The famous Garage...

IDIOTS
It seems like many idiots that post on message boards have a problem with APW doing shows out of the famous garage.

STARS WERE BORN IN THE GARAGE
Let's see, the famous garage has been the home of Crash Holly, Spike Dudley, Killer Kahli, Gunner Scott, Bison Smith, Michael Modest, Melissa Anderson, Donovan Morgan, Jardi Frantz, Maxx Justice, Bobby Quance, Sara DelRey and Kafu.

I know what you are thinking... First off, Kafu is not a star. Soon to be, trust me. Secondly, those are APW BOOT CAMP graduates that have earned a living, no matter how long, in top promotions in the U.S., Japan or Mexico. Some didn't earn a living for long but signed contracts.

NON GRADUATE STARS COME TO THE GARAGE TOO
Graduates aren't the only people to appear in the famous garage. Christopher Daniels, Gangrel, A. J. Styles, Lo Ki, Spanky, Bryan Danielson, Barry Horowitz, Sandman and many man others have also appeared in the famous garage.

EVERYONE COULD USE A GARAGE

Show me another garage in Northern California, hell in all of California, hell in the U.S.

GARAGE HISTORY PRE 1998
Yet, the idiots continue to bash APW for doing FREE shows for our loyal fans in the famous garage. You idiots are always welcome to attend the shows but in all honesty, you are not humble enough or respectful enough for the garage to allow you inside because the garage is something nobody else has. Yes, some jealous idiot in 1998 caused problems with the garage and called the city and lied and said we had 300 people in attendance. We allowed smoking inside. We did no such thing and officials knew but at the same time we were charging money and certain electrical things weren't to code and we were not zoned to host paying live events. We shut Gym Wars down in 1998 and it was memorable because of two things. My mother was dying that week. Fire officials gave the nod for one last show. We had over 400 ticket reservations and we usually overbook like the airlines knowing not everyone will show up. Our normal ticket reservations were around 150 back then. With the help of volunteer staff, we took the show outside in the parking lot. Jason Deadrich was very instrumental in making that show happen. We moved production and everything outside. We rented lights. When I was driving down West Winton Avenue, I got the call from the hospital that my mother had passed away. I pulled over and cried and looked up into the sky and saw the skies lit up. No, they weren't coming to take me to heaven also but it was the lights we had rented for the last gym wars taking place outside. We were not going to be denied by one idiot and we all know who that idiot was. I wiped the tears from my eyes and moved on and watched most of the show from inside weeping but we had a strong crew that made that show happen and we drew over 300 people to that show. It was the last paid Gym Wars.

GYM WARS POST 2002
A couple of years later we met with city officials and wanted to bring Gym Wars back. We would have to be re-zoned and go through a tremendous amount of red tape and pay large amounts of fees with no guarantee to obtain the necessary permits to do live entertainment in an industrial area not zoned for entertainment. Over the years I have seen Bowling Alleys and theatres turned down so what would make me think the same would not happen for pro wrestling.

-OR-

we could do the shows with a limited number of people allowed to come into the building, not charge money and they would be an extension of our training sessions as long as our students act as security and not allow drugs or alcohol in the parking lots and make sure we sweep up all of the parking lots including those belonging to neighbors.

As much as it killed us not to generate the revenue of $15 per ticket we were getting back in 1997 and 1998, we decided these shows were an important part of the training camp almost like lab is to a college course. Therefore, we decided to do them again in 2002 but we did not spend money.

Jason Deadrich, Gabe Ramirez and Doug Anderson (Melissa's dad) worked their fannies off and put in some of their hard earned money, sweat and tears and decided to make Gym Wars something special for the fans and for the wrestlers and for the students.

Recently, we made the garage more production friendly. We still only allow a certain number of people inside and when there is an overflow, they sit in chairs outside under a canopy. Some great shows have taken place in the famous garage. We still don't charge per city regulations and only ask people to bring an unopened toy and 3 canned goods of food to donate to the needy. We do our part to help give back to the community in addition to supporting Cauliflower Alley Club where if not for the legends, we would not even exist. The neighbors don't complain and some come to the shows. The Police Department comes by all the time and love the shows. As a matter of fact, there were a couple that stopped by just to see the womens match Saturday night. They all understand the pro wrestling business and the cutthroatness and backstabbing that takes place. Their only concern is the number of people in the building and no drugs or alcohol in the parking lots.

