by Gerry Strauss
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People are coming out of the woodwork to be the next subject of "Seven Deadly Questions", so much so that I don't even have the time to do a long intro, so here's the latest, featuring Carmine "CJ" Sabia, the mastermind behind Stars and Stripes Championship Wrestling, an organization coming off of a huge undertaking of a show at the beautiful "Medieval Times" arena, a show which incidentally boasted the only indy appearance ever of "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner, just weeks before his WWE debut... ok, email me at gerrystrauss@aol.com or djg4evr@aol.com and here we go
1) Carmine, the organization that has come to be known as Stars and Stripes Championship Wrestling has undergone many false starts and reincarnations over the last few years. Outline your history in getting this promotion up and running, and include all of the problems and circumstances which have led to its somewhat inconsistent presence.
So true so true. Well as you know the wrestling business is a tough one. It is very difficult financially to maintain a profit and produce consistent shows. But I feel that right now we have the right mix of people to make SSCW a HUGE success. Take a journey back in time with me if you will. SSCW started out as SSWA. It was run by Kevin Knight and Johnny Dreamer. It was nothing more then wrestlers dressing up as WWF wrestlers and putting on charity events. In fact I remember the artist now known as Kevin Knight dressing up as both Bret Hart and The Undertaker on the same show. SSWA was a good little twice a year promotion and I learned alot from it. But when I turned 18 I recontacted Johnny Dreamer, who has always been a good friend and mentor. We both knew we had bigger fish to fry then doing rinky dink shows twice a year so we set out together on the journey known as SSCW. We ran fundraisers strictly for a while but then we wanted to do profit shows. Of course with Dreamer getting married his availability was constantly changing so he gave his share of the company to me. With sole ownership I set out to make this company better then ever before. But, as in any business, if you want to make money you have those starts and stops and you always start slow. As I stated before with Johnny Dreamer back, Vincent Fiscella, and Angel Martinez behind me and me leading the ship we will see bigger and better horizons then ever before. Unfortunately SSCW didn't have the benefit of a money mark to throw good money after bad so our progress has been slow. But I would say we are well on our way to accomplishing our goals. Proven by the fact that the good fans of Wrestling Clothesline voted us the 2002 Promotion of the Year.
2) Along the same lines, it would be fair to say that there have been several claims made by you and the SSCW regarding future plans: for instance, the SSCW website once claimed to have a TV deal in place in a multitude of states. What would your explanation be for this, and how solid is the advertised debut for SSCW's "Adrenaline TV" in NJ, and what can we expect to see on it?
Well the TV deal for multiple states was nixed strictly because we couldn't control the advertising revenue. I wanted full control of the ad receipts and the cable company felt differently about it. I have more control now so I am happy with how things are progressing. Expect to see Adrenaline on the air in Late February early March as it is currently in production.
3)What was the thought process in the decision to put your Heavyweight Championship on Scott Steiner in his lone appearance for SSCW, considering that it was public knowledge that he was WWE- bound and would never again be available for future shows?
That is simple. When you reach out to advertisers it is nice to show them your history. When Scott Steiner is wearing WWE Gold how nice will it look to future sponsors that the current WWE Heavyweight Champion once held the same title for SSCW?
4) Your "Hell-O- Ween" show, held at the beautiful Medieval Times Restaurant in Lyndhurst, NJ, was an aesthetically impressive endeavor. The place was huge and seemed almost tailor made for a wrestling show. On that night, a return date was announced, and even before the show, press releases had heralded the multi-show deal that was inked with the establishment, as well as with David Penzer, former WCW ring announcer who worked "Hell-O-Ween". However, the next SSCW show has been moved to a smaller venue, and there has been no mention of Penzar's return. What caused the derailment of the long term plans, and was it financially motivated?
Absolutely 100% financial motivation. We would love to have WrestleMania every month but unfortunately money talks.
5) With business being down right now, how hard has it been for your promotion to come up with ways to maintain profitability? While many feds are taking a more streamlined, no- frills approach, SSCW has seemingly gone the opposite direction with high priced wrestlers AND ring announcers, musical acts, and merchandise. How does this fit into the overall business plan?
Simple. I will not ask fans to pay to see something I wouldn't pay to see. The fans want stars. Look I see too many of these independent promotions that use strictly independent wrestlers. That's fine for them. And don't get me wrong I prefer watching the young talent over the names myself. However Joe and Jane public who want to take a family to watch a night of entertainment want to see someone they recognize from their youth. Hey it's difficult to get people to come watch wrestling today. As indy promoters we spend 90% of our time trying to convince families that we are not like WWE. But, as with our next show where we have Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka appearing, it is much easier to convince a grandfather to bring his grandchildren to a show when he sees wrestlers on the show that he is comfortable and familiar with.
6) At one point, SSCW had announced a working agreement with Donnie B's Phoenix Championship Wrestling...what is the status of that situation, and what is your relationship like with other promoter's in the area and beyond?
That working agreement is still in place though we don't feel the need to trumpet it anymore. I have similar working agreements with several promotions in our area. I respect and appreciate the talents of Pete Ferriero and IHPW, Ricky O and JCW, Fat Frank and JAPW, Joe Panzerino and NWS, Gino Caruso and ECPW and of course Donnie B and the aforementioned PCW. Sometimes there are more to these relationships and sometimes they are just business. You don't always have to like someone to do business with them. Fortunately I do like the majority of the people I do business with and I am grateful for friendships I have. Like the friendship I have with Pete Ferriero. I consider him to be a true friend and one of the very few honest people I have met up with in this business. I truly enjoy working with other promoters because my true feeling is that if we work together we can become very successful and competitive with the big dogs. But if we fight and try to tear each other down then we will never be any bigger or better then we are right now.
7) Finally, describe your vision for SSCW in the next year...where do you see it going, how big can it get, and how will it get there?
I see SSCW being the biggest, most exciting promotion in NJ. It can get as big as the fans allow it to. I see 2003 as the year where stars from SSCW like Johnny Thundar, Alura, Rob Eckos, Damian Adams, Josh Daniels, Paul E. Normous, Chino Martinez, Rik Lesnar, Vic Divine, Kevin Matthews, New Wave and other young wrestlers break out of their cocoons and showcase their talents beyond anyone's expectations. I am in awe of what these guys can do and they will take this company into the future.
Gerry thank you very much for this forum. Continued success with this column and your future endeavors. And as always, please check out www.sscwwrestling.com.
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Billy Reil
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Rockin Rebel
Fluff Dupp
