by Gerry Strauss
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Hi again, people, I'm Gerry Strauss, and, well, here I go again on my own.... going down the only road I've ever known, the ever- occasional "Seven Deadly Questions". As you know, this is the forum where personalities in the wrestling business subject themselves to some of the most probing questions I can conjure up, and then answer them as completely as their wrestling-induced paranoia will allow. This go-around, posed 7DQ's to Ryan Maher, a long time background player in the NJ indy scene who has just recently broken out as a manager in PTW and the NWS, and is also starting up his own fed, Garden State Pro Wrestling. What would possess someone to enter the already overcrowded world of promoting in the tri- state area? Read on and find out, and drop me a line with comments, questions, or attractive job offers at gerrystrauss@aol.com. Well, I've made up my mind... I ain't wastin' no more time, so here I go again...
1) Back in the day, you spent some time in the Empire Wrestling Alliance,
the EWA in South NJ. Considered by many to be a glorified backyard fed
with a decent cult following, it is nevertheless where you had some of
your earliest dealings with wrestling. Explain how you got involved with
these guys, and how the experience was for you. How did it end, and why?
All things considered, what is your opinion of this company?
So I guess this is the whole "How did you start in the biz question?" Well try to follow along because it was several different paths that lead me to Ron Post and the EWA. When I was 10 years old I used to hang around Iron Mike Sharpe's in my hometown of Brick, NJ. That's when I started to see guys like Ace Darling,Mr. Motion, Stevie Richards, Donnie B, Bobby Piper and the whole Sharpe's crew learning the ropes of this business. I always swore to myself that when I turned 16 I was going to enroll in the school which was only a few blocks from my house and train to be a worker. But at age 14 I found out I had a spinal disease and needed to have major surgery on my spine and two steel rods were fused to my back which remain there today. After all the complications of surgery which included overcoming paralysis I was told by the doctor that if I waited a year I would probably be able to train but I would be at a serious disadvantage and would have a lot less mobility then everyone else. I felt like my dream was absolutely crushed. I started going to a lot of independent shows in the area when I healed up. I met Donnie B one year to the day after my first surgery. The show was in Point Pleasant, NJ in November of 98 when he was working for Dennis Coralluzo's NWA Jersey and I introduced myself and expressed a desire to get in the business as a manager. At the same time my Religion teacher at my Catholic high school informed me that his son was a professional wrestler and his son was none other then Mr. Motion Mike Taris. Motion was working for EWA at the time and Donnie B. was venturing off on his own to start up Big Buc Promotions which would later become Phoenix Championship Wrestling. Donnie used me to do security and clean up the locker room, sweep the ring and stuff like that which was my way of paying dues. I had gotten a writing job from a great man named Phil Varlese on the now defunct wrestlingguys.com and he would send me to area shows to do write ups and he sent me to EWA in Brick. I got to see Motion work, do a write up of the show and meet promoter Ron Post. After that night I was hired as a manager with the EWA with no training under my belt except one horrible match where I managed Sharp Dressed Man against Tommy Cairo the year before. So I started working for Ron and being a young immature punk I used my column on wrestlingguys to bash Donnie B and that is basically how I quit his company. To this day that was the biggest mistake I ever made in my short time in this business. The experience in the beginning was fun but then it turned real sour. Ron stopped wanting to pay guys like Ace Darling,Tom Brandi and Motion and bring in these kids that weren't even backyarders. Kids would go up to Ron and ask for spots on shows and he would either take money or a certain amount of ticket sales and then put the kid in the ring. I even found out that allegedly the show fundraiser Ron did at Brick Memorial High school the night I met him had some money missing from the pot. The really sad thing was that pot was for a kid with terminal brain cancer who passed away a few months after the show. So EWA went downhill fast and after almost a year there I broke my wrist in the ring in front of 15 people at Rova Farms. Nobody would even drive me home. I drove for 45 minutes heading home in the boondocks of Jackson with my right wrist the size of a baseball. Ron Post didn't have any use for me after that. So basically my experience with EWA ended on horrible terms and I think Ron Post is the biggest scumbag on the NJ indy scene. Alot of guys in EWA had heat with me for my very open and honest opinions about Ron and the way he ran the company. For the most part that heat has been squashed with the guys that matter and the guys that are there that have talent know who they are. Some of those guys there now don't have the desire to make it to the next level in this business and are happy doing the small shows and I say more power to them. But take it from someone who found out the hard way, if you have any dreams or aspirations of going anywhere in this business stay far away from Ron Post and his bullshit.
