for the sake of attracting more rubes. Rolo's known all along exactly what happened, covered it up just so he can attract more students into his Ring of Death at $6,000.00 a pop- and when it came time to be responsible and deal with the situation like a man, he ran like a scared toddler from being processed. He has no excuses.
As the owner of the company, he is responsible for the actions and, apparently in this case, inactions of those in his employ. The blame ultimately lies flat on those narrow shoulders of his, and it's time he got the "education in life" he promised not so long ago.
Hersh and Hersh are seeking damages and a jury trial, and hopefully they'll be able to put this fat slob out of business for good and give the Ongs some semblance of satisfaction and restitution.
And it couldn't be happening to a more deserving person than Rolo the APW Carny.
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Jim has been watching
wrestling for over 20 years and has followed and reported on indy wrestling
for over 6 years. He's also a fan of the New York Giants, New York Yankees,
St. John's Red Storm basketball, Alabama Crimson Tide football, and the
New Jersey Devils, but please don't hold that against him.
Contact Jim at BilJim2@simpsons.com
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Previous Columns:
Watching Tazz is Tough Enough
Seven in Two
Getting Your Moneys Worth
How Not to Run and Indy
If That's What it Takes, They Don't Have It!
Customer Service in the Wrestling Business
Consider the Source
How Much Would You Pay?
Living Off The Past
Enough
Already
What
A Cop Out
Climbing
the Psychic Hotline
Subtleties
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The comments and statements do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
Brett Schwan and the Wrestling Clothesline (although many times, he comes
damn close!)
