Just Trying To Get Better

I remember when I first started my pro wrestling career and how difficult it was to get booked, and to get matches with more experienced workers.

I mean at first I was just happy to be given the opportunity, but then after a year and 30 matches I wanted to start working with guys who could lead me and I could learn from. Guys that have been around, indy vets. Guys who have travelled around and can show me a thing or two. I started asking bookers and the promoters I was working for to give me that chance and all I got was, "those guys don't wanna work with you."

Now i don't know if that was the truth or bullshit the booker was telling me, but it was definately very frustrating. Im in no way trying to put down the guys I was working with, but I felt I was not moving forward and I realized I might have been better prepared than some of my opponents. I owe that to my coach Don Kolov who prepared me the right way.

Wrestling training was more at UFO (the school I broke in with) than just bumps and moves. I was taught psychology and how each match is a story. Into my second year my frustrations continued to grow and I thought I had to make a move or I would end up being negative about the business as some of the other wrestlers in my position had already given up. I needed to be tested and see where I stood and try it in front of live crowds.

So with some good contacts and information given to me through friends in the business, I packed up my stuff and was headed to a territory where some of the best had poished their craft, San Juan Puerto Rico. On my first day on the rock I had met Mustafa Saed (1 half of the Gangstas) and he told me he would mention to the office I was there and to take a look at me. Mustafa is a man of his word as I gotta call saying be ready at 5PM tomorrow night, you have a match.

I was happy and nervous, but knew that coming back home wasn't an option. I was realistic and new I wasn't gonna get a full time job, but if I could get even 5 matches and learn from some of the talent that was there I would still be that much better than before I came.

When we arrived at the arena I was greeted by Invader who was the booker at that time. He told me who my opponent was, told me the finish and that I had to go 6 to 7 minutes. I was thinking the change room is thin with workers so I asked Mustafa where my opponent was. He told me that in PR the heels and faces aren't in the same room for kayfabe reasons and I better not be the shits cause he vouched for me.

I was shitting myself, a guy I dont know vouched for me (Mustafa has a friend for life for that). I cant speak to my opponent, and I lied that I had done 200 mathces and in reality I'm really green!

The match went smooth from the response I got from Invader and Mustafa, it was no MOTN but we told a story and the passionate crowd bought it. I had done 11 matches in about a months time, but I wasn't ready to stay there. I did learn something. I learned how to sell and make my opponents bigger and stronger than they actually are.

I was a babyface and selling was my job, so when I wasn't doing it well enough I ate some stiff shots. I also learned how to make someone look good while not being completely dead, and keeping myself strong. I ate shots experimenting with that as well, but now I had something to work with so back to Ontario I went.

Back in Ontario the shows were few and far between and I was on such a high being able to only think about wrestling and have no distractions down in PR that all I wanted was to work with some more experienced guys. It never happened, so it was time for me to save a couple bucks and move forward, or west! I received an email contact for Vance nevada and he was more than willing to give me a shot as I told him in my email that I just wanted an opportunity to learn. I was completely shocked to find out that in Manitoba I would be working 3-4 shows a week. I had the chance to work with Vance my first show out there and when we got back to his place he took the time to watch the match with me and show me when and where I could have made better choices. Winnipeg is a place where less means more and how involving the crowd as a heel will draw me more heat. I worked with different guys down there such as Vance, Mentallo, Ryan Wood, Rob Stardom and Mike Ox who was a huge Japanese wrestling fan.

In each of my matches I was learning a lot since each wrestler had a different style. I was on cloud 9 again, but in reality I had to head back home cause financially I wasn't able to stay. It was very positive in terms of what I had learned and was happy that I excellerated each match and was getting over with a crowd I wasn't used to.

This time around in Ontario I was lucky enough to get booked in a promotion where the majority of the top Ontario guys were working. I was excited to get this chance and wanted to continue learning from guys better than me. I was booked in matches with Notorious T.I.D, Phil Latio and Custom Made Man and I was actually learning and able to use what I had learned in my stints in PR and Manitoba.

