SMACKDOWN CHAMPION

Pro Wrestling Co-Heros of the Week
Dalip Singh AKA Killer Kahli - Current WWE Smackdown Champion
Former Manager - Mr. Style and Substance or Mr. 20%, Jason Deadrich

This week I don't even have time to think about who might be idiot of the week because there is so much to discuss about my Pro Wrestling Heros of the week. I have been thinking about this award for the last two nights and as much as I wanted to give the award to just one person - I couldn't.

GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
This week, Dalip Singh AKA Giant Kahli became the WWE Smackdown Champion and he owes it all to the APW Boot Camp and Mr. Jason Deadrich and all the hard work Dalip has gone through that most normal human beings could not go through, let alone a Giant human being.

EARLY ON WITH DALIP
When we first began to train Dalip in the year 2000, Jason Deadrich had his eyes on Dalip the entire time. Jason spent many a night at the infamous APW GARAGE in Hayward California taking notes and studying his every move. There were many nights after staff meetings and a Boot Camp practice that Mr. Deadrich would approach me and tell me,

"He is going to be a World Champion some day". I used to tell Jason that he might be right but there would be a tough road ahead.

GIVE HIM A BREAK
You see, Dalip Singh is a GIANT. He might be the most uncoordinated GIANT in the history of the wrestling business. He has what many in the wrestling industry term, "Giant Syndrome". Due to his size, he has difficulty even walking sometimes. I wasn't so sure he'd be able to compete with the most coordinated Giants, Big Show and Andre the Giant. Those two were very agile for their size. I believe they misused Big Show but people never gave that guy enough credit. Big Show came a long way since his debut VS. Hulk Hogan and he was one heck of an athlete.

STYLE AND SUBSTANCE ERA
Like I said earlier, Jason knew from the start that Dalip would be a champion. Many don't know but when Dalip made his pro debut in APW, he was part of the "Style and Substance" stable. Mr. Deadrich or Mr. 20% as some would call him, had a keen eye for talent and guys and gals that would someday be successful in the pro wrestling game. Jason was style while Miss TNA was substance. Jason was certainly no idiot as he later recruited Shane Dynasty who will go down as one of the greatest managers in the history of Indy pro wrestling. Jason knew that Shane had lots of success with big guys as he managed Maxx Justice to some championship crowns. Jason was the business guy of the corporation. Dalip Singh was unbeatable in the year or so in APW before embarking on tours of New Japan.

THE GODFATHER KNOWS
I also knew Dalip would be marketable regardless of how talented or coordinated he would become. I seeked out Barry Bloom to represent Dalip. When I obtained Barry Bloom, the one and only pro wrestling agent (actually, he isn't a real agent as he is not registered with the state of California but he does business with United Talent Agency who is a registered agent and has a heck of a legal staff), I wanted to get Dalip a contract in pro wrestling. Barry is not any ordinary agent. I had tried to get him to represent some of the Boot Camp graduates since we had top-notch talent being developed but Barry didn't like dealing with the little ($$$) stuff. He only wanted clients that could produce the big buck and who could blame him. Afterall, at the time, he had Goldberg, Chynna, and many of the top WWE stars. The ones I mentioned above are not his clients any more for whatever reason. You can't believe everything you hear or read but I know Ric Flair didn't have good things to say about Barry in his book.