SUPPORT GYM WARS and THE FAMOUS GARAGE
Every fan should be so lucky to have the famous garage. Every wrestler should be so lucky to have the garage and every student show be so lucky to be enrolled in the APW BOOT CAMP. Those that are considering joining a pro wrestling training school. Besides all the things one should look for before joining, ask the training school if they have a famous garage. Ask them if they have a famous garage that can gain them valuable experience and exposure in an arena setting on a regular basis. The experience and exposure from wrestling people they can learn from. The experience and exposure they can gain by wrestling big-names in the famous garage. The experience and exposure they can gain by being on ClickWrestle or a nationally distributed DVD taped from the famous garage at BEST BUY and FRY'S. The price tag is the least expensive in the industry once you qualify for a few of the discounts offered. The payment plans are very reasonable and affordable. You too need a garage to make it in pro wrestling.

WE WELCOME IDIOTS
So next time one of you idiots wants to post on the garage and we can't draw more than 30 for a free show in a garage, think before you open your big mouth and hide behind that computer. Reconsider! Come to the garage and check it out and maybe you too will be hooked and no longer make have those negative thoughts. If you decide to take me up on my offer,

just make sure you to be respectful and wipe your feet before entering our home, our wrestlers home, our fans home - THE FAMOUS APW GARAGE!

Until next blog - I support education for IDIOTS!

IDIOTS and FACTS...

IDIOTS ON MESSAGE BOARDS and APW BOOT CAMP TRAINING SCHOOL



Is it me or is this blonde daydreaming about my total package? Are young women users? When they want to be with an older successful wrestling personality like myself, I almost feel like I am being used.

IDIOTS ON MESSAGE BOARDS
What is wrong with the idiots that post on most California message boards?? Most posters on message boards think they are smart to the wrestling business but they are not. They have been trained by the Internet and/or a newsletter. They never were trained by someone in the wrestling business - someone that is old-school. They don't have the respect of those in the industry because for the most part, they have never earned that respect. All they do is post. They have never accomplished anything in the wrestling business to earn that respect. They have never paid dues. They have never learned to be respectful or humble. They are not smart to the wrestling business they are just smart and that is just because of how pro wrestling evolved over the years and everyone is smart. My next door neighbor is smart and he doesn't even follow pro wrestling or message boards.

I remember my first Head Trainer, Ric Thompson almost got fired by San Francisco promoter, Roy Shire, for smartening me up. Ric told Shire, "hell, I didn't smarten that kid up, he was already smart, he is smartening me up". That is because the old-school way was to not smarten someone up until the very last possible moment. If you smartened someone up in the business, they would break your legs and throw you in a river. I was fortunate to be smart to the business. There were very few like myself and I treasured that and kept the kayfabe. Ric Thompson wasn't even sure if the business was a work or shoot when he had his first pro match versus Arizona wrestler/promoter Kurt Von Steiger who happened to be Billy Anderson's foster father or step father and Billy Anderson can attest to that. I am sure you read in the Ric Flair book how he trained Bobby Eaton.

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
People always get their facts wrong on message boards. They are very good at spinning and hating. I remember people claiming that we claimed to train the Wild Samoans Afa and Sika when we never claimed that. Rocky Johnson had been asked by Peter Maivia to train Afa and Sika and he in turn passed the buck to Ric Thompson. Hell, Ric had barely been trained himself. So he tried to break them in Los Angeles with Gino Garibaldi who happened to be the booker to Mike LaBelle at the time. Garibaldi said Afa was too small. Credit Afa and Sika for sticking together as a team and pursuing their goals. Thompson told them he would take them to Arizona and get them some matches with Kurt and he did and that is how they got their start. The rest is history and they became a very famous tag-team in WWF later on after much success in many regionals. Posters will twist and turn and then accuse us for taking credit in training the Samoans.

The Internet is a brutal world of marks who have never been properly smartened up.

Most of the message board posters couldn't give you the wrestling terms in the wrestling business and this is after they have been published by many a newsletter with a few left off. You think these guys ever paid their dues or accomplished anything in pro wrestling to get the respect of anyone in the industry? Why do you think big-name wrestlers hate the newsletter writers and the Internet?