2) You also spent a good amount of time working for Donnie B's Phoenix
Championship Wrestling. How did that come about, and what role or roles
did you fill in that promotion?
Well, I left EWA in late October of 2001 and I was working at a local
music store in the Ocean County Mall. I had a big blue cast on my wrist
from the injury and I'm ringing up customers when into my store walks
Donnie B. I didn't know whether to say hello or hide behind the register.
Since the time I bashed Donnie on the column he had forgiven me but it
was the first time we actually saw each other face to face. Donnie came
up to me and asked me how I had hurt my wrist. I had told him what had
happened. He said "You suffered an injury like that in front of 15
people and have nothing to show for it". I told him I had left EWA
and he started to tell me that he was bringing PCW to the next level and
how he had a beautiful new venue in Toms River called the Recreation Station
in which he can run whenever he wanted. I asked for a spot as a manager
in the company and he said that I could jump on board. I went in there
and it was the most educational year and a half I ever had in the business.
I only got to manage 2 shows. A fair show in East Brunswick and I worked
the Haas cup. My time spent with PCW taught me how the wrestling business
is supposed to be. Basically my roles in the company were to do security,
occasionally come up with some ideas and storylines and come up with some
stuff for Firebird TV. The best storyline I came up with was the one involving
radio DJ Kid Knight and Little Ricky. At the time I was working for B98.5
here on the Jersey Shore and my boss Kid Knight was a big mark for wrestling.
I came up with a storyline that would start in June and finally culminate
in a lumberjack match at the Haas Cup. Donnie loved the idea especially
cause Kid Knight is very popular in this area. The Haas cup drew about
250 to 300 extra people that had absolutely no interest in wrestling but
came only to see Kid Knight work a match. And a few of those Kid Knight
fans remained fans of PCW after that so I am very proud I was able to
come up with that. PCW did a helluva lot of good for me.
3) What is your current status with PCW, and what are your feelings regarding
that relationship between you and them, then and now? Have you been affected
by any heat that may exist between PCW and any other NJ promotions?
PCW has changed a whole lot over the last few months. Just take one look
at the Haas Cup. That show was so amazing from top to bottom and since
then with the exception of a November show in Point Pleasant things just
have not been the same. I think when we lost Dr. Hurtz that was a huge
blow to the company. Hurtz is a modest guy but I personally know how hard
he worked on those shows. He came up with great gimmicks and storylines
and was a mentor to all the young guys in the locker room. Basically I'm
not sure what my status with PCW is. The only reason I stopped being at
the last few shows was because I had bookings for Dapper's NWS shows.
I was told for a year and a half that I would get a spot within the company
as a manager, It never happened. Instead I saw Mike Winner who is an amazing
talent get a spot. I also saw Fat Tommy from the Moxies who is also quite
a talent despite his limited background get a spot. I think the final
straw was seeing this one kid get a spot as a full time manager and the
kid has no business inside or outside a wrestling ring and especially
on the microphone. My whole theory was if I am getting paid to actually
work an NWS show why should I pass that up in order to show up at a PCW
building at 12 noon and set up a ring and have to watch the show from
the stands? But I checked the Phoenix site and my name has been taken
off the staff list so I guess I am no longer involved. All I know is that
I was at the show this past Saturday in Toms River and Donnie treated
me well. He let me put out fliers for my show and it was a good time seeing
some friends who I haven't seen in a while. As far as the heat Donnie
may have with other promoters in this area it doesn't affect me one bit.
I don't buy into that kind of petty shit. The indies need to work together
in order to survive and until people start seeing that, the state of this
business will continue to suck. The only people that get screwed with
all this fighting between the promoters are the boys who are trying to
have fun and hone their skills. To me I'd like to think of Donnie as a
good friend, a man with a brilliant mind for this business and even if
there are people out there that dislike him, even they cant deny that
he has been a major force on the indies for quite some time and will continue
to be for as long as he wants too.
4) You currently can be seen as a manager, or, more specifically, a "Sports Agent", in Prime Time Wrestling, as well as the National Wrestling Superstars. How did these bookings come about, and what are your feelings on both promotions?
