Perhaps its the carny roots that wrestling will never be able to shake, but this business has always attracted con men who lie about their training, experience, and professional affiliation to work themselves into spots and it makes me sick. This business has enough trouble establishing credibility in a media market which recognizes only two classes of wrestling: The WWE and everything else.
Take a guy like "Evil" Eddie Watts, for example. Here is a guy who is one of the hardest working wrestlers I have ever met in my life and has one of the sharpest minds for the business. In a twenty year ring career he has toured Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and coast to coast in Canada. Some might remember him best for a sick bump he took in a match with Luther Reigns a few years ago on a Smackdown taping. Here is a guy with credentials out the wazoo, but to the media and the non-wrestling public, Eddie is just another wrestler in the locker room -- a guy on the level with anyone else who laces up the boots (or slides on the kickpads, I suppose).
Recently, I learned of a guy who has slid into the wrestling business in Saskatchewan claiming to have been trained in Winnipeg. On the surface, this didn't seem to fit with what I know of that scene ... so I dug in a little deeper. However, while I was waiting for answers, it reminded me of a few favorite posers over the years that I am glad the business has rid itself of:
Dan Micallef: Wrestling as "The Falcon" among other aliases, this guy is actually the promoter that spawned the Canadian Wrestling Federation in 1994 under the banner Wildcat Wrestling. This guy had a makeshift ring which he set up in the sketchy Bell Hotel in Winnipeg's north end and ran with a crew comprised partially of trained workers, and other folks who were long term residents in that rundown facility. He showed up to a River City show one time with a dinner tray affixed to some cheap vinyl which he claimed was a "world championship" and cut a promo about how he wanted to defend his title against the best competition. When Robby Royce accepted the challenge and agreed to meet him the next week -- he promptly left town, leaving his pregnant wife behind. I later learned that Micallef turned up in Thunder Bay claiming to have been working for River City and being a close associate of Tony Condello. He set up an equally ill-fated enterprise out of the Odeon Court nightclub for a few months -- "training" a new crew. When his deceit was discovered, Micallef disappeared again -- this time for good (we hope).
Dave English: When I was booking for Bobby Jay in 2001, I got a call from this guy in Ontario saying he wrestled as "Nemesis". He claimed to have had some training from the Harts in addition to lessons in Ontario and had about 40 matches. We gave him a shot. When he showed up, he had two shitty matches on consecutive nights and admitted (to my crew behind my back) that with the two matches we had given him ... he now actually had four matches. He left in the middle of the night without a goodbye back to Ontario. Johnny Devine has shared another great story about this guy's "legacy" at the dungeon which will be featured in my upcoming book.
Michael Shrupka: There was another guy who used to write letters to River City Wrestling when we were on TV, requesting a spot on the roster. He sent what appeared to be a school picture of himself wearing a cowboy hat, and he professed to be a real asskicker. When he showed up, in an effort to impress us, I guess, he told us that he had once confronted Don Callis in the washroom of a popular Winnipeg nightclub and kicked his ass. When we got this guy in the ring, we approached the lesson as though he had no training (which we correctly assumed) ... but he refused to take direction, he knew it all. So, when he got whipped off the ropes for a clothesline, he missed hitting the ropes properly, and stumbled back right into a forehead clothesline as he fumbled and fell on his face. After that, I think he took one clothesline in a turnbuckle which resulted in him smashing his head (somehow) on the ring post and drawing blood. We never saw him again. Come to think of it, I think it was Royce that chased this guy out of the business as well.
The wrestling business needs to police itself against fakes and frauds like these people -- those who sneak into the pro mat ranks boasting false credentials and experience. In this information age of the internet, it is SUPER EASY to investigate someone's claims, get in touch with references and verify that they are giving you the straight goods.
Wrestlers, think about this: Do you want the paying public, and potential employers (promoters) holding you in the same regard as guys who have taken shortcuts to achieve what you have? Do you want the infiltration of people who don't rightly belong in this business to burn towns and drive down payoffs? Do you want these people that degrade the sacrifices that you have made for this business to affect your future?
Don't misunderstand ... I'm not talking about those guys who have sought out training and have learned the craft from someone reputable. We all recognize that there are different levels of training and quality of trainers. However, those guys who have snuck in without any training at all and are allowed to get into rings, wrestle matches, and be promoted as "professional wrestlers". Those guys who don't think they need to be taught, don't seek out opportunities to develop and learn from those with lessons to share. I find this personally offensive.
This is the wrestling BUSINESS. Thousands of men and women have paid serious dues to pave the road that we now get to travel. Professional wrestling ... love it, respect it, or get the fuck out!
Vance Nevada