Posters wish they could do what pro wrestlers do but they don't have the ability, the balls , brains or the body.

They are computer nerds or self-proclaimed wrestlers. The definition of pro wrestler is very different today than it was in the regional days. Hell, just go to K-Mart and pick up something that looks like wrestling gear and give yourself some ring name before you even know how to execute a fundamental and you are a pro wrestler. I am sure one of these so-called wrestling promoters who can't spell wrestling will book you .

NOT ANYBODY SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE A PRO WRESTLER
To be a pro wrestler you had to go through hoops. You were screened very carefully before being allowed to be part of the business. Not everyone got in. Few got in. Today, everyone is a pro wrestler because there are too many promoters and promotions (no different than backyard) that will suit you up and put you in their battle royal to work you for money or save money and not have to pay a real pro wrestler. Why do you think the percentage of wrestlers that make it to the big-time is so low in comparison to the wrestlers in the regional days who could get to the top regions?? The top regions were San Francisco, Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas. Of course, later on, North Carolina became the #2 region after Flair and Steamboat popped the territory around 1976.

We used to demand a certain amount of money for our pro wrestler graduates until everyone began to make a fuss and they drove the prices of Indy wrestlers down. Thompson and I always are amused by how Ric made $60 for an opening bout at the San Jose Civic in 1974 and today in 2007 the main eventers can't get $60 for the main event but yet you think you are pro wrestlers, LOL. It was the promoters that refused to pay what an Indy wrestler was worth that drove the price down of what Indy wrestlers get paid. Besides, there is such a big difference between house shows today and house shows in the 70's that had television backing.

THERE IS NO MONEY IN INDY WRESTLING!

INDY WRESTLERS WHO THINK THEY ARE STARS - GET A GRIP
Therefore, all the whining pro wrestlers that complain about pay and how they are used, need to pack their gear and go home and join a bowling league. You all act like you have it made. This is the Indies. You have not made it yet! This is the minor leagues. You are wrestling in what I wish could be a minor league feeding system but it isn't even that because the major promotions ignore all the Indies and schools because for the most part there is nothing but garbage at that level. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to stereotype because there is still some talent at the Indy level but very little and most don't understand pro wrestling the way it should be understood because they weren't taught properly and by old-school trainers. I really have no clue to what goes on in other areas of the country but I feel like I am an expert in California wrestling and I know what I see and what I hear and it is just garbage for the most part. You are lucky someone deemed you a pro wrestler to begin with. Most of you I wouldn't give the time of day to. Gabe and Jason did a great job with booking in the post undermining (PWI) era but because we had to start from scratch they were forced to book many guys I would have never given the time of day to. They made it work and my hats off to them. You so-called wrestlers are lucky to even get a booking considering most of you don't have gear and most of you don't understand the importance of fundamentals or psychology in a match. I bitch about the APW guys all the time and I don't even know how good APW has it but at the same time, APW talent is spoiled and they don't even know how good they have it. They normally depend on someone in APW to take them by the hand. That is why I appreciate Kafu so much. He gets it done. Heck, even Modest used to have Morgan do all his marketing and getting him booked.

I laugh when I see today's young wrestler making gestures in the air with their hands and going over in their mind, their choreographed match. It is sad but WWE went to choreographing wrestling matches because none of the young trained talent was trained properly and they couldn't work a match if their lives depended on it. Of course that is their fault.

Vince McMahon is a genius in marketing and has revenue streams from every area you can think of but he continues to neglect talent development but then bitches about the talent he has.

Those same wrestlers are posting on message boards and they have a following of IDIOTS that have no clue they are not smart to the wrestling business. They think they are smart! That is why I personally would never book most of you. Every now and then you find an acorn in a field that understands training. We decide to use them and people then accuse us of taking credit for training them. We NEVER TRAINED Oliver John or MPT but they understand pro wrestling, fundamentals and psychology and they come to us to help them further their career. Doesn't sound like they are idiots to me. Oliver was trained by Paul DeMarco, a legend. He didn't learn pro wrestling and get smartened up to it by the Internet. He doesn't have backyard wrestling gear. He is humble and he is respectful. Same goes for MPT. Same goes for Scotty Aboot. I never claimed that APW has the best training we have ever had but we are hands-down the best training available in California and probably one of the top 3 in the U.S. if not the best and definitely the best Indy promotion to be wrestling for - even in the famous garage. Do you realize how many have earned a living that used the garage to elevate their careers?