BARRY BLOOM THE AGENT?
Dalip was someone that interested Barry and Barry did a great job of getting Dalip top dollar in New Japan in late 2001. Japan was good for Dalip. He had many battles with Giant Silva in New Japan. Jason and I often discussed how New Japan would only be the first stop in a long and successful career for Dalip Singh. When Barry Bloom approached WWE, they were not interested in Dalip and who could blame them. WWE still had Big Show. Bloom tried to get Dalip involved in Hollywood through his relationship with United Talent Agency. They worked on getting him involved with the Rock during one of his movies and the deal fell through. Finally, United Talent Agency landed Dalip a part in the remake of "The Longest Yard". Dalip did pretty good. I don't think it was a big money maker for Dalip but only a foot in the door. After the movie, WWE wanted to have Dalip go to Ohio Valley for a very small weekly salary. I don't know from first hand experience but my opinion is that Ohio Valley has ever been good at developing talent for WWE. Even with geniuses like Jim Cornette and Paul E running the booking and television, most of the guys were not talented or well trained at the original schools they attended. The current WWE Developmental territory in Florida being run by Steve Kiern. Steve, in my estimation, was an excellent wrestler in his day and my assumption is that he would be very good at passing down knowledge to the young guys. They'll learn how to work and learn psychology from Kiern. With all the second generation wrestlers including the Harts, DiBiases etc... I have all the confidence, they will begin developing decent talent but it might take a while to get the ball rolling. When Barry turned down the developmental deal for Dalip, it didn't look good for Dalip. Dalip actually preferred not wrestling at that point as he was really getting off on the Hollywood thing. When Big Show decided to take some time off and not renew his contract, it was a break for Dalip and WWE was going to be a player afterall.

IDIOTS ON MESSAGE BOARDS
I know everyone on the message boards, you know, the idiots, are all trash talking Dalip as if they could do any better. My guess is WWE is being patient with Dalip and he is learning every day as one does in this industry. For the most part, Vince knows what he is doing and it looks like for now, Dalip will continue to get a push and I suppose the idiots on the message boards will now begin to tear up Vince. Don't tear up Vince for the creative stuff. Trust me, there are many more things the idiots on message boards can go after Vince on if they really want to knock Vince.

LISTEN HERE VINCE
I do have one bit of advise for Vince. Kahli might have greater success as SMACKDOWN CHAMPION if he had a little "Style and Substance" in his corner. I think Kahli needs an entourage that includes Mr. Jason Deadrich, the beauty in TNA and the mastermind of all managers, MR. Shane Dynasty. Heck, they might even be able to garnish a little heat for the big guy.

CONGRATULATIONS DALIP!
I am glad he is having some success, he deserves it. He came from a very poor family in India and hasn't had much his entire life. He now looks spiffy in sport coats etc... I actually miss the big guy. I'll never forget before he went to Japan, I treated him to a trip to southern California and I took him to Disneyland and Universal Studios prior to visiting Barry Bloom. He was a hit and seemed to enjoy the attention. I'll try to dig up a picture I have where he was surrounded by kids at Universal and this was before they knew he was a pro wrestler. He just had that presence. He was like a kid on the rides and pissed me off when he insisted on going on Jurastic Park 16 times in a row. CONGRATULATIONS SMACKDOWN CHAMPION!

Thanks for reading the blog and as usual, I look forward to reading your comments.

The Most Successful graduate...

PRO WRESTLING HERO of the WEEK
KAFU

He is constantly on the road. Good things happen to those that dedicate themselves.

IDIOT OF THE WEEK
Nancy Grace


I don't mean to pick on Nancy because there could have been so many other mainstream media people as idiot of the week. I just think the media and the industry are going about the Chris Benoit tragedy in the wrong way!


When it comes to the most successful graduate in APW Boot Camp history, that is a choice where no matter who you name, you might not be wrong.

SPIKE DUDLEY
You certainly can't go wrong with Spike. Spike has been in a major promotion since late 1996. Against the wishes of many a wrestler in APW and many a trainer in APW, I forged ahead and pushed a 150 pound wrestler because I thought he had ability and I thought he had heart. ECW mad him a bumping machine but they could have gone in a different direction with him cause he can flat out wrestle. If you said he is the best wrestler to graduate from APW, you might not be wrong. If you said Spike has been the most successful, you may not be wrong with that category either.

CRASH HOLLY
We re-trained Erin O'Grady and helped market him to the point of getting him booked in ECW and then because of some footage that had caught the eye of Jim Cornette involving Vic Grimes, Erin received a tryout with WWF. After one of the best tryout matches in WWF in 5 years, Crash and Vic both received developmental contracts. Crash went to Mexico for a short stint and wound up on television as the cousin of Bob Holly, Crash. Crash was by no means one of the top 5 graduates in terms of in-ring ability although he was right up there. What he always delivered was entertainment and I think he proved that with his run as the 24/7 champion.

