Black Widow
03-27-2008, 07:59 PM
Long Island wrestling fans need not hop on a flight bound for Orlando this weekend if they want to catch some quality action in person. Long Island’s own New York Wrestling Connection returns to the Deer Park Recreation Center this Saturday for a loaded show. You can find more information by visiting NYWC’s official web site.
whipwreck.jpg
Headlining the 7 p.m. card will be someone who you a lot of you may remember. At just 34 years old, Mikey Whipwreck has already been wrestling for 14 years. He’s competed in both WWE and WCW, but is probably most famous for his memorable ECW stint as the ultimate underdog. He rode that wave all the way to winning the ECW championship, as well as the tag team championship with Mick Foley.
For the last several years, Whipwreck has been passing along all the lessons he has learned to a new generation of wrestlers as NYWC’s head trainer. Two of his most famous students, WWE “Edge-heads” and former "Major Brothers" Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, are likely to have a part in one of the top matches at this Sunday’s WrestleMania when their boss, Edge, defends his world heavyweight championship against the Undertaker.
In this interview, Whipwreck talked about the pride of seeing two of his students on the biggest stage of them all, his thoughts on the new ECW, and his take on an ECW newcomer with a very familiar gimmick.
Alfonso Castillo: What does the NYWC have to offer wrestling fans that they couldn’t get from WWE or anywhere else?
Mikey Whipwreck: What they get is a bunch of homegrown, young hungry guys that want to make it in the business. And with the track record we have, they have a very good chance of seeing guys that they’re eventually going to be seeing on TV. Mikey from the Spirit Squad was here. The Edge-heads - they started with us. Plasma just got signed to a WWE developmental contract. We’ve got a bunch of guys who hopefully you’ll be seeing on TV in the future - young hungry, guys who are willing to work hard for you and not worry so much about the paycheck.
AC: Why did you decide to take on the job of head trainer for NYWC, which I imagine could be pretty arduous at times?
MW: Oh, yeah, it could be frustrating at times. I helped train (NYWC co-owner John) Curse when he just broke in and (fellow co-owner) Shane, when he started I helped break him in too. They invited me to a show, and I worked the show for them, and I just liked what I saw - a bunch of young, hungry guys who just loved wrestling and wanted to wrestle. I became really good friends with most of these guys. It’s really a big family, like it was in ECW. We’re one big dysfunctional, family in NYWC, which is great. We have family members who move on to bigger and better things. And then you have guys who stick around, and this is what they do. It’s just fun. They start off just because they love wrestling. there are some big guys who start off really no having a clue what they’re doing - not a glimmer of hope. And just a year or two later, they’re really good wrestlers.
AC: What do you feel you have to offer your students from your experiences, having at one time or another worked for ECW, WCW and WWE?
MW: There’s a big difference between teaching them to wrestle, and teaching them how to actually work. The one thing I have going for me is that when I was breaking in, I learned from everybody - from Terry Funk to Shane Douglas to Tazz to Sabu to Paul Heyman to Mick Foley to Dean Malenko - I mean everybody. Everybody that came through the ECW locker room, I learned from them, and I’m still learning to this day. I didn’t learn one thing from one person. I took everything from everybody. And just watching guys work, I feel like I have something to contribute from all the different vantage points, different ways of doing everything. It’s like I take everything that everyone else taught me, and I move it on down to them. I think I’m doing OK. I haven’t heard anybody complain too much.
AC: You mentioned the Edge-heads - Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder -who are two of your most famous students. How does it feel knowing that they’ll be part of one of the main events of the biggest show of the year, WrestleMania?
MW: It’s like I’m a proud dad. Those two guys, they started off as goofy kids - like everyone does, I guess, and they just matured, they took the business seriously. And seeing where they are right now, with Edge, it’s really just incredible. I went to a TV taping up in Connecticut with a bunch of guys an just watched them. It was one of the proudest moments of my life just watching those two guys out there with the top guy in the company. And the fact that they still call me up and ask me for advice to this day, it’s just phenomenal. They’re just two really, really good kids, who’ve earned everything they’re getting in life now, and I just hope they enjoy it.
AC: Training two guys like that and opening the doors for them to be part of WrestleMania in front of 70,000 fans, does that rank right up there with anything you’ve accomplished in your own career?
MW: I think it ranks higher. I worked hard to do what I do, but I had somebody else give me the ball and let me run with it. But to actually take two guys from the beginning, and nurture them, teach them the right way, and let them know what I learned from growing up from being a nobody myself and having no clue, and see them take it and eclipse anything I’ve ever done, it’s incredible. It really means a great deal that I helped get these guys to where they’re at.
AC: Are they having a good time? Is it everything they hoped it would be.