BEST PRO WRESTLING TRAINING SCHOOL
When Ric Thompson was our Head Instructor, Jim Gorman and Michael Modest our assistant instructors and I oversaw the training at ringside and added my two cents because I am detail orientated, we had our best training. It was a 9.4 on a 1 to 10 scale. Dana Lee and Vennis DeMarco are very good at training the Beginners and Semi-Pros today. Are they the best APW has ver had? Of course not but they are very good and are around a 7.8 on a 1 to 10 scale and heads and shoulders above all other training in California which I would rank at about a 1.3 on a 1 to 10 scale. Yes, I am giving them the benefit of the doubt because it is Easter. I really believe the training being done today in California is in the negative numbers.

As bad as so-cal training sucks they are better than almost all of the training taking place in Northern California.

Besides APW, I only support Zack and PCW as far as training is concerned and don't tell me I have seen his training and not yours. I have seen most of the trainers and if I haven't, I have seen what they have produced and I rest my case. I will say this, as far as the PRO CAMP is concerned, I can't remember us ever having better training. I am trying to sit here and compare to the names named above but even Thompson, Gorman, Modest and myself may not compare to what takes place in the Pro Camp on show days today with Oliver John, MPT, JJ Perez and myself. Does that mean we trained them? We trained JJ?

Remember, it takes good training and being a student of the game and the understanding of fundamentals and ring psychology to make a real pro wrestler and succeed in the pro wrestling business.

DALIP SINGH
Michael Modest was supposed to train Dalip Singh but he took his share of the training fees and rarely trained Dalip. Heck, Donovan barely trained Dalip. It was mostly Vinny Massarro. Dalip has Giants syndrome and is uncoordinated. Could have anyone done a good job training Dalip? Probably not. I believe the Internet and Meltzer can sometimes be a little hard on Dalip. There was only one Andre the Giant. Andre was an athlete and could actually throw a drop-kick. When Vince Sr. took over his contract, (yes he booked him out for a percentage - how dare me try to steal the concept from Vince Sr.) they toned down Andre and used him the way he should have been. The bookers have failed to use Dalip or Big Show for that matter the way a Giant should have been used. But, even had they used them properly, people need to understand there was only one Andre the Giant and there will probably never be another. Did Dalip come to the right place when he came to APW? I would say so. As a rookie in 2001, he earned almost $13k a week in Japan. He was in the movie Longest Yard for a bit role. Want to guess what he made for that? Want to guess what he makes in WWE? Want to admit he came to right place to get his training? The Modest and Morgan story has been told before. Morgan was being paid to set up the Noah visit to the school. Sure they gave a heck of a performance because they were trained correctly. I helped put those spars together with them. Does APW take full credit for the success of the wrestlers in King of Indies. Of course not. Those guys all had talent and I had the talent to discover they were talented and bring them under one roof for two nights. Did we help put them on the radar. You damn right we did. Did we retrain Crash Holly? We sure did. Did JR Benson give some footage to Jim Cornette? He sure did. Good thing JR also was in APW. Do you idiots get the point I am trying to make yet?

Good things happen to wrestlers who were trained at APW or trained elsewhere and decided to come to APW.

We have overcome so many obstacles in our 16 years it amazes me we are still around but we preservered because we are tough and we are old-school and we understand the business and what it takes and I have always surrounded myself with good people. Bash Deadrich and Gabe all you want, you all wish you could be them.

JASON DEADRICH
The things Jason has done are incredible. He created ClickWrestle which was way ahead of their time and only now are people beginning to catch up to that technology. Jason developed Black Pants Production which I challenge anyone to match in terms of show production and post editing production at our level. Everyone bitches about Cheerleader Melissa and ChickFight. The truth is Melissa is one of the top 5 females in the world, of those I have seen in the ring. The truth is ChickFight is an outstanding product and all the girls should thank Deadrich for starting the product. After ChickFight came Shimmer and they need to thank Dave for starting Shimmer. Between the two and many others following suit, womens wrestling is back and there is more talent in the women's scene than ever before. Better than anything you'll find in WWE now that Trish Stratus is gone. Sure most of them don't have huge plastic breasts but they are tough and they can wrestle and are athletic and they can entertain and they are booked almost every weekend.