VIC GRIMES
Vic was one of the top graduates and was a hardcore wrestler who could actually wrestle but preferred not to. The guy is actually lucky to be alive today as I am not too sure he was supposed to survive the fall from the scaffold. That fall could have had a similar result as the fall Owen Hart had. Is he one of the top 5 graduates in the history of APW. Maybe, maybe not but he sure had a pair. Many will say his pair was not that big but Vic didn't make wise choices. I certainly know he could wrestle.

MICHAEL MODEST
The politician! I gave him the name "Natural One" because everything came natural. I had never seen anyone so out of shape top everyone under the roof when it came to cardio. He was born to be a wrestler. If some of you think I am a carny. He is my carny nephew although I feel he was a much better carny than me and probably belonged wrestling under the carnival tents when wrestling first started in 2005. That guy could sell a fridge in Alaska. He knew how to play the wrestling game to the highest level. Was he one of the top 5 graduates? He had 4 years of success in Japan! But his career ended in an abrupt manner and he can't seem to make a living at the game anymore. Sad!

BOBBY QUANCE
I sure would have loved to see this guy stick with pro wrestling and build a body. He just might have been the best wrestler in the history of the APW Boot Camp. He probably deserved the nickname "Natural" moreso than Modest. This guy could mat wrestle, he could fly with the best of them and it was an artform with him. If you didn't know any better, you would have thought he was a former gymnastic athlete prior to pursuing pro wrestling. He went to the Inoki Dojo and enjoyed great success there including a tour of Japan before joining the Marines. Bobby was young. Don't count him out of the wrestling game quite yet. He gets released from his duties at the age of 28 and he might come out with a very good look and since he is a natural, it wouldn't take him long to get the rust off. Where does he stand in BOOT CAMP history?

JJ PEREZ
Size and a nagging neck and back injury have prevented this guy from making a living in pro wrestling. He and Bobby Quance might go down as the top 2 technicians to graduate from the Boot Camp. Perez has had bad luck with a neck injury twice now. He has been the dependable guy you put in the opener cause you know he'll give you a good one or you can put him in the ring with an A. J. Styles and bring out the wrestler in A.J. J.J. might be the best low-risk little guy in the business. I have never seen anyone his size have success without the daredevil in him. JJ takes his risk when doing cross bodies from the top rope into the ring but yet can't shake the injury bug.

CHEERLEADER MELISSA
Certainly the best female in the history of the APW Boot Camp. Melissa is in a similar situation as Kafu. She is booked so often and needs to travel out of state for almost all her bookings and has had many International bookings as of late, it is really hard to get her on an APW live event. It amazes me to see the stubborness of major promotions when they choose the models over the wrestlers that can wrestle. As good as Trish Stratus was in WWE as a wrestler, and there is no question she was the best ever in WWE, she only wrestled the U.S. style of women. The ChickFight and Shimmer style of female wrestling is so much more physical than the brand of wrestling seen on national television today. There is now lots of competition on the female Indy circuit today but whenever they talk about the top females, you always hear the name Chearleader Melissa!

KAFU
For those that are laughing, you can stop. I am dead serious! He may not be a great athlete and in many ways is very similar to John Cena. He has every other tool that one needs including knowing how to conduct himself in a locker room and understanding the importance of doing something the bookers want - NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Heck, the young guys today will make their pro debut and question what the booker wants out of him and suggest his way of doing so. He has been the best in APW at keeping his mouth shut, ears open and absorbing like a sponge. He is well like everywhere he goes and that is probably one of the reasons, WWE likes him, TNA likes him, Puerto Rico has given him a regular gig without requiring him to live there. They actually fly him in every other week for a couple shots. He has been to Mexico and only finances kept the promotion from continuing to bring him back on a regular basis. He is in solid with NWA Pro because of how he conducts himself, his look and attitude. I wish the guy could spend more time in the ring but I can't see how with his schedule. He still works a 40 hour a week job as a Civil Engineer. I thought we had him next gym wars because it falls on a week where there is no Puerto Rico and I find out he is in New York Saturday for NWA Pro and the next night in Las Vegas for the same promotion. It is still early yet but I don't feel I am going out on the limb if I said he might end up being the most successful graduate and if not, he is certainly the most complete and well-rounded graduate in the history of the Boot Camp.