MW: They’re loving it. And I always tell them, “Enjoy it. Don’t worry about the money.” They’ve been to South America, to Europe. I lose track. But I always tell them, “Just enjoy it. It could be over tomorrow, so don’t worry about the politics, don’t worry about the B.S. Just enjoy it.” And they haven’t really done anything yet since they’ve joined with Edge. They haven’t really had matches or full scale programs. They’ve just been Edge’s lackeys. So they’ve still got loads of potential left. So yeah, I don’t want to put myself over, but I do have connections, so if you do right by me, and I think you’re ready, I’ll definitely put the word in. And so far the people I’ve put the word in have gotten a spot or at least been looked at.
And there are similarities between Mike (Brendli, of the Spirit Squad) and Brian and Brett (Hawkins & Ryder) and Plasma, who just left. These are the nice guys. They don’t complain. They don’t bitch and moan. They don’t worry about this or that. They kind of just do what they’ve got to do, and they love the business. And look where they’re at. You look at these young guys you are like, “Oh I’m not doing this or that, and I want a push,” and you just say, “Look. That’s not what this is about. It’s about learning and appreciating what you have, and taking the ball.” ... Everybody coming into the business, you have to love the business, do whatever it takes to make it, and keep your mouth shut. That’s it. That’s what a lot of these kids don’t understand. They expect everything handed to them.
AC: Do you get excited about WrestleMania?
MW: As a wrestler, as a fan, I get excited. It’s not like I’m 13 years old again going crazy because Hulk Hogan is wrestling The Ultimate Warrior. But it’s definitely cool. It’s the holiday. They should make it a three-day holiday weekend, I think... I’ll definitely be paying more attention (this year.) Normally I have it on at the school, and I’ll be messing around and watching it, but not really paying attention. This year, when Edge comes out, I’ll definitely be paying attention, and rooting for Edge.
AC: You’re probably most known for your time in ECW. Do you have any thoughts on the new ECW? Obviously, it’s nothing like the ECW that you were a part of.
MW: I watched it the first couple of weeks when they restarted it. And it was like, “OK, I don’t get it.” They tried to capitalize on the past, and then when people watched it, it’s not what they thought it would be. You knew it wouldn’t be, but it wasn’t even a watered down version. It was just dreadful. It was like watching Heat. When they first started, they asked me if I wanted to come in and do a couple of matches with Kurt Angle. And I was like, “I think I’ll pass. Thanks.” I don’t really watch it. I heard it’s really not that good. They buried it. They put the belt on C.M. Punk, which is good. Then they put the belt on that Johnny Nitro kid. Then they put the belt on Chavo. And it’s nothing against Chavo - He’s a hell of a worker and a really, nice guy. But he’s not known as a top guy. He’s a mid card worker, and they didn’t even build him up for it. They just put it on him. And it was just like, “That makes no sense.” It is what it is, I guess. Not my cup of tea.
It’s so bastardized anyway. The people who were there (for the original ECW), the people who followed it at the time, they know what it is and they know what it’s about. But all the new people - it doesn’t really matter. If you think this is what ECW was, then you really just missed out.
AC: Do you think it’s sort of cool that at least the ECW name is still alive, and on national TV every week?
MW: It’s definitely cool. We changed wrestling. Not to blow smoke up our ---, but, we really did. Paul E and the guys we had, we went out there and busted our --- and just changed things a little bit and just gave everything a hard edge to it. To know we were part of that, and that 12 or 15 years later, people are still doing it and you can see the impact we made, it’s kind of cool.
AC: There’s a lot of talk about (ECW wrestler) Colin Delaney’s gimmick being a kind of tribute to your old gimmick, in that he’s kind of the lovable loser that’s getting beat up each week and is likable, but kind of pathetic. Do you have any thoughts on him?
mikey.bmp
MW: I know (Tommy) Dreamer was kind of involved in it a little bit. I haven’t seen too much of him, but I’ve heard. People have told me. I don’t know if I should be, like, flattered or, like, insulted. I hope for him that it goes well and he does good for himself. I really haven’t seen it so I can’t say if I like it or not. I’m definitely not insulted by it. It worked for me. I pulled it off, and hopefully it gives him a job and a chance to work, and it will work for him too.
AC: Why do you think you got so much mileage out of that character? Was it a matter of fans being able to relate to the underdog?
MW: I think it was that, plus, I literally got my --- kicked. I was taking a beating. I wasn’t putting my hands up. I was taking shots, and fans could actually see it. In ECW, they didn’t really pull punches. The fans could tell if it was really over-the-top fake. I was taking hard bumps to floor. It was sympathy, and I think fans appreciated it. And I guess they kind of felt bad for me.
AC: When you think that the ECW title still exists, and look back on all the people who wore that belt, does that mean something to you - that you were ECW champion?