GABE RAMIREZ
Knock Gabe all you want but the success of many of the graduates is directly attributed to what he does. He has booked guys for exposure on other promotions. He has gotten guys to Mexico, Japan etc... He has booked TNA guys on Bakersfield shows and it is beginning to pay off not only in terms of attendance in Bakersfield but exposure for our wrestlers. I said it earlier, the guy understands what it takes to make it in the business. I'd like to think he was well trained but it also helps he isn't an idiot like most of you. He understands what good gear is supposed to look like and what a package is supposed to look like and it always amazes me that even though guys like him, myself and Deadrich have rarely been in major promotions locker rooms and never wrestled ourselves that we all have a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in the wrestling business. I challenge anyone to give their students and wrestlers the exposure APW gives them with nationally distributed DVD's, www.clickwrestle.com etc... I challenge anyone to produce a better looking and more complete portfolio than www.onestopwrestleshop.com does. Our guys know how to act in a locker room and agents and other wrestlers can tell they were trained and groomed properly.

TRAINING FEES
Oh yeah... about the $6,000 training fee. First off, there are discounts that can take your fee to almost half that price. Take advantage of the discounts and most can sign up for $4,000. We have payment plans that are affordable. We don't charge interest! We don't do credit checks and if we did, most guys wouldn't get into the training school. Sure there will be IDIOTS that don't pay their bill but that is the nature of the beast. Those people can't make credit moves for 7 years after we report them to the credit bureau or attach their wages or whatever we have done in the past to collect bad debts. The training fee is a lifetime training fee other than gym dues that must be paid once you make your pro debut. We train for 2 years plus. I talked to a kid on the phone yesterday that said he was trained in Antioch for 2 months and given a pro match and the trainer never trained him, he was trained by other students. Blue Mountain what? Like a disease, training schools are passed down to a different generation. You got a guy in Concord who does a horrible job of training and the guy he trains never makes it in the business so he opens a school and does some training and the wrestlers just get worse and worse and worse over time. It is the domino effect. Nobody even gives the prospective student as much as APW Boot Camp does let alone a student. Some schools copy the formula and that is flattering. One school that was supposed to put us out of business but couldn't stay in business and somehow disappeared from the face of the earth copied everything they learned at APW. Again, flattering. Why change what isn't broken although, we are always tweaking our system. We incorporated things learned from Bryan Danielson because he learned from Shawn Michaels. We are incorporating things learned from Oliver John because he learned from Paul DeMarco.

LET'S GO HOME
I will admit, time rarely permits me to visit the boards but I am entertained by the IDIOTS. I was hoping for entertainment yesterday but the thread was so damn long, I just moved on to another website. Are these idiots breeding and multiplying? Try to take something from this blog and learn and quit hating just because you are a mark that was smartened up by the Internet doesn't mean you have to be jealous and hate on the best talent development sytem that exists in the U.S.

There is Kafu and there are IDIOTS!

Take a look at this guy. Whether you think he is talented or not, he is special. He has "IT". He can get an audience to react. He can get them to hate him and fear him or he can get him to love him. He completely understands the wrestling business and may have been the best groomed wrestler in APW since Michael Modest and Bobby Quance. Take a longggg look because 2007 could be the last time you hear him say HUNGRY and HORNY as he makes his way through a wrestling crowd. I am going to do everything in my power to continue to support this guy and improve his ability because he is like a younger brother or son. I am going to go out on a limb now and say that he will be earning a living from pro wrestling before too long. He has done everything asked of him and more. He has a great look, he has a great portfolio, he has great gear and he is a good listener. He is humble and he is respectful but you don't want to fuck with him, trust me on that one. He gets along with many of the top names in our industry and stays in contact with them. His name is KAFU... Remember it because he you know how this business is. I would have bet the ranch they would have used "Leprechaun" Erin O'Grady but the writers had different ideas for Crash Holly. You heard it in the movie "Beyond the Mat". I will say it this time and with the same tears, "If this guy doesn't make it in the business, it will be a travesty"...