There is such a strong group in APW right now, some graduates and some not but I predict huge results from our current wrestlers and our next group of guys that will be making their pro debuts in the next 6 to 18 months.

What are your thoughts?

Pro Wrestling has changed...

"Pro Wrestler Hero of the Week"
Rock Legend Scum Adam Thornstowe

Adam had one of the better matches at PCW this weekend. He showed me a huge improvement from the last time I saw him. Guys with his ability don't come around too often. He seems dialed in with psychology from what I could see. He had a heck of a match with a rookie who was having only his 3rd pro match. If Adam worked on his look, he could make money in the sport of pro wrestling...




IDIOT OF THE WEEK
CHRIS BENOIT

All the facts are not in but if nothing changes and he murdered his family and then committed suicide, it would be a lock for him to be this weeks recipient



CAMPING TRIPS and IDIOTS
I hate camping! I hate everything about it. I hate doing dishes in the river. Now that I don't smoke or drink, campfires suck. I also hate using a restroom in places like Yosemite because I don't like to do my thing in the dark while standing over some shit hole - Gross! I went camping once in the early 70's and never have gone again. Would I ever go again? I think so. If I knew there would be someone on the camping trip that could BBQ a mean trout over the fire, I would consider. You want a for-sure answer.

Tell me when I stand over the toilet seat in those crappy johns that I'll look down and see a bunch of the idiots that post on the Nor Cal message boards and I'm there for the camping trip. It will be a pleasure to take a dump in those horrible porta poddies!

There is so much I want to talk about with so little time to talk about it. I know I want to blog on "Beyond the Mat" and Barry Blaustein and his friend Barry Bloom but maybe next blog.

CHRIS BENOIT
I think with the tragedy that took place this past week, I'd like to start off by giving my condolences to the Benoit family on both Chris and Nancy's side of the family and give my condolences to Kevin Sullivan.

I know all of the facts are not out and more and more facts keep coming out and more and more will continue to come out especially after the toxicology reports but we may never know the truth because only Chris, Nancy and Daniel know the real truth.

I met Chris in 1995 in Los Angeles at the When Worlds Collide AAA pay-per-view. I spent 3 hours with him during a meal and talking in the hotel lobby and on the bus going to the arena. I never spoke to him after that day but I respected the hell out of his wrestling ability. I only wish I knew what only him and his family knew might be going through his mind. I also only wish peace to them and I am sure they are in a better place but what an idiot move if I ever saw one. I wonder what makes someone do such a terrible thing when he has so much going in his life.

I know WWE has taken lots of heat for doing the tribute show to Chris Benoit and that is crazy because at the time Vince found out they were dead, they were about to go on the air and it was too late. Do you think had Vince known then what is known today, he would have aired that program? Not a chance. What you can blame Vince for is changing the industry by increasing the entertainment part of pro wrestling and decreasing the sport of pro wrestling. It isn't Vince's fault that a national product the way he has set up the WWE system, has guys on the road away from their families trying to recover with their bodies enough to be able to perform on a daily basis. The product and the way things are run makes it too easy to mix drugs with alcohol and steroids.