MW: What the --- was Paul thinking? I think he just did it for the pop. I was definitely transitional, which was fine. I only lasted two or three months. But you look back at the names - Terry Funk, Shane Douglas, Sabu, Tazz, C.M. Punk - Colin Delaney, hopefully.
weblogs.newsday.com
whipwreck.jpg
Headlining the 7 p.m. card will be someone who you a lot of you may remember. At just 34 years old, Mikey Whipwreck has already been wrestling for 14 years. He’s competed in both WWE and WCW, but is probably most famous for his memorable ECW stint as the ultimate underdog. He rode that wave all the way to winning the ECW championship, as well as the tag team championship with Mick Foley.
For the last several years, Whipwreck has been passing along all the lessons he has learned to a new generation of wrestlers as NYWC’s head trainer. Two of his most famous students, WWE “Edge-heads” and former "Major Brothers" Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, are likely to have a part in one of the top matches at this Sunday’s WrestleMania when their boss, Edge, defends his world heavyweight championship against the Undertaker.
In this interview, Whipwreck talked about the pride of seeing two of his students on the biggest stage of them all, his thoughts on the new ECW, and his take on an ECW newcomer with a very familiar gimmick.
Alfonso Castillo: What does the NYWC have to offer wrestling fans that they couldn’t get from WWE or anywhere else?
Mikey Whipwreck: What they get is a bunch of homegrown, young hungry guys that want to make it in the business. And with the track record we have, they have a very good chance of seeing guys that they’re eventually going to be seeing on TV. Mikey from the Spirit Squad was here. The Edge-heads - they started with us. Plasma just got signed to a WWE developmental contract. We’ve got a bunch of guys who hopefully you’ll be seeing on TV in the future - young hungry, guys who are willing to work hard for you and not worry so much about the paycheck.
AC: Why did you decide to take on the job of head trainer for NYWC, which I imagine could be pretty arduous at times?
MW: Oh, yeah, it could be frustrating at times. I helped train (NYWC co-owner John) Curse when he just broke in and (fellow co-owner) Shane, when he started I helped break him in too. They invited me to a show, and I worked the show for them, and I just liked what I saw - a bunch of young, hungry guys who just loved wrestling and wanted to wrestle. I became really good friends with most of these guys. It’s really a big family, like it was in ECW. We’re one big dysfunctional, family in NYWC, which is great. We have family members who move on to bigger and better things. And then you have guys who stick around, and this is what they do. It’s just fun. They start off just because they love wrestling. there are some big guys who start off really no having a clue what they’re doing - not a glimmer of hope. And just a year or two later, they’re really good wrestlers.
AC: What do you feel you have to offer your students from your experiences, having at one time or another worked for ECW, WCW and WWE?
MW: There’s a big difference between teaching them to wrestle, and teaching them how to actually work. The one thing I have going for me is that when I was breaking in, I learned from everybody - from Terry Funk to Shane Douglas to Tazz to Sabu to Paul Heyman to Mick Foley to Dean Malenko - I mean everybody. Everybody that came through the ECW locker room, I learned from them, and I’m still learning to this day. I didn’t learn one thing from one person. I took everything from everybody. And just watching guys work, I feel like I have something to contribute from all the different vantage points, different ways of doing everything. It’s like I take everything that everyone else taught me, and I move it on down to them. I think I’m doing OK. I haven’t heard anybody complain too much.
AC: You mentioned the Edge-heads - Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder -who are two of your most famous students. How does it feel knowing that they’ll be part of one of the main events of the biggest show of the year, WrestleMania?
MW: It’s like I’m a proud dad. Those two guys, they started off as goofy kids - like everyone does, I guess, and they just matured, they took the business seriously. And seeing where they are right now, with Edge, it’s really just incredible. I went to a TV taping up in Connecticut with a bunch of guys an just watched them. It was one of the proudest moments of my life just watching those two guys out there with the top guy in the company. And the fact that they still call me up and ask me for advice to this day, it’s just phenomenal. They’re just two really, really good kids, who’ve earned everything they’re getting in life now, and I just hope they enjoy it.
AC: Training two guys like that and opening the doors for them to be part of WrestleMania in front of 70,000 fans, does that rank right up there with anything you’ve accomplished in your own career?
MW: I think it ranks higher. I worked hard to do what I do, but I had somebody else give me the ball and let me run with it. But to actually take two guys from the beginning, and nurture them, teach them the right way, and let them know what I learned from growing up from being a nobody myself and having no clue, and see them take it and eclipse anything I’ve ever done, it’s incredible. It really means a great deal that I helped get these guys to where they’re at.
AC: Are they having a good time? Is it everything they hoped it would be.