Now on to my blog... There might be several parts to my next post. I wanted to talk about a few topics that are misunderstood by many and clear up some facts including:

1. TALENT USED IN APW
2. PROMOTIONS
3. PEOPLE ON MESSAGE BOARDS
4. APW BOOT CAMP TRAINING
5. LOCKER ROOM ETIQUITE
6. PEOPLE ON MESSAGE BOARDS
7. BRIAN ONG

1. TALENT USED IN APWLots of people think the doors of APW are closed to outsiders not trained at the APW BOOT CAMP. I have heard you idiots... "Not until now with Oliver John and MPT and Scotty Aboot have they allowed people to wrestle on APW shows" Not until now have we seen anyone in Northern California that was trained properly and has fundamentals. Talent has always been welcome in APW. Don't believe that? Ask Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Lo KI, Bryan Danielson etc...

This isn't further from the truth. If you are a pro wrestler anywhere in the U.S. and want to wrestle for APW, you need to do the following: Let us know you are interested! How do you do that? Send us a portfolio but allow me to inform you up- front, we have high standards! The portfolio cannot be done in pencil as some wrestling schools have taught. It must be a professional looking resume. The resume must tell us who trained you, when and how long you have been wrestling and who have you wrestled for. It must include contact information including e-mail addresses, cell phones etc... You must include an 8 x 10 publicity photo. You must also include a video of a match from bell to bell. Music videos don't impress me. I can take any poorly trained wrestler and have a good production team put together a 5 minute music video and make the wrestler look like a Hall of Famer. Give us your best match from bell to bell. Mail it to:

ALL PRO WRESTLING
P.O. BOX 55002
HAYWARD, CA 94545

Notice I didn't say include a business card or that your video had to look like something you are purchasing at Best Buy. You only want to have those kind of things if you are serious about getting to WWE or TNA or earning a living in pro wrestling. In case you don't understand my sarcasm, have the best portfolio money can buy. This could be your meal ticket! That should have been taught to you by the pro wrestling training school you chose over APW but I doubt most of you have had good training. If you need help putting together a portfolio, I can't think of anyone better than www.onestopwrestleshop.com to handle your marketing needs. While at it, try ordering some wrestling gear because I don't encourage doing your wrestling gear shopping at K-Mart or Big 5 Sporting Goods. I like it when pro wrestlers come to the ring with something they purchase at K-Mart to wear on the street. You must have professional gear. For those of you still under the impression you received good training, wrestling gear should have been covered in your training.

Once we review your portfolio and have deemed you worthy a look, we will call you and set up a time for you to come to an APW live event and give us a tryout. Be ready to perform in the ring and maybe even on the mic. You have to be a man or woman and have balls. It could be a demeaning experience. Not cause I am a demeaning asshole it is only because you did not make a good decision when it comes to pro wrestling training but now is the time to stand up and take a look at what people like Crash Holly did in 1996. He sucked it up and decided to get good training and even though he had been having matches, he was held off our shows for 5 months until he paid his dues and re-learned the sport and artform of pro wrestling. This is your chance, are you listening?

For those not in the know, promos are an important part of training. Not every school has a promo class. We do because promos are part of the "IT" forumula it takes to make it in this business. Yes, we will be looking at fundamentals because they are an essential part of being talented. Yes, if we like you, we will book you on future APW shows. If we think you need more training, we will tell you so and give you the option of attending the APW BOOT CAMP for a negotiated price depending on how much training you need and how many bad habits need to be broken. Some people proved they didn't need additional training and were booked immediately.

What are the advantages of wrestling in APW? You will continue to learn in matches and at pro camp. You will receive exposure through videos distributed nationally at BEST BUY and FRY'S. You increase your exposure with matches that can be viewed @ www.clickwrestle.com. Recently, one of our graduates were told by someone important in a major promotion that their match was viewed on www.clickwrestle.com Yes, it is amazing but this piece of shit land to many outsiders called APW, has graduates and wrestlers on the radar!