Soon there after I was put into a tag team with Matt Burns and we had the chance to move around a couple other promotions and work with different teams who were more experienced than us and also at the same level in terms of our career. We worked with brawlers and technical guys and in different venues, some family shows and some were bar venues where the people just wanted to see crazy ass moves and violence. I was a sponge and absorbing it all and was at a point where I could point out my mistakes when watching my matches at home, but like times passed it was at a road block. Don't get me wrong, I was still learning and am still learning now, I dont think you ever stop learning,it was just the same opponents and due to the OAC at the time Ontario was lucky to get 4 or 5 shows a month. There were so many good workers at that time, it was just too hard to give up or get a spot on a show, so I headed down south through a contact.

I worked the Carolinas and Virginia and was learning that there style of pro wrestling was a little different than Ontario, Manitoba and PR. The crowds were hot and passionate, but different for me so I liked the challenge. It's a little hard to put into words the style the southern fans were used to, but it wasn't so much violence and or crazy high spots, they seemed to appreciate old school rasslin.

Hit a move and grab a hold is what the people seemed to appreciate down there in my eyes, so after about 10 matches I had to pack up and head home. I knew what I was in for when I got back to Ontario and was happy I was getting at least 2 to 3 bookings a month, so I looked for bookings in the surrounding states and got some work in Michigan and New York which meant an extra match or 2 a month. Thoughts of "Is this all worth it?" passed through my mind a little too often so I had to move on again. After researching and speaking with friends I decided to go to a place where there was definately opportunity and thats when I went to Mexico.

In Mexico is where I was tested the most, I mean personally it was a big culture shock, but professionally it tested my passion and drive for the business. It also helped me realize that I might be a good worker. I hear guys locally all the time saying you have to leave Ontario if you want to get better, which I agree with to some extent, but if you really wanna get better get in the ring night after night with an opponent who can't speak your language.

I learned through my travels that there are different types of crowds, different styles of work and different types of workers anywhere you go, but having to call a match on crowd reaction and professionalism is a completely different game. You really get your psychology and work rate challenged when your put in that situation, which I feel can either make you or break you. I didn't have any MOTY or MOTN matches my first 50-60 matches down there, but it was definately a confidence booster and slap in the face that I am qualified to be wrestling for a living full time and would be a big mistake for me to get out of this business.

As for the last 6 months or so that I have been back in Ontario and working the guys who perform "Ontario style" has been another learning transition in my life. I am considering this portion of my wrestling education the year before my masters. Now I have either forgotten or Ontario has changed, but it is a big challenge for myself to fit back into what works in Ontario. I remember after my 1st match back here in 4 or 5 years saying, "Im the shits here". I was confused, almost thrown back thinking, these guys are hard to please!!

When Hornet came back I spoke with him and told him how I felt out of place and he didn't seem to understand me, but then after his match back at an LLW show he came in the back and said, "now I know what you mean!"

Time has passed and I feel normal again and want to prove myself at home and in the place where I started and tried to perfect my craft for the fans of Ontario Indy wrestling before moving on to my masters.

I hope the new crop of Ontario indy talent understands the opportunity they have with the amount of shows going on per month and the amount of differently styled talent there is out here. I am a strong beleiver in "leaving the nest" as long as its done at the right time.

If I had the chance to get in 50-75 more matches before I headed to Puerto Rico maybe I could have had a 6 month run or maybe stayed 3 or 4 years and not have to head back home cause I wasn't ready for full time at that level. "Leaving the nest" is something I reccomend for any worker that is caught at a stale point in his or her career, but remember you are always learning something in this business, every match im in, i'm learning and still asking vets questions.

Hopefully for the young guys out there these days the more experienced workers will work with them and show them a thing or two and not be assholes!!! Or maybe the bookers will stop lying and stop booking themselves with the vets so other guys get an opportunity. This was my journey and in no way am I trying to say i'm the greatest wrestler in Ontario, but I know I have something to offer and I'm just trying to get better.

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