MW: They’re loving it. And I always tell them, “Enjoy it. Don’t worry about the money.” They’ve been to South America, to Europe. I lose track. But I always tell them, “Just enjoy it. It could be over tomorrow, so don’t worry about the politics, don’t worry about the B.S. Just enjoy it.” And they haven’t really done anything yet since they’ve joined with Edge. They haven’t really had matches or full scale programs. They’ve just been Edge’s lackeys. So they’ve still got loads of potential left. So yeah, I don’t want to put myself over, but I do have connections, so if you do right by me, and I think you’re ready, I’ll definitely put the word in. And so far the people I’ve put the word in have gotten a spot or at least been looked at.
And there are similarities between Mike (Brendli, of the Spirit Squad) and Brian and Brett (Hawkins & Ryder) and Plasma, who just left. These are the nice guys. They don’t complain. They don’t bitch and moan. They don’t worry about this or that. They kind of just do what they’ve got to do, and they love the business. And look where they’re at. You look at these young guys you are like, “Oh I’m not doing this or that, and I want a push,” and you just say, “Look. That’s not what this is about. It’s about learning and appreciating what you have, and taking the ball.” ... Everybody coming into the business, you have to love the business, do whatever it takes to make it, and keep your mouth shut. That’s it. That’s what a lot of these kids don’t understand. They expect everything handed to them.
AC: Do you get excited about WrestleMania?
MW: As a wrestler, as a fan, I get excited. It’s not like I’m 13 years old again going crazy because Hulk Hogan is wrestling The Ultimate Warrior. But it’s definitely cool. It’s the holiday. They should make it a three-day holiday weekend, I think... I’ll definitely be paying more attention (this year.) Normally I have it on at the school, and I’ll be messing around and watching it, but not really paying attention. This year, when Edge comes out, I’ll definitely be paying attention, and rooting for Edge.
AC: You’re probably most known for your time in ECW. Do you have any thoughts on the new ECW? Obviously, it’s nothing like the ECW that you were a part of.
MW: I watched it the first couple of weeks when they restarted it. And it was like, “OK, I don’t get it.” They tried to capitalize on the past, and then when people watched it, it’s not what they thought it would be. You knew it wouldn’t be, but it wasn’t even a watered down version. It was just dreadful. It was like watching Heat. When they first started, they asked me if I wanted to come in and do a couple of matches with Kurt Angle. And I was like, “I think I’ll pass. Thanks.” I don’t really watch it. I heard it’s really not that good. They buried it. They put the belt on C.M. Punk, which is good. Then they put the belt on that Johnny Nitro kid. Then they put the belt on Chavo. And it’s nothing against Chavo - He’s a hell of a worker and a really, nice guy. But he’s not known as a top guy. He’s a mid card worker, and they didn’t even build him up for it. They just put it on him. And it was just like, “That makes no sense.” It is what it is, I guess. Not my cup of tea.
It’s so bastardized anyway. The people who were there (for the original ECW), the people who followed it at the time, they know what it is and they know what it’s about. But all the new people - it doesn’t really matter. If you think this is what ECW was, then you really just missed out.
AC: Do you think it’s sort of cool that at least the ECW name is still alive, and on national TV every week?
MW: It’s definitely cool. We changed wrestling. Not to blow smoke up our ---, but, we really did. Paul E and the guys we had, we went out there and busted our --- and just changed things a little bit and just gave everything a hard edge to it. To know we were part of that, and that 12 or 15 years later, people are still doing it and you can see the impact we made, it’s kind of cool.
AC: There’s a lot of talk about (ECW wrestler) Colin Delaney’s gimmick being a kind of tribute to your old gimmick, in that he’s kind of the lovable loser that’s getting beat up each week and is likable, but kind of pathetic. Do you have any thoughts on him?
mikey.bmp
MW: I know (Tommy) Dreamer was kind of involved in it a little bit. I haven’t seen too much of him, but I’ve heard. People have told me. I don’t know if I should be, like, flattered or, like, insulted. I hope for him that it goes well and he does good for himself. I really haven’t seen it so I can’t say if I like it or not. I’m definitely not insulted by it. It worked for me. I pulled it off, and hopefully it gives him a job and a chance to work, and it will work for him too.
AC: Why do you think you got so much mileage out of that character? Was it a matter of fans being able to relate to the underdog?
MW: I think it was that, plus, I literally got my --- kicked. I was taking a beating. I wasn’t putting my hands up. I was taking shots, and fans could actually see it. In ECW, they didn’t really pull punches. The fans could tell if it was really over-the-top fake. I was taking hard bumps to floor. It was sympathy, and I think fans appreciated it. And I guess they kind of felt bad for me.
AC: When you think that the ECW title still exists, and look back on all the people who wore that belt, does that mean something to you - that you were ECW champion?
MW: What the --- was Paul thinking? I think he just did it for the pop. I was definitely transitional, which was fine. I only lasted two or three months. But you look back at the names - Terry Funk, Shane Douglas, Sabu, Tazz, C.M. Punk - Colin Delaney, hopefully.
weblogs.newsday.com