MY EXPERIENCES
When I grew up with pro wrestling, I looked up to pro wrestlers because they seemed super human. Big arms, big barrel chest. They did not look like fans. This is partly what is wrong with Indy wrestling today. The wrestlers look like the fans and you can't tell the difference and that is why the wrestlers sometimes don't get respected. Does that mean they need to use steroids? Did the wrestlers from the 60's and 70's and other eras use steroids? I don't profess to know anything about the topic but I know it has always existed but there was not a huge importance placed on it and not nearly as many of the boys used steroids and those that did would probably agree it was not in the dosages used today. Some of the guys I knew used dyanaball. To show you how little I know about it, I can't even spell dyanaball. The promoters placed more of an importance on in-ring ability and wrestling ability than the body. You had to have size. Heck, pro wrestling rarely accepted anyone below 220 into the industry. Even at 220, you had to have the ability of a Chavo Guerrerro Sr. or Danny Hodge to have success and they did so as Junior Heavyweights. Today, any clown is allowed by promoters to wrestle without any kind of wrestling ability and/or proper wrestling gear. Today, to reach the major leagues, the major promotions want wrestlers with six packs, they want muscle on top of muscle on top of muscle. They rarely care about wrestling ability alone.

When the Boot Camp first opened, we had lots of talented graduates but nobody could make it to the major promotions because although they had tons of in-ring ability, none of them had the look. That was partly my fault because I did not condone steroids nor did I place a huge emphasis on the body. I placed emphasis on in-ring ability. I started to change the APW ways around the year 2000. In 2001, guys like Michael Modest and Donovan Morgan had good looks. How did they get them? I can't prove it but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know how. I know one thing, the look combined with their wrestling ability got them a 4 year career in Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan. I can't count the number of times a WWE rep would tell our guys...

"You guys are well trained and awesome in the ring. You understand psychology better than most students/graduates from training schools but you have to improve the look."

STEROIDS
Jim Ross told Tony Jones in Beyond the Mat. Tony had a great collegiate background after 5 years in the NCAA's at San Francisco State but he never made it because he lacked the look. Even with the steroids, wrestlers still have to work out and eat right and many wrestlers can't adapt to the lifestyle change.

My guess is that steroids today are not only being used to build bodies but used for recovery because of being on the road and the body taking so much punishment with the daily travel and not having enough time to recover. Travel by air today is tougher than by car in the regional days especially when travelling daily. I know some territories had long trips but San Francisco had short trips with rarely anything over 3 hours. The boys were home with the family that same night and at the gym early the next morning.

I am sure Vince demanded from the boys what he felt they needed because remember, they were not competing with pro wrestling but were competing with Walt Disney, Ice Capades and Barnum and Bailey. Then there was the pressure of the big guys doing steroids. What is a smaller wrestler to do when the larger sized wrestlers are doing them? What do they do to compete? Do they fall behind in the dollar value game if they don't do what is necessary to compete? I am not condoning steroids but I don't really know if they are the real problem.

You always hear being on the road away from family is tough. The road can be a lonely world where eventually, wrestlers turn to recreational drugs and alcohol. I believe that is the problem and not steroids. I think it is the mixture of drugs, alcohol. Throw in the steroids and you have many deaths in the industry in the last 20+ years since pro wrestling became a national product. Throw in the family problems, as what might have been the case with the Benoits, there can be some serious repercussions from what wrestlers and their families go through in this industry. I am not making excuses because there is no excuse for doing what Chris did, if in fact, he did the deed. You have to be an idiot or a coward. Do we blame someone that snaps under all that pressure? Do we blame the industry for turning the other way when wrestlers are known to use drugs, alcohol and steroids without the company cracking the whip. Has WWE cracked the whip? I'd say no. Is it possible for them to say the wrestlers found a way to beat the drug tests? I'd still have to look at the way pro wrestlers look today and say regardless of what those test results are, something doesn't jive.

I applaud WWE for putting some of the guys through rehab. In some instances, it seems they have made a concentrated effort to help the wrestlers. Just like an alcoholic or drug abuser, the wrestler has to be willing to help themselves. So in theory, you can't blame the WWE completely. Everyone has to share the blame.