Will you pay gym dues? You fucking eh right you will pay gym dues. Everyone pays gym dues otherwise you don't survive for 16 years. Put yourselves in our shoes. We recruit you, you decide to train elsewhere for whatever reason, give them your money, realize you are the shits and can't go anywhere and then you want to come to APW and wrestle and be on the radar and learn all the proper things to do to succeed in the wrestling business for free? You are ribbing me... Do you think you don't have to pay for that? Don't answer that cause it might cause me to have to gear up and get in the ring with you and stretch you! I can't even take a crap today without it hurting so I guarantee you if you piss me off and I have to put the gear on, it won't be pretty. Oh by the way, don't let that Capacino Blast belly fool you either. I forgot more about stretching due to short-term memory loss than you have ever learned about it. Wear goggles, I like to go for the eyeballs when I find myself at a disadvantage in combat. The old-school guys taught me about the eyeballs. No, not the ole famous 3 stooges eye gouge you idiots, I am talking about getting disqualified for taking out your eyeball and throwing it into the warzone...

If you succeed, you will be part of the APW family and it isn't as bad as many who you allow to have your ear make it out to be. It isn't as bad as the message boards make it out to be. Remember, you never stop learning in this business but you have to be like a sponge and keep your mouth shut, ears and eyes open and absorb like the sponge you should be.


2. PROMOTIONS
I was going to talk about wrestling promotions in California but there really isn't a whole lot to say. You are all the shits! I know what some of you are thinking. It sure is easy for him to sit behind a computer and say that. Hell, for those that know me and have known me, they'll tell you I don't have to hide behind a computer. Sometimes what gets me in trouble is my personality. I'll tell you to your face you are the shits and don't belong in the business. Just like some of the wrestlers don't belong in the squared circle, many of you promoters and bookers don't belong as a promoter or booker - nothing.

You have no fucking clew! In the regional days of promoting and booking, rules were different. Want to be a booker? Go wrestle and pay your dues for 10 years or so and become main event talent and when promoters realize you have a creative mind, they would put you in the front office as a booker. If your booking sucked and attendance was down, you were given your 2 week notice and told to find another territory. I watched people like Ray Stevens, Pat Patterson, Bob Roop and Red Bastien book San Francisco and they were all very good at what they did and some were better than others. Pat Patterson lasted a long time and was never told to leave. He left when he wanted to expand his horizon and team up with Ray Stevens in the AWA. He then followed that up with WWF. I would say he made good choices as he ended up drawing a mid-six figure income as VP for Titan Sports.

Want to become a promoter? Usually, the forumula is to wrestle, pay your dues, book and have money. Don't promote on ass like I have seen many do and then not be able to pay the boys when there isn't enough gate money to cover the expenses. In APW, we never promise great payoffs because there are none in Indy wrestling. That is the nature of the beast. What we do promise is that you will learn, be on the radar and improve your abilities and enjoy the family and create opportunities for yourself that no other student in California has.

If you were lucky enough to have money or find a bankroll, you promoted. Today, it seems every Tom, Dick or Harry or shall I say Tom, Dick or JP promote and they never learned and are not willing to learn the right way and eventually, they lose respect of the boys and the boys run all over them. I am not going to sit here and say I have never been run over the by the boys because I have but it didn't last long. Either they got fired or they got tired and left and most that left on their own accord probably regret they ever did other than those that went on to make money for a living. Shit, I tend to talk alot and write alot and I promised this topic would be short. I guess I could say the promoters should be appreciated because they give some Indy wrestlers an opportunity to wrestle but they risk injury and they won't learn because they might already be better than their opponent. They also won't get any exposure because the SPW's, CCW's, Brawls etc... are just not on the map. Oh they are on the Northern California wrestling message board map but they are not on the maps that count. They are not on the WWE or TNA map. Therefore, save yourselves the time and embarassment and pack up and go home as a promoter. This might force everyone's hand to either move out of California or attend the APW BOOT CAMP where they can learn the business the old-school way... the right way!

My eyes are blurry and as much as I'd like to discuss topics #3 and #4, I can't. I will return soon with another blog because my next two topics, IDIOTS ON MESSAGE BOARDS and APW BOOT CAMP are two of my favorite topics to discuss and the idiots have been waiting long enough to see what I say about them.

Anyone reading this blog that might be interested in pro wrestling training, click FREE BROCHURE on the home page and complete the online application. This will get you a brochure, make you elgible for the Early Bird Discount of $1,000 and begin your path of getting on the radar!