They are two very different companies but both are very entertaining
and successful in their own right. Prime Time Wrestling is a very new
venture but it will get HUGE!!!!! I will go on record here and say that
there is no doubt in my mind that by the end of 2003 Prime Time Wrestling
will be the most talked about product in New Jersey. The crowds haven't
been anything all that great yet number wise but at PTW shows 75 to 150
people sound like 400. He uses top guys on the indy scene that really
wanna make it to the big leagues and there is no doubt in my mind most
of them will. The guys that he uses as regulars on his shows could headline
any indy promotion in the Tri-State area. Guys like: Julio Dinero,Rob
Eckos,Josh Daniels,Mike Kruel,The Holy Rollers,Powerchild,Joey Matthews,Alexis,
and the Backseats are names that pretty much any smark on the East coast
has heard many times before. I enjoy working there it's certainly a gimmick
change for me. Everywhere else I've worked I've been more of a comedic
manager and in this company they have me working as a legit , power starved
sports agent. And what a list of clients I've been given: Julio Dinero,
Kara Slice, Serena and pretty much any female that takes on Alexis Laree
cause she always gets to kick my ass afterwards. Which is interesting
considering my top client Julio and and my biggest enemy Alexis are both
apart of Raven's Flock over in TNA.
Now NWS on the other hand is a totally different vehicle. They also utilize
a lot of talents that can work extremely well. Guys like Kevin Knight,
Biggs, pretty much the entire IWF camp that works there is damn impressive!!!!
But over there its a much more slapstick family oriented show. And from
what I've seen so far nobody in New Jersey outdraws NWS. Regardless the
size of the building the NWS shows are always packed. Dapper and Gino
are smart business men and always surround themselves with organizations
that push the show to the moon. In NWS I do a slapstick version of the
Sports Agent usually coming out with Biggie Biggs and the two of us together
always prove the fact that white men have no rhythm when it comes to dancing!!!
LOL. But honestly if I could learn to book like Joe and Denise from PTW
and learn to promote like Donnie B from PCW and Dapper and Gino in NWS
then GSPW would be a huge success.
5) As someone who has been around wrestling at it's most and least professional,
you have seen a wide array of training methods at work. You have been
on shows with guys who have attended highly decorated training facilities
and dojos, and you have also seen guys who mostly train sporadically in
garages or in the ring before shows. In your opinion, what makes a worker
"fully trained", and what kind of standards should be implemented
by promoters to ensure the quality and safety of their talent, and how?
This is a touchy subject and I wanna be careful and think this out so
that I don't type something that gets misconstrued into something I don't
mean. The reason it's a touchy subject is because I was never officially
"trained" to be a manager in this business. I major in Broadcast
Journalism, I worked in radio,I attempt to dabble a bit in amateur stand
up comedy, and regularly audition for reality TV (Yes I know I'm a dork)
so the whole charismatic and talking side that comes to managing is something
that was given to me as a gift. I still have a lot to learn just when
it comes to being a manager and I have no idea how in the hell I would
ever survive as a worker in this business. But I saw first hand what guys
went through at Sharpe's. I've heard about what guys have gone through
at the IWF Camp and at Gino Caruso's school. And to all the talented men
and women that have come up through those institutions and other legit
schools all across the country I think it is a real slap in the face to
them every time a backyarder or a ticket seller shares a locker room with
them. And a lot of times other workers wanna take it out on the backyarder.
I don't blame the young kid. I blame the promoter. I blame the Ron Post's
of this world. If your a young kid that always dreamed of playing major
league baseball and the only experience you had is playing in a field
with a few friends and some coach from AAA ball approaches you and says
"Hey kid if you can fill our stadium with a certain amount of people
or perhaps even pay me a certain fee I'll let you play center field and
maybe one day you will get drafted by the Majors". My question is
if you were that kid would you not take that deal if that was something
you always dreamed of? It's the promoters that fill these young kids with
such bullshit, throw them in a ring and then that kid really believes
in his heart that he is a "professional wrestler". He didn't
know any other way and had nobody else to take him under his wing so he
took the only road that he was presented with. So it is one hundred percent
the promoter's fault and he puts that kid and anyone that kid works at
risk for injury. It really is a crime. Hell by the time I left EWA I walked
around thinking I was Freddie Blassie. I am very thankful that Donnie
B and PCW "de-superstarred" my mind.
As far as when is training finished? I'm sorry but in my opinion training
is never finished. Balls Mahoney once told me that he still gets in a
ring and swaps techniques with different guys. Josh Daniels, Rob Eckos
and Damian Adams who are quickly becoming big names here in Jersey still
work out in a ring. Your training is never finished. You don't roll around
on a few mats in someone's garage who has no business teaching anyone
how to work in the first place and then "graduate". Thats absolute
bullshit. And if you really wanna make young guys better put them in the
ring with veterans that know what they are doing. Don't put two rookie
guys in there against each other because if a spot is missed then the
whole match becomes a clusterf#@!. I'm very opinionated on this matter
and that's because I have a lot of friends in this business that are great
workers and bookings they should be getting are going to these young kids.