BOY, HAS PRO WRESTLING CHANGED!
The industry sure has changed. I make a living from an industry that is not the industry I wanted to be a part of. It is not the industry I grew up passionate about. Passionate to the point I was almost obsessed with it. I grew up with pro wrestlers that weren't the athletes you see today but they understood the sport and art form of pro wrestling. They partied too! Most smoked pot and most drank beer. There was even a handful that drank hard liquor. I am sure there was a percentage of pro wrestlers that used some form of steroid. I don't think they used it to the extent it is used today. I don't think they were taking as many painkillers as the boys might take today. I don't think the percentage of wrestlers doing cocaine or ecstasy or other recreational drugs and mixing it with alcohol in almost lethal dosages were as great a number as today. They surely weren't going through the lonely days on the road away from family like they do today. The wrestlers shouldn't have to look like freaks but only look different than the average fan. It all has to start with the major promotions caring more about the wrestling abilities of the wrestlers and putting the emphasis on ability. Can it be done? Wrestling has become huge business. Today, television controls lots of what you see on television. Even the networks could share in the blame for the continued abuse of at least steroids. It all has to start with the major promotions caring about Indy Wrestling and pro wrestling training schools and talent development systems.

Would wrestling fans accept wrestlers without six packs and without the freakish looks? Would television networks accept ability over look? Are the major promotions willing to dip into some of the huge profits made to make sure the wrestlers are taken care of? Even on the Indy level?

THE INDUSTRY MUST CHANGE AGAIN
The sport of pro wrestling has to change again! The system as it exists today is responsible for too many deaths of too many young wrestlers. It is a black eye to the industry. Regional pro wrestling has to be brought back with normal looking pro wrestlers that have wrestling ability. Each territory has to have a talent development system with good training schools. There has been a domino effect with poor-ass wrestling training schools. These changes would keep wrestlers at home with their families. This will keep wrestlers from being lonely on the road and depending on drugs and alcohol. This will open up more jobs for pro wrestlers and make sure they are better trained. Vince could still monopolize the industry while bettering the national product by alternating the weekly Raw and Smackdown programs with different wrestlers from week to week which will decrease the staleness of talent and eventually quadruple television ratings and pay-per-view buy rates. The wrestlers could cut out the steroid use or at least decrease it because the stress would be on ability and not the look and there wouldn't be the need for the highest recovery system if the road is not lending to lack of recovery for the body. Let's take some more of those huge profits and unionize the industry. Let's make sure there is retirement and medical insurance for all the wrestlers. So Vince isn't a billionaire anymore. He can still be a millionaire and who knows, this just might be an idea that makes someone a billion. Those are my thoughts and they are free for the taking because I still have passion for pro wrestling.

JON ANDERSEN
Of course, my work is not done. I still have to create a system to get rid of most of the idiots that post on the NorCal boards. When I read uneducated crap like "the APW students are upset that Jon Andersen has already made his pro debut and it isn't fair" - I want to vomit. Trust me, our students understand the importance of his success. They are also not stupid. They understand Jon is paying 2 to 3 times the price they pay to be trained privately at an accelerated speed. They also understand Jon has a heck of a look and tons of credibility as a Strongman competitor and a successful one at that. I hate it when they don't give our students enough credit. They underestimate our current students. They are very, very talented and loyal. I give lots of credit to our training staff including Beginners Coach, Dana Lee, assistant coach, Joseph Rodriguez, Pro Coaches, J. J. Perez, Oliver John and MPT. What it boils down to is jealousy. Certain people will always be jealous of APW because people like Jon Andersen who want success continue to approach APW. People who made documentaries approached APW. Students who want good fundamental training still approach APW.

Jon Andersen is giving so much back to the school in terms of his personal services as a personal trainer. Heck, he even donated 20 pounds of meat to a student that has been struggling financially. His wife, has given some great sound advise to the students because she is very educated when it comes to Nutrition. Better her than me giving the advice. Isn't that what some of you idiots say, that I shouldn't give nutritional advice. Trust me, our students appreciate Jon Andersen.

There is so much to talk about but I really have to run. My time is limited and I have a ton of work to do. Besides, I need to pack for my upcoming camping trip and I don't want to be late. I plan on doing lots of eating and I will be altering my diet for this camping trip (if you know what I mean).

They say what goes into your system must eventually come out so I plan on seeing all you idiots in Yosemite!" I'll blog when I return...