I'm a manager what I do is easy. I can show up at a show unbooked if I
want to and if a promoter wants to use me he can find a spot for me. Wrestlers
don't have that luxury. I've worked with some very big names recently
and it's all been out of pure luck. It really is a shame cause I wish
things could be different for all the talented workers out there. They
work their asses off they should reap the benefits.
6) Your new venture is Garden State Pro Wrestling, which is running it's first show in July, in Brick, NJ. What factors led to your decision to promote, and are you looking for this to be a profitable long term venture, or simply a one-time or occasional thing just for fun?
It's been something that deep down I've always wanted to do but really wasn't sure how to go about it. Donnie B. personally taught me a lot of things and I saw how well he handled people and how he got buildings with ease. I've also had many talks with Dapper,Gino,Joe Miglionoco and Denise. I feel like it's finally time for me to give this a shot. Back when I was in EWA I used to try and help Ron get buildings. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. Then I started to think about helping Donnie get some buildings but then I decided "Hey what the hell? let me try to put something out there that is MINE AND MINE ALONE!!!". I was sitting with a friend and we were watching some tapes of me managing and on one tape I had a variety of matches I was involved in. It was me working with the Rock N' Roll Express, Larry Zybysko and Missy Hyatt. This same friend is someone who I have known all my life and she use to remember back in the day when people told me being involved in wrestling was a pipe dream I would never achieve. She looked at me and said "You have come a long way". I'm still green but I think I've made decent strides and running a show is just the next big step for me. It could do really well or it could flop on it's face. Based on how this July 19th show goes that will decide the future of the promotion. But from where I sit right now I think it will start out as an occasional fun hobby more then anything else.
7) NJ has no shortage of wrestling promotions that run on a regular to semi-regular basis. Besides PCW, PTW, NWS, and the EWA, you have JAPW, JCW, SSCW, IHPW, the CSWF, and countless others, not to mention all of the major shows regularly run in nearby Delaware, Philly, and New York. Playing devil's advocate to someone like yourself who is looking to run shows in the area, how do you justify a business venture which calls for you to draw patronage from a rapidless decreasing fanbase for the business in general, especially without a big budget or big name talent to draw fans who have to pick and choose which events they will spend their hard- earned dollars on?
That is a very journalistic question Gerry I'm proud of ya brother!!!
Damn why does your last question have to be one I really have to think
about? lol. Well first off eliminate EWA off that list. Bottom line the
booker over there runs whenever he wants too. They don't draw no matter
what. They even had the audacity to run against PCW's Haas Cup which almost
every other major promotion in NJ and even Philly had sent some kind of
a representative to be there and honor Russ. I don't know much about IHPW
or CSWF but have heard many good things both from workers and on the net.
I am a big fan of JAP and thoroughly enjoyed their shows in Seaside last
summer. JCW I am not very familiar with but I have had friends work for
Ricky O. and have heard many good things. I have also seen their TV show
run in my area which I think was a great marketing tool for them to use.
SSCW also uses a lot of talented people like Eckos, Daniels and Johnny
Thundar. Along with Allura and Valentina who I think can really hang with
pretty much any other top female worker out there right now. What CJ did
with Medieval Times and Scott Steiner got him a lot of good press and
should be looked at as a huge success. But all those companies are pretty
much up north. If I decide to make GSPW a full time promotion that runs
as frequently as those other companies then my direct competition would
be with PCW,PTW, and NWS. I have a good relationship with the heads of
every one of those groups. I think between the four of us we could really
build Central Jersey up. There are also some spots in NJ that I'm looking
at right now that nobody has touched yet and they would definitely be
good draws. I did a show for Dino Sanna a few weeks back in Salem, NJ
and he had a great organization push the show and he drew 1500 people.
I am running a fund-raiser for the Brick P.A.L. They are great people
and have been pushing the show big time. There is a summer camp of about
1,000 kids and it's an outdoor Saturday night show with a rain date for
the next weekend. I won't have the smarks and die hard indie fans cause
Ring Of Honor is running that same night, making it's NJ debut about 45
minutes from my show but I'm not too worried. I wanna get my feet wet
and see how everything turns out. From there we will see where things
go.
All I know is that I have some great allies in this business helping me
along the way and I wish everyone the best and I am hoping GSPW can eventually
join the elite lists of the above mentioned promotions. Oh and of course
here comes my cheap shill, If any promotions are interested in booking
me for managing or ring announcing e-mail scarback97@aol.com.
Use that same address if you want information for July 19th. Thanks Gerry
I had fun and I appreciate the forum.
